_Bishop_. "I assure you times are greatly changed with us; the general
desire for education surprises and delights me."

We now took our leave of the Bishop, and on our way homewards called
at a house which contained portraits of Kara Georg, Milosh, Michael,
Alexander, and other personages who have figured in Servian history. I
was much amused with that of Milosh, which was painted in oil,
altogether without _chiaro scuro_; but his decorations, button holes,
and even a large mole on his cheek, were done with the most painful
minuteness. In his left hand he held a scroll, on which was inscribed
_Ustav_, or Constitution, his right hand was partly doubled a la
finger post; it pointed significantly to the said scroll, the
forefinger being adorned with a large diamond ring.

On arriving at the collector's house, I found the Aga awaiting me.
This man inspired me with great interest. I looked upon him, residing
in his lone tower, the last of a once wealthy and powerful race now
steeped in poverty, as a sort of master of Ravenswood in a Wolf's
crag. At first he was bland and ceremonious; but on learning that I
had lived long in the interior of society in Damascus and Aleppo, and
finding that the interest with which he inspired me was real and not
assumed, he became expansive without lapsing into familiarity, and
told me his sad tale, which I would place at the service of the gentle
reader, could I forget the stronger allegiance I owe to the
unsolicited confidence of an unfortunate stranger.

When I spoke of the renegade, he pretended not to know whom I meant;
but I saw, by a slight unconscious wink of his eye, that knowing him
too well, he wished to see and hear no more of him. As he was rising