Greeks and their religion, yet they admit their saints to have been great and good men, and consequently suppose their intercession to be valuable in the other world. We heard the other day a laughable illustration of this superstition, if indeed there can be any thing laughable in such gross and humiliating ignorance. It is the custom among the Greek fishermen, on the anniversary of a certain saint (I believe St. Demetri), to form a procession, walk into the water, and perform many unmeaning mummeries, to propitiate his saintship, and implore his aid and blessing for luck during the ensuing year. When the revolution broke out in Greece, the Greek inhabitants of the capital and its vicinity naturally abstained from all public exhibitions, and this particular ceremony was of course omitted. It so happened, however, that the fishery was extremely unproductive during the ensuing season, and the Turkish fishermen were as unfortunate as the Greeks. They attributed it to the neglect, on the part of the Greeks, to propitiate their patron-saint, and at the next anniversary actually compelled them to resume their customary processions, and St. Demetri received on that occasion the prayers of many a pious Turkish fisherman.

Before we entered the village, we passed the palaces at present occupied by the French and English ambassadors. That of the French ambassador was a gift from the sultan. It formerly belonged to the brave but unfortunate Ypsilanti; and its extensive gardens, which are laid out with great taste, owe many of their decorations to that illustrious mah. The Prince Morousi formerly owned the palace now occupied by the English minister. Sir Robert Gordon, a relative of the Earl of Aberdeen, holds at present this station; but, as he gives out that he wishes to return to England for the benefit of his health, it is probable that he has been recalled, and a successor appointed in his place. The change in the ministry, and the accession to office of a new set of aristocrats, must necessarily bring up numerous claimants

for the "spoils of victory." It is recorded of Sir Robert, by his countrymen, that during his residence here he was never known to speak affably to a single human being, which of course would lead one to form a tolerable estimate of his social qualities, and also of the regret with which his departure must be witnessed. The French minister is an inoffensive invalid, of whom nobody knows any harm, which, in the East, and among Franks, is no small praise. Therapeia is a dirty little Greek village, prettily situated on a small bay, and is a favourite residence of many Europeans; there we met, and were introduced to, Sir Henry Willock, who has been for many years a public functionary in Persia. His title was that of resident, which, if I am not misinformed, implies that he was appointed by the English East India Company. Bating English stiffness, we found him a communicative and well-informed man, and his long residence among the Persians had furnished him with a fund of anecdotes, which he detailed with true oriental gravity.

* This was afterward confirmed by the appointment of a Mr. Mandeville, and subsequently of Stratford Canning.

CHAPTER XI.

Belgrade-Thracian Horses-Aqueducts of Batchikeni-Great Consumption of Water by the Turks-Threshing in the Ancient Manner-Forest of Belgrade-Cholera-Lady Montagu-Wolves-Bulgarians-Their primitive Occupations-Their Virtues.

BELGRADE is another object of attraction to the stranger, and we determined to pay it a visit. Horses were accordingly procured, and as this was our first feat in horsemanship, it may be requisite to descend to particulars. It will be recollected that the country we are now in was formerly called Thrace, famous throughout all antiquity for its horses and herds. The former, however, have strangely degenerated, if the animals which we bestrode are taken as specimens of the Thracian breed. The Turkish saddle is a huge cumbrous-looking concern, with projections. before and behind like those used by cavalry. The stirrup consists of a broad plate of iron, as long as the foot, and its sharp edges serve the purpose of spurs. Ali, our Turkish guide, accompanied us, to show the way and attend the horses. Leaving the paved and dirty lanes of our village, we were soon scampering across the lovely valley already described, over a paved road about twelve feet wide, which extended rather more than two miles into the country. The road was lined on both sides with shrubs, among which our blackberry was the most common; and clouds of blackbirds passed over us, followed by numerous Frank sportsmen.

Ascending the hills, we soon reached one of the aqueducts, which furnishes the suburbs of Pera and Galata with water. It is in the midst of a complete solitude; and this gigantic work of man, although of important daily utility,

comes upon the mind with more of that religious awe than we feel at surveying some magnificent but idle monument of antiquity. This aqueduct, which takes its name from a neighbouring village, Batchai Keui, is scarcely more than one hundred years old. It consists of twenty arches, and is four hundred feet in length, and eighty feet high. In the centre the road passes under another arch, beneath the principal row. The aqueduct is built of a coarse vesicular limestone, and is constructed in a substantial and workmanlike manner. Nothing is more common than to hear it asserted that the ancients were unacquainted with the first principles of hydrostatics; that they did not know that water would rise to its own level, and consequently that aqueducts were employed instead of close pipes or conduits. However true this may have been of the civilized Romans or the polished Greeks, it will hereafter be shown that the Turks have displayed a thorough acquaintance with the subject. They derived it probably from the Arabians, traces of whose hydraulic labours may be seen in Spain to this day. This aqueduct is sixteen miles from Pera, and derives its waters from reservoirs in the mountains, several miles farther. The top is covered with marble slabs, and the accidental displacement of one of these gave us an opportunity of ascertaining the quantity of water which daily passes through. It was fifteen inches wide by eighteen inches in depth, and had a velocity of about six feet per second. This would give a supply of about six million gallons of water in twenty-four hours. This great quantity is, however, not always sufficient for the wants of the suburbs; and during the dry season, I afterward saw water transported from Constantinople, and sold by the skin-full. When we recollect that the Turks drink nothing but water, and that great quantities are required for their daily religious exercises, it will readily be perceived that the supply must be prodigious for the wants of the metropolis. A French savant, Andreossi, attempted to form an idea of

the population of Constantinople from the daily consumption of water. I have never seen his calculations, but I presume that his estimate of the quantity used by each family must far exceed that of any other city in the world.

Looking through the arches down upon the valley, the eye rests upon a charming picture. The beautifully-wooded valley spreads out into a verdant plain at Buyukdery, beyond which is the silver Bosphorus, resembling our own Hudson, or rather a broad placid lake, bounded by the high hills of the Asiatic shore. To the south, the minarets of the capital may be faintly traced on the horizon. At a short distance from the aqueduct we passed through a dirty little Greek village, from whence the aqueduct derives its name. We stopped under a clump of lofty pines, whose horizontal branches afforded an ample and agreeable shade, to witness the operation of threshing, which is performed in the open air. The grain is laid on the ground in a large circle, and a flat wooden frame, slightly turned up in front, is drawn over it by a pair of horses. This rude sled is shod beneath with iron, and the driver sits upon it in order to increase its weight. It is curious to perceive in this arrangement the identical machine, tribula, in use among the Romans more than two thousand years ago, and employed in the same manner. But this was not the only vestige of antiquity which we noticed on the road. Near this threshing-floor, or area, we observed a brickkiln in which straw was used, as in the early Scripture times.

Shortly after leaving the village of Batchikeui we entered the forest of Belgrade. This immense forest is said to extend seventy-five miles along the Black Sea, terminating in Croatia. It consists chiefly of the chestnut, which here grows to an enormous size, and resembles so much our own forests that my companion observed we should never be able to lose our way in it, for we should always find ourselves at home. It was formerly infested with robbers, but they have been extirpated, and it is now occupied by

P