n, music-mad; a singing count from Sienna; a
crazy architect from Paris; and two Russian noblemen. There were only
two ladies;--a Russian countess, who read nothing but Homer, and made
classical mistakes; and a Bavarian lady, whose great merit was her
inclination to render herself agreeable. Then there were the chief
captain, the second captain, and the sub-captain; the manager, second
manager, and sub-manager. However, two things most necessary to the
establishment were still wanting; namely, a good cook, and an honest
steward.

[Sidenote: MARBLE QUARRIES.] The vessel carried a Neapolitan pennant,
and was armed with six brass cannon, a very sufficient stand of
small-arms, and a forest of boarding-pikes; in case we should be
attacked by any of the pirates infesting the Greek Archipelago. An
awning was spread over its spacious deck, under which we lived like a
swarm of flies, fifty in number, feeding on detestable provender, and
sleeping in beds remarkable for uncleanness and their innumerable
parasitical tenants. The place marked on our route to be first visited
was that part of the Island of Marmora containing the quarries which
have supplied Constantinople with building materials from time
immemorial; but in reference to the precise spot where they were to be
found, there were as many opinions as voices. The truth was plain, no
one knew; neither captains, managers, pilots (of whom there were two),
nor tourists; and in the midst of our Babylonish discussion, the boat
arrived off the town of Marmora; and, of course, on the wrong side of
the island for our purpose. Some insisted on returning; others were for
crossing the isle on mules, or, if these could not be procured, on
foot: but the majority, of which I was one, seemed satisfied with
staying where fortune and steam had brought them. When the quarryites
landed, they found it would take fourteen hours to visit their _lion_,
and, as luck would have it, twelve hours only were marked on the
itinerary as the period allowed for the passengers to remain at the
island. Backed by this powerful argument, we the anti-quarryites demanded
a ballot, and an overwhelming majority decided that the boat should
start at midnight.

[Sidenote: GREEK DEPUTATION.] Soon after the return of the passengers
who had landed, a deputation of the inhabitants, consisting of the papa,
or chief priest, with some of his brethren, as well as the civil
authorities, all Greeks, came on board to complim