janissary and the Arab captain of the boat came to
the door of the cabin to pay their respects; with the latter we could
not hold much communication, as he did not speak a word of English; we
were, nevertheless, excellent friends. He was very good-humoured,
and we were always laughing, so that a bond of union was established
between us. He had once or twice come into such close contact with
some of our crockery-ware, as to put me in a fright, and the comic
look, with which he showed that he was aware of the mischief he had
nearly done, amused me excessively. He was evidently a wag, and from
the moment in which he discovered the congeniality of our feelings,
when any droll incident occurred, he was sure to look at us and laugh.

The janissary spoke very tolerable English, and after sunset, when we
seated ourselves outside the cabin-door, he came forward and entered
into conversation. He told us that a quarrel having taken place
between the boatmen of a small vessel and the people of a village, the
former came on board in great numbers in the night, and murdered six
of the boatmen; and that on the affair being represented to the Pasha,
he sent three hundred soldiers to the village, and razed it to the
ground. He said that he had been in the service of several English
gentlemen, and had once an opportunity of going to England with a
captain in the navy, but that his mother was alive at that time, and
when he mentioned his wishes to her, she cried, and therefore he
could not go. The captain had told him that he would always repent not
having taken his offer; but though he wished to see England, he was
glad he had not grieved his mother. He had been at Malta, but had
taken a dislike to the Maltese, in consequence of a wrong he had
received, as a stranger, upon his landing.

Amongst the noblemen and gentlemen whom he had served, he mentioned
the Marquess of Waterford. We asked him what sort of a person he was,
and he immediately replied, "A young devil." Mohammed, who had been
in various services with English travellers, expressed a great desire
to go to England; he said, that if he could once get there, he would
"never return to this dirty country." Both he and the janissary
apparently had formed magnificent ideas of the wealth of Great
Britain, from the lavish manner in which the English are accustomed to
part with their money while travelling.

We inquired of Mohammed concerning the magician, whose exploits Mr.
Lane an