countenance, we find everywhere among the Turks a great inclination to pomp and magnificence; but this does not degenerate into frivolity or fanfaronades, as is the case with the Persians. In Constantinople one often hears the proverb: "Intellect is peculiar to Europe, riches to India, and splendour to the Ottoman." The solemn processions (alay) of the sultan and of the great nobles are alike celebrated in the East and the West, and the imposing exterior which is exhibited on such occasions is nowhere to be found so faithfully reflected as among their fellow tribes in Central Asia. An Œzbeg or Turkoman, when upon his horse, or seated in his tent at the head of his family, has the same proud bearing, the same self-consciousness of greatness and power. He is quite convinced that he is born to rule, and the foreign nations which surround him to obey,--just in the same way as the Osmanli thinks with regard to Bulgarians, Armenians, Kurds, and Arabians. His love for independence is boundless, and is also the chief cause why he cannot long remain under the chieftain whom he loves in many respects; and he would rather command ten or twelve miserable highwaymen or adventurers than stand at the head of a well-equipped, elegant troop, who might, in common with himself, own a greater master. Coinciding with these traits of character, is also the predilection of the Turks for repose and inactivity; for, although diligence and activity, according to our European notions, are not to be met with anywhere in Asia, still, work is not so much abhorred, either by the Iranian or Semitic nations, as by the Turks, who consider hunting and war alone worthy of man. Upon them husbandry is only forcibly imposed, and is considered ignominious. A wondrous prosperity has never befallen Turkey. The peasant was always idle and careless; the number of craftsmen limited. Officials had only wealth when the Janitchars came back from their pillaging excursions, laden with treasures. In Central Asia, agriculture is exclusively in the hands of the Persian slaves; commerce and business with the Tadjiks, Hindoos, and Jews; for even the Œzbegs, settled there for centuries, meditate robbery and war, and if they can procure no foreign enemy they attack each other mutually in bloody brother strife.