The Greeks, who sent the trophies of their versatile genius, their graceful architectural adornings, and exquisite paintings to the temples at Rome, and over the western world, whose classic lore is yet the theme and model of the learned, once gloried in the possession of the proud Stamboul.

About a century after its foundation by Constantine, it is said to have possessed “a capital, a school of learning, a circus, two theatres, eight public and one hundred and fifty-three private baths, fifty-two porticoes, five granaries, eight aqueducts of water, four spacious halls of justice, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces, and four thousand and three hundred and eighty-eight houses, which, for their size and beauty, deserved to be distinguished from the multitude of plebeian habitations.”

The magnificent temple Ayia-Sophia, dedicated to the Goddess of Divine Wisdom, rose like a Phoenix from its ruins, under the liberal patronage of Justinian, and the assiduous labors of ten thousand workmen during five years, eleven months, and ten days.

This was the shrine of the Greek Faith, and those walls glittering with golden mosaic and precious stones, re-echoed the ????e e?e?s?? of the adoring Christians. The magnificent altar of precious metals and glittering gems witnessed the prostrations of patriarchs and their acolyths—and the impenetrable veil was suspended before the Holy of Holies.

The great city was the arena for the sports of the pleasure-loving Greeks; sometimes in the race of wild beasts with each other, and again in the more terrible contests of the gladiators.

The Bosphorus was alive with human freight, youths and maidens, wooed by its blue and sparkling waves, delighted to dream of love as they glided over the gently-heaving waters.

The shores were gay and gladsome, as the enamored throng tripped through the mazes of their fantastic Romaica to the tinkling music. But the Grecian prince is hurled from his throne, and the grave and sombre Moslem sits there, the despot and bloody conqueror. The great temple, which rivalled even that of Solomon, is suddenly divested of the symbols of a Christian faith. Its mosaics of the saints which adorn the walls are obliterated, its cherubim are torn down, its altar demolished, and nothing left of all the gorgeous decorations. The bare, unadorned niche—the mihrab or index to the temple of Mohammed, is instituted, and “Allah-il-Allah,” is henceforth the cry of the Faithful.

Yet, they say, the distant chant of the last officiating priest of the Greek religion still lingers within the walls, from whence he will issue when the edifice is restored to its original worship.

Sports are over—maidens and youths are coy of their charms, for a change has come over the spirit of their dreams.

The liberty of woman is shackled, and the dominion of seclusion established. Certain quarters of the city are assigned to the Greek subjects—and externally their very dwellings assume the dusky tints of bondage and ruin.

Truly their glory has departed, and their name as a nation is only sustained by the shades of their ancient heroes, who even after their last degenerate descendant has mouldered into dust, will continue to flit around the civilized world, scattering the scintillations of early genius amid earth’s darkness. Yet, as it is their nature to boast, they point into the past, and even one day hope to sit on the throne of their ancestors e?? t?? p???? of yore.

There are no less than a million and a half of Greeks in the Turkish dominions, of whom 150,000 live in the capital. At the time of their conquest, the Turks allowed them the same municipal immunities and privileges as they had done to the Armenians.

As the Greeks seemed to approximate more nearly to the western nations in their habits, than any of the other rayahs, the Osmanlis supposed them more fitted to act as intermediaries between themselves and the European states; they therefore became the first interpreters of the Divan. Many of their number have thus risen to wealth and distinction, and after long services they even succeeded to the government of the Danubian Principalities—yet the Osmanlis have never felt the same sympathy and confidence towards them as for the Armenians, who, though not so advanced in civilization, possess better stamina of character, greater honesty, and more congeniality of temperament. Many Greeks, even now, occupy places of trust, which are confided to them rather from political motives than as marks of peculiar confidence. The office of saraf or banker, which is equivalent to homme de confiance, has never been successfully filled by them, though attempts have been made to do so; this post has invariably been assigned to the Armenians.

It is customary with the Osmanli grandee, when appointed to some high station in the provinces, before their departure, to leave with their banker a certain number of blanks to be filled by him whenever occasion should require their use. And many even entrust their personal property to the sarafs on their pilgrimage to Mecca, for safe keeping.

One of the principal dignitaries of the present day, who is reputed for his irascible temper, was some years ago involved in a dilemma. One of his attendants was found to be guilty of a liaison with a slave in his harem. The circumstances were aggravating, and his pride could not be satisfied, save by dire revenge; and the two, instead of being married, according to the custom of the country, fell victims to his fury. But after the commission of the rash act, he repented, and began to fear the disgrace which would probably fall on himself.

In his perplexity he sent for his old Armenian saraf, and when closeted with him, poured his sorrows into the bosom of his confidant, relating to him the whole circumstance, weeping bitterly for his act, and asking advice and consolation.

Now, no Osmanli has as yet evinced such confidence and sympathy towards the Greeks.

Besides, the pride of the Mussulmans is not compromised in associating with the Armenians, who are so much like their masters in manners and language, that often it is impossible to detect any difference. On the contrary, although some of the Greeks have distinguished themselves in Oriental literature, especially Yacobaky, in his History of Russia, written in elegant Turkish, yet they have never been able to speak the language of the country correctly.

The moment they open their mouths, out leaps the native accent. This is equally true of the French and other languages, and even their own beautiful Hellenic can scarce ever be heard in Stamboul, a miserable, mongrel island dialect being the substitute.

The character of the Greeks of Constantinople is thus admirably portrayed by the author of Anastasius, the best work extant on Turkey.

“The complexion of the modern Greek may receive a different cast from different surrounding objects; the core still is the same as in the days of Pericles. Credulity, versatility, and thirst of distinction, from the earliest periods formed, still form, and ever will continue to form, the basis of the Greek character; and the dissimilarity in the external appearance of the nation arises, not from any radical change in its temper and disposition, but only from the incidental variation in the means through which the same propensities are to be gratified. The ancient Greeks worshipped a hundred gods, the modern Greeks adore as many saints. The ancient Greeks believed in oracles and prodigies, in incantations and spells; the modern Greeks have faith in relics and miracles, in amulets and divinations. The ancient Greeks brought rich offerings and gifts to the shrines of their deities, for the purpose of obtaining success in war, and pre-eminence in peace; the modern Greeks hang up dirty rags round the sanctuaries of their saints, to shake off an ague, or propitiate a mistress. The former were staunch patriots at home, and subtle courtiers in Persia; the latter defy the Turks in Mayno, and fawn upon them at the Fanar. Besides, was not every commonwealth of ancient Greece as much a prey to cabals and factions as every community of modern Greece? Does not every modern Greek preserve the same desire for supremacy, the same readiness to undermine, by every means, fair or foul, his competitors, which was displayed by his ancestors? Do not the Turks of the present day resemble the Romans of past ages in their respect for the ingenuity, and at the same time, in their contempt for the character of their Greek subjects? And does the Greek of the Fanar show the least inferiority to the Greek of the PirÆus in quickness of perception, in fluency of tongue, and in fondness for quibbles, for disputation, and for sophistry? Believe me, the very difference between the Greeks of time past and of the present day arises only from their thorough resemblance, from that equal pliability of temper and of faculties in both, which has ever made them receive, with equal readiness, the impression of every mould, and the impulse of every agent. When patriotism, public spirit, and pre-eminence in arts, science, literature, and warfare were the road to distinction, the Greeks shone the first of patriots, of heroes, of painters, of poets, and of philosophers. Now that craft and subtlety, adulation, and intrigue, are the only paths to greatness, these same Greeks are—what you see them!”

Although the Armenians have borne the first impetus of Mussulman fanaticism, and consequently suffered more than any other Christian subjects, yet the Greeks excel them in their animosity towards their conquerors.

This is owing to their excessive bigotry, and it is recorded that even while the enemy was before the gates of Constantinople, they were discussing the great question, whether the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father or the Son.

This disposition to cavil on religious points, has made them a ready prey to the domineering priesthood who have completely swayed the multitude. These priests being a mean and grovelling set, utterly indifferent to the moral elevation of their people, are ever ready to make traffic of the sins of those who are still more ignorant than themselves; the consequence is, that lying, cheating, stealing, and other immoralities to any extent, are very common among this community, for a few piastres, or even paras, cancel the crime and lull the conscience.

The whole community suffers from such a system, as business and other necessities bring them into constant contact.

The servants are generally Greek, and there is no virtue in lock and key in any house. You suddenly find your wardrobe emptied by imperceptible degrees, and the jars of preserves gradually diminish, as they are repeatedly licked and sleeked over again.

Divorces are easily obtained, or they are granted after the priest has extorted the last para he can from the applicant.

The corruption of the masses through their spiritual leaders is painfully evident. The most dire superstition rules every mind, and the veriest knaves, and even prostitutes, follow their injurious callings without compunction, if under the patronage of one of their saints. Christos kai Panayiaumo is an expiatory charm, and the dingy portrait of any saint in the calendar annihilates the bad effects of every crime. The most abandoned class of women are generally Greeks; and while they perform the obscene rites of Bacchus and Venus, they watch with holy trembling the twinkling taper which burns night and day before the anointed picture of their guardian angel. This flame, like the Vestal fire, is never suffered to go out, if perchance, Dii avertite omen!

The Greek islands furnish a miserable set of men and women to the population of Turkey, who come to gather spoils in the metropolis, and then return to enjoy them at home. Robberies, and even assassinations are committed by them, which, if they are detected, are either protected by the Greek legation, or punished by a short imprisonment, and then the miscreants are again let loose, hardened in crime, and thirsting to revenge their temporary detention.

It is only within the last two years, that a famous bandit, in the vicinity of Smyrna, has been captured. Katurjy Yanny and his merry men had long infested the neighboring mountains, detaining gentlemen on their travels, carrying them blindfolded to their den, and only liberating them upon the receipt of a handsome ransom from their friends. The eagle of the mountain was at last caged in the humble prison of Smyrna. While other miserable victims were peeping through their latticed and iron bound casements, whining out a feeble cry for alms, he, the proud chieftain, sat upon a sofa, dressed in the picturesque costume of the Greek mountaineer, his eyes flashing defiance, and his lofty bearing all princely, as he puffed his narghillÉ, and chatted with those about him. But he must now feel somewhat crest-fallen, as day succeeds day, and he still dwells within the awful precincts of the Bagnio, whence, like the rest of its miserable occupants, the once proud Katurgy Yanny, sometimes emerges, broom in hand, and chained to his fellow, to sweep the streets of the metropolis.

The restless temperament and fanaticism of the Greeks have ever made them the most turbulent of the Ottoman subjects, and ready instruments in the hands of Russian diplomatists for sowing the seeds of discord and confusion in the Turkish empire.