Read Ebook: Twenty Years' Residence among the People of Turkey: Bulgarians Greeks Albanians Turks and Armenians by Blunt Fanny Janet Sandison Lane Poole Stanley Editor

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The fame of the dentist's art began to be noised abroad throughout the district, and many became desirous, if not of procuring new teeth, at least of having some troublesome old stumps extracted. Among these was a well-to-do Bulgarian peasant, who presented himself in the surgery for this purpose. The dentist relieved him of his tooth with great facility, to the man's exceeding astonishment. On leaving he took out his long knitted money-bag, carefully counted out five piastres , and handed them to the dentist, who returned them, saying that his fee would be half a lira. "What!" exclaimed the indignant Bulgarian; "do you mean to say that you will charge me so much, when last week I underwent the same operation at the hands of my barber, and after a struggle of two hours over an obstinate tooth, during which I had several times to lie flat on my back and he and I were both bathed in perspiration until it finally yielded, I paid him five piastres, with which he was quite contented; and you, who were only a few minutes over it, demand ten times that sum! It is simply monstrous, and I shall forthwith lodge a complaint against you!"

As good as his word, in a fever of excitement he arrived at the Chorbadji's house to denounce the extortionate Frank. When quietly asked if it were not worth while to pay a larger sum and get rid of his tooth without loss of time and trouble, instead of spending two hours of suffering and violent exertion for which he was charged only five piastres, he admitted that such was the case, and that the Frank was a far cleverer man than the barber could ever hope to be.

Social life among the Bulgarians differs little from that of the Greeks, save in the greater ascendancy the Bulgarian wives of the working classes have over their husbands. This advantage is probably derived from the masculine manner in which they share in the hardy toil, working by the side of their husbands, and by their personal exertions gaining almost as much as the men do. The care of clothing the family also devolves entirely upon them, besides which they have to attend to their domestic duties, which are always performed with care, cleanliness, and activity. Simple as these tasks may be, they require time, which the housewife always manages to find. The well-beaten earthen floor is always neatly swept, the rugs and bedding carefully brushed and folded up, and the copper cooking utensils well scoured and ranged in their places. The cookery is simple but very palatable, especially the pastry, which is excellent; whilst the treacle and other provisions stored away for the winter are wholesome and good.

Some uninformed authors have, I believe, stated that not only are the Bulgarian men seldom to be seen in a state of sobriety, but that the women also indulge to a great extent in the vice of drunkenness. So far as I am able to judge, this statement is utterly groundless; for no woman in the east, whatever her nationality, disgraces herself by drinking to excess in the shops where spirituous drinks are sold, or is ever seen in the streets in a state of intoxication. The man certainly likes his glass, and on occasions freely indulges in it; but excesses are committed only on feast-days, when the whole village is given up to joviality and merriment.

The chapter on Peasant-holdings treats at some length of the Bulgarian peasant, of his capacity for work, and the amount of ease and prosperity he is able to attain in spite of the many drawbacks that surround him. His prosperity is due to two sources--the modesty of his wants, and the activity of his whole family. The fruits of such a system are naturally good when the soil, climate, and other natural advantages favor it.

But some parts of Bulgaria are far from being the Utopia some newspaper correspondents have represented it, with vines hanging over every cottage-door, and milk and honey flowing in the land. Nothing but long residence and personal experience can enable one to arrive at a true estimate of such matters.

Though in some parts I found the scenery delightful, the prosperity of the inhabitants astonishing, and Moslems and Christians rivalling each other in hospitable kindness to the traveller, some spots were anything but romantic or prosperous, and far from happy-looking. Some villages, in particular, I noticed in the midst of a dreary plain, such as the traveller may see on the road from Rodosto to Adrianople, where the soil looks dry and barren, and the pastures grow yellow and parched before their time, and where flying bands of Circassian thieves and cut-throats hover about like birds of prey. I was once travelling through the country, riding the whole of one day on such bad roads that the mud often reached up to my horse's knees, and the carriage containing my maid and the provisions often came to a dead stop, while the rain poured incessantly. The journey appeared interminable, and as darkness crept on and several miles of road still separated us from our projected halting-place, I made up my mind to stop at an isolated village for the night. So traversing fresh pools of mud we entered the hamlet, and were met by the Kodja-Bashi, a poorly-clad, miserable-looking individual, who led our party into his farm-yard. On alighting from my horse I was ushered into a dark, bare, dismal hovel, without windows, and lighted only by a hole in the roof, through which escaped some of the smoke from a few dung-cakes smouldering in a corner. One or two water-jars stood near the door, and an earthen pot, serving for all culinary purposes, was placed by the fire, in front of which was spread a tattered mat occupied by a few three-legged stools. A bundle of uninviting rags and cushions, the family bedding, was stowed in a corner, and in another were seen a few pots and pans, the whole "table service" of the occupants.

In the mean time the women and children had gathered round me in the little room, all looking so poor, fever-stricken, and miserable, and casting such looks of eager surprise at the exhibition of eatables before me, that I felt positively sick at heart; all my appetite left me, and distributing my supper among the hungry crowd, I contented myself with a cup of tea, and endeavored to forget in sleep the picture of misery I had witnessed. I was thankful to get away in the morning, and am happy to say that neither before nor since have I witnessed such poverty and misery as I saw in that village.

The marked slowness of perception in the character of the Bulgarian peasants, and their willingness to allow others to think and act for them in great matters, is not so apparent when the immediate interests of the village or community are concerned. Before referring these to the higher authorities, they meet and quietly discuss their affairs, and often settle the differences among themselves. The respect the Bulgarian entertains for the clergy and for the enlightened portion of his fellow-countrymen is so great that he allows himself to be entirely guided by them, evincing in small things as well as great the feeling of harmony and union that binds the whole people together. But the reverse of this disposition is manifested by the Bulgarians, more especially the peasants, towards any foreign element, and particularly towards the Turkish authorities. Obedient and submissive as they have generally shown themselves under the Ottoman rule, they have inwardly always disliked and distrusted it, saying that the government with regard to their country, its richest field of harvest, has only one object in view--that of getting as much out of it as possible.

This prevalent idea, not altogether ill-founded, gave to the Bulgarian character that rapacity and love of gain which, being developed by late events, in the midst of general ruin and loss of property, tempted him to try to get what he could of what had been left, without much scruple as to the means. When unmerited calamities befall a people, and oppression long weighs heavily upon them, the sense of justice and humanity is gradually lost and replaced by a spirit of vindictiveness which incites to ignoble and cruel actions. This ought not to surprise the world in the case of the Bulgarians, when their national life during the last two years is taken into consideration; for what is it but a series of unspeakable outrages by their enemies, and destruction by those who professed themselves their friends?

The Bulgarians, however, as I have known them in more peaceful times, never appeared to possess as national characteristics the vices that hasty and partial judges arguing from special instances have attributed to them. On the contrary, they seemed a peace-loving, hard-working people, possessing many domestic virtues which, if properly developed under a good government, might make the strength of an honest and promising state.

THE GREEKS OF TURKEY.

Importance of the Greeks at the Present Moment--Their Attitude--The Greek Peasant as Contrasted with the Bulgarian--His Family--Eloquence--Patriotism--Comforts--The Women--A Greek Girl--Women of the Towns of the Upper Class--Of the Lower Class--Wives and Husbands--Greek Parties--The Conservatives and the Progressives--A Conversation on Greek Go-a-head-ness--Physical Features of the Modern Greek--Character--General Prejudice--A Prussian Estimate--Greek Vices--An Adventure with Greek Brigands--Adelph?--Unscrupulousness in Business--Causes and Precedents--Jews and Greeks--Summary.

All eyes are now turned upon the Greek race as one of the most important factors in the Eastern Question. The future of South-Eastern Europe is seen to lie in the balance between Greek and Slav, and people's opinions incline to one side or the other as dread of Russia or distrust of "Greek guile" gets the upper hand. I have nothing to say here about the people of free Hellas: I have only to tell what I have witnessed of the character and condition of the subject Greeks in Turkey. These, though they shared in the national effort of 1821-9, reaped little of the fruits. The Greeks of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Thrace did not gain the freedom accorded to the people of "Greece Proper," though their condition was somewhat improved. But they are only biding their time. They know that their free countrymen are anxious to share with them the results of the glorious struggle of 1821. They know that centuries of subjection and oppression have demoralized and debased the nation; and they have long been striving with their whole strength to prepare themselves for freedom. They have employed the time of transition with great moderation and judgment. Those whom the Porte has appointed to high offices have filled their posts with conscientiousness, fidelity, and dignity. Taught worldly wisdom in the school of adversity, they have avoided premature conspiracy and rebellion, and have directed all their energies to educating the race for its future. "Improve and wait patiently" is the motto of the Greeks in Turkey.

The Greek peasant differs greatly from the Bulgarian. Agriculture is not all the world to him; his love for the pursuit is decidedly moderate unless he sees an opening for enterprise and speculation, as in the growth of some special kind of produce which he can sell in the raw condition or as manufactured goods. Unlike the Bulgarian, his whole family is not chained to the soil as the one business of life. When the paterfamilias can dispense with the services of some of his daughters, they leave their home in pursuit of occupation, and his sons in the same manner are allowed to quit the paternal roof in search of some more lucrative employment elsewhere. It is thus that the Greek is to be found in every nook and corner of Turkey, established among his own kindred or with foreigners, and following various professions and callings, as doctors, lawyers, schoolmasters; whilst, descending to a lower scale, we find him employed in every town and village as a petty tradesman, mason, carpenter, shoe-maker, musician, in all which occupations he manages by dint of energy, perseverance, and address to obtain a modest competence, or sometimes even to reach prosperity.

The Greek peasant displays none of the embarrassment and tonguetiedness of the Bulgarian. I have often met with instances of this: one especially struck me which happened in the early part of last summer in the vilayet of B?. Some Bashi-bazouks had entered a village, and committed some of their usual excesses; but the peasants had found time to send away their wives and daughters to a place of safety. On the following day a body of fifty Greeks came to complain to the authorities. In order to render their claims more effective, they applied for protection at the different Consulates. I happened to be at luncheon at one of these Consulates, and the Consul ordered the men to be shown into the dining-room to make their statements. One at once stepped forward to give an account of the affair, which he related with so much eloquence and in such pure modern Greek that the Consul, suspecting him to be some lawyer in disguise, or a special advocate of Greek grievances, set him aside, and called upon another to give his version. Several looked questioningly at each other, but with no sign of embarrassment; on the contrary, the expression on each face betokened natural self-confidence, and meant in this instance to say, "We can each tell the tale equally well, but I had better begin than you."

If there is more than one daughter in a family, some from the age of twelve or fourteen are usually sent to town and placed out as servants, with the double object of giving them the opportunity of seeing more of the world and the means of earning something for their own maintenance. These earnings as they are acquired are converted into gold coins and strung into necklaces.

When these girls are honest and good, and fall into proper hands, they are usually adopted by the family with whom they take service, under the title of ?????????. On reaching the age of twenty-five or twenty-seven a trousseau is given to them with a small dowry, and they are married to some respectable artisan. Those simply hired as servants either marry in the towns or do so on returning to their native village.

The Greek peasant women are as a rule clean and industrious, fond mothers and virtuous wives. The best proof of their morality is in the long absences many husbands are obliged to make from their homes, which are attended by no unfaithful results. In some instances for a period of even twenty years the wife becomes the sole director of the property, which she manages with care and wisdom, and the only guardian of the children left in her charge.

The peasants who still cling to the soil plod away at their daily toil in very much the same way as the Bulgarians, but show a greater aptitude for rearing the silkworm and growing olives and grapes. The Greek peasants are not models of perfection; but as a body they are better than any other race in Turkey, and under a good government they are certain to improve and develop much faster than either the Bulgarians or the Turks.

Greek ladies are fond and devoted mothers, but they are not systematic in rearing their children. This has, however, been remedied in many cases by children of both sexes being placed from a very early age in the care of governesses, or at school, where the more regular training they receive cannot fail to have beneficial results.

The life of women of the working classes is still more homely and retired, as it is considered an impropriety to be seen much out of doors, especially in the case of young girls, whom prejudice keeps very secluded, even to the length of seldom allowing them to go to church. When abroad, however, their fondness for display is equal to that of their richer sisters, whose toilettes, however novel or complicated, in cities like Constantinople and Smyrna, are sure to be copied by the fishermen's or washerwomen's daughters. In provincial towns like Rodosto and Adrianople, the love of dress finds its satisfaction in bright colors and wreaths of artificial flowers, especially the much coveted carnation, when out of season, which is worn by some as a love-trophy; for it must have been given by some lover on the feast-day. Greek girls are very clever at needlework and embroidery; but their life is nevertheless monotonous, and they have little variety of occupation and amusement. This is owing in part to the exclusion of women of all races in Turkey from occupations in shops, and to the absence of manufactories, which, with the exception of some silk factories, do not exist in the country. Those in the silk-growing districts, however, give employment to a number of Greek girls, who show great aptitude for this branch of industry, and often become directresses of establishments in which Armenian and other women are employed.

The affection of a Greek wife for her husband is joined to a jealous care of his interest; she will strive to hide his faults and weaknesses, and the disinterested devotion with which she will cling to him in prosperity and adversity is astonishing. A woman belonging to the town of S?, on hearing that her husband had been arrested on a charge of complicity with brigands, left her home and five children to the care of a blind grandmother, and set out on foot on a three days' journey to the town where he was to be tried. He was condemned to seven years' imprisonment, and sent to the prison at A?, whither she followed him. Young and pretty, entirely friendless, and without means of subsistence, she lingered about the Greek quarter until her sad tale gained her an asylum in a compassionate family. She toiled hard to gain a small pittance, which she divided between herself and her unhappy partner shut up in the common prison. The dreadful news was brought to her that three of her children were dead, that her house was falling to pieces, and that her aged and afflicted mother was unable to take care of the two surviving little ones. Unmoved by these calamities, she refused to quit the town of A? until, through the instrumentality of some influential persons whose sympathies she had enlisted, her husband's period of punishment was shortened.

"Go!" repeated the other, waxing hot, "Too much so, I believe: there is no telling where a Greek's enterprising spirit may not lead him, or where his ambition will stop! Listen to my experience on the subject and judge for yourself. Some years ago I was asked by a good old Greek I knew very well to take his son, a youth of twenty, into my service. According to the father's recommendation, he was a good Greek scholar and knew a little Latin. I asked the father in what capacity I was to engage him. 'Any you like,' was the reply: 'let him be your servant--your slave.' 'Very well; but he will have to clean my boots and look after my clothes!' '???? ????' was the response, and I engaged his son.

In feature and build the modern Greek still possesses the characteristic traits of his ancestors. Scientific researches and anatomical observations made upon the skulls of ancient Greeks are said to prove that if art had glorified to a slight extent the splendid models of statues, it could not have strayed very far from the originals. Such pure and perfect types are constantly met with at the present day in the modern Greeks, who, as a rule, possess fine open foreheads, straight noses, and fine eyes full of fire and intelligence, furnished with black lashes and well-defined eyebrows; the mouths are small or of medium size, with a short upper lip; the chin rather prominent, but rounded. The entire physiognomy differs so essentially from the other native types that it is impossible to mistake it. In stature the Greek is rather tall than otherwise, well made and well proportioned; the hands and feet are small in both sexes. The walk is graceful, but has a kind of swagger and ease in it, which, although it looks natural in the national costume, seems affected in the European dress.

The distinct Greek type, so noticeable in certain localities, has in others suffered from the admixture with foreign elements; but we find it again in all its perfection in the inhabitants of the coast of Asia Minor, where the Greeks were at one epoch so crushed and denationalized as to have lost the use of their mother-tongue. Some of the finest specimens of the Greek race may be found in Smyrna, Gemlek, and Philadar, as well as in more inland places, such as Mahalitch, Demirdesh, and Kellessen.

"Le quartier est la demeure de ce qu'on appelle la noblesse grecque, qui vivent tous aux d?penses des princes de Moldavie et de Valachie. C'est une universit? de toutes les sc?l?ratesses, et il n'existe pas encore de langue assez riche pour donner des noms ? toutes celles qui s'y commettent. Le fils y apprend de bonne heure ? assassiner adroitement son p?re pour quelque argent qu'il ne saurait ?tre poursuivi. Les intrigues, les cabales, l'hypocrisie, la trahison, la perfidie, surtout l'art d'extorquer de l'argent de toutes mains, y sont enseign?s m?thodiquement!"

The Greek aristocracy has almost disappeared, and the nation seems now eminently democratic, though fond of giving titles to persons of position, such as "Your Worship," "Your Honor," "Your Highness," etc., and "Your Holiness" to the clergy. Such terms are smoothly introduced in epistolary addresses or used in conversation, so long as this is carried on with calmness and reflection; but directly discussion becomes animated, and the speaker, whatever his condition, excited, all such high-flown phrases are discarded and exchanged for that more natural to the Greek fraternal feeling, the word "Adelph?" , which never fails to grate upon the ear of Englishmen in the East.

It certainly had this effect upon one of our old consuls who had rather a hasty temper and was a strict observer of etiquette. On one occasion he had to listen to an excited Greek who had a dispute with another, and heard the title of Adelph? addressed to him by the complainant, who, to make matters worse, was by no means such a respectable person as could be wished. The indignant consul exclaimed in Greek, "Brother! I am no brother of yours!" and was proceeding to render his assurance more effectual by a vigorous and unexpected movement of his foot, when he lost his balance and was stretched on the floor. This unforeseen aspect of affairs appeared so comical to him that he indulged in a hearty peal of laughter, in which the Greek, though politely asking after his injuries, joined--in his sleeve.

The charges raised most frequently against the Greeks are their want of honesty in their dealings with strangers, and their general unscrupulousness in business transactions. These accusations, in great part well founded, are due to the unnatural position in which the rayah is placed. Every Greek who is truly a Greek in heart must detest and dislike his rulers, and direct his energies to promoting, openly or secretly, the interest of his nation. In order to do this, however, he must work in the dark, and strive to undermine the interests of his masters; consequently the mask of hypocrisy has to be worn by all in the same way. To cheat the Turks in small matters when he can, in revenge for grosser injuries he is liable to receive from them, becomes one of his objects. His is not the only subject race that evinces a laxity of principle and want of morality in the transaction of business. He is sharp in its despatch, perhaps sharper than some others, but no worse than they in the manner in which he carries on his trade.

I have often heard this subject discussed in all its bearings, and the statements of European as well as native merchants appeared to agree on the main point--that with the corrupt administration, and the perpetual necessity of having recourse to bribery in order to facilitate the course of business, honest and straightforward dealing was out of the question. "We must," said a wealthy French merchant, "do in Turkey as the Turks do, or else seek a fortune elsewhere." The following incident out of innumerable others will give an idea of how enterprise is encouraged and business carried on in this country.

Some Jews in the town of L? had established a soap factory, producing a bad article and selling it at high prices. Subsequently some Cretan Greeks set up a rival establishment in the same town. The Cretans enjoyed a great repute in Turkey for this branch of industry, and offered their soaps to the public at a lower price than the Jews, who were thrown into the shade; these therefore had to invent some plan to ruin their rivals. Both factories imported their own oil from the Greek islands, and paid the duties in kind or in cash. The Greeks adopted the former method, and the Jews, aware of the fact, presented themselves at the custom-house, estimated the oil the Greeks received at double its value, and transported a portion of it to their premises, thus obliging the Greeks to pay double duty--a serious matter, which, if not remedied, would ruin their business. They decided upon offering the Jews privately half of the extra duty they were called upon by them to pay to the revenue. But on a second cargo of oil being imported they abstained from paying that sum to the Jews, who thereupon made them pay double duty a second time, which so exasperated the Greeks that they resolved to have their revenge. So, sending a fresh order for oil, they instructed their agent to have two of the barrels filled with water, and marked with some sign. This cargo on arriving was left by the Greeks in the custom-house until the Friday afternoon when they went to clear it. The Jews, made aware of this fact by their spies, also presented themselves, estimated the oil, as formerly, at double its value, and offered to purchase the two barrels left as payment of duty. The Greeks prolonged the affair until there was only just time for the Jews to take away their purchase, but not to inspect it without breaking the Sabbath. On the following evening the Jews discovered the trick that had been played upon them, and exposed it to the custom-house officials, demanding redress. The Greeks, summoned to appear and answer the charge, denied that the swindle had been practised by them, and exposed the dishonest dealings of the Jews towards them, saying that it must have been they who abstracted the oil and replaced it with water, with the object of cheating the Customs. The authorities, unwilling to take further trouble about the matter, sent away both parties, and would have nothing more to do with the case. The Jews in the mean time were inconsolable; and when the Cretans thought they had been sufficiently punished, they confessed the trick, and offered to make amends by refunding the money they had paid for the casks if they would go with them to the Rabbi and take an oath to make no more attempts to injure their business by dishonest means.

The principal Greek merchants trade under foreign protection, as it affords them greater security and freedom from the intrigues of the ill disposed.

To sum up. The subject Greek of Turkey has his vices: he is over-ambitious, conceited, too diplomatic and wily; and, in common with most merchants, European or Eastern, in Turkey, he does his best to cheat the Turks--and occasionally extends the practice further, not without excellent precedent. But these are the vices of a race long kept in servitude and now awaking to the sense of a great ancestry: the servitude has produced the servile fault of double-dealing and dishonesty; and the pride of a noble past has engendered the conceit of the present. Such vices are but passing deformities: they are the sharp angles and bony length of the girl-form that will in time be perfected in beauty. These faults will disappear with the spread of education and the restoring of freedom long withheld. The quick intellect and fine mettle of the Greek, like his lithe body, descended from a nation of heroes, are destined to great things. The name alone of Hellenes carries with it the prescriptive right of speaking and doing nobly; and the modern Hellenes will not disown their birthright.

THE ALBANIANS.

Albania little known to Travellers--Character of the Country--Isolation and Neglect--Products--The Landholders--Ali Bey's Revolution--Albanian Towns--The Albanian's House his Castle In a Literal Sense--Blood Feuds--Villages--Unapproachable Position--The Defence of Souli--Joannina--Beautiful Site--Ali Pasha's Improvements--Greek Enterprise--The Albanians--Separate Tribes--The Ghegs--The Tosks--Character of the Latter--Superiority of the Ghegs--Respect for Women--An Adventure with a Brigand Chief--Gheg Gratitude--A Point of Honor with an Albanian Servant--Religion among the Albanians--Education among the Tosks--Warlike Character of the Albanians--Use of the Gun--The Vendetta--Women to the Rescue--Albanian Women in General--Female Adornment--Emigration--Mutual Assistance Abroad--The Albanian Character--Recklessness--Love of Display--Improvidence--Pride--Hatred of the Turks reciprocated to the Full.

The Albanians, like most of the races of minor importance inhabiting European Turkey, are little known to the civilized world. Albania, with its impassable mountains, broken by deep and precipitous ravines, the footways of torrents, has been visited only by those few travellers who have had enough courage and adventurous spirit to penetrate into its fastnesses. This country, occupying the place of the ancient Illyria and Epirus, was in the middle ages called Arvanasi, and later on Arnaoutlik by the Turks and Arvanitia by the Greeks; but in the native tongue it is called Skiperi, or "land of rocks." It is divided into Upper and Lower Albania, and forms two vilayets, that of Scutari , and that of Joannina, in Epirus .

Owing to the mountainous character of the country, and the turbulent and warlike disposition of its inhabitants, it is still unexplored in many parts, poorly cultivated in others, and everywhere much neglected in its rich and fertile valleys. Unfortunately agriculture, still in a very primitive and neglected condition throughout Turkey, is especially so in Albania. This neglect, however prejudicial to the well-being of the inhabitants, rather heightens the wild beauty of the scenery, the changing grandeur and loveliness of which alternately awes and delights the traveller.

Shut out from the civilized world by the want of roads and means of communication, all the natural advantages the country possesses have remained stationary, and its beauty and fertility turned to little account by the wild and semi-savage population that inhabits it.

Epirus, or Lower Albania, owing to its more favorable situation and the mildness of its climate, is by far the more fertile and better cultivated of the two vilayets. In addition to the above-mentioned products, it grows rice, cotton, olives, tobacco, oranges, citrons, grapes, and cochineal. Though agriculture is carried on in the same primitive manner, richer harvests are produced, and, as shown by the yearly returns, there is a steady increase of the export trade.

Albania abounds in minerals, but the mines are little known, still less worked. Hot springs, possessing valuable medicinal qualities, are also to be found in many places, but the country people are totally ignorant of their properties, and take the waters indiscriminately for any ailments they may happen to have, and, in obedience to the old superstitious reverence for the spirits of the fountains, even drink from several different sources in the hope of gaining favor with their respective nymphs.

The landed property in both Upper and Lower Albania still retains much of the characteristics of the species of feudal system which once prevailed throughout Turkey; but instead of the rule of a few powerful Beys or one single despot, a legion of petty tyrants hold the people in bondage. Yet there may be found among the landholders a few, poorer than the rest, who are respected for their integrity and for their paternal treatment of the peasants on their estates.

The general aspect of the towns and villages in Upper Albania differs very little from that of other towns and villages in Turkey. The same want of finish and clumsiness of workmanship prevail in all the Albanian houses, which are usually detached from one another and stand in court-yards surrounded by high walls. Some of these dwellings are complete fortresses; but this is not on account of the terrible never-ending blood-feuds transmitted from generation to generation, which make each man's life the least secure of his possessions. In times of peace his house can be left with open gates, and is held sacred and respected even by the vilest and most desperate characters; for it is a point of honor with an Albanian never to incur the disgrace of shedding a man's blood in his own house; but the moment he crosses the threshold, he is at the mercy of his foe.

An Albanian chieftain, who had a deadly quarrel with a neighbor and consequently was in terror of his life, was compelled to stay within doors for twelve long years, knowing the risk he ran if the threshold were crossed. Finally, craving a little liberty, he obtained an armistice and was allowed perfect freedom for a short space of time.

In times of open contention the houses are fortified and guarded by armed bands, who conceal themselves in strongholds attached to some of the buildings, watch for the approach of the enemy, and open fire upon them from the loop-holes with which the walls are pierced.

The furniture of their dwelling-houses is scanty, poor, and comfortless. Some valuable carpets, a gorgeously embroidered sofa in the reception-room, and a few indispensable articles, are all they possess. The streets are narrow and badly paved, and look dismal and deserted. The bazars and shops are inferior to those of most of the towns of Turkey. They contain no variety of objects for use or ornament beyond those absolutely necessary for domestic purposes.

The villages are far more curious and interesting to the traveller than the towns. Some of these in Upper Albania, in mountainous districts, are at a great distance from each other, and are perched up on the summits of high rocks that tower above each other in successive ranges, in some places forming a natural and impassable rampart to the village, in others trodden into steep paths where the goat doubtless delights to climb, but where man experiences any but agreeable sensations.

Lower Albania, better known to travellers, is less rugged and wild in appearance. But here and there we meet with mountainous districts--such as the far-famed canton of Souli, which in the time of Ali Pasha numbered eleven villages, some scattered on the peaks of mountains, others studding their skirts; while the terrible Acheron gloomily wound its way through the deep gorges that helped to secure the river its victims.

Souli, defended by its 13,000 inhabitants, withstood the siege of the dreaded pasha's armies, held them in check for fifteen years, and acquired undying fame in the history of the war of Greek independence for heroism hardly surpassed by the most valiant feats of the ancients, and with which nothing in modern warfare can compare. Every Souliot, man, woman, and child, was ready to perish in the defence. The women and children who had fought so long by the side of their husbands and fathers, at the last extremity, preferring death to captivity and dishonor, threw themselves from the rocks into the dark stream below, while the few that survived the final destruction cut their way through their enemies, and were scattered over Greece to tell the sad tale of the fall of Souli.

The plateau of Joannina is entirely surrounded by wooded mountains, and is from 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the level of the sea. On this table-land is a lake about fourteen miles in length and six in breadth, on the rich borders of which rises the town of Joannina, like a fairy palace in an enchanted land. This town, which contains 25,000 inhabitants, became the favorite abode of Ali Pasha, who transformed and embellished it to a considerable extent, and founded schools and libraries.

The edifices erected by him were partly destroyed by his followers, when his power was supposed to have reached its end, together with the gilded kiosks and superb palaces built for his own enjoyment. All that Joannina can boast of at the present day is the exceeding beauty of its situation, and the activity that Greek enterprise has given to its commerce, and the excellent schools and syllogae that have been established and are said to be doing wonders in improving and educating the new generation of Epirus.

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