veracity of so many grave historians, nor impugn the truth of tradition, we defy the researches of the most industrious antiquarian to point out, with the exception of the fortress, the slightest vestige of palace, amphitheatre, triumphal arch, or indeed any public building, either of the Rasci, the Greek, the Roman, or the Byzantin, in Naissus.

If we had arrived here ignorant of the chronicles of antiquity, we should have recorded that in days of yore, a colony of Ishmaelites having wandered here from the plains of Asia, with their flocks and herds, and finding a fertile valley, well watered with the Morava, the Naischava, and the Koutinska-Rieka, pitched their tents. The land proving inexhaustible in its resources, wooden huts succeeded to the tents, and the first settlers made it their permanent residence, until they were forced to submit to the horde of Othman.

This migratory horde differing in nothing from their predecessors, continued to occupy the same huts. If one of their primitive buildings happened to fall a prey to fire, or if the timber became rotten, and the hut was found to be crumbling to ruin, each separate plank, post, and joist was replaced by a fac-simile of the one that preceded it; nothing was changed in the form of construction. Therefore, any traveller, or antiquarian, who may be desirous of studying the architecture of the first patriarchs of the world-their earliest attempts in the art of building, after abandoning the primitive tent, has only to journey to Nissa and his curiosity may be gratified.

It must, however, be admitted that the horde of Othmans, the latest importation from Asia, having during their migratory wanderings gleaned some knowledge of the art of constructing the djami (mosque) from their co-religionists, their attention was immediately directed towards the religious edifices of their newly-acquired territory. Wherever practicable, a dome was added to the rude unsightly temples of their Giaour subjects, and always a lofty minaret, so necessary for the muezzin, that he may be heard far and wide when he calls the faithful to prayer. These form a very pretty feature in the landscape, and serve to impart some variety to the appearance of a Turkish town.

The piety and munificence of former powerful princes of the line of Othman having amply endowed the mosques with landed estates, there is no want of funds to keep them in repair, and provide for the maintenance of all those connected with them, whether ecclesiastics, lawyers, or sacristans.

The immense estates, donations or otherwise, whence these funds are derived, are independent of the control of the sovereign, and exempt from paying any tax to the state. Again, the believers in Islamism are not expected to contribute to the maintenance of their clergy, by which means no clashing interests or disputes arise to create an ill feeling between the two classes; the same sage laws that secured to the clergy their revenues, also compel them to preserve the mosque in good order; consequently, it is ever an object of great

care and attention

Many of these clerical estates have

in a manner become the property of private individuals, and descend from father to son. The patrimony of the Church is not, however, diverted from its original purpose, as some member of the family having studied Mahometan theology and the law, and passed an examination, is recommended to the vacant office by the Nazivi (inspector-general), and receives the appointment from the Scheick-Islam or Moufti, who is at once the head both of the church and law.

If the Sultan, either from rapacity, or poverty, should imitate our eighth Harry, and become the spoliator of the Church (and its immense riches offer a strong temptation), we must come to the conclusion, that such is the apathetic indolence into which the descendants of Othman have sunk, that the mosque, like the fortress, and every other public building in Turkey, would become, in process of time, a crumbling ruin.

To show how amply the Mussulman population are furnished with religious edifices, in Nissa alone there are eleven mosques, and yet out of a population of between ten or twelve thousand, scarcely one-fifth are Mahometans, and even this must be considered a large proportion, as Nissa is the seat of a Pacha, where all the machinery of an extensive pachalik is carried on, and is, therefore, necessarily the residence of a numerous body of Turkish officials. In many of the other towns, not the residence of a Pacha, or military governor, it would be difficult to count a hundred Mussulmans. Still, in every town, whether inhabited by Rayah-Slavon or Rayah

Greek, there is the mosque, which, when once endowed, must remain, however few may be the number of worshippers, for no law relating to the Mahometan Church, when it has once passed, can, according to the Koran, be changed; hence a traveller from Western Europe, who sees the numerous well-kept temples of Mahometan worship, will naturally conclude that the children of the Crescent are a large body in these provinces, and remarkable for their piety. He will be confirmed in his erroneous opinion, should he seek for the churches of the Rayahs; for instance, in Nissa, there are only two, although the Christian population amounts to nearly ten thousand; and in many towns, they are obliged to appropriate a room, in some private dwelling-house, to the service of God.

CHAPTER VIII.

Description of Nissa-Some account of its inhabitants-Characteristics of the Turks and the Rayahs-Nissa as a military position-Its fortifications and fortress-Visit to the castle of human skulls-Sketch of the Bulgarian insurrection of 1841.

THIS long digression may lead the reader to suppose that we had forgotten old Nissa, we will now proceed to give a description of its aspect in the present day; but as we do not wish to fatigue the reader, we must say, that Nissa is the fac-simile of nearly every other town in European Turkey; indeed, so great is the family likeness between them, that, to avoid repetition, we intend to be economical in our pictures, and make one representation serve for all.

Nearly every town, the seat of a Pacha, or Military Governor, we find divided into three compartments, the Kalea, the Chehir, and the Palankin, which are more generally known, in this part of Turkey, by the Slavonian names of Grad, Varosh, and Palankin.

The first, isolated and fortified, is almost invariably situated on the summit of some rock, or eminence; it is