Chapter C: W. V (12)

We have had some excellent gun practice from the English gun boat Vigilant, now in port, in honor of the Pacha. The distance fired was nearly half a mile, with two sixty-eight pounders; she carries also two thirty-two pounders. The target was a rock in the roadstead, painted white. Rounds of shot, shell, and grape, were fired with much precision. After the conclusion, and the partaking of a collation, the captain carried us in his gig to examine the effect, and we found chain shot and broken shell.

I am invited by the commander of this beautiful screw steamer, of six hundred and forty tons, to occupy a part of his cabin. Although I had paid my passage on board the steamer which has already departed, my friends induced me to stay a few days longer and accept the invitation. The old Pasha was to have been on board, but a plea of indisposition excused him. Several consuls and vice-consuls were among our number. On another occasion we had a trial of firing at a floating target, which in this case was a barrel sent adrift, with a couple of sixty-eight pound shot suspended to keep it steady, and an old flag staff stuck in the bung. We then described a circle of a half mile, and fired while in motion; the shot told remarkably as line shots, and the surface of the water sometimes looked like the spouting of whales. The English have now one hundred and thirty, large and small, of this class of steamers or gunboats. The Vigilant carries ninety men, and has an engine of two hundred horse power, with a screw twelve feet diameter; the boilers and machinery are below water mark; she draws twelve feet of water, and is admirably calculated for destruction.

Within the harbor of Malta, and encircled by the strong walls of these immense and world-wide renowned fortifications, lay the flag ship and part of the squadron of Admiral Lyons. Having once made a quarantine of twenty-one days there, coming from Egypt, which quarantine is fortunately abandoned now, besides spending ten days in sight seeing, nothing stuck me as new.

CXXXIII.

GRAND CAIRO, EGYPT, _April 10, 1858_.

I reached Malta on board of an English war steamer, in time to connect with the Peninsular and Oriental Company’s packet, with the India overland passengers. An agreeable passage of three and a half days brought us to Alexandria, and instead of taking canal and river boats as in former times, occupying four days, I proceeded by rail to this city in eight hours. The distance is about one hundred and thirty miles, and the road is to continue to Suez, across the little desert, some ninety miles more. There only remain some twenty miles to complete it, when Alexandria and its port will be in communication with the Red Sea. The Pasha has constructed this great work at his own expense, and must ultimately derive a large revenue from it, as the tax upon each passenger crossing is ten pounds or fifty dollars.

This being my third visit to Egypt, I am able to judge of the changes that have taken place, particularly since the introduction of the railway. In 1842, when I first made the ascent of the Nile to Upper Egypt, we met only four passenger boats; the past winter the number has been forty, which is much less than usual, owing to disturbed monetary relations throughout the world. Then, Alexandria was a village, surrounded with the ruins of the former city. Now, it is a place of large commerce, with a population of seventy or eighty thousand, and instead of camels to carry one’s luggage, and donkeys to ride up a miserable hotel, one finds carriages and four-horse omnibuses around the railway station. The whistle of the locomotive, and the cry of “clear the track,” is calculated to wake up the most lethargic races. When I passed through Egypt in 1855, _en route_ from the East Indies, I was struck with the changes. We descended the Nile in a steamer from Cairo, which was a great improvement.

Pompey’s Pillar and Cleopatra’s Needle still stand, towering high, as solitary spectators of the progress of the age.

I find here some familiar faces; the Dragoman who accompanied me to Upper Egypt and crossed the desert to Palestine, meets me with a smile; Paul, who is spoken of in Stephens’s work on Egypt, I find again. I have just visited the Mausoleum of the great man Mohammed Ali, the regenerator of Egypt, with whom I once passed an evening with accompaniment of the chilbouk or pipe, sherbet and coffee, talking over the affairs of this country. He was of humble origin, but through his military prowess and energy of character rose to the throne, conquered the Bedouins of the desert, massacred the Mamelukes, dug canals, regulated the embankments of the Nile for irrigation, forced the natives into the army and into useful employments, introduced the growth of cotton, built a fleet, which was destroyed by the allied forces, erected manufactories and palaces; in a word, he was a tyrant, but a benefactor in advancing civilization.

He succeeded in creating a Dynasty for his family, and his remains now are inclosed within the walls of the new and gigantic alabaster mosque, with its pointed minarets, standing upon the citadel inclosure, within the walls of which the unfortunate Mamelukes were shot, one of whom only escaped by jumping his horse over a steep precipice.

I find here some of my countrymen, and a few English, who are returning from the Nile trip, as the season is about over and the water low. In June the rise commences. Some are making excursions to Heliopolis and to the Pyramids, others visiting the bazaars and Schrubra, the garden of the Pasha, which, with its brooks, fountains, fruit, and flowers, is well worth a visit.

The great vehicle of locomotion for the multitude is the donkey, which threads the crowded and narrow streets at a rapid rate, flogged by the boy running at his heels and keeping up the cry of “right, left, legs, arms,” in Arabic words. The veiled women ride crosswise like men. Officers in gay costumes go by on richly caparisoned horses; droves of camels laden with merchandise, and Arabs with hog skins on their backs, filled with water for sprinkling to keep down the dust in this warm climate. The smell of otto of roses and other perfumery keeps under other disagreeable odors as you ride through the bazaars. Then comes the cry of avant couriers, who run before and behind carriages, staff in hand, to make way. The Court passes in European carriages with gilded trappings, and outriders in fancy-colored Oriental costumes, the women of the Harem scrupulously veiled, only their black round the eyes being seen. Then comes a drove of goats for the supply of milk. Altogether it is a mixture, such as cannot be described, of all races, colors, variety of dress, but must be found in this city of three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, where, particularly as the kemsing winds have just set in, custom demands that every person should appear and snuff the air. The festival continues three days, and the people are out in their best attire.

Two of our guests have just started for Jerusalem, via the desert. Their caravan consisted of twelve camels, a dragoman and servants, with camel drivers, &c., an English lord and his companion. The Arab Scheik taxed him five pounds or twenty dollars per head for the use of the animals alone. I was thankful I had not the same journey to repeat; for to be perched up sixteen or twenty days upon the back of a dromedary is no small task. Another party have left for Memphis, also to visit the monster Sphinx, the Pyramid of Cheops and others, the establishment for hatching chickens by heat, &c., I enjoy these things as souvenirs, having on a former occasion seen and mounted the great Pyramid at Gizeh, crept into the interior chambers and breathed its dust of ages and its close atmosphere. Its dimensions are seven hundred and thirty-two feet square, and four hundred and sixty feet high, and it covers some twelve acres of ground. There are many smaller ones, which are almost equal in size. Herodotus says that one hundred years were employed in constructing the two largest. Pliny says seventy-eight years, and the number of men three hundred and sixty thousand. The facilities for travel in Upper Egypt are greatly increased since my first visit; then we had to procure a boat and dragoman by the month; every article of supply, with cooking utensils, had to be purchased, and a suitable cook selected. The Reis or captain and his crew of twelve men were paid by the month; every delay was to them a profit. Now a dragoman takes upon himself the entire outfit and supplies, relieving the party from all responsibility for a stipulated sum, averaging from five to eight dollars a day per head, according to the numbers. The charges on the Peninsular and Oriental steamers are about sixteen dollars per day. The passengers are abundantly supplied, as you will see; coffee and tea early in the morning, soda water if wanted, breakfast at nine, lunch at twelve, with ale or porter, dinner at four, with four kinds of wine, tea at seven, grog or hot drinks at nine P.M. The servants form themselves into a band and play from eleven to twelve M., and from eight to nine in the evening, for which passengers contribute. The consumption of provisions on board this line is excessive. The French and Austrian steamers have two substantial meals only, and charge considerably less.

There is a general complaint throughout the East of the increased hotel charges and the expenses of life since the Crimean war. I intend returning to Alexandria, and embark via Jaffa for Beyrout. I shall probably visit Damascus, the Cedars of Lebanon, and the ruins of Balbeck from the latter place. When I was in Palestine before, the Maronites and Druses were at war, which prevented travelling in the mountains. I now hope to avail myself of the present opportunity.

CXXXIV.

CONSTANTINOPLE, _May 1, 1858_.

I find myself at a remote point from Grand Cairo, having extended my route in order to visit the Crimea and other parts of the Black sea.

On our arrival at Jaffa we found some thousands of pilgrims waiting opportunities to embark for their homes. Immense numbers had been at Jerusalem, but as I had passed the Passion Week once in the Holy City, had climbed the Mount of Olives, wandered through the Valley of Jehoshaphat, bathed my eyes in the Pool of Siloam, refreshed myself at the Brook of Kedron, swum in the Jordan and reposed at Bethlehem, I was unwilling to lose first impressions by a revisit. At that period, after a voyage across the desert of sixteen days upon camelback, the Land of the Philistines and the Gardens of Sharon were quite refreshing, but now steam has revolutionized travel, and distance is quite annihilated. There were several steamers in the dangerous roadstead taking away the pilgrims. One of the number had been wrecked and stranded in a late gale, and twenty-nine of her passengers and crew lost. We took away some three hundred, mostly deck passengers, consisting of Greeks, Copts, Armenians, and Latins, from all the countries of the Levant. Such a beggarly looking party of all races and costumes it would be difficult to scrape together. They were penned up like cattle on the deck, men, women, and even children; and you may imagine what effect a heavy sea produced upon the party.

We coasted along the shore of ancient Tyre and Sidon with Mount Carmel in full view, and debarked at Beyroot, a pretty town with picturesque environs, backed by the mountains of Lebanon, and occupied by the Druses and Maronites.

After a sojourn of a few days I took passage for the island of Cyprus, interesting for its historical reminiscences and famous for its sweet wine; then proceeded to the island of Rhodes. The old city is in a dilapidated condition. Earthquakes have made sad havoc from time to time, one of which is said to have destroyed the great Colossus. The old streets of the Knights of St. John, with their armorial insignia upon the fronts of the houses, are well preserved.

Smyrna I found improved. The rebuilding of good, substantial stone houses upon the sites of the burnt districts, where miserable, rickety wooden buildings stood, has greatly changed the appearance of this large commercial city. The fruit trade brings vessels of all nations into its capacious bay. A view from Mount Pagos, where are the remains of an old Genoese fort, embraces one of the most beautiful of panoramas.

Having had three passages by the Lloyd Austrian steamers, I there took the French Messagerie, imperial packet, via the Dardanelles and Sea of Marmora, touching at Gallipoli and other points, for Constantinople.

My souvenirs of this renowned capital of the Sultan are now revived. The visit to the Seraglio and palaces, the church of St. Sophia, the mosques of Sultan Mahmoud and others, and the tombs of the distinguished monarchs, is made by means of a firman. The visits to the bazaars, excursions on the Bosphorus, and to Scutari on the Asiatic shore, and the sweet waters of Europe and Asia, are delightful beyond description. And as I gazed from my windows from the lofty Frank quarters of Pera down upon the Golden Horn, separating old Stamboul from Galata; the Bosphorus, dividing the two continents; the lofty minarets of the white mosques; the deep evergreen cypress of the cemeteries, in contrast with the blooming trees of the Seraglio Point gardens; the forest of masts of all nations; the numerous war and commercial steamers, I am led to exclaim, “This is certainly the most magnificent view of the kind which the eye can behold.”

Rio Janeiro for its majestic scenery can only surpass it. The Bay of Naples has its peculiar beauties. The harbor of New York we all admit is lovely. Stockholm, situated upon its seven islands, is entitled to consideration. San Francisco can boast of a noble sheet of water, as well as many other countries, but the palm must be awarded to the position of the Turk.

The allied armies have fought, bled, and expended great treasure, but one discovers few changes for the better. The improvements are in the European quarter chiefly. The sick man may linger along for an indefinite period, but it is doubtful if he can be resuscitated.

We are in the midst of the Ramadan, or fast of the Mussulmans. The faithful partake of neither meat nor drink from sunrise to sunset, during forty days, and consequently cannot be very good-humored. Joyous voices may be heard at the evening meal if one dares thread the narrow, ill paved streets, lantern in hand, and prepared to resist the multitudes of half starved dogs without masters, who are the public scavengers, and breed, live, and die in the streets.

The minarets are now illuminated, and present a pretty appearance on a dark night. During the war the mosques were easily entered, now greater rigor is exercised, and the devout follower of Mahomet who makes his five ablutions daily, washing his hands, face, and feet, at the fountains in front of the mosques, and fasts from morn till night, cannot look with favor upon the Christians eating and drinking, and treading the sacred precincts of his Holy Temple, and defiling it with their unwashed feet.

They look with surprise and astonishment at the wars of the sects in Jerusalem, at the threshold of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Turkish soldiery preserving order at the point of the bayonet. Fortunately for the reputation of Christianity the late ceremonies of the Holy Week passed off without scandal in the sacred city.

The Greeks, notwithstanding the efforts of consuls to suppress rejoicings after Lent is over, have had their fireworks, discharges of cannon, &c., with loss of limbs, much to the annoyance of the Turks. The Latins have their rejoicings, and illuminate as in Rome, and the faithful will have feastings and a jubilee when the season of Ramadan comes around, and the penalties of the Koran are complied with.

We have here three Sabbaths: on Friday the Turkish bazaars are closed; on Saturday the Jews keep their Sabbath; and Sunday all the Christian races keep theirs, at least a part of the day. Those who wish to make purchases should select the early part of the week.

Steam has here made its innovation. We formerly had only the small egg-shell caique for the waters about the metropolis; now steamers for ferries and excursions are employed, and packed full. A bridge of boats connects old Stamboul with Galata, across the Golden Horn. Many more carriages are employed, richly gilded with gold. The ladies of the harem are seen more frequently riding out; and the white gauze veils, disclosing only the eyes and nose, seem to be lighter in texture than formerly, showing more of the beautiful features of the Georgian and Circassian beauties.

The currency of the country is unsettled; little but paper and copper is seen; consequently speculation has increased, and the people complain of increased charges making Constantinople one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

CXXXV.

SEBASTOPOL, _May 12, 1858_.

The voyage from Constantinople up the Bosphorus and to the head of the Black Sea, was made in forty hours, on board of the new steamer Grand Duke Constantine. This was her first trip, and with fair weather, a comfortable one. The Russian Company, through a guarantee of five per cent. interest for a term of years, from the government, have ordered in all fifty steamers, to compete with the Austrians and French in the navigation of the Mediterranean and Black Seas; and it is thought by the travelling public that competition will reduce the extravagant charges on these lines, which is detrimental to commerce.

The great grain city of Odessa suffered but little during the war from the allies. It lies somewhat elevated from the harbor, with private houses, rather scattered, covering great distances, and large public and private buildings of cut sandstone; its unpaved streets, and the immense number of droskeys, grain carts, and other vehicles, with a light clay soil, make it one of the dustiest cities I ever was in. The birthday of the Empress was celebrated in the cathedral, and as a holiday, and in the evening there was an illumination upon the Boulevard, an elevated drive commanding a fine view of the harbor; and the turn-out of fine horses, and carriages filled with ladies in rich robes, presented a scene seldom equalled.

A Russian passport had to be procured for the Crimea. For the information of all those who design visiting Russia, I would say, bring nothing printed, as all books, maps, &c., are seized at the custom-house and sent to the censor office. On leaving, one must advertise three times in the paper his intention of quitting the empire, in order to show that he has contracted no debts, or committed no offences; then a passport will be granted by the police. When I travelled through Finland and the north of Russia, I was provided with documents as bearer of despatches, thereby avoiding all annoyance of examination of luggage, and met with much civility.

I embarked for Eupatoria at twelve A.M., and was landed the following day; it is the first point of debarkation of the united squadron. The town is partially destroyed, and is a small miserable place. The batteries of the allies are still recognizable near Wind Mill Point; these and the Jewish synagogue, of much beauty for this country, are all of interest to be seen. I posted to Sympheropol, the capital town of the Crimea, a distance of seventy-two wersts, or fifty-four miles, passing salt lakes, which are productive, and worked largely for exportation; a long distance of rolling prairie country, with little timber; occasional small streams, with valleys and shade or fruit trees, thinly settled, bearing some analogy to parts of our western country. The city has fourteen thousand population, and is rather pleasantly situated. The hotels are bad throughout the land, and war prices are still maintained. The Greek churches are the prominent monuments, with a great profusion of ornaments, outstripping the Latin Catholics in decoration. From Sympheropol I took a two horse fourgen, a sort of covered baggage wagon, there being no post route to Bourlouk, or the battle field of Alma, in company with a young Russian officer to whom I was recommended, and who kindly offered to accompany me. He had received two orders for his zeal and bravery in the battles and eleven months’ occupation of Sebastopol, during the siege, and was a valuable guide and companion. His sister owned the land and village which stands near the scene of combat. The Russians burnt the huts of the Tartar peasants, the mansion house, and stacks of grain, to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. We made the thirty wersts, and arrived at nightfall. After the national dish of the Tabaif, a sort of vermicelli paste, baked, with honey and tea, which can be procured all over Russia, beds were made upon the divan in the new stone cottage, and to my surprise and delight I slept upon the folds of the stars and stripes of an American flag, preserved from the wreck of a vessel on the coast.

In the morning, our accomplished hostess, who spoke French like a native, mounted her horse, and we rode over most parts of her possessions, some seven wersts square, comprising the battle grounds, and the different heights and valleys occupied by the Russian, French, and English troops, crossing the Alma at different points, visiting the cemeteries of thirteen thousand slain of both armies, and reading the epitaphs on such few tombs as had been erected.

The route of the invading forces can yet well be traced, by the quantities of woollen and cotton cloth fragments, leathern straps, cannon balls, and débris of all kinds. It was a melancholy sight, and made my companion sad when he recollected many of his companions who fell upon the field.

The name of Alma is taken from the Tartar for apple, of which large orchards existed in the valley, and along the water course. The country was desolated by the war, and the fruit-trees and crops were destroyed; but the people are now returning and building up their little cabins, and commencing the cultivation of grain and the vine, of which they give one-tenth to the land proprietor. The predominant race are Tartars, and they speak corrupt Turkish; they are Mussulmans, or of the Mohammedan religion, and are an indolent people, and without enterprise.

I here left my companion, and had a lonely ride of some twenty wersts over a high rolling prairie, some mountainous country, and deep valleys, which brought me to Batschi Seray, the former residence of Tartar royalty, and could scarcely help believing I was passing the long streets of a Turkish town; their costumes, habits, bazaars, carts, and market stands, all indicating the same. I visited the old palace, with its inclosures, mosques, minarets, cemetery, and tombs of the Tartar kings, some twenty-four in number, before it fell into the hands of Russia. The style of architecture, the fountains, gardens, and chambers of the harem, are strictly Turkish.

Some four wersts hence, on the top of a mountain, is a most curious old Jewish walled and fortified town, called Tschufout Kale, which formerly contained one thousand or more families, but is now reduced to thirty. It reminds one of Pompeii, or the city of the dead, and is fast tumbling into ruins. They date back their emigration from Jerusalem in the early centuries, and while persecution reigned were in their fortresses, but are now scattered to the four winds. The Rabbi and his companions have still the old synagogue, and are well supported by the absentees. Not far distant is a fraternity of monks, who have the steep mountain side walled amphitheatre-like, and a monastery and chapel built in the grottoes of the rock, with the altars and interior decorated with images in gold and silver. On the outside façade, where the precipice projects, are seen the colossal figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Apostles, in figures of gold, which are visible for a mile, and are attractive as a pilgrimage. The lamps and candles are kept constantly burning, as at Bethlehem.

After making these excursions, I proceeded to Sebastopol. Through unavoidable delay, I arrived at nine P.M. of a dark night, upon the shores of the north bay; there were no accommodations for travellers, an unusual heavy sea was on, and the boatmen were unwilling to cross without extortion; I succeeded, however, in getting across safely with my Tartar guide, and found among the ruins of the town one of the two little inns erected since the destruction of the city. Such a scene of devastation as I found, when awakening next morning, I had not pictured to myself. Out of one hundred thousand inhabitants, comprising soldiers and marines, only eleven thousand remain, and one can only judge by the light of lamps and fires, where they live at night; some in barracks, cellars, and corners of buildings where the walls are standing, rudely covered over. The temporary frail huts thrown up, remind one of Texas in its infancy, or the early frame houses of California and Oregon. The government has erected a Greek Church, buildings for servants of the crown to reside in, and individuals have put up some good stores for places of business; but dwellings are scarce, and rents dear.

It is painful to gaze upon the beautiful but ruined walls of palaces, libraries, club rooms, churches, hotels, and private residences, either destroyed by the shot and bombs of the enemy, or exploded by the Russians. You are so familiar with the localities, as shown by charts during the progress of the war, that I shall not attempt a description, but merely state that my time has been occupied in strolling over the devastated city, visiting the ruined docks, aqueducts, and hospital sites, mounting the famous Malakoff and Redan batteries, riding out to the different camp grounds of the English, French, Sardinian, Russian, and Turkish troops, visiting portions of the cemeteries, of which there are said to be three hundred and fifty in number, and a half million of men mouldering in the dust. Cannon balls, bombs, and bullets are still strewn in all directions. Teamsters are employed in gathering and drawing them to the magazines. Some curious persons have lost their lives by picking up and throwing down infernal projectiles, which exploded.

The camps look like decayed villages of rough stone huts; some of the walls of the English are whitewashed, and the door-ways paved with coarse stone, carrying out ideas of comfort. A little frame building is still standing and preserved in a valley, near a spring of water, on our way to Inkerman, some twelve wersts from town, where we dismounted and refreshed ourselves. It was the pavilion of Lord Raglan. On the summit near at hand is a monument to the united forces engaged in the battle; it was raised by the British army. One of the English burial grounds is well inclosed, and has many tombstones. The descent to the plain, and scene of strife at Inkerman, through which the Russians advanced, is a deep gorge, with high palisades of white sandstone, quarried out of the building material of Sebastopol.

Our countrymen are succeeding well in destroying and fishing up the fragments of the Russian wrecked vessels which obstructed the harbor. I have just had the satisfaction of being on board one of the four flats, or caissons, of twenty-five horse power engine each, and assisting at the first success in raising a twenty gun schooner. There are twenty-four sunk, large and small. It is curious to see the divers go down, with their india-rubber suits and helmets, glass eyes, and a keg of powder under the arm for explosion; also the fishing up of copper, iron bolts, portions of the wreck, &c.

CXXXVI.

YALTA, _Crimea, May 20, 1858_.

A few miles down the coast from Sebastopol, are to be seen the remains of the ancient city of Chersones, and the little bay and port upon which it was situated. It is most interesting to the Russians, as being the spot where the first Bishop Vladimir was converted to Christianity from Paganism, which was the means of establishing the Greek Church, the prevailing religion in Russia.

A chapel is now found upon the spot, where resides a venerable priest, with his colleagues. A new and large church is to be erected upon the site of the ancient temple. During the war, the French, in cutting entrenchments, made discoveries of some valuable relics of marble and sculpture, which are now visible. Under the Tartar dynasty the old city was deserted, and went to decay.

On my way to Balaklava I made a detour to look at the Kamisch camp grounds, and to visit one of the wildest and most romantically situated monasteries to be found. It is called St. George, and with its church, convent, outbuildings, and hanging fruit gardens, on the south side of the craggy cliffs, is well calculated to attract attention, and was known and respected by the army of invasion.

Balaklava is now a miserable village, but when its little basin was occupied by the English and French vessels it must have produced a lively effect. The streets and roads approaching it are well paved as left by the troops. The track of the railroad is still discernible. The black coal depositories show where the iron horse was stalled. The heaps of broken bottles show the consumption of the troops, and reminded me of the Ranchos on the Isthmus of Panama after the passage of an army of gold diggers. The high rocks at the narrow entrance bear the white letters painted by the English--“Powell Point,” “Castle Bay,” “Cossack Point,” &c.

We have had blustering winds and an unusually boisterous sea, so say the residents, giving an opportunity of judging of the fierce waves of the Black Sea along the iron bound coast, which shipwrecked so many of the vessels of the combined squadron.

I here left my horses and droski, and took the post, the usual mode of quick travel in Russia. I had taken out a Padorozna from the authorities for horses from Balaklava to Alushta and then to this place, in order to take the steamer for Theodosie and Kertch, upon the straits of Azof. In this manner I can visit the whole length of the south coast of the Crimea of any interest. The distance to the place named is one hundred and fifty-two wersts, of three-fourths of a mile each, for which one pays six kopecks per werst; the greasing of the wheels at each post station is twelve kopecks, and a gratuity to the driver in addition. Your vehicle is changed at every station. It is a rude wagon, without springs, built in the form of a scow boat cut off at both ends, and about eight feet long, with low wheels. The seat is a net of ropes from the hind stakes, with quantities of hay or straw. The same for the driver in front. Two bony nags are attached, and you are now at his mercy. The horses are kept on the run, the extreme distances in Russia making it necessary, but woe to the traveller who is not accustomed to it. It is wild and furious travelling.

The post houses are furnished by the crown, and are known by the high, square, box-like posts of white and black colors, with distances marked thereon; for instance, on the main line, to St. Petersburgh two thousand two hundred wersts, and in like manner on the side roads. A sitting room is furnished with a sofa, chair, and table, and in case of bad weather, or no inn, one is under shelter, and sometimes something may be found to eat.

The Russian nobility travel in their own carriages, and carry their tea machines for preparing tea, heavy fur cloaks for sleeping, &c. The best and largest hotel in Odessa, for example, gives you a plainly furnished room, with an ofen for heating purposes, if required, and a bed without linen, for from six to ten francs, say from one dollar and twenty cents to two dollars, per day. Bed covering, towels, and lights are charged extra. You take your meals in your own room, or at the restaurant, for which you pay _à la carte_, at the time, or it is put in your bill. You will thus perceive a wide difference from our American plan.

At my first station from Balaklava, I found the Tartar village of Bidar, quite deserted during the war. The occupants of this beautiful valley, filled with pear, apricot, and other trees, had left for Constantinople, and their return is not permitted. In the hands of an industrious people, it would be very valuable.

My next relay crossed the mountain pass, where the sea, valleys, deep precipices, and vineyards presented themselves instantly on the passage of a tunnel, very like a mountain road from Genoa to Spezzia, celebrated for its beauty.

The zigzag road, with short curves, was driven over more rapidly than within my experience, the horses on full trot, or galloping down the mountain. I could hold my seat with difficulty, but said nothing. I timed my watch at the foot of the mountain, and found we had made fifteen wersts in three-quarters of an hour. The Russian youth turned towards me for a look of approbation, pocketed his Navodki, and was soon off for Alupka, the palace of prince Woranzow, the most magnificent private affair; perhaps, in Europe. The grounds, gardens, and vineyards occupy miles, beautifully situated on the Black Sea, sheltered from the cold by a southern exposure. The palace, or castle, is of Gothic architecture, and was finished in 1852 by an English architect. It has been building many years, and is of Crimean granite. Six noble lions, of Carrara marble, in Canova style, standing, crouching, and sleeping, guard the staircase on the water side. Pavilions, a Greek church, a mosque, flowers, fruit trees, and miles of drives, comprise the beauties. Such an outlay as three millions of roubles in this remote country, can only be expected of a Russian noble with two hundred thousand serfs, or more, besides immense wealth differently invested. He lived to accomplish this work, and died, leaving an only son, who resides in Paris.

My next point was Orianda, the new palace and grounds of the ex-empress of Russia, who has never seen it, but is expected this summer. The palace cost only half a million of roubles, or four hundred thousand dollars. It is neat, substantial, well arranged, and is furnished richly, but in good taste. Several of the rooms and fountains are after the Pompeian style.

This is the resort of Russian nobility for the autumn months, during the grape season. Many have estates and splendid residences, but are seldom here. I have chosen the best season for visiting this region.

The little village from which I write is in the midst of lovely gardens, the trees now in full bloom. The grape vines are putting forth their leaves. The mountain side is dotted with occasional Tartar villages of rude cottages, the peaks in the distance contrasting with the green sea, whose waves are breaking upon the gravelly beach, with no sign of shells. The water is saltish, without smell from sea weed.

The only decent hotel I have yet found in the Crimea, is the little one here upon the seaside, kept by a Frenchman and his English wife, both of whom were servants in a Russian noble family. It is a luxury, indeed, with its neatness and comfort; and meals are served up in one’s one room, according to European taste. I am the only guest at present. The lulling sound of the waves induces repose, which I much needed, and I am quite unwilling to leave the spot.

The only person in the town who speaks English, except the landlady, is her little boy, who converses also in French with his father, and Russian besides. I find the German more useful than the French for the traveller in this region who does not know Turkish or Russian, as there are several colonies of Germans.

This country being new and sparsely settled, money has less value, and the luxuries of life are difficult to obtain without great expenditure, which will prevent visitors or permanent residents from coming here.

The valleys abound with pasturage, and cattle may be raised in quantities; but the Tartar race is lethargic, and works only when necessity compels. They tell me fresh butter cannot be had at even a rouble, or eighty cents, per pound. Their wants are few, and the pipe is their only solace.

This being the fast of forty days my Fourgon driver, to whom I offered refreshments, refused, but watched the waning sun, procured a bottle of boza, a sort of acid drink made from flour, and bought a wheaten cake, and the moment the last rays disappeared the poor fellow swallowed his morsel, and drained his draught with a good relish. If the land could be relieved from this race by sending them to Turkey, and their places occupied by German colonists, it might be made a flourishing country.

I attended yesterday a village interment. The corpse of the defunct was in an uncovered coffin, draped with crimson plush, and supported by bearers by means of cords two or three feet from the ground. After the ceremonies in the pretty little Russian chapel on the top of a hill, with its stained glass windows, tiny turrets and spire, surrounded by flowers and plants, the body of the man, preceded by the noble-looking Greek priests in full robes, with long flowing hair and beard, crucifix in hand, chanting a funeral hymn, and friends carrying burning candles, was borne to the neat cemetery, where further ceremonies were performed. When the crimson lid, with the white figures of the cross upon it, was nailed on and lowered in the grave, the despair of the women, as they were called upon to throw stones and earth upon it, was frightful, and brought to mind that command of scripture, “Weep with those that weep.” Home, with near, and dear, and departed friends, came suddenly in the memory.

The service over, a large dish of rice, covered with raisins and sugar, is passed to the priest, who applies the spoon, and it then goes the rounds, the boys and idlers coming in for the balance.

CXXXVII.

TIFLIS, CAPITAL OF GEORGIA, _June 6, 1858_.

From Yalta, I embarked for Theodosie and Kertch, upon the Straits of Azoff. The former place is designated as the terminus of the railroad from Moscow, as its harbor never freezes.

Kertch was partly burned by the allies during the war. Its population is some fifteen thousand. It has a good harbor for vessels bound either for ports in the Black Sea, or going up the Sea of Azoff for cargoes of grain. There were some fifty sail of all kinds at anchor.

In company with the French and English consuls I rode some fifteen miles to the Sea of Azoff, visiting also some extensive Tumuli, or mounds for cemeteries, in which have been found very interesting relics, supposed to be from the reign of king Mithridates, 132 years before Christ. They are quite similar to those I once found in Upsal, in Sweden. The masonry is in a perfect state of preservation. The prairie country extends for miles about the city, and hares are found in great abundance. Our horses and dogs gave them a fine chase.

I took a steamer at Kertch for the Asiatic side of the Black Sea, passing along the Circassian coast with its towering snow-capped mountains. The small ports or roadsteads are occupied by the Russian military, which cannot get a foothold in the interior.

Heavy weather prevented our arrival at Soukum Kale until the second day. It is a bad roadstead, but beautifully situated amid the greenest and most luxuriant vegetation, reminding me of the West Indies or the coast of Venezuela, by its prolific growth. The little colony being among roses and acacias in full bloom, the air is odoriferous with perfume. The inhabitants are, however, virtually imprisoned, the heights being occupied by barracks, and troops who cannot go beyond a certain limit.

The villages of the Abasiens are seen in the distance, and we would fain have taken horses for a ride thither, but were warned not to walk even, beyond a certain point, under the penalty of a ball from the enemy. Notwithstanding the chief of the tribe is friendly and under pay from the Russian government, and we saw him and his harem on board of a steamer put at his disposal, still his people are not reliable, and the Russians cannot penetrate the country, but are obliged to make a detour by Redout Kale, where we landed the following day.

It is bad, like all the other roadsteads along the coast, and frequently the semi-monthly steamers cannot land, and passengers are obliged to wait a month to embark. The breakers were rolling strongly, but we landed at the mouth of the little river Orion, at the miserable town, among such a rough, bandit-looking race as one seldom sees. The captain of the post was very civil, and invited my companion and myself, to dine and occupy part of his miserable quarters, until we could lay in a stock of provisions and supplies for voyage in the interior.

I had imagined and was prepared for a rough time in visiting these regions, but the reality far exceeded my expectations. A Russian officer, attached to the General’s staff of the Circassian army, accompanied me, and was provided with a Poderozna, or authority for horses and escort. He came directly from St. Petersburg, and found himself equally disappointed.

We were provided with saddle horses for ourselves and others for our luggage, and supplied with Cossack guides well armed. We made seventy-two wersts in this manner, passing through a lovely country, among trees of great growth and freshness, and woods in places filled with wild grape-vines. There are no general roads, and we travelled mostly by paths.

Our first night was passed under the roof of an old peasant, with his wife, and a little boy and girl in ragged clothes, as our companions. The one-roomed hut was thatched with straw, and had an opening in the side for the escape of the smoke from a fire built on the earth floor in the centre. A few eggs roasted in the cinders were all that could be procured, with the exception of a small kettle to boil our tea water in, and a few bundles of straw upon which to spread our blankets. We had forgotten candles in our list of supplies, and I was quite amused at the manner in which the deficiency was supplied. The woman had some yellow wax, and tore off a strip of her shawl to make the wick, upon which it was twisted.

When we arrived at the village of Marvan we procured post horses over natural roads, in the rudest vehicle in the world, upon seats made of hay, with ropes stretched across.

The country is diversified, consisting of valleys, prairies, and mountains. The mountain roads have been made by the Russian troops, who are found throughout the country, but are miserably made and dangerous. Many small and rapid streams are crossed. Nature in her primeval state presents many beautiful views. The distant Circassian mountains covered with snow, and the plains, remind me of California and Oregon.

Agriculture is of the most primitive kind. Wooden ploughs drawn by eight yoke of oxen are used. Cattle and horses are seen in abundance, but the people have no idea of comfort or luxury. Their caps are of sheepskin, the curled woolly side out. They carry from twelve to sixteen bone or reed cartouche boxes sewed on, or attached to the breast of the dress, and with their long carabines on the back, and cutlasses at the side, are always prepared for an attack of the enemy. This has from long use become the national costume.

The villages more remote from the coast are almost entirely under ground. The huts have the front part raised to the height of half a story, and the roofs run back to a level with the ground, covered with sod and earth; and there they burrow, surrounded by a beautiful and fertile country, capable of producing everything, but still in a state of semi-barbarism.

We were five days making the distance. The stations where horses are changed are mostly miserable affairs--infinitely worse than in the north of Russia, and exceedingly filthy. There are some exceptions, where supplies can be procured. One who makes this journey is called upon to suffer privations and fatigues of all kinds, and any one but a Russian or an old traveller would be disheartened at the outset. This season of the year is the most favorable, and the voyage to this place is now accomplished.

This city is curious to visit in many particulars. It has a population of sixty thousand, composed of a great variety of races, Armenians, Persians, Georgians, Turks, Jews, Russian military, and some twelve hundred officers, who are not permitted to go out without their swords, as the whole country is in a state of war with the Circassians.

Prince Bariatanski is the Viceroy, and has supreme power. There are some three hundred thousand troops scattered over this whole territory, to defend the mountain passes from the attacks of Schamyl and the Circassians, and to keep open the communication with the North and the Caspian Sea.

The city is upon the banks of a rapid river or torrent, and is surrounded by high hills, which renders it now very hot. There is a strange compound of civilization and barbarism here. There is a handsome theatre, bazaars, the palace and garden of the Viceroy and of the former King, now occupied by his son, a fine botanical garden newly laid out, well built bridges and houses for officials, and a colony of Germans living neatly and comfortably, while beside them are the early inhabitants of the country, whose huts are scarcely above the surface, and who live among fleas and filth.

Droskies and other fine carriages and horses, extravagance in the dress of the females, and beautiful Georgian ladies of the upper classes, with their picturesque head-dresses, abound.

Russian gold and silver flows like water; a hundred millions of rubles are expended yearly to keep up the war, which has lasted now thirty years, and is still without much prospect of a close.

This former capital of the Georgian kings, which is some three hundred and fifty wersts in the interior, was abandoned to the Russians about the beginning of the present century; the people finding themselves no longer able to resist the attacks of the Persians, Turks, and Armenians, who ravaged the country and carried off the women and children as slaves.

The commandant of the city, who speaks Russian, German, and French, has shown me many civilities. The only consuls here are the French and Persian; to the former I am also indebted. The hotels are execrable. The French adventurers have succeeded well in the introduction of Paris fineries, as money has but little value; comparing favorably with California in its infancy.

All advise me to pass up through the Circassian mountains to the north, as the weather is now hot, and there is less danger and delay from avalanches, and the passes are less infested by bandits. I shall probably go in company with a Russian officer, and have an escort when necessary.

CXXXVIII.

PIATIGORSK, CIRCASSIA, _June 12, 1858_.

I must give you some details of the trip to this place, across the Circassian mountains, and over the fortified road dividing the territory of Schamyl; to the right coming up towards the Caspian Sea and the Circassians, and on the left bordering on the Black Sea.

We left the scorching city at five P.M., and were glad to escape the intense heat. We made two stations, thirty-four wersts, when horses were not forthcoming until early the next morning. The station was one of the most miserable on the route, and between filth and vermin we were glad to leave at four A.M.

My companion, a Georgian captain in the Russian service, and myself occupied a Tarantas, a wagon of the country, with a carriage body mounted on long poles, the servant in front.

At seven o’clock we discovered that the baggage had been cut away from the rear of the vehicle, entailing considerable loss to my companion. My own baggage was fortunately in front. Information was given to the officer in command at the next village to send Cossacks in pursuit of the offenders. The wheels of our vehicle showed signs of weakness, and the smith’s services were called to cut and renew the tires, much to his advantage, as those who travel in carriages are expected to pay.

Towards sunset of the second day we commenced the ascent of the mountains over a miserably rocky road, at a snail’s pace, with eight yoke of oxen, and arrived at a station where the night was passed. It was a lovely evening, pleasantly cool, and the snow-capped peaks of the mountains of El Brus and Casbeck, from fourteen thousand to sixteen thousand feet high, by the light of a full moon, were magnificent to gaze upon.

An early start, with relays of horses at each station, carried us over the zigzag winding roads, which are without parapet walls. The drivers are exceedingly expert in the management of their three horses abreast, coursing along the margin of yawning precipices, hundreds of feet in depth. The mountain torrents and the remains of avalanches did not retard our progress. The season, however, favored us, as travellers are sometimes detained for weeks.

The wild and savage appearance of the country, the rudely constructed roads, the primitive costume of the people, who are partly dressed in skins, and nearly all armed, the fortified passes, the galleries in the rock, the narrow defiles occupied by the Russian soldiery, to prevent the attacks of the Circassians, and the feeling that you are liable to be arrested and carried into captivity, or shot by them, kept up a different state of feeling than that caused by ordinary travel.

We passed several fortresses well provided with soldiers, arms, and ammunition, to protect the road. The men are employed in constructing or repairing the route, as the Russian soldier performs the most menial service, and is not exempt until after twenty-five years. The term is, however, reduced under the present emperor. His pay and supplies are a mere bagatelle, and he is a machine, obeying the will of his officer.

The road is now considered tolerably safe, with the exception of the stations where a ball may be sent through the unsuspecting traveller.

The Russian troops are gradually hemming in Schamyl on one side, and the Circassians on the other. Both are Mussulman races, but have little intercourse, as Schamyl is the leader of a fanatical people who repose all confidence in their chief. The pasturage and tillage grounds have been taken from them, and they are now more closely lodged in the fastnesses of the mountains, and with less means of life. The Circassians on the Black Sea can obtain contraband supplies from Turkey, via Trebizond, and can dispose of their children to advantage, the girls looking forward with pleasure to the sale and prospect of occupying an important position in the harems.

During the war of the allies, Schamyl made a descent when least expected, and carried off two Georgian princesses and their children. They suffered much from cold in the mountains, although well treated. The ransom demanded by the robber chief was his son, who was taken by the Russians when eight years old, and sent to St. Petersburg for his education, besides eight millions of roubles. They not knowing the value of money, ten ox-carts loaded with small coins were forwarded, with his unwilling son, now grown to manhood in civilized society, and the exchange was made, much to the satisfaction of distressed families and friends.

The Circassians are most dexterous horsemen, and fond of adventure among themselves. A man who has not shown acts of daring is little considered; while if he can bring down the enemy, or take him captive in order to obtain a ransom, he has done acts worthy of the consideration of the people. One year since, in the place from which I write, the little son of a physician was picked up by a mounted Circassian, and carried out of sight before the alarm was fully given. A ransom of a thousand roubles was demanded, but the government is opposed to the payment of tribute, and he is still among them.