TRIUMPHAL ARCH OF CONSTANTINE. 183 salonians when he first attempted their conversion. Idle as this tradition may be, the pulpit is of undoubted antiquity; and both from the workmanship and quality of the materials which compose it, is deserving every atten tion. A triumphal arch of Constantine at the southern extremity of Thessalonica is an admirable monument of the olden times; but neither has it escaped the destroying hand of the Turk. The arch itself has long been divested of the marble which enveloped the brickwork yet standing; and the sculpture of one of the piers is surrounded by a baker's shop. Nor is this all, the barbarians have knocked away the basso-relievos in order to introduce certain conveniences for their trade. The other side is entirely boarded up, and if not already given to destruction, may on some future day afford an unexpected gratification. Two compartments only are now visible, representing the triumph of CONSTANTINE (probably) in various situations. In the higher compartment the victor is drawn in a triumphal car, accompanied by his guards, &c. and in the lower he is on horse-back; over head an eagle hovers, 184 SUPPOSED TRIUMPHAL Arch of AugUSTUS. having a laurel crown in its talons, with which it is just in the act of encircling the conqueror's brows. In our way hither from the Mosch of St. Demetrius I discovered a square stone about two feet high, on which the word IAППO was inscribed. We were, in formed that a French consul attempted to dig it up, but it was found buried too deep for the purpose. It is of singular shape, and unless it has supported a statue I can form no conjecture about it; and it is unlikely to have done so if it be of that height which the anecdote we heard implies. At the northern quarter of the town is the gate of the Vardar, which Dr. Clarke supposes a triumphal arch of Augustus: a work far su perior, he says, in point of taste to the other. How this may be I know not; the vault within and without is overlaid with plaister by the Turks, in two or three places it has given way; and passing the first archway of the vault on the obverse side a section of a horse and man may be discovered under this arch I copied the following inscription, which the younger Mr. Charnaud believes cannot have been un→ covered many years, yet Dr. Clarke speaks of : ANCIENT GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 185 it cursorily as " containing the names of all the magistrates then in office." ΠΟΛΕΙΤΑΡΧΟΥΝΤΩΝ ΣΩΣΙΠΑΤΡΟΥ ΤΟΥΚ } And a little to the right of the Vardar Gate is a fountain which has originally been an elegant soros of white marble, but which has not been noticed before: I find there an inscription in this form, erected by some one whose name I cannot decypher, "for his wife and himself, he being alive." NEIKC...I THEYNBIN ΚΑΙ ΕΛΥΤΗ Wednesday, 26th Jan.-Mr. Charnaud obligingly accommodated me with the loan of a horse, and his son was good enough to attend 186 me. CONVENT OF THE DANCING DERVISHES. I corrected the copies of some inscriptions which I had made, and from thence went to inspect a convent of dancing Dervishes outside the northern wall of the city. This is a curious place, but built much on the system of Catholic monasteries, that is, on one side the place of devotion and on the other little apartments for the Dervishes, containing a small divan, their sofa and bed. The building dedicated to the fantastic exercises of their religion is square, and painted both within and without. Within it is constructed like a circus, having a gallery above for the spectators; here they twirl in all the most ridiculous postures imaginable. Cats in immense numbers were running about the area; they feed and educate sixty of them in this convent alone (which is but small) and appear to consider them with the greatest veneration. Attached to the religious edifice is a tomb covered with a splendid cloth of gold, and crowned with the white turban of the Dervishes; it is called the tomb of the prophet, and I understand he has a similar mark of respect shewn him in every convent of the kind. It is surrounded by balconies, where the Dervishes walk. PACHA'S SUMMER-HOUSE-TUMULUS. 187 Descending the hill we rode upon the level plain below it, and passed a khan, or inn, where certain travellers were reposing. These places are of the very worst description; all they can furnish you with, in general, is bread and a mat to sleep upon. Sometimes the only chamber is the stable; and, to say truth, you might meet here worse companions than the horses. About a mile from the town is a sort of summer-house, to which the Pacha occasionally goes to divert himself, and enjoy the fresco of the sea. Half an hour's journey further is a high mound, which has all the appearance of a tumulus, and of which Dr. Clarke says, "that it may possibly cover the remains of those Thessalonians who fell in the battle fought here against Philip the Second; no other instance having occurred likely to cause a tumulus of such magnitude so near to the walls of Salonica." I returned to the ship with a promise from Mr. Charnaud, jun. to attend me, next day, to the dance of Dervishes, which is to take place at one o'clock P.M. Thursday, 27th Jan.-There is a singular method of catching the red-legged partridges, |