made in history ; ail the conveniences, 
_ if not the luxuries, of life might be 
there expected. Previous to.an arrival, 
if any inquiry is made of merchants, and 
oiher persons who have visited the 
place, as to the commodity of its. 
markets, the answer is almost always 
characterized by exaggeration, They 
will: affirm, that every thimg a stran- 
ger can require, may be. purchased in 
Constantinople, as in London, Paris, 
or Vieuna; whereas, if truth be told, 
hardly any one article goodin its kind 
can be procured. Let a foreigner visit the 
bazars, properly so called, he will see no- 
thing butslippers,clumsy bocts of bad lea- 
ther,coarse muslins,pipes,tobacco,cofiee, 
cooks’ shops, drugs, flower-reois, se- 
cond-hand pistols, peignards, and. the 
worst manufactured wares inthe world. 
In Pera, where Greeks and_Iialiaas 
are supposed to supply all the neces- 
sities of the Franks, a few pitiful stalls 
are seen, in which every thing is dear 
and bad. Suppose a'siranger to arrive 
from along journey, in want of clothes 
for his body, furniture for his lodg- 
ings, books or maps for his instruc- 
tion and amusement, paper, pens, ink, 
cullery, shoes, hats; in short, those 
articles which are found in almost 
every city of the world: he will find 
few or none of them in Constantino- 
ple; except of a quality so inferior as 
to render them incapabie of auswering 
any purpose for which they were 
intended. The few commodities 
exposed for sale are either exports 
from England, unfit for any other 
market, or, which.is worse, German 
or Dutch imitations of English manu- 
facture. The woollen cloths are hard- 
ly suited to cover the floor of their 
own compting houses; every article 
of cutlery and bardware is detestable ; 
the leather used for ‘shoes and boots so 
bad that it can scarcely be wrought; 
hats, hosiery, linen, buttons, buckles, 
reall efthe same character; of the 
avorst quality and yet of the highest 
price. But there are other articles of 
snerchandize, to which we have been 
accustomed to annex the very name 
of Turkey, as ifthey were the peculiar 
produce of that country; and these 
at least a foreigner expects to find ; 
-but not one of them can be had. Ask 
for a Turkish carpet, you are toid 
you must send for it to Smyrna; for | 
Greek wines—to the Archipelago ; for 
a ‘rarkish sabre—to Damascus ; for the 
eort of stone eapressly denominated tur. 
. 
Inhabitants, 
Retrospect of Domestic Literature—Voyages and. Travels. 
quoise—they know not what you mean ¢ 
for red_ leather, they import it them- 
selves from Russia or from Africa ; still 
you are said to be in the centre of the 
‘commerce of the world; and this ma 
be true enough, with reference to the | 
freight of vessels passing the straits’ 
which is never landed. View the 
exterior of Constantinople, and it seems 
the most opulent and flourishing city 
in Kurope ; examine its interior, and 
its miseries and deficiences are so strik- 
ing, that it must be considered’ the 
meanest and poorest metropolis of the 
world, The ships which crowd its 
poris bave no connection with its wel- 
fare : they are for the most part French, 
Venetian, Kagusan, Selavonian, and 
Grecian vessels, to or from the Me- 
diierranean, exchanging the produce 
of their Own countries for the rich 
harvests of Poland; the salt, honey, 
and butier of the Ukraine ; the hides, 
tallow, hemp, furs, and metals of Rus- 
sin and Siberia; the whole of which 
exchange is transacted in other ports, 
without any interference on the part 
of Turkey. Never was there a people 
in possession of such advantages, who 
knew or cared so little for their enjoy- 
ment, Under a wise government, the 
inhabitants of Constantinople might 
obtain the riches of all the empires of 
ihe earth. Situated as they are,, it 
cannot be long before other nations, 
depriving them of such important 
sources of wealth, will convert to bet- 
ter purposes the advantages they 
have so long'neglected.” © * big 
At the end of all is an appendix of 
seven articles. Of these, the second 
contains a translation ofthe discourse 
which usually goes by the name of 
Suvorof’s Catechism; a ‘curious pro- 
duction, highly characteristic of - ihe 
general: and the fifth presents a list 
of the plants collected, by the author, 
during his different journies in the 
Crimea.” ih oe 
The plates which accompany the 
work are numerous, and, on the whole, 
weilexecuted. They are in number, 
fifty, including charts: beside thirty 
Vignettes, 
‘*4 Description of the Feroe Islands, 
containing an Account of their Situa-_ 
tion,Climate, and Productions < together 
with the Manners and Customs of the 
their ‘Trade, &¢t.” By 
the Rev. G. G. Lanp?, tl/ustrated with 
a dep cud other Lugravings. Trans. 
cued 
