218 FROM CONSTANTINOPLE, 
CHAP, ristic of a mountainous atmosphere, beset us the 
^. i,yl, .^ whole way. Our guides, owing to the mist, 
deviated from the route ; and as they misled us, 
we began to suspect treachery. u4ntonio, with 
our Janissary, wandered into one of the forests, 
and they were nearly lost : they returned very 
much alarmed, saying they had seen armed 
horsemen in the woods. The Ambassador, 
being much terrified, twice detained the whole 
cavalcade, within the space of a single hour, to 
oiFer prayers for the safety of the Embassy. In 
four hours we reached the miserable village of 
Fachi. Fachi, where we changed horses ; and at five 
BeymiUco. hours' distaucc from Fachiy we came to Beymilico, 
another wretched village, where there was a 
complete dearth of provisions. The inhabi- 
tants of this place had only returned to it eight 
days before ; having abandoned it through fear 
of the robbers. Notwithstanding their extreme 
poverty, their houses were clean; and the 
beauty of the women was very remarkable. 
With the exception of a single Turk, they were 
all Bulgarians, professing the Greek religion, 
and speaking the Bulgarian language, which 
hardly differs from the Malo-russian\ 
(1) See the Vocabulary in the subsequent Chapter. 
