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diff --git a/12561-h/12561-h.htm b/12561-h/12561-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f441c41 --- /dev/null +++ b/12561-h/12561-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10379 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" /> +<title>A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy</title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1, H2 { + text-align: center; /* all headings aligned centered */ + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + } + H3, H4 { + text-align: left; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h2> +<a href="#startoftext">A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy, by Ida Pfeiffer</a> +</h2> +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy by Ida Pfeiffer, +Translated by H. W. Dulcken + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy + +Author: Ida Pfeiffer + +Release Date: June 8, 2004 [eBook #12561] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND*** +</pre> +<p><a name="startoftext"></a></p> +<p>This ebook was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset.</p> +<h1>VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT, AND ITALY</h1> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill1.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill1.jpg" alt="Frontispiece:—JERUSALEM." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>By Madame Ida Pfeiffer.</p> +<p>Translated from the German by H. W. Dulcken.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill2.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill2.jpg" alt="Title-page:—NAZARETH." /> +</a> +</p> +<h2>PREFACE BY THE VIENNA PUBLISHER</h2> +<p>For two centuries the princes and nations of the West were accustomed +to wander towards the land of the morning. In vain was the noblest +blood poured forth in streams in the effort to wrest the country of +our heavenly Teacher from the grasp of the infidel; and though the Christian +Europe of the present day forbears to renew a struggle which, considering +the strength that has been gradually increasing for the last six hundred +years, might prove an easy one, we cannot wonder that millions of the +votaries of Christianity should cherish an earnest longing to wander +in the paths the Redeemer has trod, and to view with their own eyes +the traces of the Saviour’s progress from the cradle to the grave.</p> +<p>In the generality of cases, however, the hardships, dangers, and +difficulties of such a journey were sufficient to overthrow the bravest +resolution; and thus the wishes of the majority remained unfulfilled.</p> +<p>Few <i>men</i> were found to possess the degree of strength and endurance +requisite for the carrying out of such an undertaking; but that a delicate +lady of the higher classes, a native of Vienna, should have the heroism +to do what thousands of men failed to achieve, seemed almost incredible.</p> +<p>In her earliest youth she earnestly desired to perform this journey; +descriptions of the Holy Land were perused by her with peculiar interest, +and a book of Eastern travel had more charms for her than the most glowing +accounts of Paris or London.</p> +<p>It was not, however, until our Authoress had reached a riper age, +and had finished the education of her sons, that she succeeded in carrying +into effect the ardent aspiration of her youth.</p> +<p>On the 2d of March, 1842, she commenced her journey alone, without +companions, but fully prepared to bear every ill, to bid defiance to +every danger, and to combat every difficulty. That this undertaking +should have succeeded may almost be looked upon as a wonder.</p> +<p>Far from desiring publicity, she merely kept a diary, in order to +retain the recollections of her tour during her later life, and to impart +to her nearest relatives the story of her fortunes. Every evening, +though often greatly exhausted with heat, thirst, and the hardships +of travel, she never failed to make notes in pencil of the occurrences +of the day, frequently using a sand-mound or the back of a camel as +a table, while the other members of the caravan lay stretched around +her, completely tired out.</p> +<p>It was in the house of my friend Halm that I first heard of this +remarkable woman, at a time when she had not yet completed her journey; +and every subsequent account of Madame Pfeiffer increased my desire +to make her acquaintance.</p> +<p>In manners and appearance I found her to resemble many other women +who have distinguished themselves by fortitude, firmness of soul, and +magnanimity; and who are in private life the most simple and unaffected, +the most modest, and consequently also the most agreeable of beings.</p> +<p>My request to read our Authoress’s journal was granted with +some timidity; and I am ready to assert that seldom has a book so irresistibly +attracted me, or so completely fixed my attention from beginning to +end, as this.</p> +<p>The simple and unadorned relation of facts, the candour, combined +with strong sound sense, which appear throughout, might put to shame +the bombastic striving after originality of many a modern author. +The scheme and execution of the work are complete and agreeable; strict +truth shines forth from every page, and no one can doubt but that so +pure and noble a mind must see things in a right point of view. +This circumstance is sufficient in itself to raise the book above many +descriptions of travel to the Holy Land, whose authors, trusting to +the fact that their assertions could not easily be disproved, have indulged +their fancy, seeking to impart interest to their works by the relation +of imaginary dangers, and by exaggeration of every kind, for the sake +of gaining praise and admiration. Many such men might blush with +shame on reading this journal of a simple, truth-loving woman.</p> +<p>After much trouble I succeeded in persuading the Authoress to allow +her journal to appear in print.</p> +<p>My efforts were called forth by the desire to furnish the reading +public, and particularly the female portion, with a very interesting +and attractive, and at the same time a strictly authentic picture of +the Holy Land, and of Madame Pfeiffer’s entire journey.</p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<p>CHAPTER I. Departure from Vienna—Scene +on board the steamer—Hainburg—Presburg—The “Coronation-mount”—Pesth—Ofen—The +steamer <i>Galata</i>—Mohäcs—The fortress Peterwardein—Discomfort +and bad management on board the steamer—Semlin—Belgrade—Pancsova—Austrian +soldiers—The rock Babakay—Drenkova—Falls of Danube—Alt-Orsova—The +“Iron Gate”—Cattle-breeding—Callafat—Vexatious +delay</p> +<p>CHAPTER II. Giurgewo—Interior of the +town—Braila—Sanitary precautions—Galatz—Scarcity +of good water—Ridiculous fear of the plague—The steamer +<i>Ferdinand</i>—Entrance into the Black Sea—Stormy weather +and sea-sickness—Arrival at Constantinople—Picturesque appearance +of the city—Mosques—The dancing Dervishes—The Sultan +and his barge—Pera—The great and little Campo—Wild +dogs—Dirty state of the streets—Preparations in case of +fire</p> +<p>CHAPTER III. Scutari—Kaiks—The howling +Dervishes—The Achmaidon, or place of arrows—The tower in +Galata—The bazaar at Constantinople—Mosques—Slave-market—The +old Serail—The Hippodrome—Coffee-houses—Story-tellers—Excursion +to Ejub—Houses, theatres, and carriages</p> +<p>CHAPTER IV. Walks and drives of the townspeople—The +“Sweet Waters”—Chalcedonia—Baluklid—The +great and little Campo—Feasts in Constantinople—Anniversary +of Mahomet’s death—Easter holydays of the Greeks—Gladiators +and wrestlers—Excursion to Brussa—Olive-trees—Mosques +at Brussa—Stone bridge—Wild dogs—Baths and mineral +springs—Return to Constantinople</p> +<p>CHAPTER V. Contradictory reports—Departure +from Constantinople on board the <i>Archduke John</i>—Scene on +the steamer—Galipoli—The Dardanelles—Tschenekalesi +and Kilidil Bahar—The field of Troy—Tenedos—Smyrna—Halizar—The +date-palm—Burnaba—The Acropolis—Female beauty—Rhodes—Strong +fortifications—Deserted appearance of the town—Cyprus</p> +<p>CHAPTER VI. Arrival at Beyrout—Fellahs—Backsheesh—Uncomfortable +quarters—Saida—Tyre—St. Jean d’Acre—Cæsarea—Excursion +among the ruins—Jaffa—An Eastern family—The Indian +fig-tree—An Oriental dinner—Costume of the women of Jaffa—Oppressive +heat—Gnats—Ramla—Syrian convents—Bedouins and +Arabs—Kariet el Areb, or Emmaus—The scheikh—Arrival +at Jerusalem</p> +<p>CHAPTER VII. Residence at Jerusalem—Catholic +church—The “Nuova Casa”—Via dolorosa—Pilate’s +house—The Mosque Omar—Herod’s house—Church of +the Holy Sepulchre—Disturbances at the Greek Easter feasts—Knights +of the Holy Sepulchre—Mount of Olives—Adventure among the +ruins—Mount of Offence—Valley of Jehosaphat—Siloam—Mount +Sion—Jeremiah’s Grotto—Graves</p> +<p>CHAPTER VIII. Bethlehem—Rachel’s grave—Convent +at Bethlehem—Beggars—Grotto of the Nativity—Solomon’s +cisterns—St. John’s—Franciscan church at Jerusalem—Mourning +women—Eastern weddings—Mish-mish—Excursion to the +Jordan and the Dead Sea—Wilderness near Jerusalem—Convent +of St. Saba</p> +<p>CHAPTER IX. Ride through the wilderness to +the Dead Sea—The Dead Sea—The river Jordan—Horde of +Bedouins—Arab horses—The Sultan’s well—Bivouac +in the open air—Return to Jerusalem—Bethany—Departure +from Jerusalem—Jacob’s grave—Nablus or Sichem—Sebasta—Costume +of Samaritan woman—Plain of Esdralon—Sagun</p> +<p>CHAPTER X. Arrival at Nazareth—Franciscan +convent—Tabarith—Mount Tabor—Lake of Gennesareth—Baths—Mount +Carmel—Grotto of the prophet Elijah—Acre—The pacha’s +harem—Oriental women—Their listlessness and ignorance—Sur +or Tyre</p> +<p>CHAPTER XI. River Mishmir—Saida—Arnauts—Desert-path—Residence +of Lady Hester Stanhope—Beyrout—The consul’s—Uncomfortable +quarters—Sickness—The Bazaar—Vexatious delays—Departure +from Beyrout—Beautiful views—Syrian costumes—Damascus—Aspect +of the city—House of the consul</p> +<p>CHAPTER XII. The bazaar at Damascus—The khan—Grotto +of St. Paul—Fanaticism of the inhabitants—Departure from +Damascus—The desert—Military escort—Heliopolis or +Balbeck—Stupendous ruins—Continuation of our voyage through +the desert—The plague—The Lebanon range—Cedar-trees—Druses +and Maronites—Importunate beggars—Thievish propensities +of the Arabs</p> +<p>CHAPTER XIII. The Lebanon—Druses and Maronites—Illness +of Herr Sattler—Djebel or Byblus—Rocky passes—Dog’s-river—Return +to Beyrout—Sickness—Departure for Alexandria—Roguery +of the captain—Disagreeables on board—Limasol—Alarm +of pirates—Cowardice of the crew—Arrival at Alexandria</p> +<p>CHAPTER XIV. Alexandria—Keeping quarantine—Want +of arrangement in the quarantine-house—Bad water—Fumigating +of the rooms—Release—Aspect of the city—Departure +by boat for Atfé—Mehemet Ali—Arrival at Atfé—Excellence +of the Nile water—Good-nature of the Arab women—The Delta +of the Nile—The Libyan desert—The pyramids—Arrival +at Cairo</p> +<p>CHAPTER XV. Cairo—Quarrel with the +captain—Rapacity of the beggars—The custom-house—The +consulate—Aspect of Cairo—Narrow and crowded streets—Costumes—The +mad-house—Disgusting exhibition—Joseph’s well—Palace +of Mehemet Ali—Dates—Mosques at Cairo—Excursion to +the pyramids of Gizeh—Gizeh—Eggs hatched by artificial heat—Ascent +of the pyramids—The sphynx—Return to Cairo</p> +<p>CHAPTER XVI. Christian churches at Cairo—The +Esbekie-square—Theatre—Howling dervishes—Mashdalansher, +the birthday of Mahomet—Procession and religious ceremony—Shubra—Excursion +through the desert to Suez—Hardships of the journey—Scenes +in the desert—The camel—Caravans—Mirage—The +Red Sea—Suez—Bedouin Camp—Quarrel with the camel-driver—Departure +for Alexandria</p> +<p>CHAPTER XVII. Return to Alexandria—Egyptian burials—Catacombs +of Alexandria—Viceroy’s palace—Departure from Alexandria—The +steamer <i>Eurotas</i>—Candia—Syra—Paros and Antiparos—The +Morea—Fire on board—Malta—Quarantine—St. Augustine’s +church—Clergymen—Beggars—Costumes—Soldiers—Civita +Vecchia</p> +<p>CHAPTER XVIII. The steamer <i>Hercules</i>—Syracuse—Neapolis—Ruins—Catanea—Convent +of St. Nicholas—Messina—The Duke of Calabria—Palermo—The +royal palace—Church of St. Theresa—St. Ignazio—Catacombs +of the Augustine convent—Skeletons—Olivuzza—Royal +villa “Favorite”—St. Rosalia—Brutality of the +Italian mob—Luxuriant vegetation—Arrival at Naples</p> +<p>CHAPTER XIX. Sojourn at Naples—Sickness—Laziness +of the people—Royal palace—Rotunda—Strada Chiaga and +Toledo—St. Carlo Theatre—Largo del Castello—Medina +Square—Marionettes—St. Jesu Nuovo—St. Jesu Maggiore—St. +Maria di Piedigrotta—Public gardens—Academy “degli +Studii”—Cathedral of St. Januarius—St. Jeronimi—St. +Paula Maggiore—St. Chiara—Baths of Nero—Solfatara—Grotto +“del Cane”—Resina—Ascent of Vesuvius—Caserta</p> +<p>CHAPTER XX. Caserta—Costume of the +peasants—Rome—Piazza del Popolo—Dogana—St. Peter’s—Palaces—Borghese, +Barberini, Colonna, etc.—Churches—Ancient Rome—The +Colliseum—Departure for Florence—Bad weather—Picturesque +scenery—Siena—Florence—Cathedral and palaces—Departure +from Florence—Bologna—Ferrara—Conclusion</p> +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> +<p>1. JERUSALEM</p> +<p>2. NAZARETH</p> +<p>3. CHURCHYARD AT SCUTARI</p> +<p>4. THE DEAD SEA</p> +<p>5. MOUNT CARMEL</p> +<p>6. LEBANON</p> +<p>7. BALBECK</p> +<p>8. ISTHMUS OF SUEZ</p> +<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> +<p><i>Departure from Vienna—Scene on board the steamer—Hainburg—Presburg—The +“Coronation-mount”—Pesth—Ofen—The steamer +Galata—Mohäcs—The fortress Peterwardein—Discomfort +and bad management on board the steamer—Semlin—Belgrade—Pancsova—Austrian +soldiers—The rock Babakay—Drenkova—Falls of the Danube—Alt-Orsova—The +“Iron Gate”—Cattle-breeding—Callafat—Vexatious +delay</i>.</p> +<p>I had for years cherished the wish to undertake a journey to the +Holy Land; years are, indeed, required to familiarise one with the idea +of so hazardous an enterprise. When, therefore, my domestic arrangements +at length admitted of my absence for at least a year, my chief employment +was to prepare myself for this journey. I read many works bearing +on the subject, and was moreover fortunate enough to make the acquaintance +of a gentleman who had travelled in the Holy Land some years before. +I was thus enabled to gain much oral information and advice respecting +the means of prosecuting my dangerous pilgrimage.</p> +<p>My friends and relations attempted in vain to turn me from my purpose +by painting, in the most glowing colours, all the dangers and difficulties +which await the traveller in those regions. “Men,” +they said, “were obliged gravely to consider if they had physical +strength to endure the fatigues of such a journey, and strength of mind +bravely to face the dangers of the plague, the climate, the attacks +of insects, bad diet, etc. And to think of a woman’s venturing +alone, without protection of any kind, into the wide world, across sea +and mountain and plain,—it was quite preposterous.” +This was the opinion of my friends.</p> +<p>I had nothing to advance in opposition to all this but my firm unchanging +determination. My trust in Providence gave me calmness and strength +to set my house in every respect in order. I made my will, and +arranged all my worldly affairs in such a manner that, in the case of +my death (an event which I considered more probable than my safe return), +my family should find every thing perfectly arranged.</p> +<p>And thus, on the 22d of March 1842, I commenced my journey from Vienna.</p> +<p>At one o’clock in the afternoon I drove to the Kaisermühlen +(Emperor’s Mills), from which place the steamboats start for Pesth. +I was joyfully surprised by the presence of several of my relations +and friends, who wished to say farewell once more. The parting +was certainly most bitter, for the thought involuntarily obtruded itself, +“Should we ever meet again in this world?”</p> +<p>Our mournful meditations were in some degree disturbed by a loud +dispute on board the vessel. At the request of a gentleman present, +one of the passengers was compelled, instead of flying, as he had intended, +with bag and baggage to Hungary, to return to Vienna in company of the +police. It appeared he owed the gentleman 1300 florins, and had +wished to abscond, but was luckily overtaken before the departure of +the boat. This affair was hardly concluded when the bell rang, +the wheels began to revolve, and too soon, alas, my dear ones were out +of sight!</p> +<p>I had but few fellow-passengers. The weather was indeed fine +and mild; but the season was not far enough advanced to lure travellers +into the wide world, excepting men of business, and those who had cosmopolitan +ideas, like myself. Most of those on board were going only to +Presburg, or at farthest to Pesth. The captain having mentioned +that a woman was on board who intended travelling to Constantinople, +I was immediately surrounded by curious gazers. A gentleman who +was bound to the same port stepped forward, and offered his services +in case I should ever stand in need of them; he afterwards frequently +took me under his protection.</p> +<p>The fine mild weather changed to cold and wind as we got fairly out +into the great Danube. I wrapped myself in my cloak, and remained +on deck, in order to see the scenery between Vienna and Presburg, which, +no doubt, appears lovely enough when nature is clad in the garment of +spring; but now I only saw leafless trees and fallow ground—a +dreary picture of winter.</p> +<p>Hainburg with its old castle on a rock, Theben with its remarkable +fortress, and farther on the large free city of Presburg, have all a +striking appearance.</p> +<p>In three hours’ time we reached Presburg, and landed in the +neighbourhood of the Coronation-hill, an artificial mound, on which +the king must stand in his royal robes, and brandish his sword towards +the four quarters of the heavens, as a token that he is ready to defend +his kingdom against all enemies, from whatever direction they may approach. +Not far from this hill is situate the handsome inn called the “Two +Green Trees,” where the charges are as high, if not higher, than +in Vienna. Until we have passed Pesth, passengers going down the +river are not allowed to remain on board through the night.</p> +<h3>March 23d.</h3> +<p>This morning we continued our journey at six o’clock. +Immediately below Presburg the Danube divides into two arms, forming +the fertile island of Schütt, which is about forty-six miles long +and twenty-eight in breadth. Till we reach Gran the scenery is +monotonous enough, but here it improves. Beautiful hills and several +mountains surround the place, imparting a charm of variety to the landscape.</p> +<p>In the evening, at about seven o’clock, we arrived at Pesth. +Unfortunately it was already quite dark. The magnificent houses, +or rather palaces, skirting the left bank of the Danube, and the celebrated +ancient fortress and town of Ofen on the right, form a splendid spectacle, +and invite the traveller to a longer sojourn. As I had passed +some days at Pesth several years before, I now only stayed there for +one night.</p> +<p>As the traveller must change steamers here, it behoves him to keep +a careful eye upon the luggage he has not delivered up at the office +in Vienna.</p> +<p>I put up at the “Hunting-horn,” a fine hotel, but ridiculously +expensive. A little back room cost me 45 kreutzers (about one +shilling and eightpence) for one night.</p> +<p>The whole day I had felt exceedingly unwell. A violent headache, +accompanied by nausea and fever, made me fear the approach of a fit +of illness which would interrupt my journey. These symptoms were +probably a consequence of the painful excitement of parting with my +friends, added to the change of air. With some difficulty I gained +my modest chamber, and immediately went to bed. My good constitution +was luckily proof against the attacks of all enemies, and waking the +next morning, on</p> +<h3>March 24th,</h3> +<p>in tolerable health, I betook myself on board our new steamboat the +<i>Galata</i>, of sixty-horse power: this boat did not, however, appear +to me so tidy and neat as the <i>Marianna</i>, in which we had proceeded +from Vienna to Pesth. Our journey was a rapid one; at ten o’clock +in the morning we were already at Feldvär, a place which seems +at a distance to be of some magnitude, but which melts away like a soap-bubble +on a nearer approach. By two o’clock we had reached Paks; +here, as at all other places of note, we stopped for a quarter of an +hour. A boat rows off from the shore, bringing and fetching back +passengers with such marvellous speed, that you have scarcely finished +the sentence you are saying to your neighbour before he has vanished. +There is no time even to say farewell.</p> +<p>At about eight o’clock in the evening we reached the market-town +of Mohäcs, celebrated as the scene of two battles. The fortress +here is used as a prison for criminals. We could distinguish nothing +either of the fortress or the town. It was already night when +we arrived, and at two o’clock in the morning of</p> +<h3>March 25th</h3> +<p>we weighed anchor. I was assured, however, that I had lost +nothing by this haste.</p> +<p>Some hours afterwards, our ship suddenly struck with so severe a +shock, that all hastened on deck to see what was the matter. Our +steersman, who had most probably been more asleep than awake, had given +the ship an unskilful turn, in consequence of which, one of the paddles +was entangled with some trunks of trees projecting above the surface +of the water. The sailors hurried into the boats, the engine was +backed, and after much difficulty we were once more afloat.</p> +<p>Stopping for a few moments at Dalina and Berkara, we passed the beautiful +ruin of Count Palffy’s castle at about two o’clock. +The castle of Illok, situate on a hill, and belonging to Prince Odescalchi, +presents a still more picturesque appearance.</p> +<p>At about four o’clock we landed near the little free town of +Neusatz, opposite the celebrated fortress of Peterwardein, the outworks +of which extend over a tongue of land stretching far out into the Danube. +Of the little free town of Neusatz we could not see much, hidden as +it is by hills which at this point confine the bed of the river. +The Danube is here crossed by a bridge of boats, and this place also +forms the military boundary of Austria. The surrounding landscape +appeared sufficiently picturesque; the little town of Karlowitz, lying +at a short distance from the shore, among hills covered with vineyards, +has a peculiarly good effect. Farther on, however, as far as Semlin, +the scenery is rather monotonous. Here the Danube already spreads +itself out to a vast breadth, resembling rather a lake than a river.</p> +<p>At nine o’clock at night we reached the city of Semlin, in +the vicinity of which we halted. Semlin is a fortified place, +situated at the junction of the Save with the Danube; it contains 13,000 +inhabitants, and is the last Austrian town on the right bank of the +Danube.</p> +<p>On approaching Semlin, a few small cannons were fired off on board +our boat. Unfortunately the steward did not receive notice of +this event early enough to allow of his opening the windows, consequently +one was shattered: this was a serious misfortune for us, as the temperature +had sunk to zero, and all the landscape around was covered with snow. +Before leaving Vienna, the cabin stove had been banished from its place, +as the sun had sent forth its mild beams for a few days, and a continuance +of the warm weather was rashly relied on. On the whole, I would +not advise any traveller to take a second-class berth on board a steamer +belonging to the Viennese company. A greater want of order than +we find in these vessels could scarcely be met with. The traveller +whose funds will not permit of his paying first-class fare will do better +to content himself with a third-class, <i>i.e</i>. a deck-passage, particularly +if he purposes journeying no farther than Mohäcs. If the +weather is fine, it is more agreeable to remain on deck, watching the +panorama of the Danube as it glides past. Should the day be unfavourable, +the traveller can go, without ceremony, into the second-class cabin, +for no one makes a distinction between the second and third-class places. +During the daytime, at any rate, it is quite as agreeable to remain +on deck as to venture below. Travelling down the river from Pesth, +the women are compelled to pass the night in the same cabin with the +men; an arrangement as uncomfortable as it is indecorous. I afterwards +had some experience of steamers belonging to the Austrian Lloyds, on +whose vessels I always found a proper separation of the two sexes, and +a due regard for the comfort of second-class passengers.</p> +<p>The cold was so severe, that we would gladly have closed every window, +but for the close atmosphere engendered by the number of poor people, +mostly Jews, who form the larger portion of passengers on board a Hungarian +steamer. When the weather is unfavourable, these men are accustomed +to hasten from their third-class places to those of the second class, +where their presence renders it immediately desirable to open every +outlet for purposes of ventilation. What the traveller has to +endure on board these vessels would scarcely be believed. Uncushioned +benches serve for seats by day and for beds by night. A separation +of the two sexes is nowhere attempted, not even on board the <i>Ferdinand</i>, +in which you enter the Black Sea, and are exposed to the merciless attacks +of sea-sickness.</p> +<p>Considering the high rate of passage-money demanded on this journey, +I really think the traveller might expect better accommodation. +The first-class to Constantinople costs 120 florins, <a name="citation23"></a><a href="#footnote23">{23}</a> +the second 85 florins, exclusive of provisions, and without reckoning +the hotel expenses at Presburg.</p> +<h3>March 26th.</h3> +<p>Last night was not a period of rest, but of noise for us travellers. +Not one of us could close his eyes.</p> +<p>Semlin is a place of considerable importance as a commercial town: +above 180 cwt. of goods were unloaded here from our vessel; and in exchange +we took on board coals, wood, and wares of various descriptions. +The damaged wheel, too, had to be repaired; and every thing was done +with so much crashing and noise, that we almost imagined the whole steamer +was coming to pieces. Added to this, the cold wind drove in continually +through the broken pane, and made the place a real purgatory to us. +At length, at six o’clock in the morning, we got afloat once more. +One advantage, however, resulted from this fortuitous stoppage: we had +a very good view of Belgrade, a town of 20,000 inhabitants, situate +opposite to Semlin. It is the first Turkish fortified city in +Servia.</p> +<p>The aspect of Belgrade is exceedingly beautiful. The fortifications +extend upwards on a rock from the Danube in the form of steps. +The city itself, with its graceful minarets, lies half a mile farther +inland. Here I saw the first mosques and minarets. The mosques, +as far as I could observe from the steamer, are built in a circular +form, not very high, and surmounted by a cupola flanked by one or two +minarets, a kind of high round pillar. The loftiest among these +buildings is the palace of Prince Milosch. From this point our +voyage becomes very interesting, presenting a rich and varied succession +of delightful landscape-views. The river is hemmed in on either +side by mountains, until it spreads itself forth free and unrestrained, +in the neighbourhood of Pancsova, to a breadth of 800 fathoms.</p> +<p>Pancsova, on the left bank of the Danube, in the territory of Banata, +is a military station.</p> +<p>As the stoppages are only for a few moments, little opportunity is +afforded of seeing the interior of the towns, or of visiting most of +the places at which we touch. At such times all is hurry and confusion; +suddenly the bell rings, the planks are withdrawn, and the unlucky stranger +who has loitered on board for a few moments is obliged to proceed with +us to the next station.</p> +<p>At Neusatz this happened to a servant, in consequence of his carrying +his master’s luggage into the cabin instead of merely throwing +it down on the deck. The poor man was conveyed on to Semlin, and +had to travel on foot for a day and a half to regain his home. +A very pleasant journey of two hours from Pancsova brought us to the +Turkish fortress Semendria, the situation of which is truly beautiful. +The numerous angles of its walls and towers, built in the Moorish style, +impart to this place a peculiar charm. As a rule, the Turkish +fortresses are remarkable for picturesque effect.</p> +<p>But the villages, particularly those on the Servian shore, had the +same poverty-stricken look I had frequently noticed in Galicia. +Wretched clay huts, thatched with straw, lay scattered around; and far +and wide not a tree or a shrub appeared to rejoice the eye of the traveller +or of the sojourner in these parts, under the shade of which the poor +peasant might recruit his weary frame, while it would conceal from the +eye of the traveller, in some degree, the poverty and nakedness of habitations +on which no feeling mind can gaze without emotions of pity.</p> +<p>The left bank of the river belongs to Hungary, and is called the +“Banat;” it presents an appearance somewhat less desolate. +Much, however, remains to be desired; and the poverty that reigns around +is here more to be wondered at, from the fact that this strip of land +is so rich in the productions of nature as to have obtained the name +of the “Garner of Hungary.”</p> +<p>On the Austrian side of the Danube sentries are posted at every two +or three hundred paces—an arrangement which has been imitated +by the governments on the left bank, and is carried out to the point +where the river empties itself into the Black Sea.</p> +<p>It would, however, be erroneous to suppose that these soldiers mount +guard in their uniforms. They take up their positions, for a week +at a time, in their wretched tattered garments; frequently they are +barefoot, and their huts look like stables. I entered some of +these huts to view the internal arrangements. They could scarcely +have been more simple. In one corner I found a hearth; in another, +an apology for a stove, clumsily fashioned out of clay. An unsightly +hole in the wall, stopped with paper instead of glass, forms the window; +the furniture is comprised in a single wooden bench. Whatever +the inhabitant requires in the way of provisions he must bring with +him; for this he is allowed by the government to cultivate the land.</p> +<p>Throughout the Russian territory the soldiers at least wear uniform.</p> +<p>Our journey becomes more and more charming. Frequently the +mighty river rushes foaming and roaring past the rocks, which seem scarcely +to allow it a passage; at other times it glides serenely onwards. +At every turn we behold new beauties, and scarcely know on which side +to turn our eager eyes. Meanwhile the ship sails swiftly on, gliding +majestically through wildly romantic scenery.</p> +<p>At one o’clock in the afternoon we reached Pasiest, where there +is nothing to be seen but a large store of coals for the steamers and +a few huts. Of the town itself nothing can be distinguished.</p> +<p>A couple of miles below Pasiest we enjoy an imposing spectacle. +It is the solitary rock Babakay, rising from the midst of the waters. +Together with the beautiful ruin Golumbacz, on the Servian shore, it +forms a magnificent view.</p> +<h3>March 27th.</h3> +<p>How unfortunate it is that all advantages are so seldom found combined! +We are now travelling amid glorious scenery, which we hoped should recompense +us for the manifold discomforts we have hitherto endured; but the weather +is unpropitious. The driving snow sends us all into the cabin. +The Danube is so fiercely agitated by the stormy wind, that it rises +into waves like a sea. We are suffering lamentably from cold; +unable to warm ourselves, we stand gazing ruefully at the place where +the stove stood—once upon a time.</p> +<p>At four o’clock we reached Drenkova without accident, but completely +benumbed: we hurried into the inn built by the steamboat company, where +we found capital fare, a warm room, and tolerably comfortable beds. +This was the first place we had reached since leaving Pesth at which +we could thoroughly warm and refresh ourselves.</p> +<p>At Drenkova itself there is nothing to be seen but the inn just mentioned +and a barrack for soldiers. We were here shewn the vessel which +was wrecked, with passengers on board, in 1839, in a journey up the +Danube. Eight persons who happened to be in the cabin lost their +lives, and those only who were on deck were saved.</p> +<h3>March 28th.</h3> +<p>Early in the morning we embarked on board the <i>Tünte</i>, +a vessel furnished with a cabin. The bed of the Danube is here +more and more hemmed in by mountains and rocks, so that in some places +it is not above eighty fathoms broad, and glides with redoubled swiftness +towards its goal, the Pontus Euxinus or Black Sea.</p> +<p>On account of the falls which it is necessary to pass, between Drenkova +and Fetislav, the steamer must be changed for a small sailing vessel. +The voyage down the stream could indeed be accomplished without danger, +but the return would be attended with many difficulties. The steamers, +therefore, remain behind at Drenkova, and passengers are conveyed down +the river in barks, and <i>upwards</i> (since the accident of 1839) +in good commodious carriages.</p> +<p>To-day the cold was quite as severe as it had been yesterday so that +but for the politeness of a fellow-passenger, who lent me his <i>bunda</i> +(great Hungarian fur), I should have been compelled to remain in the +little cabin, and should thus have missed the most interesting points +of the Danube. As it was, however, I wrapped myself from head +to foot in the fur cloak, took my seat on a bench outside the cabin, +and had full leisure to store my memory with a succession of lovely +scenery, presenting almost the appearance of a series of lake views, +which continued equally picturesque until we had almost reached Alt-Orsova.</p> +<p>A couple of miles below Drenkova, near Islas, the sailors suddenly +cried, “The first fall!” I looked up in a fever of +expectation. The water was rising in small waves, the stream ran +somewhat faster, and a slight rushing sound was to be heard. If +I had not been told that the Danube forms a waterfall here, I should +certainly never have suspected it to be the case. Between Lenz +and Krems I did not find either the rocks or the power of the stream +much more formidable. We had, however, a high tide, a circumstance +which diminishes both the danger of the journey and the sublimity of +the view. The numerous rocky points, peering threateningly forth +at low tide, among which the steersman must pick his way with great +care, were all hidden from our sight. We glided safely over them, +and in about twenty minutes had left the first fall behind us. +The two succeeding falls are less considerable.</p> +<p>On the Austro-Wallachian side a road extends over a distance of fourteen +to sixteen miles, frequently strengthened with masonry, and at some +points hewn out of the solid rock. In the midst of this road, +on a high wall of rock, we see the celebrated “Veteran Cave,” +one of the most impregnable points on the banks of the Danube. +It is surrounded by redoubts, and is admirably calculated to command +the passage of the river. This cave is said to be sufficiently +spacious to contain 500 men. So far back as the time of the Romans +it was already used as a point of defence for the Danube. Some +five miles below it we notice the “Trajan’s Tablet,” +hewn out of a protruding rock.</p> +<p>On the Turco-Servian side the masses of rock jut out so far into +the stream, that no room is left for a footway. Here the famous +Trajan’s Road once existed. No traces of this work remain, +save that the traveller notices, for fifteen or twenty miles, holes +cut here and there in the rock. In these holes strong trunks of +trees were fastened; these supported the planks of which the road is +said to have been formed.</p> +<p>At eleven in the forenoon we reached Alt-Orsova, the last Austrian +town on the military frontier of Banata or Wallachia. We were +obliged to remain here for half a day.</p> +<p>The town has rather a pretty effect, being composed mostly of new +houses. The house belonging to the steamboat company is particularly +remarkable. It is not, however, devoted to the accommodation of +travellers, as at Drenkova. Here, as at Presburg and Pesth, each +passenger is required to pay for his night’s expenses,—an +arrangement which I could not help finding somewhat strange, inasmuch +as every passenger is made to pay twice; namely, for his place on the +steamer and for his room in the inn.</p> +<p>It was Sunday when we arrived, and I saw many people proceeding to +church. The peasants are dressed tolerably neatly and well. +Both men and women wear long garments of blue cloth. The women +have on their heads large handkerchiefs of white linen, which hang down +their backs, and on their feet stout boots; the men wear round felt +hats, and sandals made of the bark of trees.</p> +<h3>March 29th.</h3> +<p>After having completely refreshed ourselves at the good inn called +the “Golden Stag,” we this morning embarked on a new craft, +the <i>Saturnus</i>, which is only covered in overhead, and is open +on all sides.</p> +<p>So soon as a traveller has stepped upon this vessel he is looked +upon as unclean, and may not go on shore without keeping quarantine: +an officer accompanied us as far as Galatz.</p> +<p>Immediately below Alt-Orsova we entirely quit the Austrian territory.</p> +<p>We are now brought nearer every moment to the most dangerous part +of the river, the “Iron Gate,” called by the Turks <i>Demir +kaju</i>. Half an hour before we reached the spot, the rushing +sound of the water announced the perilous proximity. Numerous +reefs of rocks here traverse the stream, and the current runs eddying +among them.</p> +<p>We passed this dangerous place in about fifteen minutes. Here, +at the Iron Gate, the high tide befriended us, as it did at the former +falls.</p> +<p>I found these falls, and indeed almost every thing we passed, far +below the anticipations I had formed from reading descriptions, frequently +of great poetic beauty. I wish to represent every thing as I found +it, as it appeared before my eyes; without adornment indeed, but truly.</p> +<p>After passing the Iron Gate we come to a village, in the neighbourhood +of which some fragments of the Trajan’s Bridge can be discerned +at low water.</p> +<p>The country now becomes flatter, particularly on the left bank, where +extend the immense plains of Wallachia, and the eye finds no object +on which it can rest. On the right hand rise terrace-like rows +of hills and mountains, and the background is bounded by the sharply-defined +lines of the Balkan range, rendered celebrated by the passage of the +Russians in 1829. The villages, scattered thinly along the banks, +become more and more miserable; they rather resemble stables for cattle +than human dwellings. The beasts remain in the open fields, though +the climate does not appear to be much milder than with us in Austria; +for to-day, nearly at the beginning of April, the thermometer stood +one degree below zero, and yesterday we had only five degrees of warmth +(reckoning by Reaumur). <a name="citation30"></a><a href="#footnote30">{30}</a></p> +<p>The expeditious and easy manner in which cattle are here declared +to be free from the plague also struck me as remarkable. When +the creatures are brought from an infected place to one pronounced healthy, +the ship is brought to some forty or fifty paces from the shore, and +each animal is thrown into the water and driven towards the bank, where +people are waiting to receive it. After this simple operation +the beasts are considered free from infectious matter.</p> +<p>Cattle-rearing seems to be here carried on to a considerable extent. +Everywhere I noticed large herds of horned beasts and many buffaloes. +Numerous flocks of goats and sheep also appear.</p> +<p>On the Saturnus we travelled at the most for two hours, after which +we embarked, opposite the fortress of Fetislav, on board the steamer +<i>Zriny</i>.</p> +<p>At five o’clock in the evening we passed the fortress of Widdin, +opposite which we stopped, in the neighbourhood of the town of Callafat. +It was intended merely to land goods here, and then to proceed immediately +on our voyage; but the agent was nowhere to be found, and so we poor +travellers were made the victims of this carelessness, and compelled +to remain here at anchor all night.</p> +<h3>March 30th.</h3> +<p>As the agent had not yet made his appearance, the captain had no +choice but to leave the steward behind to watch over the goods. +At half-past six in the morning the engines were at length set in motion, +and after a very agreeable passage of six hours we reached Nicopolis.</p> +<p>All the Turkish fortresses on the Danube are situated on the right +bank, mostly amid beautiful scenery. The larger towns and villages +are surrounded by gardens and trees, which give them a very pleasant +appearance. The interior of these towns, however, is said not +to be quite so inviting as one would suppose from a distant view, for +it is asserted that dirty narrow streets, dilapidated houses, etc., +offend the stranger’s sight at every step. We did not land +at any of these fortresses or towns; for us the right bank of the river +was a forbidden paradise; so we only saw what was beautiful, and escaped +being disenchanted.</p> +<p>Rather late in the evening we cast anchor opposite a village of no +note.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> +<p><i>Giurgewo—Interior of the town—Braila—Sanitary +precautions—Galatz—Scarcity of good water—Ridiculous +fear of the plague—The steamer</i> Ferdinand<i>—Entrance +into the Black Sea—Stormy weather and sea-sickness—Arrival +at Constantinople—Picturesque appearance of the city—Mosques—The +dancing Dervishes—The Sultan and his barge—Pera—The +great and little Campo—Wild dogs—Dirty state of the streets—Preparations +in case of fire.</i></p> +<h3>March 31st.</h3> +<p>We started early this morning, and at eight o’clock had already +reached Giurgewo. This town is situate on the left bank of the +Danube, opposite the fortress of Rustschuk. It contains 16,000 +inhabitants, and is one of the chief trading towns of Wallachia. +We were detained here until four o’clock in the afternoon; for +we had to unload above 600 cwt. of goods and eight carriages, and to +take coals on board in exchange. Thus we had time to view the +interior of this Wallachian city.</p> +<p>With what disappointed surprise did my fellow-passengers view the +ugliness of this town, which from a distance promises so much! +On me it made but little impression, for I had seen towns precisely +similar in Galicia. The streets and squares are full of pits and +holes; the houses are built without the slightest regard to taste or +symmetry, one perhaps projecting halfway across the street, while its +neighbour falls quite into the background. In some places wooden +booths were erected along each side of the street for the sale of the +commonest necessaries of life and articles of food, and these places +were dignified by the name of “bazaars.” Curiosity +led us into a wine-shop and into a coffee-house. In both of these +we found only wooden tables and benches; there were hardly any guests; +and the few persons present belonged to the humblest classes. +Glasses and cups are handed to the company without undergoing the ceremony +of rinsing.</p> +<p>We purchased some eggs and butter, and went into the house of one +of the townspeople to prepare ourselves a dish after the German fashion. +I had thus an opportunity of noticing the internal arrangements of a +house of this description. The floor of the room was not boarded, +and the window was only half glazed, the remaining portion being filled +up with paper or thin bladder. For the rest, every thing was neat +and simple enough. Even a good comfortable divan was not wanting. +At four o’clock we quitted the town.</p> +<p>The Danube is now only broad for short distances at a time. +It is, as it were, sown with islands, and its waters are therefore more +frequently parted into several streams than united into one.</p> +<p>In the villages we already notice Greek and Turkish costumes, but +the women and girls do not yet wear veils.</p> +<p>Unfortunately it was so late when we reached the fortress of Silistria +that I could see nothing of it. A little lower down we cast anchor +for the night. At an early hour on</p> +<h3>April 1st</h3> +<p>we sailed past Hirsova, and at two o’clock stopped at Braila, +a fortress occupied by the Russians since the year 1828. Here +passengers were not allowed to land, as they were considered infected +with the plague; but our officer stepped forward, and vouched for the +fact that we had neither landed nor taken up any one on the right bank +of the river; thereupon the strangers were allowed to set foot on terra +firma.</p> +<p>By four o’clock we were opposite Galatz, one of the most considerable +commercial towns, with 8000 inhabitants,—the only harbour the +Russians possess on the Danube. Here we saw the first merchant-ships +and barques of all kinds coming from the Black Sea. Some sea-gulls +also, heralds of the neighbouring ocean, soared above our heads.</p> +<p>The scene here is one of traffic and bustle; Galatz being the place +of rendezvous for merchants and travellers from two quarters of the +globe, Europe and Asia. It is the point of junction of three great +empires—Austria, Russia, and Turkey.</p> +<p>After the officer had repeated his assurances as at Braila, we were +permitted to leave the ship. I had a letter of recommendation +to the Austrian consul, who accidentally came on board; after reading +my letter he received me very kindly, and most obligingly procured quarters +for me.</p> +<p>The town promises much, but proves to be just such a miserable dirty +place as Giurgewo. The houses are generally built of wood or clay, +thatched with straw; those alone belonging to the consul and the rich +merchants are of stone. The finest buildings are the Christian +church and the Moldavian hotel.</p> +<p>Though Galatz lies on the Danube, water for drinking is a dear article +among the inhabitants. Wells are to be found neither in the houses +nor in the squares. The townspeople are compelled to bring all +the water they require from the Danube, which is a great hardship for +the poor people, and a considerable expense for the rich; in winter +a small tub of water costs from 10 to 12 kreutzers (about 4d. or 5d.) +in the more distant quarters of the town. At every corner you +meet water-carriers, and little wagons loaded with tubs of water. +Attempts have frequently been made to procure this indispensable element +by digging; water has, indeed, in some instances gushed forth, but it +always had a brackish taste.</p> +<p>In Galatz we made a halt of twenty-four hours: the delay was not +of the most agreeable kind, as neither the town itself nor its environs +offer any thing worthy of remark. Still I always think of these +days with pleasure. Herr Consul Huber is a polite and obliging +man; himself a traveller, he gave me many a hint and many a piece of +advice for my journey. The air of quiet comfort which reigned +throughout his house was also not to be despised by one who had just +endured many days of privation; at Herr Huber’s I found relief +both for body and mind.</p> +<h3>April 2d.</h3> +<p>The scenery round the town is so far from being inviting, that I +did not feel the least inclination to explore it. I therefore +remained in the town, and went up hill and down dale through the ill-paved +streets. Coffee-houses appear in great abundance; but if it were +not for the people sitting in front of them drinking coffee and smoking +tobacco, no one would do these dirty rooms the honour of taking them +for places of entertainment.</p> +<p>In the market and the squares we notice a great preponderance of +the male sex over the female. The former are seen bustling about +every where, and, like the Italians, perform some duties which usually +fall to the lot of the softer sex. We notice a mixture of the +most different nations, and among them a particularly large number of +Jews.</p> +<p>The bazaar is overloaded with southern fruits of all kinds. +Oranges and lemons are seen here in great numbers, like the commonest +of our fruits. The prices are of course very trifling. The +cauliflowers brought from Asia Minor are particularly fine. I +noticed many as large as a man’s head.</p> +<p>In the evening I was required to repair to the harbour and re-embark.</p> +<p>It is almost impossible to form an idea of the confusion which reigns +here. A wooden railing forms the barrier between the healthy people +and those who come from or intend travelling to a country infected with +the plague. Whoever passes this line of demarcation is not allowed +to return. Soldiers, officers, government officials, and superintendents, +the latter of whom are armed with sticks and pairs of tongs, stand at +the entrance to drive those forcibly back who will not be content with +fair words. Provisions and other articles are either thrown over +the barrier or left in front of it. In the latter case, however, +they may not be touched until the bearers have departed. A gentleman +on the “plague” side wished to give a letter to one on the +other; it was immediately snatched from his hand and handed across by +means of a pair of tongs. And all this time such a noise and hubbub +is going on, that you can scarcely hear the sound of your own voice.</p> +<p>“Pray hand me over my luggage!” cries one. “Keep +farther away! don’t come near me, and mind you don’t touch +me!” anxiously exclaims another. And then the superintendents +keep shouting—“Stand back, stand back!” etc.</p> +<p>I was highly entertained by this spectacle; the scene was entirely +new to me. But on my return, when I shall be one of the prisoners, +I fear I may find it rather tedious. For this time I was not at +all hindered in the prosecution of my journey.</p> +<p>On the whole, these timid precautions seemed to me exceedingly uncalled +for, particularly at a time when neither the plague nor any kind of +contagious disease prevailed in Turkey. One of my fellow-passengers +had been banished to our ship on the previous day because he had had +the misfortune to brush against an official on going to see after his +luggage.</p> +<p>At seven o’clock the tattoo is beaten, the grating is shut, +and the farce ends. We now repaired to the fourth and last steamer, +the <i>Ferdinand</i>. From first to last we changed vessels six +times during a journey from Vienna to Constantinople; we travelled by +four steamers and twice in boats; a circumstance which cannot be reckoned +among the pleasures of a trip down the Danube.</p> +<p>Though not a large boat, the <i>Ferdinand</i> is comfortable and +well built. Even the second-class cabin is neatly arranged, and +a pretty stove diffused a warmth which was peculiarly grateful to us +all, as the thermometer showed only six to eight degrees above zero. +Unfortunately even here the men and women are not separated in the second-class +cabin; but care is at least taken that third-class passengers do not +intrude. Twelve berths are arranged round the walls, and in front +of these are placed broad benches well cushioned.</p> +<h3>April 3d.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the morning we steamed out of the harbour +of Galatz. Shortly afterwards basins and towels were handed to +us; a custom totally unknown upon former vessels. For provisions, +which are tolerably good, we are charged 1 fl. 40 kr. per diem.</p> +<p>Towards ten o’clock we reached Tehussa, a Bessarabian village +of most miserable appearance, where we stopped for a quarter of an hour; +after which we proceeded without further delay towards the Black Sea.</p> +<p>I had long rejoiced in the expectation of reaching the Black Sea, +and imagined that near its mouth the Danube itself would appear like +a sea. But as it generally happens in life, “great expectations, +small realisations,” so it was the case here also. At Galatz +the Danube is very broad; but some distance from its mouth it divides +itself into so many branches that not one of them can be termed majestic.</p> +<p>Towards three o’clock in the afternoon we at length entered +the Black Sea.</p> +<p>Here the arms of the Danube rush forward from every quarter, driving +the sea tumultuously back, so that we can only distinguish in the far +distance a stripe of green. For above an hour we glide on over +the yellow, clayey, strongly agitated fresh water, until at length the +boundary is passed, and we are careering over the salt waves of the +sea. Unfortunately for us, equinoctial gales and heavy weather +still so powerfully maintained their sway, that the deck was completely +flooded with the salt brine. We could hardly stand upon our feet, +and could not manage to reach the cabin-door, where the bell was ringing +for dinner, without the assistance of some sailors.</p> +<p>Several of the passengers, myself among the number, did little honour +to the cook’s skill. We had scarcely begun to eat our soup, +before we were so powerfully attacked by sea-sickness, that we were +obliged to quit the table precipitately. I laid myself down at +once, feeling unable to move about, or even to drag myself on deck to +admire the magnificent spectacle of nature. The waves frequently +ran so high as to overtop the flue of our stove, and from time to time +whole streams of water poured into the cabin.</p> +<h3>April 4th.</h3> +<p>Since yesterday the storm has increased considerably, so that we +are obliged to hold fast by our cribs to avoid being thrown out. +This misfortune really happened to one of the passengers, who was too +ill to hold sufficiently tight.</p> +<p>As I already felt somewhat better, I attempted to rise, but was thrown +in the same instant with such force against a table which stood opposite, +that for a long time I felt no inclination to try again. There +was not the slightest chance of obtaining any sleep all night. +The dreadful howling of the wind among the masts and cordage, the fearful +straining of the ship, which seemed as though its timbers were starting, +the continual pitching and rolling, the rattling of the heavy cables +above us, the cries, orders, and shouting of the captain and his sailors, +all combined to form a din which did not allow us to enjoy a moment’s +rest. In the morning, ill as I felt myself, I managed to gain +the deck with the help of the steward, and sat down near the steersman +to enjoy the aspect of that grandest of nature’s phenomena—a +storm at sea.</p> +<p>Holding tightly on, I bade defiance to the waves, which broke over +the ship and wetted me all over, as though to cool my feverish heat. +I could now form a clear and vivid conception of a storm at sea. +I saw the waves rush foaming on, and the ship now diving into an abyss, +and anon rising with the speed of lightning to the peak of the highest +wave. It was a thrilling, fearful sight;—absorbed in its +contemplation, I soon ceased to think of my sickness.</p> +<p>Late at night the violence of the storm abated in some degree; we +could now run in and cast anchor in the harbour of Varna, which under +ordinary circumstances we should have reached twelve hours sooner.</p> +<h3>April 5th.</h3> +<p>This morning I had leisure to admire this fine fortress-town, which +was besieged and taken by the Russians in 1828. We remained here +several hours. The upper portion of the ship was here loaded with +fowl of all descriptions, to such a degree that the space left for us +travellers was exceedingly circumscribed. This article of consumption +seems to be in great demand in Constantinople both among Turks and Franks; +for our captain assured me that his vessel was laden with this kind +of ware every time he quitted Varna, and that he carried it to Stamboul.</p> +<h3>April 6th.</h3> +<p>The shades of night prevented my seeing one of the finest sights +in the world, in anticipation of which I had rejoiced ever since my +departure from Vienna—the passage through the Bosphorus. +A few days afterwards, however, I made the excursion in a kaik (a very +small and light boat), and enjoyed to my heart’s content views +and scenes which it is totally beyond my descriptive power to portray.</p> +<p>At three o’clock in the morning, when we entered the harbour +of Constantinople, every one, with the exception of the sailors, lay +wrapped in sleep. I stood watching on deck, and saw the sun rise +in its full glory over the imperial city, so justly and universally +admired.</p> +<p>We had cast anchor in the neighbourhood of Topona; the city of cities +lay spread out before my eyes, built on several hills, each bearing +a separate town, and all blending into a grand and harmonious whole.</p> +<p>The town of Constantinople, properly speaking, is separated from +Galata and Pera by the so-called “Golden Horn;” the means +of communication is by a long and broad wooden bridge. Scutari +and Bulgurlu rise in the form of terraces on the Asiatic shore. +Scutari is surrounded, within and without, by a splendid wood of magnificent +cypresses. In the foreground, on the top of the mountain, lie +the spacious and handsome barracks, which can contain 10,000 men.</p> +<p>The beautiful mosques, with their graceful minarets—the palaces +and harems, kiosks and great barracks—the gardens, shrubberies, +and cypress-woods—the gaily painted houses, among which single +cypresses often rear their slender heads,—these, together with +the immense forest of masts, combine to form an indescribably striking +spectacle.</p> +<p>When the bustle of life began, on the shore and on the sea, my eyes +scarcely sufficed to take in all I saw. The “Golden Horn” +became gradually covered as far as the eye could reach with a countless +multitude of kaiks. The restless turmoil of life on shore, the +passing to and fro of men of all nations and colours, from the pale +inhabitant of Europe to the blackest Ethiopian, the combination of varied +and characteristic costumes, this, and much more which I cannot describe, +held me spell-bound to the deck. The hours flew past like minutes, +and even the time of debarcation came much too early for me, though +I had stood on deck and gazed from three o’clock until eight.</p> +<p>I found myself richly repaid for all the toils of my journey, and +rejoiced in the sight of these wonderful Eastern pictures; I could only +wish I were a poet, that I might fitly portray the magnificent gorgeousness +of the sight.</p> +<p>To land at Topona, and to be immediately surrounded by hired servants +and hamaks (porters), is the fate of every traveller. The stranger +is no longer master either of his will or his luggage. One man +praises this inn, the other that. <a name="citation40"></a><a href="#footnote40">{40}</a> +The porters hustle and beat each other for your effects, so that the +custom-house officers frequently come forward with their sticks to restore +order. The boxes are then searched,—a ceremony which can, +however, be considerably accelerated by a fee of from ten to twenty +kreutzers.</p> +<p>It is very advisable to fix on an hotel before leaving the boat. +There are always passengers on board who are resident at Constantinople, +or at least know the town well, and who are polite enough to give advice +on the subject to strangers. By this means you rid yourself at +once of the greedy servants, and need only tell a porter the name of +your inn.</p> +<p>The inns for the Franks (a term used in the East to designate all +Europeans) are in Pera. I stayed at the hotel of Madame Balbiani, +a widow lady, in whose house the guests are made comfortable in every +respect. Clean rooms, with a beautiful view towards the sea, healthy, +well-selected, and palatable fare, and good prompt attendance, are advantages +which every one values; and all these are found at Madame Balbiani’s, +besides constant readiness to oblige on the part of the hostess and +her family. The good lady took quite a warm interest in me; and +I can say, without hesitation, that had not my good fortune led me under +her roof, I should have been badly off. I had several letters +of introduction; but not being fortunate enough to travel in great pomp +or with a great name, my countrymen did not consider it worth while +to trouble themselves about me.</p> +<p>I am ashamed, for their sakes, to be obliged to make this confession; +but as I have resolved to narrate circumstantially not only all I saw, +but all that happened to me on this journey, I must note down this circumstance +with the rest. I felt the more deeply the kindness of these strangers, +who, without recommendation or the tie of country, took so hearty an +interest in the well-being of a lonely woman. I am truly rejoiced +when an opportunity occurs of expressing my sincere gratitude for the +agreeable hours I spent among them.</p> +<p>The distance from Vienna to Constantinople is about 1000 sea miles.</p> +<h3>RESIDENCE AT CONSTANTINOPLE.—THE DANCING DERVISHES.</h3> +<p>I arrived at Constantinople on a Tuesday, and immediately inquired +what was worth seeing. I was advised to go and see the dancing +dervishes, as this was the day on which they held their religious exercises +in Pera.</p> +<p>As I reached the mosque an hour too soon, I betook myself in the +meantime to the adjoining garden, which is set apart as the place of +meeting of the Turkish women. Here several hundred ladies reclined +on the grass in varied groups, surrounded by their children and their +nurses, the latter of whom are all negresses. Many of these Turkish +women were smoking pipes of tobacco with an appearance of extreme enjoyment, +and drinking small cups of coffee without milk. Two or three friends +often made use of the same pipe, which was passed round from mouth to +mouth. These ladies seemed also to be partial to dainties: most +of them were well provided with raisins, figs, sugared nuts, cakes, +etc., and ate as much as the little ones. They seemed to treat +their slaves very kindly; the black servants sat among their mistresses, +and munched away bravely: the slaves are well dressed, and could scarcely +be distinguished from their owners, were it not for their sable hue.</p> +<p>During my whole journey I remarked with pleasure that the lot of +a slave in the house of a Mussulman is not nearly so hard as we believe. +The Turkish women are no great admirers of animated conversations; still +there was more talking in their societies than in the assemblies of +the men, who sit silent and half asleep in the coffee-houses, languidly +listening to the narrations of a story-teller.</p> +<p>The ladies’ garden resembles a churchyard. Funeral monuments +peer forth at intervals between the cypresses, beneath which the visitors +sit talking and joking cheerfully. Every now and then one would +suddenly start up, spread a carpet beside her companions, and kneel +down to perform her devotions.</p> +<p>As no one of the male sex was allowed to be present, all were unveiled. +I noticed many pretty faces among them, but not a single instance of +rare or striking beauty. Fancy large brilliant eyes, pale cheeks, +broad faces, and an occasional tendency to corpulence, and you have +the ladies’ portrait. Small-pox must still be rather prevalent +in these parts, for I saw marks of it on many faces.</p> +<p>The Turkish ladies’ costume is not very tasteful. When +they go abroad, they are completely swathed in an upper garment, generally +made of dark merino. In the harem, or in any place where men are +not admitted, they doff this garment, and also the white cloth in which +they wrap their heads and faces. Their costume consists, properly +speaking, of very wide trousers drawn together below the ancle, a petticoat +with large wide sleeves, and a broad sash round the waist. Over +this sash some wear a caftan, others only a spencer, generally of silk. +On their feet they wear delicate boots, and over these slippers of yellow +morocco; on their heads a small fez-cap, from beneath which their hair +falls on their shoulders in a number of thin plaits. Those Turks, +male and female, who are descended from Mahomet, have either a green +caftan or a green turban. This colour is here held so sacred, +that scarcely any one may wear it. I would even advise the Franks +to avoid green in their dresses, as they may expose themselves to annoyance +by using it.</p> +<p>After I had had more than an hour’s leisure to notice all these +circumstances, a noise suddenly arose in the courtyard, which produced +a stir among the women. I considered from these appearances that +it was time to go to the temple, and hastened to join my party. +A great crowd was waiting in the courtyard, for the Sultan was expected. +I was glad to have the good fortune to behold him on the very day of +my arrival. As a stranger, I was allowed, without opposition, +a place in the front ranks,—a trait of good breeding on the part +of the Turks which many a Frank would do well to imitate. In a +Turk, moreover, this politeness is doubly praiseworthy, from the fact +that he looks upon my poor sex with great disrespect; indeed, according +to his creed, we have not even a soul.</p> +<p>I had only stood a few moments, when the Sultan appeared on horseback, +surrounded by his train. He alone rode into the courtyard; the +others all dismounted at the gate, and entered on foot. The horse +on which the Sultan rode was of rare beauty, and, as they told me, of +the true Arabian breed; the saddle-cloth was richly embroidered with +gold, and the stirrups, of the same precious metal, were in the form +of shoes, covered with the finest chased work.</p> +<p>The Sultan is a slender slim-looking youth of nineteen years of age, +and looks pale, languid, and <i>blasé</i>. His features +are agreeable, and his eyes fine. If he had not abandoned himself +at so early an age to all the pleasures of the senses, he would, no +doubt, have grown up a stalwart man. He wore a long cape of dark-blue +cloth; and a high fez-cap, with a heron’s plume and a diamond +clasp, decked his head. The greeting of the people, and the Sultan’s +mode of acknowledging it, is exactly as at Vienna, except that here +the people at intervals raise a low cry of welcome.</p> +<p>As soon as the Sultan had entered the temple, all flocked in. +The men and the Franks (the latter without distinction of sex) sit or +stand in the body of the temple. The Turkish women sit in galleries, +behind such close wire gratings that they are completely hidden. +The temple, or more properly the hall, is of inconsiderable size, and +the spectators are only separated from the priests by a low railing.</p> +<p>At two o’clock the dervishes appeared, clad in long petticoats +with innumerable folds, which reached to their heels. Their heads +were covered with high pointed hats of white felt. They spread +out carpets and skins of beasts, and began their ceremonies with a great +bowing and kissing of the ground. At length the music struck up; +but I do not remember ever to have heard a performance so utterly horrible. +The instruments were a child’s drum, a shepherd’s pipe, +and a miserable fiddle. Several voices set up a squeaking and +whining accompaniment, with an utter disregard of time and tune.</p> +<p>Twelve dervishes now began their dance,—if indeed a turning +round in a circle, while their full dresses spread round them like a +large wheel, can be called by such a name. They display much address +in avoiding each other, and never come in contact, though their stage +is very small. I did not notice any “convulsions,” +of which I had read in many descriptions.</p> +<p>The ceremony ended at three o’clock. The Sultan once +more mounted his horse, and departed with his train and the eunuchs. +In the course of the day I saw him again, as he was returning from visiting +the medical faculty. It is not difficult to get a sight of the +Sultan; he generally appears in public on Tuesdays, and always on Fridays, +the holiday of the Turks.</p> +<p>The train of the young autocrat presents a more imposing appearance +when he goes by water to visit a mosque, which he generally does on +every Friday. Only two hours before he starts it is announced +in which mosque he intends to appear. At twelve, at noon, the +procession moves forward. For this purpose two beautiful barges +are in readiness, painted white, and covered with gilded carvings. +Each barge is surmounted by a splendid canopy of dark-red velvet, richly +bordered with gold fringe and tassels. The floor is spread with +beautiful carpets. The rowers are strong handsome youths, clad +in short trousers and jacket of white silk, with fez-caps on their heads. +On each side of the ship there are fourteen of these rowers, under whose +vigorous exertions the barge flies forward over wave and billow like +a dolphin. The beautifully regular movements of the sailors have +a fine effect. The oars all dip into the water with one stroke, +the rowers rise as one man, and fall back into their places in the same +perfect time.</p> +<p>A number of elegant barges and kaiks follow the procession. +The flags of the Turkish fleet and merchant-ships are hoisted, and twenty-one +cannons thunder forth a salutation to the Sultan. He does not +stay long in the mosque, and usually proceeds to visit a barrack or +some other public building. When the monarch goes by water to +the mosque, he generally returns also in his barge; if he goes by land, +he returns in the same manner.</p> +<p>The most popular walks in Pera are “the great and little Campo,” +which may be termed “burying-places in cypress-groves.” +It is a peculiar custom of the Turks, which we hardly find among any +other nation, that all their feasts, walks, business-transactions, and +even their dwellings, are in the midst of graves. Every where, +in Constantinople, Pera, Galata, etc., one can scarcely walk a few paces +without passing several graves surrounded by cypresses. We wander +continually between the living and the dead; but within four and twenty +hours I was quite reconciled to the circumstance. During the night-time +I could pass the graves with as little dread as if I were walking among +the houses of the living. Seen from a distance, these numerous +cypress-woods give to the town a peculiar fairy-like appearance; I can +think of nothing with which I could compare it. Every where the +tall trees appear, but the tombs are mostly hidden from view.</p> +<p>It took a longer time before I could accustom myself to the multitude +of ownerless dogs, which the stranger encounters at all corners, in +every square and every street. They are of a peculiarly hideous +breed, closely resembling the jackal. During the daytime they +are not obnoxious, being generally contented enough if they are allowed +to sleep undisturbed in the sun, and to devour their prey in peace. +But at night they are not so quiet. They bark and howl incessantly +at each other, as well as at the passers-by, but do not venture an attack, +particularly if you are accompanied by a servant carrying a lantern +and a stick. Among themselves they frequently have quarrels and +fights, in which they sometimes lose their lives. They are extremely +jealous if a strange dog approaches their territory, namely the street +or square of which they have possession. On such an intruder they +all fall tooth and nail, and worry him until he either seeks safety +in flight or remains dead on the spot. It is therefore a rare +circumstance for any person to have a house-dog with him in the streets. +It would be necessary to carry the creature continually, and even then +a number of these unbidden guests would follow, barking and howling +incessantly. Neither distemper nor madness is to be feared from +these dogs, though no one cares for their wants. They live on +carrion and offal, which is to be found in abundance in every street, +as every description of filth is thrown out of the houses into the road. +A few years ago it was considered expedient to banish these dogs from +Constantinople. They were transported to two uninhabited islands +in the Sea of Marmora, the males to one and the females to another. +But dirt and filth increased in the city to such a degree, that people +were glad to have them back again.</p> +<p>The town is not lighted. Every person who goes abroad at night +must take a lantern with him. If he is caught wandering without +a lantern by the guard, he is taken off without mercy to the nearest +watch-house, where he must pass the night. The gates of the city +are shut after sunset.</p> +<p>In proportion as I was charmed with the beautiful situation of Constantinople, +so I was disgusted with the dirt and the offensive atmosphere which +prevail every where; the ugly narrow streets, the continual necessity +to climb up and down steep places in the badly-paved roads, soon render +the stranger weary of a residence in this city.</p> +<p>Worse than all is the continual dread of conflagration in which we +live. Large chests and baskets are kept in readiness in every +house; if a fire breaks out in the neighbourhood, all valuable articles +are rapidly thrown into these and conveyed away. It is customary +to make a kind of contract with two or three Turks, who are pledged, +in consideration of a trifling monthly stipend, to appear in the hour +of danger, for the purpose of carrying the boxes and lending a helping +hand wherever they can. It is safer by far to reckon on the honesty +of the Turks than on that of the Christians and Greeks. Instances +in which a Turk has appropriated any portion of the goods entrusted +to his care are said to be of very rare occurrence. During the +first nights of my stay I was alarmed at every noise, particularly when +the watchman, who paraded the streets, happened to strike with his stick +upon the stones. In the event of a conflagration, he must knock +at every house-door and cry, “Fire, fire!” Heaven +be praised, my fears were never realised.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> +<p><i>Scutari—Kaiks—The howling Dervishes—The Achmaidon, +or place of arrows—The tower in Galata—The Bazaar at Constantinople—Mosques—Slave-market—The +old Serail—The Hippodrome—Coffee-houses—Story-tellers—Excursion +to Ejub—Houses, theatres, and carriages.</i></p> +<p>I chose a Friday for an excursion to Scutari, the celebrated burying-place +of the Turks, in order that I might have an opportunity of seeing the +“howling dervishes.”</p> +<p>In company with a French physician, I traversed the Bosphorus in +a kaik. <a name="citation48"></a><a href="#footnote48">{48}</a> +We passed by the “Leander’s Tower,” which stands in +the sea, a few hundred paces from the Asiatic coast, and has been so +frequently celebrated in song by the poets. We soon arrived at +our destination.</p> +<p>It was with a peculiar feeling of emotion that for the first time +in my life I set foot on a new quarter of the globe. Now, and +not till now, I seemed separated by an immeasurable distance from my +home. Afterwards, when I landed on the coast of Africa, the circumstance +did not produce the same impression on my mind.</p> +<p>Now at length I was standing in the quarter of the earth which had +been the cradle of the human race; where man had risen high, and had +again sunk so low that the Almighty had almost annihilated him in his +righteous anger. And here in Asia it was that the Son of God came +on earth to bring the boon of redemption to fallen man. My long +and warmly-cherished wish to tread this most wonderful of the four quarters +of the earth was at length fulfilled, and with God’s help I might +confidently hope to reach the sacred region whence the true light of +the world had shone forth.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill3.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill3.jpg" alt="Burial Place at Scutari." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>Scutari is the place towards which the Mussulman looks with the hope +of one day reposing beneath its shade. No disciple of any other +creed is allowed to be buried here; and here, therefore, the Mahometan +feels himself at home, and worthy of his Prophet. The cemetery +is the grandest in the world. One may wander for hours through +this grove of cypresses, without reaching the end. On the gravestones +of the men turbans are sculptured; on those of the women fruits and +flowers: the execution is in most cases very indifferent.</p> +<p>Though neither the chief nor the tributary streets in Scutari are +even, they are neither so badly paved nor quite so narrow as those at +Pera. The great barracks, on a height in the foreground, present +a splendid appearance, and also afford a delicious view towards the +Sea of Marmora and the inimitably beautiful Bosphorus. The barracks +are said to contain accommodation for 10,000 men.</p> +<h3>THE HOWLING DERVISHES.</h3> +<p>At two o’clock we entered the temple, a miserable wooden building. +Every Mussulman may take part in this religious ceremony; it is not +requisite that he should have attained to the rank and dignity of a +dervish. Even children of eight or nine stand up in a row outside +the circle of men, to gain an early proficiency in these holy exercises.</p> +<p>The commencement of the ceremony is the same as with the dancing +dervishes; they have spread out carpets and skins of beasts, and are +bowing and kissing the ground. Now they stand up and form a circle +together with the laymen, when the chief begins in a yelling voice to +recite prayers from the Koran; by degrees those forming the circle join +in, and scream in concert. For the first hour some degree of order +is still preserved; the performers rest frequently to husband their +strength, which will be exerted to the utmost at the close of the ceremony. +But then the sight becomes as horrible as one can well imagine any thing. +They vie with one another in yelling and howling, and torture their +faces, heads, and bodies into an infinite variety of fantastic attitudes. +The roaring, which resembles that of wild beasts, and the dreadful spasmodic +contortions of the actors’ countenances, render this religious +ceremony a horrible and revolting spectacle.</p> +<p>The men stamp with their feet on the ground, jerk their heads backwards +and forwards, and certainly throw themselves into worse contortions +than those who are described as having been in old times “vexed +with a devil.” During the exercise they snatch the covering +from their heads, and gradually take off all their clothes, with the +exception of shirt and trousers. The two high priests who stand +within the circle receive the garments one after another, kiss them, +and lay them on a heap together. The priests beat time with their +hands, and after the garments have been laid aside the dance becomes +faster and faster. Heavy drops of perspiration stand on every +brow; some are even foaming at the mouth. The howling and roaring +at length reach such a dreadful pitch, that the spectator feels stunned +and bewildered.</p> +<p>Suddenly one of these maniacs fell lifeless to the ground. +The priests and a few from the circle hurried towards him, stretched +him out flat, crossed his hands and feet, and covered him with a cloth.</p> +<p>The doctor and I were both considerably alarmed, for we thought the +poor man had been seized with apoplexy. To our surprise and joy, +however, we saw him about six or eight minutes afterwards suddenly throw +off the cloth, jump up, and once more take his place in the circle to +howl like a maniac.</p> +<p>At three o’clock the ceremony concluded. I would not +advise any person afflicted with weak nerves to witness it, for he certainly +could not endure the sight. I could have fancied myself among +raving lunatics and men possessed, rather than amidst reasonable beings. +It was long before I could recover my composure, and realise the idea +that the infatuation of man could attain such a pitch. I was informed +that before the ceremony they swallow opium, to increase the wildness +of their excitement!</p> +<p>The Achmaidon (place of arrows) deserves a visit, on account of the +beautiful view obtained thence; the traveller should see it, if he be +not too much pressed for time. This is the place which the Sultan +sometimes honours by his presence when he wishes to practise archery.</p> +<p>On an open space stands a kind of pulpit of masonry, from which the +Sultan shoots arrows into the air without mark or aim. Where the +arrow falls, a pillar or pyramid is erected to commemorate the remarkable +event. The whole space is thus covered with a number of these +monuments, most of them broken and weather-stained, and all scattered +in the greatest confusion. Not far from this place is an imperial +kiosk, with a garden. Both promise much when viewed from a distance, +but realise nothing when seen from within.</p> +<h3>THE TOWER IN GALATA.</h3> +<p>Whoever wishes to appreciate in its fullest extent the charm of the +views round Constantinople should ascend the tower in Galata near Pera, +or the Serasker in Constantinople. According to my notion, the +former course is preferable. In this tower there is a room with +twelve windows placed in a circle, from which we see pictures such as +the most vivid imagination could hardly create.</p> +<p>Two quarters of the globe, on the shores of two seas united by the +Bosphorus, lie spread before us. The glorious hills with their +towns and villages, the number of palaces, gardens, kiosks, and mosques, +Chalcedon, the Prince’s Islands, the Golden Horn, the continual +bustle on the sea, the immense fleet, besides the numerous ships of +other nations, the crowds of people in Pera, Galata, and Topana—all +unite to form a panorama of singular beauty. The richest fancy +would fail in the attempt to portray such a scene; the most practised +pen would be unequal to the task of adequately describing it. +But the gorgeous picture will be ever present to my memory, though I +lack the power of presenting it to the minds of others.</p> +<p>Frequently, and each time with renewed pleasure, I ascended this +tower, and would sit there for hours, in admiration of the works of +the created and of the Creator. Exhausted and weary with gazing +was I each time I returned to my home. I think I may affirm that +no spot in the world can present such a view, or any thing that can +be compared with it. I found how right I had been in undertaking +this journey in preference to any other. Here another world lies +unfolded before my view. Every thing here is new—nature, +art, men, manners, customs, and mode of life. He who would see +something totally different from the every-day routine of European life +in European towns should come here.</p> +<h3>THE BAZAAR.</h3> +<p>In the town of Constantinople we come upon a wooden bridge, large, +long, and broad, stretching across the Golden Horn. The streets +of the town are rather better paved than those of Pera. In the +bazaars and on the sea-coast alone do we find an appearance of bustle; +the remaining streets are quiet enough.</p> +<p>The Bazaar is of vast extent, comprehending many covered streets, +which cross each other in every direction and receive light from above. +Every article of merchandise has its peculiar alley. In one all +the goldsmiths have their shops, in another the shoemakers; in this +street you see nothing but silks, in another real Cashmere shawls, etc.</p> +<p>Every dealer has a little open shop, before which he sits, and unceasingly +invites the passers-by to purchase. Whoever wishes to buy or to +look at any thing sits down also in front of the booth. The merchants +are very good-natured and obliging; they always willingly unfold and +display their treasures, even when they notice that the person to whom +they are shewing them does not intend to become a purchaser. I +had, however, imagined the display of goods to be much more varied and +magnificent than I found it; but the reason of this apparent poverty +is that the true treasures of art and nature, such as shawls, precious +stones, pearls, valuable arms, gold brocades, etc., must not be sought +in the bazaars; they are kept securely under lock and key in the dwellings +or warehouses of the proprietors, whither the stranger must go if he +wishes to see the richest merchandise.</p> +<p>The greatest number of streets occupied by the followers of any one +trade are those inhabited by the makers of shoes and slippers. +A degree of magnificence is displayed in their shops such as a stranger +would scarcely expect to see. There are slippers which are worth +1000 piastres <a name="citation53"></a><a href="#footnote53">{53}</a> +a pair and more. They are embroidered with gold, and ornamented +with pearls and precious stones.</p> +<p>The Bazaar is generally so much crowded, that it is a work of no +slight difficulty to get through it; yet the space in the middle is +very broad, and one has rarely to step aside to allow a carriage or +a horseman to pass. But the bazaars and baths are the lounges +and gossiping places of the Turkish women. Under the pretence +of bathing or of wishing to purchase something, they walk about here +for half a day together, amusing themselves with small-talk, love-affairs, +and with looking at the wares.</p> +<h3>THE MOSQUES.</h3> +<p>Without spending a great deal of money, it is very difficult to obtain +admittance into the mosques. You are compelled to take out a firmann, +which costs from 1000 to 1200 piastres. A guide of an enterprising +spirit is frequently sufficiently acute to inquire in the different +hotels if there are any guests who wish to visit the mosques. +Each person who is desirous of doing so gives four or five colonati +<a name="citation54"></a><a href="#footnote54">{54}</a> to the guide, +who thereupon procures the firmann, and frequently clears forty or fifty +guilders by the transaction. An opportunity of this description +to visit the mosques generally offers itself several times in the course +of a month.</p> +<p>I had made up my mind that it would be impossible to quit Constantinople +without first seeing the four wonder-mosques, the Aja Sofia, Sultan +Achmed, Osmanije, and Soleimanije.</p> +<p>I had the good fortune to obtain admittance on paying a very trifling +sum; I think I should regret it to this day if I had paid five colonati +for such a purpose.</p> +<p>To an architect these mosques are no doubt highly interesting; to +a profane person like myself they offer little attraction. Their +principal beauty generally consists in the bold arches of the cupolas. +The interior is always empty, with the exception of a few large chandeliers +placed at intervals, and furnished with a large number of perfectly +plain glass lamps. The marble floors are covered with straw mats. +In the Sofia mosque we find a few pillars which have been brought hither +from Ephesus and Baalbec, and in a compartment on one side several sarcophagi +are deposited.</p> +<p>Before entering the mosque, you must either take off your shoes or +put on slippers over them. The outer courts, which are open to +all, are very spacious, paved with slabs of marble, and kept scrupulously +clean. In the midst stands a fountain, at which the Mussulman +washes his hands, his face, and his feet, before entering the mosque. +An open colonnade resting on pillars usually runs round the mosques, +and splendid plantains and other trees throw a delicious shade around.</p> +<p>The mosque of Sultan Achmed, on the Hippodrome, is surrounded by +six minarets. Most of the others have only two, and some few four.</p> +<p>The kitchens for the poor, situated in the immediate neighbourhood +of the mosques, are a very praiseworthy institution. Here the +poor Mussulman is regaled on simple dishes, such as rice, beans, cucumbers, +etc., at the public expense. I marvelled greatly to find no crowding +at these places. Another and an equally useful measure is the +erection of numerous fountains of clear good water. This is the +more welcome when we remember that the Turkish religion forbids the +use of all spirituous liquors. At many of these fountains servants +are stationed, whose only duty is to keep ten or twelve goblets of shining +brass constantly filled with this refreshing nectar, and to offer them +to every passer-by, be he Turk or Frank. Beer-houses and wine-shops +are not to be found here. Would to Heaven this were every where +the case! How many a poor wretch would never have been poor, and +how many a madman would never have lost his senses!</p> +<p>Not far from the Osmanije mosque is the</p> +<h3>SLAVE-MARKET.</h3> +<p>I entered it with a beating heart, and already before I had even +seen them, pitied the poor slaves. How glad, therefore, was I +when I found them not half so forlorn and neglected as we Europeans +are accustomed to imagine! I saw around me friendly smiling faces, +from the grimaces and contortions of which I could easily discover that +their owners were making quizzical remarks on every passing stranger.</p> +<p>The market is a great yard, surrounded by rooms, in which the slaves +live. By day they may walk about in the yard, pay one another +visits, and chatter as much as they please.</p> +<p>In a market of this kind we, of course, see every gradation of colour, +from light brown to the deepest black. The white slaves, and the +most beautiful of the blacks, are not however to be seen by every stranger, +but are shut up in the dwellings of the traffickers in human flesh. +The dress of these people is simple in the extreme. They either +wear only a large linen sheet, which is wrapped round them, or some +light garment. Even this they are obliged to take off when a purchaser +appears. So long as they are in the hands of the dealers, they +are certainly not kept in very good style; so they all look forward +with great joy to the prospect of getting a master. When they +are once purchased, their fate is generally far from hard. They +always adopt the religion of their master, are not overburdened with +work, are well clothed and fed, and kindly treated. Europeans +also purchase slaves, but may not look upon them and treat them as such; +from the moment when a slave is purchased by a Frank he becomes free. +Slaves bought in this way, however, generally stay with their masters.</p> +<h3>THE OLD SERAIL</h3> +<p>is, of course, an object of paramount attraction to us Europeans. +I betook myself thither with my expectations at full stretch, and once +more found the reality to be far below my anticipations. The effect +of the whole is certainly grand; many a little town would not cover +so much ground as this place, which consists of a number of houses and +buildings, kiosks, and summer-houses, surrounded with plantains and +cypress-trees, the latter half hidden amid gardens and arbours. +Everywhere there is a total want of symmetry and taste. I saw +something of the garden, walked through the first and second courtyard, +and even peeped into the third. In the last two yards the buildings +are remarkable for the number of cupolas they exhibit. I saw a +few rooms and large halls quite full of a number of European things, +such as furniture, clocks, vases, etc. My expectations were sadly +damped. The place where the heads of pashas who had fallen into +disfavour were exhibited is in the third yard. Heaven be praised, +no severed heads are now seen stuck on the palings.</p> +<p>I was not fortunate enough to be admitted into the imperial harem; +I did not possess sufficient interest to obtain a view of it. +At a later period of my journey, however, I succeeded in viewing several +harems.</p> +<h3>THE HIPPODROME</h3> +<p>is the largest and finest open place in Constantinople. After +those of Cairo and Padua, it is the most spacious I have seen any where. +Two obelisks of red granite, covered with hieroglyphics, are the only +ornaments of this place. The houses surrounding it are built, +according to the general fashion, of wood, and painted with oil-colours +of different tints. I here noticed a great number of pretty children’s +carriages, drawn by servants. Many parents assembled here to let +their children be driven about.</p> +<p>Not far from the Hippodrome are the great cisterns with the thousand +and one pillars. Once on a time this gigantic fabric must have +presented a magnificent appearance. Now a miserable wooden staircase, +lamentably out of repair, leads you down a flight of thirty or forty +steps into the depths of one of these cisterns, the roof of which is +supported by three hundred pillars. This cistern is no longer +filled with water, but serves as a workshop for silk-spinners. +The place seems almost as if it had been expressly built for such a +purpose, as it receives light from above, and is cool in summer, and +warm during the winter. It is now impossible to penetrate into +the lower stories, as they are either filled with earth or with water.</p> +<p>The aqueducts of Justinian and Valentinian are stupendous works. +They extend from Belgrade to the “Sweet Waters,” a distance +of about fourteen miles, and supply the whole of Constantinople with +a sufficiency of water.</p> +<h3>COFFEE-HOUSES—STORY-TELLERS.</h3> +<p>Before I bade farewell to Constantinople for the present and betook +me to Pera, I requested my guide to conduct me to a few coffee-houses, +that I might have a new opportunity of observing the peculiar customs +and mode of life of the Turks. I had already obtained some notion +of the appearance of these places in Giurgewo and Galatz; but in this +imperial town I had fancied I should find them somewhat neater and more +ornamental. But this delusion vanished as soon as I entered the +first coffee-house. A wretchedly dirty room, in which Turks, Greeks, +Armenians, and others sat cross-legged on divans, smoking and drinking +coffee, was all I could discover. In the second house I visited +I saw, with great disgust, that the coffee-room was also used as a barber’s +shop; on one side they were serving coffee, and on the other a Turk +was having his head shaved. They say that bleeding is sometimes +even carried on in these booths.</p> +<p>In a coffee-house of a rather superior class we found one of the +so-called “story-tellers.” The audience sit round +in a half-circle, and the narrator stands in the foreground, and quietly +begins a tale from the <i>Thousand and One Nights</i>; but as he continues +he becomes inspired, and at length roars and gesticulates like the veriest +ranter among a company of strolling players.</p> +<p>Sherbet is not drunk in all the coffee-houses; but every where we +find stalls and booths where this cooling and delicious beverage is +to be had. It is made from the juice of fruits, mixed with that +of lemons and pomegranates. In Pera ice is only to be had in the +coffee-houses of the Franks, or of Christian confectioners. All +coffee-house keepers are obliged to buy their coffee ready burnt and +ground from the government, the monopoly of this article being an imperial +privilege. A building has been expressly constructed for its preparation, +where the coffee is ground to powder by machinery. The coffee +is made very strong, and poured out without being strained, a custom +which I could not bring myself to like.</p> +<p>It is well worth the traveller’s while to make an</p> +<h3>EXCURSION TO EJUB,</h3> +<p>the greatest suburb of Constantinople, and also the place where the +richest and most noble of the Turks are buried.</p> +<p>Ejub, the standard-bearer of Mahomet, rests here in a magnificent +mosque, built entirely of white marble. None but a Mussulman may +tread this hallowed shrine. A tolerably good view of the interior +can, however, be obtained from without, as the windows are lofty and +broad, and reach nearly to the ground. The sarcophagus stands +in a hall; it is covered with a richly embroidered pall, over which +are spread five or six “real” shawls. The part beneath +which the head rests is surmounted by a turban, also of real shawls. +The chief sarcophagus is surrounded by several smaller coffins, in which +repose the wives, children, and nearest relations of Ejub. Hard +by the mosque we find a beautiful fountain of white marble, surrounded +by a railing of gilded iron, and furnished with twelve bright drinking-cups +of polished brass. A Turk here is appointed expressly to hand +these to the passers-by. A little crooked garden occupies the +space behind the mosque. The mosques in which the dead sultans +are deposited are all built in the same manner as that of Ejub. +Instead of the turban, handsome fez-caps, with the heron’s feather, +lie on the coffins. Among the finest mosques is that in which +repose the remains of the late emperor. In Ejub many very costly +monuments are to be seen. They are generally surrounded by richly-gilt +iron railings, their peaks surmounted by the shining crescent, and forming +an arch above a sarcophagus, round which are planted rose-bushes and +dwarf cypresses, with ivy and myrtle clinging to their stems. +It would, however, be very erroneous to suppose that the rich alone +lie buried here. The poor man also finds his nook; and frequently +we see close by a splendid monument the modest stone which marks the +resting-place of the humble Mussulman.</p> +<p>On my return I met the funeral of a poor Turk. If my attention +had not been attracted to the circumstance, I should have passed by +without heeding it. The corpse was rolled in a cloth, fastened +at the head and at the feet, and laid on a board which a man carried +on his shoulder. At the grave the dead man is once more washed, +wrapped in clean linen cloths, and thus lowered into the earth. +And this is as it should be. Why should the pomp and extravagance +of man accompany him to his last resting-place? Were it not well +if in this matter we abated something of our conventionality and ostentation? +I do not mean to say that interments need be stripped of every thing +like ornament; in all things the middle way is the safest. A simple +funeral has surely in it more that awakes true religious feeling than +the pomp and splendour which are too frequently made the order of the +day in these proceedings. In this case are not men sometimes led +away to canvass and to criticise the splendour of the show, while they +should be deducing a wholesome moral lesson for themselves, or offering +up a fervent prayer to the Almighty for the peace of the departed spirit?</p> +<h3>HOUSES—THEATRES—CARRIAGES.</h3> +<p>The houses in the whole of Constantinople, in which we may include +Pera, Topana, etc., are very slightly and carelessly put together. +No door, no window, closes and fits well; the floorings frequently exhibit +gaps an inch in breadth; and yet rents are very high. The reason +of this is to be found in the continual danger of fire to which all +towns built of wood are exposed. Every proprietor of a house calculates +that he may be burnt out in the course of five or six years, and therefore +endeavours to gain back his capital with interest within this period. +Thus we do not find the houses so well built or so comfortably furnished +as in the generality of European towns.</p> +<p>There is a theatre in Pera, which will hold from six to seven hundred +spectators. At the time of my sojourn there, a company of Italian +singers were giving four representations every week. Operas of +the most celebrated masters were here to be heard; but I attended one +representation, and had quite enough. The wonder is that such +an undertaking answers at all, as the Turks have no taste for music, +and the Franks are too fastidious to be easily satisfied.</p> +<p>The carriages—which are, generally speaking, only used by women—are +of two kinds. The first is in the shape of a balloon, finely painted +and gilt, and furnished with high wheels. On each side is an opening, +to enter which the passenger mounts on a wooden stool, placed there +by the coachman every time he ascends or descends. The windows +or openings can be closed with Venetian blinds. These carriages +contain neither seats nor cushion. Every one who drives out takes +carpets or bolsters with him, spreads them out inside the coach, and +sits down cross-legged. A carriage of this description will hold +four persons. The second species of carriage only differs from +that already described in having still higher wheels, and consisting +of a kind of square box, covered in at the top, but open on all sides. +The passengers enter at the back, and there is generally room for eight +persons. The former kind of vehicle is drawn by one horse in shafts, +and sometimes by two; the latter by one or two oxen, also harnessed +in shafts, which are, however, furnished in addition with a wooden arch +decorated with flowers, coloured paper, and ribbons. The coachman +walks on foot beside his cattle, to guide them with greater security +through the uneven ill-paved streets, in which you are continually either +ascending or descending a hill.</p> +<p>Wagons there are none; every thing is carried either by men, horses, +or asses. This circumstance explains the fact that more porters +are found here than in any other city. These men are agile and +very strong; a porter often bears a load of from one hundred to a hundred +and fifty pounds through the rugged hilly streets. Wood, coals, +provisions, and building-materials are carried by horses and asses. +This may be one reason why every thing is so dear in Constantinople.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> +<p><i>Walks and drives of the townspeople—The “Sweet Waters”—Chalcedonia—Baluklid—The +great and little Campo—Feasts in Constantinople—Anniversary +of Mahomet’s death—Easter holidays of the Greeks—Gladiators +and wrestlers—Excursion to Brussa—Olive-trees—Mosques +at Brussa—Stone bridge—Wild dogs—Baths and mineral +springs—Return to Constantinople.</i></p> +<p>On Sundays and holydays the “Sweet Waters” of Europe +are much frequented. One generally crosses the Golden Horn, into +which the sweet water runs, in a kaik. There is, however, another +way thither across the mountains.</p> +<p>A large grass-plat, surrounded by trees, is the goal towards which +the heaving multitude pours. Here are to be seen people from all +quarters of the globe, and of all shades of colour, reclining in perfect +harmony on carpets, mats, and pillows, and solacing themselves, pipe +in mouth, with coffee and sweetmeats. Many pretty Jewesses, mostly +unveiled, are to be seen among the crowd.</p> +<p>On Friday, the holiday of the Turks, the scene in the Asiatic Sweet +Waters is just as animated; and here there is much more to interest +us Europeans, as the company consists chiefly of Turks, male and female. +The latter have, as usual, their faces covered: the most beautiful feature, +the flaming eye, is, however, visible.</p> +<p>The trip across the sea to the Asiatic Sweet Waters is incomparably +more beautiful and interesting than the journey to the European. +We travel up the Bosphorus, in the direction of the Black Sea, past +the splendid new palace of the Sultan. Though this palace is chiefly +of wood, the pillars, staircases, and the ground-floor, built of marble +of dazzling whiteness, are strikingly beautiful. The great gates, +of gilded cast-iron, may be called masterpieces; they were purchased +in England for the sum of £8000. The roof of the palace +is in the form of a terrace, and round this terrace runs a magnificent +gallery, built only of wood, but artistically carved. We also +pass the two ancient castles which command the approach to Constantinople, +and then turn to the right towards the Sweet Waters. The situation +of this place is most lovely; it lies in a beautiful valley surrounded +by green hills.</p> +<p>Very interesting is also an excursion to Chalcedonia, a peninsula +in the Sea of Marmora, on the Asiatic side, adjoining Scutari. +We were rowed thither in a two-oared kaik in an hour and a quarter. +The finest possible weather favoured our trip. A number of dolphins +gambolled around our boat; we saw these tame fishes darting to and fro +in all directions, and leaping into the air. It is a peculiar +circumstance with regard to these creatures, that they never swim separately, +but always either in pairs or larger companies.</p> +<p>The views which we enjoy during these trips are peculiarly lovely. +Scutari lies close on our left; the foreground is occupied by mountains +of moderate elevation; and above them, in the far distance, gleams the +snow-clad summit of Olympus. The uninhabited Prince’s Island +and the two Dog Islands are not the most picturesque objects to be introduced +in such a landscape. To make up for the disadvantage of their +presence we have, however, a good view of the Sea of Marmora, and can +also distinguish the greater portion of the city of Constantinople.</p> +<p>On Chalcedonia itself there is nothing to be seen but a lighthouse. +Beautiful grass-plats, with a few trees and a coffee-house, are the +chief points of attraction with the townspeople.</p> +<p>An excursion by sea to Baluklid is also to be recommended. +You pass the entire Turkish fleet, which is very considerable, and see +the largest ship in the world, the “Mahmud,” of 140 guns, +built during the reign of the late Sultan Mahmud. Several three-deckers +of 120 guns, some of them unrigged, and many men-of-war mounting from +forty to sixty cannons, lie in the harbour. For an hour and a +half we are riding through the Sea of Marmora, to the left of the great +quay which surrounds the walls of Constantinople. Here, for the +first time, we see the giant city in all its magnificent proportions. +We also passed the “Seven Towers,” of which, however, only +five remain standing; the other two, I was told, had fallen in. +If these towers really answer no other purpose than that of prisons +for the European ambassadors during tumults or in the event of hostilities, +I think the sooner the remaining five tumble down the better; for the +European powers will certainly not brook such an insult from the Turks, +now in the day of their decline.</p> +<p>We disembarked immediately beyond the “Seven Towers,” +and walked for half an hour through long empty streets, then out at +the town-gate, where the cypress-grove for a time conceals from our +view a large open space on which is built a pretty Greek church. +I was told that during the holidays at Easter such riotous scenes were +here enacted that broken heads were far from being phenomena of rare +occurrence. In the church there is a cold spring containing little +fishes. A legend goes, that on the high days at Easter these poor +little creatures swim about half fried and yet alive, because once upon +a time, when Constantinople was besieged, a general said that it was +no more likely that the city could be taken than that fishes could swim +about half fried. Ever since that period the wonderful miracle +of the fried fish is said to occur annually at Easter.</p> +<p>On our return to our kaik, we saw near the shore an enormous cuttle-fish, +more than fourteen feet in length, which had just been taken and killed. +A number of fishermen were trying with ropes and poles to drag the monster +ashore.</p> +<p>The walks in the immediate neighbourhood of Pera are the great and +little Campo, and somewhat farther distant the great bridge which unites +Topana with Constantinople; the latter is a most amusing walk, during +which we can view the life and bustle on both shores at the same time. +In the little Campo are two Frankish coffee-houses, before which we +sit quite in European fashion on handsome chairs and benches, listening +to pleasant music, and regaling ourselves with ices.</p> +<h3>FEASTS IN CONSTANTINOPLE.</h3> +<p>During my residence in Constantinople I had the good fortune to be +present at some very entertaining festivities. The most magnificent +of these took place on the 23d of April, the anniversary of Mahomet’s +death.</p> +<p>On the eve of this feast we enjoyed a fairy-like spectacle. +The tops of all the minarets were illuminated with hundreds of little +lamps; and as there are a great many of these slender spires, it can +be readily imagined that this sea of light must have a beautiful effect. +The Turkish ships in the harbour presented a similar appearance. +At every loop-hole a large lamp occupied the place of the muzzle of +the cannon. At nine o’clock in the evening, salvoes were +fired from the ships; and at the moment that the cannons were fired, +the lamps vanished, flashes of light and gunpowder-smoke filled the +air; a few seconds afterwards, as if by magic, the lamps had reappeared. +This salute was repeated three times.</p> +<p>The morning of the 23d was ushered in by the booming of the cannon. +All the Turkish ships had hoisted their flags, and garlands of coloured +paper were twined round the masts to their very tops.</p> +<p>At nine o’clock I proceeded in the company of several friends +to Constantinople, to see the grand progress of the Sultan to the mosque. +As with us, it is here the custom to post soldiers on either side of +the way. The procession was headed by the officers and government +officials; but after every couple of officers or statesmen followed +their servants, generally to the number of twelve or fifteen persons, +in very variegated costumes, partly Turkish, partly European, and withal +somewhat military; in fact, a perfect motley. Then came the Emperor’s +state-horses, splendid creatures, the majority of them of the true Arabian +breed, decorated with saddle-cloths richly embroidered with gold, pearls, +and precious stones, and proudly moving their plumed heads. Their +spirited appearance and beautiful paces excited the admiration of all +the learned in such matters. They were followed by a number of +pages on foot; these pages are not, however, youths, as in other countries, +but men of tried fidelity. In their midst rode the youthful Emperor, +wrapped in his cape, and wearing in his fez-cap a fine heron’s +plume, buckled with the largest diamond in Europe. As the Sultan +passed by, he was greeted by the acclamations of the military, but not +of the people. The soldiers closed the procession; but their bearing +is not nearly so haughty as that of the horses. The reason of +this is simple enough—no one dares look upon the Arabians with +an evil eye, but the soldiers are entirely subject to the caprice of +their officers. I would certainly rather be the Sultan’s +horse than his soldier.</p> +<p>The uniforms of the officers, in their profusion of gold embroidery, +resemble those of our hussars. The privates have very comfortable +jackets and trousers of blue cloth with red trimmings; some have jackets +entirely of a red colour. The artillerymen wear red facings. +Their <i>chaussure</i> is pitiable in the extreme: some have boots, +not unfrequently decorated with spurs; others have shoes, trodden down +at heel and terribly tattered; and some even appear in slippers. +All are without stockings, and thus naked feet peer forth every where. +The position of the men with regard to each other is just as irregular; +a little dwarf may frequently be seen posted next to a giant, a boy +of twelve or fourteen years near a grey-headed veteran, and a negro +standing next to a white man.</p> +<p>At this feast a great concourse of people was assembled, and every +window was crowded with muffled female heads.</p> +<p>We had been advised not to be present at this ceremony, as it was +stated to be of a purely religious nature, and it was feared we should +be exposed to annoyance from the fanaticism of the Mussulmen. +I am glad to say, however, that the curiosity of my party was stronger +than their apprehensions. We pushed through every where, and I +had again occasion to feel assured that grievous wrong is frequently +done the good Turks. Not only was there no appearance of a disposition +to annoy us, but we even obtained very good places without much trouble.</p> +<p>On their Easter days the Greeks have a feast in the great Campo. +On all the three holidays, the hamaks (water-carriers and porters), +after the service is over, march in large numbers to the Campo with +songs and music, with noise and shouting, waving their handkerchiefs +in the air. Arrived at their destination, they divide into different +groups, and proceed to amuse themselves much after the manner of other +nations. A number of tents are erected, where a great deal of +cooking and baking is carried on. Large companies are sitting +on the ground or on the tombstones, eating and drinking in quiet enjoyment. +We see a number of swings laden with men and children; on this side +we hear the squeaking of a bagpipe, on that the sound of a pipe and +drum, uttering such dismal music that the hearer instinctively puts +a finger into each ear. To this music a real bear’s dance +is going on. Six or eight fellows stand in a half circle round +the musician, and two leaders of these light-toed clodhoppers continually +wave their handkerchiefs in the air as they stamp slowly and heavily +round in a circle. The women are allowed to appear at this feast, +but may neither take part in the swinging nor in the dancing. +They therefore keep up a brave skirmishing with the sweetmeats, coffee, +and delicacies of all kinds. The more wealthy portion of the community +employ these days in riding to Baluklid, to gaze and wonder at the miracle +of the half-baked and yet living fishes.</p> +<p>As the Greeks are not so good-natured as the Turks, the latter seldom +take part in their festivities. Turkish women never appear on +these occasions.</p> +<p>On the 8th of May I saw a truly Turkish <i>fête</i> in the +neighbourhood of the Achmaidon (place of arrows).</p> +<p>In a plain surrounded on all sides by hills, men of all nations formed +a large but closely-packed circle. Kavasses (<i>gens d’arme</i>) +were there to keep order among the people, and several officers sat +among the circle to keep order among the kavasses. The spectacle +began. Two wrestlers or gladiators made their appearance, completely +undressed, with the exception of trousers of strong leather. They +had rubbed themselves all over with oil, so that their joints might +be soft and supple, and also that their adversary should not be able +to obtain a firm hold when they grappled together. They made several +obeisances to the spectators, began with minor feats of wrestling, and +frequently stopped for a few moments in order to husband their strength. +Then the battle began afresh, and became hotter and hotter, till at +length one of the combatants was hailed as victor by the shouting mob. +He is declared the conqueror who succeeds in throwing his opponent in +such a manner that he can sit down upon him as on a horse. A combat +of this kind usually lasts a quarter of an hour. The victor walks +triumphantly round the circle to collect his reward. The unfortunate +vanquished conceals himself among the spectators, scarcely daring to +lift his eyes. These games last for several hours; as one pair +of gladiators retire, they are replaced by another.</p> +<p>Greek, Turkish, and Armenian women may only be spectators of these +games from a distance; they therefore occupy the adjoining heights. +For the rest, the arrangements are the same as at the Greek Easter feast. +People eat, drink, and dance. No signs of beer, wine, or liqueur +are to be discovered, and consequently there is no drunkenness.</p> +<p>The Turkish officers were here polite enough to surrender the best +places to us strangers. I had many opportunities of noticing the +character of the Mussulman, and found, to my great delight, that he +is much better and more honest than prejudices generally allow us to +believe. Even in matters of commerce and business it is better +to have to do with a Turk than with a votary of any other creed, not +even excepting my own.</p> +<p>During my stay at Constantinople (from the 5th of April until May +17th) I found the weather just as changeable as in my own country; so +much so, in fact, that the temperature frequently varied twelve or fourteen +degrees within four-and-twenty hours.</p> +<h3>EXCURSION TO BRUSSA.</h3> +<p>The two brothers, Baron Charles and Frederick von Buseck, and Herr +Sattler, the talented artist, resolved to make an excursion to Brussa; +and as I had expressed a similar wish, they were obliging enough to +invite me to make a fourth in their party. But when it came to +the point, I had almost become irresolute. I was asked by some +one if I was a good rider; “for if you are not,” said my +questioner, “it would be far better for you not to accompany them, +as Brussa is four German miles distant from Gemlek, and the road is +bad, so that the gentlemen must ride briskly if they wish to reach the +town before sundown, starting as they would at half-past two in the +afternoon, the general hour of landing at Gemlek. In the event +of your being unable to keep up with the rest, you would put them to +great inconvenience, or they will be compelled to leave you behind on +the road.”</p> +<p>I had never mounted a horse, and felt almost inclined to confess +the fact; but my curiosity to see Brussa, the beautiful town at the +foot of Olympus, gained the day, and I boldly declared that I had no +doubt I should be able to keep pace with my companions.</p> +<p>On the 13th of May we left Constantinople at half-past six in the +morning, on board a little steamer of forty-horse power. Passing +the Prince’s and Dog Islands, we swept across the Sea of Marmora +towards the snow-crowned Olympus, until, after a voyage of seven hours, +we reached Gemlek.</p> +<p>Gemlek, distant thirty sea miles from Constantinople, is a miserable +place, but nevertheless does some trade as the harbour of Bithynia. +The agent of the Danube Navigation Company was civil enough to procure +us good horses, and a genuine, stalwart, and fierce-looking Turkoman +for a guide. This man wore in his girdle several pistols and a +dagger; a long crooked scimitar hung at his side; and instead of shoes +and slippers, large boots decked his feet, bordered at the top by a +wide stripe of white cloth, on which were depicted blue flowers and +other ornaments. His head was graced by a handsome turban.</p> +<p>At half-past two o’clock the horses arrived. I swung +myself boldly upon my Rosinante, called on my good angel to defend me, +and away we started, slowly at first, over stock and stone. My +joy was boundless when I found that I could sit steadily upon my horse; +but shortly afterwards, when we broke into a trot, I began to feel particularly +uncomfortable, as I could not get on at all with the stirrup, which +was continually slipping to my heel, while sometimes my foot slid out +of it altogether, and I ran the risk of losing my balance. Oh, +what would I not have given to have asked advice of any one! But +unfortunately I could not do so without at once betraying my ignorance +of horsemanship. I therefore took care to bring up the rear, under +the pretence that my horse was shy, and would not go well unless it +saw the others before it. My real reason was that I wished to +hide my manœuvres from the gentlemen, for every moment I expected +to fall. Frequently I clutched the saddle with both hands, as +I swayed from side to side. I looked forward in terror to the +gallop, but to my surprise found that I could manage this pace better +than the trot. My courage brought its reward, for I reached the +goal of our journey thoroughly shaken, but without mishap. During +the time that we travelled at a foot-pace, I had found leisure to contemplate +the scenery around us. For half the entire distance we ride from +one valley into another; as often as a hill is reached, there is a limited +prospect before the traveller, who has, however, only to turn his head, +and he enjoys a beautiful view over the Sea of Marmora. After +a ride of two hours and a half we arrived at a little khan, <a name="citation71a"></a><a href="#footnote71a">{71a}</a> +where we rested for half an hour. Proceeding thence a short distance, +we reached the last hills; and the great valley, at the end of which +Brussa is seen leaning against Olympus, lay stretched before our eager +eyes, while behind us we could still distinguish, far beyond hill and +dale, the distant sea skirting the horizon. Yet, beautiful as +this landscape undoubtedly is, I had seen it surpassed in Switzerland. +The immense valley which lies spread out before Brussa is uncultivated, +deserted, and unwatered; no carpet of luxuriant verdure, no rushing +river, no pretty village, gives an air of life to this magnificent and +yet monotonous region; and no giant mountains covered with eternal snow +look down upon the plain beneath. Pictures like these I had frequently +found in Switzerland, in the Tyrol, and also near Salzburg. Here +I saw, indeed, separate beauties, but no harmonious whole. Olympus +is a fine majestic mountain, forming an extended barrier; but its height +can scarcely exceed 6000 feet; <a name="citation71b"></a><a href="#footnote71b">{71b}</a> +and during the present month it is totally despoiled of its surface +of glittering snow. Brussa, with its innumerable minarets, is +the only point of relief to which the eye continually recurs, because +there is nothing beyond to attract it. A little brook, crossed +by a very high stone bridge, but so shallow already in the middle of +May as hardly to cover our horses’ hoofs; and towards Brussa, +a miserable village, with a few plantations of olives and mulberry-trees,—are +the only objects to be discovered throughout the whole wide expanse. +Wherever I found the olive-tree—here, near Trieste, and in Sicily,—it +was alike ugly. The stem is gnarled, and the leaves are narrow +and of a dingy green colour. The mulberry-tree, with its luxuriant +bright green foliage, forms an agreeable contrast to the olive. +The silk produced in this neighbourhood is peculiarly fine in quality, +and the stuffs from Brussa are renowned far and wide.</p> +<p>We reached the town in safety before sunset. It is one of the +most disagreeable circumstances that can happen to the traveller to +arrive at an Oriental town after evening has closed in. He finds +the gates locked, and may clamour for admittance in vain.</p> +<p>In order to gain our inn, we were obliged to ride through the greater +part of the town. I had here an opportunity of observing that +it is just as unsightly as the interior of Constantinople. The +streets are narrow, and the houses built of wood, plaster, and some +even of stone; but all wear an aspect of poverty, and at the same time +of singularity;—the gables projecting so much that they occupy +half the width of the street, and render it completely dark, while they +increase its narrowness. The inn, too, at which we put up, looked +far from inviting when viewed from the outside, so that we had some +dark misgivings respecting the quality of the accommodation that awaited +us. But in proportion as the outside had looked unpropitious, +were we agreeably surprised on entering. A neat and roomy courtyard, +with a basin of pure sparkling water in the midst, surrounded by mulberry-trees, +was the first thing we beheld. Round this courtyard were two stories +of clean but simply-furnished rooms. The fare was good, and we +were even regaled with a bottle of excellent wine from the lower regions +of Olympus.</p> +<h3>May 14th.</h3> +<p>Next morning we visited the town and its environs, under the guidance +and protection of a kavasse. The town itself is of great extent, +and is reported to contain above 10,000 houses, inhabited exclusively +by Turks. The population of the suburbs, which comprise nearly +4000 houses, is a mixed one of Christians, Jews, Greeks, etc. +The town numbers three hundred and sixty mosques; but the greater portion +of them are so insignificant and in such a dilapidated condition, that +we scarcely observed them.</p> +<p>Strangers are here permitted to enter the mosques in company of a +kavasse. We visited some of the principal, among which the Ulla +Drchamy may decidedly be reckoned. The cupola of this mosque is +considered a masterpiece, and rests upon graceful columns. It +is open at the top, thus diffusing a chastened light and a clear atmosphere +throughout the building. Immediately beneath this cupola stands +a large marble basin, in which small fishes swim merrily about.</p> +<p>The mosque of Sultan Mahomed I. and of Sultan Ildirim Bojasid must +also be noticed on account of their splendid architecture; the latter, +too, for the fine view which is thence obtained. In the mosque +of Murad I. visitors are still shewn weapons and garments which once +belonged to that sultan. I saw none of the magnificent regal buildings +mentioned by some writers. The imperial kiosk is so simple in +its appearance, that if we had not climbed the hill on which it stands +for the sake of the view, it would not have been worth the trouble of +the walk.</p> +<p>A stone bridge, roofed throughout its entire length, crosses the +bed of the river, which has very steep banks, but contains very little +water. A double row of small cottages, in which silk-weavers live +and ply their trade, lines this bridge, which I was surprised to see +here, as its architecture seemed rather to appertain to my own country +than to the East. During my whole journey I did not see a second +bridge of this kind, either in Syria or Egypt.</p> +<p>The streets are all very dull and deserted, a fact which is rather +remarkable in a town of 100,000 inhabitants. In most of the streets +more dogs than men are to be seen. Not only in Constantinople, +but almost in every Oriental town, vast numbers of these creatures run +about in a wild state.</p> +<p>Here, as every where, some degree of bustle is to be found in the +bazaars, particularly in those which are covered in. Beautiful +and durable silk stuffs, the most valuable of which are kept in warehouses +under lock and key, form the chief article of traffic. In the +public bazaar we found nothing exposed for sale except provisions. +Among these I remarked some small, very unpalatable cherries. +Asia Minor is the fatherland of this fruit, but I did not find it in +any degree of perfection either here or at Smyrna.</p> +<p>Brussa is peculiarly rich in cold springs, clear as crystal, which +burst forth from Mount Olympus. The town is intersected in all +directions by subterranean canals; in many streets, the ripple of the +waters below can be distinctly heard, and every house is provided with +wells and stone basins of the limpid element; in some of the bazaars +we find a similar arrangement.</p> +<p>On a nearer approach, the appearance of Mount Olympus is not nearly +so grand as when viewed from a distance. The mountain is surrounded +by several small hills, which detract from the general effect.</p> +<p>The baths, distant about a mile from the town, are prettily and healthfully +situated, and, moreover, abundantly supplied with mineral water. +Many strangers resort thither to recruit their weakened frames.</p> +<p>The finest among these baths is called Jeni Caplidche. A lofty +circular hall contains a great swimming bath of marble, above which +rises a splendid cupola. A number of refracting glasses (six hundred, +they told me) diffuse a magic light around.</p> +<p>Our journey back to Constantinople was not accomplished entirely +without mishap. One of the gentlemen fell from his horse and broke +his watch. The saddles and bridles of hired horses are here generally +in such bad condition that there is every moment something to buckle +or to cobble up. We were riding at a pretty round pace, when suddenly +the girths burst, and the saddle and rider tumbled off together. +I arrived without accident at my destination, although I had frequently +been in danger of falling from my horse without its being necessary +that the girth should break.</p> +<p>The gentlemen were satisfied with my performance, for I had never +lagged behind, nor had they once been detained on my account. +It was not until we were safely on board the ship that I told them how +venturesome I had been, and what terror I had undergone.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> +<p><i>Contradictory reports—Departure from Constantinople on board +the</i> Archduke John<i>—Scene on the steamer—Galipoli—The +Dardanelles—Tschenekalesi and Kilidil Bahar—The field of +Troy—Tenedos—Smyrna—Halizar—The date-palm—Burnaba—The +Acropolis—Female beauty—Rhodes—Strong fortifications—Deserted +appearance of the town—Cyprus.</i></p> +<p>The extremely unfavourable reports I heard from Beyrout and Palestine +caused me to defer my departure from day to day. When I applied +to my consul for a “firmann” (Turkish passport), I was strongly +advised not to travel to the Holy Land. The disturbances on Mount +Lebanon and the plague were, they assured me, enemies too powerful to +be encountered except in cases of the most urgent necessity.</p> +<p>A priest who had arrived from Beyrout about two months previously +affirmed positively that, in consequence of the serious disturbances, +even he, known though he was far and wide as a physician, had not dared +to venture more than a mile from the town without exposing himself to +the greatest danger. He advised me to stay in Constantinople until +the end of September, and then to travel to Jerusalem with the Greek +caravan. This, he said, was the only method to reach that city +in safety.</p> +<p>One day I met a pilgrim in a church who came from Palestine. +On my asking his advice, he not only confirmed the priest’s report, +but even added that one of his companions had been murdered whilst journeying +homeward, and that he himself had been despoiled of his goods, and had +only escaped death through the special interposition of Providence. +I did not at all believe the asseverations of this man; he related all +his adventures with such a Baron Munchausen air, assumed probably to +excite admiration. I continued my investigations on this subject +until I was at length fortunate enough to find some one who told an +entirely different tale. From this I felt assured at least of +the fact, that it would be almost impossible to learn the true state +of the case here in Constantinople, and at length made up my mind to +avail myself of the earliest opportunity of proceeding as far as Beyrout, +where there was a chance of my getting at the truth.</p> +<p>I was advised to perform this journey in male attire; but I did not +think it advisable to do so, as my short, spare figure would have seemed +to belong to a youth, and my face to an old man. Moreover, as +I had no beard, my disguise would instantly have been seen through, +and I should have been exposed to much annoyance. I therefore +preferred retaining the simple costume, consisting of a kind of blouse +and wide Turkish trousers, which I then wore. The further I travelled, +the more I became persuaded how rightly I had acted in not concealing +my sex. Every where I was treated with respect, and kindness and +consideration were frequently shewn me merely because I was a woman. +On</p> +<h3>May 17th</h3> +<p>I embarked on board a steamboat belonging to the Austrian Lloyd. +It was called the <i>Archduke John</i>.</p> +<p>It was with a feeling of painful emotion that I stood on the deck, +gazing with an air of abstraction at the preparations for the long voyage +which were actively going on around me. Once more I was alone +among a crowd of people, with nothing to depend on but my trust in Providence. +No friendly sympathetic being accompanied me on board. All was +strange. The people, the climate, country, language, the manners +and customs—all strange. But a glance upward at the unchanging +stars, and the thought came into my soul, “Trust in God, and thou +art not alone.” And the feeling of despondency passed away, +and soon I could once more contemplate with pleasure and interest all +that was going on around me.</p> +<p>Near me stood a poor mother who could not bear to part with her son. +Time after time she folded him in her arms, and kissed and blessed him. +Poor mother! wilt thou see him again, or will the cold ground be a barrier +between you till this life is past? Peace be with you both!</p> +<p>A whole tribe of people came noisily towards us;—they were +friends of the crew, who bounced about the ship from stem to stern, +canvassing its merits in comparison with French and English vessels.</p> +<p>Suddenly there was a great crowding on the swinging ladder, of chests, +boxes, and baskets. Men were pushing and crushing backwards and +forwards. Turks, Greeks, and others quarrelled and jostled each +other for the best places on the upper deck, and in a few moments the +whole large expanse wore the appearance of a bivouac. Mats and +mattresses were every where spread forth, provisions were piled up in +heaps, and culinary utensils placed in order beside them; and before +these preparations had been half completed the Turks began washing their +faces, hands, and feet, and unfolding their carpets, to perform their +devotions. In one corner of the ship I even noticed that a little +low tent had been erected; it was so closely locked, that for a long +time I could not discern whether human beings or merchandise lay concealed +within. No movement of the interior was to be perceived, and it +was not until some days afterwards that I was informed by a Turk what +the tent really contained. A scheick from the Syrian coast had +purchased two girls at Constantinople, and was endeavouring to conceal +them from the gaze of the curious. I was for nine days on the +same vessel with these poor creatures, and during the whole time had +not an opportunity of seeing either of them. At the debarcation, +too, they were so closely muffled that it was impossible to discover +whether they were white or black.</p> +<p>At six o’clock the bell was rung to warn all strangers to go +ashore; and now I could discover who were really to be the companions +of my journey. I had flattered myself that I should find several +Franks on board, who might be bound to the same destination as myself; +but this hope waxed fainter and fainter every moment, as one European +after another left the ship, until at length I found myself alone among +the strange Oriental nations.</p> +<p>The anchor was now weighed, and we moved slowly out of the harbour. +I offered up a short but fervent prayer for protection on my long and +dangerous voyage, and with a calmed and strengthened spirit I could +once more turn my attention towards my fellow-passengers, who having +concluded their devotions were sitting at their frugal meal. During +the whole time they remained on the steamer these people subsisted on +cold provisions, such as cheese, bread, hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, +olives, walnuts, a great number of onions, and dried “mishmish,” +a kind of small apricot, which instead of being boiled is soaked in +water for a few hours. In a sailing vessel it is usual to bring +a small stove and some wood, in order to cook pilau, beans, fowls, and +to boil coffee, etc. This, of course, is not allowed on board +a steamboat.</p> +<p>The beauty of the evening kept me on deck, and I looked with a regretful +feeling towards the imperial city, until the increasing distance and +the soft veil of evening combined to hide it from my view, though at +intervals the graceful minarets were still dimly discernible through +the mist. But who shall describe my feelings of joy when I discovered +a European among the passengers? Now I was no longer alone; in +the first moments we even seemed fellow-countrymen, for the barriers +that divide Europeans into different nations fall as they enter a new +quarter of the globe. We did not ask each other, Are you from +England, France, Italy; we inquired, Whither are you going? and on its +appearing that this gentleman intended proceeding, like myself, to Jerusalem, +we at once found so much to talk about concerning the journey, that +neither of us thought for a moment of inquiring to what country the +other belonged. We conversed in the universal French language, +and were perfectly satisfied when we found we could understand each +other. It was not until the following day that I discovered the +gentleman to be an Englishman, and learned that his name was Bartlett. +<a name="citation79"></a><a href="#footnote79">{79}</a></p> +<p>In Constantinople we had both met with the same fate. He had +been, like myself, unable to obtain any certain intelligence, either +at his consul’s or from the inhabitants, as to the feasibility +of a journey to Jerusalem, and so he was going to seek further information +at Beyrout. We arranged that we would perform the journey from +Beyrout to Jerusalem in company,—if, indeed, we found it possible +to penetrate among the savage tribes of Druses and Maronites. +So now I no longer stood unprotected in the wide world. I had +found a companion as far as Jerusalem, the goal of my journey, which +I could now hope to reach.</p> +<p>I was well satisfied with the arrangements on board. I had +made up my mind, though not without sundry misgivings, to take a second-class +berth; and on entering the steamer of the Austrian Lloyd, I discovered +to my surprise how much may be effected by order and good management. +Here the men and the women were separately lodged, wash-hand basins +were not wanting, we fared well, and could not be cheated when we paid +for our board, as the accounts were managed by the first mate: on the +remaining steamers belonging to this company I found the arrangements +equally good.</p> +<p>Crossing the Sea of Marmora, we passed the “Seven Towers,” +leaving the Prince’s Islands behind us on the left.</p> +<p>Early on the following day,</p> +<h3>May 18th,</h3> +<p>we reached the little town of Galipoli, situate on an eminence near +the Hellespont. A few fragments of ruins in the last stage of +dilapidation cause us to think of the ages that have fled, as we speed +rapidly on. We waited here a quarter of an hour to increase the +motley assemblage on deck by some new arrivals.</p> +<p>For the next 20 miles, as far as Sed Bahe, the sea is confined within +such narrow bounds, that one could almost fancy it was a channel dug +to unite the Sea of Marmora with the Archipelago. It is very appropriately +called the STRAIT of the Dardanelles. On the left we have always +the mainland of Asia, and on the right a tongue of land belonging to +Europe, and terminating at Sed Bahe. The shores on both sides +are desert and bare. It is a great contrast to former times, a +contrast which every educated traveller must feel as he travels hither +from the Bosphorus. What stirring scenes were once enacted here! +Of what deeds of daring, chronicled in history, were not these regions +the scene! Every moment brought us nearer to the classic ground. +Alas, that we were not permitted to land on any of the Greek Islands, +past which we flew so closely! I was obliged, perforce, to content +myself with thinking of the past, of the history of ancient Greece, +without viewing the sites where the great deeds had been done.</p> +<p>The two castles of the Dardanelles, Tschenekalesi and Kilidil Bahar, +that on the Asiatic shore looking like a ruin, while its European neighbour +wore the appearance of a fortress, let us steam past unchallenged. +And how shall I describe the emotions I felt as we approached the plains +of Troy?</p> +<p>I was constantly on deck, lest I should lose any portion of the view, +and scarcely dared to breathe when at length the long-wished-for plain +came in sight.</p> +<p>Here it is, then, that this famous city is supposed to have stood. +Yonder mounds, perchance, cover the resting-places of Achilles, Patroclus, +Ajax, Hector, and many other heroes who may have served their country +as faithfully as these, though their names do not live in the page of +history. How gladly would I have trodden the plain, there to muse +on the legends which in my youth had already awakened in me such deep +and awe-struck interest, and had first aroused the wish to visit these +lands—a desire now partially fulfilled! But we flew by with +relentless rapidity. The whole region is deserted and bare. +It seems as if nature and mankind were mourning together for the days +gone by. The inhabitants may indeed weep, for they will never +again be what they once were.</p> +<p>In the course of the day we passed several islands. In the +foreground towered the peak of the Hydræ, shortly afterwards Samothrace +rose from the waves, and we sailed close by the island of Tenedos. +At first this island does not present a striking appearance, but after +rounding a small promontory we obtained a view of the fine fortress +skirting the sea; it seems to have been built for the protection of +the town beyond.</p> +<p>After passing Tenedos we lost sight of the Greek islands for a short +time (the mainland of Asia can always be distinguished on our left), +but soon afterwards we reached the most beautiful of them all—Mytelene, +which has justly been sung by many poets as the Island of the Fairies. +For seven hours we glided by its coast. It resembles a garden +of olives, orange-trees, pomegranates, etc. The view is bounded +at the back by a double row of peaked mountains, and the town lies nearly +in the midst. It is built in a circular form, round a hill, strengthened +with fortifications. In front the town is girded by a strong wall, +and in the rear extends a deep bay. A few masts peered forth and +shewed us where the bay ended. From this point we saw numerous +villages prettily situated among the luxuriant shade of large trees. +It must be a delightful thing to spend the spring-time on this island.</p> +<p>I remained on deck till late in the night, so charming, so rich in +varied pictures of verdant isles is this voyage on the Ægæan +Sea. Had I been a magician, I would have fixed the sun in the +heavens until we had arrived at Smyrna. Unfortunately many a beauteous +island which we next morning contemplated ruefully on the map was hidden +from us by the shades of night.</p> +<h3>May 19th.</h3> +<p>Long before the sun was up, I had resumed my post on deck, to welcome +Smyrna from afar.</p> +<p>A double chain of mountains, rising higher and higher, warned us +of our approach to the rich commercial city. At first we can only +distinguish the ancient dilapidated castle on a rock, then the city +itself, built at the foot of the rock, on the sea-shore; at the back +the view is closed by the “Brother Mountains.”</p> +<p>The harbour is very spacious, but has rather the appearance of a +wharf, with room for whole fleets to anchor. Many ships were lying +here, and there was evidently plenty of business going on.</p> +<p>The “Franks’ town,” which can be distinctly viewed +from the steamer, extends along the harbour, and has a decidedly European +air.</p> +<p>Herr von Cramer had been previously apprised of my arrival, and was +obliging enough to come on board to fetch me. We at once rode +to Halizar, the summer residence of many of the citizens, where I was +introduced to my host’s family.</p> +<p>Halizar is distant about five English miles from Smyrna. The +road thither is beautiful beyond description, so that one has no time +to think about the distance. Immediately outside the town we pass +a large open place near a river, where the camels rest, and where they +are loaded and unloaded; I saw a whole herd of these animals. +Their Arab or Bedouin drivers were reclining on mats, resting after +their labours, while others were still fully employed about their camels. +It was a truly Arabian picture, and moreover so new to me, that I involuntarily +stopped my long-eared Bucephalus to contemplate it at my leisure.</p> +<p>Not far from this resting-place is the chief place of rendezvous +and pastime of the citizens. It consists of a coffee-booth and +a few rows of trees, surrounded by numerous gardens, all rich in beautiful +fruit-trees. Charming beyond all the rest, the flower of the pomegranate-tree +shines with the deepest crimson among the green leaves. Wild oleanders +bloomed every where by the roadside. We wandered through beautiful +shrubberies of cypress-trees and olives, and never yet had I beheld +so rich a luxuriance of vegetation. This valley, with its one +side flanked by wild and rugged rocks, in remarkable contrast to the +fruitful landscape around, has a peculiar effect when viewed from the +hill across which we ride. I was also much amazed by the numerous +little troops of from six to ten, or even twenty camels, which sometimes +came towards us with their grave majestic pace, and were sometimes overtaken +by our fleet donkeys. Surrounded on all sides by objects at once +novel and interesting, it will not be wondered at that I found the time +passing far too rapidly.</p> +<p>The heat is said not to be more oppressive at Smyrna during the summer +than at Constantinople. Spring, however, commences here earlier, +and the autumn is longer. This fact, I thought, accounted for +the lovely vegetation, which was here so much more forward than at Constantinople.</p> +<p>Herr von Cramer’s country-house stands in the midst of a smiling +garden; it is spacious and built of stone. The large and lofty +apartments are flagged with marble or tiles. In the garden I found +the first date-palm, a beautiful tree with a tall slender stem, from +the extremity of which depend leaves five or six feet in length, forming +a magnificent crown. In these regions and also in Syria, whither +my journey afterwards led me, the date-palm does not attain so great +a height as in Egypt, nor does it bear any fruit, but only stands as +a noble ornament beside the pomegranate and orange trees. My attention +was also attracted to numerous kinds of splendid acacias; some of these +grew to an immense size, as high as the walnut-trees of my own country.</p> +<p>The villas of the townspeople all strongly resemble each other. +The house stands in the midst of the garden, and the whole is surrounded +by a wall.</p> +<p>In the evening I visited some of the peasants, in company with Herr +von C. This gentleman informed me that these people were very +poor, but still I found them decently clad and comfortably lodged in +large roomy dwellings built of stone. Altogether, the condition +of affairs seems here vastly superior to that in Galicia and in Hungary +near the Carpathian mountains.</p> +<p>I reckoned the day I spent with this amiable family among the most +pleasant I had yet passed. How gladly would I have accepted their +hearty invitation to remain several weeks with them! But I had +lost so much time in Constantinople, that on the morning of</p> +<h3>May 20th</h3> +<p>I was compelled to bid adieu to Frau von C. and her dear children. +Herr von C. escorted me back to Smyrna. We took the opportunity +of roaming through many streets of the Franks’ quarter, which +I found, generally speaking, pretty and cheerful enough, and moreover +level and well paved. The handsomest street is that in which the +consuls reside. The houses are finely built of stone, and the +halls are tastefully paved with little coloured pebbles, arranged in +the form of wreaths, stars, and squares. The inhabitants generally +take up their quarters in these entrance-halls during the day, as it +is cooler there than in the rooms. To nearly every house a pretty +garden is attached.</p> +<p>The Turkish town is certainly quite different; it is built of wood, +and is angular and narrow; dogs lie about in the streets, just as at +Brussa and Constantinople. And why should it be otherwise here? +Turks live in all this quarter, and they do not feel the necessity of +clean and airy dwellings like the fastidious Franks.</p> +<p>The bazaars are not roofed; and here also the costlier portion of +the wares is kept under lock and key.</p> +<p>It is well worth the traveller’s while to make an excursion +to Burnaba, a place lying on the sea-coast not far from the town, and +serving, like Halizar, as a retreat for the townspeople during the summer. +The views in this direction are various, and the road is good. +The whole appearance of the place is that of a very extended village, +with all its houses standing in the midst of gardens and surrounded +by walls.</p> +<p>From the Acropolis we have a fine view in every direction, and find, +in fact, a union of advantages only met with separately elsewhere.</p> +<p>In Smyrna I found the most beautiful women I had yet seen; and even +during my further journey I met with few who equalled, and none who +surpassed them. These fairy forms are, however, only to be sought +among the Greeks. The natural charms of these Graces are heightened +by the rich costume they wear. They have a peculiarly tasteful +manner of fastening their little round fez-caps, beneath which their +rich hair falls in heavy plaits upon their shoulders, or is wound with +a richly embroidered handkerchief round the head and brow.</p> +<p>Smyrna is, however, not only celebrated as possessing the loveliest +women, but also as the birthplace of one of the greatest men. <a name="citation85"></a><a href="#footnote85">{85}</a> +O Homer, in the Greece of to-day thou wouldst find no materials for +thine immortal Iliad!</p> +<p>At five o’clock in the afternoon we quitted the harbour of +Smyrna. In this direction the town is seen to much greater advantage +after we have advanced a mile than when we approach it from Constantinople; +for now the Turks’ town lies spread in all its magnitude before +us, whereas on the other side it is half hidden by the Franks’ +quarter.</p> +<p>The sea ran high, and adverse winds checked the speed of our good +ship; but I am thankful to say that, except when the gale is very strong, +it does not affect my health. I felt perfectly well, and stood +enjoying the aspect of the waves as they came dancing towards our vessel. +In Smyrna our company had been augmented by the arrival of a few more +Franks.</p> +<h3>May 21st.</h3> +<p>Yesterday evening and all this day we have been sailing among islands. +The principal of these were Scio, Samos, and Cos, and even these form +a desolate picture of bare, inhospitable mountains and desert regions. +On the island of Cos alone we saw a neat town, with strong fortifications.</p> +<p>May 22d.</p> +<p>This morning, shortly after five o’clock, we ran into the superb +harbour of Rhodes. Here, for the first time, I obtained a correct +notion of a harbour. That of Rhodes is shut in on all sides by +walls and masses of rock, leaving only a gap of a hundred and fifty +to two hundred paces in width for the ships to enter. Here every +vessel can lie in perfect safety, be the sea outside the bar as stormy +as it may; the only drawback is, that the entering of this harbour, +a task of some difficulty in calm weather, becomes totally impracticable +during a storm. A round tower stands as a protection on either +side of the entrance to the harbour. The venerable church of St. +John and the palace of the Komthur can be distinguished towering high +above the houses and fortifications.</p> +<p>Our captain imparted to us the pleasant intelligence that we might +spend the hours between this and three o’clock in the afternoon +on shore. Our ship had for some time lain surrounded by little +boats, and so we lost no time in being conveyed to the land. The +first thing we did on reaching it was to ask questions concerning the +ancient site of the celebrated Colossus. But we could gain no +information, as neither our books nor the people here could point out +the place to us with certainty; so we left the coast, to make up for +the disappointment by exploring the ancient city.</p> +<p>Rhodes is surrounded with three rows of strong fortifications. +We passed over three drawbridges before entering the town. We +were quite surprised to see the beautiful streets, the well-kept houses, +and the excellent pavement. The principal street, containing the +houses of the ancient Knights of St. John, is very broad, with buildings +so massively constructed of stone as almost to resemble fortresses. +Heraldic bearings, with dates carved in stone, grace many of the Gothic +gateways. The French shield, with the three lilies and the date +1402, occurs most frequently. On the highest point in the city +are built the church of St. John and the house of the governor.</p> +<p>All the exteriors seem in such good preservation, that one could +almost fancy the knights had only departed to plant their victorious +banner on the Holy Sepulchre. They have in truth departed—departed +to a better home. Centuries have breathed upon their ashes, scattered +in all the regions of the earth. But their deeds have been chronicled +both in heaven and among men, and the heroes still live in the admiration +of posterity.</p> +<p>The churches, the house of the governor, and many other buildings, +are not nearly so well preserved inside as a first glance would lead +us to imagine. The reason of this is that the upper part of the +town is but thinly inhabited. A gloomy air of silence and vacancy +reigns around. We could wander about every where without being +stared at or annoyed by the vulgar and envious. Mr. Bartlett, +the Englishman, made a few sketches in his drawing-book of some of the +chief beauties, such as the Gothic gateways, the windows, balconies, +etc., and no inhabitant came to disturb him.</p> +<p>The pavement in the city, and even in the streets around the fortifications, +consists wholly of handsome slabs of stone, often of different colours, +like mosaic, and in such good preservation that we could fancy the work +had been but recently concluded. This is certainly partly owing +to the fact that no loaded wagon ever crushes over these stones, for +the use of vehicles is entirely unknown in these parts; every thing +is carried by horses, asses, or camels.</p> +<p>Cannons dating from the time of the Genoese still stand upon the +ramparts. The carriages of these guns are very clumsy, the wheels +consisting of round discs without spokes.</p> +<p>From our tower of observation we can form a perfect estimate of the +extent and strength of the fortifications. The city is completely +surrounded by three lofty walls, which seem to have been calculated +to last an eternity, for they still stand almost uninjured in all their +glory. In some places images of the Virgin, of the size of life, +are hewn out of the walls.</p> +<p>The neighbourhood of Rhodes is most charming, and almost resembles +a park. Many country houses lie scattered throughout this natural +garden. The vegetation is here no less luxuriant than in Smyrna.</p> +<p>The architecture of the houses already begins to assume a new character. +Many dwellings have towers attached, and the roofs are flat, forming +numerous terraces, which are all built of stone. Some streets +in the lower part of the town, inhabited chiefly by Jews, are bordered +with cannon-balls, and present a most peculiar appearance.</p> +<p>I was also much struck with the costumes worn by the country-people, +who were dressed quite in the Swabian fashion. It was in vain +that I inquired the reason of this circumstance. The books we +had with us gave no information on the subject, and I could not ask +the natives through my ignorance of their language.</p> +<p>By three o’clock in the afternoon we were once more on board, +and an hour afterwards we sailed out into the open sea. To-day +we saw nothing further, except a high and lengthened mountain-range +on the Asiatic mainland. It was a branch of the Taurus. +The highest peaks glistened like silver in the evening light, enveloped +in a garment of snow.</p> +<h3>May 23d.</h3> +<p>To-day our organs of vision had a rest, for we were sailing on the +high seas. Late in the evening, however, the sailors descried +the mountains of Cyprus looming in the far distance like a misty cloud. +With my less practised eyes I could see nothing but the sunset at sea—a +phenomenon of which I had had a more exalted conception. The rising +and setting of the sun at sea is not nearly so striking a spectacle +as the same phenomenon in a rocky landscape. At sea the sky is +generally cloudless in the evening, and the sun gradually sinks, without +refraction of rays or prismatic play of colours, into its ocean-bed, +to pursue its unchanging course the next day. How infinitely more +grand is this spectacle when seen from the “Rigi Kulm” in +Switzerland! There it is really a spectacle, in contemplating +which we feel impelled to fall on our knees in speechless adoration, +and admire the wisdom of the Almighty in his wondrous works.</p> +<h3>May 24th.</h3> +<p>On mounting to the deck this morning at five o’clock I could +distinguish the island of Cyprus, which looks uglier the nearer we approach. +Both the foreground and the mountain-peaks have an uncomfortable barren +air. At ten o’clock we entered the harbour of Larnaka. +The situation of this town is any thing but fine; the country looks +like an Arabian desert, and a few unfruitful date-palms rise beside +the roofless stone houses.</p> +<p>I should not have gone on shore at all, if Doctor Faaslanc, whose +acquaintance I had made at Constantinople, and who had been appointed +quarantine physician here four weeks before my departure, had not come +to fetch me. The streets of Larnaka are unpaved, so that we were +obliged literally to wade more than ankle-deep in sand and dust. +The houses are small, with irregular windows, sometimes high and sometimes +low, furnished with wooden grated shutters; and the roofs are in the +form of terraces. This style of building I found to be universal +throughout Syria.</p> +<p>Of a garden or a green place not a trace was to be seen. The +sandy expanse reaches to the foot of the mountains, which viewed from +this direction form an equally barren picture. Behind these mountains +the appearance of the landscape is said to be very fruitful; but I did +not penetrate into the interior, nor did I go to Nikosia, the capital +of the island, distant some twelve miles from Larnaka.</p> +<p>Doctor Faaslanc took me to his house, which had an appearance of +greater comfort than I had expected to find, for it consisted of two +spacious rooms which might almost have been termed halls. An agreeable +coolness reigned every where.</p> +<p>Neither stoves nor chimneys were to be seen, as winter is here replaced +by a very mild rainy season. The heat in summer is often said +to be insupportable, the temperature rising to more than 36° Reaumur. +To-day it reached 30° in the sun.</p> +<p>We drank to my safe return to my country, in real old Cyprian wine. +Shall I ever see it again? I hope so, if my journey progresses +as favourably as it has begun. But Syria is a bad country, and +the climate is difficult to bear; yet with courage and perseverance +for my companions, I may look forward to the accomplishment of my task. +The good doctor seemed much annoyed that he had nothing to offer me +but Cyprian wine and a few German biscuits. At this early season +fruit is not to be had, and cherries do not flourish here because the +climate is too hot for them. In Smyrna I ate the last for this +year. When I re-embarked in the afternoon, Mr. Bartlett came with +the English consul, who wished, he said, to make the acquaintance of +a lady possessing sufficient courage to undertake so long and perilous +a journey by herself. His astonishment increased when he was informed +that I was an unpretending native of Vienna. The consul was kind +enough to offer me the use of his house if I returned by way of Cyprus; +he also inquired if he could give me some letters of recommendation +to the Syrian consuls. I was touched by this hearty politeness +on the part of a perfect stranger—an Englishman moreover, a race +on whom we are accustomed to look as cold and exclusive!</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> +<p><i>Arrival at Beyrout—Fellahs—Backsheesh—Uncomfortable +quarters—Saida—Tyre—St. Jean d’Acre—Cæsarea—Excursion +among the ruins—Jaffa—An eastern family—The Indian +fig-tree—An Oriental dinner—Costume of the women of Jaffa—Oppressive +heat—Gnats—Ramla—Syrian convents—Bedouins and +Arabs—Kariet el Areb, or Emmaus—The Scheikh—Arrival +at Jerusalem.</i></p> +<h3>May 25th.</h3> +<p>This morning I could discern the Syrian coast, which becomes more +glorious the nearer we approach. Beyrout, the goal of our voyage, +was jealously hidden from our eyes to the very last moment. We +had still to round a promontory, and then this Eden of the earth lay +before us in all its glory. How gladly would I have retarded the +course of our vessel, as we passed from the last rocky point into the +harbour, to have enjoyed this sight a little longer! One pair +of eyes does not suffice to take in this view; the objects are too numerous, +and the spectator is at a loss whither he should first direct his gaze,—upon +the town, with its many ancient towers attached to the houses, giving +them the air of knights’ castles—upon the numerous country-houses +in the shade of luxurious mulberry plantations—upon the beautiful +valley between Beyrout and Mount Lebanon—or on the distant mountain-range +itself. The towering masses of this magnificent chain, the peculiar +colour of its rocks, and its snowclad summits, riveted my attention +longer than any thing else.</p> +<p>Scarcely had the anchor descended from the bows, before our ship +was besieged by a number of small boats, with more noise and bustle +than even at Constantinople. The half-naked and excitable Arabs +or Fellahs are so ready with offers of service, that it is difficult +to keep them off. It almost becomes necessary to threaten these +poor people with a stick, as they obstinately refuse to take a gentler +hint. As the water is here very shallow, so that even the little +boats cannot come quite close to shore, some others of these brown forms +immediately approached, seized us by the arms, took us upon their backs +amidst continual shouting and quarrelling, and carried us triumphantly +to land.</p> +<p>Before the stranger puts himself into the hands of men of this kind, +such as captains of small craft, donkey-drivers, porters, etc., he will +find it a very wise precaution to settle the price he is to pay for +their services. I generally spoke to the captain, or to some old +stager among the passengers, on this subject. Even when I gave +these people double their usual price, they were not contented, but +demanded an additional backsheesh (gratuity). It is therefore +advisable to make the first offer very small, and to retain something +for the backsheesh. At length I safely reached the house of Herr +Battista (the only inn in the place), and was rejoicing in the prospect +of rest and refreshment, when the dismal cry of “no room” +was raised. I was thus placed in a deplorable position. +There was no second inn, no convent, no place of any kind, where I, +poor desolate creature that I was, could find shelter. This circumstance +worked so much on the host’s feelings, that he introduced me to +his wife, and promised to procure me a private lodging.</p> +<p>I had now certainly a roof above my head, but yet I could get no +rest, nor even command a corner where I might change my dress. +I sat with my hostess from eleven in the morning until five in the afternoon, +and a miserably long time it appeared. I could not read, write, +or even talk, for neither my hostess nor her children knew any language +but Arabic. I had, however, time to notice what was going on around +me, and observed that these children were much more lively than those +in Constantinople, for here they were continually chattering and running +about. According to the custom of the country, the wife does nothing +but play with the children or gossip with the neighbours, while her +husband attends to kitchen and cellar, makes all the requisite purchases, +and besides attending to the guests, even lays the tablecloth for his +wife and children. He told me that in a week at furthest, his +wife would go with the children to a convent on the Lebanon, to remain +there during the hot season of the year. What a difference between +an Oriental and a European woman!</p> +<p>I still found the heat at sea far from unendurable; a soft wind continually +wafted its cooling influence towards us, and an awning had been spread +out to shelter us from the rays of the sun. But what a contrast +when we come to land! As I sat in the room here the perspiration +dropped continually from my brow, and now I began to understand what +is meant by being in the tropics. I could scarcely await the hour +when I should be shewn to a room to change my clothes; but to-day I +was not to have an opportunity of doing so, for at five o’clock +a messenger came from Mr. Bartlett with the welcome intelligence that +we could continue our journey, as nothing was to be feared from the +Druses and Maronites, and the plague only reigned in isolated places +through which it was not necessary that we should pass. He had +already engaged a servant who would act as cook and dragoman (interpreter); +provisions and cooking utensils had also been bought, and places were +engaged on an Arab craft. Nothing, therefore, remained for me +to do but to be on the sea-shore by six o’clock, where his servant +would be waiting for me. I was much rejoiced on hearing this good +news: I forgot that I required rest and a change of clothes, packed +up my bundle, and hurried to the beach. Of the town I only saw +a few streets, where there was a great bustle. I also noticed +many swarthy Arabs and Bedouins, who wore nothing but a shirt. +I did not feel particularly anxious to see Beyrout and its vicinity, +as I intended to return soon and visit any part I could not examine +now.</p> +<p>Before sunset we had already embarked on board the craft that was +to carry us to the long-wished-for, the sacred coast of Joppa. +Every thing was in readiness, and we lacked only the one thing indispensable—a +breeze.</p> +<p>No steamers sail between Joppa and Beyrout; travellers must be content +with sailing vessels, deficient alike as regards cleanliness and convenience; +they are not provided with a cabin, or even with an awning, so that +the passengers remain day and night under the open sky. Our vessel +carried a cargo of pottery, besides rice and corn in sacks.</p> +<p>Midnight approached, and still we were in harbour, with not a breath +of wind to fill our sails.</p> +<p>Wrapping my cloak tightly round me, I lay down on the sacks, in the +absence of a mattress; but I was not yet sufficiently tired out to be +able to find rest on such an unusual couch. So I rose again in +rather a bad humour, and looked with an evil eye on the Arabs lying +on the sacks around me, who were not “slumbering softly,” +but snoring lustily. By way of forcing myself, if possible, into +a poetical train of thought, I endeavoured to concentrate my attention +on the contemplation of the beautiful landscape by moonlight; but even +this would not keep me from yawning. My companion seemed much +in the same mood; for he had also risen from his <i>soft</i> couch, +and was staring gloomingly straight before him. At length, towards +three o’clock in the morning of</p> +<h3>May 26th,</h3> +<p>a slight breath of wind arose, we hoisted two or three sails, and +glided slowly and noiselessly towards the sea.</p> +<p>Mr. B. had bargained with the captain to keep as close to the shore +as possible, in order that we might see the towns as we passed. +Excepting in Cæsarea, it was forbidden to cast anchor any where, +for the plague was raging at Sur (Tyre) and in several other places.</p> +<p>Bargains of this kind must be taken down in writing at the consulates, +and only one-half of the sum agreed should be paid in advance; the other +half must be kept in hand, to operate as a check on the crew. +After every precaution has been taken, one can seldom escape without +some bickering and quarrelling. On these occasions it is always +advisable at once to take high ground, and not to give way in the most +trifling particular, for this is the only method of gaining peace and +quietness.</p> +<p>Towards seven o’clock in the morning we sailed by the town +and fortress of Saida. The town looks respectable enough, and +contains some spacious houses. The fortress is separated from +the town by a small bay, across which a wooden bridge has been built. +The fortress seems in a very dilapidated condition; many breaches are +still in the same state in which they were left after the taking of +the town by the English in 1840, and part of the wall has fallen into +the sea. In the background we could descry some ruins on a rock, +apparently the remains of an ancient castle.</p> +<p>The next place we saw was Sarepta, where Elijah the prophet was fed +by the poor widow during the famine.</p> +<p>The Lebanon range becomes lower and lower, while its namesake, the +Anti-Lebanon, begins to rise. It is quite as lofty as the first-named +range, which it closely resembles in form. Both are traversed +by fields of snow, and between them stands a third colossus, Mount Hermon.</p> +<p>Next came the town of Tyre or Sur, now barren and deserted; for that +mighty scourge of humanity, the plague, was raging there to a fearful +extent. A few scattered fragments of fortifications and numerous +fallen pillars lie strewed on the shore.</p> +<p>And now at length I was about to see places which many have longed +to behold, but which few have reached. With a beating heart I +gazed unceasingly towards St. Jean d’Acre, which I at length saw +rising from the waves, with Mount Carmel in the background. Here, +then, was the holy ground on which the Redeemer walked for us fallen +creatures! Both St. Jean d’Acre and Mount Carmel can be +distinguished a long distance off.</p> +<p>For a second time did a mild and calm night sink gently on the earth +without bringing me repose. How unlucky it is that we find it +so much harder to miss comforts we have been used to enjoy, than to +acquire the habit of using comforts to which we have been unaccustomed! +Were this not the case, how much easier would travelling be! As +it is, it costs us many an effort ere we can look hardships boldly in +the face. “But patience!” thought I to myself; “I +shall have more to endure yet; and if I return safely, I shall be as +thoroughly case-hardened as any native.”</p> +<p>Our meals and our beverage were very simple. In the morning +we had pilau, and in the evening we had pilau; our drink was lukewarm +water, qualified with a little rum.</p> +<p>From Beyrout to the neighbourhood of St. Jean d’Acre, the coast +and a considerable belt of land adjoining it are sandy and barren. +Near Acre every thing changed; we once more beheld pretty country-houses +surrounded by pomegranate and orange plantations, and a noble aqueduct +intersects the plain. Mount Carmel, alone barren and unfruitful, +stands in striking contrast to the beauteous landscape around; jutting +boldly out towards the sea, it forms the site of a handsome and spacious +convent.</p> +<p>The town of St. Jean d’Acre and its fortifications were completely +destroyed during the last war (in 1840), and appear to sigh in vain +for repairs. The houses and mosques are full of cannon-balls and +shot-holes. Every thing stands and lies about as though the enemy +had departed but yesterday. Six cannons peer threateningly from +the wall. The town and fortifications are both built on a tongue +of land washed by the sea.</p> +<h3>May 27th.</h3> +<p>During the night we reached Cæsarea. With the eloquence +of a Demosthenes, our captain endeavoured to dissuade us from our project +of landing here; he pointed out to us the dangers to which we were exposing +ourselves, and the risks we should run from Bedouins and snakes. +The former, he averred, were accustomed to conceal themselves in hordes +among the ruins, in order to ease travellers of their effects and money; +being well aware that such spots were only visited by curious tourists +with well-filled purses, they were continually on the watch, like the +robber-knights of the good old German empire. “An enemy +no less formidable,” said the captain, “was to be encountered +in the persons of numerous snakes lurking in the old walls and on the +weed-covered ground, which endangered the life of the traveller at every +step.” We were perfectly well aware of these facts, having +gleaned them partly from descriptions of voyages, partly from oral traditions; +and so they were not powerful enough to arrest our curiosity. +The captain himself was really less actuated by the sense of our danger, +in advising us to abandon our undertaking, than by the reflection of +the time it lost him; but he exerted himself in vain. He was obliged +to cast anchor, and at daybreak to send a boat ashore with us.</p> +<p>Our arms consisted of parasols and sticks (the latter we carried +in order to beat the bushes); we were escorted by the captain, his servant, +and a couple of sailors.</p> +<p>In the ruins we certainly met with a few suspicious-looking characters +in the shape of wandering Bedouins. As it was too late to beat +a retreat, we advanced bravely towards them with trusting and friendly +looks. The Bedouins did the same, and so there was an end of this +dangerous affair. We climbed from one fragment to another, and +certainly spent more than two hours among the ruins, without sustaining +the slightest injury at the hands of these people. Of the threatened +snakes we saw not a single one.</p> +<p>Ruins, indeed, we found every where in plenty. Whole side-walls, +which appeared to have belonged to private houses, but not to splendid +palaces or temples, stood erect and almost unscathed. Fragments +of pillars lay scattered about in great abundance, but without capitals, +pedestals, or friezes.</p> +<p>It was with a feeling of awe hitherto unknown to me that I trod the +ground where my Redeemer had walked. Every spot, every building +became invested with a double interest. “Perchance,” +I thought, “I may be lingering within the very house where Jesus +once sojourned.” More than satisfied with my excursion, +I returned to our bark.</p> +<p>By three o’clock in the afternoon we were close under the walls +of Joppa. To enter this harbour, partially choked up as it is +with sand, is described as a difficult feat. We were assured that +we should see many wrecks of stranded ships and boats; accordingly I +strained my eyes to the utmost, and could discover nothing. We +ran safely in; and thus ended a little journey in the course of which +I had seen many new and interesting objects, besides gaining some insight +into the mode of life among the sailors. Frequently, when it fell +calm, our Arabs would recline on the ground in a circle, singing songs +of an inconceivably inharmonious and lugubrious character, while they +clapped their hands in cadence, and burst at intervals into a barking +laugh. I could not find any thing very amusing in this entertainment; +on the contrary, it had the effect of making me feel very melancholy, +as displaying these good people in a very idiotic and degrading light.</p> +<p>The costume of the sailors was simple in the extreme. A shirt +covered them in rather an imperfect manner, and a handkerchief bound +round their heads protected them from a <i>coup de soleil</i>. +The captain was distinguished from the rest only by his turban, which +looked ridiculous enough, surmounting his half-clad form. Their +diet consisted of a single warm meal of pilau or beans, eaten in the +evening. During the day they stayed their appetites with bread. +Their drink was water.</p> +<p>The town of Joppa, extending from the sea-shore to the summit of +a rather considerable and completely isolated hill, has a most peculiar +appearance. The lower street is surrounded by a wall, and appears +sufficiently broad; the remaining streets run up the face of the hills, +and seem at a distance to be resting on the houses below. Viewing +the town from our boat, I could have sworn that people were walking +about on flat house-tops.</p> +<p>As Joppa boasts neither an inn nor a convent which might shelter +a traveller, I waited upon the Consul of the Austrian Empire, Herr D---, +who received me very kindly and introduced me to his family, which comprised +his lady, three sons, and three daughters. They wore the Turkish +costume. The daughters, two of whom were exceedingly beautiful, +wore wide trousers, a caftan, and a sash round the waist. On their +heads they had little fez-caps, and their hair was divided into fifteen +or twenty narrow plaits, interwoven with little gold coins, and a larger +one at the end of each plait. A necklace of gold coins encircled +their necks. The mother was dressed in exactly the same way. +When elderly women have little or no hair left, they make up with artificial +silk plaits for the deficiencies of nature.</p> +<p>The custom of wearing coins as ornaments is so prevalent throughout +Syria, that the very poorest women, girls, and children strive to display +as many as possible. Where they cannot sport gold, they content +themselves with silver money; and where even this metal is not attainable, +with little coins of copper and other baser metals.</p> +<p>The Consul and his son were also clothed in the Turkish garb; but +instead of a turban the father wore an old cocked hat, which gave him +an indescribably ludicrous appearance. A son and a daughter of +this worthy patron of the semi-Turkish, semi-European garb, had but +one eye, a defect frequently met with in Syria. It is generally +supposed to be caused by the dry heat, the fine particles of sand, and +the intense glare of the chalky hills.</p> +<p>As I reached Joppa early in the afternoon, I proceeded in company +of the Consul to view the town and its environs. In dirt, bad +paving, etc., I found it equal to any of the towns I had yet seen. +The lower street, near the sea, alone is broad and bustling, with loaded +and unloaded camels passing continually to and fro. The bazaar +is composed of some miserable booths containing common provisions and +a few cheap wares.</p> +<p>The neighbourhood of Joppa is exceedingly fertile. Numerous +large gardens, with trees laden with all kinds of tropical fruits, and +guarded by impenetrable hedges of the Indian fig-tree, form a half-circle +round the lower portion of the town.</p> +<p>The Indian fig-tree, which I here saw for the first time, has an +odd appearance. From its stem, which is very dwarfish, leaves +a foot in length, six inches in breadth, and half an inch in thickness, +shoot forth. This tree seldom sends forth branches; the leaves +grow one out of another, and at the extremity the fruit is formed. +Its length is about two or three inches. Ten or twenty such figs +are frequently found adhering to a single leaf.</p> +<p>I could not conceive how it happened that in these hot countries, +without rain to refresh them, the trees all looked so healthy and beautiful. +This fact, I found, was owing to the numerous channels cut through the +gardens, which are thus artificially irrigated. The heavy dews +and cool nights also tend to restore the drooping vegetation. +One great ornament of our gardens was, however, totally wanting—a +lawn with wild flowers. Trees and vegetables here grow out of +the sandy or stony earth, a circumstance hardly noticed at a distance, +but which produces a disagreeable effect on a near view. Flowers +I found none.</p> +<p>The whole region round Joppa is so covered with sand, that one sinks +ankle-deep at every step.</p> +<p>Consul D--- fulfils the duties of two consulates, the Austrian and +the French. From both these offices he derives no benefit but +the honour. By some people this honour would be highly valued, +but many would rate it at nothing at all. This family, however, +seems to have a great idea of honour; for the consul’s office +is hereditary, and I found the son of the present dignitary already +looking forward to filling his place.</p> +<p>In the evening I was present at a real Oriental entertainment in +the house of this friendly family.</p> +<p>Mats, carpets, and pillows were spread out on the terrace of the +house, and a very low table placed in the centre. Round this the +family sat, or rather reclined, cross-legged. I was accommodated +with a chair somewhat higher than the table. Beside my plate and +that of the Consul were laid a knife and fork, that appeared to have +been hunted out from some lumber closet; the rest ate with a species +of natural knife and fork, namely—fingers.</p> +<p>The dishes were not at all to my taste. I had still too much +of the European about me, and too little appetite, to be able to endure +what these good people seemed to consider immense delicacies.</p> +<p>The first dish appeared in the form of a delicate pilau, composed +of mutton, cucumbers, and a quantity of spice, which rendered it more +unpalatable to me than common pilau. Then followed sliced cucumbers +sprinkled with salt; but as the chief ingredients, vinegar and oil, +were entirely wanting, I was obliged to force down the cucumber as best +I could. Next came rice-milk, so strongly flavoured with attar +of roses, that the smell alone was more than enough for me; and now +at length the last course was put on the table—stale cheese made +of ewe’s milk, little unpeeled girkins, which my entertainers +coolly discussed rind and all, and burnt hazel-nuts. The bread, +which is flat like pancakes, is not baked in ovens, but laid on metal +plates or hot stones, and turned when one side is sufficiently done. +It tastes better than I should have expected. <a name="citation101"></a><a href="#footnote101">{101}</a></p> +<p>Our conversation during dinner was most interesting. Some of +the family spoke a little Italian, but this little was pronounced with +such a strong Greek accent, that I was obliged to guess at the greater +portion of what was said. No doubt they had to do the same with +me. The worthy Consul, indeed, affirmed that he knew French very +well; but for this evening at least, his memory seemed to have given +him the slip. Much was spoken, and little understood. The +same thing is said often to be the case in learned societies; so it +was not of much consequence.</p> +<p>There are many different kinds of cucumber in Syria, where they are +a favourite dish with rich and poor. I found numerous varieties, +but none that I found superior to our German one. Another favourite +fruit is the water-melon, here called “bastek.” These +also I found neither larger in size nor better flavoured than the melons +I had eaten in southern Hungary.</p> +<p>The Consul’s house seems sufficiently large; but the architectural +arrangement is so irregular that the extended area contains but few +rooms and very little comfort. The apartments are lofty and large, +extremely ill-furnished, and not kept in the best possible order.</p> +<p>I slept in the apartment of the married daughter; but had it not +been for the beds standing round, I should rather have looked upon it +as an old store-closet than a lady’s sleeping-room.</p> +<h3>May 28th.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the morning Mr. Bartlett’s servant +came to fetch me away, as we were at once to continue our journey. +I betook myself to the house of the English Consul, where I found neither +a horse nor any thing else prepared for our departure. It is necessary +to look calmly upon these irregularities here in the East, where it +is esteemed a fortunate occurrence if the horses and mukers (as the +drivers of horses and donkeys are called) are only a few hours behind +their time. Thus our horses made their appearance at half-past +five instead of at four, the hour for which they had been ordered. +Our baggage was soon securely fixed, for we left the greater portion +of our effects at Joppa, and took with us only what was indispensably +necessary.</p> +<p>As the clock struck six we rode out of the gate of Joppa, and immediately +afterwards reached a large well with a marble basin. Near places +of this description a great number of people are always congregated, +and more women and girls are seen than appear elsewhere.</p> +<p>The dress of females belonging to the lower orders consists of a +long blue garment fastened round the throat, and reaching below the +ankle. They completely cover the head and face, frequently without +even leaving openings for the eyes. Some females, on the other +hand, go abroad with their faces totally uncovered. These are, +however, exceptional cases.</p> +<p>The women carry their water-pitchers on their head or shoulder, as +their ancestors have done for thousands of years, in the manner we find +represented in the oldest pictures. But unfortunately I could +discover neither the grace in their gait, the dignity in their movements, +nor the physical beauty in their appearance, that I had been led to +expect. On the contrary, I found squalor and poverty more prevalent +than I had thought possible. We rode on amid the gardens, every +moment meeting a little caravan of camels. Immediately beyond +the gardens we descry the fruitful valley of Sharon, extending more +than eight miles in length, and to a still greater distance in breadth. +Here and there we find villages built on hills, and the whole presents +the appearance of an extremely fertile and well-populated region. +In all directions we saw large herds of sheep and goats; the latter +generally of a black or brown colour, with long pendent ears.</p> +<p>The foreground of the picture is formed by the Judæan mountains, +a range apparently composed of a number of barren rocks.</p> +<p>A ride of two hours through this plain, which is less sandy than +the immediate neighbourhood of Joppa, brought us to a mosque, where +we made halt for a quarter of an hour and ate our breakfast, consisting +of some hard-boiled eggs, a piece of bread, and a draught of lukewarm +water from the cistern. Our poor beasts fared even worse than +ourselves—they received nothing but water.</p> +<p>On leaving this place to resume our journey across the plain, we +not only suffered dreadfully from the heat, which had reached 30° +Reaumur, but were further persecuted by a species of minute gnats, which +hovered round us in large swarms, crept into our noses and ears, and +annoyed us in such a manner that it required the utmost of our patience +and determination to prevent us from turning back at once. Fortunately +we only met with these tormentors in those parts where the corn had +been cut and was still in the fields. They are not much larger +than a pin’s head, and look more like flies than gnats. +They are always met with in great swarms, and sting so sharply that +they frequently raise large boils.</p> +<p>The vegetation was at this season already in so forward a state that +we frequently passed stubble-fields, and found that the wheat had in +several cases been already garnered up. Throughout the whole of +Syria, and in that part of Egypt whither my journey afterwards led me, +I never once saw corn or vegetables, wood or stores, carried in wagons; +they were invariably borne by horses or asses. In Syria I could +understand the reason of this proceeding. With the exception, +perhaps, of the eight or ten miles across the valley of Sharon, the +road is too stony and uneven to admit the passage of the lightest and +smallest carts. In Egypt, however, this is not the case, and yet +wagons have not been introduced.</p> +<p>A most comical effect was produced when we met long processions of +small donkeys, so completely laden with corn, that neither their heads +nor their feet remained visible. The sheaves seemed to be moving +spontaneously, or to be propelled by the power of steam. Frequently +after a train of this kind has passed, lofty grey heads appear, surrounded +by a load piled up to so great a height, that one would suppose large +corn-wagons were approaching rather than the “ship of the desert,” +the camel. The traveller’s attention is continually attracted +to some novel and curious object totally dissimilar to any thing he +has seen at home.</p> +<p>Towards ten o’clock we arrived at Ramla, a place situate on +a little hill, and discernible from a great distance. Before reaching +the town, we had to pass through an olive-wood. Leaving our horses +beneath a shady tree, we entered the coppice on the right: a walk of +about a quarter of a mile brought us to the “Tower of the Forty +Martyrs,” which was converted into a church during the time of +the Knights Templars, and now serves as a dwelling for dervishes. +It is a complete ruin, and I could scarcely believe that it was still +habitable.</p> +<p>We made no stay at Ramda, a place only remarkable for a convent built, +it is said, on the site of Joseph of Arimathea’s house.</p> +<p>The Syrian convents are built more like fortresses than like peaceful +dwellings. They are usually surrounded by strong and lofty walls, +furnished with loopholes for cannon. The great gate is kept continually +closed, and barred and bolted from within for greater security; a little +postern is opened to admit visitors, but even this is only done in time +of peace, and when there is no fear of the plague.</p> +<p>At length, towards noon, we approached the mountains of Judæa. +Here we must bid farewell to the beautiful fruitful valley and to the +charming road, and pursue our journey through a stony region, which +we do not pass without difficulty.</p> +<p>At the entrance of the mountain-chain lies a miserable village; near +this village is a well, and here we halted to refresh ourselves and +water our poor horses. It was not without a great deal of trouble +and some expense that we managed to obtain a little water; for all the +camels, asses, goats, and sheep from far and wide were collected here, +eagerly licking up every drop of the refreshing element they could secure. +Little did I think that I should ever be glad to quench my thirst with +so disgusting a beverage as the muddy, turbid, and lukewarm water they +gave me from this well. We once more filled our leathern bottles, +and proceeded with fresh courage up the stony path, which quickly became +so narrow, that without great difficulty and danger we could not pass +the camels which we frequently met. Fortunately a few camels out +of every herd are generally provided with bells, so that their approach +is heard at some distance, and one can prepare for them accordingly.</p> +<p>The Bedouins and Arabs generally wear no garment but a shirt barely +reaching to the knee. Their head is protected by a linen cloth, +to which a thick rope wound twice round the head gives a very good effect. +A few have a striped jacket over their shirt, and the rich men or chiefs +frequently wear turbans.</p> +<p>Our road now continues to wind upwards, through ravines between rocks +and mountains, and over heaps of stones. Here and there single +olive-trees are seen sprouting from the rocky clefts. Ugly as +this tree is, it still forms a cheerful feature in the desert places +where it grows. Now and then we climbed hills whence we had a +distant view of the sea. These glimpses increase the awe which +inspires the traveller when he considers on what ground he is wandering, +and whither he is bending his steps. Every step we now take leads +us past places of religious importance; every ruin, every fragment of +a fortress or tower, above which the rocky walls rise like terraces, +speaks of eventful times long gone by.</p> +<p>An uninterrupted ride of five hours over very bad roads, from the +entrance of the mountain-range, added to the extreme heat and total +want of proper refreshment, suddenly brought on such a violent giddiness +that I could scarcely keep myself from falling off my horse. Although +we had been on horseback for eleven hours since leaving Joppa, I was +so much afraid that Mr. B. would consider me weak and ailing, and perhaps +change his intention of accompanying me from Jerusalem back to Joppa, +that I refrained from acquainting him with the condition in which I +felt myself. I therefore dismounted (had I not done so, I should +soon have fallen down), and walked with tottering steps beside my horse, +until I felt so far recovered that I could mount once more. Mr. +B. had determined to perform the distance from Joppa to Jerusalem (a +sixteen hours’ ride) at one stretch. He indeed asked me +if I could bear so much fatigue; but I was unwilling to abuse his kindness, +and therefore assured him that I could manage to ride on for five or +six hours longer. Fortunately for my reputation, my companion +was soon afterwards attacked with the same symptoms that troubled me +so much; he now began to think that it might, after all, be advisable +to rest for a few hours in the next village, especially as we could +not hope in any case to reach the gates of Jerusalem before sundown. +I felt silently thankful for this opportune occurrence, and left the +question of going on or stopping altogether to the decision of my fellow-traveller, +particularly as I knew the course he would choose. Thus I accomplished +my object without being obliged to confess my weakness. In pursuance +of this resolve, we stayed in the neighbouring village of “Kariet +el Areb,” the ancient Emmaus, where the risen Saviour met the +disciples, and where we find a ruin of a Christian church in a tolerable +state of preservation. The building is now used as a stable. +Some years ago this was the haunt of a famous robber, who was scheikh +of the place, and let no Frank pass before he had paid whatever tribute +he chose to demand. Since the accession of Mehemet Ali these exactions +have ceased both here and in Jerusalem, where money was demanded of +the stranger for admission into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and +other sacred places. Even highway robberies, which were once on +a time of daily occurrence among these mountains, are now rarely heard +of.</p> +<p>We took possession of the entrance-hall of a mosque, near which a +delicious spring sparkled forth from a grotto. Seldom has any +thing strengthened and refreshed me so much as the water of this spring. +I recovered completely from my indisposition, and was able to enjoy +the beautiful evening.</p> +<p>As soon as the scheikh of the village heard that a party of Franks +had arrived, he despatched four or five dishes of provisions to us. +Of all these preparations we could only eat one—the butter-milk. +The other dishes, a mixture of honey, cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs, onions, +oil, olives, etc., we generously bestowed upon the dragoman and the +muker, who caused them quickly to disappear. An hour afterwards +the scheikh came in person to pay his respects. We reclined on +the steps of the hall; and while the men smoked and drank coffee, a +conversation of a very uninteresting kind was kept up, the dragoman +acting as interpreter. At length the scheikh seemed seized with +the idea that we might possibly be tired with our journey. He +took his leave, and offered unasked to send us two men as sentries, +which he did. Thus we could go to rest in perfect safety under +the open sky in the midst of a Turkish village.</p> +<p>But before we retired to rest, my companion was seized with the rather +original idea that we should pursue our journey at midnight. He +asked me, indeed, if I was afraid, but at the same time observed, that +it would be much safer for us to act upon his suggestion, as no one +would suspect our departure by such a dangerous road at midnight. +I certainly felt a little afraid, but my pride would not allow me to +confess the truth; so our people received the order to be prepared to +set out at midnight.</p> +<p>Thus we four persons, alone and totally unarmed, travelled at midnight +through the wildest and most dangerous regions. Fortunately the +bright moon looked smilingly down upon us, and illuminated our path +so brightly, that the horses carried us with firm step over every obstruction. +I was, I must confess, grievously frightened by the shadows! I +saw living things moving to and fro—forms gigantic and forms dwarfish +seemed sometimes approaching us, sometimes hiding behind masses of rock, +or sinking back into nothingness. Lights and shadows, fears and +anxiety, thus took alternate possession of my imagination.</p> +<p>A couple of miles from our starting-place we came upon a brook crossed +by a narrow stone bridge. This brook is remarkable only as having +been that from which David collected the five stones wherewith he slew +the Philistine giant. At the season of my visit there was no water +to be seen; the bed of the stream was completely dry.</p> +<p>About an hour’s journey from Jerusalem the valley opens, and +little orchards give indication of a more fertile country, as well as +of the proximity of the Holy City. Silently and thoughtfully we +approached our destination, straining our eyes to the utmost to pierce +the jealous twilight that shrouded the distance from our gaze. +From the next hill we hoped to behold our sacred goal; but “hope +deferred” is often the lot of mortals. We had to ascend +another height, and another; at length the Mount of Olives lay spread +before us, and lastly JERUSALEM.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> +<p><i>Residence at Jerusalem—Catholic church—The “Nuova +Casa”—Via Dolorosa—Pilate’s house—The +Mosque Omar—Herod’s house—Church of the Holy Sepulchre—Disturbances +at the Greek Easter feasts—Knights of the Holy Sepulchre—Mount +of Olives—Adventure among the ruin—Mount of Offence—Valley +of Jehosaphat—Siloam—Mount Sion—Jeremiah’s grotto—Graves.</i></p> +<p>The red morning dawn had began to tinge the sky as we stood before +the walls of Jerusalem, and with it the most beauteous morning of my +life dawned upon me! I was so lost in reflection and in thankful +emotion, that I saw and heard nothing of what was passing around me. +And yet I should find it impossible to describe what I thought, what +I felt. My emotion was deep and powerful; my expression of it +would be poor and cold.</p> +<p>At half past four o’clock in the morning of the 29th May we +arrived at the “Bethlehem Gate.” We were obliged to +wait half an hour before this gate was opened; then we rode through +the still silent and deserted streets of the <i>Nuova Casa</i> (Pilgrim-house), +a building devoted by the Franciscan friars to the reception of rich +and poor Roman Catholics and Protestants.</p> +<p>I left my baggage in the room allotted to me, and hastened into the +church, to lighten the weight on my heart by fervent prayer. The +entrance into the church looks like the door of a private house; the +building is small, but still sufficiently large for the Roman Catholic +congregation. The altar is richly furnished, and the organ is +a very bad one. The male and female portions of the congregation +are separated from each other, the young as well as the old, and all +sit or kneel on the ground. Chairs there are none in this church. +The costume of the Christians is precisely the same as that of the Syrians. +The women wear boots of yellow morocco, and over these slippers, which +they take off on entering the church. In the street their faces +are completely, in the church only partially, muffled, and the faces +of the girls not at all. Their dress consists of a white linen +gown, and a large shawl of the same material, which completely envelops +them. They were all cleanly and neatly dressed.</p> +<p>The amount of devotion manifested by these people is very small; +the most trifling circumstance suffices to distract their attention. +For instance, my appearance seemed to create quite a sensation among +them, and they made their remarks upon me to one another so openly both +by words and gestures, that I found it quite impossible to give my mind +to seriousness and devotion. Some of them pushed purposely against +me, and put out their hands to grasp my bonnet, etc. They conversed +together a good deal, and prayed very little. The children behaved +no better; these little people ate their breakfast while the service +was going on, and occasionally jostled each other, probably to keep +themselves awake. The good people here must fancy they are doing +a meritorious work by passing two or three hours in the church; no one +seems to care <i>how</i> this time is spent, or they would assuredly +have been taught better.</p> +<p>I had been in the church rather more than an hour when a clergyman +stepped up to me and accosted me in my native language. He was +a German, and, in fact, an Austrian. He promised to visit me in +the course of a few hours. I returned to the Nuova Casa, and now, +for the first time, had leisure to examine my apartment. The arrangement +was simple in the extreme. An iron bedstead, with a mattress, +coverlet, and bolster, a very dingy table, with two chairs, a small +bench, and a cupboard, all of deal, composed the whole furniture. +These chattels, and also the windows, some panes of which were broken, +may once, in very ancient times, have been clean. The walls were +of plaster, and the floor was paved with large slabs of stone. +Chimneys are no more to be found in this country. I did not see +any until my return to Sicily.</p> +<p>I now laid myself down for a couple of hours to get a little rest; +for during my journey hither from Constantinople I had scarcely slept +at all.</p> +<p>At eleven o’clock the German priest, Father Paul, visited me, +in order to explain the domestic arrangements to me. Dinner is +eaten at twelve o’clock, and supper at seven. At breakfast +we get coffee without sugar or milk; for dinner, mutton-broth, a piece +of roast kid, pastry prepared with oil or a dish of cucumbers, and, +as a concluding course, roast or spiced mutton. Twice in the week, +namely on Fridays and Saturdays, we have fast-day fare; but if the feast +of a particular saint falls during the week, a thing that frequently +occurs, we hold three fast-days, the one of the saint’s day being +kept as a time of abstinence. The fare on fast-days consists of +a dish of lentils, an omelette, and two dishes of salt fish, one hot +and the other cold. Bread and wine, as also these provisions, +are doled out in sufficient quantities. But every thing is very +indifferently cooked, and it takes a long time for a stranger to accustom +himself to the ever-recurring dishes of mutton. In Syria oxen +and calves are not killed during the summer season; so that from the +19th of May until my journey to Egypt in the beginning of September, +I could get neither beef-soup nor beef.</p> +<p>In this convent no charge is made either for board or lodging, and +every visitor may stay there for a whole month. At most it is +customary to give a voluntary subscription towards the masses; but no +one asks if a traveller has given much, little, or nothing at all, or +whether he is a Roman Catholic, a Protestant, or a votary of any other +religion. In this respect the Franciscan order is much to be commended. +The priests are mostly Spaniards and Italians; very few of them belong +to other nations.</p> +<p>Father Paul was kind enough to offer his services as my guide, and +to-day I visited several of the holy places in company with him.</p> +<p>We began with the Via Dolorosa, the road which our Lord is said to +have trodden when for the last time he wandered as God-man on earth, +bowed down by the weight of the cross, on his way to Golgotha. +The spots where Christ sank exhausted are marked by fragments of the +pillars which St. Helena caused to be attached to the houses on either +side of the way. Further on we reach the “Zwerchgasse,” +the place whither the Virgin Mary is said to have come in haste to see +her beloved Son for the last time.</p> +<p>Next we visited Pilate’s house, which is partly a ruin, the +remaining portion serving as a barrack for Turkish soldiers. I +was shewn the spot where the “holy stairs” stood, up which +our Lord is said to have walked. On my return, I saw these stairs +in the church of S. Giovanni di Laterani. They also pretend to +show the place where the Saviour was brought out before the multitude +by Pilate. A little distance off, in the midst of a dark vault, +they shew the traveller the stone to which Jesus was bound when “they +scourged Him.”</p> +<p>We ascended the highest terrace of this house, as this spot affords +the best view of the magnificent mosque of Omar, standing in a large +courtyard. With this exterior view the traveller is fain to be +content; for the Turks are here much more fanatical than those in Constantinople +and many other towns, so that an attempt to penetrate even into the +courtyard would be unsuccessful; the intruder would run the risk of +being assailed with a shower of stones. But in proportion as the +Turks are strict in the observance of their own ceremonies and customs, +so they respect those Christians who are religious and devotional.</p> +<p>Every Christian can go with perfect impunity to pray at all the places +which are sacred in his eyes, without fear of being taunted or annoyed +by the Turkish passers-by. On the contrary, the Mussulman steps +respectfully aside; for even he venerates the Saviour as a great prophet, +and the Virgin as his mother.</p> +<p>Not far from Pilate’s house stands the building designated +as that of Herod; it is, however, a complete ruin. The house of +the rich man, at whose gate the beggar Lazarus lay, has shared the same +fate; but from the ruins one may conclude how magnificent the building +must originally have been.</p> +<p>In the house of Saint Veronica a stone is pointed out on which they +shew you a footprint of the Saviour. In another house two footprints +of the Virgin Mary are exhibited. Father Paul also drew my attention +to the houses which stood on the spot where Mary Magdalene and the other +Mary were born. These houses are all inhabited by Turks, but any +one may obtain admittance upon payment of a small fee.</p> +<p>The following day I visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre. +The way lies through several narrow and dirty streets. In the +lanes near the church are booths like those at Maria Zell in Steiermark, +and many other places of pilgrimage, where they sell wreaths of roses, +shells of mother-of-pearl, crucifixes, etc. The open space before +the church is neat enough. Opposite lies the finest house in Jerusalem, +its terraces gay with flowers.</p> +<p>Visitors to this church will do wisely to provide themselves with +a sufficient number of para, as they may expect to be surrounded by +a goodly tribe of beggars. The church is always locked; the key +is in the custody of some Turks, who open the sacred edifice when asked +to do so. It is customary to give them three or four piastres +for their pains, with which sum they are satisfied, and remain at the +entrance during the whole time the stranger is in the church, reclining +on divans, drinking coffee and smoking tobacco. At the entrance +of the church we noticed a long square stone on the ground; this is +the “stone of anointing.”</p> +<p>In the centre of the nave a little chapel has been built; it is divided +into two parts. In the first of these compartments is a stone +slab encased in marble. This is vehemently asserted to be the +identical stone on which the angel sat when he announced our Lord’s +resurrection to the women who came to embalm his body. In the +second compartment, which is of the same size as the first, stands the +sarcophagus or tomb of the Saviour, of white marble. The approach +is by such a low door that one has to stoop exceedingly in order to +enter. The tomb occupies the whole length of the chapel, and answers +the purpose of an altar. We could not look into the sarcophagus. +The illumination of this chapel is very grand both by night and day; +forty-seven lamps are kept continually burning above the grave. +The portion of the chapel containing the tomb is so small, that when +the priest reads mass only two or three people have room to stand and +listen. The chapel is entirely built of marble, and belongs to +the Roman Catholics; but the Greeks have the right of celebrating mass +alternately with them.</p> +<p>At the farther end of the chapel the Copts have a little mean-looking +altar of wood, surrounded by walls of lath. All round the chapel +are niches belonging to the different religious sects.</p> +<p>In this church I was also shewn the subterranean niche in which Jesus +is said to have been a prisoner; also the niche where the soldiers cast +lots for our Saviour’s garments, and the chapel containing the +grave of St. Nicodemus. Not far from this chapel is the little +Roman Catholic church. A flight of twenty-seven steps leads downwards +to the chapel of St. Helena, where the holy woman sat continually and +prayed, while she caused search to be made for the true cross. +A few steps more lead us down to the spot where the cross was found. +A marble slab points out the place.</p> +<p>Mounting the steps once more, we come to the niche containing the +pillar to which Jesus was bound when they crowned him with thorns. +It is called the pillar of scorn. The pillar at which Jesus was +scourged, a piece of which is preserved in Rome, is also shown.</p> +<p>The chapel belonging to the Greeks is very spacious, and may almost +be termed a church within a church. It is beautifully decorated.</p> +<p>It is very difficult to find the way in this church, which resembles +a labyrinth. Now we are obliged to ascend a flight of stairs, +now again to descend. The architect certainly deserves great praise +for having managed so cleverly to unite all these holy places under +one roof; and St. Helena has performed a most meritorious action in +thus rescuing from oblivion the sacred sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, +and Nazareth.</p> +<p>I was told, that when the Greeks celebrate their Easter here, the +ceremonies seldom conclude without much quarrelling and confusion. +These irregularities are considerably increased when the Greek Easter +happens to fall at the same time as that of the Roman Catholics. +On these occasions, there are not only numerous broken heads, but some +of the combatants are even frequently carried away dead. The Turks +generally find it necessary to interfere, to restore peace and order +among the Christians. What opinion can these nations, whom we +call Infidels, have of us Christians, when they see with what hatred +and virulence each sect of Christians pursues the other? When +will this dishonourable bigotry cease?</p> +<p>On the third day after my arrival at Jerusalem, a small caravan of +six or seven travellers, two gentlemen namely, and their attendants, +applied for admittance at our convent. An arrival of this kind, +particularly if the new-comers are Franks, is far too important to admit +of our delaying the inquiry from what country the wanderers have arrived. +How agreeably was I surprised, when Father Paul came to me with the +intelligence that these gentlemen were both Austrian subjects. +What a singular coincidence! So far from my native country, I +was thus suddenly placed in the midst of my own people. Father +Paul was a native of Vienna, and the two counts, Berchtold and Salm +Reifferscheit, were Bohemian cavaliers.</p> +<p>As soon as I had completely recovered from the fatigues of my journey, +and had collected my thoughts, I passed a whole night in the church +of the Holy Sepulchre. I confessed in the afternoon, and afterwards +joined the procession, which at four o’clock visits all the places +rendered sacred by our Saviour’s passion; I carried a wax taper, +the remains of which I afterwards took back with me into my native country, +as a lasting memorial. This ceremony ended, the priests retired +to their cells, and the few people who were present left the church. +I alone stayed behind, as I intended to remain there all night. +A solemn stillness reigned throughout the church; and now I was enabled +to visit, uninterrupted and alone, all the sacred places, and to give +myself wholly up to my meditations. Truly these were the most +blissful hours of my life; and he who has lived to enjoy such hours +has lived long enough.</p> +<p>A place near the organ was pointed out to me where I might enjoy +a few hours of repose. An old Spanish woman, who lives like a +nun, acts as guide to those who pass a night in the church.</p> +<p>At midnight the different services begin. The Greeks and Armenians +beat and hammer upon pendent plates or rods of metal; the Roman Catholics +play on the organ, and sing and pray aloud; while the priests of other +religions likewise sing and shout. A great and inharmonious din +is thus caused. I must confess that this midnight mass did not +produce upon me the effect I had anticipated. The constant noise +and multifarious ceremonies are calculated rather to disconcert than +to inspire the stranger. I much preferred the peace and repose +that reigned around, after the service had concluded, to all the pomp +and circumstance attending it.</p> +<p>Accompanied by my Spanish guide, I ascended to the Roman Catholics’ +choir, where prayers were said aloud from midnight until one o’clock. +At four o’clock in the morning I heard several masses, and received +the Eucharist. At eight o’clock the Turks opened the door +at my request, and I went home.</p> +<p>The few Roman Catholic priests who live in the church of the Holy +Sepulchre stay there for three months at a time, to perform the services. +During this time they are not allowed to quit the church or the convent +for a single instant. After the three months have elapsed, they +are relieved by other priests.</p> +<p>On the 10th of June I was present at the ceremony of admission into +the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Counts Zichy, Wratislaw, and +Salm Reifferscheit were, at their own request, installed as knights +of the Sepulchre. The inauguration took place in the chapel.</p> +<p>The chief priest having taken his seat on a chair of state, the candidate +for knighthood knelt before him, and took the customary oaths to defend +the holy church, to protect widows and orphans, etc. During this +time the priests who stood round said prayers. Now one of the +spurs of Godfrey de Bouillon was fastened on the heel of the knight; +the sword of this hero was put into his hands, the sheath fastened to +his side, and a cross with a heavy gold chain, that had also belonged +to Godfrey de Bouillon, was put round his neck. Then the kneeling +man received the stroke of knighthood on his head and shoulders, the +priests embraced the newly-elected knight, and the ceremony was over.</p> +<p>A plentiful feast, given by the new-chosen knights, concluded the +solemnity.</p> +<p>Distant somewhat less than a mile from Jerusalem is the Mount of +Olives. Emerging from St. Stephen’s Gate, we pass the Turkish +burial-ground, and reach the spot where St. Stephen was stoned. +Not far off we see the bed of the brook Cedron, which is at this season +of the year completely dried up. A stone bridge leads across the +brook; adjoining it is a stone slab where they shew traces of the footsteps +of the Saviour, as He was brought across this bridge from Gethsemane, +and stumbled and fell. Crossing this bridge, we arrive at the +grotto where Jesus sweat blood. This grotto still retains its +original form. A plain wooden altar has been erected there, a +few years since, by a Bavarian prince, and the entrance is closed by +an iron gate. Not far off is Gethsemane. Eight olive-trees +are here to be seen that have attained a great age; nowhere else had +I seen these trees with such massive trunks, though I had frequently +passed through whole plantations of olives. Those who are learned +in natural history assert that the olive-tree cannot live to so great +an age as to render it possible that these venerable trunks existed +at the time when Jesus passed his last night at Gethsemane in prayer +and supplication. As this tree, however, propagates itself, these +trees may be sprouts from the ancient stems. The space around +the roots has been strengthened with masonry, to afford a support to +these patriarchal trunks, and the eight trees are surrounded by a wall +three or four feet in height. No layman may enter this spot unaccompanied +by a priest, on pain of excommunication; it is also forbidden to pluck +a single leaf. The Turks also hold these trees in reverence, and +would not injure one of them.</p> +<p>Close by is the spot where the three disciples are said to have slept +during the night of their Master’s agony. We were shown +marks on two rocks, said to have been footsteps of these apostles! +The footsteps of the third disciple we could not discover. A little +to one side is the place where Judas betrayed his Master.</p> +<p>The little church containing the grave of the Virgin Mary stands +near the “Grotto of Anguish.” We descend by a broad +marble flight of fifty steps to the tomb, which is also used as an altar. +About the middle of the staircase are two niches with altars; within +these are deposited the bones of the Virgin Mary’s parents and +of St. Joseph. This chapel belongs to the Greeks.</p> +<p>From the foot of the Mount of Olives to its summit is a walk of three +quarters of an hour. The whole mountain is desert and sterile; +nothing is found growing upon it but olives; and from the summit of +this mountain our Saviour ascended into heaven. The spot was once +marked by a church, which was afterwards replaced by a mosque: even +this building is now in ruins. Only twelve years ago a little +chapel, of very humble appearance, was erected here; it now stands in +the midst of old walls; but here again a footprint of our Lord is shown +and reverenced. On this stone it is asserted that He stood before +He was taken up into heaven. Not far off, we are shown the place +where the fig-tree grew that Jesus cursed, and the field where Judas +hanged himself.</p> +<p>One afternoon I visited many of these sites, in company with Count +Berchtold. As we were climbing about the ruins near the mosque, +a sturdy goatherd, armed with a formidable bludgeon, came before us, +and demanded “backsheesh” (a gift, or an alms) in a very +peremptory tone. Neither of us liked to take out our purse, for, +fear the insolent beggar should snatch it from our hands; so we gave +him nothing. Upon this he seized the Count by the arm, and shouted +out something in Arabic which we could not understand, though we could +guess pretty accurately what he meant. The Count disengaged his +arm, and we proceeded almost to push and wrestle our way into the open +field, which was luckily only a few paces off. By good fortune, +also, several people appeared near us, upon seeing whom the fellow retired. +This incident convinced us of the fact that Franks should not leave +the city unattended.</p> +<p>As the Mount of Olives is the highest point in the neighbourhood +of Jerusalem, it commands the best view of the town and its environs. +The city is large, and lies spread over a considerable area. The +number of inhabitants is estimated at 25,000. As in the remaining +cities of Syria, the houses here are built of stone, and frequently +adorned with round cupolas. Jerusalem is surrounded by a very +lofty and well-preserved wall, the lower portion composed of such massive +blocks of stone, that one might imagine these huge fragments date from +the period of the city’s capture by Titus. Of the mosques, +that of Omar, with its lead-covered roof, has the best appearance; it +lies in an immense courtyard, which is neatly kept. This mosque +is said to occupy the site of Solomon’s temple.</p> +<p>From the Mount of Olives we can plainly distinguish all the convents, +and the different quarters of the Catholics, Armenians, Jews, Greeks, +etc. The “Mount of Offence” (so called on account +of Solomon’s idolatry) rises at the side of the Mount of Olives, +and is of no great elevation. Of the temple, and the buildings +which Solomon caused to be erected for his wives, but few fragments +of walls remain. I had also been told, that the Jordan and the +Dead Sea might be seen from this mountain; but I could distinguish neither, +probably on account of a mist which obscured the horizon.</p> +<p>At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the valley of Jehosaphat. +The length of this valley does not certainly exceed three miles; neither +is it remarkable for its breadth. The brook Cedron intersects +this valley; but it only contains water during the rainy season; at +other times all trace of it is lost.</p> +<p>The town of Jerusalem is rather bustling, particularly the poor-looking +bazaar and the Jews’ quarter; the latter portion of the city is +very densely populated, and exhales an odour offensive beyond description; +and here the plague always seizes its first victims.</p> +<p>The Greek convent is not only very handsome, but of great extent. +Hither most of the pilgrims flock, at Easter-time to the number of five +or six thousand. Then they are all herded together, and every +place is crowded with occupants; even the courtyard and terraces are +full. This convent is the richest of all, because every pilgrim +received here has to pay an exorbitant price for the very worst accommodation. +It is said that the poorest seldom escape for less than four hundred +piastres.</p> +<p>Handsomest of all is the Armenian convent; standing in the midst +of gardens, it has a most cheerful appearance. It is asserted +to be built on the site where St. James was decapitated, an event commemorated +by numerous pictures in the church; but most of the pictures, both here +and in the remaining churches, are bad beyond conception. Like +the Greeks, the Armenian priests enjoy the reputation of thoroughly +understanding how to make a harvest out of their visitors, whom they +are said generally to send away with empty pockets. As an amends, +however, they offer them a great quantity of <i>spiritual</i> food.</p> +<p>In the valley of Jehosaphat we find many tombs of ancient and modern +date. The most ancient among these tombs is that of Absolom; a +little temple of pieces of rock, but without an entrance. The +second is the tomb of Zacharias, also hewn out of the rock, and divided +within into two compartments. The third belongs to King Jehosaphat, +and is small and unimportant; one might almost call it a mere block +of stone. There are many more tombs cut out of the rock. +From this place we reach the Jewish burial-ground.</p> +<p>The little village of Sila also lies in this valley. It is +so humble, and all its houses (which are constructed of stone) are so +small, that wandering continually among tombs, the traveller would rather +take them to be ruined resting-places of the dead than habitations of +the living.</p> +<p>Opposite this village lies “Mary’s Well,” so called +because the Virgin Mary fetched water here every day. The inhabitants +of Siloam follow her example to this day. A little farther on +is the pool of Siloam, where our Lord healed the man who was born blind. +This pool is said to possess the remarkable property, that the water +disappears and returns several times in the course of twenty-four hours.</p> +<p>At the extremity of the valley of Jehosaphat a small hill rises like +a keystone; in this hill are several grottoes, formed either by nature +or art, which also once served as sepulchres. They are called +the “rock-graves.” At present the greater portion +of them are converted into stables, and are in so filthy a state that +it is impossible to enter them. I peeped into one or two, and +saw nothing but a cavern divided into two parts. At the summit +of these rock-graves lies the “Field of Blood,” bought by +the priests for the thirty pieces of silver which Judas cast down in +the temple.</p> +<p>In the neighbourhood of the Field of Blood rises the hill of Sion. +Here, it is said, stood the house of Caiaphas the high-priest, whither +our Lord was brought a prisoner. A little Armenian church now +occupies the supposed site. The tomb of David, also situated on +this hill, has been converted into a mosque, in which we are shewn the +place where the Son of Man ate the last Passover with His disciples.</p> +<p>The burial-grounds of the Roman Catholics, Armenians, and Greeks +surround this hill.</p> +<p>The “Hill of Bad Counsel,” so called because it is said +that here the judges determined to crucify Christ, rises in the immediate +vicinity of Mount Sion. A few traces of the ruins of Caiaphas’ +house are yet visible.</p> +<p>The “Grotto of Jeremiah” lies beyond the “Gate +of Damascus,” in front of which we found, near a cistern, an elaborately-sculptured +sarcophagus, which is used as a water-trough. This grotto is larger +than any I have yet mentioned. At the entrance stands a great +stone, called Jeremiah’s bed, because the prophet is said generally +to have slept upon it. Two miles farther on we come to the graves +of the judges and the kings. We descend an open pit, three or +four fathoms deep, forming the courtyard. This pit is a square +about seventy feet long and as many wide. On one side of this +open space we enter a large hall, its broad portal ornamented with beautiful +sculpture, in the form of flowers, fruit, and arabesques. This +hall leads to the graves, which run round it, and consist of niches +hewn in the rock, just sufficiently large to contain a sarcophagus. +Most of these niches were choked up with rubbish, but into some we could +still see; they were all exactly alike. These long, narrow, rock-hewn +graves reminded me exactly of those I had seen in a vault at Gran, in +Hungary. I could almost have supposed the architect at Gran had +taken the graves of the valley of Jehosaphat for his model.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> +<p><i>Bethlehem—Rachel’s grave—Convent at Bethlehem—Beggars—Grotto +of the Nativity—Solomon’s cisterns—St. John’s—Franciscan +church at Jerusalem—Mourning women—Eastern weddings—Mish-mish—Excursion +to the Jordan and the Dead Sea—Wilderness near Jerusalem—Convent +of St. Saba.</i></p> +<p>On the 2d of June I rode, in the company of Counts Berchtold and +Salm Reifferscheit and Pater Paul, to Bethlehem. Although, on +account of the bad roads, we are obliged to ride nearly the whole distance +at a foot-pace, it does not take more than an hour and a half to accomplish +the journey. The view we enjoy during this excursion is as grand +as it is peculiar. So far as the eye can reach, it rests upon +stone; the ground is entirely composed of stones; and yet between the +rocky interstices grow fruit-trees of all kinds, and grape-vines trail +along, besides fields whose productions force their way upwards from +the shingly soil.</p> +<p>I had already wondered when I saw the “Karst,” near Trieste, +and the desert region of Görz; but these sink into insignificance +when compared to the scenery of the Judean mountains.</p> +<p>It is difficult to conceive how these regions can ever have been +smiling and fertile. Doubtless they have appeared to better advantage +than at the present period, when the poor inhabitants are ground to +the bone by their pachas and officers; but I do not think that meadows +and woods can ever have existed here to any extent.</p> +<p>On the way we pass a well, surrounded by blocks of stone. At +this well the wise men from the East rested, and here the guiding star +appeared to them. Midway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem lies +the Greek convent dedicated to the prophet Elijah. From hence +we can see both towns; on the one hand, the spacious Jerusalem, and +on the other, the humble Bethlehem, with some small villages scattered +round it. On the right hand we pass “Rachel’s grave,” +a ruined building with a small cupola.</p> +<p>Bethlehem lies on a hill, surrounded by several others; with the +exception of the convent, it contains not a single handsome building. +The inhabitants, half of whom are Catholics, muster about 2500 strong; +many live in grottoes and semi-subterranean domiciles, cutting out garlands +and other devices in mother-of pearl, etc. The number of houses +does not exceed a hundred at the most, and the poverty here seems excessive, +for nowhere have I been so much pestered with beggar children as in +this town. Hardly has the stranger reached the convent-gates before +these urchins are seen rapidly approaching from all quarters. +One rushes forward to hold the horse, while a second grasps the stirrup; +a third and a fourth present their arm to help you to dismount; and +in the end the whole swarm unanimously stretch forth their hands for +“backsheesh.” In cases like these it is quite necessary +to come furnished either with a multiplicity of small coins or with +a riding-whip, in order to be delivered in one way or another from the +horrible importunity of the diminutive mob. It is very fortunate +that the horses here are perfectly accustomed to such scenes; were this +not the case, they would take fright and gallop headlong away.</p> +<p>The little convent and church are both situated near the town, and +are built on the spot where the Saviour was born. The whole is +surrounded by a strong fortress-wall, a very low, narrow gate forming +the entrance. In front of this fortress extends a handsome well-paved +area. So soon as we have passed through the little gate, we find +ourselves in the courtyard, or rather in the nave of the church, which +is unfortunately more than half destroyed, but must once have been eminent +both for its size and beauty. Some traces of mosaic can still +be detected on the walls. Two rows of high handsome pillars, forty-eight +in number, intersect the interior; and the beam-work, said to be of +cedar-wood from Lebanon, looks almost new. Beneath the high altar +of this great church is the grotto in which Christ was born. Two +staircases lead downwards to it. One of the staircases belongs +to the Armenians, the other to the Greeks; the Catholics have none at +all. Both the walls and the floor are covered with marble slabs. +A marble tablet, with the inscription,</p> +<blockquote><p>“HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST,”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>marks the spot whence the true Light shone abroad over the world. +A figure of a beaming sun, which receives its light from numerous lamps +kept continually burning, is placed in the back-ground of this tablet.</p> +<p>The spot where our Saviour was shewn to the worshipping Magi is but +few paces distant. An altar is erected opposite, on the place +where the manger stood in which the shepherds found our Lord. +The manger itself is deposited in the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, +in Rome. This altar belongs to the Roman Catholics. A little +door, quite in the background of the grotto, leads to a subterranean +passage communicating with the convent and the Catholic chapel. +In this passage another altar has been erected to the memory of the +innocents slaughtered and buried here. Proceeding along the passage +we come upon the grave of St. Paula and her daughter Eustachia on one +side, and that of St. Hieronymus on the other. The body of the +latter is, however, deposited at Rome.</p> +<p>Like the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, this great church +at Bethlehem belongs at once to the Catholics, the Armenians, and the +Greeks. Each of these sects has built for itself a little convent +adjoining the church.</p> +<p>After spending at least a couple of hours here, we rode two miles +farther, towards Mount Hebron. At the foot of this mountain we +turned off to the left towards the three cisterns of Solomon. +These reservoirs are very wide and deep, hewn out of the rock, and still +partially covered with a kind of cement resembling marble in its consistency +and polish. We descended into the third of these cisterns; it +was about five hundred paces long, four hundred broad, and a hundred +deep.</p> +<p>Not one of these cisterns now contains water; the aqueducts which +once communicated with them have entirely vanished. A single rivulet, +across which one may easily step, flows beside these giant reservoirs. +The region around is barren in the extreme.</p> +<p>On returning to our convent at about two o’clock to partake +of our frugal but welcome meal, we were surprised to find that another +party of travellers, Franks like ourselves, had arrived. The new-comers +proved to be Count Zichy and Count Wratislaw, who had travelled from +Vienna to Cairo in company with Counts Berchtold and Salm Reifferscheit. +At the last-mentioned place the voyagers parted company, one party proceeding +to Jerusalem by way of Alexandria, Damietta, and Joppa, while the other +bent their course across the burning sands of Africa towards Mount Sinai, +and thence continued their journey to Jerusalem by land. Here +at length they had the pleasure of meeting once more. A great +and general rejoicing, in which we all joined, was the consequence of +this event.</p> +<p>After dinner we once more visited all the holy places in company +of the new-comers; we afterwards went to the so-called “Milk Grotto,” +distant about half a mile from our convent. In this grotto there +is nothing to be seen but a simple altar, before which lights are continually +burning. It is not locked, and every passer-by is at liberty to +enter. This place is held sacred not only by the Christians, but +also by the Turks, who bring many a cruise of oil to fill the lamps +after they have cleaned them. In this grotto the Holy Family concealed +themselves before the flight into Egypt, and the Virgin for a long time +nourished the infant Jesus with her milk, from which circumstance the +grotto derives its name. The women in the neighbourhood believe +that if they feel unwell during the time they are nursing their children, +they have merely to scrape some of the sand from the rocks in this grotto, +and to take it as a powder, to regain their health.</p> +<p>Half a mile from this grotto we were shown the field in which the +angel appeared to announce the birth of the Redeemer to the shepherds. +But our newly-arrived friends were not able to visit this spot. +They were fain to content themselves with a distant view, as it was +high time to think of our return.</p> +<h3>ST. JOHN’S.</h3> +<p>On the 4th of June I rode out, accompanied by a guide, to the birth-place +of St. John the Baptist, distant about four miles from Jerusalem. +The way to this convent lies through the Bethlehem Gate, opposite the +convent of the “Holy Cross,” a building supposed to stand +on the site where the wood was felled for our Saviour’s cross! +Not far off, the place was pointed out to me where a battle was fought +between the Israelites and the Philistines, and where David slew Goliath.</p> +<p>Situated in a rocky valley, the convent of St. John is, like all +the monasteries in these lands, surrounded by very strong walls. +The church of the convent is erected on the spot where the house of +Zacharias once stood, and a chapel commemorates the place where St. +John first beheld the light. The ascent to this chapel is by a +staircase, where a round tablet of stone bears the inscription,</p> +<blockquote><p>“HIC PRÆCURSOR DOMINI CHRISTI NATUS EST.”</p> +</blockquote> +<p>Many events of the prophet’s life are here portrayed by sculptures +in white marble.</p> +<p>About a mile from the convent we find the “Grotto of Visitation,” +where St. Mary met St. Elizabeth. The remains of the latter are +interred here.</p> +<p>On the very first day of my arrival at Jerusalem I had made some +observations, during a visit to the church of St. Francis, which gave +me any thing but a high opinion of the behaviour of the Catholics here. +This unfavourable impression was confirmed by subsequent visits to the +church, so that at length I felt obliged to tell Father Paul that I +would rather pray at home than among people who seemed to attend to +any thing rather than their devotions. My Frankish costume seemed +to be such a stumbling-block in the eyes of these people, that at length +a priest came to me, and requested that I would make an alteration in +my dress, or at any rate exchange my straw hat for a veil, in which +I could muffle my head and face. I promised to discard the obnoxious +hat and to wear a handkerchief round my head when I attended church, +but refused to muffle my face, and begged the reverend gentleman to +inform my fellow-worshippers that this was the first time such a thing +had been required of a Frankish woman, and that I thought they would +be more profitably employed in looking at their prayer-books than at +me, for that He whom we go to church to adore is not a respecter of +outward things. In spite of this remonstrance, their behaviour +remained the same, so that I was compelled almost to discontinue attending +public worship.</p> +<p>On great festival-days the high altar of the church of St. Francis +is very profusely decorated. It is, in fact, almost overloaded +with ornament, and sparkles and glitters with a most dazzling brilliancy. +Innumerable candles display the lustre of gold and precious stones. +Foremost among the costly ornaments appear a huge gold monstrance presented +by the king of Naples, and two splendid candelabra, a gift of the imperial +house of Austria.</p> +<p>I happened one day to pass a house, from within which a great screaming +was to be heard. On inquiring of my companion what was the matter, +I was informed that some person had died in that house the day before, +and that the sound I heard was the wail of the “mourning women.” +I requested admission to the room where the deceased lay. Had +it not been for the circumstance that a few pictures of saints and a +crucifix decorated the walls, I could never have imagined that the dead +man was a Catholic. Several “mourning women” sat near +the corpse, uttering every now and then such frantic yells, that the +neighbourhood rang with their din. In the intervals between these +demonstrations they sat comfortably regaling themselves with coffee; +after a little time they would again raise their horrible cry. +I had seen enough to feel excessively disgusted, and so went away.</p> +<p>I was also fortunate enough to visit a newly-married pair. +The bride was gorgeously dressed in a silk under-garment, wide trousers +of peach-blossom satin, and a caftan of the same material; a rich shawl +encircled her waist, and on her feet she wore boots of yellow morocco +leather; the slippers had been left, according to the Turkish fashion, +at the entrance of the chamber. An ornamental head-dress of rich +gold brocade and fresh flowers completed the bride’s attire; her +hair, arranged in a number of thin plaits and decorated with coins, +fell down upon her shoulders, and on her neck glittered several rows +of ducats and larger gold pieces.</p> +<p>Costumes of this kind are only seen in the family circle, and on +the occasion of some great event. Seldom or never are strange +men allowed to behold the ladies in their gorgeous apparel; so that +it is fruitless to expect to see picturesque female costumes in the +public places of the East.</p> +<p>After the marriage ceremony, which is always performed during the +forenoon, the young wife is compelled to sit for the remainder of the +day in a corner of the room with her face turned towards the wall. +She is not allowed to answer any question put by her husband, her parents, +or by any one whatever; still less is she permitted to offer a remark +herself. This silence is intended to typify the bride’s +sorrow at changing her condition.</p> +<p>During my visit, the bridegroom sat next to his bride, vainly endeavouring +to lure a few words from her. On my rising to depart, the young +wife inclined her head towards me, but without raising her eyes from +the ground.</p> +<p>In Jerusalem, almost all the women and girls wear veils when they +go abroad. It was only in church, and in their own houses, that +I had an opportunity of fairly seeing these houris. Among the +girls I found many an interesting head; but the women who have attained +the age of twenty-six or twenty-eight years already look worn and ugly; +so that here, as in all tropical countries, we behold a great number +of very plain faces, among which handsome ones shine forth at long intervals, +like meteors. Thin people are rarely met with in Syria; on the +contrary, even the young girls are frequently decidedly stout.</p> +<p>Not far from the bazaar is a great hall, wherein the Turks hold their +judicial sittings, decide disputes, and pass sentence on criminals. +Some ordinary-looking divans are placed round the interior of this hall, +and in one corner a wooden cell, about ten feet long, six wide, and +eight feet high, has been erected. This cell, furnished with a +little door, and a grated hole by way of window, is intended for the +reception of the criminal during his period of punishment.</p> +<p>Throughout the thirteen days I passed at Jerusalem, I did not find +the heat excessive. The thermometer generally stood in the shade +at from 20° to 22°, and in the sun at 28° (Reaum.), very +seldom reaching 30°.</p> +<p>Fruit I saw none, with the exception of the little apricots called +mish-mish, which are not larger than a walnut, but nevertheless have +a very fine flavour. It is a pity that the inhabitants of these +countries contribute absolutely nothing towards the cultivation and +improvement of their natural productions; if they would but exert themselves, +many a plant would doubtless flourish luxuriantly. But here the +people do not even know how to turn those gifts to advantage which nature +has bestowed upon them in rich profusion, and of superior quality; for +instance, olives. Worse oil can hardly be procured than that which +they give you in Syria. The Syrian oil and olives can scarcely +be used by Europeans. The oil is of a perfectly green colour, +thick, and disgusting alike to the smell and taste; the olives are generally +black, a consequence of the negligent manner in which they are prepared. +The same remark holds good with regard to the wine, which would be of +excellent quality if the people did but understand the proper method +of preparing it, and of cultivating the vineyards. At present, +however, they adulterate their wine with a kind of herb, which gives +it a very sharp and disagreeable taste.</p> +<p>On the whole, the neighbourhood of Jerusalem is very desolate, barren, +and sterile. I found the town itself neither more nor less animated +than most Syrian cities. I should depart from truth if I were +to say, with many travellers, that it appeared as though a peculiar +curse rested upon this city. The whole of Judea is a stony country, +and this region contains many places with environs as rugged and barren +as those of Jerusalem.</p> +<p>Birds and butterflies are rarely seen at the present season of the +year, not only in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, but throughout the +whole of Syria. Where, indeed, could a butterfly or a bee find +nourishment, while not a flower nor a blade of grass shoots up from +the stony earth? And a bird cannot live where there are neither +seeds nor insects, but must soar away across the seas to cooler and +more fertile climes. Not only here, but throughout the whole of +Syria, I missed the delightful minstrels of the air. The sparrow +alone can find sustenance every where, for he lives in towns and villages, +wherever man is seen. A whole flock of these little twittering +birds woke me every morning.</p> +<p>I was as yet much less troubled by insects than I had anticipated. +With the exception of the small flies on the plain of Sharon, and of +certain little sable jumpers which seem naturalised throughout the whole +world, I could not complain of having been annoyed by any creature.</p> +<p>Our common house-flies I saw every where; but they were not more +numerous or more troublesome than in Germany.</p> +<h3>EXCURSION TO THE RIVER JORDAN AND TO THE DEAD SEA.</h3> +<p>To travel with any degree of security in Palestine, Phœnicia, +etc., it is necessary to go in large companies, and in some places it +even becomes advisable to have an escort. The stranger should +further be provided with cooking utensils, provisions, tents, and servants. +To provide all these things would have been a hopeless task for me; +I had therefore resolved to return from Jerusalem as I had come, namely, +<i>via</i> Joppa, and so to proceed to Alexandria or Beyrout, when, +luckily for me, the gentlemen whom I have already mentioned arrived +at Jerusalem. They intended making several excursions by land, +and the first of these was to be a trip to the banks of the Jordan and +to the Dead Sea.</p> +<p>I ardently wished to visit these places, and therefore begged the +gentlemen, through Father Paul, to permit my accompanying them on their +arduous journey. The gentlemen were of opinion that their proposed +tour would be too fatiguing for one of my sex, and seemed disinclined +to accede to my request. But then Count Wratislaw took my part, +and said that he had watched me during our ride from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, +and had noticed that I wanted neither courage, skill, nor endurance, +so that they might safely take me with them. Father Paul immediately +came to me with the joyful intelligence that I was to go, and that I +had nothing to do but to provide myself with a horse. He particularly +mentioned how kindly Count Wratislaw, to whom I still feel obliged, +had interested himself in my behalf.</p> +<p>The journey to the Jordan and the Dead Sea should never be undertaken +by a small party. The best and safest course is to send for some +Arab or Bedouin chiefs, either at Jerusalem or Bethlehem, and to make +a contract with them for protection. In consideration of a certain +tribute, these chiefs accompany you in person, with some of their tribe, +to your place of destination and back again. The Counts paid the +two chiefs three hundred piastres, with the travelling expenses for +themselves and their twelve men.</p> +<p>At three o’clock in the afternoon of the 7th of June our cavalcade +started. The caravan consisted of the four counts, Mr. Bartlett, +a certain Baron Wrede, two doctors, and myself, besides five or six +servants, and the two chiefs with the body-guard of twelve Arabs. +All were strongly armed with guns, pistols, swords, and lances, and +we really looked as though we sallied forth with the intention of having +a sharp skirmish.</p> +<p>Our way lay through the Via Dolorosa, and through St. Stephen’s +Gate, past the Mount of Olives, over hill and dale. Every where +the scene was alike barren. At first we still saw many fruit-trees +and olive-trees in bloom, and even vines, but of flowers or grass there +was not a trace; the trees, however, stood green and fresh, in spite +of the heat of the atmosphere and the total lack of rain. This +luxuriance may partly be owing to the coolness and dampness which reigns +during the night in tropical countries, quickening and renewing the +whole face of nature.</p> +<p>The goal of our journey for to-day lay about eight miles distant +from Jerusalem. It was the Greek convent of “St. Saba in +the Waste.” The appellation already indicates that the region +around becomes more and more sterile, until at length not a single tree +or shrub can be detected. Throughout the whole expanse not the +lowliest human habitation was to be seen. We only passed a horde +of Bedouins, who had erected their sooty-black tents in the dry bed +of a river. A few goats, horses, and asses climbed about the declivities, +laboriously searching for herbs or roots.</p> +<p>About half an hour before we reach the convent we enter upon the +wilderness in which our Saviour fasted forty days, and was afterwards +“tempted of the devil.” Vegetation here entirely ceases; +not a shrub nor a root appears; and the bed of the brook Cedron is completely +dry. This river only flows during the rainy season, at which period +it runs through a deep ravine. Majestic rocky terraces, piled +one above the other by nature with such exquisite symmetry that the +beholder gazes in silent wonder, overhang both banks of the stream in +the form of galleries.</p> +<p>A silence of death brooded over the whole landscape, broken only +by the footfalls of our horses echoing sullenly from the rocks, among +which the poor animals struggled heavily forward. At intervals +some little birds fluttered above our heads, silently and fearfully, +as though they had lost their way. At length we turn sharply round +an angle of the road,—and what a surprise awaits us! A large +handsome building, surrounded by a very strong fortified wall, pierced +for cannon in several places, lies spread before us near the bed of +the river, and rises in the form of terraces towards the brow of the +hill. From the position we occupied, we could see over the whole +extent of wall from without and from within. Fortified as it was, +it lay open before our gaze. Several buildings, and in front of +all a church with a small cupola, told us plainly that St. Saba lay +stretched below.</p> +<p>On the farther bank, seven or eight hundred paces from the convent, +rose a single square tower, apparently of great strength. I little +thought that I should soon become much better acquainted with this isolated +building.</p> +<p>The priests had observed our procession winding down the hill, and +at the first knocking the gate was opened. Masters, servants, +Arabs, and Bedouins, all passed through; but when my turn came, the +cry was, “Shut the gate!” and I was shut out, with the prospect +of passing the night in the open air,—a thing which would have +been rather disagreeable, considering how unsafe the neighbourhood was. +At length, however, a lay brother appeared, and, pointing to the tower, +gave me to understand that I should be lodged there. He procured +a ladder from the convent, and went with me to the tower, where we mounted +by its aid to a little low doorway of iron. My conductor pushed +this open, and we crept in. The interior of the tower seemed spacious +enough. A wooden staircase led us farther upwards to two tiny +rooms, situated about the centre of the tower. One of these apartments, +dimly lighted by the rays of a lamp, contained a small altar, and served +as a chapel, while the second was used as a sleeping-room for female +pilgrims. A wooden divan was the only piece of furniture this +room contained. My conductor now took his leave, promising to +return in a short time with some provisions, a bolster, and a coverlet +for me.</p> +<p>So now I was at least sheltered for the night, and guarded like a +captive princess by bolt and bar. I could not even have fled had +I wished to do so, for my leader had locked the creaking door behind +him, and taken away the ladder. After carefully examining the +chapel and my neatly-furnished apartment in this dreary prison-house, +I mounted the staircase, and gained the summit of the tower. Here +I had a splendid view of the country round about, my elevated position +enabling me distinctly to trace the greater part of the desert, with +its several rows of hills and mountains skirting the horizon. +All these hills were alike barren and naked; not a tree nor a shrub, +not a human habitation, could I discover. Silence lay heavily +on every thing around, and it seemed to me almost as though no earth +might here nourish a green tree, but that the place was ordained to +remain a desert, as a lasting memorial of our Saviour’s fasting. +Unheeded by human eye, the sun sank beneath the mountains; I was, perhaps, +the only mortal here who was watching its beautiful declining tints. +Deeply moved by the scene around me, I fell on my knees, to offer up +my prayers and praise to the Almighty, here in the rugged grandeur of +the desert.</p> +<p>But I had only to turn away from the death-like silence, and to cast +my eye towards the convent as it lay spread out before me, to view once +more the bustle and turmoil of life. In the courtyard the Bedouins +and Arabs were employed in ministering to the wants of their horses, +bringing them water and food; beyond these a group of men was seen spreading +mats on the ground, while others, with their faces bowed to the earth, +were adoring, with other forms of prayer, the Omnipotent Spirit whose +protection I had so lately invoked; others, again, were washing their +hands and feet as a preparation for offering up their worship; priests +and lay brethren passed hastily across the courtyard, busied in preparations +for entertaining and lodging the numerous guests; while some of my fellow-travellers +stood apart, in earnest conversation, and Mr. B. and Count Salm Reifferscheit +reclined in a quiet spot and made sketches of the convent. Had +a painter been standing on my tower, what a picture of the building +might he not have drawn as the wild Arab and the thievish Bedouin leant +quietly beside the peaceful priest and the curious European! Many +a pleasant recollection of this evening have I borne away with me.</p> +<p>I was very unwilling to leave the battlements of the tower; but the +increasing darkness at length drove me back into my chamber. Shortly +afterwards a priest and a lay brother appeared, and with them Mr. Bartlett. +The priest’s errand was to bring me my supper and bedding, and +my English fellow-traveller had kindly come to inquire if I would have +a few servants as a guard, as it must be rather a dreary thing to pass +a night quite alone in that solitary tower. I was much flattered +by Mr. Bartlett’s politeness to a total stranger, but, summoning +all my courage, replied that I was not in the least afraid. Thereupon +they all took their leave; I heard the door creak, the bolt was drawn, +and the ladder removed, and I was left to my meditations for the night.</p> +<p>After a good night’s rest, I rose with the sun, and had been +waiting some time before my warder appeared with the coffee for my breakfast. +He afterwards accompanied me to the convent gate, where my companions +greeted me with high praises; some of them even confessed that they +would not like to pass a solitary night as I had done.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2> +<p><i>Ride through the wilderness to the Dead Sea—The Dead Sea—The +river Jordan—Horde of Bedouins—Arab horses—The Sultan’s +well—Bivouac in the open air—Return to Jerusalem—Bethany—Departure +from Jerusalem—Jacob’s grave—Nablus or Sichem—Sebasta—Costume +of Samaritan women—Plain of Esdralon—Sagun.</i></p> +<h3>June 8th.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the morning we departed, and bent our course +towards the Dead Sea. After a ride of two hours we could see it, +apparently at such a short distance, that we thought half an hour at +the most would bring us there. But the road wound betwixt the +mountains, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, so that it took +us another two hours to reach the shore of the lake. All around +us was sand. The rocks seem pulverised; we ride through a labyrinth +of monotonous sand-heaps and sand-hills, behind which the robber-tribes +of Arabs and Bedouins frequently lurk, making this part of the journey +exceedingly unsafe.</p> +<p>Before we reach the shore, we ride across a plain consisting, like +the rest, of deep sand, so that the horses sink to the fetlocks at every +step. On the whole of our way we had not met with a single human +being, with the exception of the horde of Bedouins whom we had found +encamped in the river-bed: this was a fortunate circumstance for us, +for the people whom the traveller meets during these journeys are generally +unable to resist the temptation of seizing upon his goods, so that broken +bones are frequently the result of such meetings.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill4.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill4.jpg" alt=" The Dead Sea." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>The day was very hot (33° Reaum). We encamped in the hot +sand on the shore, under the shelter of our parasols, and made our breakfast +of hard-boiled eggs, a piece of bad bread, and some lukewarm water. +I tasted the sea-water, and found it much more bitter, salt, and pungent +than any I have met with elsewhere. We all dipped our hands into +the lake, and afterwards suffered the heat of the air to dry them without +having first rinsed them with fresh water; not one of us had to complain +that this brought forth an itching or an eruption on our hands, as many +travellers have asserted. The temperature of the water was 33° +Reaum.; in colour it is a pale green. Near the shore the water +is to a certain extent transparent; but as it deepens it seems turbid, +and the eye can no longer pierce the surface. We could not even +see far across the water, for a light mist seemed to rest upon it, thus +preventing us from forming a good estimate of its breadth.</p> +<p>To judge from what we could distinguish, however, the Dead Sea does +not appear to be very broad; it may rather be termed an oblong lake, +shut in by mountains, than a sea. Not the slightest sign of life +can be detected in the water; not a ripple disturbs its sleeping surface. +A boat of any kind is of course quite out of the question. Some +years since, however, an Englishman made an attempt to navigate this +lake; for this purpose he caused a boat to be built, but did not progress +far in his undertaking,—a sickness came upon him, he was carried +to Jerusalem, and died soon after he had made the experiment. +It is rather a remarkable fact that, up to the present moment, no Englishman +has been found who was sufficiently weary of his life to imitate his +countryman’s attempt.</p> +<p>Stunted fragments of drift-wood, most probably driven to shore by +tempests, lay scattered every where around. We could, however, +discover no fields of salt; neither did we see smoke rising, or find +the exhalations from the sea unpleasant. These phenomena are perhaps +observed at a different season of the year to that in which I visited +the Dead Sea. On the other hand, I saw not only separate birds, +but sometimes even flights of twelve or fifteen. Vegetation also +existed here to a certain extent. Not far from the shore, I noticed, +in a little ravine, a group of eight acicular-leaved trees. On +this plain there were also some wild shrubs bearing capers, and a description +of tall shrub, not unlike our bramble, bearing a plentiful crop of red +berries, very juicy and sweet. We all ate largely of them; and +I was the more surprised at finding these plants here, as I had found +it uniformly stated that animal and vegetable life was wholly extinct +on the shores of the Dead Sea.</p> +<p>Five cities, of which not a trace now remains, once lay in the plain +now filled by this sea—their names were Sodom, Gomorrah, Adama, +Zeboin, and Zona. A feeling of painful emotion, mingled with awe, +took possession of my soul as I thought of the past, and saw how the +works of proud and mighty nations had vanished away, leaving behind +them only a name and a memory. It was a relief to me when we prepared, +after an hour’s rest, to quit this scene of dreary desolation.</p> +<p>For about an hour and a half we rode through an enormous waste covered +with trailing weeds, towards the verdant banks of the Jordan, which +are known from a distance by the beautiful blooming green of the meadows +that surround it. We halted in the so-called “Jordan-vale,” +where our Saviour was baptised by St. John.</p> +<p>The water of the Jordan is of a dingy clay-colour; its course is +very rapid. The breadth of this stream can scarcely exceed twenty-five +feet, but its depth is said to be considerable. The moment our +Arab companions reached the bank, they flung themselves, heated as they +were, into the river. Most of the gentlemen followed their example, +but less precipitately. I was fain to be content with washing +my face, hands, and feet. We all drank to our hearts’ content, +for it was long since we had obtained water so cool and fresh. +I filled several tin bottles, which I had brought with me for this purpose +from Jerusalem, with water from the Jordan, and had them soldered down +on my return to the Holy City. This is the only method with which +I am acquainted for conveying water to the farthest countries without +its turning putrid.</p> +<p>We halted for a few hours beneath the shady trees, and then pursued +our journey across the plain. Suddenly a disturbance arose among +our Arab protectors; they spoke very anxiously with one another, and +continually pointed to some distant object. On inquiring the reason +why they were so disturbed, we were told that they saw robbers. +We strained our eyes in vain; even with the help of good spy-glasses +we could discover nothing, and already began to suspect our escort of +having cried “wolf” without reason, or merely to convince +us that we had not taken them with us for nothing. But in about +a quarter of an hour we could dimly discern figures emerging, one by +one, from the far, far distance. Our Bedouins prepared for the +combat, and advised us to take the opposite road while they advanced +to encounter the enemy. But all the gentlemen wished to take part +in the expedition, and joined the Bedouins, lusting for battle. +The whole cavalcade rode off at a rapid pace, leaving Count Berchtold +and myself behind. But when our steeds saw their companions galloping +off in such fiery style, they scorned to remain idly behind, and without +consulting our inclinations in the least, they ran of at a pace which +fairly took away our breath. The more we attempted to restrain +their headlong course, the more rapidly did they pursue their career, +so that there appeared every prospect of our becoming the first, instead +of the last, among the company. But when the enemy saw such a +determined troop advancing to oppose them, they hurried off without +awaiting our onset, and left us masters of the field. So we returned +in triumph to our old course; when suddenly a wild boar, with its hopeful +family, rushed across our path. Away we all went in chase of the +poor animals. Count Wratislaw succeeded in cutting down one of +the young ones with his sabre, and it was solemnly delivered up to the +cook. No further obstacles opposed themselves to our march, and +we reached our resting-place for the night without adventure of any +kind.</p> +<p>On this occasion I had an opportunity of seeing how the Arabs can +manage their horses, and how they can throw their spears and lances +in full career, and pick up the lances as they fly by. The horses, +too, appear quite different to when they are travelling at their usual +sleepy pace. At first sight these horses look any thing but handsome. +They are thin, and generally walk at a slow pace, with their heads hanging +down. But when skilful riders mount these creatures, they appear +as if transformed. Lifting their small graceful heads with the +fiery eyes, they throw out their slender feet with matchless swiftness, +and bound away over stock and stone with a step so light and yet so +secure that accidents very rarely occur. It is quite a treat to +see the Arabs exercise. Those who escorted us good-naturedly went +through several of their manœuvres for our amusement.</p> +<p>From the valley of the Jordan to the “Sultan’s Well,” +in the vale of Jericho, is a distance of about six miles. The +road winds, from the commencement of the valley, through a beautiful +natural park of fig-trees and other fruit-trees. Here, too, was +the first spot where the eye was gladdened by the sight of a piece of +grass, instead of sand and shingle. Such a change is doubly grateful +to one who has been travelling so long through the barren, sandy desert.</p> +<p>The village lying beside the Sultan’s Well looks most deplorable. +The inhabitants seem rather to live under than above the ground. +I went into a few of these <i>hollows</i>. I do not know how else +to designate these little stoneheap-houses. Many of them are entirely +destitute of windows, the light finding its way through the hole left +for an entrance. The interiors contained only straw-mats and a +few dirty mattresses, not stuffed with feathers, but with leaves of +trees. All the domestic utensils are comprised in a few trenchers +and water-jugs: the poor people were clothed in rags. In one corner +some grain and a number of cucumbers were stored up. A few sheep +and goats were roaming about in the open air. A field of cucumbers +lies in front of every house. Our Bedouins were in high glee at +finding this valuable vegetable in such abundance. We encamped +beside the well, under the vault of heaven.</p> +<p>From the appearance of the valley in its present state, it is easy +to conclude, in spite of the poverty of the inhabitants and the air +of desolation spread over the farther landscape, that it must once have +been very blooming and fertile.</p> +<p>On the right, the naked mountains extend in the direction of the +Dead Sea; on the left rises the hill on which Moses completed his earthly +career, and from which his great spirit fled to a better world. +On the face of the mountain three caves are visible, and in the centre +one we were told the Saviour had dwelt during his preparation in the +wilderness before undertaking his mission of a teacher. High above +these caves towers the summit of the rock from which Satan promised +to give our Lord the sovereignty of all the earth if He would fall down +and worship him.</p> +<p>Baron Wrede, Mr. Bartlett, and myself were desirous of seeing the +interior of one of these caves, and started with this intention; but +no sooner did one of our Bedouins perceive what we were about, than +he came running up in hot haste to assure us that the whole neighbourhood +was unsafe. We therefore turned back, the more willingly as the +twilight, or rather sunset, was already approaching.</p> +<p>Twilight in these latitudes is of very short duration. At sunrise +the shades of night are changed into the blaze of day as suddenly as +the daylight vanishes into night.</p> +<p>Our supper consisted of rather a smoky pilau, which we nevertheless +relished exceedingly; for people who have eaten nothing throughout the +day but a couple of hard-boiled eggs are seldom fastidious about their +fare at night. Besides, we had now beautiful fresh water from +the spring, and cucumbers in abundance, though without vinegar or oil. +But to what purpose would the unnatural mixture have been? Whoever +wishes to travel should first strive to disencumber himself of what +is artificial, and then he will get on capitally. The ground was +our bed, and the dark blue ether, with its myriads of stars, our canopy. +On this journey we had not taken a tent with us.</p> +<p>The aspect of the heavens is most beautiful here in Syria. +By day the whole firmament is of a clear azure—not a cloud sullies +its perfect brightness; and at night it seems spangled with a far greater +number of stars than in our northern climes.</p> +<p>Count Zichy ordered the servants to call us betimes in the morning, +in order that we might set out before sunrise. For once the servants +obeyed; in fact they more than obeyed, for they roused us before midnight, +and we began our march. So long as we kept to the plain, all went +well; but whenever we were obliged to climb a mountain, one horse after +another began to stumble and to stagger, so that we were in continual +danger of falling. Under these circumstances it was unanimously +resolved that we should halt beneath the next declivity, and there await +the coming daylight.</p> +<h3>June 9th.</h3> +<p>At four o’clock the reveille was beaten for the second time. +We had now slept for three hours in the immediate neighbourhood of the +Dead Sea, a circumstance of which we were not aware until daybreak: +not one of our party had noticed any noxious exhalation arising from +the water; still less had we been seized with headache or nausea, an +effect stated by several travellers to be produced by the smell of the +Dead Sea.</p> +<p>Our journey homewards now progressed rapidly, though for three or +four hours we were obliged to travel over most formidable mountain-roads +and through crooked ravines. In one of the valleys we again came +upon a Bedouin’s camp. We rode up to the tents and asked +for a draught of water, instead of which these people very kindly gave +us some dishes of excellent buttermilk. In all my life I never +partook of any thing with so keen a relish as that with which I drank +this cooling beverage after my fatiguing ride in the burning heat. +Count Zichy offered our entertainers some money, but they would not +take it. The chief stepped forward and shook several of us by +the hand in token of friendship; for from the moment when a stranger +has broken bread with Bedouins or Arabs, or has applied to them for +protection, he is not only safe among their tribe, but they would defend +him with life and limb from the attacks of his enemies. Still +it is not advisable to meet them on the open plain; so contradictory +are their manners and customs.</p> +<p>We were now advancing with great strides towards a more animated, +if not a more picturesque landscape, and frequently met and overtook +small caravans. One of these had been attacked the previous evening; +the poor Arabs had offered a brave resistance, and had beaten off the +foe; but one of them was lying half dead upon his camel, with a ghastly +shot-wound in his head.</p> +<p>Nimble long-eared goats were diligently searching among the rocks +for their scanty food, and a few grottoes or huts of stone announced +to us the proximity of a little town or village. Right thankful +were we to emerge safely from these fearful deserts into a less sterile +and more populous region.</p> +<p>We passed through Bethany, and I visited the cave in which it is +said that Lazarus slumbered before he came forth alive at the voice +of the Redeemer. Then we journeyed on to Jerusalem by the same +road on which the Saviour travelled when the Jewish people shewed their +attachment and respect, for the last time, by strewing olive and palm +branches in his way. How soon was this scene of holy rejoicing +changed to the ghastly spectacle of the Redeemer’s torture and +death!</p> +<p>Towards two o’clock in the afternoon we arrived safely at Jerusalem, +and were greeted with a hearty welcome by our kind hosts.</p> +<p>A few days after my return from the foregoing excursion, I left Jerusalem +for ever. A calm and peaceful feeling of happiness filled my breast; +and ever shall I be thankful to the Almighty that He has vouchsafed +me to behold these realms. Is this happiness dearly purchased +by the dangers, fatigues, and privations attendant upon it? Surely +not. And what, indeed, are all the ills that chequer our existence +here below to the woes endured by the blessed Founder of our religion! +The remembrance of these holy places, and of Him who lived and suffered +here, shall surely strengthen and console me wherever I may be and whatever +I may be called upon to endure.</p> +<h3>FROM JERUSALEM TO BEYROUT.</h3> +<p>My gentleman-protectors wished to journey from Jerusalem to Beyrout +by land, and intended taking a circuitous route, by way of Nazareth, +Galilee, Canaan, etc., in order to visit as many of these places as +possible, which are fraught with such interest to us Christians. +They were once more kind enough to admit me into their party, and the +11th of June was fixed for our departure.</p> +<h3>June 11th.</h3> +<p>Quitting Jerusalem at three o’clock in the afternoon, we emerged +from the Damascus Gate, and entered a large elevated plateau. +Though this region is essentially a stony one, I saw several stubble-fields, +and even a few scanty blades of grass.</p> +<p>The view is very extended; at a distance of four miles the walls +of Jerusalem were still in view, till at length the road curved round +a hill, and the Holy City was for ever hidden from our sight.</p> +<p>On the left of the road, an old church, said to have been erected +in the days of Samuel, stands upon a hill.</p> +<p>At six in the evening we reached the little village of Bir, and fixed +our halting-place for the night in a neighbouring stubble-field. +During my first journey by land (I mean my ride from Joppa to Jerusalem), +I had already had a slight foretaste of what is to be endured by the +traveller in these regions. Whoever is not very hardy and courageous, +and insensible to hunger, thirst, heat, and cold; whoever cannot sleep +on the hard ground, or even on stones, passing the cold nights under +the open sky, should not pursue his journey farther than from Joppa +to Jerusalem: for, as we proceed, the fatigues become greater and less +endurable, and the roads are more formidable to encounter; besides this, +the food is so bad that we only eat from fear of starvation; and the +only water we can get to drink is lukewarm, and offensive from the leathern +jars in which it is kept.</p> +<p>We usually rode for six or seven hours at a time without alighting +even for a moment, though the thermometer frequently stood at from 30° +to 34° Reaumur. Afterwards we rested for an hour at the most; +and this halt was often made in the open plain, where not a tree was +in sight. Refreshment was out of the question, either for the +riders or the poor beasts, and frequently we had not even water to quench +our burning thirst. The horses were compelled to labour unceasingly +from sunrise until evening, without even receiving a feed during the +day’s journey. The Arabian horse is the only one capable +of enduring so much hardship. In the evening these poor creatures +are relieved of their burdens, but very seldom of the saddle; for the +Arabs assert that it is less dangerous for the horse to bear the saddle +day and night, than that it should be exposed when heated by the day’s +toil to the cold night-air. Bridles, saddles, and stirrups were +all in such bad condition that we were in continual danger of falling +to the ground, saddle and all. In fact, this misfortune happened +to many of our party, but luckily it was never attended with serious +results.</p> +<h3>June 12th.</h3> +<p>The night was very chilly; although we slept in a tent, our thick +cloaks scarcely sufficed to shield us from the night-air. In the +morning the fog was so dense that we could not see thirty paces before +us. Towards eight o’clock it rolled away, and a few hours +later the heat of the sun began to distress us greatly. It is +scarcely possible to guard too carefully against the effects of the +heat; the head should in particular be kept always covered, as carelessness +in this respect may bring on <i>coup de soleil</i>. I always wore +two pocket handkerchiefs round my head, under my straw hat, and continually +used a parasol.</p> +<p>From Bir to Jabrud, where we rested for a few hours, we travelled +for six hours through a monotonous and sterile country. We had +still a good four hours’ ride before us to Nablus, our resting-place +for the night.</p> +<p>The roads here are bad beyond conception, so that at first the stranger +despairs of passing them either on foot or on horseback. Frequently +the way leads up hill and down dale, over great masses of rock; and +I was truly surprised at the strength and agility of our poor horses, +which displayed extraordinary sagacity in picking out the little ledges +on which they could place their feet safely in climbing from rock to +rock. Sometimes we crossed smooth slabs of stone, where the horses +were in imminent danger of slipping; at others, the road led us past +frightful chasms, the sight of which was sufficient to make me dizzy. +I had read many accounts of these roads, and was prepared to find them +bad enough; but my expectations were far surpassed by the reality. +All that the traveller can do is to trust in Providence, and abandon +himself to fate and to the sagacity of his horse.</p> +<p>An hour and a half before we reached the goal of this day’s +journey, we passed the grave of the patriarch Jacob. Had our attention +not been particularly drawn to this monument, we should have ridden +by without noticing it, for a few scattered blocks of stone are all +that remain. A little farther on we enter the Samaritan territory, +and here is “Jacob’s well,” where our Saviour held +converse with the woman of Samaria. The masonry of the well has +altogether vanished, but the spring still gushes forth from a rock.</p> +<p>Nablus, the ancient Sichem, the chief town of Samaria, contains four +thousand inhabitants, and is reputed to be one of the most ancient towns +in Palestine. It is surrounded by a strong wall, and consists +of a long and very dirty street. We rode through the town from +one end to the other, and past the poor-looking bazaar, where nothing +struck me but the sight of some fresh figs, which were at this early +season already exposed for sale. Of course we bought the fruit +at once; but it had a very bad flavour.</p> +<p>A number of soldiers are seen in all the towns. They are Arnauts, +a wild, savage race of men, who appear to be regarded with more dread +by the inhabitants than the wandering tribes whose incursions they are +intended to repress.</p> +<p>We pitched our tents on a little hill immediately outside the town. +Few things are more disagreeable to the traveller than being compelled +to bivouac near a town or village in the East. All the inhabitants, +both young and old, flock round in order to examine the European caravan, +which is a most unusual sight for them, as closely as possible. +They frequently even crowd into the tents, and it becomes necessary +to expel the intruders almost by main force. Not only are strangers +excessively annoyed at being thus made a gazing-stock, but they also +run a risk of being plundered.</p> +<p>Our cook had the good fortune to obtain a kid only three or four +days old, which was immediately killed and at once boiled with rice. +We made a most sumptuous meal, for it was seldom we could get such good +fare.</p> +<h3>June 13th.</h3> +<p>The morning sun found us already on horseback; we rode through the +whole of the beautiful valley at the entrance of which Nablus lies. +The situation of this town is very charming. The valley is not +broad, and does not exceed a mile and a half in length; it is completely +surrounded with low hills. The mountain on the right is called +Ebal, and that on the left Grissim. The latter is celebrated as +being the meeting-place of the twelve tribes of Israel under Joshua; +they there consulted upon the means of conquering the land of Canaan.</p> +<p>The whole valley is sufficiently fertile; even the hills are in some +instances covered to their summits with olive, fig, lemon, and orange +trees. Some little brooks, clear as crystal, bubble through the +beautiful plain. We were frequently compelled to ride through +the water; but all the streams are at this season of the year so shallow, +that our horses’ hoofs were scarcely covered.</p> +<p>After gaining the summit of the neighbouring hill, we turned round +with regret to look our last on this valley; seldom has it been my lot +to behold a more charming picture of blooming vegetation.</p> +<p>Two hours more brought us to Sebasta, the ancient Samaria, which +also lies on a lovely hill, though for beauty of situation it is not +to be compared with Nablus. Sebasta is a wretched village. +The ruins of the convent built on the place where St. John the Baptist +was beheaded were here pointed out to us; but even of the ruins there +are few traces left.</p> +<p>Two hours later we reached Djenin, and had now entered the confines +of Galilee. Though this province, perhaps, no longer smiles with +the rich produce it displayed in the days of old, it still affords a +strong contrast to Judæa. Here we again find hedges of the +Indian fig-tree, besides palms and large expanses of field; but for +flowers and meadows we still search in vain.</p> +<p>The costume of the Samaritan and Galilean women appears as monotonous +as it is poor and dirty. They wear only a long dark-blue gown, +and the only difference to be observed in their dress is that some muffle +their faces and others do not. It would be no loss if all wore +veils; for so few pretty women and girls are to be discovered, that +they might be searched for, like the honest man of Diogenes, with a +lantern. The women have all an ugly brown complexion, their hair +is matted, and their busts lack the rounded fullness of the Turkish +women. They have a custom of ornamenting both sides of the head, +from the crown to the chin, with a row of silver coins; and those women +who do not muffle their faces usually wear as head-dress a handkerchief +of blue linen.</p> +<p>Djenin is a dirty little town, which we only entered in consequence +of having been told that we should behold the place where Queen Jezebel +fell from the window and was devoured by dogs. Both window and +palace have almost vanished; but dogs, who look even now as though they +could relish such royal prey, are seen prowling about the streets. +Not only in Constantinople, but in every city of Syria we found these +wild dogs; they were, however, nowhere so numerous as in the imperial +city.</p> +<p>We halted for an hour or two outside the town, beside a coffee-house, +and threw ourselves on the ground beneath the open sky. A kind +of hearth made of masonry, on which hot water was continually in readiness, +stood close by, and near it some mounds of earth had been thrown up +to serve as divans. A ragged boy was busy pounding coffee, while +his father, the proprietor of the concern, concocted the cheering beverage, +and handed it round to the guests. Straw-mats were spread for +our accommodation on the earthen divans, and without being questioned +we were immediately served with coffee and argilé. In the +background stood a large and lofty stable of brickwork, which might +have belonged to a great European inn.</p> +<p>After recruiting ourselves here a little, we once more set forth +to finish our day’s journey. Immediately after leaving the +town, a remarkably fine view opens before us over the great elevated +plain Esdralon, to the magnificent range of mountains enclosing this +immense plateau. In the far distance they shewed us Mount Carmel, +and, somewhat nearer, Mount Tabor. Here, too, the mountains are +mostly barren, without, however, being entirely composed of naked masses +of rock. Mount Tabor, standing entirely alone and richly clothed +with vegetation, has a very fine appearance.</p> +<p>For nearly two hours we rode across the plain of Esdralon, and had +thus ample leisure to meditate upon the great events that have occurred +here. It is difficult to imagine a grander battlefield, and we +can readily believe that in such a plain whole nations may have struggled +for victory. From the time of Nabucodonosor to the period of the +Crusades, and from the days of the Crusades to those of Napoleon, armies +of men from all nations have assembled here to fight for their real +or imaginary rights, or for the glory of conquest.</p> +<p>The great and continuous heat had cracked and burst the ground on +this plain to such a degree, that we were in continual apprehension +lest our horses should catch their feet in one or other of the fissures, +and strain or even break them. The soil of the plain seems very +good, and is free from stones; it appears, however, generally to lie +fallow, being thickly covered with weeds and wild artichokes. +The villages are seen in the far distance near the mountains. +This plain forms part of Canaan.</p> +<p>We pitched our camp for the night beside a little cistern, near the +wretched village of Lagun; and thus slept, for the third night consecutively, +on the hard earth.</p> +<h3>June 14th.</h3> +<p>To-day we rode for an hour across the plain of Esdralon, and once +more suffered dreadfully from the stings of the minute gnats which had +annoyed us so much on our journey from Joppa to Ramla. These plagues +did not leave us until we had partly ascended the mountains skirting +the plain, from the summit of which we could see Nazareth, prettily +built on a hill at the entrance of a fruitful valley. In the background +rises the beautiful Mount Tabor.</p> +<p>From the time we first see Nazareth until we reach the town is a +ride of an hour and a half; thus the journey from Lagun to Nazareth +occupies four hours and a half, and the entire distance from Jerusalem +twenty-six or twenty-seven hours.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2> +<p><i>Arrival at Nazareth—Franciscan convent—Tabarith—Mount +Tabor—Lake of Gennesareth—Baths—Mount Carmel—Grotto +of the prophet Elijah—Acre—The pacha’s harem—Oriental +women—Their listlessness and ignorance—Sur or Tyre.</i></p> +<p>It was only nine o’clock when we reached Nazareth, and repaired +to the house for strangers in the Franciscan convent, where the priests +welcomed us very kindly. As soon as we had made a short survey +of our rooms (which resulted in our finding them very like those at +Jerusalem, both as regards appearance and arrangement), we set forth +once more to visit all the remarkable places, and above all the church +which contains the Grotto of Annunciation. This church, to which +we were accompanied by a clergyman, was built by St. Helena, and is +of no great size. In the background a staircase leads down into +the grotto, where it is asserted that the Virgin Mary received the Lord’s +message from the angel. Three little pillars of granite are still +to be seen in this grotto. The lower part of one of these pillars +was broken away by the Turks, so that it is only fastened from above. +On the strength of this circumstance many have averred that the pillar +hangs suspended in air! Had these men but looked beyond their +noses, had they only cast their eyes upwards, they could not have had +the face to preach a miracle where it is so palpable that none exists. +A picture on the wall, not badly executed, represents the Annunciation. +The house of the Virgin is not shewn here, because, according to the +legend, an angel carried it away to Loretto in Italy. A few steps +lead to another grotto, affirmed to be the residence of a neighbour +of the Virgin, during whose absence she presided over the house and +attended to the duties of the absent Mary.</p> +<p>Another grotto in the town is shewn as “the workshop of Joseph;” +it has been left in its primitive state, except that a plain wooden +altar has been added. Not far off we find the synagogue where +our Lord taught the people, thereby exasperating the Pharisees to such +a degree, that they wished to cast Him down from a rock outside the +city. In conclusion we were shewn an immense block of stone on +which the Saviour is said to have eaten the Passover with His disciples(!).</p> +<p>In the afternoon we went to see “Mary’s Well,” +on the road to Tabarith, at a short distance from Nazareth. This +well is fenced round with masonry, and affords pure clear water. +Hither, it is said, the Virgin came every day to draw water, and here +the women and girls of Nazareth may still be daily seen walking to and +fro with pitchers on their shoulders. Those whom we saw were all +poorly clad, and looked dirty. Many wore no covering on their +head, and, what was far worse, their hair hung down in a most untidy +manner. Their bright eyes were the only handsome feature these +people possessed. The custom of wearing silver coins round the +head also prevailed here.</p> +<p>To-day was a day of misfortunes for me; in the morning, when we departed +from Lagun, I had already felt unwell. On the road I was seized +with violent headache, nausea, and feverish shiverings, so that I hardly +thought I should be able to reach Nazareth. The worst of all this +was, that I felt obliged to hide my illness, as I had done on our journey +to Jerusalem, for fear I should be left behind. The wish to view +all the holy places in Nazareth was also so powerful within me, that +I made a great effort, and accompanied the rest of my party for the +whole day, though I was obliged every moment to retire into the background +that my condition might not be observed. But when we went to table, +the smell of the viands produced such an effect upon me, that I hastily +held my handkerchief before my face as though my nose were bleeding, +and hurried out. Thanks to my sunburnt skin, through which no +paleness could penetrate, no one noticed that I was ill. The whole +day long I could eat nothing; but towards evening I recovered a little. +My appetite now also returned, but unfortunately nothing was to be had +but some bad mutton-broth and an omelette made with rancid oil. +It is bad enough to be obliged to subsist on such fare when we are in +health, but the hardship increases tenfold when we are ill. However, +I sent for some bread and wine, and strengthened myself therewith as +best I might.</p> +<h3>June 15th.</h3> +<p>Thanks be to Heaven, I was to-day once more pretty well. In +the morning I could already mount my horse and take part in the excursion +we desired to make to</p> +<h3>TABARITH.</h3> +<p>Passing Mary’s Well and a mountain crowned by some ruins, the +remains of ancient Canaan, we ride for about three miles towards the +foot of Mount Tabor, the highest summit of which we do not reach for +more than an hour. There were no signs of a beaten road, and we +were obliged to ride over all obstacles; a course of proceeding which +so tired our horses, that in half an hour’s time they were quite +knocked up, so that we had to proceed on foot. After much toil +and hardship, with a great deal of climbing and much suffering from +the heat, we gained the summit, and were repaid for the toil of the +ascent, not only by the reflection that we stood on classic ground, +but also by the beautiful view which lay spread before our eyes. +This prospect is indeed magnificent. We overlook the entire plain +of Saphed, as far as the shores of the Galilean Sea. Mount Tabor +is also known by the name of the “Mountain of Bliss”—here +it was that our Lord preached His exquisite “Sermon on the Mount.” +Of all the hills I have seen in Syria, Mount Tabor is the only one covered +to the summit with oaks and carob-trees. The valleys too are filled +with the richest earth, instead of barren sand; but in spite of all +this the population is thin, and the few villages are wretched and puny. +The poor inhabitants of Syria are woefully ground down; the taxes are +too high in proportion to the productions of the soil, so that the peasants +cannot possibly grow more produce than they require for their own consumption. +Thus, for instance, orchards are not taxed in the aggregate, but according +to each separate tree. For every olive-tree the owner must pay +a piastre, or a piastre and a half; and the same sum for an orange or +lemon tree. And heavily taxed as he is, the poor peasant is never +safe in saying, “Such and such a thing belongs to me.” +The pacha may shift him to another piece of land, or drive him away +altogether, if he thinks it advisable to do so; for a pacha’s +power in his province is as great as that of the Sultan himself in Constantinople.</p> +<p>Porcupines are to be met with on Mount Tabor; we found several of +their fine horny quills.</p> +<p>From the farther side of the mountain we descended into the beautiful +and spacious valley of Saphed, the scene of the miracle of the loaves +and fishes, and rode on for some hours until we reached Tabarith.</p> +<p>A very striking scene opens before the eyes of the traveller on the +last mountain before Tabarith. A lovely landscape lies suddenly +unrolled before him. The valley sinks deeply down to the Galilean +Sea, round the shores of which a glorious chain of mountains rises in +varied and picturesque terrace-like forms. More beautiful than +all the rest, towers in snowy grandeur the mighty chain of the Anti-Lebanon, +its white surface glittering in the rays of the sun, and distinctly +mirrored in the clear bosom of the lake. Deep down lies the little +town of Tabarith, shadowed by palm-trees, and guarded by a castle raised +a little above it. The unexpected beauty of this scene surprised +us so much that we alighted from our horses, and passed more than half +an hour on the summit of the mountain, to gaze at our leisure upon the +wondrous picture. Count S. drew a hurried but very successful +sketch of the landscape which we all admired so much, though its mountains +were naked and bare. But such is the peculiar character of Eastern +scenery; in Europe, meadows, alps, and woods exhibit quite a distinct +class of natural beauty. In a mountain region of Europe, a sight +like the one we were now admiring would scarcely have charmed us so +much. But in these regions, poor alike in inhabitants and in scenery, +the traveller is contented with little, and a little thing charms him. +For instance, would not a plain piece of beef have been a greater luxury +to us on our journey than the most costly delicacies at home? +Thus we felt also with regard to scenery.</p> +<p>On entering the town we experienced a feeling of painful emotion. +Tabarith lay still half in ruins; for the dreadful earthquake of 1839 +had made this place one of the chief victims of its fury. How +must the town have looked immediately after the calamity, when even +now, in spite of the extensive repairs, it appears almost like a heap +of ruins! We saw some houses that had completely fallen in; others +were very much damaged, with large cracks in the walls, and shattered +terraces and towers: every where, in short, we wandered among ruins. +Above 4000 persons, more than half of the entire population, are said +to have perished by this earthquake.</p> +<p>We alighted at the house of a Jewish doctor, who entertains strangers, +as there is no inn at Tabarith. I was quite surprised to find +every thing so clean and neat in this man’s house. The little +rooms were simply but comfortably furnished, the small courtyard was +flagged with large stones, and round the walls of the hall were ranged +narrow benches with soft cushions. We were greatly astonished +at this appearance of neatness and order; but our wonder rose when we +made the discovery that the Jews, who are very numerous at Tabarith, +are not clothed in the Turkish or Greek fashion, but quite like their +brethren in Poland and Galicia. Most of them also spoke German. +I immediately inquired the reason of this peculiarity, and was informed +that all the Jewish families resident in this town originally came from +Poland or Russia, with the intention of dying in the Promised Land. +As a rule, all Jews seem to cherish a warm desire to pass their last +days in the country of their forefathers, and to be buried there.</p> +<p>We requested our young hostess, whose husband was absent, to prepare +for us without delay a good quantity of pilau and fowls; adding, that +we would in the mean time look at the town and the neighbouring baths +at the Sea of Gennesareth, but that we should return in an hour and +a half at the most.</p> +<p>We then proceeded to the Sea of Gennesareth, which is a fresh-water +lake. We entered a fisherman’s boat, in order that we might +sail on the waters where our Lord had once bid the winds “be still.” +We were rowed to the warm springs, which rise near the shore, a few +hundred paces from the town. On the lake all was calm; but no +sooner had we landed than a storm arose—between the fishermen +and ourselves. In this country, if strangers neglect to bargain +beforehand for every stage with guides, porters, and people of this +description, they are nearly sure of being charged an exorbitant sum +in the end. This happened to us on our present little trip, which +certainly did not occupy more than half an hour. We took our seats +in the boat without arranging for the fares; and on disembarking offered +the fishermen a very handsome reward. But these worthies threw +down the money, and demanded thirty piastres; whereas, if we had bargained +with them at first, they would certainly not have asked ten. We +gave them fifteen piastres, to get rid of them; but this did not satisfy +their greediness; on the contrary, they yelled and shouted, until the +Count’s servants threatened to restore peace and quietness with +their sticks. At length the fishermen were so far brought to their +senses that they walked away, scolding and muttering as they went.</p> +<p>Adjoining the warm springs we found a bathing-house, built in a round +form and covered with a cupola. Here we also met a considerable +number of pilgrims, mostly Greeks and Armenians from the neighbourhood, +who were journeying to Jerusalem. They had encamped beside the +bathing-house. Half of these people were in the water, where a +most animated conversation was going on. We also wished to enter +the building, not for the purpose of bathing, but to view the beauty +and arrangements of the interior, which have been the subject of many +laudatory descriptions; but at the entrance such a cloud of vapour came +rolling towards us that we were unable to penetrate far. I saw +enough, however, to feel convinced, that in the description of these +baths poetry or exaggeration had led many a pen far beyond the bounds +of fact. Neither the exterior of this building, nor the cursory +glance I was enabled to throw into the interior, excited either my curiosity +or my astonishment. Seen from without, these baths resemble a +small-sized house built in a very mediocre style, and with very slender +claims to beauty. The interior displayed a large quantity of marble,—for +instance, in the floor, the sides of the bath, etc. But marble +is not such a rarity in this country that it can raise this bathing-kiosk +into a wonder-building, or render it worthy of more than a passing glance. +I endeavour to see every thing exactly as it stands before me, and to +describe it in my simple diary without addition or ornament.</p> +<p>At eight o’clock in the evening we returned tired and hungry +to our comfortable quarters, flattering ourselves that we should find +the plain supper we had ordered a few hours before smoking on the covered +table, ready for our arrival. But neither in the hall nor in the +chamber could we find even a table, much less a covered one. Half +dead with exhaustion, we threw ourselves on chairs and benches, looking +forward with impatience to the supper and the welcome rest that was +to follow it. Messenger after messenger was despatched to the +culinary regions, to inquire if the boiled fowls were not yet in an +eatable condition. Each time we were promised that supper would +be ready “in a quarter of an hour,” and each time nothing +came of it. At length, at ten o’clock, a table was brought +into the room; after some time a single chair, appeared, and then one +more; then came another interval of waiting, until at length a clean +table-cloth was laid. These arrivals occupied the time until eleven +o’clock, when the master of the house, who had been absent on +an excursion, made his appearance, and with him came a puny roast fowl. +No miracle, alas, took place at our table like that of the plain of +Saphed; we were but seven persons, and so the fowl need only have been +increased seven times to satisfy us all; but as it was, each person +received one rib and no more. Our supper certainly consisted of +several courses brought in one after the other. Had we known this, +we certainly should soon have arranged the matter, for then each person +would have appropriated the whole of a dish to himself. In the +space of an hour and a quarter nine or ten little dishes made their +appearance; but the portion of food contained in each was so small, +that our supper may be said to have consisted of a variety of “tastes.” +We would greatly have preferred two good-sized dishes to all these kickshaws. +The dishes were, a roast, a boiled, and a baked chicken, a little plate +of prepared cucumbers, an equally small portion of this vegetable in +a raw state, a little pilau, and a few small pieces of mutton.</p> +<p>Our host kindly provided food for the mind during supper by describing +to us a series of horrible scenes which had occurred at the time of +the earthquake. He, too, had lost his wife and children by this +calamity, and only owed his own life to the circumstance that he was +absent at a sick-bed when the earthquake took place.</p> +<p>Half an hour after midnight we at length sought our resting-places. +The doctor very kindly gave up his three little bedrooms to us, but +the heat was so oppressive that we preferred quartering ourselves on +the stones in the yard. They made a very hard bed, but we none +of us felt symptoms of indigestion after our sumptuous meal.</p> +<h3>June 16th.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the morning we took leave of our host, and +returned in six hours to Nazareth by the same road on which we had already +travelled. We did not, however, ascend Mount Tabor a second time, +but rode along beside its base. To-day I once more visited all +the spots I had seen when I was so ill two days before; in this pursuit +I passed some very agreeable hours.</p> +<h3>June 17th.</h3> +<p>In the morning, at half-past four, we once more bade farewell to +the worthy priests of Nazareth, and rode without stopping for nine hours +and a half, until at two o’clock we reached</p> +<h3>MOUNT CARMEL.</h3> +<p>It was long since we had travelled on such a good road as that on +which we journeyed to-day. Now and then, however, a piece truly +Syrian in character had to be encountered, probably lest we should lose +the habit of facing hardship and danger. Another comfort was that +we were not obliged to-day to endure thirst, as we frequently passed +springs of good clear water. At one time our way even led through +a small oak-wood, a phenomenon almost unprecedented in Syria. +There was certainly not a single tree in all the wood which a painter +might have chosen for a study, for they were all small and crippled. +Large leafy trees, like those in my own land, are very seldom seen in +this country. The carob, which grows here in abundance, is almost +the only handsome tree; it has a beautiful leaf, scarcely larger than +that of a rose-tree, of an oval form, as thick as the back of a knife, +and of a beautiful bright green colour.</p> +<p>Mount Carmel lies on the sea-shore. It is not high, and half +an hour suffices the traveller to reach its summit, which is crowned +by a spacious and beautiful convent, probably the handsomest in all +Palestine, not even excepting the monasteries at Nazareth and Jerusalem. +The main front of the building contains a suite of six or seven large +rooms, with folding-doors and lofty regular windows. These rooms, +together with several in the wings, are devoted to the reception of +strangers. They are arranged in European style, with very substantial +pieces of furniture, among which neither sofas nor useful chests of +drawers are wanting.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill5.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill5.jpg" alt="Mount Carmel." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>About an hour after we arrived our reverend hosts regaled us with +a more sumptuous meal than any of which I had partaken since my departure +from Constantinople.</p> +<p>In proportion as our fare had been meagre and our accommodation indifferent +at Nazareth and Jerusalem, did we find every thing here excellent. +In an elegant dining-room stood a large table covered with a fine white +cloth, on which cut glass and clean knives, forks, and china plates +gleamed invitingly. A servant in European garb placed some capital +fast-day fare on the table (it was Friday), and a polite priest kept +us company; but not in eating, for he rightly considered that such a +hungry company would not require any example to fall to.</p> +<p>During the whole remainder of our journey through Syria this convent +occupied a green spot in our memory. How capitally would a few +days’ rest here have recruited our strength! But the gentlemen +had a distant goal before their eyes, and “Forward!” was +still the cry.</p> +<p>After dinner we went down to the sea-shore, to visit the large grotto +called the “Prophets’ school.” This grotto has +really the appearance of a lofty and spacious hall, where a number of +disciples could have sat and listened to the words of the prophet.</p> +<p>The grotto in which Elijah is said to have lived is situated in a +church at the top of the mountain. Mount Carmel is quite barren, +being only covered here and there with brambles; but the view is magnificent. +In the foreground the eye can roam over the boundless expanse of ocean, +while at the foot of the mountain it fords a resting-place in the considerable +town of Haifa, lying in a fertile plain, which extends to the base of +the high mountains, bounded in the distance by the Anti-Libanus, and +farther still by the Lebanon itself. Along the line of coast we +can distinguish Acre (or Ptolemais), Sur (Tyre), and Soida (Sidon).</p> +<h3>June 18th.</h3> +<p>This morning we sent our poor over-tired horses on before us to Hese, +and walked on foot at midday under a temperature of 33° to Haifas, +a distance of more than two miles. Heated and exhausted to the +last degree we reached the house of the Consul, who is a Catholic, but +seems nevertheless to live quite in Oriental fashion. This gentleman +is consul both for France and Austria. Although he was not at +home when we arrived, we were immediately shewn into the room of state, +where we reclined on soft divans, and were regaled with sherbet of all +colours, green, yellow, red, etc., and with coffee flavoured with roses, +which we did not like. Hookahs (or tchibuks) were also handed +round. At length the Consul’s wife appeared, a young and +beautiful lady of an imposing figure, dressed in the Oriental garb. +She smoked her tchibuk with as much ease as the gentlemen. Luckily +a brother of this lady who understood something of Italian was present, +and kindly acted as interpreter. I have never found an Oriental +woman who knew any language but that of her own country.</p> +<p>After we had rested ourselves, we pursued our journey in a boat to +Acre. On my road to Jerusalem I had only seen the outside of this +monument of the last war, now I could view its interior; but saw nothing +to repay me for my trouble. Considering how ugly the Turkish towns +are even when they are in good preservation, it may easily be imagined +that the appearance of one of these cities is not improved when it is +full of shot-holes, and the streets and interiors of the houses are +choked up with rubbish. The entrance to the convent lies through +the courtyard of the Turkish barracks, where there seemed to be a great +deal of bustle, and where we had an opportunity of noticing how wretchedly +clad, and still more miserably shod, the Turkish soldiers are. +These blemishes are not so much observed when the men are seen singly +at their posts.</p> +<p>The convent here is very small, being in fact only a dwelling-house +to which a chapel is attached. Two monks and a lay brother form +the whole household.</p> +<p>Scarcely had I established myself in my room, before a very polite +lady entered, who introduced herself to me as the wife of a surgeon +in the service of the pacha here. She stated that her husband +was at present absent at Constantinople, and added that she was in the +habit of spending several hours in the convent every evening to do the +honours of the house! This assertion struck me as so strange, +that I should certainly have remained dumb had not my visitor been a +very agreeable, polite French lady. As it was, however, we chatted +away the evening pleasantly together, until the supper-bell summoned +us to the refectory. All that I saw in this convent was in direct +contrast to the arrangement of the comfortable establishment of the +Carmelites. The refectory here is astonishingly dirty; the whole +furniture consists of two dingy tables and some benches; the table-cloth, +plates, etc. wore the prevailing livery; and the fare was quite in keeping +with every thing else. We supped at two tables; the gentlemen +and the reverend fathers sitting at one, while the French lady and myself +occupied the other.</p> +<h3>June 19th.</h3> +<p>As we were not to travel far to-day, we did not set out until ten +o’clock, when we started in company of several Franks who were +in the pacha’s service. They led us into a park by the roadside +belonging to the mother of the Sultan. Here the pacha usually +resides during the summer. In half an hour’s time we reached +this park. The garden is rather handsome, but does not display +many plants except lemon, orange, pomegranate, and cypress trees. +The display of flowers was not very remarkable; for not only could we +discover no rare or foreign plants, but we also missed many flowers +which grow plentifully in our gardens at home. A few kiosks are +here to be seen, but every thing seemed miserably out of repair.</p> +<p>The residence of the pacha, situated outside the gardens, has a more +inviting appearance. We paid our respects to his highness, who +received us very graciously, and caused us to be regaled with the usual +beverages. No sooner had the high ladies in the harem learnt that +a Frankish woman was in their territory, than they sent to invite me +to visit them. I gladly accepted this invitation, the more so +as it offered an opportunity of gratifying my curiosity. I was +conducted to another part of the house, where I stepped into a chamber +of middle size, the floor of which was covered with mats and carpets, +while on cushions ranged round the walls reclined beauties of various +complexions, who seemed to have been collected from every quarter of +the globe. One of these women, who was rather elderly, appeared +to be the pacha’s chief wife, for all the rest pointed to her. +The youngest lady seemed about eighteen or nineteen years of age, and +was the mother of a child eight months old, with which they were all +playing as with a doll; the poor little thing was handed about from +hand to hand. These ladies were dressed exactly like the daughters +of the consul at Joppa, whose costume I have described. I did +not see any signs of particular beauty, unless the stoutness of figure +so prevalent here is considered in that light. I saw, however, +a woman with one eye, a defect frequently observed in the East. +Female slaves were there of all shades of colour. One wore a ring +through her nose, and another had tastefully painted her lips blue. +Both mistresses and slaves had their eyebrows and eyelashes painted +black, and their nails and the palm of the hand stained a light-brown +with the juice of the henna.</p> +<p>The Oriental women are ignorant and inquisitive in the highest degree; +they can neither read nor write, and the knowledge of a foreign language +is quite out of the question. It is very rarely that one of them +understands embroidering in gold. Whenever I happened to be writing +in my journal, men, women, and children would gather round me, and gaze +upon me and my book with many signs and gestures expressive of astonishment.</p> +<p>The ladies of the harem seemed to look with contempt upon employment +and work of every kind; for neither here nor elsewhere did I see them +do any thing but sit cross-legged on carpets and cushions, drinking +coffee, smoking nargilé, and gossiping with one another. +They pressed me to sit down on a cushion, and then immediately surrounded +me, endeavouring, by signs, to ask many questions. First they +took my straw hat and put it upon their heads; then they felt the stuff +of my travelling robe; but they seemed most of all astonished at my +short hair, <a name="citation165"></a><a href="#footnote165">{165}</a> +the sight of which seemed to impress these poor ignorant women with +the idea that nature had denied long hair to the Europeans. They +asked me by signs how this came to pass, and every lady came up and +felt my hair. They seemed also very much surprised that I was +so thin, and offered me their nargilé, besides sherbet and cakes. +On the whole, our conversation was not very animated, for we had no +dragoman to act as interpreter, so that we were obliged to guess at +what was meant, and at length I sat silently among these Orientals, +and was heartily glad when, at the expiration of an hour, my friends +sent to fetch me away. At a later period of my journey I frequently +visited harems, and sometimes considerable ones; but I found them all +alike. The only difference lay in the fact that some harems contained +more beautiful women and slaves, and that in others the inmates were +more richly clad; but every where I found the same idle curiosity, ignorance, +and apathy. Perhaps they may be more happy than European women; +I should suppose they were, to judge from their comfortable figures +and their contented features. Corpulence is said frequently to +proceed from a good-natured and quiet disposition; and their features +are so entirely without any fixed character and expression, that I do +not think these women capable of deep passions or feeling either for +good or evil. Exceptions are of course to be found even among +the Turkish women; I only report what I observed on the average.</p> +<p>This day we rode altogether for seven hours. We passed a beautiful +orange-grove; for the greater part of the way our road led through deep +sand, close by the sea-shore; but once we had to pass a dreadfully dangerous +place called the “White Mount,” one extremity of which rises +out of the sea. This once passed, we soon come upon the beautiful +far-stretching aqueduct which I noticed on my journey from Joppa to +Jerusalem. It traverses a portion of this fruitful plain.</p> +<p>We could not enter the little town of Sur, the goal of this day’s +journey, as it was closed on account of the plague. We therefore +passed by, and pitched our tents beside a village, in the neighbourhood +of which large and splendid cisterns of water, hewn in the rock, are +to be seen. The superfluous water from these cisterns falls from +a height of twenty or thirty feet, and after turning a mill-wheel, flows +through the vale in the form of a brook.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2> +<p><i>River Mishmir—Saida—Arnauts—Desert-path—Residence +of Lady Hester Stanhope—Beyrout—The consul’s—Uncomfortable +quarters—Sickness—The Bazaar—Vexatious delays—Departure +from Beyrout—Beautiful views—Syrian costumes—Damascus—Aspect +of the city—House of the consul.</i></p> +<h3>June 20th.</h3> +<p>Shortly after five this morning we were in our saddles, and a few +hours afterwards arrived at the beautiful river Mishmir, which is as +broad as the Jordan, though it does not contain nearly so much water. +Next to the Jordan, however, this river is the largest we find on our +journey, besides being a most agreeable object in a region so destitute +of streams. Its water is pure as crystal.</p> +<p>In ten hours we reached the town, and at once repaired to the convent, +as not one of these cities contains an inn. The little convent, +with its tiny church, is situate at the end of a large courtyard, which +is so thronged with horses and men, particularly with soldiers, that +we had great difficulty in forcing our way through. When we had +at length cleared a passage for ourselves to the entrance, we were received +with the agreeable intelligence that there was no room for us. +What was to be done? We thought ourselves lucky in obtaining a +little room where we could pass the night in a house belonging to a +Greek family; beds were, however, out of the question; we had to lie +on the hard stones. In the courtyard a kind of camp had been pitched, +in which twelve state-horses of the Emir <a name="citation167"></a><a href="#footnote167">{167}</a> +of Lebanon (creatures of the true Arab breed) were bivouacking among +a quantity of Arnauts.</p> +<p>The Arnaut soldiers are universally feared, but more by friend than +foe. They are very turbulent, and behave in an overbearing manner +towards the people. The Count, my fellow-traveller, was even insulted +in the street, not by a peasant, but by one of these military fellows. +These ill-disciplined troops are assembled every where, in order that +they may be ready to attack whenever a disturbance occurs between the +Druses and Maronites. I consider, however, that the Arnauts are +much more to be feared than either the Druses or the Maronites, through +whose territories we afterwards journeyed without experiencing, in a +single instance, either insult or injury. I hardly think we should +have escaped so well had we encountered a troop of these wild horsemen.</p> +<p>Among all the Turkish soldiers the Arnauts are the best dressed; +with their short and full white skirts of linen or lawn, and tight trousers +of white linen, a scarf round the middle, and a white or a red spencer, +they closely resemble the Albanians.</p> +<h3>June 21st.</h3> +<p>This was a most fatiguing day, although we did not ride for more +than ten hours; but this ten hours’ journey was performed without +even a quarter of an hour’s rest, though the thermometer stood +at 33° Reaumur. Our path lay through a sandy desert, about +two miles in breadth, running parallel with the mountain-range from +Saida to Beyrout. The monotony of the steppe is only broken at +intervals by heaps of sand. The surface of the sand presents the +appearance of a series of waves; the particles of which it is composed +are very minute, and of a fine yellowish-brown colour. A beautiful +fertile valley adjoins this desert, and stretches towards Mount Lebanon, +on whose brown rocky surface several villages can be descried.</p> +<p>This mountain-range has a most imposing appearance. White rocks +and strata of white sand shine forth from its broad and generally barren +expanse like fields of snow.</p> +<p>The residence of the late Lady Hester Stanhope can be seen in the +distance on the declivity of the mountain.</p> +<p>During our long ride of ten hours we did not pass a single tank, +spring, or even pool, and all the river-beds on our way were completely +dried up by the heat. Not a tree could we see that could shelter +us for a moment from the glaring heat of the sun. It was a day +of torment for us and for our poor beasts. Two of our brave horses +sank from exhaustion, and could go no farther, though relieved of their +burdens; we were obliged to leave the poor creatures to perish by the +wayside.</p> +<p>At three in the afternoon we at length arrived at Beyrout, after +having bravely encountered, during ten consecutive days, the toil and +hardship inseparable from a journey through Syria.</p> +<p>The distance from Jerusalem to Beyrout is about 200 miles, allowing +for the circuitous route by way of Tabarith, which travellers are not, +however, compelled to take. From Jerusalem to Nazareth is 54 miles; +from Nazareth across Mount Tabor to Tabarith and back again 31 miles; +from Nazareth to Mount Carmel, Haifas, and Acre, 46 miles; and from +Acre to Beyrout 69 miles; making the total 200 miles.</p> +<p>Our poor horses suffered dreadfully during this journey; for they +were continually obliged either to climb over rocks, stones, and mountains, +or to wade through hot sand, in which they sank above the fetlocks at +every step. It would have been a better plan had we only engaged +our horses from Jerusalem to Nazareth, where we could have procured +fresh ones to carry us on to Beyrout. We had been told at Jerusalem +that it was sometimes impossible to obtain horses at Nazareth, and so +preferred engaging our beasts at once for the whole journey. On +arriving at Nazareth we certainly discovered that we had been deceived, +for horses are always to be had there in plenty; but as the contract +was once made, we were obliged to abide by it.</p> +<p>During the ten days of our journey the temperature varied exceedingly. +By day the heat fluctuated between 18° and 39° Reaumur; the +nights too were very changeable, being sometimes sultry, and sometimes +bitterly cold.</p> +<h3>BEYROUT</h3> +<p>lies in a sandy plain; but the mulberry-trees by which it is surrounded +impart to this city an air of picturesque beauty. Still we wade +every where, in the streets, gardens, and alleys, through deep sand. +Viewed from a distance, Beyrout has a striking effect, a circumstance +I had remarked on my first arrival there from Constantinople; but it +loses considerably on a nearer approach. I did not enjoy walking +through the town and its environs; but it was a great pleasure to me +to sit on a high terrace in the evening, and look down upon the landscape. +The dark-blue sky rose above the distant mountains, the fruitful valley, +and the glittering expanse of ocean. The golden sun was still +illumining the peaks of the mountains with its farewell rays, until +at length it sunk from view, shrouding every thing in a soft twilight. +Then I saw the innumerable stars shine forth, and the moon shed its +magic light over the nocturnal landscape; and that mind can scarcely +be called human which does not feel the stirring of better feelings +within it at such a spectacle. Truly the temple of the Lord is +every where; and throughout all nature there is a mysterious something +that tells even the infidel of the omnipresence of the Great Spirit. +How many beautiful evenings did I not enjoy at Beyrout! they were, in +fact, the only compensation for the grievous hardships I was obliged +to endure during my stay in this town.</p> +<p>In the inn I could again not find a single room, and was this time +much more at a loss to find a place of shelter than I had been before; +for our host’s wife had gone out of town with her children, and +had let her private house; so I sat, in the fullest sense of the word, +“in the street.” A clergyman, whose acquaintance I +had made in Constantinople, and who happened just then to be at Beyrout, +took compassion upon me, and procured me a lodging in the house of a +worthy Arab family just outside the town. Now I certainly had +a roof above my head, but I could not make myself understood; for not +a soul spoke Italian, and my whole knowledge of Arabic was comprised +in the four words: <i>taib, moi, sut, mafish</i>—beautiful, water, +milk, and nothing.</p> +<p>With so limited a stock of expressions at my command, I naturally +could not make much way, and the next day I was placed in a very disagreeable +dilemma. I had hired a boy to show me the way to a church, and +explained to him by signs that he was to wait to conduct me home again. +On emerging from the church I could see nothing of my guide. After +waiting for some time in vain, I was at length compelled to try and +find my way alone.</p> +<p>The house in which I lived stood in a garden of mulberry-trees, but +all the houses in the neighbourhood were built in the same style, each +having a tower attached, in which there is a habitable room; all these +dwellings stand in gardens planted with mulberry-trees, some of them +not separated from each other at all, and the rest merely by little +sand-hills. Flowers and vegetables are nowhere to be seen, nor +is the suburb divided into regular streets; so that I wandered in an +endless labyrinth of trees and houses. I met none but Arabs, whose +language I did not understand, and who could, therefore, give me no +information. So I rushed to and fro, until at length, after a +long and fatiguing pilgrimage, I was lucky enough to stumble on the +house I wanted. Unwilling to expose myself to such a disagreeable +adventure a second time, I thought it would be preferable to dwell within +the town; and therefore hired the young guide before mentioned to conduct +me to the house of the Austrian Consul-General Herr von A. Unfortunately +this gentleman was not visible to such an insignificant personage as +myself, and sent me word that I might come again in a few hours. +This was a true “Job’s message” for me, as far as +consolation went. The heat was most oppressive; I had now entered +the town for the second time, to be sent once more back to the glowing +sands, with permission to “come again in a few hours.” +Had I not been uncommonly hardy, I should have succumbed. But +luckily I knew a method to help myself. I ordered my little guide +to lead me to the house in which the wife of Battista the innkeeper +had lived.</p> +<p>During my previous residence at Beyrout I had accidentally heard +that a French lady lodged in the same house, and occupied herself with +the education of the children. I went to call on this French lady, +and was lucky enough to find her; so I had, at any rate, so far succeeded +that I had found a being with whom I could converse, and of whom I might +request advice and assistance. My new acquaintance was an extremely +cordial maiden lady about forty years of age. Her name was Pauline +Kandis. My unfortunate position awakened her compassion so much, +that she placed her own room at my disposal for the time being. +I certainly saw that my present quarters left much to be desired, for +my kind entertainer’s lodging consisted of a single room, divided +into two parts by several tall chests; the foremost division contained +a large table, at which four girls sat and stood at their lessons. +The second division formed a kind of lumber-room, redolent of boxes, +baskets, and pots, and furnished with a board, laid on an old tub, to +answer the purposes of a table. My condition was, however, so +forlorn, that I took joyful possession of the lumber-room assigned to +me. I immediately departed with my boy-guide, and by noon I was +already installed, with bag and baggage, in the dwelling of my kind +hostess. But there was no more walking for me that day. +What with the journey and my morning’s peregrinations I was so +exhausted that I requested nothing but a resting-place, which I found +among the old chests and baskets on the floor. I was right glad +to lie down, and court the rest that I needed so much.</p> +<p>At seven o’clock in the evening the school closed. Miss +K. then took her leave, and I remained sole occupant of her two rooms, +which she only uses as school-rooms, for she sleeps at her brother’s +house.</p> +<p>My lodging at Miss K.’s was, however, the most uncomfortable +of any I had yet occupied during my entire journey.</p> +<p>From eight o’clock in the morning until seven at night four +or five girls, who did any thing rather than study, were continually +in the room. The whole day long there was such a noise of shouting, +screaming, and jumping about, that I could not hear the sound of my +own voice. Moreover, the higher regions of this hall of audience +contained eight pigeons’ nests; and the old birds, which were +so tame that they not only took the food from our plates, but stole +it out of our very mouths, fluttered continually about the room, so +that we were obliged to look very attentively at every chair on which +we intended to sit down. On the floor a cock was continually fighting +with his three wives; and a motherly hen, with a brood of eleven hopeful +ducks, cackled merrily between. I wonder that I did not contract +a squint, for I was obliged continually to look upwards and downwards +lest I should cause mischief, and lest mischief should befall me. +During the night the heat and the stench were almost insupportable; +and immediately after midnight the cock always began to crow, as if +he earned his living by the noise he made. I used to open the +window every night to make a passage of escape for the heat and the +foul air, while I lay down before the door, like Napoleon’s Mameluke, +to guard the treasures entrusted to my care. But on the second +night two wandering cats had already discovered my whereabouts—without +the least compunction they stepped quietly over me into the chamber, +and began to raise a murderous chase. I instantly jumped up and +drove away the robbers; and from that time forward I was obliged to +remain in the interior of my fortress, carefully to barricade all the +windows, and bear my torments with what fortitude I might.</p> +<p>Our diet was also of a very light description. A sister-in-law +of the good Pauline was accustomed to send in our dinner, which consisted +one day of a thimbleful of saffron-coloured pilau, while the next would +perhaps bring half the shoulder of a small fish. Had I boarded +with my hostess, I should have kept fast-day five days in the week, +and have had nothing to eat on the remaining two. I therefore +at once left off dining with them, and used to cook a good German dish +for myself every day. In the morning I asked for some milk, in +order to make my coffee after the German fashion. Yet I think +that some of our adulterators of milk must have penetrated even to Syria, +for I found it as difficult to obtain pure goats’ milk here as +to get good milk from the cow in my own country.</p> +<p>My bedstead was formed out of an old chest, and my sole employment +and amusement was idling. I had not a book to read, no table to +write on; and if I once really succeeded in getting something to read +or made an attempt at writing, the whole tribe of youngsters would come +clustering round, staring at my book or at my paper. It would +certainly have been useless to complain, but yet I could not always +entirely conceal the annoyance I felt.</p> +<p>My friends must pardon me for describing my cares so minutely, but +I only do so to warn all those who would wish to undertake a journey +like mine, without being either very rich, very high-born, or very hardy, +that they had much better remain at home.</p> +<p>As I happened to be neither rich nor high-born, the Consul would +not receive me at all the first time I called upon him, although the +captain of a steamer had been admitted to an audience just before I +applied. A few days afterwards I once more waited upon the Consul, +told him of my troubles, and stated plainly how thankful I should feel +if any one would assist me so far as to procure me a respectable lodging, +for which I would gladly pay, and where I could remain until an opportunity +offered to go to Alexandria; the worthy Consul was kind enough to reply +to my request with a shake of the head, and with the comforting admission +that “he was very sorry for me—it was really extremely unfortunate.” +I think the good gentleman must have left all his feeling at home before +settling in Syria, otherwise he would never have dismissed me with a +few frivolous speeches, particularly as I assured him that I was perfectly +well provided with money, and would bear any expense, but added that +it was possible to be placed in positions where want of advice was more +keenly felt than want of means. During the whole of my residence +at Beyrout, my countryman never troubled himself any more about me.</p> +<p>During my stay here I made an excursion to the grotto, said to be +the scene of St. George’s combat with the dragon; this grotto +is situate to the right of the road, near the quarantine-house. +The ride thither offers many fine views, but the grotto itself is not +worth seeing.</p> +<p>Frequently in the evening I went to visit an Arab family, when I +would sit upon the top of the tower and enjoy the sight of the beautiful +sunset.</p> +<p>A very strong military force was posted at Beyrout, consisting entirely +of Arnauts. They had pitched their tents outside the town, which +thus wore the appearance of a camp. Many of these towns do not +contain barracks; and as the soldiers are not here quartered in private +houses, they are compelled to bivouack in the open field.</p> +<p>The bazaar is very large and straggling. On one occasion I +had the misfortune to lose myself among its numerous lanes, from which +it took me some time to extricate myself; I had an opportunity of seeing +many of the articles of merchandise, and an immense number of shops, +but none which contained any thing very remarkable. Once more +I found how prone people are to exaggerate. I had been warned +to abstain from walking in the streets, and, above all, to avoid venturing +into the bazaar. I neglected both pieces of advice, and walked +out once or twice every day during my stay, without once meeting with +an adventure of any kind.</p> +<p>I had already been at Beyrout ten long, long days, and still no opportunity +offered of getting to Alexandria. But at the end of June the worthy +artist Sattler, whose acquaintance I had made at Constantinople, arrived +here. He found me out, and proposed that I should travel to Damascus +with Count Berchtold, a French gentleman of the name of De Rousseau, +and himself, instead of wasting my time here. This proposition +was a welcome one to me, for I ardently desired to be released from +my fowls’ nest. My arrangements were soon completed, for +I took nothing with me except some linen and a mattress, which were +packed on my horse’s back.</p> +<h3>JOURNEY FROM BEYROUT TO DAMASCUS, BALBECK, AND MOUNT LEBANON.July +1st.</h3> +<p>At one o’clock in the afternoon we were all assembled before +the door of M. Battista’s inn, and an hour later we were in our +saddles hastening towards the town-gate. At first we rode through +a deep sea of sand surrounding the town; but soon we reached the beautiful +valley which lies stretched at the foot of the Anti-Libanus, and afterwards +proceeded towards the range by pleasant paths, shaded by pine-woods +and mulberry-plantations.</p> +<p>But now the ascent of the magnificent Anti-Libanus became steeper +and more dangerous, as we advanced on rocky paths, often scarcely a +foot in breadth, and frequently crossed by fissures and brooklets. +Some time elapsed before I could quite subdue my fear, and could deliver +myself wholly up to the delight of contemplating these grand scenes, +so completely new to us Europeans, leaving my horse, which planted its +feet firmly and without once stumbling among the blocks of stone lying +loosely on each other, to carry me as its instinct directed; for these +horses are exceedingly careful, being well used to these dangerous roads. +We could not help laughing heartily at our French companion, who could +not screw up his courage sufficiently to remain on his horse at the +very dangerous points. At first he always dismounted when we came +to such a spot; but at length he grew weary of eternally mounting and +dismounting, and conquered his fear, particularly when he observed that +we depended so entirely on the sagacity of our steeds, and gave ourselves +completely up to the contemplation of the mountains around us. +It is impossible adequately to describe the incomparable forms of this +mountain-range. The giant rocks, piled one above the other, glow +with the richest colours; lovely green valleys lie scattered between; +while numerous villages are seen, sometimes standing isolated on the +rocks, and at others peering forth from among the deep shade of the +olive and mulberry trees.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill6.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill6.jpg" alt="Lebanon." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>The sun sinking into the sea shot its last rays through the clear +pure air towards the highest peaks of the mighty rocks. Every +thing united to form a picture which when once seen can never be forgotten.</p> +<p>The tints of the rocky masses are peculiarly remarkable; exhibiting +not only the primary colours, but many gradations, such as bluish-green, +violet, etc. Many rocks were covered with a red coating resembling +cinnabar, in several places we found small veins of pure sulphur, and +each moment something new and wonderful met our gaze. The five +hours which we occupied in riding from Beyrout to the village of Elhemsin +passed like five minutes. The khan of Elhemsin was already occupied +by a caravan bringing wares and fruit from Damascus, so that we had +nothing for it but to raise our tent and encamp beneath it.</p> +<h3>July 2d.</h3> +<p>The rising sun found us prepared for departure, and soon we had reached +an acclivity from whence we enjoyed a magnificent view. Before +us rose the lofty peaks of Lebanon and Anti-Libanus, partly covered +with snow; while behind us the mountains, rich in vineyards, olive-plantations, +and pine-woods, stretched downward to the sea-shore. We had mounted +to such a height, that the clouds soaring above the sea and the town +of Beyrout lay far beneath us, shrouding the city from our gaze.</p> +<p>Vineyards are very common on these mountains. The vines do +not, however, cling round trees for support, nor are they trained up +poles as in Austria; they grow almost wild, the stem shooting upwards +to a short distance from the ground, towards which the vine then bends. +The wine made on these mountains is of excellent quality, rather sweet +in flavour, of a golden-yellow colour, and exceedingly fiery.</p> +<p>We still continued to climb, without experiencing much inconvenience +from the heat, up a fearful dizzy path, over rocks and stones, and past +frightful chasms. Our leathern bottles were here useless to us, +for we had no lack of water; from every crevice in the rocks a clear +crystal flood gushed forth, in which the gorgeously-coloured masses +of stone were beautifully mirrored.</p> +<p>After a very fatiguing ride of five hours we at length reached the +ridge of the Anti-Libanus, where we found a khan, and allowed ourselves +an hour’s rest. The view from this point is very splendid. +The two loftiest mountain-ridges of Lebanon and Anti-Libanus enclose +between them a valley which may be about six miles long, and ten or +twelve broad. Our way led across the mountain’s brow and +down into this picturesque valley, through which we journeyed for some +miles to the village of Maschdalanscher, in the neighbourhood of which +place we pitched our tents.</p> +<p>It is, of course, seldom that a European woman is seen in these regions, +and thus I seemed to be quite a spectacle to the inhabitants; at every +place where we halted many women and children would gather round me, +busily feeling my dress, putting on my straw hat, and looking at me +from all sides, while they endeavoured to converse with me by signs. +If they happened to have any thing eatable at hand, such as cucumbers, +fruits, or articles of that description, they never failed to offer +them with the greatest good-nature, and seemed highly rejoiced when +I accepted some. On the present evening several of these people +were assembled round me, and I had an opportunity of noticing the costume +of this mountain tribe. Excepting the head-dress, it is the same +as that worn throughout all Palestine, and indeed in the whole of Syria; +the women have blue gowns, and the men, white blouses, wide trousers, +and a sash: sometimes the women wear spencers, and the more wealthy +among them even display caftans and turbans. The head-dress of +the women is very original, but does not look remarkably becoming. +They wear on their foreheads a tin horn more than a foot in length, +and over this a white handkerchief, fastened at the back and hanging +down in folds. This rule, however, only applies to the wealthier +portion of the community, which is here limited enough. The poorer +women wear a much smaller horn, over which they display an exceedingly +dingy handkerchief. During working hours they ordinarily divest +themselves of these ornaments, as they would render it impossible to +carry loads on the head. The rich inhabitants of the mountains, +both male and female, dress in the Oriental fashion; but the women still +retain the horn, which is then made of silver.</p> +<p>The village of Maschdalanscher is built of clay huts thatched with +straw. I saw many goats and horned cattle, and a good store of +corn lay piled up before the doors.</p> +<p>We were assured that the roads through the mountains inhabited by +the Druses and Maronites were very unsafe, and we were strongly urged +to take an escort with us; but as we met caravans almost every hour, +we considered this an unnecessary precaution, and arrived safely without +adventure of any kind at Damascus.</p> +<h3>July 3d.</h3> +<p>This morning we rode at first over a very good road, till at length +we came upon a ravine, which seemed hardly to afford us room to pass. +Closer and more closely yet did the rocky masses approach each other, +as we passed amongst the loose shingle over the dry bed of a river. +Frequently the space hardly admitted of our stepping aside to allow +the caravans we met to pass us. Sometimes we thought, after having +painfully laboured through a ravine of this kind, that we should emerge +into the open field; but each time it was only to enter a wilder and +more desert pass. So we proceeded for some hours, till the rocky +masses changed to heaps of sand, and every trace of vegetation disappeared. +At length we had climbed the last hill, and Damascus, “the vaunted +city of the East,” lay before us.</p> +<p>It is certainly a striking sight when, escaping from the inhospitable +domains of the mountain and the sandhill, we see stretched at our feet +a great and luxuriant valley, forming in the freshness of its vegetation +a singular contrast to the desert region around. In this valley, +amid gardens and trees innumerable, extends the town, with its pretty +mosques and slender lofty minarets; but I was far from finding the scene +so charming that I could have exclaimed with other travellers, “This +is the most beauteous spot on earth!”</p> +<p>The plain in which Damascus lies runs on at the foot of the Anti-Libanus +as far as the mountain of Scheik, and is shut in on three sides by sandhills +of an incomparably dreary appearance. On the fourth side the plain +loses itself in the sandy desert. This valley is exceedingly well +watered by springs descending from all the mountains, which we could +not, however, see on our approach; but no river exists here. The +water rushes forth but to disappear beneath the sand, and displays its +richness only in the town and its immediate neighbourhood.</p> +<p>From the hill whence we had obtained the first view of Damascus, +we have still a good two miles to ride before we reach the plantations. +These are large gardens of mish-mish, walnut, pomegranate, orange, and +lemon trees, fenced in with clay walls, traversed by long broad streets, +and watered by bubbling brooks. For a long time we journeyed on +in the shade of these fruitful woods, till at length we entered the +town through a large gate. Our enthusiastic conceptions of this +renowned city were more and more toned down as we continued to advance.</p> +<p>The houses in Damascus are almost all built of clay and earth, and +many ugly wooden gables and heavy window-frames give a disagreeable +ponderous air to the whole. Damascus is divided into several parts +by gates, which are closed soon after sunset. We passed through +a number of these gates, and also through the greater portion of the +bazaar, on our road to the Franciscan convent.</p> +<p>We had this day accomplished a journey of more than twenty-four miles, +in a temperature of 35° to 36° Reaum., and had suffered much +from the scorching wind, which came laden with particles of dust. +Our faces were so browned, that we might easily have been taken for +descendants of the Bedouins. This was the only day that I felt +my eyes affected by the glare.</p> +<p>Although we were much fatigued on arriving at the convent, the first +thing we did, after cleansing ourselves from dust and washing our burning +eyes, was to hasten to the French and English consuls, so eager were +we to see the interior of some of these clay huts.</p> +<p>A low door brought us into a passage leading to a large yard. +We could have fancied ourselves transported by magic to the scene of +one of the fantastic “Arabian Nights,” for all the glory +of the East seemed spread before our delighted gaze. In the midst +of the courtyard, which was paved with large stones, a large reservoir, +with a sparkling fountain, spread a delightful coolness around. +Orange and lemon trees dipped their golden fruit into the crystal flood; +while at the sides flower-beds, filled with fragrant roses, balsams, +oleanders, etc., extended to the stairs leading to the reception-room. +Every thing seemed to have been done that could contribute to ornament +this large and lofty apartment, which opened into the courtyard. +Swelling divans, covered with the richest stuffs, lined the walls, which, +tastefully ornamented with mirrors and painted and sculptured arabesques, +and further decked with mosaic and gilding, displayed a magnificence +of which I could not have formed a conception. In the foreground +of this fairy apartment a jet of water shot upwards from a marble basin. +The floor was also of marble, forming beautiful pictures in the most +varied colours; and over the whole scene was spread that charm so peculiar +to the Orientals, a charm combining the tasteful with the rich and gorgeous. +The apartment in which the women dwell, and where they receive their +more confidential visitors, are similar to the one I have just described, +except that they are smaller, less richly furnished, and completely +open in front. The remaining apartments also look into the courtyard; +they are simply, but comfortably and prettily arranged.</p> +<p>All the houses of the Orientals are similar to this one, except that +the apartments of the women open into another courtyard than those of +the men.</p> +<p>After examining and admiring every thing to our heart’s content, +we returned to our hospitable convent. This evening the clerical +gentlemen entertained us. A tolerably nice meal, with wine and +good bread, restored our exhausted energies to a certain extent.</p> +<p>At Beyrout we were quite alarmed at the warnings we received concerning +the numbers of certain creeping things we should find here in the bedsteads. +I therefore betook myself to bed with many qualms and misgivings; but +I slept undisturbed, both on this night and on the following one.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2> +<p><i>The bazaar at Damascus—The khan—Grotto of St. Paul—Fanaticism +of the inhabitants—Departure from Damascus—The desert—Military +escort—Heliopolis or Balbeck—Stupendous ruins—Continuation +of our voyage through the desert—The plague—The Lebanon +range—Cedar-trees—Druses and Maronites—Importunate +beggars—Thievish propensities of the Arabs.</i></p> +<h3>July 4th.</h3> +<p>Damascus is one of the most ancient cities of the East, but yet we +see no ruins; a proof that no grand buildings ever existed here, and +that therefore the houses, as they became old and useless, were replaced +by new ones.</p> +<p>To-day we visited the seat of all the riches—the great bazaar. +It is mostly covered in, but only with beams and straw mats. On +both sides are rows of wooden booths, containing all kinds of articles, +but a great preponderance of eatables, which are sold at an extraordinarily +cheap rate. We found the “mish-mish” particularly +good.</p> +<p>As in Constantinople, the rarest and most costly of the wares are +not exposed for sale, but must be sought for in closed store-houses. +The booths look like inferior hucksters’ shops, and each merchant +is seen sitting in the midst of his goods. We passed hastily through +the bazaar, in order soon to reach the great mosque, situate in the +midst of it. As we were forbidden, however, not only to enter +the mosque, but even the courtyard, we were obliged to content ourselves +with wondering at the immense portals, and stealing furtive glances +at the interior of the open space beyond. This mosque was originally +a Christian church; and a legend tells that St. George was decapitated +here.</p> +<p>The khan, also situate in the midst of the bazaar, is peculiarly +fine, and is said to be the best in all the East. The high and +boldly-arched portal is covered with marble, and enriched with beautiful +sculptures. The interior forms a vast rotunda, surrounded by galleries, +divided from each other, and furnished with writing-tables for the use +of the merchants. Below in the hall the bales and chests are piled +up, and at the side are apartments for travelling dealers. The +greater portion of the floor and the walls is covered with marble.</p> +<p>Altogether, marble seems to be much sought after at Damascus. +Every thing that passes for beautiful or valuable is either entirely +composed of this stone, or at least is inlaid with it. Thus a +pretty fountain in a little square near the bazaar is of marble; and +a coffee-house opposite the fountain, the largest and most frequented +of any in Damascus, is ornamented with a few small marble pillars. +But all these buildings, not even excepting the great bathing-house, +would be far less praised and looked at if they stood in a better neighbourhood. +As the case is, however, they shine forth nobly from among the clay +houses of Damascus.</p> +<p>In the afternoon we visited the Grotto of St. Paul, lying immediately +outside the town. On the ramparts we were shewn the place where +the apostle is said to have leaped from the wall on horseback, reaching +the ground in safety, and taking refuge from his enemies in the neighbouring +grotto, which is said to have closed behind him by miracle, and not +to have opened again until his persecutors had ceased their pursuit. +At present, nothing is to be seen of this grotto excepting a small stone +archway, like that of a bridge. Tombs of modern date, consisting +of vaults covered with large blocks of stone, are very numerous near +this grotto.</p> +<p>We paid several more visits, and every where found great pomp of +inner arrangement and decoration, varying of course in different houses. +We were always served with coffee, sherbet, and argilé; and in +the houses of the Turks a dreary conversation was carried on through +the medium of an interpreter.</p> +<p>Walks and places of amusement there are none. The number of +Franks resident here is too small to call for a place of general recreation, +and the Turk never feels a want of this kind. The most he does +is to saunter slowly from the bath to the coffee-house, and there to +kill his time with the help of a pipe and a cup of coffee, staring vacantly +on the ground before him. Although the coffee-houses are more +frequented than any other buildings in the East, they are often miserable +sheds, being all small, and generally built only of wood.</p> +<p>The inhabitants of Damascus wear the usual Oriental garb, but as +a rule I thought them better dressed than in any Eastern town. +Some of the women are veiled, but others go abroad with their faces +uncovered. I saw here some very attractive countenances; and an +unusual number of lovely children’s heads looked at me from all +sides with an inquisitive smile.</p> +<p>In reference to religious matters, these people seem very fanatical; +they particularly dislike strangers. For instance, the painter +S. wished to make sketches of the khan, the fountain, and a few other +interesting objects or views. For this purpose he sat down before +the great coffee-house to begin with the fountain; but scarcely had +he opened his portfolio before a crowd of curious idlers had gathered +around him, who, as soon as they saw his intention, began to annoy him +in every possible way. They pushed the children who stood near +against him, so that he received a shock every moment, and was hindered +in his drawing. As he continued to work in spite of their rudeness, +several Turks came and stood directly before the painter, to prevent +him from seeing the fountain. On his still continuing to persevere, +they began to spit upon him. It was now high time to be gone, +and so Mr. S. hastily gathered his materials together and turned to +depart. Then the rage of the rabble broke noisily forth. +They followed the artist yelling and screaming, and a few even threw +stones at him. Luckily he succeeded in reaching our convent unharmed.</p> +<p>Mr. S. had been allowed to draw without opposition at Constantinople, +Brussa, Ephesus, and several other cities of the East, but here he was +obliged to flee. Such is the disposition of these people, whom +many describe as being so friendly.</p> +<p>The following morning at sunrise Mr. S. betook himself to the terrace +of the convent, to make a sketch of the town. Here too he was +discovered, but luckily not until he had been at work some hours, and +had almost completed his task; so that as soon as the first stone came +flying towards him, he was able quietly to evacuate the field.</p> +<h3>July 5th.</h3> +<p>In Damascus we met Count Zichy, who had arrived there with his servants +a few days before ourselves, and intended continuing his journey to +Balbeck to-day.</p> +<p>Count Zichy’s original intention had been to make an excursion +from this place to the celebrated town of Palmyra, an undertaking which +would have occupied ten days. He therefore applied to the pacha +for a sufficient escort for his excursion. This request was, however, +refused; the pacha observing, that he had ceased for some time to allow +travellers to undertake this dangerous journey, as until now all strangers +had been plundered by the wandering Arabs, and in some instances men +had even been murdered. The pacha added, that it was not in his +power to furnish so large an escort as would be required to render this +journey safe, by enabling the travellers to resist all aggressions. +After receiving this answer, Count Zichy communicated with some Bedouin +chiefs, who could not guarantee a safe journey, but nevertheless required +6000 piastres for accompanying him. Thus it became necessary to +give up the idea altogether, and to proceed instead to Balbeck and to +the heights of Lebanon.</p> +<p>At the hour of noon we rode out of the gate of Damascus in company +with Count Zichy. The thermometer stood at 40° Reaumur. +Our procession presented quite a splendid appearance; for the pacha +had sent a guard of honour to escort the Count to Balbeck, to testify +his respect for a relation of Prince M---.</p> +<p>At first our way led through a portion of the bazaar; afterwards +we reached a large and splendid street which traverses the entire city, +and is said to be more than four miles in length. It is so broad, +that three carriages can pass each other with ease, without annoyance +to the pedestrians. It is a pity that this street, which is probably +the finest in the whole kingdom, should be so little used, for carriages +are not seen here any more than in the remaining portion of Syria.</p> +<p>Scarcely have we quitted this road, before we are riding through +gardens and meadows, among which the country-houses of the citizens +lie scattered here and there. On this side of the city springs +also gush forth and water the fresh groves and the grassy sward. +A stone bridge, of very simple construction, led us across the largest +stream in the neighbourhood, the Barada, which is, however, neither +so broad nor so full of water as the Jordan.</p> +<p>But soon we had left these smiling scenes behind us, and were wending +our way towards the lonely desert. We passed several sepulchres, +a number of which lie scattered over the sandy hills and plains round +us. On the summit of one of these hills a little monument was +pointed out to us, with the assertion that it was the grave of Abraham. +We now rode for hours over flats, hills, and ridges of sand and loose +stones; and this day’s journey was as fatiguing as that of our +arrival at Damascus. From twelve o’clock at noon until about +five in the evening we continued our journey through this wilderness, +suffering lamentably from the heat. But now the wilderness was +passed; and suddenly a picture so lovely and grand unfolded itself before +our gaze, that we could have fancied ourselves transported to the romantic +vales of Switzerland. A valley enriched with every charm of nature, +and shut in by gigantic rocks of marvellous and fantastic forms, opened +at our feet. A mountain torrent gushed from rock to rock, foaming +and chafing among mighty blocks of stone, which, hurled from above, +had here found their resting-place. A natural rocky bridge led +across the roaring flood. Many a friendly hut, the inhabitants +of which looked forth with stealthy curiosity upon the strange visitors, +lay half hidden between the lofty walls. And so our way continued; +valley lay bordered on valley, and the little river which ran bubbling +by the roadside led us past gardens and villages, through a region of +surpassing loveliness, to the great village of Zabdeni, where we at +length halted, after an uninterrupted ride of ten hours and a half.</p> +<p>The escort which accompanied us consisted of twelve men, with a superior +and a petty officer. These troopers looked very picturesque when, +as we travelled along the level road, they went through some small manœuvres +for our amusement, rushing along on their swift steeds and attacking +each other, one party flying across the plain, and the other pursuing +them as victors.</p> +<p>The character of these children of nature is, on the whole, a very +amiable one. They behaved towards us in an exceedingly friendly +and courteous manner, bringing us fruit and water whenever they could +procure them, leading us carefully by the safest roads, and shewing +us as much attention as any European could have done. But their +idea of <i>mine</i> and <i>thine</i> does not always appear to be very +clearly defined. Once, for instance, we passed through fields +in which grew a plant resembling our pea, on a reduced scale. +Each plant contained several pods, and each pod two peas. Our +escort picked a large quantity, ate the fruit with an appearance of +great relish, and very politely gave us a share of their prize. +I found these peas less tender and eatable than those of my own country, +and returned them to the soldier who had offered them to me, observing +at the same time that I would rather have had mish-mish. On hearing +this he immediately galloped off, and shortly afterwards returned with +a whole cargo of mish-mish and little apples, which had probably been +borrowed for an indefinite period from one of the neighbouring gardens. +I mention these little circumstances, as they appeared to me to be characteristic. +On the one hand, Mr. S. had been threatened with the fate of St. Stephen +for wishing to make a few sketches; and yet, on the other, these people +were so kind and so ready to oblige.</p> +<p>This region produces abundance of fruit, and is particularly rich +in mish-mish, or apricots. The finest of these are dried; while +those which are over-ripe, or half decayed, are boiled to a pulp in +large pots, and afterwards spread to dry on long smooth boards, in the +form of cakes, about half an inch in thickness. These cakes, which +look like coarse brown leather, are afterwards folded up, and form, +together with the dried mish-mish, a staple article of commerce, which +is exported far and wide. In Constantinople, and even in Servia, +I saw cakes of this description which came from these parts.</p> +<p>The Turks are particularly fond of taking this dried pulp with them +on their journeys. They cut it into little pieces, which they +afterwards leave for several hours in a cup of water to dissolve; it +then forms a really aromatic and refreshing drink, which they partake +of with bread.</p> +<p>From Damascus to Balbeck is a ride of eighteen hours. Count +Zichy wished to be in Balbeck by the next day at noon; we therefore +had but a short night’s rest.</p> +<p>The night was so mild and beautiful, that we did not want the tents +at all, but lay down on the bank of a streamlet, beneath the shade of +a large tree. For a long time sleep refused to visit us, for our +encampment was opposite to a coffee-house, where a great hubbub was +kept up until a very late hour. Small caravans were continually +arriving or departing, and so there was no chance of rest. At +length we dropped quietly asleep from very weariness, to be awakened +a few hours afterwards to start once more on our arduous journey.</p> +<h3>July 6th.</h3> +<p>We rode without halting for eight hours, sometimes through pleasant +valleys, at others over barren unvarying regions, upon and between the +heights of the Anti-Libanus. At the hour of noon we reached the +last hill, and</p> +<h3>HELIOPOLIS OR BALBECK,</h3> +<p>the “city of the sun,” lay stretched before us.</p> +<p>We entered a valley shut in by the highest snow-covered peaks of +Lebanon and Anti-Libanus, more than six miles in breadth and fourteen +or sixteen miles long, belonging to Cælosyria. Many travellers +praise this vale as one of the most beautiful in all Syria.</p> +<p>It certainly deserves the title of the ‘most remarkable’ +valley, for excepting at Thebes and Palmyra we may search in vain for +the grand antique ruins which are here met with; the title of the ‘most +beautiful’ does not, according to my idea, appertain to it. +The mountains around are desert and bare. The immeasurable plain +is sparingly cultivated, and still more thinly peopled. With the +exception of the town of Balbeck, which has arisen from the ruins of +the ancient city, not a village nor a hut is to be seen. The corn, +which still partly covered the fields, looked stunted and poor; the +beds of the streams were dry, and the grass was burnt up. The +majestic ruins, which become visible directly the brow of the last hill +is gained, atone in a measure for these drawbacks; but we were not satisfied, +for we had expected to see much more than met our gaze.</p> +<p>We wended our way along stony paths, past several quarries, towards +the ruins. On reaching these quarries we dismounted, to obtain +a closer view of them. In the right hand one lies a colossal block +of stone, cut and shaped on all sides; it is sixty feet in length, eighteen +in breadth, and thirteen in diameter. This giant block was probably +intended to form part of the Cyclops wall surrounding the Temple of +the Sun, for we afterwards noticed several stones of equal length and +breadth among the ruins. Another to the left side of the road +was remarkable for several grottoes and fragments of rock picturesquely +grouped.</p> +<p>We had sent our horses on to the convent, and now hastened towards +the ruined temples. At the foot of a little acclivity a wall rose +lofty and majestic; it was constructed of colossal blocks of rock, which +seemed to rest firmly upon each other by their own weight, without requiring +the aid of mortar. Three of these stones were exactly the size +of one we had seen in the quarry. Many appeared to be sixty feet +in length, and broad and thick in proportion. This is the Cyclops +wall surrounding the hill on which the temples stand. A difficult +path, over piled-up fragments of marble and pieces of rock and rubbish, +serves as a natural rampart against the intrusion of camels and horses; +and this circumstance alone has prevented these sanctuaries of the heathen +deities from being converted into dirty stables.</p> +<p>When we had once passed this obstruction, delight and wonder arrested +our footsteps. For some moments our glances wandered irresolutely +from point to point; we could fix our attention on nothing, so great +was the number of beauties surrounding us: splendid architecture—arches +rising boldly into the air, supported on lofty pillars—every thing +wore an air so severely classic, and yet all was gorgeously elegant, +and at the same time perfectly tasteful.</p> +<p>At first we reviewed every thing in a very hasty manner, for our +impulse hurried us along, and we wished to take in every thing at one +glance. Afterwards we began a new and a more deliberate survey.</p> +<p>As we enter a large open courtyard, our eye is caught by numerous +pieces of marble and fragments of columns, some of the latter resting +on tastefully sculptured plinths. Almost every thing here is prostrate, +covered with rubbish and broken fragments, but yet all looks grand and +majestic in its ruin. We next enter a second and a larger courtyard, +above two hundred paces in length and about a hundred in breadth. +Round the walls are niches cut in marble, and ornamented with the prettiest +arabesques. These niches were probably occupied in former times +by statues of the numerous heathen gods. Behind these are little +cells, the dwellings of the priests; and in the foreground rise six +Corinthian pillars, the only trace left of the great Temple of the Sun. +These six pillars, which have hitherto bid defiance to time, devastation, +and earthquakes, are supposed to be the loftiest and most magnificent +in the world. Nearly seventy feet in height, each pillar a rocky +colossus, resting on a basement twenty-seven feet high, covered with +excellent workmanship, a masterpiece of ancient architecture, they tower +above the Cyclops wall, and look far away into the distance—giant +monuments of the hoary past.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill7.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill7.jpg" alt="Balbeck." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>How vast thus temple must originally have been is shewn by the remaining +pedestals, from which the pillars have fallen, and lay strewed around +in weather-stained fragments. I counted twenty such pedestals +along the length of the temple, and ten across its breadth.</p> +<p>The lesser temple, separated from the greater merely by a wall, lies +deeper and more sheltered from the wind and weather; consequently it +is in better preservation. A covered hall, resting on pillars +fifty feet in height, leads round this temple. Statues of gods +and heroes, beautifully sculptured in marble, and surrounded by arabesques, +deck the lofty arches of this corridor. The pillars consist of +three pieces fastened together with such amazing strength, that when +the last earthquake threw down a column it did not break, but fell with +its top buried in the earth, where it is seen leaning its majestic height +against a hill.</p> +<p>From this hall we pass through a splendid portal into the interior +of the little sanctuary. An eagle with outspread wings overshadows +the upper part of the gate, which is thirty feet in height by twenty +in breadth. The two sides are enriched with small figures prettily +executed, in a tastefully-carved border of flowers, fruit, ears of corn, +and arabesques. This portal is in very good preservation, excepting +that the keystone has slipped from its place, and hangs threateningly +over the entrance, to the terror of all who pass beneath. But +we entered and afterwards returned unhurt, and many will yet pass unharmed +like ourselves beneath the loose stone. We shall have returned +to dust, while the pendent mass will still see generation after generation +roll on.</p> +<p>This lesser temple would not look small by any means, were it not +for its colossal neighbour. On one side nine, and on the other +six pillars are still erect, besides several pedestals from which the +pillars have fallen. Walls, niches, every thing around us, in +fact, is of marble, enriched with sculptured work of every kind. +The sanctuary of the Sun is separated from the nave of the temple by +a row of pillars, most of them prostrate.</p> +<p>To judge from what remains of both these temples, they must originally +have been decorated with profuse splendour. The costliest statues +and bas-reliefs, sculptured in a stone resembling marble, once filled +the niches and halls, and the remains of tasteful ornaments and arabesques +bear witness to the luxury which once existed here. The only fault +seems to have been a redundancy of decoration.</p> +<p>A subterranean vaulted passage, two hundred and fifty paces in length +and thirty in breadth, traverses this temple. In the midst of +this walk a colossal head is hewn out of the rocky ceiling representing +probably some hero of antiquity. This place is now converted into +a stable for horses and camels!</p> +<p>The little brook Litany winds round the foot of the hill on which +these ruins stand.</p> +<p>We had been cautioned at Damascus to abstain from wandering alone +among these temples; but our interest in all we saw was so great that +we forgot the warning and our fears, and hastened to and fro without +the least protection. We spent several hours here, exploring every +corner, and meeting no one but a few curious inhabitants, who wished +to see the newly-arrived Franks. Herr S. even wandered through +the ruins at night quite alone, without meeting with an adventure of +any kind.</p> +<p>I am almost inclined to think that travellers sometimes detail attacks +by robbers, and dangers which they have not experienced, in order to +render their narrative more interesting. My journey was a very +long one through very dangerous regions; on some occasions I travelled +alone with only one Arab servant, and yet nothing serious ever happened +to me.</p> +<p>Heliopolis is in such a ruined state, that no estimate can be formed +of the pristine size and splendour of this celebrated town. Excepting +the two temples of the Sun, and a very small building in their vicinity, +built in a circular form and richly covered with sculpture and arabesques, +and a few broken pillars, not a trace of the ancient city remains.</p> +<p>The present town of Balbeck is partly built on the site occupied +by its predecessor; it lies to the right of the temples, and consists +of a heap of small wretched-looking houses and huts. The largest +buildings in the place are the convent and the barracks; the latter +of these presents an exceedingly ridiculous appearance; fragments of +ancient pillars, statues, friezes, etc. having been collected from all +sides, and put together to form a modern building according to Turkish +notions of taste.</p> +<p>We were received into the convent, but could command no further accommodation +than an empty room and a few straw mats. Our attendant brought +us pilau, the every-day dish of the East; but to-day he surprised us +with a boiled fowl, buried beneath a heap of the Turkish fare. +Count Zichy added a few bottles of excellent wine from Lebanon to the +feast; and so we sat down to dinner without tables or chairs, as merry +as mortals need desire to be.</p> +<p>Here, as in most other Eastern towns, I had only to step out on the +terrace-roof of the house to cause a crowd of old and young to collect, +eager to see a Frankish woman in the costume of her country. Whoever +wishes to create a sensation, without possessing either genius or talent, +has only to betake himself, without loss of time, to the East, and he +will have his ambition gratified to the fullest extent. But whoever +has as great an objection to being stared at as I have, will easily +understand that I reckoned this among the greatest inconveniences of +my journey.</p> +<h3>July 7th.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the morning we again mounted our horses, +and rode for three hours through an immense plain, where nothing was +to be seen but scattered columns, towards the foremost promontories +of the Lebanon range. The road towards the heights was sufficiently +good and easy; we were little disturbed by the heat, and brooks caused +by the thawing of snow-fields afforded us most grateful refreshment. +In the middle of the day we took an hour’s nap under the shady +trees beside a gushing stream; then we proceeded to climb the heights. +As we journeyed onwards the trees became fewer and farther between, +until at length no soil was left in which they could grow.</p> +<p>The way was so confined by chasms and abysses on the one side, and +walls of rock on the other, that there was scarcely room for a horse +to pass. Suddenly a loud voice before us cried, “Halt!” +Startled by the sound, we looked up to find that the call came from +a soldier, who was escorting a woman afflicted with the plague from +a village where she had been the first victim of the terrible disease +to another where it was raging fearfully. It was impossible to +turn aside; so the soldier had no resource but to drag the sick person +some paces up the steep rocky wall, and then we had to pass close by +her. The soldier called out to us to cover our mouths and noses. +He himself had anointed the lower part of his face with tar, as a preventive +against contagion.</p> +<p>This was the first plague-stricken person I had seen; and as we were +compelled to pass close by her, I had an opportunity of observing the +unfortunate creature closely. She was bound on an ass, appeared +resigned to her fate, and turned her sunken eyes upon us with an aspect +of indifference. I could see no trace of the terrible disease, +except a yellow appearance of the face. The soldier who accompanied +her seemed as cool and indifferent as though he were walking beside +a person in perfect health.</p> +<p>As the plague prevailed to a considerable extent throughout the valleys +of the Lebanon, we were frequently obliged to go some distance out of +our way to avoid the villages afflicted with the scourge; we usually +encamped for the night in the open fields, far from any habitation.</p> +<p>On the whole long distance from Balbeck to the cedars of Lebanon +we found not a human habitation, excepting a little shepherd’s +hut near the mountains. Not more than a mile and a half from the +heights we came upon small fields of snow. Several of our attendants +dismounted and began a snow-balling match,—a wintry scene which +reminded me of my fatherland. Although we were travelling on snow, +the temperature was so mild that not one of our party put on a cloak. +We could not imagine how it was possible for snow to exist in such a +high temperature. The thermometer stood at 9° Reaumur.</p> +<p>A fatiguing and dangerous ride of five hours at length brought us +from the foot to the highest point of Mount Lebanon. Here, for +the first time, we can see the magnitude and the peculiar construction +of the range.</p> +<p>Steep walls of rock, with isolated villages scattered here and there +like beehives, and built on natural rocky terraces, rise on all sides; +deep valleys lie between, contrasting beautifully in their verdant freshness +with the bare rocky barriers. Farther on lie stretched elevated +plateaux, with cows and goats feeding at intervals; and in the remote +distance glitters a mighty stripe of bluish-green, encircling the landscape +like a broad girdle—this is the Mediterranean. On the flat +extended coast several places can be distinguished, among which the +most remarkable is Tripoli. On the right the “Grove of Cedars” +lay at our feet.</p> +<p>For a long time we stood on this spot, and turned and turned again, +for fear of losing any part of this gigantic panorama. On one +side the mountain-range, with its valleys, rocks, and gorges; on the +other the immense plain of Cælosyria, on the verge of which the +ruins of the Sun-temple were visible, glittering in the noontide rays. +Then we climbed downwards and upwards, then downwards once more, through +ravines and over rocks, along a frightful path, to a little grove of +the far-famed cedars of Lebanon. In this direction the peculiar +pointed formation which constitutes the principal charm of these mountains +once more predominates.</p> +<p>The celebrated Grove of Cedars is distant about two miles and a half +from the summit of Lebanon; it consists of between five and six hundred +trees: about twenty of these are very aged, and five peculiarly large +and fine specimens are said to have existed in the days of Solomon. +One tree is more than twenty-five feet in circumference; at about five +feet from the ground it divides into four portions, and forms as many +good-sized trunks.</p> +<p>For more than an hour we rested beneath these ancient monuments of +the vegetable world. The setting sun warned us to depart speedily; +for our destination for the night was above three miles away, and it +was not prudent to travel on these fearful paths in the darkness.</p> +<p>Our party here separated. Count Zichy proceeded with his attendants +to Huma, while the rest of us bent our course towards Tripoli. +After a hearty leave-taking, one company turned to the right and the +other to the left.</p> +<p>We had hardly held on our way for half an hour, before one of the +loveliest valleys I have ever beheld opened at our feet; immense and +lofty walls of rock, of the most varied and fantastic shapes, surrounded +this fairy vale on all sides: in the foreground rose a gigantic table-rock, +on which was built a beautiful village, with a church smiling in the +midst. Suddenly the sound of chimes was borne upwards towards +us on the still clear air; they were the first I had heard in Syria. +I cannot describe the feeling of delicious emotion this familiar sound +caused in me. The Turkish government every where prohibits the +ringing of bells; but here on the mountains, among the free Maronites, +every thing is free. The sound of church-bells is a simple earnest +music for Christian ears, too intimately associated with the usages +of our religion to be heard with indifference. Here, so far from +my native country, they appeared like links in the mysterious chain +which binds the Christians of all countries in one unity. I felt, +as it were, nearer to my hearth and to my dear ones, who were, perhaps, +at the same moment listening to similar sounds, and thinking of the +distant wanderer.</p> +<p>The road leading into this valley was fearfully steep. We were +obliged to make a considerable <i>détour</i> round the lovely +village of Bscharai; for the plague was raging there, which made it +forbidden ground for us. Some distance beyond the village we pitched +our camp beside a small stream. This night we suffered much from +cold and damp.</p> +<p>The inhabitants of Bscharai paid us a visit for the purpose of demanding +backsheesh. We had considerable difficulty in getting rid of them, +and were obliged almost to beat them off with sticks to escape from +their contagious touch.</p> +<p>The practice of begging is universal in the East. So soon as +an inhabitant comes in sight, he is sure to be holding out his hand. +In those parts where poverty is every where apparent, we cannot wonder +at this importunity; but we are justly surprised when we find it in +these fruitful valleys, which offer every thing that man can require; +where the inhabitants are well clothed, and where their stone dwellings +look cheerful and commodious; where corn, the grape-vine, the fig and +mulberry tree, and even the valuable potato-plant, which cannot flourish +throughout the greater part of Syria on account of the heat and the +stony soil, are found in abundance. Every spot of earth is carefully +cultivated and turned to the best account, so that I could have fancied +myself among the industrious German peasantry; and yet these free people +beg and steal quite as much as the Bedouins and Arabs. We were +obliged to keep a sharp watch on every thing. My riding-whip was +stolen almost before my very eyes, and one of the gentlemen had his +pocket picked of his handkerchief.</p> +<p>Our march to-day had been very fatiguing; we had ridden for eleven +hours, and the greater part of the road had been very bad. The +night brought us but little relaxation, for our cloaks did not sufficiently +protect us from the cold.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> +<p><i>The Lebanon—Druses and Maronites—Illness of Herr Sattler—Djebel +or Byblus—Rocky passes—Dog’s-river—Return to +Beyrout—Sickness—Departure for Alexandria—Roguery +of the captain—Disagreeables on board—Limasol—Alarm +of pirates—Cowardice of the crew—Arrival at Alexandria.</i></p> +<h3>July 8th.</h3> +<p>To-day we quitted our cold hard couch at six o’clock in the +morning, and travelled agreeably for two hours through this romantic +valley, which appeared almost at every step in a new aspect of increased +beauty. Above the village a foaming stream bursts from the mighty +rocks in a beautiful waterfall, irrigates the valley, and then vanishes +imperceptibly among the windings of the ravine. Brooks similar +to this one, but smaller, leapt from the mountains round about. +On the rocky peaks we seem to behold ruined castles and towers, but +discover with astonishment, as we approach nearer, that what we supposed +to be ruins are delusive pictures, formed by the wonderful masses of +rock, grouped one above the other in the most fantastic forms. +In the depths on the one side, grottoes upon grottoes are seen, some +with their entrances half concealed, others with gigantic portals, above +which the wild rocks tower high; on the other a rich soil is spread +in the form of terraces on the rocky cliffs, forming a lovely picture +of refreshing vegetation. Had I been a painter, it would have +been difficult to tear me away from the contemplation of these regions.</p> +<p>Below the greater waterfall a narrow stone bridge, without balustrades +or railing, leads across a deep ravine, through which the stream rushes +foaming, to the opposite shore. After having once crossed, we +enter upon a more inhabited tract of country, and travel on between +rows of houses and gardens. But many of the houses stood empty, +the inhabitants having fled into the fields, and there erected huts +of branches of trees, to escape the plague. The Maronites, the +real inhabitants of these mountains, are strong people, gifted with +a determined will; they cannot be easily brought under a foreign yoke, +but are ready to defend their liberty to the death among the natural +strongholds of their rocky passes. Their religion resembles that +of the Christians, and their priests are permitted to marry. The +women do not wear veils, but I saw few such handsome countenances among +them as I have frequently observed in the Tyrol.</p> +<p>On the first mountain-range of Lebanon, in the direction of Cælosyria, +many Druses are found, besides a few tribes of “Mutualis.” +The former incline to the Christian faith, while the latter are generally +termed “calf-worshippers.” They practise their religion +so secretly, that nothing certain is known concerning it; the general +supposition is, however, that they worship their deity under the form +of a calf.</p> +<p>Our way led onwards, for about six miles from Bscharai, through the +beautiful valleys of the Lebanon. Then the smiling nature changed, +and we were again wandering through sterile regions. The heat, +too, became very oppressive; but every thing would have been borne cheerfully +had there not been an invalid among us.</p> +<p>Herr Sattler had felt rather unwell on the previous day; to-day he +grew so much worse that he could not keep his seat in his saddle, and +fell to the ground half insensible. Luckily we found a cistern +not far off, and near it some trees, beneath which we made a bed of +cloaks for our sick friend. A little water mixed with a few drops +of strong vinegar restored him to consciousness. After the lapse +of an hour, the patient was indeed able to resume his journey; but lassitude, +headache, and feverish shiverings still remained, and we had a ride +of many hours before us ere we could reach our resting-place for the +night. From every hill we climbed the ocean could be seen at so +short a distance that we thought an hour’s journeying must bring +us there. But each time another mountain thrust itself between, +which it was necessary to climb. So it went on for many hours, +till at length we reached a small valley with a lofty isolated mass +of rock in the midst, crowned by a ruined castle. The approach +to this stronghold was by a flight of stairs cut in the rock. +From this point our journey lay at least over a better road, between +meadows and fruit-trees, to the little town which we reached at night-fall. +We had a long and weary search before we could obtain for our sick comrade +even a room, destitute of every appearance of comfort. Poor Herr +Sattler, more dead than alive, was compelled, after a ride of thirteen +hours, to take up his lodging on the hard ground. The room was +perfectly bare, the windows were broken, and the door would not lock. +We were fain to search for a few boards, with which we closed up the +windows, that the sick man might at least be sheltered from the current +of air.</p> +<p>I then prepared him a dish of rice with vinegar; this was the only +refreshment we were able to procure.</p> +<p>The rest of us lay down in the yard; but the anxiety we felt concerning +our sick friend prevented us from sleeping much. He exhibited +every symptom of the plague; in this short time his countenance was +quite changed; violent headache and exhaustion prevented him from moving, +and the burning heat added the pangs of thirst to his other ills. +As we had been travelling for the last day and a half through regions +where the pestilence prevailed, it appeared but too probable that Herr +Sattler had been attacked by it. Luckily the patient himself had +not any idea of the kind, and we took especial care that he should not +read our anxiety in our countenances.</p> +<h3>July 9th.</h3> +<p>Heaven be praised, Herr Sattler was better to-day, though too weak +to continue his journey. As we had thus some time on our hands, +the French gentleman and I resolved to embark in a boat to witness the +operation of fishing for sponges, by which a number of the poorer inhabitants +of the Syrian coast gain their livelihood.</p> +<p>A fisherman rowed us about half a mile out to sea, till he came to +a place where he hoped to find something. Here he immersed a plummet +in the sea to sound its depth, and on finding that some thing was to +be gained here, he dived downwards armed with a knife to cut the sponge +he expected to find from the rocks; and after remaining below the surface +for two or three minutes, reappeared with his booty, When first loosened +from the rocks, these sponges are usually full of shells and small stones, +which give them a very strong and disagreeable smell. They require +to be thoroughly cleansed from dirt and well washed with sea-water before +being put into fresh.</p> +<p>After our little water-party, we sallied forth to see the town, which +is very prettily situated among plantations of mulberry-trees in the +vicinity of the sea-coast. The women here are not only unveiled, +but frequently wear their necks bare; we saw some of them working in +their gardens and washing linen; they were half undressed. We +visited the bazaar, intending to purchase a few eggs and cucumbers for +our dinner, and some oranges for our convalescent friend. But +we could not obtain any; and moderate as our wishes were, it was out +of our power to gratify them.</p> +<p>By the afternoon Herr Sattler had so far regained his strength, that +he could venture to undertake a short journey of ten miles to the little +town of Djäebbehl. This stage was the less difficult for +our worthy invalid from the fact that the road lay pleasantly across +a fruitful plain skirting the sea, while a cool sea-breeze took away +the oppressiveness of the heat. The majestic Lebanon bounded the +distant view on the left, and several convents on the foremost chain +of mountains looked down upon the broad vale.</p> +<p>We seemed to have but just mounted our horses when we already descried +the castle of the town to which we were bound rising above its walls, +and soon after halted at a large khan in its immediate neighbourhood. +There were large rooms here in plenty, but all were empty, and the unglazed +windows could not even be closed by shutters.</p> +<p>Houses of entertainment of this description barely shield the traveller +from the weather. We took possession of a large entrance-hall +for our night’s quarters, and made ourselves as comfortable as +we could.</p> +<p>Count Berchtold and I walked into the town of Djäebbehl (Byblus). +This place is, as I have already mentioned, surrounded by a wall; it +contains also a small bazaar, where we did not find much to buy. +The majority of dwellings are built in gardens of mulberry-trees. +The castle lies rather high, and is still in the condition to which +it was reduced after the siege by the English in 1840; the side fronting +the ocean has sustained most damage. This castle is now uninhabited, +but some of the lower rooms are converted into stables. Not far +off we found some fragments of ancient pillars; an amphitheatre is said +to have once stood here.</p> +<h3>July 10th.</h3> +<p>To-day Herr Sattler had quite recovered his health, so that we could +again commence our journey, according to custom, early in the morning. +Our road lay continually by the sea-shore. The views were always +picturesque and beautiful, as on the way from Batrun to Djäebbehl; +but to-day we had the additional luxury of frequently coming upon brooks +which flowed from the neighbouring Lebanon, and of passing springs bursting +forth near the seashore; one indeed so close to the sea, that the waves +continually dashed over it.</p> +<p>After riding forward for four hours, we reached the so-called “Dog’s-river,” +the greatest and deepest on the whole journey. This stream also +has its origin in the heights of the Lebanon, and after a short course +falls into the neighbouring sea.</p> +<p>At the entrance of the valley where the Dog’s-river flowed +lay a simple khan. Here we made halt to rest for an hour.</p> +<p>Generally we got nothing to eat during the day, as we seldom or never +passed a village; even when we came upon a house, there was rarely any +thing to be had but coffee: we were therefore the more astonished to +find here fresh figs, cucumbers, butter-milk, and wine,—things +which in Syria make a feast for the gods. We revelled in this +unwonted profusion, and afterwards rode into the valley, which smiled +upon us in verdant luxuriance.</p> +<p>This vale cannot be more than five or six hundred feet in breadth. +On either side high walls rise towering up; and on the left we see the +ruins of an aqueduct quite overgrown with ivy. This aqueduct is +seven or eight hundred paces in length, and extends as far as the spot +where the Dog’s-river rushes over rocks and stones, forming not +a lofty, but yet a fine waterfall. Just below this fall a bridge +of Roman architecture, supported boldly on rocky buttresses, unites +the two shores. The road to this bridge is by a broad flight of +stone stairs, upon which our good Syrian horses carried us in perfect +safety both upwards and downwards; it was a fearful, dizzy road. +The river derives its name from a stone lying near it, which is said +to resemble a dog in form. Stones and pieces of rock, against +which the stream rushed foaming, we saw in plenty, but none in which +we could discover any resemblance to a dog. Perhaps the contour +has been destroyed by the action of wind and weather.</p> +<p>Scarcely had we crossed this dangerous bridge when the road wound +sharply round a rock in the small but blooming valley, and we journeyed +towards the heights up almost perpendicular rocks, and past abysses +that overhung the sea.</p> +<p>The rocky mountain we were now climbing juts far out into the sea, +and forms a pass towards the territory of Beyrout which a handful of +men might easily hold against an army. Such a pass may that of +Thermopylæ have been; and had these mountaineers but a Leonidas, +they would certainly not be far behind the ancient Spartans.</p> +<p>A Latin inscription on a massive stone slab, and higher up four niches, +two of which contain statues, while the others display similar inscriptions, +seemed to indicate that the Romans had already known and appreciated +the importance of this pass. Unfortunately both statues and writing +were so much injured by the all-destroying hand of time, that only a +man learned in these matters could have deciphered their meaning. +In our party there was no one equal to such a task.</p> +<p>We rode on for another half-hour, after which the path led downwards +into the territory of Beyrout; and we rode quietly and comfortably by +the sea-side towards this city. Mulberry trees and vineyards bloomed +around us, country-houses and villages lay half hidden between, and +convents crowned the lower peaks of the Lebanon, which on this side +displays only naked rocks, the majority of a bluish-grey colour.</p> +<p>At a little distance from Beyrout we came upon a second giant bridge, +similar to that over the Dog’s-river. Broad staircases, +on which four or five horsemen could conveniently ride abreast, led +upwards and downwards. The steps are so steep, and lie so far +apart, that it seems almost incredible that the poor horses should be +able to ascend and descend upon them. We looked down from a dizzy +height, not upon a river, but upon a dry river-bed.</p> +<p>At five o’clock in the evening we arrived safely at Beyrout; +and thus ended our excursion to the “lovely and incomparable city +of the East,” to the world-renowned ruin, and to the venerable +Grove of Cedars. Our tour had occupied ten days; the distance +was about 180 miles; namely, from Beyrout to Damascus about 60, from +Damascus to Balbeck 40, and from Balbeck across the Lebanon to Beyrout +about 80 miles.</p> +<p>Of four-footed beasts, amphibious creatures, birds, or insects, we +had seen nothing. Count Berchtold caught a chameleon, which unfortunately +effected its escape from its prison a few days afterwards. At +night we frequently heard the howling of jackals, but never experienced +any annoyance from them. We had not to complain of the attacks +of insects; but suffered much from the dreadful heat, besides being +frequently obliged to endure hunger and thirst: the thermometer one +day rose to 40°.</p> +<p>In Beyrout I once more put up at the house of the kind French lady. +The first piece of news I heard was that I had arrived twenty-four hours +too late, and had thus missed the English packet-boat; this was a most +annoying circumstance, for the boat in question only starts for Alexandria +once a month (on the 8th or 9th), and at other times it is a great chance +if an opportunity of journeying thither can be found. On the very +next day I hastened to the Austrian consulate, and begged the Vice-consul, +Herr C., to let me know when a ship was about to start for Egypt, and +also to engage a place for me. I was told that a Greek vessel +would start for that country in two or three days; but these two or +three days grew into nineteen.</p> +<p>Never shall I forget what I had to endure in Beyrout. When +I could no longer bear the state of things at night in the Noah’s +ark of my good Pauline, I used to creep through the window on to a terrace, +and sleep there; but was obliged each time to retire to my room before +daybreak lest I should be discovered. It is said that misfortunes +seldom happen singly, and my case was not an exception to the rule. +One night I must have caught cold; for in the morning when I hastened +back to my prison, and lay down on the bed to recover from the effects +of my stone couch, I experienced such an acute pain in my back and hips +that I was unable to rise. It happened to be a Sunday morning, +a day on which my kind Pauline did not come to the house, as there was +no school to keep; and so I lay for twenty-four hours in the greatest +pain, without help, unable even to obtain a drop of water. I was +totally unable to drag myself to the door, or to the place where the +water-jug stood. The next day, I am thankful to say, I felt somewhat +better; my Pauline also came, and prepared me some mutton-broth. +By the fourth day I was once more up, and had almost recovered from +the attack.</p> +<h3>JOURNEY FROM BEYROUT TO CAIRO AND ALEXANDRIA.</h3> +<p>It was not until the 28th of July that a Greek brig set sail for +Alexandria. At ten o’clock in the evening I betook myself +on board, and the next morning at two we weighed anchor. Never +have I bid adieu to any place with so much joy as I felt on leaving +the town of Beyrout; my only regret was the parting from my kind Pauline. +I had met many good people during my journey, but she was certainly +one of the best.</p> +<p>Unhappily, my cruel fate was not yet weary of pursuing me; and in +my experience I fully realised the old proverb of, “out of the +frying-pan into the fire.” On this vessel, and during the +time we had to keep quarantine in Alexandria, I was almost worse off +than during my stay in Beyrout. It is necessary, in dealing with +the captain of a vessel of this description, to have a written contract +for every thing—stating, for instance, where he is to land, how +long he may stay at each place, etc. I mentioned this fact at +the consulate, and begged the gentlemen to do what was necessary; but +they assured me the captain was known to be a man of honour, and that +the precaution I wished to take would be quite superfluous. Upon +this assumption, I placed myself fearlessly in the hands of the man; +but scarcely had we lost sight of land, when he frankly declared that +there were not sufficient provisions and water on board to allow of +our proceeding to Alexandria, but that he must make for the harbour +of Limasol in Cyprus. I was exceedingly angry at this barefaced +fraud, and at the loss of time it would occasion me, and offered all +the opposition I could. But nothing would avail me; I had no written +contract, and the rest of the company offered no active resistance—so +to Cyprus we went.</p> +<p>A voyage in an ordinary sailing-vessel, which is not a packet-boat, +is as wearisome a thing as can be well conceived. The lower portion +of the ship is generally so crammed with merchandise, that the deck +alone remains for the passengers. This was the case on the present +occasion. I was obliged to remain continually on deck: during +the daytime, when I had only my umbrella to shield me from the piercing +rays of the sun; at night, when the dews fell so heavily, that after +an hour my cloak would be quite wet through, in cold and in stormy weather. +They did not even spread a piece of sailcloth by way of awning. +This state of things continued for ten days and eleven nights, during +which time I had not even an opportunity to change my clothes. +This was a double hardship; for if there is a place above all others +where cleanliness becomes imperative to comfort, it is certainly on +board a Greek ship, the generality of which are exceedingly dirty and +disgusting. The company I found did not make amends for the accommodation. +The only Europeans on board were two young men, who had received some +unimportant situation in a quarantine office from the Turkish government. +The behaviour of both was conceited, stupid, and withal terribly vulgar. +Then there were four students from Alexandria, who boarded at Beyrout, +and were going home to spend the vacation—good-natured but much-neglected +lads of fourteen or fifteen years, who seemed particularly partial to +the society of the sailors, and were always talking, playing, or quarrelling +with them. The remainder of the company consisted of a rich Arab +family, with several male and female negro slaves, and a few very poor +people. And in such society I was to pass a weary time. +Many will say that this was a good opportunity for obtaining an insight +into the customs and behaviour of these people; but I would gladly have +declined the opportunity, for it requires an almost angelic patience +to bear such a complication of evils with equanimity. Among the +Arabs and the lower class of Greeks, moreover, every thing possessed +by one member of the community is looked upon as public property. +A knife, a pair of scissors, a drinking-glass, or any other small article, +is taken from its owner without permission, and is given back after +use without being cleaned. On the mat, the carpet, or the mattress, +which you have brought on board as bedding, a negro and his master will +lie down; and wherever a vacant space is left, some one is sure to stand +or lie down. Take what precautions you may, it is impossible to +avoid having your person and garments infested by certain very disgusting +parasitical creatures. One day I cleaned my teeth with a toothbrush; +one of the Greek sailors, noticing what I was about, came towards me, +and when I laid the brush down for an instant, took it up. I thought +he only wished to examine it; but no, he did exactly as I had done, +and after cleaning his teeth returned me my brush, expressing himself +entirely satisfied with it.</p> +<p>The diet on board a vessel of this kind is also exceedingly bad. +For dinner we have pilau, stale cheese, and onions; in the evening, +we get anchovies, olives, stale cheese again, and ship-biscuit instead +of bread. These appetising dishes are placed in a tray on the +ground, round which the captains (of whom there are frequently two or +three), the mate, and those passengers who have not come furnished with +provisions of their own, take their places. I did not take part +in these entertainments; for I had brought a few live fowls, besides +some rice, butter, dried bread, and coffee, and prepared my own meals. +The voyage in one of these agreeable ships is certainly not very dear, +if we do not take the discomforts and privations into account; but these +I can really not estimate at too high a price. For the voyage +to Alexandria (a distance of 2000 sea-miles) I paid sixty piastres; +the provisions I took with me cost thirty more; and thus the entire +journey came only to ninety piastres.</p> +<p>In general the wind was very unfavourable, so that we frequently +cruised about for whole nights, and awoke in the morning to find ourselves +in almost the same position we had occupied the previous evening.</p> +<p>This is one of the most disagreeable impressions, and one which can +scarcely be described, to be continually driving and driving without +approaching the conclusion of your journey. To my shame I must +confess that I sometimes shed tears of regret and annoyance. My +fellow-passengers could not at all understand why I was so impatient; +for, with their constitutional indolence, they were quite indifferent +as to whether they spent their time for a week or a fortnight longer +in smoking, sleeping, and idling on board or on shore—whether +they were carried to Cyprus or Alexandria. It was not until the +fourth day that we landed at</p> +<h3>LIMASOL.</h3> +<p>This place contains pretty houses, some of which are even provided +with slated roofs, and resemble European habitations. Here, for +the first time since my departure from Constantinople, I saw a vehicle; +it was not, however, a coach, but simply a wooden two-wheeled cart, +and is used to transport stones, earth, and merchandise. The region +around Limasol is barren in the extreme, almost like that of Larnaca, +except that the mountains are here much nearer.</p> +<p>We stayed in this port the whole of the day; and now I learnt for +the first time that the captain had not put in here so much on account +of scarcity of provisions, as because he wanted to take in wine and +endeavour to take in passengers. Of the latter, however, none +presented themselves. The wine is very cheap; I bought a bottle +containing about three pints for a piastre. As soon as we were +again at sea, our worthy captain gave out that he wished to call at +Damietta. My patience was at length exhausted. I called +him a cheat, and insisted that he should bend his course to no other +port than to Alexandria, otherwise I should have him brought before +a judge if it cost me a hundred piastres. This remonstrance produced +so much effect upon the captain, that he promised me not to cast anchor +any where else; and, marvellous to relate, he kept his word.</p> +<p>One other circumstance occurred during this journey which is interesting +as furnishing a sample of the heroism of the modern Greeks.</p> +<p>On the 5th of August, about noon, our sailors discovered a two-masted +ship in the distance, which altered her course immediately on perceiving +our vessel, and came sailing towards us. It was at once concluded +by all that this ship must be a pirate, else why did she alter her course +and give chase to us? The circumstance was indeed singular; yet +these maritime heroes ought to have been used to all kinds of adventures, +and not at once to have feared the worst, particularly as, so far as +I am aware, the pirate’s trade is very nearly broken up, and attempts +of this kind are unprecedented—at least in these regions.</p> +<p>A painter like Hogarth should have been on board our ship, to mark +the expression of fear and cowardice depicted on the several countenances. +It was wonderful to behold how the poor captains ran from one end of +the ship to the other, and huddled us travellers together into a heap, +recommending us to sit still and keep silence; how they then hurried +away and ran to and fro, making signs and gestures, while the pale sailors +tumbled after them with scared faces, wringing their hands. Any +one who had not witnessed the scene would think this description exaggerated. +What would the Grecian heroes of antiquity say if they could throw a +glance upon their gallant descendants! Instead of arming themselves +and making preparations, the men ran about in the greatest confusion. +We were in this enviable state when the dreaded pirate came within gunshot; +and the reason of her approach turned out to be that her compass was +broken. The whole scene at once changed, as though a beneficent +fairy had waved her wand. The captains instantly recovered their +dignity, the sailors embraced and jumped about like children, and we +poor travellers were released from durance and permitted to take part +in the friendly interview between the two heroic crews.</p> +<p>The captain who had spoken us asked our gallant leader in what latitude +we were, and hearing that we were sailing to Alexandria, requested that +a lantern should be hung at the mainmast-head, at which he might look +as at a guiding-star.</p> +<p>With the exception of Cyprus, we had seen no land during all our +weary journey. We could only judge when we arrived in the neighbourhood +of Damietta by the altered colour of the sea; as far as the eye could +reach, the beautiful dark-blue wave had turned to the colour of the +yellow Nile. From these tokens I could judge of the magnitude +and volume of that river, which at this season of the year increases +greatly, and had already been rising for two months.</p> +<h3>August 7th.</h3> +<p>At eight o’clock in the morning we safely reached the quay +of Alexandria.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> +<p><i>Alexandria—Keeping quarantine—Want of arrangement +in the quarantine house—Bad water—Fumigating of the rooms—Release—Aspect +of the city—Departure by boat for Atfé—Mehemet Ali—Arrival +at Atfé—Excellence of the Nile water—Good-nature +of the Arab women—The Delta of the Nile—The Libyan desert—The +pyramids—Arrival at Cairo.</i></p> +<p>At first we could only perceive the tops of masts, behind which low +objects seemed to be hiding as they rose from the sea. In a little +time a whole forest of masts appeared, while the objects before mentioned +took the shape of houses peering forth amongst them. At length +the land itself could be distinguished from the surrounding ocean, and +we discerned hills, shrubberies, and gardens in the vicinity of the +town, the appearance of which is not calculated to delight the traveller, +for a large desert region of sand girdles both city and gardens, giving +an air of dreariness to the whole scene.</p> +<p>We cast anchor between the lighthouse and the new hospital. +No friendly boat was permitted to approach and carry us to the wished-for +shore; we came from the land of the plague to enter another region afflicted +with the same scourge, and yet we were compelled to keep quarantine, +for the Egyptians asserted that the Syrian plague was more malignant +than the variety of the disease raging among them. Thus a compulsory +quarantine is always enforced in these regions, a circumstance alike +prejudicial to visitors, commerce, and shipping.</p> +<p>We waited with fear and trembling to hear how long a period of banishment +in the hospital should be awarded us. At length came a little +skiff, bringing two guardians (servants of the hospital), and with them +the news that we must remain in the hospital ten days from the period +of our entrance, but that we could not disembark to-day, as it was Sunday. +Excepting at the arrival of the English packet-boats, the officials +have no time to examine vessels on Sundays or holidays,—a truly +Egyptian arrangement. Why could not an officer be appointed for +these days to take care of the poor travellers? Why should fifty +persons suffer for the convenience of one, and be deprived of their +liberty for an extra day? We came from Beyrout furnished with +a Teshkeret (certificate of health) by the government, besides the voucher +of our personal appearance, and yet we were condemned to a lengthened +imprisonment. But Mehemet Ali is far more mighty and despotic +in Egypt than the Sultan in Constantinople; he commands, and what can +we do but obey, and submit to his superior power?</p> +<p>From the deck of our ship I obtained a view of the city and the desert +region around. The town seems tolerably spacious, and is built +quite in European style.</p> +<p>Of the Turkish town, which lies in the background, we can distinguish +nothing; the proper harbour, situate at the opposite side of the city, +is also invisible, and its situation can only be discerned from the +forest of masts that towers upwards. The eye is principally caught +by two high sand-hills, on one of which stands Fort Napoleon, while +the other is only surmounted by several cannon; the foreground is occupied +by rocky ridges of moderate elevation, flanked on one side by the lighthouse, +and on the other by the new quarantine buildings. The old quarantine-house +lies opposite to the new one. In several places we notice little +plantations of date-palms, which make a very agreeable impression on +the European, as their appearance is quite new to him.</p> +<h3>August 8th.</h3> +<p>At seven o’clock this morning we disembarked, and were delivered +with bag and baggage at the quarantine-house. I now trod a new +quarter of the globe, Africa. When I sit calmly down to think +of the past, I frequently wonder how it was that my courage and perseverance +never once left me while I followed out my project step by step. +This only serves to convince me that, if the resolution be firm, things +can be achieved which would appear almost impossible.</p> +<p>I had expected to find neither comfort nor pleasure in the quarantine-house, +and unfortunately I had judged but too well. The courtyard into +which we were shewn was closely locked, and furnished on all sides with +wooden bars; the rooms displayed only four bare walls, with windows +guarded in the same manner. It is customary to quarter several +persons in the same room, and then each pays a share of the expense. +I requested a separate apartment, which one can also have, but of course +at a higher charge. Such a thing as a chair, a table, or a piece +of furniture, was quite out of the question; whoever wishes to enjoy +such a luxury must apply by letter to an innkeeper of the town, who +lends any thing of the kind, but at an enormously high rate. Diet +must be obtained in the same way. In the quarantine establishment +there is no host, every thing must be procured from without. An +innkeeper generally demands between thirty and forty piastres per diem +for dinner and supper. This I considered a little too exorbitant, +and therefore ordered a few articles of food through one of the keepers. +He promised to provide every thing punctually; but I fear he cannot +have understood me, for I waited in vain, and during the whole of the +first day had nothing to eat. On the second day my appetite was +quite ravenous, and I did not know what to do. I betook myself +to the room of the Arab family who had come in the same ship with me, +and were therefore also in quarantine; I asked for a piece of bread, +for which I offered to pay but the kind woman not only gave me bread, +but pressed upon me a share of all the provisions she was preparing +for her family, and would not be prevailed upon to accept any remuneration; +on the contrary, she explained to me by signs that I was to come to +her whenever I wanted any thing.</p> +<p>It was not until the evening of the second day that, perceiving it +was hopeless to expect any thing from my stupid messenger, I applied +to the chief superintendent of the hospital, who came every evening +at sunset to examine us and to lock us in our rooms. I ordered +my provisions of him, and from this time forward always received them +in proper time.</p> +<p>The keepers were all Arabs, and not one of them could understand +or speak any language but their own; this is also a truly Egyptian arrangement. +I think that in an establishment of this kind, where travellers from +all parts of the world are assembled, it would at least be advisable +to have a person who understands Italian, even if he cannot speak it. +An individual of this kind could easily be obtained; for Italian, as +I afterwards found, is such a well-known language throughout the East, +but particularly at Alexandria and Cairo, that many people are to be +met with, even among the lowest classes, who understand and can speak +it.</p> +<p>The supply of water is also very badly managed. Every morning, +immediately after sunrise, a few skins of water are brought for the +purpose of cleaning the cooking utensils; at nine o’clock in the +morning and five in the afternoon a few camels come laden with skins +of fresh water, which are emptied into two stone tanks in the courtyard. +Then all fill their cooking and drinking vessels, but in such an untidy +way that I felt not the slightest inclination to drink. One man +was ladling out the water with a dirty pot, while another dabbled in +the tank with his filthy hands; and some even put their dirty feet on +the run and washed them, so that some of the water ran back into the +tank. This receptacle is moreover never cleaned, so that dirt +accumulates upon dirt, and the only way to obtain clear water is by +filtering it.</p> +<p>On the second day of my residence here I was exceedingly surprised +to observe that the courtyard, the staircases, the rooms, etc. were +being cleaned and swept with particular care. The mystery was +soon solved; the commissioner appeared with a great stick, and paused +at the threshold of the door to see that the linen, clothes, etc. were +hung up to air, the books opened, and the letters or papers suspended +by strings. No idea can be formed of the stupid nervous fear of +this commissioner. For instance, on passing through the first +room on his way to my apartment, he saw the stalk of a bunch of grapes +lying on the ground. With fearful haste he thrust this trifling +object aside with his stick, for fear his foot should strike against +it in passing; and as he went he continually held his stick in rest, +to keep us plague-struck people at a respectful distance.</p> +<p>On the seventh day of our incarceration we were all sent to our rooms +at nine o’clock in the morning. Doors and windows were then +locked, and great chafing-dishes were brought, and a dreadful odour +of brimstone, herbs, burnt feathers, and other ingredients filled the +air. After we had been compelled to endure this stifling atmosphere +for four or five minutes, the windows and doors were once more opened. +A person of a consumptive habit could scarcely have survived this inhuman +ordeal.</p> +<p>On the ninth day the men were drawn up in a row, to undergo an examination +by the doctor. The old gentleman entered the room, with a spy-glass +in one hand and a stick in the other, to review the troop. Every +man had to strike himself a blow on the chest and another in the side; +if he could do this without feeling pain, it was considered a sign of +health, because the plague-spots appear first on these parts of the +body. On the same day, the women were led into a large room, where +a great female dragoon was waiting for us to put us through a similar +ceremony. Neither men nor women are, however, required to undress.</p> +<p>A few hours later we were summoned to the iron grating which separated +us from the disinfected people. On the farther side were seated +several officers, to whom we paid the fee for our rooms and the keepers—the +charge was very trifling. My room, with attendance, only cost +me three piastres per diem. But how gladly would every traveller +pay a higher price if he could only have a table and a few chairs in +his apartment, and an attendant who understood what was said to him!</p> +<p>So far as cleanliness is concerned, there is nothing to complain +of; the rooms, the staircases and the courtyard were kept very neatly, +and the latter was even profusely watered twice a day. We were +not at all annoyed by insects, and we were but little incommoded by +the heat. In the sun the temperature never exceeded 33°; and +in the shade the greatest heat was 22° Reaumur.</p> +<h3>August 17th.</h3> +<p>At seven o’clock this morning our cage was at length opened. +Now all the world rushed in; friends and relations of the voyagers, +ambassadors from innkeepers, porters, and donkey-drivers, all were merry +and joyous, for every one found a friend or an acquaintance, and I only +stood friendless and alone, for nobody hastened towards me or took an +interest in me; but the envoys of the innkeepers, the porters, and donkey-drivers, +cruel generation that they were, quarrelled and hustled each other for +the possession of the solitary one.</p> +<p>I collected my baggage, mounted a donkey, and rode to “Colombier,” +one of the best inns in Alexandria. Swerving a little from the +direct road, I passed “Cleopatra’s Needles,” two obelisks +of granite, one of which is still erect, while the other lies prostrate +in the sand at a short distance. We rode through a miserable poverty-stricken +village; the huts were built of stones, but were so small and low that +we can hardly understand how a man can stand upright in them. +The doors were so low that we had to stoop considerably in entering. +I could not discover any signs of windows. And this wretched village +lay within the bounds of the city, and even within the walls, which +inclose such an immense space, that they not only comprise Alexandria +itself, but several small villages, besides numerous country-houses +and a few shrubberies and cemeteries.</p> +<p>In this village I saw many women with yellowish-brown countenances. +They looked wretched and dirty, and were all clothed in long blue garments, +sitting before their doors at work, or nursing children. These +women were employed in basket-making and in picking corn. I did +not notice any men; they were probably employed in the fields.</p> +<p>I now rode forward across the sandy plain on which the whole of Alexandria +is built, and suddenly, without having passed through any street, found +myself in the great square.</p> +<p>I can scarcely describe the astonishment I felt at the scene before +me. Every where I saw large beautiful houses, with lofty gates, +regular windows, and balconies, like European dwellings; equipages, +as graceful and beautiful as any that can be found in the great cities +of Europe, rolled to and fro amid a busy crowd of men of various nations. +Franks, in the costume of their country, were distinguished among the +turbans and fez-caps of the Orientals; and tall women, in their blue +gowns, wandered amidst the half-naked forms of the Arabs and Bedouins. +Here a negro was running with argilé behind his master, who trotted +along on his noble horse; there Frankish or Egyptian ladies were to +be seen mounted on asses. Coming from the dreary monotony of the +quarantine-house, this sight made a peculiar impression upon me.</p> +<p>Scarcely had I arrived at the hotel before I hastened to the Austrian +consulate, where Herr von L., the government councillor, received me +very kindly. I begged this gentleman to let me know what would +be the first opportunity for me to continue my journey to Cairo; I did +not wish to take passage on board an English steamboat, as the charge +on this vessel for the short distance of about 400 sea miles is five +pounds. The councillor was polite enough to procure me a berth +on board an Arabian barque, which was to start from Atfé the +same evening.</p> +<p>I also learnt at the consulate, that Herr Sattler, the painter, had +arrived by the packet-boat a few days previously, and was now at the +old quarantine-house. I rode out in company with a gentleman to +visit him, and was glad to find him looking very well. He was +just returning from his journey to Palestine.</p> +<p>I found the arrangements in the old quarantine-building rather more +comfortable than those in the new; the establishment is moreover nearer +the town, so that it is easier to obtain the necessaries of life. +On my return, my companion was so kind as to conduct me through the +greater portion of the Turkish town, which appeared to be better built +and more neatly kept than any city of the Turks I had yet seen. +The bazaar is not handsome; it consists of wooden booths, displaying +only the most ordinary articles of merchandise.</p> +<p>On the same day that I quitted the quarantine-house, I rode in the +evening to the Nile Canal, which is twenty-four feet broad and about +twenty-six miles long. A number of vessels lay there, on one of +which a place had been taken for me (the smaller division of the cabin) +as far as Atfé, for the sum of fifteen piastres. I at once +took possession of my berth, made my arrangements for the night and +for the following day, and waited hour after hour till we should depart. +Late in the night I was at length told that we could not set out to-night +at all. To pack up my things again, and to set off to walk to +the inn, a distance of two miles, and to return next morning, would +have been a rather laborious proceeding; I therefore resolved to remain +on board, and sat down among the Arabs and Bedouins to eat my frugal +supper, which consisted of cold provisions.</p> +<p>Next day I was told every half-hour that we should depart immediately, +and each time I was again disappointed.</p> +<p>Herr von L. had wished to supply me with wine and provisions for +the passage; but as I had calculated upon being in Atfé to-day +at noon, I had declined his offer with many thanks. But now I +had no provisions; I could not venture into the town on account of the +distance, and found it quite impossible to make the sailors understand +that they were to bring me some bread and baked fish from the neighbouring +bazaar. At length hunger compelled me to venture out alone: I +pushed through the crowd, who looked at me curiously, but suffered me +to pass unmolested, and bought some provisions.</p> +<p>In Alexandria I procured beef and beef-soup, for the first time since +my departure from Smyrna. In Alexandria and throughout the whole +of Egypt the white bread is very delicious.</p> +<p>At four in the afternoon we at length set sail. The time had +passed rapidly enough with me, for there was a great deal of bustle +around this canal. Barques came and departed, took in or discharged +cargo; long processions of camels moved to and fro with their drivers +to fetch and carry goods; the soldiers passed by, to the sound of military +music, to exercise in the neighbouring square; there was continually +something new to see, so that when four o’clock arrived, I could +not imagine what had become of the time.</p> +<p>With the exception of the crew, I was the only person on board. +These vessels are long and narrow, and are fitted up with a cabin and +an awning. The cabin is divided into two little rooms; the first +and larger of these contains two little windows on each side. +The second and smaller one is often only six feet long by five broad. +The space under the awning is appropriated to the poorer class of passengers +and to the servants. It is necessary to take on board, besides +provisions, a little stove, wood for fuel, kitchen-utensils and articles +of this kind, a supply of water. The water of the Nile is, indeed, +very good and thoroughly tasteless, so that it is universally drunk +in Alexandria, Cairo, and elsewhere; but it is very turbid and of a +yellowish colour, so that it must be filtered to render it clear and +pure. Thus it happens that even on the river we are obliged to +take water with us.</p> +<p>Handsome country-houses with gardens skirt the sides of the canal; +the finest of these belongs to a pacha, the son-in-law of Mehemet Ali. +As we passed this palace I saw the Egyptian Napoleon for the first time; +he is a very little old man, with a long snow-white beard; his eyes +and his gestures are very animated. Several Europeans stood around +him, and a number of servants, some of them clothed in Greek, others +in Turkish costume. In the avenue his carriage was waiting, a +splendid double-seated vehicle, with four beautiful horses, harnessed +in the English style. The Franks are favourably disposed towards +this despot, whose subjects cherish a very opposite feeling. His +government is very lenient to Christians, while the Mussulmen are obliged +to bend their necks beneath a yoke of iron slavery.</p> +<p>This view of villas and gardens only lasts for two hours at the most. +Afterwards we continue our journey to Atfé through a very uniform +and unsatisfactory region of sandy hills and plains. On the right +we pass the Mariotic Sea; and on both sides lie villages of a very wretched +appearance.</p> +<h3>August 19th.</h3> +<p>At eleven in the forenoon we reached Atfé, and had therefore +travelled about 180 sea-miles in sixteen hours. Atfé is +a very small town, or rather a mere heap of stones.</p> +<p>The landing-places were always the scenes of my chief troubles. +It was seldom that I could find a Frank, and was generally obliged to +address several of the bystanders before I succeeded in finding one +who could speak Italian and give me the information I required. +I requested to be taken at once to the Austrian consulate, where this +difficulty was usually removed. This was also the case here. +The consul immediately sent to inquire how I could best get to Cairo, +and offered me a room in his house in the mean time. A ship was +soon found, for Atfé is a harbour of some importance. The +canal joins the Nile at this place; and as larger vessels are used on +the stream itself, all goods are transhipped here, so that barques are +continually starting for Alexandria and Cairo. In a few hours +I was obliged to re-embark, and had only time to provide myself with +provisions and a supply of water, and to partake of a sumptuous dinner +at the consul’s, whose hospitality was doubly grateful to me as +I had fasted the previous day. The chief compartment of the cabin +had been engaged for me, at an expense of 100 piastres. On embarking, +however, I found that this place had been so filled with goods, that +hardly a vacant space remained for the poor occupant. I at once +hastened back to the consulate and complained of the captain, whereupon +the consul sent for that worthy and desired him to clear my cabin, and +to refrain from annoying me during the voyage, if he wished to be paid +on our arrival at Cairo. This command was strictly obeyed, and +until we reached our destination I was left in undisturbed possession +of my berth. At two in the afternoon I once more set sail alone +in the company of Arabs and Bedouins.</p> +<p>I would counsel any one who can only make this journey to Cairo once +in his lifetime to do it at the end of August or the beginning of September. +A more lovely picture, and one more peculiar in its character, can scarcely +be imagined. In many places the plain is covered as far as the +eye can trace by the Nile-sea (it can scarcely be called river in its +immense expanse), and every where little islands are seen rising from +the waters, covered with villages surrounded by date-palms, and other +trees, while in the background the high-masted boats, with their pyramidal +sails, are gliding to and fro. Numbers of sheep, goats, and poultry +cover the hills, and near the shore the heads of the dark-grey buffaloes, +which are here found in large herds, peer forth from the water. +These creatures are fond of immersing their bodies in the cool flood, +where they stand gazing at the passing ships. Here and there little +plantations of twenty to thirty trees are seen, which appear, as the +ground is completely overflowed, to be growing out of the Nile. +The water here is much more muddy and of a darker colour than in the +canal between Atfé and Alexandria. The sailors pour this +water into great iron vessels, and leave it to settle and become clearer; +this is, however, of little use, for it remains almost as muddy as the +river. Notwithstanding this circumstance, however, this Nile-water +is not at all prejudicial to health; on the contrary, the inhabitants +of the valley assert that they possess the best and wholesomest water +in the world. The Franks are accustomed, as I have already stated, +to take filtered water with them. When the supply becomes exhausted, +they have only to put a few kernels of apricots or almonds chopped small +into a vessel of Nile-water to render it tolerably clear within the +space of five or six hours. I learnt this art from an Arab woman +during my voyage on the Nile.</p> +<p>The population of the region around the Nile must be very considerable, +for the villages almost adjoin each other. The ground consists +every where of sand, and only becomes fruitful through the mud which +the Nile leaves behind after its inundation. Thus the luxuriant +vegetation here only commences after the waters of the Nile have retired.</p> +<p>The villages cannot be called handsome, as the houses are mostly +built of earth and clay, or of bricks made of the Nile mud. Man, +the “crown of creation,” does not appear to advantage here; +the poverty, the want of cleanliness, and rude savage state of the people, +cannot be witnessed without a feeling of painful emotion.</p> +<p>The dress of the women consists of the usual long blue garment, and +the men wear nothing but a shirt reaching to the knee. Some of +the women veil their faces, but others do not.</p> +<p>I was astonished at the difference between the fine strongly-built +men and the ugly disgusting women and neglected children. In general +the latter present a most lamentable appearance, with faces covered +with scabs and sores, on which a quantity of flies are continually settling. +Frequently also they have inflamed eyes. In spite of the oppressive +heat, I remained nearly the whole day seated on the roof of my cabin, +enjoying the landscape, and gazing at the moving panorama to my heart’s +content.</p> +<p>The company on board could be called good or bad; bad, because there +was not a soul present to whom I could impart my feelings and sentiments +on the marvels of nature around me; good, because all, but particularly +the Arab women who occupied the little cabin in the forepart of the +vessel, were very good-natured and attentive to me.</p> +<p>They wished me to accept a share of every thing they possessed, and +gave me a portion of each of their dishes, which generally consisted +either of pilau, beans, or cucumbers, and which I did not find palatable; +when they drank coffee in the morning, the first cup was always handed +to me. In return I gave them some of my provisions, all of which +they liked, excepting the coffee, which had milk in it. When we +landed at a village, the inhabitants would inquire by signs if I wished +for any thing. I wanted some milk, eggs, and bread, but did not +know how to ask for them in Arabic. I therefore had recourse to +drawing; for instance, I made a portrait of a cow, gave an Arab woman +a bottle and some money, and made signs to her to milk her cow and to +fill my bottle. In the same way I drew a hen, and some eggs beside +her; pointed to the hen with a shake of my head, and then to the eggs +with a nod, counting on the woman’s fingers how many she was to +bring me. In this way I could always manage to get on, by limiting +my wants to such objects as I could represent by drawings.</p> +<p>When they brought me the milk, and I explained to the Arab woman +by signs that, after she had finished cooking, I wished to have the +use of the fire to prepare my milk and eggs, she immediately took off +her pot from the fire and compelled me, in spite of all remonstrances, +to cook my dinner first. If I walked forward towards the prow +to obtain a better view of the landscape, the best place was immediately +vacated on my behalf; and, in short, they all behaved in such a courteous +and obliging way, that these uncultivated people might have put to shame +many a civilised European. They certainly, however, requested +a few favours of me, which, I am ashamed to say, it cost me a great +effort to grant. For instance, the oldest among them begged permission +to sleep in my apartment, as they only possessed a small cabin, while +I had the larger one all to myself. Then they performed their +devotions, even to the preliminary washing of face and feet, in my cabin: +this I permitted, as I was more on deck than below. At first these +women called me Mary, imagining, probably, that every Christian lady +must bear the name of the Virgin. I told them my baptismal name, +which they accurately remembered; they told me theirs in return, which +I very soon forgot. I mention this trifling circumstance, because +I afterwards was frequently surprised at the retentive memory of these +people during my journey through the desert towards the Red Sea.</p> +<h3>August 21st.</h3> +<p>Although I felt solitary among all the voyagers on the barque, these +two days passed swiftly and agreeably away. The flatter the land +grew, the broader did the lordly river become. The villages increased +in size; and the huts, mostly resembling a sugar-loaf, with a number +of doves roosting on its apex, wore an appearance of greater comfort. +Mosques and large country-houses presently appeared; and, in short, +the nearer we approached towards Cairo, the more distinct became these +indications of affluence. The sand-hills appeared less frequently, +though on the route between Atfé and Cairo I still saw five or +six large barren places which had quite the look of deserts. Once +the wind blew directly towards us from one of these burning wastes with +such an oppressive influence, that I could easily imagine how dreadful +the hot winds (chamsir) must be, and I no longer wondered at the continual +instances of blindness among the poor inhabitants of these regions. +The heat is unendurable, and the fine dust and heated particles of sand +which are carried into the air by these winds cannot fail to cause inflammation +of the eyes.</p> +<p>Little towers of masonry, on the tops of which telegraphs have been +fixed, are seen at intervals along the road between Alexandria and Cairo.</p> +<p>Our vessel was unfortunate enough to strike several times on sand-banks, +besides getting entangled among the shallows—a circumstance of +frequent occurrence during the time that the Nile is rising. On +these occasions I could not sufficiently admire the strength, agility, +and hard-working perseverance of our sailors, who were obliged to jump +overboard and push off the ship with poles, and afterwards were repeatedly +compelled to drag it for half an hour together through shallow places. +These people are also very expert at climbing. They could ascend +<i>without</i> ratlines to the very tops of the slanting masts, and +take in or unloose the sails. I could not repress a shudder on +seeing these poor creatures hanging betwixt earth and heaven, so far +above me that they appeared like dwarfs. They work with one hand, +while they cling to the mast with the other. I do not think that +a better, or a more active, agile, and temperate race of sailors exists +than these. Their fare consists of bread or ship-biscuit in the +morning, with sometimes a raw cucumber, a piece of cheese, or a handful +of dates in addition. For dinner they have the same diet, and +for supper they have a dish of warm beans, or a kind of broth or pilau. +Roast mutton is a rare delicacy with them, and their drink is nothing +but the Nile water.</p> +<p>During the period of the inundation, the river is twice as full of +vessels as at other times. When the river is swollen, the only +method of communication is by boats.</p> +<p>On the last day of this expedition a most beauteous spectacle awaited +me—the Delta! Here the mighty Nile, which irrigates the +whole country with the hundreds of canals cut from its banks through +every region, divides itself into two principal branches, one of which +falls into the sea at Rosetta, and the other at Damietta. If the +separate aims of the river could be compared to seas, how much more +does its united vastness merit the appellation!</p> +<p>When I was thus carried away by the beauty and grandeur of nature, +when I thus saw myself placed in the midst of new and interesting scenes, +it would appear to me incredible how people can exist, possessing in +abundance the gifts of riches, health, and leisure time, and yet without +a taste for travelling. The petty comforts of life and enjoyments +of luxury are indeed worth more in the eyes of some than the opportunity +of contemplating the exalted beauties of nature or the monuments of +history, and of gaining information concerning the manners and customs +of foreign nations. Although I was at times very badly situated, +and had to encounter more hardships and disagreeables than fall to the +lot of many a man, I would be thankful that I had had resolution given +me to continue my wanderings whenever one of these grand spectacles +opened itself before me. What, indeed, are the entertainments +of a large town compared to the Delta of the Nile, and many similar +scenes? The pure and perfect enjoyment afforded by the contemplation +of the beauty of nature is not for a moment to be found in the ball-room +or the theatre; and all the ease and luxury in the world should not +buy from me my recollections of this journey.</p> +<p>Not far from the Delta we can behold the Libyan Desert, of which +we afterwards never entirely lose sight, though we sometimes approach +and sometimes recede from it. I became conscious of certain dark +objects in the far distance; they developed themselves more and more, +and at length I recognised in them the wonder-buildings of ancient times, +the Pyramids; far behind them rises the chain of mountains, or rather +hills, of Mokattam.</p> +<p>Evening was closing in when we at length arrived at Bulak, the harbour +of Cairo. If we could have landed at once, I might, perhaps, have +reached the town itself this evening; as the harbour is, however, always +over-crowded with vessels, the captain is often compelled to wait for +an hour before he can find a place to moor his craft. By the time +I could disembark it had already grown quite dark, and the town-gates +were shut. I was thus obliged to pass the night on board.</p> +<p>The journey from Atfé to Cairo had occupied two days and a +half. This passage had been one of the most interesting, although +the heat became more and more oppressive, and the burning winds of the +desert were sometimes wafted over to us. The highest temperature +at midday was 36°, and in the shade from 24° to 25° Reaumur. +The sky was far less beautiful and clear than in Syria; it was here +frequently overcast with white clouds.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2> +<p><i>Cairo—Quarrel with the captain—Rapacity of the beggars—The +custom-house—The consulate—Aspect of Cairo—Narrow +and crowded streets—Costumes—The mad-house—Disgusting +exhibition—Joseph’s well—Palace of Mehemet Ali—Dates—Mosques +at Cairo—Excursion to the pyramids of Gizeh—Gizeh—Eggs +hatched by artificial heat—Ascent of the pyramids—The sphynx—Return +to Cairo.</i></p> +<h3>August 22d.</h3> +<p>The aspect of this great Egyptian metropolis is not nearly so imposing +as I had fancied it to be; its situation is too flat, and from on board +we can only discern scattered portions of its extended area. The +gardens skirting the shore are luxuriant and lovely.</p> +<p>At my debarcation, and on the road to the consulate, I met with several +adventures, which I relate circumstantially, trifling as they may appear, +in order to give a hint as to the best method of dealing with the people +here.</p> +<p>At the very commencement I became involved in a dispute with the +captain of the vessel. I had still to pay him three dollars and +a half, and gave him four dollars, in the expectation that he would +return me my change. This, however, he refused to do, and persisted +in keeping the half-dollar. He said it should be divided as backsheesh +among the crew; but I am sure they would have seen nothing of it. +Luckily, however, he was stupid enough not to put the money in his pocket, +but kept it open in his hand. I quickly snatched a coin from him, +and put it into my pocket, explaining to him at the same time that he +should not have it back until he had given me my change, adding that +I would give the men a gratuity myself. He shouted and stormed, +and kept on asking for the money. I took no heed of him, but continued +quietly packing up my things. Seeing, at length, that nothing +was to be done with me, he gave me back my half-dollar; whereupon we +parted good friends. This affair concluded, I had to look about +for a couple of asses; one for myself, and another for my luggage. +If I had stepped ashore I should have been almost torn in pieces by +contending donkey-drivers, each of whom would have lugged me in a different +direction. I therefore remained quietly for a time in my cabin, +until the drivers ceased to suspect that any one was there. In +the meantime I had been looking upon the shore from the cabin-window, +and speculating upon which animal I should take; then I quickly rushed +out, and before the proprietors of the long-eared steeds were aware +of my intention, I had seized one by the bridle and pointed to another. +This concluded the matter at once; for the proprietors of the chosen +animals defended me from the rest, and returned with me to the boat +to carry my baggage.</p> +<p>A fellow came up and arranged my little trunk on the back of the +ass. For this trifling service I gave him a piastre; but observing +that I was alone, he probably thought he could soon intimidate me into +giving whatever he demanded. So he returned me my piastre, and +demanded four. I took the money, and told him (for fortunately +he understood a little Italian) that if he felt dissatisfied with this +reward he might accompany me to the consulate, where his four piastres +would be paid so soon as it appeared that he had earned them. +He shouted and blustered, just as the captain had done; but I remained +deaf, and rode forward towards the custom-house. Then he came +down to three piastres, then to two, and finally said he would be content +with one, which I threw to him. When I reached the custom-house, +hands were stretched out towards me from all sides; I gave something +to the chief person, and let the remaining ones clamour on. When, +after experiencing these various annoyances, I rode on towards the town, +a new obstacle arose. My Arab guide inquired whither he should +conduct me. I endeavoured in vain to explain to him where I wanted +to go; he could not be made to understand me. Nothing now remained +for me but to accost every well-dressed Oriental whom I met, until I +should find one who could understand either French or Italian. +The third person I addressed fortunately knew something of the latter +language, and I begged him to tell my guide to take me to the Austrian +consulate. This was done, and my troubles concluded.</p> +<p>A ride of three quarters of an hour in a very broad handsome street, +planted with a double row of a kind of acacia altogether strange to +me, among a crowd of men, camels, asses, etc., brought me to the town, +the streets of which are in general narrow. There is so much noise +and crowding every where, that one would suppose a tumult had broken +out. But as I approached, the immense mass always opened as if +by magic, and I pursued my way without hindrance to the consulate, which +lies hidden in a little narrow blind alley.</p> +<p>I went immediately to the office, and presented myself to the consul, +with the request that he would recommend me a respectable inn of the +second class. Herr Chamgion, the consul, interested himself for +me with heartfelt kindness; he immediately despatched a kavasse to an +innkeeper whom he knew, paid my guide, and recommended the host strongly +to take good care of me; in short, he behaved towards me with true Christian +kindliness. His house was ever open to me, and I could go to him +with any petition I wished to make. It is a real pleasure to me +to be able publicly once more to thank this worthy man.</p> +<p>I had been furnished with a letter of recommendation to a certain +Herr Palm. The consul kindly sent at once for this gentleman, +who soon appeared, and accompanied me to the inn.</p> +<p>I requested Herr P. to recommend me a servant who could either speak +Italian or French, and afterwards to tell me the best method to set +about seeing the lions of the town. Herr P. very willingly undertook +to do so; and after the lapse of an hour, the dragoman had already been +found, and two asses stood before the door to carry me and my servant +through the whole town.</p> +<p>The animated bustle and hum of business in the streets of Cairo is +very great. I can even say that in the most populous cities of +Italy I never saw any thing I could compare to it; and certainly this +is a bold assertion.</p> +<p>Many of the streets are so narrow, that when loaded camels meet, +one party must always be led into a by-street until the other has passed. +In these narrow lanes I continually encountered crowds of passengers, +so that I really felt quite anxious, and wondered how I should find +my way through. People mounted on horses and donkeys tower above +the moving mass; but the asses themselves appear like pigmies beside +the high, lofty-looking camels, which do not lose their proud demeanour +even under their heavy burdens. Men often slip by under the heads +of the camels. The riders keep as close as possible to the houses, +and the mass of pedestrians winds dexterously between. There are +water-carriers, vendors of goods, numerous blind men groping their way +with sticks, and bearing baskets with fruit, bread, and other provisions +for sale; numerous children, some of them running about the streets, +and others playing before the house-doors; and lastly, the Egyptian +ladies, who ride on asses to pay their visits, and come in long processions +with their children and negro servants. Let the reader further +imagine the cries of the vendors, the shouting of the drivers and passengers, +the terrified screams of flying women and children, the quarrels which +frequently arise, and the peculiar noisiness and talkativeness of these +people, and he can fancy what an effect this must have on the nerves +of a stranger. I was in mortal fear at every step, and on reaching +home in the evening felt quite unwell; but as I never once saw an accident +occur, I at length accustomed myself to the hubbub, and could follow +my guide where the crowd was thickest without feeling uneasy.</p> +<p>The streets, or, as they may be more properly called, the lanes of +Cairo, are sprinkled with water several times in the day; fountains +and large vessels of water are also placed every where for the convenience +of the passers-by. In the broad streets straw-mats are hung up +to keep off the sun’s rays.</p> +<p>The richer class of people wear the Oriental garb, with the exception +that the women merely have their heads and faces wrapped in a light +muslin veil; they wear also a kind of mantilla of black silk, which +gives them a peculiar appearance. When they came riding along, +and the wind caught this garment and spread it out, they looked exactly +like bats with outstretched wings.</p> +<p>Many of the Franks also dress in the Oriental style; the Fellahs +go almost naked, and their women only wear a single blue garment.</p> +<p>Here, as throughout all the East, the rich people are always seen +on horseback. I was not so much pleased with the Egyptian as with +the Syrian horses, for the former appeared to me less slim and gracefully +built.</p> +<p>The population of Cairo is estimated at 200,000, and is a mixed one, +consisting of Arabs, Mamelukes, Turks, Berbers, Negroes, Bedouins, Christians, +Greeks, Jews, etc. Thanks to the powerful arm of Mehemet Ali, +they all live peacefully together.</p> +<p>Cairo contains 25,000 houses, which are as unsightly and irregular +as the streets. They are built of clay, unburnt bricks, and stones, +and have little narrow entrances; the unsymmetrical windows are furnished +with wooden shutters impenetrable to the eye. The interiors are +decorated like the houses in Damascus, but in a less costly style; neither +is there such an abundance of fresh water at Cairo.</p> +<p>The Jews’ quarter is the most hideous of all; the houses are +dirty, and the streets so narrow that two persons can only just push +by each other. The entire town is surrounded by walls and towers, +guarded by a castle, and divided into several quarters, separated from +each other by gates, which are closed after sunset. On the heights +around Cairo are to be seen some castles from the time of the Saracens.</p> +<p>As I rode to and fro in the town, my guide suddenly stopped, bought +a quantity of bread, and motioned me to follow him. I thought +he was going to take me to a menagerie, and that this bread was intended +for the wild animals. We entered a courtyard with windows all +round reaching to the ground, and strengthened with iron bars. +Stopping before the first window, my servant threw in a piece of bread; +what was my horror when I saw, instead of a lion or tiger, a naked emaciated +old man rush forth, seize the bread, and devour it ravenously. +I was in the mad-house. In the midst of each dark and filthy dungeon +is fixed a stone, with two iron chains, to which one or two of these +wretched creatures are attached by an iron ring fastened round the neck. +There they sit staring with fearfully distorted faces, their hair and +beard unkempt, their bodies emaciated, and the marrow of life drying +up within them. In these foul and loathsome dens they must pine +until the Almighty in his mercy loosens the chains which bind them to +their miserable existence by a welcome death. There is not <i>one</i> +instance of a cure, and truly the treatment to which they are subjected +is calculated to drive a half-witted person quite mad. And yet +the Europeans can praise Mehemet Ali! Ye wretched madmen, ye poor +fellahs, are ye too ready to join in this praise?</p> +<p>Quitting this abode of misery, my dragoman led me to “Joseph’s +well,” which is deeply hewn out of the rock. I descended +more than two hundred and seventy steps, and had got half-way to the +bottom of the gigantic structure. On looking downward into its +depths a feeling of giddiness came over me.</p> +<p>The new palace of Mehemet Ali is rather a handsome building, arranged +chiefly in the European style. The rooms, or rather the halls, +are very lofty, and are either tastefully painted or hung with silk, +tapestry, etc. Large pier-glasses multiply the objects around, +rich divans are attached to the walls, and costly tables, some of marble, +others of inlaid work, enriched with beautiful paintings, stand in the +rooms, in one of which I even noticed a billiard-table. The dining-hall +is quite European in its character. In the centre stands a large +table; two sideboards are placed against one side of the wall, and handsome +chairs stand opposite. In one of the rooms hangs an oil-painting +representing Ibrahim Pasha, <a name="citation236"></a><a href="#footnote236">{236}</a> +Mehemet Ali’s son.</p> +<p>This palace stands in the midst of a little garden, neither remarkable +for the rarity of the plants it contains, nor for the beauty of their +arrangement. The views from some of the apartments, as well as +that from the garden, are very lovely.</p> +<p>Opposite the palace a great mosque is being built as a mausoleum +for Mehemet Ali. The despot probably reckons on having some years +yet to live, for much remains to be done before the beautiful structure +is completed. The pillars and the walls of the mosque are covered +with the most splendid marble, of a yellowish-white colour.</p> +<p>The before-mentioned buildings, namely, Joseph’s well, the +palace and gardens, and the mosque, are all situate on a high rock, +to which a single broad road leads from Cairo. Here we behold +a threefold sea, namely, of houses, of the Nile, and a sea of sand, +on which the lofty Pyramids rise in the distance like isolated rocks. +The mountains of Mokattam close the background, and a number of lovely +gardens and plantations of date-palms surround the town. With +one glance we can behold the most striking contrasts. A wreath +of the most luxurious vegetation runs round the town, and beyond lies +the dreary monotony of the desert. The colour of the Nile is so +exactly similar to that of the sand forming its shores, that at a distance +the line of demarcation cannot be traced.</p> +<p>On my way homewards I met several fellahs carrying large baskets +full of dates, and stopped one of them, in order to purchase some of +this celebrated fruit. Unfortunately for me, the dates were still +unripe, hard, of a brick-red colour, and so unpalatable that I could +not eat one of them. A week or ten days afterwards I was able +to procure some ripe ones; they were of a brown colour like the dried +fruit, the tender skin could easily be peeled off, and I liked them +better than dried dates, because they were more pulpy and not so sweet. +A much more precious fruit, the finest production of Egypt and Syria, +almost superior to the pine-apple in taste, is the banana, which is +so delicate that it almost melts in the mouth. This fruit cannot +be dried, and is therefore never exported. Sugar melons and peaches +are to be had in abundance, but their flavour is not very good. +I also preferred the Alexandrian grape to that of Cairo.</p> +<p>The bazaars, through which we rode in all directions, displayed nothing +very remarkable in manufactures or in productions of nature and art.</p> +<p>From first to last I spent a week at Cairo, and occupied the whole +of my time from morning till night in viewing the curiosities of the +town.</p> +<p>I only saw two mosques, that of Sultan Hassan and of Sultan Amru. +Before I was permitted to enter the first of these edifices, they compelled +me to take off my shoes, and walk in my stockings over a courtyard paved +with great stones. The stones had become so heated by the solar +rays, that I was obliged to run fast, to avoid scorching the soles of +my feet. I cannot give an opinion touching the architectural beauty +of this building, which is built in such a simple style that none but +a connoisseur would discover its merits. I was better pleased +with the mosque of Sultan Amru, which contains several halls, and is +supported on numerous columns. The mosques in Cairo struck me +as having a more ancient and venerable appearance than those of Constantinople, +while the latter, on the other hand, were larger and more elegant.</p> +<p>I also visited the island of Rodda, which is worthy the name of a +beautiful garden. It lies opposite to old Cairo, on the Nile, +and is said to be a favourite walk of the townspeople, though I was +there twice without meeting any one. The garden is spacious, and +contains all kinds of tropical productions: here I saw the sugar-cane, +which greatly resembles the stem of the Indian maize; the cotton-tree, +growing to a height of five or six feet; the banana-tree, the short-stemmed +date-palm, the coffee-tree, and many others. Flowers were also +there in quantities which must be cultivated with great care in the +hot-houses of my native country. The whole of this collection +of plants is very tastefully arranged, and shines forth in the height +of luxuriant beauty. It is customary to lay the entire island +under water every evening by means of artificial canals. This +system is universally carried out throughout the Egyptian plantations, +and is, in fact, the only method by which vegetation can be preserved +in its freshest green in spite of the burning heat. The care of +this fairy grove is entrusted to a German ornamental gardener; unfortunately +I was informed of this fact too late, otherwise I should have visited +my countryman and requested an explanation of many things which appeared +strange to me.</p> +<p>In the midst of the garden is a beautiful grotto, ornamented within +and without by a great variety of shells from the Red Sea, which give +it a most striking appearance. At this spot, towards which many +paths lead, all strewed with minute shells instead of gravel, Moses +is said to have been found in his cradle of bulrushes(?). Immediately +adjoining the garden we find a summer residence belonging to Mehemet +Ali.</p> +<p>The well shewn as that into which Joseph was thrust by his brethren +lies about two miles distant from the town, in a village on the road +to Suez. Half a mile off a very large and venerable sycamore-tree +was pointed out to me as the one in the shade of which the holy family +rested on their way to Egypt; and a walk of another quarter of a mile +brings us to the garden of Boghos Bey, in the midst of which stands +one of the finest and largest obelisks of Upper Egypt: it is still in +good condition, and completely covered with hieroglyphics. The +garden, however, offers nothing remarkable. The ancient city of +Heliopolis is said to have been built not far off; but at the present +day not a vestige of it remains.</p> +<p>The road to this garden already lies partly in the desert. +At first the way winds through avenues of trees and past gardens; but +soon the vast desert extends to the right, while beautiful orange and +citron groves still skirt the left side of the path. Here we continually +meet herds of camels, but a dromedary is a rare sight.</p> +<h3>EXCURSION TO THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH.August 25th, 1842.</h3> +<p>At four in the afternoon I quitted Cairo, crossed two arms of the +Nile, and a couple of hours afterwards arrived safely at Gizeh. +As the Nile had overflowed several parts of the country, we were compelled +frequently to turn out of our way, and sometimes to cross canals and +ride through water; now and then, where it was too deep for our asses, +we were obliged to be carried across. As there is no inn at Gizeh +I betook myself to Herr Klinger, to whom I brought a letter of recommendation +from Cairo. Herr K. is a Bohemian by birth, and stands in the +service of the viceroy of Egypt, as musical instructor to the young +military band. I was made very welcome here, and Herr Klinger +seemed quite rejoiced at seeing a visitor with whom he could talk in +German. Our conversation was of Beethoven and Mozart, of Strauss +and Lanne. The fame of the bravura composers of the present day, +Liszt and Thalberg, had not yet penetrated to these regions. I +requested my kind host to shew me the establishment for hatching eggs +that exists at Gizeh. He immediately sent for the superintendent, +who happened however to be absent, and to have locked up the keys. +In this place about 8000 eggs are hatched by artificial warmth during +the months of March and April. The eggs are laid on large flat +plates, which are continually kept at an equal temperature by heat applied +below the surface: they are turned several times during the day. +As the thousands of little chickens burst their shells, they are sold, +not by number or weight, but by the measure. This egg-hatching +house has the effect of rendering poultry plentiful and cheap.</p> +<p>After chatting away the evening very pleasantly I sought my couch, +tired with my ride and with the heat, and rejoicing at the sight of +the soft divan, which seemed to smile upon me, and promise rest and +strength for the following day. But as I was about to take possession +of my couch, I noticed on the wall a great number of black spots. +I took the candle to examine what it could be, and nearly dropped the +light with horror on discovering that the wall was covered with bugs. +I had never seen such a disgusting sight. All hopes of rest on +the divan were now effectually put to flight. I sat down on a +chair, and waited until every thing was perfectly still; then I slipped +into the entrance-hall, and lay down on the stones, wrapped in my cloak.</p> +<p>Though I had escaped from one description of vermin, I became a prey +to innumerable gnats. I had passed many uncomfortable nights during +my journey, but this was worse than any thing I had yet endured.</p> +<p>However, this was only an additional inducement for rising early, +and long before sunrise I was ready to continue my journey. Before +daybreak I took leave of my kind host, and rode with my servant towards +the gigantic structures. To-day we were again obliged frequently +to go out of our route on account of the rising of the Nile; owing to +this delay, two hours elapsed before we reached the broad arm of the +Nile, dividing us from the Libyan desert, on which the Pyramids stand, +and over which two Arabs carried me. This was one of the most +disagreeable things that can be imagined. Two large powerful men +stood side by side; I mounted on their shoulders, and held fast by their +heads, while they supported my feet in a horizontal position above the +waters, which at some places reached almost to their armpits, so that +I feared every moment that I should sit in the water. Besides +this, my supporters continually swayed to and fro, because they could +only withstand the force of the current by a great exertion of strength, +and I was apprehensive of falling off. This disagreeable passage +lasted above a quarter of an hour. After wading for another fifteen +minutes through deep sand, we arrived at the goal of our little journey.</p> +<p>The two colossal pyramids are of course visible directly we quit +the town, and we keep them almost continually in sight. But here +the expectations I had cherished were again disappointed, for the aspect +of these giant structures did not astonish me greatly. Their height +appears less remarkable than it otherwise would, from the circumstance +that their base is buried in sand, and thus hidden from view. +There is also neither a tree nor a hut, nor any other object which could +serve to display their huge proportions by the force of contrast.</p> +<p>As it was still early in the day and not very hot, I preferred ascending +the pyramid before venturing into its interior. My servant took +off my rings and concealed them carefully, telling me that this was +a very necessary precaution, as the fellows who take the travellers +by the hands to assist them in mounting the pyramids have such a dexterous +knack of drawing the rings from their fingers, that they seldom perceive +their loss until too late.</p> +<p>I took two Arabs with me, who gave me their hands, and pulled me +up the very large stones. Any one who is at all subject to dizziness +would do very wrong in attempting this feat, for he might be lost without +remedy. Let the reader picture to himself a height of 500 feet, +without a railing or a regular staircase by which to make the ascent. +At one angle only the immense blocks of stone have been hewn in such +a manner that they form a flight of steps, but a very inconvenient one, +as many of these stone blocks are above four feet in height, and offer +no projection on which you can place your foot in mounting. The +two Arabs ascended first, and then stretched out their hands to pull +me from one block to another. I preferred climbing over the smaller +blocks without assistance. In three quarters of an hour’s +time I had gained the summit of the pyramid.</p> +<p>For a long time I stood lost in thought, and could hardly realise +the fact that I was really one of the favoured few who are happy enough +to be able to contemplate the most stupendous and imperishable monument +ever erected by human hands. At the first moment I was scarcely +able to gaze down from the dizzy height into the deep distance; I could +only examine the pyramid itself, and seek to familiarise myself with +the idea that I was not dreaming. Gradually, however, I came to +myself, and contemplated the landscape which lay extended beneath me. +From my elevated position I could form a better estimate of the gigantic +structure, for here the fact that the base was buried in sand did not +prejudice the general effect. I saw the Nile flowing far beneath +me, and a few Bedouins, whom curiosity had attracted to the spot, looked +like very pigmies. In ascending I had seen the immense blocks +of stone singly, and ceased to marvel that these monuments are reckoned +among the seven wonders of the world.</p> +<p>On the castle the view had been fine, but here, where the prospect +was bounded only by the horizon and by the Mokattam mountains, it is +grander by far. I could follow the windings of the river, with +its innumerable arms and canals, until it melted into the far horizon, +which closed the picture on this side. Many blooming gardens, +and the large extensive town with its environs; the immense desert, +with its plains and hills of sand, and the lengthened mountain-range +of Mokattam,—all lay spread before me; and for a long time I sat +gazing around me, and wishing that the dear ones at home had been with +me, to share in my wonder and delight.</p> +<p>But now the time came not only to look down, but to descend. +Most people find this even more difficult than the ascent; but with +me the contrary was the case. I never grow giddy, and so I advanced +in the following manner, without the aid of the Arabs. On the +smaller blocks I sprang from one to the other; when a stone of three +or four feet in height was to be encountered, I let myself glide gently +down; and I accomplished my descent with so much grace and agility, +that I reached the base of the pyramid long before my servant. +Even the Arabs expressed their pleasure at my fearlessness on this dangerous +passage.</p> +<p>After eating my breakfast and resting for a short time, I proceeded +to explore the interior. At first I was obliged to cross a heap +of sand and rubbish; for we have to go downwards towards the entrance, +which is so low and narrow that we cannot always stand upright. +I could not have passed along the passage leading into the interior +if the Arabs had not helped me, for it is so steep and so smoothly paved +that, in spite of my conductor’s assistance, I slid rather than +walked. The apartment of the king is more spacious, and resembles +a small hall. On one side stands a little empty sarcophagus without +a lid. The walls of the chambers and of the passages are covered +with large and beautifully polished slabs of granite and marble. +The remaining passages, or rather dens, which are shown here, I did +not see. It may be very interesting for learned men and antiquarians +thus to search every corner; but for a woman like myself, brought hither +only by an insatiable desire to travel, and capable of judging of the +beauties of nature and art only by her own simple feelings, it was enough +to have ascended the pyramid of Cheops, and to have seen something of +its interior. This pyramid is said to be the loftiest of all. +It stands on a rock 150 feet in height, which is invisible, being altogether +buried in sand. The height of the vast structure is above 500 +feet. It was erected by Cheops more than 3000 years ago, and 100,000 +men are said to have been employed in its construction for twenty-six +years. It is a most interesting structure, built of immense masses +of rock, fixed together with a great deal of art, and seemingly calculated +to last an eternity. They look so strong and so well preserved, +that many travellers will no doubt repair hither in coming generations, +and continue the researches commenced long ago.</p> +<p>The Sphynx, a statue of most colossal dimensions, situate at no great +distance from the great pyramid, is so covered with sand that only the +head and a small portion of the bust remain visible. The head +alone is twenty-two feet in height.</p> +<p>After walking about and inspecting every thing, I commenced my journey +back. On the way I once more visited Herr Klinger, strengthened +myself with a hearty meal, and arrived safely at Cairo late in the evening. +Here I wished to take my little purse out of my pocket, and found that +it was gone. Luckily I had only taken one collonato (Spanish dollar) +with me. No one can imagine what dexterity the Bedouins and Arabs +possess in the art of stealing. I always kept a sharp eye upon +my effects, and notwithstanding my vigilance several articles were pilfered +from me, and my purse must also have been stolen during this excursion. +The loss was very disagreeable to me because it involved that of my +box-key. I was, however, fortunate in finding an expert Arabian +locksmith, who opened my chest and made me a new key, on which occasion +I had another opportunity of seeing how careful it is necessary to be +in all our dealings with these people to avoid being cheated. +The key locked and unlocked my box well, and I paid for it; but immediately +afterwards observed that it was very slightly joined in the middle, +and would presently break. The Arab’s tools still lay on +the ground; I immediately seized one of them, and told the man I would +not give it up until he had made me a new key. It was in vain +that he assured me he could not work without his tools; he would not +give my money back, and I kept the implement: by this means I obtained +from him a new and a good key.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> +<p><i>Christian churches at Cairo—The Esbekie-square—Theatre—Howling +dervishes—Mashdalansher, the birthday of Mahomet—Procession +and religious ceremony—Shubra—Excursion through the desert +to Suez—Hardships of the journey—Scenes in the desert—The +camel—Caravans—Mirage—The Red Sea—Suez—Bedouin +camp—Quarrel with the camel-driver—Departure for Alexandria.</i></p> +<p>I visited many Christian churches, the finest among which was the +Greek one. On my way thither I saw many streets where there can +hardly have been room for a horseman to pass. The road to the +Armenian church leads through such narrow lanes and gates, that we were +compelled to leave our asses behind; there was hardly room for two people +to pass each other.</p> +<p>On the other hand, I had nowhere seen a more spacious square than +the Esbekie-place in Cairo. The square in Padua is perhaps the +only one that can compare with it in point of size; but this place looks +like a complete chaos. Miserable houses and ruined huts surround +it; and here and there we sometimes come upon a part of an alley or +an unfinished canal. The centre is very uneven, and is filled +with building materials, such as stones, wood, bricks, and beams. +The largest and handsomest house in this square is remarkable as having +been inhabited by Napoleon during his residence at Cairo: it is now +converted into a splendid hotel.</p> +<p>Herr Chamgion, the consul, was kind enough to send me a card of invitation +for the theatre. The building looks like a private house, and +contains a gallery capable of accommodating three or four hundred people; +this gallery is devoted to the use of the ladies. The performers +were all amateurs; they acted an Italian comedy in a very creditable +manner. The orchestra comprised only four musicians. At +the conclusion of the second act the consul’s son, a boy of twelve +years, played some variations on the violin very prettily.</p> +<p>The women, all natives of the Levant, were very elegantly dressed; +they wore the European garb, white muslin dresses with their hair beautifully +braided and ornamented with flowers. Nearly all the women and +girls were handsome, with complexions of a dazzling whiteness, which +we rarely see equalled in Europe. The reason of this is, perhaps, +that they always stay in their houses, and avoid exposing themselves +to the sun and wind.</p> +<p>The following day I visited the abode of the howling dervishes, in +whom I took a lively interest since I had seen their brethren at Constantinople. +The hall, or rather the mosque, in which they perform their devotions +is very splendid. I was not allowed here to stand among the men +as I had done at Constantinople, but was conducted to a raised gallery, +from which I could look down through a grated window.</p> +<p>The style of devotion and excitement of these dervishes is like that +I had witnessed at Constantinople, without being quite so wild in its +character. Not one of them sank exhausted, and the screeching +and howling were not so loud. Towards the end of their performance +many of the dervishes seized a small tambourine, on which they beat +and produced a most diabolical music.</p> +<p>In the slave-market there was but a meagre selection; all the wares +had been bought, and a new cargo of these unfortunates was daily expected. +I pretended that I wished to purchase a boy and a girl, in order to +gain admittance into the private department. Here I saw a couple +of negro girls of most uncommon beauty. I had not deemed it possible +to find any thing so perfect. Their skin was of a velvety black, +and shone with a peculiar lustre. Their teeth were beautifully +formed and of dazzling whiteness, their eyes large and lustrous, and +their lips thinner than we usually find them among these people. +They wore their hair neatly parted, and arranged in pretty curls round +the head. Poor creatures, who knows into what hands they might +fall! They bowed their heads in anguish, without uttering a syllable. +The sight of the slave-market here inspired me with a feeling of deep +melancholy. The poor creatures did not seem so careless and merry +as those whom I had seen on the market-place at Constantinople. +In Cairo the slaves seemed badly kept; they lay in little tents, and +were driven out, when a purchaser appeared, very much in the manner +of cattle. They were only partially clothed in some old rags, +and looked exhausted and unhappy.</p> +<p>During my short stay at Cairo one of the chief feasts of the Mahommedans—namely, +the Mashdalansher, or birthday of the Prophet—occurred. +This feast is celebrated on a great open space outside the town. +A number of large tents are erected; they are open in front, and beneath +their shelter all kinds of things are carried on. In one tent, +Mahommedans are praying; in another, a party of dervishes throw themselves +with their faces to the ground and call upon Allah; while in a third, +a juggler or storyteller may be driving his trade. In the midst +of all stood a large tent, the entrance to which was concealed by curtains. +Here the “bayaderes” were dancing; any one can obtain admission +by paying a trifling sum. Of course I went in to see these celebrated +dancers. There were, however, only two pairs; two boys were elegantly +clothed in a female garb, richly decorated with gold coins. They +looked very pretty and delicate, so that I really thought they were +girls. The dance itself is very monotonous, slow, and wearisome; +it consists only of some steps to and fro, accompanied by some rather +indecorous movements of the upper part of the body. These gestures +are said to be very difficult, as the dancer must stand perfectly still, +and only move the upper part of his person. The music consisted +of a tambourine, a flageolet, and a bagpipe. Much has been written +concerning the indecency of these dances; but I am of opinion that many +of our ballets afford much greater cause of complaint. It may, +however, be that other dances are performed of which the general public +are not allowed to be spectators; but I only speak of what is done openly. +I would also by far prefer a popular festival in the East to a fair +in our highly-civilised states. The Oriental feasts were to me +a source of much enjoyment, for the people always behaved most decorously. +They certainly shouted, and pushed, and elbowed each other like an European +mob; but no drunken men were to be seen, and it was very seldom that +a serious quarrel occurred. The commonest man, too, would never +think of offering an insult to one of the opposite sex. I should +feel no compunction in sending a young girl to this festival, though +I should never think of letting her go to the fair held at Vienna on +St. Bridget’s day.</p> +<p>The people were assembled in vast numbers, and the crowd was very +great, yet we could pass every where on our donkeys.</p> +<p>At about three o’clock my servant sought out an elevated place +for me, for the great spectacle was soon to come, and the crushing and +bustle had already reached their highest pitch. At length a portly +priest could be descried riding along on a splendid horse; before him +marched eight or ten dervishes with flags flying, and behind him a number +of men, among whom were also many dervishes. In the midst of the +square the procession halted; a few soldiers pushed their way among +the people, whom they forced to stand back and leave a road. Whenever +the spectators did not obey quickly, a stick was brought into action, +which soon established order in a most satisfactory manner.</p> +<p>The procession now moved on once more, the standard-bearers and dervishes +making all kinds of frantic gestures, as though they had just escaped +from a madhouse. On reaching the place where the spectators formed +a lane, the dervishes and several other men threw themselves down with +their faces to the ground in a long row, with their heads side by side. +And then—oh horror!—the priest rode over the backs of these +miserable men as upon a bridge. Then they all sprang up again +as though nothing had happened, and rejoined the advancing train with +their former antics and grimaces. One man stayed behind, writhing +to and fro as if his back had been broken, but in a few moments’ +time he went away as unconcernedly as his comrades. Each of the +actors in this scene considers himself extremely fortunate in having +attained to such a distinction, and this feeling even extends to his +relations and friends.</p> +<h3>SHUBRA.</h3> +<p>One afternoon I paid a visit to the beautiful garden and country-house +of the Viceroy of Egypt. A broad handsome street leads between +alleys of sycamores, and the journey occupies about an hour and a half. +Immediately upon my arrival I was conducted to an out-building, in the +yard belonging to which a fine large elephant was to be shewn. +I had already seen several of these creatures, but never such a fine +specimen as this. Its bulk was truly marvellous; its body clean +and smooth, and of a dark-brown colour.</p> +<p>The park is most lovely; and the rarest plants are here seen flourishing +in the open air, in the fulness of bloom and beauty, beside those we +are accustomed to see every day. On the whole, however, I was +better pleased with the garden at Rodda. The palace, too, is very +fine. The ceilings of the rooms are lofty, and richly ornamented +with gilding, paintings, and marble. The rooms appropriated to +the viceroy’s consort are no less magnificent; the ascent to them +is by a broad staircase on each side. On the ground-floor is situate +the favourite apartment of the autocrat of Cairo, furnished in the style +of the reception-halls at Damascus. A fountain of excellent water +diffuses a delicious coolness around. In the palace itself we +find several large cages for parrots and other beautiful birds. +What pleased me most of all was, however, the incomparable kiosk, lying +in the garden at some distance from the palace. It is 130 paces +long and 100 broad, surrounded by arcades of glorious pillars. +This kiosk contains in its interior a large and beautiful fountain; +and at the four corners of the building are terraces, from which the +water falls in the form of little cataracts, afterwards uniting with +the fountain, and shooting upwards in the shape of a mighty pillar. +All things around us, the pavilion and the pillars, the walls and the +fountain, are alike covered with beautiful marble of a white or light-brown +colour; the pavilion is even arranged so that it can be lighted with +gas.</p> +<p>From this paradise of the living I rode to the abode of the dead, +the celebrated “world of graves,” which is to be seen in +the desert. Here are to be found a number of ancient sepulchres, +but most of them resemble ruins, and to find out their boasted beauty +is a thing left to the imagination of every traveller. I only +admired the sepulchre of Mehemet Ali’s two sons, in which the +bones of his wife also rest: this is a beautiful building of stone; +five cupolas rise above the magnificent chambers where the sarcophagi +are deposited.</p> +<p>The petrified date-wood lies about eight miles distant from Cairo; +I rode out there, but did not find much to see, excepting here and there +some fragments of stems and a few petrifactions lying about. It +is said that the finest part of this “petrified wood” begins +some miles away; but I did not penetrate so far.</p> +<p>During my residence in Cairo the heat once reached 36° Reaumur, +and yet I found it much more endurable than I had expected. I +was not annoyed at all by insects or vermin; but I was obliged to be +careful not to leave any provisions in my room throughout the night. +An immense swarm of minute ants would seize upon every kind of eatable, +particularly bread. One evening I left a roll upon the table, +and the next morning found it half eaten away, and covered with ants +within and without. It is here an universal custom to place the +feet of the tables in little dishes filled with water, to keep off these +insects.</p> +<h3>EXCURSION TO SUEZ.</h3> +<p>It had originally been my intention to stay at Cairo a week at the +furthest, and afterwards to return to Alexandria. But the more +I saw, the more my curiosity became excited, and I felt irresistibly +impelled to proceed. I had now travelled in almost every way, +but I had not yet tried an excursion on a camel. I therefore made +inquiry as to the distance, danger, and expense of a journey to Suez +on the Red Sea. The distance was a thirty-six hours’ journey, +the danger was said to be <i>nil</i>, and the expense they estimated +at about 250 piastres.</p> +<p>I therefore hired two strong camels, one for me, the other for my +servant and the camel-driver, and took nothing with me in the way of +provisions but bread, dates, a piece of roast meat, and hardboiled eggs. +Skins of water were hung at each side of the camels, for we had to take +a supply which would last us the journey and during our return.</p> +<p>If we ride every day for twelve hours, this journey occupies six +days, there and back. But as I was unable to depart until the +afternoon of the 26th, and was obliged to be in Alexandria at latest +by the 30th, in order not to miss the steamer, I had only four days +and a half to accomplish it in. Thus this excursion was the most +fatiguing I had ever undertaken.</p> +<p>At four in the afternoon I rode through the town-gate, where the +camels were waiting for us; we mounted them and commenced our journey.</p> +<p>The desert begins at the town-gates, but for the first few miles +we have a sight of some very fruitful country on the left, until at +length we leave town and trees behind us, and with them all the verdure, +and find ourselves surrounded on all sides by a sea of sand.</p> +<p>For the first four or five hours I was not ill-pleased with this +mode of travelling. I had plenty of room on my camel, and could +sit farther back or forward as I chose, and had provisions and a bottle +of water at my side. Besides this, the heat was not oppressive; +I felt very comfortable, and could look down from my high throne almost +with a feeling of pride upon the passing caravans. Even the swaying +motion of the camel, which causes in some travellers a feeling of sickness +and nausea like that produced by a sea-voyage, did not affect me. +But after a few hours I began to feel the fatigues and discomforts of +a journey of this kind. The swinging motion pained and fatigued +me, as I had no support against which I could lean. The desire +to sleep also arose within me, and it can be imagined how uncomfortable +I felt. But I was resolved to go to Suez; and if all my hardships +had been far worse, I would not have turned back. I summoned all +my fortitude, and rode without halting for fifteen hours, from four +in the afternoon until seven the next morning.</p> +<p>During the night we passed several trains of camels, some in motion, +some at rest, often consisting of more than a hundred. We were +not exposed to the least annoyance, although we had attached ourselves +to no caravan, but were pursuing our way alone.</p> +<p>From Cairo to Suez posts are established at every five or six hours’ +journey, and at each of these posts there stands a little house of two +rooms for the convenience of travellers. These huts were built +by an English innkeeper established at Cairo; but they can only be used +by very rich people, as the prices charged are most exorbitant. +Thus, for instance, a bed for one night costs a hundred piastres, a +little chicken twenty, and a bottle of water two piastres. The +generality of travellers encamp before the house, and I followed the +same plan, lying down for an hour in the sand while the camels ate their +scanty meal. My health and bodily strength are, I am happy to +say, so excellent, that I am ready after a very short rest to encounter +new fatigues. After this hour of repose I once more mounted my +camel to continue my journey.</p> +<h3>August 27th.</h3> +<p>It may easily be imagined that the whole scene by which we are here +surrounded has over it an air of profound and deathlike stillness. +The sea, where we behold nothing but water around us, presents more +of life to divert the mind. The very rushing and splash of the +wheels, the bounding waves, the bustle of bending or reefing sails, +and the crowding of people on the steamer, brings varied pictures to +temper the monotony around. Even the ride through the stony deserts +which I had traversed in Syria has not so much sameness, for there we +at least hear the tramp of the horse and the sound of many a rolling +stone; the traveller’s attention is, besides, kept continually +on the stretch in guiding each step that his horse takes, to avoid the +risk of a fall. But all this is wanting in a journey through a +sandy desert. No bird hovers in the air, not a butterfly is here +to gladden the eye, not even an insect or a worm crawls on the ground; +not a living creature is, in fact, to be seen, but the little vultures +preying on the carcasses of fallen camels. Even the tread of the +heavy-footed camel is muffled by the deep sand, and nothing is ever +heard but the moaning of these poor animals when their driver forces +them to lie down to take off their burden; most probably the exertion +of stooping hurts them. The driver beats the camel on the knee +with a stick, and pulls its head towards him by a rope fastened to it +like a halter. During this operation the rider must hold very +fast in order not to fall off, for suddenly the creature drops on its +fore-knees, then on its hind legs, and at length sits completely down +on the ground. When you mount the animal again, it becomes necessary +to keep a vigilant eye upon him, for as soon as he feels your foot on +his neck he wishes to rise.</p> +<p>As I have already said, we see nothing on this journey but many and +large companies of camels, which march one behind the other, while their +drivers shorten the way with dreary inharmonious songs. Half-devoured +carcasses of these “ships of the desert” lie every where, +with jackals and vultures gnawing at them. Even living camels +are sometimes seen staggering about, which have been left to starve +by their masters as unfit for further service. I shall never forget +the piteous look of one of these poor creatures which I saw dragging +itself to and fro in the desert, anxiously seeking for food and drink. +What a cruel being is man! Why could he not put an end to the +poor camel’s pain by a blow with a knife? One would imagine +that the air in the vicinity of these fallen animals was poisoned; but +here this is less the case than it would be in more temperate regions, +for the pure air and the great heat of the desert rather dry up than +decompose corpses.</p> +<p>From the same cause our piece of roast beef was still good on the +fifth day. The hard-boiled eggs, which my servant packed so clumsily +that they got smashed in the very first hour, did not become foul. +Both meat and eggs were shrunk and dried up. On the third day +the white bread had become as hard as ship-biscuit, so that we had to +break it up and soak it in water. Our drinking water became worse +day by day, and smelt abominably of the leathern receptacles in which +we were compelled to keep it. Until we reached Suez our poor camels +got not a drop to drink, and their food consisted of a scanty meal of +bad provender once a day.</p> +<p>At eight in the morning we set off once more, and rode until about +five in the afternoon. At about four I suddenly descried the Red +Sea and its shores. This circumstance delighted me, for I felt +assured that we should reach the coast in the course of another hour, +and then our laborious journey to Suez would be accomplished. +I called to my servant, pointed out the sea to him, and expressed my +surprise that we had sighted it so soon. He maintained, however, +that what I beheld was not the sea, but a fata morgana. At first +I refused to believe him, because the thing seemed so real. But +after an hour had elapsed we were as far from the sea as ever, and at +length the mirage vanished; and I did not behold the real sea until +six o’clock on the following morning, when it appeared in exactly +the same way as the phantom of the previous evening.</p> +<p>At five in the afternoon we at length halted. I lay down on +the earth completely exhausted, and enjoyed a refreshing sleep for more +than three hours, when I was awakened by my servant, who informed me +that a caravan was just before us, which we should do well to join, +as the remainder of our road was far less safe than the portion we had +already traversed. I was at once ready to mount my camel, and +at eight o’clock we were again in motion.</p> +<p>In a short time we had overtaken the caravan, and our camels were +placed in the procession, each beast being tethered to the preceding +one by a rope. It was already quite dark, and I could barely distinguish +that the people sitting on the camels before me were an Arab family. +They travelled in boxes resembling hen-coops, about a foot and a half +in height, four feet in length, and as many broad. In a box of +this kind two or three men sat cross-legged; many had even spread a +light tent over their heads. Suddenly I heard my name called by +a female voice. I started, and thought I must be mistaken, for +whom in the world could I meet here who knew my Christian name? +But once more a voice cried very distinctly, “Ida! Ida!” +and a servant came up, and told me that some Arab women, who had made +the voyage from Atfé to Cairo in company with me, were seated +on the first camel. They sent to tell me that they were on their +way to Mecca, and rejoiced to meet me once more. I was indeed +surprised that I should have made such an impression on these good people +that they had not forgotten my name.</p> +<p>To-night I saw a glorious natural phenomenon, which so surprised +me that I could not refrain from uttering a slight scream. It +may have been about eleven o’clock, when suddenly the sky on my +left was lighted up, as though every thing were in flames; a great fiery +ball shot through the air with lightning speed, and disappeared on the +horizon, while at the same moment the gleam in the atmosphere vanished, +and darkness descended once more on all around. We travelled on +throughout the whole of this night.</p> +<h3>August 28th.</h3> +<p>At six o’clock this morning we came in sight of the Red Sea. +The mountain-chain of Mokattam can be discerned some time previously. +Some way from Suez we came upon a well of bad, brackish water. +Notwithstanding all drawbacks, the supply was eagerly hailed. +Our people shouted, scolded, and pushed each other to get the best places; +camels, horses, asses, and men rushed pell-mell towards the well, and +happy was he who could seize upon a little water. There are barracks +near this well, and soldiers are posted here to promote peace—by +means of the stick.</p> +<p>The little town of Suez lies spread out on the sea-shore, and can +be very distinctly seen from here. The unhappy inhabitants are +compelled to draw their supplies either from this well, or from one +on the sea-coast four miles below Suez. In the first case the +water is brought on camels, horses, or asses; in the second it is transported +by sea in boats or small ships.</p> +<p>The Red Sea is here rather narrow, and surrounded by sand of a yellowish-brown +hue; immediately beyond the isthmus is the continuation of the great +Libyan Desert. The mountain-range of Mokattam skirts the plain +on the right, from Cairo to the Red Sea. We quite lose sight of +this range until within the last ten or twelve hours before reaching +Suez. The mountains are of moderate elevation and perfectly bare; +but still the eye rests with pleasure on the varied forms of the rocks.</p> +<p style="text-align:center"> +<a href="images/ill8.jpg"> +<img src="images/ill8.jpg" alt="Isthmus of Suez." /> +</a> +</p> +<p>After an hour’s rest beside the well, we were still unable +to procure water for our poor beasts, and hastened, therefore, to reach +the town. At nine in the morning we were already within its walls. +Of the town and its environs I can say nothing, excepting that they +both present a very melancholy appearance, as there is nowhere a garden +or a cluster of trees to be seen.</p> +<p>I paid my respects to the consul, and introduced myself to him as +an Austrian subject. He was kind enough to assign me a room in +his own house, and would on no account permit me to take up my quarters +in an inn. It was a pity that I could only converse with this +gentleman by means of a dragoman; he was a Greek by birth, and only +knew the Arabic language and his own. He is the richest merchant +in Suez (his wealth is estimated at 150,000 collonati), and only discharges +the functions of French and Austrian consul as an honorary duty.</p> +<p>In the little town itself there is nothing remarkable to be seen. +On the sea-coast they shewed me the place where Moses led the children +of Israel through the Red Sea. The sinking of the tide at its +ebb is here so remarkable that whole islands are left bare, and large +caravans are able to march through the sea, as the water only reaches +to the girths of the camels, and the Arabs and Bedouins even walk through. +As it happened to be ebb-tide when I arrived, I rode through also, for +the glory of the thing. On these shores I found several pretty +shells; but the real treasures of this kind are fished out of the deep +at Ton, a few days’ journey higher up. I saw whole cargoes +of mother-of-pearl shells carried away.</p> +<p>I remained at Suez until four in the afternoon, and recruited my +energies perfectly with an excellent dinner, at which tolerably good +water was not wanting. The consul kindly gave me a bottle, as +provision for my journey. He has it fetched from a distance of +twelve miles, as all the water that can be procured in the neighbourhood +tastes brackish and salt. In the inn a bottle of water costs two +piastres.</p> +<p>The first night of my homeward journey was passed partly in a Bedouin +encampment and partly on the road, in the company of different caravans. +I found the Bedouins to be very good, obliging people, among whom I +might wander as I pleased, without being exposed to injury. On +the contrary, while I was in their encampment they brought me a straw-mat +and a chest, in order that I might have a comfortable seat.</p> +<p>The homeward journey was just as monotonous and wearisome as that +to Suez, with the additional fact that I had a quarrel with my people +the day before its termination. Feeling exceedingly fatigued by +a lengthened ride, I ordered my servant to stop the camels, as I wished +to sleep for a few hours. The rascals refused to obey, alleging +that the road was not safe, and that we should endeavour to overtake +a caravan. This was, however, nothing but an excuse to get home +as quickly as possible. But I was not to be frightened, and insisted +that my desire should be complied with, telling them moreover that I +had inquired of the consul at Suez concerning the safety of the roads, +and had once more heard that there was nothing to fear. Notwithstanding +all this they would not obey, but continued to advance. I now +became angry, and desired the servant once more to stop my camel, as +I was fully determined not to proceed another step.</p> +<p>I told him I had hired both camels and men, and had therefore a right +to be mistress; if he did not choose to obey me, he might go his way +with the camel-driver, and I would join the first caravan I met, and +bring him to justice, let it cost me what it would. The fellow +now stopped my camel, and went away with the other and the camel-driver. +He probably expected to frighten me by this demonstration, and to compel +me to follow; but he was vastly mistaken. I remained standing +where I was, and as often as he turned to look at me, made signs that +he might go his way, but that I should stay. When he saw how fearless +and determined I was, he turned back, came to me, made my camel kneel +down, and after helping me to alight, prepared me a resting-place on +a heap of sand, where I slept delightfully for five hours; then I ordered +my things to be packed up, mounted my camel, and continued my journey.</p> +<p>My conduct astonished my followers to such a degree, that they afterwards +asked me every few hours if I wished to rest. On our arrival at +Cairo the camel-driver had not even the heart to make the customary +demand for backsheesh, and my servant begged pardon for his conduct, +and hoped that I would not mention the difference we had had to the +consul.</p> +<p>The maximum temperature during this journey was 43° Reaumur, +and when it was perfectly calm I really felt as if I should be stifled.</p> +<p>This journey from Cairo to Suez can, however, be accomplished in +a carriage in the space of twenty hours. The English innkeeper +established at Cairo has had a very light carriage, with seats for four, +built expressly for this purpose; but a place in this vehicle costs +five pounds for the journey there, and the same sum for the return.</p> +<p>On the following day I once more embarked on board an Arabian vessel +for Alexandria. Before my departure I had a terrible quarrel with +the donkey-driver whom I usually employed. These men, as in fact +all fellahs, are accustomed to cheat strangers in every possible way, +but particularly with coins. They usually carry bad money about +with them, which they can substitute for the good at the moment when +they are paid, with the dexterity of jugglers. My donkey-driver +endeavoured to play me this trick when I rode to the ship; he saw that +I should not require his services any more, and therefore wished to +cheat me as a parting mark of attention. This attempt disgusted +me so much that I could not refrain from brandishing my whip at him +in a very threatening manner, although I was alone among a number of +his class. My gesture had the desired effect; the driver instantly +retreated, and I remained victor.</p> +<p>My reader would do me a great wrong by the supposition that I mention +these circumstances to make a vaunt of my courage; I am sure that the +fact of my having undertaken this journey alone will be sufficient to +clear me from the imputation of cowardice. I wish merely to give +future travellers a hint as to the best method of dealing with these +people. Their respect can only be secured by the display of a +firm will; and I am sure that in my case they were the more intimidated +as they had never expected to find so much determination in a woman.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> +<p><i>Return to Alexandria—Egyptian burials—Catacombs of +Alexandria—Viceroy’s palace—Departure from Alexandria—The +steamer</i> Eurotas<i>—Candia—Syra—Paros and Antiparos—The +Morea—Fire on board—Malta—Quarantine—St. Augustine’s +church—Clergymen—Beggars—Costumes—Soldiers—Civita +Vecchia.</i></p> +<h3>September 5th.</h3> +<p>At five o’clock in the evening of the 2d of September I commenced +my journey back to Alexandria. During the fortnight I remained +at Cairo the Nile had continued to rise considerably, and the interest +of the region had increased in proportion. In three days’ +time I arrived safely at Alexandria, and again put up at Colombier’s. +Two days had still to elapse before the departure of the French steam-vessel, +and I made use of this time to take a closer survey of the town and +its environs.</p> +<p>On my arrival at Alexandria I met two Egyptian funerals. The +first was that of a poor man, and not a soul followed the coffin. +The corpse lay in a wooden box without a lid, a coarse blanket had been +spread over it, and four men carried the coffin. The second funeral +had a more respectable air. The coffin, indeed, was not less rude, +but the dead man was covered with a handsome shawl, and four “mourning +women” followed the body, raising a most dolorous howl from time +to time. A motley crowd of people closed the procession. +The corpse was laid in the grave without the coffin.</p> +<p>The catacombs of Alexandria are very extensive, and well worth a +visit. A couple of miles from them we see the celebrated plain +on which the army of Julius Cæsar was once posted. The cistern +and bath of Cleopatra were both under water. I could, therefore, +only see the place where they stood.</p> +<p>The viceroy’s palace, a spacious building inclining to the +European style, has a pleasing effect. Its interior arrangement +is also almost wholly European.</p> +<p>The bazaar contains nothing worthy of remark. The arsenal looks +very magnificent when viewed from without. It is difficult to +obtain admission into this building, and you run the risk of being insulted +by the workmen. The hospital has the appearance of a private house.</p> +<p>I was astonished at the high commission which is here demanded on +changing small sums of money. In changing a collonato, a coin +very much used in this country, and worth about two guilders, the applicant +must lose from half a piastre to two piastres, according to the description +of coin he requires. If beshliks <a name="citation261"></a><a href="#footnote261">{261}</a> +are taken, the commission charged is half a piastre; but if piastres +are wanted, two must be paid. The government value of a collonato +is twenty piastres; in general exchange it is reckoned at twenty-two, +and at the consulate’s at twenty-one piastres.</p> +<h3>DEPARTURE FROM ALEXANDRIA.</h3> +<p>September 7th.</p> +<p>At eight o’clock in the morning I betook myself on board the +French steam-packet <i>Eurotas</i>, a beautiful large vessel of 160-horse +power. At nine o’clock we weighed anchor.</p> +<p>The weather was very unfavourable. Though it did not rain, +we continually had contrary winds, and the sea generally ran high. +In consequence we did not sight the island of Candia until the evening +of the third day, four-and-twenty hours later than we should have done +under ordinary circumstances.</p> +<p>Two women, who came on board as passengers to Syra, were so violently +attacked by sea-sickness, that they left the deck a few hours after +we got under way, and did not reappear until they landed at Syra. +A very useful arrangement on board the French vessel is the engagement +of a female attendant, whose assistance sometimes becomes very necessary. +Heaven be praised, I had not much to fear from the attacks of sea-sickness. +The weather must be very bad—as, for instance, during our passage +through the Black Sea—before my health is affected, and even then +I recover rapidly. During our whole voyage, even when the weather +was wretched, I remained continually on deck, so that during the day-time +I could not miss seeing even the smallest islet. On</p> +<h3>September 10th,</h3> +<p>late in the evening, we discovered the island of Candia or Crete, +and the next morning we were pretty close to it. We could, however, +distinguish nothing but bare unfruitful mountains, the tallest among +which, my namesake Mount Ida, does not look more fertile than the rest. +On the right loomed the island of Scarpanto. We soon left it in +our wake, and also passed the Brothers’ Islands, and many others, +some of them small and uninhabited, besides separate colossal rocks, +towering majestically into the sea. Soon afterwards we passed +the islands Santorin and Anaph.</p> +<p>The latter of these islands is peculiarly beautiful. In the +foreground a village lies at the foot of a high mountain, with its peak +surmounted by a little church. On the side towards the sea this +rock shoots downwards so perpendicularly, that we might fancy it had +been cut off with a saw.</p> +<p>Since we had come in sight of Candia, we had not been sailing on +the high seas. Scarcely did one island vanish from our view, before +it was replaced by another. On</p> +<p>September 11th,</p> +<p>between three and four in the morning, we reached Syra. The +terrible contrary winds with which we had been obliged to contend during +almost the whole of our passage had caused us to arrive a day behind +our time, to make up for which delay we only stayed half a day here, +instead of a day and a half. This was a matter of indifference +to those of us who were travelling further, for as we came from Egypt, +we should not have been allowed in any case to disembark. Those +who landed here proceeded at once to the quarantine-house.</p> +<p>Syra possesses a fine harbour. From our vessel we had a view +over the whole town and its environs. An isolated mountain, crowned +by a convent and church, the seat of the bishop, rises boldly from the +very verge of the shore. The town winds round this mountain in +the form of several wreaths, until it almost reaches the episcopal buildings. +The background closes with the melancholy picture of a barren mountain-chain. +A lighthouse stands on a little neighbouring island. The quarantine +establishment looks cheerful enough, and is situate at a little distance +from the town on the sea-shore.</p> +<p>It was Sunday when we arrived here; and as Syra belongs to Greece, +I here heard the sound of bells like those of Mount Lebanon, and once +more their strain filled me with deep and indescribable emotion. +Never do we think so warmly of our home as when we are solitary and +alone among strange people in a far-distant land!</p> +<p>I would gladly have turned aside from my route to visit Athens, which +I might have reached in a few hours; but then I should once more have +been compelled to keep quarantine, and perhaps on leaving Greece the +infliction would have to be borne a third time, a risk which I did not +wish to run. I therefore preferred keeping quarantine at Malta, +and having done with it at once.</p> +<p>On the same day at two o’clock we once more set sail. +This day and the following I remained on deck as much as possible, bidding +defiance to wind and rain, and gazing at the islands as we glided past +one after another. As one island disappeared, another rose in +its place. Groups of isolated rocks also rose at intervals, like +giants from the main, to form a feature in the changing panorama.</p> +<p>On the right, in the far distance, we could distinguish Paros and +Antiparos, on the left the larger Chermian Isles; and at length we passed +close to Cervo (Stag’s Island), which is particularly distinguished +by the beauty of its mountain-range. Here, as at Syra, we find +an isolated mountain, round which a town winds almost to its summit.</p> +<h3>September 12th.</h3> +<p>As I came on deck to-day with the sun, the mainland of the Morea +was in sight on our right,—a great plain, with many villages scattered +over its surface, and a background of bare hills. After losing +sight of the Morea we sailed once more on the high seas.</p> +<p>This day might have had a tragical termination for us. I was +sitting as usual on deck, when I noticed an unusual stir among the sailors +and officers, and even the commander ran hastily towards me. Nevertheless +I did not dare to ask what had happened; for in proportion as the French +are generally polite, they are proud and overbearing on board their +steamers. I therefore remained quietly seated, and contented myself +with watching every movement of the officers and men. Several +descended to the coal-magazine, returning heated, blackened by the coals, +and dripping with water. At length a cabin-boy came hurrying by +me; and upon my asking him what was the matter, he replied in a whisper, +that fire had broken out in the coal-room. Now I knew the whole +extent of our danger, and yet could do nothing but keep my seat, and +await whatever fate should bring us. It was most fortunate for +us that the fire occurred during the daytime, and had been immediately +discovered by the engine-man. Double chain-pumps were rigged, +and the whole magazine was laid under water,—a proceeding which +had the effect of extinguishing the flames. The other passengers +knew nothing of our danger; they were all asleep or sitting quietly +in the cabins; the sailors were forbidden to tell them what had happened, +and even my informant the cabin-boy begged me not to betray him. +We had three hundredweight of gunpowder on board.</p> +<h3>September 14th.</h3> +<p>We did not come in sight of land until this evening, when the goal +of our journey appeared.</p> +<h3>MALTA.</h3> +<p>We cast anchor in the harbour of Lavalette at seven o’clock.</p> +<p>During the whole of our journey from Alexandria the wind had been +very unfavourable; the sea was frequently so agitated, that we could +not walk across the deck without the assistance of a sailor.</p> +<p>The distance from Alexandria via Syra to Malta is 950 sea-miles. +We took eight days to accomplish this distance, landing only at Syra. +The heat was moderate enough, seldom reaching 28° or 29° Reaumur.</p> +<p>The appearance of Malta is picturesque; it contains no mountains, +and consists entirely of hills and rocks.</p> +<p>The town of Lavalette is surrounded by three lines of fortifications, +winding like steps up the hill on which the town lies; the latter contains +large fine houses, all built of stone.</p> +<h3>September 15th.</h3> +<p>This morning at eight o’clock we disembarked, and were marched +off to keep quarantine in the magnificent castle of the Knights of St. +John.</p> +<p>This building stands on a hill, affording a view over the whole island +in the direction of Civita Vecchia. We found here a number of +clean rooms, and were immediately supplied with furniture, bedding, +etc. by the establishment at a very reasonable charge. Our host +at once despatched to every guest a bill of fare for breakfast and dinner, +so that each one can choose what he wishes, without being cheated as +to the prices. The keepers here are very obliging and attentive; +they almost all know something of Italian, and execute any commission +with which they are entrusted punctually and well. The building +for the incarcerated ones is situate on an elevated plateau. It +has two large wings, one on each side, one story high, containing apartments +each with a separate entrance. Adjoining the courtyard is the +inn, and not far from it the church; neither, however, may be visited +by the new-comers. The requisite provisions are procured for them +by a keeper, who takes them to the purchasers. The church is always +kept locked. A broad handsome terrace, with a prospect over the +sea, the town of Lavalette, and the whole island, forms the foreground +of the picture. This terrace and the ramparts behind the houses +form very agreeable walks. The courtyard of our prison is very +spacious, and we are allowed to walk about in it as far as a statue +which stands in the middle. Until ten o’clock at night we +enjoy our liberty; but when this hour arrives, we are sent to our respective +rooms and locked up. The apartments of the keepers are quite separate +from ours.</p> +<p>The arrangements of the whole establishment are so good and comfortable, +that we almost forget that we are prisoners. What a contrast to +the quarantine-house at Alexandria!</p> +<p>If a traveller receives a visitor, he is not separated from his guest +by ditches and bars, but stands only two steps from him in the courtyard. +The windows here are not grated; and though our clothes were hung on +horses to air, neither we nor our effects were smoked out. If +it had not been for the delay it caused, I should really have spent +the eighteen days of my detention here very pleasantly. But I +wished to ascend Mount Etna, and was a fixture here until the 2d of +October.</p> +<h3>October 1st.</h3> +<p>The quarantine doctor examined us in a very superficial manner, and +pronounced that we should be free to-morrow. Upon this a boisterous +hilarity prevailed. The prisoners rejoiced at the prospect of +speedy release, and shouted, sang, and danced in the courtyard. +The keepers caught the infection, and all was mirth and good-humour +until late in the night.</p> +<h3>October 2d.</h3> +<p>At seven o’clock this morning we were released from thraldom. +A scene similar to that at Alexandria then took place; every one rushed +to seize upon the strangers. It is here necessary that the traveller +should be as much upon his guard as in Egypt among the Arabs, in the +matters of boat-fares, porterage, etc. If a bargain is not struck +beforehand, the people are most exorbitant in their demands.</p> +<p>A few days before our release, I had made an arrangement with an +innkeeper for board, lodging, and transport. Today he came to +fetch me and my luggage, and we crossed the arm of the sea which divides +Fort Manuel from the town of Lavalette.</p> +<p>A flight of steps leads from the shore into the town, past the three +rows of fortifications rising in tiers above each other. In each +of these divisions we find streets and houses. The town, properly +speaking, lies quite at the top; it is therefore necessary to mount +and descend frequently, though not nearly so often as at Constantinople. +The streets are broad and well paved, the houses spacious and finely +built; the place of roofs is supplied by terraces, frequently parcelled +out into little flower-beds, which present a very agreeable appearance.</p> +<p>My host gave me a tiny room, and meals on the same principle—coffee +with milk morning and evening, and three dishes at dinner-time; but +for all this I did not pay more than forty-five kreutzers, or about +one shilling and sixpence.</p> +<p>The first thing I did after taking up my quarters here was to hasten +to a church to return thanks to the Almighty for the protection He had +so manifestly extended to me upon my long and dangerous journey. +The first church which I entered at Lavalette was dedicated to St. Augustine. +I was particularly pleased with it, for since my departure from Vienna +I had not seen one so neatly or so well built. Afterwards I visited +the church of St. John, and was much struck with its splendour. +This building is very spacious, and the floor is completely covered +with monumental slabs of marble, covering the graves of the knights. +The ceiling is ornamented with beautiful frescoes, and the walls are +sculptured from ceiling to floor with arabesques, leaves, and flowers, +in sandstone.</p> +<p>All these ornaments are richly gilt, and present a peculiarly imposing +appearance. The side-chapels contain numerous monuments, mostly +of white marble, and one single one of black, in memory of celebrated +Maltese knights. At the right-hand corner of the church is the +so-called “rose-coloured” chapel. It is hung round +with a heavy silk stuff of a red colour, which diffuses a roseate halo +over all the objects around. The altar is surrounded by a high +massive railing. Two only of the paintings are well executed—namely, +that over the high altar, and a piece representing Christ on the cross. +The pillars round the altar are of marble; and at each side of the grand +altar rise lofty canopies of red velvet fringed with gold, reaching +almost to the vaulted cupola.</p> +<p>The uncomfortable custom of carrying chairs to and fro during church-time, +which is so universal throughout Italy, begins already at Malta.</p> +<p>The predilection for the clerical profession seems to prevail here, +as it does throughout Italy; I could almost say that every fifteenth +person we meet either is a clergyman or intends to become one. +Children of ten or twelve years already run about in the black gown +and three-cornered hat.</p> +<p>The streets are handsome and cleanly kept, particularly the one which +intersects the town; some of them are even watered. The counters +of the dealers’ shops contain the most exquisite wares; in fact, +every where we find indications that we are once more on European ground.</p> +<p>When we see the Fachini here, with their dark worked caps or round +straw hats, their short jackets and comfortable trousers, with jaunty +red sashes round their waists, and their bold free glance,—when +we contrast them with the wretched fellahs of Egypt, and consider that +these men both belong to the same class in society, and that the fellahs +even inhabit the more fruitful country, we begin to have our doubts +of Mehemet Ali’s <i>benignant</i> rule.</p> +<p>The governor’s palace, a great square building, stands on a +magnificent open space; next to it is the library; and opposite, the +chief guard-house rears its splendid front, graced with pillars. +The coffee-houses here are very large; they are kept comfortably and +clean, particularly that on the great square, which is brilliantly illuminated +every evening.</p> +<p>Women and girls appear dressed in black; they are usually accustomed +to throw a wide cloak over their other garments, and wear a mantilla +which conceals arms, chest, and head. The face is left uncovered, +and I saw some very lovely ones smiling forth from the black drapery. +Rich people wear these upper garments of silk; the cloaks of the poorer +classes are made of merino or cheap woollen stuffs.</p> +<p>It was Sunday when I entered Lavalette for the first time. +Every street and church was thronged with people, all of whom were neatly +and decently dressed. I saw but few beggars, and those whom I +met were less ragged than the generality of their class.</p> +<p>The military, the finest I had ever seen, consisted entirely of tall +handsome men, mostly Scotchmen. Their uniforms were very tasteful. +One regiment wore scarlet jackets and white linen trousers; another, +black jackets and shoulder-knots,—in fact, the whole uniform is +black, with the exception of the trousers, which are of white linen.</p> +<p>It seemed much more the fashion to drive than to ride here. +The coaches are of a very peculiar kind, which I hardly think can be +found elsewhere. They consist of a venerable old rattling double-seated +box, swinging upon two immense wheels, and drawn by a single horse in +shafts. The coachman generally runs beside his vehicle.</p> +<h3>October 3d.</h3> +<p>To-day I drove in a carriage (for the first time since my departure +from Vienna, a period of six months and a half) to Civita Vecchia, to +view this ancient town of Malta, and particularly the celebrated church +of St. Peter and St. Paul. On this occasion I traversed the whole +length of the island, and had an opportunity of viewing the interior.</p> +<p>Malta consists of a number of little elevations, and is intersected +in all directions by excellent roads. I also continually passed +handsome villages, some of them so large that they looked like thriving +little towns. The heights are frequently crowned by churches of +considerable extent and beauty; although the whole island consists of +rock and sandstone, vegetation is sufficiently luxurious. Fig, +lemon, and orange trees grow every where, and plantations of the cotton-shrub +are as common as potato-fields in my own country. The stems of +these shrubs are not higher than potato-plants, and are here cultivated +exactly in the same way. I was told that they had been stunted +this year by the excessive drought, but that in general they grew a +foot higher.</p> +<p>The peasants were every where neatly dressed, and live in commodious +well-built houses, universally constructed of stone, and furnished with +terraces in lieu of roofs.</p> +<h3>CIVITA VECCHIA</h3> +<p>is a town of splendid houses and very elegant country-seats. +Many inhabitants of Lavalette spend the summer here, in the highest +portion of the island.</p> +<p>The church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a spacious building, with +a simple interior. The floor is covered merely with stone slabs; +the walls are white-washed to the ceiling, but the upper portion is +richly ornamented with arabesques. A beautiful picture hanging +behind the high altar represents a storm at sea. The view from +the hall of the convent is magnificent; we can overlook almost the entire +island, and beyond our gaze loses itself in the boundless expanse of +ocean.</p> +<p>Near the church stands a chapel, beneath which is St. Paul’s +grotto, divided into two parts: in the first of these divisions we find +a splendid statue of St. Paul in white marble; the second was the dungeon +of the apostle.</p> +<p>Not far from this chapel, at the extremity of the town, are the catacombs, +which resemble those at Rome, Naples, and other towns.</p> +<p>During our drive back we made a little detour to see the gorgeous +summer-palace and garden of the governor.</p> +<p>The whole excursion occupied about seven hours. During my residence +in Malta the heat varied from 20° to 25° Reaumur in the sun.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> +<p><i>The steamer</i> Hercules<i>—Syracuse—Neapolis—Ruins—Catanea—Convent +of St. Nicholas—Messina—The Duke of Calabria—Palermo—The +royal palace—Church of St. Theresa—St. Ignazio—Catacombs +of the Augustine convent—Skeletons—Olivuzza —Royal +villa “</i>Favorite<i>”—St. Rosalia—Brutality +of the Italian mob—Luxuriant vegetation—Arrival at Naples.</i></p> +<h3>October 4th.</h3> +<p>At eight o’clock in the evening I embarked on board the Sicilian +steamer <i>Hercules</i>, of 260-horse power, the largest and finest +vessel I had yet seen. The officers here were not nearly so haughty +and disobliging as those on board the Eurotas. Even now I cannot +think without a smile of the airs the captain of the latter vessel gave +himself. He appeared to consider that he had as good a right to +be an admiral as Bruys.</p> +<p>At ten o’clock we steamed out of the harbour of Lavalette. +As it was already dark night, I went below and retired to rest.</p> +<h3>October 5th.</h3> +<p>When I hurried on deck this morning I found we were already in sight +of the Sicilian coast, and—oh happiness!—I could distinguish +green hills, wooded mountains, glorious dells, and smiling meadows,—a +spectacle I had enjoyed neither in Syria, in Egypt, nor even at Malta. +Now I thought at length to behold Europe, for Malta resembles the Syrian +regions too closely to favour the idea that we are really in Europe. +Towards eleven o’clock we reached</p> +<h3>SYRACUSE.</h3> +<p>Unfortunately we could only get four hours’ leave of absence. +As several gentlemen among the passengers wished to devote these few +hours to seeing all the lions of this once rich and famous town, I joined +their party and went ashore with them. Scarcely had we landed +before we were surrounded by a number of servants and a mob of curious +people, so that we were almost obliged to make our way forcibly through +the crowd. The gentlemen hired a guide, and desired to be at once +conducted to a restaurateur, who promised to prepare them a modest luncheon +within half an hour. The prospect of a good meal seemed of more +importance in the eyes of my fellow-passengers than any thing else. +They resolved to have luncheon first, and afterwards to take a little +walk through the city.</p> +<p>On hearing this I immediately made a bargain with a cicerone to shew +me what he could in four hours, and went with him, leaving the company +seated at table. Though I got nothing to eat to-day but a piece +of bread and a few figs, which I despatched on the road, I saw some +sights which I would not have missed for the most sumptuous entertainment.</p> +<p>Of the once spacious town nothing remains but a very small portion, +inhabited by 10,000 persons at most. The dirty streets were every +where crowded with people, as though they dwelt out of doors, while +the houses stood empty.</p> +<p>Accompanied by my guide, I passed hastily through the new town, and +over three or four wooden bridges to Neapolis, the part of ancient Syracuse +in which monuments of the past are seen in the best state of preservation. +First we came to the theatre. This building is tolerably well +preserved, and several of the stone seats are still seen rising in terrace +form one above the other. From this place we betook ourselves +into the amphitheatre, which is finer by far, and where we find passages +leading to the wild beasts’ dens, and above them rows of seats +for spectators; all is in such good condition that it might, at a trifling +expense, be so far repaired as to be made again available for its original +purpose. Now we proceeded to the “Ear of Dionysius,” +with which I was particularly struck. It consists of a number +of chambers, partly hewn out of the rock by art, partly formed by nature, +and all opening into an immensely lofty hall, which becomes narrower +and narrower towards the top, until it at length terminates in an aperture +so minute as to be invisible from below. To this aperture Dionysius +is said to have applied his ear, in order to overhear what the captives +spoke. (This place is stated to have been used as a prison for +slaves and malefactors.) It is usual to fire a pistol here, that +the stranger may hear the reverberating echoes. A lofty opening, +resembling a great gate, forms the entrance to these rocky passages. +Overgrown with ivy, it has rather the appearance of a bower than of +a place of terror and anguish. Several of these side halls are +now used as workshops by rope-makers, while in others the manufacture +of saltpetre is carried on. The region around is rocky, but without +displaying any high mountains. I saw numerous grottoes, some of +them with magnificent entrances, which looked as though they had been +cut in the rocks by art. In one of these grottoes water fell from +above, forming a very pretty cataract.</p> +<p>During this excursion the time had passed so rapidly that I was soon +compelled to think, not of a visit to the catacombs, but of my return +on board.</p> +<p>I proceeded to the sea-shore, where the Syracusans have built a very +pretty promenade, and was rowed back to the steamer.</p> +<p>Of all the passengers I was the only one who had seen any thing of +Syracuse; all the rest had spent the greater part of the time allowed +them in the inn, and at most had been for a short walk in the town. +But they had obtained an exceedingly good dinner; and thus we had each +enjoyed ourselves in our own way.</p> +<p>At three o’clock we quitted the beautiful harbour of Syracuse, +and three hours brought us to</p> +<h3>CATANEA.</h3> +<p>This voyage was one of the most beautiful and interesting that can +be imagined. The traveller continually sees the most charming +landscapes of blooming Sicily; and at Syracuse we can already descry +on a clear day the giant Etna rearing its head 10,000 feet above the +level of the sea.</p> +<p>At six in the evening we disembarked; but those going farther had +to be on board again by midnight. I had intended to remain at +Catanea and ascend Mount Etna; but on making inquiries I was assured +that the season was too far advanced for such an undertaking, and therefore +resolved to set sail again at midnight. I went on shore in company +with a Neapolitan and his wife, for the purpose of visiting some of +the churches, a few public buildings, and the town itself. The +buildings, however, were already closed, though the exteriors promised +much. We could only deplore that we had arrived an hour too late, +and take a walk round the town. I could scarcely wonder enough +at the bustle in the crowded squares and chief streets, and at the shouting +and screaming of the people. The number of inhabitants is about +50,000. The two chief streets, leading in different directions +from the great square, are long, broad, and particularly well paved +with large stone slabs: they contain many magnificent houses. +The only circumstance which displeased me was, that every where, even +in the chief streets, the people dry clothes on large poles at balconies +and windows. This makes the town look as though it were inhabited +by a race of washerwomen. I should not even mind so much if they +were clean clothes; but I frequently saw the most disgusting rags fluttering +in front of splendid houses. Unfortunately this barbarous custom +prevails throughout the whole of Sicily; and even in Naples the hanging +out of clothes is only forbidden in the principal street, the Toledo: +all the other streets are full of linen.</p> +<p>Among the equipages, which were rolling to and fro in great numbers, +I noticed some very handsome ones. Some were standing still in +the great square, while their occupants amused themselves by looking +at the bustle around them, and chatted with friends and acquaintances +who crowded round the carriages. I found a greater appearance +of life here than either at Naples or Palermo.</p> +<p>The convent of St. Nicholas was unfortunately closed, so that we +could only view its exterior. It is a spacious magnificent building, +the largest, in fact, in the whole town. We also looked at the +walks on the sea-shore, which at our first arrival we had traversed +in haste in order to reach the town quickly. Beautiful avenues +extend along each side of the harbour; they are, however, less frequented +than the streets and squares. We had a beautiful moonlight night; +the promontory of Etna, with its luxurious vegetation, as well as the +giant mountain itself, were distinctly visible in all their glory. +The summit rose cloudless and free; no smoke came from the crater, nor +could we discover a trace of snow as we returned to our ship. +We noticed several heaps of lava piled upon the sea-shore, of a perfectly +black colour.</p> +<p>Late in the evening we adjourned to an inn to refresh ourselves with +some good dishes, and afterwards returned to the steamer, which weighed +anchor at midnight.</p> +<h3>October 6th.</h3> +<p>We awoke in the harbour of Messina. The situation of this town +is lovely beyond description. I was so charmed with it that I +stood for a long time on deck without thinking of landing.</p> +<p>A chain of beautiful hills and huge masses of rock in the background +surround the harbour and town. Every where the greatest fertility +reigns, and all things are in the most thriving and flourishing condition. +In the direction of Palermo the boundless ocean is visible.</p> +<p>I now bade farewell to the splendid steamer Hercules, because I did +not intend to proceed direct to Naples, but to make a <i>detour</i> +by way of Palermo.</p> +<p>As soon as I had landed, I proceeded to the office of the merchant +M., to whom I had a letter of recommendation. I requested Herr +M. to procure me a cicerone as soon as possible, as I wished to see +the sights of Messina, and afterwards to continue my journey to Palermo. +Herr M. was kind enough to send one of his clerks with me. I rested +for half an hour, and then commenced my peregrination.</p> +<p>From the steamer Messina had appeared to me a very narrow place, +but on entering the town I found that I had made quite a false estimate +of its dimensions. Messina is certainly built in a very straggling +oblong form, but still its breadth is not inconsiderable.</p> +<p>I saw many very beautiful squares; for instance, the chief square, +with its splendid fountain ornamented with figures, and a bas-relief +of carved work in bronze. Every square contains a fountain, but +we seldom find any thing particularly tasteful. The churches are +not remarkable for the beauty of their façades, nor do they present +any thing in the way of marble statues or finely executed pictures.</p> +<p>The houses are generally well built, with flat roofs; the streets, +with few exceptions, are narrow, small, and very dirty. An uncommonly +broad street runs parallel with the harbour, and contains, on one side +at least, some very handsome houses. This is a favourite place +for a walk, for we can here see all the bustle and activity of the port. +Several of the palaces also are pretty; that appropriated to the senate +is the only one which can be called fine, the staircase being constructed +entirely of white marble, in a splendid style of architecture: the halls +and apartments are lofty, and generally arched. The regal palace +is also a handsome pile.</p> +<p>In the midst of the town I found an agreeable public garden. +The Italians appear, however, to choose the streets as places of rendezvous, +in preference to enclosures of this kind; for every where I noticed +that the garden-walks were empty, and the streets full. But on +the whole there is not nearly so much life here as at Catanea. +In order to obtain a view of the whole of Messina and its environs I +ascended a hill near the town, surmounted by a Capuchin convent; here +I enjoyed a prospect which I have seldom seen equalled. As I gazed +upon it I could easily imagine that an inhabitant of Messina can find +no place in the world so beautiful as his native town.</p> +<p>The promontory against which the town leans is clothed with a carpet +of the brightest green, planted with fruit-trees of all kinds, and enlivened +with scattered towns, villages, and country seats. Beautiful roads, +appearing like white bands, intersect the mountains on every side in +the direction of the town. The background is closed by high mountains, +sometimes wooded, sometimes bare, now rising in the form of alps, now +in the shape of rocky masses. At the foot of the hills we see +the long-drawn town, the harbour with its numerous ships, and beyond +it groups of alps and rocks. The boundless sea flows on the spectator’s +right and left towards Palermo and Naples, while in the direction of +Catanea the eye is caught by mountains, with Etna towering among them.</p> +<p>The same evening I embarked on board the <i>Duke of Calabria</i>, +for the short trip of twelve or fourteen hours to Palermo. This +steamer has only engines of 80 horse-power, and every thing connected +with it is small and confined. The first-class accommodation is +indeed pretty good, but the second-class places are only calculated +to contain very few passengers. Though completely exhausted by +my long and fatiguing walk through Messina, I remained on deck, for +I could not be happy without seeing Stromboli. Unfortunately I +could distinguish very little of it. We had started from Messina +at about six o’clock in the evening, and did not come in sight +of the mountain until two hours later, when the shades of night were +already descending; we were, besides, at such a distance from it that +I could descry nothing but a colossal mass rising from the sea and towering +towards heaven. I stayed on deck until past ten o’clock +in the hope of obtaining a nearer view of Stromboli; but we had soon +left it behind us in the far distance, with other islands which lay +on the surface like misty clouds.</p> +<h3>October 7th.</h3> +<p>To-day I hastened on deck before sunrise, to see as much as possible +of the Sicilian coast, and to obtain an early view of Palermo. +At ten o’clock we ran into the harbour of this town.</p> +<p>I had been so charmed with the situation of Messina that I did not +expect ever to behold any thing more lovely; and yet the remembrance +of this town faded from my mind when</p> +<h3>PALERMO</h3> +<p>rose before me, surrounded by magnificent mountains, among which +the colossal rock of St. Rosalia, a huge slab of porphyry and granite, +towered high in the blue air. The combination of various colours +unites with its immense height and its peculiar construction to render +this mountain one of the most remarkable in existence. Its summit +is crowned by a temple; and a good road, partly cut out of the rock, +partly supported on lofty pillars of masonry, which we can see from +on board our vessel, leads to the convent of St. Rosalia, and to a chapel +hidden among the hills and dedicated to the same saint.</p> +<p>At the foot of this mountain lies a gorgeous castle, inhabited, as +my captain told me, by an English family, who pay a yearly rent of 30,000 +florins for the use of it. To the left of Palermo the mountains +open and shew the entrance into a broad and transcendently beautiful +valley, in which the town of Monreal lies with magical effect. +Several of these gaps occur along the coast, affording glimpses of the +most lovely vales, with scattered villages and pretty country-seats.</p> +<p>The harbour of Palermo is picturesque and eminently safe. The +town numbers about 130,000 inhabitants. Here, too, our deck was +crowded with Fachini, innkeepers, and guides, before the anchor was +fairly lowered. I inquired of the captain respecting the price +of board and lodging, and afterwards made a bargain with a host before +leaving the ship. By following this plan I generally escaped overcharge +and inconvenience.</p> +<p>Arrived at the inn, I sent to Herr Schmidt, to whom I had been recommended, +with the request that he would despatch a trustworthy cicerone to me, +and make me a kind of daily scheme of what I was to see. This +was soon done, and after hurrying over my dinner I commenced my wanderings.</p> +<p>I entered almost every church I passed on my way, and found them +all neat and pretty. Every where I came upon picturesque villas +and handsome houses, with glass doors instead of windows, their lower +portion guarded by iron railings and forming little balconies. +Here the women and girls sit of an evening working and talking to their +heart’s content.</p> +<p>The streets of Palermo are far handsomer and cleaner than those of +Messina. The principal among them, Toledo and Casaro, divide the +town into four parts, and join in the chief square. The streets, +as we pass from one into another, present a peculiar appearance, filled +with bustling crowds of people moving noisily to and fro. In the +Toledo Street all the tailors seem congregated together, for the shops +on each side of the way are uniformly occupied by the votaries of this +trade, who sit at work half in their houses and half in the street. +The coffee-houses and shops are all open, so that the passers-by can +obtain a full view of the wares and of the buyers and sellers.</p> +<p>The regal palace is the handsomest in the town. It contains +a gothic chapel, richly decorated; the walls are entirely covered with +paintings in mosaic, of which the drawings do not display remarkable +taste, and the ceiling is over-crowded with decorations and arabesques. +An ancient chandelier, in the form of a pillar, made of beautiful marble +and also covered with arabesques, stands beside the pulpit. On +holydays an immense candle is put in this candlestick and lighted.</p> +<p>I wished to enter this chapel, but was refused admittance until I +had taken off my hat, like the men, and carried it in my hand. +This custom prevails in several churches of Palermo. The space +in front of the palace resembles a garden, from the number of avenues +and beds of flowers with which it is ornamented. Second in beauty +is the palace of the senate, but it cannot be compared with that at +Messina.</p> +<p>The town contains several very handsome squares, in all of which +we find several statues and fountains.</p> +<p>Foremost among the churches the Cathedral must be mentioned; its +gothic façade occupies one entire side of a square. A spacious +entrance-hall, with two monuments, not executed in a very fine style +of art, leads into the interior of the church, which is of considerable +extent, but built in a very simple style. The pillars, two of +which always stand together, and the four royal monuments at the entrance, +are all of Egyptian granite. The finest part of the church is +the chapel of St. Rosalia on the right, not far from the high altar; +both its walls are decorated with large bas-reliefs in marble, beautifully +executed: one of these represents the banishment of the plague, and +the finding of St. Rosalia’s bones. A splendid pillar of +lapis-lazuli, said to be the largest and finest specimen of this stone +in existence, stands beside the high altar. The two basins with +raised figures at the entrance of the church also deserve notice. +The left side of the square is occupied by the episcopal palace, a building +of no pretensions.</p> +<p>Santa Theresia is a small church, containing nothing remarkable except +a splendid bas-relief in marble, representing the Holy Family, which +an Englishman once offered to purchase for an immense sum. The +neighbouring church of St. Pieta, on the contrary, can be called large +and grand. The façades are ornamented with pillars of marble, +the altar is richly gilt, and handsome frescoes deck the ceiling. +St. Domenigo, another fine church, possesses, my cicerone assured me, +the largest organ in the world. If he had said the greatest <i>he +had seen</i>, I could readily have believed him.</p> +<p>In St. Ignazio, or Olivazo, near a minor altar at one side, we find +a painting representing the Virgin and the infant Jesus. The sacristan +persisted that this was a work of Raphael’s. The colouring +appeared to me not quite to resemble that of the great master, but I +understand too little of these things to be able to judge on such a +subject. At any rate it is a fine piece. A few steps below +the church lies the oratory, which nearly equals it in size, and also +contains a handsome painting over the altar. “St. Augustine” +also repays the trouble of a visit; it displays great wealth in marble, +sculptures, frescoes, and arabesques. “St. Joseph” +is also rich in various kinds of marble. Several of its large +columns have been made from a single block. A clear cold stream +issues from this church.</p> +<p>I have still to notice the lovely public gardens, which I visited +after dining with the consul-general, Herr Wallenburg. I cannot +omit this opportunity of gratefully mentioning the friendly sympathy +and kindness I experienced on the part of this gentleman and his lady. +To return to the gardens,—the most interesting to me was the botanical, +where a number of rare trees and plants flourish famously in the open +air.</p> +<p>The catacombs of the Augustine convent are most peculiar; they are +situate immediately outside the town. From the church, which offers +nothing of remarkable interest, a broad flight of stairs leads downwards +into long and lofty passages cut in the rock, and receiving light from +above. The skeletons of the dead line the walls, in little niches +close beside each other; they are clothed in a kind of monkish robe, +and each man’s hands are crossed on his chest, with a ticket bearing +his name, age, and the date of his death depending therefrom. +A more horrible sight can scarcely be imagined than these dressed-up +skeletons and death’s-heads. Many have still hair on the +scalp, and some even beard. The niches in which they stand are +surmounted by planks displaying skulls and bones, and the corridors +are crowded with whole rows of coffins, their inmates waiting for a +vacant place. If the relations of one of the favoured skeletons +neglect to supply a certain number of wax-tapers on All-Saints’ +day, the poor man is banished from his position, and one of the candidates +steps in and occupies his niche.</p> +<p>The corpses of women and girls are deposited in another compartment, +and look as though they were lying in state in their glass coffins, +dressed in handsome silks, with ornamental coifs on their heads, ruffs +and lace collars round their necks, and silk shoes and stockings, which +however soon burst, on their feet. A wreath of flowers decks the +brow of each girl, and beneath all this ornament the skull appears with +its hollow eyes—a parody upon life and death.</p> +<p>Whenever any one wishes to be immortalised in this way, his friends +and relations must pay a certain sum for a place on the day of his burial, +and afterwards bring wax-tapers every year. The body is then laid +in a chamber of lime, which remains for eight months hermetically closed, +until the flesh has been entirely eaten away; then the bones are fastened +together, dressed, and placed in a niche.</p> +<p>On All-Saints’ day these corridors of death are crowded with +gazers; friends and relations of the deceased resort thither to light +candles and perform their devotions. I was glad to have had an +opportunity of seeing these audience-halls of the dead, but still I +rejoiced when I hastened upwards to sojourn once more among the living.</p> +<p>From here I drove to Olivuzza, to view the Moorish castle of Ziza, +celebrated for the beauty of its situation and of the region around. +Not far from the old castle stands a new one, with a garden of much +beauty, containing also a number of fantastic toys, such as little grottoes +and huts, hollow trees in which secret doors fly suddenly open, disclosing +to view a nun, a monk, or some figure of the kind, etc. Here I +still found a species of date-tree growing in the open air; but the +fruit it bears is very small, and never becomes completely ripe: this +was the last date-tree I saw.</p> +<p>The royal villa “Favourite,” about a mile from the town, +is situated in a lovely spot. It is built in the Chinese style, +with a quantity of points, gables, and little bells; its interior is, +however, arranged according to European design, in a rich, tasteful, +and artistic manner. We linger with pleasure in the rooms, each +of which offers some attractive feature. Thus, for instance, one +apartment contains beautiful fresco paintings; another, life-size portraits +of the royal family in Chinese costume; in a third, the effects of damp +on walls and ceiling are so accurately portrayed that at first I was +deceived by the resemblance, and regretted to find a room in such a +condition among all the pomp and splendour around. One small cabinet +is entirely inlaid with little pieces of all the various kinds of marble +that are to be found in Sicily. The large tables are made of petrified +and polished woods, etc. Besides these minor attractions, a much +greater one exists in the splendid view which we obtain from the terraces +and from the summit of the Chinese tower. I found it difficult +to tear myself from contemplating this charming prospect; a painter +would become embarrassed by the very richness of the materials around +him. Every thing I had seen from on board here appeared before +my eyes with increased loveliness, because I here saw it from a higher +position, and obtained a more extended view.</p> +<p>An ornamental garden lies close to the palace. It is flagged +with large blocks of stone, between which spaces are left for earth. +These beds are parcelled out according to plans, bordered with box a +foot in height, and arranged so as to form immense leaves, flowers, +and arabesques; while in the midst stand vases of natural flowers. +The park fills up the background; it consists merely of a few avenues +and meadows, extending to the foot of Mount Rosalia.</p> +<p>This mountain I also ascended. The finest paved street, which +is sufficiently broad for three carriages to pass each other, winds +in a serpentine manner round the rocky heights, so that we can mount +upwards without the slightest difficulty.</p> +<p>The convent is small and very simply constructed; the courtyard behind +it, on the contrary, is exceedingly imposing. It is shut in on +all sides by steep walls of rock, covered with clinging ivy in a most +picturesque manner. On the left we find a little grotto containing +an altar. In the foreground, on the right, a lofty gate, formed +by nature and beautified by art, leads into a chapel wonderfully formed +of pieces of rock and stalactites. A feeling of astonishment and +admiration almost amounting to awe came upon me as I entered. +The walls near the chief altar are overgrown with a kind of delicate +moss of an emerald-green colour, with the white rock shining through +here and there; and in the midst rises a natural cupola, terminating +in a point. The extreme summit of this dome cannot be distinguished; +it is lost in obscurity. Here and there natural niches occur, +in which statues of saints have been placed. To the left of the +high altar I saw the monument of St. Rosalia, beautifully executed in +white marble. She is represented in a recumbent posture, the size +of life; the statue rests on a pedestal two feet in height. In +the most highly-decorated or the most gorgeous church I could not have +felt myself more irresistibly impelled to devotion than in this grand +temple of nature.</p> +<p>From the 15th to the 18th of July in every year a great feast is +held in honour of St. Rosalia, the patron saint of the city, in the +town and on the mountain. On these days a number of people make +a pilgrimage to the grotto above described, where the bones of the saint +were found at a time when the plague was raging at Palermo. They +were carried with great pomp into the town, and from that moment the +plague ceased.</p> +<p>The road from the convent to the temple, built on the summit of a +rock, and visible to the sailors from a great distance, leads us for +about half a mile over loose stones. Its construction is extremely +simple, and not remarkable in any way. In former times its summit +was decked by a colossal statue of the saint. This fell down, +and the head alone remained unmutilated. Like the statue, the +fane is now in ruins, and its site is only visited for the sake of the +beautiful view.</p> +<p>On our way back to the convent, my guide drew my attention to a spot +where a large tree had stood. Some years before, a family was +sitting quietly beneath its shade, partaking of a frugal meal, when +the tree suddenly came crashing down, and caused the death of four persons.</p> +<p>The excursion to St. Rosalia’s Hill can easily be made in four +or five hours. It is usual to ride up the mountain on donkeys; +these animals are, however, so sluggish, compared with those of Egypt, +that I often preferred dismounting and proceeding on foot. The +Neapolitan donkeys are just as lazy.</p> +<p>I wished still to visit Bagaria, the summer residence of many of +the townspeople. One morning I drove to this lovely spot in the +company of an amiable Swiss family. The distance from Palermo +is about two miles and a half, and the road frequently winding close +to the sea, presents a rich variety of beautiful pictures.</p> +<p>We went to view the palace of Prince Fascello: the proprietor appears, +however, seldom to reside here, for every thing wears an air of neglect. +Two halls in this building are worthy of notice; the walls of the smaller +one are covered with figures and ornaments, beautifully carved in wood, +with pieces of mirror glass placed between them. The vaulted ceiling +is also decorated with mirrors, some of which are unfortunately already +broken.</p> +<p>The walls of the larger hall are completely lined with the finest +Sicilian marble. Above the cornices the marble has been covered +with thin glass, which gives it a peculiar appearance of polish. +The immense ceiling of the great hall is vaulted like that of the smaller +one, and completely covered with mirrors, all of them in good preservation. +Both apartments, but particularly the large one, are said to have a +magical effect when lighted up with tapers.</p> +<p>I spent a Sunday in Palermo, and was much pleased at seeing the peasants +in their festive garb, in which, however, I could discover nothing handsome; +nor, indeed, any thing peculiar, save the long pendent nightcaps. +The men wear jackets and breeches, and have the before-mentioned caps +on their heads; the dress of the women is a spencer, a petticoat, and +a kerchief of white or coloured linen round the head and neck.</p> +<p>The common people appeared to be neither cleanly nor wealthy. +The rich are dressed according to the fashions of London, Paris, and +Vienna.</p> +<p>In all the Sicilian towns I found the mob more boisterous and impudent +than in the East, and frequently it was my lot to witness most diabolical +quarrels and fights. It is necessary to be much more on one’s +guard against theft and roguery among these people than among the Arabs +and Bedouins. Now I acknowledge how falsely I had judged the poor +denizens of the East when I took them for the most thievish of tribes. +The people here and at Naples were far worse than they. I was +doubly pained on making this discovery, from the fact that I saw more +fasting and praying, and more clergymen in these countries than any +where else. To judge from appearances, I should have taken the +Sicilians and Neapolitans for the most pious people in the world. +But their behaviour towards strangers is rude in the extreme. +Never had I been so impudently stared out of countenance as in these +Sicilian towns: fingers were pointed at me amidst roars of laughter; +the boys even ran after me and jeered at me—and all because I +wore a round straw hat. In Messina I threw this article away, +and dressed according to the fashion which prevails here and in my own +country; but still the gaping did not cease. In Palermo it was +not only the street boys who stood still to gaze at me, the grandees +also did me the same honour, whether I drove or walked. I once +asked a lady the reason of this, and requested to know if my appearance +was calculated either to give offence or to excite ridicule; she replied +that neither was the case, but that the only thing the citizens remarked +in me was that I went about alone with a servant. In Sicily this +was quite an uncommon circumstance, for there I always saw two ladies +walking together, or a lady and gentleman. Now the grand mystery +was solved; but notwithstanding this, I did not alter my mode of action, +but continued to walk quietly about the town with my servant, for I +preferred being laughed at a little to giving any one the trouble of +accompanying me about every where. At first this staring made +me very uncomfortable; but man can adapt himself to every thing, and +I am no exception to the rule.</p> +<p>The vegetation in Sicily is eminent for its luxuriant loveliness. +Flowers, plants, and shrubs attain a greater height and magnitude than +we find elsewhere. I saw here numerous species of aloes, which +we cultivate laboriously in hot-houses, growing wild, or planted as +hedges around gardens. The stems, from which blossoms burst forth, +often attain a height of from twenty to thirty feet. Their flowering +season was already past.</p> +<h3>October 10th.</h3> +<p>After a sojourn of five days I bade farewell to Palermo, and took +my departure in wet weather. This was the first rain I had seen +fall since the 20th of April. The temperature remained very warm; +on fine days the thermometer still stood at 20° or 22° Reaumur +in the sun at noon.</p> +<p>The vessel on which I now embarked was a royal mail-steamer. +We left Palermo at noon; towards evening the sea became rather rough, +so that the spray dashed over me once or twice, although I continually +kept near the steersman.</p> +<p>At the commencement of our journey nothing was to be seen but sky +and water. But the next day, as we approached the Neapolitan coast, +island after island rose from the sea, and at length the mainland itself +could be discerned. Capri was the first island we approached closely. +Soon afterwards my attention was drawn to a great cloud rising towards +the sky; it was a smoky column from the glowing hearth of Vesuvius. +At length a white line glittered on the verge of the horizon, like a +band through the clear air. There was a joyful cry of “Napoli! +Napoli!” and Naples lay spread before me.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> +<p><i>Sojourn at Naples—Sickness—Laziness of the people—Royal +palace—Rotunda—Strada Chiaga and Toledo—St. Carlo +Theatre—Largo del Castello—Medina square—Marionettes—St. +Jesu Nuovo—St. Jesu Maggiore—St. Maria di Piedigrotta—Public +gardens—Academy “degli Studii”—Cathedral of +St. Januarius—St. Jeronimo—St. Paula Maggiore—St. +Chiara—Baths of Nero—Solfatara—Grotto “del Cane”—Resina—Ascent +of Vesuvius—Caserta.</i></p> +<p>My imagination was so powerfully excited, I may say over-excited, +by the accounts I had heard and read concerning this fairy city, that +here once more my expectations were far from being realised. This +was, perhaps, partly owing to the circumstance that I had already seen +Constantinople and had just quitted Palermo, the situation of which +latter town had so enchanted me that my enthusiasm was here confined +within very narrow bounds, and I felt inclined to prefer Palermo to +Naples.</p> +<p>At two o’clock in the afternoon I landed, and the kind assistance +of Herr Brettschneider at once procured me an excellent room in Santa +Lucia, with a prospect of the harbour and the bay, besides a view of +Vesuvius and the region surrounding it. As usual, I wished to +commence my researches at once; but already in Palermo I had felt an +unceasing pain in my side, so that my last walks there had been attended +with considerable difficulty.</p> +<p>Here I became really ill, and was unable to quit my room. I +had a boil on my back, which required the care of the surgeon, and kept +me in my room for a fortnight, until the fever had abated.</p> +<p>If this misfortune had happened to me in the East, or even while +I was in quarantine at Malta, who knows whether I should not have been +looked upon as having a “plague-boil,” and shut up for forty +days?</p> +<p>During my imprisonment here, my only relaxation during the hours +when I was free from fever and it did not rain, was to sit on the balcony, +contemplating the beautiful prospect, and looking on the bustling, lively +populace. The Neapolitans appeared to me very ill-behaved, boisterous, +and quarrelsome, and seemed to entertain a great horror of work. +The latter circumstance seems natural enough, for they require little +for their daily support, and we hardly find that the common people any +where work more than is necessary to shield them from immediate want; +this is particularly the case in Italy, where the heat is oppressive +during the day, and the temperature of the evening so agreeable, every +one wishes to enjoy himself rather than to work.</p> +<p>I sometimes saw men employ themselves for half a day together in +pushing bullets with a little stick through a ring fastened to the ground: +this is one of the most popular games. The women are always sitting +or standing in front of the houses, chattering or quarrelling; and the +children lie about in the streets all day long. The veriest trifle +suffices to breed a quarrel among old or young, and then they kick one +another with their feet—a very graceful practice for women or +girls! Even with their knives they are ready on all occasions.</p> +<p>For making observations on the Neapolitans no better post can be +chosen than a lodging in the quarter St. Lucia. The fishermen, +lazzaroni, and sailors live in the little side lanes, and spend the +greater part of the day in the large street of St. Lucia, the chief +resort both for pedestrians and people on horse-back and in carriages. +In and about the harbour we find numerous vendors of oysters and crabs, +which they bring fresh from the sea. The lazzaroni no longer go +about half naked, and the common people are dressed in a decent though +not in a picturesque manner.</p> +<p>Here a number of handsome equipages rolled by; their lady occupants +were very fashionably attired.</p> +<p>Even among the better classes it is usual for the men to purchase +all the household necessaries, such as fish, bread, poultry, etc. +Poultry is very much eaten in Italy, particularly turkeys, which are +sometimes sold ready cut up, according to weight. On Sundays and +holydays the shops containing wares and provisions, and the meat and +poultry stalls, are opened in the same way as on a week-day. Throughout +all Italy we do not see them closed for the observance of a Sunday or +holyday.</p> +<p>On the fifteenth day I had so far recovered that I could begin my +tour of observation, using, however, certain precautions.</p> +<p>At first I confined my researches to churches, palaces, and the museum, +particularly as the weather was unprecedentedly bad. It rained, +or rather poured, almost every day, and in these cases the water rushes +in streams out of the by-lanes towards the sea. The greater part +of Naples is built on an acclivity, and there are no gutters, so that +the water must force its way along the streets: this has its peculiar +advantages; for the side-lanes, which are filthy beyond description, +thus get a partial cleansing by the stream.</p> +<p>As I am not a connoisseur, it would be foolish in me to attempt a +criticism upon the splendid productions of art which I beheld here, +in Rome, and at Florence and other places. I can only recount +what I saw.</p> +<p>During my excursions I generally regulated my movements according +to the divisions and instructions contained in August Lewald’s +hand-book, a work which every traveller will find very serviceable and +correct.</p> +<p>I began with the royal palace, which was situate near my lodging +at St. Lucia, with one front facing the sea, and the other turned towards +the fine large square. This building contains forty-two windows +in a row. I could see nothing of its interior excepting the richly +decorated chapel, as the royal family resided there during the whole +time of my stay, and thus the apartments were not accessible to strangers.</p> +<p>Opposite the castle stands the magnificent Rotunda, called also the +church of San Francesco de Paula. Adjoining this church on either +side were arcades in the form of a half circle, supported by handsome +pillars, beneath which several shops are established. The roof +of the Rotunda is formed by a splendid cupola resting on thirty-four +marble pillars. The altars, with the niches between, occupied +by colossal statues, are ranged round the walls, and in some instances +decorated by splendid modern paintings. A great quantity of lapis +lazuli has been used in the construction of the grand altar. In +the higher regions of the cupola two galleries, with tasteful iron railings, +are to be seen. The entire church, and even the confessionals, +are covered with a species of grey marble. The peculiar appearance +of this place of worship is exceedingly calculated to excite the visitor’s +wonder, for to judge from its exterior he would scarcely take the splendid +building before him for a church. It was built on the model of +the famous rotunda at Rome; but the idea of the porticoes is taken from +St. Peter’s.</p> +<p>Two large equestrian statues of bronze form the ornaments of the +square before this church. Quitting this square, we emerge into +the two finest and most frequented streets in the town, namely, the +Chiaga and Toledo. Not far off is the imposing theatre of St. +Carlo, said to be not only the largest in Italy, but in all Europe. +Its exterior aspect is very splendid. A large and broad entrance +extends in front, with pillars, beneath the shelter of which the carriages +drive up, so that the spectators can arrive and depart without the chance +of getting wet. This evening there was to be a “particularly +grand performance.” I entered the theatre, and was much +struck with its appearance. It contains six tiers, all parcelled +off into boxes, of which I counted four-and-twenty on the grand circle. +Each box is almost the size of a small room, and can easily accommodate +from twelve to fifteen people. A fairy-like spectacle is said +to be produced when, on occasions of peculiar festivity, the whole exterior +is lighted up. Here, as in nearly all the Italian theatres, a +clock, shewing not only the hours but the minutes, is fixed over the +front of the stage. A “particular performance” commences +at six o’clock, and usually terminates an hour or two before midnight. +This evening I saw a little ballet, then two acts of an opera, and afterwards +a comedy, the whole concluding with a grand ballet. It is usual +on benefit-nights to give a great variety of entertainments in order +to attract the public; on these occasions the prices are also reduced +one-fifth.</p> +<p>The greatest square, Largo del Castello, almost adjoins the theatre; +it is of an oblong form, and contains many palace-like buildings, including +the finance and police offices. A pretty spring, the water of +which falls down some rocks and forms a cascade, is also worthy of mention.</p> +<p>A little to the left we come upon the Medina-square, boasting the +finest fountain in Naples. Between these two squares, beside the +sea-shore, lies Castel Nuovo, said to be built quite in the form of +the Bastille. It is strongly fortified, and serves as a defence +for the harbour. This is a very lively neighbourhood. Many +an hour’s amusement have I had, watching the motley crowd, particularly +on Sundays and holydays, when it is frequented by improvisators, singers, +musicians, and mountebanks of every description.</p> +<p>Not far from the harbour is a long street in which numerous kitchens +and many provision-stalls are established. Here I walked in the +evenings to see the people assembled round the macaroni-pots: it is +advisable, however, to leave watch and purse at home, and even one’s +pocket-handkerchief is not safe.</p> +<p>Of the shouting and crowding here no conception can be formed. +Large kettles are placed in front of the shops, and the proprietors +sit beside them, plunging a great wooden fork and spoon into the cauldron +to fill the plates of expectant customers. Some eat their favourite +dish with fat and cheese, others without, according to the state of +their exchequer for the time being; but one and all eat with their fingers. +The army of hungry mortals seems innumerable; and during feeding-time +the stranger finds no little difficulty in forcing a passage, notwithstanding +the breadth of the street. Not far from this thoroughfare of the +people two “Punchinellos” are erected. In one of these +the Marionettes are a foot and a half, and in the other no less than +three feet high.</p> +<p>There is, besides, a theatre for the people, where pieces of tragic +and comic character are performed, in all of which the clown plays a +prominent part. The remaining theatres, the Nuovo, the Carlini, +and others, are about the size of those in the Leopold- and Josephstadt +at Vienna, and can accommodate about 800 spectators. Their exteriors +and interiors are alike undistinguished; but in some of them the singing +and playing are very creditable. In one of these theatres we are +obliged to descend instead of to ascend to reach the pit and the first +tier of boxes.</p> +<p>Naples contains more than three hundred churches and chapels. +I visited a number of them, for I entered every church that came in +my way. St. Fernando, a church of no great size, but of very pleasing +appearance, struck me particularly. The ceiling of this edifice +is covered with frescoes, and the walls enriched with marble. +At the two side altars we find a pair of very fine half-length pictures +of saints.</p> +<p>St. Jesu Nuovo, another exceedingly handsome church, stands on the +borders of the Lago Maggiore, and is full of magnificent frescoes, surrounded +by arabesque borders. The latter appear as though they were gilded, +and the effect thus produced is remarkably fine. This spacious +building contains a number of small chapels, partitioned off by massive +gratings. The great cupola is exceedingly handsome, and every +chapel boasts a separate one.</p> +<p>St. Jesu Maggiore does not carry out its appellation, for it is a +small unpretending church, though some splendid gothic ornaments beautify +the exterior.</p> +<p>St. Maria di Piedigrotta, another little church, is much frequented, +from the fact that the common people place great confidence in the picture +of the Virgin there displayed. The church contains nothing worthy +of notice.</p> +<p>The grotto of Pausilipp, a cavern of immense length, now called Puzzoli, +is not far distant. This grotto, hewn out of a rock, is about +1200 paces long, between 50 and 60 feet in height, and of such breadth +that two carriages can easily pass each other. A little chapel +cut out of the rock occupies the middle of the cavern, and both grotto +and chapel are illuminated night and day. As in the whole of Naples, +the pavement here is formed of lava from Mount Vesuvius.</p> +<p>Immediately above the grotto, in the direction of the town, we come +upon a simple gravestone of white marble—the monument of the poet +Virgil. A long flight of steps leads to the garden containing +this monument: the poet’s ashes do not, however, rest here; the +spot where he sleeps cannot be accurately determined, and this monument +is only raised to his memory. The prospect from these heights +as well repays a visit as the grotto of Pausilipp, where we wander for +a long time in deep darkness, until we suddenly emerge into the broad +light of day, to find ourselves surrounded by a most lovely landscape.</p> +<p>The public garden of Naples is also situate in this quarter of the +town. It extends to the lower portion of the Strada Chiaga, is +of great length without being broad, and displays a vast number of beautiful +statues, prospects, and rare plants; a large and handsome street, containing +many fine houses, adjoins it on one side. I also rode to the Vomero, +on which are erected the king’s pleasure-palace and a small convent. +A glorious prospect here unfolds itself: Naples with its bay, Puzzoli, +and a number of beautiful islands, the lake Agnaro, the extinct craters +of Solfatara, Baiæ, Vesuvius with its chain of mountains, and +the stupendous ocean, lie grouped, in varied forms and gorgeously blending +colours, before the gaze of the astonished spectator. This is +the place of which the Neapolitans say, with some justice, “Hither +should men come, and gaze, and die!”</p> +<p>Still the prospects from St. Rosalia’s Mount, and from the +royal palace Favorita at Palermo, had pleased me better; for there the +beauties of nature are more crowded together, are nearer to the spectator: +he can obtain a more complete view of them, while in varied gorgeousness +they do not yield the palm even to the fairy pictures of Naples.</p> +<p>I more than once spent half a day in the Academy “degli Studii,” +for in this place much was to be seen. The entrance to the building +is indescribably beautiful; both the portico and the handsome staircases +are ornamented with statues and busts executed in most artistic style. +A door on the right leads us to a hall in which the paintings from Pompeii +and Herculaneum are displayed; several of these relics have no small +pretensions to beauty, and the colours of almost all are still wonderfully +bright and fresh. In the great hall at the end of the courtyard +we find on one side the Farnese Hercules, and on the other the Bull, +both works of the Athenian Glycon. These two antiques, particularly +the latter, have been in a great measure restored.</p> +<p>The gallery of great bronzes is considered the first in the world, +for here we find united the finest works of ancient times. So +many beautiful creations of art were here brought together, that if +I attempted a description of them I should not know where to begin.</p> +<p>Opposite the gallery of bronzes is that allotted to the marbles, +among which a beautiful Venus stands prominently forth.</p> +<p>In the gallery of Flora, a statue of the same goddess, called the +Farnese, is also the principal attraction.</p> +<p>A statue of Apollo playing on the lyre, of porphyry, is the greatest +masterpiece in the hall of coloured marbles; while in the gallery of +the Muses a basin of Athenian porphyry occupies the first place.</p> +<p>In the Adonis room the beautiful Venus Anadyomene engrossed my chief +attention; and in the cabinet of Venus the Venus Callipygos forms an +exquisite sidepiece to the Venus de Medicis.</p> +<p>The upper regions of this splendid building contain an extensive +library and a picture-gallery.</p> +<p>I also paid a visit to the catacombs of St. Januarius, which extend +three stories high on a mountain, and are full of little niches, five +or six of which are often found one above the other.</p> +<p>In the chapel Santa Maria della Pieta, in the palace St. Severino, +I admired three of the finest and most valuable marble statues that +can be found any where; I mean, “Veiled Innocence,” “Malice +in a Net,” and a veiled recumbent figure of Christ. All +three are by the sculptor Bernini.</p> +<p>The largest church in the town is the cathedral dedicated to St. +Januarius. This structure rests on a hundred and ten columns of +Egyptian and African granite, standing three by three, embedded in the +walls. The church has not a very imposing appearance. The +chief altar, beneath which the body of St. Januarius is deposited, is +ornamented with many kinds of valuable marble. Here I saw a great +number of pictures, most of them of considerable merit. The chapel +of St. Januarius, also called the “chapel of the treasure,” +is one of the most gorgeous shrines that can be conceived. The +Neapolitans built it as a thank-offering at the cessation of a plague. +The cost was above a million of ducats, and the wealth of this chapel +is greater than that of any church in Christendom. It is built +in a circular form, and all the resources of art have been lavished +on the decoration of the chief altar. Every spot is covered with +treasures and works of art, and the roof is supported by forty-two Corinthian +pillars of dark-red stone. All the decorations of the high altar, +the immense candelabra and massive flower-vases, are of silver. +At a grand festival, when every thing is richly illuminated, the appearance +of this chapel must be gorgeous in the extreme. The head and two +bottles of the blood of St. Januarius are preserved here; the people +assert that this blood liquefies every year. The frescoes on the +ceiling are splendidly painted; and on the square before the church +is to be seen an obelisk surmounted by a statue of St. Januarius.</p> +<p>St. Jeronimo has an imposing appearance when one first enters. +The whole roof of this church as far downwards as the pillars is covered +with beautiful arabesques and figures. It also contains some fine +paintings, and is, besides, renowned for its architecture.</p> +<p>St. Paula Maggiore, another spacious church, is well worth seeing +on account of its magnificent arabesques and fresco-paintings; besides +these it also contains some handsome monuments and statues of marble. +Two very ancient pillars stand in front of this church.</p> +<p>St. Chiara, a fine large church, offers some fine monuments and oil-paintings.</p> +<p>Among the excursions in the neighbourhood of Naples, that to Puzzoli +is certainly the most interesting. After passing through the great +grotto, we reach the ancient and rather important town of Puzzoli, with +8000 inhabitants. Cicero called this place a little Rome. +In the centre of the town stands the church of St. Proculus, which was +converted from a heathen into a Christian temple, and is surrounded +by fine-looking Corinthian pillars.</p> +<p>Remarkable beyond all else is the ruined temple of Seropis. +Almost the entire magnitude and arrangement of this magnificent building +can yet be discerned. A few of the pillars that once supported +the cupola are still erect, and several of the cells, which surrounded +the temple and were once used as baths, can still be seen. Every +thing here is of fine white marble. The greater portion of the +ruin was dismantled, to be used in the construction of the royal villa +of Caserta.</p> +<p>The harbour of Puzzoli is related to have been the finest in Italy. +From this place Caligula had a bridge erected to Baiæ, about 4000 +paces in length. He undertook this gigantic work in consequence +of a prophecy that was made to him, that he would no more become emperor +than he could ride to Baiæ on horseback. This prophecy he +confuted, and became emperor. Of the amphitheatre and the colosseum +not a trace remains. A little chapel now occupies the site on +which they stood; tradition asserts that it is built on the very spot +where St. Januarius was thrown to the bears.</p> +<p>Not far from this chapel we are shewn the labyrinth of Dædalus; +several of its winding walks still exist, through which it would be +difficult to find the way without a cicerone.</p> +<p>We ascended the hill immediately beyond the city, on which some remains +of Cicero’s villa are yet to be seen: here we enjoyed a splendid +prospect.</p> +<p>In this region we continually wander among ruins, and see every where +around us the relics of the past. Thus a short walk brought us +from Cicero’s villa to the ruins of three temples—those +of Diana, Venus, and Mercury. Of the first, one side and a few +little cells, called the “baths of Venus,” alone remain. +Part of Venus’s temple stands in the rotunda. It was built +on acoustic principles, so that any one who puts his ear to a certain +part of the wall can hear what is whispered at the opposite extremity. +A few fragments of the rotunda were the only trace left of the temple +of Diana.</p> +<p>The vapour baths of Nero, hewn out of the rock, consist of several +passages, into which it is impossible to penetrate far on account of +the heat. A boy ran to the spring and brought us some boiling +water; he returned from his expedition fiery red in the face, and covered +with perspiration. These poor lads are accustomed to remain at +the spring until they have succeeded in boiling some eggs; but I would +not allow any such cruelty, and did not even wish them to fetch me the +water, but Herr Brettschneider would have it so in spite of me.</p> +<p>From this place we crossed by sea to Baiæ, where at one time +many of the rich people had their villas. Their proceedings here +are said, however, to have been of so immoral a character, that at length +it was considered wrong to have resided here any time. Every visitor +must be enchanted with the fertility of this region, and with its lovely +aspect. A castle, now used as a barrack for veterans, crowns the +summit of a rock which stands prominently forth. A few unimportant +traces can still be here discovered of an ancient temple of Hercules. +Some masonry, in the form of a monument, marks the alleged spot where +Agrippina was murdered and buried by order of her son.</p> +<p>The immense reservoir built by order of the emperor Augustus for +the purpose of supplying the fleet with fresh water, is situate in the +neighbourhood of Baiæ; it is called Piscina. This giant +structure contains several large chambers, their roofs supported by +numerous columns. To view this reservoir we are compelled to descend +a flight of steps.</p> +<p>Not far from the before-mentioned building we come upon the “Cento +Camarelle,” a prison consisting of a multitude of small cells.</p> +<p>On our way back we visited Solfatara, the celebrated crater plain, +about 1000 feet in length by 800 in breadth, skirted by hills. +Its volcanic power is not yet wholly extinct; in several places brimstone-fumes +(whence the plain derives its name,) are still seen rising into the +air, which they impregnate with a most noxious odour. On striking +the ground with a stick a sound is produced, from which we can judge +that the whole space beneath us is hollow. This excursion is a +very disagreeable one; we are continually marching across a mere crust +of earth, which may give way any moment. I found here a manufactory +of brimstone and alum. A little church belonging to the Capuchins, +where we are shewn a stone on which St. Januarius was decapitated after +the bears had refused to tear him to pieces, stands on a hill near the +Solfatara.</p> +<p>Towards evening we reached the “Dog’s Grotto.” +A huntsman from the royal preserve Astroni accompanied us, and fetched +the man who keeps the keys of the grotto. This functionary soon +appeared with a couple of dogs, to furnish us with a practical illustration +of the convulsions caused by the foul air of the cavern. But I +declined the experiment, and contented myself with viewing the grotto. +It is of small extent, about eight or ten feet long, not more than five +in breadth, and six or eight high. I entered the cave, and so +long as I remained erect felt no inconvenience. So soon as I bent +towards the ground, however, and the lower stratum of air blew upon +my face, I experienced a most horrible choking sensation.</p> +<p>After we had satisfied our curiosity the huntsman led us to the neighbouring +hunting-lodge, and to a little lake where a number of ducks are fattened. +This man spoke of another and a much more remarkable grotto, of which +he possessed the keys, and which he should have great pleasure in shewing +us. Though twilight was rapidly approaching we determined to go, +as the place was not far off. The man opened the door, and invited +us to enter the cavern, advising us at the same time to bend down open-mouthed, +as we had done in the Dog’s Grotto, and at the same time to fan +the air upwards with our hands, that we might the better inhale it,—a +proceeding which he asserted to be peculiarly good for the digestive +organs. His eloquence was so powerful, that we could not help +suspecting the man; and it struck us as very strange that he was so +particularly anxious we should enter the cavern together. This, +therefore, we refused to do; and Herr Brettschneider remained outside +with our guide, while I entered alone and did as he had directed. +Though the lower stratum of air in the Dog’s Grotto had been highly +mephitic, the atmosphere here was more stifling still. I rushed +forth with the speed of lightning; and now we clearly saw through the +fellow’s intention. If Herr Brettschneider and myself had +entered together, he would undoubtedly have shut the door, and we should +have been stifled in a few moments. We did not allow him to notice +our suspicions, but merely said that we could not spend any more time +here to-day on account of the lateness of the hour. Our worthy +friend accompanied us through a wild and gloomy region, with his gun +on his shoulder; and I was not a little afraid of him, for he kept talking +about his honesty and the good intentions he had towards us. We +kept, however, close beside him, and watched him narrowly, without betraying +any symptom of apprehension; and at length, to our great relief, we +gained the open road.</p> +<p>The royal villa of Portici lies about four “miglia” from +Naples, and we made an excursion thither by railway. Both the +palace and the gardens are handsome, and of considerable size. +Thence we proceeded to Resina. Portici and Resina are so closely +connected together by villas and houses, that a stranger would take +them for one place. Beneath Resina lies Herculaneum, a city destroyed +seventy-nine years after the birth of our Saviour. In the year +1689 a marquis caused a well to be dug in his garden, when, at a depth +of sixty-five feet, the labourers came upon fragments of marble with +divers inscriptions. It was not until 1720 that systematic excavations +were made. Even then great caution was necessary, as Resina is +unfortunately built upon Herculaneum, and the safety of the houses became +endangered.</p> +<p>At Resina we procured torches and a guide, and descended to view +the subterranean city. We saw the theatre, a number of houses, +several temples, and the forum. Some fine frescoes are still to +be distinguished on the walls of the apartments. The floors are +covered with mosaic; but still this place does not offer nearly so many +objects of interest as another which was overwhelmed at the same time—Pompeii.</p> +<p>Pompeii is without doubt the most remarkable city of its kind that +exists. A great portion of the town is surrounded by walls, and +entire rows of houses, several temples, the theatre, the forum, in short +a vast number of buildings, streets, and squares lay open before us. +The more I wandered through the streets and open places, the more I +involuntarily wondered not to find the inhabitants and labourers employed +in repairing the houses; I could hardly realise the idea that so many +beautiful houses and well preserved apartments should be untenanted. +The deserted aspect of this town had a very melancholy effect in my +eyes.</p> +<p>Though a great portion of the town has already been dug out, only +three hundred skeletons have been found,—a proof that the greater +portion of the inhabitants effected their escape.</p> +<p>In many houses I found splendid tesselated pavements, representing +flowers, wreaths, animals, and arabesques; even the halls and courtyards +were decorated with a larger kind of mosaic work. The walls of +the rooms are plastered over with a description of firm polished enamel, +frequently looking like marble, and covered with beautiful frescoes. +In Sallust’s house a whole row of wine jugs still stands in the +cellar. In the houses the division of the rooms, and the purposes +to which the different apartments were devoted, can still be distinctly +traced. In general they are very small, and the windows seldom +look out upon the street. Deep ruts of carriages can be seen in +the streets. All the treasures of art which could be removed, +such as statues, pictures, etc., were carried off to Naples, and placed +in the museum there.</p> +<h3>VESUVIUS.</h3> +<p>In the agreeable society of Herr M. and Madame Brettschneider, I +rode away from Resina at eleven in the forenoon. A pleasant road, +winding among vineyards, brought us in an hour’s time to the neighbourhood +of the great lava-field, Torre del Greco. It is a fearful sight +to behold these grand mounds of lava towering in the most various forms +around us. All traces of vegetation have vanished; far and wide +we can descry nothing but hardened masses, which once rushed in molten +streams down the mountain. A capitally-constructed road leads +us, without the slightest fatigue, through the midst of this scene of +devastation to the usual resting-place of travellers, the “Hermitage.”</p> +<p>At this dwelling we made halt, ascended to the upper story, and called +for a bottle of Lacrimæ Christi. The view here, and at several +other points of our ascent, is most charming.</p> +<p>The hermit seems, however, to lead any thing but a solitary life, +for a day seldom passes on which strangers do not call in to claim his +attention in proportion as they run up a score. The clerical gentleman +is, in fact, no more and no less than a very common innkeeper, and partakes +of the goodly obesity frequently noticed among persons of his class. +We stayed three quarters of an hour in the domicile of this hermit-host, +and afterwards rode on towards the heights, along a beautiful road among +fields of lava. In half an hour’s time, however, we were +completely shut in by lava-fields, and here the beaten track ended. +We now dismounted, and continued our ascent on foot. It is difficult +for one who has not seen it to picture to himself the scene that lay +around us. Devastation every where; lava covering the whole region +in heaps upon heaps, fantastically piled one on the other. Here +a huge isolated mound rises, seemingly cut off on all sides from the +lava around; there we see how a mighty stream once rushed down the mountain-side, +and cooled gradually into stone. Immense chasms are filled with +lava masses, which have lain here for many years cold and motionless, +and will probably remain for as many more, for their fury has spent +itself.</p> +<p>The lava is of different colours, according as it has been exposed +to the atmosphere for a longer or a shorter period. The oldest +lava has the hue of granite, and almost its hardness, for which reasons +it is largely used for building houses and paving streets.</p> +<p>From the place where we left our donkeys we had to climb upwards +for nearly an hour over the lava before reaching the crater. The +ascent is somewhat fatiguing, as we are obliged to be very careful at +every step to avoid entangling our feet among the blocks of lava; still +the difficulty is not nearly so great as people make out. It is +merely necessary to wear good thick boots, and then all goes extremely +well. The higher we mount, the more numerous do the fissures become +from which smoke bursts forth. In one of these clefts we placed +some eggs, which were completely boiled in four minutes’ time. +Near these places the ground is so hot that we could not have stood +still for many minutes; still we did not get burnt feet or any thing +of the kind.</p> +<p>On reaching the crater we found ourselves enveloped in so thick a +fog that we could not see ten paces in advance. There was nothing +for it but to sit down and wait patiently until the sun could penetrate +the mist and spread light and cheerfulness among us. Then we descended +into the crater, and approached as closely as possible to the place +from which the smoky column whirls into the air. The road was +a gloomy one, for we were shut in as in a bowl, and could discern around +us nothing but mountains of lava, while before us rose the huge smoky +column, threatening each moment to shroud us in darkness as the wind +blew it in clouds in our direction. When the ground was struck +with a stick, it gave forth a hollow rumbling sound like at Solfatara. +In the neighbourhood of the column of smoke we could see nothing more +than at the edge from which we had climbed downwards—a peculiar +picture of unparalleled devastation. The circumference of the +crater seems not to have changed since the visit of Herr Lewald, who +a few years ago estimated its dimensions at 5000 feet. After once +more mounting to the brim, we walked round a great part of the edge +of the basin.</p> +<p>At the particular desire of Herr M., who was well acquainted with +all the remarkable points about the volcano, our guide now led the way +to the so-called “hell,” a little crater which formed itself +it in the year 1834. To reach it we had to climb about over fields +of lava for half an hour. The aspect of this hell did not strike +me as particularly grand. An uneven wall of lava suddenly rose +fifteen paces in advance of us, with whole strata of pure sulphur and +other beautifully-coloured substances depending from its projecting +angles. One of these substances was of a snowy-white colour, light, +and very porous. I took a piece with me, but the next day on proceeding +to pack it carefully, I found that above half had melted and become +quite soft and damp, so that I was compelled to throw the whole away. +The same thing happened to a mass of a red colour that I had brought +away with me, and which had a beautiful effect, like glowing lava, clinging +to the fissures and sides of the rocks. We held pieces of paper +to the fissures in this wall, and they immediately became ignited. +Herr M. then threw in a cigar, which also burst into a flame. +The heat proceeding from these clefts was so great, that we could not +bear to hold our hands there for an instant. At one place, near +a fissure, we laid our ears to the ground, and could hear a rushing +bubbling sound as though water was boiling beneath us. There was +really much to see in this hell, without the discomfort of being enveloped +in the offensive sulphurous smoke of the chief crater.</p> +<p>After staying for several hours in and about the crater we left it, +and returned by the steep way over the cone of cinders. The descent +here is almost perpendicular, and we could hardly escape with whole +skins if it were not for the fact that we sink ankle-deep into sand +and cinders at every step.</p> +<p>To avoid falling, it is requisite to bend the body backwards and +step upon the heel. By observing this precaution, the worst that +can happen to one is to sit down involuntarily once or twice, without +danger to life or limb. In twelve minutes we had reached the spot +where our donkeys stood. We reached Resina during the darkness +of night, having spent eight hours in our excursion.</p> +<p>My last trip was to the Castle of Caserta, distant sixteen miglia +from Naples, in the direction of Capua. It is considered one of +the finest pleasure-palaces in Europe, and I was exceedingly pleased +with its appearance. The building is of a square form, with a +portico 507 feet long, supported by ninety-eight columns of the finest +marble. The staircase and halls in the upper story alone must +have cost enormous sums, as well as the chapel on the first floor, which +is very rich and gorgeous. The saloons and apartments are decorated +in a peculiarly splendid manner with a multiplicity of frescoes, oil-paintings, +sculptures, gildings, costly silk-hangings, marbles, etc. A pretty +little theatre, with well-painted scenery, is to be found in the palace. +The garden is extensive, particularly as regards length. A hill, +from which a considerable stream rushes foaming over artificial rockwork +into the deeper recesses of the garden, rises at its extremity. +Scarcely has this river sunk to rest, flowing slowly and majestically +through a bed formed of large square stones, before it is compelled +to form another cascade, and another, and one more, until it almost +reaches the castle, near which a large basin has been constructed, from +whence the water is led into the town. Seen from the portico, +these waterfalls have a lovely appearance. From Caserta we drove +ten miles farther on to the celebrated aqueduct which supplies the whole +of Naples with water. It is truly a marvellous work. Over +three stupendous arched ways, one above the other, the necessary quantity +of water flows into the city.</p> +<p>This was my last excursion; on the following day, the 7th of November, +at three in the morning, I left Naples. Apart from the delightful +reminiscences of lovely natural scenes, I shall always think with pleasure +on my sojourn in Naples in connexion with Herr Brettschneider and his +lady. I was a complete stranger to them when I delivered my note +of introduction, and yet they at once welcomed me as kindly and heartily +as though I had belonged to their family. How many hours, and +even days, did they not devote to me, to accompany me sometimes to one +place, sometimes to another; how eagerly did they seek to shew me all +the riches of nature and art displayed in this favoured city! +I was truly proud and delighted at having found such friends; and once +more do I offer them my sincere thanks.</p> +<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2> +<p><i>Caserta—Costume of the peasants—Rome—Piazza +del Popolo—Dogana—St. Peter’s—Palaces—Borghese, +Barberini, Colonna, etc.—Churches—Ancient Rome—The +Colliseum—Departure for Florence—Bad weather—Picturesque +scenery—Siena—Florence—Cathedral and palaces—Departure +from Florence—Bologna—Ferrara—Conclusion.</i></p> +<h3>November 7th.</h3> +<p>I travelled by the mail-carriage. By seven in the morning we +were at Caserta, and an hour later at Capua, a pretty bustling town +on the banks of a river. Our road was most picturesque; we drove +among vineyards and gardens through the midst of a lovely plain. +On the right were mountains, increasing in number as we proceeded, and +imparting a rich variety to the landscape. At noon we halted before +a lovely inn. From this point the country increases in beauty +at every step. The heights are strikingly fertile, and in the +valley an excellent road winds amid pleasant gardens. The mountains +frequently seem to approach as though about to form an impenetrable +pass; while ruins crown the summits of the rocks, and give a romantic +appearance to the whole. At about three o’clock we reached +the little town of Jeromania, lying in the midst of vegetable-gardens. +Above this town the handsome convent of Monte Cassino stands on a rock, +and in its neighbourhood we notice the ruins of an amphitheatre.</p> +<p>To-day the weather was not in the least Italian, being, on the contrary, +gloomy and rough, as we generally find it in Austria at the same season +of the year. Yesterday it was so cold at Naples that Mount Vesuvius +was covered with snow during several hours.</p> +<p>The dress of the peasants in these regions is of a more national +character than I had yet found it. The women wear short and scanty +petticoats of blue or red cloth, tight-fitting bodices, and gaily-striped +aprons. Their head-dress consists of a white handkerchief, with +a second above it folded in a square form. The men look like robbers; +with their long dark-blue or brown cloaks, in which they wrap themselves +so closely that it is difficult to get a glimpse of their faces, and +their steeple-crowned black hats, they quite resemble the pictures of +the bandits in the Abruzzi. They glide about in so spectral a +manner, and eye travellers with such a sinister look, that I almost +became uncomfortable.</p> +<p>From Jeromania we had still a few miles to travel until we entered +the Roman territory near Ceprano.</p> +<p>In Naples, and in fact throughout the whole of Italy, the passports +are continually called for,—a great annoyance to the traveller. +In the course of to-day my passport was “<i>visé</i>” +five times, making once in every little town through which we had passed.</p> +<p>It was our fortune at Ceprano to lodge with a very cheating host. +In the evening, when I inquired the price of a bedroom and breakfast, +they told me a bed would cost two pauls, and breakfast half a paul; +but when I came to pay, the host asked three pauls for my bed-room, +and another for a cup of the worst coffee I have ever drunk; and the +whole company was subjected to the same extortion. We expostulated +and complained, but were at length compelled to comply with the demand.</p> +<h3>November 8th.</h3> +<p>The landscape remains the same, but the appearance of the towns and +villages is not nearly so neat and pretty as in the Neapolitan domain. +The costume of the peasants is like that worn by the people whom we +met yesterday, excepting that the women have a stiff stomacher, fastened +with a red lace, instead of the spencer. The dress of the men +consists of short knee-breeches, brown stockings, heavy shoes, and a +jacket of some dark colour. Some wear, in addition to this, a +red waistcoat, and a green sash round the waist. All wear the +conical hat. In cold weather the dark bandit’s cloak is +also seen.</p> +<h3>ROME.</h3> +<p>As we approach Rome the country becomes more and more barren; the +mountains recede, and the extended plains have a desert, uncultivated +look. Towns and villages become so thinly scattered, that it seems +as though the whole region were depopulated. The road is rather +narrow, and as the country is in many places exceedingly marshy, a great +portion of it has been paved. For many miles before we enter Rome +we do not pass a single town or village. At length, some three +hours before we reach the city, the dome of St. Peter’s is seen +looming in the distance; one church after another appears, and at length +the whole city lies spread before us.</p> +<p>Many ruins of aqueducts and buildings of every kind shewed at every +step what treasures of the past here awaited us. I was particularly +pleased with the old town-gate Lateran, by which we entered.</p> +<p>It was already quite dark when we reached the Dogana. I at +once betook myself to my room and retired to rest.</p> +<p>I remained a fortnight at Rome, and walked about the streets from +morning till night. I visited St. Peter’s almost every day, +and went to the Vatican several times.</p> +<p>All the squares in Rome (and there are a great many) are decorated +with fountains, and still more frequently with obelisks. The finest +is the Piazza del Popolo. To the right rises the terrace-hill +Picino, rich in pillars, statues, fountains, and other ornaments,—a +favourite walk of the citizens. On this hill, which is arranged +after the manner of a beautiful garden, we have a splendid view. +The city of Rome here appears to much greater advantage than when we +approach it from the direction of Naples. We can see the whole +town at one glance, with the yellow Tiber flowing through the midst, +and a vast plain all around. The background is closed by beautiful +mountain-ranges, with villas, little towns, and cottages on the declivities. +But I missed one feature, to which I had become so accustomed that the +most beautiful view appeared incomplete without it—the sea. +To make up for this drawback, we here encounter wherever we walk such +a number of ruins, that we soon become forgetful of all around us, and +live only in the past.</p> +<p>The Piazza del Popolo forms the termination of the three principal +streets in Rome; on the largest and finest of these, the Corso, many +palaces are to be seen.</p> +<p>The splendid post-office, of white marble, rises on the Colonna square. +Two clocks are erected on this building; one with our dial, one with +the Italian. At night both are illuminated,—a very useful +as well as an ornamental arrangement. The ancient column of Antoninus +also stands in this square.</p> +<p>The façade of the Dogana boasts some pillars from the temple +of Antonius Pius.</p> +<p>The objects I have just enumerated struck me particularly as I wended +my way to St. Peter’s. I cannot describe how deeply I was +impressed by the sight of this colossal structure. I need only +state the fact, that on the first day I entered the cathedral at nine +in the morning, and did not emerge from its gates until three in the +afternoon.</p> +<p>I sat down before the pictures in mosaic, underneath the huge dome +and the canopy; then I stood before the statues and monuments, and could +only gaze in wonder at every thing.</p> +<p>The expense of building and decorating this church is said to have +amounted to 45,852,000 dollars. It occupies the site of Nero’s +circus. Two arcades, with four rows of pillars and ninety-six +statues, surround the square leading to the church.</p> +<p>The façade of St. Peter’s is decorated with Corinthian +pillars, and on its parapet stand statues fifty-two feet in height.</p> +<p>The entrance is so crowded with statues, carved work, and gilding, +that several hours may be spent in examining its wonders. The +traveller’s attention is particularly attracted by the gigantic +gates of bronze.</p> +<p>I cannot adequately describe the splendour of the interior, nor have +I seen any thing with which I could compare it.</p> +<p>The most beautiful mosaics, monuments, statues, carvings in bronze, +gilded ornaments, in short every thing that art can produce, are here +to be found in the highest perfection. Oil-paintings alone are +excluded. Every thing here is in mosaic; even the cupola displays +mosaic work instead of the usual fresco-paintings. Immense statues +of white marble occupy the niches.</p> +<p>Beneath the cupola, the finest portion of the building, stands the +great altar, at which none but the Pope may read mass. Over this +altar extends a giant canopy of bronze, with spiral pillars richly decorated +with arabesques. The weight of metal used in its construction +was 186,392 pounds, and the cost of the gold for gilding was 40,000 +dollars; the entire canopy is worth above 150,000 dollars. The +cupola was executed by Michael Angelo; it rests on four massive pillars, +each of them furnished with a balcony. In the interior of these +pillars chapels are constructed, where the chief relics are kept, and +only displayed to the people from the balcony at particular times. +I was in the church at the time when the handkerchief which wiped the +drops of agony from our Lord’s brow, and a piece of the true cross, +were shewn.</p> +<p>The pulpit stands in a very elevated position, and was executed in +bronze by Bernini; 219,161 pounds of metal, and 172,000 dollars, were +spent upon its construction. In the interior is concealed the +wooden pulpit from which St. Peter preached; and immediately beside +this we find a pillar of white marble, said to have belonged to Solomon’s +temple at Jerusalem.</p> +<p>The lions on the monument of Clement XIII., by Canova, are considered +the finest that were ever sculptured.</p> +<p>I was fortunate enough to penetrate into the catacombs of St. Peter’s, +a favour which women rarely obtain, and which I only owed to my having +been a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. These catacombs consist of handsome +passages and pillars of masonry, which do not, however, exceed eight +or nine feet in height. A number of sarcophagi, containing the +remains of emperors and popes, are here deposited.</p> +<p>The roof of St. Peter’s covers an immense area, and is divided +into a number of cupolas, chambers, and buildings. A fountain +of running water is even found here. From this roof we have a +splendid view as far as the sea and the Apennines; we can descry the +entire Vatican, which adjoins the church, as well as the Pope’s +gardens.</p> +<p>I ascended to the ball in the great cupola, where there is nothing +to be seen, as there is not the slightest opening, much less a window, +left in it. Nothing is to be gained by mounting into this dark +narrow receptacle but the glory of being able to say, “I have +been there!” It is far more interesting to look down from +the windows and galleries of the great cupola into the body of the church +itself; for then we can estimate the grandeur of the colossal building, +and the people who walk about beneath appear like dwarfs.</p> +<p>Two noble fountains deck the square in front of St. Peter’s, +and in the midst towers a magnificent obelisk from Heliopolis, said +to weigh 992,789 pounds. Near this obelisk are two slabs, by standing +on either of which we can see all the rows of columns melted as it were +into one.</p> +<p>My journey to Jerusalem also obtained for me an audience of the Pope. +His Holiness received me in a great hall adjoining the Sixtine Chapel. +Considering his great age of seventy-eight years, the Pope has still +a noble presence and most amiable manners. He asked me some questions, +gave me his blessing, and permitted me at parting to kiss the embroidered +slipper.</p> +<p>My second walk was to the Vatican. Here I saw the immense halls +of Raphael, the staircases of Bramante and Bernini, and the Sixtine +Chapel, containing Michael Angelo’s masterpieces, the world-renowned +frescoes. The immense wall behind the high altar represents the +last judgment, while the ceilings are covered with prophets and sybils.</p> +<p>The picture-gallery contains many works of the great masters, as +does also the gallery of vases and candelabra.</p> +<p>The Biga chamber. The biga is an antique carriage of white +marble, drawn by two horses.</p> +<p>In the gallery of statues the figure representing Nero as Apollo +playing on the lyre is the finest.</p> +<p>In the gallery of busts those of Menelaus and Jupiter pre-eminently +attract attention.</p> +<p>The name of the Laocoon cabinet indicates the masterpiece it contains, +as also the cabinet of the Apollo Belvidere. The latter statue +was found in Nero’s baths at Porto d’Anzio.</p> +<p>The celebrated torso of the Belvidere, a fragment of Greek art, which +Michael partly used as his model, is placed in the square vestibule. +Never was flesh so pliably counterfeited in stone as in this masterpiece.</p> +<p>A long gallery contains a series of tapestries, the designs for which +were drawn by Raphael.</p> +<p>The Vatican contains ten thousand rooms, twenty large halls, eight +large and about two hundred small staircases.</p> +<p>The Quirinal palace, the summer residence of the Pope, lies on the +hill of the same name (Monte Cavallo), which is quite covered with villas +and beautiful houses, on account of the salubrity of the air.</p> +<p>I visited most of the private palaces and picture-galleries. +The principal are, the Colonna palace, on the Quirinal hill; and the +Barberini palace, where we find a portrait of Raphael’s mistress, +Fornarina, painted by himself, and an original picture of Beatrice Cenci +by Guidosteri.</p> +<p>The finest of all the Roman palaces is that of Borghese; from its +form, which resembles a piano, this building has obtained the name of +“il Cembalo di Borghese.” The gallery contains sixteen +hundred paintings, most of them masterpieces by celebrated artists.</p> +<p>The Farnese palace is remarkable for its architecture, and the Stoppani +for its architect, Raphael. Besides these there are many other +palaces. I saw but few villas, for the weather was generally bad, +and it rained almost every day.</p> +<p>I visited the Villa Borghese on a Sunday, when there is a great bustle +here; for a stream of people on foot, on horseback, and in carriages, +sets in towards its beautiful park, situate just beyond the Piazza del +Popolo, in the same way that the crowds flock to our beloved “Prater” +on a fine day in spring. I also saw the Villa Medicis and the +Villa Pamfili. The latter boasts a very extensive park.</p> +<p>I took care to visit most of the churches. My plan was to go +out early in the morning, and to inspect several churches until about +eleven o’clock, when it was time to repair to the galleries. +When I went to the principal churches,—for instance, those of +St. John of Lateran, St. Paul, St. Maria Maggiore, St. Lawrence, and +St. Sebastian,—I was always accompanied by a guide specially appointed +to conduct strangers to the churches. I could fill volumes with +the description of the riches and magnificence they display.</p> +<p>The church of St. John of Lateran possesses the wooden altar at which +St. Peter is said to have read mass, the wooden table at which Jesus +sat to eat the last supper, and the heads of the disciples Peter and +Paul. Near this church, in a building specially constructed for +it, is the Scala Santa (holy staircase), which was brought from Jerusalem +and deposited here. This is a flight of twenty-eight steps of +white marble, covered with boards, which no one is allowed to ascend +or descend in the regular way, every man being required to shuffle up +and down on his knees. Near this holy stair a common one is built, +which it is lawful to ascend in the regular way.</p> +<p>The basilica of St. Paul lies beyond the gate of the same name, in +a very insalubrious neighbourhood. It is only just rebuilt, after +having been destroyed by fire.</p> +<p>The basilica Maria Maggiore, in which is deposited the “holy +gate,” has the highest belfry in Rome, and above its portico we +see a beautiful chamber where the new Pope stands to dispense the first +blessing among the people. In the chapel of the Crucifix five +pieces of the wood of the Saviour’s manger are preserved in a +silver urn.</p> +<p>St. Lorenzo, a mile from the town, is a very plain-looking edifice. +Here we find the Campo Santo, or cemetery. The graves are covered +with large blocks of stone.</p> +<p>St. Bessoriana is also called the church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, +from the fact that a piece of the cross is preserved here, besides the +letters I.N.R.I., some thorns, and a nail.</p> +<p>St. Sebastian in the suburbs, one of the most ancient Roman churches, +is built over the great catacombs, in which 174,000 Christians were +buried. The catacombs are some stories deep, and extend over a +large area.</p> +<p>All the above-named basilicas are so empty, and stand on such lonely +spots, that I was almost afraid to visit them alone.</p> +<p>The handsome church of Sta. Maria in Trastavare contrasts strangely +with the quarter of the town in which it lies. This part of Rome +is inhabited by people calling themselves descendants of the ancient +Trojans.</p> +<p>Sta. Maria ad Martyres, or the Rotunda, once the Pantheon of Agrippa, +is in better preservation than any other monument of ancient Rome. +The interior is almost in its pristine condition; it contains no less +than fifteen altars. In this church Raphael is buried. The +Rotunda has no windows, but receives air and light through a circular +opening in the cupola.</p> +<p>The best view of ancient Rome is to be obtained from the tower of +the Senate-house. From this place we see stretched out beneath +us, Mount Palatine, the site of ancient Rome; the Capitol, in the midst +of the city; the Quirinal hill (Monte Cavallo), with the summer residence +of the Pope; the Esquiline mount, the loftiest of the hills; Mount Aventine; +the Vatican; and lastly, Monte Testaccio, consisting entirely of broken +pottery which the Romans throw down here.</p> +<p>I also paid a visit to the Ponte Publicius, the most ancient bridge +in Rome, in the neighbourhood of which Horatius Cocles achieved his +heroic action; and the Tullian prison, beneath the church of St. Joseph +of Falignani, where Jugurtha was starved to death. The staircase +leading up to the building is called “the steps of sighs.” +The Capitol has unfortunately fallen into decay; we can barely distinguish +a few remains of temples and other buildings.</p> +<p>Of the graves of the Scipios I could also discover little more than +the site; the subterranean passages are nearly all destroyed.</p> +<p>The Marsfield is partly covered with buildings, and partly used as +a promenade.</p> +<p>Cestius’ grave is uncommonly well preserved, and a pyramid +of large square stones surrounds the sarcophagus. The aqueducts +are built of large blocks of stone fastened together without mortar. +They are now no longer used, as they have partly fallen into decay, +and some of the springs have dried up.</p> +<p>The hot baths of Titus are well worthy a visit, though in a ruined +condition. Here the celebrated Laocoon group was found. +Near these baths is the great reservoir called the “Seven Halls +of Titus.”</p> +<p>One of the greatest and best-preserved buildings of ancient Rome +is the amphitheatre of Flavius, or the Colliseum, once the scene of +the combats with wild beasts. It was capable of holding 87,000 +spectators. Four stories yet remain. This building is seen +to the greatest advantage by torchlight. I was fortunate enough +to find an opportunity of joining a large party, and we were thus enabled +to divide the expense. The triumphal arch of Titus, of white marble, +covered with glorious sculptures; the arches of Septimus Severus, that +of Janus, and several other antique monuments, are to be seen near the +Colliseum.</p> +<p>The beautiful bridge of St. Angelo, constructed entirely of square +blocks of stone, leads across the Tiber to the castle of the same name, +the tomb of Hadrian. The emperor caused this large round building +to be erected for his future mausoleum. It is built of immense +stone blocks, and now serves as a fortress and state-prison.</p> +<p>The temple of Marcus Aurelius is converted into the Dogana. +That of Minerva Medica lies in the midst of a vineyard, and is built +in the form of a rotunda. The upper part has sunk in.</p> +<p>There are twelve obelisks in the different public squares of Rome, +all brought from Egypt.</p> +<p>I have still to mention the 108 fountains, from which fresh water +continually spouts into the air. Foremost among them in size and +beauty is the Fontana Trevi.</p> +<p>I was prevented by the bad weather from making trips to any distance, +but one afternoon I drove to Tivoli. The road leading thither +is called the Tiburtinian. After travelling for about six miles +we become conscious of a dreadfully offensive sulphurous smell, and +soon find that it proceeds from a little river running through the Solfatara. +A ride of eighteen Italian miles brought us to the town of Tivoli, lying +amidst olive-woods on the declivity of the Apennines, and numbering +about 7000 inhabitants. Towards evening I took a short walk in +the town, beneath the protection of an umbrella, and was not much pleased. +Next morning I left the house early, and proceeded first to the temple +of Sybilla, built on a rock opposite to the waterfall. Afterwards +I went to view the grotto of Neptune, and that through which the Arno +flows, rushing out of the cavern to fall headlong over a ledge of lofty +rocks, and form the cascade of Tivoli. The best view of this fall +is obtained from the bridge. Besides many pretty minor cascades, +I saw a number of ruins; the most remarkable among these was the villa +of Mecænas.</p> +<h3>November 23d.</h3> +<p>At six o’clock this morning I commenced my journey to Florence +with a Veturino. Almost the whole distance the weather was in +the highest degree unfavourable—it was foggy, rainy, and very +cold. A journey through Italy during autumn or winter is far from +agreeable; for there are generally cold and rain to be encountered, +and no warm rooms to be found in the inns, where fires are never kindled +until after the guests have arrived. And the fires they light +in the grates are, after all, quite inadequate to warm the damp, unaired +rooms, and the traveller feels scorched and cold almost at the same +moment. The floors are all of stone, but a few straw-mats are +sometimes spread beneath the dining-tables.</p> +<p>The landscape through which we travelled to-day did not possess many +attractions. For about forty miles, as far as Ronciglione, we +saw neither town nor village. The aspect of Ronciglione is rather +melancholy, though it boasts a broad street and many houses of two stories. +But the latter all have a gloomy look, and the town itself appears to +be thinly populated. We passed the night here.</p> +<p>According to Italian custom, I had made a bargain with the proprietor +of our vehicle for the journey, including lodging and board. I +was well satisfied, for he strictly kept his contract. But whoever +expects more than one meal a day under an arrangement of this sort will +find himself grievously mistaken; the traveller who wishes to take any +thing in the morning or in the middle of the day must pay out of his +own pocket. I found every thing here exceedingly expensive and +very bad.</p> +<h3>November 24th.</h3> +<p>To-day we passed through some very pretty, though not populous districts. +In the afternoon we at length reached two towns,—namely, Viterbo, +with 13,000 inhabitants, lying in a fruitful plain; and Montefiascone, +built on a high hill, and backed by lofty mountains, on which a celebrated +vine is cultivated. At the foot of the hill, near Montefiascone, +lies a small lake, and farther on one of considerable size, the Lago +de Balsana, with a little town of the same name, once the capital of +the Volsci. An ancient fortress rises in the midst of this town, +surrounded by tall and venerable houses as with a wreath.</p> +<p>We had now to cross a considerable mountain, an undertaking of some +difficulty when we consider how heavily the rain had fallen. By +the aid of an extra pair of horses we passed safely over the miserable +roads, and took up our quarters for the night in the little village +of Lorenzo. We had already reached the domain of the Apennines.</p> +<h3>November 25th.</h3> +<p>We had now only a few more hours to travel through the papal dominions. +The river Centino forms the boundary between the States of the Church +and Tuscany. The greater portion of the region around us gave +tokens of its volcanic origin. We saw several grottoes and caverns +of broken stone resembling lava, basaltic columns, etc.</p> +<p>The Dogana of Tuscany, a handsome building, stands in the neighbourhood +of Ponte Centino. The country here wears a wild aspect; as far +as the eye can stretch, it rests upon mountains of different elevations. +The little town of Radicofani lies on the plateau of a considerable +hill, surrounded by rocks and huge blocks of stone. A citadel +or ancient fortress towers romantically above the little town, and old +towers look down from the summit of many a hill and cliff. The +character of the lower mountain-range is exceedingly peculiar; it is +split into gaps and fissures in all directions, as though it had but +recently emerged from the main.</p> +<p>For many hours we almost rode through a flood. The water streamed +down the streets, and the wind howled round our carriage with such violence +that we seriously anticipated being blown over. Luckily the streets +in the Tuscan are better than those in the Roman territory, and the +rivers are crossed by firm stone bridges.</p> +<h3>November 26th.</h3> +<p>To-day our poor horses had a hard time of it. Up hill and down +hill, and past yawning chasms, our way lay for a long time through a +desert and barren district, until, at a little distance from the village +of Buonconvento, the scene suddenly changed, and a widely-extended, +hilly country, with beautiful plains, the lovely town of Siena, numerous +villages great and small, with homesteads and handsome farms, and solitary +churches built on hills, lay spread before us. Every thing shewed +traces of cultivation and opulence.</p> +<p>Most of the women and girls we met were employed in plaiting straw. +Here all wear straw hats—men, women, and children. At five +in the evening we at length reached</p> +<h3>SIENA.</h3> +<p>Our poor horses were so exhausted by the bad roads of the Apennines, +that the driver requested leave to make a day’s halt here. +This interruption to our journey was far from being unwelcome to me, +for Siena is well worthy to be explored.</p> +<h3>November 27th.</h3> +<p>The town numbers 16,000 inhabitants, and is divided almost into two +halves by a long handsome street. The remaining streets are small, +irregular, and dirty. The Piazza del Campo is very large, and +derives a certain splendour of appearance from some palaces built in +the gothic style. In the midst stands a granite pillar, bearing +a representation in bronze of Romulus and Remus suckled by the she-wolf. +I saw several other pillars of equal beauty in different parts of the +town, while in Rome, where they would certainly have been more appropriate, +I did not find a single one. All the houses in the streets of +Siena have a gloomy appearance; many of them are built like castles, +of great square blocks of stone, and furnished with loopholes.</p> +<p>The finest building is undoubtedly the cathedral. Though I +came from the “city of churches,” the beauty of this edifice +struck me so forcibly, that for a long time I stood silently regarding +it. It is, in truth, considered one of the handsomest churches +in Italy. It stands on a little elevation in the midst of a large +square, and is covered outside and inside with white marble. The +lofty arches of the windows, supported by columns, have a peculiarly +fine effect; and the frescoes in the sacristy are remarkable alike for +the correctness of outline and brilliancy of colour.</p> +<p>The drawings are said to be by Raphael; and the freshness of colour +observed in these frescoes is ascribed to the good qualities of the +Siena earth. The mass-books preserved in the sacristy contain +some very delicate miniatures on parchment.</p> +<p>Some of the wards in the neighbouring hospital are also decorated +with beautiful frescoes, which appear to date from the time of Raphael.</p> +<p>The grace and beauty of the women of Siena have been extolled by +many writers. As to-day was Sunday, I attended high mass for the +purpose of meeting some of these graceful beauties. I found that +they were present in the usual average, and no more; beauty and grace +are no common gifts.</p> +<p>In the afternoon I visited the promenade, the Prato di Lizza, where +I found but little company. A fine prospect is obtained from the +walls of the town.</p> +<h3>November 28th.</h3> +<p>The country now becomes very beautiful. The mountains are less +high, the valleys widen, and at length hills only appear at intervals, +clothed with trees, meadows, and fields. In the Tuscan dominions +I noticed many cypresses, a tree I had not seen since my departure from +Constantinople and Smyrna. The country seems well populated, and +villages frequently appear.</p> +<p>At five in the evening we reached</p> +<h3>FLORENCE,</h3> +<p>but I did not arrive at Madame Mocalli’s hotel until an hour +and a half later; for the examination of luggage and passes, and other +business of this kind, always occupies a long time.</p> +<p>The country round Florence is exceedingly lovely, without being grand. +The charming Arno flows through the town: it is crossed by four stone +bridges, one of them roofed and lined with booths on either side. +Florence contains 8000 houses and 90,000 inhabitants. The exterior +of the palaces here is very peculiar. Constructed chiefly of huge +blocks of stone, they almost resemble fortresses, and look massive and +venerable.</p> +<p>The cathedral is said to be the finest church in Christendom; I thought +it too simple, particularly the interior. The walls are only whitewashed, +and the painted windows render the church extremely dark. I was +best pleased with the doors of the sacristy, with the celebrated works +of Luca del Robbin, and the richly decorated high altar.</p> +<p>The Battisterio, once a temple of Mars, with eight very fine doors +of bronze, which Michael Angelo pronounced worthy to be the gates of +Paradise, stands beside the cathedral.</p> +<p>The other principal churches are:—St. Lorenzo, also with a +white interior and grey pillars, containing some fine oil paintings, +and the chapel of the Medici, a splendid structure, decorated with costly +stones, and monuments of several members of the royal family.</p> +<p>St. Croce, a handsome church, full of monuments of eminent men, is +also called the Italian Pantheon; the sculptures are beautiful, and +the paintings good. The remains of Michael Angelo rest here, and +the Buonaparte family possess a vault beneath a side chapel. Another +chapel of considerable size contains some exquisite statues of white +marble.</p> +<p>St. Annunciate is rich in splendid frescoes; those placed round the +walls in the courtyard of the church, and surrounded by a glass gallery, +are particularly handsome. On the left as we enter we find the +costly chapel of our Lady “dell’ Annunciata,” in which +the altar, the immense candelabra, the angels and draperies, in short +every thing is of silver. This wealthy church contains in addition +some good pictures and a quantity of marble.</p> +<p>St. Michele is outwardly beautified by some excellent statues. +The interior displays several valuable paintings and an altar of great +beauty, beneath a white marble canopy in the Gothic style.</p> +<p>St. Spirito contains many sculptures, among which a statue of the +Saviour in white marble claims particular attention.</p> +<p>All these churches are rather dark from having stained windows.</p> +<p>Foremost among the palaces we may reckon the Palais Pitti, built +on a little hill. This structure has a noble appearance; constructed +entirely of pieces of granite, it seems calculated to last an eternity. +Of all the palaces I had seen, this one pleased me most; it would be +difficult to find a building in the same style which should surpass +it. As a rule, indeed, I particularly admired the Florentine buildings, +which seemed to me to possess a much more decided <i>national</i> appearance +than the palaces of modern Rome.</p> +<p>The picture-gallery of this palace numbers five hundred paintings, +most of them masterpieces, among which we find Raphael’s Madonna +della Sedia. Besides the pictures, each apartment contains gorgeous +tables of valuable stone.</p> +<p>Behind the palace the Boboli garden rises, somewhat in the form of +a terrace. Here I found numerous statues distributed with much +taste throughout charming alleys, groves, and open places. From +the higher points a splendid view is obtained.</p> +<p>The palace degli Ufizzi, on the Arno, has an imposing effect, from +its magnificent proportions and peculiar style of architecture. +Some of the greatest artistic treasures of the world are united in the +twenty halls and cabinets and three immense galleries of this building.</p> +<p>The Tribuna contains the Venus de Medicis, found at Tivoli, and executed +by Cleomenes, a son of Apollodorus of Athens. Opposite to it stands +a statue of Apollino.</p> +<p>In the centre of the hall of the artists’ portrait-gallery +we find the celebrated Medician vase.</p> +<p>The cabinet of jewels boasts the largest and finest onyx in existence.</p> +<p>The Palazzo Vecchio resembles a fortified castle. The large +courtyard, surrounded by lofty arcades, is crowded with paintings and +sculptures. A beautiful fountain stands in the midst; and two +splendid statues, one representing Hercules and the other David, adorn +the entrance. The glorious fountain of Ammanato, drawn by sea-horses +and surrounded by Tritons, is not far off.</p> +<p>In the Gherardeska palace we find a fresco representing the horrible +story of Ugolino.</p> +<p>The Palazzo Strozzi should not be left out of the catalogue; it has +already stood for 360 years, and looks as though it had been completed +but yesterday.</p> +<p>In the Speccola we are shewn the human body and its diseases, modelled +in wax by the same artist who established a similar cabinet at Vienna +(in the Josephinum). In the museum of natural history stuffed +animals and their skeletons are preserved.</p> +<p>The traveller should not depart without visiting the “workshops +for hard stones,” where beautiful pictures, table-slabs, etc. +are put together of Florentine marble. Splendid works are produced +here; I saw flowers and fruits constructed of stone which would not +have dishonoured the finest pencil. The enormous table in the +palace degli Ufizzi is said to have cost 40,000 ducats. Twenty-five +men were employed for twenty years in its construction; it is composed +of Florentine mosaic. This table did not strike me particularly; +it appeared overloaded with ornament.</p> +<p>Of the environs of Florence I only saw the Grand Duke’s milk-farm, +a pleasant place near the Arno, amid beautiful avenues and meadows.</p> +<h3>DEPARTURE FROM FLORENCE.December 3d.</h3> +<p>At seven in the evening I quitted Florence, and proceeded in the +mail-carriage to Bologna, distant about eighty miles. When the +day broke, we found ourselves on an acclivity commanding a really splendid +view. Numerous valleys, extending between low hills, opened before +our eyes, the snow-clad Apennines formed the background, and in the +far distance shone a gleaming stripe—the Adriatic sea. At +five in the evening of</p> +<h3>December 4th</h3> +<p>we reached Bologna.</p> +<p>This town is of considerable extent, numbers 50,000 inhabitants, +and has many fine houses and streets; all of these, however, are dull, +with the exception of a few principal streets. Beggars swarm at +every corner—an unmistakable token that we are once more in the +States of the Church.</p> +<h3>December 5th.</h3> +<p>This was a day of rest. I proceeded at once to visit the cathedral, +which is rich in frescoes, gilding, and arabesques. A few oil-paintings +are also not to be overlooked.</p> +<p>In the church of St. Dominic I viewed with most interest the monument +of King Enzio.</p> +<p>The picture-gallery contains a St. Cecilia, one of the earlier productions +of Raphael.</p> +<p>A fine fountain, with a figure of Neptune, graces the principal square. +In the Palazzo Publico I saw a staircase up which it is possible to +ride.</p> +<p>The most remarkable edifices at Bologna are the two square leaning +towers at the Porta Romagna. One of these towers is five, and +the other seven feet out of the perpendicular. Their aspect inspired +me with a kind of nervous dread; on standing close to the wall to look +up at them it really appeared as though they were toppling down. +In themselves these towers are not interesting, being simply constructed +of masonry, and not very lofty.</p> +<p>The finest spot in Bologna is the Campo Santo, the immense cemetery, +with its long covered ways and neat chapels, displaying a number of +costly monuments, the works of the first modern sculptors. Three +large and pleasant spots near these buildings serve as burial-places +for the poorer classes. In one the men are interred, in the second +the women, and in the third the children.</p> +<p>A hall three miglia in length, resting on 640 columns, leads from +this cemetery to a little hill, surmounted by the church of the Madonna +di St. Luca, and from thence almost back into the town. The church +just mentioned contains a miraculous picture, namely, a true likeness +of the Virgin, painted by St. Luke after a vision. The complexion +of this picture is much darker than that of the commonest women I have +seen in Syria. But faith is every thing, and so I will not doubt +the authenticity of the picture. The prospect from the mountains +is exceedingly fine.</p> +<p>I returned in the evening completely exhausted, and half an hour +afterwards was already seated in the post-carriage to pursue my journey +to Ferrara.</p> +<p>On the whole the weather was unfavourable; it rained frequently, +and the roads were mostly very bad, particularly in the domains of the +Pope, where we stuck fast four or five times during the night. +On one occasion of this kind we were detained more than an hour, until +horses and oxen could be collected to drag us onwards. We were +twelve hours getting over these fifty-four miles, from six in the evening +till the same hour in the morning.</p> +<h3>December 6th.</h3> +<p>This morning I awoke at Ferrara, where the carriage was to be changed +once more. I availed myself of a few spare hours to view the town, +which, on the whole, rather resembles a German than an Italian place. +It has fine broad streets, nice houses, and few arched ways in front +of them. In the centre of the town stands a strong castle, surrounded +by fortifications; this was once the residence of the bishop.</p> +<p>At nine o’clock we quitted this pretty town, and reached the +Po an hour afterwards. We were ferried across the stream; and +now, after a long absence, I once more stood on Austrian ground. +We continued our journey through a lovely plain to Rovigo, a place possessing +no object of interest. Here we stayed to dine, and afterwards +passed the Adige, a stream considerably smaller than the Po. The +country between Rovigo and Padua was hidden from us by an impenetrable +fog, which prevented our seeing fifty paces in advance. At six +o’clock in the evening we reached Padua, our resting-place for +the night.</p> +<p>Early next morning I hastened onwards, for I had already seen Padua, +Venice, Trieste, etc. in the year 1840.</p> +<p>I reached my native town safely and in perfect health, and had the +happiness of finding that my beloved ones were all well and cheerful.</p> +<p>During my journey I had seen much and endured many hardships; I had +found very few things as I had imagined them to be.</p> +<p>Friends and relations have expressed a wish to read a description +of my lonely wanderings. I could not send my diary to each one; +so I have dared, upon the representations of my friends, and at the +particular request of the publisher of this book, to tell my adventures +in a plain unvarnished way.</p> +<p>I am no authoress; I have never written anything but letters; and +my diary must not, therefore, be judged as a literary production. +It is a simple narration, in which I have described every circumstance +as it occurred; a collection of notes which I wrote down for private +reference, without dreaming that they would ever find their way into +the great world. Therefore I would entreat the indulgence of my +kind readers; for—I repeat it—nothing can be farther from +my thoughts than any idea of thrusting myself forward into the ranks +of those gifted women who have received in their cradle the Muses’ +initiatory kiss.</p> +<h2>NOTES.</h2> +<p><a name="footnote23"></a><a href="#citation23">{23}</a> A florin +is worth about 2s. 1d.</p> +<p><a name="footnote30"></a><a href="#citation30">{30}</a> TRANSCRIBER’S +NOTE: “Use of the Réaumur scale was once widespread, but +by the late 19th century it had been supplanted by other systems.” +(Encyc. Brit.) Some conversions to currently-used scales (rounded +down) are given here:—</p> +<p>Réaumur Fahrenheit Celsius<br /> + 16 68 +20<br /> + 18 72 +22<br /> + 20 77 +25<br /> + 22 81 +27<br /> + 24 86 +30<br /> + 26 90 +32<br /> + 28 95 +35<br /> + 30 99 +37<br /> + 32 104 +40<br /> + 34 108 +42<br /> + 36 113 +45<br /> + 38 117 +47<br /> + 40 122 +50<br /> + 43 128 +53</p> +<p><a name="footnote40"></a><a href="#citation40">{40}</a> They +receive a dollar from the landlord for every guest whom they bring to +his house.</p> +<p><a name="footnote48"></a><a href="#citation48">{48}</a> Boats +built very slenderly, and which have a great knack of upsetting,—a +circumstance which renders it necessary for the occupant to sit like +a statue; the slightest movement of the body, or even of the head or +arm, draws upon you a reproof from the boatman.</p> +<p><a name="footnote53"></a><a href="#citation53">{53}</a> A piastre +is worth about one and three-quarters pence.</p> +<p><a name="footnote54"></a><a href="#citation54">{54}</a> About +one pound sterling.</p> +<p><a name="footnote71a"></a><a href="#citation71a">{71a}</a> +A khan is a stone building containing a few perfectly empty rooms, to +receive the traveller in the absence of inns, or shelter against the +night air and against storm. Generally in these khans a Turk is +found, who dispenses coffee without milk to the visitors.</p> +<p><a name="footnote71b"></a><a href="#citation71b">{71b}</a> +Its height is 9100 feet.—ED.</p> +<p><a name="footnote79"></a><a href="#citation79">{79}</a> The +well-known artist and author.—ED.</p> +<p><a name="footnote85"></a><a href="#citation85">{85}</a> Smyrna +is <i>one</i> of the cities that claim the honour of being the birthplace +of Homer.—ED.</p> +<p><a name="footnote101"></a><a href="#citation101">{101}</a> +Cakes or “scones” in Scotland are baked in the same way.—ED.</p> +<p><a name="footnote165"></a><a href="#citation165">{165}</a> +I had cut my hair quite close, because I was seldom sure of having time +and opportunity during my long journey to dress and plait it properly.</p> +<p><a name="footnote167"></a><a href="#citation167">{167}</a> +This Emir could not maintain his position on Mount Lebanon, and was +summoned to Constantinople. At the time of our visit they were +still awaiting his return, though he had been absent more than six months.</p> +<p><a name="footnote236"></a><a href="#citation236">{236}</a> +This is a work of the young Viennese artist, Leander Russ, who visited +Egypt in the year 1832.</p> +<p><a name="footnote261"></a><a href="#citation261">{261}</a> +A beshlik is worth five piastres in Turkey, and only four in Egypt.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND***</p> +<pre> + + +***** This file should be named 12561-h.htm or 12561-h.zip****** + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/6/12561 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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