Scutari was covered with the tents of the British army, which were
daily being added to, as scarce an hour passed without a transport
coming in laden with troops. After a little hesitation, however, Jack
determined to land at Constantinople. The camps at Scutari would
differ but little from those at Gallipoli, while in the Turkish
capital were innumerable wonders to be investigated. Hailing a caicque
which was passing, he took his seat with young Coveney, who had also
got leave ashore, and accepted with dignity the offer of a long pipe.
This, however, by no means answered his expectations; the mouthpiece
being formed of a large piece of amber of a bulbous shape, and too
large to be put into the mouth. It was consequently necessary to suck
the smoke through the end, a practice very difficult at first to those
accustomed to hold a pipe between the teeth.

In ten minutes the boat landed them at Pera, close to the bridge of
boats across the Golden Horn. For a time the lads made no motion to
advance, so astonished were they at the crowd which surged across the
bridge: Turkish, English, and French soldiers, Turks in turbans and
fezes, Turkish women wrapped up to the eyes in white or blue clothes;
hamals or porters staggered past under weights which seemed to the
boys stupendous; pachas and other dignitaries riding on gayly-trapped
little horses; carriages, with three or four veiled figures inside and
black guards standing on the steps, carried the ladies of one harem to
visit those of another. The lads observed that for the most part these
dames, instead of completely hiding their faces with thick wrappings
as did their sisters in the streets, covered them merely with a fold
of thin muslin, permitting their features to be plainly seen. These
ladies evidently took a lively interest in what was going on, and in
no way took it amiss when some English or French officer stared
unceremoniously at their pretty faces; although their black guards