ome mean little shops, or stalls, as we should call them;
for they are all open, like the booths at a fair. The climate is rainy,
and there is no lack of mud in wet weather, and dust when it is dry. The
whole place had a miserable appearance, nothing seemed to be going on,
and the people have a savage, hang-dog look.

I had a good supper and a good bed, and was awakened the next morning by
hearing the servants loud in talk about the news of the day. The subject
was truly Albanian. A man who had a shop in the bazaar had quarrelled
yesterday with some of his fellow townsmen, and in the night they took
him out of his bed and cut him to pieces with their yataghans on the
hill above the town. Some people coming by early this morning saw
various joints of this unlucky man lying on the ground as they passed.

I occupied myself in looking about the place; and having sent to the
palace of the vizir to request an audience, it was fixed for the next
day. There was not much to see; but I afforded a subject of
uninterrupted discussion to all beholders, as it appeared I was the only
traveller who had been there for some time. I went to bed early because
I had no books to read, and it was a bore trying to talk Greek to my
host's family; but I had not been asleep long before I was awakened by
the intelligence that a party of robbers had concealed themselves in the
ruins round the house, and that we should probably be attacked. Up we
all got, and loaded our guns and pistols: the women kept flying about
everywhere, and, when they ran against each other in the dark, screamed
wofully, as they took everybody for a robber. We had no lights, that we
might not afford good marks for the enemy outside, who, however, kept
quiet, and did not shoot at us, although every now and then we saw a
man or two creeping about among the ruins. My host, who was armed with a
gun of prodigious length, was in a state of great alarm; and, having
sent for assistance, twenty soldiers arrived, who kept guard round the
house, but would not venture among the ruins. These valiant heroes
relieved each other during the night; but, as no robbers made their
appearance, I got tired of watching for them, and went quietly to bed
again.

_November 4th._--At nine o'clock in the morning I paid my respects to
the Vizir, Mahmoud Pasha, a man with a long nose, and who altogether
bore a great resemblance to Pope Benedict XVI. I stayed some hours with
him, talking over Turkish matt