host of idle, inefficient, discreditable, rapacious officials, wearing the mask of Europeans and despising all the ancient traditions of the nation, and a sort of _jeunesse dorée_, corrupt and shameless, who give promise of being many degrees worse than their fathers were. To live and dress as they do is, in the opinion of the real Turk, to be civilized, and as a matter of fact he calls it doing or thinking or living, as the case may be, like the Frank whenever it is a question of anything which not only the conscience of a strict Mohammedan would condemn, but that of any decent man of whatever religion. And so the “uncivilized,” instead of looking upon these others as enlightened Mussulmans who have gained certain advantages in advance of their fellow-countrymen, regard them as degenerate beings, led astray, hardly less than apostates, traitors to the nation; and they fear and resist everything like change with all the force they possess, if for no other reason than because it proceeds from that quarter where its fatal results are daily before their eyes. Every European innovation means to them simply a fresh attempt upon their national life and interests. The government is revolutionary, the people conservative; the seed of the new ideas falls upon a dry, compact soil, which refuses to yield up the necessary moisture for its nutriment; he who rules the nation’s affairs draws and manipulates the hilt, but the blade merely spins around in the haft. That is why all those efforts at reform which have been started during the past fifty years have never penetrated farther than the national skin; if in some instances names have been changed, the things have remained the same. What little has been accomplished has been by force, and at its door the people lay the increasing audacity of the unbelievers, the corruption which is eating away the heart of the empire, and all the national misfortunes. Why, they ask, should we change our institutions, since they are the same with which we have prevailed against and overcome our enemies for centuries? Why adopt those of the people who were unable to withstand the power of our sword? The organism, life, and traditions of the Turkish people are like those of a victorious army encamped upon European soil, enjoying the idleness and privileges, wielding the authority, and exhibiting the pride of conquerors, and, like all armies, they prefer that iron discipline which accords the pre-eminence to them over the vanquished, to a milder rule which would restrict their arbitrary rights. Now, the idea that this state of things, which has existed unchanged for centuries, can be altered in the course of a few years is simply an idle dream. The light vanguard of the “civilized” may march ahead as rapidly as they choose, but the body of the army, laden still with the ponderous armor of mediæval times, either remains stationary or else follows at a great distance and with hardly perceptible steps.