XVII 
THE BOAR 
135 
ubiquitous Briton had not included it among his 
“beaten tracks,” or happy hunting-grounds. 
Sabanja is a large town, situated exactly at 
the foot of the mountains, within half a mile of 
the lake, which at that spot is about 4 miles in 
width. Although the opposite shore is mountainous, 
the numerous slopes are cultivated in terraces, 
where mulberry trees are grown for silkworms, 
and fruit in great variety for the supply of Ismid 
and Constantinople. 
On the Sabanja side, the mountains and 
valleys were unbroken forest, and the cultivation 
was confined to the level ground in the im¬ 
mediate neighbourhood of the town; this was 
apportioned into fields, where vines, apples, figs, 
pears, quinces, and mulberries were planted in 
rows, between which were crops of cereals, in 
somewhat rude imitation of the method pursued 
in Italy. 
I had sent a messenger some days before us 
to engage a few rooms, in the absence of any 
public place of entertainment; we therefore rode 
through the Turkish quarter, then through the 
Greek, and at length, after nearly half a mile up 
the street, we arrived upon the extreme verge of 
the town, where the wild forest abruptly termi¬ 
nated within a few yards of the adjacent houses. 
This was the end of the Armenian quarter, and 
we entered the dwelling which had been engaged 
for our reception. The ground-floor was occupied 
by a cow and her calf; this looked propitious, as 
