Those who have kissed the Black Stone, which is the chief object of the pilgrim, receive the ap pellation of Ilagi, and are distinguished by the re spect and veneration of their fellow-believers.
The Turks are generally a well-formed and ro bust race of men, of a handsome and noble physi ognomy, with a tawny complexion, and black or dark brown hair. The natural gravity of their de portment suits well with their bulky turban and large flowing robes, which sit easily and gracefully upon them, either when walking or reclining upon their couches. The form of the turban serves to characterize the public functionaries, and the dif ferent classes of the nation. In the capital and Eu ropean provinces, the turban is commonly made of white muslin; while the Arabs and Asiatics employ linen cloth either dyed or variegated. The de scendants of Fatima, the daughter of Mahomet, are exclusively distinguished by a green turban. The Turks shave the head, but retain the beard as a symbol of manhood; and are extremely proud of their mustaches. They never remove their turbans but when they go to repose; and they take off their slippers whenever they enter a mosque, or the house of a great man. Dress is a predominant passion among the people. " An Ottoman minister would be capable of betraying the interests of the empire for a sable pelisse. An Ottoman of the lower class would sell his honour and his most sacred duties for a scarlet caftan. It is true that their coxcomb youths make no use of cosmetic toilets, and all that which constitutes the science of their European brethren; but their wardrobe is so costly that a beau in a turban would buy with his single Cashmir sash, the entire wardrobe of his brother beau in a hat and coat,who flutters in the saloons of London or Paris." The general character of this people partakes of the nature of their government and religion. The arrogant dictates of Islamism generate in the minds of its votaries a supercilious contempt and even ha tred against all who are of a different persuasion; hence they are proud, morose, ferocious, austere and intolerant in their intercourse with strangers; while the oppressions of their government render them fawning, deceitful, sordid and selfish. It is diffi cult, however, to ascertain the true character of the people. There never has been any cordial and fa miliar intercourse between them and any Christian nation. " An European," says a late writer," may reside for years in the great eastern capital without knowing ought of the Turkish domestic economy, or understanding one jot of the origin of their cus toms,the true state of their manners,or the right ten dency of their institutions." Hence the discrepan cies among travellers upon this point. By some the Turks are held up as patterns for our imitation; by others they are reprobated as objects of abhorrence. We are told, by a writer in the Foreign Review, a Fanariot Greek, who held the office of secretary in terpreter to the Porte, that "their portion is set tled ignorance, and unqualified, unredeemed bar barity:" " but their character is not uniform. It va ries considerably in the different provinces, and also in the villages and towns. The Turk of Bulgaria is rude to ferocity; of Thrace, haughty and fanatic; the Macedonian is covetous and distrustful; the Thessalian, wicked and cowardly; the Albanian, murderous, thievish, and insatiable; the Bosniade, inhospitable, savage, and blood-thirsty. The Turk of the commercial towns is rapacious and perjured; the Turk of Asia Minor is rendered ferocious by fa naticism, and by destitution in the interior pro vinces; insolent, a spoliator and a tyrant in the maritime districts. The Turk of Constantinople,
not only to show his dissatisfaction at the abuses of government, but also to plunder the houses and shops of individuals, sets them on fire, and com mits most frightful acts of barbarity." Dr..Clarke, on the other hand, affirms, " there are many vir tues common to the Turks which would do honour to any nation; and above all, that reverence for the Deity, which renders the taking of his name in vain to be a thing unheard of among them: add to this, their private and their public charities; their gene ral temperance and sobriety; their donations for the repose and refreshment of travellers, and for the establishment of public baths and fountains; their endowment of hospitals; their compassion for animals; the strict fidelity with which they fulfil their engagements; their hospitality; the attention shown to cleanliness in their frequent ablutions; and many other of their characteristics, which forcibly contrast them with their neighbours; and we shall be constrained to allow that there can hardly be found a people, without the pale of Christianity, better disposed towards its most essential pre cepts." He adds, however, " That they have quay ties which least deserve our approbation; and the these are the most predominant must be attribute, entirely to the want of that " leaven," which in "leavening the whole mass," bath not yet extended its influence to this benighted people." Air. Thorn ton, who was long resident among them, and to whose work we are indebted for much of this arti cle, describes the Turkish character as a " compo sition of contradictory qualities. We find them brave and pusillanimous; gentle and ferocious; re solute and inconstant; active and indolent; passing from devotion to obscenity, from the rigour of mo rality to the grossness of sense: at once delicate and coarse; fastidiously abstemious, and indiscrimi nately indulgent. The great are alternately haughty and humble; arrogant and cringing; liberal and sordid; and in general it must be confessed, that the qualities which least deserve our approbation are the most predominant. On comparing their limited acquirements with the learning of the Christian nations of Europe, we are surprised at their ignorance; but we must allow that they have just and clear ideas of whatever falls within the con tracted sphere of their observation." " The Turk," says the same author, " is usually placid, hypochon driac and unimpassioned; but when the customary sedateness of his temper is ruffled, he seems pos sessed with all the ungovernable fury of a multitude; and all ties, all attachments, all natural and moral obligations are forgotten and despised till his rage subsides." It is in the middle ranks of society that a nation's character is best discovered; and among the Turks of this class the domestic and social vir tues are united with patriarchal urbanity of man ners. While the Turkish courtier veils his pur poses under the most impenetrable dissimulation, sincerity and honesty are the characteristics of the Turkish merchant: and in their villages, where there is no admixture of Greeks, innocence of life and simplicity of manners are conspicuous, and roguery and deceit are unknown. Dr. Clarke, however, remarks, that the Turks in the provinces are more filthy and wretched than any people among whom he had travelled.