Santo (Holy mount) it has derived from the number of Greek monasteries that are built upon it. They amount to nearly 30, are protected by fortifications from the incursions of the corsairs, and are inhabited by about 6,000 monks, who are supported chiefly by the voluntary contributions of the Greek Christians in Russia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and other countries where the monks of Monte Santo are held in high esteem. Each of the 4 principal monasteries has one or more professors for the instruction of young ecclesiastics of the Greek church.

Rivers.] All the considerable rivers north of the Homus chain of mountains are tributaries of the Danube. The Danube enters the country at Belgrade, and after washing for some distance the northern border of Servia, it separates Bulgaria from Wallachia and Bessarabia, and discharges itself through five mouths into the Black sea. Its principal tributaries are, 1. The Save, which rises in Germany, but during the latter part of its course forms the boundary between Turkey and the Hungarian states, and joins the Danube at Belgrade, after receiving from the south the Bosna and the Drin. 2 The Aluta, which rises in Transylvania, and running south through Wallachia discharges itself into the Danube nearly opposite Nicopoli. 3. The Sereth, which rises at the foot of the Carpathian mountains in Austrian Galicia, and flowing in a S. E. direction through the principality of Moldavia falls into the Danube 4 miles above Galatz. 4. The Pruth, which rises also in Galicia, and passing through Woldavia joins the Danube a little below the mouth of the Sereth the Moldavian part of the river forms at present the boundary between the Turkish and Russian dominions.

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The principal rivers south of the Homus chain are, 1. The Marissa, which rises in the angle formed by the Homus and the Rodope mountains and running at first east and afterwards south passes by Philippopoli, Adrianople and Trajanopoli, and falls into the gulf of Enos. 2. The Strymon, which falls into the head of the gulf of Contesse. 3. The Vardar, which falls into the head of the gulf of Salonica after a S. E. course of 200 miles, during which it receives many tributaries. 4. The Salambria, the ancient Peneus, which rises at the foot of the Pindus chain, and flowing through a wild and picturesque country, passes between the mountains of Olympus and Ossa, and after having received numerous branches which intersect the plains of Thessaly discharges itself into the gulf of Salonica through the celebrated defile of Tempe. 5. The Drin, a large river of Albania, which falls into a bay of the Adriatic called the gulf of Drino or Lodrino.

Face of the Country. The general aspect of the country in Greece is mountainous, but there are also extensive vallies and beautiful plains, some of which are elevated to a considerable distance above the level of the sea. The most considerable level tract is the plains of Thessaly, which extend for some distance on each side of the Salambria. In Moldavia the face of the country consists of undulating plains of great beauty and vast extent, except towards the western frontier where the Carpathian range

produces a rugged and mountainous surface. The parts of Wallachia and Bulgaria lying along the Danube, and extending on each side to the foot of the mountains, are principally a level country. The rest of Turkey is intersected by numerous mountain ridges, between which are many fertile vallies.

Climate. The climate is generally mild and delightful, the air pure and the seasons regular. The climate of Greece is more severe in winter, and in many parts warmer in summer, than that of the south of Italy. On the elevated plains of the Morea, snow sometimes falls to the depth of 18 inches. In Attica, which embraces the country between the channel of Negropont and the gulfs of Lepanto and Egina, the atmosphere is more moderate and equable than in most other parts of Greece, the air being generally clear, dry and temperate.

Soil and Productions.] The soil is generally very fertile, producing corn, rice, cotton, the olive tree, fine fruit, wine, and tobacco in the richest abundance. On the plains of Thessaly are cultivated extensive groves of mulberry-trees for the silk worm. The Morea is celebrated for the excellence of its silks, and all the accounts given by the ancient Greeks, of the fertility of Messenia, in the S. W. part of the Morea, are realized at this day in every species of produce, more especially in corn, wine, and figs. The richest produce of Attica is the olive. Hymettus has from time immemorial been celebrated for the excellence of its honey, and it is still in high esteem. But notwithstanding the delightful climate, the fertile soil and the variety and richness of the productions, large portions of Turkey lie uncultivated. The people are so oppressed by an arbitrary and despotic government that they are without motives for industry.

Chief Towns. Constantinople, called by the Turks Stamboul, the capital of the Turkish empire, is beautifully situated on the west side of the Bosphorus. The city stands chiefly on a slope, on seven eminences, which seem to rise above each other in beautiful succession, presenting a fine view to the approaching spectator. The harbor is not on the side of the sea but in a long capacious inlet runing along the north side of the town. It is of sufficient depth for the largest vessels, and can contain 1,200 sail. The city is triangular in its form, with one side on the harbor, another on the sea of Marmora, and the third and longest towards the land, and is surrounded on all sides with walls. The streets are in general narrow, gloomy and badly paved. The houses are built principally of wood, and the city frequently suffers from desolating fires. The number of mosques is about 300, and of these the most splendid is that of St. Sophia. The seraglio is an assemblage of palaces and gardens, several miles in circumference, inhabited by the Sultan and his court, and surrounded by a wall. It occupies the promontory or point of land in the eastern part of the city. The part of the seraglio occupied by the wives and concubines of the Sultan is called the Harem. The city is visited almost every year by the plague which sweeps on

thousands of the inhabitants. The population is variously estimated from 300,000 to 500,000; about one half are Turks, and the remainder Greeks, Armenians, Franks and Jews.

Adrianople, the second city in European Turkey, in respect to population, is situated in a beautiful country, on the Marissa, 130 miles N. W. of Constantinople, and contains 130,000 inhabitants, of whom 30,000 are Greeks.

Salonica is pleasantly situated at the N. E. extremity of the gulf of the same name. It contains 70,000 inhabitants, and in regard to trade this place ranks first after Constantinople. The city occupies the site of the ancient Thessalonia, to whose inhabitants St. Paul addressed two of his epistles.

Belgrade is a famous town and fortress in Servia, near the confluence of the Save and the Danube. It commands the Danube and is regarded as the key to Hungary, and has therefore been frequently an object of fierce contention between the Austrians and the Turks. The population is 30,000.

Bukarest, the capital of Wallachia, is situated nearly in the centre of the province on a branch of the Danube and contains 80,000 inhabitants. Jassy, the capital of Moldavia, is situated near the Pruth on the eastern border of the province, and contains 15,000 inhabitants. Sophia, the capital of Bulgaria, is on the high road from Constantinople to Belgrade, and has 50,000 inhabitants, and an extensive trade, which is chiefly in the hands of Greeks and Armenians. Galatz, in Moldavia, on the Danube, near its confluence with the Pruth, is a small place but has a good barbor which admits large ships to come up to the town, and almost all the trade between Constantinople and the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia passes through it. Joannina, the capital of Albania, and the residence of Ali Pacha, the celebrated independent chief, is situated 115 miles S. W. of Salonica, in lon. 21° 38′ E. lat. 39° 30′ N. and contains between 35,000 and 40,000 inhabitants.

Athens, anciently the capital of Attica, and the birth-place of the most distinguished orators, philosophers, and generals of antiquity, is now an insignificant town in the province of Livadia. It stands on the rivulets of Ilissus and Cephissus, a few miles from the shore of the gulf of Egina. Its ruins, unlike those of Delphos, Delos, Olympia, Argos, Sparta, Corinth and other once famous places of Greece, remain for the most part in a state little inferior to their original splendor. Here are still to be seen the citadel, which is now occupied by the Turks as a fortress; the temple of Minerva, the grand display of Athenian magnificence, now converted into a mosque; the areopagus or hill of Mars, which is now used as a burying place by the Turks; the ruins of the ancient walls and numerous other monuments of of Athenian grandeur. The population at present is about 10,000, of whom one fourth are Turks and the remainder Greeks.

Corinth, formerly one of the most flourishing cities of Greece, is situated near the isthmus of Corinth, 48 miles E. of Athens, t

contains at present only 1300 inhabitants. Philippi is a village situated at the foot of Mount Pangœus, 80 miles E. by N. of Salonica, and 8 miles from the sea. The adjacent plains are famous for the battle in which Brutus and Cassius were slain. Misitra or Mistra in the southern part of the Morea, 28 miles S. of Tripolizza, is within two miles of the site of the ancient Sparta. Pharsalia, in Thessaly, 18 miles S. E. of Larissa, contains 5,000 inhabitants. It lies adjacent to the plain so well known for the decisive victory gained by Cæsar over Pompev. Thebes, anciently the capital of Boeotia, is 28 miles W. N. W. of Athens, and contains at present 5,000 inhabitants. Platea, the scene of the famous battle with the Persians, is 8 miles S. of Thebes.

Dardanelles.] The Dardanelles are two old and strong castles on the Hellespont, (sometimes called from them the strait of the Dardanelles) between the sea of Marmora and the Greecian Archipelago. One is situated in Europe, the other stands on the Asiatic side of the strait. There are on each side 14 great guns, adapted to discharge granite balls; they are of brass, with chambers like mortars 22 feet long, and from 25 to 28 inches in the bore. These castles are called the Old Dardanelles, to distinguish them from two others built at the entrance of the strait, about 10 miles to the southwest, one of which stands in like manner in Asia, and the other in Europe.

Population.] The population is variously estimated from 8 to 10,000,000. Of the whole number about one quarter are Turks, one third Greeks, and the remainder Sclavonians, Wallachians, Armenians, Jews, gypsies and Franks. The Turks are most

numerous in the province of Rumelia, the Greeks in the peninsula below the parallel of 41° 30′ N. lat.; the Sclavonians in Bulgaria, Servia and Bosnia; and the Wallachians in Wallachia and Moldavia.

Greeks.] The modern Greeks, oppressed by a despotic government, bear but a faint resemblance to their ancestors. They discover, however, an active and enterprising disposition, and the commerce of the Turks is carried on principally by Greek mariners, and there are many wealthy Greek merchants on the continent and among the islands. Much has been said of late in Europe of the restoration of ancient Greece, and the Greeks themselves have begun to direct their attention to literary pursuits. Their progress in the ancient Greek language and in general literature, during the last 30 years, has been very considerable. With their literary improvement, their desire for independence has been increased, and among the higher class of citizens, there prevails a very acute feeling at their present degraded state, and a degree of enthusiasm and veneration for their ancient heroes, poets, philosophers and statesmen, which would do honor to any nation.

Religion.] The established religion of Turkey is Mahometan, but at least two thirds of the inhabitants are Christians attached to the Greek church. The Mufti is the head of the Mahometan religion. He is appointed by the Sultan and is the second sub

ject in the empire. The priests are called imams. The dervises are monks, and live in cloisters. The Patriarch of Constantinople is the head of the Greek church, and enjoys an ample revenue. Christians of all denominations are allowed to reside in the empire, but they must pay a heavy poll-tax and are subject to severe oppression.

Government.] The government is an unlimited despotism. The Emperor, who is also styled Grand Sultan and Grand Seignor, has absolute power of life and death, and sometimes exercises it with brutal cruelty. The Grand Vizier is his first officer, and the most powerful subject in the empire, uniting in his own person the authority of prime minister, chief justice, and commander in chief of the army. The Captain Pacha is the first admiral and minister of marine. The provinces are termed pachaliks, and their governors, called pachas, have a power almost as unlimited as that of the emperor. The pachas frequently rebel against the sovereign and sometimes successfully. The celebrated Ali Pacha, one of these rebel chiefs, has brought under his own dominion not only the whole of Albania proper, but a considerable part of the adjoining territories. The extent of his dominions is said to be 30,000 square miles; the population, between 1 and 2,000,000; the revenue, £500,000; and the regular army about 10,000 men.. Joannina is his capital.

The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia are not properly a part of the Turkish empire. They were originally independent, but the inhabitants, being overpowered by the Turks, entered into a treaty, in which they agreed to pay a certain tribute annually, but expressly reserved to themselves the entire management of their internal concerns. This treaty is still binding, but the Turkish government has gradually encroached upon its provisions, so that they have now become a mere dead letter. The Grand Sultan has for a long time assumed the power of appointing the princes or Voivodes of these principalities, and from motives of policy, they have uniformly been for nearly a century wealthy Greeks from Constantinople, who have purchased the office by extravagant bribes and an entire subserviency to the will of the Sultan. The oppressed people regard the Russian government as their natural protector, and it has frequently interfered in their behalf.

Manners and Customs.] The Turks differ greatly in their manners from other European nations. Polygamy is practised, every Mussulman being allowed by the Koran to have four wives and as many concubines as he pleases. The concubines are usually slaves purchased in the market. In eating, the Turks make no use of knives and forks, but divide their food with their fingers. They are extravagantly fond of opium, and spend a great deal of time in chewing and smoaking, and in the indulgence of the reverie which they occasion. Their dress consists of loose flowing robes, and the men use turbans instead of hats.

Army and Navy.] The Turkish army consists of about 300,000 men, of whom 40,000 are Janissaries or regular infantry, 20,000