R3 E3S 
 
 
 "CO}, 
 
 Ashwick OmovH. 
 
NARRATIVE 
 
 OF AN EXCURSION 
 
 FROM 
 
 Corfu to g>mprna; 
 
 COMPRISING A PROGRESS 
 THROUGH 
 
 ALBANIA AND THE NORTH OF GREECE; 
 
 WITH SOME ACCOUNT 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE OF THE ANCIENT AND PRESENT STATE 
 OF THAT CITY. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, A TRANSLATION OF 
 
 Cfte erastae, of piato. 
 
 HY THE AUTHOR OF " LETTERS FROM PALESTINE. 
 
 Naturime nobis hoc datum, an errore quodam, ut cum ea i.oca 
 videamus, in quibus memoria dignos viros acceperimus miiltum ease 
 versatos, magis jnovcairmr quam si corum ipsornm ant facta audia- 
 mns, aut Srriptum aliquod li'gamus ? — Cic. de Jin. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED FOR BLACK, YOUNG, AND YOUNG, 
 
 TAVISTOCK-STRRET, COVENT-GARDKN. 
 
 MDCCCXXVII, 
 
TO 
 
 THE SURVIVING COMPANIONS OF HIS TOUR, THE WRI- 
 TER INSCRIBES THE FOLLOWING PAGES;— AS A TES- 
 TIMONY, HOWEVER IMPERFECT, OF THE PECULIAR 
 GRATIFICATION WHICH HE DERIVED FROM THEIR 
 SOCIETY, AND OF THE AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE 
 WITH WHICH HE CHERISHES THEIR FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 London, Fkh. 1827. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following letters were written at the time and 
 place at which they are respectively dated. 
 
 Of the numerous publications which have re- 
 cently appeared, descriptive of tours in Greece, the 
 author of the annexed pages has seen only those of 
 M. Pouqueville, Mr. Hobhouse, and Dr. Holland; — 
 and those he has never had an opportunity of 
 perusing with attention. Unfortunately for the in- 
 terests of literature and humanity, M. de Chateau- 
 briand did not extend his excursion beyond the 
 Peloponnesus and Attica; and though both Mr. 
 Hobhouse and Dr. Holland have enriched the lite- 
 rary world by a narrative of their travels through 
 many of the scenes which are here attempted to be 
 described, the different circumstances in which they 
 were placed from the writer of these pages, have 
 prevented his deriving such assistance from their 
 observations as would take from his own all pre- 
 
VI PRKFACK. 
 
 tension to originality. Add to this, the costly and 
 elaborate form in which many of the works, similar 
 to those just alluded to, were prepared for the 
 press, would necessarily render them, in a certain 
 sense, sealed books to a large portion of the reading 
 community. It is to such consideration that the 
 writer chiefly trusts for an apology, in having 
 yielded to the suggestion of his correspondent in 
 submitting these letters to the public. 
 
 A lapse of nearly ten years, — the interval which 
 has occurred since the period when the following 
 pages were written, — produces a revolution in the 
 feelings, as well as in the appearance of every in- 
 dividual ; and a traveller of maturer taste would 
 probably contemplate the various objects of his in- 
 quiry, with sensations very different from those of 
 the tourist, who sets out on his career utilium tardus 
 provisor, — audaxque Juventa. Yet to preserve in 
 their natural character the effects of a first im- 
 pression, — " pour donner a mes recits le seul merite 
 qu'ils pussent avoir, celui de la verite," — their ap- 
 pearance is here hazarded, with some few additions, 
 in the terms in which they were originally traced. 
 
 At the season when the author visited Greece, 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 the storm which has since burst with such unre- 
 lenting violence, was evidently gathering in the 
 most fatal quarter; and the germs of dissension 
 among those, who had a natural influence in the 
 different provinces, were equally perceptible — even 
 to a transient observer. These have since been un- 
 happily developed in the distracted and hesitating 
 councils, which have paralyzed the efforts of all 
 who were impelled by any high or noble principle. 
 
 No one, that has a heart, can be insensible to the 
 respect which is always due to suffering virtue ; and 
 when it makes its appeal in the garb and attitude 
 of tortured patriotism, its claims are of the loftiest 
 and holiest nature. A nation, — once the light and 
 glory of the world, — fallen from its high estate 
 among civilized communities, and depressed to the 
 lowest point in the descending scale of barbarism, 
 presents a spectacle perhaps the most piteous and 
 humiliating that can be offered to human contem- 
 plation. We view it as a great and overwhelming 
 calamity ; a calamity to be deeply and incessantly 
 deplored. But something more than sympathy ib 
 surely due to Greece, from such states as derived 
 from her those arts which give a charm to the 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 blessings of light and life. It is easy to awaken 
 generous sentiments in privacy,— to glow with the 
 fervour of heroism while remote from the field of 
 danger. " The pity which terminates in querulous 
 invective, is but hypocrisy's pity*." Let our com- 
 passion be the true. 
 
 The cause of the Greeks, as hitherto conducted 
 by many of their chosen champions, discovers, on 
 one side, much of sordid avarice, credulity, and 
 self-delusion, — opposed, on the other, to grasping 
 rapacity, gross fraud, and affected philanthropy. 
 With such agents, no cause can ever hope to tri- 
 umph. The moral government of the world pro- 
 ceeds on principles which obey no impulse but 
 that of virtue : its laws, as unerring as those by 
 which the material elements are adjusted, can never 
 be disregarded or displaced, without leading to 
 confusion and peril. It is to other sources, then, 
 than those on which they have hitherto relied, that 
 the patriots of the Peloponnesus must look for their 
 deliverance. 
 
 The eyes of Europe are naturally directed to 
 England, as to the centre on which the civilized 
 * Ramsden. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 world reposes. If she persists in remaining a passive 
 spectatress of the struggle, who shall foretell the 
 period of its termination ? 
 
 Were Greece a country recently reclaimed, — 
 like the wilds of America or New Holland, — from 
 an original state of savage destitution ; — if it had 
 received from Constantinople, as these last have 
 from the fostering arm of Great Britain, together 
 with the blessings of revelation, a knowledge of 
 those arts which adorn and embellish existence, the 
 recognised law of civilized nations might justly be 
 appealed to, as forbidding the interference of any 
 other community, in its contest with the parent 
 state. But the case is far otherwise. Greece has 
 derived from the Ottomans only that protection 
 " which the vulture gives the lamb; covering and 
 devouring it!" The trophies of her power, the 
 monuments of her art, the triumphs of her genius 
 and learning, — all these have been either irreco- 
 verably mutilated by her invaders, or totally de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 It is not, then, in behalf of the rebel sons of an 
 insurgent colony, that the friends of Greece address 
 themselves to the sympathies of Europe : the cause 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 they would assert is that of a people, despoiled by 
 violence of their rightful heritage; — of a country, 
 brilliant without parallel in the records of ancient 
 renown; — of a nation, assuming to be descended 
 from that illustrious band of heroes and of sages, 
 
 WHO DRANK OK THE WATERS OF IMMORTALITY, 
 AND PROCLAIMED THE GLORIES OF FREEDOM ! 
 
 London, December, 1826. 
 
CONTEN T S. 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 Passage from Mola to Corfu — Present appearance of 
 the City — Sketch of the new Constitution — Views in 
 the interior of the Island — Imaginary scene of Ulysses' 
 interview with Nausicaa — Fantastic ceremony on the 
 anniversary of St. Spiridion, — page 1. 
 
 Letter II. 
 
 Sail to Prevesa — The town described — Ruins of Nico- 
 
 polis — Ancient Coins — Gulf of Actium — St. Maura — 
 
 Sappho's Promontory — Seraglio at Salagora — Agent of 
 
 Ali Pasha — Route to Arta — Description of the Town, 
 
 —p. 12. 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 Route to Ioannina — Description of the horses engaged 
 for the journey, and the usual rate of travelling — Fea- 
 tures of the Paysage — Arrival at the Capital of Ali 
 Pasha's dominions — Difficulty of procuring shelter for 
 the night — Alarm expressed by a Pargiote for the future 
 destination of his country, — p. 25. 
 
 Letter IV. 
 Sketch of the Life of Ali Pasha, — p. 30. 
 
XII CONTENTS. 
 
 Letter V. 
 
 Introduction of the Writer and his friends to An — 
 The Pasha's appearance, and mode of reception — De- 
 scription of the Seraglio, — p. 36. 
 
 Letter VI. 
 
 The City of Ioannina described — Bazaars — Public 
 Schools — Environs of Yanina— Imaginary Elysian Fields 
 — Dodona — Description of the Arnaouts — Present ap- 
 pearance of Greek Females, — p. 46. 
 
 Letter VII. 
 Some account of Mouctar, the eldest son of Ali — 
 Romantic Narrative of the Death of a young French 
 Officer — Awkward arrangement of Horse-furniture' — 
 The Tartar bit described, — p. 53. 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 
 Detention at Ioannina — Visit from Seid Achmet — 
 Transmission of Buryoldis, or Buju-ruldas, (Vizier's or- 
 ders) — Their nature explained, — p. 58. 
 
 Letter IX. 
 
 Departure from Ioannina — Passage over Mount Pin- 
 dus — Mezzovo — Brilliant view from the Mountain's top 
 — The descent described — Disloyal reception of the 
 Pasha's mandate by the Inhabitants of a petty bourg — 
 Loss of baggage in the transit of the Peneus — Rocks 
 of Meteora — The Convents — Their singular position, 
 and intrepid devotion of the Monks — Tricala — View of 
 Larissa. 
 
CONTKNTS. XH1 
 
 City of Lariska — Appearance of the Inhabitants — 
 Interesting recollections awakened by the name — The 
 modern town — Peneus, — p. 78. 
 
 Letter X. 
 Excursion to Tirnavo — Cordial reception by Veli 
 Pasha, the second son of Ali — His Palace and Court 
 described, — p. 78. 
 
 Letter XI. 
 The Vale of Tkmpe — Romantic beauty of its ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Further interview with Veli Pasha — Exhibition of an 
 ancient Statue, — p. 83. 
 
 Letter XII. 
 Conversation with a Greek Physician, — p. 92. 
 
 Letter XIII. 
 Plain of Pharsalia — Village at the extremity — Con- 
 dition of the Inhabitants — Interview with the Bishop — 
 His barbarous recitation of a Passage in Homer. 
 
 Reception by Calilbei, the son-in-law of Veli — His 
 frank and generous hospitality — Straits of Thermopylae 
 — Mount (Eta — Descent to Crissa, — p. 104. 
 
 Letter XIV. 
 
 Delphi — The modern Village — Mount Parnassus — 
 The Castalian Spring — Site of the Oracular Machinery — 
 Ancient Theatre — Hippodrome — Stadium, &c. — p. 11G. 
 
 Letter XV. 
 Route to Lebadsea — Pausanias* description of the site 
 of Laius' tomb, and the scene of (Edipus's parricide — 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 Mount Helicon — Descent to Lebadaea — Position of the 
 Town — Hercynian Fountain — Cave of Trophonius — 
 Death of Ali Pasha, — p. 125. 
 
 Letter XVI. 
 Thebes — Morose disposition of the inhabitants — Mo- 
 dern town and environs described — Ismemis — Fountain 
 of Dirce — Its mythological Origin, — p. 133. 
 
 Letter XVII. 
 Journey to Athens — The route described — First view 
 of the City — Radiancy of the surrounding scenery, — 
 p. 130. 
 
 Letter XVIII. 
 
 Athens — Historical Review of some of the prominent 
 changes it has undergone, from the period of its founda- 
 tion to that of its capture by the Ottomans, — p. 143. 
 
 Letter XIX. 
 Existing condition of Athens — Form of the City — 
 Gate of Adrian — Temple of Jupiter Olympius — Struc- 
 tures on the Acropolis — Parthenon — Temples of Erec- 
 theus, Minerva Polias, Pandroseum — Interior of the 
 modern Town — Ancient remains — Temple of Theseus — 
 Epitaph on Mr. Tweddell — Lantern of Demosthenes — 
 School of Zeno — Temple of the Eight Winds, — p. 155. 
 
 Letter XX. 
 Theatres — The superior advantage of their form, com- 
 pared with that of modern structures, in bringing thestage 
 within the range of every part appropriated to the spec- 
 tators — Nature of the Ancient Drama — Observation on 
 the use of the Tragic Mask — Inconvenience of the Co- 
 thurnus — The Odeum described — River Ilissus — Stadium 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 — Remarks on the Institution of Gymnastic Contests — 
 Medicinal properties of a Herb, discovered by a French 
 botanist — Cephissus — Scene of the Academy — Account 
 of the Cicada — Visit to the Disdar Aga, — p. 163. 
 
 Letter XXI. 
 Areopagus — The Pnyx — View from the Acropolis — 
 Reflections excited by the flight of the Stork — Ports of 
 Athens — Tomb of Themistocles — Salamis — Xerxes, &c, 
 —p. 182. 
 
 Translation of the Erastje, — p. 196. 
 
 Letter XXII. 
 
 Excursion to Marathon — The Plain described — Inces- 
 sant murmurings of the Frogs — The imitative jargon in 
 the Ranae of Aristophanes applied to the test of modern 
 pronunciation — Quarry of Pentelicus — Monastery, — 
 p. 229. 
 
 Letter XXIII. 
 
 Signor Lusieri's Account of Lord Elgin's motives in re- 
 moving some of the Ornaments from the Parthenon — His 
 version of the Disdar's feelings, so pathetically described 
 by Dr. Clarke — Public Baths — Coffee-houses — Provisions 
 at Athens — Manners and habits of the People, — p. 235. 
 
 Letter XXIV. 
 Voyage to Smyrna — Cape Colonna — Cyclades — Syra — 
 Tenos — Delos — Ancient remains — Chios, — p. 240. 
 
 Letter XXV. 
 Smyrna — The Town described — Appearance of the 
 Inhabitants — Environs — Palace of the Turkish Governor, 
 — p. 249. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 142, line 1 of the note, for " from an outline" read "form 
 an outline." 
 ,, 212, line 17, dele for. 
 
 210, „ 2, after " master" dele comma. 
 
 224, ,, 1 of note, for vuh otavrov read yvu/>i trtavrov. 
 
LETTEKS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 To 
 
 Corfu, March 2^ t 1817. 
 
 We arrived here about a week since, having pro- 
 ceeded from Naples direct to Bari, intending to 
 pursue a route from thence along the coast, and to 
 embark at Otranto ; but, as the passage across the 
 Adriatic is much more uncertain from that point 
 than from Mola, — a small town about fifteen miles 
 below Bari, — we acted on the suggestion of the 
 Commandant of the latter place, and hired a light 
 vessel for seventy-five ducats, which, on the third 
 morning, brought us within the beautiful harbour 
 of this town. 
 
 The quarantine regulations prevented our de- 
 
 B 
 
Z LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 barking our effects under four days, though we 
 were allowed to quit the boat the next evening, and 
 walk on an esplanade, which stretches from the 
 Lazaretto about a hundred yards into the bay. The 
 port is thronged with small craft from the neigh- 
 bouring coast and islands, but both the vessels and 
 their navigators look in a most slovenly condition. 
 Our sailors are here termed i del del mare, and their 
 appearance, as opposed to the Greeks and Italians, 
 seems almost literally to justify the phrase. It is, 
 indeed, scarcely possible to conceive a greater con- 
 trast than that presented by the active crew of a 
 British man-of-war's barge, and the yawning, in- 
 dolent mariners who paddle about in the waters 
 of Corfu. 
 
 The city appears for the most part in a de- 
 cayed state ; the streets are dark and narrow, and 
 in some instances rendered peculiarly gloomy by 
 heavy and disproportioned piazzas. There is not a 
 single building, either private or public, which 
 merits any particular description ; — not even the 
 residence of the Governor, though designated x«t 
 f£ox,r,v, the Palace ; — all that can be said for it is, 
 that it is an extensive pile, and capable of being 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. d 
 
 strongly fortified 1 . Sir T. M — t — d, the present 
 " Lord High Commissioner," has won the attach- 
 ment both of the stranger and the native, by his 
 dignified and cordial hospitality. 
 
 Of the seven islands which constitute the Ionian 
 Republic, — (Paxos,St. Maura, Corfu, Ithaca, Cepha- 
 lonia, Zante, Cerigo) — Corfu, though less than Ce- 
 phalonia, is incomparably the most important. The 
 identification of their interests with those of Great 
 Britain is very justly regarded by the inhabitants as 
 an advancement in the political scale, and they attend 
 with great anxiety the development of a constitu- 
 tion, which has long engaged the consideration of 
 the Governor. Its outlines are said to be as fol- 
 low : — There is to be a legislative assembly chosen 
 by the electoral body, and a senate chosen by the 
 legislative assembly — the law-officers are to receive 
 their appointment from the senate. The elections 
 are to be made for five years ; the Lord Commis- 
 sioner is to have the power of convoking or pro- 
 roguing the parliament, but not of dissolving it, 
 except by virtue of an order from the government 
 
 1 The new palace was not begun at the time the writer 
 visited Corfu. 
 
 It 3 
 
** LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 of England. Each island is to have a local govern- 
 ment — the dominant religion is to be the Greek 
 church — the language Greek. A general printing- 
 office will be established at Corfu, under the direc- 
 tion of the senate, and the superintendence of the 
 Secretary-General ; and no other printing establish- 
 ment is to be allowed in any of the islands, without 
 the express permission of the senate, and the appro- 
 bation of the Lord Commissioner. 
 
 The annexation of these islands to the British 
 colonial possessions naturally adds to the interest 
 which it is scarcely possible not to feel, on visiting 
 
 any one of them : your friend, Captain E , who 
 
 belongs to the Governor's staff, has accompanied 
 me to those parts of the interior of this, with which 
 a residence of some months here has familiarized 
 him. The figure of Corfu has some resemblance to 
 a bow, the extremities of the chord pointing to the 
 east and west. Its length was anciently considered 
 to be nearly one hundred miles : the minuter accu- 
 racy of modern surveys has, I believe, reduced it 
 to something less than sixty ; and the greatest 
 breadth does not exceed twenty-four 1 . The most 
 
 1 [nsulse auteni ex adverso Thesprotiae, Corcyra a Buthroto 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 5 
 
 ancient . name of this island is Phseaeia ; but it has 
 been successively termed Drepane, Scheria, and 
 Corcyra ; which last designation it received from 
 the daughter of iEsopus, who was buried here. 
 Besides the magic fictions of Homer, there are many 
 historical recollections, which hastily pass in review, 
 as the eye ranges amidst the varieties of this en- 
 chanting scenery. The commotions so minutely 
 detailed by Thucydides 1 awaken only melancholy 
 reflections, and the imagination hurries to the plains 
 of Olympia, where the citizens of Corcyra were 
 frequently rewarded with the wreath of victory. 
 It was Corcyra that Alexander selected for his re- 
 sidence, on his temporary retreat from the court of 
 Philip — it was here also that the interview took 
 place between Cicero and Cato, after the death- 
 blow to their hopes at Pharsalia — and here were 
 solemnized those ill-fated nuptials between Antony 
 
 duodecim millia passuum : eadem ab Acrocerauniis quinqua- 
 ginta mill: cum urbe ejusdem nominis, Corcyra, libera ci- 
 vitatis, ct oppido Cassiope, temploquc Cassii Jovis, passuum 
 nonaginta septem millia in Iongitudinem patens: Homero dicta 
 Scheria ct Phseaeia, Callimacho etiam Drepane. — Nat. Hist. 
 lib. iv. 19. 
 
 1 Lib. i. 2. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 and Octavia, which were destined to convert the 
 torch of Hymen into a brand of discord, that would 
 shake the civilized globe. 
 
 The governor's country-house commands an 
 extensive view of the approach to the town and the 
 opposite coast of Albania ;— the inland scenery pre- 
 sents a landscape which requires the descriptive 
 talents of the pencil rather than the pen — but to do 
 justice to its multiplied beauties is a task which 
 might defy the combined powers of both. 
 
 Another interesting point is a projection where 
 there are two pieces of ordnance, in advancing to 
 which a lake of fresh water appears stretched out 
 in the distance to the right. Farther down, through 
 a romantic defile, is the " the one-gun battery" 
 from whence, at a slight distance, is seen an insular 
 rock, which, from some imagined resemblance to a 
 vessel, is called Ulysses' ship 1 . Here the fancy 
 may easily adjust the scene of Nausicaa's interview 
 with the Prince of Ithaca. Nothing surely, in the 
 annals of chivalrous gallantry and refinement, can 
 
 1 The origin of the term is thus alluded to by Pliny : — 
 Et a Phalacro, Corcyra promontorio Scopulus, in quetn muta- 
 tam Ulyssis navem, a sirnili specie fama est: — lib. iv. 19. The 
 similitude is certainly- at present, not very striking. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 7 
 
 exceed the elegance of the address, with which 
 Ulysses presents himself to the daughter of Al- 
 cinous : — 
 
 Touvovf^ai fft tt.va.ffaa.' his vu t/j, *i B/iotos iffffi ; 
 E/ filv tii 610$ iff a), to) oi/gavov ivpvv i%ovffiv, 
 'AaTifiiht fft 'iyuyi, Aio; xov^/i //.tyaXoio, 
 EToos ti, fiiyt/)o; ti, <puhv t tky^iffTu. ii'ffxu- 
 Ei' 3/ tis iffffi (ipoTuVf Tot i-Jti %0ovi vxiiToiouiri, 
 Tpiffficcxapt; fi.lv ffoi yi vrot.Tnp, ptm) irorvta fcriTn^, 
 Tgiffftoixapts 0*1 xuffiyvriTor /xaXa <rov fftyurt 6ufio; 
 Anv iuQpoffvvtifftv laiviTcti, t'mxa. truo, 
 AtvffffivTcov Tolovti 6a,Xos %ogov tiffoi%vivffot.v. 
 Kt7vo; S' ai/ rrtp) xtjjti f/.a.xu(>Ta.To; 'i\oy^ov aWuv, 
 O; xi a iihtotffi @/>tffa; olxovo uyaywrai. x. t. X. 
 
 Odyss. lib. vi. 149. 
 
 The melody of this beautiful passage is success- 
 fully preserved in the graceful translation by Pope — 
 
 " If from the skies a goddess, or if earth, 
 Imperial virgin, boast thy beauteous birth, 
 To thee I bend ! — if in that bright disguise 
 Thou visit earth, a daughter of the skies, 
 Hail, Dian, hail ! — the huntress of the groves 
 So shines majestic, and so stately moves, 
 So breathes an air divine ! — But, if thy race 
 Be mortal, and this earth thy native place, 
 Blest is the father from whose loins you sprung, 
 Blest is the mother at whose breast you hung, 
 Blest are the brethren who thy blood divide, 
 To such a miracle of charms allied : 
 Joyful they see applauding princes gaze, 
 When stately in the dance you swim th' harmonious maze : 
 
O LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 But blest o'er all, the youth with heavenly charms, 
 Who clasps the bright perfection in his arms ' !" 
 
 There is hardly any spot in this part of the 
 island, on which the eye may not dwell with un- 
 mixed gratification ; the only defect is a want of 
 variety in the foliage, the olive being almost the 
 sole plant that vegetates in any luxuriancy. But 
 perhaps some little abatement to the pleasure of 
 the eye may be found in the dissonant croakings 
 with which the ear, at this season, is incessantly 
 afflicted from the marshes and stagnant pools — 
 
 " While hoarsest frogs their amorous descant sound." 
 
 It would be impossible to convey, by any assem- 
 blage of letters, a description of the very peculiar 
 noise produced by this continuous gabble. The 
 
 1 According to Pausanias, " Ulysses, approaching Nausicaa 
 and her attendants," was selected by Polygnotus, as the sub- 
 ject for a painting in the Athenian Gallery. 
 
 Mr. Payne Knight, in his elegant and instructive Essay 
 on Taste, cites this passage, — whether seriously or otherwise — 
 to shew that the principles of good breeding or politeness are 
 the same in all ages and all countries: — " While the high-born 
 princess, with real dignity and real delicacy, listens to the sup- 
 plications and relieves the necessities of the naked shipwrecked 
 mariner, her half-bred attendants, mistaking, as usual, affecta- 
 tion for dignity, and timidity for delicacy, run screaming away!" 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. V J 
 
 jargon in Aristophanes, B^ekekeke^ koo&, xox%, does 
 not, by any mode of pronunciation, either ancient 
 or modern, that I have heard, present more than 
 a faint resemblance to it; though the habitual prac- 
 tice is described by the chorus with sufficient ac- 
 curacy : — ■ 
 
 'ono'soN 'h •fAPrrs "an 'hmiT n 
 
 XANAA'NH, %! fifti^as, 
 
 ligixixixit Koa\, x.oa.\ — 
 
 RaNj<e, v. 258. 
 
 A fantastical ceremony took place yesterday 
 in honour of the patron saint, Spiridion, whose 
 relics are said to have been discovered many years 
 after his interment, uninjured by any of those ra- 
 vages which " flesh is heir to." Bell-ropes in 
 this country there are none; but the music of 
 the steeples is produced by striking the metal 
 with an iron bar ; an office performed by grave 
 personages, whose garb and action give them a 
 resemblance to the grotesque figures that decorate 
 the dial of St. Dunstan's in Fleet-street. At the 
 dawn of day every belfry was in full activity, and 
 an universal clattering continued till about eleven, 
 
 <T> 
 
 when the procession began to pass through the 
 
.10 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 most public places in the city. The body of the 
 saint was borne in a palanquin, and displayed with 
 the most impartial ostentation both to the pro- 
 fane and initiated ; and as the venerable mummy 
 moved along, the crowds which came out to do 
 it homage went through their various Catholic 
 evolutions with infinite effect and precision. 
 
 Absurd as all this may appear in England, 
 it is considered of such importance here to humour 
 the popular prejudices, that the English troops 
 were required to assist in the solemnity, and ac- 
 tually bore very conspicuous parts in the exhi- 
 bition. 
 
 Under so imperfect a system as marked the 
 successive tyrannies of the Turkish, Venetian, and 
 French dominions, where the only passion ad- 
 dressed was that of fear, it is scarcely to be 
 wondered that vices the most abject and degrading 
 should have become generally prevalent : it is 
 only from the union of conciliation and firmness 
 which characterises the existing government, that 
 a gradual amelioration may rationally be expected 
 in the disposition and manners of the people. So- 
 ciety will thus eventually become remodelled : the 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 11 
 
 influence of English habits will necessarily extend 
 itself to all the various classes in the community ; 
 while the powerful genius of the protecting state, 
 infusing new spirit into the heart of the people, 
 will cause its life-blood to circulate with health 
 and vigour " through every artery of the con- 
 stitution." 
 
 The packet for England will be made up to- 
 morrow. We hope to embark for Prevesa the day 
 following. 
 
1~ LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Arta, bth April. 
 Sir T. M — l — d having furnished us with such 
 papers of recommendation as were necessary to 
 secure a safe passage through the territories of 
 the Pasha of Joannina, we left Corfu on the 2nd 
 instant, in a Greek vessel of about forty tons 
 burthen. The wind, which was at first favourable, 
 died away during the night, so that we did not 
 reach Prevesa till the morning of the 4th. The 
 scenery on the Albanian coast, a few miles before 
 the entrance to the town, presents many of those 
 beauties which the combined charms of climate 
 and feature are required to produce. A deep olive- 
 grove skirts the borders of the water for some 
 distance on the left ; the isle of St. Maura is nearly 
 in front, while the view to the right is diversified 
 by woodland, and bounded by lofty hills, thrown 
 into every variety of surface, the highest points of 
 which are still covered with snow. The harbour 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 13 
 
 is commanded by a small fort, but at present with- 
 out any military attendants. The town itself is 
 extremely wretched ; and there is throughout such a 
 mixture of gorgeous stateliness and squalid penury, 
 as gives a stranger the most unpleasant sensations. 
 We were conducted to the house of the British 
 agent, who is a native of the country, but conversant 
 in the Italian language. While our breakfast was 
 preparing, he sent his son and an Albanian guard 
 to attend us to the ruins of Nicopolis. The site 
 of that ancient city exhibits the most complete 
 spectacle of desolation I have yet anywhere wit- 
 nessed : but there are still surviving evidences of 
 its former grandeur ; and the spectator can be at 
 no loss to recognise some vestige of the splendid 
 trophy, erected to commemorate a victory which 
 decided the empire of the world. The works of 
 art, plundered by Augustus from other states to 
 embellish his new colony, have long since disap- 
 peared; and of all the variety of statues, which 
 Pausanias says were taken from the iEtolians and 
 Acarnanians, not a single fragment now remains. 
 Among the few skeletons of buildings which can 
 at present be identified, there are two theatres, 
 
14 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 constructed on the model of those at Rome. One 
 appears to have been on a very extensive scale ; it 
 was situated at the extremity of the town, on the 
 acclivity of a hill, whose gradual rise is happily 
 adapted to an adjustment of places for the spec- 
 tators. 
 
 Some of the peasantry, seeing us engaged in 
 examining the fragments of the different structures, 
 came to offer us several pieces of coin which had 
 been dug from amidst the rubbish. There were 
 none of very ancient date, or of much value ; and 
 the proprietors, to do them justice, seemed disposed 
 to part with the entire cargo on very reasonable 
 terms. Nothing perhaps is more fluctuating than 
 the price of these metallic miniatures 1 . The in- 
 trinsic worth of an old coin, according to Addison, 
 does not consist in its metal, but in its erudition, — 
 "it is the device which has raised the species; 
 so that at present an as or an obolus may carry 
 a higher price than a denarius or a drachma ; and 
 a piece of money that was not worth a penny 
 fifteen hundred years ago, may be now rated 
 
 1 Concisum argentum in titulos, faciexque minutas. 
 
 Juv. Sat. xiv. v. 291. 
 
1 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 15 
 
 at fifty crowns, or perhaps a hundred guineas." 
 The taste for this description of vertit is, however, 
 extremely capricious. A short time since, the de- 
 mand was such, as to make it a profitable specula- 
 tion to forge these ancient representatives of ma- 
 jesty ; but the fraud was eventually detected, and 
 the general rule is now, I believe, not to give more 
 than double the value of the metal, estimated by 
 its weight 1 . 
 
 In the afternoon we hired a small bark to take 
 us to Salagora, where we arrived in the course of 
 two hours. On entering the gulf, the high points 
 
 1 The pursuits of the virtuosi are of all others perhaps 
 the most susceptible of delusion. A very learned author, a few 
 years since, reminded his readers, with much caustic pleasantry, 
 of an old adventure in vertit, which fell out at the taking- of 
 Carthage : — how Scipio found there a brazen bull — how he took 
 it, backed by the opinion of some Sicilians in his camp, to be 
 the famous bull of Phalaris ! — how he had it shipped off to its 
 supposed native place, sending- with it a message, in which, 
 along with some sound political reasoning, he announced his 
 firm belief in the bull ! — That Scipio was not without arguments 
 for believing in the bull, the reader may be assured — "yet the 
 reader may be also assured," adds the writer above alluded to, 
 '* that whatever arguments Scipio had, the bull he found at 
 Carthage had never been the bull of Agrigentum !" — (Disserta- 
 tion on the Sarcophagus brought from Alexandria, and now 
 in the British Museum.) 
 
16 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 of St. Maura are faintly visible ; but we were 
 too remote to trace, with any degree of accuracy, 
 the outlines of that fatal promontory, whence Sap- 
 pho sought a refuge from the most tyrannous, and 
 the most resistless, of all earthly feelings — ■ 
 
 M»j tot, a o"t<r<roHi, 'En' 'EMOl' 
 
 Xguflaiv ro\a»i iipiiri; 
 
 'lf&ifiw %p'nra<r', cltpvKTOv iiiarot. — Klirip. Med. 638. 
 
 " Ne'er from thy golden bow, Queen of soft joy, 
 " Steep'd in desire, thy shafts 'gainst me employ." 
 
 The wind was fresh, and the sail through the 
 strait extremely pleasant. Yet amid the splendour 
 of the surrounding scenery, with all the animating 
 recollections of the battle, and all the imagined 
 fascinations of the " bright Egyptian queen," I 
 insensibly thought of the suicide Cleombrotus, — 
 whose conviction, in the reasonings of Plato 1 , sur- 
 passed even the well-bred acquiescence of Simmias 
 and Cebes, and who fairly put the philosopher's 
 theory to the proof, by leaping from a lofty pro- 
 jection on this coast into the waters which flow 
 round its base 2 . 
 
 i iccHuv — ri ti$ -^uxhs — a dialogue on the Immortality of the 
 Soul. 
 
 8 Callimachi quidem epigramma in Ambraciotam Cleom- 
 
1 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 17 
 
 The only building at Salagora is a seraglio of 
 Ali Pasha. Aware of the extensive authority of 
 that ferocious chieftain, we had taken the pre- 
 caution to procure a letter from the consul at 
 
 brotum est ; quera ait, cum nihil ei accidisset adversi, e muro se 
 in marc abjecisse, lecto Platonis libro. (Tusc. Quest, i. 34.) 
 The following- is the epigram which Cicero alludes to: — 
 
 Eivras 'HA./E x a 'i s ' KZ-iof&Ggort; u'p, figuxi&irti;, 
 
 "HkctT a<p' v^riXou ni^Sos lis atinv, 
 "A%iov ouoh 'louiv Quvareu icccxov, ciXXa, TlXoiravos 
 
 "Ev to nigi -^u^s ygdft/u.' a.vaXtZ,df*ivos. 
 
 This very celebrated treatise — the subject of epigrammatic 
 smartuess — is described by Gray in the following terms: — 
 
 " The historical part of it is admirable, and though written 
 and disposed with all the art and management of the best tragic 
 writer, (for the slightest circumstance in it wants not its force 
 and meaning,) it exhibits nothing to the eye but the noble sim- 
 plicity of nature. Every intelligent reader will feel, what those 
 who were eye-witnesses are said to have felt, namely, a*6n vna. 
 
 xgairiv, a.<>ro <rt <rns rihovns o-uyxixgapivw opov km rns Xvtfns. The itinO- 
 
 cence, — the humanity, — the cheerfulness, and the unaffected 
 intrepidity of Socrates will draw some tears from him (as it 
 did many from them) as for the loss of a father ; and will at the 
 same time, better than any arguments, shew him a soul which, 
 if it were not so, at least deserved to be immortal. 
 
 " Socrates attempts in this dialogue to prove, that true phi- 
 losophy is but a continual preparation for death ; — its daily study 
 and practice being to wean and separate the body from the soul, 
 whose pursuit of truth is perpetually stopped and impeded by 
 the numerous avocations, the little pleasures, pains, and neces- 
 sities of its companion : — that, as death is but a transition from 
 its opposite, life, (in the same manner as heat is from cold, 
 weakness from strength, and all things, both in the natural and 
 
 C 
 
r 
 
 18 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Prevesa to the principal officer of this establish- 
 ment. The billet was folded with ceremonious 
 formality, and addressed — 
 
 Tw Evri/AwraTw Ku§io» Kt>§»a> 
 Av£g£t rTs&zgyw : 
 
 the moral woral from their contraries,) — so life is only a 
 transition from death ; whence he would infer the probability 
 of a metempsychosis. That such propositions, as every one 
 assents to at first, being self-evident, and no one giving any 
 account how such parts of knowledge on which the rest are 
 founded were originally conveyed to our mind, there must have 
 been a pre-existent state, in which the soul was acquainted 
 with these truths, which she recollects and assents to on their 
 recurring' to her in this life. — That, as truth is eternal and im - 
 mutable, and not visible to our senses, but to the soul alone ; 
 and as the empire which she exercises over the body bears a 
 resemblance to the power of the Divinity, it is probable that 
 she, like her object, is everlasting and unchangeable, and, like 
 the office she bears, something divine. — That it cannot be, as 
 some have thought, merely a harmony resulting from a disposi- 
 tion of parts in the body, since it directs, commands, and re- 
 strains the functions of that very body.— That the soul, being 
 the cause of life to the body, can never itself be susceptible of 
 death ; and that there will be a state of rewards and punish- 
 ments, the scene of which he takes pains in describing, though 
 he concludes that no man can tell exactly where, or what it 
 will be." 
 
 Dennis, in his famous Critique on Cato, mentions a transla- 
 tion of this dialogue by Bernard Lintot : Mr. Lintot's per- 
 formance has long been out of print — a modern translation 
 appeared a few years since, published by Mr. Black, of Tavi- 
 v-tock-street, Covent-garden. 
 
1 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 19 
 
 I was somewhat surprised, therefore, on being in- 
 troduced to that " most honoured lord," to find 
 him employed in weighing out grain to several of 
 the peasantry, who were waiting at the steps of 
 the palace. Sancho hinted to the knight of La 
 Mancha, when dispatched with a message to the 
 sublime Lady Dulcinea, that it was not impossible 
 he might interrupt his princess in her diurnal 
 avocation of carding flax, or threshing in the barn ; 
 and that, instead of stringing pearls, or embroider- 
 ing some device with threads of gold, he should 
 peradventure find her winnowing two bushels of 
 wheat in a back yard of the mansion. The worthy 
 squire had formed his surmise from an intimate 
 acquaintance with the genealogy of the house of 
 Toboso ; but as we were absolutely uninformed 
 upon all points respecting the extraction of the 
 governor of the seraglio, and had no means of illu- 
 mination from any office of heraldry in the neigh- 
 bourhood, we resolved on a scrupulous compliance 
 with whatever usages the dignity of station might 
 prescribe 1 . 
 
 1 The gorgeous title with which the worthy Consul be- 
 decked this subaltern agent of the Pasha, scarcely surpasses in 
 
 C 2 
 
r 
 
 20 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Our consul's illustrious correspondent received 
 the note with an air that indicated his being ac- 
 customed to much more important communications, 
 and proceeded, with the most elevated indifference, 
 to inquire into the subject of its contents. The 
 seraglio happened, a little unluckily at this junc- 
 ture, to be in rather a dilapidated condition, the 
 principal apartments having for some time past 
 been applied to the purpose of a granary : the 
 governor mentioned this circumstance in terms of 
 great delicacy and politeness, urging it as a reason 
 for being obliged to consign us during the night 
 to a sort of hen-roost. We reposed, however, 
 without any molestation in our aerial dormitory, 
 and the next morning engaged horses, at three 
 piastres for each, to take us to this place, where 
 we arrived in the course of five hours. 
 
 ludicrous absurdity the affected jargon by which '* the March 
 of Intellect" has chosen to designate the labouring classes in 
 England. These are now universally distinguished by the 
 name of Operatives ! a term borrowed from the " philosophy" 
 of Glasgow and Edinburgh. But our language, as Mr. Cobbett 
 long since observed, " is fast refining itself out of its senses. 
 Every person, above the degree of a handicraftsman, calls him- 
 self an Esquire ! — and our women, down to the very scul- 
 lions, are all ladies." 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 21 
 
 The route lies over a dead flat, surrounded by 
 mountains; the surface is therefore, perhaps un- 
 avoidably, in many places covered with stagnant 
 water ; and an almost total ignorance of the re- 
 sources of agriculture seems to have reduced it 
 to the condition of an irreclaimable waste. For 
 the accommodation of passengers, a paved cause- 
 way has been constructed in particular parts, and 
 this is still kept in sufficient repair to answer every 
 purpose of travelling, except that of expedition. 
 
 The approach to Arta is finely picturesque : it 
 is situated at the base of the Cassiopeian mountains, 
 just above a clear and rapid stream, which was 
 anciently called the Arethon, but. termed by the 
 moderns Asdhas. Across this river there is thrown 
 a bridge of very singular structure, the chief arch 
 rising, with great abruptness, to a height of nearly 
 ninety feet. The inhabitants are very eager to 
 point out this peculiarity to the stranger, but it 
 seems at best only an equivocal evidence of their 
 proficiency in the principles of architecture. The 
 town is entirely modern, and seems to comprise 
 all the defects of a Turkish city. We are lodged 
 in the house of a Jewish merchant; and I shall 
 
22 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 not easily forget our introduction to the different 
 members of the family, who were arranged with 
 due solemnity to receive us. Every individual in 
 the circle seemed afflicted with some wound or 
 ulcer ; and as we knew the plague had raged here 
 only a short time since, it immediately occurred 
 to us, that the venerable group before our eyes 
 presented indisputable symptoms of its worst viru- 
 lence. It was, however, useless to express any ap- 
 prehensions on such a subject ; and as the forms of 
 salutation did not require the familiarity of per- 
 sonal contact, we hoped to stand a chance of 
 escaping without infection. 
 
 Arta is divided into districts, in which the na- 
 tives of different countries have their respective ha- 
 bitations. The Armenians inhabit one quarter; the 
 Jews another ; the Albanians a third ; the Turks 
 a fourth, &c. &c. The Turkish division were the 
 chief victims of the pestilence, the majority of that 
 part of the population having been nearly exter- 
 minated by this dreadful scourge. The principal 
 street is an almost uninterrupted line of shops, con- 
 sisting of small platforms raised about twelve or 
 eighteen inches above the ground. They are co- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 23 
 
 vered by tiled sheds, which project so far on each 
 side, as nearly to inclose the whole area, conse- 
 quently a very narrow aperture only is left for 
 the circulation of air. Straggling vine-branches 
 are in a few places trained against the sides of 
 the buildings; and if this method were generally 
 adopted, it might contribute very much to purify 
 the atmosphere, which is here contaminated by a 
 variety of putrid substances. Those vapours which 
 are most injurious to animal life, constitute the 
 nutriment of vegetables, by whose absorbing ves- 
 sels the noxious particles are imbibed, and whose 
 leaves, when acted on b}' the sun's influence, pour 
 forth in return streams of pure air ; or what, in 
 chemical language, is now termed oxj'gen. Some 
 such perpetual correctives are indispensable in this 
 place, where the animals are slaughtered in the 
 streets, and their entrails thrown into the kennel in 
 the centre. This alone, in hot weather, would be 
 sufficient to generate disease; but rubbish of va- 
 rious descriptions is constantly adding to the cor- 
 rupt mass, so that the frequency with which the 
 inhabitants are visited by epidemic disorders is so 
 far from creating astonishment, that it should rather 
 
24 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 excite surprise that they are ever totally exempt 
 from them. 
 
 The neighbouring hills are said to furnish 
 wines of an excellent flavour, and tobacco of a very 
 superior quality is among the chief objects of cul- 
 tivation. Wild boars, deer, and the inferior species 
 of game are to be found in the forests ; but I have 
 not learned what kind of licence is necessary to 
 engage in the pleasures of the chace. There is 
 a considerable commerce here in grain of various 
 kinds, and in cotton, flax, gum, raw wool, hides, 
 and coarse cloths. Indeed, Arta is usually con- 
 sidered as the chief emporium of the lower districts 
 of Albania. 
 
 There is no relic of antiquity discoverable 
 either in the town or environs. The only object 
 which claims the attention of the stranger, is the 
 ruin of a Greek church, supposed to have been 
 founded by Michael Paleologus : in this, however, 
 there is nothing which particularly merits obser- 
 vation. A colossal head of the Saviour, rudely 
 done in mosaic, crowns the dome ; the sanctuary 
 is occasionally used for the service of the Greek 
 liturgy. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 25 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Joannina, 9th April, 1817. 
 
 The grand festival of Easter, which is ob- 
 served with scrupulous devotion by members of the 
 Greek communion, made it a circumstance of con- 
 siderable difficulty to procure horses, except on 
 very extravagant terms. After many fruitless ap- 
 plications at the stables of the different proprietors, 
 we at length hired a sufficient number at the rate 
 of eleven piastres 1 each, to take us to this city. 
 
 We set out with the first blush of the dawn — 
 It was one of those bright and vivid mornings in 
 the early part of spring, which invest all nature 
 with the most animating radiance — the forests burst- 
 ing forth in all the varieties of nascent vegetation, 
 or blooming with flowers of every hue — the air per- 
 fumed by mountain gales, and enlivened by sounds 
 of joyous melody. In scenes such as these, and 
 1 About two Spanish dollars. 
 
26 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 with such accompaniments, the spirits are kindled 
 to a tone of rapture ! — Every warm and generous 
 feeling is more powerfully awakened ; and while the 
 heart swells with ardent gratitude to heaven, it 
 beats with good-will towards everything on earth. 
 
 The route has few features of striking or ge- 
 neral interest ; the soil appears to be shallow, and 
 is only partially cultivated ; for many miles together 
 it is entirely neglected. In some points the scenery 
 is grand and picturesque, but the aspect for the 
 most part is that of a stony desert, with no vegeta- 
 tion beyond the dwarf holly. There are scarcely 
 more than half-a-dozen houses perceptible from the 
 beaten road, which in some places seems almost im- 
 passable by any quadruped less nimble than a goat. 
 The horses let out to travellers are generally very 
 small, seldom rising more than thirteen hands, but 
 they are hardy and extremely sure-footed, and if 
 left to choose their way through the rugged accli- 
 vities of the mountains, very rarely fall. This is 
 the more remarkable, from the peculiar manner in 
 which they are shod. A thin plate of iron covers 
 nearly the whole of the foot — by constant friction 
 the metal soon becomes perfectly smooth and po- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 21 
 
 lished — had the smith been desirous of inventing a 
 method for rendering the animal's paces insecure, 
 he could not, to all appearance, have hit on a more 
 happy expedient. 
 
 The distance between Arta and this place is 
 probably somewhere about forty miles, calculating 
 from the time we employed to accomplish it. The 
 baggage prevented our exceeding a foot's pace, and 
 we were fourteen hours on the road, exclusive of 
 fifty minutes where we halted to bait. Taking 
 therefore the average rate of walking at three miles 
 per hour, the extent of the journey will be forty- 
 two miles. About mid-way there is a large building 
 for the reception of travellers, but the AuQivrns 1 
 (Affendi) was absent on a visit at a considerable 
 distance, to partake in the festivities of the season, 
 and we were obliged to shelter ourselves among the 
 rocks below the outer walls. It was not indeed 
 without difficulty that we were allowed to remain 
 even there — but the master of our equipage finally 
 succeeded in appeasing the angry proprietors. We 
 reached the capital of Albania at nine in the even- 
 ing, one of the coldest and most severe I ever re- 
 
 1 A term equivalent to the Italian word Padrone. 
 
28 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 member at this advanced period of the spring. Here 
 the Paschal festivities again interfered to prevent our 
 obtaining admission at any house of entertainment : 
 the principal inn long refused to open its doors, a 
 voice from within proclaiming, in no very friendly 
 accents, that every corner of the dwelling was pre- 
 occupied by travelling merchants. At length, when 
 I began seriously to suspect that we should be 
 obliged to pass the night on our horses, we were 
 ushered into a stable more foul than the stalls of 
 Augeas. There we were recommended to dismount, 
 and, having climbed up a broken ladder, were 
 shewn into a hovel nearly eight feet square, in 
 which spacious apartment we were invited, as the 
 only alternative to sleeping in the streets, to remain 
 with our servants till the morning. Our chamber, 
 of the dimensions above described, was plastered 
 with mud and reeds, which were so decayed as to 
 give entrance to the wind through innumerable 
 crevices : the ceiling was composed of loose and 
 broken pantiles ; and in addition to these venti- 
 lators, there was a large orifice in the centre, to 
 admit the light and air. We contrived, with some 
 difficulty, to kindle a fire sufficient to boil a few 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 29 
 
 eggs, and with this repast lay down on our baggage 
 with our feet towards the ashes. But a variety of 
 causes prevented any continued sleep : a litter of 
 children were in the adjoining shed, and some 
 poultry kept up an almost uninterrupted incan- 
 tation. We slumbered, however, at intervals, till 
 the dawn, when we desired to be conducted to 
 the residence of the English agent, who had been 
 dispatched on a special mission respecting the sur- 
 render of Parga. That gentleman received us with 
 the most attentive civility ; and, by an application 
 to the Vizier, soon procured for us a habitable 
 lodging l . 
 
 1 On landing at Salagora we were accosted by a mariner, — 
 a native of Parga, and the owner of some property there, — in 
 terms of the most eager and anxious inquiry respecting the 
 future disposal of his country. Strong hopes were, he said, 
 entertained by all classes, of the generous interference of Eng- 
 land being successfully exerted to rescue their hearths and altars 
 from the fell gripe of Ali Pasha, whose inextinguishable feel- 
 ings of vindictive tyranny he depicted in all the exaggerated 
 colours which alarm and horror could suggest. Some of the 
 tales which he rehearsed were enough to harrow the soul, and 
 strike the heart of cruelty itself with pity. Let us hope, how- 
 ever, that they are greatly overcharged, if not entirely without 
 foundation. To the eye of fear, every object of distrust as- 
 sumes colossal proportions. 
 
30 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Joannina, April \0th, 1817. 
 
 The life of Ali Pasha, the present ruler of 
 Albania, has been extraordinary and eventful ; and 
 you will easily imagine there is no want of materials 
 for an interesting biography. Such information as 
 I have been able to collect on the subject, se- 
 parate from whatever may appear violently to out- 
 rage probability, I proceed to relate, in as few 
 words as I can find to express myself. 
 
 The birth-place of Ali Pasha is a small village 
 adjoining Tepelini, a town of the ancient Thesprotia, 
 and distant between sixty and seventy miles to the 
 north of Joannina. His family had hereditary pos- 
 sessions in that neighbourhood ; and his father held 
 the rank and station of a Pasha of two tails. His 
 mother is reported to have been endowed with 
 courage beyond her sex ; and it is from this parent 
 that the individual, who is in possession of sovereign 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 3] 
 
 authority here and in the adjoining provinces, is sup- 
 posed to derive those peculiar traits of character, 
 which have given him the ascendancy in Greece. 
 
 He lost his father while yet very young, and 
 being then incapable of any personal exertions, he 
 would inevitably have been stripped of all his pa- 
 ternal possessions, if his mother had not put herself 
 at the head of some faithful adherents, and repelled 
 the invaders with the sword. In the midst of these 
 scenes of petty warfare, the youthful Ali necessarily 
 acquired habits of hardihood, and his faculties early 
 developed themselves in a manner which increased 
 the confidence of his party. As soon as he could 
 support the weight of a musket, he appeared in 
 the ranks as a private soldier; and having won the 
 esteem of his countrymen by repeated acts of he- 
 roism, began at length to take on himself the di- 
 rection of those affairs which had hitherto been 
 so ably conducted by his mother. He soon proved 
 himself equal to the complicated duties of his new 
 situation, and for a long time foiled all the strata- 
 gems whch were practised to crush him ; till, after 
 a series of ill success, he was ultimately reduced 
 to an extremity which left him destitute of any 
 
32 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 means of supporting his troops. In this exigency, 
 having made a desperate attack on a formidable 
 band of opponents, he was compelled to a pre- 
 cipitate retreat, and with difficulty eluded the 
 search of his pursuers, by plunging into the re- 
 cesses of a cavern. It is asserted by one of his 
 biographers, that while reflecting in this place of 
 concealment, on the peculiarity of his fortune, he 
 suddenly perceived the stick, with which he was 
 unconsciously tracing out figures on the sand, strike 
 against some hard substance. With a view more 
 to employ his attention, than from any idea of 
 making an interesting discovery, he set about ex- 
 cavating the spot, where he found, at a slight depth 
 beneath the surface, a vase filled with coins of 
 various denominations, and making an aggregate of 
 considerable value. Regarding this as a most fa- 
 vourable omen, he instantly took measures for or- 
 ganizing a troop of adventurers, and shortly after- 
 wards found himself master of a booty sufficient 
 for the maintenance of a little army. At the head 
 of this chosen band he returned to the place of 
 his nativity, regained possession of his hereditary 
 domains, and entered Tepelini in triumph. From 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 33 
 
 this epoch his authority progressively increased ; 
 his standard became a rallying-point to the ardent 
 and enterprising, and he quickly began to elevate 
 his views beyond the narrow horizon which bounded 
 his native province, till, on the execution of the 
 late Pasha, whose incapacity brought on his go- 
 vernment all the miseries of anarchy, Ali was ap- 
 appointed by the Porte to the pashalic of Al- 
 bania. 
 
 Superior to the attacks of adverse fortune, he 
 has been equally proof against the seductions of 
 prosperity. By some well-timed concessions to the 
 districts he had subdued, he found means to incor- 
 porate their inhabitants with those of his more at- 
 tached subjects, whose affections he confirmed by 
 an unlimited toleration of the Greek religion. Thus 
 secure in his immediate government, he had no dif- 
 ficulty in extending his alliance with the ruling 
 authorities in Thessaly ; and associating his two 
 eldest sons with him in his administration, he pro- 
 cured for each the dignity of a Pasha. At length, 
 after a series of good fortune surpassing his most 
 ardent hopes, his services at Widden, towards the 
 close of the last century, were rewarded with the 
 
 D 
 
34 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 highest marks of distinction which the government 
 at Constantinople has to bestow. Though now far 
 advanced in life, he is still very adroit in all manly 
 exercises, and is regarded as consummate in the ma- 
 nagement of his horse, in whose dress and accoutre- 
 ments he affects peculiar elegance. In the exercise 
 of his authority he is experienced, sagacious, and 
 provident : equally unrivalled for boldness of de- 
 sign and promptness of execution, the " firstlings 
 of his heart" are usually " the firstlings of his 
 hand ;" but where a subtler policy is required, he 
 has a wonderful faculty in engaging opposite parties 
 to his interests by every art of address, and the 
 most successful application to their humours and 
 passions. Such are among the admirable qualities 
 of this remarkable person. On the other hand, he 
 is represented as being cruel, treacherous, and faith- 
 less ; without honour, and without religion. Many 
 instances are recorded of his vindictive policy ; but 
 the merciless revenge with which he visited the 
 town of Gaidiki, whose inhabitants had on some 
 occasion treated his mother with indignity, sur- 
 passes all the rest, both in extent and atrocity. The 
 citizens were driven into an enclosure from which 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 35 
 
 there was no possibility of escape, and exposed to a 
 fire of musketry directed from every quarter. The 
 Pasha assisted personally at the massacre, and pro- 
 bably considered it as a meritorious act of atone- 
 ment to the manes of an injured parent. The tri- 
 butary provinces were thus taught a tremendous 
 lesson ; they were convinced that the Vizier's power 
 admitted not the shadow of resistance, and that his 
 vengeance, like the wrath of heaven, accumulated 
 in proportion to its delay. 
 
 It is from this very formidable personage, that 
 we have received an invitation to visit the Seraglio 
 to-morrow. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Joannina, April 14, 1817. 
 
 We assembled this morning, soon after ten 
 o'clock, at the apartments of Mr. C * *, the Con- 
 sul from Patras, where we found an officer from 
 the palace waiting to escort us. Having traversed 
 the principal quarters of the city, we entered a 
 fortress surrounded by a moat : within this inclosure, 
 comprising a space of some extent, there are dwell- 
 ings for no inconsiderable part of the population. 
 The ground is divided into streets, and furnished 
 with shops supplied with every requisite for the use 
 of the inhabitants. The palace is finely situated at 
 the extremity, on an eminence which overlooks the 
 lake ; having the view terminated on one side by the 
 Suliote Mountains, and on the north by the lower 
 range of Pindus. It is a vast, irregular pile, form- 
 ing three-fourths of a spacious quadrangle : the ar- 
 chitecture, as you may suppose, is extremely rude, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 37 
 
 and the ornaments in the highest degree barbarous 
 and fantastical. Detachments of the Albanian 
 troops were waiting in the square, some lying down 
 under the projections of the walls, others grouped 
 in small parties listening to an animated narrative, 
 or singing some national air ; presenting altogether 
 a scene wild and savage, but giving evident indica- 
 tions that they were fully sensible of the reflective 
 credit which every soldier may be supposed to share 
 who serves under a chief of acknowledged talent. 
 
 The following extract from Childe Harolde's 
 reception at Tepelini will convey a far more vivid 
 idea than any prose description might hope to reach, 
 of a similar spectacle at Joannina : — 
 
 He passed the sacred Haram's silent tower, 
 
 And underneath the wide o'er-arching - gate, 
 Survey'd the dwelling' of this Chief of power, 
 Where all around proclaim'd his high estate. 
 Amidst no common pomp the despot sate: 
 While busy preparation shook the court, 
 Slaves, eunuchs, soldiers, guests, and santons wait , 
 Within a palace, and without a fort, 
 Here men of every clime appear to make resort. 
 
 Richly caparison'd, a ready row 
 Of armed horse, and many a warlike store, 
 Circled the wide-extending court below : 
 Above strange groups adornd the corridore : 
 
38 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 And ofttimes, thro' the area's echoing- door, 
 Some high-capp'd Tartar spurr'd his steed away ; 
 The Turk, the Greek, th' Albanian, and the Moor, 
 Here mingled in their many-hued array, 
 While the deep war-drum's sound announc'd the close of day. 
 
 The wild Albanian, kirtled to the knee, 
 With shawl-girt head and ornamented gun, 
 And gold-embroider'd garments fair to see ; 
 The crimson-scarfed men of Macedon : — 
 The Delhi, with his cap of terror on, 
 And crooked glaive ; the lively, supple Greek, 
 And swarthy Nubia's mutilated son ; 
 The bearded Turk that rarely deigns to speak, 
 Master of all around, too potent to be meek, 
 
 Are mix'd conspicuous : some recline in groups, 
 Scanning the motley scene that varies round ; 
 There some grave Moslem to devotion stoops ; 
 Here the Albanian proudly treads the ground ; 
 Half-whispering there the Greek is heard to prate ; 
 Hark ! from the Mosque, the nightly solemn sound : 
 The Muezzin's call doth shake the minaret, 
 There is no God but God! — to prayer — lo! God 19 
 great ! 
 
 [n marble-pav'd pavilion, where a spring 
 Of living water from the centre rose, 
 Whose bubbling did a genial freshness fling, 
 And soft voluptuous couches brcath'd repose, 
 An reclin'd, a man of war and woes ; 
 Yet in his lineaments ye cannot trace, 
 While gentleness her milder radiance throws 
 Along that aged venerable face, 
 The deeds which lurk within, and stain him with disgrace. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 39 
 
 It is not that yon hoary lengthening heard 
 111 suits the passions which belong' to youth ; 
 Love conquers age ; — so Hafiz hath averr'd, 
 So sings the Teian — and he sings in sooth. 
 But 'tis those ne'er-forgotten acts of ruth, 
 Beseeming all men ill, but most the man 
 In years, that mark him with a tiger's tooth ; 
 Blood follows blood, and, thro' their mortal span, 
 In bloodier acts conclude those who in blood began. 
 
 Canto II. Stanza lv., &c. 
 
 After passing several outer rooms, thronged 
 with the retinue of the Vizier's court, we arrived at 
 the apartments of the Prince, whom we found sit- 
 ting in one corner of a small but well-finished sa- 
 loon. Several attendants in Greek costume waited 
 in file at the entrance : they were all richly clothed, 
 and some remarkable for their personal elegance. 
 The Pasha received us with every expression of 
 courtesy, and motioned to us to sit down near him, 
 which I immediately obeyed at a slight distance on 
 his right : my friends were ranged in a line below, 
 and the Consul was seated on his left. He began 
 with the usual routine of questions, and said, with 
 much civility, that as soon as he had heard of our 
 arrival, he sent one of his officers to procure us ac- 
 commodations. He then inquired if any of the 
 
40 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 party had served in the army, and, being satisfied 
 on this point, pursued his questions with increased 
 interest. 
 
 It is extremely difficult to make a Turk compre- 
 hend the charm of classic recollections : Ali, — who 
 probably felt no greater veneration for * Homo' 
 than what Ensign Northerton expressed for that 
 sage, — did not appear quite satisfied, that, in visiting 
 his territories, we could be influenced solely by a de- 
 sire to survey those scenes, the renown of which had 
 been impressed on us with our rudiments : he never- 
 theless signified, in very obliging terms, a desire to 
 assist our views. He then made some complimentary 
 observations on the English character, and expressed 
 an anxiety to testify his esteem for so generous and 
 powerful a nation. 
 
 Where the ceremonies of etiquette prohibit any 
 interchange of remark, or where the dialogue is 
 maintained almost entirely by guarded question on 
 one side, and measured reply on the other, the con- 
 versation soon languishes into insipidity. We were 
 fast approaching to such crisis, when the Vizier 
 made a signal to the persons in waiting to bring 
 some refreshments. They soon appeared with a 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 41 
 
 splendid equipage of coffee, which was distributed 
 to each of the party, served in rich china vases sup- 
 ported by gold caskets. A pipe, nearly eight feet 
 in length, the mouth-piece of which was studded 
 with diamonds, was delivered to Mr. C, who in- 
 stantly commenced smoking with an air of much sci- 
 entific deliberation. The Pasha amused himself with 
 a splendid hookah. As this is an exercise which is 
 not very favourable to discussion, we had an oppor- 
 tunity of observing, rather more at leisure, the per- 
 son and features of our host. His figure appears to 
 be about the middle standard, but inclining to cor- 
 pulency ; it undoubtedly wants that imposing air, 
 in the composition of which height is perhaps a 
 necessary ingredient. Yet the absence of this melo- 
 dramatic recommendation, — invaluable to the indi- 
 vidual whose chief business it is to strut in a pro- 
 cession, — is amply compensated by the hardihood 
 and muscular flexibility which usually mark a frame 
 of lighter proportions. There is nothing I think in 
 his countenance calculated to impress the spectator 
 with awe — nihil metus in vultu — I should rather 
 say, gratia oris supererat. The contour of his face 
 is certainly handsome and prepossessing, and indi- 
 
42 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 cative rather of conviviality, than sternness or ob- 
 duracy. Such, at least, is its unruffled appear- 
 ance — but, on any topic affecting his interests, he 
 is said to be extremely animated ; the form of his 
 visage becomes then totally changed, and his fea- 
 tures sufficiently pourtray his internal agitation. I 
 have been assured notwithstanding, that he is anxious 
 on all occasions to be informed of the truth, and 
 can bear to hear its harshest details. His dress was 
 plain, but extremely neat, and in the Turkish cos- 
 tume, the beard descending to the waist : an orna- 
 mented belt was girt round his loins, to which 
 were attached a scimitar and a brace of pistols, 
 richly inlaid with gems. 
 
 None of his personal attendants practised any of 
 those prostrations usually observed in oriental cere- 
 monies ; their carriage was decorous and respectful, 
 but their attitude always erect. He seems to have 
 studied the essentials of sovereignty, ignorant or 
 regardless of its showy decorations. When we had 
 finished our coffee, he inquired if we should like to 
 see the palace, and being assured that it would give 
 us particular gratification, he delivered to one of 
 his officers a collection of keys, (for he is his own 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 43 
 
 treasurer, steward, &c. &c.) and ordered him to 
 take us over the Seraglio. We accordingly with- 
 drew, leaving the Consul to discuss the object of 
 his embassy. 
 
 The Secretary carried us through several cham- 
 bers decorated with much cost and barbarous splen- 
 dour. The wainscot of one of the principal saloons is 
 inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ebony, coral, and ivory; 
 but the workmanship seems harsh and ungraceful. 
 The ceiling is plastered with massive gilding, the 
 effect of which is rather cumbrous than ornamental : 
 " not graced with elegancy, but daubed with cost." 
 Pillars, of a composition to resemble the richest 
 marbles, support the compartments, and the cor- 
 nice is coloured with some imperfect efforts at Ara- 
 besque painting. There is, however, one article 
 extremely elegant and well-finished — a low sofa, car- 
 ried round three-fourths of the room, covered with 
 dark velvet tastefully embroidered, and hung with 
 gold fringe 1 . The general arrangement of the 
 
 • It is called a divan. — When the Turkish ministers assemble 
 in council they repose on a seat of this kind, and hence the 
 term has been transferred from the thing 1 to the persons — as in 
 the case of the English phrase, cabinet. 
 
44 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 rooms is certainly grand and imposing, though oc- 
 casionally deformed by much bad taste. I should 
 not omit to mention, that our conductor desired us 
 to notice two very handsome carpets, which he gave 
 us to understand were of British manufacture. 
 
 In the apartment where Ali sleeps, the walls 
 are hung with sabres and fire-arms of different de- 
 scriptions ; all of which are ornamented with pre- 
 cious stones. One of the scimitars is profusely 
 adorned with diamonds and rubies, and a particular 
 musket has a cartouche-box studded with brilliants 
 of surpassing splendour, the central stone being 
 nearly the size of a die. A fowling-piece, sent to 
 the Pasha by Buonaparte, is also enriched with 
 gems ; though this last article is considered to de- 
 rive its chief value from the circumstance of having 
 been once the property of the imperial warrior, by 
 whom it was presented. The chamber opens into a 
 long and spacious gallery : at one extremity we ob- 
 served a singularly-awkward piece of furniture, re- 
 sembling a large old-fashioned arm-chair. So use- 
 less an article in a Turkish palace induced me to 
 inquire the purpose to which it was applied ; and 1 
 was informed that, on certain festivals, the Pasha 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 45 
 
 gives an entertainment for the diversion of the chil- 
 dren of the principal families in the capital, who on 
 such occasions assemble in the gallery. Ali himself 
 always attends, to encourage and assist their gaiety ; 
 and, while reclining on this cumbrous seat, distri- 
 butes to them, as they are successively presented to 
 him, baskets of sweetmeats, and such other tokens 
 of regard as are suited to their respective ages and 
 condition. There may perhaps be much of policy in 
 this conduct ; yet the rugged warrior, who can, for 
 a season dt least, discard his habitual sternness, and 
 unbend in playful and affectionate kindness to in- 
 fancy, — humouring its little wayward caprices, and 
 encouraging the sallies of mirth and sprightliness, — 
 while he interests the affections, and wins the heart 
 of every parent, may surely administer some cordial 
 to his own, without the alloy of any selfish con- 
 sideration. 
 
46 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Joannina. 
 
 The city of Joannina, or (as it is usually pro- 
 nounced) Yanina, is comparatively of modern foun- 
 dation. It fell into the power of the Turks during 
 the reign of Sultan Murad, in the early part of the 
 fifteenth century. The position is such as to render 
 it susceptible of being strongly fortified, but Ali 
 Pasha, for some reason or other, has neglected to 
 raise any considerable works: his apparent object 
 is to raise it into commercial importance \ The ex- 
 tensive plain, at whose extremity it is situated, has 
 by some writers been dignified with the title of 
 the Elysian Fields ! — there are probably many other 
 districts which may dispute its claim to so distin- 
 
 1 Lycurgus used to assert, that bravery intrenched was a 
 species of cowardice. The Governor of Albania may possibly 
 be influenced by other considerations. His chief treasures are 
 safely stored at Tepelini, a place of great strength. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 47 
 
 guished an appellation. To identify, indeed, what 
 has only a poetical existence, is literally to give to 
 " airy nothing a local habitation and a name :" but, 
 as the poet necessarily drew his ideas from some sen- 
 sible objects, it is always open to conjecture to refer 
 them to such natural beauties as present any marked 
 correspondence either in feature or in situation 1 . 
 
 From Pindus, east, to the mountains of Acro- 
 ceraunia, west, a vast perspective unfolds itself, 
 embellished by those varied combinations which are 
 understood by the term picturesque, and protected 
 by a temperate climate and radiant atmosphere. 
 
 The lake of Yanina, which, Lord Byron says, 
 Dr. Pouqueville has mistakenly supposed to be the 
 ancient Acherusia, stretches out in the direction of 
 
 1 The forest of Dodona, whose extensive range clothes the 
 acclivities of Mount Tomarus, would be an object of peculiar 
 interest to the traveller, were it not that different authors have 
 left it a subject of considerable doubt whether the city of that 
 name was situated in Epirus or in Thessaly. The former is 
 generally considered to have been the scat of the Oracle, though 
 a diversity of sentiment exists respecting the district in which 
 it was placed — some writers contending for Thesprotia, and 
 others for Molossia or Chaonia. Those who are desirous of re- 
 conciling these opposite opinions, and have leisure for such 
 amenities, may consult Eustathius, in his Commentary on the 
 14th Odyssey, and the 7th book of Strabo's Geography. 
 
48 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 north and south to the distance of eight or nine 
 miles : its greatest width, I should think, scarcely 
 exceeds half a league. Towards the centre there is a 
 small island, partially cultivated by some monastic 
 society, who have erected a convent on the highest 
 point. In the autumnal months the water is some- 
 times agitated in a very violent manner ; and the 
 shocks of an earthquake, accompanied by loud ex- 
 plosive sounds, are repeated at short intervals during 
 the same day, though without producing injurious 
 consequences. The town is supposed to contain be- 
 tween thirty and forty thousand inhabitants : of 
 these the Greeks are by far the most considerable, 
 both numerically and in point of long establishment, 
 many of their families having been settled here se- 
 veral centuries. The population, besides these, 
 is formed principally of Turks, Jews, and Alba- 
 nians, but I am not able to ascertain their respective 
 proportions. The Albanians are chiefly among the 
 labouring classes and the military : these last are 
 quartered upon the Greeks, who, though they dare 
 not dispute the billets, feel the pressure as a very 
 severe imposition. A merchant is sometimes ordered 
 to find provision for forty or fifty of the Vizier's 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 49 
 
 soldiery — troops who have few or none of the subor- 
 dinate habits of regular European forces, and whose 
 licentiousness, in the absence of their chief, is sub- 
 ject only to the precarious restriction of caprice or 
 satiety. 
 
 The general appearance of the city has, I think, 
 been much over-rated. There are no public build- 
 ings distinguished by any architectural decorations, 
 and the streets are for the most part narrow, dark, 
 and gloomy : the most important of these leads to 
 the bazaar, which, says Pouqueville, " est un lieu 
 vaste et tres frequent't" A celebrated traveller 
 long since remarked, that the " French expression 
 professes more than it performs!" This vast place 
 is, in fact, nothing more than the union of several 
 narrow alleys, scarcely wide enough to admit two 
 horses abreast, and having all the inconveniencies of 
 a confined and stagnant circulation. Here the dif- 
 ferent articles of commerce are deposited, and in no 
 other quarter are shops allowed to be opened. 
 
 The dwellings of the poorer classes are low 
 and ill-built : the middle ranks have, of course, 
 superior accommodations ; and the most opulent 
 are usually lodged in spacious edifices, carried round 
 
50 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 three sides of an area, with broad galleries ex- 
 tending along the principal part of the structure. 
 The upper story of these buildings is chiefly of wood, 
 plastered over with a coarse composition, and co- 
 loured with grotesque figures: the effect is often 
 very ludicrous, though it has all the advantage of 
 contrast, from the impurity of the adjacent objects. 
 
 The police, which is preventive as well as 
 vindictive, is extremely vigilant and well conducted. 
 At a given hour the bazaars are regularly closed 
 every evening, and parties of Albanian soldiers 
 patrole the streets during the night. No individual 
 is suffered, on any pretext, to appear after dark 
 without a torch or lantern ; and the most profound 
 tranquillity reigns throughout the city. 
 
 But the vigorous administration of Ali Pasha 
 is not exclusively felt in the exertion of a strong 
 compressing power ; he aspires to be in some mea- 
 sure the patron of science, and to effect a moral 
 advancement in his subjects by the encouragement 
 of literature. The fashionable methods of Messrs. 
 Bell and Lancaster have not yet indeed been in- 
 troduced in Yanina, but there are two academies in 
 the city for the instruction of the Greek population, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 51 
 
 and these are very numerously attended. The prin- 
 cipal school is presided over by Athanasius Psalida, 
 whose reputation as a scholar, poet, and critic, has 
 been acknowledged by his most enlightened con- 
 temporaries. The Greeks are evidently aspiring 
 to emerge from the yoke under which they have 
 so long been depressed : the Albanians, however, 
 are more immediately the objects of interest to a 
 resident in this city. '* The Arnaouts, or Alba- 
 nese," says Lord Byron, " struck me forcibly by 
 their resemblance to the Highlanders of Scotland, 
 in dress, figure, and manner of living. Their very 
 mountains seemed Caledonian, with a milder cli- 
 mate. The kilt, though white ; their spare, active 
 form ; their dialect, Celtic in its sound, and their 
 hardy habits, all carried me back to Morven." 
 
 Their dress is picturesque, and well adapted to 
 the person, with the exception of the capote, which 
 is of most cumbersome texture. They wear no 
 turban; but a small red cap, garnished with a 
 tassel of blue silk, is fitted to the crown of the 
 head : the temples and forehead only are closely 
 shorn, and the hair flows behind in long and wild 
 ringlets ; a fashion still preserved by their fellow- 
 
 E 2 
 
52 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 subjects, the xapyxoixomlss , A%a.io\. Except when en- 
 gaged in active exercises, their movements are mea- 
 sured and solemn ; and they acquire habitually a 
 kind of swing in their walking, which, without any 
 visible effort, carries them forward with consider- 
 able rapidity. The existing race of Greek females 
 — as far as they have hitherto come under my ob- 
 servation — present no resemblance to those beau- 
 tiful features which the ancient sculptors bequeathed 
 to the world : their forms, too, are generally un- 
 graceful ; either from neglect, or a want of taste in 
 adjusting the dress to the figure. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 53 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 Joannina. 
 
 While we were walking this morning in the 
 area of the mansion where the British agent has 
 apartments, a loud trampling of horses announced 
 the approach of some distinguished visitor ; and 
 presently afterwards, Mouctar, the Vizier's eldest 
 son, entered the court-yard, accompanied by ten 
 or twelve attendants, armed with sabres, pistols, 
 and carbines : he sprang nimbly from his saddle, 
 and was ushered with much ceremonious formality 
 to the state-chambers. This prince is generally 
 considered as the chief heir to Ali's possessions. 
 Trained in the school of his father, and educated 
 under his immediate direction, his habits are per- 
 fectly congenial to the disposition of the Albanians ; 
 and with this class of his future subjects he is be- 
 lieved to enjoy a high degree of popularity. He 
 appears to have past the age of forty ; his com- 
 plexion is dark and swarthy ; his figure strong and 
 
54 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 muscular ; and his features, though not strikingly 
 handsome, by no means destitute of expression. 
 An act of heroism has been recorded of him during 
 the contest near Prevesa, where he was personally 
 engaged, which reflects so much credit on many 
 of the parties concerned, that I am willing to be- 
 lieve the statement to have some foundation. The 
 circumstances are probably a little overcharged ; 
 they have not, I think, the recommendation of 
 being perfectly original ! 
 
 An officer of the name of Richemont, who 
 directed the French artillery, being compelled to 
 abandon the town, fled to the ruins of Nicopolis. 
 He was accompanied by a young officer of the name 
 of Gabauri, known, says Pouqueville, throughout 
 the army for his beauty and courage. They were 
 pursued by a detachment of the enemy, and Riche- 
 mont proposed to his friend to attempt to rally the 
 straggling parties of their countrymen, who were 
 feebly perishing in detail. Gabauri had scarcely 
 set out to execute this attempt, when he was as- 
 saulted by an Albanian trooper; the contest was 
 soon terminated, and they both fell lifeless. Riche- 
 mont now no longer thought his own existence 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 55 
 
 worth preserving ; and , totally regardless of all 
 personal considerations, sought only to avenge the 
 death of his associate. For this purpose he re- 
 served his fire till the enemy should approach suf- 
 ficiently near to give it effect ; one of them, more 
 impetuous than the rest, darted furiously towards 
 him; Richemont adroitly avoided the shock, and 
 by a discharge of his musket brought his antagonist 
 to the ground ; a second, who came to avenge his 
 comrade, shared his fate. The enemy, appalled by 
 such an unexpected resistance, paused for a few 
 minutes ; and Richemont reloaded his piece. As a 
 parting blow, he directed his aim towards the son 
 of the Vizier, but the ball missed its object, and 
 pierced the thigh of one of Mouctar's attendants. 
 He was soon after disarmed, and on the point of 
 losing his head, when the young prince, eagerly 
 throwing himself forward, warded off the stroke, 
 and threatened with the severest chastisement who- 
 ever dared to treat his prisoner with disrespect. 
 He had beheld with admiration the extraordinary 
 proofs which Richemont had given of intrepidity, 
 and these were alone sufficient to engage his esteem 
 and protection. 
 
56 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The rains, which have been almost incessant 
 since our arrival, and which pour down with a 
 violence seldom known in England, have prevented 
 our making any excursion in the environs : there 
 are many interesting points in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood, but the village of Zitza, or Dzidza, 
 about fourteen miles distant, is unrivalled for beauty 
 and magnificence. Lord Byron has mentioned this 
 place in terms which make it impossible not to 
 feel a very strong desire to visit it. 
 
 I this morning purchased of a Jew a complete 
 equipment of horse-furniture. The bits are sharp 
 and heavy, with a central piece directed against 
 the roof of the mouth, the pressure of which is so 
 powerful, that a very slight check will throw the 
 animal on his haunches, even when at full speed : 
 the horses are so aware of this, that they seem as 
 if afraid to trust themselves with any violent ex- 
 ertion. The saddles are large and well stuffed, 
 with a curvature behind, like a demipique ; above 
 the pummel a knot rises about five inches, which 
 is not of much service in assisting the seat ; but 
 in case of falling, might be of great injury to the 
 rider. The stirrups are large and clumsy, in form 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 57 
 
 very like a common fire-shovel, but nearly double 
 the size : the weight of the whole equipage cannot 
 be much less than two stone. 
 
 Before we quit the town, it is necessary to 
 have an official paper with the Pasha's signature ; 
 the instrument is termed a byrouldi, and serves 
 as a passport wherever his authority is recognized. 
 We were assured it should be sent to us some days 
 ago ; but, as his highness is not altogether exempt 
 from that species of caprice, which makes his " hu- 
 mour serve as warrant," it is on every account 
 advisable to select the mollia tempora for urging 
 the application. His dominions are sufficiently ex- 
 tensive to include within their limits the whole of 
 Epirus, the southern parts of Illyricum, and a con- 
 siderable portion of Macedonia : he has also ac- 
 quired possession of the greater part of Thessaly, 
 Acarnania, Phocis, and iEtolia, and a division of 
 Boeotia. 
 
 We are not yet able to fix the time for our 
 quitting this place ; some unexpected obstacles hav- 
 ing arisen from an alleged misconception on the part 
 of the officer who should furnish our horses : this, 
 however, will surely admit of an easy explanation. 
 
58 LETTERS FROM GREECE, 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Joannina. 
 
 The repeated detention to which we have been 
 subjected, has induced a supposition that there 
 might have been some intentional informality in 
 the buyrouldi. The Vizier issued an order three 
 days ago, that no person should leave the capital, 
 on any pretence whatever, till his pleasure was 
 further made known : the reason for this prohi- 
 bition is conjectured to be the account of an in- 
 surrection at Parga, and the sudden arrival of a 
 courier on some very urgent mission from Constan- 
 tinople. Early this morning, however, before we 
 had quitted our beds, Seid Achmet Effendi, the 
 confidential agent of Ali, called at our lodging, 
 and sat nearly an hour on my pillow. His object 
 was, evidently, to discover whether our excursion 
 had any other motive than what we had assigned ; 
 a suspicion having arisen in the mind of the Vizier, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 59 
 
 that Mr. C. was desirous of transmitting by us 
 some important information to the British minister 
 at the Porte. The worthy EfFendi had resided in 
 some public character a few years since in London ; 
 but he speaks English so imperfectly, that he judged 
 it necessary to employ a Drogman on this occasion. 
 The interpreter, indeed, was frequently the most 
 difficult to be understood of the two, and we were 
 occasionally betrayed into some very ludicrous ob- 
 servations. At length, however, the honest secre- 
 tary became perfectly satisfied, that there would 
 be no impropriety in allowing us to proceed with- 
 out further interruption. He informed us, there- 
 fore, that we should receive the necessary documents 
 the day after to-morrow; and they were, in fact, 
 brought here about an hour after he left the house, 
 by the Tartar who is expressly appointed our guide 
 as far as Athens. The first of these is merely an 
 order to the post-master, directing him to supply 
 whatever number of horses we required, free of 
 any charge, the Vizier himself undertaking to in- 
 demnify the owner for the cost. The second paper 
 is rather more in detail, and extremely pithy both 
 in tone and matter. It is addressed to the governors 
 
60 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 and commandants of the different cities and pro- 
 vinces within his dominions: all of whom are en- 
 joined, in peremptory language, to treat with every 
 possible mark of respect and distinction certain 
 English gentlemen, his friends, elysveis QiXoi (jlov 
 lyyXi^oi ; and to take due care that they are not, 
 on any pretence whatever, subjected to the slightest 
 hindrance or molestation: — xi^mr^ rous xaQe sje- 
 grarojWiv oftov voc /x,r5v r^a.Qiaovv to znxpafAixqov ai>CKlri l . 
 The instrument is sealed and subscribed with the 
 Vizier's sign-manual ; the signet is extremely small ; 
 mere complimentary papers have a much larger im- 
 press, but are totally inefficient. 
 
 Protected by so formidable an authority, we 
 propose to pursue our route by way of Metzovo, 
 over Mount Pindus, and so through the plains of 
 Thessaly to Tricala and Larissa. 
 
 1 This expression is corrupted from the Turkish. The 
 Romaic, like every other living - language, is constantly adopting- 
 some new term ; hut its affinity to the ancient Greek is, at 
 present, more close than that of the modern Italian to the Latin. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 61 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Larissa, April 23, 1817. 
 
 We left Yanina about mid-day on the 19th 
 instant, impressed with high notions of the Pasha's 
 munificence, who had undertaken, not only to give 
 us safe conduct through his territories, but to fur- 
 nish us with an equipage void of all expense. Our 
 horses, though not remarkably fleet, were very 
 " sure of foot," and we reached the base of the 
 Pindus range about eight o'clock, designing to pass 
 the night at a place of public entertainment called 
 the " Three Khanm." It will be difficult to make 
 you comprehend the luxury which awaited us in 
 this thrice-sumptuous tavern : the hovel from which 
 Lear and his associates dislodged Edgar, could not 
 have exceeded it in dirt and wretchedness. At six 
 in the morning we remounted our horses, and almost 
 immediately began the ascent of Pindus. In the 
 course of three hours we arrived within sight of 
 
62 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Metzovo, a town of some extent, but so singular in 
 its position, as to appear at a distance as if sus- 
 pended from the acclivity. It is, notwithstanding, 
 a place of some commercial enterprise, but the 
 trade is chiefly conducted by Wallachians, who con- 
 stitute no inconsiderable part of the population. 
 Not far from hence is the source of the river 
 Peneus. It takes an eastern direction, and, winding 
 over the plains of Thessaly, flows through the vale 
 of Tempe into the Archipelago. By some unac- 
 countable transmutation of terms, it is at present 
 called the Salympria, or Salampria 1 . 
 
 The scenery thus far is not particularly in- 
 teresting, the aspect of the mountains being for 
 the most part rude and desolate, with scarcely any 
 feature to relieve the general air of gloom and bar- 
 renness. After a cursory examination of the few 
 objects which appeared to merit observation or 
 inquiry, we recommenced climbing. The view now 
 
 1 There are three other large rivers which derive their origin 
 in this neighbourhood. 1. The Arta, which flows southwardly, 
 and falls into the gulf so called on the Ionian Sea. 2. The 
 Asprospotamos, formerly the Achelous, which has also a 
 southern course. 3. The Viosa, which runs north -westwardly 
 till it is lost in the Adriatic. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 63 
 
 became more rich and varied, the steepest decli- 
 vities being broken by groups of the stone-pine and 
 shrubs of box ; but the snow is still in many places 
 above five feet deep, and the ascent so rapid as to 
 be scarcely practicable by horses heavily laden. A 
 Tartar, who overtook us in our route, attempting 
 to force his way up a steep projection, suddenly 
 slipped as he had nearly gained the point, and 
 plunged backwards with his horse into the recess 
 beneath ; but the depth of the snow broke the 
 violence of his fall, and he was extricated without 
 any material injury r . On gaining the apex of the 
 mountain, a splendid and extensive prospect bursts 
 upon the eye, equalling perhaps all that the fancy 
 images to itself of the residence of Apollo and the 
 Muses. It comprehends the luxuriant valley of the 
 Peneus, with Ossa and Olympus in the horizon. 
 
 We halted some time to enjoy the magnificence 
 of the spectacle 8 . 
 
 1 These Tartars arc extremely adroit on horseback, and have 
 the reputation of supporting great personal fatigue. They are 
 usually employed as couriers, and on certain occasions, where 
 dispatch is required, the same individual will travel one hundred 
 miles a day for a fortnight together. 
 
 2 The perpendicular height of the loftiest point, from the 
 
64 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The descent on the eastern side is much less 
 precipitous, and the acclivities are partially clothed 
 with beech and plane-trees. In some places there 
 are appearances of volcanic matter — in others broken 
 blocks of red granite and verd antique are dis- 
 coverable. 
 
 We arrived at a small town, the name of which 
 I have forgotten, just as th twilight was beginning. 
 In arranging the order of our route, we had fixed 
 on this place for resting the second night ; but the 
 Tartar, whom we sent forward to accommodate 
 matters with the public officers, could come to no 
 agreement with the parties concerned. A sturdy 
 band of peasants, assembled on a mound at the 
 outskirts, soon convinced us of his utter insuffi- 
 ciency ; and we afterwards learned that the chief of 
 this tumultuous group, — the " village Hampden" 
 of the corps, — to whom he delivered the Vizier's 
 order, — 'tossed the minatory instrument from him 
 with every expression of contempt and indignation. 
 
 level of the sea, has been estimated at about a mile and a half; 
 but if measured from the first considerable angle which the base 
 makes with the ground, this altitude would suffer a considerable 
 reduction. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 65 
 
 There was no alternative but to retrace our steps, 
 or sleep on the heath. The former being consider- 
 ed the least inconvenient, we prepared to descend ; 
 but the night being now set in, we lost the beaten 
 track, and the horses that were laden with the 
 baggage had the utmost difficulty to maintain a 
 footing. At length, after a most tedious and toil- 
 some circuit, we regained the level, where a glim- 
 mering light at a little distance gave us hope of 
 being near some village. Our Tartar was again 
 commissioned to ride forward, and employ all his 
 address and eloquence to procure a lodging ; these 
 were ultimately exerted with such success, that we 
 obtained admission to a tenement which would 
 scarcely have been received as an item in the mar- 
 riage-portion of Sultan Mahmoud's owls ! 
 
 " II faut une grande religion," says the Vi- 
 comte de Chateaubriand, " pour ne pas franchir le 
 Citheron, le Menale ou le Lycee, comme on passe 
 des Monts vulgaires!" These expressions have some- 
 thing unusually caustic, coming from such a quarter. 
 Mons. de Chateaubriand could scarcely have passed 
 the meridian of life when he visited Greece, and 
 he must then have possessed a light agile figure ; 
 
 F 
 
66 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 and his ardent and enthusiastic temperament would 
 have enabled him successfully to contend with dif- 
 ficulties far more serious than any he has de- 
 scribed. A person advanced in years might, pos- 
 sibly, think that it requires much of the devotion 
 of classic recollections to balance the desagremens 
 inseparable from such a progress ; but the elastic 
 spring of youth either feels no obstacles, or bounds 
 over them with joyous activity. 
 
 The next morning our landlord drew up a 
 paper, which he entreated us to sign, containing 
 a representation of the disloyal treatment exhibited 
 to the Pasha's mandate. Had we taken time for 
 reflexion, perhaps we should have hesitated in 
 affixing our names to such a memorial ; not being 
 aware what measure of punishment it might draw 
 down on the delinquents. The proprietor of the 
 Khann was desirous to have such a document, as 
 the means of indemnifying himself for the pro- 
 visions he had furnished to our attendants; the 
 amount of the charge being to be deducted, by 
 the commandant of the district, from his individual 
 contribution to the government. No payment what- 
 ever was demanded from us, and we took leave of 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 07 
 
 our host on very amicable terms soon after six 
 o'clock. The road runs for several miles by the 
 banks of the river, which is clear and rapid, but 
 not more than three or four feet deep. On the day 
 preceding, as we were crossing rather a wide reach, 
 the violence of the current swept down two of the 
 horses, one of which was not recovered but with 
 the utmost difficulty : the heavy baggage escaped 
 uninjured, but a material part of the canteens, and 
 some of our fire-arms, were irretrievably lost. 
 
 We reached the rocks of Meteora about ten. 
 There are few natural objects more fantastic than 
 these insulated masses, which rise abruptly from 
 the surface to a height between two and three 
 hundred feet. The uniformity of the strata which 
 pervade them, seems to prohibit the idea that they 
 were dislocated by any violent convulsion ; and the 
 gradual and progressive agency of decay must, one 
 would imagine, be of itself insufficient to produce 
 appearances so bold and varied. The figure of 
 some is conical; that of others resembles vast co- 
 lumns or towers; and the sides of all are so per- 
 pendicular as seemingly to defy any attempt to 
 gain their summit. The zeal of a few ecclesiastics 
 
 F 2 
 
68 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 of the Greek communion has nevertheless been able 
 to subdue these obstructions, and the highest points 
 of several of the most elevated are partially levelled, 
 so as to admit of the erection of buildings de- 
 dicated to the service of religion. None of these 
 structures have the air of very remote antiquity ; 
 but we could meet no person capable of giving 
 any information respecting their date, or the pe- 
 culiar fantasy which guided the devotees in select- 
 ing so incommodious a scite. Ecclesiastics usually 
 aim to combine the utile dulci in the situation 
 of convents and their dependencies ; in this instance 
 they seem to have been under the influence of a 
 very opposite sentiment. Yet, whatever were the 
 motives which guided them in the selection of so 
 precarious an abode, the end to which it has been 
 consecrated should claim our best respect. 
 
 However we may affect to despise those drones 
 who work out their salvation in a corner, a better 
 feeling is surely due to such who could voluntarily 
 renounce the allurements of hope, and all the varied 
 charms of that seductive prospect which encircles 
 the horizon of youth — who could even quench the 
 violence of appetite, and still the throbbings of 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 69 
 
 desire—not to retire into a barren wilderness or 
 gloomy cloister, to wear out their days in the 
 senseless exercise of solitary penance ; but to dedi- 
 cate their lives, by a series of active exertions, to 
 promote the present happiness and future salvation 
 of their species ! Courage of the highest kind — 
 self-devotedness — and a disregard of all ordinary 
 motives of conduct, — must unquestionably have been 
 felt by them in its purest and most exalted character. 
 In military expeditions, and in all enterprises 
 in which nations embark, the shouts of the world, 
 and the acclamations of an admiring country, ani- 
 mate and reward the zeal of the patriot soldier ; 
 but the religious champion pursues his career, for 
 the most part, unknown and unseen : the scorn, 
 the mockery, the numberless privations and insults 
 of every kind which he has to endure, receive no 
 mitigation in the applause or sympathy of his fel- 
 low-men ; and if he sinks under the accumulated 
 pressure of distress and difficulty, no subsequent 
 feeling " embalms his memory in the recollection 
 of a grateful posterity." It was by men of such 
 high resolve and lofty daring, that the sublime 
 truths of the gospel were first unfolded to the 
 
70 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 world. Though beset on all sides by the powers 
 of darkness, — though fanaticism, in its wildest form, 
 arrayed its strength against them, — though the re- 
 sources of all that power or wealth could furnish 
 were successively applied, to purchase down sub- 
 mission, or overawe resistance — yet, armed alone 
 with the ensigns of the Cross, they went forth to 
 their hallowed task unshrinking and undismayed. 
 They demolished the mighty fabric which idolatry 
 had reared, by that mightier engine ! they tore 
 down an impious superstition from its height, and 
 " buried it amid the ruins of the abuses it was 
 meant to shelter !" 
 
 We halted at the base of the cliff on which the 
 chief establishment is founded, and respectfully sum- 
 moned the fraternity to admit us to their aerial ha- 
 bitation. This request was, however, not com- 
 plied with : a venerable personage looked over the 
 eminence, and gave us to understand that all the 
 effective members of the community were absent, 
 and that he was utterly incompetent, without their 
 aid, to entertain so numerous a party. He recom- 
 mended us, however, to repose on the terrace 
 while he prepared something for our breakfast ; 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 71 
 
 which he set about with so much promptitude and 
 good-will, that in the course of a quarter of an 
 hour we had a very plentiful collation : it was con- 
 veyed from the convent in a basket, fixed in a net, 
 and let down with a rope and pulley. 
 
 The little town of Calabaca is immediately be- 
 low the cliffs : — we passed through without finding 
 anything to arrest the attention, and pursued our 
 route over a rich and widely-extended plain to 
 Tricala, where we arrived just before night-fall, 
 and were very agreeably lodged in the house of a 
 minister of the Greek religion. 
 
 The situation of Tricala is peculiarly happy, 
 but its present condition is very otherwise than 
 flourishing. Some striking irregularity in the po- 
 litical machine seems completely to neutralize the 
 influence of soil and climate. The ruins of an an- 
 cient fortress, on an eminence immediately above 
 the town, command an extensive view of a level 
 surface, environed by mountain boundaries. Ac- 
 cording to Herodotus 1 , the whole of Thessaly was 
 originally covered with water, forming a lake shut 
 round by lofty hills. Pelion and Ossa uniting at 
 1 Lib. vii. 
 
72 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 their bases, inclosed those parts which look towards 
 the east : Olympus bounded it on the north, and 
 Pindus on the west ; and Othrys confined the 
 district which lies to the southward. An outlet for 
 the water was afterwards effected by the agency of 
 Neptune, who rent asunder one of its craggy bar- 
 riers, and thus laid open a passage for its discharge 
 into the Archipelago. This is only saying, in clas- 
 sical language, that a dislocation of the mountains 
 was produced by an earthquake ' ; the readiest, if 
 not the most scientific, mode of explaining the 
 phenomena. 
 
 We quitted Tricala the second day, with the in- 
 tention of reaching Larissa the same evening ; but, 
 from some misinformation on the part of our guides, 
 halted at Sarco, a small neat town about two-thirds 
 of the way. A courier who had just come from 
 thence, recommended us, unless much pressed for 
 time, to delay our passage twelve or fourteen hours, 
 as the waters of the Peneus were not sufficiently 
 subsided to allow the transit of our baggage. The 
 following day, at ten, we resumed our progress, 
 and in the course of four hours arrived at this 
 
 1 Uo<niba.wv wff'i^(ut. — 11. XX. 63. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 73 
 
 place. The ride is extremely pleasant throughout, 
 but in the immediate vicinage of the town the view 
 rises in interest. An extensive and fertile plain ap- 
 pears encircled by an amphitheatre of mountains, 
 over the loftiest of which Olympus rises to the 
 north-east, and terminates the horizon. Several 
 venerable-looking personages, some of whom might 
 have sat for the picture of Peleus himself, met us 
 at our entrance. We had much difficulty, notwith- 
 standing, in finding any place of entertainment either 
 for man or horse. After several fruitless applications 
 in other quarters, I demanded an interview with the 
 Governor : it was some time before I could achieve 
 this honour, but succeeded at length in obtaining 
 an order, which has put us in possession of very 
 pleasant apartments. The principal room over- 
 looks a spacious valley watered by the Peneus,and 
 agreeably diversified with woodland scenery. A 
 large chart, which ornaments one of the compart- 
 ments of the chamber, gives a representation of the 
 province, from the fanciful distributions of classical 
 authority. The territory of Lariss^eus Achilles 
 is, of course, traced with scrupulous exactness ; 
 and the fertile district,~~which is designated as the 
 personal possession of that chieftain, far exceeds, 
 
74 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 both in extent and richness, anything which the 
 bounty of nations has bestowed upon modern con- 
 querors ! 
 
 To the traveller who should explore these 
 regions with anything of classic enthusiasm — and 
 those who are without such excitement will find 
 their time here ill-bestowed — the province, of which 
 Larissa is the capital, would present attractions 
 scarcely to be surpassed in any quarter of Greece. 
 The young student will here feel himself on ground 
 that partakes of enchantment. Every step he treads 
 — every object he surveys — and, in a certain sense, 
 every sound he hears, — will remind him of those 
 delightful hours, when he first read of the glowing 
 scenes which he now contemplates : for, notwith- 
 standing the penalties of discipline that follow in 
 their train, — unless when carried to the extent in 
 which Mr. All worthy's nephew received them from 
 the truculent arm of the great Thwackum 1 , — such 
 hours are delightful. The spring of human life, 
 like the revolution of the seasons, may be succeeded 
 by maturer pleasures, but they are necessarily of a 
 graver and more sombre hue 2 ! 
 
 1 Hist, of a Foundling, Book iii. chap. 2 — 8. 
 
 s ft was the fortune of the writer to be educated in a public 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 75 
 
 The city of Larissa has an air of great anti- 
 quity. The streets are more cool and spacious than 
 those of many other of the Greek towns ; but the 
 buildings are in general very ill executed, being 
 constructed of bricks formed of clay, and dried in 
 the sun : they want, therefore, the firmness of cohe- 
 sion, and have no appearance whatever of strength 
 or durability. The inhabitants are, I believe, at 
 this moment, almost entirely free from the plague, 
 though several shocking objects, covered with sores 
 and ulcers, present themselves in different quarters. 
 The population is variously stated — the highest esti- 
 mate rates the amount at twenty thousand : this 
 appears to me to be a most extravagant exaggera- 
 tion of the actual number. 
 
 The situation is well chosen for all the pur- 
 poses of inland commerce ; the river which flows at 
 
 establishment, the head of which united to the highest attain- 
 ments of a scholar, the dignified and liberal feelings of an 
 accomplished gentleman. 
 
 Optima quaeque dies miseris mortalibus sevi 
 Prima fugit 
 
 Yet memory can in some degree renew their fascinations ; and 
 those who have felt the advantage of Dr. V****'s guidance 
 and direction, will dwell on that bright period of their lives 
 with sentiments of cherished gratitude. 
 
76 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the extremity of the town being broad and deep, 
 and easily navigable by small craft. There is not, 
 indeed, much appearance of activity in the quays, 
 nor can I discern a single vessel of any description 
 on the water. Thessaly is incomparably the most 
 productive of any province in the north of Greece. 
 Grain of all kinds (except oats), tobacco, rice, cot- 
 ton, wool, silk, &c, are annually raised in sufficient 
 quantities to allow of large exportations ; and if 
 any of the improved systems of agriculture were 
 adopted, the produce would probably in a short 
 time exceed the present crops, in a threefold pro- 
 portion. 
 
 On our quitting Joannina, Ali Pasha furnished 
 us with an introduction to his son Veli, who has the 
 government of this district. He holds his court at 
 Tirnavo, distant from hence about nine miles ; and 
 as we propose riding there to-morrow, I hope in 
 my next to give you some account of our reception. 
 He has the reputation of being humane and af- 
 fable, addicted to literary pursuits, and well read 
 in many of the modern publications. He served 
 with distinction a few years since, under his father, 
 against the Russians ; at present his ambition 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 77 
 
 appears to have taken a loftier aim ; — that of hu- 
 manizing and protecting the people committed to 
 his government : — 
 
 " To civilize the rude unlettered savage, 
 
 " And make man mild, and sociable to man !" 
 
78 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 Tirnavo, April 29th, 1817. 
 
 Dear E , 
 
 We left Larissa, conformably to the intentions 
 expressed in my last, and arrived at the palace of 
 the Vizier in little more than two hours. The 
 building, though less extensive than the seraglio 
 of Ali, is more uniform and elegant in its struc- 
 ture, and presents a very handsome and imposing 
 appearance. Where the administration of a rich 
 and populous district resides in a single individual, 
 his levees will of course be very numerously at- 
 tended. Suitors of various descriptions were wait- 
 ing in the outer court, and crowding the entrance 
 to the audience-chamber ; but the letter of Ali 
 Pasha procured for us an immediate admission. 
 The following is nearly a literal translation : — 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 79 
 
 " To the Vizier Veli Pasha, this Letter is addressed. 
 
 " My much beloved Son, I kiss your eyes ! 
 
 " Four English gentlemen (tuysvEis — (juXo^oi) 
 " are travelling from hence to Larissa ; they are 
 " friends to the Sublime Porte, and attached to 
 " the interests of our family. I intreat you to 
 " receive them courteously, and to supply them 
 " with every requisite for the successful prose- 
 " cution of their tour ; for I regard them as my 
 " most esteemed friends. 
 
 " I salute you tenderly, 
 
 The Vizier was reclining, after the manner 
 of the Orientals, at the upper end of a sumptuous 
 apartment; the officers of his household, and others 
 his ministers and attendants, stood at some little 
 distance, forming a circle in front. He received 
 us with a refined and polished cordiality; and ex- 
 pressed, in very emphatic terms, his respect for 
 the English nation. Having inquired what were 
 the immediate objects of our attention, he pressed 
 us warmly to change our residence at Larissa for 
 apartments at this place, and testified a strong 
 
80 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 desire to contribute, in any way we might suggest, 
 to the accomplishment of our wishes. He then 
 pronounced a fervid eulogium on the laws and 
 constitution of England, and on the habits and 
 character of the people ; inquired to which cham- 
 ber of parliament my father belonged; and drew 
 a contrast between the state of barbarism so gene- 
 rally prevalent throughout the Grecian peninsula 
 before its reduction by Ali Pasha, and the in- 
 cipient civilization and security which resulted from 
 the establishment of that chief's authority. He 
 spoke with much gratification of the visits he had 
 received from Mr. North, Lord Sligo, and Lord 
 Byron, for all of whom he expressed a personal 
 regard ; and, adverting to the social intercourse 
 which exists in Christian states, lamented that the 
 restrictions of his own country did not allow him 
 to introduce us to any female society! On this 
 subject he very pointedly expressed his regret 
 more than once. He certainly appears to entertain 
 far juster sentiments of the divinity of the beau 
 sexe than what are professed by the generality of 
 his countrymen, who usually consider a pretty wo- 
 man as a mere passive instrument of pleasure, or, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 81 
 
 at best, as a lovely trifler, — to be thrown aside and 
 neglected, like other beautiful objects, as soon as 
 the bright hue which first attracted attention shall 
 have lost its gloss. Veli, on the contrary, seems 
 desirous to procure for the female character a 
 moral estimation; and while he worships with 
 idolatrous devotion at the shrine of beauty, would 
 do homage to the mental graces by which it is 
 illustrated. 
 
 In the intervals of conversation the usual re- 
 freshments were served, and pipes, seven or eight 
 feet in length, brought ready lighted for our use. 
 After several unsuccessful efforts to manage my 
 unwieldy instrument, the Pasha very good-humour- 
 edly desired me to desist from so hopeless an under- 
 taking, and almost immediately ceased using his 
 own. Throughout the whole of our interview he 
 preserved an air of easy dignity; his manners were 
 natural, unaffected, and graceful. 
 
 Having directed our attention to an addi- 
 tional range of buildings, which he was con- 
 structing in the Italian style of architecture, he 
 conducted us through several brilliantly-furnished 
 apartments, in some of which the decorations were 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 much the same as those in the saloons at Paris. 
 The view from these wants only the embellishment 
 of forest scenery, it comprises many of the noblest 
 features of landscape, and is sufficiently extensive 
 to include the opening of the vale of Tempe. The 
 Town of Tirnavo is but a few furlongs distant from 
 the palace : it is agreeably situated on the north 
 of the river, which flows through a well-cultivated 
 plain encircled by an amphitheatre of mountains, 
 among which Ossa, Pelion, and Olympus, are con- 
 spicuous elevations. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 83 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Tirnavo, May 1st, 1818. 
 
 On the second morning after our arrival, Veli 
 Pasha ordered one of his carriages, a light barouche 
 and four, to take us to the defile of Tempe. This 
 romantic spot is associated with our earliest clas- 
 sical recollections : we hear of it in our very rudi- 
 ments ; and subsequently grow familiar with its 
 beauties, from the rapturous descriptions both of 
 poets and historians. 
 
 We set out soon after ten o'clock, attended by 
 a Janissary of the Pasha and our own servants. 
 The route, for several miles, is over a fine sheep- 
 fed turf; and our rate could not have been much 
 less than nine miles an hour. The coachman, who 
 was a Nubian, managed the reins with great adroit- 
 ness ; the postilion was a young Greek, light, active, 
 and well formed for his employment. About half 
 way, we crossed the river in a ferry ; the water was 
 
 G 2 
 
84 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 deep and rather turbid, but the current not very 
 strong. From this point the road is less easily 
 practicable, but our charioteers were not to be 
 deterred by any common obstacle. We proceeded, 
 therefore, with undiminished rapidity, and in a 
 short time reached the habitations of those modern 
 proprietors — 
 
 Oi' 'Tig) Hwuov Kai ilriXiav tlvoiriipvXXov 
 
 Na'tifw 11. ii. 757. 
 
 Who dwell where Pclion, crown'd with shady boughs, 
 
 Obscures the glade, and nods his shaggy brows : 
 
 Or where thro' flowery Teinpe Peneus stray'd, 
 
 The region stretch'd beneath his mighty shade. — Pope. 
 
 The approach from the west is very striking : 
 several Turkish villages are scattered on each side, 
 to all of which the cypress-tree and minaret give 
 a dressed and ornamental appearance. A venerable 
 grove of oaks, hornbeams, and plane-trees, marks 
 the immediate entrance ; and the town of Amphi- 
 lochia hangs on an acclivity to the right. We 
 left our equipage at a small inn near this spot, 
 and proceeded on horseback to traverse the passes 
 of the defile. Its breadth, indeed, is not exactly 
 answerable to our ideas of a valley ; but the lofty 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 85 
 
 projections which rise almost perpendicularly from 
 the banks of the Peneus, — the ever-varying sha- 
 dows thrown over the different tints on the surface 
 of the rocks, — the shrubs which clothe the sides of 
 the mountain, broken occasionally by small glades, 
 where herds of goats are depasturing, — the sweet- 
 ness of the air, perfumed by a thousand different 
 flowers, and at this season enlivened by the melody 
 of the nightingale, — all conspire to produce that 
 magic charm, which can at once enchant the senses, 
 gratify the imagination, and delight the expecta- 
 tion ' ! 
 
 1 Homer gives to the Peneus the epithet fyyufolivti— (11. ii. 
 v. 753) — and in enumerating the rivers of Thessaly, Pliny has 
 ascribed one property to this celebrated stream, which every 
 spectator would wish it to possess, but which its actual appear- 
 ance does not at all times justify. Later in the year, it may 
 probably be as transparent as the lakes in Cumberland ; at the 
 present season, in consequence perhaps of the violent rains, its 
 surface is dark and troubled. — The expressions of Pliny are 
 these : — " Flumina Thessalite : Apidanus, Phoenix, Enipeus, 
 Onochonus, Pamisus — Fons Messeis: Lacus Boebeis. — Et ante 
 cunctos claritate Peneus, ortus juxta Gomphos ; interque Os- 
 sam ct Olympum, nemorosa convalle defluens quingentis stadiis, 
 dimidio ejus spatio navigabilis. In eo cursu Tempe vocantur 
 quinque mill. pass, longitudine, et ferrne sesquijugeri latitudine, 
 ultra visum hominis attollentibus se dextra lavaque leniter con- 
 vexis jugis. Intus sua luce viridante (renidcnte) allabitur Pe- 
 
86 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The extent does not, I should think, exceed five 
 miles, and the greatest breadth is scarcely three 
 hundred yards. In some parts the river occupies 
 the entire space between the cliffs. The road 
 through the interior of the pass is carried along 
 the edge of* the mountain : it is seldom sufficiently 
 wide to admit three horses abreast. About midway 
 there are the ruins of an ancient building, probably 
 some military post, but there is not enough of the 
 original structure to trace with accuracy either its 
 form or limits. At the eastern extremity of the 
 
 neus, viridis calculo, amcenus circa ripas gramine, canorus avium 
 concentu. Accipit amnem Orcon, nee recipit, sed olei modo 
 supernatantein (ut dictum est ab Homero*) brevi spatio porta- 
 tum abdicat: pcenales aquas, dirisque genitas, argenteis suis 
 misceri recusans." — (Nat. Hist. lib. iv. 8.) 
 
 Here are many of the ingredients uf sentimental situa- 
 tion ! So sequestered a region might be well adapted to the 
 gallantries of Jupiter, or become the appropriate scene of 
 Apollo's pursuit of Daphne ; but the tourist will regard it with 
 increased interest, when he connects its history with the triumphs 
 of Pharsalia, and accompanies Pompey in his melancholy re- 
 treat through the defile, to the point of his fatal embarkation. 
 
 The writer had no opportunity of noticing the peculiarity 
 alluded to by Pliny in the confluence of the two streams ; — an 
 appearance of something of the same nature is observable in 
 the waters of the Rhine, a little below the lake of Geneva. 
 
 • II. /3. 753. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 87 
 
 ravine, there are a few peasants' huts ; and some 
 public works are constructing, to serve either as 
 a custom-house, or receptacle for imported goods. 
 The sea is within a short distance from this point, 
 but, from the flatness of the intervening ground, 
 not easily distinguishable. 
 
 We returned to the khann soon after five, 
 where, to the utter consternation of the Janissary, 
 no preparation whatever had been made for our 
 reception. He remonstrated, however, with such 
 effect, that the host set about in good earnest to 
 repair his negligence. Two or three fowls were 
 caught and slaughtered without delay, and a young 
 kid, which was browsing on the hill above the vil- 
 lage, seized and carried off for the same purpose. 
 Do not accuse me of mawkish affectation, if I con- 
 fess to you that the recollection of its playful gam- 
 bols, as it bounded at my feet, and the bleating 
 cries it uttered when borne away on the shoulders 
 of the goatherd, took away all inclination on my 
 part for the repast. However, if I had no dis- 
 position to eat myself, I shortly after assisted at a 
 banquet, where I was in great danger of being 
 eaten. " We fat all creatures else to fat us, and 
 
88 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 we fat ourselves for maggots." I had scarcely laid 
 down on the mat, which was spread for us to sleep 
 on, when " a certain convocation of politic" fleas 
 commenced their attacks, and persisted during the 
 night with such unmitigated violence, that I could 
 scarcely have suffered a greater degree of exhaus- 
 tion, — even by a visitation from Sangrado himself. 
 
 On our return the next day to this place, we 
 called at the seraglio, to express our acknowledg- 
 ments for the repeated civilities shewn us by the 
 Vizier. A writer, who well knew the world, has 
 remarked, that we get forward not so much by 
 doing services as by receiving them — " You take a 
 withering twig and put it in the ground ; and then 
 you water it because you have planted it." The 
 Pasha seemed to be influenced by a similar senti- 
 ment ; and as he had taken us under his immediate 
 protection during our residence near the seat of his 
 government, he was desirous of procuring for us 
 the same attentive reception wherever his authority 
 extended. With this view he has addressed letters 
 to the Beys and other magistrates of the different 
 towns between this place and Thebes. They all 
 import, that the bearers are young Englishmen of 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 89 
 
 birth and fortune ; friends to the government of 
 Constantinople, and to the House of Ali Pasha : the 
 respective parties are required, therefore, to assist 
 them in every mode that may be considered es- 
 sential to their security, and to facilitate their pro- 
 gress through the country. 
 
 Veli Pasha is, I believe, the only Turk who 
 has proved himself not insensible to the value of 
 those relics of art in which Greece is still so rich. 
 He once made an excursion to Athens, for the ex- 
 press purpose of inspecting the treasures of the 
 Acropolis, and the ruins of the ancient city. On 
 that occasion he conducted himself so as to make 
 a very favourable impression on the Greek popu- 
 lation ; exacting no unnecessary ceremonial, but 
 desiring to be considered as a private gentleman 
 travelling for his amusement. He has since shewn 
 some taste for antiquarian pursuits, and evinces an 
 anxiety to protect and encourage the arts. While 
 we were with him the second time, he ordered a 
 bas-relief figure in white marble, which had been 
 discovered about eight months since, to be brought 
 under the windows of the palace : the slab was so 
 weighty as to require eight or ten men to move it ; 
 
90 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 they all acquitted themselves with great address, 
 and seemed extremely gratified by such an ex- 
 hibition of their prince's vertu ! The subject of the 
 sculpture had not been ascertained : the principal 
 figure is a female caressing a child ; the infant's 
 head has been a good deal damaged, but in other 
 respects the image seems in tolerable preservation. 
 The attitude of each, and the drapery of the parent, 
 are very finely executed. The production of this 
 relic led to a conversation on the repository of 
 ancient marbles at London; and I explained, as 
 well as I was able, the institution of the British 
 Museum. He listened very attentively to the de- 
 tail, and appeared to feel a warm interest in the 
 preservation of the different objects. 
 
 Our remarks on this subject were, however, 
 frequently interrupted. The Vizier was much oc- 
 cupied by official business. Among the various 
 groups, who at different intervals entered the 
 apartment, two supplicants made their appearance, 
 to entreat a remission of their debt to the state. 
 He listened to their narrative, which appeared to 
 be extremely circumstantial, with great good-hu- 
 mour, and mitigated the payment to one-half. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 91 
 
 Some of the individuals who approached the 
 Pasha seemed profoundly versed in Oriental pro- 
 strations. Of these the most respectful bent to the 
 ground, and pressed their breasts and foreheads. 
 After repeating this ceremony three or four times, 
 they advanced, like Agag, and kneeling before the 
 Vizier's seat, kissed his feet and the border of his 
 robe. 
 
 Before we took leave of our munificent host, he 
 planned out our route across the plains of Pharsalia, 
 to Saltagee and Zeitoun; from thence by Thermo- 
 pylae to Salona, and so through Delphi to Thebes 
 and Athens. 
 
92 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Larissa, April, 1817. 
 
 We returned here yesterday, and are making 
 preparations for continuing our journey to-mor- 
 row. As I expect to see the courier who is going 
 from hence to Joannina, I shall send this by him, 
 in the hope of its reaching Corfu in sufficient time 
 to be included in the packet from thence. I have, 
 however, nothing to add to the account I wrote a 
 few days since from hence, unless I detail the ob- 
 servations of a Greek physician, to whom we were 
 introduced soon after our arrival. This gentleman 
 had travelled through several of the continental 
 states, and, although not much impressed with any 
 profound respect for the laws and customs of those 
 countries, had evidently acquired a very strong 
 distaste for the institutions of his own. He in- 
 stanced some cases of flagrant abuse on the part of 
 the subordinate agents of government, whose ve- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 93 
 
 nality subjected the indigent to the most oppressive 
 tyranny from the wealthy ; and censured the appli- 
 cation of the sentiment — 
 
 'Ouk a.ya(ov •xo\ux.oi(wnn lU xoi^ctvo; ttrrw' — 
 
 since the grinding weight of a single despot might 
 be as extensively felt as the separate acts of many 
 minor tyrants. On religious points he was rather 
 more reserved, but it was clear that his faith sat on 
 him very loosely. The creed of the Greek church 
 differs chiefly from the Romish tenets in their inter- 
 pretation of the mysterious production of the Holy 
 Spirit : the Greeks contending that it proceeded 
 only from the Father, while the Romanists assert, 
 that both Father and Son were instrumental in its 
 existence. There was a tone of caustic sarcasm in 
 his comments on this subject, which you would not 
 thank me for repeating, and which it would be 
 much better that I should forget. 
 
 But, if he descanted with severity on the pe- 
 culiar ceremonies of his own communion, he adopted 
 an ultra tone of liberality in describing the purity 
 and simplicity which distinguish the ritual of the 
 Reformed Church. Connected with such subject, he 
 mentioned an occurrence, which he witnessed during 
 
94 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the last year when in the south of France. — 
 The incident appeared to make a strong impression 
 on him, and the earnestness with which he dwelt on 
 particular parts, gave it a degree of interest which 
 I am aware must disappear in the coldness of a 
 written statement. The detail, indeed, I much fear 
 you will scarcely think merits repetition ; I offer it, 
 however, as being in some degree illustrative of the 
 effect which the solemnities of religion may, under 
 certain circumstances, produce on a mind avowedly 
 sceptical. 
 
 Next to the chambers of legislature and the 
 halls of justice, he considered the temples of re- 
 ligion — (pray notice the order of precedency) — to 
 be the most attractive to the curiosity of a foreigner 
 desirous to acquire correct ideas of the habits and 
 manners of a people. In large towns he generally 
 found, he said, much order and monotonous deco- 
 rum ; — but his usual habits of thinking led him to 
 imagine such appearances to be rather assumed than 
 natural ; and he therefore chose to draw his con- 
 clusions from some rural performance. " Chance," 
 he continued, " or accident, gave me an opportu- 
 nity. In a remote province, during a fine autumnal 
 
LETTERS' FROM GREECE. 95 
 
 season, I passed through a village just before the 
 commencement of the evening service. Observing 
 an unusual throng near a building consecrated to 
 the protestant ritual, I inquired into the cause, and 
 was given to understand that an orator of some 
 celebrity was expected to discharge the duty. ' It 
 is but seldom, sir,' said my informant, — ' ce n'est 
 que rarement, qu' il nous entretient de ses talens 
 extraordinaires ; mais chaque fois qu' il paroit sur 
 la scene, nous nous attendons a une representation 
 magnifique!' — My curiosity being greatly excited by 
 this description, — whether to be taken sarcastically, 
 or a la lettre, — I determined on joining the crowd ; 
 but inquired, first, of my communicative friend, if 
 this star of divinity was exact to his time ? ' To a 
 moment, sir, 1 said he ; ' whatever other faults he may 
 have, want of punctuality is not to be numbered 
 with them.' He had scarcely spoken, when I ob- 
 served in the distance an open caleche, drawn by 
 two high-bred coursers, advancing towards us with 
 great rapidity, and which in a few minutes reached 
 the entrance of the church — a fine Gothic pile, of 
 pure and finished architecture. 
 
 " The divine sprang from the car with the 
 
96 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 elastic buoyancy of youth, and entered the sacred 
 edifice, encircled by a throng of spectators, whose 
 salutations he either did not see, or did not deem it 
 necessary to acknowledge. He repaired immedi- 
 ately to the sacristy, and shortly afterwards ap- 
 peared in full sacerdotals ; which, indeed, consisted 
 merely of a scarf, and something resembling a cowl, 
 thrown over a long white robe, which flowed round 
 the entire figure. In this garb he gracefully ad- 
 vanced to a sort of raised platform, near the 
 eastern angle of the temple ; a solemn strain from 
 the organ accompanying his slow and measured 
 movements. The orator's appearance was, in some 
 respects, calculated to attract observation : his com- 
 plexion was very fair and clear, and his stature 
 slight and of elegant proportions ; which possibly 
 gave him a more youthful look than the register 
 would confirm. A physiognomist, perhaps, might 
 have said, that the air of profound abstraction, 
 which during the initiatory anthem he had thrown 
 over his features, was unreal. Something of a dis- 
 satisfied feeling might, I think, be discerned, in spite 
 of every effort to subdue it. When the music ceased, 
 the audience rose and turned towards him ; — his 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 97 
 
 eyes glanced on them for a moment with an ex- 
 pression of indescribable anxiety, — but he imme- 
 diately proceeded with the service. 
 
 " Though unable to follow the whole of the 
 reasoning in this initiatory address, its general pur- 
 port was sufficiently intelligible : — it seemed a solemn 
 exhortation to the assembly to bow down before the 
 throne of the Most High, in humble contrition for 
 past offences, and in supplication for future pro- 
 tection and mercy. The divine commenced his 
 admonition in a faint and low tone, but his air and 
 manner were singularly impressive. As he pro- 
 ceeded, his voice acquired greater force, and in par- 
 ticular passages was full and powerful ; in others, 
 its sound became awful and tremulous : but its 
 varied intonations seemed so to intrance the atten- 
 tion of all present, that had a leaf fallen it might 
 have been distinctly heard. The nature of the per- 
 formance exacts, as I understood, that some por- 
 tion of the sacred writings should be recited ; the 
 passage selected on that day was the chapter which 
 describes the affecting interview between King 
 David and the venerable Barzillai, who had gone 
 down to meet the restored monarch, and to conduct 
 
 n 
 
98 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 him over Jordan. When the orator came to that 
 pathetic period, which describes the feebleness of 
 protracted age, and the extinction of almost all 
 those powers which gladden existence, — at that 
 mournful season when the •' voice of singing-men 
 and of singing-women" can no more be heard ! — 
 every eye seemed bent in respectful sympathy 
 towards a quarter of the temple, where reclined an 
 individual who seemed almost to realize the portrait 
 of the sacred historian. Some uncontrollable feeling 
 for a moment overpowered the reader — his voice 
 faltered — his colour changed — but he struggled vio- 
 lently to conceal his emotion. As the narrative ad- 
 vanced, and rehearsed how the gallant veteran had 
 made a powerful effort to discard the feebleness of 
 declining years, that he might welcome his sove- 
 reign's restoration to his throne, and then turn back 
 to die in his own city, and be buried by the grave of 
 his father and his mother — when, finally, the king 
 kissed Barzilla'i, and blessed him, and he returned 
 unto his own place, — the feelings of all present suf- 
 ficiently attested, that if they did not always obey 
 the better impulse of the heart's movements, they 
 yet knew how to appreciate their force. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 99 
 
 " But it was the discours, and the attendant 
 circumstances, which chiefly interested the feelings 
 of the auditory. The historical narrative was suc- 
 ceeded by a series of prayers, at the close of which 
 the organ played a solemn air, as prelusive to the 
 chaunting of some hymns, in which the whole as- 
 sembly joined. During this interval the Desservant 
 quitted his station, and retired to the sacristy, from 
 whence, at the close of the singing, he re-appeared, 
 wrapped in a mourning veil, which fell from his 
 throat down to the soles of his feet. His coun- 
 tenance had assumed a death-like paleness ; his looks 
 were almost of an unearthly hue ; hopeless dejection 
 and profound sorrow appeared to mark him for 
 their own; and some of the females seemed invo- 
 luntarily to shrink back, as he passed near their 
 seats in his hurried transit to the tribune. 
 
 " The subject of his oration was the lament 
 of the youthful David for his friend and associate 
 in arms, the son of Saul. He painted in glowing 
 terms the strength of their early attachment, fos- 
 tered as it had been in that happy age, when nature 
 wears no mask ; when the heart knows no selfish 
 feeling, but flies forth with romantic confidence, 
 
 H 2 
 
100 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 and with the forwardness of every warm and ge- 
 nerous affection, towards all human kind. The 
 friend of the young Prince of Israel could not 
 but feel assured that, when he ceased to live, the 
 cause of public honour and of private virtue lost 
 their highest glory; that public liberty was de- 
 prived of its most undaunted champion, and general 
 humanity bereaved of its most active and ardent 
 assertor. Fond recollection suggested, that in him 
 was united the kindest disposition, with the most 
 firm and resolute spirit ; and that the bravest heart 
 and most enlarged mind sat enthroned on the 
 bosom of gentleness !" 
 
 If I proceed to trace, with minuteness, the 
 particular features of the picture exhibited by the 
 Greek, you may possibly suspect that " a little 
 fancy has been concerned in the composition." — 
 This, however, I disclaim ; — but not having the 
 advantage of a short-hand writer to correct the in- 
 accuracies of a report from memory, I desist at- 
 tempting to give in detail those passages which ap- 
 peared to have made so strong an impression on my 
 sceptical acquaintance, and which he himself recited 
 in terms so brilliant and so glowing. " The effect on 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 101 
 
 the assembly was," he said, " deep and powerful ; 
 many of the softer sex were heard to weep loud and 
 bitterly; and the poor old gentleman, who caught 
 his attention at an early part of the ceremony, was 
 for awhile totally overcome. He seemed to re- 
 cover new spirit as the orator, towards the close 
 of his declamation, pointed to the joys which await 
 the faithful in the realms of beatitude ; joys, — which 
 virtue would irradiate with an immortal bloom, 
 and over which piety would shed an undying fra- 
 grance. These were considerations, he urged, to 
 induce his hearers to discipline their affections; to 
 detach them from the perishable allurements of 
 earth, and bind them to the contemplation of the 
 
 unfading glories of heaven !" 
 
 " When the service ended, expressions of re- 
 spect and attachment were showered on all sides 
 from the delighted auditory ; and as the orator 
 retreated, many of the females seized his hand, and, 
 as the custom is, gently pressed it to their lips. 
 He slowly resumed his place in the car, from which 
 he had sprung so lightly ; and the horses, as if 
 sensible of their master's altered sensations, assumed 
 a solemn pace ; they, however, gradually recovered 
 
102 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 their rapid movements, and in a few minutes the 
 equipage disappeared in the distant perspective. 
 
 " T afterwards learned that the old gentleman 
 had lost a grandson in battle, who was the intimate 
 companion of the orator, and who had, the year 
 previously, served with him. He breathed his last 
 sigh in the arms of his friend, who was so affected 
 by the circumstance, that he shortly after abandoned 
 the sword, and sought for refuge and consolation in 
 the bosom of the church." 
 
 The preceding statement, though much abbre- 
 viated, is given, in other respects, almost mot-a-mot, 
 as it fell from the narrator. You will perhaps think 
 that the axe should have been resorted to, rather 
 than the pruning-knife : — without attempting to 
 dispute such sentiment, I would merely offer in 
 apology the admission, from an assumed sceptic, of 
 the effect produced by an impassioned address and 
 fervency of manner, on a mixed and thronged 
 assembly. My new acquaintance, indeed, seemed as 
 anxious as I imagine you to be, to introduce a 
 different subject — and, adverting to other topics, 
 mentioned the plague, which is of such frequent oc- 
 currence, and commits such dreadful ravages in the 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 103 
 
 towns and villages of Greece. He confessed that he 
 knew of no scientific treatment applicable in such 
 cases; the pestilence was generally left to exhaust 
 itself. One of the party suggested, that a little more 
 attention to personal cleanliness, and an order from 
 the ruling authorities, that every occupier of a house 
 should be compelled, under heavy penalties, to sweep 
 the street in front of his dwelling, while public sca- 
 vengers were employed to remove the putrid heaps, 
 might contribute to mitigate the violence of the 
 disorder. He answered, that the government paid 
 no attention to considerations of this kind, and 
 remarked, that a moral force, equal in effect to 
 some convulsion of nature, is absolutely necessary 
 to root out inveterate habits. Through every part 
 of the Ottoman empire there is a dominion of those 
 fatal prejudices, which make ignorance and error 
 descend as a sacred inheritance. The Turkish cus- 
 toms enact, that when any individual dies of the 
 plague, all his relations should attend his sepulture; 
 by a necessary consequence the infection becomes 
 extended, and the avenues to the tomb crowded 
 with fresh victims. 
 
104 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Zeittoun, May \st, 1818. 
 We left Larissa on the 29th ult., and reached 
 Saltagee about raid-day. It is a small town, ill- 
 built, and thinly inhabited ; situated on a gentle 
 rise, which forms the basis of a chain of hills that 
 inclose the vale of Pharsalia. These celebrated 
 plains have an apparent extent of more than twenty 
 miles, but the breadth between the mountain-bar- 
 riers I should judge not to exceed five or six. The 
 expanse of a flat surface is extremely deceptive, and 
 we had not much leisure for a tranquil survey, as a 
 most violent storm poured down the whole time we 
 were passing : under other circumstances, it would 
 have been a very interesting occupation to have 
 attempted to identify the position of the two armies, 
 and to trace them through all their animated move- 
 ments, from the first impetuous onset of Caesar's 
 trooos and the terrible pause which ensued when 
 they halted mid- way, to the moment when Pom- 
 pey, pursued to his entrenchments, quitted his 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 105 
 
 armour, and fled on horseback to Larissa 1 . History 
 has recorded few events more affecting than the 
 fallen fortunes of this chieftain : " Cujus adolescen- 
 tia, ad scientiam rei militaris, non alienis prseceptis, 
 sed suis imperiis ; non offensionibus belli, sed vic- 
 toriis ; non stipendiis, sed triumphis est erudita V 
 
 The manners of the natives of Saltagee par- 
 take of the repulsive properties of their town. — Our 
 Greek servant could make nothing of them. " Sono 
 bestie, SignoriP' he exclaimed, in a tone of petu- 
 lant sarcasm; " non sanno niente, non parlano 
 Greco //" We were subsequently most vilely lodged, 
 in consequence of the unapprehending obstinacy of 
 the prelate, to whom the Tartar, by my direction, 
 addressed himself for instructions. We happened, 
 indeed, to fall on a most inauspicious moment for 
 paying our respects to this very orthodox hiero- 
 phant, as he was devoutly engaged, at that par- 
 ticular crisis, in worshipping at the shrine of — 
 
 1 Plutarch details the incidents of the day with great 
 minuteness. — See also Caesar's Commentaries, lib. iii. cap. So. 
 et seq. 
 
 2 Cic. orat. pro leg. Manil.; — but the eloquent panegyrist of 
 Pompey has left a still loftier eulogium on his all-accomplished 
 rival. — Vide Orat. pro Marcell. 
 
106 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Mammon ! — and he kept me standing a most tedious 
 time, — while he counted over and arranged the 
 aliquot parts of several heaps of coin, before he 
 would allow either of us to explain the motives of 
 our calling at his residence. He attempted the next 
 morning to atone for his incivility by entering our 
 apartment with a host of myrmidons, long before we 
 had left our beds. After he had protracted his visit to 
 an unusual duration, one of the party, finding every 
 other topic of remark exhausted, mentioned our 
 intention of passing over the Troad ; upon hearing 
 this he suddenly rose, and pointing to Mount 
 Olympus, which closed the perspective from our 
 window, exclaimed, with the air of a person who 
 fancies he has hit upon a brilliant idea — 
 
 'TfMV f&h Bit)} ^oliV, 'OXvfAtfja 1oifJl.tt.T S^OVTIS, 
 
 II. i. 19 >. 
 He then withdrew in the same ceremonious state with 
 
 1 The melody of these lines is quite lost in the barba- 
 rism of modern pronunciation. The bishop recited them as 
 follows : — 
 
 Emin men thcc-cc theen, Olympea thomat ekontus, 
 Ekpersai Priamoio polin, ef th' ikad Ikestliai. 
 The whole of the Iliad has been, as it were, recast in a 
 Romaic mould. A young Oypriot, of considerable rank and 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 107 
 
 which he came, and left us to pursue our journey. 
 Proceeding through fertile plains we arrived towards 
 evening at the foot of a mountain, from the heights 
 of which there is a most romantic view of the vale 
 of Ellada. Zeittoun is pleasantly situated on the 
 descent of the opposite side. Calilbei, the son- 
 in-law of Veli Pasha, has received us with great 
 courtesy ; his health appears extremely delicate, but 
 lie has pressed us with so much civility to remain 
 here another day, that we found it impossible to 
 resist his invitation. In the mean time he has given 
 proper directions for a relay of horses, and has 
 ordered an escort of Albanians to conduct us through 
 the dangerous passes of the mountains. 
 
 influence in his native island, whom we sailed with from Con- 
 stantinople to Paphos, and who had one of the modern Homers 
 in his possession, used, with great naivete and good humour, 
 toreheiirse to us occasionally some of the loftiest passages in the 
 original, translated — or rather travestied — into the existing lan- 
 guage. The tedium of the voyage lost much of its languor in the 
 society and conversation of this gentleman, whose manners were 
 engaging and highly-polished, though slightly tinctured with an 
 hahitual melancholy. When I addressed myself to take leave 
 of him, he borrowed my pencil, and wrote in one of the leaves 
 of the Vicomte De Chateaubriand's Tour, which I happened at 
 the moment to have in my hand, the following expressions :— 
 
 Xctigoftxi, ccufavrns, otov iXaSov rv riftriv iras yveuQiiras- 
 
108 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 May 3rd. 
 
 We left Zeittoun this morning at seven, and 
 reached the bridge which crosses the Sperchius, or 
 Ellada, between nine and ten. Dismissing the heavy 
 baggage, which was sent forward with one of our 
 servants and an Albanian guard, we proceeded to 
 the Strait of Thermopylae, distant about two miles 
 in a southerly direction. Our guides were the 
 same who had accompanied Lord Byron, and con- 
 sequently well-informed as to the identity of the 
 spot. It was, however, some time before we were 
 convinced of their accuracy, having, for some rea- 
 son, adopted the notion, that the pass where Leo- 
 nidas checked the advance of the Persians was a 
 cleft in the ridge of mountains which separate Phocis 
 from Thessaly. It is in reality a strait, and now 
 not a very narrow one, shut in on the south by a 
 range of cliffs between five and six hundred feet in 
 height, and on the north by a deep morass, stretch- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 109 
 
 ing to an arm of the sea. Livy 1 states the breadth 
 to have been in his time only sixty paces ; the length 
 is about five miles. Between the morass and the 
 cliffs there are still some fragments of a wall, which 
 had formerly gates to it, and which was constructed 
 by the Phocians to repress the inroads of their 
 neighbours : from these gates, and some hot-baths 
 which were near the entrance of the pass, the Strait 
 of course derived its name. 
 
 The Persian invasion took place four hundred 
 and eighty years before the birth of Christ, and the 
 constant accumulation of soil formed by successive 
 deposits from the hot-springs has, since that period, 
 considerably enlarged the space where the army of 
 Xerxes was held in check. The narrow interval 
 which then existed, by presenting so contracted a 
 stage for the combatants, reduced the parties 
 actually engaged to something of an equality. The 
 situation of the ground alone, therefore, does not, 
 I think, necessarily require any great deduction 
 from the historian's 2 account of the invading army — 
 
 1 Lib. xxxvi. cap. 20. 
 
 2 According to Herodotus, the land-forces consisted of 
 seventeen hundred thousand foot, and eighty thousand horse ; 
 
110 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 though it must be confessed there are some particu- 
 lars in the detail of this mighty armament, which 
 require no small degree of historical faith on the 
 part of the reader ; — if they do not actually excite 
 that incredulous hatred so emphatically mentioned 
 by Horace. The Amphictyonic Council was held 
 on the eminence of Anthela, in a temple dedicated 
 to Ceres : it is now extremely difficult to ascertain 
 its form or limits ; but some agent, far more rapid 
 in its operations than time, must have occasioned so 
 complete a destruction. Strabo, who flourished in 
 the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, has asserted, 
 indeed, that the council was then no longer in ex- 
 istence ; Pausanias, however, who lived many years 
 
 besides Arabians mounted on camels, and Libyans in chariots, 
 whose united force he conjectures might amount to twenty thou- 
 sand more. The number of followers of every denomination he 
 estimates at five millions and a half. In this calculation, 
 however, no account is taken of the women, the eunuchs, 
 draught-horses, and other beasts of burthen ; or the Indian 
 dogs that accompanied the troops : — these were so many as to 
 defy any attempt to ascertain the amount. "Therefore," 
 adds the historian, " I am not astonished if the streams of some 
 rivers were found insufficient for so vast a multitude. But, of 
 all this mighty host, no man, either for stature or beauty* 
 seemed more entitled to pre-eminence of command than Xerxes 
 himself!" 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. Ill 
 
 subsequently, states, that in his time it was in full 
 force. 
 
 The hot-springs issue from the base of the 
 cliffs in several places, leaving a thick incrustation 
 on the surface, and emitting a strong sulphureous 
 odour. The heat 1 should conceive to be consi- 
 derably more than one hundred degrees of Fahren- 
 heit's thermometer — the warmth, at least, was such 
 as to make it painful to keep the hand immersed 
 above a minute. I was induced to taste the water, 
 from an idea that it might partake of the same qua- 
 lities with the mineral springs at Bath. Perhaps I 
 may have swallowed as much as would fill a small 
 wine-glass : the effect was such as, in the course of 
 an hour, to produce an extreme lassitude, attended 
 with such acute pains in my back and extremities, 
 as disabled me from sitting on horseback ; it was, in 
 fact, with the utmost difficulty that I could bend 
 my limbs in order to dismount. 
 
 For some time I was obliged to lie down by 
 the way-side, till, by slow and toilsome efforts, I 
 became capable of proceeding, so as to arrive late 
 in the evening at Leftero Chori. The passage is 
 continued during several miles over the mountains 
 
112 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 which rise successively above Thermopylae. Nothing 
 can exceed the picturesque beauty of the scenery 
 from this eminence, the contemplation of which 
 suspended for a few moments even the sense of 
 suffering. Our lodging was, however, most wretched. 
 Two lambs, taken from the flock near the hovel, 
 were slaughtered and roasted whole before our door. 
 Of these I could not partake ; but, on going to 
 bed, one of my friends prepared for me a draught 
 composed of hot water, rum, and honey, which 
 soon produced a violent perspiration, followed by a 
 deep sleep : this so completely restored me, that I 
 was enabled the next day to proceed with very little 
 inconvenience. The morning was most brilliant, 
 and we quitted our hut at eight o'clock, in the hope 
 of reaching Salona before sunset. The route lies 
 through the defiles of Mount (Eta, which possesses 
 every feature of wild and romantic grandeur. It 
 was on the summit of this mountain that Hercules 
 reared the fatal altar, on which he was himself the 
 victim. 
 
 We halted at a khann during the heat of the 
 day, resting nearly two hours under the shade of 
 some lofty trees, near a clear and rapid torrent. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 113 
 
 The inn was extremely spacious, but utterly des- 
 titute of all the accommodations of civilized life ; 
 the proprietor, however, proved himself as great 
 a proficient in the arts of extortion, as if he had 
 served an apprenticeship to the most costly tavern 
 in France or Italy. The peasantry in the vicinage 
 appear frugal and willing to labour : small patches 
 in the steepest acclivities, where the soil is at all 
 practicable, are cultivated and sown with wheat : 
 this marks, at least, the industrious disposition of 
 the inhabitants, which wants only a better direction 
 to be more extensively productive. 
 
 We arrived at Salona at eight in the evening. 
 The descent from the mountain is extremely in- 
 teresting, and of a different character from the 
 passes we have hitherto traversed. Some of the 
 cliffs present a surface, where the strata are so 
 regularly placed, as to give it an appearance of 
 the neatest and most elaborate masonry. About 
 mid- way we overtook a numerous retinue, con- 
 ducting the inmates of a Turkish haram. The 
 ladies, who bestrode their palfries, were completely 
 concealed by a thick linen covering, which wrapped 
 round the whole person, presenting altogether an 
 
1 14 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 appearance the most awkward and unbecoming. 
 Few situations exhibit the elegancies of the female 
 figure to more advantage, than that in which the 
 costume of an English riding-habit is assumed. The 
 necessary attitude of the wearer gives to the man- 
 tle, as it flows in rich folds below the feet, the 
 ease and lightness of the most graceful drapery; 
 but the end and aim of Turkish policy seem to have 
 for their chief object, to shroud under some revolt- 
 ing disguise all those beautiful proportions which 
 nature has so bountifully lavished on the last and 
 fairest of the creation l . As the detachment wound 
 down the defiles, one of the attendants discharged 
 a pistol, the reverberation of which seemed mul- 
 tiplied ad infinitum. Shortly afterwards, the gulf 
 of Lepanto became visible from a sudden turn, and 
 appeared like a vast sheet of polished silver : we 
 soon, however, lost this brilliant mirror, and at the 
 foot of the mountain entered some vineyards, the 
 first we had yet seen in Greece. From hence the 
 town is only an hour distant, the entrance to which 
 is through a very handsome grove of olives. 
 
 1 Letters from Palestine, by T. R. Jollipfe — Let- 
 tor xiv. 
 
LETTERS PROM GREECE. 115 
 
 Our reception at Salona was such as to coun- 
 terbalance the inconveniences of the preceding night. 
 We quitted it about noon the next day ; and passing 
 through Crissa, arrived at Castri, the ancient Del- 
 phi, a little before five o'clock. 
 
116 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Delphi. 
 
 This city was imagined by the ancients to 
 be placed in the centre of the globe ; and, ac- 
 cording to the poets, whose testimony on such sub- 
 jects is peculiarly appropriate, the fact was esta- 
 blished by the flight of two eagles, which were 
 dispatched by Jupiter in opposite directions, and 
 arrived at the same instant of time at this point. 
 Strabo, indeed, is satisfied by claiming for its scite 
 the middle of Greece ; but his arguments have been 
 combated by various authors, and among the rest 
 by Varro. Not to weary you with the repetition of 
 any additional fantasy or conjecture, I shall only 
 remark, that if the founders of the oracular in- 
 stitution were desirous to select a spot, whose wild 
 and desolate seclusion would deter such an influx of 
 sceptical visitors as might endanger the mechanism 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 117 
 
 of the imposture, they could not have chosen a 
 happier situation *. 
 
 The modern town is a poor collection of huts. 
 We were received, however, with some degree of 
 hospitality, in the dwelling of the most considerable 
 proprietor. Having deposited our baggage, and 
 made such arrangements as were necessary for our 
 security, we set out in search of the celebrated Cas- 
 talian stream, the efficacy of whose waters one poet 
 has reflected to another, ever since the first dawn 
 of inspiration. The noble and very distinguished 
 author, who is universally allowed to have felt their 
 influence in a pre-eminent degree, and who visited 
 this country a very few years since, has expressed his 
 homage to]the genius of the place in the following 
 tributary stanzas : — 
 
 1 Longinus, in alluding 1 to the extravagancies of the 
 priestess, ascribes her ecstacy to the influence of certain evapo- 
 rations which exhaled from a chasm in the earth, and on a 
 sudden impregnated her with celestial inspiration. 
 
 This chasm, if it really existed, — for Longinus speaks 
 
 doubtfully, — Ma fnypa, iffn ytis « atafttiv *A2IN arftot hhov * — Was 
 
 probably connected with some subterranean contrivance, and 
 thus easily subservient to the mysterious machinery. 
 
118 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Oli, thou Parnassus ! whom I now survey, 
 Not in the frenzy of a dreamer's eye ; 
 Not in the fabled landscape of a lay, 
 But soaring snow-clad through thy native sky, 
 In the wild pomp of mountain majesty ! 
 What marvel if I thus essay to sing ? 
 The humblest of thy votaries passing by 
 Would gladly woo thine echoes with his string, 
 Though from thy heights no more one muse will wave her wing. 
 
 Oft have I dreaiu'd of thee ! whose glorious name 
 Who knows not, knows not man's divinest lore: 
 And now I view thee, 'tis, alas ! with shame 
 That I in feeblest accents must adore. 
 When T recount thy worshippers of yore, 
 I tremble, and can only bend the knee ; 
 Nor raise my voice, nor vainly dare to soar, 
 But gaze beneath thy cloudy canopy, 
 In silent joy to think at last I look on thee ! 
 
 Happier in this than mightiest bards have been, 
 Whose fate to distant homes confin'd their lot, 
 Shall I unmov'd behold the hallow'd scene, 
 Which others rave of, though they know it not ? 
 Though here no more Apollo haunts his grot, 
 And thou, the Muses' seat, art now their grave ; 
 Some gentle spirit still pervades the spot, 
 Sighs in the gale, keeps silence in the cave, 
 And glides with glassy foot o'er yon melodious wave. 
 
 Chihle llarolde, Canto I. Stanzas lx. lxi. lxii. 
 
 This fine passage possesses many of the highest 
 properties of poetry, — not excluding those of fiction. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 119 
 
 Whoever surveys these hallowed precincts, — unless 
 he looks at them with the eye of memory and ima- 
 gination, — will probably experience much the same 
 sensation which the visitant of Dover feels, when 
 he compares the actual appearance of Shakspeare's 
 Clin with the terrific description of it, which the 
 great poet has given in the person of Edgar. 
 
 The " melodious wave," stripped of its fanciful 
 embellishments, is a small spring, issuing from 
 the chasm which rends the mountain from its base to 
 the summit. The water is extremely clear, and has 
 a fresh and agreeable flavour ; and I should think 
 of a pleasant temperature for bathing. It was in 
 fact originally applied to such purpose ; for, a few 
 paces to the right, there are the remains of a re- 
 servoir, which antiquarians assert to be the basin 
 in which the Pythia performed the ceremony of 
 ablution previously to entering on her mystic rites. 
 The dimensions of this bath are between twenty- 
 eight and thirty feet in length, and twenty and 
 twenty-four in breadth. It is excavated from the 
 rock, which is a coarse marble ; four or five steps 
 only conduct to the bottom, so that the depth is 
 scarcely a yard. Just over it there are several 
 
120 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 small niches ; but whether of a date coeval with 
 the oracle, or subsequently hewn out as receptacles 
 for votive offerings to a small shrine dedicated to 
 St. John, has not, I think, been satisfactorily ascer- 
 tained. The altar, consecrated to the Evangelist, 
 is placed in a low shed, at the right of the bath; it 
 is formed by the broken shaft of a fluted pillar, 
 with a slab placed across it. 
 
 The fissure in the cliff is too precipitous to 
 admit of the mountain being scaled in that di- 
 rection ; but there are small indentures made in 
 the rock to a certain height, by the assistance of 
 which we climbed up to a cavity, resembling a 
 large cistern, though at present destitute of water. 
 The two summits are nearly perpendicular to this 
 point : it was from one of these eminences that 
 the Delphians threw down iEsop. The basin, no 
 longer wet with the " dews of Castalie," having 
 been for ages disused, is now almost choked up ; 
 the sacred fountain, however, still continues to 
 flow in front, and passing the marginal steps, 
 takes its course for about a quarter of a mile down 
 a deep-worn, narrow channel, till it reaches the 
 Pleistus ; and there, united with the river, winds 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 121 
 
 through the vale which separates Parnassus from 
 Mount Cirphis. 
 
 The ancient city of Delphi was probably em- 
 bellished with many of the graces of architecture ; 
 but its retired and difficult position must have pre- 
 cluded it from ever having been of much extent, or 
 from being very numerously inhabited. Yet, even 
 to this point, retired and inaccessible as it appears, 
 a conflux of votaries annually thronged from dis- 
 tant regions to propitiate the presiding Deity : an- 
 cient history bears ample testimony to his power 
 and influence. The decisions of the tripod have 
 been able to control the decrees of councils, to 
 arrest the march of armies, and suspend the fall of 
 empires. 
 
 According to Plutarch, the spring was the 
 season of consultation ; later in the year the god 
 was supposed to transfer his patronage to the altars 
 of the Hyperboreans. The temple is stated to 
 have been four times destroyed and renewed: the 
 original structure was extremely simple, but the 
 increasing affluence of the treasury gave to every 
 succeeding edifice a proportionate increase of splen- 
 dour. Pausanias, who wrote towards the close of 
 
122 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the second century, speaks of the building which 
 existed in his time ; it was erected by order of 
 the Amphictyons, from the plan of a Corinthian 
 architect, and the expense defrayed by the volun- 
 tary offerings of the people. Of the astonishing 
 collection of art and riches, which were deposited 
 and arranged in the sanctuary, some idea may be 
 formed from the plunder of Nero, who is related 
 to have taken away not less than five hundred 
 brazen statues, the loss of which was scarcely per- 
 ceived. The opulence of the shrine attracted, in 
 different ages, the avidity of successive conquerors; 
 but it was reserved for the Emppror Constantine 
 to complete its destruction, by the removal of the 
 prophetic tripods. The decline and total ruin of 
 the town was the natural and necessary conse- 
 quence. 
 
 In our ramble round the village we found a 
 few mutilated and half-effaced inscriptions, con- 
 taining scarcely any entire word. Massive frag- 
 ments of walls are discernible in a variety of places ; 
 and however difficult to particularize the edifices 
 of which they formed a part, it is impossible not 
 to be struck with the grandeur of their ruins. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 123 
 
 A Greek monastery is on the scite of the gym- 
 nasium : evident traces of an extensive building still 
 remain, although the exact limits are not easily 
 definable. The stadium, according to Pausanias, 
 adjoined the temple of Apollo, which was situated 
 against the rock, immediately above the town : of 
 this every vestige has perished. The theatre is 
 also so completely destroyed, that its position can- 
 not be ascertained. The hippodrome was near the 
 river. 
 
 The Pythian solemnities were originally con- 
 fined to contests in music and poetry, the prize 
 being awarded to whoever produced the best poem 
 in honour of Apollo; they were subsequently ex- 
 tended, to comprise foot-races, and several of the 
 combats celebrated at Olympia ; in which the victor 
 was crowned with a wreath of laurel. Latterly, 
 the horse and chariot races were added ; but the na- 
 ture of the ground must have inevitably rendered 
 these a very subordinate exhibition. 
 
 The unfavourable state of the weather pre- 
 vented our ascending the summit of Parnassus, and 
 any successful attempt to explore the Corycian 
 cave: the atmosphere, which had for some time 
 
124 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 been bright and glowing, became on a sudden ob- 
 scured by a mist, which completely shut out every 
 distant object. The view from the highest point 
 of the mountain comprehends, most probably, the 
 gulf of Corinth, and much of the beautiful scenery 
 on the adjacent coast. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 125 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Thebes, May 1th. 
 
 We left Delphi for Lebadea between eight and 
 nine the day before yesterday, with the declared 
 intention of diverging towards Daulis, so as to pass 
 the junction of the three roads, 
 
 " Where the unhappy Theban slew his father 1 !" 
 
 By some unaccountable oversight, — or from the total 
 disappearance of every vestige to indicate its situa- 
 tion, — we mistook the route, and were ultimately com- 
 pelled to abandon the research as fruitless. Yet the 
 directions of Pausanias are extremely explicit : " If," 
 says he, " on quitting Daulis, you take the road for 
 Delphi, and proceed straight forwards, you will pass 
 
 1 IOKA2TH. Kai rov fj.ii uaiti^ y h (pans %'ivt>4 leori 
 hwrou (Qovtvoutr tv rgi-rXccis afta, fy-rtus' 
 
 (0(W. Tv ? . v. 734.) 
 
 OIAinOTS. Ka/ <rov VS* o %&pos euro;, ou r'oS riv vtuQos ; 
 IOKA2TH. *wx)s pin h yn aXn^ircci- tr^iffTn <S' oho; 
 Ef rccvro AiXtpHJv Kavro AavXia; ayti. 
 
 (v. 751 ) 
 
126 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 on your left the temple where the deputies from the 
 different states in Phocis held their assemblies. It is 
 a large edifice, supported in the interior by rows of 
 pillars : between the columns and the walls, on 
 either side, there are steps raised for the accommo- 
 dation of the members. A little beyond this build- 
 ing, you arrive at a point where the road branches 
 off in three directions. It was here that CEdipus 
 became the unconscious instrument of giving death 
 to his own father. The tomb of Laius and his 
 attendant is about the centre ; it is a simple struc- 
 ture, composed of stones hewn into a regular form, 
 and placed over each other. Damasistratus is re- 
 ported to have accidentally discovered the bodies 
 during his government at Plataea, and to have di- 
 rected their interment in this place." 
 
 We endeavoured to repair our disappointment 
 by contemplating the flowery summits of Mount 
 Helicon. 
 
 Parnassus is for the most part a savage mass, 
 with scarcely any vegetation to relieve the rugged 
 surface. Helicon is far more dressed, and in some 
 points richly decorated with pines and forest-scenery . 
 
 We reached Lebadea at half- past six. The 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 127 
 
 town has nothing to recommend it but the scite, 
 being happily placed on the acclivity of a hill, and 
 watered by the clear streams which issue from the 
 Hercynian fountain. Just above the river, there are 
 some nominal ruins of a temple ; but scarcely any- 
 thing exists beyond the traces of its position against 
 a steep and precipitous rock. The cave of Tro- 
 phonius is less questionable — of its locality there 
 are sufficient indications. 
 
 Many previous ceremonies were indispensable 
 to whoever was desirous of visiting this cavern : 
 Pausanias, who explored the recesses of the oracle, 
 has detailed the proceedings very minutely. The 
 narrative is extremely curious throughout, but too 
 long for transcription : it may be sufficient to state, 
 that, after the usual fasting, penance, and ablu- 
 tions, the sacrifice of victims, and the formal in- 
 spection of their entrails, the consultants were 
 brought with much solemnity to the two sources of 
 the river. Here they were compelled to drink of 
 the waters of Lethe, to produce an oblivion of care 
 and anxiety ; they next took a draught from the 
 fountain of Mnemosyne, to preserve the remem- 
 brance of whatever should be exhibited to them on 
 their descent. 
 
128 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 All sorts of mummery were practised in the 
 interior of the cave. The party about to enter, 
 being fixed in a recumbent posture, was thrust in 
 with his heels foremost, when he suddenly felt an 
 overwhelming force which hurried him forward with 
 the violence of a torrent. The oracular responses 
 were variously rendered : to some they were deli- 
 vered in allegorical representations ; others received 
 them verbally. When the consultant returned, he 
 was conducted by the priests to the throne of 
 Mnemosyne, where they demanded an account of 
 what he hr-d seen ; and after a full revelation on his 
 part, they contrived so to stupify his senses, as to 
 render him fit for any impression they might be de- 
 sirous of producing 1 . But of all those whom su- 
 perstition or curiosity induced to visit this subter- 
 raneous altar, there is no account of a single indivi- 
 dual having received any personal injury, except a 
 private soldier in the army of Demetrius : the priests 
 had detected him in an attempt to plunder the 
 
 1 The elaborate contrivances in the interior of the great 
 pyramid at Djizeh, would seem to justify the conjecture, that 
 those stupendous fabrics were also subservient to some state im- 
 posture, or oracular fraud. — (See Letters from Egypt, by 
 
 T. R. JOLLIFFB.) 
 
LETTERS PROM GREECE. 129 
 
 shrine ; he was of course instantly put to death, and 
 his carcass thrown out with every mark of con- 
 tumely and degradation. 
 
 There are cavities for votive offerings on the 
 surface of the rock; and an adytum, now entirely 
 choked up, but which is conjectured formerly to 
 have had communication with the altar. An attempt 
 was made to ascertain this by sending a person, pro- 
 perly secured by a rope from without, to clear the 
 aperture ; but he returned after a short time nearly 
 in a state of suffocation. Lord Elgin, who had ex- 
 press permission from the Porte, made several exca- 
 vations both here and at Cheronaea — with what suc- 
 cess I am uninformed ; but the Italian who attended 
 us mentioned, with great naivete, as a very porten- 
 tous occurrence, that the spring, which issued near 
 the entrance of the temple, disappeared on the dis- 
 closure of some valuable relic, as if indignant at 
 the ravages committed near its source ! 
 
 The plague had paid its annual visit before our 
 arrival. The inhabitants are generally squalid and 
 unhealthy, the miserable victims of poverty and 
 despotism. Nothing can be more pitiable than the 
 state of oppression to which the town is subject : its 
 
 K 
 
130 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 geographical situation is such as to render it liable 
 to a double contribution ; being taxed to the Porte 
 by the Governor of Negropont, and claimed by 
 right of conquest as tributary to Ali Pasha \ 
 
 1 The authority of AH was not recognised beyond the 
 limits of Livadia, at the time the writer visited it. Since that 
 period the Pasha has closed his adventurous career, by one of 
 those violent catastrophes which frequently follow in the train of 
 a scries of successes. Ambition necessarily " grows by what 
 it feeds on !" — and thus eventually becomes the instrument uf its 
 own destruction — 
 
 " Glory is like a circle in the water — 
 " Which never ceases to enlarge itself 
 " Till, by broad-spreading, it be brought to nought !" — 
 
 Ali had long attained an eminence and an extent of dominion, 
 which created a strong jealousy at Constantinople :— his death 
 was therefore decided on: — but the numerical strength of his 
 forces, and his personal talents, enabled him for some time to 
 defy the armies of the Grand Seignior. The following account 
 of his capture and assassination has been communicated by a 
 gentleman holding an official situation in the Ionian Islands : — 
 
 " This extraordinary man, after having defended himself in 
 the citadel of Joannina nearly two years against the whole army 
 of Courshid Pasha, was at length obliged to retire into the 
 inner fortress, where he deliberately seated himself amid three 
 hundred barrels of gunpowder, surrounded by his various trea- 
 sures ; firmly resolving to blow himself and all his piles of 
 wealth into the air, the instant Courshid might attempt to 
 disturb him in his singular position. 
 
 " The firm character of the man, and the known devoted 
 attachment of the few followers who remained with him, had the 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 131 
 
 effect of arresting- the progress of his enemies ; so that Courshid 
 Pasha, who was rushing on to his fate with all the impetuosity 
 of a predestinarian, became suddenly impressed with an idea, 
 that Mahomet had not decreed that he should be blown to atoms ; 
 and that the treasures of AH, instead of being distributed among 
 the fishes in the lake of Yanina, would be much more acceptably 
 received by the Sublime Porte, and the members of the Divan. 
 
 " A flag of truce was therefore sent in to the besieged, 
 with information that the Sultan would renew with the Pasha 
 the relations of amity, on condition of his proceeding to Con- 
 stantinople, and giving up a portion of his treasure. 
 
 " The specious manner in which this treacherous negotia- 
 tion was conducted (for it was managed by a Greek) induced 
 Ali to quit his strong-hold, and retire to a small place situated 
 on the lake ; leaving in his place, till the ratification of the 
 Sultan's pardon, an Algerine Turk devoted to his cause, of the 
 name of Selim. 
 
 " The lion was now in the toils! But still the greatest pre- 
 caution was necessary ; for Selim had been the faithful attend- 
 ant of Ali for several years, and had always slept at the door of 
 his master's bed-chamber. He was, too, a person of astonishing 
 muscular strength, and had long been the terror even of the 
 ferocious Albanian tribe. It is, indeed, reported of him, that, 
 when in the full possession of youth and vigour, he, on some 
 occasion, strangled a tiger ! Such statement, however impro- 
 bable, is at least an argument of the general sentiment in favour 
 of his firmness and courage. He was now seated on a throne 
 of gunpowder, wielding in his hand a sceptre of fire. Every 
 art was therefore employed to induce Ali to order his favourite's 
 abdication ; and, after some days of ' wearisome petition' and 
 importunity, the emissaries of the Porte ' wrung from him his 
 slow consent.' In one of those moments of infatuation, which 
 seem like the decisions of destiny, the poor old Vizier drew 
 from his breast, and delivered to Hassan Pasha, a card, severed 
 
 K j 
 
132 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 in a singular manner, but which corresponded exactly with a 
 counterpart left in the possession of his faithful adherent. This 
 unfortunate weakness on the part of Ali broke the talisman ! 
 Hassan lost no time in securing Selim ; then instantly throwing 
 aside the mask, he returned to the victim of his treachery, hold- 
 ing out the firman of the Grand Seignior, and saying, • Pre- 
 pare to perform your ablutions — offer up your prayers to God 
 and the Prophet, for your Sultan demands your head !' 
 
 " The deluded veteran saw, too late, his fatal error ; re- 
 solving, however, to fall like a soldier, and to sell his life as 
 dearly as possible, he instantly sprang up, and drawing from 
 his girdle a pistol, and fiercely exclaiming, • Thus dies Ali 
 Pasha!' discharged its contents in Hassan's body. The Turkish 
 guards now rushed in ; and, after a desperate conflict, the van- 
 quished chieftain sunk to the earth covered with wounds — 
 crying out, in the faltering accents of death — ' Kill Vasili, my 
 wife, that the dogs profane her not !' 
 
 " Hie vita exitus fait" 
 
 " Thus perished Ali Pasha, on the 5th of February, 1S22, 
 after reigning in Albania upwards of sixty years. His body 
 was interred, with eastern pomp, by the side of his favourite 
 wife Emine : his head was embalmed, and sent to Constan- 
 tinople." 
 
 His sons, who owed their elevation, in great measure, to 
 the power and genius of their father, did not survive the down- 
 fal of his influence — but, by a singular caprice of fortune, one 
 of the grandsons of Veli is said, at the present moment (July, 
 1826) — since the destruction of the Janissaries — to hold a com- 
 mission in the Imperial Guards at Constantinople. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 133 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Thebes, 
 
 We left Livadia, so as to arrive here a little 
 before sunset. The road lies chiefly over the 
 plains ; and the expansive prospect, illuminated by 
 the brilliancy of the atmosphere, whose heat was 
 tempered by light northern gales, gave to all pre- 
 sent an unusual degree of animation. After riding 
 about five hours, from the summit of a slight ele- 
 vation we descried the modern city of Thebes. 
 It is somewhere in this direction that we are to 
 look for the remarkable pass, said to have been 
 the scene of the perilous questions of the Sphinx. 
 Death was the penalty of all such as were unable 
 to expound the enigma ; and the successful ex- 
 planation by CEdipus delivered the Thebans from 
 so terrible a calamity. Tradition has, I believe, 
 preserved only one of these famous riddles, and 
 
134 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 that has had its full share of celebrity. We should 
 remember, indeed, that it was to Boeotians that 
 the monster addressed himself. 
 
 What this city may have been in the days of 
 Epaminondas, with whom, according to Plutarch, 
 its glory rose and fell, cannot, in the slightest de- 
 gree, be estimated from its present appearance ; for, 
 of all the squalid places we have hitherto seen, — 
 and we have seen several, — modern Thebes is pre- 
 eminent in every species of impurity. The autho- 
 rity of Ali Pasha not being recognised here, the 
 rabble took offence at our habits and Frank ap- 
 pearance ; we were therefore obliged to content our- 
 selves with a very cursory survey of the few objects 
 which invited examination. The district is admi- 
 nistered by an officer of the Grand Seignior ; and 
 perhaps it is no unfair criterion of the merits of 
 the two governments, to contrast the habits and 
 manners of the people respectively subject to their 
 power. 
 
 Ancient Thebes was surrounded by a wall with 
 seven gates, and defended with towers ; these were 
 all standing in the days of Pausanias, who has enu- 
 merated their different titles: Homer lias also re- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 13.3 
 
 corded the same circumstance, with the names of 
 the persons to whom they owed their foundation : — 
 
 Tflv i\ fi'iT 'AvrloTtiv 'ioov, 'A/reoToTo Svyar^a, 
 "H S)j xa.) Aios tu^tr' h uyxolvricriv iccucrar 
 Kai p irtitiv "huo traiV, ' Ap.($lova, ri, Znfav n, 
 Oi' -r/iwTot &nSns 'iho; iKTitrzv itfrairiXoio, 
 Hvgyutrav r , \rtu ov filv airi^ywrov y i^uvavro 
 
 Odyss. xi. v. 259. 
 
 There raov'd Antiope with haughty charms, 
 Who blest th' Almighty Thund'rer in her arms. 
 Hence sprung Amphion, hence brave Zethus came, 
 Founders of Thebes, and men of mighty name ; 
 Tho' bold in open field, they yet surround 
 The town with walls, and mound inject on mound ; 
 Here ramparts stood, there tow'rs rose high in air, 
 And here thro 1 seven wide portals rush'd the war. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 A sepulchre not far from the walls is noticed by 
 Pausanias, as an index to identify the field where 
 Cadmus encountered the dragon, from whose teeth 
 a battalion of warriors sprang up, armed at all 
 points ! It would be a little extravagant to search 
 for the imaginary relics of a tomb of such remote 
 antiquity. The same author mentions a temple 
 near one of the gates, consecrated to Apollo, 
 adorned with several statues, one of which was the 
 production of Phidias. Of these there are no 
 
136 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 longer any traces extant ; a few broken columns 
 and mutilated pieces of cornice may be seen in dif- 
 ferent quarters of the town, where they serve as 
 component parts of modern buildings; and there 
 is a portion of an elegant frieze placed over the 
 door-way of a small chapel ; but little else remains 
 of ancient sculpture to merit any particular obser- 
 vation. Indeed, the present appearance of the place 
 is such, from the awkward and unmeaning position 
 of the buildings, — thrust out as they are, in all 
 sorts of ill -conceived and disproportioned forms, — 
 that one might almost fancy Amphion's lyre had 
 abruptly dropt its animating measure ; and that the 
 various objects of its inspiration, having been sud- 
 denly arrested in their harmonious movements, were 
 lost in that kind of confusion which besets the per- 
 formers in a country-dance, upon any unexpected 
 or irregular movement of the orchestra. 
 
 The river Ismenus is sadly dwindled in its pro- 
 portions. How seldom does the actual condition 
 of things justify our preconceived notions ! Let the 
 traveller who visits these regions, with his fancy 
 heated by a perusal of the lofty legends of an- 
 tiquity, — his tragic enthusiasm kindled by a recol- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 137 
 
 lection of the Phoenissae, — and his memory dwelling 
 especially on that passage, where the chorus apo- 
 strophizes the god of battles, riding in War's chariot 
 to the banks of the Ismenus — 
 
 ltT{x.riv/>u T ifi %ivftx<ri latitat V. 799. 
 
 Thus excited, let him hasten to survey that mighty 
 stream, — equivalent in breadth to one of the kennels 
 which flow through the centre of the Fauxbourg 
 de St. Honore ! The fountain of Dirce, indeed, 
 which, as Lord Byron has remarked, " turns a 
 mill," preserves all its original freshness and purity. 
 It is sufficiently copious to turn several mills ; and I 
 know no better purpose to which the stream can 
 be applied, except being converted into a public 
 bath for the use of the inhabitants, who, more 
 than any people I have yet seen, stand in need of 
 repeated ablutions. The origin of this fountain 
 I must beg to recall to your recollection. It ap- 
 pears, from undoubted mythology, that a certain 
 king of Thebes, by name Lycus, having from some 
 capricious sentiment divorced his wife Antiope, 
 tranferred his affections to a nymph of the name 
 of Dirce. The repudiated queen soon attracted the 
 attention of Jupiter, who seems on various oc- 
 
138 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 casions to have entertained a strong partiality to- 
 wards the Theban fair. The consequences of an 
 interview with so redoubted a gallant could not 
 long be concealed ; but Dirce, suspecting some 
 lurking attachment on the part of Lycus, had 
 her supposed rival seized, and subjected to close 
 confinement. Antiope, however, found means to 
 elude the vigilance of her jailor ; and escaping to 
 Mount Cithaeron, was delivered of twin children, 
 Zethus and Amphion. As soon as these were of 
 an age to avenge their mother's cause, they be- 
 sieged Thebes, put Lycus to death, and fastening 
 Dirce to the horns of a wild bull, left her to be 
 dragged wherever the animal's frenzy might impel 
 him. The gods at length took pity on the wretched 
 sufferer, who, " thawing and resolving into a dew? 
 was eventually transformed to the fountain which 
 still bears her name '. 
 
 The source is about half a mile above the 
 town, on the road leading to Athens ; the spring 
 bubbles from below the surface with great force, 
 and fills rather a large excavation with beautifully 
 clear and sparkling water. 
 
 1 There is a very fine group on this subject, placed in the 
 public walk of the Chiaja at Naples. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 139 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Athens, May 9*A, 1817. 
 
 I regret to say, we quitted Thebes without 
 visiting the scene of the battle of Plataea ! : the 
 distance might have been despatched in a few hours, 
 but we met some unconquerable obstructions on 
 the part of the Aga. This worthy personage ap- 
 
 1 In the environs of Plataea, under Mount Cithseron, there 
 existed in the time of Pausanias the ruins of two considerable 
 towns : one of these was distinguished by a temple dedicated to 
 Apollo, and a well, whose waters imparted the shifts of pro- 
 phecy. In the road which leads to Eleuthera?, there was a 
 mound shewn for the tomb of Mardonius, but this writer ques- 
 tions its identity. In proceeding to Megara, the traveller 
 passes on his right a fountain, and a little beyond it a rock 
 called Act/EON, to commemorate the chastisement of the Thes- 
 salian sportsman, who from that eminence beheld Diana while 
 bathing. 
 
 The utmost research of the antiquarian had failed to 
 identify the forest on Mount Cithseron, where Pentheus con- 
 cealed himself to view the celebration of the orgies of Bacchus ; 
 and he had been equally unsuccessful with respect to the place 
 where (Edipus was exposed. 
 
140 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 peared so unaccountably perverse, that we judged 
 it necessary to have a personal interview ; and, as 
 the Drogoman entered, one of the party intimated 
 our intention, by a ludicrous version of the phrase 
 in Shakespear : — 
 
 Vorrei avere qualche parole con questo dotto Tkebano '/ 
 But after much delay, and a very tedious dis- 
 cussion, we were forced to retire without accom- 
 plishing our object. The difficulty, as I afterwards 
 learned, arose in a great measure from some im- 
 perfect arrangement in the office of post-master, the 
 individual who held that situation having quitted 
 his employment the day before yesterday. The 
 grant is renewed annually ; and it was by a pecu- 
 liar piece of ill-fortune that we happened to arrive 
 during the interregnum. Under these circum- 
 stances, we were obliged to wait till the new can- 
 didate had received his appointment, and who en- 
 tered upon its duties by a very rigorous demand of 
 anticipated payment. 
 
 We left the town at seven in the morning, 
 pursuing our course for several miles over an ex- 
 tensive down, very much neglected in point of 
 1 " I must have sonio t;ilk with this learned Theban !" 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 141 
 
 cultivation, but apparently of a kindly soil. About 
 eleven we reached a cluster of hovels, where we 
 halted to breakfast ; from thence we despatched 
 the Tartar and a Greek servant with a letter to 
 the English Consul at Athens. 
 
 The route improves in interest in proportion 
 as we advanced towards the province of Attica; 
 till, from the summit of the hills iEgaleon and 
 Corydalus, we caught the first distant view of the 
 Acropolis, and the city spread out beneath, with 
 the Piraeus and the neighbouring islands in front. 
 These soon disappeared, and it was not till after 
 an interval of several miles that we regained a sight 
 of so brilliant and magnificent a spectacle. 
 
 At length we reached the plain which con- 
 ducts to the city of Minerva. The fortress, as 
 again seen from a turn in the road, seemed to 
 rise from an elevation, which gave it a strong re- 
 semblance to Windsor Castle l . The approach to 
 
 1 It is not, of course, the intention of the writer to assert, 
 that the Grecian structures on the Acropolis bear any resem- 
 blance to Gothic battlements. The summit of the rock is co- 
 vered with a variety of building's of different orders : these, when 
 beheld from a point too remote to enable the spectator to dis- 
 tinguish their peculiar character, — and appearing as if blended 
 
142 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the town is unrivalled in beauty and interest. We 
 passed through corn-fields and olive-groves in a 
 most delightful evening in this most beautiful sea- 
 son; the air perfumed with gales from Hymettus, 
 and tempered by breezes from the iEgean Sea ; the 
 firmament glowing with the hues of sapphire, and 
 the last rays of the setting sun still gleaming on 
 the ruins of the citadel ! 
 
 By the interference of the British agent, Sig- 
 nor Logotheti, we were immediately supplied with 
 every accommodation in the house of an Italian 
 artist, at the foot of the Areopagus. 
 
 in one irregular mass, — from an outline, which, taken alto- 
 gether, certainly presents a likeness to those striking features 
 which mark " the stately brow of Windsor." 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 143 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Athens, May \2th, 1817. 
 
 . . . . To the flowery seat 
 Of all the muses next transport thy flight — 
 Sweet Attica — where by the music sooth'd 
 Of all the Nine, and emulous to learn 
 Their strains mellifluous, pure Tlissus' stream 
 Rolls whispering 1 by — hail, sage philosophers ! 
 Hail, holy bards, in every age rever'd — 
 Fathers of Latian first, then British Song ! 
 
 Anonymous. 
 
 Before I attempt to offer any description of 
 Athens, in its present state, it may not be unin- 
 teresting to take a retrospect of some of the more 
 prominent events that mark its history, and which 
 have gradually conducted it to the degree of degra- 
 dation in which it has for ages been depressed . 
 
 Setting aside the enthusiasm of pedantry or 
 affectation, it is scarcely possible for any one to 
 avoid feeling unusually excited, when for the first 
 time he visits the spot, with which all that is excel- 
 
144 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 lent in art, and all that is exalted in character, are 
 so intimately associated. " Remember it w Athens 
 you approach,'''' said Pliny 1 , in his instructions to 
 Maximus, when he was appointed to the Procon- 
 sulate of Achaia. And Cicero, on a similar occa- 
 sion, exhorts Quintus to reflect, that the subjects 
 of his government are the descendants of that en- 
 lightened people, who taught mankind the virtues 
 of humanity, and to whom Rome herself was in- 
 debted for her most imperishable glories. 
 
 A distinguished political writer, in some of his 
 earlier essays, has reproached the people of the 
 American States with their " want of ancestry /" — 
 a recommendation, indeed, which is seldom despised, 
 except by those to whom it has been denied. — The 
 States of Greece seem to have been very anxious to 
 guard against a similar imputation ; and perhaps 
 one of the first disputes which ever agitated the pas- 
 sions of mankind was the antiquity of their descent. 
 Hence we find almost every nation, whose origin 
 was not clearly deducible, assuming to be coeval 
 with the foundations of the world. The Arcadians, 
 we are told, claimed a priority of creation to the 
 1 Epist. lib. viii. xxiv. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 145 
 
 moon, and styled themselves TlqooeXinvoi : and the 
 Athenians adopted the name of 'Avto-^Qoves, to imply 
 that they were the offspring of the soil which they 
 inhabited. 
 
 The original proprietors of Attica were un- 
 questionably a very ancient nation, though tradi- 
 tion has preserved no account of them antecedent 
 to the reign of Ogyges, who is said to have been 
 contemporary with the patriarch Jacob. The go- 
 vernment of this prince is the most distant point to 
 which the Athenian chronicles aspire. His death, 
 after a life of power and prosperity, was occasioned 
 by a mighty deluge, which involved all Attica and 
 Achaia in one common ruin. From thence to the 
 time of Cecrops, a period of nearly two hundred 
 years l , little is known of any of their transactions ; 
 but that adventurer, having collected the scattered 
 tribes, gave them a form of government, civil and 
 religious, which he borrowed from the Egyptians, 
 and took upon himself the rank and office of King. 
 He held his court on the summit of the Acropolis, 
 around which the natives were invited to settle, as a 
 
 1 Dr. Valpy dates the establishment of Cecrops' authority 
 in the year of the world 2448. 
 
 L 
 
146 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 security from the evils of a second inundation. The 
 new city, in compliment to its founder, was called 
 Cecropia, but subsequently changed to the name it 
 at present bears, in honour of Minerva. 
 
 Theseus was the tenth in succession from Ce- 
 crops: it was under the administration of this prince 
 that Athens began to advance in power and opulence, 
 and thenceforward her history assumes something of 
 an authentic form. He new-modelled the govern- 
 ment, revised and abrogated some of the laws, sup- 
 plied their place by others better adapted to the 
 genius of the people, and proved himself, in every 
 instance, attentive to the welfare and happiness of 
 his subjects. Codrus, the last person invested with 
 the kingly title, was the seventeenth who had been 
 raised to that dignity. But the Archons, who im- 
 mediately succeeded him, differed so little in the 
 nature and extent of their power, that many writers 
 reckon them among the number of sovereigns. 
 
 The duration of the office of Archon was subse- 
 quently reduced to ten years, and at length became 
 annual. Pisistratus, however, having by stra- 
 tagem got possession of the citadel, seized on the 
 government, and maintained the supreme power 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 147 
 
 above seventeen years. He was succeeded by his 
 two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, the latter of 
 whom being slain by Aristogiton, the former sought 
 refuge in the court of Darius. This led to the Per- 
 sian invasion and the battle of Marathon, which 
 was followed by the expedition of Xerxes, who ad- 
 vanced to Athens and set fire to the town. It was 
 subjected to a second conflagration by his Lieutenant, 
 Mardonius ; but the victories of Salamis and Plataea 
 put an end to these oppressions, and enabled th 
 city to emerge more bright and glorious from the 
 midst of desolation. 
 
 Under the powerful administration of Peri- 
 cles l , who was intrusted with the government 
 during forty years, Athens was adorned with those 
 matchless productions of art, which have been the 
 models to all succeeding ages. The battle of Man- 
 tinea, which took place three hundred and sixty- 
 three years before the Christian era, left Athens 
 without a rival ; and the consequent neglect of those 
 warlike habits, which raised her citizens to pre-emi- 
 nence, facilitated their subjugation by Alexander 
 the Great. 
 
 1 Pericles died about 430 years before Christ. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Several years after the death of Alexander they 
 were reduced to solicit the protection of Rome, and 
 to receive a Roman garrison ; but they were easily 
 persuaded by the popular orators to regard this as 
 a degradation, and finding their protectors engaged 
 in a harassing war with Mithridates, they took oc- 
 casion to revolt. A terrible retribution was soon 
 after exacted by Sylla, who committed so merciless 
 a slaughter in the city, that the streets are said lite- 
 rally to have streamed with human blood. The 
 public buildings were at the same time so much in- 
 jured and defaced, that they were never completely 
 restored till the reign of Adrian. 
 
 In the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the 
 Athenians attached themselves to the interests of the 
 latter : but Caesar, with his characteristic generosity, 
 forbore to visit them with the severities of a con- 
 queror. On the death of the Imperial Dictator, — 
 with the baseness and ingratitude which mark a 
 fickle character, — they scrupled not to make party 
 with his assassins ; afterwards, coming over to 
 Anthony, they were put in possession of iEgina and 
 some other islands. Augustus does not appear to 
 have ever regarded them with any favourable con- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. ] 4!J 
 
 siderations, and a short time before his decease they 
 attempted to shake off his authority. His successor, 
 however, allowed them their freedom, though they 
 were bound by alliance to espouse the interests of 
 Rome. Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius, ho- 
 noured them with the privilege of having a lictor to 
 precede their magistrates ; and in this state they 
 remained till the reign of Vespasian, who reduced 
 Attica and Achaia to a Roman province. Nerva 
 subsequently restored to them some appearance of 
 liberty, but they were in many respects subordi- 
 nate to the government of the Emperor, who even 
 nominated the professors in their schools, and ap- 
 pointed their archons. It was thus that Adrian 
 became invested with that office, previously to his 
 elevation to the imperial dignity : he afterwards 
 proved a most liberal patron to the citizens ; grant- 
 ing them many privileges, giving them just and mo- 
 derate laws, and enlarging their possessions by the 
 island of Cephalonia. Under this munificent prince 
 Athens re-flourished, and its former glories were 
 revived. He restored the fortifications, repaired the 
 public buildings, and added a range of new edifices 
 at his own expense, which he called Adrianopolis. 
 
150 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 But, to shorten a detail, which has already ex- 
 ceeded all epistolary bounds, let me conduct you 
 through the lapse of nearly two hundred and se- 
 venty years, to the time of Arcadius and Honorius, 
 in whose reigns Alaric, King of the Goths, made an 
 irruption into Greece and Italy, sacking, pillaging, 
 and destroying all before him. " The whole terri- 
 tory of Attica," says Gibbon, " from the promon- 
 tory of Sunium to the town of Megara, was blasted 
 by his baneful presence." The city of Minerva, 
 however, was preserved from spoliation by the su- 
 perstitious fears of the barbarian invader. Zosimus 
 has reported that Alaric was deterred from plunder- 
 ing the city by a vision, in which the tutelary god- 
 dess appeared before him, — " clad in complete 
 steel," — and attended by Achilles, in all the terrific 
 majesty with which the great poet has arrayed him, 
 when he issues forth to avenge the death of Pa- 
 troclus 1 . 
 
 Claudian, indeed, gives a very different ac- 
 count; and Synesius, who was living at the time, 
 compares the appearance of the city, on the total 
 extinction of all the treasures of antiquity, and the 
 
 1 Iliad, xx. v. 164. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 151 
 
 ruin of every stately and magnificent structure, to 
 the skin of a sacrificial victim after the carcass is 
 consumed \ 
 
 1 How greatly this idea has been ennobled by Lord Byron, 
 is most eloquently attested by the following passage : — 
 
 He who has bent him o'er the dead 
 
 Ere the first day of death has fled, 
 
 The first dark day of nothingness, 
 
 The last of danger and distress ; — 
 
 Ere yet decay's effacing fingers 
 
 Have swept the line where beauty lingers, — 
 
 And mark'd the mild angelic air, 
 
 The rapture of repose that's there, 
 
 The fix'd, yet tender, tints that streak 
 
 The languor of the placid cheek, 
 
 And — but for that sad shrouded eye, 
 
 That fires not, — wins not, — weeps not, — now — 
 
 And but for that chill changeless brow, 
 
 Whose touch thrills with mortality, 
 
 And curdles to the gazer's heart 
 
 Yes — but for these, and these alone, 
 Some moments — aye — one treacherous hour, 
 He still might doubt the tyrant's power, 
 So fair — so calm — so softly seal'd, 
 The first — last look — by death reveal'd ! 
 
 Such is the aspect of this shore — 
 
 'Tis Greece, — but living Greece no more ! — 
 
 So coldly sweet, so deadly fair, 
 
 We start, — for soul is wanting there. 
 
 Her's is the loveliness in death, 
 
 That parts not quite with parting breath ; 
 
 But 
 
152 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Athens never recovered from this overwhelm- 
 ing calamity : from the reign of Justinian to the 
 thirteenth century, a chasm of nearly seven hundred 
 years, there is no account of any interesting event 
 connected with the Athenian history. At that pe- 
 riod it came into the possession of Baldwin, and 
 was afterwards successively the property of the 
 Marquis Bonifacius, and a cadet of the house of 
 Arragon, named Delves. On his decease it fell 
 into the hands of Bajazet, emperor of the Turks. 
 
 The Spaniards of Catalonia, under the com- 
 mand of Andronicus Palaeologus the elder, next 
 became its masters ; and these were dispossessed by 
 a Florentine, called Reinerius Acciaiolo, who, dy- 
 ing without legitimate issue, bequeathed it to the 
 republic of Venice. The Venetians were, in their 
 turn, dispossessed by Antony, a natural son of 
 Reinerius, who was succeeded by a relation named 
 
 But beauty with that fearful bloom, 
 
 That hue which haunts it to the tomb — 
 
 Expression's last-receding - ray, 
 
 A gilded halo hovering- round decay, 
 
 The farewell-beam of Feeling- past away ! 
 Spark of that flame — perchance of heavenly birth — 
 Which g-leams — but warms no more its cherish'd earth ! 
 
 The Giaour. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 153 
 
 Nerius : he was expelled by his brother Antony, 
 but on the death of the latter recovered the pos- 
 session. Leaving only an infant son, his wife as- 
 sumed the government, till she was ejected by Ma- 
 homet, on a remonstrance from Francus, a son of 
 the second Antony. This person, succeeding to the 
 government, confined his relation in a fortress at 
 Megara, and afterwards put her to death. For 
 this act of tyranny a complaint was made by her 
 son to Mahomet the Second, who sent an army, 
 under the conduct of Omar, to besiege the citadel. 
 Francus in vain sought assistance from the Latins, 
 who refused any succour, except on condition of 
 his embracing the tenets of their faith : being un- 
 able to induce his subjects to comply with this 
 stipulation, he was compelled, in the year 1455, to 
 surrender the city to the Turkish power, under 
 whose dominion it still continues. 
 
 Athems, when in its highest degree of splendour 
 and prosperity, is said to have been a day's journey 
 in extent ; but such a statement appears altogether 
 incredible : a more exact computation reduces the 
 circuit to one hundred and ninety-five stadia, 
 which, if the stadium be considered equivalent to 
 
154 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 a furlong, will amount to something above four- 
 and-twenty miles. In this calculation, the wall 
 connecting the city with the Piraeus is of course 
 included. If to that distance we add the space 
 between the Piraeus and the Munichya, and sub- 
 tract the amount, seventeen miles, the compass of 
 the city alone will be little more than seven ; about 
 three times its present circumference. 
 
 Of the numerous temples ", baths, urns, statues, 
 &c. &c, which existed when Athens was the light 
 of the world, it is difficult to form any adequate 
 conception. Their various properties and appli- 
 cations have indeed been amply discussed by per- 
 sons of much greater beard and erudition than I 
 can aspire to. I shall not weary you, therefore, 
 with many observations on this subject, but confine 
 myself to an enumeration of the few remaining 
 monuments, which have survived the ravages of 
 contending armies, or escaped the devastations of 
 ignorance and avarice. 
 
 1 According - to Pliny, there were not fewer than three thou- 
 sand images remaining in the Acropolis, even after the plunder 
 of Nero. 
 
 Rhodi etiamnum 111 millia signoruni esse, mutianus ter 
 Consul prodidit, nee pauciora Athenis et Olympia;, Delphis 
 superesse creduntur. — Nat. Hist. lib. xxxiii. cap. vii. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 155 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Athens. 
 
 The walls which encircle modern Athens are 
 little more than two miles in extent : the number of 
 inhabitants is estimated at seven thousand ; of 
 these more than two-thirds are Greeks, the other 
 part of the population consists of Turks, with a 
 small proportion of Franks, and about two hundred 
 black slaves. There is an air of propriety and 
 neatness in almost every quarter of the city; but 
 the streets are narrow, and laid out with very little 
 regard to regularity. The houses, with some few 
 exceptions, are generally small, and of a uniform 
 construction ; the roofs low and flat, and univer- 
 sally covered with pantiles, which the force of the 
 sun has changed to a dusky brown. Near the 
 bazaars there is a fountain, clear and copious, but 
 this is the only one which the town affords. Mr. 
 North 1 attempted to place another in a different 
 1 The present Earl of Guilford. 
 
156 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 quarter, and inscribed the marble with his own 
 name : it has since become neglected, and the spring 
 either diverted to another channel, or totally dried 
 up. Each of these reservoirs appears to have been 
 constructed solely from motives of utility, as they 
 are totally destitute of the slightest semblance of 
 ornament. This is not, perhaps, very much to be 
 regretted, unless the embellishments could have been 
 of a different description from those which are 
 usually adopted on these occasions in France and 
 Italy, where the stream appears as if disgorged 
 from the throat and stomach of some animal ! the 
 revolting ideas inevitably associated with such exhi- 
 bition, must necessarily subtract from any feeling 
 of pleasure or admiration. There is, indeed, a very 
 splendid instance of a better taste in the grand piazza 
 before St. Peter's. Foreigners almost always express 
 their astonishment that London, so copiously sup- 
 plied as it is in every district with water, should be 
 deficient in these elegant decorations ; — for, with the 
 exception only of the brilliant affair in the Temple, 
 the noblest capital in the world has not a single 
 fountain to adorn it. 
 
 The city is built ina semi-circular form, descend- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 157 
 
 ing westward from the Acropolis, and taking a 
 north-eastern direction to the gate of Theseus, on 
 the interior architrave of which there is still extant 
 the following inscription : — 
 
 AIAEI2 1 A0HNAI eH2E£22 H nPIN nOAI2. 
 This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus. 
 
 The side which fronts Hymettus commemorates 
 
 the addition made by the Emperor Adrian : 
 
 AIAEI2 AAFIANOT KAI OTK 0H2Efi2 TI0AI2. 
 
 This is the city of Adrian, and not of Theseus. 
 
 The gate possesses few recommendations, either 
 as a relic of art or antiquity — but at a little dis- 
 tance to the north-east, are the splendid remains of 
 the temple of Jupiter Olympius, which was begun by 
 Pisistratus, but not finished till the reign of Adrian. 
 They are a magnificent cluster of columns of the 
 Corinthian order, nearly sixty feet in height, and 
 six feet in diameter. Sixteen still exist in good 
 preservation : of these thirteen are in a connected 
 group, the remaining three are detached from the 
 principal mass, and separate from each other. The 
 marble is of the purest white, except where tar- 
 nished by the atmosphere, which is generally too 
 serene to have injured them materially. 
 
 i A/Sc/j, a metrical abbreviation of ai fo u<nv. 
 
158 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The Parthenon crowns the summit of the 
 Acropolis. It is impossible to contemplate this stu- 
 pendous and venerable mass, without feeling that 
 the ravages committed here a few years since fully 
 justify the severity of satire with which the author 
 of Childe Harold has visited those spoliations. Such 
 at least is the impression conveyed by the first sur- 
 vey of this noble ruin. The form of the structure 
 was originally square, having one hundred feet each 
 side, from which circumstance it was called exarofA- 
 neSov ; but on its restoration by Pericles, after the 
 destruction of the city by the Persians, it assumed 
 the shape of an oblong parallelogram ; being, ac- 
 cording to the accurate admeasurement of Sir 
 George Wheler, two hundred and seventeen feet 
 nine inches in length, and ninety-eight feet six inches 
 in breadth. Each side consisted of seventeen co- 
 lumns of the Doric order, fluted, and each ex- 
 tremity had eight. The height of the columns is 
 forty-two feet ; the circumference seventeen and a 
 half; the intercolumniation seven feet four inches'. 
 
 1 See Plutarch's Life of Cato for an account of the ex- 
 emption from all future labour, and of maintenance at the 
 public charge, decreed to such beasts of burden as had as- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 159 
 
 The decorations of this sovereign temple were in 
 every respect worthy of the Divinity to whose 
 glory it was consecrated. The story of her birth 
 formed the subject of the front pediment, and her 
 contest with Neptune, for the possession of the 
 country, was represented at the back. The frieze, 
 metopes, and other sculptural embellishments, are 
 detailed in various treatises with technical precision. 
 These I shall not repeat ; but merely offer an 
 abridged description of the chief statue of the 
 guardian goddess. It was the production of Phi- 
 dias, and carved in ivory. The warlike daughter 
 of Jupiter was represented standing, with a robe 
 flowing to the ground. A sphinx towered on 
 the crest of her helmet, each side of which was 
 embossed with a griffin. On the breast-plate was 
 the Gorgon's head ; in one hand she grasped a 
 spear, and in the other held an image of victory. 
 The contests of the Centaurs and Lapithge were 
 graven on her sandals ; and the battles of the gods 
 
 sisted in conveying - materials for this national structure. The 
 humane reflexions of the biographer on that occasion, and the 
 just severity with which he has visited the unfeeling- conduct of 
 Cato towards those of his slaves, whose services age or in- 
 firmity had impaired, will find an echo in every bosom that has 
 the common sympathies of our nature. 
 
160 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 and giants, and the wars between the Athenians 
 and Amazons were carved on the shield, which was 
 placed at her feet. A serpent was represented near 
 the spear, as illustrative of the story of Ericthonius ; 
 and the birth of Pandora was depicted on the pe- 
 destal. 
 
 Next in interest to the Parthenon, is the temple 
 of Minerva Polias, so called from her being: the 
 protectress of the city. Here (if we may trust 
 tradition) was preserved the original olive, pro- 
 duced by this goddess when asserting her claims 
 to give a name to the new colony founded by Ce- 
 crops; and here also was deposited the sacred image, 
 supposed to have fallen from heaven. Two dragons 
 were the guardians of this hallowed relic : before 
 it was placed an owl, and a golden lamp so skilfully 
 formed, as not to require replenishment more than 
 once a year. The frieze, and the Ionic volutes 
 which decorate this structure, are of unequalled 
 lightness and elegance : the building was conse- 
 crated in part to Neptune, surnamed Erectheus; 
 and in this latter division was the salt-spring, called 
 s^zyfiriis, which mythology feigns to have issued from 
 a stroke of Neptune's trident. 
 
 The adjoining temple, called the Pandroseum, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 161 
 
 is a small structure, of which the most striking em- 
 bellishments are the figures termed caryatides, which 
 support the entablature. Carya was a city in the 
 Peloponnesus, which, during the Persian war, made 
 common cause with the enemy. On the expulsion 
 of the invaders, the Greeks, to punish their de- 
 sertion from the general interests, exterminated the 
 male population, and carried off the females pri- 
 soners : these last they reduced to the condition of 
 slaves ; but, with a refinement of severity, forced 
 them to retain their peculiar dress and personal or- 
 naments. It was to perpetuate this act of vengeance, 
 that the architects of the day are supposed to have 
 represented them in the discharge of some menial 
 office, each supporting a burthen on the head with 
 one hand, and the other resting by the side. 
 
 The figures were originally six in number ; at 
 present only four remain. The struggle of Mi- 
 nerva, when resisting the impetuosity of Vulcan, 
 produced an earth-born monster, called Erectheus, 
 or Ericthonius. The goddess of chastity enclosed 
 the infant in a chest, and intrusted it to three 
 sisters, with a strict injunction not to examine the 
 contents. Female curiosity proved fatal to two ; 
 
 M 
 
162 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the virtue of the third, Pandrosos, prevailed over 
 the temptation, and she was rewarded with the 
 observance of religious rites and ceremonies, an- 
 nually celebrated in her honour. 
 
 The I'ropylea, which I ought to have men- 
 tioned first, as it was anciently the entrance of the 
 citadel, though much mutilated and deformed by 
 modern buildings, has still many traces which attest 
 its former grandeur. The Doric order is preserved 
 here, as in the Parthenon. There were five doors 
 in front; a number not more than sufficient to 
 afford an easy access to the crowds who, on parti- 
 cular occasions, from devotion or curiosity, thronged 
 to the Acropolis. The right wing of this building 
 consisted of a temple dedicated to Victory. It was 
 on this point that iEgeus is supposed to have stood, 
 with his eyes eagerly strained towards the sea, to 
 descry the vessel in which Theseus was returning 
 from Crete. 
 
 The image of victory was represented without 
 wings, because the news of Theseus' success did not 
 precede his return. The superstition of the people 
 appears also to have been consulted ; and they were 
 taught to believe, that as the goddess was described 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 163 
 
 without the symbols of flight, she would never de- 
 sert her present situation. 
 
 The opposite wing was enriched by the pencil 
 of Polygnotus. The building existed in a state of 
 perfect preservation in the time of Pausanias ; an 
 interval, from its foundation during the govern- 
 ment of Pericles, of considerably more than five 
 hundred years. I have mentioned two statues of 
 Minerva ; one placed in the Parthenon, and one in 
 the temple of Minerva Polias; but there was a 
 third, of very colossal proportions, carved in brass 
 by Phidias, and dedicated with a tenth of the spoils 
 taken at Marathon. This image was so vast, that 
 the crest and point of the lance are said to have been 
 visible from Sunium, — a distance of forty-five miles ! 
 
 But to quit this lofty eminence, where eveiy 
 object is impressed with some barbarous mark of 
 desolation, let me conduct you to the interior of 
 the city. Here the most prominent and the most 
 perfect relic is the celebrated temple of Theseus. 
 Though detached from any other building, and stand- 
 ing at present in the middle of a corn-field, it is 
 within the inclosure of the modern walls, and was 
 originally in the heart of the town, near the place 
 
 M 2 
 
164 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 where the youth of Athens performed their gymnas- 
 tic exercises. It was erected by Conon 1 , and recog- 
 nized by law as a sanctuary for slaves, and indeed for 
 all others who fled from the persecution of men in 
 power. Of all the remains of art and antiqu-ty, 
 this structure has escaped with the least violation : 
 it is still comparatively entire, a master-piece of 
 architecture. The order and form are exactly those 
 of the Parthenon, though the dimensions are con- 
 siderably less. The sculpture, in the front and 
 at the extremity, represents the battles of the Cen- 
 taurs and Lapithae, and the personal achievements 
 of the hero to whose glory the fabric was erected : 
 his exploits and those of Hercules were carved on 
 the metopes in alto relievo : the following are con- 
 jectured to be some of the subjects : — 
 
 1. Theseus driving the bull of Marathon to 
 Athens. 2. Killing the sow of Crommyon. 3. Hurl- 
 ing Sciron from a rock into the sea. 4. Wrestling 
 with Circyon. 5. Destroying the Minotaur. 6. Her- 
 cules vanquishing the Nemaean lion. 7. Slaying the 
 hydra, attended by Iolaus. 8. Receiving the golden 
 apples from a nymph of the Hesperides. 
 1 About 390 years before Christ. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 165 
 
 The interior is generally closed, and the rites 
 of the Greek church are, on particular occasions, 
 solemnized on an altar erected in a recess at the 
 eastern extremity. It is dedicated to St. George, 
 and deformed with several very execrable paintings. 
 Nothing surely can be more ill-judged than the 
 application of designs, taken from the inspired pages 
 of Christianity, as subjects of decoration to a hea- 
 then temple. It is like confounding the iEolian 
 lyre with the harp of ^Eolus ! or, — " not to speak 
 it profanely," — placing the robe of Socrates on a 
 modern professor of moral philosophy. Who would 
 not feel his religious sentiment outraged on viewing 
 the image of the Belvidere Apollo, — all radiant 
 though it appears with majesty and beauty, — or 
 even that of the Venus de' Medici, — 
 
 " The statue which enchants the world," 
 placed in the chancel of a Protestant cathedral ? 
 
 Of late years this temple has served as a Pro- 
 testant cemetery, and there are monumental slabs 
 placed over the tombs of two English gentlemen 
 interred here. One of these has been adorned 
 with the following inscription by Mr. Robert Wal- 
 pole : — 
 
166 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 TTTIAEAAA. 
 
 ESSt/j it <pQif/,ivoi<ri' [/.'irriv tropins dp' iipi^as 
 
 *Atfaa, x.ou ffi not Mou<r' ItpiXwi p.arr,v. 
 ' AXXa f&ovov to yi aoipu. to ynivov u.p.QiKaXvx'Tii 
 
 TufiSo; Sot' •^/U^iiv ovpavo; altfv; t%a. 
 'Hfciv V 01 a\ fiXoi <p!\ov a;, xcctoc idxpu %iovTts 
 
 Mvufta (ptXoiQpitrvvu.; %\u/pov, oovpo//.^tz, 
 'Hot/ y Ofius x,a.) Ttpitvov 'i%uv tout \<tt)v, ' ' A&wuv 
 
 'ft; ah MpiTanos tun xtltrtat h oita'bm. 
 
 In the ruins of the piazza, near the market- 
 place, though much damaged and defaced, there 
 are still the vestiges of an elegant and magnificent 
 pile. Possibly Zeno's portico once formed a part 
 of this structure; at least Pausanias asserts, that 
 the forum was near the place where that philo- 
 sopher delivered his peculiar doctrines. At some 
 little distance from hence is the Franciscan convent : 
 the building appears to be of modern date; but 
 one of the outer walls abuts against a small circular 
 building, which, for some reason that I could not 
 understand, has been called the lantern of Demos- 
 thenes. These are, I believe, the only remaining 
 fragments of genuine antiquity in the city ; there is, 
 indeed, one other structure, which has been desig- 
 nated the Temple of the Eight Winds ; but Pau- 
 sanias makes no mention of it; and the clumsiness 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 167 
 
 of the fabric, if it existed in his time, may well 
 justify the omission. Its form is octagonal, the 
 different sides having figures in relief of iEolus and 
 his associates, with inflated cheeks and distended 
 limbs. The south-west part of this building has 
 been converted to a mosque ; and on the recurrence 
 of certain festivals, it is applied to the celebration 
 of many tedious ceremonies. There is, however, in 
 another quarter of the town, a much more splendid 
 temple, consecrated to the Turkish worship. It is 
 an elegant structure, and very chastely decorated in 
 the interior, to which I obtained admission without 
 any difficulty. A minute description of the orna- 
 ments would scarcely be interesting; but you may 
 imagine a large saloon, with a lofty cupola in the 
 centre, from which various lamps depend ; galleries 
 are carried round the sides, supported on arches; 
 and the compartments are variously painted, and 
 inlaid with different-coloured marbles. 
 
168 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 To S. S****e, Esq. 
 
 Athens, May, 1817. 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 In the brightest period of the Athenian his- 
 tory, theatric exhibitions were in such estimation, 
 that the representation of the tragedies of Sophocles 
 alone is said to have cost the state more than the 
 whole Peloponnesian war ; and the profession of the 
 stage became so creditable, that ambassadors were 
 selected from the body of the players. This was 
 the era when the Attic genius triumphed; when 
 its liberty was pure and virtuous ; when a citizen 
 could have gone from a conference with Socrates, 
 to an oration from Demosthenes, — and have closed 
 his evening with the Electra of Sophocles, the Phae- 
 dra of Euripides, the moral scenes of Menander, or 
 the sprightly comic muse of Aristophanes l . 
 
 The figure of the ancient theatres was usually 
 the segment of a circle, of which the chord was 
 
 1 See Foote's admirable letter to the author of the " Re- 
 marks, Critical and Christian,'' on the " Minor." 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 169 
 
 so extended, that the stage was easily brought 
 within the view of every part of the building as- 
 signed to the spectators. The Koi'Xov, or cavea, 
 consisted of three divisions, placed in equal degrees 
 above each other. That nearest the orchestra be- 
 longed to the magistrates and persons of rank ; the 
 middle rows were thrown open to the public, and 
 the highest places were exclusively set apart for 
 the women. Here, as in Italy, the seats were 
 formed of stone, without any permanent covering ; 
 and it was left to the caprice or fancy of the fair 
 occupant to mitigate the inconvenience of so coarse 
 a material, by any mode which her taste or in- 
 clination might suggest. The readiest resource, on 
 such occasions, was a cushion; in a delicate and 
 adroit adjustment of which, the young Chester- 
 fields of the age were accustomed to display some 
 of their most successful attentions. A great master 
 in the art of gallantry has remarked, 
 
 fuit utile multis, 
 
 Pulvinuiu facili composuisse manu ! — 
 
 Art. Amat. lib. i. 159. 
 
 The structure of the interior appears to have 
 been extremely simple, and a rigid adherence to 
 
170 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the unities of time and place would necessarily 
 limit the exertions of the mechanist and painter ; 
 a consideration that renders almost unintelligible 
 the extravagant cost, which particular representa- 
 tions are said to have been attended with. In 
 none of the ancient dramas are there any of those 
 intricate plots or complexities of situation which 
 have been introduced by later writers : the de- 
 velopement of character was the great object of 
 the poet ; and this object is surely effected in a 
 much less degree by an application to the senses, 
 than by appealing to the passions and affections. 
 But where character is everything, the decorations 
 of the piece might, one would imagine, be confined 
 within a very moderate expense. Yet, however 
 costly or gorgeous the pageant of the scene, the 
 dialogue must have lost more than half its effect 
 from the intervention of the masks with which the 
 performers encumbered themselves, as a mode of 
 extending the powers of the voice. It is extremely 
 difficult to conceive how the lofty passages in 
 iEschylus, or the tender eloquence of Euripides, 
 could make a due impression when delivered under 
 such disguise. All the conflict of the passions 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 171 
 
 which the poet has so terribly described, and 
 which we have been accustomed to see so power- 
 fully pourtrayed, in the beautifully-expressive fea- 
 tures and noble forms of Kemble and Mrs. Siddons, 
 could, on the ancient stage, have been addressed only 
 to the ear; and the glory of the scenic art, as 
 developed in the countenance of our great tragic 
 actress, — while command sparkled in her eyes, and 
 dignity towered on her forehead, — must have been 
 utterly unfelt and unknown by an Athenian or a 
 Roman audience *. 
 
 1 The actor had many other emharrassments to contend with, 
 as obstacles to impede the free exertion of his powers. The 
 cothurnus, or buskin, raised him to an unnatural elevation, and 
 must, of necessity, have affected the easy dignity of his car- 
 riage ; wliile the bandages which were applied to his per- 
 son and limbs, in order to give them an appearance corre- 
 spondent to the assumed altitude, could not but have ren- 
 dered almost impossible the display of any striking atti- 
 tude or graceful gesture. — These inconveniences are pointed 
 out with much pleasantry by Lucian, in the Dialogue iiepi 
 
 OPXH2E02 : Triv TQetyuoiccv ol yi a.iro rou ff*^r,/i/.uro; -x^mtou x%Ta,y.cJufiiv, 
 el a la-rti, us ilbi%£is cift-a, xu.) (poSt/iov Sld/aa, its firixos a-ppudfiov t\ffxr)fi.itos 
 a.v$Qu<xo; } IfjiSuTi/.i; b-J/viXois LTO^vjf/.ivc:, TQoffwrov vvin xitpaXris Lva.ru- 
 10/jt.ivov irix.lifJ.ito;, xeu cropa. xi^'/jtos wu./u./u.S'ya,, us xuTc/.triopivo; rovs 
 §zx,-u.;. 'Eu Xiyuv tto/xttiwiom, xu.) T^oyctrr^ilix, Tr^o^hryiv, xat ixiriyvn- 
 t»iv •za.f/VT'/i'ra, vgotrntoufiiin);, a; pri rou finxous h aeevfifi'ia, sv ?.tT-rcu 
 
 paxxov iXiyx,oiro. — Encumbered with such restrictions, even Al- 
 bert himself, the peculiar ornament of that stage, which the 
 
172 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 There are the ruins of only one theatre now 
 remaining, — this is generally supposed to have been 
 the Odeum : what is still extant is sufficient to con- 
 vey a tolerably accurate idea of its extent and form. 
 It stands at the south-western extremity of the 
 Acropolis, near the base; the acclivity being made 
 subservient to the successive elevations of the seats 
 of the spectators. 
 
 This building was erected by Pericles, who 
 fashioned the roof so as to give it a resemblance to 
 the King of Persia's pavilion. It was appropriated 
 chiefly to musical exhibitions, but not exclusively 
 confined to them : indeed, there is a passage in one 
 of the comedies of Aristophanes ', which seems to 
 imply that it was used occasionally for the Sessions 
 of the Eleven Magistrates. In the war with Mith- 
 ridates it became totally demolished, but was sub- 
 sequently rebuilt by Herodes Atticus 2 , in compli- 
 ment to the memory of his wife Regilla, and re- 
 Graces arc supposed to have chosen as their favourite temple, — 
 even this accomplished artist must have been overpowered by 
 the weight of such ornaments, and have sunk beneath their 
 pressure. 
 
 2 Herodes Atticus was one of the most affluent citizens ever 
 known at Athens. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 1 '3 
 
 newed with such astonishing splendour, as to surpass 
 the most celebrated buildings in Greece. Here the 
 poems of Homer were recited with the accompani- 
 ments of an orchestra, and here the rhapsodists 
 chaunted the praises of Harmodius and Aristogiton, 
 in all the fervour of democratic enthusiasm. 
 
 Part of the proscenium has escaped the general 
 destruction, and a small portion of the outer wall 
 of the right wing. The area in which the audience 
 were arranged is sufficient to have contained some 
 thousand spectators. It is at present sown with 
 corn. The stage appears to have been rather nar- 
 row, and the depth behind the curtain so extremely 
 contracted, that it could not possibly have admitted 
 any splendid pageant or numerous retinue. 
 
 Of the theatre of Bacchus there are scarcely 
 any traces visible ; but there is an indenture on the 
 side of the hill in the extremity, opposite to the 
 position of the Odeum, which is supposed to mark 
 its site. It was here that the legitimate drama 
 appeared in its most perfect state. Gray's estimate 
 makes an audience in the Athenian theatre to have 
 consisted of above thirty thousand persons I ' With- 
 out venturing to question the accuracy of such dis- 
 
 1 Notes on the Symposium of Plato. 
 • The number present at the representation of Agatho's tragedy ; a per- 
 
 ' ' formance which obtained the prize at one of those contests for excellence 
 in dramatic poetry, which were held annually at the festival of Bacchus. 
 
 Gray drew his estimate from a passage in the Speech ascribed to Soc- 
 rates by Plato, in his fine dialogue " The Banquet." The expressions 
 of the philosopher are not perhaps to be literally interpreted ; they have, 
 at least, something of the tone of complimentary amplification ; 
 
 "h 7 e ((Fotpiz) Trapa. gov v4ov ovtos ornui aty68pa i£4Aa/j.\lie Kal fK<pav}]$ 
 iyivtn itpdnr)v eV paprvin ruv '1£.XKt}vuv I1AEON H TPI2MTPIOI2. 
 
 Sympos. Sect. iv. 
 
174 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 tinguished authority, we may, perhaps, infer, from 
 
 considerations arising from the supposed^number of 
 
 Athenian citizens, that the performances must have 
 
 been given — comparatively, at least, with modern 
 
 exhibitions — at distantly recurring periods. For it 
 
 would be difficult, even in the enormous population 
 
 of London, to imagine thirty thousand individuals 
 
 nightly attracted by dramatic representations. 
 
 About a hundred yards from this spot is the 
 
 channel of the Ilissus. I will own that I was 
 
 much chagrined at finding this celebrated stream, 
 
 which I had fancied to be at least equal to the 
 
 Cam or the Isis, dwindled into a brook of very 
 
 narrow dimensions. The bed is at present almost 
 
 entirely dry, but in the winter months the current 
 
 is said to be full and rapid. Tn some few places, the 
 
 extreme breadth between the margin of the banks 
 
 may be equivalent to that of the New River at 
 
 Islington, and the depth about four feet ; but there 
 
 are many parts where — " under the correction of 
 
 bragging, be it spoken" — I could spring across it 
 
 with the most perfect ease 1 . 
 
 1 The current of this rivulet is variously contracted ; and 
 though sometimes enlarged to eight or ten yards in breadth, is 
 frequently reduced within twelve or sixteen feet ; — at least 
 where it flows within view of the citv. 
 
 L 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 175 
 
 Travellers are proverbially entitled to em- 
 broider their narratives with the laiiclave of fiction ! 
 You will, I am sure, acquit me of exerting such 
 privilege ; and indeed I here wish to be under- 
 stood as speaking a la letlre. Pursuing the 
 river's track in the direction of its source, we 
 arrived, in little more than a quarter of a mile, 
 at the ruins of a bridge thrown over the chan- 
 nel, as an entrance to the Stadium. On this sub- 
 ject it may be sufficient to remind you, that the 
 Stadium was a part in the gymnasia assigned for 
 the exercises of the young athletse. There were 
 many such at Athens ; but this on the banks of the 
 Ilissus was by far the most celebrated. It was ori- 
 ginally planned by Lycurgus, the son of Lycophron, 
 and received many additions and embellishments 
 from the munificence of Herodes Attieus. Pausa- 
 nias describes its splendours in detail: these have 
 long since disappeared, but its form and extent 
 may be traced with some degree of accuracy l . Two 
 lines, running parallel to each other for about a fur- 
 
 1 A good English version of Pausanias is certainly a 
 desideratum: it would be a most valuable companion to tbose 
 visitants of Greece, vvbose intimacy with the original, — time, or 
 any other cause, may have impaired. 
 
176 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 long 1 , are closed at the eastern extremity by a cir- 
 cular wall. The interval was hollowed out as a 
 stage for the runners ; and the seats for the spec- 
 tators were arranged on the hill, which sloped 
 above it in every direction except at the point of 
 entrance. On the north side there is a subterranean 
 passage, by which it is conjectured the unsuccess- 
 ful candidates retreated from the gaze of the popu- 
 lace : it also served as a private admission to the 
 president of the games, and other public officers, 
 after the people were assembled. The five exercises 
 rewarded by national prizes were, as is well known, 
 running, leaping, hurling the discus, wrestling, 
 and throwing the spear. Swimming does not ap- 
 pear to have received any public encouragement ; 
 yet to be deficient in so elegant and useful an ac- 
 complishment was held to be a deep reproach. 
 
 There are few spectacles, surely, which could 
 be more interesting than those exhibitions, in which 
 the flower of the youth of a nation assembled at 
 chosen seasons, to contend with amicable rivalry in 
 feats of agility and strength. The high-toned elas- 
 
 1 The exact measurement makes the length six hundred 
 and thirty English feet. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 177 
 
 ticity and animated glow of health, which a neces- 
 sary course of training would give to the different 
 candidates, — their features radiant with joy or 
 beaming with hope, and their fine forms developed 
 in the height of emulative energy, — must have pro- 
 duced an effect on the spectators, which no modern 
 institution has in any degree approached. Why 
 should similar pursuits be inconsistent with the con- 
 duct of existing governments ? They would naturally 
 tend to encourage exertion in individuals ; and it is 
 from the union of individual exertion that national 
 strength is derived '. 
 
 • A very excellent and judicious system of gymnastic exer- 
 cises, as arranged by M. Clias, has within these few years been 
 introduced in England ; and, having received the approval and 
 patronage of the Duke of York, is adopted at the Military Col- 
 leges of Sandhurst and Woolwich. If in any of the fashionable 
 foreign schools, — for it is impossible to imagine such an irregu- 
 larity in England, — a very opposite course should be pursued ; 
 and if in such seminaries, where the pupils are very numerous, 
 and very affluent, they should so far be indulged in indolent 
 habits as not to be required to quit their beds before eight o'clock 
 in the morning, — even during the summer months!— if, too, 
 instead of the plain, nutritive diet, 
 
 " the school-boy's simple fare, 
 
 The temperate sleep, and slumbers light as air"— 
 
 luxurious repasts, of the most costly and stimulating viands, 
 should be allowed ; — surely, wherever practices of this kind are 
 
 N 
 
178 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The soil in this quarter is extremely poor ; it 
 produces, however, one herb, of which much richer 
 lands might envy it the possession. Our guide as- 
 sured us it had been discovered, bv some French 
 chemist, to be an infallible specific for the terrible 
 
 suffered to prevail, the conductor of the establishment merits 
 the retributive correction which Camillus so justly visited on the 
 schoolmaster at Falerii. 
 
 '• Let those of a firm and vigorous age," says Cicero *, 
 " enjoy the robust sports which are suitable to that season of 
 life — sibi igitur habeant anna, sibi equos, sibi hastas, sibi cla- 
 vam, sibi pilam, sibi natationes, et cursus — let them exert their 
 manly strength and address in darting the javelin, or contend- 
 ing in the race — in wielding the bat or throwing the ball — in 
 riding or in swimming." A degree of encouragement has lately 
 been extended to these healthful pursuits, which has led to the 
 appropriation of spacious allotments of ground, in different 
 quarters of the various fauxbourgs of London ; where the young 
 artisans and " operatives" of all descriptions may practise 
 the various branches of the gymnastic exercise, — assisted by the 
 instructions of a professor, — on paying a pecuniary contribution 
 of such inconsiderable amount, as to be .almost nominal. In 
 the establishment so adroitly conducted by M. Hamon, in St. 
 .Tames's-street, the terms are more costly: his saloon is, there- 
 fore, frequented for the most part by those classes, which, in 
 radical jargon, would probably be termed " inoperative/" In 
 the language of a great philosopher, — the patron and advocate 
 of all such institutions, — they may be far more correctly de- 
 scribed as the resort rut ti viav tov; 1-rtumard.rous ioKovvras thai 
 t«v ,'SUv, Ktx.\ riATE'PfiN ET'AOKl'MnN.— (Plato.) 
 * Senect. 16. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 179 
 
 disorder with which the Aborigines of America 
 avenged themselves on their European invaders. 
 We made a very diligent but fruitless search for 
 this invaluable plant ; nor could I learn what vege- 
 table it resembled, unless it was hemlock, of which 
 there is great abundance in the environs of the 
 city. 
 
 In the afternoon we went to examine the ground 
 once peculiarly consecrated to the pursuits of phi- 
 losophy, — where the disciples of Plato resorted to 
 attend his lectures, — 
 
 Atquc inter sylvas Acadetni qujfrrre vkrum. 
 
 The scene of the philosopher's contemplations is 
 about a mile to the west of the town : — before we 
 quit the neighbourhood, I may perhaps submit to 
 you an attempt — however imperfect — to clothe one 
 of his shortest essays in an English dress. 
 
 The sylvan walks and bowers have been for 
 ages removed, and their place is occupied by some 
 modern gardens, disposed with much neatness, and 
 applied to the culture of the vine. The Cephissus 
 flows through the adjoining grounds. This is a more 
 considerable river than the Ilyssus, and even at the 
 
 N 2 
 
180 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 present season supplies a sufficiency of water for the 
 olive-groves in its immediate neighbourhood. Here, 
 as in every other quarter where the bocage is at all 
 luxuriant, the Cicada, at this period of the year, is 
 incessant in its efforts at singing. This stridulous little 
 creature is about the size of a locust, and, T think, 
 not very unlike it in figure, but of a darker hue, 
 and perfectly innocent of the destructive properties 
 which belong to that " obscene harpy." It sits 
 almost the whole day long among the twigs and 
 branches of trees, — and, without any pause, sends 
 forth a chirping tone more shrill and piercing 
 than the notes of a cricket ; the sound increasing in 
 violence with the intensity of the sun's rays. Pos- 
 sibly it is capable of subsisting a considerable time 
 without any kind of nourishment ; for it absolutely 
 appears to allow itself no interval for the purpose 
 of taking food. In its intermediate state, between a 
 worm and a fly, it was ranked by the ancient Greeks 
 among the delicacies of the table. May it not have 
 been the insect alluded to in the Gospel, as affording 
 sustenance to the precursor of the Messiah ? 
 
 In the evening we made another visit to the 
 Acropolis, attended by the English Consul, who 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 181 
 
 played the part of gentleman-usher at the levee 
 of the Disdar Aga. That worthy magistrate con- 
 ducted himself on the occasion with becoming dig- 
 nity, and received our pecuniary deposit with the 
 air of a turnpike-man collecting the toll. He of- 
 fered us, however, the usual refreshments of sweet- 
 meats and coffee. 
 
 
182 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Athens, May, 1817. 
 
 The Areopagus was the seat of a court of 
 justice, the most solemn and respected of any in 
 the states of Greece. Its origin, like every other 
 remote institution, is involved in fable. Mytholo- 
 gists derive the term 'A^siosrayoj- from the arraign- 
 ment of Mars, who was the first criminal that came 
 under its cognisance, being charged with the mur- 
 der of one of Neptune's sons, and the seduction of 
 his daughter, Alcippa. The celestial synod here 
 sat in judgment on the accused, and he was ac- 
 quitted by six voices. 
 
 The period when this tribunal was first con- 
 stituted cannot now be ascertained; the precise 
 date, perhaps, is not very material. It is well- 
 known to have existed antecedently to Solon l , who 
 revised and regulated its enactments, and extended 
 
 1 Solon flourished between five and six hundred years 
 before the birth of our Saviour. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 183 
 
 its jurisdiction. Ecclesiastical concerns, as well as 
 secular, were within its province ; and all points of 
 religion, blasphemy against the recognised deities, 
 contempt of the holy mysteries, and the intro- 
 duction of new forms of worship, were referred 
 to its authority and subjected to its judgment. 
 It was in this capacity that the Areopagites cited 
 St. Paul to appear before them, as a " setter forth 
 of strange gods" and as proclaiming the doctrine 
 of a future resurrection l . 
 
 The identity of the mount is ascertained by 
 Dr. Chandler, from a comparison of a passage in 
 Pausanias with one of Lucian's dialogues. The first 
 of these writers describes the Areopagus to be op- 
 posite the cave of Pan and Apollo ; and Lucian 
 represents Mercury arriving at Athens in company 
 with Justice, who is commissioned by Jupiter to 
 hold a court on that eminence. Mercury desires his 
 companion to sit down on the hill looking towards 
 the Pnyx, while he ascends the Acropolis, and makes 
 proclamation to all parties interested in the case to 
 appear before her; Justice detains him for a mo- 
 ment, to desire he will instruct her who it was 
 1 Acts xviii. 18, 19. 
 
184 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 she beheld approaching, with horns on his head, 
 hairy legs, and a pastoral pipe in his hand. Mer- 
 cury hereupon relates the history of Pan ; and, 
 pointing to the cave where he dwelt, tells her that 
 as he had probably seen them from so short a 
 distance, he was coming to pay them his personal 
 compliments. The cavern alluded to is an ex- 
 cavation in the rock, on the western side of the 
 Acropolis ; and, though extremely simple in its form 
 and decorations, might have been no inappropriate 
 residence for a Silvan deity. 
 
 The Pnyx was one of the places in which 
 the assemblies of the people were held, to discuss 
 those questions which affected the general interests. 
 Etymologists derive the term lis. to itmvx.vua^a.i ; 
 in allusion either to the crowded position of the 
 seats, or to the throngs which usually pressed 
 to these meetings. Between the hill Lycabettus 
 and the Acropolis there is a ravine, which was an- 
 ciently known by a term descriptive of its natural 
 situation 1 . Having traversed this pass, so as to 
 arrive nearly opposite the rock of the Areopagus, 
 I observed a semicircular area of some extent, hewn 
 » The Hollow. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 185 
 
 with great labour from the cliffs. This was the 
 Pnyx; and here is the stage from which Demosthenes 
 and other demagogues addressed the Athenian citi- 
 zens. The orator stood on an elevation in the centre, 
 sufficiently raised to bring him within the view of the 
 multitude, but purposely contrived to shut out a sight 
 of the Piraeus. The ground in front slopes towards the 
 town, but appears to have been artificially raised for 
 the accommodation of the audience. The earth piled 
 up for this purpose is supported by a curvilinear 
 wall, composed of enormous masses of stone re- 
 gularly cut and fitted into each other. Some of 
 the largest blocks are twenty feet by twelve in mag- 
 nitude. 
 
 Without attempting to particularize every 
 object calculated to arrest and detain the attention 
 in these memorable enclosures, I believe I have 
 not omitted any of those which are usually con- 
 sidered the most interesting. Indeed the same ob- 
 jects contemplated at different seasons of the year, 
 or even at different periods of the day, will ap- 
 pear in an altered form or clothed with a new 
 dress, and present, alternately, fresh claims to 
 admiration ; and I have frequently retired at 
 
186 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 the approach of evening to the most command- 
 ing station on the Acropolis, to enjoy the beauties 
 of the surrounding scenery at an hour when every 
 feature had lost its glare, and when the moun- 
 tain shadows were thrown out in all their bold 
 varieties. 
 
 While reclining on this eminence, I have 
 gazed too, — with almost as much gratification as 
 a Moslem himself could feel, — on the airy evolu- 
 tions of the storks, as they towered aloft in wide 
 and rapid circles, till they had attained their high- 
 est point of elevation ; — then gently gliding, by a 
 graceful adjustment of their pennons, they sailed in 
 a direct line to some remote projection, as to a 
 well-known mark or beacon. That a fowl so sin- 
 gularly formed, and of such bulky proportions, 
 should be capable of sustaining a flight of so lofty 
 and extensive a range, may naturally create surprise 
 in any one, not very profoundly skilled in ornitho- 
 logy : perhaps I may excite a similar feeling in 
 you by the confession, that there have been mo- 
 ments, when, from contemplating their easy tran- 
 quil passage through the air, I have been led to 
 reflect on the practicability of aerostation, and 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 187 
 
 have felt something like a desire to attempt an 
 aerial excursion ' ! 
 
 A naval officer lately arrived, — a great chas- 
 seur, — ignorant of the veneration in which storks 
 are held, levelled his piece at one of them as he 
 expatiated in solitary grandeur, and with an un- 
 erring aim soon brought him to the earth. For- 
 tunately he was unobserved by the inhabitants, — 
 for the ibis was not more sacred with the ancient 
 Egyptians, than a stork is with the modern Turks. 
 Among many good properties possessed by them, 
 they are supposed to contribute to the destruction of 
 vipers, and other noxious reptiles that abound in 
 southern climates ; but there is also something of 
 superstition mixed up with the reverence in which 
 these birds are regarded— and their towering flight, as 
 they wheel through the air and soar into the clouds, 
 or descend in swift violence from the high places, 
 constitutes no unimportant part of the pleasures of 
 
 1 The writer — since the date of this letter — has, on more 
 than one occasion, had an opportunity of gratifying the inclina- 
 tion alluded to ; — and he thinks he may safely assert, that a 
 sail in the air — (if the machine employed on such occasions is 
 constructed with proper attention) — carries with it scarcely more 
 hazard, than a pleasurable excursion by water or by land. 
 
188 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 such as have few active enjoyments, and who num- 
 ber among their principal amusements those which 
 are derived from the tranquillity of contemplation. 
 
 Athens had three ports, the Piraeus, the Muny- 
 chia, and the Phalerum. The two first are con- 
 tiguous to each other, and connected by a wall ; — 
 the last-mentioned is considerably nearer the city, 
 and is the most ancient of the three. It was from 
 this harbour that Theseus is supposed to have em- 
 barked for Crete ; and from the same point, a few 
 years subsequently, Menestheus is conjectured to 
 have set sail for Troy. Aristides had a small farm 
 near this part of the coast, and here also was his 
 sepulchre. It was here too that St. Paul noticed 
 the altar erected 'Ayva/aru ©eo>. 
 
 Phalerum is supposed to derive its name from 
 Phalerus, one of the companions of Jason, in his 
 voyage to Colchis. The form is nearly circular, and 
 the entrance extremely narrow. The basin appears 
 very shallow, the clearness of the water rendering 
 the bottom perfectly visible, which is covered with a 
 fine, bright sand. Such a port, however unsuitable 
 for ships of war as they are now constructed, might 
 have been sufficiently capacious for the reception 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 189 
 
 of such description of vessels as were employed in 
 the Trojan expedition, all of which, we are told, 
 were drawn up on the shore. 
 
 The Munychia was a promontory near the 
 Piraeus, stretching out to the sea like a peninsula. 
 This is a more extensive basin than Phalerum : its 
 figure is oval, and the entrance confined. A temple 
 dedicated to Diana near this point, by a citizen of 
 the name of Munychus, is conjectured to have given 
 it its title. But the chief harbour was the Pi- 
 raeus. The entrance to this is also narrow, and 
 protected by two projections. There were here 
 three docks, or stations for shipping ; a circum- 
 stance which greatly outweighed the recommenda- 
 tions of Phalerum. The Athenians were easily 
 persuaded, therefore, on the suggestion of Themis- 
 tocles, to make this their principal port. The Lon^ 
 Walls, of which we have read so much, were de- 
 signed by him to connect the Piraeus with the city — 
 a work which was afterwards completed by Pe- 
 ricles : they were subsequently destroyed, in con- 
 sequence of a representation from the Lacedaemo- 
 nians, and again restored by Conon ; — till, on the 
 invasion by Sylla, the Piraeus, with all its marts, 
 
190 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 theatres, porticos, and stately edifices, was irreco- 
 verably demolished. The only buildings at present 
 are those of recent date ; the custom-house, a few 
 miserable huts, and a monastery : two or three 
 wretched fishing-boats are now the only vessels which 
 float in the harbour ! A marble figure of a lion was 
 formerly placed on the shore at the extremity of 
 the port, which, from that circumstance, has been 
 called by the moderns Porto Leone. The image 
 was transported to Venice by General Morosini, 
 in the year 1686, and fixed before the gates of the 
 arsenal, where I saw it last year. 
 
 Salamis is about two miles to the west of the 
 Piraeus. You recollect the emphatic tone and air 
 with which Ajax alludes to this celebrated island as 
 the scene of his nativity, and the place where he 
 acquired his habits of hardihood and intrepidity l . 
 
 Writers are not agreed as to the particular sta- 
 tion occupied by Xerxes during the battle. Plu- 
 tarch quotes two different authorities on the subject: 
 one stating it to have been an elevation above the 
 temple of Hercules, where the coast is separated 
 
 -ovo Ifil vvioet y ovrus 
 
 "EXfoftut tv 2a.Xix.fit.7vi yivi<r(ui rt, rguQipiv n. 
 
 II. vii. v. 198. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 191 
 
 from the island by a narrow channel ; and the other 
 asserting that he was seated on the confines of Me- 
 gara, upon that rise of the mountain which was 
 called the horns. But this last position is so distant 
 as to have rendered the movements of the battle 
 indistinct. We may suppose, indeed, that messen- 
 gers arrived almost every instant, with alternate 
 tidings of success and defeat ; but, if the monarch 
 intended literally to survey the fluctuations of the 
 conflict, he must necessarily have been stationed at 
 some point nearer the scene of action. 
 
 iEschylus, in the tragedy of the Persians, de- 
 clares that the fleet of Xerxes consisted of one thou- 
 sand ships, of which two hundred and seven were 
 remarkably well-manned and constructed. To judge 
 of the nature of the combat, from the narrow strait 
 in which the action took place, the combined forces 
 of all the belligerents might have been easily demo- 
 lished by three or four English frigates ! 
 
 There are no vestiges of the trophy said to have 
 been erected to the memory of Themistocles. Plu- 
 tarch has transcribed a passage from Diodorus, in 
 his treatise on Sepulchres, which describes it to have 
 been placed near the haven, where the land juts 
 
192 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 out like an elbow from the promontory of Alcimus. 
 On doubling the cape, and arriving within smooth 
 water, there is a broad foundation, adds that writer, 
 on which a monument was raised resembling an 
 altar. The biographer, however, questions the ac- 
 curacy of this description, though he admits it to 
 receive some confirmation from the verses ascribed 
 to Plato, the comedian. The lines have no extra- 
 ordinary merit : they express the propriety of fixing 
 the tomb in a station where it might be contem- 
 plated by adventurers on the ocean and the land, 
 whom it might inspire with admiration of that 
 hero's character, and animate to an emulation of 
 his prowess and virtues. 
 
 P. S. The annexed papers contain a version of 
 one of Plato's shortest dialogues, conformably to the 
 intention which I expressed in a former letter. If 
 you venture on the perusal, let me entreat you to 
 proceed to the task with a brow smoothed of every 
 critical wrinkle ; you will otherwise, I fear, think 
 that the translator, — whose only object has been the 
 employment of a few solitary hours, — has completely 
 lost both toil and oil — et operam, et oleum ! 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. L93 
 
 Suffer me, however, to remind you, that in 
 the Academic philosophy there is a certain way of 
 questioning and doubting, which, as Lord Shaftes- 
 bury remarks, " no-wise suits the genius of our 
 age : — men love to take party instantly — they can- 
 not bear being kept in suspense : the examination 
 torments them — they want to be rid of it upon the 
 easiest terms. 
 
 " Of all philosophy, therefore, how absolutely 
 the most disagreeable must that appear, which goes 
 upon no established hypothesis, nor presents us 
 with any flattering scheme ; talks only of probabi- 
 ties, suspense of judgment, inquiry, search, and 
 caution not to be imposed on, or deceived ! This is 
 that Academic Discipline in which formerly the 
 youth were trained : when not only horsemanship 
 and military arts had their public places of exercise, 
 but philosophy too had its wrestlers in repute. Rea- 
 son and wit had their academy, and underwent this 
 trial ; not in a formal way, apart from the world, 
 but openly among the better sort, and as an exer- 
 cise of the genteeler kind. This the greatest men 
 were not ashamed to practise, — in the intervals of 
 public affairs, — in the highest stations and employ - 
 
 o 
 
194 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 merits, and at the latest hour of their lives. Hence 
 that way of dialogue, and patience of debate and 
 reasoning, of which we have scarce a resemblance 
 left in any of our conversations, at this season of the 
 world »." 
 
 But, however popular with the ancients, there 
 are other reasons, besides those mentioned by the 
 noble author, why this style of writing should long 
 since have grown into disuse. A principle of taste, 
 either more refined or more fastidious, rejects the 
 cumbrous prefatory machinery necessary to intro- 
 duce the several speakers, recti atque ordine, on 
 the stage, with all the tiresome interchange of com- 
 pliment and ceremony ; — added to which, the con- 
 stantly-recurring necessity of employing the per- 
 sonal pronouns, however the inconvenience may be 
 disguised by the garb of antiquity, involves an awk- 
 wardness, when presented in the language of daily 
 use, which scarcely any address or dexterity can re- 
 move. There is, besides, nothing in modern habits 
 to give the faintest colour of probability to any ima- 
 gined scene of conversation, arranged on the ancient 
 model. Indeed there is everything in the climate of 
 1 Shaftesburv's Characteristics. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 195 
 
 those countries, where modern literature has erected 
 her temple, to throw an air, not only of discredit, 
 but of absolute ridicule on such a scheme. 
 
 Few writers have drawn more largely, or more 
 happily, from the perennial sources of antiquity, 
 than the Earl of Shaftesbury; and none, perhaps, 
 have known so skilfully to give to borrowed imagery 
 the charm of original composition. Yet even this 
 accomplished nobleman, with all that power of 
 words with which he is so graced, maintains at pre- 
 sent only a diminished portion of the ascendancy 
 which he once held unrivalled in the reading world. 
 
 O 2 
 
ERASTjE, 
 
 A DIALOGUE ON PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK OF PLATO. 
 
 xXntorarriv \xa.<rx.u>v, 
 
 u>f h%v trov ToTfi kiysi; 
 
 auibgov iTTiartv avfo;. 
 
 Aristoph. Rubes, 1021, 
 
FRATRI ADAMATO 
 
 OPUSCULUM HOC, 
 
 PRISON PHILOSOPHIC ORNAMENTO NITENS, 
 
 HUMANISS1ME DEDICATUR '. 
 
 INDUB1TATIS AUSPICIIS SPECTATUM IRI, 
 
 NON 
 
 UT A TEMERITATE PETITA INTERPRETATIO, 
 
 SEI) 
 
 TANQUAM DEVOTUM, STUDIOSUMQUE TESTIMONIUM 
 
 OBSERVANTIC 
 
 AUGUSTA COMMENDATIONE 
 
 ANTIQU1TATIS INSCRIPTUM. 
 
 AMMERDONI^E IN NEMORE DOMESTICO 
 PRIDIE CALENDAS DECE.MBRIS 
 MDCCCXXVI. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 An inquiry into the principles of philosophy, bear- 
 ing the title of the The Lovers, must necessarily 
 strike the English reader as a very extraordinary 
 association of terms. The phrase will perhaps ap- 
 pear " more germane to the matter " by a short 
 account of the institution from which' it is derived. 
 
 In several of the states of Greece, more par- 
 ticularly those of Thebes and Sparta, the education 
 of youth, after they had attained a certain age, was 
 transferred from the discipline of the public schools 
 to the particular superintendence of some individual, 
 who, from the exclusive devotion of his time to the 
 instruction of his pupil, and the affectionate in- 
 terest he was supposed to feel in his advancement, 
 was distinguished by the name of Lover. His office, 
 in some respects, resembled what in modern lan- 
 guage is termed a private tutor, — or perhaps it would 
 
202 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be more correctly defined by the united character of 
 tutor and guardian. Some of the ancient critics 
 contend for the title of 'AvTega<rra«, — The Rivals, — 
 and the conduct of the dialogue would, to a cer- 
 tain extent, seem to justify its adoption. The 
 translator, however, ventures to substitute the term 
 guardian, as more expressive of the relative duties 
 of preceptor and student '. 
 
 The aim of the Treatise itself, — which may serve 
 as an introduction to the other works of the great 
 philosopher, — seems to have been to direct the at- 
 tention of the reader to the legitimate claims of phi- 
 losophy, when not distorted in its passage through 
 narrow and perverted minds ; and to prove that it 
 has still some solid foundation in the nature and 
 condition of man : in other words, to exhibit the 
 great practical effects of true philosophy on life, on 
 manners, and on policy. Hence, in the progress 
 of the discussion, the arguments attributed to So- 
 
 1 Gray, in his " Account of the Dialogues of Plato," cha- 
 racterises the Erastse as " excellent, — but too short for such a 
 subject." — He has noticed it by the double title, thus : — 
 EPA2TAI, sen ANTEPA2TAI: 
 
 IlKl'l ■!■ I.\Oi'OHA2. 
 
 On another occasion he says — " The subject of the 
 Erast;c is good: it treats of that peculiar character and turn of 
 mind which belongs <o a true philosopher, but it is shorter than 
 one would wish. — Letter to Dr. It'arlon 
 
INTRODUCTION. 203 
 
 crates have for their object to show, that the really 
 just and good man — he whose justice and goodness 
 are founded on the principles of science — is alone 
 entitled to the exalted character of philosopher. 
 To effect this end, he first exhibits, with his usual 
 felicity of detection, the shallow pretensions of those 
 who were professors of universal knowledge; and 
 then proceeds to question the superior claims as- 
 serted in behalf of the sciences, or any of the liberal 
 arts; such being considered, in the discipline of the 
 academy, merely as the various avenues by which 
 the temple of wisdom is approached. " The false 
 species being thus rejected," says Mr. Sydney, 
 " lastly is presented this wisdom in her genuine 
 form, — as the knowledge of ourselves, the science 
 of that divine principle in man, the mind, — the 
 science of justice and goodness therein included, — 
 and the science of government thence immediately 
 derived." 
 
 The dialogues of Plato are usually distinguished 
 by the name of the principal speaker. The follow- 
 ing is an exception ; it is indeed, more properly, the 
 rehearsal of a conversation previously held, than an 
 actual representation of the characters themselves. 
 The narrative is given in the person of Socrates, 
 
204 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 who enters abruptly upon the subject, — as if warm 
 from the collision of recent argument, and animated 
 with the air of conviction by which his reasoning 
 had been closed. 
 
ERAST^E. 
 
 1. On a visit to the school of Dionysius the gramma- 
 rian », I observed several young persons assembled there, 
 whose air announced them to be of illustrious birth, and 
 whose external appearance was eminently graceful ; — 
 they were attended by their respective guardians. 
 
 Two of the students were engaged in earnest de- 
 bate ; — though unable distinctly to ascertain the subject 
 of their discussion, I imagined them to be contesting 
 some point in the systems of Anaxagoras 2 or iEnopides 9 , 
 
 ' The Dionysius here mentioned is supposed to have instructed 
 Plato in the first rudiments of science ; — and a feeling of respect 
 from the pupil towards his earliest preceptor, was the motive which 
 induced him to name his school as the scene of the following dia" 
 logue. 
 
 2 Anaxagoras was a native of Clazomense, a city of Ionia, on 
 the coasts of the jEgean Sea. His favourite pursuit appears to 
 have been the science of Astronomy. 
 
 3 iEnopides was a native of Chios, and contemporary with 
 Anaxagoras. He acquired a proficiency in geometry and astro- 
 nomy, from his acquaintance with the Egyptian priests, during a 
 residence in that countrv. 
 
206 F.RAST.F.. 
 
 as they were occupied in drawing circles, and seemed, 
 by their attitudes, as if earnestly attempting to describe 
 certain of the celestial phenomena. 
 
 As I happened to sit near the guardian of one of these 
 youthful disputants, I gave him a gentle movement with 
 my elbow, to induce him to turn towards me, and then 
 inquired what it was which so anxiously engrossed their 
 attention : — adding, that it must, doubtless, be some- 
 thing unusually grand and attractive in its nature, to 
 possess such extraordinary fascination. " Grand and 
 attractive !" he exclaimed, in a tone of derision ; " they 
 are only muttering something about the heavens, and 
 amuse themselves with philosophical trifling." Ex- 
 tremely astonished at this answer, " Do you, then," 
 said I, " consider philosophy to be a discreditable pro- 
 fession, that you express yourself with so much aspe- 
 rity ?" Here the rival guardian, who was not too far 
 removed to lose any part of our conversation, inter- 
 posed, by observing, that it was altogether useless to 
 address any such question to a person of so unphiloso- 
 phic a character. " Are you not aware, Socrates," 
 said he, " that his only pursuits are those of a gla- 
 diator, and that, after submitting to the severities of the 
 arena, he wastes the remainder of his time in sleep and 
 
RRASTJi. 207 
 
 gluttony • ? — What other answer, then, could you ex- 
 pect from one whose disposition is so harsh and un- 
 toward?" 
 
 Of these rival candidates for the friendship of their 
 pupils, the last speaker appeared to be of a philosophic 
 turn, devoting himself to the culture of the mind by the 
 study of the arts and sciences 2 ; while the other, whom 
 
 • If this is a correct description of the habits of the athletae, 
 we must suppose the ancients to have been very imperfectly ac- 
 quainted with the principles of training. With us the system is, 
 surely, far better understood. A temperate diet— abstinence from 
 sensual indulgences of all kinds — exercise at regularly recurring 
 intervals, — and occasional exhibitions of medicine, — are considered 
 indispensable preparatives to any exertion which requires strength, 
 activity, or courage. It is difficult to conceive how such qualities 
 could be successfully displayed, where the candidates were allowed 
 an unrestrained gratification of any gross or indolent propensity. 
 The body exerts a dominion over the mind, in exact proportion to 
 its own weakness; and never so implicitly submits to control, as 
 when in possession of its greatest vigour. All the sensual passions 
 reside in an effeminate frame, which they inflame and irritate the 
 most acutely, when it is the least capable of administering to their 
 gratification. Plutarch, in his life of Philopoemen, contrasts the 
 luxurious practices of the wrestlers with the hardy pursuits of a 
 military life. 
 
 2 «£/ fiovimcbii, an expression equivalent to the whole circle of 
 arts and sciences. Plato, in the second book of his Republic, con- 
 templates the establishment of a system of education, divisible into 
 two distinct branches: that which respects the healthy condition of 
 the body, as derived from a well-regulated exertion of the limbs 
 and development of the muscles, he terms yuftvaffrixb, — the gym- 
 nastic division: that which relates to the culture of the mind, is 
 comprehended in the general term ^u/rix-h. — (See Pfusdo, sect. 4.,) 
 
208 erastjE. 
 
 he censured in such strong terms, seemed engaged ex- 
 clusively in gymnastic exercises, — as having no object 
 but to improve and invigorate the body. I decided, 
 therefore, on quitting this last-mentioned person, as 
 one not adapted to the conflict of argument, and re- 
 solved to apply entirely to his learned adversary ; from 
 whom, by a series of questions, I might hope eventually 
 to extract some information. I observed, therefore, 
 that I threw out the question generally to all who 
 heard me ; and added, " If you are more conversant with 
 such inquiries, I address myself to you, equally with 
 him, and demand what are your sentiments respecting 
 philosophy ; is it an honourable, or a dishonourable pur- 
 suit ?" On hearing this declaration of my motives, the 
 students instantly suspended their own controversy, as 
 if anxious to await the progress of our discussion in 
 respectful silence. 
 
 What impression such conduct made on the guar- 
 dians I am unable to state ; for myself, I was greatly 
 charmed with it, as I am always very sensibly affected 
 in the presence of youthful beauty. Indeed, the person 
 to whom I had just proposed the question, appeared to 
 be scarcely less struck with admiration ; he, however, 
 prepared to reply, with the eagerness of one who is am- 
 bitious of distinction. " Could I," said he, " be of 
 
ERAST.E. 209 
 
 opinion that philosophy was a discreditable profession, 
 I should consider myself to be undeserving the name of 
 man ; and I extend this censure to every individual who 
 avows a distaste for philosophical pursuits." He de- 
 signed this as an oblique allusion to his rival, and spoke 
 in a tone sufficiently raised to be distinctly audible. 
 " In your judgment, then," said I, " philosophy is an 
 honourable profession ?" " Honourable," said he, " in 
 the highest degree." 
 
 2. I continued : " Is it possible for any one to 
 judge with accuracy of the degree of credit or dis- 
 credit attached to any pursuit, without understanding 
 the nature, end, and aim of the pursuit itself?" " Cer- 
 tainly not," said he. " Are you, then," said I, " suf- 
 ficiently acquainted with the object of philosophical 
 knowledge ?" " Perfectly," he replied. " In what does 
 it consist?" " May it not," said he, " be defined by 
 the declaration attributed to Solon ? — as I advance in 
 life, I go on enlarging the acquisitions of science l . I 
 
 1 Tn^dffxa Vali) •xoXXa, lihaaxofiivi);. 
 The sentiment in the verse attributed to Solon is cited with 
 much commendation by Cicero, in his dialogue de Senectuto. It 
 is surely to be reckoned amongst the most consoling reflections of 
 advanced age, that the mind, — if duly disciplined in early life, and 
 unenerrated by any subsequent corporeal excesses, — may preserve its 
 
 P 
 
210 k rasim;. 
 
 am of opinion, therefore, that, whoever is desirous of 
 becoming a philosopher, should be constantly aiming 
 to add to his attainments, not only in the dawn of 
 youth, but in mature and declining age ; with the 
 view to procure, during the whole course of his exist- 
 ence, the greatest possible amount of information." 
 This sentiment struck me, at first, as deserving some 
 attention ; yet, after a few minutes spent in reflection, I 
 inquired if he considered the term philosophy to imply 
 the possession of extensive and various erudition ? He 
 answered in the affirmative. " Is it," I continued, 
 " merely a showy excellence, or has it also something of 
 genuine and intrinsic worth V* — " It is," he replied, " in 
 the highest degree at once both beautiful and good.' 
 " Is this an exclusive attribute of philosophy, or may 
 other pursuits be characterised by the same extent of 
 combined perfection 1 Will this description apply, for 
 instance, to the gymnastic exercises ? May they also 
 be represented as at once both beautiful and excel- 
 lent?" He answered in a tone of raillery — " As far 
 as regards this person," looking towards the rival 
 guardian — " their effect is altogether negative ; but as 
 
 elasticity to the last, and spring forth from the recesses of its dark 
 " prison-house," with all its native strength and freshness, and in 
 all its moral beautv. 
 
eiiastj-:. -ill 
 
 applicable to Socrates, they present the united recom- 
 mendations of utility and ornament. " Do you," 
 said I, " consider a love of the gymnastic exercises 
 to comprehend the practice of severe and continued ex- 
 ertion ?" — " Certainly," said he, " just as I conceive 
 the pursuit of philosophy to imply a devotion to the 
 attainment of varied and extensive learning." — " Do 
 you imagine too, that those who are addicted to such 
 excesses pay attention to any other considerations than 
 those which may assist to train and invigorate the 
 body?" — " That," said he, " is their only object." 
 — " Is such object produced by vehement and frequent 
 exertion?" — " How," said he, " can any one acquire a 
 hardy habit, by slight or gentle exercises ?" 
 
 This appeared to be the proper moment for apply- 
 ing again to the person to whom I had first addressed 
 myself, as he might assist me to conduct the argument 
 by his experience in the gymnastic contests. Turning, 
 therefore, towards him, I exclaimed — " How can you, 
 after such a declaration from your adversary, persist in 
 preserving silence ? Are you also of opinion that the 
 human frame is strengthened rather by severe than 
 moderate exertions ?" — " I think, Socrates," said lie, 
 " I can perceive, at this instant, the justice of the po- 
 pular observation, — that moderation in exercise is prin- 
 
 P 3 
 
2\2 KRAST.K. 
 
 cipally conducive to health." — ' : What," said I, " has 
 prodaced this present conviction V — " Look at that 
 man," he cried, pointing to his rival, the studious 
 guardian ; " observe his famished, sleepless, care-worn, 
 shrivelled countenance !" The young men laughed 
 heartily at this description ; the guardian deeply co- 
 loured. Addressing myself then again to him, I in- 
 quired, " Do you assent to the statement, that a vigo- 
 rous habit of body is produced neither by unremitting 
 toil, nor by a total absence of fatigue, but by moderate 
 and well regulated exertions, — or are you willing to 
 contest this point with each of us ?" — " As far as re- 
 gards that person," said he, " I shall feel no reluctance 
 whatever in combating the question ; for I consider 
 myself fully competent to maintain a much weaker po- 
 sition than what I have just asserted, against such an 
 opponent — for since he is very otherwise than strong in 
 argument, — but with Socrates, as my adversary, it 
 would be hopeless to support any paradoxical statement ; 
 and I am therefore ready to admit, that the health and 
 strength of the body are produced by regular and tem- 
 perate exertion, and not by intensity of labour." — " What 
 are your sentiments respecting the quantity of food? is it 
 requisite to be profuse in diet, or is a moderate portion 
 sufficient ?" The same observation, he said, applied 
 
ERAST.K. 213 
 
 equally to the subject of food. In like manner, I brought 
 him to avow a similar opinion with respect to all conside- 
 rations relating to the body, — that extremes of either kind 
 were prejudicial, but that a well-regulated medium was 
 productive of the greatest benefit, " But, with regard to 
 the mind," said I, " should its energies be aAvakened by 
 temperate or excessive applications?" — " By the former," 
 he replied. " Do not the sciences constitute part of the 
 culture which is bestowed on the mind ?" — " Certainly." 
 — " Of these a well-digested proportion, and not an inde- 
 finite quantity, is what contributes to its power and ad- 
 vancement ?" He assented to this opinion. 
 
 3. " To whom should we address ourselves for in- 
 formation, — in regard to the body, — respecting the de- 
 gree of labour, or quantity of food, which may properly 
 be considered moderate ?" We all three agreed that 
 either a physician, or the officer appointed to super- 
 intend the exercises of the athletae, should be severally 
 applied to. " To whom should we direct our inquiries 
 respecting any of the operations of agriculture ?" On 
 such subjects we were equally unanimous, that a hus- 
 bandman was the fittest person to be consulted. But, 
 with regard to the discipline of the mind, and the mea- 
 sure or degree of culture which might be considered as 
 
214 ERA ST.*. 
 
 not exceeding the bounds of moderation, — on this point 
 we were all involved in doubt and perplexity. 
 
 Assuming, therefore, an air of gaiety, " Since this 
 question," said I, " has so much embarrassed us, what 
 if we apply for a solution to the young men here ? — 
 though perhaps we may blush to receive any assistance 
 from them, subdued by the same kind of feeling which 
 Homer ascribes to Penelope's suitors, who thought none 
 more capable than themselves of directing the bow of 
 Ulysses 1 . Perceiving, however, that they were rather 
 dejected by this observation, and seemed inclined to 
 despair of arriving at any satisfactory conclusion, I 
 altered my tone, and inquired what particular branches 
 of learning were the proper objects of philosophical at- 
 tainment, if neither the whole circle of the sciences, nor 
 even an extended variety, were to be considered essen- 
 tial." Here the studious disputant replied, by stating, 
 that those pursuits were the most excellent and the best 
 adapted to the mind, which led to the highest philoso- 
 phical eminence — that this object would be attained by 
 him who had acquired a competent skill in all the va- 
 rious arts, or who at least had cultivated an acquaint- 
 ance with those which are usually deemed of the greatest 
 value ; — such as are becoming a person of liberal birth, 
 ' Odyss. xxi. v, 28.t, <.'( seq. 
 
ERAST.fi. 215 
 
 and which have reference rather to the powers of the un- 
 derstanding than to the labour of the hands, or any me- 
 chanical occupation — " as in the case, for instance," 
 said I, " of a smith or labouring builder ' ? Workmen 
 of this description may be procured for five or six minae, 
 but an architect could scarcely be engaged for ten thou- 
 sand drachmae 2 ; since there are very few of that pro- 
 fession to be found in Greece. Do I sufficiently under- 
 stand the scope of your allusion?" He allowed that I 
 had correctly illustrated his observation. 
 
 4. I then proceeded to inquire, if it were not im- 
 possible, — in this view of the subject, — for the same 
 individual to arrive at perfection in only two of the arts, 
 much less of a great variety, especially in those which 
 are of distinguished excellence. " Do not," said he, 
 " Socrates, misconceive me as stating it to be necessary 
 for a philosopher to attain the same point of accuracy in 
 each branch of science, as the person who makes it his 
 peculiar profession, but merely that degree of informa- 
 tion which is becoming a man of birth and education ; 
 and which, at the same time that it enables him to per- 
 
 1 A slave skilled in carpenter's work ; or, in the affected jar- 
 gon of the day, an " operative" joiner. 
 
 2 A mina is equal to 3/. 4s. Id. of our money: six minse 
 therefore amount, within 12s. 6</., to 20/. One hundre drachmae 
 made one mina ; consequently ten thousand drachmao= 322/. 18s. id. 
 
21t) ERAST.K. 
 
 ceive, with greater facility than any other, a dissertation 
 from the master, artist, does also enable him, when oc- 
 casion may require, judiciously to offer his own senti- 
 ments ; so that, in every discussion respecting the arts, 
 he may universally appear to be the most accomplished 
 person present." Not satisfied, however, that I com- 
 pletely understood him, " Suffer me," said I, " to exa- 
 mine whether I have a correct perception of your ideas 
 of a philosopher. You appear to me to represent him 
 as bearing some analogy to the rank which a champion 
 of the five exercises holds, when compared with the 
 pedestrians and candidates for the prize in wrestling. 
 These last surpass the former in their respective pur- 
 suits ; who acquires, therefore, — as far as relates to 
 them, in the peculiar objects of their contention, — only 
 the second point of eminence ; but obtains the supe- 
 riority, in these two branches, over all those combatants 
 who are exclusively devoted to some other of the Olym- 
 pic contests '. A similar effect, as appears from your 
 
 1 01 •jnvru.&Xm — The five exercises were running, leaping, hurl- 
 ing the discus, wrestling, and throwing the spear. Each of these 
 pursuits had their separate candidates; but such as aspired to ex- 
 cellence in all were distinguished by the name of irsvra#x<s<. The 
 allusion in the text implies that a philosopher bears a resemblance 
 to one of these general combatants ; who, though alone and unri- 
 valled in his proficiency in the whole number, yields the palm of 
 superiority to the individual professors of each separate object of 
 contention. Longinus, in his parallel between Demosthenes and 
 
erast^e. 217 
 
 statement, is produced by the study of philosophy, in those 
 who devote themselves to its pursuit ; since you admit 
 that they are exceeded in each separate act by its pe- 
 culiar professor, and claim for them only that degree of 
 excellence which is next to the supreme : an admission, 
 which must inevitably assign to the philosopher, in every 
 avocation or business of life, a kind of secondary cha- 
 racter, and below the standard of perfection." — " You 
 have fully entered into my meaning," said he, " by the 
 allusion to the general combatants in the Olympic games* 
 A philosopher is, evidently, far from paying that ser- 
 vile and implicit devotion to any one particular object, 
 
 Hyperides, adopts this image to express the several minor graces 
 of the latter, as contrasted with the towering genius of the former. 
 — (Sect, xxxiv.) 
 
 Hyperides was Plato's pupil — Plutarch has recorded his suc- 
 cessful defence of the famous courtezan Phryne, whose form was 
 so superiorly beautiful, that it became a model for all the statues 
 of Venus. Pre-eminence in any qualification, whether natural or 
 acquired, will attract other feelings besides those of admiration. — 
 An accusation was preferred against the frail fair in the courts of 
 Athens, and her lover appeared as her advocate. His defence re- 
 sembled the object of its inspiration, and was distinguished by 
 beauty and passion. But — 
 
 Segnius irritant animos dimissa per aures 
 
 Quam quae sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus — 
 
 the judges preserved their phlegmatic coldness ; till at length the 
 orator, gracefully lifting up the veil which concealed the galaxy of 
 her bosom, the sternness of magistracy relented, and the lovely 
 culprit was discharged ! 
 
218 ERAST.K. 
 
 which would preclude his attention to all others, — like 
 the crowd of vulgar artists, — hut extends and elevates 
 his views so as to acquire a competent proficiency in 
 each distinct branch of science." 
 
 5. This reply increasing my desire to comprehend 
 with greater clearness the scope of his observations, I 
 inquired if he considered good men, — in any of the 
 walks of life — to be useful or otherwise ? He answered 
 that they were undoubtedly useful. " Since, therefore, 
 good men are of service to their species, the contrary 
 may be described as useless." He admitted the pro- 
 priety of the inference. " Are philosophers to be 
 classed in the number of those who are considered use- 
 ful ?" He regarded them as deserving the highest rank 
 in such class. " Let us examine the accuracy of that 
 opinion. " What important service can those secondary 
 characters effect ? It is evident, from a former conces- 
 sion, that they are excelled by every artist in his own 
 peculiar avocation." He allowed it. 
 
 " If either yourself or any friend, for whose wel- 
 fare you felt a more than ordinary anxiety, should be 
 oppressed by sickness, would you consult a philosopher 
 on the means of subduing the disorder, or apply to a 
 physician ?" He replied that he should address his in- 
 
ERAST^S. 219 
 
 quiries to both. " That, 1 ' said I, " is no answer to my 
 question ; declare to which you would give the prefer- 
 ence." — " No one," said he, " could hesitate in making 
 the first application to a physician." — " If you were 
 overtaken by a storm at sea, to whom would you in- 
 trust the safety of the vessel, to a philosopher, or to 
 the pilot?" — "To the pilot."— "May it not, in a si- 
 milar manner, be shown, that on all other occurrences, 
 where men of practical knowledge and experience may 
 be found, a philosopher, merely as such, is of no kind 
 of service whatever ?" — " It appears so," said he. " Is 
 not then a philosopher a perfectly useless character ? 
 for persons of the description above alluded to, are 
 always to be met with. But we have agreed that good 
 men are to be considered serviceable, and that the ill 
 are useless." He could not but allow that such had 
 been our decision. 
 
 6. " May I then proceed with my questions, or will 
 it appear irksome to pursue the inquiry further ?" — 
 " Propose any question you please," said he. — " I am 
 only desirous," I replied, " to recapitulate what has 
 already been conceded. We have admitted philosophy 
 to be an honourable pursuit, and have professed our- 
 selves to be philosophers. We have decided, too, that 
 
220 erastje. 
 
 philosophers should, in their vocation, be estimated to be 
 good as well as honourable, — that the good in every 
 vocation are to be considered serviceable, and that the 
 evil are useless. It has been admitted also, that the 
 merits of a philosopher disappear before the practical 
 qualifications of an artificer ; and that practisers of 
 the several arts, and professors of the different sciences, 
 may be found in every quarter. Are not such our ad- 
 missions V* He signified his assent. " It follows, then, 
 from your own concession, — since philosophy has been 
 described as a devotion to the arts and scientific attain- 
 ments, — that philosophers must be destitute both of 
 goodness and utility, wherever the arts are exercised by 
 the sons of men." 
 
 " Such, however, my friend, may not be a correct 
 definition of philosophy : — what, if it consists not either 
 in a curious attention to the arts, — in a multitude of ex- 
 periments, — or in a toilsome application to the varieties 
 of science, — but in something far different ; for I 
 imagined that all those who engaged in such pursuit* 
 were usually described by some term of reproach, — de- 
 rived from their peculiar employment, or mechanical 
 occupation. 
 
 7. " We shall, perhaps, be enabled to decide more 
 
ERAST.F.. 221 
 
 justly respecting the accuracy of this opinion, if you 
 attend to the following questions. Who are the most 
 scientific in the management of horses ? Such whose 
 judicious correction brings them to the highest state of 
 improvement, or they who produce a contrary effect 1" — 
 " They Avho produce the greatest excellence." — " Are 
 not such also the most skilful in training dogs, Avho 
 know how to inflict a proper chastisement on those 
 which are vicious ?" — "Certainly 1 !" — " The same art, 
 
 1 The passions and animal affections of human nature are 
 here characterised, a favourite practice with Plato, under the 
 names of certain of the brute creation. The horse may, perhaps, 
 be considered as the representative of those feelings, which are 
 inseparable from a love of renown, or are under the influence of a 
 generous ambition. The dog, " sudden and quick in quarrel," is 
 no unapt emblem of jealousy and anger ; and the ox may serve to 
 denote those sensual infirmities, which grow from inertness and 
 indolence. 
 
 " If our passions," says Mr. Sydney, " are wild and irre- 
 gular, — if our horse would throw his rider, — if the dog barks at 
 him, — if the ox knows not his owner, — they are to be chastised ; 
 but this office cannot be performed unless it be shown what is 
 moderate and regular in our passions, and what are the boundaries 
 of good and evil. The making this distinction is the inward ope- 
 ration of knowledge in the mind : the application of it to practice 
 in the discharge of such office, is an exertion of the mind's power 
 over the inferior man. The former is the theory of morals; the 
 latter practical virtue." 
 
 It is to be regretted that Mr. Sydney's avocations did not allow 
 him to give a more extended translation of the works of Plato. 
 The few dialogues distinguished by his pen are now incorporated 
 
222 erast.*:. 
 
 then, which produces perfection, does also best appor- 
 tion the degree of punishment." — " I allow it," said he. 
 " Does the same skill too, which by due chastisement 
 elicits improvement, discern also the different shades of 
 merit, and accurately distinguish between the useful 
 and the vicious ? or are any additional powers of per- 
 ception requisite ?" — " The same," said he, " are suffi- 
 cient for the purpose." — " Will this rule," said I, 
 " apply equally to the condition of human nature ? and 
 are you prepared to admit, that the same art which at- 
 tempers a just degree of punishment, does also the most 
 ably instruct mankind, and distinguish the good from 
 among the bad of the species ?" — " It does," said he. 
 — " May this knowledge which applies to one be ex- 
 tended to many, and has that which applies to many, 
 the same efficacy if directed to one ?" — " I conceive 
 so." — " The remarks, therefore, which have been made 
 as applicable to the case of horses, are equally adapted 
 to the consideration of other subjects ?" — " I ima- 
 gine so." 
 
 " What science is that by which, in states and 
 
 in five massy quarto volumes, the cost and bulk of which conspire 
 to obstruct their circulation. Had it been possible to procureany 
 of that gentleman's performances separately, the author of the 
 present version would scarcely have ventured to submit his attempt 
 to the public. 
 
ERASTiE, ^23 
 
 cities, the profligate and lawless are restrained and pu- 
 nished? is it not jurisprudence?" — " Certainly." — "But 
 is not this only another name for justice ?" — " True." 
 — "The same art which imposes a just and efficient cor- 
 rection, does also distinguish between the good and the 
 vicious ?" — " The same." — " May whoever truly under- 
 stands the character of an individual, discover, by the 
 same science, the dispositions of many?" — "Surely." 
 — "Is the converse of this statement correct?" — "I think 
 so. Whoever, through the want of this penetration, 
 has not the art to acquire a knowledge of many, will 
 be incapable of arriving at a knowledge of one." — " If a 
 horse were ignorant of the good and bad in his own 
 species, must he also be necessarily unacquainted with 
 his own peculiar qualities ?" — " I conceive so." — " The 
 same consequence may be extended to the case of oxen 
 and dogs?" He assented. " Is not, then, the indi- 
 vidual, who is incapable of appreciating the general 
 character of mankind, necessarily incompetent to form 
 a correct idea of his own peculiar disposition ?" He 
 expressed his acquiescence in this sentiment l . Is the 
 
 1 " To know a man well, were to know himself." 
 
 Hamlet, act v. 
 " No man," says Dr. Johnson, in his commentary on this pas- 
 sage, " can completely know another, but by knowing himself, 
 which is the utmost extent of human wisdom." 
 
224 ERASTJE. 
 
 want of self-knowledge a mark of sound, or of unsound 
 judgment ?"— " Of the latter."—" Self-knowledge, then, 
 is wisdom ?" — " It is so." — " And this, it would ap- 
 pear, is the object of the inscription at Delphi — to induce 
 mankind to cultivate the paths of wisdom and of justice. ' " 
 — " Such is my opinion." — " It is by the same science 
 that we acquire the art of duly administering correc- 
 tion V — " Certainly." — " Justice, then, informs us how 
 to apportion the measure of punishment, and wisdom 
 instructs us in the knowledge of ourselves and others." 
 — " I conceive so," said he. " Wisdom and justice, then, 
 are one and the same." — " It appears so," he replied. 
 
 8. " The administration of those states is founded on 
 just principles, when the vicious are brought to condign 
 punishment " " You speak correctly," said he. " The 
 art by which this is effected is the science of politics ? 2 ' 
 He assented. " When the governing power of a state 
 
 1 to iv AtXtyoi; y/>df&f&u: vuh eiaurov. 
 
 These emphatic words, descriptive of the end and aim of all 
 hHman wisdom, have been attributed to different individuals in that 
 band of sages, who were distinguished in Greece by the lofty title 
 
 of THE SEVEN WISE MEN. 
 
 * The term politicians is not to be understood in the sense to 
 which it is degraded by the modern acceptation of the phrase; as 
 used by Plato, it includes the ruling powers, under whatever form, 
 who were, either for life, or a term of years, invested with the su- 
 preme authority. 
 
ERAST.E. 22j 
 
 resides in a single person, and he dispenses his au- 
 thority with justice and wisdom, is he not termed a 
 sovereign and a prince? 1 " " Such are his titles." 
 — " The art, therefore, by which he rules is sovereign 
 and princely ?" — " It is." — " This, too, is the same 
 with the arts already mentioned ?" — " It appears so." 
 — " By what name is the person described, who governs 
 his household judiciously ? Is he not denominated 
 an economist and master of a family? 2 " — " He is." — 
 
 1 The expressions in the original are [ix<ri*.w; and rugunas ; the 
 last of which, as opposed to the former, may he interpreted an 
 arbitrary monarch, or despot, — but not, in the modern phrase, a 
 tyrant, — since the author associates with such title the possession 
 of wisdom, and the exercise of justice. 
 
 * The government of a family, as derived from the science of 
 economics, may be described as partaking both of the kingly and 
 despotic properties. As far as the paternal authority is exercised, 
 the milder attributes of sovereignty are discernible ; the power 
 which governs by compulsion, as a master rules his slaves, must 
 necessarily be despotic. 
 
 " A specimen of a government which is near to each of us, and 
 which was certainly the first form of a commonweal, if not the 
 pattern for the rest, the government of a family, may contribute to 
 vindicate our assumption still more. In this instance, if it be true, 
 as doubtless it is, that the obedience of the child hangs on the ex- 
 press precept only, which enjoins it, we distinctly see a consecrated 
 potver. One part of the strength of the house, which is the parents', 
 and which is chiefly, though not entirely, personal, is, by God's 
 ordinance, divided fiom the other strength of the house, which is 
 the child's, and is by that ordinance seated in the chair of dignity 
 and rule. The parents' strength thus sanctified, how pleasant is the 
 
 Q 
 
226 ERAST.E. 
 
 " Does he accomplish his object by pursuing the dic- 
 tates of justice, or by adopting the suggestions of some 
 other impulse?" — " By justice only." — " It appears, 
 then, that a prince, a sovereign, an economist, or master 
 of a family, a wise and a just man, are essentially the 
 same; and that the kingly, sovereign, political, and 
 economical sciences are only equivalent terms for jus- 
 tice and for wisdom." — " It certainly appears so." 
 
 9. " What then ? Shall we say it is disgraceful for 
 a philosopher to be incapable of accompanying either 
 the dissertation of a physician respecting diseases, or 
 the statement of an artisan relative to his profession ; 
 and shall it be considered no reproach to listen in igno- 
 rance to the observations of a magistrate or king, or to 
 those of any of the other characters just enumerated?" 
 — " How, Socrates," said he, " can it be otherwise than 
 disgraceful, to be totally uninformed on subjects of such 
 high importance?" — "Shall we then describe a phi- 
 losopher as bearing, in reference to these subjects, a 
 resemblance to one of the general combatants in the 
 Olympic games, attaining only a secondary rank, and 
 
 call of morn to go forth to labour! how eager is his embrace to 
 screen from injury or soothe to peace. ! how awful are his arm and 
 frown to chastise transgression, or enforce instruction !" 
 
 Ramsden. 
 
RRAST.E. 227 
 
 being, consequently, destitute of utility in the presence of 
 the principals ? or shall we not rather assert, that a 
 philosopher ought to intrust his concerns to the guidance 
 of no other person ; — but, assuming the management in 
 his own hands, become himself the impartial governor 
 and judge ; dispensing the power of punishment accord- 
 ing to the dictates of equity, and thus securing, by his 
 own exertion, order and good government in his house- 
 hold V With this sentiment he signified his concur- 
 rence. " Again ; if his friends should apply to him as 
 an arbitrator, or were the state to commit to his decision 
 the adjudication of some controverted point, would it not 
 be disgraceful to act only in a subordinate character, in- 
 stead of assuming a commanding attitude ?" — " I should 
 conceive so." — " Philosophy, then, my friend, is surely 
 something far higher than a mere passion for learning, 
 — than the restless pursuit of universal knowledge, 
 or an intense application to the circle of the arts and 
 sciences !" 
 
 When I had thus expressed myself the votary of 
 literature appeared abashed, and preserved silence ; but 
 his illiterate rival confidently asserted that the inference 
 was legitimate and consequential ; — an opinion in which 
 the rest of the audience signified their acquiescence. 
 
 END OF THE ERASTVE. 
 
 Q 2 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 229 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Athens. 
 
 We rode yesterday to Marathon, distant from 
 hence about twelve miles ; but the route is partly 
 over the mountains, and occasionally difficult. As 
 we descended towards the plain we diverged about 
 a quarter of a mile to the left, in order to explore 
 a cavern, which Pausanias has hinted would repay 
 the trouble of examination. As far as my obser- 
 vation went, it does not materially differ from other 
 subterranean excavations, except that it has two 
 entrances contiguous to each other. Each of these 
 is low and narrow, but they conduct to a chamber 
 sufficiently lofty to admit of one's standing upright. 
 Here, however, there is scarcely any thing observ- 
 able, besides the usual incrustations from dripping 
 water ; there are certainly no inscriptions or relics 
 of any kind, that I could discover. The super- 
 stition of the ancient inhabitants of the district 
 dedicated this vault to the god Pan, who was be- 
 
230 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 lieved to have rendered most essential service during 
 the heat of the action, by striking the Medes with 
 the same kind of terror as that which arrested the 
 Gauls, when they made an irruption under Brennus, 
 and were on the point of plundering Delphi. 
 
 A river winds through the valley, at the bottom 
 of the hill ; the water is clear and the channel rather 
 wide, but generally shallow. The scene of the 
 battle is a long plain, bounded on the east by the 
 sea, on the south by a range of mountains, and 
 by a broken chain of hills on the north. The Athe- 
 nians and Plataeans were encamped against the 
 mountains on the south ; a position as favourable 
 as can be well imagined ; — but, notwithstanding 
 every advantage of situation, it is still extremely 
 difficult to comprehend how eleven thousand men 
 should be able, with the loss of little more than 
 two hundred, to defeat an army above ten times 
 as numerous. That the Greeks were victorious is 
 indisputable ; but the Persian narrative, if any such 
 existed of the battle, would probably give a very 
 different account of the relative numbers engaged. 
 A monument erected to the memory of Miltiades 
 was placed nearly in the centre of the field : it is 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 231 
 
 now almost entirely destroyed. The mound near 
 it is conjectured to have been a tumulus, thrown 
 over the Plataeans. A short time since, an opening 
 was made in it, but, as I understand from Signor 
 Lusieri, nothing had been discovered except a few 
 arrows, and some other Persian weapons. The 
 Athenians who fell in the action were buried in a 
 small island near the beach. 
 
 The soil is light, and easily cultivated, but 
 subjected to extremely bad tillage. Mutilated frag- 
 ments of statues are constantly turned up by the 
 plough in various parts : one of these was offered 
 me by the peasants, but the subject was ungracious, 
 and the execution did not appear to be such as 
 made it an object worth preservation. We slept 
 at a village near the spot where the combined 
 forces of Athens and Platsea were encamped, and 
 were pleasantly lodged in a very spacious room, 
 which looked against the defiles of the mountain '. 
 
 1 In various parts of our ride we were alternately se- 
 renaded by the " ear-piercing" notes of the cicada, and the 
 hoarser, but equally violent, descants of the frog. The writer 
 has alluded in a former letter to a passage in the Bar^a^m, as 
 conveying, to modern ears, an imperfect specimen of guttural 
 
232 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The next morning we set out for the monastery 
 
 of Pentelieus, situated near the quarry from whence 
 materials were drawn for the sculptor and architect, 
 and to which Athens is indebted for its most splen- 
 did edifices'. Here we breakfasted, and were re- 
 ceived with much courtesy by the monks. Their 
 establishment is one of the most considerable in 
 Greece, and the fraternity are, I believe, in suf- 
 ficiently affluent circumstances. The building is 
 capacious and well planned, — many of the a part- 
 mimicry. Rousseau, in one of his lighter productions, has 
 something like the following lines : — 
 
 Dps grenouilles aquatiques 
 
 Qui du fond d'un petit thorax 
 Vont chantant pour toute musique, 
 
 Breke — ke — koax — koax — 
 
 And Voltaire has described him, as presenting his votive offer- 
 ings in the vestibule of the Temple of Taste, while chanting 
 this elaborate stanza. His voice, however, frightened — as well 
 it might — the goddess of criticism, and she shut the door 
 against him. 
 
 The intonations of Aristophanes, 
 
 Bgixixixi*, xooc%, xoa.%, 
 
 are softened by modern pronunciation into 
 
 Goi xi, xi, xi, xoa, xoa, 
 
 or, in English characters, thus : 
 
 Vrcke — ki — ke, koa, koa ; the two last words being 
 sounded not very unlike the French quoi. 
 
 1 The excavation is at present called Mendel i. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 233 
 
 meats appear judiciously distributed ; but as to the 
 library, if any room of that kind exists, it is not, 
 I believe, at all times easily accessible ; and with 
 respect to manuscripts, it is frequently worse than 
 useless to make inquiry for such relics. 
 
 The marble rocks are about half a mile distant, 
 towards the summit of a mountain. The blocks 
 which constructed the public buildings at Athens 
 appear to have been taken in vast masses from the 
 upper quarry, which is open, and cut smoothly 
 down in a perpendicular direction, from a height 
 of more than sixty feet. A little to the right of 
 this there is a vast cavern, of which the roof spreads 
 out to a very wide expanse, pendant with a variety 
 of very singular petrifactions. At the extremity of 
 the cave a narrow and steep passage leads down a 
 very considerable depth to a spring of water, said 
 to be, in a peculiar degree, cool and refreshing. 
 The descent is in some points very precipitous, and 
 the access difficult and irksome, even to a light, 
 pliable figure. In attempting to explore the re- 
 cesses, the stoutest of the party, who had diverged 
 a little from his companions, suddenly uttered a 
 faint exclamation, and vanished through one of the 
 
234 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 fissures. We were more startled by the tone than 
 by the disappearance of our friend, whose self- 
 possession we felt assured would enable him to 
 assume the pleonastical properties of the crew, de- 
 scribed in the version of the Odyssey, — 
 
 " Who stuck, adhesive, and suspended hung ! " 
 We succeeded at length in rescuing him from his 
 perilous position, and were rewarded by copious 
 draughts from a spring, which even a Nazarite 
 might have viewed with rapture. 
 
 On our return here we attempted to make 
 some arrangements for an excursion to Corinth ; 
 and I look forward with unusual pleasure to an 
 opportunity of pacing the Isthmian course, — of ex- 
 ploring the palace of Acrisius, — the brazen cham- 
 ber of Danae, — and the treasury of Atreus. — 
 M. Gropius has most obligingly assisted us by a 
 letter to an acquaintance of his, high in authority 
 in that district. In the mean time, if you feel 
 impatient on any of these points, I refer you to 
 the journals of certain ancient illuminati ; — and Sir 
 William Gell, who seems to have travelled through 
 the Morea with a stop-watch in his hand, will detail 
 their relative distances with the most minute pre- 
 cisian . 
 
LETTERS FROM (iREECE. 235 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Athens. 
 
 A report has reached us of the plague having 
 broken out in Negropont, about thirty miles dis- 
 tant from hence. Some precautionary measures 
 are taken to prevent the introduction of the in- 
 fection ; and all the gates of the city, except one, 
 are rigorously closed. 
 
 This morning I had a visit from Signor Lu- 
 sieri, whose accomplishments as an artist, indepen- 
 dently of his long residence on the spot, qualify 
 him, in a peculiar degree, to point out many in- 
 teresting objects of research. I understood from 
 him that Lord Elgin's first intention was to take 
 plaster-casts of all the originals, which have sub- 
 sequently been removed at his expense. For this 
 purpose he directed Mr. Hamilton to procure a 
 competent artist from Italy, and was only in- 
 duced to change his determination on hearing that 
 some French agents were negociating to strip the 
 
236 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Acropolis of all its ornaments; and that they had 
 even conceived the extravagant idea of transporting 
 the Temple of Theseus to Paris! 
 
 I mentioned Dr. Clarke's account of the Dis- 
 dar's emotion when the last of the metopes was 
 removed from the Parthenon, and his supplicating 
 exclamation — " Te'Xo? !" Lusieri put a very different 
 construction on his conduct from what has been 
 recorded by Lord Byron 1 , on the testimony of 
 Dr. Clarke. He assured me that this worthy per- 
 sonage, of whose patriotism the noble poet had 
 made such honourable mention, in defiance of all 
 firmans and official mandates, absolutely refused his 
 permission to have any piece of sculpture taken 
 down, before he had received the sum at which 
 he chose to estimate its value. When, therefore, 
 he had been paid his last exaction, the melancholy 
 tone of regret, and its accompanying tear, are to 
 be ascribed, not so much to any commiseration for 
 the ravages committed on the arts, as to the ex- 
 hausted source of his own peculation ! 
 
 In the evening I went to examine the public 
 baths, which I was desirous of using medicinally. 
 
 1 Notes to Childe Harold, Canto II. Stanza xii. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 237 
 
 They are clean and neatly kept, but the heat is 
 so intense, that I was obliged to quit the apartment 
 very hastily. I was influenced in some measure by 
 the presence of the attendants, who are always in 
 waiting on these occasions ; feeling an almost in- 
 vincible repugnance to have any spectators while 
 enjoying the luxuries of immersion. Those who 
 are less fastidious, speak of the process of bathing 
 as in the highest degree pleasant and salutary. 
 After passing through successive degrees of warmth, 
 sufficient to excite a most profuse and copious per- 
 spiration, the whole person is rubbed with coarse 
 cloths and flannels, and the several joints exercised 
 so as to acquire an unusual degree of pliancy. The 
 operation, though at first rather painful, is soon 
 succeeded by a very agreeable sensation, and a tone 
 and elasticity given to the system which is felt for 
 several days. 
 
 The coffee-houses are on the same imperfect 
 plan here as in every other part of Greece, where 
 coffee is the only article which can be procured : 
 it is, however, of a very supei'ior quality. Pro- 
 visions of all kinds are sufficiently reasonable, but, 
 with some few exceptions, not of a particularly 
 
238 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 good description. The bread is generally bad, and 
 the wine poor and ill-flavoured. Cheese and butter 
 are unknown here ; but the honey is the most de- 
 licious I ever tasted. The people are generally 
 very abstemious : " Dies ncctesque bibite, per- 
 GRiECAMiNi V are expressions little applicable to 
 the existing generation ; and though to be " as 
 meny as a Greek" might be very intelligible at 
 Rome in the days of Plautus 2 , it is but a poor 
 joke at Athens, under the government of the chief 
 of the black eunuchs. 
 
 A small library has been established in an agree- 
 able quarter of the town, composed of the works of 
 different European writers, as well as of many of 
 the ancient Greek authors. Visitors have access 
 to this collection, and are allowed to take any book 
 they please, on leaving their names and address. 
 The schools, which were instituted a few years since 
 by some English gentlemen, have now scarcely 
 a nominal existence. The governing authorities, 
 though not avowedly inimical to such establish- 
 ments, have sufficient address to prevent their ac- 
 
 1 Plautus. Mostellaria, Act I. Sc. i. 
 
 2 Plautus died about one hundred and eighty years before 
 the birth of our Saviour. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 239 
 
 quiring any formidable extension. It is difficult 
 to imagine a stronger contrast than Athens, as 
 administered by Pericles, and its present condition 
 under the dominion of the Grand Signor, and his 
 vicegerent, the Kislar Aga ! 
 
 A fruitless effort to vindicate the liberties of 
 Greece was made a few years since by Riga, who 
 attempted to inflame the passions of the people, by 
 an application of the moral means so successfully 
 exerted by Tyrtaeus. Many of the songs, circulated 
 with this view, are written in the spirit of the Mar- 
 seillois hymn : the first lines of the national air 
 
 blurt vrou^is tui 'EXXtivuv 
 'O xa~gt>s ?m ^'o\ns nXhv, 
 
 are precisely those of 
 
 Allons, Enfans de la Patrie, 
 Le jour de gloire est arrive — 
 
 But the modern Athenians have very little re- 
 semblance to the ancient Spartans : the fate of 
 Riga is well known. 
 
240 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Athens, May, 1817. 
 
 The Romaic language, — of which I have oc- 
 casionally treated you with some specimens, — is by 
 no means of difficult attainment. I profess to have 
 made some little progress ; and were I to continue 
 here about two months longer, I think I should 
 be able to converse in it with at least as much 
 fluency as in French. Yet what has been acquired 
 without difficulty will, in all likelihood, be as 
 readily lost ; and in less than half a year I may 
 possibly have forgotten the alphabet. To prevent, 
 in some measure, the occurrence of such calamity, 
 I have attempted to reinforce my own perceptions 
 by the guidance of a maitre de langue ; and it so 
 happens that I have the advantage of the assistance 
 of the same individual, who occasionally attended 
 for a similar purpose on Lord Byron ' : he has 
 
 i He noticed a trifling inaccuracy on the part of his noble 
 pupil, in the translation of a scene of one of Goldoni's Comedies, 
 as given in the Appendix to Childe Harold. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 241 
 
 also some pretensions to an introduction to a most 
 distinguished ornament of French literature ; at 
 least M. de Chateaubriand has made mention of 
 an interview with him ; — though in terms not very 
 flattering to his amour propre. He referred me 
 to the passage in M. de C.'s Itineraire ; and after- 
 wards pointed out the commentary by his country- 
 man, Dr. Avramiotti. It is as follows : — " Qui un 
 cortese greco gli va all' incontro, il saluta in Ita- 
 liano, gli accorda l'ospitalita, gli mostra dove era 
 piantato il tempio di Cerere, gli fa vedere lo stretto 
 di Salamina, gli addita il monte Egialo, che sig- 
 noreggia lo stretto, e donde Serse contemplo la 
 battaglia. Ma il greco non sa il nome di Serse ; 
 e porge occasione al Signor de Chateaubriand a 
 dolersi amaramente che i greci d' oggidi abbian 
 dimenticato e la lingua e la storia dei gloriosi loro 
 antenati. 
 
 " Or si dee sapere, che questo Greco, amico del 
 Signor Fauvel, si chiama Celebi Janco-Tatlicara. — 
 Egli nacque in Radosto, e da Atanasio metropolita di 
 Atene, di cui e nepote ed erede, ricevette un ottima 
 educazione. Studio a Napoli, dove apprese il latino 
 e F italiano, oltre il greco literale, che gli e, pf«r 
 
242 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 cosi dire, congenito. Publico professore in una 
 delle scuole di Atene, gode meritamente la stima 
 di tutti i viaggiatori delle varie nazione, e da essi 
 vien consultato nei loro dubbj sugli autori classici 1 ." 
 
 The Doctor pursues his observations in a tone 
 of indignant patriotism : — " E prima che svilla- 
 neggiare indignamente una nazione, egli e neces- 
 sario conoscere la di lei lingua, fermarsi nelle sui 
 principali citta. Quanti greci non insegnano, e 
 non si distinguono nelle piu illustri parti d' Europa ! 
 Le matematiche, la fisica, la medicina, 1' istoria, la 
 geografia, la poesia, la musica, son coltivate da essi 
 felicemente ; e tutto di escono dalle stampe le opere 
 loro, che mostrano come anche nella disgrazia vivi 
 e fiorisca il lor genio. 
 
 " Maravigliatevi anzi quanto open il Greco 
 in mezzo alia piu dura schiavitu, — e pensate che 
 mat farebbe egli se avesse eque leggi e quella liberta, 
 cK egli sa apprrzzare, e per la quale non teme 
 rischi, ed affronta ogni piu duro pericolo" 
 
 The reader of the Cenni Critici, who examines 
 
 1 Alcuni Cenni Critici del dottore Gian Dionisio 
 Avramwtti, sul Viaggio in Grecia del Signor F. A. dc 
 Chateaubriand. — Padova, 1S16. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 243 
 
 this tributary effusion, after every allowance for 
 the source from whence it proceeds, may perhaps 
 recognize in regenerating Greece some of those 
 principles, which require only the fostering di- 
 rection of superior talent to produce some decisive 
 effect. But in almost all semi-barbarous states, — 
 and the inhabitants of modern Greece, if estimated 
 en masse, can scarcely claim a higher distinction, — 
 the people are subjected to the influence, indirect 
 or immediate, of some crafty order of priesthood. 
 The secular clergy, though sufficiently energetic in 
 all doctrinal discussions, and possessing, probably 
 to a very troublesome degree, that restlessness 
 of temperament, which they mistake for zealous 
 activity, are, with some few exceptions, utterly 
 destitute of those higher qualities, which might 
 enable them justly to estimate the causes of national 
 prosperity, or national decline. 
 
 " Tanti exercitus," says Florus, " quanti Im- 
 perator !" When the natural leaders of a people 
 are themselves but imperfectly informed on causes 
 and effects, as relating to the wealth, the poverty, 
 the greatness, the weakness, the happiness or un- 
 happiness of nations, — should they succeed in in- 
 
 R 2 
 
244 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 flaming the public mind to a height that would 
 show itself in open insurrection, their measures 
 having no intelligible object beyond that of re- 
 sistance to oppression, and of providing for present 
 immediate contingencies, liberty, however fer- 
 vently invoked by them, will, it may be feared, 
 still continue the unknown goddess 1 . 
 
 Mr. Hobhouse states, that there are scarcely 
 any of the native Greeks who can trace their origin 
 beyond the Turkish invasion. Were it possible for 
 a traveller to persuade himself that the motley 
 group, which he occasionally mingles with, are 
 really descended from the heroes of Marathon, 
 Thermopylae, and Plataea, — octroi "ExXr/vey, ou /xi%o- 
 £a§Ca§oj, — that they are the unsullied posterity of 
 that bright array of warriors and of sages, whose 
 names adorn the libraries of the civilized world ; — 
 could he by any stretch of imagination be satisfied 
 that the modern possessors of the Acropolis have 
 any greater affinity to its original occupants, than 
 the present sovereign of Mount Aventine can esta- 
 
 1 Since the commencement of the struggle, many of the 
 clerp-yhave exhibited in their own persons, instances of the most 
 heroic devotion ana intrepidity. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 245 
 
 blish to the first of all the Caesars, he would natu- 
 rally anticipate with still increased anxiety the 
 terrific scenes, of which this brilliant spot is, I 
 fear, soon destined to become the theatre. 
 
 Much indeed may be expected from the exer- 
 tions of a community, animated by the youth and 
 freshness of independence ; and the friends of justice 
 will contemplate, with any feelings but those of 
 despondence, the result of a struggle — in which the 
 mercenaiw chiefs, who, " from motives of fear or 
 interest," serve under the Ottoman standard, may 
 be viewed in contrast " with the free-born warriors 
 that start up to arms," at the voice of vengeance 
 and of glory. 
 
 But an evil, inevitably fatal in its consequences, 
 and dreaded by all parties whom I have had an 
 opportunity of conversing with, seems destined to 
 flow from the divided and vacillating councils, which 
 distract the views of those, whose influence should 
 direct the national sentiment; and which, in their 
 reflective character, will eventually repress the buoy- 
 ant animation of the people. There is such a variety 
 of conflicting interests to conciliate, so many cor- 
 rosive sources of jealousy to soothe, sucli unappre- 
 
246 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 hending obstinacy to convince, and, in some cases 
 so much corrupt selfishness and canting knavery, — 
 foreign as well as domestic, — to combat, that the 
 different representatives of these opposing claims, 
 like iron and clay in the feet of Nebuchadnezzar's 
 image, though they may cleave, will never incor- 
 porate. 
 
 Thus beset by all kinds of embarrassment, — 
 " malice, domestic treason, foreign levy," — you must 
 not be surprised, if hereafter you hear of the most 
 pressing overtures being made to our government, 
 for support or mediation. In the hour of distress 
 and calamity every community looks instinctively to 
 Great Britain, as to its tutelary and inspiring genius : 
 — as to a recognised point, " of rallying to the 
 combatants, and of shelter to the fallen." They well 
 know, that however circumscribed in geographical 
 limits, her power and resources are illimitable : they 
 feel that from her have emanated all those high and 
 rare endowments, which ennoble and dignify our 
 common nature ; and that, at the present moment, 
 England is the centre of the civilized world! 
 
 Such, we may be permitted to hope, will ever 
 remain her commanding attitude ! if, in the revolu- 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 247 
 
 tion of ages, she shall cease to be the first among 
 nations, she will soon sink — to rank with the 
 lowest ' ! 
 
 1 Since the date of this letter, the flames of insurrection 
 have burst out in almost every part of the Grecian dependencies ; 
 and though hitherto unattended with any decisive character, the 
 patriotic army has, in some instances, given proof of a spirit 
 which would not have been discreditable to the brightest era of 
 Greece. Yet the future historian, if he measures out impartial 
 justice, will have to record actions of vindictive cruelty perpe- 
 trated by each power, as success alternately inclined to either, 
 sufficient to tarnish the most brilliant triumphs. 
 
 Some abatement of these barbarities appears to have distin- 
 guished the fall of Missolonghi ; a place which will be long me- 
 morable, not merely for the gallant defence of the besieged, 
 but as the scene of Lord Byron's death! The name of this 
 distinguished nobleman, enshrined in the imperishable records 
 of his own poesy, is yet more hallowed by the self-devotion with 
 which he enlisted in the cause of reviving- freedom. Of the 
 eventual success of the undertaking in which he embarked, the 
 probabilities were, perhaps, not so apparent to many of his 
 friends ; and, — without attempting- to detract from the lofty 
 principles which govern the conduct of those who have iden- 
 tified themselves with the views of the patriots, — it is possible 
 that, in some few instances, the incipient feeling may be traced to 
 a degree of unappeasable restlessness, which is apt to grow upon 
 a mind that has long exhausted all the ordinary sources of enjoy- 
 ment, and which may require the animation consequent on an 
 .actual state of warfare, to satisfy the high tone of its excite- 
 ment. The moral influence of Lord Byron's character, and 
 the supposed extent of his pecuniary means, were insufficient 
 to produce more than a temporary union among the com- 
 petitors for power ; and, if the magic of his name was without 
 
248 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 efficacy, it were vain to hope for a beneficial result from indivi- 
 dual interference exerted in any other quarter. The melan- 
 choly sufferings which preceded his decease, and which happily 
 were of short duration, must be considered as among - the severer 
 penalties, which nature sometimes exacts from those on whom 
 she has lavished her rarest bounties. 
 
 The writer has no intention to allude to the supposed mo- 
 tives of Lord B.s retirement from England: — yet it was his 
 fortune, while on a visit at * * * — , by some capricious 
 fatality, or inexplicable blunder, — to wander " in the very 
 witching hour of night," into the apartment of the fair Alecto, 
 who is imagined to have been chiefly instrumental in embittering 
 his lordship's domestic happiness. The shriek which this 
 Lucretia discharged, at such an unusual intrusion, is now vi- 
 brating in his ears ; and, rather than encounter it a second 
 time, he would gladly flee to the wilds of Taygetus, or the 
 caverns of Cithseron ! 
 
LETTERS FROM (iREliCE. 249 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Smyrna, June, 1817. 
 We quitted Athens on the 26th ult. and em- 
 barked from the Piraeus in an open boat, which we 
 hired for twenty dollars, to take us to the island of 
 Tenos. A gentle breeze sprang up in our favour, 
 and continued till near sunset, when it entirely died 
 away : but, reviving a little in the course of the 
 night, we found ourselves, by the dawn of the next 
 morning, under the promontory of Sunium,a distance 
 of fourteen leagues. On the highest point of the 
 cape there are the ruins of a temple dedicated to 
 Minerva, consisting of sixteen columns of the Doric 
 order, and fluted, part of which are still in tolerably 
 good preservation. Viewed from the sea their 
 appearance is strikingly beautiful — but, on running 
 up the cliffs to examine them more minutely, we 
 found several had been sadly mutilated. The cor- 
 nice is defaced by sundry nautical hieroglyphics, and 
 t he names of many of the crew of an English 
 
250 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 frigate, which had anchored off this point, are im- 
 printed in broad characters. The marble appears 
 to have suffered considerably from the effects of the 
 spray ; its smooth polish is quite destroyed, and the 
 surface at a little distance looks like Portland stone. 
 The modern name of this promontory is Cape Co- 
 lonna. " In all Attica," says Lord Byron, " if we 
 except Athens, there is no spot more interesting 
 than this. To the antiquary and the artist sixteen 
 columns are an inexhaustible source of observation 
 and design ; to the philosopher, the supposed scene 
 of Plato's conversations will not be unwelcome ; and 
 the traveller will be struck with the beauty of the 
 prospect over ' isles that crown the Mgean deep' — 
 but for an Englishman, Colonna has yet an additional 
 interest, as the actual spot of Falconer's shipwreck 
 — Pallas and Plato are forgotten in the recollection 
 of Falconer and Campbell." 
 
 " Here in the dead of night, by Lonna's steep, 
 The seaman's cry was heard along- the deep !" 
 
 The Vicomte de Chateaubriand has thrown an 
 air of romantic fascination round his visit to this 
 spot, which may perhaps, for awhile, obliterate 
 the recollection of Falconer and Campbell 1 . 
 
 1 Je m'euvcloppai la tete dans mon nianteau pour trie 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 251 
 
 The coast is much infested by pirates, but we 
 breakfasted on the beach without any interruption, 
 and proceeded, with intervals of wind and calm, 
 till about one o'clock, when Tenos became visible 
 in the most distant point. Just at this period the 
 travelling cap of one of the party was blown off 
 into the water, and the master of the vessel instantly 
 proposed putting about to regain it : this the pro- 
 prietor of course opposed ; — but, as he did not appear 
 
 garantir de la rosee, et, le dos appuye contre une colonne, je 
 restai seul eveille a contempler le ciel et la mer. 
 
 Au plus beau coueher du soleil, avoit suceede la plus belle 
 uuit. Le firmament, repete dans les values, avoit l'air de reposer 
 au fond de la iner. L' ctoile du soir, ma compagne assidue pen- 
 dant mon voyage, (Hoit prete a disparoitre sous l'horison ; on 
 ne l'appercevoit plus que par des longs rayons qu'elle laissoit de 
 temps en temps descendre sur les fiots, comme une lumiere qui 
 s'tHeint. Par intervalles, des brises passageres troubloient dans 
 la mer l'image du ciel, agitoient les constellations, et venoient 
 cxpirer parmi les colonncs du teniplc avec un foible murmure. 
 
 Toutefois ce spectacle etoit triste, lorsque je venois a 
 songer que je le contemplois du milieu des mines. Autour dc 
 moi etoient des tombeaux, le silence, la destruction, la mort, — 
 ou quelques matelots Grccs qui dormoient sans soucis et sans 
 songes, sur les debris de la Grece. J'allois quitter pour jamais 
 cettc terre sacrce : l'esprit rempli de sa grandeur passee et de 
 son abaissement actuel, je me rctracois le tableau qui venoit 
 d'aifligcr mes yeux. 
 
 Itincraire — de Paris a Jerusalem, vol. i. p. 254. 
 
252 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 to be very violently bent upon success, we turned 
 back, and with the loss of little more than seven or 
 eight minutes regained the treasure. Thus far all 
 was well — but the manoeuvre reduced us to the neces- 
 sity of making another tack, in effecting which, the 
 wind blowing pretty fresh, our mast cracked right 
 through the centre, and the cordage shivered; so 
 that our sail fell, and the bark began to roll in a 
 very sickening attitude. We had nothing left but to 
 make what way we could with our oars towards the 
 island of Zea, which lay about two leagues off to the 
 west. Here we put into a beautiful bay, and while 
 our vessel was repairing, bathed in the basin beneath 
 the rocks, and afterwards kindled a fire with the 
 wild shrubs which grew among the interstices, and 
 prepared some refreshment for ourselves and attend- 
 ants. At five o'clock we again weighed anchor, but 
 made so little progress in the night, that at day- 
 break we were under the isle of Syra. The inha- 
 bitants came down in clusters to the beach with very 
 menacing expressions to prevent our landing, appre- 
 hensive of the plague, which raged with great vio- 
 lence on one of the neighbouring coasts. We stood 
 out again therefore to sea, and a calm coming on 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 253 
 
 gave us full leisure to contemplate the splendour of 
 the Cyclades, as they appeared ranged in a radiant 
 circle around us. At night we were forced to put 
 into a little creek near the extreme point of Tenos, 
 where we made an infusion of tea, and had a very 
 agreeable repast by moonlight on the sands. We 
 rested till the dawn of the following morning, and 
 reached the harbour of San Nicolao very early on 
 Wednesday. 
 
 The town of Tenos is better built than most of 
 the smaller cities which we have lately visited ; — the 
 houses are of more recent construction, and those 
 near the beach present something of the improved 
 style of Italian architecture ; — the streets are, how- 
 ever, extremely narrow, and have all the inevitable 
 evils of a confined circulation. The land imme- 
 diately adjoining has been cultivated with much care 
 and industry, but (he soil seems to be very little pro- 
 ductive. We were assured that the island contains not 
 less than sixty-six small bourgs, or villages, inha- 
 bited by a population which is supposed to amount 
 to thirty thousand : but, as there are not any 
 authentic returns made, the statement is not much 
 to be relied on. The principal town is called Pyr- 
 
254 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 gos, some miles distant from hence: its extent is 
 greater than the circuit of San Nicolas, but its com- 
 mercial importance very inconsiderable. 
 
 Signor Scordialo, the British agent, was ex- 
 tremely attentive, and evinced a desire to procure 
 us every accommodation : his own house not being 
 sufficiently spacious, he made arrangements for our 
 reception at the convent of the Recolletti. After a 
 short survey of the city, we hired a boat to take us 
 to Delos, distant about three hours from thence. 
 The violence of the wind made the attempt imprac- 
 ticable the first day, but we renewed our efforts the 
 next morning, and reached the Cradle of Diana and 
 Apollo in the course of two hours and a half. There 
 are two islands of this name, the greater and the 
 less, separated from each other by a very narrow 
 strait: — the celebrated temple of Apollo was erected 
 on the least. Of this once splendid pile nothing 
 now remains except a mass of ruins. Paros, situate 
 nearly seven leagues to the south-west, furnished 
 materials for the building ; but the demolition has 
 been so entire, that nothing is discoverable besides 
 mutilated columns. M. Gropius, the Prussian resi- 
 dent at Athens, we heard had made some excava- 
 
LETTERS FROM GRRECE. 255 
 
 tions here a few years since, with partial success. — 
 Among other relics he is said to have discovered the 
 Golden Serpent, which was so important an instru- 
 ment in the machinery of the altar. 
 
 Our guide pointed to the spot which conjec- 
 ture has assigned for the site of the gymnasium. 
 The position of the amphitheatre is less question- 
 able: — this structure appears to have been on a scale 
 sufficiently capacious to contain, without pressure, 
 the whole population of the island. The founda- 
 tions of the exterior walls are very perfect, and the 
 elliptical form of the arena may be traced with per- 
 fect accuracy. Not very far removed from thence 
 are the nominal ruins of the palace of the public 
 officers ; but, from the few vestiges which remain, 
 no conception can be formed either of its figure or 
 proportions. 
 
 Both the Greater and the Lesser Delos, of 
 whose mercantile opulence Pausanias speaks in em- 
 phatic terms, are now neglected and desolate. The 
 only inhabitants are a few fishermen and two or 
 three hermits, who cultivate a miserably poor plot 
 of ground, and attempt to raise some reluctant ve- 
 getables. The name, Delos, is not particularly ap- 
 
256 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 plicable to the present condition of either of these 
 islands, which do not appear to be more elevated 
 than the neighbouring coasts, or in any respect more 
 conspicuous in their features. 
 
 We quitted Tenos about nine at night, just as 
 the moon had risen; our bark had two masts, and, 
 as the wind was decidedly fair, we flattered our- 
 selves with the prospect of reaching Chios, which is 
 nearly three-fourths of the distance to Smyrna, in 
 eight or ten hours. A calm, however, as usual, 
 succeeded, and we did not arrive off that island 
 before Saturday. The richness of its coast pre- 
 sented a very striking contrast to the barren shores 
 we had lately skirted ; and the classical tourist may 
 be gratified in recognising in one of the places, 
 which competed the honour of giving birth to 
 Homer, a marked superiority in external recom- 
 mendations. 
 
 We reached the Asiatic coast between seven and 
 eight ; here we put in for fresh water, in compli- 
 ance with some superstitious movement on the part 
 of the mariners — and in less than two hours after- 
 wards we arrived in the harbour of this town. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 257 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 Smyrna, June, 1817. 
 
 Smyrna, is, I believe, universally admitted to 
 be one of the most opulent cities in the Levant, 
 and the first commercial town in the Ottoman domi- 
 nions : it has acquired this pre-eminence, certainly 
 not by the genius of its native government, but by 
 the skill and activity of European enterprise. Ves- 
 sels from all quarters of the world rendezvous in 
 the harbour, and make it the magazine of their 
 merchandize. Among the chief commodities are 
 cotton in bags, cotton yarn, thread made of goats' 
 hair, drugs of different kinds, and almost every 
 description of carpet. There is also a considerable 
 trade in silk with Persia, the caravans from thence 
 frequently bringing two hundred bales or more in 
 the course of a year. 
 
 The population, which is said to consist of above 
 two hundred thousand, appears to be at least one- 
 
 s 
 
258 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 third European. This has naturally produced ;i 
 relaxation in the haughty carriage of the natives, 
 who are every year becoming more sensible of their 
 own inferiority. The loftiness of their stature, the 
 splendour of their dresses, and the commanding 
 symmetry of their persons, give them, as far as the 
 eye is concerned, a manifest superiority over the 
 simple habits and negligent appearance of the 
 Franks. But the want of exterior dignity in Eu- 
 ropean costume is more than counterbalanced by its 
 aptitude for all the exertions of active life ; — while 
 the gorgeous, but cumbrous, drapery of the Ori- 
 entals, however calculated to embellish a fine figure, 
 or to conceal deformity where nature has been 
 unkind, not only impedes, but positively obstructs 
 activity. It was a favourite idea with the late 
 Sultan to introduce, into particular divisions of his 
 army, the discipline and evolutions of European 
 tactics ; should this scheme be revived, to give it 
 practical effect, the clothing of the privates must 
 be completely remodelled : the fluttering orna- 
 ments and unwieldy folds, with which they are at 
 present encumbered, would embarrass the flexible 
 movement of the limbs, and inevitably arrest any 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 259 
 
 rapid transition of the musket. For state-purposes 
 nothing is perhaps more imposing than the robe 
 of the Asiatics ; but nothing is more ludicrous when 
 worn amid the occupations of daily industry. 
 
 The Turkish women are universally veiled in 
 public ; a linen mask almost completely covers the 
 face, leaving only a small aperture for the eyes 
 and the lower part of the forehead : their persons 
 appear undistinguishingly en bon point, each indi- 
 vidual being clad in a loose cloak, which conceals 
 the shape as effectually as a domino. Whenever 
 they appear in the streets they pass without the 
 slightest molestation : no one ever dreams of showing 
 them the most distant attention : to be seen speak- 
 ing to a female would subject the party to a severe 
 flogging, and any attempt at personal familiarity 
 incurs a more rigorous penalty; — but an intrigue 
 would infallibly subject the gallant, if he were not 
 a Moslem, to the horrors of impaling, — and the 
 female to suffocation '. 
 
 Yet, with the exception of their treatment of 
 
 1 The mode of execution is, in the highest degree, bar- 
 barous: the delinquent is bound in ;i sack, and in that state 
 thrown into the sea. 
 
 S 2 
 
260 LETTERS FROM HREECE. 
 
 the fair sex, the Turkish character, as developed in 
 the conduct of individuals, has much to engage 
 respect. They are generally humane and charitable, 
 compassionate to any natural infirmity, and in a 
 peculiar degree attentive and considerate where the 
 reason is at all disordered. Added to this they are 
 sober and abstinent in their diet ; hospitable and 
 friendly to strangers, and fair and upright in all 
 pecuniary transactions. Where a Greek or Nea- 
 politan would exact most unconscionably for interest, 
 commission, difference of exchange, fyc. fyc, a 
 Turkish agent will give the full value of the bill, 
 without descending to the practice of any of those 
 arts of peculation. I derive this information from 
 a medical gentleman, who has been long resident 
 in the city, and whose professional habits have 
 opened to him a less restrained intercourse than is 
 usually permitted to foreigners. 
 
 There are many different sects of religion, 
 which are all tolerated with equal liberality. The 
 English have a protestant chapel, but I have not 
 heard of any Roman Catholic establishment ; though 
 doubtless those zealous devotees, — who may exclaim, 
 almost without a figure, 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 261 
 
 Quse regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ! 
 
 are here provided with some consecrated theatre, 
 wherein to exhibit their exclusive passports to sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Taverns and cassinos are to be found here as in 
 many European towns, and are not very dissimilar 
 in the amount of their charges. About a mile from 
 the walls, on the summit of a lofty hill, there are 
 the ruins of an old Venetian fortification : from 
 thence the prospect is very noble. The view 
 towards the sea comprises the neighbouring coasts 
 and mountains ; and the inland scenery is enriched 
 by forests and pasture, so beautifully inter- 
 mingled, as to have acquired for a particular part, 
 the name of Paradise. The plains of Ephesus are 
 within the compass of a day's ride — but we have 
 not yet been able to make arrangements for 
 visiting them. In the mean time we hear many 
 contradictory statements respecting the remains of 
 the celebrated Temple, which was anciently classed 
 among the wonders of the earth. According to 
 Gibbon, this elaborate and magnificent structure, 
 having risen with increasing splendour from seven 
 
262 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 repeated misfortunes, was finally burned by tiie 
 Goths in their third naval invasion. 
 
 A dilapidated pile, dignified with the name of 
 Homer's School, is shown in an obscure quarter 
 of the city ; and a cavern, about fifteen miles dis- 
 tant, called Homer's Grotto, attracts the stranger 
 by the fascination of its title ; lately, indeed, it has 
 been a little neglected, in consequence of a report 
 of its being tenanted by hyenas ! ! 
 
 A smart, lively young fellow, prepossessing in his 
 appearance, and obliging in his air and manner, — 
 connected, in some degree, with our agent at 
 Tenos, — has been very assiduous in conducting us 
 through the intricacies of the town, where some 
 degree of address is requisite to prevent collision 
 with the inhabitants ; for the plague has not yet 
 totally disappeared, though its effects, at present, 
 are not such as to create much alarm or anxiety. 
 From the medical reports, it does not appear to be 
 daily fatal in more than one or two instances ; — and 
 one accident per diem, — as deaths occasioned by 
 this disorder are affectedly termed, — is considered 
 too trifling to produce any serious alarm. There 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 203 
 
 are few instances, — at least on the surface of the 
 population, — of sincere or aggravated distress. Po- 
 verty, indeed, may be said to lean with a far gentler 
 pressure on the inhabitants of southern latitudes, 
 than on those whose lot has been cast amid the 
 bleak climates of the north. The former have 
 fewer absolute wants to contend with, and are less 
 exposed to severe privations. Fuel and clothing are, 
 to a certain extent, easily dispensed with by the 
 labouring classes, and some of the hardiest of this 
 rank are here, probably, no better provided with 
 lodging than the lazzaroni of Naples. Such as are 
 employed in tasks, that require great power and 
 muscular exertion, are remarkable for the excel- 
 lence of their organic structure ; and I have seen 
 individuals walking with apparent ease under a 
 load, which has been estimated at the weight of 
 nearly eight hundred pounds ! ! 
 
 Our Cicerone, who is scarcely seventeen, and has 
 all the vivacity and good-humour of his age, was 
 extremely desirous that we should see the mansion 
 of the Turkish governor. It is a large pile, very 
 recently constructed, in which there has been an 
 attempt made to blend the conveniences of Europe 
 
264 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 with Asiatic luxuries. We entered by a porte-co- 
 chere into a spacious court-yard, where we were 
 detained some time, while certain preliminary dif- 
 culties underwent discussion. 
 
 The chief obstacle to our obtaining admission 
 arose from a regard to the females, who, it was sur- 
 mised, might suffer some pollution in passing over 
 the apartments which had been trodden by Chris- 
 tian sandals. But our zealous negotiator at 
 length effected a compromise, by consenting that 
 we should pass those hallowed chambers dvuzjolnrot. 
 Accordingly, depositing our slippers at the foot of 
 the staircase, which is extremely steep and dispro- 
 portionately narrow, we ascended to a circular 
 gallery, from the circumference of which there 
 are passages leading to the different chambers. 
 None of these are either very large or lofty, but 
 the proportions are not disagreeable, and the furni- 
 ture is chaste and extremely elegant. The same style 
 of decoration is visible throughout ; but we were 
 particularly struck with the ceiling of one of the 
 saloons, which was very tastefully painted with the 
 slender branches of flowers ; I notice this more 
 particularly, because, taken a la rigueur, it would 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 265 
 
 seem to violate the notions usually entertained of 
 Mahometan orthodoxy '. The divans, which sur- 
 round the walls in the apartments where the wo- 
 men assemble, are covered with the finest black 
 velvet, richly embroidered. The preference to this 
 colour is supposed to be founded in the contrast it 
 presents to the alabaster forms and radiant fea- 
 tures, which are there contemplated unveiled! 
 
 The bath is in a spacious saloon, floored with 
 marble : — there is something, no doubt, wonderfully 
 voluptuous in this article of oriental refinement ; but 
 to my mind — and to " others, whose judgment in 
 such matters cry in the top of mine" — a clear river 
 and a rapid current are infinitely preferable to all the 
 spices and perfumes of the east. The building was 
 planned and, in great measure, finished by the late 
 Aga. He appears to have been an officer possessed 
 of many high qualities, and his influence in the city 
 and adjoining district was so considerable, that it 
 excited the jealousy of the Imperial Government. 
 
 1 In his acceptation of the Decalogue, a Turk considers 
 the prohibition in the second commandment as extending- to a 
 representation of any of the appearances of nature, notmerelv 
 as objects of adoration, but of luxury or ornament. 
 
26() LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 Orders were, therefore, sent down — more usilato — 
 to despatch him ; but the utmost caution was ne- 
 cessary on the part of the agents from Constanti- 
 nople. A detachment of soldiers were introduced 
 by stratagem into the town, and the Pasha being 
 invited with the most friendly professions to partake 
 of a banquet on board a government vessel, his 
 sanction was procured for this extraordinary mea- 
 sure. After a very sumptuous entertainment he was 
 suffered to retire, loaded with many violent ex- 
 pressions of regard. The next day he received an 
 invitation, more cordial and pressing than the 
 former. Instead of feeling any suspicion from so 
 unusual a mark of attention, he instantly prepared 
 to obey the summons ; but he had scarcely entered 
 the deck when he was seized and bound, and in that 
 state carried off several leagues to sea. He now 
 became sensible of his approaching fate, which he 
 resolved to meet with his usual intrepidity ; and as 
 his fortitude was not altogether of the passive kind, 
 he struggled a long time with his assassins, two of 
 whom are said to have been despatched by him 
 before he was finally overpowered. His successor 
 then very quietly took possession of his office ; such 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 267 
 
 transfers of authority seldom exciting much emotion 
 among the disciples of predestination \ 
 
 1 A popular work, entitled, V Europe par Rapport a la 
 Grece et a la Reformation de la Turquie, has recently ap- 
 peared at Paris, under the signature of M. de Pradt; in which 
 that celebrated author has cited a passage from a French writer, 
 descriptive of the barbarities of the penal code in Turkey. As 
 it may serve to illustrate the national character of the Otto- 
 mans, a translation is here subjoined: — the writer is speak- 
 ing of the mode in which capital punishments are carried into 
 execution. 
 
 " When an individual is committed to prison, charged 
 
 with any serious offence, or when it is an object with the pro- 
 secutor to effect his destruction, he is shut up in a deep vault, 
 of very narrow dimensions, and so constructed, that the bot- 
 tom is always, to a certain depth, covered with water: he is 
 here bound to a damp wall by massy iron chains, which are 
 fixed to his hands, his feet, his reins, and his neck ; the weight 
 of these fetters is never less than sixty pounds. 
 
 " It has been ascertained that the wretched objects of this 
 horrible species of torture, which is too intense to admit the pos- 
 sibility of sleeping, will sometimes survive nearly a week, under 
 so dreadful a pressure of protracted agony ; but they inva- 
 riably expire before the eighth day. The criminal is, there- 
 fore, never totally abandoned, except when he is the victim of 
 vengeance : in other cases, the accused is taken from his dungeon 
 the next morning, and put on his trial. If adjudged to suffer 
 death, the jailors instantly strip him of his clothes — even while 
 sentence is pronouncing ; he is suffered to retain only his shirt 
 and drawers, and in such state is led to the place of execution, 
 loaded all the way with heavy blows and bitter revilings, as 
 well from the populace as from the executioners. 
 
268 
 
 LETTERS FROM GREECE. 
 
 The King's birth-day was observed here on the 
 4th instant, with all possible demonstrations of re- 
 spect. The standards of the different powers were 
 
 " Capital punishments are usually effected by strangulation ; 
 and the following - is the mode of practising it — ' surcette terre 
 de cannibales," The culprit's neck is fixed by two executioners 
 in the central part of a long rope, double folded. Each of the 
 torturers seizes one extremity, and twists it with a violence, 
 that wrings the criminal's throat to a degree which renders re- 
 spiration impossible." When this has been effected, the cord is 
 loosened, and the sufferer is revived from a momentary stupor, 
 by being forcibly struck on the ribs. This process is repeated 
 twice : at the moment when it is about to be a third time 
 inflicted, a new torture is superadded, the brutality of which 
 it may be proper to veil in the expressions of the original : — au 
 moment oh on tetrangle encore, un des exicuteurs lui donne 
 tin grand coup de pied aux parties viriles, et les lui ccrasc 
 ensuite dans ses mains ! 
 
 When life is completely extinct, the corpse is hung up 
 on some neighbouring tree. " I cannot write," says the ancien 
 Archeveque de Malines, " without thrilling with horror, — sans 
 frissonner d'horreur— that when the criminal is a raya ', the 
 body is suspended only one foot from the ground, that dogs 
 may feed on the remains /" 
 
 It is presumed that the preceding statement is correct. 
 What must be the genius of a government which could devise 
 such a system ; — and what the moral power or condition of a 
 people, who, in the present age, can tolerate its enforcement ! — 
 Nov. 1826. 
 
 1 A term of contempt applied to individuals of the Greek 
 nation. 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 269 
 
 exhibited from the houses of their respective con- 
 suls, and their ensigns displayed from the several 
 vessels in the port. 
 
 Such English merchants as are settled here, 
 live in compai'ative splendour, and are generally 
 accessible and friendly to strangers. We are in- 
 debted for personal civilities to several of our 
 countrymen, and have been entertained with much 
 hospitality by # * *, with whose name I believe 
 you are acquainted. 
 
 The British Consul is too much occupied by the 
 pressure of other engagements, to assist us in the 
 slightest degree in negotiating a passage to Con- 
 stantinople; we are, therefore, left exclusively to 
 our own experience in such cases. If we proceed 
 by sea, we might reach the Bosphorus, with a to- 
 lerably fair wind, in about three days ; but at this 
 season the northern gales usually set in, and we 
 may possibly be detained as many weeks ! The 
 route by land has its recommendations, in the com- 
 parative certainty with which the time necessary to 
 perform it may be calculated — the distance not re- 
 quiring more than eight days : the objections to this 
 mode consist in the impracticability of the roads, 
 
270 LETTERS FROM GREF.CF. 
 
 and the total absence of nearly every kind of accom- 
 modation. But it has one inducement sufficient to 
 outweigh all opposing considerations ; — it may easily 
 be made subservient to an excursion over the Troad , 
 including Ida, with its lofty forests and its hundred 
 rills, — the mountain, after those mentioned in holy 
 writ, of all others the most interesting , 
 
 " Which genius sanctifies or time reveres !" 
 
 The traveller, who wanders amidst its shadowy 
 recesses, or climbs its airy acclivities, as he looks 
 down from its towering summit, and gives the reins 
 to his imagination, while his eye roves unbounded 
 over the plain below, — thus surrendering himself 
 to the illusion of the moment, and passing in review 
 the vivid scenes of the Iliad, may be said almost 
 to embody the magic fictions of the poet, and to give 
 reality to enchantment. 
 
 If the romantic adventures of Paris, and the 
 loves of CEnone, have lost their attractive charm, 
 he may dwell with chastened rapture on the retired 
 virtues and conjugal tenderness of the wife of Hec- 
 tor — the purest model of female excellence that 
 history has recorded, or that fancy ever drew. The 
 
LETTERS FROM GREECE. 271 
 
 fate eren of the first-born of Priam himself, — all 
 heroic and god-like as he is represented, — would 
 fail so intensely to interest our sympathies, were it 
 not connected with the altered fortune and future 
 sorrows of Andromache — the young, the beautiful, 
 the affectionate, the faultless ! 
 
 FINIS. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 printed by W. Clowm, 
 
 Stamford Street. 
 
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FROM 
 
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