It has generally happened, that the perfons who have refided among the Turks,

and who, from their fkill in the Eaftern dialects, have been beft qualified to prefent us with an exact account of that nation, were either confined to a low sphere of life, or engaged in views of intereft, and but little addicted to polite letters or philofophy; while they, who, from their exalted stations and refined tafte for literature, have had both the opportunity and inclination of penetrating into the fecrets of Turkish policy, were totally ignorant of the language ufed at Con'ftantinople, and confequently were deftitute of the fole means by which they might learn, with any degree of certainty, the fentiments and prejudices of fo fingular a people: for the Mahometans, naturally ignorant and referved to men of our religion, will disclose their opinions to those only who have gained their confidence by a long intimacy with them, and the Greek subjects, who have a just deteftation of their oppressors, can hardly be supposed to speak of them with tolera

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ble candour. As to the generality of interpreters, we cannot expect from men of their condition any depth of reasoning, or acutenefs of obfervation; if mere words are all they profess, mere words must be all they can pretend to know.

It may therefore be given as a general rule, that no writer` can exhibit a just picture of the manners of any people, who has not either conversed familiarly with all ranks of them for a confiderable time, or, by a more tedious process, extracted their fentiments from the books that are written in their language; and it is equally true, that the jufteft defcription of the Afiatic manners muft neceffarily be given by thofe, who, befides a complete acquaintance with Oriental literature, have had the advantage of a long refidence in the East; for which reafon, the most authentic account of a Mahometan nation, that ever was published, is that of the Perfians by the traveller Chardin, who not only had the most familiar intercourse for many years with the greatest men in

Ipahan, but was perfectly acquainted with the Perfian hiftories and poems, from which he has given us many beautiful extracts.

We have great reason to regret, that no relation of equal authority, has been written on the manners of the Turks; for among the many narratives on that fubject which have been prefented to the public, there are very few that can be recommended to a fenfible reader. There are indeed fome works in the languages of Europe, from which, as from so many copious fources, we may draw a variety of real knowledge on this head; and it will not be improper in this discourse to give a lift of them, with a few remarks on each, before I proceed to mention the Eaftern books, both printed and in manuscript, from which the materials of the following effay were taken. This feems to me a more reasonable and lefs oftentatious method of producing my authorities, than to fill every page with useless quotations, and references to fections or chapters, which few readers will take the pains to consult,

One of the most ancient, and perhaps the • most agreeable of thefe works, comprises the four epiftles of BUSBEC on his embaffy to Soliman the Second, and his oration on a plan for Supporting a vigorous war against the Turks; in all which pieces, his diction is extremely polished and elegant, his obfervations judicious, his account of public facts indifputably true, and his anecdotes tolerably authentic but by neglecting to make himself a complete master of the Turkish language, or by his long confinement at Conftantinople, he omitted an opportunity of conversing with the finest writers and ableft fcholars, whom the Othman empire ever produced, and whose beautiful compofitions added a luftre to the reign of Soliman.

The Turkish articles in the vaft compilation of M. D'HERBELOT, are of the highest authority, fince he drew them from a number of Eastern manuscripts, many of which were compofed by Turks themselves, who had at least as fair a chance of knowing their own manners and opinions, as any European

whatever. It is not poffible to be too lavish in the praises of that excellent work, which has the uncommon merit of being no lefs agreeable than learned; and though it is difpofed according to the order of the alphabet, yet it is fo judicioufly contrived by the help of references, that with all the convenience of a dictionary, it may be read for the most part like a regular treatise.

The Hiftory of Timúr or Tamerlane, written originally in Arabic, by a native of Damafcus, and tranflated into French by M. Vattier, deferves to be credited, as far as it relates to the conquefts of that hero in the Lower Afia, and to his war with the fultan Bayazid the First, who was forced by the Tartars to raife the fiege of Conftantinople. The actions of Timúr are related at large in this elegant work, which displays a faithful and interesting picture of the Afiatic manners in the fourteenth century; the author of it was contemporary with the Tartarian warrior, and was eye-witness of the principal facts which he records,