he parade
ground before the barracks, just as they had dismounted, and were
walking about their horses to cool. We had some little hesitation about
venturing among them; for they have curious notions on the subject of
the evil eye; and it had happened to one of our friends to get a
particularly good pummeling from some soldiers, merely for looking
attentively at their horses. But these men were very civil, and even
invited our approach. One or two of the officers spoke to us. Presently
came a man who beckoned us to follow him, which we did without the least
idea of whither it was that we were bound. He led us right across the
parade ground, and into the grand entrance of the barracks. Here we were
received by a gentleman, who addressed us in Italian, and informed us
that he was the head physician to the regiment, and the particular
friend of the colonel, who was waiting up stairs to receive us. Up
stairs we went, the doctor preceding us, and volunteering to interpret.
The room was a most delightful retreat from the glaring heat of the day.
The floor was coolly matted, the walls were nearly bare, the sun was
excluded, and nothing hot met the eye. The colonel was sitting on the
divan at the upper end of the room. He rose as we entered, and received
us most politely. I call him _colonel_ to express the fact of his being
at the head of a regiment. But in truth he was a much greater man than
such a title is wont to describe. Not only was his regiment so strong in
numbers, but he was the military governor of the town; his correct
style, in their own language is Miralahi.

We could see plainly enough that he was a person of some consequence;
but the Italian doctor was determined to leave us, if possible, no
chance of a mistake in this matter. He interlarded his internunciary
discourse, with a continual annotation of asides, which became
monstrously amusing, seeing that they were spoken in full audience of
the individual who was their unsuspecting subject. He impressed on our
serious consideration that the colonel was a very great man indeed; able
to do pretty well what he liked in Magnesia: and we were to take note
that he, the doctor, could do what he liked with the colonel. I do not
know whether he handed over our speeches to the colonel in a more
genuine state, than we were quite sure he did those of the colonel to
us, from the quantity of alloy that we were able to detect. It is
probable that at least he polished our compl