have introduced the most ludicrous distinctions upon these occasions; and have represented themselves as Barons, Brigadiers, Inspectors, and Professors, in short, as any thing which may enable them to pass as freedmen. For example: "Monsieur le Capitaine, A. B. C. avec le Directeur, D. E. F. et le President G.H.I. et leurs domestiques, K. L. M.' So necessary is a due regard to these particulars, that an officer of very high rank in the service assured us, on leaving Moscow, we should find ourselves frequently embarrassed in our route because we would not abandon the pride of calling ourselves Commoners of England; and we had reason to regret the neglect with which we treated his advice, during the whole of our subsequent Travels in the country. It has been already stated, that we left the Crimea with an intention to undertake a journey by land to Constantinople. The route is usually practicable from Odessa, by the way of Dubosar, on the frontier, to Yassy, Silistria, and Adrianople. On account of the rumoured dangers which might be apprehended from the rebel adherents of Pasvan d' Oglou, we had solicited from our ambassador at the Porte, an escort of Janissaries to meet us at Yassy. The road is calculated for the conveyance of any kind of wheeled vehicle. Prince Nassau, during his legation to the Porte, had been accompanied by nearly an hundred carriages; and the Turkish guard, stationed at short intervals the whole way, renders the journey secure. This route is also interesting, on account of the mountainous district through which it leads, in parts of which the snow is said to remain CHAP. XXIV. Account of the Passage by Land to Constantinople. CHAP. XXIV. during the whole year; and also from the circumstance of crossing the Danube so near its embouchure. Almost immediately after leaving Silistria, the ascent begins of that ridge of mountains antiently called HŒMUS, after attaining the summit of which the descent is seldom interrupted the whole way to Adrianople; from this place there is an excellent road to Constantinople. A shorter route, but less frequented, and less convenient, conducts the Traveller along the coast of the Black Sea, to the Thracian Bosporus. These considerations strongly instigated us to pursue our intended expedition by land. Circumstances however occurred, which induced us to a different determination, and, though we narrowly escaped the passage of the Black Sea with our lives, we had ultimately reason to rejoice; for we were afterwards informed that an order from the Russian government was actually expedited to Dubosar, with instructions for our apprehension, and a more particular examination of our papers and baggage, than the nature of their contents would have rendered desireable. By one of those fortunate accidents which sometimes befal adventurers in a boisterous world, we found in the port of Odessa a Venetian brigantine, laden with corn, and bound for the Adriatic, whose master Il Capitano Francesco Bergamini, not only eagerly embraced the opportunity of conveying us to Constantinople, but promised also to assist us in facilitating our escape, by enforcing the validity of the passports we had brought with us. He waited only the arrival of his own order for sailing, from the office at Nicholaef, and we made every thing ready for our embarkation. Preparation for sailing from Odessa. CHAP. XXV. VOYAGE FROM ODESSA, TO THE HARBOUR OF INEADA IN TURKEY, CHAP. XXV. between a Russian and point a Greek. CHAP. XXV. point of opposition, in which a Russian may be placed, even "Vox fera, trux vultus, verissima Martis imago: Perhaps we are not authorized in considering the modern Greeks as legitimate descendants of the Getæ. Be that as it may, the former are found at this day, negotiating with as ferocious a people on the Euxine coast as Ovid himself selected for the originals of his picture of the Barbarians upon the Ister; and the two people are instantly distinguished from each other by their striking peculiarity of feature. In order to render the contrast as forcible as possible, let us select a Greek from any of the islands or shores of the Archipelago, and place him by the side of a Russian. The latter particularly, if in uniform, and of a rank above the peasant, resembles (1) Ovid. Trist. lib. v. Eleg. VII. ed. Lugd. 1689. resembles one of those figures which children cut out in wood; requiring considerable address in poising to be sustained upon its legs. The Greek, on the other hand, active and lithy as a serpent, twists himself into every variety of posture, and stands in almost every attitude. Firm upon his feet, and generally exhibiting a graceful waving line of figure, he seems as if he would fall, like a cat, upon his legs, although tossed in any direction. The features of the Greek may be compared to those of the Portuguese and French; having the dark hair and eyes of the former, with the fixed grimace of the latter. Generally speaking, the men among the Greeks are not handsome; their stature is small, although well proportioned. The Russian too has a diminutive person; but his face is in every thing the reverse of that of the Greek; offering in profile a concavity, which is very remarkable. This concavity is increased in the line of a peasant's countenance by the projection of the beard from the chin, and a quantity of bushy hair upon the forehead. Oraque sunt longis horrida tecta comis." The line, which may be traced to express the profile of a Greek, is, on the contrary, convex 2. A remarkable distance may be observed from the nose to the mouth, which is never a pleasing character in physiognomy, as it gives a knavish hypocritical expression to the countenance. The Russian has not this distance on the upper lip. The Greek has moreover frequently a wide mouth, thick lips, and very large teeth. His forehead is low, and his CHAP. XXV. (2) See the Vignette to this Chapter, in which an endeavour has been made to exhibit the profiles of a Russian and a Greek. |