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47 chapters
LETTER I.
LETTER I.
Cruise in the Frigate “United States”—Elba—Piombino—Porto Ferrajo—Appearance of the Bay—Naval Discipline—Visit to the Town Residence of Napoleon—His Employment during his Confinement on the Island—His sisters Eliza and Pauline—His Country House—Simplicity of the Inhabitants of Elba. I had come from Florence to join the “United States,” at the polite invitation of the officers of the ward-room, on a cruise up the Mediterranean. My cot was swung immediately on my arrival, but we lay three days lon
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LETTER II.
LETTER II.
Visit to Naples, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. I have passed my first day in Naples in wandering about, without any definite object. I have walked around its famous bay, looked at the lazzaroni, watched the smoke of Vesuvius, traversed the square where the young Conradine was beheaded and Masaniello commenced his revolt, mounted to the castle of St. Elmo, and dined on macaroni in a trattoria, where the Italian I had learned in Tuscany was of little more use to me than Greek. The bay surprised me mos
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LETTER III.
LETTER III.
Account of Vesuvius—The Hermitage—The famous Lagrima Christi—Difficulties of the Path—Curious Appearance of the Old Crater—Odd Assemblage of Travellers—The New Crater—Splendid Prospect—Mr. Mathias, Author of the Pursuits of Literature—The Archbishop of Tarento. Mounted upon asses much smaller than their riders, and with each a bare-legged driver behind, we commenced the ascent of Vesuvius. It was a troublesome path worn through the rough scoria of old eruptions, and after two hours’ toiling, we
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LETTER IV.
LETTER IV.
The Fashionable World of Naples at the Races—Brilliant Show of Equipages—The King and his Brother—Rank and Character of the Jockeys—Description of the Races—The Public Burial Ground at Naples—Horrid and inhuman Spectacles—The Lazzaroni—The Museum at Naples—Ancient Relics from Pompeii—Forks not used by the Ancients—The Lamp lit at the time of our Saviour—The antique Chair of Sallust—The Villa of Cicero—The Balbi Family—Bacchus on the Shoulders of a Faun—Gallery of Dians, Cupids, Joves, Mercuries,
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LETTER V.
LETTER V.
Pæstum—Temple of Neptune—Departure from Elba—Ischia—Bay of Naples—The Toledo—The Young Queen—Conspiracy against the King—Neapolitans Visiting the Frigates—Leave the Bay—Castellamare. Salvator Rosa studied the scenery of La Cava—the country between Pompeii and Salerno, on the road to Pæstum. It is a series of natively abrupt glens, but gemmed with cottages and hanging gardens, through which the wildness of every feature is as apparent as those of a savage through his trinkets. I was going to Pæst
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LETTER VI.
LETTER VI.
Baiæ—Grotto of Posilipo—Tomb of Virgil—Pozzuoli—Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter Serapis—The Lucrine Lake—Lake of Avernus, the Tartarus of Virgil—Temple of Proserpine—Grotto of the Cumæan Sybil—Nero’s villa—Cape of Misenum—Roman villas—Ruins of the Temple of Venus—Cento Camerelle—The Stygian Lake—The Elysian Fields—Grotto del Cane—Villa of Lucullus. We made the excursion to Baiæ on one of those premature days of March common to Italy. A south wind and a warm sun gave it the feeling of June. The he
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LETTER VII.
LETTER VII.
Island of Sicily—Palermo—Saracenic appearance of the town—Cathedral—The Marina—Viceroy Leopold—Monastery of the Capuchins—Celebrated Catacombs—Fanciful Gardens. Frigate United States , June 25 .—The mountain coast of Sicily lay piled up before us at the distance of ten or twelve miles, when I came on deck this morning. The quarter-master handed me the glass, and running my eye along the shore, I observed three or four low plains, extending between projecting spurs of the hills, studded thickly w
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LETTER VIII.
LETTER VIII.
The Lunatic Asylum at Palermo. Palermo , June 28 .—Two of the best conducted lunatic asylums in the world are in the kingdom of Naples—one at Aversa, near Capua, and the other at Palermo. The latter is managed by a whimsical Sicilian baron, who has devoted his time and fortune to it, and, with the assistance of the government, has carried it to great extent and perfection. The poor are received gratuitously, and those who can afford it enter as boarders, and are furnished with luxuries according
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LETTER IX.
LETTER IX.
Palermo—Fête given by Mr. Gardiner, the American Consul—Temple of Clitumnus—Cottage of Petrarch—Messina—Lipari Islands—Scylla and Charybdis. Palermo , June 28th .—The curve of “The Golden Shell,” which bends to the east of Palermo, is a luxuriant plain of ten miles in length, terminated by a bluff which forms a headland corner of the bay. A broad neck of land between this bay and another indenting the coast less deeply on the other side, is occupied by a cluster of summer palaces belonging to se
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LETTER X.
LETTER X.
The Adriatic—Albania—Gay Costumes and Beauty of the Albanese—Capo d’Istria—Trieste resembles an American Town—Visit to the Austrian Authorities of the Province—Curiosity of the Inhabitants—Gentlemanly Reception by the Military Commandant—Visit to Vienna—Singular Notions of the Austrians respecting the Americans—Similarity of the Scenery to that of New England—Meeting with German Students—Frequent Sight of Soldiers and Military Preparation—Picturesque Scenery of Styria. The Doge of Venice has a f
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LETTER XI.
LETTER XI.
Gratz—Vienna. We had followed stream after stream through a succession of delicious valleys for a hundred miles. Descending from a slight eminence, we came upon the broad and rapid Muhr, and soon after caught sight of a distant citadel upon a rock. As we approached, it struck me as one of the most singular freaks of nature I had ever seen. A pyramid, perhaps three hundred feet in height, and precipitous on every side, rose abruptly in the midst of a broad and level plain, and around it in a gird
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LETTER XII.
LETTER XII.
Vienna—Magnificence of the Emperor’s Manège—The Young Queen of Hungary—The Palace—Hall of Curiosities, Jewelry, &c.—The Polytechnic School—Geometrical Figures described by the Vibrations of Musical Notes—Liberal Provision for the Public Institutions—Popularity of the Emperor. I had quite forgotten, in packing up my little portmanteau to leave the ship, that I was coming so far north. Scarce a week ago, in the south of Italy, we were panting in linen jackets. I find myself shivering here,
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LETTER XIII.
LETTER XIII.
Vienna—Palaces and Gardens—Mosaic Copy of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”—Collection of Warlike Antiquities; Scanderburg’s Sword, Montezuma’s Tomahawk, Relics of the Crusaders, Warriors in Armour, the Farmer of Augsburg—Room of Portraits of Celebrated Individuals—Gold Busts of Jupiter and Juno—The Glacis, full of Gardens, the General Resort of the People—Universal Spirit of Enjoyment—Simplicity and Confidence in the Manners of the Viennese—Baden. At the foot of a hill in one of the beautiful suburbs of
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LETTER XIV.
LETTER XIV.
Vienna—The Palace of Liechtenstein. The red-nosed German led on through the crowded Graben, jostling aside the Parisian-looking lady and her handsome Hungarian cavalier, the phlegmatic smoker and the bearded Turk, alike. We passed the imperial guard, the city gate, the lofty bridge over the trench (casting a look below at the flower-garden laid out in “the ditch” which encircles the wall), and entered upon the lovely Glacis—one step from the crowded street to the fresh greenness of a park. Would
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LETTER XV.
LETTER XV.
The Palace of Schoenbrunn—Hietzing, the Summer Retreat of the Wealthy Viennese—Country-House of the American Consul—Specimen of Pure Domestic Happiness in a German Family—Splendid Village Ball—Substantial Fare for the Ladies—Curious Fashion of Cushioning the Windows—German Grief—The Upper Belvidere Palace—Endless Quantity of Pictures. Drove to Schoenbrunn. It is a princely palace, some three miles from the city, occupied at present by the emperor and his court. Napoleon resided here during his v
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LETTER XVI.
LETTER XVI.
Departure from Vienna—The Eil-Wagon—Motley quality of the passengers—Thunderstorm in the Mountains of Styria—Trieste—Short beds of the Germans—Grotto of Adelsburgh—Curious Ball-Room in the Cavern—Nautical preparations for a Dance on board the “United States” swept away by the Bora—Its successful termination. I left Vienna at daylight in a diligence nearly as capacious as a steamboat—inaptly called the eil-wagon . A Friuli count, with a pair of cavalry moustaches, his wife, a pretty Viennese of e
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LETTER XVII.
LETTER XVII.
Trieste, its Extensive Commerce—Hospitality of Mr. Moore—Ruins of Pola—Immense amphitheatre—Village of Pola—Coast of Dalmatia, of Apulia and Calabria—Otranto—Sails for the Isles of Greece. Trieste is certainly a most agreeable place. Its streets are beautifully paved and clean, its houses new and well built, and its shops as handsome and as well stocked with every variety of things as those of Paris. Its immense commerce brings all nations to its port, and it is quite the commercial centre of th
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LETTER XVIII.
LETTER XVIII.
The Ionian Isles—Lord and Lady Nugent—Corfu—Greek and English Soldiers—Cockneyism—The Gardens of Alcinous—English Officers—Albanians—Dionisio Salomos, the Greek Poet—Greek Ladies—Dinner with the Artillery Mess. This is proper dream-land. The “Isle of Calypso,” [7] folded in a drapery of blue air, lies behind, fading in the distance, “the Acroceraunian mountains of old name,” which caught Byron’s eye as he entered Greece, are piled up before us on the Albanian shore, and the Ionian sea is ripplin
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LETTER XIX.
LETTER XIX.
Corfu—Unpopularity of British Rule—Superstition of the Greeks—Accuracy of the Descriptions in the Odyssey—Advantage of the Greek Costume—The Paxian Isles—Cape Leucas, or Sappho’s Leap—Bay of Navarino, Ancient Pylos—Modon—Coran’s Bay—Cape St. Angelo—Isle of Cythera. Corfu. —Called on one of the officers of the 10th this morning, and found lying on his table two books upon Corfu. They were from the circulating library of the town, much thumbed, and contained the most unqualified strictures on the
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LETTER XX.
LETTER XX.
The Harbour of Napoli—Tricoupi and Mavrocordato, Otho’s Cabinet Councillors—Colonel Gordon—King Otho—The Misses Armanspergs—Prince of Saxe—Miaulis, the Greek Admiral—Excursion to Argos, the Ancient Terynthus. Napoli di Romania. —Anchored in the harbour of Napoli after dark. An English frigate lies a little in, a French and Russian brig-of-war astern, and two Greek steamboats, King Otho’s yacht, and a quantity of caïques, fill the inner port. The fort stands a hundred feet over our heads on a bol
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LETTER XXI.
LETTER XXI.
Visit from King Otho and Miaulis—Visit an English and Russian frigate—Beauty of the Greek Men—Lake Lerna—The Hermionicus Sinus—Hydra—Ægina. Napoli di Romania. —Went ashore with one of the officers, to look for the fountain of Canathus. Its waters had the property (vide Pausanias) of renewing the infant purity of the women who bathed in them. Juno used it once a year. We found but one natural spring in all Napoli. It stands in a narrow street, filled with tailors, and is adorned with a marble fon
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LETTER XXII.
LETTER XXII.
The Maid of Athens—Romance and Reality—American Benefactions to Greece—A Greek Wife and Scottish Husband—School of Capo d’Istrias—Grecian Disinterestedness—Ruins of the Most Ancient Temple—Beauty of the Grecian Landscape—Hope for the Land of Epaminondas and Aristides. Island of Ægina. —The “Maid of Athens,” in the very teeth of poetry, has become Mrs. Black of Ægina ! The beautiful Teresa Makri, of whom Byron asked back his heart, of whom Moore and Hobhouse, and the poet himself, have written so
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LETTER XXIII.
LETTER XXIII.
Athens—Ruins of the Parthenon—The Acropolis—Temple of Theseus—The Oldest of Athenian Antiquities—Burial-Place of the Son of Miaulis—Reflections on Standing where Plato taught, and Demosthenes harangued—Bavarian Sentinel—Turkish Mosque, erected within the Sanctuary of the Parthenon—Wretched Habitations of the Modern Athenians. Ægæan Sea. —We got under way this morning, and stood towards Athens, followed by the sloop-of-war, “John Adams,” which had come to anchor under our stern the evening of our
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LETTER XXIV.
LETTER XXIV.
The “Lantern of Demosthenes”—Byron’s Residence in Athens—Temple of Jupiter Olympus, Seven Hundred Years in Building—Superstitious Fancy of the Athenians respecting its Ruins—Hermitage of a Greek Monk—Petarches, the Antiquary and Poet, and his Wife, Sister to the “Maid of Athens”—Mutilation of a Basso Rilievo by an English Officer—The Elgin Marbles—The Caryatides—Lord Byron’s Autograph—Attachment of the Greeks to Dr. Howe—The Sliding Stone—A Scene in the Rostrum of Demosthenes. Took a walk by sun
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LETTER XXV.
LETTER XXV.
The Prison of Socrates—Turkish Stirrups and Saddles—Plato’s Academy—The American Missionary School at Athens—The Son of Petarches and Nephew of “Mrs. Black of Ægina.” Athens. —We dismounted at the door of Socrates’ prison. A hill between the Areopagus and the sea, is crowned with the remains of a showy monument to a Roman pro-consul. Just beneath it the hill forms a low precipice, and in the face of it you see three low entrances to caverns hewn in the solid rock. The farthest to the right was t
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LETTER XXVI.
LETTER XXVI.
The Piræus—The Sacra Via—Ruins of Eleusis—Gigantic Medallion—Costume of the Athenian Women—The Tomb of Themistocles—The Temple of Minerva—Autographs. Piræus. —With a basket of ham and claret in the stern-sheets, a cool awning over our heads, and twelve men at the oars, such as the coxswain of Themistocles’ galley might have sighed for, we pulled away from the ship at an early hour, for Eleusis. The conqueror of Salamis delayed the battle for the ten o’clock breeze, and as nature (which should be
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LETTER XXVII.
LETTER XXVII.
Mytilene—The Tomb of Achilles—Turkish Burying Ground—Lost Reputation of the Scamander—Asiatic Sunsets—Visit to a Turkish Bey—The Castles of the Dardanelles—Turkish Bath and its consequences. Lesbos to windward. A caique, crowded with people, is running across our bow, all hands singing a wild chorus (perhaps the “Lesboum Carmen,”) most merrily. The island is now called Mytilene, said to be the greenest and most fertile of the Mediterranean. The Lesbian wine is still good, but they have had no po
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LETTER XXVIII.
LETTER XXVIII.
A Turkish Pic-Nic, on the plain of Troy—Fingers v. Forks—Trieste—The Boschetto—Graceful freedom of Italian Manners—A Rural Fête—Fireworks—Amateur Musicians. Dardanelles. —The oddest invitation I ever had in my life was from a Turkish Bey to a fête champètre , on the ruins of Troy! We have just returned, full of wassail and pillaw, by the light of an Asian moon. The morning was such a one as you would expect in the country where mornings were first made. The sun was clear, but the breeze was fres
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LETTER XXIX.
LETTER XXIX.
The Dardanelles—Visit from the Pacha—His Delight at hearing the Piano—Turkish Fountains—Caravan of Mules laden with Grapes—Turkish Mode of Living—Houses, Cafés, and Women—The Mosque and the Muezzin—American Consul of the Dardanelles, another “Caleb Quotem.” Coast of Asia. —We have lain in the mouth of the Dardanelles sixteen mortal days, waiting for a wind. Like Don Juan (who passed here on his way to Constantinople)— “Another time we might have liked to see ’em, But now are not much pleased wit
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LETTER XXX.
LETTER XXX.
Turkish Military Life—A Visit to the Camp—Turkish Music—Sunsets—The Sea of Marmora. A half hour’s walk brought us within sight of the pacha’s camp. The green and white tents of five thousand Turkish troops were pitched on the edge of a stream, partly sheltered by a grove of noble oaks, and defended by wicker batteries at distances of thirty or forty feet. We were stopped by the sentinel on guard, while a message was sent in to the pacha for permission to wait upon him. Meantime a number of young
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LETTER XXXI.
LETTER XXXI.
Gallipoli—Aristocracy of Beards—Turkish Shopkeepers—The Hospitable Jew and his lovely Daughter—Unexpected Rencontre—Constantinople—The Bosphorus, the Seraglio, and the Golden Horn. What an image of life it is! The good ship dashes bravely on her course—the spray flies from her prow—her sheets are steady and full—to look up to her spreading canvass, and feel her springing away beneath, you would not give her “for the best horse the sun has in his stable.” The next moment, hey! the foresail is aba
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LETTER XXXII.
LETTER XXXII.
Constantinople—An Adventure with the Dogs of Stamboul—The Sultan’s Kiosk—The Bazaars—Georgians—Sweetmeats—Hindoostanee Fakeers—Turkish Women and their Eyes—The Jews—A Token of Home—The Drug Bazaar—Opium Eaters. The invariable “ Where am I? ” with which a traveller awakes at morning was to me never more agreeably answered. At Constantinople! The early ship-of-war summons to “turn out,” was obeyed with alacrity, and with the first boat after breakfast I was set ashore at Tophana, the landing place
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LETTER XXXIII.
LETTER XXXIII.
The Sultan’s Perfumer—Etiquette of Smoking—Temptations for Purchasers—Exquisite Flavour of the Turkish Perfumes—The Slave Market of Constantinople—Slaves from various Countries, Greek, Circassian, Egyptian, Persian—African female Slaves—An Improvisatrice—Exposure for Sale—Circassian Beauties prohibited to Europeans—First sight of one, eating a Pie—Shock to romantic Feelings—Beautiful Arab Girl chained to the Floor—The Silk Merchant—A cheap Purchase. An Abyssinian slave, with bracelets on his wri
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LETTER XXXIV.
LETTER XXXIV.
The Bosphorus—Turkish Palaces—The Black Sea—Buyukdere. We left the ship with two caïques, each pulled by three men, and carrying three persons, on an excursion to the Black Sea. We were followed by the captain in his fast-pulling gig with six oars, who proposed to beat the feathery boats of the country in a twenty miles’ pull against the tremendous current of the Bosphorus. The day was made for us. We coiled ourselves à la Turque , in the bottom of the sharp caique, and as our broad-brimmed paga
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LETTER XXXV.
LETTER XXXV.
The Golden Horn and its Scenery—The Sultan’s Wives and Arabians—The Valley of Sweet Waters—Beauty of the Turkish Minarets—The Mosque of Sulymanye—Mussulmans at their Devotions—The Muezzin—The Bazaar of the Opium-eaters—The Mad House of Constantinople, and Description of its Inmates—Their Wretched Treatment—The Hippodrome and the Mosque of Sultan Achmet—The Janizaries—Reflections on the Past, the Present, and the Future. The “Golden Horn” is a curved arm of the sea, the broadest extremity meeting
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LETTER XXXVI.
LETTER XXXVI.
Sultan Mahmoud at his Devotions—Comparative Splendour of Papal, Austrian, and Turkish Equipages—The Sultan’s Barge or Caïque—Description of the Sultan—Visit to a Turkish Lancasterian School—The Dancing Dervishes—Visit from the Sultan’s Cabinet—The Seraskier and the Capitan Pacha—Humble Origin of Turkish Dignitaries. I had slept on shore, and it was rather late before I remembered that it was Friday (the Moslem Sunday), and that Sultan Mahmoud was to go in state to mosque at twelve. I hurried dow
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LETTER XXXVII.
LETTER XXXVII.
The Grand Bazaar of Constantinople, and its infinite Variety of Wonders—Silent Shopkeepers—Female Curiosity—Adventure with a Black-eyed Stranger—The Bezestein—The Stronghold of Orientalism—Picture of a Dragoman—The Kibaub-Shop—A Dinner without Knives, Forks, or Chairs—Cistern of the Thousand and One Columns. Bring all the shops of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, around the City Hall, remove their fronts, pile up all their goods on shelves facing the street, cover the whole with a roof, and m
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LETTER XXXVIII.
LETTER XXXVIII.
Belgrade—The Cottage of Lady Montagu—Turkish Cemeteries—Natural Taste of the Moslems for the Picturesque—A Turkish Carriage—Washerwomen Surprised—Gigantic Forest Trees—The Reservoir—Return to Constantinople. I left Constantinople on horseback with a party of officers, and two American travellers in the East, early on one of nature’s holiday mornings, for Belgrade. We loitered a moment in the small Armenian cemetery, the only suburb that separates the thickly crowded street from the barren heath
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LETTER XXXIX.
LETTER XXXIX.
Scutari—Tomb of the Sultana Valide—Mosque of the Howling Dervishes—A Clerical Shoemaker—Visit to a Turkish Cemetery—Bird’s-Eye View of Stamboul and its Environs—Seraglio-Point—The Seven Towers. Pulled over to Scutari in a caique, for a day’s ramble. The Chrysopolis, the “golden city” of the ancients, forms the Asian side of the bay, and though reckoned, generally, as a part of Constantinople, is in itself a large and populous capital. It is built on a hill, very bold upon the side washed by the
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LETTER XL.
LETTER XL.
Beauties of the Bosphorus—Summer-Palace of the Sultan—Adventure with an old Turkish Woman—The Feast of Bairam—The Sultan his own Butcher—His evil Propensities—Visit to the Mosques—A formidable Dervish—Santa Sophia—Mosque of Sultan Achmet—Traces of Christianity. From this elevated point, the singular effect of a desert commencing from the very streets of the city is still more observable. The compact edge of the metropolis is visible even upon the more rural Bosphorus, not an enclosure or a strag
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LETTER XLI.
LETTER XLI.
Unerring Detection of Foreigners—A Cargo of Odalisques—The Fanar, or Quarter of the Greeks—Street of the Booksellers—Aspect of Antiquity—Purchases—Charity for Dogs and Pigeons—Punishment of Canicide—A Bridal Procession—Turkish Female Physiognomy. Pulling up the Golden Horn to-day in a caique without any definite errand (a sort of excursion particularly after my own heart), I was amused at the caikjee’s asking my companion, who shaves clean like a Christian, and has his clothes from Regent-street
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LETTER XLII.
LETTER XLII.
The Perfection of Bathing—Pipes—Downy Cushions—Coffee—Rubbing Down—“Circular Justice,” as displayed in the Retribution of Boiled Lobsters—A Deluge of Suds—The Shampoo—Luxurious helps to the Imagination—A Pedestrian Excursion—Story of an American Tar, burdened with Small Change—Beauty of the Turkish Children—A Civilised Monster—Glimpse of Sultan Mahmoud in an Ill-Humour. “Time is (not) money” in the East. We were three hours to-day at the principal bath of Constantinople, going through the ordina
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LETTER XLIII.
LETTER XLIII.
Punishment of Conjugal Infidelity—Drowning in the Bosphorus—Frequency of its occurrence accounted for—A Band of Wild Roumeliotes—Their Picturesque Appearance—Ali Pacha, of Yanina—A Turkish Funeral—Fat Widow of Sultan Selim—A Visit to the Sultan’s Summer Palace—A Travelling Moslem—Unexpected Token of Home. A Turkish woman was sacked and thrown into the Bosphorus this morning. I was idling away the day in the bazaar and did not see her. The ward-room steward of the “United States,” a very intellig
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LETTER XLIV.
LETTER XLIV.
Farewell to Constantinople—Europe and the East compared—The Departure—Smyrna, the great Mart for Figs—An Excursion into Asia Minor—Travelling Equipments—Character of the Hajjis—Encampment of Gipsies—A Youthful Hebe—Note—Horror of the Turks for the “Unclean Animal”—An Anecdote. I have spent the last day or two in farewell visits to my favourite haunts in Constantinople. I galloped up the Bosphorus, almost envying les ames damnées that skim so swiftly and perpetually from the Symplegades to Marmor
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LETTER XLV.
LETTER XLV.
Natural Statue of Niobe—The Thorn of Syria and its Tradition—Approach to Magnesia—Hereditary Residence of the Family of Bey-Oglou—Character of its Present Occupant—The Truth about Oriental Caravanserais—Comforts and Appliances they yield to Travellers—Figaro of the Turks—The Pilaw—Morning Scene at the Departure—Playful Familiarity of a Solemn old Turk—Magnificent Prospect from Mount Sypilus. Three or four hours more of hard riding brought us to a long glen, opening upon the broad plains of Lydia
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LETTER XLVI.
LETTER XLVI.
The Eye of the Camel—Rocky Sepulchres—Virtue of an old Passport, backed by Impudence—Temple of Cybele—Palace of Crœsus—Ancient Church of Sardus—Return to Smyrna. Unsightly as the camel is, with its long snaky neck, its frightful hump, and its awkward legs and action, it wins much upon your kindness with a little acquaintance. Its eye is exceedingly fine. There is a lustrous, suffused softness in the large hazel orb that is the rarest beauty in a human eye, and so remarkable is this feature in th
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LETTER XLVII.
LETTER XLVII.
Smyrna—Charms of its Society—Hospitality of Foreign Residents—The Marina—The Casino—A narrow Escape from the Plague—Departure of the Frigate—High Character of the American Navy—A Tribute of Respect and Gratitude—The Farewell. What can I say of Smyrna? Its mosques and bazaars scarce deserve description after those of Constantinople. It has neither pictures, scenery, nor any peculiarities of costume or manners. There are no “lions” here. It is only one of the most agreeable places in the world, ex
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