"Seeing nothing, in Constantinople I could turn to account--the allies
were undermining the foundation of Muslamism as fast as possible--I
took a stroll to the seat of war, contenting myself with the hope that
something would ultimately turn up. The fact was, I meant to follow
the policy of the Aberdeen government when starving to death one of
the bravest armies that ever faced a foe. Instead of expanding plains
and undulating hills, such as Smooth had pictures to his mind in his
boyhood, I found the seat of war an ungainly mud-puddle, with ramparts
of savage-looking citizens menacing each other from its opposite
banks. Between these banks the amusement of war was every now and then
kept up with doubtful results. That something more than ordinary was
to pay I felt assumed by the grimaces of the contending parties, and
feeling a deep interest in the cause, I vaulted into the mist of a
group on the left bank, so singularly mixed that their identity as
allies could not be mistaken. To the question as to what brought them
there, they answered with unintelligible assertions about the
issue--the balance, of power--the _status quo_ of Europe, and nobody
knows how many more things that were to remain unmoved.
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