334 
HILLAH, ON THE 
them. A few sombre-garbed Israelites ; and some of the Turks, 
attendant on official duties of the pashalic in this part of the 
government, also mingled occasionally in the passing, or seated 
crowd; where the solemn, saturnine air of the latter, with their 
flowing, gaudy apparel, formed a striking contrast to the daring, 
dirty, independent air of the almost ungarmented swarthy Arab. 
At not many paces higher up than the bridge, stands the palace 
of the governor; also the citadel, which was built by order of 
Ali Pasha. This imposing fortress, externally, is a handsome, 
smooth-faced, demi-fortified specimen of modern Turkish archi¬ 
tecture, erected with ancient materials. Within, I found a 
spacious square court, partially shaded with date-trees, and 
every where else totally filled up with accumulations of rubbish 
of every possible description. I made this peep behind the 
curtain, during my visit to the governor of the district; to whose 
attentions, the pasha of Bagdad (under whom he serves) had 
recommended me ; and I found also, that my passage through 
his excellency’s state chambers demanded as many golden keys 
as any where else. In short, every attendant officer stands with 
an open hand for money ; though they are certainly contented 
with smaller sums than are grasped at by similar cormorants in 
Persia. Excepting the governor’s residence, no house of any 
respectable front, presents itself along the water’s edge; yet the 
stretching, unbroken walls of the place, give it a shew of con¬ 
sequence ; and the minarets of the only mosque it contains, 
rising from behind the battlements, and mingling with the 
feathery tops of the trees, add greatly to the character of the 
* 
* See Plate LXXXII. 
view. 
