Ascending the hills, we passed the village of Kurk Kulak, or the "Wolf's Ear," where is a large ruinous caravanserai, and descended thence into a plain, about three miles in width, and called Tchokar Ovah, or the "Valley of the Ditch." Leaving Murphy and the rest of the party to go forward to Misis, the colonel, Staunton, and myself, turned off into the plain, to ascertain what sport it would afford. There were no trees; but the herbage and jungle was deep, offering good cover to game. Nor were we long in finding amusement; bustards and francolins abounded, although rather shy; but our attention was called off to game of a higher quarry, by the colonel's starting off at full speed after a hunting-tiger, which had just broke cover. In the course of an hour or so, we put up no less than six of these beautiful animals, but did not succeed in killing one of them. The horses were, indeed, much terrified at being pushed after such game, and the colonel's ran away, and was with difficulty recaptured. This plain was separated from the valley of the Pyramus by a rocky range of hills, called Jebel en Nur, or the "Mountain of Light," and these terminated over the great central plain of Cilicia by an abrupt rock, upon which were the castellated remains of Shah Meran Kaleshi (Jihan Numa, p. 602), or the "King of the Serpent's Castle." We passed the night at Missisah, vulgo, Misis, a place formerly of considerable importance, but now a mere village of about a hundred houses, situate on the right bank of the river, connected with a mass of ruined dwelling-houses, and a caravanserai; on the other, by a bridge constructed in part of old materials, and from among which I copied a Greek inscription, now in Colonel Chesney's possession. There was, also, in the same neighbourhood, an artificial mound, with scattered ruins of what appeared to have been a temple. Misis is well known as the site of Mopsuestia, more correctly written by Strabo, Mopsi Hestia, "the house or abode of Mopsus," the poet and soothsayer. It was a holy city, and an asylum, and became free under the Romans, by whom it was enlarged and embellished in the time of Hadrian. It was, also, as we learn from Procopius, remarkable for its magnitude and splendour in the middle ages; and Abu-l-feda relates that 200,000 Moslems were devoted to death or slavery in this city by Nicephoras Phocas and John Ximisces. A great many misrepresentations regarding both its situation and its name exist in the Byzantine writers, and are also propagated by Gibbon. There are some reasons for believing that the town of Mopsus, occupied one side of the river, and Mallus, where was the oracle of Amphilochus, the other. Strabo describes Mallus as built by Amphilochus, and Mopsus, the son of Apollo. Q. Curtius, in describing the progress of Alexander, says, that the Pyramus, having been passed by a bridge, they came to Mallus; and the river was, according to Scylax, navigable up to that city, which it is to the present day. From Misis, we advanced upon the beautiful and expansive plains of Cilicia, the ancient Campus Aleius “ Κεῖθι δὲ τὸ πεδίον τὸ Αλήιον,” and where Bellerophon wandered "Forsook by Heaven, forsaking human kind, Avienus has, however, the true explanation of the above Mythus, which we have given from the Periegesis of Dionysius, and which he renders, v. 1036: "Hic cespes late producit Aleius arva." There is no doubt, as is attested by all antiquity, and as has since been illustrated by the marbles brought home by Mr. Fellowes, that it was in Lycia that Bellerophon first tamed the Chimæra, and, with the assistance of the horse Pegasus, brought over woods, and rocks, and volcanic fire, as typified by lion, goat, and dragon, to cultivation: but it appears equally certain that Cilicia became also the chosen field of his after labours. Besides the testimony here given, from Dionysius and from Homer, there exists a curious tradition, in the first mentioned writer, as to the origin of the name of Tarsus, the most celebrated of the Cilician cities: “ Κύδνου τε σκολιοῖο μεσην διὰ Ταρσὸν ἰόντος, There are here three Tarsuses, a play upon words, which may be freely rendered: "Tortuous Cydnus, through Tarsus' centre flowing, This is not much worse than Avienus' hexameters, upon the same subject. The fall of Bellerophon, here alluded to, is not contained in Apollodorus, nor in all the versions of the legend; but it is in Pindar, with the variation of Pegasus being stung by a gad-fly; and hinted at by Horace: "et exemplum grave præbet ales Pegasus, terrenum equitem gravatus Bellerophontem." It is, in fact, only another way of relating what the father of poetry does, that the mythological hero was in trouble and grief, or in a fallen condition, when in Cilicia. Xenophon speaks in raptures of the large and beautiful plains of Cilicia, "well watered, and full of all sorts of trees and vines; abounding in sesame, panic, millet, wheat, and barley." But small portions of this plain are now cultivated; the remainder is covered with herbage, interspersed with a few shrubs, and here and there a solitary locust-tree. Bustards herd upon this plain, sometimes in flights of myriads; and the traveller can never cross it without meeting troops of gazelles, which here bid defiance to the wily tigers. It was across this plain that Philotas is described as leading the horse to Ægae, while Alexander proceeded by Mallus. A short and pleasant ride brought us to Adana, which, although not so distinguished in the annals of history as its neighbour and rival Tarsus, is still a city of great antiquity-so much so, as to have been fabled by Stephanus, as having been named after Adam. It does not appear, indeed, to have obtained eminence of old. Dio Cassius describes the citizens as fighting against those of Tarsus; and it was with Epiphanea and Mallus, another of the Cilician cities to which Pompey sent his prisoners; but it is also said by Appian, that he expressly sent them to the less frequented cities. It did not The renowned Harun al Rashid took a fancy to Adana, and embellished it, as did also his son Mohammed; and it has always remained a chief city of the Turkomans; and one of the family of Ramazan Ogklu, Piri Pasha by name, embellished it with its chief mosque. fall under Osmanli dominion, till the time of Bayazid II., A.D. 1486. Adana now exceeds Tarsus, in population and commercial importance; is the seat of a pasha, and of a Turkoman government; and is said to contain a population of 50,000 souls, among whom are 10,000 Christians. The houses are remarkable for being constructed of red tiles, like the old Roman houses; and the country around is distinguished by its producing abundantly the fruits of hot climates, almost every garden having its date-palm; and the sugar-cane has been imported from Egypt. The bridge, over the Seihun, the ancient Sarus, is 325 feet in width; and the cemeteries beyond extend far away, like a great forest of graves. Colonel Chesney and myself had come on ahead, in order to procure lodgings; and for that purpose I waited on the pasha, who referred me to the civil governor, politely sending his servant to back the request. The old Turkoman, to whom I then applied, sent a Kawas to obtain a domicile in the Christian district; but not a house would open its doors; and we were obliged, at last, to take refuge in the single apartment of an European medical gentleman, who took pity upon us. On our way thither, we met the disconsolate astronomical and commissariat part of the expedition wandering in uncertainty about the narrow winding streets, in search of those who had gone on before, and not at all delighted at being thus exposed to those jeers and insults which the Frank has always to undergo when passing through a Moslem city not much frequented by Europeans. A LEAF FROM MY THEATRICAL RECOLLECTIONS. BY DRINKWATER MEADOWS. EARLY in my theatrical career, I accepted an offer from the manageress of the Tamworth, Warwick, and Stratford-upon-Avon company, to play the "juvenile tragedy, and eccentric comedy,"-salary, as my letter of engagement specified, "Twenty-one Shillings per week, and benefits upon the usual terms." Managers, in those days, generally named the amount of salary in shillings-twenty-one, or twenty-five shillings read, and sounded more important than "One-pound-one," or "One-pound-five,"-actors, generally, calculating upon effects. With a light heart, I mounted the roof of the coach, by which I was to travel from Yorkshire, with sufficient cash in my pocket to pay for my journey, provided I travelled economically, and a ten-pound Bank of England note, safely stitched in the lining of my waistcoat, as a corps de reserve, only to be brought forward upon a great emergency. The coach by which I travelled left me at Lichfield, the nearest point to Tamworth, distant about seven miles-a mere nothing for a young pair of legs, with a light heart, to walk. Having journeyed from Chesterfield since breakfast, I ordered dinner at the inn where the coach put me down; but although my appetite was good, I was afraid to satisfy my hunger by eating more than one-half of the very small dish of veal-cutlets placed before me, fearing I should be set down as a young Yorkshire gormandizer. In addition to the cutlet, I was favoured with an infantine apple-tart, of "smaller than the smallest size," one-half of which, according to the treatment of its predecessor the veal-cutlet, I left untouched, casting many "a longing look behind." Rising from the table with an appetite has ever been considered most wholesome, the assurance of which but poorly consoled me; with what beverage I ventured to wash down my "half-and-half" meal, I do not remember. Having paid my bill, I set off for Tamworth, with my umbrella in one hand, and a small brown paper parcel, containing a few necessaries for my journey, in the other, having sent my wardrobe forward by wagon. I jogged on cheerfully-" Twenty-one Shillings per week," and good parts in the perspective-undecided whether I should make my first appearance in Tamworth as Young Norval or Tony Lumpkin. On arriving within two or three miles of my destination, I overtook a baker's boy, on his way home, with his donkey and panniers; and as "misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows," so may a long walk with a strange companion. I was right glad to beguile the time by chatting with this youthful Master of the Rolls, who willingly answered my inquiries as to the distance from Tamworth, the size of the town, the inns, the number of inhabitants, &c. Young Doughey was very communicative, and gave me a history of every decent-looking house we passed, its owner and occupant; how many loaves per week Mr. and Mrs. So-and-so "took in;" and how many Mr. and Mrs. This-and-that; who paid punctually, and who did not; who paid without dunning, and who did not pay at all. As we approached nearer to Tamworth, I was delighted to behold a fine river, winding its course not far from the high-road, for I was exceedingly fond of fishing. "That is a fine river," said I, to my travelling companion. river is it?" "Well, sir," replied he, "it's that river." "But what is the name of it?" "Why, it's called the Tame." "There must be plenty of good fish in it, I should think." "Yes, the fish is good enough, when catched fresh." "What kind of fish are caught there generally?" "What "Well, all sorts, at times; but mostly roach, perch, and heels; and sometimes other sorts." “Ah!” said I, "I see a man on the other side of the river pulling the fish out pretty quickly. I shall not be many days in Tamworth before I try my luck in this water.” "It is a good job," said Young Rolls, "that they bite sharpish, or else that chap would be badly off. It wont be long before he comes to our shop for a threepenny loaf, stale baked; he's a very good 'un, and always pays as soon as he can, so we never mind trusting him at times." "Who is he?" inquired I. "Well, sir, it is one of the play-actors, fishing-maybe for his dinner! There is so few folks goes to see 'em act in Tamworth, that they don't often get any of their wages on a Saturday, and sometimes not none all the week through; and them as is best off among 'em, helps them as isn't; and they sticks by one another always. The master of 'em all is a woman-her husband's dead; and she's got behindhand, and lost a deal of money; 'cause she has grow'd so fat and over old, that our town says she is not fit to act young parts no more; and very few people goes to see her; and them as does go, has a order to go in with mostly; and sometimes they wont go then, 'cause she will go on taking the young women's char-ac-ters away for herself to do, though some of our people has told her she's far over big for them things now; but she never minds, but goes on doing 'em still." "My income totters," thought I-what a prospect for a slender young man, whose means were still more slender! I wished myself back in Yorkshire; but having advanced "thus far into the bowels of the land," I resolved to pursue my way. I informed Master Crumb-and-Crust that I was an actor, about to join the Tamworth corps, whose situation he had described as worse than one on half-pay, or reduced rations. 66 "Well, sir," said he, in an encouraging tone, never mind; things, maybe, may get better, and you may have a good benefit on your night, for a great deal of people goes at benefits when they likes the actors. Now them as acts tragedy parts, and sings funny songs, always comes off best. Can you sing?" "No." "Can you act tragedy parts?" "I am going to try." "Can you tumble? 'cause them as can, is always safe to be liked. Mr. Grim-al-dy acted one night, from Brummagem, and was terribly liked and laughed at.' "I can't do that." "Then I doubt you will come badly off; but maybe that's no object, 'cause they are all going to go away to Stratford-upon-Avon to act very soon; and some of the best hands is going to leave now, and get with a better set. Shall you stop long with them?" (Not long, "thinks I to myself, thinks I.") Thus we jogged on, until we reached the place of my destinationdetestation, I might have said. I entered a respectable-looking, secondrate inn, was shewn into a neat little parlour, saw my bedroom, and after freeing myself from the dust of the road, took tea, then inquired my way to the carrier's and the stout manageress; was delighted to find my luggage safe with the former, and not very pleased to find myself in the presence of the latter. The lady fully answered the baker's description-she was fat, lazylooking, and certainly sixty. The room of audience was adorned in the real old-fashioned country managerial style. A round table stood in the centre, covered with a soiled table-cloth, it was ornamented with spots of gravy and crumbs of bread; the salt-cellar had been left on it, and a remnant of cheese, wellcrusted. There was a well-thumbed play-book before my future mistress, who was seated, making out, as I subsequently discovered, a cast of the "Rivals," for the next night's performance, when Mr. |