The Leeds Mercury from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England • 13

EIGHT PAGESPRICE ONE PENNY, SATURDAY, A. -U. A li 1 ,5. No 13,344. tion which pervades it.

Evidently the Turk is in a bad way, if to have lost pride in the most splendid shrine of his faith is a proof of national decadence. Now we turned our back upon the great mosque, and wended our way through the narrow streets to the Hippodrome, an irregular open space, one side of which is occupied by the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed; and whore stands the fumous column of tho twisted serpents, which is supposed to havo come from the temple of Delphi, and the Egyptian obelisk. At the opposite side of this square from the Mosque of Ahmed there was a long low row of tumble-down buildings, which, from thoir ancient and battered appearance, and from the filth that encumbered the ground in front of them, reminded me strongly of certain ruined habitations in the lower parts of Hunslet. Picking our way through a morass of liquid mud, we entered an evil-sinolling passage in one of the houses. Here we waited in the filth and the darkness whilst Moses was engaged in conducting certain negotiations with a venerable Turk whom ho had encountered outside the building.

Whilst thus waiting, we became conscious of an extraordinary noise proceeding from the interior it was more like the groaning of a number of persons in chorus than, howling properly so called. Suddenly a door in the side of the passage was opened, and wo were thrust forward into a dimly lighted space beyond. When our eyes had become accustomed to the gloom a singular sight presented itself to them. We were crowded into a small recess, apparently carved out of the thickness of a very anciont wall. This recess oponed upon a small mosque, not more sixteen feet square but manifestly from its massive architecture very old and very strongly turned, seized his master suddenly by the throat, and hurled him to the ground.

There he held him, his nails buried deep in the white craven's flesh, and the red blood of his vanquished tormentor flowing all about. You mean to resist1 me, you scoundrel asked the negro-breaker. "YeB," was the calm reply of the slave. A desperate fight ensued. Covey cried lustily for help, but could secure none, and at last gave up the unequal contest, and during tho remainder of the time that the lad remained on his farm, dreading a.

repetition of the scene, he treated him with marked consideration. The result pf this first fight and victory over a white man was to fix in the heart of the slave a firmer determination to be a free man. But so long as ho remained with the slave-breaker, every effort in this direction, proved fruitless. Subsequently, through changes of ownership, he was again romoved to Baltimore. There he found opportunity to secretly continue his studies, and while there ho obtained a -knowledge of ship-carpentry.

In tho ond ho escaped by rail to Hew York, and from thence iuto Few Fmgland, "where some Abolitionists sheltered him, But his life was by no means agreeable. White workmen would not associate with him. Wborever he wont he had to face the objection, "Wo don't allow niggers inhere." He hoard tlus'nofc only in restaurants, in v. nusomont halls, in hotels, aud in street cars but in places of worship. Ho went to a revival meetiug in a chapel in New Bedford, and on going up the aisle he was met by a deacon, and the salutation was the same; "We don't allow niggers in here Every day his position was becoming more and more disagreeable.

People began to speak of him as a fugitive. Ho was iu. constant dread of recapture. And it was whilo thus harassed aud troubled that ha crossed the Atlantic to enjoy the birthright' of humanity, and to rejoice that the stain of slavery had been wiped out of our national standard. While here he told his story, and great crowds sympathised with him in his recital of his sufferings, and gave abundantly in money to tho cause of freedom.

His name bad scarcely been known before. He had rarely heard it fully tered himself. But it became like a household word in Great Britain aud for a time Frederick Douglass was no stranger in our great towns. While he was here, his friends in America succeeded in purchasing his freedom, aud he returned to the States, while yet slave-holding was a powerful institution, without dread 'of recapture. Once aguin, however, he had to seek the protection of the TJuion Jack.

Ha is known to have used his influence to dissuade John Brown from the Harper's Ferry conspiracy, but as letters of his were found in Brown's possossiou, an order was issued for his arrest for complicity in the expedition. He had fortunately crossed into Canada before action could bB taken against him. Eecently, to a correspondent of the Xcw York Time), Mr. Douglass has for the first time told tho story of his escape from slavery. There are obvious reasons, of course, why he did not tell it in the slavery period.

It sBemsthathe succeeded in securing in Baltimore what was in those days called a "sailor's protection." This was a certificate of citizenship, duly signed and sealed by the authorities, whioh was given to all coloured seamen leaving Baltimore and other Southern ports, as a guarantee against molestation because of their race. An old friend of Douglass, a freeman, who had ceased going to and who had in his possession one of those certificates, gave it to him. It is true that the description of the man contained in it was very far, from fitting Douglass still, after attiring himself iu a full suit of sailor's clothes, aud kuowingthatno matter how closely he might be questioned, he could, because of his familiarity with slin and ship-yards, sustain the disguise, he went to the railway depot, and jiist as the train was departing for New York jumped upon it, and went into the coloured car." At this time one of the rallying cries of the dominant party was "Free Trade and Sailors' Eights," and as the train was obliged to pass entirely through Baltimore, thu3 giving ample time for the examination of coloured passengers, none of the officers at the depot attempted to pre'yent Douglass, apparently fresh from the sea, from taking passage in the car. Having succeeded to this -4 THE LAWYER'S CORNER. Edited by a Barrister-at-Law.

LIBEL AND SLANDEE. (CosrnnJED.) Continuing the subject of the law relating to libel auc? slander, we may remark that it has long been decided witW regard to the particularly irritable class of men who art afflicted with the itch of writing," that every man whd publishes a book commits himself to the judgment of the publio, and that any one may comment upon his performance. Thus, if the commentator doe" not step aside fromj the book which he is reviewing, or introduce fiction foi? the purpose of condemnation, he exercises what is only aJ fair and legitimate right. Should he, however, follow tM author into his domestic life for the purpose of slanderJ that would be a libellous proceeding upon the part of thai critic or reviewer, In the case.of Dibdn versus Swan, it was held by th Judges and tho decision has been substantially tnaraV. tainedever since that the editor of a publio newspaper: may fairly and candidly comment on any place or species! of public entertainment, but the comments must be raadai without malice, and without any intention to injure ori prejudice the proprietor in the eyes of the public.

IS fairly done no matter how severe may be the ceusuie-j the justice of it will screen the editor but if, upon the! other hand, it can be proved that the commeut is malevoi lent and exceeds the bounds of fair opinion, then it is al libel, and is actionable accordingly. By tho fitk and 7th c. 96, it is enacted that in an! action for a libel contained in any public newspaper oi other periodical publication, the defendant may plead! that it was inserted without malice and that before tha action for libel was brought he had published in his news-, paper or other periodical publication an apology. Th9 defendant may also pay money into court as amends. In the case of libels and comments upon public men, ifj was decided a good many years ago in-the leading case of Parmiter v.

Couplan'd, that criticism may reasonably! be applied to a public man in his publio capacity whicbj might not be applied to a private individual." "Evcrrf the judgment iu the case oi Parmiter Coupland, which we have just went on to declare, has aright to comment on those acts of publio men which concern him as a subject of thf realm, if he does not make his commentary a cloak fori malice and slander; but any imputation of wicked orA corrupt motives is unquestionably libellous." The prin' oiple of tho judgment in the case of Parmiter v. Coupland was again affirmed iu the case of Seymour v. Butterwortly where it was hold by the Judges that tho public conduct of a public man may be discussed with the fullest freedom, e.g., it may be made tho subject of hostile criticism and a hostile animadversions, provided that the language of thtf writer is kept within the limits of an honest intention to1 discharge a publio duty, aud is not made a means of pro' mulgating slanderous and malicious allegations. Next weok we shall continue tho subject of the laTft relating to libel and slander. ANSWERS TO COEEESPONDENTS.

Equmr. 1 is a yearlv tenant, and ousht legally to give ii-A months' notice to nutt. 2. The notice ought legally to expire on thai day wheii possession of the house was taken. 3.0.

0. W. G- 1 Six mouths' notice. 2. The notice should expire on thai date when the original tenant took the house.

.7. of P. W. Yon will, of course, be bound by any asreeracn which you may have signed, and if yon fail to fulfil spell esreemen vou will- be liable to be sued lor damages for breach of it. Yourc Your letter did not roach us tiinolaft weelto admit, of anything more than a mere actaowiodement of its reewpty and as the matter to which it refers will now, we gitnor.have 'decided, it is, of course, useless tor us to give an advice uy.cm ib 2.

Should you, however, havo occasion to agnm to to as. HsnM repeat your statement of case and your innury, as we destroy eaca week's letters after Having answered them. 1. The County Court Juiiso will not order you to bo in prisoned if, as would seem to bo the case, yon have no tunas with to meet your liabilities. 2.

You had better atu nd tue Counts Oourton the 10th instant, and state to the Judge the lacts which yotf have detailed to us. V. We do not think that a jury would convict the traveller upon the evidence stated, but of course yon can threaten to do in soon a caso what you like. Belfast, 1 When a pereqn lends monoy.to another on the EecuriW of a policy of assurance- on Iha life of the borrower, the lender shonlrV ul addition to' having the'eq'3tba? 1 of '-tho care that none the hand.of -the' borrower, be.Kive'n to the insuranoe prace to to -ana iiw.wswH -co wilHliftVe nn snrftinfcv for nil money, but may bo rompolfcd to'grW- Hp the policy for. flie benefit oi tho'bintoupt's estate.

And if thB'-borrower die the insurance otHca cannot be compelled to pay any part of the sum assured to fiuon lender. Therefore in all cases in which money is lent on the secuilttr. oi a life policy, notice of the assignment of such po.ioy should ax promptly given to tha insurance office. 3. We are not sure whether we correctly understand this question, but the safer courso would be have the policy assigned.

DAmvisoios. 1. The tithes can bo recovored. ,2.. An executor simply winds up.

tho testator's estate, first paymj his just debts, an then distributinff his assets in tbo manner directed by the testator la his will. 3. A trustee is placed by the testator in charge ol. wo mli suppose, a certain portion of his estate, and which portion he (tba truitoa) is bound to retain charge of until tho provisions of the trust, as sot forth in the testator's will, are fully carried out. -4.

The persona who are appointed by the testator as his executors are also freouentiy appointed his trustees but there is no legal reason why a teitiito should not appoint ond as his executors, and 0 anij as his trustees under his will. P. P. 35 1. To the mortgagee, if, as we presume would he the casa he received the 7o0.

2. We do not think such conduct legal, but noi having a copy of the power of attorney before us, wo cannot speaa more definitely upon the matter. 3. Wo make it a rule not to express; opinion? in this column as to the conduct of members or tne same pre fession as ourselves. 3, P.

The house and money would pass to you. LandIjOhd. As yon gave the notice, which you admit that you dado, we think that you had better accept the notice to quit on April 1st, 1831. had better apply to the Guardians of the Poor in tha district in which you reside. We think that under the special cu-cum-stanccs of tho case they might consent to take your stepson into tha poorliouse, but we ore not very sanguine upon the matter.

W. C. 0. 1 If the bondsmen havo reason to believe that tha administratrix is not distributing the intestate's estate properly, they could, of course, apply to a court of law upon the matter, but practically thoy have not much control. 2.

Tho bondsmen are only bound, to see that the intestate's debts are paid and his assets propeny distributed. They are not responsible for any subsequent uivestment oi the intestate's property. 3. Before the administratrix mortgages or sells tho cottage, sho would do well to apply to a local solicitor upon' the matter. H.

(BeestonHiU). 1. Your inquiries should bo addressed to thai solicitors who drew up your father's will. They are not such inquiries as can bo usefully answered in this column. 2.

Vie have returned the? copy of tho wiU sent. Inc-utbee (Walcoileld), See answer to preceding. Pbuplexed. 1- The property should bo divided in the projoi tion of one third to tho widow and the remainder to the son. 2.

Yes. 3. The deod of sift, to be operative in the way desired, should take effect at once. Macbeth, Your claim would havo priority over the landlord's. J.

B. R. The money should be equally divided amongst direct lineal descendants you are registered in tho parish books as tho holder, owner, or occupier of tho Held, you will have to pay the tithe upon tha wholo field. You had better inquire as to this of tho tithe collector, and if there is an error in the matter, get him to put it riant in tha parish books. Nemesis.

The lady will have to wait till she conies of age before she makes her will. Zebra. There would probably be a great conflict of evidence in tha matter, but if tho owners of tho mill "0" can provo that since tna mill A was erected they havo sustained special damages in the way stated in your letter, we think that they could recover such damages, accordingly. The better plan howovor, would be, instead of goiugvts, luW upon such a matter, to endeavour to come to some agreement wltn. the owners of the mill If no such agreement can be corao to, then, perhaps, tho matter might bo referred to a practical who could visit the spot and adjudicate upon it.

Pfinng. If you enn cloaily preve breach contract against tha Sheffield firm, you will bo entitled to chum from themaa damages ans" money which you yourself may bo catted upon to pay in the way ot rent, through thoir ailmo to complete their asreemont with yon. But wo do not third! that you would have any chance of recovering more than this. F.S.8. We could not advise you, on the facts 6tated, to enter as action against tha railway company for tho recovery of your fees.

Sunlight. The son can claim all the property. Surveyor. It seems to us that you should have been appointed by the trustees or Commissioners of the Highways, and not by the What reason doo3 tho auditor allege for disallowing your salary 'i 8. S.

8." son can claim before his undo Vekax (Hudderslleld), You con successfully plead infancy us a defence for not taking moro of the volumes. But such a dofenoa would not be a very creditable one for you to allege. A.B.C. It seems to us that any property you may acquire will ba liable for six years. 2.

Why do you not apply for your discharge It you can induce one-fourth in value of your creditors who have proved, to concur, you can call a general meeting of your creditors ana apply for your discharge. This seems to us to be tho best.eoaise for you to pursue. J. H. W.

We think that if any one is libelled by the post-oard it fa your man, and not your iirm. Can you identify tho handwriting ol the sender of tho post-oard If you can, we should nuvise you to give him a hint to mmd what he is after." If you cannot, identify tna handwriting, then wo re'ally do not see what steps you can taKO in trtf matter. Ckabitt. No i as the husband left no funds behind him Houoton (Hunslot). You cannot recover from tha firm to whom you gave the bond.

Houseman. Apply for the information yon want at tho neares Inland Eovenue-orhce, and it will bo afiorded to you upon both thff questions which you put to ns. X. M. P.

Yes tho signature would bo legal, but you had better gef the man to trace it over asain in ink. Cato. Yes. Apply for an appeal form at the nearest Inlan? Bevonue-ofHco. The communications of Sydenham, An Old Subscriber Anxious, Question, YonitsmnEtiAtr, J.

W. 8., IifQuinna (Barnsloy), Antwerp, ft. P-, Pao Bono. LAacnriELD, A Rate-i'AVEu, M. M.

K. A. Pal.diei!, 13. X.X., Epoch, Unfortunate, J. A.

aud E. E. C. have been received, and shall be replied to weok. K.

A ltATEPAYER, A Leeds Ratepayer, and RoruwtLn are informed that no answers can be given to anonymous inquirers. Letters addressed to tho Legal Editor," Mercury-office, Loedi, received up to Tuesday will bo acknowledged in tho Supplement of tha following IJuturday. The Civil Service. Notice is givon by tha. Civil Service Commissioners that on the 14th of February next and following d.ivs, a competitive examination wilf be held in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Bristol, Leeds, Livorpool, Cork, and Belfnst, at which one candidate will be selected for a second-class clerkship in the India Office, and 6'2 for the Lower Division of the Civil Service.

A preliminary examination will ho held in Loudon, Edin-bnt'gh, Dublin, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Cork, and Belfast, on Tuesday, tho of January. Xo person will bo admitted to the preliminary examination from whom the seorotary of the Civil- Service Commission haa not received, on or before, tha 15th January, oa appii cation on tha prescribod qrm. FEOM BONDAGE TO POWER. ThQ 'Marshal who was a Slave. Some thirty-five years'' ago, a man sailed aoross tho to England to enjoy the protection of the flag of this oountry, and to to able to feel that he was no man's property.

He had been until then a slave. He had seen and experienced some of the worst features of the system of human bouclage as praotiaod in slave-owning States of America. He could not tell his ago' to a certainty he could only guess at it. His parentage was a still greater mystery to him. "Father arid "mother" wore words to him with a meaning; but it wa'3 the meaning of the dictionary.

As a child, an old grandmother had oared for him, and loved him, and he gave her his whole heart in lovo in return but she was grandmother also to many other children, and it is doubtful whether she was related to any of them. But she was kind and helpful to them all, and ties of kindred could not have drawn her and tho little negro boys and girls oloser together. It was with tears that she parted with the Btibjeot of this sketch, and' the loss of the only Jxelationship he had ever known was a blow to the lad which the bu'03'ancy of youth never lightened. He was rffien, as he could tell, sevon years of Practically he found himself deserted. But ha.

was not left alone in the world. Had this been tho case, ho would.have been saved much suffering, and' doubtless ho could have providod for himself better thau did those who held themselves responsible for his upbringing- He was passed from tho grandmother to a so-called aunt," and ho fuund that what the one did by gentle words and kindly ways the other endeavoured to do by harsh treatment, of whioh the withholding of food to the point of starvation was the least evil. All at once he was translated from tho freedom and pleasures of childhood into tho midst of slavery, and he saw that he was only being roared t'or the work of bondage and persecution, of which men and women around him wore the victims. Two incidents that then camo under his notice made a deep impression upon the boy. One was the case of a woman who was accused, rightly or wrongly, of being impudent to an overseer.

The decree of the overseer was that the offender 6hould be beaten. "When the woman was seized, she declared in loud screams that she would not be whipped, and struggled furiously to effect her release. Three of her children the oldest ten years of age onmo to her assistance, and one of the boys buried his teeth in' the' overseer's leg. These efforts only maddened the bruto the more. The struggle did not -last long, but the whipping did, and the poor-: woman suffered terribly.

The other incident also arose out of a desire to escape whipping. The viotim in this case was a man. He had received three or four lashes, from a rawhide, when with a desperate effort he broke from his tormentor and rushed up to the neck in the water of an adjoining creek. "Come out, or I'll shoot you," said the overseer. "No, massa, not to be whipped, was the resolute reply.

"I will give you three calls; if on the third you don't come out; you are a dead man. Will you come out As before, the answer was, No not if I'm to be whipped." Then the overseer made his second call, and over the surface of the water came the same undaunted answer. Now then, for the third and last time, will you come out?" and the slave looked death iu.the'face, and said, Ko." There was no more parleying. The overseer shot the negro a braver man surely thau'hirnself through the braiii. Happily for him, the.

Who witnessed these scenes was naturally intelligent, and it was probably owing to this fact that when he was ten years of age he was sent to Baltltt live with a lady and gentleman, who were owner's family. ptindfor timeaopn9dable homo. The lady especially was-kind to the lad; 'and gave him good deal of oral instruction, and eventually taught alpha-, bet. Her pupil was eager aiid quick to oni 'plBud'-bf: -'tfio progress he "7 -acquainted her husband Of tho results of her teaching. She then discovered that she had been doing what was regarded as1 an unlawfulthing.

To teach a slave to. read wa3 but to make him discontented, and depreciate his value as a chattel. This was the reasoninst of the boy's master, as of so many other men in the same part of the world in those days. The lessons were consequently brought to an end. But the lad did not forget what lie had learned, and, aided only by such rude processes as.

suggested themselves to him, he proceeded to twist his fingers round the key of the gate of knowledge, and to turn it. He secreted a Epelling-book, and with the aid of playmates he went through its pages word by word, until in time the only difficulty hehad with reading was how to hide his acquirement. He nest taught himself to write. Tho first lesson was obtained by watching the marks ship Carpenters put upon pieces of wood; his next was in tracing over the characters in an old copy-book written by a son of his master and mistress and his third lesson was, in tho intermediate spaces, to improve upon tho writing he had for an example. In a urtive way he continued to pick up a fair amount of information on a variety of subjects.

He had no bookB worth calling his own. To have been discovered with any in his possession would not have been to his advantage in his pursuit of knowledge but he eagerly read every scrap of printed matter that came under his notice, and almost before he knew it, the slave boy, who had come into Baltimore ignorant of everything almost save his own existence, had no difficulty in giving intelligible expression to his thoughts. At sixteen years of age ha was taken to tho Eastern Shore, Maryland, to serve under another relative of his original owner. His new master was professedly a Christian man. Encouraged by this fact, the slave lad, with the co-operation of a white friend, started a Suuday Echool on the plantation.

On the first Sunday all went welt but on the second the master and two deacons connected with his church broke up the assemblage with blows, and there was nothing for the lad afterwards but the bitterness of slave life. Something of the cruelty of it was to be his also. Undoubtedly the education he had acquired made him discontented with his state of servitude, and as he continued to brood over his lot he was ordered on to the farm of a brute named Covey, who had earned the reputation of being a flrBt-class breaker-in of negrp.es. the lad had a terrible experience. Looking back upon has ciesoribed it as'follows If at any one time of my life more than another I was made to drink the bitterest dregs of slavery, that time was daring the first six mbuth's of my stay with Mr.

We were worked in all weathers. It was never too hot or too cold it could never rain, blow, or snow, or hail too hard for us to work in the field. Work, work, work, was scarcely more the order of the day than of the night. The longest days wore too short for him. I was somewhat unmanageable when I first went there, but a few months of this discipline tamed me.

Mr. Covey succeeded in breaking me. I was broken' in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed my intellect languished the disposition to read departed the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me, and behold a man transformed into a brute! Sunday was my only leisure time. I spent this in a sort of beast-like stupor, between sleep and wake, under some large tree.

At times I would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint beam of hope that flickered for a moment and then vanished. I sank down again, mourning over my wretched condition. I was sometimes prompted to take my life and that of Covey, but was prevented by a combination of hope and fear. My sufferings on this plantation seem now lika a dream rather than a stern reality." While these sufferings were before him in their reality the lad would plan all sorts of modes of escape, only to find that every feasible opening he could think of was guarded. Then, as people will do who are in sorrow, ho thought of impossible ways of release sometimes, indeed, of one way that was in his own hands self-destruction, but more often of means that would have been miraculous could they have been realised-However, as a result of all this tribulation, tho lad came to the wise conclusion to boar his burden as bravely as he could, remembering that he was but a boy, that ho was no worse than others, and that there was surely a better day coming.

Still it was not easy for him to be patient, especially as the quieter hebeoame the more suspicious grew the slave-breaker. One day the lad did run away, apparently not knowing whither. It was a short flight. He had to trudge back to bondage. But he re turned with a changed disposition.

He had made up his mind to work, but he was also determined that ho should not again be flogged. Covey, on the other hand, angered at what he considered a failure iu his broaking-ia process, had resolved to flog the runaway to within an inch of his life. Hardly ho laid, hands, upon hiror however, when, the- powerful; young plax my companions wended our way in order to witness the weekly appearance of Abdul' Hamid outside the gates of his palace. I need hardly say, is the Mahometan Sabbath, and as we passed through the crowded streets of Pera wo had tho opportunity of seeing that the observance of Sunday is not altogether forgotten by tho Turks. Perhaps the most notable example of their adhesion, to their religion was furnished by two soldiers, whom wo saw kneeling on their overcoats in a street corner engaged in their prayers.

The passers-by evidently saw nothing remarkable. in the spectacle, and the soldiers were left to their devotions in peace. As we drew near the gates of the Yildiz Kiosk we found ourselves forming part of a motley stream of men, all walking in the same direction. Overgrown eunuchs rudely elbowed' their way through the crowd a few Greeks and Armenians, foreigners like ourselves, hurried forward towards the point of attraction, whilst great numbors of Turks of the lower classes marched along with Oriental dignity of demeanour. Now and then a carriage would pass, and from the window the thinly-veiled face' of some Pasha's favourite would appear.

Once, two really handsome Turkish women peeped out of one of these carriages, and having first of all ascertained that the eunuch on the box was not observing them, dropped thoir veils and favoured the infidel strangers with a bewitching but, alas too fleeting smile. Presently the quaint, wild strains of a Turkish military band were heard, and then we came upon a regiment marching at a quick step towards the Palace. The men were sturdy fellows, well-armed and comfortably clad in brown cloth jackets and knickerbockers. I believe it is true that no Turkish soldiers havo received their pay for a considerable period but there were no traces of want in the faces of these men, and as I compared their fine physique with that of the Greek recruits I had seen at Syra, I could not but think unfavourably of tho chances of the Hellenes, if they were pitted man. for man against their ancient oppressors.

In front of the gate of the Yildiz Kiosk we found large numbers of 'troops already assembled, and fresh regiments kept pouring upon the" ground at short intervals until the little square between the Palace and the Mosque was almost entirely filled with armed men. The spectators were kept" at a respectful distance from the and those who were not seated, in carriages; were inconveniently crowded. I found myself jammed into the middle of a knot of unmistakable, Asiatics, who wore the dress of Kurds, and whose picturesqueness of attire by no means atoned for certain other disagreeable features of their personal appearance. After waiting in' the midst of this sweltering mass for half an hour, we heard a signal given by bugle-call instantly the troops ran into position, a road guarded by a triple line of soldiers was formed from the Palace gateway to the Mosque; then the splendid gates were thrown' open, and the Sultan made his appearance riding, on a white horse, and surrounded by a large number of officers and other dignitaries, all on foot. As he passed out of the gate, the long lines of soldiers raised a mighty shout and presented arms; but the crowd beyond were- silent apathetic.

Slowly, the Sultan turned towards fhs1 troops 'and" ifiS! multitude, and raised his hand to his forehead in recognition of the welcome of the soldiers. But in a few seconds the space between the Palace and the Mosque had been traversed; Abdul Hamid alighted from his white horse, and treading on a splendid Persian carpet, entered the sacred building. The appearanoe of the Sultan is by no means prepossessing. He is lean, sallow, and of sinister aspect; and certainly shows no trace of Imperial dignity in his manner. UNDER THE SNOW.

A STOEY IN EHYME. It was Christinas Eve in the year fourteen, And as ancient dalesmen used to tell, The wildest winter they ever had seen. With the snow lying deep on moor and fell, When Waggoner John got out his team, Smiler and Whitefoot, Duke and Gray, With the light in his eyes of a young man's dream, As he thought of his wedding on New Year's Day, To Buth, the maid with the bonnie brown hair, And eyes of the deepest, sunniest blue, Modest and winsome and wondrous fair, And true to her troth, for her heart was true. Thou's surely not going," shouted mine host Thou'll be lost in the drift as sure as thou's horn, Thy lass winnot want to wed wi' a ghost, And that's what thou'll he on Christmas mom. It's eleven long miles from Skipton toon, To Blueberg Hooses and Washburn dale, Thou had better turn back and sit thee doon, And comfort thy heart wi' a drop o'good ale." Turn the swallows flying South, Turn the vines actainst the sun, Herds from rivers in the drouth.

Men must dare, or nothing's done. So what cares the lover for storm or drift, Or peril of death on Be sines to himself like a lark in the lift, And "the joy in his heart turns December to May. But the wind from the north brings a deadly chill, Creeping into his'hea'rfc, and the drifts are desp, Where the thick of the storm strikes Blueberg Hill, He is weary, and falls in a pleasant Bleep, And dreams he is walking by Washburn side, Walking with Euth on a summer's day, Singing that song to his bonnie bride, His own wife now and for ever and aye. Now read me this riddle, how Euth should hea That song of a heart, in the clutch of doom, It stole on her ear, distinct and clear, As if her lover was in the room. And read me this riddle, how Euth should know, As she bounds to throw open the heavy door, That her lover is lost in the drifting suow, Dying or dead on the great wild moor.

Help help Lost Dost Eings- through the night as she rushes away, Stumbling, blinded, and tempest-tossed, Straight to the drift whore her lover lay. And swift they leap after her into the iiigb.tr- Into the drifts by Blueberg Hill Pullan, Ward, Eobinson, each with his light, To find her there, holding him, white and stilh He was dead in the drift, then I hear them say, As I listen in wonder, Forgetting to play, Fifty years syuo come Christmas Day. Nay, nay, they were wed," the dalesman cried, By Parson Cavmalfc, o' New Year's Day Bonnie Euth were me great-great-grandsire's bride, And Maister Frankland gave her away." But how did she find him under the snow They cried, with a laughter touched with tears. Nay, lads," he said, softly, we never can know No, not if we live a hundred years. There's a sight o' tilings gan To tho malring o' man." Then I rushed to my play, With a whoop and away, Fifty years syne come Christmas Day.

BOBEEI COUKflSR. New York, December, 1880. EASTWARD HO! No. Sights of Stamboul. The first step-to be taken by the stranger at ronstantinople wh6 wishes to see the sights of the SfSaSy degree of comfort or security is to Tl St of the time when the anchor is down crtiKsin of the genuine informed us that he answered to either Jel Now Moses was hardly a gent toman learance would justify you in inviting him in to di-awing-room.

But if he was not quite so to as theg companions of English g-OTht to be, he was also by no means so duty as "me of Ins rivals in trade. Moreover Moses was h0net-honest, that is to say, according to the tinted adopted by his brethren at Stamboul He would not pick your pocket; he would not anoropritite more than the ordinary per-centage if he exchanged an English bank-note into hras or weiidolis and he might be trusted to carry homo the spoils of the bazaars without attempting to steal them. But beyond that well, beyond that the law of libel somehow or other interferes with the completion of my portrait of our redoubtable dragoman. He was, let me say, a gentleman or most sinister aspect, as well as of remarkably shabby raiment; and I candidly confess that more than once, as I walked up the Grande Bue of Pera under his interesting and invaluable escort, I felt vwy much ashamed of my companion. But que I ra'ght be undignified to trot nfcout Stamboul in the wake of this greasy and Hebrew, and his appearance in our party raWit stamp us as unmistakable British tourists yet what else was there for us, unless wo were content to sit all day on board ship, or in the Pera Club, and leave the sight-seeing to more enterprising and less fastidious personages? No: wo Lid come to Constantinople to see something of the place, and we accepted Moses as part of the price we had to pay for our enjoyment.

And, after all, our dragoman contributed not seldom to the amusement of the party. Nothing, for example, could have been more delightful than to see him engaged in concluding a bargain on behalf of one of us with one or other of the shopkeepers of the bazaar. We knew, and Moses, I think, must have known that we knew, that his performance was simply a piece of unblushing hypocrisy, and that between the Jew and the Turk the unfortunate Christians were being subjected to the most outrageous extortion. But the acting was so very good that we could not fail to enjoy it, even though the performance happened to be at our own expense. For instance, we wanted' to buy some attar' of.

roses, and were' duly marshalled by Moses into the shop of an innocent gentleman who dealt in that article. In the first place, our guide provided all of us with seats then having exchanged a few words with the shopkeeper, he turned round, and, with a grimace worthy of Mr. Toole, (aid, Gentlemeus, dis man big tief. He want make me pay twenty shillings for so much attar. It is always de way all big tiefs here; but now you shall see how I shall do wiz him." Having delivered himself of this exordium with which in course of time we became painfully familiar the Far-away one assiuning a menacing air, and in tones altogether unlike those which he usually used, roared out something which caused the merchant to shrug his shoulders until his head was lost between them, whilst, with elbows pinned close to his side and extended minis, he aryoeared to bo im-plorine: mercy from th( infuriated Hebrew.

This was Act I. of the pantomime of the Dragoman, the Shopkeeper, and the Travellers. Next, a few words were mindly exchanged between the two worthies who were fia-htfner over our prostrate bodies. The merchant was eager and insinuating, the Jew firm and scornful; it was clear to allot' us that the battle was at its height. Suddenly Moses turned round and addressed us Gfentlemens, dis tief he say now he will take feefteen shilling.

I say I gif him twelf shilling. Kow, gentlemeus, you say noEink at all, please, and I shall get it for twelf shilling." More verbal fencing between the two more shrugging of shoulders on tho part of the one more shouts of indignant remonstrance on the part of the other more bland expostulations from behind the counter more frowns and menaces from before it, Suddenly there is a dead calm. The battle is over. Moses pulls forth a very dirty pocket handkerchief and wipes the perspiration from his brow; for his efforts have been great, and ho is exhausted by them. Then, with an air of simious self-satisfaction, he turns to us and says, "It is all right, gentlemens he take de twelf shilling.

Kow we see him try to cheat ua wid de wrong tn, rr-i a -a ttt -j: i.T r.A U. "YiL J.ms IS JltJD Ol mu JJttlllUllllluo, aux xu is the most amusing of all. The merchant retires behind a screen, and presently emerges with a phial apparently containing crystallised pomatum his hand. Instantly Moses snatches it from looks at it with ferocity and contempt for the fiftieth part of a second, and with a gesturo so dramatic that Irving himself might envy it, thrusts it back mj the hands of the shopkeeper, who starts with 8 jMtof guilty terror on his face, which suggests Mat Semesis has at last overtaken him in the DPrVm 11 1 r-- vi our onampion. es, genuemens, ais he try make me take de wrong sort but 1 know.

ij j.T xi. SDODl'OimnB 1 vl-. J. H.Tn,.n nA auu tnuieupuii tuy gunning wttlc or j(; simply the same bottle which has or a moment been removed from our sight and 'at august person having been pleased to approve of its contents, we are forthwith served. Now, there a young man of our party who had improved 's leisure time by picking up a few odds and ends of the Turkish vocabulary, and among other Jungs lifi.had mastered the numerals.

As we left 6 shop, Moses, with imperturbable countenance Wcling the way, this gentleman whispered to me, ae man never asked twenty shillings for his wtaP' He first of all asked fifteen, then ten, and Moses bought it for eight." Alas alas where is honesty 0 found in Stamboul if our own chosen FMcctor thus lacks it? Buc, all the same, I the game was worth the candle. Suday aftornoon, under the guidance of 0Ms' VVe wont to see or to hear tho famous howl-S dervishes. We hud spont a great part of the bo splendid Mosque Of St. Pwa, and had been vastly struck by its Piousness, its emptiness, oad the air of desola built. On tho floor of this mosque nine dervishes were kneeling on their praying nigs in a circle.

When I speak of all nine as dervishes I ought perhaps to make an exception. Eight of these men were filthy-looking fellows, in the full monkish garb and with the conical caps trimmed with fur which the dervishes affect. But the ninth was dressed in fashionable European attire, and save for the fez which ho wore, might have walked straight out of a Bond-street shop or a Pall Mall club. It was from these nine devotees that the weird noise we had heard when waiting in the passage proceeded. As wo entered, all nine, squatting in Turkish fashion on their haunches, wore swinging the upper part of their bodies to and fro, each carefully keeping time with his companions; and as they did this all were groaning in unison "Allah! il-AUah It is the special function of a howling dervish to invoke Allah by name so many thousand times a day, and these gentlemen were evidently very anxious introduce the name as many times as possible in a short space of time.

Presently, under the leader-Ship of the chief dervish, they quickened their pace, and still keeping time, roared or groaned forth the invocation at such a speed that even tho quickest ear could only detect one syllable, and the performance consisted merely of the shouting of lah LAh! lah! lah! lah! The perspiration pourerl down their dirty faces, their bodies swung to and fro faster and faster; their shouts became louder, and now and then one of the holy men managed, by breaking out. of the chorus, to get a good howl all to himself. Higher, and higher mounted their excitement; fhpy began to "thump their. foreheads and the palms of then" hands violently upon the stone floor and still the cry went up to Allah with an ever-increasing emphasis. Then in a moment all was dead silence, broken presently by murmured prayers from one or other of the dervishes a final shout of Allah il-Allah was raised in unison, and the performance was at an end.

I confess that it had a strange fascination for me. These nine men squatting in that filthy and evil-smelling den, and going through antics which reminded one vividly of the maniacs' ward in a lunatic asylum, were upon the whole the strangest worshippers I had ever met with and in spite of smells and dirt and. noise and darkness, I could have watched them for hours at a stretch. Of a very different type are tho dancing dervishes, whose singular proceedings have so often been described. These gentlemen have a very handsome niosquo and convont in the best part of Pera all to themselves and whereas the howling dervishes attract no attention from the Mussulman population of Stamboul, it is one of the favourite occupations of Turkish gentlemen to visit the convent of the dancing dervishes on Friday afternoon, when their chief service is held.

I never knew wiat it was to find oneself regarded as an infidel and a pariah until I took part in the proceedings of one of these Friday services. Hundreds of Turks entered the building at the same time as myself, and were accommodated with comfortable seats in broad galleries. But I was a giaour, and I was compelled to remain standing in tho outer porch. Still for all pur poses of sight-seeing my position was as good as any in the mosque, and 1 had therefore no reason to be dissatisfied with it. A detailed description of the performances of the dancing dervishes has so often been given that there is rib need to repeat it here.

I was quite prepared for the spectacle that was presented when sixteen of these holy men, in the curious dress whioh countless engravings have made familiar even, to stay-at-home Britons, were spinning round upon their with eyes dosed and aims outstretched. That which I was not prepared for was the very peculiar and weird music by which tho performance was accompanied. I am told that it is this music in producing whioh a flute and a Turkish drum seem to be the instruments used rather than the antics of the dervishes that attracts the large congregations of Mussulmans to the mosque. But I confess I grew weary of this performance much sooner than I had tired of the howling brethren of Stamboul. There is one established sight whioh every visitor to Constantinople is expected to witness.

That is the weekly viBit of the Sultan to the mosque. In former days this visit was a really imposing ceremonial, conducted with all the pomp and-dignity befitting one of the chief incidents in the routine of a great Court, In the time of the unfortunate Abdul Aziz, for example, when ho left the Dolmabagtcheh Palace by land, the whole route to the selected mosque which was often a distant one was lined with troops, and His Majesty was attended by a splendid staff of officers. When he elected to go by water, a magnificent State caique was used for his conveyance, and there was a procession of Imperial boats on the Bosphorus worthy of the ancient glories of our own barge day." But all this is changed now. The present Sultan lives in voluntary imprisonment in the small Yildiz Kiosk, and such is his dread of assassination that he never leaves the gardens attaohed to that palace except on Friday in order to pay that weekly visit to the mosque which is one of the most solemn duties imposed upon the Even then, however, he manages to evade the publicity which in former days attended this ceremony. Close to the garden gate of the Yildiz Kiosk there is a small mosque and it is to this building that His Majesty invnri-abjy repairs.

It was it accordingly that I and jBxtent, still.ine w.A him; At the time raurpaa. companies not only held responsible'tor the sale delivery- or gooas and passengers, but also, to a certain extent, for the value of slave property which miht escape over their roads. Having thi3 responsibility, the conductors and other servants of the railroads were given authority to arrest and detain those whom they had good reason to believe were slaves attempting to escape. A3 the conductor of the train upon which Douglass was approached him, he was for a moment much alarmed, but summoning all his courage aud resolution to aid, he put the boldest front upon the matter. After minutely questioning all the other coloured people on the car, tho conductor came to what seemed to him to bo a young sailor, and Said "Well, Jack, of course you've got your papers?" Yes," replied Douglass boldly, and without the slightest apparent anxiety I guess I've got papers here that will carry me anywhere;" saying which he drew out.

his "sailor's protection," and handed it to his questioner. The conductor glanced at it rapidly, saw that the broad eagle of the Government was at its top, and that it was duly signed and Bealed, aud, fully satisfied that Douglass had every right to travel where he would, passed into the next car. He arrived safely at Philadelphia, and had no trouble in making his way to New York. How rejoiced ha was to be within the limits of that Freo. State may be inferred from the fact that at the time in question runaway slaves were almost invariably whipped within au inch of their lives, and then sold to planters iu the Gulf States, literally to be ground up into sugar and rice, for it was then universally acknowledged by landowners in the South that the most profitable way to wort a plantation was to use up a full-grown nigger in seven years, aud then commence anew with a fresh crop.

That is to say, it was the custom to work a negro night and day for as long a time as he would hold the longest period for which it was possible for human nature to endure such treatment was usually seven yeaTS when the unfortunate man died miserably, aud liis place was taken by one of the fresh crop." For a time after his arrival in New York he had good reason to fear that he might any moment be taken to make up one of this fresh crop." With this prospect continually before him he knew that he could not live contentedly in New York, and he concluded to try and make a home in New England, where lie remained until, as already related, he found it advisable to visit Ihigland. During the war, Mr. Douglass was the chief agent in urging upon the Union Government the importance of raising coloured regiments, and ha was appointed Adj utani to General Thomas a position, however, which he did not assume, the General raising objections to the appointment. Mr. Douglass was very bitter against the Southerners for their treatment of the coloured soldiers, and he made a suggestion of retaliation to President Lincoln.

How wise and humane the martyred President was is shown by the reply he then made" What in the world good would it do us to kill in cold blood a lot of poor fellows who have nothing to do with the murder of our boys in tho South It would not help our friends, and ft would be doing gross injustice to a number of people who perhaps object quite as much as we do to the outrages complained -of." President Lincoln and Douglass were close friends, and frequently during the political as well as during the military struggle over slavery, the two were in consultation on the subjeot of how be3t to serve the interests of the oppressed race. Writing from England on New Year's Day, 1846, to William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass commented on the faot that he was a fugitive from the United States, and that the land of his birth would only welcome him back as a slave, and said that patriotism was to him only a philosophical fact, and that if he ever had any capacity for the feeling it had long before been whipped out of him by the lash of the American soul drivers. The war that ended in the freedom of his race hadnot begun before Frederick Douglass had occasion to show that there was no man in the Union who loved his country more thau he did. Since the Liberation days he has been most energetic in the development aud promotion of schemes for the romoval of the disabilities of the coloured people. He has been elected, not wholly by coloured votes, to political positions of more or les3 importauce.

He was a Presidential elector on the winning side when General Grant was re-elected President in 1K72. He afterwards went out as Secretary to the San Domingo Commission. He is now United States Marshal for the District of Columbia. He lives in a house some three miles from the Capitol. His house is his own.

as is also much of tho land around it and there is this noteworthy fact connected with tho place, that in the original title-deeds was a stipulation that no negro should ever be permitted to purchase a lot belonging to the estate. The famous fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States nullifies all such stipulations. Mr. Douglass supposes that he. was in 1817.

Iu that case keiaia the sixty-fourth year of his.