Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-11-12

place, unbroken save by the padding o
the boat, and the cleaning of our un'
earthly lights, made me think of the
poets description of the Stygian ferry.
man. After time l began to look round
more attentively. The columns are ol
marble many of them with Corinthian
capitals, though we saw some of the com
posite, and others of the Doric order
Some retained all the sharpness of their
exquisite finish, while others seemed to
be undergoing dilapidation from the hand
of Time.
They appeared to me to be the spoils
of more than one temple, appropriated
by imperial builders to this use. We
looked for an inscription but could no.
where find one. The roof seemed in ex-
cellent condition, and appeared to be fif-
teen or twenty feet above the surface of
the water. Unlike most other guides,
ours was by no means communicative,
and only by dint of questioning him,
could we learn anything from him. He
said the water was unfathomable, and
it was as it always had been am
of opinion there was from twelve to fif-
teen feet depth of water in the cistern.-
1t extends under several streets, and from
the darkness and gloom which envelopes
it, its area seems of great extent. 1t
may well be called a lake. After pad
ding to one extremity, which we found
to consist of well faced with blocks of
marble, and reaching nearly across it in
the opposite direction, our guide, in spite
Of all our entreaty, determined to ascend.
We could learn nothing of the mode bv
which the water finds entrance-most
likely by some underground course, and
obtain egreSs in a similar manner We
at length reached the staircase. and, much
against our will, were compelled to leave
this wonderful cistern, which we would
gladly still further have explored"
The reluctance of the Turks to allow
these underground reservoirs to be ex-
plored, probably arises from the fact,
that If their courses were known, they
would disclose many entrances to the
city, and SO facilitate the admission of
foe. Another reason may be given. The
Turks are excessively superstitious. They
believe in ghosts, goblins and demons,
and fancy that the powers of darkness
and destruction take up their abode in
places like these subterranean retreats.
The traditions of the crueltics perpetrated
on the Greeks in these artificial caverns
have not yet died away: and when VIC
add, that these excavations have been
used by the Turks for the most detest-
able purposes, we shall be at no loss to
account for the rigid reserve they main
tain upon the subject. They have served
the purposes of revenge, intri que, and po-
litical necessity. The father of the pres
ent Sultan once found the one above de-
scribed very useful.
Sellm had been dethroned and i'm
prisoned by the Janissaries, and Mus
tapha ~. resigned in his stead. This
did not at all suit Baractier
"a general who marched to CONSTANT
nople at the head of forty thousand men.
Having obtained possession of the capi-
tai, he fastened to the seraglio, but found
the gates closed, and every preparation
made for a determined defence. The
general, disappointed, but not intimi-
dated gave orders for an immediate as
sault. The contest lasted only short
time, but the interval was fatal TO Selim.
On the sound of the first shot, the ennis
saries of the Sultan were dispatched to
the apartments of Selin-whom. not
withstanding he was at his devotion,
they strangled. From the murder of
Sellm, the executioners proceeded to the
apartments of Mahmoud, the younger son
of Abdulhaimid, and the only remaining
prince of the blood-royal There was
still some hope for the Sultan, in the
eventual death of his brother. Selim was
no more; the audacious Baractier himself
would respect the last of the Ottoman
race. The mutes rushed into the cham
Der Of the confined prince, but he was
nowhere to be found. To the fond fdel-
lty of slave he was indebted for his life.
At the moment that Baractier had rushed
into the palace, Mahmoud, who had first
been concealed in the furnace of bath,
guided by the slave, was cautiously
threading some subterranean passages,
until they gained an opening or recess in
the wall, from which opened a door that
flight of steps. The slave
had brought torch with him, and as he
held it alott, the future Sultan gazed in
some trepidation on a mass of darkly
flowing water.
Whittier would st thou conduct me 2"
he demanded.
ITO life and a throne !" answered the
slave decisively. These waters flow
under the streets of Constantinople, and
run from the harbor of Perami to the Sea
of Marmora. Behold the means of safety
| have provided ~
The prince, on looking down, beheld
small boat: and as he saw no other
chance of escape, he stepped into it, fol-
lowed by his faithful slave, who had pre-
viously taken the precaution to close the
door on the landing. After rowing about
for few minutes, the prince endeavored
to pierce the gloom by which he was sur
rounded; but the feeble rays of the
torch only enabled him to gaze in wonder
at the massive and beautiful pillars that
supported the cave, and which the slave
dextereusly avoided. The dull splashing
of the water, the Stygian darkness, and
his own peculiar position, would have
weighed down the spirits of any but
Turk; but, falling back for relief on the
hereditary fatalism of his race, he sat
calmly in the stern Of the boat, fully pre-
pared for whatever might happen to him.