362 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



exceedingly communicative, I gleaned a good deal 

 of useful information about the country and the 

 kind of game that was likely to be met with. Ac- 

 cording to his account, bears of an immense size, as 

 well as wolves, hyenas, and jackals were to be found 

 on the mountains, besides red-deer, wild cattle, hog, 

 wild goats, and sheep, (which latter proved to be 

 ibex and chamois.) He invited me to visit his 

 ''konak" en route, and undertook to show me game 

 of different kinds, which offer I was glad to accept. 



"When the repast was over, coffee served, and the 

 servants out of the way, I produced a little keg of 

 brandy ; and notwithstanding we were all supposed 

 to be good Mussulmans, it went round merrily, and 

 opened the hearts of " the Faithful." 



The "cratur" made the eyes of the old Osmanli 

 colonel glisten again, and as the keg passed round 

 pretty often, it soon began to show its effects, ren- 

 dering him extremely loquacious, and he recounted 

 several very amusing incidents of his early service, 

 besides expatiating, in the strongest of Turkish Bil- 

 lingsgate, against the Sirdar Ekrem Omer Pacha, 

 whom he denounced as an arch-humbug, who has 

 usurped the credit of other men's acts, and gained 

 the position he held by cringing servility, base in- 

 trigue, and despicable chicanery — being totally 

 destitute of all those qualities which he ought to 

 possess, not only as a general, but a man. He was 

 said never to have been under fire except on one 

 occasion when he could not help himself, (at Eupa- 



