222 FROM CONSTANTINOPLE, 
CHAP. Dobrallcy we saw, upon our left, a very high 
and large tumulus. This village lies between 
two mountains, and consists of two hundred 
houses : half its population being Turkish. 
We were therefore surprised by seeing the 
place filled with women ; as it is always cus- 
tomary among the Turks to conceal their 
females : but this was explained when we 
were told that all the women of the neigh- 
bouring villages had fled to Chaligh Kavack, 
to move out of the way of the robbers. We 
lodged with a Bulgarian family, in which we 
found some handsome damsels, very ready to 
converse; but they spoke no other than the 
Bulgarian language. From its resemblance 
to the Malo-russian, however, we gathered 
enough of their discourse to learn that the 
villages in the neighbourhood were entirely 
abandoned ; yet, harassed as the inhabitants 
had been by the rebel troops, they all spoke 
well of Pasvan OgloUf the rebel chief; and 
we could plainly perceive that the women 
wished him success. They said that the 
disorders of the country were owing to robbers, 
and not to his troops ; that he never robbed 
villages, or plundered the poor of their effects- 
Sunday, April 11. — Having distributed some 
