MARK TWAIN
after daylight and anchored away up in the Golden Horn,
nearly to the lower bridge. Been on shore and found Dan
and Foster, Jack Van Nostrand and Col. Haldeman.
The American minister (Mr. Morris) is to drink wine
on board tonight.
Our imperial visit has had a good effect. It worries the
Sublime Porte a good deal. It is well, for the offensive
resolutions of Congress concerning the Cretan insurrection
have just been received and it may prevent an offensive
reply—may even avert a war—who knows.
Sept. 2. Went over to Scutari—took horse and went on
top of mountain back of city—beautiful view of Con.—
Bosphorus Islands in sea of Marmora—saw most of Black
Sea, etc.
Found a gold mine—good live quartz—the gold in snuff
colored sulphurettes—ought to be very valuable here,
where the labor is so cheap. Its presence is unsuspected.
This is an interesting item, but we hear no
more of it. Perhaps the mine still waits for an
active discoverer.
Sea of Marmora
Sept. 3. Tried to leave Constantinople at 7 P.M., but in
dodging a schooner, whose mainsail we tore with our bow-
sprit, we fouled a buoy just abreast of the Grand Seraglio
(but within the Golden Horn) and drifted down on the
bowsprit of a Beuctra boat—which cut our starboard
quarter boat clear in two. We got clear at 11 o'clock, and
in a few moments we saw nothing but 5 miles of lights,
elevated in pyramids, lines and semicircles—arches—the
last of Constantinople.
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