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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4cad2f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #56076 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56076) diff --git a/old/56076-8.txt b/old/56076-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 03312cf..0000000 --- a/old/56076-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7226 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in Southern Europe and the Levant, -1810-1817, by Charles Robert Cockerell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Travels in Southern Europe and the Levant, 1810-1817 - The Journal of C. R. Cockerell, R.A. - -Author: Charles Robert Cockerell - -Editor: Samuel Pepys Cockerell - -Release Date: November 29, 2017 [EBook #56076] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings, Adrian Mastronardi, Martin -Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - -THE JOURNAL OF C. R. COCKERELL, R.A. - - -[Illustration: C. R. Cockerell] - - -TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE AND THE LEVANT, 1810-1817. -THE JOURNAL OF C. R. COCKERELL, R.A. - - -EDITED BY HIS SON - -SAMUEL PEPYS COCKERELL - - -With a Portrait - - -LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. -39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON -NEW YORK AND BOMBAY -1903 - -All rights reserved - - - - -PREFACE - - -My father, Charles Robert Cockerell, whose travels the following pages -record, was the second son of Samuel Pepys Cockerell, a man of some -means, architect to the East India Company and to one or more London -estates. He was born on the 27th of April, 1788, and at a suitable age -he went to Westminster, a fashionable school in those days. There he -remained until he was sixteen. He was then set to study architecture, at -first in his father's office, and later in that of Mr. Robert Smirke. -His father must have had a great faith in the educational advantage of -travel, as already in 1806, when he was only eighteen, he was sent a -tour to study the chief architectural objects of the West of England and -Wales. The sketches in the diary of this journey show him already the -possessor of so light and graceful a touch in drawing that it is evident -that he must have practised it from very early years. This no doubt was -followed by other similar excursions, but his father's desire was that -he should see foreign countries. Unfortunately, in 1810 most of the -Continent was closed to Englishmen. Turkey, which included Greece, was, -however, open. As it chanced, this was a happy exception. The current of -taste for the moment was running strongly in the direction of Greek -architecture; Smirke himself had but lately returned thence. When a -scheme for making a tour there came to be discussed, Mr. William -Hamilton, then Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, an intimate friend -of the family, who had himself travelled in those parts, took a great -interest in it, and offered to send him out as King's messenger with -despatches for the fleet at Cadiz, Malta, and Constantinople. Such an -offer was too good to refuse. - -No definite tour had been or could be marked out in the then existing -conditions of European politics. The traveller was to be guided by -circumstances; but nothing approaching the length of absence, which -extended itself to seven and a quarter years, was contemplated at the -time of starting. - -As far as possible I have used my father's own words in the following -account of his journeys; but the letters and memoranda of a youth of -twenty-two, who disliked and had no talent for writing, naturally -require a great deal of editing. - -His beautiful sketches form what may be called his real diary. - -I should add that accounts of some of the episodes recorded in this -Journal have seen the light already. For instance, the discovery of the -Ægina Marbles and of the Phigaleian Marbles is narrated in my father's -book, 'The Temples of Ægina and Bassæ,' and in Hughes's 'Travels' as -well. Stackelberg gives his own account of the excavations at Bassæ in -'Der Apollotempel zu Bassæ &c.' So that I cannot flatter myself that the -matter is either quite new or well presented. But in spite of these -drawbacks I have thought the Journal in its entirety worth publishing. -Sympathetic readers will find between the lines a fairly distinct -picture of what travel was like in the early years of the last century, -and also the portrait of a not uninteresting personality. - -SAMUEL PEPYS COCKERELL. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER I - PAGE -Leaves London for Plymouth--The despatch vessel--They take a -French prize--The prisoners--An alarm--Cadiz--Malta--Life -on board--The Dardanelles--Takes boat for Constantinople 1 - - -CHAPTER II - -Constantinople--Capture of the _Black Joke_--Life in -Constantinople--Its dangers--Friends--Audience of -caimacam--Trip up the Bosphorus 13 - - -CHAPTER III - -Constantinople continued--Dangers of sketching--Turkish -architecture--A Turkish acquaintance--Society in -Constantinople--Visit to the Princes' Islands 24 - - -CHAPTER IV - -Leaves Constantinople--By Troy, Salonica, Mycone, Delos, to -Athens--Life in Athens--Acquaintances--Byron, &c. 40 - - -CHAPTER V - -Trip to Ægina--Discovery and transportation of the Marbles to -Athens--Efforts to sell them 49 - - -CHAPTER VI - -Life in Athens--Eleusis--Transportation of Ægina Marbles to Zante 59 - - -CHAPTER VII - -Zante--Colonel Church--Leaves Zante to make tour of the -Morea--Olympia--Bassæ--Discovery of bas-reliefs--Forced to desist -from excavations 68 - - -CHAPTER VIII - -Andritzena--Caritzena--Megalopolis--Benighted--Kalamata 79 - - -CHAPTER IX - -Trip to Maina--Its relative prosperity--Return to Kalamata-- -Second trip to Maina--Murginos--Sparta--Napoli to Athens 88 - - -CHAPTER X - -Ægina Marbles called for by British Government ships--Leaves -Athens for Crete and Egypt with Hon. Francis North--Canea--Condition -of Crete--By land--Retimo--Kalipo Christo--Candia--Audience -of the pasha--His band--The archbishop--The military -commandant--Turkish society--Life in Candia 102 - - -CHAPTER XI - -Expedition to the Labyrinth--Delli Yani--The interior--The return -to Candia--Life there--Rejoins Mr. North--Bad weather--Expedition -to Egypt abandoned--Scio--Leaves Mr. North to go -to Smyrna--Storms--Danger and cold--Arrives at Smyrna 120 - - -CHAPTER XII - -Life in Smyrna--Trip to Trios--Foster falls in love--Cockerell -starts alone for town of Seven Churches--Pergamo--Knifnich-- -Sumeh--Commerce all in the hands of Greeks--Karasman Oglu--Turcomans ---Sardis--Allah Sheri--Crosses from Valley of Hermus to that of the -Meander--Hierapolis--Danger of the country--Turns westwards 134 - - -CHAPTER XIII - -Back into civilisation--Nasli Bazar--Nysa--Guzul--Hissar -(Magnesia)--The plague--Aisaluck (Ephesus)--Scala Nuova--A storm ---Samos--Priene--Canna--Geronta--Knidos--Rhodes--Mr. North -again--Sails for Patara--Castel Rosso--Cacava--Myra--The shrine of -St. Nicolas--Troubles with natives--A water snake--Finica--Carosi-- -Olympus--Volcanic fire--Phaselis--Falls in with the _Frederiksteen_ 153 - - -CHAPTER XIV - -Adalia--Satalia (Sidé)--Alaia--Hostility of natives--Selinty--Cape -Anemurium--Visit of a pasha--Chelindreh--Porto Cavaliero--Seleucia--A -privateer--Natives hostile--Pompeiopolis--Tarsous--A poor -reception--Explores a lake--Castle of Ayas--Captain -Beaufort wounded by natives--Sails for Malta 173 - - -CHAPTER XV - -Malta--Attacked by bilious fever--Sails to Palermo--Segeste--Leaves -for Girgenti--Immigrant Albanians--Selinunto--Travelling with -Sicilians--Girgenti--Restores the Temple of the Giants--Leaves for -Syracuse--Occupations in Syracuse--Sale of the Ægina -Marbles--Leaves for Zante 199 - - -CHAPTER XVI - -Athens--The excavation of marbles at Bassæ--Bronstedt's mishap--Fate of -the Corinthian capital of Bassæ--Severe illness--Stackelberg's mishap ---Trip to Albania with Hughes and Parker--Thebes--Livadia--The five -emissaries--State of the country--Merchants of Livadia--Delphi--Salona ---Galaxidi--Patras--Previsa--Nicopolis--Arta--The plague--Janina 216 - - -CHAPTER XVII - -Ali Pasha--Psallida--Euphrosyne--Mukhtar--Starts for a trip to -Suli--Cassiopeia--Unable to ford river--Turns back to Janina--Leaves -to return to Athens--Crosses the Pindus through the snow--Malakash ---A robber--Meteora--Turkish rule--The monastery--By Trikhala, -Phersala, Zituni, Thermopylæ and Livadia to Athens 235 - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -Athens--To Zante for sale of Phigaleian Marbles--Returns to -Athens--Fever--Spencer Stanhope--Trip to Marathon, &c.--Ramazan ---Living out in the country--A picnic at Salamis--Presented -with a block of Panathenaic frieze--Trip to Ægina--Leaves -Athens for Italy 252 - - -CHAPTER XIX - -Naples--Pompeii--Rome--The German Rester got rid of--Social -success in Rome--Leaves for Florence--Bartholdy and the -Niobe group--Lady Dillon--The Wellington Palace--Pisa--Tour -in the north--Meets Stackelberg again--Returns to -Florence and Rome--Homeward bound--Conclusion 269 - - -FRONTISPIECE - -PORTRAIT OF C. R. COCKERELL, _after a Pencil Drawing by_ -J. D. INGRES. - - - - -TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE AND THE LEVANT - - - - -CHAPTER I - -LEAVES LONDON FOR PLYMOUTH--THE DESPATCH VESSEL--THEY TAKE A FRENCH -PRIZE--THE PRISONERS--AN ALARM--CADIZ--MALTA--LIFE ON BOARD--THE -DARDANELLES--TAKES BOAT FOR CONSTANTINOPLE. - - -"I started from London on Saturday, April the 14th, 1810, with 200l. in -my pocket to pay expenses. By the favour of Mr. Hamilton I was to carry -out despatches to Mr. Adair, our ambassador at Constantinople, so I had -in prospect a free passage in fair security to the furthest point of my -intended journey. As my good friend and master in Art, Mr. R. Smirke, -accompanied me to Salisbury, we loitered there a little, but for the -rest of my journey, night and day, I lost not one moment. Nevertheless I -had forgotten that when on Government duty one has no business to stop -at all anywhere, and when I was cross-examined as to my journey by the -Admiral of the Port at Plymouth, I felt extremely awkward. - -On the morning following my arrival, viz. April 16th, I embarked on -board the vessel which was to carry me. She was a lugger-rigged despatch -boat, hired by Government, named the _Black Joke_. She was very old, as -she had been at the battle of Camperdown in 1797, but I was charmed with -her neatness and tidiness. We had ten guns, thirty-five men, one sheep, -two pigs and fowls. The commander's name was Mr. Cannady, and we were -taking out two young midshipmen to join the squadron off Cadiz. - -We did not set sail till the 19th. Once out in the open sea the two -young midshipmen were very ill and so was our commander. - -On the third day out, Sunday, April 22nd, while we were at dinner the -boatswain suddenly sang out, 'Sail ahead!' We ran up to see what it -might be, and the ship was pronounced to be a merchant brig. At the same -time, to be prepared in case of deception, all things were cleared for -action. It was not long before we came up with her, and the master went -aboard. Presently we heard the report of two pistols. Great was our -astonishment, and the expression of suspense on every face was a study -till it was relieved by the voice of the master bawling through a -trumpet that she was a British merchantman, the _Frances_, from Fiale -(_sic_), laden with cotton, figs, and other things, that she had been -captured by a French privateer, and was now our prize. At these words -the joy of the sailors was such as you cannot conceive. When the master -came aboard again we learnt that the two shots came from a brace of -pistols which were handed to him by the captain of the _Frances_ when -she was boarded, and which he discharged for fear of accidents. - -The French crew of eight men, all very ragged, was brought on board. As -they manifested some unwillingness at first, Cannady thought fit to -receive them with drawn cutlasses; but they made no sort of resistance. -With them came an English boy, son of the owner of the _Frances_, and -from him we got an interesting account of her being taken. As his father -had but a short time before lost another ship, the boy showed a joy at -this recovery which was delightful to see, but he behaved very nicely -about recommending the Frenchmen to us. They had treated him very well, -he said, and were good sailors. It was settled that the prize master -should be sent with three or four men, the master's mate at their head, -to Plymouth. I took the opportunity of sending a few words home, and off -she went. With a fair wind she was out of sight in an hour. As I was the -only man in our ship who could speak a word of French, I was made -interpreter in examining the prisoners. If the account they give is -correct, our sailors, who are entitled to an eighth part of the salvage, -will share 3,645l. 10s. 8d. I took an early opportunity, when Cannady -talked of our luck and anticipated more, to assure him that the only -good fortune I desired was a safe and quick passage to Constantinople, -for fear he should think I was looking out for prize-money. I don't know -what my share would be, if indeed I have any, but if I find I have, I -shall consider how to dispose of it in a handsome way. - -The poor Frenchmen were very miserable, and I, partly out of pity, and -more because I wanted to practise speaking, rather made friends with -them. They are very different from our men. They lounge about anyhow in -a disorderly fashion, are much dirtier--in fact filthy, so that our -sailors complain of them loudly in this respect--and are much livelier. -I saw three of them sitting yesterday all of a heap reading 'Télémaque' -(fancy that!) with the utmost avidity, and when they see me drawing, -they seem to crawl all over me to watch the operation. My special friend -is one Esprit Augin, who appears to be superior to the rest and to speak -better. We talk together every day till I am tired. In spite of his -grief at being a prisoner--and he appeared to feel his position more -than any of them--he began the very next day to talk to me of balls, -masquerades, promenades, and so on with inexpressible delight, and I -even thought at one moment that we should have had a pas seul on the -deck. He sang me no end of songs. He was as vain as he was lively. I -told him I should like to make a drawing of a youth named Jean -Requette, a handsome, clever-looking boy of the party; at which he -sighed deeply and said, 'Moi je ne suis pas joli.' - -Amongst other things, Augin told us that he had great hopes of being set -free again, for that there were two French privateer frigates off -Ferrol; and when we came off that point on Sunday the 29th, and I heard -the boatswain sing out 'Two sail ahead,' we made sure we had met them. -All glasses were out in an instant, and sure enough there were two -privateers. - -Too proud to alter it, we held quietly on our course, and they came -quickly up with us. We made the private signals to them, but as the sun -was low and just behind them we could not make out the answer or what -colours they flew. - -Thereupon orders were given to clear for action. In a moment all was -activity. The sailors stripped to their shirts. The guns were run out. -Greville and I loaded the muskets and pistols. Every man had his place. -Mine was at the stern in charge of the despatches, ready tied to a -cannon shot, to sink them in case of necessity, and with orders to make -the best use I could of the muskets. We were all ready by the time the -first of the privateers came within speaking distance of us. There was a -dead silence on both sides for a moment, a moment of intense suspense, -then our commander spoke them, and the answer, to our delight, came in -English. They were the _Iris_ and _Matchless_ privateers from Guernsey -on the look-out for the Isle de France men going into Bordeaux. A boat -came aboard us, and I was not sorry that they should see our deck and -that I knew how to take care of despatches. It is wonderful how the -animation of preparations for fighting takes away from the natural fear. -If I had had to look on without anything to do, I should have been in a -dreadful fright. - -After this false alarm we went on to Cadiz without any event, beyond -meeting with occasional merchantmen, whom we always thought proper to -board. - -I could not go ashore at Cadiz, and I shall never cease to regret it; -but the orders of the naval authorities were peremptory that the lugger -should proceed immediately with her despatches to Malta.[1] We deposited -our prisoners with the fleet." - - -The next place the _Black Joke_ touched at was Gibraltar, where she -delivered letters and despatches. She could only stay four or five -hours, but Cockerell was able to go ashore. As it was a market day, the -scene Gibraltar, and this was the first time he had ever been in a -foreign country, it is not to be wondered at that he was intoxicated -with delight. He gushes over it in the style of the very young -traveller. - - -"I like watching the sailors. Many of them are very fine fellows, and I -have nearly filled my book with drawings of them and the Frenchmen. -Self-consciousness had the most ludicrous effect upon them when I was -doing their portraits, and great rough fellows who you might think would -eat horseflesh would simper with downcast eyes, like a coquettish miss. -Their ways of killing time are wonderful. Sometimes you see one -whittling a piece of hard wood for some trifling purpose for hours and -hours together. At another time, if an unfortunate little bird comes on -to the vessel, they run about the rigging damning its eyes till they are -tired out. There are some great singers amongst them, who treat us in -the evenings. Their taste is to sing about two hundred verses to the -same tune. I am told we have one highly accomplished, who can sing a -song of three hundred. I only hope we shall never hear him. - -We arrived at Malta overnight and awaited despatches, which we have -received this morning. Everywhere the authorities are so solicitous that -no time should be lost that we are sent on without mercy. I am told the -despatches we brought here were of consequence; but, like all postmen, -we know nothing of the contents of the letters we bring. Only we see -that all rejoice and wish the commandant, General Oakes,[2] joy. I also -hear that the French are advancing on Sicily. - -The harbour here is full of prizes. A frigate came in this morning full -of shot holes. She had cut out a brig from Taranto in the face of two -brigs, a schooner, and a frigate." - - -From Malta it took the _Black Joke_ over a month to get to -Constantinople. Most of the letters written home during the time were -sent back by the _Black Joke_ on her return voyage. It will be seen why -they never reached their destination. - -Meanwhile some notes were despatched by other means, and from them I -extract the following: - - -"We took a pilot from Malta, a decayed Ragusan captain. Had I made but -the first steps in Italian as I had in French, I might have profited by -this opportunity as I did by the French prisoners; for the man spoke no -other language, and was to direct us through a dangerous sea by signs -and grimace as the only means of communication between us. - -At first we had a fair wind, but as we got nearer the Morea it became -less favourable and blew us nearly up to Zante. Some ancient writer -records the saying in his day, 'Let him who is to sail round Taenarus -(Matapan) take a last farewell of his relations;' and it is still -dangerous, on account of the eddies of wind about Taygetus for one -thing, and on account of the cruel Mainiote pirates for another. We -passed it securely; but the story of an English brig of war having been -boarded and taken by them while the captain and crew were at dinner, and -that not long ago, put us on our guard. We had nettings up at night, and -a sharp look-out at all hours. - -I shall never forget how we made our entrance into the Hellespont with -sixteen sail of Greek and Turkish fruit-boats, all going up to -Constantinople. - -No yachting match could be so pretty as these boats, tacking and -changing their figures, with their white sails, painted sides, and -elegant forms, as compared with our northern sea boats. Our superior -sailing, however, was soon confessed, and we went past them. As we did -so, several goodnaturedly threw cucumbers and other fruits on board. - -We cast anchor not far from the second castle near the northern side, -and put ashore to water where we saw a spring. It was evening, and under -the shade of a fine plane tree, by a pool lined and edged with marble, -before a fountain of elegant architecture, sat on variegated carpets -some majestic Turks. They were armed and richly dressed. Their composed, -placid countenances seemed unmoved at our approach. One of them spoke -and made me a sign to draw nearer. I did so, and with an air at once -courteous and commanding he signed to me to sit near him and offered me -a long pipe to smoke. After some pause he put questions, and smiled when -I could not answer them. By their gestures and the word Inglis I saw -they were aware of our nationality. They looked approbation and admired -the quality of my grey cloth coat. After some minutes I rose and left -them with a bow, enchanted with their politeness, and fancying myself in -a scene of the 'Arabian Nights.' - -Shortly after we were visited by our consul and his son. We learnt later -that they were Jews, but their handsome appearance imposed completely on -us, and, in spite of the mixture of Jewish obsequiousness, their Turkish -dignity made us conceive a prodigious opinion of them. The consul -understood quickly that I was a milordo, and taking from his pocket an -antique intaglio he begged my acceptance of it with a manner I in my -innocence thought I could not refuse. I was anxious to show my sense of -his courtesy by the offer of a pound of best Dartford powder, which, -after some pressing, he accepted; but at the same time added, so far as -I understood through the interpreter, that he hoped I did not mean to -pay him for his intaglio. I was overcome with confusion, shocked at my -own indelicacy in giving so coarse an expression to my gratitude, and I -would have given worlds to have undone the whole affair. Of course my -embarrassment was perfectly needless. A little experience of them taught -me that this was only the shallow _finesse_ of the Orientals, and -looking back I have laughed to think of my ingenuous greenness at that -time. - -The following day Captain Cannady and myself, with my despatches and -baggage, the _Black Joke_ not being allowed to approach the capital,[3] -embarked in a Turkish rowboat with a reis and twelve men, to go up to -Constantinople. Now for the first time I felt myself thoroughly divided -from England. - -The wind and current were against us, and we were forced to put ashore -early in the evening of the first day. I pitched my tent on the shore -opposite Abydos. It soon attracted the notice of an aga who appeared on -a fine Arab horse, and sent a message to know who and what we were. We -made a fire and stayed there all night sitting round it, and I felt as -if I was at the theatre, passing my first night on foreign soil among -strange bearded faces and curious costumes lit up by the flames. I -refused a bed and slept on a rug, but next day I thought I should have -dropped with faintness and fatigue. - -I soon got accustomed to lying on hard ground, and, in after times, I -have slept for many a three months running without even taking off my -clothes except to bathe, or having any other bed than my pamplona or my -pelisse. The second night we slept at Gallipoli, and altogether, owing -to the strong wind, we were no less than five days getting to -Constantinople. - -Our Turks were obliging and cheerful, but had very little air of -discipline, and the work they did they seemed to do by courtesy. The -reis was a grave, mild old man, who sang us Turkish songs. - -We approached Constantinople as the sun rose, and as it shone on its -glorious piles of mosques and minarets, golden points and crescents, -painted houses, kiosks and gardens, our Turks pulled harder at their -oars, shouting '_Stamboul, guzel azem Stamboul_!' The scene grew more -and more brilliant as we drew nearer, till it became overwhelming as we -entered the crowded port. Nothing but my despatches under my arm -recalled me from a sense of being in a dream. In forty days, spent as it -were, in the main, in the sameness of shipboard, I had jumped from -sombre London to this fantastic paradise. - -I left my boat and walked at once to the English palace with my -despatches, which I then and there delivered." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The British fleet was at this time co-operating with the Spaniards -in defending Cadiz against the French. - -[2] Afterwards Sir Hildebrand Oakes, Bart., G.C.B. Served with -distinction in India, Egypt, America, and elsewhere. - -[3] No ships of war were ever allowed up to Constantinople in those -days, and, indeed, much later. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -CONSTANTINOPLE--CAPTURE OF THE _BLACK JOKE_--LIFE IN CONSTANTINOPLE--ITS -DANGERS--FRIENDS--AUDIENCE OF CAIMACAM--TRIP UP THE BOSPHORUS. - - -"My first few days were spent in writing, executing commissions, and -fitting out my good Cannady, who was to return with the answers to the -despatches; all as it turned out to no purpose, for off Algiers the poor -old _Black Joke_ was taken by two French privateers, one of ten, the -other of eight guns. Becalmed off that place, she was attacked on either -side by these lighter vessels, which, with oars and a superior number of -men, had an irresistible advantage. After being gallantly defended by -Cannady, she was taken with the loss of several fine fellows, and her -guns dismounted in the discharging them, for she was a very old vessel. -With her were taken a number of little Turkish purses and trifles, -souvenirs to friends at home, and two fine carpets I paid 30l. for, -which were to have made a figure at Westbourne[4]--I had made a present -of the same kind also to our commander--and all my letters home and -sketches made up till then. - -Mr. Adair[5] and Canning[6] have been very polite, and I have dined -frequently at the Palace, and although this is not the sort of society I -very much covet, I find it so extremely useful that I cannot be too -careful to keep up my acquaintance there. Mr. Canning, of whose kindness -on all occasions I cannot speak too highly, has obliged me exceedingly -in lending me a large collection of fairly faithful drawings of the -interiors of mosques, some of them never drawn before, as well as other -curious buildings here, made by a Greek of this place. In copying them I -have been closely employed, as when Mr. Adair leaves, which will be -shortly, they will be sent off to England. I had a scheme of drawing -from windows, but it has failed. I find no Jew or Christian who is bold -enough to admit me into his house for that purpose, so I have to work -from memory. After having made a memorandum, I develop it at home, and -then return again and again to make more notes, till at length the -drawing gets finished. In arriving here just in time to take advantage -of Mr. Adair's firman to see the mosques I was most fortunate. It is a -favour granted to ambassadors only once, and Mr. Adair thinks himself -lucky to get it before going away; but I will tell you in confidence -that I regret very little the impossibility of drawing in them. They -seem to me to be ill-built and barbarous. - -Lord Byron and Mr. Hobhouse[7] were of the party." - - -The Djerid, a mimic fight with javelins on horseback, now, I believe, -entirely disused in Turkey, was still the favourite pastime of young -Turks, and Cockerell speaks of it as being constantly played on the high -open ground or park above Pera, and of his going to watch it. - - -"One day I was persuaded by an English traveller of my acquaintance to -go a walk through Constantinople without our usual protection of a -janissary, but the adventures which befell us in consequence made me -very much repent of it, and put me a good deal out of conceit with the -Turks. We walked to the gate of the Seraglio, in front of which there is -a piazza with a very beautiful fountain in it. This lovely object was so -attractive that I could not resist going up to it and examining the -marble sculpture, painting, and gilding. Hereupon an old Turk who -guarded the gate of the Seraglio, offended, I suppose, at my presuming -to come so near, strode up with a long knotted stick and a volley of -language which I could not understand, but which it was easy to see the -drift of. I should have been glad to run away, but in the presence of -Turks and other bystanders I resolved to fall a martyr rather than -compromise my nation. So, waving my hand in token of assent to his -desire for my withdrawal, I slowly paced my way back with as much -dignity as I could assume. I heard my Turk behind coming on faster and -more noisy, and I shall never forget the screwing up of the sinews of my -back for the expected blow. It did not fall, or there would have ended -my travels; for, either astonished at my coolness or satisfied with my -assent, he desisted. - -A little further on, in passing through the court of a mosque, I was -gazing at some of the architectural enrichments of it, when I felt a -violent blow on the neck. I looked down, and there was a sturdy little -figure, with a face full of fury, preparing to repeat the dose. He was -of such indescribably droll proportions that in spite of the annoyance I -could hardly help laughing. I held out my hand to stop him, and at the -same time some Turks luckily came up and appeased my assailant. He was -an idiot, one of those to whom it is the custom among the Turks to give -their liberty, and who are generally, it appears, to be found hanging -about the mosques. - -One more unpleasantness occurred in the same unfortunate walk. As we -were looking at some carpets, I observed my servant Dimitri growing -pale; he said he was so weak he could hardly stand, and he thought he -must have caught the plague. I supported him out of the bazaar, but -afterwards kept him at arm's length till we got home, sent him to bed, -changed from top to toe, and smoked. I was to have dined at the Palace, -but sent and made my excuses. Meeting the English consul, good old -Morier, I refused to shake hands with him. He, however, would have none -of it, laughed at me and carried me home to dinner quietly with him. -Dimitri reappeared later on, and all was well; but the day is memorable -as having been odious." - - -The usual sights of Constantinople in 1810 were the same as now--viz. -the dancing dervishes, the howling dervishes, the Turkish bath, and the -Sultan's visit to the Mosque. They are what every traveller has seen and -every young one thought it his duty to give an account of, and I shall -not transcribe Cockerell's description of them. Only the last can have -been at all different from what may be seen now. It was remarkable for -the startling costumes of the janissaries, and for the fact that instead -of a fez, the universal and mean headdress of to-day, every Turk wore a -turban, which made a crowd worth seeing. The janissaries wore a singular -cap, from the centre of which sprang a tree of feathers which, rising to -a certain height, fell again like a weeping willow and occupied an -enormous space. On these occasions about fifty of them surrounded the -Sultan with wands in their hands, and no doubt had a very striking -effect. - - -"I have made several useful friends. One is a brother artist, the Greek -who did the mosques for Canning. We have paid each other several visits, -and become fairly intimate by dint of dragoman, mutual admiration, and -what was a superb present from me, a little Indian ink and two English -pencils. He has been specially attentive in his visits here, hoping, as -he confessed, to find out some secret in the art from such a connoisseur -as myself. Another is an old gentleman in a long grey beard, who a few -days ago walked into my room, telling me he had been induced to call -upon me by hearing of my great reputation. He is an artist, and I showed -him my colours and instruments, with which he was greatly delighted. I -have not yet returned his visit, but I am shortly to do so, and he is to -introduce me to some houses out of which I can draw. I have found a most -elegant and useful friend in the Sicilian ambassador, who has many -beautiful books and drawings. The young men I chiefly live with are Sir -William Ingilby; Foster, an English architect, and a most amusing youth; -and a Mr. Charnaud, son of a consul at Salonica. We meet at dinner very -often, but they are all, even architect Foster, too idle to be -companions any further than that. If I chose I could make numbers of -acquaintance among the Greeks and Armenians, who all speak French. -Their ladies are very agreeable, but the information I should glean -amongst them would not pay for the time. - -Canning is very much liked here among the merchants, though they say -they will never get such another man as Adair. For me he is rather too -grand to be agreeable. - -This is a most interesting time among the Turks. All is bustle and the -sound of arms in every street. The Grand Signor is going to the Russian -war next week. His procession will, of course, be a grand sight, but -they despond throughout. The Turks have a prophecy that the empire will -expire with the last of the line of Mahomet, and the present Sultan has -no children. - -The number of troops passing to Adrianople is incredible, and such -barbarousness and total absence of discipline could, one would think, -never have been known even in the Crusades; but they are unbelievably -picturesque. A warrior disposed to defend his country (for none are -compelled; only, happily for the empire, the Turks are naturally -inclined that way) goes to the Government and demands whatever he thinks -will fit him out for the purpose. He gets 200 or 300 piastres, which is -to find him in arms and ammunition. These will consist of a brace of -pistols, a broadsword, and a musket, more often chosen for its silver -inlay than for its efficiency. He is confined to no particular dress. -He wears what he likes, and goes when and how he likes. The Government -finds him in provisions. One may see them everywhere about, reposing in -small parties in the shade or near a fountain and looking like banditti, -which, indeed, if they catch you out of sight of the town, they are. -They commit the most wanton cruelties and robberies in their march, and -at present there is no such thing as travelling in the country. As you -meet these independent ruffians in the street they look at you with the -most supercilious contempt and always expect you to make way for them. -Even yet the Turks have not lost the air of invaders, and look upon the -Greeks as conquered slaves, while these feel it as strongly as if they -had just lost their country. The other day I went to sketch some -antiquities under the walls. In the garden of a poor Greek we gathered -some fruit for which we meant to pay, but with the greatest kindness he -pressed us to eat more, and filled our pockets with cucumbers, saying we -were Christians, and he would take no money. - -The English have the best reputation of any Franks in this country. - -In walking out the other day our guide was insulted by a drunken -janissary. On the man's answering him the janissary came up, threatening -him with his sword. At this our man said he was surprised at such -behaviour to an Englishman; but the janissary declared he was a -Frenchman, and that unless he came and swept the street where he (the -janissary) sat we should not pass. Fortunately another janissary came -up, who was not drunk, and dragged him off, or there is no knowing how -the dispute would have ended. I hear a great deal of Sir Sidney Smith, -who, on account of his gallant co-operation with the Turks at Acre, has -gained the English much credit. Any Turk who has ever seen him is proud -of it, and whenever we meet a soldier the next question to whether we -are English is whether we know Sir Sidney Smith. I always say 'Yes,' to -which they say 'Buono.' The other day we overheard a Turk saying that -there were but two Generals in the world--Sir Sidney Smith and the -one-eyed captain (Lord Nelson). The Turks are so fond of Sir Sidney for -his wearing a Turkish dress, as well as for his gallantry, that he might -do what he pleased with them. - -On July the 30th Canning had his audience of the Caimacam, who is -substitute for the Grand Vizir while the latter is away with the army. I -thought it my duty as an Englishman to attend him to the audience, and -therefore went to his secretary to inquire if I was right in thinking -so, although no other of the English travellers did, and I suppose -Canning thought I had done rightly, for he did me the great honour of -ordering that of the pelisses presented to the English gentlemen at the -audience, I should receive one of the four handsomest, the others being -of very inferior quality.[8] - -We rode through the streets as before, much admired by the populace, who -seemed, in these narrow streets, as though they would have fallen on us -from the roofs on which they stood. On our way we met quantities of -soldiers straggling about the town, waiting for the departure of the -Grand Signor. One of them, who took care to let himself be well seen, in -bravado had run his sword through the fleshy part of his shoulder, and -held the hilt in the hand of the same arm. When we saw it, it had been -done some hours, for the blood which had escaped from the wound was -clotted and dried. We proceeded, not to the Sublime Porte, for that has -been burnt, but to a palace which the Caimacam inhabits at present. Here -we scrambled up a wide staircase in a crowd of Turks and other intruders -who had no business in our train. The ceremony of the audience was very -short. The Caimacam appeared amidst cries of 'Marshalla! Marshalla!' -Then Canning and he sat face to face and delivered their speeches. I -thought Canning delivered his with a very manly good manner. After the -answer had been given, coffee, sweetmeats, and essence were brought to -our minister only, and when we had each put on our cloaks we returned, -as before, to Pera. I afterwards dined at the palace. I have this moment -heard that of sixteen fine sail of the line I lately saw in the -Bosphorus three are returned disabled. The Russians had but five, and -two corvettes, yet they got the best of the engagement. It only shows -what the naval discipline of the Turks is like. - -_Buyukdere._--Here are the country residences of all the foreign -ambassadors and merchants, and hard by, at Therapia, are the palaces -(such as they are, for the Turks allow them no colour but black) of the -Greek princes. I have taken a ride to see the scenes described by Lady -M. W. Montagu[9] about Belgrade, and in a gush of patriotic pride I sat -down and made a careful sketch and plan of what I was told was her -house. When I had done it I found to my disgust that it had been built -by her husband's successor, Sir Richard Worsley,[10] a very dull man, -whose house could interest nobody. - -I had Foster with me as companion. We went in a boat up to the mouth of -the Black Sea, where it was very rough, and in landing on one of the -rocks I was in great danger." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[4] His father's home, Westbourne House, Paddington, a country residence -on the site of the present Westbourne Park. - -[5] The British ambassador, afterwards Sir Robert Adair. - -[6] Stratford Canning (1776-1880), afterwards Viscount Stratford de -Redcliffe. Secretary to the Embassy at this time, and later the well -known ambassador to the Porte. - -[7] John Cam Hobhouse (1786-1869), afterwards Baron Broughton Best man -at Lord Byron's wedding. He was more than once a member of the -Government. - -[8] In every present from a Turk to a Christian there is something -insulting implied. When a foreign minister is to be introduced at the -Ottoman Court the embassy is stopped in the outer apartment of the -serai, and when announced to the Despot his literal expression is: "Feed -and clothe these Christian dogs and then bring them into my presence." -Such is the real meaning of the dinner and pelisses given to ambassadors -and their suites.--_Beaufort._ - -[9] Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), authoress of the famous -"Letters." Her husband, Edward Wortley Montagu, went to Constantinople -as British Ambassador in 1716. - -[10] 1751-1805. Traveller and collector of antiquities. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -CONSTANTINOPLE CONTINUED--DANGERS OF SKETCHING--TURKISH ARCHITECTURE--A -TURKISH ACQUAINTANCE--SOCIETY IN CONSTANTINOPLE--VISIT TO THE PRINCES' -ISLANDS. - - -Cockerell's mother had wished him to take out an English manservant with -him, but the common sense of the rest of the family had overruled this -scheme. He writes, therefore, speaking of a man he had engaged at -Constantinople: - - -"As a servant I think Dimitri will suit me very well. He is well -informed, willing, and civil, knows all the countries I propose to -visit, is not extravagant, and does not seem afraid of danger. I must -confess he is very small, but so much the more is he subject to my fist. -The wages he asks are enormous--60l. a year--but I think I shall get him -for 45l. or 50l., and at that figure it will, I think, be worth while to -engage him; at any rate, he will be better than such an English lubber -as my mother proposed I should take, who would have cost me more and -have been of no use. I find I am living now for rather over 7s. 6d. a -day, servant included. Everything is at least as dear as in London. - -The drawings I told you of are finished, and I am now doing a set of -palaces, serais, &c., but the difficulty and really the danger I have -had to incur to do them you would not believe. As for insult, a -Christian has always to put up with that. Perhaps the Turks, pressed as -they are by the Russians, were never in a more sensitive or inflammatory -condition than at present, nor the country under less discipline and -order. In consequence they are more insolent to, and more suspicious of -foreigners than usual. The other day I was in the upper part of a shop -making some memoranda of a curious fountain while my servant waited -below in a coffee-house. He assured me that no less than forty Turks -came in, one after another, to ask who was that infidel, and what he -might be doing there. Again, I offered some bostangis from five to ten -piastres to admit me into a kiosk of the Grand Signors, now never used. -The poor men trembled at the risk, but they took us, and we were obliged -to steal along as they did, more as if we were going to commit a -burglary than visit a deserted palace. - -As we were rowing to it we saw a soldier armed at all points, with his -arms bare--a savage figure--rowing by the Greek and Armenian houses at -the water's edge. My servant knew his occupation well. He was searching -after some open door through which he could get into a house, and, if he -found the master of it, he would demand a hundred or two piastres, -saying he had occasion for the money as he was going to the wars. The -poor man would have had to submit; to kill such a robber, even if he -could, would be to incur the vengeance of all his regiment, with the -risk of getting his house and half the neighbourhood burnt down. The -Greek tavern-keepers dare not open their doors now, for these scoundrels -swagger in and eat and drink and refuse to pay. The Turks themselves, -however, are enthusiastic about the army. I saw the other day, as a -colonel of one of the regiments was passing through Tophana, the people -rushing forward to bless him, and kissing the hem of his garment. They -like fighting and, I may add, blood, and cruelties to their fellow-men; -although to animals they are remarkably humane. The number of people -with slit or otherwise injured noses is a thing one cannot help -remarking. The other day I saw one man who had patched his, which was -still unhealed, with cotton, and he was fanning away the flies from it. -When I walked up to the gate of the Seraglio to see the five tails[11] -hanging up, there was the block of stone on which the heads of offenders -are put, and the blood still there. - -To architecture in the highest sense, viz. elegant construction in -stone, the Turks have no pretension. The mosques are always copies of -Santa Sophia with trifling variations, and have no claim to -originality. The bazaars are large buildings, but hardly architectural. -The imarets, or hospitals, are next in size (there are about fifty of -them in Constantinople, in which D'Ohson says 30,000 people daily are -fed), but neither have they anything artistic about them. - -The aqueducts, finally, are either reparations or imitations of old -Roman work. - -These are all the buildings of a permanent character. The -dwelling-houses have the air of temporary habitations. They are -constructed mainly of wood, and are divided into very few chambers. -Turks eat and drink, live and sleep in one room. The sofa is their seat -and their bed, and when that is full they lay quilts, which are kept in -every room in cupboards, on the floor, and sleep about in them half -dressed. As ornaments to the walls they hang up their arms. They live in -this way even in the highest ranks. The men have no desire for privacy, -and the women's apartments are altogether separated off. The space -covered by each house is what we should consider immense. It has usually -only one storey--never more than two. The ground floor, used for -stables, storage, and offices, stands open on columns. A staircase, -often outside, leads up to an open balcony, out of which the effendi's -apartments open. These seldom consist of more than three--one for -audience and for living in; another for business, the secretary, &c.; -and the third for upper servants, the preparation of coffee, pipes, &c. -The harem, as I said, is parted off by a high wall with a separate -court, garden, and, often, exit to the street; but all one sees of a -house outside is generally a high wall and a capacious door into a court -with a hoodwink shade over it, and the gentlemen's apartments hanging -over one end of the premises. Sometimes there is a kiosk leading out of -the gallery to a rather higher level when there is a view to be got by -it, but externally there is nothing pretending to architectural effect -in the private house of a Turk. - -The really ornamental buildings in which anything that may be called -Turkish architecture is displayed, are the fountains and the grand -kiosks or summer residences. - -The fountains are commonly square reservoirs, the four sides enriched -with marble, carved, panelled, and gilt, with all the resources of -genuine Turkish taste. The forms are generally flowers and fruits and -texts from the Koran, with perhaps an inscription in memory of the -founder, such as 'Drink of my limpid waters and pray for the soul of -Achmet.' The tank is covered with a dome and gilt cullices with great -eaves which cast a broad shade over anyone who comes for water or -repose. - -But the most charming things are the kiosks. You can imagine nothing -slighter than their architecture is. They are entirely of wood, and -even the most extensive are finished in about two months. They display -the customs of the Sultans, and they are such as you might imagine from -reading the 'Arabian Nights'--golden halls with cupolas, domes and -cullices hanging over pools of water, with fountains and little falls of -water, all in the genuine Turkish taste. - -Moreover, although it is a subject no one has hitherto condescended to -treat of, they do show an artistic taste in the cheerful disposition of -their apartments, gardens, courts, and fountains, which is worth -attention. - -The rooms are all so contrived as to have windows on two sides at least, -and sometimes on three, and the windows are so large that the effect is -like that of a glass-house. The Turks seem to be the only people who -properly appreciate broad sunshine and the pleasure of a fine view. -Unfortunately, the Turkish, which is something like the Persian style, -only appears in the architecture. As to decoration, I was bitterly -disappointed to find that now they have no manner peculiar to themselves -of ornamenting these fanciful interiors. They are done in the old French -crinkum-crankum [? Louis XV.--_Ed._] style by rascally renegades, and -very badly. - -On a green lawn, in a shady valley partly surrounded by fine trees, -partly hanging over the Bosphorus to catch the cool of the sea-breeze, -there stands one of the kiosks of the Sultan, a real summer-house -consisting of one room only, with several small entering rooms for the -Sultan, one for his suite and some small ones for service. - -This is known as the Chebuble kiosk. In the valley near are various -marble columns put up to commemorate shots made by the Grand Signor in -practising at a mark. - -Another we saw was the serai of the Sultan's sister. It was at the peril -of the poor gardener's head, and I was obliged to bribe him well for the -sight. I was able to make a running sketch of the place, and to glance -at the furnishing, which was all newly done up for the Sultana's -reception. The sofas were all splendidly embroidered by native -work-people, and there was a magnificent profusion of Lyons silk, the -colours and the gilding on the ceilings and walls as brilliant as you -can imagine. One room was entirely, as I was told, of gold plaque. There -was frosted and embossed work as a relief to the colours, and the -effect, if very gaudy, was striking. Generally this sort of splendour in -Turkey is expended on the carved ceilings, but in this case the sofas -and window frames were as rich as the rest, and the niches with shelves -for flowers on either side of the entrance. - -The baths, which form a principal feature in every serai, are very -elegant here. The pavement, the fountains, and the pillars are all -marble, and carved and gilded and painted besides. - -But the apartment which gave me most pleasure is the reception hall. It -has something the form of a cross, with a great oval centre which is 72 -feet by 51 feet, and to the extremities, looking, one on the garden, the -other on the port, the range is 114 feet by 105 feet. I do assure you -the effect of the room, with its gorgeous ceiling and the suspended -chandelier, is enchanting--quite one's ideal of what ought to be found -in the Oriental style. I am told that the Sultana entertains her brother -here by displaying all the beauties of her household. The most lovely -girls are assembled here to dance, and the Sultan watches them from a -window with a gold grating. When Sébastiani[12] assisted in the defence -of Constantinople, at the time of Admiral Duckworth's forcing of the -Dardanelles, the Sultana invited his wife here and received her with the -greatest honours. On landing from her boat she was passed through a -crowd of eunuchs richly dressed in gold and silk, and on entering the -house she found the staircase lined with the most beautiful young women, -who handed her up to the presence of the Sultana, where she was -entertained with sweetmeats, dancing, &c., as was Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu. - -Near this serai, and communicating with it, is the palace of the Pasha -to whom this Sultana was married; and his living here is an -extraordinary exception to the rule, which is that the husband of a -Sultana should never be allowed to live within twenty miles of the -capital--for political reasons, no doubt. When it is her pleasure to see -him she sends him a note in a pocket handkerchief, the corners of which -are folded over with a seal, so that it makes a bag. Sometimes the -invitation is conveyed by a hint: a slave is sent by the passage of -communication to open the door of his apartment, which the Pasha would -perfectly understand. - -The other parts of the palace are entirely for the use of slaves. There -are, as appears to be usual in Turkish palaces, several escapes, and to -these I looked with peculiar interest; since, if we had been caught, -there is no knowing what might have happened to the poor gardener, or, -for the matter of that, to myself. However, we were not interrupted, I -paid him 30 piastres and we slunk away together. - -We had not got home, however, before we met the boats of the Sultana, -which, if we had stayed there ten minutes longer, might have surprised -us. - -It is not easy to get into any intimacy with Turks; but if I have not -seen much of their society, I have seen more than any of my -fellow-travellers have. With those who have no manners at all it is not -difficult to get acquainted. For instance, an imam (priest), a neighbour -of ours, often drops in at the dinner hour, taking compassion on me when -I am alone. He plays at billiards, drinks and swears, and is very -troublesome; but he has a great respect for my art, and my plans above -all things excite his astonishment. I scraped acquaintance, too, with a -Turk architect, in the hope of getting to see more palaces; but he also -is too great a rogue to keep company with, for he gets drunk and stabs -his friends; and as for his art he is not worth cultivating for that, -for it is confined to the chisel and mallet. And his promises are false -promises; for with all my hopes I have never got him to show me -anything. My specimen friend hitherto is Beki-Beki Effendi, who seems to -be a real Turkish gentleman. He had been brought up in the Seraglio as -one of the attendants on the Grand Signor, and his manners struck me as -very fine, having a cheerfulness and regard for his visitors, mixed with -great dignity. My host, who has already shown me great kindnesses, -presented me to him and explained my mission. He expressed himself much -pleased to be made acquainted with an English traveller, hoped I was -well, liked Constantinople, &c., and presented me with a little bottle -of oil of aloes, the scent of which was nice. We smoked, ate -sweetmeats, and conversed by interpreter, and after two mortal hours' -stay (conceive such a visit!) were preparing to go when his -father-in-law arrived. I was told it would be grossly impolite to -persist in going, so we stopped on. Beki sent his slaves forward to -usher in the new arrival, and then stood in a particular spot and -position to receive him, and touched his garment with his hand, which he -then kissed. He then paid him the highest marks of attention, inquired -after his health, &c. The father then walked upstairs, attended by two -slaves, one on each side holding him under the arm, as if assisting him, -although he was not at all old. We stayed another half-hour, and then at -last tore ourselves away. - -In return for taking me to see a certain palace, Beki begged me show him -the English embassy. He accordingly called on me on an appointed day at -ten o'clock. Taking a hint from my host I had a breakfast prepared which -we should call a solid dinner; and a parasite living in the inn, a -common animal in these countries, assisted my party. My visitors made a -big day of it, and got very merry over their fare, drinking copiously of -rum punch, which, as it is not wine, is not forbidden to the Mussulman, -and at the end paid me a string of compliments. I presented my visitor -with one of those new phosphoric contrivances [? a tinder-box.--ED.], -and never was an effendi more delighted. 'If you had given me a casket -of jewels,' said he, 'I should not have been better pleased.' - -We walked up to the embassy and sauntered about the rooms. What best -pleased Beki were the pictures of the King and Queen, which he -pronounced very beautiful (_Chouk Guzul_), and the cut-glass -chandeliers; but the few windows seemed dull to his Turkish taste. - -We got home and regaled again, and on his proposal to retire, I returned -him his compliment and begged him to stay and sleep, which I am happy to -say he refused, for where we should have stowed him I know not. - -So passed an idle, odious day. I was worn out with trying to do the -agreeable through an interpreter, but--I had seen a Turkish gentleman. - -And when I reflect upon him, I cannot help feeling that, as a contrast -to what I am accustomed to, there was something very fascinating about -him. I have been used to see men slaves to their affairs, still wearing -themselves with work when they possess every requisite of life, and not -knowing how to enjoy the blessings their exertions have procured them. -Whereas here was a man who calmly enjoyed what he had, doing his best to -make himself and those around him happy. With any but absolute paupers -contentment is the common frame of mind in this country. The poor -tradesman in the bazaar works his hours of business, and then sits -cross-legged on his shop-board and enjoys his pipe like an emperor. -There is no mean cringeing for patronage. The very porters in their -services have an air of condescension, and never seem to feel -inferiority. - -The climate, of course, has a great deal to do with it. One may sleep in -the open air most of the year, and if one does little work, a bit of -water-melon and slice of bread dipped in salt and water is an excellent -repast. Temperance is hardly a virtue where rich food could only make -one unwell. - -Whatever be the attraction--the tenets of the Faith, or the leisurely -life, or the desire to live in Turkey without the inconveniences of -nonconformity--conversion to Mahommedanism is a very common thing. I -have met several French renegades, and some English have been pointed -out to me. Our frigates have frequent quarrels with the Turks on this -head; and even of the Spaniards, who are supposed to be so bigoted, an -incredible number turned Turks at the time that their ships of war first -came up here. - -As for society amongst the foreigners, diplomatic and others, although -there is a complete Frank quarter, and it is said to have been at one -time very pleasant, there is hardly any now. For one thing, in these -times of general war, the ministers of countries at variance at home now -hold no communication, nor do their families; in the case of the French -this is by a peremptory order of their Government. So there is little -meeting and next to no entertainment, and for lack of other amusement a -vast deal of scandal, of mining and countermining of each other's -reputations, with the result that they come to be nearly as mean in -character as they try to make each other out to be; and another reason -is that among the merchants who formerly vied in magnificence with the -ministers, there is now great distress, and hardly one could give a -decent dinner. Their ships lie rotting in the ports, and the hands, -Ragusans mostly, hang about gnawing their fingers with hunger. - -Among the few families one could visit was that of the Charnowskis, -Poles, the ladies of which are the admired of all the English here, and -especially of my two companions, Sir W. Ingilby and Foster, who have -fallen completely under the thumbs of these beautiful sirens. I saw -enough of them to feel compassion for my friends and almost to need it -myself. - -Another family we know, of the name of Hubsch, who are amusing. The -Baron, as he styles himself, is a sort of minister of a number of little -Powers which have no earthly relation with the Turks, as Denmark, -Prussia, Norway, &c., and as he hoists all their flags over his house, -the Turks believe him to be a very mighty person. He affects to be in -the secrets of all the Cabinets of Europe, and assumes an air of -prodigious mystery in politics. He is banker and manager of all things -and all persons who will be imposed upon by him. - -I imagine him to be a regular adventurer; but adventurers are common in -Constantinople. It seems to be one of their last resorts." - - -From notes in a sketch-book it appears that in the interval between the -writing of this letter and the next, which is dated from Salonica, my -father made an expedition to the Princes' Islands, in the Sea of -Marmora, in company with Foster and a Mr. Hume,[13] who had lately -returned from Egypt. His object in going was chiefly to visit the scene -of the death of his cousin, George Belli, R.N., lieutenant of the _Royal -George_, who was killed with four sailors of Admiral Duckworth's fleet -in attacking a monastery held by some Turks on the Island of Chalcis. - -An entry made on the same day gives one some idea of Turkish -misgovernment. "On the Princes' Islands they have lately discovered an -excellent earth for making crockery; but they dare not use it, for fear -the authorities should get ear of it and heavily tax them. With such -encouragement to industry, no wonder that Turkey should be bankrupt." - -A man's career is immensely influenced by his personal appearance. My -father's passport, made out at this time at Constantinople for his -voyage in the Levant, gives, as was usual in those days, for -identification, a description under several printed heads, as "stature," -"face," "eyes," &c., of the bearer. - -It is a large form printed in Italian, beginning "Noi Stratford Canning -ministro plenipotenziario di sua Maestà il re della Gran Bretagna," and -so on presently to Cockerell's name and the date, 8 September, 1810. At -the bottom is the description--"Statura, mezzana; viso, triangolare; -occhi, negri e splendenti; naso, fino; bocca di vermiglia; fronte, di -marmo," and below "in somma Apollo lui stesso." This was Canning's -jocose extravagance. Nevertheless it indicates that the bearer possessed -a fortunate exterior, which had probably something to do with the good -reception he generally met with in society throughout his life. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] Horse-tail standards, the symbols of the sultan's rank. - -[12] François Horace Bastien Sébastiani (1772-1851), a Corsican adherent -of Napoleon, under whom he rose to be general of division. In 1806 he -was sent as Ambassador to Constantinople. Later he fought in Spain, -Austria, Russia, Germany, and France in 1814. After the fall of Napoleon -he took service under the Bourbons, was Minister of Marine and Minister -for Foreign Affairs under Louis Philippe, Ambassador to England, -1835-1840, and was made finally a marshal of France. - -[13] Joseph Hume (1777-1855), a Scotchman of humble origin. Having made -money in India, he took to political life, sat in Parliament for various -constituencies, and for thirty years was leader of the Radical party. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -LEAVES CONSTANTINOPLE--BY TROY, SALONICA, MYCONE, DELOS, TO ATHENS--LIFE -IN ATHENS--ACQUAINTANCES--BYRON, ETC. - - -About the middle of September, Cockerell, with Ingilby[14] and Foster, -set sail for Greece. They stopped on their way to pay a visit to the -Plain of Troy. The facilities for travelling nowadays have made us -calmly familiar with the scenes of the past, but in 1810 to stand upon -classic ground was to plant one's feet in a fairyland of romance, and a -traveller who had got so unusually far might well permit his enthusiasm -to find vent. When Cockerell was pointed out the tomb of Patroclus, he -took off his clothes and, in imitation of Achilles, ran three times -round it, naked. Thence they went by Tenedos and Lemnos to Salonica. -Nothing in the notes of this journey is worth recording except perhaps -the mention he makes of Tenedos as being still in a state of desolation -from the cruel Russian attack upon it in the year 1807. - - -"I ought to give you a notion of the political state of this part of the -country. Ali Pasha of Yanina rules over the Morea, Albania, and -Thessaly nearly up to Salonica, while the Pasha of Serres has Salonica -and Macedonia nearly up to Constantinople, and both are practically -independent of the Porte, obeying it or assisting it only as far as they -please. Now, Ali Pasha has sent his son Veli with 15,000 men to join the -Sultan's army against the Russians, but he on his way has encamped near -Salonica and threatens to take possession of it. The Bey accordingly -pays every sort of court to him, and sends out presents and provisions -to mollify him. In the meanwhile the Sultan has given to another pasha a -firman to take the Morea in Veli Pasha's absence, and he (Veli) is now -waiting for his father Ali's advice as to whether he should proceed to -the war, recover the Morea, or take Salonica. Fancy, what a state for a -country to be in! The Sultan is a puppet in the hands of the -janissaries, who on their side are powerless outside the city, so that -the country without and within is in a state of anarchy." - - -The party took a passage from Salonica to Athens in a Greek merchantman. - - -"We passed Zagora, until lately a rich and prosperous commercial town, -but it has been taken by Ali Pasha and he has reduced it to utter ruin. -Off Scopolo a boat came out and fired a gun for us to heave to. The crew -told me she was a pirate, but when we fired a gun in return to show that -we also were armed, the crew of the boat merely wished us a happy -journey. - -The wind falling light, we anchored in a small bay and landed, and -there we made fire in a cave and cooked our dinner. It was most -romantic. After touching at Scyros, we put into Andros. While our ship -was lying here in the port our sailors became mutinous. They began by -stealing a pig from the land, and then went on to ransack our baggage -and steal from it knives, clothes, and other things. All this happened -while we ourselves were on shore, but our servants remonstrated, -whereupon the scoundrels threatened to throw them overboard. There was -nothing for us to do but apply to the English consul for protection. He -sent for the chief instigator of the troubles, but he, as soon as he got -ashore, ran away and was lost sight of. Under the circumstances, what we -did was to deduct from the captain's pay the value of our losses and -shift our goods from on board his vessel into another boat, a small one, -in which we set sail for the island of Tinos. - -We slept at San Nicolo on the bare ground, having made ourselves a fire -in a tiny chapel. Fop, my dog, fell into a well and was rescued with -great difficulty. One of the peasants, who had never seen anything like -a Skye terrier before, when he saw him pulled out took him for a fiend -or a goblin, and crossed himself devoutly. - -We sailed in the open boat all through a very stormy day, and arrived at -last at Tinos (the town), thoroughly chilled and wet. The island, once -highly prosperous, is now poor and depopulated. - -From Tinos we sailed across to Great Delos (Rhenea), slept in a hut, and -next day went on to Little Delos. Here there was nothing to sleep in but -the sail of the boat, and nothing to eat at all. Everything on the -island had been bought up by an English frigate a few days before. We -were obliged to send across to Great Delos for a kid, which was killed -and roasted by us in the Temple of Apollo. I spent my time sketching and -measuring everything I could see in the way of architectural remains, -and copying every inscription. I had to work hard, but without house or -food we could not stop where we were, and in the evening we sailed to -Mycone. - -Next day I went back to Delos, and after much consideration resolved to -try to dig there. I had to sleep in the open air, for the company of the -diggers in the hut was too much for me. First I made out the columns of -the temple and drew a restoration of the plan. Then we went on digging, -but discovered next to nothing--a beautiful fragment of a hand, a dial, -some glass, copper, lead, &c., and vast masses of marble chips, as -though it had once been a marble-mason's shop. At last it seemed to -promise so little that I gave it up and went back to Mycone; but on the -28th, not liking to be beaten, I went back alone to have a last look. -But I could discover no indications to make further digging hopeful, so -I came away." - - -From Mycone the travellers sailed to Syra, and from thence to Zea, where -they stayed some days at least; for there is in Bronstedt's "Voyages et -recherches en Grèce" a drawing by my father of a colossal lion which -must have been made at this time. Ingilby had left them, but my father -and Foster must have arrived in Athens about the beginning of December -1810. Not long after he made acquaintance with a brother craftsman, -Baron Haller von Hallerstein, a studious and accomplished artist, about -fourteen years his senior, and a gentleman by birth and nature; -altogether a valuable companion. The two struck up a great intimacy, and -henceforth were inseparable. They could be of service to each other. -Haller was travelling on a very small allowance from his patron, Prince -Louis of Bavaria; and my father, while he profited by the company of a -man of greater learning and experience, was able in return to add to his -comfort by getting commissions for him to do drawings for some of his -English friends,[15] and in other ways supplementing his means. He had -come to Athens from Rome with one Linckh, a painter from Cannstadt, -Baron Stackelberg,[16] an Esthonian from Revel, Bronstedt,[17] a Dane, -and Koes, another Dane, all of them accomplished men, seriously engaged -in antiquarian studies. Together they formed a society suited to my -father's tastes and pursuits. - -In the way of Englishmen there were Messrs. Graham and Haygarth and Lord -Byron, all three young Cambridge men of fortune, with whom, especially -the two first, he was intimate. - -His only other friends, except Greeks, were Fauvel, the French consul, -who had taste and information, and was owner of a good collection of -Greek antiquities; and Lusieri,[18] the Italian draughtsman to Lord -Elgin, an individual of indifferent character. - -Athens was a small place. There was a khan, of course, but nothing in -the shape of an hotel. The better class of travellers lived in lodgings, -the best known of which were those of Madame Makri, a Greek lady, the -widow of a Scotchman of the name of Macree, who had been British consul -in Athens in his day. She had three pretty daughters known to travellers -as "les Consulines" or "les trois Grâces," of whom the eldest was -immortalised as "the Maid of Athens" in a much overrated lyric by Lord -Byron, who was one of their lodgers. - -As they were going to stop some time in the town, instead of going into -an apartment, Foster and my father took a house together. - - -"There is hardly anything that can be called society among the Greeks. I -know a few families, but I very rarely visit them, for such society as -theirs is hateful. - -As for the Greek men, in their slavery they have become utterly -contemptible, bigoted, narrow-minded, lying, and treacherous. They have -nothing to do but pull their neighbours' characters to pieces. Retired -as I am, you would hardly believe there is not a thing I do that is not -known and worse represented. Apropos of an act of insolence of the -Disdar aga's (which I made him repair before the waiwode, the governor -of the town), I heard that it was reported that I had been bastinadoed. -This report I had to answer by spreading another, viz. that I should -promptly shoot anyone, Turk or Christian, who should venture to lay a -hand upon me. This had its effect, and I heard no more of bastinadoing. -I do not think we are in much danger here. The Franks are highly -esteemed by the governor, and the English especially. - -The other day we witnessed the departure of the old waiwode and the -arrival of the new. Just as the former was leaving, the heroes from the -Russian war arrived, brown and dusty. The leading man carried a banner. -As they came into the court they were received with discharge of -pistols, and embraced by their old friends with great demonstrations. I -was very much affected. I heard afterwards that the rogues had never -been further than Sofia, and had never smelt any powder but that which -had gone to the killing of one of them by his companion in a brawl. So -much for my feelings. The outgoing waiwode was escorted by the new one -with great ceremony as far as the sacred wood. - -March 13 is the Turkish New Year's Day, and is a great festival with -them. The women go out to Asomatos and dance on the grass. Men are not -admitted to the party, but Greek women are. Linckh, Haller, and I went -to see them from a distance, taking with us a glass, the better to see -them. We were discovered, and some Turkish boys, many of whom were -armed, came in great force towards us, and began to throw stones at us -from some way off. Instead of retreating, we stood up to receive them, -which rather intimidated them, and they stopped throwing and came up. We -laughed with them, which in some measure assuaged them, and when some -one said 'Bakshish' we gave them some to scramble for, and so by degrees -retired. Some of the Greek and Turkish women laughed at us for being -driven off by boys; but it was a dangerous thing so to offend national -prejudices, and I was very well pleased to be out of it. At best ours -was an inglorious position. - -Foster has received a love letter: a para with a hole in it, a morsel of -charcoal, and a piece of the silk such as the women tie their hair -with. This last signifies that the sender is reduced to the last -extremities of love, and the idea is that a sympathetic passion will -arise in the receiver and make him discover the sender within nine -days." - - -These love letters are common to all the East, not to Turkey only. Lady -Mary Wortley Montagu gives an account of one consisting of some dozen or -twenty symbols, but she says she believes there are a million of -recognised ones. Common people, however, were probably contented with -very few. According to her, hair (and I suppose that which ties the -hair) means, Crown of my head; coal, May I die and all my years be -yours; gold wire, I die, come quickly. So Foster's letter reads, "Crown -of my head, I am yours; come quickly." - - -"_April 11th._--Lord Byron embarked to-day on board the transport (which -is carrying Lord Elgin's Marbles) for Malta. He takes this letter with -him, and will send it on to you, I trust, immediately on his arrival in -England. I must close, as he is just off for the Piræus." - - -The ship did not leave the port, however, for some days, as we shall see -below; and besides this delay, Lord Byron was laid up when he got to -Malta and only arrived in England in July, so the letter was long on its -way. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[14] Sir William Amcotte Ingilby, Bart. (died 1854), of Ripley Castle, -Yorks. - -[15] Lord Byron writes that he is having some views done by a famous -Bavarian artist.--Letter 59. Life by T. Moore. - -[16] Baron Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (1760-1836), antiquarian; author -of _Der Apollotempel zu Bassae_ and other works. - -[17] Peter Oluf Bronstedt (1781-1842), Danish archæologist. Was made -Chevalier Bronstedt and sent by his Government as minister to Rome. - -[18] Lusieri, a Neapolitan, painter to the King of Naples; engaged as -draughtsman by Lord Elgin. He was still in Athens in 1816. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -TRIP TO ÆGINA--DISCOVERY AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE MARBLES TO -ATHENS--EFFORTS TO SELL THEM. - - -"I told you we were going to make a tour in the Morea, but before doing -so we determined to see the remains of the temple at Ægina, opposite -Athens, a three hours' sail. Our party was to be Haller, Linckh, Foster, -and myself. At the moment of our starting an absurd incident occurred. -There had been for some time a smouldering war between our servants and -our janissary. When the latter heard that he was not to go with us, it -broke out into a blaze. He said it was because the servants had been -undermining his character, which they equally angrily denied. But he was -in a fury, went home, got drunk, and then came out into the street and -fired off his pistols, bawling out that no one but he was the legitimate -protector of the English. For fear he should hurt some one with his -shooting, I went out to him and expostulated. He was very drunk, and -professed to love us greatly and that he would defend us against six or -seven or even eight Turks; but as for the servants, 'Why, my soul,' he -said, 'have they thus treated me?' I contrived, however, to prevent his -loading his pistols again, and as he worked the wine off, calm was at -length restored; but the whole affair delayed us so long that we did not -walk down to the Piræus till night. As we were sailing out of the port -in our open boat we overtook the ship with Lord Byron on board. Passing -under her stern we sang a favourite song of his, on which he looked out -of the windows and invited us in. There we drank a glass of port with -him, Colonel Travers, and two of the English officers, and talked of the -three English frigates that had attacked five Turkish ones and a sloop -of war off Corfu, and had taken and burnt three of them. We did not stay -long, but bade them 'bon voyage' and slipped over the side. We slept -very well in the boat, and next morning reached Ægina. The port is very -picturesque. We went on at once from the town to the Temple of Jupiter, -which stands at some distance above it; and having got together workmen -to help us in turning stones, &c., we pitched our tents for ourselves, -and took possession of a cave at the north-east angle of the platform on -which the temple stands--which had once been, perhaps, the cave of a -sacred oracle--as a lodging for the servants and the janissary. The seas -hereabouts are still infested with pirates, as they always have been. -One of the workmen pointed me out the pirate boats off Sunium, which is -one of their favourite haunts, and which one can see from the temple -platform. But they never molested us during the twenty days and nights -we camped out there, for our party, with servants and janissary, was too -strong to be meddled with. We got our provisions and labourers from the -town, our fuel was the wild thyme, there were abundance of partridges to -eat, and we bought kids of the shepherds; and when work was over for the -day, there was a grand roasting of them over a blazing fire with an -accompaniment of native music, singing and dancing. On the platform was -growing a crop of barley, but on the actual ruins and fallen fragments -of the temple itself no great amount of vegetable earth had collected, -so that without very much labour we were able to find and examine all -the stones necessary for a complete architectural analysis and -restoration. At the end of a few days we had learnt all we could wish to -know of the construction, from the stylobate to the tiles, and had done -all we came to do. - -But meanwhile a startling incident had occurred which wrought us all to -the highest pitch of excitement. On the second day one of the -excavators, working in the interior portico, struck on a piece of Parian -marble which, as the building itself is of stone, arrested his -attention. It turned out to be the head of a helmeted warrior, perfect -in every feature. It lay with the face turned upwards, and as the -features came out by degrees you can imagine nothing like the state of -rapture and excitement to which we were wrought. Here was an altogether -new interest, which set us to work with a will. Soon another head was -turned up, then a leg and a foot, and finally, to make a long story -short, we found under the fallen portions of the tympanum and the -cornice of the eastern and western pediments no less than sixteen -statues and thirteen heads, legs, arms, &c. (another account says -seventeen and fragments of at least ten more), all in the highest -preservation, not 3 feet below the surface of the ground.[19] It seems -incredible, considering the number of travellers who have visited the -temple, that they should have remained so long undisturbed. - -It is evident that they were brought down with the pediment on the top -of them by an earthquake, and all got broken in the fall; but we have -found all the pieces and have now put together, as I say, sixteen entire -figures. - -The unusual bustle about the temple rapidly increased as the news of our -operations spread. Many more men than we wanted began to congregate -round us and gave me a good deal of trouble. Greek workmen have pretty -ways. They bring you bunches of roses in the morning with pretty wishes -for your good health; but they can be uncommonly insolent when there is -no janissary to keep them in order. Once while Foster, being away at -Athens, had taken the janissary with him, I had the greatest pother with -them. A number that I did not want would hang about the diggings, now -and then taking a hand themselves, but generally interfering with those -who were labouring, and preventing any orderly and businesslike work. So -at last I had to speak to them. I said we only required ten men, who -should each receive one piastre per day, and that that was all I had to -spend; and if more than ten chose to work, no matter how many they might -be, there would still be only the ten piastres to divide amongst them. -They must settle amongst themselves what they would choose to do. Upon -this what did the idlers do? One of them produced a fiddle; they settled -into a ring and were preparing to dance. This was more than I could put -up with. We should get no work done at all. So I interfered and stopped -it, declaring that only those who worked, and worked hard, should get -paid anything whatever. This threat was made more efficacious by my -evident anger, and gradually the superfluous men left us in peace, and -we got to work again. - -It was not to be expected that we should be allowed to carry away what -we had found without opposition. However much people may neglect their -own possessions, as soon as they see them coveted by others they begin -to value them. The primates of the island came to us in a body and read -a statement made by the council of the island in which they begged us to -desist from our operations, for that heaven only knew what misfortunes -might not fall on the island in general, and the immediately surrounding -land in particular, if we continued them. Such a rubbishy pretence of -superstitious fear was obviously a mere excuse to extort money, and as -we felt that it was only fair that we should pay, we sent our dragoman -with them to the village to treat about the sum; and meanwhile a boat -which we had ordered from Athens having arrived, we embarked the marbles -without delay and sent them off under the care of Foster and Linckh, -with the janissary, to the Piræus, and from thence they were carried up -to Athens by night to avoid exciting attention. Haller and I remained to -carry on the digging, which we did with all possible vigour. The marbles -being gone, the primates came to be easier to deal with. We completed -our bargain with them to pay them 800 piastres, about 40l., for the -antiquities we had found, with leave to continue the digging till we had -explored the whole site. Altogether it took us sixteen days of very hard -work, for besides watching and directing and generally managing the -workmen, we had done a good deal of digging and handling of the marbles -ourselves; all heads and specially delicate parts we were obliged to -take out of the ground ourselves for fear of the workmen ruining them. -On the whole we have been fortunate. Very few have been broken by -carelessness. Besides all this, which was outside our own real business, -we had been taking measurements and making careful drawings of every -part and arrangement of the architecture till every detail of the -construction and, as far as we could fathom it, of the art of the -building itself was clearly understood by us. Meanwhile, after one or -two days' absence, Foster and Linckh came back; and it then occurred to -us that the receipt for the 800 piastres had only been given to the -names of Foster and myself (who had paid it), and Linckh and Haller -desired that theirs should be added. Linckh therefore went off to the -town to get the matter rectified. But this was not so easy. The lawyer -was a crafty rogue, and pretending to be drunk as soon as he had got -back the receipt into his hands, refused to give it up, and did not do -so until after a great deal of persuasion and threatening. When we fell -in with him at dinner two days later he met us with the air of the most -candid unconcern. It was at the table of a certain Chiouk aga who had -been sent from Constantinople to receive the rayah tax. Linckh had met -him in the town when he went about the receipt, and the Chiouk had paid -us a visit at the temple next day and dined with us, eating and -especially drinking a great deal. A compliment he paid us was to drink -our healths firing off a pistol. I had to do the same in return. The -man had been to England, and even to Oxford, and had come back with an -odd jumble of ideas which amused us but are not worth repeating. Next -day, as I have said, we dined with him and the rogue of a lawyer. He was -very hospitable. Dinner consisted mainly of a whole lamb, off which with -his fingers he tore entire limbs and threw them into our plates, which -we, equally with our fingers, _à la Turque_, ate as best we could. We -finished the evening with the Albanian dance, and walked up home to our -tent." - - -The whole party with their treasures got back to Athens on the 9th or -10th of May 1811, and on the 13th he writes: - - -"We are now hard at work joining the broken pieces, and have taken a -large house for the purpose. Some of the figures are already restored, -and have a magnificent effect. Our council of artists here considers -them as not inferior to the remains of the Parthenon, and certainly only -in the second rank after the torso of the Vatican and other _chefs -d'oeuvre_. We conduct all our affairs with respect to them in the utmost -secrecy, for fear the Turk should either reclaim them or put -difficulties in the way of our exporting them. The few friends we have -and consult are dying with jealousy, and one[20] who had meant to have -farmed Ægina of the Captain Pasha has literally made himself quite ill -with fretting. Fauvel, the French consul, was also a good deal -disappointed; but he is too good a fellow to let envy affect his -actions, and he has given excellent help and advice. The finding of such -a treasure has tried every character concerned with it. He saw that this -would be the case, and for fear it should operate to the prejudice of -our beautiful collection, he proposed our signing a contract of honour -that no one should take any measures to sell or divide it without the -consent of the other three parties. This was done. It is not to be -divided. It is a collection which a king or great nobleman who had the -arts of his country at heart should spare no effort to secure; for it -would be a school of art as well as an ornament to any country. The -Germans have accordingly written to their ministers, and I have written -to Canning; while Fauvel, who has a general order for the purpose from -his minister, will make an offer to us on the French account. I had -hoped that Lord Sligo would have offered for it; but our Germans, who -calculate by the price of marbles in Rome, have named such a monstrous -figure that it has frightened him. They talk of from 6,000l. to 8,000l.; -but as we are eager that they should go to our museum, Foster and I have -undertaken to present our shares if the marbles go to England, and I -have written to Canning to say so. It would make a sensible deduction. - -The whole matter is still full of uncertainties, for the Turks may give -us a good deal of trouble. But one thing seems clear--that these marbles -may detain me here much longer than I proposed to stop; and though we -have agreed not to divide the collection, it may come to that if we -cannot get away without; and if we can get them to England, even -Foster's and my portions would make a noble acquisition to the museum. - -We have been very busy getting the marbles into order, that Lord Sligo -might be able to see them before leaving. He takes this letter with -him." - - -It was shortly after this, viz. on June 13, that Messrs. -Gaily-Knight[21] and Fazakerly arrived in Athens from Egypt and made an -offer, which was to buy out Messrs. Haller and Linckh's shares in the -marbles for 2,000l., and then, in conjunction with Mr. Foster and my -father, to present the whole to the British Museum. - -The offer unfortunately could not be accepted, as it did not come up to -the price demanded by the Germans. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[19] Only fifteen statues were pieced together by Thorwaldsen and -Wagner, but there were numerous fragments besides those used by them, -which are still the subject of conjectural restorations. - -[20] I suppose Lusieri.--ED. - -[21] Henry Gally-Knight (1786-1846), M.P., writer of several works on -architecture. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -LIFE IN ATHENS--ELEUSIS--TRANSPORTATION OF ÆGINA MARBLES TO ZANTE. - - -My father was now in for a long stay in the country, and seeing -something more of it than the usual tourist, even of those days. One or -two entries from his diary give one a slight insight into the barbarous -condition of the country at this time. - - -"The Pasha of Negropont has sent a demand of a certain number of purses -of the people of Athens. Logotheti, Greek Archon of Athens, excited the -people to go to the cadi and present a protest, which he promised he -would support. The people went as far as the house, when Logotheti -stepped aside into a neighbouring house, whence he could see the cadi's -countenance and judge how to speak to him. He saw he took it well, and -then he spoke in support of the protest. This Pasha of Negropont, -however, is a redoubtable person. It was expected that he would send -troops to attack Athens, but it seems that was too strong a measure even -for him. Instead, he has intercepted some poor Albanian cheese -merchants, and detains them until some or all of the money has been -paid him.[22] - -One day I went to the waiwode on business. We had a long talk consisting -mainly of questions about England, in which he displayed his ignorance -to great advantage. After inquiring after his great friend Elfi Bey [? -Lord Elgin], he asked what on earth we came here for, so far and at so -much trouble, if not for money. Did it give us a preference in obtaining -public situations, or were we paid? It was useless to assure him that we -considered it part of education to travel, and that Athens was a very -ancient place and much revered by us. He only thought the more that our -object must be one we wished to conceal. I told him of the fuss made in -London over the Persian ambassador, and that if he went all the world -would wonder at him. At this he got very excited, and said he wished he -had a good carico of oil which he could take to England, thereby paying -his journey, and that once he was there he would make everyone pay to -see him. All that he knew about England was that there were beautiful -gardens there, especially one named Marcellias (Marseilles)! The man's -one idea was money, and he kept on repeating that he was very poor. No -wonder Greece is miserable under such rulers. - -Veli Pasha, Governor of the Morea, passed through Athens a short time -ago in a palankin of gold, while the country is in misery. - -The Greeks, cringeing blackguards as they are, have often a sort of -pride of their own. One of our servants, who received a piastre a day -(1s.), has just left us. His amorosa, who lived close by, saw him -carrying water and performing other menial offices and chaffed him, so -he said he could stand it no longer and threw up a place the like of -which he will not find again in Athens. - -I went into the council of the Greek primates. There I saw the French -proclamation on the birth of the Roi des Romains: 'The Immortal son of -Buonaparte is born! Rejoice, ye people, our wishes are accomplished!' -The primates, however, soberly objected that none but God was [Greek: -athanatos]. What took me there was to back an Englishman who had got -into a quarrel with a neighbour, a Greek widow, about 'ancient lights' -which were blocked by a new building he was putting up. The woman -maintained her cause with much spirit and choice expressions: 'You -rascal, who came to Athens with your mouth full of dung! I'll send you -out without a shoe to your foot.' Our man retorted 'putana,' equally -irrelevantly, and the affair ended in his favour. - -One morning by agreement we rose at daybreak and walked to Eleusis, -intending to dig, but we found the labourers very idle and insolent; -and after a few days, discovering no trace of the temple, we gave it up. -The better sort of Greeks have some respect for the superior knowledge -of Franks as evinced in my drawings; one man, a papa or priest, asked me -whether I thought the ancients, whom they revere, can have been Franks -or Romaics. - -An awkward incident occurred during our stay. We had in our service a -handsome Greek lad to whom the cadi took a fancy and insisted on his -taking service with him. The boy, much terrified, came and wept to us -and Papa Nicola, with whom we lodged. We started off at once to the -cadi, and gave him a piece of our mind, which considerably astonished -and enraged him. He was afraid to touch us, but vowed to take it out of -old Nicola, and the next day went off to Athens. One night, the last of -our stay, arrived a man from the zabeti, or police, of Athens to take up -Nicola to answer certain accusations brought against him by the cadi. -This soldier, who was a fine type of the genuine Athenian blackguard, -swaggered in and partook freely of our wine, having already got drunk at -the cadi's. He offered wine to passers-by as if it was his own, boasted, -called himself [Greek: 'palikar,'] roared out songs, and generally made -himself most objectionable. He began to quiz a respectable Albanian who -came in; and when the latter, who was very civil and called him 'Aga,' -attempted to retort, flew into a rage, said he was a palikar again, and -handled his sword and shook his pistols. I could stand it no longer at -last, and said this was my house and no one was aga there but myself; -that I should be glad to see him put his pistols down and let me have no -more of his swaggering; otherwise I had pistols too, which I showed him, -and would be ready to use them. I then treated our poor Albanian with -great attention and him with contumely. This finished him and reduced -the brute to absolute cringeing as far as his conduct to me went. The -wretched papa he bullied as before, and when he got up to go he and all -the rest were up in an instant; one prepared his papouches, another -supported him, a third opened the door, and a fourth held a lamp to -light him out. But he had not yet finished his evening. Soon I heard a -noise of singing and roaring from another house hard by, and received a -message from him to beg I would sup with him, for now he had a table of -his own and could invite me. The table was provided by some wretched -Greek he was tyrannising over. Of course I did not go, but I moralised -over the state of the country. Next day he carried off Nicola. - -Another instance of the tyranny of these scoundrels was told me as -having occurred only a few days before. A zabetis man had arrived and -pretended to have lost on the way a purse containing 80 piastres. All -the inhabitants were sent to search for it, and if they did not find it -he said it must be repaid by the town--and it was. - -Among the people we met at Eleusis was a Greek merchant, a great beau -from Hydra, at this time the most prosperous place in Greece; but away -from his own town he had to cringe to the Turks like everyone else. On -our way back to Athens we overtook him carrying an umbrella to shade his -face, and with an Albanian boy behind him. When he saw our janissary -Mahomet the umbrella was immediately lowered. - -The population of Greece is so small now[23] that large spaces are left -uncultivated and rights to land are very undefined. In the neighbourhood -of towns there is always a considerable amount of cultivated ground, but -although the cultivator of each patch hopes to reap it, there is nothing -but fear of him to prevent another's doing it, so far as I can see. A -field is ploughed and sown by an undefined set of people, and an equally -or even less defined set may reap it. And in point of fact people do go -and cut corn where they please or dare. We met a lot of Athenians on our -way back, going to cut corn at Thebes." - - -By the middle of July the Æginetan Marbles had been thoroughly -overhauled and pieced together, and it was pressing that something -should be done about them. The schemes of selling them to Lord Sligo and -Messrs. Knight and Fazakerly had fallen through, and it had come to be -seen that the only fair way for all parties was to sell them by public -auction. To do this they must first be got out of the country, and -various schemes for effecting it were considered and abandoned. - -As the proprietors meanwhile were in daily fear of their being pounced -upon by the Turkish authorities, they agreed at length to put the whole -matter into the hands of one Gropius, a common acquaintance. He was half -a German, but born and bred amongst Orientals, and being conversant with -their ways and languages, and a sharp fellow besides, they felt he was -more likely than themselves, unassisted, to carry the business through -successfully. They accordingly appointed him their agent, and settled -that the collection should be got to Zante, as the nearest place of -security. - -Eight days were spent in packing, and on July 30 the first batch, on -horses and mules, was sent off at night to a spot indicated on the Gulf -of Corinth, near a town and castle [? Livadostro.--ED.]. - -Cockerell followed two days afterwards with the rest, and sleeping two -nights at Condoura, on the third day reached the rendezvous. There they -found the first batch all laid out on the beach, and congratulated -themselves on having got so far unmolested. Gropius went into the town -to hire a vessel while the rest sketched and rested. The weather was -furiously hot, and Cockerell, who was very fond of the water, went out -for a long swim in the bay, but some fishermen he came up with -frightened him back by telling him that they had seen sharks about. -Gropius returned in the evening with a boat, and all set to work to get -the packages aboard. It took them nearly the whole night to do it. When -finally he had seen them all stowed, Cockerell, tired out, lay down to -sleep. When he woke they were already gliding out of the bay. - -They sailed along prosperously, and had long passed Corinth and Sicyon -when, as evening came on, they heard the sound of firing ahead. - - -"Our first idea was pirates, and when we presently came up with a large -ship, which summoned us to come to, we were rather anxious. Our felucca -was sent aboard. She turned out to be a Zantiote merchantman, and had -been attacked by four boats which had put out from the shore to examine -the cargo in the name of Ali Pasha. She had refused to submit to -overhauling, and when asked what her cargo consisted of had replied -'Bullets.' When the captain understood we had four milordi on board, he -begged pardon for detaining us, and let us go on. Next day we made -Patras, where we went ashore to see Strani, the consul, and get from him -passports and letters for Zante. In the town we fell in with Bronstedt -and the rest of that party, who were, of course, much interested and -astonished to hear all our news and present business, and when we set -sail in the evening gave us a grand salute of pistols as we went out of -port. We had a spanking breeze. - -A storm was brewing behind Calydon, and when at length it came upon us -it burst the sail of a boat near us. We were a lot of boats sailing -together, but when the rest saw this accident they took in their sails. -Our skipper, however, insisted on carrying on, so we soon parted company -with the others; and after a fair wind all night we arrived in the -morning at Zante." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[22] In the end the city had to pay him 10,000 piastres, and they had -spent 5,000 in putting themselves in a state of defence. - -[23] According to De Pouqueville, 548,940, in 1814; it is now over -2,000,000. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -ZANTE--COLONEL CHURCH--LEAVES ZANTE TO MAKE TOUR OF THE MOREA--OLYMPIA ---BASSÆ--DISCOVERY OF BAS-RELIEFS--FORCED TO DESIST FROM EXCAVATIONS. - - -"Hitherto we had had an anxious time, but once they were landed we felt -at ease about the marbles. Henceforth the business is in Gropius' hands. -The auction has been announced in English and continental papers to take -place in Zante on November 1, 1812. It took us some time to install -them, and altogether we passed an odious fortnight on the island. The -Zantiotes, as they have been more under Western influence--for Zante -belonged to Venice for about three centuries--are detestable. They are -much less ignorant than the rest of the Greeks, but their half-knowledge -only makes them the more hateful. Until the island was taken in hand by -the English, murder was of constant occurrence, and so long as a small -sum of money was paid to the proveditor no notice was taken of it. For -accomplishing it without bloodshed they had a special method of their -own. It was to fill a long narrow bag with sand, with which, with a blow -on the back scientifically delivered, there could be given, without -fuss or noise, a shock certain sooner or later to prove fatal. Socially -they have all the faults of the West as well as those of the East -without the virtues of either. But their crowning defect in my eyes is -that they have not the picturesque costumes or appearance of the -mainland Greeks. - -The most interesting thing in Zante for the moment is Major Church's[24] -Greek contingent. He has enrolled and disciplined a number of refugee -Greeks, part patriots, part criminals, and generally both, and has taken -an immense deal of pains with them. He flatters them by calling them -Hellenes, shows them the heads of their heroes and philosophers painted -on every wall in his house, and endeavours generally to rouse their -enthusiasm. He himself adopts the Albanian costume, to which he has -added a helmet which he fancies is like that of the ancient Greeks, -although it is certainly very unlike those of the heroes we brought into -Zante. Altogether, with a great deal of good management and more -fustian, he has contrived to attach to himself some thousand excellent -troops which under his command would really be capable of doing great -things. - -[25]At last, on the evening of the 18th of August, we considered -ourselves fortunate in being able to get away, and we started to make -the tour of the Morea. Gropius, Haller, Foster, Linckh, and I left Zante -in a small boat and arrived next morning at Pyrgi, the port of Pyrgo, -from which it is distant two hours and a half. We obtained horses at a -monastery not far from where we landed, and rode through a low marshy -country, well cultivated, chiefly in corn and melon grounds, and fairly -well peopled up to the town. - -Pyrgo itself lies just above the marshes which border the Alpheus, and, -as it happened to our subsequent cost, there was a good deal of water -out at this moment. We ordered horses, and while they were being brought -in we entered the house of an old Greek, a primate of the place. I had -been so disgusted with the thinly veneered civilisation of the Zantiotes -and bored with the affectations of our garrison officers there, that I -was congratulating myself on having got back to the frank barbarism of -the Morea, when my admiration for it received a check. The old Greek in -whose house we were waiting seemed anxious to be rid of us, and, the -better to do so, assured me that Meraca, or Olympia, was only 2œ hours -distant, equal at the ordinary rate of Turkish travelling, which is 3 -miles an hour, to 7œ miles. The horses were so long in coming, on -account of their being out among the marshes and the men having to go up -to their knees to get them, that Haller and I got impatient and -resolved to go on foot as the distance was so little. It turned out, -however, to be 7 hours instead of 2œ, and at nightfall we arrived -dead-beat at a marsh, through which in a pitch darkness, I may thank my -stars, although invisible, for having struggled safely. We wandered -about, lost our way, waded in pools to our knees, and finally took 8 -hours instead of 2œ to get to our destination. - -It was two o'clock in the morning when we got to Meraca, utterly tired -out, and with our lodging still to seek. We were directed to a tower in -which lived an Albanian aga. The entrance was at the top of a staircase -running up the side of the house and ending in a drawbridge which led to -the door on the first floor. Once inside we went up two other flights of -stairs to a room in which we found two Albanians, by whom we were kindly -received. When they heard how tired we were they offered us some rasky. -Besides that there was some miserable bread, but no coffee or meat to -refresh us. We had to lie down and go to sleep without. - -There are few visible remains of the once famous Olympia,[26] and not a -trace of stadium or theatre that I could make out. The general opinion -is that the Alpheus has silted up and buried many of the buildings to a -depth of 8 or 10 feet, and our small researches point in the same -direction. We dug in the temple, but what we could do amounted to next -to nothing. To do it completely would be a work for a king. I had had -some difficulty with the Greek labourers at Ægina, but the Turks here -were much worse. In the first place, instead of one piastre apiece per -day they asked 2œ, and in the next they had no proper tools. The earth -was as hard as brick, and when with extreme difficulty it had been -broken up they had no proper shovels; and when the earth, which they -piled along the trench as they dug it out, ran into the hole again, they -scooped it out with their hands. The thing was too ludicrous. Worst of -all, as soon as we turned our backs for a moment they either did nothing -or went away. This happened when we left them to cross the river and try -for a better view of the place. We got over in a caique, which the aga -himself, from the village across the water, punted over to us; but the -view over there was disappointing, and we came back to find, as I say, -our workmen all idling. The long and short of our excavations was that -we measured the columns of the temple to be 7 feet in diameter, and we -found some attached columns and other fragments of marble from the -interior, the whole of which I suppose was of marble, that of the -pavement being of various colours. Such stone as is used is of a rough -kind, made up entirely of small shells and covered with a very white and -fine plaster. And that is about all the information we got for a -largish outlay. - -From Meraca we rode through romantic scenery to Andritzena, a charming -village in a very beautiful and romantic situation; and next morning we -settled to go on to the Temple of Bassæ--the stylæ or columns, the -natives call it. But before we started the primates of Andritzena came -in, and after turning over our things and examining and asking the price -of our arms, they began to try and frighten us with tremendous stories -of a certain Barulli, captain of a company of klephts or robbers who -haunted the neighbourhood of the stylæ. They begged us to come back the -same evening, and to take a guard with us. As for the first, we flatly -refused; and for the second, we reflected that our guards must be -Greeks, while the klephts might be Turks, and if so the former would -never stand against them, so it was as well for us to take the risk -alone. We did, however, take one of their suggestions, and that was to -take with us two men of the country who would know who was who, and act -as guides and go-betweens; for they assured us that it is not only the -professional klephts who rob, but that all the inhabitants of the -villages thereabouts are dilettante brigands on occasion. - -Our janissary Mahomet also did not at all fancy the notion of living up -in the mountain, and added what he could to dissuade us. However, we -turned a deaf ear to all objections and set out. Our way lay over some -high ground, and rising almost all the way, for 2œ hours. - -It is impossible to give an idea of the romantic beauty of the situation -of the temple. It stands on a high ridge looking over lofty barren -mountains and an extensive country below them. The ground is rocky, -thinly patched with vegetation, and spotted with splendid ilexes. The -view gives one Ithome, the stronghold and last defence of the Messenians -against Sparta, to the south-west; Arcadia, with its many hills, to the -east; and to the south the range of Taygetus, with still beyond them the -sea. - -Haller had engagements, which I had got him, to make four drawings for -English travellers. I made some on my own account, and there were -measurements to be taken and a few stones moved for the purpose, all of -which took time. We spent altogether ten days there, living on sheep and -butter, the only good butter I have tasted since leaving England, sold -to us by the few Albanian shepherds who lived near. Of an evening we -used to sit and smoke by a fire, talking to the shepherds till we were -ready for sleep, when we turned into our tent, which, though not exactly -comfortable, protected us from weather and from wolves. For there are -wolves--one of them one night tore a sheep to pieces close to us. We -pitched our tent under the north front. On the next day after our -arrival, the 25th, one of the primates of Andritzena came begging us to -desist from digging or moving stones, for that it might bring harm on -the town. This was very much what happened at Ægina. He did not specify -what harm, but asked who we were. We in reply said that we had firmans, -that it was not civil, therefore, to ask who we were, and that we were -not going to carry away the columns. When he heard of the firmans he -said he would do anything he could to help us. All the same, he seemed -to have given some orders to our guide against digging; for the -shepherds we engaged kept talking of the fear they were in, and at last -went away, one of them saying the work was distasteful to him. They were -no great loss, for they were so stupid that I was obliged to be always -with them and work too, in doing which I tore my hand and got -exceedingly fatigued. I was repaid by getting some important -measurements. - -In looking about I found two very beautiful bas-reliefs under some -stones, which I took care to conceal again immediately." - - -This incident is described in greater detail by Stackelberg in the -preface to his book.[27] The interior of the temple--that is to say, the -space inside the columns--was a mass of fallen blocks of some depth. -While Haller and Cockerell with the labourers were scrambling about -among the ruins to get their measurements, a fox that had made its home -deep down amongst the stones, disturbed by the unusual noise, got up and -ran away. It is not quite a pleasant task to crawl down among such -insecure and ponderous masses of stone with the possibility of finding -another fox at the bottom; but Cockerell ventured in, and on scraping -away the accumulations where the fox had its lair, he saw by the light -which came down a crack among the stones, a bas-relief. I have heard -this story also from his own lips. Stackelberg further says that the -particular relief was that numbered 530 in the Phigaleian Marbles at the -British Museum, and naïvely adds, "indeed one may still trace on the -marble the injuries done by the fox's claws." He managed to make a rough -sketch of the slab and carefully covered it over again. From the -position in which it lay it was inferable that the whole frieze would -probably be found under the dilapidations. - - -"Early one morning some armed shepherds came looking about for a lost -sheep. They eventually found it dead not far from our tent, and torn to -pieces by a wolf--as I mentioned before. The day being Sunday we saw -some grand specimens of the Arcadian shepherds. They stalk about with a -gun over their shoulders and a long pistol in the waist, looking very -savage and wild--and so they are: but, wild as they may be, they still -retain the names which poetry has connected with all that is idyllic and -peaceful. Alexis is one of the commonest. - -As our labourers had left us, there was nothing for it but to work -ourselves. We were doing so and had just lit upon some beautiful -caissons, when a man on horseback, Greek or Turk (they dress so much -alike there is no distinguishing them), rode up accompanied by four -Albanians all armed. He told us he was the owner of the land, and, -although he was very civil about it, he forbade our digging any more. We -asked him to eat with us, but being a fast day in the Greek Church, he -declined. Finally, after writing to Andritzena, he left us. - -After so many objections being made to our excavations we felt it would -be too dangerous to go on at present, and promised ourselves to come -again next year in a stronger party and armed with more peremptory and -explicit authority to dig, and in the meantime there was nothing to do -but to get through our drawings and studies as quickly as we could. - -The uneasiness of our janissary Mahomet, since our camping out began, -gave us serious doubts of his courage, and a plan was invented for -testing it. This was to raise an alarm at night that we were attacked by -klephts. Our Arcadian shepherds entered into the joke with surprising -alacrity and kept it up well. Just after supper a cry was heard from the -mountain above that robbers were near. In an instant we all sprang up, -seized pistols and swords, and made a feint as though we would go up the -hill. Our janissary, thunderstruck, was following, when we proposed that -he should go on alone. - -But he would not do that. In the first place he was ill; in the next -place, Would it not be better to go to Andritzena? He begged we might go -to Andritzena." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[24] Afterwards Sir Richard Church, and commander-in-chief of the Greek -forces up to his death in 1872. - -[25] An epitome of the following appears in Hughes's _Travels in Sicily, -Greece, and Albania_, p. 190. - -[26] Olympia was thoroughly excavated by the Germans in 1875-76, when -the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Victory of Pæonios were discovered. - -[27] _Der Apollotempel zu Bassae._ - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -ANDRITZENA--CARITZENA--MEGALOPOLIS--BENIGHTED--KALAMATA. - - -"We left the stylæ and went down to Andritzena by a shorter road. In -going up, the drivers, to be able to charge us more, had taken us round -a longer way. Andritzena is not only beautiful in its situation, the -people who live in it are charming. Everyone seemed to think it the -proper thing to show some attention to the strangers. The girls--and -some of them were very pretty--brought us each as a present a fruit of -some kind, pears or figs, and did it in the prettiest and most engaging -manner; so that we had more than we could carry home with us. -Disinterested urbanity is so unusual a feature in Greek character that -we were surprised, and I must confess that it was the only time such a -thing ever occurred to us in Greece. - -The Turks tax these poor wretches unmercifully. To begin with, they have -to pay the Government one-fourth of their produce. Then there is the -karatch or poll tax, which seems to be rather variable in amount, and -the chrea or local tax levied for the local government, which together -make up about another fourth; so that the taxes amount to half the -yearly produce. Of course the people complain. I can't tell you how -often I have been asked 'When will the English come and deliver us from -the Turks, who eat out our souls?' 'And why do they delay?' One Greek -told me he prayed daily that the Franks might come; and while I am on -the subject I may as well mention here, though it was said a few weeks -later, when we were near Corinth, by a shepherd, 'I pray to God I may -live to see the Morea filled with such Franks.' They like us better than -they do the French, because they have heard from Zante and elsewhere -that we treat our dependencies more honourably than they do. - -We were five days at Andritzena. Haller made drawings of the village, -and I finished up my memoranda of Phigaleia. Besides that, as I thought -we ought not to leave the neighbourhood without making a final effort to -complete our explorations at the stylæ, and that, the Pasha Veli being -absent from the Morea, we might perhaps get leave from the Waiwode of -Fanari, Foster and I rode over to see him. We found him exceedingly -courteous, perfectly a man of the world; and although his house and the -two old cushions in the corner of a dilapidated gallery on which he was -propped when he received us did not bespeak great affluence, his manner -was not that of a man to whom one could offer a bribe. He said he -regretted very much having had to write the letter we had received -forbidding us to go on digging, but that it was absolutely necessary -that we should cease, and there was an end of the matter. At the same -time he hoped there had been no expression in it to offend us. 'Veli,' -said he, 'is very peremptory about no bouyuruldu or permission being -given by anyone but himself; for he insists on knowing all about -travellers who move about in his pashalik, and upon periodically -inspecting them and their firman and approving it. The mere fact of my -having allowed your party to remain ten days at Phigaleia, no matter -whether you dug or not, was enough to ruin me; for these Albanians [that -is, Ali Pasha and his sons] ask but few questions [listen to no -excuses].' So we had to go back to Andritzena without having effected -anything beyond seeing an Albanian Turkish wedding on our way. When we -came upon them they were gorgeously dressed, playing the djerid and -brandishing their swords. I never saw anything so picturesque. The party -were on their way to fetch the bride from Fanari. They had an Albanian -red and white banner, with a silk handkerchief tied to the top of it, -which was the token sent by the bride to her lover as an invitation to -him to come and fetch her. After sunset she is taken to his house on -horseback, closely veiled. - -Hearing of some columns in an old castle not far off, as the account was -a tolerably rational one, I resolved, although I ought to have had -experience enough of Greek lies to warn me, to go and see them. There -was the hope of making some discovery of interest; for my informant -insisted that no milords had ever been there before. So I girt myself -with sword and pistol, and walked 2œ hours to a hill or mountain called -Sultané. I only found a few miserable columns, a considerable fortress -and cyclopean walls, and I made two sketches on the road. I was very -tired when I got back. The Greek shoemaker, our landlord, came and -supped with us, and got very maudlin over the wine. - -We went next to Caritzena. The waiwode insisted on our putting up with -him, and gave up a room to us, begging that we would order whatever best -pleased us; that his servants would prepare anything, and we should -purchase nothing. 'Our king at Stamboul is rich enough to receive our -friends and allies, the English,' he said. We were preparing to go out -and draw when a message came to say the waiwode would pay us a visit. -Haller, however, would not stop for anybody. Foster had to ride back to -a place where he had changed his coat and in so doing had dropped a ring -he valued, and which, by the by, he managed to find. So Linckh and I, -though I felt very unwell with a bilious attack, had to stop in and -receive our visitor. He was very polite, and his manners really very -fine. He told us he had been with the ambassador at Vienna and at -Berlin, and spoke a few words of German, which enchanted Linckh. He -presently remarked that I seemed unwell, and I told him that I was -bilious, and had a pain in my head; whereupon he took hold of my temples -in his right hand, while an old Turk who sat near doubled down his -little finger and repeated a charm, which he began in a whisper and -finished aloud, leaning forward and pronouncing something like 'Osman -Odoo--o--o.' Then he asked me if I was better; because if I was not he -would double down his next finger and the next till he came to the -thumb, which he said was infallible. This prospect seemed more than I -could quite bear; so I thought best to sacrifice my principles, and said -'Yes, I was,' to get rid of the matter, but I was not. - -Some Greeks came and joined in our conversation. Really, if one had not -some pity for their condition, one could not suffer them, their manners -are so odious. Nevertheless, as they seem to have all the power here and -elect their own governor and give him an allowance, the waiwode would -not join me in criticising them. - -The waiwode continued to be as civil as ever, but I could not help -thinking he looked anxiously for presents, and we had none to give him. -All I could do was to offer him one of the common little brass English -boxes with a head of King George on it, filled with bark. He took it -with every expression of delight, but I could see it was put on. We -could only thank him heartily, fee the servants handsomely, and bow -ourselves out with the best grace we could assume. He especially coveted -a miniature Foster wore of a lady, and this Foster promised to have -copied for him and sent him from England; but he could not part with the -original. He gave us strong letters of recommendation for Kalamata. - -We left early next day. There was an awkward little episode of a box of -instruments belonging to Foster, which he missed off a certain sofa. The -Boluk bashi had admired them very much. Presently, when the inquiry was -made, an officer of the Boluk bashi came in and searched near the sofa, -and then suddenly went out. We did the same, and lo! there was the case. -And the Boluk bashi looked very disconcerted as we bade him adieu. - -We followed the course of the Gyrtinas. These are mountains which on all -hands are celebrated among the modern Greeks for the exploits of the -Colocotroni[28] and other captains who lived among the hills and -maintained a sort of independence of the Turks ever since they have held -the Morea. The peasants delight to sing the ballads composed on these -heroes, and, exulting in their bravery, forget the horrible barbarities -they committed. When Smirke was here the country must really have been -in a fearful state of anarchy; and whatever we may say against him, it -must be laid at any rate to the credit of Veli Pasha that he has cleared -the Morea of banditti. The Colocotroni and the rest of them have had to -fly the country and enlist in Church's contingent at Zante. - -We spent some time at Megalopolis, and with Pausanias in our hands were -able to identify remnants of almost everything he mentions, in especial -the spring near the theatre, which only runs part of the year. At -Lycosura the ruins are disappointingly modern, and there is not much of -them; nothing left of the ancient temple at all. The situation is very -fine. Two and a half hours' journey up a stream through woods brought us -to Dervine, the boundary of Messenia. Then we crossed the Plain of -Messenia, admiring, even in the rain, the mountains, Ithome especially, -and at dusk got to a village two hours short of Kalamata. Our agroati -did not know the road on, and it was too late to get a guide; but as -they told us the road was quite straight we went on in the dark. At the -end of an hour we had lost the track; it was pitch black, raining still, -and we on the edge of a river in a marsh. There I thought we should have -stayed. For four hours we groped about, looking first for the lost path, -and then for any path to any shelter. First we tried giving Haller's -horse, who had been to Kalamata before, a loose rein and letting him -lead the way. At first it promised well, for the horse went ahead -willingly; but the agroati took upon him to change his course, and then -we were as lost as ever. We could hardly see each other. Then we sent -off the agroati to try and reach a light we could see. He came back with -awful accounts of bogs and ditches he had met in his path. Finally, -after standing still for a time in the pelting rain, we resolved to -reach the light; and so we did, over hedge and ditch and through bogs, -and Indian corn above our heads as we sat on horseback, and at length, -wet through and wearied, reached a cottage in which were some Greeks. -They, however, refused to lead us to any house; for, said they, 'we know -not what men ye are.' At last one good man took us into his house and -gave us a room, and figs and brandy for supper. We were thankful for -anything. He was a poor peasant with a pretty wife and a perfectly -lovely daughter. - -We got to Kalamata next day, meeting on the way numbers of Mainiotes -coming to buy figs &c. in the Messenian plain, all armed. Our baggage -had arrived very late overnight. We went to the so-called consul, an -agent of the consul at Patras, and sent the letter of recommendation of -the Waiwode of Caritzena to the Waiwode of Kalamata; but he took no -notice of it, and did nothing whatever for us, so we had to find a house -for ourselves. We pitched upon a lofty Turkish tower commanding the -city, with a very rotten floor which threatened at any moment to let us -through from the second storey to the base. The only way up to our room -was by a crazy ladder. The shutters were riddled with bullets. Some time -before there had been a grand engagement between this tower and the -cupola of a neighbouring church, where some Mainiotes in the service of -one of their great captains, a certain Benachi, had defended themselves. -Kalamata seems to be a constant scene of fights between the party of the -Bey appointed by the Porte, or rather the Capitan Pasha, and the party -who want to appoint a Bey of their own, and this is the way they fight, -each party from its own tower. - -From our tower we made panoramic sketches of the city, but were much -interrupted by visitors. Among them came a young Mainiote Albanian -officer from Church's contingent, who was here recruiting. He was -accompanied by two armed Mainiotes, and said he had twenty more -concealed about the town in case of danger. He invited us to come with -him into Maina as far as Dolus, where his family lived, a proposal we -eagerly closed with, and appointed the next morning." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[28] One Colocotronis, a chief of klephts, attained great influence in -the War of Independence. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -TRIP TO MAINA--ITS RELATIVE PROSPERITY--RETURN TO KALAMATA. SECOND TRIP -TO MAINA--MURGINOS--SPARTA--NAPOLI TO ATHENS. - - -"The Mainiote border comes to within half a mile of Kalamata, and the -neighbourhood of its ferocious population, who are as savage and even -braver than the Turks, makes the latter much meeker here than in other -parts of the country--that is, in a general way, for they can be very -fierce still on occasions. A ghastly thing happened during our stay. We -heard one evening the report of a pistol in the house of the Albanian -guard which stood just under our windows. It seemed one of the brutes -had shot his brother in a quarrel. Here was a gruesome example under our -eyes; and besides I was told all sorts of hideous stories of Mainiote -and Albanian cruelties which made my blood run cold, and still spoils -all my pleasure in thinking of this barbarous region. - -Early in the morning we embarked on a Zantiote felucca, lent us for the -occasion, and in an hour and a half reached the opposite coast of the -bay, near the ruins of a village, of which we were told that it was -destroyed and its inhabitants carried off for slaves by the Barbary -pirates. Ever since this event the villages have been built farther from -the coast. The village of Dolus, to which we were going, is an hour's -walk from the shore. - -Our friend's brother and a number of other men, all armed to the teeth, -met us on the beach and saluted us, as soon as we were recognised, with -a discharge of guns and pistols. Then we landed, and set off for the -village. A difference in the appearance of the country struck me at -once. Instead of the deserted languid air of other parts of Greece, here -was a vigorous prosperity. Not an inch of available ground but was -tilled and planted with careful husbandry, poor and rocky as the soil -was. The villages were neater and less poverty-stricken, and the -population evidently much thicker than in the rest of Greece. The faces -of the men were cheerful and open; the women handsomer, and their -costume more becoming. - -Liberty seemed to have changed the whole countenance and manner of the -people to gaiety and happiness. Everyone saluted us as we passed along, -and when we arrived at Dolus the mother of our entertainer came out with -the greatest frankness to meet us. Others came, and with very engaging -manners wished us many years, a rare civility in Greece. The boys -crowded round, and said Englishmen were fine fellows, but why had we no -arms? How could we defend ourselves? Then they shook their fists at the -Turkish shore, saying those ruffians dared not come amongst Mainiotes. - -Our host's family had cooked us some chickens. While we were sitting -eating them a multitude of visitors, women especially, who had never -seen Franks before, came in, gazed, and asked questions. There was a -great deal of laughing and talking, but every man was heavily armed. -After dinner we went out for a walk and visited some remarkably pretty -villages. The name of one was Malta, the others I could not make out; -all more in the interior. The churches were very pretty. Each had a tall -steeple in the Gothic style with bells, which a boy, proud of his -freedom and anxious to show it, running on, would ring as we came up; -for, as you know, neither bells nor steeples are allowed by the Turks. -We saw a new tower, the tower of the beyzesday, or captain of the -Mainiotes, armed with two thirty-pounders which had been given him, and -though not very solidly built, standing in a fine position. We were told -that all these towers are provisioned for a siege, and one of those near -Kalamata has food for five years--not that I believe it. All slept -together, ten of us covering the whole floor of a tiny room. - -We went back in the morning to Kalamata, leaving behind us our host. He -had been warned by letter from Kalamata not to go back there, for -reports had been circulated by the Turks that he was gone to Maina to -raise recruits and he would probably be arrested if he landed. - -We had been so interested with our glimpse of the free Greeks--the -Greeks who had always been free from the days of Sparta, who had -maintained their independence against Rome, Byzantium, the Franks, -Venetians, and Turks--that we longed to see more of them; and the -reports we heard of a temple near Cape Matapan gave us hopes of a return -for the expense of an excursion. We therefore agreed with a certain -Captain Basili of Dolus, owner of a boat, that he should take us to -Cyparissa and protect us into the interior. Meanwhile we went home to -get our baggage &c. As we rowed along the shore a storm hung on Mount -Elias, rolling in huge coils among the high perched villages, and the -awful grandeur and air of savage romance it gave to the whole country -whetted our appetites to the utmost. - -When we landed at Kalamata, however, a dispute about payment for the -present trip led us to refer to the consul for a settlement, and -incidentally to our telling him our plans. As soon as he heard them he -objected vigorously. The man we had engaged was, he said, a notorious -murderer; it was well known that he had assassinated a certain Greek -doctor for his money when he was bringing him from Coron, and he might -do the same for us on the way to Cyparissa. It would be better if we -insisted on going into Maina to write to a certain Captain Murgino at -Scardamula and put ourselves under his protection. As he was one of the -heads of the Mainiote clans, and a man of power, he would be able to -guarantee our safety. - -As this advice was supported by a French gentleman of Cervu, a Monsieur -Shauvere, who seemed to be reliable, we took it, and wrote that same -evening to Murgino; but the first engagement had to be got rid of, and -that was not so easy. Whatever his intentions had been, the boatman from -Dolus thought he had made a profitable engagement, for he demanded 50 -piastres indemnity, first for expenses incurred and next for the slight. -He threatened to attack us on the way if we ventured to engage another -boat. Finally we agreed to refer the dispute for settlement to the -Albanian Mainiote, our late host. - -We received an answer from Murgino to say that we should be very -welcome, and that he would send a guard to meet us four hours from his -house. - -We accordingly set off in the evening to go by land, and arrived at -night at a village called Mandinié; and there we had to sleep, for the -road was too breakneck for us to go on in the dark. Our host was -exceedingly hospitable, and gave one a good impression of the free -Greeks. - -Early in the morning we went on to Malta, and met four of Murgino's men -come to meet us. We also fell in with the young captain or chieftain of -Mainiotes on his way to Kalamata. He had a guard of eight or ten men, -all armed and handsomely dressed, their hair trailing down their backs -like true descendants of the Spartans, who combed their long hair before -going into battle. - -As regarding the origin of the name Malta, it may be called to mind that -the Venetians during their occupation mortgaged part of the Morea to the -Knights of St. John, and this may have been one of their fortresses. - -Having hired mules to carry our luggage, as the road is too bad for -horses, we proceeded to Scardamula, a distance of 1œ hour. There we were -rejoined by my servant Dimitri, whom I had sent on to arrange the affair -of Captain Basili, the Dolus boatman. He had found the man in a state of -exasperation, refusing to accept any accommodation, saying it was an -affair of honour, and vowing that we should pay in another way. The wife -and mother of the Albanian officer, dreading his resentment, had hung -terrified on his (Dimitri's) arm, assuring him that we should be -assassinated on the road. He himself arrived hardly able to speak with -terror and pale as paper. - -We did all we could to inspire him with a little courage, both natural -and Dutch. First we appealed to him as a man to show a good face, and -for the second we gave him a good and ample dinner, and, relying on our -guard and on ourselves, set out. - -But before starting we begged our Albanian friend to come, if he could, -next day to Scardamula, bringing Captain Basili with him, and the -dispute should be referred to Captain Murgino for arbitration. - -The path to Scardamula--for there was nothing in the shape of a -road--was now so difficult that we had to get off; and, even so, it was -to me perfectly wonderful how the mules ever got along. There was -nothing but rock, and that all fissured and jagged limestone, but they -climbed over it like goats. - -The situation of Scardamula is infinitely striking. At the gate of his -castle Captain Murgino waited to receive us--a fat, handsome old man. - -At the first our rather strange appearance seemed to put him a little -out of countenance, and he received us awkwardly although kindly; but -after a time he appeared to regain confidence and became very cordial. -'Eat a good supper, _Ingles archi mas_' ('my little Englishman'), he -said to me, and gave me the example. He talked freely on the political -state of Maina. He owned and regretted that the Greeks had no leader, -and said he trusted that would not long be wanting, and that shortly the -great object of his desires would be realised; but what that object was -he would not explain. It might be an invasion of the Morea by the -English, seconded by a native insurrection which he would take a -leading part in--or what not; but he was careful to give me no hint.[29] -His son was absent at a council of the [Greek] chiefs at Marathonisi. - -The next morning we walked about his lands, which were indescribably -picturesque. His castle stands on a rock in the bed of a river, about a -quarter of a mile from the bank. It consists of a courtyard and a church -surrounded by various towers. There is a stone bench at his door, where -he sits surrounded by his vassals and his relations, who all stand -unless invited to sit. The village people bring him presents, tribute as -it were, of fruits, fowls, &c. On a lofty rock close by is a -watch-tower, where watch is kept night and day. The whole gave us a -picture of feudal life new and hardly credible to a nineteenth-century -Englishman. - -Behind the tower the mountains rise precipitously, and culminate in the -Pentedactylon--a prodigious mountain of the Taygetus range. - -Murgino made us an estimate of his dependents. He has about 1,000 men, -over whom he has absolute authority to call them out or to punish them -as he thinks fit. A few days before we came he had had an obstreperous -subject, who refused to obey orders, executed. Moreover, he showed a -well in which he said he put those from whom he desired to extort money. -When times are hard and the olives fail he makes war upon his -neighbours, and either robs or blackmails them. The old man assured me -that one winter they brought back from 1,000 to 1,500 piastres, from -50l. to 80l., a day. - -Such was our host and his surroundings. - -As I told you, our object was to examine some remains we had heard -rumours of, especially of a Doric temple said to exist in the southern -part of Maina, and, by all we could hear, in a tolerable state of -preservation; but when we saw the tremendous preparations made by our -good captain we found the enterprise beyond all our calculations or -means. He declared he could not ensure our safety without his own -attendance with a guard of forty men at the least. At this we thought it -best, however regrettable, to retire before the expenses we should incur -should embarrass us in our return to Athens. So we only stayed two days -with Murgino, and then returned to Kalamata. - -As you may suppose, I was very sorry to lose an opportunity of perhaps -making another discovery of importance, but even as it was I did not -regret to have made the visit into Maina. In no part of Europe at any -rate, if indeed of the world, could one find such singular scenes or -come upon a state of society so exactly like that of our ancient -barons. The character of Murgino himself was a study. He was very hardy, -bold, vigorous in mind and body, used from a boy to battle with all -kinds of reverses. - -His father was driven out of his home by the Turks, who brought several -frigates and regularly laid siege to Scardamula. He escaped, but he was -afterwards taken and hanged at Tripolizza. Murgino himself escaped to -Coron, where, however, he was discovered and put in chains. A friendly -priest brought him a file, wherewith he effected his escape to the house -of the English consul, and was by him protected. He then took service on -board a French privateer, and wandered into various parts of the Levant. -After some time he reappeared at Scardamula, took possession of his -father's castle, and became one of the captains or leaders of the -Mainiotes. Then the Turks returned and surrounded him a second time. -With a few followers he cut his way through and escaped to Zante. Some -months later he came back once more, to find a neighbour had seized his -possessions. He collected friends and laid siege to him. His rival was, -fortunately for him, killed by a stroke of lightning during the siege, -and Murgino came into his own again. But he did not hold it long in -peace. He was again attacked by the Turks in force. This time he shut -himself in the castle with 62 Greeks, who swore to die rather than -yield. For forty days they held the place with muskets against -artillery, till all his powder was spent and his towers in ruins. Then -he sent a message to the enemy to say that if they would give him two -cannon and some powder he would hold the castle a year. Having soothed -his mind with this taunt, he prepared to escape to the mountains. First -he sent his wife off by night, and then followed with the few survivors -of his men, and contrived again to get to Zante. It is characteristic of -the man that when he learnt that his son was hanged he called, as he -told me, for another glass of rum, saying 'Che serve la melancolia?' -Among the ruffianly crew who loafed about the place he pointed me out -one or two of the poor fellows who had remained hidden in the hills when -he went to Zante. Some had lost a toe or a finger in the frost; others -had been maimed in the siege. One youth in particular he indicated, -saying 'This fellow's father was a fine fellow; he was crushed in the -falling of one of the towers!' Every one had a history. - -Somehow, before we parted, I had got to feel a sort of affection for -this ruthless cateran. He had an uncommonly open frank manner, he was -certainly clean, and he had an air of natural superiority which it was -difficult to resist. - -I should not have written so much about this if I had not thought it the -most interesting part of the tour--but it had not, I admit, much -architectural instruction to offer. - -From Kalamata we went to Sparta, over a rugged and picturesque road, -along the brink of precipices and over the Taygetus. Some time ago it -was infested by banditti,[30] and so it still is on the borders of -Maina. We arrived late at a small village near Mistra. The road, which -passed among overhanging rocks and a wild and fantastic scenery, the -effect of which was heightened by the moonlight, was so stony and rugged -that we were obliged to walk by far the greater part of the way. -Sometimes the shepherds on precipices above us would call out, 'What men -are ye?' And we answered, 'Good men.' There was no step of the road that -had not its annals of murder or robbery. One of our party, to cheer us, -sang us the great deeds of a certain Captain Zaccani, who had been -something between a highwayman and a patriot not many years back, -infesting this part of the country. - -Sparta, I need not tell you, was strong only in its inhabitants. It -stood, as no other Greek city did, in a plain. There are no remains. Its -present inhabitants, far from being independent, are the most oppressed, -the meanest and the stupidest of the Greeks. We stayed only three days -for Haller, who had various drawings to make, and then rode from Mistra -to Tripolizza in one day. Haller had had a fall from his horse on the -way which had strained him a good deal, so we had to stop three days -there also. It is the capital of the Morea, and has a caimacam, whom we -went to call upon one evening. It chanced to be during the Ramazan. He -was very civil and gave us a bouyuruldu, an order which provided us -horses gratis to Athens. The details of the visit were very much the -same as those of other official visits. We drank coffee and smoked large -pipes surrounded by a crowd of chiouks. The large and well-lighted room -was filled with Albanian soldiers lying and sitting in all positions on -the floor, and we had to be careful in picking our way through them. - -We did not stop longer at Argos or Tiryns than was necessary to verify -Gell's description. - -At Napoli di Romagna, where we were detained for want of horses, we -narrowly escaped the bastinado. - -Napoli is one of the chief fortresses of the Morea, and the custom on -entering such places is to get off one's horse. Our servant, who knew -nothing of this, was cruelly beaten by the guard. When we came up we -were told of it by the grooms who looked after our luggage, and conjured -by the Panagia and the Cross to dismount as we went in. We, however, -thought it unbecoming our dignity, and rode boldly in. The guard, seeing -so many hats, was awed and said nothing; but we could see by the frowns -of the bystanders that our presumption was disapproved, and when we -complained to the pasha, the head of the janissaries, of the way our -servant was mishandled, he took very little notice of us. Generally -speaking the Turks in their fortresses are insufferably intolerant and -insolent. Our treatment was no inducement to stay, and we made on for -Athens as soon as we could. We visited the sacred grove at -Epidaurus,[31] the ruins of Mycenæ,[32] and stayed one day in Corinth. -But we were glad to get to Athens; it was like home to us. For three -weeks I had slept with my clothes on, without a bed, and with only one -blanket to wrap myself in." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[29] It probably was the insurrection, for when it occurred he took an -important part in it. He was the opponent of the Mavro Michali faction, -headed by Petro Bey. - -[30] Here it was that Chevalier Bronstedt was stopped next year and -robbed: _vide infra._ - -[31] The Hieron of Epidaurus excavated by the Archæological Society of -Athens. - -[32] Excavated by Schliemann in 1876. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -ÆGINA MARBLES CALLED FOR BY BRITISH GOVERNMENT SHIPS--LEAVES ATHENS FOR -CRETE AND EGYPT WITH HON. FRANCIS NORTH--CANEA--CONDITION OF CRETE--BY -LAND--RETIMO--KALIPO CHRISTO--CANDIA--AUDIENCE OF THE PASHA--HIS BAND-- -THE ARCHBISHOP--THE MILITARY COMMANDANT--TURKISH SOCIETY--LIFE IN CANDIA. - - -"Waiting for me in Athens I found letters from my father detailing the -measures he had taken in our favour concerning the marbles. He had moved -the Prince Regent, who had given orders that 6,000l. and a free entry -should be offered for the collection, and that a ship of war should be -sent to fetch it. The offer might be considered equal to 8,000l. The -ship might be expected at once. - -Here was a bitter disappointment to be unable to accept so splendid an -offer, and a painful embarrassment as well; for I had led the -Government, quite unintentionally, to suppose that they had only to send -for the marbles to secure them. In consequence of which they were -sending two great vessels at great expense, whereas I should now have to -tell the captain not only that the marbles were no longer in Athens--but -that they could not be handed over at all." - - -At this moment the Honourable Mr. North,[33] an acquaintance already -made in Constantinople, had turned up in Athens, and intended making an -expedition to Egypt up the Nile as far as Thebes. He proposed to -Cockerell and Foster to join him. Egypt had been part of the former's -original scheme in planning his travels, and the opportunity of sharing -expenses was not one to be lost. So it was agreed, and all preparations -were made for the journey. They were to have started in the beginning of -November, but were delayed by unfavourable winds. - - -"I was a month in Athens, for the most part unprofitably, as all time -spent in expectation must be. Every day we packed up, to unpack again -when the wind went contrary. Finally, on November 29th, the wished-for -wind came, and at the same time an express from Captain Percival of the -brig-of-war _Pauline_ 25, come for the marbles, called us down to the -Piræus to see the ship sent by the Prince Regent. - -It was raining in torrents. Nevertheless we set out, with Haller and -Linckh as well, to explain matters. I own my consternation was great -when I saw the two big ships come on a bootless quest, for which I was -in a way answerable. We had to tell Captain Percival not only that the -marbles were now in Zante, but that even if they had been still here he -could not have taken them, as they were now to be sold by auction; and, -finally, as there was danger of Zante being at any time attacked by the -French, to request him to remove them to Malta for greater security. At -first Captain Percival was very indignant, not unnaturally; but when he -had done his duty in this respect he was very civil and asked us to -dine. Ale and porter, which I had not seen for so long, seemed -delicious, and I drank so much of it that when, with North, Haller, and -Stackelberg, I went aboard our Greek ship to bed, I slept like a stone -till the morning drum on the _Pauline_ woke me. The wind was blowing -fresh from the north. We drew up our anchor; Haller and Stackelberg -shook us by the hand and went ashore. - -And now for Candia and Egypt. Good port as the Piræus is once you are -inside, to get in and out of it is very awkward. The brig, of course, -well handled, had no difficulty; but we failed altogether at the first -attempt, and at the next as near as possible got on to the rocks at the -entrance. The _Pauline_ laid to for us till we were out, and then sailed -ahead much more quickly than we were able to follow. The day was bright, -the wind was fair, and it was new and exhilarating to sail in such good -company. At Ægina, where the temple stood up clear for us to see, the -brig and the transport lay to, to land a pilot, and we went in front, -but they soon caught us up again; and when they passed us, comparing -their trimness and order with our state, I saw why a Greek always speaks -with such awe of an English ship. Between Hydra--a black and barren -rock--and the mainland a storm, which we just escaped, swept along, and -our captain seeing it, and thinking dirty weather might come on, steered -towards Milo so as to be able to put in there in case of danger, and we -parted with our convoy. Of our party I was the only one who was not ill, -and appeared at dinner; and as the air was close below among my sick -friends, I passed the night on deck in a seaman's coat. In the morning -Candia was in sight, and by midday we were in Canea--only twenty-eight -hours. - -As we drew near, the town, with its many minarets, all white and -stretching along a flat, with dark mountains, peak above peak, in very -fine forms behind it, had a most striking effect. From a great distance -one could distinguish the large arched arsenals built by the Venetians -for their galleys. The port is difficult to enter, and we nearly ran -ashore here again by mistaking a breach in the wall which encloses the -port for the entrance to it. It is a gap which has once been mended by -the Turks, but it was so ill done that it fell in again immediately; and -now it has been a ruin for some time and seems likely to remain one. We -dropped our anchor ill too, so that the stem of our ship ran foul of -some rocks, but no harm was done. - -We landed, dressed _à la Turque_, and I felt some 'mauvaise honte' in -replying to the salutation of Turks who took us for their fellows, so I -was not sorry to take shelter in the house of our consul, Sr. Capo -Grosso, a native of Spalatro, with a pretty Tartar wife from the Crimea. -It appears that besides himself there are very few Franks living -here--only two families descended from the Venetians, and two other -Catholic families, all kept in a perpetual tremor by the Turks, who are -worse in Crete than anywhere. There are quarrels and murders every day -between them and the Greeks. There never was such a state as the country -is in. The military power consists of a local militia of janissaries and -none other, so that their captains are able to terrorise the pasha into -doing anything they please. But the militia, again, is composed of -various regiments, and they are at variance with each other. So that you -have both anarchy and civil war. Fancy, how nice! - -The Venetians long possessed the island, and the fortifications and -public buildings, which are really very noble, as well as every other -decent thing in the place, are of their production. Indeed, in walking -through the city, judging by the look of the buildings, one might -imagine oneself in a Frank country, except that they are all left to go -to rack and ruin. The sea walls are so neglected that the port is almost -destroyed. - -It is, as I said, a fortified town, and the Turks are absurdly jealous -of any stranger and possible spy. One cannot stir out without being -closely watched, and they shoot at anything which incurs the slightest -suspicion--a Frankish hat, for instance. In consequence it was -impossible to do any sketching, however much I might wish to. - -The weather looked thoroughly bad. It poured all day, with a north wind -which forbade all thoughts of sailing. - -To make the best use of our time, it was proposed that we should make an -expedition to see Ida and the famous Labyrinth; but as Mr. North is no -mountain climber he settled to wait in the ship for a fair wind to carry -him to Candia, where whichever of us should arrive first was to await -the other. - -There was some delay in starting, because the rascally Turk from whom we -first tried to job our horses came to a dispute with his agroates about -the pay they were to get. Though he was to get ten piastres per horse, -he would only give them five. As they could not agree, the negotiation -fell through and it was rather late before we got others. - -We were Douglas,[34] Foster, and myself, the consul's dragoman and two -janissaries. Outside the ramparts, which are certainly strong, one comes -on a fine plain dotted with white villas and thick with olives. One -owner whose house we passed, Hagi Imin Effendi, makes as many as 60,000 -barrels of oil per annum, which at 60 piastres a barrel represents a -vast income. Having crossed the plain, one comes to Suda Bay, an -excellent harbour, a mile and a half or two miles in length. The -entrance is protected by an island with a famous fortress upon it which -resisted the Turks for thirty-five years after the reduction of the rest -of Crete. It has 260 pieces of cannon now. Soapmaking is one of the -chief industries of Crete. Along Suda Bay were numbers of salt-pans for -winning the salt wanted for the soapmaking. A Venetian road, once good, -now in a ruinous condition, led us along a cliff flanked with -watch-towers, and presently turned inland. Before us was a beautiful -hilly country covered with olives, and in the distance Ida white with -snow. On our right the Sphakiote Mountains, high and pointed, very like -Maina to look at, and not unlike it in respect of its population, though -it has not been quite so fortunate. The Sphakiotes maintained their -independence till forty-three years ago, but then they were reduced by -the Turks, and have been paying taxes ever since, and furnishing sailors -for the Turkish shipping. These sailors act as hostages for the good -behaviour of their relatives. All the same they are a bold people never -without arms, and prompt in the use of them. - -We slept that night at a wretched khan at Neokorio in company with our -horses and their vagabond drivers, and fleas in infinite abundance. -Thomas, Douglas's English servant, made an ill-timed joke here, which -might have been awkward among such savage people. The Turks at -suppertime pressed round him to see what was in our food-bag, and he, to -be rid of them, told them it was full of pork. At this they expressed -the greatest disgust, pressed upon us to know if it was true, and -refused to eat anything that night. However, nothing more came of it. -Fleas and the manifold varieties of stinks drove us to get through our -night's rest as quickly as possible. We were up and away two hours -before daybreak, scrambling along a rough road. When the sun rose the -effect of it on the snow-covered Sphakiote Hills was magnificent. Our -way was through a country rich in olives and full of beautiful scenes. -Well situated at the entrance to a valley leading up from the sea, as a -defence against piratical descents, was a fortress with a [Greek: -pyrgos] or watch-tower, built by the Venetians. It is of the fine -workmanship they always used, with well-arranged quarters for troops, -moat, &c., all very neat and well executed. There we went down on to the -sands and continued along them for a length of time till we reached a -small river and the ruins of a splendid Venetian bridge. Thence still -along the seaside, but over rocks and past watch-towers standing within -gunshot of each other, till we rose again on to a height from which we -gained a grand view of Retimo. We crossed a bridge, a double arch of -great depth, prodigiously effective, and there I stopped to make a -sketch before descending into the town, while the luggage went on. But -when we followed I was met by the dragoman before I had dismounted. He -looked very pale, and telling me that my stopping by the road had been -remarked and commented upon, entreated me not to say what I had been -doing, but to give in fact a much more natural reason. I had already, at -Canea, been warned of the danger of drawing the fortress; so, my love of -truth notwithstanding, I was obliged for the dragoman's sake, he being -responsible, to do as he asked. - -We were received into the house of Achmet Aga, the karahayah. He was not -at home himself at the time, but his nephews and relatives made us -welcome. As soon as he came in we were ushered into an upper room into -his presence. He was a remarkably handsome old man with a long white -beard. He received us with a proud, not to say cold, hospitality; so -much so that when we thanked him for his polite offer of his house, as -he said it was ours, he looked the other way. - -As we drank coffee we made our apologies for our dirty appearance, but -he only said he feared we were not comfortable and begged us to rest -ourselves. His manner was haughty not only to us but to the wretched -flatterers who came to pay him homage; it was such that I was quite -offended. His servants treated him with the most abject respect, and -even his two nephews, men of thirty or thereabouts, sat at the side -without the divan, not venturing to approach him. And yet, -notwithstanding his manner, his treatment of us was hospitality and -civility itself. He had a son of sixteen or seventeen years dressed in a -Bosnian costume--one of the handsomest lads I ever saw, like the youths -one imagines in reading the Arabian tales. He came by his father's order -to sit by me and entertain me. I asked him if he had ever travelled, and -whether he would come to Egypt with me and see the world. He replied -very politely that to please me he would do so. The audience being over, -we went out and strolled down to the port. It has lately been deepened -by a Maltese engineer, but is very small, and might hold fifteen or -twenty polaccas at the most. After seeing it we returned to get ready -for the dinner to which our host had invited us. As usual in such houses -one had to dress in the midst of a crowd of servants, negroes, -dervishes, and hangers-on. We put on our best clothes and went up. In -the corner of the sofa or raised divan was placed a large round tray on -a small stool, and we sat round it cross-legged. Over our knees was -stretched a long napkin from one to the other, and a small one was -thrown over each man's shoulder. We ate with our fingers, pinching off -bits of meat from the same plate in the middle. Our janissary was -invited to eat with us. The dinner was dressed in the harem. The servant -tapped at the door communicating with it from the passage, and the -dishes were handed in. There were many of them, and they were sent away -by our host without any apparent notice of any disposition on our part -to detain them. We had a stew of fowls, another of mutton, some strange -made-dishes, a soup, a number of cakes, and I particularly remember some -made of flour and cheese which were excellent. We greased our fingers -handsomely and washed them as soon as we had done. For us there was -wine, but Achmet would not drink any himself: not from virtue, he said, -but because it did not agree with him. The handsome son waited without -the divan and took orders from his father. Before dinner was over an old -Turk came in with a fiddle and played or told long stories the whole -evening. I was obliged to him, for it supplied the place of -conversation, which did not seem to flourish. In the evening numbers of -Turks came in to see the 'Inglesi,' and would have pressed forward, but -until our dinner was done they were kept outside the sofa. Afterwards we -formed into a sort of conversazione--very few words and much gravity. -Finally the beautiful youth, the host's son, made beds for us of two -quilts and a pillow on the sofa, and there we slept. I wonder what a -young squire in England would say if his father told him to make beds -for his guests. - -Next morning we were much pressed to stay both by our host and his son, -but we had to resist, much as we had been pleased with our -entertainment. So we distributed plentiful bakshish and rode away. - -Our road lay along the shore, with fine views of Retimo and the -Sphakiote Hills. Then over a high ridge to a khan at the foot of Ida. -Here we had some refreshments and a dispute with the khangee, who tried -to steal one of our spoons under cover of great professions of -friendliness. After Avlopotamo the road became very dangerous. It ran by -the side of awful precipices and over slippery rocks, and it was getting -dark. Indeed, had it been lighter I don't suppose we should have ridden -over it. In one place our janissary fell, and his horse's legs dangled -over the precipice in a way to make one's blood run cold. No roads in -Maina could be worse. The light of a fire beckoned us from afar to the -monastery of Kalipo Christo, but we found the gate closed and the -papades not to be seen. They were frightened and had hidden themselves. -The fact is, the Turks in the country here are so brutal and lawless -that if they once get into a monastery of this kind they eat and drink -all they can get, never think of paying, and perhaps rob or murder some -of the monks. There were several little boys hanging about to peep at -us, one of whom our janissary caught, and by drawing his sword and -threatening to imbrue it in his blood he terrified him into fetching the -monks out of their concealment. Once in, the papades were very -communicative. They told us that their convent was not freehold, and -that it belonged to a Turk of Canea, who exacted an exorbitant rent. The -ruinous condition of the villages which we observed as we came along was -due, they said, to the earthquake of February 14, 1810. It came, as they -always do, with a west wind, and as many as two thousand lives were -lost. A blackguardly Tartar came and sat with us, with whom we presently -quarrelled, and finally, when his behaviour grew intolerable, we had to -kick him out. - -We left early, but our Tartar must have been ashamed of himself, for we -saw nothing of him; he had gone on. The road wound up and up among -barren rocks for about five hours, till we reached the ridge and a -stupendous view of Candia, Ida, and the sea. In three hours more we -reached Candia, and took up our quarters in the house of a Jew. There, -in the course of the evening, we received a visit from the dragoman of -the pasha, a very stupid Greek, who tried to be very, very grand, and -later from the master of the pasha's household, Chiouk Emene, a most -urbane Turk. He was very particularly proud of his watch, and produced -it, compared it with ours, and begged me to say his was the best. - -We had to wait till the pasha should be ready to receive us at one -o'clock. Then he sent to us, and we walked off through the streets to -his palace, locally known as the porte. The entrance was surrounded with -a crowd of janissaries. When we had passed them we were ushered into the -room of the secretary, whom we found sitting in one corner of his sofa, -surrounded with agas in so much state that I mistook him for the pasha -himself. We were there but a few minutes, but long enough to see that he -must be a man of talent. We afterwards learnt that he was and had many -accomplishments. He could write, ride, and play the djerid better than -anyone. The djerid he could cast as high as a minaret. Presently we were -led through a crowd of servants into the presence of the pasha. He was -in the corner, sitting in great magnificence. His pelisse was worth -20,000 piastres. By his side was a diamond-hilted dagger and two -snuff-boxes set in diamonds and pearls. Three chairs, covered with red -brocade, were placed before him for us to sit on. Our two dragomans -stood on either side of us, and, at each word spoken and answered to the -pasha, moved their heads and their hands from their mouth to their head. -The conversation was as follows. We were asked whence we came, and when -we had replied, the friendship between the Porte and England was -referred to, and the pasha desired the Jew--our host--to treat us, being -Englishmen, with all possible attention. The mention of authority led -the pasha to tell us that he commanded in Retimo and Canea, as well as -in Candia. He next begged to know if we brought any news; whether there -had been any fighting in the west of Europe; and whether Buonaparte had -put into execution his threat of invading England. To this we replied -that he knew better than to try. - -Sweetmeats were then handed round, and rose-water and other essences -sprinkled out of narrow-necked bottles on to our hands and wiped with a -beautifully embroidered napkin. After about half an hour we rose, and -the pasha having said 'You are welcome: I am glad of your arrival,' we -withdrew. Our departure was marked by the usual battle among the chiouks -for bakshish. - -Our treatment by the pasha had had a great effect throughout the city, -so that when we walked through it we were everywhere stared at as -foreign grandees, just as the Persian ambassador was in London. As we -passed people invited us into their houses, and a boy from a cafané -threw down hot water before us, a thing we understood to be an -altogether exceptional compliment, and which had of course to be -exceptionally rewarded. It was now about two hours after midday, and at -that hour it seems the band of the pasha always plays to the public. We -saw it sitting on the top of a house, and stopped in a shop over the -way to hear it discoursing what appeared to me to be the most -excruciating discords. When it was over two chiouks came forward, -crying, 'Pray first for the grand signor, and then for our pasha.' We -turned home, and found that the Emene aga had just been, bringing the -compliments of the pasha and a present consisting of six loaves of -sugar, three packets of wax candles, twenty in a packet, and three pots -of honey. We expressed our lively gratitude in all the best Greek we -could command. - -In the evening the pasha sent us his band to entertain us. It consisted -of six performers, mostly Persians. Their instruments were a dulcimer, a -violin of three strings held in the right hand, the bow in the left, a -Persian pipe which had some really beautiful tones, melancholy, soft, -and sentimental, a guitar with a very long handle, a panpipe with -twenty-one pipes, and a double drum, which was beaten by the man who did -the singing. I could not observe that they had guidance in their -playing, except such as the ear gave them; but by dint of practice they -managed to keep their instruments together, and the result was, I -thought, rather tender and pleasing. As for our poor dragoman, who had -heard no music since he had left Constantinople, he was quite overcome -and dissolved in tears. - -We paid a visit to the archbishop. He seemed to have as many religious -attendants as the pasha had secular ones, but he received us in a very -unaffected way at his door and showed us over his church. His answers to -our questions showed him to have very little learning. Pausanias he had -never even heard of. Thence we went on to pay a visit to the captain of -'fourteen,' the chief of the five regiments here, the military -commandant in fact. He has under him from 25,000 to 30,000 troops, -second only for insubordination and lack of discipline to those at -Canea, where they are in chronic open rebellion. We found him in his -room, a fat vulgar man with a good many handsome arms about him; among -them a shield which he told me is still in use. Ali, our janissary, -showed me afterwards how it is handled, and anything more barbarous or -inexpert I never saw. - -Being such rare birds, and received with so much form and cordiality by -the pasha, all the notabilities were anxious to see us. Many Turkish -agas and others signified their wish to visit us, and our poor house, -alas! alas! was full of them from morning to night. Some were polite, -but most of them merely curious to view us. Few questions were asked, -and those few not in the least intelligent. In fact, we have been acting -the part of embassy, and we could not do otherwise. Received and stared -at and made much of as we were, we were obliged to try and do credit to -our country. Besides there was nothing else to do; we were practically -under surveillance. No drawings could be made, nor studies of Mount Ida -or the beautiful country. I was always fuming over the waste of time, -but there was no help for it. - -As soon as the novelty is worn off, Turks and Turkish manners become -very uninteresting. Their outward bearing is very dignified, but their -society is inexpressibly dull. Those few who had travelled ever so -little, even so far as Malta, could be distinguished at once. A little -glimpse of the world had sufficed to remove their ridiculous Turkish -_superbia_ and make them respect their neighbours." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[33] Chancellor of the University of Corfu, later Lord Guilford. - -[34] The Hon. Frederick S. N. Douglas, author of an essay entitled _On -Points of Resemblance between Ancient and Modern Greeks_. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -EXPEDITION TO THE LABYRINTH--DELLI YANI--THE INTERIOR--THE RETURN TO -CANDIA--LIFE THERE--REJOINS MR. NORTH--BAD WEATHER--EXPEDITION TO EGYPT -ABANDONED--SCIO--LEAVES MR. NORTH TO GO TO SMYRNA--STORMS--DANGER AND -COLD--ARRIVES AT SMYRNA. - - -"On the second day we started on our expedition to visit the Labyrinth. -It was delightful to get away from a place where we were little better -than State prisoners, unable to go out at all unless in form, and then -obliged to stay within the walls for fear of being taken for spies if we -went outside. When we had to pass through them to get out I saw that the -works are really very strong, with a ditch which can be flooded, and -walls thirty feet high. - -At night we reached Schallous, a small village, and passed the night in -the house of an old Greek. Both he and his wife were terrified at first, -as we were in Turkish dress, and they had suffered terribly at the hands -of the Turks. He told me afterwards that his son, after an absence of -five years, had come home, and the very first night some Turks had -broken into the house, eaten and drunk all they could lay hands on, and -finally murdered the poor youth. - -Next day, by Hagiospiliotissa to the convent of S. Georgio. Our -janissaries here gave us a sample of the tyranny of Turks by preparing -for us and themselves a magnificent repast, and getting drunk and -insulting the papades. Three hours more of hilly country, commanded at -intervals by fortified towers (kopia), brought us to the foot of Ida. - -In ancient times, as well as now, towns of importance in these parts -were generally found by the sea, which was their source of wealth; but -the greatness of Gortyna, though so far inland, was no doubt due to the -magnificent cornlands of the rich plain of Messara. As I guess, the town -stood on a pointed hill overlooking it. - -In a steep part of the hill looking towards the plain is an -inconspicuous hole in the rock, unmarked by any architectural or -structural feature. This is the entrance to the Labyrinth.[35] We had -brought a quantity of string for a clue, which we rolled on two long -sticks, then lit torches and went in. At first one enters a vestibule -out of which lead several openings. Two of the three, perhaps four, dark -entrances are blocked up, but one remains open. This we followed, and -for three mortal hours and more we groped about among intricate passages -and in spacious halls. The windings bewildered us at once, and my -compass being broken I was quite ignorant as to where I was. The -clearly intentional intricacy and apparently endless number of galleries -impressed me with a sense of horror and fascination I cannot describe. -At every ten steps one was arrested, and had to turn to right or left, -sometimes to choose one of three or four roads. What if one should lose -the clue! - -A poor madman had insisted on accompanying us all the way from Candia. -He used to call me St. Michael; Douglas, St. George; and Foster, Minos. -We knew him as Delli Yani. Much against our will he persisted in -following us into the cavern, and when we stopped, going off with a boy -who had a lantern. Conceive our horror when we found suddenly that he -had disappeared. There in that awful obscurity he might wander about -till death relieved him. We sent back two men along the clue with -torches to shout for him, and listened anxiously, but the Turks were -quite unconcerned. God, they said, takes care of madmen. We went on, and -sure enough after about an hour Delli Yani turned up with the boy, who -was horribly frightened. We entered many chambers; in some were Venetian -names, such as Spinola; in another, 'Hawkins 1794,' 'Fiott' and other -Englishmen, and many names of Jews. All the _culs de sac_ were infested -with bats, which were very annoying, and rose in thousands when one of -our party fired a pistol. In one place is a spring. Here and there we -saw some lichen, and there were occasional signs of metallic substances, -but not enough to support the idea of its having been a mine. The stone -is sandy, stratified, and easily cut, the air dry, and it appears to me -that the most probable purpose of this wonderful excavation was as a -secure storehouse for corn and valuables from the attacks of robbers in -the days of Minos. The work was plainly all done with the chisel. - -The passage is always eight or ten feet wide, and four, five, six, -eight, or ten feet or more high. In many places it had fallen in. The -peasants tell all sorts of stories about it. They told me that in one -place there are reeds and a pool, and that the hole goes right through -the mountain for three miles; that a sow went in and came out seven -years after with a litter of pigs; and so on. - -We slept at Hagios Deka, left it at dawn and rode close to the foot of -Ida through a very rich country, and in spite of waiting an hour on the -road, reached Candia in seven hours and a half. It was evident that for -purposes of his own our janissary had taken us something like fifteen -hours out of our way in coming, and we had a serious dispute with him in -consequence. Our hurrying back was of no use. There was no prospect of -our getting away. - -_Candia._--We have plenty of time on our hands and can only employ it in -the worst possible way by the assistance of the agas, who in the name -of dullness come and pass away their ennui in our company. To crown our -bliss, imagine us sleeping, feeding, and sitting all in one room, -without the possibility of finding a hole to hide our heads alone in. - -What was to me perhaps the worst affliction of all, was that to -entertain our guests we had to have music, wearing on unceasingly in -melancholy monotony. Our situation, in fact, was getting to be very -trying. - -We had a visit from our friend Alilah Agas, who begged us to send for -music, which was brought. Then he wished the girls of the house -(Jewesses) to come up and dance, and had we not been there no doubt he -would have compelled them to come. As it was, we discountenanced it, and -he gave it up. But he is a Turk; which is as good as to say utterly -unprincipled. He told me himself that in raising recruits in Anatolia -for the Bey of Tunis, he gave them three hundred piastres apiece, and -set it down as six hundred. That dishonesty and bestiality go hand in -hand with ignorance is well seen among the Turks. Moreover they lack the -civilising influence of women in their society. As soon as their -affected gravity is laid aside, they betray the vilest indecency of -feeling. One cannot give instances, but the fact was painfully brought -home to us. - -At last, on the 24th December, a note came from Mr. North to say that he -was at Dia, the island across the bay. We replied begging him to stay -where he was, for that if he came to Candia he would certainly be -delayed. At the same time we sent to the pasha, begging to have the gate -of the port opened in case Mr. North came. The gate, however, was never -opened. Happily he did not come, and the dragoman we had sent with our -message had to sleep at a cafané outside the gate, and we lowered dinner -down to him with a piece of string over the walls. For a wonder we were -left alone for this evening, and Douglas and I walked about in our -little [Greek: peribolê] by moonlight, and thought of home and happy -Christmas parties there and our dismal Christmas out here. Amongst other -subjects we talked of the divine Mrs. Siddons. I trust you never omit my -love and duty to her, and my request that she will not forget her -devoted admirer during his wanderings. You have never told me whether -she intends ever to go on the stage again.[36] - -We went to pay a farewell visit to the pasha. We found him sitting in -the same state as before--in full dress, with his diamond-hilted dagger -in his girdle and several magnificently rich snuff-boxes on the couch -beside him. Our conversation, made up of his questions and our answers, -lasted half an hour. He said he had seen a drawing of the Labyrinth -which I had done, and that it was very beautiful. What was the age of -the Labyrinth? the name of the king who made it? the age of the world? -&c. &c. Our answers were taken down, and our names. Finally he said our -visit was agreeable to him, and bade us cordially farewell. - -Then walking down to the port we took two boats for ourselves and our -baggage, and urging the boatmen to hurry, in our eagerness not to miss a -chance of sailing that evening if the wind allowed it, we reached Dia in -two hours; and there was Mr. North very pleased to see us. We now -watched the wind for a chance of getting out of port, but it shifted -unsteadily from point to point, and there we remained twelve days. My -occupations were to wander about over the desert island, draw, and read -a great deal. It was dull, no doubt, but nothing to the active boredom -of society in Candia. Mr. North had several excellent cases of books, -and I fell upon Gibbon, and became entirely absorbed in it. - -At last the wind changed, the captain set all hands to work, and we got -out of port, but lay outside rolling the whole day in a dead calm. -Towards evening the wind came strong from the south, and our captain, -always afraid to beat against it, let it drive us with it to the north, -so that in the night we passed Nio, and in the morning found ourselves -among the Cyclades between Paro and Siphanto, into the latter of which -the captain begged leave to put, for he said the weather looked dirty. -The harbour of Siphanto, which is called Pharo, is rather exposed to -the south, but is otherwise good. There is the usual chapel to the -Panagia at the entrance. - -I had caught such a violent cold and fever from sleeping on deck the -night before that I was forced to go to bed and stop there for the next -two days, so that I was prevented from going ashore and visiting the -town with North and Foster. It lies about one hour off on the hill, the -houses scattered and looking from a distance like the broken remains of -a wall. Above is a castle, apparently of the time of the Dukes of the -Archipelago. Foster found nothing there of interest except numbers of -pretty girls, some of whom were so pressing that he found it difficult -to get away alone. The fact is the men of the island, being mostly -sailors, are away at sea, and the ladies, being left in a majority, make -the love which in other countries is made to them. The costume, a -Venetian bodice and high bonnet, with very short petticoats, is pretty -and peculiar. There are no Turks in the island, but some Turkish sailors -lying in the port took offence at the fine clothes of North and Douglas, -saying we were Romaics, and had no right to ridicule their Faith by -wearing their sacred dress. They even threatened to give stronger proofs -of their displeasure than by mere words. - -However, next morning we were towed out of port; but being becalmed all -day outside, Mr. North, who had been stirred by the remonstrances of -the Turks just mentioned, sent in a boat, and got a wig, a pair of shoes -and breeches for his own wear. - -Next day we were still lying becalmed among the Cyclades, but the next a -light breeze sprang up and carried us northwards through the passage -towards Scio; for Mr. North, tired of our delays, having lost all -confidence in our captain, and frightened at the violence of the winds, -had finished by making up his mind to give up the voyage to Egypt; and -this caprice, by which all our time and immense expenses were wasted, -necessarily involved us all. I must say I was bitterly disappointed. But -luck was against us; we could not afford to make the journey alone, and -I had to make the best of it. It took us two days to get to Scio. - -A steady wind carried us gently on from Mykoni, and we seemed to enter a -large lake: on one side were the mountains of Anatolia; on the other, -the left, the Isle of Scio, richly cultivated and populous. The whole -coast is covered with the so-called mastic villages. The mastic plant, -which is cultivated mainly on the east side--the side we were looking -at--of the island, is a high evergreen. It is gathered much as resin is -from firs, and the annual crop is about 6,000 okes, all of which goes to -Constantinople. Besides mastic, the island produces a vast quantity of -fruit, which also goes to the capital. The population is very large, -almost entirely Greek. Compared to the wretched Cretans, they are very -independent, both men and women. The latter paint extravagantly and wear -an ugly costume; but I must say that on a _festa_, such as the day after -our arrival, being the 13th of January and New Year's Day in Greece, the -crowds of them dressed in their best, sitting on either side of the -street, looked as brilliant as banks of flowers. - -Before leaving we went to see the chief curiosity of the island--viz. -Homer's School. It lies northwards, along the shore, about an hour's -ride. You arrive first at a fall of a small stream into the sea, and a -little above is a singular hanging rock, the top cut smooth into a -circular floor about 20 feet across. In the centre an altar is left, on -which are carved in bas-relief, on three sides, greyhounds, and on the -fourth--the front--something resembling the head and breast of a sphinx. -It looks south-east. The situation is exceedingly pretty, but why it -should be called Homer's School I cannot conceive. It was more probably -an altar to some deity whose shrine was near--possibly the deity of the -beautiful spring below. - -There is in Scio an agreeable polyglot society of merchants of all -nations living together in harmony. One may find an English family where -English is the only language not spoken, the men perhaps speaking a -little badly, and the women going to church on Sunday and not -understanding a word. As Mr. North intends to remain here and Douglas -is starting homewards by way of St. Petersburg, Foster and I took leave -of them and sailed for Smyrna in the evening. - -We were carried gently along between Scio and the mainland till we -reached the north end of the passage. There we fell in with a storm. The -wind rose very strong; all around us grew fearfully black, and close to -us fell a waterspout. Hereupon the man at the helm sunk terrified on his -knees and made a large cross in the air with his hand. But our old pilot -ordered him to look to the helm, for that he would save us from the -danger. Drawing out a knife with a black handle (a very important point, -I understand), he with it made also a cross in the air, and then stuck -it into the deck and pronounced the words: [Greek: En archê ên ho -logos], &c. ('In the beginning was the Word.') Whereupon, or very -shortly after, the waterspout did disperse and our pious Greek took to -himself all the credit for having saved us from a considerable danger. -Our next fright was that we should hardly be able to clear Cape Boronu, -the point of the Gulf of Smyrna, but we did just manage to do that also. - -The wind changed about several times, till presently it came down in a -heavy gale from the north and continued to increase, till all was -confusion and terror on board. And indeed we were in a very awkward -plight; for our ship was a very bad sailer and we were on a lee shore -with a wind she could make no head against. Besides, the rain and the -hail prevented our seeing anything. The captain completely lost his -head, trembled with fear, and began reproaching us for persuading him to -leave Scio. The only man who kept his presence of mind was the pious old -pilot. He knew of a port near by, where we might possibly gain shelter, -and by his great skill we succeeded in arriving there; but it was neck -or nothing. The smallest mismanagement and we should have been dashed on -the rocks. As it was, we as near as possible ran on to them, owing to -the anchor being let down too late; for the ship, in swinging round, -drove towards them with appalling violence. The captain fell on his -knees, and we all expected the ship to be dashed to pieces. She actually -swung up to within three yards of the rocks, and there the anchor held -us. We all drew a deep breath and thanked our stars. It had been a very -near thing. - -For days the wind was still against us, and piercingly cold. We stayed -where we were. I was thankful to have Pope's 'Homer' with me as a -consolation. - -Our vessel is managed on the system in use at Hydra, Syra, Spezzia, &c, -viz. that half the profits of a voyage go to the captain or proprietor, -and the other half to the crew. Sometimes the members of the crew have -also shares in the venture, and so are doubly interested; sometimes the -captain is sole proprietor and supercargo. The system ensures a brisk -co-operation, as everyone is interested in the success of the venture. - -On the 20th we were still in the same place, the wind still blowing from -the N.N.E.--a Greco Levante, as it is called--and the cold as bitter as -ever it is in England. Snow fell and froze on the deck. The sea, which -was warmer than the air, gave off a mist which rose from it in a thick -steam. - -One of the sailors told me of some antiquities inland, and I tried to -get to them; but first of all it was difficult to persuade the crew to -turn out to put me ashore. They complained of the cold, and would not -leave the cabin, where they were crouching over the fire. Once on shore -I found everything frozen--ice rather thick--and when I got up to the -town I found the antiquities were about three hours off, and nobody -could give me any clear account of them; so I had to give it up and -return to Pope's 'Homer' and the cabin. - -We lay here in all eight days--till the 22nd--shivering in a filthy -cabin among the sailors, utterly idle and half starved. At last on that -day we were able to move to the island of Vourlac, where we added two -more days of wretchedness to our account; and then, when we had consumed -every particle of food except our salt fish, we found a boat to carry us -to Smyrna. The captain of the ship would not stir. The weather was -still very rough, and the wretched coward waited another eight days -before he ventured up. - -No one who has not experienced it, can have an idea of the horrors of a -storm in a Greek brig. The sailors, out of all discipline or order, run -about all over the ship in the most frantic attitudes of dismay, with -their bushy heads of hair flying in all directions, and scream contrary -orders to each other. Then the boldest, even if he be but the cabin boy, -takes the command, abuses the captain and encourages the rest by his -orders and example. All is in confusion, and if one escapes shipwreck it -is more by good luck than by good management." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[35] Recent excavations by Messrs. Evans and Hogarth throw quite a -different light on the true nature of the Labyrinth. - -[36] Mrs. Siddons (1755-1831) formally retired from the stage in 1812, -but continued to appear occasionally until many years later. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -LIFE IN SMYRNA--TRIP TO TRIOS--FOSTER FALLS IN LOVE--COCKERELL STARTS -ALONE FOR TOWN OF SEVEN CHURCHES--PERGAMO--KNIFNICH--SUMEH--COMMERCE ALL -IN THE HANDS OF GREEKS--KARASMAN OGLU--TURCOMANS--SARDIS--ALLAH -SHERI--CROSSES FROM VALLEY OF HERMUS TO THAT OF THE MEANDER--HIERAPOLIS ---DANGER OF THE COUNTRY--TURNS WESTWARDS. - - -"After our experiences of danger, discomfort, and cold at sea, Smyrna -seemed to us a paradise of delightfulness. The consul received us very -hospitably, and introduced us to various acquaintance and to the -pleasures of the carnival which was going on. To you in England its -diversions would have appeared vulgar and flat. To us it was the -quintessence of gaiety to meet the masques, bad as they were, with their -forced hilarity, passing noisily from one Frank house to another. On the -last days of the carnival there were processions, than which nothing -could be more ridiculous. There was a Bacchus on a barrel with various -spouts about his body which, when turned, distributed wine to the -populace; and about the car it rode on, piped and danced a number of -wretches dressed in nankeen stained to a flesh-colour and hung with -faded leaves and flowers. There followed on another car the 'Illness -and Death of Bacchus.' He was in bed surrounded by a procession of -weeping bacchanals, priests, doctors, glisters, and other remedial -engines of gigantic dimensions. In sober daylight such a sight calls for -its enjoyment for an amount of lightheartedness Englishmen do not at all -moments possess--but we, under the circumstances, were very much amused. - -We would have started at once on a tour of the Seven Churches if the -road had been clear. For the moment, however, it is blocked by the -presence of a pasha, who with four thousand troops is raiding and making -war on his own account. His army is stationed just across our path, and -I have been strongly advised to wait until the storm is passed over. - -I am really not sorry to have such a good reason for remaining a little -longer where I am. The weather is still very severe and quite unfit for -travelling. - -Our chief friend in Smyrna is a Mr. Thomas Burgon, married to a -Smyrniote lady. With him we started on February 15 to make a little trip -of four days to Boudron, the ancient Trios. - -We went in an open boat up the gulf to Vourlac, that is to say, to the -scala or port of it, which is on an island opposite to the site of the -ancient Clazomenæ, and walked from there to the town, spent the night -there, and next day rode to Boudron. Here was only a tiny cafané, and -nothing but a bench to sleep on. The following days were passed -entirely among the ruins of temples and magnificent buildings, among -which now only a few scattered husbandmen guide their ploughs. If in -Chandler's day--1775--the Temple of Bacchus was anything like what he -describes, it must have been a good deal knocked about since, for it is -very different now. The country we passed through generally is -exceedingly fertile, and, in consequence of the great demand for produce -in and about Smyrna, very prosperous. - -When I got back to Smyrna I was fortunate enough to make the -acquaintance of Captain F. Beaufort, R.N.,[37] of H.M. frigate -_Frederiksteen_. He is an accomplished antiquarian, a taste he has been -able to cultivate in these countries, as he has been employed for some -time in charting the coasts hereabouts. - -I have suffered not a little from the changeableness of my companions: -Mr. North first, in giving up the whole voyage to Egypt when we were -halfway there, because of the weather; then Douglas, in suddenly at Scio -taking it into his head to go home to England because he was -disappointed of the voyage to Egypt; and now, finally, Foster has fallen -in love and refuses to make with me the tour of the Seven Churches, as -he promised, because he cannot tear himself away from his lady love. - -The difficulty mentioned before about the raiding pasha has been -settled. The moslem of this place have conciliated him with a gift of -20,000 piastres, and he is to retire to his own pashalik of Kauna. So I -only await my horses and janissary to set off alone. - -_March 1st._--I started in a boat for the scala of Menimen, where the -horses were waiting for me to take me to Menimen on the Hermus. As my -janissary got drunk overnight, I had to wait next morning till seven -before I could start, and in consequence did not get so far as I -intended, and had to sleep in a small cafané, on the site, as I take it, -of the ancient Cumé. We slept six in a small space, the divan, with a -large fire, while the three or four horses were in the space beyond. -Greeks steal when they get a chance, but Turks as a rule may be trusted; -and though Dimitri and I were so tired that we left my arms, silver cup -and spoons, &c, lying about all night, nobody touched them. In the -morning I walked over the site of Cumé. There were large remains of the -wall nine or ten feet thick, and I found the torso of a white marble -statue five feet six inches long, of a very beautiful style. The head, -arms, and legs had been broken off by the aga of the place because he -thought he should find gold inside. It is not far from here to Pergamo, -but it took us unusually long because the water was out in all the low -ground, and one had to keep to the causeways. These are made mostly of -stones taken from ruined cities, in which one saw bits of architraves, -friezes, and so on. Getting off the causeway in one place, I was very -nearly bogged. - -At Pergamo I lodged in the khan. The first thing I did was to walk up to -the castle. It is in three stages, with remains of fortification of all -ages, from the earliest to the Genoese, but the Roman are the most -important. On the second stage are two towers and a great wall built of -Roman-Greek fragments of white marble. Above are two larger towers with -a gate and strong wall full of fragments. On the south-west side a gap -or dell in the hill is filled up with arches fifty feet high by twenty -wide, and above them a range of smaller ones, the whole forming a solid -foundation for an immense temple[38] of white marble in the best -Roman-Greek style. The whole work is prodigious and very noble. There -are still considerable remains of the temple, but they are rapidly -disappearing, for the Turks cut them up into tombstones. The ancient -town seems to have been built on the hill. Everywhere on the sides of it -are immense foundations. The amphitheatre is an extraordinary building. -It stands in a narrow valley astride of a river. The two sides of the -valley make the two ends of the oval, and the middle stands upon arches -under which the river runs. I was detained at Pergamo two days by the -weather. It poured all the first day, and the second the water was out -and the river too high for me to get across. - -I went to the baths to see the vase for which Canning offered 10,000 -piastres, and bought there a beautiful stone for 40 piastres, and some -bronze coins. - -I took a guide to show me the way across the river, for the water was -out all over the valley, and even on the causeway it was over our -horses' knees, and to get off it would have been dangerous. On the way -we met the son of a neighbouring aga with a party of fifty armed -followers. We took them at a distance for a company of derrys, or -mountain robbers. But when they came near us we saw they were much too -smart. The young man was merely going to the Aga of Pergamo with the -compliments of his father on the recovery of his health. Seeing me and -my suite dressed _à la Turque_, he sent in passing a man with his -compliments to me to wish me a happy journey. - -The pleasant taste left by this graceful courtesy was wiped out by the -next incident, which was far from agreeable. We came upon a camel-driver -whose camels had got bogged in the swamp and could not be made to move -backwards or forwards. Impatience at his trouble had put the man so -beside himself that as we passed on he insulted our party. I did not -understand a word he said, or the cause of offence, but our janissary -was in a moment as furious as he. Both drew their pistols, and I had the -greatest difficulty in containing my man. One or other would have been -killed for no reason that I could comprehend. I managed to drag my man -away, and we went on to Knifnich; after which our horses, wearied with -their wetting and plodding through the heavy mire, could go no further, -and we halted for the night. I had a letter to a resident Armenian -merchant who received me with genuine hospitality; he introduced me to a -relation of his, and the two vied in their honest gallantry. Each -insisted on entertaining me. Finally my friend gave a party in my -honour; and in the evening, the Turkish part of the company having -departed, the women, contrary to the usual Armenian custom, appeared. -The music which had been sent for began to play the Greek circle, the -Romaika, and we all danced it together. At the end I did what I had -understood before was the height of gallantry in these countries: on -passing the musicians, dancing with my fair one, I clapped a dollar into -the hand of the musician to express my enjoyment. Better still, is with -a bit of wax to stick your sequin on his forehead, but I had no wax even -if I had wished to try it. After eating and dancing to our heart's -content, beds were spread, and in courtesy the landlord remained in the -room till I was undressed. Nothing, in fact, could be more cordial than -their treatment of me. - -The trade of Knifnich is in raw cotton. - -Next day I got as far as Sumeh. The roads were so heavy that our baggage -horse fell and I thought we should never get him up again. This comes of -having started too early in the year. Close to Sumeh, in a dell, is the -picturesque village of Tarcala, with an ancient castle above it. A -friend, Constantine Stephano, took me to call on a Greek family there. I -cannot go into details; suffice it to say I found the people so really -barbarous that I could not bear it and came out. Indeed, in simple -savagery it would be impossible to surpass the natives of this country. - -In the khan I found a number of Romaic Greeks. It was the last day of -carnival and they were singing Moriote songs, making a noise and -behaving themselves generally in a way they would not venture to do in -Greece proper. The fact is, that Karasman Oglu, who governs all this -part of the country from Pergamo north to Samos in the south and inland -to Sart and Magnesia, is an extraordinarily good administrator for a -Turk. He sees that the Greeks form the most industrious and the richest -part of the population, and that it is to his interest to protect them. -Trade is flourishing, and Greeks from other parts, such as those from -the Morea who were so noisy in the khan, come and settle under him. I am -bound to say that here, and everywhere else where they come into power, -they are insolent and insufferably vain. - -On the other hand, the Turks hereabouts are a mild and hospitable but -apparently a dull race. They are even more severely taxed than the -Greeks. For instance, it was they who had to pay to buy off the raiding -pasha I spoke of, and in places remote from the seat of government they -suffer great oppression from the hands of their petty governors. Indeed -at times they have openly expressed to me their desire that the French -or the English would take possession of their empire, for that they -would be better off in the hands of anybody than in those of their own -countrymen. And nothing would be easier than to take possession of it. -In all my tour I saw only one fortress, and that a small one, quite -incapable of resisting a regular force. Moreover, it is not a cramped -country like the Morea, but perfectly open; and after you leave the -coast, which is really populous and well cultivated, it is a desert. In -nine hours' journey from Akhissar to Sart, I came across only one -village and a few Turcomans. - -These Turcomans are a nomadic people. They live in tents, of which you -find perhaps twenty together, with their herds of cattle, horses, and -camels around them, and wander about following the pasture. They -consider themselves just as much part of the inhabitants as the settled -population, and are well armed and dressed. As a rule, in these parts -at any rate, they are inoffensive, but further up the country I am told -they are organised into larger bands, call themselves dervishes or -desperadoes, and if travellers do not keep together in large caravans, -attack, rob, and even sell them for slaves. I was even given the sort of -price I might be expected to fetch in that capacity, viz. from ten to -twenty pounds. - -From Sumeh to Kerikahatch, and thence over a low watershed into the -valley of the Hermus and to Akhissar, where there is nothing worth -seeing. I spent the evening with Greek and Armenian merchants, very -rough company. - -Went on towards Sardis. At a village on a small branch of the Hermus we -came upon a large party of Turcoman women, who had come down from the -mountains to wash. They made no attempt to avoid observation as the -Turkish women do, and some of them were exceedingly beautiful. They had -with them three men as guard, who showed no jealousy of us and very -civilly told us our way. In the afternoon we arrived at the Hermus, and -the view of the valley I shall never forget. It was a glorious country -up the river, but the cultivation and the rich population were behind -us, and in front was a continued desert. A ferry-boat running on a rope -set us over the river, and an hour later we reached Achmet Li, a -miserable village of mud cottages, and prepared to pass the night in -the wretched cafané. Happily, when it got about that we were not Turks, -the widow of a Greek papa gladly received us and lodged me well. The -raiding pasha aforesaid had passed through and burned the aga's house, -but done no other harm beyond eating up all the fowls in the place; -there was not one to be got for love or money for my supper. - -Next day we got early to Sart. The neighbourhood affords the most lovely -views imaginable of distant hills. The site itself is peculiar. The -hills are wholly of fat earth, no rock seen at all, and the weather has -worn them into the most fantastic forms. Amidst them the castle, -standing at the foot of Bousdagh, is astonishingly picturesque. But the -whole is a very picture of desolation. Where the ancient Sardis stood -are now ten or twelve miserable huts. Far off across the glorious -landscape I could distinguish one solitary wretched village, and here -and there a Turcoman's tent. A veritable desert, where the soil is rich -as anyone could imagine. - -Besides the fine situation there is only one other thing to notice, viz. -the Ionic temple. I spent my first day in examining it and making a -drawing of it. Only three of the five columns still standing in -Chandler's time remain erect; the other two were blown up three years -ago by a Greek who thought he might find gold in them. The whole temple -is buried many feet deep. As I wished very much to see the base of the -column, I got a Cretan--whom I found here professedly buying tobacco, -but I suspect a fugitive from his home for some murder--to dig for me. I -had to give it up after we had got down ten feet without reaching it. -One ought to be here for a month, and then, as the earth is very soft, -one could do the thing thoroughly. Nobody would interfere. I spent the -evening with the Turcomans in a tent, sitting cross-legged on a mat, -smoking. They had a bold free manner and a savage air, but they were not -uncivil to me. My janissary got into a dispute with one because he had -taken his place. He ordered him out, and the man would not go. As he and -all his companions were well armed, a fight would not have been -pleasant, and when the dispute quieted down I was not sorry. - -The ruins of the comparatively modern town, especially those of a large -church, seem to consist entirely of fragments of ancient temples, some -of the bits being very fine. The castle has no remains of earlier date -than that of the Lower Empire. The more ancient fortress may have been -swept away by the torrents, which tear the soil into such strange forms, -and the whole site be changed. At any rate I could not find a scrap of -ancient wall anywhere, and the later ones are rapidly being undermined, -and totter on the edge of the precipice. - -Next day we rode eastwards along the side of Bousdagh (Tmolus). In five -hours we passed only two small villages and a number of Turcoman tents, -but we met many caravans, the camels whimsically decked with feathers -and shells, and the largest male with festoons of bells as well. I was -told that the Turks were very fond of witnessing camel-fights, and that -those which I saw most handsomely dressed out were the champions at that -sport. - -The houses hereabouts are all built of mud, and so full of mice that I -could not sleep in the night and was in consequence late in starting. We -continued along the great valley and came by midday to Allah Sheri -(Philadelphia), the most forlorn city ever I saw. The squalid mud houses -cover several small hills and contain a population of about a thousand -families, mostly Turks. There are twenty-four churches, of which only -five are in use, while the rest are kept sacred by occasional services. -In the shape of antiquities there is nothing to be seen. The chief -curiosity is the warm mineral spring, which smells like addled eggs and -has a taste of ink. The people about use it a good deal for scorbutic -complaints. Some travellers have spoken of having been shown a wall of -bones here. I saw nothing of the sort. - -Two hours' travelling next day brought us at last to the end of the -immense plain of the Hermus, and we began to get among the mountains, -going up the east side of a steep romantic dell, the west side of which -was wonderfully rugged and wild. Beyond were mountains covered with -snow: beneath us an immeasurable giddy depth. Except a few sheep, we saw -no living thing for hours together. Once I heard some wild duck by the -torrent below. At the end of six hours we reached Derwent, a village of, -say, two hundred houses. A wretched lodging and, as there was no fowl to -be got--and that is what one depends entirely upon--no supper; and I had -to be content with smoke, coffee, and Homer. In the evening came, as -usual, a number of Turks to see the stranger. They enter, they salute -with a 'Salaam aleikum,' and sit down perhaps for hours. Their -conversation generally turns upon the stranger, with conjectures upon -his object in coming. Later at night came in the son of our host. He had -been searching for a strayed ox, and was afraid that the wolves had got -it. He examined my firearms for a long while, and admired them very -much. The Turks of this part of the country are large, handsome, very -slow in their speech, and stupid and ignorant. - -Starting next morning, we began by following the course of a river till -we got on to a high level plain surrounded by formless hills--an ugly -country. We met a few Turcomans, and once I saw some ploughing. At the -end of seven hours' riding we reached the edge of the valley of the -Meander and looked over a glorious view; then downwards through -Bulladan, a village of about five hundred houses and a number of -mosques, to a village the name of which I never learnt, where we slept. - -As one expects nothing of one's host but shelter, it was an unusual -hospitality in ours to give us some of his bread. It was a strange -compound, such as I had never seen before. To make it, the dough is -mixed very thin and poured on a heated copper. The result looks like -rags of coarse cloth and tastes like bad crumpets. We slept in a barn -with the horses. - -Next day we descended into the plain of the Meander and crossed the -river by a bridge of four or five arches, the parapet of which is made -of the steps of a theatre. Just there was a man administering a singular -remedy to a mule which had fallen sick in the road. He had tied all four -legs together and thrown him down. Then he had cut the throat of a -sheep, and holding the mule's mouth open, let the sheep's blood flow -into it. I was assured it was an excellent medicine. From the bridge -onwards we crossed a flat till we reached the ridge, at the foot of -which is Hierapolis. It had cost me certainly a whole day more than was -necessary to get here, because Tabouk Kalise (the castle of the -cemetery), its proper name, was spelt in Chandler, Pambouk (cotton); and -when I inquired for Pambouk Kalise no one could make out what I meant, -so that practically I lost my way until I got into the valley of the -Meander. Once there, Hierapolis is a conspicuous object from a great -distance on account of the remarkable whiteness of the rock on which it -stands. - -This is due to a petrification deposited by the river, which rises, a -full stream, in the city and flows over the front of the cliff. It makes -a fine cascade, and the spray of it, carried by the wind, spreads a -white coating like ice over everything it reaches. As it gradually -forms, it takes rounded shapes overlapping each other, something like -conventional clouds. The ruins of the ancient city stand on the top -above the cliff and half buried in a sea of this singular deposit. The -vast colonnades present the most extraordinary appearance. The most -magnificent are perhaps the ruins of the gymnasium, and the best -preserved the theatre, which is all perfect except the proscenium; but -perhaps what astonished me most was to find, on going out of one of the -gates, a number of tombs of various forms and sizes as complete as on -the day they were built, two thousand years ago. The style of them is -very large and magnificent. Many of the sarcophagi are eight or nine -feet long by three or four wide, and the rest in proportion. All bear -inscriptions, but the rough quality of the stone prevented my reading -them. Under the sarcophagus, and forming part of the monument, is -generally a stone bench for the friends of the deceased to sit upon and -meditate. There are some beautiful bas-reliefs in high preservation -lying exposed in the theatre. Altogether, for preservation there can be -nothing but Pompeii to compare to this place. - -I did not forget to inquire for the remarkable cave in which no animal -can live, which Chandler tried to find. My guide led me to one near the -spring and told me that on certain days birds flying over it fall down, -overcome by the fumes. There, sure enough, I did find four small birds -with the bones of various other animals. If travellers had been frequent -here I could have supposed that someone had put the birds there for -sightseers to wonder at; but according to the old aga I am the first -traveller here since Chandler's time in 1765, and it seemed impossible -that it should have been done on such short notice merely to make a fool -of me. - -When evening came on, I walked down again to Yemkeni where the janissary -and horses were. The aga had prepared a meal for me, and ate it with me, -sometimes tearing bits of meat off and throwing them into my plate. As -usual, all the Turks came in, in the evening, to stare. - -All next day it blew and poured, but I went up to the ruins attended by -the aga's man, and worked hard all day long. I had bought a live fowl to -try Strabo's experiment of putting him into the cave; but whether it was -not really the right cave, or whether the violent wind and rain -prevented the gas having effect, at any rate the fowl was none the worse -after being exposed to it for half an hour, and we ate him with a good -appetite in the evening. Over his bones the aga grew talkative, and told -me of the real cave which was in the mountain, one hour distant. He said -that inside the cave is a bridge, and beyond that a chamber in which is -a treasure guarded by a black man. He added that he who should get the -better of that black man had need have studied and learnt much. Many and -many an adventurer, after the treasure, had died horribly in the cavern. -And so on, with all the cock-and-bull stories universal among the Turks. -But when I asked him to give me a guide to take me to the cave, he put -every sort of difficulty into the way. I should need ladders, and there -were none--horses, and there were none. In short it was quite clear he -meant to prevent my going, so I gave it up. I did so the more willingly -because I already felt exceedingly uncomfortable. The people around me -were utter savages, and the country perfectly lawless. South of the -river, in the direction of Denisli or Laodicea, it was worse; and -besides brigands, which were said to abound between Denisli and Aidin -and would oblige my taking an expensive escort, the agas themselves had -a very bad reputation for extortion. Moreover, my janissary was anxious, -because in coming to Hierapolis we were already outside the limits to -which my travelling firman referred, and he wished to get back within -them. So, all things considered, I decided to give up seeing Laodicea (I -could make out the situation of it at a very great distance) and passed -on to avoid the desert country and dangerous neighbourhood." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[37] Later Sir Francis Beaufort, chief hydrographer to the Navy. - -[38] Since excavated at the cost of the Prussian Government. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -BACK INTO CIVILISATION--NASLI BAZAR--NYSA--GUZUL--HISSAR (MAGNESIA)--THE -PLAGUE--AISALUCK (EPHESUS)--SCALA NUOVA--A STORM--SAMOS--PRIENE--CANNA-- -GERONTA--KNIDOS--RHODES--MR. NORTH AGAIN--SAILS FOR PATARA--CASTEL -ROSSO--CACAVA--MYRA--THE SHRINE OF ST. NICOLAS--TROUBLES WITH NATIVES--A -WATER SNAKE--FINICA--CAROSI--OLYMPUS--VOLCANIC FIRE--PHASELIS--FALLS -IN WITH THE _FREDERIKSTEEN_. - - -"Two days' riding down the river brought us to Nasli Bazar, which is -within the government of Karasman Oglu, and the fact was at once -perceptible. Greeks were numerous and impudent, trade flourishing, and -the bazaar full of all kinds of merchants. It is the great mart for the -interior. I had to pass the night in a wretched khan. In the chamber -adjoining mine was a slave merchant with two young negresses, one of -whom had a child for sale, and also a fine young negro. - -I followed the valley of the Meander to Sultan Hissar. On the way I went -up a steep ascent to see the ruins of Nysa. They stand on an elevated -plain over the river, and command a grand view and good air above the -malarious bed of the Meander and its bordering marshes. There is first -of all a large agora, with traces of temples in or around it. Further -on, in the side of the mountain, is a very considerable theatre, with -the remains of the proscenium and apartments for actors &c. on all -sides. Seated in the theatre one had a glorious view of the senate house -and prison, with the amphitheatre beyond, and the bridge which spans a -gully in one magnificent arch. All these buildings are in a grandiose -style, very impressive, and made all the more so by their absolute -solitude. In Nysa was but one man, a shepherd, who had taken up his -abode in one of the arches of the theatre. - -After a stay there of two hours we went on down the valley. We had now -quite left the desert behind us and come into civilisation, cultivation, -and orderly government. Every two or three miles we passed a cafané and -a guard, with an air of order and discipline. My janissary was full of -admiration for Karasman Oglu, and related to me stories illustrating his -character. I recollect two. A Greek merchant going to Akhissar was -robbed by four Turks of 800 sequins. The poor man made his complaint to -Karasman Oglu, who at once gave him the money, as recognising his -responsibility for order, and that the merchant might not stand out of -his money while it was being recovered. Then he despatched his police, -who in a few days brought in the four Turks, and they were then and -there hanged. The Turks resent his protection of the Greeks and -Christians, and call it partiality. Hearing of this, Karasman called -together the chief Turks of Magnesia, and when he had given them coffee, -he told them that he had summoned them as he wished to raise a sum of -30,000 piastres for government purposes, and they should be repaid in a -few months with the interest due. The proposition being received with -dead silence, he sent for four poor Greek primates of some small -villages in the neighbourhood, and made them the same proposal in the -presence of the Turks. They at once assented, and the money was brought -in an hour. 'Now,' said he, 'you see why I prefer the Greeks. The first -of you who complains again shall lose his head.' - -When we got in the evening to Guzul Hissar I found the reports I had -picked up on the road exaggerated in two main particulars. I had been -told that the plague was raging in the town, and that there were English -corn-merchants to whom I could apply for harbourage. There was a good -deal of plague, no doubt, in the town, which is extensive, but hardly -enough to deter one from entering it; while the nearest thing to an -English merchant was a Genoese merchant living in the house of a -Sardinian doctor who enjoyed English protection. They made room for me, -and were very kind and hospitable; and it was a comfort to be in a Frank -house, but outside it was rather nervous work. A house close to our -lodging was infected by the plague, and as I was going down the street -a Greek warned me to make room for him. 'I have nothing the matter with -me,' said he, 'but a few days ago my brother died of the plague.' Need I -say that I complied at once. The panic that grows in a plague-stricken -city, and which one cannot help imbibing, has a strange effect on -characters. The woman of the neighbouring house, which, as I said, was -_impestata_, was seen going about out of doors by my host the doctor, -and he was beside himself at the sight. - -The importance of Guzul Hissar as a place of commerce arises from its -standing on the track of the corn trade between the interior and Scala -Nuova. I came upon caravans of one hundred to one hundred and fifty -camels, bringing corn from Cæsarea. Some bring it from even as far as -the borders of Persia. Once here, its value is doubled or trebled; but -the greed of the agas and the roguery of the Greek merchants prevent -much of the profit going to the growers. Signor Mora told me that the -great trouble he found was the system of constant _douceurs_ and -bribery. It makes it impossible for a merchant to make his calculations. - -I walked up to see the few remains of the city of Magnesia. Like all -Greek cities, it stood above the plain. There is a theatre just -discernible, a stadium below it, and a few remnants of a gymnasium. One -night in Guzul Hissar was enough for me, and next day I started for -Scala Nuova; and leaving the valley of the Meander on the left, kept by -the mountain to the right, and came late to Aisaluck, the ancient -Ephesus. Here I dismissed my janissary and horses, and, relieved of my -expensive suite, spent a blissful, tranquil day alone. The castle is a -vile Turkish fort. The great mosque, in which are some grand columns of -granite, is fine, and, like the others--for there are many in the -place--thoroughly well executed in the true Oriental taste. The degraded -modern Turk is incapable of producing anything half so good. - -The remains of Ephesus are very trifling, and what there are, are in a -very poor style. I did not, any more than other travellers, find out the -Temple of Diana,[39] though of course I have my own opinion as to the -site. Aisaluck is now an almost deserted town. It has only about fifteen -inhabited houses, and the mosques and forts are in ruinous condition, -but their number and splendour show that it must once have been an -important Turkish city. I called on the aga, and by way of a present -gave him a little gunpowder, with which he was delighted. My lodging was -in a miserable little cafané, anything but a palace of luxury. The -fleas within, added to the jackals howling without, prevented my getting -any rest. But it was not much worse than my other lodgings on this tour. -Luxuries have been few. All I can say is I have learnt not to miss them. -In my Turkish dress I pass without observation or inconvenience. In the -evening, after eating my meal, I smoke my pipe with the other Turks, go -to sleep and get up early. - -I rode from Aisaluck to Scala Nuova, which is only four hours off, and -from thence I took a passage for Samos on a Maltese brig of twelve hands -and six guns and set sail the following morning (March 25th); but when -we had made half the passage, which is by rights only about two hours, -we met a furious wind which obliged us to put back. I went ashore again, -and as the wind rose to the force of a hurricane I watched out of my -window no less than eighteen boats and vessels of various sizes blown -ashore and wrecked under my very eyes. It was a scene of incredible -destruction. The shore was strewn with wreckage and cargoes which had -been thrown overboard--oranges, corn, barrels of all sorts of -goods--while the sailors, ruined, although thankful to have escaped with -their lives, sat round fires in some sheds by the port, the pictures of -dejection. - -The wind detained me till the 28th, when I crossed over in a boat to -Bathi in Samos. Here I had to wait first for horses, and then on account -of the bad weather. I had to stay indoors, and indoors in a Greek house -means anything but privacy. No matter where you sit, you hear everything -that goes on in it. Application of any kind is out of the question. In -this case, the consular court being at the other end of the house, I had -to hear the cases proceeding in it. One in especial went on in detached -chapters all the time I was there. A Zantiote had deserted his wife and -children eighteen years ago in Mykoni. He had since lived and been -married in Cyprus, while the deserted wife went to Smyrna and maintained -herself and the children by hard work. She had done what she could to -find her husband, in vain, till just as I arrived she discovered him in -Samos. She haled him before the consul and demanded that he, being rich, -should support her. Not till the whole assembly had joined the bench in -calling him every name they could invent would he consent, but finally -he signed an agreement to live with his wife in Samos and support the -daughter. But this was but the beginning. Every day we had visits from -both parties to complain that the conditions were not adhered to: he to -say that the agreement to live with them did not involve supporting -them; they to say they must be supported, and meanwhile, as they were -half starved, to take an opportunity of satisfying their appetites at -the consulate. - -I made acquaintance of a pleasant Russian, Monsieur Marschall, and with -him crossed the island to see the antiquities--first of the ancient city -and then of the Temple of Juno, lying three-quarters of an hour to the -eastward of it. There is only one column of it remaining, but that one -very finely cut and of beautiful marble. A few years ago, I understand, -there were still many standing; but some were blown up for the sake of -the metal rivets, and others knocked over by the Turkish men of war, -who, as they were very white, used them as a target for gunnery -practice. We returned to the village of Samos for the night, and lodged -with the bishop, who was more hospitable than Greeks generally are. He -was a man of some ingenuity and amusing, but very ignorant and -superstitious. - -We went by Bathi to Geronta and across the Bogas to Changlu on the -mainland--rode to Kelibesh over the top of range of hills commanding the -valley of the Meander--and the lake of Myus--and on to Sansun Kalesi -(Priene), which I was very glad to see. It is an exceedingly fine site. -Unfortunately it rained and blew so violently that I could not do much; -but if one could stay and dig in the temple, I dare say one might find a -treasure of statues, for it remains exactly as it fell. - -Two days after, we set out, riding along the foot of Mount Titanus, in -frequent danger of being bogged in the low new-made ground of the -Meander, which near the sea is covered with sedge and rushes inhabited -by numberless waterfowl. The scenery was often very fine. We reached the -corn warehouses at Canna after midday, and found there my Sardinian -corn-merchant friend from Guzul Hissar. He was trying to make up a -cargo, and at the moment was full of the wrongs suffered by merchants in -this country. A caravan of fifteen camels he was expecting had been -stopped by an aga, the corn they carried unloaded and left by the road, -while the camels were sent away to carry cotton into the interior. - -Here we hired a boat; but, hearing firing in the Bogas, which we could -only attribute to a pirate, we were not without some qualms at starting. -With this in our heads, when we saw a large caique making directly -towards us, we were naturally enough alarmed and made for the mouth of -the Meander, and there remained till the bark came up and proved itself -to be only a fishing caique. Setting forward again with a very strong -wind, we reached the port of Geronta after dark. The boatman mistook the -entrance and very nearly ran us on to a rock some distance from the -shore, upon which he got into a fright and lost all presence of mind. -The wind, as I said, being very high, the position was so serious that -Marschall and I took the management of the bark, and giving the man a -cuff sent him forward to look out for the port. In this fashion we found -it and got in. Even then we were not well off, for the place was -perfectly solitary, and we had no mind to remain all night in the boat. -It grew extremely dark, and it was an hour and a half before we could -find the village. On the way to it, we passed the massive remains of the -Temple of Apollo Didymæus, and as they loomed through the darkness they -looked very grand--grander than I thought them next morning by daylight. -The village of Geronta is only about thirty years old and is inhabited -entirely by Albanian and Greek immigrants who seem fairly prosperous. -The pasha, Elis Oglu, like his neighbour Karasman Oglu, is a great -patron of Greeks. We set sail at night, but had to put back, after a -hard night, to a port close to Geronta and wait there three days till -the weather improved. - -When at last we got away, in five hours we were off Cape Ciron, which -ends in a lofty hill by which is Knidos. At my request the captain went -into the port, and very glad I was to see the place; the situation is so -curious: but I found no inscription or antiquities of any kind. I slept -in the boat, and we started at midnight. The wind was furious; and as -the bark laboured and strained in the waves, Dimitri groaned with fear. -It was indeed far from pleasant; but as the day came on the wind went -down, till we were absolutely becalmed off the little island of Symi, -and did not get into Rhodes till afternoon. - -I was preparing to go to visit the consul, and had walked a few yards -in that direction when I saw another boat come into port, and in it, to -my surprise, who but Mr. North. He was as astonished as myself, and as -pleased. We went together to the consul's. There we had long -conversation on the subject of the island, its inhabitants, products, -&c. - -The present governor of Rhodes is Hassan Bey, slave of a previous -governor--a man of great simplicity of life. I found him sitting in the -passage of his palace without attendants or pomp. Although he is about -seventy years old and deaf, he received as a present, by the same boat -as Mr. North came in, a female slave. He builds ships here for -Government, and has one, a frigate, for his own behoof, which he uses -himself for piratical purposes while with it he clears the neighbouring -seas of all other pirates. - -Two days after, I left Rhodes and sailed eastwards with a light breeze, -till in the evening we were becalmed off the Seven Capes. In the morning -I was awakened by strange voices on board. We had been boarded by -Hydriotes inquiring for corn. Their ship had been lying off the coast -for some days, boarding every boat that passed for corn. She was a large -ship with a crew of sixty men, who seemed to spend all their time in -merrily dancing and fiddling. We rowed into the port, which is a fine -harbour, and when I had landed I found a boy to undertake to guide us -to Patara. It took two hours to walk there, keeping all the way by the -side of an aqueduct. We met a few savage-looking Turks armed, and a boy -or two playing on wild simple reeds. The whole country was very wild and -desolate, and the road a mere track. - -The ruins are considerable, and, although none of them belong to the -finest time, very interesting. They have an inexpressibly forlorn -appearance, standing as they do half buried in the sand. The once -extensive port is entirely silted up. - -The theatre is half filled up. I found in it an inscription, from which -I gathered that the auditorium is of later date than the proscenium. - -Near the head of the port are two large mausolea, at least I suppose -that is what they are; and besides these there are the remains of -fortifications of the Lower Empire and of several churches. I could not -get over to examine the buildings on the opposite side of the port. - -We started for Castel Rosso, but were becalmed. The boys played and -danced, and we did not get in till the evening. The port, a poor one, is -defended by a castle which is red, whence the name. The few savages we -found on the beach received us with great suspicion, with arms in their -hands, but sold us some provisions. In the morning I landed and looked -about. Inside the walls there are many ruins of houses, all of the -Lower Empire, while the walls themselves are of much earlier date in -cyclopean masonry. Outside the old walls and in the modern town there -are several ancient tombs that have been respected and are in good -preservation. The ground is incredibly rugged and stony, almost as bad -as Maina. - -We sailed off at midday, and got to the small port of Cacava in the -evening. There, among the modern houses, are a number of tombs, all of -them respected and well preserved. As the cross is on most of them, the -town must have flourished during the Lower Empire. I found and copied -various inscriptions, some of them in a character I have not seen -before. In the evening we crossed to Myra, and there I enjoyed a good -bathe. Then when night had come on, we worked the oars against wind till -we reached a port at the east end of Karadah, and when it was morning -crossed to visit the shrine of St. Nicolas. The sea was so high we had -to leave the caique and walk thither. St. Nicolas is a favourite saint -of the Greeks, and his shrine is greatly revered. Our captain and crew -were all dressed in their very best to make their cross, and had brought -with them a bottle of oil as an offering. The road was wretched, and -what made it worse was that in wading across a river which was over my -knees I so wetted my shalvar that they were heavy to walk in. At the -mouth of the river Zanthus we found many tombs, but none of which I -could read the inscription. - -The holy place consists of half of a ruined church of the Lower Empire, -and by the side of it a small chapel in which is the tomb. The entrance -to it is so low that we were obliged to go down on our hands and knees -to get in. The Greeks knelt down, bowed their foreheads to the earth, -made crosses and said prayers; then, putting some parahs on a tray, took -some small candles from a bundle beside it, and stuck them round the -tomb. The ceremony being over, we took some earth from near the tomb to -keep as a relic, and fell into conversation with the papa of the shrine, -Nicola by name, native of Salonica. He told us that early in life in a -severe illness he had vowed service to St. Nicolas for the rest of his -life if he recovered: that, being restored to health, he had come here -in fulfilment of his vow, but that he led but a miserable life, in -constant apprehension of the Turks, who are very violent and fanatical -hereabouts. - -I went on with Dimitri and the captain to see some remains of which he -told me, at no great distance, but the other Greeks were afraid to -accompany me or even to show me the way. However, I found the ruins--a -theatre in astonishing preservation, and some highly interesting tombs, -and was quietly taking measurements of them when several Turks appeared. -They seemed highly to disapprove of our operations. While examining -some statues I heard one of them exclaim: 'If the infidels are attracted -here by these blasphemous figures the temptation shall soon cease, for -when that dog is gone I will destroy them.' Then some of them went away -and presently came back with a larger party. While I was above in the -upper part of the building, they suddenly seized the arms of Dimitri and -the captain, and ordered us to follow them to the aga, who lived at a -distance of no less than six hours off. At this I remonstrated, saying -that I was an Englishman, a friend; but they answered that I lied, that -we were giaour Russians, and were plotting to take possession of the -place. They wanted to examine our things, but this I resisted. My firman -unfortunately was left behind in the boat, and matters began to look -ugly. The least encouragement from the elder members would have led the -crowd of ruffians to take strong measures. I could perceive that, but I -saw no exit from our dilemma. There was, fortunately, still one elder of -the village to be consulted, and he was ill at home. The chief of our -captors went off to consult him, and a quarter of an hour later returned -a different man, his rage assuaged, and willing to accept the captain's -assurance that I was an Englishman. He then returned me my arms and -begged that I would go where I thought proper. Of course I was very much -pleased at this _dénouemeut_, but I kept my countenance and pretended to -be still very angry, at which the leader, who was now afraid of me, -positively quailed for fear of my vengeance. We slept the night under -protection of St. Nicolas. - -Accompanied by the papas, we took a boat on the river and rowed down to -the port at the mouth, and across the bay to the port where our bark -lay. While I was swimming, following the boat, I was not a little -frightened to meet a large snake which was making for the land. I got -out of its way hastily and called to the boys in the caique, who killed -it as it approached the shore. It was black, with some red spots on the -belly, and measured five feet two inches in length. We heaved anchor at -night, and in the morning reached the port of Finica. - -The town itself is three-quarters of an hour from the sea. There are the -remains of a theatre, the seats all gone, and a castle of the Lower -Empire, built of the said seats. I found various monuments, the -inscriptions all in the same unknown character. At a mill hard by, I -fell in with a number of merchants belonging to Sparta, in Asia Minor, -six days from here. It is curious that they all talk Turkish, but write -it in Greek characters. I found them very bigoted but civil. We slept in -the open air, all in a row. As I had promised them some fish, they lent -me a horse, and one of them accompanied me back to the port; but -unfortunately no fish had been caught in the night, so I had to make up -for it with five okes of olives and a large botza of wine, on which my -friends got excessively drunk. - -We now got on board and tried to beat out of port, but it was not so -easy. It is very narrow, and a south-east wind, such as we had at the -moment, blows right into it. Once out, we crossed the bay and got into -the small port of Carosi. - -We had now to get round the cape. All along this coast an imbat or sea -breeze springs up from the south regularly at midday. As we took care, -by rowing hard southwards, to get round the point before twelve, we -caught the breeze nicely, which carried us straight north to Porto -Genovese by night. - -This is a fine port, and the rocks above it are very grand. We caught -and ate a fine supper of fish, and sat cross-legged on our little deck -drinking wine with an enjoyment of this adventurous, unconventional life -I can never forget. The night was cool, the moon shone bright upon us, -and we crowned the evening with Moriote songs. It was past midnight -before we got to bed. - -It was a short distance to the foot of Olympus. When I met Captain F. -Beaufort at Smyrna, he gave me an account of the volcanic fire which -springs up out of a hole in the side of this mountain, and I wished to -see it. It lies about an hour's walk up the hill. The flame was just -like that of a furnace, and the mouth, about five feet wide, from which -it issued, was all calcined. Ten feet from it was another mouth, from -which no fire but a strong sulphurous smell issued, and about fifty -yards higher up the hill there was a spring. Close by there were also -the remains of a temple, showing that the spot had been held sacred in -ancient times. My guide told me that the fire would roast eggs well, but -not if they were stolen--indeed it would not act upon stolen things at -all. Greeks are very superstitious, and this is one of the favourite -forms it takes with them. I tried to confute him by cutting a scrap off -his turban while his back was turned and showing him how it burned, but -although he saw it consumed it did not shake his belief in the least. - -I went downhill again to the ruins. They consisted mostly of Venetian or -Genoese work, but there was the door of a portico erected to Germanicus, -a small theatre on the south side of the river, and some very rough -tombs of Roman times, among which I drew until nightfall. - -Next morning we had an enchanting sail to Phaselis. The breeze was -slight and the dolphins played all round us, as though they enjoyed the -fair weather. Phaselis was once a favourite stronghold of pirates, and -is just made for it. It stands on a peninsula easily defended, and has -or had--for all are now destroyed--three excellent harbours. The town -was defended by a strong wall, and was provided with numbers of -cisterns, besides an aqueduct for bringing water from the mainland. -Where the sea had undermined the cliffs, parts of the wall and sides of -cisterns had fallen away into it. There were some tombs only just -recently mutilated, which I thought worth making drawings of. In the -evening we put out our net and caught some fish, but lost part of the -net, owing to an octopus which clung to it and dragged it into its hole. - -_April 28th._--We weighed anchor early, but there was no wind as yet, -and we had rowed for some hours when we became aware of a large sail -coming up on a breeze. As I scanned her I had little doubt she would be -the _Salsette_ or the _Frederiksteen_; but my poor captain was very much -frightened, and when he saw her send a boat to board a small vessel -before us, he desired his sons to hide his money in the ballast. It was -not long, however, before I made out with my glass the red cross, and -then I was able to set his mind at rest. When our little caique came -alongside, we must have been a shabby sight; but Captain Beaufort bade -me heartily welcome and gave me so cordial a shake of the hand as I can -never forget. He said he had hunted for me all along the coast, and -pressed me to take a cruise with him, rather than go on travelling in -this hazardous fashion in the caique. The offer was tantalising; but, as -I was not sure if I should feel at my ease, I only promised to stay a -few days to begin with." - -_Extract from Beaufort's "Karamania."_--"At Avova we had the -satisfaction of meeting Mr. Cockerell, who had been induced by our -report to explore the antiquities of these desolate regions. He had -hired a small Greek vessel, and had already coasted part of Lycia. Those -who have experienced the filth and other miseries of such a mode of -conveyance, and who know the dangers that await an unprotected European -among these tribes of uncivilised Mahommedans, can alone appreciate the -ardour which could lead to such an enterprise. I succeeded in persuading -him to remove to His Majesty's ship, in which he might pursue his -researches with less hazard and with some degree of comfort. The alarm -felt by his crew on seeing the frigate had been excessive. Had she been -a Turkish man-of-war, they were sure of being pillaged under the pretext -of exacting a present; if a Barbary cruiser, the youngest men would have -been forcibly seized for recruits, and the rest plundered; and even if -she had been a Greek merchant-ship, their security would still have been -precarious; for when one of these large Greek polaccas meets even her -own countrymen in small vessels and in unfrequented places she often -compels them to assist in loading her, or arbitrarily takes their -cargoes at her own prices." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[39] The Temple of Diana was discovered by Mr. J. T. Wood, who carried -on excavations from 1863 to 1874 on behalf of the British Museum. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -ADALIA--SATALIA (SIDÉ)--ALAIA--HOSTILITY OF NATIVES--SELINTY--CAPE -ANEMURIUM--VISIT OF A PASHA--CHELINDREH--PORTO CAVALIERO--SELEUCIA--A -PRIVATEER--NATIVES HOSTILE--POMPEIOPOLIS--TARSOUS--A POOR RECEPTION-- -EXPLORES A LAKE--CASTLE OF AYAS--CAPTAIN BEAUFORT WOUNDED BY -NATIVES--SAILS FOR MALTA. - - -"On the 1st of May we reached Adalia (or Satalia). It stands on a plain -which breaks abruptly into the sea and looks very rich and Oriental from -a distance. Considering the way Captain Beaufort had given protection to -certain fugitive rebels last year, he was rather uncertain what sort of -reception to expect. It turned out to be a very cordial one, for the old -pasha having just died and his son not yet firmly set in place, he could -not deal with the high hand as Turks like to do. He expressed himself as -pleased at the captain's offer to salute the fortress, but begged the -guns might not be more than eleven, probably because he had only eleven -guns to answer with. It was clear, however, that the appearance of the -vessel had excited no small apprehension in the town. No Turks came to -look at her, as usually happens in a port, and we could see that the few -miserable guns in the fort had been trained to bear upon us. At the -same time a handsome present was sent to the ship, consisting of -bullocks, goats, fowls, vegetables, and a very magnificent dress for the -captain. The dress was refused, but the eatables were accepted and a -suitable return made. This included English ale and porter, and a big -barrel of gunpowder, which, slung on a pole carried by two seamen, -looked imposing. The captain and his boat's crew and guard of marines, -all in their best, and my humble self then landed and went up to pay a -visit of ceremony to the pasha. Captain Beaufort in the course of the -interview very kindly asked, on my behalf, leave for the captain of my -caique--which had come on to Adalia with us--to load his boat with -flour, a profitable cargo which would indemnify him for being discharged -by me. The export of flour is really contraband, but as there is an -immense trade quite openly carried on in it by Greek ships, they need -not have made such a great favour of it as they did. However, they gave -permission, and I was indignant that my late captain never came and -thanked me. During our stay we rode one day through the town and out -into the country beyond, which is very rich and well cultivated. There -are two interesting gates to the town--one on the land side, of Roman -architecture, very rich and much injured, and the other towards the sea, -of Frankish work, with mutilated arms and inscriptions on it. - -We set sail on the 7th, without doubt to the great relief of the people -of Adalia, and cast anchor again at Lara. Here there are considerable -ruins, but none of them very interesting. Our next stoppage was at Eshi -Satalia, the ancient Sidé, where we remained four days. The Roman -theatre is of vast dimensions and in good preservation, and it is -noticeable that, as is evident from marks of crosses on the stones, it -had been repaired in Christian times, which shows that theatres were -still used after the conversion of the inhabitants to Christianity. The -proscenium was in ruins, as usual, and some of its sculptures lay in the -arena. In comparatively modern times it had been utilised to form part -of the city wall, but the theatre itself was in wonderful preservation. -Sidé is now absolutely desolate, probably because the aqueduct which -supplied the ancient city is broken, and there is no water whatever on -the site. This accounts for the theatre being so well preserved. - -I spent all my time among these lonely ruins to very good purpose, -drawing and studying. The architecture is some of it even absurd: for -instance, the triumphal façade at the entrance; but the sculpture is all -far superior to the architecture. Although not in the very best style, -it is exceedingly good, and cut with astonishing freedom and boldness. -As I said, the site of Sidé, and even the neighbourhood, is absolutely -deserted. Nevertheless, news of our being on the coast had got about, -and a Turkish dignitary came down from the interior, ostensibly to offer -us civilities, but in reality to watch our proceedings. He was invited -on board, but refused, saying, with a great assumption of dignity, that -he had ridden an hour to the coast to visit the captain, and now the -captain should come to him. The real fact was he was afraid. The captain -accordingly came in the jolly-boat, the crew of which was in charge of a -midshipman who charmed the Turk so much that he wanted to buy him, and -made an offer of 2,000 piastres for him. - -On the 16th we reached Alaia and anchored off the town. It stands on a -steep rock projecting into the sea. The houses have a very Oriental -look, with their flat roofs and balconies, rather like rabbit-hutches -supported on long poles. Our reception was very cordial; a salute was -fired, and a present of bullocks &c. sent us. We landed to take a little -turn into the town and found it filthy; stinks of all kinds in all -directions. Through narrow streets down which wound gutters, disgusting -with horrors flung from upper windows, we threaded our way in -apprehension of more. The ladies, however, were eager to see the Franks, -and from the streets and from the ship we could descry them peeping at -us in their balconies. I went with the captain to pay our visit to the -council which governs in the absence of the pasha. We found it sitting -in a miserable tumbledown room with walls not even plastered. We sat a -few minutes, asked a few questions mainly about antiquities, and then -retired to the ship to receive their return visit. - -Next morning we set off to the eastwards to look for ruins of Sydra. The -expedition was not a success. In the first place the surf was high and -we had difficulty in landing; then after a long walk we came upon -several villages, but no considerable ruins, and what there were, only -of late date and uninteresting, and we had to trudge back disappointed. -In the course of our walk we came upon a small Turkish boy all alone. He -screamed with fright to see our strange figures and ran away, bounding -over stock and stone, and still screaming for help. He had never seen -Franks before. - -The following day we, the captain and officers in uniform and myself in -my best, landed to walk in the town. We were first detained a long time -at the gate on small excuses, and then when we started were told by the -guide that if we proceeded there was danger of a disturbance. The -captain told him to go on all the same, but as he refused we turned back -to the port. - -Then we learnt that the evening before there had been a general meeting -of the Turks to protest against our being allowed to go about the town. -We went aboard again; and from the ship an officer was sent to the -council with a severe remonstrance against our treatment, and the -present of bullocks was re-landed on the beach. This attitude of ours -brought them at once to their knees; the humblest apologies were sent -with assurances that the offenders were being punished, and a request -that Captain Beaufort would come ashore and see the castle as he -desired. The captain replied that an officer of his rank could not -expose himself to the possibility of a repetition of such affronts as he -had submitted to that morning, but that the beyzesday (myself) with some -of his officers would go, as they allowed it. We accordingly went; but -as the authority of governors in these countries is at no time very -great, we went in the fullest expectation of a disturbance and of being -forced to turn back. The council seems, however, to have kept its -promise, for nothing of the sort occurred. We were entirely unmolested. -On the other hand, there was nothing whatever to see. It was a most -fatiguing walk up the hill. The town is defended by three walls, one -inside the other, never well built and now ruinous, although well -whitewashed to conceal their condition, and in the whole place only four -cannon, all of them old. On the top of all is the citadel, itself -ruinous and full of the ruins of several Christian monasteries and -churches converted into mosques, some water tanks and a fountain. Over a -gate is an inscription to say that Aladin was conqueror of this city. -There are remains of a fine ancient Greek wall. This was all we saw for -our trouble and risk. - -The council again sent apologies and invitations to Captain Beaufort, -but he replied as before; only, to show he had no resentment, he sent -his surgeon, while the anchor was being weighed, to see what he could do -for a member of the council who was ill. I meanwhile, with a party of -officers, went off in the gig to look at some ruins we had observed to -the westward on the top of a hill. We had three miles to go in the boat -and about two on foot inland. The hill is high and desperately steep. On -the top is a town, deserted, with ancient Greek walls, a tower, the -ruins of a temple, a number of pedestals and monuments, some with -inscriptions which we copied, but none of them gave us the name of the -place. We have made up our minds since, judging by Strabo's description, -that it must have been Laertes. The city walls, the temple, and the -tower are all of cut stone and the best Greek construction, while the -walls of dwellings are of small stones and mortar. This town, being all -of one sort of date, is a good example by which to judge of Greek habits -of building. I suppose private houses were always built in this inferior -style. - -Our next stoppage was at Selinty, originally Selinus, and afterwards -changed, on the death of Trajan within its walls, to Trajanopolis. It -stands on a remarkable rock, the Cragus, absolutely precipitous on one -side and very steep on the other, with a river, sixty feet or so wide, -at the bottom of the slope. It struck one as curious that with such a -river there should be an aqueduct to carry water across it into the -town. One could only suppose that the water of the river, like that of -the cataracts near Adalia, was unwholesome because it contained a chalky -sediment. To the top of the Cragus is a great climb. There we found a -fortress without any inscriptions of any kind, but, to judge by the -style, of no great age and no interest. The best thing was the view. -Beneath us fell a sheer precipice right down into the sea, perhaps five -hundred feet. As we looked over the top the eagles sprang out from the -rocks far below us, so far that shots fired at them were quite -ineffective. We found here a small theatre, much ruined, and the remains -of a grand senate house, or perhaps a mausoleum to Trajan, also very -much injured. The ship remained a day and a half. After passing a -promontory we came opposite to a rocky ridge sloping rapidly to the sea, -on which was a fortress, answering to Strabo's Antiochetta on the -Cragus. We put off in the gig, and had to land on a precipitous rock in -a high surf, which I did not like at all; but as we had been brought, it -had to be done. We found a place that must have had some importance. -There were fragments of polished granite columns, a modern castle, -several Greek chapels, and ruins on all sides as well. The most -promising were on the mountain above us and on a small peninsula jutting -out from the site of the town. My companions made for the small -peninsula, where they found some tombs like those at Selinty, and other -matters of no great moment. I, hoping for something more considerable, -went up the mountain--and a very rough climb it was. I was, however, -well paid for my exertions. I found there numbers of granite columns, -marble blocks and pedestals, and the ruins of a vast and magnificent -edifice which might have been a senate house or a gymnasium. The -situation of it was truly sublime, and it must have had a glorious -effect from the sea. I hoped to return and examine it more perfectly -next day, but unfortunately Captain Beaufort thought it necessary to get -on to Cape Anemurium by the 24th, in order to make an observation of -Jupiter's satellite which would determine at once his longitude, and the -wind was favourable. We went on therefore, to my great regret, and the -same evening (23rd) anchored opposite a small castle on a low rock by -the sea. - -Next day, as we were allowed, we went all over the castle. It appears to -be of Saracen origin, and according to an inscription to have been -conquered by the Turk Aladin. A remarkable thing about it is that it has -a keep like those one sees in England. It is all in ruins; such guns as -it has are lying about dismounted. - -I suppose the people hereabouts are so frightened at us that they send -the news about in all directions; for the bey of the district, who lives -at some distance inland, had heard of our arrival, and sent down his -compliments. Captain Beaufort hastened to send a suitable reply to his -courtesy by an officer with an invitation to come on board, where he -would be received with all the honours of war. He did promise to come -when he could. - -All day long Captain Beaufort was preparing, on a small island close to -the castle, the necessary arrangements for making his observation. It -was perfectly successful, and we got back on board at one o'clock A.M. - -_25th May._--Having done what was wanted with regard to the verification -of the longitude, we went back in a boat to Cape Anemurium to see the -ancient town. On the point is a fortress and citadel. Outside of that a -second wall includes a theatre and an odeum, the seats of which are all -gone. There are no traces of dwellings within the walls, so that one -must suppose the inhabitants to have lived in mud or timber houses, for -outside the walls there is the most perfect necropolis I ever saw. Each -tomb has two apartments, and all, except for their having been broken -open, are as fresh as if just built. - -The ship being still at Anemurium, the bey above mentioned came down to -the beach attended by his retinue. As soon as we made him out, we -pushed off to pay him the compliments of the captain. Nothing could be -more picturesque than the scene when we reached the shore. At the foot -of the precipice of Anemurium he was seated on a small carpet spread on -the rock, surrounded by about a hundred dark, savage-looking men all -heavily armed. They were clearly as pleased to look at us as we were to -see the barbarians of the interior. The gloomy evening cast a grave air -over the wild crags and the savage figures, while the sea broke in heavy -waves at the foot of the rock on which Abdul Muim sat. The manner with -which the bey received us was free and polite. He told us the history of -the country about us, and of the castle in particular. He was very much -pressed to come aboard, but he would not be tempted. Instead of that, he -contented himself with inquiring the length of the ship and sat looking -at her with a pocket telescope for several hours. - -We crossed a bay, and lay off Cape Kisliman, a bluff and remarkable cape -on which were ruins, but the people of the country seemed to object to -our examining them. - -Thence to Chelindreh, which, being the nearest point of communication -with Cyprus for couriers from Constantinople and other travellers, -boasts some twenty huts and their inhabitants. They are barbarous and -savage to a degree, and were disposed to treat the crew of the -captain's boat, who were looking for inscriptions among the tombs of the -ancient city, very roughly. One man even drew his yatagan, when the -sudden appearance of the frigate frightened them into politeness. - -_June 1st._--To the captain, who is always earnestly employed, one day -is like another. Even Sundays are only distinguished by the officers' -invitation to him and to myself to dine in the gun-room, and by the -clean clothes of the men at muster; but the other officers did not -forget that to-day was an anniversary, and we all drank the health of -Lord Howe. - -_Porto Cavaliero._--To the eastward of us lay Isola Provenzale, once -without doubt a settlement of the Knights of Rhodes. While the captain -examined Cape Cavaliero, I went, burning with expectation, to the -island, not doubting but that I should come home with a load of -inscriptions and arms for the Heralds; but we found no sort of remains -of the occupation of the Knights that one could identify. We landed near -a quarry of soft stone, in the middle of which an upright rock is left -standing, in which it appears that a hermit had made his cell. There are -crosses cut in the three sides, and several neat little receptacles for -utensils. At the top of the hill are fortifications and two churches, -themselves built of the materials of older Greek buildings. Clefts in -the rock had been carefully stopped and used as reservoirs. The walls -are built with an inner and an outer face of squared stones set in -mortar, the interval being filled in with chips and rubble without -cement, and the whole making a thickness of eight or nine feet. The -north-west side of the island is also covered with ruins, all of the -same Romaic work. One was of a church to which several rooms were -attached, and in one of them a considerable tomb--probably of a saint of -the Early Church. This must at all times have been a valuable station, -and would be now. It has one of the best and most defensible harbours on -this coast, and is within easy reach of supplies. - -The captain had fared no better than ourselves in his search for remains -of the Knights at Porto Cavaliero. Here we fell in with a Myconiote ship -full of hadjis on their return from a visit to the Holy Sepulchre at -Jerusalem. My Dimitri and Andrea were pigs enough to get drunk there and -quarrel with the crew. They got the licking they deserved, but they came -and complained to me that they had been ill-used and ourselves insulted, -and gave me the trouble of inquiring into it. I found, as I had -suspected, that what they had got they had brought upon themselves. Our -next move was to Seleucia or Selefkeh. We landed as near as we could to -the end of the line of hills on which it stands, and then walked to it, -nine miles across the plain at the foot of them. The ancient town is -beautifully placed at the side of a river, the Calicadnus. It is partly -on the plain and partly on steps of rock which rise gradually from it up -to a large castle of late date, which has an Armenian inscription over -the gate. The aga received us with obvious ill-humour, which perhaps was -owing to his being unwell, for he begged to see our doctor, and promised -to send horses for him and for us to the beach next day. We looked about -among the ruins, which are very extensive. There is a theatre, a long -line of porticoes, and a temple once converted to a Christian church, -together with several late churches of the date of the ruins on -Provenzale. We then went back to the ship. - -Next day, no horses for the doctor or ourselves appearing upon the -beach, we started walking, and on our arrival at Selefkeh complained. -The aga affected to blame his servants. We expected at least to return -well mounted when the doctor had seen the aga and we had seen the town, -but only one sorry hack was prepared for the doctor; and, as he refused -to ride alone, we made our exit, walking in a huff, and went so briskly -that a miserable Turk whom the aga had sent on a pony, while we had to -walk, to bring him back his medicine, could not keep up with us, and was -quite out of sight by the time we got to the beach. So we went aboard, -rather pleased at first to deprive the ungracious aga of his medicine; -but upon reflection we wrote him a sharp laconic note and sent his -dose. This aga, it is true, was not a man of good character; he had -deposed and murdered his predecessor, but as that is the usual mode of -succession in this country, it need not necessarily involve discourtesy -to strangers. But I must not, in justice to Turks, forget to mention -what occurred on our way to the beach as a set-off to the incivility of -the aga. - -We had had nothing to eat all day, and we were not a little sharp-set -when, finding some peasants (Turks) amongst the corn making their -evening meal, with that confidence which hunger inspires we pounced upon -their dishes and devoured all that appeared before us. The poor fellows -were not in the least disconcerted, but begged us to eat, one of them -saying as he pointed to the corn all round him, 'There is plenty of -bread. It is ours.' They would take no money, and when we got up to go -pressed us to stay. Our hearts were melted at their noble benevolence, -and we had to agree that all Turks were not brutes. - -On the whole, Seleucia is worth the trouble of a visit. - -An immense reservoir, 150 by 75 feet by 30 feet deep, supplied by an -aqueduct, impressed me as a very fine work. The theatre also, although -totally ruined, is delightfully situated; and the temple, which had been -converted into a church, is very interesting. The Calicadnus, although -it is on an even bed, is a noble river, wide and rapid, and gives great -beauty to the scene. It is unhealthy to drink, which accounts for the -existence of the great reservoir. - -It is evident that the population of these countries has decreased, and -still is decreasing. It has not one-tenth of what it could easily -support, and not one-hundredth of what it has supported in past times. - -While we were away at Selefkeh a bombard French privateer came into the -bay of Seleucia in pursuit of a Turkish boat, and would have fallen into -our hands if the captain and pilot had been on board; but the necessary -delay before this could be done enabled the Frenchman to get to shallow -water, and the _Frederiksteen_ in pursuit ran into four fathoms, and in -another five minutes would have been aground. So the bombard -escaped.[40] - -_Anchored off Lingua di Bagascia._--We arrived at a castle named Curco, -with another on a rock outside the port, which has an Armenian -inscription on it. The one on the mainland, which I take to be the -ancient Coricus, is a place of great strength. There is a moat thirty -feet wide, cut in solid rock, to disconnect from the land, and double -walls and towers. There are many ruins of modern churches and -monasteries and numberless sarcophagi of ancient and early Christian -times, but the whole place, town and castles, is absolutely deserted. - -We were in the boat following the frigate as she proceeded along the -coast, when, perceiving ruins on the coast, we disembarked, and found on -a striking eminence a Corinthian temple of bad execution which had been -converted into a church. Further on was a town, a theatre, and a vast -colonnade with a number of important and very perfect tombs. We had, -however, to retire to the boat, for the inhabitants were very -threatening, and had we been fewer or shown any fear might have fared -badly. As soon as we were off in the boat we had a good bathe. - -_At the Latmus._--Captain Beaufort sent two of his officers ashore to -inspect the long aqueduct leading to Eleusa, which we could see from the -ship, but the aga, who had at first consented to their going, withdrew -his permission, and they had to give it up. - -At Pompeiopolis, as we had understood that the Turks of this part of the -country were particularly dangerous, I took with me two marines as a -guard to visit the ruins. Seen from the sea they presented a truly -startling grandeur. The plan of the city is noble in the extreme--one -single colonnade passes right through it from the port to the gate -leading out into the country, and forty of its columns are still -standing. The remainder, making about two hundred, lie as they fell. The -town was defended by a fine wall with towers to it, enclosing a theatre -and the port. The style of the architecture, which looked so well from -a distance, when one comes to see it close is very bad. - -Pompeiopolis is quite deserted, but the Turks from the neighbouring -villages came in, and, although their appearance was barbarous in the -extreme, they were very civil. I imagine the 36 guns and 350 men of the -_Frederiksteen_ had to do with this, for I observed that the further we -got from the ship the less polite we always found the Turks to be. - -We made sail in the evening and anchored off Mersine, at the beginning -of the great plain of Tarsous, and put ashore to reconnoitre and pay a -visit to the aga with a view to getting horses to go to Tarsous. The aga -was very civil and promised we should have the horses we asked for. - -In the morning the horses were ready; but now the aga, for whatever -reason, discouraged our going to Tarsous, and told us that since seeing -us yesterday evening he had received news of an outbreak there, that a -neighbouring pasha had attacked the town and all was uproar and arms. On -reflection his account struck us as so improbable that we decided at any -rate to start, and go on according to the information we should pick up -on the road. We set out, a large party. - -The country was a flat, covered with corn and in it many reapers, male -and female, the latter going uncovered and quite unembarrassed by -strangers. Their language and costume were Arab, quite unlike anything -I had seen before, and there were quantities of camels about. - -The ride took us four hours. From the inquiries we made from time to -time it was clear that the aga's tale had been a downright lie. - -Tarsous lies on the plain about two miles and a half from the mountains. -At the entrance to it is a hillock about a quarter of a mile long, which -commands the town; it was included in the ancient walls, which were then -strengthened by a moat into which the river was turned. It is now dry, -and the present town has nothing but a slight wall round it. We passed -over the old moat and through an ancient gate of Roman work. It had -three arches, but only one of them is standing, and the wall it formed -the passage through and every other antiquity in the town has been -destroyed and used up for building materials. Nothing could exceed the -surprise of the inhabitants at our appearance. They had never seen -Europeans, and they crowded about us in such numbers that we could with -difficulty move. We went to visit the aga and were detained, sitting -among the servants an hour and a half before we could obtain an -audience. The aga, they said, was engaged. At last we remonstrated and -got up to go; when, to our surprise and indignation, we saw the aga -sitting in a room by himself smoking his pipe and quite unoccupied. We -would have passed the door had they not pressed us in, so angry were we. -He was sitting on a sofa in a long white Arab cloak in a room that was -neater and handsomer than it is usual to see in these countries. He made -a slight motion on our coming in, but spoke not a word, nor did he deign -to answer 'Yhary' when we conveyed to him the compliments of the -captain. A Turk who sat by his side with our firman in his hands now -addressed a Turk who was with us with an affectation of great -indignation. He wanted to know what could be the meaning of four hundred -men, when only eight men were mentioned in the firman--together with a -number of other insolent questions, from which I gathered that he -suspected us of being travelling merchants. Fortunately, as these -remarks were not addressed to us, we were not bound to make any reply, -for if we had we were by this time in such a state of impatience with -their insolent barbarity that it would hardly have been a conciliatory -one. As soon as we could get away, we mounted our horses again, and -through a thick and insulting rabble went out of the town and homewards -without delay. An old Turk of the aga's people, who had been one of the -chief of our tormentors, saw us off for some distance. To him I had the -satisfaction of giving a piece of my mind, and when we came within sight -of the ship gave him an invitation on board that he might see how we -treated strangers. The old rascal went home very much abashed and -awestruck. We arrived on board late, and well wetted by coming through -the violent surf. - -The ship was two more days off the great plain of Tarsous, moving slowly -in a thick haze, and on the 16th arrived off Cape Karadash. - -The captain proposed to me that I should go with Mr. Wingham to -reconnoitre a great lake one could see from the ship. About one mile -N.W. of the cape we turned up a deep channel like a river mouth, except -that the current set inwards instead of outwards, and after about -three-quarters of a mile entered an apparently boundless lake. It was -very shallow, and before long we were aground, after which the men waded -and towed the boat. In this fashion we went several miles till we had -got a fair general notion of the size of the sheet of water. A deceptive -atmospheric effect, due to the great evaporation, would hide the shore -when very low, so that it presented the appearance of a sheet of water. -Owing to this I had a bitter disappointment. Ahead of us we descried -four beautiful deer, which, as we approached, fled to what appeared to -me to be the isthmus of a peninsula. I cried to one of the boatmen, who -had a musket, to run to the isthmus to cut them off, while I and two -others made for the other side, hoping to get a shot at them. As we got -nearer, the fancied water vanished, and the deer, a herd of ten -beauties, ran up into the plain. They were spotted like fallow deer, -but with short horns turning back like those of a goat. Coming back, we -saw immense flocks, of perhaps ten thousand at once, of white stately -birds about as big as swans [Flamingoes.--ED.], the tail beautiful with -red feathers. They stood in ranks like soldiers, and now and again -flapped their wings all at once and shrieked. There were numbers of -large fish about, and the water was so shallow that their backs stood -out of it. All the same, when we tried to catch them they were too quick -for us. The only thing we did secure was a big turtle. - -At Cape Mallo we went ashore and walked over the ruins. - -Thence we moved down the coast, anchored eight miles west of Ayas -Castle, and rowed on to it. There are the remains of the ancient town of -Ægæ to be seen, and a modern Turkish castle. When we entered the mouth -of the port we noticed that some Turks standing on a tower which -commanded it shouted and gesticulated to us in a threatening manner. -They were all armed. I, however, set it down to fear on their part, and -recommended our going on. Unhappily, we did so; and I can never -sufficiently regret the part I had in bringing on the catastrophe which -will always make Ayas a painful recollection. Nothing further occurred -that evening; we walked about, and when it grew dark went aboard again. - -_June 20th._--We went ashore, a strong party, and scattered in various -directions. The captain took his surveying instruments, a little to the -westwards. Another party stripped to bathe and hunt turtles, of which -there were many; while two others and myself walked towards the castle. -The jolly-boat, under command of a midshipman, young Olphert, was to -meet us to the east of the castle. All at once Dimitri came running up -to us to say that a Turk had robbed one of the party. His account was -that while they were bathing, this Turk, attracted by the gilt buttons -on the coat of a petty officer, and taking them for gold, had run off -with it. We walked at once to the beach, where several Turks of the -village were collected. They tried to conciliate us, saying it was a -Turcoman from the mountains who had been the thief, and that the coat -had already been restored. Just then up came Mr. Lane to tell us to get -immediately to the boats, that the captain had been dangerously wounded -and young Olphert shot dead. We did as he told us, and got back to the -ship; but my horror and surprise were succeeded by the most violent -indignation, and there was nothing I hoped for so much as that orders -would be given for a general attack on the village. As soon as I was on -board I went to see Captain Beaufort. His wound, I was glad to find, was -not so dangerous as was thought at first. The ball had entered the -fleshy part of the thigh and had broken the bone at the hip. Still, it -was a serious wound, and he was a good deal shaken. When he heard of -poor Olphert's death he burst into tears, and bitterly upbraided himself -with having been the cause of it. It seems that when the band of -ruffians came to attack his boat and began to point their guns, he, to -frighten them, fired over their heads. Hereupon they all fell down in -abject terror, and the boats, pushing off, got nearly clear of the -rocks. One man, however, more resolute than the rest, rushed forwards, -and taking deliberate aim from behind a rock, shot the captain: and had -the rest of the ruffians been like him, the whole boat's crew must have -been sacrificed. As it was, the boat was out of range before they -recovered. But having whetted their appetite for blood, and furious at -having been shot at, they rushed off to where young Olphert was with his -boat and murdered him as he was pushing off. The condition Captain -Beaufort was in was so serious, and his concern lest Olphert's death -should have been in any sense his fault, so painful, that I took upon -myself to tell him a deliberate falsehood, for which I trust God will -forgive me. I assured him positively that Olphert had been already shot -when the natives came to attack his (the captain's) boat. As he was a -long way from where Olphert was, he had no means of knowing that it -might not have been so, and he was eventually persuaded and his mind -very much quieted. - -At first we had hoped that we might be allowed to seek our own redress, -but the coolness and moderation of the captain were admirable. When one -came to consider, it was not at all clear that the villagers had had any -hand in it, and to destroy the village would not be to punish the -offenders. It was sure to make all travelling dangerous, if not -impossible, for the future, and finally it would be the act of war on -the territories of a friendly Power, barbarous as that Power might be. -It was therefore settled that we should apply for redress through the -regular channel. - -We crossed the bay to Scanderoon, which is a miserable town with a -population half Turks and half Cypriote Greeks, and no resident official -higher than an aga. We did what we could to frighten this person by -representing the affair to him in its most serious light, at the same -time calling his attention to the strict moderation of our conduct, and -our respect for the authorities of the country. - -Meanwhile a peremptory letter demanding reparation was despatched to the -pasha himself, who lived some miles inland. He returned an immediate -reply to the effect that Ayas was not within his pashalik, but in that -of his neighbour the pasha of Adana, to whom he had at once written. -Meanwhile he promised in his name that every reparation should be made. -In our turn we informed him that a British squadron would be there in -fifteen days to see that this was done. - -In the cemetery attached to the old British factory and consulate we -buried poor young Olphert. Ten marines (all the aga would allow ashore) -fired a salute over him, and we set up over his grave a Greek tombstone -brought from one of the cities on the coast. - -Considering how many tokens of friendship Captain Beaufort had shown me, -and that he was at the moment in a dangerous condition, with a risk of -fever coming on; and that, as he could not enjoy easy familiarity with -his junior officers, my company might be pleasant to him, I thought I -ought not to leave him and settled to go back with him to Malta. Two -days after Olphert's funeral, on the 22nd June, we set sail. On the 1st -of July we fell in with the _Salsette_, Captain Hope, off Khelidonia, by -appointment. She was to take Captain Beaufort's report to the admiral on -the station, and to go on to Scanderoon afterwards to see that proper -amends were made for the injury done us." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[40] Captain Beaufort seems to have thought that she was a Mainiote -pirate. His account of this episode is worth reading. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -MALTA--ATTACKED BY BILIOUS FEVER--SAILS TO PALERMO--SEGESTE--LEAVES FOR -GIRGENTI--IMMIGRANT ALBANIANS--SELINUNTO--TRAVELLING WITH SICILIANS-- -GIRGENTI--RESTORES THE TEMPLE OF THE GIANTS--LEAVES FOR SYRACUSE-- -OCCUPATIONS IN SYRACUSE--SALE OF THE ÆGINA MARBLES--LEAVES FOR ZANTE. - - -"We had nothing but west winds, very unfavourable for us. Meltern, as -this wind is called, follows the rim of the coast of Asia Minor, being -north in the Archipelago, west along Karamania, and turning south again -down the coast of Syria. We were seldom out of sight of land--first the -mountains of Asia, then Rhodes, Crete, the Morea, &c. Finally we reached -Malta on the 18th of July, being the twenty-seventh day since we left -Scanderoon, and the end of a month of complete idleness. I spent most of -the time in the captain's cabin, showing him all the attention I could, -and profiting in return very much by his society and his library. - -To get to Malta was a refreshment to our spirits. Numbers of visitors -came at once under the stern to salute Captain Beaufort, although until -we had pratique they could not come aboard. The plague is at present in -Smyrna, and quarantine for ships from thence usually lasts thirty or -forty days; but as we could prove that we had had no communication with -any infected town, we were let off in two days. Unfortunately, from the -moment we arrived I began to feel unwell. All the time I was on the -coast of Asia I had been taking violent exercise and perspiring -profusely, while since we left I had been wholly confined; and the -consequence of the change was a violent bilious attack with fever. After -stopping in bed three days I thought I would take a trip to Sant' -Antonio with Gammon, the senior officer; but I got back so thoroughly -done up that I had to lie up again, and was ill for three weeks in -Thorn's Hotel.[41] My chief remedies, prescribed by Doctors Stewart of -the _Frederiksteen_ and Allen of the Malta Hospital, were calomel in -large quantities and bleeding. - -Every day one or other of the officers of the _Frederiksteen_--Gammon, -Seymour, Lane, or Dodd--came to sit with me. - -When I was able to get about again, I found that Captain Beaufort had -been moved to the house of Commissioner Larcom, where every possible -care was taken of him. They were a most agreeable and hospitable -family--the only one, indeed, in Malta. The officers--General Oakes, -Colonel Phillips, &c.--were like all garrison officers. Mr. Chabot, the -banker, honoured my drafts, and when I was going expressed his sorrow -that I was off so soon, as he had hoped to have seen me at his house. - -As soon as ever I was well enough I felt eager to get away from a -society so odious to me as that of Malta, and having been introduced -from two separate sources to Mr. Harvey, commander of H.M. brig -_Haughty_, I got from him an excellent passage to Palermo. It took us -from the 20th August to the 28th. Mr. Harvey himself was ill, and I saw -little of him, but what I did delighted me. Like all sailors, he was -very lovable, and so long as he remained in Palermo I went to him every -day. - -My first day I strolled over the town and delivered my letters to Mr. -Gibbs and Mr. Fagan. The latter is an antiquarian and a great digger. He -told me, I think, that he had dug up over two hundred statues in his -time. I called on him several times afterwards, pleased with his -conversation and hoping to learn something of Sicily from him, and found -him exceedingly polite. A return of the fever I had in Malta confined me -again for a few days, after which I managed to keep it at bay with -plenty of port wine and bark. My chief friends in Palermo were General -and Mrs. Campbell, Sir Robert Laurie, captain of a 74 lying here, Lord -William Bentinck, generalissimo of the British army of occupation in -Sicily, and Fagan. - -After a fortnight in Palermo I started on a trip to Segeste. I could not -but be very much struck by the difference between the richness of -Sicily, and the desolation of Greece under Turkish rule. Mahomet II. -desired that on his tomb should be written that had he lived he proposed -in the ensuing summer to conquer 'the beautiful Italy and the island of -Rhodes.' Sicily must have followed, and I pictured in my mind the -landscape as it would then have looked. A few ruined mosques would have -supplied the place of the splendid churches and monasteries, and a -wretched khan and a few low huts the rich towns of Sala and Partinico. - -The temple of Segeste is the largest I have seen, but it looks as if it -had never been finished. The style of workmanship is good and exact, but -as far inferior to Athenian execution as its rough stone is to -Pentilican marble. The turn of the capital is very inferior in delicacy -to Athenian examples, and there is no handsome finish to the ceiling of -the peristyle, which was probably of plaster like Ægina. The circular -sinking cut in the plinth to receive the column, leaving a space all -round to give a play, it is said, in case of earthquake, is certainly -curious if that was the purpose of it. Nothing whatever remains of the -cella. - -In the evening we returned to Alcamo and next day breakfasted with -Colonel Burke, who is in command of a regiment of 1,400 fine men, all -Piedmontese and Italians, not Sicilians. One finds Englishmen in command -everywhere. Returned to Palermo. - -My fame had spread in my absence, and on my return I found my table -covered with cards and invitations--the most conspicuous being from -General Macfarlane and Lord Montgomery. - -The palaces of the Sicilian nobles are exasperatingly pretentious and -tasteless; that of Palagonia is an unforgetable nightmare. - -Though a paradise compared with Greece, I find Sicily seething with -discontent; and were it not for Lord W. Bentinck, to whom the people -look up as the only honest man amongst the authorities, there would be -an insurrection. - -Ten days later I set out on horseback for Girgenti. On the second day I -turned aside from Villa Fraté to visit one of the Greek villages so much -talked of and so misrepresented. In Palermo I was told that the -villagers are some of the ancient Greek settlers, who remain so -unchanged that they still wear sandals and are almost pagans. In reality -they are Albanians, who emigrated in the sixteenth century when the -oppression of the Turks was specially severe in their country, and came -in bands to various points of Sicily. Mezzojuso is one of their -settlements, and has about 2,000 inhabitants. The situation, about two -miles off the road from Villa Fraté to Alcara, is on the side of a -mountain and very beautiful. I met some goodhumoured peasants who were -ready to tell me all they knew. They talk Albanian amongst themselves, -and they readily understood the few words of it which I and my servant -could speak. The explanation of the report of their being almost pagans -is that they retain the Greek ritual, although they have changed the -altar to the Catholic form and acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. -Over the altar is a Greek inscription, which I read, to the surprise of -those who attended me. The priests preserve the Greek costume, the bead -cap, hair, &c. St. Nicolas, the Greek saint _par excellence_, is a -conspicuous figure in the Church. What a pity I had not with me a little -of the earth I took from the shrine of the saint at Myra in Asia Minor! -It would have been an acceptable present to the priest. I saw none of -the women, but I was told they wear a peculiar costume; and at their -communion, instead of the host, as in Roman Catholic churches, a piece -of cloth is held up. - -Started for the temples of Selinunto, accompanied by Don Ignazio, the -son of my host, Don Gaetano. We took the road towards the sea, and -passing through Siciliana and turning inland came in the evening to -Cattolica. Here we added to our party a most entertaining companion, Don -Raffaelle Politi, a painter, not very excellent in his art, though one -of the best in Sicily, but full of talents and of humour. He was staying -at the time in the house of a certain marquis, for whom he had been -painting two ceilings. We went to see him there, and found him with the -marchese, sitting over a greasy table surrounded by a company of nasty -fellows, such as in England one might see in a shopkeeper's parlour. No -sort of civility or hospitality was shown us. On the other hand, a -friend and equal of Don Raffaelle's received us very kindly. He and a -company of tradesmen who had come over to a fair which was being held in -Cattolica, and had of course brought their guitars with them, -entertained us before supper in the locanda. - -Next day we passed by the ancient city of Heraclia, of which, however, -there are very trifling remains, to Sciacca, where in the market-place -we saw dead meat--meat of animals that had died of disease owing to the -great drought this year, which has killed a great many cattle--being -sold to the poor at a cheap rate. Travelling with Sicilians I fell into -their customs, and instead of looking out for an hotel I went with them -into a café where we ate and drank. The cafetiere, to show his -liberality, in pouring out lets the cup overflow until the saucer also -is full, after which he brings spirits and cigars--all customs new to -me. Arrived in a storm at Montefeice, wet through. My friends slept on a -mattress, and I, who was accustomed to it, slept on the floor. - -Nothing can be more solemn than the magnificent remains of the three -temples of Selinus, but I had not many hours to study them. It is clear -that earthquake was the cause of their destruction, and I guess from -the difference in preservation between the parts which fell and were -covered and protected, and the condition of those which remain standing, -that it may have occurred about the eighth or ninth century. We went -over twice from Montefeice, each time returning in the evening; and when -we got home, how differently we spent our evenings from the ordinary way -Englishmen do! Had they been my companions we should have cursed the -fare and lodging, and should have laid ourselves down grumbling to pass -a tedious and uncomfortable night. Instead of that, with these -Sicilians, as soon as the demands of hunger were satisfied, at the sound -of a guitar in the streets, we sallied out and joined the serenaders, -stopped under the windows of some fair one we did not know, and Don -Raffaelle, who is a perfect master of the guitar and ravished the -bystanders, played and sang with much taste a number of exceedingly -pretty melodies. If this was not enough for the evening, we sat and told -stories. - -At Cattolica we arrived so late that every inch of the locanda was -occupied. We did not care to disturb our friend of the previous -occasion, Don Giuseppe, and the marchese's hospitality had been so -grudgingly offered that we were too proud to accept it, and so we sought -consolation by going about the streets with a guitar till we were tired -of it, and then taking horse again; but before going far we were so -weary that we got off under a tree, sat down, and waited for dawn to -light us back to Girgenti. - -After my return to Girgenti, I remained there till the 14th of November, -applying myself with close attention and infinite pleasure to attempting -to reconstruct the Temple of Jupiter Olympius. The examination of the -stones and the continual exercise of ingenuity kept me very busy, and at -the end the successful restoration of the temple gave me a pleasure -which was only to be surpassed by that of originally conceiving the -design. - -My days went by in great peace and content. I lived with the family of -Don Gaetano Sterlini, and when I got accustomed to them I learnt to like -them. The bawling of the servants, the open doors, the dirt and disorder -of a Sicilian household came after a time to be matters of course to me -and passed unnoticed. - -But there came an English fine gentleman, by the name of Cussins, to -spend two days here, who was not so philosophical and made himself -odious by protesting. When anyone came into or went out of the room, the -doors, which never else turned on their hinges, must be shut; the -windows, that perhaps lacked two or three panes, must be closed; the -shutters bolted; he could not eat the food nor drink the wine. A -creature so refined is as unpleasant an object to a barbarian as the -latter is to him, and we prayed for his departure. - -My fine friend was supercilious to me, but polite in a lofty fashion, -and took a patronising interest in what I was doing. Would I give him -some notes and a sketch? At first I said I would, but his manner -disgusted me, so that I finally sent him only the notes. He wanted the -sketch to flourish at Palermo. - -In the last few days of my stay my fame got about. The Caffé dei Nobili, -the bishop and all, heard with astonishment that I had unravelled the -puzzle, and that all the morsels composing the giants were still -existing and could be put together again. A dignitary of the Church, -(Don?) Candion Panettieri, sent me a message to say that if I would mark -the stones and give directions for the setting up of one of the giants, -he would undertake the expense of doing it. I was tempted by this offer -and the immediate notoriety it would give me, and agreed and completed -my sketch as far as it could be carried and took it to him. It was -copied immediately, and with my name appended as the author, sent to -Palermo. Then I went over the fragments with Raffaelle Politi and marked -the stones corresponding with the numbers in the design. - -Don Gaetano could not contain his indignation at my suffering the -results of so much labour to be launched into the world as it were -semi-anonymously, instead of in a book duly written and published by -myself, the author. From the moment I handed over my drawing to Politi -to copy there was no peace between us. I could not help being gratified -at the interest he took in my success, and my feeling for him was -sharpened by the sentiment with which his fair daughter had inspired me, -which was so strong that it made me feel the necessity of going away, -and yet made me weep like a noodle when I did. But I had found my reward -in the pleasure of solving the puzzle, and though I liked the notoriety, -it was not worth giving oneself much trouble about. - -I left Girgenti with Don Ignazio Sala, son-in-law of Sterlini, for -Alicata, and the consul himself saw me as far as the River Agrigas. On -our left were many sulphur works, which are so injurious to vegetation -that there is a law in force that they shall not work from the time the -corn begins to get up till after the harvest. From Palma the road lies -along the seashore, and there at every mile and a half are watch-towers, -or, failing these, straw huts for the coastguard to give warning of -Barbary corsairs. Until lately this coast was infested by them. Their -descents were small, and they carried off only a few men or cattle; but -there was once a desperate action near Alicata, in which the inhabitants -turned out, headed by the priest, and captured the whole party of -twenty-five who had landed. The prisoners were sent by Palermo to -Algiers to be exchanged. - -Alicata to Serra Nuova. Serra Nuova to Cartalagerone. We had to cross a -river on the way, the banks of which were high and the river swollen by -the rain, and one mule with baggage and man rolled right into it. - -The night got very dark, and I really thought we should have to stop on -the bank all night or break our necks, but by help of repeated -invocations indifferently to Maria Sanctissima and Santo Diavolone we -got across safely at last. - -From Cartalagerone by Mineo to Lentini, and so to Syracuse. Although -compared with the ancient town it is tiny and confined entirely to the -island of Ortygia, the modern Syracuse has considerable fortifications. -We had to pass through four gates and two dykes before we got inside. At -one gate the guard wanted to take our arms, till I remonstrated on the -insult to the British nation, and they let me pass. But, then, if they -did not mean to enforce it, how ridiculous ever to make such a -regulation! - -As soon as I was settled I despatched a letter my friend Raffaelle -Politi had given me to his father, who came at once, offered me every -civility, and remained my fast friend throughout my stay." - - -Cockerell spent three months--December, January, and February--in -Syracuse. For one thing his health had been severely shaken by the grave -illness he had had in Malta, and he needed rest. It seems to have made -a turning-point in his travels. Hitherto his letters home had been full -of joyous anticipations of getting back to England, and with restless -energy he had endeavoured to cram the utmost into his time before doing -that, and settling into harness as an architect. Seeing so many -countries and going through so many vicissitudes had, however, weakened -the tie and he could now make himself at home anywhere. For another -thing, a main object of his travels--perhaps the main object--was a -visit to Italy, as for practical purposes Italian architecture was the -best worth studying. But the war with France continuing, Italy remained -closed indefinitely to a British subject. So for several years there are -no more references to coming home. A last reason for stopping where he -was, was that the weather was detestable. It was the terrible winter of -the retreat from Moscow. "For forty days," he says, "it never failed to -rain, snow, or hail." - -His time was chiefly spent in preparing the drawings for the plates of -the great contemplated book on Ægina and Phigaleia. Besides this, he -seems to have drawn in the museum, and to have read a good deal; he -learnt the art of cutting cameos, and even executed some; and finally, -fired by the performances of his friend Politi, he spent two hours a day -in learning to play the guitar. He probably never carried this -accomplishment very far and abandoned it on leaving Sicily, for I never -recollect even hearing it alluded to. The time passed very quietly. He -had some friends among the Sicilians, besides the Politis--Don Pietro -Satallia, the Conte Bucchieri, and one English acquaintance, Lieutenant -Winter, adjutant of the town and fort, who had a nice English wife and -large family, with whom he spent occasional evenings. For the most part, -however, he spent his evenings studying in his lodgings, and "on the -whole," he says, "I can say of Syracuse what I wish I could say of all -the places I ever stopped in: I do not repent of the time I spent -there." - -During the latter part of his stay, when the weather grew less severe, -he was a good deal occupied in examining the walls of ancient Syracuse, -and the fortress of Labdalum. - -A letter received at about this time from Linckh records the death of -the little Skye terrier Fop which my father had brought with him from -England. - -When he left Athens to go with Messrs. North, Douglas, and Foster to -Crete, _en route_ for Egypt, he left the dog behind in charge of a -certain Nicolo, who seems to have gone with Bronstedt and Linckh not -long after on the expedition they undertook to Zea in December 1811.... -"Dans la lettre égarée je vous ai écrit le sort malheureux de votre -pauvre Fope, qui a fini ses jours misérablement et en grande famine à -Zea. Bronstedt et moi nous lui avons encore prolongé son triste destin -pour quelques jours, car nous l'avons trouvé mourant dans un ravin entre -la ville de Zea et le port. Vraiment ce Nicolo est un être infâme et -malicieux. Vous savez que nous lui avons confisqué la bague du Platon -qu'il a portée aussitôt que vous autres êtes partis d'Athènes pour -Egypte. [He had stolen it, as he did later various articles from Hughes -and Parker, _q.v._] Comme nous avons quitté l'isle de Zea, il faisait -une banque de pharaon pour piller les Zeotes." - -He had kept in communication with his friends in Greece, and especially -with Gropius, to whom he had written repeatedly on the subject of the -sale of the Ægina Marbles, but it was not till March that he could have -heard of the disastrous issue. - -What had happened was this. It will be remembered that while the statues -themselves had been conveyed for security to Malta, the sale of them had -been advertised to take place in Zante on November 1, 1812. - -When the day arrived only two bidders presented themselves in the sale -room, one bearing an offer from the French Government, and Herr Wagner -another from Prince Louis of Bavaria. The British Museum had sent out a -Mr. Coombe with ample powers to buy for England, but he never turned up. -He had reached Malta in good time, but having understood from Mr. -McGill, who was _pro tem._ agent for Gropius, that the sale would take -place where the marbles were, took it for granted that he knew all about -it and there stayed, waiting for the auctioneer to come. - -Meanwhile the sale came off at Zante. The French offer of 160,000 francs -proved to be altogether too conditional to be accepted, and the -sculptures were knocked down to Prince Louis for 10,000 sequins. - -It was suggested afterwards that Gropius had been bribed by Wagner to -keep the English parties in the dark, but it was never proved. What is -clear is that if Gropius had kept his agent, McGill, properly informed -as to the place of sale, Coombe would have been able to bid and the -Ægina statues would be in the British Museum now. - -Cockerell at once set out from Syracuse for Zante. But he found that -when he joined there was really nothing to be done. He at first tried to -upset the contract, but on reflection he found himself obliged in honour -and in law to abide by the action of their agent. A new agreement was -drawn up and signed, confirming the former and engaging to petition the -British Government for leave to export the sculptures from Malta. - -At home in England the deepest disappointment was felt by those who had -interested themselves in the acquisition, and a protest was forwarded by -Mr. S. P. Cockerell through Mr. Hamilton to the Government, petitioning -that no permission to remove the marbles from Malta should be granted, -and demanding a new sale on the ground of improper procedure in the -first. - -In the end, however, it was not found possible to contest the validity -of the sale, and they were finally delivered to the Prince of Bavaria in -1814. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[41] Now the Hôtel de Provence. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -ATHENS--THE EXCAVATION OF MARBLES AT BASSÆ--BRONSTEDT'S MISHAP--FATE OF -THE CORINTHIAN CAPITAL OF BASSÆ--SEVERE ILLNESS--STACKELBERG'S -MISHAP--TRIP TO ALBANIA WITH HUGHES AND PARKER--THEBES--LIVADIA--THE -FIVE EMISSARIES--STATE OF THE COUNTRY--MERCHANTS OF LIVADIA--DELPHI-- -SALONA--GALAXIDI--PATRAS--PREVISA--NICOPOLIS--ARTA--THE PLAGUE--JANINA. - - -The fate of the Ægina Marbles being now practically settled, Foster, who -was engaged to make a marriage very displeasing to his family, with a -Levantine, left for Smyrna, while Haller, Linckh, and Cockerell went to -Athens. The latter had not been in Greece since November 1811. In the -interval the expedition to dig up the sculptures he had discovered at -Bassæ had been there and had successfully accomplished their purpose, -the party consisting of Haller, Foster, Linckh, Stackelberg, Gropius, -Bronstedt, and an English traveller, Mr. Leigh.[42] They had provided -themselves with powers from Constantinople sufficient to overcome the -resistance of the local authorities, and after many difficulties had -succeeded in bringing away the sculptures with one exception, to which I -will presently refer. - -The excavations were carried out in June, July, and August, while my -father was absent at Malta and in Sicily. Nevertheless, as he had -discovered their existence it was understood that he was to be a -participator in any sculptures that should be disinterred. - -The party of excavators established themselves there for nearly three -months, building huts of boughs all round the temple, making almost a -city, which they christened Francopolis. They had frequently from fifty -to eighty men at work at a time, a band of Arcadian music to entertain -them, and in the evening after work, while the lamb was roasting on a -wooden spit, they danced. However, if Cockerell lost the pleasure, he -escaped the fever from which they all suffered desperately--and no -wonder, after living such a life in such a climate. - -It was during this expedition that a misfortune befell Bronstedt which, -although it had an element of absurdity in it, was very serious to the -victim. While the work at Bassæ was proceeding he left his companions to -take a trip into Maina. Before starting he wrote for himself a letter of -introduction to Captain Murzinos purporting to be from my father, and -would have presented it; but, as ill-luck would have it, on the 20th of -August, on the road between Sparta and Kalamata, he fell into the hands -of a band of eight robbers. Understanding them to be Mainiotes, and -supposing all Mainiotes to be friends, he tried to save his property by -saying that he had a letter with him to Captain Murzinos; but the -robbers replied: "Oh, have you? If we had Murzinos here we would play -him twice the pranks we are playing you," and spared nothing. They -decamped with his money, his watch, his rings, a collection of antique -coins, all that he had in their eyes worth taking, to the tune, as he -considered, of 800l. (11,000 piastres fortes d'Espagne), leaving him -disconsolate in the dark to collect his scattered manuscripts, which -they had rejected with the contemptuous words: [Greek: Kartasia einai. -Den ta stochasomen] ("Papers! we don't look at them.") In the darkness -and confusion after the departure of the robbers he managed to lose some -of these as well. The poor traveller returned quite forlorn to -Phigaleia. After this, Linckh writes in his delicious French: "Bronstedt -parcourt la Morée en longue et à travers pour cherger ses hardes pertus -par les voleurs. Le drôle de corps a beaucoup d'espérance, parce que le -consul Paul lui a recommendé fortement au nouveau Pascha dans une letter -qui a etté enveloppée en vilours rouge." Such a letter, bound in red -velvet, was esteemed particularly urgent, but he obtained no redress -whatever, nor ever saw again any of "ses hardes," except the ring which -had been given him by his _fiancée_, Koes' sister. This was recovered -for him by Stackelberg on a journey which he took through Maina, when he -saw it exposed for sale in the house of one of the captains or -chieftains of the country, together with the watch, purse, and several -other articles which had been Bronstedt's; but the prices asked were too -exorbitant for him to ransom any but this, which he knew the late owner -had highly prized. - -The piece of sculpture I have just mentioned, which the explorers of -Phigaleia failed to bring away, was the capital of the single Corinthian -column of the interior of the temple. It will be remembered by those who -have read my father's work on the subject, that all the columns of the -interior were of the Ionic order with one exception, which was -Corinthian, and which stood in the centre of one end of the cella. The -capital of this Corinthian column was of the very finest workmanship; -and although the volutes had been broken off, much of it was still well -preserved, and the party of excavators took it with them to the coast -for embarcation with the rest. There are figures of it by Stackelberg in -his book, and by Foster in a drawing in the Phigaleian Room of the -British Museum. Veli Pasha, the Governor of the Morea, had sanctioned -the explorations on the understanding that he should have half profits; -but when he had seen the sculptures he was so disappointed that they -were not gold or silver, and so little understood them, that he took the -warriors under shields for tortoises, allowing that as such they were -rather well done. It chanced that at this moment news reached him that -he had been superseded in his command, and not thinking much of them, -and eager to get what he could, he accepted 400l. as his share of the -spoil and sanctioned the exportation of the marbles. The local archons, -however, put every impediment they could in the way by fomenting a -strike among the porters which caused delays, and by giving information -to the incoming pasha, who sent down troops to stop the embarcation. -Everything had been loaded except the capital in question, which was -more ponderous than the rest, and was still standing half in and half -out of the water when the troops came up. The boat had to put off -without it, and the travellers had the mortification of seeing it hacked -to pieces by the Turks in their fury at having been foiled. The volute -of one of the Ionic columns presented by my father to the British Museum -is the only fragment of any of the interior capitals of the temple -remaining. He brought it away with him on his, the first, visit. - -To return to where I left my father before this digression. As I said, -after the sale of the Ægina Marbles, Haller and he came to Athens, -where, finding the summer very hot in the town, they went to live at -Padischa or Sadischa, not far outside the town, and set earnestly to -work upon the drawings for the book on Ægina and Phigaleia. All went on -quietly till on the 22nd of August Cockerell was attacked by a malignant -bilious fever, which brought him to death's door: at least, either the -illness or the remedies did. The doctor, Abraham, the first in Athens, -thought it must be yellow fever, gave him up, and fearing infection for -himself, refused to attend him after the first few days. It was even -whispered that it might be the plague, for the enormous swelling of the -glands was not unlike it. But Haller would listen to no counsels of -despair, and refused to leave his friend. The kind Madame Masson, too, -the aunt of the Misses Makri, came out from Athens, and the two nursed -him with ceaseless devotion. Haller never left his bedside, night or -day, for the first month. The vice-consul, hearing that the sufferer was -as good as dead, came to take away his keys and put seals upon his -property, and was only prevented by Haller by main force. The same -faithful friend compelled the doctor to do his duty. The first having -deserted his patient, a second was called in and kept attentive by -threats and persuasion. The methods of medicine were inconceivably -barbarous. Bleeding was the great remedy in fever, and calomel the -alternative. When the patient had been brought by this treatment so low -that his heart was thought to have stopped, live pigeons were cut in -half and the reeking portions applied to his breast to restore the vital -heat. Medicine failing, spells were believed in. Madame Masson, though -described as one of the first personages in Athens, could neither read -nor write, and was grossly ignorant. She had a great faith in spells; -and Haller, fearing that in the feeble condition of the patient she -might commit some folly, kept a strict watch upon her. One day, however, -in his absence, when my father was suffering agonies from his glands, -she took the opportunity to tie round his neck a charm of particular -potency. It was a little bag containing some resin, some pitch, a lock -of hair, and two papers, each inscribed with the figure of a pyramid and -other symbols drawn with a pen. They even got so far as to speak of his -burial, and it was settled that it should be in the Theseum, where one -Tweddle, an Englishman, and other foreigners had been interred, and -where Haller himself was laid not many years after. - -The churches were kept lighted night and day for his benefit, and his -nurse attributed his final recovery entirely to the intercession of -Panagia Castriotissa, or "Our Lady of the Acropolis." At length, after -long hovering between life and death, his robust constitution carried -him through, and towards the end of September the doctor advised his -being removed to Athens. He was carried thither in a litter and set down -at Madame Masson's, where he was henceforth to live. Before this episode -was fairly concluded or my father had progressed far in convalescence, a -new cause of agitation arose. Notice was received that Baron Stackelberg -was in the hands of pirates. - -He had been for a tour in Asia Minor, and was on his way back between -Constantinople and Athens, when in crossing the Gulf of Volo he was -taken. His case was even more deplorable than Bronstedt's, for he not -only lost whatever he had with him, and saw his drawings torn to pieces -in sheer malice before his very eyes, but the miscreants claimed an -enormous ransom, amounting to about 3,000l., and sent a notice to his -friends in Athens to the effect that the money must be forwarded -promptly or portions of the prisoner would be sent as reminders. -Meanwhile he had to live with the pirates, and his experiences were no -laughing matter. The ruffians used to show him hideous instruments of -torture to frighten him into paying a higher ransom. They made him sleep -in the open air, which half killed him with fever; and as they had -nowhere to keep him when they went on their marauding expeditions, he -had to go with them. On one occasion he saw a vessel run aground to -avoid capture, and the sailors clamber up the rocks to escape. An old -man who could not follow fast enough was brought in to be sold as a -slave. The rest got away, and one of the pirates, in his fury at being -eluded, in order to slake his thirst for blood seized on a wretched goat -that was grazing by him and cut its throat. Several weeks of this sort -of company and exposure left poor Stackelberg more dead than alive. His -rescue, which was managed with great diplomacy and a splendid disregard -for his own safety by Baron Haller, was finally effected at a cost of -about 500l. - -A Mr. Hughes, in company with Mr. Parker, whom he was "bearleading," -arrived in Athens when my father was recovering; and about the last week -of November, at their invitation, tempted by the opportunity of -travelling with a Tartar and a buyulurdi--that is to say, in security -and with as little discomfort as possible--he consented to join in a -tour to Albania. I shall not give a detailed account of this voyage. It -was over ground everyone has read about. It resulted in no discoveries -and few adventures, and anyone who is curious about it will find it -fully described in Hughes's book. General Davies, quartermaster-general -to the British forces in the Mediterranean, was to form one of the -party. - - -"We set out from Athens on November 29th, a large cavalcade. Two of my -friends, though they had not yet learnt that to travel in these -countries one must sacrifice a little personal comfort, were otherwise -agreeable companions, gentlemanlike and goodhumoured; but I early began -to foresee trouble with the General. He was one of those people who -think everyone who cannot speak English must be either an assassin or a -rogue, and was more unreasonable, unjust, and unaccommodating than any -Englishman I ever met, odious as many of them make themselves abroad. It -rained heavily, but everyone tried to be gay except the general, who -damned gloomily, right and left. - -We went over an interesting country, but as it was all in the clouds we -enjoyed the scenery neither of Parnes nor of Phylæ. Our way was beguiled -by the singing of some of the party. The Tartar especially gave proofs -of a good voice, a very desirable quality in a Greek companion. The -recollection of the scenery of any part of Greece or Asia Minor is bound -up with that of the cheerful roundelays of the guides as one rides -through the mountains, or the soft melodious song of the Anatolian -plains. It is the characteristic thing of Eastern travel. After about -three hours in the clouds we got down into Boeotia and saw below us a -splendid country of mountain, plain, and sea. - -Our Tartar had gone on before us to Thebes, so that when we arrived at -our conachi (lodging) it was all ready for us. It was as well, for the -weather had given Hughes a return of his fever, and he had to lie in -bed. - -Parker and I rode next morning without the others to Platæa. It has an -admirable situation, and its walls are in better preservation and more -interesting and venerable than any I have seen yet. - -We could find nothing interesting at Thebes, so as soon as Hughes was -better we all set out for Livadia. As we were passing through the hills -that separate the respective plains of these two towns a pleasant -coincidence occurred. We fell in with an English traveller, a Mr. Yonge, -who was a friend of Hughes, and was bearing a letter of introduction to -me. After greetings and compliments he gave us the latest European news, -viz. of the grand defeat of the French at Leipsic. Glorious news indeed! - -Hughes being laid up again at Livadia and the General impracticable, -Parker and I made excursions thence to the Cave of Trophonius, -Orchomenus, and Topolias, the point from which one visits the five -emissaries of the Lake Copais. These last struck me as perhaps the most -astonishing work of antiquity known to me. Two are still running, but -the first, third, and fifth are quite dry. At the entrances the mountain -has been cut to a face of thirty or forty feet high at the mouth and not -a tool-mark visible, so they look like the work of nature. I wanted to -go to the other side of the ridge to see the exits, but our guide -assured me that it was too dangerous, because of the pirates who lie in -the mountain in the daytime and would probably catch us. Poor -Stackelberg's misfortune was too recent a warning to be neglected, so I -gave it up. - -All this country, broadly speaking, is quite uncultivated, and inhabited -by immense herds attended by whole families living in huts and -wandering, according to the pasture and season, in parties of perhaps -twenty with horses and mules. They are not Turcomans, such as I saw in -Asia, but are called Vlaki and speak Greek. One can imagine nothing more -picturesque than they are and the mountains they live in. - -Our quarters during our three nights out had been of the roughest, and -when Parker and I got back to Livadia our whole evening was spent in the -bath, ridding ourselves of the fleas and dirt we had been living in. - -Hughes was found to be better, and the General (thank goodness!) tired -out and gone off to Salona. He was an odious individual--got drunk every -day of our absence--and we were well rid of him. We had brought with us -from Athens letters of introduction to the principal Greek merchants, -primates of Livadia, Messrs. Logotheti. On the first day of our arrival -they had come very civilly to call upon us. Now that we were back from -our excursion we returned the visit. The Greeks appear to possess great -wealth and influence here, whereas the Turks are but few in the place, -and those there are speak Greek and to some extent have Greek manners. -When we came into the Logothetis' house we found some actually arguing a -point--a thing not to be thought of among Turks elsewhere: the -affectation of pride among Orientals, so stupefying to themselves and so -exasperating to others, would forbid it. When we came in they rose to -go, leaving Signor Nicola to attend to his foreign guests. Our host gave -us a striking instance of the devices used by well-to-do Greeks to -conceal their wealth from the rapacious Government. He at once led us -out of the room he had received us in at the head of the first landing, -which was reserved for the reception of Turks and was very simple, into -his own apartments, which were exceedingly splendid. There in one corner -of the room was the beautiful Logothetina, wife of a Logotheti nephew, -in bed. Her father went up to her when he came in and she kissed his -hand. One might have thought her being in bed embarrassing, but not at -all; we all sat down and stopped with them for an hour. No one either -said or did much, for those who talked had little to say, and many said -nothing. When Logotheti went home we accompanied him, and very grand he -was, with a large stick in his hand and five or six persons escorting -him--quite in the splendid style of the ancient Greeks. - -It so happened that in the morning while on a visit to the bey, or -waiwode, we heard the reading of a firman bringing the news of the -taking of Belgrade by the Turks. During the reading the primates all -stood up, and when it was concluded all exclaimed: 'Thanks to God for -this success! May our Sultan live!' In the evening we went to dine with -Logotheti. There were a Corfiote doctor and several other Greeks. Our -talk was of their hopes of emancipation, as it always is when one is in -company with Greeks, with the inevitable references to Leonidas and the -Hellenes. - -Our hosts and the other Greeks struck me as heavier and more Boeotian -in appearance than the Greeks I was accustomed to, but also more -polished. The Corfiote, of course, was talkative and ignorant: they -always are. We ate an immense quantity of turkeys--roast, boiled, hashed -and again roasted--fowls and all sorts of poultry dressed in all sorts -of ways, and we drank a great deal of bad wine in toasts to King George, -success to the Greeks, &c. - -As soon as Hughes could move we went on from Livadia by Chæronea to -Castri,[43] the ancient Delphi. Until within the last few years the -region we were now in was impassable owing to robbers, but Ali Pasha's -tyranny has at any rate the merit of an excellent zabete or police, so -that it is now fairly safe. The scenery among the mountains is splendid. -Our visit to Castri was not a long one. Except the Castalian spring and -the stadium, one could make out nothing of the ancient topography. The -whole site is covered with walls running in every sort of direction, -possibly to keep the earth from slipping down the hill. - -In the evening we got to Crisso. - -A buyulurdi such as we carried confers the most arbitrary rights; but it -was not until the protocaro had been cudgelled by our Tartar that we -were able to procure a lodging, a tolerably good one, in the house of -the papa. I reflected how wretched is the position of the Greeks, and -how ungenerous of us Englishmen to live at their expense and assist in -the general oppression; but I was too pleased to get a lodging for the -night to act upon it. - -From Crisso we went to Salona, and here it became necessary to settle -upon our further route. When we came to look into it, it appeared that -the plague is raging in every town on our way by Nepacto and Missalonghi -through Ætolia. Moreover, the roads are rough and infested by robbers, -the horses bad, and in fact the best way to get to Albania seemed to be -to go by sea. This was settled upon accordingly, and we started to do -it. From Salona to the port is a two hours' ride. Thence we set sail in -a felucca. The sea was running very high, the wind was in our teeth, and -though we got to Galaxidi at last, it was not without considerable -peril. I have had a good many adventures, but I do not think I was ever -in greater danger than during those four hours of sailing in that -weather in the dark, and I thanked God heartily when I found myself -ashore. The only lodging we could get was in the guard-house, a filthy -magazine so alive with bugs that after a first failure I gave up all -idea of going to sleep, and sat up with Parker smoking till morning. It -was out of the question going to look for other quarters. The country is -so infested with robbers, who think nothing even of penetrating into -the town and carrying off a primate or so, that arriving late and -knocking at doors we should have been taken for brigands and answered by -pistol shots from the windows. - -In the morning our buyulurdi stood us in good stead. With its help we -were able to get some good fowls and a sheep, bread and rice. Then going -to the shore we made a bargain to be taken to Previsa in a boat. The -voyage was fairly prosperous. The second day we landed at Patras, and -heard the news of the grand defeat of the French confirmed. We set out -again at night and got becalmed, and with difficulty reached a small -port, the Scrofé, beyond the flat at the mouth of the Achelous. Here was -a scampa-via from Santa Maura, and other boats, and we entered with some -trepidation lest we should be taken for pirates and fired upon. - -Here we were detained several days by stormy weather. Getting away we -passed the mouth of the Achelous, and tried to find either of two -excellent ports, Petala and Dragonise; but as they were not marked in -our bad charts we failed, and were finally obliged to put into a creek -not far from Santa Maura, and lay there the greater part of the night, -till the wind blew us off again to sea. At daylight we anchored in the -shallow port of Santa Maura. - -The weather again detained us some days, till we with some difficulty -got across to Previsa. Here the harbour is a fine one, but too shallow -to admit large vessels, and with an awkward bar. The shore is all -desolation and misery, with one exception, the palace of the vizier, -which is splendid. The foundations on the side towards the sea are all -of stones from Actium and the neighbouring San Pietro, the ancient -Nicopolis. - -In Venetian days Previsa had no fortifications. Now the pasha has made -it quite a strong place, with several forts and a deep ditch across the -isthmus, though the cannon, to be sure--which are old English ones of -all sorts and sizes--are in the worst possible order, their carriages -ill-designed, and now rotten as well. The population has fallen from -16,000, to 5,000 at the outside, mostly Turks. - -We went of course to Nicopolis. The ruins are most interesting. There -are the theatre, the baths, the odeum, and the walls of the city, all in -fair preservation and most instructive: the latter especially, as an -example of ancient fortification. An aqueduct, which is immensely high, -brought water from nine hours off. - -We went from Previsa, in a scampa-via belonging to the vizier, to -Salona, the port for Arta. It consists of only two houses, the Customs -house and the serai of the vizier. In the latter we got lodgings for the -night, and bespoke some returning caravan horses to carry us to Arta. -The road, 25 feet wide, is one which has been lately made for the vizier -by a wretched Cephaloniote engineer across otherwise impassable flats. -It is not finished yet; 800 to 1,000 men are still at work upon it. -There is no doubt that this road and the canal from Arta to Previsa, as -well as the destruction of the Suliotes, who made this part of the world -impassable to travellers without a large escort, are public benefits to -be put to Ali Pasha's credit. - -Arta is a flourishing place under the special eye of the vizier. The -bazaar is considerable, and there is every sign of industry. - -We left it about midday. The ice was thick on the pools and the road -hard with frost. Passing the bridge, we got again on to the vizier's new -road. The Cephaloniote superintendent, who was very desirous that we -should express to the vizier great admiration for the work, was -assiduous in doing the honours of it. After various stoppages, at last, -at seven o'clock, nearly frozen, we reached the khan of Five Wells. - -A rousing fire we made to warm ourselves by was no use, for it smoked so -intolerably that it drove us out again to walk about in the cold till -the room was clear. Our only distraction was a Tartar we fell in with -who had lately been to Constantinople by land, and his account of the -journey is enough to make one shudder. - -He passed through no less than nineteen vilayets, or towns, in which -the plague was raging. At Adrianople the smell of the dead was so great -that his companion fell ill. At the next place he asked at the post if -there was any pest. 'A great deal, God be praised,' was the reply. At -another town, in answer to inquiries he was told 'half the town is dead -or fled, but God is great.' - -What a miserable country! - -Next day, riding along a paved way, we got to Janina or Joannina, the -capital of Ali Pasha. - -The first _coup d'oeil_ of the great town and the lake is certainly -impressive, but not so much so as I had expected. Once inside the town -the thing that struck me most was the splendid dress of all ranks and -the shabby appearance we Franks presented. - -We made for the house of our minister, George Foresti, with whom we -dined, and there met Colonel Church, just arrived from Durazzo." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[42] Grandfather of the present Lord Leigh. - -[43] By a convention with the Greek Government made in 1891, the French -Government obtained power to buy out the inhabitants of Castri and -remove the village in order to excavate the site. The ancient topography -is now well ascertained. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -ALI PASHA--PSALLIDA--EUPHROSYNE--MUKHTAR--STARTS FOR A TRIP TO -SULI--CASSIOPEIA--UNABLE TO FORD RIVER--TURNS BACK TO JANINA--LEAVES TO -RETURN TO ATHENS--CROSSES THE PINDUS THROUGH THE SNOW--MALAKASH--A -ROBBER--METEORA--TURKISH RULE--THE MONASTERY--BY TRIKHALA, PHERSALA, -ZITUNI, THERMOPYLÆ AND LIVADIA TO ATHENS. - - -"Next day, as the vizier wished to see us, and we of course to see him, -Foresti took us to the palace he was living in for the moment. He has no -less than eight in the town. This one is handsome, but the plan is as -usual ill-contrived, and there was much less magnificence than I had -expected. - -We were first led into the upper apartments to await his leisure, and -found there a number of fine youths, not very splendidly dressed. After -half an hour of waiting we were led into a low room, in the corner of -which sat this extraordinary man. He welcomed us politely and said he -hoped we had had a good journey and would like Janina, and desired that -if there was anything we lacked we would mention it, for that he -regarded us as his children, and his house and family were at our -disposal. He next asked if any of us spoke Greek; and hearing that I -did, asked me when I had learnt it, and how long I had remained in -Athens. Then, observing that Hughes was near the fire, he ordered in a -screen in the shape of a large vessel of water, saying that young men -did not require fire, only old men; and in saying this he laughed with -so much _bonhomie_, his manner was so mild and paternal and so charming -in its air of kindness and perfect openness, that I, remembering the -blood-curdling stories told of him, could hardly believe my eyes. -Finally, he said he hoped to improve our acquaintance, and begged us to -stay on. We, however, bowed ourselves out. - -The number and richness of the shops is surprising, and the bustle of -business is such as I have not seen since leaving Constantinople. We -understood that when the vizier first settled at Janina in '87--that is, -twenty-seven years ago--there were but five or six shops in the place: -now there are more than 2,000. The city has immensely increased, and we -passed through several quarters of the town which are entirely new. - -The fortresses on the promontory into the lake are of the vizier's -building. He has always an establishment of 3,000 soldiers, 100 Tartars -(the Sultan himself has but 200), a park of artillery presented him by -the English, and German and other French artillerymen. We seem to have -supplied him also with arms and ammunition in his wars with Suli and -other parts of Epirus. Perhaps it is not much to our honour to have -assisted a tyrant in dispossessing or exterminating the lawful owners of -the soil, who only fought for their own liberty; but one must remember -that, picturesque as they were and desperately as they fought, they were -nothing but robbers and freebooters and the scourge of the country. - -We passed the 6th of January with Psallida, who is master of a school in -Janina. He is, for this country, a learned man. Besides Greek, he speaks -Latin and very bad Italian, but as far as manners go he is a mere -barbarian. From him I had an account of the Gardiki massacre.[44] I -occupied a wet three days in drawing an interior view of a kiosk of the -vizier's at the Beshkey Gardens at the north end of the town. Then I got -a costume and drew the figures in. Psallida dined with us one day and -entertained us with an account of the fair and frail Euphrosyne, who was -a celebrity here. Her fate was made the subject of a ballad preserved in -Leslie. The story is certainly an awful tragedy. She was of good family -and married to a respectable man. Without possessing more education than -is usual with Greek ladies she had, besides her great beauty, a natural -wit which, with a good deal of love of admiration, soon attracted round -her a host of admirers, and she became a reigning beauty. Mukhtar, the -son of Ali, who is a dissolute fellow, was attracted by her, and, -cutting out his competitors, became her acknowledged lover. His wife, -whom he entirely neglected for his new passion, was a daughter of the -Vizier of Berat, whose friendship Ali was at that time particularly -anxious to cultivate; and when she complained to her father-in-law of -his son's conduct, he (Ali) determined to put a stop to it. At the head -of his guard he burst at midnight into the room of Euphrosyne, and after -calling her the seducer of his son and other names, he forced her to -give up whatever presents he had made her, and had her led off to prison -with her maid. Next day, in order to make a terrifying example to check -the immorality of the town in general and his son in especial, he had -nine other women of known bad character arrested, and they and -Euphrosyne were led to the brink of the precipice over the lake on which -the fortress stands. Her faithful maid refused to desert her, and she -and Euphrosyne, linked in each other's arms, leapt together down the -fatal rock, as did all the others. - -Mukhtar has never forgotten his attachment or forgiven his father, or -even seen his wife again, and from having been a gay and frank youth he -has become gloomy and ferocious without being less dissolute than -before. The court he keeps is a sad blackguard affair, a great contrast -to the austere sobriety of his father's. - -We called in the evening (January 14) to take leave of Ali Pasha. He was -on that day in the Palace of the Fortress at the extremity of the rock -over the lake. We passed through the long gallery described by Byron, -and into a low anteroom, from which we entered a very handsome -apartment, very warm with a large fire in it, and with crimson sofas -trimmed with gold lace. There was Ali, to-day a truly Oriental figure. -He had a velvet cap, a prodigious fine cloak; he was smoking a long -Persian pipe, and held a book in his hand. Foresti says he did this on -purpose to show us he could read. Hanging beside him was a small gun -magnificently set with diamonds, and a powder-horn; on his right hand -also was a feather fan. To his left was a window looking into the -courtyard, in which they were playing at the djerid, and in which nine -horses stood tethered in their saddles and bridles, as though ready for -instant use. I am told this is a piece of form or etiquette. - -At first his reception seemed less cordial than before, whether by -design or no, and he took very little notice of us. He showed us some -leaden pieces of money, and a Spanish coin just found by some country -people, and asked us what they were. Then he said he wished he had a -coat of beaver such as he had seen on the Danube. He asked Parker -whether he had a mother and brothers, and when he heard he was the only -son he said it was a sin that he should leave his mother. Why did not he -stay at home? - -On January 15 we went to call on Mukhtar Pasha. We found him rough, -open, and goodhumoured, without any of the inimitable grace of his -father, which makes everything Ali says agreeable, however trivial the -subject may be. Mukhtar's talk was flat. He was very fond of sport--were -we? It was very hot in summer at Trikhala. He had killed so and so many -birds; there were loose women at Dramishush; it was a small place, but -he would send a man to see that we were properly accommodated; and so -on--very civil and rather dull. He smoked a Persian pipe brought him by -a beautiful boy very richly dressed, with his hair carefully combed, and -another brought him coffee; while coffee and pipes were brought to us by -particularly ugly ones. On the sofa beside him were laid out a number of -snuff-boxes, mechanical singing birds, and things of that sort. The -serai itself was handsome in point of expense, but in the miserable -taste now in vogue in Constantinople. The decoration represented painted -battle-pieces, sieges, fights between Turks and Cossacks, wild men, and -abominations of that sort; while in the centre of the pediment is a -pasha surrounded by his guard, and in front of them a couple of Greeks -just hanged, as a suitable ornament for the palace of a despot. - -On the 16th we set out early for an excursion to Cassiopeia and Suli, -across the fine open field behind Janina, past the village of Kapshisda, -over a low chain of hills south-west of Janina. Then, after a climb of -over an hour, we entered a pass, and presently saw Dramishush in front, -on the side of a high mountain. - -Cassiopeia is on a gentle height in the middle of a valley. The -situation is beautiful, and the theatre the largest and best preserved I -have seen in Greece. - -Next morning we dismissed Mukhtar Pasha's man who had escorted us so -far, and went on south-westwards along the edge of the valley of -Cassiopeia. As it grew narrower we climbed a ridge which overhung an -awful depth, went over a high mountain, and reached Bareatis, a small -village in a pass with a serai of Ali Pasha's, in which he lived for a -length of time during the war of Suli. Three and a half hours further on -we came to Terbisena, the first village of Suli. It had been pouring all -day, and we were not only wet and cold when we arrived but the hovel we -got as a lodging let in the water everywhere, and here, huddled in the -driest corner we could find, we had to sleep and spend the next day. - -On the 19th the weather was fine again, and we went on hoping to find -the river fordable, but when we got to the bank we found it rapid and -deep. One of our Turks, after a good deal of boasting, plunged in, and -in an instant sank, and the torrent was carrying him and his horse -floundering away. Another of his brother Turks, seeing him carried down, -called loudly on Allah, and stroked his beard in great tribulation, but -without stirring a stump. In another minute the man would have been -drowned, but our servant Antonetti, who was but a Christian, very -pluckily ran in and clawed him out. The poor boaster was already -senseless when we got him to land. We took him back to Dervishina, and -gradually brought him round, when instead of thanking his stars for his -narrow escape, or Antonetti for the plucky part he had played, he did -nothing but lament the loss of his gun, 'Tofeki,' which he had himself -won, he said, and of his shawl which had cost him 50 piastres. We -promised to make the latter good, and left him to rest. - -The whole incident was in all senses a damper to our ardour. When we -considered that to pass this river we must wait one day at least, and -probably four days to get across the one near Suli, the expenditure of -time seemed to us all, at least so I thought, greater than we cared to -devote to the expedition. So the long and short of it was that we turned -back and slept at Bareatis. Next day we got back to Janina. I made up my -mind now that I was wasting time over this trip, and wished to get back -to Athens. But before leaving I thought it my duty to call once more on -Ali Pasha. A most agreeable old man he is. I was more than ever struck -with the easy familiarity and perfect good humour of his manners. We -found him in a low apartment with a fire in the middle, generally used -for his Albanians and known as laapoda. Then we went to see -Pouqueville,[45] the French resident. We found him with his brother, -both of them the worst type of Frenchmen--vulgar, bragging, genuine -children of the Revolution. Nothing worth remembering was said, but I -did gather this from his tone--that the Empire in France is not likely -to last. - -On the 26th my friends, for a wonder, got up early, and we all set out -in a boat for a small village where we were to find my horses. There we -bid farewell and I mounted. It came on to rain, and I arrived, wet -through, at the Three Khans to sleep. - -Next day the rain became snow, but I set out nevertheless for Mezzovo. -We had to ford the river several times, and for the last hour to Mezzovo -were up to our middles in snow. The scenery was magnificent, and the -country is well cultivated. Mezzovo is a Vlaki or Wallachian village; -the people speak a sort of mixed Greek. They are exceedingly industrious -and well-to-do. - -Artistically I do not know that I have gained much, but I do not regret -the time I have spent in Albania. The climate is more bracing than that -of the rest of Greece, and has set me up after my illness. The scenery, -though it cannot be at its best in winter, is most beautiful, and the -inhabitants are a fine race--not handsome, but hardy and energetic. An -Albanian has very few wants. A little bread of calambochi or Indian -corn, an onion, and cheese is abundant fare to him. If he changes his -linen five times in the year, that is the outside. A knife and a pistol -in his girdle and his gun by his side, he sleeps quite well in the open -air with his head on a stone and the lappel of his jacket over his face. -In summer and winter he wears a fez. His boots are only goatskin -sandals, which he makes himself. His activity in them over rocks is -surprising. - -As for Ali Pasha's government, one has to remember what a chaotic state -the country was in before he made himself master of it. The accounts one -gets from the elders make it clear what misery there was. No stranger -could travel in it, nor could the inhabitants themselves get about. -Every valley was at war with its neighbour, and all were professional -brigands. All this Ali has reduced to order. There is law--for everyone -admits his impartiality as compared with that of rulers in other parts -of Turkey--and there is commerce. He has made roads, fortified the -borders, put down brigandage, and raised Albania into a power of some -importance in Europe. - -That in arriving at this end he has often used means which civilised -nations disapprove is no doubt true, but there has been in the first -place gross exaggeration as to the crimes attributed to him: for -instance, that he sees fifteen or twenty heads cut off every day before -breakfast, whereas in point of fact there has not been such a thing as a -public execution in the past year; and then, in the second, one must -make allowance for the ferocious manners amongst which he was brought -up. - -On the 29th of January, as the weather seemed favourable, we set out -eagerly to cross Pindus. The snow was deep in places, but for the first -hour and a half we had no great difficulty. It was the last half-hour -before getting to the top that was worst. The road is desperately steep -up a precipice, and the snow was above the horses' girths. Our -chamalides, however, waded through it, often up to their middles, and, -carrying the loads on their own shoulders, lifted the horses by their -tails and heads alternately, I hardly know how. Although I constantly -slipped down on the steep incline, I was so eager to see the view that I -was the first at the top. Towards the interior it was glorious: the feet -of Pindus rooting themselves far into the country, which, although -mountainous, was free from snow; conspicuous was Elymbo (Olympus), the -top capped with snow, but the form of it is not beautiful. To the north -were other snow-capped mountains. Behind us westward the air was so -thick one could see nothing. The west side of the hills is covered with -fir, while the east seems to have nothing but oak and birch--quantities -of it, but all small trees. As we went down we noticed on the trunks of -them the marks of the snow of the year before last, which must have been -ten or twelve feet deep. Three and a half hours from our start we got to -a khan, where we made a good fire and congratulated ourselves on having -got over the hills so well and escaped the fatana--the wind the -mountaineers dread. - -Our next stage was to Malakash, a Vlaki town. It was astonishing the way -our chamalides bore the fatigue of forcing our way through the snow, -which was still five or six feet deep in places. They cut a way for the -horses, which were constantly falling down and half smothering -themselves in the drifts. - -From there we followed the course of the river for six hours, and -crossed it fifty times at least. On the way we passed a dervish, an -Albanian. He was seated on a sort of balcony, very high up, and had a -gun in his hand, which he pointed at me and called on me to stop and -pay. The sight of the Tartar, however, brought him to reason. Without -one a traveller is exposed to great insult from such ruffians. As it -was, a poor wretch who tried to pass himself off as one of our party was -forced to stop and pay his quota. - -In the afternoon we arrived at Meteora, the strange rocks of which we -had seen from some distance up the river. We were given quarters in the -house of a Cypriote Greek, from whom I learnt a good deal of the -terrible exactions of Veli Pasha, in whose dominions we now were. Our -host and his two sons, poor wretches with hardly a fez to their heads -and mere sandals bound with a thong to their feet, came to welcome us. -After the first compliments they fell into the tale of their woes. Their -taxes were so heavy that unless the new year were abundantly fruitful -the village must be bankrupt and become 'chiflik' or forfeit. When a -village is unable to pay its taxes, the vizier, as universal mortgagee, -forecloses and the land becomes his private property and the villagers -his slaves. This is becoming 'chiflik.' - -While we were sitting and talking of these troubles a great noise was -heard below. Two Albanians, being refused conachi, had broken in the -door of a house and entered by force, and the soubashi was gone out to -quell the riot. He very properly refused them any kind of reception and -drove them out to the khan. - -My hosts had roasted me a fowl, but my heart was so full I could -scarcely eat. How long will it please God to afflict these wretched -people with such monstrous tyranny? Besides the exactions of the -Government, scoundrels such as these Albanians infest the villages, -force their way in houses and eat and drink immoderately and pay -nothing. To ease my mind, when the daughter of my host brought me some -raisins to eat with my wine I gave her a dollar. She seemed hardly to -believe her eyes at first, then took it and kissed my hand. - -Next morning, January 31st, I ascended to the principal monastery of -Meteora. After a tiring walk of half an hour, winding among the crags of -this strange place, we came to the foot of the rock on which it is -perched, and found that the ladder commonly used, which is made in -joints five or six feet long, had been drawn up. We called to the -papades who were aloft to let down the rope and net. After some -hallooing, down it came, a circular net with the meshes round the -circumference gathered on a hook. Michael and myself, with my drawing -materials, got in and were drawn up by a windlass. To swing in mid-air -trusting to a rope not so thick as my wrist and 124 feet long (I -measured it) is anything but pleasant. I shall not forget my sensations -as I looked out through the meshes of the net as we were spinning round -in the ascent. There was a horrible void below--sheer precipices on each -side, and then the slipping of the rope as it crossed on the windlass. -Once up, we were pulled in at the entrance, the hook drawn out, and we -were set at liberty. The company that received us were some wretched -papades, as ignorant as possible. They could tell me next to nothing -about their monastery, except that on the occasion of an invasion of the -Turks, a bey of Trikhala, one Joseph Ducas, had retired hither and -established it and seventeen others. The buildings of ten of them still -exist, but only two or three are still inhabited. The church here is a -very good one, and there is a chapel of Constantine. The view is -magnificent. I gave a dollar to the young priest who took me round, -desiring him to use it for any purpose of the church; but I found, from -what my peasant guide told me when we had got down, that the scamp had -pocketed it for his own use, for that the chief papa had asked him as we -were about to leave, if the stranger would not leave some parahs for the -church. It was a lovely day, and beneath me, from the village, passed a -procession of a bridegroom going to a neighbouring village to fetch his -bride. His mother was on one side of his horse, another relative on the -other; before him a male relation carried a flag, and behind came all -his friends and family in their best dresses with guns on their -shoulders, making a gallant show. It was a pretty sight. - -We left Kalabaki by Meteora, and reached Trikhala about sunset. The -solitude of the town and the vastness of the cemeteries gave one the -creeps; and hearing that the plague was in the town at that moment, I -mounted again, and rode four hours further to a khan and slept there. - -Next day we rode to Phersala (twelve hours); but the plague being there -also, we proceeded a further four hours to a khan under Thaumaco -(sixteen hours' riding). From Meteora to Phersala is one uninterrupted -plain which I thought would never end. I saw many villages, but much -misery--especially in Trikhala and Phersala. - -Next day we got to Zituni (six hours) about noon. I did not venture to -stay on account of the plague, and passed on to Molo, at which we -arrived in the evening, passing through the Straits of Thermopylæ. - -Molo is a village of only 200 houses, and yet forty persons had died of -the plague in it in the last three days. The terrified inhabitants had -fled to the mountains, and we found only two hangees (men attached to -the han) to receive us. We meant to have slept here, but the cats and -dogs howled so terribly (always a symptom of the plague) that I could -not sleep in comfort; so as the moon shone bright, we mounted and rode -six hours further to a village opposite Parnassus, passing in safety the -fountain famous for robbers who are almost always stationed there. The -scenery here is very fine and romantic. In six hours more, after -crossing two little plains besides that of Chæronæa, we arrived at -Livadia (February 3rd). What between the cold, the horror of the plague, -and the fatigue, it had been an appalling journey." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[44] The Gardiki massacre took place about 1799. In Ali's youth, his -tower had been stormed by the people of Gardiki and his mother and -sister outraged--at least, so he said. He nursed his revenge for forty -years, and then gratified it by massacring the whole population of the -village. - -[45] Author of a valuable account of Greece at this time. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -ATHENS--TO ZANTE FOR SALE OF PHIGALEIAN MARBLES--RETURNS TO -ATHENS--FEVER--SPENCER STANHOPE--TRIP TO MARATHON, ETC.--RAMAZAN--LIVING -OUT IN THE COUNTRY--A PICNIC AT SALAMIS--PRESENTED WITH A BLOCK OF -PANATHENAIC FRIEZE--TRIP TO ÆGINA--LEAVES ATHENS FOR ITALY. - - -My father seems to have got back to Athens to his old quarters at Madame -Masson's with Haller and Stackelberg, and there remained. He kept a -diary only under the excitement of travel or novelty, and as the sights -and society of Athens were too familiar to stir him, there is no precise -record of how he passed his time; but he says in a letter that he -intends to spend his winter in completing the Ægina and Phigaleian -drawings. After all, it was only two or three months he had to be there. -The Phigaleian Marbles were to be sold in Zante in May, and this time he -meant to be present. The fiasco of the Ægina Marbles in his absence was -a warning of what might happen again if the sale were not properly -looked after; and as Gropius after his failure had been dismissed from -his functions as agent (although still part proprietor) the necessary -work had to be done by the others--each one probably communicating with -his own Government. He had taken care that his (the British) should be -kept properly posted up. In consequence, everything went off without a -hitch. In May he went to Zante. The marbles were sold to General -Campbell,[46] commandant of the Ionian Islands, acting on behalf of -H.R.H. the Prince Regent, and were already packed up for transport on -the 12th of July. - -During his stay in Zante my father made many elaborate drawings of the -Phigaleian bas-reliefs, with a view to determining their relative -positions for the book, and he now returned to Athens to go on with it. -He arrived on the 11th of July. But his health was no longer able to -bear an Athenian summer. In August he writes: - - -"A most tiresome fever has been worrying me for the past month, -sometimes leaving me for a few days, at others rendering me incapable of -doing anything. Few people, even natives, escape it, either in this or -any other summer. Such is the fine climate of Greece, which poets would -persuade you is a paradise, whereas really hyperborean England, with all -her fogs, has still the best in the world.... - -I am summing up a few observations, wonderfully _savant_ and deep, on -the temples we are preparing for publication, and the Grecian -architecture in general. Between you and me, I verily flatter myself, we -understand it practically better than anybody--as indeed we ought to. I -arrived from Zante on the 11th July. While I was there I received a very -fresh (!) letter from home of twenty-nine days. - -I was rejoiced to find here my friends and old schoolfellows, Spencer -Stanhope and his brother. Conceive our pleasure talking at Athens over -Westminster stories and all our adventures since we left. He, poor -fellow, has been a prisoner in France for two and a half years, having -been taken in Spain owing to the treachery of a Gibraltar vessel, which -took him into the port of Barcelona. He is now exploring and excavating -(at his own expense) for the French Government as the condition for his -freedom! A few days later he and I made a trip to Marathon. We proceeded -to Rhamnos, and sleeping a night at a fountain near by, visited in the -morning the Temple of Nemesis and stayed there the whole day. It had -been well examined, and by this time will have been published by -Gell[47] and Gandy. We then went on to a village near which we had the -good fortune to find Tanagra, the situation of which had never yet been -known. We could trace the whole circuit of the walls and a theatre. -Thence to Aulis, the walls of which are easily traceable; then we -crossed the bridge over the Euripos into Euboea. The town of Negropont -is a wretched place, inhabited by nothing but Turks. The fortress is -ruined and contemptible, and the cannon out of order, as usual, although -it is by way of being one of the principal fortresses in these parts. -The more one sees of the Turks the more one is astonished at their -prolonged rule in these countries. We visited a bey in this place who -had a set of maps, and was considered one of the most enlightened men in -the town. He produced them immediately he saw us, and boasted of his -extensive knowledge on the subject, and the respect the bystanders paid -this philosopher was perfectly delightful. The usual custom, before -making a visit to these great personages, is to send them an offering of -two or three pounds of sugar or coffee, and I thought he seemed rather -offended at our exempting ourselves, as Englishmen, from this tribute. -Next day we went along the seashore, riding through delightful gardens -and olive groves, to Eretria, which has not been seen by modern -travellers. It must have been a great city, little less than three miles -in circumference. The whole extent of the walls and theatres is still -visible. - -The greater part of Greece is naturally a rich and productive country. -This needs no better proof than the immense population to which the -ruins still remaining bear testimony. The ruins of towns of immense -extent and close to each other are found everywhere, and now it is a -desert. Neither plague, pestilence, nor famine is so destructive as -tyranny. We returned to Athens on the tenth day. - -We hear that the plague is raging at Constantinople, Salonica, and -Smyrna; whereas Athens, with the Morea and Greece in general, though -surrounded on all sides by it, has escaped. - -The festival of Ramazan is being celebrated. The bazaar has been well -sprinkled with water, and lights are hung before every shop. The -caffanee (coffee shops) are all open and lighted, as well as the -balconies of the mosques. All day, if any Turks are seen, they are -walking about in their best, with long wands, but looking very cross, -and not lightly to be accosted by a Greek. At kinde (sunset) the imams -call, and the faithful, having fasted from sunrise, not having smoked or -even drunk a drop of water, sit down with holy zeal to the very best -meal their funds can afford, for it is accounted a crime at this feast -to deny themselves what the heart desires. After this the mosque, gaily -lighted, is filled with songs and prayer and thanksgiving. Later on the -streets are filled. Each in his best enjoys whatever pleasures and -amusements the town has to offer--_ombres chinoises_, long stories from -the 'Arabian Nights,' music, chess-playing, &c. Above all, the women now -have liberty. They go about in parties, unmasked, visiting, feasting, -and amusing themselves, and the whole place is a continual Vauxhall -from sunset to sunrise. At midnight the imam again ascends to the -minaret with a chorus, who sing a solemn and beautiful hymn, far more -impressive than the finest bells in Christendom. The words begin-- - - - Arise, arise, and pray, for ye know not the hour of death. - - -Towards the morning passes the dumbanum, a huge drum which a man beats -as he goes; while another accompanies him in a sort of sing-song, -calling up each householder and bidding him eat his pillau, for the -morning is near. He winds up with good wishes and kind terms, for which, -at the end of the Ramazan, he expects a present. My name was brought in. -What do you think of Cockarella to rhyme with Canella? - -From the minaret a beggar is crying for charity and threatening to throw -himself down unless he gets it. He goes there at the same hour every day -till he has got what he wants. - -The wife of the old disdar (commandant of the castle) died a few days -ago. She was one of the first ladies of the place, and a respectable -good woman. Everyone was touched with the disdar's lamentation. 'She was -the ship in which all my hopes were embarked. She was the port in which -I took shelter from all the storms and troubles of the world; in her my -comforts and joys were confided; she was the anchor in which I -trusted.' Each morning he has visited her tomb, and, causing water to be -brought, has poured it around that her remains may be refreshed. Three -days after, as is the custom, the elders of his relations went to him, -desiring that he should marry again. But he refused, looking, as he -said, soon to follow his wife. - -_October 30._--I have been having continual relapses of this abominable -fever ever since August. The worst was in the beginning of this month, -and it has taken me till now to get over it. After having leeches on, I -had removed one of the bandages too soon, and lost a greater quantity of -blood than was intended. - -It is impossible to describe the feebleness this fever leaves. I -sometimes felt as if I was breathing out my soul, and had ceased to -belong to this world at all. I lost all interest in my pursuits. - -I should have been badly off indeed if it had not been for Madame -Masson. She had been a second mother to me, and more attentive in this -and in all my other illnesses than any attendants I could have hired. As -soon as I was a little better she was so good as to accompany me to a -monastery in the Sacred Way, some little distance from Athens, to which -I had been advised to go for change of air. There was only one old woman -there to take care of the keys, and in the big deserted place we were -like two owls in a barn. I cannot say it was gay. I passed most of my -time in sleeping, for that has been the chief effect of my weakness, -and what little was left in reading. Occasionally we were favoured with -a visit by some of our Athenian friends, who brought their provisions -with them, as their custom is. The monastery stands in a beautiful dell -or pass through the mountains. On one side is a beautiful view of the -bay and mountains of Eleusis, and on the other, of the Plain of Athens, -with the long forest of olive trees between us and the Acropolis, which -dominates the plain and is backed by Hymettus. On the right is the -Piræus, at no great distance. I could not enjoy this lovely scene. Alas! -one can enjoy nothing with a low fever. And now, after a stay of a -fortnight, we are just returned, and I am not much the better for it. - -But one of the last days I was there I was tempted by my friend Linckh -to ride to Piræus, to join in celebrating the anniversary of the victory -of Salamis--the 25th October--by a fête on the island of Psytalia, where -the thickest of the fight was waged. He had assembled a large party of -Athenians, who, to tell the truth, were more intent on the feast than on -the occasion of it. We embarked from Piræus in a large boat, accompanied -by music--to wit, fiddles and tambourines--as is the Athenian fashion, -and a great cargo of provisions which were to be prepared while the -modern Athenians contemplated the interesting scene before us, and were -to weep over the fall of their country since those glorious days, &c. -&c. All set out in the greatest glee. Beyond the port, in the open sea, -some countenances began to change; though we had almost a calm, some -began to feel the effects of the 'gentle motion' and hung their heads -over the side, while several pinched each other with fear and anxiety at -our distance from _terra firma_. Gradually all became silence. Then some -murmurs began to arise, together with advice and recommendation to the -sailors to row gently and hold fast. A council of war sat, and agreed -_nem. con._ that it would be best to return to the nearest land. A small -bay was found and all leapt ashore, crossing themselves and thanking -their stars for their deliverance. A fire was lighted, the lamb roasted -in no time, a cloth laid on the ground, and all set to. The Greeks of -old could not have attacked the Persians with more ardour than these -moderns did the turkeys and lamb before us. The bottle went round apace, -and all soon began to glorify themselves, the demoiselles also playing -their part; and when at length, and not until at length, the desire of -eating and drinking was accomplished, each one filched the remaining -sweets off the table as she found her opportunity. Music's soft -enchantment then arose, and the most active began a dance, truly -bacchanalian, while the rest lingered over the joys of the table. Punch -crowned the feast. All was rapture; moderation was no longer observed, -and the day closed with a pelting of each other with the bones of the -slain, amidst dancing, singing, and roars of laughter or applause. I -venture to assert most positively that not one thought was given to the -scene before us, or the occasion, by any one member of the party except -my friend Linckh and the [Greek: didaskalos], the schoolmaster of -Athens, who, having brought tools for the purpose, carved on the rock an -inscription which will one day be interesting to those who may chance to -light upon it a thousand years hence--'Invitation [or repast] in memory -of the immortal Salaminian combat.' Our party embarked not till after -sunset; and though the sea was twice as high and the wind as contrary as -it was coming, such are the powers of nectar and ambrosia that all -conducted themselves with uncommon courage and resolution. Choruses, -Dutch and Athenian, beguiled the way, and all was harmony except the -music. So one might have hoped the day might have concluded; but no! the -Greek fire, once lighted, is not so easily quenched. I, as an invalid, -and exceedingly tired with so much pleasure, retired to my cell in a -monastery where we were all to pass the night, and some of my friends -kindly gave me a coverlet and a sort of bed, on which I threw myself; -but not until long after midnight did the music or the dancing cease, or -I or any sober person get a chance of sleep. We got away next day, but -not without difficulty; for the Athenians are like our journeymen: when -once they are out on the spree they must carry it on for a week. - -We are now in Athens again, and I have just returned to my work-table -covered with the dust of so many lost days. This waste of time is -terrible. Altogether, out of twenty-four months spent in Athens, seven -have been passed in illness. If ever I get away from this country in -health and safety, how I shall thank my stars!" - - -It was in these last days of his stay in Athens that he became possessed -of a portion of the Panathenaic frieze of the Parthenon in the following -strange manner. The disdar or commandant of the castle on the Acropolis -was by now an old friend of Cockerell's, and had ended by becoming -exceedingly attached to him. When he understood from the latter, who -came to pay him a farewell visit, that he was leaving for good, he told -him that he would make him a present. He said he knew that Cockerell was -very fond of old sculptured stones, so if he liked to bring a cart to -the base of the Acropolis at a certain hour at night (it could not be -done in the daytime for fear of giving offence to the Greeks) he would -give him something. Cockerell kept the appointment with the cart. As -they drew near there was a shout from above to look out, and without -further warning the block which forms the right-hand portion of Slab I. -of the South Frieze now in the British Museum was bowled down the -cliff. Such a treatment of it had not been anticipated, but it was too -late for regrets. The block was put on to the cart, taken down to the -Piræus, and shipped at once. Cockerell presented it to the British -Museum, and its mutilated appearance bears eloquent testimony to its -rough passage down the precipices of the Acropolis. - - -"My fever continued to harass me until I took a trip to Ægina, which I -made for the purpose of change of air, as well as of correcting and -revising our drawings of the Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius. In both -respects I have succeeded beyond my hopes. I am now in perfect health, -and have made some improvements and additions to our observations which -will be of importance to our work. Taking ladders from here, I have also -succeeded in measuring the columns of a temple supposed to have been -that of Venus--I think Hecate--which are of universally admired -proportion, and so high that hitherto no travellers have been able to -manage them. Only two columns still exist. They belong, I found, to the -posticum between the antæ. In digging at their base to prove this, I -came upon a very beautiful foot in a sandal, life-size, of Parian -marble, of precisely the same school and style as those of our -Panhellenian discovery.[48] You may imagine I counted on nothing less -than finding a collection as interesting and extensive as the other. I -procured, with some difficulty, authority from the archons of the -island, and struck a bargain by which they were to have one half of the -produce of the excavation, which was to be made at my expense, and I the -other, with a first refusal of purchasing their portion. I dug for three -days without finding the smallest fragment, and, what was worse, -satisfied myself that it had been dug over and re-dug a hundred times, -the foundations of the temple having served time out of mind as a quarry -for the Æginetans. The money spent was not very great, the time wasted -was all to the good of my health, and I was able to make a curious -observation on the foundations of the building. Greek temples are -commonly on rock. This was not; and the foundations were no less than 14 -to 15 feet deep, the first three courses of well-cut stone, the last set -in mortar on a wall of small stones in mortar, at the sides of which is -a rubble-work of largish stones beaten down with sea sand and charcoal -and bones of sacrifices. Underneath, again, are other courses of -well-cut stones which form a solid mass under the whole temple. - -I have also with great difficulty, since there are no carpenters in this -country, ascertained what I spoke of before as a matter of -conjecture--viz. the entasis or swelling of the Greek columns. A -straight line stretched from the capital to the base showed the -swelling at about a third of the height to be in the Temple of Minerva -an inch, in that of Ægina half an inch, which is the same proportion in -both. The ruined state of the columns of the Theseum makes it less easy -to ascertain the exact swelling. Those of Minerva Polias and the -Erechtheum are also swelled. I have no doubt that it was a general rule -with the Greek architects, though it has hitherto escaped the eyes of -Stuart and our most accurate observers." - - -Cockerell had long been anxious to get into Italy. There alone could he -see and study an architecture in some measure applicable to modern -needs, if he was ever to become a practical architect. For four years he -had been studying abstract beauty, practising his hand in landscape -painting, interesting himself in archæology, and generally, except for -his vigour and perseverance, behaving as many a gentleman at large might -have done whose place in the English world was already made for him. But -he had a position to win, and in one of the most arduous of professions, -for which all this unsettling life was not merely not preparing him but -actually making him unfit. - -Since his first startling success at Ægina, he had been led on from one -expedition to another, losing sight for months together, in the easy -life and simple conditions which surrounded him, of the keen competition -in the crush of London for which he ought to be girding himself. He had -been forming a taste, but a taste in the externals and details of -building only. Of composition and of planning he had seen as yet no fine -example and had learnt nothing. There was nothing left for him to do in -Greece. He had traversed it in all directions, seen every place of -interest, and whenever there appeared a prospect of finding anything -with the moderate means at his disposal, he had tried digging. - -Under Napoleon's continental system Italy of course was closed to -Englishmen, but to Bavarians it was accessible, and Cockerell had often -talked with Haller of the possibility of smuggling himself as his -servant into the country under cover of his (Haller's) passport. -Fortunately this was never attempted. Even if they had succeeded in -passing the frontiers under Governments where every foreigner was -subjected to continual espionage, the delusion would soon have been -discovered. It was a boy's scheme. He had also tried to engage the good -offices of Louis of Bavaria to obtain him admission as an artist, but -nothing had come of it; and finally, when he heard that Lady Hester -Stanhope had got leave to travel in Italy, he had applied to Lord -Melville for a similar indulgence. But with the abdication of Napoleon, -which took place in April 1814, the whole prospect changed. France was -at once thrown open to Englishmen, and the rest of the Continent by -degrees. It is not easy to discover at what precise date the kingdom of -Naples and Rome became accessible, but it must have been during the -summer. Western news took time to percolate into Greece, but as soon as -he learnt that there was a possibility of penetrating into Italy, he had -begun making preparations for doing so. And now that there was nothing -left to detain him, he arranged to start with Linckh for Rome on the -15th of January, 1815. When the appointed day came, Madame Masson saw -him off at the Piræus, and shed floods of tears. She was very fond of -him. Two years after she writes: "Non si sa cosa è Carnovale dopo la -vostra partenza." - -A curious fact about the journey is that they brought away with them a -German of Darmstadt of the name of Carl Rester, who appears to have been -a fugitive slave, of whom more hereafter. - -The party was joined by a Mr. Tupper. This young gentleman had been -lodging at Madame Makri's, and had fallen in love, as it was the -indispensable fashion for young Englishmen to do, with one or all of the -charming daughters. He left them in tears, vowing to return, but it does -not appear that he ever did. - -The diary of this journey is kept in a sketch-book in pencil, and is not -everywhere legible. The country was one well traversed by tourists and -minutely described by Gell. There were no discoveries to be made or new -impressions to be felt. They had no adventures. The weather was odious. -The entries consist largely of the kind of information--estimates of -population, accounts of products, and possibilities--which for the -modern traveller is "found" by Murray or Baedeker, and would never -figure in his diary. At the mouth of the Alpheus he remarks how well -suited the situation would be for a naval dockyard, close to vast -forests of oak and fir--forests, all of which must have disappeared in -the devastations of Mehemet Ali, for there are none there now. - -The route taken was by Corinth, Argos, Tripolizza, Caritzena, Phigaleia, -which they found buried in snow, Olympia, Patras, Ithaca, Corfu, -Otranto, Lecce, Bari, and Foggia. The Pass of Bovino, between Foggia and -Naples, was considered exceedingly dangerous, on account of banditti, -and perhaps the most interesting thing in the whole diary is the -extravagant size of the escort considered necessary to see the -travellers through it. It consisted of no less than sixty men--thirty -cavalry and thirty infantry. - -But on the whole the diary of the journey, which was through interesting -places and at an interesting moment, could hardly be duller. It may be -due to Cockerell's having been in poor health, or to Tupper's having -been a stupid, unstimulating companion. - -They arrived at Naples on the 14th of April, 1815. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[46] General Sir James Campbell, Bart. (1763-1819), Governor of the -Ionian Islands till 1816. - -[47] Sir William Gell (1777-1836), traveller, author of the _Itinerary -of Greece_, _Pompeiana_, and other works. The Augustus Hare of his day. - -[48] This foot was presented to the Glyptothek at Munich. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -NAPLES--POMPEII--ROME--THE GERMAN RESTER GOT RID OF--SOCIAL SUCCESS IN -ROME--LEAVES FOR FLORENCE--BARTHOLDY AND THE NIOBE GROUP--LADY DILLON-- -THE WELLINGTON PALACE--PISA--TOUR IN THE NORTH--MEETS STACKELBERG -AGAIN--RETURNS TO FLORENCE AND ROME--HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION. - - -With one exception there were no Englishmen, artists or others, in -Naples at that time, but a number of Frenchmen, with some of whom -Cockerell struck up a great intimacy. In spite of national feeling, -which was running very high at the time, he got on very well with them, -but he says in a letter from Rome they were dreadful time-servers in -their political views. Of course it was a difficult moment for -Frenchmen. After Napoleon's abdication at Fontainebleau in April 1814, -they had had to accommodate themselves to a revival of the ancient -monarchy, which could not be very satisfactory to anyone, and now -Napoleon was back again in France. Between two such alternatives no -wonder that their judgment oscillated; but to Cockerell--patriotic, -enthusiastic, and troubled by no awkward dilemmas--their vacillation was -unintelligible. - -The one Englishman was Gell (afterwards Sir William), who speaks of a -stay they made together at Pompeii as the pleasantest time he had spent -in his three years' tour. - -During this time Cockerell worked hard, and besides what he did which -could only be of use to himself, he made himself so familiar with -Pompeii that Gell proposed to him to join him in writing an itinerary of -that place. - -Altogether, leaving Athens on the 15th of January, it was six months -before Cockerell got to Rome. Between Naples and Rome the country seems -to have been in a very unquiet state, and Carl Rester, who was still -with him, writes afterwards: "You remember how anxious about brigands we -all were on the journey." - -Soon after they arrived, Rester, who must by now have become an irksome -burden, started from Rome to walk to his own home at Frankfort. He took -a long time about it, but he got there at last in December, only to find -his family so reduced by the wars that he determined, as he says, not to -be a burden to them, but to show his gratitude to his benefactor by -asking for more favours and throwing himself as a burden upon him. So he -determined to extend his walk to England. Before leaving his native -town, however, he says he published in the local newspaper the following -strange tribute to Cockerell's generosity: - -"Magna Britannia victoriosa, gloriosa, bene merens, felix. Carolus -Robertus Cockerell nobilis Anglus et moribus et scientiis praeclarus me -infelicem perditum Germaniae prolem, primis diebus 1815 e Morea barbaris -deportavit. Ad Corfum deinde amicis meis Anglis restituit et patriae -advicinavit per Napolem universum, Romae me secum ducentem [for ducens] -humaniter semper et nobili amicitia me tractavit a London, Old -Burlington Street, No. 8, nobilissimi parentes ipsum progenuerunt -dignissimum membrum magnae nationis et hominem ubicunque aestimatissimum - - - Pro gratia universis Anglis et ipsi - Carolus Rester germanus. - - -Gallis merentibus, Britannia juncta Germanis felix Auspicium semper -semperque erit." (Are these two last lines elegiacs?--ED.) - -He arrived at Bois le Duc early in March 1816, and after an illness -there of seven weeks, writes to Cockerell to beg his assistance to get -him over to England, that he might be the better able to sponge upon him -there. I never heard what became of him afterwards. - -Cockerell then was in Rome, and here he first began to enjoy the harvest -of his labours. He says there were no English there at the time except -Lady Westmoreland, mother of the British minister at Florence, but there -was a large society of foreign artists, into which he threw himself. -There were the brothers Riepenhausen, painters; Schadow, a sculptor -from Berlin; Ingres, who drew his portrait;[49] Cornelius of Munich, and -others of his school; Knoering, a Russian; Mazois, author of "Le Palais -de Scaurus" and an itinerary of Pompeii; Catel, a French architect; -Thorwaldsen, Overbeck, Vogel, portrait painter; Bartholdy, Prussian -consul-general; Hess, a painter from Vienna; Canova, and Checcarini, who -did the Neptune and Tritons in the Piazza del Popolo at the bottom of -the drive up to the Pincio. The air of Rome was steeped in classicism. -In this company every event was described in classical figures: their -café was the Café Greco, which still exists; the front half was called -the Pronaos. There all the artistic world collected and made -acquaintance. - - -"If I were a little more vain I should be out of my wits at the -attention paid me here. I have a daily levee of savants, artists and -amateurs come to see my drawings; envoys and ambassadors beg to know -when it will be convenient for me to show them some sketches; Prince -Poniatowski and the Prince of Saxe-Gotha beg to be permitted to see -them. I say they are slight, and in truth poor things, but at any rate -they were done on the spot, and they, 'C'est la Grèce enfin, c'est là le -véritable pays. Ah, Monsieur, que vous êtes heureux d'avoir parcouru ce -beau pays!' Then I explain to them some constructions or beauties which -they don't understand. 'Ah, que c'est merveilleux, mais vous les -publierez, vous nous donnerez le bonheur de les posséder, mais ce sont -des choses fort intéressantes, enfin c'est de la Grèce.' And in truth -publishers and readers have been so long restricted to the Roman -antiquities, which have been published and read over and over again a -thousand times, that the avidity for novelty is beyond measure, and -Greece is the fashion here as everywhere else. - -There is not a single English artist here and only a few passengers. -Lady Westmoreland is one. She is a very clever, well-bred, agreeable -chatterer, who has been very civil to me, and made me lose several hours -which might have been better employed. Fortunately she is going away. I -have several letters for the Roman nobles, but I have not presented them -that I may have my time to myself. - -So Canova is gone to England. I hope it is not to execute the paltry -monument of Lord Nelson which he has published here. It would be a -disgrace to us all. Fancy the great Nelson as a Roman in petticoats! I -do trust whenever a monument is erected to him it may be as original, -national, and characteristic as was the man and the great nation he -sprang from. Every age hitherto has had ingenuity enough to make its -costume interesting in sculpture; we are the first who have shown such -poverty of ideas as to despise our age and our dress. - -I hope he will not be made too much of in England. It is true that -nobody ever worked the marble as he does, and it is this finish of his -which has deceived and captivated the world, but it is nothing but -artificiality, and there is no nature about it. When he attempts the -sublime he is ludicrous. In seeking grace he is more successful; but, -after all, his Terpsichore was conceived in the Palais Royal, and her -headdress is exactly the latest hairdressers' fashion. It is -exasperating to think of his success when Flaxman, as far his superior -as Hyperion to a satyr, an artist looked up to by the schools of the -Continent as a great and extraordinary genius, is neglected by us -because he is not a foreigner. - -It is exceedingly gratifying to me to find everything in my portfolio -turning to account. I had the pleasure of showing to Colonel Catinelli, -who lately fortified Genoa, my fortifications of Syracuse, and the -sketches I made of that subject in Greece. He assures me that they are -invaluable notices new to modern warfare, and that they prove that, -compared to the ancients, we who imagine ourselves so well informed on -the matter, know nothing at all. - -Then I have above 150 inscriptions among my papers, and I find most of -them are unpublished. I have had them copied fairly, and they are now in -the hands of a great savant, M. Akerblad, for his perusal. He promises -to give me his notes on them. - -I do think I have not made a bad use of my opportunities, if I may -judge by the interest taken in the various new notices on different -subjects I have brought with me, and the flattering consideration -everywhere shown me, I get so many invitations, and am so harassed to -show distinguished persons of all nations my drawings, that I can get no -time to myself. And in order to have something to show I have been -obliged to finish up some of my sketches, which has occupied the whole -of the last two months. I have now a portfolio of about fifteen of some -of the most interesting scenes in Greece fit to show, and I generally -find them as much as my visitors want to see. - -Finding at last that my time and occupations were too much infringed -upon by gaieties, I left Rome to seek more quiet in Florence. I found it -at first, and for more than six weeks was as busy as it was possible to -be. My life was a curious one. I rose early, and after working all day, -dined alone at a trattoria, refusing frequently three or four -invitations in a day. Then I slept three or four hours on a sofa, and -rose in the night to work calmly until four or five in the morning, when -I took another nap, and rose at seven. This odd life got wind; and as I -was a great deal known here, either by reputation or by name and family, -I occasioned a good deal of wonder, particularly among those who are -astonished at anyone's occupying himself earnestly except for a -necessity. The interest in me was also increased rather than diminished -by my shyness when I did show in company. I had so much lost the habit -of society by the long sojourn in Turkey, and, looking on it with a new -eye, was often so disgusted with the follies of it, and showed my -disgust, that I got a character for being a cynic. But instead of taking -offence people only made the more of me, and I was constantly invited -out, more to gratify my hosts' curiosity than to give pleasure to me. To -have travelled in Greece, still more to have been a discoverer there, is -enough to make a lion; while the fame of my drawings, which few of the -many who saw them understood and all were therefore willing to think -wonderful, completed the business. It was at this time that I brought -out my drawing of the Niobe and the etchings from it." - - -B. Bartholdy, Prussian consul-general in Rome, an intelligent man and -much interested in art, had travelled up from Rome to Florence with -Cockerell and made himself one of his most intimate acquaintances. -Walking together one day in the Uffizi, they examined the group of the -Niobe. It is now neglected and forgotten, but in those days it occupied, -in the estimation of artists, the place to-day held by the Elgin -Marbles. With the Venus de' Medici, the Apollo Belvedere, and the Torso -in the Vatican, these statues were regarded as the greatest remains -antiquity had bequeathed to the modern world. But, prized and studied -as they were, the purpose of so many figures, evidently meant to stand -together, had never yet dawned on the minds of their admirers. The -figure of Niobe, which is the largest, had been placed in the middle, -and the rest in a circle round her. It was felt indeed that this could -not be right, but no one had anything better to suggest, and it remained -one of the favourite puzzles for art lovers to wrangle over. Into the -middle of this clouded state of intelligences Cockerell dropped as from -another planet. The experience of the Æginetan statues, which he had -arranged so laboriously, besides the constant sight of what remained of -the Parthenon and other Greek monuments, made the notion of a pediment -or [Greek: haetos] so familiar as to present itself to his mind at once -as the only possible destination for so many statues. He says the first -suggestion came on that occasion from Bartholdy. "I have told Schlegel -and all parties that it was first proposed by you;" to which Bartholdy -replies: "J'aurai le plaisir de pouvoir dire que vous avez fait -fructifier un petit grain tombé de la main d'un amateur des beaux arts -qui sans cela serait resté stérile." But it was probably the company of -Cockerell and the associations with Ægina &c. which suggested the notion -to Bartholdy. At all events, beyond that first suggestion, Bartholdy did -nothing. It was Cockerell who measured the statues, arranged them, -proved the case, and made the etching which hangs to this day in the -Niobe Room in the Uffizi Gallery, showing the arrangement which he -proposed. In recognition, however, of the part Bartholdy had had in it, -the plate was dedicated to him. - -For the introduction of Cockerell as a lion into society--if that be a -thing to be desired--this discovery was most opportune. He had arrived -with a great reputation as a traveller, a discoverer, and unraveller of -age-long puzzles, as in the case of the Temple of the Giants, and now -here was a proof of his powers exhibited in the centre of artistic -Europe. - - -"I had shown my drawing to several people and amongst the ambassadors -and distinguished persons here--all of whom, _de rigueur_, more or less -pretend to understand the arts--and it gained universal approbation. It -was talked about by all, and written about by Demetrius Schinas and -other obscure poets and prose writers. I was flattered, invited, and -made much of. Our ambassador boasts that the solution has been proved by -an Englishman; others bow and beg to be allowed to send copies of my -etching to their Governments, to Metternich, &c. It was formally -presented to the Grand Duke, and I have received from the Academy here a -handsome letter and diploma of Academician of Florence. It is to be -published in the official work on the Gallery. I have presented it -myself to Madame de Staël, and my friends have sent it to all parts of -the Continent." - - -He was now regularly launched in the fashionable society of Florence. - -The reigning beauty at this time, the centre of all jollity and -brightness, was Lady Dillon. All the young men were at her feet, and -Cockerell was as deeply smitten as anybody. As already mentioned, during -the time that he was in Syracuse he had learnt the art of cameo-cutting. -He now made use of it--or at least of the preliminary stage, which is to -make a model in wax--to execute a highly finished portrait of her, which -still exists in the possession of her descendants. It shows a head of -great beauty, and is executed with admirable skill and minuteness. - -The whole English nation was now jubilant over the success of its army -at Waterloo, and was considering the rewards to be offered to its idol, -the Duke of Wellington. He was to have a magnificent palace, surpassing -the glories of Blenheim, and architects were called upon to give reins -to their imagination in preparing designs in competition. The celebrity -which my father had by now made for himself obtained him, through the -medium of Lord and Lady Burghersh, his fast friends, a formal invitation -to send in designs for the Wellington Palace. - -The opportunity was of course magnificent, but nothing he had been doing -for years had in the least adapted him to take advantage of it. - - -"Although my occupation in the Wellington Palace is a very honourable -one, and the study and exercise of invention in the course of it may be -profitable, yet I cannot help wishing I had never been invited to give -an idea for it, for I have spent a vast deal of time over it, and it -will add nothing to my reputation, even if it does not detract from it. -If such a design was difficult to everyone, you may imagine what it was -to me who have never attempted anything original before. I consulted -every architectural work of Europe (they are all in the library here), -and I would have consulted every professional man I could get at if -there had been any here whose opinion was worth having. Then I composed -general ideas, and finally fixed on one which pleased Mr. North and -several other persons to whom I showed it; but when I went into detail I -found the difficulties increase immeasurably, and the notions which were -plausible while they were vague could not be put into execution. Plan -would not agree with elevation. Doors and windows would not come into -their right places. I invented roundabout ways for simple ends. In fact -I worked furiously, and for the first time realised the practical -difficulties of the profession. At last, when I had filled a portfolio -with sketches and schemes, I completed a set and showed them to Lord and -Lady Burghersh, who said they were pleased with them. - -I began to feel that I had too large an acquaintance in Florence--too -many visits and invitations. My wound [?], of which I did not get the -better, confined me, and that made me generally unwell and obliged me to -go through a course of physic. Altogether I got out of heart with my -work and determined to get away. I went to Pisa for the month of July, -and except for visits from Pigou I was quite alone. There I undid all I -had done before, and finding that to do the thing well I should need -more time than I could possibly give, I determined to make some small -sketches which, prettily finished, might attract attention and show that -I was in some sort capable. Finally, I made some sketches and sent them -with an explanation to Lady Burghersh and a request to forward them to -the proper quarter." - - -The difficulties he had encountered over these drawings so disgusted him -with architecture that he seems to have even proposed to his father to -throw it up and become a painter, as that, he thought, was the -profession for which he was best suited. But Mr. Cockerell, who was a -steady business man, had no notion of his son becoming what he would -have considered a bohemian, and refused to sanction any such change. - -The only thing to do, then, was to continue his studies. The Wellington -Palace drawings had at any rate weaned him of any idea that pure Greek -architecture was applicable to modern architectural designing, and he -had little knowledge of any other. He started for a tour of the north -of Italy. His letters contain few criticisms. Palladio, probably as -being most akin to what he had hitherto studied, pleased him more than -any other architect. In Venice he fell in with Stackelberg, who had been -home to Russia while his travels in Greece were still fresh enough to -claim attention, and had been received with every sort of distinction. -He was now on his way back to Rome to settle there and bring out the -various books he subsequently published. - -The two joined forces, and having run through all the principal towns, -returned southwards to Florence. - -Shortly after, in company with Lord and Lady Dillon, he went to Rome. He -was now a recognised lion, everywhere fêted and made much of. Bartholdy -writes of him: "Cockerell est gâté par les femmes." Nevertheless he -worked hard. Amongst other things he finished the drawing of the Forum -Romanum, the engraving of which is well known. The Duchess of Devonshire -wished to insert a reduction of it in her "Virgil," and writes to thank -him for "the beautiful drawing you _was_ so good as to do for me." - -He had left also in Rome the bulk of his, and Haller's, drawings for the -intended book on Greek architecture. These he picked up, and having seen -all the architecture Italy had to show him, he started in March for -England. In Paris he remained some little time. A letter from his -father during his stay there is worth transcribing in part. - - -"I send a few hints as to what you should observe in Paris; not things -of that high order to which you have so long been used, but yet -important to study in order to supply the luxurious indulgence so much -coveted by the great here, by whom a complete knowledge of them in their -professors of architecture is expected. - -You have raised a name here so high that everything in perfection will -be expected of you; at least in all that relates to taste in the arts, -and in all the subordinate degrees of contrivances, as well as in -decoration. The last is that which affords the most extensive -employment, and you will be surprised to find more importance attached -to the decorations of a salon than to the building of a temple. If, -therefore, you can bend to the consideration of what is called the -'fittings up' of the interior of the best hotels and palaces of Paris, -the graces of their _meubles_, and the harmony of their colours in -hangings, painting, and gilding, you may be the general arbiter of taste -here; and as there are very few persons who are real judges of -compositions even classical, much less sublime, and there must be few -opportunities of exercising those parts of your studies here, it will be -really useful if you allow yourself to look at those minor objects at -Paris which in truth they judge well of. - -Percier[50] is the first architect in Paris; he will tell you what is -worth seeing. Dismalter & Jacob are the first decorators in furniture -&c., 57 Rue Meslée. - -Your friends Lord Burghersh and Lord Dillon proclaim your name without -ceasing, and much is expected of you. The Duke of Gloucester has -commanded me to introduce you to his acquaintance. You have been spoken -of at Carlton House, where I have reason to think there is great -likelihood of your being noticed advantageously; but you must not be -disappointed to find very common things occupying the minds of a large -majority of a nation of _boutiquiers_, and we must take the world as we -find it, believing always that good sense, refined judgment, and true -taste will ultimately prevail. - -Do not imagine that I am thinking of money as the only thing worth your -attention. I consider that as the last object. The first, a higher order -of taste and information, you possess amply. The second is to learn to -suit in some measure the times we live in and the objects which occupy -the multitude, and it is worth attending to. The third and last is the -profit which follows; but that must come of itself, and is not worth -pursuing. - -You will think me lecturing to the last, but I really mean no more than -to express my hope that you will not despise trifles, if elegant, -finding yourself for the moment amongst a nation of triflers, because -they have long been considered and imitated by ourselves and the rest of -Europe as accomplished in matters of ornament, though not in subjects of -use. - -Your family are now on tiptoe for your arrival, and daily drink their -affectionate good wishes to the homeward bound. None is behind another -in their impatience; for myself, it is always present to me. -Nevertheless, I am not selfish enough to wish you to leave unseen, for -the sake of a few days more, anything which you ought to be acquainted -with." - - -My father arrived in London on the 17th of June, 1817, having left it on -the 10th of April, 1810. Besides his own, he had brought with him all -Haller's drawings for the intended book which was to be the complete and -final authority on Greek architecture and the grand result of his seven -years of travel. Haller was to come to England to see it through the -press. Had it appeared at once it would have been most _à propos_. Greek -architecture was all the fashion. Unhappily, the intention was thwarted -by the sudden death of Haller, which took place at Ambelakia, in the -Vale of Tempe, of a congestion of the lungs, caught while making -excavations in the month of September 1818. The loss of this valuable -help disheartened my father, who had no taste for the work. He was -already busy in other ways, and the task which should have had his -first attention gradually sank into the background. One by one those who -had taken part in the discoveries died: Stackelberg in 1836, Linckh and -Foster not many years after. But the book remained a load on my father's -conscience all his life, and it was not till 1859, more than forty years -later, that it saw the light. The interest in the events and actors had -died down, and the novelties had become common property. His unfortunate -dislike for writing lost him much of the credit he might have reaped, -while others profited by his experience. His collection of inscriptions -was picked over by Walpole; Hughes fills out his pages with his letters; -Bronstedt uses his drawings. It is Stackelberg who relates how he -discovered the bas-reliefs at Phigaleia; Beaufort anticipates anything -he might have had to tell of Karamania; Wordsworth plundered his -portfolio; and in the absence of any consecutive account of his own, it -has been often only by the help of the writings of others that it has -been possible for me to piece together his disjointed and often undated -diaries. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[49] See frontispiece. - -[50] Charles Percier (1764-1838), originator of the so-called "Empire" -style in furniture, architect of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and -of parts of the Louvre and of the Tuileries. - - -PRINTED BY -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 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R. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Travels in Southern Europe and the Levant, 1810-1817 - The Journal of C. R. Cockerell, R.A. - -Author: Charles Robert Cockerell - -Editor: Samuel Pepys Cockerell - -Release Date: November 29, 2017 [EBook #56076] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings, Adrian Mastronardi, Martin -Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian -Libraries) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">THE JOURNAL</p> - -<p class="bold">OF</p> - -<p class="bold2">C. R. COCKERELL, R.A.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center"><a name="frontis.jpg" id="frontis.jpg"></a><img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="C. R. Cockerell" /></div> - -<p class="bold">C. R. Cockerell.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - -<h1>TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN<br /> -EUROPE AND THE<br /> -LEVANT, 1810-1817.</h1> - -<p class="bold2">THE JOURNAL OF C. R. COCKERELL, R.A.</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">EDITED BY HIS SON</p> - -<p class="bold2">SAMUEL PEPYS COCKERELL</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">With a Portrait</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.<br />39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON<br />NEW YORK AND BOMBAY<br />1903</p> - -<p class="bold space-above">All rights reserved</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE</h2> - -<p>My father, Charles Robert Cockerell, whose travels the following pages -record, was the second son of Samuel Pepys Cockerell, a man of some -means, architect to the East India Company and to one or more London -estates. He was born on the 27th of April, 1788, and at a suitable age -he went to Westminster, a fashionable school in those days. There he -remained until he was sixteen. He was then set to study architecture, at -first in his father's office, and later in that of Mr. Robert Smirke. -His father must have had a great faith in the educational advantage of -travel, as already in 1806, when he was only eighteen, he was sent a -tour to study the chief architectural objects of the West of England and -Wales. The sketches in the diary of this journey show him already the -possessor of so light and graceful a touch in drawing that it is evident -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>that he must have practised it from very early years. This no doubt was -followed by other similar excursions, but his father's desire was that -he should see foreign countries. Unfortunately, in 1810 most of the -Continent was closed to Englishmen. Turkey, which included Greece, was, -however, open. As it chanced, this was a happy exception. The current of -taste for the moment was running strongly in the direction of Greek -architecture; Smirke himself had but lately returned thence. When a -scheme for making a tour there came to be discussed, Mr. William -Hamilton, then Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, an intimate friend -of the family, who had himself travelled in those parts, took a great -interest in it, and offered to send him out as King's messenger with -despatches for the fleet at Cadiz, Malta, and Constantinople. Such an -offer was too good to refuse.</p> - -<p>No definite tour had been or could be marked out in the then existing -conditions of European politics. The traveller was to be guided by -circumstances; but nothing approaching the length of absence, which -extended itself to seven and a quarter years, was contemplated at the -time of starting.</p> - -<p>As far as possible I have used my father's own words in the following -account of his journeys; but the letters and memoranda of a youth of -<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span>twenty-two, who disliked and had no talent for writing, naturally -require a great deal of editing.</p> - -<p>His beautiful sketches form what may be called his real diary.</p> - -<p>I should add that accounts of some of the episodes recorded in this -Journal have seen the light already. For instance, the discovery of the -Ægina Marbles and of the Phigaleian Marbles is narrated in my father's -book, 'The Temples of Ægina and Bassæ,' and in Hughes's 'Travels' as -well. Stackelberg gives his own account of the excavations at Bassæ in -'Der Apollotempel zu Bassæ &c.' So that I cannot flatter myself that the -matter is either quite new or well presented. But in spite of these -drawbacks I have thought the Journal in its entirety worth publishing. -Sympathetic readers will find between the lines a fairly distinct -picture of what travel was like in the early years of the last century, -and also the portrait of a not uninteresting personality.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Samuel Pepys Cockerell.</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<div class="box"> -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER I</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Leaves London for Plymouth—The despatch vessel—They take a -French prize—The prisoners—An alarm—Cadiz—Malta—Life -on board—The Dardanelles—Takes boat for Constantinople</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER II</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Constantinople—Capture of the <i>Black Joke</i>—Life in Constantinople—Its -dangers—Friends—Audience of caimacam—Trip up the Bosphorus</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER III</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Constantinople continued—Dangers of sketching—Turkish architecture—A -Turkish acquaintance—Society in Constantinople—Visit to the Princes' Islands</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER IV</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Leaves Constantinople—By Troy, Salonica, Mycone, Delos, to -Athens—Life in Athens—Acquaintances—Byron, &c.</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER V</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Trip to Ægina—Discovery and transportation of the Marbles to -Athens—Efforts to sell them</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VI</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Life in Athens—Eleusis—Transportation of Ægina Marbles to Zante</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Zante—Colonel Church—Leaves Zante to make tour of the Morea—Olympia—Bassæ—Discovery -of bas-reliefs—Forced to desist from excavations</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER VIII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Andritzena—Caritzena—Megalopolis—Benighted—Kalamata</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER IX</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Trip to Maina—Its relative prosperity—Return to Kalamata—Second -trip to Maina—Murginos—Sparta—Napoli to Athens</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_88">88</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER X</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Ægina Marbles called for by British Government ships—Leaves -Athens for Crete and Egypt with Hon. Francis North—Canea—Condition -of Crete—By land—Retimo—Kalipo Christo—Candia—Audience -of the pasha—His band—The archbishop—The -military commandant—Turkish society—Life in Candia</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XI</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Expedition to the Labyrinth—Delli Yani—The interior—The return -to Candia—Life there—Rejoins Mr. North—Bad weather—Expedition -to Egypt abandoned—Scio—Leaves Mr. North to go -to Smyrna—Storms—Danger and cold—Arrives at Smyrna</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Life in Smyrna—Trip to Trios—Foster falls in love—Cockerell -starts alone for town of Seven Churches—Pergamo—Knifnich—Sumeh—Commerce -all in the hands of Greeks—Karasman Oglu—Turcomans—Sardis—Allah -Sheri—Crosses from Valley of Hermus to that of the Meander—Hierapolis—Danger of the -country—Turns westwards</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XIII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Back into civilisation—Nasli Bazar—Nysa—Guzul—Hissar (Magnesia)—The -plague—Aisaluck (Ephesus)—Scala Nuova—A -storm—Samos—Priene—Canna—Geronta—Knidos—Rhodes—Mr. -North again—Sails for Patara—Castel Rosso—Cacava—Myra—The -shrine of St. Nicolas—Troubles with natives—A -water snake—Finica—Carosi—Olympus—Volcanic fire—Phaselis—Falls -in with the <i>Frederiksteen</i></td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XIV</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Adalia—Satalia (Sidé)—Alaia—Hostility of natives—Selinty—Cape -Anemurium—Visit of a pasha—Chelindreh—Porto Cavaliero—Seleucia—A -privateer—Natives hostile—Pompeiopolis—Tarsous—A -poor reception—Explores a lake—Castle of Ayas—Captain -Beaufort wounded by natives—Sails for Malta</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XV</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Malta—Attacked by bilious fever—Sails to Palermo—Segeste—Leaves -for Girgenti—Immigrant Albanians—Selinunto—Travelling -with Sicilians—Girgenti—Restores the Temple of the -Giants—Leaves for Syracuse—Occupations in Syracuse—Sale -of the Ægina Marbles—Leaves for Zante</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVI</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Athens—The excavation of marbles at Bassæ—Bronstedt's mishap—Fate -of the Corinthian capital of Bassæ—Severe illness—Stackelberg's -mishap—Trip to Albania with Hughes and Parker—Thebes—Livadia—The five emissaries—State of the -country—Merchants of Livadia—Delphi—Salona—Galaxidi—Patras—Previsa—Nicopolis—Arta—The -plague—Janina</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Ali Pasha—Psallida—Euphrosyne—Mukhtar—Starts for a trip to -Suli—Cassiopeia—Unable to ford river—Turns back to Janina—Leaves -to return to Athens—Crosses the Pindus through the -snow—Malakash—A robber—Meteora—Turkish rule—The -monastery—By Trikhala, Phersala, Zituni, Thermopylæ and Livadia to Athens</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XVIII</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Athens—To Zante for sale of Phigaleian Marbles—Returns to -Athens—Fever—Spencer Stanhope—Trip to Marathon, &c.—Ramazan—Living -out in the country—A picnic at Salamis—Presented -with a block of Panathenaic frieze—Trip to Ægina—Leaves Athens for Italy</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center">CHAPTER XIX</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Naples—Pompeii—Rome—The German Rester got rid of—Social -success in Rome—Leaves for Florence—Bartholdy and the -Niobe group—Lady Dillon—The Wellington Palace—Pisa—Tour -in the north—Meets Stackelberg again—Returns to -Florence and Rome—Homeward bound—Conclusion</td> - <td style="vertical-align: bottom"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center"><a href="#frontis.jpg">FRONTISPIECE</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="center"><span class="smcap">Portrait of C. R. Cockerell</span>, <i>after a Pencil Drawing by</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">J. D. Ingres</span>.</td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE<br />AND THE LEVANT</p> - -<h2>CHAPTER I</h2> - -<p class="center">LEAVES LONDON FOR PLYMOUTH—THE DESPATCH VESSEL—THEY TAKE A FRENCH -PRIZE—THE PRISONERS—AN ALARM—CADIZ—MALTA—LIFE ON BOARD—THE -DARDANELLES—TAKES BOAT FOR CONSTANTINOPLE.</p> - -<p>"I started from London on Saturday, April the 14th, 1810, with 200<i>l.</i> -in my pocket to pay expenses. By the favour of Mr. Hamilton I was to -carry out despatches to Mr. Adair, our ambassador at Constantinople, so -I had in prospect a free passage in fair security to the furthest point -of my intended journey. As my good friend and master in Art, Mr. R. -Smirke, accompanied me to Salisbury, we loitered there a little, but for -the rest of my journey, night and day, I lost not one moment. -Nevertheless I had forgotten that when on Government duty one has no -business to stop at all anywhere, and when I was cross-examined as to my -journey by the Admiral of the Port at Plymouth, I felt extremely -awkward.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p><p>On the morning following my arrival, viz. April 16th, I embarked on -board the vessel which was to carry me. She was a lugger-rigged despatch -boat, hired by Government, named the <i>Black Joke</i>. She was very old, as -she had been at the battle of Camperdown in 1797, but I was charmed with -her neatness and tidiness. We had ten guns, thirty-five men, one sheep, -two pigs and fowls. The commander's name was Mr. Cannady, and we were -taking out two young midshipmen to join the squadron off Cadiz.</p> - -<p>We did not set sail till the 19th. Once out in the open sea the two -young midshipmen were very ill and so was our commander.</p> - -<p>On the third day out, Sunday, April 22nd, while we were at dinner the -boatswain suddenly sang out, 'Sail ahead!' We ran up to see what it -might be, and the ship was pronounced to be a merchant brig. At the same -time, to be prepared in case of deception, all things were cleared for -action. It was not long before we came up with her, and the master went -aboard. Presently we heard the report of two pistols. Great was our -astonishment, and the expression of suspense on every face was a study -till it was relieved by the voice of the master bawling through a -trumpet that she was a British merchantman, the <i>Frances</i>, from Fiale -(<i>sic</i>), laden with cotton, figs, and other things, that she had been -captured by a French privateer, and was now our prize. At these words -the joy of the sailors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> was such as you cannot conceive. When the master -came aboard again we learnt that the two shots came from a brace of -pistols which were handed to him by the captain of the <i>Frances</i> when -she was boarded, and which he discharged for fear of accidents.</p> - -<p>The French crew of eight men, all very ragged, was brought on board. As -they manifested some unwillingness at first, Cannady thought fit to -receive them with drawn cutlasses; but they made no sort of resistance. -With them came an English boy, son of the owner of the <i>Frances</i>, and -from him we got an interesting account of her being taken. As his father -had but a short time before lost another ship, the boy showed a joy at -this recovery which was delightful to see, but he behaved very nicely -about recommending the Frenchmen to us. They had treated him very well, -he said, and were good sailors. It was settled that the prize master -should be sent with three or four men, the master's mate at their head, -to Plymouth. I took the opportunity of sending a few words home, and off -she went. With a fair wind she was out of sight in an hour. As I was the -only man in our ship who could speak a word of French, I was made -interpreter in examining the prisoners. If the account they give is -correct, our sailors, who are entitled to an eighth part of the salvage, -will share 3,645<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> I took an early opportunity, when -Cannady talked of our luck and anticipated more, to assure him that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> -only good fortune I desired was a safe and quick passage to -Constantinople, for fear he should think I was looking out for -prize-money. I don't know what my share would be, if indeed I have any, -but if I find I have, I shall consider how to dispose of it in a -handsome way.</p> - -<p>The poor Frenchmen were very miserable, and I, partly out of pity, and -more because I wanted to practise speaking, rather made friends with -them. They are very different from our men. They lounge about anyhow in -a disorderly fashion, are much dirtier—in fact filthy, so that our -sailors complain of them loudly in this respect—and are much livelier. -I saw three of them sitting yesterday all of a heap reading 'Télémaque' -(fancy that!) with the utmost avidity, and when they see me drawing, -they seem to crawl all over me to watch the operation. My special friend -is one Esprit Augin, who appears to be superior to the rest and to speak -better. We talk together every day till I am tired. In spite of his -grief at being a prisoner—and he appeared to feel his position more -than any of them—he began the very next day to talk to me of balls, -masquerades, promenades, and so on with inexpressible delight, and I -even thought at one moment that we should have had a pas seul on the -deck. He sang me no end of songs. He was as vain as he was lively. I -told him I should like to make a drawing of a youth named Jean -Requette,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> a handsome, clever-looking boy of the party; at which he -sighed deeply and said, 'Moi je ne suis pas joli.'</p> - -<p>Amongst other things, Augin told us that he had great hopes of being set -free again, for that there were two French privateer frigates off -Ferrol; and when we came off that point on Sunday the 29th, and I heard -the boatswain sing out 'Two sail ahead,' we made sure we had met them. -All glasses were out in an instant, and sure enough there were two -privateers.</p> - -<p>Too proud to alter it, we held quietly on our course, and they came -quickly up with us. We made the private signals to them, but as the sun -was low and just behind them we could not make out the answer or what -colours they flew.</p> - -<p>Thereupon orders were given to clear for action. In a moment all was -activity. The sailors stripped to their shirts. The guns were run out. -Greville and I loaded the muskets and pistols. Every man had his place. -Mine was at the stern in charge of the despatches, ready tied to a -cannon shot, to sink them in case of necessity, and with orders to make -the best use I could of the muskets. We were all ready by the time the -first of the privateers came within speaking distance of us. There was a -dead silence on both sides for a moment, a moment of intense suspense, -then our commander spoke them, and the answer, to our delight, came in -English. They were the <i>Iris</i> and <i>Matchless</i> privateers from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> Guernsey -on the look-out for the Isle de France men going into Bordeaux. A boat -came aboard us, and I was not sorry that they should see our deck and -that I knew how to take care of despatches. It is wonderful how the -animation of preparations for fighting takes away from the natural fear. -If I had had to look on without anything to do, I should have been in a -dreadful fright.</p> - -<p>After this false alarm we went on to Cadiz without any event, beyond -meeting with occasional merchantmen, whom we always thought proper to -board.</p> - -<p>I could not go ashore at Cadiz, and I shall never cease to regret it; -but the orders of the naval authorities were peremptory that the lugger -should proceed immediately with her despatches to Malta.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> We deposited -our prisoners with the fleet."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The next place the <i>Black Joke</i> touched at was Gibraltar, where she -delivered letters and despatches. She could only stay four or five -hours, but Cockerell was able to go ashore. As it was a market day, the -scene Gibraltar, and this was the first time he had ever been in a -foreign country, it is not to be wondered at that he was intoxicated -with delight. He gushes over it in the style of the very young traveller.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I like watching the sailors. Many of them are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> very fine fellows, and I -have nearly filled my book with drawings of them and the Frenchmen. -Self-consciousness had the most ludicrous effect upon them when I was -doing their portraits, and great rough fellows who you might think would -eat horseflesh would simper with downcast eyes, like a coquettish miss. -Their ways of killing time are wonderful. Sometimes you see one -whittling a piece of hard wood for some trifling purpose for hours and -hours together. At another time, if an unfortunate little bird comes on -to the vessel, they run about the rigging damning its eyes till they are -tired out. There are some great singers amongst them, who treat us in -the evenings. Their taste is to sing about two hundred verses to the -same tune. I am told we have one highly accomplished, who can sing a -song of three hundred. I only hope we shall never hear him.</p> - -<p>We arrived at Malta overnight and awaited despatches, which we have -received this morning. Everywhere the authorities are so solicitous that -no time should be lost that we are sent on without mercy. I am told the -despatches we brought here were of consequence; but, like all postmen, -we know nothing of the contents of the letters we bring. Only we see -that all rejoice and wish the commandant, General Oakes,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> joy. I also -hear that the French are advancing on Sicily.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p><p>The harbour here is full of prizes. A frigate came in this morning full -of shot holes. She had cut out a brig from Taranto in the face of two -brigs, a schooner, and a frigate."</p> - -<p class="space-above">From Malta it took the <i>Black Joke</i> over a month to get to -Constantinople. Most of the letters written home during the time were -sent back by the <i>Black Joke</i> on her return voyage. It will be seen why -they never reached their destination.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile some notes were despatched by other means, and from them I -extract the following:</p> - -<p class="space-above">"We took a pilot from Malta, a decayed Ragusan captain. Had I made but -the first steps in Italian as I had in French, I might have profited by -this opportunity as I did by the French prisoners; for the man spoke no -other language, and was to direct us through a dangerous sea by signs -and grimace as the only means of communication between us.</p> - -<p>At first we had a fair wind, but as we got nearer the Morea it became -less favourable and blew us nearly up to Zante. Some ancient writer -records the saying in his day, 'Let him who is to sail round Taenarus -(Matapan) take a last farewell of his relations;' and it is still -dangerous, on account of the eddies of wind about Taygetus for one -thing, and on account of the cruel Mainiote pirates for another. We -passed it securely; but the story of an English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> brig of war having been -boarded and taken by them while the captain and crew were at dinner, and -that not long ago, put us on our guard. We had nettings up at night, and -a sharp look-out at all hours.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget how we made our entrance into the Hellespont with -sixteen sail of Greek and Turkish fruit-boats, all going up to Constantinople.</p> - -<p>No yachting match could be so pretty as these boats, tacking and -changing their figures, with their white sails, painted sides, and -elegant forms, as compared with our northern sea boats. Our superior -sailing, however, was soon confessed, and we went past them. As we did -so, several goodnaturedly threw cucumbers and other fruits on board.</p> - -<p>We cast anchor not far from the second castle near the northern side, -and put ashore to water where we saw a spring. It was evening, and under -the shade of a fine plane tree, by a pool lined and edged with marble, -before a fountain of elegant architecture, sat on variegated carpets -some majestic Turks. They were armed and richly dressed. Their composed, -placid countenances seemed unmoved at our approach. One of them spoke -and made me a sign to draw nearer. I did so, and with an air at once -courteous and commanding he signed to me to sit near him and offered me -a long pipe to smoke. After some pause he put questions, and smiled when -I could not answer them. By their gestures and the word Inglis I saw -they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> were aware of our nationality. They looked approbation and admired -the quality of my grey cloth coat. After some minutes I rose and left -them with a bow, enchanted with their politeness, and fancying myself in -a scene of the 'Arabian Nights.'</p> - -<p>Shortly after we were visited by our consul and his son. We learnt later -that they were Jews, but their handsome appearance imposed completely on -us, and, in spite of the mixture of Jewish obsequiousness, their Turkish -dignity made us conceive a prodigious opinion of them. The consul -understood quickly that I was a milordo, and taking from his pocket an -antique intaglio he begged my acceptance of it with a manner I in my -innocence thought I could not refuse. I was anxious to show my sense of -his courtesy by the offer of a pound of best Dartford powder, which, -after some pressing, he accepted; but at the same time added, so far as -I understood through the interpreter, that he hoped I did not mean to -pay him for his intaglio. I was overcome with confusion, shocked at my -own indelicacy in giving so coarse an expression to my gratitude, and I -would have given worlds to have undone the whole affair. Of course my -embarrassment was perfectly needless. A little experience of them taught -me that this was only the shallow <i>finesse</i> of the Orientals, and -looking back I have laughed to think of my ingenuous greenness at that time.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p><p>The following day Captain Cannady and myself, with my despatches and -baggage, the <i>Black Joke</i> not being allowed to approach the capital,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -embarked in a Turkish rowboat with a reis and twelve men, to go up to -Constantinople. Now for the first time I felt myself thoroughly divided from England.</p> - -<p>The wind and current were against us, and we were forced to put ashore -early in the evening of the first day. I pitched my tent on the shore -opposite Abydos. It soon attracted the notice of an aga who appeared on -a fine Arab horse, and sent a message to know who and what we were. We -made a fire and stayed there all night sitting round it, and I felt as -if I was at the theatre, passing my first night on foreign soil among -strange bearded faces and curious costumes lit up by the flames. I -refused a bed and slept on a rug, but next day I thought I should have -dropped with faintness and fatigue.</p> - -<p>I soon got accustomed to lying on hard ground, and, in after times, I -have slept for many a three months running without even taking off my -clothes except to bathe, or having any other bed than my pamplona or my -pelisse. The second night we slept at Gallipoli, and altogether, owing -to the strong wind, we were no less than five days getting to -Constantinople.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p><p>Our Turks were obliging and cheerful, but had very little air of -discipline, and the work they did they seemed to do by courtesy. The -reis was a grave, mild old man, who sang us Turkish songs.</p> - -<p>We approached Constantinople as the sun rose, and as it shone on its -glorious piles of mosques and minarets, golden points and crescents, -painted houses, kiosks and gardens, our Turks pulled harder at their -oars, shouting '<i>Stamboul, guzel azem Stamboul</i>!' The scene grew more -and more brilliant as we drew nearer, till it became overwhelming as we -entered the crowded port. Nothing but my despatches under my arm -recalled me from a sense of being in a dream. In forty days, spent as it -were, in the main, in the sameness of shipboard, I had jumped from -sombre London to this fantastic paradise.</p> - -<p>I left my boat and walked at once to the English palace with my -despatches, which I then and there delivered."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The British fleet was at this time co-operating with the -Spaniards in defending Cadiz against the French.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Afterwards Sir Hildebrand Oakes, Bart., G.C.B. Served with -distinction in India, Egypt, America, and elsewhere.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> No ships of war were ever allowed up to Constantinople in -those days, and, indeed, much later.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER II</h2> - -<p class="center">CONSTANTINOPLE—CAPTURE OF THE <i>BLACK JOKE</i>—LIFE IN CONSTANTINOPLE—ITS -DANGERS—FRIENDS—AUDIENCE OF CAIMACAM—TRIP UP THE BOSPHORUS.</p> - -<p>"My first few days were spent in writing, executing commissions, and -fitting out my good Cannady, who was to return with the answers to the -despatches; all as it turned out to no purpose, for off Algiers the poor -old <i>Black Joke</i> was taken by two French privateers, one of ten, the -other of eight guns. Becalmed off that place, she was attacked on either -side by these lighter vessels, which, with oars and a superior number of -men, had an irresistible advantage. After being gallantly defended by -Cannady, she was taken with the loss of several fine fellows, and her -guns dismounted in the discharging them, for she was a very old vessel. -With her were taken a number of little Turkish purses and trifles, -souvenirs to friends at home, and two fine carpets I paid 30<i>l.</i> for, -which were to have made a figure at Westbourne<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>—I had made a present -of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> same kind also to our commander—and all my letters home and -sketches made up till then.</p> - -<p>Mr. Adair<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and Canning<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> have been very polite, and I have dined -frequently at the Palace, and although this is not the sort of society I -very much covet, I find it so extremely useful that I cannot be too -careful to keep up my acquaintance there. Mr. Canning, of whose kindness -on all occasions I cannot speak too highly, has obliged me exceedingly -in lending me a large collection of fairly faithful drawings of the -interiors of mosques, some of them never drawn before, as well as other -curious buildings here, made by a Greek of this place. In copying them I -have been closely employed, as when Mr. Adair leaves, which will be -shortly, they will be sent off to England. I had a scheme of drawing -from windows, but it has failed. I find no Jew or Christian who is bold -enough to admit me into his house for that purpose, so I have to work -from memory. After having made a memorandum, I develop it at home, and -then return again and again to make more notes, till at length the -drawing gets finished. In arriving here just in time to take advantage -of Mr. Adair's firman to see the mosques I was most fortunate. It is a -favour granted to ambassadors only once, and Mr. Adair thinks himself -lucky<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> to get it before going away; but I will tell you in confidence -that I regret very little the impossibility of drawing in them. They -seem to me to be ill-built and barbarous.</p> - -<p>Lord Byron and Mr. Hobhouse<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> were of the party."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The Djerid, a mimic fight with javelins on horseback, now, I believe, -entirely disused in Turkey, was still the favourite pastime of young -Turks, and Cockerell speaks of it as being constantly played on the high -open ground or park above Pera, and of his going to watch it.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"One day I was persuaded by an English traveller of my acquaintance to -go a walk through Constantinople without our usual protection of a -janissary, but the adventures which befell us in consequence made me -very much repent of it, and put me a good deal out of conceit with the -Turks. We walked to the gate of the Seraglio, in front of which there is -a piazza with a very beautiful fountain in it. This lovely object was so -attractive that I could not resist going up to it and examining the -marble sculpture, painting, and gilding. Hereupon an old Turk who -guarded the gate of the Seraglio, offended, I suppose, at my presuming -to come so near, strode up with a long knotted stick and a volley of -language which I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> could not understand, but which it was easy to see the -drift of. I should have been glad to run away, but in the presence of -Turks and other bystanders I resolved to fall a martyr rather than -compromise my nation. So, waving my hand in token of assent to his -desire for my withdrawal, I slowly paced my way back with as much -dignity as I could assume. I heard my Turk behind coming on faster and -more noisy, and I shall never forget the screwing up of the sinews of my -back for the expected blow. It did not fall, or there would have ended -my travels; for, either astonished at my coolness or satisfied with my -assent, he desisted.</p> - -<p>A little further on, in passing through the court of a mosque, I was -gazing at some of the architectural enrichments of it, when I felt a -violent blow on the neck. I looked down, and there was a sturdy little -figure, with a face full of fury, preparing to repeat the dose. He was -of such indescribably droll proportions that in spite of the annoyance I -could hardly help laughing. I held out my hand to stop him, and at the -same time some Turks luckily came up and appeased my assailant. He was -an idiot, one of those to whom it is the custom among the Turks to give -their liberty, and who are generally, it appears, to be found hanging -about the mosques.</p> - -<p>One more unpleasantness occurred in the same unfortunate walk. As we -were looking at some carpets, I observed my servant Dimitri growing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -pale; he said he was so weak he could hardly stand, and he thought he -must have caught the plague. I supported him out of the bazaar, but -afterwards kept him at arm's length till we got home, sent him to bed, -changed from top to toe, and smoked. I was to have dined at the Palace, -but sent and made my excuses. Meeting the English consul, good old -Morier, I refused to shake hands with him. He, however, would have none -of it, laughed at me and carried me home to dinner quietly with him. -Dimitri reappeared later on, and all was well; but the day is memorable -as having been odious."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The usual sights of Constantinople in 1810 were the same as now—viz. -the dancing dervishes, the howling dervishes, the Turkish bath, and the -Sultan's visit to the Mosque. They are what every traveller has seen and -every young one thought it his duty to give an account of, and I shall -not transcribe Cockerell's description of them. Only the last can have -been at all different from what may be seen now. It was remarkable for -the startling costumes of the janissaries, and for the fact that instead -of a fez, the universal and mean headdress of to-day, every Turk wore a -turban, which made a crowd worth seeing. The janissaries wore a singular -cap, from the centre of which sprang a tree of feathers which, rising to -a certain height, fell again like a weeping willow and occupied an -enormous space. On these occasions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> about fifty of them surrounded the -Sultan with wands in their hands, and no doubt had a very striking -effect.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I have made several useful friends. One is a brother artist, the Greek -who did the mosques for Canning. We have paid each other several visits, -and become fairly intimate by dint of dragoman, mutual admiration, and -what was a superb present from me, a little Indian ink and two English -pencils. He has been specially attentive in his visits here, hoping, as -he confessed, to find out some secret in the art from such a connoisseur -as myself. Another is an old gentleman in a long grey beard, who a few -days ago walked into my room, telling me he had been induced to call -upon me by hearing of my great reputation. He is an artist, and I showed -him my colours and instruments, with which he was greatly delighted. I -have not yet returned his visit, but I am shortly to do so, and he is to -introduce me to some houses out of which I can draw. I have found a most -elegant and useful friend in the Sicilian ambassador, who has many -beautiful books and drawings. The young men I chiefly live with are Sir -William Ingilby; Foster, an English architect, and a most amusing youth; -and a Mr. Charnaud, son of a consul at Salonica. We meet at dinner very -often, but they are all, even architect Foster, too idle to be -companions any further than that. If I chose I could make numbers of -acquaintance among the Greeks and Armenians, who all speak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> French. -Their ladies are very agreeable, but the information I should glean -amongst them would not pay for the time.</p> - -<p>Canning is very much liked here among the merchants, though they say -they will never get such another man as Adair. For me he is rather too -grand to be agreeable.</p> - -<p>This is a most interesting time among the Turks. All is bustle and the -sound of arms in every street. The Grand Signor is going to the Russian -war next week. His procession will, of course, be a grand sight, but -they despond throughout. The Turks have a prophecy that the empire will -expire with the last of the line of Mahomet, and the present Sultan has -no children.</p> - -<p>The number of troops passing to Adrianople is incredible, and such -barbarousness and total absence of discipline could, one would think, -never have been known even in the Crusades; but they are unbelievably -picturesque. A warrior disposed to defend his country (for none are -compelled; only, happily for the empire, the Turks are naturally -inclined that way) goes to the Government and demands whatever he thinks -will fit him out for the purpose. He gets 200 or 300 piastres, which is -to find him in arms and ammunition. These will consist of a brace of -pistols, a broadsword, and a musket, more often chosen for its silver -inlay than for its efficiency. He is confined to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> no particular dress. -He wears what he likes, and goes when and how he likes. The Government -finds him in provisions. One may see them everywhere about, reposing in -small parties in the shade or near a fountain and looking like banditti, -which, indeed, if they catch you out of sight of the town, they are. -They commit the most wanton cruelties and robberies in their march, and -at present there is no such thing as travelling in the country. As you -meet these independent ruffians in the street they look at you with the -most supercilious contempt and always expect you to make way for them. -Even yet the Turks have not lost the air of invaders, and look upon the -Greeks as conquered slaves, while these feel it as strongly as if they -had just lost their country. The other day I went to sketch some -antiquities under the walls. In the garden of a poor Greek we gathered -some fruit for which we meant to pay, but with the greatest kindness he -pressed us to eat more, and filled our pockets with cucumbers, saying we -were Christians, and he would take no money.</p> - -<p>The English have the best reputation of any Franks in this country.</p> - -<p>In walking out the other day our guide was insulted by a drunken -janissary. On the man's answering him the janissary came up, threatening -him with his sword. At this our man said he was surprised at such -behaviour to an Englishman; but the janissary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> declared he was a -Frenchman, and that unless he came and swept the street where he (the -janissary) sat we should not pass. Fortunately another janissary came -up, who was not drunk, and dragged him off, or there is no knowing how -the dispute would have ended. I hear a great deal of Sir Sidney Smith, -who, on account of his gallant co-operation with the Turks at Acre, has -gained the English much credit. Any Turk who has ever seen him is proud -of it, and whenever we meet a soldier the next question to whether we -are English is whether we know Sir Sidney Smith. I always say 'Yes,' to -which they say 'Buono.' The other day we overheard a Turk saying that -there were but two Generals in the world—Sir Sidney Smith and the -one-eyed captain (Lord Nelson). The Turks are so fond of Sir Sidney for -his wearing a Turkish dress, as well as for his gallantry, that he might -do what he pleased with them.</p> - -<p>On July the 30th Canning had his audience of the Caimacam, who is -substitute for the Grand Vizir while the latter is away with the army. I -thought it my duty as an Englishman to attend him to the audience, and -therefore went to his secretary to inquire if I was right in thinking -so, although no other of the English travellers did, and I suppose -Canning thought I had done rightly, for he did me the great honour of -ordering that of the pelisses presented to the English gentlemen at the -audience, I should receive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> one of the four handsomest, the others being -of very inferior quality.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>We rode through the streets as before, much admired by the populace, who -seemed, in these narrow streets, as though they would have fallen on us -from the roofs on which they stood. On our way we met quantities of -soldiers straggling about the town, waiting for the departure of the -Grand Signor. One of them, who took care to let himself be well seen, in -bravado had run his sword through the fleshy part of his shoulder, and -held the hilt in the hand of the same arm. When we saw it, it had been -done some hours, for the blood which had escaped from the wound was -clotted and dried. We proceeded, not to the Sublime Porte, for that has -been burnt, but to a palace which the Caimacam inhabits at present. Here -we scrambled up a wide staircase in a crowd of Turks and other intruders -who had no business in our train. The ceremony of the audience was very -short. The Caimacam appeared amidst cries of 'Marshalla! Marshalla!' -Then Canning and he sat face to face and delivered their speeches. I -thought Canning delivered his with a very manly good manner. After the -answer had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> been given, coffee, sweetmeats, and essence were brought to -our minister only, and when we had each put on our cloaks we returned, -as before, to Pera. I afterwards dined at the palace. I have this moment -heard that of sixteen fine sail of the line I lately saw in the -Bosphorus three are returned disabled. The Russians had but five, and -two corvettes, yet they got the best of the engagement. It only shows -what the naval discipline of the Turks is like.</p> - -<p><i>Buyukdere.</i>—Here are the country residences of all the foreign -ambassadors and merchants, and hard by, at Therapia, are the palaces -(such as they are, for the Turks allow them no colour but black) of the -Greek princes. I have taken a ride to see the scenes described by Lady -M. W. Montagu<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> about Belgrade, and in a gush of patriotic pride I sat -down and made a careful sketch and plan of what I was told was her -house. When I had done it I found to my disgust that it had been built -by her husband's successor, Sir Richard Worsley,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> a very dull man, -whose house could interest nobody.</p> - -<p>I had Foster with me as companion. We went in a boat up to the mouth of -the Black Sea, where it was very rough, and in landing on one of the -rocks I was in great danger."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> His father's home, Westbourne House, Paddington, a country -residence on the site of the present Westbourne Park.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The British ambassador, afterwards Sir Robert Adair.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Stratford Canning (1776-1880), afterwards Viscount -Stratford de Redcliffe. Secretary to the Embassy at this time, and later -the well known ambassador to the Porte.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> John Cam Hobhouse (1786-1869), afterwards Baron Broughton -Best man at Lord Byron's wedding. He was more than once a member of the -Government.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> In every present from a Turk to a Christian there is -something insulting implied. When a foreign minister is to be introduced -at the Ottoman Court the embassy is stopped in the outer apartment of -the serai, and when announced to the Despot his literal expression is: -"Feed and clothe these Christian dogs and then bring them into my -presence." Such is the real meaning of the dinner and pelisses given to -ambassadors and their suites.—<i>Beaufort.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762), authoress of the -famous "Letters." Her husband, Edward Wortley Montagu, went to -Constantinople as British Ambassador in 1716.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> 1751-1805. Traveller and collector of antiquities.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER III</h2> - -<p class="center">CONSTANTINOPLE CONTINUED—DANGERS OF SKETCHING—TURKISH ARCHITECTURE—A -TURKISH ACQUAINTANCE—SOCIETY IN CONSTANTINOPLE—VISIT TO THE PRINCES' ISLANDS.</p> - -<p>Cockerell's mother had wished him to take out an English manservant with -him, but the common sense of the rest of the family had overruled this -scheme. He writes, therefore, speaking of a man he had engaged at -Constantinople:</p> - -<p class="space-above">"As a servant I think Dimitri will suit me very well. He is well -informed, willing, and civil, knows all the countries I propose to -visit, is not extravagant, and does not seem afraid of danger. I must -confess he is very small, but so much the more is he subject to my fist. -The wages he asks are enormous—60<i>l.</i> a year—but I think I shall get -him for 45<i>l.</i> or 50<i>l.</i>, and at that figure it will, I think, be worth -while to engage him; at any rate, he will be better than such an English -lubber as my mother proposed I should take, who would have cost me more -and have been of no use. I find I am living now for rather over 7<i>s.</i> -6<i>d.</i> a day, servant included. Everything is at least as dear as in -London.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p><p>The drawings I told you of are finished, and I am now doing a set of -palaces, serais, &c., but the difficulty and really the danger I have -had to incur to do them you would not believe. As for insult, a -Christian has always to put up with that. Perhaps the Turks, pressed as -they are by the Russians, were never in a more sensitive or inflammatory -condition than at present, nor the country under less discipline and -order. In consequence they are more insolent to, and more suspicious of -foreigners than usual. The other day I was in the upper part of a shop -making some memoranda of a curious fountain while my servant waited -below in a coffee-house. He assured me that no less than forty Turks -came in, one after another, to ask who was that infidel, and what he -might be doing there. Again, I offered some bostangis from five to ten -piastres to admit me into a kiosk of the Grand Signors, now never used. -The poor men trembled at the risk, but they took us, and we were obliged -to steal along as they did, more as if we were going to commit a -burglary than visit a deserted palace.</p> - -<p>As we were rowing to it we saw a soldier armed at all points, with his -arms bare—a savage figure—rowing by the Greek and Armenian houses at -the water's edge. My servant knew his occupation well. He was searching -after some open door through which he could get into a house, and, if he -found the master<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> of it, he would demand a hundred or two piastres, -saying he had occasion for the money as he was going to the wars. The -poor man would have had to submit; to kill such a robber, even if he -could, would be to incur the vengeance of all his regiment, with the -risk of getting his house and half the neighbourhood burnt down. The -Greek tavern-keepers dare not open their doors now, for these scoundrels -swagger in and eat and drink and refuse to pay. The Turks themselves, -however, are enthusiastic about the army. I saw the other day, as a -colonel of one of the regiments was passing through Tophana, the people -rushing forward to bless him, and kissing the hem of his garment. They -like fighting and, I may add, blood, and cruelties to their fellow-men; -although to animals they are remarkably humane. The number of people -with slit or otherwise injured noses is a thing one cannot help -remarking. The other day I saw one man who had patched his, which was -still unhealed, with cotton, and he was fanning away the flies from it. -When I walked up to the gate of the Seraglio to see the five tails<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> -hanging up, there was the block of stone on which the heads of offenders -are put, and the blood still there.</p> - -<p>To architecture in the highest sense, viz. elegant construction in -stone, the Turks have no pretension. The mosques are always copies of -Santa Sophia with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> trifling variations, and have no claim to -originality. The bazaars are large buildings, but hardly architectural. -The imarets, or hospitals, are next in size (there are about fifty of -them in Constantinople, in which D'Ohson says 30,000 people daily are -fed), but neither have they anything artistic about them.</p> - -<p>The aqueducts, finally, are either reparations or imitations of old Roman work.</p> - -<p>These are all the buildings of a permanent character. The -dwelling-houses have the air of temporary habitations. They are -constructed mainly of wood, and are divided into very few chambers. -Turks eat and drink, live and sleep in one room. The sofa is their seat -and their bed, and when that is full they lay quilts, which are kept in -every room in cupboards, on the floor, and sleep about in them half -dressed. As ornaments to the walls they hang up their arms. They live in -this way even in the highest ranks. The men have no desire for privacy, -and the women's apartments are altogether separated off. The space -covered by each house is what we should consider immense. It has usually -only one storey—never more than two. The ground floor, used for -stables, storage, and offices, stands open on columns. A staircase, -often outside, leads up to an open balcony, out of which the effendi's -apartments open. These seldom consist of more than three—one for -audience and for living in; another for business, the secretary,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> &c.; -and the third for upper servants, the preparation of coffee, pipes, &c. -The harem, as I said, is parted off by a high wall with a separate -court, garden, and, often, exit to the street; but all one sees of a -house outside is generally a high wall and a capacious door into a court -with a hoodwink shade over it, and the gentlemen's apartments hanging -over one end of the premises. Sometimes there is a kiosk leading out of -the gallery to a rather higher level when there is a view to be got by -it, but externally there is nothing pretending to architectural effect -in the private house of a Turk.</p> - -<p>The really ornamental buildings in which anything that may be called -Turkish architecture is displayed, are the fountains and the grand -kiosks or summer residences.</p> - -<p>The fountains are commonly square reservoirs, the four sides enriched -with marble, carved, panelled, and gilt, with all the resources of -genuine Turkish taste. The forms are generally flowers and fruits and -texts from the Koran, with perhaps an inscription in memory of the -founder, such as 'Drink of my limpid waters and pray for the soul of -Achmet.' The tank is covered with a dome and gilt cullices with great -eaves which cast a broad shade over anyone who comes for water or repose.</p> - -<p>But the most charming things are the kiosks. You can imagine nothing -slighter than their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>architecture is. They are entirely of wood, and -even the most extensive are finished in about two months. They display -the customs of the Sultans, and they are such as you might imagine from -reading the 'Arabian Nights'—golden halls with cupolas, domes and -cullices hanging over pools of water, with fountains and little falls of -water, all in the genuine Turkish taste.</p> - -<p>Moreover, although it is a subject no one has hitherto condescended to -treat of, they do show an artistic taste in the cheerful disposition of -their apartments, gardens, courts, and fountains, which is worth -attention.</p> - -<p>The rooms are all so contrived as to have windows on two sides at least, -and sometimes on three, and the windows are so large that the effect is -like that of a glass-house. The Turks seem to be the only people who -properly appreciate broad sunshine and the pleasure of a fine view. -Unfortunately, the Turkish, which is something like the Persian style, -only appears in the architecture. As to decoration, I was bitterly -disappointed to find that now they have no manner peculiar to themselves -of ornamenting these fanciful interiors. They are done in the old French -crinkum-crankum [? Louis XV.—<i>Ed.</i>] style by rascally renegades, and -very badly.</p> - -<p>On a green lawn, in a shady valley partly surrounded by fine trees, -partly hanging over the Bosphorus to catch the cool of the sea-breeze, -there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> stands one of the kiosks of the Sultan, a real summer-house -consisting of one room only, with several small entering rooms for the -Sultan, one for his suite and some small ones for service.</p> - -<p>This is known as the Chebuble kiosk. In the valley near are various -marble columns put up to commemorate shots made by the Grand Signor in -practising at a mark.</p> - -<p>Another we saw was the serai of the Sultan's sister. It was at the peril -of the poor gardener's head, and I was obliged to bribe him well for the -sight. I was able to make a running sketch of the place, and to glance -at the furnishing, which was all newly done up for the Sultana's -reception. The sofas were all splendidly embroidered by native -work-people, and there was a magnificent profusion of Lyons silk, the -colours and the gilding on the ceilings and walls as brilliant as you -can imagine. One room was entirely, as I was told, of gold plaque. There -was frosted and embossed work as a relief to the colours, and the -effect, if very gaudy, was striking. Generally this sort of splendour in -Turkey is expended on the carved ceilings, but in this case the sofas -and window frames were as rich as the rest, and the niches with shelves -for flowers on either side of the entrance.</p> - -<p>The baths, which form a principal feature in every serai, are very -elegant here. The pavement,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> the fountains, and the pillars are all -marble, and carved and gilded and painted besides.</p> - -<p>But the apartment which gave me most pleasure is the reception hall. It -has something the form of a cross, with a great oval centre which is 72 -feet by 51 feet, and to the extremities, looking, one on the garden, the -other on the port, the range is 114 feet by 105 feet. I do assure you -the effect of the room, with its gorgeous ceiling and the suspended -chandelier, is enchanting—quite one's ideal of what ought to be found -in the Oriental style. I am told that the Sultana entertains her brother -here by displaying all the beauties of her household. The most lovely -girls are assembled here to dance, and the Sultan watches them from a -window with a gold grating. When Sébastiani<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> assisted in the defence -of Constantinople, at the time of Admiral Duckworth's forcing of the -Dardanelles, the Sultana invited his wife here and received her with the -greatest honours. On landing from her boat she was passed through a -crowd of eunuchs richly dressed in gold and silk, and on entering the -house she found the staircase lined with the most beautiful young women, -who handed her up to the presence of the Sultana,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> where she was -entertained with sweetmeats, dancing, &c., as was Lady Mary Wortley -Montagu.</p> - -<p>Near this serai, and communicating with it, is the palace of the Pasha -to whom this Sultana was married; and his living here is an -extraordinary exception to the rule, which is that the husband of a -Sultana should never be allowed to live within twenty miles of the -capital—for political reasons, no doubt. When it is her pleasure to see -him she sends him a note in a pocket handkerchief, the corners of which -are folded over with a seal, so that it makes a bag. Sometimes the -invitation is conveyed by a hint: a slave is sent by the passage of -communication to open the door of his apartment, which the Pasha would -perfectly understand.</p> - -<p>The other parts of the palace are entirely for the use of slaves. There -are, as appears to be usual in Turkish palaces, several escapes, and to -these I looked with peculiar interest; since, if we had been caught, -there is no knowing what might have happened to the poor gardener, or, -for the matter of that, to myself. However, we were not interrupted, I -paid him 30 piastres and we slunk away together.</p> - -<p>We had not got home, however, before we met the boats of the Sultana, -which, if we had stayed there ten minutes longer, might have surprised us.</p> - -<p>It is not easy to get into any intimacy with Turks; but if I have not -seen much of their society,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> I have seen more than any of my -fellow-travellers have. With those who have no manners at all it is not -difficult to get acquainted. For instance, an imam (priest), a neighbour -of ours, often drops in at the dinner hour, taking compassion on me when -I am alone. He plays at billiards, drinks and swears, and is very -troublesome; but he has a great respect for my art, and my plans above -all things excite his astonishment. I scraped acquaintance, too, with a -Turk architect, in the hope of getting to see more palaces; but he also -is too great a rogue to keep company with, for he gets drunk and stabs -his friends; and as for his art he is not worth cultivating for that, -for it is confined to the chisel and mallet. And his promises are false -promises; for with all my hopes I have never got him to show me -anything. My specimen friend hitherto is Beki-Beki Effendi, who seems to -be a real Turkish gentleman. He had been brought up in the Seraglio as -one of the attendants on the Grand Signor, and his manners struck me as -very fine, having a cheerfulness and regard for his visitors, mixed with -great dignity. My host, who has already shown me great kindnesses, -presented me to him and explained my mission. He expressed himself much -pleased to be made acquainted with an English traveller, hoped I was -well, liked Constantinople, &c., and presented me with a little bottle -of oil of aloes, the scent of which was nice. We smoked,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> ate -sweetmeats, and conversed by interpreter, and after two mortal hours' -stay (conceive such a visit!) were preparing to go when his -father-in-law arrived. I was told it would be grossly impolite to -persist in going, so we stopped on. Beki sent his slaves forward to -usher in the new arrival, and then stood in a particular spot and -position to receive him, and touched his garment with his hand, which he -then kissed. He then paid him the highest marks of attention, inquired -after his health, &c. The father then walked upstairs, attended by two -slaves, one on each side holding him under the arm, as if assisting him, -although he was not at all old. We stayed another half-hour, and then at -last tore ourselves away.</p> - -<p>In return for taking me to see a certain palace, Beki begged me show him -the English embassy. He accordingly called on me on an appointed day at -ten o'clock. Taking a hint from my host I had a breakfast prepared which -we should call a solid dinner; and a parasite living in the inn, a -common animal in these countries, assisted my party. My visitors made a -big day of it, and got very merry over their fare, drinking copiously of -rum punch, which, as it is not wine, is not forbidden to the Mussulman, -and at the end paid me a string of compliments. I presented my visitor -with one of those new phosphoric contrivances [? a tinder-box.—<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>], -and never was an effendi more delighted. 'If you had given me a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> casket -of jewels,' said he, 'I should not have been better pleased.'</p> - -<p>We walked up to the embassy and sauntered about the rooms. What best -pleased Beki were the pictures of the King and Queen, which he -pronounced very beautiful (<i>Chouk Guzul</i>), and the cut-glass -chandeliers; but the few windows seemed dull to his Turkish taste.</p> - -<p>We got home and regaled again, and on his proposal to retire, I returned -him his compliment and begged him to stay and sleep, which I am happy to -say he refused, for where we should have stowed him I know not.</p> - -<p>So passed an idle, odious day. I was worn out with trying to do the -agreeable through an interpreter, but—I had seen a Turkish gentleman.</p> - -<p>And when I reflect upon him, I cannot help feeling that, as a contrast -to what I am accustomed to, there was something very fascinating about -him. I have been used to see men slaves to their affairs, still wearing -themselves with work when they possess every requisite of life, and not -knowing how to enjoy the blessings their exertions have procured them. -Whereas here was a man who calmly enjoyed what he had, doing his best to -make himself and those around him happy. With any but absolute paupers -contentment is the common frame of mind in this country. The poor -tradesman in the bazaar works<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> his hours of business, and then sits -cross-legged on his shop-board and enjoys his pipe like an emperor. -There is no mean cringeing for patronage. The very porters in their -services have an air of condescension, and never seem to feel -inferiority.</p> - -<p>The climate, of course, has a great deal to do with it. One may sleep in -the open air most of the year, and if one does little work, a bit of -water-melon and slice of bread dipped in salt and water is an excellent -repast. Temperance is hardly a virtue where rich food could only make -one unwell.</p> - -<p>Whatever be the attraction—the tenets of the Faith, or the leisurely -life, or the desire to live in Turkey without the inconveniences of -nonconformity—conversion to Mahommedanism is a very common thing. I -have met several French renegades, and some English have been pointed -out to me. Our frigates have frequent quarrels with the Turks on this -head; and even of the Spaniards, who are supposed to be so bigoted, an -incredible number turned Turks at the time that their ships of war first -came up here.</p> - -<p>As for society amongst the foreigners, diplomatic and others, although -there is a complete Frank quarter, and it is said to have been at one -time very pleasant, there is hardly any now. For one thing, in these -times of general war, the ministers of countries at variance at home now -hold no communication, nor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> do their families; in the case of the French -this is by a peremptory order of their Government. So there is little -meeting and next to no entertainment, and for lack of other amusement a -vast deal of scandal, of mining and countermining of each other's -reputations, with the result that they come to be nearly as mean in -character as they try to make each other out to be; and another reason -is that among the merchants who formerly vied in magnificence with the -ministers, there is now great distress, and hardly one could give a -decent dinner. Their ships lie rotting in the ports, and the hands, -Ragusans mostly, hang about gnawing their fingers with hunger.</p> - -<p>Among the few families one could visit was that of the Charnowskis, -Poles, the ladies of which are the admired of all the English here, and -especially of my two companions, Sir W. Ingilby and Foster, who have -fallen completely under the thumbs of these beautiful sirens. I saw -enough of them to feel compassion for my friends and almost to need it -myself.</p> - -<p>Another family we know, of the name of Hubsch, who are amusing. The -Baron, as he styles himself, is a sort of minister of a number of little -Powers which have no earthly relation with the Turks, as Denmark, -Prussia, Norway, &c., and as he hoists all their flags over his house, -the Turks believe him to be a very mighty person. He affects to be in -the secrets of all the Cabinets of Europe, and assumes an air of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -prodigious mystery in politics. He is banker and manager of all things -and all persons who will be imposed upon by him.</p> - -<p>I imagine him to be a regular adventurer; but adventurers are common in -Constantinople. It seems to be one of their last resorts."</p> - -<p class="space-above">From notes in a sketch-book it appears that in the interval between the -writing of this letter and the next, which is dated from Salonica, my -father made an expedition to the Princes' Islands, in the Sea of -Marmora, in company with Foster and a Mr. Hume,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> who had lately -returned from Egypt. His object in going was chiefly to visit the scene -of the death of his cousin, George Belli, R.N., lieutenant of the <i>Royal -George</i>, who was killed with four sailors of Admiral Duckworth's fleet -in attacking a monastery held by some Turks on the Island of Chalcis.</p> - -<p>An entry made on the same day gives one some idea of Turkish -misgovernment. "On the Princes' Islands they have lately discovered an -excellent earth for making crockery; but they dare not use it, for fear -the authorities should get ear of it and heavily tax them. With such -encouragement to industry, no wonder that Turkey should be bankrupt."</p> - -<p>A man's career is immensely influenced by his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> personal appearance. My -father's passport, made out at this time at Constantinople for his -voyage in the Levant, gives, as was usual in those days, for -identification, a description under several printed heads, as "stature," -"face," "eyes," &c., of the bearer.</p> - -<p>It is a large form printed in Italian, beginning "Noi Stratford Canning -ministro plenipotenziario di sua Maestà il re della Gran Bretagna," and -so on presently to Cockerell's name and the date, 8 September, 1810. At -the bottom is the description—"Statura, mezzana; viso, triangolare; -occhi, negri e splendenti; naso, fino; bocca di vermiglia; fronte, di -marmo," and below "in somma Apollo lui stesso." This was Canning's -jocose extravagance. Nevertheless it indicates that the bearer possessed -a fortunate exterior, which had probably something to do with the good -reception he generally met with in society throughout his life.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Horse-tail standards, the symbols of the sultan's rank.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> François Horace Bastien Sébastiani (1772-1851), a Corsican -adherent of Napoleon, under whom he rose to be general of division. In -1806 he was sent as Ambassador to Constantinople. Later he fought in -Spain, Austria, Russia, Germany, and France in 1814. After the fall of -Napoleon he took service under the Bourbons, was Minister of Marine and -Minister for Foreign Affairs under Louis Philippe, Ambassador to -England, 1835-1840, and was made finally a marshal of France.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Joseph Hume (1777-1855), a Scotchman of humble origin. -Having made money in India, he took to political life, sat in Parliament -for various constituencies, and for thirty years was leader of the -Radical party.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> - -<p class="center">LEAVES CONSTANTINOPLE—BY TROY, SALONICA, MYCONE, DELOS, TO ATHENS—LIFE -IN ATHENS—ACQUAINTANCES—BYRON, ETC.</p> - -<p>About the middle of September, Cockerell, with Ingilby<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> and Foster, -set sail for Greece. They stopped on their way to pay a visit to the -Plain of Troy. The facilities for travelling nowadays have made us -calmly familiar with the scenes of the past, but in 1810 to stand upon -classic ground was to plant one's feet in a fairyland of romance, and a -traveller who had got so unusually far might well permit his enthusiasm -to find vent. When Cockerell was pointed out the tomb of Patroclus, he -took off his clothes and, in imitation of Achilles, ran three times -round it, naked. Thence they went by Tenedos and Lemnos to Salonica. -Nothing in the notes of this journey is worth recording except perhaps -the mention he makes of Tenedos as being still in a state of desolation -from the cruel Russian attack upon it in the year 1807.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I ought to give you a notion of the political state of this part of the -country. Ali Pasha of Yanina rules<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> over the Morea, Albania, and -Thessaly nearly up to Salonica, while the Pasha of Serres has Salonica -and Macedonia nearly up to Constantinople, and both are practically -independent of the Porte, obeying it or assisting it only as far as they -please. Now, Ali Pasha has sent his son Veli with 15,000 men to join the -Sultan's army against the Russians, but he on his way has encamped near -Salonica and threatens to take possession of it. The Bey accordingly -pays every sort of court to him, and sends out presents and provisions -to mollify him. In the meanwhile the Sultan has given to another pasha a -firman to take the Morea in Veli Pasha's absence, and he (Veli) is now -waiting for his father Ali's advice as to whether he should proceed to -the war, recover the Morea, or take Salonica. Fancy, what a state for a -country to be in! The Sultan is a puppet in the hands of the -janissaries, who on their side are powerless outside the city, so that -the country without and within is in a state of anarchy."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The party took a passage from Salonica to Athens in a Greek merchantman.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"We passed Zagora, until lately a rich and prosperous commercial town, -but it has been taken by Ali Pasha and he has reduced it to utter ruin. -Off Scopolo a boat came out and fired a gun for us to heave to. The crew -told me she was a pirate, but when we fired a gun in return to show that -we also were armed, the crew of the boat merely wished us a happy -journey.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p><p>The wind falling light, we anchored in a small bay and landed, and -there we made fire in a cave and cooked our dinner. It was most -romantic. After touching at Scyros, we put into Andros. While our ship -was lying here in the port our sailors became mutinous. They began by -stealing a pig from the land, and then went on to ransack our baggage -and steal from it knives, clothes, and other things. All this happened -while we ourselves were on shore, but our servants remonstrated, -whereupon the scoundrels threatened to throw them overboard. There was -nothing for us to do but apply to the English consul for protection. He -sent for the chief instigator of the troubles, but he, as soon as he got -ashore, ran away and was lost sight of. Under the circumstances, what we -did was to deduct from the captain's pay the value of our losses and -shift our goods from on board his vessel into another boat, a small one, -in which we set sail for the island of Tinos.</p> - -<p>We slept at San Nicolo on the bare ground, having made ourselves a fire -in a tiny chapel. Fop, my dog, fell into a well and was rescued with -great difficulty. One of the peasants, who had never seen anything like -a Skye terrier before, when he saw him pulled out took him for a fiend -or a goblin, and crossed himself devoutly.</p> - -<p>We sailed in the open boat all through a very stormy day, and arrived at -last at Tinos (the town),<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> thoroughly chilled and wet. The island, once -highly prosperous, is now poor and depopulated.</p> - -<p>From Tinos we sailed across to Great Delos (Rhenea), slept in a hut, and -next day went on to Little Delos. Here there was nothing to sleep in but -the sail of the boat, and nothing to eat at all. Everything on the -island had been bought up by an English frigate a few days before. We -were obliged to send across to Great Delos for a kid, which was killed -and roasted by us in the Temple of Apollo. I spent my time sketching and -measuring everything I could see in the way of architectural remains, -and copying every inscription. I had to work hard, but without house or -food we could not stop where we were, and in the evening we sailed to -Mycone.</p> - -<p>Next day I went back to Delos, and after much consideration resolved to -try to dig there. I had to sleep in the open air, for the company of the -diggers in the hut was too much for me. First I made out the columns of -the temple and drew a restoration of the plan. Then we went on digging, -but discovered next to nothing—a beautiful fragment of a hand, a dial, -some glass, copper, lead, &c., and vast masses of marble chips, as -though it had once been a marble-mason's shop. At last it seemed to -promise so little that I gave it up and went back to Mycone; but on the -28th, not liking to be beaten, I went back alone to have a last look. -But I could discover<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> no indications to make further digging hopeful, so -I came away."</p> - -<p class="space-above">From Mycone the travellers sailed to Syra, and from thence to Zea, where -they stayed some days at least; for there is in Bronstedt's "Voyages et -recherches en Grèce" a drawing by my father of a colossal lion which -must have been made at this time. Ingilby had left them, but my father -and Foster must have arrived in Athens about the beginning of December -1810. Not long after he made acquaintance with a brother craftsman, -Baron Haller von Hallerstein, a studious and accomplished artist, about -fourteen years his senior, and a gentleman by birth and nature; -altogether a valuable companion. The two struck up a great intimacy, and -henceforth were inseparable. They could be of service to each other. -Haller was travelling on a very small allowance from his patron, Prince -Louis of Bavaria; and my father, while he profited by the company of a -man of greater learning and experience, was able in return to add to his -comfort by getting commissions for him to do drawings for some of his -English friends,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> and in other ways supplementing his means. He had -come to Athens from Rome with one Linckh, a painter from Cannstadt, -Baron Stackelberg,<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> an Esthonian from Revel,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> Bronstedt,<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> a Dane, -and Koes, another Dane, all of them accomplished men, seriously engaged -in antiquarian studies. Together they formed a society suited to my -father's tastes and pursuits.</p> - -<p>In the way of Englishmen there were Messrs. Graham and Haygarth and Lord -Byron, all three young Cambridge men of fortune, with whom, especially -the two first, he was intimate.</p> - -<p>His only other friends, except Greeks, were Fauvel, the French consul, -who had taste and information, and was owner of a good collection of -Greek antiquities; and Lusieri,<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> the Italian draughtsman to Lord -Elgin, an individual of indifferent character.</p> - -<p>Athens was a small place. There was a khan, of course, but nothing in -the shape of an hotel. The better class of travellers lived in lodgings, -the best known of which were those of Madame Makri, a Greek lady, the -widow of a Scotchman of the name of Macree, who had been British consul -in Athens in his day. She had three pretty daughters known to travellers -as "les Consulines" or "les trois Grâces," of whom the eldest was -immortalised as "the Maid of Athens" in a much overrated lyric by Lord -Byron, who was one of their lodgers.</p> - -<p>As they were going to stop some time in the town,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> instead of going into -an apartment, Foster and my father took a house together.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"There is hardly anything that can be called society among the Greeks. I -know a few families, but I very rarely visit them, for such society as -theirs is hateful.</p> - -<p>As for the Greek men, in their slavery they have become utterly -contemptible, bigoted, narrow-minded, lying, and treacherous. They have -nothing to do but pull their neighbours' characters to pieces. Retired -as I am, you would hardly believe there is not a thing I do that is not -known and worse represented. Apropos of an act of insolence of the -Disdar aga's (which I made him repair before the waiwode, the governor -of the town), I heard that it was reported that I had been bastinadoed. -This report I had to answer by spreading another, viz. that I should -promptly shoot anyone, Turk or Christian, who should venture to lay a -hand upon me. This had its effect, and I heard no more of bastinadoing. -I do not think we are in much danger here. The Franks are highly -esteemed by the governor, and the English especially.</p> - -<p>The other day we witnessed the departure of the old waiwode and the -arrival of the new. Just as the former was leaving, the heroes from the -Russian war arrived, brown and dusty. The leading man carried a banner. -As they came into the court they were received with discharge of -pistols, and embraced by their old friends with great demonstrations. I -was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> very much affected. I heard afterwards that the rogues had never -been further than Sofia, and had never smelt any powder but that which -had gone to the killing of one of them by his companion in a brawl. So -much for my feelings. The outgoing waiwode was escorted by the new one -with great ceremony as far as the sacred wood.</p> - -<p>March 13 is the Turkish New Year's Day, and is a great festival with -them. The women go out to Asomatos and dance on the grass. Men are not -admitted to the party, but Greek women are. Linckh, Haller, and I went -to see them from a distance, taking with us a glass, the better to see -them. We were discovered, and some Turkish boys, many of whom were -armed, came in great force towards us, and began to throw stones at us -from some way off. Instead of retreating, we stood up to receive them, -which rather intimidated them, and they stopped throwing and came up. We -laughed with them, which in some measure assuaged them, and when some -one said 'Bakshish' we gave them some to scramble for, and so by degrees -retired. Some of the Greek and Turkish women laughed at us for being -driven off by boys; but it was a dangerous thing so to offend national -prejudices, and I was very well pleased to be out of it. At best ours -was an inglorious position.</p> - -<p>Foster has received a love letter: a para with a hole in it, a morsel of -charcoal, and a piece of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> silk such as the women tie their hair -with. This last signifies that the sender is reduced to the last -extremities of love, and the idea is that a sympathetic passion will -arise in the receiver and make him discover the sender within nine days."</p> - -<p class="space-above">These love letters are common to all the East, not to Turkey only. Lady -Mary Wortley Montagu gives an account of one consisting of some dozen or -twenty symbols, but she says she believes there are a million of -recognised ones. Common people, however, were probably contented with -very few. According to her, hair (and I suppose that which ties the -hair) means, Crown of my head; coal, May I die and all my years be -yours; gold wire, I die, come quickly. So Foster's letter reads, "Crown -of my head, I am yours; come quickly."</p> - -<p class="space-above">"<i>April 11th.</i>—Lord Byron embarked to-day on board the transport (which -is carrying Lord Elgin's Marbles) for Malta. He takes this letter with -him, and will send it on to you, I trust, immediately on his arrival in -England. I must close, as he is just off for the Piræus."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The ship did not leave the port, however, for some days, as we shall see -below; and besides this delay, Lord Byron was laid up when he got to -Malta and only arrived in England in July, so the letter was long on its way.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Sir William Amcotte Ingilby, Bart. (died 1854), of Ripley -Castle, Yorks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Lord Byron writes that he is having some views done by a -famous Bavarian artist.—Letter 59. Life by T. Moore.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Baron Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (1760-1836), -antiquarian; author of <i>Der Apollotempel zu Bassae</i> and other works.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Peter Oluf Bronstedt (1781-1842), Danish archæologist. Was -made Chevalier Bronstedt and sent by his Government as minister to -Rome.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Lusieri, a Neapolitan, painter to the King of Naples; -engaged as draughtsman by Lord Elgin. He was still in Athens in 1816.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V</h2> - -<p class="center">TRIP TO ÆGINA—DISCOVERY AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE MARBLES TO -ATHENS—EFFORTS TO SELL THEM.</p> - -<p>"I told you we were going to make a tour in the Morea, but before doing -so we determined to see the remains of the temple at Ægina, opposite -Athens, a three hours' sail. Our party was to be Haller, Linckh, Foster, -and myself. At the moment of our starting an absurd incident occurred. -There had been for some time a smouldering war between our servants and -our janissary. When the latter heard that he was not to go with us, it -broke out into a blaze. He said it was because the servants had been -undermining his character, which they equally angrily denied. But he was -in a fury, went home, got drunk, and then came out into the street and -fired off his pistols, bawling out that no one but he was the legitimate -protector of the English. For fear he should hurt some one with his -shooting, I went out to him and expostulated. He was very drunk, and -professed to love us greatly and that he would defend us against six or -seven or even eight Turks; but as for the servants, 'Why, my soul,' he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -said, 'have they thus treated me?' I contrived, however, to prevent his -loading his pistols again, and as he worked the wine off, calm was at -length restored; but the whole affair delayed us so long that we did not -walk down to the Piræus till night. As we were sailing out of the port -in our open boat we overtook the ship with Lord Byron on board. Passing -under her stern we sang a favourite song of his, on which he looked out -of the windows and invited us in. There we drank a glass of port with -him, Colonel Travers, and two of the English officers, and talked of the -three English frigates that had attacked five Turkish ones and a sloop -of war off Corfu, and had taken and burnt three of them. We did not stay -long, but bade them 'bon voyage' and slipped over the side. We slept -very well in the boat, and next morning reached Ægina. The port is very -picturesque. We went on at once from the town to the Temple of Jupiter, -which stands at some distance above it; and having got together workmen -to help us in turning stones, &c., we pitched our tents for ourselves, -and took possession of a cave at the north-east angle of the platform on -which the temple stands—which had once been, perhaps, the cave of a -sacred oracle—as a lodging for the servants and the janissary. The seas -hereabouts are still infested with pirates, as they always have been. -One of the workmen pointed me out the pirate boats off Sunium, which is -one of their favourite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> haunts, and which one can see from the temple -platform. But they never molested us during the twenty days and nights -we camped out there, for our party, with servants and janissary, was too -strong to be meddled with. We got our provisions and labourers from the -town, our fuel was the wild thyme, there were abundance of partridges to -eat, and we bought kids of the shepherds; and when work was over for the -day, there was a grand roasting of them over a blazing fire with an -accompaniment of native music, singing and dancing. On the platform was -growing a crop of barley, but on the actual ruins and fallen fragments -of the temple itself no great amount of vegetable earth had collected, -so that without very much labour we were able to find and examine all -the stones necessary for a complete architectural analysis and -restoration. At the end of a few days we had learnt all we could wish to -know of the construction, from the stylobate to the tiles, and had done -all we came to do.</p> - -<p>But meanwhile a startling incident had occurred which wrought us all to -the highest pitch of excitement. On the second day one of the -excavators, working in the interior portico, struck on a piece of Parian -marble which, as the building itself is of stone, arrested his -attention. It turned out to be the head of a helmeted warrior, perfect -in every feature. It lay with the face turned upwards, and as the -features came out by degrees you can imagine nothing like the state<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> of -rapture and excitement to which we were wrought. Here was an altogether -new interest, which set us to work with a will. Soon another head was -turned up, then a leg and a foot, and finally, to make a long story -short, we found under the fallen portions of the tympanum and the -cornice of the eastern and western pediments no less than sixteen -statues and thirteen heads, legs, arms, &c. (another account says -seventeen and fragments of at least ten more), all in the highest -preservation, not 3 feet below the surface of the ground.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> It seems -incredible, considering the number of travellers who have visited the -temple, that they should have remained so long undisturbed.</p> - -<p>It is evident that they were brought down with the pediment on the top -of them by an earthquake, and all got broken in the fall; but we have -found all the pieces and have now put together, as I say, sixteen entire -figures.</p> - -<p>The unusual bustle about the temple rapidly increased as the news of our -operations spread. Many more men than we wanted began to congregate -round us and gave me a good deal of trouble. Greek workmen have pretty -ways. They bring you bunches of roses in the morning with pretty wishes -for your good health; but they can be uncommonly insolent when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> there is -no janissary to keep them in order. Once while Foster, being away at -Athens, had taken the janissary with him, I had the greatest pother with -them. A number that I did not want would hang about the diggings, now -and then taking a hand themselves, but generally interfering with those -who were labouring, and preventing any orderly and businesslike work. So -at last I had to speak to them. I said we only required ten men, who -should each receive one piastre per day, and that that was all I had to -spend; and if more than ten chose to work, no matter how many they might -be, there would still be only the ten piastres to divide amongst them. -They must settle amongst themselves what they would choose to do. Upon -this what did the idlers do? One of them produced a fiddle; they settled -into a ring and were preparing to dance. This was more than I could put -up with. We should get no work done at all. So I interfered and stopped -it, declaring that only those who worked, and worked hard, should get -paid anything whatever. This threat was made more efficacious by my -evident anger, and gradually the superfluous men left us in peace, and -we got to work again.</p> - -<p>It was not to be expected that we should be allowed to carry away what -we had found without opposition. However much people may neglect their -own possessions, as soon as they see them coveted by others they begin -to value them. The primates of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> the island came to us in a body and read -a statement made by the council of the island in which they begged us to -desist from our operations, for that heaven only knew what misfortunes -might not fall on the island in general, and the immediately surrounding -land in particular, if we continued them. Such a rubbishy pretence of -superstitious fear was obviously a mere excuse to extort money, and as -we felt that it was only fair that we should pay, we sent our dragoman -with them to the village to treat about the sum; and meanwhile a boat -which we had ordered from Athens having arrived, we embarked the marbles -without delay and sent them off under the care of Foster and Linckh, -with the janissary, to the Piræus, and from thence they were carried up -to Athens by night to avoid exciting attention. Haller and I remained to -carry on the digging, which we did with all possible vigour. The marbles -being gone, the primates came to be easier to deal with. We completed -our bargain with them to pay them 800 piastres, about 40<i>l.</i>, for the -antiquities we had found, with leave to continue the digging till we had -explored the whole site. Altogether it took us sixteen days of very hard -work, for besides watching and directing and generally managing the -workmen, we had done a good deal of digging and handling of the marbles -ourselves; all heads and specially delicate parts we were obliged to -take out of the ground ourselves for fear of the workmen ruining<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> them. -On the whole we have been fortunate. Very few have been broken by -carelessness. Besides all this, which was outside our own real business, -we had been taking measurements and making careful drawings of every -part and arrangement of the architecture till every detail of the -construction and, as far as we could fathom it, of the art of the -building itself was clearly understood by us. Meanwhile, after one or -two days' absence, Foster and Linckh came back; and it then occurred to -us that the receipt for the 800 piastres had only been given to the -names of Foster and myself (who had paid it), and Linckh and Haller -desired that theirs should be added. Linckh therefore went off to the -town to get the matter rectified. But this was not so easy. The lawyer -was a crafty rogue, and pretending to be drunk as soon as he had got -back the receipt into his hands, refused to give it up, and did not do -so until after a great deal of persuasion and threatening. When we fell -in with him at dinner two days later he met us with the air of the most -candid unconcern. It was at the table of a certain Chiouk aga who had -been sent from Constantinople to receive the rayah tax. Linckh had met -him in the town when he went about the receipt, and the Chiouk had paid -us a visit at the temple next day and dined with us, eating and -especially drinking a great deal. A compliment he paid us was to drink -our healths firing off a pistol. I had to do the same<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> in return. The -man had been to England, and even to Oxford, and had come back with an -odd jumble of ideas which amused us but are not worth repeating. Next -day, as I have said, we dined with him and the rogue of a lawyer. He was -very hospitable. Dinner consisted mainly of a whole lamb, off which with -his fingers he tore entire limbs and threw them into our plates, which -we, equally with our fingers, <i>à la Turque</i>, ate as best we could. We -finished the evening with the Albanian dance, and walked up home to our -tent."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The whole party with their treasures got back to Athens on the 9th or -10th of May 1811, and on the 13th he writes:</p> - -<p class="space-above">"We are now hard at work joining the broken pieces, and have taken a -large house for the purpose. Some of the figures are already restored, -and have a magnificent effect. Our council of artists here considers -them as not inferior to the remains of the Parthenon, and certainly only -in the second rank after the torso of the Vatican and other <i>chefs -d'œuvre</i>. We conduct all our affairs with respect to them in the -utmost secrecy, for fear the Turk should either reclaim them or put -difficulties in the way of our exporting them. The few friends we have -and consult are dying with jealousy, and one<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> who had meant to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> -farmed Ægina of the Captain Pasha has literally made himself quite ill -with fretting. Fauvel, the French consul, was also a good deal -disappointed; but he is too good a fellow to let envy affect his -actions, and he has given excellent help and advice. The finding of such -a treasure has tried every character concerned with it. He saw that this -would be the case, and for fear it should operate to the prejudice of -our beautiful collection, he proposed our signing a contract of honour -that no one should take any measures to sell or divide it without the -consent of the other three parties. This was done. It is not to be -divided. It is a collection which a king or great nobleman who had the -arts of his country at heart should spare no effort to secure; for it -would be a school of art as well as an ornament to any country. The -Germans have accordingly written to their ministers, and I have written -to Canning; while Fauvel, who has a general order for the purpose from -his minister, will make an offer to us on the French account. I had -hoped that Lord Sligo would have offered for it; but our Germans, who -calculate by the price of marbles in Rome, have named such a monstrous -figure that it has frightened him. They talk of from 6,000<i>l.</i> to -8,000<i>l.</i>; but as we are eager that they should go to our museum, Foster -and I have undertaken to present our shares if the marbles go to -England, and I have written<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> to Canning to say so. It would make a -sensible deduction.</p> - -<p>The whole matter is still full of uncertainties, for the Turks may give -us a good deal of trouble. But one thing seems clear—that these marbles -may detain me here much longer than I proposed to stop; and though we -have agreed not to divide the collection, it may come to that if we -cannot get away without; and if we can get them to England, even -Foster's and my portions would make a noble acquisition to the museum.</p> - -<p>We have been very busy getting the marbles into order, that Lord Sligo -might be able to see them before leaving. He takes this letter with -him."</p> - -<p class="space-above">It was shortly after this, viz. on June 13, that Messrs. -Gaily-Knight<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> and Fazakerly arrived in Athens from Egypt and made an -offer, which was to buy out Messrs. Haller and Linckh's shares in the -marbles for 2,000<i>l.</i>, and then, in conjunction with Mr. Foster and my -father, to present the whole to the British Museum.</p> - -<p>The offer unfortunately could not be accepted, as it did not come up to -the price demanded by the Germans.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Only fifteen statues were pieced together by Thorwaldsen -and Wagner, but there were numerous fragments besides those used by -them, which are still the subject of conjectural restorations.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> I suppose Lusieri.—<span class="smcap">Ed.</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Henry Gally-Knight (1786-1846), M.P., writer of several -works on architecture.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> - -<p class="center">LIFE IN ATHENS—ELEUSIS—TRANSPORTATION OF ÆGINA MARBLES TO ZANTE.</p> - -<p>My father was now in for a long stay in the country, and seeing -something more of it than the usual tourist, even of those days. One or -two entries from his diary give one a slight insight into the barbarous -condition of the country at this time.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"The Pasha of Negropont has sent a demand of a certain number of purses -of the people of Athens. Logotheti, Greek Archon of Athens, excited the -people to go to the cadi and present a protest, which he promised he -would support. The people went as far as the house, when Logotheti -stepped aside into a neighbouring house, whence he could see the cadi's -countenance and judge how to speak to him. He saw he took it well, and -then he spoke in support of the protest. This Pasha of Negropont, -however, is a redoubtable person. It was expected that he would send -troops to attack Athens, but it seems that was too strong a measure even -for him. Instead, he has intercepted some poor Albanian cheese -merchants,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> and detains them until some or all of the money has been -paid him.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> - -<p>One day I went to the waiwode on business. We had a long talk consisting -mainly of questions about England, in which he displayed his ignorance -to great advantage. After inquiring after his great friend Elfi Bey [? -Lord Elgin], he asked what on earth we came here for, so far and at so -much trouble, if not for money. Did it give us a preference in obtaining -public situations, or were we paid? It was useless to assure him that we -considered it part of education to travel, and that Athens was a very -ancient place and much revered by us. He only thought the more that our -object must be one we wished to conceal. I told him of the fuss made in -London over the Persian ambassador, and that if he went all the world -would wonder at him. At this he got very excited, and said he wished he -had a good carico of oil which he could take to England, thereby paying -his journey, and that once he was there he would make everyone pay to -see him. All that he knew about England was that there were beautiful -gardens there, especially one named Marcellias (Marseilles)! The man's -one idea was money, and he kept on repeating that he was very poor. No -wonder Greece is miserable under such rulers.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p><p>Veli Pasha, Governor of the Morea, passed through Athens a short time -ago in a palankin of gold, while the country is in misery.</p> - -<p>The Greeks, cringeing blackguards as they are, have often a sort of -pride of their own. One of our servants, who received a piastre a day -(1<i>s.</i>), has just left us. His amorosa, who lived close by, saw him -carrying water and performing other menial offices and chaffed him, so -he said he could stand it no longer and threw up a place the like of -which he will not find again in Athens.</p> - -<p>I went into the council of the Greek primates. There I saw the French -proclamation on the birth of the Roi des Romains: 'The Immortal son of -Buonaparte is born! Rejoice, ye people, our wishes are accomplished!' -The primates, however, soberly objected that none but God was ἁθἁνατος [Greek: -athanatos]. What took me there was to back an Englishman who had got -into a quarrel with a neighbour, a Greek widow, about 'ancient lights' -which were blocked by a new building he was putting up. The woman -maintained her cause with much spirit and choice expressions: 'You -rascal, who came to Athens with your mouth full of dung! I'll send you -out without a shoe to your foot.' Our man retorted 'putana,' equally -irrelevantly, and the affair ended in his favour.</p> - -<p>One morning by agreement we rose at daybreak and walked to Eleusis, -intending to dig, but we found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> the labourers very idle and insolent; -and after a few days, discovering no trace of the temple, we gave it up. -The better sort of Greeks have some respect for the superior knowledge -of Franks as evinced in my drawings; one man, a papa or priest, asked me -whether I thought the ancients, whom they revere, can have been Franks -or Romaics.</p> - -<p>An awkward incident occurred during our stay. We had in our service a -handsome Greek lad to whom the cadi took a fancy and insisted on his -taking service with him. The boy, much terrified, came and wept to us -and Papa Nicola, with whom we lodged. We started off at once to the -cadi, and gave him a piece of our mind, which considerably astonished -and enraged him. He was afraid to touch us, but vowed to take it out of -old Nicola, and the next day went off to Athens. One night, the last of -our stay, arrived a man from the zabeti, or police, of Athens to take up -Nicola to answer certain accusations brought against him by the cadi. -This soldier, who was a fine type of the genuine Athenian blackguard, -swaggered in and partook freely of our wine, having already got drunk at -the cadi's. He offered wine to passers-by as if it was his own, boasted, -called himself παλικαρ [Greek: 'palikar,'] roared out -songs, and generally made himself most objectionable. He began to quiz a -respectable Albanian who came in; and when the latter, who was very -civil and called him 'Aga,' attempted to retort, flew into a rage,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> said -he was a palikar again, and handled his sword and shook his pistols. I -could stand it no longer at last, and said this was my house and no one -was aga there but myself; that I should be glad to see him put his -pistols down and let me have no more of his swaggering; otherwise I had -pistols too, which I showed him, and would be ready to use them. I then -treated our poor Albanian with great attention and him with contumely. -This finished him and reduced the brute to absolute cringeing as far as -his conduct to me went. The wretched papa he bullied as before, and when -he got up to go he and all the rest were up in an instant; one prepared -his papouches, another supported him, a third opened the door, and a -fourth held a lamp to light him out. But he had not yet finished his -evening. Soon I heard a noise of singing and roaring from another house -hard by, and received a message from him to beg I would sup with him, -for now he had a table of his own and could invite me. The table was -provided by some wretched Greek he was tyrannising over. Of course I did -not go, but I moralised over the state of the country. Next day he -carried off Nicola.</p> - -<p>Another instance of the tyranny of these scoundrels was told me as -having occurred only a few days before. A zabetis man had arrived and -pretended to have lost on the way a purse containing 80 piastres. All -the inhabitants were sent to search for it, and if they did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> not find it -he said it must be repaid by the town—and it was.</p> - -<p>Among the people we met at Eleusis was a Greek merchant, a great beau -from Hydra, at this time the most prosperous place in Greece; but away -from his own town he had to cringe to the Turks like everyone else. On -our way back to Athens we overtook him carrying an umbrella to shade his -face, and with an Albanian boy behind him. When he saw our janissary -Mahomet the umbrella was immediately lowered.</p> - -<p>The population of Greece is so small now<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> that large spaces are left -uncultivated and rights to land are very undefined. In the neighbourhood -of towns there is always a considerable amount of cultivated ground, but -although the cultivator of each patch hopes to reap it, there is nothing -but fear of him to prevent another's doing it, so far as I can see. A -field is ploughed and sown by an undefined set of people, and an equally -or even less defined set may reap it. And in point of fact people do go -and cut corn where they please or dare. We met a lot of Athenians on our -way back, going to cut corn at Thebes."</p> - -<p class="space-above">By the middle of July the Æginetan Marbles had been thoroughly -overhauled and pieced together, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> it was pressing that something -should be done about them. The schemes of selling them to Lord Sligo and -Messrs. Knight and Fazakerly had fallen through, and it had come to be -seen that the only fair way for all parties was to sell them by public -auction. To do this they must first be got out of the country, and -various schemes for effecting it were considered and abandoned.</p> - -<p>As the proprietors meanwhile were in daily fear of their being pounced -upon by the Turkish authorities, they agreed at length to put the whole -matter into the hands of one Gropius, a common acquaintance. He was half -a German, but born and bred amongst Orientals, and being conversant with -their ways and languages, and a sharp fellow besides, they felt he was -more likely than themselves, unassisted, to carry the business through -successfully. They accordingly appointed him their agent, and settled -that the collection should be got to Zante, as the nearest place of -security.</p> - -<p>Eight days were spent in packing, and on July 30 the first batch, on -horses and mules, was sent off at night to a spot indicated on the Gulf -of Corinth, near a town and castle [? Livadostro.—<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>].</p> - -<p>Cockerell followed two days afterwards with the rest, and sleeping two -nights at Condoura, on the third day reached the rendezvous. There they -found the first batch all laid out on the beach, and congratulated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> -themselves on having got so far unmolested. Gropius went into the town -to hire a vessel while the rest sketched and rested. The weather was -furiously hot, and Cockerell, who was very fond of the water, went out -for a long swim in the bay, but some fishermen he came up with -frightened him back by telling him that they had seen sharks about. -Gropius returned in the evening with a boat, and all set to work to get -the packages aboard. It took them nearly the whole night to do it. When -finally he had seen them all stowed, Cockerell, tired out, lay down to -sleep. When he woke they were already gliding out of the bay.</p> - -<p>They sailed along prosperously, and had long passed Corinth and Sicyon -when, as evening came on, they heard the sound of firing ahead.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"Our first idea was pirates, and when we presently came up with a large -ship, which summoned us to come to, we were rather anxious. Our felucca -was sent aboard. She turned out to be a Zantiote merchantman, and had -been attacked by four boats which had put out from the shore to examine -the cargo in the name of Ali Pasha. She had refused to submit to -overhauling, and when asked what her cargo consisted of had replied -'Bullets.' When the captain understood we had four milordi on board, he -begged pardon for detaining us, and let us go on. Next day we made -Patras, where we went ashore to see Strani, the consul, and get from him -passports and letters for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> Zante. In the town we fell in with Bronstedt -and the rest of that party, who were, of course, much interested and -astonished to hear all our news and present business, and when we set -sail in the evening gave us a grand salute of pistols as we went out of -port. We had a spanking breeze.</p> - -<p>A storm was brewing behind Calydon, and when at length it came upon us -it burst the sail of a boat near us. We were a lot of boats sailing -together, but when the rest saw this accident they took in their sails. -Our skipper, however, insisted on carrying on, so we soon parted company -with the others; and after a fair wind all night we arrived in the -morning at Zante."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> In the end the city had to pay him 10,000 piastres, and -they had spent 5,000 in putting themselves in a state of defence.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> According to De Pouqueville, 548,940, in 1814; it is now -over 2,000,000.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> - -<p class="center">ZANTE—COLONEL CHURCH—LEAVES ZANTE TO MAKE TOUR OF THE -MOREA—OLYMPIA—BASSÆ—DISCOVERY OF BAS-RELIEFS—FORCED TO DESIST FROM -EXCAVATIONS.</p> - -<p>"Hitherto we had had an anxious time, but once they were landed we felt -at ease about the marbles. Henceforth the business is in Gropius' hands. -The auction has been announced in English and continental papers to take -place in Zante on November 1, 1812. It took us some time to install -them, and altogether we passed an odious fortnight on the island. The -Zantiotes, as they have been more under Western influence—for Zante -belonged to Venice for about three centuries—are detestable. They are -much less ignorant than the rest of the Greeks, but their half-knowledge -only makes them the more hateful. Until the island was taken in hand by -the English, murder was of constant occurrence, and so long as a small -sum of money was paid to the proveditor no notice was taken of it. For -accomplishing it without bloodshed they had a special method of their -own. It was to fill a long narrow bag with sand, with which, with a blow -on the back scientifically delivered, there could be given, without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> -fuss or noise, a shock certain sooner or later to prove fatal. Socially -they have all the faults of the West as well as those of the East -without the virtues of either. But their crowning defect in my eyes is -that they have not the picturesque costumes or appearance of the -mainland Greeks.</p> - -<p>The most interesting thing in Zante for the moment is Major Church's<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> -Greek contingent. He has enrolled and disciplined a number of refugee -Greeks, part patriots, part criminals, and generally both, and has taken -an immense deal of pains with them. He flatters them by calling them -Hellenes, shows them the heads of their heroes and philosophers painted -on every wall in his house, and endeavours generally to rouse their -enthusiasm. He himself adopts the Albanian costume, to which he has -added a helmet which he fancies is like that of the ancient Greeks, -although it is certainly very unlike those of the heroes we brought into -Zante. Altogether, with a great deal of good management and more -fustian, he has contrived to attach to himself some thousand excellent -troops which under his command would really be capable of doing great -things.</p> - -<p><a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>At last, on the evening of the 18th of August, we considered -ourselves fortunate in being able to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> away, and we started to make -the tour of the Morea. Gropius, Haller, Foster, Linckh, and I left Zante -in a small boat and arrived next morning at Pyrgi, the port of Pyrgo, -from which it is distant two hours and a half. We obtained horses at a -monastery not far from where we landed, and rode through a low marshy -country, well cultivated, chiefly in corn and melon grounds, and fairly -well peopled up to the town.</p> - -<p>Pyrgo itself lies just above the marshes which border the Alpheus, and, -as it happened to our subsequent cost, there was a good deal of water -out at this moment. We ordered horses, and while they were being brought -in we entered the house of an old Greek, a primate of the place. I had -been so disgusted with the thinly veneered civilisation of the Zantiotes -and bored with the affectations of our garrison officers there, that I -was congratulating myself on having got back to the frank barbarism of -the Morea, when my admiration for it received a check. The old Greek in -whose house we were waiting seemed anxious to be rid of us, and, the -better to do so, assured me that Meraca, or Olympia, was only 2½ -hours distant, equal at the ordinary rate of Turkish travelling, which -is 3 miles an hour, to 7½ miles. The horses were so long in coming, -on account of their being out among the marshes and the men having to go -up to their knees to get them, that Haller and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> I got impatient and -resolved to go on foot as the distance was so little. It turned out, -however, to be 7 hours instead of 2½, and at nightfall we arrived -dead-beat at a marsh, through which in a pitch darkness, I may thank my -stars, although invisible, for having struggled safely. We wandered -about, lost our way, waded in pools to our knees, and finally took 8 -hours instead of 2½ to get to our destination.</p> - -<p>It was two o'clock in the morning when we got to Meraca, utterly tired -out, and with our lodging still to seek. We were directed to a tower in -which lived an Albanian aga. The entrance was at the top of a staircase -running up the side of the house and ending in a drawbridge which led to -the door on the first floor. Once inside we went up two other flights of -stairs to a room in which we found two Albanians, by whom we were kindly -received. When they heard how tired we were they offered us some rasky. -Besides that there was some miserable bread, but no coffee or meat to -refresh us. We had to lie down and go to sleep without.</p> - -<p>There are few visible remains of the once famous Olympia,<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> and not a -trace of stadium or theatre that I could make out. The general opinion -is that the Alpheus has silted up and buried many of the buildings to a -depth of 8 or 10 feet, and our small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> researches point in the same -direction. We dug in the temple, but what we could do amounted to next -to nothing. To do it completely would be a work for a king. I had had -some difficulty with the Greek labourers at Ægina, but the Turks here -were much worse. In the first place, instead of one piastre apiece per -day they asked 2½, and in the next they had no proper tools. The -earth was as hard as brick, and when with extreme difficulty it had been -broken up they had no proper shovels; and when the earth, which they -piled along the trench as they dug it out, ran into the hole again, they -scooped it out with their hands. The thing was too ludicrous. Worst of -all, as soon as we turned our backs for a moment they either did nothing -or went away. This happened when we left them to cross the river and try -for a better view of the place. We got over in a caique, which the aga -himself, from the village across the water, punted over to us; but the -view over there was disappointing, and we came back to find, as I say, -our workmen all idling. The long and short of our excavations was that -we measured the columns of the temple to be 7 feet in diameter, and we -found some attached columns and other fragments of marble from the -interior, the whole of which I suppose was of marble, that of the -pavement being of various colours. Such stone as is used is of a rough -kind, made up entirely of small shells and covered with a very white and -fine plaster.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> And that is about all the information we got for a -largish outlay.</p> - -<p>From Meraca we rode through romantic scenery to Andritzena, a charming -village in a very beautiful and romantic situation; and next morning we -settled to go on to the Temple of Bassæ—the stylæ or columns, the -natives call it. But before we started the primates of Andritzena came -in, and after turning over our things and examining and asking the price -of our arms, they began to try and frighten us with tremendous stories -of a certain Barulli, captain of a company of klephts or robbers who -haunted the neighbourhood of the stylæ. They begged us to come back the -same evening, and to take a guard with us. As for the first, we flatly -refused; and for the second, we reflected that our guards must be -Greeks, while the klephts might be Turks, and if so the former would -never stand against them, so it was as well for us to take the risk -alone. We did, however, take one of their suggestions, and that was to -take with us two men of the country who would know who was who, and act -as guides and go-betweens; for they assured us that it is not only the -professional klephts who rob, but that all the inhabitants of the -villages thereabouts are dilettante brigands on occasion.</p> - -<p>Our janissary Mahomet also did not at all fancy the notion of living up -in the mountain, and added what he could to dissuade us. However, we -turned a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> deaf ear to all objections and set out. Our way lay over some -high ground, and rising almost all the way, for 2½ hours.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to give an idea of the romantic beauty of the situation -of the temple. It stands on a high ridge looking over lofty barren -mountains and an extensive country below them. The ground is rocky, -thinly patched with vegetation, and spotted with splendid ilexes. The -view gives one Ithome, the stronghold and last defence of the Messenians -against Sparta, to the south-west; Arcadia, with its many hills, to the -east; and to the south the range of Taygetus, with still beyond them the -sea.</p> - -<p>Haller had engagements, which I had got him, to make four drawings for -English travellers. I made some on my own account, and there were -measurements to be taken and a few stones moved for the purpose, all of -which took time. We spent altogether ten days there, living on sheep and -butter, the only good butter I have tasted since leaving England, sold -to us by the few Albanian shepherds who lived near. Of an evening we -used to sit and smoke by a fire, talking to the shepherds till we were -ready for sleep, when we turned into our tent, which, though not exactly -comfortable, protected us from weather and from wolves. For there are -wolves—one of them one night tore a sheep to pieces close to us. We -pitched our tent under the north front. On the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> next day after our -arrival, the 25th, one of the primates of Andritzena came begging us to -desist from digging or moving stones, for that it might bring harm on -the town. This was very much what happened at Ægina. He did not specify -what harm, but asked who we were. We in reply said that we had firmans, -that it was not civil, therefore, to ask who we were, and that we were -not going to carry away the columns. When he heard of the firmans he -said he would do anything he could to help us. All the same, he seemed -to have given some orders to our guide against digging; for the -shepherds we engaged kept talking of the fear they were in, and at last -went away, one of them saying the work was distasteful to him. They were -no great loss, for they were so stupid that I was obliged to be always -with them and work too, in doing which I tore my hand and got -exceedingly fatigued. I was repaid by getting some important -measurements.</p> - -<p>In looking about I found two very beautiful bas-reliefs under some -stones, which I took care to conceal again immediately."</p> - -<p class="space-above">This incident is described in greater detail by Stackelberg in the -preface to his book.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> The interior of the temple—that is to say, the -space inside the columns—was a mass of fallen blocks of some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> depth. -While Haller and Cockerell with the labourers were scrambling about -among the ruins to get their measurements, a fox that had made its home -deep down amongst the stones, disturbed by the unusual noise, got up and -ran away. It is not quite a pleasant task to crawl down among such -insecure and ponderous masses of stone with the possibility of finding -another fox at the bottom; but Cockerell ventured in, and on scraping -away the accumulations where the fox had its lair, he saw by the light -which came down a crack among the stones, a bas-relief. I have heard -this story also from his own lips. Stackelberg further says that the -particular relief was that numbered 530 in the Phigaleian Marbles at the -British Museum, and naïvely adds, "indeed one may still trace on the -marble the injuries done by the fox's claws." He managed to make a rough -sketch of the slab and carefully covered it over again. From the -position in which it lay it was inferable that the whole frieze would -probably be found under the dilapidations.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"Early one morning some armed shepherds came looking about for a lost -sheep. They eventually found it dead not far from our tent, and torn to -pieces by a wolf—as I mentioned before. The day being Sunday we saw -some grand specimens of the Arcadian shepherds. They stalk about with a -gun over their shoulders and a long pistol in the waist, looking very -savage and wild—and so they are: but, wild as they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> may be, they still -retain the names which poetry has connected with all that is idyllic and -peaceful. Alexis is one of the commonest.</p> - -<p>As our labourers had left us, there was nothing for it but to work -ourselves. We were doing so and had just lit upon some beautiful -caissons, when a man on horseback, Greek or Turk (they dress so much -alike there is no distinguishing them), rode up accompanied by four -Albanians all armed. He told us he was the owner of the land, and, -although he was very civil about it, he forbade our digging any more. We -asked him to eat with us, but being a fast day in the Greek Church, he -declined. Finally, after writing to Andritzena, he left us.</p> - -<p>After so many objections being made to our excavations we felt it would -be too dangerous to go on at present, and promised ourselves to come -again next year in a stronger party and armed with more peremptory and -explicit authority to dig, and in the meantime there was nothing to do -but to get through our drawings and studies as quickly as we could.</p> - -<p>The uneasiness of our janissary Mahomet, since our camping out began, -gave us serious doubts of his courage, and a plan was invented for -testing it. This was to raise an alarm at night that we were attacked by -klephts. Our Arcadian shepherds entered into the joke with surprising -alacrity and kept it up well. Just after supper a cry was heard from the -mountain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> above that robbers were near. In an instant we all sprang up, -seized pistols and swords, and made a feint as though we would go up the -hill. Our janissary, thunderstruck, was following, when we proposed that -he should go on alone.</p> - -<p>But he would not do that. In the first place he was ill; in the next -place, Would it not be better to go to Andritzena? He begged we might go -to Andritzena."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Afterwards Sir Richard Church, and commander-in-chief of -the Greek forces up to his death in 1872.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> An epitome of the following appears in Hughes's <i>Travels -in Sicily, Greece, and Albania</i>, p. 190.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Olympia was thoroughly excavated by the Germans in -1875-76, when the Hermes of Praxiteles and the Victory of Pæonios were -discovered.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> <i>Der Apollotempel zu Bassae.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> - -<p class="center">ANDRITZENA—CARITZENA—MEGALOPOLIS—BENIGHTED—KALAMATA.</p> - -<p>"We left the stylæ and went down to Andritzena by a shorter road. In -going up, the drivers, to be able to charge us more, had taken us round -a longer way. Andritzena is not only beautiful in its situation, the -people who live in it are charming. Everyone seemed to think it the -proper thing to show some attention to the strangers. The girls—and -some of them were very pretty—brought us each as a present a fruit of -some kind, pears or figs, and did it in the prettiest and most engaging -manner; so that we had more than we could carry home with us. -Disinterested urbanity is so unusual a feature in Greek character that -we were surprised, and I must confess that it was the only time such a -thing ever occurred to us in Greece.</p> - -<p>The Turks tax these poor wretches unmercifully. To begin with, they have -to pay the Government one-fourth of their produce. Then there is the -karatch or poll tax, which seems to be rather variable in amount, and -the chrea or local tax levied for the local <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>government, which together -make up about another fourth; so that the taxes amount to half the -yearly produce. Of course the people complain. I can't tell you how -often I have been asked 'When will the English come and deliver us from -the Turks, who eat out our souls?' 'And why do they delay?' One Greek -told me he prayed daily that the Franks might come; and while I am on -the subject I may as well mention here, though it was said a few weeks -later, when we were near Corinth, by a shepherd, 'I pray to God I may -live to see the Morea filled with such Franks.' They like us better than -they do the French, because they have heard from Zante and elsewhere -that we treat our dependencies more honourably than they do.</p> - -<p>We were five days at Andritzena. Haller made drawings of the village, -and I finished up my memoranda of Phigaleia. Besides that, as I thought -we ought not to leave the neighbourhood without making a final effort to -complete our explorations at the stylæ, and that, the Pasha Veli being -absent from the Morea, we might perhaps get leave from the Waiwode of -Fanari, Foster and I rode over to see him. We found him exceedingly -courteous, perfectly a man of the world; and although his house and the -two old cushions in the corner of a dilapidated gallery on which he was -propped when he received us did not bespeak great affluence, his manner -was not that of a man to whom one could offer a bribe. He said he -regretted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> very much having had to write the letter we had received -forbidding us to go on digging, but that it was absolutely necessary -that we should cease, and there was an end of the matter. At the same -time he hoped there had been no expression in it to offend us. 'Veli,' -said he, 'is very peremptory about no bouyuruldu or permission being -given by anyone but himself; for he insists on knowing all about -travellers who move about in his pashalik, and upon periodically -inspecting them and their firman and approving it. The mere fact of my -having allowed your party to remain ten days at Phigaleia, no matter -whether you dug or not, was enough to ruin me; for these Albanians [that -is, Ali Pasha and his sons] ask but few questions [listen to no -excuses].' So we had to go back to Andritzena without having effected -anything beyond seeing an Albanian Turkish wedding on our way. When we -came upon them they were gorgeously dressed, playing the djerid and -brandishing their swords. I never saw anything so picturesque. The party -were on their way to fetch the bride from Fanari. They had an Albanian -red and white banner, with a silk handkerchief tied to the top of it, -which was the token sent by the bride to her lover as an invitation to -him to come and fetch her. After sunset she is taken to his house on -horseback, closely veiled.</p> - -<p>Hearing of some columns in an old castle not far off, as the account was -a tolerably rational one, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> resolved, although I ought to have had -experience enough of Greek lies to warn me, to go and see them. There -was the hope of making some discovery of interest; for my informant -insisted that no milords had ever been there before. So I girt myself -with sword and pistol, and walked 2½ hours to a hill or mountain -called Sultané. I only found a few miserable columns, a considerable -fortress and cyclopean walls, and I made two sketches on the road. I was -very tired when I got back. The Greek shoemaker, our landlord, came and -supped with us, and got very maudlin over the wine.</p> - -<p>We went next to Caritzena. The waiwode insisted on our putting up with -him, and gave up a room to us, begging that we would order whatever best -pleased us; that his servants would prepare anything, and we should -purchase nothing. 'Our king at Stamboul is rich enough to receive our -friends and allies, the English,' he said. We were preparing to go out -and draw when a message came to say the waiwode would pay us a visit. -Haller, however, would not stop for anybody. Foster had to ride back to -a place where he had changed his coat and in so doing had dropped a ring -he valued, and which, by the by, he managed to find. So Linckh and I, -though I felt very unwell with a bilious attack, had to stop in and -receive our visitor. He was very polite, and his manners really very -fine. He told us he had been with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> ambassador at Vienna and at -Berlin, and spoke a few words of German, which enchanted Linckh. He -presently remarked that I seemed unwell, and I told him that I was -bilious, and had a pain in my head; whereupon he took hold of my temples -in his right hand, while an old Turk who sat near doubled down his -little finger and repeated a charm, which he began in a whisper and -finished aloud, leaning forward and pronouncing something like 'Osman -Odoo—o—o.' Then he asked me if I was better; because if I was not he -would double down his next finger and the next till he came to the -thumb, which he said was infallible. This prospect seemed more than I -could quite bear; so I thought best to sacrifice my principles, and said -'Yes, I was,' to get rid of the matter, but I was not.</p> - -<p>Some Greeks came and joined in our conversation. Really, if one had not -some pity for their condition, one could not suffer them, their manners -are so odious. Nevertheless, as they seem to have all the power here and -elect their own governor and give him an allowance, the waiwode would -not join me in criticising them.</p> - -<p>The waiwode continued to be as civil as ever, but I could not help -thinking he looked anxiously for presents, and we had none to give him. -All I could do was to offer him one of the common little brass English -boxes with a head of King George on it, filled with bark. He took it -with every expression of delight, but I could see it was put on. We -could only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> thank him heartily, fee the servants handsomely, and bow -ourselves out with the best grace we could assume. He especially coveted -a miniature Foster wore of a lady, and this Foster promised to have -copied for him and sent him from England; but he could not part with the -original. He gave us strong letters of recommendation for Kalamata.</p> - -<p>We left early next day. There was an awkward little episode of a box of -instruments belonging to Foster, which he missed off a certain sofa. The -Boluk bashi had admired them very much. Presently, when the inquiry was -made, an officer of the Boluk bashi came in and searched near the sofa, -and then suddenly went out. We did the same, and lo! there was the case. -And the Boluk bashi looked very disconcerted as we bade him adieu.</p> - -<p>We followed the course of the Gyrtinas. These are mountains which on all -hands are celebrated among the modern Greeks for the exploits of the -Colocotroni<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> and other captains who lived among the hills and -maintained a sort of independence of the Turks ever since they have held -the Morea. The peasants delight to sing the ballads composed on these -heroes, and, exulting in their bravery, forget the horrible barbarities -they committed. When Smirke was here the country must really have been -in a fearful state of anarchy;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> and whatever we may say against him, it -must be laid at any rate to the credit of Veli Pasha that he has cleared -the Morea of banditti. The Colocotroni and the rest of them have had to -fly the country and enlist in Church's contingent at Zante.</p> - -<p>We spent some time at Megalopolis, and with Pausanias in our hands were -able to identify remnants of almost everything he mentions, in especial -the spring near the theatre, which only runs part of the year. At -Lycosura the ruins are disappointingly modern, and there is not much of -them; nothing left of the ancient temple at all. The situation is very -fine. Two and a half hours' journey up a stream through woods brought us -to Dervine, the boundary of Messenia. Then we crossed the Plain of -Messenia, admiring, even in the rain, the mountains, Ithome especially, -and at dusk got to a village two hours short of Kalamata. Our agroati -did not know the road on, and it was too late to get a guide; but as -they told us the road was quite straight we went on in the dark. At the -end of an hour we had lost the track; it was pitch black, raining still, -and we on the edge of a river in a marsh. There I thought we should have -stayed. For four hours we groped about, looking first for the lost path, -and then for any path to any shelter. First we tried giving Haller's -horse, who had been to Kalamata before, a loose rein and letting him -lead the way. At first it promised well, for the horse went ahead<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> -willingly; but the agroati took upon him to change his course, and then -we were as lost as ever. We could hardly see each other. Then we sent -off the agroati to try and reach a light we could see. He came back with -awful accounts of bogs and ditches he had met in his path. Finally, -after standing still for a time in the pelting rain, we resolved to -reach the light; and so we did, over hedge and ditch and through bogs, -and Indian corn above our heads as we sat on horseback, and at length, -wet through and wearied, reached a cottage in which were some Greeks. -They, however, refused to lead us to any house; for, said they, 'we know -not what men ye are.' At last one good man took us into his house and -gave us a room, and figs and brandy for supper. We were thankful for -anything. He was a poor peasant with a pretty wife and a perfectly -lovely daughter.</p> - -<p>We got to Kalamata next day, meeting on the way numbers of Mainiotes -coming to buy figs &c. in the Messenian plain, all armed. Our baggage -had arrived very late overnight. We went to the so-called consul, an -agent of the consul at Patras, and sent the letter of recommendation of -the Waiwode of Caritzena to the Waiwode of Kalamata; but he took no -notice of it, and did nothing whatever for us, so we had to find a house -for ourselves. We pitched upon a lofty Turkish tower commanding the -city, with a very rotten floor which threatened at any moment to let us -through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> from the second storey to the base. The only way up to our room -was by a crazy ladder. The shutters were riddled with bullets. Some time -before there had been a grand engagement between this tower and the -cupola of a neighbouring church, where some Mainiotes in the service of -one of their great captains, a certain Benachi, had defended themselves. -Kalamata seems to be a constant scene of fights between the party of the -Bey appointed by the Porte, or rather the Capitan Pasha, and the party -who want to appoint a Bey of their own, and this is the way they fight, -each party from its own tower.</p> - -<p>From our tower we made panoramic sketches of the city, but were much -interrupted by visitors. Among them came a young Mainiote Albanian -officer from Church's contingent, who was here recruiting. He was -accompanied by two armed Mainiotes, and said he had twenty more -concealed about the town in case of danger. He invited us to come with -him into Maina as far as Dolus, where his family lived, a proposal we -eagerly closed with, and appointed the next morning."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> One Colocotronis, a chief of klephts, attained great -influence in the War of Independence.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> - -<p class="center">TRIP TO MAINA—ITS RELATIVE PROSPERITY—RETURN TO KALAMATA. SECOND TRIP -TO MAINA—MURGINOS—SPARTA—NAPOLI TO ATHENS.</p> - -<p>"The Mainiote border comes to within half a mile of Kalamata, and the -neighbourhood of its ferocious population, who are as savage and even -braver than the Turks, makes the latter much meeker here than in other -parts of the country—that is, in a general way, for they can be very -fierce still on occasions. A ghastly thing happened during our stay. We -heard one evening the report of a pistol in the house of the Albanian -guard which stood just under our windows. It seemed one of the brutes -had shot his brother in a quarrel. Here was a gruesome example under our -eyes; and besides I was told all sorts of hideous stories of Mainiote -and Albanian cruelties which made my blood run cold, and still spoils -all my pleasure in thinking of this barbarous region.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning we embarked on a Zantiote felucca, lent us for the -occasion, and in an hour and a half reached the opposite coast of the -bay, near the ruins of a village, of which we were told that it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> -destroyed and its inhabitants carried off for slaves by the Barbary -pirates. Ever since this event the villages have been built farther from -the coast. The village of Dolus, to which we were going, is an hour's -walk from the shore.</p> - -<p>Our friend's brother and a number of other men, all armed to the teeth, -met us on the beach and saluted us, as soon as we were recognised, with -a discharge of guns and pistols. Then we landed, and set off for the -village. A difference in the appearance of the country struck me at -once. Instead of the deserted languid air of other parts of Greece, here -was a vigorous prosperity. Not an inch of available ground but was -tilled and planted with careful husbandry, poor and rocky as the soil -was. The villages were neater and less poverty-stricken, and the -population evidently much thicker than in the rest of Greece. The faces -of the men were cheerful and open; the women handsomer, and their -costume more becoming.</p> - -<p>Liberty seemed to have changed the whole countenance and manner of the -people to gaiety and happiness. Everyone saluted us as we passed along, -and when we arrived at Dolus the mother of our entertainer came out with -the greatest frankness to meet us. Others came, and with very engaging -manners wished us many years, a rare civility in Greece. The boys -crowded round, and said Englishmen were fine fellows, but why had we no -arms? How could we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> defend ourselves? Then they shook their fists at the -Turkish shore, saying those ruffians dared not come amongst Mainiotes.</p> - -<p>Our host's family had cooked us some chickens. While we were sitting -eating them a multitude of visitors, women especially, who had never -seen Franks before, came in, gazed, and asked questions. There was a -great deal of laughing and talking, but every man was heavily armed. -After dinner we went out for a walk and visited some remarkably pretty -villages. The name of one was Malta, the others I could not make out; -all more in the interior. The churches were very pretty. Each had a tall -steeple in the Gothic style with bells, which a boy, proud of his -freedom and anxious to show it, running on, would ring as we came up; -for, as you know, neither bells nor steeples are allowed by the Turks. -We saw a new tower, the tower of the beyzesday, or captain of the -Mainiotes, armed with two thirty-pounders which had been given him, and -though not very solidly built, standing in a fine position. We were told -that all these towers are provisioned for a siege, and one of those near -Kalamata has food for five years—not that I believe it. All slept -together, ten of us covering the whole floor of a tiny room.</p> - -<p>We went back in the morning to Kalamata, leaving behind us our host. He -had been warned by letter from Kalamata not to go back there, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> -reports had been circulated by the Turks that he was gone to Maina to -raise recruits and he would probably be arrested if he landed.</p> - -<p>We had been so interested with our glimpse of the free Greeks—the -Greeks who had always been free from the days of Sparta, who had -maintained their independence against Rome, Byzantium, the Franks, -Venetians, and Turks—that we longed to see more of them; and the -reports we heard of a temple near Cape Matapan gave us hopes of a return -for the expense of an excursion. We therefore agreed with a certain -Captain Basili of Dolus, owner of a boat, that he should take us to -Cyparissa and protect us into the interior. Meanwhile we went home to -get our baggage &c. As we rowed along the shore a storm hung on Mount -Elias, rolling in huge coils among the high perched villages, and the -awful grandeur and air of savage romance it gave to the whole country -whetted our appetites to the utmost.</p> - -<p>When we landed at Kalamata, however, a dispute about payment for the -present trip led us to refer to the consul for a settlement, and -incidentally to our telling him our plans. As soon as he heard them he -objected vigorously. The man we had engaged was, he said, a notorious -murderer; it was well known that he had assassinated a certain Greek -doctor for his money when he was bringing him from Coron, and he might -do the same for us on the way to Cyparissa.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> It would be better if we -insisted on going into Maina to write to a certain Captain Murgino at -Scardamula and put ourselves under his protection. As he was one of the -heads of the Mainiote clans, and a man of power, he would be able to -guarantee our safety.</p> - -<p>As this advice was supported by a French gentleman of Cervu, a Monsieur -Shauvere, who seemed to be reliable, we took it, and wrote that same -evening to Murgino; but the first engagement had to be got rid of, and -that was not so easy. Whatever his intentions had been, the boatman from -Dolus thought he had made a profitable engagement, for he demanded 50 -piastres indemnity, first for expenses incurred and next for the slight. -He threatened to attack us on the way if we ventured to engage another -boat. Finally we agreed to refer the dispute for settlement to the -Albanian Mainiote, our late host.</p> - -<p>We received an answer from Murgino to say that we should be very -welcome, and that he would send a guard to meet us four hours from his house.</p> - -<p>We accordingly set off in the evening to go by land, and arrived at -night at a village called Mandinié; and there we had to sleep, for the -road was too breakneck for us to go on in the dark. Our host was -exceedingly hospitable, and gave one a good impression of the free Greeks.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning we went on to Malta, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> met four of Murgino's men -come to meet us. We also fell in with the young captain or chieftain of -Mainiotes on his way to Kalamata. He had a guard of eight or ten men, -all armed and handsomely dressed, their hair trailing down their backs -like true descendants of the Spartans, who combed their long hair before -going into battle.</p> - -<p>As regarding the origin of the name Malta, it may be called to mind that -the Venetians during their occupation mortgaged part of the Morea to the -Knights of St. John, and this may have been one of their fortresses.</p> - -<p>Having hired mules to carry our luggage, as the road is too bad for -horses, we proceeded to Scardamula, a distance of 1½ hour. There we -were rejoined by my servant Dimitri, whom I had sent on to arrange the -affair of Captain Basili, the Dolus boatman. He had found the man in a -state of exasperation, refusing to accept any accommodation, saying it -was an affair of honour, and vowing that we should pay in another way. -The wife and mother of the Albanian officer, dreading his resentment, -had hung terrified on his (Dimitri's) arm, assuring him that we should -be assassinated on the road. He himself arrived hardly able to speak -with terror and pale as paper.</p> - -<p>We did all we could to inspire him with a little courage, both natural -and Dutch. First we appealed to him as a man to show a good face, and -for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> second we gave him a good and ample dinner, and, relying on our -guard and on ourselves, set out.</p> - -<p>But before starting we begged our Albanian friend to come, if he could, -next day to Scardamula, bringing Captain Basili with him, and the -dispute should be referred to Captain Murgino for arbitration.</p> - -<p>The path to Scardamula—for there was nothing in the shape of a -road—was now so difficult that we had to get off; and, even so, it was -to me perfectly wonderful how the mules ever got along. There was -nothing but rock, and that all fissured and jagged limestone, but they -climbed over it like goats.</p> - -<p>The situation of Scardamula is infinitely striking. At the gate of his -castle Captain Murgino waited to receive us—a fat, handsome old man.</p> - -<p>At the first our rather strange appearance seemed to put him a little -out of countenance, and he received us awkwardly although kindly; but -after a time he appeared to regain confidence and became very cordial. -'Eat a good supper, <i>Ingles archi mas</i>' ('my little Englishman'), he -said to me, and gave me the example. He talked freely on the political -state of Maina. He owned and regretted that the Greeks had no leader, -and said he trusted that would not long be wanting, and that shortly the -great object of his desires would be realised; but what that object was -he would not explain. It might be an invasion of the Morea by the -English, seconded by a native <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>insurrection which he would take a -leading part in—or what not; but he was careful to give me no hint.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> -His son was absent at a council of the [Greek] chiefs at Marathonisi.</p> - -<p>The next morning we walked about his lands, which were indescribably -picturesque. His castle stands on a rock in the bed of a river, about a -quarter of a mile from the bank. It consists of a courtyard and a church -surrounded by various towers. There is a stone bench at his door, where -he sits surrounded by his vassals and his relations, who all stand -unless invited to sit. The village people bring him presents, tribute as -it were, of fruits, fowls, &c. On a lofty rock close by is a -watch-tower, where watch is kept night and day. The whole gave us a -picture of feudal life new and hardly credible to a nineteenth-century Englishman.</p> - -<p>Behind the tower the mountains rise precipitously, and culminate in the -Pentedactylon—a prodigious mountain of the Taygetus range.</p> - -<p>Murgino made us an estimate of his dependents. He has about 1,000 men, -over whom he has absolute authority to call them out or to punish them -as he thinks fit. A few days before we came he had had an obstreperous -subject, who refused to obey orders,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> executed. Moreover, he showed a -well in which he said he put those from whom he desired to extort money. -When times are hard and the olives fail he makes war upon his -neighbours, and either robs or blackmails them. The old man assured me -that one winter they brought back from 1,000 to 1,500 piastres, from -50<i>l.</i> to 80<i>l.</i>, a day.</p> - -<p>Such was our host and his surroundings.</p> - -<p>As I told you, our object was to examine some remains we had heard -rumours of, especially of a Doric temple said to exist in the southern -part of Maina, and, by all we could hear, in a tolerable state of -preservation; but when we saw the tremendous preparations made by our -good captain we found the enterprise beyond all our calculations or -means. He declared he could not ensure our safety without his own -attendance with a guard of forty men at the least. At this we thought it -best, however regrettable, to retire before the expenses we should incur -should embarrass us in our return to Athens. So we only stayed two days -with Murgino, and then returned to Kalamata.</p> - -<p>As you may suppose, I was very sorry to lose an opportunity of perhaps -making another discovery of importance, but even as it was I did not -regret to have made the visit into Maina. In no part of Europe at any -rate, if indeed of the world, could one find such singular scenes or -come upon a state of society so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> exactly like that of our ancient -barons. The character of Murgino himself was a study. He was very hardy, -bold, vigorous in mind and body, used from a boy to battle with all -kinds of reverses.</p> - -<p>His father was driven out of his home by the Turks, who brought several -frigates and regularly laid siege to Scardamula. He escaped, but he was -afterwards taken and hanged at Tripolizza. Murgino himself escaped to -Coron, where, however, he was discovered and put in chains. A friendly -priest brought him a file, wherewith he effected his escape to the house -of the English consul, and was by him protected. He then took service on -board a French privateer, and wandered into various parts of the Levant. -After some time he reappeared at Scardamula, took possession of his -father's castle, and became one of the captains or leaders of the -Mainiotes. Then the Turks returned and surrounded him a second time. -With a few followers he cut his way through and escaped to Zante. Some -months later he came back once more, to find a neighbour had seized his -possessions. He collected friends and laid siege to him. His rival was, -fortunately for him, killed by a stroke of lightning during the siege, -and Murgino came into his own again. But he did not hold it long in -peace. He was again attacked by the Turks in force. This time he shut -himself in the castle with 62 Greeks, who swore to die rather than -yield.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> For forty days they held the place with muskets against -artillery, till all his powder was spent and his towers in ruins. Then -he sent a message to the enemy to say that if they would give him two -cannon and some powder he would hold the castle a year. Having soothed -his mind with this taunt, he prepared to escape to the mountains. First -he sent his wife off by night, and then followed with the few survivors -of his men, and contrived again to get to Zante. It is characteristic of -the man that when he learnt that his son was hanged he called, as he -told me, for another glass of rum, saying 'Che serve la melancolia?' -Among the ruffianly crew who loafed about the place he pointed me out -one or two of the poor fellows who had remained hidden in the hills when -he went to Zante. Some had lost a toe or a finger in the frost; others -had been maimed in the siege. One youth in particular he indicated, -saying 'This fellow's father was a fine fellow; he was crushed in the -falling of one of the towers!' Every one had a history.</p> - -<p>Somehow, before we parted, I had got to feel a sort of affection for -this ruthless cateran. He had an uncommonly open frank manner, he was -certainly clean, and he had an air of natural superiority which it was -difficult to resist.</p> - -<p>I should not have written so much about this if I had not thought it the -most interesting part of the tour—but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> it had not, I admit, much -architectural instruction to offer.</p> - -<p>From Kalamata we went to Sparta, over a rugged and picturesque road, -along the brink of precipices and over the Taygetus. Some time ago it -was infested by banditti,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> and so it still is on the borders of -Maina. We arrived late at a small village near Mistra. The road, which -passed among overhanging rocks and a wild and fantastic scenery, the -effect of which was heightened by the moonlight, was so stony and rugged -that we were obliged to walk by far the greater part of the way. -Sometimes the shepherds on precipices above us would call out, 'What men -are ye?' And we answered, 'Good men.' There was no step of the road that -had not its annals of murder or robbery. One of our party, to cheer us, -sang us the great deeds of a certain Captain Zaccani, who had been -something between a highwayman and a patriot not many years back, -infesting this part of the country.</p> - -<p>Sparta, I need not tell you, was strong only in its inhabitants. It -stood, as no other Greek city did, in a plain. There are no remains. Its -present inhabitants, far from being independent, are the most oppressed, -the meanest and the stupidest of the Greeks. We stayed only three days -for Haller, who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> various drawings to make, and then rode from Mistra -to Tripolizza in one day. Haller had had a fall from his horse on the -way which had strained him a good deal, so we had to stop three days -there also. It is the capital of the Morea, and has a caimacam, whom we -went to call upon one evening. It chanced to be during the Ramazan. He -was very civil and gave us a bouyuruldu, an order which provided us -horses gratis to Athens. The details of the visit were very much the -same as those of other official visits. We drank coffee and smoked large -pipes surrounded by a crowd of chiouks. The large and well-lighted room -was filled with Albanian soldiers lying and sitting in all positions on -the floor, and we had to be careful in picking our way through them.</p> - -<p>We did not stop longer at Argos or Tiryns than was necessary to verify -Gell's description.</p> - -<p>At Napoli di Romagna, where we were detained for want of horses, we -narrowly escaped the bastinado.</p> - -<p>Napoli is one of the chief fortresses of the Morea, and the custom on -entering such places is to get off one's horse. Our servant, who knew -nothing of this, was cruelly beaten by the guard. When we came up we -were told of it by the grooms who looked after our luggage, and conjured -by the Panagia and the Cross to dismount as we went in. We, however, -thought it unbecoming our dignity, and rode boldly in. The guard, seeing -so many hats, was awed and said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> nothing; but we could see by the frowns -of the bystanders that our presumption was disapproved, and when we -complained to the pasha, the head of the janissaries, of the way our -servant was mishandled, he took very little notice of us. Generally -speaking the Turks in their fortresses are insufferably intolerant and -insolent. Our treatment was no inducement to stay, and we made on for -Athens as soon as we could. We visited the sacred grove at -Epidaurus,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> the ruins of Mycenæ,<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> and stayed one day in Corinth. -But we were glad to get to Athens; it was like home to us. For three -weeks I had slept with my clothes on, without a bed, and with only one -blanket to wrap myself in."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> It probably was the insurrection, for when it occurred he -took an important part in it. He was the opponent of the Mavro Michali -faction, headed by Petro Bey.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Here it was that Chevalier Bronstedt was stopped next year -and robbed: <i>vide infra.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The Hieron of Epidaurus excavated by the Archæological -Society of Athens.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Excavated by Schliemann in 1876.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER X</h2> - -<p class="center">ÆGINA MARBLES CALLED FOR BY BRITISH GOVERNMENT SHIPS—LEAVES ATHENS FOR -CRETE AND EGYPT WITH HON. FRANCIS NORTH—CANEA—CONDITION OF CRETE—BY -LAND—RETIMO—KALIPO CHRISTO—CANDIA—AUDIENCE OF THE PASHA—HIS -BAND—THE ARCHBISHOP—THE MILITARY COMMANDANT—TURKISH SOCIETY—LIFE IN -CANDIA.</p> - -<p>"Waiting for me in Athens I found letters from my father detailing the -measures he had taken in our favour concerning the marbles. He had moved -the Prince Regent, who had given orders that 6,000<i>l.</i> and a free entry -should be offered for the collection, and that a ship of war should be -sent to fetch it. The offer might be considered equal to 8,000<i>l.</i> The -ship might be expected at once.</p> - -<p>Here was a bitter disappointment to be unable to accept so splendid an -offer, and a painful embarrassment as well; for I had led the -Government, quite unintentionally, to suppose that they had only to send -for the marbles to secure them. In consequence of which they were -sending two great vessels at great expense, whereas I should now have to -tell the captain not only that the marbles were no longer in Athens—but -that they could not be handed over at all."</p> - -<p class="space-above"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p><p>At this moment the Honourable Mr. North,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> an acquaintance already -made in Constantinople, had turned up in Athens, and intended making an -expedition to Egypt up the Nile as far as Thebes. He proposed to -Cockerell and Foster to join him. Egypt had been part of the former's -original scheme in planning his travels, and the opportunity of sharing -expenses was not one to be lost. So it was agreed, and all preparations -were made for the journey. They were to have started in the beginning of -November, but were delayed by unfavourable winds.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I was a month in Athens, for the most part unprofitably, as all time -spent in expectation must be. Every day we packed up, to unpack again -when the wind went contrary. Finally, on November 29th, the wished-for -wind came, and at the same time an express from Captain Percival of the -brig-of-war <i>Pauline</i> 25, come for the marbles, called us down to the -Piræus to see the ship sent by the Prince Regent.</p> - -<p>It was raining in torrents. Nevertheless we set out, with Haller and -Linckh as well, to explain matters. I own my consternation was great -when I saw the two big ships come on a bootless quest, for which I was -in a way answerable. We had to tell Captain Percival not only that the -marbles were now in Zante, but that even if they had been still here he -could not have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> taken them, as they were now to be sold by auction; and, -finally, as there was danger of Zante being at any time attacked by the -French, to request him to remove them to Malta for greater security. At -first Captain Percival was very indignant, not unnaturally; but when he -had done his duty in this respect he was very civil and asked us to -dine. Ale and porter, which I had not seen for so long, seemed -delicious, and I drank so much of it that when, with North, Haller, and -Stackelberg, I went aboard our Greek ship to bed, I slept like a stone -till the morning drum on the <i>Pauline</i> woke me. The wind was blowing -fresh from the north. We drew up our anchor; Haller and Stackelberg -shook us by the hand and went ashore.</p> - -<p>And now for Candia and Egypt. Good port as the Piræus is once you are -inside, to get in and out of it is very awkward. The brig, of course, -well handled, had no difficulty; but we failed altogether at the first -attempt, and at the next as near as possible got on to the rocks at the -entrance. The <i>Pauline</i> laid to for us till we were out, and then sailed -ahead much more quickly than we were able to follow. The day was bright, -the wind was fair, and it was new and exhilarating to sail in such good -company. At Ægina, where the temple stood up clear for us to see, the -brig and the transport lay to, to land a pilot, and we went in front, -but they soon caught us up again; and when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> they passed us, comparing -their trimness and order with our state, I saw why a Greek always speaks -with such awe of an English ship. Between Hydra—a black and barren -rock—and the mainland a storm, which we just escaped, swept along, and -our captain seeing it, and thinking dirty weather might come on, steered -towards Milo so as to be able to put in there in case of danger, and we -parted with our convoy. Of our party I was the only one who was not ill, -and appeared at dinner; and as the air was close below among my sick -friends, I passed the night on deck in a seaman's coat. In the morning -Candia was in sight, and by midday we were in Canea—only twenty-eight -hours.</p> - -<p>As we drew near, the town, with its many minarets, all white and -stretching along a flat, with dark mountains, peak above peak, in very -fine forms behind it, had a most striking effect. From a great distance -one could distinguish the large arched arsenals built by the Venetians -for their galleys. The port is difficult to enter, and we nearly ran -ashore here again by mistaking a breach in the wall which encloses the -port for the entrance to it. It is a gap which has once been mended by -the Turks, but it was so ill done that it fell in again immediately; and -now it has been a ruin for some time and seems likely to remain one. We -dropped our anchor ill too, so that the stem of our ship ran foul of -some rocks, but no harm was done.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p><p>We landed, dressed <i>à la Turque</i>, and I felt some 'mauvaise honte' in -replying to the salutation of Turks who took us for their fellows, so I -was not sorry to take shelter in the house of our consul, Sr. Capo -Grosso, a native of Spalatro, with a pretty Tartar wife from the Crimea. -It appears that besides himself there are very few Franks living -here—only two families descended from the Venetians, and two other -Catholic families, all kept in a perpetual tremor by the Turks, who are -worse in Crete than anywhere. There are quarrels and murders every day -between them and the Greeks. There never was such a state as the country -is in. The military power consists of a local militia of janissaries and -none other, so that their captains are able to terrorise the pasha into -doing anything they please. But the militia, again, is composed of -various regiments, and they are at variance with each other. So that you -have both anarchy and civil war. Fancy, how nice!</p> - -<p>The Venetians long possessed the island, and the fortifications and -public buildings, which are really very noble, as well as every other -decent thing in the place, are of their production. Indeed, in walking -through the city, judging by the look of the buildings, one might -imagine oneself in a Frank country, except that they are all left to go -to rack and ruin. The sea walls are so neglected that the port is almost -destroyed.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p><p>It is, as I said, a fortified town, and the Turks are absurdly jealous -of any stranger and possible spy. One cannot stir out without being -closely watched, and they shoot at anything which incurs the slightest -suspicion—a Frankish hat, for instance. In consequence it was -impossible to do any sketching, however much I might wish to.</p> - -<p>The weather looked thoroughly bad. It poured all day, with a north wind -which forbade all thoughts of sailing.</p> - -<p>To make the best use of our time, it was proposed that we should make an -expedition to see Ida and the famous Labyrinth; but as Mr. North is no -mountain climber he settled to wait in the ship for a fair wind to carry -him to Candia, where whichever of us should arrive first was to await -the other.</p> - -<p>There was some delay in starting, because the rascally Turk from whom we -first tried to job our horses came to a dispute with his agroates about -the pay they were to get. Though he was to get ten piastres per horse, -he would only give them five. As they could not agree, the negotiation -fell through and it was rather late before we got others.</p> - -<p>We were Douglas,<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> Foster, and myself, the consul's dragoman and two -janissaries. Outside the ramparts, which are certainly strong, one comes -on a fine plain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> dotted with white villas and thick with olives. One -owner whose house we passed, Hagi Imin Effendi, makes as many as 60,000 -barrels of oil per annum, which at 60 piastres a barrel represents a -vast income. Having crossed the plain, one comes to Suda Bay, an -excellent harbour, a mile and a half or two miles in length. The -entrance is protected by an island with a famous fortress upon it which -resisted the Turks for thirty-five years after the reduction of the rest -of Crete. It has 260 pieces of cannon now. Soapmaking is one of the -chief industries of Crete. Along Suda Bay were numbers of salt-pans for -winning the salt wanted for the soapmaking. A Venetian road, once good, -now in a ruinous condition, led us along a cliff flanked with -watch-towers, and presently turned inland. Before us was a beautiful -hilly country covered with olives, and in the distance Ida white with -snow. On our right the Sphakiote Mountains, high and pointed, very like -Maina to look at, and not unlike it in respect of its population, though -it has not been quite so fortunate. The Sphakiotes maintained their -independence till forty-three years ago, but then they were reduced by -the Turks, and have been paying taxes ever since, and furnishing sailors -for the Turkish shipping. These sailors act as hostages for the good -behaviour of their relatives. All the same they are a bold people never -without arms, and prompt in the use of them.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p><p>We slept that night at a wretched khan at Neokorio in company with our -horses and their vagabond drivers, and fleas in infinite abundance. -Thomas, Douglas's English servant, made an ill-timed joke here, which -might have been awkward among such savage people. The Turks at -suppertime pressed round him to see what was in our food-bag, and he, to -be rid of them, told them it was full of pork. At this they expressed -the greatest disgust, pressed upon us to know if it was true, and -refused to eat anything that night. However, nothing more came of it. -Fleas and the manifold varieties of stinks drove us to get through our -night's rest as quickly as possible. We were up and away two hours -before daybreak, scrambling along a rough road. When the sun rose the -effect of it on the snow-covered Sphakiote Hills was magnificent. Our -way was through a country rich in olives and full of beautiful scenes. -Well situated at the entrance to a valley leading up from the sea, as a -defence against piratical descents, was a fortress with a πὑργος [Greek: -pyrgos] or watch-tower, built by the Venetians. It is of the fine -workmanship they always used, with well-arranged quarters for troops, -moat, &c., all very neat and well executed. There we went down on to the -sands and continued along them for a length of time till we reached a -small river and the ruins of a splendid Venetian bridge. Thence still -along the seaside, but over rocks and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> past watch-towers standing within -gunshot of each other, till we rose again on to a height from which we -gained a grand view of Retimo. We crossed a bridge, a double arch of -great depth, prodigiously effective, and there I stopped to make a -sketch before descending into the town, while the luggage went on. But -when we followed I was met by the dragoman before I had dismounted. He -looked very pale, and telling me that my stopping by the road had been -remarked and commented upon, entreated me not to say what I had been -doing, but to give in fact a much more natural reason. I had already, at -Canea, been warned of the danger of drawing the fortress; so, my love of -truth notwithstanding, I was obliged for the dragoman's sake, he being -responsible, to do as he asked.</p> - -<p>We were received into the house of Achmet Aga, the karahayah. He was not -at home himself at the time, but his nephews and relatives made us -welcome. As soon as he came in we were ushered into an upper room into -his presence. He was a remarkably handsome old man with a long white -beard. He received us with a proud, not to say cold, hospitality; so -much so that when we thanked him for his polite offer of his house, as -he said it was ours, he looked the other way.</p> - -<p>As we drank coffee we made our apologies for our dirty appearance, but -he only said he feared we were not comfortable and begged us to rest -ourselves. His<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> manner was haughty not only to us but to the wretched -flatterers who came to pay him homage; it was such that I was quite -offended. His servants treated him with the most abject respect, and -even his two nephews, men of thirty or thereabouts, sat at the side -without the divan, not venturing to approach him. And yet, -notwithstanding his manner, his treatment of us was hospitality and -civility itself. He had a son of sixteen or seventeen years dressed in a -Bosnian costume—one of the handsomest lads I ever saw, like the youths -one imagines in reading the Arabian tales. He came by his father's order -to sit by me and entertain me. I asked him if he had ever travelled, and -whether he would come to Egypt with me and see the world. He replied -very politely that to please me he would do so. The audience being over, -we went out and strolled down to the port. It has lately been deepened -by a Maltese engineer, but is very small, and might hold fifteen or -twenty polaccas at the most. After seeing it we returned to get ready -for the dinner to which our host had invited us. As usual in such houses -one had to dress in the midst of a crowd of servants, negroes, -dervishes, and hangers-on. We put on our best clothes and went up. In -the corner of the sofa or raised divan was placed a large round tray on -a small stool, and we sat round it cross-legged. Over our knees was -stretched a long napkin from one to the other, and a small one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> was -thrown over each man's shoulder. We ate with our fingers, pinching off -bits of meat from the same plate in the middle. Our janissary was -invited to eat with us. The dinner was dressed in the harem. The servant -tapped at the door communicating with it from the passage, and the -dishes were handed in. There were many of them, and they were sent away -by our host without any apparent notice of any disposition on our part -to detain them. We had a stew of fowls, another of mutton, some strange -made-dishes, a soup, a number of cakes, and I particularly remember some -made of flour and cheese which were excellent. We greased our fingers -handsomely and washed them as soon as we had done. For us there was -wine, but Achmet would not drink any himself: not from virtue, he said, -but because it did not agree with him. The handsome son waited without -the divan and took orders from his father. Before dinner was over an old -Turk came in with a fiddle and played or told long stories the whole -evening. I was obliged to him, for it supplied the place of -conversation, which did not seem to flourish. In the evening numbers of -Turks came in to see the 'Inglesi,' and would have pressed forward, but -until our dinner was done they were kept outside the sofa. Afterwards we -formed into a sort of conversazione—very few words and much gravity. -Finally the beautiful youth, the host's son, made beds for us of two -quilts and a pillow on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> sofa, and there we slept. I wonder what a -young squire in England would say if his father told him to make beds -for his guests.</p> - -<p>Next morning we were much pressed to stay both by our host and his son, -but we had to resist, much as we had been pleased with our -entertainment. So we distributed plentiful bakshish and rode away.</p> - -<p>Our road lay along the shore, with fine views of Retimo and the -Sphakiote Hills. Then over a high ridge to a khan at the foot of Ida. -Here we had some refreshments and a dispute with the khangee, who tried -to steal one of our spoons under cover of great professions of -friendliness. After Avlopotamo the road became very dangerous. It ran by -the side of awful precipices and over slippery rocks, and it was getting -dark. Indeed, had it been lighter I don't suppose we should have ridden -over it. In one place our janissary fell, and his horse's legs dangled -over the precipice in a way to make one's blood run cold. No roads in -Maina could be worse. The light of a fire beckoned us from afar to the -monastery of Kalipo Christo, but we found the gate closed and the -papades not to be seen. They were frightened and had hidden themselves. -The fact is, the Turks in the country here are so brutal and lawless -that if they once get into a monastery of this kind they eat and drink -all they can get, never think of paying, and perhaps rob<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> or murder some -of the monks. There were several little boys hanging about to peep at -us, one of whom our janissary caught, and by drawing his sword and -threatening to imbrue it in his blood he terrified him into fetching the -monks out of their concealment. Once in, the papades were very -communicative. They told us that their convent was not freehold, and -that it belonged to a Turk of Canea, who exacted an exorbitant rent. The -ruinous condition of the villages which we observed as we came along was -due, they said, to the earthquake of February 14, 1810. It came, as they -always do, with a west wind, and as many as two thousand lives were -lost. A blackguardly Tartar came and sat with us, with whom we presently -quarrelled, and finally, when his behaviour grew intolerable, we had to -kick him out.</p> - -<p>We left early, but our Tartar must have been ashamed of himself, for we -saw nothing of him; he had gone on. The road wound up and up among -barren rocks for about five hours, till we reached the ridge and a -stupendous view of Candia, Ida, and the sea. In three hours more we -reached Candia, and took up our quarters in the house of a Jew. There, -in the course of the evening, we received a visit from the dragoman of -the pasha, a very stupid Greek, who tried to be very, very grand, and -later from the master of the pasha's household, Chiouk Emene, a most -urbane Turk. He was very particularly proud of his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> watch, and produced -it, compared it with ours, and begged me to say his was the best.</p> - -<p>We had to wait till the pasha should be ready to receive us at one -o'clock. Then he sent to us, and we walked off through the streets to -his palace, locally known as the porte. The entrance was surrounded with -a crowd of janissaries. When we had passed them we were ushered into the -room of the secretary, whom we found sitting in one corner of his sofa, -surrounded with agas in so much state that I mistook him for the pasha -himself. We were there but a few minutes, but long enough to see that he -must be a man of talent. We afterwards learnt that he was and had many -accomplishments. He could write, ride, and play the djerid better than -anyone. The djerid he could cast as high as a minaret. Presently we were -led through a crowd of servants into the presence of the pasha. He was -in the corner, sitting in great magnificence. His pelisse was worth -20,000 piastres. By his side was a diamond-hilted dagger and two -snuff-boxes set in diamonds and pearls. Three chairs, covered with red -brocade, were placed before him for us to sit on. Our two dragomans -stood on either side of us, and, at each word spoken and answered to the -pasha, moved their heads and their hands from their mouth to their head. -The conversation was as follows. We were asked whence we came, and when -we had replied, the friendship between the Porte and England<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> was -referred to, and the pasha desired the Jew—our host—to treat us, being -Englishmen, with all possible attention. The mention of authority led -the pasha to tell us that he commanded in Retimo and Canea, as well as -in Candia. He next begged to know if we brought any news; whether there -had been any fighting in the west of Europe; and whether Buonaparte had -put into execution his threat of invading England. To this we replied -that he knew better than to try.</p> - -<p>Sweetmeats were then handed round, and rose-water and other essences -sprinkled out of narrow-necked bottles on to our hands and wiped with a -beautifully embroidered napkin. After about half an hour we rose, and -the pasha having said 'You are welcome: I am glad of your arrival,' we -withdrew. Our departure was marked by the usual battle among the chiouks -for bakshish.</p> - -<p>Our treatment by the pasha had had a great effect throughout the city, -so that when we walked through it we were everywhere stared at as -foreign grandees, just as the Persian ambassador was in London. As we -passed people invited us into their houses, and a boy from a cafané -threw down hot water before us, a thing we understood to be an -altogether exceptional compliment, and which had of course to be -exceptionally rewarded. It was now about two hours after midday, and at -that hour it seems the band of the pasha always plays to the public. We -saw it sitting on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> top of a house, and stopped in a shop over the -way to hear it discoursing what appeared to me to be the most -excruciating discords. When it was over two chiouks came forward, -crying, 'Pray first for the grand signor, and then for our pasha.' We -turned home, and found that the Emene aga had just been, bringing the -compliments of the pasha and a present consisting of six loaves of -sugar, three packets of wax candles, twenty in a packet, and three pots -of honey. We expressed our lively gratitude in all the best Greek we -could command.</p> - -<p>In the evening the pasha sent us his band to entertain us. It consisted -of six performers, mostly Persians. Their instruments were a dulcimer, a -violin of three strings held in the right hand, the bow in the left, a -Persian pipe which had some really beautiful tones, melancholy, soft, -and sentimental, a guitar with a very long handle, a panpipe with -twenty-one pipes, and a double drum, which was beaten by the man who did -the singing. I could not observe that they had guidance in their -playing, except such as the ear gave them; but by dint of practice they -managed to keep their instruments together, and the result was, I -thought, rather tender and pleasing. As for our poor dragoman, who had -heard no music since he had left Constantinople, he was quite overcome -and dissolved in tears.</p> - -<p>We paid a visit to the archbishop. He seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> to have as many religious -attendants as the pasha had secular ones, but he received us in a very -unaffected way at his door and showed us over his church. His answers to -our questions showed him to have very little learning. Pausanias he had -never even heard of. Thence we went on to pay a visit to the captain of -'fourteen,' the chief of the five regiments here, the military -commandant in fact. He has under him from 25,000 to 30,000 troops, -second only for insubordination and lack of discipline to those at -Canea, where they are in chronic open rebellion. We found him in his -room, a fat vulgar man with a good many handsome arms about him; among -them a shield which he told me is still in use. Ali, our janissary, -showed me afterwards how it is handled, and anything more barbarous or -inexpert I never saw.</p> - -<p>Being such rare birds, and received with so much form and cordiality by -the pasha, all the notabilities were anxious to see us. Many Turkish -agas and others signified their wish to visit us, and our poor house, -alas! alas! was full of them from morning to night. Some were polite, -but most of them merely curious to view us. Few questions were asked, -and those few not in the least intelligent. In fact, we have been acting -the part of embassy, and we could not do otherwise. Received and stared -at and made much of as we were, we were obliged to try and do credit to -our country. Besides there was nothing else to do;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> we were practically -under surveillance. No drawings could be made, nor studies of Mount Ida -or the beautiful country. I was always fuming over the waste of time, -but there was no help for it.</p> - -<p>As soon as the novelty is worn off, Turks and Turkish manners become -very uninteresting. Their outward bearing is very dignified, but their -society is inexpressibly dull. Those few who had travelled ever so -little, even so far as Malta, could be distinguished at once. A little -glimpse of the world had sufficed to remove their ridiculous Turkish -<i>superbia</i> and make them respect their neighbours."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Chancellor of the University of Corfu, later Lord -Guilford.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> The Hon. Frederick S. N. Douglas, author of an essay -entitled <i>On Points of Resemblance between Ancient and Modern Greeks</i>.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> - -<p class="center">EXPEDITION TO THE LABYRINTH—DELLI YANI—THE INTERIOR—THE RETURN TO -CANDIA—LIFE THERE—REJOINS MR. NORTH—BAD WEATHER—EXPEDITION TO EGYPT -ABANDONED—SCIO—LEAVES MR. NORTH TO GO TO SMYRNA—STORMS—DANGER AND -COLD—ARRIVES AT SMYRNA.</p> - -<p>"On the second day we started on our expedition to visit the Labyrinth. -It was delightful to get away from a place where we were little better -than State prisoners, unable to go out at all unless in form, and then -obliged to stay within the walls for fear of being taken for spies if we -went outside. When we had to pass through them to get out I saw that the -works are really very strong, with a ditch which can be flooded, and -walls thirty feet high.</p> - -<p>At night we reached Schallous, a small village, and passed the night in -the house of an old Greek. Both he and his wife were terrified at first, -as we were in Turkish dress, and they had suffered terribly at the hands -of the Turks. He told me afterwards that his son, after an absence of -five years, had come home, and the very first night some Turks had -broken into the house, eaten and drunk all they could lay hands on, and -finally murdered the poor youth.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p><p>Next day, by Hagiospiliotissa to the convent of S. Georgio. Our -janissaries here gave us a sample of the tyranny of Turks by preparing -for us and themselves a magnificent repast, and getting drunk and -insulting the papades. Three hours more of hilly country, commanded at -intervals by fortified towers (kopia), brought us to the foot of Ida.</p> - -<p>In ancient times, as well as now, towns of importance in these parts -were generally found by the sea, which was their source of wealth; but -the greatness of Gortyna, though so far inland, was no doubt due to the -magnificent cornlands of the rich plain of Messara. As I guess, the town -stood on a pointed hill overlooking it.</p> - -<p>In a steep part of the hill looking towards the plain is an -inconspicuous hole in the rock, unmarked by any architectural or -structural feature. This is the entrance to the Labyrinth.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> We had -brought a quantity of string for a clue, which we rolled on two long -sticks, then lit torches and went in. At first one enters a vestibule -out of which lead several openings. Two of the three, perhaps four, dark -entrances are blocked up, but one remains open. This we followed, and -for three mortal hours and more we groped about among intricate passages -and in spacious halls. The windings bewildered us at once, and my -compass being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> broken I was quite ignorant as to where I was. The -clearly intentional intricacy and apparently endless number of galleries -impressed me with a sense of horror and fascination I cannot describe. -At every ten steps one was arrested, and had to turn to right or left, -sometimes to choose one of three or four roads. What if one should lose -the clue!</p> - -<p>A poor madman had insisted on accompanying us all the way from Candia. -He used to call me St. Michael; Douglas, St. George; and Foster, Minos. -We knew him as Delli Yani. Much against our will he persisted in -following us into the cavern, and when we stopped, going off with a boy -who had a lantern. Conceive our horror when we found suddenly that he -had disappeared. There in that awful obscurity he might wander about -till death relieved him. We sent back two men along the clue with -torches to shout for him, and listened anxiously, but the Turks were -quite unconcerned. God, they said, takes care of madmen. We went on, and -sure enough after about an hour Delli Yani turned up with the boy, who -was horribly frightened. We entered many chambers; in some were Venetian -names, such as Spinola; in another, 'Hawkins 1794,' 'Fiott' and other -Englishmen, and many names of Jews. All the <i>culs de sac</i> were infested -with bats, which were very annoying, and rose in thousands when one of -our party fired a pistol. In one place is a spring.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> Here and there we -saw some lichen, and there were occasional signs of metallic substances, -but not enough to support the idea of its having been a mine. The stone -is sandy, stratified, and easily cut, the air dry, and it appears to me -that the most probable purpose of this wonderful excavation was as a -secure storehouse for corn and valuables from the attacks of robbers in -the days of Minos. The work was plainly all done with the chisel.</p> - -<p>The passage is always eight or ten feet wide, and four, five, six, -eight, or ten feet or more high. In many places it had fallen in. The -peasants tell all sorts of stories about it. They told me that in one -place there are reeds and a pool, and that the hole goes right through -the mountain for three miles; that a sow went in and came out seven -years after with a litter of pigs; and so on.</p> - -<p>We slept at Hagios Deka, left it at dawn and rode close to the foot of -Ida through a very rich country, and in spite of waiting an hour on the -road, reached Candia in seven hours and a half. It was evident that for -purposes of his own our janissary had taken us something like fifteen -hours out of our way in coming, and we had a serious dispute with him in -consequence. Our hurrying back was of no use. There was no prospect of -our getting away.</p> - -<p><i>Candia.</i>—We have plenty of time on our hands and can only employ it in -the worst possible way by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> the assistance of the agas, who in the name -of dullness come and pass away their ennui in our company. To crown our -bliss, imagine us sleeping, feeding, and sitting all in one room, -without the possibility of finding a hole to hide our heads alone in.</p> - -<p>What was to me perhaps the worst affliction of all, was that to -entertain our guests we had to have music, wearing on unceasingly in -melancholy monotony. Our situation, in fact, was getting to be very -trying.</p> - -<p>We had a visit from our friend Alilah Agas, who begged us to send for -music, which was brought. Then he wished the girls of the house -(Jewesses) to come up and dance, and had we not been there no doubt he -would have compelled them to come. As it was, we discountenanced it, and -he gave it up. But he is a Turk; which is as good as to say utterly -unprincipled. He told me himself that in raising recruits in Anatolia -for the Bey of Tunis, he gave them three hundred piastres apiece, and -set it down as six hundred. That dishonesty and bestiality go hand in -hand with ignorance is well seen among the Turks. Moreover they lack the -civilising influence of women in their society. As soon as their -affected gravity is laid aside, they betray the vilest indecency of -feeling. One cannot give instances, but the fact was painfully brought -home to us.</p> - -<p>At last, on the 24th December, a note came from Mr. North to say that he -was at Dia, the island<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> across the bay. We replied begging him to stay -where he was, for that if he came to Candia he would certainly be -delayed. At the same time we sent to the pasha, begging to have the gate -of the port opened in case Mr. North came. The gate, however, was never -opened. Happily he did not come, and the dragoman we had sent with our -message had to sleep at a cafané outside the gate, and we lowered dinner -down to him with a piece of string over the walls. For a wonder we were -left alone for this evening, and Douglas and I walked about in our -little περιβολἡ [Greek: peribolê] by moonlight, and thought of home and happy -Christmas parties there and our dismal Christmas out here. Amongst other -subjects we talked of the divine Mrs. Siddons. I trust you never omit my -love and duty to her, and my request that she will not forget her -devoted admirer during his wanderings. You have never told me whether -she intends ever to go on the stage again.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> - -<p>We went to pay a farewell visit to the pasha. We found him sitting in -the same state as before—in full dress, with his diamond-hilted dagger -in his girdle and several magnificently rich snuff-boxes on the couch -beside him. Our conversation, made up of his questions and our answers, -lasted half an hour. He said he had seen a drawing of the Labyrinth -which I had done, and that it was very beautiful. What was the age of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> -the Labyrinth? the name of the king who made it? the age of the world? -&c. &c. Our answers were taken down, and our names. Finally he said our -visit was agreeable to him, and bade us cordially farewell.</p> - -<p>Then walking down to the port we took two boats for ourselves and our -baggage, and urging the boatmen to hurry, in our eagerness not to miss a -chance of sailing that evening if the wind allowed it, we reached Dia in -two hours; and there was Mr. North very pleased to see us. We now -watched the wind for a chance of getting out of port, but it shifted -unsteadily from point to point, and there we remained twelve days. My -occupations were to wander about over the desert island, draw, and read -a great deal. It was dull, no doubt, but nothing to the active boredom -of society in Candia. Mr. North had several excellent cases of books, -and I fell upon Gibbon, and became entirely absorbed in it.</p> - -<p>At last the wind changed, the captain set all hands to work, and we got -out of port, but lay outside rolling the whole day in a dead calm. -Towards evening the wind came strong from the south, and our captain, -always afraid to beat against it, let it drive us with it to the north, -so that in the night we passed Nio, and in the morning found ourselves -among the Cyclades between Paro and Siphanto, into the latter of which -the captain begged leave to put, for he said the weather looked dirty. -The harbour of Siphanto,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> which is called Pharo, is rather exposed to -the south, but is otherwise good. There is the usual chapel to the -Panagia at the entrance.</p> - -<p>I had caught such a violent cold and fever from sleeping on deck the -night before that I was forced to go to bed and stop there for the next -two days, so that I was prevented from going ashore and visiting the -town with North and Foster. It lies about one hour off on the hill, the -houses scattered and looking from a distance like the broken remains of -a wall. Above is a castle, apparently of the time of the Dukes of the -Archipelago. Foster found nothing there of interest except numbers of -pretty girls, some of whom were so pressing that he found it difficult -to get away alone. The fact is the men of the island, being mostly -sailors, are away at sea, and the ladies, being left in a majority, make -the love which in other countries is made to them. The costume, a -Venetian bodice and high bonnet, with very short petticoats, is pretty -and peculiar. There are no Turks in the island, but some Turkish sailors -lying in the port took offence at the fine clothes of North and Douglas, -saying we were Romaics, and had no right to ridicule their Faith by -wearing their sacred dress. They even threatened to give stronger proofs -of their displeasure than by mere words.</p> - -<p>However, next morning we were towed out of port; but being becalmed all -day outside, Mr. North,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> who had been stirred by the remonstrances of -the Turks just mentioned, sent in a boat, and got a wig, a pair of shoes -and breeches for his own wear.</p> - -<p>Next day we were still lying becalmed among the Cyclades, but the next a -light breeze sprang up and carried us northwards through the passage -towards Scio; for Mr. North, tired of our delays, having lost all -confidence in our captain, and frightened at the violence of the winds, -had finished by making up his mind to give up the voyage to Egypt; and -this caprice, by which all our time and immense expenses were wasted, -necessarily involved us all. I must say I was bitterly disappointed. But -luck was against us; we could not afford to make the journey alone, and -I had to make the best of it. It took us two days to get to Scio.</p> - -<p>A steady wind carried us gently on from Mykoni, and we seemed to enter a -large lake: on one side were the mountains of Anatolia; on the other, -the left, the Isle of Scio, richly cultivated and populous. The whole -coast is covered with the so-called mastic villages. The mastic plant, -which is cultivated mainly on the east side—the side we were looking -at—of the island, is a high evergreen. It is gathered much as resin is -from firs, and the annual crop is about 6,000 okes, all of which goes to -Constantinople. Besides mastic, the island produces a vast quantity of -fruit, which also goes to the capital. The population is very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> large, -almost entirely Greek. Compared to the wretched Cretans, they are very -independent, both men and women. The latter paint extravagantly and wear -an ugly costume; but I must say that on a <i>festa</i>, such as the day after -our arrival, being the 13th of January and New Year's Day in Greece, the -crowds of them dressed in their best, sitting on either side of the -street, looked as brilliant as banks of flowers.</p> - -<p>Before leaving we went to see the chief curiosity of the island—viz. -Homer's School. It lies northwards, along the shore, about an hour's -ride. You arrive first at a fall of a small stream into the sea, and a -little above is a singular hanging rock, the top cut smooth into a -circular floor about 20 feet across. In the centre an altar is left, on -which are carved in bas-relief, on three sides, greyhounds, and on the -fourth—the front—something resembling the head and breast of a sphinx. -It looks south-east. The situation is exceedingly pretty, but why it -should be called Homer's School I cannot conceive. It was more probably -an altar to some deity whose shrine was near—possibly the deity of the -beautiful spring below.</p> - -<p>There is in Scio an agreeable polyglot society of merchants of all -nations living together in harmony. One may find an English family where -English is the only language not spoken, the men perhaps speaking a -little badly, and the women going to church on Sunday and not -understanding a word. As Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> North intends to remain here and Douglas -is starting homewards by way of St. Petersburg, Foster and I took leave -of them and sailed for Smyrna in the evening.</p> - -<p>We were carried gently along between Scio and the mainland till we -reached the north end of the passage. There we fell in with a storm. The -wind rose very strong; all around us grew fearfully black, and close to -us fell a waterspout. Hereupon the man at the helm sunk terrified on his -knees and made a large cross in the air with his hand. But our old pilot -ordered him to look to the helm, for that he would save us from the -danger. Drawing out a knife with a black handle (a very important point, -I understand), he with it made also a cross in the air, and then stuck -it into the deck and pronounced the words: Ἑν ἁρχἡ ἡν ὁ λὁγος [Greek: En archê ên ho -logos], &c. ('In the beginning was the Word.') Whereupon, or very -shortly after, the waterspout did disperse and our pious Greek took to -himself all the credit for having saved us from a considerable danger. -Our next fright was that we should hardly be able to clear Cape Boronu, -the point of the Gulf of Smyrna, but we did just manage to do that also.</p> - -<p>The wind changed about several times, till presently it came down in a -heavy gale from the north and continued to increase, till all was -confusion and terror on board. And indeed we were in a very awkward -plight; for our ship was a very bad sailer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> and we were on a lee shore -with a wind she could make no head against. Besides, the rain and the -hail prevented our seeing anything. The captain completely lost his -head, trembled with fear, and began reproaching us for persuading him to -leave Scio. The only man who kept his presence of mind was the pious old -pilot. He knew of a port near by, where we might possibly gain shelter, -and by his great skill we succeeded in arriving there; but it was neck -or nothing. The smallest mismanagement and we should have been dashed on -the rocks. As it was, we as near as possible ran on to them, owing to -the anchor being let down too late; for the ship, in swinging round, -drove towards them with appalling violence. The captain fell on his -knees, and we all expected the ship to be dashed to pieces. She actually -swung up to within three yards of the rocks, and there the anchor held -us. We all drew a deep breath and thanked our stars. It had been a very -near thing.</p> - -<p>For days the wind was still against us, and piercingly cold. We stayed -where we were. I was thankful to have Pope's 'Homer' with me as a -consolation.</p> - -<p>Our vessel is managed on the system in use at Hydra, Syra, Spezzia, &c., -viz. that half the profits of a voyage go to the captain or proprietor, -and the other half to the crew. Sometimes the members of the crew have -also shares in the venture, and so are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> doubly interested; sometimes the -captain is sole proprietor and supercargo. The system ensures a brisk -co-operation, as everyone is interested in the success of the venture.</p> - -<p>On the 20th we were still in the same place, the wind still blowing from -the N.N.E.—a Greco Levante, as it is called—and the cold as bitter as -ever it is in England. Snow fell and froze on the deck. The sea, which -was warmer than the air, gave off a mist which rose from it in a thick -steam.</p> - -<p>One of the sailors told me of some antiquities inland, and I tried to -get to them; but first of all it was difficult to persuade the crew to -turn out to put me ashore. They complained of the cold, and would not -leave the cabin, where they were crouching over the fire. Once on shore -I found everything frozen—ice rather thick—and when I got up to the -town I found the antiquities were about three hours off, and nobody -could give me any clear account of them; so I had to give it up and -return to Pope's 'Homer' and the cabin.</p> - -<p>We lay here in all eight days—till the 22nd—shivering in a filthy -cabin among the sailors, utterly idle and half starved. At last on that -day we were able to move to the island of Vourlac, where we added two -more days of wretchedness to our account; and then, when we had consumed -every particle of food except our salt fish, we found a boat to carry us -to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> Smyrna. The captain of the ship would not stir. The weather was -still very rough, and the wretched coward waited another eight days -before he ventured up.</p> - -<p>No one who has not experienced it, can have an idea of the horrors of a -storm in a Greek brig. The sailors, out of all discipline or order, run -about all over the ship in the most frantic attitudes of dismay, with -their bushy heads of hair flying in all directions, and scream contrary -orders to each other. Then the boldest, even if he be but the cabin boy, -takes the command, abuses the captain and encourages the rest by his -orders and example. All is in confusion, and if one escapes shipwreck it -is more by good luck than by good management."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Recent excavations by Messrs. Evans and Hogarth throw -quite a different light on the true nature of the Labyrinth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Mrs. Siddons (1755-1831) formally retired from the stage -in 1812, but continued to appear occasionally until many years later.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> - -<p class="center">LIFE IN SMYRNA—TRIP TO TRIOS—FOSTER FALLS IN LOVE—COCKERELL STARTS -ALONE FOR TOWN OF SEVEN CHURCHES—PERGAMO—KNIFNICH—SUMEH—COMMERCE ALL -IN THE HANDS OF GREEKS—KARASMAN OGLU—TURCOMANS—SARDIS—ALLAH -SHERI—CROSSES FROM VALLEY OF HERMUS TO THAT OF THE -MEANDER—HIERAPOLIS—DANGER OF THE COUNTRY—TURNS WESTWARDS.</p> - -<p>"After our experiences of danger, discomfort, and cold at sea, Smyrna -seemed to us a paradise of delightfulness. The consul received us very -hospitably, and introduced us to various acquaintance and to the -pleasures of the carnival which was going on. To you in England its -diversions would have appeared vulgar and flat. To us it was the -quintessence of gaiety to meet the masques, bad as they were, with their -forced hilarity, passing noisily from one Frank house to another. On the -last days of the carnival there were processions, than which nothing -could be more ridiculous. There was a Bacchus on a barrel with various -spouts about his body which, when turned, distributed wine to the -populace; and about the car it rode on, piped and danced a number of -wretches dressed in nankeen stained to a flesh-colour and hung with -faded leaves and flowers. There followed on another car<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> the 'Illness -and Death of Bacchus.' He was in bed surrounded by a procession of -weeping bacchanals, priests, doctors, glisters, and other remedial -engines of gigantic dimensions. In sober daylight such a sight calls for -its enjoyment for an amount of lightheartedness Englishmen do not at all -moments possess—but we, under the circumstances, were very much amused.</p> - -<p>We would have started at once on a tour of the Seven Churches if the -road had been clear. For the moment, however, it is blocked by the -presence of a pasha, who with four thousand troops is raiding and making -war on his own account. His army is stationed just across our path, and -I have been strongly advised to wait until the storm is passed over.</p> - -<p>I am really not sorry to have such a good reason for remaining a little -longer where I am. The weather is still very severe and quite unfit for -travelling.</p> - -<p>Our chief friend in Smyrna is a Mr. Thomas Burgon, married to a -Smyrniote lady. With him we started on February 15 to make a little trip -of four days to Boudron, the ancient Trios.</p> - -<p>We went in an open boat up the gulf to Vourlac, that is to say, to the -scala or port of it, which is on an island opposite to the site of the -ancient Clazomenæ, and walked from there to the town, spent the night -there, and next day rode to Boudron. Here was only a tiny cafané, and -nothing but a bench to sleep on.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> The following days were passed -entirely among the ruins of temples and magnificent buildings, among -which now only a few scattered husbandmen guide their ploughs. If in -Chandler's day—1775—the Temple of Bacchus was anything like what he -describes, it must have been a good deal knocked about since, for it is -very different now. The country we passed through generally is -exceedingly fertile, and, in consequence of the great demand for produce -in and about Smyrna, very prosperous.</p> - -<p>When I got back to Smyrna I was fortunate enough to make the -acquaintance of Captain F. Beaufort, R.N.,<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> of H.M. frigate -<i>Frederiksteen</i>. He is an accomplished antiquarian, a taste he has been -able to cultivate in these countries, as he has been employed for some -time in charting the coasts hereabouts.</p> - -<p>I have suffered not a little from the changeableness of my companions: -Mr. North first, in giving up the whole voyage to Egypt when we were -halfway there, because of the weather; then Douglas, in suddenly at Scio -taking it into his head to go home to England because he was -disappointed of the voyage to Egypt; and now, finally, Foster has fallen -in love and refuses to make with me the tour of the Seven Churches, as -he promised, because he cannot tear himself away from his lady love.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p><p>The difficulty mentioned before about the raiding pasha has been -settled. The moslem of this place have conciliated him with a gift of -20,000 piastres, and he is to retire to his own pashalik of Kauna. So I -only await my horses and janissary to set off alone.</p> - -<p><i>March 1st.</i>—I started in a boat for the scala of Menimen, where the -horses were waiting for me to take me to Menimen on the Hermus. As my -janissary got drunk overnight, I had to wait next morning till seven -before I could start, and in consequence did not get so far as I -intended, and had to sleep in a small cafané, on the site, as I take it, -of the ancient Cumé. We slept six in a small space, the divan, with a -large fire, while the three or four horses were in the space beyond. -Greeks steal when they get a chance, but Turks as a rule may be trusted; -and though Dimitri and I were so tired that we left my arms, silver cup -and spoons, &c., lying about all night, nobody touched them. In the -morning I walked over the site of Cumé. There were large remains of the -wall nine or ten feet thick, and I found the torso of a white marble -statue five feet six inches long, of a very beautiful style. The head, -arms, and legs had been broken off by the aga of the place because he -thought he should find gold inside. It is not far from here to Pergamo, -but it took us unusually long because the water was out in all the low -ground, and one had to keep to the causeways.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> These are made mostly of -stones taken from ruined cities, in which one saw bits of architraves, -friezes, and so on. Getting off the causeway in one place, I was very -nearly bogged.</p> - -<p>At Pergamo I lodged in the khan. The first thing I did was to walk up to -the castle. It is in three stages, with remains of fortification of all -ages, from the earliest to the Genoese, but the Roman are the most -important. On the second stage are two towers and a great wall built of -Roman-Greek fragments of white marble. Above are two larger towers with -a gate and strong wall full of fragments. On the south-west side a gap -or dell in the hill is filled up with arches fifty feet high by twenty -wide, and above them a range of smaller ones, the whole forming a solid -foundation for an immense temple<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> of white marble in the best -Roman-Greek style. The whole work is prodigious and very noble. There -are still considerable remains of the temple, but they are rapidly -disappearing, for the Turks cut them up into tombstones. The ancient -town seems to have been built on the hill. Everywhere on the sides of it -are immense foundations. The amphitheatre is an extraordinary building. -It stands in a narrow valley astride of a river. The two sides of the -valley make the two ends of the oval, and the middle stands upon arches -under which the river runs. I was detained at Pergamo two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> days by the -weather. It poured all the first day, and the second the water was out -and the river too high for me to get across.</p> - -<p>I went to the baths to see the vase for which Canning offered 10,000 -piastres, and bought there a beautiful stone for 40 piastres, and some -bronze coins.</p> - -<p>I took a guide to show me the way across the river, for the water was -out all over the valley, and even on the causeway it was over our -horses' knees, and to get off it would have been dangerous. On the way -we met the son of a neighbouring aga with a party of fifty armed -followers. We took them at a distance for a company of derrys, or -mountain robbers. But when they came near us we saw they were much too -smart. The young man was merely going to the Aga of Pergamo with the -compliments of his father on the recovery of his health. Seeing me and -my suite dressed <i>à la Turque</i>, he sent in passing a man with his -compliments to me to wish me a happy journey.</p> - -<p>The pleasant taste left by this graceful courtesy was wiped out by the -next incident, which was far from agreeable. We came upon a camel-driver -whose camels had got bogged in the swamp and could not be made to move -backwards or forwards. Impatience at his trouble had put the man so -beside himself that as we passed on he insulted our party. I did not -understand a word he said, or the cause of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> offence, but our janissary -was in a moment as furious as he. Both drew their pistols, and I had the -greatest difficulty in containing my man. One or other would have been -killed for no reason that I could comprehend. I managed to drag my man -away, and we went on to Knifnich; after which our horses, wearied with -their wetting and plodding through the heavy mire, could go no further, -and we halted for the night. I had a letter to a resident Armenian -merchant who received me with genuine hospitality; he introduced me to a -relation of his, and the two vied in their honest gallantry. Each -insisted on entertaining me. Finally my friend gave a party in my -honour; and in the evening, the Turkish part of the company having -departed, the women, contrary to the usual Armenian custom, appeared. -The music which had been sent for began to play the Greek circle, the -Romaika, and we all danced it together. At the end I did what I had -understood before was the height of gallantry in these countries: on -passing the musicians, dancing with my fair one, I clapped a dollar into -the hand of the musician to express my enjoyment. Better still, is with -a bit of wax to stick your sequin on his forehead, but I had no wax even -if I had wished to try it. After eating and dancing to our heart's -content, beds were spread, and in courtesy the landlord remained in the -room till I was undressed. Nothing, in fact, could be more cordial than -their treatment of me.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p><p>The trade of Knifnich is in raw cotton.</p> - -<p>Next day I got as far as Sumeh. The roads were so heavy that our baggage -horse fell and I thought we should never get him up again. This comes of -having started too early in the year. Close to Sumeh, in a dell, is the -picturesque village of Tarcala, with an ancient castle above it. A -friend, Constantine Stephano, took me to call on a Greek family there. I -cannot go into details; suffice it to say I found the people so really -barbarous that I could not bear it and came out. Indeed, in simple -savagery it would be impossible to surpass the natives of this country.</p> - -<p>In the khan I found a number of Romaic Greeks. It was the last day of -carnival and they were singing Moriote songs, making a noise and -behaving themselves generally in a way they would not venture to do in -Greece proper. The fact is, that Karasman Oglu, who governs all this -part of the country from Pergamo north to Samos in the south and inland -to Sart and Magnesia, is an extraordinarily good administrator for a -Turk. He sees that the Greeks form the most industrious and the richest -part of the population, and that it is to his interest to protect them. -Trade is flourishing, and Greeks from other parts, such as those from -the Morea who were so noisy in the khan, come and settle under him. I am -bound to say that here, and everywhere else where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> they come into power, -they are insolent and insufferably vain.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the Turks hereabouts are a mild and hospitable but -apparently a dull race. They are even more severely taxed than the -Greeks. For instance, it was they who had to pay to buy off the raiding -pasha I spoke of, and in places remote from the seat of government they -suffer great oppression from the hands of their petty governors. Indeed -at times they have openly expressed to me their desire that the French -or the English would take possession of their empire, for that they -would be better off in the hands of anybody than in those of their own -countrymen. And nothing would be easier than to take possession of it. -In all my tour I saw only one fortress, and that a small one, quite -incapable of resisting a regular force. Moreover, it is not a cramped -country like the Morea, but perfectly open; and after you leave the -coast, which is really populous and well cultivated, it is a desert. In -nine hours' journey from Akhissar to Sart, I came across only one -village and a few Turcomans.</p> - -<p>These Turcomans are a nomadic people. They live in tents, of which you -find perhaps twenty together, with their herds of cattle, horses, and -camels around them, and wander about following the pasture. They -consider themselves just as much part of the inhabitants as the settled -population, and are well<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> armed and dressed. As a rule, in these parts -at any rate, they are inoffensive, but further up the country I am told -they are organised into larger bands, call themselves dervishes or -desperadoes, and if travellers do not keep together in large caravans, -attack, rob, and even sell them for slaves. I was even given the sort of -price I might be expected to fetch in that capacity, viz. from ten to -twenty pounds.</p> - -<p>From Sumeh to Kerikahatch, and thence over a low watershed into the -valley of the Hermus and to Akhissar, where there is nothing worth -seeing. I spent the evening with Greek and Armenian merchants, very -rough company.</p> - -<p>Went on towards Sardis. At a village on a small branch of the Hermus we -came upon a large party of Turcoman women, who had come down from the -mountains to wash. They made no attempt to avoid observation as the -Turkish women do, and some of them were exceedingly beautiful. They had -with them three men as guard, who showed no jealousy of us and very -civilly told us our way. In the afternoon we arrived at the Hermus, and -the view of the valley I shall never forget. It was a glorious country -up the river, but the cultivation and the rich population were behind -us, and in front was a continued desert. A ferry-boat running on a rope -set us over the river, and an hour later we reached Achmet Li, a -miserable village of mud cottages, and prepared to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> pass the night in -the wretched cafané. Happily, when it got about that we were not Turks, -the widow of a Greek papa gladly received us and lodged me well. The -raiding pasha aforesaid had passed through and burned the aga's house, -but done no other harm beyond eating up all the fowls in the place; -there was not one to be got for love or money for my supper.</p> - -<p>Next day we got early to Sart. The neighbourhood affords the most lovely -views imaginable of distant hills. The site itself is peculiar. The -hills are wholly of fat earth, no rock seen at all, and the weather has -worn them into the most fantastic forms. Amidst them the castle, -standing at the foot of Bousdagh, is astonishingly picturesque. But the -whole is a very picture of desolation. Where the ancient Sardis stood -are now ten or twelve miserable huts. Far off across the glorious -landscape I could distinguish one solitary wretched village, and here -and there a Turcoman's tent. A veritable desert, where the soil is rich -as anyone could imagine.</p> - -<p>Besides the fine situation there is only one other thing to notice, viz. -the Ionic temple. I spent my first day in examining it and making a -drawing of it. Only three of the five columns still standing in -Chandler's time remain erect; the other two were blown up three years -ago by a Greek who thought he might find gold in them. The whole temple -is buried many feet deep. As I wished very much to see the base<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> of the -column, I got a Cretan—whom I found here professedly buying tobacco, -but I suspect a fugitive from his home for some murder—to dig for me. I -had to give it up after we had got down ten feet without reaching it. -One ought to be here for a month, and then, as the earth is very soft, -one could do the thing thoroughly. Nobody would interfere. I spent the -evening with the Turcomans in a tent, sitting cross-legged on a mat, -smoking. They had a bold free manner and a savage air, but they were not -uncivil to me. My janissary got into a dispute with one because he had -taken his place. He ordered him out, and the man would not go. As he and -all his companions were well armed, a fight would not have been -pleasant, and when the dispute quieted down I was not sorry.</p> - -<p>The ruins of the comparatively modern town, especially those of a large -church, seem to consist entirely of fragments of ancient temples, some -of the bits being very fine. The castle has no remains of earlier date -than that of the Lower Empire. The more ancient fortress may have been -swept away by the torrents, which tear the soil into such strange forms, -and the whole site be changed. At any rate I could not find a scrap of -ancient wall anywhere, and the later ones are rapidly being undermined, -and totter on the edge of the precipice.</p> - -<p>Next day we rode eastwards along the side of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> Bousdagh (Tmolus). In five -hours we passed only two small villages and a number of Turcoman tents, -but we met many caravans, the camels whimsically decked with feathers -and shells, and the largest male with festoons of bells as well. I was -told that the Turks were very fond of witnessing camel-fights, and that -those which I saw most handsomely dressed out were the champions at that sport.</p> - -<p>The houses hereabouts are all built of mud, and so full of mice that I -could not sleep in the night and was in consequence late in starting. We -continued along the great valley and came by midday to Allah Sheri -(Philadelphia), the most forlorn city ever I saw. The squalid mud houses -cover several small hills and contain a population of about a thousand -families, mostly Turks. There are twenty-four churches, of which only -five are in use, while the rest are kept sacred by occasional services. -In the shape of antiquities there is nothing to be seen. The chief -curiosity is the warm mineral spring, which smells like addled eggs and -has a taste of ink. The people about use it a good deal for scorbutic -complaints. Some travellers have spoken of having been shown a wall of -bones here. I saw nothing of the sort.</p> - -<p>Two hours' travelling next day brought us at last to the end of the -immense plain of the Hermus, and we began to get among the mountains, -going up the east side of a steep romantic dell, the west side of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> which -was wonderfully rugged and wild. Beyond were mountains covered with -snow: beneath us an immeasurable giddy depth. Except a few sheep, we saw -no living thing for hours together. Once I heard some wild duck by the -torrent below. At the end of six hours we reached Derwent, a village of, -say, two hundred houses. A wretched lodging and, as there was no fowl to -be got—and that is what one depends entirely upon—no supper; and I had -to be content with smoke, coffee, and Homer. In the evening came, as -usual, a number of Turks to see the stranger. They enter, they salute -with a 'Salaam aleikum,' and sit down perhaps for hours. Their -conversation generally turns upon the stranger, with conjectures upon -his object in coming. Later at night came in the son of our host. He had -been searching for a strayed ox, and was afraid that the wolves had got -it. He examined my firearms for a long while, and admired them very -much. The Turks of this part of the country are large, handsome, very -slow in their speech, and stupid and ignorant.</p> - -<p>Starting next morning, we began by following the course of a river till -we got on to a high level plain surrounded by formless hills—an ugly -country. We met a few Turcomans, and once I saw some ploughing. At the -end of seven hours' riding we reached the edge of the valley of the -Meander and looked over a glorious view; then downwards through -Bulladan,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> a village of about five hundred houses and a number of -mosques, to a village the name of which I never learnt, where we slept.</p> - -<p>As one expects nothing of one's host but shelter, it was an unusual -hospitality in ours to give us some of his bread. It was a strange -compound, such as I had never seen before. To make it, the dough is -mixed very thin and poured on a heated copper. The result looks like -rags of coarse cloth and tastes like bad crumpets. We slept in a barn -with the horses.</p> - -<p>Next day we descended into the plain of the Meander and crossed the -river by a bridge of four or five arches, the parapet of which is made -of the steps of a theatre. Just there was a man administering a singular -remedy to a mule which had fallen sick in the road. He had tied all four -legs together and thrown him down. Then he had cut the throat of a -sheep, and holding the mule's mouth open, let the sheep's blood flow -into it. I was assured it was an excellent medicine. From the bridge -onwards we crossed a flat till we reached the ridge, at the foot of -which is Hierapolis. It had cost me certainly a whole day more than was -necessary to get here, because Tabouk Kalise (the castle of the -cemetery), its proper name, was spelt in Chandler, Pambouk (cotton); and -when I inquired for Pambouk Kalise no one could make out what I meant, -so that practically I lost my way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> until I got into the valley of the -Meander. Once there, Hierapolis is a conspicuous object from a great -distance on account of the remarkable whiteness of the rock on which it stands.</p> - -<p>This is due to a petrification deposited by the river, which rises, a -full stream, in the city and flows over the front of the cliff. It makes -a fine cascade, and the spray of it, carried by the wind, spreads a -white coating like ice over everything it reaches. As it gradually -forms, it takes rounded shapes overlapping each other, something like -conventional clouds. The ruins of the ancient city stand on the top -above the cliff and half buried in a sea of this singular deposit. The -vast colonnades present the most extraordinary appearance. The most -magnificent are perhaps the ruins of the gymnasium, and the best -preserved the theatre, which is all perfect except the proscenium; but -perhaps what astonished me most was to find, on going out of one of the -gates, a number of tombs of various forms and sizes as complete as on -the day they were built, two thousand years ago. The style of them is -very large and magnificent. Many of the sarcophagi are eight or nine -feet long by three or four wide, and the rest in proportion. All bear -inscriptions, but the rough quality of the stone prevented my reading -them. Under the sarcophagus, and forming part of the monument, is -generally a stone bench for the friends of the deceased to sit upon and -meditate.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> There are some beautiful bas-reliefs in high preservation -lying exposed in the theatre. Altogether, for preservation there can be -nothing but Pompeii to compare to this place.</p> - -<p>I did not forget to inquire for the remarkable cave in which no animal -can live, which Chandler tried to find. My guide led me to one near the -spring and told me that on certain days birds flying over it fall down, -overcome by the fumes. There, sure enough, I did find four small birds -with the bones of various other animals. If travellers had been frequent -here I could have supposed that someone had put the birds there for -sightseers to wonder at; but according to the old aga I am the first -traveller here since Chandler's time in 1765, and it seemed impossible -that it should have been done on such short notice merely to make a fool of me.</p> - -<p>When evening came on, I walked down again to Yemkeni where the janissary -and horses were. The aga had prepared a meal for me, and ate it with me, -sometimes tearing bits of meat off and throwing them into my plate. As -usual, all the Turks came in, in the evening, to stare.</p> - -<p>All next day it blew and poured, but I went up to the ruins attended by -the aga's man, and worked hard all day long. I had bought a live fowl to -try Strabo's experiment of putting him into the cave; but whether it was -not really the right cave, or whether the violent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> wind and rain -prevented the gas having effect, at any rate the fowl was none the worse -after being exposed to it for half an hour, and we ate him with a good -appetite in the evening. Over his bones the aga grew talkative, and told -me of the real cave which was in the mountain, one hour distant. He said -that inside the cave is a bridge, and beyond that a chamber in which is -a treasure guarded by a black man. He added that he who should get the -better of that black man had need have studied and learnt much. Many and -many an adventurer, after the treasure, had died horribly in the cavern. -And so on, with all the cock-and-bull stories universal among the Turks. -But when I asked him to give me a guide to take me to the cave, he put -every sort of difficulty into the way. I should need ladders, and there -were none—horses, and there were none. In short it was quite clear he -meant to prevent my going, so I gave it up. I did so the more willingly -because I already felt exceedingly uncomfortable. The people around me -were utter savages, and the country perfectly lawless. South of the -river, in the direction of Denisli or Laodicea, it was worse; and -besides brigands, which were said to abound between Denisli and Aidin -and would oblige my taking an expensive escort, the agas themselves had -a very bad reputation for extortion. Moreover, my janissary was anxious, -because in coming to Hierapolis we were already<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> outside the limits to -which my travelling firman referred, and he wished to get back within -them. So, all things considered, I decided to give up seeing Laodicea (I -could make out the situation of it at a very great distance) and passed -on to avoid the desert country and dangerous neighbourhood."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Later Sir Francis Beaufort, chief hydrographer to the -Navy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Since excavated at the cost of the Prussian Government.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> - -<p class="center">BACK INTO CIVILISATION—NASLI BAZAR—NYSA—GUZUL—HISSAR (MAGNESIA)—THE -PLAGUE—AISALUCK (EPHESUS)—SCALA NUOVA—A -STORM—SAMOS—PRIENE—CANNA—GERONTA—KNIDOS—RHODES—MR. NORTH -AGAIN—SAILS FOR PATARA—CASTEL ROSSO—CACAVA—MYRA—THE SHRINE OF ST. -NICOLAS—TROUBLES WITH NATIVES—A WATER -SNAKE—FINICA—CAROSI—OLYMPUS—VOLCANIC FIRE—PHASELIS—FALLS IN WITH -THE <i>FREDERIKSTEEN</i>.</p> - -<p>"Two days' riding down the river brought us to Nasli Bazar, which is -within the government of Karasman Oglu, and the fact was at once -perceptible. Greeks were numerous and impudent, trade flourishing, and -the bazaar full of all kinds of merchants. It is the great mart for the -interior. I had to pass the night in a wretched khan. In the chamber -adjoining mine was a slave merchant with two young negresses, one of -whom had a child for sale, and also a fine young negro.</p> - -<p>I followed the valley of the Meander to Sultan Hissar. On the way I went -up a steep ascent to see the ruins of Nysa. They stand on an elevated -plain over the river, and command a grand view and good air above the -malarious bed of the Meander and its bordering marshes. There is first -of all a large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> agora, with traces of temples in or around it. Further -on, in the side of the mountain, is a very considerable theatre, with -the remains of the proscenium and apartments for actors &c. on all -sides. Seated in the theatre one had a glorious view of the senate house -and prison, with the amphitheatre beyond, and the bridge which spans a -gully in one magnificent arch. All these buildings are in a grandiose -style, very impressive, and made all the more so by their absolute -solitude. In Nysa was but one man, a shepherd, who had taken up his -abode in one of the arches of the theatre.</p> - -<p>After a stay there of two hours we went on down the valley. We had now -quite left the desert behind us and come into civilisation, cultivation, -and orderly government. Every two or three miles we passed a cafané and -a guard, with an air of order and discipline. My janissary was full of -admiration for Karasman Oglu, and related to me stories illustrating his -character. I recollect two. A Greek merchant going to Akhissar was -robbed by four Turks of 800 sequins. The poor man made his complaint to -Karasman Oglu, who at once gave him the money, as recognising his -responsibility for order, and that the merchant might not stand out of -his money while it was being recovered. Then he despatched his police, -who in a few days brought in the four Turks, and they were then and -there hanged. The Turks resent his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>protection of the Greeks and -Christians, and call it partiality. Hearing of this, Karasman called -together the chief Turks of Magnesia, and when he had given them coffee, -he told them that he had summoned them as he wished to raise a sum of -30,000 piastres for government purposes, and they should be repaid in a -few months with the interest due. The proposition being received with -dead silence, he sent for four poor Greek primates of some small -villages in the neighbourhood, and made them the same proposal in the -presence of the Turks. They at once assented, and the money was brought -in an hour. 'Now,' said he, 'you see why I prefer the Greeks. The first -of you who complains again shall lose his head.'</p> - -<p>When we got in the evening to Guzul Hissar I found the reports I had -picked up on the road exaggerated in two main particulars. I had been -told that the plague was raging in the town, and that there were English -corn-merchants to whom I could apply for harbourage. There was a good -deal of plague, no doubt, in the town, which is extensive, but hardly -enough to deter one from entering it; while the nearest thing to an -English merchant was a Genoese merchant living in the house of a -Sardinian doctor who enjoyed English protection. They made room for me, -and were very kind and hospitable; and it was a comfort to be in a Frank -house, but outside it was rather nervous work. A house close to our -lodging was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> infected by the plague, and as I was going down the street -a Greek warned me to make room for him. 'I have nothing the matter with -me,' said he, 'but a few days ago my brother died of the plague.' Need I -say that I complied at once. The panic that grows in a plague-stricken -city, and which one cannot help imbibing, has a strange effect on -characters. The woman of the neighbouring house, which, as I said, was -<i>impestata</i>, was seen going about out of doors by my host the doctor, -and he was beside himself at the sight.</p> - -<p>The importance of Guzul Hissar as a place of commerce arises from its -standing on the track of the corn trade between the interior and Scala -Nuova. I came upon caravans of one hundred to one hundred and fifty -camels, bringing corn from Cæsarea. Some bring it from even as far as -the borders of Persia. Once here, its value is doubled or trebled; but -the greed of the agas and the roguery of the Greek merchants prevent -much of the profit going to the growers. Signor Mora told me that the -great trouble he found was the system of constant <i>douceurs</i> and -bribery. It makes it impossible for a merchant to make his calculations.</p> - -<p>I walked up to see the few remains of the city of Magnesia. Like all -Greek cities, it stood above the plain. There is a theatre just -discernible, a stadium below it, and a few remnants of a gymnasium.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> One -night in Guzul Hissar was enough for me, and next day I started for -Scala Nuova; and leaving the valley of the Meander on the left, kept by -the mountain to the right, and came late to Aisaluck, the ancient -Ephesus. Here I dismissed my janissary and horses, and, relieved of my -expensive suite, spent a blissful, tranquil day alone. The castle is a -vile Turkish fort. The great mosque, in which are some grand columns of -granite, is fine, and, like the others—for there are many in the -place—thoroughly well executed in the true Oriental taste. The degraded -modern Turk is incapable of producing anything half so good.</p> - -<p>The remains of Ephesus are very trifling, and what there are, are in a -very poor style. I did not, any more than other travellers, find out the -Temple of Diana,<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> though of course I have my own opinion as to the -site. Aisaluck is now an almost deserted town. It has only about fifteen -inhabited houses, and the mosques and forts are in ruinous condition, -but their number and splendour show that it must once have been an -important Turkish city. I called on the aga, and by way of a present -gave him a little gunpowder, with which he was delighted. My lodging was -in a miserable little cafané, anything but a palace of luxury.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> The -fleas within, added to the jackals howling without, prevented my getting -any rest. But it was not much worse than my other lodgings on this tour. -Luxuries have been few. All I can say is I have learnt not to miss them. -In my Turkish dress I pass without observation or inconvenience. In the -evening, after eating my meal, I smoke my pipe with the other Turks, go -to sleep and get up early.</p> - -<p>I rode from Aisaluck to Scala Nuova, which is only four hours off, and -from thence I took a passage for Samos on a Maltese brig of twelve hands -and six guns and set sail the following morning (March 25th); but when -we had made half the passage, which is by rights only about two hours, -we met a furious wind which obliged us to put back. I went ashore again, -and as the wind rose to the force of a hurricane I watched out of my -window no less than eighteen boats and vessels of various sizes blown -ashore and wrecked under my very eyes. It was a scene of incredible -destruction. The shore was strewn with wreckage and cargoes which had -been thrown overboard—oranges, corn, barrels of all sorts of -goods—while the sailors, ruined, although thankful to have escaped with -their lives, sat round fires in some sheds by the port, the pictures of -dejection.</p> - -<p>The wind detained me till the 28th, when I crossed over in a boat to -Bathi in Samos. Here I had to wait first for horses, and then on account -of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> the bad weather. I had to stay indoors, and indoors in a Greek house -means anything but privacy. No matter where you sit, you hear everything -that goes on in it. Application of any kind is out of the question. In -this case, the consular court being at the other end of the house, I had -to hear the cases proceeding in it. One in especial went on in detached -chapters all the time I was there. A Zantiote had deserted his wife and -children eighteen years ago in Mykoni. He had since lived and been -married in Cyprus, while the deserted wife went to Smyrna and maintained -herself and the children by hard work. She had done what she could to -find her husband, in vain, till just as I arrived she discovered him in -Samos. She haled him before the consul and demanded that he, being rich, -should support her. Not till the whole assembly had joined the bench in -calling him every name they could invent would he consent, but finally -he signed an agreement to live with his wife in Samos and support the -daughter. But this was but the beginning. Every day we had visits from -both parties to complain that the conditions were not adhered to: he to -say that the agreement to live with them did not involve supporting -them; they to say they must be supported, and meanwhile, as they were -half starved, to take an opportunity of satisfying their appetites at -the consulate.</p> - -<p>I made acquaintance of a pleasant Russian,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> Monsieur Marschall, and with -him crossed the island to see the antiquities—first of the ancient city -and then of the Temple of Juno, lying three-quarters of an hour to the -eastward of it. There is only one column of it remaining, but that one -very finely cut and of beautiful marble. A few years ago, I understand, -there were still many standing; but some were blown up for the sake of -the metal rivets, and others knocked over by the Turkish men of war, -who, as they were very white, used them as a target for gunnery -practice. We returned to the village of Samos for the night, and lodged -with the bishop, who was more hospitable than Greeks generally are. He -was a man of some ingenuity and amusing, but very ignorant and -superstitious.</p> - -<p>We went by Bathi to Geronta and across the Bogas to Changlu on the -mainland—rode to Kelibesh over the top of range of hills commanding the -valley of the Meander—and the lake of Myus—and on to Sansun Kalesi -(Priene), which I was very glad to see. It is an exceedingly fine site. -Unfortunately it rained and blew so violently that I could not do much; -but if one could stay and dig in the temple, I dare say one might find a -treasure of statues, for it remains exactly as it fell.</p> - -<p>Two days after, we set out, riding along the foot of Mount Titanus, in -frequent danger of being bogged in the low new-made ground of the -Meander, which near<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> the sea is covered with sedge and rushes inhabited -by numberless waterfowl. The scenery was often very fine. We reached the -corn warehouses at Canna after midday, and found there my Sardinian -corn-merchant friend from Guzul Hissar. He was trying to make up a -cargo, and at the moment was full of the wrongs suffered by merchants in -this country. A caravan of fifteen camels he was expecting had been -stopped by an aga, the corn they carried unloaded and left by the road, -while the camels were sent away to carry cotton into the interior.</p> - -<p>Here we hired a boat; but, hearing firing in the Bogas, which we could -only attribute to a pirate, we were not without some qualms at starting. -With this in our heads, when we saw a large caique making directly -towards us, we were naturally enough alarmed and made for the mouth of -the Meander, and there remained till the bark came up and proved itself -to be only a fishing caique. Setting forward again with a very strong -wind, we reached the port of Geronta after dark. The boatman mistook the -entrance and very nearly ran us on to a rock some distance from the -shore, upon which he got into a fright and lost all presence of mind. -The wind, as I said, being very high, the position was so serious that -Marschall and I took the management of the bark, and giving the man a -cuff sent him forward to look out for the port. In this fashion we found -it and got in. Even then we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> were not well off, for the place was -perfectly solitary, and we had no mind to remain all night in the boat. -It grew extremely dark, and it was an hour and a half before we could -find the village. On the way to it, we passed the massive remains of the -Temple of Apollo Didymæus, and as they loomed through the darkness they -looked very grand—grander than I thought them next morning by daylight. -The village of Geronta is only about thirty years old and is inhabited -entirely by Albanian and Greek immigrants who seem fairly prosperous. -The pasha, Elis Oglu, like his neighbour Karasman Oglu, is a great -patron of Greeks. We set sail at night, but had to put back, after a -hard night, to a port close to Geronta and wait there three days till -the weather improved.</p> - -<p>When at last we got away, in five hours we were off Cape Ciron, which -ends in a lofty hill by which is Knidos. At my request the captain went -into the port, and very glad I was to see the place; the situation is so -curious: but I found no inscription or antiquities of any kind. I slept -in the boat, and we started at midnight. The wind was furious; and as -the bark laboured and strained in the waves, Dimitri groaned with fear. -It was indeed far from pleasant; but as the day came on the wind went -down, till we were absolutely becalmed off the little island of Symi, -and did not get into Rhodes till afternoon.</p> - -<p>I was preparing to go to visit the consul, and had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> walked a few yards -in that direction when I saw another boat come into port, and in it, to -my surprise, who but Mr. North. He was as astonished as myself, and as -pleased. We went together to the consul's. There we had long -conversation on the subject of the island, its inhabitants, products, -&c.</p> - -<p>The present governor of Rhodes is Hassan Bey, slave of a previous -governor—a man of great simplicity of life. I found him sitting in the -passage of his palace without attendants or pomp. Although he is about -seventy years old and deaf, he received as a present, by the same boat -as Mr. North came in, a female slave. He builds ships here for -Government, and has one, a frigate, for his own behoof, which he uses -himself for piratical purposes while with it he clears the neighbouring -seas of all other pirates.</p> - -<p>Two days after, I left Rhodes and sailed eastwards with a light breeze, -till in the evening we were becalmed off the Seven Capes. In the morning -I was awakened by strange voices on board. We had been boarded by -Hydriotes inquiring for corn. Their ship had been lying off the coast -for some days, boarding every boat that passed for corn. She was a large -ship with a crew of sixty men, who seemed to spend all their time in -merrily dancing and fiddling. We rowed into the port, which is a fine -harbour, and when I had landed I found a boy to undertake to guide us<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> -to Patara. It took two hours to walk there, keeping all the way by the -side of an aqueduct. We met a few savage-looking Turks armed, and a boy -or two playing on wild simple reeds. The whole country was very wild and -desolate, and the road a mere track.</p> - -<p>The ruins are considerable, and, although none of them belong to the -finest time, very interesting. They have an inexpressibly forlorn -appearance, standing as they do half buried in the sand. The once -extensive port is entirely silted up.</p> - -<p>The theatre is half filled up. I found in it an inscription, from which -I gathered that the auditorium is of later date than the proscenium.</p> - -<p>Near the head of the port are two large mausolea, at least I suppose -that is what they are; and besides these there are the remains of -fortifications of the Lower Empire and of several churches. I could not -get over to examine the buildings on the opposite side of the port.</p> - -<p>We started for Castel Rosso, but were becalmed. The boys played and -danced, and we did not get in till the evening. The port, a poor one, is -defended by a castle which is red, whence the name. The few savages we -found on the beach received us with great suspicion, with arms in their -hands, but sold us some provisions. In the morning I landed and looked -about. Inside the walls there are many ruins of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> houses, all of the -Lower Empire, while the walls themselves are of much earlier date in -cyclopean masonry. Outside the old walls and in the modern town there -are several ancient tombs that have been respected and are in good -preservation. The ground is incredibly rugged and stony, almost as bad -as Maina.</p> - -<p>We sailed off at midday, and got to the small port of Cacava in the -evening. There, among the modern houses, are a number of tombs, all of -them respected and well preserved. As the cross is on most of them, the -town must have flourished during the Lower Empire. I found and copied -various inscriptions, some of them in a character I have not seen -before. In the evening we crossed to Myra, and there I enjoyed a good -bathe. Then when night had come on, we worked the oars against wind till -we reached a port at the east end of Karadah, and when it was morning -crossed to visit the shrine of St. Nicolas. The sea was so high we had -to leave the caique and walk thither. St. Nicolas is a favourite saint -of the Greeks, and his shrine is greatly revered. Our captain and crew -were all dressed in their very best to make their cross, and had brought -with them a bottle of oil as an offering. The road was wretched, and -what made it worse was that in wading across a river which was over my -knees I so wetted my shalvar that they were heavy to walk in. At the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> -mouth of the river Zanthus we found many tombs, but none of which I -could read the inscription.</p> - -<p>The holy place consists of half of a ruined church of the Lower Empire, -and by the side of it a small chapel in which is the tomb. The entrance -to it is so low that we were obliged to go down on our hands and knees -to get in. The Greeks knelt down, bowed their foreheads to the earth, -made crosses and said prayers; then, putting some parahs on a tray, took -some small candles from a bundle beside it, and stuck them round the -tomb. The ceremony being over, we took some earth from near the tomb to -keep as a relic, and fell into conversation with the papa of the shrine, -Nicola by name, native of Salonica. He told us that early in life in a -severe illness he had vowed service to St. Nicolas for the rest of his -life if he recovered: that, being restored to health, he had come here -in fulfilment of his vow, but that he led but a miserable life, in -constant apprehension of the Turks, who are very violent and fanatical -hereabouts.</p> - -<p>I went on with Dimitri and the captain to see some remains of which he -told me, at no great distance, but the other Greeks were afraid to -accompany me or even to show me the way. However, I found the ruins—a -theatre in astonishing preservation, and some highly interesting tombs, -and was quietly taking measurements of them when several Turks appeared. -They seemed highly to disapprove of our operations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> While examining -some statues I heard one of them exclaim: 'If the infidels are attracted -here by these blasphemous figures the temptation shall soon cease, for -when that dog is gone I will destroy them.' Then some of them went away -and presently came back with a larger party. While I was above in the -upper part of the building, they suddenly seized the arms of Dimitri and -the captain, and ordered us to follow them to the aga, who lived at a -distance of no less than six hours off. At this I remonstrated, saying -that I was an Englishman, a friend; but they answered that I lied, that -we were giaour Russians, and were plotting to take possession of the -place. They wanted to examine our things, but this I resisted. My firman -unfortunately was left behind in the boat, and matters began to look -ugly. The least encouragement from the elder members would have led the -crowd of ruffians to take strong measures. I could perceive that, but I -saw no exit from our dilemma. There was, fortunately, still one elder of -the village to be consulted, and he was ill at home. The chief of our -captors went off to consult him, and a quarter of an hour later returned -a different man, his rage assuaged, and willing to accept the captain's -assurance that I was an Englishman. He then returned me my arms and -begged that I would go where I thought proper. Of course I was very much -pleased at this <i>dénouemeut</i>, but I kept my countenance and pretended to -be still very angry, at which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> leader, who was now afraid of me, -positively quailed for fear of my vengeance. We slept the night under -protection of St. Nicolas.</p> - -<p>Accompanied by the papas, we took a boat on the river and rowed down to -the port at the mouth, and across the bay to the port where our bark -lay. While I was swimming, following the boat, I was not a little -frightened to meet a large snake which was making for the land. I got -out of its way hastily and called to the boys in the caique, who killed -it as it approached the shore. It was black, with some red spots on the -belly, and measured five feet two inches in length. We heaved anchor at -night, and in the morning reached the port of Finica.</p> - -<p>The town itself is three-quarters of an hour from the sea. There are the -remains of a theatre, the seats all gone, and a castle of the Lower -Empire, built of the said seats. I found various monuments, the -inscriptions all in the same unknown character. At a mill hard by, I -fell in with a number of merchants belonging to Sparta, in Asia Minor, -six days from here. It is curious that they all talk Turkish, but write -it in Greek characters. I found them very bigoted but civil. We slept in -the open air, all in a row. As I had promised them some fish, they lent -me a horse, and one of them accompanied me back to the port; but -unfortunately no fish had been caught in the night, so I had to make up -for it with five okes of olives and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> a large botza of wine, on which my -friends got excessively drunk.</p> - -<p>We now got on board and tried to beat out of port, but it was not so -easy. It is very narrow, and a south-east wind, such as we had at the -moment, blows right into it. Once out, we crossed the bay and got into -the small port of Carosi.</p> - -<p>We had now to get round the cape. All along this coast an imbat or sea -breeze springs up from the south regularly at midday. As we took care, -by rowing hard southwards, to get round the point before twelve, we -caught the breeze nicely, which carried us straight north to Porto -Genovese by night.</p> - -<p>This is a fine port, and the rocks above it are very grand. We caught -and ate a fine supper of fish, and sat cross-legged on our little deck -drinking wine with an enjoyment of this adventurous, unconventional life -I can never forget. The night was cool, the moon shone bright upon us, -and we crowned the evening with Moriote songs. It was past midnight -before we got to bed.</p> - -<p>It was a short distance to the foot of Olympus. When I met Captain F. -Beaufort at Smyrna, he gave me an account of the volcanic fire which -springs up out of a hole in the side of this mountain, and I wished to -see it. It lies about an hour's walk up the hill. The flame was just -like that of a furnace, and the mouth, about five feet wide, from which -it issued,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> was all calcined. Ten feet from it was another mouth, from -which no fire but a strong sulphurous smell issued, and about fifty -yards higher up the hill there was a spring. Close by there were also -the remains of a temple, showing that the spot had been held sacred in -ancient times. My guide told me that the fire would roast eggs well, but -not if they were stolen—indeed it would not act upon stolen things at -all. Greeks are very superstitious, and this is one of the favourite -forms it takes with them. I tried to confute him by cutting a scrap off -his turban while his back was turned and showing him how it burned, but -although he saw it consumed it did not shake his belief in the least.</p> - -<p>I went downhill again to the ruins. They consisted mostly of Venetian or -Genoese work, but there was the door of a portico erected to Germanicus, -a small theatre on the south side of the river, and some very rough -tombs of Roman times, among which I drew until nightfall.</p> - -<p>Next morning we had an enchanting sail to Phaselis. The breeze was -slight and the dolphins played all round us, as though they enjoyed the -fair weather. Phaselis was once a favourite stronghold of pirates, and -is just made for it. It stands on a peninsula easily defended, and has -or had—for all are now destroyed—three excellent harbours. The town -was defended by a strong wall, and was provided with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> numbers of -cisterns, besides an aqueduct for bringing water from the mainland. -Where the sea had undermined the cliffs, parts of the wall and sides of -cisterns had fallen away into it. There were some tombs only just -recently mutilated, which I thought worth making drawings of. In the -evening we put out our net and caught some fish, but lost part of the -net, owing to an octopus which clung to it and dragged it into its hole.</p> - -<p><i>April 28th.</i>—We weighed anchor early, but there was no wind as yet, -and we had rowed for some hours when we became aware of a large sail -coming up on a breeze. As I scanned her I had little doubt she would be -the <i>Salsette</i> or the <i>Frederiksteen</i>; but my poor captain was very much -frightened, and when he saw her send a boat to board a small vessel -before us, he desired his sons to hide his money in the ballast. It was -not long, however, before I made out with my glass the red cross, and -then I was able to set his mind at rest. When our little caique came -alongside, we must have been a shabby sight; but Captain Beaufort bade -me heartily welcome and gave me so cordial a shake of the hand as I can -never forget. He said he had hunted for me all along the coast, and -pressed me to take a cruise with him, rather than go on travelling in -this hazardous fashion in the caique. The offer was tantalising; but, as -I was not sure if I should feel at my ease, I only promised to stay a -few days to begin with."</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p><p><i>Extract from Beaufort's "Karamania."</i>—"At Avova we had the -satisfaction of meeting Mr. Cockerell, who had been induced by our -report to explore the antiquities of these desolate regions. He had -hired a small Greek vessel, and had already coasted part of Lycia. Those -who have experienced the filth and other miseries of such a mode of -conveyance, and who know the dangers that await an unprotected European -among these tribes of uncivilised Mahommedans, can alone appreciate the -ardour which could lead to such an enterprise. I succeeded in persuading -him to remove to His Majesty's ship, in which he might pursue his -researches with less hazard and with some degree of comfort. The alarm -felt by his crew on seeing the frigate had been excessive. Had she been -a Turkish man-of-war, they were sure of being pillaged under the pretext -of exacting a present; if a Barbary cruiser, the youngest men would have -been forcibly seized for recruits, and the rest plundered; and even if -she had been a Greek merchant-ship, their security would still have been -precarious; for when one of these large Greek polaccas meets even her -own countrymen in small vessels and in unfrequented places she often -compels them to assist in loading her, or arbitrarily takes their -cargoes at her own prices."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The Temple of Diana was discovered by Mr. J. T. Wood, who -carried on excavations from 1863 to 1874 on behalf of the British Museum.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2> - -<p class="center">ADALIA—SATALIA (SIDÉ)—ALAIA—HOSTILITY OF NATIVES—SELINTY—CAPE -ANEMURIUM—VISIT OF A PASHA—CHELINDREH—PORTO CAVALIERO—SELEUCIA—A -PRIVATEER—NATIVES HOSTILE—POMPEIOPOLIS—TARSOUS—A POOR -RECEPTION—EXPLORES A LAKE—CASTLE OF AYAS—CAPTAIN BEAUFORT WOUNDED BY -NATIVES—SAILS FOR MALTA.</p> - -<p>"On the 1st of May we reached Adalia (or Satalia). It stands on a plain -which breaks abruptly into the sea and looks very rich and Oriental from -a distance. Considering the way Captain Beaufort had given protection to -certain fugitive rebels last year, he was rather uncertain what sort of -reception to expect. It turned out to be a very cordial one, for the old -pasha having just died and his son not yet firmly set in place, he could -not deal with the high hand as Turks like to do. He expressed himself as -pleased at the captain's offer to salute the fortress, but begged the -guns might not be more than eleven, probably because he had only eleven -guns to answer with. It was clear, however, that the appearance of the -vessel had excited no small apprehension in the town. No Turks came to -look at her, as usually happens in a port, and we could see that the few -miserable guns in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> the fort had been trained to bear upon us. At the -same time a handsome present was sent to the ship, consisting of -bullocks, goats, fowls, vegetables, and a very magnificent dress for the -captain. The dress was refused, but the eatables were accepted and a -suitable return made. This included English ale and porter, and a big -barrel of gunpowder, which, slung on a pole carried by two seamen, -looked imposing. The captain and his boat's crew and guard of marines, -all in their best, and my humble self then landed and went up to pay a -visit of ceremony to the pasha. Captain Beaufort in the course of the -interview very kindly asked, on my behalf, leave for the captain of my -caique—which had come on to Adalia with us—to load his boat with -flour, a profitable cargo which would indemnify him for being discharged -by me. The export of flour is really contraband, but as there is an -immense trade quite openly carried on in it by Greek ships, they need -not have made such a great favour of it as they did. However, they gave -permission, and I was indignant that my late captain never came and -thanked me. During our stay we rode one day through the town and out -into the country beyond, which is very rich and well cultivated. There -are two interesting gates to the town—one on the land side, of Roman -architecture, very rich and much injured, and the other towards the sea, -of Frankish work, with mutilated arms and inscriptions on it.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p><p>We set sail on the 7th, without doubt to the great relief of the people -of Adalia, and cast anchor again at Lara. Here there are considerable -ruins, but none of them very interesting. Our next stoppage was at Eshi -Satalia, the ancient Sidé, where we remained four days. The Roman -theatre is of vast dimensions and in good preservation, and it is -noticeable that, as is evident from marks of crosses on the stones, it -had been repaired in Christian times, which shows that theatres were -still used after the conversion of the inhabitants to Christianity. The -proscenium was in ruins, as usual, and some of its sculptures lay in the -arena. In comparatively modern times it had been utilised to form part -of the city wall, but the theatre itself was in wonderful preservation. -Sidé is now absolutely desolate, probably because the aqueduct which -supplied the ancient city is broken, and there is no water whatever on -the site. This accounts for the theatre being so well preserved.</p> - -<p>I spent all my time among these lonely ruins to very good purpose, -drawing and studying. The architecture is some of it even absurd: for -instance, the triumphal façade at the entrance; but the sculpture is all -far superior to the architecture. Although not in the very best style, -it is exceedingly good, and cut with astonishing freedom and boldness. -As I said, the site of Sidé, and even the neighbourhood, is absolutely -deserted. Nevertheless, news of our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> being on the coast had got about, -and a Turkish dignitary came down from the interior, ostensibly to offer -us civilities, but in reality to watch our proceedings. He was invited -on board, but refused, saying, with a great assumption of dignity, that -he had ridden an hour to the coast to visit the captain, and now the -captain should come to him. The real fact was he was afraid. The captain -accordingly came in the jolly-boat, the crew of which was in charge of a -midshipman who charmed the Turk so much that he wanted to buy him, and -made an offer of 2,000 piastres for him.</p> - -<p>On the 16th we reached Alaia and anchored off the town. It stands on a -steep rock projecting into the sea. The houses have a very Oriental -look, with their flat roofs and balconies, rather like rabbit-hutches -supported on long poles. Our reception was very cordial; a salute was -fired, and a present of bullocks &c. sent us. We landed to take a little -turn into the town and found it filthy; stinks of all kinds in all -directions. Through narrow streets down which wound gutters, disgusting -with horrors flung from upper windows, we threaded our way in -apprehension of more. The ladies, however, were eager to see the Franks, -and from the streets and from the ship we could descry them peeping at -us in their balconies. I went with the captain to pay our visit to the -council which governs in the absence of the pasha. We found it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> sitting -in a miserable tumbledown room with walls not even plastered. We sat a -few minutes, asked a few questions mainly about antiquities, and then -retired to the ship to receive their return visit.</p> - -<p>Next morning we set off to the eastwards to look for ruins of Sydra. The -expedition was not a success. In the first place the surf was high and -we had difficulty in landing; then after a long walk we came upon -several villages, but no considerable ruins, and what there were, only -of late date and uninteresting, and we had to trudge back disappointed. -In the course of our walk we came upon a small Turkish boy all alone. He -screamed with fright to see our strange figures and ran away, bounding -over stock and stone, and still screaming for help. He had never seen -Franks before.</p> - -<p>The following day we, the captain and officers in uniform and myself in -my best, landed to walk in the town. We were first detained a long time -at the gate on small excuses, and then when we started were told by the -guide that if we proceeded there was danger of a disturbance. The -captain told him to go on all the same, but as he refused we turned back -to the port.</p> - -<p>Then we learnt that the evening before there had been a general meeting -of the Turks to protest against our being allowed to go about the town. -We went aboard again; and from the ship an officer was sent to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> the -council with a severe remonstrance against our treatment, and the -present of bullocks was re-landed on the beach. This attitude of ours -brought them at once to their knees; the humblest apologies were sent -with assurances that the offenders were being punished, and a request -that Captain Beaufort would come ashore and see the castle as he -desired. The captain replied that an officer of his rank could not -expose himself to the possibility of a repetition of such affronts as he -had submitted to that morning, but that the beyzesday (myself) with some -of his officers would go, as they allowed it. We accordingly went; but -as the authority of governors in these countries is at no time very -great, we went in the fullest expectation of a disturbance and of being -forced to turn back. The council seems, however, to have kept its -promise, for nothing of the sort occurred. We were entirely unmolested. -On the other hand, there was nothing whatever to see. It was a most -fatiguing walk up the hill. The town is defended by three walls, one -inside the other, never well built and now ruinous, although well -whitewashed to conceal their condition, and in the whole place only four -cannon, all of them old. On the top of all is the citadel, itself -ruinous and full of the ruins of several Christian monasteries and -churches converted into mosques, some water tanks and a fountain. Over a -gate is an inscription to say that Aladin was conqueror of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> city. -There are remains of a fine ancient Greek wall. This was all we saw for -our trouble and risk.</p> - -<p>The council again sent apologies and invitations to Captain Beaufort, -but he replied as before; only, to show he had no resentment, he sent -his surgeon, while the anchor was being weighed, to see what he could do -for a member of the council who was ill. I meanwhile, with a party of -officers, went off in the gig to look at some ruins we had observed to -the westward on the top of a hill. We had three miles to go in the boat -and about two on foot inland. The hill is high and desperately steep. On -the top is a town, deserted, with ancient Greek walls, a tower, the -ruins of a temple, a number of pedestals and monuments, some with -inscriptions which we copied, but none of them gave us the name of the -place. We have made up our minds since, judging by Strabo's description, -that it must have been Laertes. The city walls, the temple, and the -tower are all of cut stone and the best Greek construction, while the -walls of dwellings are of small stones and mortar. This town, being all -of one sort of date, is a good example by which to judge of Greek habits -of building. I suppose private houses were always built in this inferior -style.</p> - -<p>Our next stoppage was at Selinty, originally Selinus, and afterwards -changed, on the death of Trajan within its walls, to Trajanopolis. It -stands on a remarkable rock, the Cragus, absolutely precipitous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> on one -side and very steep on the other, with a river, sixty feet or so wide, -at the bottom of the slope. It struck one as curious that with such a -river there should be an aqueduct to carry water across it into the -town. One could only suppose that the water of the river, like that of -the cataracts near Adalia, was unwholesome because it contained a chalky -sediment. To the top of the Cragus is a great climb. There we found a -fortress without any inscriptions of any kind, but, to judge by the -style, of no great age and no interest. The best thing was the view. -Beneath us fell a sheer precipice right down into the sea, perhaps five -hundred feet. As we looked over the top the eagles sprang out from the -rocks far below us, so far that shots fired at them were quite -ineffective. We found here a small theatre, much ruined, and the remains -of a grand senate house, or perhaps a mausoleum to Trajan, also very -much injured. The ship remained a day and a half. After passing a -promontory we came opposite to a rocky ridge sloping rapidly to the sea, -on which was a fortress, answering to Strabo's Antiochetta on the -Cragus. We put off in the gig, and had to land on a precipitous rock in -a high surf, which I did not like at all; but as we had been brought, it -had to be done. We found a place that must have had some importance. -There were fragments of polished granite columns, a modern castle, -several Greek chapels, and ruins on all sides<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> as well. The most -promising were on the mountain above us and on a small peninsula jutting -out from the site of the town. My companions made for the small -peninsula, where they found some tombs like those at Selinty, and other -matters of no great moment. I, hoping for something more considerable, -went up the mountain—and a very rough climb it was. I was, however, -well paid for my exertions. I found there numbers of granite columns, -marble blocks and pedestals, and the ruins of a vast and magnificent -edifice which might have been a senate house or a gymnasium. The -situation of it was truly sublime, and it must have had a glorious -effect from the sea. I hoped to return and examine it more perfectly -next day, but unfortunately Captain Beaufort thought it necessary to get -on to Cape Anemurium by the 24th, in order to make an observation of -Jupiter's satellite which would determine at once his longitude, and the -wind was favourable. We went on therefore, to my great regret, and the -same evening (23rd) anchored opposite a small castle on a low rock by -the sea.</p> - -<p>Next day, as we were allowed, we went all over the castle. It appears to -be of Saracen origin, and according to an inscription to have been -conquered by the Turk Aladin. A remarkable thing about it is that it has -a keep like those one sees in England. It is all in ruins; such guns as -it has are lying about dismounted.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p><p>I suppose the people hereabouts are so frightened at us that they send -the news about in all directions; for the bey of the district, who lives -at some distance inland, had heard of our arrival, and sent down his -compliments. Captain Beaufort hastened to send a suitable reply to his -courtesy by an officer with an invitation to come on board, where he -would be received with all the honours of war. He did promise to come -when he could.</p> - -<p>All day long Captain Beaufort was preparing, on a small island close to -the castle, the necessary arrangements for making his observation. It -was perfectly successful, and we got back on board at one o'clock <span class="smaller">A.M.</span></p> - -<p><i>25th May.</i>—Having done what was wanted with regard to the verification -of the longitude, we went back in a boat to Cape Anemurium to see the -ancient town. On the point is a fortress and citadel. Outside of that a -second wall includes a theatre and an odeum, the seats of which are all -gone. There are no traces of dwellings within the walls, so that one -must suppose the inhabitants to have lived in mud or timber houses, for -outside the walls there is the most perfect necropolis I ever saw. Each -tomb has two apartments, and all, except for their having been broken -open, are as fresh as if just built.</p> - -<p>The ship being still at Anemurium, the bey above mentioned came down to -the beach attended by his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> retinue. As soon as we made him out, we -pushed off to pay him the compliments of the captain. Nothing could be -more picturesque than the scene when we reached the shore. At the foot -of the precipice of Anemurium he was seated on a small carpet spread on -the rock, surrounded by about a hundred dark, savage-looking men all -heavily armed. They were clearly as pleased to look at us as we were to -see the barbarians of the interior. The gloomy evening cast a grave air -over the wild crags and the savage figures, while the sea broke in heavy -waves at the foot of the rock on which Abdul Muim sat. The manner with -which the bey received us was free and polite. He told us the history of -the country about us, and of the castle in particular. He was very much -pressed to come aboard, but he would not be tempted. Instead of that, he -contented himself with inquiring the length of the ship and sat looking -at her with a pocket telescope for several hours.</p> - -<p>We crossed a bay, and lay off Cape Kisliman, a bluff and remarkable cape -on which were ruins, but the people of the country seemed to object to -our examining them.</p> - -<p>Thence to Chelindreh, which, being the nearest point of communication -with Cyprus for couriers from Constantinople and other travellers, -boasts some twenty huts and their inhabitants. They are barbarous and -savage to a degree, and were disposed to treat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> the crew of the -captain's boat, who were looking for inscriptions among the tombs of the -ancient city, very roughly. One man even drew his yatagan, when the -sudden appearance of the frigate frightened them into politeness.</p> - -<p><i>June 1st.</i>—To the captain, who is always earnestly employed, one day -is like another. Even Sundays are only distinguished by the officers' -invitation to him and to myself to dine in the gun-room, and by the -clean clothes of the men at muster; but the other officers did not -forget that to-day was an anniversary, and we all drank the health of -Lord Howe.</p> - -<p><i>Porto Cavaliero.</i>—To the eastward of us lay Isola Provenzale, once -without doubt a settlement of the Knights of Rhodes. While the captain -examined Cape Cavaliero, I went, burning with expectation, to the -island, not doubting but that I should come home with a load of -inscriptions and arms for the Heralds; but we found no sort of remains -of the occupation of the Knights that one could identify. We landed near -a quarry of soft stone, in the middle of which an upright rock is left -standing, in which it appears that a hermit had made his cell. There are -crosses cut in the three sides, and several neat little receptacles for -utensils. At the top of the hill are fortifications and two churches, -themselves built of the materials of older Greek buildings. Clefts in -the rock had been carefully stopped and used as reservoirs. The walls -are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> built with an inner and an outer face of squared stones set in -mortar, the interval being filled in with chips and rubble without -cement, and the whole making a thickness of eight or nine feet. The -north-west side of the island is also covered with ruins, all of the -same Romaic work. One was of a church to which several rooms were -attached, and in one of them a considerable tomb—probably of a saint of -the Early Church. This must at all times have been a valuable station, -and would be now. It has one of the best and most defensible harbours on -this coast, and is within easy reach of supplies.</p> - -<p>The captain had fared no better than ourselves in his search for remains -of the Knights at Porto Cavaliero. Here we fell in with a Myconiote ship -full of hadjis on their return from a visit to the Holy Sepulchre at -Jerusalem. My Dimitri and Andrea were pigs enough to get drunk there and -quarrel with the crew. They got the licking they deserved, but they came -and complained to me that they had been ill-used and ourselves insulted, -and gave me the trouble of inquiring into it. I found, as I had -suspected, that what they had got they had brought upon themselves. Our -next move was to Seleucia or Selefkeh. We landed as near as we could to -the end of the line of hills on which it stands, and then walked to it, -nine miles across the plain at the foot of them. The ancient town is -beautifully placed at the side of a river, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> Calicadnus. It is partly -on the plain and partly on steps of rock which rise gradually from it up -to a large castle of late date, which has an Armenian inscription over -the gate. The aga received us with obvious ill-humour, which perhaps was -owing to his being unwell, for he begged to see our doctor, and promised -to send horses for him and for us to the beach next day. We looked about -among the ruins, which are very extensive. There is a theatre, a long -line of porticoes, and a temple once converted to a Christian church, -together with several late churches of the date of the ruins on -Provenzale. We then went back to the ship.</p> - -<p>Next day, no horses for the doctor or ourselves appearing upon the -beach, we started walking, and on our arrival at Selefkeh complained. -The aga affected to blame his servants. We expected at least to return -well mounted when the doctor had seen the aga and we had seen the town, -but only one sorry hack was prepared for the doctor; and, as he refused -to ride alone, we made our exit, walking in a huff, and went so briskly -that a miserable Turk whom the aga had sent on a pony, while we had to -walk, to bring him back his medicine, could not keep up with us, and was -quite out of sight by the time we got to the beach. So we went aboard, -rather pleased at first to deprive the ungracious aga of his medicine; -but upon reflection we wrote him a sharp laconic note and sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> his -dose. This aga, it is true, was not a man of good character; he had -deposed and murdered his predecessor, but as that is the usual mode of -succession in this country, it need not necessarily involve discourtesy -to strangers. But I must not, in justice to Turks, forget to mention -what occurred on our way to the beach as a set-off to the incivility of -the aga.</p> - -<p>We had had nothing to eat all day, and we were not a little sharp-set -when, finding some peasants (Turks) amongst the corn making their -evening meal, with that confidence which hunger inspires we pounced upon -their dishes and devoured all that appeared before us. The poor fellows -were not in the least disconcerted, but begged us to eat, one of them -saying as he pointed to the corn all round him, 'There is plenty of -bread. It is ours.' They would take no money, and when we got up to go -pressed us to stay. Our hearts were melted at their noble benevolence, -and we had to agree that all Turks were not brutes.</p> - -<p>On the whole, Seleucia is worth the trouble of a visit.</p> - -<p>An immense reservoir, 150 by 75 feet by 30 feet deep, supplied by an -aqueduct, impressed me as a very fine work. The theatre also, although -totally ruined, is delightfully situated; and the temple, which had been -converted into a church, is very interesting. The Calicadnus, although -it is on an even bed, is a noble river, wide and rapid, and gives great -beauty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> to the scene. It is unhealthy to drink, which accounts for the -existence of the great reservoir.</p> - -<p>It is evident that the population of these countries has decreased, and -still is decreasing. It has not one-tenth of what it could easily -support, and not one-hundredth of what it has supported in past times.</p> - -<p>While we were away at Selefkeh a bombard French privateer came into the -bay of Seleucia in pursuit of a Turkish boat, and would have fallen into -our hands if the captain and pilot had been on board; but the necessary -delay before this could be done enabled the Frenchman to get to shallow -water, and the <i>Frederiksteen</i> in pursuit ran into four fathoms, and in -another five minutes would have been aground. So the bombard -escaped.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> - -<p><i>Anchored off Lingua di Bagascia.</i>—We arrived at a castle named Curco, -with another on a rock outside the port, which has an Armenian -inscription on it. The one on the mainland, which I take to be the -ancient Coricus, is a place of great strength. There is a moat thirty -feet wide, cut in solid rock, to disconnect from the land, and double -walls and towers. There are many ruins of modern churches and -monasteries and numberless sarcophagi of ancient and early Christian -times, but the whole place, town and castles, is absolutely deserted.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p><p>We were in the boat following the frigate as she proceeded along the -coast, when, perceiving ruins on the coast, we disembarked, and found on -a striking eminence a Corinthian temple of bad execution which had been -converted into a church. Further on was a town, a theatre, and a vast -colonnade with a number of important and very perfect tombs. We had, -however, to retire to the boat, for the inhabitants were very -threatening, and had we been fewer or shown any fear might have fared -badly. As soon as we were off in the boat we had a good bathe.</p> - -<p><i>At the Latmus.</i>—Captain Beaufort sent two of his officers ashore to -inspect the long aqueduct leading to Eleusa, which we could see from the -ship, but the aga, who had at first consented to their going, withdrew -his permission, and they had to give it up.</p> - -<p>At Pompeiopolis, as we had understood that the Turks of this part of the -country were particularly dangerous, I took with me two marines as a -guard to visit the ruins. Seen from the sea they presented a truly -startling grandeur. The plan of the city is noble in the extreme—one -single colonnade passes right through it from the port to the gate -leading out into the country, and forty of its columns are still -standing. The remainder, making about two hundred, lie as they fell. The -town was defended by a fine wall with towers to it, enclosing a theatre -and the port. The style of the architecture, which looked so well from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> -a distance, when one comes to see it close is very bad.</p> - -<p>Pompeiopolis is quite deserted, but the Turks from the neighbouring -villages came in, and, although their appearance was barbarous in the -extreme, they were very civil. I imagine the 36 guns and 350 men of the -<i>Frederiksteen</i> had to do with this, for I observed that the further we -got from the ship the less polite we always found the Turks to be.</p> - -<p>We made sail in the evening and anchored off Mersine, at the beginning -of the great plain of Tarsous, and put ashore to reconnoitre and pay a -visit to the aga with a view to getting horses to go to Tarsous. The aga -was very civil and promised we should have the horses we asked for.</p> - -<p>In the morning the horses were ready; but now the aga, for whatever -reason, discouraged our going to Tarsous, and told us that since seeing -us yesterday evening he had received news of an outbreak there, that a -neighbouring pasha had attacked the town and all was uproar and arms. On -reflection his account struck us as so improbable that we decided at any -rate to start, and go on according to the information we should pick up -on the road. We set out, a large party.</p> - -<p>The country was a flat, covered with corn and in it many reapers, male -and female, the latter going uncovered and quite unembarrassed by -strangers. Their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> language and costume were Arab, quite unlike anything -I had seen before, and there were quantities of camels about.</p> - -<p>The ride took us four hours. From the inquiries we made from time to -time it was clear that the aga's tale had been a downright lie.</p> - -<p>Tarsous lies on the plain about two miles and a half from the mountains. -At the entrance to it is a hillock about a quarter of a mile long, which -commands the town; it was included in the ancient walls, which were then -strengthened by a moat into which the river was turned. It is now dry, -and the present town has nothing but a slight wall round it. We passed -over the old moat and through an ancient gate of Roman work. It had -three arches, but only one of them is standing, and the wall it formed -the passage through and every other antiquity in the town has been -destroyed and used up for building materials. Nothing could exceed the -surprise of the inhabitants at our appearance. They had never seen -Europeans, and they crowded about us in such numbers that we could with -difficulty move. We went to visit the aga and were detained, sitting -among the servants an hour and a half before we could obtain an -audience. The aga, they said, was engaged. At last we remonstrated and -got up to go; when, to our surprise and indignation, we saw the aga -sitting in a room by himself smoking his pipe and quite unoccupied.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> We -would have passed the door had they not pressed us in, so angry were we. -He was sitting on a sofa in a long white Arab cloak in a room that was -neater and handsomer than it is usual to see in these countries. He made -a slight motion on our coming in, but spoke not a word, nor did he deign -to answer 'Yhary' when we conveyed to him the compliments of the -captain. A Turk who sat by his side with our firman in his hands now -addressed a Turk who was with us with an affectation of great -indignation. He wanted to know what could be the meaning of four hundred -men, when only eight men were mentioned in the firman—together with a -number of other insolent questions, from which I gathered that he -suspected us of being travelling merchants. Fortunately, as these -remarks were not addressed to us, we were not bound to make any reply, -for if we had we were by this time in such a state of impatience with -their insolent barbarity that it would hardly have been a conciliatory -one. As soon as we could get away, we mounted our horses again, and -through a thick and insulting rabble went out of the town and homewards -without delay. An old Turk of the aga's people, who had been one of the -chief of our tormentors, saw us off for some distance. To him I had the -satisfaction of giving a piece of my mind, and when we came within sight -of the ship gave him an invitation on board that he might see how we -treated strangers. The old rascal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> went home very much abashed and -awestruck. We arrived on board late, and well wetted by coming through -the violent surf.</p> - -<p>The ship was two more days off the great plain of Tarsous, moving slowly -in a thick haze, and on the 16th arrived off Cape Karadash.</p> - -<p>The captain proposed to me that I should go with Mr. Wingham to -reconnoitre a great lake one could see from the ship. About one mile -N.W. of the cape we turned up a deep channel like a river mouth, except -that the current set inwards instead of outwards, and after about -three-quarters of a mile entered an apparently boundless lake. It was -very shallow, and before long we were aground, after which the men waded -and towed the boat. In this fashion we went several miles till we had -got a fair general notion of the size of the sheet of water. A deceptive -atmospheric effect, due to the great evaporation, would hide the shore -when very low, so that it presented the appearance of a sheet of water. -Owing to this I had a bitter disappointment. Ahead of us we descried -four beautiful deer, which, as we approached, fled to what appeared to -me to be the isthmus of a peninsula. I cried to one of the boatmen, who -had a musket, to run to the isthmus to cut them off, while I and two -others made for the other side, hoping to get a shot at them. As we got -nearer, the fancied water vanished, and the deer, a herd of ten -beauties, ran up into the plain. They were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> spotted like fallow deer, -but with short horns turning back like those of a goat. Coming back, we -saw immense flocks, of perhaps ten thousand at once, of white stately -birds about as big as swans [Flamingoes.—<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>], the tail beautiful with -red feathers. They stood in ranks like soldiers, and now and again -flapped their wings all at once and shrieked. There were numbers of -large fish about, and the water was so shallow that their backs stood -out of it. All the same, when we tried to catch them they were too quick -for us. The only thing we did secure was a big turtle.</p> - -<p>At Cape Mallo we went ashore and walked over the ruins.</p> - -<p>Thence we moved down the coast, anchored eight miles west of Ayas -Castle, and rowed on to it. There are the remains of the ancient town of -Ægæ to be seen, and a modern Turkish castle. When we entered the mouth -of the port we noticed that some Turks standing on a tower which -commanded it shouted and gesticulated to us in a threatening manner. -They were all armed. I, however, set it down to fear on their part, and -recommended our going on. Unhappily, we did so; and I can never -sufficiently regret the part I had in bringing on the catastrophe which -will always make Ayas a painful recollection. Nothing further occurred -that evening; we walked about, and when it grew dark went aboard again.</p> - -<p><i>June 20th.</i>—We went ashore, a strong party, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> scattered in various -directions. The captain took his surveying instruments, a little to the -westwards. Another party stripped to bathe and hunt turtles, of which -there were many; while two others and myself walked towards the castle. -The jolly-boat, under command of a midshipman, young Olphert, was to -meet us to the east of the castle. All at once Dimitri came running up -to us to say that a Turk had robbed one of the party. His account was -that while they were bathing, this Turk, attracted by the gilt buttons -on the coat of a petty officer, and taking them for gold, had run off -with it. We walked at once to the beach, where several Turks of the -village were collected. They tried to conciliate us, saying it was a -Turcoman from the mountains who had been the thief, and that the coat -had already been restored. Just then up came Mr. Lane to tell us to get -immediately to the boats, that the captain had been dangerously wounded -and young Olphert shot dead. We did as he told us, and got back to the -ship; but my horror and surprise were succeeded by the most violent -indignation, and there was nothing I hoped for so much as that orders -would be given for a general attack on the village. As soon as I was on -board I went to see Captain Beaufort. His wound, I was glad to find, was -not so dangerous as was thought at first. The ball had entered the -fleshy part of the thigh and had broken the bone at the hip. Still, it -was a serious wound, and he was a good deal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> shaken. When he heard of -poor Olphert's death he burst into tears, and bitterly upbraided himself -with having been the cause of it. It seems that when the band of -ruffians came to attack his boat and began to point their guns, he, to -frighten them, fired over their heads. Hereupon they all fell down in -abject terror, and the boats, pushing off, got nearly clear of the -rocks. One man, however, more resolute than the rest, rushed forwards, -and taking deliberate aim from behind a rock, shot the captain: and had -the rest of the ruffians been like him, the whole boat's crew must have -been sacrificed. As it was, the boat was out of range before they -recovered. But having whetted their appetite for blood, and furious at -having been shot at, they rushed off to where young Olphert was with his -boat and murdered him as he was pushing off. The condition Captain -Beaufort was in was so serious, and his concern lest Olphert's death -should have been in any sense his fault, so painful, that I took upon -myself to tell him a deliberate falsehood, for which I trust God will -forgive me. I assured him positively that Olphert had been already shot -when the natives came to attack his (the captain's) boat. As he was a -long way from where Olphert was, he had no means of knowing that it -might not have been so, and he was eventually persuaded and his mind -very much quieted.</p> - -<p>At first we had hoped that we might be allowed to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> seek our own redress, -but the coolness and moderation of the captain were admirable. When one -came to consider, it was not at all clear that the villagers had had any -hand in it, and to destroy the village would not be to punish the -offenders. It was sure to make all travelling dangerous, if not -impossible, for the future, and finally it would be the act of war on -the territories of a friendly Power, barbarous as that Power might be. -It was therefore settled that we should apply for redress through the -regular channel.</p> - -<p>We crossed the bay to Scanderoon, which is a miserable town with a -population half Turks and half Cypriote Greeks, and no resident official -higher than an aga. We did what we could to frighten this person by -representing the affair to him in its most serious light, at the same -time calling his attention to the strict moderation of our conduct, and -our respect for the authorities of the country.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile a peremptory letter demanding reparation was despatched to the -pasha himself, who lived some miles inland. He returned an immediate -reply to the effect that Ayas was not within his pashalik, but in that -of his neighbour the pasha of Adana, to whom he had at once written. -Meanwhile he promised in his name that every reparation should be made. -In our turn we informed him that a British squadron would be there in -fifteen days to see that this was done.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p><p>In the cemetery attached to the old British factory and consulate we -buried poor young Olphert. Ten marines (all the aga would allow ashore) -fired a salute over him, and we set up over his grave a Greek tombstone -brought from one of the cities on the coast.</p> - -<p>Considering how many tokens of friendship Captain Beaufort had shown me, -and that he was at the moment in a dangerous condition, with a risk of -fever coming on; and that, as he could not enjoy easy familiarity with -his junior officers, my company might be pleasant to him, I thought I -ought not to leave him and settled to go back with him to Malta. Two -days after Olphert's funeral, on the 22nd June, we set sail. On the 1st -of July we fell in with the <i>Salsette</i>, Captain Hope, off Khelidonia, by -appointment. She was to take Captain Beaufort's report to the admiral on -the station, and to go on to Scanderoon afterwards to see that proper -amends were made for the injury done us."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Captain Beaufort seems to have thought that she was a -Mainiote pirate. His account of this episode is worth reading.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> - -<p class="center">MALTA—ATTACKED BY BILIOUS FEVER—SAILS TO PALERMO—SEGESTE—LEAVES FOR -GIRGENTI—IMMIGRANT ALBANIANS—SELINUNTO—TRAVELLING WITH -SICILIANS—GIRGENTI—RESTORES THE TEMPLE OF THE GIANTS—LEAVES FOR -SYRACUSE—OCCUPATIONS IN SYRACUSE—SALE OF THE ÆGINA MARBLES—LEAVES FOR -ZANTE.</p> - -<p>"We had nothing but west winds, very unfavourable for us. Meltern, as -this wind is called, follows the rim of the coast of Asia Minor, being -north in the Archipelago, west along Karamania, and turning south again -down the coast of Syria. We were seldom out of sight of land—first the -mountains of Asia, then Rhodes, Crete, the Morea, &c. Finally we reached -Malta on the 18th of July, being the twenty-seventh day since we left -Scanderoon, and the end of a month of complete idleness. I spent most of -the time in the captain's cabin, showing him all the attention I could, -and profiting in return very much by his society and his library.</p> - -<p>To get to Malta was a refreshment to our spirits. Numbers of visitors -came at once under the stern to salute Captain Beaufort, although until -we had pratique they could not come aboard. The plague is at present in -Smyrna, and quarantine for ships from thence usually<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> lasts thirty or -forty days; but as we could prove that we had had no communication with -any infected town, we were let off in two days. Unfortunately, from the -moment we arrived I began to feel unwell. All the time I was on the -coast of Asia I had been taking violent exercise and perspiring -profusely, while since we left I had been wholly confined; and the -consequence of the change was a violent bilious attack with fever. After -stopping in bed three days I thought I would take a trip to Sant' -Antonio with Gammon, the senior officer; but I got back so thoroughly -done up that I had to lie up again, and was ill for three weeks in -Thorn's Hotel.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> My chief remedies, prescribed by Doctors Stewart of -the <i>Frederiksteen</i> and Allen of the Malta Hospital, were calomel in -large quantities and bleeding.</p> - -<p>Every day one or other of the officers of the <i>Frederiksteen</i>—Gammon, -Seymour, Lane, or Dodd—came to sit with me.</p> - -<p>When I was able to get about again, I found that Captain Beaufort had -been moved to the house of Commissioner Larcom, where every possible -care was taken of him. They were a most agreeable and hospitable -family—the only one, indeed, in Malta. The officers—General Oakes, -Colonel Phillips, &c.—were like all garrison officers. Mr. Chabot, the -banker, honoured my drafts, and when I was going expressed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> his sorrow -that I was off so soon, as he had hoped to have seen me at his house.</p> - -<p>As soon as ever I was well enough I felt eager to get away from a -society so odious to me as that of Malta, and having been introduced -from two separate sources to Mr. Harvey, commander of H.M. brig -<i>Haughty</i>, I got from him an excellent passage to Palermo. It took us -from the 20th August to the 28th. Mr. Harvey himself was ill, and I saw -little of him, but what I did delighted me. Like all sailors, he was -very lovable, and so long as he remained in Palermo I went to him every -day.</p> - -<p>My first day I strolled over the town and delivered my letters to Mr. -Gibbs and Mr. Fagan. The latter is an antiquarian and a great digger. He -told me, I think, that he had dug up over two hundred statues in his -time. I called on him several times afterwards, pleased with his -conversation and hoping to learn something of Sicily from him, and found -him exceedingly polite. A return of the fever I had in Malta confined me -again for a few days, after which I managed to keep it at bay with -plenty of port wine and bark. My chief friends in Palermo were General -and Mrs. Campbell, Sir Robert Laurie, captain of a 74 lying here, Lord -William Bentinck, generalissimo of the British army of occupation in -Sicily, and Fagan.</p> - -<p>After a fortnight in Palermo I started on a trip to Segeste. I could not -but be very much struck by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> difference between the richness of -Sicily, and the desolation of Greece under Turkish rule. Mahomet II. -desired that on his tomb should be written that had he lived he proposed -in the ensuing summer to conquer 'the beautiful Italy and the island of -Rhodes.' Sicily must have followed, and I pictured in my mind the -landscape as it would then have looked. A few ruined mosques would have -supplied the place of the splendid churches and monasteries, and a -wretched khan and a few low huts the rich towns of Sala and Partinico.</p> - -<p>The temple of Segeste is the largest I have seen, but it looks as if it -had never been finished. The style of workmanship is good and exact, but -as far inferior to Athenian execution as its rough stone is to -Pentilican marble. The turn of the capital is very inferior in delicacy -to Athenian examples, and there is no handsome finish to the ceiling of -the peristyle, which was probably of plaster like Ægina. The circular -sinking cut in the plinth to receive the column, leaving a space all -round to give a play, it is said, in case of earthquake, is certainly -curious if that was the purpose of it. Nothing whatever remains of the -cella.</p> - -<p>In the evening we returned to Alcamo and next day breakfasted with -Colonel Burke, who is in command of a regiment of 1,400 fine men, all -Piedmontese and Italians, not Sicilians. One finds Englishmen in command -everywhere. Returned to Palermo.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p><p>My fame had spread in my absence, and on my return I found my table -covered with cards and invitations—the most conspicuous being from -General Macfarlane and Lord Montgomery.</p> - -<p>The palaces of the Sicilian nobles are exasperatingly pretentious and -tasteless; that of Palagonia is an unforgetable nightmare.</p> - -<p>Though a paradise compared with Greece, I find Sicily seething with -discontent; and were it not for Lord W. Bentinck, to whom the people -look up as the only honest man amongst the authorities, there would be -an insurrection.</p> - -<p>Ten days later I set out on horseback for Girgenti. On the second day I -turned aside from Villa Fraté to visit one of the Greek villages so much -talked of and so misrepresented. In Palermo I was told that the -villagers are some of the ancient Greek settlers, who remain so -unchanged that they still wear sandals and are almost pagans. In reality -they are Albanians, who emigrated in the sixteenth century when the -oppression of the Turks was specially severe in their country, and came -in bands to various points of Sicily. Mezzojuso is one of their -settlements, and has about 2,000 inhabitants. The situation, about two -miles off the road from Villa Fraté to Alcara, is on the side of a -mountain and very beautiful. I met some goodhumoured peasants who were -ready to tell me all they knew. They talk Albanian amongst themselves, -and they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> readily understood the few words of it which I and my servant -could speak. The explanation of the report of their being almost pagans -is that they retain the Greek ritual, although they have changed the -altar to the Catholic form and acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. -Over the altar is a Greek inscription, which I read, to the surprise of -those who attended me. The priests preserve the Greek costume, the bead -cap, hair, &c. St. Nicolas, the Greek saint <i>par excellence</i>, is a -conspicuous figure in the Church. What a pity I had not with me a little -of the earth I took from the shrine of the saint at Myra in Asia Minor! -It would have been an acceptable present to the priest. I saw none of -the women, but I was told they wear a peculiar costume; and at their -communion, instead of the host, as in Roman Catholic churches, a piece -of cloth is held up.</p> - -<p>Started for the temples of Selinunto, accompanied by Don Ignazio, the -son of my host, Don Gaetano. We took the road towards the sea, and -passing through Siciliana and turning inland came in the evening to -Cattolica. Here we added to our party a most entertaining companion, Don -Raffaelle Politi, a painter, not very excellent in his art, though one -of the best in Sicily, but full of talents and of humour. He was staying -at the time in the house of a certain marquis, for whom he had been -painting two ceilings. We went to see him there, and found him with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> -marchese, sitting over a greasy table surrounded by a company of nasty -fellows, such as in England one might see in a shopkeeper's parlour. No -sort of civility or hospitality was shown us. On the other hand, a -friend and equal of Don Raffaelle's received us very kindly. He and a -company of tradesmen who had come over to a fair which was being held in -Cattolica, and had of course brought their guitars with them, -entertained us before supper in the locanda.</p> - -<p>Next day we passed by the ancient city of Heraclia, of which, however, -there are very trifling remains, to Sciacca, where in the market-place -we saw dead meat—meat of animals that had died of disease owing to the -great drought this year, which has killed a great many cattle—being -sold to the poor at a cheap rate. Travelling with Sicilians I fell into -their customs, and instead of looking out for an hotel I went with them -into a café where we ate and drank. The cafetiere, to show his -liberality, in pouring out lets the cup overflow until the saucer also -is full, after which he brings spirits and cigars—all customs new to -me. Arrived in a storm at Montefeice, wet through. My friends slept on a -mattress, and I, who was accustomed to it, slept on the floor.</p> - -<p>Nothing can be more solemn than the magnificent remains of the three -temples of Selinus, but I had not many hours to study them. It is clear -that earthquake was the cause of their destruction, and I guess from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> -the difference in preservation between the parts which fell and were -covered and protected, and the condition of those which remain standing, -that it may have occurred about the eighth or ninth century. We went -over twice from Montefeice, each time returning in the evening; and when -we got home, how differently we spent our evenings from the ordinary way -Englishmen do! Had they been my companions we should have cursed the -fare and lodging, and should have laid ourselves down grumbling to pass -a tedious and uncomfortable night. Instead of that, with these -Sicilians, as soon as the demands of hunger were satisfied, at the sound -of a guitar in the streets, we sallied out and joined the serenaders, -stopped under the windows of some fair one we did not know, and Don -Raffaelle, who is a perfect master of the guitar and ravished the -bystanders, played and sang with much taste a number of exceedingly -pretty melodies. If this was not enough for the evening, we sat and told -stories.</p> - -<p>At Cattolica we arrived so late that every inch of the locanda was -occupied. We did not care to disturb our friend of the previous -occasion, Don Giuseppe, and the marchese's hospitality had been so -grudgingly offered that we were too proud to accept it, and so we sought -consolation by going about the streets with a guitar till we were tired -of it, and then taking horse again; but before going far we were so -weary that we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> got off under a tree, sat down, and waited for dawn to -light us back to Girgenti.</p> - -<p>After my return to Girgenti, I remained there till the 14th of November, -applying myself with close attention and infinite pleasure to attempting -to reconstruct the Temple of Jupiter Olympius. The examination of the -stones and the continual exercise of ingenuity kept me very busy, and at -the end the successful restoration of the temple gave me a pleasure -which was only to be surpassed by that of originally conceiving the -design.</p> - -<p>My days went by in great peace and content. I lived with the family of -Don Gaetano Sterlini, and when I got accustomed to them I learnt to like -them. The bawling of the servants, the open doors, the dirt and disorder -of a Sicilian household came after a time to be matters of course to me -and passed unnoticed.</p> - -<p>But there came an English fine gentleman, by the name of Cussins, to -spend two days here, who was not so philosophical and made himself -odious by protesting. When anyone came into or went out of the room, the -doors, which never else turned on their hinges, must be shut; the -windows, that perhaps lacked two or three panes, must be closed; the -shutters bolted; he could not eat the food nor drink the wine. A -creature so refined is as unpleasant an object to a barbarian as the -latter is to him, and we prayed for his departure.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p><p>My fine friend was supercilious to me, but polite in a lofty fashion, -and took a patronising interest in what I was doing. Would I give him -some notes and a sketch? At first I said I would, but his manner -disgusted me, so that I finally sent him only the notes. He wanted the -sketch to flourish at Palermo.</p> - -<p>In the last few days of my stay my fame got about. The Caffé dei Nobili, -the bishop and all, heard with astonishment that I had unravelled the -puzzle, and that all the morsels composing the giants were still -existing and could be put together again. A dignitary of the Church, -(Don?) Candion Panettieri, sent me a message to say that if I would mark -the stones and give directions for the setting up of one of the giants, -he would undertake the expense of doing it. I was tempted by this offer -and the immediate notoriety it would give me, and agreed and completed -my sketch as far as it could be carried and took it to him. It was -copied immediately, and with my name appended as the author, sent to -Palermo. Then I went over the fragments with Raffaelle Politi and marked -the stones corresponding with the numbers in the design.</p> - -<p>Don Gaetano could not contain his indignation at my suffering the -results of so much labour to be launched into the world as it were -semi-anonymously, instead of in a book duly written and published by -myself, the author. From the moment I handed over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> my drawing to Politi -to copy there was no peace between us. I could not help being gratified -at the interest he took in my success, and my feeling for him was -sharpened by the sentiment with which his fair daughter had inspired me, -which was so strong that it made me feel the necessity of going away, -and yet made me weep like a noodle when I did. But I had found my reward -in the pleasure of solving the puzzle, and though I liked the notoriety, -it was not worth giving oneself much trouble about.</p> - -<p>I left Girgenti with Don Ignazio Sala, son-in-law of Sterlini, for -Alicata, and the consul himself saw me as far as the River Agrigas. On -our left were many sulphur works, which are so injurious to vegetation -that there is a law in force that they shall not work from the time the -corn begins to get up till after the harvest. From Palma the road lies -along the seashore, and there at every mile and a half are watch-towers, -or, failing these, straw huts for the coastguard to give warning of -Barbary corsairs. Until lately this coast was infested by them. Their -descents were small, and they carried off only a few men or cattle; but -there was once a desperate action near Alicata, in which the inhabitants -turned out, headed by the priest, and captured the whole party of -twenty-five who had landed. The prisoners were sent by Palermo to -Algiers to be exchanged.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p><p>Alicata to Serra Nuova. Serra Nuova to Cartalagerone. We had to cross a -river on the way, the banks of which were high and the river swollen by -the rain, and one mule with baggage and man rolled right into it.</p> - -<p>The night got very dark, and I really thought we should have to stop on -the bank all night or break our necks, but by help of repeated -invocations indifferently to Maria Sanctissima and Santo Diavolone we -got across safely at last.</p> - -<p>From Cartalagerone by Mineo to Lentini, and so to Syracuse. Although -compared with the ancient town it is tiny and confined entirely to the -island of Ortygia, the modern Syracuse has considerable fortifications. -We had to pass through four gates and two dykes before we got inside. At -one gate the guard wanted to take our arms, till I remonstrated on the -insult to the British nation, and they let me pass. But, then, if they -did not mean to enforce it, how ridiculous ever to make such a -regulation!</p> - -<p>As soon as I was settled I despatched a letter my friend Raffaelle -Politi had given me to his father, who came at once, offered me every -civility, and remained my fast friend throughout my stay."</p> - -<p class="space-above">Cockerell spent three months—December, January, and February—in -Syracuse. For one thing his health had been severely shaken by the grave -illness he had had in Malta, and he needed rest. It seems to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> made -a turning-point in his travels. Hitherto his letters home had been full -of joyous anticipations of getting back to England, and with restless -energy he had endeavoured to cram the utmost into his time before doing -that, and settling into harness as an architect. Seeing so many -countries and going through so many vicissitudes had, however, weakened -the tie and he could now make himself at home anywhere. For another -thing, a main object of his travels—perhaps the main object—was a -visit to Italy, as for practical purposes Italian architecture was the -best worth studying. But the war with France continuing, Italy remained -closed indefinitely to a British subject. So for several years there are -no more references to coming home. A last reason for stopping where he -was, was that the weather was detestable. It was the terrible winter of -the retreat from Moscow. "For forty days," he says, "it never failed to -rain, snow, or hail."</p> - -<p>His time was chiefly spent in preparing the drawings for the plates of -the great contemplated book on Ægina and Phigaleia. Besides this, he -seems to have drawn in the museum, and to have read a good deal; he -learnt the art of cutting cameos, and even executed some; and finally, -fired by the performances of his friend Politi, he spent two hours a day -in learning to play the guitar. He probably never carried this -accomplishment very far and abandoned it on leaving Sicily, for I never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> -recollect even hearing it alluded to. The time passed very quietly. He -had some friends among the Sicilians, besides the Politis—Don Pietro -Satallia, the Conte Bucchieri, and one English acquaintance, Lieutenant -Winter, adjutant of the town and fort, who had a nice English wife and -large family, with whom he spent occasional evenings. For the most part, -however, he spent his evenings studying in his lodgings, and "on the -whole," he says, "I can say of Syracuse what I wish I could say of all -the places I ever stopped in: I do not repent of the time I spent -there."</p> - -<p>During the latter part of his stay, when the weather grew less severe, -he was a good deal occupied in examining the walls of ancient Syracuse, -and the fortress of Labdalum.</p> - -<p>A letter received at about this time from Linckh records the death of -the little Skye terrier Fop which my father had brought with him from -England.</p> - -<p>When he left Athens to go with Messrs. North, Douglas, and Foster to -Crete, <i>en route</i> for Egypt, he left the dog behind in charge of a -certain Nicolo, who seems to have gone with Bronstedt and Linckh not -long after on the expedition they undertook to Zea in December 1811.... -"Dans la lettre égarée je vous ai écrit le sort malheureux de votre -pauvre Fope, qui a fini ses jours misérablement et en grande famine à -Zea. Bronstedt et moi nous lui avons encore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> prolongé son triste destin -pour quelques jours, car nous l'avons trouvé mourant dans un ravin entre -la ville de Zea et le port. Vraiment ce Nicolo est un être infâme et -malicieux. Vous savez que nous lui avons confisqué la bague du Platon -qu'il a portée aussitôt que vous autres êtes partis d'Athènes pour -Egypte. [He had stolen it, as he did later various articles from Hughes -and Parker, <i>q.v.</i>] Comme nous avons quitté l'isle de Zea, il faisait -une banque de pharaon pour piller les Zeotes."</p> - -<p>He had kept in communication with his friends in Greece, and especially -with Gropius, to whom he had written repeatedly on the subject of the -sale of the Ægina Marbles, but it was not till March that he could have -heard of the disastrous issue.</p> - -<p>What had happened was this. It will be remembered that while the statues -themselves had been conveyed for security to Malta, the sale of them had -been advertised to take place in Zante on November 1, 1812.</p> - -<p>When the day arrived only two bidders presented themselves in the sale -room, one bearing an offer from the French Government, and Herr Wagner -another from Prince Louis of Bavaria. The British Museum had sent out a -Mr. Coombe with ample powers to buy for England, but he never turned up. -He had reached Malta in good time, but having understood from Mr. -McGill, who was <i>pro tem.</i> agent for Gropius, that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> sale would take -place where the marbles were, took it for granted that he knew all about -it and there stayed, waiting for the auctioneer to come.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the sale came off at Zante. The French offer of 160,000 francs -proved to be altogether too conditional to be accepted, and the -sculptures were knocked down to Prince Louis for 10,000 sequins.</p> - -<p>It was suggested afterwards that Gropius had been bribed by Wagner to -keep the English parties in the dark, but it was never proved. What is -clear is that if Gropius had kept his agent, McGill, properly informed -as to the place of sale, Coombe would have been able to bid and the -Ægina statues would be in the British Museum now.</p> - -<p>Cockerell at once set out from Syracuse for Zante. But he found that -when he joined there was really nothing to be done. He at first tried to -upset the contract, but on reflection he found himself obliged in honour -and in law to abide by the action of their agent. A new agreement was -drawn up and signed, confirming the former and engaging to petition the -British Government for leave to export the sculptures from Malta.</p> - -<p>At home in England the deepest disappointment was felt by those who had -interested themselves in the acquisition, and a protest was forwarded by -Mr. S. P. Cockerell through Mr. Hamilton to the Government, petitioning -that no permission to remove the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> marbles from Malta should be granted, -and demanding a new sale on the ground of improper procedure in the -first.</p> - -<p>In the end, however, it was not found possible to contest the validity -of the sale, and they were finally delivered to the Prince of Bavaria in -1814.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Now the Hôtel de Provence.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> - -<p class="center">ATHENS—THE EXCAVATION OF MARBLES AT BASSÆ—BRONSTEDT'S MISHAP—FATE OF -THE CORINTHIAN CAPITAL OF BASSÆ—SEVERE ILLNESS—STACKELBERG'S -MISHAP—TRIP TO ALBANIA WITH HUGHES AND PARKER—THEBES—LIVADIA—THE -FIVE EMISSARIES—STATE OF THE COUNTRY—MERCHANTS OF -LIVADIA—DELPHI—SALONA—GALAXIDI—PATRAS—PREVISA—NICOPOLIS—ARTA—THE -PLAGUE—JANINA.</p> - -<p>The fate of the Ægina Marbles being now practically settled, Foster, who -was engaged to make a marriage very displeasing to his family, with a -Levantine, left for Smyrna, while Haller, Linckh, and Cockerell went to -Athens. The latter had not been in Greece since November 1811. In the -interval the expedition to dig up the sculptures he had discovered at -Bassæ had been there and had successfully accomplished their purpose, -the party consisting of Haller, Foster, Linckh, Stackelberg, Gropius, -Bronstedt, and an English traveller, Mr. Leigh.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> They had provided -themselves with powers from Constantinople sufficient to overcome the -resistance of the local authorities, and after many difficulties had -succeeded in bringing away the sculptures with one exception, to which I -will presently refer.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p><p>The excavations were carried out in June, July, and August, while my -father was absent at Malta and in Sicily. Nevertheless, as he had -discovered their existence it was understood that he was to be a -participator in any sculptures that should be disinterred.</p> - -<p>The party of excavators established themselves there for nearly three -months, building huts of boughs all round the temple, making almost a -city, which they christened Francopolis. They had frequently from fifty -to eighty men at work at a time, a band of Arcadian music to entertain -them, and in the evening after work, while the lamb was roasting on a -wooden spit, they danced. However, if Cockerell lost the pleasure, he -escaped the fever from which they all suffered desperately—and no -wonder, after living such a life in such a climate.</p> - -<p>It was during this expedition that a misfortune befell Bronstedt which, -although it had an element of absurdity in it, was very serious to the -victim. While the work at Bassæ was proceeding he left his companions to -take a trip into Maina. Before starting he wrote for himself a letter of -introduction to Captain Murzinos purporting to be from my father, and -would have presented it; but, as ill-luck would have it, on the 20th of -August, on the road between Sparta and Kalamata, he fell into the hands -of a band of eight robbers. Understanding them to be Mainiotes, and -supposing all Mainiotes to be friends, he tried to save his property<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> by -saying that he had a letter with him to Captain Murzinos; but the -robbers replied: "Oh, have you? If we had Murzinos here we would play -him twice the pranks we are playing you," and spared nothing. They -decamped with his money, his watch, his rings, a collection of antique -coins, all that he had in their eyes worth taking, to the tune, as he -considered, of 800<i>l.</i> (11,000 piastres fortes d'Espagne), leaving him -disconsolate in the dark to collect his scattered manuscripts, which -they had rejected with the contemptuous words: Καρτἁσια εἱναι. -Δεν τἁ στοχἁσομεν [Greek: Kartasia einai. -Den ta stochasomen] ("Papers! we don't look at them.") In the darkness -and confusion after the departure of the robbers he managed to lose some -of these as well. The poor traveller returned quite forlorn to -Phigaleia. After this, Linckh writes in his delicious French: "Bronstedt -parcourt la Morée en longue et à travers pour cherger ses hardes pertus -par les voleurs. Le drôle de corps a beaucoup d'espérance, parce que le -consul Paul lui a recommendé fortement au nouveau Pascha dans une letter -qui a etté enveloppée en vilours rouge." Such a letter, bound in red -velvet, was esteemed particularly urgent, but he obtained no redress -whatever, nor ever saw again any of "ses hardes," except the ring which -had been given him by his <i>fiancée</i>, Koes' sister. This was recovered -for him by Stackelberg on a journey which he took through Maina, when he -saw it exposed for sale in the house of one of the captains or -chieftains of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> country, together with the watch, purse, and several -other articles which had been Bronstedt's; but the prices asked were too -exorbitant for him to ransom any but this, which he knew the late owner -had highly prized.</p> - -<p>The piece of sculpture I have just mentioned, which the explorers of -Phigaleia failed to bring away, was the capital of the single Corinthian -column of the interior of the temple. It will be remembered by those who -have read my father's work on the subject, that all the columns of the -interior were of the Ionic order with one exception, which was -Corinthian, and which stood in the centre of one end of the cella. The -capital of this Corinthian column was of the very finest workmanship; -and although the volutes had been broken off, much of it was still well -preserved, and the party of excavators took it with them to the coast -for embarcation with the rest. There are figures of it by Stackelberg in -his book, and by Foster in a drawing in the Phigaleian Room of the -British Museum. Veli Pasha, the Governor of the Morea, had sanctioned -the explorations on the understanding that he should have half profits; -but when he had seen the sculptures he was so disappointed that they -were not gold or silver, and so little understood them, that he took the -warriors under shields for tortoises, allowing that as such they were -rather well done. It chanced that at this moment news reached him that -he had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> superseded in his command, and not thinking much of them, -and eager to get what he could, he accepted 400<i>l.</i> as his share of the -spoil and sanctioned the exportation of the marbles. The local archons, -however, put every impediment they could in the way by fomenting a -strike among the porters which caused delays, and by giving information -to the incoming pasha, who sent down troops to stop the embarcation. -Everything had been loaded except the capital in question, which was -more ponderous than the rest, and was still standing half in and half -out of the water when the troops came up. The boat had to put off -without it, and the travellers had the mortification of seeing it hacked -to pieces by the Turks in their fury at having been foiled. The volute -of one of the Ionic columns presented by my father to the British Museum -is the only fragment of any of the interior capitals of the temple -remaining. He brought it away with him on his, the first, visit.</p> - -<p>To return to where I left my father before this digression. As I said, -after the sale of the Ægina Marbles, Haller and he came to Athens, -where, finding the summer very hot in the town, they went to live at -Padischa or Sadischa, not far outside the town, and set earnestly to -work upon the drawings for the book on Ægina and Phigaleia. All went on -quietly till on the 22nd of August Cockerell was attacked by a malignant -bilious fever, which brought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> him to death's door: at least, either the -illness or the remedies did. The doctor, Abraham, the first in Athens, -thought it must be yellow fever, gave him up, and fearing infection for -himself, refused to attend him after the first few days. It was even -whispered that it might be the plague, for the enormous swelling of the -glands was not unlike it. But Haller would listen to no counsels of -despair, and refused to leave his friend. The kind Madame Masson, too, -the aunt of the Misses Makri, came out from Athens, and the two nursed -him with ceaseless devotion. Haller never left his bedside, night or -day, for the first month. The vice-consul, hearing that the sufferer was -as good as dead, came to take away his keys and put seals upon his -property, and was only prevented by Haller by main force. The same -faithful friend compelled the doctor to do his duty. The first having -deserted his patient, a second was called in and kept attentive by -threats and persuasion. The methods of medicine were inconceivably -barbarous. Bleeding was the great remedy in fever, and calomel the -alternative. When the patient had been brought by this treatment so low -that his heart was thought to have stopped, live pigeons were cut in -half and the reeking portions applied to his breast to restore the vital -heat. Medicine failing, spells were believed in. Madame Masson, though -described as one of the first personages in Athens, could neither read -nor write, and was grossly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> ignorant. She had a great faith in spells; -and Haller, fearing that in the feeble condition of the patient she -might commit some folly, kept a strict watch upon her. One day, however, -in his absence, when my father was suffering agonies from his glands, -she took the opportunity to tie round his neck a charm of particular -potency. It was a little bag containing some resin, some pitch, a lock -of hair, and two papers, each inscribed with the figure of a pyramid and -other symbols drawn with a pen. They even got so far as to speak of his -burial, and it was settled that it should be in the Theseum, where one -Tweddle, an Englishman, and other foreigners had been interred, and -where Haller himself was laid not many years after.</p> - -<p>The churches were kept lighted night and day for his benefit, and his -nurse attributed his final recovery entirely to the intercession of -Panagia Castriotissa, or "Our Lady of the Acropolis." At length, after -long hovering between life and death, his robust constitution carried -him through, and towards the end of September the doctor advised his -being removed to Athens. He was carried thither in a litter and set down -at Madame Masson's, where he was henceforth to live. Before this episode -was fairly concluded or my father had progressed far in convalescence, a -new cause of agitation arose. Notice was received that Baron Stackelberg -was in the hands of pirates.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p><p>He had been for a tour in Asia Minor, and was on his way back between -Constantinople and Athens, when in crossing the Gulf of Volo he was -taken. His case was even more deplorable than Bronstedt's, for he not -only lost whatever he had with him, and saw his drawings torn to pieces -in sheer malice before his very eyes, but the miscreants claimed an -enormous ransom, amounting to about 3,000<i>l.</i>, and sent a notice to his -friends in Athens to the effect that the money must be forwarded -promptly or portions of the prisoner would be sent as reminders. -Meanwhile he had to live with the pirates, and his experiences were no -laughing matter. The ruffians used to show him hideous instruments of -torture to frighten him into paying a higher ransom. They made him sleep -in the open air, which half killed him with fever; and as they had -nowhere to keep him when they went on their marauding expeditions, he -had to go with them. On one occasion he saw a vessel run aground to -avoid capture, and the sailors clamber up the rocks to escape. An old -man who could not follow fast enough was brought in to be sold as a -slave. The rest got away, and one of the pirates, in his fury at being -eluded, in order to slake his thirst for blood seized on a wretched goat -that was grazing by him and cut its throat. Several weeks of this sort -of company and exposure left poor Stackelberg more dead than alive. His -rescue, which was managed with great diplomacy and a splendid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> disregard -for his own safety by Baron Haller, was finally effected at a cost of about 500<i>l.</i></p> - -<p>A Mr. Hughes, in company with Mr. Parker, whom he was "bearleading," -arrived in Athens when my father was recovering; and about the last week -of November, at their invitation, tempted by the opportunity of -travelling with a Tartar and a buyulurdi—that is to say, in security -and with as little discomfort as possible—he consented to join in a -tour to Albania. I shall not give a detailed account of this voyage. It -was over ground everyone has read about. It resulted in no discoveries -and few adventures, and anyone who is curious about it will find it -fully described in Hughes's book. General Davies, quartermaster-general -to the British forces in the Mediterranean, was to form one of the party.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"We set out from Athens on November 29th, a large cavalcade. Two of my -friends, though they had not yet learnt that to travel in these -countries one must sacrifice a little personal comfort, were otherwise -agreeable companions, gentlemanlike and goodhumoured; but I early began -to foresee trouble with the General. He was one of those people who -think everyone who cannot speak English must be either an assassin or a -rogue, and was more unreasonable, unjust, and unaccommodating than any -Englishman I ever met, odious as many of them make themselves abroad. It -rained heavily, but everyone tried to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> gay except the general, who -damned gloomily, right and left.</p> - -<p>We went over an interesting country, but as it was all in the clouds we -enjoyed the scenery neither of Parnes nor of Phylæ. Our way was beguiled -by the singing of some of the party. The Tartar especially gave proofs -of a good voice, a very desirable quality in a Greek companion. The -recollection of the scenery of any part of Greece or Asia Minor is bound -up with that of the cheerful roundelays of the guides as one rides -through the mountains, or the soft melodious song of the Anatolian -plains. It is the characteristic thing of Eastern travel. After about -three hours in the clouds we got down into Bœotia and saw below us a -splendid country of mountain, plain, and sea.</p> - -<p>Our Tartar had gone on before us to Thebes, so that when we arrived at -our conachi (lodging) it was all ready for us. It was as well, for the -weather had given Hughes a return of his fever, and he had to lie in -bed.</p> - -<p>Parker and I rode next morning without the others to Platæa. It has an -admirable situation, and its walls are in better preservation and more -interesting and venerable than any I have seen yet.</p> - -<p>We could find nothing interesting at Thebes, so as soon as Hughes was -better we all set out for Livadia. As we were passing through the hills -that separate the respective plains of these two towns a pleasant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> -coincidence occurred. We fell in with an English traveller, a Mr. Yonge, -who was a friend of Hughes, and was bearing a letter of introduction to -me. After greetings and compliments he gave us the latest European news, -viz. of the grand defeat of the French at Leipsic. Glorious news indeed!</p> - -<p>Hughes being laid up again at Livadia and the General impracticable, -Parker and I made excursions thence to the Cave of Trophonius, -Orchomenus, and Topolias, the point from which one visits the five -emissaries of the Lake Copais. These last struck me as perhaps the most -astonishing work of antiquity known to me. Two are still running, but -the first, third, and fifth are quite dry. At the entrances the mountain -has been cut to a face of thirty or forty feet high at the mouth and not -a tool-mark visible, so they look like the work of nature. I wanted to -go to the other side of the ridge to see the exits, but our guide -assured me that it was too dangerous, because of the pirates who lie in -the mountain in the daytime and would probably catch us. Poor -Stackelberg's misfortune was too recent a warning to be neglected, so I -gave it up.</p> - -<p>All this country, broadly speaking, is quite uncultivated, and inhabited -by immense herds attended by whole families living in huts and -wandering, according to the pasture and season, in parties of perhaps -twenty with horses and mules. They are not Turcomans,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> such as I saw in -Asia, but are called Vlaki and speak Greek. One can imagine nothing more -picturesque than they are and the mountains they live in.</p> - -<p>Our quarters during our three nights out had been of the roughest, and -when Parker and I got back to Livadia our whole evening was spent in the -bath, ridding ourselves of the fleas and dirt we had been living in.</p> - -<p>Hughes was found to be better, and the General (thank goodness!) tired -out and gone off to Salona. He was an odious individual—got drunk every -day of our absence—and we were well rid of him. We had brought with us -from Athens letters of introduction to the principal Greek merchants, -primates of Livadia, Messrs. Logotheti. On the first day of our arrival -they had come very civilly to call upon us. Now that we were back from -our excursion we returned the visit. The Greeks appear to possess great -wealth and influence here, whereas the Turks are but few in the place, -and those there are speak Greek and to some extent have Greek manners. -When we came into the Logothetis' house we found some actually arguing a -point—a thing not to be thought of among Turks elsewhere: the -affectation of pride among Orientals, so stupefying to themselves and so -exasperating to others, would forbid it. When we came in they rose to -go, leaving Signor Nicola to attend to his foreign guests. Our host gave -us a striking instance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> of the devices used by well-to-do Greeks to -conceal their wealth from the rapacious Government. He at once led us -out of the room he had received us in at the head of the first landing, -which was reserved for the reception of Turks and was very simple, into -his own apartments, which were exceedingly splendid. There in one corner -of the room was the beautiful Logothetina, wife of a Logotheti nephew, -in bed. Her father went up to her when he came in and she kissed his -hand. One might have thought her being in bed embarrassing, but not at -all; we all sat down and stopped with them for an hour. No one either -said or did much, for those who talked had little to say, and many said -nothing. When Logotheti went home we accompanied him, and very grand he -was, with a large stick in his hand and five or six persons escorting -him—quite in the splendid style of the ancient Greeks.</p> - -<p>It so happened that in the morning while on a visit to the bey, or -waiwode, we heard the reading of a firman bringing the news of the -taking of Belgrade by the Turks. During the reading the primates all -stood up, and when it was concluded all exclaimed: 'Thanks to God for -this success! May our Sultan live!' In the evening we went to dine with -Logotheti. There were a Corfiote doctor and several other Greeks. Our -talk was of their hopes of emancipation, as it always is when one is in -company with Greeks, with the inevitable references to Leonidas and the -Hellenes.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p><p>Our hosts and the other Greeks struck me as heavier and more Bœotian -in appearance than the Greeks I was accustomed to, but also more -polished. The Corfiote, of course, was talkative and ignorant: they -always are. We ate an immense quantity of turkeys—roast, boiled, hashed -and again roasted—fowls and all sorts of poultry dressed in all sorts -of ways, and we drank a great deal of bad wine in toasts to King George, -success to the Greeks, &c.</p> - -<p>As soon as Hughes could move we went on from Livadia by Chæronea to -Castri,<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> the ancient Delphi. Until within the last few years the -region we were now in was impassable owing to robbers, but Ali Pasha's -tyranny has at any rate the merit of an excellent zabete or police, so -that it is now fairly safe. The scenery among the mountains is splendid. -Our visit to Castri was not a long one. Except the Castalian spring and -the stadium, one could make out nothing of the ancient topography. The -whole site is covered with walls running in every sort of direction, -possibly to keep the earth from slipping down the hill.</p> - -<p>In the evening we got to Crisso.</p> - -<p>A buyulurdi such as we carried confers the most arbitrary rights; but it -was not until the protocaro had been cudgelled by our Tartar that we -were able<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> to procure a lodging, a tolerably good one, in the house of -the papa. I reflected how wretched is the position of the Greeks, and -how ungenerous of us Englishmen to live at their expense and assist in -the general oppression; but I was too pleased to get a lodging for the -night to act upon it.</p> - -<p>From Crisso we went to Salona, and here it became necessary to settle -upon our further route. When we came to look into it, it appeared that -the plague is raging in every town on our way by Nepacto and Missalonghi -through Ætolia. Moreover, the roads are rough and infested by robbers, -the horses bad, and in fact the best way to get to Albania seemed to be -to go by sea. This was settled upon accordingly, and we started to do -it. From Salona to the port is a two hours' ride. Thence we set sail in -a felucca. The sea was running very high, the wind was in our teeth, and -though we got to Galaxidi at last, it was not without considerable -peril. I have had a good many adventures, but I do not think I was ever -in greater danger than during those four hours of sailing in that -weather in the dark, and I thanked God heartily when I found myself -ashore. The only lodging we could get was in the guard-house, a filthy -magazine so alive with bugs that after a first failure I gave up all -idea of going to sleep, and sat up with Parker smoking till morning. It -was out of the question going to look for other quarters. The country is -so infested with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> robbers, who think nothing even of penetrating into -the town and carrying off a primate or so, that arriving late and -knocking at doors we should have been taken for brigands and answered by -pistol shots from the windows.</p> - -<p>In the morning our buyulurdi stood us in good stead. With its help we -were able to get some good fowls and a sheep, bread and rice. Then going -to the shore we made a bargain to be taken to Previsa in a boat. The -voyage was fairly prosperous. The second day we landed at Patras, and -heard the news of the grand defeat of the French confirmed. We set out -again at night and got becalmed, and with difficulty reached a small -port, the Scrofé, beyond the flat at the mouth of the Achelous. Here was -a scampa-via from Santa Maura, and other boats, and we entered with some -trepidation lest we should be taken for pirates and fired upon.</p> - -<p>Here we were detained several days by stormy weather. Getting away we -passed the mouth of the Achelous, and tried to find either of two -excellent ports, Petala and Dragonise; but as they were not marked in -our bad charts we failed, and were finally obliged to put into a creek -not far from Santa Maura, and lay there the greater part of the night, -till the wind blew us off again to sea. At daylight we anchored in the -shallow port of Santa Maura.</p> - -<p>The weather again detained us some days, till we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> with some difficulty -got across to Previsa. Here the harbour is a fine one, but too shallow -to admit large vessels, and with an awkward bar. The shore is all -desolation and misery, with one exception, the palace of the vizier, -which is splendid. The foundations on the side towards the sea are all -of stones from Actium and the neighbouring San Pietro, the ancient -Nicopolis.</p> - -<p>In Venetian days Previsa had no fortifications. Now the pasha has made -it quite a strong place, with several forts and a deep ditch across the -isthmus, though the cannon, to be sure—which are old English ones of -all sorts and sizes—are in the worst possible order, their carriages -ill-designed, and now rotten as well. The population has fallen from -16,000, to 5,000 at the outside, mostly Turks.</p> - -<p>We went of course to Nicopolis. The ruins are most interesting. There -are the theatre, the baths, the odeum, and the walls of the city, all in -fair preservation and most instructive: the latter especially, as an -example of ancient fortification. An aqueduct, which is immensely high, -brought water from nine hours off.</p> - -<p>We went from Previsa, in a scampa-via belonging to the vizier, to -Salona, the port for Arta. It consists of only two houses, the Customs -house and the serai of the vizier. In the latter we got lodgings for the -night, and bespoke some returning caravan horses to carry us to Arta. -The road, 25 feet wide, is one which has been lately made for the vizier -by a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> wretched Cephaloniote engineer across otherwise impassable flats. -It is not finished yet; 800 to 1,000 men are still at work upon it. -There is no doubt that this road and the canal from Arta to Previsa, as -well as the destruction of the Suliotes, who made this part of the world -impassable to travellers without a large escort, are public benefits to -be put to Ali Pasha's credit.</p> - -<p>Arta is a flourishing place under the special eye of the vizier. The -bazaar is considerable, and there is every sign of industry.</p> - -<p>We left it about midday. The ice was thick on the pools and the road -hard with frost. Passing the bridge, we got again on to the vizier's new -road. The Cephaloniote superintendent, who was very desirous that we -should express to the vizier great admiration for the work, was -assiduous in doing the honours of it. After various stoppages, at last, -at seven o'clock, nearly frozen, we reached the khan of Five Wells.</p> - -<p>A rousing fire we made to warm ourselves by was no use, for it smoked so -intolerably that it drove us out again to walk about in the cold till -the room was clear. Our only distraction was a Tartar we fell in with -who had lately been to Constantinople by land, and his account of the -journey is enough to make one shudder.</p> - -<p>He passed through no less than nineteen vilayets,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> or towns, in which -the plague was raging. At Adrianople the smell of the dead was so great -that his companion fell ill. At the next place he asked at the post if -there was any pest. 'A great deal, God be praised,' was the reply. At -another town, in answer to inquiries he was told 'half the town is dead -or fled, but God is great.'</p> - -<p>What a miserable country!</p> - -<p>Next day, riding along a paved way, we got to Janina or Joannina, the -capital of Ali Pasha.</p> - -<p>The first <i>coup d'œil</i> of the great town and the lake is certainly -impressive, but not so much so as I had expected. Once inside the town -the thing that struck me most was the splendid dress of all ranks and -the shabby appearance we Franks presented.</p> - -<p>We made for the house of our minister, George Foresti, with whom we -dined, and there met Colonel Church, just arrived from Durazzo."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Grandfather of the present Lord Leigh.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> By a convention with the Greek Government made in 1891, -the French Government obtained power to buy out the inhabitants of -Castri and remove the village in order to excavate the site. The ancient -topography is now well ascertained.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> - -<p class="center">ALI PASHA—PSALLIDA—EUPHROSYNE—MUKHTAR—STARTS FOR A TRIP TO -SULI—CASSIOPEIA—UNABLE TO FORD RIVER—TURNS BACK TO JANINA—LEAVES TO -RETURN TO ATHENS—CROSSES THE PINDUS THROUGH THE SNOW—MALAKASH—A -ROBBER—METEORA—TURKISH RULE—THE MONASTERY—BY TRIKHALA, PHERSALA, -ZITUNI, THERMOPYLÆ AND LIVADIA TO ATHENS.</p> - -<p>"Next day, as the vizier wished to see us, and we of course to see him, -Foresti took us to the palace he was living in for the moment. He has no -less than eight in the town. This one is handsome, but the plan is as -usual ill-contrived, and there was much less magnificence than I had -expected.</p> - -<p>We were first led into the upper apartments to await his leisure, and -found there a number of fine youths, not very splendidly dressed. After -half an hour of waiting we were led into a low room, in the corner of -which sat this extraordinary man. He welcomed us politely and said he -hoped we had had a good journey and would like Janina, and desired that -if there was anything we lacked we would mention it, for that he -regarded us as his children, and his house and family were at our -disposal. He next asked if any of us spoke Greek; and hearing that I -did,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> asked me when I had learnt it, and how long I had remained in -Athens. Then, observing that Hughes was near the fire, he ordered in a -screen in the shape of a large vessel of water, saying that young men -did not require fire, only old men; and in saying this he laughed with -so much <i>bonhomie</i>, his manner was so mild and paternal and so charming -in its air of kindness and perfect openness, that I, remembering the -blood-curdling stories told of him, could hardly believe my eyes. -Finally, he said he hoped to improve our acquaintance, and begged us to -stay on. We, however, bowed ourselves out.</p> - -<p>The number and richness of the shops is surprising, and the bustle of -business is such as I have not seen since leaving Constantinople. We -understood that when the vizier first settled at Janina in '87—that is, -twenty-seven years ago—there were but five or six shops in the place: -now there are more than 2,000. The city has immensely increased, and we -passed through several quarters of the town which are entirely new.</p> - -<p>The fortresses on the promontory into the lake are of the vizier's -building. He has always an establishment of 3,000 soldiers, 100 Tartars -(the Sultan himself has but 200), a park of artillery presented him by -the English, and German and other French artillerymen. We seem to have -supplied him also with arms and ammunition in his wars with Suli and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> -other parts of Epirus. Perhaps it is not much to our honour to have -assisted a tyrant in dispossessing or exterminating the lawful owners of -the soil, who only fought for their own liberty; but one must remember -that, picturesque as they were and desperately as they fought, they were -nothing but robbers and freebooters and the scourge of the country.</p> - -<p>We passed the 6th of January with Psallida, who is master of a school in -Janina. He is, for this country, a learned man. Besides Greek, he speaks -Latin and very bad Italian, but as far as manners go he is a mere -barbarian. From him I had an account of the Gardiki massacre.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> I -occupied a wet three days in drawing an interior view of a kiosk of the -vizier's at the Beshkey Gardens at the north end of the town. Then I got -a costume and drew the figures in. Psallida dined with us one day and -entertained us with an account of the fair and frail Euphrosyne, who was -a celebrity here. Her fate was made the subject of a ballad preserved in -Leslie. The story is certainly an awful tragedy. She was of good family -and married to a respectable man. Without possessing more education than -is usual with Greek ladies she had, besides her great beauty, a natural -wit which, with a good deal of love of admiration, soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> attracted round -her a host of admirers, and she became a reigning beauty. Mukhtar, the -son of Ali, who is a dissolute fellow, was attracted by her, and, -cutting out his competitors, became her acknowledged lover. His wife, -whom he entirely neglected for his new passion, was a daughter of the -Vizier of Berat, whose friendship Ali was at that time particularly -anxious to cultivate; and when she complained to her father-in-law of -his son's conduct, he (Ali) determined to put a stop to it. At the head -of his guard he burst at midnight into the room of Euphrosyne, and after -calling her the seducer of his son and other names, he forced her to -give up whatever presents he had made her, and had her led off to prison -with her maid. Next day, in order to make a terrifying example to check -the immorality of the town in general and his son in especial, he had -nine other women of known bad character arrested, and they and -Euphrosyne were led to the brink of the precipice over the lake on which -the fortress stands. Her faithful maid refused to desert her, and she -and Euphrosyne, linked in each other's arms, leapt together down the -fatal rock, as did all the others.</p> - -<p>Mukhtar has never forgotten his attachment or forgiven his father, or -even seen his wife again, and from having been a gay and frank youth he -has become gloomy and ferocious without being less dissolute than -before. The court he keeps is a sad blackguard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> affair, a great contrast -to the austere sobriety of his father's.</p> - -<p>We called in the evening (January 14) to take leave of Ali Pasha. He was -on that day in the Palace of the Fortress at the extremity of the rock -over the lake. We passed through the long gallery described by Byron, -and into a low anteroom, from which we entered a very handsome -apartment, very warm with a large fire in it, and with crimson sofas -trimmed with gold lace. There was Ali, to-day a truly Oriental figure. -He had a velvet cap, a prodigious fine cloak; he was smoking a long -Persian pipe, and held a book in his hand. Foresti says he did this on -purpose to show us he could read. Hanging beside him was a small gun -magnificently set with diamonds, and a powder-horn; on his right hand -also was a feather fan. To his left was a window looking into the -courtyard, in which they were playing at the djerid, and in which nine -horses stood tethered in their saddles and bridles, as though ready for -instant use. I am told this is a piece of form or etiquette.</p> - -<p>At first his reception seemed less cordial than before, whether by -design or no, and he took very little notice of us. He showed us some -leaden pieces of money, and a Spanish coin just found by some country -people, and asked us what they were. Then he said he wished he had a -coat of beaver such as he had seen on the Danube. He asked Parker<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> -whether he had a mother and brothers, and when he heard he was the only -son he said it was a sin that he should leave his mother. Why did not he -stay at home?</p> - -<p>On January 15 we went to call on Mukhtar Pasha. We found him rough, -open, and goodhumoured, without any of the inimitable grace of his -father, which makes everything Ali says agreeable, however trivial the -subject may be. Mukhtar's talk was flat. He was very fond of sport—were -we? It was very hot in summer at Trikhala. He had killed so and so many -birds; there were loose women at Dramishush; it was a small place, but -he would send a man to see that we were properly accommodated; and so -on—very civil and rather dull. He smoked a Persian pipe brought him by -a beautiful boy very richly dressed, with his hair carefully combed, and -another brought him coffee; while coffee and pipes were brought to us by -particularly ugly ones. On the sofa beside him were laid out a number of -snuff-boxes, mechanical singing birds, and things of that sort. The -serai itself was handsome in point of expense, but in the miserable -taste now in vogue in Constantinople. The decoration represented painted -battle-pieces, sieges, fights between Turks and Cossacks, wild men, and -abominations of that sort; while in the centre of the pediment is a -pasha surrounded by his guard, and in front of them a couple of Greeks -just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> hanged, as a suitable ornament for the palace of a despot.</p> - -<p>On the 16th we set out early for an excursion to Cassiopeia and Suli, -across the fine open field behind Janina, past the village of Kapshisda, -over a low chain of hills south-west of Janina. Then, after a climb of -over an hour, we entered a pass, and presently saw Dramishush in front, -on the side of a high mountain.</p> - -<p>Cassiopeia is on a gentle height in the middle of a valley. The -situation is beautiful, and the theatre the largest and best preserved I -have seen in Greece.</p> - -<p>Next morning we dismissed Mukhtar Pasha's man who had escorted us so -far, and went on south-westwards along the edge of the valley of -Cassiopeia. As it grew narrower we climbed a ridge which overhung an -awful depth, went over a high mountain, and reached Bareatis, a small -village in a pass with a serai of Ali Pasha's, in which he lived for a -length of time during the war of Suli. Three and a half hours further on -we came to Terbisena, the first village of Suli. It had been pouring all -day, and we were not only wet and cold when we arrived but the hovel we -got as a lodging let in the water everywhere, and here, huddled in the -driest corner we could find, we had to sleep and spend the next day.</p> - -<p>On the 19th the weather was fine again, and we went on hoping to find -the river fordable, but when we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> got to the bank we found it rapid and -deep. One of our Turks, after a good deal of boasting, plunged in, and -in an instant sank, and the torrent was carrying him and his horse -floundering away. Another of his brother Turks, seeing him carried down, -called loudly on Allah, and stroked his beard in great tribulation, but -without stirring a stump. In another minute the man would have been -drowned, but our servant Antonetti, who was but a Christian, very -pluckily ran in and clawed him out. The poor boaster was already -senseless when we got him to land. We took him back to Dervishina, and -gradually brought him round, when instead of thanking his stars for his -narrow escape, or Antonetti for the plucky part he had played, he did -nothing but lament the loss of his gun, 'Tofeki,' which he had himself -won, he said, and of his shawl which had cost him 50 piastres. We -promised to make the latter good, and left him to rest.</p> - -<p>The whole incident was in all senses a damper to our ardour. When we -considered that to pass this river we must wait one day at least, and -probably four days to get across the one near Suli, the expenditure of -time seemed to us all, at least so I thought, greater than we cared to -devote to the expedition. So the long and short of it was that we turned -back and slept at Bareatis. Next day we got back to Janina. I made up my -mind now that I was wasting time over this trip, and wished to get back -to Athens. But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> before leaving I thought it my duty to call once more on -Ali Pasha. A most agreeable old man he is. I was more than ever struck -with the easy familiarity and perfect good humour of his manners. We -found him in a low apartment with a fire in the middle, generally used -for his Albanians and known as laapoda. Then we went to see -Pouqueville,<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> the French resident. We found him with his brother, -both of them the worst type of Frenchmen—vulgar, bragging, genuine -children of the Revolution. Nothing worth remembering was said, but I -did gather this from his tone—that the Empire in France is not likely -to last.</p> - -<p>On the 26th my friends, for a wonder, got up early, and we all set out -in a boat for a small village where we were to find my horses. There we -bid farewell and I mounted. It came on to rain, and I arrived, wet -through, at the Three Khans to sleep.</p> - -<p>Next day the rain became snow, but I set out nevertheless for Mezzovo. -We had to ford the river several times, and for the last hour to Mezzovo -were up to our middles in snow. The scenery was magnificent, and the -country is well cultivated. Mezzovo is a Vlaki or Wallachian village; -the people speak a sort of mixed Greek. They are exceedingly industrious -and well-to-do.</p> - -<p>Artistically I do not know that I have gained<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> much, but I do not regret -the time I have spent in Albania. The climate is more bracing than that -of the rest of Greece, and has set me up after my illness. The scenery, -though it cannot be at its best in winter, is most beautiful, and the -inhabitants are a fine race—not handsome, but hardy and energetic. An -Albanian has very few wants. A little bread of calambochi or Indian -corn, an onion, and cheese is abundant fare to him. If he changes his -linen five times in the year, that is the outside. A knife and a pistol -in his girdle and his gun by his side, he sleeps quite well in the open -air with his head on a stone and the lappel of his jacket over his face. -In summer and winter he wears a fez. His boots are only goatskin -sandals, which he makes himself. His activity in them over rocks is -surprising.</p> - -<p>As for Ali Pasha's government, one has to remember what a chaotic state -the country was in before he made himself master of it. The accounts one -gets from the elders make it clear what misery there was. No stranger -could travel in it, nor could the inhabitants themselves get about. -Every valley was at war with its neighbour, and all were professional -brigands. All this Ali has reduced to order. There is law—for everyone -admits his impartiality as compared with that of rulers in other parts -of Turkey—and there is commerce. He has made roads, fortified the -borders, put down brigandage, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> raised Albania into a power of some -importance in Europe.</p> - -<p>That in arriving at this end he has often used means which civilised -nations disapprove is no doubt true, but there has been in the first -place gross exaggeration as to the crimes attributed to him: for -instance, that he sees fifteen or twenty heads cut off every day before -breakfast, whereas in point of fact there has not been such a thing as a -public execution in the past year; and then, in the second, one must -make allowance for the ferocious manners amongst which he was brought -up.</p> - -<p>On the 29th of January, as the weather seemed favourable, we set out -eagerly to cross Pindus. The snow was deep in places, but for the first -hour and a half we had no great difficulty. It was the last half-hour -before getting to the top that was worst. The road is desperately steep -up a precipice, and the snow was above the horses' girths. Our -chamalides, however, waded through it, often up to their middles, and, -carrying the loads on their own shoulders, lifted the horses by their -tails and heads alternately, I hardly know how. Although I constantly -slipped down on the steep incline, I was so eager to see the view that I -was the first at the top. Towards the interior it was glorious: the feet -of Pindus rooting themselves far into the country, which, although -mountainous, was free from snow; conspicuous was Elymbo (Olympus), the -top capped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> with snow, but the form of it is not beautiful. To the north -were other snow-capped mountains. Behind us westward the air was so -thick one could see nothing. The west side of the hills is covered with -fir, while the east seems to have nothing but oak and birch—quantities -of it, but all small trees. As we went down we noticed on the trunks of -them the marks of the snow of the year before last, which must have been -ten or twelve feet deep. Three and a half hours from our start we got to -a khan, where we made a good fire and congratulated ourselves on having -got over the hills so well and escaped the fatana—the wind the -mountaineers dread.</p> - -<p>Our next stage was to Malakash, a Vlaki town. It was astonishing the way -our chamalides bore the fatigue of forcing our way through the snow, -which was still five or six feet deep in places. They cut a way for the -horses, which were constantly falling down and half smothering -themselves in the drifts.</p> - -<p>From there we followed the course of the river for six hours, and -crossed it fifty times at least. On the way we passed a dervish, an -Albanian. He was seated on a sort of balcony, very high up, and had a -gun in his hand, which he pointed at me and called on me to stop and -pay. The sight of the Tartar, however, brought him to reason. Without -one a traveller is exposed to great insult from such ruffians.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> As it -was, a poor wretch who tried to pass himself off as one of our party was -forced to stop and pay his quota.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon we arrived at Meteora, the strange rocks of which we -had seen from some distance up the river. We were given quarters in the -house of a Cypriote Greek, from whom I learnt a good deal of the -terrible exactions of Veli Pasha, in whose dominions we now were. Our -host and his two sons, poor wretches with hardly a fez to their heads -and mere sandals bound with a thong to their feet, came to welcome us. -After the first compliments they fell into the tale of their woes. Their -taxes were so heavy that unless the new year were abundantly fruitful -the village must be bankrupt and become 'chiflik' or forfeit. When a -village is unable to pay its taxes, the vizier, as universal mortgagee, -forecloses and the land becomes his private property and the villagers -his slaves. This is becoming 'chiflik.'</p> - -<p>While we were sitting and talking of these troubles a great noise was -heard below. Two Albanians, being refused conachi, had broken in the -door of a house and entered by force, and the soubashi was gone out to -quell the riot. He very properly refused them any kind of reception and -drove them out to the khan.</p> - -<p>My hosts had roasted me a fowl, but my heart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> was so full I could -scarcely eat. How long will it please God to afflict these wretched -people with such monstrous tyranny? Besides the exactions of the -Government, scoundrels such as these Albanians infest the villages, -force their way in houses and eat and drink immoderately and pay -nothing. To ease my mind, when the daughter of my host brought me some -raisins to eat with my wine I gave her a dollar. She seemed hardly to -believe her eyes at first, then took it and kissed my hand.</p> - -<p>Next morning, January 31st, I ascended to the principal monastery of -Meteora. After a tiring walk of half an hour, winding among the crags of -this strange place, we came to the foot of the rock on which it is -perched, and found that the ladder commonly used, which is made in -joints five or six feet long, had been drawn up. We called to the -papades who were aloft to let down the rope and net. After some -hallooing, down it came, a circular net with the meshes round the -circumference gathered on a hook. Michael and myself, with my drawing -materials, got in and were drawn up by a windlass. To swing in mid-air -trusting to a rope not so thick as my wrist and 124 feet long (I -measured it) is anything but pleasant. I shall not forget my sensations -as I looked out through the meshes of the net as we were spinning round -in the ascent. There was a horrible void below—sheer precipices on each -side, and then the slipping of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> the rope as it crossed on the windlass. -Once up, we were pulled in at the entrance, the hook drawn out, and we -were set at liberty. The company that received us were some wretched -papades, as ignorant as possible. They could tell me next to nothing -about their monastery, except that on the occasion of an invasion of the -Turks, a bey of Trikhala, one Joseph Ducas, had retired hither and -established it and seventeen others. The buildings of ten of them still -exist, but only two or three are still inhabited. The church here is a -very good one, and there is a chapel of Constantine. The view is -magnificent. I gave a dollar to the young priest who took me round, -desiring him to use it for any purpose of the church; but I found, from -what my peasant guide told me when we had got down, that the scamp had -pocketed it for his own use, for that the chief papa had asked him as we -were about to leave, if the stranger would not leave some parahs for the -church. It was a lovely day, and beneath me, from the village, passed a -procession of a bridegroom going to a neighbouring village to fetch his -bride. His mother was on one side of his horse, another relative on the -other; before him a male relation carried a flag, and behind came all -his friends and family in their best dresses with guns on their -shoulders, making a gallant show. It was a pretty sight.</p> - -<p>We left Kalabaki by Meteora, and reached Trikhala<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> about sunset. The -solitude of the town and the vastness of the cemeteries gave one the -creeps; and hearing that the plague was in the town at that moment, I -mounted again, and rode four hours further to a khan and slept there.</p> - -<p>Next day we rode to Phersala (twelve hours); but the plague being there -also, we proceeded a further four hours to a khan under Thaumaco -(sixteen hours' riding). From Meteora to Phersala is one uninterrupted -plain which I thought would never end. I saw many villages, but much -misery—especially in Trikhala and Phersala.</p> - -<p>Next day we got to Zituni (six hours) about noon. I did not venture to -stay on account of the plague, and passed on to Molo, at which we -arrived in the evening, passing through the Straits of Thermopylæ.</p> - -<p>Molo is a village of only 200 houses, and yet forty persons had died of -the plague in it in the last three days. The terrified inhabitants had -fled to the mountains, and we found only two hangees (men attached to -the han) to receive us. We meant to have slept here, but the cats and -dogs howled so terribly (always a symptom of the plague) that I could -not sleep in comfort; so as the moon shone bright, we mounted and rode -six hours further to a village opposite Parnassus, passing in safety the -fountain famous for robbers who are almost always stationed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> there. The -scenery here is very fine and romantic. In six hours more, after -crossing two little plains besides that of Chæronæa, we arrived at -Livadia (February 3rd). What between the cold, the horror of the plague, -and the fatigue, it had been an appalling journey."</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> The Gardiki massacre took place about 1799. In Ali's -youth, his tower had been stormed by the people of Gardiki and his -mother and sister outraged—at least, so he said. He nursed his revenge -for forty years, and then gratified it by massacring the whole -population of the village.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Author of a valuable account of Greece at this time.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> - -<p class="center">ATHENS—TO ZANTE FOR SALE OF PHIGALEIAN MARBLES—RETURNS TO -ATHENS—FEVER—SPENCER STANHOPE—TRIP TO MARATHON, ETC.—RAMAZAN—LIVING -OUT IN THE COUNTRY—A PICNIC AT SALAMIS—PRESENTED WITH A BLOCK OF -PANATHENAIC FRIEZE—TRIP TO ÆGINA—LEAVES ATHENS FOR ITALY.</p> - -<p>My father seems to have got back to Athens to his old quarters at Madame -Masson's with Haller and Stackelberg, and there remained. He kept a -diary only under the excitement of travel or novelty, and as the sights -and society of Athens were too familiar to stir him, there is no precise -record of how he passed his time; but he says in a letter that he -intends to spend his winter in completing the Ægina and Phigaleian -drawings. After all, it was only two or three months he had to be there. -The Phigaleian Marbles were to be sold in Zante in May, and this time he -meant to be present. The fiasco of the Ægina Marbles in his absence was -a warning of what might happen again if the sale were not properly -looked after; and as Gropius after his failure had been dismissed from -his functions as agent (although still part proprietor) the necessary -work had to be done by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> the others—each one probably communicating with -his own Government. He had taken care that his (the British) should be -kept properly posted up. In consequence, everything went off without a -hitch. In May he went to Zante. The marbles were sold to General -Campbell,<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> commandant of the Ionian Islands, acting on behalf of -H.R.H. the Prince Regent, and were already packed up for transport on -the 12th of July.</p> - -<p>During his stay in Zante my father made many elaborate drawings of the -Phigaleian bas-reliefs, with a view to determining their relative -positions for the book, and he now returned to Athens to go on with it. -He arrived on the 11th of July. But his health was no longer able to -bear an Athenian summer. In August he writes:</p> - -<p class="space-above">"A most tiresome fever has been worrying me for the past month, -sometimes leaving me for a few days, at others rendering me incapable of -doing anything. Few people, even natives, escape it, either in this or -any other summer. Such is the fine climate of Greece, which poets would -persuade you is a paradise, whereas really hyperborean England, with all -her fogs, has still the best in the world....</p> - -<p>I am summing up a few observations, wonderfully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> <i>savant</i> and deep, on -the temples we are preparing for publication, and the Grecian -architecture in general. Between you and me, I verily flatter myself, we -understand it practically better than anybody—as indeed we ought to. I -arrived from Zante on the 11th July. While I was there I received a very -fresh (!) letter from home of twenty-nine days.</p> - -<p>I was rejoiced to find here my friends and old schoolfellows, Spencer -Stanhope and his brother. Conceive our pleasure talking at Athens over -Westminster stories and all our adventures since we left. He, poor -fellow, has been a prisoner in France for two and a half years, having -been taken in Spain owing to the treachery of a Gibraltar vessel, which -took him into the port of Barcelona. He is now exploring and excavating -(at his own expense) for the French Government as the condition for his -freedom! A few days later he and I made a trip to Marathon. We proceeded -to Rhamnos, and sleeping a night at a fountain near by, visited in the -morning the Temple of Nemesis and stayed there the whole day. It had -been well examined, and by this time will have been published by -Gell<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> and Gandy. We then went on to a village near which we had the -good fortune to find Tanagra, the situation of which had never yet been -known. We could trace the whole circuit of the walls and a theatre.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> -Thence to Aulis, the walls of which are easily traceable; then we -crossed the bridge over the Euripos into Eubœa. The town of Negropont -is a wretched place, inhabited by nothing but Turks. The fortress is -ruined and contemptible, and the cannon out of order, as usual, although -it is by way of being one of the principal fortresses in these parts. -The more one sees of the Turks the more one is astonished at their -prolonged rule in these countries. We visited a bey in this place who -had a set of maps, and was considered one of the most enlightened men in -the town. He produced them immediately he saw us, and boasted of his -extensive knowledge on the subject, and the respect the bystanders paid -this philosopher was perfectly delightful. The usual custom, before -making a visit to these great personages, is to send them an offering of -two or three pounds of sugar or coffee, and I thought he seemed rather -offended at our exempting ourselves, as Englishmen, from this tribute. -Next day we went along the seashore, riding through delightful gardens -and olive groves, to Eretria, which has not been seen by modern -travellers. It must have been a great city, little less than three miles -in circumference. The whole extent of the walls and theatres is still -visible.</p> - -<p>The greater part of Greece is naturally a rich and productive country. -This needs no better proof than the immense population to which the -ruins still remaining bear testimony. The ruins of towns of immense<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> -extent and close to each other are found everywhere, and now it is a -desert. Neither plague, pestilence, nor famine is so destructive as -tyranny. We returned to Athens on the tenth day.</p> - -<p>We hear that the plague is raging at Constantinople, Salonica, and -Smyrna; whereas Athens, with the Morea and Greece in general, though -surrounded on all sides by it, has escaped.</p> - -<p>The festival of Ramazan is being celebrated. The bazaar has been well -sprinkled with water, and lights are hung before every shop. The -caffanee (coffee shops) are all open and lighted, as well as the -balconies of the mosques. All day, if any Turks are seen, they are -walking about in their best, with long wands, but looking very cross, -and not lightly to be accosted by a Greek. At kinde (sunset) the imams -call, and the faithful, having fasted from sunrise, not having smoked or -even drunk a drop of water, sit down with holy zeal to the very best -meal their funds can afford, for it is accounted a crime at this feast -to deny themselves what the heart desires. After this the mosque, gaily -lighted, is filled with songs and prayer and thanksgiving. Later on the -streets are filled. Each in his best enjoys whatever pleasures and -amusements the town has to offer—<i>ombres chinoises</i>, long stories from -the 'Arabian Nights,' music, chess-playing, &c. Above all, the women now -have liberty. They go about in parties, unmasked, visiting, feasting, -and amusing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> themselves, and the whole place is a continual Vauxhall -from sunset to sunrise. At midnight the imam again ascends to the -minaret with a chorus, who sing a solemn and beautiful hymn, far more -impressive than the finest bells in Christendom. The words begin—</p> - -<p class="center">Arise, arise, and pray, for ye know not the hour of death.</p> - -<p>Towards the morning passes the dumbanum, a huge drum which a man beats -as he goes; while another accompanies him in a sort of sing-song, -calling up each householder and bidding him eat his pillau, for the -morning is near. He winds up with good wishes and kind terms, for which, -at the end of the Ramazan, he expects a present. My name was brought in. -What do you think of Cockarella to rhyme with Canella?</p> - -<p>From the minaret a beggar is crying for charity and threatening to throw -himself down unless he gets it. He goes there at the same hour every day -till he has got what he wants.</p> - -<p>The wife of the old disdar (commandant of the castle) died a few days -ago. She was one of the first ladies of the place, and a respectable -good woman. Everyone was touched with the disdar's lamentation. 'She was -the ship in which all my hopes were embarked. She was the port in which -I took shelter from all the storms and troubles of the world; in her my -comforts and joys were confided; she was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> anchor in which I -trusted.' Each morning he has visited her tomb, and, causing water to be -brought, has poured it around that her remains may be refreshed. Three -days after, as is the custom, the elders of his relations went to him, -desiring that he should marry again. But he refused, looking, as he -said, soon to follow his wife.</p> - -<p><i>October 30.</i>—I have been having continual relapses of this abominable -fever ever since August. The worst was in the beginning of this month, -and it has taken me till now to get over it. After having leeches on, I -had removed one of the bandages too soon, and lost a greater quantity of -blood than was intended.</p> - -<p>It is impossible to describe the feebleness this fever leaves. I -sometimes felt as if I was breathing out my soul, and had ceased to -belong to this world at all. I lost all interest in my pursuits.</p> - -<p>I should have been badly off indeed if it had not been for Madame -Masson. She had been a second mother to me, and more attentive in this -and in all my other illnesses than any attendants I could have hired. As -soon as I was a little better she was so good as to accompany me to a -monastery in the Sacred Way, some little distance from Athens, to which -I had been advised to go for change of air. There was only one old woman -there to take care of the keys, and in the big deserted place we were -like two owls in a barn. I cannot say it was gay. I passed most of my -time in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> sleeping, for that has been the chief effect of my weakness, -and what little was left in reading. Occasionally we were favoured with -a visit by some of our Athenian friends, who brought their provisions -with them, as their custom is. The monastery stands in a beautiful dell -or pass through the mountains. On one side is a beautiful view of the -bay and mountains of Eleusis, and on the other, of the Plain of Athens, -with the long forest of olive trees between us and the Acropolis, which -dominates the plain and is backed by Hymettus. On the right is the -Piræus, at no great distance. I could not enjoy this lovely scene. Alas! -one can enjoy nothing with a low fever. And now, after a stay of a -fortnight, we are just returned, and I am not much the better for it.</p> - -<p>But one of the last days I was there I was tempted by my friend Linckh -to ride to Piræus, to join in celebrating the anniversary of the victory -of Salamis—the 25th October—by a fête on the island of Psytalia, where -the thickest of the fight was waged. He had assembled a large party of -Athenians, who, to tell the truth, were more intent on the feast than on -the occasion of it. We embarked from Piræus in a large boat, accompanied -by music—to wit, fiddles and tambourines—as is the Athenian fashion, -and a great cargo of provisions which were to be prepared while the -modern Athenians contemplated the interesting scene before us, and were -to weep over the fall of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> their country since those glorious days, &c. -&c. All set out in the greatest glee. Beyond the port, in the open sea, -some countenances began to change; though we had almost a calm, some -began to feel the effects of the 'gentle motion' and hung their heads -over the side, while several pinched each other with fear and anxiety at -our distance from <i>terra firma</i>. Gradually all became silence. Then some -murmurs began to arise, together with advice and recommendation to the -sailors to row gently and hold fast. A council of war sat, and agreed -<i>nem. con.</i> that it would be best to return to the nearest land. A small -bay was found and all leapt ashore, crossing themselves and thanking -their stars for their deliverance. A fire was lighted, the lamb roasted -in no time, a cloth laid on the ground, and all set to. The Greeks of -old could not have attacked the Persians with more ardour than these -moderns did the turkeys and lamb before us. The bottle went round apace, -and all soon began to glorify themselves, the demoiselles also playing -their part; and when at length, and not until at length, the desire of -eating and drinking was accomplished, each one filched the remaining -sweets off the table as she found her opportunity. Music's soft -enchantment then arose, and the most active began a dance, truly -bacchanalian, while the rest lingered over the joys of the table. Punch -crowned the feast. All was rapture; moderation was no longer observed, -and the day closed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> a pelting of each other with the bones of the -slain, amidst dancing, singing, and roars of laughter or applause. I -venture to assert most positively that not one thought was given to the -scene before us, or the occasion, by any one member of the party except -my friend Linckh and the διδἁσκαλος [Greek: didaskalos], the schoolmaster of -Athens, who, having brought tools for the purpose, carved on the rock an -inscription which will one day be interesting to those who may chance to -light upon it a thousand years hence—'Invitation [or repast] in memory -of the immortal Salaminian combat.' Our party embarked not till after -sunset; and though the sea was twice as high and the wind as contrary as -it was coming, such are the powers of nectar and ambrosia that all -conducted themselves with uncommon courage and resolution. Choruses, -Dutch and Athenian, beguiled the way, and all was harmony except the -music. So one might have hoped the day might have concluded; but no! the -Greek fire, once lighted, is not so easily quenched. I, as an invalid, -and exceedingly tired with so much pleasure, retired to my cell in a -monastery where we were all to pass the night, and some of my friends -kindly gave me a coverlet and a sort of bed, on which I threw myself; -but not until long after midnight did the music or the dancing cease, or -I or any sober person get a chance of sleep. We got away next day, but -not without difficulty; for the Athenians are like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> our journeymen: when -once they are out on the spree they must carry it on for a week.</p> - -<p>We are now in Athens again, and I have just returned to my work-table -covered with the dust of so many lost days. This waste of time is -terrible. Altogether, out of twenty-four months spent in Athens, seven -have been passed in illness. If ever I get away from this country in -health and safety, how I shall thank my stars!"</p> - -<p class="space-above">It was in these last days of his stay in Athens that he became possessed -of a portion of the Panathenaic frieze of the Parthenon in the following -strange manner. The disdar or commandant of the castle on the Acropolis -was by now an old friend of Cockerell's, and had ended by becoming -exceedingly attached to him. When he understood from the latter, who -came to pay him a farewell visit, that he was leaving for good, he told -him that he would make him a present. He said he knew that Cockerell was -very fond of old sculptured stones, so if he liked to bring a cart to -the base of the Acropolis at a certain hour at night (it could not be -done in the daytime for fear of giving offence to the Greeks) he would -give him something. Cockerell kept the appointment with the cart. As -they drew near there was a shout from above to look out, and without -further warning the block which forms the right-hand portion of Slab I. -of the South Frieze now in the British Museum was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> bowled down the -cliff. Such a treatment of it had not been anticipated, but it was too -late for regrets. The block was put on to the cart, taken down to the -Piræus, and shipped at once. Cockerell presented it to the British -Museum, and its mutilated appearance bears eloquent testimony to its -rough passage down the precipices of the Acropolis.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"My fever continued to harass me until I took a trip to Ægina, which I -made for the purpose of change of air, as well as of correcting and -revising our drawings of the Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius. In both -respects I have succeeded beyond my hopes. I am now in perfect health, -and have made some improvements and additions to our observations which -will be of importance to our work. Taking ladders from here, I have also -succeeded in measuring the columns of a temple supposed to have been -that of Venus—I think Hecate—which are of universally admired -proportion, and so high that hitherto no travellers have been able to -manage them. Only two columns still exist. They belong, I found, to the -posticum between the antæ. In digging at their base to prove this, I -came upon a very beautiful foot in a sandal, life-size, of Parian -marble, of precisely the same school and style as those of our -Panhellenian discovery.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> You may imagine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> I counted on nothing less -than finding a collection as interesting and extensive as the other. I -procured, with some difficulty, authority from the archons of the -island, and struck a bargain by which they were to have one half of the -produce of the excavation, which was to be made at my expense, and I the -other, with a first refusal of purchasing their portion. I dug for three -days without finding the smallest fragment, and, what was worse, -satisfied myself that it had been dug over and re-dug a hundred times, -the foundations of the temple having served time out of mind as a quarry -for the Æginetans. The money spent was not very great, the time wasted -was all to the good of my health, and I was able to make a curious -observation on the foundations of the building. Greek temples are -commonly on rock. This was not; and the foundations were no less than 14 -to 15 feet deep, the first three courses of well-cut stone, the last set -in mortar on a wall of small stones in mortar, at the sides of which is -a rubble-work of largish stones beaten down with sea sand and charcoal -and bones of sacrifices. Underneath, again, are other courses of -well-cut stones which form a solid mass under the whole temple.</p> - -<p>I have also with great difficulty, since there are no carpenters in this -country, ascertained what I spoke of before as a matter of -conjecture—viz. the entasis or swelling of the Greek columns. A -straight line stretched from the capital to the base showed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> -swelling at about a third of the height to be in the Temple of Minerva -an inch, in that of Ægina half an inch, which is the same proportion in -both. The ruined state of the columns of the Theseum makes it less easy -to ascertain the exact swelling. Those of Minerva Polias and the -Erechtheum are also swelled. I have no doubt that it was a general rule -with the Greek architects, though it has hitherto escaped the eyes of -Stuart and our most accurate observers."</p> - -<p class="space-above">Cockerell had long been anxious to get into Italy. There alone could he -see and study an architecture in some measure applicable to modern -needs, if he was ever to become a practical architect. For four years he -had been studying abstract beauty, practising his hand in landscape -painting, interesting himself in archæology, and generally, except for -his vigour and perseverance, behaving as many a gentleman at large might -have done whose place in the English world was already made for him. But -he had a position to win, and in one of the most arduous of professions, -for which all this unsettling life was not merely not preparing him but -actually making him unfit.</p> - -<p>Since his first startling success at Ægina, he had been led on from one -expedition to another, losing sight for months together, in the easy -life and simple conditions which surrounded him, of the keen competition -in the crush of London for which he ought to be girding himself. He had -been forming a taste, but a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> taste in the externals and details of -building only. Of composition and of planning he had seen as yet no fine -example and had learnt nothing. There was nothing left for him to do in -Greece. He had traversed it in all directions, seen every place of -interest, and whenever there appeared a prospect of finding anything -with the moderate means at his disposal, he had tried digging.</p> - -<p>Under Napoleon's continental system Italy of course was closed to -Englishmen, but to Bavarians it was accessible, and Cockerell had often -talked with Haller of the possibility of smuggling himself as his -servant into the country under cover of his (Haller's) passport. -Fortunately this was never attempted. Even if they had succeeded in -passing the frontiers under Governments where every foreigner was -subjected to continual espionage, the delusion would soon have been -discovered. It was a boy's scheme. He had also tried to engage the good -offices of Louis of Bavaria to obtain him admission as an artist, but -nothing had come of it; and finally, when he heard that Lady Hester -Stanhope had got leave to travel in Italy, he had applied to Lord -Melville for a similar indulgence. But with the abdication of Napoleon, -which took place in April 1814, the whole prospect changed. France was -at once thrown open to Englishmen, and the rest of the Continent by -degrees. It is not easy to discover at what precise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> date the kingdom of -Naples and Rome became accessible, but it must have been during the -summer. Western news took time to percolate into Greece, but as soon as -he learnt that there was a possibility of penetrating into Italy, he had -begun making preparations for doing so. And now that there was nothing -left to detain him, he arranged to start with Linckh for Rome on the -15th of January, 1815. When the appointed day came, Madame Masson saw -him off at the Piræus, and shed floods of tears. She was very fond of -him. Two years after she writes: "Non si sa cosa è Carnovale dopo la -vostra partenza."</p> - -<p>A curious fact about the journey is that they brought away with them a -German of Darmstadt of the name of Carl Rester, who appears to have been -a fugitive slave, of whom more hereafter.</p> - -<p>The party was joined by a Mr. Tupper. This young gentleman had been -lodging at Madame Makri's, and had fallen in love, as it was the -indispensable fashion for young Englishmen to do, with one or all of the -charming daughters. He left them in tears, vowing to return, but it does -not appear that he ever did.</p> - -<p>The diary of this journey is kept in a sketch-book in pencil, and is not -everywhere legible. The country was one well traversed by tourists and -minutely described by Gell. There were no discoveries to be made or new -impressions to be felt. They had no adventures. The weather was odious. -The entries<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> consist largely of the kind of information—estimates of -population, accounts of products, and possibilities—which for the -modern traveller is "found" by Murray or Baedeker, and would never -figure in his diary. At the mouth of the Alpheus he remarks how well -suited the situation would be for a naval dockyard, close to vast -forests of oak and fir—forests, all of which must have disappeared in -the devastations of Mehemet Ali, for there are none there now.</p> - -<p>The route taken was by Corinth, Argos, Tripolizza, Caritzena, Phigaleia, -which they found buried in snow, Olympia, Patras, Ithaca, Corfu, -Otranto, Lecce, Bari, and Foggia. The Pass of Bovino, between Foggia and -Naples, was considered exceedingly dangerous, on account of banditti, -and perhaps the most interesting thing in the whole diary is the -extravagant size of the escort considered necessary to see the -travellers through it. It consisted of no less than sixty men—thirty -cavalry and thirty infantry.</p> - -<p>But on the whole the diary of the journey, which was through interesting -places and at an interesting moment, could hardly be duller. It may be -due to Cockerell's having been in poor health, or to Tupper's having -been a stupid, unstimulating companion.</p> - -<p>They arrived at Naples on the 14th of April, 1815.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> General Sir James Campbell, Bart. (1763-1819), Governor of -the Ionian Islands till 1816.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Sir William Gell (1777-1836), traveller, author of the -<i>Itinerary of Greece</i>, <i>Pompeiana</i>, and other works. The Augustus Hare -of his day.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> This foot was presented to the Glyptothek at Munich.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> - -<p class="center">NAPLES—POMPEII—ROME—THE GERMAN RESTER GOT RID OF—SOCIAL SUCCESS IN -ROME—LEAVES FOR FLORENCE—BARTHOLDY AND THE NIOBE GROUP—LADY -DILLON—THE WELLINGTON PALACE—PISA—TOUR IN THE NORTH—MEETS -STACKELBERG AGAIN—RETURNS TO FLORENCE AND ROME—HOMEWARD BOUND—CONCLUSION.</p> - -<p>With one exception there were no Englishmen, artists or others, in -Naples at that time, but a number of Frenchmen, with some of whom -Cockerell struck up a great intimacy. In spite of national feeling, -which was running very high at the time, he got on very well with them, -but he says in a letter from Rome they were dreadful time-servers in -their political views. Of course it was a difficult moment for -Frenchmen. After Napoleon's abdication at Fontainebleau in April 1814, -they had had to accommodate themselves to a revival of the ancient -monarchy, which could not be very satisfactory to anyone, and now -Napoleon was back again in France. Between two such alternatives no -wonder that their judgment oscillated; but to Cockerell—patriotic, -enthusiastic, and troubled by no awkward dilemmas—their vacillation was -unintelligible.</p> - -<p>The one Englishman was Gell (afterwards Sir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> William), who speaks of a -stay they made together at Pompeii as the pleasantest time he had spent -in his three years' tour.</p> - -<p>During this time Cockerell worked hard, and besides what he did which -could only be of use to himself, he made himself so familiar with -Pompeii that Gell proposed to him to join him in writing an itinerary of -that place.</p> - -<p>Altogether, leaving Athens on the 15th of January, it was six months -before Cockerell got to Rome. Between Naples and Rome the country seems -to have been in a very unquiet state, and Carl Rester, who was still -with him, writes afterwards: "You remember how anxious about brigands we -all were on the journey."</p> - -<p>Soon after they arrived, Rester, who must by now have become an irksome -burden, started from Rome to walk to his own home at Frankfort. He took -a long time about it, but he got there at last in December, only to find -his family so reduced by the wars that he determined, as he says, not to -be a burden to them, but to show his gratitude to his benefactor by -asking for more favours and throwing himself as a burden upon him. So he -determined to extend his walk to England. Before leaving his native -town, however, he says he published in the local newspaper the following -strange tribute to Cockerell's generosity:</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p><p>"Magna Britannia victoriosa, gloriosa, bene merens, felix. Carolus -Robertus Cockerell nobilis Anglus et moribus et scientiis praeclarus me -infelicem perditum Germaniae prolem, primis diebus 1815 e Morea barbaris -deportavit. Ad Corfum deinde amicis meis Anglis restituit et patriae -advicinavit per Napolem universum, Romae me secum ducentem [for ducens] -humaniter semper et nobili amicitia me tractavit a London, Old -Burlington Street, No. 8, nobilissimi parentes ipsum progenuerunt -dignissimum membrum magnae nationis et hominem ubicunque aestimatissimum</p> - -<p class="center">Pro gratia universis Anglis et ipsi<br />Carolus Rester germanus.</p> - -<p>Gallis merentibus, Britannia juncta Germanis felix Auspicium semper -semperque erit." (Are these two last lines elegiacs?—<span class="smcap">Ed.</span>)</p> - -<p>He arrived at Bois le Duc early in March 1816, and after an illness -there of seven weeks, writes to Cockerell to beg his assistance to get -him over to England, that he might be the better able to sponge upon him -there. I never heard what became of him afterwards.</p> - -<p>Cockerell then was in Rome, and here he first began to enjoy the harvest -of his labours. He says there were no English there at the time except -Lady Westmoreland, mother of the British minister at Florence, but there -was a large society of foreign artists, into which he threw himself. -There were the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> brothers Riepenhausen, painters; Schadow, a sculptor -from Berlin; Ingres, who drew his portrait;<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> Cornelius of Munich, and -others of his school; Knoering, a Russian; Mazois, author of "Le Palais -de Scaurus" and an itinerary of Pompeii; Catel, a French architect; -Thorwaldsen, Overbeck, Vogel, portrait painter; Bartholdy, Prussian -consul-general; Hess, a painter from Vienna; Canova, and Checcarini, who -did the Neptune and Tritons in the Piazza del Popolo at the bottom of -the drive up to the Pincio. The air of Rome was steeped in classicism. -In this company every event was described in classical figures: their -café was the Café Greco, which still exists; the front half was called -the Pronaos. There all the artistic world collected and made -acquaintance.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"If I were a little more vain I should be out of my wits at the -attention paid me here. I have a daily levee of savants, artists and -amateurs come to see my drawings; envoys and ambassadors beg to know -when it will be convenient for me to show them some sketches; Prince -Poniatowski and the Prince of Saxe-Gotha beg to be permitted to see -them. I say they are slight, and in truth poor things, but at any rate -they were done on the spot, and they, 'C'est la Grèce enfin, c'est là le -véritable pays. Ah, Monsieur, que vous êtes heureux d'avoir parcouru ce -beau pays!' Then I explain to them some constructions or beauties which -they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> don't understand. 'Ah, que c'est merveilleux, mais vous les -publierez, vous nous donnerez le bonheur de les posséder, mais ce sont -des choses fort intéressantes, enfin c'est de la Grèce.' And in truth -publishers and readers have been so long restricted to the Roman -antiquities, which have been published and read over and over again a -thousand times, that the avidity for novelty is beyond measure, and -Greece is the fashion here as everywhere else.</p> - -<p>There is not a single English artist here and only a few passengers. -Lady Westmoreland is one. She is a very clever, well-bred, agreeable -chatterer, who has been very civil to me, and made me lose several hours -which might have been better employed. Fortunately she is going away. I -have several letters for the Roman nobles, but I have not presented them -that I may have my time to myself.</p> - -<p>So Canova is gone to England. I hope it is not to execute the paltry -monument of Lord Nelson which he has published here. It would be a -disgrace to us all. Fancy the great Nelson as a Roman in petticoats! I -do trust whenever a monument is erected to him it may be as original, -national, and characteristic as was the man and the great nation he -sprang from. Every age hitherto has had ingenuity enough to make its -costume interesting in sculpture; we are the first who have shown such -poverty of ideas as to despise our age and our dress.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p><p>I hope he will not be made too much of in England. It is true that -nobody ever worked the marble as he does, and it is this finish of his -which has deceived and captivated the world, but it is nothing but -artificiality, and there is no nature about it. When he attempts the -sublime he is ludicrous. In seeking grace he is more successful; but, -after all, his Terpsichore was conceived in the Palais Royal, and her -headdress is exactly the latest hairdressers' fashion. It is -exasperating to think of his success when Flaxman, as far his superior -as Hyperion to a satyr, an artist looked up to by the schools of the -Continent as a great and extraordinary genius, is neglected by us -because he is not a foreigner.</p> - -<p>It is exceedingly gratifying to me to find everything in my portfolio -turning to account. I had the pleasure of showing to Colonel Catinelli, -who lately fortified Genoa, my fortifications of Syracuse, and the -sketches I made of that subject in Greece. He assures me that they are -invaluable notices new to modern warfare, and that they prove that, -compared to the ancients, we who imagine ourselves so well informed on -the matter, know nothing at all.</p> - -<p>Then I have above 150 inscriptions among my papers, and I find most of -them are unpublished. I have had them copied fairly, and they are now in -the hands of a great savant, M. Akerblad, for his perusal. He promises -to give me his notes on them.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p><p>I do think I have not made a bad use of my opportunities, if I may -judge by the interest taken in the various new notices on different -subjects I have brought with me, and the flattering consideration -everywhere shown me, I get so many invitations, and am so harassed to -show distinguished persons of all nations my drawings, that I can get no -time to myself. And in order to have something to show I have been -obliged to finish up some of my sketches, which has occupied the whole -of the last two months. I have now a portfolio of about fifteen of some -of the most interesting scenes in Greece fit to show, and I generally -find them as much as my visitors want to see.</p> - -<p>Finding at last that my time and occupations were too much infringed -upon by gaieties, I left Rome to seek more quiet in Florence. I found it -at first, and for more than six weeks was as busy as it was possible to -be. My life was a curious one. I rose early, and after working all day, -dined alone at a trattoria, refusing frequently three or four -invitations in a day. Then I slept three or four hours on a sofa, and -rose in the night to work calmly until four or five in the morning, when -I took another nap, and rose at seven. This odd life got wind; and as I -was a great deal known here, either by reputation or by name and family, -I occasioned a good deal of wonder, particularly among those who are -astonished at anyone's occupying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> himself earnestly except for a -necessity. The interest in me was also increased rather than diminished -by my shyness when I did show in company. I had so much lost the habit -of society by the long sojourn in Turkey, and, looking on it with a new -eye, was often so disgusted with the follies of it, and showed my -disgust, that I got a character for being a cynic. But instead of taking -offence people only made the more of me, and I was constantly invited -out, more to gratify my hosts' curiosity than to give pleasure to me. To -have travelled in Greece, still more to have been a discoverer there, is -enough to make a lion; while the fame of my drawings, which few of the -many who saw them understood and all were therefore willing to think -wonderful, completed the business. It was at this time that I brought -out my drawing of the Niobe and the etchings from it."</p> - -<p class="space-above">B. Bartholdy, Prussian consul-general in Rome, an intelligent man and -much interested in art, had travelled up from Rome to Florence with -Cockerell and made himself one of his most intimate acquaintances. -Walking together one day in the Uffizi, they examined the group of the -Niobe. It is now neglected and forgotten, but in those days it occupied, -in the estimation of artists, the place to-day held by the Elgin -Marbles. With the Venus de' Medici, the Apollo Belvedere, and the Torso -in the Vatican, these statues were regarded as the greatest remains -antiquity had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> bequeathed to the modern world. But, prized and studied -as they were, the purpose of so many figures, evidently meant to stand -together, had never yet dawned on the minds of their admirers. The -figure of Niobe, which is the largest, had been placed in the middle, -and the rest in a circle round her. It was felt indeed that this could -not be right, but no one had anything better to suggest, and it remained -one of the favourite puzzles for art lovers to wrangle over. Into the -middle of this clouded state of intelligences Cockerell dropped as from -another planet. The experience of the Æginetan statues, which he had -arranged so laboriously, besides the constant sight of what remained of -the Parthenon and other Greek monuments, made the notion of a pediment -or ἁετὁς [Greek: haetos] so familiar as to present itself to his mind at once -as the only possible destination for so many statues. He says the first -suggestion came on that occasion from Bartholdy. "I have told Schlegel -and all parties that it was first proposed by you;" to which Bartholdy -replies: "J'aurai le plaisir de pouvoir dire que vous avez fait -fructifier un petit grain tombé de la main d'un amateur des beaux arts -qui sans cela serait resté stérile." But it was probably the company of -Cockerell and the associations with Ægina &c. which suggested the notion -to Bartholdy. At all events, beyond that first suggestion, Bartholdy did -nothing. It was Cockerell who measured the statues, arranged them, -proved the case, and made the etching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> which hangs to this day in the -Niobe Room in the Uffizi Gallery, showing the arrangement which he -proposed. In recognition, however, of the part Bartholdy had had in it, -the plate was dedicated to him.</p> - -<p>For the introduction of Cockerell as a lion into society—if that be a -thing to be desired—this discovery was most opportune. He had arrived -with a great reputation as a traveller, a discoverer, and unraveller of -age-long puzzles, as in the case of the Temple of the Giants, and now -here was a proof of his powers exhibited in the centre of artistic -Europe.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I had shown my drawing to several people and amongst the ambassadors -and distinguished persons here—all of whom, <i>de rigueur</i>, more or less -pretend to understand the arts—and it gained universal approbation. It -was talked about by all, and written about by Demetrius Schinas and -other obscure poets and prose writers. I was flattered, invited, and -made much of. Our ambassador boasts that the solution has been proved by -an Englishman; others bow and beg to be allowed to send copies of my -etching to their Governments, to Metternich, &c. It was formally -presented to the Grand Duke, and I have received from the Academy here a -handsome letter and diploma of Academician of Florence. It is to be -published in the official work on the Gallery. I have presented it -myself to Madame de Staël, and my friends have sent it to all parts of -the Continent."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> - -<p class="space-above">He was now regularly launched in the fashionable society of Florence.</p> - -<p>The reigning beauty at this time, the centre of all jollity and -brightness, was Lady Dillon. All the young men were at her feet, and -Cockerell was as deeply smitten as anybody. As already mentioned, during -the time that he was in Syracuse he had learnt the art of cameo-cutting. -He now made use of it—or at least of the preliminary stage, which is to -make a model in wax—to execute a highly finished portrait of her, which -still exists in the possession of her descendants. It shows a head of -great beauty, and is executed with admirable skill and minuteness.</p> - -<p>The whole English nation was now jubilant over the success of its army -at Waterloo, and was considering the rewards to be offered to its idol, -the Duke of Wellington. He was to have a magnificent palace, surpassing -the glories of Blenheim, and architects were called upon to give reins -to their imagination in preparing designs in competition. The celebrity -which my father had by now made for himself obtained him, through the -medium of Lord and Lady Burghersh, his fast friends, a formal invitation -to send in designs for the Wellington Palace.</p> - -<p>The opportunity was of course magnificent, but nothing he had been doing -for years had in the least adapted him to take advantage of it.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"Although my occupation in the Wellington Palace<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> is a very honourable -one, and the study and exercise of invention in the course of it may be -profitable, yet I cannot help wishing I had never been invited to give -an idea for it, for I have spent a vast deal of time over it, and it -will add nothing to my reputation, even if it does not detract from it. -If such a design was difficult to everyone, you may imagine what it was -to me who have never attempted anything original before. I consulted -every architectural work of Europe (they are all in the library here), -and I would have consulted every professional man I could get at if -there had been any here whose opinion was worth having. Then I composed -general ideas, and finally fixed on one which pleased Mr. North and -several other persons to whom I showed it; but when I went into detail I -found the difficulties increase immeasurably, and the notions which were -plausible while they were vague could not be put into execution. Plan -would not agree with elevation. Doors and windows would not come into -their right places. I invented roundabout ways for simple ends. In fact -I worked furiously, and for the first time realised the practical -difficulties of the profession. At last, when I had filled a portfolio -with sketches and schemes, I completed a set and showed them to Lord and -Lady Burghersh, who said they were pleased with them.</p> - -<p>I began to feel that I had too large an acquaintance in Florence—too -many visits and invitations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> My wound [?], of which I did not get the -better, confined me, and that made me generally unwell and obliged me to -go through a course of physic. Altogether I got out of heart with my -work and determined to get away. I went to Pisa for the month of July, -and except for visits from Pigou I was quite alone. There I undid all I -had done before, and finding that to do the thing well I should need -more time than I could possibly give, I determined to make some small -sketches which, prettily finished, might attract attention and show that -I was in some sort capable. Finally, I made some sketches and sent them -with an explanation to Lady Burghersh and a request to forward them to -the proper quarter."</p> - -<p class="space-above">The difficulties he had encountered over these drawings so disgusted him -with architecture that he seems to have even proposed to his father to -throw it up and become a painter, as that, he thought, was the -profession for which he was best suited. But Mr. Cockerell, who was a -steady business man, had no notion of his son becoming what he would -have considered a bohemian, and refused to sanction any such change.</p> - -<p>The only thing to do, then, was to continue his studies. The Wellington -Palace drawings had at any rate weaned him of any idea that pure Greek -architecture was applicable to modern architectural designing, and he -had little knowledge of any other. He started<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> for a tour of the north -of Italy. His letters contain few criticisms. Palladio, probably as -being most akin to what he had hitherto studied, pleased him more than -any other architect. In Venice he fell in with Stackelberg, who had been -home to Russia while his travels in Greece were still fresh enough to -claim attention, and had been received with every sort of distinction. -He was now on his way back to Rome to settle there and bring out the -various books he subsequently published.</p> - -<p>The two joined forces, and having run through all the principal towns, -returned southwards to Florence.</p> - -<p>Shortly after, in company with Lord and Lady Dillon, he went to Rome. He -was now a recognised lion, everywhere fêted and made much of. Bartholdy -writes of him: "Cockerell est gâté par les femmes." Nevertheless he -worked hard. Amongst other things he finished the drawing of the Forum -Romanum, the engraving of which is well known. The Duchess of Devonshire -wished to insert a reduction of it in her "Virgil," and writes to thank -him for "the beautiful drawing you <i>was</i> so good as to do for me."</p> - -<p>He had left also in Rome the bulk of his, and Haller's, drawings for the -intended book on Greek architecture. These he picked up, and having seen -all the architecture Italy had to show him, he started in March for -England. In Paris he remained some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> little time. A letter from his -father during his stay there is worth transcribing in part.</p> - -<p class="space-above">"I send a few hints as to what you should observe in Paris; not things -of that high order to which you have so long been used, but yet -important to study in order to supply the luxurious indulgence so much -coveted by the great here, by whom a complete knowledge of them in their -professors of architecture is expected.</p> - -<p>You have raised a name here so high that everything in perfection will -be expected of you; at least in all that relates to taste in the arts, -and in all the subordinate degrees of contrivances, as well as in -decoration. The last is that which affords the most extensive -employment, and you will be surprised to find more importance attached -to the decorations of a salon than to the building of a temple. If, -therefore, you can bend to the consideration of what is called the -'fittings up' of the interior of the best hotels and palaces of Paris, -the graces of their <i>meubles</i>, and the harmony of their colours in -hangings, painting, and gilding, you may be the general arbiter of taste -here; and as there are very few persons who are real judges of -compositions even classical, much less sublime, and there must be few -opportunities of exercising those parts of your studies here, it will be -really useful if you allow yourself to look at those minor objects at -Paris which in truth they judge well of.</p> - -<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p><p>Percier<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> is the first architect in Paris; he will tell you what is -worth seeing. Dismalter & Jacob are the first decorators in furniture -&c., 57 Rue Meslée.</p> - -<p>Your friends Lord Burghersh and Lord Dillon proclaim your name without -ceasing, and much is expected of you. The Duke of Gloucester has -commanded me to introduce you to his acquaintance. You have been spoken -of at Carlton House, where I have reason to think there is great -likelihood of your being noticed advantageously; but you must not be -disappointed to find very common things occupying the minds of a large -majority of a nation of <i>boutiquiers</i>, and we must take the world as we -find it, believing always that good sense, refined judgment, and true -taste will ultimately prevail.</p> - -<p>Do not imagine that I am thinking of money as the only thing worth your -attention. I consider that as the last object. The first, a higher order -of taste and information, you possess amply. The second is to learn to -suit in some measure the times we live in and the objects which occupy -the multitude, and it is worth attending to. The third and last is the -profit which follows; but that must come of itself, and is not worth -pursuing.</p> - -<p>You will think me lecturing to the last, but I really<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> mean no more than -to express my hope that you will not despise trifles, if elegant, -finding yourself for the moment amongst a nation of triflers, because -they have long been considered and imitated by ourselves and the rest of -Europe as accomplished in matters of ornament, though not in subjects of -use.</p> - -<p>Your family are now on tiptoe for your arrival, and daily drink their -affectionate good wishes to the homeward bound. None is behind another -in their impatience; for myself, it is always present to me. -Nevertheless, I am not selfish enough to wish you to leave unseen, for -the sake of a few days more, anything which you ought to be acquainted -with."</p> - -<p class="space-above">My father arrived in London on the 17th of June, 1817, having left it on -the 10th of April, 1810. Besides his own, he had brought with him all -Haller's drawings for the intended book which was to be the complete and -final authority on Greek architecture and the grand result of his seven -years of travel. Haller was to come to England to see it through the -press. Had it appeared at once it would have been most <i>à propos</i>. Greek -architecture was all the fashion. Unhappily, the intention was thwarted -by the sudden death of Haller, which took place at Ambelakia, in the -Vale of Tempe, of a congestion of the lungs, caught while making -excavations in the month of September 1818. The loss of this valuable -help disheartened my father, who had no taste for the work. He was -already busy in other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> ways, and the task which should have had his -first attention gradually sank into the background. One by one those who -had taken part in the discoveries died: Stackelberg in 1836, Linckh and -Foster not many years after. But the book remained a load on my father's -conscience all his life, and it was not till 1859, more than forty years -later, that it saw the light. The interest in the events and actors had -died down, and the novelties had become common property. His unfortunate -dislike for writing lost him much of the credit he might have reaped, -while others profited by his experience. His collection of inscriptions -was picked over by Walpole; Hughes fills out his pages with his letters; -Bronstedt uses his drawings. It is Stackelberg who relates how he -discovered the bas-reliefs at Phigaleia; Beaufort anticipates anything -he might have had to tell of Karamania; Wordsworth plundered his -portfolio; and in the absence of any consecutive account of his own, it -has been often only by the help of the writings of others that it has -been possible for me to piece together his disjointed and often undated diaries.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> See <a href="#frontis.jpg">frontispiece</a>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Charles Percier (1764-1838), originator of the so-called -"Empire" style in furniture, architect of the Arc de Triomphe du -Carrousel, and of parts of the Louvre and of the Tuileries.</p></div></div> - -<p class="center space-above">PRINTED BY<br />SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 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