CHAPTER VIII.
Amasia, the only daughter of Selim the banker, was walking and chatting with her personal attendant Nedjeb, in the verandah of a beautiful country-house, the gardens of which extended in terraces to the shore of the Black Sea.
From the last terrace, the steps of which were bathed by the calm water, Odessa could be perceived towards the South in all its glory. This town is quite an oasis in the surrounding desert, forming a splendid panorama of palaces, churches, hotels, and other habitations built upon a steep cliff which rises precipitously from the sea. From the banker's house one could even perceive the great square surrounded with trees, and the staircase which marks the statue of Richelieu. This great man was the founder of the city, and was its ruler until he undertook the liberation of France.
As the climate is dry and "trying" in the season of the northerly and easterly winds, the inhabitants seek shelter during the summer heat under the welcome shade of the Khontors, and the residents have built their villas on the sea-shore; for business will not permit them all to seek relaxation in the Southern Crimea for the whole season. Amongst these elegant houses one would remark the banker's residence, which was so situated as to be not much inconvenienced by the prevailing dryness of the season.
The name "Odessa" signifies the "town of Ulysses," for so the inhabitants formerly petitioned Catharine II. to name their village. The empress consulted the Academy of St. Petersburg, and the savants investigated the records of the siege of Troy. These records informed them that
