Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 416, June 1850Various
General
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 67, No. 416, June 1850
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
It will have occurred to many, acquainted with the scenes portrayed,
to exclaim, when gazing upon the bright pictures of a David Roberts,
a Leopold Robert, or a Villamil, "What a deal of dirt is hidden
under all that gay colouring!" It will not do for the artist to look
too closely into the details of southern cleanliness and domestic
economy; he must elevate his subject and wash off the dirt, or at
least paint over it. Constantinople must be viewed as a panorama, not
investigated as if for sale. If he would preserve the enchantment
unbroken, the spectator must keep his distance, as from a picture
painted for distant effect. If he will not do this, if curiosity
impels him onwards, let him make up his eyes and olfactories to a
cruel disappointment. A minute ago, fairyland was spread before
him; he lands, and stumbles over a dead dog. Touching dogs, by
the bye, we have a word to say. Mr Smith has numerous passages
relating to that quadruped, esteemed in Christendom, abominable in
Constantinople. Having once, he informs us, been severely bitten
by a hound, and having, moreover, seen several persons die of
hydrophobia, he entertains a very justifiable mistrust of the canine
race, or at least of such of its specimens as present themselves with
slavering mouths, inflamed eyes, guttural yells, and hides ragged and
bloody. Now, this being the habitual appearance and bearing of the
eighty-thousand pugnacious and starving curs that infest the streets
of the Turkish capital, Mr Smith, had he been a nervous person,
would have passed rather an agreeable "month in Constantinople."
With a paper lantern in one hand, however, and a jagged stone in the
other--the usual weapons of defence--he prosecuted his wanderings
most courageously, at almost any hour of the night, through the
filth-strewn and dog-haunted streets. His first introduction to these
pleasant animals was auricular; and truly, compared to their uproar,
a German frog-swamp or a strong party of Christmas waits, jangling
a negro melody in defiance of time and tune, must be considered a
delightful _réveil-matin_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account