THE FIREMEN OF STAMBOUL.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9387, 10 April 1896, Page 2

THE FIREMEN OF STAMBOUL.

C. Sutclijfe, in the Windsor Magazine. Why court failure by attempting to describe the indescribable, that stronghold at whose gates civilisation has for centuries hammered in vain; that medley of wealth the most lavish, and poverty the most abject that the world knows ? Why attempt to Bay anything of Stambonl save that it is Starriboul, and then stand apart while the tourist lays his pen in rest and tilts at the great supine giant at his will? You oross the bridge. The true Turk is not to be seen till you are on its farther side. He shows good taste, for Pera and Galata are vile. Arrived there, you step smartly aside in order to avoid the human missile which is rushing upon you. It is a brigade of firemen, pioturesque ruffians whose long muscular brown limbs enable them to get over the ground more quickly far than would any English fire-engine if introduced into steep step-streets that here form the by-ways. Each man is armed with an axe and a long hooked stick. With the one they will hack down ths neighbour of

the wooden building whioh is burning merrily away ; with the other they will draw into safety the carpets and cushions whioh form the chief of its fittings.

The firemen, who are known as tulumbadji, are attired according to tho rules of strict propriety. Their knickerbockers of white cambric are drawn below thoir knees, their full shirts are pulled up to their throats, ana their sleeves down to the wrist, little yes.3 of crimson cloth are stretched over their chests and shoulders, and a many-coloured sash ia wound several time 3 round their waists. As the fun grows fast and furious, however, all these appendages, unnecessary to a tulumbadji, will be flung aside, and he will attack the flames in such a condition that, should 3 heat-wave pass over him, he need havo little fear of charred rags clinging to his limbs, Yanghen var! Yanghen var! Those whe passed first were only the out-runnera il j seems—the advanced guard—of a ourioui ' s construction having the of (- 1 palanquin gone wrong. This is carried bj 1 means of long poles on the shoulders d S another-set of .firemen, who, as it is a bij I fire, shout out Allah I Allah las they haatea t past. 1 The tulumbadji had until quite recently I certain privileges of which they have now, to 1 their great indignation, been deprived. One I of these was that until they, Lords of tbe Raging Flame, appeared on the soene no out might make any attempt to put the fire out, Till their chief had sanctioned the act, more-' over, no water might be drawn from th* publio wells and fountains. Sometimes ia their zeal tulumbadji will use their long curved staves to draw out articles from buildings which stand in no danger. Then s i / the other block will be allowed to blaze syrfy ' v ({< in peace for a time while .a band to han *fj» :* fight goes on between the owners of thia ' pilfered treasure and the firemen, who do not see the point of'working in the interests of others only. It is said that the whole of I Constantinople, the mosqueß, excepted, ia I burnt down every twenty years. The wondez I is that it iB not burnt down every two. Tin I Oamanli's idea of ensuring the safety of hil home is to build it of wood from roof t« foundation j to let it bake in the suns of I summer such as is his for eight months in the year; to set a pan of charcoal in the middle of his floor; to place th« I pile of pillows which he calls hia bed ' practically on the top of it; to put a few okes of fresh fuel within easy reach of bis

hand, to light his pipe, go comfortably to Bleep, - and wait what Kismet will send him. In the romantic days of yore, the Sultan for the time being was always supposed to 4s present at any great conflagration. So soon as it.was seen that a whole quarter must be enveloped in flame, messages were sent to the - palace to give information. One of the women of the harem was then hastily dressed in aoarlet robes kept for the purpose; scarlet , Slippers were put on her feet, and a lonj - scarlet veil flung over the whole. She would- .* open the door of any apartment where hel lord might be, and, standing still and silenl ■ in the doorway, wonld by her presence theil ' indicate the nature of the disaster. # ' After considering the tumulbadji, one might watch the maroh past of a band of stalwart Albanians, arrogant and lordly in mind al they are in gait. Eaoh bears an arsenal in his belt consisting of knives, sabres, and yataghans, the vacant Bpaoea being filled up with pistols of Borts. > AcroM his shoulders is slung the gun whioh will, still hang there when in the spring he trainj. \ up and down his field of maize or tobaccjj - j scratching the ground with the implement v , pleases him to call a plough. TJ.W domineering mountaineers are here for tM" niost part to barter the skins and farfl tfcej have brought with them for such necessitW . of life as gunpowder and firearms, and wia presently leave tho city for their own ottf* perched homes. Some, however, rental* here permanently and—for courage W" fidelity are among their finest characterisHM —they make excellent watchmen. Ia tn» realm, where the nursery-maid is unknewiU - the Albanian also sometimes plays *™-_]? w V--. and not the least diverting of the sights * .- this city, is that of a great bloodthirsty-look-ing giant issuing from the doorway of # im - , house of a well-to-do Englishman WiUM ' tiny, gray-eyed, golden-haired little daUgWj,- ? of the West in his arms. He will carry down the road with .nnconoealed V n ™' ostentatiously lifting her veil a 8 he pass" ; some representative of his own race, taw« , may be soen how far he is honoured W™ , trusted by his employe™. Should 80«« , y . Btreet urchin or hatnal approach, he *£♦ with a dash of his native ferocity, order w»;. into the gutter that the pavement mayJ* Jeft free for the passing of this white pn*»""[. As caretakers they are invaluable, and w«j--a difficulty which without them *°*T-; • be insolvable—that is, how to «»»» - the safety of the town house when the ow»,y i is up the Bosphorus, or the | when the owner is back in the city. -""Wf; W a zaptieh ot soldier to keep an eye on' *JJ'JKf fc be to find the building deprived of *»J5"-;. X shutter on his return. He would J™*£- « vain from his Circassian servant to nui**«£ -; from his Armenian to hits Jew, •JL-,* '.' Levantine, his Maltese, or his Greek. *"V ; iude or perseverance, or some quality, •JjL',* - not honesty, wonld in each case be «*>?»* ; , but with an Albanian he is quite safe. J™ ?r if a blood feud in his native village ca"«» "^".: : mountaineer away in haste, it ia poss™ not probable, but still POSBible-tna* might recommend a brother to tramp ' the doorstep till his patron's "j 01 ?' c i with an Albanian armed from toe to w)-" ,;. . , the watch, it would be a fearless and a buu ~ , house-breaker who could make his way **,