smooth waters of a bay in the Hellespont, where the thousand vessels were anchored. A little hillock higher than the rest, we conjectured was the very spot where the throne of Xerxes was erected, and the antiquarian would have said, perhaps, that the fragments of white marble which we picked up, were remains of the very same íòv Lɛvxov,—white stone, from which the Abydeni constructed his seat. As we stood gazing on the scene, we called to mind the description of Herodotus," And when he saw all the Hellespont cov ered with his vessels, and the shores and plains of Abydos full of men, he blessed himself;-but after that he wept"-wept at the thought, that in an hundred years not one of all his countless host would be alive. Happy would it have been, if with these views of the brevity of human life, he had adopted the prayer of an inspired moralist-"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

On our return, we descended the hill to the low promontory, from which the bridge of boats is supposed to have been extended for the passage of this vast army. A small castle which we were not permitted to enter, is built near the extremity. Here we met one of the newly raised soldiers, whose vanity we gratified, by stopping to witness his skill in handling the musket. We then continued our walk by the shore, over fragments of terra cotta, or brown earthern ware, and some foundations of houses, and a city wall, which, though perhaps not of the most ancient date, are believed to indicate the site of Abydos.

The next day we were detained on ship-board by the rain, but on the day following, I took a package of Greek and Hebrew tracts, and walked down to the

Asiatic castle. "The port holes of the cannon belong. ing to these castles," says Tournefort, "look like coach-house doors; but the cannon, which are the largest I ever beheld, not being set on carriages, can't fire above once. And who would dare to charge 'em in the presence of ships of war, that would pour in such broad-sides upon 'em, as would soon demolish the walls of the castles, which are not terrassed, and bury beneath their ruins both half gunners; guns and dozen bombs would do the business." The best comment on this quotation is found in Hobhouse's account of the passage of the Dardanelles, by the English fleet under Admiral Duckworth in 1807. Little opposition had been made to their entering, but on their return, a destructive fire was poured upon them from batteries under the direction of French officers. "Yet even at

a

that time, the Turks at the castles were thrown into the utmost terror and confusion, and when one of the three deckers, instead of passing through at once, hauled up a little, and bringing her whole broad side full on the fort of Asia, opened all her batteries at once, she appeared like a vast body of flaming fire, and showering upon the walls and mounds a storm of shot, drove the garrison at once from their guns." One of these guns is two feet in the diameter of its bore, and requires more than one hundred and seventy pounds of powder to discharge its stone ball of nearly four hundred pounds weight. A shot which was taken out of one of the damaged vessels on her arrival in England, is said to have weighed twice as much.

It is generally admitted that it would be more hazardous at present to attempt the passage. The European castle is built however on the acclivity of a hill,

and indeed most of the batteries, are commanded by the high land around them. Hence, they could easily be carried by a land force, and though the Asiatic castle is on lower ground, projecting some distance into the strait, it could not probably long resist such an attack.

The town at the Asiatic castle, is called ChanakKalessi by the Turks, while the Europeans have given it the names of Abydos and Dardanellos. Being sur

rounded by a plain, which is every where intersected by water courses, it is much subject to fevers. It contains two thousand houses, a few hundreds of which are Jewish, Armenian and Greek, and the remainder Turkish.

Our tracts, we left for sale and gratuitous distribution, with a Scotch sailor, whom the English consul summoned to attend us. This man having lost an arm by accident some years since, was left on shore, and has married a Greek wife. He obtains a livelihood by keeping one of the shops of this country, for the sale of wine, olives, dried fruits, &c. and by conducting trayellers over the plain of Troy. As there was not sufficient time before the Sabbath for a satisfactory visit, and the north wind bid fair to detain us some time, John was directed to provide us beasts against Monday morning, for an excursion to the Troad. He also promised to obtain a saw for cutting off the surface of some curious inscriptions which he said he had discovered.

The next day, (Saturday,) we crossed over to visit the European shore. We landed a little higher up than Abydos, near the place where Xerxes' bridge must have been fastened. Sestos is supposed to have

been two or three miles above. Capt. M. took his gun in search of the rabbits, which find a safer resting place among the thyme and other fragrant herbs on the banks, since the Greeks have been deprived of their arms. Our Scotch friend, John, who accompanied us, took satisfaction for not being permitted to accompany Lord Byron when he swam across the strait, by insinuating that there was no one to tell how much assistance he received from his friends in the boat. The bank is perhaps two hundred feet above the water, and the country of the same elevation, yet slightly undulating, and as far as the eye could reach, almost wholly uncultivated.

After walking some distance into the interior, we followed the boatmen down to the village of Maita, on a bay of the same name, not far above the European castle. The inhabitants, about two thousand in numbe, are nearly all Greeks. They have suffered greatly from their Turkish masters, during the present revolution. At one time early in the war, when the lawless soldiers were passing the strait, every individual fled, and their village was set on fire. The blind man who acts as interpreter and agent for those who stop here to traffic, pointed out the scar of a frightful wound on the head of his son, which he had received from a Turkish scimetar. We gave the little fellow a book, and his father gladly accepted a package of tracts, to sell for his own benefit. A young priest from a neighboring monastery, returned the tracts which we had handed him, and began to dissuade the people from receiving any. The interpreter with more good sense, having listened to extracts from several, loudly proclaimed their excellence, and call

ed the priest an ignorant fellow. Upon this there arose a boyish scuffle between them, the latter striving to get back those which he had given up. Other Greeks, whom we met on our walk in the fields, had also declined our tracts, doubtless from very natural, and perhaps justifiable apprehensions of their political character. We had many applications afterwards, however, from the villagers, and just as we were leaving, a respectable Greek from the country came to our boat, and earnestly begged a stock for his neighborhood. We promised to send him a supply through the interpreter.

On the Sabbath, Capt. March assembled his men for public worship in the cabin. The exercises were scarcely concluded, when the south wind again sprung up, and before the crews of other vessels, which were sauntering about the shore, could be mustered, we were entering the Sea of Marmora. Thus, though Capt. M. had declined beginning his voyage from Smyrna on the Sabbath, we passed the straits sooner than several vessels which sailed nearly a week before

us.

Capt. March is only temporarily engaged in the merchant service, as he holds the commission of lieutenant in the British navy. In him and other English and American officers with whom I have met, it is delightful to find evidence that active and consistent piety are not necessarily confined to the fixed sanctuary and to the land. Every evening when the weather permits, it is his custom to read the scriptures and pray with his crew. He also constantly carries a stock of bibles, in different languages, for circulating in the several ports which he visits. Happy will be the day when every vessel shall be thus freighted with the