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and contains many instructive and pleasing pieces in verse and prose . Among the contributors , whose names are so many pledges of excellence , are Miss Edgeworth , Mrs . Hemans , Mrs . Opie , Mrs . Henry Tighe , Mr .
Montgomery , Mr . Croly , Mr . Bernard Barton and Mr . Bowring . There are ten engravings , some of which are fascinating productions of art , and two plates of Autographs of distinguished English names . We have seldom read a more
interesting paper than the " Account of the Armenian Christians at Constantinople , by the Rev . Robert Walsh , LL . D ., late Chaplain to the British Embassy at Constantinople . ' Having given a pleasing picture of Armenian family manners , Dr . Walsh proceeds to describe their posthumous affection and piety :
IC Nor does the attachment of families cease with this life ; for long after death they endeavour to hold a visionary communication with their parents and children . The cemeteries of the people of the East are not , as with us , small , and
scattered in detached places through their cities ; but there are large common receptacles for the dead outside their towns . In the vicinity of Constantinople , each nation has its own ; and the Turks , Jews , Greeks and Armenians , form immense cities of the dead . That
of the Armenians occupies a space of near a hundred acres , on a hill that overlooks the Bosphorus . The Turks , on the death of a friend , plant a young cypress over his grave ; their buryingground , therefore , consists of extensive groves of these trees , which they reserve
exclusively to themselves . The Armenians generally plant on such occasions a tree * which yields a resinous gum of a strong aromatic odour , which fills the air , and corrects the exhalations from the graves . They grow to a large size , and form very picturesque objects in a
landscape . Their cemetery on the Bosphorus is covered with these trees , and from its elevated situation , the view it commands , and the view it presents , is perhaps the most interesting grove in the
world . Here whole Armenian families , of two or three generations together , are constantly seen sitting round the tombs , and holding visionary communications with their departed friends . According to their belief , the souls of the
* Pistuccia Terebinthina .
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dead pass into a place called Gayanh , which is not a purgatory , for they suffer neither pain nor pleasure , but retain a perfect consciousness of the past . From this state they may be delivered by the alms and prayers of the living , which the pious Armenians give liberally for their friends . Easter Monday is the great day
on which they assemble for this purpose ; but every Sunday , and frequently week days , are devoted to the same object . The priest who accompanies them , first proceeds to the tombs , and reads the prayers for the dead , in which he is joined by the family . They then separate into groups , or singly sitting down by
favourite graves , call their inhabitants about them , and , by the help of a strong imagination , really seem to converse with them . This pious and pensive duty being performed with their dead friends , they retire to some pleasant spot near the place , where provisions had been previously brought , and cheerfully enjoy the
society of the living . These family visits to the mansions of the departed are a favourite enjoyment of this people . I have frequently joined their groups without being considered an intruder ; and , I confess , I have always returned pleased , and even edified , by the pious though
mistaken practice . " The island of Marmora lies almost within sight of jhis place , and abounds in marble $ this stone is very cheap and abundant , and no other is used in erecting tombs . Some of these family mausolea are rich and well sculptured ; others of them are very remarkably distinguished . The first thing that strikes
a stranger , is a multitude of little cavities cut at the angles of the stone ; these are monuments of Armenian charity . The trees abound with birds , who frequently perish for want of water in that hot and arid soil . These cups are intended to be so many reservoirs to retain water for their use , as they are Ailed by everv shower of rain . The Armenians
are fond of commemorating the profession of the dead ; they therefore engrave on his tomb the implements of his trade , so that every one may know how he had gained his living ; but the most extraordinary circumstance is , that they
are also fond of displaying how he came by his death : you therefore see on their tombs the effigies of men sometimes hanging , sometimes strangled , and sometimes beheaded , with their heads in their hands . To account for this
extraordinary fondness for displaying the 111 famous deatli of their friends , they say that no Armenian is ever executed for a real crime ; but when a man has acquired a
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Review . —Th * Amulet , or Christian and Literary Remembrancer * 61 /
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1826, page 617, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2553/page/45/
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