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diff --git a/12561.txt b/12561.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1d236af --- /dev/null +++ b/12561.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12065 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Visit to the Holy Land, 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 + +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*** + + + + +This ebook was prepared by Les Bowler, St. Ives, Dorset. + + + + +VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND, EGYPT, AND ITALY + + + + +[Illustration 1. Frontispiece:--JERUSALEM. ill1.jpg] + +By Madame Ida Pfeiffer. + +Translated from the German by H. W. Dulcken. + +[Illustration 2. Title-page:--NAZARETH. ill2.jpg] + + + + +PREFACE BY THE VIENNA PUBLISHER + + +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. + +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. + +Few _men_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +After much trouble I succeeded in persuading the Authoress to allow +her journal to appear in print. + +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. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I. Departure from Vienna--Scene on board the steamer-- +Hainburg--Presburg--The "Coronation-mount"--Pesth--Ofen--The steamer +Galata--Mohacs--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 + +CHAPTER II. Giurgewo--Interior of the town--Braila--Sanitary +precautions--Galatz--Scarcity of good water--Ridiculous fear of the +plague--The steamer Ferdinand--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 + +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 + +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 + +CHAPTER V. Contradictory reports--Departure from Constantinople +on board the Archduke John--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 + +CHAPTER VI. Arrival at Beyrout--Fellahs--Backsheesh-- +Uncomfortable quarters--Saida--Tyre--St. Jean d'Acre--Caesarea-- +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 + +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 Atfe--Mehemet +Ali--Arrival at Atfe--Excellence of the Nile water--Good-nature of +the Arab women--The Delta of the Nile--The Libyan desert--The +pyramids--Arrival at Cairo + +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 + +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 + +CHAPTER XVII. Return to Alexandria--Egyptian burials--Catacombs of +Alexandria--Viceroy's palace--Departure from Alexandria--The steamer +Eurotas--Candia--Syra--Paros and Antiparos--The Morea--Fire on +board--Malta--Quarantine--St. Augustine's church--Clergymen-- +Beggars--Costumes--Soldiers--Civita Vecchia + +CHAPTER XVIII. The steamer Hercules--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 + +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 + +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 + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +1. JERUSALEM +2. NAZARETH +3. CHURCHYARD AT SCUTARI +4. THE DEAD SEA +5. MOUNT CARMEL +6. LEBANON +7. BALBECK +8. ISTHMUS OF SUEZ + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Departure from Vienna--Scene on board the steamer--Hainburg-- +Presburg--The "Coronation-mount"--Pesth--Ofen--The steamer Galata-- +Mohacs--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 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. + +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. + +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. + +And thus, on the 22d of March 1842, I commenced my journey from +Vienna. + +At one o'clock in the afternoon I drove to the Kaisermuhlen +(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?" + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +March 23d. + +This morning we continued our journey at six o'clock. Immediately +below Presburg the Danube divides into two arms, forming the fertile +island of Schutt, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 + +March 24th, + +in tolerable health, I betook myself on board our new steamboat the +Galata, of sixty-horse power: this boat did not, however, appear to +me so tidy and neat as the Marianna, 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 Feldvar, 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. + +At about eight o'clock in the evening we reached the market-town of +Mohacs, 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 + +March 25th + +we weighed anchor. I was assured, however, that I had lost nothing +by this haste. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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.e. a deck-passage, particularly if he +purposes journeying no farther than Mohacs. 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. + +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 Ferdinand, in which you +enter the Black Sea, and are exposed to the merciless attacks of +sea-sickness. + +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, {23} the second 85 +florins, exclusive of provisions, and without reckoning the hotel +expenses at Presburg. + +March 26th. + +Last night was not a period of rest, but of noise for us travellers. +Not one of us could close his eyes. + +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. + +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. + +Pancsova, on the left bank of the Danube, in the territory of +Banata, is a military station. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +Throughout the Russian territory the soldiers at least wear uniform. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +March 27th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +March 28th. + +Early in the morning we embarked on board the Tunte, 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. + +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 +_upwards_ (since the accident of 1839) in good commodious carriages. + +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 bunda +(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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +March 29th. + +After having completely refreshed ourselves at the good inn called +the "Golden Stag," we this morning embarked on a new craft, the +Saturnus, which is only covered in overhead, and is open on all +sides. + +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. + +Immediately below Alt-Orsova we entirely quit the Austrian +territory. + +We are now brought nearer every moment to the most dangerous part of +the river, the "Iron Gate," called by the Turks Demir kaju. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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). {30} + +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. + +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. + +On the Saturnus we travelled at the most for two hours, after which +we embarked, opposite the fortress of Fetislav, on board the steamer +Zriny. + +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. + +March 30th. + +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. + +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. + +Rather late in the evening we cast anchor opposite a village of no +note. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Giurgewo--Interior of the town--Braila--Sanitary precautions-- +Galatz--Scarcity of good water--Ridiculous fear of the plague--The +steamer Ferdinand--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. + +March 31st. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +In the villages we already notice Greek and Turkish costumes, but +the women and girls do not yet wear veils. + +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 + +April 1st + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +April 2d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +In the evening I was required to repair to the harbour and re- +embark. + +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. + +"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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +Ferdinand. 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. + +Though not a large boat, the Ferdinand 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. + +April 3d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Towards three o'clock in the afternoon we at length entered the +Black Sea. + +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. + +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. + +April 4th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +April 5th. + +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. + +April 6th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. {40} 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The distance from Vienna to Constantinople is about 1000 sea miles. + +RESIDENCE AT CONSTANTINOPLE.--THE DANCING DERVISHES. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The Sultan is a slender slim-looking youth of nineteen years of age, +and looks pale, languid, and blase. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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. + +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." + +In company with a French physician, I traversed the Bosphorus in a +kaik. {48} 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. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 3. Burial Place at Scutari. ill3.jpg] + +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. + +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. + +THE HOWLING DERVISHES. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +THE TOWER IN GALATA. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +THE BAZAAR. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 {53} a pair and more. They are embroidered with +gold, and ornamented with pearls and precious stones. + +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. + +THE MOSQUES. + +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 {54} 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The mosque of Sultan Achmed, on the Hippodrome, is surrounded by six +minarets. Most of the others have only two, and some few four. + +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! + +Not far from the Osmanije mosque is the + +SLAVE-MARKET. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +THE OLD SERAIL + +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. + +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. + +THE HIPPODROME + +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. + +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. + +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. + +COFFEE-HOUSES--STORY-TELLERS. + +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. + +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 Thousand and One Nights; but as he continues he becomes +inspired, and at length roars and gesticulates like the veriest +ranter among a company of strolling players. + +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. + +It is well worth the traveller's while to make an + +EXCURSION TO EJUB, + +the greatest suburb of Constantinople, and also the place where the +richest and most noble of the Turks are buried. + +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. + +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? + +HOUSES--THEATRES--CARRIAGES. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 pounds. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +FEASTS IN CONSTANTINOPLE. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 chaussure 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. + +At this feast a great concourse of people was assembled, and every +window was crowded with muffled female heads. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +On the 8th of May I saw a truly Turkish fete in the neighbourhood of +the Achmaidon (place of arrows). + +In a plain surrounded on all sides by hills, men of all nations +formed a large but closely-packed circle. Kavasses (gens d'arme) +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +EXCURSION TO BRUSSA. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 manoeuvres 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, {71a} 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; {71b} 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. + +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. + +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. + +May 14th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +Contradictory reports--Departure from Constantinople on board the +Archduke John--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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 + +May 17th + +I embarked on board a steamboat belonging to the Austrian Lloyd. It +was called the Archduke John. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. {79} + +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. + +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. + +Crossing the Sea of Marmora, we passed the "Seven Towers," leaving +the Prince's Islands behind us on the left. + +Early on the following day, + +May 18th, + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +In the course of the day we passed several islands. In the +foreground towered the peak of the Hydrae, 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. + +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. + +I remained on deck till late in the night, so charming, so rich in +varied pictures of verdant isles is this voyage on the AEgaean 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. + +May 19th. + +Long before the sun was up, I had resumed my post on deck, to +welcome Smyrna from afar. + +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." + +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. + +The "Franks' town," which can be distinctly viewed from the steamer, +extends along the harbour, and has a decidedly European air. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 + +May 20th + +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. + +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. + +The bazaars are not roofed; and here also the costlier portion of +the wares is kept under lock and key. + +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. + +From the Acropolis we have a fine view in every direction, and find, +in fact, a union of advantages only met with separately elsewhere. + +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. + +Smyrna is, however, not only celebrated as possessing the loveliest +women, but also as the birthplace of one of the greatest men. {85} +O Homer, in the Greece of to-day thou wouldst find no materials for +thine immortal Iliad! + +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. + +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. + +May 21st. + +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. + +May 22d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +May 23d. + +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. + +May 24th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +degrees Reaumur. To-day it reached 30 degrees in the sun. + +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! + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +Arrival at Beyrout--Fellahs--Backsheesh--Uncomfortable quarters-- +Saida--Tyre--St. Jean d'Acre--Caesarea--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. + +May 25th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Midnight approached, and still we were in harbour, with not a breath +of wind to fill our sails. + +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 _soft_ couch, and +was staring gloomingly straight before him. At length, towards +three o'clock in the morning of + +May 26th, + +a slight breath of wind arose, we hoisted two or three sails, and +glided slowly and noiselessly towards the sea. + +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 Caesarea, it was forbidden to cast anchor any where, +for the plague was raging at Sur (Tyre) and in several other places. + +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. + +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. + +The next place we saw was Sarepta, where Elijah the prophet was fed +by the poor widow during the famine. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +May 27th. + +During the night we reached Caesarea. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 coup de soleil. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The whole region round Joppa is so covered with sand, that one sinks +ankle-deep at every step. + +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. + +In the evening I was present at a real Oriental entertainment in the +house of this friendly family. + +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. + +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. + +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. {101} + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +May 28th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The foreground of the picture is formed by the Judaean mountains, a +range apparently composed of a number of barren rocks. + +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. + +On leaving this place to resume our journey across the plain, we not +only suffered dreadfully from the heat, which had reached 30 degrees +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +At length, towards noon, we approached the mountains of Judaea. +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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 ruin-- +Mount of Offence--Valley of Jehosaphat--Siloam--Mount Sion-- +Jeremiah's grotto--Graves. + +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. + +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 Nuova Casa (Pilgrim-house), a building +devoted by the Franciscan friars to the reception of rich and poor +Roman Catholics and Protestants. + +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. + +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 _how_ this time is spent, or they +would assuredly have been taught better. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The chapel belonging to the Greeks is very spacious, and may almost +be termed a church within a church. It is beautifully decorated. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +A plentiful feast, given by the new-chosen knights, concluded the +solemnity. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +_spiritual_ food. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The burial-grounds of the Roman Catholics, Armenians, and Greeks +surround this hill. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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. + +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. + +I had already wondered when I saw the "Karst," near Trieste, and the +desert region of Gorz; but these sink into insignificance when +compared to the scenery of the Judean mountains. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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, + +"HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST," + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +ST. JOHN'S. + +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. + +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, + +"HIC PRAECURSOR DOMINI CHRISTI NATUS EST." + +Many events of the prophet's life are here portrayed by sculptures +in white marble. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 degrees, and in the sun at 28 degrees (Reaum.), very +seldom reaching 30 degrees. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Our common house-flies I saw every where; but they were not more +numerous or more troublesome than in Germany. + +EXCURSION TO THE RIVER JORDAN AND TO THE DEAD SEA. + +To travel with any degree of security in Palestine, Phoenicia, 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, via 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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 women--Plain of Esdralon--Sagun. + +June 8th. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 4. The Dead Sea. ill4.jpg] + +The day was very hot (33 degrees 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 degrees 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 manoeuvres +for our amusement. + +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. + +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 _hollows_. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +June 9th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +Towards two o'clock in the afternoon we arrived safely at Jerusalem, +and were greeted with a hearty welcome by our kind hosts. + +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. + +FROM JERUSALEM TO BEYROUT. + +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. + +June 11th. + +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. + +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. + +On the left of the road, an old church, said to have been erected in +the days of Samuel, stands upon a hill. + +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. + +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 degrees 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. + +June 12th. + +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 coup de soleil. I always +wore two pocket handkerchiefs round my head, under my straw hat, and +continually used a parasol. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +June 13th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 Judaea. 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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +argile. In the background stood a large and lofty stable of +brickwork, which might have belonged to a great European inn. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +June 14th. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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. + +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. + +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(!). + +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. + +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. + +June 15th. + +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 + +TABARITH. + +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. + +Porcupines are to be met with on Mount Tabor; we found several of +their fine horny quills. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +June 16th. + +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. + +June 17th. + +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 + +MOUNT CARMEL. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 5. Mount Carmel. ill5.jpg] + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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). + +June 18th. + +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 degrees +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +June 19th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 nargile, 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, {165} 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 +nargile, 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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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. + +June 20th. + +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. + +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 {167} of Lebanon (creatures of the true Arab +breed) were bivouacking among a quantity of Arnauts. + +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. + +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. + +June 21st. + +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 +degrees 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. + +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. + +The residence of the late Lady Hester Stanhope can be seen in the +distance on the declivity of the mountain. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +During the ten days of our journey the temperature varied +exceedingly. By day the heat fluctuated between 18 and 39 degrees +Reaumur; the nights too were very changeable, being sometimes +sultry, and sometimes bitterly cold. + +BEYROUT + +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. + +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: taib, moi, sut, mafish--beautiful, water, milk, +and nothing. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +My lodging at Miss K.'s was, however, the most uncomfortable of any +I had yet occupied during my entire journey. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +JOURNEY FROM BEYROUT TO DAMASCUS, BALBECK, AND MOUNT LEBANON. + +July 1st. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 6. Lebanon. ill6.jpg] + +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. + +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. + +July 2d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +July 3d. + +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. + +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!" + +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. + +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. + +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. + +We had this day accomplished a journey of more than twenty-four +miles, in a temperature of 35 to 36 degrees 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + +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. + +July 4th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 argile; and +in the houses of the Turks a dreary conversation was carried on +through the medium of an interpreter. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +July 5th. + +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. + +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. + +At the hour of noon we rode out of the gate of Damascus in company +with Count Zichy. The thermometer stood at 40 degrees 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---. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 manoeuvres 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. + +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 _mine_ and _thine_ 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +July 6th. + +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 + +HELIOPOLIS OR BALBECK, + +the "city of the sun," lay stretched before us. + +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 Caelosyria. Many +travellers praise this vale as one of the most beautiful in all +Syria. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 7. Balbeck. ill7.jpg] + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +The little brook Litany winds round the foot of the hill on which +these ruins stand. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +July 7th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 degrees +Reaumur. + +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. + +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. + +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 Caelosyria, 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The road leading into this valley was fearfully steep. We were +obliged to make a considerable detour 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + + +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. + +July 8th. + +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. + +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. + +On the first mountain-range of Lebanon, in the direction of +Caelosyria, 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. + +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. + +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. + +I then prepared him a dish of rice with vinegar; this was the only +refreshment we were able to procure. + +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. + +July 9th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 Djaebbehl. 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. + +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. + +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. + +Count Berchtold and I walked into the town of Djaebbehl (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. + +July 10th. + +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 +Djaebbehl; 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +Thermopylae have been; and had these mountaineers but a Leonidas, +they would certainly not be far behind the ancient Spartans. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 degrees. + +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. + +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. + +JOURNEY FROM BEYROUT TO CAIRO AND ALEXANDRIA. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 + +LIMASOL. + +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. + +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. + +One other circumstance occurred during this journey which is +interesting as furnishing a sample of the heroism of the modern +Greeks. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +August 7th. + +At eight o'clock in the morning we safely reached the quay of +Alexandria. + + + + +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 Atfe--Mehemet Ali--Arrival +at Atfe--Excellence of the Nile water--Good-nature of the Arab +women--The Delta of the Nile--The Libyan desert--The pyramids-- +Arrival at Cairo. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +August 8th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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 degress; and in +the shade the greatest heat was 22 degrees Reaumur. + +August 17th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 +argile 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. + +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 Atfe +the same evening. + +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. + +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. + +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 Atfe, 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. + +Next day I was told every half-hour that we should depart +immediately, and each time I was again disappointed. + +Herr von L. had wished to supply me with wine and provisions for the +passage; but as I had calculated upon being in Atfe 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +This view of villas and gardens only lasts for two hours at the +most. Afterwards we continue our journey to Atfe 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. + +August 19th. + +At eleven in the forenoon we reached Atfe, and had therefore +travelled about 180 sea-miles in sixteen hours. Atfe is a very +small town, or rather a mere heap of stones. + +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 Atfe 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. + +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 Atfe 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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +August 21st. + +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 Atfe 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. + +Little towers of masonry, on the tops of which telegraphs have been +fixed, are seen at intervals along the road between Alexandria and +Cairo. + +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 _without_ 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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The journey from Atfe 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 degrees, and in the shade from 24 to 25 degrees Reaumur. The +sky was far less beautiful and clear than in Syria; it was here +frequently overcast with white clouds. + + + + + +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. + +August 22d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Many of the Franks also dress in the Oriental style; the Fellahs go +almost naked, and their women only wear a single blue garment. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 _one_ 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? + +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. + +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, {236} Mehemet Ali's son. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The bazaars, through which we rode in all directions, displayed +nothing very remarkable in manufactures or in productions of nature +and art. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +EXCURSION TO THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH. + +August 25th, 1842. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The people were assembled in vast numbers, and the crowd was very +great, yet we could pass every where on our donkeys. + +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. + +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. + +SHUBRA. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +During my residence in Cairo the heat once reached 36 degrees +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. + +EXCURSION TO SUEZ. + +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 nil, and the expense they estimated at about 250 +piastres. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +August 27th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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 Atfe 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. + +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. + +August 28th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +[Illustration 8. Isthmus of Suez. ill8.jpg] + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The maximum temperature during this journey was 43 degrees Reaumur, +and when it was perfectly calm I really felt as if I should be +stifled. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +Return to Alexandria--Egyptian burials--Catacombs of Alexandria-- +Viceroy's palace--Departure from Alexandria--The steamer Eurotas-- +Candia--Syra--Paros and Antiparos--The Morea--Fire on board--Malta-- +Quarantine--St. Augustine's church--Clergymen--Beggars--Costumes-- +Soldiers--Civita Vecchia. + +September 5th. + +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. + +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. + +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 Caesar was once posted. The cistern and +bath of Cleopatra were both under water. I could, therefore, only +see the place where they stood. + +The viceroy's palace, a spacious building inclining to the European +style, has a pleasing effect. Its interior arrangement is also +almost wholly European. + +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. + +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 {261} 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. + +DEPARTURE FROM ALEXANDRIA. + +September 7th. + +At eight o'clock in the morning I betook myself on board the French +steam-packet Eurotas, a beautiful large vessel of 160-horse power. +At nine o'clock we weighed anchor. + +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. + +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 + +September 10th, + +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. + +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. + +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 + +September 11th, + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +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. + +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. + +September 12th. + +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. + +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. + +September 14th. + +We did not come in sight of land until this evening, when the goal +of our journey appeared. + +MALTA. + +We cast anchor in the harbour of Lavalette at seven o'clock. + +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. + +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 degrees +Reaumur. + +The appearance of Malta is picturesque; it contains no mountains, +and consists entirely of hills and rocks. + +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. + +September 15th. + +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. + +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. + +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! + +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. + +October 1st. + +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. + +October 2d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The uncomfortable custom of carrying chairs to and fro during +church-time, which is so universal throughout Italy, begins already +at Malta. + +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. + +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. + +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 benignant rule. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +October 3d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +CIVITA VECCHIA + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Not far from this chapel, at the extremity of the town, are the +catacombs, which resemble those at Rome, Naples, and other towns. + +During our drive back we made a little detour to see the gorgeous +summer-palace and garden of the governor. + +The whole excursion occupied about seven hours. During my residence +in Malta the heat varied from 20 to 25 degrees Reaumur in the sun. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +The steamer Hercules--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. + +October 4th. + +At eight o'clock in the evening I embarked on board the Sicilian +steamer Hercules, 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. + +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. + +October 5th. + +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 + +SYRACUSE. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +I proceeded to the sea-shore, where the Syracusans have built a very +pretty promenade, and was rowed back to the steamer. + +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. + +At three o'clock we quitted the beautiful harbour of Syracuse, and +three hours brought us to + +CATANEA. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +October 6th. + +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. + +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. + +I now bade farewell to the splendid steamer Hercules, because I did +not intend to proceed direct to Naples, but to make a detour by way +of Palermo. + +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. + +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. + +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 facades, nor do they present any +thing in the way of marble statues or finely executed pictures. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The same evening I embarked on board the Duke of Calabria, 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. + +October 7th. + +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. + +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 + +PALERMO + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The town contains several very handsome squares, in all of which we +find several statues and fountains. + +Foremost among the churches the Cathedral must be mentioned; its +gothic facade 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. + +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 facades 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 _he had seen_, I could readily have believed him. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The common people appeared to be neither cleanly nor wealthy. The +rich are dressed according to the fashions of London, Paris, and +Vienna. + +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. + +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. + +October 10th. + +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 degrees Reaumur in +the sun at noon. + +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. + +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. + + + + + +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. Jeronimo--St. Paula +Maggiore--St. Chiara--Baths of Nero--Solfatara--Grotto "del Cane"-- +Resina--Ascent of Vesuvius--Caserta. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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? + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Here a number of handsome equipages rolled by; their lady occupants +were very fashionably attired. + +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. + +On the fifteenth day I had so far recovered that I could begin my +tour of observation, using, however, certain precautions. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +St. Jesu Maggiore does not carry out its appellation, for it is a +small unpretending church, though some splendid gothic ornaments +beautify the exterior. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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, Baiae, 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!" + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Opposite the gallery of bronzes is that allotted to the marbles, +among which a beautiful Venus stands prominently forth. + +In the gallery of Flora, a statue of the same goddess, called the +Farnese, is also the principal attraction. + +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. + +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. + +The upper regions of this splendid building contain an extensive +library and a picture-gallery. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +St. Chiara, a fine large church, offers some fine monuments and oil- +paintings. + +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. + +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. + +The harbour of Puzzoli is related to have been the finest in Italy. +From this place Caligula had a bridge erected to Baiae, 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 Baiae 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. + +Not far from this chapel we are shewn the labyrinth of Daedalus; +several of its winding walks still exist, through which it would be +difficult to find the way without a cicerone. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +From this place we crossed by sea to Baiae, 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. + +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 Baiae; 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. + +Not far from the before-mentioned building we come upon the "Cento +Camarelle," a prison consisting of a multitude of small cells. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +VESUVIUS. + +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." + +At this dwelling we made halt, ascended to the upper story, and +called for a bottle of Lacrimae Christi. The view here, and at +several other points of our ascent, is most charming. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + + + + + +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. + +November 7th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +From Jeromania we had still a few miles to travel until we entered +the Roman territory near Ceprano. + +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 "vise" five times, making once +in every little town through which we had passed. + +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. + +November 8th. + +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. + +ROME. + +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. + +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. + +It was already quite dark when we reached the Dogana. I at once +betook myself to my room and retired to rest. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The facade of the Dogana boasts some pillars from the temple of +Antonius Pius. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The facade of St. Peter's is decorated with Corinthian pillars, and +on its parapet stand statues fifty-two feet in height. + +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. + +I cannot adequately describe the splendour of the interior, nor have +I seen any thing with which I could compare it. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The lions on the monument of Clement XIII., by Canova, are +considered the finest that were ever sculptured. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +The picture-gallery contains many works of the great masters, as +does also the gallery of vases and candelabra. + +The Biga chamber. The biga is an antique carriage of white marble, +drawn by two horses. + +In the gallery of statues the figure representing Nero as Apollo +playing on the lyre is the finest. + +In the gallery of busts those of Menelaus and Jupiter pre-eminently +attract attention. + +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. + +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. + +A long gallery contains a series of tapestries, the designs for +which were drawn by Raphael. + +The Vatican contains ten thousand rooms, twenty large halls, eight +large and about two hundred small staircases. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +All the above-named basilicas are so empty, and stand on such lonely +spots, that I was almost afraid to visit them alone. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Of the graves of the Scipios I could also discover little more than +the site; the subterranean passages are nearly all destroyed. + +The Marsfield is partly covered with buildings, and partly used as a +promenade. + +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. + +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." + +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. + +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. + +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. + +There are twelve obelisks in the different public squares of Rome, +all brought from Egypt. + +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. + +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 Mecaenas. + +November 23d. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +November 24th. + +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. + +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. + +November 25th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +November 26th. + +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. + +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 + +SIENA. + +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. + +November 27th. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +Some of the wards in the neighbouring hospital are also decorated +with beautiful frescoes, which appear to date from the time of +Raphael. + +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. + +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. + +November 28th. + +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. + +At five in the evening we reached + +FLORENCE, + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +St. Spirito contains many sculptures, among which a statue of the +Saviour in white marble claims particular attention. + +All these churches are rather dark from having stained windows. + +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 _national_ appearance than the palaces of modern Rome. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +In the centre of the hall of the artists' portrait-gallery we find +the celebrated Medician vase. + +The cabinet of jewels boasts the largest and finest onyx in +existence. + +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. + +In the Gherardeska palace we find a fresco representing the horrible +story of Ugolino. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +DEPARTURE FROM FLORENCE. + +December 3d. + +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 + +December 4th + +we reached Bologna. + +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. + +December 5th. + +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. + +In the church of St. Dominic I viewed with most interest the +monument of King Enzio. + +The picture-gallery contains a St. Cecilia, one of the earlier +productions of Raphael. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +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. + +December 6th. + +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. + +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. + +Early next morning I hastened onwards, for I had already seen Padua, +Venice, Trieste, etc. in the year 1840. + +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. + +During my journey I had seen much and endured many hardships; I had +found very few things as I had imagined them to be. + +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. + +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. + + + + +NOTES. + + +{23} A florin is worth about 2s. 1d. + +{30} TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: "Use of the Reaumur 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:-- + +Reaumur Fahrenheit Celsius + 16 68 20 + 18 72 22 + 20 77 25 + 22 81 27 + 24 86 30 + 26 90 32 + 28 95 35 + 30 99 37 + 32 104 40 + 34 108 42 + 36 113 45 + 38 117 47 + 40 122 50 + 43 128 53 + +{40} They receive a dollar from the landlord for every guest whom +they bring to his house. + +{48} 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. + +{53} A piastre is worth about one and three-quarters pence. + +{54} About one pound sterling. + +{71a} 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. + +{71b} Its height is 9100 feet.--ED. + +{79} The well-known artist and author.--ED. + +{85} Smyrna is _one_ of the cities that claim the honour of being +the birthplace of Homer.--ED. + +{101} Cakes or "scones" in Scotland are baked in the same way.--ED. + +{165} 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. + +{167} 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. + +{236} This is a work of the young Viennese artist, Leander Russ, +who visited Egypt in the year 1832. + +{261} A beshlik is worth five piastres in Turkey, and only four in +Egypt. + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND*** + + +******* This file should be named 12561.txt or 12561.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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