two predecessors, who were confined, according to usage, 

 in the Eski-Serai; this is a deed unparalleled in the Otto- 

 man history. But he went still farther; he demanded of 

 the Ulemas whether circumcision and abstinence from wine 

 were strictly enjoined or only recommended by the Koran ; 

 and they, being called upon to answer, while the sword, 

 bathed in the blood of their old comrades in rebellion, was 

 yet unsheathed, replied, by the muphty, that the observance 

 of these precepts is an act of virtue, but not essential to 

 salvation. Thus two of the great pillars of Islamism have 

 been cast down to open a wider channel for the revenue, 

 but who can doubt that the flames of bigotry are still 

 smouldering beneath their ruins ? or who can fail to learn 

 from these facts the indissoluble connection between the 

 military and the social reformation of the Ottomans ? We 

 are not to suppose, however, that Mahmoud is not a staunch 

 Musulman ; his scruples give way to avarice but not to the 

 calls of humanity. When the chief of the Wechabites, or 

 Arabian reformers, who was taken prisoner by the Egyptian 

 army, was sent to Constantinople in 1817, the unhappy 

 heretic was cruelly tortured and put to death before the eyes 

 of the sultan. 



The question then presents itself, Can Mahmoud re- 

 form his country ? We think not ; the task exceeds his 

 talents, it exceeds his means, and could not be accom- 

 plished within the life of a single man. The Ottoman 

 empire must first sink in the political balance to dimensions 

 more suited to its inveterate barbarism. But it may be said 

 that he has succeeded in suppressing the Janizaries, an in- 

 dispensable preliminary, and, in forming in their stead, an 

 organised army ; and that he is seconded in all his reforma- 

 tions by the voice of the Ulemas. If anything, however, 

 within the Ottoman empire be solidly and systematically 

 combined, it is the interests and principles of the Ulemas ; 

 and these are directly opposed to innovations. If they now 

 assist Mahmoud, it is because they must yield to force, as 

 they have always done. The apparent advantages gained 

 over them by the sultan are only the broken waves of a 

 steady current; but their sentiments and their influence will 

 outlast the strength of any single despot. If a season of 



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