THE SLAVE MARKET.       129

and also because it is an useless and cruel misrepresentation of facts, of which common justice demands the refutation. There is always a painful and a revolting association connected with the idea of slavery, and an insurmountable disgust excited by the spectacle of money given in exchange for human beings; but, beyond this, (and assuredly this in enough!) there is nothing either to distress or to disgust in the slave-market of Constantinople. No wanton cruelty, no idle insult is permitted: the slaves, in many instances, select their own purchaser from among the bidders; and they know that when once received into Turkish family, they become members of it in every sense of the word, and are almost universally sure to rise in the world if they conduct themselves worthily. the Circassians and Georgians are generally brought there by their parents at their own request; preferring a youth of ease, and a future of probable luxury, to labour in the fields, and the life of household drudgery, which must be their occupy the closed apartments, and are only seen by such individuals as are likely to purchase them; care being taken to protect them against gratuitous annoyance, and the gaze of the idlers who throng the court. the utmost order, decency, and quiet prevail; and a military guard is stationed at the entrance to enforce them, should the necessity for interference occur, which is, however, very rarely the case.

The Negro slaves squat in groups upon their mats all over the court; some laughing, jesting, and devouring huge slices of pastek,(*) or clusters of purple grapes; others sleeping; and some again looking anxious, or sulky, or sad, according to their mood; but nothing takes place around them which can embitter their position: the Turks never make either a sport or a jest of human suffering, or human degradation; they have not yet discovered that it is witty to do so; and accordingly they drive their odious bargain seriously and quietly, and lead away the slaves whom they purchase without one act of wanton cruelty or tyrannical assumption.

The Yesèr Bazâr is situated in the immediate vicinity of the Tchernberlè Tasch, or Burnt Pillar; and commands a view of the mosque of Osmaniè, or "the light of Osman;" a splendid temple of pure white marble, beautifully covered with carpets of bright and rich colours, and having the Mihrab, or niche at its eastern extremity, guarded by a gilded railing. Like almost every mosque in the city, it is embosomed in fine maple trees, which, springing from amid the marble pavement of the court, spread their leafy branches far and wide, and afford a sweet and refreshing resting-place for the eye, which has been pained by immediate contact with the interior of the Slave-Market.

(*) Water-melon.