86 



ASIA MINOR. 



libraries in the Seraglio, and those belonging to the schools, mosques, 

 and colleges of Dervises at Constantinople. The influence of Lord 

 Elgin at length prevailed ; but in none of those vast collections of 

 books was there a single classical fragment of a Greek Or Latin 

 author, either original or translated. The volumes were in Arabic, 

 Persian, or Turkish : and of all of them Mr. Carlyle took exact 

 catalogues. 



The result of our labours previous to his taking a final leave of Con- 

 stantinople was, that we examined every library within our reach 

 which was likely to contain any valuable manuscript ; and that we 

 sent to London twenty-seven codices of different parts of the New 

 Testament, besides an Arabic and a Persian version. In addition to 

 these, Mr. Carlyle procured a number of oriental manuscripts relating 

 to history and poetry ; these, since his decease, have been purchased 

 by the East India Company. It was among his favourite pursuits to 

 collect authentic documents for a complete history of the Crusades ; 

 and he also had it in contemplation to give a new version of the 

 " Thousand and one Nights."* 



Mr. Carlyle's health had suffered so much during his residence in 

 Turkey, that he would not venture alone upon a journey to Macedonia, 

 in order to examine the libraries of the Greek convents on the penin- 

 sula of Athos ; he requested, therefore, that Lord Elgin would allow 

 me to accompany him. We preferred going by sea, as we might thus 

 have an opportunity of visiting the plain of Troy, and the islands of 

 Tenedos and Lemnos. We procured a firman or official permission 

 from the Porte for travelling in Asia Minor and Greece, and a recom- 

 mendatory letter from the Greek Patriarch to the Council of Deputies, 

 who govern the religious community at Mount Athos. The arms on 



* The Arabic title is " Hakaiat Elf Leily wa Leily," Stories, a Thousand and one 

 Nights. Dr. Russell, found at Aleppo two volumes; they contained only two hundred and 

 eighty nights, but he procured a number of separate tales, some of which he thinks may 

 possibly belong to the Elf Leily; and he remarks that many of those published at Edin- 

 burgh in 1792, as a continuation of the Arabian Nights, were to be found in his collec- 

 tion, i. 38C. 



