A visit to Belgrade, tr. [and selected from S. Kapper's Südslavische Wanderungen] by J. Whittle

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. • • •

17867Z

VISIT TO BELGRADE

TBAirSLATBD BT

JAMES WHITTLE.

" He who has seen Bdgrade, has seen the Eait in minuttnre

LONDON :
CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY.

1854.

SOJ. ^. J^a.

PREFACE.

The original Work, from whicli this little Volume
has been selected and translated, was published
in 1851, under the title of ^^ Siidslavische Wande-
rungen/^ It records the impressions of the author,
a Bohemian gentleman, during a tour through the
provinces of the Lower Danube. I trust that the
sketches here offered to the readers of my own
Country will prove acceptable, especially at a
time when the attention of Europe is turned with
breathless interest to the East. I have freely used
the privilege of selection, omitting much that ap-
peared to me of minor interest, and condensing
where the original seemed diffuse.

J.W.

CONTENTS.

PAGB

CHAPTEE I.

8EMLIK 1

CHAPTEE n.

CBOSSINa THE DANUBE 7

CHAPTEE ni.

FIEST IMPEBSSI0N8. — ^iLDVENTTJBES .... 15

CHAPTEE IV.

HUNaABlJLK EXILES 28

CHAPTEE V.

BT7TSB8 AND SELLEBS IN BELaBABB. — ^USTA HASSAN 38

CHAPTEE VI.

TUBEISH STILL-LIFE, AND FINANCIAL EXFEBIENCE8 63

CHAPTEE Vn.

A VISIT TO FATZLI FASHA 65

CHAPTEE Vni.

SEBYIAN HOSPITALITY, AND SEBTIAN WOMEN . . 76 .

CHAPTEE IX.

SEBYIAN AND TXTBKISH WOMEN. — A VISIT TO A

DJAMIA. — FBANEISH JEWS . . . * . 86

l)

^

88:

A VISIT TO BELGI^ADE.

CHAPTER I.

SEMLIK.

The voyage from Carlowitz to Semlin offers no-
thing worthy of remark : the shores on either side
of the Danube are dull and monotonous, inter-
spersed with marshes, generally under waiter, but
here and there rising steep and abrupt. By noon
we reached Semlin.

Semlin is one of the few frontier towns in which
the iron rule of the Theresian statutes and frontier
laws, so fatal to all progress, have proved ineffec-
tual in destroying commercial life. It is situated
opposite to the capital of Servia, at the confluence
'8 of the Danube and Save, which latter river unites
Slavonia, Croatia, and Trieste with the countries
I of the Lower Danube. This admirable position
has enabled it, to a certain point, to resist the ob-
stacles presented by the military domination, and

A A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

made it an emporium of commerce (chiefly for
com), and consequently the chosen residence of
many rich merchants. Beyond this point no power
can, in the face of such institutions, raise it, — in-
stitutions which not only obstruct, but render im-
possible, all attempts to establish more extended
commercial relations. Not to advance however is
to retrograde, and this is exemplified in Semlin,
which, were it protected by Government, or even
left to its own free course, would at this moment
be one of the richest marts for the products of
Austrian industry, and \an inexhaustible source
from which the treasures of the countries of the
Danube would flow into the Imperial states. When
we contrast this phantom of prosperity with what
might be, we see sufficient proof how dead to her
best interests Austria is, in preferring to support
a worn-out institution like the frontier system, to
extending her own commercial prosperity.

Semlin is a small well-built town : the broad high-
street forms, with the market, its centre point.
Here are ranged, on either side, the dwellings of
the wealthy merchants, and on the houses them-
selves are inscribed, in Servian characters, the
names of the principal firms known in the com-
mercial world of Europe. The Turkish Jews re-
siding in Semlin have, for the last ten years,
though born in the town, been only permitted to
remain on the same terms as strangers, and must
be furnished with passports from their own Govern-

SEMLIN. 6

ment. These, with Servians and Turks carrying
their long pipes, and wandering from shop to shop
making purchases, indicate a near approach to the
Sultan's dominions, and prove the uninterrupted
relations maintained with them.

^^ You think of going to Belgrade, and have no
special passport V said a friend T^om I accidentally
met, after a long separation, in the high-street of
Semlin. " The times of 1848 and 1849 are gone
by, and the strictest surveillance is now main-
tained. Without a passport it is out of the ques-
tion to think of crossing into Servia; the minutest
investigation is made respecting every one who
attempts to enter the country without permission,
and stiU greater suspicion attaches to those who
travel with English or French passports.'^

" What has occasioned this severity ?'' I inquired.
"Austria and Servia unite in the restrictions.
Since the termination of the Hungarian revolu-
tion, numberless refugees and Magyars have hurried
through Belgrade and Servia on their way to place
themselves imder the protection of the Porte. Per-
sons of importance have passed under the very eyes
of the Austrian guards and the troops at Semlin,
and, unmolested, have escaped to Belgrade and
Constantinople. The Imperial officers are conse-
quently bound to redouble their vigUance. Su-
spicions have arisen that a number of exiles have
taken up their abode at Belgrade, who, it is be-
heved, keep up a correspondence with the malcon-

4 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

tents on this side the river. All things considered^
it will be more prudent in you to abandon your in-
tention of seeing Belgrade. Even the inhabitants^
unless their business is clearly specified^ find it
difficult to procure permission to cross over, much
more foreigners.'^

I weighed deliberately what my diplomatic Mend
had said ; and although I was obliged to acknow-
ledge the difficulties he suggested, I could not re-
solve to relinquish altogether the hope of visiting
Belgrade. There were two ways left open, — either
to quit Semlin, and, following the bank of the
Save, commit myself to the mercy of a Turkish
crew, and undes shadow of night escape the ob-
servation of the troops, and effect a landing on the
Servian shore ; or to go at once to the authorities,
and make a direct application to them for permis-
sion to visit Belgrade. The first plan had been of
late adopted by many travellers, and with success ;
but a failure would be attended with disagreeable
consequences, and almost certainly conduct me to
the prison of Temesvar.

Experience had shown me that it is in all cases
better to go at once to the fountain-head, since
there is no class of men less accessible than that
of official imderlings. I determined therefore to
address myself direct to the Commander. The
General was occupied with visitors when I called,
but to my surprise, although it was late in the
evening, he entered the office in a few minutes.

SEMLIN. 5

holding my card in his hand. General K * * *,
a man whose career and merit were testified by the
simple cross he wore on his breast^ was advanced
in years, with that courteous address which is met
with only in persons of the higher ranks, whose path
through life has not always been strewn with roses.
I imparted my desire to him. The General frankly
stated to me the necessity which existed for the
"Utmost caution on his part. '^ Belgrade," he said,
''is an interesting town, and it would be a pity
to travel on the Lower Danube without having
visited it, for he who haa seen Belgrade has seen
the East in miniature. My first visit made a deep
impression upon me, and I should be loth to deny
to any well-informed traveller the pleasure I my-
self received. My position however compels me to
observe the strictest vigilance. Are you known to
any one in Semlin ?"

'' To no one."

'' That is perplexing. I have no reason to dis-
trust you, yet I must not forget my own responsi-
bility."

I bethought me of a letter of introduction which
I had with me to General Knicanin in Belgrade.
He took this from me, and, examining it, said, " I
regret that I cannot read Servian. Knicanin is a
good name, and an undoubted guarantee for your
respectability. Will you leave the letter with me,
that I may have it read to' me this evening ? If
indeed, as I readily believe, you have no other gb-

O A TISIT TO BEL6RADS.

ject than to see Belgrade^ come to me tomorrow
morning at seven o'clock/'

As the clock struck seven I presented myself at
the office of the Greneral.

" Have yon a good stomach?'' was the extraor-
dinary speech with which he received me. Not
knowing what to understand firom these words^
and anticipating an unpleasant explanation^ I in-
voluntarily stepped back.

" Don't be alarmed," he said ; " I do not mean
a moral, but simply a physical stomach."

Even yet I could not guess what the Greneral
was aiming at : he turned however to the window
which overlooked the Danube ; the stream dashed
along, raising huge waves, and a Turkish boat was
tossing about on its surface, as if on a tumultuous
sea. His meaning was now clear, but I declared
myself ready to make the voyage even in a worse
storm, and in a few moments I held in my hand
a certificate which gave me permission to spend
twenty-four hours in Belgrade.

CHAPTER 11.

CEOSSINa THE DAJJ^UBE.

The Danube ran high indeed; during the early
spring it had swollen far and near^ bursting its
banks^ and hardly leaving a trace of its original
bed visible. At Semlin the water had not only
intruded on the house in which the ferryman had
his station^ but had advanced to the palisades^ par-
tially destroying the dam which protected the city
from inundation, and seriously injuring the path
which secured a landing-place for the steam-boats.
The tschardaken, or houses of the frontier guards^
who form the cordon, are erected on wooden
piles, at intervals along the left shores of the
Danube; they usually stand high and dry on the
land, but now they seemed to rise from the very
centre of the stream. The stormy wind, moreover,
which had risen in the middle of the night, blew so
violently, that the usually quiet river resembled a

^

8 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

little sea^ in which the waves, lashed into fury,
rolled foaming over each other.

The bells from Semlin had already sounded the
midday hour, and the storm still continued un-
abated. The ferrymen, who had until this time
waited, hoping for a change in the weather, and
sitting patiently oar in hand in their boats, now
quitted them, declaring that until the wind was
laid, there was no possibility of making the pas-
sage to Belgrade. A number of Servian mer-
chants, who, like myself, were anxious to cross
over, had previously quitted the spot, resolved to
await more favourable weather. Only five or six
persons remained, amongst whom were two ladies
dressed in black, apparently from their ages mo-
ther and daughter. They had until now remained
aloof, pacing backwards and forwards, under the
escort of a young Servian, and had strongly ex-
cited my interest. I had accidentally observed their
passports in the General's ofl&ce, and remarked
that they were undersigned by General Haynau,
and contained the word " emigrants.'' The ladies
seemed chafing under the delay in their departure :
from time to time they despatched their compa-
nion to the neighbouring public-house, where the
ferrymen had taken shelter, to inqtdre if it were
not yet possible to undertake the voyage. In the
meanwhile the storm gave not the slightest sym-
ptom of subsiding ; on the contrary, it raged in-
'**'«asingly; but still the poor ladies, at every mo-

CS088INO THE DANUBB. 9

mentary lull^ seemed to think it was settled enough
to put off from the shore. They kept their eyes
fixed on the opposite bank, where their thoughts
evidently were, although perhaps the last moments
they would ever spend in their own country were
fast fleeting away. Suddenly abeardless young man,
who, firom his costume and turban, belonged evi*
dently to the other side of the Danube, advanced
to meet them. He addressed them in an under
tone, and after a few words had passed between
them, handed them a sheet of paper folded up.

The ladies glanced quickly over the contents of
the paper, and having kissed it repeatedly, followed
the young Turk with rapid steps. About half an
hour afterwards I observed a boat dn the surface
of the stream : it rose on the crest of the angry
waves, and then, covered with white spray, disap-
peared in the furrows of the sea, as if to rise no
more. Four sturdy Turks pulled at the oars, and
in the stem-sheets sat the two ladies dressed in
black.

A Servian merchant standing near me remarked,
"I would lay a wager those ladies are Magyars;
we must give the Hungarians at least the credit of
not knowing what fear means/'

A young Catholic priest from Croatia, who was
on his way to visit some distant relatives in Bel-
grade, had been standing hitherto unobserved on
the landing-place. He now came forward, and as-
sured us that it was utterly useless waiting any

10 A VISIT TO BELGRABB.

longer, for the '^ tschaikisten" had come to the de-
termination not to start that day on accoixnt of
the weather. The merchant &om Belgrade how-
ever seemed to think we must not let ourselves
be outdone by two Hungarian women, but rather
follow their example, and endeavour to cross over
in the same way. It is true an Austrian tschaik"'^
is much larger and stronger than a Turkish
jamatzf, but, on the other hand, the Turkish
sailors are more experienced, and more to be re-
lied on, in the navigation of the Danube, than the
Austrian.

The landing-place for the Turkish boats was si-
tuated a few hundred yards higher up the river, at
a place called the " cavalry piquette.^^ Here pas-
sengers are obliged to show their passports, and
goods are examined by the custom-house officers.
A few boats were drawn up on the shore, and some
Turkish seamen were sitting cross-legged on the
sand, while others sauntered leisurely about, their
arms crossed behind their backs, and their tchi-
bouksj hanging from their mouths.

" Will you undertake to ferry us over,^' I said,
addressing myself to the oldest of the men, a grey-
headed seaman, with an Arabian cast of counte-

• The vessel used by the Austrians in nayigating this part
of the Danube is called a tschaiJc, and the sailors tschaikigten.
They are larger and more commodious than the Turkish boats.

t Jamatz is the name of the Turkish boat.

J The tchibouk is a long Turkish pipe, the stem of which is
generally made of a straight branch of the wild cherry-tree.

CB088INO THE DANUBS. 11

nance^ silyery beard, and anow-white turban, who
was puffing out volumes of dense blue smoke.

The old fellow, without giving himself the
trouble to speak, or indeed to look at me, merely
shook his head, as I understood, in token of re-
fusal.

" You think, then,^' I rejoined, '' that the storm
will not blow over today.''

The veteran removed the amber mouthpiece of
his pipe from his lips, cried out " Yok, yok V and
nodded assentingly; at the same time, assuming
an imposing air of infallibility, he made a peculiar
smacking noise with his tongue.

I went back not much edified to the merchants,
to consult with them what was best to be done^
telling them that even the Turks refused to cross.

"That can hardly be," answered one of them;
" a Turk would not hesitate to cross the Da-
nube if the waves were sweeping over Belgrade
itself.''

The merchant who had first proposed to us to
attempt the passage, now went up to the Turk and
put the same question to him. The old fellow re-
plied, that he had abeady intimated plainly enough
that he would cross over ; all he wanted was to be
allowed to finish his tchibouk in peace, and by that
time he expected his momzen (men) would have
returned from the barosch (town), where they had
all sorts of posla (business) to attend to.

It was not till afterwards I learned that the

12 A YISIT TO BELGRADE.

motion of the head which with us would signify a
refusal^ with the Turks indicates assent^ and that
a peculiar snapping of the tongue^ accompanied
by a nod of the head and shutting of the eyes^
expresses dissent.

In a few minutes the sailors returned from the
town^ and getting into the boats we pushed off
from shore. A WaUachian and his son, a young
Servian student, on his way back from Heidel-
berg, where he had been studying for some years
at the expense of his Government, and the Catho-
lic priest, were my fellow-passengers. The stream
™L .; ^th Jtr^rdin^ ^- »d the ™e.,
dashing right and left against our light craft, de-
luged us at every moment with showers of spray,
as if enraged at the opposition presented to them
by the few wretched planks which contained us.
Our four sailors, among whom was a Moor with
a brilliantly black skin, sat as if glued to their
seats, and, with their arms bared to the shoulders,
pulled at their oars in perfect time. The old Turk
squatted on a carpet at the stem of the boat, and,
with the rudder in one hand and the tchibouk in
the other, puffed out majestically clouds of tobacco-
smoke. The young priest however could not take
matters so easily; his mind misgave him ere we
were many yards from the shore, and in the excess
of his terror he exclaimed, " My God, my God !
,how madly have I rushed into danger. Alas ! man
creature of sin, and never suflfidently prizes

CROSSING THE DANUBE. 13

what is good, till he has learned in danger to fear
the loss of iV

I tried to comfort the unhappy priest, but it was
of no use ; and seeing that I only made him the
more wretched, I left off.

At length, after tossing about for an hour and a
half, we reached the foot of the rock upon which
Belgrade, so rich in historical associations, is built.
The water had at this point reached such a height,
that it swept all along the lower walls of the for-
tress, and rushing into the portholes inundated
the inner works, and indeed in some places had
nearly flowed over the top of the walls. Our men
set up a small mast in the boat, to the top of
which they fastened a rope, and having climbed
upon the wall of the fortress, they towed us roimd
to the landing-place. Here and there we passed
groups of half-naked Turkish soldiers, busily wash-
ing their long-neglected linen, or squatted lazily on
heaps of stones, smoking their pipes. At intervals
miserable-looking sentry-boxes, occupied by the
outposts, appeared rising out of the waves.

The appearance of the fortress from the outside
does not certainly give much promise of its in-
ternal condition. The waUs are in many places
undermined, hollowed out and broken in from the
force of the stream, and everywhere neglected and
in disorder, covered with weeds and stained with
damp.

The landing-place for the ferry-boats is a few

14 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

yards distant from the fortress, and we were here
received by a Servian Haiduk. He was not dressed
in any way diflTerent from the other Servians, and
only to be recognized as a police-officer from,
the stick which he carried in his hand. Having
handed to him our passports, we stepped out upon
Servian land.

15

CHAPTER III.

FIEST IMPRESSIONS.— ADVENTUEES.

The first impression which the sight of Bclgra^lc
made upon me was one which I can never forg(;t.
A broad and by no means lofiy rock rises out of
the water, encompassed by several rows of dark-
coloured bastions and grassgrown ramparts. Half-
sunk battlements crown its heights, upon whu;h
here and there a Turkish soldier, his arms gleam in((
in the sun, saunters lazily up and down before bin
sentry-box. Here the glittering spire of the uleii-
der minaret seems to pierce the driving c1ou(1m, and
a little farther on the white tin-covered roof of
the Christian church flashes in the sun. On one
side of this rock, upon which alternately the fierce
armies of the Cross and the Crescent had plant(;d
their banners, gardens and shrubberies extend to
the shore of the river, and from amidst the green
foliage, scattered houses and taper minarets peep
rising into the blue vault of heaven. On the other

16 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

side a new towB^ or rather its commencement^
stretches down the hill and on the level ground^
showing the red-roofed houses scattered about in
gardens and fallow fields, — such is the view of Bel-
grade, 3s it appears to those crossing over from
Semlin. A history which seems about to play out
its last act, the history of the conquering race of
Osman, and the history which seems only begin-
ning to occupy a place in the events of the world,
appear here to meet and amalgamate. You see in
Belgrade a town in which the death of old habits
comes in contact with the birth of new, the past
touches the future, and the purple dawn mingles
with the glow of evening. One sees the dominion
of the Crescent dying away, and that of the Cross
springing into fresh vigour. The progress of to-
day emerges from the stagnation of yesterday, and
European civilization gradually usurps the place of
stem and unbending Islamism ; decay yields to a
healthy regeneration, abject depression to noble
aspiration, and slavery to freedom. It is like the
spectacle of the fettered slave struggling to wrench
the last links of the chain from the enfeebled hand
of his master. These at least were my first im-
pressions on entering Belgrade.

The storm had settled shortly after we landed.
The priest thanked God for his rescue from such
imminent danger, as such at least it had appeared
to him, and had quitted me in search of his rela-
tions ; I stood alone on the shore with my luggage.

ADVENTURES. 17

and for the first time since I began my travels
found myself without a single ofier of help to carry
it for me. Several Turkish porters, it is true, were
seated before a wine-shop not five paces off, puffing
away at their long pipes, but none of them stirred
or offered their services, although they plainly saw
how much I needed them. The listless contented-
ness and absence of all rivalry peculiar to the East,
seems to have annihilated individual exertion, and
put a stop to all spirit of emulation.

Perceiving that I might wait till doomsday if I
depended on offers of assistance, or be obliged to
become my own porter, I cried, " Is there no one
here who wishes to earn a piece of money V

" Oh yes, every one does,^^ answered the porters
in one voice, but not one of them stirred. " Which
of us shaU it be ?''

"Whichever you like,'* I answered, "it is all
the same to me.*'

They puffed out some thick clouds of smoke,
and looked at each other in perfect silence. At
length one, who appeared the senior of the party,
said, " Allil, have you had a job today?**

" No,** replied a slender Moorish youth with a
white turban, white jacket, and wide red trowsers.

" Well, do you take the gentleman*s things,** re-
joined the questioner ; whereupon the Moor started
up fi:om his seat and shouldered my luggage.

"Where shall I take you to?** he inquire-'
good-sounding Servian.

18 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

" To a Mehana/'

" Do you like one where you will be treated in
the Turkish or in the Servian fashion V

"Take me/^ I said, "to the best Mehana in
Belgrade, where people of my condition usually
lodge/'

" Enough/' answered the Moor, "the Zdania is
the place for you," and off he set before me.

From seeing Allil stretched lazily on the ground
with his fellow-porters, I should scarcely have ex-
pected the energy which he now put forth : on he
strided, at a speed with which I could hardly keep
pace, seemingly as unconcerned at the weight he
carried on his own shoulders, as at my exhausted
condition, toiling under the scorching heat of a
midday smi. The soles of my feet however were
neither accustomed to the sands of the desert, nor
to the rough pavement of Belgrade, and I was
obliged to call to the Moor to slacken his speed.

" What do you want, Komschiah (neighbour) ?"

" Where did you learn to run at such a pace T^

" Komschiah, certainly not in the wars; but,
what was better for me, on the road hither from
Stamboul.''

" How was that V

" Well, Komschiah, I was a slave, and two years
ago, when the vessel in which I rowed reached
Stamboul, I freed myself one night from the bench
to which I was fastened, and ran off all the way to
Belgrade, and now I am free.''

ADVENTURES. 19

'^ Have you become a Christian T' I asked.

'^ No, Komschiah, I have not ; I am a Mussul-
man, and intend to remain one : the Mussulman
who changes his religion and turns Christian, is
like a rose cast amongst husks for the swine ; but
a Christian converted to Mohammedanism resem-
bles a pebble which the Sultan picks up from the
groimd, has set in gold, and fastens with it his
turban. My wife however was a Christian.^'

" What, then, are you married ?^^

"Yes; I married a Christian, a white woman,
white as the pale snow which falls in this country,
and we have a little daughter as brown as the most
beautiful Jinjirli (gipsy) child.'^

" And how do you support yourself?^'

" Up to the present time as a porter, and indeed
by any service that comes in my way. I shall be
all right, and able to support wife and child com-
fortably, when I can scrape together enough to buy
z^jamatz^' (small cart).

Beguiling the way with such conversation, we
passed the Austrian Consulate, and climbed up a
steep and wretched- looking street, which brought
us to the house of the Metropolitan and the hand-
some new church, and a little further on to the
Zdania.

The Zdania is one of the two inns in Belgrade
which have been fitted up with some reference to
the comforts and requirements of European tra-
vellers. Prince Michael Obrenovitsch, to whom

20 A TISIT TO BELGRADE.

the house belongs^ appears to have spared no ex-
pense, either in the spaciousness of the edifice
or the splendour of its decorations. Indeed the
"Zdania'^ — that is, the mere building — is one of
the largest and handsomest houses in Belgrade^
and, were it not for the uiriversal neglect and waste
which prevails in Eastern countries, might compete
with the first hotels in Prague or Vienna. It is
true that the custom of indiscriminate hospitality
is here considered so sacred, that there is less
demand for the accommodation of hotels than ia
other countries ; and the best houses, from want of
use, become neglected and shabby-looking. A great
part of these hotels is let out to private individuals
and men in office, and the remainder is kept in
poor order for the few travellers who frequent them.
My appearance at the 2!dania seemed not to
have the least efiect upon the domestic genii of the
place. The only living creatures visible were two
gigantic dogs, who began paying attentions so far
from agreeable to my porter, that he was obliged
to throw down my luggage on the ground, and
defend himself. I remained in the porte-cochbre,
calling as loud as I could for some one to show
me a place where to rest my weary head. I might
indeed have shouted till now, had it not been for
the howling of the dogs, whom Allil was belabour-
ing with the stem of his tchibouk ; but this seemed
to rouse the sleeping servants : a little fellow, al-
most a dwarf in stature, and having the appear*

ADVENTURES. 21

ance of a house-porter, rushed downstairs cursing
and swearing; he was foUowed by a dirty-looking
servant- woman, and to all appearance they seemed
bent upon taking part with the dogs against us.
The poor Moor would have fared badly among
them, had I not stepped forward and requested
accommodation, and to be shown into a room, at
the same time taking the Moor under my high
and mighty protection.

The little man received me with more civility
than his exterior promised, and having kicked the
dogs one into one comer and the other into an-
other, handed me over to the tender mercies of the
dirty girl, with directions that she should show
me at once into a 8oba (room). She ran up the
great staircase before me, and opened a door at the
end of the corridor, assuring me that she gave me
the best room in Belgrade.

The room was certainly spacious enough, lofty,
handsomely painted, and provided with folding-
doors and polished inlaid floors, but it wanted all
the comfort which we now consider necessary to our
daily existence. Indeed the entire furniture of the
apartment consisted of a rickety bed, which looked
as if it would tumble to pieces at the first attempt
to lie on it. I was about to remonstrate with the
maiden on the scantiness of the accommodation,
but she had already disappeared, and Allil alone
was visible, waiting at the door for his money.

Being now left alone in the empty room, I went

22 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

to the window, and was certainly astonished at the
beauty of the prospect seen from it. All Belgrade
lay spread out before my eyes, presenting, with
its many-coloured buildings, a most extraordinary
view. The Zdania stands on the summit of an
elevated piece of ground, which is covered with
houses, some of them old-fashioned, and others
built in the modem style of art. The roofe of
moss-covered shingle and red tile, the green Ve-
netian blinds and narrow grated windows of the
Turkish houses, with the walls of stone and whole
stories of wood, form a curious and variegated
picture ; whilst the eye is relieved by the soft green
of the nut-trees and juniper-bushes, scattered about
on aU sides. Narrow, crooked streets wind be-
tween the houses and garden- walls. On the eastern
side the dilapidated works of the old fortress come
prominently into view, and further off appear her6
and there the red walls of the Turkish gardens,
and the slender towers of the mosques ; whilst on
the western and southern side is situated that part
of Belgrade whose history dates no farther back
than the revolt of the Servians. The houses here,
for the most part new and well built, are scattered
about at great distances from each other, upon
green hills and in the verdant plains on the
borders of the Save. The streets are broad and
regular, especially in the neighbourhood of the
gates and ramparts, which form the barrier be-
tween the old and new town. The buildings how-

ADVENTURES. 23

ever are so thinly scattered^ that the town may be
looked on more prospectively than as actually ex-
isting ; it is in its infancy, but destined probably
to be the great capital of southern Slavonia.

As it was still early in the evening, I determined
to take a stroll for an hour or two. I descended
to the street, and, leaving chance to guide my
steps, turned toward the most crowded thorough-
fare. Servians and Turks, in their bright and
rich costumes, passed by ; the red fez and the white
turban mingled their colours, and only here and
there were seen the white hat or black cap, the
former denoting the presence of a stranger, the
latter of an officer in the civil service.

The street I entered was long and steep; on
either side were ranged the booths of the mer-
chants and workshops of the artisans; and although
the sun had already disappeared behind the hill,
the stalls were still open and the workmen busily
employed. Here stood the Servian irgowatz, or
merchant, behind his counter, marking and label-
ling his stuffs and wares, which had probably been
just imported from the market of Vienna or the
fair of Leipzig; further on sat the Bosniak on
the raised floor of his booth, with his feet tucked
under his body, offering saddles and harness for
sale. The Bulgarian armourer hammered lustily
in a neighbouring stall, at a long puschka (gun) in-
laid with silver. A Jewish money-changer, on the
opposite side of the street, was counting out gold

24 A VISIT TO BELGBADE.

piastres and silver zwanzigers, and a Turkish du-
ehantchih was shredding his last okka of tobacco
to the fineness of a hair.

Before I perceived it, I found myself entangled
in a labyrinth of cross streets, in which I com-
pletely lost my way. The evening was beginning
to close in, and it was necessary to regain my
hotel. I fortunately turned into a narrow street
which led from the Turkish part of the town, to an
open piece of ground on which some sheep were
browsing. This was the Kalmeidan, a kind of
neutral territory, which separates the town from
the fortress: it is certainly anything but prepos-
sessing in appearance. The broken ground, strewn
with barren rocks, does not afford nourishment for
a tree or bush ; the grass grows thin and coarse,
and the bleached bones of starved horses and oxen
are scattered among the crumbling ruins of the
Turkish monuments. The view from this spot
however is magnificent, comprising the streams of
the Danube and the Save, losing themselves in the
far distance.

The sun had nearly disappeared in the waters of
the Save. I looked around, and observed at the
extremity of the Kalmeidan a man who, from his
white hat and light summer dress, appeared to
me a stranger. He shaded his eyes with his hand,
and seemed to be looking for something on the
on the opposite shore. He did not ap-
~*<^, but came down from the little

ADVENTURES. 25

eminence on which he had been standing, and
took the road to the town, frequently casting fiir-
tive glances in the direction of the river. I ap-
proached him ; he immediately doubled his pace.
I saluted him : he thanked me, and turned away
from the road on which I was, then suddenly stood
stiU, as if anxious, by a greater show of indiffer-
ence, to render his wish to escape observation less
remarkable.

" You are enjoying the magnificent view,'^ I said
to the stranger, a man of about forty years of age,
with a large red beard jind intelligent countenance.

" It is not bad,'' was the laconic answer.

" You seem to have the advantage of me in a
knowledge of this neighbourhood,'' I continued;
'^I only arrived two hours ago, and if the ques-
tion is not impertinent, you have already resided
in Belgrade some time?"

"I have been living here since — since — I do
not indeed know when. I care nothing about the
neighbourhood, and hardly ever go out," replied
the stranger, evidently wishing to avoid me.

I thought I recognized the Polish accent in his
German, but colouring up he said that he was an
Hungarian.

"Then we are almost fellow-countrymen," I
replied ; " at least the stream which we see before
us forms the boundary of our mutual home. I too
am from Austria."

The Hungarian looked at me with an ill-con-

26 A VISIT TO BELOIIADE.

cealed air of perplexity, which T was at a loss to
understand: he then raised his hat, bade me
good-bye, and -without another word hurriedly
took the road leading to the town. As I was a
perfect stranger in Belgrade, I begged he would
let me accompany him.

" Gladly,'^ he replied ; but it was plain that his
words did not coincide with his wishes. Without
any further conversation we reached the town.

^'Are you going to the Zdania?^^ asked the
stranger.

^^ Yes, I live there j we are perhaps neighbours.^'

"I do not live there,'' was all the answer I

received; and with those words the Hungarian

suddenly disappeared down a narrow alley, and left

me to find my inn as I best could. At last I

caught a sight of the red roof of the Zdania, and

was hurrying to it across the square, when my

attention was arrested by the pale features of a

young man which seemed familiar to me. Many

a long year had passed since I had last seen them ;

I could not even remember where. But there

was the same slight elastic figure, opposite which

I had so often sat, the same animated, intelligent

features, whose meaning I had so often fathomed

ere the words had uttered it, — changed indeed,

but evidently aged more from suffering than time.

He seemed to have recognized me : we both stood

still, looked intently at each other for a moment,

and then rushed into each other's arms.

ABYENTUBES. 27

'^ Gustave ! " I exclaimed in joyful surprise.

" Hush V hurriedly replied my friend of former
days^ ^' do not utter that word ; the name I once
bore must no longer be heard ; he whom you now
see bears another. I will tell you the whole story
over a bottle of wine in my own room. I live at —
but no^ come with me at once^ I will not let you

go out of my sight. You have lost the of

other days, but you will find Gustave the same
as ever.*^

28

CHAPTER IV.

HUNaARIAJ!^ EXILES.

The moon was shining brightly in the heavens,
as arm-in-arm with my newly-found friend we
threaded our way through the dark streets and
narrow alleys of the old town of Belgrade. At
one of the gates we passed, a Turkish soldier was
on guard (for their duties are not confined to the
citadel), whilst his companions had taken up their
quarters for the night on the bare earth in front of
a shabby-looking guard-room.

''That is the Barosch-kapia (Barosch-gate),"
said Gustave, as we proceeded into the open streets
of the Terasia, a part of the new town.

These were the first words that had passed his
lips since our recognition, and he did not break
silence again until we reached his home. A deep
seriousness, foreign to his naturally joyous and

^^^:^^ nature, had taken possession of my

Tis head drooped, his arm was locked

HUNGARIAN EXILES. 29

convulsively in mine^ his hand trembled, and his
steps were slow and unsteady. I saw that he was
deeply agitated and oppressed with thought; my
appearance had recalled to him years long past,
with their mingled memories of joy and sorrow, —
memories which must have given a darker colour
to the occurrences that had since happened, so
fall of passion and error, hope and despair. I too
remained silent, unwilling to intrude upon his
thoughts. There are moments which occur per-
haps once, perhaps never, in the life of man, but
such moments when they do come are sufficient to
purify a whole life, and he who would ruthlessly
intrude on them, disturbs the divine influence in
its holiest and most blessed exercise.

The long, wide street through which we walked
silently was empty and dreary-looking ; here and
there a light was seen in the windows of the thinly
scattered houses, or the voice of some Servian maid
was heard singing her love-song. At length we
turned into a side street, and stood opposite to a
small house half concealed among elder-bushes,
from two windows of which light was visible.
Gustavo withdrew his arm from mine, went up to
the house, and knocked three times at the door.

" Is it you, Gustave?" said a female voice.

'^ Yes, Lina, open the door,^' he answered. We
entered a small courtyard planted with fragrant
rose-trees, and passed into a large chamber lighted
with two wax candles.

30 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

" You are now in my house," said Gustave to
me, at the same time introducing me by name to
his wife, a pretty fair-complexioned woman.

" Ah, you are an old friend of my husband, and
therefore dear to me," said the young woman, as
she held out her hand to me, — not to kiss, accord-
ing to the etiquette of the country, but for a hearty
shake of kindly welcome.

'' Has Gabor been here this afternoon ? Have
his friends crossed over, or have you had any cer-
tain news ?" inquired Gustave, his voice trembling
with agitation.

" What ails you, Gustave ? you are not well, or
you have heard bad news."

"^Tis nothing," he replied; "since I have so
unexpectedly met my old friend I do not know
well what I am doing : my head is bewildered ; but
do not be anxious. Let us have some wine; or
shall we set tobacco and coffee before our friend,
according to the custom of the country ? But I
cannot think what has become of Gabor ; has he
really not been here ?"

^^ I have not seen him since early this morning,"
she answered. ^^ He was then going to the Kal-
meidan, to see if they had crossed over. Most
likely they are not yet come, or he would surely
have returned."

" No doubt," replied G ustave, " the storm has
detained them, or they have perhaps met with

Tie accident."

HUNGARIAN EXILES. 31

*' Leave all care of that to Gabor/^ replied the
hostess: "when you have a friend visiting you,
you must be cheerftilj sit down and make your-
selves as comfortable as you can. The tobacco and
coffee will be here directly/'

Gustave had arranged his room (the only one he
had, excepting his bedroom) with tolerable com-
fort, considering the very moderate means he pos-
sessed. His writing-table, covered with books arid
papers, stood at one window ; a mindeluk, or sofa,
covered with scarlet cloth, was placed against the
wall, and a table with some chairs completed the
furniture.

" This is in the morning my workroom, in the
middle of the day my dining-room, and in the
evening my reception-room,^' said Gustave, throw-
ing himself upon the mindeluk, and inviting me
to do the same. " Poor exiles like us must be con-
tent with such accommodation.''

" Tell me, truly," I said, turning to Gustave as
we sat together alone, " is that word horne a mere
empty phrase, a sentimental delusion, or are there
not times when men of mind and intelligence, who
do not fear to doubt, have the courage to call that
wrong which the rest of the world calls right, feel
the unutterably melancholy influeuce of this word?"

Gustave passed his hands through his curling
hair, and after a few minutes answered, in a cho-
king voice, " Yes, my friend, there is a power in
the sound, — that I can testify. Men may doubt.

I

32 A VISIT TO BELGRABE.

may deny it, but they who do so have never been
compelled to renounce their home : those who can
at any moment return to their family, and revisit
the land of their birth, know not the deep signifi-
cance of the word home. But where free-wiU ceases,
and the right of return is denied, a man learns to
know all that a home means. He who, from what-
ever cause, is conscious that he can never revisit
his country, is conscious of a feeling the existence
of which the philosophy of the cosmopolite denies.
I at least feel this ; and had I not a wife and chil-
dren dependent on me, there are times when I
should be in utter despair.^'

" How long is it since you have left Hungary?^'
I asked, wishing to turn the conversation.

^^ I left it when the cause of Hungary was lost,
at the capitulation of Vilagos. At the hazard of
my life I crossed over into the Turkish territory :
starved in Widdin, was nearly frozen in Schumla,
went thence to Constantinople, and finally came
hither to join my family. I live here, as you see,
quiet and retired; I smoke my pipe, drink my
cofiee, pursue my studies, and have at least the
happiness of knowing that my own dear country,
Himgary, is not far oflF.^*

^' You were then with the army at Vilagos ?"

"Yes, I was in Gorgei's immediate presence.

I however did not capitulate: I smelt the stew

while it was still seething in the cauldron, and

^ my back on Vilagos before the great Field-

HUNGARIAN EXILES. 33

Marshal had lifted up the lid and sent the foul
vapour forth, to dim the light of God's sun and
blacken the world's history for fixture ages. No,
I had no part in it.''

" You think then that Gorgei was a traitor ?''

'' No.''

" That he was betrayed then ?"

" No, not even that : I think he was a fool, and
one of the worst kind, since he was gifted with
talent, — a fool who meant to act a tragedy, and
ended by playing a farce. I do not even think he
was ambitious, but rather that he was jealous ; or,
if he had any ambition, it was of that vulgar kind
which is satisfied with the astonishment, when it
cannot gain the applause, of the world."

The " Hausfrau" — the name I liked best for
Gustave's wife — ^brought in two tchibouks, with
burning charcoal on the fi'agrant yellow tobacco,
and placed the coffee-pot upon the table.

A knocking was now heard at the door. A
gentleman, dressed in a great-coat buttoned up to
the chin, entered the room, with two ladies in
black' leaning on his arm. Gustave and his wife
rushed forward with a cry of joy to meet them,
and kisses and embraces were rapidly exchanged
between them.

" Oh, how happy I am to see you once again !"
exclaimed Gustave's wife in a transport of joy,
as she led the ladies to the sofa and made them
sit down. ^^But how have you crossed over? and

D

34 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

what has kept you so long ? We have been expect-
ing you now several days, and were becoming quite
anxious/'

^^It was not so easy to get away from Pesth
as we expected," replied the elder of the two
ladies: "Haynau detained us for his signature,
and we did not arrive in Semlin until early this
morning. We wished to take boat at once, but
you know what a dreadful storm there was. The
Austrian boatmen refiised to venture across, and,
in spite of wind and rain, we were obliged to trust
ourselves to Turkish sailors. In the midst of the
stream one of our two men broke his oar, and the
other had not strength alone to battle with the
river, which carried us away : our little boat rushed
swift as an arrow down the stream. You may
imagine our despair. The frontier guards on both
sides of the river made repeated attempts to arrest
our progress, but all in vain : we continued our
headlong course, until about five miles below Bel-
grade we were carried into smooth water, and con-
trived to reach the land ; with some difficulty we
procured a pair of wretched horses, and arrived at
Belgrade an hour ago.''

The gentleman in the great-coat, who had been
holding a whispered, but, to judge from his gesticu-
lations, very animated conversation with Gustave,
now stepped forward. I at once recognized him
as the person I had met on the Kalmeidan.

" There is no need of introducing the gentlemen

HUNGARIAN EXILES. 35

to each other, I see/' said Gustave ; '^ they are al-
ready acquainted, and I have now only to clear up
a ridiculous mistake which has occurred/'

We were all attention.

" Only think, Lina !" continued Gustave, " Ga-^
bor, the moment he entered the room and saw our
friend sitting here, wanted to go away again."

" But why ?" exclaimed the Haiisfrau, laughing.

'' Why, these gentlemen met this morning upon
the Kalmeidan, and Gabor mistook our friend here
for an Imperial commissioner or emissary, or in-
deed, not to mince the matter, for an agent of
police, come over expressly to arrest him.''

" Well, that is good !" said the Hausfrau, turn-
ing to Gabor ; ^' you may act the hero imcommonly
well, but you will never be one. To take our poor
young tourist for a fiill-blown commissioner of
police, and be afraid to walk alone with him on the
Kalmeidan, is what I should never have expected
from a Magyar, a tragic hero, and an ex^commis-
sioner of the Hungarian Government."

Coffee was now ready, and with two or three
other gentlemen, who had meanwhile come in, we
sat down to table. An animated conversation en-
sued, and I found myself plied with questions on
all sides about acquaintances, friends, and relatives
of the exiles in Vienna or Pesth.

" We see newspapers enough," remarked one of
the party, "and we have a ftdl knowledge of all
those events which the public press records ; but

36 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

that cannot fill the void in our hearts caused by
our ignorance of the fate and fortunes of our re-
latives and friends. We obtain such information
only by chance or in a roundabout way, for letters
are hardly ever allowed to reach us/^

"Wine was now brought in, and the conversation
turned on the late events in Hungary, the revolu-
tion, and its leaders.

It was near midnight, when the sound of repeated
knocking was heard. Gustave went at once to the
window, and a few minutes afterwards opened the
door, and introduced a Turk. On entering he cast
his eyes carefully around the room, took out a
paper from a secret pocket, and, whispering some-
thing to Gustave, handed it to him.

^^ Is it possible ?" exclaimed Gustave in a burst
of joy. "Letters from home, — from our own
people! They have at last discovered a way of
transmitting letters to us and getting our answers
in return, — an expensive one indeed, since they
must pass through the hands of Ben Isre the Jew ;
but never mind, if it only succeed.'*

Gustave's wife seemed no less rejoiced than him-
self : they broke the seals, kissed the letters again
and again, and with sparkling eyes ran over the
lines penned by their dear distant relatives. Gustave
poured out a glass of wine, and every one stood
up : " Long live our homes ! (Eljen a Magyaror-
szag !)'* he cried from the fulness of his heart, and

ined his glass to the last drop.

HUNGARIAN EXILES. 37

" Eljen ! may they live long !" answered all pre-
sent. Hereupon the Turk approached the table^
and tapping Gustave on the shoulder, whispered a
few words into his ear.

" Again !" said Gustave, grown suddenly serious,
and almost angry. " We must separate," he con-
tinued, " we are watched, and spies set over us/'

His words seemed to act like an electric shock
on the whole assembly; all further toasts were
dispensed with, and every one appeared anxious to
be off £U9 fast as possible.

"Friend,^' said Gabor to Gustave, "fare you
well ! my dear ones are arrived, and tomorrow I
embark for Constantinople."

The night was calm, and under the guidance of
Gustave I took my way back to the Zdania. We
walked in silence through the empty streets : Gus-
tave was again sad and thoughtful ; we were fol-
lowed at a short distance by a man whom Gustave
recognized as the agent of a neighbouiii^g Euro-
pean state.

" I tell you," said Gustave, " he who would know
what it is to have a country, must first suffer ba-
nishment ; mine I shall never see again." These
were his last words. The agent disappeared dgwii
one of the side streets.

88

CHAPTER V.

BUYEBS AND SELLERS IN BELGRADE.
USTA HASSAN.

The bright morning sun threw its rays upon one
of the most miserable couches ever slept upon
by weary traveller. I arose at once, and went to
the window; every street and alley seemed full
of life and bustle; a motley crowd thronged the
streets, motley in every sense of the word, in men
and things, in colours and costumes, — a perfect re-
freshment to eyes accustomed to the monotonous
aspect of a European crowd. It seemed as if a
picture had been suddenly unrolled, upon which
individuals and groups in fantastic costume kept
pei*petually moving about and changing places ; it
did not require much stretch of imagination to
suppose oneself suddenly set down in the East, or
transported to the scenes of one of the tales of the
' Arabian Nights.'

All the shops were already open, and the air was

BUTEB8 AND 8ELLBB8. 89

filled with the buzz of buying and sellings talking,
quarrelling, and bargaining, mingled with ham-
mering, crying, and swearing. A small caravan
of miserable-looking horses was jnst passing up the
street, each beast carrying on his back two well-
packed baskets covered with gaily coloured carpets,
or a couple of sacks hung pannier-wise on each
side. The owner of the caravan, a rich Servian,
in a blue dress hanging in many folds, rode a little
in advance, mounted on a handsome horse, and
seated in a well-stuffed saddle : the drivers, a set of
dirty but picturesque-looking fellows, followed, be-
labouring the sweating sides of the beasts with
their sticks, and incessantly crying out, "Idi ! Idi V
Dark-complexioned peasant-women, in bright
dresses and gay head-gear, were standing in groups
barefooted before the handkerchief and ribbon
stalls, now handling a bale of Servian linen, or ex-
amining gaudy flowered silks, suitable for bodices.
They seemed to ponder the matter well : first they
talked it over with each other, then went away,
but returned in a minute or two, and demanded
the price; a second consultation ensued, and
perhaps by midday the bargain with the merchant
would be effected. One must not however mea-
sure the sales of the vendors by the number of ap-
parent purchasers, for, generally speaking, where
you see five or six women examining an article and
haggling about its price, you may be pretty sure
that there will be only one bond fide purchaser

40 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

among them. The men act just in the same way :
I observed five or six of them, mounted on lean
horses^ standing round an old pleasant-looking
Turk, who carried his whole stock of wares hung
about him in picturesque confusion.

" Do you not want to purchase^ Servians?"

" Let us know what you have got, old Turk 1"

" Will you buy a fez, or a belt, or a beautiful
marama (handkerchief)? Here is a brace of pistols,
here a noble handjar (a cutlass about a foot and
half long), — ^what will you have?"

'' Let us look at the fez."

The Turk loosened it from his girdle, and handed
it to one of the horsemen.

" It is a splendid article, the last I have left out
of six himdred which I had the day before yester-
day direct from Stamboul, a genuine fez of Stam-
boul; and such a tassel ! — there is not a better in
all Turkey. You shall have it for fifteen piastres,
and it is dirt-cheap at the money."

The horsemen tried on the fez, one after the
other, consulted together as to its shape, strength,
etc., and finally handed it back to the merchant,
with the remark that they did not want it. In a
similar maimer they discussed the merits of the
girdle and the handjar; and then, sticking their
heels into their horses^ sides, they galloped off.

I determined to pay my first visit to Usta
Hassan, to whom I had an introduction, and ac-
cordingly directed my steps towards the Turkish

BITTERS AND SELLERS. 41

part of the town, with which my yesterday even-
ing's ramble had made me somewhat familiar. On
reaching the Bit Bazaar (for Belgrade too has its
bazaar), I went np to a knot of Turks, and inquired
my way to the Djinjirli-Djamiah and to the resi-
dence of the Liiledjiah Usta Hassan.

" We can direct you easily enough to the Djin-
jirli-Djamiah,*' replied one of the party; "but
Usta Hassan — does any one know where Usta
Hassan, the Liiledjiah, lives ?'^

A young man, rather meanly clad, disengaging
himself firom the group of Turks who had crowded
round to gaze at and examine me, now stepped
forward, and tapping me on the shoulder said, " I
know Usta Hassan the Liiledjiah : follow me, and
I will bring you to him.''

We threaded our way through the booths of
the Bit Bazaar. I was at once struck with the
extraordinary resemblance of a Turkish bazaar to
a Jewish fair: there is the same haggling and
bargaining between buyers and sellers, the same
mixture of the most valuable with old, worn-out,
and apparently worthless wares: gold and silver
sparkle in one stall, whilst the walls of another
are hung round with tattered garments, dingy
harness, and second>hand saddles; here highly
polished arms are offered for sale, there rusty old
iron ; in this shop shoes, in the one opposite the
most splendid shawls attract the eye. The sales
are all conducted in the open air, in the fuU sight

42 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

and hearing of the passers-by. Indeed a Jewish
clothes-fair is but a poor reflection of the Oriental
system of commerce, and the contentment of the
people here with small gains, and their capability
of putting everything, no matter in what condi-
tion, to some use and profit, is a faint picture of
Oriental industry.

On leaving the Bit Bazaar, we went through
several narrow and less -frequented streets to the
Dartjol, another part of the Turkish quarter of
Belgrade.

" Do you see those walls ?'' remarked my guide,
pointing to the gloomy ruins of a building which
must originally have been a handsome edifice, but
was now overgrown with moss and ivy ; " that was
once the palace of a Giaour, a great hero. Prince
Jeyjenije. He was a brave man, and took Belgrade
from the Sultan, and built this house for himself.
But the Sultan was braver still than the Prince :
he drove him back again, and laid his palace in
ruins; and now the cobblers and ' meat-fiders ^ set
up their booths among them.'^

Passing the house of Prince Eugene, " the noble
knight," we entered a narrow street, and halted
opposite a small workshop.

'^Usta Hassan," shouted my guide, "the Efiendi
wishes to speak to you."

Usta Hassan, the Liiledjiah, was seated cross-
legged in his workshop, his^ shirt-sleeves tucked
up to his shoulders, and a white tight-fitting cap

U8TA HASSAN. 43

drawn over his closely-shorn head down to his eye-
brows; he was hard at work. A young Turkish
lad^ not more than seven years old, sat beside him^
kneading red clay with his white hands. Eyery
now and then Usta Hassan took up a piece of the
clay, pressed it into a tin shape, then bored a hole
in the compressed lump, and, with considerable
care, turned a liik (bowl of a pipe) out of the tin
mould.

So Usta Hassan the Liiledjiah turned out to be
a pipemaker ! A man with a long beard sat oppo-
site to him, smoothing away with a sharp knife
any inequalities or rough places from the pipes
after they were turned out of the mould, and ex-
ecuting pretty devices upon them with fine steel
instruments. The pipe-heads were then put on
one side to dry ; and through a narrow door in the
back of the shop glowed the red charcoal fire of
the oven in which they were afterwards baked.
Hassan was so absorbed in his occupation that he
did not seem to have heard the call of my guide.

" Usta Hassan !" he shouted in a louder voice,
and without any further ceremony entered the
shop and sat down upon a sheepskin which was
spread out on the ground. Usta Hassan looked up
from his work, and observing me, nodded, as if I
had been an old acquaintance.

"Ha! Komschiah, so you are come at last; I
was expecting you yesterday and the day before,''
said Usta Hassan. " Welcome to Belgrade 1 Won't

44 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

you come in, that I may pay my respects to
you ?" lie added, but without interrupting his pipe-
making.

I stepped into the shop and seated myself on. a
carpet four times folded, which the young Turk, on
a sign from Hassan, had spread out for me.

"Well, how are you pleased with us?" asked
Hassan, taking up a fresh piece of red clay ; " is it
not better here than over yonder in your German
towns?"

I assured Hassan that the gay and unusual co-
lours and the mode of life interested me extremely,
and that I was never tired of gazing about me.

" Ah 1" he continued, " there is always something
worth seeing in Belgrade. People meet here from
all quarters of the globe, — Macedonians, Greeks,
Bulgarians, Bosniaks, Herzegovinians, Montene-
grins, and even Swabians."

'^ And pray from what race are you descended.
Master Hassan?" I asked of my friend; and as
such it was contrary to etiquette to address him
any longer with the title of Usta.

" I ! I am a native of Belgrade," he replied.

"You can then remember the time when Bel-
grade belonged to your Sultan."

" Why should I not ? I can remember it well
as a boy, and I never walk through the streets and
look about me without remembering it."

"Why so, pray?''

"Because! see the fine houses and the noble

VSTA HAS8AV. 45

gardens, some inhabited and lorded orer by the
Servians, others falling into min, in which I might
still be living had it not pleased Allah to «ill it
otlierwise. I am now only a re^iectable pipemaker,
but my father was one of our richest Spahias (land-
bolders) and in high r^ate with the Pasha; he
could have given more ducats away in presents than
many a Servian has now to squander. But times
liave altered since then/'

" It must be painful to you. Master Hassan, to
pass those gardens and mansions which once be*
longed to your &ther, and feel that you must earn
your daily bread by such hard labour/'

" Painful, Komflchiah ? oh no, not at all. Had
it not been the will of Allah, it would not have so
happened. Everything has its season,— the moon
and sun, day and night. The Servians formerly
were not better off: we were their masters, and
they oar servants ; now they are the masters, and
it ought to be our turn to serve them. But all is
in the hands of Allah : the Turk may become poor^
may lose power and authority, but Allah will never
permit him to serve a Christian.''

I could not help expressing to Hassan my asto-
nishment at his resignation under his change of
fortune, and remarking that it must be rare among
his fellow-countrymen.

"We are all the same," answered Hassan,
shaking his head ; " I don't know if you have seen
my neighbour Youssuf, the cobbler, with lj;ie snow-

46 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

white beard : he possessed at one time two hun-
dred thousand ducats and forty wives. Black
George (Kara or Cerni Georg, the liberator of
Servia from the Turkish yoke) robbed him of all
he had, and then, as a great favour, granted him
his life. Youssuf did not spend his time in useless
regrets ; he looked at his hands and saw that they
could work, so he got an awl and began to mend
shoes. He sings the live-long day, and I am often
obliged to beg him to leave off for awhile. He
mends my shoes regularly, and never forgets to
say 'Evalah !' (1 thank you) when I pay him his
twenty paras for his work.''

''And how do you get on with the Servians?"
I asked ; '' you must often have quarrels and dis-
agreements with them.'*

"Never," replied Hassan, making a peculiar
noise with his tongue as a sign of denial; ''we
live in perfect harmony with them ; indeed 1 may
go further, and say that we have many friends
among them. We visit them in their houses, and
they us in return; we live with them as good
neighbours, and on an equality, for they are not
our masters. We owe allegiance to the Sultan of
Stamboul, and they pay him tribute. The Pasha,
in the fortress above, governs and directs us, and a
Servian Prince rules them. Since we must both
of us pay taxes and yield obedience, why should we
be enemies? the only difference is that they have
naster and we another."

U8TA HASSAN. 47

The strange modulations of a deep^ tremulous
bass voice sounded at this moment in the neigh-
bourhood^ somewhat resembling the tones of the
old precentors in the Jewish synagogues.

'* Do you hear him ? that is old Youssuf/' re-
marked Hassan.

'^He is at his favourite song again^ about Su-
leiman and Fatima/' said Hassan's journeyman;
''will you not ask him in, that your guest may
hear him?^'

" Willingly/' answered Hassan, and, first whis-
pering something into the bov's ear, he told him
to go and invite Youssuf to come in.

The little apprentice jumped from the workshop
into the street, and a few minutes afterwards the
sounds of the bass voice were heard approaching.
A venerable-looking grey-headed man now made
his appearance at Hassan's shop, and sat down
quietly on the counter, tucking one leg under him
and letting the other dangle carelessly down. He
wore bright red trowsers, a sky-blue jacket, and
had a handsome flower-patterned shawl twisted
round his fez. His whole costume bore the marks
of former richness and splendour, but it was now
so much worn that even the colours of the gar-
ments were rather to be guessed at than positively
defined: his carriage however and whole demea-
nour were full of dignity and pride, but at the same
time tinged with a dash of humour.

" If you have called me to fill my pipe, neighbour,

48 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

I have not a word to say against it/' began the ,

old cobbler; "but if you want me to mend your |

shoes^ why you may walk home barefooted, for I
will not work another stitch this day/'

" Why so ?'' asked the journeyman.

" Because I have got money enough to last till
morning/' was Youssuf's laconic reply.

The apprentice now returned, carrying three
small cups of black coffee, which he presented to
me, my guide, and old Youssuf in succession. That
nothing should be omitted to do honour to his
guest, Hassan directed the boy to provide me with
a tchibouk, tobacco, and a piece of glowing char-
coal. Indeed the young man who had acted as my
guide, better instructed than I was in the customs
of the country, had, immediately on entering, taken
the journeyman's pipe &om his mouth and coolly
demanded his tobacco-pouch. Youssuf, as soon as
he came in, took a handful of tobacco from Has-
san's bag and filled his own pipe with it.

"And pray who is your friend?" inquired
Youssuf of the Liiledjiah, as soon as the tobacco
in his pipe was sufficiently lighted to allow him to
bestow his attention on matters of minor impor-
tance.

" A Hetjim- Bashi from Betji " (a physician from
Vienna), answered Hassan.

"And what does he want with us?" pursued
Youssuf; "does he travel about purchasing pipe-
bowls?"

BUYERS AND SELLERS. 49

''He is travelling for pleasure/' said Hassan^
taking the answer out of my mouth.

'' And/' I added, " to learn a little of the world.''

'' You will not do that in a hurry/' drily rejoined
the cobbler.

''We have been telling him of you and your
misfortunes, Youssuf, and therefore he wanted to
make your acquaintance."

"Am I then a part of the world he wants to
know, or is there anything so extraordinary in my
fate?"

" More extraordinary at least than mine/' chimed
in Hassan's journeyman; "for 1 never lost anything,
nor ever had anything to lose."

" You are in the right, my man," said Youssuf,
clapping him on the shoulder ; " I may be proud
that my life has been a wonderful one; not every
one in Belgrade could boast that he is the son
of Abdallah, the Pasha of Rumili, and that he
has been reduced to earn his bread by mending
shoes."

" It is not of that you may be proud," I said,
"but of the courage and resignation with which
you bear your lot."

" In that case," said Youssuf, " the whole Turk-
ish quarter of Belgrade is nothing a show-box of
wonders."

"You sing, too," I continued; "I can assure
you no one in our country who had suffered such
reverses of fortune, would bear the change so

E

50 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

quietly^ much less lighten his misfortunes by sing-
ing. When we axe overwhelmed with calamity,
we either fret ourselves to death, or take to evil
courses.^^

^' That comes of your self-conceit/^ replied Ab-
dallah^s son ; ^^ you think yourselves wiser than we
are^ and look down on us as rude and uncultivated.
If you were to read the Koran, you would have
neither suicides nor worthless scoimdrels, but, in
their place, men who would think it no shame
to stitch shoes and lighten their work by singing
songs."

'^ Komschiah,^^ said Hassan, joining in our con-
versation, " you must know that Youssuf is one of
the best singers you would meet on a long day^s
journey. What he sings he has never learned
from any one; he composes for himself, and the
others imitate him."

"Will you not give our guest a song?" asked
Hassan^s journeyman of the old cobbler.

'^ Don't believe all you are told, Hetjim Bashi,"
said Youssuf, turning toward me; "my voice is
now old and trembles, and would give you little
pleasure ; but, if you like, I will bring my grand-
son to you, who sings like the biilbiil in the gardens
of Stambonl."

"Where is your grandson?" asked Hassan.

" He is at work in the shop."

" Shall I go and fetch him ?" inquired my guide,
jumping up from his seat.

BUYERS AND SELLERS. 51

*'Ay, Moseh, bring him here/' cried the whole
party with one voice, '' we will leave off work for
tlie day and listen to Achmed/'

''Not so much hurry/' was however Youssufs
counsel; ''we can wait till evening; idling is more
easily learned than working, and Achmed is still
young and ought to work/'

" Youssuf is right/' said I; "the light of day is
made for labour, and the evening for song; we
^vill meet together this evening, and listen to the
sweet tones of Achmed, and then perhaps Youssuf
too may be persuaded to break silence."

"Agreed!" said Hassan, "let us settle to meet
in my garden; you know where it is, Moseh?"

" I know," replied Moseh, nodding his head in
token of assent; "I'll bring you there, Hetjim
Bashi." Whereupon I got up irom my comfort-
able carpet, and stretched out my hand to Hassan
to take leave of him.

" Not so fast!" said he, wiping the red clay from
his hands on his apron ; " that is not our custom :
you have called to see me in my workshop, and
cannot leave without taking with you some token
in remembrance of your visit."

With these words he opened a press, and taking
out a highly-ornamented pipe-bowl, made of red
clay, handed it to me.

" Nor must you leave me empty-handed," cried
Youssuf; "and since I cannot have the honour of
mending your shoes, I must be content

52 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

you this rose :** so saying, he took a rose from his
girdle, and presented it to me. " It will last till
evening, and remind you of me at least so long ;
I will then give you what will outlast even the

53

CHAPTER VI.

TURKISH STILL-LIFE, AND FINANCIAL
EXFEEIENCES.

The sun was already above the horizon, and had
tinged the roofs of the houses with a golden light,
when I was roused from my slumbers by the en-
trance of Steva, the house-porter.

'^ Well, what have you got to say for yourself?^'
I drawled out, sitting up in my bed, hardly sure
whether I was asleep or awake.

^^The Momak has been here three times, and
three times I have sent him away; here he is
again,^^ replied Steva, in the most atrocious attempt
at German : ^' the Momak will not go until he has
seen you/^

I ordered him to send in the unfortunate Mo-
mak (man-servant), who was waiting in the cor-
ridor. I found he was the servant of Gospodin

G y one of the wealthiest Servians in Belgrade^

who, having heard of me from a friend, had sent
me an invitation to dinner. My day wa/» —

54 A VISIT TO BELG&A*b£.

sequently disposed of before it had begun : an in-
yitation to a Servian entertainment necessitates
the sacrifice of the best hours of the day ; onoe
seated at table^ you are expected, to remain, and
devote yourself heart and soid to the feast. I was
therefore obliged to consider how I could most ad-
vantageously occupy the few hours which remained
to me before dinner. The first object I had in
view was to explore the celebrated fortress, and, if
possible, pay a visit to the Pasha, the representative
of the last remnant of Turkish power in Belgrade*
I found my indefatigable cicerone, Moseh, sitting
in the court-yard as I came downstairs, and asked
him if he could take me to the fortress.

" Of course I can," he answered ; " I will show
you the way ; but have you had breakfast ?"

To my answer in the negative he replied, " Ah,
Komschiah, that is a bad habit; we shall pass a
Turkish kavana on our way, — ^you must stop there
and take some refireshment."

Moseh was a poor good-natured fellow, without
fa^iher, mother, or relative of any kind; indeed,
upon my once questioning him about himself, he
replied that Allah had been his only relative, and
chance his only instructor. Ever since the day he
had shown me the way to Usta Hassan^s house,
he had been my indefatigable guide and servant ;
and as I divined that his anxiety about breakfast
was not altogether disinterested, I gladly fell into
his views. We accordingly stopped at the best

TURKISH STILL-LIFE. 56

Turkish kavana that Belgrade can boast of^ to for-
tify ourselves^ preparatory to our attack upou the
fortress.

The honour of the invention of coffee-houses is
due to the Orientals ; but^ satisfied with the inven-
tion^ they left the perfecting of these establish-
ments to the more civilized nations who speedily
adopted them. The worshipers of conservatism
have no more idea of the uses and advantages of a
coffee-house^ for the purpose of business^ political
discussion^ or recreation, than those Arabians who
first formed the idea of disposing of their coffee
for money in their tents. The Servians have made
a step in advance^ having set up in Belgrade a
dtaUatje, or reading-room^ in connexion with the
coffee-house, where the principal French, German,
and Slaavish newspapers are taken in ; indeed, the
Servians exhibit considerable zeal for reform and
progress.

The "best Turkish coffee-house^^ in Belgrade,
as it was called, differed from the numerous other
establishments of the kind merely in its occupying
the first floor of a corner house, to which we had
to ascend by a rickety flight of stairs, besmeared
and bedaubed with a coating of mud, which had
for years remained undisturbed. The coffee-room
was spacious, — ^that is, very long and wide, — but so
low that a man of more than the ordinary height
could not by any possibility have stood upright in
it. Mindeluks, or sofas, about eighteen inches high

66 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

from the ground, were placed around the room
close to the walls, and covered with carpets ; these
were the only fiimiture visible. A few jars and
coffee-pots stood on the ground near the door,
and a bundle of tchibouks occupied a comer of
the room. The walls were daubed over with
streaks of red, orange, and blue : a thick perpen-
dicular stripe of red paint, from which others di-
verged on either side at right angles, represented
a tree, whilst a green line, surmounted at the
top by a red or yellow ball, stood for a flower.
Much as the Turks like to see the walls of their
rooms ornamented with painting, they have made
no further progress in art than I have described.
It seems as if the art of imitation had, with few
exceptions, remained undeveloped in them; and
this is curious, as they exhibit considerable taste
in the forms and ornaments of jars, cups, and ves-
sels, as well as pipe-bowls and working-tools.

A few elderly Turks were seated round the
room in profound silence, with their long tchi-
bouks stretched out before them, reaching into
the middle of the room ; they were listlessly gaz-
ing through the large windows, which exposed to
their view aU the bustle and stir of the Bit Bazaar
and the Dortjol. In this way they pass hour after
hour; indeed I may say, day after day. There
are many Turks, especially men advanced in life,
retired tradesmen, who make their appearance
in their coffee-house immediately after morning

TUBKI8H 8TILL-LIFE. 67

prayer; they seat themselves cross-legged on a
carpet at the window^ and concentrating all their
thoughts on the busy and varied life passing in
the streets^ dream and smoke away the whole day.
The moment the call is sounded from the mi-
naret they disappear^ and hurrying to the nearest
Djamia^ despatch their prayers. Their remaining
time is spent in drinking coffee^ smoking their
tchiboukS; and passing the beads of the tespi*
through their hands. They never converse :
should one of them ask a question of another^
he receives a monosyllabic answer^ and the silence^
for the instant broken^ reigns again undisturbed^
save by the dropping of the beads one on the
other, the simmering of the coffee, or the buzzing
of the flies.

Our entrance into the Kavana produced no change
in the usual quiet of the place, except perhaps that
the regular guests, strewn (if I may use the expres-
sion) about the room, looked up for an instant in
wonder at our loud footsteps, and then, without
a remark, resumed their occupation of vacantly
staring into the streets.

We seated ourselves very composedly; Moseh
having first abstracted a couple of tchibouks from

• The tespi is the Turkish rosary, the hrojanitzu the Servian,
the only difference being that the latter has a cross attached to
it. They are made of beads of glass, wood, bone, ivory, cocoa-
nut, amber, or ebony, according to the wealth or luxury of those
who wear them. The Turk, in his dreamy, /ar-»ie»^e life, is very
£ond of counting his beads.

58 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

a corner^ and filled them from a large tobacco-
pouchy probably the common tobacco-bag of the
house. A considerable time passed without any
one inquiring what we wanted : there appeared to
be no one whose business it was to attend to ma,
or care whether we were served or not. I grew
tired of this state of things^ and in good European
fashion gave a few sharp blows on the floor with
my stick.

"What is the matter with you?" demanded
Moseh in alarm; and I found that this method,
so commonly adopted in England to catch the at-
tention of the servants, is considered here as the
sign of a sudden outburst of rage.

"Holloa! is there no one here? are there no
servants here?"

A young Turk with a graceful figure now entered,
$md without taking the slightest notice of my ex-
cited exclamations, went to a small stove, raked up
the fire, and ladling out with a spoon a certain
quantity of the famous brown powder from a tin
box, in a few minutes presented ns with two cups
of the strongest and most delicious Mocha cofiee.
The custom, I found, is for the attendant not to
offer his services until the coffee is ready, it being
taken for granted that every one who enters the
house will drink at least one cup of coffee, and it
has to be prepared afresh for each guest.

Moseh was so enamoured with his portion, that
he had recourse to a second cup. They do not, as

(

FINANCIAL EXPEBIENCES. 59

with 118^ clear the coffee^ but pour it in with the
grounds^ so that it has the appearance of a thickish
soup, and in this state hardly requires the addition
of sugar. I had to pay about sixty paras for our
breakfast, equal to six or eight kreozers (2id. to
3id, English) ; and quite forgetting where I was, I
pulled out a one-gulden banknote from my purse,
and handed it over to satisfy the claims against me.

"What is this?^' inquired the coffee-house
keeper.

" Money,^^ I replied.

" DonH try to make a fool of me, Komschiah,"
was the answer ; " that is a piece of paper, and not
large enough to wrap an orange in.^^

"That is a gulden,^' I said, "equal to three
zwanzigers, or ten piastres.'^

Nonsense !^^ replied the host, shaking his head,

three zwanzigers are three pieces of white shining
silver ; this is nothing but a scrap of paper with a
few marks on it, and I'd lay a wager nobody would
give you three zwanzigers for it in your own coun-
try, so you can hardly expect it here.^^

Thoroughly disarmed by the bitter and incon-
trovertible truth of these words, I withdrew my
banknote from the vulgar ga^e, and re-transferring
it to the folds of my pocketbook, (much as I ima-
gine a Minister of Finance would seek to hurry a
rejected budget out of sight,) was obliged to fol-
low the example of my beloved country in the year

if

60 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

1811, and declare myself bankrupt. I was forced
to own that I had not a coin of the realm in my
possession ; and had it not been for my good friend
Moseh, I believe I must have left my watch in
pledge for our morning^s repast. This, by the way,
would not have been so great an inconvenience as
it sounds, for ever since arriving on Turkish soil it
had caught the infection of the place and refused
to move. But, as I said, Moseh proved my good
genius, a very Rothschild in my need, and satisfied
the demands of the landlord.

My first thought on leaving the cofifee-house,
where I had certainly not raised the financial repu-
tation of my countrymen in the eyes of the Turks,
was to provide myself, at whatever loss, with some
current coin ; for dirty bits of paper, torn and rent
in every direction according to the need of the
owner, do not circulate in Servia as they do in my
country. The only money employed here is made
of gold, silver, or copper*.

"You want money," said Moseh to me; "I
will take you to a money-changer;" and in a few
minutes we stood before the stall of a Jew.

* At the time these Sketches were written, there was a de-
plorable absence of corned money throughout the whole of the
Austrian dominions, arising from the exhausted state of the Ex-
chequer. I have myself seen a banknote, whose yalue in Eng-
land would be about twenty-pence, torn into sixteen parts, in
order to give change, and I beHere the subdivisions were often
greater. — ^Tbansl.

FINANCIAL EXPEBIENCES. 61

" I don^t take Banken* ; thejr cost me more
trouble than they are worth to tmm into hard
cash/'

Moseh consoled me by saying that Abraham
Menasse was celebrated for his incivility to stran*
gers^ and well known to take a pleasure in put*
ting people in embarrassing situations. Isaac Al-
mansur would be sure to do all I required* But
I did not find Isaac Almansnr one jot better : ha
told me at once that he had long since declined
liaying anything to do with " Banken/' as he bad
only suflfered loss by them. If I buy today/' he
said, "at two-and-twenty, they will be worth to-
morrow no more than one-and-twenty, and I lose
five per cent., and thus it is ever; so I thought to
myself, this way of doing business will not prosper,
and I gave it up/'

"Isaac Almansur has made a poor day's busi-
ness, and is in a bad humour,'' said Moseh; "we
will go to Jacob Sabbathei Zebi; from him we are
sure to get what we want."

Jacob Sabbathei Zebi was a little, insignificant,
blear-eyed Jew, whom we found squatted on his
counter, wrapped in a brown kaftan. He wore a
black cap on his head, and, as we approached, was
diligently occupied in stroking his beard.

Moseh, addressing him in Portuguese (the ordi-
nary language of the Jews in Belgrade, and indeed

* " Austrian Notes," so called in Serria, to distinguish them
from '* NoYace," the name giren to coined metaL

62 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

througliout Turkey), told him my business. Jacob
Sabbathei Zebi did not at first utter a word, but
made a face of disgust, as if some one had sud-
denly presented to him a piece of that flesh so
rigidly prohibited by the Mosaic law; I gathered
however some courage from his silence.

'^ What V he remarked at last in the nasal drawl
peculiar to his tribe, '' you want to change money,
do you? and pray ho^ much will you change, and
how will you have it ? Will you have silver, or will
you have gold? What will you have? K you
take silver, you must lose by it ; if you take gold,
you will lose still more : if you take silver, you
must be content with seventy-five silver for one
hundred paper zwanzigers; and if you require
gold you must give eighteen zwanzigers for a
ducat.^^

I never had any remarkable talent for figures,
and I own it cost me some trouble to understand,
or rather to acknowledge, the necessity of sacri-
ficing twenty-five per cent, before I could turn my
banknotes into silver, and that before I could get
gold I must first buy silver, and then re-sell it at a
considerable loss. I could not help expressing to
Mr. Sabbathei Zebi my disapproval of this style of
doing business.

'^What, not contented!^' exclaimed Sabbathei,
jumping off his counter in the greatest excitement,
whilst at the same time he opened a drawer and
exnosed to my admiring eyes such a collection of

63

Bhining gidd and sflTer ooiiis as I had not seen for
many a long dar.

Jacob Sabbadiei Zebi no doubt ledLoned on the
enchanting effect of his moner-drawer npon me.
^'Look at them!" he said, ''look at the gold and
silYer, and then look at yonr bit of paper ! mine is
monejr, yours is — ^well, I won't say anything to of-
fend yon, but there is the money; take it if yon
will ; if yon don't like it, leave it, I don't want to
persuade you; I only take your notes to oblige
you, and because yon are a gentleman/'

With these words he closed his money-box, and
seated himself composedly npon the counter, as if
our business was over and he did not wish to have
anything more to do in the matter. I looked at
Moseh inquiringly : he shrugged his shoulders and
signified to me that he knew no other money-
changer. '^If you do not take his silver," he
continued, " you will hardly get even copper else-
where."

I had no alternative left, so bowing to my fate,
sacrificed five-and-twenty per cent, on the altar of
necessity.

"There, take it!" said Sabbathei Zebi, as he
counted out a quantity of dirty silver coins, mostly
bent and full of holes, on his coimter. The ducats
and the new zwanzigers he kept closely locked up,
and seemed to preserve merely as a sort of decoy to
attract customers.

Being now provided with real hard cash, I pur-

64 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

sued my way to the fortress, not, I confess, with-
out experiencing the unpleasant feeling of having
had the worst of a hargain; hut, as I said before,
commercial and financial matters were never my
/or/e, so I put up with my discomfiture as best I
could, only thankful that my loss was no greater.

1

65

CHAPTER VIL

A VISIT TO FATZLI PASHA.

I MUST now conduct the reader to the citadel, by
one of the many paths which connect it with the
town. In order to reach the interior, we had to
pass several lines of ramparts and fosses, protected
by gates and drawbridges. Belgrade must at one
time have been very strongly fortified, and, if kept
in any ordinary state of repair, would still be capa-
ble of holding out for a long time against an attack,
aided even by all the appliances of modem science;
the citadel is however so neglected, that in a few
years it will probably fall entirely to ruin. The
fosses and ramparts are overgrown with grass se-
veral feet high, the bridges and gates are in the
worst condition, and the wall considerably sunk.
Cannons, it is true, are planted in all directions ;
but their carriages, rudely constructed, are choked
up with a rank growth of thistles and bushes ; here
and there I even detected moss peeping from their

p

66 A VISIT TO BBLORABE.

mouths^ and dandelions springing from their toncli-
holes. Sentries mount gaard at the deserted gates
and at isolated points on the ramparts^ bnt seem
placed there more for the sake of dispelling their
own emmiy than to protect the works of the for-
tress.

The garrison consists principally of youths, whose
faces are much tanned and destitute of anything
like beard, except perhaps a meagre moustache;
their heads are protected from the sun by a red
fez, from the crown of which hangs a dark blue
tassel, fastened on with a small plate of copper;
their necks are either bare, or covered with a
coarse cravat, carelessly looped round. A blue
cloth jacket, with red facings and collar, white
linen trowsers, and thick shoes, complete the uni-
form. Each soldier carries a musket, a cartouch-
box, and a short side-arm attached to a black
leather-strap : this equipment is very simple, but
is appropriate, and even ornamental when kept in
proper order. But the frightful dirt which covers
the Turkish soldier from his neck down to his
tattered shoes, produces in the beholder a feeling
compounded of disgust and pity^ which is by no
means diminished by their lazy, careless carriage,
the feeble expression of their coxintenances, the rust
and filth on their weapons, and the wretched con-
dition of their guard-rooms. Of the green tents,
— ^-'^h once were pitched on the very plains before
'a, and struck terror into the nations around^

FATZLI PASHA. 67

one or two are now occasionally seen pitched at long
intervals in the trenches, with a lean and worn- out
charger cropping the rank grass beside them.

The interior of the fortification contains but few
buildings, and these, with the exception of the
mosque and the dwelling of the Pasha, are entirely
of a military character; the stronghold being in-
habited only by the garrison and the Pasha, with
his suite. All the buildings, except the mosque
and a new barrack, bear the marks of decay, and
are overgrown with weeds and grass.

The fortress, as I entered it, seemed like a city
of the dead ; a deep silence reigned around, not a
living creature was visible. I approached the house
which Moseh pointed out to me as the palace of
the Pasha : it was a large edifice, built of stone and
wood, but everywhere, even to the roof, in a ruinous
condition. I felt howQver that the palace of a
Pasha could hardly be destitute of human beings,
and determined to continued my search.

At the head of the stairs, which are carried up
outside, there was an open door; I entered, and at
last discovered a living being, in the form of a man
wrapped and muffled up to the ears, and squatting
in a corner of a bare and comfortless room. He
was fast asleep, and, fancying that he might be the
porter, or the holder of some equally important
post, who would be far from pleased at my awaking
him, I stole away quietly and continued my inves-
tigations in other rooms. I began to think that

68 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

Mosehj instead of conducting me to the residence
of the Pasha^ had brought me to some deserted pa-
lace of the Sultan, and that this slumbering figure
was the only living being in the place, left behind
by a Sultan perhaps five hundred years ago, when
he last quartered here, and who had never awakened
from that day to this. All at once however I was
startled by an extraordinary rattling in a neigh-
bouring room: discovering a dirty little door, I
opened it, and entered a small dark chamber, about
the floor of which heaps*of straw and some coarse
baskets were scattered, with two men squatting on
the ground, who were amusing themselves with dice.
" What do you want ?^^ inquired 6ne of the men,
a tall gaunt figure, looking like an Arab.
" Is the Pasha at home ?"
" He is at home."
^^ How can I get access to him?"
" You must inquire of Achmed Efiendi."
" Where is Achmed Efiendi to be foimd ?"

«

" Wait a moment ; I will help you to find him."
Whereupon the tall Arab got up, put his feet into
his slippers, and stepped before me into the pas-
sage. We were met by a man of low stature,
dressed in a black frogged surtout, and wearing
the fez ; he had a slouching gait, but there was an
expression of much acuteness and intelligence in
his face.

" This is Achmed Efiendi," cried the Arab, a6d
ied back to his game.

FATZU PASHA. 69

Achmed Effendi sainted me politely^ and ad-
dressed me with tlie words, '* In what way can I
he of service to yon ? {Womit kann ich Ihnen dienst-
bar seyn ?)*' thereby giving me to understand that
he was acquainted with the German language. I
asked if I could not be presented to his Excellency
the Pasha. Having made himself acquainted with
my name and position^ he replied, ''I will an-
nounce you to him at once ; follow me.''

On reaching the upper rooms, Achmed Effen^
be^ed my indulgence for a short time, until he
should inform the Pasha of my arrival. The place
in which he left me was a hu^ gloomy ante-
chamber, firom which a great many doors of various
fflses opened into rooms and closets, its aspect being
rendered still more dreary by the entire absence
of furniture. My presence by d^rees attracted a
number of fezzed and turbaned individuals, some
of whom were in a semi-European dress, some
in the Turkish costume ; they either sat down at
once on the ground, and taking the tespi between
their fingers, stupidly and silently gazed at me,
or remained standing at a distance and making
their remarks to each other in whispers. In one
of the rooms, which was blackened with smoke,
a dirty little fellow, with an extraordinarily lai^e
head, was sitting crossl^ged on the top of a kind
of press, and smoking a long pipe, which rested
on the floor ; firom time to time he stirred with a
spoon something in a vessel on the fire, and cast sig-

70 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

nificant looks upon the others. This was the coffee-
maker^ to all appearance busy in preparing an ex-
traordinary supply of that delightful beverage for
some of his friends, members of the household of
the Pasha. The steaming decoction of Mocha was
now ready, the cook was reaching forward the
small cups to be filled, one after another had crept
up to receive the proffered beverage, when sud-
denly Achmed Effendi appeared, and the improvised
coffee-feast became a matter of doubt : he had only
to utter a word, and all their hopes would vanish.
The detected feasters stood as if rooted to the earth,
awaiting their doom. Achmed Effendi however,
suspecting nothing of the coffee conspiracy, merely
begged me to follow him. At the door of the
Pasha^s reception-room he took off his shoes, and
entered in his stockings. But when I speak of a
reception-room, I must b^ the reader not to in-
dulge in any ideas of European elegance : that of
the Pasha was simply a large, cheerful, wainscoted
room, against the sides of which were placed soft
mindeluks covered with brocaded stuff; there were
besides two sofas and an old-fashioned fauteuil,
on the last of which sat Fatdi Pasha, smoking a
nargile. He appeared to be between forty and
fifty years of age; his features were noble, his
bearing distinguished, and his dress carefully and
even elegantly arranged. His beard was cut dose,
his fez was large and handsome, and under the
nson kaftan, bordered with white fur, appeared

7ATZLI PASHA. 71

a European dress of the most recent fashion and
finest materials. Upon the floor^ a few paces from
him^ and in the middle of the room^ stood the
nargile — a glass vessel containing water^ and some-
what resembling in form our modem machines for
making effervescing drinks. Above this^ in a bowl,
the finest tobacco was burning, the smoke of which
was conducted through the water by means of an
elastic tube about fifteen long, which was orna-
mented with parti-coloured tassels, and lay coiled
upon the ground.

Achmed Effendi directed me to a place on the
sofa to the right, and seated himself on the min-
deluk to the left, of the Pasha. As neither the
Pasha understood German, nor I Turkish, Achmed
Effendi was obliged to undertake the office of dra-
goman.

^^His Excellency desires to know from whence
you come.^' I said, from Austria.

" His Excellency asks from what part of Austria,
and of what nation, — whether you are an Hunga-
rian.^' I mentioned the place of my birth.

" Then you are not an Hungarian ; you did not
take part in the Hungarian war?'' I answered at
once in the negative, wishing to anticipate the sup-
position that I had come to demand aid or counsel
from the representative of the Porte ; and repeated
what I had already said to Achmed Effendi, that
I was merely travelling for amusement, and had no
request to make, except for permission to inspect

72 A nUT TO BEljCmADE.

the Mflitary Hospital and otiier institatioiis^ hay-
ing been infonned, onthe Austrian side of the river^
that in man j lespects thej were a pattern of prae*
tical arrangement.

Achmed Effendi made known my wishes to the
Fasha^ who nodded his head in sign of acquiescence^
and said it gave him great pleasure to hear that
any Turkish institution had met with approyal in
Austria; that^ in the character of Het}im-Bashi^ I
was at perfect liberty to examine eyerything, eyen
to the minutest details; and that he should feel
obliged if I would subsequently tell him what im-
pression I had received from my inspection. He
then spoke long^ and apparently yery earnestly^
with Achmed Effendi.

'^ His Excellency desires me to tell you that he
thinks the Turkish institutions are not properly
understood in Europe. We are reproached with
our want of progress and dread of reform. In
comparison with other countries, we are doubt-
less much behind; at the same time we acknow-
ledge it, and are using every means to retrieve
what we have neglected. The arrangements of
other nations will not always serve as an example
for us, and our performances should not be mea-
sured by their standard : our position is different,
and more diflScult. In other countries the people re-
quire reforms, and struggle against the conservatism
of their governments ; with us the case is reversed.
In other lands revolutions are effected by the

7ATZLI PASHA. 78

people ; in Turkey, by the Government. In other
countries the obstinacy of the rulers is the barrier
to progress ; with us the obstacles lie in the super-
stition^ or, I may say, the entire religious belief^
of the inhabitants ; with us religious faith is, and
has been from time immemorial, one with ^li-
tical faith, — our laws and form of administration
are laid down in our religious code, to which the
people adhere firmly. We shall never be in a posi-
tion to set about the work of reform earnestly, until
the mass of the people, as well as the intelligent
portion, are persuaded to consider the Church as
an institution separable from the State.^^

I ventured to observe that in Europe such a
course would be too tedious ; whilst the tendency
of Islamism is thus to impede reform, Christianity
is essentially progressive, impelling man toward the
highest development of which he is capable, ever
opening up new sources of enlightenment, and
affording new impulses to intellectual and moral
culture. This progressive spirit is so essential an
element, that even the Christians in Turkey cannot
divest themselves of it; free institutions, as they
exist in neighbouring Christian states, cannot be
unknown to them, and must infallibly awaken their
desire to enjoy similar blessings.

" Most certainly !^^ chimed in Achmed ; " we are
in a difficult predicament. We know perfectly well
what justice to the Rayahs requires of us ; but their
desires are so entirely opposed to those of the Turk-

74 A VISIT TO BELORADE.

isli people, that it would be impossible to reconcile
them. Should a portion of the Bayahs free them-
selves by revolutionary means, the Turks would
bear it quite unpertvu-bed, merely recognizing in
the event the hand of fate ; but they would never
suflTer their own Government to place the Bayahs
in a position of equality with themselves. The Gro-
vernment has therefore only one of two alterna-
tives, — either to throw itself for support on the
Rayahs, or depend on the people from wliich it has
itself emanated. Both the past history and present
sympathies of the former convince us that we
cannot depend upon them ; there is then but one
course left for us, — to frume our reforms according
tp the capability of the people to receive them,
and to introduce them gradually and unostenta-
tiously, so as not to arouse opposition. The ftiture
may open to us a more rapid system of operation,
when our people shall have learned to estimate the
value of progress.''

Our conversation, which was rendered doubly in-
teresting by the diflSculties under which we carried
it on, was here interrupted by the entrance of five
servants in blue laced coats, bringing in the tchi-
bouk, the presentation of which to a visitor is never
omitted. One of them placed the- tube in my
hand, a second deposited a tin plate for ashes imder
the liile (bowl), a third applied the lighted coal to
the tobacco, and the remaining two stood like a
couple of posts at the door; they all crossed their

FATZLI PASHA. 75

hands upon their breast on presenting the portion
of the pipe over which they had charge^ and per-
formed the same act of courtesy on retiring. The
five servants then stood in a row at the door, made
a salaam^ and retired in military order. The tchi-
bouk was followed by coffee. I cannot let this op-
portunity pass without remarking on the peculiar
courtesy and gracefulness displayed by both the
Turkish and Servian servants in receiving and ful-
filling orders, and on the complete contrast between
the refinement of their manners and the boorish-
ness of their exterior. There is an attentiveness, a
gentleness, even a grace, in their movements, which
Europeans would do well to copy. The only draw-
back is the European dress, which utterly disfigures
the Turk : the picturesque costume is necessary to
the graceful motion.

Achmed Efiendi, on a sign from the Pasha, now
rose, and invited me to follow him. The Pasha
dismissed me, seated and smoking, as he had re-
ceived me ; a gracious inclination of the head alone
.marked that he was satisfied with the interview. I
commenced my examination of the fortress under
the guidance of a Turk, — I think a Dervish, — to
whose particular care Achmed Effendi confided me.

76

CHAPTER VIII.

SERVIAN HOSPITALITY, AND SERVIAN WOMEN.

A STROLL through a Lazaretto is not calculated to
give one an appetite for dinner, especially a Turk-
ish Lazaretto, which I found to be anything but
deserving the praise I had heard bestowed upon
it. I will not edify my readers with a description
of my visit to the hospital wards, nor even of the
kitchen, where three brown Nizams were sitting
round a steaming kettle, in a room filled with
smoke, busied with rolling up boiled rice in cab-
bage-leaves, and with their filthy hands kneading
it into dumplings, which looked like fir-cones. I
prefer conducting my readers at once to the house
of the Gospodin G , where I had an opportu-
nity of making a complete study of the national
culinary art.

The house of the Gospodin was situated at some
distance from the Zdania, in a small bye -street. In
outward appearance it differed entirely from the

SERVIAN HOSPITALITY. 77

more modem edifices^ having preserved in its archi-
tecture and arrangement the original and peculiar
character of Servian dwelling-houses. As it forms
no part of the luxury of even the wealthiest Ser-
vians to keep a great idle fellow kicking his heels
all day long at the door, and vibrating between the
extremes of servility and rudeness according to the
rank of the visitor, I was compelled myself to per-
form the office of porter ; pushing open the great
creaking gate, I groped my way amid numerous
obstacles, in the shape of agricultural implements,
into a spacious courtyard, filled with pieces of
timber, carts, tubs, and barrels. The entrance
to the house was closed, and not a creature was
visible. A delicious odour however assailed my
olfactory nerves, — an odour which, according to
credible authority, has raised many a hungry child
of the Muses into a state of rapture, — I mean the
steam of the kitchen.

What a picture of bustle and excitement ! What
a steaming, blazing, crackling, bubbling, seething,
and roasting ! What a hurrying to and fix) in this
kitchen ! • A thousand hands, — for the sake of the
subject I must be forgiven the Homeric exagge-
ration, — a thousand hands laboured might and
main in preparing hecatombs of fowls and herds
of lambs and oxen, and in turning innumerable
spits. The products of entire kitchen-gardens
were chopped up and sliced, and pitched into the
steaming cauldron ; whilst myriads of fishes swam

78 A VISIT TO BlELORADE.

in seas of sauce. A kind of awe came over me at
the sight of these vast preparations^ an elevating
feeling coursed through my veins, and unconsci-
ously I burst forth in the words of the poet, —

'* Gesegnet sey das Haus,
Wo dies ist kleine Oabe ! "

My exclamation did not pass unobserved: a
powerful female figure, reminding one of the heroic
age, as much from her gigantic stature as from the
rigid simplicity of her costume, came out, and in-
quired if I were the expected guest. To my answer
in the affirmative she did not seem to give very
ready credence, hardly conceiving perhaps that
such a mighty feast could be prepared for such a
spare little man; nevertheless she instructed one
of her underlings to conduct me to the room in
which the Gospoda* was assembled to receive me ;
and in a few seconds I exchanged the appetizing
odour of the kitchen for the more ethereal scents
of Gospodin G 's beautiful garden.

The Servian gardens are generally kept in better
order than the Turkish; in bads and arbours, as
in everything else, the European style is adopted,
without however entirely sacrificing national pecu-
liarities. SmUye i bosilye (Everlasting and Basil)
are never omitted in the garden of a genuine Ser-
vian : these two flowers are to him what Violets and
Forget-me-nots are to a Gei;man, — the Alpha and

* Oospoda means the ladies and gentlemen of the fiamily —
Merrschqft,

SERVIAN HOSPITALITY. 79

Omega of his poetry of flowers. Smilye and bosilye
abound in love-ditties and hymeneal songs^ and are
woven into nursery rhymes and funeral dirges;
smilye and bosilye form the ready medium when a
young Servian wishes to compliment his mistress;
nor do smilye and bosilye fail at feasts and games.

" Golden goblets stand on the table,
Adorned with Basil and Eyerlasting.*'

" There went a youth to the hoose of his lore,
And he carried Basil and Everlasting in his g^irdle.*'

" A maiden walked early in the morning in the garden ;
She gathered Basil and Everlasting for her garland."

As I entered the garden, the last couplet, taken
from a Servian love-song, was recalled to my mind,
not merely by the presence of the favourite plants,
but by the apparition of a lovely girl, in the bloom
of youth, who was busy plucking flowers, —

*' Selbst so 8ch5n wie Smilje und Bosilje."

I had hardly caught a glimpse of her beautiful form
and the little red fez on her coal-black hair, when
she disappeared behind an elder-bush. Thinking
it would be contrary to etiquette to pursue the
maiden into the shady walk of elders and jasmine,
I directed my steps to a quarter of the garden from
which I could hear the sound of several voices in
animated conversation, now and then interrupted
by peals of hearty laughter. I soon found that
I had not mistaken my path: in a few moments
I stood within a cool arbour, in the presence of
the Gospodin G and a small party of Servian

80 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

gentlemen, who seemed by no means inclined to
take things too much in earnest.

Gospodin G was an old Servian of the ge-
nuine stamp, tall, broad-shouldered, and powerful,
with a ruddy face, and grey, almost white, mous-
taches. He at once recognized me as the person
who had brought letters of introduction to him ;
with a shake of the hand he warmly bade me wel-
come, and, kindly smiling, handed me a glass of
rakia, and made room for me to sit beside him.

" It was kind of you to accept my unceremonious
invitation ; but when I heard you were a Tschek, I
thought you would not stand on punctilio. That
is the way with us Servians, — we invite any one
we like, prince or priest, though we should never
have seen him before, or do not even know his
name. I have not the least idea what your name
is, and yet you are my most welcome guest."

I was about to mention my name, but was pre-
vented by the Gospodin: ^'It is quite unneces-
sary," he said ; ^^ I did not invite you on account
of your name, I invited yourself; and now finish
your glass of rakia. That is our way in Servia : we
think it puts the stomach in order, and that he who
would eat a good dinner, should sit down with a
cheerful heart and a well-prepared stomach."

I took the glass, and emptied it, with the words
" Na zdravlye !" (Success to the giver) . In pro-
nouncing these two simple words I little knew the
consequences that would ensue.

8EEVIAN HOSPITALITY. 81

To reciprocate politeness is with the Servians a
sacred law^ and one which they would be especially
afihamed to violate^ in the presence of a glass of

wine or a bottle of rakia ; Gospodin G at any

rate was the last person upon whom such an impu-
tation would be cast. He responded to my saluta*
tion by quaffing a large glass of the same liquor :
this was equivalent to " Zdravlye nasoga hostenO'
ga gosta ! ^' (To the health of our much-honoured
guest). All the gentlemen present^ not to show
themselves heretics to ancient Servian customs,
were obliged to follow the example. To prevent
even the suspicion of heterodoxy, a priest, who was
present, — a tall, thin man, with a spare beard, —
rose, and assuming an imposing attitude, filled a
large glass with rakia, and drained it off to my
health ; he then removed the little silk cap which
the priests always wear, and began : " Most worthy
host ^' The worthy host however, who had pro-
bably heard enough of the priest^s discourses in his
day, would not allow him to proceed. He made
repeated efforts to obtain a hearing, but at last
with a deep sigh sat down. Every one now began
to drink his neighbour's health, and I do not know
to what state my unfortimate words would have
brought us, had we not been interrupted by the
approach of the mistress of the house. " Gentlemen,
the dinner is served,^' said he lady. This agreeable
intelligence put a stop to the rakia-drinking.
^^Come, gentlemen,^^ said our host, rising, "let

o

82 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

US see what sort of a feast our majka (mother) has
prepared, in honour of our guest from the land of
the Tseheks."

We all stood up, and the mistress of the house^
whose duty it is to precede the guests, led the way
to the dining-room. At the foot of the stairs the
'^Gospa^' took off her shoes, and put on another
pair, which lay ready on the lowest step. The
practice of changing the shoes is invariably ob-
served in all Servian houses of distinction, where
the original customs of the coimtry are maintained.
Master and mistress, sons and daughters, guests
and servants, all deposit on the lowest step of the
house-stairs the shoes which they have worn in the
fields, the streets, or even in the garden, and put
on a cleaner pair ; these again they take off at the
top, and put on a third pair before entering the
dwelling-rooms; in many houses indeed they do
not enter the rooms in shoes at all, but take off the
third pair at the threshold, walking into the room
in their stockings. This custom is quite necessary,
in consequence of the filthy state of the court-
yards, in which cattle are kept, and the mud in the
streets, produced by the frequent torrents of rain,
which here fall like waterspouts.

The Gospa, having changed her shoes for the
third time, led us into the dining-room. In the
middle stood a long table, profusely covered .with
plates, dishes, jugs, bottles, and glasses ; the golden-
loured rakia held the place of honour in one gi-

SESYIAN HOSPITALITY. 83

gantic flagon, whilst others glowed with rich ruby
wine j nor wajs there any lack of silver vessels, for
a Servian loves to make an impression upon his
guest. The Gospodin took the' head of the table,
the Gospa being on his left, and myself on his
right ; next to the Gospa sat the captain, next to
me the priest, and the rest of the party below.
No nation maintains a stricter etiquette in the ar-
rangement of guests at table than the Servians,
and any breach of it would be severely animad-
verted on. Bank, seniority, social position, and
even affection or wealth, are the qualifications which
determine the order of precedence.

The table was loaded with delicacies, which, both
in quantity and quality, were worthy of the boasted
hospitality of the Servians. The rakia-drinking
was soon renewed, nor was the quenching of our
thirst confined to that beverage alone. The quan-
tity these Servians wiU drink is amazing : so long as
their lips can articulate the words '^Na zdravlye!^'
they will respond to it by emptying a glass. Gos-
podin G was in this respect no innovator : he

kept his guests steadily to their work, and, with
the exception of myself, had certainly no reason
to complain of their backwardness. The servants
had enough to do in bringing up iresh supplies of
wine from the cellar, so rapidly did we empty the
bottles.

My worthy neighbour, the priest, who had been
cut short in his prseprandial discourse, perform

«TV»0«

84 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

miracles : he sat and swilled^ and^ like all men who
are in earnest^ mamtained perfect silence, except
when he had to propose a health. He was deter-
mined however to relieve his breast of the pent-up
discourse of the morning ; so he rose, and proposing
the health of the host instead of the guest, he be-
gan : — " To thy health, brother Hausherr! By the
help of God and to the honour of his name, we
are met once more at thy hospitable board, to
exalt thy reputation and diminish thy wine. May
thy head shine with the honour of the Patriarch
and the splendour of Woiwoden ! May the Lord
give thee wheat in fiiU measure and com in abun-
dance, but wine in stiU greater proportion; and
mayest thou pour it forth at thy table to the praise
of God and the delight of thy friends ! May He
adorn thy house, bless thy laud, increase thy hearth!
May thy brothers love thee, and friends come to
thee from all the comers of the earth, laden with
love and praise ! When thou leavest thy house,
mayest thou always return to it with honour and
prosperity ! May God will, that as we drink with
thee today, so may we always do! Honoured
brother, may our gratitude be a pleasure to thee,
and may the Mother of God send thee good for-
tune ! Mayest thou ever be in a position to serve
thy friends, and not require the same from them in
return ! May the Lord impart to thee what is good ;
may He and the Saints stand by thee; may he
Koof ow upon thee an abundance, that thou mayest

SERVIAN HOSPITALITY. 85

receive guests at thy table during the remainder
of thy life ! As many goblets as we drain at thy
boards so many sons^ daughters-in-law, and grand-
children mayest thou have, to the honour of thy
name ! May they be a glory and an ornament to
thee, as the waves to the sea, as the rainbow and
the glittering stars to the heavens, as the blossoms
to the trees, as the lightning to the clouds, the
seeds to the fields, and martial deeds to heroes!
And, to conclude with one more good wish, may
the avengers upon thine enemies be as difficult to
count as the drops in this bowl \"

The Gospodin accepted the toast, and then pro-
posed the health of his foreign guest, in a speech
which diflFered &om the last only in its profuse
adornment with poetry and proverbs ; I will how-
ever spare my readers, thinking they have had
quite enough in the specimen already given. Mean-
time wine was rapidly disappearing, and glasses
were being emptied, when I was kindly rescued
from the Saturnalia by the Gospa, who proposed to
accompany me to one of the Djamias (mosques),
in which the Turks were then celebrating their pe-
nitential services.

86

CHAPTER IX.

SERVIAN AND TURKISH WOMEN.— A DJAMIA.

FRANKISH JEWS.

In the same arbour in which Gospodin G-

had regaled his friends with rakia, I found a fair
circle of Servian women, waiting for the " Milostiva
Gospa/' and employing the interval of her absence
in discussing coffee and sherbet. The women are
as refined, courteous, and even fastidious, in their
deportment, as the men are hardy and unpolished.
In dress they follow the fashion of the day,
in adopting French materials, while they retain
their national form of costume; thus you see
skirts of the finest merino or costly satin, sur-
mounted by the Servian jacket of cloth or silk,
trimmed with fiir ; a small flat fez, worn a little on
one side, protects the head, round which are twisted
the long heavy braids of coal-black hair; gold
rings adorn the ears, over which droops gracefiilly
he long blue silk tassel ; one or two gold coins are

SESVIAN WOMEN. 87

twined with the hraids of hair^ or passed through
the tassel^ but the headgear is never deemed com-
plete without a rose or carnation stuck carelessly
'beneath the fez ; a single or double string of gold
coins as a necklace^ and a thin silk scarf as a girdle,
complete the simple and elegant costume of the
Servian women of the better class. Their deport-
ment and conversation are imbued with a graceful-
ness, which would astonish those who have been
accustomed to form their ideas of the Servians from
Hungarian despatches and memoirs, which depict
them as little better than a horde of robbers.

«

Their social customs and habits of politeness are
neither French nor German, yet at the same time
refined and courteous.

The young girl whom I had before dinner sur-
prised in the garden, now came forward to meet
me, and presented me with a rose and a sprig of
basil. " My daughter," remarked the lady of the
house, " gives you these flowers, to show that you
are a welcome guest in her garden: that is our
custom. Women we greet with flowers and kisses,
but men must for the present content themselves
without the latter."

I put the rose and basil in my button-hole, and
offered to the beautiful dark-eyed maiden the as-
sistance of my arm, on our road to one of the
Djamias, the minarets of which, rising amidst
groups of trees and variously-coloured houses,
looked like so many pepper-boxes. I beg to say

88 A TISIT TO BEL6BADE.

I make this simile in no spirit of irreverence^ but
at this moment my thoughts and feelings were
deeply imbued with the material appliances of Ser-
vian hospitality; indeed, to show how completely
Epicurean my thoughts had become (I must own
my head was not quite free from the Negotin wine),
I found myself complimenting my fair companion
on her lips, which I compared to the most delicious
rose sherbet, regretting at the same time that I bad
no opportunity of testing their sweetness, — ^her eyes
to the polished ebony beads of the priest's rosary,
who had counted off by it his glasses of rakia in-
stead of his paternosters, — and her taper fingers to
the most delicate biscuits which ever appeared at
her father's table.

As we entered a narrow street I observed some
extraordinary muffled-up figures about thirty paces
before us. I at first hesitated as to what sort of
animals they were: neither sons of Adam nor
daughters of Eve, thought I, thus stalk through
life; they came nearer to one's idea of the three
witches who greeted the Thane of Glamis and Caw-
dor on the heath, than anything else. Long cover-
ings, hardly to be called clothes, enveloped the body
from the neck to the heels, falling in full but un-
gracefiil folds, which seemed expressly devised to
disfigure or conceal the human form. These grace-
less sacks, made of green or brown doth, trailed
along the ground, carrying with them the straws

i thistles which they encountered on the road.

TURKISH WOMBN. 89

The head was like a round bundle of white lincn^
and the whole figures suggested the idea of peri-
patetic mounds of earth surmounted by snowballs,
or gigantic rice-dumplings enveloped in cabbage-
leaves^ such as I had seen in the kitchen of the La-
zaretto. I asked my young Servian companion what
these curious objects were, waddling along the street.
^' Why, Gospodin, donH you know ? they are Turk-
ish women !'^ replied the astonished Gospodicna.

'* Turkish women !" I exclaimed in amazement;
'^ are these then the Odalisques which our painters
represent to us in such richness of colour and
beauty of form? — ^these the Bayaderes and the
Houris, in whose embraces earth becomes heaven,
and heaven itself a refined and purified earth ?^^ and
I inwardly thanked God that I was not a Turk.

'' You must not be shocked, Gospodin,^^ replied
my conductress ; *' their laws and customs require
this of the Turkish women, whom you never see
otherwise in the streets than wrapped in cloaks
from top to toe, be the heat ever so great. You
must not however suppose that this is their proper
attire : although they appear thus disfigured in the
streets, they are brilliantly dressed at home, where
they indulge in a passionate love of dress. They
vie with each other in the hideousness of their out-
of-doors costume, that it may never enter into any
man^s head to approach them too nearly.

'' If that be their object,^' I repUed, " I must
give the Turkish ladies credit for complete success.

90 A TISIT TO BELGRADE.

I have however been given to understand that this
custom originated in the too well-founded jealousy
of the men, rather than in any extraordinary bash-
fiilness on the part of the ladies themselves. And
is there then no chance of beholding a Turkish
lady VI inquired.

'^ Impossible, Gospodin ! — at least at her home.
We Servian ladies are however on intimate terms
with them : we visit them, and they us. Ugly as
these figures appear to you^ there are among them
many beautiful women. The moment they enter
their rooms, they throw off the hideous outer gar-
ment, and you see them handsomely dressed, ac-
cording to their fortune or rank in life. The white
doth is removed from the head, and beautiful
tresses peep out from a rich shawl bound round
the forehead; pendants hang from their ears, and
precious stones adorn their necks ; upper garments
of the heaviest and richest silks fall in beautifiil
folds, the remainder being of lace, crape, and the
finest linen. You should just for once see the
Pashitza (wife of the Pasha) when she receives
visits: you would not believe it possible that so
noble a figure, adorned with silks and satins, and
gold and pearls, could be transformed into such an
abominable bundle of clothes. In the streets they
appear awkward and uncouth, but in their own
apartments they recline in graceful attitudes upon
the softest couches, and introduce a mirror into
every available corner of the room, into which they

TURKISH WOMEN. 91

are never weary of gazing. Their leisure-time they
employ at the loom or in embroidery : in the latter
they are very clever, and exhibit a great deal of
taste. The Turkish husband takes great pride in
tlie beautiful maramas (handkerchiefs) which his
wives embroider for him. Look at my marama ;
it was presented to me by a Turkish lady, who
embroidered it herself ;'* and the yoimg Serbian
lianded it to me. I was astonished at the beauty
of the work : it consisted of a piece of blue muslin,
covered with the most delicate spangles of silver
and gold, and minutely embroidered in patterns
with white, blue, green, and yellow silk.

''But,'' said I, "if these Turkish ladies are al-
ways, at their own homes, invisible to strangers of
the other sex, there is the more reason why we
should endeavour to see something of them when
we meet them abroad.'' In truth, my imagination,
previously excited by the wonderful harem adven-
tures which abound in the narratives of our tour-
ists, was still more aroused by what my young
companion had just told me.

''I recommend you to attempt nothing of the
kind," answered the Gospodiena; '' you might easily
get into trouble. A case occurred lately, in which
an Austrian gentleman, who insisted on looking
at the face of a Turkish woman whom he met in
the street, nearly lost his life. The woman shrieked
out for help, and had not some Servians fortu-
nately been present, I believe the Turks would have
murdered him."

92 A TISIT TO BSL6&ADE.

I had no intentioii of following the dangerous
example of mj oonntryman^ and risking my life for
a momentary peep at a Torkish beauty; still I
thought of accomplishing by stratagem what I
dared not attempt publicly. I accordingly quickened
my steps^ which^ being remarked by the fair Turks,
caused them to slacken their speed and to bury
themselyes still deeper in their outward garments.
I soon overtook them, and, to put them off their
guard, passed on without taking any notice of them.
I turned down a narrow street, and concealing
myself behind some thick bushes, where I could
see and not be seen^ I awaited the approach of tlie
ladies. My young Servian firiend was obliged to
join in the stratagem. The women gradually drew
near: the heat was oppressive^ and not a breath
of air stirred; not fearing a surprise, they had
loosened their garments, and drawn back the white
cloths &om their faces. I cast a rapid and piercing
glance over the little troop. Alas for the vanity of
human wishes, the mockery of curiosity ! Wherever
I looked, I saw only old and withered faces^ — shri-
velled Moors with dazzling white teeth and yellow
hands, or pale faces, either old and furrowed, or,
if young, utterly faded, — ^with not a trace of the
bloom of youth on any of them. Unconsciously
I allowed an exclamation of disappointment to

escape me.

" Your stratagem was hardly worth the trouble,"
remarked my companion a little maliciously, as we
were about to emerge from our ambush.

TUBKIBH WOMEN. 93

All at once we were startled by a crashing sound
in the bushes. The young girl sprang back in
terror ; at our feet lay a large stone^ which, had it
stmck the head at which it was aimed, would have
eased it for ever from all trouble ; a second and a
third followed : the Turkish women had discovered
jiSy and, enraged that a Giaour should so cunningly
have gained a sight of their charms, had torn up
£rom the street the largest stones they could find,
and in Turkish fashion rewarded the stranger for
his delicate attention. An indescribable howl,
which served as a running accompaniment to the
stoning, alarmed me, lest I should meet with the
fate from which the Austrian had been happily
saved. I decided on getting out of range of the
missiles as fast as possible, and waiting the ar-
rival of the Milostiva Gospa, who spoke Turkish
extremely well. Fortunately she and her party
arrived sooner than a Turkish smith, whom I saw
coming up as fast as he could, hammer in hand,
and attended by three Cyclops, to avenge the out-
rage on his countrywomen.

The lady of the Gospodin knew how to pour oil
on the troubled waters : a few soft words, with a
present in money to the smith, and the abandon-
ment by the Servian ladies of their embroidered
maramas to the fair Turks, whose modesty had
been so greatly oflFended, induced the latter to de-
clare their honour satisfied, and, what was more to
the purpose, to leave us in peace.

94 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

" You may think yourself very lucky/' said the
Gospa, "to escape thus easily. Another time, if
you should wish to see Turkish women, you must
manage differently; it is not so difficult as some
suppose, and by no means requires one to run the
risk of being stoned to death. They are only so
shy when they get old, or when many of them are
together, for they are afraid of each other : when
alone, they take the matter more cooUy.''

A few minutes after this adventure we arrived
at one of the many Djamias of the Dortjols. The
courtyard was laid out as a garden, tolerably well
arranged and prettily planted; and on the turf,
under the shade of jasmine-trees, a number of
Turks, old and young, were lying about, smoking
their tchibouks and chatting, imtil the Muezzin
should annoimce from the minaret the hour of
prayer.

"Komschiah!" cried a familiar voice, which,
without seeing the speaker, I at once recognized.
A little man, dressed in a crimson Friday's dress
richly laced with gold, sprang from a reclining po-
sition on the grass, and came forward with friendly
greetings. This individual, who, from the magni-
ficence of his attire, might have passed for a Pasha
of Macedonia or Bulgaria, was no other than my
friend Hassan, the pipe-maker, whose sole occupa-
tion during the rest of the week was to press with
his dirty hands red clay into leaden moulds.

'^What brings you to our Djamia?'' inquired

THE DJAHIA. 95

the Liiledjiah. "Are you going to turn Turk, —
and that pretty girl with you ? I tell you what,
Komschiah, you would not make a bad Moslem :
you are learned, and might become a Dervish or a
Mufti, or perhaps Hetjim-Bashi to the Nizam of
the Sultan; and your friend there would make the
prettiest Pashitza I ever saw/^

''Let him alone!" growled a deep bass voice,
which could belong to no one but the cobbler
Youssuf j '' it is easier to make a new shoe out of
a tattered sUpper, than a thorough-going honest
Moslem out of one who has not been bom in
Islam. Not one of the foreigners have sworn
by the Koran because they thought it the best,
but because Turkish gold weighs heavier, and is
more easily earned, than Swabian banknotes."

I disavowed all intention of becoming a convert
to Islamism, and said I had been led hither by
curiosity, and a desire to see how the children of
Osman and Seljuk worship that one God whose
only Prophet was Mahomet, — that Mahomet who
fled from Medina, and whose light has never since
been extinguished, although he has long lain buried
in a coffin of brass at Mecca.

''You are free to do so," replied Hassan, who
seemed astonished at my intimate acquaintance
with the Koran.

I will lead you in myself," rejoined the cobbler;

although you will never be a true Turk, yet you
know all that a Turk should know, and are worthy

€(

mt L. ,_.

Ja.

THE DJAMIA. 97

^.iiall I?" said the young Turk who handed
... .iic pipc^ appealing to the master of the house
.. . 1. nuking down at my boots.

. . r of the pointed turban nodded assent ; and
.. .i^.f I could answer, the fellow had caught hold
v/i ..:} feet, and was tugging away with might and
, . . \ to disencumber me of my boots. This was
. . M) easy as he imagined, and far from agree-
u \ to me : it requires some practice, and no little
.. !.'!tness, to haul a pair of tight boots from the
^. '. I of a man seated on a floor well strewn with
. .1(1, and presenting no point d'appui. After some
. /'j.nir however he succeeded, and I was reduced
I ' a proper condition for entering a mosque*

This feat accomplished, the Superior rose from
his >eat, his example being followed by all present ;
our pipes were placed in one comer of the room,
iiWY shoes thrust into another, and we prepared to
enter the place for worship, which was separated
only by a small chamber from the apartment of
the Dervishes.

In extent the Djamia was nothing more than
a tolerably large and lofty room; the walls were
painted all round with innumerable green strokes,
which were evidently intended by the artist to re-
present trees and bushes ; a niche in the wall, fa-
cing the entrance, was somewhat more elaborately
ornamented, and contained a burning lamp. Some
Turks had already taken up their position on the
floor, upon sheepskins and blankets, forming a wide

98 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

circle ; and new comers squatted down beside tibem,
tucking their feet under their bodies. The pock-
marked Turk took his place under the niche^ and
the penitential performances began.

Dependence on a higher Being, the recognition
of his illimitable power, fear of having broken his
laws, and the necessity of repentance and abase-
ment, are doctrines inseparable from aU human
forms of religion. One faith enjoins fasting, an-
other mortification ; the worshiper of the fire-^irit
on a barren island in the wide ocean, thinks he
is fulfilling the wishes of his God when he tor-
tures his body in a bed of nettles ; the wild Indian
imagines he propitiates his Deity by cleaving his
hand &om his arm. Of all religions, Mohamme-
danism is certainly not one which inculcates the
belief that man renders a nobler and more welcome
homage to the Supreme Being by the enjoyment of
life in its highest and purest pleasures, than by the
wilful sacrifice of its happiness. I must say that
the sight of these thirty or forty Turks, at their
penance on the floor of the Djamia, was to me
most painful and repulsive, exemplifying as it did
the baseness and d^radation of the worshipers,
who thought to honour the Almighty by grovelling
on the earth before Him, rather than by a reve-
rential admiration of the beauty and power which
are manifest in the smallest as weU as the greatest
of His works. Deep sadness came over me, when
I thought of the ideas such men must have formed

THX DJAMLU 99

of the Infinite Being whom they meant to propi-
tiate by such penance.

The chief Dervish shook his head from side to
side^ drawled out a Turkish prayer, in that nasal
twang and modulation chiefly to be remarked in
the Jews, and then called loudly upon Allah. The
whole congregation then began to sing out the
words ^'£1 Allah ! il Allah !'^ with a peculiar into-
nation, laying the stress always upon the words el
and i/. They uttered these words about a himdred
times^ slowly and in a deep voice, then gradually
mcreasing in rapidity and chromatic gradation,
until they reached a point, both in speed of utte-
ranee and shrillness of voice, which could hardly
have been surpassed. They accompanied these ex-
clamations with a rolling, not of the head alone,
but of the whole body, growing more and more
rajHd, until it produced dizziness. When the final
'^El Allah! il AUah!'' was shrieked out, they feU
down exhausted, their voices sinking suddenly from
the highest tones to the lowest murmur. Nume-
rous supplications of a similar kind were uttered
by the Superior, with regularly increasing rapidity,
elevation of tone, and bodily action, difiering only
from the first in greater exertion and quicker move-
ment. At last, their faces pale and haggard, and
their bodies reeking with perspiration, they began
to strike the groimd with their foreheads, and to
beat each other frantically with their clenched
fists : then I could endure it no longer, and hur-

100 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

ried from the Djamia into the apartment of tlie
Dervishes ; I could not bear, from mere curiosity,
to witness such an exhibition of fanaticism and
self-abasement.

A continued shrieking resounded through the
building, followed by a suppressed murmur or
whine, Hke the groans of a slave imder his master's
lash. This gradually yielded to a shrill wailing
chant, as of atonement, and finally the song alone
was heard. The penitential service was now over :
the penitents rose and left the Djamia; pale and
exhausted, but with countenances expressive of per-
fect repose, as if nothing had occurred to disturb
their equanimity.

"Well, Komschiah, would you not like to be-
come a Turk?^^ asked Master Hassan with an air
of profound self-satisfaction; and I must do him
the justice to say that, in shrieking and swaying
his body, he had greatly distinguished himself.
Instead of answering him, I b^ged he would take
me at once to the ladies.

" I see, Komschiah," said the Turk, '^ you are
not fit to be a Moslem, or you would understand
that I cannot take you to a place where women
are assembled, the moment I have completed my
hour of penance. You, Moseh, bring the Effendi's
ladies from the garden."

Moseh, who had been all this time asleep on
a stone bench in front of the Djamia, jumped up
and went in search of the MUostiva Gospa and

THB DJAHIA. 101

her friends. They were sitting in a comer of the
garden^ by a cupola erected over a natural foun-
tain^ which here gushed from the ground. Every
Turk^ on leaving the Djamia^ went to drink of the
water^ which was excellent^ and was believed to
possess miraculous qualities. A handsome boy^
about thirteen, served it in a copper bowl to all
comers, who invariably repeated a verse from the
Koran before drinking. At a signal from the head
Pervish, some of the water was handed to us, and
WQ then departed.

After proceeding a short distance, I observed a
marked difference in the appearance of the people
we met. The women and girls were dressed in
Servian style, but some wore silk handkerchief
round the fez, apparently to conceal their hair;
whilst others had their hair ornamented with gold
coins, as if to display their wealth. The men wore
a long dark-coloured kaftan, different from that
of the Turks, a striped under-garment reaching to
the heels, and either a dark cloth cap, a turban,
or a fez.

^^ We are now in the Jalia,'' remarked my con-?
ductress, — ^^ the part of the town inhabited by the
Jews.''

A pretty brown face, with sparkling black eyes
peeping from a mass of ebony hair, nodded to us
from one of the windows. The head, which plainly
evidenced its desceut from one of the Patriarchs,
was certainly very beautiful, and its beauty was

102 ▲ VISIT TO BELGRADE.

greatly set off by a costly little red fez, ornamented
with five rows of double ducats ; there was also a
weighty necklace of gold coins round the maiden's
neck.

" She is a Jewish bride," said my companion.

'^ The daughter of the wealthy Isaac,'' added the
MUostiva Gospa.

The young bride appeared at the door, and^
having kissed my companion, invited us to enter.

The Jews in Belgrade, as throughout Turkey,
separate themselves entirely from their fellow Is-
raelites in other parts of Europe, and consider
themselves a distinct race. The " German Jews,"
as they term their European brethren, are not suf-
ficiently strict in their observance of the Mosaic
law to be recognized by them as genuine descend-
ants of Israel ; they regard them as semi-apostates^
and avoid forming any ties of relationship with
them, The Turkish or " Frankish " Jews, as they
call themselves, observe the Sabbaths and festivals^
and the minutest of the Levitical ceremonies, to
the letter of the law, and resist reformation in
the most trivial matters. Their language is a sort
of Spanish jargon, which, in their commercial
dealings, they write in Hebrew characters. In
the Hebrew language, which they pronounce differ-
ently from the German Jews, they are mostly well
versed; but they have neither scientific knowledge,
nor any ambition to acquire learning, except such
elates to the Bible or the Talmud. The boys

TURKISH JEWl^. 103

are brought up to trade^ and the girls to household
work ; both are early betrothed and married.

The daughter of the wealthy Isaac was about
thirteen^ tall and slender^ bruney rather childish in
appearance^ with eyes expressive of good-humour,
but unintellectual. She introduced us into the
" great room/^ where the mistress of the house,
seated on a low ottoman and surrounded by the
sisters of the bride, was giving orders to her maids.
It was Friday afternoon, and everjrthing was pre-
pared for the commencement of the Sabbath:
fresh wicks lay ready for Ughting on the branches
of the brass lamps, and tables and presses were
covered with clean cloths. The good lady bore
on her head, breast, and wrists, a small fortune in
ducats; the children were in their gay Sabbath
dresses.

^^We hear that your eldest daughter is be-
trothed,^' said the Milostiva Gospa; "we have
taken this opportunity of offering our hearty good
wishes.'^

"What can we do?'' replied the Jewess: "the
girl is past thirteen; there is no time to be lost."

"And who is the bridegroom?"

" Ben Rastali, the Jew."

" K I mistake not, he is a rich man," said the
Milostiva Gospa; "you wiU have to give a pretty
good dowry."

" We shall do what poor folks like us can," said
the Jewess : " we intend to give our Rachel two

104 A VISIT TO BELGRADE.

thousand ducats^ full weighty without reckoning
those she wears. More than that we cannot spare ;
we have other children, you know, to provide for/'

The door opened, and a young man entered,
bearing a flat silver dish filled with pastry. He
bowed slightly, then went straight to the bride,
kissed her, and placed the dish at her feet. The
girl took it up, blushing deeply; and the Jew,
kissing her again, left the room without having
uttered a word.

^^He has visited us,'' said the mother of the
bride, "once a week since their betrothal. He
always comes just before the Sabbath, kisses his
bride, and lays at her feet some pastry which his
mother has made, that the girl may think of him
all the week. He must repeat this from Friday to
Friday for a year, before he can take her home as
his wife. That is the way, amongst us, in which
bridegroom and bride must conduct themselves."

This method of wooing, however romantic, did
not seem to meet the approval of the Gospodiena;
she took her young Jewish friend aside, and I over-
heard her advocating, in a lively manner, that sy-
stem of love-making in which the heart and lips
are allowed free intercourse. The young Jewess
did not seem at all disinclined to the arguments of
her friend, and it is hard to say how far her con-
version might have been accomplished, had not our
visit been terminated by the shrill call of an old
Jew, who appeared at the window.

TURKISH JEWS. 105

''It is time to light the lamps/' said the Jewess;
^^ our Shamas (servant of the synagogue) has just
given us notice."

''We will not disturb their religious observances/'
said the Milostiva Gospa to me; "in Belgrade we
have three Sabbaths every week : the Turks keep
theirs on Friday, the Jews on Saturday, and the
Christians on Sunday.''

We took leave of our Hebrew acquaintances,
and after a short walk I found myself again in the

dining-room of Gospodin G . Nothing had

changed since I left it : the Gospodin sat smiling
at the table, the Priest showed no traces of his
morning's disappointment, the Captain seemed still
to have stowage for another bottle, and the other
two guests looked like those heroes celebrated in
song,—

** Who sat quaffing red wine so long and so bold,
Till the whites of their eyes were yellow as gold.
And the tears o'er their flush'd cheeks downward roU'd.*'

Thus ended my short but pleasant visit to the
renowned city of Belgrade.

THE END.

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