old castle for which it is
famous. This was put into repair by the rebellious Ali Pacha, and was
the last position held by him before he was taken prisoner by Omer
Pacha. It is simply a rectangular enclosure, with square towers at
intervals in place of bastions, and would afford little security against
an army provided with artillery. In addition to the weakness of its
defences, it is so situated as to be formidable only to the town which
lies beneath it, since it is commanded by several points on the
surrounding hills, where batteries might be safely erected at short
ranges. On the towers and their connecting curtains are many old guns,
some mounted, and others lying as they have probably lain for centuries.
Some of these are of the time of Maria Theresa, and nearly all were
ornamented with inscriptions and designs. The custom of naming guns or
giving them mottoes is very ancient and widely spread. I remember seeing
a number of Sardinians grouped round a gun in Capua upon the day of its
surrender to the Garibaldian and Piedmontese forces. They appeared much
amused, and on enquiring the cause of their merriment, I found it to be
the result of their appreciation of the motto upon the gun, which ran as
follows:--'Ultima ratio regum.' (the last argument of kings), an
argument which at any rate told with little effect in the case of
Francis II., for the simple reason that it was introduced at the wrong
moment. Doubtless some of these relics of Eastern warfare possessed as
pointed and applicable dicta as that of Capua, and had I had sufficient
time I should have scraped off the mould and rust of accumulated ages,
and have copied some of the inscriptions. That they could be fired was
placed beyond a doubt by the promiscuous medley of explosions which
greeted us, and which I purposely abstain from calling a salute, so
unlike was it to everything one has been wont to classify under that
name.

Omer Pacha passed that night in the house of an opulent Mussulman, while
I was billeted upon the principal Christian inhabitant, a Greek[O]
shopkeeper. These men, one of whom is to be found in most of the
principal towns and large villages, may be regarded as the Parsees of
Turkey. Their shops are tolerably well supplied with European
commodities, and their owners are far in advance of their
fellow-townsmen in cleanliness and civilisation. Yet, in spite of this,
some of the modes in which they delight to honour even the passing
stranger