Having purchased laces, mittens, corals, vases, statues, pictures, &c., we prepared to depart. We did not leave Malta. without regret; for we had formed very pleasant acquaintances. Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop and Captain Graves were very kind and friendly, and placed us all under lasting obligations. They dined with us while the anchor was being weighed, and at seven P. M. on 18th August we left Malta for Constantinople. FIRST SUL TLES OF EUROPE AND ASIA - PROPONTIS, OR SEA OF MARMORA · ON a fine evening we steamed out of the famous port of Malta, and lay a direct course for Cape Matapan, the southern point of the Morea. During the night the wind freshened, and at about twelve o'clock we passed a man-of-war, which we supposed to be a United States ship, as one was expected to arrive in Malta. The nineteenth was not quite so pleasant a day; it was close and muggy, and no bad imitation of an American dog-day. It was in charming weather that we made our first view of the Morea, and went close by Matapan, which runs out to a lofty, precipitous jut, and at its base is a cavern, which looks as if it bore marks of volcanic action. My copy of Lord Byron was now in demand. We next crossed the mouth of the Gulf of Kolokythia, and obtained a good sight of Mount Taygetus, which takes its name from Taygete, the daughter of Atlas. Its highest point is about three miles south of Sparta. We were now making the north point of Cerigo, the chief of the Ionian Islands. The coast was precipitous and barren, but its valleys are exceedingly fertile, and produce wine, oil, flax, cotton and silk, and corn enough is raised to support the inhabitants. The 276 TENEDOS-PLAINS OF TROY. population is about nine thousand. We saw a vast number of fishing-boats engaged in their business, which seemed very profitable, as they caught a great many. These islands are now under British protection, and enjoy a greater degree of prosperity and more commerce than formerly. We passed Cape Spati and its chapel, and made Cape St. Angelo and its rocky shore, and then bore away north-easterly for the Straits of Doro, passing between Zea and Macronisi Islands, and leaving St. George to our left. Off Cape Colonna we caught a glimpse of the ruins of the Temple of Minerva, of which several columns remain; and they stand on an elevation of two hundred feet above the sea, and are visible midway in the straits. The passage between Macronisi and Zea is about eight miles, giving us a fair prospect of both shores. The port of Zea is an excellent one, and we passed by it, as it stands on the northwest part of the island; on some charts it is put down as the Port, in others as St. Nicholas. The wind was ahead, and the sea rough for many hours. Passing the Straits of Doro, we bore away for Tenedos, and on the morning of the twenty-second we came up with the Island of Mytelene, at early light. This was the Lesbos of classic story, and here Sappho and Alcæus were born. We were off Tenedos at seven o'clock. This island is six miles in length, but only about two and a half in width, and is a rocky spot. The town is small and mean looking. I noticed the first mosque that I have seen. A fortress with a large number of guns mounted, and a number of soldiers on the shore, looked as if it were regarded of some importance. The Turkish flag was waving from the walls. It was to this island that the treacherous Greeks withdrew their fleet, to induce the Trojans to imagine that they had abandoned the siege, and then sent the wooden horse to Troy. Almost directly opposite to Tenedos are the Plains of Troy. The exact position of the renowned city is a matter of dispute. On the coast are many hillocks, which tradition FLEETS IN BESHIKA BAY. 277 declares to be the tombs of Achilles, Hector, Ajax, Peneleus and other magnates of the Homeric song. Here, too, are ruins of vast magnitude. Off at a little distance west lie Lemnos and Imbros, the hiding spots of the Greeks, and the former famous for the ancient assertion of the rights of the ladies, who took a short cut to their object by murdering all the men. But now, at a little past seven o'clock, we were interested by observing, just ahead, a vast fleet of ships of the line; this was the combined fleet of England and France lying at anchor in Beshika Bay. Captain Eldridge, to give us a fair view, shaped his course directly through the fleets, and we had a capital opportunity to see these noble ships. The French ships were very fine, and looked in good order. The combined force consisted of about twenty-five ships of the line, and perhaps twelve or fifteen steamers. As we passed we dipped our colors, and the English returned the compliment; but the Frenchmen were not so polite. Besides these large ships, there were probably twenty-five or thirty small vessels and tenders engaged in purveying for the armament. Cape Janissary is the site of the ancient Sigæum, and is the south headland of the entrance to the Hellespont. Here the Scamander pours its waters into the sea. The scenery on the Asiatic side immediately improved on doubling this point, and the shore looked more fertile than on the European. The Hellespont here is about three miles wide, and gradually diminishes its breadth. We passed about midway, and saw both the castles distinctly. On the European shore there is an old battery outside the Hellespont, and a new castle on the promontory, at the entrance, of seventy cannon and four mortars. On the Asiatic side stands an old castle, with a battery of eighty guns and four mortars. All our party spent the forenoon on deck, and we made advantageous use of the volumes of Schroeder, Stephens, and the ancient but invaluable folio volume by Sandys, who, though he travelled and wrote two hundred years ago, is still 278 THE DARDANELLES. unsurpassed as a local guide in the East. I left my own copy at home by a mistake; in London I could not get the old book for less than four guineas; and when at Malta, my friend Captain Graves, hearing me lament the loss of it on this voyage, kindly allowed me to take his copy. Several fine locations now appeared on the European side, the country-houses looked quite cosey, and the cypress was abundant. Some of the hill-tops were very lofty, and we observed tents on their summits. A large number of vessels lay at anchor waiting for a fair wind, and, by comparing their height with the elevation of the land, we concluded that it must be at least two thousand feet. Six or seven miles brought us to the famous Dardanelles. Here, on the Asiatic side, is the fortress or castle called Sultani Kalessi, with one hundred and twenty guns, many of which discharge immense stone balls. Kilid Bahr is the name of the castle on the European side, and it mounts sixty-four guns. We now approach to Sestos and Abydos, and the spot which has been immortalized by Leander, Lord Byron and Dr. Holmes' oyster-man. The town of Galipoli, at the promontory which makes the entrance to the Sea of Marmora (the ancient Propontis), has an old castle, with a mole and lighthouse. The country directly round it is very pretty and English-looking. We directed our course for the northern point of the Isle of Marmora, and during the night had more motion than we had expected in this inland sea; and here we shipped our first sea on the voyage. At break of day we were getting near to Constantinople, and I am sure that the impressions of this day will never be erased from my memory. Like Mr. Schroeder, we made this port at early day, and I shall appropriate his description of the scenery, which is, in my opin ion, a most felicitous attempt at the creation of a verbal pano rama. "The sun was peeping, with half-closed eyelids, through the woods on the heights beyond Scutari; the sea lay in breath less quiet, and the brilliant city glittered with its minarets, its |