human
I have some scraps belonging to the 'tideless sea,' which will come in here very well. The first is the account of the Bosphorus, now called the Canal of Constantinople, situated between the Euxine and the Sea of Marmora. The whole length of it is about seventeen miles, and most delightful excursions are made on it in pretty vessels called 'Caiques.' They rest so lightly on the water, that you are never certain of being 'safely stowed.' The rowers are splendid-looking fellows from two to four in number, each man with two light sculls, and they sit lightly on thwarts on the same level with the gunwale of the caique. Their costume is beautiful; the head covered with the crimson tarbouche, and the long silk tassel dangling over the shoulders; a loose vest of striped silk and cotton, fine as gauze, with wide open collar, and loose flowing sleeves; a brilliant-colored shawl envelops the waist, and huge folds of Turkish trousers extend to the knee; the leg is bare, and a yellow slipper finishes the fanciful costume. In the aft part of this caique is the space allotted for the 'fare,' a crimson-cushioned little divan[3] in the bottom of the boat, in which two persons can lounge comfortably. The finish of the caique is often extraordinary--finest fret-work and moulding, carved and modelled as for Cleopatra. The caiques of the Sultan are the richest boats in the world, and probably the most rapid and easy. They are manned by twenty or thirty oarsmen, and the embellishment, and conceits of ornament are superb. Nothing can exceed the delightful sensation of the motion; and the skill of the rowers in swiftly turning, and avoiding contact with the myriads of caiques is astonishing. My next scrap is about the Hellespont,[4] situated between the Sea of Marmora and the Archipelago: it is broader at the mouth than at any other part; about half-way up, the width is not more than a mile, and the effect is more like a superb river than a strait; its length of forty-three miles should also give it a better claim to the title of a river. In the year 1810, on the 10th of May, Lord Byron accompanied by a friend, a lieutenant on board the 'Salsette,' swam across the Hellespont, from Abydos to Sestos, a distance of four miles; but this was more than the breadth of the stream, and caused principally by the rapidity of the current, which continually carried them out of the way, the stream at this particular place being only a mile in width. It was here also that Leander is reported to have swam every night in the depth of winter, to meet his beloved Hero; and, alas! for both, swam once too often.
gpt
Before we sail out of the Mediterranean, I wish to mention the singular loss of the 'Mentor,' a vessel belonging to Lord Elgin, the collector of the Athenian marbles, now called by his name, and to be seen in the British Museum. The vessel was cast away off Cerigo, with no other cargo on board but the sculptures: they were, however, too valuable to be given up for lost, because they had gone to the bottom of the sea. A plan was adopted for recovering them, and it occupied a number of divers three years, before the operations were completed, for the Mentor was sunk in ten fathoms water, and the cases of marble were so heavy as to require amazing skill and good management to be ultimately successful. The cases were all finally recovered, and none of the contents in the least damaged, when they were forwarded to England. The whole cost of these marbles, all expenses included, in the collecting, weighing up, and conveying, is estimated at the enormous sum of 36,000_l_.
human
When was this valuable collection made, sir?
gpt
It was many years in hand. I believe about the year 1799 investigations commenced; but the 'Mentor' was lost in 1802, and the marbles did not all arrive in England until the end of the year 1812; since then an immense number of valuable medals have been added to the collection.
human
May we now sail through the straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic?
gpt
We must necessarily pass through the straits of Gibraltar to get out of the Mediterranean; but as we proposed to examine into the different situations of the lesser divisions of water, _first_, we will merely sail through a _portion_ of the Atlantic, and have a little information concerning the Bay of Biscay.
human
The Bay of Biscay washes the shores of France and Spain; but the sea is so very rough there, that I think, were our voyage _real_ instead of _imaginary_, we should all be anxious to leave this Bay as quickly as possible: and the next name on the list is the British Channel.
gpt
I have that. The British Channel is the southern boundary of Great Britain, and extends to the coast of France. The islands in this channel are the Isle of Wight--capital Newport,--Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark.