ALLI BEY — BARRACKS. 211 



what voraciously, a rather extraordinary meal, 

 composed of a white kind of hash or stew, which 

 he seemed to eat with considerable gusto, carry- 

 ing it to his mouth with his fingjers and a piece 

 of bread, catching the slippery portions with some 

 difficulty. He went on eating for some time, and 

 when he had finished, a basin, with a piece of 

 soap in the middle, and a jug of water, were 

 brought in, and the water poured over his hands ; 

 after which operation, coffee and pipes made their 

 appearance. This done, we went through one or 

 two empty rooms in the barracks, but various 

 excuses were made for not taking us into those 

 actually inhabited by the men, and, though we 

 pressed hard to gain a sight of them, we did not 

 eventually succeed. I saw a few of the soldiers, 

 and could not help observing them ; men I have 

 no business to call them, because all appeared to 

 be very young, and some could not have been 

 more than fifteen years of age. It appears that 

 at the time I visited Salonica, the garrison was 

 very much reduced, and those soldiers that it did 

 consist of were principally the most raw recruits, 

 because the Sultan had, shortly before, called to 

 Constantinople all disposable troops, from all 



