The Dark Side Of The City Cambridge English

Readers Level 2 Alan Battersby download

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-city-
cambridge-english-readers-level-2-alan-battersby-33122312

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

Ghosts Of Cincinnati The Dark Side Of The Queen City Teri Casper

https://ebookbell.com/product/ghosts-of-cincinnati-the-dark-side-of-
the-queen-city-teri-casper-7237072

Ghosts Of Cincinnati The Dark Side Of The Queen City Teri Casper And
Dan Smith

https://ebookbell.com/product/ghosts-of-cincinnati-the-dark-side-of-
the-queen-city-teri-casper-and-dan-smith-43606682

Pictures Of A Gone City Tech And The Dark Side Of Prosperity In The
San Francisco Bay Area Spectre Illustrated Richard A Walker

https://ebookbell.com/product/pictures-of-a-gone-city-tech-and-the-
dark-side-of-prosperity-in-the-san-francisco-bay-area-spectre-
illustrated-richard-a-walker-43392348

The Dark Side Of The Brain Harry Oldfield

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-brain-harry-
oldfield-56904014
The Dark Side Of The Workplace Managing Incivility 1st Edition Annette
B Roter

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-workplace-managing-
incivility-1st-edition-annette-b-roter-23613134

The Dark Side Of The Moon The Making Of The Pink Floyd Masterpiece
First Printing John Harris

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-moon-the-making-of-
the-pink-floyd-masterpiece-first-printing-john-harris-4947472

The Dark Side Of The Hive The Evolution Of The Imperfect Honey Bee
Robin Moritz

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-hive-the-evolution-
of-the-imperfect-honey-bee-robin-moritz-7355120

The Dark Side Of The Internet Protecting Yourself And Your Family From
Online Criminals Paul Bocij

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-internet-
protecting-yourself-and-your-family-from-online-criminals-paul-
bocij-1392118

The Dark Side Of The Road Simon R Green

https://ebookbell.com/product/the-dark-side-of-the-road-simon-r-
green-47287576
 Cambridge English Readers
.......................................................
Level 2

Series editor: Philip Prowse

The Dark Side of the

City

Alan Battersby
University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
4843/24, 2nd Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi – 110002, India
79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906

Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.

It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning
and research at the highest international levels of excellence.

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108466356
© Cambridge University Press 2012
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant
collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2012
Reprinted 2017
Alan Battersby has asserted his right to be identified as the Author of the Work in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Printed in the United Kingdom by Hobbs the Printers Ltd
Typeset by Aptara Inc.
Map artwork by Malcolm Barnes
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-108-46635-6 Paperback
No character in this work is based on any person living or dead.
Any resemblance to an actual person or situation is purely accidental.
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that
any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents

Chapter 1 East 43rd Street, Manhattan

Chapter 2 The Grand Concourse, the Bronx
Chapter 3 On the road
Chapter 4 Locks and keys
Chapter 5 Snakes and drugs
Chapter 6 Snakes and computers
Chapter 7 Real answers
Chapter 8 Cleaning up
Chapter 9 Thanks
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
the three Khanats, and is of five kinds: wheat, barley, Djugheri
(Holcus saccharatus), millet, (Tarik), and rice. The best wheat and
Djugheri are {420} said to be found in Bokhara and Khiva, a genial
soil; whereas Khokand is in high repute for millet. Barley is nowhere
of very good quality, and is made use of, either alone or mixed with
Djugheri, as fodder for horses.

In cattle-breeding the inhabitants of Turkestan concentrate their

attention on three animals alone, namely, the horse, the sheep, and
the camel.

The horse is regarded by the Central Asiatic as his alter ego.

Different races are met with here, possessing too different qualities
and excellences. Volumes might be written to show how it is reared,
and what are its varieties; but this not being my province, I will
confine myself to a few observations. As countless as the stocks and
branches of the nomads themselves, so countless are the races and
families of their horses. The following classification deserves to be
noted:--

(1) The Turkoman horse: and here a main distinction exists between
the Tekke and the Yomut breeds. The former, of which the favourite
races are the Körogli and the Akhal, are distinguished by
extraordinary height (sixteen to seventeen hands). They are slightly
built, have handsome heads, majestic carriage, wonderful speed, but
no bottom. The latter, those of the Yomuts, are smaller, finely
formed, and unite speed with unparalleled endurance and strength.
[Footnote 153] In general, the Turkoman horse is distinguished by a
slender barrel, thin tail, handsome head and neck (it is a pity that
the mane is cut off), {421} and a particularly fine and glossy coat;
the latter quality is owing to its being kept covered, summer and
winter, with several housings of felt. With respect to the value, a
good Turkoman horse may be had at a price varying from one
hundred to three hundred ducats, but never under thirty ducats.
 [Footnote 153: I have seen many horses of this
description which had carried each his Turkoman rider
with a slave behind him in the saddle at a constant
rapid gallop for thirty hours.]

(2) The Özbeg horse resembles the Yomut, but its form is more
compact, and denotes more power; its neck short and thick, rather
suited, like our hacks, for journeys than serviceable in war or
Alamans.

(3) The Kasak horse, in a half wild state, small, with long hair, thick
head, and heavy feet. He is seldom fed by hand, but is accustomed
to seek himself his subsistence, summer and winter, in the pastures.

(4) The Khokandi sumpter or cart-horse is a cross between the

Özbeg and the Kasak breeds, and is remarkable for its great
strength. Of these four races, the genuine Turkoman horses have
only been exported to Persia, and the Özbeg horses to Afghanistan
and India.

The sheep is everywhere of the race with fat tails; the finest are met
with in Bokhara. Its flesh is the best I have tasted in the East.

There are three kinds of camels, the one-humped and the two-
humped, the latter called by us the Bactrian, and only met with
amongst the Kirghis, and the Ner, of which we have already spoken
when treating of Andkhuy.

Finally, I must not omit to mention the asses. The finest are those of
Bokhara and Khiva. Of these the Hadjis export yearly many to Persia,
Bagdad, Damascus, and Egypt.

{422}

(b.) Manufactures.
Two hundred years ago, when Turkey was less accessible to our
European commerce than is the case at the present day, the native
manufactures of Engürü (Angora), Broussa, Damascus, and Aleppo
were certainly more active. Central Asia is even now far more
remote from us than was Turkey in the times alluded to; our trade
there is still very weakly represented--the consequence is that the
greater part of the articles requisite for clothing or household
purposes are the produce of native industry, of which we will give in
this place a short account.

The principal seats of Central Asiatic manufactures are Bokhara,

Karshi, Yenghi Ürgendj, Khokand, and Namengan. Out of these cities
come the different stuffs, whether of cotton, silk, or linen, as well as
the articles manufactured from leather, which supply the native
demand. The principal and most widely-diffused material is the so-
called Aladja, a stuff employed for the dresses of man and woman.
In Khiva it is woven of cotton and raw silk, in Bokhara and Khokand
of cotton alone. As there are no distinct tailors' shops, the
manufacturer busies himself also with the scissors and the needle,
so that a great part of the produce consists in ready-made clothes.
When we were in Bokhara, the high prices of clothing were a
general complaint. The following were those then current:--

{423}
[Prices in Tenghe]
Dresses 1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class
Khivan 30 20 8
Bokhariot 20 12 8
Khokandi 12 8 5

Besides the Aladja, they fabricate stuffs of silk, woollen shawls for
turbans, linen, for the most part very coarse and bad, and from the
latter a sort of calico, with dark red figures, used as coverlets for
bedding throughout Turkestan and Afghanistan.

In the manufacture of leather they are famous; they excel us in the

preparation of shagreen ('Sagri' in the Tartar language), which, as is
well known, is green, with little elevations like bladders. With the
exception of Russia leather--which they import from that country,
and employ in fashioning their water-skins--their coverings for the
feet, and their harness and accoutrements for horses, are
manufactured of native leather. Bokhara and Khokand produce these
articles of the best quality. Khiva has only one kind of thick yellow
leather, employed both for soles and upper leather. Of fine leather
they prepare the Meskh (under-shoes like stockings); and of the
coarser kinds, the Koush, or upper galoshes.

Paper manufactured in Bokhara and Samarcand enjoys a high repute

throughout Turkestan and the adjoining countries. It is made of raw
silk, is very smooth and thin, and well adapted for the Arabic {424}
writing. Articles of iron and steel, as the raw material is wanting, are
only weakly represented. The rifled guns from Hezaresp, the swords
and knives from Hissar, Karshi, and Djust, are in great renown.

An important manufacture of Central Asia, which reaches us in

Europe by way of Persia and Constantinople, is that of carpets,
which is, however, the exclusive product of the industry and skill of
the Turkoman women. Besides the beautifully pure colouring and
solidity of the texture, what most surprises us is how these simple
nomad women preserve so well the symmetry of the outline of
figures, and even betray often a better taste than many
manufacturers in Europe. One carpet gives work always for a
number of girls and young women. An old woman places herself at
their head as directress. She first traces, with points, the pattern of
the figures in the sand. Glancing at this, she gives out the number of
the different threads required to produce the desired figures. In the
next place, the workers in felt demand notice, but the Kirghis
women here distinguish themselves most.
 (c.) Trade.

As it was before mentioned, in the chapter respecting the mode of

communication, that Russia maintains the most extensive and
regular relations with Central Asia, so also must it be stated that it is
Russian trade which deserves to be styled the most ancient and the
most considerable. It is a trade ever on the increase, and, at least in
this field, remains without a rival. The extraordinary progress which
it has made in these regions is best seen from the following most
{425} authentic data. M. de Khanikoff [Footnote 154] states, in his
work published in 1843, that every year a number of from five to six
thousand camels is employed in the transport trade; that goods are
imported into Russia from Central Asia to the value of from three to
four millions of roubles; and that the export trade, which in 1828
amounted to £23,620, had risen, in 1840, to £65,675 16s. This
estimate applies to the years from 1828 to 1845. Her Majesty's
Secretary of Embassy at St. Petersburg, Mr. T. Saville Lumley, in his
Report upon the Russian trade with Central Asia, drawn up with
great industry and ability, informs us that, in the period from 1840 to
1850, the export trades rose to £1,014,237, and the import trade to
£1,345,741. [Footnote 155]

[Footnote 154: See the English translation of his work

by the Baron Bode, 1850. Madden.]

[Footnote 155: The Report above alluded to furnishes

itself all the necessary details: we have appended
them as given by Mr. Lumley himself.]

Table of the Trade between Russia and the Countries of

Central Asia for the Decennial Period from 1840 to 1850.

EXPORTED. [Amounts in Pounds Sterling]

Bokhara Khiva Kokan Total
 Specie, gold and silver 213,969 15,210 375 229,554
Copper 45,776 1,856 2,043 49,675
Iron, hardware, various metals 82,127 9,331 10,979 102,437
Cotton, manufactures in 156,707 58,915 7,559 223,181
Wool, ditto 50,467 25,869 1,976 78,312
Silk, ditto 10,550 4,799 71 15,420
Leather 81,543 37,921 4,069 123,533
Wooden ware 8,595 460 826 9,881
Dye-stuffs and colours 48,635 17,904 693 67,232
Miscellaneous goods 85,416 27,567 2,031 115,012
Total 783,785 199,830 30,622 1,014,237

{426}

Even without these data, a glance alone at the bazaars of Bokhara,

Khiva, and Karshi would suffice to convince us of the importance of
this branch of Russian trade; and it is by no means any exaggeration
to assert that there is no house, and even no tent, in all Central Asia
where there is not some article of Russian manufacture. The most
important trade is carried on in cast iron, for the most part
consisting of kettles and water cans, and imported from South
Siberia; but particularly from the manufactories in the Ural
Mountains. In the trade with Bokhara, Tashkend, and Khiva alone,
more than three thousand camels are employed in the transport of
this one article. After cast iron come raw iron and brass, Russian
cotton goods, cambric, muslins, tea-kettles, army and miscellaneous
cutlery.

IMPORTED. [Amounts in Pounds Sterling]

Bokhara Khiva Kokan Total
Cotton, raw and twist 333,177 76,255 2,718 412,150
 Cotton, manufactures in 498,622 88,960 14,180 601,802
Silk, raw, and manufactures
17,443 3,088 160 20,691
in
Wool, manufactures in 428 1,322 52 1,802
Madder 7,351 26,201 7 33,559
Furs, lamb-skins 151,773 6,297 1,995 160,065
Precious stones and pearl 17,856 703 ... 18,559
Fruit, dried 27,784 2,147 16,883 44,814
Shawls, Cashmere 24,242 ... ... 24,242
Miscellaneous goods 19,664 4,452 3,941 28,057
Total 1,096,380 209,425 39,936 1,345,741

For further details see 'Reports by Her Majesty's Secretaries of

Embassy and Legation on the Manufactures, Commerce, &.c.,' 1862,
No. V. p. 313.

{427}

Cloth, from its high price, meets with few purchasers, and is seldom
found. The before-named articles are transported from Bokhara and
Karshi, not only to the remaining parts of Turkestan, but to
Maymene and Herat, and even as far as Kandahar and Kabul. The
latter two cities are, indeed, nearer to Peshawur and Karatchi; but
give, nevertheless, the preference to the Russian merchandise,
although far inferior to that of England.

The circumstance may seem surprising to the reader, and yet the
reasons are simple. Orenburg is just as distant from Bokhara as
Karatchi, which, being in the Indian territory of Great Britain, might
form the outpost of English commerce. The route thence by Herat to
Central Asia would be far more practicable and more convenient
than that leading through the desert to Russia. That the English
trade is here supplanted by the Russian is, in my humble opinion, to
be ascribed to the following causes:--(1) The commercial relations of
Russia with Tartary are now several centuries old, and in comparison
with it that of England deserves to be denominated new, and it is
notorious how tenaciously Orientals cling to old usages and customs.
(2) The Russians occupying adjoining frontiers, in matters affecting
the taste and requisitions of the Central Asiatics, are more
experienced than the English manufacturers of Birmingham,
Manchester, and Glasgow, &c., an evil only to be remedied by
European travellers being able to move about more freely in these
regions than is the case at the present day, when journeys, not only
in Bokhara, {428} but even in Afghanistan, are attended by so much
risk and peril. (3) The Herat route, in spite of its possessing every
element of convenience, has very much to deter foreign merchants,
in consequence of the organised system of what may be styled
bandit governments, as may be seen from what was before said
upon the subject. [Footnote 156]

[Footnote 156: See Chapter XIV.]

Besides these commercial relations with Russia, Turkestan maintains

also others, almost uninterruptedly, by the way of Herat with Persia,
whither it sends lambs' wool, dried fruit, materials for red colouring,
and certain native stuffs, receiving in exchange a great quantity of
opium [Footnote 157] from Meshed, some English wares through the
house of Ralli & Company, sugar and cutlery. There is a route from
Meshed to Bokhara which can be performed in ten days, but the
karavans are forced to take the circuitous way by Herat, which
requires thrice as much time. From Kabul is exported to Bokhara a
sort of cotton shawl, with blue and white stripes, called by the
Tartars Pota, and by the Afghans Lunghi. It is used universally for
summer turbans, and looks like an English manufacture, which may
perhaps be imported by way of Peshawar; it is the only article
having a good sale, because in accordance with the national taste.
The Kabuli besides bring indigo and different kinds of spices,
receiving in return Russian calicoes, tea, and paper. {429}
 [Footnote 157: Opium, called here Teryak, is prepared
in the south-eastern part of Persia as follows:--The
head of the poppy has incisions made in it lengthways
on three of its sides at a fixed time in the evening, and
when only half ripe. The next morning after it has
been so cut a dew-like substance shows itself at the
place; this must be removed before sunrise, and, after
having been boiled, the resulting product is the Teryak.
It is singular that from the three places where the
poppy has been cut issue substances of different
quality, and of these that in the middle is most
esteemed.]

With China there is only an insignificant trade in tea and porcelain;

but these articles are quite different from those seen in Europe. The
Chinese seldom set foot over the frontier, the communication here
being almost entirely kept up by Kalmucks and Musselmans.

Lastly, let me not omit to allude to the trade carried on in Persia,

India, Arabia, and Turkey, by the Hadjis. The reader may think that I
am jesting; but still my experience justifies me in saying that this
also merits the name of commercial transaction. The fifty or sixty
Hadjis who came with me from Central Asia to Herat transported
with them about forty dozens of silk handkerchiefs from Bokhara,
about two thousand knives, thirty pieces of silk stuff from
Namengan, a large quantity of Khokandi Dappi (caps upon which the
turban is wound), &c. These were the Hadjis upon one route only.
As for the imports, account must also be held of the Hadjis; for it is
very easy to understand that the largest part of the European cutlery
that finds its way to Central Asia has been introduced by them.

{430}
 CHAPTER XXIII.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POLITICAL

RELATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA.

INTERNAL RELATIONS BETWEEN BOKHARA, KHIVA, AND

KHOKAND
EXTERNAL RELATIONS WITH TURKEY, PERSIA, CHINA, AND
RUSSIA.

(a.) Internal Relations.

From what I have said in the previous pages upon the subject of the
recent history of Khiva and Khokand, one may form a tolerably good
idea of the terms upon which the different Khanats live with each
other. I will, nevertheless, here collect a few facts to render it easier
to appreciate the whole situation.

Let us begin with Bokhara. This Khanat, which, even previously to

the introduction of Islamism, played a capital part, has,
notwithstanding all the revolutions that have since occurred, always
preserved its superiority, and it is regarded at the present day as the
cradle of the civilisation of Central Asia. Khokand and Khiva, as well
as the other small Khanats to the south, and even Afghanistan itself,
have never ceased to recognise its spiritual supremacy. They praise
and extol the Mollahs as well as the Islamite learning: of the 'noble
Bokhara;' but their love of it extends only thus far, for all attempts
made by the Emirs of {431} Bokhara to make use of their spiritual
influence to increase their political power have failed of success, not
only in the Khanats but even in the respective cities. Near-sighted
politicians might infer, from the wars carried on by the Emir
Nasrullah with Khiva and Khokand, that Bokhara, from apprehension
of a Russian invasion, is disposed to organise an alliance by means
gentle or foul. But this is not the case. Bokhara had never any such
plans. The campaigns of the Emir are but predatory expeditions; and
I am firmly convinced that should Russia proceed actively to carry
out her designs on Central Asia, the three Khanats, so far from
giving each other any mutual support in the moment of peril, would
by their dissensions furnish the common enemy with the very best
arms against themselves. Khiva and Khokand are then to be
regarded as the constant enemies of Bokhara: still Bokhara does not
look for any serious danger in those quarters, and the only rival that
she really fears in Central Asia is one that is day by day becoming
more formidable to her--Afghanistan.

That this fear reached its highest point during the victorious march
of Dost Mohammed Khan towards the Oxus, need scarcely be
mentioned. Emir Nasrullah was well aware that he should never be
forgiven by the aged Afghan for his infamous jest played upon him,
or rather his son, when the latter sought his hospitality in Bokhara;
[Footnote 158] and as it was affirmed that Dost Mohammed had
been reconciled with the English, and had become even an English
mercenary, the apprehension of the Emir was still further increased
by the {432} suspicion that he was but a tool in the hands of the
English to avenge the bloody deaths of Conolly and Stoddart. Dark,
indeed, must the pictures have been of the future destiny of his
Khanat, that the Tartar tyrant carried with him into his grave. Not
less was the apprehension entertained by his son and successor, the
reigning Emir, on his accession. Mozaffar-ed-din was in Khokand
when the intelligence reached him of the death of Dost Mohammed.
The messenger received a present of 1000 Tenghe; the very same
day a festival was improvised, and in the evening the Emir, to
complete the number of his legal wives, took to his bed his fourth
spouse, the youngest daughter of Khudayar Khan. The great dread
has, indeed, passed away, but a feeling of 'respect' continues still to
exist; for in Bokhara it is very well known that the Afghans, as fruit
of the alliance with England, can now dispose of some thousands of
well-drilled regular troops.

[Footnote 158: See Ferrier's 'History of the Afghans,' p.

336.]

Conscious of the superiority of the Afghans, and its own inability to

cope with them, it is the policy of Bokhara to do them as much harm
as possible by their intrigues. As the Afghans have allied themselves
with England it is not difficult to decry them throughout Turkestan as
apostates from Islam, and consequently during the last few years
the commercial intercourse with Kabul has much diminished. As
before mentioned, the Tekke and Salor stand constantly in the pay
of Bokhara. At the siege of Herat it was a matter of great surprise to
the aged Dost that, in spite of all the presents which he made to
them, the Turkomans continued to molest him, and to carry off
prisoners even from his own army. He had quite forgotten his real
enemies--the gold pieces of Bokhara; for the sympathies of the
Turkomans are ever with those that pay best. Thus far of the
internal policy of Bokhara.

{433}

Khiva has been much enfeebled by the continual wars it has had to
maintain with its own tributaries--who are ever ready to renew the
contest--the Yomuts, Tchaudors, and Kasaks. The superiority of
numbers is on the side of Bokhara; and if the Emir has hitherto been
unable to conquer Khiva, the sole cause is the bravery of the Özbeg
population. Allahkuli was, as I heard, the first who sent an
ambassador to Bokhara and Khokand (probably it was at the
suggestion of Conolly), in order to organise a system of mutual aid
and defensive alliance against that power of Russia which was ever
on the increase. Not only did Bokhara decline to enter into such
alliance, but it even evinced a disposition to enter into relations with
Russia. Khokand, on the other hand, as well as Shehri Sebz, and
Hissar (cities which were then at war with the Emir), declared their
readiness to adhere to the proposition of Khiva. But this union never
assumed any other form but that of a wish, never was carried into
effect; and how difficult its realisation would be is best shown by an
ancient Arab proverb, adopted by the Central Asiatics as descriptive
of their own national character, and which is to the following effect:
'In Roum are blessings, in Damascus beneficence, in Bagdad
science; but in Turkestan nought but rancour and animosity.'
[Footnote 159]

[Footnote 159: 'El bereket fi Rum el muruvet fi Sham

el ilm fi Bagdad, el togz ve adavet fi Mavera ül-nehr.']

{434}

Khokand, owing to the continual dissensions between the Kiptchaks,

Kirghis, and Kasaks, is a prey to the same evil as Khiva. When we
add to this the unexampled cowardice of its Özbeg inhabitants, it will
no longer appear surprising if, in spite of its having the greatest
population and the most extensive territory of the three Khanats, it
has, nevertheless, been continually conquered by Bokhara.

(b.) External Relations.

In its political relations with foreign countries, Central Asia, comes

only in contact with Turkey, Persia, China, and Russia.

The Sultan of Constantinople is regarded as Chief of Religion and

Khalif, and as it was the practice in the middle ages for the three
Khanats of Turkestan to receive, as badges of investiture from the
Khalif of Bagdad, a sort of court office, this old system of etiquette
has not been abandoned even at the present day; and the princes,
on their accession to the throne, are wont still to solicit, through the
medium of an extraordinary embassy to Stamboul, these honorary
distinctions. The Khan of Khiva assumes his rank as Cupbearer, the
Emir of Bokhara as Reis (guardian of religion), and the Khan of
Khokand as Constable. These courtly functions have always been in
high estimation, and I have been informed that the different
functionaries fulfil formally once every year the corresponding
duties. But the bond that unites them with Constantinople goes thus
far, and no farther. The Sultans cannot exercise any political
influence upon the three Khanats. The inhabitants of Central Asia,
indeed, are in the habit of associating with the word Roum (as
Turkey is here called) all the power and splendour of ancient Rome,
{435} with which, in the popular opinion, it is identified; but the
princes seem to have seen through this illusion, nor would they be
disposed to recognise the paramount grandeur of the Sultan unless
the Porte associated its 'Firman of Investiture,' or its 'Licences to
Pray,' with the transmission of some hundreds or thousands of
piastres. In Khiva and Khokand these Firmans from Constantinople
continue to be read with some demonstration of reverence and
respect. The former Khanat was represented in Constantinople
during a period of ten years, by Shükrullah Bay; the latter, during
the reign of Mollah Khan, had only four years ago an ambassador,
Mirza Djan, at the court of the Sultan. These envoys were, in
accordance with ancient usages, sometimes maintained for long
periods of years at the cost of the State, a charge not altogether
convenient as far as its budget for foreign affairs was concerned, but
nevertheless altogether essential and necessary to the pretension to
a spiritual superiority in Asia.

The Ottoman Empire could only have gained effectual political

influence in these remote regions of the East when it was roused
from its slumbering Oriental existence before the time of Peter the
Great. In its character of Turkish dynasty, the house of Osman
might, out of the different kindred elements with which it is
connected by the bond of common language, religion, and history,
have founded an empire extending from the shore of the Adriatic far
into China, an empire mightier than that which the great Romanoff
was obliged to employ not only force but cunning to put together,
out of the most discordant and heterogeneous materials. {436}
Anatolians, Azerbaydjanes, Turkomans, Özbegs, Kirghis, and Tartars
are the respective members out of which a mighty Turkish Colossus
might have arisen, certainly better capable of measuring itself with
its greater northern competitor than Turkey such as we see it in the
present days.

With Persia, its nearest neighbour, Khiva and Bokhara interchange

ambassadors but rarely. The fact that Persia avows the principles of
the Shiite sect, forms in itself just such a wall of separation between
these two fanatical nations as Protestantism created between the
two great classes of Christians in Europe three centuries ago. To this
feeling of religious animosity let us add, also, the traditional enmity
between the Iranian and Turanian races that has become matter of
history, and we may then easily form an idea of the gulf that
separates the sympathies of nations that nature has made
inhabitants of adjoining countries. Persia, which, according to the
natural course of events, should form the channel to convey to
Turkestan the benefits of modern civilisation, is far from producing
there even the slightest effect. Powerless to defend even her own
frontiers from the Turkomans, the disgraceful defeat she sustained,
as before mentioned, at Merv, in an expedition directed, in fact,
against Bokhara, has utterly destroyed her prestige. Her power is the
object of very little apprehension in the three Khanats, for the
Tartars affirm that God gave the Persians head (understanding) and
eyes, but no heart (courage).

{437}

With respect to China, its political relations with Central Asia are so
rare and insignificant, that they scarcely merit any mention. Once,
perhaps, in a century a correspondence takes place. The Emirs are
in the habit of sending occasionally envoys to Kashgar, but the
Chinese, on their side, never venture so far into Turkestan as
Bokhara. With Khokand negotiations take place more frequently, but
it sends only functionaries of inferior rank to the Musselman
barbarians.
With Russia political relations are upon a very different footing.
Having been for centuries in possession of the countries that border
upon the deserts of Turkestan on the north, an extensive commercial
intercourse has rendered Russia more observant of what is going on
in the three Khanats than their other neighbours, and has caused a
series of efforts of which the only possible termination seems to be
their complete occupation. The very obstacles which nature has
interposed have rendered, indeed, the progress of Russia slow, but
perhaps her progress is only on that account the more certain. The
three Khanats are the only members now wanting to that immense
Tartar kingdom that Ivan Vasilyevitch (1462-1505) imagined, and
which he began actually to incorporate with his Russian dominions,
and which, since the time of Peter the Great, has been the earnest
though silent object of his successors.

In the Khanats themselves this Russian policy has not passed

entirely unnoticed. Princes and people are well aware of the danger
that threatens them, and it is only Oriental indifference and religious
enthusiasm that lull them in the fond sleep of security. {438} The
majority of the Central Asiatics with whom I conversed upon this
subject, contented themselves by observing that Turkestan has two
strong defences: (1) the great number of saints who repose in its
territory, under the constant protection of the 'noble Bokhara;' (2)
the immense deserts by which it is surrounded. Few men, and these
only merchants, who have resided long in Russia, would regard a
change in their government with indifference, for although they have
the same detestation for everything that is not Mohammedan, yet,
at the same time, they never cease to extol the love of justice and
the spirit of order that distinguish the 'Unbelievers.'

{439}
 CHAPTER XXIV.

THE RIVALRY OF THE RUSSIANS AND

ENGLISH IN CENTRAL ASIA.

ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA AND ENGLAND TOWARDS CENTRAL

ASIA
PROGRESS OF RUSSIA ON THE JAXARTES.

Rivalry between England and Russia in Central Asia I heard in

England, on my return, affirmed to be an absurdity. 'Let us,' it was
said, 'hear no more of a question so long ago worn out and out of
fashion. The tribes of Turkestan are wild, rude, and barbarous; and
it is a matter upon which we congratulate ourselves, if Russia takes
upon herself the onerous and meritorious task of civilisation in those
regions. England has not the slightest cause to watch such a policy
with envy or jealousy.'

Full of horror at the scenes of cruelty witnessed by me in Turkestan,

of which I have endeavoured to give a faint sketch in the preceding
pages, I long argued over the question with myself, whether these
political views which men sought to instill into me were really in
every respect well founded. It is clear, and, indeed, has long been
so, to my mind, that Christian civilisation, incontestably the noblest
and most glorious attribute that ever graced human society, would
be a benefit to Central Asia. The part, however, of {440} the
question that has a political bearing I could not so easily dispose of;
for although I regard the subject in all its different points of view,
and drive my conjectures ever so far, I can never entirely realise the
idea that England can behold with indifference any approach of
Russia to her Indian dominions.

The epoch of political Utopias is past. We are far from being so

inspired with a Russophobia as to regard the time as at hand when
the Russian Cossack and the English Sepoy shall knock their noses
together while acting as sentinels upon their respective frontiers.
The drama of a collision of the two great colossi in Central Asia,
which political dreamers imagined years ago, continues still far from
actual performance. The question moves, it is true, slowly, but still
always in a forward direction. Let me, following the natural course of
events, without undue warmth endeavour to acquaint the reader
with the motives that influence me when I disapprove of the
indifference of the English to the Russian policy in Central Asia.

In the first place, let us enquire whether Russia is really pressing on

towards the south; and if so, what, up to the present moment, has
been the extent of her actual advance. Until twenty-five years ago,
very little attention had been devoted to Russian policy in Central
Asia. The occupation of Afghanistan by the English, and the Russo-
Persian alliance and expedition against Khiva, were the causes that
first led to the subject of Turkestan being touched upon in the
diplomatic correspondence between the cabinets of St. Petersburg
and London. Since that time a tolerable calm has ensued. England,
discouraged by {441} the failure of her plans, withdrew at once, but
Russia still keeps silently advancing, and essential changes have
taken place with respect to her frontiers on the side of Turkestan. On
the western part of Central Asia--for instance, on the Sea of Aral and
its shores--Russian influence has considerably increased. With the
exception of the mouth of the Oxus, the entire west of the Aral Sea
is recognised Russian territory. Upon that sea itself there are, at this
day, three steamers to which the Khan of Khiva has given permission
to advance as far as Kungrat. [Footnote 160] It is given out that
they are there to protect their fisheries; but they may probably have
another destination, and every one in Khiva knows that the recent
revolutions in Kungrat, as well as other frequent skirmishes between
Kasaks and Özbegs, have a certain connection with these fishing
boats.

But these are only secondary plans. The real line of operations is
rather to be sought along the left bank of the Jaxartes. Here we find
the Russian outposts supported by an uninterrupted chain of forts
and walls, pushed on as far as Kale Rehim, distant thirty-two miles
from Tashkend, which city may, as I have remarked, be regarded as
a key to all conquests in Central Asia. This route, which traverses
fewer deserts than any other, is also in different respects {442} well
chosen. An army would be here exposed, indeed, to more surprises;
but these can be resisted more easily than the fury of the elements.
On the eastern frontiers of Khokand also, beyond Namengan, the
Russians continue to move nearer and nearer; and in the time of
Khudayar Khan many collisions had already taken place there
between the Khokandi and the Russians.

[Footnote 160: That the Russian vessels do not pass

higher up the Oxus is alone attributable to the
numerous sandbanks in that river, which rapidly shift
their places. I am astonished that Barnes expresses
himself so lightly respecting its navigability. Boatmen
who have passed all their lives on the Oxus assured
me that the sandbanks change position so often that
the experience and observation of one day are useless
for the day that follows.]

The continued progress of the Russian designs in Central Asia is then

beyond all doubt. As I before said, the interests of civilisation make
us wish the most entire success to the Russian arms; but still the
remote consequences of an acquisition once made suggest a highly
important and complicated enquiry. The question whether Russia will
content herself even with Bokhara, or will allow the Oxus to become
the final boundary of her influence and of her designs, is difficult to
answer. Without plunging into any deep considerations of policy, I
may remark that it seems very probable that the court of St.
Petersburg, in return for her persevering policy of sacrifices pursued
across deserts for years and years, at great expense and labour, will
seek some richer compensation than is to be found in the oases of
Turkestan. I should like, indeed, to see the politician who would
venture to affirm that Russia, once in possession of Turkestan, would
be able to withstand the temptation of advancing, either personally
or by her representatives, into Afghanistan and Northern India,
where political intrigues are said to find always a fruitful soil. At the
time when the Russian columns, under the orders of Peroffsky, threw
their ominous shadow from the west shore of the Aral Sea as far as
Kabul--at the {443} time when the spectre of Vitkovitsh [Footnote
161] appeared in that city and in Kandahar, the possibility of such
complications as those alluded to was foreseen. And cannot that
which has once occurred, when the necessity arises, occur a second
time? [Footnote 162]

[Footnote 161: This was the name of the Russian

agent sent by the court of St. Petersburg to
Afghanistan in 1838, with large sums of money to be
employed in intrigues against England.]

[Footnote 162: Whilst I write the above, a St.

Petersburg correspondent of the Daily Telegraph
(10th October 1864) sends the intelligence that the
Russians have already taken Tashkend. The
authenticity of the statement may perhaps be doubted,
but that the Russians are in movement in that quarter
is certain.]

Without, therefore, lending to the question the foul colouring of envy

or jealousy, I consider myself justified in disapproving of England's
indifference to the plans of Russia in Central Asia. Such is my
humble opinion; but whether the British Lion is to come in direct
hostile collision with the Russian Bear in those regions, or in
brotherly fashion they are to share and share alike, is a question
which, in accordance with the precept, 'Ne sutor ultra crepidam,' I in
my character of a Dervish, devoted to philological studies, will not
venture nearer to approach.

LONDON

PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO

NEW-STREET SQUARE

Albemarle Street, London,

November, 1863.

MR. MURRAY'S

GENERAL LIST OF WORKS.

ALBERT (Prince).

THE PRINCIPAL SPEECHES AND ADDRESSES of H.R.H. THE

PRINCE CONSORT; with an Introduction giving some Outlines of
his Character. Portrait. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

ABBOTT'S (Rev. J.)

 Philip Musgrave; or, Memoirs of a Church of England Missionary
in the North American Colonies. Post 8vo. 2s.

ABERCROMBIE'S (John)

Enquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers and the

Investigation of Truth. 16th Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 6s. 6d.

Philosophy of the Moral Feelings. 12th Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 4s.

ACLAND'S (Rev. Charles)

Popular Account of the Manners and Customs of India. Post

8vo. 2s.

AESOP'S FABLES.

A New Translation. With Historical Preface. By Rev. Thomas

James. With 100 Woodcuts, by Tenniel and Wolf. 50th
Thousand. Post 8vo. 2s. 6d.

AGRICULTURAL (The) Journal.

Of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 8vo. Published

half-yearly.

AIDS TO FAITH:

a Series of Essays on, By various Writers. Edited by William

Thomson, D.D., Lord Archbishop of York. 8vo. 9s.

CONTENTS.

Rev. H. L. Mansel--On Miracles.

Bishop Fitzgerald--Christian Evidences.

 Rev. Dr. McCaul--On Prophecy.

Rev. F. C. Cook.--Ideology and Subscription.

Rev. Dr. McCaul--Mosaic Record of Creation.

Rev. George Rawlinson--The Pentateuch.

Archbishop Thomson--Doctrine of the Atonement.

Rev. Harold Browne--On Inspiration.

Bishop Ellicott--Scripture and its Interpretation.

AMBER-WITCH (The).

The most interesting Trial for Witchcraft ever known. Translated

from the German by Lady Duff Gordon. Post 8vo. 2s.

ARMY LIST (MONTHLY)

Published by Authority. Fcap. 8vo. 1s. 6d.

ARTHUR'S (LITTLE)

History of England. By Lady Callcott. 120th Thousand. With 20

Woodcuts. Fcap. 8vo. 2s. 6d.

ATKINSON'S (Mrs.)

Recollections of Tartar Steppes and their Inhabitants. With

Illustrations. Post 8vo. 12s.

AUNT IDA'S Walks and Talks;

a Story Book for Children, By a Lady. Woodcuts. 16mo. 5s.

AUSTIN'S (John)

Lectures on Jurisprudence; or, the Philosophy of Positive Law. 3

Vols. 8vo. 39s.

AUSTIN'S (Sarah)

Fragments from German Prose Writers. With Biographical

Notes. Post 8vo. 10s.

ADMIRALTY PUBLICATIONS; Issued by direction of the Lords

Commissioners of the Admiralty:--

A MANUAL OF SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY, for the Use of Travellers.

Edited by Sir John F. Herschel, and Rev. Robert Main. Third
Edition. Woodcuts. Post 8vo. 9s.

AIRY'S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS Made At Greenwich.

1836 to 1847. Royal 4to. 50s. each.

AIRY'S ASTRONOMICAL RESULTS. 1848 to 1858. 4to. 8s. each.

AIRY'S APPENDICES TO THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

1836.--I. Bessel's Refraction Tables.

II. Tables for converting Errors of R.A. and N.P.D. into

Errors of Longitude and Ecliptic P.D. 8s.

1837.--I. Logarithms of Sines and Cosines to every Ten Seconds

of Time. 8s.

II. Table for converting Sidereal into Mean Solar Time. 8s.

1842.--Catalogue of 1439 Stars. 8s.

1845.--Longitude of Valentia. 8s.

Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com