A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy | Page 8

long garments of blue cloth. The women have on their
heads large handkerchiefs of white linen, which hang down their backs,
and on their feet stout boots; the men wear round felt hats, and sandals
made of the bark of trees.
March 29th.
After having completely refreshed ourselves at the good inn called the
"Golden Stag," we this morning embarked on a new craft, the Saturnus,
which is only covered in overhead, and is open on all sides.
So soon as a traveller has stepped upon this vessel he is looked upon as
unclean, and may not go on shore without keeping quarantine: an

officer accompanied us as far as Galatz.
Immediately below Alt-Orsova we entirely quit the Austrian territory.
We are now brought nearer every moment to the most dangerous part
of the river, the "Iron Gate," called by the Turks Demir kaju. Half an
hour before we reached the spot, the rushing sound of the water
announced the perilous proximity. Numerous reefs of rocks here
traverse the stream, and the current runs eddying among them.
We passed this dangerous place in about fifteen minutes. Here, at the
Iron Gate, the high tide befriended us, as it did at the former falls.
I found these falls, and indeed almost every thing we passed, far below
the anticipations I had formed from reading descriptions, frequently of
great poetic beauty. I wish to represent every thing as I found it, as it
appeared before my eyes; without adornment indeed, but truly.
After passing the Iron Gate we come to a village, in the neighbourhood
of which some fragments of the Trajan's Bridge can be discerned at low
water.
The country now becomes flatter, particularly on the left bank, where
extend the immense plains of Wallachia, and the eye finds no object on
which it can rest. On the right hand rise terrace-like rows of hills and
mountains, and the background is bounded by the sharply-defined lines
of the Balkan range, rendered celebrated by the passage of the Russians
in 1829. The villages, scattered thinly along the banks, become more
and more miserable; they rather resemble stables for cattle than human
dwellings. The beasts remain in the open fields, though the climate
does not appear to be much milder than with us in Austria; for to-day,
nearly at the beginning of April, the thermometer stood one degree
below zero, and yesterday we had only five degrees of warmth
(reckoning by Reaumur). {30}
The expeditious and easy manner in which cattle are here declared to
be free from the plague also struck me as remarkable. When the
creatures are brought from an infected place to one pronounced healthy,

the ship is brought to some forty or fifty paces from the shore, and each
animal is thrown into the water and driven towards the bank, where
people are waiting to receive it. After this simple operation the beasts
are considered free from infectious matter.
Cattle-rearing seems to be here carried on to a considerable extent.
Everywhere I noticed large herds of horned beasts and many buffaloes.
Numerous flocks of goats and sheep also appear.
On the Saturnus we travelled at the most for two hours, after which we
embarked, opposite the fortress of Fetislav, on board the steamer Zriny.
At five o'clock in the evening we passed the fortress of Widdin,
opposite which we stopped, in the neighbourhood of the town of
Callafat. It was intended merely to land goods here, and then to proceed
immediately on our voyage; but the agent was nowhere to be found,
and so we poor travellers were made the victims of this carelessness,
and compelled to remain here at anchor all night.
March 30th.
As the agent had not yet made his appearance, the captain had no
choice but to leave the steward behind to watch over the goods. At
half-past six in the morning the engines were at length set in motion,
and after a very agreeable passage of six hours we reached Nicopolis.
All the Turkish fortresses on the Danube are situated on the right bank,
mostly amid beautiful scenery. The larger towns and villages are
surrounded by gardens and trees, which give them a very pleasant
appearance. The interior of these towns, however, is said not to be quite
so inviting as one would suppose from a distant view, for it is asserted
that dirty narrow streets, dilapidated houses, etc., offend the stranger's
sight at every step. We did not land at any of these fortresses or towns;
for us the right bank of the river was a forbidden paradise; so we only
saw what was beautiful, and escaped being disenchanted.
Rather late in the evening we cast anchor opposite a village of no note.

CHAPTER II.
Giurgewo--Interior of the town--Braila--Sanitary precautions--
Galatz--Scarcity of good water--Ridiculous fear of