nt some men to go with
me to Meteora; if you are the captain or commander here, give me an
escort, as I wish to be off at once: it is early now, and I can cross
the mountains before dark."

After a pause, he said, "Well, I am the captain; and you shall have men
who will protect you wherever you go. You are an Englishman, are you
not?" "Yes," I said, "I am." "Well, I like the English; and you
particularly." "Thank you," said I: and, after some more conversation,
he tore off a slip from the vizir's letter (a very unceremonious
proceeding in Albania), and, writing a few lines on it, he said, "Now
give this paper to the first soldiers you meet at the foot of Mount
Pindus, and all will be right." He then instructed the muleteer which
way to go. I took the paper, which was not folded up; but the
badly-written Romaic was unintelligible to me, so I put it into my
pocket, and away we went, my new friend waving his hand to us as we
passed out of the market-place; and we were soon trotting along through
the open country towards the hills which shoot out from the base of the
great chain of Mount Pindus, a mountain famous for having had Mount Ossa
put on the top of it by some of the giants when they were fighting
against Jupiter. As that respected deity got the better of the giants, I
presume he put Ossa back again; for which I felt very much obliged to
him, as Pindus seemed quite high enough and steep enough without any
addition.

We rode along, getting nearer and nearer to the mountains; and at
length we began to climb a steep rocky path on the side of a lofty hill
covered with box-trees. This path continued for some distance until we
came to a place where there was a ledge so narrow that two horses could
not go abreast. Here, as I was riding quietly along, I heard an
exclamation in front of "Robbers! robbers!" and sure enough, out of one
of the thickets of box-trees, there advanced three or four bright
gun-barrels, which were speedily followed by some gentlemen in dirty
white jackets and fustanellas; who, in a short and abrupt style of
eloquence, commanded us to stand. This of course we were obliged to do;
and as I was getting out my pistol, one of the individuals in white
presented his gun at me, and upon my looking round to see whether my
tall Albanian servant was preparing to support me, I saw him quietly
half-cock his gun and sling it back over his shoulder, at the name time
shaking his head as much as to say, "It is no use