my disguise would instantly have been seen
through, and I should have been exposed to much annoyance. I
therefore preferred retaining the simple costume, consisting of a
kind of blouse and wide Turkish trousers, which I then wore. The
further I travelled, the more I became persuaded how rightly I had
acted in not concealing my sex. Every where I was treated with
respect, and kindness and consideration were frequently shewn me
merely because I was a woman. On

May 17th

I embarked on board a steamboat belonging to the Austrian Lloyd. It
was called the Archduke John.

It was with a feeling of painful emotion that I stood on the deck,
gazing with an air of abstraction at the preparations for the long
voyage which were actively going on around me. Once more I was
alone among a crowd of people, with nothing to depend on but my
trust in Providence. No friendly sympathetic being accompanied me
on board. All was strange. The people, the climate, country,
language, the manners and customs--all strange. But a glance upward
at the unchanging stars, and the thought came into my soul, "Trust
in God, and thou art not alone." And the feeling of despondency
passed away, and soon I could once more contemplate with pleasure
and interest all that was going on around me.

Near me stood a poor mother who could not bear to part with her son.
Time after time she folded him in her arms, and kissed and blessed
him. Poor mother! wilt thou see him again, or will the cold ground
be a barrier between you till this life is past? Peace be with you
both!

A whole tribe of people came noisily towards us;--they were friends
of the crew, who bounced about the ship from stem to stern,
canvassing its merits in comparison with French and English vessels.

Suddenly there was a great crowding on the swinging ladder, of
chests, boxes, and baskets. Men were pushing and crushing backwards
and forwards. Turks, Greeks, and others quarrelled and jostled each
other for the best places on the upper deck, and in a few moments
the whole large expanse wore the appearance of a bivouac. Mats and
mattresses were every where spread forth, provisions were piled up
in heaps, and culinary utensils placed in order beside them; and
before these preparations had been half completed the Turks began
washing their faces, hands, and feet, and unfolding their carpets,
to perform their devotions. In one corner of the ship I even
noticed that a little low tent