After we had looked at the hounds, not without a prophetic shudder,
we rode round the walls of the town, which were laid out as a kind of
boulevard, where the inhabitants walked and took their pleasure in the
evenings. On these, however, there was not much to see except the river
beneath and the plain beyond, moreover, though they were thick and
high there were places in them that must be passed carefully, for, like
everything else with which the effete ruling class had to do, they had
been allowed to fall into disrepair.
The town itself was an uninteresting place also, for the most part
peopled by hangers-on of the Court. So we were not sorry when we crossed
the river by a high-pitched bridge, where in days to come I was destined
to behold one of the strangest sights ever seen by mortal man, and rode
out into the country. Here all was different, for we found ourselves
among the husbandmen, who were the descendants of the original owners of
the land and lived upon its produce. Every available inch of soil seemed
to be cultivated by the aid of a wonderful system of irrigation. Indeed
water was lifted to levels where it would not flow naturally, by means
of wheels turned with mules, or even in some places carried up by the
women, who bore poles on their shoulders to which were balanced buckets.
Leo asked the Khania what happened if there was a bad season.
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