CHAPTER XXVII.
SIR HENRY STORKS—ALBANIA—VISIT NICROPOLIS—THE BRIGAND CHIEF—TURKISH BATHS—COFFEE HOUSES—TURKISH LADIES' COSTUME—SERGEANTS' BALL—THE ROUTE—CORFU—ROUTE—WEST INDIES—THE VOYAGE—THE BURNING MOUNTAIN—GIBRALTAR—MADIERA—TENERIFFE—SANTA CRUZ—CAPE DE VERDE ISLANDS—TRINIDAD—JAMAICA.
In the month of October, Sir Henry Storks, Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, with his aide-de-camp, visited Santa Maura, when he inspected the troops, barrack and fortifications, and expressed himself highly pleased at the appearance and discipline of the troops, the cleanliness of the barrack and the good order and thorough repair in which the guns, shot, shell and fortifications were kept. Several of the naval officers of H. M. S. "Icarus," in which he came from Corfu, accompanied him on shore and invited the commandant to lunch with them on board. In November, myself, two other sergeants, and three Greeks, went on an excursion to Previsa, a town in Albania, seven miles across the bay. We rowed across in a large four-oared boat. The entrance to the harbour was indeed a pretty sight; nothing could be more romantic than the little bay stretched out before us, the variety and beauty of the numerous groves of olive and fruit trees along the banks, the number of little boats gliding about on the smooth, clear, blue waters, and small vessels cruising from one island to another, with the tall minarets towering high above the numerous white houses, making up as charming a picture as could be imagined. On landing we were surprised to see the appearance of the town. A few of the houses are good, substantial buildings and comparatively clean and comfortable; but the rest of the town had a dirty and slovenly appearance. The streets are narrow and crooked, the shops are little recesses from six to eight feet deep, without windows; they close with folding doors, which are thrown open during business hours. Here the occupant sits, sells, works and carries on almost every conceivable kind of business. In one of these places you can see a dry-goods merchant with his stock stored in a little space not more than eight feet square: The floor is elevated two steps above the street and the tradesman sits behind a little counter. The customers stand at the open front and all the business is done in the street; every one sits down, the merchant sits at his shop, the mechanic at his work.
It is amusing to see what ingenuity they exercise in getting everything within their reach, that they may not change their position. After we had walked through several streets we visited the barrack, where the guard turned out, and the sentries presented arms as we passed their posts; we supposed that they did not know our rank or else they never would have presented arms, but we were neatly dressed in our uniform and swords, and we supposed they took us for commissioned officers. One of the Turkish officers accompanied us around the barracks and showed us through the hospital. Oh! what a contrast between British soldiers' barracks and hospitals and the Turkish, the latter are dirty and the men dirty, squatting round the rooms and lounging on their little, dirty-looking beds, and the hospital was even worse; the smell was intolerable, the boards black and greasy, in fact everything was filthy and smelled strongly of oil and garlic.
We thanked the officer and left the barracks.
One of the Greeks who accompanied us took us to a friend's house where we had luncheon, which consisted of rolls of brown bread, cheese, salad, cakes and coffee; after which we hired six Turkish ponies and started off to visit the ruins of the ancient city of Nicropolis. A ride of fifteen miles in an easterly direction from Previsa, was soon passed in pleasant and cheerful company; the beauty of the groves, the luxurious vegetation, the mild and balmy air, all conspired to add to the pleasure of the ride; and now we are approaching the ancient city. What do we see? Before us immense ruins for miles around, old walls towering high in the air, wide enough to drive a coach and four on their top, with high-arched doorways. A large amphitheatre with massive stone seats, encircled by a colossal wall, surmounted with ancient looking figures in marble, half man, half beast.