Europeans Circassians Kurds and devil worshippers

The country around Sinope, Samsoon, and Trebizond is strikingly beautiful. Indeed, of natural scenery I have never seen any thing more charming. Even Constantinople must yield the palm in this respect; for though the beauties of the Bosphorus are confessedly great, and all the views in the neighborhood of the city are varied, rich, and magnificent, yet they are wonderfully set off by the groves, the shaded avenues, the kiosks, palaces, and other public edifices, which Mussulman pride, taste, or piety have made to start up everywhere as if by magic.

The former, on the other hand, are like Nature herself,when unadorned, adorned the most,’ and instead of being limited, as those at Constantinople, to a few bright eminences with their retired recesses, alcoves, and lovely retreats, they are on a far more extensive and grand scale, — sometimes stretching off as far as the eye can reach. Indeed, the whole extent of hill and dale, pastures covered or that might be covered with flocks, and fields waving or that might wave with corn, spread out before the eye at one view, is sometimes prodigious.

“ On our return from Trebizond, we had near four hundred passengers, among whom were ‘ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Paraphilia,’ together with Europeans, Circassians, Kurds, and devil worshippers. The moment they set foot on deck they all come under new and the same laws; they are brought in direct contact with European skill and superiority; they are compelled to see and learn new customs. Warriors have to throw off their armor, executioners to deliver up the instruments, of death, and officers to cease giving commands. They have to learn punctuality. When we reached Sinope, the passengers were told to a minute how long the boat would stop, and they were repeatedly warned of the danger of not being punctual.

Still, some were left behind, and lost both their passage, and, what was still more grievous to them, their passage-money; and the captain told me that there were such cases almost every voyage. Some-would go to the Bath, no more thinking that the steamer would dare to stir without them than that the sun would stand still in the heavens. And thus haughty, imperious lords, who never knew it could be twelve o’clock till they gave orders for it to be so, now learn for the first time in their life that 1 time and tide wait for no man.’