d off we galloped
round the back part of the town, and, unquestioned by any one, we soon
found ourselves trotting along the plain by the south end of the lake of
Yanina. Here the waters from the lake disappear in an extraordinary
manner in a great cavern, or pit full of rocks and stones, through which
the water runs away into some subterranean channel--a dark and
mysterious river, which the dismal-looking man, my new attendant, said
came out into the light again somewhere in the Gulph of Arta. Before
long we got upon the remains of a fine paved road, like a Roman way,
which had been made by Ali Pasha. It was, however, out of repair, having
in places been swept away by the torrents, and was an impediment rather
than an assistance to travellers. This road led up to the hills; and,
having dismounted from my horse, I began scrambling and puffing up the
steep side of the mountain, stopping every now and then to regain my
breath and to admire the beautiful view of the calm lake and picturesque
town of Yanina.

As I was walking in advance of my company, I saw a man above me leading
a loaded mule. He was coming down the mountain, carefully picking his
way among the stones, and in a loud voice exhorting the mule to be
steady and keep its feet, although the mule was much the more
sure-footed of the two. As they passed me I was struck with the odd
appearance of the mule's burden: it consisted of a bundle of large
stones on one side, which served as a counterpoise to a packing-case on
the other, covered with a cloth, out of which peeped the head of a man,
with his long black hair hanging about a face as pale as marble. The box
in which he travelled not being more than four feet and a half long, I
supposed he must be a dwarf, and was laughing at his peculiar mode of
conveyance. The muleteer, observing from my dress that I was a Frank,
stopped his mule, when he came up to me, and asked me if I was a
physician, begging me to give my assistance to the man in the box, if I
knew anything of surgery, for he had had both his legs cut off by some
robbers on the way from Salonica, and he was now taking him to Yanina,
in hopes of finding some doctor there to heal his wounds. My laughter
was now turned into pity for the poor man, for I knew there was no help
for him at Yanina. I could do nothing for him; and the only hope was, as
his strength had borne him up so far on his journey, that when he got
rest at Yanina the wounds might heal of thems