But, grateful as I was for his consideration, I did not require comfort; I had already escaped from so many dangers at sea, that I never for a moment contemplated drowning on the present occasion; and I took some credit to myself for upholding the honour of my sex for courage in the eyes of the kind-hearted old Turkish caïquejhe. With considerable difficulty we at length made the pier at Topphannè, and, a voyage homeward being perfectly out of the question, we ascended the steep hill to Pera, wet and weary as we were; and passed the night under the roof of a worthy and hospitable Greek friend, listening to the wild gusts which swept down the channel, and congratulating ourselves on our escape from a danger as unexpected as it was imminent. CHAPTER XXII. The Plague—Spread of the Pestilence—The Greek Victim—Self-Devotion—Death of the Plague Smitten—The Widow’s Walk—Plague Encampments—The Infected Family—The Greek Girl and her Lover—Non-Conductors—Plague—Perpetuators—Vultures—Melancholy Concomitants of the Pestilence—Carelessness of the Turks—The Pasha of Broussa—Rashness of the Poorer Classes—Universality of the Disease in the Capital. Every one who has even heard of Constantinople is aware that it is a city of Plague and Fires. Of the latter I have already spoken, although slightly; for it is a singular fact that, although several extensive conflagrations occurred during our residence in the East, not only in the Capital but in its environs, it never was our fortune to witness one. Of the still more frightful visitation of the Plague, I could not perhaps make mention at a more fitting moment than the present (the commencement of September) when, contrary to the prognostics of the _soi-disant_ conversant in such matters, it has broken out with renewed violence in every direction. The Imperial Palace of Beglierbey is deserted in consequence of its having been visited by the Pestilence—The “Seven Towers” have become a Plague-Hospital for the Greeks. We presented ourselves with an order for admittance at the celebrated Seraglio at the Point, and found that here the scourge had preceded us, and that the gates were closed—Even Therapia, seated on the edge of the shore, and open to the healthful breezes from the Black Sea, is adding daily to the list of victims; and we were received by a friend at the extreme opposite end of the sofa on our return thence, (and even that reluctantly,) from a dread that we might prove to be Plague-conductors, and infect her family.