disposition; and I will not—nor shall Mr.
Wiseman if I can help it—look beyond the
Great Salt Lake till we are on its shores.

PROTÉGÉS OF THE CZAR.

The world is sometimes astonished at the
number of books produced for its instruction
and amusement. It would be much more
astonished, if it knew of the vast number
more that are hanging perpetually over its
head, in the state of project or of manuscript,
waiting only for encouragement or opportunity
to come forth. Every political event
produces or brings to light a whole body of
literature. We have just laid hands on a
formidable manuscript—the result of great
research and personal experience on the
history, geography, and manners of the present
seat of war, Bulgaria—which adds considerably
to the current information on that part
of the world.

We have already described the country
that lies between Routchuk and Schumla,
and mentioned the ordinary calculations made
as to the population of the country. Our
present authority considerably reduces the
number of the inhabitants of Bulgaria
Proper, making them to be no more than two
millions; but adds, that the Bulgarian family
has pushed vast colonies into Thessaly,
Macedonia, and Epirus; which accounts for the
common statement—which still seems
exaggerated—that they number four millions and a
half. About one-third of the population of
Bulgaria professes Islamism. The Turks are
generally collected in cities and villages
occupying important positions; but the other
Moslems are disseminated all through the country.
They include a colony of Arabs taken
prisoners in eighteen hundred and thirty-two,
during the war between the Sultan Mahmoud
and the Pacha of Egypt, who are settled in
the districts of Babadag and Koustengi, and
furnished with everything that was necessary
to carry on the agricultural operations to
which they had been accustomed. This little
establishment has prospered well, and the
traveller is pleased, as he proceeds along the
valley of Dobritza, with the sight of a large
village composed of houses nicely built, and
called by the people of the neighbourhood
Arapkivi, or the Village of the Arabs. On
the banks of the Danube, towards Silistria,
there is a very small colony of Tartar
Cossacks, who occupy themselves almost
exclusively in fishing; but it is a mistake to
suppose, as many do, that the whole province
of Dobritza is inhabited by these wild people.
Over its plains and valleys wander, among
others, three thousand shepherds, who have
come from Transylvania attracted by the
richness of the pasturages, and are known
under the name of Mokans. They enjoy the
right of feeding their flocks without
interference, in virtue of a special convention
entered into between Turkey and Austria.
The latter power protects them, on condition
that they shall not only submit to the
jurisdiction and surveillance of its consuls, but
shall sell all the wool of their flocks to
Austrian traders. Every individual, moreover, is
obliged to pay annually to the consul a tax
of four florins for his written permission to
remain. This is a curious instance of the
state of things which exists in various forms
throughout Turkey; where there are a
multitude of tribes and families enjoying a semi-
independence, or forming, as it were, adjuncts
to distant countries.

In the same district of Dobritza is found a
small colony of Greek shepherds from Phocis,
who came there formerly, like the Mokans,
attracted by the excellence of the pasturages.
For a long time this colony was diminished
and renewed in a curious manner. Young
boys used to beg their way across the whole
of European Turkey; and, on arriving, took
service with some relation who had already
acquired a considerable flock. In three or
four years they became possessed of a few
sheep, bought with their savings, and then
rapidly increased their fortunes; until, giving
place to new arrivals, they could return home
comparatively rich. Many, however, marry
in the country, and those that were there
when the Greek revolution broke out became
subjects of the Porte and were never
molested.

In the most populous and trading towns
of Bulgaria, several thousands of Armenians
have taken up their abode, but few Jews
have thought it worth while to establish
themselves in the country: and, most of those
who are there, follow the trade of tinmen.
A good many Zigans or Gypsies wander from
village to village doing blacksmith's work.
They have probably escaped from Wallachia,
where their fellows are kept in the state of
degrading bondage we have already
described in a former article.

Two-thirds of the population of Bulgaria
are, however, Christians belonging to the
Greek Church. It is a singular mistake to
count them as members of the Sclavonic
family. It is true that they speak a Sclavonic
dialect; but they are a tribe of Tartar origin
who were converted to Christianity long after
their arrival in the country they now occupy.
It is not well known at what period the
Tartar language went completely out of use,
nor how it happened that a Sclavonic dialect
took its place. It is certain, however, that
the conversion of the Bulgarians took place
before the schism of Phocias, and that they
separated from the Catholic Church at the
same time with all the other Orientals.

We have already remarked that there are
comparatively few well-peopled cities in the
country. The Bulgarians prefer living in the
little villages which are spread through the
vast plains and valleys that descend, as it
were, by a continual slope from the Balkan
range to the Danube. They are a robust