The first quote: “Yet there was not the least wanton smile or immodest gesture amongst them. They walked and moved with the same majestic grace which Milton describes of our general mother.” (Page 59)
In this quote, we can clearly see that the author of the letter have more or less reinforced the stereotype of the Turkish people about how they are “beautiful” and “exotic”. She had described the Turkish women and their servants as people that are “perfect”, as if they would behave in a way that is way better than women in Europe and how they would never do anything that is immodest or unwelcoming.
The second quote: “The Turks are too proud to converse familiarly with merchants etc.” (Page 60)
The quote clearly shows how the author had held a prejudge against the Turks, as she simply based this on her opinion. If anything, the Turks would be one of the people that are most interested and professional in mercantilism. The Ottoman capital, Istanbul is literally sitting on the Silk Road and in the crossroad of Asia and Europe. Compared to other nation that exists at the time, the Ottomans would have been shown as a nation that is way more welcoming to merchants.
The third quote: “Indeed the Janissaries had no mercy on their poverty, killing all the poultry and sheep they could find without asking who they belonged to, while the wretched owners durst not put in their claim for fear of being beaten.” (Page 61)
It is known that Janissaries are raised in the sultan’s court; they are all highly educated and well-disciplined. The last thing they would do is to raid the locals while fighting in a war, as all their expenses were covered by the sultan. The poverty/ horror that the author had seen were most likely caused by mercenaries hired by the Turks or their enemies. Even logically speaking, it simply doesn’t make sense for the sultan to allow the janissaries to raid in his own lands anyways. After all, those are people that pay lots of taxes to him. This also reflects how the author still saw the Turks as “Barbaric” and “Nomadic” people that had no mercy for the others.
The fourth quote: “They cut off his hands, head, and feet, and throw them before the palace gate with all the respect in the world, while the sultan (to whom they all profess an unlimited adoration) sits trembling in his apartment, and dare neither defend nor revenge his favorite.” (Page 66)
This again, the author had reinforced the idea that the Turks are still “barbaric”. In the way that people were tortured without mercy, and how the land is basically lawless; seeing how even the sultan did not even hold the power to protect his man.
The fifth quote: “I cannot help wishing, in the loyalty of my heart, that the parliament would send hither a shipload of your passive obedient men, that they might see arbitrary government in its clearest, strongest light, where ‘tis hard to judge whether the prince, people or ministers are most miserable.” (Page 66)
In this quote, the author reemphasizes that not only the Turks were a barbaric people, but also, they have got a weakling as an emperor. She also stated that the Turks have an insufficient and obsolete government as she totally adores the parliament of Great Britain.