"There is a lighthouse near the shore," added Miss Blanche.
"It is not a lighthouse, Miss Woolridge. It is sometimes called Leander's Tower, and the Turks call it Kiz Kullehsi, which means Maiden's Tower. I suppose you have heard of a young gentleman by the name of Leander," added the captain, turning to Miss Blanche.
"He swam the Hellespont to see Hero. Then this is the Hellespont of ancient times," replied the young lady.
"It is not; and there is no reason to call that tower after Leander. The Dardanelles was the Hellespont over which he swam; and it was no great thing, for Lord Byron did it for the fun of it. Now we are off Seraglio Point, and entering the waters of the Golden Horn, which is simply an arm of the Bosporus, of which there are several others, extending about five miles inland. The water in it is very deep, and there is room enough for more than a thousand large ships to lie at anchor in its quiet waters.
"Now you will leave the Bosporus on your right," continued the commander, as the steamer turned into the Golden Horn, closely followed by the Maud. "In front of you is the modern city, and the part nearest to us is Galata, the commercial section. On the hill is Pera, where the hotels are situated, and where all the foreign ministers reside. Farther up the Strait is Tophana, where the Sultan lives at the present time in a magnificent palace."
In the earlier morning the party had taken its first view of Constantinople, and some of them had made the usual remark that it looked like the most beautiful city in the world. The mosques, towers, and minarets glittered in the rays of the rising sun, and gave it a glory which a walk through its streets, narrow and dirty, fails to realize. The pilot rang to stop the screw when the ship was near the shore; and she came to anchor quite near the landing, for the water was very deep.
Both of the steamers were immediately surrounded by a multitude of boats, containing runners for the hotels, and men who wanted the job of taking the passengers to the shore. A big fat Turk, who proved to be a custom-house officer, came on board of the Guardian-Mother. He could not speak English, but addressed the captain in Italian, which is the language used on board of the Austrian Lloyd's steamers, which ply on the Black and Mediterranean Seas in great numbers.
"Hotel d'Angleterre," called a man dressed like a Greek, as a boat came alongside the Maud.
"We don't want any boat," replied Captain Scott.
"Come alongside, Maud!" shouted Captain Ringgold.