USTAFA THE CHOUASH. 249 



Keppel, in his journey across the Balkan. Of 

 this he is very proud ; and one of the first ques- 

 tions he asked me was, if I had read Dr. Walsh's 

 book. " Yes," I said ; ** and are you actually the 

 Mustafa he speaks so highly of?" "Yes," he 

 said ; " I went with him, and also with Captain 

 Keppel." Mustafa is a curious little fellow, with 

 a long white beard and a long red dress ; he 

 speaks English very fairly, and is of the greatest 

 possible service in a place like Constantinople, 

 where a chouash's cane, which Mustafa has no 

 scruple about using, if necessary so to do, is no 

 despicable argument. All our consuls are allowed 

 chouashes for their personal protection. To the 

 eye of a stranger it does seem, at first, a little 

 absurd that a consul cannot walk out, in a peace- 

 able manner, without being preceded by a fellow 

 armed up to the teeth, and with a thick stick in 

 his hand, with which he makes the crowd clear 

 the way, and belabours any one who may have 

 the temerity to pass too closely the person he is 

 escorting ; but the consuls find it necessary to 

 yield to this inconvenient custom, because the 

 Turkish authorities say, and with great fairness 

 too, that the chouash is given for the consul's 

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