here to the truth of facts, and leave his hero neither worse nor better than he found him. Monsters of cruelty and crime, Monks and Zelucos, horrors and thunderings and ghosts, are crea tures of another region, tools appropriated to another trade, and are only to be handled by dealers in old castles and manufacturers of romances. As the tragic drama may be not improperly described as an epic poem of compressed action, so I think we may call the novel a dilated comedy; though Henry Field ing, who was pre-eminently happy in the one, was not equally so in the other: non omnia possumus omnes. If the readers of Henry have agreed with me in the principles laid down in those prefatory chapters, and here again briefly touched upon, I flatter myself they found a novel conducted throughout on those very principles, and which in no one in stance does a violence to nature, or resorts to forced and improbable expedients to excite surprise; I flat ter myself they found a story regularly progressive, without any of those retrogradations or counter marches, which break the line, and discompose the arrangement of the fable: I hope they found me duly careful to keep the principal characters in sight, and above all, if I devoted myself con amore to the delineation of Zachary Cawdle, and in a more particular manner to the best services I could perform for the good Ezekiel Daw, I warmly hope they did not think my partiality quite misapplied, or my labour of love entirely thrown away. If, in my zeal to exhibit virtue triumphant over the most tempting allurements, I have painted those allurements in too vivid colours, I am sorry, and ask pardon of all those who thought the moral did not heal the mischief. Junius. I consider Tristram Shandy as the most eccentric work of my time, VOL. VI. NO. XXXVI. and Junius the most acrimonious. We have heard much of his style; I have just been reading him_over with attention, and I confess I can see but little to admire. The thing to wonder at is, that a secret, to which several must have been privy, has been so strictly kept; if sir Wil liam Draper, who baffled him in some of his assertions, had kept his name out of sight, I am inclined to think he might have held up the cause of candour with success. The publisher of Junius I am told was deeply guaranteed; of course, although he might not know his author, he must have known wherea bouts to look for him. I never heard that my friend lord G. Germaine was amongst the suspected authors, till by way of jest he told me so not many days before his death: I did not want him to disavow it, for there could be no occcasion to disprove an absolute impossibility. The man who wrote it had a savage heart, for some of his attacks are execrable; he was a hypocrite, for he disa vows private motives, and makes pretensions to a patriotic spirit., I can perfectly call to mind the gene ral effect of his letters, and am of opinion that his malice overshot its mark. Let the anonymous defamer be as successful as he may, it is but an unenviable triumph, a mean and cowardly gratification, which his dread of a discovery forbids him to avow. For the Literary Magazine. TURKISH ANECDOTES. IN the funeral of a mussulman, one part of the ceremony is singular enough. As soon as the grave is filled up, each friend plants a sprig of cypress on the right, and another on the left hand of the deceased. It is understood, it seems, that should the sprigs on the right hand grow, the deceased will enjoy the happiness promised by Mahomet to all true believers; but should those on the TURKISH ANECDOTES. opposite side flourish, he will for ever be excluded from tasting bliss in the arms of the houris. If both succeed he will be greatly favoured in the next world; and if both fail he will be tormented by black angels, till he shall be rescued from them by the mediation of the prophet. These opinions of the Turk ish rustics are not those which gene rally prevailed amongst mussulmen, but merely show, that vulgar and local prejudices are not confined to the ignorant and superstitious of any particular country. Similar effects have been produced in all, by the fears, apprehensions, and confused notions which have been entertained of a future life. Several officers of state were lately convened at Constantinople, to examine a beautiful manuscript copy of the Koran, which general Morrison had brought from India to present to the sultan. After the most enthusiastic encomiums had been bestowed upon the manuscript, an old emir clasped his hands in a sort of agony, and exclaimed, "Alas! alas! how unfortunate! This magnificent copy of the never-to-be-sufficiently admired law of our sacred prophet is not orthodox-it is the work of a secretary of Ali!" This unlucky discovery filled the whole assembly with regret and consternation. For the Literary Magazine. STATE OF THE TURKISH EM- THE Turkish empire at present exhibits a singular appearance. At a distance, it may seem a mighty and even solid structure; but, when closely examined, it only excites astonishment by not falling immediately to pieces. In the mahometan system of policy, we may trace three æras. The first was of that kind usually de nominated a theocracy, continued during the life of the prophet himself, who, like Moses and Joshua, appeared in the double character of a military chief and an inspir ed legislator; the second lasted while the Saracen caliphs held in their hands both the spiritual and temporal authority; and the third is marked by the separation of these, since the concerns of religion have been trusted to the ulemah, of whom the mufti is the chief. Another revolution has taken place, scarcely less important, in the mili character of the janissaries. In two tary system, and especially in the great points the present emperor stands in a different position from the ancient sultans, even with recan issue no edict contrary to the spect to his own capital. First, he Koran; and the ulemah, now the sole interpreters of that book, must sanction every law by the authority of their fetrah, before it can bind the people. The sultan is even compelled to submit to the inspection of their leading men, not only all his negotiations with other courts, but all the secrets of his cabinet. His sole defence against the encroachments of this body, consists in his remaining right to depose the mufti : but, though he can thus intimidate their chief, and gain over some of their leaders by promises of promo tion, the esprit du corps acts frequently and successfully in opposition to his will. His own ministers take advantage of this, and often coalesce with the ulemah, in order to defeat the cabals continually carrying on against them in the seraglio. There, every favourite has a party, and every minister a proawe by the ulemah; nor dares he tector. But the sultan is kept in rashly to chuse men for his counsellors, who are not agreeable to them. Hence his power is really limited; hence, too, he naturally endeavours to throw the chief responsibility on duced to remain inactive himself. his ministers, and is more easily inThe consequences of this may be clearly seen in a country, where the public voice is nothing; where each individal grasps at power and wealth, without any other consideration; and where pride, prejudice, ignorance, and bigotry abhor every improvement. Secondly, The debasement of the janizaries, by the introduction of the vilest vagabonds of the community into their bands, and by their long cessation from warlike enterprizes, has diminished considerably the power of the sultan, as the sovereign of a vast empire; though it has, perhaps, contributed to his own personal security, by effectually damping that spirit of revolt which had proved fatal to so many of his predecessors. The Turkish provinces are some of the fairest, and have been some of the happiest and most enlightened regions of the earth. Greece, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, Arabia, recal a thousand pleasing recollections, which can no longer be associated with them in their present state of barbarism, slavery, and degradation. The Turkish empire has been compared with Europe in the feudal times, and the bashawlicks likened to those great fiefs which were held by feudal tenures. Some resemblance may exist; but there are essential differences. The bashaws of Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, Albania, and the Morea, admit the nominal sovereignty of the sultan as the lords of Guienne and Burgundy paid homage to their liege the king of France. But the kings of France knew well, that by a prudent policy these provinces might revert to the crown; intermarriages might be made; wars between the great barons might be fomented, by which they would be mutually weakened; and, finally, the extinction of families promised sooner or later to give real or pretended rights to the sovereign to asume dominion over the estates of his vassals. In Turkey, the governor is generally the most powerful man of the province, who reigns in the name of the sultan, without asking his leave. If it be worth while, he sends presents to the porte, and readily swears allegiance to a master, the shadow of whose authority he may sometimes think it convenient to acknowledge. Even this submission is made ra ther from the prejudices of religion, than from any other motive; and Selim continues to be respected as caliph, where he has long ceased to be feared as sultan. According to the law of Turkey, the wealth of every individual ought, at his death, to revert to the sultan. It would be useless to expatiate on the folly and injustice of such a law. That artifices should be employed to elude it, can be a subject of no surprise; and that they should suc. ceed, can be a subject of no regret, except to the despot and his creatures, who require so unjust a sacrifice. The usual means of evading the claims of the sultan are sufficiently indicative of the hypocrisy and the bigotry of the Turks. All donations for pious purposes, such as the maintenance of mosques and hospitals, are considered as sacred. When the father of a family wishes to provide for his children after his demise, he makes over the bulk of his fortune to some religious or charitable establishment. A person is nominated to receive the appropriated sum, and another to account with the receiver for its application. But the donor has the right to appoint both these persons, and he of course takes care that they shall be the very individuals to whom he wishes to leave his estates. The ulemah probably receive a sufficient profit to induce them to wink at the deceit, which, by being very general, necessarily enriches them. For the Literary Magazine. ACCOUNT OF A NEW SECT IN IT is now more than half a century, since Abdul Wahab began to promulgate a new creed in Arabia. His first doctrines probably extended no farther than to his own peculiar interpretations of the Koran; and his disciples were confined for several years to a few tribes of the desert. By degrees, however, his opinions became more widely spread; his heresies were easily adopted by the illiterate robbers, whom they encouraged with the hopes of conquest and of pillage; and as he found new followers continually flocking to his standard, his enthusiasm grew more enterprizing, and his ambition more daring. The design of reforming the old religion of his country seems to have given place in his mind to that of establishing a new one; while the plunder of pilgrims and caravans, of mosques and cities, fed at once the zeal and the avarice of his disciples. There was, however, for his own purposes at least, no want either of genius or of knowledge in Abdul. Of the first he had enough to plan with wisdom, and to execute with firmness, his schemes for changing the religion of his country; and of the second he possessed a portion fully adequate to convince the Arabs that he best could explain the ordinances of Heaven. But though the doctrines of the new sect had infected some of the principal hordes, and had many secret partizans throughout Arabia, yet it is only within a few years that the Wahabees appeared in arms against the standard of Mahomet, and the authority of the sultan. When, at last, Abdul found his influence so extensive, and his followers so numerous, as to secure to him the attachment of the greater number of the tribes of the desert, he boldly proclaimed himself the reformer of those baneful innovations, which, he pretended, had destroyed the true and genuiue character of Islamism. In the year 1803 he advanced with a numerous army against Mecca, took possession of that city, plundered the mosques, and massacred the inhabitants. The Ottoman armies were unable to resist his progress; and he was already advancing to Medina, when the plague and the small-pox broke out in his army, and forced him to retreat with his booty into the desert. It was during his stay at Mecca that he wrote a letter to the sultan, reminding him, that the dignity of caliph only remained to him while the holy city was protected by him; and that its conquerors now required him to renounce the title of commander of the faithful, which devolved by right upon him to whom God had given the victory. The success of the Wahabees occasioned the utmost conternation at Constantinople, especially among the ulemah; for the full extent of the danger was carefully concealed from the people. No devout Turk could, indeed, be expected to hear without horror of the profanation of that most sacred place which gave birth to the prophet, and which is sancti fied in the belief of every true mussulman. It was besides a subject of great alarm to the government, that the authority of the sultan as caliph might be questioned, since he can retain'that awful name only while he is master of Mecca and Medina. Nor was this alarm lessened, when the Turkish ministers began te make more exact inquiries into the nature and progress of the evil. Almost all Arabia had openly adopt ed the religion of Abdel; it had many secret proselytes in Syria and Anatolia, at Damascus, Aleppo, and Smyrna; and on the borders of the empire, the bashaw of Bagdad trembled more at the real power of the Wahabees, than at the menaces of the sultan. Peremptory orders were issued to the bashaws of Asia to unite their forces against the rebels. Some of these governors were displaced, to make room for others more zealous in their attachment to the porte; but even these required to be instigated by promises of yet greater rewards, before they could be induced to act with vigour in a cause which involved the existence of their religion, and the honour of their sovereign. The Turkish army advanced by slow marches to Mecca, where Abdul had left a garrison of five hundred men. The recapture of the holy city was soon accomplished; the triumph of the faithful was celebrat ed at Constantinople; and the Turk, ish government recalled its troops, and sunk back into its accustomed tranquillity. The immediate followers of Abdul were chiefly robbers, who were inured to hardship, and who fled for refuge to the desert, whenever they were defeated in their predatory excursions. The greater part of that numerous army which he led against Mecca bad been collected from the various hordes that wander with their flocks and camels over Arabia. He had never been at the head of any regular force. The banditti, who flocked to his standard, were attracted by the hopes of plunder; and though impelled by religious enthusiasm, they were easily dispersed by the first appearance of disaster. But they knew they could enjoy their spoils without fear of punishment at home; and when the same inducements tempted them to renew their depredations, even the sluggish divan itself might have foreseen the consequences. The timid, but cruel, policy of the Turks has never been exhibited in more striking colours than in their late conduct towards the Wahabees, with whom they concluded what was known, perhaps, on both sides, to be a treacherous peace. Instead of establishing a sufficient force for the protection of Mecca and Medina, they employed a fanatic to assassinate the aged Abdul. His death, it is said, has been lately avenged by the recapture of Mecca, and the pillage of Medina; and his place has been supplied by his son, a man still in the prime of life, as active, powerful, and ambitious as his father. The Wahabees assert, it is said, the unity of the Deity; they hold him to be immaterial, eternal, and omnipotent; and in their addresses to the Supreme Being, they are fervent and devout, According to them, God has never dictated any written code of laws to men; nor has he made any particular revelation of himself. His existence, they think, is sufficiently manifested in his works. His will cannot be mistaken, since he has implanted the distinct perception of right and wrong in the human mind, together with the conviction that virtue alone can be agreeable to the Author of Nature. They do not deny, however, that Providence has occasionally interfered in the concerns of mortals in an extraordinary manner; and that it has chosen its instruments to promote the cause of truth, to reward the good, and to punish the guilty, Some men, they pretend, such as Mahomet and Abdul, have been distinguished by the peculiar favour of Heaven. During their lives, the laws and ordinances of these men ought to be obeyed, and their persons venerated. Their authority, however, should cease with their lives; for the plans of Providence will then be furthered by other means, and with other instruments. It is easy to see that ambition, not less than enthusiasm,dictated his religious creed to the crafty Abdul. As far as his theism goes, it is, perhaps, more sublime than could have been expected from an Arab of the desert; but his pretentions to govern the minds and actions of his countrymen, under the special authority of Heaven, betrayed the impostor in the teacher, and the rebel in the reformer. In limiting those pretensions to the period of his life, he probably lost nothing for which he cared; while he assailed the Mahometan faith without endangering his own immediate power. Unfortunately for the cause of humanity, Abdul appears to have had as little tolerance as Mahomet. His sword was stained with the blood of innumerable victims, and whole cities and districts have been desolated by his persecutions. It has been said that some of the ulemah undertook, with more zeal than prudence, to reclaim the apostates by argument. How their discussions were carried on, it would be difficult to guess. |
