Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 19

Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 19

and mechanical contrivances to European armies, nevertheless expressed a

degree of fierce and enthusiastic courage, mixed with a thorough contempt

of Christians, which inspired them with the confidence that they could

overwhelm all their enemies, and plant the crescent over the cross with

triumphant success.

 

Constantinople proper was inhabited chiefly by Turks imbued with the

most bigoted hatred and contempt for Christians, and it was attended

with not a little danger to go amongst them. As I walked boldly along I

was frequently saluted by fierce scowls and curses loud and deep, and

sometimes with a small shower of stones, which but for the presence of

the janissary, whom they feared, might have been attended with serious

consequences. These janissaries, a certain number of whom were attached

to every embassy for their protection, were called pig-keepers by their

comrades, who considered them as an inferior class. The streets for the

most part were narrow, crooked, and dirty to a degree; here and there

was a fine stone mansion, inhabited by some Turkish grandee, but this

presented only a dead stone wall to the street. The population of the

city generally looked poor, miserable, and oppressed. I tried to visit

the mosques, but the fanaticism of the Ottomans was so great at that

time that no Christian was permitted to enter, and I was more than once,

when trying to penetrate the outer court of one of them, driven away

by a shower of stones. On the arrival of a fresh ambassador from any

Christian court a special firman, allowing him to visit the mosques, was

issued, when the different strangers in Constantinople at the time were

allowed to accompany him. The ambassador and suite on these occasions

were always accompanied by a strong guard of janissaries, for protection.

It happened that a little time previous to my visit the new Russian

ambassador, Count Stroganoff, arrived, and obtained a special firman to

visit the mosques, when he was accompanied by two or three hundred of

his own countrymen and other strangers, attended by a strong guard of

janissaries. Whilst in one of these edifices, a Frenchman, it is said,

spat upon the pavement; immediately a cry of horror was uttered by the

priests and assistants, the mosque was defiled; the alarm was raised,

which spread like wildfire, and the place was quickly surrounded by a

vast multitude of angry Turks, many of whom rushed into the mosque,

shouting for vengeance on the infidels who had desecrated their temple,

and attacking them with the most savage ferocity. The ambassador and his

followers were obliged to defend themselves and fight for their lives.

The doors were shut, and there they were obliged to remain until the

Government sent another strong body of janissaries to rescue them from

their perilous situation, which they did with the greatest difficulty;

and whilst they were escorted back through the streets, they were

assailed with yells, curses, and missiles of every description; many were

seriously hurt, and they had some difficulty in escaping with their lives.

 

At Bouyukderé I spent several days at a comfortable Greek hotel, and

was much amused at seeing two or three grave Turks enter the hotel one

evening and engage a private room. For a time everything went on quietly.

Then came a most tremendous noise, and shouts of all kinds; in fact,

they were getting very drunk. Then all was silent, and I imagined they

were senseless; but shortly after, to my great surprise, they sallied

forth and entered their boat apparently quite sober. I afterwards asked

the Greek waiter whether the water they had drunk had rendered them so

noisy. He replied, laughing, “No; they had two bottles of rum apiece.”

He said, farther, that it was their constant practice, especially during

the Ramadan, to go prowling about in search of some quiet place where

they might indulge. Knowing this, some of the proprietors of Greek inns,

after closing the front door, left a private one open, and allowed none

but Turks to enter, not even appearing themselves when they did. The

Turks, seeing the coast clear, would enter, and presently find a room

in which was a table covered with good things, both to eat and drink,

whereupon they helped themselves liberally, and after leaving a handsome

donation on the table, walked out as quietly as they came in, satisfied

with having cheated their religion and satisfied their appetites without

anyone being the wiser.

 

Constantinople is supplied with water from five reservoirs, situated

on the western base of the Little Balkan Mountains, and communicating

with the city by stone conduits. They were originally built by the

Byzantine emperors, and their preservation was enforced by repeated

imperial edicts, some of which are still preserved in the archives of

Constantinople; a heavy fine was imposed, amounting to a pound of gold

for every ounce of water taken from these reservoirs by any individual

without express permission. The water for Pera is supplied from the

southern reservoirs, near Bagtche, by means of a conduit, upon which are

placed at certain intervals hollow stone columns, called _sous terrasi_,

which rise to the level of the source from which the water is taken; the

water in the conduit rises up these pillars nearly to the same level,

and thus acts as a safety valve, overcoming the friction of the water

in the conduit, forcing it forward to the level required at Pera, and

so relieving the pressure upon the upper surface of the conduit, which

otherwise would be blown up through such a long line, had it not a vent

to relieve the pressure. This ingenious idea was the invention of the

Turks, and was adopted for the purpose of saving the expense of the lofty

stone aqueducts used by the Romans and their successors. Some expedient

of this kind became inevitable, as they had no iron pipes large or strong

enough. In modern times a similar device, called the stand-pipe, is

occasionally employed to relieve the pumping engines; but such is not

necessary along the line of the conduit, because the material of the

conduit is made of cast iron of such dimensions that it is strong enough

to more than amply resist the pressure of the highest column of water

which it may be necessary to employ.

 

The whole of the sides of the mountains where the reservoirs are placed

used formerly to be covered with dense woods, and when I visited the

reservoirs in October, 1820, nothing could be more beautiful; but after

the massacre of the janissaries, about a year and a half subsequent

to my visit, a remnant took possession of the forest, and committed

intolerable acts of brigandage, until the Ottoman Government, thoroughly

roused, surrounded the entire forest with troops, and destroyed it and

its inmates together. There is also a fine aqueduct, but there can be

very little doubt that proper means are not taken during the rainy season

to preserve and store the water nature then places at their disposal. If

this were done, the serious evil of drought would be avoided; and means

are now being taken to ensure a more constant and better supply. This

scarcity of water, for the same reason, has been felt in London and other

great cities. We shall continue to suffer from these droughts until men

come to understand that only a certain and known quantity of water falls

upon the earth, and that at certain periods; and that it is necessary to

store the surplus waters to supply the deficiency of the dry season. This

great truth is fortunately now beginning to be fully appreciated in the

civilized world, and it is to be hoped that we shall no longer hear the

cry of scarcity of water.

 

On leaving Constantinople I took passage in a native vessel for

Alexandria. Passing down the Hellespont, at its narrowest point I

remarked the positions selected by Xerxes for erecting his famous double

bridge, or rather two bridges, one taking a north-west and the other a

north-easterly direction. An ancient author, Polyænus, says “that they

connected together a vast number of ships of different kinds--some long

vessels of fifty oars, others three-banked galleys--to the number of

three hundred and sixty, on the side towards the Euxine Sea, and three

hundred and thirteen on that of the Hellespont. The former of these were

placed transversely; but the latter, to diminish the strain upon the

cables, in the direction of the current. When these vessels were firmly

fastened to each other, they were secured on each side by anchors of

great strength--on the upper side, towards the winds which set in from

the Euxine; on the lower side, towards the Ægean Sea, on account of the

south and south-east winds. They left, however, openings in three places

sufficient to afford a passage for the light vessels which might have

occasion to sail into the Euxine or from it. Having done this, they

extended cables from the shore, stretching them upon large capstans of

wood. For this purpose they did not employ a number of separate cables,

but united two of white flax with two of byblos. These were alike in

thickness, and apparently so in goodness; but those of flax were in

proportion much the more solid, weighing not less than a talent to every

cubit. When the passage was thus secured, they sawed out rafters of wood,

making their length equal to the space required for the bridge. These

they laid in order across upon the extended cables, and then bound them

fast together. They next brought unwrought wood, which they placed very

regularly upon the rafters. Over all they threw earth, which they raised

to a proper height, and finished the whole by a fence on each side, that

the horses and other beasts of burthen might not be terrified by looking

down upon the sea.”

 

This bridge of boats, for such it may be properly called, resembled

materially those constructed by the moderns. The addition of the

suspension cables, which connected both ends of the bridge with the

shore, must have contributed greatly to its strength. The floating

bridges used in modern warfare, however, have this advantage over those

constructed by the ancients (of which that devised by Xerxes was a very

favourable specimen); the boats or pontoons upon which such bridges

are now erected are specially constructed for the purpose, and an army

on the march can carry these pontoons, like other baggage, and when

necessary a bridge can be built in a very short time. When the army

has passed the river the bridge can readily be taken to pieces and the

materials transported elsewhere, to serve the same purpose again. An

enemy pursuing, unless provided with similar appliances for constructing

a bridge, would find his farther progress barred; but in the floating

bridges used by the ancients it was possible for the pursued to erect a

bridge that would be used also by their pursuers. The floating bridge by

which Darius crossed the Bosphorus is said to have been similar to that

contrived by Xerxes, although no precise record exists to enable us to

ascertain exactly how it was fashioned. Alexander adopted a different

course; taking advantage of such vessels as he could obtain on the spot,

by rowing or sailing he crossed the particular river or strait which

opposed his march. We have a remarkable example of a floating bridge on

the river Douro opposite to Oporto, but the bridge erected by Xerxes

seems rather to have resembled that thrown over the Adour.

 

The only incident that occurred on our voyage to Alexandria was

furnished by a Turkish Aga, one of the passengers, who came on board

in considerable state. His attendants spread his carpet on deck, that

he might attend to his devotions. However, the sea was so rough that

directly he appeared on deck he lost his balance and rolled over and

over, which greatly hurt his dignity. He was very much enraged, and, to

revenge himself, immediately set to work belabouring the unfortunate

captain with his cane, saying that it was entirely his fault for giving

them a foul wind, though all the time it was blowing most favourably,

though rather too fresh for the Aga’s comfort. I burst out laughing,