. Nippur; or, Explorations and adventures on the Euphrates : the narrative of the University of Pennsylvania expedition to Babylonia in the years 1888-1890 . hree months stay atConstantinople without a few words about my im-pressions and experiences. Constantinople is by all oddsthe most fascinating city I ever lived in,—fascinating byits strange mixture of squalor and magnificence, uglinessand glorious beauty, misery and merriment, by all theparadoxes and anachronisms and incongruities in Mhichit abounds; fascinating also because of the romanticpossibilities of each minute you live, each step
. Nippur; or, Explorations and adventures on the Euphrates : the narrative of the University of Pennsylvania expedition to Babylonia in the years 1888-1890 . hree months stay atConstantinople without a few words about my im-pressions and experiences. Constantinople is by all oddsthe most fascinating city I ever lived in,—fascinating byits strange mixture of squalor and magnificence, uglinessand glorious beauty, misery and merriment, by all theparadoxes and anachronisms and incongruities in Mhichit abounds; fascinating also because of the romanticpossibilities of each minute you live, each step you knows what may happen any moment, and whatshare you may have in it ? One minute you speak oftrivialities, the next moment you are discussing the fateof nations. Over your coffee and cigarettes you involveall Europe in war, and divide up the Turkish march the Russians across the frontier, to give aprovince to Austria,—such things are a mere you take part in all that is done, or think you do,which is the same thing. Never mind how insignificantyou are, you cannot but feel yourself important 44. IMPKESSIOXS OF COXSTAXTIXOPLE. 45 One day I met the Bulgarian Minister of Finance,\vho wished to re-introduce the cultivation of rice atSophia, and requested me to put him in communicationwith our American rice planters. Another day I wasapproached on behalf of the Turkish Government with aproposition to place a loan of $10,000,000 in security for this, they were willing to pledge therevenues of Smyrna or Beirout, or in fact anything whichwas unpledged. It was becoming more and more difficultto obtain money in England or France, and the Portewas anxious to find new lenders. The American bankersto whom I referred the matter took counsel with theirLondon correspondents, and refused to lend the moneyon any terms, because they would have no governmentprotection behind them to secure payment. Later theloan was made by the D
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