about a fortnight the vintage was to commence, when a guard of
ten Turks is placed to fecure the property from pilferers or pirates.
Among the hills, one towers far above the reft, and has
on its fummit a church or chapel dedicated to St. Elias. The
form is conical, and it is feen over the main-land of Alia coming
down the Hellefpont.
O n our return to the tree we found the company there had
been uneafy at our abfence, fearing we had ftrayed or were detained
by feme untoward accident. We dined and flept in the
lhadej and foon after, the French conful took leave of us. About
two in the afternoon we failed with a brifk gale, fleering for
Elki-Stamboul, antiently called Alexandria Troas. The diftance
of this city from Tenedos was reckoned forty ftadia or five miles.
Some of its ruins are in view, Handing on an eminence, with the
uneven fummits of Mount Ida riling beautifully behind.
C II A P. V I I I .
plight o f cranes---- Views o f Alexandria Proas — Return to our
boat — Mount Athos— Manner of pajjing the night — Way,
back to the ruins.
ON the way from Tenedos we were amufed by vaft caravans
•or companies of cranes, palling high in the air from Thrace to
winter, as we fappofed, in Egypt. We admired the number and
variety of the fquadrons, their extent, orderly array, and apparently
good difeipline. About a quarter after three we landed
near the antient port of Troas.
W e immediately began a curfory furvey of this defected
place j afeending to the principal ruin, which is at fome diftance
from the Ihore. The whole lite was overfpread with ftones and
rubbilh intermingled with ftubble, plantations of cotton and of
Turkey
Turkey wheat, plats of long dry grafs, thickets and trees, chiefly
a fpecies of low -oak which produces valanea or large acorns for
exportation, to be ufed in tanning. A folemn lilence prevailed,
and we faw nothing alive, but a fox and fome partridges. In the
mean time, the Turks, who were left in the wherry, removed
about three miles lower down, towards Leftos, where the beach
afforded a ftation lefs expofed to the wind and more fecure.
T h® evening coming on, we were advifed to retire to our
boat. By the way, we faw a drove of camels feeding. We came
to a fhed, formed with boughs round a tree, to Ihelter the flocks
and herds from the fun at noon; and under it was a peafant,,
who had an afs laden, befides other articles, with a goatlkin
containing four curds, called Caimac. On thefe and fome brown
bread our Turks made their evening meal. A goatfkin, with the
hair on, ferved likewife for a bucket. It was diftended by a piece
Of wood, to which a rope was fattened. He drew for us water
from a well not far off, and promifed to bring us milk and a
kid the next day. We found our cook, a Jew, bufy by the fea-
fide preparing flipper j his tin-kettle boiling over a fire, in the
open air.
T he beauty of the -evening in this country furpaffes all de-
lcription. The Iky glowed With the rich tints of the fetting fun,
which now, fkirting the weftern horizon, raifed as it were up
to our view the diftant fummits of the European mountains.
We faw Mount Athos diftinftly, bearing from us 55”1. weft of
north, of a conical form, and lb lofty, that on the top, as the
antients relate, the fun-rifing was beheld four hours fooner than
by the inhabitants of the coaft; and, at the folftice, its ihade
reached into the Agora or Market-place of Myrina a town in
Lemnos, which ifland was diftant eighty feven miles eaftward.
The ihore was ftrewed with pumice-ftones, once perhaps floating
from vEtna or V-efuvius, unlefs ejefted by fome nearer Volcano.
The pikes of Athos and of Tenedos fuggeft the idea, that
their mountains have burned 3 and it is poffible, that thefe, with
many