CHAPTER XII. SMYRNA.-PLAGUE.-CASTLE HILL-SCENERY.-ANTIENT SMYRNA. BOURNABAT. BOUJAH. - SOCIETY. GREEK COSTUME.-GREAT PARADISE.-LITTLE PARADISE.-TURKISH CHARACTER. TURKISH WATCHMAN.—VILLAGE AGA. -DANCE AT THE AGA'S HOUSE. « Σμύρνα πρώτη τῆς ̓Ασίας κάλλει καὶ μεγέθει καὶ λαμπροτάτη καὶ μητρόπολις τῆς ̓Ασίας.” - MARMOR. OXON. JULY 2d. All the town of Smyrna is this morning in a fright, in consequence of the plague having been declared. The Egyptian plague is very much dreaded here, and it is said to have broken out among the women who sell wild herbs in the town, and who have been gathering their herbs, through the negligence of the guard, within the precincts of the quarantine ground appropriated for ships and merchandize coming from Egypt. Another report is, that a Jew, who has had the plague once, and therefore is not likely to catch it again, being employed in fumigating and purifying the merchandize, stole some cotton, and for the sake of putting a few paras into his pocket, has thus hazarded the lives of thousands. However this may be, four persons were suddenly taken ill in a house near the caravan bridge, two very soon died, and nine cases more have been taken to the Plague Hospital. We rode out this evening, with long sticks to keep people from touching us, and passed the ill-fated house in which the disease has manifested itself; the windows were all shut, and guards were stationed to prevent all approach. July 3d.-In consequence of the vague reports that were spread this morning of the increase of the plague, all the Franks have put themselves into quarantine, and their houses into a state of defence. A long wicker gateway was placed in front of our door, and within the passage on one side, was a tub of water, and on the other a pitcher of vinegar; the meat and eatables brought to this barrier were thrown into the former, and the money into the latter, where they respectively remained a certain time to be disinfected. Before being allowed to go out of the house, I was furnished with a long stick, and was earnestly requested not only on my own account, but as I valued the safety of all the inmates of the man sion, not to allow a human being to touch me, and was made to promise that I would declare any contact that might by chance occur, before communicating with the family. There was a striking change in the appearance of the streets; the doors of the houses were all shut, and no pretty Greek girls were to be seen, as before, listlessly lounging at the portals. All persons whom I met seemed to be as anxious to keep clear of me, as I of them. I returned at last quite dispirited with the gloomy, melancholy appearance of the streets. No one thinks of venturing into the Turkish quarter and bazaars, as there no precautions are taken. The Turks hear of the plague, Allah-kierim! (God is great); if a man is to die of it, he will, precaution or no precaution; and it is said, they take delight in frightening any unfortunate Frank they may see taking precautions himself, by running up and endeavouring to touch him. Commerce is at a stand still, people are out of employ, and the merchants all look very blank. This evening, being anxious to escape the heated confined air of the town, I took a boat and rowed past the barracks to the Castle Hill, the antient Mount Pagus, taking care not to touch the boatmen. The vast Gulph was smooth as a CASTLE HILL. -SCENERY. 313 looking-glass; the bold mountains were tinged with the most beautiful purple colouring, and the sun was fast approaching the horizon. I landed, and walked through the Jewish burying-ground, over white marble slabs covered with Hebrew characters, extending along the whole side of the hill; among these, might be observed, fragments of fluted columns, portions of capitals, and pedestals of white marble negligently built into a slight wall skirting the road-side. Climbing through a dark and gloomy forest of cypresses, I arrived on the open downs, from whence one of the loveliest views in nature suddenly bursts upon the eye. From an elevation of 1000 feet, you look down on the innumerable houses, minarets, groves, and burying-grounds of the town, on the rich luxuriant plain covered with trees, vineyards, corn-fields, and gardens, bounded by the bold and lofty chain of Mount Sipylus, on the wide expanse of the Gulph, surrounded by picturesque mountains and covered with shipping, and on the distant Ægean sea. A few steps further on, on the very brow of the eminence, is the picturesque old ruined Genoese castle, called Sanjak Bournou by the Turks. Shortly before arriving at which, I observed a portion of a massy wall, of much earlier date than the castle, and of more regular con struction; the stones are very large, and beautifully fitted together, and doubtless of Greek origin. The castle is quite a ruin, and uninhabited. Towards the sea, are the ruins of the Stadium, a mere hollow, with some vaulted substructions of brick, and on the descent, towards the Turkish town, are some remains of an ancient theatre, in the court of a house. Returning to the boat, I passed rapidly through the ships to the quay; it was night, and the moon was high in the heavens. On my arriving at the house, came strict interrogations as to where I had been, and where I came from. On mentioning the boat, there was slight uneasiness, but when I got to the Jews' and Turkish cemetery, through which I had passed, horror sat upon every countenance; the very spot, said they all, to which some people who have died of the plague to-day have been taken and buried. "You can't come into the house, you must get a lodging outside, and we will give you your things." I represented that I had followed the path, and had gone near no graves. The very path along which the bodies have been taken was the reply, and along which the infected garments covering the dead, have perhaps trailed. I began to feel uneasy, but recollecting there were two |