a long line, with the
sun glancing upon their arms, they seemed like a great serpent, with its
glittering scales, gliding along to seek for its prey; and in some
respects the simile would hold good, for this detachment would be the
terror of the inhabitants of every district through which it passed.
Rapine, violence, and oppression would mark its course; friend and foe
would alike be plundered; and the villages which had not been burned by
the insurgent klephti would be sacked and ruined by the soldiers of the
government.

As I descended from the citadel I passed numerous parties of armed men,
all full of excitement about the plunder they would get, and the mighty
deeds they would perform; for the danger was a good way off, and they
were all brim-full of valour. In the bazaar all was business and bustle:
everybody was buying arms. Long guns and silver pistols, all ready
loaded, I believe, with fiery-looking flints as big as sandwiches,
wrapped up first in a bit of red cloth, and then in a sort of open work
of lead or tin, were being handed about; and the spirit of commerce was
in full activity. Great was the haggling among the dealers. One man
walked off with a mace; another, expecting to perform as mighty deeds as
Richard Coeur de Lion, bought an old battle-axe, and swung it about to
show how he would cut heads off with it before long. Another champion
had included among his warlike accoutrements a curious, ancient-looking
silver clock, which dangled by his side from a multitude of chains. It
was square in shape, and must have been provided with a strong
constitution inside if it could go while it was banged about at every
step the man took. This worthy, I imagine, intended to kill time, for
his purchase did not seem calculated to cope with any other enemy. He
had, however, two or three pistols and daggers in addition to his clock.
An oldish, hard-featured man was buying a quantity of that abominably
sour, white cheese which is the pride of Albania, and a quantity of
black olives, which he was cramming into a pair of old saddle-bags,
whilst his horse beside him was quietly munching his corn in a sack tied
over his nose. There was a look of calm efficiency about this man, which
contrasted strongly with the swaggering air of the crowd around him. He
was evidently an old hand; and I observed that he had laid in a stock of
ball-cartridges--an article in which but little money was spent by the
buyers of yataghans in silver