The initiatory services to the Elif Bé, literature of the young Moslems, are very imposing. The candidate, blooming with the roses of six short summers, is decked in his best, and in the best of the neighbors' too; for there is great borrowing of jewelry and rich embroideries, when the parents cannot afford to buy. The young tyro mounts a steed which vies with him in the splendor of its caparison, and with his badge of honor, a beautiful and glittering satchel slung over his shoulder, parades the streets. The children of the school about to be honored by his attendance, are the escort; and the good old hodja, or school-master, leads the train, and the tune, as they wend their way, singing and chanting; the boys and girls vociferating in full chorus, Ameen! Ameen!
When the children of the sultan are about to begin their literary pursuits, the procession and rejoicings are, of course, in proportion to the excelling importance of the royal progeny over all inferior buds of humanity.
The public are thus duly notified, though the instruction of the young sultans is by private masters.
The system of instruction in the Turkish schools is eminently primitive, and the branches taught are very elementary.
They use neither quill nor desk, the peculiarity of the Turkish characters requiring the stiffness of the reed; and the importance attached to calligraphy is so great, that the paper is held on the palm of the hand, in order to give the flexibility requisite for the formation of the letters. The lessons of the children consist of spelling and writing; and the higher studies in committing the Koran to memory. In order to understand this sacred book, they are obliged to learn the grammar, in which proficiency is seldom made. Hence very few, even of the officials, especially of the ancien régime, can read or write correctly, all their correspondence being performed by keatibs, or scribes. The general deficiency of education creates a great demand for men of this profession, whose services are needed for all sorts of letter writing, for petitions, obligatory notes, contracts, etc. These persons are to be found in the court-yards of the mosques, in shops and kahvés near the Porte, and in many other places.