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A 
 
 HISTORICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 UPON THE ISLANDS OF 
 
 CORFU, LEUCADIA, CEPHALONIA, ITHACA, 
 AND ZANTE: 
 
 WITH 
 
 JIKMARKS UPON TUP CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF 
 
 THE IONIAN GREEKS ; 
 
 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SCENERY AND REMAINS OF ANTIQUITY 
 DISCOVERED THEREIN, 
 
 AND 
 
 REFLECTIONS UPON THE CYCLOPEAN RUINS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND SKETCHES. 
 
 BY WILLIAM GOODISSON, A. B. 
 
 Assistant-Surgeon in His Majesty's 75th Regiment. 
 
 Oi'rj lai^ ^vWuv ysysr?, Toly\^i x.ou ocv^^uv 
 T»}Xe0owj» ^vsi iSt^og y iTtlylynroci u^ri 
 
 ilg dv^^uv ymr}, v) [asv <Pvei, »j I'WoXiryEt." Iliad, vi. V. 146. 
 
 " Like leaves on trees the race of man is found. 
 Now green in youth, now withering on the ground ; 
 Another race the following spring supplies ; 
 They fall successive and successive rise : 
 So generations in their course decay ; 
 Soilonrish these when those are past away."— —Pope. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THOMAS AND GEORGE UNDERWOOD, 
 
 32, FLEET-STREET. 
 
 1822. 
 
I 
 
 1l 
 
 I 
 
 PrmteJ-by D. JA«vE«,,jChel«ea. 
 
TO 
 
 PHILIP CRAMPTON, Esq. M.D. F.R.S 
 
 SURGEON IN ORDINARY TO THE KING, 
 SURGEON-GENERAL TO HIS MAJESTY'S FORCES IN IRELAND, 
 
 ^c. Sfc. ^c. 
 
 THIS ESSAY 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 AS A TOKEN OF ESTEEM, AND OF ADMIRATION 
 OP HIS EMINENT PROFESSIONAL ANB LITERARY TALENTS, 
 
 AND, 
 
 AS A MEMORIAL OF FRIENDSHIP, 
 AND OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 MITFORD, speaking of Homer as a historian, 
 observes, " the authority, however, of the great 
 poet as an historian, has, in modern times, been 
 variously estimated; among the ancients it w^as 
 less questioned. As it is of the highest import- 
 " ance to the history of early ages, that it should 
 have its due w^eight, I w^ill mention here some 
 " of the principal circumstances of proof in its 
 '' favour: others will occur hereafter. In Homer's 
 age then, it should be remembered, poets were 
 the only historians; from which, though it does 
 not at all follow, that poets would always scru- 
 " pulously adhere to truth, yet it necessarily fol- 
 lows, that veracity in historical relation, would 
 " make a large share of a poet's merit in public 
 opinion: a circumstance which the common use 
 
 b 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ' of written records and prose histories instantly 
 ' and totally altered. The probability, and the very 
 ' remarkable consistency of Homer's historical anec- 
 ' dotes, variously dispersed as they are among his 
 ' poetical details and embellishments, form a second 
 ^ and powerful testimony. Indeed the connection, 
 ' and the clearness of Grecian history, through the 
 ' very early times of which Homer has treated, 
 ' appear extraordinary, when compared with the 
 ' darkness and uncertainty that begin in the instant 
 ' of our losing his guidance, and continue through 
 ' ages. In confirmation then of this presumptive 
 ' evidence, we have very complete positive proof 
 ' to the only point that could admit of it, his 
 
 * geography ; which has wonderfully stood the most 
 ' scrupulous inquiries from those who were every 
 
 * way qualified to make them. From all these, 
 
 * with, perhaps, other considerations, followed, 
 
 * what we may add in the fourth place, the credit 
 ' paid to Homer s history by the most judicious 
 ' prose writers of antiquity, and among the early 
 
 * ones particularly by Thucydides. But the very 
 ' fame of the principal persons and events cele- 
 
 * brated by Homer seems to have led some to 
 
 * question their reality." 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xi 
 
 The existence of the islands in which the action 
 of the Odyssey lies has been most discredited of 
 any of the geographical facts contained in Homer. 
 The whole scene has been impugned as fabulous, 
 together with the marvellous exploits of the hero 
 there related. Yet, that the poet should so far 
 wander from reality, in describing scenes which he 
 is reported * to have actually visited, is at least 
 im[)robable, considering the accuracy of his geo- 
 graphy in general. 
 
 An opportunity of residing in the Ionian islands 
 for some years could hardly have been neglected 
 by the author, as a source of amusement, to compare 
 the descriptions in the Odyssey with such local facts 
 
 * Herodotus, in the life of Homer attributed to him, relates, that 
 Homer was born at Smyrna; that he was early impressed with the de- 
 sire of travelling, and that he took the opportunity of the departure of 
 Mentes, who had arrived from the vicinity of Leucadia, a man of 
 learning and experience, to accompany him on his return. They 
 arrived in Ithaca where Mentes left Homer, now afflicted with ophthal- 
 mia, under the care of his friend. Mentor, until he had completed his 
 voyage to Leucadia. That the Ithacans related to the poet during 
 his residence amongst them, the exploits of Ulysses; that he grew 
 convalescent there, and prosecuted further voyages with Mentes 
 upon the return of the latter from Leucadia, and, that Homer, in gra- 
 titude for the benefits which he had received from Mentes and Mentor, 
 introduced them both into the action of the Odyssey. 
 
 b 2 
 
Xll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 as offered themselves in evidence of the poet's geo- 
 graphical accuracy. The writings of other ancient 
 authors, by whom allusion is made to them, were 
 subjected to the same test, and the result of the 
 observations and inquiries made are here offered 
 to the public. 
 
 To the literary reader, who may not have the 
 opportunity of visiting these interesting islands, 
 the author hopes that his book may not be alto- 
 gether unacceptable. He can have but little pre- 
 tensions, he allows, to learned acumen ; yet, a 
 residence of some years upon the spot, joined to 
 such knowledge as he may possess of ancient his- 
 tory and literature may, perhaps, have aff'orded 
 him the means of entertaining, if not of informing 
 the learned class of his readers. 
 
 To those whom professional pursuits or amuse- 
 ment may draw to these islands, he has endeavoured 
 to render the work as useful as he could, by dili- 
 gently collating the different authors, and comparing 
 their accounts with things as they actually are. 
 With the same view he has procured a map of each 
 island, the most accurate that any plans or docu- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xiii 
 
 ments existing could supply him with. These 
 were compiled chiefly from the plans of the Vene- 
 tian and French Engineers ; to which have been 
 added, the corrections made by the late Lieutenant 
 Scott of the British Engineers, an officer who, 
 through the ardour and enthusiasm with which he 
 prosecuted his professional duties, sacrificed his 
 valuable life, and fell a lamented victim to the re- 
 mittent fever, which he contracted upon the Con- 
 tinent near Corfu, at the close of the Autumn of 
 1815. 
 
 The author is indebted to his friends, Mr. George 
 Smith, late of the Royal Engineer department, and 
 Mr. Townsend, 75th regiment, for the compilation 
 from the above documents, improved by their joint 
 observations with the author. 
 
 Of the different books which have been consulted, 
 the beautiful work of Sir William Gell upon Ithaca 
 is by far the most interesting, as a work of science 
 and of taste : little has been left in describing the 
 island of Ithaca, which that elegant tourist has not 
 already given to the public. Had Sir William 
 carried his researches to the other islands, nothing 
 
 b3 
 
xiv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 would have been left to be described, and the pre- 
 sent work should not have made its appearance. 
 St. Sauveur, a French writer, has given the best 
 description of the islands in general : the author has 
 been indebted to this work for much useful informa- 
 tion. Holland, Williams, and other tourists, have 
 merely touched upon the subject. 
 
 Amongst the number of works which have been 
 written upon the islands must not be forgotten the 
 elegant little poem entitled, Horce loniccEy' which, 
 including the notes, perhaps, contains, in a com- 
 pressed space, all the literary information concern- 
 ing them, that may be desirable to be known. 
 
 Mustoxidi, a native, who styles himself, the His- 
 toriographer of the Ionian Islands ! abuses St. Sau- 
 veur, although he appears to have profited a good 
 deal by the other s diligence. This book is written 
 in Italian, but is scarcely more than a compilation 
 from Homer, Thucydides, and other writers. He 
 shews much ingenuity, however, in tracing out the 
 form of government in Corcyra from the ancient 
 inscriptions found there in the time of the Vene- 
 tians : these were chiefly decrees of the senate. For 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 this, his fourth book, or, Republica Corcirese, is 
 very interesting. This writer's maehiavelism appears 
 pretty plainly in the opinion which he passes upon 
 the conduct of his countrymen, the Corcyreans, in 
 the time of the Persian war*. 
 
 Of the other writers, Mercati, a native, has written 
 an account, in Italian, of Zante, from which the 
 author has selected a few observations. Baron 
 
 * The Corcyreans had been solicited to join in the common cause 
 of Greece against Xerxes — the passage in Mustoxidi, above alluded 
 to, runs thus : " Bella e lusinghiera si fu la risposta ch' essi diedero, 
 dicendo, che non lascerebbero soccombere la Grecia per trascurag- 
 gine, imperotche essi pure caduti sarebbono in una servitu vergog- 
 nosa. Ma poi allestiti sessanta navi, le fecero partire ben* tardi con 
 ordini d' ancorarsi tra Pilo e Tenaro nella costa di Laconia, e di cuivi 
 aspettare I'esito della guerra."' In English : excellent and flattering 
 was the answer which they gave, saying, that they would not allow 
 Greece to fall through any neglect of their's, since they too would 
 become vile slaves. But afterwards getting ready sixty ships, they 
 made them depart, very tardily, with orders to anchor between iPylos 
 and Tenarum on the coast of Laconia, and there to wait the event of 
 the war. 
 
 They thus wished to make their peace with Xerxes had he been 
 victorious; and the excuse they had for their inactivity to the Athe- 
 nians was, that they could not double Cape Malea : Ingenuous peo- 
 ple! Herodotus, from whom Mustoxidi extractsthe account, however 
 forms a very different opinion ; concluding the chapter with this very 
 reproachful remark applied to the Corcyreans : " atol /xtv ovru ho^K^a- 
 ?arro riic"EXXvnfocqJ' "In this manner did these fellows shake off the 
 Greeks " //iJrorf. lib. vii. §168. 
 
xvi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Teotoky, the president of the senate, has also writ- 
 ten a little tract in French upon the subject, from 
 which a few remarks have been taken. Lastly, of 
 books which have been consulted, is a small trea- 
 tise witten in Latin by a Corfiot, and published at 
 Venice; the name of the author is not affixed to 
 the work, but, like most of the others enumerated, 
 this book is in a great measure but a paraphrase 
 upon the Odyssey. — The title of the work is, 
 Primordia Corcirce. 
 
 The author has not been sparing in his extracts 
 from the ancient writers, particularly Homer. His 
 object in adding these to the bulk of the work was, 
 to obviate the inconvenience arising to many in 
 not possessing the authors quoted. This is felt by 
 gentlemen residing in the islands as well as by 
 tourists, who cannot encumber themselves with all 
 the books which they might wish to consult upon 
 the spot. Long extracts from Pope have been 
 made for the same reason, and for the purpose of 
 accommodating such of his readers as may not be 
 acquainted with ancient Greek. 
 
 To enter into the history of the events which 
 have happened, and are now daily occurring in 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XVll 
 
 Greece, or their political consequences, is not 
 within the limits of this essay. The author dis- 
 avows any sentiments, which might give rise 
 to an imputation, of his wishing to throw obloquy 
 upon the character of the Greeks in general, or 
 of aspersing the glorious cause of liberty in which 
 they are engaged. He has described the character 
 of the Ionian islanders, such as an acquaintance 
 with them for more than five years has warranted 
 him to do : whether the hitherto hopeless and inter- 
 minable state of slavery of the continental Greeks, 
 and those of the Archipelago, under the Turks, may 
 have equally degraded them, he does not assert, 
 although with the exception of a few mountainous 
 districts, particularly Souli and Maina, he believes 
 it to be the fact ; and, that the firmness and perse- 
 verance they have shown in the present conflict, 
 is the offspring of a spirit of freedom, generated in 
 revenge, and elevated by success. 
 
 The Greeks arose ahiiost out of their ruins at the 
 invasion of Xerxes : the evil with which they were 
 then threatened was external, against which they 
 could oppose the internal and natural resources of 
 the nation ; in the present struggle they have had to 
 
XVIU 
 
 PREFifCE. 
 
 contend with an internal and deadly foe, which 
 grew up, and identified itself, with their very exist- 
 ence. Like their ancestors, their weakness lies in 
 disunion ; their strength, in their naval superiority, 
 in those mountainous strong holds with which their 
 country so singularly abounds, and, above all, iix 
 their unanimity. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GeogTaphical position of the Islands ^Importance of, 
 considered politically — Cha^iges of Government in 
 the early ages — The Corey reans the primary cause 
 of the Peloponnesian war page 1 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Island of Corfu — Its various appellations— form of 
 Government under AlciTioiis — Difficulties in 7rcon- 
 ciling its identity with Scheria answered — direct 
 proofs thereof — Topography agrees almost exactly 
 with Homer s descriptimi— Ample proofs of the site 
 of Corcyra — Site of an aqueduct discovered by the 
 French engineers — Mr. Prossalendis inge?iious con- 
 jecture relative to it — Fountain afid Temple of Apollo 
 —-Population of Corcyra greatly exceeded that of 
 the present day — Some reflections upon the Political 
 Economy of those days. page 7 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Description of the Island of Corfu — Canal or Corfu 
 Basin — Mountains — Magnificent scenery — Soil — 
 productive of reinittcfit fever — incautious exposure 
 to its effects depr^ecated — Excursion to the northern 
 extremity of the Island — Beautiful vale, called 
 Val di Roppa — Town of Corfu and defences — 
 Esplanade — Palace of St, Alichael and St, George — 
 Theatre — Opera — Senate House — Churches — ( From 
 St, Sauveur) — Electioji of Protopapa — Excommu- 
 nication — Procession of St, Speridion. . . page 22 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Leucadia formerly a peninsula — Ranges of mountains, 
 their composition — Figure of the Island — Curious 
 configuration of Sappho s Leap — The isthmus, newly 
 formed — An extraordinary ledge of Rocks, its forma- 
 tion progressive — The castle and aqueduct of Bajazet 
 — The lake, Straho's silence upon the subject accounted 
 for — The fine olive wood behind the town, and beau- 
 tiful scenery page 40 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Temperature and variation of season — Winds- — Earth- 
 quakes — Productions of the Island — Wine — Oil — 
 Making of Salt — curious mode of fishing in the shal- 
 low tcaters — Waterfowl that visit the lake at certain 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xxi 
 
 seasons— wild Ducks — Pelicans — singular mode of 
 living of the Inhabitants — Emigration — -effects of 
 their habits upon their constitution^ producing 
 fev€r. ........... page 52 
 
 CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 Population of the island — Chief town, Amaxichi, or 
 Santa Maura — Excursion to Sappho s Leap — Vil- 
 lages Frini, Zuculades, Calamici, Xathia, Di- 
 amigliano, ComigUd, Athani — The cape and white 
 Cliffs — Convent of St, Nicold — Ruins of the temple 
 of Apollo — Sappho s Leap — Beautiful vale of Vas- 
 silichi — Ruins, ancient tumulus, supposed to he the 
 sepulchre of a queen — Villages, St, Pietro, Spartea, 
 Sievro, St, Ellia, Marandecori, Condarena, Porrb, 
 Fternd, Port Ellomenos and ruins of the ancient 
 city. — Catechori, Engluvi, singular situation of — 
 Extraordinary plain near the convent of St. John, 
 in the mountains, subject to an annual inundation — 
 Curia, Sphachiotes — Second excursion to Meganisi 
 Fountain of the Pacha, islajid of Meganisi, geolo- 
 gical structure, population and productions ; proba- 
 bility that it is the ancient Taphios of Homer, page 61 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 Antiquities of Leucadia — Ruins of the ancient city Lucate 
 •J^Remains of the bridge, described a as ruin by Strabo, 
 still exist. — Great Cyclopean walls — Probable amount 
 of the population, calculated from the circumference of 
 
 c 
 
xxii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 the rums — Excursion to Prevesa — description of that 
 town and of the entrance of the gulph of Arta — Ali 
 Pachas palace — Dock yard — the mosque at Prevesa 
 — Ride to Nicopolis — iniins, — two theatres — aqueduct 
 Hippodrome — Reflections upon the ruins, page 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Geographical position of Thiaki—Echinades — Samos. 
 Islet of Dascallio, Topographical description of^The 
 great port — Neritos—Neios — Aito, Population^ 
 Produce — Revenue— Commercial and other employ- 
 mejits of the inhabitants. Antiquity of the island — 
 want of traditional records accounted for. Grotto of 
 the Nymphs^Port Reithros—Korax and fountain 
 of Aixthusa— Singular structure of the rock above 
 th^ cliff Kor ax— conjecture arising therefrom — Ex- 
 cursion to the place called Homer s School-^Ruins 
 of the city of Alalcomene — Beautiful scenery at the 
 village of Lefki, supposed by Sir W. Gcll to be the 
 site of the garden of Laertes— Ruins of the castle of 
 Ulysses upon mount Aito, and ancient city of Ithaca — 
 Position of the fountain of Ithacus— Identity of Ithaca 
 proved from Telemachuss voyage— Evidence from 
 Ulysses's voyage-- Conclusion page 103 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Cephalonia — General configurationof the Island — Aspect. 
 Naturally divided into four portions — one of these sup- 
 posed to be the Dulichium of Homer — improbability of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xxiii 
 
 this portion ever having been insulated, — Gulph of Li- 
 vadi — Promontory of Argostoli — Mount Ems, or the 
 Black Mountain — Altar of Jupiter Enos, and 
 magnificent view from the top of the mountain, p. 130 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Distinct of Livatd — village Passades — plain of Cranii — 
 Districts of Led, Cataled, and Scala — Ruins of an 
 ancient city at Scala — Roman baths and Temple, — 
 Doric Temple, probably of Jupiter Enos — rem^im 
 of the city said to be seen under water at three miles 
 distance from the shore — District of Rackli — Ek- 
 traordinary outlet for the ivaters of the valley at 
 Poros — Mountain lake at Cataracho — Ruins in the 
 valley of Rackli — Plain of Samos — Cyclopean ruins 
 at Samos — Promontory of Mitica — Remarks upon 
 Sir W, GelVs cojijecture, that this is the Asteris of 
 Homer paye 139 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 
 Town of Argostoli and Limri — Rapid progress in 
 building — Population — Earthquakes — Bridge of Tra- 
 pano — Ruins of Cranii — Of the cyclopean building 
 in general page 156 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Zajite, its position with regard to the other islands— 
 Mountain ridges, and some remarks upon its geological 
 structure^Pitch wells^Plain of Zante-.Subject to 
 
xxiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 earthquakes-^ Violent earthquake of 1S21— Of the phe- 
 7iome7ia of earthquake in ge7ieral^Citij of Zante^ 
 Statistical remarks— Ancient inscriptmi. page 168 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Revenue of the islands inadequate to their expenditure — 
 Misappj^opriation of the church revejiues connected, 
 which measure caused the late disturbajices at Za?ite — 
 Persecution of the Jews — Religious teiiets — Super- 
 stition — Pretended plot against government — Bribery 
 — Tiial of Martenengo for high treason — Russian 
 party— Cause of party in general— Greeks requii^e 
 a strict government page 1 89 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Education — Emigration for the acquirejnent of hmc- 
 ledge — College intended to he built at Ithaca — Lan- 
 guage — Facility with which the Greeks acquire foreign 
 languages — Society — degradation of the women — Mu- 
 sic and darning — Chora Cretico — Interior ornament 
 of Greek houses — Subser^viency — Hospitality — Living 
 — Provisions — Climate — Marriage — Funerals. 205 
 
HISTORICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL 
 
 ESSAY 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Geographical position of the Islands — Importance of^ 
 considered politically — Changes of Government in 
 the early ages — The Corcyreans the primary cause 
 of the Peloponnesian war. 
 
 IHE Ionian Islands extend in a chain opposite 
 the coasts of Lower Albania or Epirus, and 
 Acarnania chiefly. Zante and Cerigo are more re- 
 motely situated to the southward, and opposite the 
 coast of the Morea. The mean distance from the 
 continent is about twelve miles, but at St% Maura, 
 the channel which divides it from the main land 
 does not exceed one hundred yards in breadth. 
 They thus embrace a considerable portion of the 
 
 B 
 
Turkish frontier, extending from Butrinto to the 
 most southern point of the Morea opposite Ce- 
 rigo; a space which is included between the 
 thirty-sixth and fortieth degrees of north latitude, 
 and comprises the entrances into the gulphs of Ve- 
 nice, Arta, and Lepanto. 
 
 This position, by which the Turkish empire is 
 most assailable upon the part of Austria, and by 
 which the Venetians commenced their inroads upon 
 that power before, must always be regarded as of 
 importance, so long as the destruction of the Otto- 
 man throne, or its support, can enter into the con- 
 templation of the powers of Europe. The former 
 event had long been anticipated by both Austria 
 and Russia, the mutual jealousy of which powers, 
 however, it would appear, operated to frustrate the 
 designs of each respectively*. 
 
 The population amounts to about 200,000 souls. i 
 Whatever political weight this people might have 
 held in the scale of ancient nations, their import- 
 ance can now be regarded only prospectively; 
 whether it be the object of Great Britain to adopt 
 them as colonists, or to effect such a change in 
 them, morally and physically, as to form a nucleus 
 of liberty, whence a spirit of freedom may emanate, 
 and disseminating itself over all Greece, raise there 
 a power capable of emancipating and maintaining 
 
 ■•Vaudoncourt's Ionian Islands. 
 
3 
 
 itself free^ from Turkish slavery — the consummation 
 of such an event must be hailed by all that feel inte- 
 rested in whatever is great and noble in the his- 
 tory of nations. 
 
 In the heroic age, the form of government was 
 universally monarchical throughout all the Grecian 
 cities and states, which afterwards became so many 
 republics. A similar revolution probably took place 
 in all the Greek islands and their cities, each of 
 which assumed a democratical form of government : 
 Thus the kingdom of Alcinous was changed into 
 the commonwealth of Corcyra ; and there were 
 four of these republican cities in the island of 
 Cephalonia, which had been before an appanage 
 to the crown of Ulysses. The colonies were 
 chiefly sent out from Corinth during and subse- 
 quent to this revolutionary period. About the 
 same time a quarrel arose between the Corcyreans 
 and the Corinthians relative to the people of Epi- 
 damnum, (now Durazzo,) which was colonized by 
 the Corcyreans ; and the assistance rendered to the 
 latter by the Athenians in this dispute, was made 
 the pretext of a war between the great republics 
 of Athens and Corinth, in which nearly all the 
 Grecian cities became ultimately involved. Corfu 
 was at this time a powerful maritime state, having 
 more than one hundred gallies at her command, and 
 was alone equal to contend with Corinth. The real 
 cause, however, of this, which was called the 
 Peloponnesian war, was the mutual jealousy sub- 
 . B 2 
 
4 
 
 sisting between the Athenians and Corinthians; 
 a spirit which was excited by the latter through- 
 out all the other states against the growing power 
 of Athens : these several republics contending, not 
 to preserve an equilibrium, but each struggling 
 to make the scale preponderate in itself. 
 
 The policy of the Athenians, to avert the imputa- 
 tion and the consequent odium of breaking the 
 truce, in the affair between the Corinthians and 
 Corcyreans, was remarkable in the first rencounter ; 
 they secretly forbade their ships to join in the 
 fight, unless the Corinthians actually made a land- 
 ing upon the island*. This principle of forbearance 
 from aggression or assault, and respect for the law, 
 which should be common to all nations, shewed 
 a high political moral feeling, which, if properly 
 managed, would have laid the foundation for a 
 balance of power, by which the liberties and the 
 independence of the whole might have been pre- 
 served. But in those early ages, the abstract 
 principles of political justice, founded upon the 
 basis of the common good, were unknown, as they 
 have continued to be, excepting in theory, until 
 these latter times, when a new era seems to be 
 about to burst upon the destinies of mankind t- 
 
 * Thucydides, lib. I. 
 
 t It was hoped at the time this was written that the Congress 
 of European powers would have realized this political state of hap- 
 piness, hut the manifesto published subsequently to the Congress 
 of l^ybach augurs most unfavourably for it. 
 
5 
 
 There is but little else of importance recorded 
 of these islands. They severally took part in the 
 quarrels of their neighbours as the circumstances of 
 affinity or interest dictated, and to follow up their 
 history as a people, if it were even practicable to 
 hold them together under that view, would be but 
 to trifle with the records and monuments of the 
 greatest nations that have existed. It shall there- 
 fore be the object of these pages to collect any 
 detached memorials that may have presented them- 
 selves to the diligence of the author, and to recall 
 or to offer them to the notice of the reader under 
 the heads to which they more particularly belong : 
 that is, in the account of each island respectively. 
 
 To give a brief sketch of their modern history. — 
 In the sixteenth century, the Venetian republic 
 wrested the islands from Turkey, as offering so 
 many favourable points for commencing her in- 
 roads upon that empire. She successively possessed 
 herself of the maritime towns upon the continent, 
 and lastly of the whole of the Morea. We shall 
 not follow her up in her triumphs, but shall content 
 ourselves with fixing this as the era of the first 
 union of the islands under the despotic power of 
 Venice. The French having overrun Italy in 1797, 
 took them from the Venetians, and were in their 
 turn expelled by the Russians and Turks in 1799. 
 The mutual jealousy of these powers prevented 
 either occupying them exclusively, and, in 1802, 
 they were declared to be an independent state, , 
 
 B 3 
 
6 
 
 with the title of. The Republic of the Seven Islands. 
 In 1807 they again fell into the hands of the French, 
 who, in 1814, were obliged to surrender Corfu, 
 which they had alone retained against the victorious 
 arms of Great Britain, to the Allied Powers. By 
 the treaty of Paris, dated Nov. 5, 1815, they were 
 finally consigned to the protection of Great Britain, 
 under the title of. The United States of the Ionian 
 Islands. On the 28th December, 1817, was pro- 
 mulgated the new constitution, and on the 1st of 
 January, 1818, the installation of the new govern- 
 ment took place with great formality. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 CORFU. 
 
 Od. b.v. 1.279. 
 
 Then swell'd to sight Phoeacia's dusky coast, 
 
 And woody mountains, half in vapour lost ; 
 
 That lay before him indistinct and vast. 
 
 Like a broad Shield amid the wat'ry waste. Pope. 
 
 Island of Corfu — Its various appellations— form of 
 Government under Alcinous — Difficulties in recon- 
 ciling its identity/ with Scheria answered — direct 
 proofs thereof — Topography agrees almost exactly 
 with Homer's description — Ample proofs of the site 
 of Corcyra — Site of an aqueduct discovered by the 
 French engineers — Mr, Prossalendis ingenious con- 
 jecture relative to it— Fountain and Temple of Apollo 
 — Population of Corcyra greatly exceeded that of 
 the present day — Some reflections upon the Political 
 Economy of those days. 
 
 CORFU is the most considerable of the Islands 
 in the Ionian Sea. From the earliest ages it had 
 been regarded as a place of importance ; its remote 
 
6 
 
 I 
 
 ^nd insular position affording it security^ as it^ 
 naval sttength did. Considerable weight and influ^ 
 ence amongst the other commonwealths of Greece* 
 In the time of the Romans it served as a convenient 
 step between the Italian and Grecian continents^ 
 and greatly facilitated the extension of conquest and 
 dominion of that mighty people. If we ascend to 
 the more remote ages, and can afford any credit 
 to the poetical descriptions of Homer^ we shall 
 find its individual importance to have been still 
 greater, on account of the riches, the population, 
 and the maritime skill of its inhabitants. This 
 period of its history is, like that of all the neigh- 
 bouring stateS) much intermixed with, and obscured 
 by fable. 
 
 It was first called Drepanum (^psTravov), which some 
 writers say was derived from its being the scene of 
 the bloody act committed by Saturn upon the 
 person of his father Coelum* To this is added, that 
 Saturn having effected his purpose in maiming 
 Ccelum by means of a reaping-hook, flung the 
 instrument from him, and that it fell in Messina 
 in Sicily, which assumed its curved form, and its 
 name of Zancle, from this circumstance : moreover, 
 that the drops of blood which fell from the hook 
 upon the earth produced the race of giants. 
 
 It was afterwards called Scheria> and the people 
 Pheacians; the etymology of which words is as 
 fanciful as that of Drepanum* Scheria was imagined 
 
9 
 
 to be derived from the word icx^'v^ (ischein) to re^ 
 strain ; because Ceres being apprehensive that the 
 rivers flowing from the continent would convert the 
 island into a peninsula like Leucadia, entreated of 
 Neptune to prevent so fatal a catastrophe, whose 
 interposition accordingly preserved to it its insular 
 figure. Pheacia was supposed by some to be de- 
 rived from Pheax the son of Neptune by Korkura. 
 Others imagined it to have been so called from 
 Phaic, an Arabian term, signifying great opulence, 
 dignity, and virtue. With regard to the former 
 conjecture, it is not probable that it should have 
 been first called Pheacia after the son, and sub- 
 sequently Corey ra after the mother : the supposition 
 carries with it a sort of anachronism. With regard 
 to the latter appellation, there is just as much 
 uncertainty as to its etymology, some deriving it 
 as above from Korkura the daughter of Asopus, 
 who was ravished by Neptune; and others from 
 Korkura a sort of boat for which the Corcyreans 
 were famous. The island was also called Machris 
 from its length. And lastly it got the name of 
 Corfu from the word Kopvcjxi) (Korupho) to over- 
 top, on account of the two turret-like rocks upon 
 which the citadel is built. 
 
 The Pheacians, according to the testimony of 
 Homer, were brought from Hyperia near the 
 Cyclops> who obliged the people of that country 
 to emigrate under Nausithous, the father of Alci- 
 nous, to Scheria. The form of government was 
 
10 
 
 monarchical, mixed with aristocratical, resembling 
 that of the 'Spartans under their kings and Ephori. 
 Of the latter aristocratical part of the govern- 
 ment, were twelve members, denominated by- 
 Homer, CK:£7rr8)(ot Sa(Ti\eeg; not sceptre bearing kings, 
 an interpretation which leads to the absurd idea 
 of thirteen monarchs reigning together in the 
 island, but magistrates ; the sceptre being the 
 symbol of justice as well as of regal power. 
 There are some other difficulties in identifying 
 this island with the Pheacia of Homer. First, 
 he describes (in the words of Nausicaa*) the 
 Pheacians as being remote from all other people, 
 and that they had no commerce nor intercourse 
 with any. This, however, may mean compara- 
 tively with the other islands and states ; or, 
 perhaps, together with the description of the per- 
 petual succession of fruit in the gardens of 
 Alcinous, it may be considered a poetical licence. 
 Some allowance must be made for the poet's 
 indulging his imagination occasionally ; and, whe- 
 ther it be made or not, he is sure to take it 
 himself whenever he pleases. The circumstance 
 of the Pheacians being unacquainted with and 
 averse to strangers, makes the condescension of 
 Nausicaa, in aiding a destitute individual like the 
 ship-wrecked Ulysses, the greater; and heightens 
 the softness and amiability of her character. It 
 may be added, that the virgin boldness with which 
 
 * Od. 6. b. 1. 204-5. and again 379. 
 
11 
 
 she receives the accost of Ulysses, when her 
 female attendants were scared away, so far from 
 detracting from female modesty, elevates our ideas 
 of her purity of thought, and displays the supe- 
 riority of her rank and deportment. The impres- 
 sion which this princely demeanour makes upon 
 the hero is beautifully unfolded in his supplication 
 to her : 
 
 — But fearful to offend, by wisdom sway'd. 
 At awful distance he accosts the maid^, 
 If from the skies a Goddess, or if earth 
 (Imperial Virgin) boast thy glorious birth. 
 To thee I bend I if in that bright disguise 
 Thou visit earth, a daughter of the skies. 
 Hail, Dian, Hail, &c. 
 
 Pope's Odyssey, Book 6. v. 173. 
 
 That Homer s descriptions apply generally to 
 Corfu is quite apparent, and sufficient to the 
 argument of its identity. First, Nausicaa's nurse 
 coming from Epirus. Secondly, the sailing of the 
 Pheacian boat, directly for Ithaca, where it ar- ' 
 rives before the next morning, and in a port 
 with which the sailors are so well acquainted. 
 This it must be admitted supposes the identity 
 of the modern and ancient Ithaca, which, how- 
 ever, will \)e attempted to be proved hereafter. 
 Thirdly, in the fourteenth book of the Odyssey, 
 Ulysses, although in the assumed character of a 
 Cretan, banished on account of murder, in his 
 story to Eumeus, plainly indicates the situation of 
 Scheria, which he has just left; saying, that he 
 
12 
 
 came last from Thesprotia, by the king of which 
 country he had been hospitably entertained. Thus 
 mixing up the real facts and occurrences, which 
 were unnecessary to his purpose to conceal, with 
 those which his assumed character required of him 
 to invent. 
 
 There is not a vestige remaining that can be 
 recognized as having belonged to the city of the 
 Pheacians. The antiquarians of Corfu say that it 
 occupied the site of Corcyra, and that the latter 
 city was built upon the ruins of the former. It 
 is worth investigating how far this opinion may 
 be correct, by comparing the topography of the 
 place with Homer's description; and although the 
 speculation be attended with no particular utility, 
 the conjectures that obtrude upon one examining 
 it with the Odyssey in his hand, may at least afford 
 amusement. 
 
 At three miles distance southward of the town 
 of Corfu, is the narrow opening of the inlet called 
 Peschiera Chalichiopulo, which immediately ex- 
 pands itself into a lake, indenting the island to 
 a considerable extent. The whole of this lake is 
 now very shallow, from the constant alluvion of 
 the soil by the rains; a circumstance which joined 
 to the excessive summer heat, renders it extremely 
 dangerous to reside, at that season, any where 
 within the influence of its exhalations. The lake, 
 in its wide expansion, approximating the sea coast 
 
13 
 
 again northwards, forms the land, which is con- 
 tained between the two waters, into a sort of 
 isthmus. Upon this isthmus is the little village 
 of Castrades, situated in the middle of the ruins 
 of Corcyra. To the northward of the lake Chali- 
 chiopulo, the island becomes again indented by 
 the great bay of Corfu, whose bottom terminates 
 at Govino ; and into this is emptied the largest river 
 in the island, which, by way of eminence, is called 
 Potamo, the River. Let us now comp^^e the 
 passage in the fifth book of the Odyssey with 
 the localities existing here, and we can scarcely 
 forbear concluding, that this was the spot contem- 
 plated by Homer in his description. Ulysses in 
 his approach to the shore seizes upon a rock with 
 both his hands, to escape the shock of an immense 
 wave, which thus passes him by. The wave, how- 
 ever, refluent, {TvaXipoOiov) casts him far out to sea 
 again, from which, by a mighty exertion and the 
 assistance of Minerva, he extricates himself, and 
 the wave, (continuing its retrogade course,) regur- 
 gitates back to the continent, Qpivyirai Yiirelpov^s,) im- 
 plying the proximity of the continent. Nothing more 
 clearly indicates the locality than this passage. 
 Let us suppose then that this is, the jove-flowing 
 river, which received Ulysses ; and that here, Nau- 
 sicaa, having fed and clothed him, conducted him 
 thence to the city. The interval between the 
 mouth of the river, and the assumed site of the 
 city of the Pheacians; the scenery, and the objects 
 met with upon the road, the forum, the temple of 
 
14 
 
 Neptune, the naval arsenal, the grove of Minerva, 
 the fountain, and the gardens of Alcinous, may be 
 traced in idea by an imagination not very vivid, 
 nor given much to exaggeration, amid the ruins, 
 and the beautiful scenery that adorn this place 
 at the present day. 
 
 The description of the double port and the nar- 
 row entrance, applies accurately to the mouth of 
 the lake Chalichiopulo. The fountain of the Phfea- 
 cians may have occupied the site of one found 
 in the ruins of Corcyra, which was dedicated to 
 Apollo, to be hereafter described ; and the little 
 island which lies in the mouth of the lake Cha- 
 lichiopulo, may be supposed to represent the 
 Pheacian boat, converted into a rock, upon its 
 return from Ithaca. Its form bears a fanciful 
 resemblance to a boat upset. Thucydides also, 
 in book the third, distinguishes two ports in 
 Corcyra, one called Hillaicus, which the people 
 took possession of along with the citadel, and ano- 
 , ther, which he describes as looking towards the 
 <jontinent, and the forum. Hillaicus was probably 
 on the east side of lake Chalichiopulo, together 
 with the citadel and the forum ; and the second 
 port was on the west, looking towards the con- 
 tinent and the forum. 
 
 But however speculative the notions of the 
 reality of the city of the Pheacians may be, the 
 ruins upon the isthmus in the vicinity of Castrades, 
 
15 
 
 afford direct evidence of the existence of a great 
 and extensive city, which, the inscriptions and coins 
 found there, indicate to have been the less ancient 
 Corcyra. Although most of the traces of this city 
 are literally levelled with the dust, sufficient marks 
 remain above ground, as broken pottery and tiles, 
 and more have been discovered deeply buried in the 
 soil, to prove its original extent and magnificence. 
 The superficial indications are met with soon after 
 passing out of the Porta Reale at Corfu, and are 
 found scattered over a space of at least six miles 
 in circumference. And if we take into the calcula- 
 tion the ancient columns found in the sea at Perama, 
 (described in the French Military Report, drawn up 
 by the engineers employed in cutting the ditch 
 across the isthmus,) we must conclude, that the city 
 of Corcyra reached this point, sweeping round the 
 whole margin of the lake, and terminating at Pe- 
 rama, the passage where the ferry-boat plies across 
 it's narrow entrance to the place called the one-gun 
 battery. In this space are scattered fragments of 
 fluted columns of the Doric, and a few of the Ionic 
 order, broken pieces of pottery, of excellent work- 
 manship, and beautifully ornamented, mosaic, large 
 masses of square stone, and foundations of great 
 buildings, buried many feet under the surface. 
 In digging the ditch across the isthmus, the 
 French engineers came upon an aqueduct in three 
 points, the source of which .they suppose was at 
 Mount St. Ellena. The ingenious Mr. Prossalendi 
 of Corfu imagines, that some physical change must 
 
16 
 
 have taken place in the topography, since the con- 
 struction of the aqueduct ; for, at present, there is 
 no source of water, nor appearance of any place that 
 could have furnished it, any where near its direc- 
 tion. The line followed up leads to a little olive 
 mount, which terminates by a precipitous descent 
 into the Govino bay, having no spring, and being 
 incapable of ever supplying one. The aqueduct 
 fed a fountain at a temple which was dedicated 
 to Apollo. An oblong, conical, stone pillar, the 
 lower half fluted and cylindrical, marked the spot, 
 with the following inscription in very old letters 
 upon the top : poos hygaios, (the Pythian fountain). 
 The pillar is about twelve feet high, and is to 
 be seen at Mr. Prossalendi's museum*, together 
 with many other interesting pieces of architecture 
 and sculpture of the ancient Corcyra. Two 
 branches of the aqueduct above mentioned were 
 found leading to the base of the pillar ; and near 
 it is a temple, marked out by the plinths of a 
 quadrangular colonade, which the French unco-^ 
 vered in digging the great wet ditch. 
 
 The population of Corcyra cannot be estimated 
 at less than 100,000 inhabitants, taking all these 
 
 * Most of the valuable coins and inscriptions are in the posses- 
 sion of Venetian families. Were they to be purchased by the 
 government, and added to the Corfu collection, the vhole would 
 form a very interesting and patriotic monument. Mustoxidi has 
 copied many of the decrees of the Corcyra senate, from thes^ 
 marbles, which are very curious. 
 
17 
 
 circumstances into consideration; and indeed if 
 120,000, or about double that of the island at the 
 present day, be taken as the probable number of 
 souls contained in that single city, the calculation 
 cannot far exceed the truth. The character of the 
 architecture and the sculpture, with th^ testimony 
 of its ancient inscriptions and coins, prove its luxury 
 and riches, supported as it is by the evidence of 
 history. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive how the inhabitants 
 of this, as well as many other great neighbouring 
 cities, could have subsisted in those days ; since 
 at the lowest calculation, the population of the 
 islands was probably four times greater than it 
 is at present. To these are to be added the cities 
 of Epidamnum or Dyrachium, Apollonia, Buthro- 
 tum, Ambracia, Argos Amphilocum, Stratos, Alyzea, 
 and ^neadae at the mouth of the Achelous, all 
 in the vicinity, and all which, the testimony of 
 ancient "writers, conjoined with the actual evidence 
 furnished by the ruins of each city, shew to have 
 been great, magnificent, and populous. Agricul- 
 ture could not, in its then unimproved state, 
 have supplied the necessaries of life to such a 
 mass. We know the difficulty of maintaining the 
 present reduced number of inhabitants of the islands, 
 who do not upon an average raise more corn than 
 supplies one fourth their consumption. And it 
 would appear, froni the ancient inscriptions*, that 
 
 * Vide Mustoxidi on the Ionian Islands. 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 Corfu was cultivated in ancient times nearly in 
 the same manner as at present: the decrees of 
 grants of land from the senate and people of Cor- 
 cyra to individuals, are generally specified, as so 
 many acres, of vines, or olives. 
 
 It is, notwithstanding this, probable, that more 
 corn was grown in those days than now, as the 
 vineyards and olive woods are always encroaching 
 upon the corn lands, and large olive woods now 
 occupy the place of what were once extensive 
 corn fields : as, for example, the old wood on the 
 plain behind the town of St\ Maura. The follow- 
 ing considerations will explain this falling off in 
 the growth of corn. The value of an olive tree, 
 when once it begins to yield its crops, is very 
 great in proportion to the ground it covers; and 
 the labour and expense, which it afterwards re- 
 quires, is very inconsiderable compared with the 
 gain from its produce. Hence arises the difficulty 
 of altering the mode of employing the agriculturist's 
 capital, if it were even advantageous to force it 
 into that of the culture of corn*. No owner of 
 an olive tree, which may continue to bear fruit for 
 
 * I have understood that it was the policy of the Venetian go- 
 vernment to discourage agriculture, and to encourage the culti- 
 vation of the olive : thus to render the islands dependant upon 
 the parent state for a supply of the indispensable article corn, and 
 in return to furnish that (viz. oil) in which the other was de- 
 ficient. Thus not only ensuring their subjection, but rendering 
 them more beneficial as colonies. 
 
19 
 
 centuries, will cut it down for the sake of growing 
 corn in its place ; he is contented with the scanty 
 crop he can raise in its shade, and the real value 
 of his ground is identified with that of the tree 
 which covers it. It was by the value of each olive 
 tree, that the appraisement, of nearly the whole of 
 the territory of Parga, was made by the British and 
 Turkish commissioners. 
 
 Commerce, without the assistance of manufac- 
 tures, could have gone but a little way in making 
 up the balance against those people, in drawing 
 their supply of necessaries from abroad. The skill 
 attributed by Homer to the Pheacian women in 
 weaving, can hardly be taken into account here, 
 in calculating their internal resources, the passage 
 is— Od. b. 7. line 105: 
 
 Of the Fifty Handmaids in the Palace of Alcinous, 
 
 ** Some ply the loom ; their busy fingers move 
 Like poplar leaves when Zephyr fans the grove. 
 Not more renown'd the men of Scheria's isle. 
 For sailing arts and all the naval toil. 
 Than works of female skill their women's pride. 
 The flying shuttle through the threads to guide : 
 Pallas to these her double gifts imparts. 
 Inventive genius, and industrious arts/* Pope 
 
 Could their great maritime skill then, by making 
 them the carriers of other countries, have made 
 up the deficiency ? They perhaps derived a consi- 
 derable part of their subsistence from the ^e^. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 
 
 At the present time great quantities of fish, parti- 
 cularly mullets, are taken in these seas, and many 
 large boats from the Neapolitan dominions come 
 here for the purpose of fishing. 
 
 In the selection of a place to build a city, the 
 ancient Greeks seem uniformly to have kept three 
 points in view. First, the vicinity of a plain fit 
 for cultivation ; 2dly, a good harbour ; and 3dly, 
 commanding heights, which they strongly walled 
 for defence, and called acropoli. The town was 
 often built at a distance from the harbour, as 
 was the city of Athens ; and sometimes upon 
 almost inaccessible heights, in order to cover them 
 from the attacks of their enemies. The positions 
 of Leucate, of Ellomenos, of the old city at 
 Vasilichi in Leucadia; of Cranii, Samos, False 
 and Pronos, in Cephalonia; of Ithaca and Alal- 
 comene in the island of Ithaca, were of this de- 
 scription. 
 
 The expense and labour employed in facing 
 the stone merely, might be nearly computed by 
 a simple calculation. As to that of raising it, 
 and of placing the enormous blocks one upon the 
 other, we can form no estimation, not being ac- 
 quainted with the mechanism which they used. 
 To calculate for example the labour and cost of 
 simply facing the stone in the walls of Cranii. 
 A workman of the present day will face about 
 two square yards of stone of the same hardness 
 
21 
 
 as those of which the walls are constructed, and 
 the daily wages of a stone-cutter are about three 
 piastres and a half a day. The superficial measure 
 of the cut stone may be approximated in this way. 
 The length of the wall, including that which sur- 
 rounded the city directly, and the two curtain 
 walls, one defending it upon the south, and the 
 other upon the south-east, as will be hereafter 
 described, is about 7306 paces. In the south-east 
 wall are twenty-one projecting towers, eight paces 
 square, whose two sides (not yet counted,) 16 
 multiplied by 21, amount to 336 paces. Total 
 length, 7642, which, at 30 inches for each pace, 
 gives 63681 yards. If we allow four yards for 
 the height of the walls, part of them still stand- 
 ing at ten feet, the total in length and height is 
 25,473t square yards. For the two edges and two 
 ends of each stone, which are also cut to tit each 
 other, one and one-half the same nutober of square 
 yards may be allowed, supposing that the upper 
 and under surface of each stone together equalled 
 the front, and the two ends one- half the front. 
 This makes the whole measure of cut stone in 
 square yards 44,578 ; which, divided by two square 
 yards, a workman's daily quota of labour, gives 
 22,289 workmen in one day, or divided by 500 
 workmen, gives 44| days* employment to 500 work- 
 men, merely to face the stone used in the defence of 
 Cranii. The expense in piastres would be 78,01 If, 
 each piastre being about ten-pence English in value. 
 
 C 3 
 
22 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Description of the Island of Corfu — Canal (rr Corfk 
 Basin — MomUai?is — Magnificent scenery — Soil--- 
 productive of remittent fever — incautious exposure 
 to its effects deprecated — Excursion to the northern 
 extremity of the Island — Beautiful vale, called 
 Val di Roppa — Town of Corfu and defences — 
 Esplanade^Palace of St. Michael and St. George — 
 Theatre — Opera — Senate House — Churches— ( From 
 St. Sauveur) — Election of Protopapa — Excommu- 
 nication — Procession of St. Speridion. 
 
 IF we inquire into the claim of the island of 
 Corfil to any importance or consideration at the 
 present day, we shall find it to be small indeed* 
 In the time of war, the protection it might afford to 
 an enemy, by its command upon the entrance of 
 the Adriatic, renders it an object of some interest 
 to the British government* 
 
 The island is situated at the mouth of that gulph, 
 extending opposite to the coast of Epirus, from 
 which it is separated by the Corfu canal. The 
 eastern coast is considerably incurvated, so as to 
 shut in the whole canal nearly at its extreme points. 
 
23 
 
 giving it the appearance of an expansive lake, 
 which is surrounded on every side by mountains. 
 On the north it is bounded by a fine mass of 
 mountain, called St. Salvador, which stretches 
 across the channel, nearly closing it up at that 
 end. The approximation of the southern extremity 
 again at Capo Bianco to the coast of Albania nearly 
 shuts in this magnificent basin. The figure of the 
 mountain St. Salvador is very remarkable, consist- 
 ing of a long horizontal table, included between 
 two singular cones that tower up at the extremi- 
 ties. This is by much the loftiest range in the 
 island. Its direction is nearly east and west, being 
 as it were the last disruptured isolated mass of the 
 great Acroceraunian chain. The fall of the mountain 
 is exceedingly bold towards the head of the Corfu 
 basin, and gives a very grand effect to this beautiful 
 scenery. This is the celebrated Mount Istone of 
 the ancients, where, in the Peloponnesian war, 
 the remains of the aristocratical party of the 
 Corcyreans made their last desperate stand. After 
 various alternations of fortune and unheard-of cruel- 
 ties committed by the democrats and aristocrats 
 reciprocally, 500 of the latter, having escaped the 
 massacre committed by the democrats under the 
 protection of the Athenian fleet commanded by 
 Eurymedon, fled to the continent. From thence 
 they returned secretly, and disembarking on the 
 island, lest they should ever be again induced to 
 quit it, they burnt their boats. They then fortified 
 themselves upon this commanding height, from 
 
24 
 
 whence they were dislodged by the other party 
 only with the assistance of the Athenian fleet. 
 
 Of the island mountains there remains another 
 range, which forms a right angle nearly with St* 
 Salvador, the direction being about north and souths 
 terminating in a lofty mass to the southward, called 
 Mount Deca. The elevation of this last is, however, 
 less than that of the first described range. It is 
 greatest at the western coast, which is exceedingly 
 bold; and from thence the general surface of the 
 island slopes gradually down to the water edge along 
 its eastern coast. This conformation gives the 
 greater portion of the island an eastern aspect, 
 nearly the whole surface of which becomes dis- 
 played, as the passenger moves up the streights ; 
 exhibiting a rich picture, ever varying with the 
 tints of the olive and of the fresh foliage of the 
 vine, studded with villages, peaceful and happy 
 under the protection of a just government, and 
 flourishing under the flag of a great and free nation. 
 
 With this character of scenery at the Corfu side 
 of the channel is finely contrasted, the naked savage 
 features of the Albanian mountains, which, tracing 
 out a rough outline upon the eastern horizoUj 
 elevate their rugged snowy tops to the clouds. 
 Uncultivated and depopulated * wilds render horrid 
 
 * The remains of many great cities are swallowed up in the deep 
 forests and underwood with which the country is over-run. The 
 author has traversed a good deal, particularly of the part opposite 
 
25 
 
 there the scene where despotism still more horrid 
 erects her bloody throne, and with the sceptre of 
 desolation sweeps the circle of her drear dominions. 
 Of this great chain of mountains, the ancient Pindus, 
 are, first the Chimariot or the old Acroceraunians> 
 next the Cassiopaean, and the Suliot ridges, that 
 last refuge of Grecian * liberty, which terminating 
 
 to Santa Maura, -where the country is impassable in the coverts, 
 excepting through the devious passages made by the half-wild 
 cattle, and wild beasts with which they abound. His object was 
 chiefly to discover if there were any traces of the city of Neritos, 
 which, according to Strabo, was abandoned by the inhabitants, 
 to settle in Leucate. In this search he failed, although from the 
 many accounts given by different persons, of ruins in that neigh- 
 bourhood, a more diligent inquiry might be attended with success. 
 
 t The Suliots were the last people who fell, after a most gallant 
 resistance, under the despotic power of Ali Pacha; and the 
 remnant of their little band found protection ultimately upon 
 the rock of Parga, after a struggle of fourteen years. In this war, 
 Ali was obliged to bring an army of 25,000 men again 6000 Suliots, 
 before he could conquer them, and was then only enabled to 
 succeed by building a chain of forts through the mountains, by 
 means of which he dislodged them from post to post. — Vide Vau- 
 doncourt, Holland, St. Sauveur, &c. for the romantic history of the 
 Suliots. 
 
 Whatever was the policy which allowed the surrender of Parga, 
 the event, however to be deplored upon the account here stated, 
 viz. its connexion with the struggles of the Greeks for liberty, was 
 not attended with those exaggerated circumstances with which 
 interested malcontents attempted to falsify and discolour it. The 
 Pargonots collecting and burning the bones of their ancestors 
 before their departure, and their being dragged fronr. their homes 
 to inhabit an uncultivated rock, are mere fabrications. The fact is, 
 that this people are at present happily and contentedly situated, 
 being identified with the population of each island, where fancy 
 
26 
 
 in the insulated peak of Parga, formed there the 
 last sad vanishing point upon which her expiring 
 hopes were fixed. 
 
 The mountains of Corfu are composed of compact 
 limestone chiefly. Masses of gypsum occur occa- 
 sionally. There is a quarry of white marble under 
 the western peak of St. Salvador, of a very fine 
 grain, and well adapted for the uses of statuary. 
 The lesser hills consist mostly of an argillaceous soil 
 mixed with lime. The soil of the district of Leftimo 
 is altogether composed of this clay, which forms 
 indeed the substratum to all the low and culti- 
 vatable lands in the islands. Thus the richest parts 
 of Cephalonia, Anoi, and Livato, are of this com- 
 position. This clay contains very abundantly that 
 deleterious principle which is evolved by the united 
 operation of heat and moisture, and which, as 
 was before mentioned, renders the country a place 
 so dangerous to reside in during the summer. In 
 Zante the beautiful country villas are all deserted 
 by the natives at this season, and are sometimes 
 very eagerly and very rashly sought after by English 
 families, who cannot divest themselves of the notions 
 of happiness attached to a country retirement in 
 the summer at home. So fatal a delusion cannot 
 be too strongly exposed in order to be guarded 
 against. 
 
 or their connexions led them to settle in, and having received 
 full compensation for their property, they enjoy there all the rights 
 and privileges with the security of Ionian subjects. 
 
27 
 
 A considerable portion of the island lies to the 
 northward of St. Salvador, looking toward the con- 
 tinent of Italy. The mountain mass becomes gradu- 
 ally lowered at that side, terminating in gently 
 undulating swells, intersected with more or less 
 extensive vallies. There are many large villages 
 here and much cultivated land. Upon the north- 
 east coast are the ruins of the ancient city of 
 Cassiope. 
 
 A favourite and very interesting excursion is 
 through this part of the island, to view the ruins at 
 Castel St. Angelo, and the remains of Cassiope. The 
 journey is about three days ride. The road winds 
 round the bay to Govino, and has been repaired and 
 rendered excellent for about two miles, as far as the 
 salt works : it is the intention of government to 
 carry it on through the country. The remainder of 
 the road from Govino is but a beaten mule track, 
 leading through the olive woods, and up the water 
 courses in the ravines to the mountains : they are 
 however like all the others in these countries, deno- 
 minated roads. The scenery is wild and romantic, 
 and to the traveller at least, the want of a regular 
 road is amply compensated by the delightful sense of 
 liberty he experiences, unlimited by the dull mono- 
 tonous lines of wall and hedge, to wander at pleasure, 
 now courting the freshness of the friendly olive 
 shade, and again profiting by the softness of the 
 green velvet carpet which nature spreads out before 
 him. The visitor is thus conducted by a devious 
 
course over beautiful swelling hills covered with 
 wood, sometimes interrupted by deep gullies, where 
 the water has cut its passage before him, and leads 
 him a difficult but necessary way through thick 
 coverts of evergreen shrubs, until he reaches the 
 pretty rural village of Scripero, at about three hours 
 ride from town. This sweet spot is situated under a 
 lofty towering peak of the mountain, which rises 
 almost perpendicularly above it. On the height 
 beyond Scripero the Stormy Adriatic" bursts at 
 once upon the view with the Acroceraunian moun- 
 tains—" infames scopulos" — Italy and Albania are 
 stretched out before our traveller's eye, while Fanu 
 and the other islets lie at his feet. The high bold 
 western coast of the island descends from this point 
 towards Liftimo, and as he faces southwards, the 
 lovely valley of Roppa, opens out from one extremity 
 to the other before him. 
 
 This is by far the most picturesque landscape in 
 the island. The valley consists of a rich plain, beau- 
 tifully variegated with wood, and thickly cultivated 
 vineyards, spreading out as far as the eye can reach. 
 A low ridge of hills running through, divides the plain 
 its whole length into two vallies, the Val di Roppa, 
 shut in by the western range of mountains upon 
 one side, and the low range of hills upon the other ; 
 and the Val di St. Onofrio, which runs parallel to it 
 upon the eastern side of the central ridge. A small 
 river also marks out the boundary between the two 
 vallies. Carrying the eye still more to the eastward. 
 
29 
 
 the promontory, upon which the city and fortress 
 stand, stretches out towards the Albanian continent, 
 its turret like rocks diminished in the distance. To 
 these Virgil alludes in the third M, 1. 291. 
 
 Protinus aerias Pheacum abscondimus arces. 
 
 An appearance that must exactly take place in 
 passing up the channel from Corfu. The Corfu 
 basin next appears, locked in by the huge barrier of 
 the Pindus chain, fringing the horizon with its 
 splendent snows. 
 
 The town of Corfu contains about 17,000 inhabi- 
 tants, but no census of the population of this island 
 has been taken for a considerable time : 60,000 is 
 supposed to be about the number of souls in town and 
 country. It is situated nearly on a level with the 
 sea, at the root of a promontory, which terminates in 
 an extraordinary double rock upon which the 
 fortress is built. Corfu is walled, and has been 
 rendered a place of great strength from the number 
 and position of the outworks. The sea washes part 
 of the south, and the whole of the north wall. On 
 the east the city is open to the esplanade and the 
 old fortress, and on the west it is protected by a 
 strong wall with ditches and extensive outworks. 
 This latter looking toward the island, is the side 
 upon which it is assailable by land, and upon w hich 
 the Turks made their attack, when it was defended 
 in so gallant a manner by the celebrated Marshal 
 
30 
 
 Schulemberg. The Turks had made a violent 
 assault in the expectation of carrying the place by 
 storm, when Schulemberg made a sally with part 
 of the garrison, attacked them suddenly in the rear 
 and defeated them with great loss. A statue of 
 white marble with an appropiate inscription was 
 erected to the brave Marshal, which stands upon 
 the esplanade near the draw-bridge. 
 
 The defences of this city have been erected at 
 various periods, and the whole expense of con- 
 structing them must have been very great. They 
 are so extensive, that it would require an army of 
 about 10,000 soldiers to man them, and the charges 
 of repair greatly exceed the means* of the revenue at 
 present. Of the works, the principal is the old 
 fortress, or citadel, seated upon the double rock at 
 the entrance of the harbour. It is surrounded by 
 the sea excepting upon the west, where however 
 it is separated from the esplanade and town by a 
 very deep ditch with a draw-bridge. This place is 
 exceedingly strong, from its insular position, and 
 the steepness on every side of the rock upon which 
 it stands. The garrison consists at present of one 
 whole regiment, and two companies of artillery. In 
 the mouth of the harbour at a mile distance from, 
 and parallel to, the old fortress, is the island of Vido, 
 commanding the town and harbour, and strongly 
 fortified by well constructed redoubts, mounted 
 with heavy cannon, erected by the French during the 
 time they were in possession of these islands. 
 
31 
 
 Between this island, (Scoglio di Vido, as it is usually 
 called,) and the town, there is good anchorage for 
 the largest ships. Towards the land side are chains 
 of outworks and forts extending from the city to the 
 lake Chalichiopolo. In addition to, and beyond 
 these, the French constructed strong lines, defended 
 by bastions and redoubts at intervals, with a deep 
 wet ditch extending from the suburb of Castrades 
 almost across the isthmus. In the construction of 
 this defence, they lost five hundred men from 
 sickness. Upon the whole, if the works were 
 properly repaired and garrisoned, Corfu might be 
 considered impregnable, should it ever become ne- 
 cessary to render it so. 
 
 The town is, in proportion to its size, one of 
 the meanest in construction of any in the Medi- 
 terranean. The streets are miserably dirty, narrow 
 lanes, which, upon the occupation of the place by 
 the British, were nearly impassable from the offal of 
 butchers' stalls, and litter of the venders of vegetables, 
 who had been allowed to establish themselves pro- 
 miscuously throughout the town. There are but 
 two streets which might be considered habitable, 
 (besides that which fronts the esplanade,) by a 
 person used to the comfort and cleanliness of a well 
 regulated European town. These are parallel 
 with the two centre main streets, one at each side, 
 and in one is the church of St. Speridion. The 
 houses are built in the Venetian manner, the lower- 
 most story supporting the rest upon pilasters con- 
 
32 
 
 nected by arches, which form a sort of piazza at 
 each side, nearly through the whole of the principal 
 streets. This method of building is well suited to 
 a hot and rainy climate, as it affords shelter from 
 both sun and rain. The only part of the town of 
 Corfu worthy of description or notice is the espla- 
 nade. This is, while any vegetation remains, a 
 delightful green, which extends between the town 
 and the ditch that separates the fortress from it. 
 A good gravel walk with a double row of trees at 
 each side, unites the fortress to the town, and it 
 has been lately carried round the whole of the green, 
 with a double row of trees planted at each side. 
 This affords a great source of recreation to the 
 inhabitants of the town and garrison ; and the 
 addition of the trees is a very great improve- 
 ment as well as ornament, notwithstanding the ab- 
 absurd notions entertained by some, that the 
 place is rendered thereby more unhealthy; where 
 the ventilation being preserved free, it is impossible 
 that such effect should take place in so wide and 
 open a space. At the north-east extremity of the 
 esplanade an irregular angle has been cut off, and 
 judiciously selected for the scite of the new palace. 
 This angle, so appropriated, hardly takes any thing 
 from the length of the green, and serves to give it 
 uniformity, besides throwing in the beautiful front 
 of the palace itself. Thus the palace of St. Michael 
 and St. George occupies one side of the esplanade, 
 along which its front extends, built of Malta 
 stone and ornamented with a colonade of fluted 
 
33 
 
 Doric. The line of uniformly built houses upon 
 the west side, with their arches and pilasters, when 
 finished will form a fine combination with the front 
 of the Palace. The whole will be nearly a parallelo- 
 gram, two sides of which are built and the other 
 two open, surrounded by an excellent gravel walk 
 inclosing the little parkin the centre. This improve- 
 ment has been all done since the arrival of the 
 British, and it would be difficult for a person who had 
 been absent from Corfu for some years to recognize 
 the place. 
 
 The theatre was originally intended for an ex- 
 change ; the body of the building is ill-proportioned, 
 being too narrow for its length, in consequence of 
 which, the oval where the boxes range is too oblong, 
 and one box obstructs the view of another. The 
 boxes are completely separated from each other by 
 partitio,ns, which, at the sides, instead of forming 
 an angle with, are parallel to the front of the 
 stage, so that but two people can conveniently see 
 the stage from each box. The house is as badly 
 lighted as it is designed, but the interior, for so in- 
 considerable a place, is pretty enough. The orchestra 
 is well filled and the opera company very tolerable, 
 being made up of second and third rate performers 
 from Rome and Naples. There is also a very good 
 ballet. The management of the theatre is in the 
 hands of government. The chief person employed 
 is called the impressario, and has a fixed salary. 
 The boxes are let out for the season ; the medium 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 price is about twenty-four dollars for a box that will 
 accommodate four persons. Greek plays are some- 
 times performed, and I have seen some excellent 
 Italian comedy at Corfu. The tragedy of Othello 
 was exhibited in Italian, but in that costume it 
 became a truly farcical business. The incident of 
 the handkerchief was altogether omitted, and the 
 necessity of destroying Desdemona was fortunately 
 superseded by Othello's discovering the villainy of 
 lago before he came to so unpolite a determination. 
 This false taste however is altogether Venetian, 
 although the foundation of Shakspeare's sublime 
 tragedy, of which this play purported to be a 
 translation, is in a Venetian story. 
 
 The advantages arising to this people from their 
 connection with England is no where better shewn 
 than in the present regulations of the police. 
 Assassination is now no more heard of. The re- 
 moval of the butchers' and vegetable stalls, with the 
 fishmongers, to regular markets constructed outside 
 the walls, has added to the comforts of the inhabi- 
 tants in point of cleanliness, and certainly contri- 
 buted mainly to the increased salubrity of the place. 
 The widening of part of the principal street, by 
 pulling down several old tottering Venetian bal- 
 conies, has removed a source of danger, and has 
 also added to the healthfulness of the place, by 
 admitting a more free ventilation. Notwithstanding 
 all this, much remains to be done; and in fact, 
 nothing but the demolition of the whole town in 
 
35 
 
 rear of the houses on the esplanade, and building it 
 upon a new plan, can ever render ii clean or com- 
 fortable. 
 
 The senate house is a plain square building, where 
 the courts of law are held. Neither this nor the 
 many churches contained in the town require enu- 
 meration, much less description. St. Speridion's 
 church is the best ; its riches consist in the relics 
 of the saint and the shrine in which they are 
 deposited, which is richly ornamented with precious 
 stones. The interior of this church is decorated 
 with chandeliers, lamps, and candlesticks of solid 
 gold and silver, the fashion and size being according 
 to the taste or devotion of the offerer. So great is 
 the accumulation of wealth from the contributions 
 of rich devotees, that it has been found necessary 
 to place a sentry upon this church. 
 
 The following extracts are taken from St. Sauveur 
 relating to the religious ceremonies at Corfu. They 
 have been translated from that author with very 
 little addition or alteration. 
 
 The Greek church at Corfu has for its head a 
 protopapa, (archpriest,) elected in an assembly 
 of the clergy and noblesse. The election is made 
 by ballot, and the votes are concealed; a wise 
 precaution this in a country where vengeance is 
 authorized by impunity. The new protopapa is 
 decorated with his robes in the hall of assembly, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 and conducted home amidst the ringing of bells and 
 the firing of pateraroes. A feast is prepared at his 
 house for the occasion, which is devoured by the 
 priests and noblesse with the most disgusting 
 voracity. The protopapa of Corfu is distinguished 
 from that of the other islands by the title of grand 
 protopapa, and his authority is equal to that of a 
 bishop. The office lasts five years, at the expira- 
 tion of which period he returns into the number 
 of ordinary priests or papas. The cathedral has 
 its canons as the Latin church, but they have no 
 fixed prebends ; the honour of being at the head 
 of their church is the only advantage they derive 
 fix)m their canonry. They are distinguished by a 
 violet-coloured girdle. Marriages, baptisms, and 
 funerals procure them some windfalls. The expenses 
 of these ceremonies are generally, eleven livres to 
 the protopapa, and three to each canon, with a wax 
 candle of a pound weight. One of the most lucra- 
 tive articles, and, at the same time one of the 
 most powerful means of retaining the people in their 
 stupid credulity, are excommunications. For the 
 smallest sum a Greek may excommunicate his 
 neighbour. The latter has it also in his power to 
 retaliate by another excommunication, which renders 
 null that of his adversary. The same priest performs 
 both parts with equal zeal. These thunderbolts of 
 the Greek church cost the weak wretches, who have 
 recourse to them, dearly. The ceremony is per- 
 formed in public in the street, and opposite the 
 house of him who is to be excommunicated. The 
 
37 
 
 success is sure, when one has the means of feeing 
 the protopapa himself, who comes at the head of his 
 clergy to pronounce the anathema. He proceeds 
 to the house of the individual in a habit of mourning, 
 a black wax candle in his hand, preceded by a 
 large crucifix and a black banner, his suite all 
 clothed in lugubrious stile. The imprecations are 
 accompanied with violent gestures. From that 
 moment the person excommunicated is excluded 
 from every church, and deprived of the prayers of 
 the faithful. He cannot be restored to his rights 
 except by a counter excommunication. If he have 
 not the means of paying the expense, it often hap- 
 pens that he is driven to the last excess, and 
 revenges himself upon his adversary by assassina- 
 ting him. 
 
 The number of churches is very considerable. The 
 officiating priest is chosen annually by the parish- 
 ioners ; they have no fixed stipend. In the country 
 most of the churches have been built by individuals, 
 who, as proprietors, nominate the papas. The pro- 
 perty of the church of St. Speridion is vested in a 
 private family; they appoint the officiating papa, 
 who is always one of the family, and who has the 
 right of inspecting into its revenues. The festival of 
 St. Speridion is celebrated with great pomp. Eight 
 days previously, the doors, windows, and steeple 
 of the church are ornamented with festoons of 
 laurel and myrtle. On the eve of the festival, the 
 shrine which contains the body of the saint, whole 
 
 D3 
 
38 
 
 and well preserved, is exposed to the veneration 
 of the people. The shrine is ebony embossed 
 with' silver gilt, and enriched with precious stones. 
 The fore part is shut up by a large glass. The 
 saint is upright, dressed in his pontifical robes; 
 over the shrine is supported a beautiful silk canopy. 
 The head of the government attends the proces- 
 sion, with the military staff, and a large propor- 
 tion of the garrison under arms ; a military band 
 goes before. It first moves towards the citadel, 
 where a royal salute is fired from each battery. 
 They then make the round of the esplanade, and 
 proceed along the wall at the harbour side, where 
 a salute is fired by each ship of war decorated with 
 her flags. In the streets through which the proces- 
 sion moves, the houses are all ornamented with 
 their drapery, suspended from the windows. The 
 ceremony is often interrupted by the sick who are 
 brought out upon this occasion, to be placed under 
 the shrine, in the full confidence of a cure. It often 
 happens that amongst those, some are seized with 
 frightful convulsions, which the papas know well how 
 to turn to their account. In all public calamities 
 the relics of the saint are exposed with the most 
 religious confidence*. This church enjoys the 
 
 * In the monUi of December 1S15, there was a festival in 
 the church of St. Speridion, which was numerously attended by 
 persons from all parts of the island ; some of whom from the district 
 of Leftimo returning home, died of the plague, which had at that 
 time made its appearance in the island. This very circumstance 
 exalted still higher St. Speridion in the estimation of the towns- 
 
39 
 
 revenues of some lands which pious individuals have 
 bestowed for its support. The devotion of the 
 insulars affords a very considerable produce. The 
 mariner and the artizan believe that they ensure 
 the success of their speculations in sacrificing a 
 p^rt to St. Speridion. No boat leaves the port in 
 which the saint has not an interest in the profits of 
 the voyage. 
 
 people, who failed not to attribute to his powerful interposition, 
 their escape from this dreadful malady ; as it was suspected, and 
 not without reason, that some of those persons from Leftimo 
 were, whilst in town, actually infected with th^ contagion. 
 
40 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEUCADIA. 
 
 Mox et LeucatflB nimbosa cacumina montis 
 
 Et formidatus nautis aperitur Apollo, 
 
 Hunc petimus fessi et parvae succedimus urbi. 
 
 Virgil, Mneid, Book 3. 
 
 Leucadia formerly a peninsula — Ranges of mountains, 
 their composition — Figure of the Island — Curious 
 cofifiguration at Sappho's Leap — The isthmus, newly 
 formed — An extraordinary ledge of rock, its forma- 
 tion progressive — The castle and aqueduct of Bajazet 
 — The lake, Straho's silejice upon the subject accounted 
 for — The fine olive wood behind the town, and beau- 
 tiful scenery^ 
 
 THE Island of Santa Maura, or more properly 
 Leucadia, as it is still universally styled by the 
 peasantry, lies in latitude thirty-eight degrees, 
 thirty minutes north, and in twenty-one degrees 
 eastern longitude. Its length from north to south 
 is about thirty miles, and its mean breadth from 
 
■ 
 
41 
 
 east to west twelve. It is situated, to the north 
 of Ithaca and Cephalonia, and to the westward of 
 that part of Old Greece called Acarnania, from 
 which it is separated by a narrow channel, in some 
 places not exceeding one hundred yards in breadth, 
 and sufficiently shallow to be fordable. We are 
 told by the ancient writers, that it was formerly 
 joined to the main land by an isthmus, which was 
 cut through by the Corinthians. The appearance 
 of the coast at each side the channel seems to 
 sanction the tradition ; as, either shore, if ex- 
 tended, would unite with the opposite, so as to 
 produce a perfect curve, which is now only broken 
 by tlie intervention of the canal. 
 
 The island consists of a mass of mountains, the 
 primary ridge running nearly north and south, in 
 the direction of the Cassiopaean range, which is a 
 secondary to the great chain of Pindus upon the 
 continent. The basis is secondary limestone. This 
 ridge terminates in a bold promontory at the south- 
 ern end of the island, called Capo Ducato, near 
 which is a singularly romantic precipice, long cele- 
 brated as being the scene of the fate of the unfor- 
 tunate Sappho. The cliffs here are of a splendid 
 whiteness, from which the ancient name Leucadia 
 is said to have been derived. Secondary ridges 
 traverse the island in a direction generally towards 
 the southward and eastward : they are composed of 
 crystallized, compact, fibrous, and earthy carbonate 
 of lime, and of gypsum; the lime always predo- 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
42 
 
 minating. The second species of rock occurs fre- 
 quently in beautiful stratifications, immense tables 
 being piled, horizontally in general, and some with 
 various degrees of obliquity in the dip. They are 
 of greater or less degrees of hardness, probably 
 according to the quantity of carbonate of lime which 
 enters into the composition, and are of various thick- 
 ness. Some, from their durability and regularity 
 of form, make excellent stones for building. The 
 secondary ridges diverge from the primary, or great 
 ridge, at the centre of the island. The principal of 
 these is a mountain called el Vouno, which is again 
 subdivided into parallel ridges running above the 
 village of Catechori and Porto Englimeno. In a 
 ravine which descends from the north-east of 
 Catechori to the southern extremity of the port 
 Englimeno, the rock exhibits a very singular appear- 
 ance : one would imagine that the south-east side 
 had been formed, by a mass which had fallen from 
 the mountain at the opposite side of the ravine ; the 
 strata having their edges turned up, and projecting 
 one beyond the other in a series, like a half fallen 
 pack of cards. To the mineralogist the stratification 
 of rock is here very interesting. The greasiness of 
 the stone renders the roads extremely slippery and 
 dangerous. The rock which generally covers the 
 surface is of a very rough appearance, being perfo- 
 rated in every direction by round holes, a form which 
 it assumes, probably, from the action of water, by 
 which it had been covered at its first formation. 
 Stalactites and calcareous spars are found in the 
 
43 
 
 crevices, deep below the surface, and in the vaults 
 both artificial and natural. 
 
 The figure of the island is somewhat triangular; 
 the north-west coast, which forms the base line, 
 runs straight and perpendicular, raising the land to a 
 considerably height above the level of the sea ; from 
 this the surface inclines irregularly towards the 
 eastern coast, giving the whole nearly an eastern 
 aspect. A part, however, considerable in popu- 
 lation and productiveness, although of small extent, 
 owing to its narrowness, enjoys a fine western 
 aspect. 
 
 This is formed by the ridge line of the north-west 
 face being, as it were, bevelled off, and giving a strip 
 of land, of about twenty miles in length, a gentle 
 slope towards the north-west. Along this tract are 
 many populous villages and much cultivated ground. 
 It is, from its great height, and free exposure to 
 the northerly and westerly winds, the heal|;hiest part 
 of the island during the summer months. The 
 north- vilest coast is, as above said, nearly through- 
 out perpendicular, containing no single harbour nor 
 road, and opposing a mass of pure limestone to the 
 great swell which is rolled in by the northerly and 
 westerly winds towards the bottom of the gulph of 
 Prevesa. It would appear, that the constant action 
 of this great body of water has reduced the island, 
 at this side, to its present form ; and that the de- 
 tritus, or loosened matter, swept along the coast by 
 
44 
 
 the southerly and westerly winds, and carried round 
 the north-eastern point of the island, has been de- 
 posited in a long line which is the present isthmus, 
 to be hereafter described. This will account for the 
 otherwise irreconcileable variance of the descriptions 
 of ancient writers with the present appearance of 
 ,this part of the island ; and will further explain the 
 cause of the changes which have taken place, within 
 the memory even of the present inhabitants. 
 
 The south-west end is narrow, for above ten miles, 
 which gives the whole island a disproportionate 
 length. The hills at the extremity, towards Capo 
 Ducato, are disposed in a very singular manner ; 
 they consist of a regular series of cones, laid to- 
 gether in a right line, and diminishing gradually in 
 size to the cape ; they are cut upon the north-west 
 faces, by a plane which is parallel with their axes, 
 and continuous with the north-west coast of the 
 island. ^ 
 
 The faces shewn by these sections are of a beautiful 
 whiteness, one of them constitutes Sappho's Leap. 
 Their convex surfaces are turned to the southward 
 in beautiful swells, which are covered with ever- 
 green shrubs down to the water edge. Their figure 
 is so nearly mathematical, that the south-east coast 
 is here indented with regular spherical angles. 
 From the sea, this singular conformation is not so 
 evident, but it is very striking when viewed from the 
 tops of the cones, upon returning from the Leap. The 
 
45 
 
 change in the point of sight, readily accounts for 
 this ; as in the former instance, the curves and angles 
 are viewed, the eye being in the same plane with 
 them ; whereas, in the latter case, the spectator is 
 placed almost perpendicularly above them. 
 
 The next remarkable feature in the topography of the 
 island, is, the new isthmus, the formation of which is 
 so singular as to merit a minute description. From 
 the north-east angle of the island a narrow strip of 
 land, of about four miles in length, and of a very 
 irregular waving line, extends across the mouth of 
 the channel towards the coast of Acarnania, which 
 it reaches within 100 yards ; it then runs parallel 
 with that coast for about half a mile, eking out the 
 channel an equal length. From near its extreme 
 point, at a small angle, it sends off a ledge of rocks 
 towards the north, which is of very singular appear- 
 ance and composition. When seen at even a short 
 distance, it bears a perfect resemblance to a mole 
 running out into the sea, and it is by many believed 
 to have been a work of the Romans. The ledge is 
 about half a mile in length, and from twenty to thirty 
 feet wide, with deep water at each side. Its breadth 
 and direction are nearly uniform throughout, which 
 gives it so much the appearance of a work of art. 
 The rock of which it is composed consists of gravel 
 and sand, accumulated there by the water, and 
 formed, according to the size of the particles so 
 brought together, into sand stone or pudding stone. 
 The substance which unites them is become as hard 
 
46 
 
 as the particles themselves ; for upon breaking the 
 mass with a hammer, the fracture goes through them 
 equally with the interstitial matter. The whole 
 forms an exceedingly hard stone, capable of taking 
 a certain degree of polish. It is used for building, 
 as also for making stones for flour mills and oil 
 presses. The isthmus seems to have been formed 
 upon this rock as a basis ; the latter is found along 
 its whole line under the loose gravel, at the sea 
 water edge, and appears to be rapidly advancing. 
 In October 1818 the men employed in raising stones 
 out of the sea, for the construction of the new mole, 
 took up the splinter of a shell which was covered 
 with an incrustation of Breccia above three inches 
 thick. The iron of the shell was oxidizing, and the 
 red oxide gradually incorporated with the stone as 
 it formed. The splinter had lain there probably 
 since the siege in 1810. 
 
 This process seems to be effected by a deposition 
 of the calcareous matter, which had been washed 
 away from the mountains, and held suspended or 
 dissolved in the water. Masses of the rock are 
 found in a state of decomposition, from the disin- 
 tegration of the connecting medium, which appears 
 to be pure carbonate of lime. A shelf of gravel, 
 which had been left by the water, and was for 
 several days exposed to a strong sun, was observed 
 to feel crisp upon the surface ; a white matter being 
 deposited amongst the particles, which dissolved 
 upon the tongue, giving the flavour of common salt. 
 
47 
 
 Here the formation of the stone was probably detect- 
 ed in its very infancy ; and the connecting matter 
 may be always in the first instance muriate of soda, 
 and carbonate of lime. Specimens are to be seen 
 where the larger particles of gravel are united by 
 minute intermediate particles of sand, themselves 
 cohering by means of this matter. The pure com- 
 mon salt is found crystallized, in all the little cavities 
 in the rock along the beach, where the sea-water 
 had been left after a high wind or tide, and was 
 afterwards evaporated. This becomes enveloped by 
 the stone as it forms, and hence may be accounted 
 for the deposits of sea salt found in the heart of 
 stone of this species. All the masses of rock formed 
 in this way, and more particularly the remarkable 
 ledge above described, have an inclination to the 
 horizon ; forming an angle to the surface of the sea, 
 the same as that of the beach in general. 
 
 The isthmus, at its root, where it springs from the 
 island, is of considerable width, and a sufficient 
 quantity of soil has accumulated to admit of the 
 production of corn and potatoes. As it approaches 
 the continent to within about a mile, it expands 
 into a little peninsula, upon which the castle of 
 Santa Maura is built, having thus command of the 
 whole channel to the south. Upon the peninsula a 
 green sod is forming, which is gradually become so 
 rich, from the animal and vegetable matter carried 
 out of the fortress, as to afford pasture for a few 
 head of cattle. Upon this spot the inconsiderable 
 
48 
 
 little town of Santa Maura stood less than 100 years 
 ago. It is connected with the modern town by means 
 of a bridge of curious construction, being only two 
 feet and a half wide, and nearly one mile in length. 
 This is said to have been built by Bajazet, for the 
 purpose of conveying water to the fortress; it serves 
 now as a foot-path to communicate with the town 
 over the lake. The earthen pipes which conveyed 
 the water along this aqueduct still remain. 
 
 The salt water lake, which forms another impor- 
 tant feature in the topography of the island, is merely 
 an expansion of the canal between Santa Maura and 
 the continent. The existence of this lake is not 
 mentioned by Strabo, unless it be his Myrtuntian 
 lake, nor that of the isthmus above described ; the 
 latter being at three miles distance from the isthmus 
 to which he alludes, as having been divided by the 
 Corinthians, and which he places at the site of 
 the old city. 
 
 That the space intervening between this island 
 and Acarnania must have undergone important 
 changes, is evident from the continual enlargement 
 of the isthmus ; and, if the latter did not actually 
 exist in the time of Strabo, the constant accretion 
 of matter, proceeding as it does at present, will 
 fully account for its appearance at the distance of 
 nearly two thousand years. By the formation of 
 the isthmus, the lake was thus cut off from the outer 
 body of water, and reconciles us to Strabo's 
 
49 
 
 count, which will be found hereafter so circum- 
 stantially correct in every other respect*. The 
 lake at present occupies a space, of three miles in 
 length, and one and a half in breadth, at a mean ; 
 it is nearly of a triangular figure, the base being 
 formed by the new isthmus, as above described, 
 and the two sides, by portions of the eastern coast 
 of the island, and the western coast of Acarnania, 
 which gradually approximate to form the apex 
 towards the south. Its depth does not exceed two 
 feet and a half, and in general it is not more than 
 twelve inches. The exhalations from the margin 
 in the hot weather, are, as may have been well 
 anticipated, extremely noxious. 
 
 Although mountainous and uncultivated in its 
 general appearance, much beautiful and picturesque 
 scenery will be found in Santa Maura. In rear of 
 
 * That the isthmus, (i. e. the place now called so,) has been 
 formed altogether since the cut made by the Corinthians, must be 
 apparent from this consideration, that, otherwise, the latter would 
 have been, as it is at the present day, useless for the purposes of 
 navigation, at least that the transit of vessels between the island of 
 Leucadia and the continent would not have been practicable : that 
 a new colony, sprung from such an enterprising and commercial 
 people as the Corinthians, should have undertaken a work of such 
 labour and expense, for any object short of admitting the free and 
 full passage of the isthmus, is not very probable. Indeed, there is 
 direct evidence as to the fact of its being navigable : Thucydides 
 relates, (book 4. c. 1.) that in the Peloponnesian war, the Lace- 
 demonians, proceeding to the relief of Pylos, carried their fleet of 
 sixty sail through the passage, in order that they might not be 
 observed by the Athenian fleet which lay at Zante. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 the city is a fine plain, extending about two miles 
 in length and one in breadth. It consists of a rich 
 alluvial soil, which is highly susceptible of cultiva- 
 tion, but has been appropriated almost solely to 
 the production of the olive, of which a magnificent 
 wood covers almost the whole. Near the town, 
 and towards the water, a small part of it is laid out 
 in vineyards and fruit-gardens, with a few fields 
 of €orn, all of which are extremely productive. 
 A great quantity of vegetables are grown here, with 
 which the market is well supplied, as well as with 
 abundance of fruit. The whole of the part under 
 gardens is at all times irrigable from a large and 
 constant spring, whence the water is drawn in 
 rills, made at pleasure, over any part of the 
 plain which is below its level. The wood is inter- 
 sected by two or three good roads, which, from 
 their straightness, the dark shade thrown upon 
 them by the tall olives, and the green level of the 
 plain, remind one of the fine avenues of our English 
 country seats. The whole of the plain, with the 
 wood, the gardens, and the town, is shut in by 
 a fine sweep of mountain, forming a delightful 
 landscape ; the beauty of the view is, however, 
 greatly enhanced by changing the point of sight, as 
 the mountain is ascended, and from the heights a 
 lovely picture is indeed exhibited to a contemplative 
 mind : the: waving foliage of the wood is now only 
 seen, stretched at the spectator s feet like a carpet, 
 smooth and unbroken from the mountain base to the 
 lake ; where, in that beautiful mirror, a second 
 
51 
 
 scene of stillness and repose steals upon the eye, 
 until the grand and picturesque scenery of the gulph 
 of Arta, including the promontory of Actium, calls 
 up a train of new ideas. Possibly the events of 
 past ages now occupy the mind in succession, and 
 the ideas of distance in time and space gradually 
 enlarging together, our attention becomes at last 
 fixed upon the blue mass of Pindus in the remote 
 distance, beyond which the ideas of eternity and 
 infinity of space seem, a§ it were, to blend toge- 
 ther. 
 
 £2 
 
52 
 
 CUAPTER V. 
 
 Temperature ami variation of reason — Winds — Earth- 
 quakes — Productions of the Island — Wine— Oil — 
 making of Salt ^curious mode of fishing in the shal- 
 low waters— Waterfowl that visit the lake at certain 
 seasons— wild Ducks — Pelicans — singular mode of 
 living of the Inhabitants — Emigi^ation — effects of 
 their habits upon their constitution, producing fever. 
 
 LIKE all other places in these latitudes, and in 
 the vicinity of high mountains, the temperature is 
 here changeable. The heat in summer varies from 
 eighty to ninety degrees of Fahrenheit, and in the 
 winter from forty to sixty degrees. The thermome- 
 ter has risen much higher than the former point, 
 vs^hich is iiowever the maximum for most years, and 
 sometimes it has fallen below the freezing point. 
 The salt water lake above described, has been more 
 than once frozen over, since the possession of the 
 island by the British. The thermometer has been 
 frequently known to alter twenty degrees in twenty- 
 four hours. The predominating winds are the 
 northerly and westerly. The southerly or sirocco 
 very often prevails for three days together. In the 
 autumn and winter, particularly the latter, it fre- 
 
5^ 
 
 quently blows from the east. This wind is exces^- 
 sively sultry and unhealthy at the former season. 
 In the winter it produces those sudden and re- 
 markable depressions of the thermometer, already 
 noticed, from its passing over the chain of Pindus, 
 which at that season is mostly covered with snow ; 
 the rapid elevations of heat are caused by the 
 sirocco winds ; an effect which is universally felt 
 throughout the Mediterranean. The greatest vari- 
 ations happen late in spring, if the mountains be 
 covered with snow at that time, when these two 
 causes acting successively, co-opemte to produce 
 this extraordinary change in the atmospherical 
 temperature. In the gulph of Prevesa, and the 
 channel, during the summer months, the winds are 
 observed to move very regularly and periodically, 
 following the sun in his apparent diurnal revolutions ; 
 the light morning breezes usually come in from the 
 eastward and southward ; towards noon a strong 
 westerly or north-west wind springs up, blows 
 steadily during the day, and declines rapidly at sun 
 set. The phenomenon is readily explained by the 
 influence of the solar heat, the rarefaction of the air 
 where it operates,'causing the colder currents, whose 
 specific gravity is greater, to rush in, in order to re- 
 store the equilibrium. This is obvious enough, and 
 it only appears difficult to conceive how it should 
 be otherwise, either here or in any other part of the 
 world where the same cause exists ; the variation 
 of the wind is, however, influenced by many other 
 agents, which counteract the general tendency even 
 
 E3 
 
54 
 
 here, although from the long continued fair weather 
 during summer, these winds being generated by the 
 sun, the diurnal changes become very remarkable, 
 A singular modification of this effect has been noticed 
 in the Santa Maura channel, the southerly or sirocco 
 blowing through the southern entrance, while a 
 brisk north-wester prevailed at the opposite ex- 
 tremity of the channel ; shewing how much these 
 laws are influenced by local circumstances** 
 
 Earthquakes are here very frequent, several shocks 
 occurring sometimes in the course of a month ; they 
 are of short duration however, and are not attended 
 with much damage. They are generally unconnected 
 with the same phenomena in other places, but in 
 the year 1783 this island partook in the general 
 calamity which desolated the kingdom of the two 
 Sicilies, and all the neighbouring parts in the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 The whole island, nearly, being a mass of moun- 
 tains, but little com is produced, scarcely sufficient 
 to support one third of the population. The chief 
 
 * This phenomenon may be explained in the following way : the 
 westerly wind blows directly across both mouths of the channel, and 
 meeting the high mountains of the continent, is led into the channel 
 at each end, as it were through a funnel, this effect being further 
 facilitated by the perpendicular face of the west side of the island, 
 which completely arrests the wind in its progress towards the 
 channel, and which must therefore eddy round the north and soutli 
 points. 
 
55 
 
 articles of produce are, oil and wine ; the cultivation 
 is consequently directed, principally, to the growth 
 of the vine and olive. The wine of the country is 
 harsh, and strongly impregnated with turpentine, 
 which renders it much inferior to that of the neigh- 
 bouring islands ; a ready market, however, is found 
 for it at Provesa, when the vizier makes his annual 
 visit to collect his imposts in this quarter : upon 
 these occasions he is attended by a large army. 
 
 The oil is tolerably good, and the olive crops very 
 productive indeed. The next article of importance 
 in the produce of the island, is, salt. The extensive 
 shallow water in the vicinity of the low grounds, 
 affords great facility of procuring it, by the simple 
 process of evaporation in the heat of the sun. For 
 this operation the water is exposed in wide pans, 
 which are readily constructed in the soft clay. 
 Although one should conjecture, a priori, that this 
 was an occupation, extremely detrimental to health, 
 it is considered to be much otherwise by the inhabi- 
 tants, who state, that the people employed therein, 
 are as healthy and as long lived, as an equal portion 
 of any other cUss. Five hundred men are employed 
 during the salt harvests, (raccolta, as they are term- 
 ed,) of which they sometimes have three in the year, 
 when the weather is dry, and otherwise favourable. 
 Another mode of procuring subsistence, and which 
 yields a large produce, is by fishing in the lake. 
 
 These two occupations, the making of salt, and 
 
56 
 
 fishing, constitute a considerable portion of the 
 revenue of the island. The mode of fishing is sin- 
 gular, the water being not more than two feet and 
 a half deep, and in general only twelve inches, as 
 above described, the fish are inclosed in large 
 spaces, by means of moveable wickers chiefly made 
 of canes, which are fixed upright in the soft bottom 
 of the lake. These spaces are contracted at plea- 
 sure, and the fish, thus preserved, are taken to 
 answer the demand of the market. They make 
 use of a small canoe upon the lake, which draws 
 but a few inches water, hollowed out, as the name 
 imports, of one piece of wood ; it is called Monoxy- 
 lon. A sudden fall of the water in the autumn of 1817, 
 caused a great loss to the proprietors, by destroy- 
 ing the whole of the fish, a just punishment inflicted 
 upon them for their spirit of forestalling. A curious 
 fact is, that the fish have also perished in the winter 
 season, from the lake having been frozen over. 
 
 They take chiefly mullet, soles, eels, and a great 
 abundance of shrimps. Crabs and cockles are also 
 found in great plenty, but of an inferior kind. 
 Amongst the productions of the lake may be enume- 
 rated wild ducks, with which it abounds, and water 
 fowl of almost every species, in the winter. A great 
 number of pelicans frequent it at the same season, 
 being driven by the cold from the lakes upon the 
 continent; and eagles are often seen prowling 
 about the margin. Of birds of the migratory tribe, 
 the woodcocks take refuge in the island in the cold 
 
57 
 
 weather, when large flights of them bury themselves 
 in the thick cover of the mountains, and afford 
 excellent sport to those who are fond of shooting. 
 The quail is another of this species, which takes up 
 a temporary residence in the low grounds. They 
 come in in large flocks about the latter end of 
 August and beginning of September. They oc- 
 casionally pay a visit to these islands also in the 
 spring, viz. about the middle of March. Partridges 
 and hares are amongst the game to be found in the 
 mountains, the former are of the red-legged species : 
 a small wild pigeon, the dove, is also amongst the 
 inhabitants of the mountain woods. 
 
 The island is still more deficient in pasture than in 
 arable land, the whole of their beef and mutton is 
 supplied from Albania. 
 
 A considerable portion of the year is devoted to 
 feasting and idleness, which is encouraged and kept 
 up by the preposterous number of saints which they 
 have crowded into their kalendar. It has been calcu- 
 lated, that there are upwards of two hundred days, 
 for which religious duties furnish an exclusive pri- 
 vilege of exemption from all other avocations. The 
 occurrence of a grand festival, is sufficient to suspend 
 the most necessary labour ; the vintage, the gather- 
 ing of salt or olive is immediately abandoned upon 
 these occasions, although impending destruction 
 threaten the whole produce of the year, in the ex- 
 pected fall of a single nights' rain. Yet where they 
 
58 
 
 are not shackled by their attachment to religious 
 ceremonies, which thus go hand in hand with their 
 amusements, they are capable of making great ex- 
 ertions, and undergo much fatigue. In the intervals 
 of the periodical labours of the year, viz. between 
 the gathering of the grapes, the olives, and the salt, 
 and of dressing and cultivating their vines, and 
 managing their corn, &c. numbers of the peasantry 
 emigrate to Albania ; they there find employment at 
 two periods, viz. the sowing season and the harvest. 
 They are paid for their labour in kind, and in this 
 way, much of the deficit in the supply of corn is 
 made up, here and in the other islands. About 
 six hundred people annually forsake their homes to 
 seek a livelihood in this way. They are chiefly of 
 the villages upon the south-east coast, and princi- 
 pally from Catechori. A curious circumstance is, 
 that these emigrants adopt, in a great measure, some 
 altogether, the manners and customs, with the lan- 
 guage and dress of their Albanese hosts, and intro- 
 duce them into their villages. A quarantine, gene- 
 rally of fifteen days, being in force against the op- 
 posite coast, these poor wretches are often induced 
 to break the health laws, the temptation of avoiding 
 so great loss of time and inconvenience being suffi- 
 ciently strong for the wily Greek to put his tricks in 
 practice. A considerable risk would thus be in- 
 curred to the health of the island, but that the 
 activity and vigilance of the ruler of Albania in his 
 own dominions, generally renders the laws of qua- 
 rantine here a dead letter. For this latter reason, it 
 
59 
 
 is, that, the plague has not visited this island for 
 fifty years. 
 
 The manner of living of the Greeks is of all others 
 the worst calculated for the preservation of health ; 
 the whole year round consisting in alternations of 
 feasting and fasting. These sudden changes from 
 a very high and full, to a very low and sparing diet, 
 render them exceedingly obnoxious to fevers and 
 other acute diseases. The physicians are always 
 busy after the commencement of a festival ; and the 
 fever excited by this gross indulgence of the appe- 
 tite, they aptly enough term febris gastrica*, 
 (stomach fever.) The lents are no less prejudical, 
 and especially the autumnal, to the health of the 
 inhabitants of the town. In the autumn of 1817, 
 above one hundred people fell sick in the course of 
 one week after the commencement of this fast. The 
 vicissitudes of weather in spring, combined with 
 these irregularities in diet, added to the lowness and 
 dampness of the situation, render the inhabitants of 
 the town extremely subject to pneumonia. The 
 practice of the faculty upon these occasions is to bleed 
 from a small orifice, when a quantity of blood, not ex- 
 ceeding four ounces is taken, and this operation is 
 repeated five or six times in the twenty-four hours. 
 Bark, from their experiencing its utility in the 
 endemic fever, they conclude to be useful at all 
 times ; I have seen it given, upon this principle, in 
 
 * The following remarks although made mostly during a resi- 
 dence of two years in this island, arc generally applicable to the 
 other islands, and particularly to where the marsh effluvia exists. 
 
60 
 
 the primary stages of this and other inflammatory dis- 
 orders, when the bowels had been shut up for four 
 days, and no effort made to relieve them ; indeed 
 the matter was never once taken into consideration. 
 The most prevailing disease is fever, generally speak- 
 ing, which assumes every type, varying according 
 to the season. In the winter and spring it is inter- 
 mittent, in the early part of summer it becomes 
 continued, and is often at this season accompanied 
 by inflammations of the head, chest, stomach, or 
 bowels ; in the latter part of the summer and 
 autumn it prevails in the remittent form. The 
 bilious remittent fever is the most dangerous disease 
 of the country; it is sometimes so rapid in its pro- 
 gress as to prove fatal in three days; its usual 
 period, however, is seven days. Its prevalence 
 amongst the British, compared with people* whose 
 constitutions and habits of life are nearly similar to 
 those of the people of the country, is as three to 
 ttvo ; and its mortality in respect of the former 
 compared with the latter, as three to one. This 
 will be shewn hereafter, having been proved from 
 calculations made, where the individuals of the dif- 
 ferent countries were placed under the same cir- 
 cumstances in every respect. 
 
 • The proportions were calculated from the returns of sick of the 
 British forces quartered here: the latter consisted of the Corsican 
 regiment, which was chiefly made up of Corsicans and Italians, 
 whose diet and habits of life vary but little from the Greeks, and of 
 British soldiers. Firfc Appendix, A. 
 
61 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 Population of the island — Chkf town, Amaxichi, or 
 Santa Maw^a — Excursion to Sapphos Leap — Vil- 
 lages Frini, Zuculades, Calamici, Xathia, Di- 
 amigliano, Comiglid, Athani — The cape and white 
 cUffs-— Convent of St. Nicold — Ruins of the temple 
 of Apollo — Sapphos Leap — Beautiful vale of Vas- 
 ^ilichi — Ruins, ancient tumulus, supposed to be the 
 sepulchre of a queen — Villages, St, Pietro, Spartea, 
 Sicvro, St. Ellia, JMarandecori, Condarena, Porrd, 
 Fternd, Port Elhmenos and ruins of the ancient 
 city, — Catechori, Engluvi, singular situation of,~^ 
 Ej:traor dinar y plain 7iear the convent of St. John, 
 in the mountains, subject to an annual inundation — 
 Carla, Sphachiotes. — Second ea^cursion to Meganisi 
 Fountain of the Pacha, island of Meganisi, geolo- 
 gical structure, population and productions ; proba- 
 bility that it is the ancient Taphos of Homer. 
 
 THE present population of Santa Maura amounts 
 to about seventeen thousand inhabitants, upwards 
 of five thousand of which are contained in the city. 
 The latter, named Amaxichi, is situated upon the 
 edge of the lake, and is deservedly reckoned one of 
 the most unhealthy places in the Ionian islands ; 
 
that part of it which adjoins the olive wood is con- 
 sidered, by the inhabitants, to be still more sickly 
 than the parts adjacent to the lake ; both the wood 
 and lake are fruitful sources of disease, the marks 
 of which many of the inhabitants bear in their sallow 
 countenances and emaciated condition. The houses 
 are mostly constructed of wood, which affords bad 
 security against the weather, either in summer or 
 winter. The situation of the town is beautiful, 
 although the health of the inhabitants is compro- 
 mised for this, together with other trifling advan- 
 tages accruing to the inconsiderable commerce 
 which they carry on. One long street runs up 
 through the centre of the town, of tolerable width, 
 and generally straight ; a church or regular stone 
 house appearing at intervals, with a few fountains 
 and vine alcoves in front of the houses, give it a 
 better appearance upon entering it than one would 
 expect to find from a more distant view. The 
 smaller streets and lanes, with the suburbs, are 
 wretchedly dirty and unwholesome; the fine names 
 with which they are ornamented by a conspicuous 
 board, placed upon the tottering angle generally of 
 some miserable wooden habitation, are no less 
 extravagant and ridiculous. The Largo del 
 limite della Sanit^," as coming within the^ 
 precincts of the office of health, forsooth ! is a 
 filthy yard in the rear of a few cabins,^ which 
 is constantly flooded over with stagnating water and 
 liquid mud. Another square is called Largo di 
 
63 
 
 Santa Veneranda." There are the Vicolo Sturto and 
 Vicolo Oscuro, Vicolo del Console, and Vicolo delle 
 Cisterne, with various others. The water, which 
 is plentiful and of excellent quality, is supplied 
 from a large spring, at two miles distance from the 
 town. The quantity of water flowing from this is 
 so great, as to send off" three streams almost at 
 its source, each sufficient to turn a mill; this is 
 by no means an uncommon phenomenon in this part 
 of the world. The spring is named Megalovrisi, 
 or the Great Fountain. 
 
 To those who are fond of the wild beauties of 
 mountain scenery, an excursion through this roman- 
 tic island cannot fail to afford much pleasure ; it will 
 be found particularly delightful if undertaken in the 
 serene and comparatively cool weather about the 
 close of October ; the distance, witli the difficulty 
 of the road, render a journey of sixteen hours, nearly, 
 necessary to reach Sappho's leap. 
 
 The usual route is along the western side of the 
 island. The first village, Frini, lies near the base of 
 the mountain, which is ascended by an exceedingly 
 rough road ; the rain constantly washing away the 
 earth which had been strewed amongst the stones. 
 This little village contains about two hundred 
 people; although at a higher elevation than St. 
 Maura, it is reckoned, even more unhealthy, probably 
 owing to the exhalations from the wood, which 
 touches the base of the village with its top. The 
 
64 
 
 soil is of a highly red colour, from the quantity of red 
 oxide of iron which it contains ; in some spots a fine 
 red ochre is observed ; its looseness of texture and 
 lightness, causes it to be readily washed off the 
 mountain sides as well as the road, and it becomes 
 deposited in the rich plain below. The fine view 
 which was described in Chapter IV. opens in the 
 ascent to the convent, which is situated upon the 
 brow of the hill. Here are three or four priests ; 
 there are accommodations for travellers, furnished 
 out of the church revenues, as they are in most 
 of the convents throughout the islands. This spot 
 is reckoned extremely healthy, the wealthy inha- 
 bitants of the town frequently take refuge here 
 during the prevalence of fever; indeed, they look 
 upon the place with a particular degree of vene- 
 ration, and of course something miraculous lies at 
 the bottom of its salubrity. Pilgrimages are often 
 made, and penance done at the shrine of the saint, 
 who has a specific power it seems for the healing 
 of diseases ; his votaries are numerous, and their 
 offerings rich. He delights particularly in enor- 
 mous wax candles. Near the top of the mountain, 
 at about one hour's ride from town, the village of 
 Zuculades is left upon the right hand, containing 
 nearly two hundred inhabitants. This, and all the 
 villages along this tract, are extremely healthy. 
 The mountain is covered with evergreen shrubs, as 
 the mastic, myrtle, and arbutus, with its beautiful 
 red berry, called KU)fiapt by the natives, and fully 
 ripe at this season. A few tall cypress trees and 
 
05 
 
 scattered olives appear in clumps, and patches of 
 green flax now just springing up. From this ele- 
 vated situation, the whole of Paxu and Corfu are 
 to be seen. At one hour and a half's ride from 
 Santa Maura, the road descends again to the sea. 
 Here is a steep precipice on the right hand side, 
 out of the face of which the venturous pine stretches 
 out its head, the stem and roots being concealed 
 by the thick foliage, which, at this point of sight, 
 occupies the foreground of the picture. The sea 
 appears beyond, rolling at a depth of perhaps a 
 thousand feet below, the waves breaking in a silvery 
 fringe along the beach. This scene is finely height- 
 ened by the addition of a strong northerly or 
 westerly breeze, when the successive beats of the 
 distant surges convey an extraordinary emotion; 
 perhaps from the unusual association of the ideas 
 of distance and elevation, being communicated toge- 
 ther by a new train of ideas. After half an hour's 
 descent down a steep and dangerous path, the 
 pretty sand beach is gained below, and a pleasant 
 ride extends along the sea-shore for half an hour. 
 Large masses of rock that have fallen from the 
 mountain strew the beach, and give fine effect to 
 the scenery. Calamici, which is next reached, 
 contains about one hundred houses, and five hun- 
 dred inhabitants. It is divided by a deep ravine 
 into two nearly equal parts, each forming a distinct 
 village, but considered as one. It is distant from 
 Santa Maura about four hours' journey by this 
 route. The village upon the west covers a point 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 of the mountain which is completely insulated from 
 the rest of the mass by a deep ravine. To the 
 eastward may be seen another little Alpine village, 
 called Xathia, occupying a singular position, upon 
 the loftiest of the mountain ridges. It contains 
 also about five hundred people. At about one 
 hour and a half's ride from Calamici, the moun- 
 tain called Diamigliano is left upon the eastward. 
 This is a long sharp ridge, appearing to consist of 
 blue lime-stone. The village Diamigliano hangs 
 upon its brow, containing four hundred and fifty 
 inhabitants and one hundred and ten houses. At 
 ten minutes' distance from Diamigliano is the village 
 of Comigli6, situated upon a little plain yielding 
 corn and pasture. It contains two hundred and 
 forty people. About one hour's ride from Comigli6, 
 is Dragon6, with a pretty open to the sea at 
 each side, containing sixty houses and three hun- 
 dred and forty people. It is situated in a long 
 valley, which, though stony, yields much corn. 
 Athani is distant from the last village forty minutes' 
 ride; it contains eight hundred inhabitants and 
 about eighty-five houses, which are scattered upon 
 a very steep side of the mountain, facing westwards 
 to the sea. This is a very healthy village, but is 
 said by the inhabitants to suffer much from earth- 
 quakes, in common with all the villages along this 
 coast. The older inhabitants stated, in the autumn 
 of 1818, that, thirty-five years before that period, 
 nearly the whole of the houses were destroyed, and 
 eighteen or twenty people buried in the ruins by an 
 
(17 
 
 earthquake. The shock is said to have been felt 
 severely along the whole of this coast. This corre- 
 sponds w^ith the time of the great concussion in 1783. 
 Leaving Athani, at a quarter of an hour s ride, is a 
 lofty precipice, along the edge of which the road 
 runs. It is however tolerably good from Athani, 
 for one half of the way to the leap. The scenery is 
 beautiful. The road at each side is thickly set with 
 myrtle, box, the ilex and other shrubs, which grow 
 here considerably taller than upon the higher 
 grounds ; on every side, the odour exhaled from 
 these, together with the sage, camomile, wild 
 thime, and an infinity of others, blend together and 
 form a delicious perfume. Approaching the cape, 
 called to Cabo" by the natives, the hills become 
 more rounded off at the top, and more thickly 
 covered with brushwood. The road is now ex- 
 ceedingly difficult, the soil and the rocks are highly 
 reddened with oxid of iron. At one hour andthree^ 
 quarters ride from Athani, the round top of a 
 mountain is crossed over, from which is a beautiful 
 prospect indeed. The cape with the leap and white 
 cliffs appear in front, at the extremity of a long but 
 gentle descent ; a little to the eastward, the whole 
 island nearly of Cephalonia is to be seen, the bay of 
 Fiscardi on the northern coast first presenting 
 itself, the northern extremity of Ithaca is next 
 observed, with the channel between it and Cepha- 
 lonia; upon its left the little rocky island of Ataco, 
 and still more eastward, the magnificent mountains of 
 old Greece, hiding their hoary tops in the clouds. 
 
 F2 
 
68 
 
 From this point the road descends, becoming ex- 
 ceedingly rough and dangerous from the loose round 
 stones. 
 
 The convent appears to the left, with a little culti- 
 vated plain in its front, grown with corn and flax. It js 
 dedicated to St. Nicol6, and is at two hours and a 
 half's distance from Athani, being the only habitation 
 on the island at this side of the latter town. Forty 
 minutes' ride from the convent, thl'ough a very thick 
 strong brushwood, without a path, leads to the ruins 
 of the temple of Apollo. Four large square blocks of 
 tufa are first met with, which have lately been un- 
 covered ; there are two others in front at a little dis- 
 tance, and the fragments of others, scattered along 
 the back of the precipice. From the line of these 
 stones, to the edge of the precipice with which it is 
 parallel, the space is very contracted indeed, con- 
 sequently the temple must have been of very narrow 
 dimensions, A little beyond this ruin, the spot is 
 pointed out where Sappho, having sung her funeral 
 dirge, precipitated herself with her harp into the 
 waves, ; the precipice, which is fearfully dizzy, is 
 about one hundred and fourteen feet from the water, 
 which is of a profound depth, as appears from the 
 dark blue colour, and the eddy that plays round the 
 pointed and projecting rocks; the face of the cliff 
 falls in from the perpendicular, so that the top pro- 
 jects over the water, and cannot be safely looked 
 down without lying prone near the edge ; this is an 
 experiment that many are unwilling to try. It is 
 
I 
 
 69 
 
 said that some feet below the verge of the precipice 
 there are several Greek letters inscribed upon the 
 face of the rock ; there are only two possible means 
 of ascertaining this interesting fact, viz. by descend- 
 ing upon the security of a rope, or by examining it 
 with a good telescope from the sea ; the former method 
 might be deemed rather hazardous, and difficult, if 
 the letters be large. 
 
 Proceeding towards the extreme point of the 
 cape, at about two or three hundred paces' distance, 
 is a yet larger mass of ruin; the site is better adapted 
 for a temple, but it is still very limited in space. 
 There most probably stood the celebrated temple of 
 Apollo, of which the first ruin may have formed a 
 part, as they consist of the same sort of fine sand- 
 stone, none of which is to be found in the neighbour- 
 hood, or possibly in the island. Partridges and 
 hares frequent these solitudes, and a large sea bird 
 with a beautiful azure plumage,^ and apparently of 
 the hawk species, inhabits the cliffs : abundance of 
 the scilla maritima grows here ; a beautiful white 
 and fragrant lilly too springs up in the path, as if 
 it had delighted to take root in the last footsteps of 
 the hapless victim of love. 
 
 The convent affords accommodation, sufficiently 
 good for a few days, if the visitor wishes to remain 
 so long, and probably, excavations made here might 
 amply reward his pains, by the discovery of pieces 
 of spulpture, or of ancient coins or medals. 
 
 F3 
 
70 
 
 The distance, from the village of Athini to the 
 ruin, amounts in the whole to about three hours and 
 a half's journey, on horse back. 
 
 To return from Athani by the eastern coast of the 
 island, the mountain above the village is now to be 
 ascended. It consists of a mass of carbonate of 
 lime; forty minutes' ride leads to the top, from 
 whence is another pretty view of the little village of 
 Diamigliano, hanging upon the blue mountain, which 
 it still encircles like a chaplet. The top of this 
 mountain is finely streaked, apparently by the 
 winter torrents, which have worn channels down the 
 sides. A few hundred paces further from this point 
 the channel of Santa Maura opens, with the little 
 islets at it's entrance ; and upon descending a few 
 hundred paces further down towards the village of 
 St. Pietro, a landscape is presented to the view, 
 which, for richness and beauty of scenery, is hardly to 
 be exceeded in any country. This lovely spot is 
 called the plain of Vasilichl, and from the position 
 just now described, the whole scene is taken in at a 
 coup d'ceil, being stretched out at the spectator's 
 feet, far below his horizon. The valley is locked 
 in by mountains on every side, excepting a square 
 opening to the sea, through which may be seen the 
 islands ofCephalonia and Ithaca in the distance. The 
 bottom is perfectly level, extending six miles in length, 
 and one and a half in breadth : it is divided in the mid- 
 dle by a rivulet, which taking rise at the foot of the 
 mountain to the north, runs through its whole length to 
 
71 
 
 t 
 
 the sea. The mountains at the sides are nearly parallel, 
 giving it rather an oblong square shape. They are 
 thickly covered with olives, vines, orange and lemon 
 trees, w^ith villages interspersed, and hanging upon 
 their sides. Abundance of evergreen shrubs, as box, 
 myrtle, holly, mastic and arbutus, diversify the 
 colouring, and give exceeding beauty to the land- 
 scape. The steepness of the heights all around forms a 
 singular contrast with the uniform smoothness of the 
 plain, which is only broken by the bed of the river, 
 sometimes swollen to a torrent by the rains. In 
 various parts of the plain are to be seen the founda- 
 tions of buildings, belonging to an ancient city* of 
 considerable extent, as would appear from their 
 distances respectively, as well as from the spaces 
 which they severally occupy ; and from their stile 
 and character, once probably of great wealth and 
 prosperity. One of the ruins is upon a large 
 tumulus, most of the others are covered by several 
 feet of soil. The plain produces a great quantity of 
 grain, and is rich in fact in all the productions of 
 the island. The Indian corn however thrives best, 
 on account of the wetness of its bottom, a defect 
 which, to an English farmer, would not long prove 
 irremediable. 
 
 Descending the mountain from this point, a mass 
 
 * This is probably that to which Virgil alludes in the quotation 
 at the head of the chapter, " Hunc petimus fessi et parvse 
 Succedimus urbi.'' It is within a few miles of the ruins of Ihc 
 temple. [" hunc," v^z. Apollinem.] 
 
-of limestone occurs in horizontal strata, and directly 
 over the village of St. Pietro the whole rock 
 assumes again the stratified form. Before entering 
 the village, a beautiful plane tree is passed, the 
 branches covering a circle of about thirty yards 
 diameter ; at its foot is a spring, from which a 
 rivulet runs into St. Pietro, distant from Athani, 
 one and a half hour's ride ; the houses of this village 
 are built of a very rough, dark, hard limestone ; 
 there are about one hundred and twenty dwelling 
 houses, and nearly six hundred inhabitants. At an 
 hour's ride from the village, towards the opening of 
 the valley, at the sea, is the tumulus above 
 mentioned. Several fragments of small columns are 
 scattered about near it, one a mutilated capital of 
 the Ionic order. On the western side of the tumu- 
 lus, the platform of a small portico may be traced, 
 with part of the base and shaft of a small column, 
 in so mutilated a condition however as hardly to be 
 recognized ; the column stands upon the north 
 angle of the portico. A trough of the shape of a 
 hollow triangular prism occupies the centre of the 
 tumulus, and many square blocks of stone scattered 
 about the ruin, channelled, and partly filled with 
 lead, shew, as well as the remains of architecture, 
 that this was the sepulchre of a person of distinction. 
 The natives, who were busily occupied in winnow- 
 ing corn on the spot, informed us that it was the 
 tomb of a queen, who died many hundred years 
 before. The etymology of the word Vasilichl, 
 (BaglXl^t,) the situation of, and the tradition re- 
 
73 
 
 garding the ruin, seem to identify this structure with 
 the tomb of Artemisia queen of Caria, who signal^ 
 ized herself at the councils of Xerxes, in his invasion 
 of Greece, and particularly so at the battle of 
 Salamis. The author of Anacharsis quotes a passage 
 from Ptolomaeus. Heph. ap. Phot. p. 491. from which 
 it appears that a tomb was erected to her in this 
 island. The vicinity of the Leap to this delightful 
 Valley and ruin seem almost to confirm this con- 
 jecture. 
 
 The passage from Anacharsis, is as follows : 
 
 On montre aLeucade le tombeau d'Artemise, de 
 cette fameuse reine de Carie qui donna tant de 
 preuves de son courage a la bataille de Salamine. 
 Eprise d'une passion violente pour un jeune homme 
 qui ne repondoit pas a son amour, elle le surprit 
 dans le sommeil et lui creva les yeux. Bient6t les 
 regrets et le d6sespoir Tamen^rent a Leucade ou elle 
 perit dans les flots, malgr6 les efforts que Ton fit 
 pour la sauver." 
 
 Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis, Tom. II. p. 346. — P«ri5, quarto. 
 
 Proceeding from this towards the sea, fragments 
 of Cyclopean walls are met with, and one, the re- 
 mains of a round tower constructed in the same 
 stile. In fact, ruins of cyclopic are met with along 
 the base of the mountain, from near the sea to 
 St. Pietro. Tesselated pavements and vast masses 
 of ancient pottery are found by digging. Crossing 
 
74 
 
 the valley near Saint Pietro, the traveller will 
 arrive at the house of Mr. Zalamba, at Spartea, 
 beautifully situated at the eastern side of the vale 
 of Vasilichi. This is probably the best dwelling 
 house in the island ; the family, which are one of the 
 most respectable, own a considerable portion of the 
 plain, and have here a very large establishment, 
 consisting of a comfortable and well furnished house, 
 with extensive magazines for corn, wine, and oil. 
 Notwithstanding the beauty of the situation, there 
 is a total want of taste in the laying out of this 
 sweet spot, which derives so many charms from 
 nature. A double row of tall dark cypresses forms 
 an avenue, leading up to the house, which has a 
 pretty effect enough, but is excessively formal and 
 gloomy. The house is built with scarcely any 
 regularity or design, being massed together with a 
 heap of magazines, which occupy the lower part, 
 just as the farming conveniences seemed to require. 
 One of the rooms is fitted up as a study, in which 
 are many Greek and Italian books ; among the 
 rest, Romaic translations of Goldsmith's Greece, and 
 Telemachus. Besides St. Pietro, are here the 
 villages of Sievro, containing nearly three hundred 
 people, and St. Ellia with upwards of three 
 hundred inhabitants, at a great elevation. At twenty 
 minutes' ride from the house at Spartea the village 
 of Condarena is passed upon the right, and another 
 beautiful valley opens to the left, over which, upon 
 the side of a hill, hangs the village of Marandocori, 
 which contains two hundred and seventy people. 
 
75 
 
 Condarena about the same. Upon our approach, 
 along the plain to the village of Marandocori, a 
 very delightful scene was enjoyed. The morning mist 
 had risen from the valley, tinged with the orange rays 
 of the sun, and climbing gently up the mountain 
 side, upon which the village stands, had reached the 
 base of the latter, under which it drew a beautiful 
 level line, resembling the surface of a lake of liquid 
 gold, upon which the village seemed to rest* 
 The calmness of the atmosphere allowed it to 
 ascend gradually, and still unbroken, when the village 
 became first obscured, and lastly appeared like a city 
 sunk under water. This beautiful phenomenon was 
 watched with singular satisfaction, until the powerful 
 rays of the sun now increasing in strength, gradually 
 dissipated the cloud. At twenty minutes ride from 
 Marandocori, a little plain is crossed producing 
 corn, at the extremity of which, the most practicable 
 of the beds of the torrents must be selected, to ascend 
 the mountain. Upon gaining the top, a little circular 
 plain is crossed, about one-eighth of a mile in dia- 
 meter ; the surface is covered with a very red pow- 
 dery soil, in which are intermixed minute spangles of 
 calcareous spar, which with the red earth had been 
 washed down from the neighbouring mountains. 
 The natives are persuaded that these splendid scales 
 are particles of silver, and accordingly call the place 
 — the land of silver. A large village, Porr6, is seen 
 to the right, at a considerable distance and very 
 elevated, being upon the steep acclivity of a high 
 mountain. It contains above four hundred inhabi- 
 
76 
 
 tants. Fterno is a small village containing about 
 one hundred and fifty people, situated upon the 
 summit of the hill, on the way to Catechori. From 
 this point is a beautiful view of Porto Englimeno, 
 which is an inlet of the channel, at a great depth 
 below ; here are the remains of an ancient city 
 called* Ellomenos, in a plain adjoining the beach, 
 and shut in by mountains. 
 
 Catechori is situated upon the southern face of a 
 peak of the mountain, upon the eastern coast ; it is 
 at a very considerable elevation, there being a steep 
 descent of half an hour to the sea beach : this 
 peak is surrounded by other masses of mountain 
 which almost encompass it around. By this means 
 it is exposed to the meridian sun, no current of air 
 having access to it, excepting by an opening towards 
 the east, a point from which the wind seldom blows 
 in the hot months. That part of the mountain upon 
 which the village is built is composed of strata of 
 secondary limestone; the fragments of the rock are 
 so regular that the inhabitants have very little 
 trouble in building their houses. The lofty ridges 
 impending over the village are deeply streaked 
 down their sides, indicating a softness in the mass 
 which renders it subject to the impression of the 
 mountain streams after rain. This channelled ap- 
 pearance, as also the darkness and blueness of the 
 
 * This city was of sufficient importance to induce the Athenians 
 to take it in the sixth year of the Poloponnesian war. (Thucyd. 
 b. 3. c, 10.) hardly a trace of it now remains. 
 
77 
 
 colour, render it probable that these more elevated 
 ridges were chiefly composed of blue limestone in 
 decay, strata of which, and of soft sandstone, are 
 met with about and beneath the village, Masses 
 of calcareous spar are observed to project in many 
 places on the road descending the mountain. There 
 is no water to be procured within a mile of the 
 village, the inhabitants having to ascend a very 
 steep and rough mountain path to the wells of the 
 village above, Fterno ; or to descend an equal dis- 
 tance, down a similarly rough and steep road, to 
 reach the only spring belonging to the village of 
 Catechori. The water in the upper village, Ftern6, 
 was turbid, ten days after a fall of rain, that of the 
 lower spring was however clear and well tasted at 
 the same time. In the summer of 1817 a detach- 
 ment of British soldiers were quartered in this 
 village, consisting of a Serjeant and fifteen men, for 
 the purpose of protecting the coast: they were 
 afterwards removed, in consequence of the whole 
 detachment, with an English woman, wife of one of 
 the soldiers, having been attacked with remittent 
 fever of the worst type. Three of the sick died in 
 the military hospital at Santa Maura, and two were 
 reduced to the last extremity from debility, pro- 
 ducing extensive mortifications ; the convalescense 
 of the remainder was also extremely protracted 
 and precarious. The villages suffered greatly 
 by the fever at the same time, although in the sum- 
 mer and autumn of 1818, they were comparatively 
 free from it. Various causes were assigned fpr this 
 
78 
 
 sickness. It was by most people attributed to the 
 exhalations arising out of Porto Englimen6 ; but the 
 height of the village above the water, renders this 
 very improbable. The irregularity of this party 
 was also thought to have caused the sickness ; the 
 men were said to have drunk aqua vitse immoderately, 
 and to have exposed themselves without caution to 
 the heat of the sun ; but again, some who did not 
 indulge in these excesses were equally ill with the 
 rest ; and this circumstance would not account, for 
 the disease prevailing in so much greater a degree 
 that season, amongst the inhabitants themselves. 
 It would appear that these latter are but occasional 
 causes, and that there exists, something in the nature 
 of the soil itself sufficient to produce the disease, 
 added to a particular constitution of the air, which 
 rendered the summer of 1817 so sickly throughout 
 the whole of the Mediterranean. The situation and 
 soil of Catechori, as well as the climate and many 
 other local circumstances connected w ith it, greatly 
 resemble those of Ibiso or Gesso, described by the 
 late Dr. Irvine, in his treatise upon the diseases of 
 Sicily. 
 
 From Catechori to Engluvi, is about four hours' 
 leisurely riding ; the road consists in a descent first 
 to the plain of Englimeno, passing through that 
 remarkable ravine mentioned in page 42 ; it then 
 crosses the plain and ascends the great moun- 
 tain, El Vouno. This is exceedingly steep and 
 rough ; at a considerable height is the village of 
 
79 
 
 Neochori, containing about two hundred and thirty- 
 people ; the situation is romantic. From the higher 
 parts of the mountain is another magnificent view 
 of the port and plain of Englimeno, the latter inter- 
 sected by the beds of the torrents, which have cut 
 their way from the base of the mountain, through it, 
 to the sea. The harbour of Englimen6 is seen from 
 this point to great advantage ; it appears as if it 
 were formed by a mass of the mountain, which had 
 fallen from the island into the sea, and had nearly 
 insulated itself, preserving its continuity with the 
 mountain at its southern end. There is also from 
 this point a grand prospect of the islands ; a small 
 part of Zante, some of Cephalonia, and a part of 
 Ithaca, the Oxiae, the Morea, and the whole chain of 
 the mountains of Acarnania being visible at once ; 
 the Teleboae, Meganisi, extended like a map under 
 one's feet, and the gulph of Arta, complete this mag- 
 nificent panoramic view. 
 
 The road continues to be extremely precipitous 
 and still the ascent continues. The villages of 
 Vafcheri and Alexandro are passed, after having 
 gained the summit of the mountain, upon the right 
 hand, the former containing about one hundred 
 and thirty, and the latter five hundred and seventy 
 inhabitants. 
 
 Engluvl is the highest village in the island; the 
 situation is singular ; it lies as it were in the bottom 
 of a cup formed by a cluster of peaks of the moun- 
 
80 
 
 tain, which surround it ; thereCs however an opening 
 to the north-west, by which the inhabitants enjoy 
 the full benefit of the breeze, which almost constantly 
 descends upon them from the aperture in the hot 
 weather. There are about one hundred and twenty 
 houses. The high situation renders the vegetation 
 much later here: the corn was quite green upon the 
 fourth of June, 1819, although mostly cut in other 
 parts of the island. It is reckoned a cool and healthy 
 village. The water is excellent, and one of the 
 natives declared, that a pound of it is lighter by 
 several ounces than a pound of water in other places ! 
 The wood for firing is scarce and difficult to be got, 
 they have to descend the mountain to the sea beach, 
 from whence it has to be carried up upon mules. 
 
 The distance from Engluvl to Santa Maura is 
 about four hours and a half's ride. The road passes 
 through a plain, the natural history of which is 
 rather extraordinary. Although at this elevation, the 
 distance from Engluvi not exceeding one hour and 
 ahalf 's gentle descent, it is completely surrounded by 
 the higher ridges of the mountain, which form a 
 perfect basin, from which there is no exit for the 
 water. The bottom, like all the low grounds in 
 the island is perfectly level, from the lightness 
 of the soil, which is carried down by the moun- 
 tain floods and deposited evenly over the whole 
 surface. It extends in length about half an hours* 
 journey. The peculiarity of its position renders it 
 subject to an annual inundation, which takes place 
 
81 
 
 about the close of October, after the rains, leaving 
 a very rich deposit of soil. When sufficiently 
 dry in April or May, the water being completely 
 evaporated by the heat, it is sown with corn, of 
 which it yields a large produce, the greatest part 
 being, appropriated to the revenues of the convent 
 of St. John. The largest village in the island, 
 Caria, is situated to the westward of this plain, 
 upon the side of the mountain; the convent of 
 St. John is upon the opposite side, to the rights 
 Caria contains about nine hundred and fifty in- 
 habitants. At the extremity of the plain, before 
 entering the village of Sfachiotes, several beauti- 
 ful stratifications of rock are observed, chiefly of 
 sand-stone ; a very remarkable one is seen upon 
 the right, the strata of which are nearly vertical. 
 Sfachiotes is a very large village, containing about 
 eight hundred inhabitants. The road from this to 
 the town of Santa Maura is down a rapid and 
 rough descent, but beautiful in the extreme from the 
 opening of the magnificent scenery described at 
 the conclusion of Chap. I. The insurrectionary 
 mob that collected in such numbers during the 
 disturbance of this island, had to be beaten up 
 this long and difficult ascent, by a handful of 
 British soldiers, until they were obliged to lay 
 down their arms and their ridiculous pretensions 
 together. 
 
 Besides the excursion just described, there re- 
 mains another, along the eastern coast of the 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 island, to Meganisi ; a very good road has been con- 
 structed by the British, leading through the ruins 
 of Leucate, and towards Englimen6 and Catechori. 
 The beauty of the scenery and the goodness of 
 the road render this a pleasant ride. After pass- 
 ing the ruins of Leucate, a charming romantic spot 
 is reached, where is a natural fountain covered with 
 tall luxuriant sycamores, called, the Fountain of the 
 Pacha. — 'The distance is about eight miles from town. 
 
 In the southern entrance of the channel are 
 a few small islands belonging to Santa Maura; 
 the most considerable of these is, from its greater 
 size, called Meganisi. It is about ten miles long. 
 The coasts are indented by several excellent har- 
 bours, with deep water. The solid part of this island 
 is composed of a fine carbonate of lime,* beau- 
 tifully stratified. At the base it is piled in hori- 
 zontal tables of various degrees of thickness, but 
 laid in very regular order. This structure is quite 
 apparent above low water mark, as you approach 
 the island; the sea having worn away the loose 
 matter in the interstices of the tables. Towards 
 the surface, these strata take a vertical direction ; 
 giving the earth a ridged appearance, the soil 
 having been washed away from between them to the 
 depth of several feet. This stratification is evi- 
 dently a continuation of that in the corresponding 
 mountains of Santa Maura, in the neighbourhood 
 
 * Called by Mr. Murray, in his System of Chemistry, the 
 compact carbonate of lime. 
 
83 
 
 of Catechori as above described. The grain and 
 herbage grow in the ridges, formed in the in- 
 terstices of the vertical strata, and the cultivation 
 is carried on by means of the spade or hoe, it 
 being impossible to use a plough. 
 
 This rocky island becomes more impoverished 
 every year, the soil being continually washed 
 away by the rains, and there are no vallies to 
 arrest it in its progress to the sea. The present 
 population amounts to above six hundred people. 
 A great quantity of goats and sheep are fed upon 
 the island. It produces much grain, particularly 
 barley ; flax too grows upon it in abundance, and 
 a great quantity of cheese is made here. The 
 water is brackish. About thirty years ago a great 
 quantity of fine coral was found lapon the eastern 
 coast, and is probably yet to be procured. Seve- 
 ral Neapolitan feluccas were then employed in 
 this fishery, and by all acco>unts they appear to 
 have been very successful. During the time that 
 these islands were under the Venetian republic, 
 this place was the haunt of pirates and assas- 
 sins, most of them e^^caped or outlawed from 
 Albania. Homer gives these islanders, admitting 
 it to be the ancient Taphios, the same character; 
 as in the Odyssey, Tac^iot Xrngop^g avSpec ; Mentes, 
 who was their king, says in another place Ta^iotctv 
 (piXvp^Tfxoigiv ava(7(T(jt), The two circumstanccs, of its 
 having so remarkably good harbours, and its being 
 infested until so very lately with pirates, might 
 
 G2 
 
84 
 
 be offered as coincidences with Homer's epithets 
 and descriptions, and as corresponding with Mons. 
 D'Anville's opinion, that Meganisi is the ancient 
 Taphios, one of the Telebose. 
 
85 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Antiquities of Leucadia — Ruins of the ancient city Lucate 
 — Remains of the bridge, described as a ruin by Strabo, 
 still ea^ist, — Great Cyclopean walls — Probable amount 
 of the population, calculated from the circumference of 
 the ruins — Excursion to Prevesa — description of that 
 town and of the entrance of the gulf of Arta — AH 
 Pacha spalace — Dock yard — the mosque at Prevesa 
 — Ride to Nicopolis — ruins — two theatres — aqueduct 
 — Hippodrome. — Reflections upon the ruins. 
 
 LEUCADIA still retains memorials of its ancient 
 splendour, bearing testimony to the correctness of 
 the old historians and geographers, and affording 
 an ample field of inquiry for the literary traveller 
 and the philosopher. The walls and other remains 
 of once flourishing, or at least extensive and popu- 
 lous cities, are yet to be traced, indicating great 
 povsrer and high antiquity*. Of these, the ruins of 
 
 * Eight hundred Leucadians and Anactori together, were drawn 
 up in the Greek line opposite the Asopus at Plataea, according to 
 Herodotus. Vide Herod, b. ix. c. 28. n«xt to these were posted two 
 hundred Paleans from Cephalonia. 
 
 G 3 
 
m 
 
 Leucate are the most considerable, situated at two 
 miles distance from the town of Santa Maura. This 
 city was built by the people of Nerikos, a colony 
 of Corinthians, who had settled upon the opposite 
 side, but found it necessary to remove hither most 
 probably for the sake of security. Laertes in the 
 Odyssey is made to boast of having taken Nerikos 
 at the head of the Cephalonians*. 
 
 No trace of ornamental architecture is to be 
 found amongst the ruins ; the immense quadrangular 
 blocks of stone, and pieces of massy cyclopean 
 walls indicate the rudeness and insecurity of the 
 remote ages in which they were constructed. 
 Several of the tombs have been opened by Colonel 
 Sir P. Ross, and were found to contain pieces of 
 ancient pottery and bronze, with bas reliefs exhibit- 
 ing an elegance of taste in design and execution, very 
 different indeed from that of the present d^y.^ Jn a 
 subterraneous passage, which the Colonel had exca- 
 vated in the spring of 1 8 1 8, was found an earthen vessel 
 containing above fifty pieces of copper coins of 
 the town of ^neadae, an old city of Acarnania 
 at the mouth of the Acheloiis, together with a silver 
 coin of one of the Philips of Macedon. The copper 
 pieces were cemented together by the verdigrise, 
 and afford a very curious and interesting specimen, 
 having been probably secreted at the time that 
 the coin was in currency, and with the design 
 
 * Od. b. 24. 1. 374. 
 
87 
 
 of recovering' them again, perhaps, at a season of 
 more tranquility*. 
 
 Leucate was built, partly upon the eastern face of 
 a chain of low hills, and partly upon a plain ex- 
 tending from their base to the channel. The hills 
 are abrupt and inaccessible upon the western side, 
 where they are, as it were, insulated from the body 
 of the island by a deep ravine. The line of hills 
 was further defended by three acropoli, built upon 
 the most projecting points, and connected together 
 by Cyclopean walls, which formed a sort of curtain in 
 the intervals. The whole circuit of the ruins amounts 
 to six thousand four hundred and fifty-five paces, 
 including the parts upon the hill and those upon the 
 plain. 
 
 Towards the south the limits are not so easily 
 assigned, as many ruins are found beyond the butt 
 of the great cyclopean wall, which would otherwise 
 appear to have formed the boundary at that side. 
 Beyond this wall was also the cemetery, where the 
 tombs have been opened. Upon the east, the city 
 was defended by the channel, along which ran ano- 
 ther line of cyclopean wall, the remains of which are 
 to be traced at broken intervals, running by the 
 
 * Many similar coins are picked up singly in the olive grounds 
 and vineyards that occupy the site of the old city, but these were 
 carefuUy concealed in an earthen pot, and were removed from their 
 place of concealment just as they were deposited; the author wit- 
 nessed the discovery with no small satisfaction. 
 
88 
 
 beach. At about the middle of this line the channel 
 contracts suddenly, where the old isthmus comr- 
 menced, which was cut through by the Corinthi- 
 ans, according to Strabo*. A little dismantled fort 
 called the Russian fortress, marks the spot. By 
 crossing the channel |here directly, in a boat, the 
 remains of the bridge described by Strabo are dis- 
 covered at the Acamanian side* This very ancient 
 and interesting ruin consists of a line of large square 
 stones laid together two and two, and constituting 
 a narrow road of about five feet in width, leading 
 from the continent for several hundred yards across 
 the shallow part of the channel, until it reaches the 
 deep water at the Acarnanian side ; from this point 
 springs the abutment of a bridge ; and a little nearer 
 to the island, may be discovered under water, in 
 clear weather, the piers of some of the arches. At 
 about the middle of the narrow road leading to the 
 bridge is a little islet, upon which are the founda- 
 tions of several small square buildings of cut stone, 
 and probably belonging to some little temple* which 
 
 • Strabo, book x. 
 
 t Palraerius (de Antiq. Grsec. book ii. chap. 10.) refers to a passage 
 in Dion. Ualicarnass. who, in book 1. speaking of the flight of -3Eneas 
 and the Trojans, says, that they built a temple to Venus between 
 Dyorycthos and Leucas on a little island. Whether ^neas ever 
 arrived here or not, the description of the site of the temple 
 corresponds to the ruhis here in question, which appear 
 to have been at least coeval with the bridge, and agree exactly to 
 the description of Palmerius. The passage quoted is: ExsrSfv ^\ 
 rtXolyioy mira-afjum r v^uv iU Awxd^a Kardyonoct Kccrtx^rrw irt ro io» 
 
89 
 
 Was erected here ; or perhaps it was a sort of toll 
 house. 
 
 The wall which defended the city to the north 
 was very strong and lofty. Upon the ruins of its 
 base a water-course has been constructed, which 
 turns two little mills on its way to the sea. Follow- 
 ing the water-course down, the foundation of a 
 square building will be observed below the first 
 mill, which are represented in plate I. This was 
 constructed at a period when the method of build- 
 ing in regular courses had been nearly perfected, 
 and is here but little deviated from. In the corner 
 of a house close to the sea, and fronting the lower 
 watermill, is a marble, a copy of which, with the 
 inscription upon it, is given in fig. 2. plate VIII. 
 The letters are beautifully cut. The proprietor of 
 the mills says, that the stone belonged to an old 
 gate which tumbled down many years ago. From 
 this it appears, that the people of Apollonia had 
 some share in the public works here, and that they 
 had erected a gate, or wall, or perhaps constructed 
 part of the road which went to communicate with 
 the mole towards Apollonia, as shall be presently 
 described. 
 
 The population of Leucate may have amounted to 
 between fifteen and eighteen thousand, calculating 
 
 AiVHo^of. Dion. Hal. b. 1. ch. ftO. 
 
90 
 
 from the number of inhabitants contained in the town 
 of Santa Maura compared with its circumference*. 
 It is therefore probable that this single city contained 
 as many people as the whole island does at the pre- 
 sent day. Livy gives ample testimony of their 
 bravery, and the character of the ruins before us 
 corroborates his account fully f. The manner in 
 
 * Or if the number be calculated from the population of Thebes, 
 compared with the circumference of its walls, (vide Anacharsis, c. 35. 
 p. 247.) stated to be fifty thousand in forty-three stadia. Six thousand 
 four hundred and fifty-five paces at thirty inches, would be about 
 twenty-six stadia in round numbers, making the number of inhabi- 
 tants considerably more than twenty-five thousand. Or if we take 
 the number of inhabitants of Thebes, with Hume, (vide Populous- 
 ness of Ancient Nations,) at thirty-four thousand, and the circum- 
 ference forty-three stadia, we must conclude at the lowest that 
 Leucate contained seventeen thousand inhabitants. 
 
 t Leucade hsec sunt decreta, id caput Acarnaniae erat, eoque in 
 concilium omnes populi conveniebant. Itaque, cum hsec repentina 
 rautatio Corcyram ad legatum Flaminium perlata esset, extemplo 
 cum classe profectus., Leucadem ad Herieum, quod vocant, naves 
 adplicuit. Inde cum omni genere tormentorum machinarumque, 
 quibus expugnantur urbes, ad muros accessit, ad primum terrorem 
 ratus inclinari animos posse. Postquam pacati nihil ostendebatur, 
 tam vineas turresque erigere, et arietem admovere muris coepit. 
 Acarnania universa, inter ^toliam atque Epirum posita, solem oc- 
 cidentem et mare Siculum spectat. Leucadia, nunc insula, et 
 vadoso freto, quod perfossum manu est, ab Acarnania divisa, turn 
 peninsula erat, occidentis regione arctis faucibus cohoerens Acarnaniae. 
 Qtiingentos ferme passus longae fauces erant ; latse baud amplius 
 centum et viginti. In his angustiis Leucas posita est, colli adplicata 
 verso in orientem et Acarnaniam. Ima urbis plana sunt, jacentia 
 ad mare, quo Leucadia ab Acarnania dividitur, inde terra marique 
 expugnabilis est. Nam et vada sunt stagno similiora, quam mari: 
 
91 
 
 which the large stones are found scattered, as it 
 were by the Roman engines, furnishes curious evi- 
 dence, of the obstinate defence made by the Leucati, 
 and the consequent determination of the Romans 
 to put a stop to all resistance of so hazardous a 
 nature in future, by effectually demolishing the walls. 
 
 The importance of Leucate, in a commercial point 
 of view, must have been no less great in those early 
 ages, than the spirit of independence and the prow- 
 ess of its citizens. The channel, notwithstanding 
 the labour and expense which the new colony must 
 have incurred in digging the canal, was, either from 
 the beginning unnavigable, or shortly became so, 
 by the constant accumulation of gravel at it's mouth. 
 This probably determined them to construct a mole, 
 forming a deep harbour at the north-west point of 
 the island, and at about three miles and a half or 
 four miles distance from the city. 
 
 et campus terrenus omiiis, operique facilis. Itaque multis simul locis 
 ant subruti, aut ariete decussi, ruebant muri. Sed quam urbs ipsa 
 opportuna obpugnantibus erat, tam inexpugnabiles hostium animi. 
 Die ac nocte intenti reficere quassata muri ; obstruere quae patefacta 
 ruinis erant; praelia impigre itiire, et armis magis muros, qnam 
 seipsos maenibus tutari, diutiusque spe Romanorum obsidionem 
 earn extraxissent, ni exules quidam Italici generis, Leucade habi- 
 tantes, ab arce milites accepissent, eos tamen ex superiore loco 
 magno cum tumultu decurrentes, acie in foro instructa, justo 
 praelio aliquamdiu Leucadii sustinuerunt. Interim et scalis capta 
 multis locis maenia, et per stragem lapidum ac ruinas transcensum 
 in urbem. Jamque ipse legatus magno agmine circumvenerat 
 pugnantes, pars in medio caesi ; pars, armis abjectis dedederunt se 
 victori.— Liv. a DrakenborcA, Amst. 1741. 4to. lib. 33, c. 17. 
 
92 
 
 This harbour was connected with the city 
 by a strong cyclopean wall, which ran along 
 the base of the mountain, and through the plain 
 in rear of the present town, shutting up the 
 only defile in the mountains by which the city 
 could have been surprised. It was strength- 
 ened at intervals by projecting square towers*, 
 and at about the middle it was united to a second 
 similar wall, running from it at right angles to the 
 gate at the back of the town of Santa Maura. These 
 ruins are concealed in the olive wood behind 
 the town of Santa Maura. Two thousand five 
 hundred paces of the first are to be traced, running 
 in a direct line between the old mole and Leucate, 
 and about one thousand paces of the second. The 
 towers project towards the channel : they are 
 about eight paces square upon the outside. The 
 butt of the old mole is also still in existence, but, 
 what is rather singular, the best informed of the 
 natives are ignorant of it's existence f. The very 
 ancient stile of the standing walls, the dispersion 
 of the large masses of stone which composed the 
 remainder, probably caused by the breaching by 
 the Roman engines, the existence of the bridge 
 made to pass the canal, at the point where the head 
 of the isthmus originally was, and where the ruins 
 of Leucate are now found, exactly as described by 
 Livy and Strabo, are facts, which demonstrate the 
 
 * A Sketch of one of the towers is given in Plate II. 
 f Its site is laid down in the map, as also the lines of the two 
 cyclopean walls. 
 
93 
 
 truth of history as it relates to events connected with 
 them, and to a mind impressed with the importance 
 and the love of truth, cannot fail to furnish a source 
 of delightful contemplation. 
 
 At about five miles distance from the castle of 
 Santa Maura, is the town of Prevesa, containing 
 nearly four thousand inhabitants, Greeks and Maho- 
 metans. The Pacha occasionally resides here, gene- 
 rally paying an annual visit in the early part of the 
 year, when he is accompanied by a large body of 
 troops, often four thousand strong, to collect his 
 revenues in this quarter. Prevesa in the time of the 
 Venetians, is said to have had a population of fifteen 
 thousand people. It is situated about four or five 
 miles below the mouth of the gulph of Arta, on 
 the northern shore. The entrance to the gulph is 
 defended by a fortress near the town, which is 
 built mostly of stones taken from the ruins of Argos 
 Amphilochum, an old city, the ruins of which exist 
 at the bottom of the gulph. There is a second new 
 fort, (in which also a seraglio is to be built,) nearly 
 completed, at about one mile and a half from the 
 town, towards the entrance of the gulph. These 
 works are most unscientifically constructed ; in the 
 bastions, the breeches of three guns often touch, so 
 close are the embrasures. 
 
 The entrance of the gulph is narrow and very 
 shallow in general, so much so as to require a good 
 knowledge of the channel to carry even small craft 
 
94 
 
 through with safety. The bottom is very uneven, 
 consisting of rocky ledges which project upwards ; 
 upon these are deposited great quantities of oysters, 
 which are small, but of good flavour. Prevesa is 
 the only port in the vizier's territories. A corvette 
 of eighteen guns lies in the harbour, her rigging and 
 cordage half decayed. She can only be removed 
 from her station by lightening her of her guns, and 
 when re-equipped, her appearance is not very 
 formidable. There is here also a dock yard, which 
 is an open space in the court of the palace, upon 
 which the keel of a ship has been laid down for 
 several years. The timber intended for its con- 
 struction is carried through a breach made pur- 
 posely in the wall of the palace yard; and for 
 security sake, a portion of it is left there to block 
 up the passage, the remainder having been de- 
 posited in the ground floor range of the palace, 
 which serves as a magazine for all sorts of timber. 
 One is much puzzled to guess how this ship, 
 when built, is to reach the water, (her nose coming 
 up close to the wall,) but is agreeably surprized 
 when informed, that a breach is also to be made here, 
 through which she is to be launched. The town 
 consists chiefly of little miserable huts, divided by 
 narrow streets crowded with the Pacha's soldiers, 
 who, from the variety of costume, exhibit motley 
 groups indeed. Yet the personal appearance of the 
 men is fine. No women are to be seen, and the 
 rest of the inhabitants are generally squatted at their 
 doors and windows, their usual employment being 
 
96 
 
 smoking or expurgating their persons, with all 
 that apathy, and indifference to strangers, which is 
 so peculiar to the Turks. 
 
 The palace or seraglio is built at the water side, 
 and from the number of large windows, and the 
 gaudy daubings upon the outside, it has rather a 
 she wy appearance, although the masses of building 
 are without design in the general plan. The lower 
 part is occupied by the naval and ordnance stores, 
 consisting of scattered pieces of timber, and a few 
 field pieces and gun carriages, most of them unfit 
 for use. The upper part of the building is divided 
 into rooms of various sizes, but generally constructed 
 and furnished after the same fashion. A number of 
 windows crowded together gives them great light 
 and airiness. Each apartment is surrounded by a 
 divan, and the floors are covered with Egyptian 
 mats. The chimnies project over the hearth in 
 form of a pyramid. They burn cedar upon the 
 hearths. 
 
 The mosque is a curious specimen of taste in the 
 way of architecture. It is surrounded by a colonade, 
 which is made up of fragments of ancient pillar^ 
 of every order : a capital of the Corinthian or Com- 
 posite often crowning a plain Tuscan or Doric shaft. 
 It was obviously necessary that they should all 
 be of the same height to support the roof, accord- 
 ingly this is the only point of uniformity in this 
 odd assemblage, which might be well named the 
 
96 
 
 disorder of architecture. All the pillars are short, 
 the longer fragments having been cut down to 
 match the shorter. Some of them are beautifully 
 fluted. In many the flu tings run spirally round the 
 shaft, which is far from being an improvement to 
 the column : the perpendicular flutings give an 
 idea of strength and stability, which this gothic 
 conceit destroys altogether. There are a few rich 
 capitals, but much mutilated, crowning these ex- 
 traordinary stumps : so that of the building, one 
 may say with Horace, 
 
 — ' ut, nec pes nec caput uni 
 
 Reddatur formae. 
 
 Of the acuteness and sagacity of the vizier in 
 matters of equity, and of his extraordinary memory, 
 many anecdotes are related. The following, which 
 were told us upon the spot, may not be un- 
 interesting. 
 
 A merchant of Yanina, having occasion for a 
 sum of money to enable him to enter into a certain 
 commercial speculation, applied to a Greek priest, 
 his friend, for assistance. The priest entertaining a 
 high opinion of the merchant's integrity, and having 
 in his possession some thousand piastres, lent the 
 whole to him on a promise that it would be repaid 
 to him by a certain time. The period fixed for the 
 repayment having elapsed, and the priest being in 
 want of the money, mentioned the circumstance to 
 the merchant, requesting at the same time a resti- 
 
97 
 
 tution of part of the sum lent, to supply his immedi- 
 ate wants. The merchant affecting surprise at the 
 extraordinary demand, denied having ever received 
 from the other any part of the money alluded to. 
 The poor priest, as may easily be imagined, felt 
 deeply the villainy of his pretended friend, and 
 having no other alternative, laid a statement of the 
 affair, in the form of a complaint, before Ali Pacha. 
 The Pacha having ordered both parties to appear 
 before him, the nlerchant did again positively deny 
 all knowledge of the circumstance, and the priest, 
 in reply to a question put to him, having said, that, 
 relying on the word of his friend, he had taken no 
 acknowledgment in the form of a receipt from him, 
 the Pacha informed the complainant that as he could 
 ^duce no proofs of a satisfactory nature, without 
 which nothing could be done in the affair, he felt 
 himself under the necessity of dismissing them, 
 directing, at the same time, that they should trouble 
 him no farther upon the subject. No sooner how- 
 ever were they out of his immediate presence, than 
 he ordered, that, previous to their departure they 
 should both be weighed, and their respective weights 
 noted down. After a considerable lapse of time, 
 and when this transaction seemed to have been 
 buried in oblivion, the priest and merchant were 
 ordered again to appear before the Pacha, who 
 directed that, before they were admitted to his pre- 
 sence, they should be weighed as on the former 
 occasion. The Pacha perceiving that the merchant 
 had increased in weight, but that the priest was not 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 nearly so heavy as he was before, and having ascer- 
 tained that this difference in the weight of the latter, 
 wras not the effect of any bodily indisposition, but could 
 be attributed solely to vexation of mind, caused by 
 the infamous conduct of the merchant, his quondam 
 friend, which the Pacha having stated to the latter, 
 directed him either immediately to pay the priest, 
 or to have his head struck off. The merchant, who 
 well knew the stern and inflexible character of the 
 Pacha, and to avoid the fate which awaited him, 
 made a full confession of his own villainy, acknow- 
 ledged the justice of the sentence, and repaid to the 
 priest the sum he had borrowed from him." 
 
 A man having lent a sum of money to another, 
 some time afterwards was repaid, but there being 
 no witness of this latter transaction, he formed the 
 resolution of compelling the borrower to pay it 
 over again, and referred his affair to Ali Pacha. — 
 The man who had borrowed the money denied the 
 justice of the demand, saying that he had already 
 made restitution, and that he had counted the 
 money upon the top of a certain large stone. Bring 
 the stone hither, said the Pacha, in order that I may 
 see it. That he is not able to do, said the com- 
 plainant, it is too heavy for him to carry ! ! ! 
 
 Of the correct information of Ali Pacha in every 
 thing at all connected with the provinces subject 
 to his oontroul, and that even the most minute 
 circumstances do not escape his notice, the follow- 
 
99 
 
 ing is a convincing proof : towards the end of the 
 year 1817, some unfortunate Greeks fled from the 
 tyranny of this inexorable despot, and took refuge 
 in the island of Santa Maura. The Pacha having 
 applied to the local authorities to have the refugees 
 given up to him, in order that they might be 
 punished, v^as informed that it was inconsistent 
 with the character and dignity of the British nation, 
 to refuse protection to the innocent and oppressed, 
 nor could they give up those against whom no crime 
 whatever was alleged. The Pacha being thus 
 disappointed, formally applied for a restitution of 
 the property belonging to him, consisting of a few 
 articles of wearing apparel carried off by these 
 unfortunate individuals, every item of which was 
 minutely described, in a list accompanying the 
 application, specifying, not only the number of 
 shirts or stockings in the possession of each indi- 
 vidual, but such as were whole, and such as had 
 been patched or mended. Those who are ac- 
 quainted with the costume of these unhappy crea- 
 tures, will be able to form a just estimate of the 
 value of their wardrobe. This application met of 
 course with the fate of the preceding one. 
 
 From the top of the minaret is a magnificent view 
 of the plain of Prevesa and gulph of Arta, with the 
 ruins of Nicopolis and the fine range of mountains in 
 the distance. The entrance of the gulph is also seen 
 from this point. Two tongues of land project from 
 the jaws of the gulph, overlapping each other right 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 across the mouth. That from the north lies behind 
 and within the other : at it's extremity is the pro- 
 montory of Actium, and at it's root is the harbour 
 of Prevesa. A long canal is thus formed between 
 these two tongues of land, leading from Prevesa into 
 the gulph. The road to Nicopolis is over a rich 
 plain, covered with olives : it is about an hour and 
 a quarter's quick ride to the ruins, the neighbour- 
 hood of which is clothed with most luxuriant grass 
 and corn. The city was built at the north-west 
 extremity of this plain, lying at about eight miles 
 from the mouth of the gulph of Arta. The plain 
 itself is situated upon the isthmus formed by the 
 northern projection of land before described, having 
 the sea upon one side and the gulph upon the other. 
 A range of low hills runs to the north of the plain in 
 a direction east and west, being the termination of 
 a ridge of the Cassiopaean mountains : from the 
 western extremity of this range an aqueduct was 
 carried to the city, parallel with the sea shore, from 
 which it is distant about half a mile. The piers and 
 buttresses of most of the arches are still remaining. 
 A great part of the city wall to the east also still 
 remains, with many of the arches of the gates. 
 They are disposed in the following manner : a large, 
 arched, centre gate, with a smaller square one at each 
 side, appears at certain distances in the wall, with one 
 or two other small gates again in the intervals. Over 
 one of these at the northern end is said to be an 
 inscription, which is too high to be reached without 
 a ladder. At the foot of the low range of hills to 
 
101 
 
 the north, are to be seen the remains of a theatre* 
 in good preservation, and near it is the hippodrome 
 covered with rich grass, w^here the vizier feeds his 
 cavalry horses. There are also the remains of a 
 second theatre, in the city, at the opposite side of 
 the hippodrome, directly facing the former. About 
 the centre of the aqueduct is a mass of square 
 building, surrounded by a narrow arched gallery. 
 In the centre of this ruin are the remains of a large 
 square apartment, with an arched niche in the 
 middle of the north and south walls. Possibly this 
 building was a court of justice. 
 
 The different character of these from that of the 
 ruins of many other cities near and around them, 
 is particularly striking. The great masses of red 
 brick, in which a single stone is hardly to be seen, 
 contrasts in an extraordinary manner with those we 
 have been already describing, which are composed 
 altogether of blocks of stone. Conviction of the 
 truth of the history of nearly twenty ages, rushes as 
 it were at once into the mind of the spectator, called 
 up by the evidence which now lies before him, 
 namely, the evidence of the fact, that a great 
 Roman city was founded here, in Greece, many 
 ages previous to his own existence, shewing the 
 preponderancy of that power in the heart of a nation, 
 which bears in itself internal evidence of its own 
 ancient greatness and splendour. 
 
 * A sketch of this theatre is given, plate III. 
 
 H 3 
 
102 
 
 Shall we neglect the lesson, which, the genius of 
 Time, as it were, here attempts so eloquently to 
 impress upon us, with a pencil of light that illu- 
 minates the whole page of history with it's touch : 
 a lesson, so humiliating to man as a short-lived 
 individual, yet so ennobling and so elevating to 
 him as forming a part of his species. Let us ima- 
 gine the sceptic to be placed here, and to commune 
 with this hoary preceptor, whom we shall suppose 
 to dwell alone in these awful, desolated solitudes ; 
 and then demand of him : do these monuments 
 speak truth and conviction ? and, are there not other 
 mighty truths, collateral facts, and occurrences, 
 of which you are still more doubtful, if not more 
 ignorant ; whose evidence may not be less conclu- 
 sive, although, perchance, no such tangible proofs 
 now lie before you ? We fear that there are ! Have 
 you examined the evidence upon which those co- 
 temporary facts are founded, and have been already 
 engraven upon the page of history? It is to be 
 feared, not ! And here we imagine the angry genius 
 to break off all communication with a frail and short- 
 sighted mortal, who is yet so presumptuous, and so 
 blind to his own great interests, as to measure his, 
 some fifty years' experience, with that of a being, 
 whose forehead is deeply channelled with the cares 
 and research of ages. 
 
103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ITHACA. 
 
 *AXX ayt to* ^e/|<u 'lOax»)? e^o? o<pp(x 7r£7r«*9))f. 
 ^pxuvof jiAsy 0^' IjT* >ilixi^y, aXioio ys^ovTOj. 
 
 'AyyoQl yoivrrii avrpov sTpfpaTOv »]e^oe*^£J 
 
 TtfTO ^£ to/ CPTTEOf lv|u^ KMTrj^i^U £v0a *oXXaV 
 "E^^EfXEj Nv/u,^»)?t TsXtiEcro-aj Ixaro/ix^af 
 TSto ^e NwpiToy EjTiv o*po? xara £«/*£yoy uA»j. 
 
 Odyssey t b. 13. 1. 344. 
 
 Behold ! where Neritos the clouds divides. 
 
 And shakes the waving forests on his sides. Pope. 
 
 Geogra'phical position of Thiaki — Echinades — Samos, 
 Islet of Dascallio, Topographical description of — The 
 great port — Neritos — Neios — Aito, Population — 
 Produce — Revenue — Commercial and other employ- 
 ments of the inhabitants. Antiquity of the island — 
 want of traditional records accounted for. Grotto of 
 the Nymphs — Port Reithros — Korax and fountain 
 of Arethusa — Singular structure of the rock above 
 the cliff Kora.v — conjecture arising therefrom — Ejc- 
 cursio7i to the place called Homer s School — Ruins 
 of the city of Alalcomene ^Beautiful scenery at the 
 village of Le/ki, supposed by Sir W, Gell to be the 
 
104 
 
 site of the gardeii of Laertes — Ruins of the castle of 
 Ulysses upon mount Aito, and ancient city of Ithaca — 
 Position of the fountain of Ithacus — Identity of Ithaca 
 proved from Telemachuss voyage — Evidence from 
 Ulysses's voyage — Conclusion. 
 
 THE island of Ithaca, called Thiaki by the 
 modern Greeks, lies to the southward of Leucadia, 
 or Santa Maura. It is also separated from the 
 coast of Acarnania, by a channel of about fifteen 
 miles in breadth, which becomes, however, rapidly 
 wider, as the gulph of Lepanto opens to the south- 
 east. 
 
 A number of other inconsiderable islands are 
 scattered between it and the continent, the princi- 
 pal of which are the Telebo^e, the latter being, 
 however, chiefly situated between Leucadia and 
 the continent. A small island called Ataco, lies 
 about midchannel ; its name has given it some pre- 
 tension to the title of ancient Ithaca; it is too incon- 
 siderable, however, to be regarded as the rival of 
 Thiaki for that honour: indeed every object and every 
 circumstance connected with the latter, clearly in- 
 dicate that the modern Thiaki is the island de- 
 scribed by Homer as the residence of Ulysses. 
 
 The Echinades, a cluster of islands still more to 
 the southward, are also visible from Ithaca. They 
 are situated at the mouth of the Acheloiis : of these 
 
105 
 
 the most remarkable are the Oxiae ; a name well 
 applied on account of the ruggedness of their figure. 
 To the whole of the western coast of Ithaca is 
 opposed a part of the eastern coast of Cephalonia, 
 from which it is separated by a channel of irregular 
 width, varying from ten to about fifteen miles : 
 the beautiful bay of Samos opens its bosom nearly 
 opposite to the centre of Ithaca, from which it is 
 distant about ten miles. 
 
 These are the principal objects connected with 
 the geographical position of the island. In the 
 northern entrance of the channel is yet another 
 small islet called Dascallio ; it is the only one now 
 existing between Ithaca and Cephalonia : its claim 
 to notice shall hereafter be considered. 
 
 Ithaca is about fifteen miles long*. Its breadth 
 is very irregular, from the peculiarity of its figure. 
 It consists of two large masses of mountain, united 
 by a third, but of considerably less size than the 
 
 * Spon, with a view of reconciling StJabo's description of the 
 islands, applies the name of Ithaca to Ataco, the island mentioned 
 above, lying between Thiaki and the continent, as corresponding 
 with Strabo's account of the size of Ithaca. The same writer 
 calls Thiaki, Dulichium. This however is as contradictory of 
 Strabo's authority, as the other supposition ; for Strabo says that 
 Dulichium was one of the Echinades. It is clear that Ataco could 
 not have been the Ithaca alluded to by Homer, as Asteris is de- 
 scribed by him, as lying between it and Cephalonia; besides which. 
 Homer's account evidently implies the existence of two mountains 
 in Ithaca, whereas Ataco is a single rock. 
 
106 
 
 others^ and being of an oblong ridged shape, has 
 much the appearance of an isthmus connecting two 
 islands together. The remaining interval between 
 the two great mountains gives an opening to a very- 
 singular bay, which is decidedly the most remark- 
 able feature in the topography of the island. 
 Neritos, the largest of the two great mountain 
 masses, flanks the bay to the north. The second, 
 which is now called mount Stephanos, was pro- 
 bably the ancient Neios*, and forms the second 
 great prominent barrier to the southward of the bay, 
 which is called Port Molo. 
 
 Aito, or the eagle mountain, occupies the centre 
 of the island. Its elevation is, as was before said, 
 considerably less than that of the others, and as it 
 connects them together, it also backs the great 
 bay to the westward, which is nearly of an oblong 
 
 * These names are now universally applied to the objects de- 
 scribed, by whomsoever restored, invented, or conjectured. Sir W. 
 Gell has had a large share in the discovery, so as to have left indeed 
 nothing to future tourists, but to bring forward matter corroborating 
 or opposing his opinions. Homer points out Neios in describing 
 [jort Reithros, — 
 
 Od. b. 1. I. 185. 
 
 Where waving groves on airy Neios grow. 
 
 Supremely tall and shade the deeps below. Pope. 
 
 and again when Telemachus tells Nestor, 
 
107 
 
 square shape, its mouth opening to the east. Upon 
 the summit of Aito are the Cyclopean walls which 
 are supposed to be the remains of the castle of 
 Ulysses. There is yet another hill to the westward 
 of Neritos, to which it is connected by an isthmus, 
 and upon which are the ruins of a city to be described 
 hereafter ; this is a small mass at the northern ex- 
 tremity of the island : might this be the iEgylips of 
 Homer? Palmerius de Antiq. Graec. b. 4. c. 23. 
 conjectures that jEgylips and Crocyleum were parts 
 of Ithaca. 
 
 The whole of this island, like the others, consists 
 of a mass of secondary limestone. The structure 
 of the rock is here very rugged. The soil is so 
 scanty and superficial as to admit of the production 
 of hardly four month's consumption of corn for the 
 inhabitants, and even this small portion is raised 
 only by means of great labour. The declivities are 
 so great where the vine and currant are cultivated, 
 that the earth requires to be supported in terraces 
 raised one above another, so as at a distance to re- 
 semble the benches of a theatre. 
 
 The stony nature of the soil is, however, highly 
 favourable to the production of the currant and vine. 
 Both produce excellent fruit, and from the black 
 grape is made a red wine, much superior in flavour 
 to that of the other islands, but of inferior strength, 
 for which reason it requires careful management in 
 order to preserve it. 
 
108 
 
 The generally barren aspect of the land gives a 
 particular beauty by the contrast to many highly 
 interesting spots, the principal of which lie towards 
 the north west extremity of the island. 
 
 The rock exists mostly in loose insulated masses 
 at the surface. This is particularly observable upon 
 the western road, leading northwards by Lefki. 
 Near the latter village, at the foot of mount Neritos, 
 is a prodigious pile, which overhangs the road, and 
 gives great grandeur to the scenery. Several frag- 
 ments lie between it and the sea, which have been 
 torn away from time to time by the torrents, and 
 carried down the mountain's side. The force of 
 these torrents succeeding the heavy rains may readily 
 be conceived, from the rapidity and height of the 
 fall, the huge masses which they have borne down 
 along with them, and the depth, sharpness, and 
 roughness of the channels cut by them, in their 
 accelerated course to the sea. 
 
 The population of Ithaca, including its dependen- 
 cies, the chief of which is the island of Kalamos, 
 near the continent, amounts to nine thousand five 
 hundred, eight thousand belonging to Ithaca. In 
 the years 1813-14-15, the average produce of currants 
 amounted to two hundred thousand pounds weight 
 annually ; the value of each thousand pounds weight 
 being forty-two Spanish dollars. The annual average 
 produce of oil for the same years was, one thousand 
 five hundred barrels, at twelve dollari| medium 
 
109 
 
 price per barrel ; and of wine seventy thousand 
 sechi, (each containing twelve bottles.) 
 
 The annual revenue of the island amounted in 
 those years to ten thousand Spanish dollars. 
 
 The town of Vathi, which is the modern capital of 
 the island, contains two thousand two hundred and 
 fifty inhabitants. It is remarkable for its health 
 and cleanliness ; the principal street runs along the 
 sea side, and is about a mile in length : the houses 
 are all built of stone. Although few of the Ithacans 
 are rich, they are all so far placed above want, that 
 begging alms is unknown amongst them. Two 
 causes may be assigned for this happy medium, 
 in their circumstances ; the first arising in the in- 
 dustry of the inhabitants themselves. They are 
 greatly attached to a sea-faring life, not less than 
 one third of the effective part of the male population 
 was afloat in April 1819, busied in carrying on the 
 commerce of the neighbouring islands, as well as 
 that of their own. They build vessels of two 
 hundred tons burthen and upwards, the owners 
 having many of different classes, and being at the 
 same time the proprietors of lands and houses*. 
 
 * In the beginning of the summer of 1819, upon an excursion from 
 Zante to Ithaca, the author was singularly amused by an extraordi- 
 nary character, a native of the island. He owned a little boat 
 denominated Caichio, of about eight or ten tons, rigged out, 
 perhaps in the same manner as that which Ulysses built in four days. 
 
110 
 
 They also find employment upon the continent 
 
 in the island of Calypso, with bundles of vine twigs lashed along 
 the gunnel 
 
 " Ko^To,- iiXa^ tpt." Od. V. 1. 257. 
 (With yielding osiers fenced to break the force 
 Of surging waves, and steer the steady course.) Pope. 
 
 He was a tall gaunt figure, but well made; he had lost an eye, 
 and there was an expression of deep and undaunted fierceness in 
 his look, which could not but attract attention. He very uncere- 
 moniously took up a volume of Homer, with which the author had 
 been amusing himself, and which he had just laid down, and with 
 all the authority of the master in his own boat, expressed in his man- 
 ner, he demanded, if the author understood the literal Greek : upon 
 being answered in the affirmative, he observed, that most English 
 gentlemen knew it, and that he had accompanied many of them in 
 their tours. He lamented in a most pathetic and manly tone, the 
 degradation of his country, from the state in which it was, in the 
 days described by the author then in his hand, and expressed 
 himself very freely indeed upon the subject of the people of Parga, 
 the surrendry of whose territory to the Turks, was then in agitation. 
 The frankness of his manner brought on a conversation, which was 
 carried on in Italian, and Homer's presence naturally drew us upon 
 the events of the Trojan war, which were discussed with as much 
 interest, as if they were of modern occurrence, but that the Ithacan 
 had much the advantage of the author in recalling them. Of the 
 heroes concerned, Ulysses was naturally his favourite, to whom 
 Achilles was ventured to be opposed in comparison, as being the 
 greater of the two. An imputation of cowardice was here thrown 
 out against the great Achilles, who was said to have concealed him- 
 self in woman's clothes to avoid going to the war, until detected by 
 the crafty Ulysses. To this on the other side, was opposed the 
 conduct of Laertiades himself, who to evade the same summons to 
 the war was equally well known to have counterfeited madness 
 until detected by Palymedes. Here a parley ensued, and the 
 amende honorahle was made to the character of both heroes 
 reciprocally, by entering into their exploits during the war. 
 
Ill 
 
 when their agricultural labour is completed at 
 home. The absentees from the island accounted 
 for in this way, have sometimes amounted by the 
 returns to five hundred. The second cause, for the 
 comparative equalization of property amongst the 
 Ithacans, originated in the necessity under which 
 the diflferent governments had been placed in former 
 times, of giving encouragement to settlers from the 
 neighbouring islands, in order to keep up the popu- 
 lation : a decree exists in the archives of the island, 
 proposing a grant of land to strangers, for the pur- 
 pose of effecting its repopulation, as it had then 
 become nearly uninhabited. The Ithacans are 
 reckoned expert sailors, and to their excessive fond- 
 ness for the sea, the evil of emigration is in a great 
 measure to be attributed. 
 
 With regard to the antiquity of Ithaca, two points 
 offer themselves for discussion. First, the claim of 
 other islands to the name. Of these one only 
 deserves consideration ; but the size and situation 
 of Ataco will, as has been before stated, exclude 
 it from all pretensions with its rival. The second point 
 is, the local evidence existing in support of the con- 
 jecture in favour of the modern Thiaki. Little is to 
 be learned from tradition, as the island has been 
 repeatedly deserted by its inhabitants, and as often 
 colonized afresh from the others. It is probable 
 that these emigres carried with them, to the neigh- 
 bouring islands, their ancient customs and tradi- 
 tions, for which the excessive vanity of the Greeks 
 
would have taught them to preserve the greatest 
 veneration. The proximity of Cephalonia would 
 offer them an asylum, to which it is likely that the 
 greater number would resort ; and the facility of 
 transporting themselves and their effects, parti- 
 cularly to Samos, could not have been overlooked, 
 if indeed it did hold out to them those advantages 
 of security and ease, that, it would seem, their own 
 barren and defenceless rock always denied them. 
 Amidst the descendants of the Samians therefore 
 might possibly be found those deficiencies that 
 exist in the records of the destinies of Ithaca : 
 it would appear at least that this view of the matter 
 will remove the objection urged upon the grounds, 
 of the want of all traditional evidence in support of 
 the belief of even the actual existence of such an 
 island as Ithaca. 
 
 The general barrenness of the soil is the first cir- 
 cumstance noticed by the stranger on approaching 
 the island. Telemachus's description to Menelaus 
 will at once strike him*. 
 
 * " The coursers, for the champaign sports retain ; 
 That gift our barren rocks will render vain : 
 Horrid with cliffs, our meagre land allows 
 Thin herbage for the mountain goat to browse. 
 But neither mead nor plain supplies, to feed 
 The sprightly courser, or indulge his speed: 
 To sea-surrounded realms the Gods assign 
 Small tract of fertile lawn, the least to mine." 
 
 Pope. Od. book 4. 
 
113 
 
 The magnificent port that opens to receive him 
 upon the east coast, and by which the island is so 
 <ieeply indented as to be nearly divided into two, 
 conveys at once an emotion of surprise and delight. 
 If he have the good fortune to arrive while the water 
 in the outer channel is agitated, and have an anti- 
 pathy to the tossing of a vessel in a rolling sea, the 
 truth and the beauty of Homer s description will be 
 at once acknowledged by him with particular plea- 
 sure and satisfaction*. 
 
 * Od. b. xiii.iine 93 to 115 ; of which passage, the introduction 
 here of Pope's translation can require no apology.^ — 
 
 Now placM in order, the Phoeacian train. 
 Their cables loose, and launch into the main : 
 At once they bend, and strike their equal oars. 
 And leave the sinking hills and lessening shores. 
 While on the deck the chief in silence lies. 
 And pleasing slumbers steal upon his eyes. 
 As fiery coursers in the rapid race^ 
 Urg'd by fierce drivers through the dusty space, 
 Toss their high heads, and scour along the plain. 
 So mounts the bounding vessel o'er the main. 
 Back to the stem the parted billows flow. 
 And the black ocean foams and roars below. 
 
 Thus with spread sails the winged galley flies. 
 Less swift an eagle cuts the liquid skies^ 
 Divine Ulysses was her sacred load, 
 A man, in wisdom equal to a God ! 
 Much danger, long and mighty toils he bore. 
 In storms by sea, and combats on the shore : 
 All which soft sleep now banish'd from his breast. 
 Wrapt in a pleasing,, deep, and death-like rest. 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 Previously to entering the inner harbour, which is a 
 recess off the great port Molo upon the left hand side, 
 a little bay with an insulated rock in front presents 
 itself, called the bay of Dexia. It is usually visited 
 from town by a short walk round the curve of the 
 beach; or by taking a boat, if the visitor mean to 
 extend his excursion further. This interesting spot 
 
 But when the morning-star with early ray, 
 FlamM in the front of heav'n and pronais'd day ; 
 Like distant clouds the mariner descries. 
 Fair Ithaca's emerging hills arise. 
 Far from the town a spacious port appears 
 Sacred to Phorcys' pow'r whose name it bears ; 
 Two craggy rocks projecting to the main. 
 The roaring winds' tempestuous rage restrain ; 
 Within, the waves in softer murmurs glide. 
 And ships secure, without their hawsers ride. 
 High at the head a branching olive grows 
 And crowns the pointed cliff with shady boughs. 
 Beneath, a gloomy grotto's cool recess 
 Delights the Nereids of the neighbouring seas. 
 Where bowls and urns were form'd of living stone. 
 And massy beams in native marble shone ; 
 On which the labours of the nymphs were rolled 
 Their webs divine of purple mix'd with gold. 
 Within the cave the clustering bees attend 
 Their waxen works, or from the roof depend. 
 Perpetual waters o'er the pavement glide ; 
 Two marble doors unfold on either side; 
 Sacred the south, by which the Gods descend 
 But mortals enter at the northern end. 
 
 Thither they bent and haul'd their ship to Ismd, 
 (The crooked keel divides the yellow sand.) 
 Ulysses sleeping on his couch they bore. 
 And gently plac'd him on the rocky shore.^* 
 
115 
 
 is of a semicircular shape, it is edged by a silver margin 
 of lime-slone pebbles, behind which is a little plain, 
 sown with green corn and flax : the plain is encom- 
 passed by rocks, and nothing can exceed the beauty 
 of the verdure creeping through the rocky crevices, 
 with the profusion of wild flowers that spring up in 
 every sunny spot where they can take root. The 
 bees seem to occupy the place as of ancient right : 
 in our excursion we were actually pursued by a 
 noisy swarm, which were in quest of some favoura^ 
 ble chink to colonize in. In such a spot one might well 
 fancy the Nereids to love to dwell." The shore 
 is very shelving, and if a boat were urged by strong 
 rowers, no description could apply so well as that 
 of the arrival of the Phoeacian boat in the Odyssey. 
 At the northern angle of the bay of Dexia are the 
 remains of an immense cave, with the marks of the 
 chisel still existing in the face of the rock : the roof 
 has been destroyed, for the purpose of appropriating 
 the stones for building at Vathi. This sacrilegious 
 act has been committed within these few years, by 
 which has been destroyed, certainly, one of the most 
 interesting and romantic grottoes that existed. Part 
 of the southern entrance, which according to Homer, 
 was set apart for the Gods, is still to be seen, and 
 the site of that from the north, which was torn 
 away probably with the roof in blasting the rock, 
 may be readily supplied by fancy. At this latter, 
 which was only open to the unhallowed steps of 
 mortals, we most reverently took up our position : 
 The dark deep blue water reposed in the little silent 
 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 bay without motion, although a brisk northerly 
 breeze had curled the surface of the outer harbour, 
 and here indeed a boat might be said to ride in secu- 
 rity without a single mooring. One might figure to 
 himself Minerva dissipating the mist from before the 
 eyes of Ulysses, and pointing out to him Neritos, 
 with the olive, and every other endearing object, so 
 soon as the delusion had vanished which before had 
 wrapped up his senses. The cave was composed of 
 large stratified masses of rock in a tabular form, 
 with a dip nearly perpendicular to the horizon: 
 this may have given to the poet the idea of the long 
 stony looms*. 
 
 In the rear of Vathi at the south side is a valley 
 which runs from the southward and westward to- 
 wards the city ; it is one of those few spots in the 
 island which are only capable of cultivation, and is 
 accordingly covered with currants, vines, corn, and 
 flax, and every other production that the island 
 yields. Ancient sarcophagi are found scattered 
 through the vineyards. The remains of a very re- 
 markable one exist at about an hour's walk towards 
 the sea, passing the village of Cannellata. This ruin 
 consists of a flight of steps, cut in the solid rock, 
 and leading to a little elevated platform, in which 
 are the traces of several stone tombs, which have long 
 since shared the fate of their original tenants. In 
 
 * Ey ^\^oi XiSso/ -wjf *>»)>C£Ej. Od. b. 13. I 107. 
 
 For translation, vide thirty-sixth line of the last quotation fronii Pope. 
 
117 
 
 the bottom of this valley the winter torrent has worn 
 a deep, sharp, and rugged channel, in some places 
 exceeding ten feet in depth, on its way to empty 
 itself into the harbour of Vathi. Might this exceed- 
 ingly rough water-course have given the name to port 
 Reithros, in which the vessel of Mentes, king of the 
 Telebose, lay ? The etymology of the word implies 
 some such meaning, being derived from 'pw to flow, 
 and BpooQ, tumultuous noise. — The situation of the 
 port agreesVell with that of port Reithros of Homer ; 
 it was at a distance from the city, under mount 
 Neios, which is assumed to be the present mount 
 Stephanos, and would well suit the design of such a 
 visitor as Mentes, who merely touches here upon his 
 way to Temesis, his object not being apparently to 
 traffic with the Ithacans. 
 
 Korax and the fountain of Arethusa are situated 
 at the south-eastern extremity of the island, at about 
 two hour's walk from Vathi. The road leading to it 
 is extremely rough, from the hard, rugged, and 
 pointed form of the rocks ; so much so, that it is 
 customary to take a boat and to proceed thither by 
 sea. Homer more than once alludes to the difficulty 
 of the way between the fountain and the city*, 
 and in book 17. line 195. Ulysses very wisely asks 
 Eumeus for a stick. I should strongly recommend 
 to every tourist who undertakes the journey^ to 
 
 * Avrdf 0 £x Jtiju-Evo? i!rf05EC*j r§vix,ua,v droc^vovk Od, b. 14. Ul. 
 ^xvip^i^ eVhi} ec^lflpotXi eiMfjLimi y^ov. Od, b. 17. 1. 195-6. 
 
 I 3 
 
118 
 
 follow the example of the great overturner of 
 cities" and to use the same assistance. Korax is a 
 very beautiful white limestone cliff, fronting the 
 sea upon the south-eastern coasts Without much 
 effort of the imagination one might fancy it to re^ 
 semble the figure of a crow with his wings extended. 
 It is quite perpendicular, forming a dizzy precipice 
 of, perhaps eighty feet in height ; from the centre 
 issues a mountain torrent during the rains, the 
 addition of which at such seasons, must render the 
 scene magnificent indeed. Two convex banks of 
 earth incline from the base of each flank of the pre- 
 cipice, and unite so as to form a deep ravine between 
 them ; their swelling sides as they approach towards 
 the ravine, which descends again to the sea, are 
 covered with arbutus, mastic, myrtle, and othei* 
 fragrant evergreen shrubs. Half way down the dell 
 formed by their union, springs the lovely fountain 
 of Arethusa, where still the herds lead their animals 
 to water. There are several natural caves under 
 the northern flank of the precipice^ which are made 
 use "of by these poor people as dwellings, and afford 
 them, at least ample shelter from the northern blast. 
 The land above the cliff is level to a considerable 
 extent, and a little beyond the verge of the pre- 
 cipice, upon the left hand side of the bed of the 
 torrent, is a rock which is hollowed out by nature 
 in a very singular manner. It is broad and flat> 
 with irregular troughs of about six or eight feet in 
 length, and varying in depth from three to five feet. 
 These are made use of by the herdsmen, instead of 
 
119 
 
 pens or folds for their goats, swine, and other small 
 animals ; for this purpose they are admirably well 
 adapted ; a very simple contrivance, the addition of 
 a roof, or blocking up the entrance where they re- 
 quire it, will convert them into sties or stalls, to 
 which use these natural excavations are constantly 
 applied here as well as in other parts of the island. 
 There may be from thirty to fifty of these here 
 together, and they have so much the appearance of 
 being formed by art, that they are often mistaken 
 by travellers for worn ancient sarcophagi, which 
 they very much resemble. It is a curious coinci- 
 dence that the natives make use of the place nearly 
 after the manner that Eumeus is described to have 
 done in the Odyssey. One cannot avoid conjectur- 
 ing that this singular structure may have given rise 
 to Homer's idea of the stalls of Eumeus. 
 
 The singular beauty of the place, added to the 
 situation agreeing in^every circumstance of locality 
 with Homer's Korax and fountain of Arethusa, afford 
 striking evidence of the identity of modern Thiaki 
 and the ancient Ithaca. 
 
 Pursuing the excursion to the northward of Ithaca, 
 the ruin commonly called Homer's school, but upon 
 what grounds it is difficult to conjecture, is found 
 at the northern extremity of the island. The road 
 leading to it being exceedingly rough, it is usual for 
 visitors to take a boat to Mavrona upon the eastern 
 coast, and to return overland along the western 
 
120 
 
 coast by Leiki. The squalls from the mountains 
 at each side of the great port are very sudden 
 and changeable ; they are sometimes even violent. 
 The swell too that one has to encounter in the 
 channel between the promontory of Leucadia and 
 Ithaca is very uncomfortable in an open boat : 
 however, with a fair wind it is an expeditious route 
 and much preferable to the road, if it be not the 
 traveller's intention to undertake the arduous task 
 of climbing mount Neritos also upon the same day. 
 Proceeding then along the eastern coast by sea, 
 the pretty little village of Chione first opens to. 
 view through the mouth of a small harbour, which 
 is seen retiring into the land. It consists of 
 one hundred houses, all built of stone. The fresh 
 green of the orange and lemon forms an exquisite 
 relief to the parched tint of the mountain, 
 which is seen rising in the back ground : the 
 venerable INeritos towering above in all his 
 majesty of age. We look in vain however for 
 his waving woods, to reconcile us to the epithet 
 (£tvo(y/^vXXov) so constantly applied by Homer: 
 the lapse of nearly thirty ages has at length bereft 
 him of all his youthful locks, and nothing is now 
 to be seen but the gray limestone checquering the 
 arid and scanty vegetation upon his sun burnt brow. 
 
 There are a few other picturesque villages scat- 
 tered along the coast to the northward of Chione ; 
 from one of these, Mavron^, at about an hour's walk, 
 is Homer's school. It is the remains, probably of 
 
a little temple, erected upon ai\ eminence, which 
 overlooks the bay of Asphalles. The architecture 
 is of a stile which precludes all pretensions to an 
 age so remote as that in which the walls at Aito 
 were constructed : the former consisting of oblong 
 square masses of stone, laid upon each other without 
 cement, but in regular horizontal courses and per- 
 pendicular joints ; two under stones being covered 
 at the joining, by the middle of the one directly 
 above. This is of the same character with the 
 ancient building at Santa Maura, near the water 
 course (plate 1.) A stone was lately dug up in 
 the little garden adjoining this ruin, a sketch of 
 which is annexed, (plate VIII. fig. 2.) It probably 
 belonged to the cornice of the entablature, but it 
 does not appear, from this specimen, that the build- 
 ing was of any regular order : the ornament in the 
 angle would seem to represent a cluster of eggs, or 
 olives, over a cone in demi relief ; and shews it to 
 have been of an age much later than even that of 
 Pericles. 
 
 At the northern extremity, between port Friches 
 upon the eastern coast, and the bay of Polis to the 
 westward, facing Cephalonia, the island becomes 
 again narrow, forming a neck of high land, upon the 
 ridge of which are scattered the remains of an 
 ancient city, supposed to have been Alalcomene. 
 The buildings of this city, it would appear, were 
 all constructed in the stile of the little temple above 
 described; Rows of plinths of small columns are 
 
122 
 
 found in different places. The whole of this tract, 
 extending along the western coast from Polis to 
 Lefki, is well cultivated, producing corn, wine, and 
 flax. The grape and currant grow in the greatest 
 abundance; and the orange, lemon, almond, and 
 carouba, or locust trees, ar^ scattered along the 
 coast, and interspersed with green patches of corn 
 and flax, some of which hang beautifully upon the 
 craggy cliffs. A thick brushwood of mastic and 
 myrtle overtops the cultivated grounds, interrupted 
 by broken masses of rock, which project from the 
 mountain^ and give terrific grandeur to the scenery. 
 In this wild and luxuriant foliage, at the southern 
 extremity of the tract, is concealed the village of 
 Lefki ; it consists of about forty-five houses. This . 
 spot is rendered highly interesting, by Sir W. Gell's 
 ingeniously supposing it to be that which Homer 
 describes as the garden of Laertes. The poet would 
 probably have made Ulysses visit old Laertes first 
 upon his way to the city, if he had imagined him to 
 live at the same side of the island with the dwelling 
 of Eumeus. Admitting then that he lived at the 
 other side of the island, having the city between, 
 no place could answer so well the description of 
 the residence of the old Laertes. The conjecture is 
 exceedingly happy and tasteful. 
 
 A few miles to the southward of Lefki, is the hill 
 of Aito ; it is nearly a triangular prism in form, re- 
 sembling a tumulus with a very acute angle. The 
 walls of the acropolis are to be traced round the 
 
l2$ 
 
 whole of the summit, with the remains of two stfong 
 towers at the angles. The northern angle is con^ 
 siderably more elevated than the otherj and its 
 summit is bevelled off horizontally, so as to leave a 
 triangular platform^ the longest perpendicular of 
 which, running from north to south, (i* e. in the 
 continued direction of the ridge line,) is about fifty 
 paces : the base is about thirty paces. 
 
 We cannot suppose that the palace, such as it is 
 described by Homer, could have been erected 
 upon this space, much less that it could have includ- 
 ed a spacious court, in which the suitors proposed 
 to exercise the bow of Ulysses. The palace must 
 have been situated elsewhere, and not upon the hill 
 where the citadel stood ; as no other spot could be 
 assigned for it there excepting the space already 
 indicated. 
 
 The interval between the two towers is covered 
 by two parallel walls or curtains, and consists of a 
 ridge of exceedingly rough limestone rock, without 
 ia trace of building of any description. This space 
 might readily have sheltered the rough soldiery 
 that defended it from the enemy, but could have 
 been applicable to no other use whatsoever. The 
 eastern face of the hill is intersected by several 
 walls*, some of which run parallel with the citadel 
 
 * Plate IV. represents a portion of the citadel wall, and plate V. 
 a portion of the descending walls. 
 
124 
 
 wall, and others descend the hill perpendicularly to 
 those. This mode of defence, added to the steep- 
 ness of the face of the hill, rendered the place very 
 strong. The town was probably built in the square 
 compartments made by the intersections of these 
 walls, and was chiefly situated under the northern 
 tower. At the southern extremity is the cemetery. 
 Near the latter is a spring, supposed to have been 
 the chief source from whence the citizens were 
 supplied with water. Of this, strange stories are 
 told by the natives, how a traveller by calculating 
 a certain number of paces from the citadel, pre- 
 dicted, that upon digging, water should be found 
 there. The well however exists, whenever or by 
 what means its site was discovered. Nearly the 
 whole of the tombs have been excavated and 
 pillaged. It is said that many valuable articles 
 were found and melted down, or otherwise sacrificed 
 to the avarice or the ignorance of the discoverer ; 
 a fate that is likely to await many other valuable 
 pieces of antiquity that may lie buried in these 
 islands. The town situated as above described, 
 was not perhaps to be equalled in the difficulties of 
 its approach, and other inconveniences (as to us 
 they would appear to be) of situation, marking, 
 together with the structure of the walls, the 
 turbulence and insecurity of those remote and 
 warlike ages. 
 
 From the southern extremity of Mount Aito, 
 commencing at the spring and cemetery, a valley 
 
126 
 
 runs down between it and Stephanos, or Neios, 
 through the bottom of which a little rivulet flows 
 to the sea. Here was probably the fountain of 
 Ithacus*, which would thus correspond in situation 
 with that at which Ulysses and Eumeus met the 
 insolent Melanthius on their way to the city« 
 
 Sir W, GelFs description of the palace is evi- 
 dently a paraphrase of the text of Homer, no trace 
 of any thing of the kind being to be found here, 
 which, if the traveller expects to meet with, 
 although there is much else to gratify his curiosity, 
 he will be greatly disappointed. Admitting that 
 the great hero of the Odyssey, who also made so 
 conspicuous a figure in the Iliad during the war, 
 did occupy this post, of which the historical and 
 topographical evidence appear not to admit of a 
 doubt; it will be found to have been admirably 
 well adapted to the character of the times in which 
 he lived : it was secure against any surprise from 
 an enemy, by its insulated and elevated position, 
 occupying the top of a hill in the centre of the 
 island, commanding on one side a most excellent 
 harbour, and a roadsted (owigalTo) at the other, 
 facing the bay of Samos. The city of Samos, 
 
 * Where silver alders, in high arches twinM 
 Drink the cool stream and tremble to the wind. 
 Beneath, sequestered to the nymphs is seen 
 A mossy altar, deep embowered in green; 
 Where constant vows by travellers are paid, 
 And holy horrors solemnize the shade. 
 
 Popx, Od. b. 17. 1. 240. 
 
126 
 
 probably the most considerable in his dominions, 
 was in full view ; and at a short distance, even to 
 this day, the ferry between it and Ithaca exists at 
 this spot. 
 
 It may not be altogether uninteresting to sum up 
 the evidence in favour of the identity of Thiaki 
 and Ithaca. Little stress will be laid upon the 
 close resemblance in name, as the modern appel^ 
 lation may be a corruption of the old, arbitrarily 
 imposed and not traditional. The voyage of Tele- 
 machus corresponds with this supposition exceed^ 
 ingly well in every circumstance 'of time and place. 
 Telemachus starts from Ithaca with a fair, westerly 
 wind, at sunset, and arrives at Pylos the following 
 morning at sun-rise. He remains at Pylos the 
 second day, and starts for Lacedsemon on the third. 
 He rests that night at Pherae, at the house of 
 Diodes the son of Ortilochus, who was the son of 
 Alpheus, (the river upon which probably Pherae 
 was built.) He arrives at Lacedaemon upon the 
 night of the fourth day, where he remains the foi-r 
 lowing, (fifth day,) and upon the sixth, he starts 
 in the morning, (in the 15th book,) on his return 
 to Ithaca. He arrives at Pherae again on the night 
 of the sixth day ; the seventh at Pylos ; but instead 
 of returning to the house of Nestor, he prevails 
 upon his young friend Pisistratus, to drive him in 
 his chariot directly to the boat, where he embarks 
 upon the night of the seventh day. He passes by 
 a second Pherae, (spelt with £, the first with t?,) 
 
127 
 
 upon the sea coast, then cruises along the coast 
 of Elis of the Epeans, and next, to avoid the 
 ambuscade of the suitors, of which Minerva had 
 advised him, he passes through the " vmolalv ^orjaiv." 
 (sharp islands) probably the Oxise, and upon the 
 morning of the eighth day, he lands upon the nearest 
 point of Ithaca, whence he proceeds on foot to the 
 dwelling of Eumeus, where the meeting between 
 him and Ulysses takes place. 
 
 If the whole of this journey be traced in the maps, 
 assuming the Triphylian Pylos to be the Pylos of 
 Nestor, all the circumstances of the excursion of 
 Telemachus will appear to have great probability 
 in the narration. Pylos is distant from Ithaca about 
 seventy miles, and the direct distance between it 
 and Lacedaemon is about eighty ; Pylos is so 
 situated too, with respect to the sea, being accord- 
 ing to Strabo, thirty stadia distant, as to correspond 
 with the feasibility of Telemachus's plan, to leave 
 it on one side upon his return. The town of 
 Ephyra upon the river Selleis may be supposed to 
 correspond with the Pherse, which he passes by 
 before coasting along Elis. There is yet another 
 town called Aliphera, about midway between Pylos 
 and Lacedaemon, following the Alpheus towards its 
 source, which, if the name be traditional, may be 
 supposed to correspond with the Pherae of Diodes, 
 the descendant of Alpheus. It is true that Homer 
 might have wafted his young hero by a breath 
 from Minerva, but he choses to be extremely cir^- 
 
128 
 
 eumstantial at times in his details, and in his 
 geographical descriptions, is always wonderfully 
 correct. It is not unlikely that he may have gone 
 the same journey himself. 
 
 The evidence supplied by the voyage of Ulysses 
 is no less conclusive. The resemblance of port 
 Molo, to Homer's Phorcynus ; the existence of the 
 remains of the cave, which answers to the descrip- 
 tion of the grotto of the Nereids ; the distance from 
 it to the fountain of Arethusa ; the beauty of the 
 latter, with the singular cliff ; it's secrecy and re- 
 tirement rendering it so opportune, for the conceal- 
 ment of the father and son, and for the framing and 
 executing their enterprise: above all, the remains 
 of the castle and walls at Aito, however inadequate 
 to answer Homer's description in splendour, yet 
 corresponding so well in point of antiquity and 
 situation, that one might excuse a poet for enlarging 
 a little upon their magnificence. The ruins of the 
 city of Samos existing in full view, which is not a 
 little strengthened by the circumstance of the 
 ferry* affording a frequent and direct communica- 
 tion between the two islands at the present dayf. 
 The ingenious conjecture of Sir W. Gell, respecting 
 
 * The natural interpretation of the word iro^G/ixoj a creifw transeo. 
 
 t There is a direct communication between Vathi and Argostoli, 
 by this route, riz. over mount Aito, crossing the channel, and pro- 
 ceeding oTer the mountains of Cephalonia : a courier, or trajetiere, 
 as he was termed, in the Venetian dialect, conveys the letters and 
 despatches between the two governments by it ; it is the commoa 
 passage aho irom island to island. 
 
129 
 
 the garden of Laertes, is not to be overlooked, and 
 * the scene itself will furnish another source of 
 amusement to the literary traveller. 
 
 The whole island must afford ample enjoyment 
 to those, with whom such objects and the events 
 connected with them have been interesting, from 
 their very boyhood. The importance of the inquiry 
 need not to be dwelt upon ; each geographical and 
 topographical fact, furnishing demonstrative proof of 
 the truth of particular records, which, by their 
 collateral evidence, strengthen the great chain of 
 universal history. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CEPHALONIA. 
 
 General conjiguration of the Island — Aspect, Natu- 
 rally divided into four portions — one of these supposed 
 to be the Dulichium of Homer — improbability of this 
 portion ever having been insulated. — Gulph of Livadi 
 — Promontory of Argostoli — Mount Enos, or the 
 Black Mountain — Altar of Jupiter Enos, and 
 magnificent view from the top of the mountain. 
 
 CEPHALONIA, (K£</)aXX7?v>],) as it was originally 
 called, derived it's name from Cephalus, who fled 
 hither after the death of his wife Procis, whom he 
 accidentally slew with an arrow : the modern 
 name is Cephalonia. It is the most considerable 
 of the islands in point of size ; the circumference 
 is not easily calculated on account of its irregularity 
 of figure, but is generally reckoned to be about one 
 hundred miles ; and, being of a more circular figure 
 than Corfu, it contains more land within a less ex- 
 tent of coast. Both islands are reckoned to con- 
 tain the same number of inhabitants, viz. sixty 
 thousand. This island was once of much greater 
 
131 
 
 importance than it is at present. According to the 
 testimony of Thucydides it contained four cities, 
 Samos, False, Cranii, and Pronos, for which reason 
 it was called Tetrapolon : the ruins of these cities 
 will, as shall hereafter appear, shew, that the import- 
 ance which was attributed to it in the early ages, 
 was not without foundation. 
 
 Cephalonia consists of lime stone hills of secon- 
 dary^ formation ; it is very mountainous, and there 
 is but little level land capable of high cultivation. 
 The general mountain mass is irregular, the higher 
 parts occupying the centre of the island, and running 
 about north-west, and south-east, through its long- 
 diameter. Within about fifteen miles of the south- 
 east extremity, it is suddenly elevated into a very 
 lofty ridge, called Msyaxoi^ayo, (Megalovoono,) or the 
 great mountain ; the highest in the Ionian islands, 
 and in this quarter considered to be second in 
 height only to mount Olympus. 
 
 This formation gives the general surface a double 
 aspect, one of the faces inclining eastward, and the 
 other towards the west; subject however to the 
 irregularities arising from the various directions 
 of secondary ridges, and the intersections of valleys 
 and deep ravines. 
 
 This description applies to nearly the whole of 
 the island, which may yet be divided into four 
 portions, each distinguishable from the other, by 
 
 K2 
 
132 
 
 some natural separation ; and some of which have, 
 (since the days of Strabo,) given rise to specula- 
 tions with regard to its original conformation. 
 
 The first of the four portions is marked out by 
 the mass of Megalovoono above described, and 
 occupies nearly one third of the whole. It lies 
 towards the south, and is separated from the 
 northern part of the island, comprizing the district 
 of Erisso, by a deep valley, running from the bay 
 of St. Ephemia on the eastern coast, across the 
 island westward, and rendering each part so 
 distinct, as to have given rise to the idea, of the 
 latter having been completely insulated from the 
 former. Some have imagined that this portion 
 corresponded with the Dulichium of Homer*. This 
 appears plausible enough upon a superficial survey ; 
 for, the island becomes narrow at this point ; the 
 valley intercepted between the two portions, is but 
 little raised above the level of the sea, and the 
 masses themselves are of very different forms, one 
 being ridged, and the other flat and rounded off 
 at the top : to this might be added, that, to this 
 day, a little port in the district of Erisso retains 
 the name of Dulica. There are two ways in which 
 this change may be conceived to have taken place ; 
 first by the retreat of the sea, leaving the valley- 
 dry ; or, secondly by the filling up of the intervening 
 space, with the alluvial matter of the mountain at 
 
 * Strabo, Book X. says that Dulichium was one of the Echinades. 
 
133 
 
 each side ; or, it might be considered to be the 
 joint effect of both causes. 
 
 In whatever way we attempt to account for the 
 hypothesis, however, of the original existence of 
 two separate islands, difficulties present themselves 
 not easily to be surmounted. With regard to the 
 first way of explaining the phenomenon, should it 
 be admitted, it must also follow, that, at the same 
 period Leucadia was similarly insulated, and there 
 would have existed no necessity for the colony of 
 Corinthians undertaking the task of digging a canal 
 between that island and the continent: for, we 
 cannot conceive a depression of the level of the sea, 
 so partial as to affect the one and not the other ; 
 and in fact there are other, and much nearer water 
 marks, which shew, that no such change could have 
 taken place since the epocha of the existence of 
 these places : the ruins of Cranii extend to the 
 edge of the water on the plain, indicating that the 
 level of the sea could not have sunk, at least since 
 the erection of those very ancient walls. As to 
 the second mode of explaining it, that the imaginary 
 island has been united to the other by the accumu- 
 lation of alluvial matter, it is rather unfortunate 
 that, at the north-west extremity, the valley ascends 
 and becomes narrow; the original rock also pro- 
 jects through the soil in many places. Strabo, 
 (book X.,) asserts, that there is an isthmus near the 
 gulph, where the cities Palae and Cranii are, over 
 which the water occasionally washes from sea to 
 
 K3 
 
134 
 
 sea : this however has never been known to occur 
 in modern times. 
 
 The third and fourth natural divisions of the 
 island are made by an inlet of the sea, which deeply 
 indents the western coast, and forms there a 
 capacious and excellent harbour. This is called 
 the gulph of Livadi ; it nearly insulates the large 
 division upon the north, in which the town of 
 Lixuri is situated. Argostoli lies to the southward 
 of the gulph, upon the eastern face of the hills 
 forming the smaller division. 
 
 This inlet forms one of the peculiarities in the 
 topography of Cephalonia, and is thus formed : 
 at the south-west end of the island, a comparatively 
 low and flat range of hills projects for about two 
 miles westwards, and turning at a right angle 
 towards the north, continues in that direction about 
 four miles, becoming more high and ridged as it 
 runs northward, and embracing a portion of the 
 gulph ; this forms the peninsula of Livat6. At 
 about twelve miles northwards of the commence- 
 ment of this range, the land runs out again west- 
 ward, and wrapping round the extremity of the 
 first range at a wide sweep, forms a basin, into 
 which the extremity of the former projects like a 
 promontory. The shape of the inlet will therefore 
 nearly resemble the letter V, rendering the entrance 
 into, or exit from, the harbour of Argostoli rather 
 difficult, as the promontory is to be doubled going 
 
135 
 
 in and out. These ranges, which project thus from 
 the body of the island, as well as the other high 
 grounds in the neighbourhood of the gulph, were 
 originally a sand deposit. They are incrusted at 
 the top with limestone. The strata of sandstone 
 begin to appear about one third down from the top, 
 and abound in shells and other marine fossils. The 
 formation of carbonate of lime is here very rapid : 
 quarries, where fine landstone has been hewn, not 
 many years since, are covered, in many places, 
 with a coat of limestone. 
 
 Upon the neck of the peninsula, formed by the 
 first projection, is the castle of Fort Georgio, situated 
 upon a pinnacle, and well calculated for defence ; 
 but, by its remote position from the town and 
 harbour, of little use in affording protection to 
 either, and less adapted for carrying on offensive 
 operations. By much the grandest feature how- 
 ever in the topographical outline of the island, is 
 the Black Mountain*, called, as was before said, and 
 by way of eminence, Megalovoono, a term applied 
 universally by the modern Greeks to their largest 
 mountains. This is the celebrated mount Enos of 
 the ancients, which gave Jupiter one of his many 
 titles. It springs from the extremity of the island 
 
 * Pliny, in book IV. c. 12. says that the island of Cephalonia was 
 once called Melsena; and Palmerius in the IVth. book, chap. 24. 
 defends Pliny in this assertion, by a passage from Homer, Od, S. 
 V. 97. It would appear however that Homer means in this passage 
 the continent, and not the island of Cephalonia. 
 
136 
 
 range, attaining an elevation of about four thousand 
 feet ; the mass is of a very regular figure, two sharp 
 and well defended ridge lines running down north- 
 wards and southwards from the summit, where they 
 meet at an angle, which forms the apex. The 
 upper part of the mountain is clothed with dark 
 forests of pine, which, contrasted with the white 
 limestone, where in a state of decay it has given 
 way either to its own weight, or to the force of the 
 torrents which have deeply indented its sides, 
 assume a deeper shade in the distance, and have 
 given it the name of the black mountain. Through- 
 out the winter it is capped with snow, which 
 usually begins to fall in November, and is not 
 completely dissolved until April. The apex of the 
 mountain is readily discriminated by its position 
 and elevation: it is rounded off at the top for 
 about sixty paces' circuit, and is said to have been 
 chosen for the altar to perform sacrifices to Jupiter 
 Enos, and certainly a more appropriate place could 
 not have been selected. Small pieces of bone, in 
 a fossil state, some of them half burnt, which are 
 supposed to be of the victims offered up in sacrifice, 
 are found upon this point. The ceremony could 
 have been distinctly seen, not only from the other 
 islands in the Ionian sea, but from a great part of 
 the continent of Greece *. From such an elevation. 
 
 * In August 1819 a parly of officers went to see nM)unt Enos. 
 It was during a festival of Saint Gerasimo, the patron saint, to whom 
 a convent is dedicated, at the foot of the mountain. A beautiful 
 
13? 
 
 in the clear weather, and in the serene atmosphere 
 of this climate, the grandeur of the prospect may- 
 be well imagined. The most interesting object in 
 the grand panorama exhibited from this point, is 
 the little rocky island of Ithaca, lying as it were 
 at the spectator's feet : both its eastern and west- 
 ern coasts are seen together, and the great port in 
 the former appears over the hill of Aito. A ravine 
 commences from the root of the pinnacle upon which 
 he stands, carrying down with it a little rivulet 
 for several miles, until it opens into a beautiful 
 valley, terminating in the grand curve of the bay 
 of Samos. A second beautiful ravine descends at 
 the back of the former, for several miles through 
 the valley of Rackli to Poros. Towards Zante the 
 fall of the mountain is exceedingly bold and pre- 
 cipitous ; a narrow strip of land borders the base 
 upon that side, running between it and the sea, 
 being just sufficient to convey to the mind an im- 
 pression of the great depth at which it lies below. 
 
 The temple of Jupiter Enos is supposed by many 
 to have stood upon this spot; but there are no 
 traces of any building whatsoever, nor indeed would 
 
 scene was accidentally enjoyed by the party, the procession in 
 honour of the Saint having commenced about an hour before day- 
 light, when it was caught in our ascent, at a great depth below : 
 the tolling of the bells and long moving lines of the torches at this 
 hour^and from this point of view, (being directly beneath us at the 
 depth of perhaps a thousand feet) produced an effect indescribably 
 sublime and beautiful. 
 
138 
 
 the assumed area admit of it ; and the ridges and 
 other points of the Black Mountain are too con- 
 tracted, and the sides too steep, to allow of the 
 erecting a temple of the smallest size upon any 
 part of it. 
 
139 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 District of Livatd — village Passades — plain of Cranii — 
 Districts of Led, Cataled, and Scala — Ruins of an 
 ancient city at Scala — Roman baths and Temple. — 
 Doric Temple, probably, of Jupiter Ems — remains 
 of the city said to be seen under water at three miles 
 distance from the shore — District of Rackli — -Ejt- 
 traordinary outlet for the waters of the valley at 
 Poros — Mountain lake at Cataracho — Ruins in the 
 valley of Rackli — Plainof Samos — Cyclopean ruins at 
 Samos — Promontory of Mitica — Remarks upon Sir 
 W. GeWs conjecture, that this is the Asteris of Homer. 
 
 THE richest and most picturesque parts of Cepha- 
 Ionia are at the southern extremity of the island, 
 and surrounding the base of mount Enos. The soil 
 is formed out of the debris of the mountain, which 
 have been washed down by the rains. The district 
 of Livat6, in which is the town of Argostoli, is 
 wholly independent of this formation, being an 
 original marine or sand deposit, as was before 
 described, and nearly insulated by the gulph, from 
 the body of the island. The faces of the hills in 
 
140 
 
 this district, fronting partly westward, and partly 
 southward to the sea, are covered with vineyards 
 and olives, and a great quantity of currants are 
 produced in the vicinity of the town of Argostoli. 
 A number of beautiful little villages occupy the 
 heights, and the cultivated sides of the hills : of 
 these Pessades is the largest. It faces Zante, and 
 is the usual route for passengers between the two 
 islands, being much more expeditious than that by 
 the port of Argostoli, the entrance into, or exit 
 from which, is generally attended with delay and 
 difficulty. A rich plain is formed in the concave 
 curve of the peninsula, situated between the castle 
 and the southern extremity of the gulph. It pro- 
 duces abundance of the large white and red grapes, 
 but, owing to the rankness and wetness of its 
 bottom, their flavour is not at all esteemed. This 
 is the plain of Cranii. There are excellent roads 
 through the whole of this district. 
 
 Part of Livato, the districts of lossemia Leo, and 
 vScala lie to the southward, upon the coast facing 
 Zante. The whole of the country along this tract 
 is well cultivated, and the sc-enery very beautiful : 
 The Black mountain borders it upon the north- 
 east, elevating its lofty top into the clouds, and op- 
 posing an impenetrable barrier to the cold winds 
 which blow from the mountains of the Grecian con- 
 tinent, even until late in the spring. The olive tree 
 flourishes here and yields most abundantly ; the dis- 
 trict of Le6 derives its appellation from this circum- 
 
141 
 
 stance, being so named from tXaia (elaia) the olive. 
 Catoleo is a portion of the same district, which is 
 situated low, and is surrounded with hills, so as 
 to give it the appearance of a cup, with an open- 
 ing to a little sandy beach, where small boats may 
 be drawn up. 
 
 The district of Scala is at the south-eastern ex- 
 tremity of the island, a beautiful and highly in- 
 teresting spot. The little village of Scala, so named 
 from the houses being built upon a knee of the 
 mountain, one standing above another so as to re- 
 semble stairs, is situated upon the higher parts, 
 from whence may be seen, the coast of Elis and the 
 opening of the gulph of Lepanto, with the moun- 
 tainous coast of Achaia. The village contains 
 about eight hundred inhabitants. The district of 
 Scala is of a triangular shape, constituting the south- 
 east angle of the island, and is situated between the 
 mountain and the sea. The soil is poor, the sur- 
 face being sandy, upon a stiff clayey bottom. There 
 is but little cultivation, the whole being nearly 
 overrun with fern ; the scenery is beautiful, from the 
 profusion of shrubs and evergreens, amongst which, 
 in July, the rhododendron, with its beautiful and 
 brilliant scarlet blossoms, makes a delightful con 
 trast. The remains of an ancient city are marked 
 out here by several ruins ; the foundations and scat- 
 tered fragments of a temple, stone tombs cut in 
 the rocks, and the remains of Roman baths, with a 
 
142 
 
 little temple adjoining, built of brick. The baths 
 are situated upon the left bank of the bed of a little 
 river, now nearly dried up, or dwindled down to a 
 brook, and which has all the appearance at its 
 mouth, of having been once larger : it opened to 
 the northward of Capo St. Anastasio, but its mouth 
 is now choked up with sand. The little chapel be- 
 longed to the baths, of which the ruins of about 
 twelve may be traced. Tesselated pavement is 
 found all around, and that of the little chapel is 
 nearly intire, being covered over, and hitherto pro- 
 tected from injury, by the rubbish of the roof and 
 parts of the building which had fallen in : the stream 
 that runs by it, once probably possessed medicinal 
 properties : the baths were built at the side of the 
 glen through which it runs, for the purpose of using 
 the waters. St. Anastasio, however, now monopo- 
 lizes the whole. At a short distance from the bath 
 is a very large old quarry of tufa, whence the stone 
 was taken for the temple and other parts of the 
 ancient city. The ruins of the stone temple are 
 situated at a place called St. Georgio, close to the 
 beach ; it appears to have been of the same kind as 
 that of the temple of Apollo at Capo Ducato, as 
 fkr as the remains can be compared together: 
 both were built of the same material, tufa ; a simi- 
 lar disproportion of the length to the breadth ap- 
 parently obtained in both ; and the position of each, 
 at the southern extremity of either island, is as 
 nearly as possible similar. Might this have been 
 
143 
 
 the temple of Jupiter Enos* ? its small size seems 
 to be an objection, although it appears to have been 
 fully as large as the celebrated temple of the Leu- 
 cadian Apollo ; and perhaps the fame of Jupiter Enos 
 was derived more from the grandeur of the moun- 
 tain than from the magnificence of the temple. 
 It is said that when sacrifices were performed at 
 this temple, the same ceremony was repeated upon 
 the vertex of mount Enos, which could be seen 
 over a great part of the Morea and the Continent of 
 Greece. That a considerable city existed at Scala 
 is certain, from the remains found existing there 
 now, which seem to explain some extraordinary 
 facts, and to give colouring also to some curious 
 assertions made not only by the people of the neigh- 
 bourhood but by many others, relative to a city 
 said to be sunk under water, about three miles 
 distance from the shore. Many persons affirm that 
 they have passed over the shoal, and have seen 
 under water in the clear weather the foundations of 
 houses or other buildings of cut stone: the shoal 
 is called KaKa(iw, (Cacavo,) in the language of 
 the country, signifying the bad cape." Many ships 
 have been lost upon this shoal : one laden with 
 currants ran upon it in the summer of 1819; she 
 was obliged to throw out some of her cargo, and 
 suffered' considerable damage from the accident. 
 
 * There is a little islet olF the south-west angle of the island called 
 by the natives A*oj, (Thios,) upon which are said to be ruins of a 
 temple also ; this from the name is intitled to some claim for the 
 honour. 
 
144 
 
 The ledge is not laid down in the charts, but 
 country vessels that know the coast, steer at least 
 five miles wide of this point of the island. 
 
 Admitting the fact of which, I have rather some 
 doubt*, the phenomenon of the sunken city must be 
 
 * The circumstance of a city sunk under water at such a dis- 
 tance from the shore, (viz. about three miles,) believed by all the 
 people of the neighbourhood, and testified by many others, with 
 the facts here stated, seeming to be further borne out by the 
 peculiar dip of the strata, which are hove up northwards to the sea, 
 and terminate here in a very abrupt and lofty cliff, induced the 
 author to make a second excursion to Scala, for the purpose of 
 ascertaining the truth of so extraordinary a fact. A very calm 
 morning was chosen, and a row-boat with a man and boy reached 
 the placa (as it is called) in forty minutes from cape Munda, and 
 proceeding exactly in the direction of Capo Chiarenza upon the 
 Morea, we reached the ledge of rocks, about one hour after sun- 
 rise. For ten minutes after leaving the beach, we ran over a shoal 
 consisting of ledges of sandstone, of the same composition as those 
 of the corresponding mountains upon the shore. The bottom could 
 be seen nearly all the way, being only broken occasionally by the 
 blue water. From this to the time of our arrival upon the placa, 
 the bottom was visible by the projection of the ledges, here and 
 there, interrupted by a frightful abyss between them : we sounded 
 over the placa^ with a boat hook, at two of the most superficial 
 points, which marked thirteen feet depth of water. Being deter- 
 mined not to conclude hastily concerning the object of our excur- 
 sion, one hour and a half was devoted to a steady observance of the 
 bottom, while the boat floated over it, impelled backward and for- 
 ward gently by the oars; no trace of any thing like masonry 
 however could be seen, and probably the opinion has arisen 
 from the appearance of the rocky ledges, forming straight lines at 
 their edges. This information may be at least useful to any who 
 have occasion to pass this way ; the natives say, that the ledges 
 occur occasionally for a distance of nearly five miles from the point 
 
145 
 
 explained in one of three ways : first, that it was 
 built upon an island which was sunk by an earth- 
 quake; or, secondly, that, it was originally situated 
 upon the island of Gephalonia, from which it was 
 separated by a similar convulsion ; or, thirdly, that, 
 having been built upon the extreme point of the 
 island, the intervening soil has been washed away 
 by the water, and possibly the catastrophe was 
 completed by an earthquake, or by the giving way 
 of the earth that supported the foundations. That 
 the whole coast is subject to various and great 
 revolutions is highly probable, from the nature of 
 the substratum that supports the soil ; it consists 
 mostly of sandstone and calcareous breccia, which 
 has been washed down from the mountain. The 
 ruins now found upon the land side, are sunk many 
 feet under the soil ; the temple of St. Georgio was 
 discovered at a depth of six feet below the surface ; 
 and at Samos, the ruins under water are traced to 
 a great distance from the shore. 
 
 Proceeding from the southern extremity of the 
 island, and having gained the summit of the last 
 divergent root of mount Enos to the south, by the 
 
 of the island, and accordingly they always give the point a yv'ide 
 sweep here in doubling it. The facts, and opinions also, which have 
 come to the author's knowledge are here stated, in order to assist 
 in establishing the truth ; for these submarine ruins, which are so 
 positively asserted by some to exist, may have escaped his search, 
 and should they be discovered by a yet more patient investigation 
 they would, he conceives, exhibit a very extraordinary phenomenon, 
 in natural history. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 village of Scala, a most romantic and beautiful valley 
 opens at once upon the view : this is called the dis- 
 trict of Rackli, anciently Heraclea, as containing a 
 city or town of that name, or perhaps the valley was 
 simply so called. Three mountain ridges unite so 
 as to shut it up completely,- giving it the form of a 
 deep basin : the chief of these is the black moun- 
 tain upon the south-west; another called Atros 
 is a secondary ridge which runs from Samos along the 
 coast ; the third unites the other two, and faces the 
 south-east, it is called Coronus. The whole district 
 is completely surrounded by these lofty ridges : the 
 bottom is very fertile, being flat and extending for 
 about four miles through its longest diameter. The 
 ridge running along the sea-coast is divided by a 
 very singular cleft, which cuts through the mass of 
 the mountain perpendicularly from top to bottom, 
 and furnishes the only exit for the whole of the 
 waters collected in the district, including the tor- 
 rents that come from the east side of mount Enos. 
 In heavy falls of rain, and when the snows dissolve 
 upon the mountain, the accumulated waters rush 
 with amazing impetuosity through this passage, 
 which derives its name Pores, from this circum- 
 stance. The passage is cut so clean through the 
 body of the mountain, the sides are so perpendicu- 
 lar, and the outlines so sharp, that one cannot avoid 
 conjecturing that the whole district of Rackli had 
 been once a deep lake, and that the waters had 
 gradually worked their passage out, or possibly that 
 the latter might have been effected by the labour of 
 
147 
 
 man, for the purpose of appropriating the rich bot- 
 tom to his use: this indeed is the tradition, or at 
 least, fancy of the inhabitants. Rackli is more pro- 
 ductive than Le6 and the other districts to the west- 
 ward of the black mountain ; this is said to be on 
 account of the stones intermixed in the soil, which 
 retain the moisture when, in other apparently more 
 fertile spots, it has been expended by the heat. This 
 account is rational enough; added to which, the 
 positive quantity of water is greater, from the 
 abundant sources that supply it. Near the village 
 of Cataracho is a curious reservoir, but common in 
 similar mountainous situations called aj5la0og, (avi- 
 athos,) in the language of the country, probably 
 meaning without bottom. This is a very deep basin 
 at the foot of a lofty peak of the mountain; the 
 width does not exceed fifty paces across, but the 
 depth is unknown : some idea may be formed of it 
 however by throwing in a white stone from a height, 
 which will be seen descending for a considerable 
 time. Many superstitious notions are entertained 
 concerning this lake ; it is supposed that no animal 
 escapes death that falls into it, and that no part of 
 the body ever appears afterwards; also, that the 
 little brook which flows from it is not increased by 
 the winter rains, nor diminished by the summer 
 heat : a very unusual circumstance in mountain 
 brooks, and particularly in these countries. How- 
 ever, these mysterious properties are easily ac- 
 counted for by the steepness of its sides, and 
 the depth of its bottom; rendering it impossible 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 for an animal to extricate himself when once fallen 
 in ; but little of the winter rains, go to feed it, 
 and its sources are so deep, that the summer heats 
 cannot reach them. The reservoir has one incal- 
 culable advantage however in this country, that it 
 gives rise to a perennial brook, which in its course 
 to the sea turns fourteen little water mills : these in 
 the dry weather, and when calms prevail, so as to 
 render the windmills useless, and almost to threaten 
 the island with famine, continue to work, and 
 supply the people not only of Cephalonia but Ithaca 
 with flour. Besides the utility of this little stream, 
 nothing can be more beautiful and romantic than 
 the entangled dell that conducts it in its wander- 
 ing busy course to the sea. A thick cover shades 
 its banks composed of mastic, myrtle and wild olive ; 
 the bitter laurel, (7nKpo^a(j>vri,) as it is called by the 
 natives, grows here in luxuriance, and the broad 
 plane tree waves its golden branches over the brook 
 in wild magnificence. The copse abounds with 
 game in winter; abundance of woodcocks, with 
 hares, partridges, and snipe, afford excellent sport ; 
 it is about four hours' ride from Argostoli. The 
 black mountain at this side, exhibits a very bare 
 aspect ; a large quantity of the timber having been 
 burnt in the last year of the Venetian government, 
 some say by accident, others affirm that it was done 
 designedly, as, in the following season the ground 
 was sown with barley, which is said to have pro- 
 duced sixty fold ! and so great was the productive- 
 ness, that, as our informant stated, a spontaneous 
 
149 
 
 crop arose in the second season, yielding again 
 twenty fold 1 Bones of serpents of a prodigious 
 size, are said to have been found after the confla- 
 gration. So rich a plain as Rackli could not have 
 escaped the enterprizing spirit of the Peloponnesi- 
 ans in the time of colonizing; accordingly traces 
 of ancient buildings are to be found in every part ; 
 and square stones of immense size are scattered 
 through the valley, many sunk to a great depth in 
 the soil. The remains of a strong citadel are also 
 found upon one of the peaks above the village of 
 Coronus, belonging to the old city Pronos*. This 
 ruin resembles all the other ancient fortresses in 
 the islands in position, being surrounded by a 
 Cyclopean v^^all, and containing within, three or 
 four cisterns cut in the rock. 
 
 The ridge of Atros, which, as was before de- 
 scribed, runs along the sea coast from Samos, 
 shutting out the district of Rackli from the sea, 
 includes also another mountainous and barren dis- 
 trict, between it and mount Enos, named Pirgi ; 
 to the northward of which again, lies the rich valley 
 of Samos, and the most remarkable and interesting 
 of any in the island. Behind the beautiful circular 
 
 * Philip of Macedon arriving from the Morea first landed here ; 
 but finding that the castle of Pronos could not stand a siege, in 
 case of his having to defend himself there, and further, that it was 
 insufficient to hold his army, he advanced to the city of Palae : 
 he invested this city and breached the walls, but was subsequently 
 forced to raise the siege. Vide Polybius, beginning of the fifth book. 
 
 L3 
 
150 
 
 bay of Samos, this rich and cultivated plain extends 
 for about eight miles between the mountain and the 
 sea, gradually sloping down to the beach. More 
 than two miliaria of com are produced here ; and of 
 course so rich a spot, and one So well calculated for 
 commercial as well as agricultural purposes, could 
 not have been overlooked by the enterprizing people 
 of Corinth, who very speedily established a colony, 
 and built a city, of which the ruins at the present 
 day, declare at once its strength and opulence. 
 The city lay at the southern horn of the bay, directly 
 in front of the hill of Aito, in Ithaca, upon which the 
 ruins of Ulysses's castle stand. A great many of 
 the foundations of the buildings of Samos are now 
 seen under water, and many are found upon the 
 rising grounds adjoining. There are two very re- 
 markable hills, which are nearly of a conical shape, 
 situated between the beach and the great mountain 
 mass that extends to the right of the bay : upon 
 the top of each of these are the walls of a powerful 
 acropolis, and their sides and bases are covered 
 with ruins of cyclopic. They are divided from each 
 other by a deep ravine, which also separates them 
 from the mountain behind. 
 
 The southern acropolis was by far the most consi- 
 derable in size, position, and the strength of its 
 walls. The valour of the Roman soldier, who under 
 Fulvius had to encounter an enemy over his head, 
 in ascending the acclivity upon which the castle 
 stood, was not to be subdued. The whole of Livy's 
 
151 
 
 description of the siege and capture of this place, 
 corresponds so accurately with every object in the 
 scenery, as it now presents itself to the traveller, 
 as to be extremely interesting. 
 
 The Samians, according to Livy (book 38. c. 28.) 
 held out against the Romans under M. Fulvius for 
 four months. " Quatuor menses obsidionem Same 
 sustinuit, quum ex paucis quotidie aliqui eorum ca- 
 derent, aut vulnerarentur, et qui superarent, fessi et 
 corporibus, et animis essent; Romani nocteper arcem, 
 quam Cyatidem vocant, (nam urbs, in mare devexa, in 
 occidentem vergit) muro superato, in forum super- 
 venerunt. Samaei, postquam captam urbis partem 
 ab hostibus senserunt, cum conjugibus ac liberis in 
 majorem refugerunt arcem, inde postero die dediti, 
 direpta urbe, sub corona omnes venerunt." 
 
 The greater part of the cyclopean wall surrounding 
 the apex of the hill is yet to be traced ; the ruins are 
 of a much superior style of building to others of the 
 same description, and probably of the same era ; the 
 stones are mostly squared and laid in courses, and 
 perpendicular joints, as uniformly as buildings of the 
 present day, which would seem to imply that they are 
 of later date, or that, in those ages, the Greeks used 
 the regular masonry, but did not adopt it in all 
 places, perhaps, on account of the great labour and 
 expense attending such works : hence, possibly may 
 be accounted for, the different descriptions of build- 
 ing, not only in the same city, but in the same wall. 
 
152 
 
 These walls are all of the most massive construction. 
 In the eastern face of the southern acropolis a stone 
 passage and gateway, with the channel for a portcullis, 
 remain nearly perfect *. In Plate VII. is a represen- 
 tation of a portion of a wall of the same acropolis to 
 the north-west : this line defended the approach by 
 the ravine which separates the conical hill, upon w^hich 
 the acropolis is built, from the mountain at the land 
 side ; and the particular portion, represented in the 
 sketch, was constructed with those remarkable long 
 stones, in order that the wall might project over the 
 precipice, to hinder an assailant from making his way 
 round the extremity. The second fortress appears 
 to have been subservient to the other just now de- 
 scribed. A Venetian convent had been erected upon 
 the foundations of a temple, or other large building 
 contained within it, in the year 1633, as appears 
 from an inscription over the gate: the modern 
 superstructure is now rapidly mouldering away, 
 while the old wall still bids defiance to the hand of 
 time. Two old monks inhabit this place, one up- 
 wards of ninety, and the other seventy years of age; 
 the latter. Papa Spiro Giacomo Zerv6, is an intel- 
 ligent old man : he is acquainted with the old Greek, 
 and has read Homer : he recollects his father, and 
 the oldest men in his youth, believing the island, 
 now called Thiaki, to have been the island of Ulysses 
 (Odysseps, as he pronounced it). The tradition 
 amongst these people is, that Telemachus removed 
 
 * Vide Plate VI. 
 
153 
 
 from Ithaca after the death of Ulysses, and held his 
 residence at Samos; that, at this period, the city 
 consisted of fourteen thousand houses, and that the 
 Samians had fourteen triremes. 
 
 Towards the beach are the foundations of build- 
 ings which run for several hundred paces under 
 water. These are all of cut stone, besides which, 
 are several masses of Roman brick, one the ruins of 
 a bath ; fragments of tesselated pavement are picked 
 up from under the water in the neighbourhood. 
 Amongst other ruins here, is a line of wall which 
 runs for several hundred paces to the southward of 
 the fishermen's huts, which are now called Sam6 ; 
 this is supposed by the natives to have formed part 
 of a basin in which the Samian gallies were kept. 
 Behind the ruins, and a little higher up the valley, 
 is the cemetery; many of the tombs have been 
 opened, and trinkets of gold and silver, and a metal 
 plate, probably a looking-glass, have been found, but 
 nothing valuable has been as yet discovered. Re- 
 searches, conducted by people of intelligence, might 
 be rewarded with discoveries here and in other parts 
 of the island, highly interesting to ancient history 
 and literature ; but very little encouragement is given 
 to such undertakings, and those who do attempt them 
 are generally wholly unqualified for the task. 
 
 To the southward of the acropolis is a promontory 
 which runs out to a considerable distance towards 
 Ithaca, called in the maps. Cape Mitica; from this 
 
154 
 
 projecting point is a view of the coast of Elis, and of 
 the opening of the gulph of Lepanto. This promon- 
 tory is peculiarly interesting; it has been conjec- 
 tured by Sir William Gell, that it was formerly in- 
 sulated, and probably that it might have been the 
 Asteris of Homer. Sir William offers another inge- 
 nious conjecture with regard to the signification of 
 the word, vmog, in Homer, which he supposes to be 
 applicable to a promontory, such as the one under 
 consideration, as well as to an island ; this seems to 
 be fully borne out by the fact, that to this day the 
 natives call the place to wqv (to Nisi), in the language 
 of the country. Palmerius, in book 4. ch. 2^. de Ant. 
 Graec. offering a conjecture that Crocyleum was a 
 promontory of Ithaca, attributes the same meaning to 
 vriQog: thus, Peloponnesus, the peninsula of the 
 Morea, was so called from the word Pelops and 
 nesos. It may be worth mentioning, that there is a 
 very good port at each side the promontory for small 
 craft, still bringing it to correspond more nearly 
 with the Asteris of Homer. The bay of Samos 
 abounds in fish, particularly with red mullet. A 
 beautiful scene is here often exhibited upon the 
 water, a number of fishing boats being usually em- 
 ployed in the calm weather, when the lights which 
 they use at night to decoy the fish, are reflected over 
 the glassy surface of the bay, in long columns of 
 liquid fire, as it were, to the shore : how delight- 
 ful the peace and stillness of such a scene, contrasted 
 with the dreadful revolutions and devastations that 
 this unfortunate city must have undergone, in its 
 
J55 
 
 storming and plundering by a Roman army, and its 
 subsequent annihilation by an earthquake * ! 
 
 * The author experienced a slight shock of earthquake about 
 midnight, on the 19th of November, 1819, upon an evening such 
 as is above described, whilst lying in a house close to the beach 'y. 
 the waters of the bay were previously smooth as glass, and in a few 
 minutes after the shock, the surges arose and continued to lash the 
 shore for several hours. 
 
156 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Towns of Argostoli and LLviiri — Rapid progress in 
 building — Population — Earthquakes — Bridge of Tra- 
 pano — Ruins of Ci^atiii — Of the Cyclopean building 
 in general. 
 
 WHEN we turn from contemplating the massive 
 ruins just described, to consider the little defence- 
 less towns and villages that have grown up under 
 other auspices and in other ages, we cannot avoid 
 entering into comparative speculations of their re- 
 spective inhabitants ; in the one, we shall recognise 
 the gigantic efforts of a people, wedded to liberty, to 
 preserve their independence, but we must, at the 
 same time, acknowledge the predominance of an am- 
 bitious and restless spirit in their neighbours, by 
 which they were continually harrassed and their 
 security endangered : in the others, weakness and in- 
 significance gladly embrace the aid of foreign protec- 
 tion, to insure to them tranquillity, and the exemp- 
 tion from all energy or exertion. 
 
 Argostoli and Lixuri, the only towns now in the 
 island, seemed to have shared the honours and 
 
157 
 
 advantages of a metropolis between them, until the 
 establishing of the courts of justice, of the local go- 
 vernment, and offices connected with it, and of the 
 head quarters of the British garrison at Argostoli; 
 since which a new impulse has been given to specu- 
 lations in building, and the purchase of lands ; so that 
 the latter town has more the appearance of activity 
 and stir, than any other in the islands. There are 
 about 5,000 inhabitants here, and the same number 
 in the town of Lixuri ; the circumstances above 
 mentioned have, however, drawn away, and still 
 continue to entice, many settlers from Lixuri to 
 Argostoli. The houses are all built of stone and 
 of very solid workmanship, to enable them to with- 
 stand the shocks of earthquake, which are very 
 frequent, and occasionally very violent : the better 
 to effect this purpose, the best constructed have 
 iron clamps in various parts of the v^alls, and ge- 
 nerally at each corner is a raised pilaster of cut 
 stone ; this and other little architectural ornaments 
 are executed in the Venetian manner. The low 
 and paltry dwellings erected upon the foundations 
 of many others of these palaces, as they are called, 
 give awful memento, to the inmates of these latter 
 stately edifices, of what they may expect from 
 earthquakes. The town consists of one long street, 
 which runs close by the beach ; it is tolerably clean 
 and well built. The water is deep, which renders 
 the air pure, excepting during a long prevalence 
 of the Sirocco wind in the hot weather, which, 
 with other inconveniences, carries most offensive 
 
158 
 
 exhalatioas from the shallow part of the inlet 
 situated to the southward of the town. These 
 proved highly deleterious to the inhabitants and 
 the garrison in tlie summer of 1815 : in that season 
 no less than eighty soldiers out of one company 
 of the 14th regiment were carried off by remittent 
 fever. 
 
 A little quadrangle occupies the centre of the 
 town, where the markets are held ; this has been 
 lately begun to be flagged with tomb-stones brought 
 from the ruins of Samos : a few letters rudely in- 
 scribed may be traced upon some of them, but all 
 now nearly obliterated. A public work of more 
 utility however does great credit to the spirit of the 
 inhabitants, at whose expense it was completed, 
 together with the contributions of other islanders 
 concerned. This is the bridge of Trapano, which 
 crosses the gulph at the southern extremity of 
 Argostoli, affording an excellent road between the 
 town and country, by which the communication is 
 shortened four or five miles, and an almost impracti- 
 cable mountain road round the lake avoided to the 
 peasants, who have to convey their goods to the 
 market in the city. The walls of the bridge are of 
 cut limestone, and instead of arches, strong planks 
 of oak are thrown across connecting the piers horri- 
 zontally, by which a most excellent, wide, and level 
 road is carried over this angle of the lake. The 
 centre is occupied by a little insulated platform, in 
 the middle of which is a pyramid, containing an 
 
159 
 
 inscription in four different languages, one upon 
 each side. The inscription is To the Glory of 
 the British nation, the inhabitants of Cephalonia, 
 1813." 
 
 The unlimited authority vested in the military 
 chief, as Capo di Governo, previously to the pro- 
 mulgation of the new constitution, also enabled him 
 to construct some very good roads through this part 
 of the island, all which improvements might have 
 appeared very fine and very necessary in the eye of 
 a soldier, the utility of which may however be very 
 questionable when the ways and means come to be 
 weighed and justified in the calculation of the 
 sober citizen. The question is whether the utility 
 of these public works be answerable to the ex- 
 pense of constructing them, with reference to the 
 individuals, or indeed to the community upon which 
 it was levied. When it is in the power of the 
 executive authority to oblige the poor to work and 
 the rich to pay, almost any thing may be done : 
 when all parties are content under these circum- 
 stances, things go on without interruption. 
 
 The subserviency of the Greeks, and their vanity, 
 however opposite these two qualities may appear to 
 be, contribute on those occasions to carry them 
 much farther than their public spirit would. The 
 hard grinding systems of the Venetian governors 
 have drilled them up in the former aristocratical 
 government virtue, and as to the other, it is per- 
 
160 
 
 fectly innate. They will readily come into the 
 measures of any government in any island, and no 
 idea of economy, or financial consideration, can set 
 limits to their prodigality in council ; but when the 
 decree comes to be carried into effect, and the tax 
 or contribution levied, then is the demur and the 
 difficulty. That useful public work at Santa Maura * 
 is a memorable instance of their duplicity in this 
 respect ; no measure was ever more popular, and in- 
 deed at the instance of the inhabitants them- 
 selves was it undertaken, yet it was set forth 
 as one of the foremost of their grievances at 
 the insurrection in 1819. As to the public works 
 in Cephalonia they were completed before the 
 arrival of Sir Thomas Maitland, and the operation 
 of the new constitution. 
 
 At Argostoli is a museum, now the property of a 
 private family, the counterpatt of one which had been 
 collected and formed by the celebrated Abbh Fon- 
 tana at Florence. The family of the Valsamachis 
 got possession of this valuable little collection, con- 
 siderable additions to which have since been made 
 by Sir Demetrio and Signior Paolo Valsamachi, 
 during their residence in various parts of Europe. 
 The politeness of these gentlemen is sufficiently 
 known to all the English officers and visitors who 
 frequent Argostoli. The mineralogical collection is 
 beautiful, consisting of several hundred specimens, 
 
 * The new canal and mole, (vide map,) the former cut throngh , 
 the isthmus and lake, and both begun under Major-General Sir 
 P. Ross's government in that island. 
 
161 
 
 according to the classification and nomenclature of 
 Hauy, [both in their rude and polished state ; much 
 cannot be said however for the arrangement. The 
 anatomy of the human body is most ingeniously re- 
 presented in wood, and so contrived, that all the 
 successive layers of muscles of the body may be 
 removed, and the organization of the internal parts 
 displayed. The attitudes and details are copied 
 from Albinus's beautiful tables of Anatomy. There are 
 also some fine wax specimens, one representing a 
 woman in all the different stages of pregnancy. A 
 most masterly one is a bust, said to have been done 
 at the desire of Napoleon, which represents the 
 brain, and gives a beautiful view of that import- 
 ant and intricate part of anatomy, wherein are ex- 
 posed the various blood vessels and nerves of the 
 neck. There is a great variety of fossils, and a 
 beautiful collection of shells. A small library is 
 added to the whole, containing some of the choicest 
 and rarest editions of the classics, both ancient 
 and modern. 
 
 At about two miles distance from Argostoli are 
 the walls of the ancient city of Cranii, occupying the 
 top of a very rough and inaccessible ridge, which 
 projects upon the east angle of the lake or gulph at 
 its southern extremity. A very considerable portion 
 of the butt of the walls still remains, sufficient to 
 trace their circumference throughout. Some of 
 these consist of enormous masses of stone, hewn 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 and laid together much after the same fashion, 
 with those at Santa Maura and Ithaca. 
 
 All the different descriptions of cyclopic are found 
 here, the rougher and more massy specimens 
 occupying the higher parts. The wall which faces 
 the south may be traced for about one thousand five 
 hundred and eight paces, and another looking north- 
 east, extends for about eight hundred : in the latter 
 are very large blocks of stone ; at one part they 
 are regularly squared, where they probably formed 
 the casement of a door. Where both walls join, 
 there is a part constructed of masses also nearly 
 square, a sketch of which is given (Plate VIII. fig. 4.) 
 a particularly large stone resting upon two others, 
 which it has nearly forced from under it, is of a 
 pentagon shape, and of the following dimensions : 
 length, eight feet ten inches ; depth, five feet two 
 inches; height, six feet seven inches. A second, 
 nearly quadrangular, is eight feet in width, three 
 feet ten inches high, and four inches and a half in 
 thickness. A third enormous block, is thirteen feet 
 five inches in length, three feet three inches in ^ 
 height, and about the same in its greatest depth, 
 which is however irregular. Besides these powerful 
 artificial defences, the situation of the place was at 
 once difficult and dangerous for the assault of an 
 enemy, particularly the ascent to the south wall, 
 which runs along the edge of A precipice its whole 
 length. 
 
163 
 
 Upon the east is a valley opening into the great 
 ravine that divides the main chain of mountains 
 from the lower ridge which borders the lake, and 
 in which are situated the villages of Dillenata and 
 Faraclata. Across this valley a curtain wall is 
 drawn in rear of the city, which formed a singular 
 defence, in addition to the circular city wall, and 
 requires description more in detail. It is constructed 
 partly of squared stones, and partly of polyangular. 
 About one thousand seven hundred and seventy-six 
 paces may be traced across the valley ; in it are 
 the remains of twenty-one projecting square towers, 
 each measuring eight paces in front. 
 
 The use of this line of defence was to prevent the 
 approach of an enemy upon the rear of the city, 
 by the valley of Dillenata, and Faraclata, which 
 communicated by two passages over the main 
 chain of mountains with Samos, and also allowed 
 of hostile invasion upon the side of False or 
 Lixuri. 
 
 Of the ancient city of Palae, the remains are very 
 inconsiderable, they are situated about a mile to 
 the eastward of the town of Lixuri. 
 
 Amongst the ruins in the islands, i;>ur different 
 kinds of ancient building are to be traced, all with- 
 out cement. The first is constructed of large 
 masses of stone of a rough and irregular figure, 
 exhibiting no marks of a cutting instrument, and 
 having their crevices filled with smaller stones. 
 
 M2 
 
164 
 
 i 
 
 This is obviously the most simple kind of masonry, 
 and is therefore probably the oldest that was ever 
 used. The walls of this description occupy the 
 highest and most inaccessible places, whether they 
 are actually of an age more remote than those which 
 are usually found in the lower parts of the same 
 ruin, or, that being built upon these situations, 
 where an engine could not be brought to bear upon 
 them, their massiveness was deemed sufficient, 
 without going to the labour and expense of chisel- 
 ling them, it is not easy to determine. The inhabi- 
 tants of those places occupied the high and inacces- 
 sible parts first, which would lead one to adopt the 
 former ; and their being found in the same ruins 
 with the other species, seems to favour the latter 
 conjecture. 
 
 A very beautiful specimen of this class exists in 
 the ruins of Aito, in Ithaca, forming part of the 
 eastern face of the citadel wall. Of this a sketch is 
 given (plate IV.) The steepness and difficulty of the 
 approach left the choice of a good distance point 
 out of the question, so that the drawing was taken 
 close to the wall. This magnificent ruin is from 
 fifteen to twenty feet high still, although it is 
 probably above three thousand years old. 
 
 This species seems to be the same as that de- 
 scribed by Pausanias in speaking of the ruins of 
 Tiryns in the Argolide. 
 
 To* Br) TU'^oQ o Brj /uovov twv spfiV/wv XetVerat, /cv/cXwttwv 
 
165 
 
 /uev egrlv ipyov, ireiroitjrai apytHv XiOojv, juiyiOog '^\<*)v 
 iKagTog XiOog wg air avTMv fir}^* av ap^rjv KivtiBrivai tov 
 fj-'iKpoTarov vW ^evysg ^/uiovwr. XiOla kvripiuKjjgTai TraXat 
 tog juiaXigTa avTWv tKagrov ap/moviav roig juieyaXoig XiOoig 
 
 r 
 
 tivai. 
 
 Which may be translated. The wall only remains 
 of these ruins, a work of the Cyclops, it is 
 constructed of rude stones, each of such a size as 
 to require, the smallest of them, a yoke of mules 
 to remove them. Small stones were fitted in 
 formerly to fill up the crevices between each of the 
 large stones. 
 
 The word waXal seems to signify, that in the walls 
 at Tiryns, those small stones had been removed or 
 had fallen out of their places, which is the case also, 
 apparently, with the wall at Ithaca, although many 
 of them remain, as is represented in the sketch. 
 
 It will be remarked, that there are some roughly 
 chiselled, or faced stones, intermixed in this mass, 
 as if they were the refuse of the other kinds, and 
 seem almost to decide that this is not older than the 
 others. 
 
 The second species consists of stones faced by 
 the chisel, but not squared, and joined together 
 without any othei; order than attention being had to 
 their exactly fitting each other. These walls are 
 
 M3 
 
166 
 
 of great strength, and their joints are exceedingly 
 close, so much so that a penknife cannot be driven 
 into them. The greater part of the ruins in the 
 islands consists of them, a specimen is given in 
 Plate V, 
 
 The third species consists of stones which are 
 nearly all squared, and where a near attempt is 
 made to the disposition in horizontal courses, but 
 the perpendicular joints are not regular. An ex- 
 ample of this kind is seen in Plate I- The very 
 old temples appear to have been constructed in 
 this way. 
 
 The fourth kind is rarely to be seen amongst 
 these ruins ; in which the joinings, horizontal and 
 perpendicular, are exactly observed, and where 
 each upper stone rests upon the two immediately 
 underneath. At the middle acropolis ofLeucate, 
 the second and fourth species are found, together 
 with a fifth, consisting of small stones and mortar, 
 intermixed with pieces of Roman tiles, and raised 
 upon the other two : the last superstructure was 
 probably built by the Romans, or possibly by 
 the Venetians. Of the fourth species there is 
 also a curious specimen amongst the ruins of 
 Samos, represented in Plate VI. The stones of 
 which this wall was built are of great length/ 
 compared to their height; obviously for the 
 purpose of making them project beyond the 
 
167 
 
 outline of the hill, in order to prevent an enemy 
 from turning round the end, which hangs over a 
 precipice. 
 
ICS 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ZANTE. 
 
 Jain medio apparet fluctu nemorosa Zacynthos. 
 
 Mneid, lib. 3. line 270. 
 
 Zantej its position with regard to the other islands — 
 Mountain ridges, and some remarks upon its geological 
 structure — Pitch wells — Plain of Zante — Subject to 
 earthquakes — Violent earthquake q/* 1 82 1 — Of the phe- 
 nomena of earthquake in general — City of Zante — 
 Statistical remarks — Ancient inscription. 
 
 ZANTE is situated to the southward of the 
 islands already described. It lies also rather to the 
 westward of a meridian, which may be imagined 
 common to the islands that lie immediately to the 
 northward *. The beauty and fertility of this island 
 
 * This seems to explain a difficulty f in Homer, where he describes 
 the islands subject to the dominion of Ulysses, The passage is in 
 the 9th book of the Odyssey, line 21. 
 
 f The seeming difficulty is, in Homer's placing the island of Zante so much 
 to the westward. 
 
169 
 
 have been long celebrated, even to a proverb ; 
 " Zante, fior di Levante," being an expression 
 met with in all "parts of the Mediterranean. I 
 have some doubts as to its superiority, in the 
 former respect, to Leucadia, and in the latter, as 
 far as capability of cultivation goes, to Cephalonia : 
 the one, indeed, is but a matter of taste, the 
 other is a question of judgment. The general rocky 
 appearance of Cephalonia, compared with the de- 
 lightful green of Zante, might make this assertion 
 appear to be rather extraordinary; but the pre- 
 dominance of gypsum in, at least, the hilly parts 
 of the latter, will readily explain the matter *. 
 
 The circumference of Zante is about sixty miles ; 
 there is a peculiarity in the form of its surface by 
 which it differs altogether from the other islands : 
 the latter are elevated into masses of limestone 
 hills, and are but little varied with flat or level 
 
 AyXlxiov T£, re, kou wXnE??a ZecKwQoi" 
 
 ^Hg yo(,lv\i ^vvait.cd y'Kvxi^ori^ot oiWo i^sfOal. 
 
 No description of Ithaca and the islands in its neighbourhood can 
 be better than this, admitting the explanation of the difficulty as 
 above. 
 
 * An accurate analysis of the soils of the cultivated grounds respec- 
 tively, would determine this point. The author has had an oppor- 
 tunity of analyzing the living rock only. The result of the ana- 
 lysis is given in the Appendix. 
 
170 
 
 land ; whereas Zante consists of one extensive plain, 
 which is nearly surrounded by mountains. 
 
 The Zante mountains consist of three chains, 
 which are more or less regular : the first, running 
 north and south ; the second, north-west and south- 
 east ; and the third, east and west, but very irre- 
 gularly. The first, or great western ridge, is chiefly 
 composed of limestone, occasionally supporting 
 masses of clay and sandstone : strata of gypsum 
 are interspersed throughout in insulated masses, 
 or running in veins, and beautifully crystallized. 
 This great primary chain backs the whole island 
 to the westward, and is further elongated north- 
 wards, to a considerable extent beyond the limits 
 of the plain ; the northern extremity terminates in 
 a bold headland, called Capo Skinari, opposite to 
 Cephalonia, from which it is distant about ten or 
 twelve miles. The other two ridges are of se- 
 condary formation, and of less magnitude, com- 
 pared with the first. These bound the plain, one 
 almost completely to the eastward, commencing at 
 Capo Skinari, and terminating at Crioner6, which 
 forms the left horn of the bay of Zante : the other, 
 imperfectly, to the southward and eastward, run- 
 ning from Scopo to Capo Chieri, which is the 
 most southern point of the island. Of these two 
 lesser ranges, the former, or eastern, is a line of 
 low sandhills, which are seated upon strata of stiff 
 clay, but which the rich citizens of Zante have 
 adorned with villas, and the industry of the in- 
 
171 
 
 habitants of a number of beautiful villages, thickly 
 scattered upon them, has reclaimed and enriched, 
 the produce of the currant amply rewarding their 
 labour. 
 
 The most considerable of these villages is Giara- 
 chorio, situated upon the top of the ridge. A 
 little port is found in the interval between the 
 northern extremities of the two first ranges of moun- 
 tains, called Catastari. The broken edges of the 
 horizontal strata along the line of the eastern range, 
 are beautifully fringed with olive groves: might 
 this woody appearance have given rise to the 
 epithet, " Nemorosa?" 
 
 The third mountain range bordering the plain 
 of Zante, commences in the insulated mass of Scop6, 
 which is by much the loftiest in the island ; its ex- 
 tremity, called Capo Vasilika, forms a third point, 
 or cape, to the southward and eastward. Th e 
 island thus assumes something of a triangular shape, 
 the angles terminating in the points Skinari, Vasi- 
 lika or Scop6, and Chieri. Scop6 is composed, 
 like the range last described, of sand upon a substra- 
 tum of clay; its surface is very irregular, being 
 made up of a number of cones which point upwards 
 in various directions : two of these, upon the outline 
 of tke mountain, as viewed from the city, have a 
 very singular appearance ; they look as if they were 
 hove out of their natural perpendicular position, by 
 some violent convulsion. 
 
172 
 
 Port Chieri, the best bay in the island, is situated 
 at the south-west extremity of this range : it is of a 
 semicircular shape ; each horn is flanked by a little 
 island, Peluso on the eastward, and Maratonisi on 
 the south-west. Upon the right hand side of this 
 bay, going in, are beautiful white cliffs of tufa, where 
 the stone is cut for building in the city : the pitch 
 wells are also situated here, which, although their 
 produce is not very valuable, exhibit a great natural 
 curiosity: and as they are mentioned by ancient 
 writers, a description of them may not be deemed 
 uninteresting. 
 
 At the bottom of the bay of Chieri is a little 
 marshy plain, lying at the base of the southern 
 extremity of the great range of mountains, and of 
 about a quarter of a mile in extent. A theatre of sand 
 hills surrounds it, richly ornamented with olive and 
 evergreen shrubs. On the right hand side of the 
 bay going in, is a beautiful stratification of sandstone, 
 and the plain of Zante opens here to the south-east. 
 The soil of this little plain is so marshy as to be 
 wet in the middle of summer, although the substra- 
 tum appears to be stiff clay, and it gives source to a 
 little brook, which empties its black water at the 
 bottom of the bay. The largest well is distant 
 about five minutes' ride from the beach ; its diameter 
 is about three yards, and its depth does not exceed 
 three feet. The water of this well is clear and good, 
 excepting that it has the flavour of tar ; a blueish 
 scum floats upon the surface, of about the consis- 
 
173 
 
 tence of honey, and a very bituminous smell issues 
 from it. There are two or three other wells situated 
 more interiorly towards the centre of the plain; 
 they are from one foot and a half to two feet in 
 diameter. One is of profound depth ; indeed it is 
 said by the natives, to be unfathomable : the water 
 taken from this last is turbid, opaque, and exceed- 
 ingly brackish. With regard to the opinion that a 
 lake once occupied the site of the plain, it is suffi- 
 ciently probable ; its present marshy state, warrants 
 the conjecture, so that Herodotus's account was 
 probably not exaggerated, when he said that the 
 largest well was seventy feet diameter. 
 
 Much more supernatural properties and agencies 
 are assigned to the pitch wells in our own days : 
 The medicinal virtues of the waters are infinite; 
 one is only surprised that some saint has not already 
 arrogated them to himself ; they are thought to pre- 
 vent earthquakes, serving as a vent for the inflamma- 
 ble matter : the ground is, of course, hollow under- 
 neath, resounding when stampt upon, and some in- 
 dividuals and writers assert, that subterraneous 
 bellowings, mugissemens," are often heard for whole 
 days, particularly before earthquakes. A fact too, 
 which it is heresy to deny, is, that bodies thrown 
 into the unfathomable well make their appearance 
 again, after a time, some miles off at sea. These 
 happen to be so well adjusted in weight and bulk, 
 that their specific gravity exceeds that of the well 
 water only so much, that upon arriving at the com- 
 
174 
 
 munication with the sea, the excess may not render 
 them too heavy to mount again, and float upon the 
 surface. The bitumen is at first observed rising 
 and breaking in bubbles on the surface of the well : 
 it is then very fluid, but soon condenses to the con- 
 sistence of tar, and afterwards to that of asphaltum. 
 This substance is the same as that which is ob- 
 served to melt and run during the burning of mineral 
 coal.* In its chemical properties it differs very 
 little from vegetable tar : it is found floating in large 
 quantities upon the Dead Sea, and in other lakes 
 and wells in various parts of Europe. There is so 
 little demand for this article now in commerce, 
 that the wells are neglected : one tenth part only 
 being capable of entering into the composition used 
 for shipping, whereas of the vegetable tar, the pro- 
 portion is one half, added to the other ingredients. 
 
 The best description of the plain of Zante is con- 
 tained in the travels of a very ingenious and lively 
 Sicilian writerf. This sweet spot is surrounded by 
 
 ^ Mineral coal during its combustion becomes decomposed, and 
 an elastic fluid disengaged, which has been latterly applied to the 
 useful purpose of furnishing light : might not these -wells, as the tar 
 is now rejected, be converted into a profitable manufactory of gas. 
 t Extract from Scrofani. 
 
 " Ecco Tamena, la ridente valle del Zante, o a meglio dir* tutto 
 il Zante. O detto che gareggerebbe con quello di Tempe, se non 
 che vi manca un fiume cheto, che lento vi scorra, e la rinfreschi. 
 Le Zampogne de' pastori per animarla, ed i muggiti amorosi delle 
 giovenche, e de' tori, un verde piu costante e piu vario, che non e 
 quello degli ulivi e delle viti, lo smalto de' fiori il canto degli ucelli 
 
175 
 
 hills, exceptiug an opening to the south-east, and 
 another to the north-west : it extends between these 
 two openings for about twelve miles in length, with 
 a breadth varying from five to six miles. It is per- 
 fectly level to the bases of the hills that encompass 
 it, and a rich green velvet-like carpet is spread over 
 the whole. In the early part of the summer, the 
 exhalations from the currant blossoms, intermixed 
 with the innumerable odours from the flowers of the 
 various aromatic herbs and ^ shrubs with which it 
 abounds, united to the beauty of the scene itself, con- 
 vey emotions that are not easily described. The vil- 
 lages upon the mountain sides, and villas interspersed 
 through the plain, by their gay variety, add not a 
 little to this delightful effect. 
 
 That part of the soil termed the mould, is, con- 
 trary to appearance however, scanty ; indeed it 
 would seem to be almost wholly artificial, and its 
 accumulation the result of incessant labour; a 
 labour which is, however, amply repaid by the pro- 
 duce of the currant, amounting in some years to 
 six million pounds' weight, exclusive of other produc- 
 tions. The substratum is alluvial clay, of a very 
 refractory nature, intermixed with sand, the whole 
 
 vi manca in fine il riso, il piacere, la cortesia de' villani, le grazie 
 delle contadine. Questa pud dunque dirsi rieca, ma non bella: 
 in efFetto il sentimento ch' essa vi desta al primo aspetto svanisce, 
 in un momento colla sorpresa che io produce, eppure questo mo- 
 mento e cosi sensibile che merita bene un viaggio per provarlo." 
 Viaggio di Scrofani Siciliano in Grecia, Annis, 94, 95. Londra, 1799. 
 
176 
 
 washed down from the surrounding hills and moun- 
 tains, and forming a bed, which is very little raised 
 above the level of the sea : it is said, that, some 
 centuries ago, the whole was a marsh incapable of 
 cultivation, which is not at all improbable. 
 
 The bed of a torrent, which is dry in summer, 
 conveys the waters through the middle of the plain, 
 and empties them into the sea at a little to the 
 southward of the city : the stream crosses the road 
 leading to Scop6, where a single arch is thrown 
 over it. 
 
 The climate of Zante does not differ much from 
 that of the other islands ; the heat is probably more 
 concentrated and more steady, from its basin-like 
 form, and on account of its greater remoteness from 
 the continental chain of mountains, whereby it 
 escapes much of the atmospherical vicissitudes that 
 Corfu and Leucadia experience for the contrary 
 reason : hence it is better adapted for the maturing 
 and drying of the currants 
 
 Earthquakes are very frequent here ; and, as at 
 St*. Maura and Cephalonia, sometimes very destruc- 
 tive. A tremendous effect of one is pointed out 
 in the huge avalanche of earth, which lies under 
 the flag staff fort of the castle. The hill is said 
 to have been rent asunder here, and to have buried 
 the remains of the city of Psophis in its ruins. 
 A deep chasm exists, between the two hills, where 
 
177 
 
 this revulsion is said to have taken place. Such a 
 catastrophe is not at all improbable, the present ap- 
 pearance of the divided masses warrants the cre- 
 dibility of it ; and the circumstance of finding the 
 ancient coins of Psophis in the interspace, adds not 
 a little to its probability. It is said that the history 
 of this event is to be found in some archives of the 
 island, which, I have heard an intelligent and re- 
 spectable native assert he had seen at Paris. 
 
 A more recent visitation from this dreadful phe- 
 nomenon has however occurred very lately, the 
 following account of which is translated from the 
 Corfu paper of the 13th January 1821. " On the 
 night of the 28th of December from eleven 'till 
 twelve o'clock were heard at intervals, sounds like 
 those of wind and rain, without however there being 
 either the one or the other in reality. At a quarter 
 before four on the morning of the 29th an earth- 
 quake was felt which shook the whole island vio- 
 lently. The shocks, which lasted for about sixteen 
 seconds, were at first perpendicular, and afterwards 
 they took a horizontal direction, with a vibration 
 so rapid and so violent that the walls of the 
 strongest houses which had resisted the earth- 
 quake of 1791, were demolished. The ruins filled 
 every place, the unfortunate inhabitants were driven 
 from their beds into the streets, and the whole 
 island was threatened with destruction. The me- 
 lancholy accidents that happened from fear alone 
 augmented the number of victims that suffered 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 from the crushing of the houses: a poor woman 
 in the agony of her terror precipitated herself with 
 her infant in her arms from a window and was killed 
 upon the spot; another of the 36th regiment in 
 the same manner, although she was not killed, re- 
 ceived severe injury. The following morning pre- 
 sented a most sad spectacle. The ruins were then 
 rendered visible, and terror took possession of every 
 countenance, which seemed to invoke the pity of 
 heaven. In the course of the morning various slight 
 shocks were felt; at eleven o'clock was one very 
 sensible, and then came on a violent tempest, ac- 
 companied with thunder, lightning, rain, and hail- 
 stones, the latter were prismatic and of the size 
 of pigeon s eggs*. The tempest continued during 
 the day and night, and the tiles of every roof being 
 dislodged, the houses were filled with water. The 
 night was exceedingly dark, being illuminated only 
 by the vivid flashes of lightning, and the unfortunate 
 inhabitants, without refuge amidst the crashing 
 houses and the ruins of their property, felt three or 
 four other shocks, which, though slight, served to 
 keep them in constant alarm, lest another stronger 
 should come, which would probably have reduced 
 to ruins the intire city. A torrent now precipitated 
 itself from the fortress hill, which breaking its banks 
 carried houses and people before it ; two of the latter 
 were drowned, and a woman who met with the same 
 
 * An officer broke one of these hail stones by dashing it to 
 pieces on the ground, when it emitted a quantity of electric sparks : 
 this fact the author learned from the best authority. 
 
179 
 
 fate was afterwards found in the great square of the 
 city. About midnight, upon the 30th, the shocks 
 appeared gradually to cease. Although the tempest 
 of the 29th was so violent, no accident happened at 
 sea, the earthquake was nevertheless felt most 
 severely on board the ships. It is not yet known 
 if any barometrical or thermometrical observations 
 were made during the great shock. At six o'clock 
 on the evening of the 30th the atmosphere pre- 
 sented a threatening aspect ; a long shock was felt 
 but not violent, and at three on the morning of the 
 31st another, which lasted for thirty seconds, with 
 long waving vibrations. This was followed an hour 
 afterwards by two other slight shocks, which suc- 
 ceeded one another immediately, so that many 
 thought that the earth was in continual motion for 
 three or four hours. No more shocks were felt till 
 three or four o'clock on the morning of the 31st De- 
 cember, when one somewhat strong was succeeded 
 by two slighter, preceded always, each shock, by 
 a sort of crashing, which lasted the whole of the 
 day and night. The weather was rainy and tem- 
 pestuous till the morning of the 2d instant, and then 
 grew calm. No more shocks were felt to the morn- 
 ing of the 3d, when the person who brought this 
 account left Zante; and he could only observe at 
 two leagues' distance from Zante, that the at- 
 mosphere which covered the island was more cloudy 
 than it appeared to be elsewhere." 
 
 The official return of damages sustained was as 
 follows. Seventy-nine houses entirely destroyed, 
 
 N2 
 
180 
 
 eight hundred and seven houses much damaged, 
 eight persons killed, twenty-nine with wounds and 
 contusions. 
 
 With regard to earthquakes, it is a singular fact, 
 that of the very many shocks that occur in these 
 islands, few happen in any two of them at the same 
 moment; and the various accounts received from 
 the continental parts of Greece shew, that these 
 phenomena have little or no relation to each other in 
 point of time. The meteorological journal* kept in 
 the British Military Hospital at Cephalonia, in which 
 are accurately entered all the sensible shocks that 
 occur, was compared with a similar journal kept in 
 the Garrison Hospital at Zante, from March 1st 
 1818, to July 13th 182©, and it was found, that no 
 single shock affected both islands simultaneously: 
 an interval of more than twenty-four hours, indeed 
 generally of many days, existing between any 
 two shocks, noted as occurring successively in 
 both islands. There were thirty distinct earth- 
 quakes registered in the Cephalonia journal during 
 the period. From whence it may be concluded 
 that the cause does not, in general, lie much deeper, 
 or rather, operate much deeper, than the super- 
 ficial strata in each island. This cause then is, 
 probably, electricity : for it would be almost an 
 absurdity to suppose that each island, and each 
 pointt, subject to partial earthquake, had a proper 
 
 * Vide Appendix C. 
 
 t Vaudoncourt says that the inhabitants of the little Island in the 
 
181 
 
 subterraneous mine. To this it may be added that 
 the shocks usually happen, although not always, 
 soon after a heavy fall of rain, when certainly 
 the water cannot have penetrated, at least 
 after the long summer droughts, many feet into 
 the earth. Their being noticed to occur too, 
 mostly in calm weather, when a body of air, in 
 a state of positive, or negative electricity may be 
 supposed to have accumulated over a given sur- 
 face of earth, seems to give weight to the opi- 
 nion*. In more extended effects of earthquake ; 
 as in the year 1755 f, when the whole of the 
 west of Europe and the north of Africa were 
 shaken at once, we have only to remove the agent 
 to a much deeper field, that is, to a stratum of 
 the earth lying lower than the deepest of the in- 
 tervening waters of the places affected by the 
 phenomenon ; and to suppose a greater extent of 
 the atmosphere to be differently electrified from 
 that stratum : the power of an agent so mighty in 
 
 lake at Yanina are obliged to quit it in September, on account of 
 the earthquakes. The lake is very deep. Now the description im- 
 plies that these violent shocks are partial, otherwise their flying for 
 refuge to the shores of the lake would be useless : in order there- 
 fore to conceive that the earthquakes arise from the expansion of 
 gas, we must imagine the little island to be perched upon the apex 
 of a volcanic mine, or what is equally unfortunate for it, to lie just 
 over the route of a volcanic passage. 
 
 * Many other atmospherical phenomena are observed at the time 
 of earthquake, as, the appearance of dark clouds hanging over the 
 place, and the remarkable noise attending the shocks, and always 
 preceding Ihem. 
 
 t Vide Appendix D. 
 
 N3 
 
182 
 
 force aud extent, no human imagination can set 
 limits to, although it may conceive its existence. 
 Indeed, the earthquake of 1755, can scarcely be 
 accounted for upon the volcanic principle of expan- 
 sion by rarefied air: the devastation was, in this 
 case, too extensive, as in partial trifling shocks the 
 operation would be too limited, as was above shewn, 
 to be explained by the theory of mines. In smart 
 shocks of earthquake animals are affected in an 
 extraordinary manner ; dogs bark, fowls scream, 
 and others shew indications of extreme terror ; 
 this fact had been long since noticed : I have wit- 
 nessed it more than once, but it was at the moment 
 of the concussion, certainly not before it, as some 
 have asserted it to be, concluding that animals have 
 premonitory sensations of the shock. In loud 
 thunder-storms, and in heavy canouadings, they 
 do not evince such fear, as far as I can judge, 
 although, in the former particularly, the light- 
 ning added to the explosion must surely make a 
 stronger impression upon their senses : and we 
 cannot suppose that animals are endued with a 
 sense of danger from reflection. The awful sen- 
 sation produced in the mind of man is acknow- 
 ledged by all to be independent of, and different 
 from, a mere sense of danger. The fact, that 
 steeples and other points were strongly illuminated 
 at Messina during the great shock of 1783, argues 
 clearly the operation of electricity. 
 
 The town of Zante is the best in the Ionian 
 
183 
 
 islands ; it is much more regularly built, and 
 appears to much greater advantage than Corfu, 
 occupying the curve of a bay, round which it 
 sweeps for the extent of about two miles ; almost • 
 every house is visible, having its own particular 
 place in the panoramic view from the water. This 
 singularly pleasing effect is produced by the uni- 
 formity of the descent upon which it stands. The 
 many steeples and spires with which it is orna- 
 mented, built in the Venetian manner, add con- 
 siderably to the beauty of the whole, and to a 
 stranger, arrived at anchor in the night, the scene 
 opening at once in the morning, with the busy 
 tolling of bells, and the harbour bustle, excites a 
 sensation indescribably delightful ; heightened as it 
 is by the usual cool serenity of the hour, and the 
 reflection, perhaps, of ha\^ing completed a sea 
 voyage, the pleasure of which those who dislike the 
 sea can best appreciate. The heights are crowded 
 with groves of orange and lemon trees, through 
 which are thickly scattered the beautiful villas of 
 the rich citizens. The bay terminates in the fine 
 mass of mount Scopo upon the left, and the 
 extremity of the castle range upon the right : the 
 castle is built upon a hill that literally overhangs 
 the town, and above floats the British flag over a 
 beautiful scene of richness and repose. 
 
 The city presents nothing remarkable in its interior, 
 saving a rich and active population, amounting in 
 August, 1819, according to a census taken by 
 
184 
 
 order of Sir P. Ross, to 15,176 souls. The port 
 would be perfectly open and exposed upon the 
 eastward, were it not for the erection of a fine 
 mole, which was begun a few years since ; and is 
 now about to be completed. The Ionian parlia- 
 ment voted a considerable sum at the last session, 
 for this highly useful work, as also for the con- 
 tinuation of an aqueduct from mount Scopo to the 
 city, which had likewise been begun some years 
 ago. Both works are accordingly now carrying on 
 through the exertions of Sir P. Ross, governor 
 of the island. By the completion of the aque- 
 duct, a plentiful supply of excellent fresh spring 
 water will be conveyed to the city from Scopo, a dis- 
 tance of about four miles. The difficulty of procuring 
 that article is at present very great, and the 
 quality of that which is procured, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the town is exceedingly bad, owing 
 to its passing through the gv^psum strata. The 
 number of private houses in the city amounted to 
 three thousand seven hundred and thirty in 1819, 
 and there were sixty-five churches. 
 
 A little spot of ground adjoining one of the 
 churches at the south end of the town, had been 
 long known as the English cemetery : it was pur- 
 chased, and the expenses defrayed by contributions 
 from the consuls, merchants, and other English 
 resident and visitant at Zante. It is situated upon 
 a little bank, at one side of a deep ravine, and is 
 shaded over by cypresses and other evergreens. The 
 
1,85 
 
 strikingly sombre appearance of this hallowed spot 
 has attracted the notice of foreigners, and, in a Bri- 
 tish bosom, it was well calculated to excite that sym- 
 pathy which is due to our unfortunate countrymen, 
 who, however doomed to moulder at a distance 
 from their friends and homes, it is consolatory to 
 think, should find so sweet and consecrated a 
 spot, where their remains may quietly repose 
 together. Amongst many other monuments taste- 
 fully executed, some of them above one hundred 
 years old, are those of four British consuls. Alas! 
 of a fresher date is that, whose yet green turf has 
 but just closed over the remains of a young, 
 amiable, and accomplished English lady, who fell 
 a victim to the excessive heat of the summer, 
 and was entombed with her infant in one grave *. 
 
 Among the manufactures of Zante are silk cam- 
 blet, carpeting, coarse pottery, and tiles. These 
 latter are made out of the clay which forms the mass 
 of hill upon which the castle stands ; it is of a 
 blueish colour, and possesses a strong detergent 
 quality, like fuller's earth, being used by many 
 for washing floors and coarse furniture. The best 
 soap of the islands is also made at Zante. 
 
 From a statistical table, constructed in August, 
 1819, by order of Sir P. Ross, and to which we 
 have already referred, it appears, that the total 
 
 * The lady of Lieutenant-Colonel Gubbins, 75th regiment, in 
 1820. 
 
186 
 
 population of the island including the city, amounted 
 to 35,074, that of the country being 19,898, and 
 and added to the number before quoted as 
 being in the city. The number of private houses 
 in the country were 5,966. The number of 
 absentees were, from the town, 832; country, 
 
 I, 087; mariners, country, 362; town, 110. 
 
 The agricultural produce of the island in that 
 year was, 40,467 bacile of corn, 2,311 bacile of 
 barley, agrumi 1,271,000, cotton 8,1941b., flax 
 9,7701b., wool 45,4041b., cheese made of goats' 
 milk 76,089, honey 58,820, wine 48,500, and uva 
 passa (currants) 6,041,8601b., a biennial produce of 
 oil was 25,543 barrels ; annual, of salt 31,890 bacile, 
 liquorice-root 300,0001b.; of live stock there were 
 
 II, 709 sheep, and 16,021 goats. 
 
 The Zante women are still more closely confined 
 than those of the other islands. Most of the 
 windows are defended by a thick lattice work, 
 which projects into the street, giving them more 
 the appearance of so many prisons, or houses of 
 correction; they are thus wholly removed from 
 public view ; indeed, a Greek lady is hardly visible 
 any where, excepting at Corfu, where the French 
 had sufficient opportunity and influence to civilize 
 them so far, as to introduce the women into 
 society. Colonel Sir P. Ross * has attempted, and 
 
 * It is a tribute due to Colonel, now Major General Sir P. Ross, and 
 to Lady Ross, to slate here that, to the author's own knowledge, tra- 
 
187 
 
 in a great measure succeeded, in two islands where 
 he has been governor, St\ Maura and Zante, to 
 break through the inveterate habits of seclusion, 
 and consequent degradation, of the female part of 
 society. 
 
 For the antiquarian, Zante affords little or no 
 attractions. At present there is but one ancient 
 inscription to be found there, which is, however, 
 very interesting ; it is upon the face of a marble 
 which serves for an altar in a little chapel at 
 Melinado, a village about six or seven miles from 
 the town : the chapel is built upon the site of an 
 ancient temple. Four Ionic columns without 
 capitals, but standing upon their proper bases, 
 support a roof of wood, which serves as a sort of 
 portico to the modern chapel : the marble is set 
 upon the fragment of another column, with the 
 inscription, as St. Sauveur remarks, stupidly re- 
 versed, the letters being turned upside down. 
 The following is an exact copy of the inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 vellers and tourists of aU descriptions never failed to meet with a 
 dignified and hospitable reception from them, at aU times, whilst 
 residing at each island. At Sir Patrick's table, and at Lady Ross's 
 evening parties, an opportunity was given to them, as well as to the 
 officers of the garrison, of associating with the islanders of distinc- 
 tion; so that the whole three classes were approximated, and 
 mutually availed themselves of the advantages offered by this easy 
 mode of introduction and acquaintance. 
 
188 
 
 APXIKAHSAPISTOMENEOEKAIAAKI 
 AAMAAPXIXAEOEKAHMnnANTANAY 
 TQNeYrATEPAeE0KAH2A2ANAPTEMITI OniTAIAI 
 
 Archicles, the son of Aristomenes, and Alkidama, 
 wife of Archicles, have devoted their daughter, 
 Klenippa, to the Optidian Diana. It is to be 
 hoped, a milder deity than the fell and vindictive 
 Diana Triclaria, of Patras, upon whose altar it was 
 annually, and for ages, customary to immolate 
 a virgin and youth *, of the greatest beauty that 
 could be found, to appease the goddess for the 
 outrage that had been committed in her temple, 
 by the violation of her priestess, Cometho. 
 
 * Pausanias relates the story: Melanippus was a youth of great 
 beauty and enamoured of Cometho^ the priestess of Diana, who was 
 mutually attached to him. They contrived to satisfy their passion in 
 the very temple of the goddess, which brought down her just ven- 
 geance upon them and the people of Patras, by instituting the horrid 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Pausanias adds, that the river which flowed beneath the temple 
 was from that time called Amilichus (deadly), and that when the 
 dreadful sacrifice was discontinued, it received the name of Milichus 
 (mild), as if the first name had been given with a prophetic anticipa- 
 tion of what was to happen some hundred years afterwards. — The 
 heathen writers abound in such absurdities as this. 
 
189 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Revenue of the islands inadequate to their expenditure — 
 Misappropriatioji of the church revenues corrected , 
 which measure caused the late disturbances at Zante — 
 Persecution of the Jews — Religious tenets — Super- 
 stition — Pretended plot against government — Bribery 
 — Trial of Martenengo for high treason — Russian 
 party — Cause of party in general — Greeks require 
 a strict government. 
 
 ALTHOUGH great financial improvements have 
 taken place since the operation of the new con- 
 stitution has begun, yet the revenue of the islands 
 is, at present, greatly inadequate to their expen- 
 diture, and will, probably, long continue so. By 
 the treaty of Paris they were bound to pay the 
 expenses of the troops furnished by the protecting 
 power, which were limited to four thousand men ; 
 this obligation was, however, relinquished on the 
 part of the British government, on account of the 
 inability of the revenue to bear such a charge; 
 and it is arranged, that they shall be, for the present, 
 liable only to the expenses of lodging the troops ; 
 
190 
 
 the only contribution then required of the seven 
 islands towards their protection is, to supply the 
 expenses of barracks and their repairs. 
 
 How insufficient the means are, of meeting the ex- 
 penses of the civil and military government, will be 
 seen, by comparing the actual amount of the latter 
 with the revenue. The maximum of revenue, which 
 is very variable on account of the precarious pro- 
 duce of the olives, its chief source, falls short of 
 550,000 dollars, or about c£llO,000 sterling: the 
 actual expenditure of the British force employed in 
 the islands in March 1821 was of 105, 000 sterling* ; 
 were these expenses to be defrayed out of the former 
 sum, a balance of ^£5,000 only would remain to cover 
 the expenses of the civil government. 
 
 So that the advantage derived to the protecting 
 power is not very evident, unless it be negatively so, 
 by withholding the possession from others, who 
 might convert it to some purpose, mediately or im- 
 mediately affecting the interests of the formerf. 
 In a commercial point of view, perhaps, Malta, in 
 furnishing a sufficiently secure and convenient 
 entrepot for the trade of the Levant and Adriatic, 
 would more than compensate all the advantages that 
 could be derived to Great Britain from the islands, 
 in lieu of the protection afforded them. 
 
 * Vide Appendix, E. 
 t Vide General de Vaudoncourfs Expose of the Political Designs 
 of Austria, Russia, and France upon these Islands. 
 
191 
 
 The established religion is that of the Greek 
 church. The appointment to the church dignities 
 is, at present, exercised by the government, but the 
 final arrangements for the ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment are not yet made. By the new constitutional 
 charter, there is to be an archbishop in each of the 
 four larger islands, Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante and 
 St^. Maura, and a bishop in each of the three 
 smaller, Ithaca, Paxu, and Cerigo. 
 
 The wresting of the church revenues from the 
 hands of the administrators, a measure which passed 
 the legislature in the session of 1820, excited a very 
 strong sensation, which was augmented by the indi- 
 viduals who were chiefly interested therein : these 
 latter were moneyed people, whose predecessors, in 
 the time of the difficulties and exactions of the 
 Venetian government, bought up or farmed the 
 church estates at a very low price, and had con- 
 tinued to enjoy the rents arising from them, without 
 fulfilling even the conditions of the contract. The 
 abuses that this system gave rise to, in the hands of 
 Greek laymen, may be easily conceived. The 
 people were generally ignorant of, or cared not 
 about the matter, so long as their religious pro- 
 cessions and feasts were kept up ; and the bulk of 
 the clergy were just as ignorant and indifferent 
 about it as the mass of the people. The adminis- 
 trators, however, soon contrived to misinterpret and 
 misrepresent the matter amongst the lower orders, 
 with whom their influence is generally proportional 
 
192 
 
 to their wealth: the transaction was denominated 
 sacrilegious, and it was insinuated, that government 
 intended to appropriate the whole of the church 
 revenues, and, eventually to overturn the established 
 religion. Serious disturbances were accordingly 
 excited in Zante, and a plot was actually laid for 
 the murder of the Protopapa, or head priest, who, 
 to forward the views of the legislature, attempted to 
 remove the false impressions, which crafty and ill 
 disposed individuals had been thus so active in 
 forming and propagating. 
 
 There are many who profess the religion of the 
 Latin church, which, with that of the reformed 
 church, is fully tolerated ; and Jews are to be found 
 in all the larger towns. The persecution of this 
 unfortunate people is here carried to excess, and 
 on some occasions it requires the interference of a 
 strong police, often aided by the military, to pro- 
 tect them from the insults of the populace. These 
 disturbances usually happen at the great festivals, 
 particularly at Easter, when the minds of those 
 weak enthusiasts are inflamed to fanaticism, by 
 the erroneous notions with which their religious 
 exercises, at that season inspire them. Hence their 
 uncharitable conduct towards those unfortunate 
 beings, which they look upon to be highly merito- 
 rious. On these occasions it is often found ex- 
 pedient to shut the Jews up in their own houses : 
 and indeed it is asserted that their ill treatment 
 is often provoked by themselves, from their reviling 
 
193 
 
 the Christian ceremonies practised at those periods. 
 The religious ceremonies of the Greeks are still 
 more numerous and more pompous than those of 
 the Latin church ; their tenets approximate more to 
 those of the reformed church, in the rejection of 
 the doctrines of purgatory and transubstantiation : 
 they deny too the supremacy of the Pope, but 
 acknowledge that of the Greek Patriarch at Con- 
 stantinople. Every island has its tutelary saint, 
 besides innumerable others that preside over cities, 
 mountains, woods and waters : there is no church 
 which is not dedicated to some saint, as of old 
 temples were consecrated only to particular of 
 the gods. 
 
 The extreme superstition of the Greeks has led to 
 the inroad of witchcraft or necromancy, which 
 amongst the ignorant, holds an extraordinary in- 
 fluence upon their minds. The black art is termed 
 by them, megarasia, and is practised by the old 
 women of the Morea, which is the prolific nest of 
 this tribe. Canidia herself was not more abomi- 
 nable than one of those hags ; their power is chiefly 
 over the attachment of the sexes, which it can 
 create or destroy at pleasure : so general is this cre- 
 dulity, that the purchase of charms, amulets, filtres, 
 and antidotes, makes part of the commerce with 
 the Morea*. The influence of the evil eye is also 
 
 * A friend of mine who was inspector of the police in one of the 
 ifhnds, and before whom all the petty causes underwent the in- 
 
 o 
 
Tha ia>raiity of th.t Gf«eks has been prowerinally 
 bsd^ and tiiey sdli i^tam tkdr diaiacter Cm-cibh 
 ■Big: aid dap^dty. The coiniptioa introdoced by 
 tkeYcnetiauH, in tdie ewarrieM of the needy {toto- 
 diton (gmrefMn) and dor Mlowexs, las not a 
 littie tended to fa tbe donoralfntion rf tfak people: 
 tlie eycegffieai mim i nilled by dMiae gare lise to a 
 regular system of pfamder, peculation, and dec^ 
 anMii^;st ti«n; nMMiey was borrowed of tbe Jews 
 at Venice, for tbe porp ise :: :^5<i by these 
 
 The ilitBiiBl set ap. Hut 
 «r the Mginl ant ■pm him^ in which 
 in be wesmei; that he warn camaaomM a£ the in- 
 him, by bb feefitt^ hinii If incapable 
 
 be fet knew 
 mIj tTiwu be bad was to 
 be bad pofcfaased 
 tbe amdet, which be wore mderbis 
 M J §natd, m tbe moiDeDtarj indigBatioa which 
 €i baana ignnairp ajid d qw^iil^ natarany ex- 
 fit^y ^amm flaag oat at tbe window, as nnieh to 
 tbe asfcoziiii.br ^ knar of ita ovaer and tbe bystanderfi, at bis 
 
 ^■■^ ^ J faith ia a atttt^- tbat wats so commoBl j be- 
 
195 
 
 merciless usurers : fifty per cent, was the interest * 
 exacted at the end of the year, and the sum re- 
 maining unpaid was doubled each succeeding year. 
 These affreux exch/' as a French writer t calls 
 them, were denominated, prostichii ; every thing 
 was venal, and nothing could satisfy their avidity : 
 the hiring of assassins was sanctioned as a means of 
 filling their coffers. Such a system of depravity 
 prevailing in the government of a people naturally 
 prone to deceit, it may well be imagined, that 
 centuries will not suffice to assimilate their 
 morals to those of other European nations. Nothing 
 sets in a clearer point of view the dereliction of 
 every thing virtuous and honourable amongst 
 them, than the total disregard to truth, in which 
 they are brought up ; they seem to take as much 
 pains to discourage ingenuousness and candour, as a 
 people of more elevated principle would, to detect 
 and punish prevarication and falsehood : the pro- 
 bability is, that a young Greek wdll deceive you, 
 even in matters of the greatest indifference ; although 
 he gains no immediate advantage by this sacrifice 
 of candour, yet he considers that, by holding you 
 in ignorance, he is ready to profit by his craft at 
 
 • The rate of interest in the Venetian states vas, however, at this 
 period, most exorbitant ; a circumstance ^hich arose in the decline 
 of that Republic, subsequent to the discorery of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. Th« decay of commerce -withdrew the competition in the 
 market, by which the profits of stock were enormously increased, 
 and with it the ralue of money, or what is the tame, interest.— 
 Smith's Wealth of Nations. 
 
 t St. Sauveur. 
 
 O 2 
 
196 
 
 some future emergency. Calumny and detraction 
 are extremely common amongst them, nor is it at all 
 unusual to see two persons, apparently on the 
 most friendly terms, who, when separate, will mu- 
 tually accuse each other of every thing that is base 
 and dishonourable; but, as a just value is generally 
 fixed upon this friendship reciprocally, neither party 
 incurs much risk from yielding too much to the 
 weakness of self-love : a delusion which, with a 
 people of more simplicity, is always a dangerous 
 tool in the hands of the designing. The means of 
 directly prosecuting their revenge being removed 
 by the complete extirpation of the knife and 
 stiletto, that dreadful passion to which they are so 
 prone, must be gratified by other means; hence 
 the many criminal informations * and prosecutions. 
 
 * An example of these false informations fell within the author's 
 own cognizance at Cephalonia : a peasant came before the magis- 
 tracy of health, and deposed that, a fellow villager had left the 
 island for the Ottoman territories, and that he had returned clandes- 
 tinely without performing quarantine; that he, recollecting the fatal 
 consequences resulting from a similar transaction in 1816 f, came 
 forward to prosecute the offender. It appeared that the accused had 
 left the island with a design of going to the continent, but that he 
 merely went to one of the other islands, and returned with a clean 
 bill of health ; and, further, that these men and their families had 
 heen long at variance. The informant, however, so far succeeded, as 
 to have had his enemy imprisoned upon this charge of violating the 
 health laws, and of which he had nearly had him convicted. The 
 ruffian, by the plausibility of his story, thought to have evaded re- 
 taliation, but he was deceived, as the British sense of justice con- 
 + Viz. the introductiou of the plague in Cephalonia, 
 
197 
 
 the rarious perjuries and prevarications, and the 
 never-ending disputes at law *. 
 
 One of the most extraordinary and artful imposi- 
 tions ever attempted to be practised upon a g-ovem- 
 ment, was by a young Greek under twenty years 
 of age, in 1817 ; he contrived to put all the wheels 
 of government in motion, and to have a number of 
 the most respectable inhabitants of Corfu appre- 
 hended, under a suspicion of conspiracv as'ainst 
 the state. Amongst his intended victims was his 
 uncle, to whom the monster had been indebted 
 for his maintenance and education when an orphan. 
 With the assistance of an accomplice he forged 
 letters and proclamations, purporting to be of a 
 treasonable nature, between the individuals ac- 
 cused : letters were found in the possession of 
 several, which they could not account for ; one 
 man particularly was pointed out as having a trea- 
 sonable paper in a certain book in his library, 
 which was actually found. A pretended plot was 
 disclosed to the agents of government, by which it 
 was intended, that the citadel of Corfii was to 
 have been attacked and taken possession of during 
 the absence of the regiment which garrisoned it ; 
 for at that season it was customary to march out the 
 
 demned him to •ome -moniiis' impriBoiiment, a re^ird at oiice ioi 
 his conscientioiifiD^s and hi& ingefiuity. 
 
 * I haye heard of an iDdiridoal vho vas defendant in one hudiul 
 and fifty lavtuits at one time : the caoses vere mostly o( a peraniary 
 natore. 
 
 O 3 
 
198 
 
 corps alternately for exercise into the country : the 
 march was countermanded, and the soldiers were 
 absolutely kept under arms, until the ominous 
 hour of attack was passed. The whole proved to be 
 a fabrication, most ingeniously contrived, and a 
 ludicrous story of the conspiracy appeared after- 
 wards in the Paris papers. 
 
 The incredulity which they attribute to the Eng- 
 lish in matters of religion, and their rejection of 
 superstitious faith, excites no less the astonishment 
 of the Greeks, and perhaps their contempt, than 
 the inflexible incorruptibility of the former — that 
 hard cold quality, which, like certain iron, they 
 find to be so unmalleable. From the head of the 
 government down to the lowest corporal in the 
 British army, this refractory property has been 
 found to exist, but unsuccessfully assayed. I have 
 known of bribes having been indirectly offered to 
 British officers, and when scornfully rejected, the 
 only emotion excited was that of surprise at this 
 stupid indifference to self-interest. Where a direct 
 attempt at corruption has been thus discouraged, 
 the wily Greek has changed his plan of operations, 
 and attempted to secure his victim by a secret 
 appeal to his gratitude ; thus presents have been 
 made, large for the condition of the giver, and with 
 the greatest apparent disinterestedness ; they have 
 been occasionally accepted too, upon the score of 
 politeness, but when the price has been looked 
 for, in the exercise of injustice, the result may 
 
199 
 
 readily be conceived, where a British subject was 
 concerned. People should, therefore, be extremely 
 cautious how they accept of presents here, if 
 they wish to save themselves the unpleasant feeling 
 of self-reproach for ingratitude, however innocently 
 incurred — 
 
 timeo danaos et dona ferentes/' 
 
 is a maxim that should not be despised. 
 
 A most glaring instance of corruption has been 
 this day (February 12, 1821 *,) exposed in the 
 courts of justice. Martenengo, of Zante, being put 
 upon his trial for high treason, as principal in the 
 late disturbances in that island, a written proposi- 
 tion was produced in evidence, coming from the 
 prisoner to the Lord High Commissioner, bearing 
 date the 7th January, 1821. 
 
 He commenced by stating, how much the British 
 were indebted to him for their introduction into the 
 islands, to forward which event he had expended 
 eight thousand dollars ; with other claims upon their 
 gratitude, and concluded by directly proposing to 
 His Excellency, that he should be made a senator, 
 when every thing should be done according to his 
 will; (''come egli vorra;") that quiet should be 
 restored in Zante ; that the people should be unde- 
 ceived as to the true purloiners (" Ususpatori,") 
 
 * The author was present and wrote down the facts as they 
 occurred. 
 
200 
 
 of the church revenues T in fine, that his whole 
 fortune and influence in that island should be de- 
 voted to the service of government, and that with 
 regard to the loill of the Lord High Commissioner, 
 he, Martenengo, should be in future tutto, tutto, 
 suo,'") wholly his instrument ! evidently proposing 
 to Sir Thomas Maitland, that to bribe him to procure 
 his enlargement, and to make him a senator, he 
 would without scruple or reserve sell himself and 
 his country. 
 
 The trial gave scope to as beautiful a display of 
 eloquence as perhaps has generally been witnessed : 
 a talent of which I have often observed fine speci- 
 mens in the pleadings in the Greek courts of 
 justice*. 
 
 * The advocate-general, Manzaro, opened the prosecution. When 
 he came to the prisoner's own deposition, (who was removed from 
 the courts, having refused to plead,) he imagined him to be present, 
 and addressed himself to the spot where he had stood ; taking to 
 pieces the whole of his deposition, refuting and confuting him upon 
 every point, in a most lively and animated dialogue, (for he spoke 
 for the prisoner also,) and concluded in a strain of oratory, well 
 worthy a more suitable occasion. Alluding to the extensive in- 
 fluence of Martenengo, and the means he took to intimidate the 
 primates of the villages, he proceeded : " This feudatory despot of 
 Zante, the terror of the world ! forgot every circumstance ; one thing 
 only did he recollect, that he was taken unprepared, (" improvisoria- 
 mente,^^) and by night ; thus giving, I suppose, an idea of the mild 
 and equitable government that he meant to establish, that no one 
 should be arrested without warning forsooth, and never by night. — 
 Again until he was ' sradicato* (eradicated) from his chamber at 
 
201 
 
 Faction, however absurd the term may appear, 
 as applied to these islands under their present cir- 
 cumstances, still manifests itself occasionally. The 
 source of this evil arises in the disappointment of 
 party, and the spirit is kept up by the designing, in 
 the ridiculous expectation of Russia's interfering 
 in the management of these little states : hence the 
 idea of the Russian party. 
 
 That the Russian minister, who is a Corfiot, did 
 interfere in behalf of his friends and relations is at 
 least generally believed, and the formal declaration* 
 of the government, disappointing the views of those 
 who speculated upon such changes, renders it ex- 
 tremely probable. The circumstance of such a 
 person being employed in the Russian cabinet, 
 added to the consideration of the views which' that 
 government formerly had upon these islands, and 
 upon Greece in general, however time, (that is poli- 
 tical time, which in the course of one year has been 
 found to outstrip the ordinary march of ages,) may 
 have altered those views, have misled many: and 
 still there are malcontents who are stupid enough to 
 look forward to Russia. That the Emperor of 
 Russia would involve himself in a dispute with 
 Great Britain, for the sake of establishing one party 
 
 Zante — his Teppelene ! his Yanina ! whence the bloody mandates o< 
 this tyrant were issued," — (alluding to his instigating the people by 
 his secret emissaries to murder the Protopapa.) 
 
 * The proclamation of Sir Thomas Maitland, in 1820, stating his 
 determination to continue the President of the senate in his office. 
 
202 
 
 or another here, is too ridiculous for any but the 
 parties themselves to suppose ; and to imagine that 
 he would incur the same risk for the sake of appro- 
 priating the islands, is imputing to him an equally 
 bad policy : and, were not the honour of England 
 concerned in resisting such unwarrantable preten- 
 sions upon the one part, or such downright aggres- 
 sion upon the other, it is a question whether she 
 should not submit to the insult, and abandon the 
 Ionian islands to their own destiny ; thus exonera- 
 ting herself of a troublesome and unprofitable charge, 
 and freeing herself of an unnecessary expense, which 
 she has been lavishing upon an ungrateful spoilt 
 child, only her's by adoption. Were such specula- 
 tions and such factions to continue to disturb the 
 government, such must be the result : we cannot 
 spare more troops to keep these turbulent islanders 
 in order. But it is to be hoped, for the sake of the 
 people themselves, that these disturbances are but 
 partial and temporary, and that a general sense of 
 their own interest will oppose itself to the ambitious 
 views, and seditious instigations of disappointed 
 individuals. As to the Russian party, it must be 
 looked upon as a mere chimera. 
 
 The comparatively high salaries annexed to the 
 different offices has been their apple of discord: 
 hence the jealousy excited amongst them, well 
 knowing that the persons thus elevated in rank and 
 fortune above them are not much better in reality 
 than themselves: a reflection naturally invidious 
 
203 
 
 and humiliating ; but which must always attend the 
 new allotment of places and power in the formation 
 of all new governments. 
 
 It would appear from these considerations that 
 the government of these islands will require a 
 tighter rather than a more lax rein, and indeed 
 their state of comparative tranquillity under the op- 
 pressive government of Venice proves the position 
 to a demonstration, (admitting the comparative ex- 
 cellence of the new constitution, which no septin- 
 sular malcontent will be, perhaps, disposed to ques- 
 tion, if the Venetian gallies, the Russian knout, 
 French assignats, or the Turkish bastinado do not 
 altogether escape his recollection.) As patriotism 
 has degenerated into a spirit of faction and licen- 
 tiousness, so has the valour of the ancient Greeks 
 been absorbed in equally immoral and odious quali- 
 ties amongst their degenerate descendants*; thus 
 an implacable spirit of revenge is fostered against 
 
 • Their want of courage is well exemplified in the conduct of 
 the boatmen, who, upon several occasions, when danger existed from 
 bad weather, hare been literally driven by blows from their lamps 
 and saints by British officers, to work to save their own dastardly 
 lives. Many a ridiculous example of this spirit has been also ex- 
 posed in the persons of the valiant senators and legislators them- 
 selves, who have to proceed to Corfu annually from the other 
 islands to attend the meetings of parliament. The usual compact 
 upon these occasions is, that they shall sleep on shore every night ! 
 so that if they cannot coast it, they must run into harbour at night, 
 or go back until a favourable opportunity offers to make the stretch 
 by day between two islands; this is usually done in a calm 
 by rowing. 
 
204 
 
 an enemy, and handed down from father to son: 
 this horrible propensity was also encouraged by the 
 venality of the Venetian administration, which ex- 
 tended to the purchase of immunity from guilt, and 
 ' the license to raise the dark knife and bloody 
 stilletto against the breast of unoffending innocence. 
 
205 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Education — Emigy^ation for the acquirement of know- 
 ledge — College intended to be built at Ithaca — Lan- 
 guage — Facility with which the Greeks acquire foreign 
 languages — Society — degradation of the women — Mu- 
 sic and dancing — Choro Cretico — Interior ornament 
 of Greek houses — Subserviency — Hospitality — Living 
 — Provisions — Climate — Marriage — Funerals, 
 
 THE education of the lower classes is by no 
 means so neglected, as the little attention paid by 
 the islanders to other important objects would lead 
 one to conclude it to be. There are few villages in 
 which the elementary part of education, reading at 
 least, is not taught by one or more masters who 
 are usually priests. This is an advantage which, 
 perhaps, in most catholic countries also, balances 
 in a great measure the evil, which is considered to 
 affect society, in the poverty and want of better 
 education of the lower order of the priesthood. The 
 profound reverence, which the sacred habit always 
 inspires in these countries, cannot but have a 
 tendency to render the precepts taught by their 
 
206 
 
 clergy the more impressive. The great defect is 
 the want of seminaries for the instruction of youth 
 of the higher and middle classes. Their only re- 
 source at present is to repair to the continental 
 schools, and chiefly to those of Italy, where the 
 greater part of the young men are educated, at least 
 such as are designed for the law, or to become phy- 
 sicians. The Cephaloniots are remarkable for this 
 propensity to emigrate for the sake of studying, the 
 latter profession particularly; and many of them 
 afterwards settle in the Turkish dominions where 
 they are held in great repute. It is expected that 
 government will establish a college, and Ithaca is 
 generally supposed to have been selected, as the 
 most central and convenient place for this pur- 
 pose. Lord Guildford has undertaken the manage- 
 ment and completion of this project with a truly 
 literary, and, we are persuaded, benevolent spirit ; 
 it is only to be regretted that greater progress has 
 not been made towards the accomplishment of the 
 design. It is to be hoped that the advantages 
 of the institution will be extended to the whole of 
 Greece, insular and continental, from the largeness 
 of the scale upon which, as it is understood, the 
 foundation is to be laid. 
 
 Although the purposes of general education may 
 be fully carried into effect, by the selection of pro- 
 fessors suitably qualified, it is to be feared, that to 
 acquire a practical knowlege of law and physic, 
 recourse must, after all, be had to the continental 
 
207 
 
 schools. With regard to the profession of physic 
 at least, it is certain that, without the opportu- 
 nities, such as are afforded by populous cities, of 
 studying diseases in hospitals at the bed of the 
 sick, as well as the facilities, which are there only 
 available, of acquiring a practical knowledge of the 
 elementary sciences of anatomy and chemistry, that 
 important art cannot be learned. 
 
 The language spoken in the islands is a dialect 
 of the Romaic ; most of the inhabitants of the large 
 towns speak also Italian in the Venetian dialect, 
 and many of them speak French. In speaking 
 Italian they use the nasal sound of the French 
 nearly, with the elision of the final e in such words 
 as padrone,^' which they pronounce, padron, or, 
 more generally, patron ; nearly as the French would 
 pronounce that word : this is the most remarkable 
 peculiarity. Another which is very common, is the 
 sounding of C before E as a Z in English : as C'^," 
 there is, which they pronounce, Ze : a Tuscan would 
 say, Non h buono a Venetian, ''No ze bon;" 
 the latter word pronounced nearly as in French. 
 With regard to the modern Greek, there is still a 
 great affinity between it and the ancient language, 
 indeed so much so, that one who has a common 
 knowledge of the latter, can understand the 
 written Romaic with very little difficulty: for 
 example, an Englishman unacquainted with the 
 Romaic, but knowing ancient Greek, will not under- 
 stand the proclamations, or the church service, w-hich 
 
208 
 
 he hears read to the people ; but can readily com- 
 prehend them if he read them himself. The most 
 remarkable and important change in the language is 
 the disuse of inflections, and the adopting auxilia- 
 ries in the tenses of the verbs, as in other European 
 languages. In the use of auxiliaries may be noticed 
 a curious coincidence with the structure of the 
 English verb, in conjugating the future tense with 
 the word BeXa) (thelo, ) I will ; the other auxiliaries 
 are the verbs djULi and e^f^, which are used as the 
 verbs, to be, to have, and correspondent others in the 
 other European languages. The most remarkable 
 variations from our mode of pronouncing Greek are, 
 in the letter j3, which is sounded like our letter V ; 
 in the diphthong, cu, which is sounded, ep ; in the 
 letter A, which is pronounced dtheelta ; and in the 
 letter Y, which is pronounced as the English vowel 
 E. An example of the first variation is in pro- 
 nouncing the word Vathi, spelt in Greek, (5a0l, a 
 town in Ithaca; (so called from jSaOoc, depth, on 
 account of the deepness of its port;) the etymology 
 of the word, as it is spoken, would altogether 
 escape the observation of an Englishman who was 
 unacquainted with its orthography. The modern 
 pronunciation of the word OSvcrcrevg, which is called 
 Odisseps, is an instance of the second variation. 
 A remarkable peculiarity in the Greek, as dis- 
 tinguished from the English mode of reading Romaic, 
 is, the frequent accentuation of the last syllable'; 
 the quantity is twice sacrificed in their way of pro- 
 nouncing avOpwTTo?, which they call, anthi^opos. The 
 
209 
 
 introduction of Italian has tended greatly to cor- 
 rupt the native language, a number of the phrases of 
 the former being intermixed with the language 
 spoken by the people who live in towns. The 
 villagers are free from this adulteration, and the 
 consequence is, that much purer Romaic is spoken 
 in the country than in the large towns. The Greeks 
 learn English with great facility, and pronounce it 
 better than, perhaps, any other foreigners ; the pro- 
 nunciation of the English Th is quite familiar to 
 them; their O answering to our Th in the word 
 thin ;" and A to Th in the word, this." 
 
 In society a great difficulty exists of uniting the 
 Greeks with the English. Very little has been done 
 to remove the impediments to so desirable an object, 
 and this must be, in a great measure, attributed to 
 the disposition of the English themselves. There 
 is a great difference between the French and us in 
 this respect : a Frenchman who despises every other 
 but the ''grande nation^' has yet the policy and 
 the good manners to conceal his opinion, as far as it 
 affects others in his scale of comparison. A surly 
 Englishman despises all the world ; and what is 
 worse, he makes them know and feel his contempt, 
 having neither the good sense nor politeness to keep 
 his spleen to himself : so that it is doubtful if more 
 is not lost by this drawback of plainness and sin- 
 cerity, than is gained by his high opinion of himself, 
 howerer justly he may entertain it. Whatever be 
 the reason, the fact is, that the Greeks and English 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 do not associate together as they aught : indeed, 
 excepting amongst the better orders, the Greeks 
 very seldom associate with each other, that is to 
 say, according to the English and French notions 
 of society. 
 
 Excepting at Corfu, the women are universally 
 banished from table, their usual employment being 
 to cook for their husbands, to serve their dinner 
 or supper, and to perform every other menial office 
 about the house; contenting themselves with an 
 irregular unenjoyous meal taken at intervals, as 
 their domestic occupations allow, or their inclina- 
 tions prompt. In the country the female peasant 
 carries the wood and water*, works at the olive 
 mill, and performs, in fact, every laborious office, 
 whilst her husband sleeps or feeds, until the task 
 of pruning the vines, cultivating the fields, (which 
 toil is indeed common to both sexes,) or other 
 duty assigned to him, calls forth his exertions, 
 and when this is the case, he can hardly be called 
 
 * The author, during the plague at LeftimO;, had to shut up the 
 viUage of Milichia, containing about eight hundred inhabitants; that 
 is, to have their provisions carried to them in their houses, where 
 they were locked up to prevent communication. Amongst other 
 necessaries the conveyance of water was one of the principal, and it 
 was with no small difficulty that eight men could be procured in the 
 village to supply the different families : alleging, that carrying 
 water was an office always performed by women, and that a Greek 
 was ashamed, aveva vergogna,'' as it was interpreted, to do the 
 work of women. However, it was necessary to remove their scruples 
 by foat^ to insure the public safety. 
 
idle. At the festivals in the country, which are 
 celebrated in the open air, the men and women 
 separate into distinct parties, sitting down in 
 circles, and dining upon the grass in the olive 
 shade : these are the occasions of their greatest 
 mirth and hilarity ; and, certainly, a very delight- 
 ful spectacle it is. After refreshing themselves, 
 they unite into sets and dance upon the green 
 turf under a cloudless sky, w^ith a merriment which 
 is, at least, undisturbed by any disgraceful instances 
 of intoxication : — one loves to enjoy scenes of human 
 happiness like these ! 
 
 The Greeks, like the Italians, are passionately 
 fond of music and dancing ; amongst the peasantry 
 the favourite dance is the Ariadne, or, as it is 
 more generally termed by them, yopw KperlKoj ( Choro 
 Cretico), the Cretan dance. This common appel- 
 lation, as well as the figure of the dance, are sin- 
 gular facts which seem to indicate its origin. The 
 men and women stand alternately, holding each 
 other by a white handkerchief, in a circle, which 
 is broken by an interval between the leader and 
 the last person of the dance; the leader is the 
 principal, or rather the only figurante^ performing 
 several tricks and feats, tumbling and winding 
 through the circle, which follows him in his various 
 evolutions. The holding by the handkerchief, and 
 the antic naanceuvres of the yop^yoq ( choregos J, as 
 he is called, are supposed to bear some remote 
 allusion to the clue of Ariadne, and the extrication 
 
 P2 
 
212 
 
 of Theseus by it through the windings of the 
 labyrinth. As to the gracefulness of the performers 
 much cannot be said, no more than perhaps of any 
 other rustic dance ; it is, however, much more light 
 and agreeable than the boisterous Scotch and Irish 
 performances, by the same class of people, or the 
 cumbrous English dance *. That the Greeks are 
 still capable of moving gracefully to time is clearly 
 evinced in the masquerade dancing which is some- 
 times seen upon the stage at Corfu during the car- 
 nival, as also at the public balls given occasionally 
 by the Governor, and by the British garrison. 
 Waltzes and quadrilles, with select English country 
 dances, are as elegantly gone through, if not more 
 so, than they are at much more fashionable towns 
 than Corfu. 
 
 The taste of the Greeks for music, is not less 
 remarkable than their fondness for dancing. In 
 the larger towns the Italian music is preferred to 
 
 * The author was singularly amused one night at Argostoli by a 
 party of young fellows, Greeks, who, like the Italians, parade the 
 streets at night, singing to a fiddle and guitar. It was of a beautiful 
 moon-light night in December; the party took it into their heads to 
 mimic the English dancing ; they romped, and stamped, and roared, 
 burlesquing the noisy reel, gig, and English country dance of our 
 soldiers and soldiers' wives, of which they had a little before seen a 
 specimen at a serjeanVs ball, in honour of St. Andrew. This 
 farcical ballet was, however, performed to a sort of musical cadence, 
 which, without any particular tune or figure, bore a certain resem- 
 blance to what it was intended to represent, and was exceedingly 
 droll and laugl^hle. 
 
213 
 
 the native, and it is a custom, as common as it is 
 in Italy, for parties to parade the streets at night, 
 serenading, and singing in concert with the guitar 
 and violin parts out of the finest Italian operas. 
 The plaintive Greek airs * too, have a pathos which, 
 in the stillness of the serene nights of this soft 
 climate, produce an effect that is indescribably 
 delightful. Many of the Italian songs are put into 
 Greek version with the original music : of these 
 Anima Mia, in Greek ^v^rj /ms ( Psiche moo ), is one 
 of the most remarkable and the most beautiful. 
 
 Amongst the amusements of the modern Greeks, 
 the most manly and the most graceful is the 
 giostra. This is performed on horseback by run- 
 ning with a lance at a ring, which is suspended 
 over the horsemen at a convenient height. He who 
 carries off the ring upon the lance wins the prize. 
 Great preparations are made for this spectacle,, 
 stages are erected for the umpires, and the prize, 
 which is usually a handsome sword or other appro- 
 priate gift, is conferred upon the winner, generally 
 by the head of the government. This is a truly 
 elegant amusement, and well worthy of imitation ; 
 the spirit and condition of the island horses do not, 
 however, add much to its grandeur. 
 
 The dress of the Greek islanders is remarkably 
 
 • A specimen of a very favourite Romaic tune is given in the 
 Appendix (F). This is very much admired, and very beautifiilly 
 sung by the Greek ladies at Corfu. 
 
 P 3 
 
214 
 
 different from the general European costume. The 
 better classes, and those who live in large towns, 
 have adopted the Venetian and Italian, and lat- 
 terly the English and French modes, but the lower 
 orders and the villages preserve their own dress. 
 To begin with the head — the hair is worn long and 
 floating upon the shoulders ; some use the small 
 red Albanian scull cap, which just covers the 
 crown of the head; others wear a cap of white, 
 blue, or red cotton, which hangs in a bag behind, 
 or at one side : this is the most common head dress 
 of the men, particularly of the peasantry. A double 
 breasted waistcoat usually made of velvet, marone 
 coloured or blue, is fastened wide across the chest 
 with a double row of hanging buttons of gold or 
 silver, which descend from each shoulder and ap- 
 proach each other to the waist. It is generally 
 bordered with broad gold lace, and made to fasten 
 with the sash, of coloured silk, which is worn close 
 to the waist : this is a very beautiful dress. The 
 lower covering, which is the most peculiar, is called 
 thoraki. This is a wide sack, as it were, made 
 mostly of blue cotton, with holes at the corners 
 through which the legs are thrust, and when worn, 
 forms many folds of superfluous cloth that hang 
 between the legs. It resembles a cossack trowsers 
 somewhat, cut short at the knee, the hinder part 
 descending about one third down the thighs : this 
 part of the dress is very unbecoming indeed. The 
 thoraki is supported by the silk sash, which em- 
 braces the loins as above described, and the latter 
 
215 
 
 being worn tightly from their infancy makes them 
 remarkably small in the waist: this, combined 
 with other causes renders them however subject to 
 certain physical inconveniences of a very serious 
 description. The short white petticoat of the Al- 
 banian, unconfined at the knee, and resembling the 
 scotch kilt, but that its simplicity renders it more 
 beautiful, is a much more graceful dress than the 
 thoraki. On the legs are worn white cotton stock- 
 ings, and shoes on the feet, with very large buckles, 
 or made in the shape of women's shoes. A much 
 prettier covering for the feet is a sandal made 
 of undressed leather, fitting the foot exactly, and 
 strapped across the instep and up the lower part 
 of the leg : this is only worn by the very lowest 
 class, chiefly the goat-herds ; the remaining part 
 of the dress of these last poor people, consists 
 of a thick cloak of goats' hair or wool with a hood 
 to cover the head; sometimes, simply a sheep- 
 skin fashioned into a cloak, but of whatever material 
 it is made, they usually sleep in it in the open 
 air. The women wear their hair platted and hang- 
 ing down to their heels ; they take great pains with 
 it : a handkerchief, worn cornerwise, usually covers 
 the head. The waists are long, the vests made like 
 the men's, of purple or marone velvet, richly or- 
 namented with gold lace. A beautiful girdle is worn 
 under the vest, which latter floats open, the former 
 fastened in front by a clasp, which is connected with 
 an immensely large gold or silver ornament at each 
 side, round and convex like the center of a shield. 
 
216 
 
 The petticoats are of pink or blue silk, richly ' 
 bordered and spangled. No stays are worn. The 
 greatest singularity in the female dress is, its fitting 
 closely to the waist all round, which is far from 
 being unbecoming to a well formed woman. The 
 female peasants wear high heels to their shoes, 
 and very large silver buckles. 
 
 The interior of the houses of the Greeks is, gene- 
 rally speaking, and considering their other habits, 
 clean ; they all have a good bed, that is, good 
 for the condition of the owner. A great degree of 
 neatness prevails in the houses of some of the better 
 class ; the ornament however shews more of false 
 taste than a proper notion of comfort. Their fur- 
 niture is procured from Venice and Trieste. Amongst 
 others of their decorations may be occasionally ob- 
 served a likeness of his Majesty, not very flattering^ 
 indeed, and copied by the Greek artists from 
 original drawings : A bust of Sir Thomas Maitland, 
 or whomever happens to be governor*, is to be 
 seen in every legislator's and judge's house, and 
 sometimes a daub, intended to represent some local 
 governor or resident, serve to make up the list 
 
 * The present Lord High Commissioner had hardly opened his 
 lips when he was denominated the Aristides, the Solon, the Conon, 
 and the Quidnon of the age. We have a high respect for his 
 Excellency, but imagine that it never entered into his head to cope 
 "with those old Grecian worthies, otherwise the matter might here^ 
 after c me into serious disputs before Lord Chief Justice MinoSj^ 
 or Judge Rhadamanthus perhaps, in the Areopagus of Pluto. 
 
217 
 
 of their lares and penates. Not long since their only 
 idol was Sir James Campbell, late governor in 
 the islands, whose bust of stucco now sells upon 
 the standings for a few oboli. Notwithstanding 
 their insincerity, the Greeks are remarkable for 
 their hospitality — that innate virtue of the human 
 heart, which is found often to exist where almost 
 every other is unknown, and which, since the day of 
 the exchange of armour between Glaucus and Dio- 
 mede, seems to be hereditary with them, as well 
 as the craft which was practised upon that occasion. 
 
 The better classes dine at one o'clock, after 
 which they sleep, as in Spain and Italy, until four 
 P. M., in the hot weather. The more common hour 
 of dinner is at noon, and is always a light meal, 
 consisting perhaps of a little bread and cheese, or a 
 salad and some wine. Breakfast is taken at an 
 early hour, and is made of one or two small dishes 
 of coffee. Coffee or lemonade is invariably pre- 
 sented to visitors in the forenoon, with various sorts 
 of liqueurs ; rum is very much relished on these 
 occasions. The chief meal is supper, when they 
 (the men) sit down regularly, and enjoy their fowl 
 and soup, or fish, cheese, salad, and fruit with 
 wine : in almost every house, whatever be the fare, 
 napkins are used, and silver forks and spoons. 
 Although their usual manner of living is simple, yet 
 upon great festivals or entertainments, the pro- 
 fusion and variety of dishes, and the voraciousness 
 of the guests are truly astonishing. A favourite dish 
 
218 
 
 upon these occasions, is an immense roasted turkey 
 garnished with fowls, or a lamb roasted whole. 
 Intoxication is seldom or never witnessed. 
 
 There are no hotels or coffee houses in the islands 
 excepting the locanda, which are of the meanest 
 description of Italian or Venetian eating houses. 
 An English hotel has been lately established at Corfii 
 upon a large and handsome scale, but it is to 
 be feared that this speculation will not succeed, 
 from the few strangers that resort there, who have 
 not lodgings provided for them elsewhere. The 
 establishment deserves every sort of encouragement. 
 
 Provisions are, upon the whole, exceedingly bad 
 throughout the islands. Good mutton is scarcely 
 ever to be got, and beef almost as seldom. A good 
 dish of fish may sometimes be procured by mere 
 accident, and the poultry is far inferior to that 
 of England. Fresh butter is not to be had, and 
 the milk of goats is used, but even this supply 
 fails altogether for about three months, at the latter 
 end of the year. Bread is generally good and cheap ; 
 wine is cheap, but not good, the common wine in 
 use being little better than English small beer. 
 Upon the whole a person living here must forego 
 many little comforts, and submit to many priva- 
 tions ; amongst these may be reckoned, in winter, 
 • the scarcity and dearness of fuel, and the bad con- 
 struction of the houses for the exclusion of cold, 
 to which one becomes doubly sensible by long im- 
 
219 
 
 mersion in the heat during the summer months ; 
 indeed this inconvenience has something even more 
 positive in it, viz. the cold arising from the neigh- 
 bourhood of the snowy Albanian mountains, and. 
 the stormy and rainy weather of winter. So that 
 it behoves a pampered invalid to consider well 
 with what fortitude and resignation he can bear 
 all these little abstractions, before he changes his 
 comfortable fire side at home, for visionary expecta- 
 tions of health and happiness abroad. 
 
 Yet the climate, with the exception of these 
 changes, is, upon the whole delightful, and to one 
 in the full enjoyment of health, superior to most 
 others. The variable winter weather is but short, 
 and the cold, although occasionally severe, is not 
 excessive ; it usually commences about Christmas, 
 when the Albanian mountains have collected their 
 winter covering of snow. The thermometer now, 
 during the prevalence of the easterly winds, often 
 sinks as low as 45"" and even 40"* of Fahrenheit, but 
 seldom falls so low as the freezing point : this often 
 alternates with a delightful spring temperature, 
 while the southerly and westerly winds prevail. 
 
 In February, the early fruit trees, as the almond, 
 apricot, and peach, shoot forth their blossoms ; 
 and in March follow the pears, apples, and cher- 
 ries. When the spring is mild, the cherries ripen 
 early in April. Abundance of vegetables now pour 
 in, in quick succession; cauliflowers, artichokes. 
 
220 
 
 pease, and beans, and only require, with the various 
 fruits, a more careful and scientific system of hor- 
 ticulture, to improve their quality and protract the 
 succession of their crops. The delicious green figs 
 come in in May; grapes ripen in July, and oranges 
 and citrons may be pulled off the tree the whole 
 year round, the blossoms and fruit appearing at 
 once upon the same stem. The olives blossom in 
 the month of April, ripen in October, and are ga- 
 thered in November. The fruit when undisturbed 
 remains upon the tree until May, the latter afford- 
 ing no nourishment to the young blossoms till the 
 spring of the following year ; so that the production 
 of oil takes place biennially.* 
 
 The violet, the hyacinth, ranunculus, jonquil, and 
 rose, appear early in the spring, and are succeeded 
 by other flowers innumerable in abundance and 
 variety. 
 
 Vegetation, which is so rapid in the Spring, 
 suffers an early check from the heat in June ; but 
 
 * The durability of this tree is astonishing, it is known to last for 
 centuries, and its strong attachment to life is every where exem- 
 plified, in the shells of old trunks which still bear fruit; I have 
 seen these consisting almost solely of the bark, without the alburnum, 
 or interior wood of the tree, so that by what means the circulation of 
 the sap, and support of vegetation is carried on, seems to be a ques- 
 tion for physiologists. Another singular fact which I have noticed is 
 the root remaining in the ground after the rest of the tree had been 
 wholly decayed, being turned into limestone: so that Minerva'^s 
 olive, in the acropolis of Athens, seems to cease to be miraculous. 
 
221 
 
 no sooner has the high temperature been permanently 
 lowered by the equinoctial rains, than a second and 
 lovelier spring succeeds, spreading her green mantle 
 over the arid mountains, and developing her new 
 store of roses and autumnal flowers in gay profusion. 
 This delightful weather often continues till Christ- 
 mas, and in remarkably mild winters, is almost un- 
 interrupted, until the hot weather commences in 
 June again: so that the enchanting picture of per- 
 petual Spring, which the author of Telemachus 
 draws of the island of Calypso, is here, in some 
 years, almost realized. The beauty of the ever- 
 greens adds not a little to the effect, produced by 
 the occasionally temperate winters, and always 
 diminishes the gloom and sadness of that season : 
 the laurel, the myrtle, pine, cypress, olive, orange, 
 locust, date, and many other trees, preserve their 
 verdure diversifying the winter scenery with the 
 tints of Spring. The excessively hot weather com- 
 mences about the middle of July ; the thermometer 
 now gradually ascends from 84'' to 90% which is the 
 usual maximum ; it however reaches 96^ in some 
 hot years. This uncomfortable heat continues until 
 the rains fall in the latter end of August or beginning 
 of September ; they are regularly periodical, and 
 may be looked for in either the last week of the 
 former, or first week of the latter month. The ardent 
 summer fever now sets in, and there is much danger 
 in exposure to the sun between the hours of six 
 o'clock in the morning and five in the evening, although 
 the sea breeze frequently renders it pleasant, and safe, 
 
222 
 
 out of doors, between ten o'clock and noon. The sun 
 ' setting in this parallel more than an hour earlier 
 than it does in England, at the summer solstice, 
 that is to say, the length of the day from noon to 
 sunset being more than one hour less, a delightful 
 coolness immediately succeeds his immersion below 
 the horizon, and the dews quickly descending, 
 reduce the temperature of the external air still more. 
 The beauty of the mountain tints at this moment are 
 particularly striking, their bases enveloped in a 
 purple partaking mostly of blue, while their sum- 
 mits still glow with a beautiful soft lake, as rich as if 
 it were laid upon velvet. The fire fly, which haunts 
 the moist ditches, now illuminates the hedges with 
 its sparkling lamp, and every object invites to par- 
 take of the freshness of the evening; the public 
 walks are crowded, and the ice and coffee-houses 
 thickly frequented ; seats are disposed in front out- 
 side of the shops, and the hour of rest is pro- 
 tracted usually till long after midnight, the natives 
 wisely substituting their siesta, or afternoon sleep, 
 for that which would otherwise deprive them of the 
 enjoyment of these delicious hours. 
 
 The Greeks marry early ; there are instances of 
 girls commencing the cares of a family at eleven 
 years of age, many at twelve, and most begin before 
 sixteen. A virgin arrived at the age of twenty-five, 
 is as eff'ectually removed from all matrimonial com- 
 petition, as a maiden lady with us at forty : the 
 malich is made up by the parents of the young 
 
22S 
 
 people, who generally never see each other until 
 all is concluded but the ceremony. There is a 
 regular valuation of the bride's dresses and house- 
 hold furniture, called the stima, w^hich enters into 
 the computation of the dov^ry between the old folk. 
 Matters being so far arranged, the man pays his 
 intended a formal visit, and makes her a present of 
 a ring, from which time they are betrothed. The 
 wedding may be deferred for an indefinite period 
 afterwards, but is, nevertheless, fixed upon from this 
 moment : the time selected is, when circumstances 
 will allow, (of course time being the chief considera- 
 tion,) immediately before, or after Lent, viz., during 
 the carnival, and more frequently at Easter. The mar- 
 riage ceremony is performed with great solemnity, 
 the priest attending, dressed in his robes, with book 
 and candle light ; and if it be more tedious to the 
 parties themselves, than it is to the spectator, it 
 must be a tiresome one indeed. Amongst other 
 parts of the ceremony, the bride and bridegroom 
 are ornamented with a crown of green myrtle or 
 laurel, this has a pretty effect ; the custom is most 
 probably derived from the ancients. The con- 
 summation of the nuptials is verified, and celebrated 
 in a most extraordinary way. The reader shall not 
 be insulted with the description of this truly indeli- 
 cate and indecent custom, but if he be curious to 
 know it, he will find it in St. Sauveur, chap. 4. 
 book 6. sect. 4. 
 
 The exclusively interested motives which regulate 
 
224 
 
 the union of the sexes, of course preclude all possi- 
 bility of mutual attachment, unless it be formed 
 after marriage ; the consequence of which is, that 
 the immoral practice of divorcement is carried to 
 great lengths, and conjugal infidelity is as general, 
 as every other breach of morals and good faith. 
 An exchange of wives is not an uncommon occur- 
 rence, to the mutual satisfaction of all the parties 
 concerned. 
 
 After marriage, the young couple occupy a por- 
 tion of the family residence, each succeeding male 
 member who marries taking home his wife also into 
 his father's house : the paternal mansion becomes 
 thus sub-divided into a number of separate dwell- 
 ings, the master of each having an equal interest in 
 the family estate. The confusion arising from the 
 clashing of so many interests, thus oddly combined, 
 may be well imagined : but, the most disgraceful 
 part of the system is, the total usurpation pf paternal 
 authority, the natural head of the family being, 
 in most instances, deposed from his domestic rights, 
 and reduced to a state very little preferable to that 
 of one of his own menials. 
 
 The infamous practice of prostituting their chil- 
 dren is common in the islands. A father will make 
 a contract to dispose of his daughter for from one to 
 three hundred dollars, and the girl regards the sacri- 
 fice upon her part as highly meritorious, inasmuch 
 
 it contributes to her parent's comfort or support. 
 
225 
 
 The criminality of the action being thus softened 
 down, other inducements besides that of filial affec- 
 tion are not wanting to entice the deluded female 
 from the paths of virtue and honour, and to plunge 
 her into an abyss of vice and infamy. The con- 
 sequence is, that the practice is openly avowed, 
 and, as if the law only regarded the interest and 
 well being of the parent in all cases of the kind, 
 there is no punishment for the wretch who thus 
 sacrifices the honour of his family: on the con- 
 trary, he is fully protected in the possession of 
 this, his property, by being allowed ample damages 
 against the seducer, in case of elopement ; the law 
 being, that the latter shall be fined in a sum equi- 
 valent to what might be considered the virgin's 
 portion, were she to be given away in marriage. 
 
 The dead are buried in the body of the churches 
 usually. They are interred always with their 
 clothes, just as they were worn in life ; previously 
 to their being deposited in the grave they are 
 conveyed, dressed as above, in an open bier. 
 This custom appears singular, and rather revolting 
 at first to those who are unused to it ; but, 
 upon reflection, it must be allowed, that the 
 more we are familiarized to objects connected with 
 our necessary state of mortality, the better re- 
 conciled are we, perhaps, to the loss of friends, 
 and the better prepared for our own inevitable 
 lot. As soon as the bier is raised from the ground, 
 an earthen vessel is flung out at the window, and 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 broken to pieces on the ground ; the procession 
 then moves off, attended by the clergy all in black, 
 and with lighted candles, to the church, where the 
 body remains for some hours before interment, laid 
 out, it were, in state. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
229 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 A 
 
 THE following remarks upon disease are chiefly ad- 
 dressed to the profession, and principally to the medi- 
 cal officers doing duty in these islands. The author 
 offers them only as such, and with great deference ; 
 a regular treatise upon the subject being, of course, 
 excluded from the scope of this work ; they were 
 made mostly, as was before stated, during a resi- 
 dence at Santa Maura, where first the marked 
 character of remittent fever struck the author, in 
 its most concentrated form, as an epidemic and an 
 endemic disease. He would wish to be fully under- 
 stood, in not here attempting to decry the use of 
 blood-letting in fever in general : a remedy which, 
 for six months in the year, he always found to be 
 the sheet anchor in the treatment of the Mediterra- 
 nean fever, and the utility of which the late 
 Doctor Irvine fully developed in his treatise upon 
 the diseases of Sicily. 
 
 The autumnal fever of Santa Maura differs from 
 the bilious remittent that I have seen in other parts 
 of the Mediterranean only in degree, and chiefly in 
 the great degree of debility succeeding to the 
 stage of excitement. There seems to be something 
 
 Q3 
 
230 
 
 in the remote cause, exclusive of the violent re- 
 action of the system, calculated to produce this 
 alarming state, w^hich no tonics or stimulants can 
 support or overcome ; for, it occasionally takes place 
 where but little febrile action has preceded it. In 
 individuals where this direct impression has been 
 made, and its effects are afterwards to be evolved, 
 bleeding is a highly dangerous operation, and is 
 generally to be avoided: the remedy is extremely 
 unpopular, and particularly so when the season is 
 advanced ; the middle of July may be looked upon 
 as the period at which this revolution takes place. 
 The fever, when attended with this debility, has 
 been miscalled, typhus * ; by the medical people of 
 the country it is often called, amphimerina paludosa; 
 but more commonly, terzana; sometimes, hemitriteo, 
 according as they fancy that they have noted the 
 duration and return of paroxysms or exacerbations. 
 The medical practitioners here use emetics at first, 
 and a preparation of antimony, kermes' mineral ; 
 they use the bark in large quantities. The fever, 
 as it attacks the British in the island, is ushered in 
 by slight shiverings, or rather fits of chilliness, alter- 
 nating with transient flushes of heat; the more 
 ardent the fever the less observable however are the 
 chills ; the headach and heat of skin then come on 
 
 * I never knew an instance of its being communicated by 
 contagion. In most of the hospitals on this station, the cases of 
 fever are necessarily mixed with other diseases, from the great pro- 
 portion of the former and the want of room ; I never saw a case of 
 remittent fever caught from another in hospital. / 
 
231 
 
 at once ; the former is sometimes so violent as to 
 affect the sight : I have seen it produce hemeralopia> 
 in two instances. The affection of vision is sym- 
 pathetic, and its cause, as v^ell as that of the head- 
 ach, mostly referrible to foulness of stomach* A smart 
 emetic is here the most useful remedy, although 
 during its operation the pain of head be sometimes 
 aggravated by it ; when, a blister applied to the nape 
 of the neck will remove the pain altogether in many 
 cases : a powder of twenty grains of ipecacuanha and 
 one grain of tartar emetic, repeated in a quarter of an 
 hour, if the first powder fail, generally succeeds 
 in evacuating a quantity of green bile, which will 
 also pass off sometimes by stooL This usually re* 
 lieves the head after one or two hours, and procures 
 comfortable sleep, particularly when given in the 
 evening** The same effect however often follows, 
 although not a particle of bile be dislodged, simply 
 from the shock of the emetic upon 'the system f. 
 The emetic should be followed up by a purgative, 
 when necessary, the bolus of calomel and jalap, 
 succeeded by a dose of neutral salts, is perhaps 
 the best. A combination of calomel and antimonial 
 
 * Travellers in Greece should always provide themselves with 
 a number of emetic powders as well as bark and purgative medi- 
 cines; by the former, they may often cut short a fever in a few 
 hours ; by the latter, they can remove one of its exciting causes, 
 and with bark they may support their constitution under its forma- 
 tion. 
 
 t The great danger dreaded from emetics is the effect of determi- 
 nation to the head : I have given at least two hundred emetics in the 
 severest head-achs in fever, and never witnessed that effect. 
 
232 
 
 powder, varying the quantity of each according 
 to the state of the stomach, bowels, and skin, 
 will be found to be a most useful auxilliary to 
 bring about a remission, which succeeds the 
 more speedily by adopting these means, when 
 the bark should be given without delay. The pe- 
 riods of exacerbation and remission should be noted 
 in each case, and the bark administered and con- 
 tinued, as near to the febrile accession or exacer- 
 bation as the stomach will allow. When the pe- 
 riodical returns or augmentations of fever are re- 
 gular, half an ounce of bark, given within an hour 
 before the time of the attack, often interrupts the 
 disposition to its formation and protracts the fit, 
 sometimes even prevents it altogether. The most 
 remarkable critical days are the third and the 
 seventh. The fever often shews a tendency to 
 observe the periodical revolutions of a tertian: 
 this was remarkably the case in the summer of 
 1818. The exacerbations mostly occur at or about 
 noon, and the remissions always take place towards 
 morning. A very deep yellowness of the skin often 
 succeeds, coming on usually about the fourth day : 
 Of eighty cases of remittent fever occurring in the 
 garrison of Santa Maura in the summer of 1817, 
 this symptom appeared, most strongly marked, in 
 twelve instances. The remote cause of the fever 
 lies in the atmosphere; the noxious exhalations 
 having abundant sources at the margin of the 
 lake, and the skirts of the olive wood which touch 
 the town. Notwithstanding the existence of a great 
 
233 
 
 redundancy of bile in most cases, it must be looked 
 upon merely as an accidental symptom, and can- 
 not rank as a cause of the disease in any shape. 
 I have seen three cases of jaundice occurring, whilst 
 the remittent fever was at its height, in none of 
 which was exhibited a symptom of the fever, and 
 I have opened bodies where a deficiency of bile was 
 found, the patients having died of the symptoms of 
 remittent fever. 
 
 In observations post mortem the most striking 
 phenomenon is the great redundancy of bile, which 
 is generally found to distend the gall bladder, and 
 to be extravasated into the duodenum, together with 
 turgescence of the liver. Notwithstanding the gene- 
 rality of this occurrence, I have opened bodies that 
 died of remittent fever, of a bad type, wherein a defi- 
 ciency of bile was the most remarkable phenomenon, 
 with extenuation of the gall bladder and collapse of 
 the iiver : in one case not a particle of bile could be 
 found throughout the whole biliary system. 
 
 The next most remarkable appearance on dis- 
 section in fever, and in fact in all diseases termi- 
 nating fatally here, is a contraction of the colon : 
 in nearly one hundred cases of dissection, most of 
 which I have performed myself, and have been 
 present, a spectator of the remainder, have I wit- 
 nessed this diseased structure in the greater num- 
 ber. This is an observation which can escape no 
 one who is in the habit of inspecting bodies after 
 death in these islands. Whether this alteration of 
 structure arise from the astringent quality of the wines 
 
of these countries, or from habitual and long con- 
 tinued costiveness unattended to by the soldier, 
 or both circumstances conjoined, is worth investi- 
 gating. It is impossible to ascertain if the natives 
 be subject to this disorganization, as the sectio 
 cadaverum is seldom or never performed by them. 
 The free use of oil might correct the astringency of 
 the wine and protect the bowels against its effects. 
 
 There are hardly any other diseases that occur dur- 
 ing the operation of the marsh effluvia, that are not 
 modified thereby. This is perhaps not a new observa- 
 tion ; it is however useful for people to know, who 
 are destined to reside here and in other similar 
 situations: a few instances of the effects of this 
 combination may not be deemed irrelevant, and to 
 a certain class of my readers not uninteresting. 
 
 Wounds and contusions at these seasons are often 
 
 * 
 
 attacked with erysipelatous inflammation ; an abscess 
 deemed critical of fever, has been attacked with a 
 dangerous erysipelas oedematodese Ulcers of the 
 cornea are very intractable here, and more often suc- 
 ceed under treatment by bark, than by other remedies, 
 or, than by the same remedy used in other places ; 
 in scrophulous habits they are almost incurable : dis- 
 eased lining of the palpebrse, and chronic inflamma- 
 tion of the conjunctivae, are equally uncertain and 
 baffling ; they sometimes yield, as well as a great 
 many other chronic diseases, to the use of the bark. 
 Pneumonia, although prevalent to a great extent, and 
 most unscientifically treated by the native practi- 
 tioners, does not often terminate in phthisis, a dis- 
 
235 
 
 ease which is comparatively rare here; another 
 proof, if indeed one were wanted, of the marshy 
 atmosphere being unfavourable to the production of 
 that disease. I have seen cases of phthisis recover 
 here, that, I think, in other places would have been 
 lost: the majority, however, of the consumptive have 
 perished . The inhabitants of the city suffer much 
 from fever ; many of them labour under the sequelae, 
 glandular and visceral obstructions, yet some have 
 the appearance of perfect health, and attain their 
 full size and proportions, like the other natives of 
 this island, who are so remarkable for their manli- 
 ness of person and symmetry of form. 
 
 The following tables were drawn up in the year 
 1818, from the hospital records of the garrison at 
 Santa Maura. 
 
 JVb. I.— Table of fevers from March 25th, 1815, to 
 March 24th, 1816. 
 
 CLASS OF TROOPS. 
 
 Average 
 Strength. 
 
 FEVERS ADMITTED. 
 
 Deaths 
 Fever. 
 
 Intermit 
 tent. 
 
 Remit- 
 tent. 
 
 Con- 
 tinned. 
 
 Total. 
 
 British, viz., 
 35th Regiment .... 
 
 200 
 
 24 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 45 
 
 2 
 
 Foreigners, viz., 
 Corsican Kangers . . . 
 
 500 
 
 147 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 178 
 
 3 
 
 From which it would appear, that Italians and 
 Corsicans are more subject to the fever in the inter- 
 mittent form, and that the British suffer most by 
 
236 
 
 the remittent : the following proportions being the 
 result. 
 
 
 Proportion of 
 British. 
 
 Proportion of 
 Foreigners. 
 
 Subject to Intermittent ... 
 
 
 2i 
 
 2 
 
 T 
 
 4- 
 
 r 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 The summers of the years 1816 and 1817 were 
 much more sickly than any of the preceding, since 
 the occupation of the island by the British troops, 
 and more particularly that of 1817. The following 
 table will shew the comparative prevalence, and 
 mortality of fever, in the years 1813 and 1817. 
 
 No, 2. — Table of fevers in the years 1813 and 1817. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 Average Strength 
 of the 
 Garrison. 
 
 ADMISSIONS BY FEVER. 
 
 DEATHS BY FEVER. 
 
 Intermit 
 tent. 
 
 Remit, 
 tent. 
 
 Cou- 
 tinned. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1813 
 1817 
 
 700 
 
 300 
 
 171 
 
 38 
 
 18 
 
 89 
 
 34 
 17 
 
 223 
 144 
 
 5 
 12 
 
 From which the following proportions will result. 
 
 Proportion of In 1813. In 1817. 
 
 Intermittent fevers as 1 .... to f 
 
 Remittent ditto 1.... 11 
 
 Continued . . , 1 . . . . 1 
 
 Fever in general 1 . . . . 1| 
 
 Mortality by fever 1 . . . . 4 
 
237 
 
 The proportion of deaths to the number of sick 
 of the garrison, from March 1813 to July 1818, is as 
 one to thirty-four. 
 
 The exact proportion of sick, compared with the 
 numerical force of the garrison, cannot be ascer- 
 tained, from the strength being omitted at various 
 periods of the returns. 
 
 In the construction of these tables, a few cases 
 marked pneumonic fever and typhus, in the returns, 
 are here included under the head remittent fever : 
 the former occurring at a time of the year when 
 pneumonia is seldom met with in these countries, 
 and when the remittent fever is at its height ; the 
 latter, at that season when the remittent fever puts 
 on much the appearance of typhus, which disease I 
 have never met with in the course of seven years, either 
 here, or elsewhere, in the Mediterranean ; the ad- 
 mission or exclusion of these few cases, does not 
 affect the proportions in any sensible degree. 
 
 B. 
 
 Analysis of some of the Minerals in the 
 Islands. 
 
 Experiment, No. 1. 
 
 Zante Pitch Wells, 
 
 The following experiments were made with the 
 help of such apparatus and materials as a military 
 hospital could furnish ; in conducting them therefore 
 great exactness cannot be expected. 
 
 A. A vessel, which when full contained five ounces 
 
238 
 
 and a half of common well water, was filled with the 
 water of the large or fresh water pitch well. The 
 weight of both were equal. The same vessel, filled 
 with the water of the smaller or brackish well, weigh- 
 ed nine grains heavier. It follows, that the specific 
 gravity of the saline well water, is to that of fresh 
 well water as 10,034 to 10,000 nearly. An equal 
 bulk of sea water was heavier than the fresh water 
 by sixty-four grains. 
 
 B. The water of the Saline well afforded no pre- 
 cipitate upon the addition of Prussiat of lime, or in- 
 fusion of galls, therefore contains no iron. 
 
 C. five ounces of the Saline well water were eva- 
 porated to three ounces. 
 
 a. To half an ounce of C. a saturated solution 
 of muriat of barytes was added, so long as any 
 precipitation was observed. The precipitate, 
 dried, weighed two grains nearly, producing 
 no effervescence with muriatic acid, and there- 
 fore indicating the presence of sulphuric acid. 
 The proportion is, nearly sixty-eight grains to 
 one hundred ounces of water. 
 
 b. To the remaining liquid of (a), poured off 
 the precipitate in last experiment, a little nitric 
 acid was added, and afterwards lime water, sa 
 long as any precipitation took place. The pre- 
 cipitate, washed and dried weighed half a grain^ 
 barely ; indicating the existence of magnesia in 
 the water, in the proportion of about half a 
 grain to each ounce. 
 
 c. The remaining two ounces and a half of C. 
 equalling 33] drachms of the water before eva- 
 poration, was further evaporated to dryness^ 
 and afforded thirty-six grains of solid matter. 
 
 c. 1. By re-dissolving (c) in pure water, 
 and re-crystallizing, thirty-two grains of 
 
239 
 
 cubes of muriat of soda were obtained, but 
 very deliquescent. The remainder was a 
 mass of minute crystals very deliquescent, 
 and which may be concluded to be sulphats 
 of soda and magnesia, together amounting 
 to about three grains, with about a grain 
 of earthy matter. 
 
 The saline well therefore contains the same salts 
 as sea water, in about the same proportions re- 
 spectively, as far as experiments rudely conducted 
 will allow us to conclude, but with a greater propor- 
 tion of water. It probably communicates with the 
 sea by infiltration. 
 
 Experiment, No. 2. 
 Foittrs clay, Zaiite. 
 
 Forming the basis of the sand hills. External 
 properties. Hardness ; of pipeclay, nearly. Feel ; 
 soft, greasy. Colour; dull, blueish gray. 
 
 A. Seven drachms powdered and exposed to a 
 heat, under red, for above an hour, lost seventeen 
 grains. 
 
 B. Three hundred grains were dissolved in six 
 drachms of muriatic acid diluted with twelve 
 drachms of water, and after four hours lost 53 
 grains, indicating 117| grains of carbonate of lime. 
 
 a. The insoluble residuum well washed and 
 dried, weighed 181 grains. 
 
 b. An infusion of galls dropped into the 
 menstruum, shewed no indication of iron. 
 
 a. 1. The insoluble residuum, (a), 181 
 grains, dissolved in half an ounce of sulph. 
 
240 
 
 acid diluted \ with two ounces of water, 
 and boiled for four hours, left an inso- 
 luble powdBr, which, repeatedly washed 
 and well dried, amounted to 148 grains. 
 
 a. 2. The soluble part of (a) was concluded 
 to be 33 grains. 
 
 Compound, consists of. Carbonate of lime 117J 
 
 Silex 148 
 
 Alumine 33 
 
 Loss 1 § 
 
 300^ 
 
 Experiment, No. 3. 
 
 Zante Selenite. 
 
 A fragment of an insulated mass, lying upon 
 the right hand side of the road leading by the sea 
 side to Scopo. Spec. gr. 2,069 ; Colour, pale olive 
 green ; regularly crystallized in rhomboidal tables ; 
 highly transparent; lustre specular, but not uni- 
 formly so ; soft, yielding to the nail. 
 
 A. Three hundred grains pulverized and exposed 
 to a heat below red for one hour lost sixty-two 
 grains. 
 
 B. To one hundred and twenty grains were 
 added half an ounce of muriatic acid diluted with 
 two ounces of water; effervescence scarcely per- 
 ceptible ; after an hour's digesting, lost four and a 
 half grains. Contains ten grains of carbonat of lime. 
 
 C. But little effect being produced by the di- 
 lute muriatic acid, an ounce of nitric acid was 
 added to B. and the whole was boiled for an hour — 
 The insoluble part well washed and dried weighed 
 thirty-two grains. 
 
241 
 
 a. The solutions and washings were evaporated 
 to one half, and precipitated by a solution 
 of subcarb. of potass, precipitate, well wash- 
 ed and dried, weighed 62 grains. 
 
 Experiment, No. 4. 
 Sand Stone upon Scopd, at the Surface. Zante. 
 
 External properties. So friable as to break in 
 the fingers. 
 
 A. 200 grahis were dissolved in half an ounce of 
 muriatic acid, diluted with twice its weight of wa- 
 ter ; effervescence weak ; after the effervescence had 
 ceased, loss of weight 18 grains. Contains proba- 
 bly 40 grains of carbonate of lime. 
 
 B. The insoluble part washed, dried, and 
 weighed, amounted to 168 grains. The surplus 
 originating in want of sufficient washing or drying, 
 or some other error in conducting the experiment. 
 
 Experiment, No. 5. 
 A Specimen of the rock at Skinari,from which the bitu- 
 minous grease is washed; sent me by Sir Patrick Ross, 
 
 Specific gravity 2,31 9 3|. External properties ; co- 
 lour; ground, lime white ; fracture even, approach- 
 ing conchoidal, stained with the impressions of a 
 very fine sea weed ; semihard, brittle, rather easily 
 frangible. 
 
 A. 5 drachms, 300 grains, exposed to a heat 
 less than red for one hour, lost 3 grains. 
 
 B. 200 grains exposed to the action of U oz. 
 of muriatic acid diluted with 1 ounce of water, effer- 
 vesced violently, and after an hour and a half was 
 found to have lost 97 grains. 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 The extreme heat of the weather, (the thermometer 
 being at eighty-six upon the 19th of August, 1820,) 
 rendering it probable that part of the loss of weight 
 arose from evaporation, the same mixture was 
 exposed the following day at the same hour, and 
 for the same length of time, after the efferves- 
 cence had completely ceased, and under every 
 other circumstance similarly to the experiment 
 of the day before : 10 grains were lost by evapo- 
 ration solely. 
 
 Probable loss by the expulsion of the carbonic acid, 
 87 grains — giving lOSJ grains of carbonate of lime. 
 
 C. The insoluble part floated in the mixture in 
 shreds ; washed and dried, weighed 6 grains. 
 
 Carbonat of lime 193t 
 Insoluble ... 6 
 
 1991 
 
 Loss .... T 
 200. 
 
 SANTA MAURA. 
 
 Experiment, No. 6. 
 
 Rock of which El Vouno Mountain, and Diamigliano, 
 being apparently the same, are composed. 
 
 Is of a rough scabrous appearance and grayish 
 blue colour. Specific gravity, 2.012. 
 
 A. 300 grains were dissolved in 15 drachms of di- 
 luted muriatic acid — lost 67 grains, contains 148 J of 
 carbonate of lime. 
 
 B. 158 grains were collected afterwards, inso- 
 luble. The surplus probably originating in the mat- 
 ter not having been sufficiently washed, or dried, or 
 some other small error in the manipulation. Pro- 
 bable amount of the insoluble part, 15U. 
 
243 
 
 C. Of B was dissolved by dilute vitr. acid, 
 1 grain, leaving 150 — probably, silex. 
 
 Experiment, No. 7. 
 Calcareous Spar. Cateckorihill. 
 Colour, very light transparent ochre : form, a 
 regular oblique angular tetrahedral prism, the ter- 
 minal planes set obliquely upon the lateral planes. 
 The thin plates almost as transparent as glass of the 
 same colour. 
 
 A. 300 grains finely powdered vsrere exposed in a 
 crucible to a heat less than red, for one hour, lost U, 
 grain. 
 
 B. To 200 grains of A, It ounce of dilute muri- 
 atic acid were added. Mixture effervesced strongly, 
 and in one hour and a half lost 50 grains, equal to 
 IIH of carbonate of lime. 
 
 C. The insoluble, part washed and dried in a 
 crucible, amounted to 50 grains. 
 
 D. The remaining soluble part of B was, probably, 
 alumine. 
 
 Experiment, No. 8. 
 
 Pimicey the mineral found upon the borders of the 
 Lake at Santa Maura. 
 
 Specific gravity, much less than water, always 
 floats upon it. 
 
 Colour, ash gray, with a few weakly shining 
 spangles interspersed : between spongiform and 
 fibrous : fine earthy fracture. 
 
 A. To 150 grains were added IJ oz. dilute muri- 
 atic acid. No effervescence. 
 
 B. The acid was allowed to remain over it for 
 many hours, was then decanted and the insoluble 
 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 part well washed with repeated affusions and dried. 
 Weight 139 grains. 
 
 C. The insoluble part B was covered with strong 
 sulphuric acid for an hour in a tumbler. Water 
 was afterwards added, and it was allowed to rest 
 for three days, the liquid was decanted, the in- 
 soluble part well washed and dried, weighed 133 
 grains. Contains, most probably 133 grains at the 
 least of silex in the 150. 
 
 Experiment, jNo. 9. 
 
 Of the beautiful 7'ock, of ivhich Sappho's Leap and the 
 white cliffs 7iear it are composed, 
 
 A piece was broken off the precipice, where vic- 
 tims were immolated to Apollo, and where tradition 
 says Sappho precipitated herself into the sea. 
 
 External properties : of a clear sugar whiteness, 
 with a few glimmering points in the internal fracture, 
 resembling that of fine loaf sugar, sp. gravity, 2.263. 
 
 A. 320 grains finely powdered and exposed to a 
 heat under red in a crucible for one hour lost 8 grs. 
 
 B. To 300 grains, one ounce and a half of muri- 
 atic acid diluted with an equal weight of water 
 was added ; a violent effervescence took place, and 
 the whole was dissolved, excepting 4 grains which 
 remained insoluble. 
 
 This specimen is much harder, and yields with 
 more difficulty to the hammer, than the specimen 
 in Experiment, No. 5. It is also in a very slight 
 degree translucent on the edges ; in other respects it 
 resembles the rock of Skinari Head. 
 
c. 
 
 
 3AL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 CEPHALONIA. 
 
 Dry and calni. 
 
 A strong eartliquake at a quarter before 
 seven a.m. 
 
 Weather serene. 
 A little rain. 
 Dull, but no rain. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Heavy sliock of earthquake at three- 
 quarters past four. A.M. 
 
 Rain. 
 
 Wet, thunder and lightning. 
 
 Bt and stormy, with lightning and thun- 
 der, a stroog earthquake at night. 
 
 Clear. | 
 
 ENERAL METEOROLOGK 
 
 
 
 SANTA MAURA. 
 
 A smart earthquake at ten 
 min. past eleven p.m. 
 
 Rather cloudy. 
 
 Heavy rain at night with vivid 
 lightning and thunder. 
 
 A little rain. 
 Some rain. 
 
 Slight earthquake at twenty 
 min. past seven p.m. 
 
 Weather fine. 
 
 Heavy fall of rain at night. 
 
 Fine. 
 Fine. 
 
 Much rain day and night with 
 lightning and thunder. 
 
 High wind. 
 
 ow upon the Pindus chain. 
 
 WEATHER, AND G 
 
 
 CO 
 
 CORFU. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Slight shower at noon. 
 Rain. 
 Clear, 
 v^iear. 
 Clear. 
 Clear. 
 
 Heavy rain at night and the 
 same the next morning. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Heavy rain. 
 Ditto. 
 
 ,ain in the morning, much 
 wind. 
 
 )lear. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 
 
 
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 June 21 
 July 8 
 10 
 
 August 1 
 2 
 9 
 16 
 23 
 27 
 
 September 7 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 let. 8, 9, 10 
 
 
 
 
 
246 
 
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247 
 
 WEATHER, AND GENERAL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 CEPHALONIA. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Cloudy and showery with a little thunder 
 
 A S-E. wind came on at sun-set and occa- 
 sioned great heat and closeness. Clouds 
 in the southern horizon, with much light- 
 ning. 
 
 Clear. 
 Clear. 
 
 A few slight showers in the afternoon . 
 
 Serene. 
 
 Cloudy, and one slight shower in the 
 morning. 
 
 Clear. 
 Clear. 
 Clear. 
 
 Clear. 
 Clear. 
 
 Rainy during the night. | 
 
 SANTA MAURA. 1 
 
 Evening rather cloudy, wind 
 high. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 at twenty-five min, past eleven 
 
 A.M- 
 
 Wind high. 
 
 Slight rain towards morning. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Slight earthquake at a quarter 
 past five P.M. 
 
 Slight rain and cloudy. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 CORFU. 
 
 Slight shower, forenoon. 
 
 Heavy Rain. 
 Clear. 
 
 Strong wind, heavy rain, thun- 
 der and lightning at night. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Rain, heavy night of 23d. 
 
 A little rain. 
 
 Ditto. 
 Clear. 
 
 A little rain. 
 
 Rain, and much thunder and! 
 lightning ; much rain the 
 remainder of the month. 
 
 Heavy rain. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
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 1819. 
 
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 E. 
 W. 
 
 N.W. 
 
 N.W. 
 N.W. 
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 DATE. 
 1820. 
 
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253 
 
 
 
 WEATHER, AND GENERAL METEOROLOGICAL OUSERV ATIONS. 
 
 CEPHALONIA. 
 
 Heavy rain most part of day and night, 
 with a good deal of thund. & lightn. 
 
 Showery slightly all day. 
 
 Heavy rain, a good deal of thun. & light. 
 
 Smart earthq. at two min. and a half 
 before 10 a.m.; slight shock at 10 min. 
 past 10 A.M. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Shock of earthq. at 29 m. before 10 a.m. 
 Slight earthq. at 20 m. before 3 p.m. 
 
 Dull in the morning ; sharp earthq. at 5 
 minutes before 2 p.m. 
 
 Sharp earthq. at 10 m. before 9 a.m. 
 Earthq. at 1 and 5 p.m. ; slight shock. 
 Earthquake at 1 p.m. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 ZANTE. 
 
 Heavy falls of rain wiflh vivid 
 lightning and thunder. 
 
 Heavy rain, thunder & light. 
 
 i 
 
 Cloudy, severe shook of earth- 
 quake at one, A. M. 
 
 Some rain. 
 
 Cloudy. 
 
 Fine. 
 
 Cloudy. 
 Fine. 
 
 CORFU. 
 
 Wind, thunder, lightning and 
 rain. 
 
 Heavy rain. 
 Rain. 
 
 Cloudy, windy, lieavy rain. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Wind& rain. 
 Cloudy, very windy. 
 Clear. 
 
 Very fine weather. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 Clear. 
 
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 iOG<)<?i(M'— COOOOt^t^-^CO 
 
 DATE. 
 1820, 
 
 1 
 
 Septem, 12 
 13 
 21 
 22 
 
 Oct. 6 
 18 
 24 
 27 
 
 November 6 
 22 
 23 
 
 Decemb. 2 
 
 23 
 
N. B. In order that these Tables should comprise 
 as much as possible in a small space, the intervening days 
 between the dates are omitted, where little or no variation 
 was marked by the Thermometer from the last date ; other 
 atmospherical changes, however, occurring, required the 
 correspondent date to be also included in the Tables. 
 
 m Denotes the mean height of the thermometer, where a dif- 
 ference occurred in several days noted together. 
 
255 
 
 D. 
 
 From Reess Ci/clopcedia, (Article, Earthquake,) 
 the following extracts are made, shewing the great 
 extent of the earthquake of 1755 : — 
 
 The great earthquake at Lisbon, in which G0,()00 
 persons are said to have perished, happened the 1st 
 of November 1755, at thirty-five minutes past 
 eight, A. M. a second great shock happened about 
 noon— At Oporto the earthquake was felt at about 
 forty minutes past nine — At Cadiz some minutes 
 after nine, and at ten minutes past eleven the 
 great wave was seen at eight miles' distance, being 
 sixty feet higher than usual : it came in upon the 
 city walls, beat in the breast-work and carried 
 pieces of the building of eight or ten tons weight 
 to the distance of forty or fifty yards. At half past 
 eleven was a second wave. At ten minutes before 
 twelve, similar waves but smaller, and gradually 
 lessening, continued with uncertain intervals till 
 evening." 
 
 At Gibraltar the earthquake was not felt till after 
 ten — At Madrid at the same time. In Africa, 
 the earthquake was almost as severely felt as in 
 ' Europe; great part of the town of Algiers was 
 destroyed." 
 
 At Arzilla in the kingdom of Fez, a great wave 
 was observed at about ten in the morning — At 
 Tangier it began at ten in the morning — At Tetuan 
 at ten—At Funchal, island of Madeira, at thirty- 
 eight minutes past nine in the morning." 
 
256 
 
 *' In the British islands — At Barborough in Derby- 
 shire, at between eleven and twelve in the morn- 
 ing, was a great swell of the lake Pibley Dam, 
 attended with a loud noise — At about half past 
 ten in the morning at Busbridge in Surrey — Near 
 Durham, at half past ten— -At Earfy Court, Berks, 
 at about eleven o'clock — At Sherborne Castle, 
 Oxfordshire, at a little after ten, morning — At 
 Whiterock, Glamorganshire, at three quarters after 
 six, evening — At Loch Lomond in Scotland, at about 
 half past nine, morning — At Loch Ness, at half 
 past nine morning— At Kinsale, Ireland, at between 
 two and three in the afternoon, and again between 
 six and seven, evening." 
 
 A ship at sea in north latitude, twenty-five de- 
 grees w^est longitude, felt the shock violently." 
 
 To imagine a cause commensurate with such an 
 effect, supposing the agent to be expansion, one of 
 two improbable explanations must be had recourse 
 to ; either that nearly the whole of Europe, and 
 part of Africa, or a much larger space, is under- 
 mined by a great subterraneous vault, in which case 
 it is probable that great depressions of land and an- 
 nihilations of whole countries would occasionally 
 happen ; or, if the cavity be supposed to be smaller, 
 it must be imagined to exist near the centre of the 
 earth, in order by re-action to produce an adequate 
 effect ; and that force moreover should be applied 
 to one continuous sub-stratum, that forms a basis 
 to nearly the whole of the space acted upon. What- 
 
257 
 
 ever theory be adopted, it would appear that the 
 last mentioned datum must be supposed. 
 
 The arguments brought forward to disprove the 
 opinion, that electricity is the cause of earthquakes, 
 appear to be as hypothetical as those upon which 
 that theory is founded. Thus it is taken for granted 
 that no accumulation of electrical matter can take 
 place, (that we can conceive,) in either the earth or 
 the atmosphere, sufficient to the effect ; because, in 
 the former case it would be dispersed by the attrac- 
 tion of surrounding bodies ; and in the latter, because, 
 (as far as we can know,) the quantity accumulated in 
 the clouds or atmosphere cannot exceed what is 
 sufficient to constitute a thunder storm. 
 
 Another objection urged against the theory of 
 electricity is the quick repetition of the shocks, and 
 their irregularity ; because, it is difficult to compre- 
 hend how the electric fluid could be let out of its 
 confinement, in a manner so irregular. It is equally 
 difficult to conceive why repeated expansions of gas 
 should happen in the same place. In fact, if electri- 
 city be not admitted as the cause of earthquake, 
 the phenomenon remains as yet to be explained: 
 the shocks experienced by ships at sea, in deep water, 
 seem to admit of no other. 
 
258 
 
 E. 
 
 FINANCE. 
 No. 1. 
 
 The progressive improvement in the finances of 
 the islands will appear from the following accounts 
 and observations, extracted from the Coj^fii Gazettes, 
 and published under the authority of government. 
 
 ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR, 1819, 
 
 (From the Ionian Gazettes, Tth March and 6th May, 1820.) 
 
 Balance in the Treasury, 1st Feb. 1819, 404,574 dollars. 
 
 Amount of Revenue for the finan- 
 cial year, ending 31st Jan. 1820, 460,566 
 
 Expenditure of the financial year, 
 ending31st January, 1820 . . . 430,374 
 
 Surplus of Revenue above Ex- 
 penditure for the year 1820 . . . 30,192 
 
 Outstanding Credits of Govern- 
 ment, paid in same year . : . 25,864 
 
 56,056 
 
 Balance in the Treasury 1st Feb, 1820 . 460,630 dollars. 
 
 — The Expenditure of this year was less than that 
 of the preceding by 34,000 dollars. 
 
 — ^The Revenue of this year exceeded that of the 
 year 1818, by 50,163 dollars, although it was one of 
 the sterile years in the production of olives. 
 
269 
 
 — The public functionaries are now well paid, 
 although many of them served gratuitously before. 
 
 — There never was an effective sum in the treasury 
 in the old government, nor an advance in the revenue: 
 the deficiencies were supplied by capitation taxes, 
 and by forced contributions. The only additional 
 tax levied, was upon the exportation of oil in 1817 ; 
 eleven vexatious taxes were, however, repealed for 
 this. With respect to the tax upon the exportation 
 of oil, the price was so much more increased in pro- 
 portion, that the exporter benefited instead of suffer- 
 ing by it. 
 
 — A reduction of 20 per cent, in the price of bread, 
 was the effect of the bill, by which the supply of 
 corn was taken into the hands of government for two 
 years. The monopoly of individuals was severely 
 felt before ; the supply is now more secure, although 
 the government is averse to any thing like a system 
 of monopoly, the effect of which is to shackle com- 
 merce. 
 
 Sir Thomas Maitland further says, in his speech 
 at the opening of parliament : — 
 
 — The Militia were said, by the designing ( mal 
 intenzionati), to be enrolled for the purpose of con- 
 veying them to serve in some of the distant posses- 
 sions of England. 
 
 —The Santa Mauriots twice solicited the govern- 
 ment to erect the mole and canal, and voluntarily to 
 submit to local taxation for that purpose *. The re- 
 
 * The Author was upon the spot during the time the petitions to 
 government were in agitation, and actually presented. 
 
260 
 
 belliori broke out without any remonstrance on the 
 part of those people against the taxation, or any 
 other supposed grievance. 
 
 — By the convention of the 21st of March, 1800, 
 Parga v^as ceded to the Sublime Porte, and in the 
 treaty which placed the islands under the protection 
 of England, Parga was excluded. The Parginots 
 were subsequently naturalized by the legislature. 
 
 ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR 1820, 
 
 (Prom Sir THOMAS MAITLAND'S Speech to the Legislative Assembly, 6th March, 1821.) 
 
 Balance in the Treasury, 1st Feb. 1820, 460,630 dollars. 
 
 Surplus of Revenue above Ex- 
 penditure, for the year ending 
 31st January, 1821 61,256 
 
 Outstanding Credits of Govern- 
 ment since 1819, paid in . . . 13,594 
 
 74,850 
 
 Balance in the Treasury, 1st Feb. 1821 . 535,480 dollars. 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfavourable appearance of 
 the crops last March, and the addition of 100,000 
 dollars to the expenditure, for the palace and other 
 public works. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Corfu, 23d March, 1821. 
 The British force at present in these islands are, 
 four intire regiments, and a large detachment of 
 
261 
 
 about two-thirds of a regiment, which, with artillery, 
 staff, &c. may be stated at 3,300 effective, and 
 the expense estimated as follows : 
 
 £. 
 
 4|- Regiments, at 17,5:0Z. star, perann. 81,666 
 
 Ordnance for all branches 7,500 
 
 Royal Staff Corps 1,000 
 
 Staff, Military and Medical 8,500 
 
 Commissariat of Stores 3,000 
 
 Commissariat of Accounts 480 
 
 Paymaster General's department 550 
 
 Forage for Horses 1,650 
 
 Contingencies 654 
 
 £. 105,000 
 
 The comparative state of prosperity and security 
 of these islanders under the British government is 
 best shewn in their own words; viz. from the 
 speech of Siguier Manzaro, the Fiscal Advocate- 
 General, addressed to the Legislative Assembly on 
 the 10th of March, 1821 : of which the following 
 Extract is taken from the Gazette Extraordinary, 
 dated Corfu, 14th March, 1821, 
 
 Qual pace non godiamo noi ed imperturbaliti, 
 sebbene situati in mezzo a due limitrofi paesi, Na- 
 poli, e TEpiro, ove tuttora ardono faci di guerra e 
 sconvoglimenti politici ! Quel timore, che una sola 
 caravella Ottomana air approssimarsi di questi mari 
 destava ed in noi, e nei nostri governanti, quello 
 stesso arresta ora un' intera'flotta Ottomana schierata 
 in faccia di noi sulle spiaggie del suo Continente ; 
 
262 
 
 solo perchfe si ricorda, che prossime a se esistono 
 terre protette dalle armi Britanniche, 
 
 II commercio della nostra sussistenza non e inter- 
 rotto coir Epiro, e del soccorso del Regno di Na- 
 poli non abbisogniamo, se gia la sussistenza h assi- 
 curata, e la carestia h evitata con una provigione di 
 grani bastevole fino al venturo Novembre, efFettuata 
 senza una tassa, un prestito, un' incomodo di verun 
 capitalista, senza lasciare air ordinaria ingordigia 
 di alcuni speculatori la poca coscienza di lucrare 
 sul pane del popolo. La nostra Cassa ha fornito un 
 capitale, la moderazione del prezzo h assicurata, il 
 lucro discrettamente ricavato, reflui a benefizio di 
 tutti se h lealmente versato nella somma di 75,000 
 Tal, nello stesso Pubblico Tesoro. Ove sono gli 
 omicidj che coi giorni contavansi in Zante, e nella 
 bella pertinenza di Leftimo in Corfu ? Essi dispar- 
 vero coUe lucrative permissioni ree, che accordava 
 il Governo di portar armi, e coll' influenza dei fo- 
 mentatori de' parti ti. Ove sono i gemiti coi quali 
 queste Popolazioni si lasciavano estorcere in ogni 
 Reggimento e Generalato delle somme immense di 
 denaro a profitto di un corrotto ministero, e di piu 
 corrotti reggitori ? Ove e il negozio del prostichio 
 che faceva impudentemente quel Rappresentante 
 del Governo che parea qui venisse per eseguire la 
 legge che lo divietava? Chi puo oggi con un migliajo 
 di uvapassa, o con un viglietto di oglio comprare il 
 capriccio, o soddisfar I'odio, che ad una famiglia 
 tolga il suo Capo, o ad un Padre i suoi figlivoli ? 
 Ov' h quel sistema che male pagando i Pubblici 
 
263 
 
 Funzionarj gli esponeva a satoUarsi colle dovizie 
 deir errario, o col sangue dei poveri, o col Patri- 
 monio delle Chiese ? Ov' h Y abuso, passato quasi 
 in abitudine, che faceva prezzolata ottener la 
 Giustizia, e per cui celebre rimase negli annali dell' 
 esecrazione il nome di un Consigliere Pisani ? Ov' 
 h quel sistema di Finanza avvolto nell' enigma di 
 cifre inintelligibili, che fece dall' abbiezione sorgere 
 talvolta la ricchezza, lasciando inabissato il Pub- 
 blico errario ? La nostra Cassa gode, e il nostro 
 Governo insieme, di un privileggio certamente 
 esclusivo in confronto forse di tutti i Governi, che 
 h quello, di non aver un soldo di debito. Gli edifizj 
 Pubblici sono riparati, altri s' inalzano luminosi, e 
 magnifici ; Canali sono scavati, Molli costruiti, i 
 Ponti riedificati, i Sacri Templi ristaurati, una mano 
 soccorrevole h sempre pronta a sostener gli indi- 
 genti, i Pubblici Funzionarj meritevolmente rimu- 
 nerati, e nell' errario rimane una somma di 536,000 
 Talleri, e tanti che ogni anno si accrescono con un 
 crescente civanzo, come prodigiosamente vedemmo 
 in quest' anno malgrado la mancanza dell' Oglio, la 
 dimezzazione della rendita dell' Uvapassa, la tenue 
 raccolta del Grano, e del Vino, Nessuno ci do- 
 manda un prestito in nome del Governo, come in 
 passato, non restituibile piu, perch^ assorbito da 
 quel vortice che ingojava tutto il pubblico tesoro. 
 Chi ci manda in casa un grano acquistato a caris- 
 simo prezzo, dop6 ch' h corrotto, per obbligarci 
 a tenerlo, e pagarlo per requisizione, sebbene ali- 
 mento di morte, anzi che nodrimento vitale ? Quale 
 
264 
 
 delle nostre case h presa per requisizionesenza esigere 
 affitti, o quale delle nostre famiglie h obbligata ad 
 accogliere per requisizione nomini pubblici ? Una 
 guarnigione ci protegge, di cui il carattere, V onore, 
 la lealta, la morigeratezza, la moderazione, formano 
 la corona di tutte le virtu sociali." 
 
265 
 
 T 
 
266 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 Plate II. In the heart of the olive-tree is seen a large stone of se- 
 veral hundred pounds* weight, which it has raised from the 
 wall in its growth; a twig of the olive, when young, 
 having gradually insinuated itself into the joints, where it 
 ultimately took root; shewing the prodigious force of 
 vegetation, and exhibiting one of the causes of the destruc- 
 tion of old buildings. The tree is probably three hundred 
 years' old. 
 
 III. The chord of the arch of the theatre, viz. along the or- 
 chestra, measures forty-two paces ; the depth of the stage 
 and proscenium together is twenty paces ; (each pace being 
 equal to about thirty inches;) the depth of the postscenium 
 is eleven feet and a half. 
 
 VI. AB. three feet. CD. six feet three inches. EF. two feet 
 six inches. Immediately behind EF are the grooves for 
 the portcullis, or stone gate, cut in the solid stone at each 
 side, eighteen inches in width ; a parallel stone passage 
 runs in from this, of the same width as EF, viz. two feet 
 and a half. 
 
 VII. The third stone from tl^e bottom, at the end of the wall 
 next to the olive-tree, measures nine feet nine inches in 
 length, and two feet eight inches in height. The convent 
 seen in the distance is built upon the second acropolis, 
 Cyatis. 
 
 VIII. Fig. 1 . Sketch of the stone with the inscription at Leu- 
 cate : the dark part represents the stone as it is, the light 
 supplies the parts that are probably wanted. 
 
267 
 
 Fig. 2. Stone found in the garden, close to the ruin in 
 Ithaca, called Homer's school.'* 
 
 Fig. 3. Part of a shaft with its capital of tufa belonging 
 to the ancient temple, (probably of Jupiter Enos,) the 
 ruins of which are near Scala in Cephalonia. This frag- 
 ment is used as an altar in a little chapel adjoining tlie 
 ruin. The plinth of the capital is an octagon : diameter 
 of the shaft twenty-seven inches. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by D.*5aques> Chelaca. 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BOOKMNDER. 
 
 Map of Corfu 
 
 Santa Maura 
 
 Cephalonia 
 
 Zante 
 
 Plate L 
 
 II. 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 , VI.) 
 
 VIL i *^^Sether 
 VIII. 
 
 FACE Title-page 
 PAGE 40 
 130 
 16S 
 89 
 92 
 lOl 
 123 
 124 
 
 „ 153 
 162 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 32 line 24, for scite read site. 
 
 55 line 7, for Provesa read Prevesa. 
 57 line 26,/or olive read olives. 
 
 59 2d line from the bottom, /or cndemie read endemic. 
 59 last line, in the note, for exists read exist. 
 71 in the note, for of the chapter readoi the 4th chapter. 
 87 line 2,/or tranquility read tranquillity. 
 
 93 line 19, /or Amphilochum read Amphiiocum. 
 
 94 line 19, /or timber read lumber. 
 
 97 line ^1,for previous read previously. 
 106 line 7, /or largest read larger. 
 136 line 3, for defended read defined. 
 
 157 line 13, /or and of read and are of. 
 
 158 line 4, /or 1815 read 181G. 
 
 199 last line,/or " Ususpatori" read " Usurpatori." 
 
 238 line ii,for evaporation, was. dele corama^ read were. 
 
I 
 
 I