CATERINA THE AGA. 185 



are mostly detached, with gardens about them. 

 We saw here an Italian, who, it appeared, had 

 been for some time employed in the leech trade, 

 which is carried on to some considerable extent 

 in this part of the country, from whence they are 

 shipped, principally for Trieste. Our dinner at 

 Caterina I cannot forget. A lamb was baked 

 whole, and under it we put a few potatoes, the 

 remnant of a very small stock we had stowed in 

 our provision pannier on leaving Corfu ; this 

 made as good a dish as a gourmand could desire, 

 served three hungry travellers for their dinner for 

 two days, and cost the large sum of five piastres, 

 about equal to a shilling English. 



The Aga, or head of the post, who was as good 

 a picture of a regular do-nothing, lazy Turk as 

 I ever saw, remained, half asleep, with his legs 

 crossed and smoking his pipe in front of his own 

 door, which was exactly opposite the khan where 

 we rested and ate our noonday meal, and it was 

 with difficulty that we could get him to rouse 

 himself sufficiently to give the necessary orders 

 for us to be provided with post-horses, agreeably 

 to the instructions to that effect contained in an 

 important piece of paper, issued under the autho- 



