376 DEPARTURE FROM TEPELENI. of the seraglio, laid out by two Italians in the style of their own country. These men were deserters from the French at Corfu, whom Ali received gladly into his service, giving to each a house, with a good salary, and a wife from his own harem of Tepeleni. Οἶκόν τε κλῆρόν τε πολυμνήστην τε γυναίκα. We caught a view of these liberated captives during our walk, but they did not seem to possess much beauty or elegance. The great tower, in which more than two millions sterling were withdrawn from circulation, was a vast oblong building three stories high, and secured by ponderous doors, of which Ali alone kept a key. Such are the resources of ambitious tyrants who are unable to establish or sustain public credit by any constitutional guarantees, and are dependent upon their people's fears rather than their love for support. This day the sultana sent us a very excellent dinner from the harem, consisting of soup, ragouts, pilau, and various kinds of pastry, at which we were again gratified by the company of the governor. When the wine, of which we partook freely, had opened the heart of this worthy old Mussulman, his tongue became very fluent, and he entertained us with many curious and interesting anecdotes. At night we slept again in splendid misery, and if I had not feared it might have been taken for incivility, I would have made a retreat into my snug little trunk-bed. Early in the morning, after making our best acknowledgments to our kind hostess for the hospitality we had experienced, we departed for Berat, taking Demetrio alone to attend us, and sending Antonietti with the luggage through the defile of Antigonea to await our arrival at Premeti. As we descended towards the river, a mad MAGNIFICENT SCENERY.' 377 dervish came jumping out of the portico of a new mosque near the serai, vociferating the most horrid imprecations against our Christian heads: the application of some paras, however, quickly changed his tone, and the poor wretch remained dancing in the wild manner of his fraternity upon the bank, and eulogizing us in a most Stentorian voice till we were out of sight. We crossed the Voïussa in a curious kind of trough, broader at one end than the other, the horses being driven with great shouts and cracking of whips into the river, and made to gain the opposite bank by swimming: much confusion ensued; but when all had arrived safe at the other side, the saddles and luggage were replaced, and we followed the course of the Voïussa north, about six miles, where it turns westward, in the direction of Apollonia. The country now began to lie in a regular ascent, the road winding along the side of continued chains of low hills, rising one above the other. Nearly half way between Tepeleni and Berat we gained the highest point, when the views both before and behind us were extremely grand. In front we looked over a mountainous country, which can be compared to nothing so well as to the Atlantic in a storm: the extreme horizon verging to the left was bounded by the hills around Durazzo, that on the right by the mighty Tomour, which in bulk and general outline bears a great resemblance to Etna: his huge head, clothed in a bright snowy mantle, rose splendidly sublime, like a citadel which the mountain Genius of this wild territory might fix upon for his dwelling. Behind us was a spectacle still more superb: the Voïussa pouring down a foaming torrent between its Alpine boundaries; the distant summits of Pindus; the noble scenery of Derópuli; and the vast mountains of Kimarra, those dreaded heights of Acroceraunia, little inferior to the huge Tomour 378 MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE. itself, which reflected in their snow-capt peaks the brilliant tints of the rising sun. After having feasted our eyes some time with these enchanting prospects, we descended into a deep fiumara, through which the road continues for about two hours; from which point all the rivers take a different direction, and instead of flowing towards the bed of the Voïussa, seek to pour their tribute into the river of Berat, the ancient Apsus.* The manners of the people in these northern regions seemed much more wild and barbarous than those to which we had hitherto been accustomed. The peasants stared at us with a curiosity bordering upon insolence, while the women and children ran away, or if we came upon them unawares, turned their faces from us till we had passed. The villages, some on the declivities of the mountains, and others in the valleys, had a dull and gloomy appearance, the houses being built of a dark red stone, all widely distant from each other: their construction served to give us some notion of that dreadful insecurity which reduced society to such a state of misery that even the conquests of Ali Pasha could not augment it each mansion was formed like a tower, the entrance to which was in the second story, and whenever any member of the family wanted ingress or egress, a rope ladder was lowered and drawn up again by the rest: no apertures admitted the free light of heaven to these keeps There can be little doubt respecting this identity. The river of Berat is the only one of any consequence between Durazzo and Apollonia, through the intermediate territory of which places it flows into the Adriatic sea. That this was the direction of the Apsus, vid. Liv. lib. xxxi. c. 27. "Consul Sul. picius eo tempore inter Apolloniam ac Dyrrachium ad Apsum flumen habebat campum.' See also Cæs. de Bell. Civ. 1. iii. c. 13. It was on the banks of this river that the first actions took place between Cæsar and Pompey. "Inter bina castra Pompeii atque Cæsaris unum flumen tantum intererat Apsus," &c. De Bell. Civ. lib. iii. c. 19, &c. APPROACH TO BERAT. 379 or dungeons, except a few loop-holes pierced in the wall, from whence the family muskets might be pointed against a foe. Almost all the inhabitants of these regions profess the Mahometan faith, though they know as much about Mahomet as the Grand Lama: they abjured Christianity to save their possessions, and are despised equally by Osmanlis and Greeks. A few years ago this country was impassable to a foreigner; for every house which he had ventured to approach would have teemed with muskets aimed against his life. Such were the good old feudal times of Albania! Within a few miles of Berat, which is distant twelve hours from Tepeleni, the aspect of the country appeared more pleasing and cultivated, and the manners of the people more civilized: about sunset we entered a charming valley extending towards the north, through which a gentle stream flows into the Apsus and distributes verdure and fertility in its course. Here we observed, in several instances, a nearer approach to the country villa than we had before seen in Turkey: some houses on the banks of the river were surrounded by a lawn, plantations, and fences, which a little more taste might have rendered very agreeable retreats. The rich mellow tints of the sky shed an additional lustre upon the landscape, as we turned to the right up the magnificent valley of the Apsus, where the towers and minarets of Berat burst full upon the view, with huge Tomour rearing his gigantic head in mid-air : the grandeur of the view was so striking, that we should have thought it a sufficient recompense for the fatigue of our journey. Such scenes as these will justify the bard, who thus describes them after his inspection of the most classic regions that have been celebrated in the songs of poets. 380 SUBURB OF GORITZA. From the dark barriers of that rugged clime, Childe Harold pass'd o'er many a mount sublime, Are rarely seen; nor can fair Tempe boast A charm they know not; lov'd Parnassus fails To match some spots that lurk within this lowering coast. About half a mile up the valley a fine bridge of eight arches across the Apsus, leads into a picturesque burial ground and suburb; to the east of which rises a noble hill crowned by a citadel and serai; both of which had lately been much enlarged by their conqueror: from the bridge a road runs along the right bank of the river to the city, which lies higher up the valley, chiefly around the south-east side of its acropolis. The inhabitants of Berat being almost entirely Mahometan, we were lodged with a Greek merchant named Nicolachi, in the large Christian suburb of Goritza: though this house was one of the best in the place, and the family left the best room in it for our accommodation, its filth and suffocating smell was quite appalling! We found the master seated round the fire with half a dozen loungers, who were nearly hid from view by a dense smoke issuing into the room instead of passing through the chimney. How insignificant such trifles appear to those who are accustomed to them, may be inferred from the following short dialogue which took place between Mr. Parker and our host:-" C'è fumo quì, Signore."—" Sì, Signore, dal fuoco." The night did not pass without our apprehensions being fulfilled regarding the nocturnal enemies which assailed our quarters, and next morning the Augean stable was cleansed by our attendants, to the perfect astonishment of the host, who appeared to glory in the antiquity of his dirt. |