Page:Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1862).djvu/68

 rode in the same order past our boats, shouting all the time, no doubt in despite of us.

Our chiaous, a German, born at Augsburg, who had renegaded some years ago, told us that the pasha had presented the Italian with a handsome horse, and promised to give him pay to the amount of twenty aspers a day; but it is incredible that he should have given orders to give him so much, for the chief janissaries do not receive so large a sum as pay; and others told us that, when the year was out, he would be in want of bread. But the chiaous told us this, perhaps, in order to persuade some one else to fall away to the Turks; but, thanks be to the Lord God, this did not happen.

After dinner we went to see the castle of Buda. When we came to the first gate, some soldiers on guard were standing by it, passing through whom we entered a handsome square, on both sides of which there stood cannons, thirty in number, and on the ground lay twenty more without wheels. Amongst the thirty were some so large that a man could get inside them. The Turks informed us that these cannons had been brought to Buda after the battle of Syget. From this square we went through a second gate into second square, and from this through a third gate into a third square. In this third square is a beautiful cistern made of bell-metal, and eight pipes fixed up above it, through which the water flows into the cistern; but just then it was not flowing. There is German writing, with an ancient inscription inside the cistern, and the Austrian arms, i. e. five larks, four serpents, cray-fish, and other animals, cast in a masterly manner. Thence we went