TURKEY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 369, 17 May 1856, Page 5

TURKEY.

Consxaniinopise, February 4. —It is well known how jealously Oriental etiquette guards every step of the Sovereign, and how anxiously it remove-* from all familiar contact with the rest of mortals. As long as the Sultans of Turkey had to conquer an empire at the head of their armies they kept up their simple patriarch il relations as chiefs of their tribe, but when

~ Wnce tue.v weie firmly seated on their throne at f Stamboul, they began by degrees to revive and r to imitate the traditions of tiie Byzantine empire, and surrounded themselves with all the forms which refined Oriental despotism has invented t<> exalt the person of the monarch. These forms have been minutely adhered to up to the present time, in spite of the changes which are gradually creeping into all other old institutions of the Turkish empire. The present war, however, seems destined to breakdown even this barrier, aud the first breach in it has been already made.

On Ttuirsday last, the 31st]of January, the rumour spread all at once that the Sultan would attend the bat costume at the English Embassy. It seemed scarcely credible that the successor of the Caliphs, the spiritual and temporal head of the Mahomedan religion, would go to see polkas and waltzes performed—yet so it was. Early in the afternoon the narrow main street of Pera bore an unusually excited aspect; numbers of people had taken up their position in the neighbourhood of the Embassy to witness the Sultan's passage. The Turkish dignitaries, who were all to be present on his arrival, were encumbering the streets with their horses and carriages. An Bullish guard of honour, composed of detachments of Guards and Highlanders, with the baud of the Ist Regiment of the German Legion at their head, inarched up to the sound of military music, and lined the approaches of the palace. At eight o'clock a fire lighted on the heights above the. Imperial Palace of Tcheragan, followed by a salvo of artillery from Galata .Serai, was the signal that the Sultan had left his palace. A little before nine he arrived at the gate of the Embassy, escorted by a detachment of the I2lh Lancers, and a guard of honour composed of British officers of all arms. At his approach the troops who lined the outer courtyard presented arms and the band struck up the Sultan's march, and God save the Queen. The Court itself was illuminated by numerous lamps, and adorned with transparencies, which, however, owing to the blasts of wind, were only partially successful.

At the gveat staircase, which was crowded with officers of the allied armies and Turkish dignitaries, the Sultau was received by the Ambassador and his whole personnel. Accompanied by them he passed amid the crowd of guests who were already assembled into the ballroom. There an armchair on a raised dais, covered with carpets, was prepared ior him, to which he was conducted. Having set down with the representatives of the Foreign Powers on one side and tiie Turkish dignitaries in attendance on the other, be had several of the ladies pre(sen ted to him. Then the dancing began, which seemed to excite his interest considerably, and he stood up in order to have a better view of the proceedings. After looking on for about an hour he expressed his desire to be shown into the refreshment room, where he partook of some slight refreshment; He intended to return once move to the ball room, but he found the heat too intense, so, after remaining for some time in the refreshment room, his Imperial Majesty took bis departure.

Ole must remember the religious prejudices of AEahoiiiedans against all trivia! amusements,

and the strict rules of etiquette which are always kept up in all relations of the Sultan with the representatives of foreign Power, in order to appreciate this act of the Sultan to its full extent.