304 Liferary and Military Improvements in Turkey.  [Nov. 15 
ful science in his empire. He, imposed 
silence upon every pusillanimous re- 
monstrance; he shewed that he was 
above. the petty considerations of medi- 
ocrity; and thus stopped the mouth of 
ignorance, and ‘forced ail classes of men 
to follow his example, sooner than make 
the impracticable attempt of endeavour- 
ing to shake his resolutions. The legion 
of Séutari, like that of Levendtziftilik, 
was divided into different battalions and 
squadrons, after given rules. The form 
of their close and light habits, the co- 
lours constituting their uniforms, the en- 
signs of honour which distinguished the 
officers, were no longer objects of con- 
tempt or hatred, but, on the contrary, 
means of encouragement. Thus the 
soldiers, exercising part of every day, 
and firing twice a-week, became suffici- 
ently skilful to execute all the military 
evolutions, charmed all present by 
their movements in a body, and produced 
in the natives a desire: of enlisting. 
Many European strangers, who assisted 
in their exercises, observed, that they 
could not think them, from the agility of 
the execution, soldiers newly enrolled, 
but veterans who had made many cam- 
paigns. The officers of the two legions, 
who assisted at the lessons in the mathe. 
matical school, displayed great sagacity. 
They applied every theorem to their art 
with the utmost facility and justness: 
among these, the inhabitants of Con- 
Sstantinople distinguished themselves be- 
yond those of the country. The incli- 
nation to enlist became general, and it 
was not uncommon to see a recruit of 
three or four weeks standing, perform the 
manual, and keep his line, with all the 
adroitness of an old soldier. The only 
vexation of Selim was the number of his 
regular troops. He was always uneasy 
at not seeing the quantity which he had 
projected complete, like the corps of 
artillery; for, besides those of the latter, 
who were sufficient for many large divi- 
sions of an army, companies of canoniers 
fusiliers were organized, for defence of 
the artillery; and, being annexed to a 
corps, could, in case of necessity, form 
regiments of the line. Selim, however, 
after having put the last hand to his esta- 
blishment at Scutari, no longer waited 
for the enrolment made in the capital, 
but ordered a voluntary conscription in 
his provinces of Asia Minor; thatis, a 
contingent of a certam number was 
furnished by each. It made a total of 
42,000 recruits, with experienced officers 
to drill them, reviewed incessantly by 
the sovereign in person, This arrange. 
ment, oncé happily settled, in the follows 
ing years a much larger number might 
be trained with the least possible diffi- 
culty. The legion of Scutari had been 
provided with the best-conditioned ca- 
valry. It is known, that the Timariots 
at all times formed the best cavalry of © 
the empire; and that, by the lapse of 
time, abuses introduced into their esta- 
blishment, had reiaxed their zeal, and 
almost paralysed their institution, Selim 
had paid attention to this carps from the 
commencement of his reign, had intro- 
duced new regulations to correct the 
abuses which had crept into it, and de- 
creed, that a part of these provincial 
troops should be incorporated with the 
different corps of infantry of the line (as 
usually practised in Europe) in order to 
be drilled in military evolutions. Thus 
the Zaims and Timariots became a per- 
manent corps of cavalry, attached to the 
legion of Scutari, and subjected to daily 
exercise. Naturally excellent horsemen, 
their agility and lightness, united with 
the uniformity of movements, acquired 
by tactics, promised one day to surprise 
military cognoscentit. The number of 
this excellent cavalry annexed to the 
different bodies of troops of the line, 
amounted to from four to five thousand 
men; and, on account of their annexation 
to the regular troops, they wore a new uni» 
form, as well as their officers, who had the 
distinctive marks of their corps. Each 
company successively, from six months to 
six months, performed their exercise be-, 
fore the barracks of the corps to which it 
was annexed; and at Scutari, a place was 
marked out for building particular bare 
racks for the reception of troops who. 
arrived in succession. ) : 
The influx of recruits on all sides, sug 
gested new establishments. The bar- 
racks around Constantinople not being 
capable of containing more people, al- 
though the greatest part of the soldiers 
were absent on furlough, and a good part 
employed, it was represented to the 
sultan, that it would be much more eco- 
nomical to augment them out of the 
capital; for this purpose he built, in dif. 
ferent towns of Natolia, many large bar 
racks, for points of concentration of the 
military exercise. In each of these cen- 
tral places, a considerable part of the 
troops of certain districts was permanently 
trained, without ceasing. In proportion 
as these troops became perfectly disci- 
plined, they were relieved by others. 
Upon a plan similar to these establishe 
ments in Asia, others were fixed in the 
most cOnyenient parts of Romelia; thus 
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