Journal of a Visit to Constantinople and Some of the Greek Islands in the Spring and Summer of 1833

14

In Turkish, the Prophet is styled Peigshamber: the French, whose vanity induces them to alter and vilify every proper name not derived from their own language, persist in spelling it Pegchamber: this, however, seems so ludicrous, when we consider the exalted rank of the individual to whom it is applied, that the reader will exclaim involuntarily with Hamlet, – "To what vile uses may we not come, Horatio!"

15

Since the above was written, he has returned to London as ambassador from the Porte.

16

This mode of executing criminals seems peculiar to the East, and is partly explained by the word itself. The Turkish bowstring, which is amazingly strong, is formed of untwisted silk, generally white, bound together at intervals by threads of a different colour. At either end is a large loop attached to the centre portion of the cord, by a very curious and intricate knot: the executioners slip their hands through this, and having passed the string once round the victim's neck, who was placed on his knees, they drew it in opposite directions with all their force, and thus produced death by strangulation. Since the gradual decline of archery among the Turks, the bowstring has also been falling into disuse; for the original cause of its being adopted as an instrument of criminal punishment was the readiness with which it could be procured, when every man carried at his shoulder the weapon of which it formed a part.

17

At, a horse; and Meidan, a course.

18

I cannot bid adieu to Lord Ponsonby and his amiable family, without acknowledging how much the pleasure derived from my voyage and visit to Constantinople was enhanced by their unceasing kindness. Indeed, from the first moment I became acquainted with his Lordship in Naples, he has uniformly treated me with a degree of affability as flattering to me as it was kind in him; besides honouring me, up to the present moment, with a confidence which, in general, is the result only of long tried and intimate friendship. This is the more gratifying, because he has always been surrounded by young men in every respect as worthy of the same distinction as myself.

19

I ought to have mentioned before, that Terapia is a village some miles distant from Constantinople.

20

Foreign Quarterly Review.

21

Vignette in title-page.

22

Duchess of Berri.

23

St. John's Egypt.