On the first cession of the Fortress of Belgrade to the Turks by the Emperor Leopold, the occupation of the town was reserved exclusively to the Servians, whose Prince, Milosch, has a handsome residence in the principal street; but since the treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, the Osmanlis have poured into the town; and, as the natives resisted the innovation, have formed themselves into a distinct colony which may be called Turk-town, where they live with the Jews in tolerable harmony; a circumstance that to a person conversant with the Musselmaun prejudice against the outcasts of Israel, is altogether inexplicable. The two people have a population of eight thousand souls; while the Servians average about twelve thousand.
Nothing could be more irksome than our passage through the streets of Belgrade! We landed beside the New Custom-house, a large and rather handsome building; and thence passed the gate of the town, which was guarded by a sentinel who could have been barely fourteen years of age. Just within the barrier stood the guard-house, where an officer sat smoking his chibouk, and talking with his men, with all the bon-hommie and laxity of discipline, common to the Turks.
It must have been a comedy to see us pass along, all crowded together, and flanked and followed by our vigilant guardians; who with their long canes threw aside every fragment of linen, woollen, or paper, that chanced to lie in our path, as well as chasing thence every passenger who happened to cross it. The Turks smiled a quiet smile as we passed them, for they believe all Europeans to be impregnable to the plague, and consequently consider their precautions as the mere result of a love of excitement and bustle; and I confess that to me the extreme watchfulness of our attendants was so irritating, that, although it amused me for a time, and that I smiled with the Turks at the pains taken to prevent our contact with the inhabitants of a town in which no plague-case had happened during the season, and who had therefore more reason to avoid our own proximity, it finished by making me perfectly nervous.
Thus guarded, and rendered sensible that it is sometimes more troublesome to be out of quarantaine than to be in it, we made our way to the residence of the Austrian Consul, with whom our friend the Chevalier was acquainted; and who joined our party at a respectful distance, having sent his dragoman to request the Pasha’s permission for us to visit the interior of the fortress. While we awaited his reply we determined on accompanying our new and courteous acquaintance to pay a visit to General Milosch, the brother of the Prince, who is a resident in Servia. By the way he pointed out to us the house of the Prince’s daughter, who is married to a wealthy brewer; and to whom he gave a herd of ten thousand oxen as a marriage portion. And, what was infinitely more interesting, the dwelling of Cerny George; a single-storied building of some extent, but of most unpretending appearance.
A servant having been despatched to apprise the General of our intended visit, he received us most politely at the door of his house, and conducted us up stairs to a marble hall; being kept at arm’s length during the ascent by our plague-preventing keepers; who, having themselves placed a line of chairs for us along one side of the hall, graciously permitted us to be seated. The General, attended by two or three servants, then took possession of a green silk fauteuil at the other extremity of the apartment; and the lady of the house shortly afterwards made her appearance, followed by her eldest daughter; a remarkably fine girl, with a noble forehead, and full dark eyes. The costume of these ladies was extremely elegant and picturesque; confirming an opinion which I had often expressed, that the Greek dress, if carefully arranged, and judiciously chosen as to colours, must be one of the most becoming and effective in the world. Here I saw the realization of my idea; for the small fèz, confined by the dark tress of hair, and fastened with a diamond clasp; the pelisse of pale blue satin, lined and edged with sables; and the full robe of silk, delicately embroidered on the bosom and wrists with gold, were all Greek; while the extreme tenue and taste of their arrangement, the slight waist, and careful chaussure, were essentially Servian.
Nothing could exceed the courteous attention of the whole family. Coffee, pipes, and sweetmeats were served; and our trusty guardians, satisfied with handing them to us themselves, and thus heroically incurring the risk of becoming the medium of contagion in their own proper persons, allowed us to make use of the silver spoons, although we had been obliged to deliver up our money in the quarantaine, in order that it might be washed by the keeper—Metals being voted plague-conductors at Orsova, though they were admitted to pratique at Belgrade!
The permission of the Pasha to our entrance into the fortress was not so readily accorded as had been anticipated; and we were accordingly detained nearly an hour ere it arrived. It came, however, at last; and, after taking leave of the interesting family who had so hospitably received us, we once more set forth, traversing a considerable portion of the Servian town, in order to reach the glacis; when, diverging a little from our direct route, we ascended one of the outworks, in order to look down upon the Turk quarter, and the shores of the river.
Hence we had a lovely view of Semlin, and of a portion of the extensive Hungarian plain, which, studded with villages, and masses of forest timber, extends for a distance of six and thirty leagues. In Turk-town the Consul pointed out to us the ruins of several fine buildings erected by the Austrians; and, amongst others, the remains of the residence of Prince Eugene.
Descending the outwork, whence we had a perfect insight into the dilapidated state of the exterior walls and bastions of the once lordly fortress; we proceeded to the gate, and, having passed it, were obliged to progress for a considerable distance along the palisade, ere we reached the bridge by which we were to enter the fort. The palisades were in melancholy keeping with the rest of the defences; and traces of fire were perceptible on the few that still remained erect.
The interior of this celebrated stronghold did not belie its promise from without. A ci-devant barrack had a stunted minaret built against its wall, and was converted into a very dilapidated-looking mosque. The citadel, now denominated the Palace of the Pasha, had much the appearance of a barn, weather-stained and neglected, with broken windows and swinging shutters. The kiosk of the harem was a temporary wooden building; pitched, and repaired with unpainted timber. And, had I been on my way to Constantinople, instead of from it, my pre-conceived and highly-wrought ideas of Oriental splendour would have inevitably suffered utter prostration at the sight of this “princely” establishment.