“ Some people who call themselves Christians, and who sympathize, or for political motives pretend to sympathize with Russia, attempt to gloss over these facts by observing that the Circassians are a nation of freebooters, and that it is necessary to rule them with a rod of iron, and through their fears. So in order to strike terror into thieves and other malefactors, it is justifiable to murder pregnant women, and fire upon little children! ”

“ A troop of fair bandits take up a station at the side of a road, there patiently to await for the arrival of the doomed traveller. As soon as the vedettes announce his approach, the fair troop starts off to meet him, welcoming him with dances and with fiery glances of irresistible power. He is compelled to stop, as a matter of course, and the fair maids then politely request him to alight. No sooner has the bewildered victim put his feet on the ground than he finds himself at close quarters with the whole troop. ”

“ If such things had been proposed in an assembly of Circassians, our people would have answered, "That is not the way to injure Russia, that is not the way to protect Circassia, that is the way only to destroy your own armies." But such proposals were never made to us, for we are a free people, and nothing is done in secret. We have no Minister as the people of England have. Our warriors fight, not because they are paid, but because they have hearts, and when anything is proposed to us then a meeting must be held. ”

“ Russia is anxious for a second Congress, and asks all Europe to agree to it, in order to settle certain rules of humanity to be observed during a war, and she aspires to appear in the eyes of the world as a civilized nation full of charity; how can we reconcile this with the fact that this Power should be so barbarous in time of peace as regards its peaceful subjects, whose only fault is that of remaining faithful to the religion of their fathers? ”

“ They are unclean ones, these Persians; do you not think so, Effendi?" continued the old Usebashe.
"I have seen so little of them I cannot judge. But, their roads and houses are much better and cleaner than those which you have in Turkey.
"That is true," said the captain sorrowfully. "The little dogs can do some things well, but they are sly and deceitful. A Persian will kiss you on one cheek, and will stab you behind your back. He will call himself your friend, and will slander you to your neighbours. ”

“ Each 305 man carried a long silver-mounted dagger in his waist-belt, and a black cufia, a sort of head attire, was worn by them instead of a turban. The river, which was very high, ran through the arch of the bridge at a great pace. Mohammed's face became an ashen hue as the captain of the cayek, loosening the cord which bound his bark to the shore, pushed off into the boiling torrent. ”

“ A cutting wind whistled through the gorge. The sudden difference between the heat at Khoi, and the cold in the Kotoor Pass, struck a chill to our very bones. We had been marching for six hours; there were still five more ere we could reach a resting-place.
Dismounting from our horses, we ran by their side, and tried to restore the circulation in our bodies. The rapid changes of climate in this part of Asia Minor are very dangerous to travellers. The natives have a saying: "A chill in the evening is death in the morn." ”

“ It is not likely that in one, two, or even three campaigns, the Tzar's troops would be able to reach that town. The policy of the Russian officials is a safe one. They do not attempt to swallow at one time more territory than they can easily digest.
This is what the possession of the Caucasus means to Russia. Should the fortune of war ever enable us once again to place our heel upon the throat of the Muscovite, we must not forget the Circassians. The people ought to be freed to act as a barrier between Russia and the Sultan's eastern dominions. ”

“ It must not be forgotten that the possession of Armenia by Russia, as regards any designs that she may have upon India, supposing her to entertain them, would be very different from that of any part of Turkestan or Central Asia. In Armenia and the north of Persia she would have a hardy and abundant population, affording her excellent materials for a large army, ready at any time to advance upon our Indian frontier, and resting upon a convenient and sure base of operations, in direct communication, by the Caspian Sea and by Batoum, with the heart of the Russian Empire. ”

“ The Circassians are a very small and weak people; they have no money, they pay no taxes, they have no government, they have no newspapers, they are ignorant; but this they do know, that many years Russia has been fighting against them, and that the thousands of men she loses in fighting every year, and the great treasure she expends every year, is not for the sake of Circassia. ”

“ There are some Turkish statesmen who see the dangers which threaten their country, and who would feel the absolute necessity of bringing the war to an end almost at any sacrifice. Whilst Russia might desire to exact much, no Turkish Ministers could accept very hard or humiliating conditions without risking their own lives, and even that of the Sultan, and without exposing the Christian populations to a massacre. I may be excused for pointing out the dangers to England of a prolongation of the war, and of a complete subjugation of a large part of the empire by Russia. ”

“ It is then the duty of every Yezeed to make her rich presents, and the inhabitants of the village must maintain her husband and herself during the rest of their lives. Under these circumstances a woman who has been honoured by the attentions of a priest is looked upon by a youthful Yezeed in much the same light as a rich heiress by many impecunious younger sons in a European ball-room; her hand is eagerly sought for in marriage. If, she already possesses a husband, the latter considers himself as one of the most fortunate of men. ”

“ It is on the route from Asia to Africa. If the Isthmus of Suez were cut through, Syria would acquire a still greater importance. This country is now open, art has not defended it on any side; but Nature has defended it on the east and south by deserts; on the west by the sea, and on the north by a chain of mountains which surround it like a rampart. Mount Amanus, which forms this rampart, and which extends from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, dominates Syria; this is the reason why the masters of Aleppo and Antioch have always been the masters of the rest of the country. ”

“ Should the Kurds kill you, your countrymen would very likely throw the blame on us. Take my advice," said Ismail Pacha; "do not go to Van. There is nothing to be seen in that town. Go straight to Kars, you will then meet with no Kurds on the road."
But I had made up my mind to see Van, and the more particularly because I had been informed by many of my Armenian acquaintances that the bazaar there had been recently set on fire by some Turkish troops, and that the Christians had been robbed of all their effects by the Mussulman soldiers. ”

“ Unpacking my bag, I gave him a box of pills. The lad's face became radiant with delight. Taking off the lid, he took out a couple and ate them on the spot. Then, touching his head with my hand, he hurried off in another direction.
"He is a rogue," said Mohammed, chuckling. "He does not want the medicine for his father. It is for himself. He wants to set up as a hakim in the village. When once it is known that you have given him some medicine, he will be a person of great importance in the neighbourhood." ”

“ Because, when we find that we have no chance against our foe, what is to prevent us from turning round and allying ourselves with him; that alternative might be preferable to annihilation. And when Russia has our fleet, the Dardanelles, Batoum, and another port or so in the Black Sea, she might leave us 63 alone at Constantinople. Anyhow, if she has once crushed us, we shall no longer have the power of lifting our heads, and however much we may dislike the alternative of slavery or destruction, shall end by being menials of the Russians. ”

“ An English contingent force of fifty thousand men could defend Constantinople against all the Russian armies. It is to be hoped that the Ottoman troops will do more than hold their own. But this is doubtful. The Tzar has thrown down the gauntlet to England by taking action on his own part against the Sultan. We should accept the challenge, and draw our swords for Turkey. ”

“ If the Turks were to rally in the valley of Cœle Syria, or in the plain of Damascus, a defeat here would drive them into the desert. The Mutualis, Druses, Maronites, Ansares are not united—to conquer them it is sufficient to sow dissension in their ranks; even if they were to fight beneath the same standards they could never arrest an army in its march. These people know nothing about tactics, they are only acquainted with mountain warfare. They would never dare to risk themselves in the plain or to sustain the shock of a European battalion. All these people are like Arabs ”

“ Ordering one of the Persians to make his camels retire about 200 yards, the Kurd called twenty of the best mounted of the villagers to his side, then striking his horse and shouting wildly, he galloped along the track and charged the drift. In a second or two nothing could be seen but the head of the rider, his steed was entirely hidden from our view. After a few struggles the man backed the animal out of the snow, having made a hole in it some twenty feet long by four wide. The next horseman rode at the place, like his leader. ”

“ The great calamities which the prolongation of the war may entail upon the various populations of this country, Mussulman and non-Mussulman, and the vast importance to the interests of humanity in bringing it to a speedy end, may be briefly mentioned. It is scarcely necessary to refer to the terrible loss of life and desolation which such a war must occasion. If the slaughter of thousands and tens of thousands of Turks is to be justified, even those who profess to be the most humane of men may feel some pity for their innocent women and 335 children, who will be left to perish in utter misery. ”

“ We have not, from father to son, at the cost of our lives and properties, refrained from opposing the tyrannical acts of that Government in defence of our country, which is dearer to us than our lives. But during the last year or two it has taken advantage of a famine caused by a drought with which the Almighty visited us, as well as by its own ravages, and it has occasioned us 352 great distress by its severe attacks by sea and land. Many are the lives which have been lost in battle, from hunger in the mountains, from destitution on the sea-coast, and from want of skill at sea. ”

“ Our wives and our children, our little ones and our old men said to us with groans and tears, 'You must go to that nation, and get us help.' And we replied, 'We will go, and we will tell that nation that if they do not give us help, we shall become the slaves of Russia, or shall be destroyed by Russia. ”

“ Issek Pacha probably thinks that by building a magnificent mosque, he will be less likely to be fried in a future state of existence; and we are told that if we leave money to the priests, to say masses for our souls, we shall not have to remain so long in purgatory."
"It all comes to the same thing," said the old gentleman. "It is no matter where a man is born, whether in the Mohammedan East or in the Christian West, his Imaum or Priest will always get money out of him in some manner or other." ”

“ Why, they only commenced making roads after Sultan Abdul Aziz's visit to Europe."
"But you Armenians are equally to blame in that respect," I observed. "Only look at your own town. There are no roads, the streets are not paved, and they are full of ruts. The inhabitants 10 are half of them Armenians; then why do not you Christians set the Turks an example, and begin by making a road to Divriki?"
"We are quite as apathetic as the Mohammedans," replied the Armenian. ”

“ Those people in England who have declared that it is impossible to reform the Turks would do well to learn the Turkish language, and travel in the Sultan's dominions. Human nature is everywhere much the same. There is more good in the world than bad, or otherwise, as a French philosopher 314 once said, the bad would have destroyed the good, and the human race would no longer exist. ”

“ I was informed that the Yezeeds are divided into two sects; that the one looks upon the devil as the Grand Vizier of Allah, and the other regards him as the private secretary of the good spirit. It was said that the two sects hated each other to such an extent that, if a man belonging to the one which looks upon the devil as being the Grand Vizier of Allah were to enter a village belonging to members of the rival faith, the new arrival would have a great chance of losing his life. ”

“ Verbal remonstrances are of no use if applied to a semi-barbarous nation. Some people can be appealed to through their sense of right and wrong, others only through their skins. The Russian nation has a peculiarly thick skin; for this reason the rod ought to be a heavy one. England, allied with Turkey, and before the latter power is crippled, could easily apply it. The Tzar might be compelled to fulfil his solemn assurance about Khiva; Russia could be driven out of Central Asia, and forced to relinquish her hold on the Caucasus. ”

“ Then all are willing to do what all have understood and all consented to. But amongst our people there is not one who would have consented to go to the Crimea, while every man would have been ready to march on Tiflis and save Kars. So that it appears to us that no message came from the French and English commanders to attack Tiflis for the same reason that the Russians remained on the Kouban instead of retiring into the Crimea. If our troops had not been detained on the Kouban we ourselves would have attacked Tiflis without the aid of the Allies or the co-operation of the Turks. ”

“ Should the Sultan be forced to succumb to his foe, and the Emperor's troops be once established in Constantinople, it would be almost impossible for a non-military power like England to dislodge them from the position. Whatever we might be able to do by sea would be counter-balanced by our inability to follow up the advantage by land. It must not be forgotten that 322 Turkey is fighting not only for herself, but also for the security of our Indian Empire. [29] A few millions sterling would enable the Turkish Government to supply its soldiers with the munitions of war. ”

“ But it was not by sending our horsemen into the steppes of Russia or into the Crimea that anything could be done to make Russia less powerful or give to us security after the peace.
The Lesghians on the east held a body of 50,000 men ready to fall on Tiflis, so soon as word should be sent by the generals of the English or French, or from Constantinople. The people of our coast knew very well that what they had to do was to crush the Russian armies in the south of the Caucasus, and to restore the people of Georgia, Gouriel, and Imerettia to independence. ”