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diff --git a/37889-h/37889-h.htm b/37889-h/37889-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..abf2937 --- /dev/null +++ b/37889-h/37889-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9576 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, + Russia, and Poland Vol. I, by John Lloyd Stephens. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body {margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%;} + +h1,h2,h3 {text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both;} +p.title { text-align:center; text-indent:0; +font-weight:bold; font-variant:small-caps;line-height:2; margin-bottom:3em; } + +p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em; +text-indent: 1em;} +.noi {text-indent: 0;} +.tnote{max-width: 90%; border: 1px dashed #808080; + background-color: #fafafa;text-align: justify; + padding: 0 0.75em;margin: 120px auto 120px auto;} + +hr.full {width: 100%; margin-top: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 2.5em; margin-left: auto; +margin-right: auto; clear: both; visibility: hidden; } +hr.l5 {width: 55%; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 3em;} +hr.l65 {width: 65%; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 4em;} +table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ +/* visibility: hidden; */ /* define the position */ +position: absolute; right: 3%; margin-right: 0em; +text-align: right; /* remove any special formating that could be inherited */ +font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; +letter-spacing: 0em; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0em; +font-size: x-small; /* never wrap this */ white-space: nowrap;} +.pagenum span { /* do not show text that is meant for non-css version*/ +visibility: hidden;} +.pagenum a { display: inline-block; color: #808080; border: 1px solid silver; +padding: 1px 4px 1px 4px;} + +.blockquot { margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 100%;} +.chapblock {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} +div.chapblock >p {text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;} +.blockquotin {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 90%;} +div.blockquot > p {text-indent: -1em; margin-left: 1em;} +.letter {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; text-indent: 1em;} +.center {text-align: center;} +.right {text-align: right;} +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} +.caption {font-weight: normal; text-align: center;} +.small {font-size:60%;} +.smallb {font-size: 80%;} +.big {font-size:140%; } +.figcenter {margin-left: 3%; margin-right: 3%; text-align: center;} +.err {border-bottom: thin dotted red;} +.salutation {margin-top: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; +text-align: left; page-break-inside: avoid; +page-break-after: avoid;text-indent: 1.5em;} + +.footnotes {border: none;} +.footnote {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; font-size: 0.9em;} +.footnote .label {position: relative; bottom: 0.4em; + vertical-align: baseline; font-size: 80%; text-decoration: none;} +.fnanchor {vertical-align: baseline; + position: relative; bottom: 0.4em; font-size: 80%; text-decoration: none;} +.poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} +.poem br {display: none;} +.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} +.poem span.i0 {display: block;margin-left: 0em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1.5em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} +.poem span.i3 {display: block; margin-left: 3em; + padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + +@media handheld { + +body {margin-left: 1.5%; margin-right: 1.5%; +margin-top: 1%; margin-bottom: 1%;} + +p { margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em; +text-align: justify; text-indent: 2em; } + +.poem {margin-left:3%; margin-right:3%; text-align: left; } +.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 1.5em; + text-indent: -1.5em; } + +} /* end media handheld */ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, +Russia, and Poland, Vol. I (of 2), by John Lloyd Stephens + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 + + +Title: Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, Vol. I (of 2) + +Author: John Lloyd Stephens + +Release Date: October 30, 2011 [EBook #37889] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL, VOL 1 OF 2 *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Eleni Christofaki and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class='tnote'> +<h3>Transcriber's notes:</h3> + +<p>Punctuation and hyphenation have been normalised. Variable, archaic or +unusual spelling has been retained. A list of the few corrections made can found at the end of the book. +In the text, corrections are indicated with red dotted underlining; +hover the mouse over the <span class="err" title="like this">underlined text</span> to see a Transcriber's Note.</p></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/full_map.jpg" width="80%" alt="map" title="map" /> +</div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h1>INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL <br /><br /> + +<span class="small">IN</span><br /><br /> + +GREECE, TURKEY, RUSSIA,<br /><br /> + +<span class="small">AND</span><br /><br /> + +POLAND.</h1> + +<h2>BY THE AUTHOR OF<br /> + +"INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL IN EGYPT, ARABIA PETRÆA, AND THE +HOLY LAND."</h2> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<p class="center"><span class="smallb">WITH A MAP AND ENGRAVINGS.</span></p> +<p><br /><br /></p> +<p class="center"><span class="smallb">IN TWO VOLUMES.</span></p> +<p><br /></p> +<p class="center">VOL. I.</p> + +<p class="center">SEVENTH EDITION.</p> +<p><br /></p> +<p class="center">NEW YORK:</p> + +<p class="center">HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS.</p> + +<p class="center">329 & 331 PEARL STREET,</p> + +<p class="center">FRANKLIN SQUARE.</p> + +<p class="center">1853.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> + +<p class="center"> +Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by<br /> +<span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers,</span><br /> +in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="PREFACE_TO_THE_FIFTH_EDITION" id="PREFACE_TO_THE_FIFTH_EDITION"></a>PREFACE +TO +THE FIFTH EDITION.</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> fourth edition of this work was published during +the author's absence from the city. His publishers, in +a preface in his behalf, returned his acknowledgments +to the public, and he can but respond to the acknowledgments +there made. He has made some alterations +in the page relating to the American phil-Hellenists; +and for the rest, he concludes as in the preface to his +first edition.</p> + +<p>The author has been induced by his publishers to +put forth his "Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, +Russia, and Poland." In point of time they precede +his tour in Egypt, Arabia <span class="err" title="original: Petræ">Petræa</span>, and the Holy Land. +The countries which form the subject of the following +pages perhaps do not, in themselves, possess the same +interest with those in his first work; but the author has +reason to believe that part of his route, particularly from +the Black Sea to the Baltic, through the interior of +Russia, and from St. Petersburgh through the interior +of Poland to Warsaw and Cracow, is comparatively +new to most of his countrymen. As in his first <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">iv</a></span>work, +his object has been to present a picture of the every-day +scenes which occur to the traveller in the countries +referred to, rather than any detailed description of the +countries themselves.</p> + +<p> +<i>New York, November, 1838.</i></p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2>CONTENTS<br /> + +<span class="small">OF</span><br /> + +THE FIRST VOLUME</h2> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></p> +<p class="right">Page</p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>A Hurricane.—An Adventure.—Missilonghi.—Siege of Missilonghi.—Byron.—Marco +Bozzaris.—Visit to the Widow, Daughters, and Brother of +Bozzaris.—Halleck's "Marco Bozzaris."</p></div><p class="right">13</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Choice of a Servant.—A Turnout.—An Evening Chat.—Scenery of the +Road.—Lepanto.—A projected Visit.—Change of Purpose.—Padras.—Vostitza.—Variety +and Magnificence of Scenery.</p></div> +<p class="right">28</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Quarrel with the Landlord.—Ægina.—Sicyon.—Corinth.—A distinguished +Reception.—Desolation of Corinth.—The Acropolis.—View from the +Acropolis.—Lechæum and Cenchreæ.—Kaka Scala.—Arrival at Athens.</p></div> +<p class="right">46</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>American Missionary School.—Visit to the School.—Mr. Hill and the +Male Department.—Mrs. Hill and the Female Department.—Maid of +Athens.—Letter from Mr. Hill.—Revival of Athena.—Citizens of the +World.</p></div> +<p class="right">61</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Ruins of Athens.—Hill of Mars.—Temple of the Winds.—Lantern of +Demosthenes.—Arch of Adrian.—Temple of Jupiter Olympus.—Temple +of Theseus.—The Acropolis.—The Parthenon.—Pentelican Mountain.—Mount +Hymettus.—The Piræus.—Greek Fleas.—Napoli. </p></div> +<p class="right">73</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">x</a></span><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Argos.—Parting and Farewell.—Tomb of Agamemnon.—Mycenæ.—Gate +of the Lions.—A Misfortune.—Meeting in the Mountains.—A Landlord's +Troubles.—A Midnight Quarrel.—One good Turn deserves another.—Gratitude +of a Greek Family.—Megara.—The Soldiers' Revel.</p></div> +<p class="right">99</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>A Dreary Funeral.—Marathon.—Mount Pentelicus.—A Mystery.—Woes +of a Lover.—Reveries of Glory.—Scio's Rocky Isle.—A blood-stained +Page of History.—A Greek Prelate.—Desolation.—The Exile's Return.</p></div> +<p class="right">118</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>A Noble Grecian Lady.—Beauty of Scio.—An Original.—Foggi.—A Turkish +Coffee-house.—Mussulman at Prayers.—Easter Sunday.—A Greek +Priest.—A Tartar Guide.—Turkish Ladies.—Camel Scenes.—Sight of a +Harem.—Disappointed Hopes.—A rare Concert.—Arrival at Smyrna.</p></div> +<p class="right">149</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>First Sight of Smyrna.—Unveiled Women.—Ruins of Ephesus.—Ruin, all +Ruin.—Temple of Diana.—Encounter with a Wolf.—Love at first Sight.—Gatherings +on the Road.</p></div><p class="right">173</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Position of Smyrna.—Consular Privileges.—The Case of the Lover.—End +of the Love Affair.—The Missionary's Wife.—The Casino.—Only +a Greek Row.—Rambles in Smyrna.—The Armenians.—Domestic Enjoyments.</p></div> +<p class="right">188</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>An American Original.—Moral Changes in Turkey.—Wonders of Steam +Navigation.—The March of Mind.—Classic Localities.—Sestos and Abydos.—Seeds +of Pestilence.</p></div><p class="right">203</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Mr. Churchill.—Commodore Porter.—Castle of the Seven Towers.—The +Sultan's Naval Architect.—Launch of the Great Ship.—Sultan Mahmoud.—Jubilate.—A +National Grievance.—Visit to a Mosque.—The +Burial-grounds.</p></div><p class="right">218</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">xi</a></span><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>Visit to the Slave-market.—Horrors of Slavery.—Departure from Stamboul.—The +stormy Euxine.—Odessa.—The Lazaretto.—Russian Civility.—Returning +Good for Evil.</p></div> <p class="right">236</p> + +<p class="center"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></p> +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>The Guardiano.—One too many.—An Excess of Kindness.—The last Day +of Quarantine.—Mr. Baguet.—Rise of Odessa.—City-making.—Count +Woronzow.—A Gentleman Farmer.—An American Russian.</p></div> +<p class="right">258</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<p class="title">INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL<br /><br /> + +<span class="small">IN</span><br /><br /> + +<span class="big">GREECE, TURKEY, RUSSIA, AND POLAND.</span></p> + +<hr class="full" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>A Hurricane.—An Adventure.—Missilonghi.—Siege of Missilonghi.—Byron.—Marco +Bozzaris.—Visit to the Widow, Daughters, and Brother of +Bozzaris.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">On</span> the evening of the —— February, 1835, by a bright +starlight, after a short ramble among the Ionian Islands, +I sailed from Zante in a beautiful cutter of about forty +tons for Padras. My companions were Doctor W., an +old and valued friend from New-York, who was going +to Greece merely to visit the Episcopal missionary +school at Athens, and a young Scotchman, who had +travelled with me through Italy, and was going farther, +like myself, he knew not exactly why. There was +hardly a breath of air when we left the harbour, but a +breath was enough to fill our little sail. The wind, +though of the gentlest, was fair; and as we crawled +from under the lee of the island, in a short time it became +a fine sailing breeze. We sat on the deck till a late +hour, and turned in with every prospect of being at +Padras in the morning. Before daylight, however, the +wind chopped about, and set in dead ahead, and when I +went on deck in the morning it was blowing a hurricane. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span>We had passed the point of Padras; the wind was +driving down the Gulf of Corinth as if old Æolus had +determined on thwarting our purpose; and our little +cutter, dancing like a gull upon the angry waters, was +driven into the harbour of Missilonghi.</p> + +<p>The town was full in sight, but at such a distance, and +the waves were running so high, that we <span class="err" title="original: coud">could</span> not reach +it with our small boat. A long flat extends several +miles into the sea, making the harbour completely inaccessible +except to small Greek caiques built expressly +for such navigation. We remained on board all day; +and the next morning, the gale still continuing, made signals +to a fishing boat to come off and take us ashore. +In a short time she came alongside; we bade farewell +to our captain—an Italian and a noble fellow, cradled, +and, as he said, born to die on the Adriatic—and in a few +minutes struck the soil of fallen but immortal Greece.</p> + +<p>Our manner of striking it, however, was not such as +to call forth any of the warm emotions struggling in the +breast of the scholar, for we were literally stuck in the +mud. We were yet four or five miles from the shore, +and the water was so low that the fishing-boat, with the +additional weight of four men and luggage, could not +swim clear. Our boatmen were two long, sinewy +Greeks, with the red tarbouch, embroidered jacket, +sash, and large trousers, and with their long poles set us +through the water with prodigious force; but, as soon +as the boat struck, they jumped out, and, putting their +brawny shoulders under her sides, heaved her through +into better water, and then resumed their poles. In this +way they propelled her two or three miles, working alternately +with their poles and shoulders, until they got +her into a channel, when they hoisted the sail, laid directly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span>for the harbour, and drove upon the beach with +canvass all flying.</p> + +<p>During the late Greek revolution, Missilonghi was +the great debarking-place of European adventurers; +and, probably, among all the desperadoes who ever landed +there, none were more destitute and in better condition +to "go ahead" than I; for I had all that I was +worth on my back. At one of the Ionian Islands I +had lost my carpet-bag, containing my notebook and every +article of wearing apparel except the suit in which +I stood. Every condition, however, has its advantages; +mine put me above porters and custom-house officers; +and while my companions were busy with these +plagues of travellers, I paced with great satisfaction the +shore of Greece, though I am obliged to confess that +this satisfaction was for reasons utterly disconnected +with any recollections of her ancient glories. Business +before pleasure: one of our first inquiries was for a +breakfast. Perhaps, if we had seen a monument, or +solitary column, or ruin of any kind, it would have inspired +us to better things; but there was nothing, absolutely +nothing, that could recall an image of the past. +Besides, we did not expect to land at Missilonghi, and +were not bound to be inspired at a place into which we +were thrown by accident; and, more than all, a drizzling +rain was penetrating to our very bones; we were +wet and cold, and what can men do in the way of sentiment +when their teeth are chattering?</p> + +<p>The town stands upon a flat, marshy plain, which extends +several miles along the shore. The whole was +a mass of new-made ruins—of houses demolished and +black with smoke—the tokens of savage and desolating +war. In front, and running directly along the shore, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span>was a long street of miserable one-story shantees, run +up since the destruction of the old town, and so near +the shore that sometimes it is washed by the sea, and +at the time of our landing it was wet and muddy from +the rain. It was a cheerless place, and reminded me +of Communipaw in bad weather. It had no connexion +with the ancient glory of Greece, no name or place on +her historic page, and no hotel where we could get a +breakfast; but one of the officers of the customs conducted +us to a shantee filled with Bavarian soldiers +drinking. There was a sort of second story, accessible +only by a ladder; and one end of this was partitioned +off with boards, but had neither bench, table, nor any +other article of housekeeping. We had been on and +almost <i>in</i> the water since daylight, exposed to a keen +wind and drizzling rain, and now, at eleven o'clock, +could probably have eaten several chickens apiece; but +nothing came amiss, and, as we could not get chickens, +we took eggs, which, for lack of any vessel to boil them +in, were roasted. We placed a huge loaf of bread on +the middle of the floor, and seated ourselves around it, +spreading out so as to keep the eggs from rolling away, +and each hewing off bread for himself. Fortunately, +the Greeks have learned from their quondam Turkish +masters the art of making coffee, and a cup of this Eastern +cordial kept our dry bread from choking us.</p> + +<p>When we came out again the aspect of matters was +more cheerful; the long street was swarming with +Greeks, many of them armed with pistols and yataghan, +but miserably poor in appearance, and in such numbers +that not half of them could find the shelter of a roof at +night. We were accosted by one dressed in a hat and +frockcoat, and who, in occasional visits to Corfu and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span>Trieste, had picked up some Italian and French, and +a suit of European clothes, and was rather looked up +to by his untravelled countrymen. As a man of the +world, who had received civilities abroad, he seemed +to consider it incumbent upon him to reciprocate at +home, and, with the tacit consent of all around, he undertook +to do the honours of Missilonghi.</p> + +<p>If, as a Greek, he had any national pride about him, +he was imposing upon himself a severe task; for all +that he could do was to conduct us among ruins, and, +as he went along, tell us the story of the bloody siege +which had reduced the place to its present woful state. +For more than a year, under unparalleled hardships, its +brave garrison resisted the combined strength of the +Turkish and Egyptian armies, and, when all hope was +gone, resolved to cut their way through the enemy or +die in the attempt. Many of the aged and sick, the +wounded and the women, refused to join in the sortie, +and preferred to shut themselves up in an old mill, with +the desperate purpose of resisting until they should bring +around them a large crowd of Turks, when they would +blow all up together. An old invalid soldier seated +himself in a mine under the Bastion Bozzaris (the ruins +of which we saw), the mine being charged with thirty +kegs of gunpowder; the last sacrament was administered +by the bishop and priests to the whole population +and, at a signal, the besieged made their desperate +sortie. One body dashed through the Turkish ranks, +and, with many women and children, gained the mountains; +but the rest were driven back. Many of the women +ran to the sea and plunged in with their children; +husbands stabbed their wives with their own hands to +save them from the Turks, and the old soldier under +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span>the bastion set fire to the train, and the remnant of the +heroic garrison buried themselves under the ruins of +Missilonghi.</p> + +<p>Among them were thirteen foreigners, of whom only +one escaped. One of the most distinguished was Meyer, +a young Swiss, who entered as a volunteer at the +beginning of the revolution, became attached to a beautiful +Missilonghiote girl, married her, and, when the final +sortie was made, his wife being sick, he remained with +her, and was blown up with the others. A letter +written a few days before his death, and brought away +by one who escaped in the sortie, records the condition +of the garrison.</p> + +<p>"A wound which I have received in my shoulder, +while I am in daily expectation of one which will be +my passport to eternity, has prevented me till now from +bidding you a last adieu. We are reduced to feed upon +the most disgusting animals. We are suffering horribly +with hunger and thirst. Sickness adds much to the +calamities which overwhelm us. Seventeen hundred +and forty of our brothers are dead; more than a hundred +thousand bombs and balls thrown by the enemy +have destroyed our bastions and our homes. We have +been terribly distressed by the cold, for we have suffered +great want of food. Notwithstanding so many privations, +it is a great and noble spectacle to behold the ardour +and devotedness of the garrison. A few days +more, and these brave men will be angelic spirits, who +will accuse before God the indifference of Christendom. +In the name of all our brave men, among whom are +Notho Bozzaris, *** I announce to you the resolution +sworn to before Heaven, to defend, foot by foot, the +land of Missilonghi, and to bury ourselves, without listening +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span>to any capitulation, under the ruins of this city. +We are drawing near our final hour. History will render +us justice. I am proud to think that the blood of +a Swiss, of a child of William Tell, is about to mingle +with that of the heroes of Greece."</p> + +<p>But Missilonghi is a subject of still greater interest +than this, for the reader will remember it as the place +where Byron died. Almost the first questions I asked +were about the poet, and it added to the dreary interest +which the place inspired, to listen to the manner in which +the Greeks spoke of him. It might be thought that +here, on the spot where he breathed his last, malignity +would have held her accursed tongue; but it was not +so. He had committed the fault, unpardonable in the +eyes of political opponents, of attaching himself to one +of the great parties that then divided Greece; and +though he had given her all that man could give, in his +own dying words, "his time, his means, his health, and, +lastly, his life," the Greeks spoke of him with all the +rancour and bitterness of party spirit. Even death had +not won oblivion for his political offences; and I heard +those who saw him die in her cause affirm that Byron +was no friend to Greece.</p> + +<p>His body, the reader will remember, was transported +to England and interred in the family sepulchre. The +church where it lay in state is a heap of ruins, and +there is no stone or monument recording his death, +but, wishing to see some memorial connected with his +residence here, we followed our guide to the house in +which he died. It was a large square building of stone, +one of the walls still standing, black with smoke, the +rest a confused and shapeless mass of ruins. After +his death it was converted into a hospital and magazine; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span>and, when the Turks entered the city, they set fire to +the powder; the sick and dying were blown into the +air, and we saw the ruins lying as they fell after the +explosion. It was a melancholy spectacle, but it seemed +to have a sort of moral fitness with the life and fortunes +of the poet. It was as if the same wild destiny, the +same wreck of hopes and fortunes that attended him +through life, were hovering over his grave. Living and +dead, his actions and his character have been the subject +of obloquy and reproach, perhaps justly; but it would +have softened the heart of his bitterest enemy to see the +place in which he died.</p> + +<p>It was in this house that, on his last birthday, he +came from his bedroom and produced to his friends +the last notes of his dying muse, breathing a spirit of +sad foreboding and melancholy recollections; of devotion +to the noble cause in which he had embarked, and +a prophetic consciousness of his approaching end.</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"My days are in the yellow leaf,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The flowers and fruits of love are gone;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The worm, the canker, and the grief<br /></span> +<span class="i3">Are mine alone.<br /></span> +</div></div> +<hr class="l5" /> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"If thou regret'st thy youth, <i>why live?</i><br /></span> +<span class="i2">The land of honourable death<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is here: up to the field, and give<br /></span> +<span class="i3">Away thy breath!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Seek out—less often sought than found—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A soldier's grave, for thee the best;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then look around, and choose thy ground,<br /></span> +<span class="i3">And take thy rest."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Moving on beyond the range of ruined houses, though +still within the line of crumbling walls, we came to a +spot perhaps as interesting as any that Greece in her +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>best days could show. It was the tomb of Marco Bozzaris! +No monumental marble emblazoned his deeds +and fame; a few round stones piled over his head, +which, but for our guide, we should have passed without +noticing, were all that marked his grave. I would +not disturb a proper reverence for the past; time covers +with its dim and twilight glories both distant scenes and +the men who acted in them, but, to my mind, Miltiades +was not more of a hero at Marathon or Leonidas +at Thermopylæ than Marco Bozzaris at Missilonghi. +When they went out against the hosts of Persia, Athens +and Sparta were great and free, and they had the prospect +of <i>glory</i> and the praise of men, to the Greeks always +dearer than life. But when the Suliote chief +drew his sword, his country lay bleeding at the feet +of a giant, and all Europe condemned the Greek revolution +as foolhardy and desperate. For two months, with +but a few hundred men, protected only by a ditch and +slight parapet of earth, he defended the town where his +body now rests against the whole Egyptian army. In +stormy weather, living upon bad and unwholesome bread, +with no covering but his cloak, he passed his days and +nights in constant vigil; in every assault his sword cut +down the foremost assailant, and his voice, rising above +the din of battle, struck terror into the hearts of the +enemy. In the struggle which ended with his life, with +two thousand men he proposed to attack the whole army +of Mustapha Pacha, and called upon all who were willing +to die for their country to stand forward. The whole +band advanced to a man. Unwilling to sacrifice so +many brave men in a death-struggle, he chose three +hundred, the sacred number of the Spartan band, his +tried and trusty Suliotes. At midnight he placed himself +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span>at their head, directing that not a shot should be fired +till he sounded his bugle; and his last command was, +"If you lose sight of me, seek me in the pacha's tent." +In the moment of victory he ordered the pacha to be +seized, and received a ball in the loins; his voice still +rose above the din of battle, cheering his men until he +was struck by another ball in the head, and borne dead +from the field of his glory.</p> + +<p>Not far from the grave of Bozzaris was a pyramid +of sculls, of men who had fallen in the last attack upon +the city, piled up near the blackened and battered wall +which they had died in defending. In my after wanderings +I learned to look more carelessly upon these +things; and, perhaps, noticing everywhere the light estimation +put upon human life in the East, learned to think +more lightly of it myself; but, then, it was melancholy +to see bleaching in the sun, under the eyes of their +countrymen, the unburied bones of men who, but a little +while ago, stood with swords in their hands, and animated +by the noble resolution to free their country or die +in the attempt. Our guide told us that they had all been +collected in that place with a view to sepulture; and +that King Otho, as soon as he became of age and took +the government in his own hands, intended to erect a +monument over them. In the mean time, they are at +the mercy of every passing traveller; and the only remark +that our guide made was a comment upon the force +and unerring precision of the blow of the Turkish sabre, +almost every scull being laid open on the side nearly +down to the ear.</p> + +<p>But the most interesting part of our day at Missilonghi +was to come. Returning from a ramble round the +walls, we noticed a large square house, which, our +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span>guide told us, was the residence of Constantine, the +brother of Marco Bozzaris. We were all interested in +this intelligence, and our interest was in no small degree +increased when he added that the widow and two of +the children of the Suliote chief were living with his +brother. The house was surrounded by a high stone +wall, a large gate stood most invitingly wide open, and +we turned toward it in the hope of catching a glimpse +of the inhabitants; but, before we reached the gate, +our interest had increased to such a point that, after +consulting with our guide, we requested him to say that, +if it would not be considered an intrusion, three travellers, +two of them Americans, would feel honoured in +being permitted to pay their respects to the widow and +children of Marco Bozzaris.</p> + +<p>We were invited in, and shown into a large room on +the right, where three Greeks were sitting cross-legged +on a divan, smoking the long Turkish chibouk. Soon +after the brother entered, a man about fifty, of middling +height, spare built, and wearing a Bavarian uniform, as +holding a colonel's commission in the service of King +Otho. In the dress of the dashing Suliote he would +have better looked the brother of Marco Bozzaris, and +I might then more easily have recognised the daring +warrior who, on the field of battle, in a moment of extremity, +was deemed, by universal acclamation, worthy +of succeeding the fallen hero. Now the straight military +frockcoat, buttoned tight across the breast, the stock, +tight pantaloons, boots, and straps, seemed to repress +the free energies of the mountain warrior; and I could +not but think how awkward it must be for one who had +spent all his life in a dress which hardly touched him, at +fifty to put on a stock, and straps to his boots. Our +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span>guide introduced us, with an apology for our intrusion. +The colonel received us with great kindness, thanked +us for the honour done his brother's widow, and, requesting +us to be seated, ordered coffee and pipes.</p> + +<p>And here, on the very first day of our arrival in +Greece, and from a source which made us proud, we +had the first evidence of what afterward met me at +every step, the warm feeling existing in Greece toward +America; for almost the first thing that the brother of +Marco Bozzaris said was to express his gratitude as a +Greek for the services rendered his country by our +own; and, after referring to the provisions sent out for +his famishing countrymen, his eyes sparkled and his +cheek flushed as he told us that, when the Greek revolutionary +flag first sailed into the port of Napoli di Romania, +among hundreds of vessels of all nations, an +American captain was the first to recognise and salute it.</p> + +<p>In a few moments the widow of Marco Bozzaris +entered. I have often been disappointed in my preconceived +notions of personal appearance, but it was not so +with the lady who now stood before me; she looked the +widow of a hero; as one worthy of her Grecian mothers, +who gave their hair for bowstrings, their girdle for +a sword-belt, and, while their heartstrings were cracking, +sent their young lovers from their arms to fight +and perish for their country. Perhaps it was she that +led Marco Bozzaris into the path of immortality; that +roused him from the wild guerilla warfare in which he +had passed his early life, and fired him with the high +and holy ambition of freeing his country. Of one +thing I am certain, no man could look in her face without +finding his wavering purposes fixed, without treading +more firmly in the path of high and honourable enterprise. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span>She was under forty, tall and stately in person +and habited in deep black, fit emblem of her widowed +condition, with a white handkerchief laid flat over her +head, giving the Madonna cast to her dark eyes and +marble complexion. We all rose as she entered the +room; and though living secluded, and seldom seeing +the face of a stranger, she received our compliments and +returned them with far less embarrassment than we +both felt and exhibited.</p> + +<p>But our embarrassment, at least I speak for myself, +was induced by an unexpected circumstance. Much +as I was interested in her appearance, I was not insensible +to the fact that she was accompanied by two young +and beautiful girls, who were introduced to us as her +daughters. This somewhat bewildered me. While +waiting for their appearance, and talking with Constantine +Bozzaris, I had in some way conceived the idea +that the daughters were mere children, and had fully +made up my mind to take them both on my knee and +kiss them; but the appearance of the stately mother +recalled me to the grave of Bozzaris; and the daughters +would probably have thought that I was taking liberties +upon so short an acquaintance if I had followed up my +benevolent purpose in regard to them; so that, with +the long pipe in my hand, which, at that time, I did not +know how to manage well, I cannot flatter myself that +I exhibited any of the benefit of Continental travel.</p> + +<p>The elder was about sixteen, and even in the opinion +of my friend Doctor W., a cool judge in these matters, +a beautiful girl, possessing in its fullest extent +all the elements of Grecian beauty: a dark, clear complexion, +dark hair, set off by a little red cap embroidered +with gold thread, and a long blue tassel hanging down +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span>behind, and large black eyes, expressing a melancholy +quiet, but which might be excited to shoot forth glances +of fire more terrible than her father's sword. Happily, +too, for us, she talked French, having learned it from +a French marquis who had served in Greece and been +domesticated with them; but young and modest, and +unused to the company of strangers, she felt the embarrassment +common to young ladies when attempting to +speak a foreign language. And we could not talk to +her on common themes. Our lips were sealed, of +course, upon the subject which had brought us to her +house. We could not sound for her the praises of her +gallant father. At parting, however, I told them that +the name of Marco Bozzaris was as familiar in America +as that of a hero of our own revolution, and that it +had been hallowed by the inspiration of an American +poet; and I added that, if it would not be unacceptable, +on my return to my native country I would send the +tribute referred to, as an evidence of the feeling existing +in America toward the memory of Marco Bozzaris. +My offer was gratefully accepted; and afterward, while +in the act of mounting my horse to leave Missilonghi, +our guide, who had remained behind, came to me with +a message from the widow and daughters reminding me +of my promise.</p> + +<p>I do not see that there is any objection to my mentioning +that I wrote to a friend, requesting him to procure +Halleck's "Marco Bozzaris," and send it to my +banker at Paris. My friend, thinking to enhance its +value, applied to Mr. Halleck for a copy in his own +handwriting. Mr. Halleck, with his characteristic modesty, +evaded the application; and on my return home I +told him the story of my visit, and reiterated the same +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span>request. He evaded me as he had done my friend, but +promised me a copy of the new edition of his poems, +which he afterward gave me, and which, I hope, is +now in the hands of the widow and daughters of the +Grecian hero.</p> + +<p>I make no apology for introducing in a book the +widow and daughters of Marco Bozzaris. True, I was +received by them in private, without any expectation, +either on their part or mine, that all the particulars of +the interview would be noted and laid before the eyes of +all who choose to read. I hope it will not be considered +invading the sanctity of private life; but, at all events, +I make no apology; the widow and children of Marco +Bozzaris are the property of the world.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Choice of a Servant.—A Turnout.—An Evening Chat.—Scenery of the +Road.—Lepanto.—A projected Visit.—Change of Purpose.—Padras.—Vostitza.—Variety +and Magnificence of Scenery.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Barren</span> as our prospect was on landing, our first day +in Greece had already been full of interest. Supposing +that we should not find anything to engage us +long, before setting out on our ramble we had directed +our servant to procure horses, and when we returned +we found all ready for our departure.</p> + +<p>One word with regard to this same servant. We had +taken him at Corfu, much against my inclination. We +had a choice between two, one a full-blooded Greek +in fustinellas, who in five minutes established himself +in my good graces, so that nothing but the democratic +principle of submitting to the will of the majority could +make me give him up. He held at that time a very +good office in the police at Corfu, but the eagerness +which he showed to get out of regular business and go +roving warmed me to him irresistibly. He seemed to +be distracted between two opposing feelings; one the +strong bent of his natural vagabond disposition to be +rambling, and the other a sort of tugging at his heartstrings +by wife and children, to keep him in a place +where he had a regular assured living, instead of trusting +to the precarious business of guiding travellers. +He had a boldness and confidence that won me; and +when he drew on the sand with his yataghan a map of +Greece, and told us the route he would take us, zigzag +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span>across the Gulf of Corinth to Delphi and the top of +Parnassus, I wondered that my companions could resist +him.</p> + +<p>Our alternative was an Italian from somewhere on +the coast of the Adriatic, whom I looked upon with an +unfavourable eye, because he came between me and my +Greek; and on the morning of our departure I was earnestly +hoping that he had overslept himself, or got into +some scrape and been picked up by the guard; but, +most provokingly, he came in time, and with more baggage +than all of us had together. Indeed, he had so +much of his own, that, in obedience to Nature's first +law, he could not attend to ours, and in putting ashore +some British soldiers at Cephalonia he contrived to let +my carpet-bag go with their luggage. This did not +increase my amiable feeling toward him, and, perhaps, +assisted in making me look upon him throughout with a +jaundiced eye; in fact, before we had done with him, I +regarded him as a slouch, a knave, and a fool, and had +the questionable satisfaction of finding that my companions, +though they sustained him as long as they could, +had formed very much the same opinion.</p> + +<p>It was to him, then, that, on our return from our +visit to the widow and daughters of Marco Bozzaris, +we were indebted for a turnout that seemed to astonish +even the people of Missilonghi. The horses were +miserable little animals, hidden under enormous saddles +made of great clumps of wood over an old carpet or +towcloth, and covering the whole back from the shoulders +to the tail; the luggage was perched on the tops +of these saddles, and with desperate exertions and the +help of the citizens of Missilonghi we were perched +on the top of the luggage. The little animals had a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span>knowing look as they peered from under the superincumbent +mass, and, supported on either side by the by-standers +till we got a little steady in our seats, we put +forth from Missilonghi. The only gentleman of our +party was our servant, who followed on a European +saddle which he had brought for his own use, smoking +his pipe with great complacency, perfectly satisfied with +our appearance and with himself.</p> + +<p>It was four o'clock when we crossed the broken walls +of Missilonghi. For three hours our road lay over a +plain extending to the sea. I have no doubt, if my +Greek had been there, he would have given an interest +to the road by referring to scenes and incidents connected +with the siege of Missilonghi; but Demetrius—as +he now chose to call himself—knew nothing of +Greece, ancient or modern; he had no sympathy of +feeling with the Greeks; had never travelled on this +side of the Gulf of Corinth before; and so he lagged +behind and smoked his pipe.</p> + +<p>It was nearly dark when we reached the miserable +little village of Bokara. We had barely light enough +to look around for the best khan in which to pass the +night. Any of the wretched tenants would have been +glad to receive us for the little remuneration we might +leave with them in the morning. The khans were all +alike, one room, mud floor and walls, and we selected +one where the chickens had already gone to roost, and +prepared to measure off the dirt floor according to our +dimensions. Before we were arranged a Greek of a +better class, followed by half a dozen villagers, came +over, and, with many regrets for the wretched state of +the country, invited us to his house. Though dressed +in the Greek costume, it was evident that he had acquired +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span>his manners in a school beyond the bounds of his +miserable little village, in which his house now rose like +the Leaning Tower of Pisa, higher than everything else, +but rather rickety. In a few minutes we heard the +death notes of some chickens, and at about nine o'clock +sat down to a not unwelcome meal. Several Greeks +dropped in during the evening, and one, a particular +friend of our host's, supped with us. Both talked +French, and had that perfect ease of manner and savoir faire +which I always remarked with admiration in +all Greeks who had travelled. They talked much of +their travels; of time spent in Italy and Germany, and +particularly of a long residence at Bucharest. They +talked, too, of Greece; of her long and bitter servitude, +her revolution, and her independence; and from their +enthusiasm I could not but think that they had fought +and bled in her cause. I certainly was not lying in +wait to entrap them, but I afterward gathered from their +conversation that they had taken occasion to be on their +travels at the time when the bravest of their countrymen +were pouring out their blood like water to emancipate +their native land. A few years before I might have felt +indignation and contempt for men who had left their +country in her hour of utmost need, and returned to enjoy +the privileges purchased with other men's blood; but +I had already learned to take the world as I found it, and +listened quietly while our host told us that, confiding in +the permanency of the government secured by the three +great powers, England, France, and Russia, he had returned +to Greece, and taken a lease of a large tract of +land for fifty years, paying a thousand drachms, a +drachm being one sixth of a dollar, and one tenth of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>annual fruits, at the end of which time one half of the +land under cultivation was to belong to his heirs in fee.</p> + +<p>As our host could not conveniently accommodate us +all, M. and Demetrius returned to the khan at which we +had first stopped and where, to judge from the early +hour at which they came over to us the next morning, +they had not spent the night as well as we did. At +daylight we took our coffee, and again perched our luggage +on the backs of the horses, and ourselves on top +of the luggage. Our host wished us to remain with +him, and promised the next day to accompany us to Padras; +but this was not a sufficient inducement; and taking +leave of him, probably for ever, we started for Lepanto.</p> + +<p>We rode about an hour on the plain; the mountains +towered on our left, and the rich soil was broken into +rough sandy gullies running down to the sea. Our +guides had some apprehensions that we should not be +able to cross the torrents that were running down from +the mountain; and when we came to the first, and had +to walk up along the bank, looking out for a place +to ford, we fully participated in their apprehensions. +Bridges were a species of architecture entirely unknown +in that part of modern Greece; indeed, no +bridges could have stood against the mountain torrents. +There would have been some excitement in encountering +these rapid streams if we had been well mounted; +but, from the manner in which we were hitched on our +horses, we did not feel any great confidence in our seats. +Still nothing could be wilder or more picturesque than +our process in crossing them, except that it might have +added somewhat to the effect to see one of us floating +down stream, clinging to the tail of his horse. But we +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span>got over or through them all. A range of mountains +then formed on our right, cutting us off from the sea, +and we entered a valley lying between the two parallel +ranges. At first the road, which was exceedingly difficult +for a man or a sure-footed horse, lay along a +beautiful stream, and the whole of the valley extending +to the Gulf of Lepanto is one of the loveliest regions of +country I ever saw. The ground was rich and verdant, +and, even at that early season of the year, blooming +with wild flowers of every hue, but wholly uncultivated, +the olive-trees having all been cut down by the +Turks, and without a single habitation on the whole +route. My Scotch companion, who had a good eye for +the picturesque and beautiful in natural scenery, was in +raptures with this valley. I have since travelled in +Switzerland, not, however, in all the districts frequented +by tourists; but in what I saw, beautiful as it is, I +do not know a place where the wildness of mountain +scenery is so delightfully contrasted with the softness +of a rich valley.</p> + +<p>At the end of the valley, directly opposite Padras, +and on the borders of the gulf, is a wild road called +Scala Cativa, running along the sides of a rocky, +mountainous precipice overlooking the sea. It is a wild +and almost fearful road; in some places I thought it like +the perpendicular sides of the Palisades; and when the +wind blows in a particular direction it is impossible to +make headway against it. Our host told us that we +should find difficulty that day; and there was just rudeness +enough to make us look well to our movements. +Directly at our feet was the Gulf of Corinth; opposite +a range of mountains; and in the distance the island +of Zante. On the other side of the valley is an extraordinary +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span>mountain, very high, and wanting a large +piece in the middle, as if cut out with a chisel, leaving +two straight parallel sides, and called by the unpoetical +name of the armchair. In the wildest pan of the Scala, +where a very slight struggle would have precipitated us +several hundred feet into the sea, an enormous shepherd's +dog came bounding and barking toward us; +and we were much relieved when his master, who was +hanging with his flock of goats on an almost inaccessible +height, called him away. At the foot of the mountain +we entered a rich plain, where the shepherds were +pasturing their flocks down to the shore of the sea, and +in about two hours arrived at Lepanto.</p> + +<p>After diligent search by Demetrius (the name by +which we had taken him, whose true name, however, +we found to be Jerolamon), and by all the idlers whom +the arrival of strangers attracted, we procured a room +near the farthest wall; it was reached by ascending a +flight of steps outside, and boasted a floor, walls, and an +apology for a roof. We piled up our baggage in one +corner, or, rather, my companions did theirs, and went +prowling about in search of something to eat. Our servant +had not fully apprized us of the extreme poverty of +the country, the entire absence of all accommodations +for travellers, and the absolute necessity of carrying +with us everything requisite for comfort. He was a +man of few words, and probably thought that, as between +servant and master, example was better than precept, +and that the abundant provision he had made for +himself might serve as a lesson for us; but, in our case, +the objection to this mode of teaching was, that it came +too late to be profitable. At the foot of the hill fronting +the sea was an open place, in one side of which was a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span>little cafteria, where all the good-for-nothing loungers +of Lepanto were assembled. We bought a loaf of bread +and some eggs, and, with a cup of Turkish coffee, made +our evening meal.</p> + +<p>We had an hour before dark, and strolled along the +shore. Though in a ruinous condition, Lepanto is in +itself interesting, as giving an exact idea of an ancient +Greek city, being situated in a commanding position +on the side of a mountain running down to the sea, +with its citadel on the top, and enclosed by walls and +turrets. The port is shut within the walls, which run +into the sea, and are erected on the foundations of the +ancient Naupactus. At a distance was the promontory +of Actium, where Cleopatra, with her fifty ships, +abandoned Antony, and left to Augustus the empire of +the world; and directly before us, its surface dotted +with a few straggling Greek caiques, was the scene of +a battle which has rung throughout the world, the great +battle of the Cross against the Crescent, where the allied +forces of Spain, Venice, and the pope, amounting to +nearly three hundred sail, under the command of Don +John of Austria, humbled for ever the naval pride of the +Turks. One hundred and thirty Turkish galleys were +taken and fifty-five sunk; thirty thousand Turks were +killed, ten thousand taken prisoners, fifteen thousand +Christian slaves delivered; and Pope Pius VI., with +holy fervour, exclaimed, "There was a man sent from +God, and his name was John." Cervantes lost his left +hand in this battle; and it is to wounds he received +here that he makes a touching allusion when reproached +by a rival: "What I cannot help feeling deeply is, that +I am stigmatized with being old and maimed, as though +it belonged to me to stay the course of time; or as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span>though my wounds had been received in some tavern +broil, instead of the most lofty occasion which past +ages have yet seen, or which shall ever be seen by +those to come. The scars which the soldier wears on +his person, instead of badges of infamy, are stars to +guide the daring in the path of glory. As for mine, +though they may not shine in the eyes of the envious, +they are at least esteemed by those who know where +they were received; and, even was it not yet too late +to choose, I would rather remain as I am, maimed and +mutilated, than be now whole of my wounds, without +having taken part in so glorious an achievement."</p> + +<p>I shall, perhaps, be reproached for mingling with +the immortal names of Don John of Austria and Cervantes +those of George Wilson, of Providence, Rhode +Island, and James Williams, a black of Baltimore, +cook on board Lord Cochrane's flagship in the great +battle between the Greek and Turkish fleets. George +Wilson was a gunner on board one of the Greek ships, +and conducted himself with so much gallantry, that +Lord Cochrane, at a dinner in commemoration of the +event, publicly drank his health. In the same battle +James Williams, who had lost a finger in the United +States service under Decatur at Algiers, and had conducted +himself with great coolness and intrepidity in +several engagements, when no Greek could be found to +take the helm, volunteered his services, and was struck +down by a splinter, which broke his legs and arms. +The historian will probably never mention these gallant +fellows in his quarto volumes; but I hope the American +traveller, as he stands at sunset by the shore of the +Gulf of Lepanto, and recalls to mind the great achievements +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span>of Don John and Cervantes, will not forget +<i>George Wilson</i> and <i>James Williams</i>.</p> + +<p>At evening we returned to our room, built a fire in the +middle, and, with as much dignity as we could muster, +sitting on the floor, received a number of Greek +visiters. When they left us we wrapped ourselves +in our cloaks and lay down to sleep. Sleep, however, +is not always won when wooed. Sometimes it takes +the perverse humour of the wild Irish boy: "The +more you call me, the more I won't come." Our room +had no chimney; and though, as I lay all night looking +up at the roof, there appeared to be apertures enough +to let out the smoke, it seemed to have a loving feeling +toward us in our lowly position, and clung to us so +closely that we were obliged to let the fire go out, and +lie shivering till morning.</p> + +<p>Every schoolboy knows how hard it is to write poetry, +but few know the physical difficulties of climbing +the poetical mountain itself. We had made arrangements +to sleep the next night at Castri, by the side of +the sacred oracle of Delphi, a mile up Parnassus. +Our servant wanted to cross over and go up on the +other side of the gulf, and entertained us with several +stories of robberies committed on this road, to which +we paid no attention. The Greeks who visited us in +the evening related, with much detail, a story of a celebrated +captain of brigands having lately returned to his +haunt on Parnassus, and attacked nine Greek merchants, +of whom he killed three; the recital of which +interesting incident we ascribed to Demetrius, and disregarded.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning we mounted our horses and +started for Parnassus. At the gate of the town we +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span>were informed that it was necessary, before leaving, +to have a passport from the eparchos, and I returned +to procure it. The eparchos was a man about forty-five, +tall and stout, with a clear olive complexion and a +sharp black eye, dressed in a rich Greek costume, and, +fortunately, able to speak French. He was sitting +cross-legged on a divan, smoking a pipe, and looking +out upon the sea; and when I told him my business, +he laid down his pipe, repeated the story of the robbery +and murder that we had heard the night before, and +added that we must abandon the idea of travelling that +road. He said, farther, that the country was in a distracted +state; that poverty was driving men to desperation; +and that, though they had driven out the Turks, +the Greeks were not masters of their own country. +Hearing that I was an American, and as if in want of a +bosom in which to unburden himself, and as one assured +of sympathy, he told me the whole story of their long +and bloody struggle for independence, and the causes +that now made the friends of Greece tremble for her +future destiny. I knew that the seat of the muses bore +a rather suspicious character, and, in fact, that the rocks +and caves about Parnassus were celebrated as the abodes +of robbers, but I was unwilling to be driven from our +purpose of ascending it. I went to the military commandant, +a Bavarian officer, and told him what I had +just heard from the eparchos. He said frankly that he +did not know much of the state of the country, as he +had but lately arrived in it; but, with the true Bavarian +spirit, advised me, as a general rule, not to believe anything +a Greek should tell me. I returned to the gate, +and made my double report to my companions. Dr. +W. returned with me to the eparchos, where the latter +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span>repeated, with great earnestness, all he had told me; and +when I persisted in combating his objections, shrugged +his shoulders in a manner that seemed to say, "your +blood be on your own heads;" that he had done his duty, +and washed his hands of the consequences. As we +were going out he called me back, and, recurring to our +previous conversation, said that he had spoken to me +as an American more freely than he would have done +to a stranger, and begged that, as I was going to Athens, +I would not repeat his words where they could do him +injury. I would not mention the circumstance now, +but that the political clouds which then hung over the +horizon of Greece have passed away; King Otho has +taken his seat on the throne, and my friend has probably +long since been driven or retired from public life. I +was at that time a stranger to the internal politics of +Greece, but I afterward found that the eparchos was +one of a then powerful body of Greeks opposed to the +Bavarian influence, and interested in representing the +state of the country as more unsettled than it really +was. I took leave of him, however, as one who had +intended me a kindness, and, returning to the gate, +found our companion sitting on his horse, waiting the +result of our farther inquiries. Both he and my fellow +envoy were comparatively indifferent upon the subject, +while I was rather bent on drinking from the Castalian +fount, and sleeping on the top of Parnassus. Besides, +I was in a beautiful condition to be robbed. I had +nothing but what I had on my back, and I felt sure that +a Greek mountain robber would scorn my stiff coat and +pantaloons and black hat. My companions, however +were not so well situated, particularly M., who had +drawn money at Corfu, and had no idea of trusting it to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span>the tender mercies of a Greek bandit. In the teeth of +the advice we had received, it would, perhaps, have +been foolhardy to proceed; and, to my great subsequent +regret, for the first and the last time in my ramblings, I +was turned aside from my path by fear of perils on the +road. Perhaps, after all, I had a lucky escape; for, if +the Greek tradition be true, whoever sleeps on the +mountain becomes an inspired poet or a madman, either +of which, for a professional man, is a catastrophe to be +avoided.</p> + +<p>Our change of plan suited Demetrius exactly; he had +never travelled on this side of the Gulf of Corinth; and, +besides that, he considered it a great triumph that his +stories of robbers were confirmed by others, showing +his superior knowledge of the state of the country; he +was glad to get on a road which he had travelled before, +and on which he had a chance of meeting some of his +old travelling acquaintance. In half an hour he had us +on board a caique. We put out from the harbour of +Lepanto with a strong and favourable wind; our little +boat danced lightly over the waters of the Gulf of Corinth; +and in three hours, passing between the frowning +castles of Romelia and Morea, under the shadow of +the walls of which were buried the bodies of the Christians +who fell in the great naval battle, we arrived at +Padras.</p> + +<p>The first thing we recognised was the beautiful little +cutter which we had left at Missilonghi, riding gracefully +at anchor in the harbour, and the first man we spoke +to on landing was our old friend the captain. We exchanged +a cordial greeting, and he conducted us to Mr. +Robertson, the British vice-consul, who, at the moment +of our entering, was in the act of directing a letter to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span>me at Athens. The subject was my interesting carpet-bag. +There being no American consul at Padras, I had +taken the liberty of writing to Mr. Robertson, requesting +him, if my estate should find its way into his hands, to +forward it to me at Athens, and the letter was to assure +me of his attention to my wishes. It may be considered +treason against classical taste, but it consoled me somewhat +for the loss of Parnassus to find a stranger taking +so warm an interest in my fugitive habiliments.</p> + +<p>There was something, too, in the appearance of Padras, +that addressed itself to other feelings than those +connected with the indulgence of a classical humour. +Our bones were still aching with the last night's rest, or, +rather, the want of it, at Lepanto; and when we found +ourselves in a neat little locanda, and a complaisant +Greek asked us what we would have for dinner, and +showed us our beds for the night, we almost agreed +that climbing Parnassus and such things were fit only +for boys just out of college.</p> + +<p>Padras is beautifully situated at the mouth of the +Gulf of Corinth, and the windows of our locanda commanded +a fine view of the bold mountains on the opposite +side of the gulf, and the parallel range forming the +valley which leads to Missilonghi. It stands on the site +of the ancient Patræ, enumerated by Herodotus among +the twelve cities of Achaia. During the intervals of +peace in the Peloponnesian war, Alcibiades, about four +hundred and fifty years before Christ, persuaded its inhabitants +to build long walls down to the sea. Philip +of Macedon frequently landed there in his expeditions +to Peloponnesus. Augustus Cæsar, after the battle of +Actium, made it a Roman colony, and sent thither a +large body of his veteran soldiers; and, in the time of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span>Cicero, Roman merchants were settled there just as +French and Italians are now. The modern town has +grown up since the revolution, or rather since the accession +of Otho, and bears no marks of the desolation at +Missilonghi and Lepanto. It contains a long street of +shops well supplied with European goods; the English +steamers from Corfu to Malta touch here; and, besides +the little Greek caiques trading in the Gulf of Corinth, +vessels from all parts of the Adriatic are constantly +in the harbour.</p> + +<p>Among others, there was an Austrian man-of-war from +Trieste, on her way to Alexandria. By a singular fortune, +the commandant had been in one of the Austrian +vessels that carried to New-York the unfortunate Poles; +the only Austrian man-of-war which had ever been to +the United States. A day or two after their arrival at +New-York I had taken a boat at the Battery and gone +on board this vessel, and had met the officers at some +parties given to them at which he had been present; +and though we had no actual acquaintance with each +other, these circumstances were enough to form an immediate +link between us, particularly as he was enthusiastic +in his praises of the hospitality of our citizens +and the beauty of our women. Lest, however, any +of the latter should be vainglorious at hearing that their +praises were sounded so far from home, I consider it +my duty to say that the commandant was almost blind, +very slovenly, always smoking a pipe, and generally a +little tipsy.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning we started for Athens. Our +turnout was rather better than at Missilonghi, but not +much. The day, however, was fine; the cold wind +which, for several days, had been blowing down the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span>Gulf of Corinth, had ceased, and the air was warm, +and balmy, and invigorating. We had already found +that Greece had something to attract the stranger besides +the recollections of her ancient glories, and often +forgot that the ground we were travelling was consecrated +by historians and poets, in admiration of its +own wild and picturesque beauty. Our road for about +three hours lay across a plain, and then close along +the gulf, sometimes winding by the foot of a wild +precipitous mountain, and then again over a plain, with +the mountains rising at some distance on our right. +Sometimes we rose and crossed their rugged summits, +and again descended to the seashore. On our left +we had constantly the gulf, bordered on the opposite +side by a range of mountains sometimes receding and +then rising almost out of the water, while high above +the rest rose the towering summits of Parnassus covered +with snow.</p> + +<p>It was after dark when we arrived at Vostitza, beautifully +situated on the banks of the Gulf of Corinth. +This is the representative of the ancient Ægium, one of +the most celebrated cities in Greece, mentioned by Homer +as having supplied vessels for the Trojan war, +and in the second century containing sixteen sacred +edifices, a theatre, a portico, and an agora. For many +ages it was the seat of the Achaian Congress. Probably +the worthy delegates who met here to deliberate +upon the affairs of Greece had better accommodations +than we obtained, or they would be likely, I should +imagine, to hold but short sessions.</p> + +<p>We stopped at a vile locanda, the only one in the +place, where we found a crowd of men in a small room, +gathered around a dirty table, eating, one of whom +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span>sprang up and claimed me as an old acquaintance. +He had on a Greek capote and a large foraging cap +slouched over his eyes, so that I had some difficulty +in recognising him as an Italian who, at Padras, had +tried to persuade me to go by water up to the head of +the gulf. He had started that morning, about the same +time we did, with a crowd of passengers, half of whom +were already by the ears. Fortunately, they were +obliged to return to their boats, and left all the house +to us; which, however, contained little besides a strapping +Greek, who called himself its proprietor.</p> + +<p>Before daylight we were again in the saddle. During +the whole day's ride the scenery was magnificent. +Sometimes we were hemmed in as if for ever enclosed +in an amphitheatre of wild and gigantic rocks; then +from some lofty summit we looked out upon lesser +mountains, broken, and torn, and thrown into every wild +and picturesque form, as if by an earthquake; and after +riding among deep dells and craggy steeps, yawning +ravines and cloud-capped precipices, we descended to a +quiet valley and the seashore.</p> + +<p>At about four o'clock we came down, for the last time, +to the shore, and before us, at some distance, espied a +single khan, standing almost on the edge of the water. +It was a beautiful resting-place for a traveller; the afternoon +was mild, and we walked on the shore till the +sun set. The khan was sixty or seventy feet long, and +contained an upper room running the whole length of +the building. This room was our bedchamber. We +built a fire at one end, made tea, and roasted some eggs, +the smoke ascending and curling around the rafters, and +finally passing out of the openings in the roof; we +stretched ourselves in our cloaks and, with the murmur +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span>of the waves in our ears, looked through the apertures +in the roof upon the stars, and fell asleep.</p> + +<p>About the middle of the night the door opened with +a rude noise, and a tall Greek, almost filling the doorway, +stood on the threshold. After pausing a moment +he walked in, followed by half a dozen gigantic companions, +their tall figures, full dresses, and the shining +of their pistols and yataghans wearing a very ugly look +to a man just roused from slumber. But they were +merely Greek pedlers or travelling merchants, and, +without any more noise, kindled the fire anew, drew +their capotes around them, stretched themselves upon +the floor, and were soon asleep.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Quarrel with the Landlord.—Ægina.—Sicyon.—Corinth.—A distinguished +Reception.—Desolation of Corinth.—The Acropolis.—View from the +Acropolis.—Lechæum and Cenchreæ.—Kaka Scala.—Arrival at Athens.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the morning Demetrius had a roaring quarrel with +the keeper of the locanda, in which he tried to keep +back part of the money we gave him to pay for us. He +did this, however, on principle, for we had given twice +as much as our lodging was worth, and no man ought +to have more. His character was at stake in preventing +any one from cheating us too much; and, in order +to do this, he stopped our funds in transitu.</p> + +<p>We started early, and for some time our road lay +along the shore. It was not necessary, surrounded by +such magnificent scenery, to draw upon historical recollections +for the sake of giving interest to the road; still +it did not diminish that interest to know that, many centuries +ago, great cities stood here, whose sites are now +desolate or occupied as the miserable gathering-places +of a starving population. Directly opposite Parnassus, +and at the foot of a hill crowned with the ruins of an +acropolis, in perfect desolation now, stood the ancient +Ægira; once numbering a population of ten thousand +inhabitants, and in the second century containing three +hiera, a temple, and another sacred edifice. Farther on, +and toward the head of the Gulf of Corinth, the miserable +village of Basilico stands on the site of the ancient +Sicyon, boasting as high an antiquity as any city in +Greece, and long celebrated as the first of her schools +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span>of painting. In five hours we came in sight of the +Acropolis of Corinth, and, shortly after, of Corinth itself.</p> + +<p>The reader need not fear my plunging him deeply into +antiquities. Greece has been explored, and examined, +and written upon, till the subject is almost threadbare; +and I do not flatter myself that I discovered in it anything +new. Still no man from such a distant country +as mine can find himself crossing the plain of Corinth, +and ascending to the ancient city, without a strange and +indescribable feeling. We have no old monuments, no +classical associations; and our history hardly goes beyond +the memory of that venerable personage, "the +oldest inhabitant." Corinth is so old that its early records +are blended with the history of the heathen gods. +The Corinthians say that it was called after the son +of Jupiter, and its early sovereigns were heroes of the +Grecian mythology. It was the friend of Sparta and +the rival of Athens; the first city to build war-galleys +and send forth colonies, which became great empires. +It was the assembling-place of their delegates, who +elected Philip, and afterward Alexander the Great, to +conduct the war against the Persians. In painting, +sculpture, and architecture surpassing all the achievements +of Greece, or which the genius of man has ever +since accomplished. Conquered by the then barbarous +Romans, her walls were razed to the ground, her men +put to the sword, her women and children sold into captivity, +and the historian who records her fall writes that +he saw the finest pictures thrown wantonly on the +ground, and Roman soldiers playing on them at draughts +and dice. For many years deserted, Corinth was again +peopled; rose rapidly from its ruins; and, when St. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span>Paul abode there "a year and six months"—to the Christian +the most interesting period in her history—she was +again a populous city, and the Corinthians a luxurious +people.</p> + +<p>Its situation in the early ages of the world could not +fail to make it a great commercial emporium. In the +inexperienced navigation of early times it was considered +difficult and dangerous to go around the point of +the Peloponnesus, and there was a proverb, "Before +the mariner doubles Cape Malea, he should forget all +he holds dearest in the world." Standing on the isthmus +commanding the Adriatic and Ægean Seas; receiving +in one hand the riches of Asia and in the other those +of Europe; distributing them to every quarter of the +then known world, wealth followed commerce, and +then came luxury and extravagance to such an extent +that it became a proverb, "It is not for every man to +go to Corinth."</p> + +<p>As travellers having regard to supper and lodging, we +should have been glad to see some vestige of its ancient +luxury; but times are changed; the ruined city stands +where stood Corinth of old, but it has fallen once more; +the sailor no longer hugs the well-known coasts, but +launches fearlessly into the trackless ocean, and Corinth +can never again be what she has been.</p> + +<p>Our servant had talked so much of the hotel at Corinth, +that perhaps the idea of bed and lodging was rather too +prominent in our reveries as we approached the fallen +city. He rode on before to announce our coming, and, +working our way up the hill through narrow streets, +stared at by all the men, followed by a large representation +from the juvenile portion of the modern Corinthians, +and barked at by the dogs, we turned into a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span>large enclosure, something like a barnyard, on which +opened a ruined balcony forming the entrance to the +hotel. Demetrius was standing before it with our host, +as unpromising a looking scoundrel as ever took a traveller +in. He had been a notorious captain of brigands, +and when his lawless band was broken up and half of +its number hanged, he could not overcome his disposition +to prey upon travellers, but got a couple of mattresses +and bedsteads, and set up a hotel at Corinth. +Demetrius had made a bargain for us at a price that +made him hang his head when he told it, and we were +so indignant at the extortion that we at first refused to +dismount. Our host stood aloof, being used to such +scenes, and perfectly sure that, after storming a little, +we should be glad to take the only beds between Padras +and Athens. In the end, however, we got the better +both of him and Demetrius; for, as he had fixed separate +prices for dinner, beds, and breakfast, we went to a +little Greek coffee-house, and raised half Corinth to get +us something to eat, and paid him only for our lodging.</p> + +<p>We had a fine afternoon before us, and our first +movement was to the ruins of a temple, the only monument +of antiquity in Corinth. The city has been so +often sacked and plundered, that not a column of the +Corinthian order exists in the place from which it derives +its name. Seven columns of the old temple are +still standing, fluted and of the Doric order, though +wanting in height the usual proportion to the diameter; +built probably before that order had attained its +perfection, and long before the Corinthian order was +invented; though when it was built, by whom, or to +what god it was consecrated, antiquaries cannot agree +in deciding. Contrasted with these solitary columns +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span>of an unknown antiquity are ruins of yesterday. Houses +fallen, burned, and black with smoke, as if the wretched +inmates had fled before the blaze of their dwellings; +and high above the ruined city, now as in the days +when the Persian and Roman invaded it, still towers +the Acropolis, a sharp and naked rock, rising abruptly +a thousand feet from the earth, inaccessible and impregnable +under the science of ancient war; and in all +times of invasion and public distress, from her earliest +history down to the bloody days of the late revolution, +the refuge of the inhabitants.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p050.jpg" width="60%" alt="Corinth." title="Corinth" /> +<p class="caption">Corinth.</p> +</div> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when we set out for the +Acropolis. About a mile from the city we came to +the foot of the hill, and ascended by a steep and difficult +path, with many turnings and windings, to the first +gate. Having been in the saddle since early in the +morning, we stopped several times to rest, and each +time lingered and looked out with admiration upon the +wild and beautiful scenery around us; and we thought +of the frequently recurring times when hostile armies +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span>had drawn up before the city at our feet, and the inhabitants, +in terror and confusion, had hurried up this path +and taken refuge within the gate before us.</p> + +<p>Inside the gate were the ruins of a city, and here, too, +we saw the tokens of ruthless war; the fire-brand was +hardly yet extinguished, and the houses were in ruins. +Within a few years it has been the stronghold and +refuge of infidels and Christians, taken and retaken, destroyed, +rebuilt, and destroyed again, and the ruins of +Turkish mosques and Christian churches are mingled +together in undistinguishable confusion. This enclosure +is abundantly supplied with water, issuing from +the rock, and is capable of containing several thousand +people. The fountain of Pyrene, which supplies the +Acropolis, called the most salubrious in Greece, is celebrated +as that at which Pegasus was drinking when +taken by Bellerophon. Ascending among ruined and +deserted habitations, we came to a second gate flanked +by towers. A wall about two miles in circumference +encloses the whole summit of the rock, including two +principal points which still rise above the rest. One is +crowned with a tower and the other with a mosque, +now in ruins; probably erected where once stood a heathen +temple. Some have mistaken it for a Christian +church, but all agree that it is a place built and consecrated +to divine use, and that, for unknown ages +men have gone up to this cloud-capped point to worship +their Creator. It was a sublime idea to erect on +this lofty pinnacle an altar to the Almighty. Above us +were only the unclouded heavens; the sun was setting +with that brilliancy which attends his departing glory +nowhere but in the East; and the sky was glowing with +a lurid red, as of some great conflagration. The scene +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span>around and below was wondrously beautiful. Mountains +and rivers, seas and islands, rocks, forests, and +plains, thrown together in perfect wantonness, and yet +in the most perfect harmony, and every feature in the +expanded landscape consecrated by the richest associations. +On one side the Saronic Gulf, with its little islands, +and Ægina and Salamis, stretching off to "Sunium's +marble height," with the ruins of its temple looking +out mournfully upon the sea; on the other, the Gulf +of Corinth or Lepanto, bounded by the dark and dreary +mountains of Cytheron, where Acteon, gazing at +the goddess, was changed into a stag, and hunted to +death by his own hounds; and where Bacchus, with his +train of satyrs and frantic bacchantes, celebrated his +orgies. Beyond were Helicon, sacred to Apollo and +the Muses, and Parnassus, covered with snow. Behind +us towered a range of mountains stretching away to Argos +and the ancient Sparta, and in front was the dim +outline of the temple of the Acropolis at Athens. The +shades of evening gathered thick around us while we +remained on the top of the Acropolis, and it was dark +long before we reached our locanda.</p> + +<p>The next morning we breakfasted at the coffee-house, +and left Corinth wonderfully pleased at having outwitted +Demetrius and our brigand host, who gazed after +us with a surly scowl as we rode away, and probably +longed for the good old days when, at the head of +his hanged companions, he could have stopped us at +the first mountain-pass and levied contributions at his +own rate. I probably condemn myself when I say that +we left this ancient city with such a trifle uppermost +in our thoughts, but so it was; we bought a loaf of +bread as we passed through the market-place, and descended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span>to the plain of Corinth. We had still the same +horses which we rode from Padras; they were miserable +animals, and I did not mount mine the whole +day. Indeed, this is the true way to travel in Greece; +the country is mountainous, and the road or narrow +horse-path so rough and precipitous that the traveller +is often obliged to dismount and walk. The exercise +of clambering up the mountains and the purity of the +air brace every nerve in the body, and not a single +feature of the scenery escapes the eye.</p> + +<p>But, as yet, there are other things beside scenery; on +each side of the road and within site of each other +are the ruins of the ancient cities of Lechæum and Cenchreæ, +the ports of Corinth on the Corinthian and Saronic +Gulfs; the former once connected with it by two +long walls, and the road to the latter once lined with +temples and sepulchres, the ruins of which may still be +seen. The isthmus connecting the Peloponnesus with +the continent is about six miles wide, and Corinth owed +her commercial greatness to the profits of her merchants +in transporting merchandise across it. Entire vessels +were sometimes carried from one sea and launched into +the other. The project of a canal across suggested itself +both to the Greeks and Romans, and there yet exist +traces of a ditch commenced for that purpose.</p> + +<p>On the death of Leonidas, and in apprehension of a +Persian invasion, the Peloponnesians built a wall across +the isthmus from Lechæum to Cenchreæ. This wall +was at one time fortified with a hundred and fifty towers; +it was often destroyed and as often rebuilt; and in +one place, about three miles from Corinth, vestiges of it +may still be seen. Here were celebrated those Isthmian +games so familiar to every tyro in Grecian literature and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span>history; toward Mount Oneus stands on an eminence an +ancient mound, supposed to be the tomb of Melicertes, +their founder, and near it is at this day a grove of +the sacred pine, with garlands of the leaves of which +the victors were crowned.</p> + +<p>In about three hours from Corinth we crossed the +isthmus, and came to the village of Kalamaki on the +shore of the Saronic Gulf, containing a few miserable +buildings, fit only for the miserable people who occupied +them. Directly on the shore was a large coffee-house +enclosed by mud walls, and having branches of +trees for a roof; and in front was a little flotilla of Greek +caiques.</p> + +<p>Next to the Greek's love for his native mountains is +his passion for the waters that roll at their feet; and +many of the proprietors of the rakish little boats in the +harbour talked to us of the superior advantage of the +sea over a mountainous road, and tried to make us abandon +our horses and go by water to Athens; but we clung +to the land, and have reason to congratulate ourselves +upon having done so, for our road was one of the most +beautiful it was ever my fortune to travel over. For +some distance I walked along the shore, on the edge +of a plain running from the foot of Mount Geranion. +The plain was intersected by mountain torrents, the +channel-beds of which were at that time dry. We +passed the little village of Caridi, supposed to be the +Sidus of antiquity, while a ruined church and a few +old blocks of marble mark the site of ancient Crommyon, +celebrated as the haunt of a wild boar destroyed +by Theseus.</p> + +<p>At the other end of the plain we came to the foot +of Mount Geranion, stretching out boldly to the edge of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span>the gulf, and followed the road along its southern side +close to and sometimes overhanging the sea. From +time immemorial this has been called the Kaka Scala, +or bad way. It is narrow, steep, and rugged, and wild +to sublimity. Sometimes we were completely hemmed +in by impending mountains, and then rose upon a lofty +eminence commanding an almost boundless view. On +the summit of the range the road runs directly along the +mountain's brink, overhanging the sea, and so narrow +that two horsemen can scarcely pass abreast; where a +stumble would plunge the traveller several hundred yards +into the waters beneath. Indeed, the horse of one of +my companions stumbled and fell, and put him in such +peril that both dismounted and accompanied me on foot. +In the olden time this wild and rugged road was famous +as the haunt of the robber Sciron, who plundered the +luckless travellers, and then threw them from this precipice. +The fabulous account is, that Theseus, three +thousand years before, on his first visit to Athens, encountered +the famous robber, and tossed him from the +same precipice whence he had thrown so many better +men. According to Ovid, the earth and the sea refused +to receive the bones of Sciron, which continued for +some time suspended in the open air, until they were +changed into large rocks, whose points still appear at +the foot of the precipice; and to this day, say the sailors, +knock the bottoms out of the Greek vessels. In +later days this road was so infested by corsairs and pirates, +that even the Turks feared to travel on it; at one +place, that looks as though it might be intended as a +jumping-off point into another world, Ino, with her son +Melicertes in her arms (so say the Greek poets), threw +herself into the sea to escape the fury of her husband; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span>and we know that in later days St. Paul travelled on +this road to preach the gospel to the Corinthians.</p> + +<p>But, independently of all associations, and in spite +of its difficulties and dangers, if a man were by accident +placed on the lofty height without knowing where +he was, he would be struck with the view which it +commands, as one of the most beautiful that mortal +eyes ever beheld. It was my fortune to pass over it a +second time on foot, and I often seated myself on some +wild point, and waited the coming up of my muleteers, +looking out upon the sea, calm and glistening as if +plated with silver, and studded with islands in continuous +clusters stretching away into the Ægean.</p> + +<p>During the greater part of the passage of the Kaka +Scala my companions walked with me; and, as we +always kept in advance, when we seated ourselves on +some rude rock overhanging the sea to wait for our +beasts and attendants, few things could be more picturesque +than their approach.</p> + +<p>On the summit of the pass we fell into the ancient +paved way that leads from Attica into the Peloponnesus, +and walked over the same pavement which the +Greeks travelled, perhaps, three thousand years ago. +A ruined wall and gate mark the ancient boundary; and +near this an early traveller observed a large block of +white marble projecting over the precipice, and almost +ready to fall into the sea, which bore an inscription, now +illegible. Here it is supposed stood the Stèle erected +by Theseus, bearing on one side the inscription, "Here +is Peloponnesus, not Ionia;" and on the other the equally +pithy notification, "Here is not Peloponnesus, but +Ionia." It would be a pretty place of residence for a +man in misfortune; for, besides the extraordinary beauty +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span>of the scenery, by a single step he might avoid the service +of civil process, and set the sheriff of Attica or +the Peloponnesus at defiance. Descending, we saw +before us a beautiful plain, extending from the foot +of the mountain to the sea, and afar off, on an eminence +commanding the plain, was the little town of Megara.</p> + +<p>It is unfortunate for the reader that every ruined village +on the road stands on the site of an ancient city. +The ruined town before us was the birthplace of Euclid, +and the representative of that Megara which is distinguished +in history more than two thousand years ago; +which sent forth its armies in the Persian and Peloponnesian +wars; alternately the ally and enemy of Corinth +and Athens; containing numerous temples, and the +largest public houses in Greece; and though exposed, +with her other cities, to the violence of a fierce democracy, +as is recorded by the historian, "the Megareans +retained their independence and lived in peace." As a +high compliment, the people offered to Alexander the +Great the freedom of their city. When we approached +it its appearance was a speaking comment upon human +pride.</p> + +<p>It had been demolished and burned by Greeks and +Turks, and now presented little more than a mass of +blackened ruins. A few apartments had been cleared +out and patched up, and occasionally I saw a solitary +figure stalking amid the desolation.</p> + +<p>I had not mounted my horse all day; had kicked out +a pair of Greek shoes on my walk, and was almost barefoot +when I entered the city. A little below the town +was a large building enclosed by a high wall, with a +Bavarian soldier lounging at the gate. We entered, and +found a good coffee-room below, and a comfortable bed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span>chamber above, where we found good quilts and mattresses, +and slept like princes.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning we set out for Athens, our road +for some time lying along the sea. About half way to +the Piræus, a ruined village, with a starving population, +stands on the site of the ancient Eleusis, famed +throughout all Greece for the celebration of the mysterious +rites of Ceres. The magnificent temple of the +goddess has disappeared, and the colossal statue made +by the immortal Phidias now adorns the vestibule of +the University at Cambridge. We lingered a little +while in the village, and soon after entered the Via Sacra, +by which, centuries ago, the priests and people +moved in solemn religious processions from Athens to +the great temple of Ceres. At first we passed underneath +the cliff along the shore, then rose by a steep ascent +among the mountains, barren and stony, and wearing +an aspect of desolation equal to that of the Roman +Campagna; then we passed through a long defile, upon +the side of which, deeply cut in the rock, are seen the +marks of chariot-wheels; perhaps of those used in the +sacred processions. We passed the ruined monastery of +Daphne, in a beautifully picturesque situation, and in a +few minutes saw the rich plain of Attica; and our muleteers +and Demetrius, with a burst of enthusiasm, perhaps +because the journey was ended, clapped their +hands and cried out, "Atinæ! Atinæ!"</p> + +<p>The reader, perhaps, trembles at the name of Athens, +but let him take courage. I promise to let him off +easily. A single remark, however, before reaching it. +The plain of Attica lies between two parallel ranges of +mountains, and extends from the sea many miles back +into the interior. On the border of the sea stands the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span>Piræus, now, as in former times, the harbour of the city, +and toward the east, on a little eminence, Athens itself, +like the other cities in Greece, presenting a miserable appearance, +the effects of protracted and relentless wars. +But high above the ruins of the modern city towers the +Acropolis, holding up to the skies the ruined temples +of other days, and proclaiming what Athens was. We +wound around the temple of Theseus, the most beautiful +and perfect specimen of architecture that time has +spared; and in striking contrast with this monument of +the magnificence of past days, here, in the entrance to +the city, our horses were struggling and sinking up to +their saddle-girths in the mud.</p> + +<p>We did in Athens what we should have done in Boston +or Philadelphia; rode up to the best hotel, and, not +being able to obtain accommodations there, rode to +another; where, being again refused admittance, we +were obliged to distribute ourselves into three parcels. +Dr. Willet went to Mr. Hill's (of whom more anon). +M. found entrance at a new hotel in the suburbs, and I +betook myself to the Hotel de France. The garçon +was rather bothered when I threw him a pair of old +boots which I had hanging at my saddle-bow, and told +him to take care of my baggage; he asked me when the +rest would come up; and hardly knew what to make of +me when I told him that was all I travelled with.</p> + +<p>I was still standing in the court of the hotel, almost +barefoot, and thinking of the prosperous condition of the +owner of a dozen shirts, and other things conforming, +when Mr. Hill came over and introduced himself; and +telling me that his house was the house of every American, +asked me to waive ceremony and bring my luggage +over at once. This was again hitting my sore point; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span>everybody seemed to take a special interest in my +luggage, and I was obliged to tell my story more than +once. I declined Mr. Hill's kind invitation, but called +upon him early the next day, dined with him, and, during +the whole of my stay in Athens, was in the habit, to a +great extent, of making his house my home; and this, +I believe, is the case with all the Americans who go +there; besides which, some borrow his money, and +others his clothes.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>American Missionary School.—Visit to the School.—Mr. Hill and the +Male Department.—Mrs. Hill and the Female Department.—Maid of Athens.—Letter +from Mr. Hill.—Revival of Athens.—Citizens of the World.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> first thing we did in Athens was to visit the +American missionary school. Among the extraordinary +changes of an ever-changing world, it is not the least +that the young America is at this moment paying back +the debt which the world owes to the mother of science, +and the citizen of a country which the wisest of the +Greeks never dreamed of, is teaching the descendants +of Plato and Aristotle the elements of their own tongue. +I did not expect among the ruins of Athens to find anything +that would particularly touch my national feelings, +but it was a subject of deep and interesting reflection +that, in the city which surpassed all the world in learning, +where Socrates, and Plato, and Aristotle taught, +and Cicero went to study, the only door of instruction +was that opened by the hands of American citizens, and +an American missionary was the only schoolmaster; +and I am ashamed to say that I was not aware of the +existence of such an institution until advised of it by my +friend Dr. W.</p> + +<p>In eighteen hundred and thirty the Rev. Messrs. Hill +and Robinson, with their families, sailed from this city +(New-York) as the agents of the Episcopal missionary +society, to found schools in Greece. They first established +themselves in the Island of Tenos; but, finding +that it was not the right field for their labours, employed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span>themselves in acquiring a knowledge of the language, +and of the character and habits of the modern Greeks. +Their attention was directed to Athens, and in the spring +of eighteen hundred and thirty-one they made a visit to +that city, and were so confirmed in their impressions, +that they purchased a lot of ground on which to erect +edifices for a permanent establishment, and, in the mean +time, rented a house for the immediate commencement +of a school. They returned to Tenos for their families +and effects, and again arrived at Athens about the end +of June following. From the deep interest taken in +their struggle for liberty, and the timely help furnished +them in their hour of need, the Greeks were warmly prepossessed +in favour of our countrymen; and the conduct +of the missionaries themselves was so judicious, that +they were received with the greatest respect and the +warmest welcome by the public authorities and the +whole population of Athens. Their furniture, printing-presses, +and other effects were admitted free of duties; +and it is but justice to them to say that, since that time, +they have moved with such discretion among an excitable +and suspicious people, that, while they have advanced +in the great objects of their mission, they have +grown in the esteem and good-will of the best and most +influential inhabitants of Greece; and so great was Mr. +Hill's confidence in their affections, that, though there +was at that time a great political agitation, and it was +apprehended that Athens might again become the scene +of violence and bloodshed, he told me he had no fears, +and felt perfectly sure that, in any outbreaking of popular +fury, himself and family, and the property of the +mission, would be respected.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span>In the middle of the summer of their arrival at Athens, +Mrs. Hill opened a school for girls in the magazine +or cellar of the house in which they resided; the first +day she had twenty pupils, and in two months one hundred +and sixty-seven. Of the first ninety-six, not more +than six could read at all, and that very imperfectly; +and not more than ten or twelve knew a letter. At the +time of our visit the school numbered nearly five hundred; +and when we entered the large room, and the +scholars all rose in a body to greet us as Americans, I +felt a deep sense of regret that, personally, I had no +hand in such a work, and almost envied the feelings +of my companion, one of its patrons and founders. +Besides teaching them gratitude to those from whose +country they derived the privileges they enjoyed, Mr. +Hill had wisely endeavoured to impress upon their +minds a respect for the constituted authorities, particularly +important in that agitated and unsettled community; +and on one end of the wall, directly fronting the +seats of the scholars, was printed, in large Greek characters, +the text of Scripture, "Fear God, honour the king."</p> + +<p>It was all important for the missionaries not to offend +the strong prejudices of the Greeks by any attempt +to withdraw the children from the religion of their fathers; +and the school purports to be, and is intended +for, the diffusion of elementary education only; but it +is opened in the morning with prayer, concluding with +the Lord's Prayer as read in our churches, which is +repeated by the whole school aloud; and on Sundays, +besides the prayers, the creed, and sometimes the Ten +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span>Commandments, are recited, and a chapter from the +Gospels is read aloud by one of the scholars, the missionaries +deeming this more expedient than to conduct +the exercises themselves. The lesson for the day is +always the portion appointed for the gospel of the day +in their own church; and they close by singing a hymn. +The room is thrown open to the public, and is frequently +resorted to by the parents of the children and strangers; +some coming, perhaps, says Mr. Hill, to "hear +what these babblers will say," and "other some" from a +suspicion that "we are setters forth of strange gods."</p> + +<p>The boys' school is divided into three departments, +the lowest under charge of a Greek qualified on the +Lancasterian system. They were of all ages, from three +to eighteen; and, as Mr. Hill told me, most of them +had been half-clad, dirty, ragged little urchins, who, +before they were put to their A, B, C, or, rather, their +Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, had to be thoroughly +washed, rubbed, scrubbed, doctored, and dressed, and, +but for the school, would now, perhaps, be prowling +vagabonds in the streets of Athens, or training for robbery +in the mountains. They were a body of fine-looking +boys, possessing, as Mr. Hill told me, in an +extraordinary degree, all that liveliness of imagination, +that curiosity and eagerness after knowledge, which distinguished +the Greeks of old, retaining, under centuries +of dreadful oppression, the recollection of the greatness +of their fathers, and, what was particularly interesting, +many of them bearing the great names so familiar in +Grecian history; I shook hands with a little Miltiades, +Leonidas, Aristides, &c., in features and apparent intelligence +worthy descendants of the immortal men +whose names they bear. And there was one who +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span>startled me, he was the son of the Maid of Athens! +To me the Maid of Athens was almost an imaginary +being, something fanciful, a creation of the brain, +and not a corporeal substance, to have a little urchin +of a boy. But so it was. The Maid of Athens is +married. She had a right to marry, no doubt; and it +is said that there is poetry in married life, and, doubtless, +she is a much more interesting person now than +the Maid of Athens at thirty-six could be; but the Maid +of Athens is married to a Scotchman! the Maid of +Athens is now Mrs. Black! wife of George Black. +Comment is unnecessary.</p> + +<p>But the principal and most interesting part of this +missionary school was the female department, under +the direction of Mrs. Hill, the first, and, except at Syra, +the only school for females in all Greece, and particularly +interesting to me from the fact that it owed its +existence to the active benevolence of my own country-women. +At the close of the Greek revolution, female +education was a thing entirely unknown in Greece, and +the women of all classes were in a most deplorable state +of ignorance. When the strong feeling that ran through +our country in favour of this struggling people had subsided, +and Greece was freed from the yoke of the +Mussulman, an association of ladies in the little town +of Troy, perhaps instigated somewhat by an inherent +love of power and extended rule, and knowing the influence +of their sex in a cultivated state of society, formed +the project of establishing at Athens a school exclusively +for the education of females; and, humble and +unpretending as was its commencement, it is becoming +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span>a more powerful instrument in the civilization and moral +and religious improvement of Greece, than all that +European diplomacy has ever done for her. The girls +were distributed in different classes, according to their +age and advancement; they had clean faces and hands, +a rare thing with Greek children, and were neatly +dressed, many of them wearing frocks made by ladies +at home (probably at some of our sewing societies); and +some of them had attained such an age, and had such +fine, dark, rolling eyes as to make even a northern temperament +feel the powerful influence they would soon +exercise over the rising, excitable generation of Greeks +and almost make him bless the hands that were directing +that influence aright.</p> + +<p>Mr. and Mrs. Hill accompanied us through the whole +establishment, and, being Americans, we were everywhere +looked upon and received by the girls as patrons +and fathers of the school, both which characters I waived +in favour of my friend; the one because he was really +entitled to it, and the other because some of the girls +were so well grown that I did not care to be regarded as +standing in that venerable relationship. The didaskalissas, +or teachers, were of this description, and they +spoke English. Occasionally Mr. Hill called a little +girl up to us, and told us her history, generally a melancholy +one, as, being reduced to the extremity of want +by the revolution; or an orphan, whose parents had +been murdered by the Turks; and I had a conversation +with a little Penelope, who, however, did not look as if +she would play the faithful wife of Ulysses, and, if I +am a judge of physiognomy, would never endure widowhood +twenty years for any man.</p> + +<p>Before we went away the whole school rose at once, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span>and gave us a glorious finale with a Greek hymn. In +a short time these girls will grow up into women and +return to their several families; others will succeed +them, and again go out, and every year hundreds will +distribute themselves in the cities and among the fastnesses +of the mountains, to exercise over their fathers, +and brothers, and lovers, the influence of the education +acquired here; instructed in all the arts of woman in +civilized domestic life, firmly grounded in the principles +of morality, and of religion purified from the follies, absurdities, +and abominations of the Greek faith. I have +seen much of the missionary labours in the East, but I +do not know an institution which promises so surely the +happiest results. If the women are educated, the men +cannot remain ignorant; if the women are enlightened +in religion, the men cannot remain debased and degraded +Christians.</p> + +<p>The ex-secretary Rigos was greatly affected at the +appearance of this female school; and, after surveying +it attentively for some moments, pointed to the Parthenon +on the summit of the Acropolis, and said to Mrs. +Hill, with deep emotion, "Lady, you are erecting in +Athens a monument more enduring and more noble than +yonder temple;" and the king was so deeply impressed +with its value, that, a short time before my arrival, he +proposed to Mr. Hill to take into his house girls from +different districts and educate them as teachers, with +the view of sending them back to their districts, there +to organize new schools, and carry out the great work +of female education. Mr. Hill acceded to the proposal, +and the American missionary school now stands as the +nucleus of a large and growing system of education in +Greece; and, very opportunely for my purpose, within +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span>a few days I have received a letter from Mr. Hill, in +which, in relation to the school, he says, "Our missionary +establishment is much increased since you saw +it; our labours are greatly increased, and I think I may +say we have now reached the summit of what we had +proposed to ourselves. We do not think it possible +that it can be extended farther without much larger +means and more personal aid. We do not wish or intend +to ask for either. We have now nearly forty persons +residing with us, of whom thirty-five are Greeks, +all of whom are brought within the influence of the gospel; +the greater part of them are young girls from different +parts of Greece, and even from Egypt and Turkey +(Greeks, however), whom we are preparing to become +instructresses of youth hereafter in their various +districts. We have five hundred, besides, under daily +instruction in the different schools under our care, and +we employ under us in the schools twelve native teachers, +who have themselves been instructed by us. We +have provided for three of our dear pupils (all of whom +were living with us when you were here), who are honourably +and usefully settled in life. One is married to +a person every way suited to her, and both husband and +wife are in our missionary service. One has charge of +the government female school at the Piræus, and supports +her father and mother and a large family by her +salary; and the third has gone with our missionaries to +Crete, to take charge of the female schools there. We +have removed into our new house" (of which the foundation +was just laid at the time of my visit), "and, large +as it is, it is not half large enough. We are trying to +raise ways and means to enlarge it considerably, that +we may take more boarders under our own roof, which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span>we look up to as the most important means of making +sure of our labour; for every one who comes to reside +with us is taken away from the corrupt example exhibited +at home, and brought within a wholesome influence. +Lady Byron has just sent us one hundred pounds toward +enlarging our house with this view, and we have +commenced the erection of three additional dormitories +with the money."</p> + +<p>Athens is again the capital of a kingdom. Enthusiasts +see in her present condition the promise of a restoration +to her ancient greatness; but reason and observation +assure us that the world is too much changed +for her ever to be what she has been. In one respect, +her condition resembles that of her best days; for, as +her fame then attracted strangers from every quarter +of the world to study in her schools, so now the capital +of King Otho has become a great gathering-place of +wandering spirits from many near and distant regions. +For ages difficult and dangerous of access, the ancient +capital of the arts lay shrouded in darkness, and almost +cut off from the civilized world. At long intervals, a +few solitary travellers only found their way to it; but, +since the revolution, it has again become a place of frequent +resort and intercourse. It is true that the ancient +halls of learning are still solitary and deserted, but strangers +from every nation now turn hither; the scholar to +roam over her classic soil, the artist to study her ancient +monuments, and the adventurer to carve his way to +fortune.</p> + +<p>The first day I dined at the hotel I had an opportunity +of seeing the variety of material congregated in the reviving +city. We had a long table, capable of accommodating +about twenty persons. The manner of living +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span>was à la carte, each guest dining when he pleased; but, +by tacit consent, at about six o'clock all assembled at +the table. We presented a curious medley. No two +were from the same country. Our discourse was in +English, French, Italian, German, Greek, Russian, Polish, +and I know not what else, as if we were the very +people stricken with confusion of tongues at the Tower +of Babel. Dinner over, all fell into French, and the +conversation became general. Every man present was, +in the fullest sense of the term, a citizen of the world. +It had been the fortune of each, whether good or bad, +to break the little circle in which so many are born, revolve, +and die; and the habitual mingling with people +of various nations had broken down all narrow prejudices, +and given to every one freedom of mind and force +of character. All had seen much, had much to communicate, +and felt that they had much yet to learn. By +some accident, moreover, all seemed to have become +particularly interested in the East. They travelled +over the whole range of Eastern politics, and, to a certain +extent, considered themselves identified with Eastern +interests. Most of the company were or had been +soldiers, and several wore uniforms and stars, or decorations +of some description. They spoke of the different +campaigns in Greece in which some of them had served; +of the science of war; of Marlborough, Eugene, and +more modern captains; and I remember that they +startled my feelings of classical reverence by talking of +Leonidas at Thermopylæ and Miltiades at Marathon in +the same tone as of Napoleon at Leipsic and Wellington +at Waterloo. One of them constructed on the table, +with the knives and forks and spoons, a map of Marathon, +and with a sheathed yataghan pointed out the position +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span>of the Greeks and Persians, and showed where +Miltiades, as a general, was wrong. They were not +blinded by the dust of antiquity. They had been +knocked about till all enthusiasm and all reverence for +the past were shaken out of them, and they had learned +to give things their right names. A French engineer +showed us the skeleton of a map of Greece, which was +then preparing under the direction of the French Geographical +Society, exhibiting an excess of mountains +and deficiency of plain which surprised even those who +had travelled over every part of the kingdom. One had +just come from Constantinople, where he had seen the +sultan going to mosque; another had escaped from an +attack of the plague in Egypt; a third gave the dimensions +of the Temple of the Sun at Baalbeck; and a +fourth had been at Babylon, and seen the ruins of the +Tower of Babel. In short, every man had seen something +which the others had not seen, and all their +knowledge was thrown into a common stock. I found +myself at once among a new class of men; and I turned +from him who sneered at Miltiades to him who had +seen the sultan, or to him who had been at Bagdad, and +listened with interest, somewhat qualified by consciousness +of my own inferiority. I was lying in wait, however, +and took advantage of an opportunity to throw in +something about America; and, at the sound, all turned +to me with an eagerness of curiosity that I had not anticipated.</p> + +<p>In Europe, and even in England, I had often found +extreme ignorance of my own country; but here I was +astonished to find, among men so familiar with all parts +of the Old World, such total lack of information about +the New. A gentleman opposite me, wearing the uniform +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span>of the King of Bavaria, asked me if I had ever +been in America. I told him that I was born, and, as +they say in Kentucky, raised there. He begged my +pardon, but doubtfully <i>suggested</i>, "You are not black?" +and I was obliged to explain to him that in our section +of America the Indian had almost entirely disappeared, +and that his place was occupied by the descendants of +the Gaul and the Briton. I was forthwith received into +the fraternity, for my home was farther away than any +of them had ever been; my friend opposite considered +me a bijou, asked me innumerable questions, and seemed +to be constantly watching for the breaking out of the +cannibal spirit, as if expecting to see me bite my neighbour. +At first I had felt myself rather a small affair +but, before separating, <i>l'Americain</i>, or <i>le sauvage</i>, or +finally, <i>le cannibal</i> found himself something of a lion.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</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> Since my return home I have seen in a newspaper an account of a +popular commotion at Syra, in which the printing-presses and books at +the missionaries were destroyed, and Mr. Robinson was threatened with +personal violence.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Ruins of Athens.—Hill of Mars.—Temple of the Winds.—Lantern of +Demosthenes.—Arch of Adrian.—Temple of Jupiter Olympus.—Temple +of Theseus.—The Acropolis.—The Parthenon.—Pentelican Mountain.—Mount +Hymettus.—The Piræus.—Greek Fleas.—Napoli.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> next morning I began my survey of the ruins +of Athens. It was my intention to avoid any description +of these localities and monuments, because so +many have preceded me, stored with all necessary +knowledge, ripe in taste and sound in judgment, who +have devoted to them all the time and research they so +richly merit; but as, in our community, through the +hurry and multiplicity of business occupations, few are +able to bestow upon these things much time or attention, +and, farthermore, as the books which treat of them +are not accessible to all, I should be doing injustice to +my readers if I were to omit them altogether. Besides, +I should be doing violence to my own feelings, +and cannot get fairly started in Athens, without recurring +to scenes which I regarded at the time with extraordinary +interest. I have since visited most of the +principal cities in Europe, existing as well as ruined +and I hardly know any to which I recur with more satisfaction +than Athens. If the reader tire in the brief +reference I shall make, he must not impute it to any +want of interest in the subject; and as I am not in the +habit of going into heroics, he will believe me when I +say that, if he have any reverence for the men or things +consecrated by the respect and admiration of ages, he +will find it called out at Athens. In the hope that I +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span>may be the means of inducing some of my countrymen +to visit that famous city, I will add another inducement +by saying that he may have, as I had, Mr. Hill for a +cicerone. This gentleman is familiar with every locality +and monument around or in the city, and, which I +afterward found to be an unusual thing with those living +in places consecrated in the minds of strangers, he +retains for them all that freshness of feeling which we +possess who only know them from books and pictures.</p> + +<p>By an arrangement made the evening before, early in +the morning of my second day in Athens Mr. Hill was +at the door of my hotel to attend us. As we descended +the steps a Greek stopped him, and, bowing with his +hand on his heart, addressed him in a tone of earnestness +which we could not understand; but we were struck +with the sonorous tones of his voice and the musical +cadence of his sentences; and when he had finished, +Mr. Hill told us that he had spoken in a strain which, +in the original, was poetry itself, beginning, "Americanos, +I am a Stagyrite. I come from the land of Aristotle, +the disciple of Plato," &c., &c.; telling him the whole +story of his journey from the ancient Stagyra and his +arrival in Athens; and that, having understood that Mr. +Hill was distributing books among his countrymen, he +begged for one to take home with him. Mr. Hill said +that this was an instance of every-day occurrence, showing +the spirit of inquiry and thirst for knowledge among +the modern Greeks. This little scene with a countryman +of Aristotle was a fit prelude to our morning +ramble.</p> + +<p>The house occupied by the American missionary as +a school stands on the site of the ancient Agora or +market-place, where St. Paul "disputed daily with the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span>Athenians." A few columns still remain; and near +them is an inscription mentioning the price of oil. The +schoolhouse is built partly from the ruins of the Agora; +and to us it was an interesting circumstance, that a +missionary from a newly-discovered world was teaching +to the modern Greeks the same saving religion +which, eighteen hundred years ago, St. Paul, on the +same spot, preached to their ancestors.</p> + +<p>Winding around the foot of the Acropolis, within the +ancient and outside the modern wall, we came to the +Areopagus or Hill of Mars, where, in the early days of +Athens, her judges sat in the open air; and, for many +ages, decided with such wisdom and impartiality, that to +this day the decisions of the court of Areopagites are regarded +as models of judicial purity. We ascended this +celebrated hill, and stood on the precise spot where St. +Paul, pointing to the temples which rose from every section +of the city and towered proudly on the Acropolis, +made his celebrated address: "Ye men of Athens, I +see that in all things ye are too superstitious." The +ruins of the very temples to which he pointed were before +our eyes.</p> + +<p>Descending, and rising toward the summit of another +hill, we came to the Pnyx, where Demosthenes, +in the most stirring words that ever fell from human +lips, roused his countrymen against the Macedonian invader. +Above, on the very summit of the hill, is the +old Pnyx, commanding a view of the sea of Salamis, and +of the hill where Xerxes sat to behold the great naval +battle. During the reign of the thirty tyrants the Pnyx +was removed beneath the brow of the hill, excluding the +view of the sea, that the orator might not inflame the passions +of the people by directing their eyes to Salamis, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span>the scene of their naval glory. But, without this, the +orator had material enough; for, when he stood on the +platform facing the audience, he had before him the city +which the Athenians loved and the temples in which +they worshipped, and I could well imagine the irresistible +force of an appeal to these objects of their enthusiastic +devotion, their firesides and altars. The place is +admirably adapted for public speaking. The side of +the hill has been worked into a gently inclined plane, +semicircular in form, and supported in some places by +a wall of immense stones. This plain is bounded above +by the brow of the hill, cut down perpendicularly. In +the centre the rock projects into a platform about eight +or ten feet square, which forms the Pnyx or pulpit for +the orator. The ascent is by three steps cut out of the +rock, and in front is a place for the scribe or clerk. We +stood on this Pnyx, beyond doubt on the same spot +where Demosthenes thundered his philippics in the ears +of the Athenians. On the road leading to the Museum +hill we entered a chamber excavated in the rock, which +tradition hallows as the prison of Socrates; and though +the authority for this is doubtful, it is not uninteresting +to enter the damp and gloomy cavern wherein, according +to the belief of the modern Athenians, the wisest of +the Greeks drew his last breath. Farther to the south +is the hill of Philopappus, so called after a Roman governor +of that name. On the very summit, near the extreme +angle of the old wall, and one of the most conspicuous +objects around Athens, is a monument erected +by the Roman governor in honour of the Emperor Trajan. +The marble is covered with the names of travellers, +most of whom, like Philopappus himself, would +never have been heard of but for that monument.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span>Descending toward the Acropolis, and entering the +city among streets encumbered with ruined houses, we +came to the Temple of the Winds, a marble octagonal +tower, built by Andronicus. On each side is a sculptured +figure, clothed in drapery adapted to the wind he +represents; and on the top was formerly a Triton with a +rod in his hand, pointing to the figure marking the wind. +The Triton is gone, and great part of the temple buried +under ruins. Part of the interior, however, has been +excavated, and probably, before long, the whole will be +restored.</p> + +<p>East of the foot of the Acropolis, and on the way to +Adrian's Gate, we came to the Lantern of Demosthenes +(I eschew its new name of the Choragic Monument +of Lysichus), where, according to an absurd tradition, +the orator shut himself up to study the rhetorical +art. It is considered one of the most beautiful monuments +of antiquity, and the capitals are most elegant +specimens of the Corinthian order refined by Attic +taste. It is now in a mutilated condition, and its many +repairs make its dilapidation more perceptible. Whether +Demosthenes ever lived here or not, it derives an interest +from the fact that Lord Byron made it his residence +during his visit to Athens. Farther on, and +forming part of the modern wall, is the Arch of Adrian, +bearing on one side an inscription in Greek, "This is +the city of Theseus;" and on the other, "But this is +the city of Adrian." On the arrival of Otho a placard +was erected, on which was inscribed, "These were the +cities of Theseus and Adrian, but now of Otho." Many +of the most ancient buildings in Athens have totally +disappeared. The Turks destroyed many of them to +construct the wall around the city, and even the modern +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span>Greeks have not scrupled to build their miserable +houses with the plunder of the temples in which their +ancestors worshipped.</p> + +<p>Passing under the Arch of Adrian, outside the gate, +on the plain toward the Ilissus, we came to the ruined +Temple of Jupiter Olympus, perhaps once the most +magnificent in the world. It was built of the purest +white marble, having a front of nearly two hundred feet, +and more than three hundred and fifty in length, and +contained one hundred and twenty columns, sixteen of +which are all that now remain; and these, fluted and +having rich Corinthian capitals, tower more than sixty +feet above the plain, perfect as when they were reared. +I visited these ruins often, particularly in the afternoon; +they are at all times mournfully beautiful, but I have +seldom known anything more touching than, when the +sun was setting, to walk over the marble floor, and look +up at the lonely columns of this ruined temple. I cannot +imagine anything more imposing than it must have +been when, with its lofty roof supported by all its columns, +it stood at the gate of the city, its doors wide +open, inviting the Greeks to worship. That such an +edifice should be erected for the worship of a heathen +god! On the architrave connecting three of the columns +a hermit built his lonely cell, and passed his life +in that elevated solitude, accessible only to the crane +and the eagle. The hermit is long since dead, but his +little habitation still resists the whistling of the wind, +and awakens the curiosity of the wondering traveller.</p> + +<p>The Temple of Theseus is the last of the principal +monuments, but the first which the traveller sees on +entering Athens. It was built after the battle of Marathon, +and in commemoration of the victory which drove +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span>the Persians from the shores of Greece. It is a small +but beautiful specimen of the pure Doric, built of Pentelican +marble, centuries of exposure to the open air +giving it a yellowish tint, which softens the brilliancy +of the white. Three Englishmen have been buried +within this temple. The first time I visited it a company +of Greek recruits, with some negroes among +them, was drawn up in front, going through the manual +under the direction of a German corporal; and, at the +same time, workmen were engaged in fitting it up for +the coronation of King Otho!</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p079.jpg" width="60%" alt="Temple of Jupiter Olympus and Acropolis at Athena." title="Temple of Jupiter Olympus" /> +<p class="caption">Temple of Jupiter Olympus and Acropolis at Athena.</p> +</div> + +<p>These are the principal monuments around the city, +and, except the temples at Pæstum, they are more +worthy of admiration than all the ruins in Italy; but +towering above them in position, and far exceeding +them in interest, are the ruins of the Acropolis. I have +since wandered among the ruined monuments of Egypt +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span>and the desolate city of Petra, but I look back with +unabated reverence to the Athenian Acropolis. Every +day I had gazed at it from the balcony of my hotel, and +from every part of the city and suburbs. Early on my +arrival I had obtained the necessary permit, paid a hurried +visit, and resolved not to go again until I had examined +all the other interesting objects. On the fourth +day, with my friend M., I went again. We ascended +by a broad road paved with stone. The summit is enclosed +by a wall, of which some of the foundation stones, +very large, and bearing an appearance of great antiquity, +are pointed out as part of the wall built by Themistocles +after the battle of Salamis, four hundred and eighty +years before Christ. The rest is Venetian and Turkish, +falling to decay, and marring the picturesque effect +of the ruins from below. The guard examined +our permit, and we passed under the gate. A magnificent +propylon of the finest white marble, the blocks of +the largest size ever laid by human hands, and having +a wing of the same material on each side, stands at the +entrance. Though broken and ruined, the world contains +nothing like it even now. If my first impressions +do not deceive me, the proudest portals of Egyptian +temples suffer in comparison. Passing this magnificent +propylon, and ascending several steps, we reached +the Parthenon or ruined Temple of Minerva; an immense +white marble skeleton, the noblest monument of +architectural genius which the world ever saw. Standing +on the steps of this temple, we had around us all +that is interesting in association and all that is beautiful +in art. We might well forget the capital of King Otho, +and go back in imagination to the golden age of Athens. +Pericles, with the illustrious throng of Grecian +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span>heroes, orators, and sages, had ascended there to worship, +and Cicero and the noblest of the Romans had +gone there to admire; and probably, if the fashion of +modern tourists had existed in their days, we should see +their names inscribed with their own hands on its walls. +The great temple stands on the very summit of the +Acropolis, elevated far above the Propylæa and the +surrounding edifices. Its length is two hundred and +eight feet, and breadth one hundred and two. At each +end were two rows of eight Doric columns, thirty-four +feet high and six feet in diameter, and on each side +were thirteen more. The whole temple within and +without was adorned with the most splendid works of +art, by the first sculptors in Greece, and Phidias himself +wrought the statue of the goddess, of ivory and +gold, twenty-six cubits high, having on the top of her +helmet a sphinx, with griffins on each of the sides; on +the breast a head of Medusa wrought in ivory, and a +figure of Victory about four cubits high, holding a spear +in her hand and a shield lying at her feet. Until the +latter part of the seventeenth century, this magnificent +temple, with all its ornaments, existed entire. During +the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the central part +was used by the Turks as a magazine; and a bomb, +aimed with fatal precision or by a not less fatal chance, +reached the magazine, and, with a tremendous explosion, +destroyed a great part of the buildings. Subsequently +the Turks used it as a quarry, and antiquaries and travellers, +foremost among whom is Lord Elgin, have contributed +to destroy "what Goth, and Turk, and Time had +spared."</p> + +<p>Around the Parthenon, and covering the whole summit +of the Acropolis, are strewed columns and blocks +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span>of polished white marble, the ruins of ancient temples. +The remains of the Temples of Erectheus and Minerva +Polias are pre-eminent in beauty; the pillars of the latter +are the most perfect specimens of the Ionic in existence, +and its light and graceful proportions are in elegant +contrast with the severe and simple majesty of the +Parthenon. The capitals of the columns are wrought +and ornamented with a delicacy surpassing anything of +which I could have believed marble susceptible. Once +I was tempted to knock off a corner and bring it home, +as a specimen of the exquisite skill of the Grecian artist, +which it would have illustrated better than a volume +of description; but I could not do it; it seemed +nothing less than sacrilege.</p> + +<p>Afar off, and almost lost in the distance, rises the +Pentelican Mountain, from the body of which were +hewed the rough rude blocks which, wrought and perfected +by the sculptor's art, now stand the lofty and +stately columns of the ruined temple. What labour +was expended upon each single column! how many +were employed in hewing it from its rocky bed, in bearing +it to the foot of the mountain, transporting it across +the plain of Attica, and raising it to the summit of the +Acropolis! and then what time, and skill, and labour, in +reducing it from a rough block to a polished shaft, in +adjusting its proportions, in carving its rich capitals, and +rearing it where it now stands, a model of majestic +grace and beauty! Once, under the direction of Mr. +Hill, I clambered up to the very apex of the pediment, +and, lying down at full length, leaned over and saw under +the frieze the acanthus leaf delicately and beautifully +painted on the marble, and, being protected from +exposure, still retaining its freshness of colouring. It +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span>was entirely out of sight from below, and had been discovered, +almost at the peril of his life, by the enthusiasm +of an English artist. The wind was whistling +around me as I leaned over to examine it, and, until +that moment, I never appreciated fully the immense +labour employed and the exquisite finish displayed in +every portion of the temple.</p> + +<p>The sentimental traveller must already mourn that +Athens has been selected as the capital of Greece. Already +have speculators and the whole tribe of "improvers" +invaded the glorious city; and while I was +lingering on the steps of the Parthenon, a German, who +was quietly smoking among the ruins, a sort of superintendent +whom I had met before, came up, and offering +me a segar, and leaning against one of the lofty +columns of the temple, opened upon me with "his +plans of city improvements;" with new streets, and projected +railroads, and the rise of lots. At first I almost +thought it personal, and that he was making a fling at +me in allusion to one of the greatest hobbies of my native +city; but I soon found that he was as deeply bitten +as if he had been in Chicago or Dunkirk; and the way +in which he talked of moneyed facilities, the wants of +the community, and a great French bank then contemplated +at the Piræus, would have been no discredit to +some of my friends at home. The removal of the +court has created a new era in Athens; but, in my +mind, it is deeply to be regretted that it has been +snatched from the ruin to which it was tending. Even +I, deeply imbued with the utilitarian spirit of my country, +and myself a quondam speculator in "up-town +lots," would fain save Athens from the ruthless hand +of renovation; from the building mania of modern speculators. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span>I would have her go on till there was not +a habitation among her ruins; till she stood, like Pompeii, +alone in the wilderness, a sacred desert, where +the traveller might sit down and meditate alone and +undisturbed among the relics of the past. But already +Athens has become a heterogeneous anomaly; the +Greeks in their wild costume are jostled in the streets +by Englishmen, Frenchmen, Italians, Dutchmen, Spaniards, +and Bavarians, Russians, Danes, and sometimes +Americans. European shops invite purchasers +by the side of Eastern bazars, coffee-houses, and billiard-rooms, +and French and German restaurants are +opened all over the city. Sir Pultney Malcolm has +erected a house to hire near the site of Plato's Academy. +Lady Franklin has bought land near the foot of +Mount Hymettus for a country-seat. Several English +gentlemen have done the same. Mr. Richmond, an +American clergyman, has purchased a farm in the +neighbourhood; and in a few years, if the "march of +improvement" continues, the Temple of Theseus will +be enclosed in the garden of the palace of King Otho; +the Temple of the Winds will be concealed by a German +opera-house, and the Lantern of Demosthenes by +a row of "three-story houses."</p> + +<p>I was not a sentimental traveller, but I visited all the +localities around Athens, and, therefore, briefly mention +that several times I jumped over the poetic and perennial +Ilissus, trotted my horse over the ground where +Aristotle walked with his peripatetics, and got muddied +up to my knees in the garden of Plato.</p> + +<p>One morning my Scotch friend and I set out early +to ascend Mount Hymettus. The mountain is neither +high nor picturesque, but a long flat ridge of bare rock, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span>the sides cut up into ravines, fissures, and gullies. +There is an easy path to the summit, but we had no +guide, and about midday, after a wild scramble, were +worn out, and descended without reaching the top, +which is exceedingly fortunate for the reader, as otherwise +he would be obliged to go through a description +of the view therefrom.</p> + +<p>Returning, we met the king taking his daily walk, +attended by two aids, one of whom was young Marco +Bozzaris. Otho is tall and thin, and, when I saw him, +was dressed in a German military frockcoat and cap, +and altogether, for a king, seemed to be an amiable +young man enough. All the world speaks well of him, +and so do I. We touched our hats to him, and he returned +the civility; and what could he do more without +inviting us to dinner? In old times there was a divinity +about a king; but now, if a king is a gentleman, it is as +much as we can expect. He has spent his money like a +gentleman, that is, he cannot tell what has become of +it. Two of the three-millions loan are gone, and there +is no colonization, no agricultural prosperity, no opening +of roads, no security in the mountains; not a town +in Greece but is in ruins, and no money to improve +them. Athens, however, is to be embellished. With +ten thousand pounds in the treasury, he is building a +palace of white Pentelican marble, to cost three hundred +thousand pounds.</p> + +<p>Otho was very popular, because, not being of age, +all the errors of his administration were visited upon +Count Armansbergh and the regency, who, from all +accounts, richly deserved it; and it was hoped that, +on receiving the crown, he would shake off the Bavarians +who were preying upon the vitals of Greece, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span>gather around him his native-born subjects. In private +life he bore a most exemplary character. He had no +circle of young companions, and passed much of his +time in study, being engaged, among other things, in +acquiring the Greek and English languages. His position +is interesting, though not enviable; and if, as the +first king of emancipated Greece, he entertains recollections +of her ancient greatness, and the ambition of +restoring her to her position among the nations of the +earth, he is doomed to disappointment. Otho is since +crowned and married. The pride of the Greeks was +considerably humbled by a report that their king's proposals +to several daughters of German princes had been +rejected; but the king had great reason to congratulate +himself upon the spirit which induced the daughter of +the Duke of Oldenburgh to accept his hand. From her +childhood she had taken an enthusiastic interest in Greek +history, and it had been her constant wish to visit Greece; +and when she heard that Otho had been called to the +throne, she naively expressed an ardent wish to share +it with him. Several years afterward, by the merest +accident, she met Otho at a German watering-place, travelling +with his mother, the Queen of Bavaria, as the +Count de Missilonghi; and in February last she accompanied +him to Athens, to share the throne which had +been the object of her youthful wish.</p> + +<p>M. dined at my hotel, and, returning to his own, he +was picked up and carried to the guardhouse. He started +for his hotel without a lantern, the requisition to carry +one being imperative in all the Greek and Turkish cities; +the guard could not understand a word he said +until he showed them some money, which made his +English perfectly intelligible; and they then carried him +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span>to a Bavarian corporal, who, after two hours' detention, +escorted him to his hotel. After that we were rather +careful about staying out late at night.</p> + +<p>"Thursday. I don't know the day of the month." I +find this in my notes, the caption of a day of business, +and at this distance of time will not undertake to correct +the entry. Indeed, I am inclined to think that my notes +in those days are rather uncertain and imperfect; certainly +not taken with the precision of one who expected to +publish them. Nevertheless, the residence of the court, +the diplomatic corps, and strangers form an agreeable +society at Athens. I had letters to some of the foreign +ministers, but did not present them, as I was hardly +presentable myself without my carpet-bag. On "Thursday," +however, in company with Dr. W., I called upon +Mr. Dawkins, the British minister. Mr. Dawkins went +to Greece on a special mission, which he supposed +would detain him six months from home, and had remained +there ten years. He is a high tory, but retained +under a whig administration, because his services could +not well be dispensed with. He gave us much interesting +information in regard to the present condition +and future prospects of Greece; and, in answer to my +suggestion that the United States were not represented +at all in Greece, not even by a consul, he said, with +emphasis, "You are better represented than any power +in Europe. Mr. Hill has more influence here than any +minister plenipotentiary among us." A few days after, +when confined to my room by indisposition, Mr. Dawkins +returned my visit, and again spoke in the same +terms of high commendation of Mr. Hill. It was pleasing +to me, and I have no doubt it will be so to Mr. Hill's +numerous friends in this +<span class="err" title="original: county">country</span>, to know that a private +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span>American citizen, in a position that keeps him aloof +from politics, was spoken of in such terms by the representative +of one of the great powers of Europe. I +had heard it intimated that there was a prospect of Mr. +Dawkins being transferred to this country, and parted +with him in the hope at some future day of seeing him +the representative of his government here.</p> + +<p>I might have been presented to the king, but my carpet-bag—Dr. +W. borrowed a hat, and was presented; +the doctor had an old white hat, which he had worn all +the way from New-York. The tide is rolling backward; +Athens is borrowing her customs from the barbarous +nations of the north; and it is part of the etiquette +to enter a drawing-room with a hat (a black one) +under the arm. The doctor, in his republican simplicity, +thought that a hat, good enough to put on his own +head, was good enough to go into the king's presence; +but he was advised to the contrary, and took one of Mr. +Hill's, not very much too large for him. He was presented +by Dr. ——, a German, the king's physician, +with whom he had discoursed much of the different +medical systems in Germany and America. Dr. W. +was much pleased with the king. Did ever a man talk +with a king who was not pleased with him? But the +doctor was particularly pleased with King Otho, as the +latter entered largely into discourse on the doctor's favourite +theme, Mr. Hill's school, and the cause of education +in Greece. Indeed, it speaks volumes in favour +of the young king, that education is one of the things in +which he takes the deepest interest. The day the doctor +was to be presented we dined at Mr. Hill's, having made +arrangements for leaving Athens that night; the doctor +and M. to return to Europe. In the afternoon, while +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span>the doctor remained to be presented, M. and I walked +down to the Piræus, now, as in the days of her glory, +the harbour of Athens. The ancient harbour is about +five miles from Athens, and was formerly joined to it +by <i>long walls</i> built of stone of enormous size, sixty +feet high, and broad enough on the top for two wagons +to pass abreast. These have long since disappeared, +and the road is now over a plain shaded a great part of +the way by groves of olives. As usual at this time of +day, we met many parties on horseback, sometimes with +ladies; and I remember particularly the beautiful and +accomplished daughters of Count Armansbergh, both of +whom are since married and dead.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> It is a beautiful +ride, in the afternoon particularly, as then the dark outline +of the mountains beyond, and the reflections of +light and shade, give a peculiarly interesting effect to +the ruins of the Acropolis. Toward the other end we +paced between the ruins of the old walls, and entered +upon a scene which reminded me of home. Eight +months before there was only one house at the Piræus; +but, as soon as the court removed to Athens, the old +harbour revived; and already we saw long ranges of +stores and warehouses, and all the hurry and bustle of +one of our rising western towns. A railroad was in +contemplation, and many other improvements, which +have since failed; but an <i>omnibus!</i> that most modern +and commonplace of inventions, is now running regularly +between the Piræus and Athens. A friend who +visited Greece six months after me brought home with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span>him an advertisement printed in Greek, English, French, +and German, the English being in the words and figures +following, to wit:</p> + +<div class="blockquotin"><p class="center">"ADVERTISEMENT.</p> + +<p>"The public are hereby informed, that on the nineteenth instant an omnibus +will commence running between Athena and the Piræus, and will continue +to do so every day at the undermentioned hours until farther notice.</p> + +<p class="center"><i>Hours of Departure.</i></p> +<table summary="schedule"> +<tr> +<td class="center"> +From Athens.</td><td> </td><td class="center"> From Piræus.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Half past seven o'clock A.M.</td><td> </td><td>Half past eight o'clock A.M.</td></tr> +<tr> +<td>Ten o'clock A.M.</td><td> </td><td>Eleven o'clock A.M.</td></tr> +<tr> +<td>Two o'clock P.M.</td><td> </td><td>Three o'clock P.M.</td></tr> +<tr> +<td>Half past four P.M.</td><td> </td><td> Half past five P.M.</td></tr></table> + +<p>"The price of a seat in the omnibus is one drachme.</p> + +<p>"Baggage, if not too bulky and heavy, can be taken on the roof.</p> + +<p>"Smoking cannot be allowed in the omnibus, nor can dogs be admitted.</p> + +<p>"Small parcels and packages may be sent by this conveyance at a moderate +charge, and given to the care of the conducteur.</p> + +<p>"The omnibus starts from the corner of the Hermes and Æolus streets at +Athens and from the bazar at the Piræus, and will wait five minutes at each +place, during which period the conducteur will sound his horn.</p> + +<p>"Athens, 17th, 29th September, 1836."</p></div> + +<p>Old things are passing away, and all things are becoming +new. For a little while yet we may cling to +the illusions connected with the past, but the mystery +is fast dissolving, the darkness is breaking away, and +Greece, and Rome, and even Egypt herself, henceforward +claim our attention with objects and events of the +present hour. Already they have lost much of the deep +and absorbing interest with which men turned to them +a generation ago. All the hallowed associations of these +ancient regions are fading away. We may regret it, +we may mourn over it, but we <span class="err" title="original: connot">cannot</span> help it. The +world is marching onward; I have met parties of my +own townsmen while walking in the silent galleries of +the Coliseum; I have seen Americans drinking Champagne +in an excavated dwelling of the ancient Pompeii, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span>and I have dined with Englishmen among the ruins of +Thebes, but, blessed be my fortune, I never rode in an +omnibus from the Piræus to Athens.</p> + +<p>We put our baggage on board the caique, and lounged +among the little shops till dark, when we betook ourselves +to a dirty little coffee-house filled with Greeks +dozing and smoking pipes. We met there a boat's +crew of a French man-of-war, waiting for some of the +officers, who were dining with the French ambassador +at Athens. One of them had been born to a better condition +than that of a common sailor. One juvenile indiscretion +after another had brought him down, and, +without a single vice, he was fairly on the road to ruin. +Once he brushed a tear from his eyes as he told us of +prospects blighted by his own follies; but, rousing himself, +hurried away, and his reckless laugh soon rose +above the noise and clamour of his wild companions.</p> + +<p>About ten o'clock the doctor came in, drenched with +rain and up to his knees in mud. We wanted to embark +immediately, but the appearance of the weather +was so unfavourable that the captain preferred waiting +till after midnight. The Greeks went away from +the coffee-house, the proprietor fell asleep in his seat, +and we extended ourselves on the tables and chairs; +and now the fleas, which had been distributed about +among all the loungers, made a combined onset upon +us. Life has its cares and troubles, but few know that +of being given up to the tender mercies of Greek fleas. +We bore the infliction till human nature could endure +no longer; and, at about three in the morning, in the +midst of violent wind and rain, broke out of the coffee-house +and went in search of our boat. It was very +dark, but we found her and got on board. She was a +caique, having an open deck with a small covering over +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span>the stern. Under this we crept, and with our cloaks and +a sailcloth spread over us, our heated blood cooled, and +we fell asleep. When we woke we were on the way +to Epidaurus. The weather was raw and cold. We +passed within a stone's throw of Salamis and Ægina, and +at about three o'clock, turning a point which completely +hid it from view, entered a beautiful little bay, on which +stands the town of Epidaurus. The old city, the birthplace +of Esculapius, stands upon a hill projecting into +the bay, and almost forming an island. In the middle +of the village is a wooden building containing a large +chamber, where the Greek delegates, a band of mountain +warriors, with arms in their hands, "in the name of +the Greek nation, proclaimed before gods and men its +independence."</p> + +<p>At the locanda there was by chance one bed, which +not being large enough for three, I slept on the floor. +At seven o'clock, after a quarrel with our host and paying +him about half his demand, we set out for Napoli di Romania. +For about an hour we moved in the valley running +off from the beautiful shore of Epidaurus; soon the +valley deepened into a glen, and in an hour we turned +off on a path that led into the mountains, and, riding +through wild and rugged ravines, fell into the dry bed +of a torrent; following which, we came to the Hieron +Elios, or Sacred Grove of Esculapius. This was the +great watering-place for the invalids of ancient Greece, +the prototype of the Cheltenham and Saratoga of modern +days. It is situated in a valley surrounded by high +mountains, and was formerly enclosed by walls, within +which, that the credit of the God might not be impeached, +<i>no man was allowed to die, and no woman to be delivered</i>. +Within this enclosure were temples, porticoes +and fountains, now lying in ruins hardly distinguishable. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span>The theatre is the most beautiful and best preserved. +It is scooped out of the side of the mountain, +rather more than semicircular in form, and containing +fifty-four seats. These seats are of pink marble, about +fifteen inches high and nearly three feet wide. In the +middle of each seat is a groove, in which, probably, +woodwork was constructed, to prevent the feet of those +above from incommoding them who sat below, and also +to support the backs of an invalid audience. The theatre +faces the north, and is so arranged that, with the +mountain towering behind it, the audience was shaded +nearly all the day. It speaks volumes in favour of the +intellectual character of the Greeks, that it was their +favourite recreation to listen to the recitation of their +poets and players. And their superiority in refinement +over the Romans is in no way manifested more +clearly than by the fact, that in the ruined cities of +the former are found the remains of theatres, and in the +latter of amphitheatres, showing the barbarous taste of +the Romans for combats of gladiators and wild beasts. +It was in beautiful keeping with this intellectual taste of +the Greeks, that their places of assembling were in the +open air, amid scenery calculated to elevate the mind; +and, as I sat on the marble steps of the theatre, I could +well imagine the high satisfaction with which the Greek, +under the shade of the impending mountain, himself all +enthusiasm and passion, rapt in the interest of some +deep tragedy, would hang upon the strains of Euripides +or Sophocles. What deep-drawn exclamations, what +shouts of applause had rung through that solitude, what +bursts of joy and grief had echoed from those silent +benches! And then, too, what flirting and coqueting, +the state of society at the springs in the Grove of Esculapius +being probably much the same as at Saratoga +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span>in our own days. The whole grove is now a scene of +desolation. The lentisculus is growing between the +crevices of the broken marble; birds sing undisturbed +among the bushes; the timid hare steals among the +ruined fragments; and sometimes the snake is seen +gliding over the marble steps.</p> + +<p>We had expected to increase the interest of our visit +by taking our noonday refection on the steps of the theatre, +but it was too cold for a picnic <i>al fresco</i>; and, mounting +our horses, about two o'clock we came in sight of +Argos, on the opposite side of the great plain; and in +half an hour more, turning the mountain, saw Napoli +di Romania beautifully situated on a gentle elevation +on the shore of the gulf. The scenery in every direction +around Napoli is exceedingly beautiful; and, when +we approached it, bore no marks of the sanguinary +scenes of the late revolution. The plain was better +cultivated than any part of the adjacent country; and +the city contained long ranges of houses and streets, +with German names, such as Heidecker, Maurer-street, +&c., and was seemingly better regulated than any other +city in Greece. We drove up to the Hotel des Quatre +Nations, the best we had found in Greece, dined at a +restaurant with a crowd of Bavarian officers and adventurers, +and passed the evening in the streets and coffee-houses.</p> + +<p>The appearance of Otho-street, which is the principal, +is very respectable; it runs from what was the palace +to the grand square or esplanade, on one side of +which are the barracks of the Bavarian soldiers, with a +park of artillery posted so as to sweep the square and +principal streets; a speaking comment upon the liberty +of the Greeks, and the confidence reposed in them by +the government.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span>Everything in Napoli recalls the memory of the brief +and unfortunate career of Capo d'Istria. Its recovery +from the horrors of barbarian war, and the thriving appearance +of the country around, are ascribed to the impulse +given by his administration. A Greek by birth, +while his country lay groaning under the Ottoman yoke +he entered the Russian service, distinguished himself +in all the diplomatic correspondence during the +French invasion, was invested with various high offices +and honours, and subscribed the treaty of Paris in 1815 +as imperial Russian plenipotentiary. He withdrew from +her service because Russia disapproved the efforts of +his countrymen to free themselves from the Turkish +yoke; and, after passing five years in Germany and +Switzerland, chiefly at Geneva, in 1827 he was called +to the presidency of Greece. On his arrival at Napoli +amid the miseries of war and anarchy, he was received +by the whole people as the only man capable of saving +their country. Civil war ceased on the very day of his +arrival, and the traitor Grievas placed in his hands the +key of the Palimethe. I shall not enter into any speculations +upon the character of his administration. The +rank he had attained in a foreign service is conclusive +evidence of his talents, and his withdrawal from that +service for the reason stated is as conclusive of his +patriotism; but from the moment he took into his hands +the reins of government, he was assailed by every so-called +liberal press in Europe with the party cry of +Russian influence. The Greeks were induced to believe +that he intended to sell them to a stranger; and Capo +d'Istria, strong in his own integrity, and confidently +relying on the fidelity and gratitude of his countrymen, +was assassinated in the streets on his way to mass. +Young Mauromichalis, the son of the old Bey of Maina, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span>struck the fatal blow, and fled for refuge to the house +of the French ambassador. A gentleman attached to +the French legation told me that he himself opened +the door when the murderer rushed in with the bloody +dagger in his hand, exclaiming, "I have killed the tyrant." +He was not more than twenty-one, tall and noble +in his appearance, and animated by the enthusiastic belief +that he had delivered his country. My informant +told me that he barred all the doors and windows, and +went up stairs to inform the minister, who had not yet +risen. The latter was embarrassed and in doubt what +he should do. A large crowd gathered round the house; +but, as yet, they were all Mauromichalis's friends. The +young enthusiast spoke of what he had done with a high +feeling of patriotism and pride; and while the clamour +out of doors was becoming outrageous, he ate his breakfast +and smoked his pipe with the utmost composure. +He remained at the embassy more than two hours, and +until the regular troops drew up before the house. The +French ambassador, though he at first refused, was +obliged to deliver him up; and my informant saw him +shot under a tree outside the gate of Napoli, dying gallantly +in the firm conviction that he had played the +Brutus and freed his country from a Cæsar.</p> + +<p>The fate of Capo d'Istria again darkened the prospects +of Greece, and the throne went begging for an +occupant until it was accepted by the King of Bavaria +for his second son Otho. The young monarch arrived +at Napoli in February, eighteen hundred and thirty-three. +The whole population came out to meet him, +and the Grecian youth ran breast deep in the water to +touch his barge as it approached the shore. In February, +eighteen hundred and thirty-four, it was decided +to establish Athens as the capital. The propriety of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span>this removal has been seriously questioned, for Napoli +possessed advantages in her location, harbour, fortress +and a town already built; but the King of Bavaria, a +scholar and an antiquary, was influenced more, perhaps, +by classical feeling than by regard for the best interests +of Greece. Napoli has received a severe blow +from the removal of the seat of government; still it was +by far the most European in its appearance of any city +I had seen in Greece. It had several restaurants and +coffee-houses, which were thronged all the evening with +Bavarian officers and broken-down European adventurers, +discussing the internal affairs of that unfortunate +country, which men of every nation seemed to think +they had a right to assist in governing. Napoli had +always been the great gathering-place of the phil-Hellenists, +and many appropriating to themselves that +sacred name were hanging round it still. All over +Europe thousands of men are trained up to be shot at +for so much per day; the soldier's is as regular a business +as that of the lawyer or merchant, and there is +always a large class of turbulent spirits constantly on +the look-out for opportunities, and ever ready with their +swords to carve their way to fortune. I believe that there +were men who embarked in the cause of Greece with +as high and noble purposes as ever animated the warrior; +but of many, there is no lack of charity in saying that, +however good they might be as fighters, they were not +much as men; and I am sorry to add that, from the +accounts I heard in Greece, some of the American phil-Hellenists +were rather shabby fellows. Mr. M., then +resident in Napoli, was accosted one day in the streets +by a young man, who asked him where he could find +General Jarvis. "What do you want with him?" said +Mr. M. "I hope to obtain a commission in his army." +"Do you see that dirty fellow yonder?" said Mr. M., +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span>pointing to a ragged patriot passing at the moment; +"well, twenty such fellows compose Jarvis's army, and +Jarvis himself is no better off." "Well, then," said +the young <i>American</i>, "I believe I'll join the Turks!" +Allen, another American patriot, was hung at Constantinople. +One bore the sacred name of Washington; +a brave but unprincipled man. Mr. M. had heard him +say, that if the devil himself should raise a regiment +and would give him a good commission, he would willingly +march under him. He was struck by a shot from +the fortress of Napoli while directing a battery against +it; was taken on board his Britannic majesty's ship Asia, +and breathed his last uttering curses on his country.</p> + +<p>There were others, however, who redeemed the +American character. The agents sent out by the Greek +committee (among them our townsmen, Messrs. Post +and Stuyvesant), under circumstances of extraordinary +difficulty fulfilled the charitable purposes of their mission +with such zeal and discretion as to relieve the +wants of a famishing people, and secure the undying +gratitude of the Greeks. Dr. Russ, another of the +agents, established an American hospital at Poros, and, +under the most severe privations, devoted himself gratuitously +to attendance upon the sick and wounded. +Dr. Howe, one of the earliest American phil-Hellenists, +in the darkest hour of the revolution, and at a time when +the Greeks were entirely destitute of all medical aid, +with an honourable enthusiasm, and without any hope +of pecuniary reward, entered the service as surgeon, +was the fellow-labourer of Dr. Russ in establishing the +American hospital, and, at the peril of his life, remained +with them during almost the whole of their dreadful +struggle. Colonel Miller, the principal agent, now +resident in Vermont, besides faithfully performing the +duties of his trust, entered the army, and conducted himself +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span>with such distinguished gallantry that he was called +by the Greek braves the American Delhi, or Daredevil.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<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> They married two brothers, the young princes Cantacuzenes. Some +scruples being raised against this double alliance on the score of consanguinity, +the difficulty was removed by each couple going to separate +churches with separate priests to pronounce the mystic words at precisely +the same moment; so that neither could be said to espouse his sister-in-law.</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> In the previous editions of his work, the author's remarks were so +general as to reflect upon the character of individuals who stand in our +community above reproach. The author regrets that the carelessness of +his expressions should have wounded where he never intended, and hopes +the gentlemen affected will do him the justice to believe that he would not +wantonly injure any man's character or feelings.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Argos.—Tomb of Agamemnon.—Mycenæ.— +Gate of the <span class="err" title="original: Lyons">Lions</span>.—A Misfortune.—A +Midnight Quarrel.—Gratitude of a Greek Family.—Megara.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">In</span> the morning, finding a difficulty in procuring +horses, some of the loungers about the hotel told us +there was a carriage in Napoli, and we ordered it to +be brought out, and soon after saw moving majestically +down the principal street a bella carozza, imported by +its enterprising proprietor from the Strada Toledo at +Naples. It was painted a bright flaring yellow, and +had a big breeched Albanian for coachman. While +preparing to embark, a Greek came up with two horses, +and we discharged the bella carozza. My companion +hired the horses for Padras, and I threw my cloak on +one of them and followed on foot.</p> + +<p>The plain of Argos is one of the most beautiful I ever +saw. On every side except toward the sea it is bounded +by mountains, and the contrast between these mountains, +the plain, and the sea is strikingly beautiful. +The sun was beating upon it with intense heat; the +labourers were almost naked, or in several places lying +asleep on the ground, while the tops of the mountains +were covered with snow. I walked across the +whole plain, being only six miles, to Argos. This ancient +city is long since in ruins; her thirty temples, her +costly sepulchres, her gymnasium, and her numerous +and magnificent monuments and statues have disappeared, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>and the only traces of her former greatness are +some remains of her Cyclopean walls, and a ruined +theatre cut in the rock and of magnificent proportions. +Modern Argos is nothing more than a straggling village. +Mr. Riggs, an American missionary, was stationed +there, but was at that time at Athens with an invalid +wife. I was still on foot, and wandered up and down +the principal street looking for a horse. Every Greek +in Argos soon knew my business, and all kinds of four-legged +animals were brought to me at exorbitant prices. +When I was poring over the Iliad I little thought that +I should ever visit Argos; still less that I should create +a sensation in the ancient city of the Danai; but man +little knows for what he is reserved.</p> + +<p>Argos has been so often visited that Homer is out of +date. Every middy from a Mediterranean cruiser has +danced on the steps of her desolate theatre, and, instead +of busying myself with her ancient glories, I +roused half the population in hiring a horse. In fact, +in this ancient city I soon became the centre of a +regular horsemarket. Every rascally jockey swore +that his horse was the best, and, according to the descendants +of the respectable sons of Atreus, blindness, +lameness, spavin, and staggers were a recommendation. +A Bavarian officer, whom I had met in the bazars, +came to my assistance, and stood by me while I +made my bargain. I had more regard to the guide +than the horse; and picking out one who had been +particularly noisy, hired him to conduct me to Corinth +and Athens. He was a lad of about twenty, with a +bright sparkling eye, who, laughing roguishly at his +unsuccessful competitors, wanted to pitch me at once +on the horse and be off. I joined my companions, and +in a few minutes we left Argos.</p> + +<p>The plain of Argos has been immortalized by poetic +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span>genius as the great gathering-place of the kings and +armies that assembled for the siege of Troy. To the +scholar and poet few plains in the world are more interesting. +It carries him back to the heroic ages, to the +history of times bordering on the fabulous, when fact +and fiction are so beautifully blended that we would not +separate them if we could. I had but a little while longer +to remain with my friends, for we were approaching +the point where our roads separated, and about eleven +o'clock we halted and exchanged our farewell greetings. +We parted in the middle of the plain, they to return to +Padras and Europe, and I for the tomb of Agamemnon, +and back to Athens, and I hardly know where besides. +Dr. W. I did not meet again until my return home. +About a year afterward I arrived in Antwerp in the evening +from Rotterdam. The city was filled with strangers, +and I was denied admission at a third hotel, when a young +man brushed by me in the doorway, and I recognised +Maxwell. I hailed him, but in cap and cloak, and with +a large red shawl around my neck, he did not know me. +I unrolled and discovered myself, and it is needless to +say that I did not leave the hotel that night. It was +his very last day of two years' travel on the Continent; +he had taken his passage in the steamer for London, +and one day later I should have missed him altogether. +I can give but a faint idea of the pleasure of this meeting. +He gave me the first information of the whereabout +of Dr. W.; we talked nearly all night, and about noon +the next day I again bade him farewell on board the +steamer.</p> + +<p>I have for some time neglected our servant. When +we separated, the question was who should <i>not</i> keep him. +We were all heartily tired of him, and I would not have +had him with me on any account. Still, at the moment +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span>of parting in that wild and distant region, never expecting +to see him again, I felt some slight leaning toward him. +Touching the matter of shirts, it will not be surprising +to a man of the world that, at the moment of parting, +I had one of M.'s on my back; and, in justice to him, I +must say it was a very good one, and lasted a long time. +A friend once wrote to me on a like occasion not to wear +his out of its turn, but M. laid no such restriction upon +me. But this trifling gain did not indemnify me for the +loss of my friends. I had broken the only link that +connected me with home, and was setting out alone for +I knew not where. I felt at once the great loss I had +sustained, for my young muleteer could speak only his +own language, and, as Queen Elizabeth said to Sir Walter +Raleigh of her Hebrew, we had "forgotten our" +Greek.</p> + +<p>But on that classical soil I ought not to have been +lonely. I should have conjured up the ghosts of the +departed Atridæ, and held converse on their own ground +with Homer's heroes. Nevertheless, I was not in the +mood; and, entirely forgetting the glories of the past, I +started my horse into a gallop. My companion followed +on a full run, close at my heels, belabouring my horse +with a stick, which when he broke, he pelted him with +stones; indeed, this mode of scampering over the ground +seemed to hit his humour, for he shouted, hurraed, and +whipped, and sometimes laying hold of the tail of the +beast, was dragged along several paces with little effort +of his own. I soon tired of this, and made signs to him +to stop; but it was his turn now, and I was obliged to +lean back till I reached him with my cane before I could +make him let go his hold, and then he commenced +shouting and pelting again with stones.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span>In this way we approached the village of Krabata, +about a mile below the ruins of Mycenæ, and the most +miserable place I had seen in Greece. With the fertile +plain of Argos uncultivated before them, the inhabitants +exhibited a melancholy picture of the most abject poverty. +As I rode through, crowds beset me with outstretched +arms imploring charity; and a miserable old +woman, darting out of a wretched hovel, laid her gaunt +and bony hand upon my leg, and attempted to stop me. +I shrunk from her grasp, and, under the effect of a +sudden impulse, threw myself off on the other side, and +left my horse in her hands.</p> + +<p>Hurrying through the village, a group of boys ran +before me, crying out "Agamemnon," "Agamemnon." +I followed, and they conducted me to the tomb of "the +king of kings," a gigantic structure, still in good preservation, +of a conical form, covered with turf; the stone +over the door is twenty-seven feet long and seventeen +wide, larger than any hewn stone in the world except +Pompey's Pillar. I entered, my young guides going +before with torches, and walked within and around this +ancient sepulchre. A worthy Dutchman, Herman Van +Creutzer, has broached a theory that the Trojan war is a +mere allegory, and that no such person as Agamemnon +ever existed. Shame upon the cold-blooded heretic. +I have my own sins to answer for in that way, for I +have laid my destroying hand upon many cherished illusions; +but I would not, if I could, destroy the mystery +that overhangs the heroic ages. The royal sepulchre +was forsaken and empty; the shepherd drives within it +his flock for shelter; the traveller sits under its shade +to his noonday meal; and, at the moment, a goat was +dozing quietly in one corner. He started as I entered, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span>and seemed to regard me as an intruder; and when I +flared before him the light of my torch, he rose up to +butt me. I turned away and left him in quiet possession. +The boys were waiting outside, and crying +"Mycenæ," "Mycenæ," led me away. All was solitude, +and I saw no marks of a city until I reached the +relics of her Cyclopean walls. I never felt a greater +degree of reverence than when I approached the lonely +ruins of Mycenæ. At Argos I spent most of my time +in the horsemarket, and I had galloped over the great +plain as carelessly as if it had been the road to Harlem; +but all the associations connected with this most interesting +ground here pressed upon me at once. Its extraordinary +antiquity, its gigantic remains, and its utter +and long-continued desolation, came home to my +heart. I moved on to the Gate of the Lions, and stood +before it a long time without entering. A broad street +led to it between two immense parallel walls; and this +street may, perhaps, have been a market-place. Over +the gate are two lions rampant, like the supporters of a +modern coat-of-arms, rudely carved, and supposed to be +the oldest sculptured stone in Greece. Under this very +gate Agamemnon led out his forces for the siege of +Troy; three thousand years ago he saw them filing before +him, glittering in brass, in all the pomp and panoply +of war; and I held in my hand a book which told me +that this city was so old that, more than seventeen hundred +years ago, travellers came as I did to visit its ruins; +and that Pausanias had found the Gate of the Lions in +the same state in which I beheld it now. A great part +is buried by the rubbish of the fallen city. I crawled +under, and found myself within the walls, and then +mounted to the height on which the city stood. It was +covered with a thick soil and a rich carpet of grass. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span>My boys left me, and I was alone. I walked all over +it, following the line of the walls. I paused at the great +blocks of stone, the remnants of Cyclopic masonry, the +work of wandering giants. The heavens were unclouded, +and the sun was beaming upon it with genial +warmth. Nothing could exceed the quiet beauty of the +scene. I became entangled in the long grass, and picked +up wild flowers growing over long-buried dwellings. +Under it are immense caverns, their uses now unknown; +and the earth sounded hollow under my feet, as if I were +treading on the sepulchre of a buried city. I looked across +the plain to Argos; all was as beautiful as when Homer +sang its praises; the plain, and the mountains, and the +sea were the same, but the once magnificent city, her numerous +statues and gigantic temples, were gone for ever; +and but a few remains were left to tell the passing traveller +the story of her fallen greatness. I could have +remained there for hours; I could have gone again and +again, for I had not found a more interesting spot in +Greece; but my reveries were disturbed by the appearance +of my muleteer and my juvenile escort. They +pointed to the sun as an intimation that the day was +passing; and crying "Cavallo," "Cavallo," hurried me +away. To them the ruined city was a playground; they +followed capering behind; and, in descending, three or +four of them rolled down upon me; they hurried me +through the Gate of the Lions, and I came out with my +pantaloons, my only pantaloons, rent across the knee +almost irreparably. In an instant I was another man; +I railed at the ruins for their strain upon wearing apparel, +and bemoaned my unhappy lot in not having +with me a needle and thread. I looked up to the old +gate with a sneer. This was the city that Homer had +made such a noise about; a man could stand on the citadel +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span>and almost throw a stone beyond the boundary-line +of Agamemnon's kingdom. In full sight, and just at the +other side of the plain, was the kingdom of Argos. The +little state of Rhode Island would make a bigger kingdom +than both of them together.</p> + +<p>But I had no time for deep meditation, having a long +journey to Corinth before me. Fortunately, my young +Greek had no tire in him; he started me off on a gallop, +whipping and pelting my horse with stones, and +would have hurried me on, over rough and smooth, till +either he, or I, or the horse broke down, if I had not +jumped off and walked. As soon as I dismounted he +mounted, and then he moved so leisurely that I had to +hurry him on in turn. In this way we approached the +range of mountains separating the plain of Argos from +the Isthmus of Corinth. Entering the pass, we rode +along a mountain torrent, of which the channel-bed was +then dry, and ascended to the summit of the first range. +Looking back, the scene was magnificent. On my +right and left were the ruined heights of Argos and Mycenæ; +before me, the towering Acropolis of Napoli di +Romania; at my feet, the rich plain of Argos, extending +to the shore of the sea; and beyond, the island-studded +Ægean. I turned away with a feeling of regret that, in +all probability, I should never see it more.</p> + +<p>I moved on, and in a narrow pass, not wide enough +to turn my horse if I had been disposed to take to my +heels, three men rose up from behind a rock, armed to +the teeth with long guns, pistols, yataghans, and sheepskin +cloaks—the dress of the klept or mountain robber—and +altogether presenting a most diabolically cutthroat +appearance. If they had asked me for my purse +I should have considered it all regular, and given up +the remnant of my stock of borrowed money without a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span>murmur; but I was relieved from immediate apprehension +by the cry of passe porta. King Otho has begun +the benefits of civilized government in Greece by introducing +passports, and mountain warriors were stationed +in the different passes to examine strangers. They +acted, however, as if they were more used to demanding +purses than passports, for they sprang into the road +and rattled the butts of their guns on the rock with a +violence that was somewhat startling. Unluckily, my +passport had been made out with those of my companions, +and was in their possession, and when we +parted neither thought of it; and this demand to me, +who had nothing to lose, was worse than that of my +purse. A few words of explanation might have relieved +me from all difficulty, but my friends could not understand +a word I said. I was vexed at the idea of being +sent back, and thought I would try the effect of a little +impudence; so, crying out "Americanos," I attempted +to pass on; but they answered me "Nix," and turned +my horse's head toward Argos. The scene, which a +few moments before had seemed so beautiful, was now +perfectly detestable. Finding that bravado had not the +desired effect, I lowered my tone and tried a bribe; +this was touching the right chord; half a dollar removed +all suspicions from the minds of these trusty +guardians of the pass; and, released from their attentions, +I hurried on.</p> + +<p>The whole road across the mountain is one of the +wildest in Greece. It is cut up by numerous ravines, +sufficiently deep and dangerous, which at every step +threaten destruction to the incautious traveller. During +the late revolution the soil of Greece had been +drenched with blood; and my whole journey had been +through cities and over battle-fields memorable for +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span>scenes of slaughter unparalleled in the annals of modern +war. In the narrowest pass of the mountains my +guide made gestures indicating that it had been the +scene of a desperate battle. When the Turks, having +penetrated to the plain of Argos, were compelled to fall +back again upon Corinth, a small band of Greeks, under +Niketas and Demetrius Ypsilanti, waylaid them in +this pass. Concealing themselves behind the rocks, +and waiting till the pass was filled, all at once they +opened a tremendous fire upon the solid column below, +and the pass was instantly filled with slain. Six thousand +were cut down in a few hours. The terrified survivers +recoiled for a moment; but, as if impelled by an +invisible power, rushed on to meet their fate. "The +Mussulman rode into the passes with his sabre in his +sheath and his hands before his eyes, the victim of destiny." +The Greeks again poured upon them a shower +of lead, and several thousand more were cut down before +the Moslem army accomplished the passage of this +terrible defile.</p> + +<p>It was nearly dark when we rose to the summit of +the last range of mountains, and saw, under the rich +lustre of the setting sun, the Acropolis of Corinth, with +its walls and turrets, towering to the sky, the plain +forming the Isthmus of Corinth; the dark, quiet waters +of the Gulf of Lepanto; and the gloomy mountains of +Cithæron, and Helicon, and Parnassus covered with +snow. It was after dark when we passed the region of +the Nemean Grove, celebrated as the haunt of the lion +and the scene of the first of the twelve labours of Hercules. +We were yet three hours from Corinth; and, +if the old lion had still been prowling in the grove, we +could not have made more haste to escape its gloomy +solitude. Reaching the plain, we heard behind us the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span>clattering of horses' hoofs, at first sounding in the stillness +of evening as if a regiment of cavalry or a troop +of banditti was at our heels, but it proved to be only a +single traveller, belated like ourselves, and hurrying on +to Corinth. I could see through the darkness the shining +butts of his pistols and hilt of his yataghan, and took +his dimensions with more anxiety, perhaps, than exactitude. +He recognised my Frank dress; and accosted +me in bad Italian, which he had picked up at Padras +(being just the Italian in which I could meet him on +equal ground), and told me that he had met a party of +Franks on the road to Padras, whom, from his description, +I recognised as my friends.</p> + +<p>It was nearly midnight when we rattled up to the +gate of the old locanda. The yard was thronged with +horses and baggage, and Greek and Bavarian soldiers. +On the balcony stood my old brigand host, completely +crestfallen, and literally turned out of doors in his own +house; a detachment of Bavarian soldiers had arrived +that afternoon from Padras, and taken entire possession, +giving him and his wife the freedom of the outside. +He did not recognise me, and, taking me for an Englishman, +began, "Sono Inglesi Signor" (he had lived +at Corfu under the British dominion); and, telling me +the whole particulars of his unceremonious ouster, +claimed, through me, the arm of the British government +to resent the injury to a British subject; his wife was +walking about in no very gentle mood, but, in truth, +very much the contrary. I did not speak to her, and she +did not trust herself to speak to me; but, addressing +myself to the husband, introduced the subject of my own +immediate wants, a supper and night's lodging. The +landlord told me, however, that the Bavarians had eaten +everything in the house, and he had not a room, bed, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span>blanket, or coverlet to give me; that I might lie down +in the hall or the piazza, but there was no other place.</p> + +<p>I was outrageous at the hard treatment he had received +from the Bavarians. It was too bad to turn an honest +innkeeper out of his house, and deny him the pleasure +of accommodating a traveller who had toiled hard all +day, with the perfect assurance of finding a bed at night. +I saw, however, that there was no help for it; and noticing +an opening at one end of the hall, went into a +sort of storeroom filled with all kinds of rubbish, particularly +old barrels. An unhinged door was leaning +against the wall, and this I laid across two of the barrels, +pulled off my coat and waistcoat, and on this extemporaneous +couch went to sleep.</p> + +<p>I was roused from my first nap by a terrible fall +against my door. I sprang up; the moon was shining +through the broken casement, and, seizing a billet of +wood, I waited another attack. In the mean time I heard +the noise of a violent scuffling on the floor of the hall, +and, high above all, the voices of husband and wife, +his evidently coming from the floor in a deprecating +tone, and hers in a high towering passion, and enforced +with severe blows of a stick. As soon as I was fairly +awake I saw through the thing at once. It was only a +little matrimonial <i>tête-à-tête</i>. The unamiable humour in +which I had left them against the Bavarians had ripened +into a private quarrel between themselves, and she had +got him down, and was pummelling him with a broomstick +or something of that kind. It seemed natural and +right enough, and was, moreover, no business of mine; +and remembering that whoever interferes between man +and wife is sure to have both against him, I kept quiet. +Others, however, were not so considerate, and the occupants +of the different rooms tumbled into the hall in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span>every variety of fancy night-gear, among whom was one +whose only clothing was a military coat and cap, with +a sword in his hand. When the hubbub was at its highest +I looked out, and found, as I expected, the husband +and wife standing side by side, she still brandishing the +stick, and both apparently outrageous at everything and +everybody around them. I congratulated myself upon +my superior knowledge of human nature, and went back +to my bed on the door.</p> + +<p>In the morning I was greatly surprised to find that, +instead of whipping her husband, she had been taking +his part. Two German soldiers, already half intoxicated, +had come into the hall, and insisted upon having +more wine; the host refused, and when they moved toward +my sleeping place, where the wine was kept, he +interposed, and all came down together with the noise +which had woke me. His wife came to his aid, and +the blows which, in my simplicity, I had supposed to +be falling upon him, were bestowed on the two Bavarians. +She told me the story herself; and when she complained +to the officers, they had capped the climax of +her passion by telling her that her husband deserved +more than he got. She was still in a perfect fury; and +as she looked at them in the yard arranging for their departure, +she added, in broken English, with deep and, +as I thought, ominous passion, "'Twas better to be under +the Turks."</p> + +<p>I learned all this while I was making my toilet on the +piazza, that is, while she was pouring water on my hands +for me to wash; and, just as I had finished, my eye fell +upon my muleteer assisting the soldiers in loading their +horses. At first I did not notice the subdued expression +of his usually bright face, nor that he was loading my +horse with some of their camp equipage; but all at +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>once it struck me that they were pressing him into their +service. I was already roused by what the woman had +told me, and, resolving that they should not serve me +as they did the Greeks, I sprang off the piazza, cleared +my way through the crowd, and going up to my horse, +already staggering under a burden poised on his back, +but not yet fastened, put my hand under one side and +tumbled it over with a crash on the other. The soldiers +cried out furiously; and, while they were sputtering +German at me, I sprang into the saddle. I was +in admirable pugilistic condition, with nothing on but +pantaloons, boots, and shirt, and just in a humour to get a +whipping, if nothing worse; but I detested the manner in +which the Bavarians lorded it in Greece; and riding up +to a group of officers who were staring at me, told them +that I had just tumbled their luggage off my horse, and +they must bear in mind that they could not deal with +strangers quite so arbitrarily as they did with the Greeks. +The commandant was disposed to be indignant and +very magnificent; but some of the others making suggestions +to him, he said he understood I had only hired +my horse as far as Corinth; but, if I had taken him for +Athens, he would not interfere; and, apologizing on the +ground of the necessities of government, ordered him +to be released. I apologized back again, returned the +horse to my guide, whose eyes sparkled with pleasure, +and went in for my hat and coat.</p> + +<p>I dressed myself, and, telling him to be ready when +I had finished my breakfast, went out expecting to start +forthwith; but, to my surprise, my host told me that +the lad refused to go any farther without an increase of +pay; and, sure enough, there he stood, making no preparation +for moving. The cavalcade of soldiers had +gone, and taken with them every horse in Corinth, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span>the young rascal intended to take advantage of my necessity. +I told him that I had hired him to Athens for +such a price, and that I had saved him from impressment, +and consequent loss of wages, by the soldiers, +which he admitted. I added that he was a young rascal, +which he neither admitted nor denied, but answered +with a roguish laugh. The extra price was no object +compared with the vexation of a day's detention; but a +traveller is apt to think that all the world is conspiring +to impose upon him, and, at times, to be very resolute +in resisting. I was peculiarly so then, and, after a few +words, set off to complain to the head of the police. +Without any ado he trotted along with me, and we proceeded +together, followed by a troup of idlers, I in something +of a passion, he perfectly cool, good-natured, and +considerate, merely keeping out of the way of my stick. +Hurrying along near the columns of the old temple, I +stumbled, and he sprang forward to assist me, his face +expressing great interest, and a fear that I had hurt myself; +and when I walked toward a house which I had +mistaken for the bureau of the police department, he +ran after me to direct me right. All this mollified me +considerably; and, before we reached the door, the +affair began to strike me as rather ludicrous.</p> + +<p>I stated my case, however, to the eparchos, a Greek +in Frank dress, who spoke French with great facility, +and treated me with the greatest consideration. He +was so full of professions that I felt quite sure of a decision +in my favour; but, assuming my story to be true, +and without asking the lad for his excuse, he shrugged +his shoulders, and said it would take time to examine +the matter, and, if I was in a hurry, I had better submit. +To be sure, he said, the fellow was a great rogue, +and he gave his countrymen in general a character that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span>would not tell well in print; but added, in their justification, +that they were imposed upon and oppressed by +everybody, and therefore considered that they had a +right to take their advantage whenever an opportunity +offered. The young man sat down on the floor, and +looked at me with the most frank, honest, and open expression, +as if perfectly unconscious that he was doing +anything wrong. I could not but acknowledge that +some excuse for him was to be drawn from the nature +of the school in which he had been brought up, and, +after a little parley, agreed to pay him the additional +price, if, at the end of the journey, I was satisfied with +his conduct. This was enough; his face brightened, +he sprang up and took my hand, and we left the house +the best friends in the world. He seemed to be hurt as +well as surprised at my finding fault with him, for to +him all seemed perfectly natural; and, to seal the reconciliation, +he hurried on ahead, and had the horse +ready when I reached the locanda. I took leave of my +host with a better feeling than before, and set out a +second time on the road to Athens.</p> + +<p>At Kalamaki, while walking along the shore, a +Greek who spoke the lingua Franca came from on +board one of the little caiques, and, when he learned +that I was an American, described to me the scene that +had taken place on that beach upon the arrival of provisions +from America; when thousands of miserable +beings who had fled from the blaze of their dwellings, +and lived for months upon plants and roots; grayheaded +men, mothers with infants at their breasts, emaciated +with hunger and almost frantic with despair, came +down from their mountain retreats to receive the welcome +relief. He might well remember the scene, for +he had been one of that starving people; and he took +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span>me to his house, and showed me his wife and four +children, now nearly all grown, telling me that they +had all been rescued from death by the generosity of +my countrymen. I do not know why, but in those +countries it did not seem unmanly for a bearded and +whiskered man to weep; I felt anything but contempt +for him when, with his heart overflowing and his eyes +filled with tears, he told me, when I returned home, to +say to my countrymen that I had seen and talked with +a recipient of their bounty; and though the Greeks +might never repay us, they could never forget what +we had done for them. I remembered the excitement +in our country in their behalf, in colleges and schools, +from the graybearded senator to the prattling schoolboy, +and reflected that, perhaps, my mite, cast carelessly +upon the waters, had saved from the extremity +of misery this grateful family. I wish that the +cold-blooded prudence which would have checked our +honest enthusiasm in favour of a people, under calamities +and horrors worse than ever fell to the lot of man +struggling to be free, could have listened to the gratitude +of this Greek family. With deep interest I bade +them farewell, and, telling my guide to follow with my +horse, walked over to the foot of the mountain.</p> + +<p>Ascending, I saw in one of the openings of the road +a packhorse and a soldier in the Bavarian uniform, and, +hoping to find some one to talk with, I hailed him. +He was on the top of the mountain, so far off that he +did not hear me; and when, with the help of my +Greek, I had succeeded in gaining his attention, he +looked for some time without being able to see me. +When he did, however, he waited; but, to my no small +disappointment, he answered my first question with the +odious "Nix." We tried each other in two or three +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span>dialects; but, finding it of no use, I sat down to rest, +and he, for courtesy, joined me; my young Greek, in +the spirit of good-fellowship, doing the same. He was +a tall, noble-looking fellow, and, like myself, a stranger +in Greece; and, though we could not say so, it was understood +that we were glad to meet and travel together +as comrades. The tongue causes more evils than the +sword; and, as we were debarred the use of this mischievous +member, and walked all day side by side, seldom +three paces apart, before night we were sworn +friends.</p> + +<p>About five o'clock in the afternoon we arrived at +Megara. A group of Bavarian soldiers was lounging +round the door of the khan, who welcomed their expected +comrade and me as his companion. My friend +left me, and soon returned with the compliments of the +commandant, and an invitation to visit him in the evening. +I had, however, accepted a prior invitation from +the soldiers for a rendezvous in the locanda. I wandered +till dark among the ruined houses of the town, +thought of Euclid and Alexander the Great, and returning, +went up to the same room in which I had slept with +my friends, pored over an old map of Greece hanging on +the wall, made a few notes, and throwing myself back +on a sort of divan, while thinking what I should do fell +asleep.</p> + +<p>About ten o'clock I was roused by the loud roar of a +chorus, not like a sudden burst, but a thing that seemed +to have swelled up to that point by degrees; and rubbing +my eyes, and stumbling down stairs, I entered +the banqueting hall; a long, rough wooden table extended +the whole length of the room, supplied with only +two articles, wine-flagons and tobacco-pouches; forty +or fifty soldiers were sitting round it, smoking pipes +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span>and singing with all their souls, and, at the moment I +entered, waving their pipes to the dying cadence of a +hunting chorus. Then followed a long thump on the +table, and they all rose; my long travelling friend, with +a young soldier who spoke a little French, came up, and, +escorting me to the head of the table, gave me a seat +by the side of the chairman. One of them attempted +to administer a cup of wine, and the other thrust at me +the end of a pipe, and I should have been obliged to +kick and abscond but for the relief afforded me by the +entrance of another new-comer. This was no other +than the corporal's wife; and if I had been received +warmly, she was greeted with enthusiasm. Half the +table sprang forward to escort her, two of them collared +the president and hauled him off his seat, and the whole +company, by acclamation, installed her in his place. +She accepted it without any hesitation, while two of +them, with clumsy courtesy, took off her bonnet, which +I, sitting at her right hand, took charge of. All then resumed +their places, and the revel went on more gayly +than ever. The lady president was about thirty, plainly +but neatly dressed, and, though not handsome, had +a frank, amiable, and good-tempered expression, indicating +that greatest of woman's attributes, a good heart. +In fact, she looked what the young man at my side told +me she was, the peacemaker of the regiment; and he +added, that they always tried to have her at their convivial +meetings, for when she was among them the brawling +spirits were kept down, and every man would be +ashamed to quarrel in her presence. There was no +chivalry, no heroic devotion about them, but their manner +toward her was as speaking a tribute as was ever +paid to the influence of woman; and I question whether +beauty in her bower, surrounded by belted knights and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span>barons bold, ever exercised in her more exalted sphere +a more happy influence. I talked with her, and with +the utmost simplicity she told me that the soldiers all +loved her; that they were all kind to her, and she looked +upon them all as brothers. We broke up at about +twelve o'clock with a song, requiring each person to +take the hand of his neighbour; one of her hands fell +to me, and I took it with a respect seldom surpassed in +touching the hand of woman; for I felt that she was +cheering the rough path of a soldier's life, and, among +scenes calculated to harden the heart, reminding them +of mothers, and sisters, and sweethearts at home.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>A Dreary Funeral.—Marathon.—Mount Pentelicus.—A Mystery.—Woes +of a Lover.—Reveries of Glory.—Scio's Rocky Isle.—A blood-stained +Page of History.—A Greek Prelate.—Desolation.—The Exile's Return.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">Early</span> in the morning I again started. In a little +khan at Eleusis I saw three or four Bavarian soldiers +drinking, and ridiculing the Greek proprietor, calling +him patrioti and capitani. The Greek bore their gibes +and sneers without a word; but there was a deadly expression +in his look, which seemed to say, "I bide my +time;" and I remember then thinking that the Bavarians +were running up an account which would one day +be settled with blood. In fact, the soldiers went too +far; and, as I thought, to show off before me, one of +them slapped the Greek on the back, and made him +spill a measure of wine which he was carrying to a +customer, when the latter turned upon him like lightning, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span>threw him down, and would have strangled him if +he had not been pulled off by the by-standers. Indeed, +the Greeks had already learned both their intellectual +and physical superiority over the Bavarians; and, a +short time before, a party of soldiers sent to subdue a +band of Maniote insurgents had been captured, and, +after a farce of selling them at auction at a dollar a head, +were kicked, and whipped, and sent off.</p> + +<p>About four o'clock I arrived once more at Athens, +dined at my old hotel, and passed the evening at Mr. +Hill's.</p> + +<p>The next day I lounged about the city. I had been +more than a month without my carpet-bag, and the +way in which I managed during that time is a thing +between my travelling companions and myself. A prudent +Scotchman used to boast of a careful nephew, +who, in travelling, instead of leaving some of his clothes +at every hotel on the road, always brought home <i>more</i> +than he took away with him. I was a model of this +kind of carefulness while my opportunities lasted; but +my companions had left me, and this morning I went to +the bazars and bought a couple of shirts. Dressed up +in one of them, I strolled outside the walls; and, while +sitting in the shadow of a column of the Temple of Jupiter, +I saw coming from the city, through Hadrian's +Gate, four men, carrying a burden by the corners of a +coverlet, followed by another having in his hands a bottle +and spade. As they approached I saw they were +bearing the dead body of a woman, whom, on joining +them, I found to be the wife of the man who followed. +He was an Englishman or an American (for he called +himself either, as occasion required) whom I had seen +at my hotel and at Mr. Hill's; had been a sailor, and +probably deserted from his ship, and many years a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span>resident of Athens, where he married a Greek woman. +He was a thriftless fellow, and, as he told me, had +lived principally by the labour of his wife, who washed +for European travellers. He had been so long in +Greece, and his connexions and associations were so +thoroughly Greek, that he had lost that sacredness of +feeling so powerful both in Englishmen and Americans +of every class in regard to the decent burial of the +dead, though he did say that he had expected to procure +a coffin, but the police of the city had sent officers to +take her away and bury her. There was something so +forlorn in the appearance of this rude funeral, that my +first impulse was to turn away; but I checked myself +and followed. Several times the Greeks laid the corpse +on the ground and stopped to rest, chattering indifferently +on various subjects. We crossed the Ilissus, and +at some distance came to a little Greek chapel excavated +in the rock. The door was so low that we were +obliged to stoop on entering, and when within we could +hardly stand upright. The Greeks laid down the body +in front of the altar; the husband went for the priest, +the Greeks to select a place for a grave, and I remained +alone with the dead. I sat in the doorway, looking inside +upon the corpse, and out upon the Greeks digging +the grave. In a short time the husband returned with +a priest, one of the most miserable of that class of +"blind teachers" who swarm in Greece. He immediately +commenced the funeral service, which continued +nearly an hour, by which time the Greeks returned +and, taking up the body, carried it to the graveside and +laid it within. I knew the hollow sound of the first +clod of earth which falls upon the lid of a coffin, and +shrunk from its leaden fall upon the uncovered body. +I turned away, and, when at some distance, looked back +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span>and saw them packing the earth over the grave. I +never saw so dreary a burial-scene.</p> + +<p>Returning, I passed by the ancient stadium of Herodes +Atticus, once capable of containing twenty-five +thousand spectators; the whole structure was covered +with the purest white marble. All remains of its magnificence +are now gone; but I could still trace on the +excavated side of the hill its ancient form of a horseshoe, +and walked through the subterraneous passage by +which the vanquished in the games retreated from the +presence of the spectators.</p> + +<p>Returning to the city, I learned that an affray had +just taken place between some Greeks and Bavarians, +and, hurrying to the place near the bazars, found a +crowd gathered round a soldier who had been stabbed +by a Greek. According to the Greeks, the affair had +been caused by the habitual insults and provocation +given by the Bavarians, the soldier having wantonly +knocked a drinking-cup out of the Greek's hand while +he was drinking. In the crowd I met a lounging Italian +(the same who wanted me to come up from Padras +by water), a good-natured and good-for-nothing fellow, +and skilled in tongues; and going with him into a coffee-house +thronged with Bavarians and Europeans of +various nations in the service of government, heard +another story, by which it appeared that the Greeks, +as usual, were in the wrong, and that the poor Bavarian +had been stabbed without the slightest provocation, +purely from the Greeks' love of stabbing. Tired of +this, I left the scene of contention, and a few streets +off met an Athenian, a friend of two or three days' +standing, and, stopping under a window illuminated by +a pair of bright eyes from above, happened to express +my admiration of the lady who owned them, when he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span>tested the strength of my feelings on the subject by +asking me if I would like to marry her. I was not +prepared at the moment to give precisely that proof, +and he followed up his blow by telling me that, if I +wished it, he would engage to secure her for me before +the next morning. The Greeks are almost universally +poor. With them every traveller is rich, and +they are so thoroughly civilized as to think that a rich +man is, of course, a good match.</p> + +<p>Toward evening I paid my last visit to the Acropolis. +Solitude, silence, and sunset are the nursery of +sentiment. I sat down on a broken capital of the Parthenon; +the owl was already flitting among the ruins. +I looked up at the majestic temple and down at the +ruined and newly-regenerated city, and said to myself, +"Lots must rise in Athens!" I traced the line of the +ancient walls, ran a railroad to the Piræus, and calculated +the increase on "up-town lots" from building the +king's palace near the Garden of Plato. Shall I or +shall I not "make an operation" in Athens? The +court has removed here, the country is beautiful, climate +fine, government fixed, steamboats are running, +all the world is coming, and lots must rise. I bought +(in imagination) a tract of good tillable land, laid it out +in streets, had my Plato, and Homer, and Washington +Places, and Jackson Avenue, built a row of houses +to improve the neighbourhood where nobody lived, got +maps lithographed, and sold off at auction. I was in +the right condition to "go in," for I had nothing to lose; +but, unfortunately, the Greeks were very far behind the +spirit of the age, knew nothing of the beauties of the +credit system, and could not be brought to dispose of +their consecrated soil "on the usual terms," <i>ten per +cent. down, balance on bond and mortgage</i>, so, giving +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span>up the idea, at dark I bade farewell to the ruins of the +Acropolis, and went to my hotel to dinner.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning I started for the field of +Marathon. I engaged a servant at the hotel to accompany +me, but he disappointed me, and I set out alone +with my muleteer. Our road lay along the base of +Mount Hymettus, on the borders of the plain of Attica, +shaded by thick groves of olives. At noon I was on the +summit of a lofty mountain, at the base of which, still +and quiet as if it had never resounded with the shock +of war, the great battle-ground of the Greeks and Persians +extended to the sea. The descent was one of +the finest things I met with in Greece; wild, rugged, +and, in fact, the most magnificent kind of mountain +scenery. At the foot of the mountain we came to a +ruined convent, occupied by an old white-bearded +monk. I stopped there and lunched, the old man laying +before me his simple store of bread and olives, and +looking on with pleasure at my voracious appetite.</p> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/i_v1_p123.jpg" width="60%" alt="Mound of Marathon." title="Mound of Marathon" /> +<p class="caption">Mound of Marathon.</p> +</div> + +<p>This over, I hurried to the battle-field. Toward the +centre is a large mound of earth, erected over the Athenians +who fell in the battle. I made directly for this +mound, ascended it, and threw the reins loose over my +horse's neck; and, sitting on the top, read the account of +the battle in Herodotus.</p> + +<p>After all, is not our reverence misplaced, or, rather +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span>does not our respect for deeds hallowed by time render +us comparatively unjust? The Greek revolution teems +with instances of as desperate courage, as great love of +country, as patriotic devotion, as animated the men of +Marathon, and yet the actors in these scenes are not +known beyond the boundaries of their native land. +Thousands whose names were never heard of, and +whose bones, perhaps, never received burial, were as +worthy of an eternal monument as they upon whose grave +I sat. Still that mound is a hallowed sepulchre; +and the shepherd who looks at it from his mountain +home, the husbandman who drives his plough to its +base, and the sailor who hails it as a landmark from +the deck of his caique, are all reminded of the glory of +their ancestors. But away with the mouldering relics +of the past. Give me the green grave of Marco Bozzaris. +I put Herodotus in my pocket, gathered a few +blades of grass as a memorial, descended the mound, +betook myself to my saddle, and swept the plain on a +gallop, from the mountain to the sea.</p> + +<p>It is about two miles in width, and bounded by +rocky heights enclosing it at either extremity. Toward +the shore the ground is marshy, and at the place +where the Persians escaped to their ships are some unknown +ruins; in several places the field is cultivated, +and toward evening, on my way to the village of Marathon, +I saw a Greek ploughing; and when I told him +that I was an American, he greeted me as the friend +of Greece. It is the last time I shall recur to this feeling; +but it was music to my heart to hear a ploughman +on immortal Marathon sound in my ears the praises +of my country.</p> + +<p>I intended to pass the night at the village of Marathon; +but every khan was so cluttered up with goats, chickens, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span>and children, that I rode back to the monastery at the +foot of the mountain. It was nearly dark when I +reached it. The old monk was on a little eminence at +the door of his chapel, clapping two boards together to +call his flock to vespers. With his long white beard, +his black cap and long black gown, his picturesque position +and primitive occupation, he seemed a guardian +spirit hovering on the borders of Marathon in memory +of its ancient glory. He came down to the monastery +to receive me, and, giving me a paternal welcome, and +spreading a mat on the floor, returned to his chapel. I +followed, and saw his little flock assemble. The ploughman +came up from the plain and the shepherd came +down from the mountain; the old monk led the way to +the altar, and all kneeled down and prostrated themselves +on the rocky floor. I looked at them with deep interest. +I had seen much of Greek devotion in cities and +villages, but it was a spectacle of extraordinary interest +to see these wild and lawless men assembled on this +lonely mountain to worship in all sincerity, according to +the best light they had, the god of their fathers. I could +not follow them in their long and repeated kneelings +and prostrations; but my young Greek, as if to make +amends for me, and, at the same time, to show how +they did things in Athens, led the van. The service +over, several of them descended with us to the monastery; +the old monk spread his mat, and again brought +out his frugal store of bread and olives. I contributed +what I had brought from Athens, and we made our +evening meal. If I had judged from appearances, I +should have felt rather uneasy at sleeping among such +companions; but the simple fact of having seen them +at their devotions gave me confidence. Though I had +read and heard that the Italian bandit went to the altar +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span>to pray forgiveness for the crimes he intended to commit, +and, before washing the stains from his hands, hung up the +bloody poniard upon a pillar of the church, and asked pardon +for murder, I always felt a certain degree of confidence +in him who practised the duties of his religion, +whatever that religion might be. I leaned on my elbow, +and, by the blaze of the fire, read Herodotus, while my +muleteer, as I judged from the frequent repetition of the +word Americanos, entertained them with long stories +about me. By degrees the blaze of the fire died away, +the Greeks stretched themselves out for sleep, the old +monk handed me a bench about four inches high for a +pillow, and, wrapping myself in my cloak, in a few moments +I was wandering in the land of dreams.</p> + +<p>Before daylight my companions were in motion. I +intended to return by the marble quarries on the Pentelican +Mountain; and crying "Cavallo" in the ear of my +still sleeping muleteer, in a few minutes I bade farewell +for ever to the good old monk of Marathon. Almost +from the door of the monastery we commenced ascending +the mountain. It was just peep of day, the weather +raw and cold, the top of the mountain covered with +clouds, and in an hour I found myself in the midst of +them. The road was so steep and dangerous that I +could not ride; a false step of my horse might have +thrown me over a precipice several hundred feet deep; +and the air was so keen and penetrating, that, notwithstanding +the violent exercise of walking, I was perfectly +chilled. The mist was so dense, too, that, when my +guide was a few paces in advance, I could not see him, +and I was literally groping my way through the clouds. +I had no idea where I was nor of the scene around me, +but I felt that I was in a measure lifted above the earth. +The cold blasts drove furiously along the sides of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span>mountain, whistled against the precipices, and bellowed +in the hollows of the rocks, sometimes driving so furiously +that my horse staggered and fell back. I was +almost bewildered in struggling blindly against them; +but, just before reaching the top of the mountain, the +thick clouds were lifted as if by an invisible hand, and +I saw once more the glorious sun pouring his morning +beams upon a rich valley extending a great distance to +the foot of the Pentelican Mountain. About half way +down we came to a beautiful stream, on the banks of +which we took out our bread and olives. Our appetites +were stimulated by the mountain air, and we divided +till our last morsel was gone.</p> + +<p>At the foot of the mountain, lying between it and +Mount Pentelicus, was a large monastery, occupied by +a fraternity of monks. We entered and walked through +it, but found no one to receive us. In a field near by +we saw one of the monks, from whom we obtained a +direction to the quarries. Moving on to the foot of the +mountain, which rises with a peaked summit into the +clouds, we commenced ascending, and soon came upon +the strata of beautiful white marble for which Mount +Pentelicus has been celebrated thousands of years. Excavations +appear to have been made along the whole +route, and on the roadside were blocks, and marks caused +by the friction of the heavy masses transported to Athens. +The great quarries are toward the summit. The surface +has been cut perpendicularly smooth, perhaps +eighty or a hundred feet high, and one hundred and fifty +or two hundred feet in width, and excavations have been +made within to an unknown extent. Whole cities might +have been built with the materials taken away, and yet +by comparison with what is left, there is nothing gone. +In front are entrances to a large chamber, in one corner +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span>of which, on the right, is a chapel with the painted +figure of the Virgin to receive the Greeks' prayers. +Within are vast humid caverns, over which the wide +roof awfully extends, adorned with hollow tubes like icicles, +while a small transparent petrifying stream trickles +down the rock. On one side are small chambers communicating +with subterraneous avenues, used, no doubt, +as places of refuge during the revolution, or as the +haunts of robbers. Bones of animals and stones blackened +with smoke showed that but lately some part had +been occupied as a habitation. The great excavations +around, blocks of marble lying as they fell, perhaps, +two thousand years ago, and the appearances of having +been once a scene of immense industry and labour, stand +in striking contrast with the desolation and solitude now +existing. Probably the hammer and chisel will never +be heard there more, great temples will no more be +raised, and modern genius will never, like the Greeks +of old, make the rude blocks of marble speak.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p128.jpg" width="60%" alt="Quarries of Pentelicus." title="Quarries of Pentelicus" /> +<p class="caption">Quarries of Pentelicus.</p> +</div> + +<p>At dark I was dining at the Hotel de France, when +Mr. Hill came over with the welcome intelligence that +my carpet-bag had arrived. On it was pinned a large +paper, with the words "Huzzah!" "Huzzah!" "Huzzah!" +by my friend Maxwell, who had met it on horse +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span>back on the shores of the Gulf of Lepanto, travelling under +the charge of a Greek in search of me. I opened it +with apprehension, and, to my great satisfaction, found +undisturbed the object of my greatest anxiety, the precious +notebook from which I now write, saved from the +peril of an anonymous publication or of being used up +for gun-waddings.</p> + +<p>The next morning, before I was up, I heard a gentle +rap at my door, which was followed by the entrance +of a German, a missionary, whom I had met several +times at Mr. Hill's, and who had dined with me once at +my hotel. I apologized for being caught in bed, and +told him that he must possess a troubled spirit to send +him so early from his pillow. He answered that I was +right; that he did indeed possess a troubled spirit; and +closing the door carefully, came to my bedside, and +said he had conceived a great regard for me, and intended +confiding in me an important trust. I had several +times held long conversations with him at Mr. +Hill's, and very little to my edification, as his English +was hardly intelligible; but I felt pleased at having, +without particularly striving for it, gained the favourable +opinion of one who bore the character of a very learned +and a very good man. I requested him to step into +the dining-room while I rose and dressed myself; but +he put his hand upon my breast to keep me down, and +drawing a chair, began, "You are going to Smyrna." +He then paused, but, after some moments of hesitation, +proceeded to say that the first name I would hear on +my arrival there would be his own; that, unfortunately, +it was in everybody's mouth. My friend was a short +and very ugly middle-aged man, with a very large +mouth, speaking English with the most disagreeable +German sputter, lame from a fall, and, altogether, of a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span>most uninteresting and unsentimental aspect; and he +surprised me much by laying before me a veritable +<i>affaire du cœur</i>. It was so foreign to my expectations, +that I should as soon have expected to be made a confidant +in a love affair by the Archbishop of York. After +a few preliminaries he went into particulars; lavished +upon the lady the usual quota of charms "in such case +made and provided," but was uncertain, rambling, and +discursive in regard to the position he held in her regard. +At first I understood that it was merely the old +story, a flirtation and a victim; then that they were +very near being married, which I afterward understood +to be only so near as this, that he was willing and she +not; and, finally, it settled down into the every-day occurrence, +the lady smiled, while the parents and a stout +two-fisted brother frowned. I could but think, if such +a homely expression may be introduced in describing +these tender passages, that he had the boot on the +wrong leg, and that the parents were much more likely +than the daughter to favour such a <span class="err" title="original: suiter">suitor</span>. However, +on this point I held my peace. The precise business +he wished to impose on me was, immediately on my +arrival in Smyrna to form the acquaintance of the lady +and her family, and use all my exertions in his favour. +I told him I was an entire stranger in Smyrna, and +could not possibly have any influence with the parties; +but, being urged, promised him that, if I could interfere +without intruding myself improperly, he should +have the benefit of my mediation. At first he intended +giving me a letter to the lady, but afterward determined +to give me one to the Rev. Mr. Brewer, an American +missionary, who, he said, was a particular friend of his, +and intimate with the beloved and her family, and acquainted +with the whole affair. Placing himself at my +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span>table, on which were pens, ink, and paper, he proceeded +to write his letter, while I lay quietly till he turned +over the first side, when, tired of waiting, I rose, dressed +myself, packed up, and, before he had finished, stood +by the table with my carpet-bag, waiting until he should +have done to throw in my writing materials. He bade +me good-by after I had mounted my horse to leave, +and, when I turned back to look at him, I could not but +feel for the crippled, limping victim of the tender passion, +though, in honesty, and with the best wishes for +his success, I did not think it would help his suit for +the lady to see him.</p> + +<p>An account of my journey from Athens to Smyrna, +given in a letter to friends at home, was published during +my absence and without my knowledge, in successive +numbers of the American Monthly Magazine, +and perhaps the favourable notice taken of it had some +influence in inducing me to write a book. I give the +papers as they were then published.</p> + +<div class="letter"> +<p class="right"> +<i>Smyrna, April</i>, 1835.</p> +<p class="salutation"> +<span class="smcap">My dear</span> ****, +</p> + +<p>I have just arrived at this place, and I live to tell it. +I have been three weeks performing a voyage usually +made in three days. It has been tedious beyond all +things; but, as honest Dogberry would say, if it had +been ten times as tedious, I could find it in my heart to +bestow it all upon you. To begin at the beginning: on +the morning of the second instant, I and my long-lost +carpet-bag left the eternal city of Athens, without knowing +exactly whither we were going, and sincerely regretted +by Miltiades Panajotti, the garçon of the hotel. +We wound round the foot of the Acropolis, and, giving +a last look to its ruined temples, fell into the road to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span>the Piræus, and in an hour found ourselves at that ancient +harbour, almost as celebrated in the history of +Greece as Athens itself. Here we took counsel as to +farther movements, and concluded to take passage in a +caique to sail that evening for Syra, being advised that +that island was a great place of rendezvous for vessels, +and that from it we could procure a passage to any +place we chose. Having disposed of my better half +(I may truly call it so, for what is man without pantaloons, +vests, and shirts), I took a little sailboat to float +around the ancient harbour and muse upon its departed +glories.</p> + +<p>The day that I lingered there before bidding farewell, +perhaps for ever, to the shores of Greece, is deeply impressed +upon my mind. I had hardly begun to feel the +magic influence of the land of poets, patriots, and heroes, +until the very moment of my departure. I had travelled +in the most interesting sections of the country, and +found all enthusiasm dead within me when I had expected +to be carried away by the remembrance of the +past; but here, I know not how it was, without any effort, +and in the mere act of whiling away my time, all +that was great, and noble, and beautiful in her history +rushed upon me at once; the sun and the breeze, the +land and the sea, contributed to throw a witchery around +me; and in a rich and delightful frame of mind, I found +myself among the monuments of her better days, gliding +by the remains of the immense wall erected to enclose +the harbour during the Peloponnesian war, and +was soon floating upon the classic waters of Salamis.</p> + +<p>If I had got there by accident it would not have occurred +to me to dream of battles and all the fierce panoply +of war upon that calm and silvery surface. But +I knew where I was, and my blood was up. I was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span>among the enduring witnesses of the Athenian glory. +Behind me was the ancient city, the Acropolis, with +its ruined temples, the telltale monuments of by-gone +days, towering above the plain; here was the harbour +from which the galleys carried to the extreme parts of +the then known world the glories of the Athenian name; +before me was unconquered Salamis; here the invading +fleet of Xerxes; there the little navy, the last hope +of the Athenians; here the island of Ægina, from which +Aristides, forgetting his quarrel with Themistocles, embarked +in a rude boat, during the hottest of the battle, +for the ship of the latter; and there the throne of Xerxes, +where the proud invader stationed himself as spectator +of the battle that was to lay the rich plain of Attica at +his feet. There could be no mistake about localities; +the details have been handed down from generation to +generation, and are as well known to the Greeks of the +present day as they were to their fathers. So I went +to work systematically, and fought the whole battle +through. I gave the Persians ten to one, but I made +the Greeks fight like tigers; I pointed them to their +city; to their wives and children; I brought on long +strings of little innocents, urging them as in the farce, +"sing out, young uns;" I carried old Themistocles +among the Persians like a modern Greek fireship +among the Turks; I sunk ship after ship, and went on +demolishing them at a most furious rate, until I saw old +Xerxes scudding from his throne, and the remnant of +the Persian fleet scampering away to the tune of "devil +take the hindmost." By this time I had got into the +spirit of the thing; and moving rapidly over that water, +once red with blood of thousands from the fields of Asia, +I steered for the shore and mounted the vacant throne +of Xerxes. This throne is on a hill near the shore, not +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span>very high, and as pretty a place as a man could have +selected to see his friends whipped and keep out of +harm's way himself; for you will recollect that in those +days there was no gunpowder nor cannon balls, and, +consequently, no danger from long chance shots. I selected +a particular stone, which I thought it probable +Xerxes, as a reasonable man, and with an eye to perspective, +might have chosen as his seat on the eventful +day of the battle; and on that same stone sat down to +meditate upon the vanity of all earthly greatness. But, +most provokingly, whenever I think of Xerxes, the first +thing that presents itself to my mind is the couplet in +the Primer,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Xerxes the Great did die,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And so must you and I."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noi">This is a very sensible stanza, no doubt, and worthy +of always being borne in mind; but it was not exactly +what I wanted. I tried to drive it away; but the +more I tried, the more it stuck to me. It was all in +vain. I railed at early education, and resolved that acquired +knowledge hurts a man's natural faculties; for if +I had not received the first rudiments of education, I +should not have been bothered with the vile couplet, +and should have been able to do something on my own +account. As it was, I lost one of the best opportunities +ever a man had for moralizing; and you, my dear ——, +have lost at least three pages. I give you, however, +all the materials; put yourself on the throne of Xerxes, +and do what you can, and may your early studies be no +stumbling-block in your way. As for me, vexed and +disgusted with myself, I descended the hill as fast as +the great king did of yore, and jumping into my boat, +steered for the farthest point of the Piræus; from the +throne of <i>Xerxes</i> to the tomb of Themistocles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span>I was prepared to do something here. This was +not merely a place where he had been; I was to tread +upon the earth that covered his bones; here were +his ashes; here was all that remained of the best and +bravest of the Greeks, save his immortal name. As +I approached I saw the large square stones that enclosed +his grave, and mused upon his history; the deliverer +of his country, banished, dying an exile, his +bones begged by his repenting countrymen, and buried +with peculiar propriety near the shore of the sea commanding +a full view of the scene of his naval glory. +For more than two thousand years the waves have almost +washed over his grave, the sun has shone and the +winds have howled over him; while, perhaps, his spirit +has mingled with the sighing of the winds and the +murmur of the waters, in moaning over the long captivity +of his countrymen; perhaps, too, his spirit has been +with them in their late struggle for liberty; has hovered +over them in the battle and the breeze, and is now +standing sentinel over his beloved and liberated country. +I approached as to the grave of one who will never die. +His great name, his great deeds, hallowed by the lapse +of so many ages; the scene—I looked over the wall +with a feeling amounting to reverence, when, directly +before me, the first thing I saw, the only thing I could +see, so glaring and conspicuous that nothing else could +fix my eye, was a tall, stiff, wooden headboard, painted +white, with black letters, to the memory of an Englishman +with as unclassical a name as that of <i>John Johnson</i>. +My eyes were blasted with the sight; I was ferocious; +I railed at him as if he had buried himself there +with his own hands. What had he to do there? I railed +at his friends. Did they expect to give him a name +by mingling him with the ashes of the immortal dead? +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>Did they expect to steal immortality like fire from the +flint? I dashed back to my boat, steered directly for +the harbour, gave sentiment to the dogs, and in half an +hour was eating a most voracious and spiteful dinner.</p> + +<p>In the evening I embarked on board my little caique. +She was one of the most rakish of that rakish description +of vessels. I drew my cloak around me and +stretched myself on the deck as we glided quietly out +of the harbour; saw the throne of Xerxes, the island of +Salamis, and the shores of Greece gradually fade from +view; looked at the dusky forms of the Greeks in their +capotes lying asleep around me; at the helmsman sitting +cross-legged at his post, apparently without life or +motion; gave one thought to home, and fell asleep.</p> + +<p>In the morning I began to examine my companions. +They were, in all, a captain and six sailors, probably all +part owners, and two passengers from one of the islands, +not one of whom could speak any other language than +Greek. My knowledge of that language was confined +to a few rolling hexameters, which had stuck by me in +some unaccountable way as a sort of memento of college +days. These, however, were of no particular use, +and, consequently, I was pretty much tongue-tied during +the whole voyage. I amused myself by making my observations +quietly upon my companions, as they did +more openly upon me, for I frequently heard the word +"Americanos" pass among them. I had before had +occasion to see something of Greek sailors, and to admire +their skill and general good conduct, and I was +fortified in my previous opinion by what I saw of my +present companions. Their temperance in eating and +drinking is very remarkable, and all my comparisons +between them and European sailors were very much in +their favour. Indeed, I could not help thinking, as they +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span>sat collectively, Turkish fashion, around their frugal meal +of bread, caviari, and black olives, that I had never seen +finer men. Their features were regular, in that style +which we to this day recognise as Grecian; their figures +good, and their faces wore an air of marked character +and intelligence; and these advantages of person +were set off by the island costume, the fez or red cloth +cap, with a long black tassel at the top, a tight vest and +jacket, embroidered and without collars, large Turkish +trousers coming down a little below the knee, legs bare, +sharp-pointed slippers, and a sash around the waist, tied +under the left side, with long ends hanging down, and a +knife sticking out about six inches. There was something +bold and daring in their appearance; indeed, I may +say, rakish and piratical; and I could easily imagine +that, if the Mediterranean should again become infested +with pirates, my friends would cut no contemptible figure +among them. But I must not detain you as long +on the voyage as I was myself. The sea was calm; +we had hardly any wind; our men were at the oars +nearly all the time, and, passing slowly by Ægina, Cape +Sunium, with its magnificent ruins mournfully overlooking +the sea, better known in modern times as Colonna's +Height and the scene of Falconer's shipwreck, passing +also the island of Zea, the ancient Chios, Thermia, and +other islands of lesser note, in the afternoon of the third +day we arrived at Syra.</p> + +<p>With regard to Syra I shall say but little; I am as +loath to linger about it now as I was to stay there then. +The fact is, I cannot think of the place with any degree +of satisfaction. The evening of my arrival I heard, +through a Greek merchant to whom I had a letter from +a friend in Athens, of a brig to sail the next day for +Smyrna; and I lay down on a miserable bed in a miserable +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span>locanda, in the confident expectation of resuming +my journey in the morning. Before morning, however, +I was roused by "blustering Boreas" rushing through +the broken casement of my window; and for more than +a week all the winds ever celebrated in the poetical history +of Greece were let loose upon the island. We were +completely cut off from all communication with the rest +of the world. Not a vessel could leave the port, while +vessel after vessel put in there for shelter. I do not mean +to go into any details; indeed, for my own credit's sake +I dare not; for if I were to draw a true picture of things +as I found them; if I were to write home the truth, I +should be considered as utterly destitute of taste and +sentiment; I should be looked upon as a most unpoetical +dog, who ought to have been at home poring over +the revised statutes instead of breathing the pure air of +poetry and song. And now, if I were writing what might +by chance come under the eyes of a sentimental young +lady or a young gentleman in his teens, the truth +would be the last thing I would think of telling. No, +though my teeth chatter, though a cold sweat comes +over me when I think of it, I would go through the +usual rhapsody, and huzzah for "the land of the East +and the clime of the sun." Indeed, I have a scrap in +my portfolio, written with my cloak and greatcoat on, +and my feet over a brazier, beginning in that way. +But to you, my dear ——, who know my touching sensibilities, +and who, moreover, have a tender regard +for my character and will not publish me, I would as +soon tell the truth as not. And I therefore do not hesitate +to say, but do not whisper it elsewhere, that in one +of the beautiful islands of the Ægean; in the heart of +the Cyclades, in the sight of Delos, and Paros, and +Antiparos, any one of which is enough to throw one +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span>who has never seen them into raptures with their fancied +beauties, here, in this paradise of a young man's +dreams, in the middle of April, I would have hailed +"chill November's surly blast" as a zephyr; I would +have exchanged all the beauties of this balmy clime for +the sunny side of Kamschatka; I would have given +my room and the whole Island of Syra for a third-rate +lodging in Communipaw. It was utterly impossible to +walk out, and equally impossible to stay in my room; +the house, to suit that delightful climate, being built +without windows or window-shutters. If I could forget +the island, I could remember with pleasure the society +I met there. I passed my mornings in the library +of Mr. R., one of our worthy American missionaries; +and my evenings at the house of Mr. W., the British +consul. This gentleman married a Greek lady of +Smyrna, and had three beautiful daughters, more than +half Greeks in their habits and feelings; one of them +is married to an English baronet, another to a Greek +merchant of Syra, and the third—.</p> + +<p>On the ninth day the wind fell, the sun once more +shone brightly, and in the evening I embarked on board +a rickety brig for Smyrna. At about six o'clock P.M. +thirty or forty vessels were quietly crawling out of the +harbour like rats after a storm. It was almost a calm +when we started: in about two hours we had a favourable +breeze; we turned in, going at the rate of eight +miles an hour, and rose with a strong wind dead ahead. +We beat about all that day; the wind increased to a +gale, and toward evening we took shelter in the harbour +of Scio.</p> + +<p>The history of this beautiful little island forms one +of the bloodiest pages in the history of the world, and +one glance told that dreadful history. Once the most +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span>beautiful island of the Archipelago, it is now a mass of +ruins. Its fields, which once "budded and blossomed +as the rose," have become waste places; its villages are +deserted, its towns are in ruins, its inhabitants murdered, +in captivity, and in exile. Before the Greek revolution +the Greeks of Scio were engaged in extensive +commerce, and ranked among the largest merchants in +the Levant. Though living under hard taskmasters, +subject to the exactions of a rapacious pacha, their industry +and enterprise, and the extraordinary fertility of +their island, enabled them to pay a heavy tribute to the +Turks and to become rich themselves. For many +years they had enjoyed the advantages of a college, with +professors of high literary and scientific attainments, +and their library was celebrated throughout all that +country; it was, perhaps, the only spot in Greece +where taste and learning still held a seat. But the island +was far more famed for its extraordinary natural +beauty and fertility. Its bold mountains and its soft +valleys, the mildness of its climate and the richness of +its productions, bound the Greeks to its soil by a tie +even stronger than the chain of their Turkish masters. +In the early part of the revolution the Sciotes took no +part with their countrymen in their glorious struggle +for liberty. Forty of their principal citizens were given +up as hostages, and they were suffered to remain in +peace. Wrapped in the rich beauties of their island, +they forgot the freedom of their fathers and their own +chains; and, under the precarious tenure of a tyrant's +will, gave themselves up to the full enjoyment of all +that wealth and taste could purchase. We must not +be too hard upon human nature; the cause seemed desperate; +they had a little paradise at stake; and if there +is a spot on earth, the risk of losing which could excuse +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span>men in forgetting that they were slaves in a land +where their fathers were free, it is the Island of Scio. +But the sword hung suspended over them by a single +hair. In an unexpected hour, without the least note of +preparation, they were startled by the thunder of the +Turkish cannon; fifty thousand Turks were let loose +like bloodhounds upon the devoted island. The affrighted +Greeks lay unarmed and helpless at their feet, +but they lay at the feet of men who did not know mercy +even by name; at the feet of men who hungered +and thirsted after blood; of men, in comparison with +whom wild beasts are as lambs. The wildest beast of +the forest may become gorged with blood; not so with +the Turks at Scio. Their appetite "grew with what it +fed on," and still longed for blood when there was not a +victim left to bleed. Women were ripped open, children +dashed against the walls, the heads of whole families +stuck on pikes out of the windows of their houses, +while their murderers gave themselves up to riot and +plunder within. The forty hostages were hung in a +row from the walls of the castle; an indiscriminate and +universal burning and massacre took place; in a few +days the ground was cumbered with the dead, and one +of the loveliest spots on earth was a pile of smoking +ruins. Out of a population of one hundred and ten +thousand, sixty thousand are supposed to have been +murdered, twenty thousand to have escaped, and thirty +thousand to have been sold into slavery. Boys and +young girls were sold publicly in the streets of Smyrna +and Constantinople at a dollar a head. And all this +did not arise from any irritated state of feeling toward +them. It originated in the cold-blooded, calculating +policy of the sultan, conceived in the same spirit which +drenched the streets of Constantinople with the blood +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span>of the Janisaries; it was intended to strike terror into +the hearts of the Greeks, but the murderer failed in his +aim. The groans of the hapless Sciotes reached the +ears of their countrymen, and gave a headlong and irresistible +impulse to the spirit then struggling to be +free. And this bloody tragedy was performed in our +own days, and in the face of the civilized world. +Surely if ever Heaven visits in judgment a nation for a +nation's crimes, the burning and massacre at Scio will +be deeply visited upon the accursed Turks.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when I landed, and my +landing was under peculiarly interesting circumstances. +One of my fellow-passengers was a native of the island, +who had escaped during the massacre, and now +revisited it for the first time. He asked me to accompany +him ashore, promising to find some friends at +whose house we might sleep; but he soon found himself +a stranger in his native island: where he had once +known everybody, he now knew nobody. The town +was a complete mass of ruins; the walls of many fine +buildings were still standing, crumbling to pieces, and +still black with the fire of the incendiary Turks. The +town that had grown up upon the ruins consisted of a +row of miserable shantees, occupied as shops for the +sale of the mere necessaries of life, where the shopman +slept on his window-shutter in front. All my companion's +efforts to find an acquaintance who would give +us a night's lodging were fruitless. We were determined +not to go on board the vessel, if possible to avoid +it; her last cargo had been oil, the odour of which still +remained about her. The weather would not permit +us to sleep on deck, and the cabin was intolerably disagreeable. +To add to our unpleasant position, and, at +the same time, to heighten the cheerlessness of the scene +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span>around us, the rain began to fall violently. Under the +guidance of a Greek we searched among the ruins for +an apartment where we might build a fire and shelter +ourselves for the night, but we searched in vain; the +work of destruction was too complete.</p> + +<p>Cold, and thoroughly drenched with rain, we were +retracing our way to our boat, when our guide told my +companion that a Greek archbishop had lately taken up +his abode among the ruins. We immediately went +there, and found him occupying apartments, partially +repaired, in what had once been one of the finest houses +in Scio. The entrance through a large stone gateway +was imposing; the house was cracked from top to bottom +by fire, nearly one half had fallen down, and the +stones lay scattered as they fell; but enough remained +to show that in its better days it had been almost a palace. +We ascended a flight of stone steps to a terrace, +from which we entered into a large hall perhaps thirty +feet wide and fifty feet long. On one side of this hall +the wall had fallen down the whole length, and we +looked out upon the mass of ruins beneath. On the +other side, in a small room in one corner, we found +the archbishop. He was sick, and in bed with all his +clothes on, according to the universal custom here, but +received us kindly. The furniture consisted of an iron +bedstead with a mattress, on which he lay with a quilt +spread over him, a wooden sofa, three wooden chairs, +about twenty books, and two large leather cases containing +clothes, napkins, and, probably, all his worldly +goods. The rain came through the ceiling in several +places; the bed of the poor archbishop had evidently +been moved from time to time to avoid it, and I was +obliged to change my position twice. An air of cheerless +poverty reigned through the apartment. I could +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span>not help comparing his lot with that of more favoured +and, perhaps, not more worthy servants of the church. +It was a style so different from that of the priests at +Rome, the pope and his cardinals, with their gaudy +equipages and multitudes of footmen rattling to the Vatican; +or from the pomp and state of the haughty English +prelates, or even from the comforts of our own missionaries +in different parts of this country, that I could not +help feeling deeply for the poor priest before me. But +he seemed contented and cheerful, and even thankful +that, for the moment, there were others worse off than +himself, and that he had it in his power to befriend them.</p> + +<p>Sweetmeats, coffee, and pipes were served; and in +about an hour we were conducted to supper in a large +room, also opening from the hall. Our supper would +not have tempted an epicure, but suited very well an +appetite whetted by exercise and travel. It consisted +of a huge lump of bread and a large glass of water for +each of us, caviari, black olives, and two kinds of Turkish +sweetmeats. We were waited upon by two priests: +one of them, a handsome young man, not more than +twenty, with long black hair hanging over his shoulders +like a girl's, stood by with a napkin on his arm and a +pewter vessel, with which he poured water on our +hands, receiving it again in a basin. This was done +both before and after eating; then came coffee and +pipes. During the evening the young priest brought +out an edition of Homer, and I surprised <i>him</i>, and astounded +<i>myself</i>, by being able to translate a passage in +the Iliad. I translated it in French, and my companion +explained it in modern Greek to the young priest. Our +beds were cushions laid on a raised platform or divan +extending around the walls, with a quilt for each of us. +In the morning, after sweetmeats, coffee, and pipes, we +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span>paid our respects to the good old archbishop, and took +our leave. When we got out of doors, finding that the +wind was the same, and that there was no possibility +of sailing, my friend proposed a ride into the country. +We procured a couple of mules, took a small basket of +provisions for a collation, and started.</p> + +<p>Our road lay directly along the shore; on one side +the sea, and on the other the ruins of houses and gardens, +almost washed by the waves. At about three +miles' distance we crossed a little stream, by the side +of which we saw a sarcophagus, lately disinterred, containing +the usual vases of a Grecian tomb, including +the piece of money to pay Charon his ferriage over the +river Styx, and six pounds of dust; being all that remained +of a <i>man</i>—perhaps one who had filled a large +space in the world; perhaps a hero—buried probably +more than two thousand years ago. After a ride +of about five miles we came to the ruins of a large village, +the style of which would anywhere have fixed the +attention, as having been once a favoured abode of +wealth and taste. The houses were of brown stone, +built together, strictly in the Venetian style, after the +models left during the occupation of the island by the +Venetians, large and elegant, with gardens of three or +four acres, enclosed by high walls of the same kind of +stone, and altogether in a style far superior to anything +I had seen in Greece. These were the country-houses +and gardens of the rich merchants of Scio. The manner +of living among the proprietors here was somewhat peculiar, +and the ties that bound them to this little village +were peculiarly strong. This was the family home; +the community was essentially mercantile, and most +of their business transactions were carried on elsewhere. +When there were three or four brothers in a family, one +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span>would be in Constantinople a couple of years, another +at Trieste, and so on, while another remained at home; +so that those who were away, while toiling amid the +perplexities of business, were always looking to the occasional +family reunion; and all trusted to spend the +evening of their days among the beautiful gardens of +Scio. What a scene for the heart to turn to now! The +houses and gardens were still there, some standing almost +entire, others black with smoke and crumbling to +ruins. But where were they who once occupied them? +Where were they who should now be coming out to +rejoice in the return of a friend and to welcome a +stranger? An awful solitude, a stillness that struck a +cold upon the heart, reigned around us. We saw nobody; +and our own voices, and the tramping of our +horses upon the deserted pavements, sounded hollow +and sepulchral in our ears. It was like walking among +the ruins of Pompeii; it was another city of the dead; +but there was a freshness about the desolation that +seemed of to-day; it seemed as though the inhabitants +should be sleeping and not dead. Indeed, the high +walls of the gardens, and the outside of the houses too, +were generally so fresh and in so perfect a state, that it +seemed like riding through a handsome village at an +early hour before the inhabitants had risen; and I sometimes +could not help thinking that in an hour or two +the streets would be thronged with a busy population. +My friend continued to conduct me through the solitary +streets; telling me, as we went along, that this was the +house of such a family, this of such a family, with some +of whose members I had become acquainted in Greece, +until, stopping before a large stone gateway, he dismounted +at the gate of his father's house. In that house +he was born; there he had spent his youth; he had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span>escaped from it during the dreadful massacre, and this +was the first time of his revisiting it. What a tide of +recollections must have rushed upon him!</p> + +<p>We entered through the large stone gateway into +a courtyard beautifully paved in mosaic in the form +of a star, with small black and white round stones. +On our left was a large stone reservoir, perhaps twenty-five +feet square, still so perfect as to hold water, +with an arbour over it supported by marble columns; +a venerable grapevine completely covered the arbour. +The garden covered an extent of about four acres, filled +with orange, lemon, almond, and fig trees; overrun +with weeds, roses, and flowers, growing together in wild +confusion. On the right was the house, and a melancholy +spectacle it was; the wall had fallen down on +one side, and the whole was black with smoke. We +ascended a flight of stone steps, with marble balustrades, +to the terrace, a platform about twenty feet square, overlooking +the garden. From the terrace we entered the +saloon, a large room with high ceilings and fresco paintings +on the walls; the marks of the fire kindled on the +stone floor still visible, all the woodwork burned to a +cinder, and the whole black with smoke. It was a +perfect picture of wanton destruction. The day, too, +was in conformity with the scene; the sun was obscured, +the wind blew through the ruined building, it +rained, was cold and cheerless. What were the feelings +of my friend I cannot imagine; the houses of three +of his uncles were immediately adjoining; one of these +uncles was one of the forty hostages, and was hanged; +the other two were murdered; his father, a venerable-looking +old man, who came down to the vessel when +we started to see him off, had escaped to the mountains, +from thence in a caique to Ipsara, and from thence into +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span>Italy. I repeat it, I cannot imagine what were his feelings; +he spoke but little; they must have been too +deep for utterance. I looked at everything with intense +interest; I wanted to ask question after question, but +could not, in mercy, probe his bleeding wounds. We +left the house and walked out into the garden. It +showed that there was no master's eye to watch over +it; I plucked an orange which had lost its flavour; the +tree was withering from want of care; our feet became +entangled among weeds, and roses, and rare hothouse +plants growing wildly together. I said that he did not +talk much; but the little he did say amounted to volumes. +Passing a large vase in which a beautiful plant +was running wildly over the sides, he murmured indistinctly +"the same vase" (le même vase), and once he +stopped opposite a tree, and, turning to me, said, "This +is the only tree I do not remember." These and other +little incidental remarks showed how deeply all the particulars +were engraved upon his mind, and told me, +plainer than words, that the wreck and ruin he saw +around him harrowed his very soul. Indeed, how could +it be otherwise? This was his father's house, the home +of his youth, the scene of his earliest, dearest, and +fondest recollections. Busy memory, that source of all +our greatest pains as well as greatest pleasures, must +have pressed sorely upon him, must have painted the +ruined and desolate scene around him in colours even +brighter, far brighter, than they ever existed in; it must +have called up the faces of well-known and well-loved +friends; indeed, he must have asked himself, in bitterness +and in anguish of spirit, "The friends of my youth +where are they?" while the fatal answer fell upon his +heart, "Gone murdered, in captivity and in exile."</p></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>A Noble Grecian Lady.—Beauty of Scio.—An Original.—Foggi.—A Turkish +Coffee-house.—Mussulman at Prayers.—Easter Sunday.—A Greek +Priest.—A Tartar Guide.—Turkish Ladies.—Camel Scenes.—Sight of a +Harem.—Disappointed Hopes.—A rare Concert.—Arrival at Smyrna.</p></div> + +<p class="center">(<i>Continuation of the Letter.</i>)</p> + +<div class="letter"><p><span class="smcap">We</span> returned to the house, and seeking out a room +less ruined than the rest, partook of a slight collation, +and set out on a visit to a relative of my Sciote friend.</p> + +<p>On our way my companion pointed out a convent on +the side of a hill, where six thousand Greeks, who had +been prevailed upon to come down from the mountains +to ransom themselves, were treacherously murdered to +a man; their unburied bones still whiten the ground +within the walls of the convent. Arriving at the house +of his relative, we entered through a large gateway into +a handsome courtyard, with reservoir, garden, &c., ruinous, +though in better condition than those we had +seen before. This relative was a widow, of the noble +house of Mavrocordato, one of the first families in +Greece, and perhaps the most distinguished name in +the Greek revolution. She had availed herself of the +sultan's amnesty to return; had repaired two or three +rooms, and sat down to end her days among the scenes +of her childhood, among the ruins of her father's house. +She was now not more than thirty; her countenance +was remarkably pensive, and she had seen enough to +drive a smile for ever from her face. The meeting between +her and my friend was exceedingly affecting, particularly +on her part. She wept bitterly, though, with +the elasticity peculiar to the Greek character, the smile +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span>soon chased away the tear. She invited us to spend +the night there, pointing to the divan, and promising us +cushions and coverlets. We accepted her invitation, +and again set forth to ramble among the ruins.</p> + +<p>I had heard that an American missionary had lately +come into the island, and was living somewhere in the +neighbourhood. I found out his abode, and went to see +him. He was a young man from Virginia, by the name +of ****; had married a lady from Connecticut, who was +unfortunately sick in bed. He was living in one room in +the corner of a ruined building, but was then engaged +in repairing a house into which he expected to remove +soon. As an American, the first whom they had seen +in that distant island, they invited me into the sickroom. +In a strange land, and among a people whose language +they did not understand, they seemed to be all in all to +each other; and I left them, probably for ever, in the +earnest hope that the wife might soon be restored to +health, that hand in hand they might sustain each other +in the rough path before them.</p> + +<p>Toward evening we returned to the house of my +friend's relative. We found there a nephew, a young +man about twenty-two, and a cousin, a man about thirty-five, +both accidentally on a visit to the island. As I +looked at the little party before me, sitting around a +brazier of charcoal, and talking earnestly in Greek, I +could hardly persuade myself that what I had seen and +heard that day was real. All that I had ever read in +history of the ferocity of the Turkish character; all the +wild stories of corsairs, of murdering, capturing, and +carrying into captivity, that I had ever read in romances, +crowded upon me, and I saw living witnesses that the +bloodiest records of history and the wildest creations of +romance were not overcharged. They could all testify +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span>in their own persons that these things were true. They +had all been stripped of their property, and had their +houses burned over their heads; had all narrowly escaped +being murdered; and had all suffered in their +nearest and dearest connexions. The nephew, then a +boy nine years old, had been saved by a maidservant, +his father had been murdered; a brother, a sister, and +many of his cousins, were at that moment, and had been +for years, in slavery among the Turks; my friend, with +his sister, had found refuge in the house of the Austrian +consul, and from thence had escaped into Italy; the +cousin was the son of one of the forty hostages who were +hung, and was the only member of his father's family +that escaped death; while our pensive and amiable hostess, +a bride of seventeen, had seen her young husband +murdered before her eyes; had herself been sold into +slavery, and, after two years' servitude, redeemed by her +friends.</p> + +<p>In the morning I rose early and walked out upon the +terrace. Nature had put on a different garb. The wind +had fallen, and the sun was shining warmly upon a scene +of softness and luxuriance surpassing all that I had ever +heard or dreamed of the beauty of the islands of Greece. +Away with all that I said about Syra; skip the page. +The terrace overlooked the garden filled with orange, +lemon, almond, and fig trees; with plants, roses, and +flowers of every description, growing in luxuriant wildness. +But the view was not confined to the garden. +Looking back to the harbour of Scio, was a bold range +of rugged mountains bounding the view on that side; +on the right was the sea, then calm as a lake; on both +the other sides were ranges of mountains, irregular and +picturesque in their appearance, verdant and blooming +to their very summits; and within these limits, for an +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span>extent of perhaps five miles, were continued gardens +like that at my feet, filled with the choicest fruit-trees, +with roses and the greatest variety of rare plants and +flowers that ever unfolded their beauties before the eyes +of man; above all, the orange-trees, the peculiar favourite +of the island, then almost in full bloom, covered with +blossoms, from my elevated position on the terrace made +the whole valley appear an immense bed of flowers. +All, too, felt the freshening influence of the rain; and a +gentle breeze brought to me from this wilderness of +sweets the most delicious perfume that ever greeted the +senses. Do not think me extravagant when I say that, +in your wildest dreams, you could never fancy so rich +and beautiful a scene. Even among ruins, that almost +made the heart break, I could hardly tear my eyes from +it. It is one of the loveliest spots on earth. It is emphatically +a Paradise lost, for the hand of the Turks is +upon it; a hand that withers all that it touches. In +vain does the sultan invite the survivers, and the children +made orphans by his bloody massacre, to return; +in vain do the fruits and the flowers, the sun and the +soil, invite them to return; their wounds are still bleeding; +they cannot forget that the wild beast's paw might +again be upon them, and that their own blood might one +day moisten the flowers which grow over the graves of +their fathers. But I must leave this place. I could +hardly tear myself away then, and I love to linger about +it now. While I was enjoying the luxury of the terrace +a messenger came from the captain to call us on +board. With a feeling of the deepest interest I bade +farewell, probably for ever, to my sorrowing hostess and +to the beautiful gardens of Scio.</p> + +<p>We mounted our mules, and in an hour were at the +port. My feelings were so wrought upon that I felt +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>my blood boil at the first Turk I met in the streets. +I felt that I should like to sacrifice him to the shades of +the murdered Greeks. I wondered that the Greeks +did not kill every one on the island. I wondered that +they could endure the sight of the turban. We found +that the captain had hurried us away unnecessarily. +We could not get out of the harbour, and were obliged +to lounge about the town all day. We again made a +circuit among the ruins; examined particularly those +of the library, where we found an old woman who had +once been an attendant there, living in a little room in +the cellar, completely buried under the stones of the +fallen building; and returning, sat down with a chibouk +before the door of an old Turkish coffee-house +fronting the harbour. Here I met an original in the +person of the Dutch consul. He was an old Italian, +and had been in America during the revolutionary war +as <i>dragoman</i>, as he called it, to the Count de Grasse, +though, from his afterward incidentally speaking of the +count as "my master," I am inclined to think that the +word dragoman, which here means a person of great +character and trust, may be interpreted as "valet de +chambre." The old consul was in Scio during the +whole of the massacre, and gave me many interesting +particulars respecting it. He hates the Greeks, and +spoke with great indignation about the manner in +which their dead bodies lay strewed about the streets +for months after the massacre. "D—n them," he said, +"he could not go anywhere without stumbling over +them." As I began to have some apprehensions about +being obliged to stay here another night, I thought I +could not employ my time better than in trying to work +out of the consul an invitation to spend it with him. +But the old fellow was too much for me. When I began +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>to talk about the unpleasantness of being obliged +to spend the night on board, and the impossibility of +spending it on shore, <i>having no acquaintance</i> there, he +began to talk poverty in the most up and down terms. +I was a little discouraged, but I looked at his military +coat, his cocked hat and cane, and considering his talk +merely a sort of apology for the inferior style of housekeeping +I would find, was ingeniously working things +to a point, when he sent me to the right about by enumerating +the little instances of kindness he had received +from strangers who happened to visit the island; +among others, from one—he had his name in his pocketbook; +he should never forget him; perhaps I had +heard of him—who, at parting, shook him affectionately +by the hand, and gave him a doubloon and a Spanish +dollar. I hauled off from the representative of the majesty +of Holland, and perhaps, before this, have been +served up to some new visitor as the "mean, stingy +American."</p> + +<p>In the evening we again got under weigh; before +morning the wind was again blowing dead ahead; and +about midday we put into the harbour of Foggi, a port +in Asia Minor, and came to anchor under the walls of +the castle, under the blood-red Mussulman flag. We +immediately got into the boat to go ashore. This was +my first port in Turkey. A huge ugly African, marked +with the smallpox, with two pistols and a yataghan in his +belt, stood on a little dock, waited till we were in the act +of landing, and then rushed forward, ferocious as a tiger +from his native sands, throwing up both his hands, and +roaring out "Quarantino." This was a new thing in Turkey. +Heretofore the Turks, with their fatalist notions, +had never taken any precautions against the plague; but +they had become frightened by the terrible ravages the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span>disease was then making in Egypt, and imposed a quarantine +upon vessels coming from thence. We were, +however, suffered to land, and our first movement was +to the coffee-house directly in front of the dock. The +coffee-house was a low wooden building, covering considerable +ground, with a large piazza, or, rather, projecting +roof all around it. Inside and out there was a +raised platform against the wall. This platform was +one step from the floor, and on this step every one left +his shoes before taking his seat on the matting. There +were, perhaps, fifty Turks inside and out; sitting +cross-legged, smoking the chibouk, and drinking coffee +out of cups not larger than the shell of a Madeira-nut.</p> + +<p>We kicked our shoes off on the steps, seated ourselves +on a mat outside, and took our chibouk and coffee +with an air of savoir faire that would not have disgraced +the worthiest Moslem of them all. Verily, said +I, as I looked at the dozing, smoking, coffee-sipping +congregation around me, there are some good points +about the Turks, after all. They never think—that +hurts digestion; and they love chibouks and coffee—that +shows taste and feeling. I fell into their humour, +and for a while exchanged nods with my neighbours +all around. Suddenly the bitterness of thought came +upon me; I found that my pipe was exhausted. I replenished +it, and took a sip of coffee. Verily, said I, +there are few better things in this world than chibouks +and coffee; they even make men forget there is blood +upon their hands. The thought started me; I shrank +from contact with my neighbours, cut my way through +the volumes of smoke, and got out into the open air.</p> + +<p>My companion joined me. We entered the walls +and made a circuit of the town. It was a dirty little +place, having one principal street lined with shops or +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span>bazars; every third shop, almost, being a cafteria, where +a parcel of huge turbaned fellows were at their daily +labours of smoking pipes and drinking coffee. The +first thing I remarked as being strikingly different from +a European city was the total absence of women. The +streets were thronged with men, and not a woman was +to be seen, except occasionally I caught a glimpse of a +white veil or a pair of black eyes sparkling through the +latticed bars of a window. Afterward, however, in +walking outside the walls into the country, we met a +large party of women. When we first saw them they +had their faces uncovered; but, as soon as they saw us +coming toward them, they stopped and arranged their +long white shawls, winding them around their faces so +as to leave barely space enough uncovered to allow them +to see and breathe, but so that it was utterly impossible +for us to distinguish a single one of their features.</p> + +<p>Going on in the direction from which they came, +and attracted by the mourning cypress, we came to a +large burying-ground. It is situated on the side of a +hill almost washed by the waves, and shaded by a +thick grove of the funereal tree. There is, indeed, +something peculiarly touching in the appearance of this +tree; it seems to be endowed with feelings, and to mourn +over the dead it shades. The monuments were generally +a single upright slab of marble, with a turban on +the top. There were many, too, in form like one of +our oblong tombstones; and, instead of a slab of marble +over the top, the interior was filled with earth, and +the surface overrun with roses, evergreens, and flowers. +The burying-grounds in the East are always favourite +places for walking in; and it is a favourite occupation +of the Turkish women to watch and water the flowers +growing over the graves of their friends.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span>Toward evening we returned to the harbour. I withdrew +from my companion, and, leaning against one of the +gates of the city, fixed my eyes upon the door of a minaret, +watching till the muezzin should appear, and, for the +last time before the setting of the sun, call all good Mussulmans +to prayer. The door opens toward Mecca, and +a little before dark the muezzin came out, and, leaning +over the railing with his face toward the tomb of the +Prophet, in a voice, every tone of which fell distinctly +upon my ear, made that solemn call which, from the +time of Mohammed, has been addressed five times a day +from the tops of the minarets to the sons of the faithful. +"Allah! Allah! God is God, and Mohammed is his +prophet. To prayer! to prayer!" Immediately an old +Turk by my side fell upon his knees, with his face to +the tomb of the Prophet; ten times, in quick succession, +he bowed his forehead till it touched the earth; then +clasped his hands and prayed. I never saw more rapt +devotion than in this pious old Mussulman. I have often +marked in Italy the severe observance of religious ceremonies; +I have seen, for instance, at Rome, fifty penitents +at a time mounting on their knees, and kissing, +as they mounted, the steps of the Scala Santa, or holy +staircase, by which, as the priests tell them, our Saviour +ascended into the presence of Pontius Pilate. I +have seen the Greek prostrate himself before a picture +until he was physically exhausted; and I have seen the +humble and pious Christian at his prayers, beneath the +simple fanes and before the peaceful altars of my own +land; but I never saw that perfect abandonment with +which a Turk gives himself up to his God in prayer. +He is perfectly abstracted from the things of this world; +he does not regard time or place; in his closet or in +the street, alone or in a crowd, he sees nothing, he hears +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span>nothing; the world is a blank; his God is everything. +He is lost in the intensity of his devotion. It is a spectacle +almost sublime, and for the moment you forget +the polluted fountain of his religion, and the thousand +crimes it sanctions, in your admiration of his sincerity +and faith.</p> + +<p>Not being able to find any place where we could sleep +ashore, except on one of the mats of the coffee-house, +head and heels with a dozen Turks, we went on board, +and toward morning again got under weigh. We beat +up to the mouth of the Gulf of Smyrna, but, with the sirocco +blowing directly in our teeth, it was impossible to +go farther. We made two or three attempts to enter, but +in tacking the last time our old brig, which had hardly +ballast enough to keep her keel under water, received +such a rough shaking that we got her away before the +wind, and at three o'clock P.M. were again anchored +in the harbour of Foggi. I now began to think that +there was a spell upon my movements, and that Smyrna, +which was becoming to me a sort of land of promise, +would never greet my longing eyes.</p> + +<p>I was somewhat comforted, however, by remembering +that I had never yet reached any port in the Mediterranean +for which I had sailed, without touching at one +or two intermediate ports; and that, so far, I had always +worked right at last. I was still farther comforted by +our having the good fortune to be able to procure lodging +ashore, at the house of a Greek, the son of a priest. +It was the Saturday before Easter Sunday, and the resurrection +of our Saviour was to be celebrated at midnight, +or, rather, the beginning of the next day, according +to the rites and ceremonies of the Greek church. +It was also the last of the forty days' fasting, and the +next day commenced feasting. Supper was prepared +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span>for us, at which meat was put on the table for me only; +my Greek friend being supposed not to eat meat during +the days of fasting. He had been, however, two years +out of Greece; and though he did not like to offend the +prejudices of his countrymen, he did not like fasting. I +felt for my fellow-traveller; and, cutting up some meat +in small parcels, kept my eye upon the door while he +whipped them into his mouth. After supper we lay +down upon the divan, with large quilts over us, my friend +having promised to rise at twelve o'clock and accompany +me to the Greek church.</p> + +<p>At midnight we were roused by the chant of the +Greeks in the streets, on their way to the church. We +turned out, and fell into a procession of five hundred +people, making the streets as light as day with their +torches. At the door of the church we found our host, +sitting at a table with a parcel of wax tapers on one +side and a box to receive money on the other. We each +bought a taper and went in. After remaining there at +least two hours, listening to a monotonous and unintelligible +routine of prayers and chants, the priests came +out of the holy doors, bearing aloft an image of our Saviour +on the cross, ornamented with gold leaf, tassels, +and festoons of artificial flowers; passed through the +church, and out of the opposite door. The Greeks lighted +their tapers and formed into a procession behind +them, and we did the same. Immediately outside the +door, up the staircase, and on each side of the corridor, +allowing merely room enough for the procession to pass, +were arranged the women, dressed in white, with long +white veils, thrown back from their faces however, laid +smooth over the tops of their heads, and hanging down +to their feet. Nearly every woman, old or young, had +a child in her arms. In fact, there seemed to be as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span>great a mustering of children as of men and women, +and, for aught that I could see, as much to the edification +of the former as the latter. A continued chant +was kept up during the movements of the procession, +and perhaps for half an hour after the arrival of the +priests at the courtyard, when it rose to a tremendous +burst. The torches were waved in the air; a wild, unmeaning, +and discordant scream or yell rang through +the hollow cloisters, and half a dozen pistols, two or +three muskets, and twenty or thirty crackers were fired. +This was intended as a feu-de-joie, and was supposed to +mark the precise moment of our Saviour's resurrection. +In a few moments the phrensy seemed to pass away; +the noise fell from a wild clamour to a slow chant, and +the procession returned to the church. The scene was +striking, particularly the part outside the church; the +dead of night; the waving of torches; the women with +their long white dresses, and the children in their arms, +&c.; but, from beginning to end, there was nothing solemn +in it.</p> + +<p>Returned to the church, a priest came round with a +picture of the Saviour risen; and, as far as I could +make it out, holding in his hand the Greek flag, followed +by another priest with a plate to receive contributions. +He held out the picture to be kissed, then +turned his hand to receive the same act of devotion, +keeping his eye all the time upon the plate which followed +to receive the offerings of the pious, as a sort of +payment for the privilege of the kiss. His manner +reminded me of the Dutch parson, who, immediately +after pronouncing a couple man and wife, touching +the bridegroom with his elbow, said, "And now where +ish mine dollar?" I kissed the picture, dodged his +knuckles, paid my money, and left the church. I had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span>been there four hours, during which time, perhaps, +more than a thousand persons had been completely absorbed +in their religious ceremonies; and though beginning +in the middle of the night, I have seen more +yawning at the theatre or at an Italian opera than I +saw there. They now began to disperse, though I remember +I left a crowd of regular amateurs, at the head +of whom were our sailors, still hanging round the desk +of an exhorting priest, with an earnestness that showed +a still craving appetite.</p> + +<p>I do not wonder that the Turks look with contempt +upon Christians, for they have constantly under their +eyes the disgusting mummeries of the Greek church, +and see nothing of the pure and sublime principles our +religion inculcates. Still, however, there was something +striking and interesting in the manner in which +the Greeks in this Turkish town had kept themselves, +as it were, a peculiar people, and, in spite of the brands +of "dog" and "infidel," held fast to the religion they +received from their fathers. There was nothing interesting +about them as Greeks; they had taken no part +with their countrymen in their glorious struggle for liberty; +they were engaged in petty business, and bartered +the precious chance of freedom once before them +for base profits and ignoble ease; and even now were +content to live in chains, and kiss the rod that smote +them.</p> + +<p>We returned to the house where we had slept; and, +after coffee, in company with our host and his father, +the priest, sat down to a meal, in which, for the first +time in forty days, they ate meat. I had often remarked +the religious observance of fast days among +the common people in Greece. In travelling there I +had more than once offered an egg to my guide on a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span>fast day, but never could get one to accept anything +that came so near to animal food, though, by a strange +confusion of the principles of religious obligation, perhaps +the same man would not have hesitated to commit +murder if he had any inducement to do so. Mrs. Hill, +at Athens, told me that, upon one occasion, a little girl +in her school refused to eat a piece of cake because it +was made with eggs.</p> + +<p>At daylight I was lying on the floor looking through +a crevice of the window-shutter at the door of the minaret, +waiting for the muezzin's morning cry to prayer. +At six o'clock I went out, and finding the wind still in +the same quarter, without any apparent prospect of +change, determined, at all hazards, to leave the vessel +and go on by land. My friend and fellow-passenger +was also very anxious to get to Smyrna, but would not +accompany me, from an indefinite apprehension of +plague, robbers, &c. I had heard so many of these +rumours, all of which had proved to be unfounded, that +I put no faith in any of them. I found a Turk who +engaged to take me through in fourteen hours; and at +seven o'clock I was in my saddle, charged with a dozen +letters from captains, supercargoes, and passengers, +whom I left behind waiting for a change of wind.</p> + +<p>My Tartar was a big swarthy fellow, with an extent +of beard and mustaches unusual even among his bearded +countrymen. He was armed with a pair of enormous +pistols and a yataghan, and was, altogether, a formidable +fellow to look upon. But there was a something +about him that I liked. There was a doggedness, +a downright stubbornness that seemed honest. I knew +nothing about him. I picked him up in the street, and +took him in preference to others who offered, because +he would not be beaten down in his price. When he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span>saw me seated on my horse he stood by my side a little +distance off, and looking at me without opening his +lips, drew his belt tight around him, and adjusted his +pistols and yataghan. His manner seemed to say that +he took charge of me as a bale of goods, to be paid for +on safe delivery, and that he would carry me through +with fire and sword, if necessary. And now, said I, +"Let fate do her worst;" I have a good horse under me, +and in fourteen hours I shall be in Smyrna. "Blow +winds and crack your cheeks;" I defy you.</p> + +<p>My Tartar led off at a brisk trot, never opening his +lips nor turning his head except occasionally to see +how I followed him across a stream. At about ten +o'clock he turned off from the horse-path into a piece of +fine pasture, and, slipping the bridle off his horse, turned +him loose to feed. He then did the same with mine, +and, spreading my cloak on the ground for me to sit +upon, sat down by my side and opened his wallet. His +manner seemed to intimate a disposition to throw provisions +into a common stock, no doubt expecting the +gain to be on his side; but as I could only contribute a +couple of rolls of bread which I bought as we rode +through the town, I am inclined to think that he considered +me rather a sponge.</p> + +<p>While we were sitting there a travelling party came +up, consisting of five Turks and three women. The +women were on horseback, riding crosswise, though +there were so many quilts, cushions, &c., piled on the +backs of their horses that they sat rather on seats than +on saddles. After a few words of parley with my Tartar, +the men lifted the women from the horses, taking +them in their arms, and, as it were, hauling them off, +not very gracefully, but very kindly; and, spreading +their quilts on the ground a short distance from us, turned +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span>their horses loose to feed, and sat down to make their +morning meal. An unusual and happy thing for me +the women had their faces uncovered nearly all the +time, though they could not well have carried on the +process of eating with them muffled up in the usual +style. One of the women was old, the other two were +exceedingly young; neither of them more than sixteen; +each had a child in her arms, and, without any allowance +for time and place, both were exceedingly beautiful. +I do not say so under the influence of the particular +circumstances of our meeting, nor with the view of +making an incident of it, but I would have singled them +out as such if I had met them in a ballroom at home. +I was particularly struck with their delicacy of figure +and complexion. Notwithstanding their laughing faces, +their mirth, and the kind treatment of the men, I could +not divest myself of the idea that they were caged birds +longing to be free. I could not believe that a woman +belonging to a Turk could be otherwise than unhappy. +Unfortunately, I could not understand a word of +their language; and as they looked from their turbaned +lords to my stiff hat and frockcoat, they seemed to regard +me as something the Tartar had just caught and +was taking up to Constantinople as a present to the +sultan. I endeavoured to show, however, that I was not +the wild thing they took me to be; that I had an eye +to admire their beauty, and a heart to feel for their +servitude. I tried to procure from them some signal +of distress; I did all that I could to get some sign to +come to their rescue, and to make myself generally +agreeable. I looked sentimentally. This they did not +seem to understand at all. I smiled; this seemed to +please them better; and there is no knowing to what a +point I might have arrived, but my Tartar hurried me +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span>away; and I parted on the wild plains of Turkey with +two young and beautiful women, leading almost a savage +life, whose personal graces would have made them +ornaments in polished and refined society. Verily, said +I, the Turks are not so bad, after all; they have handsome +wives, and a handsome wife comes next after chibouks +and coffee.</p> + +<p>I was now reminded at every step of my being in an +oriental country by the caravans I was constantly meeting. +Caravans and camels are more or less associated +with all the fairy scenes and glowing pictures of the +East. They have always presented themselves to my +mind with a sort of poetical imagery, and they certainly +have a fine effect in a description or in a picture; but, +after all, they are ugly-looking things to meet on the +road. I would rather see the two young Turk-<i>esses</i> again +than all the caravans in the East. The caravan is conducted +by a guide on a donkey, with a halter attached +to the first camel, and so on from camel to camel +through the whole caravan. The camel is an exceedingly +ugly animal in his proportions, and there is a dead +uniformity in his movement; with a dead, vacant expression +in his face, that is really distressing. If a man +were dying of thirst in the desert, it would be enough +to drive him to distraction to look in the cool, unconcerned, +and imperturbable face of his camel. But their +value is inestimable in a country like this, where there +are no carriage roads, and where deserts and drought +present themselves in every direction.</p> + +<p>One of the camel scenes, the encampment, is very +picturesque, the camels arranged around on their knees +in a circle, with their heads to the centre, and the camel-drivers with their bales piled up within; and I was +struck with another scene; we came to the borders of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span>a stream, which it was necessary to cross in a boat. +The boat was then on the other side, and the boatman +and camel driver were trying to get on board some +camels. When we came up they had got three on +board, down on their knees in the bottom of the boat, +and were then in the act of coercing the fourth. The +poor brute was frightened terribly; resisted with all his +might, and put forth most piteous cries; I do not know +a more distressing noise than the cry of a brute suffering +from fear; it seems to partake of the feeling that +causes it, and carries with it something fearful; but +the cries of the poor brute were vain; they got him on +board, and in the same way urged on board three others. +They then threw in the donkey, and seven camels and +the donkey were so stowed in the bottom of the boat, +that they did not take up much more room than calves +on board of our country boats.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon I met another travelling party of an +entirely different description. If before I had occasionally +any doubts or misgivings as to the reality of +my situation; if sometimes it seemed to be merely a +dream, that it could not be that I was so far from home, +wandering alone on the plains of Asia, with a guide +whom I never saw till that morning, whose language I +could not understand, and upon whose faith I could not rely; +if the scenes of turbaned Turks, of veiled women, +of caravans and camels, of graveyards with their mourning +cypress and thousands of tombstones, where every +trace of the cities which supplied them with their dead +had entirely disappeared; if these and the other strange +scenes around me would seem to be the mere creations +of a roving imagination, the party which I met now +was so marked in its character, so peculiar to an oriental +country, and to an oriental country only, that it +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span>roused me from my waking dreams, fixed my wandering +thoughts, and convinced me, beyond all peradventure, +that I was indeed far from home, among a people +"whose thoughts are not as our thoughts, and whose +ways are not as our ways;" in short, in a land where +ladies are not the omnipotent creatures that they are +with us.</p> + +<p>This party was no other than the ladies of a harem. +They were all dressed in white, with their white shawls +wrapped around their faces, so that they effectually +concealed every feature, and could bring to bear only +the artillery of their eyes. I found this, however, to +be very potent, as it left so much room for the imagination; +and it was a very easy matter to make a Fatima +of every one of them. They were all on horseback, +not riding sidewise, but <i>otherwise</i>; though I observed, +as before, that their saddles were so prepared that their +delicate limbs were not subject to that extreme expansion +required by the saddle of the rougher sex. They +were escorted by a party of armed Turks, and followed +by a man in Frank dress, who, as I after understood, +was the physician of the harem. They were thirteen +in number, just a baker's dozen, and belonged to a +pacha who was making his annual tour of the different +posts under his government, and had sent them on before +to have the household matters all arranged upon +his arrival. And no doubt, also, they were to be in +readiness to receive him with their smiles; and if they +continued in the same humour in which I saw them, +he must have been a happy man who could call them +all his own. I had not fairly recovered from the cries +of the poor camel when I heard their merry voices: +verily, thought I, stopping to catch the last musical +notes, there are exceedingly good points about the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span>Turks: chibouks, coffee, and as many wives as they +please. It made me whistle to think of it. Oh, thought +I, that some of our ladies could see these things; that +some haughty beauty, at whose feet dozens of worthy +and amiable young gentlemen are sighing themselves +into premature wrinkles and ugliness, might see these +things.</p> + +<p>I am no rash innovator. I would not sweep away +the established customs of our state of society. I would +not lay my meddling fingers upon the admitted prerogatives +of our ladies; but I cannot help asking myself +if, in the rapid changes of this turning world, changes +which completely alter rocks and the hardest substances +of nature, it may not by possibility happen that the tenour +of a lady's humour will change. What a goodly +spectacle to see those who are never content without a +dozen admirers in their train, following by dozens in the +train of one man! But I fear me much that this will +never be, at least in our day. Our system of education +is radically wrong. The human mind, says some philosopher, +and the gentleman is right, is like the sand +upon the shore of the sea. You may write upon it +what character you please. <i>We</i> begin by writing upon +their innocent unformed minds, that, "Born for their +use, we live but to oblige them." The consequence is, +I will not say what; for I hope to return among them +and kiss the rod in some fair hand; but this I do know, +that here the "twig is so bent" that they become as +gentle, as docile, and as tractable as any domestic animal. +I say again, there are many exceeding good +points about the Turks.</p> + +<p>At about six o'clock we came in sight of Smyrna, on +the opposite side of the gulf, and still a long way off. +At dusk we were directly opposite the city; and although +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span>we had yet to make a long circuit round the +head of the gulf, I was revelling in the bright prospect +before me. Dreams of pulling off my pantaloons; delightful +visions of clean sheets and a Christian bed flitted +before my eyes. Yes, said I to my pantaloons and +shirt, ye worthy and faithful servants, this night ye +shall have rest. While other garments have fallen +from me by the way, ye have stuck to me. And thou, +my gray pantaloons, little did the neat Parisian tailor +who made thee think that the strength of his stitching +would ever be tested by three weeks' uninterrupted +wear; but to-morrow thou shalt go into the hands of a +master, who shall sew on thy buttons and sew up thy +rents; and thou, my—I was going on with words of +the same affectionate import to my shirt, stockings, and +drawers, which, however, did not deserve so well of +me, for they had in a measure <i>dropped off</i> on the way, +when my Tartar came to a dead stop before the door +of a cabin, dismounted, and made signs to me to do +the same. But I began now to have some notions of +my own; heretofore I had been perfectly passive; I +had always done as I was told, but in sight of Smyrna +I became restiff. I talked and shouted to him, pointed +to the city, and turned my horse as though I was going +on alone. My Tartar, however, paid no attention to +me; he very coolly took off my carpet-bag and carried +it into the cabin, lighted his pipe, and sat down by the +door, looking at me with the most imperturbable gravity. +I had hardly had time to admire his impudence, and +to calculate the chances of my being able, alone at +night, to cross the many streams which emptied into +the gulf, when the wind, which had been rising for +some time, became very violent, and the rain began to +fall in torrents. With a sigh I bade farewell to the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span>bright visions that had deluded me, gave another sigh +to the uncertainty of all human calculations, the cup +and the lip, &c., and took refuge in the cabin.</p> + +<p>What a substitute for the pretty little picture I had +drawn! Three Turks were sitting round a brazier of +charcoal frying doughballs. Three rugs were spread in +three corners of the cabin, and over each of them were +the eternal pistols and yataghan. There was nothing +there to defend; their miserable lives were not worth +taking; why were these weapons there? The Turks +at first took no notice of me, and I had now to make +amends for my backwardness in entering. I resolved +to go to work boldly, and at once elbowed among them +for a seat around the brazier. The one next me on my +right seemed a little struck by my easy ways; he put +his hand on his ribs to feel how far my elbow had penetrated, +and then took his pipe from his mouth and offered +it to me. The ice broken, I smoked the pipe to +the last whiff, and handed it to him to be refilled; with +all the horrors of dyspepsy before my eyes, I scrambled +with them for the last doughball, and, when the attention +of all of them was particularly directed toward me, +took out my watch, held it over the lamp, and wound it +up. I addressed myself particularly to the one who had +first taken notice of me, and made myself extremely +agreeable by always smoking his pipe. After coffee +and half a dozen pipes, he gave me to understand that +I was to sleep with him upon his mat, at which I slapped +him on the back and cried out, "Bono," having heard +him use that word apparently with a knowledge of its +meaning.</p> + +<p>I was surprised in the course of the evening to see +one of them begin to undress, knowing that such was +not the custom of the country, but found that it was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span>only a temporary disrobing for sporting purposes, to +hunt fleas and bedbugs; by which I had an opportunity +of comparing the Turkish with some I had brought +with me from Greece; and though the Turk had great +reason to be proud of his, I had no reason to be ashamed +of mine. I now began to be drowsy, and should soon +have fallen asleep; but the youngest of the party, a sickly +and sentimental young man, melancholy and musical, +and, no doubt, in love, brought out the common Turkish +instrument, a sort of guitar, on which he worked with +untiring vivacity, keeping time with his head and heels. +My friend accompanied him with his voice, and this +brought out my Tartar, who joined in with groans and +grunts which might have waked the dead. But my +cup was not yet full. During the musical festival my +friend and intended bedfellow took down from a shelf +above me a large plaster, which he warmed over the +brazier. He then unrolled his turban, took off a plaster +from the back of his head, and disclosed a wound, +raw, gory, and ghastly, that made my heart sink within +me: I knew that the plague was about Smyrna; I had +heard that it was on this road; I involuntarily recurred +to the Italian prayer, "Save me from the three miseries +of the Levant: plague, fire, and the dragoman." I shut +my eyes; I had slept but two hours the night before; +had ridden twelve hours that day on horseback; I drew +my cloak around me; my head sank upon my carpet-bag, +and I fell asleep, leaving the four Turks playing +cards on the bottom of a pewter plate. Once during the +night I was awakened by my bedfellow's mustaches +tickling my lips. I turned my back and slept on.</p> + +<p>In the morning my Tartar, with one jerk, stood me +upright on the floor, and holding me in that position +until I got awake, kicked open the door, and pointed to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span>my horse standing before it ready saddled and bridled. +In three hours I was crossing the caravan bridge, a +bridge over the beautiful Melissus, on the banks of +which Homer was born; and picking my way among +caravans, which for ages have continued to cross this +bridge laden with all the riches of the East, I entered +the long-looked-for city of Smyrna, a city that has +braved the reiterated efforts of conflagrations, plagues, +and earthquakes; ten times destroyed, and ten times +risen from her ruins; the queen of the cities of Anatolia; +extolled by the ancients as Smyrna the lovely, the +crown of Ionia, the pride of Asia. But old things have +passed away, and the ancient city now figures only +under the head of arrivals in a newspaper, in the words +and figures following, that is to say, "Brig Betsy, Baker +master, 57 days from Smyrna, with figs and raisins to +order. Mastic dull, opium rising."</p> + +<p>In half an hour I was in the full enjoyment of a +Turkish bath; lolled half an hour on a divan, with +chibouk and coffee, and came out fresh as if I had +spent the last three weeks training for the ring. Oh, +these Turks are luxurious dogs. Chibouks, coffee, hot +baths, and as many wives as they please. What a catalogue +of human enjoyments! But I intend Smyrna +as a place of rest, and, in charity, give you the benefit, +of it.</p> +<p class="right">****</p></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>First Sight of Smyrna.—Unveiled Women.—Ruins of Ephesus.—Ruin, all +Ruin.—Temple of Diana.—Encounter with a Wolf.—Love at first Sight.—Gatherings +on the Road.</p></div> + +<p class="center">(<i>Another letter.</i>)</p> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="salutation"> +<span class="smcap">My dear</span> ****, +</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">After</span> my bath I returned to my hotel, breakfasted, +and sallied out for a walk. It was now about twelve +o'clock, Sunday—the first Sunday after Easter—and all +the Frank population was in the streets. My hotel was +in an out-of-the-way quarter, and when, turning a corner, +I suddenly found myself in the main street, I was +not prepared for the sight that met my eye. Paris on +a fête day does not present so gay and animated a +scene. It was gay, animated, striking, and beautiful, +and entirely different from anything I had ever seen in +any European city. Franks, Jews, Greeks, Turks, and +Armenians, in their various and striking costumes, were +mingled together in agreeable confusion; and making +all due allowance for the circumstance that I had for +some time been debarred the sight of an unveiled woman, +I certainly never saw so much beauty, and I never +saw a costume so admirably calculated to set off +beauty. At the same time the costume is exceedingly +trying to a lady's pretensions. Being no better than +one of the uninitiated, I shall not venture upon such +dangerous ground as a lady's toilet. I will merely refer +to that part which particularly struck me, and that +is the headdress; no odious broad-brimmed hat; no +enormous veils enveloping nose, mouth, and eyes; but +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span>simply a large gauze turban, sitting lightly and gracefully +on the head, rolled back over the forehead, leaving the +whole face completely exposed, and exhibiting clear dark +complexions, rosy lips closing over teeth of dazzling +whiteness; and then such eyes, large, dark, and rolling. +It is matter of history, and it is confirmed by poetry, +<span class="err" title="original: hat">that</span></p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"The angelic youths of old,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Burning for maids of mortal mould,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bewildered, left the glorious skies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And lost their heaven for woman's eyes."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>My dear friend, this is the country where such things +happened; the throne of the Thunderer, high Olympus, +is almost in sight, and these are the daughters of the women +who worked such miracles. If the age of passion, +like the age of chivalry, were not over and for ever gone, +if this were not emphatically a bank-note world, I would +say of the Smyrniotes, above all others, that they are +that description of women who could</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Raise a mortal to the skies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or bring an angel down."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>And they walk, too, as if conscious of their high pretensions, +as if conscious that the reign of beauty is not +yet ended; and, under that enchanting turban, charge +with the whole artillery of their charms. It is a perfect +unmasked battery; nothing can stand before it. I +wonder the sultan allows it. The Turks are as touchy +as tinder; they take fire as quick as any of the old +demigods, and a pair of black eyes is at any time +enough to put mischief in them. But the Turks are a +considerate people. They consider that the Franks, or +rather the Greeks, to whom I particularly refer, have +periodical fits of insanity that they go mad twice a year +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span>during carnival and after Lent; and if at such a time a follower +of the Prophet, accidentally straggling in the Frank +quarter, should find the current of his blood disturbed, +he would sooner die, nay, he would sooner cut off his +beard, than hurt a hair of any one of the light heads +that he sees flitting before him. There is something +remarkable, by-the-way, in the tenacity with which the +Grecian women have sustained the rights and prerogatives +of beauty in defiance of Turkish customs and +prejudices; while the men have fallen into the habits of +their quondam masters, have taken to pipes and coffee, +and in many instances to turbans and big trousers, the +women have ever gone with their faces uncovered, and +to this day one and all eschew the veil of the Turkish +women.</p> + +<p>Pleased and amused with myself and everything I +saw, I moved along unnoticed and unknown, staring, +observing, and admiring; among other things, I observed +that one of the amiable customs of our own city +was in full force here, viz., that of the young gentlemen, +with light sticks in their hands, gathering around the +door of the fashionable church to stare at the ladies as +they came out. I was pleased to find such a mark of +civilization in a land of barbarians, and immediately fell +into a thing which seemed so much like home; but, in +justice to the Smyrniote ladies, I must say I cannot +flatter myself that I stared a single one out of countenance.</p> + +<p>But I need not attempt to interest you in Smyrna; it +is too every-day a place; every Cape Cod sailor knows +it better than I do. I have done all that I could; I +have waived the musty reminiscences of its history; I +have waived ruins which are said to exist here, and have +endeavoured to give you a faint but true picture of its +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span>living and existing beauties, of the bright and beautiful +scene that broke upon me the first morning of my arrival; +and now, if I have not touched you with the +beauty of its women, I should despair of doing so by +any description of its beautiful climate, its charming +environs, and its hospitable society.</p> + +<p>Leave, then, what is, after all, but the city of figs and +raisins, and go with me where, by comparison, the foot of +civilized man seldom treads; go with me into the desert +and solitary places; go with me among the cities of the +seven churches of Asia; and, first, to the ruins of Ephesus. +I had been several days expecting a companion +to make this tour with me, but, being disappointed, was +obliged to set out alone. I was not exactly alone, for +I had with me a Turk as guide and a Greek as cicerone +and interpreter, both well mounted and armed to the +teeth. We started at two o'clock in the morning, under +the light of thousands of stars; and the day broke upon +us in a country wild and desolate, as if it were removed +thousands of miles from the habitations of men. There +was little variety and little incident in our ride. During +the whole day it lay through a country decidedly handsome, +the soil rich and fertile, but showing with appalling +force the fatal effects of misgovernment, wholly uncultivated, +and almost wholly uninhabited. Indeed, the +only habitations were the little Turkish coffee-houses +and the black tents of the Turcomans. These are a +wandering tribe, who come out from the desert, and approach +comparatively near the abodes of civilization. +They are a pastoral people; their riches are their flocks +and herds; they lead a wandering life, free as the air +they breathe; they have no local attachments; to-day +they pitch their tents on the hillside, to-morrow on the +plain; and wherever they sit themselves down, all that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span>they have on earth, wife, children, and friends, are immediately +around them. There is something primitive, +almost patriarchal, in their appearance; indeed, it carries +one back to a simple and perhaps a purer age, and +you can almost realize that state of society when the +patriarch sat in the door of his tent and called in and fed +the passing traveller.</p> + +<p>The general character of the road is such as to prepare +one for the scene that awaits him at Ephesus; +enormous burying-grounds, with thousands of headstones +shaded by the mourning cypress, in the midst of +a desolate country, where not a vestige of a human +habitation is to be seen. They stand on the roadside +as melancholy telltales that large towns or cities once +existed in their immediate neighbourhood, and that the +generations who occupied them have passed away, furnishing +fearful evidence of the decrease of the Turkish +population, and perhaps that the gigantic empire of the +Ottoman is tottering to its fall.</p> + +<p>For about three hours before reaching Ephesus, the +road, crossing a rich and beautiful plain watered by the +Cayster, lies between two mountains; that on the right +leads to the sea, and on the left are the ruins of Ephesus. +Near, and in the immediate vicinity, storks were calmly +marching over the plain and building among the ruins; +they moved as if seldom disturbed by human footsteps, +and seemed to look upon us as intruders upon a spot +for a long time abandoned to birds and beasts of prey. +About a mile this side are the remains of the Turkish +city of Aysalook, or Temple of the Moon, a city of comparatively +modern date, reared into a brief magnificence +out of the ruins of its fallen neighbour. A sharp hill, +almost a mountain, rises abruptly from the plain, on the +top of which is a ruined fortress, with many ruins of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span>Turkish magnificence at the base; broken columns, baths +overgrown with ivy, and the remains of a grand mosque, +the roof sustained by four granite columns from the +Temple of Diana; the minaret fallen, the mosque deserted; +the Mussulman no more goes there to pray; bats +and owls were building in its lofty roof, and snakes and +lizards were crawling over its marble floor.</p> + +<p>It was late in the afternoon when I arrived at the little +coffee-house at Aysalook; a caravan had already +encamped under some fine old sycamores before the +door, preparatory to passing the night. I was somewhat +fatigued, and my Greek, who had me in charge, was +disposed to stop and wait for the morrow; but the fallen +city was on the opposite hill at but a short distance, +and the shades of evening seemed well calculated to +heighten the effect of a ramble among its ruins. In +a right line it was not more than half a mile, but we +soon found that we could not go directly to it; a piece +of low swampy ground lay between, and we had not +gone far before our horses sank up to their saddle-girths. +We were obliged to retrace our steps, and work our +way around by a circuitous route of more than two miles. +This, too, added to the effect of our approach. It was +a dreary reflection, that a city, whose ports and whose +gates had been open to the commerce of the then known +world; whose wealth had invited the traveller and sojourner +within its walls should lie a ruin upon a hillside, +with swamps and morasses extending around it, in sight +but out of reach, near but unapproachable. A warning +voice seemed to issue from the ruins, "<i>Procul, procul, +este profani</i>," my day is past, my sun is set, I have gone +to my grave; pass on, stranger, and disturb not the ashes +of the dead.</p> + +<p>But my Turk did not understand Latin, and we continued +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span>to advance. We moved along in perfect silence, +for besides that my Turk never spoke, and my Greek, +who was generally loquacious enough, was out of humour +at being obliged to go on, we had enough to do in +picking our lonely way. But silence best suited the +scene; the sound of the human voice seemed almost a +mockery of fallen greatness. We entered by a large and +ruined gateway into a place distinctly marked as having +been a street, and, from the broken columns strewed on +each side, probably having been lined with a colonnade. +I let my reins fall upon my horse's neck; he moved about +in the slow and desultory way that suited my humour; +now sinking to his knees in heaps of rubbish, now stumbling +over a Corinthian capital, and now sliding over a +marble pavement. The whole hillside is covered with +ruins to an extent far greater than I expected to find, and +they are all of a kind that tends to give a high idea of the +ancient magnificence of the city. To me, these ruins +appeared to be a confused and shapeless mass; but they +have been examined by antiquaries with great care, and +the character of many of them identified with great certainty. +I had, however, no time for details; and, indeed, +the interest of these ruins in my eyes was not in +the details. It mattered little to me that this was the +stadium and that a fountain; that this was a gymnasium +and that a market-place; it was enough to know +that the broken columns, the mouldering walls, the grass-grown +streets, and the wide-extended scene of desolation +and ruin around me were all that remained of one +of the greatest cities of Asia, one of the earliest Christian +cities in the world. But what do I say? Who +does not remember the tumults and confusion raised by +Demetrius the silversmith, "lest the temple of the great +goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span>be destroyed;" and how the people, having caught +"Caius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions in travel," +rushed with one accord into the theatre, crying out, +"great is Diana of the Ephesians." My dear friend, I +sat among the ruins of that theatre; the stillness of death +was around me; far as the eye could reach, not a living +soul was to be seen save my two companions and a +group of lazy Turks smoking at the coffee-house in +Aysalook. A man of strong imagination might almost +go wild with the intensity of his own reflections; and do +not let it surprise you, that even one like me, brought up +among the technicalities of declarations and replications, +rebutters and surrebutters, and in nowise given to the illusions +of the senses, should find himself roused, and irresistibly +hurried back to the time when the shapeless +and confused mass around him formed one of the most +magnificent cities in the world; when a large and busy +population was hurrying through its streets, intent upon +the same pleasures and the same business that engage +men now; that he should, in imagination, see before him +St. Paul preaching to the Ephesians, shaking their faith +in the gods of their fathers, gods made with their own +hands; and the noise and confusion, and the people +rushing tumultuously up the very steps where he sat; +that he should almost hear their cry ringing in his ears, +"Great is Diana of the Ephesians;" and then that he +should turn from this scene of former glory and eternal +ruin to his own far-distant land; a land that the wisest +of the Ephesians never dreamed of; where the wild man +was striving with the wild beast when the whole world +rang with the greatness of the Ephesian name; and +which bids fair to be growing greater and greater when +the last vestige of Ephesus shall be gone and its very +site unknown.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span>But where is the temple of the great Diana, the temple +two hundred and twenty years in building; the temple +of one hundred and twenty-seven columns, each column +the gift of a king? Can it be that the temple of +the "Great goddess Diana," that the ornament of Asia, +the pride of Ephesus, and one of the seven wonders of +the world, has gone, disappeared, and left not a trace +behind? As a traveller, I would fain be able to say +that I have seen the ruins of this temple; but, unfortunately, +I am obliged to limit myself by facts. Its site +has of course engaged the attention of antiquaries. I +am no skeptic in these matters, and am disposed to believe +all that my cicerone tells me. You remember the +countryman who complained to his minister that he +never gave him any Latin in his sermons; and when the +minister answered that he would not understand it, the +countryman replied that he paid for the best, and ought +to have it. I am like that honest countryman; but my +cicerone understood himself better than the minister; +he knew that I paid him for the best; he knew what +was expected from him, and that his reputation was +gone for ever if, in such a place as Ephesus, he could +not point out the ruins of the great temple of Diana. +He accordingly had <i>his</i> temple, which he stuck to with +as much pertinacity as if he had built it himself; but I +am sorry to be obliged to say, in spite of his authority +and my own wish to believe him, that the better opinion +is, that now not a single stone is to be seen.</p> + +<p>Topographers have fixed the site on the plain, near +the gate of the city which opened to the sea. The sea, +which once almost washed the walls, has receded or been +driven back for several miles. For many years a new +soil has been accumulating, and all that stood on the +plain, including so much of the remains of the temple +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span>as had not been plundered and carried away by different +conquerors, is probably now buried many feet under its +surface.</p> + +<p>It was dark when I returned to Aysalook. I had remarked, +in passing, that several caravans had encamped +there, and on my return found the camel-drivers assembled +in the little coffee-house in which I was to pass the +night. I soon saw that there were so many of us that +we should make a tight fit in the sleeping part of the +khan, and immediately measured off space enough to fit +my body, allowing turning and kicking room. I looked +with great complacency upon the light slippers of the +Turks, which they always throw off, too, when they go +to sleep, and made an ostentatious display of a pair of +heavy iron-nailed boots, and, in lying down, gave one or +two preliminary thumps to show them that I was restless +in my movements, and, if they came too near me +these iron-nailed boots would be uncomfortable neighbours.</p> + +<p>And here I ought to have spent half the night in +musing upon the strange concatenation of circumstances +which had broken up a quiet practising attorney, and +sent him a straggler from a busy, money-getting land, to +meditate among the ruins of ancient cities, and sleep +pellmell with turbaned Turks. But I had no time for +musing; I was amazingly tired; I looked at the group +of Turks in one corner, and regretted that I could not +talk with them; thought of the Tower of Babel and the +wickedness of man, which brought about a confusion of +tongues; of camel-drivers, and Arabian Nights' Entertainments; +of home, and my own comfortable room in +the third story; brought my boot down with a thump +that made them all start, and in five minutes was asleep.</p> + +<p>In the morning I again went over to the ruins. Daylight, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span>if possible, added to their effect; and a little thing +occurred, not much in itself, but which, under the circumstances, +fastened itself upon my mind in such a +way that I shall never forget it. I had read that here, +in the stillness of the night, the <span class="err" title="original: jackall's">jackal's</span> cry was heard; +that, if a stone was rolled, a scorpion or lizard slipped +from under it; and, while picking our way slowly +along the lower part of the city, a wolf of the largest +size came out above, as if indignant at being disturbed +in his possessions. He moved a few paces toward us +with such a resolute air that my companions both drew +their pistols; then stopped, and gazed at us deliberately +as we were receding from him, until, as if satisfied that +we intended to leave his dominions, he turned and disappeared +among the ruins. It would have made a fine +picture; the Turk first, then the Greek, each with a +pistol in his hand, then myself, all on horseback, the +wolf above us, the valley, and the ruined city. I feel +my inability to give you a true picture of these ruins. +Indeed, if I could lay before you every particular, block +for block, fragment for fragment, here a column and +there a column, I could not convey a full idea of the +desolation that marks the scene.</p> + +<p>To the Christian, the ruins of Ephesus carry with +them a peculiar interest; for here, upon the wreck of +heathen temples, was established one of the earliest +Christian churches; but the Christian church has followed +the heathen temple, and the worshippers of the +true God have followed the worshippers of the great +goddess Diana; and in the city where Paul preached, +and where, in the words of the apostle, "much people +were gathered unto the Lord," now not a solitary Christian +dwells. Verily, in the prophetic language of inspiration, +the "candlestick is removed from its place;" +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span>a curse seems to have fallen upon it, men shun it, not +a human being is to be seen among its ruins; and +Ephesus, in faded glory and fallen grandeur, is given +up to birds and beasts of prey, a monument and a warning +to nations.</p> + +<p>From Ephesus I went to Scala Nova, handsomely +situated on the shore of the sea, and commanding a +fine view of the beautiful Island of Samos, distant not +more than four miles. I had a letter to a Greek merchant +there, who received me kindly, and introduced +me to the Turkish governor. The governor, as usual, +was seated upon a divan, and asked us to take seats +beside him. We were served with coffee and pipes by +two handsome Greek slaves, boys about fourteen, with +long hair hanging down their necks, and handsomely +dressed; who, after serving us, descended from the +platform, and waited with folded arms until we had +finished. Soon after a third guest came, and a third +lad, equally handsome and equally well dressed, served +him in the same manner. This is the style of the +Turkish grandees, a slave to every guest. I do not +know to what extent it is carried, but am inclined to +think that, in the present instance, if one or two more +guests had happened to come in, my friend's retinue of +slaves would have fallen short. The governor asked +me from what country I came, and who was my king; +and when I told him that we had no king, but a president, +he said, very graciously, that our president and +the grand seignior were very good friends; a compliment +which I acknowledged with all becoming humility. +Wanting to show off a little, I told him that we +were going to fight the French, and he said we should +<span class="err" title="original: cartainly">certainly</span> whip them if we could get the grand seignior +to help us.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span>I afterward called on my own account upon the English +consul. The consuls in these little places are originals. +They have nothing to do, but they have the +government arms blazoned over their doors, and strut +about in cocked hats and regimentals, and shake their +heads, and look knowing, and talk about their government; +they do not know what the government will +think, &c., when half the time their government hardly +knows of the existence of its worthy representatives. +This was an old Maltese, who spoke French and Italian. +He received me very kindly, and pressed me to stay all +night. I told him that I was not an Englishman, and +had no claim upon his hospitality; but he said that +made no difference; that he was consul for all civilized +nations, among which he did me the honour to include +mine.</p> + +<p>At three o'clock I took leave of the consul. My Greek +friend accompanied me outside the gate, where my horses +were waiting for me; and, at parting, begged me to remember +that I had a friend, who hardly knew what +pleasure was except in serving me. I told him that +the happiness of my life was not complete before I met +him; we threw ourselves into each other's arms, and, +after a two hours' acquaintance, could hardly tear away +from each other's embraces. Such is the force of +sympathy between congenial spirits. My friend was a +man about fifty, square built, broad shouldered, and +big mustached; and the beauty of it was, that neither +could understand a word the other said; and all this +touching interchange of sentiment had to pass through +my mustached, big-whiskered, double-fisted, six-feet interpreter.</p> + +<p>At four o'clock we set out on our return; at seven +we stopped in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span>and on the sides of the mountains were a number +of Turcomans tents. The khan was worse than any I +had yet seen. It had no floor and no mat. The proprietor +of the khan, if such a thing, consisting merely +of four mud walls with a roof of branches, which seemed +to have been laid there by the winds, could be said to +have a proprietor, was uncommonly sociable; he set +before me my supper, consisting of bread and yort—a +preparation of milk—and appeared to be much amused +at seeing me eat. He asked my guide many questions +about me; examined my pistols, took off his turban, +and put my hat upon his shaved head, which transformed +him from a decidedly bold, slashing-looking fellow, +into a decidedly sneaking-looking one. I had certainly +got over all fastidiousness in regard to eating, drinking, +and sleeping; but I could not stand the vermin at this +khan. In the middle of the night I rose and went out of +doors; it was a brilliant starlight night, and, as the +bare earth was in any case to be my bed, I exchanged +the mud floor of my khan for the greensward and the +broad canopy of heaven. My Turk was sleeping on +the ground, about a hundred yards from the house, with +his horse grazing around him. I nestled close to him, +and slept perhaps two hours. Toward morning I was +awakened by the cold, and, with the selfishness of misery, +I began punching my Turk under the ribs to wake +him. This was no easy matter; but, after a while, I +succeeded, got him to saddle the horses, and in a few +minutes we were off, my Greek not at all pleased with +having his slumbers so prematurely disturbed.</p> + +<p>At about two o'clock we passed some of the sultan's +<i>volunteers</i>. These were about fifty men chained together +by the wrists and ankles, who had been chased, +run down, and caught in some of the villages, and were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span>now on their way to Constantinople, under a guard, to +be trained as soldiers. I could but smile as I saw them, +not at them, for, in truth, there was nothing in their condition +to excite a smile, but at the recollection of an article +I had seen a few days before in a European paper, +which referred to the new levies making by the +sultan, and the spirit with which his subjects entered +into the service. They were a speaking comment upon +European insight into Turkish politics. But, without +more ado, suffice it to say, that at about four o'clock I +found myself at the door of my hotel, my outer garments +so covered with creeping things that my landlord, +a prudent Swiss, with many apologies, begged +me to shake myself before going into the house; and +my nether garments so stained with blood, that I looked +as if a corps of the sultan's regulars had pricked me +with their bayonets. My enthusiasm on the subject of +the seven churches was in no small degree abated, +and just at that moment I was willing to take upon +trust the condition of the others, that all that was foretold +of them in the Scriptures had come to pass. I +again betook me to the bath, and, in thinking of the +luxury of my repose, I feel for you, and come to a full +stop.</p> +<p class="right">****</p></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Position of Smyrna.—Consular Privileges.—The Case of the Lover.—End +of the Love Affair.—The Missionary's Wife.—The Casino.—Only +a Greek Row.—Rambles in Smyrna.—The Armenians.—Domestic Enjoyments.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">But</span> I must go back a little, and make the amende +honourable, for, in truth, Ghiaour Ismir, or Infidel +Smyrna, with its wild admixture of European and +Asiatic population, deserves better than the rather cavalier +notice contained in my letter.</p> + +<p>Before reaching it I had remarked its exceeding +beauty of position, chosen as it is with that happy +taste which distinguished the Greeks in selecting the +sites of their ancient cities, on the declivity of a mountain +running down to the shore of the bay, with houses +rising in terraces on its sides; its domes and minarets, +interspersed with cypresses, rising above the tiers of +houses, and the summit of the hill crowned with a large +solitary castle. It was the first large Turkish city I had +seen, and it differed, too, from all other Turkish cities in +the strong foothold obtained there by Europeans. Indeed, +remembering it as a place where often, and within +a very few years, upon a sudden outbreaking of popular +fury, the streets were deluged with Christian blood, +I was particularly struck, not only with the air of confidence +and security, but, in fact, with the bearing of superiority +assumed by the "Christian dog!" among the +followers of the Prophet.</p> + +<p>Directly on the bay is a row of large houses running +along the whole front of the city, among which are seen +emblazoned over the doors the arms of most of the foreign +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span>consuls, including the American. By the treaties +of the Porte with Christian powers, the Turkish tribunals +have no jurisdiction of matters touching the rights +of foreign residents; and all disputes between these, and +even criminal offences, fall under the cognizance of their +respective consuls. This gives the consuls in all the +maritime ports of Turkey great power and position; +and all over the Levant they are great people; but at +Smyrna they are far more important than ambassadors +and ministers at the European capitals; and, with their +janisaries and their appearance on all public occasions +in uniform, are looked up to by the Levantines somewhat +like the consuls sent abroad under the Roman empire, +and by the Turks as almost sultans.</p> + +<p>The morning after my arrival I delivered letters of +introduction to Mr. Offley, the American consul, a native +of Philadelphia, thirty years resident in Smyrna, +and married to an Armenian lady, Mr. Langdon, a merchant +of Boston, and Mr. Styth, of Baltimore, of the firm +of Issaverdens, Styth, and Company; one to Mr. Jetter, +a German missionary, whose lady told me, while her +husband was reading it, that she had met me in the +street the day before, and on her return home told him +that an American had just arrived. I was curious to +know the mark by which she recognised me as an +American, being rather dubious whether it was by reason +of anything praiseworthy or the reverse; but she +could not tell.</p> + +<p>I trust the reader has not forgotten the victim of +the tender passion who, in the moment of my leaving +Athens, had reposed in my sympathizing bosom the +burden of his hopes and fears. At the very first house +in which I was introduced to the female members of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span>the family, I found making a morning call the lady who +had made such inroads upon his affections. I had already +heard her spoken of as being the largest fortune, +and, par consequence, the greatest belle in Smyrna, +and I hailed it as a favourable omen that I accidentally +made her acquaintance so soon after my arrival. I +made my observations, and could not help remarking +that she was by no means pining away on account of +the absence of my friend. I was almost indignant at +her heartless happiness, and, taking advantage of an +opportunity, introduced his name, hoping to see a shade +come over her, and, perhaps, to strike her pensive for +two or three minutes; but her comment was a deathblow +to my friend's prospects and my mediation: +"Poor M.!" and all present repeated "Poor M.!" with +a portentous smile, and the next moment had forgotten +his existence. I went away in the full conviction that +it was all over with "Poor M.!" and murmuring to +myself, Put not your trust in woman, I dined, and in +the afternoon called with my letter of introduction upon +his friend the Rev. Mr. Brewer, and Mr. Brewer's comment +on reading it was about equal to the lady's "Poor +M.!" He asked me in what condition I left our unfortunate +friend. I told him his <i>leg</i> was pretty bad, though +he continued to hobble about; but Mr. Brewer interrupted +me; he did not mean his leg, but, he hesitated +and with reluctance, as if he wished to avoid speaking +of it outright, added, <i>his mind</i>. I did not comprehend +him, and, from his hesitation and delicacy, imagined +that he was alluding to the lover's heart; but he cleared +the matter up, and to my no small surprise, by telling +me that, some time before he left Smyrna, "Poor M." +had shown such strong marks of aberration of intellect, +that his friends had deemed it advisable to put him under +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>the charge of a brother missionary and send him home, +and that they hoped great benefit from travel and change +of scene. I was surprised, and by no means elevated +in my own conceit, when I found that I had been made +the confidant of a crazy man. Mr. Hill, not knowing +of any particular intimacy between us, and probably +not wishing to publish his misfortune unnecessarily, had +not given me the slightest intimation of it, and I had +not discovered it. I had considered his communication +to me strange, and his general conduct not less so, but +I had no idea that it was anything more than the ordinary +derangement which every man is said to labour +under when in love. I then told Mr. Brewer my story, +and the commission with which I was intrusted, which +he said was perfectly characteristic, his malady being +a sort of monomania on the subject of the tender passion; +and every particle of interest which I might nevertheless +have taken in the affair, in connecting his derangement +in some way with the lady in question, was +destroyed by the volatile direction of his passion, sometimes +to one object and sometimes with another; and +in regard to the lady to whom I was accredited, he had +never shown any penchant toward her in particular, and +must have given me her name because it happened to +be the first that suggested itself at the moment of his +unburdening himself to me. Fortunately, I had not exposed +myself by any demonstrations in behalf of my +friend, so I quietly dropped him. On leaving Mr. +Brewer I suggested a doubt whether I could be regarded +as an acquaintance upon the introduction of a crazy +man; but we had gone so far that it was decided, for +that specific purpose, to admit his sanity. I should not +mention these particulars if there was any possibility of +their ever wounding the feelings of him to whom they +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span>refer; but he is now beyond the reach either of calumny +or praise, for about a year after I heard, with great +regret, that his malady had increased, accompanied with +a general derangement of health; and, shortly after his +return home, he died.</p> + +<p>My intercourse with the Franks was confined principally +to my own countrymen, whose houses were open +to me at all times; and I cannot help mentioning the +name of Mr. Van Lennup, the Dutch consul, the great +friend of the missionaries in the Levant, who had been +two years resident in the United States, and was intimately +acquainted with many of my friends at home. +Society in Smyrna is purely mercantile; and having +been so long out of the way of it, it was actually grateful +to me once more to hear men talking with all their +souls about cotton, stocks, exchanges, and other topics +of <i>interest</i>, in the literal meaning of the word. Sometimes +lounging in a merchant's counting-room, I took +up an American paper, and heard Boston, and New-York, +and Baltimore, and cotton, and opium, and freight, +and quarter per cent. less bandied about, until I almost +fancied myself at home; and when this became too +severe I had a resource with the missionaries, gentlemanly +and well-educated men, well acquainted with +the countries and the places worth visiting, with just +the books I wanted, and, I had almost said, the wives; +I mean with wives always glad to see a countryman, +and to talk about home. There is something exceedingly +interesting in a missionary's wife. A soldier's +is more so, for she follows him to danger and, perhaps, +to death; but glory waits him if he falls, and while she +weeps she is proud. Before I went abroad the only +missionary I ever knew I despised, for I believed him +to be a canting hypocrite; but I saw much of them +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span>abroad, and made many warm friends among them; +and, I repeat it, there is something exceedingly interesting +in a missionary's wife. She who had been cherished +as a plant that the winds must not breathe on too +rudely, recovers from the shock of a separation from +her friends to find herself in a land of barbarians, where +her loud cry of distress can never reach their ears. +New ties twine round her heart, and the tender and +helpless girl changes her very nature, and becomes the +staff and support of the man. In his hours of despondency +she raises his drooping spirits; she bathes his +aching head; she smooths his pillow of sickness; and, +after months of wearisome silence, I have entered her +dwelling, and her heart instinctively told her that I was +from the same land. I have been welcomed as a +brother; answered her hurried, and anxious, and eager +questions; and sometimes, when I have known any of +her friends at home, I have been for a moment more +than recompensed for all the toils and privations of a +traveller in the East. I have left her dwelling burdened +with remembrances to friends whom she will +perhaps never see again. I bore a letter to a father, +which was opened by a widowed mother. Where I +could, I have discharged every promise to a missionary's +wife; but I have some yet undischarged which I +rank among the sacred obligations of my life. It is +true, the path of the missionary is not strewed with +roses; but often, in leaving his house at night, and following +my guide with a lantern through the narrow +streets of a Turkish city, I have run over the troubles +incident to every condition of life, not forgetting those +of a traveller, and have taken to whistling, and, as I +stumbled into the gate of an old convent, have murmured +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span>involuntarily, "After all, these missionaries are +happy fellows."</p> + +<p>Every stranger, upon his arrival in Smyrna, is introduced +at the casino. I went there the first time to a +concert. It is a large building, erected by a club of +merchants, with a suite of rooms on the lower floor, +billiards, cards, reading and sitting room, and a ball +room above covering the whole. The concert was +given in the ballroom, and, from what I had seen in the +streets, I expected an extraordinary display of beauty; +but I was much disappointed. The company consisted +only of the aristocracy or higher mercantile classes, the +families of the gentlemen composing the club, and excluded +the Greek and Smyrniote women, among whom +is found a great portion of the beauty of the place. A +patent of nobility in Smyrna, as in our own city, is +founded upon the time since the possessor gave up +selling goods, or the number of consignments he receives +in the course of a year. The casino, by-the-way, +is a very aristocratic institution, and sometimes knotty +questions occur in its management. Captains of merchant +vessels are not admitted. A man came out as +owner of a vessel and cargo, and also master: <i>quere</i>, +could he be admitted? His consignee said yes; but +the majority, not being interested in the sales of his +cargo, went for a strict construction, and excluded him.</p> + +<p>The population of Smyrna, professing three distinct +religions, observe three different Sabbaths; the Mohammedans +Friday, the Jews Saturday, and the Christians +Sunday, so that there are only four days in the +week in which all the shops and bazars are open together, +and there are so many fête days that these are +much broken in upon. The most perfect toleration prevails, +and the religious festivals of the Greeks often terminate +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span>in midnight orgies which debase and degrade +the Christian in the eyes of the pious Mussulman.</p> + +<p>On Saturday morning I was roused from my bed by +a loud cry and the tramp of a crowd through the street. +I ran to my window, and saw a Greek tearing down +the street at full speed, and another after him with a +drawn yataghan in his hand; the latter gained ground +at every step, and, just as he turned the corner, stabbed +the first in the back. He returned with the bloody +poniard in his hand, followed by the crowd, and rushed +into a little Greek drinking-shop next door to my hotel. +There was a loud noise and scuffling inside, and presently +I saw him pitched out headlong into the street, +and the door closed upon him. In a phrensy of passion +he rushed back, and drove his yataghan with all his +force into the door, stamped against it with his feet, and +battered it with stones; unable to force it open, he sat +down on the opposite side of the street, occasionally renewing +his attack upon the door, talking violently with +those inside, and sometimes the whole crowd laughing +loud at the answers from within. Nobody attempted +to interfere. Giusseppi, my host, said it was only a +row among the Greeks. The Greek kept the street in +an uproar for more than an hour, when he was secured +and taken into custody.</p> + +<p>After dinner, under the escort of a merchant, a Jew +from Trieste residing at the same hotel, I visited the +Jews' quarter. The Jews of Smyrna are the descendants +of that unhappy people who were driven out from +Spain by the bloody persecutions of Ferdinand and +Isabel; they still talk Spanish in their families; and +though comparatively secure, now, as ever, they live +the victims of tyranny and oppression, ever toiling and +accumulating, and ever fearing to exhibit the fruits of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span>their industry, lest they should excite the cupidity of a +rapacious master. Their quarter is by far the most miserable +in Smyrna, and within its narrow limits are congregated +more than ten thousand of "the accursed people." +It was with great difficulty that I avoided wounding +the feelings of my companion by remarking its filthy +and disgusting appearance; and wishing to remove +my unfavourable impression by introducing me to some +of the best families first, he was obliged to drag me +through the whole range of its narrow and dirty streets. +From the external appearance of the tottering houses, +I did not expect anything better within; and, out of regard +to his feelings, was really sorry that I had accepted +his offer to visit his people; but with the first house I +entered I was most agreeably disappointed. Ascending +outside by a tottering staircase to the second story, +within was not only neatness and comfort, but positive +luxury. At one end of a spacious room was a raised +platform opening upon a large latticed window, covered +with rich rugs and divans along the wall. The master +of the house was taking his afternoon siesta, and while +we were waiting for him I expressed to my gratified +companion my surprise and pleasure at the unexpected +appearance of the interior. In a few minutes the master +entered, and received us with the greatest hospitality +and kindness. He was about thirty, with the high +square cap of black felt, without any rim or border, +long silk gown tied with a sash around the waist, a +strongly-marked Jewish face, and amiable expression. +In the house of the Israelite the welcome is the same +as in that of the Turk; and seating himself, our host +clapped his hands together, and a boy entered with coffee +and pipes. After a little conversation he clapped +his hands again; and hearing a clatter of wooden shoes, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span>I turned my head and saw a little girl coming across +the room, mounted on high wooden sabots almost like +stilts, who stepped up the platform, and with quite a +womanly air took her seat on the divan. I looked at +her, and thought her a pert, forward little miss, and was +about asking her how old she was, when my companion +told me she was our host's wife. I checked myself, +but in a moment felt more than ever tempted to ask +the same question; and, upon inquiring, learned that +she had attained the respectable age of thirteen, and +had been then two years a wife. Our host told us that +she had cost him a great deal of money, and the expense +consisted in the outlay necessary for procuring a divorce +from another wife. He did not like the other one at +all; his father had married him to her, and he had great +difficulty in prevailing on his father to go to the expense +of getting him freed. This wife was also provided by +his father, and he did not like her much at first; he had +never seen her till the day of marriage, but now he began +to like her very well, though she cost him a great +deal for ornaments. All this time we were looking at +her, and she, with a perfectly composed expression, was +listening to the conversation as my companion interpreted +it, and following with her eyes the different speakers. +I was particularly struck with the cool, imperturbable +expression of her face, and could not help thinking +that, on the subject of likings and dislikings, young as +she was, she might have some curious notions of her +own; and since we had fallen into this little disquisition +on family matters, and thinking that he had gone so far +himself that I might waive delicacy, I asked him whether +she liked him; he answered in that easy tone of +confidence of which no idea can be given in words, "oh +yes;" and when I intimated a doubt, he told me I might +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span>ask herself. But I forbore, and did not ask her, and +so lost the opportunity of learning from both sides the +practical operation of matches made by parents. Our +host sustained them; the plan saved a great deal of +trouble, and wear and tear of spirit; prudent parents always +selected such as were likely to suit each other; +and being thrown together very young, they insensibly +assimilated in tastes and habits; he admitted that he +had missed it the first time, but he had hit it the second, +and allowed that the system would work much better if +the cost of procuring a divorce was not so great. With +the highest respect, and a pressing invitation to come +again, seconded by his wife, I took my leave of the self-satisfied +Israelite.</p> + +<p>From this we went into several other houses, in all of +which the interior belied, in the same manner, their external +appearance. I do not say that they were gorgeous +or magnificent, but they were clean, comfortable, +and striking by their oriental style of architecture and +furniture; and being their Sabbath, the women were in +their best attire, with their heads, necks, and wrists +adorned with a profusion of gold and silver ornaments. +Several of the houses had libraries, with old Hebrew +books, in which an old rabbi was reading or sometimes +instructing children. In the last house a son was going +through his days of mourning on the death of his father. +He was lying in the middle of the floor, with his black +cap on, and covered with a long black cloak. Twenty +or thirty friends were sitting on the floor around him, +who had come in to condole with him. When we entered, +neither he nor any of his friends took any notice +of us, except to make room on the floor. We sat down +with them. It was growing dark, and the light broke +dimly through the latticed windows upon the dusky +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span>figures of the mourning Israelites; and there they sat, +with stern visages and long beards, the feeble remnant +of a fallen people, under scorn and contumely, and persecution +and oppression, holding on to the traditions received +from their fathers, practising in the privacy of +their houses the same rites as when the priests bore +aloft the ark of the covenant, and out of the very dust +in which they lie still looking for the restoration of their +temporal kingdom. In a room adjoining sat the widow +of the deceased, with a group of women around her, all +perfectly silent; and they too took no notice of us either +when we entered or when we went away.</p> + +<p>The next day the shops were shut, and the streets +again thronged as on the day of my arrival. I went to +church at the English chapel attached to the residence +of the British consul, and heard a sermon from a German +missionary. I dined at one o'clock, and, in company +with mine host of the Pension Suisse, and a merchant +of Smyrna resident there, worked my way up +the hill through the heart of the Turks' quarter to the +old castle standing alone and in ruins on its summit. +We rested a little while at the foot of the castle, and +looked over the city and the tops of the minarets upon +the beautiful bay, and descending in the rear of the +castle, we came to the river Meles winding through a +deep valley at the foot of the hill. This stream was +celebrated in Grecian poetry three thousand years ago. +It was the pride of the ancient Smyrneans, once washed +the walls of the ancient city, and tradition says that on +its banks the nymph Critheis gave birth to Homer. +We followed it in its winding course down the valley, +murmuring among evergreens. Over it in two places +were the ruins of aqueducts which carried water to the +old city, and in one or two places it turns an overshot +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span>mill. On each side, at intervals along its banks, were +oriental summer-houses, with verandahs, and balconies, +and latticed windows. Approaching the caravan bridge +we met straggling parties, and by degrees fell into a +crowd of people, Franks, Europeans of every nation, +Greeks, Turks, and Armenians, in all their striking +costumes, sitting on benches under the shade of noble +old sycamores, or on the grass, or on the river's brink, +and moving among them were Turks cleanly dressed, +with trays of refreshments, ices, and sherbet. There +was an unusual collection of Greek and Smyrniote +women, and an extraordinary display of beauty; none +of them wore hats, but the Greek women a light gauze +turban, and the Smyrniotes a small piece of red cloth, +worked with gold, secured on the top of the head by the +folds of the hair, with a long tassel hanging down from +it. Opposite, and in striking contrast, the great Turkish +burying-ground, with its thick grove of gloomy cypress, +approached the bank of the river. I crossed over +and entered the burying-ground, and penetrated the +grove of funereal trees; all around were the graves of +the dead; thousands and tens of thousands who but +yesterday were like the gay crowd I saw flitting through +the trees, were sleeping under my feet. Over some of +the graves the earth was still fresh, and they who lay in +them were already forgotten; but no, they were not +forgotten; woman's love still remembered them, for +Turkish women, with long white shawls wrapped around +their faces, were planting over them myrtle and flowers, +believing that they were paying an acceptable tribute to +the souls of the dead. I left the burying-ground and +plunged once more among the crowd. It may be that +memory paints these scenes brighter than they were; +but, if that does not deceive me, I never saw at Paris or +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span>Vienna so gay and beautiful a scene, so rich in landscape +and scenery, in variety of costume, and in beauty of +female form and feature.</p> + +<p>We left the caravan bridge early to visit the Armenian +quarter, this being the best day for seeing them +collectively at home; and I had not passed through the +first street of their beautiful quarter before I was forcibly +struck with the appearance of a people different from +any I had yet seen in the East. The Armenians are one +of the oldest nations of the civilized world, and, amid all +the revolutions of barbarian war and despotism, have +maintained themselves as a cultivated people. From the +time when their first chieftain fled from Babylon, his native +place, to escape from the tyranny of Belus, king of +Assyria, this warlike people, occupying a mountainous +country near the sources of the Tigris and Euphrates, +battled the Assyrians, Medes, the Persians, Macedonians, +and Arabians, until their country was depopulated +by the shah of Persia. Less than two millions are all +that now remain of that once powerful people. Commerce +has scattered them, like the Israelites, among all +the principal nations of Europe and Asia, and everywhere +they have preserved their stern integrity and uprightness +of character. The Armenian merchant is now +known in every quarter of the globe, and everywhere +distinguished by superior cultivation, honesty, and manners. +As early as the fourth century the Armenians +embraced Christianity; they never had any sympathy +with, and always disliked and avoided, the Greek Christians, +and constantly resisted the endeavours of the +popes to bring them within the Catholic pale. Their +doctrine differs from that of the orthodox chiefly in their +admitting only one nature in Christ, and believing the +Holy Spirit to issue from the Father alone. Their first +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span>abode, Mount Ararat, is even at the present day the centre +of their religious and political union. They are distinguished +by a patriarchal simplicity in their domestic +manners; and it was the beautiful exhibition of this trait +in their character that struck me on entering their quarter +at Smyrna. In style and appearance their quarter is superior +to any in Smyrna; their streets are broad and +clean; their houses large, in good order, and well +painted; oriental in their style of architecture, with +large balconies and latticed windows, and spacious +halls running through the centre, floored with small +black and white stones laid in the form of stars and +other fanciful devices, and leading to large gardens in +the rear, ornamented with trees, vines, shrubs, and +flowers, then in full bloom and beauty. All along the +streets the doors of the houses were thrown wide open, +and the old Armenian "Knickerbockers" were sitting +outside or in the doorway, in their flowing robes, grave +and sedate, with long pipes and large amber mouth +pieces, talking with their neighbours, while the younger +members were distributed along the hall or strolling +through the garden, and children climbing the trees and +arbours. It was a fête day for the whole neighbourhood. +All was social, and cheerful, and beautiful, without +being gay or noisy, and all was open to the observation +of every passer-by. My companion, an old resident +of Smyrna, stopped with me at the house of a large +banker, whose whole family, with several neighbours +young and old, were assembled in the hall.</p> + +<p>In the street the Armenian ladies observe the Turkish +custom of wearing the shawl tied around the face +so that it is difficult to see their features, though I had +often admired the dignity and grace of their walk, and +their propriety of manners; but in the house there was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span>a perfect absence of all concealment; and I have seldom +seen more interesting persons than the whole group of +Armenian ladies, and particularly the young Armenian +girls. They were not so dark, and wanted the bold, +daring beauty of the Greek, but altogether were far +more attractive. The great charm of their appearance +was an exceeding modesty, united with affability and +elegance of manner; in fact, there was a calm and +quiet loveliness about them that would have made any +one of them dangerous to be shut up alone with, i.e., +if a man could talk with her without an interpreter. +This was one of the occasions when I numbered among +the pains of life the confusion of tongues. But, notwithstanding +this, the whole scene was beautiful; and, with +all the simplicity of a Dutchman's fireside, the style of +the house, the pebbled hall, the garden, the foliage, and +the oriental costumes, threw a charm around it which +now, while I write, comes over me again.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>An American Original.—Moral Changes in Turkey.—Wonders of Steam +Navigation.—The March of Mind.—Classic Localities.—Sestos and Abydos.—Seeds +of Pestilence.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">On</span> my return from Ephesus I heard of the arrival in +Smyrna of two American travellers, father and son, +from Egypt; and the same day, at Mr. Langdon's, I +met the father, Dr. N. of Mississippi. The doctor had +made a long and interesting tour in Egypt and the Holy +Land, interrupted, however, by a severe attack of ophthalmia +on the Nile, from which he had not yet recovered, +and a narrow escape from the plague at Cairo. He +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span>was about fifty-five, of a strong, active, and inquiring mind; +and the circumstances which had brought him to that +distant country were so peculiar, that I cannot help mentioning +them. He had passed all his life on the banks of +the Mississippi, and for many years had busied himself +with speculations in regard to the creation of the world. +Year after year he had watched the deposites and the formation +of soil on the banks of the Mississippi, had visited +every mound and mountain indicating any peculiar geological +formation, and, unable to find any data to satisfy +him, he started from his plantation directly for the banks +of the Nile. He possessed all the warm, high-toned +feelings of the Southerner, but a thorough contempt for +the usages of society and everything like polish of manners. +He came to New-York and embarked for Havre. +He had never been even to New-York before; was utterly +ignorant of any language but his own; despised all +foreigners, and detested their "jabber." He worked his +way to Marseilles with the intention of embarking for +Alexandria, but was taken sick, and retraced his steps +directly to his plantation on the Mississippi. Recovering, +he again set out for the Nile the next year, accompanied +by his son, a young man of about twenty-three, +acquainted with foreign languages, and competent to +profit by foreign travel. This time he was more successful, +and, when I saw him, he had rambled over the +Pyramids and explored the ruined temples of Egypt. +The result of his observations had been to fortify his preconceived +notions, that the age of this world far exceeds +six thousand years. Indeed, he was firmly persuaded +that some of the temples of the Nile were built more +than six thousand years ago. He had sent on to Smyrna +enormous boxes of earth and stones, to be shipped to +America, and was particularly curious on the subject of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span>trees, having examined and satisfied himself as to the +age of the olive-trees in the Garden of Gethsemane and +the cedars of Lebanon. I accompanied him to his hotel, +where I was introduced to his son; and I must not +forget another member of this party, who is, perhaps, +already known to some of my readers by the name of +Paolo Nuozzo, or, more familiarly, Paul. This worthy +individual had been travelling on the Nile with two Hungarian +counts, who discharged him, or whom he discharged +(for they differed as to the fact), at Cairo. Dr. +N. and his son were in want, and Paul entered their +service as dragoman and superintendent of another man, +who, they said, was worth a dozen of Paul. I have a +very imperfect recollection of my first interview with +this original. Indeed, I hardly remember him at all until +my arrival at Constantinople, and have only an indistinct +impression of a dark, surly-looking, mustached man following +at the heels of Dr. N., and giving crusty answers +in horrible English.</p> + +<p>Before my visit to Ephesus I had talked with a Prussian +baron of going up by land to Constantinople; but +on my return I found myself attacked with a recurrence +of an old malady, and determined to wait for the +steamboat. The day before I left Smyrna, accompanied +by Mr. O. Langdon, I went out to Boujac to dine +with Mr. Styth. The great beauty of Smyrna is its +surrounding country. Within a few miles there are +three villages, Bournabat, Boujac, and Sediguey, occupied +by Franks, of which Boujac is the favourite. +The Franks are always looking to the time of going +out to their country houses, and consider their residences +in their villages the most agreeable part of their +year; and, from what I saw of it, nothing can be more +agreeable. Not more than half of them had yet moved +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span>out, but after dinner we went round and visited all who +were there. They are all well acquainted, and, living +in a strange and barbarous country, are drawn closer +together than they would be in their own. Every evening +there is a reunion at some of their houses, and +there is among them an absence of all unnecessary form +and ceremony, without which there can be no perfect +enjoyment of the true pleasures of social intercourse. +These villages, too, are endeared to them as places +of refuge during the repeated and prolonged visitations +of the plague, the merchant going into the city every +morning and returning at night, and during the whole +continuance of the disease avoiding to touch any member +of his family. The whole region of country around +their villages is beautiful in landscape and scenery, producing +the choicest flowers and fruits; the fig tree particularly +growing with a luxuriance unknown in any +other part of the world. But the whole of this beautiful +region lies waste and uncultivated, although, if the +government could be relied on, holding out, by reason +of its fertility, its climate, and its facility of access, +particularly now by means of steamboats, far greater +inducements to European emigration than any portion +of our own country. I will not impose upon the reader +my speculations on this subject; my notes are burdened +with them; but, in my opinion, the Old World +is in process of regeneration, and at this moment offers +greater opportunities for enterprise than the New.</p> + +<p>On Monday, accompanied by Dr. N. and his son and +Paolo Nuozzo, I embarked on board the steamboat Maria +Dorothea for Constantinople; and here follows another +letter, and the last, dated from the capital of the Eastern +empire.</p> + +<div class="letter"> +<p class="right"> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span>Constantinople, May ——, 1835. +</p> +<p class="salutation"> +<span class="smcap">My dear</span> ****, +</p> + +<p>Oh you who hope one day to roam in Eastern lands, +to bend your curious eyes upon the people warmed by +the rising sun, come quickly, for all things are changing. +You who have pored over the story of the Turk; +who have dreamed of him as a gloomy enthusiast, hating, +spurning, and slaying all who do not believe and +call upon the Prophet;</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"One of that saintly, murderous brood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To carnage and the Koran given,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who think through unbelievers' blood<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Lies their directest path to Heaven;"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noi">come quickly, for that description of Turk is passing +away. The day has gone by when the haughty Mussulman +spurned and persecuted the "Christian dog." +A few years since it would have been at peril of a +man's life to appear in many parts of Turkey in a +European dress; but now the European is looked upon, +not only as a creature fit to live, but as a man to be respected. +The sultan himself, the great head of the nation +and the religion, the vicegerent of God upon earth, +has taken off the turban, and all the officers of government +have followed his example. The army wears a +bastard European uniform, and the great study of the +sultan is to introduce European customs. Thanks to +the infirmities of human nature, many of these customs +have begun to insinuate themselves. The pious follower +of the Prophet has dared to raise the winecup +to his lips; and in many instances, at the peril of losing +his paradise of houris, has given himself up to strong +drink. Time was when the word of a Turk was sacred +as a precept of the Koran; now he can no more be relied +upon than a Jew or a Christian. He has fallen with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span>great facility into lying, cheating, and drinking, and if +the earnest efforts to change him are attended with success, +perhaps we may soon add stealing and having but +one wife. And all this change, this mighty fall, is ascribed +by the Europeans here to the destruction of the +janisaries, a band of men dangerous to government, +brave, turbulent, and bloody, but of indomitable pride; +who were above doing little things, and who gave a high +tone to the character of the whole people. If I was not +bent upon a gallop, and could stop for the jogtrot of an +argument, I would say that the destruction of the janisaries +is a mere incidental circumstance, and that the +true cause is—<i>steam navigation</i>. Do not laugh, but +listen. The Turks have ever been a proud people, +possessing a sort of peacock pride, an extravagantly +good opinion of themselves, and a superlative contempt +for all the rest of the world. Heretofore they have had +comparatively little intercourse with Europeans, consequently +but little opportunity of making comparisons, +and consequently, again, but little means of discovering +their own inferiority. But lately things have +changed; the universal peace in Europe and the introduction +of steamboats into the Mediterranean have +brought the Europeans and the Turks comparatively +close together. It seems to me that the effect of steamboats +here has as yet hardly begun to be felt. There +are but few of them, indifferent boats, constantly getting +out of order, and running so irregularly that no reliance +can be placed upon them. But still their effects are +felt, their convenience is acknowledged; and, so far as +my knowledge extends, they have never been introduced +anywhere yet without multiplying in numbers, +and driving all other vessels off the water. Now the +Mediterranean is admirably suited to the use of steamboats; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span>indeed, the whole of these inland waters, the +Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Archipelago, the Dardanelles, +the Sea of Marmora, the Bosphorus, and the +Black Sea, from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Sea of +Azoff, offer every facility that can be desired for steam +navigation; and when we consider that the most interesting +cities in the world are on the shores of these waters, +I cannot but believe that in a very few years they +will be, to a certain extent, covered with steamboats. +At all events, I have no doubt that in two or three years +you will be able to go from Paris to Constantinople in +fifteen or twenty days; and, when that time comes, it +will throw such numbers of Europeans into the East as +will have a sensible effect upon the manners and customs +of the people. These eastern countries will be +invaded by all classes of people, travellers, merchants, +and mechanics, gentlemen of elegant leisure, and blacksmiths, +shoemakers, tinkers, and tailors, nay, even mantuamakers, +milliners, and bandboxes, the last being an +incident to civilized life as yet unknown in Turkey. Indeed, +wonderful as the effects of steamboats have been +under our own eyes, we are yet to see them far more +wonderful in bringing into close alliance, commercial +and social, people from distant countries, of different +languages and habits; in removing national prejudices, +and in breaking down the great characteristic distinctions +of nations. Nous verrons, twenty years hence, +what steamboats will have done in this part of the +world!</p> + +<p>But, in standing up for steamboats, I must not fail in +doing justice to the grand seignior. His highness has +not always slept upon a bed of roses. He had to thank +the petticoats of a female slave for saving his life when +a boy, and he had hardly got upon his throne before he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span>found that he should have a hard task to keep it. It lay +between him and the janisaries. In spite of them and of +the general prejudices of the people, he determined to +organize an army according to European tactics. He +staked his throne and his head upon the issue; and it +was not until he had been pushed to the desperate expedient +of unfurling the sacred standard of the Prophet, +parading it through the streets of Constantinople, and +calling upon all good Mussulmans to rally round it; in +short, it was not until the dead bodies of thirty thousand +janisaries were floating down the Bosphorus, that he +found himself the master in his own dominions. Since +that time, either because he is fond of new things, or +because he really sees farther than those around him, +he is constantly endeavouring to introduce European +improvements. For this purpose he invites talent, particularly +mechanical and military, from every country, +and has now around him Europeans among his most +prominent men, and directing nearly all his public works.</p> + +<p>The Turks are a sufficiently intelligent people, and +cannot help feeling the superiority of strangers. Probably +the immediate effect may be to make them prone +rather to catch the faults and vices than the virtues of +Europeans; but afterward better things will come; they +will fall into our better ways; and perhaps, though that +is almost more than we dare hope for, they will embrace +a better religion.</p> + +<p>But, however this may be, or whatever may be the +cause, all ye who would see the Turk of Mohammed; the +Turk who swept the plains of Asia, who leaned upon +his bloody sword before the walls of Vienna, and threatened +the destruction of Christendom in Europe; the +Turk of the turban, and the pipe, and the seraglio, come +quickly, for he is becoming another man. A little longer, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span>and the great characteristic distinctions will be broken +down; the long pipe, the handsome pipe-bearer, and +the amber mouthpiece are gone, and oh, death to all +that is beautiful in Eastern romance, the walls of the +seraglio are prostrated, the doors of the harem thrown +open, the black eunuch and the veiled woman are no +more seen, while the honest Turk trudges home from a +quiet tea-party stripped of his retinue of fair ones, with +his one and only wife tucked under his arm, his head +drooping between his shoulders, taking a lecture from +his better half for an involuntary sigh to the good old +days that are gone. And oh you who turn up your +aristocratic noses at such parvenues as Mohammed and +the Turks; who would go back to those distant ages +which time covers with its dim and twilight glories,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"When the world was fresh and young,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the great deluge still had left it green;"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p class="noi">you who come piping-hot from college, your brains +teeming with recollections of the heroic ages; who +would climb Mount Ida, to sit in council with the gods, +come quickly, also, for all things are changing. A +steamboat—shade of Hector, Ajax, and Agamemnon, +forgive the sins of the day—an Austrian steamboat is +now splashing the island-studded Ægean, and paddling +the classic waters of the Hellespont. Oh ye princes and +heroes who armed for the Trojan war, and covered these +waters with your thousand ships, with what pious horror +must you look down from your blessed abodes upon the +impious modern monster of the deep, which strips the +tall mast of its flowing canvass, renders unnecessary the +propitiation of the gods, and flounders on its way in spite +of wind and weather!</p> + +<p>A new and unaccountable respect for the classics +almost made me scorn the newfangled conveyance, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span>though much to the comfort of wayfaring men; but sundry +recollections of Greek caiques, and also an apprehension +that there might be those yet living who had +heard me in early days speak anything but respectfully +of Homer, suggested to me that one man could not +stem the current of the times, and that it was better for +a humble individual like myself to float with the tide. +This idea, too, of currents and tides made me think +better of Prince Metternich and his steamboat; and +smothering, as well as I could, my sense of shame, I +sneaked on board the Maria Dorothea for a race to Constantinople. +Join me, now, in this race; and if your +heart does not break at going by at the rate of eight or +ten miles an hour, I will whip you over a piece of the +most classic ground consecrated in history, mythology, +or poetry, and in less time than ever the swiftfooted +Achilles could have travelled it. At eleven o'clock on +a bright sunny day the Maria Dorothea turned her back +upon the city and beautiful bay of Smyrna; in about two +hours passed the harbour of Vourla, then used as a quarantine +station, the yellow plague flag floating in the city +and among the shipping; and toward dark, turning the +point of the gulf, came upon my old acquaintance Foggi, +the little harbour into which I had been twice driven by +adverse winds. My Greek friend happened to be on +board, and, in the honesty of his heart, congratulated +me upon being this time independent of the elements, +without seeming to care a fig whether he profaned the +memory of his ancestors in travelling by so unclassical +a conveyance. If he takes it so coolly, thought I, what +is it to me? they are his relations, not mine. In the +evening we were moving close to the Island of Mytilene, +the ancient Lesbos, the country of Sappho, Alcæus, and +Terpander, famed for the excellence of its wine and the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span>beauty of its women, and pre-eminently distinguished +for dissipation and debauchery, the fatal plague flag now +floating mournfully over its walls, marking it as the +abode of pestilence and death.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning I found myself opposite the +promontory of Lectum, now Cape Baba, separating the +ancient Troas from Æolia; a little to the right, but +hardly visible, were the ruins of Assos, where the apostles +stopped to take in Paul; a little farther the ruins of +Alexandria Troas, one of the many cities founded by +Alexander during his conquests in Asia; to the left, at +some distance in the sea, is the Island of Lemnos, in +the songs of the poets overshadowed by the lofty Olympus, +the island that received Vulcan after he was kicked +out of heaven by Jupiter. A little farther, nearer the +land, is the Island of Tenedos, the ancient Leucophrys, +where Paris first landed after carrying off Helen, and +behind which the Greeks withdrew their fleet when +they pretended to have abandoned the siege of Troy. +Still farther, on the mainland, is the promontory of Sigæum, +where the Scamander empties into the sea, and +near which were fought the principal of Homer's battles. +A little farther—but hold, stop the engine! If there be +a spot of classic ground on earth in which the historical, +and the poetical, and the fabulous are so beautifully +blended together that we would not separate them even +to discover the truth, it is before us now. Extending +for a great distance along the shore, and back as far as +the eye can reach, under the purest sky that ever overshadowed +the earth, lies a rich and beautiful plain, and +it is the plain of Troy, the battle-ground of heroes. +Oh field of glory and of blood, little does he know, that +surly Turk who is now lazily following his plough over +thy surface, that every blade of thy grass could tell of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span>heroic deeds, the shock of armies, the meeting of war +chariots, the crashing of armour, the swift flight, the +hot pursuit, the shouts of victors, and the groans of the +dying. Beyond it, towering to the heavens, is a lofty +mountain, and it is Mount Ida, on whose top Paris adjudged +the golden apple to the goddess of beauty, and +paved the way for those calamities which brought on +the ten years' siege, and laid in ruins the ancient city +of Priam. Two small streams, taking their rise from +the mountain of the gods, join each other in the middle +of the plain; Scamander and Simois, whose waters +once washed the walls of the ancient city of Dardanus; +and that small, confused, and shapeless mass of ruins, +that beautiful sky and the songs of Homer, are all that +remain to tell us that "Troy was." Close to the sea, +and rising like mountains above the plain, are two immense +mounds of earth; they are the tombs of Ajax +and Achilles. Shades of departed heroes, fain would +we stop and pay the tribute which we justly owe, but +we are hurried past by an engine of a hundred horse +power.</p> + +<p>Onward, still onward! We have reached the ancient +Hellespont, the Dardanelles of the Turks, famed as the +narrow water that divides Europe from Asia, for the +beauties that adorn its banks, and for its great Turkish +fortifications. Three miles wide at the mouth, it becomes +gradually narrower, until, in the narrowest part, the natives +of Europe and Asia can talk together from the +opposite sides. For sixty miles (its whole length) it +presents a continued succession of new beauties, and in +the hands of Europeans, particularly English, improved +as country seats, would make one of the loveliest countries +in the world. I had just time to reflect that it was +melancholy, and seemed inexplicable that this and other +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span>of the fairest portions of the earth should be in the hands +of the Turks, who neither improve it themselves nor +allow others to do so. At three o'clock we arrived at the +Dardanelles, a little Turkish town in the narrowest and +most beautiful part of the straits; a strong fort with enormous +cannon stands frowning on each side. These are +the terrible fortifications of Mohammed II., the keys of +Constantinople. The guns are enormous; of one in particular, +the muzzle is two feet three inches in diameter; +but, with Turkish ingenuity, they are so placed as to be +discharged when a ship is directly opposite. If the ship +is not disabled by the first fire, and does not choose to +go back and take another, she is safe. At every moment +a new picture presents itself; a new fort, a new +villa, or the ruins of an ancient city. A naked point +on the European side, so ugly compared with all around +it as to attract particular attention, projects into the +strait, and here are the ruins of Sestos; here Xerxes +built his bridge of boats to carry over his millions to the +conquest of Greece; and here, when he returned with +the wreck of his army, defeated and disgraced, found +his bridge destroyed by a tempest, and, in his rage, ordered +the chains to be thrown into the sea and the +waves to be lashed with rods. From this point, too, +Leander swam the Hellespont for love of Hero, and +Lord Byron and Mr. Ekenhead for fun. Nearly opposite, +close to a Turkish fort, are the ruins of Abydos. +Here Xerxes, and Leander, and Lord Byron, and Mr. +Ekenhead landed.</p> + +<p>Our voyage is drawing to a close. At Gallipoli, a large +Turkish town handsomely situated at the mouth of the +Dardanelles, we took on board the Turkish governor, +with his pipe-bearer and train of attendants, escorted by +thirty or forty boats, containing three or four hundred +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span>people, his mightiness taking a deck passage. Toward +evening we were entering the Sea of Marmora, the ancient +Propontis, like one of our small lakes, and I again +went to sleep lulled by the music of a high-pressure engine. +At daylight we were approaching Constantinople; +twelve miles this side, on the bank of the Sea of Marmora, +is the village of St. Stephano, the residence of Commodore +Porter. Here the domes and minarets of the ancient +city, with their golden points and glittering crescents, +began to appear in sight. High above the rest +towered the mosque of Sultan Achmet and the beautiful +dome of St. Sophia, the ancient Christian church, but +now, for nearly four hundred years, closed against the +Christians' feet. We approach the walls and pass a +range of gloomy turrets; there are the Seven Towers, +prisons, portals of the grave, whose mysteries few live to +publish: the bowstring and the sea reveal no secrets. +That palace, with its blinded windows and its superb +garden, surrounded by a triple range of walls, is the +far-famed seraglio; there beauty lingers in a splendid +cage, and, lolling on her rich divan, sighs for the humblest +lot and freedom. In front, that narrow water, a +thousand caiques shooting through it like arrows, and +its beautiful banks covered with high palaces and gardens +in the oriental style, is the Thracian Bosphorus. +We float around the walls of the seraglio, enter the +Golden Horn, and before us, with its thousand mosques +and its myriad of minarets, their golden points glittering +in the sun, is the Roman city of Constantinople, the +Thracian Byzantium, the Stamboul of the Turks; the +city which, more than all others, excites the imagination +and interests the feelings; once dividing with Rome +the empire of the world; built by a Christian emperor +and consecrated as a Christian city, a "burning and a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span>shining light" in a season of universal darkness, all at +once lost to the civilized world; falling into the hands +of a strange and fanatic people, the gloomy followers +of a successful soldier; a city which, for nearly four +centuries, has sat with its gates closed in sullen distrust +and haughty defiance of strangers; which once +sent forth large and terrible armies, burning, slaying, +and destroying, shaking the hearts of princes and +people, now lying like a fallen giant, huge, unwieldy, +and helpless, ready to fall into the hands of the first invader, +and dragging out a precarious and ignoble existence +but by the mercy or policy of the great Christian +powers. The morning sun, now striking upon its +domes and minarets, covers it, as it were, with burnished +gold; a beautiful verdure surrounds it, and pure waters +wash it on every side. Can this beautiful city, rich with +the choicest gifts of Heaven, be pre-eminently the abode +of pestilence and death? where a man carries about with +him the seeds of disease to all whom he holds dear? if he +extend the hand of welcome to a friend, if he embrace his +child or rub against a stranger, the friend, and the child, +and the stranger follow him to the grave? where, year +after year, the angel of death stalks through the streets, +and thousands and tens of thousands look him calmly in +the face, and murmuring "Allah, Allah, God is merciful," +with a fatal trust in the Prophet, lie down and die? +We enter the city, and these questions are quickly answered. +A lazy, lounging, and filthy population; beggars +basking in the sun, and dogs licking their sores; +streets never cleaned but by the winds and rains; immense +burying-grounds all over the city; tombstones at +the corners of the streets; graves gaping ready to throw +out their half-buried dead, the whole approaching to one +vast charnel-house, dispel all illusions and remove all +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span>doubts, and we are ready to ask ourselves if it be possible +that, in such a place, health can ever dwell. We +wonder that it should ever, for the briefest moment, be +free from that dreadful scourge which comes with every +summer's sun and strews its streets with dead.</p> +<p class="right">****</p></div> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Mr. Churchill.—Commodore Porter.—Castle of the Seven Towers.—The +Sultan's Naval Architect.—Launch of the Great Ship.—Sultan Mahmoud.—Jubilate.—A +National Grievance.—Visit to a Mosque.—The +Burial-grounds.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">There</span> is a good chance for an enterprising Connecticut +man to set up a hotel in Constantinople. The +reader will see that I have travelled with my eyes open, +and I trust this shrewd observation on entering the city of +the Cæsars will be considered characteristic and American. +Paul was at home in Pera, and conducted us to +the Hotel d'Italia, which was so full that we could not +get admission, and so vile a place that we were not sorry +for it. We then went to Madame Josephine's, a sort of +private boarding-house, but excellent of its kind. We +found there a collection of travellers, English, French, +German, and Russian, and the dinner was particularly +social; but Dr. N. was so disgusted with the clatter of +foreign tongues, that he left the table with the first +course, and swore he would not stay there another day. +We tried to persuade him. I reminded him that there +was an Englishman among them, but this only made +him worse; he hated an Englishman, and wondered +how I, as an American, could talk with one as I had +with him. In short, he was resolved, and had Paul +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span>running about every street in Pera looking for rooms. +Notwithstanding his impracticabilities as a traveller, I +liked the doctor, and determined to follow him, and before +breakfast the next morning we were installed in a +suite of rooms in the third story of a house opposite the +old palace of the British ambassador.</p> + +<p>For two or three days I was <i>hors du combat</i>, and +put myself under the hands of Dr. Zohrab, an Armenian, +educated at Edinburgh, whom I cordially recommend +both for his kindness and medical skill. On going out, +one of my first visits was to my banker, Mr. Churchill, +a gentleman whose name has since rung throughout +Europe, and who at one time seemed likely to be the +cause of plunging the whole civilized world into a war. +He was then living in Sedikuey, on the site of the ancient +Chalcedon, in Asia; and I have seldom been more +shocked than by reading in a newspaper, while in the +lazaretto at Malta, that, having accidentally shot a +Turkish boy with a fowling-piece, he had been seized +by the Turks, and, in defiance of treaties, <i>bastinadoed</i> +till he was almost dead. I had seen the infliction of +that horrible punishment; and, besides the physical +pain, there was a sense of the indignity that roused +every feeling. I could well imagine the ferocious +spirit with which the Turks would stand around and +see a Christian scourged. The civilized world owes a +deep debt of gratitude to the English government for +the uncompromising stand taken in this matter with the +sultan, and the firmness with which it insisted on, and +obtained, the most ample redress for Mr. Churchill, and +atonement for the insult offered to all Christendom in +his person.</p> + +<p>My companions and myself had received several invitations +from Commodore Porter, and, accompanied by +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span>Mr. Dwight, one of our American missionaries, to whom +I am under particular obligations for his kindness, early +in the morning we took a caique with three athletic +Turks, and, after a beautiful row, part of it from the seraglio +point to the Seven Towers, a distance of five +miles, being close under the walls of the city, in two +hours reached the commodore's residence at St. Stephano, +twelve miles from Constantinople, on the borders +of the Sea of Marmora. The situation is beautiful, +abounding in fruit-trees, among which are some fig trees +of the largest size; and the commodore was then +engaged in building a large addition to his house. It +will be remembered that Commodore Porter was the +first envoy ever sent by the United States' government +to the Sublime Porte. He had formerly lived at Buyukdere, +on the Bosphorus, with the other members of +the diplomatic corps; but his salary as chargé being +inadequate to sustain a becoming style, he had withdrawn +to this place. I had never seen Commodore +Porter before. I afterward passed a month with him +in the lazaretto at Malta, and I trust he will not consider +me presuming when I say that our acquaintance +ripened into friendship. He is entirely different from +the idea I had formed of him; small, dark, weather-beaten, +much broken in health, and remarkably mild +and quiet in his manners. His eye is his best feature, +though even that does not indicate the desperate +hardihood of character which he has exhibited on so +many occasions. Perhaps I ought not to say so, but +he seemed ill at ease in his position, and I could not +but think that he ought still to be standing in the front +rank of that service he so highly honoured. He spoke +with great bitterness of the Foxardo affair, and gave +me an account of an interesting interview between +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span>General Jackson and himself on his recall from South +America. General Jackson wished him to resume his +rank in the navy, but he answered that he would never +accept service with men who had suspended him for +doing what, they said in their sentence of condemnation, +was done "to sustain the honour of the American flag."</p> + +<p>At the primitive hour of one we sat down to a regular +family dinner. We were all Americans. The commodore's +sister, who was living with him, presided, and we +looked out on the Sea of Marmora and talked of home. +I cannot describe the satisfaction of these meetings of +Americans so far from their own country. I have often +experienced it most powerfully in the houses of the +missionaries in the East. Besides having, in many instances, +the same acquaintances, we had all the same +habits and ways of thinking; their articles of furniture +were familiar to me, and there was scarcely a house in +which I did not find an article unknown except among +Americans, a Boston rocking-chair.</p> + +<p>We talked over the subject of our difficulties with +France, then under discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, +and I remember that Commodore Porter was +strong in the opinion that the bill paying the debt would +pass. Before rising from table, the commodore's janisary +came down from Constantinople, with papers and +letters just arrived by the courier from Paris. He told +me that I should have the honour of breaking the seals, +and I took out the paper so well known all over Europe, +"Galignani's Messenger," and had the satisfaction +of reading aloud, in confirmation of the commodore's +opinion, that the bill for paying the American claims +had passed the Chamber of Deputies by a large majority.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p222.jpg" width="60%" alt="Castle of the Seven Towers." title="Castle of the seven Towers" /> +<p class="caption">Castle of the Seven Towers.</p> +</div> + +<p>About four o'clock we embarked in our caique to return +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span>to Constantinople. In an hour Mr. D. and I landed +at the foot of the Seven Towers, and few things in +this ancient city interested me more than my walk +around its walls. We followed them the whole extent +on the land side, from the Sea of Marmora to the Golden +Horn. They consist of a triple range, with five gates, +the principal of which is the Cannon Gate, through +which Mohammed II. made his triumphal entry into the +Christian city. They have not been repaired since the +city fell into the hands of the Turks, and are the same +walls which procured for it the proud name of the "well-defended +city;" to a great extent, they are the same +walls which the first Constantine built and the last Constantine +died in defending. Time has laid his ruining +hand upon them, and they are everywhere weak and +decaying, and would fall at once before the thunder of +modern war. The moat and fossé have alike lost their +warlike character, and bloom and blossom with the vine +and fig tree. Beyond, hardly less interesting than the +venerable walls, and extending as far as the eye can +reach, is one continued burying-ground, with thousands +and tens of thousands of turbaned headstones, shaded by +thick groves of the mourning cypress. Opposite the +Damascus Gate is an elevated enclosure, disconnected +from all around, containing five headstones in a row, +over the bodies of Ali Pacha, the rebel chief of Yanina, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span>and his four sons. The fatal mark of death by the +bowstring is conspicuous on the tombs, as a warning to +rebels that they cannot escape the sure vengeance of +the Porte. It was toward the sunset of a beautiful +evening, and all Stamboul was out among the tombs. +At dark we reached the Golden Horn, crossed over in +a caique, and in a few minutes were in Pera.</p> + +<p>The next day I took a caique at Tophana, and went +up to the shipyards at the head of the Golden Horn to +visit Mr. Rhodes, to whom I had a letter from a friend in +Smyrna. Mr. Rhodes is a native of Long Island, but +from his boyhood a resident of this city, and I take great +pleasure in saying that he is an honour to our state and +country. The reader will remember that, some years +ago, Mr. Eckford, one of our most prominent citizens, +under a pressure of public and domestic calamities, left +his native city. He sailed from New-York in a beautiful +corvette, its destination unknown, and came to anchor +under the walls of the seraglio in the harbour of +Constantinople. The sultan saw her, admired her, and +bought her; and I saw her "riding like a thing of life" +on the waters of the Golden Horn, a model of beauty.</p> + +<p>The fame of his skill, and the beautiful specimen he +carried out with him, recommended Mr. Eckford to the +sultan as a fit instrument to build up the character of +the Ottoman navy; and afterward, when his full value +became known, the sultan remarked of him that America +must be a great nation if she could spare from her +service such a man. Had he lived, even in the decline +of life he would have made for himself a reputation in +that distant quarter of the globe equal to that he had left +behind him, and doubtless would have reaped the attendant +pecuniary reward. Mr. Rhodes went out as +Mr. Eckford's foreman, and on his death the task of completing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span>his employer's work devolved on him. It could +not have fallen upon a better man. From a journeyman +shipbuilder, all at once Mr. Rhodes found himself +brought into close relations with the seraskier pacha, +the reis effendi, the grand vizier, and the sultan himself; +but his good sense never deserted him. He was then +preparing for the launch of the great ship; the longest, +as he said, and he knew the dimensions of every ship +that floated, in the world. I accompanied him over the +ship and through the yards, and it was with no small +degree of interest that I viewed a townsman, an entire +stranger in the country, by his skill alone standing at +the head of the great naval establishment of the sultan. +He was dressed in a blue roundabout jacket, without +whiskers or mustache, and, except that he wore the +tarbouch, was thorough American in his appearance +and manners, while his dragoman was constantly by +his side, communicating his orders to hundreds of mustached +Turks, and in the same breath he was talking +with me of shipbuilders in New-York, and people and +things most familiar in our native city. Mr. Rhodes +knows and cares but little for things that do not immediately +concern him; his whole thoughts are of his business, +and in that he possesses an ambition and industry +worthy of all praise. As an instance of his discretion, +particularly proper in the service of that suspicious and +despotic government, I may mention that, while standing +near the ship and remarking a piece of cloth stretched +across her stern, I asked him her name, and he told +me he did not know; that it was painted on her stern, +and his dragoman knew, but he had never looked under, +that he might not be able to answer when asked. +I have seldom met a countryman abroad with whom I +was more pleased, and at parting he put himself on a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span>pinnacle in my estimation by telling me that, if I came +to the yard the next day at one, I would see the sultan! +There was no man living whom I had a greater curiosity +to see. At twelve o'clock I was at the yard, but +the sultan did not come. I went again, and his highness +had come two hours before the time; had accompanied +Mr. Rhodes over the ship, and left the yard less than +five minutes before my arrival; his caique was still lying +at the little dock, his attendants were carrying trays +of refreshments to a shooting-ground in the rear, and +two black eunuchs belonging to the seraglio, handsomely +dressed in long black cloaks of fine pelisse +cloth, with gold-headed canes and rings on their fingers, +were still lingering about the ship, their effeminate +faces and musical voices at once betraying their +neutral character.</p> + +<p>The next was the day of the launch; and early in the +morning, in the suite of Commodore Porter, I went on +board an old steamer provided by the sultan expressly for +the use of Mr. Rhodes's American friends. The waters +of the Golden Horn were already covered; thousands +of caiques, with their high sharp points, were cutting +through it, or resting like gulls upon its surface; and +there were ships with the still proud banner of the +crescent, and strangers with the flags of every nation in +Christendom, and sailboats, longboats, and rowboats, ambassadors' +barges, and caiques of effendis, beys, and +pachas, with red silk flags streaming in the wind, while +countless thousands were assembled on the banks to +behold the extraordinary spectacle of an American ship, +the largest in the world, launched in the harbour of old +Stamboul. The sultan was then living at his beautiful +palace at Sweet Waters, and was obliged to pass by +our boat; he had made a great affair of the launch; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>had invited all the diplomatic corps, and, through the +reis effendi, particularly requested the presence of Commodore +Porter; had stationed his harem on the opposite +side of the river; and as I saw prepared for himself +near the ship a tent of scarlet cloth trimmed with gold, +I expected to see him appear in all the pomp and splendour +of the greatest potentate on earth. I had already +seen enough to convince me that the days of Eastern +magnificence had gone by, or that the gorgeous scenes +which my imagination had always connected with the +East had never existed; but still I could not divest +myself of the lingering idea of the power and splendour +of the sultan. His commanding style to his own subjects: +"I command you, ——, my slave, that you bring +the head of ——, my slave, and lay it at my feet;" and +then his lofty tone with foreign powers: "I, who am, +by the infinite grace of the great, just, and all-powerful +Creator, and the abundance of the miracles of the +chief of his prophets, emperor of powerful emperors; +refuge of sovereigns; distributor of crowns to the kings +of the earth; keeper of the two very holy cities (Mecca +and Medina); governor of the holy city of Jerusalem; +master of Europe, Asia, and Africa, conquered with +our victorious sword and our terrible lance; lord of two +seas (Black and White); of Damascus, the odour of +Paradise; of Bagdad, the seat of the califs; of the fortresses +of Belgrade, Agra, and a multitude of countries, +isles, straits, people, generations, and of so many +victorious armies who repose under the shade of our +Sublime Porte; I, in short, who am the shadow of God +upon earth;" I was rolling these things through my +mind when a murmur, "the sultan is coming," turned +me to the side of the boat, and one view dispelled all +my gorgeous fancies. There was no style, no state, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span>a citizen king, a republican president, or a democratic +governor, could not have made a more unpretending appearance +than did this "shadow of God upon earth." +He was seated in the bottom of a large caique, dressed +in the military frockcoat and red tarbouch, with his long +black beard, the only mark of a Turk about him, and he +moved slowly along the vacant space cleared for his +passage, boats with the flags of every nation, and thousands +of caiques falling back, and the eyes of the immense +multitude earnestly fixed upon him, but without +any shouts or acclamations; and when he landed at the +little dock, and his great officers bowed to the dust before +him, he looked the plainest, mildest, kindest man +among them. I had wished to see him as a wholesale +murderer, who had more blood upon his hands than +any man living; who had slaughtered the janisaries, +drenched the plains of Greece, to say nothing of bastinadoes, +impalements, cutting off heads, and tying up in +sacks, which are taking place every moment; but I will +not believe that Sultan Mahmoud finds any pleasure +in shedding blood. Dire necessity, or, as he himself +would say, fate, has ever been driving him on. I look +upon him as one of the most interesting characters upon +earth; as the creature of circumstances, made bloody +and cruel by the necessities of his position. I look at +his past life and at that which is yet in store for him, +through all the stormy scenes he is to pass until he +completes his unhappy destiny, the last of a powerful +and once-dreaded race, bearded by those who once +crouched at the footstool of his ancestors, goaded by +rebellious vassals, conscious that he is going a downward +road, and yet unable to resist the impulse that +drives him on. Like the strong man encompassed with +a net, he finds no avenue of escape, and cannot break +through it.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span>The seraskier pacha and other principal officers escorted +him to his tent, and now all the interest which +I had taken in the sultan was transferred to Mr. Rhodes. +He had great anxiety about the launch, and many difficulties +to contend with: first, in the Turks' jealousy of a +stranger, which obliged him to keep constantly on the +watch lest some of his ropes should be cut or fastenings +knocked away; and he had another Turkish prejudice +to struggle against: the day had been fixed twice +before, but the astronomers found an unfortunate conjunction +of the stars, and it was postponed, and even then +the stars were unpropitious; but Mr. Rhodes had insisted +that the work had gone so far that it could not be +stopped. And, besides these, he had another great difficulty +in his ignorance of their language. With more +than a thousand men under him, all his orders had to +pass through interpreters, and often, too, the most +prompt action was necessary, and the least mistake +might prove fatal. Fortunately, he was protected from +treachery by the kindness of Mr. Churchill and Dr. +Zohrab, one of whom stood on the bow and the other in +the stern of the ship, and through whom every order +was transmitted in Turkish. Probably none there felt +the same interest that we did; for the flags of the barbarian +and every nation in Christendom were waving +around us, and at that distance from home the enterprise +of a single citizen enlisted the warmest feelings +of every American. We watched the ship with as keen +an interest as if our own honour and success in life depended +upon her movements. For a long time she +remained perfectly quiet. At length she moved, slowly +and almost imperceptibly; and then, as if conscious +that the eyes of an immense multitude were on her, and +that the honour of a distant nation was in some measure +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span>at stake, she marched proudly to the water, plunged in +with a force that almost buried her, and, rising like a +huge leviathan, parted the foaming waves with her bow, +and rode triumphantly upon them. Even Mussulman +indifference was disturbed; all petty jealousies were +hushed; the whole immense mass was roused into admiration; +loud and long-continued shouts of applause +rose with one accord from Turks and Christians, and +the sultan was so transported that he jumped up and +clapped his hands like a schoolboy.</p> + +<p>Mr. Rhodes's triumph was complete; the sultan called +him to his tent, and with his own hands fixed on the +lappel of his coat a gold medal set in diamonds, representing +the launching of a ship. Mr. Rhodes has attained +among strangers the mark of every honourable +man's ambition, the head of his profession. He has +put upon the water what Commodore Porter calls the +finest ship that ever floated, and has a right to be proud +of his position and prospects under the "shade of the +Sublime Porte." The sultan wishes to confer upon +him the title of chief naval constructor, and to furnish +him with a house and a caique with four oars. In compliment +to his highness, who detests a hat, Mr. Rhodes +wears the tarbouch; but he declines all offices and +honours, and anything that may tend to fix him as a +Turkish subject, and looks to return and enjoy in his +own country and among his own people the fruits of +his honourable labours. If the good wishes of a friend +can avail him, he will soon return to our city rich with +the profits of untiring industry, and an honourable testimony +to his countrymen of the success of American +skill and enterprise abroad.</p> + +<p>To go back a moment. All day the great ship lay in +the middle of the Golden Horn, while perhaps more +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span>than a hundred thousand Turks shot round her in their +little caiques, looking up from the surface of the water +to her lofty deck: and in Pera, wherever I went, perhaps +because I was an American, the only thing I heard +of was the American ship. Proud of the admiration excited +so far from home by this noble specimen of the +skill of an American citizen, I unburden myself of a +long-smothered subject of complaint against my country. +I cry out with a loud voice for <i>reform</i>, not in the hackneyed +sense of petty politicians, but by a liberal and enlarged +expenditure of public money; by increasing the +outfits and salaries of our foreign ambassadors and ministers. +We claim to be rich, free from debt, and abundant +in resources, and yet every American abroad is struck +with a feeling of mortification at the inability of his representative +to take that position in social life to which +the character of his country entitles him. We may talk +of republican simplicity as we will, but there are certain +usages of society and certain appendages of rank which, +though they may be unmeaning and worthless, are sanctioned, +if not by the wisdom, at least by the practice of +all civilized countries. We have committed a fatal error +since the time when Franklin appeared at the court +of France in a plain citizen's dress; everywhere our +representative conforms to the etiquette of the court to +which he is accredited, and it is too late to go back and +begin anew; and now, unless our representative is rich +and willing to expend his own fortune for the honour +of the nation, he is obliged to withdraw from the circles +and position in which he has a right and ought to move, +or to move in them on an inferior footing, under an acknowledgment +of inability to appear as an equal.</p> + +<p>And again: our whole consular system is radically +wrong, disreputable, and injurious to our character and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span>interests. While other nations consider the support of +their consuls a part of the expenses of their government, +we suffer ourselves to be represented by merchants, +whose pecuniary interests are mixed up with +all the local and political questions that affect the place +and who are under a strong inducement to make their +office subservient to their commercial relations. I make +no imputations against any of them. I could not if I +would, for I do not know an American merchant holding +the office who is not a respectable man; but the representative +of our country ought to be the representative +of our country only; removed from any distracting or +conflicting interests, standing like a watchman to protect +the honour of his nation and the rights of her citizens. +And more than this, all over the Mediterranean there are +ports where commerce presents no inducements to the +American merchant, and there the office falls into the +hands of the natives; and at this day the American arms +are blazoned on the doors, and the American flag is waving +over the houses, of Greeks, Italians, Jews, and +Arabs, and all the mongrel population of that inland sea; +and in the ports under the dominion of Turkey particularly, +the office is coveted as a means of protecting the holder +against the liabilities to his own government, and of +revenue by selling that protection to others. I will not +mention them by name, for I bear them no ill will personally, +and I have received kindness from most of the +petty vagabonds who live under the folds of the American +flag; but the consuls at Gendoa and Algiers are a +disgrace to the American name. Congress has lately +turned its attention to this subject, and will, before long, +I hope, effect a complete change in the character of our +consular department, and give it the respectability which +it wants; the only remedy is by following the example +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span>of other nations, in fixing salaries to the office, +and forbidding the holders to engage in trade. Besides the leading +inducements to this change, there is a secondary consideration, +which, in my eyes, is not without its value, +in that it would furnish a valuable school of instruction +for our young men. The offices would be sought by +such. A thousand or fifteen hundred dollars a year +would maintain them respectably, in most of the ports of +the Mediterranean, and young men resident in those +places, living upon salaries, and not obliged to engage +in commerce, would employ their leisure hours in acquiring +the language of the country, in communicating +with the interior, and among them would return upon +us an accumulation of knowledge far more than repaying +us for all the expense of supporting them abroad.</p> + +<p>Doubtless the reader expects other things in Constantinople; +but all things are changing. The day has +gone by when the Christian could not cross the threshold +of a mosque and live. Even the sacred mosque of St. +Sophia, the ancient Christian church, so long closed +against the Christians' feet, now, upon great occasions, +again opens its doors to the descendants of its Christian +builders. One of these great occasions happened while +I was there. The sultan gave a firman to the French +ambassador, under which all the European residents +and travellers visited it. Unfortunately, I was unwell, +and could not go out that day, and was obliged afterward +to content myself with walking around its walls, +with uplifted eyes and a heavy heart, admiring the glittering +crescent and thinking of the prostrate cross.</p> + +<p>But no traveller can leave Constantinople without +having seen the interior of a mosque; and accordingly, +under the guidance of Mustapha, the janisary of the +British consul, I visited the mosque of Sultan Suliman, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span>next in point of beauty to that of St. Sophia, though +far inferior in historical interest. At an early hour we +crossed the Golden Horn to old Stamboul; <span class="err" title="original: threade">threaded</span> our +way through its narrow and intricate streets to an eminence +near the seraskier pacha's tower; entered by a +fine gateway into a large courtyard, more than a thousand +feet square, handsomely paved and ornamented +with noble trees, and enclosed by a high wall; passed +a marble fountain of clear and abundant water, where, +one after another, the faithful stopped to make their +ablutions; entered a large colonnade, consisting of granite +and marble pillars of every form and style, the plunder +of ancient temples, worked in without much regard +to architectural fitness, yet, on the whole, producing a +fine effect; pulled off our shoes at the door, and, with +naked feet and noiseless step, crossed the sacred threshold +of the mosque. Silently we moved among the kneeling +figures of the faithful scattered about in different +parts of the mosque and engaged in prayer; paused +for a moment under the beautiful dome sustained by +four columns from the Temple of Diana at Ephesus; +leaned against a marble pillar which may have supported, +two thousand years ago, the praying figure of a +worshipper of the great goddess; gazed at the thousand +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span>small lamps suspended from the lofty ceiling, each by a +separate cord, and with a devout feeling left the mosque.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p233.jpg" width="60%" alt="Mosque of Sultan Suliman." title="Mosque of Sultan Suliman." /> +<p class="caption">Mosque of Sultan Suliman.</p> +</div> + +<p>In the rear, almost concealed from view by a thick +grove of trees, shrubs, and flowers, is a circular building +about forty feet in diameter, containing the tomb of Suliman, +the founder of the mosque, his brother, his favourite +wife Roxala, and two other wives. The monuments +are in the form of sarcophagi, with pyramidal +tops, covered with rich <span class="err" title="original: Cachmere">Cashmere</span> shawls, having each +at the head a large white turban, and enclosed by a railing +covered with mother-of-pearl. The great beauty of +the sepulchral chamber is its dome, which is highly ornamented, +and sparkles with brilliants. In one corner +is a plan of Mecca, the holy temple, and tomb of the +Prophet.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon I went for the last time to the Armenian +burying-ground. In the East the graveyards are +the general promenades, the places of rendezvous, and +the lounging-places; and in Constantinople the Armenian +burying-ground is the most beautiful, and the favourite. +Situated in the suburbs of Pera, overlooking +the Bosphorus, shaded by noble palm-trees, almost regularly +toward evening I found myself sitting upon the +same tombstone, looking upon the silvery water at my +feet, studded with palaces, flashing and glittering with +caiques from the golden palace of the sultan to the seraglio +point, and then turned to the animated groups +thronging the burying-ground; the Armenian in his +flowing robes, the dashing Greek, the stiff and out-of-place-looking +Frank; Turks in their gay and bright +costume, glittering arms, and solemn beards, enjoying the +superlative of existence in dozing over their pipe; and +women in long white veils, apart under some delightful +shade, in little picnic parties, eating ices and confectionary. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span>Here and there, toward the outskirts, was the +araba, the only wheeled carriage known among the +Turks, with a long low body, highly carved and gilded, +drawn by oxen fancifully trimmed with ribands, and +filled with soft cushions, on which the Turkish and Armenian +ladies almost buried themselves. Instead of +the cypress, the burying-ground is shaded by noble +plane-trees; and the tombstones, instead of being upright, +are all flat, having at the head a couple of little +niches scooped out to hold water, with the beautiful +idea to induce birds to come there and drink and sing +among the trees. Their tombstones, too, have another +mark, which, in a country where men are apt to forget +who their fathers were, would exclude them even from +that place where all mortal distinctions are laid low, viz., +a mark indicating the profession or occupation of the +deceased; as, a pair of shears to mark the grave of a +tailor; a razor that of a barber; and on many of them +was another mark indicating the manner of death, the +bowstring, or some other mark, showing that the stone +covered a victim of Turkish cruelty. But all these +things are well known; nothing has escaped the prying +eyes of curious travellers; and I merely state, for my +own credit's sake, that I followed the steps of those who +had gone before me, visited the Sweet Waters, Scutary, +and Belgrade, the reservoirs, aqueducts, and ruins of +the palace of Constantine, and saw the dancing dervishes; +rowed up the Bosphorus to Buyukdere, lunched +under the tree where Godfrey encamped with his gallant +crusaders, and looked out upon the Black Sea from +the top of the Giant's Mountain.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span></h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>Visit to the Slave-market.—Horrors of Slavery.—Departure from Stamboul.—The +stormy Euxine.—Odessa.—The Lazaretto.—Russian Civility.—Returning +Good for Evil.</p></div> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> day before I left Constantinople I went, in +company with Dr. N. and his son, and attended by +Paul, to visit the slave-market; crossing over to Stamboul, +we picked up a Jew in the bazars, who conducted +us through a perfect labyrinth of narrow streets to a +quarter of the city from which it would have been +utterly impossible for me to extricate myself alone. I +only know that it was situated on high ground, and +that we passed through a gateway into a hollow square +of about a hundred and fifty or two hundred feet on +each side. It was with no small degree of emotion +that I entered this celebrated place, where so many +Christian hearts have trembled; and, before crossing +the threshold, I ran over in my mind all the romantic +stories and all the horrible realities that I could remember +connected with its history: the tears of beauty, +the pangs of brave men, and so down to the unsentimental +exclamation of Johnson to his new friend Don +Juan:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i3">"Yon black eunuch seems to eye us;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I wish to God that somebody would buy us."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The bazar forms a hollow square, with little chambers +about fifteen feet each way around it, in which the +slaves belonging to the different dealers are kept. A +large shed or portico projects in front, under which, +and in front of each chamber, is a raised platform, with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span>a low railing around it, where the slave-merchant sits +and gossips, and dozes over his coffee and pipes. I had +heard so little of this place, and it was so little known +among Europeans, taking into consideration, moreover, +that in a season of universal peace the market must be +without a supply of captives gained in war, that I expected +to see but a remnant of the ancient traffic, supposing +that I should find but few slaves, and those only +black; but, to my surprise, I found there twenty or thirty +white women. Bad, horrible as this traffic is under +any circumstances, to my habits and feelings it loses a +shade of its horrors when confined to blacks; but here +whites and blacks were exposed together in the same +bazar. The women were from Circassia and the regions +of the Caucasus, that country so renowned for +beauty; they were dressed in the Turkish costume, +with the white shawl wrapped around the mouth and +chin, and over the forehead, shading the eyes, so that it +was difficult to judge with certainty as to their personal +appearance. Europeans are not permitted to +purchase, and their visits to this bazar are looked upon +with suspicion. If we stopped long opposite a door, it +was closed upon us; but I was not easily shaken off, +and returned so often at odd times, that I succeeded in +seeing pretty distinctly all that was to be seen. In +general, the best slaves are not exposed in the bazars, +but are kept at the houses of the dealers; but there was +one among them not more than seventeen, with a regular +Circassian face, a brilliantly fair complexion, a mild +and cheerful expression; and in the slave-market, under +the partial disguise of the Turkish shawl, it required no +great effort of the imagination to make her decidedly +beautiful. Paul stopped, and with a burst of enthusiasm, +the first I had discovered in him, exclaimed +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span>"Quelle beauté!" She noticed my repeatedly stopping +before her bazar; and, when I was myself really +disposed to be sentimental, instead of drooping her head +with the air of a distressed heroine, to my great surprise +she laughed and nodded, and beckoned me to +come to her. Paul was very much struck; and repeating +his warm expression of admiration at her beauty, +told me that she wanted me to buy her. Without waiting +for a reply, he went off and inquired the price, +which was two hundred and fifty dollars; and added +that he could easily get some Turk to let me buy her +in his name, and then I could put her on board a vessel, +and carry her where I pleased. I told him it was +hardly worth while at present; and he, thinking my +objection was merely to the person, in all honesty and +earnestness told me he had been there frequently, and +never saw anything half so handsome; adding that, if I +let slip this opportunity, I would scarcely have another +as good, and wound up very significantly by declaring +that, if he was a gentleman, he would not hesitate a +moment. A gentleman, in the sense in which Paul understood +the word, is apt to fall into irregular ways in +the East. Removed from the restraints which operate +upon men in civilized countries, if he once breaks +through the trammels of education, he goes all lengths; +and it is said to be a matter of general remark, that +slaves are always worse treated by Europeans than by +the Turks. The slave-dealers are principally Jews, who +buy children when young, and, if they have beauty +train up the girls in such accomplishments as may fascinate +the Turks. Our guide told us that, since the +Greek revolution, the slave-market had been comparatively +deserted; but, during the whole of that dreadful +struggle, every day presented new horrors; new captives +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span>were brought in, the men raving and struggling, and +vainly swearing eternal vengeance against the Turks, +and the women shrieking distractedly in the agony of a +separation. After the massacre at Scio, in particular, +hundreds of young girls, with tears streaming down their +cheeks, and bursting hearts, were sold to the unhallowed +embraces of the Turks for a few dollars a head. We +saw nothing of the horrors and atrocities of this celebrated +slave-market. Indeed, except prisoners of war and +persons captured by Turkish corsairs, the condition of +those who now fill the slave-market is not the horrible +lot that a warm imagination might suppose. They are +mostly persons in a semibarbarous state; blacks from +Sennaar and Abyssinia, or whites from the regions of +the Caucasus, bought from their parents for a string of +beads or a shawl; and, in all probability, the really +beautiful girl whom I saw had been sold by parents who +could not feed or clothe her, who considered themselves +rid of an encumbrance, and whom she left without regret; +and she, having left poverty and misery behind +her, looked to the slave-market as the sole means of +advancing her fortune; and, in becoming the favoured +inmate of a harem, expected to attain a degree of happiness +she could never have enjoyed at home.</p> + +<p>I intended to go from Constantinople to Egypt, but +the plague was raging there so violently that it would +have been foolhardy to attempt it; and while making +arrangements with a Tartar to return to Europe on +horseback across the Balkan, striking the Danube at +Semlin and Belgrade, a Russian government steamer +was advertised for Odessa; and as this mode of travelling +at that moment suited my health better, I altered +my whole plan, and determined to leave the ruined +countries of the Old World for a land just emerging +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span>from a state of barbarism, and growing into gigantic +greatness. With great regret I took leave of Dr. N. +and his son, who sailed the same day for Smyrna, and +I have never seen them since. Paul was the last man +to whom I said farewell. At the moment of starting +my shirts were brought in dripping wet, and Paul bestowed +a malediction upon the Greek while he wrung +them out and tumbled them into my carpet-bag. I afterward +found him at Malta, whence he accompanied +me on my tour in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy +Land, by which he is, perhaps, already known to some +of my readers.</p> + +<p>With my carpet-bag on the shoulders of a Turk, I +walked for the last time to Tophana. A hundred +caiquemen gathered around me, but I pushed them all +back, and kept guard over my carpet-bag, looking out +for one whom I had been in the habit of employing +ever since my arrival in Constantinople. He soon +spied me; and when he took my luggage and myself +into his caique, manifested that he knew it was for the +last time. Having an hour to spare, I directed him to +row once more under the walls of the seraglio; and +still loath to leave, I went on shore and walked around +the point, until I was stopped by a Turkish bayonet. +The Turk growled, and his mustache curled fiercely +as he pointed it at me. I had been stopped by Frenchmen, +Italians, and by a mountain Greek, but found nothing +that brings a man to such a dead stand as the +Turkish bayonet.</p> + +<p>I returned to my caique, and went on board the +steamer. She was a Russian government vessel, more +classically called a pyroscaphe, a miserable old thing; +and yet as much form and circumstance were observed +in sending her off as in fitting out an <i>exploring expedition</i>. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span>Consuls' and ambassadors' boats were passing +and repassing, and after an enormous fuss and preparation, +we started under a salute of cannon, which was +answered from one of the sultan's frigates. We had +the usual scene of parting with friends, waving of handkerchiefs, +and so on; and feeling a little lonely at the +idea of leaving a city containing a million inhabitants +without a single friend to bid me Godspeed, I took my +place on the quarter-deck, and waved my handkerchief +to my caiqueman, who, I have no doubt, independent of +the loss of a few piasters per day, was very sorry to lose +me; for we had been so long together, that, in spite of +our ignorance of each other's language, we understood +each other perfectly.</p> + +<p>I found on board two Englishmen whom I had met +at Corfu, and a third, who had joined them at Smyrna, +going to travel in the Crimea; our other cabin-passengers +were Mr. Luoff, a Russian officer, an aiddecamp +of the emperor, just returned from travels in Egypt and +Syria, Mr. Perseani, secretary to the Russian legation +in Greece; a Greek merchant, with a Russian protection, +on his way to the Sea of Azoff; and a French merchant +of Odessa. The tub of a steamboat dashed up +the Bosphorus at the rate of three miles an hour; while +the classic waters, as if indignant at having such a bellowing, +blowing, blustering monster upon their surface, +seemed to laugh at her unwieldy and ineffectual efforts. +Slowly we mounted the beautiful strait, lined on the +European side almost with one continued range of +houses, exhibiting in every beautiful nook a palace of the +sultan, and at Terapeia and Buyukdere the palaces of +the foreign ambassadors; passed the Giant's Mountain, +and about an hour before dark were entering a new sea, +the dark and stormy Euxine.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span>Advancing, the hills became more lofty and ragged, +terminating on the Thracian side in high rocky precipices. +The shores of this extremity of the Bosphorus +were once covered with shrines, altars, and temples, +monuments of the fears or gratitude of mariners who +were about to leave, or who had escaped, the dangers +of the inhospitable Euxine; and the remains of these +antiquities were so great that a traveller almost in our +own day describes the coasts as "covered by their +ruins." The castles on the European and the Asiatic +side of the strait are supposed to occupy the sites where +stood, in ancient days, the great temples of Jupiter Serapis +and Jupiter Urius. The Bosphorus opens abruptly, +without any enlargement at its mouth, between two +mountains. The parting view of the strait, or, rather, +of the coast on each side, was indescribably grand, presenting +a stupendous wall opposed to the great bed of +waters, as if torn asunder by an earthquake, leaving a +narrow rent for their escape. On each side, a miserable +lantern on the top of a tower, hardly visible at the +distance of a few miles, is the only light to guide the +mariner at night; and as there is another opening called +the false Bosphorus, the entrance is difficult and dangerous, +and many vessels are lost here annually.</p> + +<p>As the narrow opening closed before me, I felt myself +entering a new world; I was fairly embarked upon +that wide expanse of water which once, according to +ancient legends, mingled with the Caspian, and covered +the great oriental plain of Tartary, and upon which Jason, +with his adventurous Argonauts, having killed the +dragon and carried off the golden fleece from Colchis, +if those same legends be true (which some doubt), sailed +across to the great ocean. I might and should have +speculated upon the great changes in the face of nature +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span>and the great deluge recorded by Grecian historians and +poets, which burst the narrow passage of the Thracian +Bosphorus for the outlet of the mighty waters; but who +could philosophize in a steamboat on the Euxine? Oh +Fulton! much as thou hast done for mechanics and the +useful arts, thy hand has fallen rudely upon all cherished +associations. We boast of thee; I have myself been +proud of thee as an American; but as I sat at evening +on the stern of the steamer, and listened to the clatter +of the engine, and watched the sparks rushing out of +the high pipes, and remembered that this was on the +dark and inhospitable Euxine, I wished that thy life had +begun after mine was ended. I trust I did his memory +no wrong; but if I had borne him malice, I could not +have wished him worse than to have all his dreams of +the past disturbed by the clatter of one of his own engines.</p> + +<p>I turned away from storied associations to a new country +grown up in our own day. We escaped, and, I am +obliged to say, without noticing them, the Cyaneæ, "the +blue Symplegades," or "wandering islands," which, lying +on the European and Asiatic side, floated about, or, +according to Pliny, "were alive, and moved to and fro +more swiftly than the blast," and in passing through +which the good ship Argo had a narrow escape, and +lost the extremity of her stern. History and poetry have +invested this sea with extraordinary and ideal terrors; +but my experience both of the Mediterranean and Black +Sea was unfortunate for realizing historical and poetical +accounts. I had known the beautiful Mediterranean +a sea of storm and sunshine, in which the storm greatly +predominated. I found the stormy Euxine calm as an +untroubled lake; in fact, the Black Sea is in reality +nothing more than a lake, not as large as many of our +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span>own, receiving the waters of the great rivers of the north: +the Don, the Cuban, the Phase, the <span class="err" title="original: Dneiper">Dnieper</span>, and the +Danube, and pouring their collected streams through the +narrow passage of the Bosphorus into the Mediterranean. +Still, if the number of shipwrecks be any evidence +of its character, it is indeed entitled to its ancient +reputation of a dangerous sea, though probably these accidents +proceed, in a great measure, from the ignorance +and unskilfulness of mariners, and the want of proper +charts and of suitable lighthouses at the opening of the +Bosphorus. At all events, we outblustered the winds +and waves with our steamboat; passed the Serpent +Isles, the ancient Leuce, with a roaring that must have +astonished the departed heroes whose souls, according +to the ancient poets, were sent there to enjoy perpetual +paradise, and scared the aquatic birds which every morning +dipped their wings in the sea, and sprinkled the +Temple of Achilles, and swept with their plumage its +sacred pavement.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" > +<img src="images/i_v1_p244.jpg" width="60%" alt="Odessa." title="Odessa" /> +<p class="caption">Odessa.</p> +</div> + +<p>On the third day we made the low coast of Moldavia +or Bess Arabia, within a short distance of Odessa, the +great seaport of Southern Russia. Here, too, there was +nothing to realize preconceived notions; for, instead of +finding a rugged region of eternal snows, we were suffering +under an intensely hot sun when we cast anchor +in the harbour of Odessa. The whole line of the coast +is low and destitute of trees; but Odessa is situated on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span>a high bank; and, with its beautiful theatre, the exchange, +the palace of the governor, &c., did not look +like a city which, thirty years ago, consisted only of a +few fishermen's huts.</p> + +<p>The harbour of Odessa is very much exposed to the +north and east winds, which often cause great damage +to the shipping. Many hundred anchors cover the bottom, +which cut the rope cables; and, the water being +shallow, vessels are often injured by striking on them. +An Austrian brig going out, having struck one, sank in +ten minutes. There are two moles, the quarantine +mole, in which we came to anchor, being the principal. +Quarantine flags were flying about the harbour, the +yellow indicating those undergoing purification, and the +red the fatal presence of the plague. We were prepared +to undergo a vexatious process. At Constantinople +I had heard wretched accounts of the rude treatment +of lazaretto subjects, and the rough, barbarous +manners of the Russians to travellers, and we had a +foretaste of the light in which we were to be regarded, +in the conduct of the health-officer who came alongside. +He offered to take charge of any letters for the town, +purify them that night, and deliver them in the morning; +and, according to his directions, we laid them down on +the deck, where he took them up with a pair of long +iron tongs, and putting them into an iron box, shut it +up and rowed off.</p> + +<p>In the morning, having received notice that the proper +officers were ready to attend us, we went ashore. We +landed in separate boats at the end of a long pier, and, +forgetting our supposed pestiferous influence, were walking +up toward a crowd of men whom we saw there, when +their retrograde movements, their gestures, and unintelligible +shouts reminded us of our situation. One of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span>our party, in a sort of ecstasy at being on shore, ran +capering up the docks, putting to flight a group of idlers, +and, single-handed, might have depopulated the city of +Odessa, if an ugly soldier with a bayonet had not met +him in full career and put a stop to his gambols. The +soldier conducted us to a large building at the upper end +of the pier; and carefully opening the door, and falling +back so as to avoid even the wind that might blow from +us in his direction, told us to go in. At the other end +of a large room, divided by two parallel railings, sat officers +and clerks to examine our passports and take a +general account of us. We were at once struck with +the military aspect of things, every person connected +with the establishment wearing a military uniform; and +now commenced a long process. The first operation +was to examine our passports, take down our names, +and make a memorandum of the purposes for which +we severally entered the dominions of the emperor +and autocrat of all the Russias. We were all called +up, one after the other, captain, cook, and cabin-boy, +cabin and deck passengers; and never, perhaps, did +steamboat pour forth a more motley assemblage than +we presented. We were Jews, Turks, and Christians; +Russians, Poles, and Germans; English, French, and +Italians; Austrians, Greeks, and Illyrians; Moldavians, +Wallachians, Bulgarians, and Sclavonians; Armenians, +Georgians, and Africans; and one American. I had +before remarked the happy facility of the Russians in +acquiring languages, and I saw a striking instance in +the officer who conducted the examination, and who +addressed every man in his own language with apparently +as much facility as though it had been his native +tongue. After the oral commenced a corporeal examination. +We were ordered one by one into an adjoining +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span>room, where, on the other side of a railing, stood a doctor, +who directed us to open our shirt bosoms, and slap +our hands smartly under our arms and upon our groins, +these being the places where the fatal plague-marks +first exhibit themselves.</p> + +<p>This over, we were forthwith marched to the lazaretto, +escorted by guards and soldiers, who behaved +very civilly and kept at a respectful distance from us. +Among our deck passengers were forty or fifty Jews, +dirty and disgusting objects, just returned from a pilgrimage +to Jerusalem. An old man, who seemed to +be, in a manner, the head of the party, and exceeded +them all in rags and filthiness, but was said to be rich, +in going up to the lazaretto amused us and vexed the +officers by sitting down on the way, paying no regard +to them when they urged him on, being perfectly assured +that they would not dare to touch him. Once he +resolutely refused to move; they threatened and swore +at him, but he kept his place until one got a long pole +and punched him on ahead.</p> + +<p>In this way we entered the lazaretto; but if it had +not been called by that name, and if we had not looked +upon it as a place where we were compelled to stay +for a certain time, nolens volens, we should have considered +it a beautiful spot. It is situated on high +ground, within an enclosure of some fifteen or twenty +acres, overlooking the Black Sea, laid out in lawn and +gravel walks, and ornamented with rows of acacia-trees. +Fronting the sea was a long range of buildings divided +into separate apartments, each with a little courtyard in +front containing two or three acacias. The director, a +fine, military-looking man, with a decoration on his lapel, +met us on horseback within the enclosure, and +with great suavity of manner said that he could not bid +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span>us welcome to a prison, but that we should have the +privilege of walking at will over the grounds, and visiting +each other, subject only to the attendance of a guardiano; +and that all that could contribute to our comfort +should be done for us.</p> + +<p>We then selected our rooms, and underwent another +personal examination. This was the real touchstone; +the first was a mere preliminary observation by a medical +understrapper; but this was conducted by a more +knowing doctor. We were obliged to strip naked; to +give up the clothes we pulled off, and put on a flannel +gown, drawers, and stockings, and a woollen cap provided +by the government, until our own should be smoked +and purified. In everything, however, the most scrupulous +regard was paid to our wishes, and a disposition +was manifested by all to make this rather vexatious proceeding +as little annoying as possible. The bodily examination +was as delicate as the nature of the case +would admit; for the doctor merely opened the door, +looked in, and went out without taking his hand from +off the knob. It was none of my business, I know, and +may be thought impertinent, but, as he closed the door, +I could not help calling him back to ask him whether +he held the same inquisition upon the fair sex; to which +he replied with a melancholy upturning of the eyes +that in the good old days of Russian barbarism this had +been part of his duties, but that the march of improvement +had invaded his rights, and given this portion of +his professional duties to a <i>sage femme</i>.</p> + +<p>All our effects were then taken to another chamber, +and arranged on lines, each person superintending the +disposition of his own, so as to prevent all confusion, +and left there to be fumigated with sulphuric acid for +twenty-four hours. So particular were they in fumigating +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span>everything susceptible of infection, that I was +obliged to leave there a black riband which I wore +round my neck as a guard to my watch. Toward evening +the principal director, one of the most gentlemanly +men I ever met, came round, and with many apologies +and regrets for his inability to receive us better, requested +us to call upon him freely for anything we +might want. Not knowing any of us personally, he +did me the honour to say that he understood there was +an American in the party, who had been particularly +recommended to him by a Russian officer and fellow-passenger. +Afterward came the commissary, or chief +of the department, and repeated the same compliments, +and left us with an exalted opinion of Russian politeness. +I had heard horrible accounts of the rough treatment +of travellers in Russia, and I made a note at the +time, lest after vexations should make me forget it, that +I had received more politeness and civility from these +northern barbarians, as they are called by the people of +the south of Europe, than I ever found amid their +boasted civilization.</p> + +<p>Having still an hour before dark, I strolled out, followed +by my guardiano, to take a more particular survey +of our prison. In a gravel walk lined with acacias, +immediately before the door of my little courtyard, I +came suddenly upon a lady of about eighteen, whose +dark hair and eyes I at once recognised as Grecian, +leading by the hand a little child. I am sure my face +brightened at the first glimpse of this vision which +promised to shine upon us in our solitude; and perhaps +my satisfaction was made too manifest by my involuntarily +moving toward her. But my presumption received +a severe and mortifying check; for though at +first she merely crossed to the other side of the walk, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span>she soon forgot all ceremony, and, fairly dragging the +child after her, ran over the grass to another walk to +avoid me; my mortification, however, was but temporary; +for though, in the first impulse of delight and admiration, +I had forgotten time, place, and circumstance, +the repulse I had received made me turn to myself, and +I was glad to find an excuse for the lady's flight in the +flannel gown and long cap and slippers, which marked +me as having just entered upon my season of purification.</p> + +<p>I was soon initiated into the routine of lazaretto ceremonies +and restrictions. By touching a quarantine patient, +both parties are subjected to the longest term of +either; so that if a person, on the last day of his term, +should come in contact with another just entered, he +would lose all the benefit of his days of purification, and +be obliged to wait the full term of the latter. I have +seen, in various situations in life, a system of operations +called keeping people at a distance, but I never saw it +so effectually practised as in quarantine. For this night, +at least, I had full range. I walked where I pleased, +and was very sure that every one would keep out of +my way. During the whole time, however, I could +not help treasuring up the precipitate flight of the young +lady; and I afterward told her, and, I hope, with the +true spirit of one ready to return good for evil, that if +she had been in my place, and the days of my purification +had been almost ended, in spite of plague and +pestilence she might have rushed into my arms without +my offering the least impediment.</p> + +<p>In making the tour of the grounds, I had already an +opportunity of observing the relation in which men +stand to each other in Russia. When an officer spoke +to a soldier, the latter stood motionless as a statue, with +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span>his head uncovered during the whole of the conference; +and when a soldier on guard saw an officer, no matter +at what distance, he presented arms, and remained in +that position until the officer was out of sight. Returning, +I passed a grating, through which I saw our +deck passengers, forty or fifty in number, including the +Jewish pilgrims, miserable, dirty-looking objects, turned +in together for fourteen days, to eat, drink, and sleep +as best they might, like brutes. With a high idea of +the politeness of the Russians toward the rich and +great, or those whom they believed to be so, and with +a strong impression already received confirming the +accounts of the degraded condition of the lower classes, +I returned to my room, and, with a Frenchman and a +Greek for my room-mates, my window opening upon +the Black Sea, I spent my first night in quarantine.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<div class="chapblock"><p>The Guardiano.—One too many.—An Excess of Kindness.—The last Day +of Quarantine.—Mr. Baguet.—Rise of Odessa.—City-making.—Count +Woronzow.—A Gentleman Farmer.—An American Russian.</p></div> + +<p>I <span class="smcap">shall</span> pass over briefly the whole of our <i>pratique</i>. +The next morning I succeeded in getting a room to myself. +A guardiano was assigned to each room, who took +his place in the antechamber, and was always in attendance. +These guardianos are old soldiers, entitled by +the rules of the establishment to so much a day; but, as +they always expect a gratuity, their attention and services +are regulated by that expectation. I was exceedingly +fortunate in mine; he was always in the antechamber, +cleaning his musket, mending his clothes, or +stretched on a mattress looking at the wall; and, whenever +I came through with my hat on, without a word he +put on his belt and followed me; and very soon, instead +of regarding him as an encumbrance, I became accustomed +to him, and it was a satisfaction to have him with +me. Sometimes, in walking for exercise, I moved so +briskly that it tired him to keep up with me; and then +I selected a walk where he could sit down and keep his +eye upon me, while I walked backward and forward before +him. Besides this, he kept my room in order, set +my table, carried my notes, brushed my clothes, and +took better care of me than any servant I ever had.</p> + +<p>Our party consisted of eight, and being subjected to +the same quarantine, and supposed to have the same +quantum of infection, we were allowed to visit each +other; and every afternoon we met in the yard, walked +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span>an hour or two, took tea together, and returned to our +own rooms, where our guardianos mounted guard in the +antechamber; our gates were locked up, and a soldier +walked outside as sentinel. I was particularly intimate +with the Russian officer, whom I found one of the most +gentlemanly, best educated, and most amiable men I +ever met. He had served and been wounded in the +campaign against Poland; had with him two soldiers, his +own serfs, who had served under him in that campaign, +and had accompanied him in his tour in Egypt and +Syria. He gave me his address at St. Petersburgh +and promised me the full benefit of his acquaintance +there. I have before spoken of the three Englishmen. +Two of them I had met at Corfu; the third joined them +at Smyrna, and added another proof to the well-established +maxim that three spoil company; for I soon found +that they had got together by the ears; and the new-comer +having connected himself with one of the others, +they were anxious to get rid of the third. Many causes +of offence existed between them; and though they continued +to room together, they were merely waiting till +the end of our pratique for an opportunity to separate. +One morning the one who was about being thrown off +came to my room, and told me that he did not care about +going to the Crimea, and proposed accompanying me. +This suited me very well; it was a long and expensive +journey, and would cost a mere fraction more for two than +for one; and when the breach was widened past all possibility +of being healed, the cast-off and myself agreed to +travel together. I saw much of the secretary of legation, +and also of the Greek and Frenchman, my room-mates +for the first night. Indeed, I think I may say that I was +an object of special interest to all our party. I was unwell, +and my companions overwhelmed me with prescriptions +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span>and advice; they brought in their medicine +chests; one assuring me that he had been cured by this, +another by that, and each wanted me to swallow his own +favourite medicine, interlarding their advice with anecdotes +of whole sets of passengers who had been detained, +some forty, some fifty, and some sixty days, by the accidental +sickness of one. I did all I could for them, always +having regard to the circumstance that it was not +of such vital importance to me, at least, to hold out fourteen +days if I broke down on the fifteenth. In a few +days the doctor, in one of his rounds, told me he understood +I was unwell, and I confessed to him the reason +of my withholding the fact, and took his prescriptions +so well, that, at parting, he gave me a letter to a friend +in Chioff, and to his brother, a distinguished professor +in the university at St. Petersburgh.</p> + +<p>We had a restaurant in the lazaretto, with a new +bill of fare every day; not first-rate, perhaps, but good +enough. I had sent a letter of introduction to Mr. +Baguet, the Spanish consul, also to a German, the +brother of a missionary at Constantinople, and a note +to Mr. Ralli, the American consul, and had frequent +visits from them, and long talks at the parlatoria through +the grating. The German was a knowing one, and +came often; he had a smattering of English, and would +talk in that language, as I thought, in compliment to +me; but the last time he came he thanked me kindly, +and told me he had improved more in his English than +by a year's study. When I got out he never came +near me.</p> + +<p>Sunday, June seventh, was our last day in quarantine. +We had counted the days anxiously; and though +our time had passed as agreeably as, under the circumstances, +it could pass, we were in high spirits at the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span>prospect of our liberation. To the last, the attention +and civility of the officers of the yard continued unremitted. +Every morning regularly the director knocked +at each gate to inquire how we had passed the night, +and whether he could do anything for us; then the +doctor, to inquire into our corporeal condition; and +every two or three days, toward evening, the director, +with the same decoration on the lapel of his coat, and +at the same hour, inquired whether we had any complaints +to make of want of attendance or improper treatment.</p> + +<p>Our last day in the lazaretto is not to be forgotten. +We kept as clear of the rest of the inmates as if they +had been pickpockets, though once I was thrown into +a cold sweat by an act of forgetfulness. A child fell +down before me; I sprang forward to pick him up, +and should infallibly have been fixed for ten days longer +if my guardiano had not caught me. Lingering for the +last time on the walk overlooking the Black Sea, I +saw a vessel coming up under full sail, bearing, as I +thought, the American flag. My heart almost bounded +at seeing the stars and stripes on the Black Sea; but I +was deceived; and almost dejected with the disappointment, +called my guardiano, and returned for the last +time to my room.</p> + +<p>The next morning we waited in our rooms till the +doctor paid his final visit, and soon after we all gathered +before the door of the directory, ready to sally forth. +Every one who has made a European voyage knows +the metamorphosis in the appearance of the passengers +on the day of landing. It was much the same with us; +we had no more slipshod, long-bearded companions, +but all were clean shirted and shaved becomingly, +except our old Jew and his party, who probably had +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span>not changed a garment or washed their faces since the +first day in quarantine, nor perhaps for many years +before. They were people from whom, under any circumstances, +one would be apt to keep at a respectful +distance; and to the last they carried everything before +them.</p> + +<p>We had still another vexatious process in passing our +luggage through the custom-house. We had handed +in a list of all our effects the night before, in which I +intentionally omitted to mention Byron's poems, these +being prohibited in Russia. He had been my companion +in Italy and Greece, and I was loath to part with +him; so I put the book under my arm, threw my cloak +over me, and walked out unmolested. Outside the gate +there was a general shaking of hands; the director, whom +we had seen every day at a distance, was the first to +greet us, and Mr. Baguet, the brother of the Spanish +consul, who was waiting to receive me, welcomed me +to Russia. With sincere regret I bade good-by to my +old soldier, mounted a drosky, and in ten minutes was +deposited in a hotel, in size and appearance equal to the +best in Paris. It was a pleasure once more to get into +a wheel-carriage; I had not seen one since I left Italy, +except the old hack I mentioned at Argos, and the arabas +at Constantinople. It was a pleasure, too, to see +hats, coats, and pantaloons. Early associations will +cling to a man; and, in spite of a transient admiration for +the dashing costume of the Greek and Turk, I warmed +to the ungraceful covering of civilized man, even to the +long surtout and bell-crowned hat of the Russian marchand; +and, more than all, I was attracted by an appearance +of life and energy particularly striking after +coming from among the dead-and-alive Turks.</p> + +<p>While in quarantine I had received an invitation to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span>dine with Mr. Baguet, and had barely time to make one +tour of the city in a drosky before it was necessary to +dress for dinner. Mr. Baguet was a bachelor of about +forty, living in pleasant apartments, in an unpretending +and gentlemanly style. As in all the ports of the Levant, +except where there are ambassadors, the consuls +are the nobility of the place. Several of them were +present; and the European consuls in those places are +a different class of men from ours, as they are paid by +salaries from their respective governments, while ours, +who receive no pay, are generally natives of the place, +who serve for the honour or some other accidental advantage. +We had, therefore, the best society in Odessa +at Mr. Baguet's, the American consul not being +present, which, by-the-way, I do not mean in a disrespectful +sense, as Mr. Ralli seemed every way deserving +of all the benefits that the station gives.</p> + +<p>In the evening the consul and myself took two or +three turns on the boulevards, and at about eleven I returned +to my hotel. After what I have said of this +establishment, the reader will be surprised to learn that, +when I went to my room, I found there a bedstead, but +no bed or bedclothes. I supposed it was neglect, and ordered +one to be prepared; but, to my surprise, was told +that there were no beds in the hotel. It was kept exclusively +for the rich seigneurs who always carry their +own beds with them. Luckily, the bedstead was not +corded, but contained a bottom of plain slabs of wood, +about six or eight inches wide, and the same distance +apart, laid crosswise, so that lengthwise there was no +danger of falling through; and wrapping myself in my +cloak, and putting my carpet-bag under my head, I went +to sleep.</p> + +<p>Before breakfast the next morning I had learned the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span>topography of Odessa. To an American Russia is an +interesting country. True, it is not classic ground; +but as for me, who had now travelled over the faded +and wornout kingdoms of the Old World, I was quite +ready for something new. Like our own, Russia is a +new country, and in many respects resembles ours. It is +true that we began life differently. Russia has worked +her way to civilization from a state of absolute barbarism, +while we sprang into being with the advantage of +all the lights of the Old World. Still there are many +subjects of comparison, and even of emulation, between +us; and nowhere in all Russia is there a more proper +subject to begin with than my first landing-place.</p> + +<p>Odessa is situated in a small bay between the mouths +of the <span class="err" title="original: Dneiper">Dnieper</span> and <span class="err" title="original: Dneister">Dniester</span>. Forty years ago it consisted +of a few miserable fishermen's huts on the shores +of the Black Sea. In 1796 the Empress Catharine resolved +to built a city there; and the Turks being driven +from the dominion of the Black Sea, it became a place of +resort and speculation for the English, Austrians, Neapolitans, +Dutch, Ragusans, and Greeks of the Ionian +republic. In eighteen hundred and two, two hundred +and eighty vessels arrived from Constantinople and the +Mediterranean; and the Duke de Richelieu, being appointed +governor-general by Alexander, laid out a city +upon a gigantic scale, which, though at first its growth +was not commensurate with his expectations, now contains +sixty thousand inhabitants, and bids fair to realize +the extravagant calculations of its founder. Mr. Baguet +and the gentlemen whom I met at his table were of +opinion that it is destined to be the greatest commercial +city in Russia, as the long winters and the closing of +the Baltic with ice must ever be a great disadvantage +to St. Petersburgh; and the interior of the country can +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span>as well be supplied from Odessa as from the northern +capital.</p> + +<p>There is no country where cities have sprung up so +fast and increased so rapidly as in ours; and, altogether, +perhaps nothing in the world can be compared with +our Buffalo, Rochester, Cincinnati, &c. But Odessa +has grown faster than any of these, and has nothing of +the appearance of one of our new cities. We are both +young, and both marching with gigantic strides to greatness, +but we move by different roads; and the whole +face of the country, from the new city on the borders of +the Black Sea to the steppes of Siberia, shows a different +order of government and a different constitution of +society. With us, a few individuals cut down the trees +of the forest, or settle themselves by the banks of a +stream, where they happen to find some local advantages, +and build houses suited to their necessities; +others come and join them; and, by degrees, the little +settlement becomes a large city. But here a gigantic +government, endowed almost with creative powers, says, +"Let there be a city," and immediately commences the +erection of large buildings. The rich seigneurs follow +the lead of government, and build hotels to let out in +apartments. The theatre, casino, and exchange at Odessa +are perhaps superior to any buildings in the United +States. The city is situated on an elevation about a +hundred feet above the sea; a promenade three quarters +of a mile long, terminated at one end by the exchange, +and at the other by the palace of the governor, is laid +out in front along the margin of the sea, bounded on one +side by an abrupt precipice, and adorned with trees, +shrubs, flowers, statues, and busts, like the garden of +the Tuileries, the Borghese Villa, or the Villa Recali at +Naples. On the other side is a long range of hotels +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span>built of stone, running the whole length of the boulevards, +some of them with façades after the best models +in Italy. A broad street runs through the centre of the +city, terminating with a semicircular enlargement at the +boulevards, and in the centre of this stands a large equestrian +statue erected to the Duke de Richelieu; and parallel +and at right angles are wide streets lined with +large buildings, according to the most approved plans of +modern architecture. The custom which the people +have of taking apartments in hotels causes the erection +of large buildings, which add much to the general appearance +of the city; while with us, the universal disposition +of every man to have a house to himself, conduces +to the building of small houses, and, consequently, detracts +from general effect. The city, as yet, is not generally +paved, and is, consequently, so dusty, that every +man is obliged to wear a light cloak to save his dress. +Paving-stone is brought from Trieste and Malta, and is +very expensive.</p> + +<p>About two o'clock Mr. Ralli, our consul, called upon +me. Mr. Ralli is a Greek of Scio. He left his native +island when a boy; has visited every port in Europe as +a merchant, and lived for the last eight years in Odessa. +He has several brothers in England, Trieste, and some +of the Greek islands, and all are connected in business. +When Mr. Rhind, who negotiated our treaty with the +Porte, left Odessa, he authorized Mr. Ralli to transact +whatever consular business might be required, and on +his recommendation Mr. Ralli afterward received a regular +appointment as consul. Mr. Rhind, by-the-way, +expected a great trade from opening the Black Sea to +American bottoms; but he was wrong in his anticipations, +and there have been but two American vessels there +since the treaty. Mr. Ralli is rich and respected, being +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span>vice-president of the commercial board, and very proud +of the honour of the American consulate, as it gives him +a position among the dignitaries of the place, enables him +to wear a uniform and sword on public occasions, and +yields him other privileges which are gratifying, at least, +if not intrinsically valuable.</p> + +<p>No traveller can pass through Odessa without having +to acknowledge the politeness of Count Woronzow, the +governor of the Crimea, one of the richest seigneurs in +Russia, and one of the pillars of the throne. At the +suggestion of Mr. Ralli, I accompanied him to the palace +and was presented. The palace is a magnificent +building, and the interior exhibits a combination of +wealth and taste. The walls are hung with Italian +paintings, and, for interior ornaments and finish, the +palace is far superior to those in Italy; the knobs +of the doors are of amber, and the doors of the dining-room +from the old imperial palace at St. Petersburgh. +The count is a military-looking man of about +fifty, six feet high, with sallow complexion and gray +hair. His father married an English lady of the Sidney +family, and his sister married the Earl of Pembroke. +He is a soldier in bearing and appearance, +held a high rank during the French invasion of Russia, +and distinguished himself particularly at Borodino; +in rank and power he is the fourth military officer in +the empire. He possesses immense wealth in all parts +of Russia, particularly in the Crimea; and his wife's +mother, after Demidoff and Scheremetieff, is the richest +subject in the whole empire. He speaks English remarkably +well, and, after a few commonplaces, with +his characteristic politeness to strangers, invited me to +dine at the palace the next day. I was obliged to decline, +and he himself suggested the reason, that probably +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span>I was engaged with my countryman, Mr. Sontag +(of whom more anon), whom the count referred to as +his old friend, adding that he would not interfere with +the pleasure of a meeting between two countrymen so +far from home, and asked me for the day after, or any +other day I pleased. I apologized on the ground of my +intended departure, and took my leave.</p> + +<p>My proposed travelling companion had committed to +me the whole arrangements for our journey, or, more +properly, had given me the whole trouble of making +them; and, accompanied by one of Mr. Ralli's clerks, I +visited all the carriage repositories to purchase a vehicle, +after which I accompanied Mr. Ralli to his country-house +to dine. He occupied a pretty little place +a few versts from Odessa, with a large fruit and ornamental +garden. Mr. Ralli's lady is also a native of +Greece, with much of the cleverness and <i>spirituelle</i> +character of the educated Greeks. One of her <i>bons +mots</i> current in Odessa is, that her husband is consul +for the other world. A young Italian, with a very +pretty wife, dined with us, and, after dinner and a stroll +through the garden, we walked over to Mr. Perseani's, +the father of our Russian secretary; another walk in the +garden with a party of ladies, tea, and I got back to +Odessa in time for a walk on the boulevards and the +opera.</p> + +<p>Before my attention was turned to Odessa, I should +as soon have thought of an opera-house at Chicago as +there; but I already found, what impressed itself more +forcibly upon me at every step, that Russia is a country +of anomalies. The new city on the Black Sea contains +many French and Italian residents, who are willing +to give all that is not necessary for food and clothing +for the opera; the Russians themselves are passionately +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span>fond of musical and theatrical entertainments, +and government makes up all deficiencies. The interior +of the theatre corresponds with the beauty of its +exterior. All the decorations are in good taste, and the +Corinthian columns, running from the foot to the top, +particularly beautiful. The opera was the Barber of +Seville; the company in <i>full</i> undress, and so barbarous +as to pay attention to the performance. I came out at +about ten o'clock, and, after a turn or two on the boulevards, +took an icecream at the café of the Hotel de +Petersbourgh. This hotel is beautifully situated on +one corner of the main street, fronting the boulevards, +and opposite the statue of the Duke de Richelieu; and +looking from the window of the café, furnished and +fitted up in a style superior to most in Paris, upon the +crowd still thronging the boulevards, I could hardly believe +that I was really on the borders of the Black Sea.</p> + +<p>Having purchased a carriage and made all my arrangements +for starting, I expected to pass this day with +an unusual degree of satisfaction, and I was not disappointed. +I have mentioned incidentally the name of a +countryman resident in Odessa; and, being so far from +home, I felt a yearning toward an American. In France +or Italy I seldom had this feeling, for there Americans +congregate in crowds; but in Greece and Turkey I always +rejoiced to meet a compatriot; and when, on my +arrival at Odessa, before going into the lazaretto, the +captain told me that there was an American residing +there, high in character and office, who had been twenty +years in Russia, I requested him to present my compliments, +and say that, if he had not forgotten his fatherland, +a countryman languishing in the lazaretto would +be happy to see him through the gratings of his prison-house. +I afterward regretted having sent this message, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span>as I heard from other sources that he was a prominent +man, and during the whole term of my quarantine I +never heard from him personally. I was most agreeably +disappointed, however, when, on the first day of my +release, I met him at dinner at the Spanish consul's. +He had been to the Crimea with Count Woronzow; +had only returned that morning, and had never heard of +my being there until invited to meet me at dinner. I had +wronged him by my distrust; for, though twenty years +an exile, his heart beat as true as when he left our +shores. Who can shake off the feeling that binds him +to his native land? Not hardships nor disgrace at +home; not favour nor success abroad; not even time, +can drive from his mind the land of his birth or the +friends of his youthful days.</p> + +<p>General Sontag was a native of Philadelphia; had +been in our navy, and served as sailing-master on board +the Wasp; became dissatisfied from some cause which +he did not mention, left our navy, entered the Russian, +and came round to the Black Sea as captain of a frigate; +was transferred to the land service, and, in the +campaign of 1814, entered Paris with the allied armies +as colonel of a regiment. In this campaign he formed +a friendship with Count Woronzow, which exists in full +force at this day. He left the army with the rank of +brigadier-general. By the influence of Count Woronzow, +he was appointed inspector of the port of +Odessa, in which office he stood next in rank to the +Governor of the Crimea, and, in fact, on one occasion, +during the absence of Count Woronzow, lived in the +palace and acted as governor for eight months. He +married a lady of rank, with an estate and several hundred +slaves at Moscow; wears two or three ribands at +his buttonhole, badges of different orders; has gone +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span>through the routine of offices and honours up to the +grade of grand counsellor of the empire; and a letter +addressed to him under the title of "his excellency" +will come to the right hands. He was then living at +his country place, about eight versts from Odessa, and +asked me to go out and pass the next day with him. I +was strongly tempted, but, in order that I might have +the full benefit of it, postponed the pleasure until I had +completed my arrangements for travelling. The next +day General Sontag called upon me, but I did not see +him; and this morning, accompanied by Mr. Baguet +the younger, I rode out to his place. The land about +Odessa is a dead level, the road was excessively dry, +and we were begrimed with dust when we arrived. +General Sontag was waiting for us, and, in the true +spirit of an American farmer at home, proposed taking +us over his grounds. His farm is his hobby; it contains +about six hundred acres, and we walked all over +it. His crop was wheat, and, although I am no great +judge of these matters, I think I never saw finer. He +showed me a field of very good wheat, which had +not been sowed in three years, but produced by the +fallen seed of the previous crops. We compared it +with our Genesee wheat, and to me it was an interesting +circumstance to find an American cultivating land +on the Black Sea, and comparing it with the products +of our Genesee flats, with which he was perfectly familiar.</p> + +<p>One thing particularly struck me, though, as an +American, perhaps I ought not to have been so sensitive. +A large number of men were at work in the field, +and they were all slaves. Such is the force of education +and habit, that I have seen hundreds of black slaves +without a sensation; but it struck rudely upon me to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span>see white men slaves to an American, and he one whose +father had been a soldier of the revolution, and had +fought to sustain the great principle that "all men are +by nature free and equal." Mr. Sontag told me that he +valued his farm at about six thousand dollars, on which +he could live well, have a bottle of Crimea wine, and +another every day for a friend, and lay up one thousand +dollars a year; but I afterward heard that he was a +complete enthusiast on the subject of his farm; a bad +manager, and that he really knew nothing of its expense +or profit.</p> + +<p>Returning to the house, we found Madame Sontag +ready to receive us. She is an authoress of great literary +reputation, and of such character that, while the emperor +was prosecuting the Turkish war in person, and the +empress remained at Odessa, the young archduchesses +were placed under her charge. At dinner she talked +with much interest of America, and expressed a hope, +though not much expectation, of one day visiting it. But +General Sontag himself, surrounded as he is by Russian +connexions, is all American. Pointing to the riband +on his buttonhole, he said he was entitled to one order +which he should value above all others; that his father +had been a soldier of the revolution, and member of the +Cincinnati Society, and that in Russia the decoration of +that order would be to him the proudest badge of honour +that an American could wear. After dining we retired +into a little room fitted up as a library, which he calls +America, furnished with all the standard American +books, Irving, Paulding, Cooper, &c., engravings of distinguished +Americans, maps, charts, canal and railroad +reports, &c.; and his daughter, a lovely little girl and +only child, has been taught to speak her father's tongue +and love her father's land. In honour of me she played +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span>on the piano "Hail Columbia" and "Yankee Doodle," +and the day wore away too soon. We took tea on the +piazza, and at parting I received from him a letter to +his agent on his estate near Moscow, and from Madame +Sontag one which carried me into the imperial household, +being directed to Monsieur l'Intendant du Prince +héritiere, Petersbourgh. A few weeks ago I received +from him a letter, in which he says, "the visit of one +of my countrymen is so great a treat, that I can assure +you, you are never forgotten by any one of my little +family; and when my daughter wishes to make me +smile, she is sure to succeed if she sits down to her +piano and plays 'Hail Columbia' or 'Yankee Doodle;' +this brings to mind Mr. ——, Mr. ——, Mr. ——, +and Mr. ——, who have passed through this city; to me +alone it brings to mind my country, parents, friends, +youth, and a world of things and ideas past, never to +return. Should any of our countrymen be coming this +way, do not forget to inform them that in Odessa lives +one who will be glad to see them;" and I say now to +any of my countrymen whom chance may throw upon +the shores of the Black Sea, that if he would receive so +far from home the welcome of a true-hearted American, +General Sontag will be glad to render it.</p> + +<p>It was still early in the evening when I returned to +the city. It was moonlight, and I walked immediately +to the boulevards. I have not spoken as I ought to have +done of this beautiful promenade, on which I walked +every evening under the light of a splendid moon. The +boulevards are bounded on one side by the precipitous +shore of the sea; are three quarters of a mile in length, +with rows of trees on each side, gravel walks and statues, +and terminated at one end by the exchange, and +at the other by the palace of Count Woronzow. At this +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span>season of the year it was the promenade of all the beauty +and fashion of Odessa, from an hour or two before +dark until midnight. This evening the moon was brighter, +and the crowd was greater and gayer than usual. +The great number of officers, with their dashing uniforms, +the clashing of their swords, and rattling of their +spurs, added to the effect; and woman never looks so +interesting as when leaning on the arm of a soldier. +Even in Italy or Greece I have seldom seen a finer +moonlight scene than the columns of the exchange +through the vista of trees lining the boulevards. I expected +to leave the next day, and I lingered till a late +hour. I strolled up and down the promenade, alone +among thousands. I sat down upon a bench, and looked +for the last time on the Black Sea, the stormy Euxine, +quiet in the <span class="err" title="original: moonbeans">moonbeams</span>, and glittering like a lake of burnished +silver. By degrees the gay throng disappeared; +one after another, party after party withdrew; a few +straggling couples, seeming all the world to each other, +still lingered, like me, unable to tear themselves away. +It was the hour and the place for poetry and feeling. A +young officer and a lady were the last to leave; they +passed by me, but did not notice me; they had lost all +outward perceptions; and as, in passing for the last +time, she raised her head for a moment, and the moon +shone full upon her face, I saw there an expression +that spoke of heaven. I followed them as they went +out, murmured involuntarily "Happy dog," whistled +"Heighho, says Thimble," and went to my hotel to bed.</p> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<p class="center">END OF VOL. I.</p> + +<hr class="l65" /> +<div class='tnote'> +<h3>List of Corrections:</h3> +<p>p. iii, <a href="#PREFACE_TO_THE_FIFTH_EDITION">Preface</a>: "Egypt, Arabia Petræ, and the Holy Land." was changed to "Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy Land."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_14">14</a>: "that we coud" changed to "that we could."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_87">87</a>: "friends in this county" was changed to "friends in this country."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_90">90</a>: "but we connot" was changed to "but we cannot."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_99">99</a>: "Gate of the Lyons" was changed to "Gate of the Lions" as in the + rest of the book.</p> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_130"> 130</a>: "to favour such a suiter" was changed to "to favour such a + suitor."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_174">174</a>: "it is confirmed by poetry, hat" was changed to "it is confirmed by poetry, that."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_183">183</a>: "the jackall's cry was heard" was changed to "the jackal's cry + was heard."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_184">184</a>: "cartainly whip them" was changed to "certainly whip them."</p> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_233">233</a>: "threade our way" was changed to "threaded our way."</p> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_234">234</a>: "Cachmere shawls" was changed to "Cashmere shawls."</p> +<p> p. <a href="#Page_244">244</a>: "the Phase, the Dneiper, and the Danube" was changed to "the + Phase, the Dnieper, and the Danube."</p> + +<p>p. <a href="#Page_258">258</a>: "the mouths of the Dneiper and Dneister" was changed to "the + mouths of the Dnieper and Dniester."</p> +<p>p. <a href="#Page_268">268</a>: "quiet in the moonbeans" was changed to "quiet in the moonbeams."</p> + +<h3>Errata:</h3> + +<p>The summary in the table of contents is not always consistent with the +summary at the beginning of each chapter. The original has been +retained.</p> +</div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, +Russia, and Poland, Vol. I (of 2), by John Lloyd Stephens + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL, VOL 1 OF 2 *** + +***** This file should be named 37889-h.htm or 37889-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/8/8/37889/ + +Produced by ulia Miller, Eleni Christofaki and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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