Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

SYRIA, EGYPT, GERMANY, &C. 6*J
On the 12th a grand diplomatic dinner, at which sixty-two persons
were present, was given by Lord Elgin. All the officers be-
longing to the mission partook of this splendid fete. In the morn-
ing 1 inoculated Master Sydney Smith, who had been under pre-
paration for some days.
On the morning of the 14th I made a tour through the city of
Constantinople, in company with Mr. Thornton, the English merchant,
who, upon a variety of occasions, had manifested much
friendly
attention to his countrymen. The weather was remarkably
fine, but at the same time cold, it having frozen during the
night. We' took boat at Galata, and landed within a small distance
of the ancient castle denominated by Europeans the Seven
Towers, and by the Turks Yeddikuli. Four only of the towers,
erected in the ancient wall, are left standing, the others having been
thrown down by the great earthquake of 1768.* From this place
we prosecuted our walk without the walls of the city, and visited
a Greek church, and also a Turkish cemetery, whence we had a
fine view of the castle of the seven towers, and of the sea. In the
course of our perambulation we saw the ruins of the palace of Be-
lisarius, below which we at length took boat, and arrived at Galata.
in the afternoon. f
On the 15th I dined with the Danish charge d'affaires, Baron
Ilubsch, and in the evening paid a visit to the internuncio, who had
i public night. Much rain having fallen for several days successive-
ly, and the temperature of the air being precisely such as to favour
the production of the I plague, felt much uneasiness lest that terrible
scourge should become prevalent in Constantinople before our departure.
My apprehensions were increased on the 17th, by
an incident
which happened to
myself.
I had sent my boots to be re-
paired to a shoemaker, at whose house I afterwards found the plague
had broken out. In consequence of this event my boots were de-
tained ; and I learned on inquiry that the infected person had been
conveyed to the pest-house.
Several Turks who had recently committed robberies were apprehended
on the 18th, and executed in a summary way. They
* Within, these towers state and other prisoners are confined. The resident French
rninis-ter, charjc d'affaires, at Constantinople, with several other persons of the same na-
tion, were s:nt hither when the war broke out between France and Turkey, and these peo-
ple were liberated from their confinement when the late peac: was signed.
f I am inclined to believe that the circumference of the city of Comtantlnople
does not
«xceed fourteen or sixteen miles, independently
of the suburbs, which appear nearly ae
fajTS? as the city itself.