The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1854-10-28
From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal.
Visit to a Turkish Castle.

the woods to the castle Of Pacha Shehie &
venerable-looking old gentleman, whose ac
quaintance we had previously made, anC
who had promised to show us his farm wher
next we honOred him with a visit. We
provided ourselves with sundry bottles o1
Tenedos wine, one Of cognac, some kid pies
reindeer tongues, &c, and we took our guns
and servants. intending to bivouaC under
the shade of the tall trees during the heat OF
the day.
We shot a fine hare, and several head OF
game and brown bird very much resembling
bird ofparadise, here called poo poo which
was stuffed on our return to our ship. But
shooting is thirsty work, and we looked in
vain for a stream of water to cool our wine
in; so we thought it our best plan to pro-
ceed TO the pacha's castle and ask for Jar of
water-the exigencv of the case being fair
excuse for breaking the MONDAY repose of
the Inhabitants. On arriving there, we
knocked and shouted very unceremonouslv.
considering it was at the castle-gate of one
Of the mobiles of the land but Englshmen
do strange things in strange countries. At
length the pacha himself answered our sum-
mons. Instead of the rich and picturesque
vestments in which we had formerly seen
of white linen and demanded in surly tone
the cause Of our intrusion 1t was evident
that he did not at first recognize me in my
shootingjacket and broad brimmed sombre-
TO, but he recovered his composure on being
reminded of our forme. visit his own hospi-
tality. and the portrait we had sketched of
himself and his pretty little daughter Fati-
ma. lie then disappeared, and to our great
surprise. returned speedily in full costume--a
gorgeous silk dress, with scarlet sash.
Il splendid diamond ring, &c. Going through
The ceremonies of courteous reception, he
invited US to 20 in and see the "castilIio.' In
we went, accordingly, and all over it he took
us. No sign of life was ir it ALL He took
us into one room full of magnificent Turkish
saddlery and then into another in which
he kept his arms There were some beauti-
ful Turkish cimeters in silver scabbards, with
such razor-like blades that felt as if my
head was off while looking at them. There
were also some pistols of rich and curious
workmanship, and before the doors, in each
room, hung a verse of the Koran. We as
cended by dark and narrow staircase to
the top of the castle, which commanded a
fine view of the Dardanelles, and the forts of
Sestos and Abydos, so famous in classic
story. Upon examination, we saw that we
Were in stronghold, sort of Blue Boards
castle, which idea was rather increased by
the report of one of the servants who had
been sent down trap-door to draw water
out OF the WELL which was in the centre of
the building-that sit smelt as if half a
dozen dead bodies were down there y And
there was strange, distrustful tone about
the whole place. There were iron doors to
some of the rooms, into which our host did
not introduce US, and these, we concluded,
were the doors of the harem. The entrance
door was in the center of the building, some
twenty feet from the ground, and the only
way to reach it was by passing over mar
row bridge. When this was cut off, the
place was inaccessible, for all the windows
were small, and iron bars crossed them in
every direction.
Having obtained supply Of water and a
vessel for cooling our wine, we proposed
to the fields to discuss our pro-
visions. We asked our friend the pacha to |
accompany us, and he promised to join us
as soon as we had finished our meal. Under
the shade of broad spreading oak tree we
arranged our feast the bread-bags in which
we had brought it serving for table cloth.
As we were reclining upon the grass, the