* * * * * ALEXANDER AND HIS MOTHER.――Olympias, the mother of Alexander, was of so very unhappy a disposition, that he could not employ her in any of the affairs of government. She, however, narrowly inspected the conduct of others, and made many complaints to her son, which he always bore with patience. Antipater, Alexander’s deputy in Europe, once wrote a long letter to him, while he was in Asia, complaining of her conduct; to whom Alexander returned this answer; “Knowest thou not that one tear of my mother’s will blot out a thousand such letters?” [Illustration] Constantinople. This city, the capital of the Turkish empire, is situated on the Bosphorus, a narrow channel which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora. It was anciently called Byzantium, but Constantine built it anew, and made it the seat of the Roman empire, in the year 328. From him it derived its name. It fell into the hands of the Turks in 1458, and has since been their metropolis. The harbor is one of the finest in the world, and is capable of holding 1200 ships. On account of its curving shape and the rich cargoes in the ships there, this harbor is called the Golden Horn. As you approach Constantinople, it is extremely beautiful, but when you enter it, you find the streets dark, narrow and gloomy. Every Turkish house is a kind of prison, so arranged as to keep the women in a state of jealous confinement. The men generally live in the front part, they being the jailers of the houses. There are no windows looking into the streets. It is impossible to conceive of a greater contrast than is presented by the streets of Constantinople in comparison with a European or American city. In the latter, all is life and bustle; the shops are furnished with rich goods, and multitudes of people, men and women, are passing to and fro. Vehicles of various kinds are also moving in all directions. In Constantinople it is quite otherwise. The houses, as we have said, are dark and gloomy; the streets are mostly unpaved; few women are seen, and no vehicles, save now and then a miserable cart drawn by oxen. There are about 300 mosques in the city, 500 fountains, and 35 public libraries. The seraglio, or sultan’s palace, is a city of itself. The harem, containing the 500 wives of the sultan, is fitted up with the most gorgeous magnificence. The Turks spend a great part of their time in smoking at the public coffee houses. Here they seem to dream away their time in easy indolence. A modern traveller furnishes us with the following picturesque description.