132 
A CftUSADE IN THE EAST. 
way through it with small change to start up a still more 
determined gang a little below. Whole platoons of old wo¬ 
men and young, ragged boys and decrepit men, on either side 
of the narrow street, attack you with Effendi ! Effendi! and 
sublimest Effendi, ranging from the most dulcet soprano to 
the most importunate falsetto. You walk on, under the con¬ 
viction that it would be impossible to relieve all this misery. 
Suddenly a voice of thrilling remonstrance reaches your ear; 
it is so desperate in its appeals, so irresistibly imploring, and 
seems to say so plainly, For God’s sake, Effendi, don’t see a 
fellow-creature starve ; do save a human life by dropping 
half a piaster here—just what would buy you one cigar ; 
give it and make a poor wretch happy for a day—that your 
conscience smites you, and you feel that it would be a sin to 
purchase a momentary pleasure with what would give a day’s 
relief to a fellow-creature—so down goes the half piaster. 
Alas, this Js only a drop in the ocean; you are instantly be¬ 
set by the whole legion; the purse of Fortunatus would be 
ineffectual in appeasing the voracity of these poor wretches ; 
arms are outstretched toward you, and hands thrown up in 
all the agonies of hunger; and the gaunt, leaden faces of the 
aged as they sit mute and motionless against the wall haunt 
you, and appeal to you with the terrible eloquence of despair. 
What can you do ? It is impossible to give aid to all. In 
the utter hopelessness of the case, you rush on, thanking God 
that such misery does not exist at home. Supposing you now 
to have reached the vicinity of the wharves in Galata with¬ 
out spraining an ankle over the huge round stones that are 
designated paving-stones, it is here that the difficulties of 
locomotion begin in earnest. The streets are not more than 
eight or ten feet wide, and every possible means of obstruc¬ 
tion seems to be resorted to in order to make the inconvenience 
still greater. Shop stands and tables that work on hinges ; 
sharp pieces of wood upon which are hung all sorts of dan¬ 
gerous wares; boxes, and benches, and heaps of rubbish 
threaten instant destruction. Huge paving-stones, with con¬ 
ical tops, smooth and slippery with the slime of fish and 
other slimes, compose the groundwork of these thoroughfares, 
