the treaty than any which the guarantees of the con- 

 tracting parties could afford. 



That great capital, which to Catherine seemed worth all 

 the provinces of Turkey, has had a singular fortune; it has 

 hardly ever been at the head of a prosperous empire, and 

 even its oldest monuments exhibit proofs of declining 

 taste. The short-lived splendour of the Ottoman empire 

 cannot be called prosperity ; it consisted wholly of success 

 in arms unadorned and unsupported by commerce or the 

 arts of peace. Constantinople, nevertheless, has always 

 continued populous, owing not more to the care taken by the 

 Emperors and Sultans to supply it abundantly with corn, 

 than to the natural advantages of its situation. The spot 

 on which this city stands appears to have been marked out 

 by nature for the capital of the old world. Placed on the 

 canal which connects the north of Europe with the shores 

 of Africa, and where the caravans from the borders of 

 China meet the cargoes of the West, it possesses every 

 advantage of situation and climate which can stimulate 

 industry, or quicken commercial intercourse. 



45 



