earance, and with much humility demanded the
return of his pack-saddle, which he affirmed that one of my servants had
stolen. It fell out in this wise: I had engaged a certain youth of the
Greek faith, named Giovanni, to look after my baggage-ponies, which he
invariably allowed to stray whenever most required. On the occasion of
our leaving Gasko one of these was, as usual, absent without leave, and
on his being discovered, the pack-saddle in which these long-suffering
animals pass their existence had been removed. Giovanni, whose
pilfering habits were only equalled by his disregard of truth, replaced
the missing article in the simplest way, by doing unto others as they
had done unto him, and appropriated the first saddle he came across. To
allow the saddle to return to Gasko was impossible, as I could not have
proceeded on my journey without it; so I induced the owner to part with
it at a considerable profit, mulcting Giovanni of the same. The
following morning we descended into the plain of Nevresign, one of the
seven or eight large plains in the province.

The road approaching the town passes between two cemeteries--that of the
Mussulmans on the right being the most pleasantly situated, for thus it
was that, even in death, they were more regarded than their
less-favoured Christian brethren. On the outskirts I noticed a very
primitive movable house, strongly characteristic of the kind of life led
by the people: it consisted of two skates, with a hurdle laid across for
flooring and others for walls, the whole being thatched. In this the
shepherd sleeps when he pens his cattle: this he does in a very small
space, shifting his position every night, and thus practically manuring
the country. The town itself has little worthy of notice, save the new
fortified barrack which the Turks are constructing. No labourers were,
however, engaged upon it at the time of my visit: it consists of an
oblong work, with bastions at the angles, on each of which it is
intended to mount three guns. It was proposed to build accommodation
for 1,600 men, but the size of the work did not appear to me to warrant
the belief that it would hold so many. There will be no necessity for
the townspeople to take shelter within its walls in the event of an
attack, as it immediately overhangs the town, and is itself commanded by
the hills in its rear. The engineer officer who conducted me over it
informed me that an earthwork would be thrown up on the most c