THE
CONTINENTAL MONTHLY:
DEVOTED TO
Literature and National Policy.
Vol. III.—MARCH, 1863.—No. III.
CONTENTS
TURKEY.
The decline of the Turkish Empire has furnished an eloquent theme forhistorians, who have ever made it the 'point and commendation of theirtale.' Judging from its decline, they have predicted its fall. Half acentury ago, the historian of the middle ages expected with an assurancethat 'none can deem extravagant,' the approaching subversion of theOttoman power. Although deprived of some of its richest possessions anddefeated in many a well-fought field, the house of Othman stillstands—amid crumbling monarchies and subjugated countries; the crescentstill glitters on the Bosphorus, and still the 'tottering arch ofconquest spans the ample region from Bagdad to Belgrade.'
Yet, how sadly changed is Turkey from her former self—how varied thefortunes of her classic fields! The physical features of the country arethe same as in the days of Solyman the Magnificent; the same noblerivers water the fertile valleys, and the same torrents sweep down themountain sides; the waves of the Ægean and Mediterranean was