482 Original Letters 
describe the beautiful appearance of the 
Archipelagian Islands would fall infi¬ 
nitely short of the reality; a more 
lovely spot than the isle of Scio (a for¬ 
tunate dead calm of two days affording 
us an opportunity of visiting,) I cannot 
imagine to exist in the world. In this 
cluster of the Cyclades, I enjoyed the 
glorious prospect of a Mediterranean 
sun-rise; a prospect which the pencil 
of Apelles himself could not even 
faintly imitate. 
Smyrna is a large, populous, and 
well-built city, situated in a fine bay ; 
immediately over the town are the 
ruins of an old castle, erected by the 
Genoese. During our stay here the 
Persian (whom, you will recollect, 
took his passage in the same vessel 
with me,) and I visited the whole of 
the Turks’ quarter, and saw every 
thing worthy of notice, but the details 
would be too voluminous for a letter 
44 en passant He, not being of the 
same sect of Mussulmans as the Turks, 
did not join in their devotions ; but he 
explained to me the meaning of their 
chants, prostrations, and other parts 
of their religion, which were truly so¬ 
lemn. 
After remaining ten days at Smyrna, 
we set sail for this noble, and impo¬ 
singly grand city; on our way we 
passed near the isle of Metelin, (where 
Lord Byron long resided) and on the 
following day had the pleasure ofbeing 
within two leagues of the coast of Troy, 
which I had a great desire to visit, but 
a fair wind springing up, I was pie- 
vented from carrying my wishes into 
execution. 
The approach to this place is very 
magnificent; on both sides of the Dar¬ 
danelles the most luxuriant prospects 
open to the view in rapid succession,— 
and when the city, with all her towers, 
domes, minarets, and palaces, burst 
upon the sight, a stranger, and parti¬ 
cularly an European, must indeed be 
composed of phlegmatic stuff if he can 
behold it without delight and astonish¬ 
ment. I have made the best use of my 
very limited time to see the exterior of 
the mosques of St. Sophia, Sultan Ba- 
jazet, Achinet, &c. with the interior 
(as a great favour, in consequence of 
the Persian being my friend) of the 
Sultan’s Tombs. 
The celebrated aqueduct of Justinian 
is kept in tolerable repair, and supplies 
the city with water. I also visited the 
Hippodiame, or ancient race course, 
on which are the remains of an immense 
from Turkey . [Jan, ] y 
S 
brazen serpent, formerly the winning 
post; and near it is an Egyptian granite 
pillar, covered with hieroglyphics, and 
on its base is an inscription to the Em¬ 
peror Theodosius; besides many other 
remains of Roman magnificence, and 
now 7 going fast to decay, being regarded 
by the Turks as mere heaps of rub¬ 
bish, and saved only from utter de¬ 
struction by the occasional money 
which the foolish Giaours or infidels 
give them for their preservation. 
Nothing can possibly give you an 
adequate idea of the disappointment 
experienced by strangers when they 
land here: the charms of the sea pros¬ 
pects are entirely dispersed, for the 
dirt and heat are insupportable. The 
streets in every Asiatic town, are, from 
necessity, obliged to be built very nar¬ 
row, to prevent the sun’s rays from 
striking in the centre; but the filth 
occasioned by this mode of structure 
is disgusting in the extreme. I leave 
this on Saturday next, accompanied by 
a Janizary for Persia; and I have every 
reason to expect that it will prove a 
most fatiguing journey. The Persian, 
in consequence of the quantity of his 
luggage, is, much against his inclina¬ 
tion, forced to wait for the caravan ; an 
English mineralogist, and an officer of 
the East India Company’s army, wdio 
are like myself going to Tabriz, also 
wait with the Persian, neither of them 
mustering courage enough to trust 
their persons across the desart in a si¬ 
milar w ay with myself. I shall w ? rite to 
you again on my arrival at Tabriz. 
%* We are promised the continuation 
of this interesting correspondence , and 
shall have pleasure in laying it before our 
readers. We wish others who have foreign 
correspondents , particularly in Greece y 
Spain and South America , would oblige 
us in like manner. 
For the Monthly Magazine . 
The NEW street from CARLETON 
HOUSE to the REGENT’S PARK. 
HE country readers of the Monthly 
Magazine, who have not w itnessed 
the progress of the magnificent street, 
which during the last four or five years 
has been in course of erection, will do 
w r ell to consult a map of London duly 
to understand the great changes which 
have taken place. 
St. Alban’s-street which used to face 
Carleton House, has been taken down 
j ' 
together with the houses which in¬ 
tervened between the north end of 
that street and Piccadilly ; and a mag¬ 
nificent 
