★ Keep up to date with the latest news - subscribe to the Transcribe Bentham newsletter; Find a new page to transcribe in our list of Untranscribed Manuscripts
my comrades from venturing into the Turkish part
of this little town: or rather village they were jealous, I he said, of
strangers; and intimation had been given him, he
said, that we should not go there: they complied
for that time. I yielded to the sense of the majority
with reluctance. This morning finding myself and
free I determined to employ the time that was allotted
me in exploring as much as I could both
of town and country. I have found no reason to repent
my resolution. I soon explored the utmost
limits of the former, and pursuing a road
which skirts the river at the bottom of a beautiful
narrow vaile, I came up unexpectedly after about
1/4 of an hour's walk with a noble fragment
of antient architecture: it consists of two entire
archic part of either a bridge or aqueduct which
appears from a steep hill that skirts the road on one side to have stretched across the present
road and so across the river on the other side
to the opposite bank. Its connection with commencement at the hill
is still visible and almost entire: the 2d arch is
at least 30 foot high: the first, of course not so
high. Farther descriptions would lead me to too
great a detail.
I will rather mention a short visit I made to the Asiatic
main which I forgot to take notice of in its place.
It was on Friday Nov.r 11th. We had just dined. We obser
the boat getting ready, and upon enquiry were told it was
to go on shore for water. We made haste to take advantage
of the opportunity. Being the last who received intelligence
of it, I was the last in readiness. Mr Henderson, Mr
Griffiths and Mr Schneider and the eldest Miss Kirtland
had already stepped into the boat. By the time I was come
up to the quarter where it lay Upon approaching it I found
Mr Henderson Mr G. Miss K. stepping out again: it
seems the crew had opposed their entrance, and one of the
Turks had shoved Mr G. back in a rude manner. Not
knowing at the time what had passed I jumped in: The
Turks used words and gestures the import of which seemed to
tend rather to dissuade me, and one of them, the same who
had pushed Mr G. made signs that there were a rude set
of people on shore who would seize us and cut our hands
off, an argument which had been made us of on a former
occasion to reconcile us to the refusal they had given
to a similar request. However as their behaviour to me had
nothing of incivility or displeasure, and Mr S. on my proposition
had consented to be of my party, I determined
upon keeping my station, and so I did. The truth is, I
put no great faith in their plea of danger: concluding it to
be suggested by their unwillingness to be troubled with a large
company, who might detain them longer than they wished:
an unwillingness which the diminution of the company would
lessen if not remove. When we came near the shore, I
found there was no landing dry-shod: I accordingly pulled
off my shoes and stockings & waded with the crew. Mr S.
whether his heart failed him, or he did not care for the trouble
of
of dressing and undressing, could not be prevailed upon to
follow me. After spending some time in examining the
stones and shells upon the beach, I advanced into the country,
using no other precaution than to keep within sight
or hearing of some of the crew that had gone on shore:
At last I came to the spot where they were filling their casks:
it was a stone well cut about 1/4 of a mile or more
from the sea. Upon coming up with I observed two or three men whom I knew
to be strangers standing round the well with two others
whom I took to be as they proved to be of our crew. Accosting them with one of the
Turkish forms of salutation, I was received with civility,
and expressions of satisfaction: but the same fellow who
had before made signs while in the boat to warn me
of having my hands cut off happening to be there, repeated
them upon my coming up and turning to the
strangers laughed and said something to them by which
I perceived he had informed them of the bloody account
he had given me of them in order to save avoid being troubled
with my company. I laughed with them, and said in
Turkish, "No, no: Turks are good sort of people." After this
explanation I made no scruple to wander to a distance
My curiosity was soon gratified with the sight of a fine
of an appearance different from any I had seen before.
A quantity of undecay'd leaves which lay under it on the ground
seemed to indicate that it had been threshed: a Turk stranger
seeing me stop to consider it at a little distance
picked up one of the acorn-cups and brought it to shew
me: it was scaly, like a fir-cone; and in the outside
as large as a moderate sized tea-cup. I intimated to him
that the present was incomplete, without the acorn: he
looked afresh and gleaned up two or three which he presented
me: with his search and my own I collected about
8 or 10 in a growing stack which I shall send intend for England.
I then crossed a large field in order to examine
a plough which I saw at the other end with
a pair of oxen reposing on the ground: it was, of as
might be expected, of the rudest construction, without a
wheel. The ploughman who came up soon after had in
his hand a stick, one end of which terminated in two
pointed crooks of unequal lengths which he made
use of to prick the cattle with; the other in a kind of
small trowel or spatula, the use of which appeared to
be to clear the ploughshare when clogged with earth.
A part of this field was neatly planted with a very low
slender twig which from the very few imperfect leaves that were to be
found on it I could not at first make out. A countryman
coming up to me, by pointing to the plant and then to
my shirt, made me understand it was cotton. I found
afterwards by conversation with some Turks on board
that the sort of acorn was well known in the country
under the name of Palamoot or Balamoot, and the
cups of it used for in the preparation of shoe-leather. The same man
or another (for I found a difficulty in distinguishing these
uncouth figures) had afterwards the civility to inform me
of a nearer road by which to the boat which in the mean
time had quitted its station, and to appraise me of its approaching
departure. This ended my adventures among the
bloodthirsty Turks.
|
Identifier: | JB/540/218/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
540 |
|||
|
218 |
|||
|
002 |
|||
|
Correspondence |
|||
|
Jeremy Bentham |
|||