the scope of my task relates more to the history of his mind, than of
his private affairs, I shall resume the narrative of his travels, in
which the curiosity of the reader ought to be more legitimately
interested.

CHAPTER XXI

Smyrna--The Sport of the Djerid--Journey to Ephesus--The dead City--
The desolate Country--The Ruins and Obliteration of the Temple--The
slight Impression of all on Byron

The passage in the Pylades from Athens to Smyrna was performed
without accident or adventure.

At Smyrna Lord Byron remained several days, and saw for the first
time the Turkish pastime of the Djerid, a species of tournament to
which he more than once alludes. I shall therefore describe the
amusement.

The Musselim or Governor, with the chief agas of the city, mounted on
horses superbly caparisoned, and attended by slaves, meet, commonly
on Sunday morning, on their playground. Each of the riders is
furnished with one or two djerids, straight white sticks, a little
thinner than an umbrella-stick, less at one end than at the other and
about an ell in length, together with a thin cane crooked at the
head. The horsemen, perhaps a hundred in number, gallop about in as
narrow a space as possible, throwing the djerids at each other and
shouting. Each man then selects an opponent who has darted his
djerid or is for the moment without a weapon, and rushes furiously
towards him, screaming "Olloh! Olloh!" The other flies, looking
behind him, and the instant the dart is launched stoops downwards as
low as possible, or wields his horse with inconceivable rapidity, and
picking up a djerid with his cane, or taking one from a running
slave, pursues in his turn the enemy, who wheels on the instant he
darts his weapon. The greatest dexterity is requisite in these mimic
battles to avoid the concurrence of the "javelin-darting crowd," and
to escape the random blows of the flying djerids.

Byron, having satisfied his curiosity with Smyrna, which is so like
every other Turkish town as to excite but little interest, set out
with Mr Hobhouse on the 13th of March, for Ephesus. As I soon after
passed along the same road, I shall here describe what I met with
myself in the course of the journey, it being probable that the
incidents were in few respects different from those which they
encountered.

On ascending the heights after leaving Smyrna, the road was
remarkable in being formed of the broken relics of ancient edifices
par