At sunset we passed a group of islands thickly wooded, principally by river-willows; and surrounded by long narrow necks of land, from which the approach of the vessel aroused such a cloud of aquatic birds as I never beheld before in my life. They must have amounted to several thousands; and being wild swans, geese, ducks, and plover, they filled the air with a discord, to which the monotonous beat of the steam-paddles was music. During the whole day we were earnestly talking of Belgrade—the far-famed fortress of Belgrade—which we were anxious to reach before dusk. It was, however, eight o’clock before we were abreast of this last stronghold of the Turks in Europe; and in half an hour more we anchored at Semlin; where we were to remain the whole of the next day to take in coals, and to embark passengers and merchandize. On the following morning immediately after breakfast, we went on shore to see the town; but previously to landing we stood awhile on deck contemplating the interesting scene around us. The Save, which here empties itself into the Danube, forms the boundary between the possessions of the Moslem, and those of the Christian. On one side its ripple reflects the belfried towers and tall crosses, the walls and dwellings, of the Christian population of Semlin—on the other it mirrors the slender minarets and bristling fortifications of the followers of Mahomet. Barges, filled with water-patroles, passed and repassed the vessel; all was activity along the shore of Semlin; while a dead stillness hung over the dark outworks of the opposite bank. A walk of ten minutes brought us to the gate of Semlin, which terminates a long, wide, clean-looking street, forming the main artery of the town. The tide of life was, however, flowing through it sluggishly; a few knots of military, belonging to the Italian regiment by which it was garrisoned, were grouped at distances, or lounged idly along, gazing into the shop windows; but we did not meet half a dozen peasants; a circumstance that was afterwards explained by the fact of our having made our incursion on the day of a great annual market, which had attracted nearly all the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding country to an extensive square at the back of the main street; where we found a dense crowd of horses, waggons, merchandize, busy men, and plain women. Among its public buildings, Semlin boasts a Quarantaine Establishment, considerably more extensive than that of Orsova; and also, as we were informed, infinitely preferable in point of comfort and convenience. Our curiosity, however, did not tend in that direction; and we were quite satisfied with a view of the exterior walls.