where the high ground in the south of the peninsula subsides into the northern steppe, will be historically memorable as the scene of the first great battle ever fought by British troops on Russian soil; as well as Old Fort, in Kalamita Bay, the site where the troops disembarked and passed their first night within the empire of the czar, exposed to drenching rain. Eupatoria, nearly forty miles from Sebastopol, is situated at the northern extremity of the bay. Under the name of Koslov it was one of the most flourishing cities of the Tatars; exported large quantities of wool, butter, hides, fur, and corn; and rivalled Bakchi-serai in the number of its mosques, baths, and bazaars. But the port being inconvenient at all times, owing to shallow water, and without a shelter in rough weather, commerce left it upon the rise of Sebastopol and Odessa. The town covers a large extent of ground with narrow, irregular streets, waste enclosures, and low-built houses; above which rises the mosque of Djouma-Djamaï, the largest in the Crimea. The population, composed of Armenians, Karaim Jews, and Tatars, are engaged in jewellery, embroidery on morocco leather, and the manufacture of a particular kind of felt. War has almost entirely changed the aspect of the place. Held by the allied forces, and formerly unprotected,

strong fortifications have been thrown up around it, in defence of which the Turks signally defeated the Russians. The bloodiest part of the action was fought in the Jewish and Armenian cemeteries, where the fine old tombs, covered with curious inscriptions, were shattered by artillery, and displaced to find room for the dead. The defeat of his troops was a severe blow to the pride of the late emperor, and it hurried him to the grave. Two czars have died of the Crimea,-Alexander of its fever, and Nicholas of the battle of Eupatoria.

BAKCHI-SERAI.-CHARACTER OF THE TOWN.-TRADERS.

THE civil capital of the Crimea, the residence of the governor, and the seat of the government offices and tribunals, Simferopol, is situated in the heart of the peninsula, on the hilly tract which forms the boundary between the mountains and the steppe. The site renders it a kind of rallying point for the inhabitants of both regions. On the one hand, to the south, the well-defined form of the Tchadir-dagh is seen to advantage, and, in the opposite direction, the apparently interminable plain. The city stands on

the banks of the Salghir, which has here cut for itself a deep channel in the shelly limestone, and flows through a valley filled with masses of trees, irrigating meadows, vineyards, and beautiful orchards. It consists of two portions, old and new, Tatar and Russian, closely connected, yet quite distinct, and thus answers to the meaning of its Greek name, the "double city." Simferopol is about 40 miles from Sebastopol, 90 from Perekop, 950 from Moscow, and 1400 from St. Petersburg.

The old Tatar portion of the town, formerly the residence of the Kalga-sultan, or vice-khan, still retains its ancient name of Akmetchet, the "white mosque," referring to an edifice of that description erected by Ibrahim Bey. All courtly buildings, if ever there were such, have entirely disappeared. Nothing remains but a collection of irregular streets, so narrow that two vehicles cannot pass, and so involved that, without a guide, the stranger who gets into the maze may experience some difficulty in finding his way out. The houses being almost invariably enclosed in court-yards, little more than blank walls meet the eye of the passenger. Shops are confined to a quarter monopolised by Jews and Greeks. No contrast can be greater than that presented by the new Russian town, with its white

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houses, painted roofs, broad streets, and large squares. But these extensive spaces appear to disadvantage, as the generally one-storied dwellings are disproportionately low, and the comparative paucity of population gives them an empty and deserted aspect. The residence of the governor is a handsome substantial mansion, overlooking the public promenade, a series of shady walks and gardens extending down to the river, where a military band plays on summer evenings. The Novy Zabor, or new cathedral, is also a fine edifice, built in the usual style of Russian ecclesiastical architecture. It forms a square, with a large dome in the centre, and a smaller one at each of the four corners. The interior is gay with pictures of saints in richly-gilt frames, around which ladies are fond of hanging specimens of their own needlework as votive offerings. A Greek, Armenian, Catholic, and Lutheran church, a Jewish synagogue, several mosques, with large ungainly barracks and hospitals, are the other public buildings. The inhabitants number about 12,000, of whom one half are Tatar, a quarter Russian, and the rest Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Gipsies. Pallas, the eminent naturalist and traveller, was long connected with Simferopol. Having published his "Tableau de la Tauride" at St. Petersburg, in the reign of