whichthere is controversy,(Monthly Magazine, vol. xx.p. 522,) that again and against are in rude languages commonly confounded. The re of the Latins, and the wieder of the Germans, have this double sense. Narcissus views his image in the lake; he sees Narcissus again, he sees Narcissus against him. The ideas are contiguous of things opposite, and things opposed: to stand with, is the collocation of sympathy; to withstand, the collocation of antipathy: comparison often ends in controversy. In as much as re is ambiguous, the verb "to resign" has two primary meanings, (1) to sign again, (2) to sign against. But Mr. Trebor, of Worcester, ought not to reckon more than these as original or primary significations. To yield up is not the original import of the word; it is a violent metaphor, resulting from accidental institutions of jurisprudence. To transfer is also a metaphor resulting from the circumstance that second signatures, like indorsements among ourselves, were common formalities of transfer. Let us suppose the English theologians were to employ this word "indorse," as they do employ the word "resign," and were to recommend, that we should in all things indorse ourselves to the will of God; that we should receive his decrees with patience and indorsement, would common sense decide in favour of the good taste of such expression? Yet the use of resignation for submission to Providence in adversity, is a parallel case.

For the Monthly Magazine. SKETCHES OF CONSTANTINOPLE, by FREDERIC MURHARD; illustrated by an engraved PANORAMA of that CITY.

IT

T was such a day as connot be parallelled except in Elysium when our vessel entered the celebrated strait which forms the boundary between Europe and Asia. The whole hemisphere was illumined by the brilliant rays of the sun, whose golden light was reflected in a thou sand tints on the dazzled eye. Both sea and sky glistened like silver, and balsamic breezes were wafted from cither coast. The air was so pure, so mild; the whole atmosphere, cooled by the water, so refreshing; the shores on each side unfolded such inexpressible charms, that we might have fancied ourselves walking in the garden of Eden, and imagination might almost have persuaded reason that this was the avenue to some fairy city.

For half a day we thus continued our course between Thrace and Asia Minor. One prospect, one beauty, succeeded another. Here appeared the ruins of castles and forts, there villages peeped forth between the dark branches of cypresses and walnut-trees. Here we sailed under the menacing cannon of formidable batteries, there we glided past oriental palaces and imperial pleasure-houses. Here rose ranges of mountains and hills, their summits crownedwith woods glowing in the rich colours of summer, and clothing the gradual declivity,unbroken,save where the bold, rocky promontory caught the passing beam; yonder appeared delicious landscapes embellished with all the riches of industry and luxury, whose tints were harmoniously blended in the sun-shine. Here Ceres and Pomona presented in the enchanting grove a banquet worthy of the gods; there towered a steep crag, but the purest nectar distilled from its rugged sides and the purple clusters glowing amid the embrowned foliage were suspended in luxuriant festoons from the branches of the fig and the slender cherry-tree; while meadows of such verdure as I have seldom beheld in any country, covered the shore of the sea, whose foaming waves impetuously broke against the projecting cliffs, and which here and there forming a bay of greater or less extent, reflected in its bason the adjacent objects.

The strait of the Dardanelles, as the whole channel between the two continents of Europe and Asia is usually called, forms the communication between the Archipelago, the sea of Marmora, and the Black Sea. It is twelve leagues in length, but the breadth is very unequal, being in some places not more than three or four hundred fathoms, while, in others it expands to the width of fifteen hundred or

two thousand fathoms. At the mouth

next the Archipelago are two forts on the opposite shores, but at the distance of fifteen hundred fathoms, so that they can not be said to afford much protection ta the passage; a promontory about three leagues within the strait projects about four hundred fathoms, and here on either side are erected forts mounted with very heavy cannon, which completely com mand both shores, and form what may properly be called the Dardanelles, Other forts are also constructed in the narrow parts of the passage, till it opeus into the sea of Marmora, when no further obstruction is presented to the progress of vessels to Constantinople.

The nearer we approach to the impe

rial metropolis, the more numerous were the objects that caught the eye, and the more animated became the whole surrounding scene. Already ships and barks of every kind incessantly glided over the slightly agitated surface; already were heard here and there the buzzas of the sailors and the various sounds proceeding from the floating palaces; already did we behold the contiguous European and Asmatic shoes covered with innumerable groups of inhabitants.

All that I had yet seen was, however, but a f eble prelude to the inexpressibly magnificent spectacle which now began gradually to present itself to my view. We had reached the end of the channel, and to the south opened an unbounded prospect over the sea of Marmara. The immense capital, with its splendid amphitheatre and harbour, suddenly burst upon my view; and such was the impression which it made upon me by its majestic situation and prodigous extent, that it totally eclipsed the almost celestial beauties of Skutari, seated on the hills to the left.

There the immense Stambul, with its numerous suburbs, enthroned on unequal hills, extends more than a long day's journey in the domains of Europe and Asia, forming as it were, the link that unites the East with the West. Though inhabited by barbarians, despoiled of its fairest ornaments by the fury of Mahommedan fanaticism, and repeatedly brought to the brink of destruction by the rapacious element of fire, still it stands in all its majesty, as though it defied alike the hand of time and the desolating efforts of human rage; as though it were reserved for a higher destiny, perhaps to give laws to all the nations of the earth, and to govern all mankind as children of one great family.

Constantinople is of itself a world in which a million of people are in constant motion. To an European it is a totally new world; and who can pretend to embrace such an object at one view? Those only can be aware of the difficulty of describing the tout-ensemble of Stambul, or discover how few correct accounts we possess concerning it, who have had an opportunity of comparing with the original the pictures that have been drawn of it. I sincerely wish that it were in my power to give an idea of the whole; but this, as I have already observed, is impracticable, and must remain so till we have invented expressions adapted to the most delicate shades of our feelings and sensations. I must therefore content MONTHLY MAG., No. 157,

myself with presenting only a few sketche- towards a picture of the Turkish metropolis, commencing with the suburb of Pera, the general quarter of the Franks or Europeans resident at Constautinople.

Pera is situated, with several other suburbs, on a peninsula, or promontory, formed by the harbour of Constantinople and the canal. With respect to its dimensions and bui dings, it may be compared to the midding towns of Italy or Germany. Toward the south it joins another larger suburb, called Galata, but on all the other sides it is surrounded by extensive burial-places, with agreeable walks overshadowed with cypresses. As the place is very unequally built, and is situated on the declivity of a hull, many quarters of it lie much higher than others; so that, from the former you have frequently the most delightful views over the lower parts of the city.

Both Pera and Galata were built by the Genoese, and on this account the architecture of the houses in those two suburbs differs materially from that of the other parts of Constantinople. Here it is Oriental, there Italian: here the houses are constructed in the Turco-Grecian style ; there, they were planned by European artists. In the city itself, as well as in most of the other suburbs, the houses are scarcely one story high; in Pera and Galata there are buildings not inferior in height to those of Paris and Vienna. Some of them, however, are very old, and make a wretched appearance, though most are solid edifices, built entirely of stone, after the Italian manner. The more modern structures display an intention of imitating the Eastern style; the houses are built, in general, by far not so high as formerly, and wood is frequently used, though the many dreadful fires ought to have taught the Franks how dangerous it is in a place like this to prepare fuel for so destructive an element.

Pera nevertheless contains palaces which would do honour to any European capital. The residences of the ambassadors, which are the property of the nations whom they respectively represent, are particularly dreadful. Unfortunately a great part of Pera was consumed in the late dredaful conflagration. I was assured that this was the finest quar ter of Pera; and so it must certainly have been, to judge from its situation. whole street on the west side, which ran from south to north, was destroyed, and the palaces of the Eng ish and Austrian ambassadors were reduced to ashes. 3 M

A

Pera

Pera is much more extensive from south to north than from east to west. Through the middle of it the principal street runs longitudinally. It is of unequal breadth, but in most places two carriages might drive abreast. It is tolerably well paved, and there is also a foot pavement before many of the houses. At the southern extremity it is intersected almost at right angles by another broader street, which runs eastward to Galata, Toward the north it loses itself in an unpaved road, of considerable length, which is bordered by numerous buildings and 'burial-places. Such is a brief and general description of the principal residence of the Franks at Constantinople. They enjoy their various nights and privileges; they even possess their houses, gardens, and grounds, as private property, in which no one can molest them. In other parts of the Turkish empire the case is widely different. At Bucharest, or Jassy, a Frank cannot purchase a house, and even the agents and consuls of foreign nations are obliged to rent them. I was, besides, assured, that no Mussulman is now permitted to build within the confines of Pera; so that this place is in some measure free from Turks, though it is surrounded by the signs of Moslemnism.

It must not be imagined that all the Franks who are either occasionally or permanently resident at Constantinople, live at Pera. A great number of the Franks settled at Pera pass the summer in the suburbs of Tarapia, Buyukdere, or Belgrade, which are situated at some distance from the city; and a great portion of them live in Galata, or even in still more remote suburbs. Besides this, the merchants and traders who arrive in companies or caravans, by land or water, from Russia, Wallachia, and Moldavia, frequently reside in the large edifice in the middle of Constantinople, where they deposit their commodities.

Pera is not divided from the other parts which belong to the great whole of the Turkish capital. Nor must it be supposed that, as Turks are not permitted to reside in the quarter of the Franks, no Mussulmen are to be seen in Pera. All the streets swarm not only with men, but also with Turkish women; the inspectors of the police and the watchmen are Turks; the principal street of Pera is the general thoroughfare to the more remote suburbs, and in the midst of so populous a city cannot possibly be empty.

Galata resembles Pera in many respects: great numbers of Franks reside

also in that suburb, but every thing there has more of an oriental air. Both suburbs are sometimes comprehended under the general name of Pera, which signifies, the place on the other side of the harbour; or sometimes they are denomi nated, after the larger of the two, Galata. The streets of Galata are much more narrow and crooked; and such is the va riety of architecture, that not the least symmetry or uniformity is to he found among the houses. The whole physiogno my of the place demonstrates, like almost all the towns of the Levant, the want of geometrical taste among the Orientals. To an European, Galata looks more like a labyrinth than a town; he every where discovers a deficiency of the principal requisites of beauty, spaciousness and regularity, and in many parts the houses have scarcely the appearance of barracks.

The place is situated partly on an emimence and partly in the plain, so that they are obliged to go continually up and down bill. It is surrounded with walls and towers erected at the time of the Genoese sovereignty, and here and there the relics of gates may still be perceived. On one of the highest spots, and almost in the centre of the town is a remarkable tower, generally known by the name of the Tower of Anastasis, from the top of which there is a most enchanting prospect toward the cast and south. The stranger is particularly struck here with the catholic churches and convents, and the many fire-proof warehouses and shops of massive free-stone, with no more windows than are absolutely indispensable, and with doors lined with plates of iron. In this part of the town Turks and Chris tians live intermingled.

I shall not detain the reader with the description of the pleasures of an excur sion by water to visit Skatari, or of the magnificent prospects presented by the city on the right, and the opposite suburbs with their environs on the left, doring the passage. Constantinople, and all that is comprehended under this ge neral name, has a situation with which the charming Naples and the proud an phitheatre of Genon cannot sustain a comparison.

We soon reached the promontory of Topana; and opposite to us on the right lay the Seraglio, with its white palaces, decorated in the Eastern style, and which being seen between groves of cypresses, produces a most exquisite effect. The numerous parts of the great picture of the most extensive of the