so, as it was the return; however, he had several hours between the
intervals. The argument of Mr. Turner, 'that higher up or lower
down, the strait widens so considerably that he would save little
labour by his starting,' is only good for indifferent swimmers; a
man of any practice or skill will always consider the distance less
than the strength of the stream. If Ekenhead and myself had thought
of crossing at the narrowest point, instead of going up to the Cape
above it, we should have been swept down to Tenedos. The strait,
however, is not so extremely wide, even where it broadens above and
below the forts. As the frigate was stationed some time in the
Dardanelles waiting for the firman, I bathed often in the strait
subsequently to our traject, and generally on the Asiatic side,
without perceiving the greater strength of the opposite stream by
which the diplomatic traveller palliates his own failure. Our
amusement in the small bay which opens immediately below the
Asiatic fort was to _dive_ for the LAND tortoises, which we flung
in on purpose, as they amphibiously crawled along the bottom.
_This_ does not argue any greater violence of current than on the
European shore. With regard to the _modest_ insinuation that we
chose the European side as 'easier,' I appeal to Mr. Hobhouse and
Captain Bathurst if it be true or no (poor Ekenhead being since
dead). Had we been aware of any such difference of current as is
asserted, we would at least have proved it, and were not likely to
have given it up in the twenty-five minutes of Mr. Turner's own
experiment. The secret of all this is, that Mr. Turner failed, and
that we succeeded; and he is consequently disappointed, and seems
not unwilling to overshadow whatever little merit there might be in
our success. Why did he not try the European side? If he had
succeeded there, after failing on the Asiatic, his plea would have
been more graceful and gracious. Mr. Turner may find what fault he
pleases with my poetry, or my politics; but I recommend him to
leave aquatic reflections till he is able to swim 'five-and-twenty
minutes' without being '_exhausted_,' though I believe he is the
first modern Tory who ever swam '_against_ the stream for half the
time."[32]

[Footnote 32: To the above letter, which was published