erpreter that he should be shown the chart every four hours,
which was agreed. The interpreter then intimated that the priest would
hold a service previous to retiring to rest, and during the passage
they would be held before and after every meal. The food, cooking
utensils, and cook were provided by themselves. They would not eat the
food of Christians, or use their utensils for the purpose of preparing
it. In fact, what with the weird, shrill wail of their "yahing"
prayers, the intolerable smell of their cooking, the smoke from their
"hubblebubbles," and a perpetual run of messages coming from the pasha
(while he was awake) to the officer in charge, they became somewhat of
a nuisance before the first twenty-four hours had expired. The
officers could not get their proper rest, which caused them to feel
justified in becoming profane, and wishing the Turkish windpipes
would snap.

The fog lifted, as it generally does, a little before noon, on the day
after sailing, and an accurate latitude was got; but during the
afternoon it shut down blacker than ever. The engines had to be
slowed, and the whistle was constantly going. The pasha's anxiety to
get to his destination was giving him constant worry, and he became
more and more troublesome. The interpreter explained that the Sultan
was waiting to consult his master about the plan of campaign, and
other military matters, and that the delay was making the pasha
impatient; but in spite of annoying pressure, the captain refused to
depart from the wise precaution of going slow while the fog lasted. At
midnight it cleared up a little, and the engines were put at full
speed until 8 a.m. the following morning, when they ran into a bank of
fog again. The speed was slackened to dead slow, and as she was
nearing the Bosphorus land the lead was kept going; but, owing to the
great depth of water, sounding is little guide towards keeping
vessels clear of the rocks of that steep and iron-bound coast.
Currents run with rapid irregularity, and in no part of the world is
navigation more treacherous than there. According to the reckoning,
the vessel was within four miles of the entrance to the Bosphorus, but
no prudent navigator would have risked going farther until he could
see his way; so orders were given to stop her. This brought more
urgent messages from the pasha. As the day wore on and the mist still
continued, all hope of getting into the Bosphorus had disappeared. The
pasha sent for