His  memoranda  then  proceed :

12th.  I  spent  a  night  of  watchfulness  unto  prayer,  like
.T;i  ^^^h,  wrestling  the  whole  night  for  the  Lord's  blessing,  and
lO'.vards  morning,  the  light  of  liis  countenance  has  very
graciously  arisen  upon  me.  My  trust  and  confidence  is
renewed  in  him, — blessed  and  praised  be  his  adorable
name  I

At  seven,  a.m.,  we  discovered  the  entrance  to  the  Bos-
phorus.  We  came  down  very  rapidly,  keeping  close  to  the
Asiatic  side,  and  by  six  o'clock  p.m.,  we  anchored  near  the
Seraglio.  Constantinople,  from  our  ship,  appears  a  very
beautiful  city,  with  her  man}'  and  large  mosques,  and  theii
towering  minarets ;  the  many  grave-yards,  with  upright  grave-
stones, and  tall  green  aloe  trees :  the  stones  for  the  women
are  all  of  white  marble,  shaped  to  a  point ;  the  top  of  those
for  the  men  are  shaped  like  the  head  of  a  man,  painted  accord-
ing to  the  kind  and  colour  of  the  turban  that  the  individual
wore.  The  streets  are  like  an  amphitheatre,  one  above
another.  The  Asiatic  part,  on  the  opposite  side,  is  beauti-
ful also.     This  is  the  time  when  the  Turks  keep  their  Lent,


^T.  45.]  1819.  8

or  Great  Ramazan,  and  now  daring  the  night  all  their
minarets  are  illuminated;  some  of  them  appear  to  have
thousands  of  lights  of  various  colours,  according  to  the
glasses  in  which  they  are  fancifully  placed;  these  make
a  grand  display,  particularly  on  the  minarets  near  the
Seraglio.
