FIRST VIEW OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 279 mighty domes, its towers and the white sheen of palaces. The Seraglio Point jutted out, a mass of cupola and a forest of rich foliage; and its walls skirted round the margin of the point, a compact and massive front of elegance. The eity rose loftily behind this garden fore-ground. Scutari sat like a rival, opposite; Pera on a cape just beyond the Seraglio; and the Bosphorus opened in a vast perspective of palaces, on either shore, far into the distance, the banks rising with rich foliage, and every height crowned with some noble kiosk. The gilded tops of a hundred minarets caught the sun-rays in fire, and the domes seemed to hover over all lesser things. We neared rapidly, in the still morning, passing on our left the famous 'Seven Towers,' -a fortress famed in the annals of tyranny and cruelty,and wound along the whole elegant curve of the Seraglio Point, which is inconceivably beautiful from the water; a grand composition of foliage, and every Turkish architectural fancy. We entered the Bosphorus, and looked still further into its beautiful distance On the right, in Asia, was Scutari, only a lesser Constantinople; and the distance across to the Seraglio Point, in Europe, cannot, I think, exceed a mile and a half. Pera was on the other side of the Golden Horn, which opened from the Seraglio Point on the left; and before I could well recover from my bewildered feelings we had advanced into the Golden Horn." It was a matter of some difficulty to find suitable anchorage for our yacht, as all around us were large vessels and steamers at anchor, and the currents set in at this point with tremendous force. We at last selected a spot in front of Pera and Galata, and perhaps three hundred yards from the shore. Near us lay a ship which hoisted the English yacht flag. She was about four hundred tons, and belonged to Mr. Leyland, of London. Close by, also, was the British war-steamship, the Firebrand, which had just arrived with despatches to the minister. A lovelier position than we lay in could not be found. The hills of Constantinople were off to our left, Pera and its heights before us, 280 TOPHANA AND GALATA. and the Golden Horn dividing these cities, and over the Horn a bridge which unites the two places. Scutari, with its crowded houses and charming back-ground, lay off to the south; and on all sides were ships of various sizes, and hundreds of the graceful caiques shooting in every direction, and impelled by noblelooking Turks. I think we hardly felt like leaving the deck to take our breakfast, and every moment was a loss that deprived us of the opportunity to gaze upon the wondrous shores on either hand. An elegant caique soon came alongside, and we had the happiness to meet with Mr. Brown, the dragoman, or secretary of our embassy, who very politely offered us his own and Mrs. Brown's friendly services while we remained in port; and he chalked out a plan of operations by which we might make the most of our time. Visitors in vast numbers now dropped in, and among the many I remember with pleasure the call which we received from a young officer of the Firebrand steam-frigate, Mr. J. B. Butler. Mr. and Mrs. Leyland, and their son and daughter, tutor and governesses, came from the yacht Sylphide, and we were much gratified with the party. After dinner we landed in Pera, which, with Galata and Tophana, are the suburbs, in which all foreigners reside; and they answer to Constantinople as Brooklyn does to New York, but are united to Constantinople by a bridge resting upon boats, which spans the Golden Horn. Tophana and Galata are on the water's edge, and Pera covers the hill-top. In Galata is the naval arsenal, and the military affairs are chiefly carried on in Tophana. The impressions produced upon a foreigner at landing are very strange. He has been gazing upon a capital of wonderful splendor and magnificence, and he finds himself at once in scenes of dirt and filth which cannot be surpassed in the narrowest lanes of New York, or in the worst streets leading to the piers of the North river. Streets we did not find on landing, but old wooden shanties seemed to have been rained down, and our |