In offering a few remarks upon the government of Turkey, which, by common accord, is known in Europe and the United States as “The Sublime Porte,” it is not intended to quote history, but rather to speak of it only in reference to the present period. It is nevertheless necessary to state that the Turks themselves call the Turkish Empire _Mémâliki-Othmanieh_, or the “Ottoman States” (kingdoms), in consequence of their having been founded by Othman, the great ancestor of the present reigning sovereign, Abd-ul-Mejid. They are no better pleased with the name of _Turk_ than the people of the United States are, generally, with that of _Yankee_: it bears with it a meaning signifying a gross and rude man—something indeed very much like our own definition of it, when we say any one is “no better than a Turk;” and they greatly prefer being known as Ottomans. They call their language the “Ottoman tongue”—_Othmanli dilee_—though some do speak of it as the _Turkish_. As regards the title, “The Sublime Porte,” this has a different origin. In the earlier days of Ottoman rule, the reigning sovereign, as is still the case in some parts of the East, held courts of justice and levees at the entrance of his residence. The palace of the Sultan is always surrounded by a high wall, and not unfrequently defended by lofty towers and bastions. The chief entrance is an elevated portal, with some pretensions to magnificence and showy architecture. It is guarded by soldiers or door-keepers well armed; it may also contain some apartments for certain officers, or even for the Sultan himself; its covering or roof, projecting beyond the walls, offers an agreeable shade, and in its external alcoves are sofas more or less rich or gaudy. Numerous loiterers are usually found lingering about the portal, applicants for justice; and there, in former times, when the Ottomans were indeed _Turks_, scenes of injustice and cruelty were not unfrequently witnessed by the passer-by.