wall in a basket; and also several spots connected with the life of the prophet Elisha. The city is surrounded by a ruinous wall of ancient Roman foundations, "and a patchwork of all succeeding ages." Viewed from a distance, the city has a splendid appearance, which is not well sustained upon near approach. The houses are rudely constructed, the

streets narrow, and paved with big, rough stones, or not at all, and portions of them are covered over with mats or withered branches. The bazaars are covered ways with a few stalls upon each side, and the different trades are placed by themselves. Although the streets present a somewhat rough appearance, yet the interior of the private

houses are very neat, the rooms opening from the court being decorated with carving, gilding, and all the adornments that wealth and taste can provide. The courts are neatly paved, and are ornamented with costly fountains and beautiful shade-trees. The modern name of the city is Esh Shaum. It has at present a population of 150,000 people, of whom 15,000 are Christians and 6,000 are Jews. The people are very fond of amusements, among which dancing occupies a prominent position.

From Damascus the party proceeded to Beyrout. Here a very pleasant time was past. A few days later they departed for Smyrna. In entering the harbor of Smyrna, the travellers passed very close to Mytilene, the ancient Lesbos

"Where the burning Sappho loved and sung."

The island of Scio was also in sight, where, in a few hours, Turkish cruelty and barbarism converted a land of flowers and civilization to a barren and desolate waste.

Smyrna lies at the bottom of a deep gulf, at the foot of a hill, upon which an ancient castle dominates the town. The present city was designed by Alexander the Great, and built by his successors, Antigonus and Lysimachus, near the site of the ancient city of the same name, which the Lydians had destroyed about four hundred years before. It is better built than most of the Eastern cities. The consulates are neat edifices of stone, and are arranged upon the quay fronting the harbor. It is a place of considerable trade, and there are many Frank merchants residents in it. Almost all the products and manufactures of the East may be found here-silks, Turkey carpets, wool, raisins, Greek wines, pearls, diamonds, figs, oranges, etc. The population is chiefly composed of Turks, Greeks, Franks, and Jews.

The Greek women of Smyrna are famous for their

charms. Their dress is singularly picturesque, being the same costume as that of the better class of the Turkish women. It consists of loose, large trousers, falling to the ankle, and vests of velvet, bound round the waist by rich embroidered zones, confined with clasps of gold or silver. Their black tresses wave unconfined over their shoulders, or are bound round the head, intertwined with roses. The stature of the Greek women of Smyrna is rather below than above the ordinary height. Their beauty lies in the Grecian face, the coal-black eyes, that sparkle like diamonds set in a field of vermilion, and the combined expression of classically moulded features, fresh colors, and the soft, languid air, which the climate gives to the form and countenance.

The antiquities of Smyrna are few and uninteresting. A little stream, the Meles, flows back of the town; upon its banks Homer is said to have been born. The country around Smyrna is very poorly cultivated, and large portions of it are entirely neglected. The city contains a number of delightful gardens, in which the fig and orange grow with great luxuriance.

The next point visited by the travellers was Constantinople. The steamer rounded the Seraglio Point, and sweeping into the bold expanse which the Bosphorus forms opposite the city, dropped anchor off the mouth of the Golden Horn. The first step upon the shore reminds one that he is in the East. The costume is oriental, the language has nothing in its syllables or sounds that resemble the provençal tongues, and there appears to be an air of luxurious enjoyment and repose in all around, that contrasts strikingly with the anxious air of the busy populations of the cities of Western Europe.

Almost touching the water was a café, cooled by a fountain, and the umbrageous boughs of the wide-spreading