Corpulence is the general attribute of
Turkish dignitaries, but this Pasha it seems
was a tall, spare, bony man, whose face and
figure bore the closest possible resemblance,
says Dr. Jeannel, to the portraits of Don
Quixote by Tony Johannot. The chief
peculiarities of his costume were a purple
shirt, profusely ornamented with many-
coloured flowers, a pair of highly-embroidered
braces, and white pantaloons with
straps, into the secret of which the Pasha
had not yet penetrated, for being desirous
of sitting without his boots he had
disengaged the pantaloons without unbuttoning
the straps, and they consequently bagged
in a highly graceful manner about half-way
up his legs. "The Pashas," observes Dr.
Jeannel, gravely, "wear our pantaloons, but
do not yet understand them."

To the speech of M. de la Valette, when
duly interpreted, the Pasha replied by a
series of guttural efforts, more laboured than
musical, which signified no end to offers
of assistance, and at the close of his harangue
a quantity of wrinkles seamed his face and
forehead to such an extent that Dr. Jeannel
had a right to conclude the Pasha was
smiling, which, indeed, was the act he
endeavoured to perform. He left them,
however, in no doubt as to his friendly
disposition, for he promised a letter to his friend,
Sefer Pasha, the commandant at Anapa,
together with an aide-de-camp to accompany
the expedition. Some servants in greasy,
brown tunics, sorely rent beneath the
armpits, then brought in pipes and coffee, and
—these despatched—the Pasha rose from
his crazy sofa, and conducted the strangers,
in his baggy pantaloons, to the door, where
he shook hands with them all round, and
smiled again, after his own peculiar fashion.

From Yeni-kalé, the party proceeded to
Kertch, which exhibited unmistakeable tokens
of the spoliation it had recently undergone,
and wore a most desolate aspect. But one
discovery surprised them: this was the existence
of a restaurant, on rather an extensive
scale, whither they were conducted by a
French soldier. In a simple and very
effective manner—merely by taking possession
of the club-house, which formerly
belonged to the merchants of Kertch—an
Italian mercanti had created this house of
entertainment. There was an excellent
cellar of wine, a larder filled with dried
and smoked provisions, a well supplied
poultry yard, a great deal of good furniture,
all the appliances for cooking, ornamental
plants, and flowers, and plenty of books, and
old newspapers. The club was the very thing
for the mercanti's purpose. The restaurant
was the great boon of the garrison, and the
Italian was making a fortune in it. Having
profited by this evidence of civilisation, the
expedition returned to their steamer; and,
on the following morning, proceeded to carry
out its more immediate object.

Anapa, approached from the sea, presented,
at a distance, the appearance of a vast two-
storied roofless building which had been
destroyed by fire. Then came in sight a
large green dome, the metal sheathing of a
church, which fluttered, as the wind blew, in
long, dangling strips. By degrees the general
form of the town might be discerned, in the
shape of an irregular triangle, with its salient
angle in the sea, the consequence of its being
built on a point of land, which offers but
little shelter to a very bad anchoring-ground
on the northern side. No ceremony waited
on the landing of the expedition; which
entered the town through an immense breach
in the walls, where the Russians had exploded
a magazine before they left the place. The
space around was one vast ruin, all strewn
with fragments of beams, immense stones,
bomb-shells, and cannon-balls of all sorts and
sizes, the work of destruction having been
very thoroughly done. The same signs of
devastation were apparent in all parts of the
town; and it was curious to note that, although
only thirty days had elapsed since the
abandonment of the place, everything in it
was already fast returning to a state of
nature; wild flowers and weeds were spreading
rapidly over the broken walls, the dogs
wandered about like beasts of prey, and the
half-starved cats, mewing dismally, supported
themselves as best they might by hunting
the numerous birds from tree to tree.
Anapa had been a strong fortress and a well-
built city, with handsome public edifices, a
fact which the ruins attested. The private
houses were very simply constructed, and
consisted, for the most part, of only one story
with an upper gallery or wooden balcony,
attached to each were barns, stables, and
other domestic offices, and every one had its
orchard filled with peach, apricot, almond,
and apple-trees, which grew in great
profusion, and contrasted singularly with the
blackened and dismantled buildings.

But, if the expedition met with no formal
reception on the shore, it did not want for
escort so soon as its arrival became known.
A body of about thirty Circassians speedily
surrounded the new-comers, and directed the
line of march to the head-quarters of Sefer
Pasha. These men were all armed and attired
after the fashion of the country. Their head-
dress consisted of a high cap bordered with
lamb's-wool; they wore cloth tunics of all
colours, the greater part of them a good deal
the worse for wear, but put on with an air of
elegance; and across their breasts were
cartridge-belts richly ornamented with silver
lace. A leathern waist-belt, with large silver
buckles, was stuffed with pistols, poniards,
and the inevitable sabre, all apparently in
excellent order; and besides these weapons
a short, light musket, in a goat's-skin case,
was slung between the shoulders. On their
excessively small feet they wore very neatly-
made red boots, extremely light and thin-