fields in stubble of barley and maize, there
were others covered with dwarf vines, then
bearing ripe fruit; and in other places melons
or pumpkins straggled over the parched
ground.

As we passed on the signs of cultivation
disappeared, and we rode over what is
evidently marsh in winter, but in summer dry
and fissured mud. Here and there a pool of
stagnant water still supported a small colony
of snipe and wild duck, and twice on our ride
we passed a corn-growing tract. In such
places, the old Homeric threshing-floor was
to be seen in full activity. We rode at a
slow pace, and according to the custom here,
in a fine, the guide first; the rest following
at a breakneck pace of about three miles an
hour. It was past eleven before we had
cleared the shore of Besika Bay, and crossed
some rising ground which brought us down
upon the harbour of Alexandria Troas. There
our horses found the refreshment of a fountain,
we the refreshment of a melon. So
revived, we continued our ride over some hilly
ground covered by the vallonia oak to the
principal remains of the city. These are on the
summit of a hill which commands a very fine
view of the islands of Tenedos and Imbros,
the bay and the surrounding hilly country.
There are numerous foundations of houses
formed of a hard limestone, frequent traces of
the city walls, a few sarcophagi, the towers
of a gateway, and a singular structure called
the Palace of Priam.

We enjoyed a couple of hours' rest and a
light luncheon among those Roman ruins,
fanned by a cool fresh breeze, and shaded by
the oak trees which have sprung up on all
sides. At about four o'clock we started
again, in the same order as before, over the
hills to see a granite quarry in which were
some large columns ready cut. Our track
was over hills covered with vallonia, and we
passed not a house or a living thing for some
miles, except one party of shepherds with
their dogs and flock. A ride of about two
hours brought us to a ridge of granite. At
the very top of the ridge, on one side of the
hill, is an old quarry, and there were the
seven columns as they were finished when
the town was alive, all ready for removal.
We measured them with our walking sticks
and did what else was necessary, then went on.

About half a mile from this quarry is the
village of Kotsciola Bashy, most picturesquely
situated on a slope near the summit of one
of those granite-capped hills. Its white
minaret forms a beautiful object in contrast
with the heavy background of the granite
rocks. Here we were lucky enough to meet
with a Jew broker in the service of our
friend, who was on an annual tour about the
country, purchasing vallonia for exportation
to England. He procured us quarters in a
garden close to the mosque, and we spread
out our blankets upon mats beside a fountain
and beneath a rich covering of grapes trained
over trellis work. No meat could be procured,
but our host promised us a Turkish dinner
and served it to us in the garden quickly.
The new moon appeared above the hills, the
stars shone out, a delightful breeze played
with the vine leaves, and the trickling
fountain soothed us by its murmur. With such
lights and music, we sat down before a low
stool, on which a circular tin tray formed a
table-cloth. The feast was then served to
us by a turbaned genii. First came a pillau of
rice; then a thick soup made of the jelly of
rice, with milk and minced eggs, the whole
flavoured with vegetables; next, a dish of
stewed bagnioles; then eggs fried in butter;
and lastly, a sort of pancake, eaten dipped in
honey; a dessert of melon and grapes wound
up the entertainment. We slept where we
had dined.

On taking a stroll, soon after daylight,
round the village, we saw a herd of upwards
of forty camels which had been brought
thither to convey vallonia to the shore. This
is the chief produce of the country, the cup
of the acorn being the only part of this oak
sent to Europe; the acorn itself is used by
the people of the place as food for cattle.
The cup is packed in woollen bags and sent
to Mr. Calvert's chief warehouse for exportation.
A large tree in a good season will
produce as much vallonia as is worth three
pounds, on the spot; but, taking tree for
tree, perhaps the annual average is not above
a dollar. However, very little care seems
ever to be bestowed upon the trees. They do
not belong to government, but to a number
of small peasant proprietors. The walk and
breakfast over we were olf again by six
o'clock for the village of Bournabashy, which
is near the site of Old Troy and the sources
of the Scamander, odious to schoolboys.

In about three hours and a half we arrived
at the low land where this river rises. In
the space of about an acre there are forty
points at which the water gushes, cool and
clear, from fissures in the limestone rock.
The small streams trickle about till they
unite and form a tolerable brook surrounded
by luxuriant vegetation. Numbers of tortoises
and many large fish were to be seen swimming
about in the muddy brook; water-cresses
grow upon its surface, and a large vegetable
garden, surrounded by a blackberry hedge,
fills the valley  formed by the divisions of the
stream. I found Scamander water-cresses
very good. The village of Bournabashy is
just above this river source, upon a hill
which we passed on our way to the heights
of the original Old Troy.

The first thing to be seen on the top of
these heights is a pyramid of loose stones
called the Tomb of Hector. The situation is
magnificent. It is on one side of a deep
ravine, through which the Simois winds in its
course from Mount Ida to join the Scamander
in the Trojan plains. The plains are to be
seen extending to the Hellespont; while, in