Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 2199, 23 April 1896, Page 45

I thrilled as all so delJghtf nlly.— JAMßS PATH I in the Illustrated London News.

| THE ARMENIANS AS THEY ABE.

Physically, in bis native uplands and valleys, the Armenian is a fine 'specimen oi humanity; tali and well-built, with dolichocephalic head, big dark eyes deeply set in the orbits, elongated oval face, hair normally black, although I have met many who were fair, long acquillne nose, and a rare, sensual mouth. Morally, he is a poor creature. When Fred Burnaby was in search of a servant at Constantinople to accompany him in his ride through Asia Minor, he preferred to take a rascal of a Circassian to an " honest Armenian." The former is a scoundrel anything yoa like, but he is bold and useful; the latter has all the vices of the Turk and not one of his qualities. He is cowardly, cringing, fawning, a flatterer. But they who spraflg from daring warriors, deemed worthy, according to Gibbon, to form tbe bodyguard of the Byzantine emperors at the zenith ol their power, no doubt owe these defects to centuries of the worst oppression, Still, the modern Armenian is dishonest, deceitful, untruthful. He will oheat you and lie to you with his face wreathed in the most pleasant smiles. Neverthelass, the Armenian, with all. his faults, is industrious, patient, thrifty. Out in the villages he cultivate* land and rears bis flocks, whilst tho women spin, weave and knit, make chease from the milk of goats and ewes, and attend to house* hold duties. The peasant inhabits a wretched! hovel built of rough unhewn stone, with narrow loopholeß for windows, that give bafc_ dim light within. In some parts where winter is exceptionally cold, he resides underground along with the live stock— man, wife, children, sheep, goats, fowls, and perhaps a yoke of oxen, and a horse, all mixed up to«~ gettier. He reaches his door down an incline. The roof or the dwelling is cupola-shaped like that of a Mosque or Turkish bath, with a few oircular holes in it provided with thick glass. One night, riding in the dark, I fell, horse and all, in One of these barrows, the oovezing of Whiob was more than usually rotten, and came down on the beaten ground flooring in tbe midst of the family supper, to the intense amazement and dismay of the inmates. The- Armenian peasant, and, indeed, the lower orders of tho population everywhere, are inherently dirty, both as regards their persons and their homes ; they make little use of soap and water, and that is one reason why the Tuika show such snpreme contempt for them, Their habitations are" swarming with' fleas; and it is no uncommon thing, when living amongst them, to meet with even more objectionable insects that proy upon certain races of mankind. ■ At Constantinople tbe Armenians command a large part of the commerce and finance, and swarm in the Government offices, where they are the right hand of the administration. They are quite as keen on back' theeih as their rulers the Turks, and hava five fingers in three-quarters of the pilfering and corruption that goes on from day to day at the Sublime Forte. But whether in town or village, in the mansion up in Per a, or in the hovel, thair characteristic features are the same. They are smooth-tongued, but insincere and doubled-fac'ed. They present a smiling, pliant, fawning exterior, but are the reverse at heart, and if ever on Armenian is surprised off his guard, he will be found proud, overbearing, 'boastful, arrogant. Still they are wonderfully clever. Loria Melikoff, who conquered in Aisia in the last war, is an Armenian, born at a small village near Eizeroum : Nubar Pasha is an Armenian from Smyrna, and how many others are there who have risen from nothing and won wealth and power? The Sultan Abdul Hamid himself, it is commonly reported at Constantinople, is tbe offspring of an Armenian physician who had access to. the harem in his professional capaoity, and certainly his Majesty's features are a most perfect type of the race. The Armenian women are handsome and of good figure in their youth, but inclined to obesity. They all paint, young girls and middle-aged women alike. They are very fond of sweets and dress— as most of the fair in modern Byzantium— and will pinch in order to purchase something new wherewith to adorn themselves. The constant terror of the Armenian at home, and the cause of all the recant trouble, is that free, jaunty, devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky cattle lifter, and perpetrator of unspeakable horrors — the Kurd, who, with v bis voluminous turban wound about his brow, his small, vigorous, wiry pone between his thigh?, and his' long, light lance-in his right fist, swoops down on the unguardad Armenian village, drives off flocks and herds, and carries off the women! He is no innovation in the country ; he has been the Armenian's neighbour for centuries ; Stratjo and Xenophon both mention him under another name, and he is still there and at the same pranks as of yore. The timid, downtrodden, fawning Armenian, stirred to action by some unusually audacious aggression, and, perhaps, also by the promise of assistance from the vague unknown, takes to arms, endeavours to recover his stolen property, and wreak vengeance for tbe mortal insult. The whole district at once is in a state of anarchy. Troops are marched out; the rising ia Bternly repressed.— E. Vizetblli, in th« Minster Magazine.