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chooses, and says, I am a soldier; he then attaches 
himself to a division of janissaries, or to a pacha, an 
aga, or any other officer who consents to admit him 
into his service; the moment the thing ceases to please 
him, he throws down his arms, saying, I am no longer 
a soldier; and thenceforward lives undisturbed without 
being upbraided by any one with his desertion. The 
result of this is, that the Turkish soldier going to war 
by his own free will, is impetuous, and even ferocious 
during the first attack, but also on the least reverse he 
abandons the cause, and seeks safety in flight, because 
the army is not organized so as to repress desertion. 
The janissaries are the principal nerves of the Otto- 
man power. The celebrated Raif Effendi, in his trea- 
tise upon the Ottoman Militia, computes the whole 
number in the empire at four hundred thousand, and 
is of opinion that no nation can produce a similar arm- 
ed force, which he calls uniform. But what is a janis- 
sary? He is a shoemaker, or any kind of artizan, a 
peasant, or a vagabond, who inscribes his name upon 
the roll of a division of janissaries called Orta; some 
of these ortas hardly amount to a thousand men, 
whilst others contain twenty or thirty thousand. 
When a man thus enrolls his name, he engages to 
appear whenever the orta shall muster; but does he 
fulfil his engagement? This depends upon circum- 
stances, and upon personal interest at the moment 
when he is summoned. The janissaries have indeed a 
degree of what is called esprit de corps, an estimable 
feeling when it is not too exclusive; but this does not 
suffice to prevent them from consulting occasionally 
their own interest, which is always their first concern^ 
hence, if the motive of the summons suit them, they 
take up arms immediately, and attend muster: in any 
