jf. -, ■., ;n / ■(. . //// ;//"., ._ /'//, M- / TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, UNDERTAKEN BY ORDER OF LOUIS XVI. AND WITH THE AUTHORITT OF THE OTTOMAN COURT; BY C. S. SONNINI, MEMBER OF SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC AND LITERARY SpCIETIES; OF THE SOCIETIES OF AGRICULTURE OF PARIS, AND OF THE OBSERVERS OF MEN. HUufftatefc W €narafana& A MAP OF THOSE COUNTRIES. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH, Mores multorum vidit et urbes. Hos. LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. N, LONGMAN AND O. REES, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1801. C. Woodfall, Printer, Paternoster-row. CONTENTS. LIST of PLzlTES - - * - . Pagexvu ADVERTISEMENT by the TRANSLATOR - -. ■- » -- Page xix INTRODUCTION - Page xxiii CHAPTER I. Pao-e 1 q A cur fori) view of Egypt. — The Author, on his return from Upper Egypt, makes a very jliort fay at Alexandria. — Comparifon betzveen Egypt and Greece, between the Copts and the Greeks. — Greek women.— Paradoxes of M. de Pauw. — Approaching change in the political filiation of the Greeks. — Dangers of revolutions* CHAPTER II, Pase n »" Flourifhing fate of the French trade in the Levant, during the war of 1778. — Its total ruin, which has involved that of Marfeilles. — Caufes of thefe misfortunes. — Refletlio?is on this fubjecl. — Order of the King and Firman of the Grand Signior tranfmitted to the Author. — The authority of the Porte null in Egypt. — Writing of the Turks; offices of their mi- nifers; manner in which bujinefs is conducted there; their writers; their paper. — Tranjlation of the Firman. — Departure from Alexandria. — Quails. — Birds* a 2 CHAPTER jv CONTENTS, CHAPTER III. Pao-e 24 o Pofition of the IJland of Cyprus. — /fa names. — Ilennc. — Ruins of the Ijland of Cyprus. — Its mines. — Gold. — Copper. — Jltriol. — Iron.—Cryf tah — Precious Jlones. — Jafper. — AJbeJios. — Talc. — Plajier. —Ochre. — Marine fait. — Agriculture. — Olive-trees. — Mulberry-trees. — Carob- trees. — Cotton. — Sugar-cane. — Coffee-tree. — Gardens. — Various fpecics of corn. — Grafshoppcrs. — Madder. — Coloquintida. — Ladanum. — Soda. — ■ Wood. — Wool. — Wine. — Turkey leather. — Cotton-manufactures. — Im- port- trade. CHAPTER IV. Pao-e 4S o Climate of the Ijland of Cyprus. — Caufe of the great drought which prevails there. — France threatened with the fame ills by the deft ruction of her for efts. — Inhabitants of the ifland. — Mount Olympus. — Fama- gufta. — Salamis. — Nicofia. — Larnica. — Citium. — The Salterns. — Limaffol. — Cape de' Gatti. — Paphos — Cexines. — Numerous changes in the government of the Ifland of Cyprus. CHAPTER V. Page -59 Picture of the prefent fituation of the Ifland of Cyprus. — Gateode arane- oide, an enormous fpider of a very dangerous nature. — The conqueft of the Ifland of Cyprus would have fmgularly favoured that of Egypt. CHAPTER. CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI.. Page 71 Captain of the polacre. — Goat-fucker. — Coaji of Caramania. — Caftel-Roffo, — Birds. — Currents. ~—TuvkiJh caravel. — Turkifli navy.— Efforts of the Turks for improving their navy. — Want of forefght of France. — Bonito. — Danger incurred by. the polacre.-. — Put into Rhodes. — Gulf of Maori.. CHAPTER VIE Page 81 Vlce-conful of Rhodes. — Confuls in the Levant. — Bad policy of the French government towards the Turks-. — I/land and City of Rhodes. — Rats. — Dock-yards. — Colqffiis of Rhodes.— Statues. — Climate and fertility of the if and.— Its names. — Comparifon of its former fate with its-prefent filiation, CHAPTER VIII. Page 98 Ancient cities -of the If and of Rhodes.— Ravages of men.- — Earthquakes- — Formation of the Ijland of Rhodes. — Plague.— Inhabitants of the if and. — Its happy poftion, its harbours, its productions. — Bartavelles or Greek partridges. — Partridges. — Turtles. — Piclure of a beautiful folitude, ■— Quails*-*— Woodcocks. — Fijhes,— Sponges. —Coral CHAPTER vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. Page 108 Departure from Rhodes. — Sea-ferpent. — Fangri. — Maritime prizes. — Carpathian Sea. — IJland of Eleufa. — Phoenix. — Porto Cavaliere. — Canal of Rhodes, ■ — Small clouds which announce forms. — Fijhes. — I/land of Symi. — Divers. — Cape Crio. — Cnidus. — Fijkery. — Onions. — Garlic. — Navigation. — Cranes. — Ducks. — Calamary or cuttle-jijh. — Arrival at Stancho. CHAPTER X. Page 131 A pldlqfophical view of the I/lands of the Mediterranean. — Scarpanto. — ■ Caflb. — Caffian I/lands. — Limonia. — Narki. — Pifcopia. — Nifari. — Madona. CHAPTER XL Page 138 Stancho. — Ancient Cos. — Town of Stancho. — Its gardens, its harbour. — Agent of the confulate. — Plague. — If and of Stancho. — Its population, its climate, its productions. — Silk-worms. — Plane-tree. CHAPTER XII. Page U9 Nautical remarks. — The flag-Jhip of the Turkifi navy carried off by a hanaful of chrifian faves. — Captain of a Maltefe privateer. — Unhappy 3 filiation CONTENTS. via fituation of the Greeks in the /mall iflands of the Archipelago. — Man, the moji cruel of all animated beings. — Gulls. — Gulf of Stanclio. — Ce- ramus» — Halicarnatfus. — Boudron. — Mindes. — Salvadigo. CHAPTER XIII. Page 160 Capra and Caprone. — Calamo.' — Lero. — Levates. — Stampalia and its plea- . fantntfs. — Fijhes. — Weever. — Mullet. — Mormyrus. — Melanurus. — Skatari. — Cabrilla. — Natural hiflory of fijhes.- — Buffon and Lacepede. — ■- Singularity of the cabrilla. CHAPTER XIV. Page 173: Amorgo.- — Oracle invented by the Greek monks. — Prefent fate of that if and. — Archil. — Trade of the French and of the Englijh in the Levant. — Squills or fea-onions. — Tetters. — Teeth. — Prejudices-. — Women of Amorgo. — Their drefs. — Amorgo-Poulo.- — I/lets. CHAPTER XV.~ Page 181 Nanfio. — Partridges. — Nio Fefival of St. Gregory. — Cock-roaches.- — Day reputed unlucky among the Greeks. — Women of Nio. — Hair oj the Greek Women. — -Drejfes of the Women of Nio, and of fome other ijlands of the Archipelago. — Women o/'Santorin. — Cotton manufactures. — ljland ef Santorin. — Kammeni. — Account of afudden appearance of anew if and in 1707 — Its prefcnt fate. — Superfitious idea conceived of it by the Greeks. — Pumice-fones. — Iflands of the Gulf of Santorin. — A bank err ledge viit CONTENTS. ledge appearing likely to form, ere long, another ifknd. — Earthquakes. — J/land of Santor'm. — Nature of its foil, its productions. — Thera. — Pyrgos. — San Nicolo, — Scaro. — Greeks of Santorin. — Their efforts for prevent- ing, in their ifland, the xcorking of pozzolana. — Chriftiana. CHAPTER XVI. Page 209 ■I/land of Candia. — Advantages of its pqfition. — Peculiar dirctlion in which ■ it lies, and conjectures refpecling its formation. — Canea. — Savary. — His abilities, his charaBer, his amiablenefs. — French confuls at "Canea. — The Author meets with one of his countrywomen. — Olive-oil. — Capuchin. — Provencal renegado. — Janizary. — Greek monks. CHAPTER XVII. Page 219 Excurjion to Cape Melecca. — Convent of the Trinity. — Infcription. — Monks of the Trinity. — Their zvay of life, their table, their habitation, their fituation in regard to the Turks. — Comparifon between this monajiery and thofe of the Defert o/Nitria, in Egypt. — Fowling. — Birds. — Agri- culture. — iriieat. — Barley. — Lupins. — Rainy feafon. CHAPTER XVIII. Pao-e 228 o ■Caloyers. — Papas. — Their divine fervice. — Nomination of the chiefs of the Greek church. — Ancient formula of the letters patent for the nomination of the Greek bijhops. — Accident. — Convent of St. John. — Another de- fer ltd convent, of the fame name. — Mountains of Cape Melecca. — C'atho- licos. CONTEXTS. ix licos. — Grotto. — Stalactites. — Solitude. — Partridges. — Wild goats. — Grotto of the Bear. — Return to Canea. — A Turk, friend to the French. CHAPTER XIX. Page 2.40 Harbour of Canea. — Danger incurred by the Author in giving affiance to a Barbary cor fair. — Situation of this corfair. — Sant Odero. — Harbour of Suda. — Game. — Shell -fjh. — Sea-urchins. — Sardines, or fprats. — Road from Suda to Canea. — Lepers. — Romeca, a dance of the Greeks. — Apo- thecary of Canea. — Signs of liberty. CHAPTER XX. Page 249 Gardens of the If and o/'Candia. — Comparifon between thofe gardens and ours. — Corn and agriculture. — - Olive-trees. — Plane-trees. — Orange- trees, &)t: — Defer iption of the groves formed by different fpecies of trees. — Acacia. — Jafmine. — Colocafa. — Fruit-trees. — Birds. — Solitary black-bird. — Flozvers. — Shrubs. — Aromatic plants. — Dittany. CHAPTER XXI. Page 258 s v Turks and Greeks of Candia. — Women. — Climate. — Agriculture. — Olive- trees. — Cotton. — Mulberry-tree. — Sefamum. — /Fines. — For efts. — Rock- rofe. — Ladanum. — Horfes. — Dogs. — Turkifh Dog. — Hogs. — A female Greek villager. — Bees, honey, and wax. — Caufes of the rife in the price of wax, and means of preventing it. -b CHAPTER CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. Page 271 Co rnivorous animals. — Birds of prey. — Serpents. — Tarantula. — Mining fpider. — Lizard. — Golden plovers. — Thrufkes. — Hydrophobia. — Profca- rabams. — Candia. — Cnofi us. — Gort yna. — Labyrinth. — Retimo. —Har- bour of Paleo-Caltro. — Sphachiots. — Pyrrhic dance. CHAPTER XXIII. Page 281 Departure from Canea. — Currents. — JVinterfeafon in the Archipelago. — Hollow agitation of the waters of the feci. — Storm. — Arrival at Argen- tiera. — Roadjiead of Argentiera. — Singular direction of the currents. — San Nicolo. — M alt efe privateer. — Turkijh Jhip of war. — A French vefel, loaded with the equipages of Ifmael Bey, is wrecked: — Officers of the Porte fent on this occajion. — Their manner of exercifingjujlice. — French agent at Argentiera. — His old fervices. — The injuftice which lie expe- rienced. — His influence in the Levant. CHAPTER XXIV. Page 291 Village or town of Argentiera. — Houfes. — Fleas. — Feftival of the exal- tation of the holy crofs. — Inhabitants if Argentiera.' — Convent of Capuchins. — Picture which was found there. — Grand Hear. — Period of the coiftrucTwn of the prefent town of Argentiera. — Greek churches. — Vaivode.— Situation cf the Greeks of Argentiera. — Their agriculture — Barley. — Wine. — Domefic animals. — Water. CHAPTER CONTENTS. si CHAPTER XXV. Page 302 Names of the I (land of Argentiera Silver mines — Cimolian earth Its properties; its ufe in the arts; the utility which might be derived from it for our manufactures ; facility with which it might be procured; its na- ture — Volcanoes Thermal waters. — Their properties; manner in which the Greeks make ufe of them; their filiation — Bluijh fubftance which covers the furrounding rocks. — Stinking lake Grottoes Mountain Birds — Kedros — Oil of Kedros Different nature of the mountains. — Prafe — Excavations — Wild artichokes Semena Petrified wood. — Lentijk — Saffron — Manner of felling it Its price. CHAPTER XXVI. Page 317 Women of Argentiera Calumnious fories of which they have been the JubjeQ — Their morals Their drefs Particular defcription of their garments Their occupations Cotton fockings and caps. — Occupations of the men Flocks The management of them Cheefe Tfand of PolivOj or Burnt Ifland Its productions. —Advantages of poffeffing it. CHAPTER XXVII. Page 328 General observations on the manners and cujioms of the Greeks of the Archipelago -Their mode of life Their mind extremely inclined to fu. perjlition Manner in xvhich mothers correct their children — Method pra&ifed in the delivery of women Attention paid, in the Archipelago, b 2 tfi xii CONTENTS. to neat-born children Precautio?is taken concerning them Pretended influence of finifter looks on children, men, and animals. CHAPTER XXVIII. Page 350 The age of puberty in the Archipelago Periodical evacuation of the women of thofe ijlands Singular law of the Jexvs on this f abject — Characler of the Greek women — Means which they employ to learn whom fate has defined for their hufband Fejlival of St. John — Different refins which the women keep incejfantly in their mouth — Paint which they life — Pretended prefervative againfl being tanned by the fun. CHAPTER XXIX. Page 364 .-? v Marriage of the Greeks — Witchcraft of which young married people ima- gine themfelves victims Precautions which young brides muji take Care which mothers take of their children Phyfic of the Greeks in the Archipelago Regret which accompanies the dead. — Death and funeral of a papadia. CHAPTER XXX. Page 3S0 State of agriculture in the ijlands of the Archipelago Ivraie Practices ufed in the foiving of corn — Mixture of com Two months' corn Manner of preferving corn — Hares Vulgar error re /peeling thofe animals Rabbits — Sporting dogs — Foxes Moles IVeafel. — Hedge hop. CONTENTS. xiii hog Birds which live confantly in the ijlands of the Archipelago, and thofe which are birds of pajfage. CHAPTER XXXI. Page 407 Tortoifes Snails Fifties of the Archipelago Importance of the fijhery in the Archipelago — Common cuttle-fifi Eight armed cuttle.fijh Nautili. — Tethys Conchylia Sea-lungs. — Sea-wchins. — Sponges — Cruftacea: — Water caltrops. CHAPTER XXXII. Page 421 Rock of Pyrgui. — Strait of Polonia. — Ruins and tombs. — Another fort of Cimolian earth. — Indications of a volcano in the If and of Milo. — Its plains. — Town of Milo. — Difeafes which prevail there. — Pleurifies. — ■ Churches. — Lady of Milo. — Drefs of the women. — Their manners. — Errors on this fubj eel. — An' aperture whence iffue pefiferous miafmata. — Vapour baths. — Lake of hot zvater. — Sulphur and alum. — Mill-fones. — Salterns. — Iron mines. — Sardonyses. — Catacombs. CHAPTER XXXIII. Page 434 Harbour of Milo. — Cove of Patricha — Engagement between the Mignonne frigate and txvo Englijh cutters. — Harbour o/*Milo. — Sifour. — Ruins. — ■ Anti-Milo. — Purgative water. — Aluminous water. — Earthquakes. — Cold: — Storm. — Remedies for the bite offerpents. — Pfylli. — Serpents. CHAPTER xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. Page 44? e> v I/land of Policandro. — Ijle of Sikino. — Panagia of Cardiolifia. — Ijlandof Siphanto. — Its mines; its productions', its inhabitants. — Goat. — Stron- gylo and Defpotico. — Antiparos. — Grotto o/"Antiparos. — Ijland of Faros-.. — Its harbours.— Road of Nauffa. — Ejiablijhment of the Ruffians im that road. CHAPTER XXXV. Page 456 Plan of a particular commerce to be eflablijlied in the I/lands of the Le- vant. — Defer iption of the I/land of Naxia. — Account of the various articles of merchandife fit to be introduced into the trade of the Archi- pelago. CHAPTER XXXVL Page 472 Ijland of Stenofa. — Ijland of Patmos. — Its convent. — Its harbours. — Its population. — Small ijlands near Patmos. — Ijle of Samos. — Its fer* tility. — Its wines. — Its pofition. — Fournis I/lands. — I/land of Nicaria. — If and of My coni.- — Its harbours.' — Its inhabitants. — Its resources. — ■ Drefis of the women. — Trago-nifi. — Stapodia. — Ijle of Delos. — What it was formerly. — What it is in our days. — I/land of Rhenea. — Rematiari. - — I/land ofTmo. — Its nature. — Itsjilkjlockings. — Women of Tino. CHAPTER CONTENTS. . xv CHAPTER XXXVII. Page 482 Scio. — Character of its inhabitants, and particularly of the xcomen. — Their clothing. — Silk pur fes which they work.- Witchcraft arifing from the look of Envy. — Trade of the I fie of Scio. — Its wines. — Culture of the vine and of majiic. — Its plains. — Leprofy. — Harbour of Scio. — I/land <>/Tpfara. — The Iflands Spalmadori, Pyfargos, and Venetico. — Tfchefme. — Engagement between the Ruffians and Turks.— Journey by land from Tfchefme to Smyrna. — Warm baths. — Caravanfary. * CHAPTER XXXVIII. Page 4#6 Obfervationt on the plague. — Route by land from Foglieri to Smyrna. — Ravage;, of grafshoppers. —Foglieri. — I/land of Mitylene. — Its capital town; its harbours ; its advantages. — Mufco-nifi I/lands. — Ifland of Lemrtos. — Agio-Strati. — Tenedos. — Strait of the Dardanelles. — Imbros. — Samandraki. — Ifland of Tatfo. — Its mines; its fertility; its wines; its woods. — La Cavale. — Conteffa. — Mount Athos. — Arrival at Sa- lon ica. CHAPTER XXXIX. Page 611 Town of Salonica. — Terrible fire of which the Author was witnefs. — Trade of Salonica. — Diforders which are there experienced. — Plains of the environs of Salonica. — Excurfion to Mount Olympus. — The Author 1 transforms xvi CONTENTS. transforms himfelf into a phyfician. — Companion in his journey. — He crojfes the gulf.— He. lands, or rather is almofl cafi aztay, on the reef coaft of the gulf. — Vroumeri. — Conflrutlion of the rural habitations. — Dogs which are the formidable keepers of them. — Papas-governor. — Patients to whom medical treatment zcas neceffary. — Fields of the environs of Vrou- meri. — Storks. — Aga of Katherinn. — Skala — Albanian foldiers by whom the Author was accompanied. — Trees of theforefls of Otympus. — Troop of Albanian robbers. — Portrait of their chief — Monafhry of St. Dennis. - — Efforts of the Author for reaching the fummit of the mountain. — Snow which is there found. — Extent of the profpecl . — Secret for curing the fever. Animals of Olympus. — Return to Salonica. CHAPTER XL AND LAST. Page 535. Departure from Salonica Devil's If lands — Pelagnifi — Serakino and Dromi Saint Elias. — Scopoli Skiato Skiro General Obfervation on the Archipelago Andros Napoli di Romania Arrvcalin France Invocation to good taftc. LIST ( xvii ) LIST of the PLATES CONTAINEI>-IN THE SEPARATE VOLUME, Plate I. General Chart of the Levant, comprifing the Coafts of Stria, Egypt, and Barbary ; the Illands of Cyprus, Rhodes, and Candia, all the Iflands of the Archipela- go, a great part of Asia Minor, and the Channel of Con- stantinople, together with Romania, Macedonia, andtheMoREA, &c. &c. conftrucled from the obfervations cf C. S. Sonnini, as well as from thofe of modern en- gineers and travellers of the greateft ability. II. Firman of Saltan Abdoul Achmet, Emperor of the Turks,. delivered to C. S. Sonnini. III. Scorpion-fpider, or galeode araneoide r of the natural fize. IV. No. 1. Sea-ferpent. No. 2. Fangri, a fiih. No. 3. Calamary, a polype. V. Three Fifties- No. 1. Melanurus. No. 2. Skatari; No. 3. Cabrilla. VI. Drefs of the women of the Ifland of Argentiera» g^» The Binder is directed to arrange the Plates in a feparate Volume. according to their numerical order. ERRATA. |*Many Of the following being typographical errors that may affect the fenfe, the Reader is requefted to mark. "* them with a pen or pencil, before he enters on the work. Page 24 Line 14, for lies read lie 29 13, dele and 37 19, for thefe read thofe 44 2, for bat dry r«i but when dry 48 16, for it is read they are 58 9, /or appendage read appanage 61 — — 2 and 3, jor there read here 65 9, for replaces read fupplies the place of 77 20, jor tunney read tunny 122 15, die from view 127 17, for wall-nut read walnut 139 5, jor empirifm read empiricifm 141 4if°r than read when 165 io, for mormylus read mormyrus 176 Note*/'"' Scuilla maritima read Squilla maritima. 178 3, for appendage read inheritance 192 19, for cannon read cannons 193 26, dele then 203 I 7,/ or St. Irena read St. Irene 27, for appendage read appanage 256 1, for dollars read piaftres 18, for orchis read orchifes 292 25, fr the evening read in the evening 313 i>for kuile de cade read huile de cade 319 — 16, Jor appendage read appanage 345 20, for are read is 351 ili for kemina read hemina 375 11 , for the worms read worms 388 '>/'"' Lawks rftfrf fparrow-liawks 391 20, jor Maine read Mama 395 ■ ig,"deJe but before the word 417 27, for phofplura read proiphira 448 3>f'r there r.ad here 481 17, far appendage read appanage 492 2, dele dry J15 29, _/ir ihaied tead partook. Note. Throughout Chapter III. and likewife in Chapter XXXVIII, we have conftantly rendered the word feiutervl/es by grafsboppers, which, as is well known, are winged infects of at very devouring nature ; but, on reconfideration, we are much inclined to think that the Au- thor means hcufts, from the length of the flight? which he defcribes thefe infects to have taken ( xte ) ADVERTISEMENT. A HE Author of the following " Travels in Greece "and Turkey," being already known to the Public by his Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt, two tranfla- tions of which appeared in our language in the year 1799, ** on ty remanls f° r us to premife that thefe fheets may juflly be considered as a continuation of his itinerary. In his former work, he promifed to prefent to the world an account of the other countries which he had fubfequently vifited; he has now performed his engagement, and in fuch a manner as to induce us to prefu.me that thofe who have felt themfelves gratified in travelling with him over Egypt, will experience no lefs fatisfaclion in c 2 - accompanying xx ADVERTISEMENT. accompanying him in his tour through Greece and Turkey. Endowed with a folid underftanding, and a warm and brilliant imao-ination, Sonnini enlivens his journal by the variety of his defcriptions, and neglects not to bring forward the contrail incef- fantly prefented in Greece by the magnificence of Nature, the poverty of the inhabitants, the mild- nefs of the climate, and the cruelty of the plun- derers who devaftate thofe beautiful countries. His narrative is interperfed with hiftorical anec- dotes which recall to mind the enthufiaftic heroifm of the knights of Rhodes, the fubtle activity of the Greeks, and the deftruciive policy of the Ottomans. The trader will here find every in- formation that can be ufeful to him for rival- ing the indefatigable induftry of the French; the naturalift will meet with curious obfervations on Tubman ne ADVERTISEMENT. xxi fubmarine volcanoes, which produce new iflands in the Sea of the Levant, as well as on animals, plants, and minerals, hitherto little known or imper- fectly defcribed; the ftatefman will acquire in- terefting ideas relative to politics and govern- ment ; and the moralift will pay a juft tribute to the writer who conftantly manifefts an ardent zeal for virtue, a generous pity for misfortune, and an honeft indignation againft tyranny and all the crimes which it engenders. Loncon, July the 20th, 1801. INTRODUCTION. ( xxiii ) INTRODUCTION. EUROPE attentive, and the East aftonifhed, were looking with eyes full of curiofity and inquietude towards Egypt, which France covered with her legions, and with the fertile refources of her genius, with combatants as well as with artifts and men of fcience. A bold project, executed with the rapidity of the thought which had con- ceived it; vaft combinations, fupported by all the means of a great power; a new plan of colonization, the advantages of which are in- appreciable; the impure feat of barbarifm and of the moft fanatic ignorance, on the point of becoming the brilliant theatre of civiliza- tion and of the arts; the enemy's poffefsions in India threatened; a fort of difmemborment of an ill-confolidated empire; the com- merce of the Levant on the eve of changing its face, and of taking a new direction — every thing contributed to render the expedition to Egypt a iubject of ailonifhment to forae, and of miilruft to others. This general attention promifed a favourable reception to works which, in delcribing Egypt, not from books, but from oblervations made on the places thenv! elves, in joumies mule; taken iolcly for (he i purpole xxiv INTRODUCTION. purpofe of collecting them, mould fix the flate of that country, at the moment of the enterprife of the French, and prcfent a ftate- ment of the information acquired previously to their arrival. It is, no doubt, to circumftances fo favourable that my " Travels in Upper " and Lower Egypt" have owed their fuccefs, rather than to the manner in which they were written. We were certain of exciting interefl by the picture of a country become the object of every con- verfation, of every idea ; and the Public were difpofed to judge with indulgence of the manner and colouring, in favour of the fubject. The traveller who mould prefent himfelf with an account of his excurfions and refearches in Egypt, might expect favour, if to the flighteft habit of observation, be mould add a Sufficiently large portion of that refpect which every writer owes to good tafle and to the Public, not to fhoek both by a forgetful nefs of propriety, futility of details, aridity of fiyle, ftiffnefs of narration, and, above all, by a pofitive and difdainful tone, which impofes only on ignorance, and which is itfelf the criterion of mediocrity ; defects which writers do not always endeavour to avoid, and againit. which one cannot too Strongly exclaim. The honourable reception of my work refpecting Egypt lias fur- paired my hopes. It has not been confined to my own country; fo- reigners have participated in the fame indulgence*. This, to my * Two Englifli tranflations of my Travels in Egypt have appeared in London ; the one in three volumes 8vo. and the other in one volume 4,to, feelings, INTRODUCTION. xxv feelings, is the iweeteft recompense of long labours of no very recent' date, which a love for the fciences, and a wifh to render myfelf ufe« ful, induced me to undertake, the only one that I am ambitious of, the only one too that I have obtained. This alfo, in my opinion, is encouragement the moft powerful and the moft flattering; and I have confidered as an obligation, that it impofed on me, to publifh my other Travels, which political phenomena, whofe commotions change the face of empires, have decided me to draw from my port-folio, whence they would not otherwife have been taken. Other countries, in the vicinity of Egypt, are perhaps, like it, on the eve of experiencing a cri/is which will caufe them to affume a new afpecl. The Ottoman government, like an immenfe and fhapelefs colofifus, placed on a bafe of clay, feems ready to fall, and Greece, which it crufhes with its infupportable weight, muft ere long, according to every appearance, if not refume her ancient at- titude, at leaft break her chains, and occupy a rank among other nations, in the number of which her ancient and complete flavery prevented her from being reckoned. Whatever may be the new and inevitable deftinies of a people formerly famous, the Public will not be forry to know what they were at the moment of their deliverance and regeneration, and to reprefent to themfelves the places which will be the theatre of it, as they were formerly that of memorable events. A defcription of fome parts of Asia and ancient Greece, which might afford a knowledge of their climate, their foil, their pro* duclions, their natural hiftory, their prefent ftate of decay, their d inexhauftible xxvi INTRODUCTION. inexhauftible refources of amelioration, and the picture of the man-, ners, the cufioms, and the genius of the nations that inhabit them; which might offer a curious comparifon between their fituation a few centuries ago, and that in our days; which, in a word, might, bv means of reftauration in their agriculture and in their commerce, unfold their claims to a more profperous condition, was therefore a work not deftitute of intcrefL And when Peace, too long banifhed from the earth, yielding at length to the wjlh.es of nations, is defcending from Heaven, and preparing to clofe the deep wounds which afflict the human race*^ when, through her celeltial influence, Guilt is difappearing with Want and Calamity, her melancholy and frightful companions-; when Virtue is recovering her energy, and Talent her activity; when the fources of public prosperity, entirely dried up, are going to refume their courfe of felicity, and revive induftry and Com* merce ; when, in fhort, the want of repairing a time loll for happir nefs, and mournfully confumed in. agitations and misfortune, of feeking in ufeful Speculations, in an aclive and honourable labour; the forgetfulnefs of fo many ills, and the indemnification of ac- cumulated loffes; when this general want is going to direct to foreign countries the combinations of commerce, the Public will, doubtlefs^ confider as a picture very well calculated to favour thefe views, the indication of the places which prefent certain advantages to a kind of traffic that may be eftablifhed with much eafe and little coft. . * This introduction was written at the moment of the general armiftice, concluded between the Freneh and Imperial armies. Under INTRODUCTION. xxvii Under thefe confiderations, the work which I now publifh has no fewer claims than the Travels in Egypt to attention and indulgence. If, notwithstanding the number of travellers who have preceded me in that country, my account has been difiinguifhed, I may venture to expect the fame fuccefs for this ; although it appears after pro- ductions no lefs numerous on the fame fubject, and among which are likewife to be found fome much to be commended. My Travels in Greece and Turkey are, like thofe in Egypt, the fruit of near two years of obfervation, and I prefent them with the greater confidence, as I have beftowed the fame pains in digefting them. It is more particularly in the Iflands of the jEgean Sea that I have directed my refearches, in that multitude of groups of lands and rocks, fcattered without order in the middle of this fea, as an eternal monument of its conqueft over the continent. Divided by the ancients into Cyclades and Sporades, denominations at pre- fent forgotten, they are at this day known under the general de- fignation of Islands of the Archipelago. Although I have not vifited them all, the rather long flay which I made in fome of them, the intercourfe that I had with men who inhabited them, or were perfectly acquainted with them, the information that I ac- quired in the fame countries, have enabled me to collect cer- tain particulars reflecting each of them, and to fpeak of them with precifion. tl 2 The xxviii INTRODUCTION. Thelflands of the Archipelago, molt of which are remarkable for the fertility and the beauty of their foil, celebrated in antiquity, and famed for having given birth to great men, are ftill at this day important points of eftablilhment, communication, or commerce. We have a great intereft in being well acquainted with them; and I am of opinion, that my work will leave nothing to be wifhed for in that refpect. This, at leaft, is the tafk which I have impofed on myfelf, and which I have endeavoured to accompliih. We had already fome general defcriptions of the Iflands of the Archipelago; one of the moll: extenfive is that of Dapper; it is the work of a geographer who defcribes what he has not feen, and only by copying what others had written before him. Tour- nefort, that immortal man, full of fcience and tafte, and whom every traveller, who publishes his accounts, ought to take for a model, has likewife defcribed, but with a different pencil from Dapper, thefe fame Iflands of the Archipelago of the Levant. But fmce the travels of the French naturalift, as well as fince the defcription of Dapper, they no longer have the fame appearance. The change of mailers in fome, the confequences of tyranny in all, time and other circumftances, have introduced differences between former accounts and the narrative which I now prefent. Befides, I fhall here repeat what I have already faid on the fubject of my Travels in Egypt, that it is impofsible for the fame man to obferve every thing j the one collects what efcaped him by whom he was pre- ceded; and, in Ihort, in like manner as painters have their particular Jiyle in reprefenting the fame fubjecT, each obferver has alfo his manner of feeing and defcribing what he has feen ; fo that the fame object 3 may INTRODUCTION. xxix may be perceived under different points of view, and the fame circuoiftance be differently related by feveral perfons, and ftill be interesting. The form of narrative, indifpenfable in Travels acrofs countries little known, that which moft attaches the reader to the fate of the travellers, whom the pafsion of difcoveries induces to run ha^ zards and dangers, that which I have almoft always employed in my work refpecling Egypt, will not be conftantly followed in this. The nature of the furface of land and water over which I patted, in every direction and at various times* affords room only, for ihort and dangerlefs excursions, the account of which cannot excite the intereft ■ infpired by travels of greater length and abounding more with difficulties. On the other hand, having frequently had occa- fion to return as I went, and to revifit the fame countries, an uninterrupted relation would neceflarily lead to tirefome repetitions. 1 have therefore refolved to fpeak of the places as they occur on my route,, and as if I had followed the order of their pofition on the chart, omitting the crofs and retrograde trips which I made, in fact, for the purpofe of vifiting them infuccefsion.. A motive, ftill more powerful, would have been fufficient to de- termine me to interrupt fometimes the order of my narrative : it is that of truth. I have juft faid that. I had not myfelf feen every thing; and, though the reader. may rely on the information which I- have collected refpedting.a few iflands where I have not landed, the firft of all obligations, for a tra eller, being fidelity and ex- actnefs in his accounts, J.fliall take good care not to follow the example xxx INTRODUCTION. example of a modern writer, who has filled two volumes with the details of a journey which he had not performed, and who has not even omitted a crowd of minute circumftances, by which the nar- ration afiumes every appearance of reality. However, I fhall give my itinerary whenever it fhall afford any interefting matter. This plan, which I have adopted, becaufe it has appeared to me the molt fuitable, will, methinks, diffufe in my work a variety of form and ftyle, which cannot but prevent a too uniform tint of monotony, and occafion it to be read with greater pleafure. It is not, however, to the Iilands of the Archipelago that my excurfions have been limited and that my obfervations will be con- fined : the large and beautiful Ifland of Candia, in which I made feveral journies, fome parts of Turkey in Asia Minor, Mace- donia, and the Morea, have been the object of my peregrina- tions, as they will be the fubject of my ftory. In a word, I fhall re- late all that I have feen, all that I have learned reflecting thofe different countries; and I have, in this refpect, followed the advice of the French philofopher, whom we are always fond of reading a"-ain and again, and quoting, becaufe, without bewildering himfelf in abftractions, he leads, by beaten paths, and with ingenuous and admirable fagacity, to the knowledge of the vices of fociety, and lays open all the recefles of the human heart. " JVe ivant" fays Montaigne, " topographers, who might give us a particular account " of the places where they have been — i" would have every one xcrite " what he knows, and as much as he knows, not in that way only, but " on all other fubjects*» * Effais, Book > 3 Chap. iii. The INTRODUCTION. xxxi The chart which is annexed to my book, is one of the hand* fomeft and mod complete that has been conftructed of that extent of fea and land, which is ufually diftinguimed by the name of the Levant. To my own nautical and geographical obfervations, I have added thofe of the feamen, travellers, and geographers, the moft modern and the moft efteemed; and, in order to give an idea of the pains which I have taken to render this chart as mi- nute and correct as pofsible, it will be fufficient for me to re- mark that I have employed, for the northern part of Egypt, the particular chart of Lake Menzaleh, which an able officer of artillery, the General of Divifion Andre'ossy, Infpector-General of the corps of artillery, has very recently published, at the end of two excellent memoirs, refpeeting- fome points of Lower' Egypt*. , .] Nor to this alone has the afsiftance which I have received from General Andre'ossy been confined; he has been fo kind as to communicate to me, and to permit me to add to my chart the manufeript plan, which he himfelf took of the part of the coaft of Egypt comprehended between Damietta and Rossetta'; fo that this extent of the mores of the Mediterranean, hitherto thrown on v our charts, as at random, and with which it never was more important to us to be well acquainted, is that which * Memoire fur le Lac Menzaleh, d'apres la Reconnoiflance faite en Vendemiaire, an 7.— ' Memoire fur la Vallee des Lacs de Natron, et celle du Fleuve fans eau, d'aprss la Reconnoiflance falie les 4, 5, 6, 7, et 8 Pluviofe, an 7. — Paris, Didot aine, an 8. IS xxxii INTRODUCTION. is traced with the greateft exactnefs and precifion ; thanks to the attention of a diftinguifhed foldier, who, amid the terrible agi- tations of war, has found means to fix in the camp the timid Sciences, feared by the din of arms, and to join to the dazzling, but enfanguined laurels of valour, the more modeft, but fruitful olive, with which they encircle the brow of thofe who welcome them, and whom they are fond of loading with favours*. Travels in Greece at firft prefent to the mind the idea of re- fearches refpecting monuments of' antiquity. The reader expecTs to find in them the description of thofe fplendid edifices which conftituted the glory of ancient Greece, the drawing of fome tomb, of fome urn, of fome antique utenfil, the imprefsion of medals, the copy of inferiptions. Obfervations of this nature are foreign to my book ; travellers enow have indulged themfelves in them with fuccefs, and I could have done no more than repeat what had been faid before me by learned antiquaries, whofe know- ledge, in that line, I am far from attaining. But a work which would furpafs all that has been published on the fubjeci of the hiftory and monuments of Greece, is that of the man of learning the moft diftinguifhed, the moft verfed in Greek literature, the celebrated Dansse de Villoison, if he would determine to bring to light the precious materials which he has collected on the fpot, a work which would itfelf be a literary monument worthy of the * General AndreoJJy has alfo juft published a very important work, under the title of Histoire du Canal do Midi, ou Canal de Languedoc. i.vo!. 8vo. Paris. Buifon, Rue Hautefeuille. brilliant INTRODUCTION. xxxiii brilliant days of Greece, and of the reputation of the author, to which, neverthelefs, it could make no addition. My moil fanguine wi/hes will be accomplifhed, if my new la- bours fucceed in acquiring the approbation of an enlightened Pub- lic. This is the objecl: of all my ambition; well fatisfied, and even completely happy if I be permitted to attain it ! Sit mea fedes utinam feneffa; Sit modus la£b maris, et viarum, Militiaque. HoR. Book ii. TRAVELS TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER I. A curfory viezo of Egypt. — The Author, on his return from Upper Egypt, makes a very fort ft ay at Alexandria. — Comparifon between Egypt and Greece, between the Copts and the Greeks. — Greek women. — Paradoxes of M. de Pauw. — Approaching change in the political filiation of the Greeks. — Dangers of revolutions. 1 HAD juft fpent two years in travelling over one of the moft famous countries of antiquity, that in which the arts have difplayed the greater! efforts, and ftruggled with moft advantage againft time, that which they have, with aftonifhing profuhon, covered with all the works calculated to produce and maintain fertility on a foil, whofe riches are as much a con- quer! of human induftry, as a gift of nature. Egypt, independently of the intereit and the nuble curiofity infpired by the ftill-impofing ruins of its ancient magnificence, will always, in' the eyes of the well-informed man, be a portion of the globe very important from the excellence of its foil, the falubrity of its climate, and its geographical pofition. b And 2 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. And when our age fhall be for pofterity a point of antiquity, hiftory will prefent, as another fubjecl of aftoniihment and admiration, the enterprife of a powerful and generous people, who, under the direction of a great leader, a man of genius, were defirous that Egypt mould become their new domain, and their richeft and moft flourifhing colony : a vaft and bold plan, alternately the objecl of praife and blame, to which were want- ing, to infure its fuccefs, only circumstances more fortunate, and perhaps a few preliminary combinations, but the end of which was a certain and in- calculable increafe of the trade and refources of France*. On my return from Upper Egypt, I arrived, for the third time, at Alexandria. The extreme circumfpe&ion which Europeans were there forced to employ in all their proceedings, no longer promifed me any new refearches. Accordingly I foon thought of quitting an enclofure of fands and ruins, the barren habitation of ignorance and barbarifm, which the traders of Europe did not occupy without being a prey to continual ap- prehenfions, and expofed to frequent dangers, as their veffels were to ihipwreck in the only bad harbour that was open to them. I had ftripped myfelf of the long and ample garments in ufe in the East, and which I had worn in the courfe of my travels in Egypt, in order to refume the French uniform, in which I found myfelf at firft very uneafy. I long re- o-retted a drefs, not fo light indeed, but certainly more noble and more decent, and at the fame time better calculated for preferving health, be- caufe, not compreffing any part of the body, it leaves full liberty to its movements and inflexions, as well as to the circulation of the blood and humours, and maintains the fupplenefs and ftrength of the mufcles and, fibres. * I have fet forth the numerous advantages, the neceflary refuk of the peaceable pofteffion of Egypt, in my Travels in that country, which I publilhed laft year, 1 My TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 3 My journey, ftri6tly fpeaking, terminated at Alexandria. Having 1 failed from France on the 26th of April 1777, on board the Atalante frigate, which was ordered to vifit all the ports of the Levant and of Barbary, I was to follow the fame deftination ; but fubfequent inftruftions changed this deftination, and occafioned me to quit the mip at Alex- andria, in order to travel, in Egypt; fo that, my frefh inflruclions not extending beyond this journey, I might, after having accomplished it, return to my country. This was my firft project ; but I had before me celebrated countries, which the fciences honoured, which the arts em- bellifhed, which gave birth to crowds of heroes and great men, and the hiftory of which furniihes the raoft interefting part of our ftudy, in like manner as their mafter-pieces are ftill the admiration and example of thofe who have preferved a tafte for true beauty. The fea of Greece is feen to fpread its waves, whofe expanfion is retarded and oppofed by an immenfe number of iflands, on the inclined ihores of Egypt; a fpace rather fhort feparates the two countries on which Antiquity prides herfelf ; and, after having vifited that which panes for the cradle of the arts and fciences, and from which the Greeks derived a part of their knowledge, I refolved to fee alfo the country which may be called the cradle of the graces and of good tafte. There, a burning climate does not, as in Egypt, dry up a foil which ceafes to produce, as foon as active induftry ceafes to cultivate it, and cover it with an abundant moifture. There, we fee not thofe vaft, fandy, and arid plains, thofe naked and heated rocks, forfaken by nature, and which man does not traverfe without confiderable difficulty and danger. . That frightful nakednefs by which habitable Egypt will ever be circumfcribed and confined, disfigures not the land of Greece. There, the temperature is mild, the mountains are covered by forefts, the atmofphere is cooled by rains, the vallies are watered by numerous ftreams, and the foil may be adapted to feveral kinds of cul- ture. « 2 If, 4 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. If, from the coinparifon of the phyfical ftate of the two countries we pafs to that of the men who inhahit them, we mall find no refemblance but in the defpotifm by Avhich they weFe both enflaved. The Copt or the native of Egypt, whofe character partakes of the drynefs and rudenefs of the climate, is fhort and heavy; his head is big, but empty; his face is broad and flat; his complexion is fallow and dark; and his countenance is mean. His difpofition is gloomy and melancholy; his treachery is the more dangerous, as it is, in a manner, more concentered ; having no tafte for the arts, no flight of curiofity leads him to inftru&ion ; fedentary, be- caufe he has no vivacity in his mind, he feeks not to be acquainted with what unrounds him; lazy and flovenly, clownifh and ignorant, unfeeling and fuperftitious, he has no longer any remembrance, nor even any trace remaining, of the greatnefs of his anceftors. "What a difference between this nation entirely degenerated, and that which ftill inhabits the beautiful countries of Greece! Under a pure fky, in a wholefome, temperate atmofphere, impregnated with the fweetefl ema- nations, on a foil which nature decks Math flowers, and clothes with the verdure of an eternal fpring, or which may be enriched with crops of every fort, or with delicious fruits, we muft expect, among the men, to meet only with amenity of manners and fweetnefs of difpofition. I am fpeaking of the men whofe generations there fucceed each other Mithout interruption; for the ignorant and untraceable ufurper may, by his ftupid ferocity, pollute the moft happy climate, the moft finding country ; and ages are required for their influence to temper, in a perceptible manner, the rudenefs of his inclinations. The man of thefe charming parts of Greece is of a handfome flature ; he carries his head high, his body erect, or rather inclined backward than forward; he is dignified in his carriage, eafy in his manners, and nimble in TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 5 in his gait; his eyes are full of vivacity ; his countenance is open, and his addrefs agreeable and prepoffeffing; he is neat and elegant in his clothing; he has a tafte for drefs, as for every thing that is beautiful; active, in- duftrious, and even enterprifing, he is capable of executing great things; he fpeaks with eale, he expreffes himfelf with warmth ; he is acquainted with the language of the paffions, and he likewife aftoniihes by his natural eloquence; he loves the arts, without daring to cultivate them, under the brazen yoke which hangs heavy on his neck; fkilful and cunning in trade, he does not always conduct himfelf in it with that franknefs which con- stitutes its principal bafis ; and if we ftill find in modern Greece many of the fine qualities which do honour to the hiitory of ancient Greece, it cannot be denied that Superftition, the child of Ignorance and Slavery, greatly tarniihes their luftre ; and we alfo difcover in their difpofition that ficklenefs, that pliability, that want of fincerity, in fhort, that artful turn of mind which borders on treachery, and of which the Greeks of antiquity have been accufed*. But this obliquity of character fortunately does not extend, or at leaft is very much Aveakened, among the women of the fame countries. The Greek females are, in general, diflinguiihed by a noble and eafy fhape, and a majeftic carriage. Their features, traced by the hand of Beauty, reflect; the warm and profound affections of Senfibility; the fe- renity of their countenance is that of dignity, without having its coldnefs or gravity ; they are amiable without pretenfion, decent without fournefs, charming without affectation. If, to fuch brilliant qualities, we add ele- vation of ideas, warmth of expreflion, thofe flights of fimple and inge- nuous eloquence which attract and fafcinate, a truly-devoted attachment * Every one is acquainted with that famous line which paints fo Well the characler of the Greeks i '_' Timeo Danaos, ac donafenntes." to S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to peribns beloved, exactnefs and fidelity in their duties, we inall have fome notion of thefe privileged beings, with whom Nature, in her mu- nificence, has embelliihed the earth, and who are not rare in Greece. There it is that the genius of the artifts of antiquity would ftill have the choice of more than one model. Mine is in my heart; and if the fketch which I trace of her is ftill far fhort of the original, if the fiery touches which are imprinted on my foul, feem to be extinguished on my picture, it is to regret, to affliction, to inquietude, to hope, to the different fen- fations which are blended and contending - within me, that it muft be im- puted, rather than to the faintnefs of my colouring. O thoughts al- ternately delightful and tormenting! O recollections dear and painful!... But let us drop a pen glowing with the moil impaffioned fentiments, it would, with difficulty, find favour in the eyes of whomever has a foul parched up ; and, unfortunately, our age has afforded but too many proofs of fullen and cruel infenfibility. What I have juft faid on the fubject of the modern Greeks, is quite contrary to what M. de Pauw has written of them in his Recherches Philofophiqu.es fur les Grecs. It would be extraordinary if fuch an oppofition of fentiment fhould not be met with between the obferver who reports what he has feen, and the man of fcience, who, buried in his clofet, pretends to obferve better what he does not fee. Guided by a rage, by no means philofophical, of rejecting facls that would be in contradiction -with the fyftem which he has formed for himfelf, M. de Pauw admits thofe only by which he can fupport it, at the fame time accompaivying them with arguments, fpecious indeed, but which betray the labour that they have coft, rather than the art with which they have been arranged. After having fet afide every thing that is not favourable to his opinion, after having thrown out the fevereft criticifm ou eftimable authors, M. de Pauw TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 7 Pauw opens a free career to his imagination, and, by fufpicious proofs and bold affertions, but prefented as inconteftable truths, he ftrives to deftroy all received opinions, and obfervations the leaft to be doubted. By his account, expreffions cannot be found to defcribe the abafement into which the Greeks are fallen in our days, and into which they fell through their own fault. "This nation," fays he, " returned to child- " hood, is now no more than a vile burden to the earth, the opprobrium " of their progenitors, whofe tombs they tread underfoot without even " being acquainted with them." It is impoffible to be more cruel, nor at the fame time more unjuft. The women too have their fhare in thefe exasperations of ill-humour and fpirit of fvftem. If we muft believe the fame writer, we ihould in vain look for beauty in Greece, where, how- ever, according to him, it formerly fhone but very rarely. " At prefent/' adds he, " we ihould find there, in general, none but women abfolutely " inferior to thofe of the north of Europe, whether as to regularity of " features, or frefhnefs of complexion and elegance of form: and, in " fome of the countries of Greece in particular, we mould fee none *' but women who feem to be unfavoured by nature." Thefe are erroneous opinions, which it is not uncommon to meet with in the works of M. de Pauw; and fuch outrages againft a nation towards which we have con- tracted the habit of intereft, blafphemies of this fort againft beauty, are fo many fpots which would disfigure the moft philofophical inquiries. This amiable and interefting people of Greece are bent under the very heavy yoke of the ftern and proud Muflulman ; their flavery, like that of the defcendants of the ancient Egyptians, is abfolute and of long {landing. The Copts lived in the brutalized ftupor of a debafed condition. Never could they have dreamt of breaking their chains, had not the French undertaken their deliverance ; and the Greeks, although pofleffing more energy and means, will never themfelves make off fetters, which, not- withftanding, 8 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. withftanding, are to them odious. Should an euterpriung genius, the friend of glory and of his country, rife up in the midft of them, and offer to lead them to the conqueft of liberty, he would find it difficult to draw round him numerous partifans. Reduced to the fimple character of leader of a few infurgents, he would have to fight his own countrymen, and he would end by falling a victim to the treachery of fome of them ; fo much does long flavery blunt energy, corrupt the qualities of the foul, and leave to the vices of weaknefs and abafement alone freedom of action ! But fliould foreign forces, furhciently impofing to banilli fears, which, in weak minds, are infeparable from the uncertainty of fuccefs, make their appearance, not with projects of invafion, but as deliverers of Greece, infurrection againft tyranny would become general; national activity would difplay all its refources; cohorts of courageous combatants would be formed on all fides; intelligent and active mariners would cover the fea with faft- failing veflels, which would rapidly carry fuccours and troops to all the points of the iflands and coafts that would become thofe of the whole nation; all would fecond and blefs their deliverers. The period when one of the fined countries of the globe, that which is the richelt in precious recollections, fiiall be matched from Ottoman defpotifm, is not perhaps far diftant. The exiftence of that vaft and monflrous empire of the Turks cannot be of long duration; its incoherent parts ,fhake, and are on the point of falling to pieces; on every fide Rebellion waves her ffandards; the authority of the chief of the empire, difowned and infulted without, fcarcely extends beyond the walls of Constantinople; a domination, eftablilhcd on ignorance, cannot refill the contact of knowledge; it will be annihilated with the fuperftitious barbarifm to which it owes its origin ;^ and the moft cruel and moft improvident tyranny will no longer leave any TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 9 any other traces than that by which the life of all tyrants is followed, the execration of pofterity *. I have juft fpoken of revolution, and it is not without trembling that my pen has traced this terrible word. Indeed, there is nothing but the excefs of flavery by which a people are oppreffed, that can, in future, juftify the idea of overthrowing their government. Who would dare, in fact, to advife again thofe political convulfions, a thoufand times more fright- ful and more difaftrous than thofe with which Nature fometimes terrifies mankind ? Who, without the moft powerful motives, would dare to ex- pofe a nation, naturally reftlefs and turbulent, to the mocks, to the ravages, to the ills infeparable from thofe great innovations in the body focial ? In that country, at leaft, we mould have nothing to regret, not even the appearance of repofe which there reigns, and which, in truth, is only the abjeftion of misfortune and the fleep of bondage. There, no violation of public faith, no infraction of the moft facred engagements, would plunge into mifery and defpair a crowd of unfortunate beings, whofe complaints and cries have ferved elfewhere only to embolden impu- dent plunderers. There, where property is often a claim to exactions, where commerce, agriculture, and induftry, are no more than titles which expofe • Here too M. de Pawui and I are in manifeft contradi&ion. He blames the elegant author of the Voyage Pittorefque de la Grece, for having urged other nations to the emanci- pation of the Greeks, for having engraved, on the frontifpiece of his book, that fignal of vengeance againft tyrants, ixoriare aliquis. He imputes to M. de Cboifeul-Gouffier the greateft paradoxes ; and, fupporting himfelf by the teftimony of fome Greek monks, who, dreaming only of theology, have affured him that if their countrymen returned to liberty, the firffi ufe that they would make of it would confift in undertaking a war of religion, he affirms that the idea of deliverance, impolitical in his eyes, can enter into the heads of none but thofe who are unacquainted with the denfity of the darknefs in which the mind of the modern Greeks is enveloped. — See the Rechercbes Philofofhique: fur les Greet. c to 10 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to exceffes and perfecutions, property and the arts cannot but be ftrengthened and extended by expelling the barbarians who are their fcourge ; while in the moll civilized countries of Europe, become the prey of a horde of ambitious triflers, every thing has been overthrown, confounded, and fwallowed up. i CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. n CHAPTER II. Flourijliing fate of the French trade in the Levant, during the war of 1778. — Its total ruin, which has involved that of Marfeilles. — Caufes of thefe misfortunes. — Reflections on this fiibjetl. — Order of the King and Firman of the Grand Signior tranfmitted to the Author. — The authority of the Porte null in Egypt. — Writing of the Turks ; offices of their mi- niflers ; manner in which bufnefs is conducled there ; their zvriters ; their paper. — Tranflation of the Firman. — Departure from Alexandria. — Quails. — Birds. VvAR, the minifter of death and defolation, had been kindled in Europe during my travels in Africa. Rival governments had armed the one againft. the other two nations calculated for mutual efteem. The rupture between France and England had, by fome months, preceded my return to Alexandria; but no hoflility was exercifed in the feas of the Levant; the French there continued their trade as in the midft of peace. A fmgle frigate from Toulon was fufficient for efcorting thither in fafety a convoy of fixty or eighty fail, and for protecting them againft the attacks of any of the enemy's privateers, which fcarcely ventured to cruife near the coaft of Italy, in the feas of Corsica and Sardinia, or in the canal of Malta, but feldom. ever durft enter the fea that wafhes the coafts and iflands of Turkey. A number of veffels, which had failed from the ports of Provence, and were intended to be fupported for three years at the expenfe of the Turks, whofe merchandife they fhipped, and whofe money they brought back, at the fame time that they formed a multitude of failors, had not relaxed their active and ufeful carrying- c 2 trade. 12 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. trade. In fhort, if the rage for mutual deftruction was fpread on fome points of the ocean, the blood of men ftained not the waters of the moft eaftern part of the Mediterranean; and the French flag was flying there as in its own domain. What unfortunate changes have happened to interrupt the courfe of fo profperous a commerce? What fatal influence has converted a fitua- tion fo flouri/hing, and which its duration feemed to render unchange- able, into a feries of humiliations, into the total ruin of the trade of the Levant? By what fatality has a nation, the old and faithful friend of France, which ceafed not to furround her with confidence, with privi- leges, with prerogatives, appeared fuddenly in the ranks of her enemies? Its ports, where the French poffeffed a preponderance almoft exclufive, are (hut againft them; the caravane* is annihilated, and the national flag is no longer acknowledged in the feas of which it enjoyed the em- pire. And thou, whofe origin goes back to the brilliant ages of Greece, brilliant colony of the Phocaeans, to whom the Gauls were indebted for a knowledge of the fine arts; thou, who, by thy fchools and the urbanity of thy inhabitants, waft for a long time the rival of Athens; thou, who gaveft birth to the moft ancient of known travellers, to Pytheas, a man of letters and a celebrated aftronomer, who carried towards the North his tafte for obfervation, before the age of Alexander!; thou, whom great men and great exploits rendered illuftrious ; thou, in ihort, whom the moft flourifhing trade rendered, not long fince, queen of * Thus was called the carrying-trade -which the French veffels exercifed in the feas of the Levant, at the expenfe of the Turks, and which was a fource of riches for commerce, 2nd of profperity for the marine. Thefe veffels were named navires-caravaneun. f That is to fay, before the year 327. the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. IS the Mediterranean, Marseilles! what is become of thy luftre ? Thy riches, thy induftrious activity, thy fplendour, all has difappeared : to peaceful commercial fpeculations, to ufeful tranfaclions of barter have fucceeded the noify mock of the pafhons, the fury of difcord, the fire- brands of civil war; thy eftablifhments, thy work-mops, are forfaken or annihilated, and their ruin has involved that of the manufactories of Languedoc, which furniihed woollen cloths for the confumption of the Orientals; thy numberlefs mips, with which the Mediterranean was covered, unmafted and unrigged, and crowded into a port half choked up, are decaying in inaction; thy quays, formerly fo full of buftle, fo tu- multuous from the continual conveyance of the riches of the two Worlds, are deferted; grafs clothes the pavement of thy ftreets, in which was feen a crowd of bufy and laborious men; defolation reigns within thy walls, ftill tinged with the blood of feveral of thy inhabi- tants ; and widows in tears, children in defpair, recall in vain, by their fighs and their fobs, hufbands and parents fallen under the axe of the. executioner, or the poniard of the anaffin. The fource of fo many loffes and calamities proceeds from general diforganization, which, in a very fliort fpace of time, effected in France the dhTolution of the body focial, and converted the fineft empire of the univerfe into an enfanguined theatre of diforders, mifery, and con- fufion. Since men have been found wicked enough, audacious enough, to accumulate ruins on a foil where every thing announced profperity, order, and fplendour; and to replace fcenes the moft magnificent and the moft agreeable by images the moft terrible and moft afflicting, why mould we not have the courage to reproach them with their crimes? Men for ever deteftable, who had only the rage and the tranfports of ambition without having its genius; who have not blufhed to affume a power, I will not fay too much above your capacity, you had none but that 1+ TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. that of impudence, yet which, you well knew, was to be in your hands only the power of doing- mifchief, what account will you give of the floui'iihing ftate in which you found France, and of the fituation, truly deplorable, in which you have left her? What have you privately done with thofe riches, with thofe numerous advantages which we de- rived from our Levant trade? Under your frightful domination cala- mities alone have profpered; every thing that was good, refpeclable, or ufeful, has been fwallowed up. The policy of governments may change, and indeed changes but too frequently; but moral ideas are immutable and eternal ; it is the forgetfulnefs of them, or rather their abfence from your heart that has caufed you to plunge fo rapidly into an abyfs of crimes, and errors, whence, by a mod impetuous and impure overflow, you inundated France and the neighbouring countries, with violations of principles and rights the moft facred, with excefTes againft humanity, with falfe combinations, with inconiiderate enterprifes, with rapine, outrages, and diforders. Your tyranny, the moft heavy that ever op- preifed mankind, and at the fame time the moft infulting, becaufe you had eflabliflied it on a derifive appearance of liberty, had enchained the moft generous flights; and univerfal torpor had deprived genius of all fpring, and virtue, of all energy. What time will it not require to repair your crimes? And we fhall not even be revenged by remorfe; of that you are not fufceptible. A fituation fo deplorable would be hopelefs in every other country except France; but, to the picture of her misfortunes, which we mult ftrive to forget, let us fubflitute the confcling defcription of her re- fources: they are immenfe ; and they will ftill increafe under the made of the fructifying olive of peace. O Peace! may thy facred name be found in every mouth as in every heart! Daughter of Heaven ! Profpe- rity, virtue, pure joy, induftrious activity, every bleffing accompanies thee; TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. U thee; mayft thou, refplendent with this train of felicity, diffufe thy favours and bounties over the defolated land, which has been but too long moiftened by the blood of men! Then, let us not doubt it, under a wife and enlightened government, ftrong, but juft, our country emerg- ing from her long abjection, mall foon recover her brilliant and ancient advantages ; we mall fee every part of public economy ameliorated, and the trade of the Levant, more flourifhing than ever, will again pour its treafures into our beautiful fouthern departments. , The advantages which I had enjoyed in my journey in Egypt, were almoft the fame with refpect to the new travels that I was going to under- take. In fact, although the fpecial miffion, with which I had been charged, was, as I have faid in the preceding chapter, nearly accom- plished on my leaving Egypt, I was ftill the bearer of an order from the king which authorized me to prolong my travels, and extend my re- fearches and obfervations into all the countries which I mould think likely to infpire any intereft; and it was enjoined to all the governors, intendants, and other agents of government in foreign parts, to protect and affift me with their means and credit; fo that I ceafed not to be confidered as an envoy of the French government, travelling by order of the king. On the other hand, the French ambaffador at Constantinople had been charged by our miniftry to procure me an order from the Grand Signior, which mould authorize me to vifit his vaft domains. This jirman, thus are called the ordinances of the Porte, had reached me at Cairo; and, indeed, it would there have been a very bad recommen- dation. The beys had rendered themfelves independent, or nearby fo, of the Turkiih Emperor. The pacha, whom he maintained there, was no 5 more lb' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. more than a phantom of authority that the chiefs of the Mamaluks caufecl to difappear or he changed at their pleafure. The brave and audacious Murad already reigned in Cairo as abfolute matter; the will of that (tern tyrant Avas there the fole law, and the officer that the Sultan fent thither, under the derifive title of governor, lived there without power as without influence, and had no other refource for maintaining himfelf in fo precarious a fituation, than thofe of narrow and low minds, of fomenting dhTenuons between the beys, and of charging Difcord with a tafk Avhich he would not have dared to undertake himfelf; that is, of flopping the career of a violent and ufurping ambition. The Turks were defpifed at the court of thefe foreigners, who, from the condition of flaves, paffed to the abfolute government of Egypt; lefs brifk in their movements, more grave in their gait, lefs fkilful in managing a horfe, they were an object; of pleafantry and derifion in the eyes of the young and fpruce Mamaluks, of which the families of the princes, not long- ago their equals, and fince their matters, were compofed. Accordingly thefe fame defpots had no consideration for the emperor of Turkey, whom they regarded rather as an enemy importunate through a remnant of pretentions, than as their Sovereign. To avail myfelf with Murad Bey of any documents emanated from the government of Constantinople, would have been to call in queftion his power, kindle his indigna- tion and his anger, and expofe myfelf to the fudden effects of his paffion*. • In my work refpefting Egypt, I have drawn the portrait of Murad, the only bey who found means to preferve his authority fo long ; a tyrant uneducated and defpotic, but become celebrated by the honour which he has had of fighting the French, and to whom we cannot deny much bravery, fome military talents, and a few qualities of mind, which evince its ele- vation, fuch as great liberality, with which he has contrived to attach to himfelf, and preferve * number of partifans. It TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 17 It was therefore, on my part, a necefiary act of prudence to keep fecret the document which infured me the protection of the Grand Signior; it would not have failed to involve me in fome difficulty, and to coft me fome exaction. I obtained from Murad Bey himfelf recommendations more fafe and more proper. But, if this firman had been ufelefs to me in Egypt, it became of great fervice to me in the new travels that I purpofed to undertake. Although the lands and feas of Egypt only were mentioned in it, this fign of protection was not, on that account, of lefs advantage to me in Turkey; it procured me regard and attention on the part of the go- vernors and private commandants. I never unrolled it in vain : at the fight of it, the haughty pacha, the flern aga, and all thofe fubaltern tyrants who rend, rather than govern, the Ottoman empire, became tractable and obliging; they lifted it to their forehead in token of refpect, and I feldom failed to obtain from them what I wifhed. In the eyes of the multitude, I appeared an important perfonage ; lince their fovereign con- defcended to concern himfelf about me; and by faving me from fome unpleafant incidents and embarraffrnents, which I fliould not have avoided without this fort of talifman of defpotifm, they confidered me as entitled to their refpect and confederation, Though the oriental languages are beginning to make fome progrefs among us, and though many perfons are acquainted with Turkifh writing, I have thought that people, in general, would not be difpleafed to fee here the form of the ordinances ifTued by the Ottoman govern- ment, and I have caufed my firman to be engraved. (See Plate II) The Turks, as is well known, like the Arabs, write from right to left; they diftinguifh ten forts of characters in their writing ; and they call divouani thofe which are employed in the official papers of the divan. d The 18 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The Turks write but little. The offices of their minifters are not filled with a crowd of clerks, mutually caufmg each other reftraint and diftraction, nor encumbered by heaps of papers, which no one reads. Buiinefs is there tranfacled with the greater! fnnplicity; correfpondence with men in office is very rare, and, with the exception of the emphati- cal amplifications of oriental etiquette, it is freed from ufelefs and dull prolixity. When a perfon has any thing to afk of the great, he pre- fers fpeaking to writing, becaufe they liften and anfwer otherwife than by inlignificant and common phrafes, which, being addrelfed to every body, fuit no one, and evince as much the fatigue and fometimes the in- difference of him who pronounces them, as the folly of him who gives credit to them ; becaufe, in fhort, thefe fame men in power, being fecure from importunities aud folicitatious, are of eafy accefs. On the other hand, where the generality of the inhabitants fcarcely either trouble themfelves, or care to trouble themfelves, about public affairs, ambition is confined within a very narrow circle, and concentred among very few perfons. Accordingly the demands for employments are extremely rare ; and, with the exception of fome petitions prefented in the view of obtaining reparation for exactions or acts of injuftice too common -in the delegates of the Porte, there are not delivered into its offices that prodigious quantity of memorials, petitions, and remonftrances, which ambitious and buttling intrigue multiplies on fuch flight grounds and to fo little purpofe among us, and which, commonly, are calculated only to occafion a lots of time to thofe who draw them up, as well as to thofe who anfwer them. The oriental writers do not place themfelves near a table. They are feated on a cufhion, with their legs crolfed and turned in under their garments. They write on their knees, and they almoft always have the long TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ig long pipe in their mouth. The paper which they employ comes from Europe; but it is fmoothed and glazed in Tuskey, in order that the reed pen, of which they make ufe, may glide with greater facility. My firman is written on a large fheet of this glazed paper; it is twenty-nine inches in depth, by twenty in width*. At the top is the cypher of the Sultan Abdoul Achmet; at the bottom, the fignature of the reis effendi, or minifter for foreign affairs ; and on the folds, different marks neceffary to authenticate papers of this kind. I give, as a note, the tranflation of it; for this I am indebted to Jaubert, a young and learned profeffor of oriental languages in Paris. It mutt beobferved that, for fear of giving umbrage to the Turks, always uneafy reflecting the intentions of tra- vellers who vifit their country, I was prefented to the divan as a trader. Thus it was that in Egypt the protection of the beys of Cairo and of the Arabic princes was granted to me as to a phyfician; and this ima- ginary regis, founded on the vulgar credulity of barbarous men, as much as. on their wifh to prolong their own exiftence, was of no fmall fervice to me, and preferved me from a multitude of embarraffments and dangers f. The * The Paris foot is equal to iz. 789 Englifh inches.- •(- Translation of the Firman. (Here is the Sultan's cypher.) Moft juft, moft noble, moft great, mod glorious, moft refpeftable governor, who knows how- to manage the moft important affairs of this world, with intelligence and difcernment, and whofe fuperior folicitude extends with wifdom and benignity over the poor of the ftate; pillar of the glorious empire, illuftrious governor of Egypt, our fortunate vizir Mohammed pacha: may God increafe his glory ! Moft juft of the cadis of Ifmaelifm, treafure of virtues and truths, deeply read in the laws and in religion, heir of the fcience of the prophets and apoftles, fpecially loaded with the favours of the moft high, learned cadi of Cairo in Egypt, may God increafe his virtues ! Happy fucceflbrs of the cadis and princes, abundant mines of noblenefs and virtues, who, in our fortunate name, govern the empire of the lands and feas of Egypt, may God increafe their merits ! o 2 Lieutenants 20 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The lea of the Levant being, as I have laid, abfolutely free, notwith- standing the war between the principal maritime powers of Europe, I had no precaution to take in the iliort voyage which I had to perform ; and as I had, befides, no other object, but that of vifiting fome of the countries of Greece and of Turkey, it was of little confequenceto me, -whether I began my excurfions by one place or by another. I there- fore availed myfelf of the firft veiiel that was to fail from the harbour of Alexandria.; and, after having taken leave of my fellow-travellers Lieutenant.', leaders of troops, janizaries, and other commandants, may God increafe their power, and raife them in dignity ! When this noble firman (hall have reached you, know that : The ambaflador and the confuls of the King of France, our powerful friend, the fupport of the great of this world, the model of chriftian princes (may his end be happy !) having caufed to be reprefented to us that it would be expedient to grant to the merchants who wifh to travel in the Hates (well-guarded) of our glorious empire, fupreme orders for them to be therein treated with fafety and protection, conformably to the treaties : And a Frenchman, named Sonnini, who has the intention of repairing to Cairo in Egypt, having made known to us that he begs us to caufe to be delivered an order iffued by our fub- lime Porte to all thofe who exercile our authority over the lands or over the feas of Egypt, to the end that he may refide there, or travel there freely, without fear or hindrance whatever : And being defirouj that, agreeably to our intentions and our exprefs recommendations, he ihould be protected by our fovereign orders, ftamped with our noble leal, We direct that : When this order, iflued by our fublime Porte, (hall have reached you, the aforefaid French- man may freely travel over the lands and feas above-mentioned, dependent on our glorious em- pire; that he may at pleafure enter them, leave them, or refide in them, conforming himfelf in all things to our fovereign orders, and that there fhall be every where granted to him aid, fuccour, and protection. And to the end that the contents of thefe orders may leave you no doubt, we have graced them with our noble and eminent fignature, to which you will give credit; we recommend it to you. Underftar.d it thus. Given in the beginning of Sefier, in the year of the hegira 1 192 (February 1778, O. S.) At Constantinople the well-guarded. (7'ranjlated by Citizen Jaubert, Turkijh profejfor in the fpecial fchool of Oriental languages, near the national library, jiftb interpreter to the government.) in TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 21 •in Egypt, I embarked on board a Provencal polacre*, a caravaneur, laden with productions of Egypt and Arabia, on account of fome Turkifh merchants of the Iiland of Candia. We fet fail on the 17th of October, 1778, at feven o'clock in the morning, with a pleafant breeze at eaft ; it foon carried us out of fight of the hillocks, and of the famous pillar, which ferve as land-marks on making Alexandria. The war caufed fo little uneafinefs in thefe feas, that the polacre, on board of which I was, carried no artillery ; and, with the exception of my arms, there was not a fingle piece on board. In the fmall quantity of provifions which I had lhipped, the mofi, abundant fort confifted of quails, taken alive in the environs of Alex- andria. The extraordinary number of thefe birds which arrive in autumn on the coaft of Egypt, renders them, at that period, one of the moil common dimes. When, in our fields, we have feen quails with ihort wings and tail, a round body, little calculated for cleaving the air, when we have feen them, I fay, rife heavily, and with difficulty take a low flight of fhort duration, we are furprifed to meet with them again on fhores fo diftant, fubject, like other birds of paffage, to regular migrations ; * A polacre is a fmall veflel with three mafts, which are pole-mafts, that is, confifting of a fingle ftick, without tops or crofs-trees, fo that the top-gallant-fails and topfails lower on the lower yard: which, in French, is called amener en paquet (lowering all together). This mode of rigging is advantageous, infomuch as, in cafe of being caught in a fquall, the fails can be lowered all at once; but, indeed, it fuits none but veflelsof no great burden, for the mafts of a large (hip cannot be made of fufEcient ftrength if they were formed only of a fingle ftick. Polacres are very much in ufe in the navigation of the Mediterranean Sea, where faft-failing vefiels of a fmall draught of water are more neceflary than elfewhere, and where they have frequently to experience Ihort, but fudden and heavy fqualls. weaker 22 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. weaker than thofe, quails alfo venture to make long journies : with an unfteady flight, they ikim the furface of the waters, avail themfelves of every point of repofe afforded them by a fea interfered by fcattered lands, and ploughed by numbers of velfels, and in this manner reach, from ifland to ifland and from veffel to veffel, the fhore of Egypt. But the flocks of thefe feeble and innocent travellers are far from arriving entire; an impetuous wind plunges them into the waves ; the fhelter and reft which they feek with eagernefs on the iflandi and on board fhips, to them become occafions of deftruction. Man is every where to devour them ; and when, after fo many dangers and fatigues, they alight on a land on which they arrive from fuch a diftauce to feek a mild temperature that our climates deny them, when at length folding their wings, which they would no longer have ftrength to extend for fome time, they are pre- paring to fpread themfelves over fertile plains, and there enjoy, till the enfuing fpring, the warmth of the atmofphere and abundance of food, un- feeling and cruel man again makes his appearance, and, taking advantage of their ftate of debility, which prevents them from running and flying, envelops them in nets and fhuts them up without pity in cages, in order that they may be afterw r ards abandoned to his voracity. Thefe cages, made in Egypt, are of wicker; the top is of canvafs, in order that the quails may not fplit their head by raifing themfelves vertically and with vivacity : a barbarous precaution, when we are waiting till it is conve- nient to put to death with our own hands innocent animals. Other birds had freely taken up their quarters on our floating habitation, and animated its dry and infipid monotony. Some fparrows picked up on the deck the fmall fragments of our meals; while the f'rifky wagtail*, of a * Lavand'iere. Buffon, Hift. Nat. des Oif. et plancHe enluminee, No. 642. Motacilla alba. Linn. — Ang. White wagtail. familiarity TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 23 familiarity more amiable, becaufe it befpoke nothing impudent, by a continuance of fkips and fhort and quick flights, rid us of a part of the infects by which we were incommoded. It feemed that thefe little winged" navigators would have wimed to feek with us a more grateful foil, plains more agreeable than the melancholy and arid environs of Alexandria, and that they would have manifefted their gratitude for the undifturbed hofpitality which they enjoyed among us. But the very day after our departure, the wind having fhifted to the weft, and threatening a ftorm, the fort of open aviary which we had fecn formed, difappeared. Our feathered guefts, doubtlefs, forefeeing a vio- lent agitation in the atmofphere, took leave of us, and, favoured by the wind, they directed their flight towards the coaft of Syria, or the Ille of Cyprus : we were, in fa6t, at no great diftance from that ifland, the moft eaftern and one of the fineft in the Mediterranean. CHAPTER 24 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER III. Pofition of the Ifland of Cyprus. — Its names. — Henni. — Ruins of the I/land of Cyprus. — Its mines. — Gold. — Copper. — Vitriol. — Iron. — Cryftal. — Precious ftones. — Jafper. — AJbefios. — Talc. — Plajler. — Ochre. Ma- rine fait. — Agriculture. — Olive-trees. — Mulberry-trees. — Carob-trees. — Cotton. — Sugar-cane. — Coffee-tree. — Gardens. — Various /pedes of corn. — Grafshoppers. — Madder. — Coloquintida. — Ladanum. — Soda. — Wood. • — Wool. — Wine. — Turkey leather. — Cotton. — Manufactures. — Import- trade. Y LACED in the vaft gulf which terminates the Mediterranean to the eaft, the Ifland of Cyprus feems intended to fecure the command of that fea*. Towards the north, and at no conuderable diftance, are the winding coafts of Caramania, formerly Cilicia; thofe of Egypt, more remote, face it to the fouth, and the fhores of Syria, on which the Mediterranean flops, lies not far from it to the weftf ; the ancients even thought that it had made a part of that country, and that one of thofe violent commotions of the globe, which we find at very diftant periods in * It is neceflary to recall to mind here what I have announced in my Introduction. During travels, which confifted only of a feries of excurfions on lines of no great length, and eroding each other incefiantly, it would be to expofe myfelf to tirefome repetitions to adhere fcrupuloufly to the itinerary ; I therefore defcribe objecls as they prefent themfelves, and in the order which they occupy on the Chart, for the purpofe of diffufing greater perfpicuity in the narration, and of not compelling the reader to tread back his fteps repeatedly, as I frequently did myfelf. f The Ifland of Cyprus is fituated in latitude 35 north, and longitude 33 eaft from the meridian of Greenwich. 1 the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. £5 the hiftory of ages, had thence detached it, as Sicily from Italy, and feveral other iflands from different parts of the continent. No place in the world has, perhaps, received more names than this ifland. Pliny gives an enumeration of them, and he does not quote them all*. They have exercifed, with more or lefs fuccefs, the fluctuating art of etymo- logifts. It is not, for example, a very happy conjecture to have afcribed the derivation of the name of Cerastis or Cerastia, Horn IJland, to the ifland having been formerly inhabited by horned men, who have never exifted any -where ; while it was more natural to imagine that this denomi- nation arofe from the multitude of narrow capes or points by which its coafts are furrounded, and which bear fome refemblance to long horns projecting into the fea. The ancient Greeks were more generally acquainted with the Ifland of Cyprus by the name of Kupros ; and that of Kupris, which they gave to Venus, indicated that the worihip of that goddefs had come to them from this place. Etymologifts are not agreed as to the origin of this word Kupros. Some affirm that it is the name of a hero ; but this hero is unknown in the annals of antiquity. Some are of opinion that the abun- dance and the beauty of the copper which this land contains in its bofom, has occafioned to be given to it the name of a metal, which, being found formerly in metallic mafles, and lefs difficult to melt than iron, was em- ployed, long before, for fabricating weapons and implements of agriculturef. Others, in fliort, difcover the origin of Kupros in the name of a fhrub, • Hift. Nat. lib. v. cap. 3 1 . f Hijloire Naturelle des Miniraux, par Buffon, article cuivre. Vol. 2. fage 224. Sonnihi'* edition. e celebrated '26 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. celebrated by the ancients, much in uf'e ftill among the modern Orientals, and in which the Ifland of Cyprus carried on a confiderable traffic. This tall flirub, which the Hebrews called hopher, and the Greeks kupros, is the henne, or hanna of the Arabs, and the kanna of the Turks*. It em- bellishes and perfumes with its bloffoms the gardens of the Ifland of Cy- prus, like thofe of Lower Egypt. Its flowers, whofe tender and deli- cate fliades have fo much analogy to the foft and animated tints of beauty, form, as heretofore, its moft ufual and mod efteemed bouquet. The women it! II delight to adorn themfelves with it, and place it in their bofomf ; the powder of its leaves, dried, alfo ferves them to dye with a durable bright orange colour all their nails, as well as the palm of their hands and the fole of their feet. This is a general cuflom in Turkey, and in feveral other countries of the East; it originates, according to every appear- ance, from the aftringent quality of the henn£, calculated for checking on thofe parts of the body the perfpiration more copious, and at the fame time more inconvenient and more difagreeable than elfewhere, in thefe hot climates. It is not eafy to account in like manner for the practice of alfo colouring the nails, on which a folid coat, of a reddifh dye, does not replace with advantage the pale rofe colour that is natural to them. It is, perhaps, to make the extremity of the ringers match with the under part of the hands and feet, which a bright and deep tint would throw out in too abrupt a manner, did not fome furrounding parts foften the tone by par- taking of it ; unlefs we prefer faying that the women of all countries have moft frequently fpoiled the gifts which they have received from * Laivfonia inermis, foliis fubfejjilihus ovatis, utrinqut acutis. LircN.Syft. Nat. octrandr. mono- gyn. I have given, in the greateft detail, the hiftory, defcription, and figure of this charm- ing ftirub, in my Travels in Upper and Loiver Egypt, vol. i. page 292, and following. f Solomon's Song, chap. i. v. 1 3 and 14. 1 Nature, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 27 Nature, even by the pains that they have taken to preferve or improve them. Beauty is a delicate flower, whofe luftre is tranfient ; relentlefs time undermines and deftroys it; and to endea/our, by means foreign to Nature, to avoid or delay an end which Love laments, but for which the qualities of the heart and the charms of the mind confole and indemnify, is, on the contrary, to haften it. Who ever thought of loading flowers with the coarfe mixture of our colours ? And what pencil would dare to add any tint to the carnation of the rofe, the velvet down of the ama- ranthus, or the pale gold of the clufters of the henne" ? Of all the ancient names of the Ifland of Cyprus, that which we love to recall to mind, although it forms a ftrange contrail with its pre- fent fituation, is Macaria, the Fortunate IJland. For this name it was indebted to the fertility of its foil, the mildnefs of its climate, the inexpreffible beauty of its plains, and the richnefs of its productions. The imagination of the poets lent new charms to this profufion of the gifts of Nature ; they made it the cradle of the mother of the Loves ; they confecrated this agreeable idea, by the name of Cytherea, and embellimed it with all the charms of the moil delightful defcriptions, with graceful fcenes of tendernefs and voluptuous enjoyment. Over this theatre, in former times confecrated to happinefs, to the arts, and to pleafure, at this day reign barbarians, who have transformed it into an abode of deftruciion and flavery. Superb edifices, elegant temples, where the moft beautiful, as well as the moft amiable of divini- ties was adored on altars furrounded by the fweeteft and moft voluptuous birds, living emblems of love and fidelity, now cover and fadden, with their fcattered remains, places of which they conftituted the ornament and glory ; and the Turks confume even the very ruins, which they ftill muti- late, in order to employ the fragments for common and profane purpofes. Here, where the Graces reigned, at this day commands an old mo/alem or e 2 governor, 28 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. governor, who fcares them. Under a deftru&ive government, agricul- ture lias ceaied to enrich with her treasures beautiful plains ; and the fplendour of an illand, formerly fortunate, has vani/hed. The riches which it contains in its bofom are • more deeply buried by defpotifm than by the earth with which they are covered. All boring, all fearcfa after mines, is ftriftly prohibited ; and copper, formerly fo abun- dant iu the illand, that the ancients likewife diftinguifhed it by the epithet of JErosa, Copper IJland, remains ufelefs in the bowels of the mountains that contain it, as well as zinc, tin, iron, and other minerals which ren- dered it famous. i Should the Ifland of Cyprus one day pafs from this (late of opprefllon to a political fituation more mild and more favourable to its commerce and induftry, we lhall then fearch after all thefe mineral riches, and the work- ing of them will powerfully contribute to revive the ancient fplendour of the country in which they are contained; and as changes, fo deniable, are, perhaps, not very remote, or at leaft I love to indulge the hope, it will not be ufelefe to enter here into a few details reflecting the nature of thefe fubterraneous treafures. Gold, the end and motive of aimoft all human actions, and which cor- ruption, ever-increafmg, will long render the object of the warmelt whhes and ardent wants of die greater number, was, as I have faid, found in mines in the Ifland of Cyprus ; but they have been for ages abandoned, and tra- dition can fcarcely afllgn the places where they were found. We muft not take in a literal fenfe, nor above all refer to our age, a paffage of Dapper, who, in his description- of the iflands of the Archipelago, page 52, alferts that there is in the middle of the ifland, near the town of Nicosia, as well as in the environs of Ciirusocco, mines of gold, where workmen are aimoft continually employed. Thefe TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 29 Thefe indications, which Dapper, published in 1703, are extracted from another description of the iflands of the Archipelago, printed in ]6"10, the author of which, Thomas Porcachi, had taken them from the ancient writers. Not that, in fact, the gold mines were not in the environs of Chrusocco, a village near the gulf of that name, which occupies the place of Acamantis, an ancient town, one of the moft considerable of the ifland ; fome were known too in the vicinity of Ta- massus, where ftands the modern Famagusta, and at the foot of Mount Olympus, in a diltricl celebrated for its wines ; but the traces of ancient works have there difappeared, and the veins of a precious metal wait, in order- to be discovered and' followed anew,, the return of a protecting government, which regards not as crimes the ftrenuous efforts of induftry towards ufeful fpeculations, and to Avhich are attached public profperity and the affluence of individuals. But Searching, which would attain with ftill greater certainty thefe two objects, that are the conftant aim of every government anxious to preferve the efteem of nations and its own exiftence, would be that which would tend to recover the copper mines, formerly fo abundant and fo re- nowned. It is particularly in the territory occupied by a famous city of antiquity, Amathus, the fite of which is at prefent occupied by the ancient Limassol, that the refearches ought to be directed ; it is in this diftrict; where thofe metals abound*, that we mould again difcover that beautiful primitive copper, which Nature herfelf has purified, and elabo- rated in large mafies, in order to deliver it quite prepared to human induf- try, and which no longer exifts in the exhaufted mines of the Old Conti- nent. The copper of Cyprus was, in ancient times, the fineft in the world, • Gm'viclamque Amathttnta metallis, has Ovid faid in his Metamorphofes, and 30 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. and its rich and primordial mines furnimed the firft blocks of that metal, which were brought into ufe. It was principally fought for the purpofe of compofing that famous Corinthian brafs, a precious mixture of copper, gold, and filver, the proportions of which are unknown to us, and which was in great efteem among the Greeks. The fpecies of natural vitriol, the blue or azure vitriol, which ftill retains the name of Cyprus vitriol, was found in abundance in the copper mines of which I have juft fpoken. The ancient Tamassus furnifhed a great quantity of it; but the bell was drawn from the diftrict of Chrusocco, the vitriol mines of which were ftill worked towards the end of the feven- teenth century. The iron mines lie fcattered, and in a quantity fufficiently large to fupply the wants of the Cypriots and the trade of the neighbouring countries. In the rocks is alfo found a very fine rock-cryftal, which is called the Baffa diamond, becaufe it is procured from the environs of Baffa, a barbarous word, which has taken the place of that of Paphos. The moun- tains in the vicinity of Cape Cromachiti and of Cape Alexan- dretta likewife contain fome. The bowels of the high mountains contain other riches lefs important than metallic mines, becaufe they are ufeful to luxury alone. Thefe are emeralds, amethyfts, peridots, opals, &c. The Scythian jafper was reputed the belt among the ancients; next came the Cyprian, and laftly, the Egyptian. The river Pedicus, which takes its fource in the mountains at no great diftance from Nicosia, rolls down, with its limpid waters, fragments of very fine red jafper. AJbcJios, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 31 AJbeftos, or the incombuftible flax of the ancients, is ftill as plentiful as it M T as formerly; the quarry which furnifhes it is in the mountain of Acamantis, near Cape Chromachitt. Talc is common, efpecially near Larnica, where it is employed for white- warning houfes; and there are numerous quarries of plafter. Thofe of marble afford it in abundance for building. But at prefent there are fcarcely worked any of thofe, which yield none but a common white marble, of little confiftence. Of all the treafures which the earth conceals, the Turk, who knows only how to defolate it, allows not the unfortunate iflanders any trade but in yellow ochre, umber, and tcrre verte, fubftanees common in Cyprus, and which are employed in coarfe painting. To the mineral fubftanees, the exportation of which is flill permitted, we mufl add marine fait, Avhich, under the domination of the princes of Europe, was the fource of confiderable revenues. The great lake, or falt-marfh, in which it is formed, near the hamlet of the Salterns, was, in former times, three leagues in circumference; but the exportation of fait having fucceffively diminifhed, the lake has been partly drained and cul- tivated ; fo that the fea and rain-waters are fcarcely any longer collected there but on a fpace of a league in circuit. The heat of a burning fun accelerates the evaporation of thefe waters, and leaves expofed a thick eruft of fait, which is gathered in the month of September, that is, before the rainy feafon, and is then heaped up in pyramids. Thefe heaps of fait, in the end, acquire confiftence and harden in the air; they even refift the winter rains, and, in the fpring, are loaded on board final 1 veffels, which convey them to the neighbouring coafts. The government farms out 32 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. out thefe natural falterns for a year only; and, agreeably to the plan of difcouragem v ent which it has marked out for itfelf, it clogs with a thou- fand lhackles the extraction and the fale. Accordingly there exifts no proportion between what the falterns produced formerly and what they yield at the prefent day: a few of the country barks fuffice for the con- veyance of the quantity which enters into the export-trade; whereas the Venetians annually formed of it the cargo of feventy large mips. If the choked-up canals, which form the communication betM'een the lake and the fea, were re-efiablifhed, the water would cover the fame extent of ground that it occupied before, and the lake of the falterns would again become one of the mod important branches of the trade and revenues of the ifland. What the bowels of the earth contain in riches, is not more than what its furface may yield. The prefents of agriculture are not here lefs nu- merous nor lefs brilliant than the lefs valuable treafures of mineralogy ; but both are equally a prey to the brutal combinations of ignorance and barbarifm. The produce of a languiihing culture affords the remembrance and the meafure of the fertility of which a foil favoured by nature is fufceptible, when the heavy and burning hand of tyranny does not fuc- ceed in drying it up. Olive-trees are much lefs common here than in paft times. Their fruits no longer furniih futhcient oil for the fupply of the inhabitants, and what remains of them feems to exift only to atteft that olive-oil formed in Cyprus a very confiderable branch of commerce. Immenfe refer voirs, in the form of cifterns, and coated with an impenetrable cement, ftill fubfift in the environs of Larnica. Oil was preferved in thefe, and, to fill them, a prodigious quantity was required. The foil is fo favourable to olive- TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 33 olive-trees, that fome are feen here of fuch a fize that two men, with outftretched arms, would find it difficult to fpan their circumfe- rence. Thefe fine trees, which, in fome places, are planted with order and fymmetry, are a proof of the antiquity of a culture which cannot be too much encouraged in climates that are fuitable to it, as well on account of the great confumption which domeftic economy and the arts make of olive-oil, as of the loffes which the fevere winters of thefe latter years have occafioned in our plantations. Mulberry-trees ftill form fmall woods in certain quarters of the ifland; but their culture is abandoned in feveral, although it is the molt eafy of all, fince it requires only to conduct, water to the foot of each tree, in order to cool it during the burning heats of the fummer. Here the bad cuftom obtains of lopping off the branches of thefe trees for the purpofe of giving their leaves to the filk-worm, the rearing of which is attended with fewer inconveniences than elfewhere, under a fky which, in the feafon of gathering them, experiences no variations. The filk-trade, al- though lefs flourishing than it was before the invafion of the Turks, is, neverthelefs, ftill of fome importance. It is at Famagusta that the market of this commodity is held, and there, are annually fold about twenty thonfand bales, of three hundred pounds each. In this quantity is white filk, gold yellow, fulphur yellow, and laftly orange-coloured. The flofs is likewife thrown into trade, and, like the filk itfelf, it is difpatched to the ports of Turkey and Europe. A tree lefs valuable, but which notwithftanding is of good produce, covers with its fhade feveral diftricls, and bears fruits which furnifh a particular trade: this is the carob or St. John's bread tree, common alfo in other countries whpfe temperature is mild, fuch as Sfai^, the y fouth .4 TRAVELS IX GREECE AND TURKEY. iouth of France, Italy, and particularly the kingdom of Naples. In the ports of Cvphis, veffels load the long, thick pods which this tree produces, and carry them to Syria and Alexandria. In the latter port, I have feen feveral veffels arrive, whofe cargo con filled folely of this fpecies of fruit; whence an idea may be formed of the quantity confumcd of it by the inhabitants of Egypt. They eat the fucculent pulp which the pods contain, with hard and flat feeds; with them, it likewife fupplies the place of fugar and honey, and they employ it in pre- ferving other fruits. This pulp has the tafte of that of eaffia, and the honied, but infipid and nightly naufeous flavour of manna. The en- virons of Limassol are planted with a great quantity of carob-trees, and it is more particularly in this harbour that the cargoes of their pods are fhipped. This fruit, known under the name of St. John's bread, and which the Greeks call keraka, bad as it is, is not, on that account, lefs an article of food for the people of Egypt and Barbary, where the tree itfelf is not unknown. The Arabs call it karoub or karnoub. In Europe, in places where it is at a low price, the poor likewife live on it. It is alfo given as food to mules aud cattle, which the ufe of it fattens. Laftly, the wood of the carob-tree being very hard, and confequently proper to be ufed in different works, we cannot but regret that this ferviceable tree, by not thriving in our more northern regions, mould not there add to the refources of the arts and of rural economy. In the time of the ancient Romans, the carob-tree was already very plentiful in Italy. The fruit, which was csWed Jiliqaa, ferved as a weight; it required fix pods to make a fcruple; and as the pound was compofed of two hundred and eighty-eight fcruples, it alfo required one thoufand feven TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 385 {even hundred and eighty-eight pods to make its weight *. It may eafily be conceived that this manner of weighing, which could ferve only for coarfe articles of little value, was not likely to be very exact. ■ Mod of the plains, of which cotton conftituted the richnefs, ftill pre- ferve fome traces of that culture; but it is there no more than a feeble image of what it was formerly. The whole ifland now affords to com- merce but about three thoufand bales of cotton ; whereas, under the go- vernment of the Venetians, the annual quantity of thefe bales amounted to thirty thoufand f. Cyprus cotton is the moil efteemed, as the fined of all the Levant; it is fold too at a higher price. It is not fo fine in the mod fouthern iflands of the Archipelago; .that of Smyrna is ftill in- ferior. In ihort, the cotton produced in the environs of Salonica is yet worfe than that of Smyrna ; fo that the more we advance towards the north, the more this article, fo valuable in manufactures, lofes in quality. It would therefore be a ufelefs attempt, and prejudicial even to the in- terefts of the cultivator, to endeavour to introduce into the fouth of France the culture of the cotton-plant, as has been propofed by fome perfons, feduced by little' trials which atteft rather the tafte and curiofity * See in the Mhnoires de VAcademie des Belles-Lettres, vol. xxviii. page 653, year 1757, the diflertation of M. Dupuis, on the flate of the Roman coin, &c. This profound fcholar de- monftrates that Scaliger is miftaken in taking the Jiltgua of the Romans for the fruit of the cornil-tree. f The bale of cotton commonly weighs three hundred weight. F 2 of Sff TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of the amateur, than the fpeculations of the hufbandman*. And fhould we ever fucceed in cultivating on a large fcale, and with any fuccefs, the cotton-plant in thefe lame countries of France, precarious crops of bad quality could not indemnify us for the expenfes of railing it, nor exempt us from going up the Levant to look for cottons more abundant and of a fuperior quality, that is, whiter, finer, and more filky. The cotton-tree cultivated in the East is that which is called the annual' cotton-tree, or cotton-plant^, in order to diftinguim it from that of the colonial plantations in the West Indies, which is the cotton-free^.. On a field, well prepared and turned up, are marked furrows, in which are- planted, at certain diftances, a few feeds of the cotton-tree, much the fame as is pra&ifed with refpecl to maize. It is in- the month of April that thefe fo wings are made in Cyprus ; as foon as the plants are above ground, thofe which are too weak are pulled up, and the ftrongeft only are left. They are weeded, and the earth about them is loofened in the courfe of thefummer; their pods ripen towards the month of October, and the filky down which they afford is then feparated from the feeds that it furrounds. ■ A few plants of fine cotton-trees, on which the delicate attentions of luxurious culture have been lavifhed, and which have yielded choice cotton, are far from furnifhing a fufficient proof of fuch a fuccefs, when we are fpeaking of large plantations, which, to be profitable, , ought to require only the fimple proceedings of common culture; I am acquainted with a- learned and eftimable cultivator of the department of Landes, who has fucceeded in raifing, even in the open ground, fome cotton-trees, from which he has obtained tolerably fine cotton : I myfelf have had fome under layers and under glades, in one of our northern de- partments, that of La Meurthe ; but from thefe trials, gratifying to curiofity, it, doubtlefs, will not be concluded that cotton is to thrive at Landes, and ftill lefs on the banks of La Meurtht. T Gofiypium berlactHnu Linn. % Goflypium arbor fum. Linn. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. S3 The humidity of the atmofphere, rains of long duration, or too fre- quent, are equally unfavourable to the cotton-tree. A ftrong heat is very fui table to it; this promotes the dazzling whitenefs of the down, and con- tributes to the finenefs and fubftance of the filk. The impetuous north winds are a fcourge to this plantation, particularly at the period of flow- ering.; the fruits mifcarry, and the crop, almoft totally loft, difappoints the hope of the cultivator as well as that of the trader. At the time when the Venetians poffeffed the Ifland of Cyprus^ they had made there large plantations of fugar-canes, which fucceeded as well as in Egypt, in the beft diftrifits of the ifland, like that of Piscopia, on the road, from Limassol to Baffa* where the heft cotton in the coun- try alfo grows, and near Lasca, in the gulf of Pan tai a. Proper build- ings were erected on the fame fpots for refining the fugar, and it may be conceived what advantages would have been derived from thefe planta- tions, and thefe fugar-refineries, in a fituation fo near Europe. But a ftern barbarian, with fire and fword in hand, advanced as an ex- terminator of all property, and proud of annihilating every trace of ameli- orations, which were in his eyes the work of infidels, he caufed to be burnt with the fugar-houfes, thofe rich plantations, and thus devoted to fteri- lity vaft plains, deftined to give frefh activity to induftry and national prof- perity. Such a rage has produced all the effect that the demon of deftruc- tion might expecl. - Since that difaftrous epoch, the inhabitants, perfe- cuted on every fide, have taken care not to refume a kind of culture which would have been for them only a pretext for frefh exactions on the part of their oppreffors, and they have not ventured to caufe the fugar- canes to revive from their afhes. But we are, neverthelefs, certain that they were cultivated with fuccefs in Cyprus; and when the ifland fliall pafs into 3S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEV. into hands more worthy of poifeffing it, thofe valuable feeds will cover again plains whofe richnefs they have already conftituted. It Mould not even be impoffible, nor perhaps very difficult, although it has not yet been attempted, to increafe the agricultural riches of the plains of Cyprus, by making, near the fields of fugar-canes, another kind .of plantation, which, moft commonly, accompanies them, as their pro- duce is mixed in the ufe that we make of it, I mean the culture of the coffee-tree. The foil of the iiland affords, in feveral points, places fa- vourable to the vegetation of this fhrub ; the heat of thefe ipots is no lefs firong than in the country, not far diftant, where the fruit of the coffee- tree acquires more perfume ; and I am perfuaded that effays of this na- ture, directed with intelligence, would be crowned with complete fuccefs. They have, it is faid, ahead}' been attempted in vain in a more fouthern country, and which has more analogy to that of Yemen. But Mail let, who allures us that the coffee-tree could not thrive in Egypt*, gives no detail reflecting the foil which was chofen for thefe experiments, its expo- fure, nor the acceffories of its fituation ; and, notwithftanding this tefti- mony, I am perfuaded, as I have already expreffed in my Travels in Egypt '|~, that trials, better combined, would infure to that country the culture of the coffee-tree. And circumftances lead me to prefume that it would fucceed equally well in the Ifland of Cyprus. Here every thing attefts the goodnefs of the foil. The gardens are full of pot-herbs of a very good quality ; cauliflowers, in particular, are excellent ; and the quantity of vegetables is fufficiently great for fliips to lay in a ftock, and even carry fome to countries lefs fertile. Thefe fame » Defcriptjonde I'Egypte, 4W. part ii. page 13; f Vol. ii. page 263. gardens TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 59 gardens are brilliant from the lufcre of various forts of flowers ; and aro- matic plants there ditfafe afar their ftrong and fweet odour. Orange-trees, lemon- trees, pomegranate and other fruit trees, ft III form groves round the habitations ; the greater part never lofe their vernal garb ; the greater part, too are covered with odoriferous flowers, and with thefe the henne blends the perfume of its clutters. Under balmy and filent bowers, in which waters, brought by fubterraneous conduits, maintain verdure and coolnefs, we mould love to recall to mind that the goddefs of the ifland confecrated them to her fweeteft myfteries, could the enjoyments of the heart exift in places furrounded by the veftiges of deftruction, and which give birth to afflict ing recollections.. In all the fpots which ftupid tyranny has not condemned to barren nakednefs, various fpecies of corn yield abundant harvefts ; but the fpaces that they occupy are very circumfcribed, if we compare them to the plains Avhich they have covered, and which now prefent only the livery of neglect and wretchednefs. Wheat and barley were one of the principal articles of exportation ; at this day they fcarcely fuffice for the fubfiftence of the population of the ifland, even when they efcape another fcourge, formidable from the quantity, really prodigious, rather than from the ftrength of its elements. Thoufands of myriads- of grafshoppers come fometimes in thick clouds, and dart on the fields, ready to yield to the cultivator the exchange of his labours and toils. Fire is lefs quick : in a few moments the {talks of the plants are laid down and cut in pieces, the ears devoured, the crops deftroyed, and the fields defolated. Thefe ravages are not confined to the harvefts ; the grafshoppers alfo ftrip the mulberry-tree of its leaves, and thus they confign to death the valuable- infect which feeds on them: other ufeful plants become their prey. 40 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. prey. On their approach all verdure difappears, and they even gnaw the very hark of the trees. It is to this fatal combination of the opprcflion of the government, and of the accidental, but unfortunately too often repeated marks of the anger of Nature, that we muft attribute the ftate of languor, and the al- molt total decay of the agriculture of Cyprus. Endeavours have been made to explain how infects, winged indeed, but little capable of a flight of long duration, could appear all at once, like a devaftating ftorm, on lands furrounded by the fea. Naturalists have imagined that grafshoppers, incapable of crofiing a large fpace of fea, repaired to Cyprus with the vefTels from Syria, in which they kept themfelves concealed during the voyage*; but it would be difficult, on this hypothefis, to explain the fudden appearance of thefe living clouds in certain years, while in others none of them are to be feen. On the other hand, muft not navigators perceive this prodigious multitude of ftrangers ; and could it be fuppofed that they would confent to carry them obligingly into countries where fcarcity and defolation would land with them? Befulcs, there is a certain fact, which removes the idea of grafshoppers getting on ffiipboard; this is, that the fea-fhores, on the coaft of Cyprus, are fometimes covered, and infected to a great diftance, with their dead bodies floating on the furface of the waters, and thefe vaft wrecks imply a paffage more perilous than a voyage on board fhip. It cannot therefore be doubted that thefe f warms of grafshoppers arrive from the continent, where, according to the opinion of M. Hasselquitz, * Hasselc^uitz, Voyage dans le Levant, publifhed by C. Linnaus, and tranflated from the German, by M***, part ii, page 176. Letter to M, Linnttus, dated from Smyrna, 39th Auguft, 175»-I they TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 41 they muft be formed in the midft of the deferts of Arabia, whence they depart, fupported and impelled by the winds. The raoft eaftern point of the Ifland of Cyprus, CapeSANT Andrea, being fcarcely diftant from the coaft of Syria more than from twenty to twenty-five leagues, a gale of wind may eafily carry thither light infects, which affilt themfelves with their wings, and poflefsmuch ftrength and agility. It is pofitively known that roving grafshoppers have crofied feas wider than this ftrait. M. Niebuhr mentions, that in the month of November. 1762, a prodigious quantity of grafshoppers fell in the envi- rons of Dsjidda, a town of Arabia, on the borders of the Red Sea, after having croffed that fea, which, in this- place, is upwards of fifty leagues in width; a great many periihed, indeed, in the paffage; which did not prevent the reft from fpreading themfelves over the fields in incon- ceivable numbers*. I have myfelf feen grafshoppers alight on a vefiel, in a voyage along the weft coaft of Africa, abreaft of Cape Blanco, and out of fight of all land. We could not imagine that thefe infects had come on board with us; they arrived from the eaft, and were of a fpecies unknown in France; every part of them was of a pale yellow, or filemot colour. They who do not content themfelves with ftudying Nature in books or in collections, and who vifit with fome attention the immenfe galleries which flie has herfelf arranged with admirable order for the purpofe of making them an eternal fubject of contemplation, they, I fay, may have remarked that the large green-grafshopper of our mea- dows raifes itfelf with rapidity to a height fomewhat confiderable, and fupports itfelf for fome time in the air, when the weather is warm, the iky ferehe, and the atmofphere free from humidity; from this we may judge, that the wandering fpecies, probably more vigorous, as well as more ac- * De/cription de F Arable, French edition 4-to, vol. i. page 148 and following. o cuftomed 42 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. cuftomed to travelling, may, in warm and dry climates, undertake long paffages in clofe columns, and, favoured by the winds, venture to crofs gulfs and ftraits. And the frightful havock of thefe numberlefs phalanxes of devouring infects is not always confined to the fertile plains of the East; they are feen, more rarely it is true, but with the fame fury, to {trip the fields of more weftern countries of their harvefts, of their verdure, to change in an inftant the rich and fmiling carpet of fecundity into a hideous fcene of nakednefs and devaftation ; and, after having deprived the earth of her drefs, men of the fruit of their labours and of their means of fub- fiftence, to finifh by infecting the air with their carcafes heaped up, and by fpreading contagion and death. Who knows whether this be not one of the principal caufes of the melancholy and cruel permanence of the plague in the East? France herfelf has not been exempt from the misfortunes produced by thefe prodigious and formidable bodies, carrying in their train con- fiernation and Avant. In the year 1784, a vaft fwarm of thefe infects, coming from the eaft, crofted France, devoured every thing on their paftage, and fell into the Britilh channel. Mezerai mentions with great detail another irruption of grafshoppers, which deprived the fouth of France of its harvefts, of its vegetables, and of its trefoil. That hifto- rian informs us, that the grafshoppers which elcaped from the birds, de- pofited fuch a quantity of eggs on the ground, particularly in the fandy fpots, that it was thought necefiary to caufe them to be picked up in order to deftroy them. They were found in heaps, and in this manner were collected upwards of three thoufand quintals, which were burnt or thrown into the Rhone. On calculating the number of infects that were to be hatched by thefe malfes of eggs, it was found, by a very low efti- 5 mate, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 43 mate, that there was one million feven hundred and fifty thoufand to the quintal, which might give, for the total, five hundred and fifty thoufand millions of grafshopper's eggs, that would have been hatched the following year. On other occafions a reward was fet on grafshoppers ; in 1767, two fous a pound were paid for them in fome parts of Languedoc; in 1787, only one fou -was given; and yet it was known, by the examination of the accounts of the little community of Saint Gilles, that eleven or twelve hundred quintals of them had been deftroyed on its territory alone*. In the Ifland of Cyprus they alfo gather madder, which in the Levant is called ali-zary, and with which cottons are there dyed red; coloquintida, with which feveral fields are covered ahnoft without cul- ture; opium, which is cultivated at the foot of Mount Olympus, and is purified and packed up at Nicosia, and a few other articles of Iefs importance. The fandy foil of Cape Cromachiti is covered with foda, which is burnt in fummer in order to fend the allies to Europe, where it is employed in foap-manufactories. The forefts afford very fine wood for building and planks: thence are likewife drawn tar and pitch, and the turpentine of Cyprus is more efteemed than that of any other country. Flocks that might be more numerous, afford to commerce a tolerably large quantity of wool which paffed into Italy and France. An im- portant obfervation on the fubject of the conveyance of wool, is not to lhip that which may have contracted any humidity, becaufe it then be- comes heated, catches fire, and fets the veffel in flames. The fame pre- * See the Notice des Infecles de la France reputes ■venimeux; parM. Amouheux//;, median de Montpelier, 1789, introdu&ion, page 122 and following. g 2 caution 44 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. caution is indifpenfable for the loading of madder; this root, in order to avoid the fame danger, ought not to be packed up but dry and per- fectly exempt from all moifture. One of the productions which the Cypriots rear with the grcatcft atten- tion, and which has not ceafed to be to them an advantageous branch of trade, although like every other it has felt the violence and want of re- flection of the government, is the famous wine which is yielded them by vines with twifting and creeping ftems, and large and delicious fruit. The beft vines, a natural temple, dear to Bacchus, whence flows this yellowiih, rich, and perfumed wine, which conftitutes the delight and luxury of our tables, occupy a diftricl; called the Commandery, becaufe it made a part of the great commandery of the Templars and of the Knights of Malta. It is comprifed between Mount Olympus and the towns of Limassol and Paphos. Although all the wises of Cyprus come not from this diftricf, they do not the lefs, on that ac- count, bear, in trade, the name of wines of the commandery, in order to enhance their value. Under that name is found fome very common, and at a very low price. I have purchafed at Alexandria fome of this pretended wine of the commandery, at ten parats, or a little more than twelve /bus the dame-jeanne*; it was new, very light, and had no refemblance in point of flavour to the diftinguilhed Cyprus wine. From all parts of the ifland the wines are collected at Larnica, where they are kept till they are ihipped; but they want age in order to acquire the excellent qualities which caufe them to be fo much in requeft. The Greeks of Cyprus, from a very ancient cuitom, when they have a child born, bury large veffels filled with wine, and clofely ftopped ; thefe are not taken out of the ground but for the marriage of that fame child. •^A glafs-veffel containing about three gallons Englifh meafure. This TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 45 This wine, which might be called family-wine, fince it ferves to celebrate its moll happy events, preferved fecure from the impreffions of the air, becomes exquifite on being taken out of the earth, and a real treafure to a delicate palate. Among perfons in eafy circumftances, the quan- tity of wine buried is feldom confumed in marriage-feftivals, and a part is fold to Europeans, who have not always the opportunity of procuring any fo good. Cyprus wine is conveyed to Europe, either in calks, or in thofe large glafs bottles, covered with rufli or wicker, which are called dames- jeannes. This latter method would be preferable, the wine keeping better in glafs veffels, if, on the other hand, the lofs of it were not to be feared, from the danger of breaking the dames-jeannes in the courfe of a rather long- voyage. When Cyprus wine is mipped in calks, and the price is not confi- dered in order to have that of the bell quality, the purchafer procures calks in which has been left a certain quantity of lees, which have the property of improving the wine ; accordingly the calks, thus provided with lees, fell four times dearer than thofe which are deftitute of them. A modern author, who has written his travels to the Levant, ftruck with the excellence of the Cyprus wines, is aftonifhed that the mer- chants of Europe have not tried to convey thither plants of thefe cele- brated vines. He takes the trouble of defcribing minutely the precautions neceuary to be obferved for removing thefe plants, in fuch a manner that they might again llrike in the new ground appropriated to them*. It certainly is not in this that the difficulty confifts; living plants are brought to Europe from dillances much more confiderable. It is even * Voyages dans Pile de Cbypre, la Syrie, et la Palejline, par M. VAbbe Mariti, traDJlated from the Italian, vol. i. page 225. well 46 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. well known that Francis I. had procured from Cyprus a fufficient quantity of vine plants for covering fifty arpens or French acres at Fox- taixebleau. We are ignorant what is heeome of thefe vines, planted at fo great an expenfe; and we mould be greatly miftaken to attribute to them the good quality and the reputation which the fuperior white grapes of Fontainebleau owe only to the manner of their being planted and cultivated, and to the care beftowed on them. But the real diffi- culty, and it is infurmountable, is to meet with the fame foil, the fame expofure, the fame climate, the fame degrees of temperature, in a word, to make Cyprus wine elfewhere than in Cyprus. i The arts there languifh more than agriculture; thofe cultivated are but few, and, with the exception of the preparation of the leather called Turkey leather or Morocco, there are fcarcel}' any that deferve atten- tion. This leather is prepared at Nicosia and in the neighbouring villages; the workmen pretend to be in poilefhon of a particular procefs, of which they make a fecret; what is certain, is, that the leather which has paffed through their hands is more lively and more brilliant in colour, and is, in general, better dreifed than in the other parts of Turkey, where, neverthelefs, it is very handfome. It is not only on leather that the workmen of Nicosia and of the en- virons know how to apply dyes equally brilliant and durable; they alfo manufacture there printed calicoes, the colours of which become brighter by wear and bleaching. Other cloths, half filk, half cotton, are likewile manufactured in the fame places; they are fine, but till agriculture and in- duftry have refumed fome activity, it will be difficult to introduce thofe articles into trade, on account of their price, which the too ihiall quan- tity of the raw materials renders too high. In TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 47 In return for thefe productions of nature and art, the Cypriots re- ceive woollen cloths, fattins, light fluffs, laces, fome of our metals, Ixdia fpices, commodities of our colonies, &c. &c. Thefe articles of the im- port-trade are not fo numerous as they would be, if the word of go- vernments had not Angularly weakened the population and refources of one of the fined countries of the East. CHAPTER 45 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER IV. Climate of the IJland of Cyprus. — Caufe of the great drought which prevails there. — France threatened nith the fame ills by the defruBion of her forejis. — Inhabitants of the if and, — Mount Olympus. — Fama- gufta. — Salamis. — Nicofia. — Larnica. — Citium. — The Salterns. — Limaffol. — Cape de' Gatti. — Paphos. — Cerines. — Numerous changes in the government of the If and of Cyprus. 1 HE nature of the productions of the Ifland of Cyprus would fuffici- ently indicate the nature of its climate, if its vicinity to Syria, one of the hotteft countries in the world, was not fufticient to convey an idea of it. In the fummer, the heat felt there is, indeed, exceffive; but it is not equal in every part of the ifland, which, being interfered, from 'eaft to weft, by a chain of mountains, affords two different regions as well as two different temperatures. To the north, the winds that blow from the high mountains of Carajiania, checked and repelled by thofe with which the ifland is crofted in its length, temper the heat of the fummer, produce piercing colds during the winter, and preferve frozen fnow on the moft lofty fpots, during the greater part of the year. This northern region is alfo, generally fpeaking, the moft hilly, the moft wooded, the moft rural, and the leaft fertile. In the plains of the fouth, on the contrary, the heat of the fun, re- flected by the fhelves of rocks, which, in a great meafure, form on this fide the back of the mountains, there expands at full liberty. The north winds not being able to clear the natural barrier which the middle of 1 the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 49 1 the ifland oppofes to them, cool not the atmofphere ; and, did there not fpring up, from time to time, a light fea-breeze which moderates the heat, it would be infupportable in certain days of the fiunmer. Rain here is alfo very rare in this feafon, and long and cruel droughts fome- times banifh an agreeable verdure, deftroy the plants, attract clofe and numberlefs columns of grafshoppers, and place frightful Scarcity on Aridity's bard and burning throne. The irrigation of. the lands, neg- lected by men, as laborious perhaps as formerly, but depreffed and dif- heartened, can no longer moiften fields parched up ; while, in fome diftricls, ftagnant and ufelefs -waters render them an unwholefome abode. Running ftreams are fcarce, and the greater part of the rivers which flow here are only torrents formed by the winter rains and the melting of the ihow on the mountains, and whofe bed is dry during warm weather. This diynefs of the earth and of the atmofphere continues daily to in- creafe, in proportion as the plantations become more fcarce, as the num- ber of the trees diminiihes, and as the forefts are felled. A culpable want of forefight refpecling the fucceffive decay of a happy fertility, is by no means aftoniihins; under the deftructive adminiftration of the Turks; but that, in countries where public economy is a fcience culti- vated and thoroughly underftood, the fame diforders which pollute ter- ritories fubjecled to barbarians, ihould be propagated and maintained, is that which we have fome difficulty to conceive, and which excites indig- nation. The ancients confecrated forefts to the Divinity; reipect conir K4%nded that thefe ihould be fpared, and it was not without religious cir- cumfpeelion that they carried thither the hatchet. To a protecting my- thology has fucceeded the excefs of luxury and diforder. Woods, which our aneeftors had chofen for temples, facred oaks, under whofe made they had erected altars, fimple as nature, have been overthrown : the fa- crilegious axe has not fpared the afylum of ancient piety, nor the fertile H refources 50 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Tefources of fucceeding ages. Naked and frowning rocks fhew them- felves on the brow of the mountains, which, not long fince, vigorous vegetation decorated with the fined trees; the flopes affording more faci- lity to devastation, are almofl entirely ftripped ; the folitary trees, which, in our fields, ferved as natural and immutable boundaries as well as for ihelter to our flocks, have likewife fallen victims of licentroufnefs ; every where the property of our pofterity has become the prey of culpable and faithlefs truftees ; and the moil interesting part of our national wealth has. feemed to be governed only by the laws of cupidity and plunder : already have the rains wafhed down into the plains part of the earth which co- vered the fummit of the mountains, the hills are finking, the vallies are rifing, the fprings are growing dry, the bed of the rivers is filling up, the fields are becoming parched ; and if a repairing government does not take wife but fpeedy meafures, we fliall have to tranfmit to pofterity no- thing but a fum of misfortunes ever-increafing; and the foil of France would run the rifle of fharing the aridity with which a detestable admini- ftration has ftruck that of the Ifland of Cyprus. The Greeks who inhabit it are tall and well made; their counte- nance and their manners are equally noble and agreeable. But their moral character is not thought to correfpond with thefe external good qualities. They are faid to be the moft cunning and moft knaviih of all the Greeks ; we fliould be tempted to ceafe to pity them for the opprefilon under which they groan, if we did not know that difilmulation and this fort of obliquity of chara&er are frequently fymptoms of weaknefs, and the companions of flavery; and if, on the other hand, thefe fame men did not fometimes make us forget their faults by their virtues, and, particularly, by thofe of hofpitality, which they exercife in a moft gene- rous manner. The Cypriot is gay, and a great friend tofhow and pleafure; he is not the only flave that we have feen dance in his fetters. It TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 51. It may well be expected that beauty ought to mine, with all its luftre, in the fpot chofen by Venus, for eftablifhing her fweet empire, and the worlhip of the Graces and Pleafures. The women of Cyprus were for- merly celebrated for their charms ; they ftill preferve them ; nor have they even loft the remembrance that their iiland was confecrated to love. The-fe beautiful women are very choice in their attire; they are exceffively fond of flowers, as the moft natural and moft elegant accompaniment of their attractions ; they do not diifemble their wifli to pleafe, but they manifeft it with an amiable franknefs. Although in the enjoyment, per- haps, of lefs liberty than formerly, the reftricfion to which cuftom, or, to fpeak more correctly, the caprices of men fubject them, does not amount to conftraint; and at leaft they no longer compofe the difgrace- ful tribute which their anceftors paid to the queens of Persia, of fifty among them, whofe duty, in a haughty and defpotic court, confifted in throwing themfelves between the wheels of the cars, and in prefenting their back to the queen, who made ufe of it as a footftool. The moft elevated, as well as the moft remarkable of the mountains, the chain of which divides the Iiland of Cyprus lengthwife, is Mount Olympus. The Greeks of the prefent day call it Teogodos, Trobodos, or Trobos. In order to diftinguifh it from another mountain of the fame name in Natolia, and from another more famous in Macedonia, the ancients gave this the name of Little Olympus. On its fummit they had built a temple dedicated to Venus, the entrance of which, by a regu- lation very ftrange for a fpot confecrated to the goddefs of Love, was prohibited to women; they were even forbidden to look at it. To this temple, an elegant and facred recefs, where were celebrated the enjoy- ments of nature, had fueceeded retreats erected for privations. Num- bers of convents were built on the fame ground. There, laborious ceno- bites embellimed the Hope of the mountain with gardens, and planta- H 2 tions 52 TRAVELS IN T GREECE AND TURKEY*. tions of all forts, laid out with tafte ; this was the mod charming abode in the ifland, and the rich Cypriote went thither, during thefummer, to enjoy the coolnefs of agreeable groves, watered by limpid ftreams, directed with con fider able art. Infenfible to a happy harmony of nature and induftry, the Turk has carried his ferocity and ravages into this beautiful diftricT: ; the monasteries have been demolilhed; and cool and cheerful fpots have been clothed with the rugged garb of Sterility - The Ifland of Cyprus is about feventy leagues in length from eaft to weft; its greateft breadth from north to fouth is thirty leagues; and its circumference is nearly one hundred and eighty. In coafting its fouth fhore, the lands of the long point of Cape Sant Andrea, formerly Cape Dinarete, is found a large gnlf, formed by this cape and Cape Greco, which the ancients called Throni, and on which Ptolemy places a town of the fame name. At the bottom of this gulf is the town of Fama- gusta, a modern name, refpecting the etymology of which the learned, are not agreed ; but they pretty generally admit that this town is built on the ruins of the ancient Arsinoe, which took its name from its founder, the After of Ptolemy Philadelphia, king of Egypt. Situated in a bottom, Famagusta is not perceived at a diftance, on arriving thither from the fea : its harbour is fafe, but by no means fpacious, and it is half choked up; fmall veflels alone can enter it, and large ihips anchor Avithout. Some fortifications, the work of Lusignan, of the Genoefe, and of the Venetians, who have fucceffively had poffeffion of them, defend the harbour and the enclofure of the town, as much as they can ferve for defence in their prefent ftate of degradation, the effect of the negligence of the Turks, who know only how to deftroj r , but never repair. Thefe ramparts recall to mind a deplorable anecdote of the moft atrocious violation of the law of nations and of war; it may ferve to convey an idea of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 53 of the character and of the civilization of a people in whofe eyes heroifm and courageous fidelity to our duties are crimes, and whofe profound cruelty fports with promifes the moft folemn, and conventions the moft facred. At Famagusta, the tears of the man of feeling water the fpot where Marco Antonio Bragadino defended that town with fo much valour againft the army of the Turks, commanded by Mustapha, general of the emperor Selim, and he fhudders with indignation at the recital of the moft execrable treachery of which that brave European died a viftimv 4 After having fuitained fix aflaults againft the united Ottoman forces, and experienced the ravages of five hundred thoufand ihells, the valiant Bragadino,. commander of the Venetian army, being forced to yield to . numbers, capitulated on the firft of Auguft 1571. The conditions were fettled ; they were honourable to the befieged, and worthy of their long and brave refiftance ; but, at the moment when the European general went to Mustapha's tent,, in order to announce to him his departure and take leave of him, the barbarian caufed him to be feized and delivered up to the moft cruel tortures. He was ikinnecl alive, then empaled ; and his fkin, fluffed with ftraw, was hung to the yard-arm of a galley, as an eter- nal teftimony of the horrible inhumanity of the Turks, and a fignal of vengeance to- civilized nations.. "fc>* We haften to quit a fpot witnefs of fo dreadful an aft of cruelty, and we enter, Avith pleafure, into a plain which extends to the eaft, or rather to the north-eaft of Famagusta, fituated at the extremity of this plain, towards the fea. There, was the ancient kingdom of Sa la mis, founded by Teucer, companion to Ajax, who, on this ground, built a town which he called Salamis, from the name of the ifland where he was born *. 64 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. born*. Some ruins announce, in an uncertain manner, the fite of this ancient town, as the culture and fecundity of the plain, which is ftill the beft diftrict. in the ifland, faintly atteft what thefe formerly were. About twenty leagues to the north-eaft of Famacusta, in the middle of a vait plain and in the centre of the iiland, ftands Nicosia, which is its capital. This is now the refidence of the governor, as it was for- merly of the kings of Cvpucs. Their palaces, remarkable for the beauty of the architecture, experience the fate common to all the ancient edi- fices of which the Turks have made themfelves mafters, and which they abandon to deftruction. The fuperb church of Santa Sofia, in which the Chriftian kings were crowned, has been degraded, in order to be converted into a mofque ; and the habitation of thole fovereigns, partly demolifhed, and rebuilt in the eaitern tafte, is the refidence of the mofelem or governor. The fituation of this town is agreeable ; ftreams are here abundant ; and it is furrounded by fine gardens ; its foil is excellent, and waits only for the hands of freemen to refume the afpecl of profperity of which it is iufceptible. If we continue to follow the fouth coaft, we meet with another gulf, fpacious indeed, yet lefs fo than that of Famagusta. Ships there find the fine road of Larnica, the moft frequented of the ifland. The town whofe name it bears is at fome diftance from the fea. There it is that the confuls and merchants of European nations fix their refidence, and, within thefe few years, trade was ftill carried on there with fome degree of activity. But, as if the Turk could leave no place without ftamping on it * •* Nil defptrandum Teucro dues, etaufpice Tcutrt, " Certus inim premijit Apollo, " Ambigvam ullurt nerja Salamina futuram." Hon. lib,i. ea. 7. i the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 55 the impreffion of his difaftrous government, the environs of Larnica no longer correfpond with the ftill flourifliing ftate of its commerce. With the exception of the gardens, which adjoin to the town itfelf, and into which induflry has found means to conduct fertilizing waters, the circum- jacent fields are arid ; their foil is poor and dried up ; a few trees, fcattered and infulated, fcarcely leave them the femblance of vegetation ; barley alone grows there in fome favoured diftricts, and there is, every where, a want of water. Accordingly Larnica is not a healthful abode ; one is there expofed to a fuffocating heat. Yet forefts of olive-trees formerly covered thofe plains, at this day almoft barren ; and, as I have already mentioned, there are ftill to be feen in the environs immenfe citterns, intended for preferving the oil that they yielded. Very near Larnica was Citium, now Chiti, a celebrated town of antiquity. It was a colony of Phoenicians. Here was born the philo- fopher Zeno, and here died Cymon, general of the Athenians. It is impoffible to dig the ground in the environs of Larntca, without meet- ing with the remains of the ancient town ; but the fufpicious Turk, ima- gining that all the refearches of fcience or of curioiity have no other object than the difcovery of fome heap of buried gold, watches them with continual attention, and makes of them a fubjecl of extortions ; fo that the antiquary very feldom dares to dig for the objects of his purfuit, and the riches which the earth conceals remain buried there with the knowledge which hiftory and the arts M'ould thence obtain, till the time when the heavy yoke of the Turks mail ceafe to pollute and defaee countries formerly fo brilliant. The hamlet of the Salterns is but half a league from Larnica. It has obtained its name from a large lake near the fea, at this day half-choked and 66 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. up, and wherein is formed fait, which is ftill an article of trade. In the fine roadftead of the Salterns, the veifels laden for the capital of the ifland, and the fhips of war deftined to protect them, come to an anchor. At this place the merchants of Larnica have their ftorehoufes. LuiAssor., formerly Nemosia, is now hut a miferable city, fnll of ruins arid rubbilh. Its harbour is, nevcrthelefs, ■ not a little frequented; here veffels load with grain, cotton, and other productions of the earth. The heft wines are made in its environs, and it is the emporium of all .thofe of the ifland who are concerned in trade. Not far from this town, if, however, Limassol deferve that appellation, flood the ancient Limassol, which, ftill more anciently, was called -Ama- thus, celebrated for a temple confecrated to Venus and Adonis, and in Mhich, according to Pausanias, was preferved a rich necklace of pre- cious flones, ornamented with gold, the work of Vulcan, and given in the firft inftance to Hermione*. But this ancient town is deftroyed ; like Paphos, Cythera, the charming Idalium, and other places which the Graces embellifhed, it is effaced from the foil of the Ifland of Cyprus ; and, in lieu of the fweet and finding images which it prefented, it now excites nothing but regret and painful recollections. Near Limassol, and to the eafl of it, is the moft fouthern promontory of the ifland ; it is a fmall peninfula, which is connected to the continent only by a very narrow tongue of land ; it was formerly named the promon- tory of Agrotiri ; at prefent it is called Cape de' Gatti, on account of the great number of cats kept by the monks, who, in the fourth century, obtained permifhon to eftablifh themfelves there, as well as on Mount Olympus, on condition of keeping a great many of thofe animals for hunt- * Liv. ix. — Voyage dt la Biotie, vol. ii. page 316. mg TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 57 ing fnakes which had multiplied in the ifland to a frightful pitch, and which, it is afferted, have no greater enemies than cats. After doubling Cape de Gatti, the coaft trends to the north-weft, and, at the head of a fmall cove, lies a very indifferent harbour, which affords but an infecure fhelter ; the bottom is thickly ftrewn with rocks, by which the cables of veffels would foon be cut, if the precaution were not taken to buoy them up, by means of empty, floating cafks. Here flood Paphos, where Venus landed after her birth in the midft of the waters. An ancient temple had been conftru&ed in honour of her; here doves were flying about inceffantly and built their nefts ; no victim's blood ftained her altars ; fuch facrifices would have difgufted the goddefs of Love ; in her worfhip there was nothing but what was mild, and the numerous offerings which were brought thither, from all quarters, did not afflict humanity. In this temple, a celebrated oracle pronounced on the deftinies of men, and its high priefthood was an eminent dignity. The number of ftrangers that the worfhip of Venus brought to Paphos, the concourfe of the inhabitants of the ifland, the beauty of its lituation and of its edifices, the enchanting afpeel; of its plains, and the freedom which there reigned, had rendered it the feat of pleafure and delight. So many charms are at this day replaced by ruins, a village, a pitiful caftle, fome paltry houfes, a few mean Greek churches, wretchednefs, and the harfh name of Baffa, or Baffo. On the north coaft of the ifland, there is no place particularly remark- able, if we except Cerines, the ancient Czraunia ; like Paphos, it exhibits nothing but ruins, as a teftimony of its paft grandeur. A har- bour, equally bad, ferves only for the trade of the ifland with Carama- nia, whofe mountains are perceived from the heights of Cerines. The communication between this harbour and the port of Selepski, whofe name i recalls 58 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. recalls to mind that of Seleucia in Cilicia, is frequent; in order to render it more fo, there are two packets folely deftined for this ihort navigation, which, neverthelefs, was profitable, and which was in the hands of the French. Such, in a few words, is the geographical defcription of an ifland, which, in former times, divided into nine kingdoms, paffed fucceffively under the domination of the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, the Perfians, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Europeans of the West, and the Arabs. The crufades rendered it the appendage of fome princes of Europe, who gave it up to the Venetians. Sultan Selim matched it from them in 1570; and, fince that epoch, it has made a part of the Ottoman empire, in order to be again fevered from it, and expofed to frefh viciffitudes, infeparable from human inftitutions. Nothing is flable in Nature but Nature herfelf ; and the more men deviate from her by the excefs of civilization, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, the more are focial forms fubje<5l to vary, and expofed to innovations. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. $§ CHAPTER V. Piftare of the prefent Jituation of the IJIdnd of Cyprus. — Gal6ode aran£- oide, an enormous Jpider of a very dangerous nature. — The conqueji of the Ifland of Cyprus xvould hone Jingularly favoured that of Egypt. IT is not only in regard to the productions of the foil, that Nature is counteracted in the Ifland of Cyprus, and that her bounties are difa- vowed and rejected. The rigours of an oppreflive domination have flied their baneful influence over fields, arts, and men. Every day we fee commerce fail, induftry decay, lands dry up, and agriculture become impoverilhed. Vallies, once fliaded by ufeful or agreeable trees, which culture enriched with harvefts of every fpecies, or adorned with verdure or flowers, now remain uncultivated, and over-run with brambles and other ftubborn, meagre, and ufelefs plants. One may travel whole days in plains deferted and abandoned to that mournful and pernicious fecun- dity, which, on lands impatient to produce, is flerility's cbnftant compa- nion ; iu factitious waftes, the gloomy and fatal effect of the power of the evil-minded, where the traveller would think himfelf buried in vaft folitudes, did he not, here and there, perceive ftraggling flocks and fcat- tered habitations. Every day too we fee population, which increafes and fettles only where are to be found abundance of provifions, activity of trade and of manufactures, and juftice on the part of the government, diminim in a perceptible manner ; and men quit a defolated country, and, for the moft part, feek fpots lefs difturbed, abodes lefs unhappy. I 5 The 6*0 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The animals which conftitute the wealth or the pleafures of man, are here lefs numerous and of a breed lefs handfome than formerly. The affluence of the owners imparts to domeftic animals the qualities which make them valuable ; on the contrary, they degenerate, when they no longer have any thing to ihare with their mailers but a painful and un- comfortable exiftence. And, indeed, there are now fcarcely to be feen here any of thofe horfes of diftinguifhed race, defcendants of the courfers of Arabia, and no lefs famous for their vigour than their fleetnefs, nor any of thofe beautiful greyhounds renowned for their ardour and their addrefs in the chace. Both thefe are no ionger to be found except in a few families, which ftill preferve the remains of their ancient opulence. Cattle are not to be feen here in plenty, as in former times ; nor do flocks of iheep with broad and trailing tails, or of goats, whofe hair ferved for making fine camlets, now repair, in fuch great numbers, to the declivity of hills clothed with fucculent herbs ; nor do they now fo much enliven folitary fpots, where they feed in full tranquillity, and which Nature feems to have intended for the fimple and pure charms of paftoral life. The filk-worm, deprived of part of its food, in half-ruined plantations of mulberry-trees, now no more multiplies with fo much profufion ; and families of kermes, rivals of the cochineal infect, fcarcely any longer furniih colouring fuhftance to our manufactories. Game is alfo lefs com- mon, and birds of paffage come not now, in fuch considerable flights, to alight on lands, which afford them not the fame fhelter, nor the fame abundance. The fea even ceafes to furniih fo many refources to the inha- bitants of the ifland ; not that a destructive power has been able to pene- trate into the very bofom of the waters : thofe which bathe the coafts are ftill extremely full of fim ; but hands and activity are wanting for the fifhery, as well as for the other branches of indultry and commerce. 1 If TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 61 If every thing that is good and ufeful has fuffered and decayed in Cyprus, every thing that is of no value or mifchievous has there prof- pered. Snakes, which delight in thickets or under rubbifh, there propa- gate at their eafe, and it will foon. be neceffary again to have recourfe to cats in order to clear the fields of them. Hurtful and hideous infects increafe and freely elaborate their venom under the damp and warm made of the ruins ; tarantula:, with a black and hairy body and yellow and bril- liant eyes, are not here uncommon ; and here is alfo to be met with, though but very feldom indeed, that frightful fpider, whofe afpect alone terrifies, whofe venom ftrikes with death whomfoever it reaches, whofe natural hiftory, in ihort, is yet little known. The firft thing to be done, when we mean to fpeak of an animal of which fome naturalifts have already made mention, is to unravel its nomenclature ; and, indeed, this is a talk very ungracious, very minute, and which can pleafe none but contracted and pedantic minds. Although few authors have written on the ugly and dangerous infect in queftion, each of them has impofed on it a different denomination, the mod certain mean of their never coming to a right underftanding with each other. Amid this confufion and this continual and arbitrary . fubftitution of names*, I mall fix on that of go.Uode, which Olivier, a celebrated naturalift and traveller, has given to this fpecies of fpider, in order to dif- tinguifh it from the other fpecies, from which it is, in fact, very different f; * M. Pallas has called this fpider, Phalangium araneoides (Spicil. Zeol. fafcicul. 9, page 37, tab. in, fig. 7, 8, and 9). M. Fabricius, from Lichtenstein, another foreign naturalift, has given it the name of folpuga araneoides. ( Supplement Entomol. page 294). This fame deno- mination of folpuga has been adopted, with the epithet arachnodes, by M. Herbst, known principally by a good work on cruftaceous animals, in a very extenfive Memoir, which he has recently publiftied at Berlin on this fubjedt (page 37, tab. i, fig. 2). •J- Caleode araneoide, (Encyclop. Method. Hi/}. Nat, des lnfeiles). this 62 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. this is a deference due to an 'eftimable man of learning, and at the fame time a fervice to the fcierice of Nature, Avhich, if we ehofe to believe fome people, more attached to words than to things, would foon be nothing more than the barren knowledge of arbitrary names, and phrafes equally dry and insignificant. The notions that the ancients have tranfmitted to us reflecting the various animals with which they were acquainted, and particularly infects, are, generally fpeaking, too vague and too incomplete for us to be ena- bled to affign with certainty to what animal each of them belongs. It appears to me a rather bold conjecture, to decide with M. Herbst*, that the frightful fpider or the Yeode of the Levant (See Flute III). is the infecT: which the Greek and Latin authors have named fphalangium y phalangium, folifuga, folpuga, tetragnathium, and mus araneus. Indeed, thofe authors have given to feveral fpecies of fpiders t the name of '/phalan- gium or phalangium, which modern naturalifts have referved for the fpiders alone with long legs, with the head confounded with the corfelet, and of which a very common fpecies is the faucheur of our countries. Neither does the folfuga or folpuga appear to me to be the galeode ; the literal Signification of this name is fun-fiunncr, and it has been equally applied to a fpecies of ant and to a fpecies of fpider ; but the folfuga fpider is an infect extremely fmall (animal perexiguum), which is fre- quently found in Sardinia, in the filver-mines, which creeps into the dark, and whofe bite is venemous^: now, the gaUode is not a very fmall infect, it avoids not the broad day, and is not found, or at leaft no one has faid that it was found, in the Ifland of Sardinia. It is fcarcely morepof- * Memoir before quoted, f CEtius and others have applied the name of phalangia to fix fpecies of fpiders. t Sounus, according to Pliny, PolythiJ}. cap.ix. S fible TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 6s lible to recognize it in the account which Pliny has left us of the tetragnathium or fpider with four jaws, and which that naturalift divides into two fpecies; the one, and this is the moft dangerous, having on the middle of the head two white lines; and the other, whofe movement is flower, having the body cinereous and whitiih at its extremity*. As for the mus araneus, or the fpider-rat of the ancient naturalifts, it is defcribed in their writings, as a quadruped, in fuch a manner as not to be miftaken: this is the fpider-rat, an animal well known, and which the ancients may have eafdy obferved; whereas it is not certain that they have had a knowledge of the galeode; an infect fortunately very feldom found in the warmeft regions of Europe and Asia. I have taken the liberty of making thefe critical remarks only to lhew, that, according to every appearance, the galeode was unknown to the ancients; and to give a frefh proof of the difficulty of adapting, with precifion, the greater part of the notes fcattered in their works, to the animals whofe hiftory we are now writing. However it may be with refpect to thefe probabilities, in inquiring into which we lofe much time, while we run the riik of being bewildered, faithful to the plan which I have marked out for myfelf, to collect obfervations and fafts, before I reafon on the origin of denominations, and lofe myfelf in vague conjec- tures, I ihall give, in a few words, the defcription of the galeode arane- o'ide, or fcorpion-fpider, which I had an opportunity of obferving in the Levant, and report what is known refpecting this mifchievous infect. Some very prominent characters approximate it to the phalangium ; its head is, in like manner, confounded with the corfelet, and the piece of * Pun. Hift. Nat lib. xxix. cap. iv. which 64 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. which they are compofed is nearly in the form of a truncated cone, whole bafe is placed in front, and ferves as an anterior border: in the middle of this border is a blackifh tubercle with two eyes, which appeared to me to befacetwife; between them, and in front, are remarked two other little tubercles, which might alfo be taken for eyes ; however, I do not ima- gine that they are really fo, but I confider them rather as peduncles of eye-laihes or thick hairs, fome of which, feen through the magnifier, ap- peared truncated and tubular. To this piece, which fupplies the place of head and corfelet, are attached the organs of nutrition, and two pairs of arms or antennuke. Two enor- mous jaws, which the modern French entomologifts call mandibules, at firft ftrike the eye; they are larger than the piece itfelf, or the head, in front of -which they are fixed ; their form is conical ; they adhere to each other by their inner fide; they are hairy, entire, and not bent like thofe of the faucheur ; each of thefe jaws is terminated by two brown nippers, fcaly, notched underneath, ending in a point, bowed in a contrary direction, and croffing each other at their extremity. I ex- amined them both with a lens of great power, and I difcovered no open- ing that could ferve as a drain for a poifonous liquor, as is perceived in the claws of fpiders. It is nevertheless very certain that this infect is venemous to an excefs, which leads us to prefume that the holes through which its venom is emitted, are extremely fmall, and at the fame time that the poifon which exudes from them, is of an extremely active nature, fince the very minute portion which can flow from an imperceptible open- ing, is Sufficient to occafion death. At the origin of the nippers, and underneath them, iffues a fmall fcaly, cylindrical net, terminated in a point, thrown back, and laid on the top of the Support of the nippers or on the mandible; I am fpeaking only TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 65 only of the individual which I more particularly obferved; for I prefume that this appendage is no more than one of the diftinclive characters of the fex; underneath thefe fame mandibles, and in the interval that feparates them, is perceived a fmall body, which Fabricius calls a lip in the form of a fucker. This body appeared to me compofed of a little iliank, having at its extremity two cylindrical, hairy pieces, clofe to. each other. The two pairs of arms or antennulas are inferted in the lower part of this piece, which I have faid replaces, in the phalangia in general, and in the galeode in particular, the head and the corfelet; thefe arms are compofed of a feries of joints, almoft all cylindrical, befet with long hairs, fome even with teeth, and famioned much in the fame manner, except that the anterior arms are larger, and have, befides, at their ex- tremity, a fort of knob, or lhort and round joint, which, according to Olivier, ihould indicate a male. Before I pafs to the belly or the abdomen of the infect, I muft obferve that there exifts between it and the corfelet an intermediate piece, ferving as a fattening to four pairs of feet, which differ effentially from the arms, by their having, in addition, atarfus formed by two or three joints, and at the extremity of which are two toes, bent, long, and each pro- vided with a fmall brown, fcaly hook. The feet, reckoning from thofe which are the neareft to the arms, fucceffively increafe in fize; fo that the laft are very long. Thefe have, in other refpeels, a particularity very remarkable; on the lower fide of the part which, by comparifon with other animals, might be called the hip, are difcovered four lingular ap- pendages: thefe are membranous bodies, very thin, and tranfparent, formed by a fmall pedicle, which is furmounted by a piece almoft trian- gular, bent, and concave. A better comparifon cannot be made of thefe K appendages 66 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. appendages than to the half of a funnel, which has been cut in its: height; they approximate the galeodes to the fcorpions, which have, as is well known, two bodies in the form of a comb, placed near the hind feet. The abdomen is fixed to the piece which anfwers to the corfelet, not by a fhort pedicle, as in fpiders, but by its greateft tranfverfal diameter; it alfo differs from the abdomen of fpiders, from its having incifions or rings, whereas the coat of that of fpiders is whole and continuous. The galeode, whofe length is about an inch, has a body of a livid yel- low, and befet with long hairs, and even with prickly ones in feveral places. It runs with prodigious fwiftnefs, and thus more eafily efcapes its deftruc- tion, in which mankind are interefted, its bite being very dangerous, as I have already mentioned, and its venom very fubtle. The parts which are attacked by it fwell in an inftant, and occafion exceuive pain, fol- lowed by certain death, if proper remedies be not fpeedily employed. Thofe which are moft effectual, are oil, as a topical application, together with cordials and fudorifics, taken internally. The galeode aranedide, or fcorpion-fpider, is met with in feveral parts of the Levant, in Arabia, in Syria, in Persia, in Asia Minor, and even in the country comprifed between the Don and the Volga, in the environs of the Caspian Sea, and whofe temperature is much warmer than might be expected, in fuch northerly regions. Thefe filthy infects are there becoming more and more common; M. Pallas faw two of them in a houfe which he occupied at Zarizyn, and he Avas informed that feveral had been killed in the habitation of the commandant of that fortrefs, during the flay that he made there. However, there was only one perfon who was bitten by it, but he was faved by the timely affift- ance TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 67 ance given him, and he experienced no other bad confequences than a large fwelling and fome fharp pains*. The Arabs, who are acquainted with no remedy for the bite of this infect, dread it extremely. It is undoubtedly almoft needlefs to mention that an animal, or rather a four-footed monfter, of the fize of a horfe, and, in other refpecls, fimi- lar to a fnake, the laminga, which Dapper, according to another au- thor equally credulous, affirms to exift on Mount Olympus, and to de- vour men, is only an imaginary being, engendered by impofture and credulity. The Ifland of Cyprus is afflicted with a fufficient number of real ills, without our endeavouring to increafe them by imaginary fcourges. 'e> v But the greater part, as well as the moft confiderable, of thefe ills, are vices and diforders of the adminiftration : fhould the Ifland of Cyprus ceafe to be a prey to the violence and grofs incapacity of the govern- ment which tears it to pieces ; fhould repairing hands come thither to fecond the efforts of Nature, who has done fo much for this interefling ifland, the fplendour with which it formerly fhone, and its ancient profperity, would revive, and it would ftill be again found one of the richeft and moft agreeable countries in the world. And had circumftances allowed, had it been poffible to obtain the con- fent of the Porte, or could it have been forefeen that refpect for that reftlefs, fufpicious power, led away by the infinuations of the enemies of France, could have ferved only to excite its refentment, the conqueft of the Ifland of Cyprus ought, perhaps, to have preceded that of * Travels of M. P. S Pallas in different provinces of the empire of Russia, and in nor- thern Asia, tranflated by Gauthier de la Peyronb'e, 5 vol. 4W. page 313. k2 JEgypt. 68 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Egvpt. The French would there have found abundant means of fub- fiftenee, and in the Greeks, by 'whom it is inhabited, zealous partifans, friends who would have welcomed and affifted them, inftead of barba- rians whom it was neceffary to fight and flaughter; no obftacle would have oppofed the landing of the army; the fortified places which are there to be found are difmantled, and fo deftitute of troops and military ftores, that they could not have made any refiftance. Numerous har- bours, which it would have been eafy to put into a refpectable ftate of defence, would have preferved the fleet fecure from all attack; ihips, cruifing in the fea of Stria, would have blocked up all its ports; and when the moment mould have been thought favourable, thefe fame ihips would, in a very little time, have conveyed to the coaft of Egypt, an army already accuftomed to the heat of the climate, and reinforced by Cypriots*. The debarkation being effected, the fleet would have aban- doned the dangerous ibores of Alexandria, and regained the roads of Cvprus. An eafy, quick, and continual communication, which it would fcarcely have been pofiible for the enemy to intercept, would have been eftablifhed between the two colonies ; the ifland would have fur- nifhed the continent with provifions, other fupplies, and particularly wood, in which Egypt is deficient: the fmall number of ufeful trees which adorn and cool the plains of this latter country, would not have been facrificed to the wants of the army, and to military erections ; the enemy would not have had the facility of eftabliibing himfelf at St. Jean d'Acre; defeents would have been effected, as it were, on every point of the coaft of Syria; the defert which feparates it from Egypt would not have coft the lives of many brave men in marches ex- ceflively laborious, acrofs arid and burning plains which there is no drop '» The Ifland of Cyprus is fcarcely feventy leagues from Alexandria, and the current carries veflels thither very rapidly. Of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. '69 of water to moiSten; in Short, to the glory of breaking the chains of two nations, oppreSTed and degraded by ages of Slavery, we Should have added the happinefs of reftoring to liberty, and to their former profperity, a people who are not unworthy of thofe bleffmgs, and whole gratitude would have been manifested towards their deliverers, by every fort of aSuftance and every act of devotion. The refources which the poffenaon of the Island of Cyprus would have afforded for the conq«eft of Egypt, would have extended to its preferva- vation; they would have fecured and confolidated the acquisition of a country, -which, from its pofition, is the key and the emporium of the commerce of three parts of the world, and of which the Roman empe- rors, who were acquainted with its importance, were fo jealous, that they Strictly forbad the entrance of it to fenators and generals who had not ob- tained their exprefs permiffion for that purpofe, from an apprehenfion that the prodigious fecundity and the delights of that beautiful and rich coun- try might lead them to attempt ufurpation. This plan of an expedition, however brilliant, however advantageous it may appear, was not practicable, no doubt, fince it was not adopted ; it- could not indeed efcape the penetrating eye and the profound combina- tions of that man of genius who certainly perceived, in its execution, obstacles fufficiently powerful for rejecting it; in fact, it could not but have been pleating to him to emancipate from the moft tyrannical op- preflion, and to reftore to its ancient. State of fplendour, a country to which its flourishing fituation had occafioned to be given the epithet happy, the juft application of which is fo valuable and fo rare; and we muft fuppofe that political considerations of great weight oppofed this more extenSive development of the views which directed the expedition to Egypt. 5 However, 70 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. However, and it is fufficiently manifeft, the ideas which I have juft traced, the refult of my obfervations on the very places, and of my meditations, can have no merit but in the eyes of philofophy; and it is well known that philofophy is frequently at variance with political arrange- ments. Little accuftomed to the latter, I am fcarcely acquainted with any policy but that of humanity, the itudy of which has been eafy to me; I have found it in my heart But I rcfume the fequel of my narration. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. n CHAPTER VI. Captain of the polacre. — Goat- fucker. — Coaft of Caramania. — Caftel-Rofib. — Birds. — Currents. — Turkijh caravel. — Tui'kifh navy. — Efforts of the Turks for improving their navy. — Want of foreftght of France. — Bonito. — Danger incurred by the polacre.' — Put into Rhodes. — Gulf of Macri. ON the 19th of October, that is, the third clay after our departure from Alexandria, the wefterly wind, which blew directly in our teeth from the Ifland of Candia, whither we were bound, drove us out of our courfe, although it was not yet very violent, nor the fea very high. Our little veifel which failed rather ill, did not work much better; and from my converfations with the captain, I had no reafon to conceive a high idea of his fkill in navigation. He related to me, for inftance, as a very fimple event, that the preceding year he had loft, on the coaft of Sicily, the veffel, which he then commanded, becaufe, having made a miftake in his reckoning, he thought himfelf far from the land, at the very moment when fhe was caft away on it.- But his features changed, his voice flut- tered, and big tears, long-reftrained, fell from his eyes, and trickled down the wrinkles with which age had furrowed his face, when he fpoke to me of another accident, in the recollection of which he was wholly abforbed. A few years ago his only fon,. who failed with him in thefe fame feas of the Levant, had, in a heavy gale, been crufhed to death 1 under 7* TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. under his eyes, between the veffel and the boat. He was inconfolable at this lofs, and his head was really affected by it. This day there was taken, on the after-part of the velTel's deck, a goat- fucker, a bird which, notwithstanding its incapacity to fly far, and the weaknefs of its eyes, is not, on that account, the lefs a roving bird *. On the 20th, we began to difcover the coaft of Caramasia ; we were then toffed about by a very heavy fea, raifed by an impetuous and ftill con- trary wind. We continued to (land in for the land, in order to take advan- tage of the light breezes which blow thence during the night; for a veffel might ftruggle in the offing, a long time and in vain, againft the wefterly winds, common in thefe feas. However, this coaft of the part of Cara- mania, which anciently formed Pamphtlia, is fafe, according to the feamaffs phrafe; I mean that it is wafhed by deep waters, and that mips may range very clofely along it, without fear of running aground. It is, in general, elevated, arid, and much broken by numerous interfections; but behind this coaft, mountains, clothed with a gloomy green, announced that they are covered with wood. There, in fad, grow vaft forefts, an important refource for ihip-building, and which the Turks neglect or deftroy, as it were, for the fake of deftruclion. The moft eaftern cape of the Gulf of Satalia, anciently Attalia, from the name of Attalus Philadelphia, king of Pergamus, who had there founded a colony, lay ahead of our veffel ; we foon faw the little Ifland of Castel-Rosso, oppofite the promontory which bore the name • Engoulevent. Buffon, Hift. Nat. desOifeaux, et crapaud-volant des planches enluminees, No. 193, fig. 2. — Caprimulgus Europaus. Linn'. of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 73 of Sacred, and the mod advanced towards the fouth of this part of the coaft, from which it is fcarcely feparated. A very good harbour is there open to navigators ; but, within it, is a great depth of water, and veffels are obliged to anchor in fixty or eighty fathoms. On the fummit of the rock, which forms this ifland, is a fortified caftle; but nothing is to be feen there that has any reference to its prefent denomination ; nothing red appears there ; and we may prefume, with the learned Engliih traveller Pocock, that this is the ifland near which there was a road for shipping, and which Pliny calls Roge*, a denomination of which has been made, by corruption, in Italian Rosso, and Rouge in French |. A flock of little land-birds, whofe fpecies I could not diftinguhh, flam- med along the furface of the water, directing their courfe to the fouth, and, like fo many other travelling families of the fame clafs, proceeded to the warm plains of Egypt, in order to pafs there the winter. A confider- able flight of crows, likewife come from the lands of Cahamania, fol- lowed the fame direction, but flew at a greater height. We remarked, and this obfervation is well known to navigators who frequent thefe feas, that, along the coaft of Car a mania, the currents fet to the fouth-weft; their impulfe was favourable to us, and diminifhed the action of the wefterly wind, which did not quit us during the day. However, it.had loft much of its ftrength; from the morning of the £2d the fea had fallen, and the different afpects of the land, which our con- tinual change of fituation rendered very diverfified, made of our voyage an agreeable excurfion. Towards the fea, we alfo had objects which in- • Lib. viii. cap. xxxv. f Pocock's Travels, book iv. chap. i. l terrupted 74 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. temipted its tireibme famenefs : fome veffels were failing near ours, and in the midft of them rofe, like a floating mountain, a caravel belonging to the Grand Signior : thus are called the fhips of war of the Turkiih navy; their elevation above the water is exeeffive; their ftern is, befides, of a difproportionate height. This flructure, which gives great hold to the wind even on the hull of the veffel, occafions her to be difficult to manage, and expofes her to make confiderable lee-way, as well as to all the violence of the mocks of a heavy fea: in an action, the enemy's fhot find a greater furface to ftrike ; the veffel is a heavy failer, and not fure in flays; added to this, the rigging is incomplete and confounded; the artillery, entirely of brafs, is compofed of pieces of different calibres, which makes it tedious and difficult to ferve them, and the gun-decks, being always lumbered, likewife clog a fervice, which the difference of the weight of metal neceffarily renders confufed. From fuch great de- fects in the conflrucuon and rigging of the Turkiih men of war, and even the nature of the wood with which they are built, it is eafy to remark the infancy or rather the barbarifni of navigation. And the men who conduct thefe fhapelefs maffes, are alfo the moft ignorant in the world. There are few among them who are familiarly ac- quainted with the ufe of the compafs, who know how to find and mark their route on a chart, who are capable of obferving the altitude of the fun above the horizon, when it paffes the meridian, in order to afcertain the latitude; nor is there one who has any idea of geography. It may be remembered that, in the courfe of the lafl war between the Ruffians and the Turks, it was impoffible to perfuade the latter that the Ruffian fleets could reach Constantinople, by another route than by the Black Sea. In vain was pointed out to them on the chart the route which brought fhips from the Baltic into the Archipelago; the divan, in which TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 76 which fat the high admiral himfelf, perfifted in confidering the thing as impracticable; and it was not till the enemy's fleet arrived in the feas of Turkey, that the poffibility of this voyage began to obtain credit. Accordingly fhipwrecks, accidents of every fort, frequently happen in the very confined courfe of voyages fo ill-directed ; and if fome of the mariners difplay more capacity or experience, thefe are not Turks; they are natives of Barbary or Greeks. The latter furnifh all the pilots to the Ottoman navy, and, among the modern Greeks, are difcovered the defcendants of thofe who were the matters of the Romans in the art of navigation. But, whatever may be their difpofitions, and even their long and ancient practice in the carrying-trade, they can by no means be confidered as fkilful feamen, and they are deficient in inftruction, without which it is impoffible to become fo. Yet to their hands were intrufted almoft all the merchant-fhips belong- ing to the Turks ; and the latter had no great confidence in them ; inde- pendently of the fear with which they were infpired by the Maltefe arma- ments, they almoft always preferred loading their goods on board European veffels; the government itfelf alfo gave a preference to foreign fhipping, particularly in regard to fupplying the capital with provifions, an object on which the miniftry have always had their eyes, becaufe when it happens to fail, infurrections and misfortunes fpread in a tumultuous and fre- quently-agitated city. However, the Turks, inftructed by the ill fortune of a war difaftrous to their navy, made, within thefe few years, fome efforts for extricating it from its rude infancy ; in dock-yards, under the direction of fkilful French builders, drier and founder wood was employed in conftrucling mips on a l 2 more 76' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. more advantageous fcale. The court of Versailles made a prefent to that of Constantinople of a fhip of the line and offeveral frigates, with the ufe of which, in fleets, the Turks were unacquainted: while French engineers eftahliiLed fchools of navigation and cannon-founderies. Suc-h policy could originate only in improvident minds ; the very tlouriihing trade, which enriched the French in the Levant, had no other balls than the ignorance and pufillanimity of the Turks: by inftructing them to difpenfe with foreign aid, to afcend to the rank of enlightened nation-;, was to teach them to do without us; it was to pave the way to the ruin of our commerce, and to prepare for us a formidable enemy in a people who, till then, had nothing to oppofe to us but weaknefs and inexperience. The rage for fetting ourfelves up as inftructors to foreign nations, a rage fpecious from an appearance of greatnefs and generofity, and which, in reality, is but the fruit of a falfe philofophy and of erroneous combinations, has frequently become fatal to us; and to go no farther than the example with which the Ottomans furnifh us of this truth, can it be fuppofed that, at the prefent day, they would have ventured to declare againft us a mari- time war, in which they difplay remarkable activity, had they not been inftrucled, in our own fchool, in the art of fighting us? It is to our leffons alone that they owe the fuccefs which they have had againft us, rather than to the advice and affiftance of other nations, which would never have been able to derive any advantage from this, had it not been taught long ago to know its ftrength and to make ufe of it. The prefentiment of what has happened in our days had not efcaped the genius of a great philofopher, who, under the agreeable and light mafk of pleafantry, knew how to difguife and prefent truth, and the criticifm of the follies of governments. The reader may recollect thofe lines of 5 Vol- TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 77 Voltaire, in which he anfwers a bookfeller who offers him a new work on military tactics : " Allez, de Belzebuth detejlable libraire, " Portez votre taclique au chevalier de Tott, " ^ui fait marcher les Turcs au nam de Sabaoth ; ct Ceji lui qui de canons couvrant les Dardanelles-, " A tuer les chretiens inftruh les inftd}les *." But in" vain does Philofophy raife her voice; fhe is not, in general* heard but by thofe whofe power is limited to the practice of her precepts in obfcurity, and who have no influence in public affairs. It is not that people do not often borrow her language, and endeavour to drefs them- felves in her livery; but every thing is confined to fteril declamation, and deceitful appearances; and as, in thefe latter times, true liberty was never more mifunderftood than frnce it was inceffantly talked of, philofophy is likewife in every mouth, and is feldom reduced to aclion. A dark and; wavering policy fupplies her place: yet hiftory reprefents to us the latter as a powerful M'eapon in the hands of Ambition, when it is wiflied to fport with the fate of nations, and tear human nature to pieces '|\ On the 22d, towards the evening, a multitude of fi/hes of the final! fpecies of tunney, which the French feamen of the Mediterranean call * ATTEMPTED IN ENGLISH. Vender of books, deteftable as hell, To Chevalier de Tott thy taftics fell, That vile artificer of murd'rous work, The war's whole art expofing to the Turk, That infidels may learn to guard their Ihore, And bathe their impious hands in chriftian gore. f This was written before the 18th Brumaire, Tranjlator. palamide 78 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. . palamide* (bonito), appeared all at once near the fliip; they divided with extreme rapidity the furface of the waves, which they caufed to bubble, and they darted fometimes out of the water by quick and tumultuous leaps; thefe fudden pafiages of times, fwimming in clofe columns, are, in the eyes of navigators, a certain prefage of bad weather. In fa<5t, the iky was charged with vapours, and the horizon began to be covered with clouds, which, to the north-weft, were interfered by fome vivid and re- peated flames of lightning. The captain, faint and trembling, told me that it was uncommon to fail in thefe feas, without encountering fome violent ftorm; he added that, the year before, he had been caught in a gale of wind, which had put him in the greateft danger. In confequence, he ordered feveral fails to be taken in, although the weather was yet very fine, and employed fome precautions which were not attended with great fuccefs. After having exhorted my timid flapper to courage and vigilance, I went to bed and fell into a found fleep. But on the 22d, at two o'clock in the morning, I was awakened by a great noife and by cries of " The " axes, the axes! Cut! cutaway!" I fprang on deck, and I faw that, notwithftanding his alarms and precautions, the captain had not the lefs fuffered himfelf to be furprifed by a very heavy fquall, which, burfting all at once on the veffel, ftill prefled with more fail than the could carry, had overpowered her to fuch a degree that flie was almoft half under water, and on the point of being entirely buried in the waves. We con trived to right her, by cutting fome of the running rigging and fplitting a fail ; a few moments more, and we fliould have been fwallowed up. I complimented the captain on his fkill, and returned to my bed, fully * Scomber pelamis. — Linn. promifmg TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 79 promifing myfelf not to make a long voyage, under the guidance of fuch, feamen. In the morning, we found ourfelves near Rhodes; a frefh breeze from the north-weft and a heavy fea prevented us from following our route. Obliged to ply to windward with a bad veffel, we laboured a great deal without gaining any way; the fame obftacles only continuing to in- creafe, the captain, tired of making ufelefs efforts, determined to enter the harbour of Rhodes, where we anchored on the 24th, at four o'clock in the afternoon. I obferved that the coaft of Caramania, from Castel-Rosso to the entrance of the Gulf of Macri, is lefs elevated than that which is to the eaftward of this ifland ; but it is equally perpendicular, divided by large ravines, and of a rock white and arid. The caravel, of which we had not loft fight, made fail in order to enter the Gulf of Macri, where fire found an anchorage more fuitable than that of Rhodes. This great bight is oppofite to the city of Rhodes, and to the eaft of it; the ancients called it Glaucus Sinus, from the name of the river Glaucus, which difcharges its waters into it. A town of Caria, of which Pliny has made mention*, has given it its prefent denomina- tion, which the navigators of Provence disfigure by that of Meagre, Golfe de la Meg re. At the head of this gulf are difcovered fome very fine remains of antiquity, in the ruins of the ancient town of Telmissus. M. de Choisseul-Gouffier has defcribed and caufed to be drawn fome parts of them in his fuperb work on Greece |. In it are to be feen the * Glaucumque •" ?r , 110 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. mouth is large; the jaws are flattened throughout their length: a judi- cious obferver has compared them, on account of their form, to the bill of a goofe, and this comparifon is very juft*. The infide of the jaws is armed with a formidable fet of very fharp teeth, of unequal fize and different form, fome being fmall and ftraight, others long, warper, moveable, and bent towards the bottom of the mouth. All the infide of the upper jaw is furnifhed with thefe teeth, which, on its edges, arefmaller than in the middle; the under has none but on the edges. It has been alferted that the bite of this mura?na is venemous, and thence it has been inferred that its flew is unwholefome; but, if the wounds inflicted by jaws, befet with a multitude of warp-edged points^ he not venemous, they mult more certainly occafion cruel pains by the la- cerations which thefe teeth, of various lengths, multiply in the fleih at different depths. And this apparatus fo cutting, which the great voracity of the muraena renders ftill more formidable, has furnifhed man, ever ingenious in tor- menting his fellow-creatures, with a new kind of punifhment, forgotten long fince, in order to make room for others not lefs cruel, not lefs barba- rous, and the hiftory of which, the bloody annals of the ferocity of mankind, would be equally curious and revolting. In the time of the Roman emperors, Haves condemned to death were thrown into fiw-ponds filled with murasna:, where the unhappy beings expired, devoured alive by a great number of thofe voracious animals, Avhich fattened on every part of their body. At the extremity of the upper jaw are fome appendages or apophyfes, ihort, broad, and fiftulous, which Willughby confiders as the organs * Be'lon, di JquatiJ. lib. i. cap. xii. Of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 1 1 1 i of hearing*. The eyes are fmall, and placed on the upper jaw, much nearer to the extremity of that jaw than to the angles of the mouthf ; they are covered by a tranfparent and bluifh pellicle, and the pupil is fur- rounded by an orange-coloured circle. The apertures of the noftrils are placed very near the eyes; another fmall round opening, near the gills, ferves the fifh for throwing out the water. The form of the body of this mursena is nearly that of the eel ; it is only fhorter, thicker, and more compreffed on the fides. It neither has peftoral nor ventral fins. At fome diftance from the head, begins, on the back, a fin fomewhat elevated, which runs along the back, lurrounds the tail, and terminates beneath near the anus; this long fin is covered throughout its whole extent by the fkin of the body. The fmooth, vifcous, and flippery fkin of the murasna is very diver- fified in its colours. The roftrum is blackifh at its extremity ; the top of the head is of a reddiih brown, fpotted with yellow. On a ground of a reddifh brown, which becomes deeper in approaching the tail, black fpecks and large yellow fpots, mixed with a reddifh tinge, are fpread on the upper part of the fifh; the belly and fides, as far as the aperture of the gills, as well as the lower part of the under jaw, are of a fawn co- lour, and variegated with brown lines and fpots;};. This * Hifioria Pi/cium, lib. iv, fe£l. ii. cap. i. •f- Wilhighby, and after him Daubenton, have faid that the eyes of this murasna are placed in the middle of the diftance between the extremity of the roftrum and the angles of the jaws ; this is not the cafe in the fpecies which I am Jefcribing. . - - % The following are the principal dimenfions of this fifh : Feet Inches Lines Total length -- - -------300 — — — of the apophyses of the extremity of the upper jaw - 002 Diftance 112 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The number of yellow fpots, {battered over the body- of this fifli, in- dicated that it was a female. Be'lon has been the firft to obferve that the male had but very few fpots, while the female was altnoft entirely co- vered with themf ; and I had had an opportunity of verifying this obfer vation, not only from the individual which I am defcribing, and which was a female, but alfo from the examination of feveral other fifties of this fpecies, which I have feen in the feas of the Levant. This female had, in its infide, eggs elliptical and yellow; I alfo found, in its ftomach, a rather large fiih, half digefted. The ftomach is very capacious; it is gray, and fpotted at its orifice with blackifti gray; the liver is long and of a red tinged with yellow; the gall-bladder is oval, and attached to the bile-duct; the air-bladder is fmall, oval, and formed of a very thick membrane; its colour is yellow without, and white within. The Greeks of the iflands of the Archipelago call this fpecies of rau- raena, fminaria; they affirm that it couples with the land-ferpent. In our countries, the fame thing is faid of the eel; but it is certain that the fpecies of the murama and of the eel being compofed of males and females, they have no need to feek, on an element which is foreign to Diftance from the tip of the roftrum to the angle of the jaws — — — to the eyes ..... — — — to the anus - i to the dorfal fin - - — — — from the eyes to the noftrils _ - - Diameter of the eyes ..... of the aperture of the gills - Height of the body - Breadth of the upper jaw, meafured before the eyes 1 De Jquatilibus, Kb. i. cap. xii. eet Inches Lines o 2 6 o 10 o 1 4 3 4 6 o o 3 o o 4 o 6 o 2 9 o I 6 them) TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. lis them, auxiliaries of that nature, and the individuals of both fexes couple, in the manner of makes, by clofely intertwining with each other. The flefh of the fminaria of the modern Greeks is very white and deli- cate; but the quantity of fhort and crooked bones, with which it is filled, renders it troublefome to be eaten. I have been told that the fiftiermen have the knack of caufing all thefe inconvenient bones to defcend to the tail, by ftrongly fqueezing the body of the fifh between two fmall flicks, and of taking them oft with the fkin. However, thefe fillies are very common along the coaft of Natolia and in the Archipelago; they take up their abode in the holes of the rocks. In order to make them come out, the fifhermen of the Levant make ufe of athernos, a fpecies of very fmall fillies of which I fliall have occafion to fpeak in the fequel; they chew thefe raw, and when they have made of them in their mouth a fort of pafte, they throw them here and there into the fea, at the places where the edges of the rocks afford re- treats to the muranae, which, attracted by the fmell of this deceitful food, foon come to the hook. This bait is likewife made ufe of, in the fame countries, for taking conger-eels, which have feveral affinities of forms and habits to muraena?. If the murasna or fea-ferpent, whofe natural hiflory I have juft given, is remarkable for the variety of its colours, the fifh of which I am going to fpeak, and which I likewife found among the numerous produce caught by the boat that came alongfide of us on our leaving the har- bour of Rhodes, is dazzling from the brightefl and richeft colours. It is the fangri of the modern Greeks (See Plate IV. Jig. 2), a fifh of the genus jparus, and which, holding the middle place between the fea« g bream, 114 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. bream f, and the fil very-eyed, red fparusj, is fufficiently different from both to confiitute a feparate fpecies, or at leaft a diftincl race, which, according to every appearance, owes its origin to the difference of climate. Gold and purple glitter on its large fcales; but, like the fleeting luftre of beauty, which the flighted derangement tarniihes or caufes to vanifh, this luxury of colours is effaced as foon as the fiih is taken out of the element which preferves its life and its fplendour; there then remains of it nothing but tints without brilliancy, veftiges which ceafe to flatter the eye; and if, in hopes of preferving thefe remains, already fo faded, re- courfe be had to a method the moft convenient, but at the fame time the lead calculated for giving an idea of the tints which diftinguiib fillies, by plunging the animal into a fpirituous liquor, it quite changes colour, and becomes entirely livid. The head of the fangri is fhort, high, and very folid ; its form indicates great ftrength in this part, as its flrong jaws, armed with fharp-edged teeth, are the fign of its great voracity. The roftrum is obtufe; the lips are thick, flefhy, and moveable ; the mouth is fmall ; on the forepart of each jaw are four long, flrong, hooked teeth, like the canine teeth of quadrupeds. Thefe teeth ftand apart from each other, and have behind them, both above and below, a number of fmall loofe hooks, longer in the upper jaw than in the under one. At the end of thefe canine teeth, both jaws have, on each fide, five other fhort teeth, broad at their bafe, and terminating in a point; immediately next to thefe, flands a double row of teeth, by no means prominent, but broad, in the ihape of large tubercles, and which may very well be compared to the grinders of qua- drupeds. ■J- Spans fagrus. Link. % Spans trythinui, Linn. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 115 The apertures of the noftrils are double, and placed the one before the other, near the anterior part of the eye ; that which is the neareft to the eye is oval, much larger, and more rounded than the other. The eyes are very large. The body is fhortened ; its fides are flattened ; the back is convex, and rifes very much, efpecially near the head; the belly is convex, and the extremity of the body little elevated, thick, and flightly rounded ; the caudal fin is forked. A fin occupies the whole length of the back; it has twenty-three rays, twelve of which are prickly, and the fourth is the longeft of all. The pe&oral fins are very long, terminated in a point, and formed of fifteen rays ; the pinna ani has eleven rays, the firft three of which are bony, and the firft is fhort and thick; ' laftly, the ventral fins, placed oppofite the origin of the dorfal fin, have fix rays, the firil of which is prickly and terminated by a very fine point, and the fecond is the largeft of all. The lateral line, which is broad and ftrongly marked, begins above the aperture of the gills, follows the bend of the back, and terminates at the middle of the bafe of the caudal fin. The fcales, which cover the whole body, as well as the fides and the under part of the head, are broad, large, thin, and very adherent to the flefh, from which it is diffi- cult to detach them. I have faid that this fifh is very rich in colours; in fa6t, its eyes are of a very brilliant brown yellow, with fome fhades or faint fpots of white and orange colour; the top of its head is of a deep reddifh brown; the fides of the head, beginning from beneath the eyes, as far as the angles of the jaws, are of a pretty cherry colour ; at the anterior angle of the eyes is a large fpot of fhining gold; the opercular of the gills are of a gray fomewhat reddifh, with brilliant reflections of filver and gold ; the aper- ture of the gills is bqrdered with brown and gold colour; laftly, the upper 0, 2 part 116 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. part of the body is of a pale cherry colour, that grows ftill paler on the under part, which is likewife gliftening with filver, each fcale being of a hlvery white, and having in its middle a large fpot of a faint but bright red, which produces a very handfome effect The lateral line is of a gray, tinted with fawn colour, and changeable with filvery reflections. The under part of the head and the belly are white; the dorfal and peftoral fins are reddiih; thefe latter have at their bafe a fpot of iron gray; the pinna ani is of a pale cherry colour, with a white border at its upper part, and its laft two rays are of a gold co- lour. The caudal fin is of a deep reddifh colour, and terminated by a broad border of brick colour. On opening the mouth of this fifh, it was remarked, that its infide, as well as its throat, are of a bright redf. The difference of fex and age alio produces fome variation in the co- lours of the fangris. In proportion as they grow old, the tints become f The individual which ferved for this defcription had the following dimenfions : Feet Inches Lines Total length _._.-- 126 Length of the head - - - - - - - - - - 0310 — — of the largeft ray of the dorfal fin ......017 Bafe of the fame fin- - - - - - -■ - - 056 Length of the peftoral fins - - - - - - - - - 0311 '- of the ventral fins ---------025 — — of the pinna ani --------- 010 of the points of the caudal fin ------oaio The greateft height of the body, meafured in a ftraight line from the origin of the dorfal fin to the ventral fin ---....043 Height meafured at the extremity of the body ..... o 1 1 Diftance from the extremity of the roftrum to the eyes o 1 6 to the dorfal fin - - - - - - ->- - 050 to the perioral fin ----..-.0310 1, to the anus - --------070 pale, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 117 pale, and the brilliant reflections fade away. In the great number of thefe fifhes which I obferved in the Levant, I found one which had a very remarkable irregularity : it had, on the left fide of the roftrum,. a large black fpot, and it had no trace of any on the right fide. The fkin of this individual was livid, the infide of the mouth and throat were whitifh, very faintly tinged with red, all its colours were tarnifhed, and it appeared to me that it was either very old or fickly. The fifh which ferved as a fubje6t for the defcription that I have juft given, was a male; its inteftines were filled with remnants of fmall crabs, and they were enveloped in a great deal of fat. I have feen others, in whofe ftomach and inteftines were fragments of fea-urchins, and even fome fmall urchins entire. The liver is very large, of a gray and reddifh colour mixed, with the exception of its extremity, which is black. The air-bladder is a ftrong, thick membrane, placed in a ho- rizontal fituation; it contains the air between it and the ribs, and occu- pies half of the capacity of the abdomen. The tongue is thick, rather broad, but very fhort. The fangri is a voracious and folitary fifh. It dwells in. the holes of the rocks: its flefh is very white, but hard and rather dry; it fometimes acquires a fize fomewhat confiderable. I faw one which weighed fifty-five pounds, and I was affured that none larger had been taken in the feas of the Levant. I was willing to try whether the property which Willughby discovered in the fea-bream, a fpecies nearly allied to the fangri, of being luminous during the night* would likewife be met with in this latter fifh; but, * Hijioria Pi/cium, cap. iv. page 3.12. although 118 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. although I repeated this trial, I never perceived that the fangrl emitted any light in the dark. We had fet fail from the harbour of Rhodes, in company with three veflels; a Frenchman bound to Stancho, a Venetian proceeding to the Adriatic Sea, and another Venetian, loaded at Alexandria for the account of the Englim merchants, and directing her courfe for London. Our crew, who had learned at Alexandria the real deftina- tion and the nature of the cargo of this veffel, regretted exceedingly not being armed, in order that they might take pofleffion of her. Such are the cuftoms of war, which we have decorated with the empty title of laws, as if a<5ts trefpafling on property, and by which we {trip individuals, Grangers to the caufes that arm governments the one againft the other, ought not rather to be confidered as plundering excurfions than as regular acts. After having doubled Cape Sant Antonio, the mod northern of the Ifland of Rhodes, and confequently the neareft to the continent, from which it is diftant no more than three leagues, we found ourfelves in the middle of the ftrait which is called the canal of Rhodes, and not the Carpathian Sea, as fome geographers have improperly afferted. This Carpathian Sea, which derived its name from the Ifland of Carpa- thos, at this day Scarpanto, whofe coafts it bathes, is, as well as the ifland itfelf, to the fouth-weft of the Ifle of Rhodes, between the latter and the Ifland of Candia We left behind us the fmall Ifland of Eleusa, placed at the entrance of a gulf which now bears the name of Marhoro or Marmarisso, on the coaft of Asia Minor; it was likewife called Sebastos, and it is not half a league in circumference. Not far from this gulf was the mountain of Phoznice, on which a town of the fame name had been built and fortified. Cape TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ny Cape Volpe, anciently Cynossema, terminates, a little more to the weft, this part of Caramania, and forms the point of it the neareft to the Ifle of Rhodes. Under this cape is Porto Cavaliere, frequented by fhips of war, which are not always in fafety without the harbour of Rhodes, where they cannot enter. If the wind have ever fo little ftrength, the fea is always very high in the ttrait formed by Caramania and the Ifland of Rhodes. The waves rife there fometimes in a frightful manner; the currents which, in a fea interfered by iflands and projecting lands, vary and claih, are the caufe of this extraordinary agitation, which is likewife increafed by inconftant and irregular winds. Indeed, it frequently happens that the wind is different in feveral parts of the fame channel, and that, on one fide, there reigns a flat calm, while, on the other, the winds blow with vio- lence. Not only are the winds inconftant in thefe obftru&ed feas, but they are here felt by fudden and impetuous fqualls, which are followed and preceded by dead calms ; and thefe violent gufts are fometimes an- nounced by infallible figns. Above the high mountains of which the coaft of Caramania is for the moft part formed, it is not uncommon, in clear weather, to fee a very fmall black cloud, frequently no bigger in appearance than a bird. This globe of vapours is extremely agitated ; at firft very fmall, it fpreads all on a fudden, contracts, appears and dif- appears at intervals above the mountain, and changes its form every in- ftant. How calm foever the atmofphere may be, a fudden and violent fquall may be expected, at the fight of thefe infulated clouds, which difcharge the wind with fo much rapidity and vehemence, that if a fhip be not prepared for being overtaken by it, fhe runs a great rifk of lofing part of her fails, and even her mafts and yards. On 120 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. On the 28th of October, Ave experienced one of thefe fudden fqualls, after a calm which had kept the fhip ftationary abreaft of Cape Crio, a large promontory of Caramania. During this calm, a numerous fiioal of fifhes, cleaving the water level with its furface, and even dart- ing above it, pafi'ed clofe to us with great rapidity; and the agitation of thefe inhabitants of the depths of the fea, is always a certain prefage of an approaching and violent agitation in the atmofphere and the waters. A fmall cloud, the precurfor of the ftorm, had made its appear- ance above the promontory ; it expanded, and we were overtaken by a gale of wind, which compelled us to take in all our fails, and continue lying to during the whole night, toffed about by fhort and overgrown billows. ~On the 30th, in the morning, the wind lulled ; but it was ftill contrary, and the tacks, which it forced us to make in a -narrow channel, and in the middle of a very heavy fea, (trained our little veffel extremely. We had paffed beyond the fmall Illand of Symi, whofe ancient name, Sfme, has fearcely undergone any alteration, while its interior condition has o-reatly changed. It was formerly cultivated and fertile in grain; at this day, are hardly difcovered any veftiges of its ancient culture. The Greeks who inhabit it apply themfelves almoft exclufively to the fimery of fponges, with which the rocks at the bottom of the fea that fur- rounds their ifland are covered : they are the boldeft and moft experienced divers in the world ; they defcend into the bofom of the fea, to the depth of twenty or thirty fathoms, that is, one hundred and fifty feet; there, they detach the fponges from the rocks to which thefe adhere, and then return to the furface of the water, in order to take breath for a few mo- ments and dive again. Men, accuftomed from their infancy to vifit the abyifes of the fea, to make of them the fertile fields of their princi- pal TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 121 pal harveft as of their fole labours, muft naturally brave with intrepidity the rage of an element with which they have found means to make themfelves familiar, and the depths of which they dread not to vrfit; and, indeed, the Symiots are very good navigators; for the intrepidity of a fea- man is tbe moft efTential quality, as it is the moil certain fource of his fkill. Thofe Greeks, with very fmall boats, crofs the fpaces of fea which fepa- rate them from the coafts and from the other iflands, and, with the pro- duce of their fifhery, they carry thither the activity of a fmall traffic, which is adequate to the wants and ambition of a nation of divers. A laborious life, which requires the exertion of all the phyfical facul- ties, has made the Symiots a robuft race of men, of a handfome ftature. Homer has extolled the beauty of the king of Symi, Nireus, fon of the nymph Agla'ia and of the king Charopus. " He was," fays he, " the handfomeft of all the Greeks that went to Troy, if we except the •' divine Achilles, who was of an accomplifhed beauty*." The life of thefe inlanders is fimple; their nature and the conftancy of their labours have kept their morals free from corruption; and Tyranny, which fo feverely opprelfes their neighbours, has fpared, or, to fpeak more correctly, has difdained a tribe, which, in lieu of opulence, prefents only auftere habits and laborious occupations, the moft certain pledges of in- dependence. • The following is Pope's elegant verfion of this pafiage.— TranJIator. " Three (hips with Nireus fought the Trojan fhore, " Nireus, whom Aglae to Charopus bore. " Nireus, in faultlefs fhape and blooming grace, " The lovelieft youth of all the Grecian race; " Pelides only match'd his early charms; " But few his troops, and fmall his ftrength in arms." Iliad, book ii. v. 815. r Very 1'2* TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Very near to the coaft of Cape Volpe, the Ifland of Stmt lies, at the entrance of a gulf which bears its name. Although by no means conli- derable, being fcarcely two leagues in length by one in breadth, it lias two good harbours, fit for the reception of large mips, without reckoning feveral little bays or coves, in which fmall craft may lie in ihelter. The north harbour, barred by ihoals, is the more fpacious as well as the more commodious. The mod northern of the fhoals which protect its entrance, is named San Paulo, becaufe it is oppofite a place of that name, on the coaft, at the very head of the gulf. On the other fide of Svmi, the gulf is formed by Cape Crio, anciently Triopium, a promontory of Doius, a province of Caria, at the extre- mity of which was built the celebrated city of Cnidus. Here Venus was worshipped : here was feen the ftatue of that goddefs, the moft beautiful of the works of Praxiteles. A temple, far from fpacious, and open on all fides, contained it, without concealing it from view; and, in whatever point of view it was examined, it excited equal admiration. No drapery veiled its charms ; and it was of fuch uncommon beauty, that it inflamed with a violent paflion another Pygmalion, who, in the dark, endeavoured to animate a cold and infenfible reprefentation of a moft fafcinating woman, and there left traces of a mad profanation*. The moft advantageous of- fers could not prevail on the Cnidians to part with this mafter-piece; and Pliny, who relates the facl, praifes them for a noble refufal, the object of which immortalized their city, as well as their paflion for the fine arts. And this paflion of generous fouls fhone on all fides in the city of Cnidus: here were feen other ftatues, which, without having the per- fection and the feducing graces of the Venus of Praxiteles, contri- * Ferunt amort captum quemdam, cttm delituijjet nottu, Jimulachro cohajijfe, ejufque cupiditatis ejji indicem m if however heroifm can confift in the exercife of the moft 'terrible power, which nature and humanity -reject with horror^ that of difturbing,. of tormenting: nations, and flaughtering mankind. Pofterity, lefs fortunate, with refpecl: to the painter, has not collected his works; Ave know them only' by the tradition of the moft brilliant renown, while the books of-the father of medicine, more ufeful and more durable, have been handed i to us,, as the beft fchool in which we can learn to ward off from our frail and tranfitory exiftence the ills by which it is threatened- and oppreiTed.. Othernien,' illuftrious in the art's and ftiences, owe their birth to Cos/- My object, as I have announced, not being to retrace the ancient hiftory of the countries -which I have vifi ted, a hiftory repeated in fo many books; and known to all thofe who have received a liberal education ; and the little I fay of it being intended only to approximate, or rather to contraft the flouriming utuatkm- of thefe places in ancient times, with the ftate of decay, and of wretchednefs almoft general, in which we fee them in our days, I have made mention, of the greateft men of whom' Cos was the cradle and the abode, . only for the purpofe of recalling to mind how cele- brated and flourilhing that city muft have been, from the concurrence of ■' f Voyage du Jeune Anarcharfis , chap. xliv. according to Strabo, book viiiaad xiv* ■'• t 2 the 140 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the fciences and arts which there ihone in all their luftre. Cos v/as, in facl, magnificent in its interior, as well as very agreeable from its pofi- tion ; its harbour was alfo one of the fineft and moft frequented in thefe feas. It is almoft needlefs to mention that there no longer exift any traces of the ancient city; the temple of iEscuLAPius, the facred wood by which it-was fin-rounded, the other monuments have there been effaced, as well as the memory of the celebrated men who conftituted its glory. Such is the fate of all the cities, of all the edifices, of all the countries abandoned to the devaluation of the Turks, a warlike and barbarous nation : like the birds of night, whofe eyes are hurt and cries excited by the rays of the fun, the luftre of the fine arts dazzle them, and the fciences are to them no more than an objecl of contempt. Such is generally the deplorable lot of every country governed by the force of arms, and in which the fword gives the law. The modern town of Stancho is fmall; its buildings have nothing re- markable; but its fituation on the fea-ihore is the fame as that of the an- cient city, and its environs are ftill very agreeable. It is furrounded bv orchards of lemon and orange trees; their flowers, which the warmth of the climate multiplies and perfumes, there diffufe delightful emanations, and their fucculent fruits are in fufficiently great abundance for affording, at a very low price, to its inhabitants a falutary and pleafant refrelliment, and for becoming an article of their commerce. Cargoes of oranges and lemons are there fhipped, and conveyed to different parts of Turkey, but principally to Smyrna and Con«tantinopx.e. The harbour, which is defended by a caftle, kept in bad order, though formerly fafe and deep, can no longer receive any but fmall veiTels ; large ihips TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. HI thips remain without, in a road where there is good holding ground, but which they, neverthelefs, avoid during the winter, becaufe it is open to the winds and the fvvell from the north and weft. Scarcely had we caft anchor there, than a menenger from the French conful, who refided in the ifland, came to apprize us that the captain of a Provencal merchant-vefiel, who had brought to Stancho fome Turkifh paffengers from Constan- tinople, had juft expired of the plague. Although we were in want of fome proviiions, our determination was foon taken, and we refolved to endure a few privations, and to quit very fpeedily a ihelter which the con- trariety and the violence of the winds had rendered neceffary to us, ■rather than expofe ourfelves to the moft dreadful of contagions. However, as we were to wait till the night had lulled the wind, and caufed a land-breeze to fpring up, I could not determine to remain fo near an ifland, which I was no longer to have an opportunity of yifit- ing, without landing. I promifed my companions, who were not well pleafed to fee me go on more, to take every precaution which could in- fure them that I would not render them victims of what they called an imprudence. The ihip's boat landed me alone on the beach; and, for fear of any communication, me returned on board very quickly. I re- paired to the houfe of M. Masse, who, for twenty-fix years, had exer- cifed, at Stancho, the functions of agent to the general confulate of Smyrna. I was received with the frank and cordial civility of an honeft man, proud of long fervices which remained unrewarded. " I am by no *' means aftonifhed," faid he to me, "that a man, whofe courage has *' led him to undertake difficult travels, who has braved the ferocity of " the inhabitants of Egypt and the robberies of the Arabs, mould not *' have been intimidated at the notice of the plague. You are in the " right to baniih the fear of that diforder; this is the firft of preferva- .. 3 "tlve. 142 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURRET. " tive. The imagination affected, the mind deprevfed with fear, are- " difpofitions which feem to bring on the difeafe, inftead of warding it " off. Tbe plague, according to every appearance, is on the point cf " being propagated in this ifland ;. the indifference of the Turks refpect- " ing every precaution which might avert this fcourge, or arreft its pro- " grefs, will leave an open field to the development of the fatal ir> " fluences of the contagion, the fhft fymptoms of which have already " made their appearance; and this year it will make great ravages. " I begged the agent to explain to me ort what he grounded his fatal prognoftic. He anfwered, by communicating to me a remark, which hLs long refidence in Turkey had enabled him to verify, and which, by efta-- blifhing a frngular-affinity between two epidemical difeafes, might contri- bute to a more certain knowledge of theit nature. M. IMasse then fhft informed me, that the plague never broke, out at Smxenobut in the month of January, and afterwards obfervation had afcertained that, in the yeaFs when the contagion was likely to be violent, it was preceded by a general fmall-pox, which carried off a great many. children.. On my arrival, the fmall-pox. was making ravages; and this cireumftance left; in the mind of M. Mas«e, no doubt refpecling the more terrible havock with which the plague would defolate the ifland, if, in the courfe of two months, it there developed the germs which had juft been brought thither. This obfervation appeared to me- new ana important; it may throw a great light on a difeafe which is fcarcely known but by its cruel and rapid , effects, and ferve as a clue to the curative means whieh .are yet to be • fought. How many obfervations of that kind might not be collected J But it requires time and patience. The example of Hippocrates, the g rea .t, : ' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 143 greateft obferver of his age and of thofe which have followed, has not many imitators : we are fonder of writing than obferving. Every one, now-a-days, is eager to enjoy fome reputation, by haftening to ihew himfelf in open day, and does not trouble himfelf whether the enjoy- ments of others anfwer to that premature defire of getting himfelf talked of; young people, fcarcely emerged from fchool, affume a magif- terial tone, and are not aware of the facility with which a fchool-boy becomes a pedant; others eftabliih theories before they have acquired ex- perience; thefciences and letters cannot be enriched by this cloud of pro- ductions which afford no information, except the advantageous opinion which their authors have conceived of them; and had we not ftill remaining a few great mailers, the honour of the fciences and of our literature, we mould regret that we are not born in a time when the temple of JEscu- lapius and obferving genius furniihed to a philofopher, the friend and comforter of mankind, the materials of the immortal leffons which he has written in a manner at once fimple, natural, and fublime. The population of the town of Stancho is, in a very great meafure, compofed of Turks: the Greeks form that of the reft of the ifland; but it is not very numerous. Here, there is no place of any confequence but the capital itfelf. The iiland, which is much longer than it is broad, is, indeed, of no great extent ; but the beauty of its climate and of its foil, its fecundity, and its natural allurements would render the fmallnefs of the number of its inhabitants an extraordinary circumftance, did we not recollect that this charming country is under the immediate command of the Turks, who, occupying the town, are enabled to exercife with greater violence the tyrannic fway, by which plains the moft populous and moft productive may become defert and uncultivated. Porcachi has afferted that the air of Stancho was unhealthy and fubjecT; to feve- ral impreffions of malignancy, which there produce various contagious difeafes. 144 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. difeafes-*. Dapple, has copied Porcachi"!"; geographers have copied Dapper, and, in our days, their books repeat that Stancho is an iiland dangerous to be inhabited. But this afi'ertion is ill-founded ; voyagers the moil modern and beft informed, among whom I mail content myfelf with quoting M. de Choisseul-GouffierJ, have taken good care not to repeat it; and M. Masse, who, as I have before faid, had refided at Stancho for twenty-fix years, aflured me that he had there feen no other epidemical difeafes than the fmall-pox, the ravages of which are common in feveral other countries, and the plague, which is brought thither from foreign, parts.. And when we pay attention to the fituation and the nature of this • country, it would be difficult to difcover there the caufes of fo great an infalubrity of which the ancients have not fpokeu; while they have highly extolled the charms of the Ifle of Cos. Here no ftagnant water fpreads noxious exhalations; here the earth is not-impregnated with hurt- ful fubftances; high mountains prevent not the circulation of the air; the atmofphere is not humid; the rains are not continual, and, for the • moft part, the iky is clear and ferene; the fertility of the foil is rich and brilliant; and it is rare and very difficult, in the midft of this prodigality of the favours of Nature, for germs of corruption and death to fpread and continue. Some very high mountains command the louth part of the iiland. . Navigators, anxious to fhelter themfelves from the impetuous northerly . * Defcriptkn des ties de VArchipeJ, f De/cription exa&e des lies de VArchipel. % " Thisifland has nothing that diftinguifhes it at prefent; the beauty of the climate> the " fertility of the foil, and the abundance of the fruits, are properties common to thefe coun- " tries." Fcyagt Pitttrtfqut at la Greet* vol. i. page 105. winds, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Ut winds, find, in that quarter, a propitious retreat in the little harbour of Safodino. The remainder of the illand is a beautiful plain, of admirable fecundity, the treafures of which, in a great meafure neglected, wait for happy changes in order to difplay all their magnificence. Fruits, fuch as oranges, lemons, whofe trees form groves where the golden apple waves on all fides in the midft of a thick and perfumed foliage; figs, grapes, &c. are there delicious. The wine which is drawn from thefe laft is de- licate and agreeable : M. Masse made me tafte fome which Avas not infe- rior to the moft exquifite wines of Greece. The variety of flowers and fruits, with which the gardens are embelliihed, flatters the fmell more agreeably than all the perfumes of Arabia; in lhort, if a wife and happy liberty could be revived on a land which claims it, the country of Hip- pocrates and Apelles would ftill be an enchanting abode. Excellent paftures formerly fed numerous flocks, that furniihed wool with which the inhabitants manufactured fluffs, much efteemed, both for their finenefs and the brilliant colours with which they were dyed. This kind of induftry is loft, with a part of the riches that conftituted the fplendour of the ifland ; and fleeces lefs taken care of, as well as lefs common, are no longer wrought either with the fame art or the fame delicacy. Previoufly to the laft century, commerce drew, from the Ifle of Stan- cho, a tolerably good quantity of filk; but, for feveral years paft, none is there to be found. The climate is, neverthelefs, very favourable to the culture of mulberry-trees, and to the worm which feeds on them. Aris- totle attributes the invention of winding into fkains the cods of the filk-worm and of making fluffs of them to Pamphila, daughter of La- toits, an inhabitant of the Ifle of Cos*; and Pliny, who gives the * Hift. Animal, lib. v. cap. xix. xj fame 146' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. fame account, adds with a tone of irony and indignation, that indeed this girl ought not to be deprived of the honour which the has acquired in finding means of dreffing women as if they were naked*. What Plint fa} - s afterwards of filk-worms, which, in the Ifle of Cos, are re- ported to be produced from the blofibms of the afh, the oak, and the cyprefsf, is very furprifing, and would give room to prefume, with fome learned commentators, that the infect of which Aristotle and Pliny have fpoken, the former under the name of bombylios, and the latter un- der that of bombiv, is not the fame as our filk-worm, if Ave were ac- quainted with any other to which we could apply what they have faid of it; if, befides, we did know, from modern accounts, that filk-worms feed in China, not only on the afh, but alfo on the oak, and even on the cyprefs, and the turpentine-tree;};. Are there feveral fpecies of the filk- worm, or infects yielding a filk fimilar to that of thefe worms? Are we ignorant of the refources which Nature has diffufed in different countries, according to the differences of the foil and climate, for the nourifh- ment of filk-worms? What knowledge natural hiftory and rural econo- my have ftill to acquire ! I patTed the whole day in vifiting the environs of the town, and walking in the rich and delightful groves by which it is furrounded. The oblig- ing M. Masse chofe to accompany me; and his information, the fruit of a lono- refidence in the Levant, rendered his converfation a fource of inftruclion and entertainment. In croffing the town, in order to proceed * Hift. Nat. lib. ii. cap. xxii. f Ibid. lib. ii. cap. xxiii. 1 Srcthe fecond edition of the Travels into the Interior of China, by Lord Macartney, tran- flated by Cajfera, vol. v. page 231.— Note of the French tranflator, to TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 14,7 to the fea-fhore, I faw the famous plane-tree §, which covers the little public fquare with its antique and twifting branches, and cools it with its impervious fhade. Pillars, or rather fragments of pillars of marble and granite, have been erected by the inhabitants in order to fupport fomc thick branches, which, being too far diftant from the trunk, and loaded with boughs and leaves, would break and fink down through their own weight. Thefe pillars are, according to what M. Masse told me, the only remains of ancient monuments which are to be met with in the whole Illand of Stancho, if we except a few medals of little value. A fountain has been built under the made of the plane-tree: it fup- plies the wants of the Turks, great confumers of water; and they find, in a coffee-houfe eftablifhed under the fame foliage, the warm beverage made from the berry of the fhrub of Arabia, and which ferves them in lieu of wine and every other fermented liquor. The Turks, to whom cool places are a want and a delight, affemble under the prodigious plane-tree of Stancho; every one of them feels a pleafure in taking care of it, and they have, for this tree, a fort of religious refpect, which is fhared by the families of birds that dwell and neflle on its branches. It would not be an inquiry altogether ufelefs or indifferent to vegeta- ble phyfiology to make known the age of a tree fo enormous ; but infor- mation, very eafy to obtain in Europe, is impoflible to be collected in Turkey, where indifference reflecting the moft memorable events, the want of regifters and written memoirs leave in oblivion facts which ap- pear only matters of mere curiofity. The wood of the plane-tree is as hard as that of the oak ; the tree is, confequently, very flow in acquiring its growth; and if we pay attention to the truly-aftonifhing thicknefs and $ Plat anus Orient alls. — Linn. v 2 extent 148 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. extent of the plane-tree of Stancho, we ihall believe, without difficulty, that upwards of ten centuries have elapfed, fince the period of its being planted. The night was ihut in, when I repaired to the fhip, fatisfied with my little excurfion, and with not having been deterred from landing by the dread of the plague. I difpelled the alarms of the crew by the detail of the precautions which I had taken to avoid all dangerous communication, and, on the morning of the 3d, we got under way before day-break. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. U9 CHAPTER XIL Nautical remarks. — The Jlag-Jhip of the Turkijh navy carried off by a handful of chriftian flaves. — Captain of a Maltefe privateer. — Unhappy Jituation of the Greeks in the J mall iflands of the Archipelago. — Man, the moji cruel of all animated beings. — Gulls. — Gulf of Stancho.— Ce- ramus. — Halicarnuffus. — Boudron.. — Mindes. — Salvadigo. 1 HE eve of our departure from Stancho was the day which the ca- tholic church confecrates to the memory of the dead, (the £d of Novem- ber, All-foul's day),, a day remarked by the navigators of the Medi- terranean, whom experience has taught that at this period they have to apprehend ftormy weather. But this, obfervation, of long practice in navigation, is not to be underftood in a literal fenfe ; and it is the fame with the gale of wind of St. Francis's day, or of the 4th of October, which the feamen of the weftern ports of France dread in the northern feas : it is not always precifely in the courfe of the days of the 4th of October or of the 2d of November that mips are atfailed by a ftorm ; but they do not efcape it, either a little before, or a little after. We had oc- cafion to verify the correctnefs of thefe nautical remarks ; for on All Soul's day itfelf the weather was not bad;, nor. was it fo even the next day; but, in the evening, a fhoal of porpoifes, having pafled with rapidity ahead of the vefiel, we thought it our duty to prepare for fome fudden guft of wind. In fact, on the 4th> an impetuous north- weft wind rofe all at once ; the fea became furious; we drifted towards the coaft of Candia. It was not poffible, during the ftorm, to think of looking for the bad harbour of Canea, for which our veffel had taken in her cargo, and we conceived ourfeives. 150 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ouifclves very happy to be able to enter that of Suda. We eaft anchor there on the 6th of November in the evening, after having been in dan- ger of being loft on the rocks of Cape JIIelecca. During the run of about feventy leagues, which we had ma'de from Stancho to Suda, we had palled between feveral lands, of which I ihall now fpeak, in order that I may not have to return to this quarter, the moft eaftern of the Archipelago: I therefore refume my narrative, be- ginning from Stancho. A few years before I was at Stancho, the roadflead had been the theatre of a fcene, in which energy and enterprifing genius on the one hand, and negligence and ftupidity on the other, acted a memorable part. There, the flag-fhip belonging to the Turks was carried off by a few chriftian flaves, in the very midft of the Ottoman fleet, and taken to Malta, without refiftance. I beheld, with an extreme degree of intereft, the fpot where fo extraordinary a trait of courage and prefence of mind had occurred: and I reprefented to myfelf the ftupid aftoniihment of the Turks, when they perceived their principal ihip of the line going off under full fail. This adventure, which gives the meafure of the capacity and forefight of the officers of the Muifulman navy, had made a great noife in the Levant, where I have heard it related repeatedly; but I have likewife had the particulars of it from the leader himfelf of this bold coup de main, having known him during my ftay in the Archipe- lago. A Turkilh fquadron, commanded by the High Admiral, or Captain- Pacha, anchored at Stancho, in the feftivals of the Bciram, which ter- minate the fall of the Ramadan. The celebration of thefe religious and folemn feftivals had attracted to the town the greater part of the officers 1 and TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 151 and crews of the fquadron, and even the Captain-Pacha himfelf. Twenty or twenty-five Europeans, taken in privateers belonging to Malta, and reduced to flavery, ferved on board of the flag-fhip. Captain G***, one of the moft intrepid commanders of thefe privateers, who "had fought the MmTulmans under the flag of the order of Malta, was one of the flaves. Overwhelmed by numbers and by wounds, he had yielded, and had been thrown into irons ; the opportunity appeared favourable to him for veleaf- ing himfelf from them : he haftened to communicate his plan and his boldnefs to his companions of misfortune, among whom were fome Mai- tefe, Corficans, and Italians, and to inflame them by the hope of liberty and of a rich booty. Their refolution was foon taken ; they fell on the firft Turks that prefented themfelves ; they difarmed them, and threw them all, one after the other, into the hold, the hatchways of which they fe- cured. To cut the cables, hoift the fails, and get under way, was the bufinefs of the fame moment. The other fhips having no orders, and perceiving no fignal, quietly beheld the departure of the flag-fhip, which they might fuppofe bound on fome temporary expedition; and it was not till the Captain-Pacha, apprized too late, in themidft of the exercife of his piety, and himfelf contemplating from the fhore his own fhip failing away with a leading wind, that the fquadron got under way; but the purfuit was ufelefs. The fhip, conducted by fkilful feamen, efcaped from them, and, a few days after, arrived off Malta.- Every one there was very much furprifed to fee in the offing a large fhip of war of Turkifh conflruftion, fleering towards the entrance of the harbour. The galleys, the ancient monuments of the exploits and va- lour of the knights of Malta, were fent to reconnoitre; the artillery was prepared; no precaution of defence Avas neglected: difpofitions were made for repelling the attempts of the enemy ; but enthufiafm fucceeded thefe warlike preparatives, when it was known that the fhip whofe ap- proach 152 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. proach had occafioned alarm, was brought in by countrymen and friends, whom there was little expectation of feeing again, and that they had made themfclves matters of riches which were ftill lefs to be ex- pected. In feet, the value of this important prize was immenfe. A fhip of the firft rate, with her rigging, furniture, ftores, pro virions, ammunition, and her brafs artillery, the money and jewels of the principal officers of the Ottoman navy, part of the fums which the fquadron had previoully levied on the annual tribute of the iflands of the Archipelago, formed a very rich boot}-, to which it was necefiary to add the price that the or- der of Malta paid for every Mahometan prifoner, who, from retaliation, were all thrown into irons. The heroes who had feized on all thefe trea- fures, had no inconfiderable number of Turks on board; and it had entered into their fpeculations, not to kill any of them, if poffible, in order to increafe the ihare which they promifed themfelves from the prize. But policy deranged thefe great projects of fortune, and fruftrated hopes which found morality difapproves, but which cuftom and the fort of juflice refulting from it, authorize. The court of Constantinople could not endure fuch a humiliation : it addreifed that of Versailles, and claimed its interference. The latter required from the grand matter that the fhip fhould be reftored; and officers belonging to the navy of France were ordered to take charge of her at Malta, and carry her to Constantinople, where this act of generous condefcenfion, on the part of the French government, made a very favourable impreffion. This was not the cafe at Malta; there the knights beheld with concern the departure of conhderable riches, the property of which appeared incon- teftably acquired, and the reward of the bravery of their intrepid cruifers. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ]SS By way of indemnification, the captors Avere allowed a fum which they confidered as moderate, in companion to the money that the fale of the prize would have procured them, and it is added, that they waited a long time before it was paid. Captain G*** fpoke to me of this difappointment with much bitternefs, and in the ill humour which the recollection of it had left on his mind, his hatred had well nigh fallen as much on the French as on the Turks. Al- though he had every thing to dread from the animofity of the latter, he was willing to attempt once more to carry on war againft them, and to enrich himfelf with their fpoils. I faw him in the Archipelago, com- manding a faft-failing veffel, well armed and well equipped. To great in- trepidity he joined admirable coolnefs, and a firmnefs of character by no means common. The Greeks trembled in his prefence, as before the commanders of the Turkiih veflels of war; tyranny was the fame: but that of the Maltefe, lefs violent, lefs impetuous than that of the Turks, had fomething more impofing, and more formidable, becaufe it was calm, cool, and rational. At Argesttiera, I was ihewn the fite of a houfe which he had caufed to be pulled down, and which no one durft rebuild. This happened on the following occafion. The fate of the Greeks, inhabitants of the fmall iflands of the Ar- chipelago, abandoned to themfelves, and who feemed to be fought only to be tormented and plundered, was truly deplorable. If a Turkiih fiiip, or the fmalleft galiot belonging to that nation, puts into one of thefe iflands, the commander becomes its defpot ; the chiefs of the town .or village haften to kifs his hand and receive his commands. He difpofes of every thing, caufes to be delivered to him the provifions and all the articles of which he {rands in need, impofes labours on the men, fets up for fupreme judge, decides controvcrfies, fettles quarrels, condemns x , to 154 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to fines which muft be paid immediately, orders the baftinado, on the fole of the feet, to be applied as he thinks proper; in mort, his flay fpreads terror and confternation. Did a Maltefe privateer appear in her turn, nearly the fame fcenes of the abufe and harfhnefs of power and of debafement were reprefented; the fame compliments, the fame piefents, the fame talks, the fame arbitrary acts, the fame humiliations, and fome- times even ill ufao-e. One of the obligations of rigour impofed on thefe unfortunate Greeks, was, as foon as a Maltefe or Turkifh vefi'el caft anchor in their harbour, to ftation perfons to look out on the mod elevated points, in order to dif- eover at a diflance ihips at fea, to give notice of their approach, and to flcreen a more troublefome gueft from the danger of being furprifed by his enemy. G*** had juft arrived in the road of Argentiera; Avatches had been placed, according to cuftom, at the top of towers built on fome eminences which overlook the village on every fide; the captain of the privateer was on fhore with part of his crew, when a veffel was feen to enter the road. The negligence of the fentinel pofled on the fide from which the velfel came, was cruelly punhhed. G*** ordered his houfe to be demolished, and forbad that, as long as he mould live, any one fhould prefume to build on the fame fpot. The order was executed in every point, and, feveral years after, I faw the ruins of the habitation of a whole family, over-run by brambles and ferpents, and ftill (truck by the curfe of a plundering adventurer. I was witnefs of the fang-froid of this fame Captain G***, on ano- ther occafion, M'here he had like to have pronounced again the fatal anathema againft another houfe in the village of Argentiera. He had landed there with ten men well armed ; and while the latter were dif- perfed among the inhabitants, whom they laid under contribution, he dined TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 153 dined at the houfe of the French agent where I was. In the middle of dinner, his people ran in, quite feared, to announce to him that a veifel was coming into the road, and that me had the appearance of an ene- my. G***, without rifing from his feat or being in the leaft difcon- certed, ordered them to bring to him the epitropo, a fort of mayor or fyndic. The latter being arrived, G*** afked him what man of his village he had placed to look out at fuch a tower? And, on receiving his anfwer, he enjoined him to lay hold of that man and bring him into his prefence. This order, being given in a tone to exact prompt and unqualified obe- dience, he rofe from table, and turning towards his people, faid to them: " Come, my lads, let us march, and prepare to attack and exter- " minate thofe dogs of Turks!" He did not go far, becaufe it turned out that the veffel arrived was a Ragufan trader; but he was not difpofed, on that account, to punifh lefs cruelly the Greek who had iieo-lecled to give notice of the approach, of this veffel; and it was not without great difficulty that the agent and I, by dint of earneft folicita- tions, fucceeded in obtaining his pardon. A few days after, G*** was fo fortunate as to furprife a caravel coming from Alexandria, richly laden, having on board the annual tribute which Egypt paid to the Grand Signior. A prize of this importance infured the fortune of the captors; and I know not whether G***, who already lived at Malta in eafy circumftances, covered with years and wounds, having been a long time in flavery among the Turks, has been able to make up his mind to pafs the remainder of his life in tranquillity, and to expiate, by afts of beneficence and the exercife of the virtues, a career of difordcr and pillage. Man is not the only animated being that afllicls the earth by cruelties: mod animals partake of his voracity ; but, limited to fatisfying their appetite, they do not, generally fpeaking, deftroy but in proportion- x 2 to 156 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to their hunger: thofe of the fame fpecies tear not each other to pieces, and it is only on (bangers that they exercife their gluttony. Man, on the contrary, the implacable murderer of animals of every fpecies, is alfo the murderer of his own: it is not merely his infatiable appetite that muft be gratified ; but an inextinguifhable thirft for riches, the factitious wants of fociety, impels him to every excefs, to every crime, to an atrocious indifference to bloodfhed ; and, on this globe, the vaft empire of rapacity, he proves himfelf to be the molt ferocious, the moil ruthlefs of tyrants. A very faint image of this common tyranny is conftantly retraced in the roadftead of Stancho. Gulls, which the inhabitants of our coafts of the Mediterrasean call gabians, real feathered pirates, are there met with in great numbers. Sometimes they are feen cleaving the air in every direction, venting their fharp and tirefome cries, fome- times retting themfelves on the waves, riling and falling with them, watching for fmall tithes, feizing them Avith their fharp-edged and crooked bill, and darting voracioufly on the entrails of animals and other filth thrown overboard from the fhipping. The fifhermen of the Levant commonly employ for bait the fle/h of gulls cut into bits; fo that there exifts, between thofe birds and the fiihes, a fort of fympathy of appetite, of reciprocity of gluttony by which they are mutually led to devour each other. Whether a. veffel enter the road, or whether, without flopping there, the pafs into the narrow channel which feparates the Ifle of Stancho from the main land, the ought carefully to avoid a low and dan- gerous point, at the extremity of the moft weftern cape of the ifland, and one of its ancient points of junction with the continent. This cape is fcarcely more than a league diftant from Cape Patera, which, with TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 157 with that at prefent named Cape Crio, already mentioned, forms a deep gulf of Asia Minor, which, in our time, is called the Gulf of Stancho, from the name of the illand fituated at its entrance. This was anciently the Ceramic Gulf; it formed the feparation of Caria and Doris, and derived its -name from Ceramus, a maritime town of Caria. At this day its fite and name are to be found in a place of little impor- tance, called Keramo, It would not be fo eafy a matter to recognife Halicarnassus, in the harm and barbarous name of Boudrou or Boudroun, did we not po- fitively know that in this place exifted that ancient and celebrated city, at the entrance of the gulf, on the coaft of Caria. Rich and flouriming from its great commerce, magnificent from its monumentsf, Halicar- nassus has ftill greater claims to lading renown, for having given birth to two great hiftorians, Herodotus the father of hiftory, and Dionysius furnamed of Halicarnassus. And where is the love-ftruck and feeling mind that does not recollect, with affecting emotion, that here, an inconfolable wife caufed to be erected, by the moft celebrated artifts of Greece, a fuperb tomb, a monument of her grief? Arte- misa wifhed to immortalize the memory of king Mau solus, her huf- band and brother, and above all her regret at having loft him, by the conftruclion of an edifice deftined to contain his cherimed afhes; a work which was ranked among the feven wonders of the world. But, through another miracle of tendernefs and affliction, this difconfolate wife, whofe grief foon carried her to the grave, found no other means of comforting her heart, than by making it the worthy and fenfible ■f M. de Choiseul-Gouffier has given fome very beautiful remains of it in the firft volume of his Voyage Pittorefque de la Grece, which is itfelf a monument raifed to the love of the fine arts. maufoleum, 148 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. maufoleum, in which the excefs of love feemed to reftore to life inani- mate remains: till her death, ihe failed not to mix in her drink fome of . her huiband's ames. How amiable and attracting would hiftory be, how it would honour the human heart, had it only to tranfmit facts of this nature! The fortrefs, which is at the entrance of the prefent harbour of Bou- droun, is the work of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who made themfelves matters of this place, when, after the firft crufades, they had eftablilhed themfelves at Rhodes. They conftructed this citadel on the foundations of the magnificent palace of the confort of Artemisa ; they named it Castel San Pietro, or in Spanilh, San Pedro. Of this the Turks made Bedro, then Boudroun, changing the p into b, ac- cording to their manner of pronunciation*. Coats of arms, fculp- tured in fome compartments of the walls, ft ill ihew, as at Rhodes, hi whofe hands Boudroun was, before it patted into thofe of the Turks. But it is not neceflary to reach the more, in order to be convinced that the latter are its poflettbrs. Their negligence is manifeft as foon as one approaches the harbour, which the Turks have f uttered to be choked up, fo that there is no longer water enough for large fliips; this harbour is neverthelefs fafe and commodious, leaving to the Mind and fea only a very narrow entrance. Not far from Halicarnassus, and at the extremity of the fame pen in- fula, was another city of Caria, neither fo large nor fo celebrated, called Minnas', its name alone has been preferved, and it is ftill known by the name of Mindes or Mindesse. * Choiseui-Gouffier., Voyage Pittorefque de la Greet, vol. i. page 155. 5 The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 159 The cape, which terminates to the north the large promontory or pe^- ninfula forming the north fide of the Gulf of Stancho, is called Cape Gumichlv or Angeli; it is oppofite to Cape Patera, and at the entrance of another gulf, which the ancients called Jassius Sinus, from the name of the City of Jassus, which flood in its recefs. Between Cape Gumichlu and Cape Patera, the coaft is firewn with fhoals, which are called the Salvadjgo Iflands. They render the approach, to this land dangerous to navigation, CHAPTER 150 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XIII. Capra and Caprone. — Calamo. — Lero. — Levates. — Stampalia and its plea- fantnefs. — Fijhes. — Weeotr. — Mullet. — Mormylus. — Melanurus. — Skatari. — Cabrilla. — Natural hijlory qfjijhes. — Buffon and Lacepede. — Singularity of the cabrilla. 1HE firft ifland that is met with to *he north-weft, on quitting the Ifle of Stancho, is Capra, near which another, larger, is called Cafrone. The fmall extent of thefe two iflands, and their names, fufliciently indi- cate that they are inhabited only by goats, which find means to climb up rocks inacceffible to men. Farther on, lies an ifland fomewhat more confiderable, though not large, iince it is only five or fix leagues in circumference. It is called Calamo, Calmino, or Calimena. The ancients called it Claros; Pliny alfo diftinguiflies it by the name of Calydna, and Ovid has extolled the abundance of the honey which it produced*. There are, on this ifland, fome very lofty mountains, a population far from numerous, and the re- mains of an ancient town on the weft coaft ; on the other fide, a village, ■which alfo bears the name of Calamo, built on the fummit of a moun- tain, and near to it, a tolerably good harbour, formed by a bight or fmall gulf, before which lies an iflet that fhelters it from the winds and fea : but this harbour is little frequented ; the main land which is in the vi- cinity, and the larger iflands which are within reach, prefent harbours ftill Facundaque melle Calydna, — Metamorph. lib. viii. better, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 161 better, and at the fame time move calculated for the fupply of provifions to navigators, and for the fpeculations of traders. Calamo is, in fa<5t, a poor ifland, which cannot provide for the fubfiftence of its inhabitants, aimoft all occupied in procuring foreign refources by a carrying-trade. Their mountains, indeed, contain minerals ; but this circumftance, which, under another government than that of the Turks, would conftitute the wealth of a country, would, under theirs, become a fource of oppreffion and ruin. This is likewife the cafe with the Me of Lero, between which and the Me of Calamo we paffed, in order to proceed to Candia. It neither has more extent nor more advantages; a good harbour and a few coves, high mountains, in whofe bofom mines and quarries of marble might be worked, an ungrateful foil, its inhabitants under the neceffity of feeking abroad fuccours by navigation and traffic, a communication far from fre- quent with foreign fhipping, are fo many traits of conformity between thefe two iflands. Lero has not changed the name which it bore in antiquity; but its prefent ftatc is very different from that formerly enjoyed by this colony of Milefians. We then paffed between the Iflands of Stamp alia and Amotigo, after having left, between this latter ifland and that of Lero, fome barren and uninhabited iflets, which are called Levaths, anciently Lebynthos. Ships may anchor near the largeft of thefe iflets. In the name of Stampalja, or Stampalsa, we again find that of Astypalsa, which the fame ifland formerly bore. This name of Asty- baljea, which, in its proper fignification, means the ancient city, is faid r to 162 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to be derived from that of the daughter of Phcenix and Piiiamede, fifter of Europa, and beloved by Neptune, by whom ihe had Anc.eus, who- reigned over the people named Lelegi*. This ifiand was alio called PrERHA, Pilea, and at length Thlox-Trablza, that is, the table of the gods, becaufe its foil is rich with the gifts of fertility, and almoft every- where enamelled with flowers. In the time of Pliny, itM'asan independent country, which belonged to no onef. Here Achilles had a temple, and here that fort of worihip which was paid to valour, undoubtedly contributed to maintain among its inhabitants the energy neceflary for people who are not willing to fubmit to the yoke of a conqueror. If we chofe to give to Stampalia an epithet which might be applied to its irregular form, we mould call it the Indented Ijland. Its ihores are, in fact, as if rent, and prefenting a multitude of points and finuofities, which form fo many bays and coves more or lefs fit for the anchorage of fhips or boats; but we can fcarcely reckon there more than tAVO har- bours; the one to the fouth, the other to the north. It is much longer than it is broad, being only two leagues in its greateft breadth, and fix in length. It is not very lofty, and no high mountains caufe it to be clif- covered from afar. Soil of this nature is the moft adapted to fecundity, which takes delight in embellifhing plains and hills, and does not extend to the top of fteep mountains. St am pa li a is one of the molt fertile iflands of the Archipelago; its inhabitants partake of the mildnefs of the climate and the goodnefs of the foil; and there is not to be found in their character the roughnefs and afperity of their neighbours, the iflanders of Calamo and Lero, countries ungrateful and rugged. • Pausanias, book vii. chap. iv. f Hift. Nat. book iv. chap. jr. But, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 153 But, in regions fo favoured by Nature, and fo disfigured by the form of the adinmiftration to which an unhappy and too lading a lot has fubjefited them, the gifts of brilliant fecundity are fcourges, and a ftony aridity is a denrable bleffing. The one, the natural and legitimate fource of riches, becomes that of frequent exactions. The more a country is beautiful and fmiling, the more it attracts the attention and the vifits of ftupid and ferocious extortioners, who there fpread difcouragement and annihilate agriculture; whereas thofe mad defpots, who ruin themfelves by ruining? their domain, avoid barren countries, and dread men who live on moun- tains, the ufual afylum of poverty, courage, and independence. Were I at liberty to choofe an agreeable retreat, which, without being folitary, mould be free from noife or interruption; which mould not be deprived of communications from without, yet mould but feldom oc- cafion them to be wiflied for; which, under a happy temperature, would keep me alike fecure from the opprefiion of heat and from the fharp fenfations of cold; in which an eafy culture would yield me much beyond what can be expected from trifling labours, at the fame time that I mould find there the abundant refources of a wholefome and varied food; where my fleps and my fight would wander with fo much fatisfa&ion and plea- fure over plains enriched by the bounties of a fruitful agriculture, and che- quered with a multitude of flowers fown by the hand of Nature; where, in fhort, beauty is in a delightful harmony with tendernefs and fenfibility, my choice would fall on Stampalia, provided that it ceafed to be fubject to the empire of the Turks, and that not one of thofe profaners of the fineft countries of the earth could pollute it with his prefence. The fea is no where fo full of fifli as on the fhores of an ifland which Nature had deftined to be fortunate, and which the barbarous power of y 2 the m TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the Turks has contrived to render unhappy. The fiihes, which I tdiere faw the mo ft commonly taken, are the following: 1. The weever*, the dracon of the ancient Greeks, and which the moderns ftill name drakaina. In requeft for our tables, on account of the exquifite tafte and the firmnefs of its fleih, fiihermen dread it, from the pain and danger which they experience from the puncture of the prickles with which it is armed, and with which it (kikes with much force and addrefs. The moft common method of catching thefe fiihes in the fea of the Archi- pelago is with filk lines, which are funk to the bottom of the water, and care is taken, as foon as any are caught, to knock them in the head, in order to avoid their venemous wounds. I have known, in thefe feas, a fiiherman, Avho, having been pricked by a weever, experienced great in- flammation, and a confiderable fwelling, attended with fever and delirium. I have feen weevers whofe colours were not the fame,, and which had, on the fides of the body, large black fpots that others had not ; but thefe differences are not, perhaps, fufficient for conftituting diftinct fpecies, as feveral naturalifts have imagined; fince the differences eonfift only in varieties of colours, the effect of the different nature of the bottom where they feed, and of a few other circumftances, and fince; befides, thefe fiihes, whatever may be the diffimilarity of their tints, have all the fame forms, and the fame characters, as well internal as external. By the account of the fifhermen of the Levant, weevers do not there exceed a foot; and, indeed, that fize is even uncommon. They are pretty frequent in thofe feas, and their fleih is there much efteemed; but as, without being hard, it is more firm than that of other fiihes, it is cuf- tomary to allow a longer time for its being dreffed. * Trachinus draco. Li H ft, S. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 165 2. The "mugil or mullet*, to which the modern Greeks have preferved the name of kephalos, given it by their aneeftors. The Turks call it hefal-baluc. Many of thefe fiihes, which are of a fmall fize, are taken in the Archipelago during the fummer: they require, according to every appearance, a more open fea, when they have' attained a larger growth ; for thofe caught on the coaft. of the Ifland of Candia. are generally larger than thofe found in the narrow channels which feparate the iflands; unlefs we imagine fmaller mullets to be a diftincT; variety, to which the Greeks give the denomination of kephalo-poulo, little mullet* 3. The mormylus f 5 or mormyra of the modern Greeks, a name which differs very little from that of mo-rmyros or mormylos, under which the ancients knew that fim, on account of its whitenefs and its marbled fpots. Silvery white, blue, and gold colour j'ellOw, gliften on it's fcales, and cupreous reflections increafe their luftre. Its flefh does not corre- fpond with the beauty of its exterior ; it is far from firm, and fometimes contracts the tafte of mud, in which the mormylus delights, and where it feeds on little cruftacea and mollufca, Writers on ichthyology have faid that the mormylus fcarcely attains more than the length of a foot. I faw one in the Archipelago which was upwards of a foot and a half in length. 4. Another fifh of the fame genus as the mormylus, but whofe flefh. is delicate and well-tafted, is called by the modern Greeks melanonri. It is the oblade of our coafts in the Mediterranean \, the melanouros of the ancient Greeks, and. the klali or the fchargufch of the Arabs. I give * Mugil cephalus. Linn. f Sparus mormyrus. Linn. J Sparus meJanurttS) Likh, the 166 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the figure of it (Plate IF. Jig. 1.), becaufc I found that it was by no means exact in the book.3 of natural hiftory of fillies, which is owing, per- haps, to the exiftence of fome variety in this fpecies. The name of melanurus has been given to this fiih, on account of a large black fpot which it has on each fide of the tail, near the fin. Other fpecies alfo bear the fame fpot; but they are cafily diilinguilhed from this, which has the body more elongated, and the eyes larger: this latter character has likewife procured it the denomination of ocalata in Latin, and occhiata in Italian. A colour of a blackifh blue, with reflec- tions ihining with filver, adorns, with changeable fhades, the upper part of the body; it grows fainter on approaching the belly, which is of a lilvery white. The eyes are of a gold colour yellow, with a few light and blackiih fhades. The colours are more faint and lefs dazzling on the fcales of the females and the young ones. When thefe fillies are ftill fmall, the Greeks call them aphropfara, froth-filhes. The bait the moll in ufe for taking the melanurus in the Archipelago is a mixture of bread and cheefe, which is thrown on the water. 5. The fkdtari of the Greeks of the Archipelago, another fpecies of fparus which has much affinity to the cantharus *, or filvery-eyed fparus, with yellow, longitudinal, parallel lines; but which, at the fame time, differs from it fufficiently to be confidcred as a diftinct fpecies, or at leaft as a conftaut variety. (See Plate V. Jig. 2.) The drawing reprefents exactly all the details of exterior conformation ; and the moll certain manner of expreffing them, being to fpeak to the eyes by good figures, I fliall difpenfe with endeavouring to trace thofe forms by words, which, however clear we may fuppofe them, prefent but an imperfect image of the objects which we purpofe to defcribe. I fhall confine myfelf to faying a few words of the parts which do not appear in the drawing. • Sparui cantharus. Linn. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. i6f The opening of the mouth is very {mail, if we compare it to the fize of the fifli. Each jaw is furniflied in front with long teeth, bent inwards, pointed, and fufnciently diftinci from each other for thofe above to lock between thofe below, and vice vcrfi. The number of thefe teeth is not the fame in every individual: I have feen fome with twelve; others with ten in each jaw; fome again have only ten above and twelve below. Be- hind thefe teeth, the jaws are thickly befet with a great number of fmall points, which render them rough to the touch like a rafp ; and on the rides is a row of other teeth, fhort and {lender; the tongue is terminated in a point ; and in the infide of the throat there is, botb above and below, a bony tubercle covered with afperities- The Jkatari has- the upper part of the {ides of the head of a gray, va- riegated with a blackim hue; the top of the head, between the eyes, appearing, in certain lights, of a cupreous and azure blue; a blackim. tint round the eyes ; the opercular of the gills of a brilliant, cupreous green colour, with blackifh variegations; the fides of the body of a blackim gray, deeper towards the middle, and ftriped, throughout all the length, with lines of a iky blue ; the under part of the head and body variegated with gray and white; the dorfal fin half blackifh gray, and gray clouded with, bright blue; the caudal fin of a gray, gliftening with cupreous reflections, and terminated in black; the pinna ani fpotted with gray and bluifh, with a gray border, and a little bright blue in the part occupied by the prickly rays; the ventral fins variegated with gray, white, and blui/h; laftly, the pectoral fins gray, with tints of Iky blue. The lateral line is of a yellow, llightly tinged with a bluifii caft; the eyes are blue, with white fpots, and the infide of the mouth, as well as the tongue, is white. I obferved, that all the fiihes of this fpecies had not the fame tints nor the fame colours; and thefe trifling difparities are probably produced 1 by \6$ TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. by age, fcx, or the nature of the bottom. They all have the gall-bladder elongated and cylindrical, the fplcen blackiih, the liver large, and of a reddilh gray, the air-bladder very ample, and of the fame form as that of thpjangri % Their flcfh is firm and .delicate; they approach the coafts only during bad weather: I have been affured that the feafon for fpawning was in the months of September and Oclober. Thefe fillies are of an ex- treme voracity, and they exercife it on thofe of the fmall fpecies; almoft all the fkataris which I opened, had the ftomach and inteftines filled with athernos, filh.es of which I mall fpeak in the fequeh 6. The cabrilla\, a fmall fifh which has many affinities to the perch. The Greeks have preferved to it the ancient name of channo, from the verb chainein, which fignifies to gape, becaufe this fifh almoft continually keeps its mouth open, and feems to gape. (See Plate IV. fig. 3.) In the feas of the Levant, are caught cabrillre which vary in colour: thefe differences, according to the Greek fifhermen, are owing to the diverfity of the bottom on which the cabrilke live habitually; and this obfervation is, with fome modifications, perhaps applicable to other fpecies of fifties.. The cabrillaj, which keep on a rocky bottom, have colours more lively and more variegated than thofe which remain, from preference, on a bottom foft and muddy. Among the great number of fiflies of this fpecies which I examined in the Ahchipelaco, I remarked four very diftin6l varieties. Thofe of the firft have the head variegated with brown, red, and bluifh gray, with orange colour ftreaks; the upper half of the body of a bright brown, fhaded with gray, with broad ftripes of a reddifh brown ; the lower * Seepage 113 of this volume. f Ptrea cahrilla. Linn. part TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 169 part of the body of a bluifli gray, ftriped longitudinally with orange co- lour; the under part of the head red; the belly of a pale rofe colour; the dorfal fin blackifh at its bafe, afterwards bluifh, then flaxen, laftly bordered with gray, with white fpots ; the caudal and anal fins bluifli, and fpotted with flaxen ; the ventral fins of the fame bluifh colour, with yellow lines between the rays; the membrane of the pe&oral fins of a bluifh gray, and its rays of a gold colour; the eyes orange colour; the infide of the mouth a little reddifh, and the tongue white. The cabrillae of the fecond variety differ from thofe of the firft, by a broad ftripe of a reddifh brown dividing them into two equal parts throughout all their length ; by another ftripe, equally broad, of an orange colour, having immediately underneath it a bar of fky blue, ex- tending from the pectoral fins to the tail, on a bluifh gray ground; by having the under part of the head of a bright red, and the iris of the eyes yellow, and fpotted with red. A third variety comprehends the fiflies of this fpecies, whofe head is of a gray fhaded with a bluifli tinge, with flaxen lines; the upper half of the body gray, and ftriped with large tranfverfal bands of a fawn colour gray, the other half bluifli, and ftriped longitudinally with flaxen colour; the whole body gliftening with reddifh reflections ; the under part of the head of a pale rofe colour; the belly white, lightly fhaded with red; the caudal fin bluifli, fpeckled with bright blue and orange colour, and ter- minated with a blackifh tint; the pinna ani without fpots, and the iris of the eyes white. Laftly, and this laft variety is veiy uncommon, are fome cabrilla? which are white, and whofe tranfverfal ftripes are of a very light fawn colour, and the longitudinal lines of a very light red. z If 170 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. If the reader compare thefe details refpecling the forms and colours of cabrillre with the incomplete and even incorrect defcriptions which are to be found in the Avorks of naturalifts who have fpoken of them, fuch as Bjs'lox, Ron dele t, Sabias, Willughby, &c. he will be convinced that the natural hiftory of fillies has ftill much to acquire, and that a multitude of obfervations is wanting for our knowledge in this line, to be on a par with that which has been collected in fome other branches of zoology. This branch, however, is not the leaft important; it interefts the arts, commerce, and navigation, thofe powerful vehicles of the wealth and profperity of nations; and the laudable curiofity, which leads well-intentioned perfons to learn and admire the infinite and majeftic: variety of the works of Nature, finds an aliment worthy of it in that immenfe crowd of beings that people the waters, and there dif- play the dazzling reflections with which the fcales of the greater part of them glitter. But fo interefting a branch of the fcience of Nature is on the point of taking a new flight, and reaching the pitch which has been attained by other parts more eafy, but neither more agreeable nor more ufeful to be cultivated. Buffon had given an impulfe to every mind ; the knowledge of natural hiftory, generally neglected or confined to the narrow cir- cle of the learned, became a prevailing tafte, a want for men animated by the defire of inftruction ; the genius of the Pliny of France, equally lofty, equally fublime, but lefs gloomy than that of the Pliny of antiquity, lighted them with his torch, and led the way to the fanctuary of Nature, whofe molt fecret recelfes, and mod precious ma- terials, he had begun to unveil and expofe to admiration. In terminat- ing a career of glory which conducted him to the temple of Immortality, this man, of gigantic renown, againft which the efforts of audacious Me- diocrity, and the fliafts of obfeure Envy, are annihilated, like feeble 5 waves TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. m waves againft a rock {landing on an unihaken bafe; this man, I fay, the cherifhed confidant and painter of Nature, bequeathed his rights and his pencils to him of his cotemporaries the moft worthy of that brilliant and honourable inheritance. We love to find again the fuc- ceffor of Buffon, to follow him in his profound refearches, to contem- plate the colouring and harmony of his pictures, to participate in the movements of the exquifite fenfibility of his foul; and if Buffon found means to render the ftudy of the natural hiftory of quadrupeds and birds fo attracting, it was referved for Lace pe n de to diffufe the fame charms on the natural hiftory of fillies. An ancient naturalift, whofe name ought of courfe to be claffed with thofe of Pliny, Buffon, and Lace'pede, has faid that the ca- brilla? were all females*. This opinion was fo widely fpread, that it was adopted even by the poetsf. Rondelet affirms that all thofe which he dhTected had a womb J ; other authors have repeated what was written by Aristotle and Rondelet; but this obfervation has, without inquiry, been rejected by Duhamel||. However, the remark of Aristotle is not deftitute of foundation ; and if we chofe to take, the trouble of verify- ing moft of the facts which the valuable works of antiquity fet forth as true, and which thofe of our days declare to be falfe, we ihould, perhaps, get the better of the frenzy that leads us to reject a multitude of obfei- vations, which, although they claih with general ideas, are not, on that account, the lefs real. * Aristotle, Hift. of Animals, book iv. chap, ii.; book vi. chap. xh\; and Treatife cm Generation, book iii. chap. v. and x. •J- Concipiunt channa gemino fraudata parente. Ovid. % Apud Gefnerum, in aquatilibus, de cbanna. I II Traits de Pecbes, partii. feft. iii. chap. iii. art. ii. z 2 I endeavoured 172 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. I endeavoured to afcertain whether Aristotle had heen miftaken on this occafion, as Duhamel has aflerted. I opened feveral cabrillae in the Levant; and, if they were not all females, properly fo called, all might be reckoned real hermaphrodites, fince all had feed or foft roe, and at the fame time an ovarium, containing eggs in a fmall quantity. Thefe fiflies fcarcely exceed eight or ten inches in length, in the fea of the Archipelago, where they are frequently met with. It is in autumn that they appear there moft commonly, and are caught with greater fa- cility, becaufe they are then affembled in fhoals. They devour fifties fmaller than themfelves, but nevertheless fufficiently large to appear fecure from the voracity of cabrillae: I faw one five inches long, which had fwallowed an atherno of nearly three inches in length. And, indeed, their gluttony has become proverbial among feveral nations of the Eaft. However, the flem of the cabrilla is white, firm, and Avell-flavoured ; but it is full of fmall bones, which render it troublefome to be eaten. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 173 CHAPTER XIV. Amorgo. — Oracle invented by the Greek monks. — Prefent Jlate of that ijland. — Archil. — Trade of the French and of the EngliJIi in the Levant. — Squills or fea-onions. — Tetters. — Teeth. — Prejudices. — JVomen of Amorgo. — Their drefs. — Amorgo-Poulo. — I/lets. 1 O the north-weft of the Ifland of Stampalia is the Ifle of Amorgo, which, in the time of Pliny, bore the fame name of Amorgos, or Amorgus; more anciently it was called Hypera, and before then Pa- tage, and, according toothers, Plataga*. It is not quite fo large as Stampal . and its lhores are lefs winding, and lefs thickly furniihed Anth capes and points: accordingly it prefents not fo many retreats to navigators. There are none on its long eaftern coaft, which is very lleep, and we can fcarcely reckon more than two tolerably commodious har- bours, or havens, on its weftern lhore ; the one, to the north, is called Porto San? Anna ; and the other, to the fouth, and the better, Porto Vat hi. The inhabitants of Amorgo were formerly friends to the fciences and fine arts; at this day they are devoted to ignorance, and to fuperftition, its faithful companion. In the country which gave birth to Simonides, he of the Greek poets who poffefled, in the higheft degree, the art of • Pliny, Hift. Nat. lib. iv. cap. xii. moving 174 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. moving the paffions, and of caufing the fweet tears of feniibility to flow, are now to be found no others than papas and caloyers, without genius, as well as without knowledge, and credulous minifters of an abfurd cre- dulity. They fhew, in a fmall chapel, a vafe, which they affirm to be a certain oracle, and which the ignorant confult, in order to know what will be the hTue of a voyage, or an enterprife. The vafe full of water is a fign of fuccefs; if it be almoft empty, it announces ill fortune; and fables and impoftures of this fort have, among the modern Greeks, re- placed the ingenious and allegorical fictions of their anceftors. Of three ancient towns, Arcesika, Minoe, and JEgiale, deftroyed even to their very veftiges, fmce their fite is doubtful, there remains only a little town, or village, built on an eminence; and monafteries, where miracles are the occupation and the principal revenue of the monks or caloyers who inhabit them. High mountains, naked and fteep rocks, occupy fome points of the ifland. In other parts, plains and vallies are the domain of a brilliant fertility. The abundance of its wines, oil, corn, and fruits, was re- nowned ; it Hill fubfifts, although lefs rich, becaufe, far from being fe- conded, it has to furmount the obftacles and difficulties of a bad admi- niftration. A few diftri<5ts are flill well cultivated, and yield rich har- vefts ; olive-trees there furniih a tolerably large quantity of oil, in pro- portion to the extent of the territory ; figs are there good and very com- mon, and the wine is ftill of a very good quality. That fpecies of large grape with oval feeds, and a fucculent and perfumed pulp, which the pefent Greeks call ox-eye, and we raifin cCAlexakdrie, there becomes of a coniiderable fize, and very delicious. If TRAVELS IN GREEGE AND TURKEY. 175. If agriculture has almoft preferved its ancient profperity, the arts are there extinct, as well as the fciences which accompany and direct them. At Amorgos are no longer fabricated thofe rich fluffs, which, under the name of amorgis, were in great requefl, both on account of the finenefs of their tiffue, and of the beauty of the colour with which they were dyed. The inhabitants, neverthelefs, ftill apply themfelves to dyeing; and they know how to give to their linen-cloths a red colour with archil, a fpecies of lichen, which is called by the French, in trade, orfeille dlierbe on (J\4frique*. This not only clothes the rocks ofAaioRGOs, but it grows alfo on thofe of feveral other iflands of the Archipelago, and particularly in that of Argentiera, of Tino, and of Policandro. But the Greeks of the greater part of thofe iflands were not acquainted with the property of this archil, which they confidered as a ufelefs mofs, of whofe name even they were ignorant. It was not till 1776, or 1777, that they began to know that it was of fome value; and they learnt this from the Englifh, who came to purchafe it, and fhip it on board fmall veffels. The latter paid for it from fix to thirteen parats the ocque, that is, from three to fix fous the pound. When I was in thofe iflands, in 1799, archil ftill paffed there by no other name than that of Engli/hman's graft* Thus it is that people, whofe inftitutions are directed towards trade and manufactures, learn to avail themfelves of every refource, and exercife their induftrious activity on productions which others difdain ; thus it is that, in the greateft things, as well as in thofe which are the moft trifling in appearance, the Englifh nation has almoft always preceded every other in point of difeoveries, and does not confider as unworthy of its refearche* * 'Lichen Gracus, Polypoides, tinfiorius, faxatilis, Tourn. cor. xl. ; and funis verrucofui tinSorius. Inftit. Rei. Herb. — Lichen roccella. Linn. and 176 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. and fpeculations, objects which feem the moft minute, provided they can be turned to the benefit of traffic and of the ufeful arts. I have always been (truck by the manner in which the French carried on trade in the Levant. Not but that it was rich and flouri filing; yet they proceeded only on a large fcale; they neglected fmaller matters in a country where the divifion of the foil commands them, and where they may be multiplied with considerable advantage; and it cannot be doubted, that a junction of feveral fmall branches of traffic, each of which, in particular, appears of little importance, may, in its turn, form a mafs of produce very intereiting to commerce and induftry. Thefe reflections, to which I mall give greater fcope in the fequel of this work, naturally prefent themfelves, when we have feen the French, whofe trade to the Levant Avas very anciently efta- blifhed ; who there obtained a very great preponderancy, and held it al- moft entirely in their own hands; whofe agents were fpread, for a time, over all its iflands which afforded any intereft, whether from their com- merce, or from the intercourfe with the fhipping Mmich touched there; when we have, I fay, feen the French, enjoying in the Turkiih empire an afcendency which other nations were far from attaining, not availing them- felves of fo advantageous a pofition, neglecting eafy means of increafing their commercial riches, and fuffering foreigners to get poffeffion of them, and to derive a confiderable profit from what they either did not know, or difdained. The fame Englifh veffels which came to turn to account the productions of the rocks of the fmall iflands of the Archipelago, alfo took in fquills, or fea-onions *, which grow there in abundance, on the mountains and between the rocks. While augmenting their own commerce, they thus * Scuilla maritima. Linn. i The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 177 furnilhed to the pooreft clafs of thofe iflands, which there, as every where, are numerous, new means of exiftence, by the learch, far from laborious, of archil and fquills. The Greeks of the Archipelago call this latter plant kouroara-Jkilla, ball fquill; kourvara fignifying properly a ball of thread. They alfo give the name ofjkitta to a plant of another genus, and which is an orchis or fatyrion * But, in order to diftinguhh it from the real fquill, thefe inlanders call it orchida-Jkilla, fquill with tefticles, on account of the form of its fleihy and oblong bulbs, fbmewhat fhnilar to the tefticles of fheep. In the Ar- chipelago, they are reckoned to be very ferviceable for the cure of tetters. I myfelf have feen fome very good effects from them, when that diforder did not arife from a blood too much vitiated. The whole preparation con- fifts in dividing, with a knife, one of thefe bulbs in the middle, and in making incifions in its flefh, in order that the juice may flow from it more eafily. The tetters are rubbed with this repeatedly. This very fimple medicament makes them difappear when they are recent, and cleanfes and ibftens very much the more inveterate and of longer ftanding. .But, in countries where fuperftition is always by the fide of reality, people are not contented with properties confirmed by reafon and experience, but feek imaginary ones. To fatyrion is attributed the virtue of preferving the teeth white and found for a length of time, not by making ufe of fome of the parts of that plant for the purpofe of rubbing or warning the teeth ; but if any one meet with a young fhoot of fatyrion, at the moment when it is beginning to appear above ground, he muft proftrate himfelf, and bite, as hard as he can, this fprouting ftem, which is then white, with a few black fpecks. * Satyrium erchio'ides. Link. a a A multitude 178 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. A multitude of fimilar practices are to be remarked among the modern Greeks. Thefe are not, as in countries where inftruction and knowledge are more diffufed, the ridiculous appendage of the ignorant clafs. Opu- lence, which procures elfewhere the advantages of a good education, and repels foolifh credulity, makes, in Greece, no difference on this fubjecl between the rich man and him who lives in a (late of wretchednefs. They all are given up to the fame errors, to the fame practices of fuperftitious credulity, to the fame confidence in ignorance, and in traditions equally abfurd and whimfical ; fo that there, prejudices are common to all claffes, and fenfehfs creeds are there generally accredited, and, if I may fo exprefs myfelf, are national. Of thefe I fliall frequently have occafion to mention inftances which de- ferve to be collected as materials for the hiftory of the human mind, and, in particular, for that of a people who were at all times one of the raoft fuperftitious in the world, and whom flavery, and a forgetfulnefs of the ffciences and fine arts, have involved in all the errors which ignorance can introduce into minds long fince difpofed to welcome and prcferve them. Among the allurements of Amorgos, we muft place in the firft rank the mildnefs and affability of its inhabitants, and the beauty of the wo- men, who, by their charms, remind us that we are in countries, where, from time immemorial, the moft amiable fex were in poiTeffion of forms the moft noble and moft elegant, of the bloom of brilliant colour, of an outline the moft graceful, of minute attractions the moft fafcinating. But thefe handfome women clothe themfelves with ftrange drefies, to which European eyes are not eafily reconciled; and they muft needs be truly beautiful to appear fo under fuch a garb. It bears much refem- blance TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 179 blance to the drefs of the women of Nilo and Argentiera, of which I give the figure {Plate 777.); with this difference — the women of Amorgos pafs a fliawl, or large yellow handkerchief, made of fine wool, over their forehead and the lower part of their face, twid it round their head in the form of a turban, tie it behind, and fuffer a long end of it to hang down their back. Among the people of the East, faihions are not, as in our weftern countries, ephemeral fancies, bantlings of inftability and capricious luxury ; they are cuftoms lading and ancient, whole origin is lod in the obfcurity of ages, and which will dill have a long continuance. If, as cannot be doubted, the ufages of nations are an image of their cha- racter, we fhall conceive a high opinion of the coaftancy of the women of Amorgos, and of all thofe of the other parts of Greece, who, like them, attached to ancient habits, and drangers to the verfatility of fancies, have preferved their drefs, however whimfical, however incon- venient even it may appear, when one is not accudomed to fee it or wear it. In fa<5t, it is among thefe women, fo favoured by Nature, but at the fame time fo indifferent as to procuring themfelves garments more fuitable to their fhape, and better calculated for the more advantageous difplay of their charms, that it is common to meet with the valuable union of beauty, glowing affection, and conftancy. South of the Ifland of Amorgos, and at the didance of about three leagues, is feen an uninhabited iflet, which is called Auorgo-Poulo, or Little Amorgo. Between the fame ifland and that of Naxia, that is, to the weft of the former, are other iflets equally uncultivated and uninhabited, fome of a a 2 which, 180 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. which, covered with lentifks *, fmall cyprefs-leaved cedars, f, and other wild plants, ferve for the feeding of the flocks which are kept on them ; while the others, which confifl of fteep mattes of rocks deftitute of all verdure, are the abode of a multitude of birds of prey. * Lentifcus 'vulgaris. Tourn. f Ctcirus haccifera, folio cuprejfi, major, fruftufla'vefcente. Tourn. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 131 CHAPTER XV. Nanfio. — Partridges. — Nio. — Fefi'wal of St. Gregory. — Cock-roaches. — Day reputed unlucky among the Greeks. — Women of Nio. — Hair of the Greek Women. — Dreffes of the Women of Nio, and of feme other ijlands of the Archipelago. — Women of Santorin. — Cotton manufactures. — Ifland of Santorin. — Kammeni. —? Account of afudden appearance of a nexo ifland in 1707. — Its prefent fiate. — Superfluous idea conceived of it by the Gi^eeks. — Pumice-flones. — I/lands of the Gulf of Santorin. — A bank or ledge appearing likely to form, ere long, another ifland. — Earthquakes. — Ifland o/Santorin. — Nature of its foil, its produtlions. — Thera. — Py rgos. — San Nicolo. — Scaro. — Greeks of Santorin. — Their efforts for prevent- ing, in their ifland, the working of pozzolana. — Chriftiana. 1HE channel formed by the Iflands of Stampalia and Amorgos, ex- tends between two others, equally inconfiderable, Nanfio and Nio. The former, fituated to the fouth-weft of Stampalia, is little more than feveti leagues in circuit. Its firft name was Membliaros; which it derived from Membliares, the Phoenician, who, when his relation Cadmus went in queft of Europa, accompanied him, and fettled in the neighbouring Ifland of Thera. It has fince been named Anaphe, a Phoenician word, which, according to Bochart, fignifies fhaded and dark, an epithet which this ifland had obtained from its gloomy and thick forefts. How- ever, the molt common opinion is, that it owes this name of Anaphe to the Greek word phaino, which means to appear, from the thunder having on a fudden occafioned it to rife from the bottom of the waters, in order to 18*2 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. to receive the fleet of the Argonauts on its return from Colchis, when aflailed by a furious tempeft. This fable of antiquity is the hiftory of the formation of Nan no, which a volcano caufed to appear Suddenly above the fca, in the midft of a violent agitation of the atmofphere and of the waves, as has happened to fome other iflands of the Archipelago. v In memory of this event was built a temple, which was confecrated to Apollo JEgletls, or dazzling with light. Mirth, wine, and pleafantry, prefided at the feftivals which were here celebrated. Slight veftiges of this temple are ftill to be found on the place which it occupied, in the fouth part of the illand ; and the marble of which it was conftrucled was taken from a very deep rock, of a frightful afpeel, on whofe fummit is feen a chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of the Reed; in modern Greek, Panagia Kalamotifa. The tufted forefts, which are faid to have darkened the furface of the ifland, have difappeared; and there are now to be found only fome fcattered fhrubs. Its mountains are barren and naked, and its plains afford not a vegetation much more brilliant. Agriculture there languishes; and, not- withftanding the goodnefs of the foil, barley is almoft the only plant which there produces any harveft. Some fmall plantations of vines yield good wine, and honey is common. Tournefort relates, that partridges multiplied there fo prodigioufly, that, in order to preferve the corn, the inhabitants, by direction of the magiftrates, collect all the eggs that can be found about the Eafter holidays, and which commonly amount to upwards of ten or twelve thoufand ; thefe are made into all forts of fauces, and especially into omelets: " however, notwithstanding this precaution," Says Tournefort, " we put up covies of partridges at every Step*." I • Relation d'un Voyage du Levant, vol. i. 4te. page 276. had TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. J8S had not an opportunity of afcertaining whether this great quantity of partridges exifl at Nanfio at the prefent day. They are, in general, very common in the iflands of the Archipelago; but, however, not fo much fo as they were in the laft-mentioned ifle, in the time of Tourne- fort. The partridges of the iflands of the Archipelago are of the red fpe- cies*: they there live on the mountains and in the midft'of the bullies; they are fometimes feen perched on trees, which is never the cafe with gray partridges. The fportfmen of the Levant have obferved that thefe birds, when they run, always go up hill. They are the moft common game in thofe countries, where they are fold at a very low price; their flefli is more favoury than that of the gray partridges. A fmall town, built to the fouth, contains the whole population of Nanfio; every thing befpeaks the wretchednefs fpread over the territory of the ifland. Here is no harbour; but, in front of the town, mips find a very good roadftead, protected by a fmall fhoal, which is called Nanfio-Povlo, Little Nanfio. The Ifle of Nio, more fertile, and at the fame time more celebrated, lies to the weft of Nanfio, and to the fouth of Amorgos. It is in the harbour of this ifland, known by the ancients under the name of los, becaufe it was peopled by Ionians, that Homer expired, in his voyage from Samos to Athens. The inhabitants, in honour of him, erected a tomb, of which there are no longer any veftiges, in like manner as the modern Greeks have loft all remembrance of the honourable interment which their anceftors beftowed on the moft famous poet of antiquity. * Perdrix rouge. Buffon, Hift. Nat. des Qifeasx, et planche enluminee, No. 150.— Tetraorufus. Var. 6. Linn. The 18-t TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The prcfent town, \rhieh bears the fame name as the ifland, is built on an eminence, and, probably, on the fpot which was occupied by the ancient city. Nothing remarkable is there to be found, unlefs it be the hofpitable character of thofe who refide there; they fliew to ftrangers great attention, and the molt obliging behaviour; and, on quitting them, every one is imprelfed with the beft opinion of their generous affability*. The women, on their part, likewife embellim this abode by their charms, their kindnefs, and their virtues. The French had a conful in this place; but, fince the fyftem has pre- vailed of uniting, or, to fpeak more correclly, of limiting our commerce to the large fea-ports, velfels have ceafed to frequent the excellent har- bour of Nro, and the government to maintain there a fuperintendant, Avhofe prefence became ufelefs in the plan which had been formed, and which was far from being the moft advantageous for commerce. The interior of the ifland, lefs hilly than the foil of the greater part of thofe of which I have fpoken, produces abundance of wheat, part of which the inhabitants export for fale. Cupidity, want of forefight, the eager defire of enjoyment, more confpicuous among men who live in oppreffion and misfortune, and who have only to look forward to a fu- turity that is doubtful, have induced the inhabitants to fell the fine -woods which covered fome diftricls; fo that Nio, after having fupplied the neighbouring illands, • is at prefent ahnoft entirely deftitute. But the mildnefs of the climate renders not this fcarcity of wood diftreiung; the * Tournefort (Voyage au Levant ) has defcribed the Niots as thieves and robbers; but either this author was not acquainted with them, or they have greatly changed, fxnee the period of his Travels. It is probable that then there were at Nio fome remains of the colony which a Duke of Naxia, to whom the ifland belonged, introduced there, and which was com- pofed of Albanians, a tribe of Greeks, warlike, reftlefs, and inclined to robbery. 5 inhabitants TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. i85 inhabitants never have occafion to feek the fire-fide, and the lentifks, and other fhrubs which grow there, iufrice for the wants of cookery. On the whole, Nio is a very agreeable and quiet place of refidence. I happened to be there on the day when the Greeks celebrate, in the fpring, the feftival of St. Gregory, a feftival that they confecrate, in a manner, to cock-roaches, difgnfting and troublefome infects, which are very common in thefe countries during the fummer *. The day before, every family ought to have laid in their flock of water and herbs ; were any to be brought in on that day, it would be imagined that the houfe would be filled with cock-roaches. This precaution is, neverthelefs, infufn- cient for conjuring away thofe infects: every head of a family muft pro- cure two or three of them, which he fhuts up in a hollow reed, and throws them into the fea, at the fame time uttering a thoufand curfes. Al- though long experience has demonftrated the inefficacy of this ceremony and of thefe imprecations, there is not a tingle Greek of Nio, and of feveral other iflands of the Archipelago, who annually, on fuch a day, does not obferve them fcrupuloufly, though not a year panes without their houfes being infefted with cock-roaches in the fummer : fo blind is fuperftition, when time and ignorance have allowed it to take deep root ! Another precaution full as ufelefs, but which is not, on that account, the lefs obferved by the Greeks of the fame iflands, is that by which they every year note the day when the feftival of St. John the Raptift falls. They are particularly careful not to undertake any thing the fame day of the week, during the whole year, becaufe they are perfuaded that a work, a voyage, any bufinefs whatever, begun at this period, would in- fallibly mifcarry, or have a very unfortunate iflue. * Blaita Orientalis Linn. The modern Greeks call it katfarida. b b The 136 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The drefs of the women of Nio is much the fame as that of the women- of Amorgos, and of mod of the iflands of the Archipelago. But at Nio, they do not, as at Amorgos, conceal part of their handfome face, by an intrufive piece of cloth: their features are entirely expofed to view, their forehead is uncovered, and the fhawl, with which their head is enveloped, exhibits a fort of crefcent of beautiful black hair, glofly as jet, and foft as filk. I (hall remark, on this occafion, that the fize, and confequently the coarfenefs of the hair, appears to depend on the feverity of the climates- Negroes have wool, and I have never feen any where hair fo fine as on the- head of the greater part of the women of the East. We might make an exception againft the garments of the women of Nio, and of the other iflands where they are accuftomed to wear any of the fame defcription, for not reaching fufficiently low, and being re- pugnant to decency. Their petticoat, in fuel, comes only to the knees; but in this defeel, of length, which, added to the forms of the other parts of the drefs, has fomething whimfical and grotefque, there is no- thing immodeft. If, in our country, the idea of impropriety and ef- frontery accompanies a woman whofe legs are not covered, at lead in a great meafure, by long garments, it is that the legs, although drefled, are, with our women, immediately connected with parts which are not, and which decency ftriclly conceals from view. But what it reproves among us, cannot alarm in the East. There, all the women are com- pletely clothed ; they all wear drawers, which permit them not to em- barrafs their legs by long petticoats. The Turkim women, and the female Greeks of the large towns, make ufe of long and ample drawers, which come down to their heels; they even TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 187 even wear them double: the under pair is of linen or cotton, and that which appears is of linen or lilk. The drawers of the women of the Archipelago are plain, fliort, and, mod commonly, made of cotton. Like thofe of the Turkifli women, and rich female inhabitants of the cities and towns, they are in like manner confined, above the hips, by a girdle of knit filk or cotton, paffed through a noofe, and fattened in front by a long running knot: they are alfo very ample; but they do not reach beyond the knee, under which they are confined with firings that are covered by the {lockings. The women are in the habit of tying thefe firings fo tight, at the top of the calf of the leg, that their impreflion becomes fufficiently deep and broad to admit the finger. This cuftom of clothing themfelves more completely has, methinks, great advantages for the health of the women : adopted by ours, it would fave them from a crowd of diforders, which may very probably have no other caufe than their having neglected it, and by this, decency would, doubtlefs, be no lofer. The garments of the women of the Ifland of Santorin have more regularity, and are longer, than thofe of which I have juft fpoken; their head is covered by a rolled fliawl, twilled in the form of a turban, and which, moft commonly, paffes under the chin. Their principal occupa- tion is to fpin cotton, which grows very well in that country, and ferves for the manufacture of cloths, known in the Levant by the names of dimities and efcamites, an important branch of induftry, and the prin- cipal trade of that famous ifland.- It is well known that Santo rin, formerly Thera, and more anciently Callista, a word which fignifies the Handfome, has experienced Angular changes from the effect of fubterraneous fires. Emerged from the bofom of the fea, it was afterwards partly f wallowed up in the year %37 before BBS the 388 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the Chriftian era, anel feparated from Therasia, a fmall ifland at this day called Jsprofisi. The fpace contained between thofe two iflands, and at prefent filled by the fea, made, according to the well-founded opinion of a judicious obferver*, a part of Thera, or of the large iflaud, which, at the time of this revolution, affumed the form of a crefcent. In- deed, the coaft of that gulf, compofed of fteep rocks, black, calcined, and towering upwards of three hundred feet above the level of the fea, appears to be the edge of an enormous crater, the bottom of which has never been fathomed. Several other revolutions happened fucceffively in the fame place; and the terrifying fcenes of the great convulfions of Nature have been re- newed there repeatedly: an earthquake was felt forty years after the Iflands of Thera and Therasia were feparated. The waters boiled up, and a new ifland rofe above the fea, and all at once prefeuted itfelf to the eyes of aftoniihecl navigators f. This little ifland was called Kiera, facred, no doubt, on account of its origin, which bordered on a prodigy, and which occafioned it to be confecrated to the god of hell. The nature of the calcined fubftances of which it is formed has flnce obtained it the name of Kammeni, or the Burnt JjJaud. Subterraneous commotions, convulfions, and other phenomena, terrified the men of thefe countries, at different times, and produced on the land changes more or lefs confiderable, till the year J 743, when another ifland luddenly appeared above the furface of the waters. In order to diftin- * M. De Choiseul-Gouffier, Foyage Pitt ore foe de G rice, vol. i. pages J22 and 323. f Justin, book xxx. chap. iv. note, that Pliny (Hift. Nat. lib. ii. cap. lxxxvii.) fays* improperly, that this event took place one hundred and thirty years after that which gave birth to the Ifle of Therajia. guiili TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 189 guifli it from the former, which is the larger, the Greeks have named it Micri Kammeni, or the Little Burnt Ijland. Laftly, at the beginning of the century which has juft elapfed, a new iflet appeared between the Great and the Little Kammeni, about a league from Santorin. It was on the 23rd of May, 1707, at break of day, that were perceived the commencements of this other production of the fubterraneous fires which burn in thefe parts. On the 18th of the fame month, there had been felt at Santorin, two flight fhocks of an earth- quake. No great attention was paid to them at the time; but, in the fequel, there was reafon to fuppofe that, at that moment, the new iflet was beginning to detach itfelf from the bottom of the fea, and to rife towards its furface. Be this as it may, fome Greeks belonging to San- torin having, very early in the morning, feen the firft points of the growing ifland, imagined that thefe might be the remains of fome fhip- wreck, which the fea had brought during the night. In hopes of being the firft to avail themfelves of them, they haftened to reach them ; but, no fooner had they difcovered that, in lieu of pieces of a floating wreck, thefe were black and calcined rocks, than they returned, quite frightened, publWhing every where what they had juft feen. The fright was general in the whole Ifland of Santorin; it was well known there that thefe fudden appearances of new lands had always been attended by great difafters. Neverthelefs, two or three days having paffed without any thing fatal happening, fome of the inhabitants of Santorin came to a refolution of making pbfervations on the very fpot. Having landed, curioflty induced them to proceed from rock to rock; they found every where a fort of white ftone which might be cut like bread, and which fo well imitated it in figure, colour, and confiftency, that, with the exception of the tafte, it might have been taken for real ■wheaten ISO TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. wheaten bread. What pleafed them and aftoniflied them more, was a quantity of frefli oyfters adhering to the rocks, a circumftance very un- common at Santorin. While thefe Greeks were amufing themfelves •with eating the oyfters, they all at once felt the rocks move, and the ground tremble under their feet; terror foon made them abandon their repaft, in order to jump into their boat, and row away as hard as they could pull. This fliock was a motion of the ifland, which was increafing, and which, at that moment, vifibly rofe, having, in a very few days, gained near twenty feet in height, and twice as much in breadth. As this motion, by which the new ifland was daily becoming higher and broader, was not always equal, accordingly it did not increafe every day equally on all fides. It even frequently happened that it fell and di- minifhed in one place, while it rofe and fpread in another. One day, in particular, a rock very remarkable from its fize and figure, having iflued from the fea, forty or fifty paces from the middle of the ifland, funk at the expiration of four days into the water, and appeared no more. This was not the cafe with fome other rocks which, after having made their appearance, and concealed themfelves at various times, at length re- appeared and remained fixed. Thefe different commotions violently fhook the Little Kajimeni, and, on its fummit, was remarked a long fiflure, ■which had not been feen there before. During this time, the fea of the gulf feveral times changed its colour; it firft became of a dazzling green, then of a reddifh hue, and at laft of a pale yellow, and conftantly emitted a great ftench. On the 16th of July, fmoke was feen, for the firft time, to iflue, not from the part of the ifland that appeared, but from a chain of black rocks, which rofe all on a fudden fixty yards from that fpot, and from a part of the fea where no bottom had been found ; this, for fome time, formed as TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 191 as it were two feparate iflands, one of which was called the White IJIand, and the other, the Black IJIand, on account of their different colour; but which ere long were again united to each other, yet in fuch a manner that thofe black rocks which laft fprang up became the centre of the whole ifland. The fmoke which iffued from the chain of black rocks was thick and whitifh, like that which hTues from feveral lime-kilns thrown into one. The wind carried it over one of the habitations fituated at the extremity of the gulf, and it did not there occafion much inconve- nience: its fmell too was not particularly,obnoxious. In the night between the I9th and 20th, flames of fire were feen to rife from the middle of this fmoke, which caufed the inhabitants of Santorin great apprehenfion. This fire, neverthelefs, was alfo little to be feared, fince it iffued only from a fingle point of the Black Ifland, and did not appear at all during the day. Neither fire nor fmoke was ever feen on the White Ifland ; yet, notwith- standing, it continued conftantly to grow larger ; but the Black Ifland increafed far more quickly. Every day were feen to arife big rocks, which one while rendered it longer, another while broader; and this in fo perceptible a manner, that it was noticed from one moment to another. Sometimes thefe rocks were joined to the ifland, fometimes they were very remote from it ; fo that in lefs than a month were reckoned as many as. four little black iflands, which, in four days, were united to each other, and then formed but one. It was likewife remarked that the fmoke had greatly increafed, and that, no wind blowing at the time, it afcended fo high that it was feen from Candia, from Naxia, and from other diftant iflands. During the night, this fmoke always appeared fiery to. the height of fifteen or twenty feet, and the fea was covered with a reddifh fub- ftance or froth in fame places, and yellowiih in others. So great a. degree W TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. degree of putrefaction fpread through all Santorin - , that the inhabitants were obliged to burn perfumes, and to kindle fires in the ftreets. This infection lafled only a day and a half. A very frefh fouth-weft wind difpelled it; but in driving away one evil, it introduced another. It carried this burning fmoke over a great part of the beft vineyards of Santorin, the grapes of which were almoft ripe, and which, in one night, M'ere all fcorched. It was likewife remarked, that wherever this fmoke was carried, it blackened filver and copper, and occafioned the inhabitants violent head-aches, accompanied by ftrong naufea. At that time, the White Ifland fettled and funk all at once upwards of ten feet. On the 31ft of July, it was difcovered that the fea caft forth fmoke and boiled up in two places, the one at thirty, and the other at fixty yards from the Black Ifland. In thefe two fpaces, each of which formed a perfe6t circle, the water appeared like oil on the fire. This lafted upwards of a month, during which were found a great many dead fillies. The following night was heard a hollow noife, like the report of feveral cannon fired at a diftance; and almoft immediately iffued from the mid- dle of the crater two long ilieets of fire, which afcended very high, and were directly extinguilhed. On the 1ft of Auguft, the fame hollow noife was heard repeatedly. It was followed by a fmoke, not white as before, but of a bluilh black, and which, notwithftanding a very frefh northerly wind, rofe in the form of a pillar to a prodigious elevation. On TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 193 On the 7th of Auguft v the noife which was heard was no longer fo hollow: it was fimilar to that of feveral large heaps of ftones falling all at once into a deep well. The extremities of the iiland were thought to he in continual motion, and the rocks which formed them coming and go- ing, difappearing and then re-appearing. This noife, after having lafted feveral days, changed into another confiderablv louder. It refembled thunder in inch a manner, that, when it really thundered, which hap- pened three or four times, there was no great difference between the one and the other. On the £lft of Auguft, the fire and fmoke diminifhed conuderably. There even appeared but very little during the night; but, at break of day, they refumed more ftrength than they had before pofleffed. The fmoke was red and very thick, and the fire which ilfued was fo fierce, that the fea round the Black Maud fmoked and boiled up in a furprifing manner. On the morning of the 22d, the iiland was become much higher than it was the day before. A chain of rocks, of nearly fifty feet, had greatly increafed its breadth. The fea was a^-ain covered with that reddifli foam already mentioned, which emitted every where an intolerable ftench. On the oth of September, the fire opened itfelf a paffage at the extre- mity of the Black Ifland, at the fame time inclining towards Therasia. The fire iffued thence for fome days only, during which lefs came out of the great crater. Had the inquietude, with which every one was affecled night and day, then allowed of the inhabitants of Saxtorin being alive to any diver- c c fion. m TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. fion, the fight which they then enjoyed would have been entertaining. Thrice there arofe from the great crater, as it were, three of the largeft fky-rockets of a fire the mod brilliant and the mod beautiful. On the following nights it was quite another thing. After the ufual reports of the fubterraneous thunder, all at once were feen going off, as it were, long iheaves fparkling with a million of lights, which, following each other, afcended to a very great height, then fell again in mowers of flars on the ifland, which thence appeared quite illuminated. Thisfpeclacle was a little difturbed by a new phenomenon. From the middle of thefe fky- rockets, there became detached a very long lance of fire, which, after having remained fome time motionlefs over the caftle of Scaro, was loft in the clouds. On the 9th of September, the two iflands, the White Ifland and the Black one, by dint of increafing each in breadth, began to meet and to form but one body. After this junction, the extremity of the ifland to the fouth-wefl increafed no more either in length or height, whereas- the other extremity to the weft did not ceafe to lengthen very percep- tibly. Of all the openings, there were now but four which emitted any fire. Sometimes the fmoke iffued with impetuofity from all together, fome- times only from one or two; one while with noife, another without, but almoft always with a whittling, which might have been taken for the va- rious founds of the pipes of an organ, and fometimes for the howling of wild beafts. On the 12th of September, the fubterraneous noife, which naturally feemed likely, to be no longer fo violent, having to fpread between four openings, was never fo frightful, nor fo frequent as on that day and the 1 following. - TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. X& following. The loud and repeated claps, fimilar to the general difeharge of a numerous and heavy train of artillery, were heard ten or twelve times in the courfe of twenty-four hours; and, a moment after, there iffued from the great crater ftones of an enormous fize, quite red hot, which were thrown to a great diftance, and loft in the fea. Thefe loud claps were always ac- companied bj r a thick fmoke, which flew up into the air in undulating figures, and which, when it difperfed, fpread every where big clouds of allies, fome of which were carried in eddies as far as Anasi, an ifland twenty-five miles diftant from Santorin. Thefe allies appeared white on the Black Ifland, and almoft black on the White one; they had the figure and the grain of fine powder; but, thrown into the fire, they pro- duced only a few flight crepitations, without emitting the fmalleft flame. On the 18th of September, there was at Santorxx an earthquake which occafloned no damage. The ifland was confiderably increafed by it, as well as the fire and fmoke, which, on that day and the following night, opened to themfelves new paflages. Till then, fo many fires toge- ther had not been feen, nor had fuch loud reports been beard: their violence was fo extraordinary, that the houfes of Scaro were fliaken by it. Through thick volumes of fmoke, which appeared like a mountain, was heard the loud noife of an infinite number of huge ftones, which whizzed in the air like large cannon-balls, and fell afterwards on the ifland and into the fea, with a craih which made all who heard it ihudder. The little Kamheni was feveral times covered with thefe burning ftones, which rendered it quite refplendent. On the 21ft of September, the little Kammeni being thus quite in a blaze, after one of thofe furious fliocks juft mentioned, there thence arofe three large flafiies of lightning, which, in the twinkling of an eye, tra- c c 2 verfed 196' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND. TURKEY. verfed all the horizon of the fea. At the fame inftant, there occurred fo great a making of the whole new ifiand, that the half of its great crater fell in, and there Mere huge burning {tones, of a prodigious mafs, M-hich were driven to the diftance of upwards of two miles. It was thought that this violent and laft effort had at leua;th exhaufted the mine. Four days of calm and tranquillity, during which was feen no appearance of fire and fmoke, contributed not a little to ftrengthen this idea; but the inhabitants had not, as they had imagined, as yet witneffed the moil alarming period. On the 24th of September, the fire refumed all its ftrength, and the ifiand became more formidable than ever. Among the claps, almoft con- tinual, and which were fo violent that two perfons, fpeaking to each other,, could with difficulty make themfelves heard, there fuddenly occurred one fo dreadful, that it made every body run to the churches. The big- rock, on which Scaro is built, tottered, and all the doors of the houfes- were forcibly thrown open. Every thing continued in the fame ftate during the months of Octo- ber, November, and December 1707, and January 1708. Not a day paffed without the great crater making an explofion at leaft once or twice, and moft frequently five or fix times.. On the 10th of February 1708, about eight o'clock in the morning,, there was at Santobin a rather violent ihock of an earthquake. In the courfe of the night, there had been one much {lighter, which induced the opinion, from the experience of the paft, that the volcano was again preparing fome terrible fcene. It was not long in coming. Fire, flame, fmoke, reports the moft terrific, all was horrible. Large rocks of a frightful mafs, which till then had appeared only even with the water's edge, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 197 edge, rofe very high; and the boiling up of the fea increafed to fuch an excefs, that although the fpectators were accuftomed to all this uproar, there was no one who was not ftruck with horror. The fubterraneous roarings no longer came by intervals; they lafted day and night without intermiffion. The great crater burft even five or fix times in a quarter of an hour, and gave reports which, from their repetition, from the quantity and the bignefs of the ftones that flew about, from the making of the houfes, and from the great fire that appeared in open day, which had not yet been feen,. furpafled every thing that had preceded* The 15th of April was remarkable, among all the other days, from the number and the fury of thofe terrible fliocks; fo that, for a long time, feeing nothing but fire, fiery fmoke, and large pieces of rock, which filled the air, all the inhabitants of Santorin thought that it was all over, and that the ifland was blown up. Yet no fuch thing had occurred, and there was but the half of the circumference of the great crater which had fallen in once more, and which, in an inftant, again became higher than it was,, by the heap of aihes and big llanes by which it was re- paired. From that day till the- 23d of May, which was the anniverfary of the birth of the ifland, every thing continued nearly on the fame footing. What was particularly remarked,, was, that the ifland conftantly increafed 1 in height, and fcarcely increafed any more in breadth. The great open- ing or large crater rofe very high; and from the melted fubftances which cemented its fabric, was gradually formed, as -it were, a great pafty, with a very broad flope. In 198 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. In the fequel, every thing became ftill by degrees. The fire and fmoke diminifhed, the fubterraneous thunder became tolerable, and its burfts, though ftill frequent, were no longer fo frightful. On the 15th of July, the day being fine, the fea calm, and the fire very moderate, fome perfons belonging to Santorin wifhed to have a near view of the new ifland. They took care to provide themfelves with a boat well caulked, and whofe feams were filledwith oakum ftrongly chinced. They went ftraight,to that fide of the ifland where the fea did not boil up, but where it i'moked very much. Scarcely had the inquifitive party reached this fmoke, than they all felt a fuffocating heat, which affected them. They put their hands into the water, and found it fcalding; they were as yet, however, only within five hundred yards of the land. There not being a probability of their proceeding farther that way, they turned towards the point moft diftant from the great crater, and at which the ifland had con- ftantly increafed in length. The fire, which was flill there, and the fea, which boiled up with fury, obliged them to take a long circuit • even yet they felt a violent heat. They landed on the Great Kammeni. whence they had the convenience of examining, without much danger, all the real length of the ifland, and particularly the fide which they had not been able to fee from Scaro. The ifland, with refpecf. to its oblong fio-ure, might probably then be two hundred feet in its greater! height, a mile and upwards in its greater! hreadth, and about five miles in circumfe- rence. After this examination, the obfervers again felt a ftrong defire to ap- proach the ifland, and to attempt once more to land there, at the place called, for a long time, the White Ijlund. For feveral months this place had TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. igg had no longer increafecl, and never, during that time, had either fire or fmoke been remarked. When they ere within two hundred yards of it, they perceived that, by dipping the and into the water, the more they approached, the warmer it became. They hove the lead ; all the line, which was ninety-five fathoms long, was employed, without finding any bottom. They were within two hundred yards of the ifland, and while they were de- liberating whether they fhould advance farther, or turn back, the great crater began to play with its ufual craih and impetuofity. The wind, which was frefh, carried over the boat the thick cloud of allies and fmoke which thence iffued ; the perfons who were in it were quite covered with thefe, which made them think of rowing off very quickly, and alfo very opportunely; for they were fcarcely a mile and a half from the ifland, before the hurly- burly foon recommenced, and the crater threw into the place which they had juft quitted a quantity of fiery ftones. On arriving at Santorin, it was difcovered that the great heat of the water had melted almoft all the pitch from the feams of the boat, which began to open on all fitles. ■ Till the 15th of Auguft, of the fame year, 1708, the ifland vomited fire, fmoke, and burning ftones, always with a great noife, yet lefs than that of the preceding months. This account of a judicious eye-witnefs, on the fubjeef of a very extra- ordinary event, which happened in our time, has appeared to me too in- terefting not to be related almoft from beginning to end, with the more reafon, as it is to be found only in a rather fcarce collection, entitled " Les *' Memoires des MiJJions de la Compagnie de Jefus dans le Levant*." * Vol. i. pages 126 and following. After £00 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. After the author of the account had quitted Santorin, the new illand rifen from the fea in the gulf, between the Great and the Little Kammeni, continued for a long time to call forth flames, a thick fmoke, and large matfes of ftones. But the explofions fucceffively became lefs frequent and lefs violent; they at length ceafed, and nothing more was heard but the hollow noife of the boiling up of the fubftances which the fubterra- neous fires keep in fullon, at an immenfe depth, in the bowels of the earth. The volcano is at prefent in a ftate of inaction, at leaft externally; the fmall ifland is quiet, but its afpect has ftill fomething frightful. At a diftance, it appears quite black; if you approach it, j'ou there find the medley of fubftances decompofed by fire and fallen again confufedly, after having been driven into the air with a crafh; it is furrounded by torrents of fulphur; every thing there is burnt or calcined; every thing- there bears the impreffion of thofe terrible conflagrations, with which Na- ture has burnt the very bofom of the globe; every thing there retraces the prefage of freih cataftrophes, of frefh eruptions. Symptoms fo frightful, convulfions fo violent, which nothing can re- fill, and which mock the power and the precautions of mankind, were, doubtlefs, fufficient to ftrike the fuperftitiocs and weak imagination of the Greeks. The new ifland is in their eyes the work of hell; demons have there eftablifhed their abode; they there fet up a dreadful uproar; and, impelled by a diabolical, malignity, they make a paftime of letting go the cables of veffels which mariners have the temerity to make faft to it. The Greek bifhop of Santorin goes thither fometimes, to difplay the power of exorcifm ; and though the noife does not difcontinue, and veffels and boats are as frequently fet adrift, the prelate enjoys the fatisfaction of feeing: TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 201 feeing his credulous flock thoroughly convinced of the efficacy of his pious ceremonies. But this uproar, which holy water cannot appeafe, is owing to the very nature of the new ifland. It is fometimes the hollow and deep roaring of the volcano, and almoft always the fhock of the waves againft the partitions of cavities entirely formed of calcined and fonorous rocks. The piercing cry of mews, gulls, and other birds which there take refuge, on the approach of any new object, are blended with founds loud and mournful, becaufe they iflue from deep caverns; and this difcordance of grave and fharp tones forms, indeed, an uproar worthy of hell itfelf, which, neverthelefs, has no more to do with it than with the cables of the velfels, that lofe their hold from a caufe equally Ample and equally natural. In fadt, the prominent points, which prefent greater facility for making fall to them the moorings, belong to rocks burnt and of no great confiftency, which the motion of the veffel caufes to break eafily, as foon as fhe is agitated by the wind or waves. The new ifland is about a league in circumference. All round, but very clofe to it, the depth of water is from thirty to thirty-five fathoms : farther off, no bottom is to be found. From the rocks of the ifland is frequently detached a quantity of fragments of pumice-ftone, which, floating on the furface of the fea, are driven on the coafis of the iflands of the Archipelago, where I have feen feveral of them caft on Ihore, being fwept away by the winds. The quantity of thefe light produc- tions of volcanoes, thrown up by the new ifland, was fo confiderable during the beginning of its aftoniflring appearance, that the fea of the Archipelago was covered with them, and feveral harbours were choked p d up 203 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. up to fuch a degree, that no veflel, however fmall, could get out, unlefs a, :pafiage were cleared for her by means of poles*. Mould, or vegetable earth, does not yet cover, in any place, a calcined -foil, whofe fuperficies has been expofed to the air and the rains only for too fhort a time paft to be decompofed by thefe agents, fo active, but as flow as thofe of its formation were quick and impetuous. The Little Kamment, where are feen fix craters by which the volcano vomited forth the fubftances that compofe it, is equally naked and barren; but the Great Kammeni, more ancient, is covered with a thin ftratum of a duft, which allows a few herbs to grow in it. The Ifle of Aspronisi, the Therasia of the ancients, is clothed with verdure, and on it are feen a few trees thinly fcattered. In thefe feas, the theatre of the moll furprifing operations of Nature, we mud expect new cataftrophes, as well as the fudden appearance of new lands. A fhoal, the foundation of an ifland, gains in height from day to day. Not a hundred years fince there were on it eighteen fa- thoms water; when I vifited thefe parts, there were no more than five or .fix; and this ground, in all probability, has .fince rifen much more. Lands, refling on numerous cavities, the walls of which are deficcated and without confiflency, which gulfs, where a terrible and lafting fire is kept up, undermine and confume, are neceflarily expofed to commotions and convulfions ; and thefe fhocks are fometimes felt at fea, at a rather con- fiderable diftance from the iflands. .An officer of the navy, very worthy * See Thevenot, Relation uPm Voyage au Levant, 4to. chap. Ixviii. page 204. TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 203 of 'credit", who, in 1775, commanded the Hirondelle veffel of war, re- lated to me, that, being at fea pretty well in with the Ifland of San- t-orin, and to the weft of it, he experienced, during the night, very violent effects of an earthquake. The mafs of the waters was fo fhaken by it, that the veffel received fome ver}^ violent mocks, which fpread an alarm among the crew, and made them fuppofe that fhe had ftruck on>a' funken rock. The animals contained in the fhip, fheep, dogs, and poultry, began at the fame time to; cry in an extraordinary manner* and, by their agitation and their clamours, manifefted that they partook of the terror by which the men were ftruck- However, earthquakes are lefs frequent at Santorin', in our time, than they, were at the periods when the volcanoes difplayed the terrible activity of their fubterraneous fires; thofe great phenomena of Nature no longer fpread terror there but at remote intervals. We are ignorant at what epoch the ifland dropped the name of Callista, in order to affume- that of Thera, or at what time it began to be called Sant Erim, from the name of St. Irena, the patronefs of the ifland. Of Sant Erini has been made Saxtorin. Be this as it may, if in former times this country deferved the name of Calljste, the Beautiful IJland y we may at this day give it, Avith full as good reafon, that of hideous. On all fides, is feen there the action of volcanoes; every thing is confumed by fire, calcined.,, thrown out, and heaped up in horrible confufion. Enormous maffes of burnt rocks, . of a blackifh gray, inacceffible, and fcarcely to be ap- proached, furround it towards the fea; at their foot are bottomlefs gulfs \ in the interior, lava, pumice-ftones, pozzolana, every volcanic fub- ftance there forms the foil: no woods, no rivers, no rivulets; it is an, appendage which fire feems to have condemned to an eternal aridity. 204 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. We fhould not, indeed, expect to meet with fertile diftricts amidft all the elements of fierility. Corn of various fpecies grows very well on ft rata of aflies and pumice-ftones ; cotton thrives there equally well ; fruit trees there take root, and diffufe fome agreeableuefs ; in fhort, beautiful vineyards there produce wines much efieemed, but fulphurous, which, with cotton and the fine callicoes that are there manufactured, render Santorin one of the moft trading iflands in the Archipelago. At the time when Tournefort travelled, the French had a eonful there; but he has been withdrawn with the trade which they carried on at this ifland. Two bifhops, one of the Greek church, and -the other of the Latin, guide their refpeclive flocks, at the fame time haraiTing each other inceflantly, and difputing on matters which the one underftands no better than the other. France maintained there Jefuits and Capuchins, who fcarcely agreed better than the bifhops. m The inhabitants have no other water than that of cifterns: it is alfo in this calcined rock, of a confiftence fo flight, that they build or rather excavate their houfes, the greater part of which have an arched roof. Santorin, without being precifely an unwholefome place of refidence, is not exempt.from dangers. The, volcanic vapours which are there inhaled, affect the health, and thofe who remain long expofed, to them, are fubjeft to confumptive complaints. On the fouth part of Santorin was built, on the fumrn.it of a .moun- tain, called in our days St. Stephens Mountain, a flourifhing town, the capital of the ifland, whofe name of Thera -it bore. Its ruins ftill atteft its ancient magnificence. Here was a temple dedicated to Neptune, and another to Apollo, to whom the whole ifland was confecrated. To urn e- 3 tort TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 205 fort mentions fome infcriptions of Thera*, and Choiseul-Gouffier gives the drawings of fragments of fuperb monuments, and, in particular, of two large ftatues, which are fpoken of in the infcriptions, and which the people of Thera had erected in honour of the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Antoninus. Thefe ftatues, of tolerably handfome exe- cution, are in marble, but at prefent are headlefsf, and lying on the ground. A fingular cuftom, which is not to be met with in the hiftory of any other people, was eftablifhed at Thera. They neither mourned for chil- dren who died before feven years of age, nor for men who died turned of fifty; the latter, becaufe they had probably lived long enough; and the former, becaufe it Avas not thought that they had yet entered into life£ The moft agreeable place in Santorin is Pyrgos, a fmall town built on a little hill, whence. is .difcovered the two feas, and the moft beautiful diftricls of the iiland. At the foot of this hill is a cove, fit only for the reception of the;boats of :the country, and indeed they are not there al- ways ; in fafety; for when the wind and the fea rife and are agitated, they are forced to abandon it, and gain a fmall bay, more fheltered and more fafe, to the northward of Cape Apanomf.ria, and under another fmall town which bears the name of San Nicolo. The latter is (ituated on a lofty eminence, formed of enormous groups of burnt rocks, Handing per- * Voyage au Levant, vol. i. page 272. jf Voyage Pittorejyue de la Grece, vol. i. page 37, and plate xlix. X Idem, ibid. ■penclicular 206 TRAVELS rN GREECE AND TURKEY: pendicular on the margin of the abyfs of the fea, and threatening ttvin*- gulf themfelves there with the inhabitants, who have eftabliihed thei* refidence on a bafe fo unfubftantial, and whofe afpect infpires horror. Between San Nicolo and Pvrgos, at the extremity of the horfe-fhoe. which the Ifland; of Sajsttorin forms to the weft, and on a point which projects towards the Ka m men i Iflands, ftands the caftle of Scaro, whofs fituatibn is ftill more frightful than that of San Nicolo. The rocks of this narrow cape are likewife calcined; but higher and more mattered than in any place on the coaft; fothat Scaro appears half-fufpended> above horrible precipices which terminate at the fea; while a part cf thefe fame rocks, almoft reduced to afb.es, overlooks the little town on one fide, and threatens every moment to.crufh it.. Pvrgos, San Nicolo, and Scaro, are the only three places of any confequence in the Ifle of Santorin: there are Tome villages in the in- terior, and the whole population, aflembled, may form a mafs of eight or ten thoufand inhabitants, induftrious and aftive ; but, like the:E bifhops, frequently divided by religious opinions, and exafperated againfi each other, feme being catholics, and others declared heretics ; all very credulous, very headftrong in matters of theology, and endeavouring continually to extend their creed and their. domination, at the expemV of their adverfaries. The inhabitants of Santorin mare, with thofe of a great number of other iflands, the advantage, of having no Turks. among them. Their coafts affording no harbours and places for anchoring, they are not fre- quented by fliips of war belonging to the Ottoman navy, and fcarcely. ever by corfairs. In paying the tribute which is exacted from them, they are- TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 207 are lefs tormented than many other iflanders, and they can give them- felves up, with greater fafety and tranquillity, to the labours of culture and the concerns of their traffic. Thefe induftrious Greeks were fo fully fenfible of the value of this fort of liberty, acquired by the fituation of their ifland, that they employed, within thefe few years, every means imaginable to prevail on two learned travellers, Olivier and Bruguie're, not to abandon them to the bar- barous fifcal power of the Turks, by caufing to be worked in their ifiand the pozzolana, of excellent quality, which is there to be found in abun- dance, and which was intended for conftructing, in the harbour of Constantinople, a bafin on the plan of that of Toulon*. No tloubt, very commendable motives of public intereft and perfonal ge- nerofity determined thofe learned travellers to reject the offers of the Greeks of Santorin, as they had before refufed the propofals, very ad- vantageous, but of another kind, made to them by fome Armenians. In this, as in many other circumftances, the laws of humanity could not tally with the rules of policy. Officers belonging to the Ottoman Porte came into the midft of the inhabitants of Santorin, to employ vio- lence and injuftice, for the purpofe of taking them from peaceable and profitable labours, and of compelling them to extract the volcanic fub- ftance, the beginning of a local tyranny, which, till then, they had had the happinefs to avoid, and of a lafting hatred againft the French, whom they will long confider as the authors of their misfortune. * Report of Travels performed, by Order of the government, in the Ottoman Empire^ Egypt, and Perfia, during the firft fix years of the Republic, read to the National Inftitute by Citizen Olivier, affociated member, in the fitting oF the 26th Pluvoife.-^M^aw* Jincjelop. fourth year, vol. vi. No. xxii. page 196. Ths 208 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The Ifle of Santorin is by no means broad, and may be eftimated at feven or eight leagues in circuit. From the top of its mountains is difcovered the Ifland of Candia, which is diftant from it about eigh- teen leagues. Two leagues to the fouth-weft of Santorin, lie two iflets, little known, becaufe they are altogether uninterefting, and re- fpecling which it was not in my power to procure any information. They are named the Great and the Little Christiana. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. <*09 CHAPTER XVI. IJland of Candia. — Advantages of its pojition. — Peculiar direction in which it lies, and conjectures refpeBing its formation. — Canea. — Savary. — His abilities, his character, his amiablenefs. — French confute at Canea. — The . Author meets with one of his countrywomen. — Olive-oil. — Capuchin. — Provencal renegado. — J-anhary. — Greek monks. THRICE have I vifited. the Ifland of Candia; thrice have I landed on the fliores of that famous country, which, under the name of Crete, was rendered illuftrious by the inftitutions of Minos, theliundred cities which it contained, and the courage of its inhabitants; which, in times lefs remote, became the magnificent domain of the Republic of Venice, and the theatre of the fignal valour of its armies; and Avhich at length mares the common lot of misfortune attached to every country fubject to the monftrous domination of the Ottomans. My firft vifit to this ifiand was in the Ataeante frigate, on board of which I failed to Egypt; the polacre in which I embarked at Alex- andria landed me there a fecond time; and I returned thither once more in the Mignonne, another frigate, commanded by D'EnTrecasteaux. I have availed myfelf of the ftay, more or lefs long, which I made there: and, without dwelling on the periods of thefe different voyages, or fubject- ing myfelf to give diftincl; details of them, I ihall comprefs into one fingle ipoint the remarks which I collected at thefe different periods. ! e 3E The £!0 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The Ifland of Candia is the largeft in the Mediterranean, off which its pofitioii feems to infure it the empire and the commerce. It is, in fact, at no great diftance from Africa, As-ia, and Europe: fomc of its harhours are equally good and fpacious ; it would be an eafy matter to prepare there expeditious for the three quarters of the globe. Its inhabitants are numerous and aclive ; the very diverfified productions- of its territory polfefs the qualities calculated to bring them into requeft;. the nature of its foil, the mildnefs of its- climate, promife comfort and agreeablenefs; and this country might be again, as in very ancient times, the IJIand of the blejjbdf, if the laws of Minos,, which Homer confidered as emanating from Jupiter himfelf f, could once more govern a people, whofe ancient greatnefs has been effaced under the impreffion of a diferaceful fervitude, '©* Like the greater part of the iflands of the Archipelago, this is- much longer than broad ; it is reckoned to be two hundred leagues in circum- ference ; it is partly fituated under the 35th degree of latitude, and is comprifed between the 24th and 27th degrees of longitude + But what has hitherto efcaped remark, but which, neverthelefs, is an important obfervation, is, that all the other iflands of the fame fea lie, with refpect to their length,, in a north and fouth direction, with more or lefs in- clination towards the'eaft or weft ; Avhereas the Ifland of Candia extends from eaft to weft; it appears to be a long, bafe, on which the whole Archipelago repofes. This peculiar direction indicates a different origin. The iflands of the JEgean Sea are the fummits of mountains, ■which belong to a country whofe plains have been fubmerged by a • Maiarion nefis.-— Vide Plin. Hift. Nat. lib. iv. cap. xviii. =$> Odyfley, took xix, J From the meridian of Gretirwkb. fuddea TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 211 Hidden irruption of the waters of the Black Sea. The effects of this raft fubmerfion are difcoverable in the form of the maffes which it has fuffered to fubfift, and which have all preferved a direction parallel to the current that has infulated them, and whofe iinpetuofity has been Woken againft the Ifland of Candia, on which it has been unable to make any impreffion. May it not be fuppofed that thefe very waters, of a rapidity fo violent, and a part of which was directed towards the fouth-eaft, repelled by the lands of Syria, may have exercifed their action in a direction contrary to their firft impulfe, and have detached from Africa the Ifland of Candia, by inundating the lowlands by which they were united? And this conjecture of the ancient junction of Candta with the coaft of Barbary acquires an additional degree of probability, when we pay attention to the mallowncfs of the chan- nel which feparates them, and whofe bottom every where affords foundings. However it may be in regard to thcfe hypothefes, which I offer with diffidence, the Illand of Candia has alfo another affinity to the other iflands of this fame part of the Mediterranean: a chain of mountains traverfes it in its length ; but its territory is the moft hilly of all. In coming from the weft, the firft land difcovered is a point ftretehing very far into the fea, and which, on that account, is called Cape Spada, anciently the promontory of Psacvm. This long point florins, with Cape M&lecca or Melek, which our navigators call Ml'lier, formerly Ciamum, a large bay, at the head of which lie the harbour and the town of Canea. It is an opinion, rather generally received, that it is built 011 tire fite of Cydoxia or Cypon, a flouriihing city of ancient Crete. No veftige of ancient edifices is there to be perceived,- and it is only e e 2 from £12 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. from what hiftorians and geographers have tranfmitted to us cm tt:£- tubjecl, that we determine this pofition. The modern town has nothing remarkable. The form of its build* ings is the fame as in all the East; that is, that in lieu of roofs, in- clined and forming a ridge, they have a flat covering, without tiles or flates, and' in the form of a terrace. The greater part have only one ftory: the ftreets are laid out by the line; fome are tolerably wide, and fountains flow with an abundant ftream in the public fquares. Savary, who has frequently endeavoured to embelliih things, the' molt remota from beauty, fpeaks of the balconies that adorn* the houfes by which the harbour is furrounded, and from which; he fays, the profpecl i3 delightful*. The view extends, indeed, to a tolerable diftance, but only an the gulf formed by Cape MEi/£CCA,and Cape SpadAj and this fpace of fea is often naked; vefTels entering or going out of the har- bour not being fo frequent as Savary feems to intimate. On the other hand, the balcony, whence this traveller discovered a horizon which, in truth, prefents nothing charming, becaufe the picture is deficient in points of view and motion, far from adorning the houfe of the French conful, ferved- rather to disfigure it. It was, in fact,, ouly a. wretched circular wooden railing, on which it was lrardly fafe to ftand, and at which ended a flight of fteps, or rather a wooden ladder, placed on, the outride, in order to farm a communication with the. upper ftory, which was the conful's lodging. This rage of lending to objects- the mod fimple a luftr© of which they are frequently not fufc.eptible, is perceivable in the letters which Savary Litres fur la Gtics. See the.end of the twenty-ninth Letter. lias TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. sis has written on Greece, with (till more affectation than in his work refpecYmg Egvpt. The reader of them might imagine that he was perufmg Oriental tales. Whether the imagination of the author have acquired more afcendency, through the habit of not being, checked; whether, yielding to his paffion of painting fubjecls which it was ne- eefiary only to fketch with* exactnefs, it may have become a matter of neceffity to him to make them mine with a lufire in which they were de? ficient; his pencil has too frequently deviated from the original, and his colouring has more than once difguifed. auftere truth. His pictures, befides, however glowing they may be, are often placed unfeafonably and in a wrong way. We read, for example, with extreme pleafure, the portrait which, with a light and fkilful hand, he draws of two nnns be- longing to a convent of Greek women of the environs of Canea; it is not polTible to prefent, with more art and agreeablenefs, the contrail of two figures, one of whom united, all the charms of youth and beauty, while the other exhibited- the deep impreffion of old age and decrepitude,. But was it worthwhile to travel into Greece, to compofe thefe portraits,, which might, perhaps, pafs for portraits of fancy? And in what mo- nailery of our countries have we not feen both old and young nuns ex- hibiting the fame features of difparity and contrail? But if, as a traveller, Savart ftrays beyond the limits which accuracy- has prefcribed, he captivates his readers when we confider him -as a writer*, He poffeffes, in the higheft degree, the talent of feeling, and of making, ethers feel deeply: his defcriptions are replete with warmth and life; his flyle is brilliant, like his- imagination; and the exuberance of his fancy is, as it were, only a-miftake of his ardent mind, which endeavoured, to animate every thing around it, aud to diffufe the delightful tints of the feeling by which it was fired^ To 214 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. To thefe rare and amiable qualities of mind, Savary joined a plain and fimple exterior; he was endowed with natural beneficence, which made him beloved, as the integrity of his character gained him efteem. His converfation, like all his habits, had nothing ftudied : he feemed to have referved the fire of his genius for his writings; and, when one heard him {peak, one did not cxpe6l to enjoy fo much pleafure in reading him. I had feen him in Egypt: I met with him again, in 1780, at Caxea. He had followed the fortunes of his worthy and refpeclable friend, M. DeKekcy, whom, againft ever} 7 appearance of fuccefs, M De Tott, appointed by the court infpe&or-general of the fea-port towns of the Levaxt, had fent to Dabiietta, in order to exercife there the functions of vice-conful. M. De Kercy was foon forced to quit fo dangerous a poft: he came to fill the place of conful at Canea, where I had great reafon t© be well fatisfied with the polite attentions of two friends, equally commendable from their virtues and their merit; and the lines which I have-juft confecrated to the memory of one of them, towards whom, whether he may have been praifed or blamed, the world have almoft always been unhid, are the expreffion of truth, and of the fentimeuts with which they have infpired me. The French conful who redded at Caxea, before M. De Kercy, was married to a young woman, born in the fame place, and in the fame diftricr, as myfelf : our families had been -for a long time united; and the renewal of our ^acquaintance, which did not take place till after the ex- piration of a few days, had fomething theatrical, but at the fame time very agreeable; A man muft have palled feveral -.ears out of his own country, have travelled over very diftant and dangerous regions, to experience the gratification arifing from the meeting with one of his re- lations, or peifons who remind him of thofe he loves, as well as of the pleafing habits of the early pait of life. I know not whether my young 3 country- TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 21/> countrywoman found herfelf happy from a union which Hymen' had- formed, without having lighted it with his torch, fince there exifted too great a difparity of age and pcrfon, even without having added to it the charms or confolations of fecundity. But fome apertures, almoft imper- ceptible, with which the floors, the doors, and the- partitions of the apart- ments, were, if I may fo fay, pierced like a neve, led me to think that the eye of jcaloufy was there on the watch, and that the flag which waved over the confui's houfe, was not a talifman fufficiently powerful for introducing French confidence, nor for averting the abfurd and ftern incredulity of the Muffulmans, on the fubject of the moil interefting at- tribute of beauty, the fidelity of women. Several houfes of Marseilles alio- maintained' factors at Canea; their principal commerce confifted of a quantity of olive-oil, which the Ifland of Candia furniflies, and Avhich ferved to fupply our foap- manufactories*. Every year there was made- of this article as much as loaded twenty veffels, which were difpatched. to France; and thefe fame veifels brought back to the Turks manufactured foap :. but this branch of national induitry had loft much of its importance, through the im- prudent combinations of fome Frenchmen, who had inftructed the Turks. of Canea to make foap, and had directed' this manufacture. Befides the conful and the merchants; there was alfo at Canea a. French Capuchin, who officiated as their chaplain. The houfe which, lie occupied in the interior of the town was open to ftrangers, who there found lodging and- board at a. very moderate price, and which the obliging friar always left at the difpofal of his boarders. I lodged there on my fecond voyage, and I had every reafon to be fatisfied with the attentions and the good company of my landlord. He had to ferve him, both at table and at the altar, a little Greek belonging to the Iile of GERXGOj 216 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Cerigo, who fpoke French tolerably well ; he had the complaisance to allow this youth to attend me, on my departure from Cane a, that he might ferve as my interpreter during the remainder of my travels. In order to anfwer the fame object, in the various excurfions which I made in Candia, I took with me a Provencal renegado, a mod wretched failor, who, to efcape a juft punifhment, had pretended to embrace the religion of Mahomet. He was a gunner at the fort of Suda, though he had never been employed in the fervice of the artillery; and, in this ilew nation, he paflfed for a very tkilful perfon in the eyes of his com- panions, whofe ignorance in gunnery was ftill much greater. Notwith- flanding his pretended abilities, this man lived in a low and even abject; date: he was perfectly acquainted with the bulk of the people, in the midft of whom he dragged on his debafed exiftence, and whofe con- fidence he had not found means to gain by adopting their religious prin- ciples and habits; he likewife did juftice to himfelf, and truth fometimes efcaped him on this fubject in a very ingenuous manner. It occurred to him, when we were travelling, to recommend to me to keep my property always at my elbow — " Becaufe" faid he, ** in this country you ought 41 to mijiruji every one, and me in particular." A confeffion of fuch a nature gave me the meafure of the confidence which I might have in this wretch: I muft, however, acknowledge, that he never robbed nor cheated me, although I did not always take fuch precautions as the little faith he himfelf had in his own honefty prompted him to point out to me. To protect me from all in'fult, there had been appointed to attend me, when I went out of the town, a janizary, who was, perhaps, the hand- fomeft, the molt robufr, and the moft mufcular man that I ever beheld in my life. He might alfo be reckoned on« of the moft mifchievous. He was TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. m ^"as the terror of the country-places. Conflantly armed from top to toe, on every occafion he made ufe of his weapons ; threats were inceifantly in his mouth; and his flern countenance, his large fparkling eyes, his burfls of paffion, his ftature, and his flrength, caufed their effects to be dreaded. He treated the Greeks as a fervile herd; blows with his flick, or his fabre, were dealt out to them, and even piflols difcharged at them, on the fmallefl refiftance. This Turk, who belonged to Candia, had been prefented to me as a bold and enterprising man, and thofe who gave him that character were not miflaken : they would have been equally juftified in defcribing him as a dangerous and ungovernable robber. But this fellow, furious towards others, was always very mild with me: lie was capable of feeling, that, being in my pay, he was bound to obey me ; and never did he fail to do fo, at leafl in every thing in which I was perfonally concerned. However, this fort of command which I had over him, did not extend fo far as to prevent him from ufing ill the Greeks who happened to be too (low in executing his orders, in the villages where we flopped, nor from making me alight at all the convents which lay near our route, however clofe they were to each other. He there ordered a collation ; caufed himfelf to be ferved with the bell wines, with which he got drunk in fpite of Mahomet; fpread confufion and terror through the whole monaflery; and did not quit it till after he had gorged himfelf with meat and drink, in the hope of foon meeting with another halting- place, in order that he might there renew the fame •orgies and the fame uproar. I carefully concealed myfelf from him, when I offered to the monks a jufl indemnification: they did not accept it themfelves but with trembling ; and they would have been undone, had it been perceived by my impetuous companion, Thefe poor friars pitied me very fincerely for being, as it were, rn his hands ; and they were at a lofs to conceive how I did not alfo become the victim of his caffionate and violent difpofition. # $ If 218 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. If the foul of thefe monks had not been debafed by flavery, with what torments would it not have rent, on recollecting that their nation was formerly celebrated for its power and greatnefs; on reflecting that, de- fcendants of the valorous Cretans, they had terminated a long career of glory, to become the (laves of a barbarian, and the (port of his brutality ! But the habit of misfortune, the grofTeft ignorance, and the exercife of fuperftition, have degraded them to fuch a degree, that we are tempted to ceafe to pity them, as fooa as we are acquainted with their dilpo- fition. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, &\$ CHAPTER XVII. Excursion to Cape Melecca. — Convent of the Trinity. — Infcription.— Monks of the Trinity. — Their way of life, their table, their habitation, their filiation in regard to the Turks. — Comparifon between this monajlery and thofe of the Defer t of Nitria, in Egypt. — Fowling.— 'Birds. — Agri- culture. — Wheat. — Barley. — Lupins. — Rainy feafon. 1 HE wide promontory, known by the name of Cape Melecca, pre- fenting feveral objects of curiofity, I failed not to go thither. I made this little excurfion on horfe-back; the French vice-conful, and three captains of merchant- veffels, at anchor in the harbour of Canea, wifhed to be of the party. It was in the month of November. We faw on our route a great many gray wagtails, and a much greater number of thrumes. At half a day's journey from the town of Canea flands the convent of the Trinity, built againft a high mountain of arid and accumulated rocks. This ground, gloomy and wild, throws out the luminous parts of the pi&ure, and forms an agreeable contraft with the fields which lie in front. It is a large, cultivated plain, interfered by patches of vines, and half fhaded by a quantity of olive-trees, planted at fome diftance from each other. In the middle of this plain, embellifhed by the richnefs of its produ&ions, an avenue of cyprefs-trees leads to the grand ftair-cafe of the monaftery. Other cyprefs and orange trees furround it, and form « charming profpecT; F F g The 220 TRAVELS IN GREECE ANt) TURKEY. The convent is the work of the Venetians ; it has the form of a pa- rallelogram, and is extremely well built. The church is in a very good : tafte, and we fee with regret that it has not been finilhed. Its infide is agreeably decorated. On the portal are two inferiptions, the one in Greek, the other in Latin, almoft unintelligible. The following is the Latin inferiptioh, which I have faithfully copied, and which, .conveys no high idea of the erudition, of its author.: PRECLARO ASINVZAN. CAROLE, PROSAPIE, HIEREMIAS SAPIENTISSIMUS ET LAURENTIUS SOXERTISSIMOUS GERMANI AMBO SACRIFICl ET INIVGES, MAGNA CUM IMPENSA ET ACRIMQNIA TALIA GESSERUNT ILLE ENIM SUFFICIENTER INCEPTI LABOREM IMPENDIT QUE CONFECIT HONESTE* HEVERO PROPAGATOR ILLIUS VOTI SUPPLEVIT REUQUUM ETT HOC PERPULCHRUM FUNDITUS TEMPLUM. INSTAURAVIT. . . The names of the two founders of the convent are mentioned in this, in — fcription, of very whimfical Latin; but, at the fame time, the euentiai i point is omitted, that is, the date.. . All the cells of the convent are far from being occupied.' A hun- dred friars dwelt here formerly; when .Tournefort arrived, the com- munity was compofed of fifty only, and I found here no more than - twelve. So rapid . a diminution in this tribe of cenobites ariles not, as - might be imagined, from an indifference towards the monaftic ilate; it is owing . to the general depopulation, the ufiial fymptoms of the Turkiih > government, and which has been felt in the Ifland of Candia more_ forcibly than elfewhere. . This fmall number of friars is' ftill expofed to the violences of thefe fame - Turks, inhabitants of the towns of Candia, and who have a great rough- nefs in their character. Any degree of affluence, acquired by agriculture, dares not mew itfelf at the convent of the Trinity. That afylum of men, given. TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 221 given up to noble and ufeful labours, which fpread over the earth the tfeafures and the drefs of fecundity, would neither be refpe&ed nor fpared> did barbarians fufpecl; riches there, or only abundance and a choice of food. Accordingly thefe monks afreet to lead a poor life, and they ftriclly confine themfelves to bare neceffaries. The difplay of wretched- nefe does not always protect them 'from the vifits and ill ufage of their brutal rulers. Paffionate and mifchievous men come fometimes, and fpread terror within the walls of a building which commands refpe6t; and, taking an ungenerous- advantage of the fort of infamy that they have attached to the name of Ghriftian, and of the oppreffive and ihame- fal ilavery to which- they have reduced the people whom they have fub* jugated, and in whom the fhadow of refiftance would be a capital crime* they exact, with fabres and piftols in their hands; refreshments which it is frequently dangerous to refufe them. A few days prior to my exeurfion to the Trinity, two Greek monks belonging to another convent, on the road of Retimo, were . maflacred by fome Turks, who introduced themr felves into the houfe, during the night, in order to be revenged for a refufal which had been made to them, the day before, of a few cups of coffee. . In thefe fudden irruptions of robbery, thefituation of the fuperior of the monafteiy becomes very delicate; but the habit of feeing himfelf expofed to it, renders it,, as it Avere, familiar. He is feen braving, with coolnefs, the threats of fiery paffion; fometimes employing the language of firmnefs; fometimes endeavouring to appeafe by the cringing tone of fervility, and almoft always fucceeding in getting rid of his dangerous guefts, by exerting: himfelf to prove to them, that it. is impoffible that the houfe, too poor, ihould polfefe the means of gratifying their wifhes. This angular part, a mixture of dignity and debaferaentj which frequently lafts. 222 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. lads feveral hours, muft be very painful ; indeed, a man muft be a monk and a Greek, to fuftain it for fo long a period. Secret receffes, almoft impoffible to be difcovered, conceal from the refearches of petulant avidity the choice provifions, which are thence brought forth only on certain occasions, fuch as the arrival of fome ftrangers. Vifiters of this defcription are well received; but this good reception is no more than the fhadow of decent hofpitality; it is intereft alone that fuggefts it to the monks, and they never fail to give notice that nothing under their roof is gratuitous: they do not even wait for the effects of generofity, nor for thofe of a juft return of civil behaviour; and, in lieu of relying on the delicacy of their guefts, they extort money from them in the moft vile and grofs manner; fo that the duplicity and meannefs of their character foon difpels the good opinion which may have been conceived of men eftimable under the consideration of induftry and labour. We found in their houfe a table ferved with fimplicity and neatnefs; the dimes were abundant, but without feafoning; it was the luxury of fruo-ality. No other viands are here ferved up than thofe brought by vifiters ; and we had provided ourfelves with fome poultry of the moft beau- tiful fpecies; the hens of Candia being, in general, very large, and hav- ing on their head a broad tuft of long feathers. Cut the moft delicious fruits were here found in profufion ; freth olives, apples, oranges, wliofe peel ; is finer and pulp fweeter than thofe of Malta : fweet and perfumed figs here formed a rich and brilliant variety, at the fame time that they flattered the fmell. Cakes of balmy honey, pure and white as cryftal, and the molt beautiful in the world, rofe in the form of a pyramid in the middle of this elegant courfe. The beft cheefes, made with the milk of ewes, were at the two ends of the table; and the heady and fweet wine, which TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 223 which was unadulterated, gave birth to gaiety among the guefls, and even unknit the gloomy brow of the monks, who, utterly indifferent as to the pleafure of offering us this charming collation, experienced no fatisfa&ion but in thinking of the recompenfe which they promifed them- felves for it. This convent of the Trinity offers nothing remarkable but its de- lightful fituation. The friars take care to make ftrangers go down to a little cellar, by no means curious, where they bury their dead. The heads of the two founders, whofe names are to be read in the infcription which I. have tranfcribed, are preferved in glazed clofets, and the monks ihew them with veneration,, the confequence of habit rather than of gra- titude. -- The tyranny of the Turks hangs heavy over this convent in more than one particular,: as. well as-over all the others in the fame country. The friars who inhabit them are *not allowed to add to the buildings which are conftru&ed there, nor to repair thofe which are falling into ruins. They have never been able to fucceed in obtaining leave to tin ifh their church ; and, when they wifh to make any repairs or embellifhments, they wait till a pacha, lefs ftern or more tractable than they commonly are, comes to command at Cane a; then they efteem. .themfelves happy to purchafe from him, at. any price, permiffion to call in workmen. Thus. it was -that, a little time before . my arrival, they had paid dearly for the . right: of gilding , the fculpture of the farther end of their church. But thefe labours, although authorized by the governor, muft be profecuted with -caution. Carried too far, they awaken the cupidity of the Turks,, who, conceiving too high an idea of the riches of- the friars, wouid not fail to make them a pretext for frelh extortions. What, a monftrous ad- miniftration is that which punifhes, as a crime, the care of adorning and 3 repairing tU TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. repairing our dwelling, and in which whatever deferves the greateft en- couragement is but a fource of calamity and oppreffion! We fpent two days in this agreeable retreat. Our time glided away in vifiting the beautiful plain, at the extremity of which it is fituated, in taking the diverfion of mooting, and {trolling over the hills by which it is bordered: in the evening we reaifembled; the collation was pre- pared, and the Avholefome and delicious dimes of which it was compofed, could not, by a painful digeftion, difturb the repofe to which gentle exercife had inclined us. When 1 compared this happy fituation to that in which I had found myfelf, fome time before, in the hideous Coptic monafteries of the defert of St. Macauius, or of Nitria, in Egypt, how charming it,appeared to mel There, & fiery climate, moving and hot fands, uncooled by any rain, unfought by any living being, a fcarce, harm, and unattractive vegetation, befpeak the languor of Nature. An enclofure of high walls, burning as the foil on which they fland, faddens the mind and terrifies the fight; and when the traveller penetrates into that horrible prifon, lie there finds only the -fame nakednefs which reigns without; dens, rather than cells, deteftable water, lentil bread, and all the marks of the moft frightful wretchednefs. Here, on tlie contrary, the temperature is mild ; the fertile earth is decked v/ith the richeft productions ; the profpects are cheerful ; here, every thing charms the fenfes, every thing is good and agreeable, with the exception of the government, which we love to forget when we are vifiting this delightful diftrict Our fowling, or, to fpeak more correctly, our walks, for they were not fatiguing, produced us feveral fpecies of birds. We procured ifome red partridges; two woodcocks, extremely lean, and the only ones TRAYELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. $%& ones that we met with; and fome turtles, thrufhes, and blackbirds, which are in eoniiderable numbers on the olive-trees, whofe fruit they eat. We 1-ikewife law a great many larks, collected in numerous-" flocks in the fields; and, on the olive-trees, chaffinches, titmice, gold-finches, bull-finches, &c. I remarked, that thefe laft-mentioned birds did not aflemble' feveral together, like the others; they are feen only in pairs : the male and. female follow and keep near to each other ; they frequently call each other back, the male by a cry confifting of a fharp' found, followed, by two grave founds,, fomewhat fimilar to that given by two little floras ftruck the one againft the other. It is by thefe~ JafV two tones only that the female anfwers. The bull-finches whittle- like the blackbird : means are even found to make them articulate words,, after the firing of their tongue, has been cut.. The natives were beginning to till and fow the lands. A fingle ploughing preceded the fowing of wheat; and, for barley, they contented themfelves with fcattering it on the ftubble, and. then going over it with the plough, as I have feen practifed in my own country, even for wheat, by negligent and dilatory cultivators. Here, the furrows were not cut deeply; the far- mers did no more than turn up the furface of the ground; and this flight culture,, which is followed by plentiful harvefts,. is a certain indication of the fertility of the foil. On examination, it proves;, in fact, to be of the heft quality, reddifh, and of a good confiftence, without being too compact, This light, but fubftantial land, is alfo extremely well adapted to the culture of lupins; whole fields are fown with them. This legume is a very common food with the people of Candia. In order to deprive it of the intolerable tartnefs and bitternefs, which prevent its being made ufe g g of 4*6 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of without drefiing, it is put to foak for five or fix days in fea-water; it is then boiled and eaten, after being dripped of its flieil or hufk. Seed-time does not take place in Candia till after the early rains, which there commonly begin in October. They happened later in 1778, and none were feen to fall, for the firft time of that feafon, till the 11th of November ; and, indeed, the plains were parched up, and the plants died from drought. The early rains are accompanied by ftorms, boifterous winds, and claps of thunder. Winter, in the Ifland of Candi a, is, properly fpeaking, no more than a rainy feafon, during which the iky is more charged with clouds, and the heat lefs powerful, but never fo much as to make it neceffary to have recourfe to artificial warmth: it is a period more temperate, more wet, but which is by no means rough or unpleafant. However, the high mountains are covered with fnow in this feafon. On the 18th of November, 1778, the fummit of the lofty mountains, which form an amphitheatre behind Canea, was feen, for the firft time, crowned with fnow; it remains there till the month of June. It has been obferved, that when winter has whitened the ridge of thefe hills, the north wind, which frequently blows with dangerous impetuofity in the Gulf of Canea, is no longer felt there with fo much violence, hecaufe it is flopped, or at leaft greatly moderated, by a light land-breeze, which, is termed ajhozv-wind. A 'long feries of obfervations has furniflied navigators who frequent rthe harbour of Candia with a certain mean of afcertaining the date of 4h.e atmofphere in the open fea, from the fole infpe&ion of the fame chain TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 227 of chain of mountains which encircles the town to the fouth. When he clouds collect in heaps above the mofi prominent of thefe hills,, which bears the name of Cazepo, the weather is bad in the offing, and the wind almoft always to the northward? navigators then take good care not to quit the harbour. If, on the contrary, the ridge of the moun- tain is clear and free from vapours, they are certain of finding, without,, the wind moderate, and favourable for failing out of the gulf, and getting f the Greek hijliops. — Accident. — Convent of St. John. — Another de- ferted convent of the fame name. — Mountains of Cape Melecca. — Ca- tholicos. — Grotto. — Stalaclites. — Solitude. — Partridges. — Wild goats. — Grotto of the Bear. — Return to Canea. — A Turk, friend to the French. CONVENTS are very numerous in Greece; they are fan<5tuaries con- fecrated to ignorance, fuperftition, and moft frequently to floth. To the monks is given the name of caloyers; from kalos, good, and from geros, old man, good old man. We are very far, however, from feeing among them none but old men, or even men of a certain age. It is not uncommon to meet with young boys, of from ten to twelve years old, clothed in the habit, which confifts of a plain, long, black gown, con- fined by a girdle. The variety of the regulations, the medley of the dreffes, which ftrike the traveller, in the different claffes of friars fpread over the furface of the countries fubmitted to the Latin church, are not to be remarked among the Greeks ; there exifts but one order, that of St. Basil; and the monks, fubjected to the fame rule, alfo wear the fame .drefs. 'Thefe friars are very dirty, and, we may add, very ugly, from the habit which they contract, of neglecting their exterior, and of neither taking ocare of their beard nor their hair. Nor are they more to be admired as to interior qualities. Hypocrify, haughty and grofs ignorance, mean- nef?, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 229 rtefs, and treachery, form their character ; uninformed as they are, they wiih to be reckoned, in the eyes of the people, to pofiefs great knowledge, and to enjoy a reputation for fanctity, which may procure them refpect and attention. Their vows are obedience, chaftity, and abftinence. The firft and the laft of thefe vows are obferved with fufficient eKa&nefs : men, born in flavery, are well calculated to ftoop under auy yoke whatever ; and ha- bituated, from infancy, to a hard and miferable life, the greater part of thefe caloyers being taken only from the loweft clafs, they eafily fupport both the fimplicity of a coarfe diet, and the privations impofed on .them by the frequent fafts to Avhich they are reftricted ; although feveral, it is faid, make no fcruple to indemnify themfelves in private. But it is affirmed, that the fecond of thefe vows is not fo ftrictly complied with ; and, were they not accufed of a degree of brutality, in the infringment of laws which Nature, more powerful than all the inftitutions of convents, difavows, we ihould overlook their yielding to an irrefiftible impulfe, an enchanting and inevitable delirium, which occupies and inflames all the fenfes, and before which human compacts fink and vanim. The difcipline 1 ; of the Greek church contradicts not, at lead by im- prudent obligations, thefe commands of Nature, in regard to her fecular clergy, whofe members may marry. Every papas, that is the name borne by a fecular prieft, may have a wife, whom he efpoufes before he receives the priefthood, and whom, in cafe of death, it is forbidden him to re- place by another. The wife of a papas is called papadia, and fiie parti- cipates in the confideration enjoyed by her huiband. The Greek girls are ambitious of the honour of being united to minifters of the Divinity ; and it is, in general, the youngeft and handfomeft, who become the wives of 530 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of men, for the moft part, advanced in years, and as dirty and difgufling; as the caloyers. I fliall difpenfe with fpeaking of the cufloms and ceremonies of the- Greek ritual'; thefe are things too well known, for it to be neceffary for me to dwell on them. We mould, however, conceive an erroneous idea of the decency of their manner of performing divine fervice, were we tov judge of it from the dignity and majeftic gravity of the ceremonies of the; Latin church in Europe. Every thing in it is little and paltry; every thing in it partakes of the poverty and narrownefs of mind of thofewho' officiate; every thing is done with precipitation and" irreverence ; nothing fpeaks to the fouland impofes on the fenfes ; nothing in it recalls to mind, that the Creator and the Mafter of the world is the object of their worfliip. They ftir about a great deal, they chat, they laugh, they are inceflantly making inclinations of the body, figns of the crofs, which feem to trace- a fcarf on the breaft, beeaufe the right hand, carried only to the fore- head, to the right moulder, and then to the left moulder, falls again tran£- verfally and with quicknefs. In their finging is not to be found the me- lody and gravity of the Gregorian chant ; it is monotonous, rapid, grace* lefs, and unimpreffive, and it is pronounced in a muffling and very dif- agreeable manner. It is well known, that the Turks have an infurmountable averfion to bells, a confequence of the hatred which they bear to Chriftians. No Greek church has any, throughout the extent of their domination, and the caloyers make ufe of femi-circular fufpended iron hoops, on which they ftrike, for the purpofe of fummoning their congregation to prayers. The Greek church, which formerly reckoned among Its members fome men of great talents, and whofe voluminous works contain numerous traits 1 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. f*3l traits of beautiful eloquence, is fallen into the greateft debafement. The place of patriarch, who is her head, is abandoned to intrigue, and put up to auction. Nominated by the court of Constantino ple, he is one of its moll fupple and moft cringing courtiers. After having pur- chafed his dignity, he purchafes his tranquillity and his influence ; to fupport himfelf, he frequently Hands in need of fqueezing, in his turn, the prelates of his church; and, in order to obtain from them the fums which he requires, he makes ufe of the arm and the violence of the Turks, who, to the exactions which they take on themfelves to levy, add others for their own private emolument. It is not aftonifhing, that the Turks mould have conceived a fovereign contempt for people, who make of their religion an object of fpeculation, and degrade their character by the moft rapacious cupidity. To the fentiment of contempt, fo juftly me- rited, is added, among the Muffulmans, inextinguifhable hatred againft Chriftians ; and this cenfure is manifefted, even in the letters pa- tent, neceflary for the inveftiture of the patriarchate or of a bilhopric. Ingenious turns of expreffion are not fpared in it ; but long habit, and,, perhaps, fome made, lefs coarfe, of barbarifm, have blunted the traits of this fort of rage ; and the provifions of the Greek church, no longer contain, in our days, the outrageous qualifications with which they were formerly filled. There was communicated to me, as authentic, the Latin tranflation of an ancient firman of the Porte, for the nomination of a Greek bifhop. It is a fort of bull, extremely whimfical ; it was put into my hands at Cairo, by Venture and his father-in-law Digeon, both French inter- preters, or droguemans, who affured me of the truth of it ; but, fuppofing that fome exaggerations have been blended with it, this document gives not the lefs, on that account, an idea of the debafement of the Greeks, and mews how odious they are to their tyrants ; and though thefe fir- mans 232 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. mans are, at prefent, lefs indecorous, Ave may, from the injurious terms- which are there inferted, judge of what they muft have beei>, in fact, at x time when the fanaticifm and ferocioufuefs of the Turks were in greater, vigour.. The following, I have been told, is the ancient and truly fingular pro> tocol, which ferved for the letters patent of the biihops of the East :. Cum infidelium ep'fcopus- quidam, nomine fide repro- batus, et morlbus difjblutifjimis a templo mundi, ad terrain immundam tran- fiviffet,. et nonnullis abhina annis ipjius anima impura ah infami nido f/io ad "valles infernales advolaffet, negotiaxana vaniores epifcopatiis fufpenfa reman*- ferunt ; omnes ergo infideles, Jinguli monach'i, cunfti patres impiiffimi, uni- verfi ethnici congregarunt fe ; atque pojl tarias deliberationes diabolicas, in hoc punclo convenerunt, ipjis nempe epifcopum efij'e abfolute neceffarium, qui ipfemet re.probatus a Deo, et auxilio divino penitiis dcfii tutus, auderet tamen Mis auxilia divina adpromittere, quipefiimus ipfe, illos etiam ad deteriora indueret, qui errans et hcereticus, per errores et hairefes illos conducere pojfet, qui denique epifcopatiis yanas funcliones adminijirando, ?-eclius et tu* tiiis ad infernum perduceret. Et ad hoc iidem infideles nobis propofuerunt quondam exemplar malit'ue, prototypum iniquitatis, fatanam in came et cornibus infirutlum fataneis, hominum emiffarium Belzebuth, et fortafe ipfi fuperiorem, vilem et abjeclwm, de quo dicetur a. turbis hominum in die judicii, quando fiuper caput ejus iclus clavarum fierrearum ignearam- queficut grando impluent : Amplius, Domini, amplins.. Cum verd fiupra diB,us monachus cujus dotes fiujficientur depinximus, ad quern ifia charta pertinet, cuique hdc fold vice credatur, omnium fui ordinis rnonachorum fenior, id eft, cumuians fuos errores pertinaciit, ignorantiam maliticc maritans, jejunio multipUci, vand abftinentUi, Jlerilibufque mortifi- tionibus TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. «33 catwnibus Je diabolorum corda contriturum arbitratus, vel faltem alios ad credendum inducens, neque votajibi imponendo nihil aliud faciens nifi tor- quern maledictionis collofuo in (sternum ligare, religiofus fine religione, et in via perditionis fecuro gradu procedens, quern Deus ad* Another fpecies of domeftic animals of the' Manx! of Cantjia, the faith> ful friends of man, and companions of the horfe, Mere formerly recko: le , on account of their fleetnefs and agility, the beft in Greece, after thofe of Lacedemonia. But their race is degenerated, efpecially fince the Turks, great enemies to dogs, have made themfelves mafters of that beautiful country. The dogs of Candia, like almoft all thofe of tlii East, are- a fpecies of large greyhounds or courfmg dogs, which, to be si m handforae S66 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. handfome animals, require only a little attention. But, in thofe countries of tyranny and flavery, thefe animals, to vhom attachment is a want, cannot exercife that amiable quality of their inftinct; every where repulf- ed, in vain they endeavour to exhibit fome fteril marks of it; obliged to check themfelves, even in the very figns of their affection, they, neverthe- lefs, miferable as they are, prefer living with man, and, as it were, in fpite of him, rather than emancipate themfelves from a condition of neglecl and misfortune, by returning to their primitive ftate of liberty, in which they would, indeed, no longer have ill ufage to undergo; but which would deprive them of the hope of obeying the fate of the law impofed on them by Nature, of having no other will than that of their matters, no other fen ti- ment than that of abfolute devotion. On the fubjcet of dogs, which aFe in very great numbers in the towns of Turkey, I ihall remark, that we might feek there in vain that fpecies, rather uncommon and without hair, which we call the Turkijh dog, and fometimes the naked dog. It is not in the temperate climate of Turkey that dogs lofe their hair, it is not even under the burning iky of Egypt; for thofe feen in the moll northern part, which is diftinguiihed by the name of Lower Egypt, are of the race of large greyhounds, deformed by want, which are found in the other towns of Turkey; and thofe of Upper Egypt have long hair, and fomewhat refemble our fhepherds dog. I cannot fay, with precifion, from what country the Turkifh dog originally came; but I have never met with a fingle one in Turkey; and whatever inquiry I made, thofe to whom I applied were unable to in- dicate to me where any of them were to be found, or even to give me to understand that they were known in that country. I have even fome reafon to fufpect that this is a diftin6t and feparate fpecies; and the fcarcity of thefe dogs in Europe might lead us to prefnme that they are a fimple accidental variety in a fpecies of animals, the races of which are in^eflantly crotfed TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ^7 croffed and mingled ; a variety which may have been called Turltijh dog, becaufe, having fcarcely any hair, they have fome refemblance to the Turks, with whofe fcrupulous attention to eradicate their hair every one is well acquainted. In Candia no carnivorous and ferocious animal exifts. The fliepherd it eafy as to the fate of his flock, which has not to dread the murderous tooth of the wolf. Accordingly the fheep there pafs their life, in the open air, browfmg, at full liberty, on the odoriferous plants with which the mountains abound. Grottoes, formed by Nature in the bofom of the rocks, ferve them as a fhelter againft dorms and bad weather. The milk given by the ewes and fhe-goats furnifhes. very good cheefe. Thofe which are made at Sphachia, the fouthern diftricl of the ifland,. have a great reputation, and are fent all over the Levant. But a more important ar- ticle of commerce is wool, of which there is alfo exported a fmall quantity that will appear very trivial, if we compare it to the abundance of the food which the country affords for the fupport of flocks more numerous,and better taken care of, than they are under a government, the real fcourge of agriculture, and under which nothing profpers but tyranny.. The Greeks alfo keep hogs, a greater number of which would be profita- ble to rural economy. The inhabitants ought at leaft to feel themfelves, in fome meafure, obliged to the Turks, to whom hogs are animals unclean, ami detefted, for not preventing their being reared in the country-places, where;, however, they are not very common. A hog is even a prefent which is of fome value in the eyes of the Greek villagers. I happened, one day, to-be Jn a village between Canea and' Retimo, with my janizary, and my Provencal renegado. I lodged at the houfe of an honeft farmer, whofe wife meddled a little with phyfic and bleeding. I never received fo many marks of frank and cordial hofpitality, as during the very fhort fray which n m 2. I made. 268 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. I made with thefe worthy people. The woman, in particular, lavifhed on irie the moft officious civilities, and the molt delicate attentions. She might be reckoned one of the handfome women of the ifland, where, as I have faid, beauty is rather uncommon. She was no longer young; but her face was characterized by thofe large and noble features, which are the appendage of the Greek women in general; her eyes were remark- ably fine; her hair, of a iliining black, was braided with ribands, which only half furrounded it, and this braid, rolled on the top of the head, formed a fort of helmet or turban, which fet off, with no inconfiderable ad- vantage, the features of her face. To thefe exterior allurements, this worthy Greek woman added a tender and generous heart. In order part- ly to teftify to her my gratitude, I offered her an excellent lancet, for which lhe had appeared to have a great fancy. She attached fo much value to this trifling prefent, that ihe was determined to make me one in her turn. The morning before my departure, while the attendants were getting ready our horfes, ihe caufed a live hog to be brought, and tied on mine, which I was greatly aftonifhed to fee on my faddle, when I was preparing to mount. The not over-fcrupulous janizary, who accompanied me, had himfelf affifled to faflen on this Angular portmanteau. With an infinite deal of trouble I got it removed. My landlady appeared grieved at my refufal, and I had no fmall difficulty to make her comprehend how highly improper it would be that I fhould enter a Turkifh town, where hogs are held in abhorrence, with one of thofe animals tied on hehind me. A branch of rural induftiy, which is not fufficiently encouraged in our country, and which fucceeds in Candia with great fa*oility v and without much TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 269 much trouble, is the multiplication of bees. In order to Shew the good- nefs of the honey which they yield, the ancients feigned that Jltiter had been fed on it, on Mount Ida. This honey is, in facl, of the greateft beauty; and wax, which enters at prefent, but on a very fmall fcale, into the export-trade of the iiland, would there be extremely abun- dant, if activity, the mother of induftry, was not diminishing daily with the population. In travels of the nature of thefe, which confift not in a Simple narrative, it is, no doubt, allowable to make a few ufeful comparifons, and not con- stantly to keep our eyes fixed on the countries which we are viliting. On turning back our looks for a moment towards our own country, I fee people who are aftoniShed that wax mould there be constantly becoming fcarcer and dearer, although the prodigious confumption which the churches made of that fubftance, no longer exifts. For my part, I am only aftoniShed that wax is not already at a higher price. Independently of the fevere winters, which, within thefe few years, have caufed the hives to perifh in our northern provinces, and the very perceptible diminution in the number of perfons who applied themfelves to the rearing of bees, the trade of the Levant is loft to us, and every one knows that it was principally from thofe countries that we received the raoft confiderable part of the wax which was confumed in France. On the other hand, the diforder ever increafmg in the Turkifh empire, the troubles there fubfifting, the partial wars of which fome of its provinces are the theatre, and the Stagnation of trade have alfo diminished in the Levant the number of hives which were there taken care of, and confequently the quantity of wax which was drawn from them. All thefe circumftances ought to induce us to extend over our territory, reftored to the repofe of which it has been fo long deprived, the rearing of bees, and to find, in 270 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. in our own ftock, means to difpenfe, at leaft in a very great meafurc, ■with the burdenfome affiftance of foreign countries. This kind of induftry is eafy and profitable, and it is an agreeable re- creation for whoever loves a country life. It has claims to the encourage- ment of authority, and that encouragement is fimple like its objed; it confifts only in favour and protection. ' CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 271 CHAPTER XXII. Carnivorous animals. — Birds of prey. — Serpents. — Tarantula. — Mining fpider. — Lizard. — Golden plovers. — Thrujhes. — Hydrophobia. — Profca- rabtfus. — Candia. — Cnoffus. — Gortyna. — Labyrinth. — Retimo. — Har- bour of Paleo-Caflro. — Sphachiots. — Pyrrhic dance. AN ifland, which gave birth to Jupiter, and in which every thing announced the favour and the gratitude of the gods, ought not to con- tain any thing mifchievous, nor feed any noxious animal. The ancients, ftruck by the numerous allurements of the Ifland of Candia, which they regarded as an abode truly celeftial, did not content themfelves with faying that no wild bead fhed blood on its territory, which is the truth; fince, on the fuppofition that carnivorous quadrupeds had there exifted, their races have entirely difappeared, and the ufeful and innocent ewe is not in fear of feeing its feeble lamb carried off by cruel fpoilers. But exaggeration has been blended with the accounts of the ancients, or rather with the encomiums that they took a pleafure in fcattering over the defcription of a country of which there is fufhcient good to be faid, without there being a neceffity for having recourfe to imaginary advan- tages. It was afferted that birds of prey even could not there fubfift, and that, if any were brought thither, they foon perifhed. It is un- neceffary to premife, that this was carrying the matter a little too far: the bird of prey, whofe rapid and continued flight clears great fpaces, may very eafily arrive in the Ifland of Candia, eftablifh itfelf, and multiply on the mattered fummits of the high rocks with which it is thickly ftrewn, or on the top of the large trees which tower above its furface: 872 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. furface: the fmall game, which there abounds, affords a food eafily ac- quired by birds that live by the death of others; and the nature of tl retreats would render it very difficult to dillodge them. And, indeed, birds of prey, and even thole whole too tender eye cannot fupport the brightness of day, and which are addicted only to nocturnal excurfions, are there met with rather frequently, although the ancients had thence excluded them without juft reafon. It is alfo without foundation that it was formerly afferted, that the Illancl of Candia was exempt from ferpents and other venemous ani- mals: Pliny, neverthelefs, made an exception in favour of the phalan- gium, or tarantula.. On a hilly foil, which retains no ftagnant waters, and which long rains do not impregnate with too much humidity, the propagation of reptiles and infects cannot be confiderable, and there they rind not the elements which compofe their poifon. Be'lox had already obferved that three fpecies of ferpents were there known : the ophis, the ochendra, and the ephloti*. It is no eafy matter to indicate, with pre- cifion, what are the fpecies diftinguiflied by thefe ancient names: to clear up this point of criticifm, it would be neceffary to enter into dif- cuffions, the refult of which would afford nothing very fatisfactory, or otherwise have beheld thefe ferpents, and this is not the cafe with me. The tarantula is here reckoned to be very venemous, and even to occafion death ; but I have every reafon to fufpect that there alfo exifts here another fpecies of fpider, as dangerous as the tarantula. This is on what I ground my conjectures. Several Frenchmen, who had re- futed for a long time at Cake a, and even fome of the moft intelligent • Ob/irvations de phijtturi Jinfularith el cho/cs memorable! , trouvees en Grice, Sec. 5 _ Greeks, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. £73 Greeks, told me that a fpider, whole fting is mortal, was to be found in this country. They could not defcribe it to me in fuch a manner as to make me recognife it; but they were acquainted with the tarantula, and they allured me, that the infect of which they were fpeaking to me dif- fered from it greatly: indeed, they gave me s a convincing proof of this difference. It is well known that the tarantula dwells in the ground during the winter, or during the rainy feafon; and that, in the dry- feafon, it keeps in the air, and fpins its web. The fpider here in quef- tion, on the contrary, though as big as the tarantula, lives conftantiy in fubterraneous retreats: thefe are fmall cylindrical cavities, clothed in- ternally with threads, and the entrance of which is clofed by a hinged lid, fimilar to that of a fnuff-box. This induftrious in feci; is of the fpecies- of the mafon-fpider, which Sauvages- difcovered in Languedoc, and which has alfo been feen in the Ifland of Corsica. For the extremely curious details of the habits of this fpider, I refer the reader to a very circuniftantial Memoir, which my learned friend Latreille has pub- Hlhed on this fubjecl, in the Memobresde la Societe d ' HIJioire Naturellc de Paris. He will there fee with what implements Nature has provided the infecl deltined to dig its abode: it carries in its head, above the infertion of the claws, a fet of parallel and prominent teeth; it is a fort of rake, with which, the animal turns up the earth, and.fmooths the walls of its retreat- Although the mining fpider of Languedoc is not reckoned venemous,' it would not be extraordinary that it ihould be fo in the East ; we know that this infecl, or at leaft a fpecies very fimilar, occafions by its fting very ferious accidents in Jamaica*. However, without being fcarce. in • & Brown, Natural Hifiory of Jamaica> tab. xliv. fig. 4^ and the. Memoir of La- tr.iel.le refpefting mining fpiders. N N CaNIHA, 274 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Canpia, the mafon-fpider does not make its appearance there frequently; becaufe, accuftomed to live under ground, it dreads the broad day, and ifiu.es from its cell only during the night. I was alfo afiured that there was, in the fame country, a fpecies of lizard very venemous; but I did not fee it, and it is only from fnnple conjefture that I fufpect that it might probably be the gecko *, which is met with in other countries of the East, in the vicinity of the Ifland of Candia, and particularly in Barbary and Egypt. It is to this inconfiderable number of mifchievous beings that the danger of inhabiting the Ifland of Candia is reduced; and our readers will admit that thefe are thorns fcarcely perceptible, in the midii of the immenfe and delightful quantity of floM'ers and charms with which it is rich and brilliant. All the neceflaries of life are there to be found in great plenty; the coafts abound with fifh; the plains and the mountains feed a great deal of game, and, above all, a confiderable number of red partridges. Birds of pafiage come and increafe the multitude of thofe beings which man has coufecrated to his voracity. Golden plovers are very common at the beginning of the winter; and when the cold begins to be felt, with- out ever being fufhciently powerful to form ice, the Greeks of the country-places make on the thruihes a fuccefsful attack. Thofe birds all retire into the groves of orange and lemon trees, to pafs the night; their purfuers, with deceitful lights, carry alarm into the midft of thefe deep- ing flocks; imagining that it is day, the thruihes quit the foliage, the charming afylum which a cruel fnare converts into a fcene of death; * Lacevta gecko. Link. thev TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 275 they are feen flying round the torches, and they are knocked on the head with large wooden battledores. In this manner the peafants fill facks A^ith them, and carry them to the markets of the towns. Although the terrible diforder, with the nature of which we are yet fo little acquainted, I mean the hydrophobia, is unknown in warmer coun- tries of the East, I have been told that it makes its appearance, but rather feldom indeed, in the Ifland of Candia. Dapper alfo mentions that this ifland has been frequently affli&ed by mad dogs, which have from time to time incommoded the inhabitants*. The remedy which the King of Prussia purchafed, and caufed to be published in 1777, is there known ; and it is very probable that it is from that or fome neigh- bouring country, that the pofleffor of this pretended fecret has obtained it, for it was not a novelty. Mathiole has fpoken of it from Avi- CENNEf, and I have been afTured that, from time immemorial, the Candiots employed it as afovereign fpecific againft nnadnefs. Our conful at Canea told me, that as far back as 1776, he had fent to France the infecl which furnifhes this fpecific whence we muft conclude that the pretended difcovery of this remedy in Europe was nothing more than an impofltion. This infect is the melo'i or oil-beetle, a fpecies of profcarabreus %, the larva of which bears the name of may-worm; it is common in our coun- tries ; in the fpring, it is to be found in gardens, woods, fields, and forefts. An oily liquor ifiues from the body of the infecl, when it is touched or cruihed. In Candia, it is reduced to powder, which the pa- tient fwallows ; but this remedy polfeffes a very violent activity ; it caufes * Defcription ik VArcbipel. folio, page 4627 f- Commentaires fur Dioscorides, liv. vi. J Meio'i pro/car abaus. Linn. n n 2 convulfions, 276 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. convulfions, pains in the bowels, inflammations, agony, bleedings at the nofe, bloody urine, and even death, when it is taken in too large a dofe. The ancient phyficians confidered it as a favourable fymptom, if the man, attacked by madnefs, palled blood in his urine*; but fuch cura- tive means are equivalent to the diforder itfelf, and the moderns have been in the right to relinquiih them. Although Canea is the moft populous and moft trading town of the ifland, yet it is not the capital. Cavdia has preferved that title, even after it has loft the advantages thence accruing. Its harbour, much fre- quented in the time of the Venetians, has been choked up from the effect of the general improvidence of the Turks, fo that it can now admit only the fmall barks of the country. Merchant-vefl'els can no longer enter it but in ballaft, or with a fourth of their lading; and if they are under the neceffity of taking in their cargo, they muft, like the mips of war, re- pair to Stak-Dia, a fmall ifland four leagues off, and oppofite to Ca>- dia. This ifland has preferved its ancient name of Dia; for that of Stak-Dia, which the European navigators give it, is a compofition of the Greek words, eis ten Diets, to go to Dia. Boats convey thither goods on board the fhipping. So great a reftraint has reduced to almoft nothing the trade of the town of Caxdia; barks bring from Canea the productions of that part of the ifland; and fhortly, as I have faid, the harbour of this latter town will become equally impracticable, and fliips, like commerce, will no longer have any point of union, or place to take in their cargoes, but the rocky and uninhabited coaft of the Gulf of Suda. Mathioie, at the place quoted. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 277 The town- of Candia, built on the fpot which was occupied by the ancient city of Heraclea, is fituated in a beautiful plain, interfecled by Hoping hills, which ihare its fertility. It is the Khandak of the Arabs; a word derived from candax, which, according to fome of the learned, fignifies entrenchment. It is evident, from the buildings in this town, that it is not the work of the Turks; ftraight ftreets, regular fquares, houfes fubftantially conftructed — every thing announces that it owes its exiftence to the Venetians; but every thing announces, at the fame time, both the frightful ravages of war and the flower havock of want. Here are 11:111 to be feen ruins, the remains of the memorable fiege which it fuftained, for twenty-three years, againfl the Ottoman forces. The lofs of its commerce has changed its flourifhing fituation into an un- happy ftate, and has confiderably reduced the number of its inhabi- tants, who, for the moft part, have removed to Canea, together with the foreign merchants. » It is, neverthelefs, ftill the feat of the general government of the ifland. The pacha, fent thither by the court of Constantinople, is a pacha with three tails; but, proud of his dignity and of his power, he con- tents himfelf with commanding a militia frequently ungovernable : en- tirely occupied by his private fortune, he thinks only of extending it by exactions, and concerns himfelf little to re-eftabliih, repair, or pro- cure a few advantages for a country, to which he is a fcourge, like the government from which he derives his authority. Near Candia, are lying in the duft the ruins of Cnossus, an ancient town where Minos held his court, and the abode of the moft powerful and the moft warlike people of the Ifland of Crete. A fmall village, Cnossou, would recall to mind the fite of the ancient town, were it not difcoverable, in a manner no lefs certain than afflicting, from the rubbifh which 278 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. covers it, and a great part of which has ferved for the buildings of modern Candia. Some ruins, which occupy a great extent of ground, and ftill afford fragments of ancient magnificence, are thofe of Gortyna, a celebrated town, whofe power and fplendour eclipfed that of Cnossus. Near tins fpot is feen the labyrinth; it appears not to be that which was famous in antiquity, and particularly from the ftory or fable of Ariadne and Theseus. This latter was near Cnossus, and there no longer ap- pear any veftiges of it. The labyrinth of Gortyna is, according to all appearance, nothing more than immenfe quarries, fuch as are to be met with in the vicinity of great towns. Such is the opinion of judicious ob- fervers. Sa vary combats it ; but every one knows that this writer was not the partifan of fimple and natural effects; he took a delight in giving to the objects of antiquity, of which he fpoke, a very lofty origin, in order that he might take the opportunity of tracing it, very ably no doubt, but in a very uncertain manner, from events which ages cover with an obfcurity that it is not always eafy to penetrate. In truth, in this laby- rinth, or rather in thefe quarries of Gortyna, there is nothing fur- prifing, and they may be compared to the numerous and immenfe galle- ries from which have been taken the nones of the edifices and houfes of Paris. Between Canea and Candia ftands, on the fea-ihore, a fmall town, whofe prefent name of Retimo, is nearly the fame as that of Rithymka, which it formerly bore. Its fituation is delightful; the plain which fur- rounds it is rich in all forts of provilions; its gardens are very agreeable, and its houfes well built; but its harbour is no longer practicable except for the barks of the country; mips remain in the road; yet they anchor there but feldom; and Retimo, which, from its pofition, the abundance of 3 oil TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 279 oil which is colle&ed in its vicinity, and the other productions of its terri- tory, might he an important place of trade, has, as well as Candia, feen a part of its population pafs to Canea. Independently of the harbour of Suda, there alfo exifts another equally fpacious, convenient, and fafe, in the moft eaftern part of the ifland, in a gulf formed by Cape Sidera and Cape Solomon; but the coaft pre- fents not more habitations than at Suda. Here are to be feen nothing: but ruins, called by the Greeks Paleo Castko, a name which they give to all antient towns, a few herdfmen's huts, rocks, and brambles ; except a great quantity of red partridges. Contrary winds detained me there for feveral days, in going to Alexandria, on board of the Ata- lante frigate, which they had compelled to put into this port. We had with us a felucca. The fight of thefe two veflels of war fo intimidated the Ihepherds of the coaft, that they haftily made their efcape, with their flocks, and abandoned to us the foil and their cabins. Not one of them reappeared during our flay. They probably took our veflels for Turkiih veflels, and thus fecured themfelves from the oppreffion of their crews. "What mud be the fate of this interesting and unfortunate people of Greece, fince the fole approach of thofe, to whom a fatal deftiny has fubje&ed them, is in their eyes a dreadful fcourge ! I fhall not undertake to give a defcription of a country fo vaft as the Ifland of Candia ; this would be the object of a long work, and I have no intention of carrying the prefent to -too great an extent. What I have faid of it is fuflicient for prefenting the general picture of one of the moft beautiful and moft fmiling countries on earth ; and longer details would lead me too far. I fhall add but one word refpefting the tribe of Greeks who inhabit the mountains of Spachia, on the fouth coaft of the ifland. They fpeak a purer dialect than the other Greeks, becaufe habituated to the 280 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the fimple and hard life of mountaineers, they have difdained to mix with the nations which have fucceffively occupied their country. They are good warriors, and very dexterous in mooting with a bow; but feveral difgrace their courage and their fkill by giving themfelves up to robbery ; frequently they lie in ambufh behind the rocks which fkirt the roads acrofs the mountains ; they attack and kill paffengers, and are, above all, dreaded by Turkim travellers. It is faid that the Sphachiots are the only ones among the Greeks who have preferved the Pyrrhic or warlike dance, which is executed with arms in the hand, and at the fame time performing various evolutions. It is not aftonifhing that nations, to whom the terrible reprefentation of war is a fport and recreation, mould have favage manners, and be inclined to re- alize, by violent aftions, fcenes which they are in the habit of repre- fenting in their amufements. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. £81 CHAPTER XXIII. Departure from Canea. — Currents. — Winter-feafon in the Archipelago. — - Hollow agitation of the waters of the fea. — Storm. — Arrival at Argen- ticra. — Road/lead of Argentiera. — Singular direction of the currents. — ■ San Nicolo. — Maltefe privateer. — Turltijhjhip of war. — A French veflel, loaded zcith the equipages of Ifmael Bey, is wrecked. — Officers of the Porte font on this occaflon. — Their manner of exerc'iflng juflicc. — French agent at Argentiera. — His oldfervkes. — The injujlice which he experienced. — His influence in the Levant, . 1 HE Provencal polacre which had brought me from Alexandria to Canea, in my fecond vifi.lt to. the Ifland of Candia, had there left her cargo. The activity of the caravane, that is to fay, of the carrying-trade from one port to another, was fo great in the feas of Turkey; the cir- culation of merchandife was fo rapid, that, in lefs than a month, the veflel in which I had arrived, had taken in a freih cargo for Smyrna; and, on the 30th of November, 1778, the day on which the fet fail from the harbour of Canea, ihe had been waiting a week for a fa- vourable wind, in order to proceed to her new deftination. I again availed myfelf of this veflel to crofs the fmall fpace of fea, which feparates the Hie of Candia from the firft iflands of the Archi- pelago. Though this is a run of no more than about twenty-five or thirty hours, and the winds had not thwarted us, we were three days on our paflage. Indeed, we met with fume fuddeu and violent fqualls.; but, o o as Its TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. as they did not throw us out of our courfe, we could not attribute to them the flownefs of our progrefs. It was occafioned by the currents which fct to the fouthward with fo much rapidity, that, the day after our departure from Canea, we reckoned ourfelves at no more than fix leagues from the Ifle of Milo, whereas, in reality, we were ftill diftant from it upwards of fifteen. The winter was beginning to be felt in this part of the feas of the Le- vant, not by hoar-frofts, but by impetuous winds; and this bad feafon, in which navigation is more rough and dangerous, in the midfl of a labyrinth of iflands and lhoals, does not lad three months: it is, in ge- neral, reckoned only from the middle of December to the middle of Fe- bruary. In 177S, it took place much fooner. As early as the clofe of November, the atmofphere was loaded with big clouds, driven by violent winds, and the fky was covered with the black and finifter appearance of a tempeft. This gloomy anticipation of ftorms foreboded a remarkable variation in the temperature; the winter of this year was. indeed, a very fhort one, but very cold, and covered with fnow and ice both lands and plants, unaccuftomed to lofe their gentle warmth and their verdure. Although the wind was faint, the fky ferene, and the furface of the fea (lightly furrowed by waves, when we came out of the harbour of Canea, we felt the fhip make below, in an extraordinary manner; and thefe movements, which were communicated only from the bottom of the veffel, indicated a hollow and internal agitation, a certain prefage of an approaching rifing of the waves. A furjous gale of wind from the fouth-weft afiailed us at the entrance of the roadftead of Abgentiera. I never faw the horizon fo darkened: the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 283 fhe day was hidden: although the fun had fcarcely reached the half of his courfe, night feemed to have fpread her black and mournful wings over the earth; and this darknefs appeared ftill more profound from the vivid brightnefs of the repeated flames of lightning which clove the fkies, thunder burft on all (ides; we had difappeared to the eyes of the inha- bitants of Akgentiera ; and their ifland, which we were on the point ot touching, was concealed in a made impenetrable to the nioft piercing fight. The danger became imminent, and the faint-heartednefs of the captain itill increafed it: in his diftrefs, he vented his murmurs againft me, who had induced him to enter a channel fo narrow as that in which we were, and which he would have avoided, had I notwifhed to be landed at Argentiera. Fortunately, the fea could not rife in this confined fpace, and we fucceeded in cafting anchor under fhelter of the ifland. This is the place the moft frequented by mips which navigate in the Archipelago. Situated at the entrance of that multitude of iflands, it affords to navigators an anchorage the more convenient, as it is open on all fides, and no wind can prevent them from leaving it at pleafure. They likewife find there pilots accuftomed to conduct mips in the midft of lands and rocks, feparated by a number of winding channels, and afford- ing little fpace to traverfe. This road of Argentiera is formed by the Ifle of Mieo to the fouth- weft,~ by that of Argentiera to the north, and by the fmall Iflands of San Georgio and of Polivo to the eaft. Trading veflels anchor be- tween the Iflands of Argentiera and San Georgio, but nearer to the former, to which they commonly carry out a hawfer.to ferve as moor- ings. In this pofition, where veflels are flickered from the wind and the fea from the north, as much as it is poflible to be in this road, they lie quite clofe to the foot of a high mountain which conceals the view of o o 2 the 284 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the village, and no trace of habitation or culture is there to be difco- vered. But this anchorage has not a iufficient depth of water for ihips of war and large veffels; they come to more to the north, or to the north-caft, in a channel near Poeivo. A remark which, at firft fight, appears very extraordinary, is, that in the place where large veifels caft anchor, and where the currents run frequently with great rapidity, the direction of thefe currents is often contrary to that of the wind; that is to fay, *hat the waters run to the north, when the wind blows from that point, and that they fet to the fouth, when the fouth wind prevails. Their vio- lence even is in proportion to that of the winds, and fo impetuous, that it has happened more than once that a frigate, with her mizentopfail, mau> topfail, and forefail loofe, could not keep head to wind, but remained riding 1 athwart. 'a This fpecies of phenomenon, attoniihing in the eyes of navigators little accuftomed to obfervation, is the effect of the eddy or current doubled^ which caufes the waters to take a courfc contrary to their general di- rection. The more violently they are impelled by the wind's, the more evident is this effect,, and the more rauft it be felt by ihips which are es- pofed to it. A fmall cove- below the village of Argentiera, and at nearly half the length of the channel, is fit only for the reception of the boats of the country, and^ indeed, they are not there in fafety. When they have a rather long flay to make on the coaft of the ifland, they proceed more to the northward, to a cove where they are perfectly fheltered. This narrow harbour, which is fuitable only te very fmall veffels, is. called San Njcolo, from the name of a little chapel dedicated to St, Nichgeas, iu TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 285 in whom the Greeks have great confidence. This chapel is the only building on that coaft; all there is rock and defert. There was, on my arrival in the little cove of Argent [era, a Mal- tefe felucca, forming a part of an armament which had failed from Malta, and was commanded by a Frenchman named Coral. The crew of this felucca confifted only of fourteen hands. Of all privatecrVmen, this cap- tain was certainly the greateft knave. He was a Sclavonian, extraordi- nariby brave, but (till a. greater drunkard-, and at the fame time a plun- derer extremely dreaded. He had long followed^ this trade, and long- been known in the Archipelago, where he had rendered himfelf for- midable, and had even had the audacity to fettle, having married a Greek woman belonging to Myconi. A Greek, brother to a drogue- inan of the Porte, commanded there; the Sclavonian had fome differ- ence with him, and ended by giving him a found drubbing. After this violent proceeding, he rightly judged that it was not poffible for him to remain in an ifland governed by a powerful man whom he had fo outra- geoufly treated: he retired to a neighbouring ifland. But, the Greek having preferred his complaint to the Captain-Pacha, four tfc/iaroi/fchs, or police-officers of the Porte, were fent thither with orders to the Greeks to q-ive their utmoft affinanee in feizint>- the Sclavonian. The latter, re- fided in a fmall village di ft ant from the fea: led by fome bulinefs, he was on his way to the harbour, when the tfchavoufdis, arrived' there; he had no fufpicion, but was walking along in his ufuaL manner, aimed at all points. The police-officers had taken with them twenty Greeks, and, in order to furprife the impetuous foreigner, were advancing with precipi- tation towards the place where he dwelt, when they met him. He was not difconcerted; and, conceiving, from the fight of this party, that he was the man on whom they had a defign, he threw off his cloak, and with £86 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. with his fabre in one hand, and a piftol in the other, he fell, fwearing at the fame time, on the undifciplined band, and put it to the rout. Turks and Greeks, all took to their heels ; it was who could get away the quickeft. As- for the Sclavonian, fatisfied with having got rid of a troublefome and daftardly gang, and with having deprived them of any wiih to return to the charge, he quietly continued his way. However, he was fenfible that he could no longer remain in fafet} r in a country where he would not fail to be overwhelmed by numbers, and delivered up to the vengeance of the Turks; he quitted his wife and his dwelling, and returned to Malta, there to refume his old profeffion of free-booter. Anxious to have a near view of fo paltry an armed veffel as the fe- lucca commanded by this Sclavonian, I repaired on board. I Mas there offered a very nice collation of dried and preferved fruits, and excel- lent Cyprus wine, which had not coft much to thofe who piqued them- felves on it, I was extremely aftonifliecl that a vetfel, fit at moft for a fummer carrying-trade in the Archipelago, could have arrived there from Malta, and failed in the open fea. Upwards of a month had elapfed fince this little felucca had feparated from the Commodore's ihip, and it was fufpecled that the feparation had been concerted among the people, to whom was imputed the defign of appropriating to their own ufe a fum of four hundred thoufand livres which they had on board, and which accrued from their depredations. But they were not agreed among themfelves as to the means of fecuring the poffcliion and the divifion of riches fo ill acquired. The greater part of the crew miftrufted the captain, and were apprehenfive that his connexions in th'efe parts, his boldnefs, and his diihonefty, would induce him to carry off" the fum, and thus deprive of it his companions in danger and rapine. On the other hand, they all dreaded to expoie themfelves, in the winter 3 time TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 287 time, to proceed to Malta in fo frail a veffel. There occurred, in my prefence, a very animated difcuffion on the fubject; the refult was, that the commander would make arrangements with the French cap- tain of the polacre on board of which I had arrived, to convey to Malta the privateer"s-men and their booty; and I was requefted to apprize the latter of a project which could not but be agreeable to him. The very next day, the time fixed for fettling about the freight, the Sclavonian repaired on board the polacre. He dined there, and this in- terview gave rife to fome pleafant fcenes, from the.contraft afforded by the character of the two captains. The Frenchman, a mild and well, behaved man, had, befides, a confiderable lhare of devotion; the oaths and imprecations of the captain of the privateer affected him ftrangely; and he was on the point of figning his name, when, having obferved to the Sclavonian that he ought to think of the falvation of his foul, the only anfwer he received to this pious remonftrance, was the brutal affertion that that was ufelefs, becaufe it was not poffible that the Almighty could pay any attention to rafcals like himfelf. At laft, after a long altercation, the price of the conveyance to Malta was fettled at twelve hundred dollars; the privateerVman requefted to return on board his felucca, in order, as he faid, to fetch that fnm, and pay it inftantly; but we faw no more of him; and, after having, no doubt, deceived his people as to the pretended impoflibility or coining to any agreement, he immediately fet fail, and faluted us by the difcharge of a fwivel, on paffing us at fome diftance. A few days after, Captain Coral, the commander of the expedition, came into the road of Argenttiera with a fmall friarate. He was in fearch of his felucca, but we were unable to tell him what was become of her 288 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. her. According to every appearance, the little treafure which ihe had on hoard had been carried oft' by the Sclavonian, or fwallowed up with him in the waves. The next day but one after the arrival of this frigate, there arofe a terrible gale from the north, which forced a Turkiih fhip of war to take shelter in the fame roadftead. The wind was fo violent, that, at the very moment when this fhip anchored, her mails were cut away, in order to avoid dragging her anchors, and being dafhed to pieces on the coaft. The firft danger being over, the Turks perceiving that they were near an enemy's frigate, were preparing to jump overboard, and fwim on (bore. But the fame panic, which had taken potleniou of the Tiirkifh crew, reigned on board the Maltefe privateer; and, through an inconceivable refolution, Coral cut his ca- bles, and fled with precipitation. Had he taken the fmalleft ftep for ap- proaching the difmafted fhip, he would have made himfelf matter of her without experiencing the flighteft refiftance. The fame ftorm proved fatal to a French veffel, having on board part of the fuite and equipage of Ismael, a Bey of Egypt, who, after hav- ing driven Murad Bey from Cairo, had, in his turn, been diflodged from that city, and banifhed to Syria, whence he was repairing to Constantinople. This ihipwreck was a misfortune for the Greeks of Argextikra. The Porte difpatched a cadi with two velTels, in order to afcertain the lofs of the effects of Ismael Bey, and recover the greateft part poflible. I was witnefs of the fort of inqueft of thefe pretended offi- cers of juftice; there were many baftinadoes diftributed, many vexa- tions exercifed, and the moft valuable part of the booty remained in the hands of thofe who were come to fave it, and tranfmit it to the owner. The number of fhips which repaired to the road of Akgentiera, from every point of the feas of the Levant, made thef'ifland of that name an important Travels in Greece and turkey. 289 important poft for navigation and commerce. The French maintained a conful there, and this place had been filled by M. Brest, who had re- sided there for upwards of forty years. His title was changed, and his ap- pointments were diminiihed; he became vice-conful, and, during the latter part of his life, he had the mortification to fee himfelf reduced to the fimple quality of agent of the general con filiate of Smvrxa; a lingular reward for long ferviees. But, at a time when every thing was facrifieed to the 1110ft miftaken ihow, when modeft merit was frequently a title to forgetfulnefs and neglect, when ferviees unfupported by favour ob- tained 'no recommendation, fuch inftances of injuftice were not un- common, efpecially in diftant countries, whence complaints arrived but feldom, always weakened, and, as it were, grown too old from the time that was taken up in their reaching home, and from the dif- ferent channels through which they were obliged to pafs before they could arrive at their deftination. What fenfation could, in fact, be produced, in the offices of Ver- sailles, by remonftrances couched in a fimple ftyle, fupported by inconteftable facts and claims, but arriving under the fame cover as the accounts of a man whofe power and falary had increafed at the expenfe of him who preferred the complaint ? Pages of writing, con- cerning objects of no importance, appeared alone worthy of occupying a few moments; and fimple, but rational reprefentations dictated by juftice, the intereft of commerce and navigation, thrown afide, remained unno- ticed as well as unanfwered. And what was the period chofen for treating an eftimable old man with odious injuftice? That in which the fea-port towns of the Levant were inundated by k crowd of young men fent by the French go- vernment, for the purpole of there difcharging important functions, p f in 3$) TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. in which it is fcarcely pofftble to effect any good, whatever merit we may fuppofe in thofe who are inverted with them, if they have not a knowledge of the manners and cuftoms, indifpenfable in a country where it is fometimes dangerous, and always prejudicial, to be igno- rant of them. On the other hand, how could it be imagined that the conful-general at Smyrna, at tbe diftance of upwards of fixty leagues, and without any direct communication, could fuperintend the number of affairs of every kind, which daily occurred at Argen- tiera? Accordingly thofe confuls, more juft than the government, relied entirely on their agent for the trouble of fettling them. Con- tenting themfelves with a confiderable falary, a fmall part of which arofe from a dilatory and revolting reduction in the moderate fti- pend of M. Brest, they knew that no one would act better than he, and they did not interfere, in any refpect, in his adminiftration. In fact, it would have been a difficult matter to combine with a long habit of the commercial and maritime affairs of the Levant, a more extenfive knowledge of the taftes and cuftoms of the different- nations by which it is inhabited or vifited, and a more merited con- fideration. Equally efteemed by the French navy, by the European merchants fettled in Turkey, and by the navigators attracted thi- ther by trade or war, M. Brest enjoyed general efteem. The Turks regarded him as the moft upright of men, and the Greeks enter- tained for him the higheft veneration. Confidence attended him ; born as it were the arbitrator of the frequent difputes which arofe in feas reforted to by different nations, his decifions were followed without appeal, as without murmur; his truly patriarchal authority made him a father, a beloved ruler ; and the French flag, which floated above his houfe, although infulated, and without means of protection, was no where more refpected than at Argentjera. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 29 ( CHAPTER XXIV. Ullage or town of Argentiera. — Houfes. — Fleas. — Feftival of the exal- tation of the holy croft,. — Inhabitants of Argentiera. — Gonvmt of Capuchins. — Picture which was found there. — Grand Vicar. — Period of the conftrutlion of the prefent toxvn of Argentiera. — Greek churches. — Vaivode. — Situation of the Greeks of Argentiera. — Their agriculture. — Barley. — Wine. — Domejtic animals. — Water. 1HE only inhabited place in the Ifland of Argextiera is on the fummit of a mountain of rocks, the afcent to which is by a very diffi- cult road. It is hard to fay whether this place mould be called a town or a village. Were Ave to pay attention only to the fmall number, and above all to the wretched contlruclion of the houfes, it would be moll affuredly no more than a bad village; but it is furrounded by high walls and fecured by two gates, and this circumftanee gives it fome appearance of a town and even of a city. Be this as it may, it is a poor place, the houfes of which, ill-built, are ftill kept in worfe order: feveral are falling into ruins, and not one, but prefents, as it were, the {lamp of wretchednefs and the exterior of po- verty. They are fmall, narrow, and by no means lofty; they canfift only of two apartments, one of which, low and dark, has every appear- ance of a den, and the other is above it : the afcent to the latter is by a few Heps placed on the outfide, and the only door that it has, opens on the landing-place of this fort of Hair-cafe, without a baluftrade and without a balcony. Openings, which are clofed by wooden mutters, fupply the p p 2 . place 202 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. place of ladies, and the ground ferves as a floor or pavement. Accord- ingly there perhaps is no place in the world where there are fo many fleas, particularly during the winter, as in thefe rude dwellings, efpeeially in thofe which have not heen occupied for fome time; and the lodging which I hired was of that numher: in other refpe&s, Argentiera has this in common with other iflsnds of the Archipelago, where the buildings are no better. The multitude of thofe infects is really, extra- ordinary ; one is covered and devoured by them ; they fpread themfelves even over, and flip into the hair, which I had not obferved elfe where. It is aflerted that they are ftill more numerous in the houfes inhabited by nurfes, becaufe, it is faid, they are attracted by the fined of the milk. Thefe houfes, fo paltry, have by way of covering a bad flat roof, eonflfting only of a fort of wooden hurdle, on which earth is fpread and beaten. Stormy fhowers frequently penetrate it, and induce the neceffity of loading it with frelh earth, which does not long feeure the infide of the houfe. In lieu of exerting greater care and intelligence in the eoi> itruction of thefe roofs, the Greeks of the Archipelago, a people long addicted to fuperftition, prefer relying on heaven for the prefervation of their dwellings. On the eve of the feftival of the exaltation of the holy crofs, it is an ancient cuftom to fweep and clean nicely the flat roofs of the houfes ; when, towards the evening, the bells of the churches- begin to ring, the inhabitants there draw large croffes; and thefe figures are, to their credulity, the beft means of preferving the top of their habitations from being penetrated by the winter rains. The evening of this, very day which precedes the exaltation of the holy crofs, one of the greatefl feftivals of the Greek church, fires are kindled in th flreets of the towns and villages of the Archipelago,. where the inhabitants are not reftricled by the prefence of their tyrants. They TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 293 Tiiev all, great and little, pais thrice over thefe fires, at the fame time reciting prayers, by which they implore, from divine afiiftance, the prefervation of their health during the following year, as well as plentiful vintages. But, in order that thefe prayers ma}' have all the efficacy which- they expett from them, they ferioufly affert that there muft be in the fires fome parts of the fefamum plant. A finole ftreet makes the circumference of the town or village of Argkntier.4. People who are as badly lodged as the Greeks of this ifland, were not likely to think of paving their ftreet, which, in rain-v weather, is, a long heap of deep mud; humidity, water itfelf then finds its way into the rooms of the ground floor, which are aim oft fubterra- neous, and renders them habitations equally unwholefome and incon- venient.. It is within this enclosure of wretchednefs that about two hundred Greek families take up their refidence. There were in my time but two Frenchmen: the conful or agent, and another Provencal, who ferved as a pilot to ihips of war of different nations, which the protection of their commerce brought into thefe feas. There were no other Catholics than the families of thefe two Frenchmen ; the remainder of the inhabitants followed the religious principles of the Greek church. This finall num- ber of Latin. Chriftians no longer required the care of feveral minifters. Some Capuchins, who had eftablifhed themfelves there formerly, had aban- doned their hofpke, built on the outfide of the town. This houfe was in ruins, and every thing that the Capuchins had left there was become the prey of the people of the country and of ftrangers. I alfo faw there a very fine picture, which had not excited the cupidity of ignorant depre- dators, but which had great merit; it reprefented a miracle which the monks of the Trinjty, occupied, as is well known, with the redemption o 294 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of Chriftian flavcs in the Mahometan countries, relate to have happened in Barbary Some of thefe monks, having learned that there exifted in the hands of the inhabitants of Barbary an enormous crucifix in bronze, ariiing from the plunder of fome Chriftian ihip or fettlement, did every thing in their power to obtain it; they fucceeded in this only by promifing to give a weight of fdver equal to that of the crofs. It is the moment when the fcales are brought into the prefence of the officers of juftice and of an immenfc crowd, that the painter of this picture has chofen. The crucifix is on one of the fcales; bags of fdver coin, which the pious zeal of the Trinitarians had had fo much difficulty to collecl, are lying on the ground; one of thefe friars, on his knees, is beginning to empty one of them into the other fcale, and fcarcely are a few pieces, equivalent to the value of the copper crucifix, come out of it, than the equilibrium of the fcales is eftabliihed. The grateful admiration towards heaven, depicted on the countenance of the friars, the flupid and item furprife on the faces of the natives of Barbarv, the tone of truth which reigns in a group compofed of a multitude of details, together with the beauty of the colouring, announce a mafterly pencil, and made this picture a valuable work. The conful allured me, that an Engliih traveller had offered the Capuchins to give them as many fequins as it could hold, placed befide each other on the canvas of the picture; and thefe monks, who fet fo high a value on its poffefiion as to reject fuch confiderable offers, ended by abandoning it, and giving it up to the dufr, and to the outrages of grofs and ignorant people. I had no difficulty in obtaining from the conful authority to refcue this fine work from ap- proaching annihilation, and to bring it to France. It is there in facr, but I cannot tell where; for it was taken from me fome time before my arrival, without my being able to difcover fmce what was become of it. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 295 The fmall church, or the chapel of the Capuchins, likewife ferved for the Catholics of Argentiera; hut this temple partook of the general wretchednefs; the moft fimple decorations were there wanting, and the ornaments, as well as the linen neceffary for the altar, were falling into tatters. A fecular prieft, born in the Ifland of Scio, and who had ftudied at Rome, ftill performed divine fervice in this chapel. He affumed the title of grand vicar, and pretended to be inverted with all the powers of the biihops in the Iflands of Milo and Argenttera, which, according to him, were not in the dependency of any bilhopric, and formed for him a little diftrict, over which he exercifed fpiritual fupremacy; and, in truth, his eminent dignity did not fatigue him much ; for there no longer exifted but a tingle Catholic in the former of thofe iilands. All his func- tions were limited to faying the mafs of the conful; and, by this trifling duty, he compenfated for the protection which the French government granted him, as well as to the biihops and other Latin priefts fcattered throughout Turkey. •»■ The prieft of Argentiera was very proud of his nominal bifhopric; he fuffered no opportunity to efcape of fpeakiug of it, and particularly of iniertiug in the fmall number of acts which he had to write, and which he increafed defignedly, the formula nullias dicecefis*, the decla- ration of his fpiritual independence. With the exception of this little pride, which, in other countries befides the East, not unticquently replaced evangelical modefty, M. Marcopoli, this is the name of the ecclefiaftic, was certainly the beft man in the world; intelligent and- * Belonging to no diocefe : thus are called the diftrifts which are not fubjett to the jurifdiftion of any bifhop, and where chapters or ecclefiaftical dignitaries difcharge epifcopal functions. 3 anxious Z96 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. anxious to acquire knowledge, he communicated with much com- plaifance that which he poffeffed refpeeting his own country ; he was extremely ufeful to me during my travels. I had conceived for him much efteem and friendship, and I learnt with concern that, a thort time after my departure from the LevXnt, he had funk under a long illnefs. His ordinary drefs confifted of a hlack caflbck, like that of our priefts, a broad and high black cap of an ecpial width from one end to the other, and a pair of whiikers. He was refpected by the Turks and Greeks; but for this refpe6l he was indebted to the protection which he received from France; a protection which was then of very great weight in countries where our nation enjoyed confiderable influence and many exclufive ad- vantages. The town of Argent ier a is very modern; its conftruction goes no farther back than 1646. A tradition, preferved among the prefent inha- bitants, informs us that it was begun by fome Greek fugitives from the Ifland of Sipiianto, who kept themfelves concealed, for fome time, in a wood which then covered its lite. Thefe Greeks had brought with them in their flight an image of the Virgin, and they built houfes in the place where the reprefentation of the mother of God had been pleafcd to Hop with them, and to preferve them from the attacks of their enemies. Several Greek churches or chapels, fcarcely povTefiir.g more riches than that of the catholics, arc built behind the village. They all have, above their portal, little bells, which are frequently in motion. But, on a milerable and iufulated land, their found fcares not the Mulfuimans, and they have difdained to take away from a handful of Greeks, whole lituatlou TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. q 97 fituation rendered them little worthy of attention, a privilege which they refufe with feverity in almoft all the parts of their empire, and which is of great value in the eyes of people, whofe whole chriftianity confifts in exterior practices. A Greek of Argentiera itfelf, and fometimes of a neighbouring ifland, goes every year to Constantinople, to purchafe the right of oppreffing his countrymen, under the title of faivock. This place, which anfwers to that of intendant, is a poft which is put up to auction, and fold to the higheft bidder. The iflands of the Archipelago, where the Turks do not command in perfon, have the fame form of adminif- tration; the vaivode there collects the public revenues, impofes arbitrary fines ; in a word, torments his fellow-citizens by as many exactions and acts of injuftice as could be committed by the moft fevere and moil covetous Muffulman officer. With the exception of ill ufage, of exceffes of an unbridled violence, in which the Turkifh commandants fometimes in- dulge themfelves, towards a people whom they conlider as a horde of flaves and reprobates, the vaivodes accompany their temporary functions with fo much harihnefs and rapine, that the Greeks have moft frequently to repent being governed by a man of their own nation. And this cruel infenfibility, which fuddenly converts one oppreffed into a pitilefs oppreffor, is not peculiar to the Greeks of the Archipelago; it is a vice common to all low and debafed minds, which know no more of power than its abufes, and confound the duties of legitimate autho- rity with the obligation of ufing extreme feverity. The black flaves in the West Indies had no overfeers more rough and more inhu- man than thofe of their own colour who had ihared their fate, and we ihall long have prefent in our memory the horrors, the devafta- q q. tion, 2«;S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. tion, and the pillage which have been wantonly committed by a few men of the dregs of the people, inverted, through the effect of an inconceivable delirium, with a terrible power, which could fcarcely be equalled by that alfumed by ferocious ufurpers. The miferable ftate of Argentiera was not, I was told, carried to the pitch in which it is at the prefent day. I was allured that, before the war between the Ruffians and the Turks, during which the former came from their northern countries by routes, the poffibility of which the ignorance of the latter had not been able to difcover, and eftablifbed in the Archipelago itfelf their nation, their maga- zines, and their cruifes, whence they threatened the capital of the Ottoman empire, this country enjoyed greater comfort. But, during this ftrua'gde between the Ruffians and the Turks, the defence! efs iflands were given up to pillage and contributions, to which places that become the theatre of Avar are always expofed. And what crowd of ills mud overwhelm thofe where the barbarity of the men, who are at war, adds to the horrors of which it compofes its dreadful train! Pirates, taking advantage of diforder and impunity, increafed by their robberies the calamities of thefe countries; and Argentiera, whofe road could not fail to be the place of the Archipelago the moll fre- quented by mips of every fort, more expofed than any other ifland, muft have been exceffively impoverished. Here was a general want of the neceflary articles of life; neither corn, meat, nor vegetables were to be found. All that it was poffi- ble to procure, confined of barley-bread and a few eggs. The whole ifland, which is fcarcely fix leagues in circuit, is formed by moun- tains of rocks, and almoft entirely fteril. If we except a few fig-trees, fcattered TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 2£)y Scattered among the vineyards and fields, no tree enlivens with its verdure a rugged and arid foil, formerly fhaded by forefts, and where, more recently, (till grew in abundance the tree whofe fruit furnifhes the moft ufeful, as well as the ,moft favoury of oils. Thefe latter fpecies of plantations, which conftitute the wealth of a country whofe climate is favourable to them, were, at Argentiera, and on feme neighbouring lands, the prey of flames, directed by the devaftating hand of war, during the long continuance of hoftitilies between the Venetians and the Turks. All the prefent induftry of the Greeks of this ifland is reduced to the culture of a little cotton, forne barley, and a few vines. When a perfon wifhes to eat other bread, he is obliged to fend for wheat from countries more fortunate. During the winter, boats touch here loaded with bifcuit ; their cargo is prefently fold ; for people, conftantly re- duced to .barley-bread, find a fort of treat in a food dry and hard, but more reliihing. It is not that the bread which is made at Argentiera, and in almoft all the iflands of the Archipelago, with barley-meal, is not good; the people of thefe countries fcarcely eat any other. I lived on it a long time, and not only found in it no difagreeable flavour, but it appeared to me well-tafted and reliihing. In all the East, this bread, of pure barley, is a very common aliment; the Hebrews made a great confump- tion of it; and there is every reafon to prefume, that ancientty, as in our days, the culture of barley, and its ufe as daily food, would not have been fpread fo generally in countries where wheat grows in abun- dance, if the bread which is made from it had been reckoned a coarfe and even difgufting food, like the fame bread in our northern depart- ments. On my return to my own country, I wiihed to compare the q q 2 barley-bread 300 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. barley-bread which, in years of fcarcity, is fometimes made in our villages, with that which I had fo frequently eaten without difguft in the Levant; and I found that, independently of its colour, much blacker, it was conhderably heavier and really bad. Want alone can command the ufe of it; therefore, the barle}' of warm climates muft yield a meal more favoury than in our countries. Perhaps too, this- grain, which among us is not, commonly, deftined for the fubfiftence of men, has not obtained the fame attention as wheat in its grinding, and being made into bread ; and, perhaps, better attended to, it would ultimately furnifh bread, which would come near the goodnefs of the barley-bread of the East. The wine of Argentiera is not fo good as that of feveral furroundin°- iflands ; and this defect of quality proceeds, no doubt, only from bad management, fince the foil is as fit as in thofe other countries for the culture of the vine. I am even aftonifhed that the inhabitants contrive to make wine ; for, no fooner are the grapes ripe, than they eat them in fuch great quantities, that it appears likely that there would no longer be any remaining, whofe juice may be exprefled; and thefe fort of partial and anticipated vintages are alfo one of the caufes of the mediocrity of the wine, for which are referved none but the grapes the leaft ripe and of the worft appearance. However, the Ifland of Milo, which is very near, furniihes the wine which is commonly drunk at Argentiera; very good fheep are alfo thence procured. The inhabitants of Argentiera poflefs only flocks, which are as pitiful as every thing that furrounds them. A few miferable affes, a fmall number of hogs, and fome fowls, are the only domeftic animals that are there to be feen; and if they had not the refources which the fea prefents for fifhing, and that very limited one of fowling, 1 it TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 301 it would be a difficult matter to live on an ifland which is almoft in want of every thing. Water even is not here common; here are no rivers, no rivulets, nor fprings; no other than ciftern water is drunk. A marfh of miry water, which is at the entrance of the village towards the fea, is the only watering-place where the fmall number of animals that are here fed can quench their thirft; its muddy banks are con- ftantly enlivened by wagtails; thofe reftlefs birds diffafe life and gaiety in places where every thing infpires melancholy, where every thing- feems ready to be annihilated under the weight of penury and op- preffion,. CHAPTER 302 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXV. Names of the If and of Argentiera. — Silver mines. — Cimolian earth. — Its properties; its life in the arts; the utility zvhich might be derived from it for our manufactures; facility with which it might be procured; its na- ture. — T T olcanoes. — Thermal waters. — Their properties; manner in zvhich the Greeks make ufe of them; their ft nation. — Bluijh fub fiance which covers the fur rounding rocks. — Stinking lake. — Grottoes. — Mountain. — Birds. — Kedros.- — Oil of Kedros. — Different nature of the mountains. — Pi,-afe. — Excavations. — Wild artichokes. — Semena. — Petrified wood. — Lentifk. — Saffron. — Manner of felling it. — Its price. IF the little Ifland of Argentiera neither affords the comforts nor con- veniences of life, Nature has made it an interefting place, from its fitua- tion, and the fubftances which it contains in its bofom, or which it pro- duces fpontaneouily on its furface. The ancients named it Kimolos; they were alfo acquainted with it under the name of Echinussa, Viper Island*, on account of the great quantity of thofe reptiles which it fed, at a time when, little frequented by men, it was covered only by rocks, forefts, or brambles. The Greeks ftill call it at this day Kimoli. The Europeans difcovered there fdver mines, whence has arifen the deno- mination of Argentiera, by which they have not fince ceafed to diftin- guiih it. * Cmolus quts Mm/«,-Piiii, Hift. Nat. lib. iv. cap. xii. Thofe TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 303 Thofe mines are abandoned; it is even probable that they never were very productive, which may have occafioned the working of them to be renounced.. It is not known at what period they were open, nor at what other they were deferted. The inhabitants have not preferved the remembrance of either, and they have taken good care not to make any attempt that might give the Turks reafon to fufpect the exiftence of a precious metal: this would have been to them a new and inexhauftible fource of extortion and wretchednefs. Under an odious tyranny, peo- ple do not become rich with impunity; imminent cianger accompanies •whatever may fix attention and excite cupidity ; and they are fo reduced as to confider diftrefs a defirable blenins:. It appears that the principal mine, whence filver was drawn, is on a lofty cape, oppofite to the little Ifiand of San Georgio. The Ruffians^, during their long ftay in the Archipelago, attempted to work them anew. I alfo know that M. de Laclue, formerly a captain in the French navy, made feveral trials in that way ; but thefe attempts and thefe trials have demonftrated, that the quantity of the mineral was too fmall to cover the coft of the working, and it is undoubtedly to the fame caufe that we muft attribute the ancient defeition of them. It might, neverthelefsj be poffible that, by puihing the labours to a greater depth than has been hitherto done, adventurers might meet with veins more rich and an ore more abundant, which might indemnify them for the expenfes, and yield a profit; but fpeculations of this nature mould be de- ferred to other times, in countries where, through the effect of a ftrange barbarifm, national riches become the fcourge and the ruin of indivi- duals, and where the mafs of earth and rocks, which cover thefe gifts of Nature, cannot be compofed of flrata too thick. The 304 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The fea wafhes the foot of this mountain, which is faid to contain Giver. There it is that the iflanders go to fupply themfelves with an ar- gillaceous fubftance, diluted by the waters, and which ferves them in lieu of foap for warning their linen. The ancients knew it by the name of terra Cimolia, from that of Kimolos, which they had given to the iiland where it is to be found. It has been confounded with other diffe- rent mineral fubftances. There is no work on mineralogy that does not make mention of Cimolian earth; but in all there exifts, on this fubjecT, an equal confufion of words and things. In like manner as the name of terra Jigil/ata, which was nothing more than a generic defignation, given to various fubftances on which impreffions, feals, &c. are applied, has been indifferently attributed to calcareous earths, to boles, and to clays ; the name of terra Cimolia has alfo been extended tofomefpecies of fuller's earth, and even to boles. I have convinced myfelf that the true Cimolian earth of the ancients, that which is drawn from Kimoli or Argentiera, and which is very different from all the analogous fubftances with which it has been con- founded, is not at all known in France, unlefs, perhaps, by a few cu- rious peribns. On my return to Paris, I vifited the warehoufes of the druggifts in the Rue des Lombards; I there afked for Cimolian earth, and I was at one time fhewn Armenian bole; at another, reddifli Lemnian earth; and laftly, figillated Maltefe earth. None of the traders of that rich quarter, who all probably had an idea of Cimolian earth, knew how to diftinguiih it; and, on feeing the fpecimen which I produced, they acknowledged that it was unknown to them. Without admitting all the medicinal properties, attributed to the earth of Argextiera by the ancients, who fet a high value on it, and frequently - TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 305 frequently ufed it in medicine*, it has fome more real, which ought to have refcued it from the oblivion into which it has fallen for many ages. It is a fmectis, a natural foap, which cofts only the trouble of tak- ing it up at the place where Nature has formed it. Diffolved in water, this fubftance, for a long time, maintains its faponaceous froth and bubbles, like common foap. Moft of the Greeks' of the Archipelago make ufe of no other fubftance for warning linen, and they have ob- ferved that it was better bleached when they employed fea-water for dif- folving this earth, the prefent name of which is pylo Tsinnias, that is, Tsinmas clay, becaufe the Greeks call Tsinnias the place whence it is taken. It is put on board boats, which convey it to the other iflands, and to different countries of the Levant. That which the fea-water has penetrated is taken, and formed into little oblong malfes, which are fuf- fered to dry. Experience has, undoubtedly, taught the Greeks, that the earth, thus moiftened, was preferable to that which is dry and har- dened, of which the fame mountain is entirely compofed; never do they take any above the line warned by the waves. Accordingly thefe forts of cakes, formed with Cimolian earth, always contain a ftrong dofe of marine fait, foreign to the earth, and with which the fea impreg- nates it. Cimolian earth is alfo very fit for taking out fpots of greafe from wool- lens or filks : it is fufficient to foften a piece of it in common water, and to fpread it on the place fpotted; it is fuffered to dry, then it is reduced to duft by rubbing it with a brum ; the fpot is effaced without the glofs or colour being impaired. Its efteel; is more certain than that of all the * Refpefting the virtues of Cimolian earth, fee Pliny's Natural Hiftory, book xxxv, chap. xvii; Dioscorides, book v. chap, cxxxiii; Galen, Theophanis a Non.i epitome de curatione morborum, &c. Sec. R b ftones 306 TRAVELS IX GREECE AND TURKEY. ftones for taking out fpots. Several perfons, among whom I have diftri- buted the fmall quantity which I had brought home, have made the trial with fueccfi; but it muft be obferved that it abforbs none but greafy fub- ftances, and that it is ufelefs for other fpots. It alfo cleans extremely well the f word-belts, the fhoulder-belts, and buff accoutrements of troops. The ihoemakers of the Levant make ufe of it for gluing leather and fkins, and its tenacity occafions it to be employed, in the fame countries, as a glue fit for different ufes. But this fubftance might become, for our manufactures, of an utility greater and more general. Pliny mentions that the Romans ufed it for the fcowering of woollen cloths. The lex rnetdla, of which the cenfors C. Flaminius and L. ./Emilius were the authors, prefcribed the order in which fullers were to make ufe of the fubftances which they employ, and Cimolian earth was intended to fet off the true and valuable colours, and to revive the luftre of thofe which the fumes of fulphur had darkened*. The teftimony of the ancients and my oAvn obfervations leave no doubt re- fpefting the advantage which might be derived from the ufe of Cimolian earth in the fulleries, and the cleanfmg of wool. Means would probably be found to employ it with advantage in other arts ; and every thing inclines me to think that, by introducing it into France, we fhould find in it other ufeful properties. The carriage alone would be attended with fome expenfe ; it would coft nothing to take the Cimolian earth from the foot of the moun- tain, where it is moiftened by the fea ; the veffels which frequent the Le- vant might eafily fhip it, to ferve them as ballaft; fo that we fhould have, at a very low price, a ufeful and inexhauftible fubftance. • Veros autem et pretiofos colons cmollit Cimolia, et quodam nitore exhilirat contrijiatos fulphwe.— Pun. Hift. Nat. lib. xxxv. cap. 17. 1 I have TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 307 I have faid that I confidered this mineral fubftance, which is of a whitifh gray, heavy, fat, and faponaceous, as a fpecies of fmectis or fmectites, which does not appear to contain metallic particles. A learned traveller, who, like me, has examined the Cimolian earth in the Ifland of Argentiera, affirms that this fubftance, very abundant, but little known, is only a flow and gradual decompofition of porphyries, occafioned by fubterraneous fires. "I have brought home," fays Oli- vier, "fpecimens of every ftate through which that earth paries. This " obfervation will, no doubt, be interefting to mineralogifts, and will " make them acquainted with the origin of a fubftance till now fo little " known*." I confefs that I am at a lofs to comprehend how por- phyry, on which fire makes no impreffion, can be decompofed by the erTeft of volcanoes, and reduced to a greafy and faponaceous fubftance. Another circumftance perplexes me : this is, that Cimolian earth is acted on by acids, which occafion it to enter into a ftate of fermentation; whereas thefe fame acids produce no fuch effect on porphyry. Thefe diffi- culties, forefeen by Olivier, are cleared up, no doubt, in his theory, with which I am as yet acquainted only by the flight fketch that he has prefented of it in the Report which I have juft quoted; and his talents and his extenfive knowledge in natural hiftory infpire too much confidence to doubt that, by deftroying every objection, he has grounded his opinion on certain bafes and inconteftable facts. The Ifiand of Argentiera is nothing but a group of volcanic fub- ftances. It exhibits on all fides indications of thofe great fires which Nature feeds in the bowels of the earth : every thing there prefents the * Report of travels, performed by order of the French government, in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Perf.a, during the firft fix years of the Republic, read to the National Inftitute, by Citizen Olivier. — Magafin hncjclop'edique du premier Germinal,?^, vii. No. 22, pace 198. r r 2 imag3 305 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY image of a vaft combuftion; and it is probable tbat thefe fubterraneoua- fires, whofe action bas fhewn itfelf externally, and has imprinted on the foil violent commotions, -which, combined with the effort of the waters, may have contributed by immenfe depreffions to infulate it, are ftill burning with activity at great depths, and threaten it again perhaps with frefh convulfions. In feveral places, the rocks are calcined ; the productions, of thefe volcanoes are frequently met with, and Olivier has there disco- vered pozzolana, as well as at Milo and at Santorin*. Hot and fmoking waters ftill atteft there the exiftence of a fubterraneous fire in full activity: they iffue from a rock near the fea, on the north-weft part of the ifland. The heat of thefe waters is fo powerful, that a perfon cannot hold his hand in them ; and in an inftant eggs are boiled hard. They depofit a fediment of a yellow ochre; when cooled, they aflume a whitifh tint, and their flavour is of an extreme tartnefs. I plunged into this burning and mineral fpring an aerometer; it marked five de- grees, and the fame inftrument gave but one degree, put into the water, which is confidered as the belt in the ifland, that of the conful's garden, after it had been purified by remaining in large earthen jars. Thefe thermal waters are reckoned, among the Greeks, to be very well calculated for curing rheumatifm, fciatica, and other diforders of that nature, by fteeping in them linen cloths which are applied to the parts affected. I have been told of the wonderful effects of applications of this fort, and I have had no difficulty in believing them, as the waters of Argentiera muft be very active. I do not know even whether the method of partial applications which are made of them, and only on * See the Memoir before quoted the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. S09 the parts affefted, be not more efficacious than total immerfion or baths, as prefcribed by our phyficians in the thermal waters of our countries. Does not the aftion of the remedy, fpread over the furface of the whole body, lofe fome of its energy with refpecl; to the part affected ; and does not its impreffion prevent, or at lead diminiih the effect expected from it for re-eftablifhing, in one fingle part, the circulation of the humours, and curing local fufferings? Long experience, tradition which is as old perhaps as the times when phyficians, more full of obfervation than learning, dictated, in ancient and brilliant Greece, rules from which found practitioners are ftill afraid to deviate, have perhaps taught the modern Greeks the method of employing, on the very fpot, thermal waters as a to- pical application rather than as a bath. It appears to me, indeed, more natural and more fuitable to the fpecies of complaints which it is meant to cure; and as it cannot be attended with any inconvenience; and as, betides, other nations practife it with fuccefs, I recommend to phyfi- cians, who difdain not to employ the curative means of which they are not the authors or the partifans, and the patients who feek relief, to adapt this procedure with our thermal waters. Yet I thall not tell them what the Greeks affert of the fpring of hot waters of Argentiera: that it is fufficient to make ufe of reite- rated applications-, during a fingle day, to be delivered from rheumatic pains of the moft inveterate nature. Whatever efficacy we may attribute to them, whatever influence we may grant to climate on diforders more frequent and more obftinate in our northern countries, fo expeditious a cure is fcarcely probable, when we obferve that thefe diforders occafion, among us, the defpair of phyficians, and ftill more that of patients. However, the Greeks, who always blend in their actions fome fuperfti- tious practices, recommend to perfons who take a trip to the waters, to leave 310 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. leave there a part of the garments which covered them, a piece of lhirt, of drawers, of waiftcoat, &c. becaufe, fay they, the diforder remains on the very fpot with tliefe fragments of clothes. The place where thefe thermal waters of Argentiera are fituated, affords no accommodation to thofe who wifli to go thither. The vifi- ter arrives there by a very difficult road ; he finds no fhelter againft the heat of the fun; not a hut, not a fingle tree; fcarcely is there in the neighbourhood a fpace fufficiently level for a few perfons to be able to fit down, all this diftricl being nothing more than the fummit of a moun- tain, formed of prominent and pointed rocks. But a thing very re- markable, and which is interefting to mineralogj^, is, that all the {tones of the environs are covered with a ftratum of a mineral fub- ftance of a bluiih colour, which prefents a very fmgular appearance. Another trace of an extinguished volcano is to be remarked not far from the thermal Maters, on the fea-ihore, and in following the coaft towards the north- This is the mouth or crater of an ancient volcano, which, for a long time, exhaled infectious vapours, whence the modern Greeks have called it vromo limno, that is, Jtinking lake. This gulf is, properly fpeaking, in our days, only a lagoon of the fea, which no longer ditfufes a bad fmell. Remote from every habitation and ex- tremely folitary, wild ducks come frequently to reft themfelves on its tranquil waters, and it is uncommon not to find fome there during ■the winter. By the fide of this lake, to the north, are met with feveral grottoes or .caverns cut in the rock, and which appear to have ferved as habitations. In one, there is a fpring of good water, which, in this retired fpot, is •nelefs to the inhabitants of Argextiera. They affert that thefe exca- vations TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 311 rations ferved their anceftors for melting the iron ore which they drew from the neighbouring mountains. A narrow recefs of the fea permitted boats to land on this coaft, and it is to be prefumed that, if the road- ftead of Argentiera had not become the general rendezvous of all the veffels which navigate in the feas of the Levant, the prefent inhabitants would not have abandoned the weft coaft, where they would have found a foil lefs ungrateful, fmall coves fit for the reception of their boats, and a copious fpring. But, among civilized nations, commerce is an irre- fiftible allurement which hurries away men to places where it makes its appearance, and frequently induces them to forfake real advan- tages, to run after chimeras, which corrupt at the fame time that they enrich. This cove, where is fituated the ftinking lake of which I have juft fpoken, is formed to the north by a large elevated mountain, which is cleft and feparated from itfelf, in its middle, throughout its whole height. One half no longer exifis, and has been carried away or fwallowed up by the waves; the part which remains prefents a cut nearly perpendicu- lar, and at the fame time a little concave, entirely compofed of a gray ftone, calcareous, and of a confidence by no means folid. It is this foftnefs of the ftony fubftance of which it is formed, that has occa- fioned its falling away. In fa&, incelfantly beaten at its foot by the waves, and loaded at its fummit by the weight of the lands foaked by the rains, it has been unable to refift thofe two powers acting in a con- trary dire&ion, and has necelfarily opened and feparated. The hill, at the foot of which is the cove, is iloping and covered with a thick ftratum of mould, on which grow more ihrubs and plants than on every other fpot in the ifland. In this folitude, which would not be one, if the population of the countries fubjeift to a government which S12 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. which is the mod unfavourable to it, was not diminifhing inftead of increafmg, I found a quantity of birds aflembled, a living homage paid to the fertility of this diftricl. I there faw a great number of thrufhes of the large fpecies, together with blackbirds, linnets, petty-chaps, par- tridges, a woodcock, &c. &c. At fome diftance, and in the north north-eaft quarter of the ifland, facing the Ifland of Siphanto, is another diftrict which is called Kedros, becaufe it is furnifhed with the fpecies of tall junipers, which the mo- dern Greeks call by that name*. None of them are feen in the other parts of the ifland, and they enliven this quarter, the approaches to which are fomewhat gloomy, from the light tint of the greeniih white of their leaves, and the red of their berries, refembling fmall cherries. Thefe tall flrvubs yield no gum at Argentiera; their wood, as well as their leaves pounded, have a very ftrong odour. The Greeks make ufe of the oil which they draw from the ftem and the branches, for the cure of the itch. They felect the oldefl M r ood, and that molt impregnated with fap, which is then a little blackifh ; they cut it into fmall pieces, which they put into an earthen pot, with a little hole pierced in its bottom; they clofe and cover with pafte the lid of the pot; then kindle a fire all round it, and the heat caufes to trickle down, through the aperture in the bottom, the oil which iifues from it, and which is received into a veflel .placed underneath. This oil is thick, and yellow as faffron; it tinges with yellow the things that are rubbed with it; and the body of thofe who ufe it for curing themfelves of the itch, is a long time before it is freed from this tenacious colour. It is, however, a very good remedy for that diforder. * Thjs.isja variety of the juniper, which grows likewife in the fouthem countries of Frane. Jatiiperus Qxicedruu Linn. It TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 313 It is feen that this oil is nearly the fame as the hulk de cade, which is drawn from the junipers of the fouth of France, and which, in our rural economy, is very commonly ufed for eradicating the mange of iheep and cattle. Oil of Kedros may acquire greater virtues through the influ- ence of climate, and perhaps too from the manner in which it is extracted. It is principally on the back of a lofty and fteep mountain, at the foot of which is a narrow cove, that the greateft number of Kedros are found in the diftricl which bears the name of thofe ihrubs. The back of this mountain is covered with a rich and whitifh earth, under which is a white and brittle rock; a multitude of pieces of lava, cinereous and brown; is fcattered over the foil, and below, the beach is ftrewn with flints, black and burnt, fome of which are of a prodigious fize. The creek is formed on the right by a hill of calcareous rock, white, foft, calcined, and forming only one fingle mafs, broken and fhattered on all fides ; to the left, by a mountain perpendicular on its three fides, of the fame nature as the hill to the right: but, in lieu of the clefts, this is as if artificially wrought, on the naked faces, in acanthus leaves, fuch as are feen on the chapters of pillars. Clofe by the fide of this latter mountain rifes another, quite black and burnt, which forms a finking contraft with the whiten efs of the former. Thefe contrails between grounds very near to each other, are to be found in feveral parts of the ifland, and it is pretty generally obferved, that the mountains or hills which have more immediately experienced the action of volcanoes, are at pre- fent covered with earth ; whereas thofe, the rock of which is white, are abfoluteh/ naked. If, from the diftricl of Kedros, we continue to follow the coaft, on the eafiern ihore of the ifland, we find a cove larger than thofe of which I s s have 314 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. have juft fpoken ; an iflefe, fomewhat lofty, lies in the middle; the water is deep; and fmall veffels may anchor there: but as this place, which is named Prase, is folitary, navigators are not fond of frequent- ing it. On the declivity of the mountain, which forms the head of the fmalt haven of Prase, are feen fome grottoes, dug in the rock. The largeft has a very wide entrance ; its interior is fpacious, and its extremity is walled up. The Greeks are ignorant for what ufe thefe excavations have been made ; they know only that the wall in the inlide of the large grotto was conftrueled, in order to clofe the opening of galleries which, they fay, extend to a very confiderable diftan.ee under ground, and to- prevent the flocks which take flicker in thefe caverns, from penetrating; too far within them, and being there loft. The environs of Prase, on the fide of Kedros, furnifh a great quan- tity of wild artichokes, which the inhabitants of Argentiera go to. gather, and eat with pleafure. Another fmall harbour, fit only for the country barks, but extremely fafe and quiet, is fituated between Prase and Sax Nicolo; it is called Semena. The coaft there is in like manner without habitations ; and to proceed thither from Argentiera is a full hour's journey, along a road exceffively bad, from the quantity of rocks and ftones with which it is covered. The point which bars the entrance of this haven to the fouth, is crumbled away in a great meafure, and it appeared to me almoft en- tirely compofed of wood petrified in maffes, or irregular ftrata. Petrifi cations of this fort are to be found in feveral other parts of the ifland, fometimes in blocks, fometimes in ftrata, and fometimes in detached pieces, &c. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 315 The fhrub the moft common on the furface of the Ifland of Argenti- eka, is the lentifk, called by the modern Greeks Jklno cocco. No other wood is there burnt, and from its fruit is expreffed an oil which is good only for burning; however, the poor make ufe of it in their food. In other refpefts, this oil, which is called Jlcino lado, is clear and of a beautiful gold colour, like the bed olive oil. When it is two or three years old, it is, according to the Greeks, a very good topical remedy for rheumatic pains. Saffron alfo grows naturally on the mountains, and between the rocks of the ifland. When it is in flower, poor people difperfe to gather it, and it affords a little branch of trade for this miferable country. The manner of felling it, when it is dried, is not common in markets; it is weighed, but it is a hen's egg that ferves as a weight. No attention is paid to the fize of the egg, provided it have nothing extraordinary as to its dimensions: neither is it a conflderation whether it be frefh or ftale; it is neceffary only that it be not boiled. It is, however, very certain that an egg weighs more when frefh ; it is alfo evident that its fize adds to its weight. The difference between a frefh egg and another of the fame fize that has been laid fix days, is at lead feven grains, and it may amount to twelve grains between eggs of various fizes. But the Greeks of the Archipelago pay no attention to thefe differences, and the fale of their faffron has no other regulator than the weight of eggs. When I was' travelling in this country, the weight of an egg in faffron cod twenty-eight or thirty parats. The mean weight of common eggs, which we fuppofe to be five days old, is about an ounce, fix drachms, and fifteen grains, or one thou fan d and thirty-nine grains. On the other hand, the Turkey parat was, during the fame period, valued at lixteen denicrs tournois; it therefore refults that the pound of dried faffron was, s s 2 in 316 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. in 1778, at Argentiera, and in feveral other iflands of the Archipe- lago, worth from about fixteen livres, feven fous, two deniers tournoisj- to feventeen livres, ten fous, fix deniers. At the fame period, the common price of the pound of faffron of Gatinois, avoirdupois, amounted to from twenty -four to thirty livres tournois: when it was not of the firfl: quality, it was fometimes fold for rather lefs; but there was almoft always near twice the difference between the fafTron of France and that ofth& Levant, although the latter, as is well known, is of a quality infinitely fuperioiv CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, 317 CHAPTER XXVI. Women of Argentiera. — Calumnious Jlories of which they have been the fuhjecl. — Their morals. — Their drefs. — Particular defcription of their garments.— Their occupations. — Cotton Jiockings and caps. — Occupations of the men. — Flocks. — The management of them. — Cheefe. — Ijland of Polivo or Burnt Ifland. — Its productions. — Advantages of pojejing it. EVERY one knows that the mores on which navigators land in great numbers, are not always the feat of virtue and modefty. When to this concourfe of ftrangers, endeavouring, by a few tranfitory enjoyments, to make themfelves amends for the difficulties and privations of voyages, are added the corrupting gold of Commerce, and the means of which it can difpofe for feduction, deviations from virtue are more frequent, and morals border more on depravity. It is pomble that formerly the Ifland of Argentiera, poffefTed by Europeans, who there difplayed the vices of inveterate corruption, and the neceffary rendezvous of feveral mips which eftabliflied their cruifing-ftation in the Archipelago, and the crews of which came thither to fpend the produce of their rapine, and barter it away for pleafures, which ceafe to have charms as foon as they are purchafed; it is poffible, I fay, and even rather probable, that this ifland may have then afforded fcenes of gallantry fufheiently repeated to become the pidture of licentioufnefs. But that this miferable country, without commerce, and ahnoft without induftry, mould have been meta- morphofed into a temple of voluptuoufnefs; that navigators of all nations fhould come thither to pay their homages to Venus, and there depofit their 318 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. their offerings ; that travellers mould there have run as many rifks as Telemachus in the Ifland of Cyprus, and that they mould even have come off with lefs glory than that young Greek, having no Mextor to match them from fo dangerous a place*, thefe are unfaithful pictures, at heft fit to be introduced into a romance, fmce they ferve only to give birth to falfe ideas of a country refpeeling which they convey images traced by exaggeration. Tocrxefokt had received the fame impreffions on the fnhject of Argextiera; but he appears furprifed not to find that pitiful country fo corrupted as he had reprefented it to himfelf. " This ifland'," fays he, " is become quite poor, fmce the king no longer " fuffers any French privateers in the Levaxt. Argextiera was " their rendezvous, and they there ipent, in horrible debaucheries, what " they had juft plundered from the Turks. The ladies took advantage " of the circumftance; they neither are the moft cruel, nor the moft un- f comely: this is the moft dangerous ihoal in the Archipelago ; but " one mult be very unfkilfid to ftrike on it T- " It is feen clearly, from this paflage in Touexefort's narrative, that that traveller fpeaks only of what he had read or heard, and not of what he himfelf faw on the ipot: and not having had time to obferve the morals of a country in which he, as it were, did no more than make his appearance, he facrifices to his prejudices, by full throwing fome difgrace on the private life of the women by whom it is inhabited. But if fuch imputations appear evidently exaggerated, when we carry them back to periods already remote, they are truly calumnious when we apply them to the time prefent. It is an error of fome modern tra- * Leltres Calallf.es > J u Marquis *'Argens, vol. ii. Hague edition, 1770, page 10S. t l r cyage an Levant, 4.to edition, vol. i. page 141. 1 vellers, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 3 re- vellers, prepoffefTed by the accounts of thofe who have preceded them. M. ce Choiseul-Gouffier, who has paid fome attention to Argen- tiera, has faid nothing of the kind : he contents himfelf with fpeaking of. the difburfements that the crews of Chriflian privateers, who formerly infefted the Archipelago with their robberies, came thither during the winter to make ; difburfements for which they made the inhabitants pay very dear, from the vexations with which they tormented them. He alio mentions a cuftora which thefe fame privateer's men had eflablifhed there, and of which our navigators (till avail themfelves at Madagascar, that of folemnly marrying for the time of their flay in port; fo that a new lover impatiently waited for the departure of a captain, in order to wed his wife, as foon as he fhould have fet fail*. It is very certain that this diffolutenefs of morals, with which the wo- men of Argentiera are reproached with fo much bitternefs and in- juftice, cannot be imputed to thofe of our days. They are endowed with modefly and referve, which are the ordinary appendage of the women of the East; and during a rather long flay which I made among them, I faw but one fingle inftance of a glaring deviation from thofe virtues more rigidly obferved in the Levant than elfe where. An unmarried woman, who was no longer in her prime, but who had preferved fome mare of youth and beauty, without relations, and living alone, was rather forced than feduced by a young Frenchman; flie had long oppofed a warm re- fiftance to the importunities of the mofl ardent paffion. In the middle of the night, flie heard near her bed her impetuous lover: the door had not- been open; he had come down by the chimney. An attack fo fud- den and fo unforefeen was fuccefsful, and attended with confequences too apparent. The vaivode, always on the watch for every thing that can * Voyage Pittorefque dt la Grhe, folio, page 9. increafe 320 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. increafc his income, fet up for the avenger of outraged morals, anJ im- pofed on this unfortunate victim of imprudent love a very heavy fine, which it Mas neceifary to pay ; nor could any entreaty ohtain a miti- gation of a penalty inflicted by a tyrant whom cupidity rendered inex- orable. Indeed, a puniihment fo fevere announces not the general diifo- lutenefs of morals, with. which writers have endeavoured to tarnilh the women of Argentiera; and thefe lines which I have confe crated to their reputation, are no lefs the expreflion of a fentiment of juftice than that of gratitude, for the attentions and tranquillity which I enjoyed in their country. Thefe women poffefs, in general, the advantages of ihape and face; but they fpoil them by the manner in which they drefs themfelves. It is certainly the ftrangeft garb that can be imagined, and a woman mutt have many charms, for them not to difappear under garments fo grotefque. The drawing which I give {Plate J'l.) of this drefs was made from, a doll quite clothed and arranged in the country itfelf. An Indian iliawl, that is, a tiffue of fine wool, and moft commonly of a dark green with ipots of a dull red and clouded with green, furrounds the head and forehead, and fufTers nothing to be feen there but two little locks of fmooth and black hair, which fall on each temple. It is a luxury not only at Argentiera, but in the other iflands of the Ar- chipelago and in fome other parts of the Levant, to add to thefe tufts of hair fmall curling feathers of a beautiful velvety and mining black, or rather of a very deep azure blue, which the males of certain fgecies of wild ducks have on the rump, two on each fide. Thefe little leathers, a funple ornament, but which is not deftitute of agreeablenefs, arc TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. , 321 are carefully collected. The women place fome of them under their fhawl, and fuffer their curling points to appear on the forehead and temples, where their metallic reflections throw a gentle and coloured luftre, which varies every moment according to the different lights under . which they appear. The hair is enveloped and braided with rofe colour riband: this braid is rolled on the crown of the head, and confined with a fmall black riband ; it is furmounted by a large ftreamer of red ribands. To the back of the head is faftened a long piece of filk, trimmed with a broad gold net lace, which falls and waves behind. On the neck is a collar of gold, jet, or pearls, from which hangs a crofs. A broad piece of red velvet, covered with gold net lace, and bordered at top the with a fky-blue riband, or a bit of gold or filver brocade, covers the breaft and the throat, above another piece of cotton. A fort of filk apron, trimmed down its middle and below with gold net lace, is faftened beneath the ftomacher, and reaches no lower than the knees ; a red riband, in the form of a girdle, and one end of which falls down on each fide, ferves to confine the handkerchief u'hich hangs on the left. The fliift, which is, for thefe women, the richeft article of their drefs, made of filk, falls in front below the fort of apron which I have juft mentioned; it is trim- med with rofe colour riband, on which is applied the lace or open gold net work, which conftitutes all the luxury of the garments. Poor women ufe tinfel, and fometimes coarfe lace made with cotton thread. The fhift comes no lower than the knees, below which- are tied the firings of the cotton drawers, which all the women wear in the East. But the moft extraordinary part of the drefs is the fleeves of the fliift, enormous fleeves, confined fiift on the fore arm with a rofe colour riband, then turned np and faftened to the fhoulder in fuch a manner as to be raifed extremely high, fo that the head appears buried and concealed on each x t fide 522 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. fide between the fhoulders. Thefe fleeves, open and trimmed with gold net lace, hang down in a point as low as the leg, and entirely cover the fides of the body. The fame piece of velvet or brocade fluff worn on the breaft is tied behind; a fmall filver lace cord falls on each moulder, and three large ftreamers of riband are fattened acrofs the back; that of the middle is bright blue; the other two are rofe colour. Two thick pieces of cotton, in very clofe folds, hang down, at the fame time increafing in width, the one over the other, along the back, as far as the middle of the thighs: thefe pieces of cotton are ftiff, do not bend, and appear like little mattreffes applied to the body of the perfon who is loaded with them. Arofe colour riband, fattened to the upper piece, and tied in front underneath the apron, prevents it from rifing. It is not a merit in the women of Argentiera, to have their legs llender and gracefully moulded; on the contrary, they employ no fmall degree of art to render them equally thick throughout all their length, and to give them the appearance of real potts. They put on feveral pairs of half ftockings of different fizes, one over the other, in order to fill up the fmall of the leg and make it even with the calf. As thefe parts are expofed to view as high as the knees, they take pains to adorn them ; they are covered with a velvet flocking, and a fmall filver lace-cord is fattened to it before and behind. The covering for the feet confifts of a fort of flipper of filk, brocaded* with gold or filver, with a heel by no means high, a fole very thin, and the point fharp and turned up. The drefs which I have juft defcribed is that of parade: the women generally wear one more plain ; but which, however, is compofed of fe- veral pieces, more coarfe and lefs ornamented; fo that on feftivals, as on working days, they alike appear ihapelefs mattes of linen or cloth. 1 The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 323 The habitual occupation of thefe women, To angularly clothed, is to fpin cotton, and to knit it into (lockings and caps. At home, as well as in the (beets, they are feen with the fpindle or the knitting-needles in their hand. They make ufe of a fpindle, which is nothing more thau an iron rod turned fpirally ift its middle, and the top of which is bent like a hook, in, order to hold the cotton. Stockings, which they manufacture with much care, are, correctly fpeaking, the only trade of their ifland. Navigators take them for their own wear, and in parcels: they are to be had at all prices, from twenty parats, or about twenty-feven fous, to four dollars, or ten or eleven livres the pair. The ftockings of this latter price are very fine and excellent wear, as well as the knit caps, manufactured by the fame hands; and it is, undoubtedly, to the prohibitions which clogged the trade of the Levant, that we muft attribute the little knowledge that we had in France of thefe ufeful articles, which deferved to be intro- duced into the traffic that we carried on with thofe countries. While the women fpin and knit, the men engage in different kinds of employments. Some, proprietors of boats, navigate and trade in the Archipelago during the fummer, and return to pafs the winter at home, and there enjoy in peace the fruit of their induftry : others apply themfelves to fiihing, very few to killing game, and fome to agriculture; the pooreft clafs cut and root up the fhrubs which grow on the mountains, and bring them, on the back of forry afTes, to the village, where their branches and winding roots are the only wood that is burnt for the dreffing of food; laftly, others of the fame indigent clafs undertake to tend flocks of fheep and goats ; for there are not, in this ifland, either oxen, or cows, or any other fpecies of cattle. I have already obferved, that agriculture was at Argentiera in the moft wretched condition, although the ifland afforded feveral diftricts t t 2 capable 32+ TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. capable of yielding a rich produce; neither are the flocks very numerous. They are formed of fheep belonging to different perfons: never do the animals which compofe them approach the habitations ; they are not at all acquainted with fheds; always ftraying from mountain to mountain, they are brought forth and live in the open air; fome large caverns ferve them as a ihelter againft ftorms, and their keepers ihare this fhelter, as well as their wandering life. Thefe fhepherds of the iflands of the Archipelago are not hirelings; they are a fort of farmers, who receive ewes and goats from the inha- bitants, on condition of furniihing them with a quantity of wool and cheefe proportionate to the number of the animals, and to account foy the ordinary produce of the ewes; fo that, at the expiration of a few years, a man finds himfelf the poffeflor of a little flock, which has con- ftantly furnifhed an almoft daily income, without having coft either trouble or expenfe. This method of breeding iheep is more advan- tageous to the proprietors and to the animals themfelves, which are more healthy and more robuft, and whofe fleece is improved by this en- tirely agreftic life; but it cannot be adopted but in mountainous coun- tries, where Agriculture has not extended her domain : in other places, that want might be fupplied by extenfive parks, enclofure in the open air, and, above all, by the profcription of low and fwampy fheep-folds, fuch as are feen in feveral of our departments. Aloft of the diforders by which our flocks are attacked, through the effect of humidity and corruption, are unknown in the Levant. Ve- terinary treatment, which is become among us a difficult art, becaufe we have chofen that the diet of our animals, like our own, fliould deviate from the rules which Nature prefcribes, would there be an art almoft ufe- lefs. Experience, that guide more fure than the inductions of medical theory, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 325 theory, has made fimple fhepherds the phyficians of their flocks, as they are their infeparable companions. They do not load themfelves with drugs; Nature is at all the trouble of the preparations, and their phar- macy is fcattered over the very places which they traverfe. The remedies are fimple, like the complaints : I have remembered one whieh, among the fhepherds of the East, is reckoned very efficacious in putrid difeafes in fheep : this is fwallow's dung, diffolved in water, and given as a drink. It is alfo on the very mountains, and in the midft of their flocks, that the fhepherds make, with the milk of ewes and goats, prepared in the open air in large brafs veffels, little cheefes, formed in rufh moulds, and of which the Greeks, flrift obfervers of feveral Lents, make a great con- fumption. Thefe cheefes are very good, falted, and preferved; but frefh, they are delicious.- A few inhabitants of Milo and Argentiera have alfo flocks on the Ifland of Polivo, which the Europeans call Burnt Island, becaufe the Venetians, during the long wars that they had to maintain againft the Turks, deftroyed by fire the olive-trees with which it was covered. Flocks are the only inhabitants of this ifland ; it neverthelefs deferves to have others. In facL the quantity of olive-trees which there fubfifted, indicates the goodnefs of its foil; and the fmall number which is flill cultivated on the weft coaft, oppofite to Argentiera, produces abun- dant crops. Polivo, or Burnt Island, lies to the eaft of Argentiera, and is feparated from it only by a channel a quarter of a league wide. At the period of my travels, it belonged to different individuals of Milo and Argentiera; but they were not in a condition, or rather they were afraid SW TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. afraid to turn it to account, left they fhould attract the attention and ex» tortious of the Turks. They were endeavouring to difpofe of it; and, but for the difficulties which a Frenchman then experienced in eftabliihing himfelf in Turkey, I would have become the purchafer. The little produce which the polTeffors drew from it, rendered it an acquisition by no means expenfive, and fuch that a {"cw acres of land could not have been obtained in France at the fame price. The iiland is, neverthe- lefs, four or {ive leagues in circumference: culture might there be ex- tended fo as to leave but about the fourth of the foil, which, from its nature, would remain uncultivated. This confifts of hills, partly covered by rocks, between which grow various plants and fhrubs. Thefe hills, although not cultivated, would not be unproductive; flocks would there find an abundant food; lentifks and junipers would jueld wood and oil. Nature has planted between the rocks bulbs of faffron, in the midii of other vegetable productions, ufeful, though wild. The very rocks like- wife offer their tribute; in their bofom are found carnelians of feveral colours, but moft commonly of a yellow orange colour; and agates, of a yellow and tranfparent gray, which may be confidered as a fpecies of fardonyx. An excavation, fupported by pofts, indicates ancient mine- ralogical labours, and it might be poffible to renew them with advan- tage. To the culture of various fpecies of corn, cotton, &c. to the collection of wool, one might join the rearing of bees, which fcarcely require any care in a climate in which they much delight; and it is well known that wax is, in the Levant, a very profitable article of trade. The fituation of Polivo at the entrance of the Archipelago, in the vicinity of a great number of iflands, forming a road, the common anchoring-place for veffels that navigate in thefe feas, would give birth to an infinite number of commercial fpeculations, which could not fail to be very pro- ductive. ■ . TRAVELS INT GREECE AND TURKEY 527 du&ive. On the coaft, facing Argentieria, are two eoves, into one of which mips can enter. At a trifling expenfe, one might build on the ih ore, and within reach of a fpring of frefh water, a convenient habita- tion, whofe pofition, though a little folitary, would be agreeable and pifturefque: one might there pafs, in comfort, and in pleafant and ufeful occupations, a quiet and happy life; and when, after long travels and perfevering labours, I faw myfelf furrounded by all kinds of troubles and treacheries, I regretted more than once not having endeavoured to remove the obftacles which oppofed the acquifition of the peaceful Ifland of Ponvo. In an abode neither too retired, nor too much expofed to the noify agitations of fociery, I iliould probably have met with tran- quillity and happinefs, from which a fatality, by no means common, has always kept me at a diftance. CHAPTER mi TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY CHAPTER XXVII. Genera! obfervations on the manners and cujioms of the Greeks of the Archipelago. — Their mode of life. — Their mind extremely inclined to fu- perftition. — Manner in which mothers correct their children.— Mel hod practifed in the delivery of ' zt •omen. — Attention paid, in the Archipelago, to nczc-born children. — Precautions taken concerning them. — Pretended influence of Jinijler looks on children, men, and animals. 1 HAD made of the Ifland of Argentiera, and of the very neigh- bouring one of Milo, which will prefently be fpoken of, the fpot whither I repaired after my different excurfions in the Archipelago. The num- ber of European veffels which put in there, the refidence of an agent of. our nation, the tranquillity which there reigned, the greater facility of there obtaining certain information reflecting countries where tincerity and truth are not prevailing virtues — every thing induced me to return frequently to one of thefe two iflands, and to make a flay there at feveral periods. There it was that I penned the notes and obfervations which I had collected, and which have ferved as materials for this work: it feems natural to me to infert them here; and although they, for the mod part, refer to the inhabitants of feveral other iflands of the Archipelago, as they are common to the Iflands of Argextiera and Milo, they are not at all mifplaced in the articles which treat of thofe two countries. They confift of general obfervations on the manners of the defcendants of a great people, at this day fubjugated by a barbarous nation: it is the moral hiflory of the Greeks of the Archipelago; and the picture which I am going to prefent of them will exempt me from repetitions that would be- come TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 329 come unavoidable, if I wifhed to fpeak in particular of feveral tribes fcattered over all the eminences which tower above the furface of the JEgean Sea, and on which the men, with the exception of a few mades, have the fame qualities and the fame cuftoms. The reader will find, in this fame picture, what is general in thofe cuftoms and thofe qualities; and he will have nothing more to do than to vifit rapidly with me the other iflands of the Archipelago, and there to remark the particu- larities which diftinguiui their phyfical ftate and the moral character of their inhabitants. The life of the Greeks of the Archipelago is fimple; luxury dares not make its appearance, becaufe the tyrant is continually on the watch, and ready to fall on the produce of induftry, as foon as it befpeaks riches fomewhat confiderable. The Greek gives himfelf up only by ftealth to the fpeculations of commerce; and if they make any difplay through too great fuccefs, he trembles for his fortune, fometimes even for his life. Rural labours would deftroy too much the effects of induftry, a fecret which he is forced to conceal with care : thence refults that the fields are uncultivated, that the wretchednefs of the country finds its way into the inhabited places, and that one feldom perceives there the figns of a dangerous opulence. i The Greeks of antiquity have been reproached with having a mind prone to fuperftition ; this inclination has increafed in proportion as Igno- rance has fhaded, with her gloomy wings, countries which the arts and fciences have not been able to fecure from fuperftitious credulity. In the time of the Greek emperors, this weaknefs appeared to have attained its higheft pitch ; the people were given, in a furprifing manner, to preftiges, enchantments, and practices the moft abfurd; and it may be conceived whether, in our days, when Slavery, the moft powerful promoter ol the u u degradation 530 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. degradation of nations, has united her finifter efforts to an ignorance ever increafing, that old difpofition to errors have not ftruck roots more deep and more numerous. The chriftian religion even is become, among this" people, a new fource of fuperftitions. That religion, of celeftial origin, which men, and more particularly the ambition of priefts, have fpoiled, confjfts, for a Greek, only in ceremonies, in minute obfervances, in a multitude of practices. To himjthe fublime moral of the Gofpel is no- thing ; and provided he faft fcrupuloufly, pronounce words which he confiders as magical, and be exact in ceremonies, even foreign to thofe of religion, he is perfuaded that all his duties are performed, and that no- thing can prevent him -from giving himfelf up to exceffes againft fociety. It is not uncommon to fee Greek pirates, addicted to all forts of robberies, fancy themfelves in full enjoyment of a fafe confcience, becaufe they ftriclly obferve Lent, and recite orifons. Among the cuftoms of the Greeks of the Archipelago, there are, no doubt, fome which are derived from antiquity. The East is by no means the abode of frivolity, nor of a fickle and changing difpofition ; cuftoms are there conftantly maintained, and we love to find again, even in the mod familiar details of private life, thofe with which we have been acquainted by the perufal of ancient works. It is, for example, ftill a cuftom of the mothers of thefe countries to whip, as in former times, their children with the flexible and elaftic branches of the agiw.s cujlus. If we examine the Greek of the Archipelago in the moft folemn pe- riods of civil life, we fee him always abandoned to the abfurd caprices of ignorance, and executing the moft whimfical things, with as much fmcerity as ferioufuefs. At his birth, he is furrounded by the whole train of fuperftition, and he remains accompanied by it during the courfe of 1 his TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 33 i his life. The manner in which he comes into the world is too Angular, for me not to make exprefs mention of it: we have every reafon to be fur- prifed that, among the great number of travellers who have vifited the Levant, and particularly the Iflands of the Archipelago, no one has known the method which is there practifed in the delivery of women, a method truly curious and extraordinary, but which our women will not, undoubtedly, be tempted to adopt. I had an opportunity of being pre- fent at the delivery of a woman of thefe countries; and as I am the firft who has fpoken of it, I Ihall enter into a few details on a fubject fo inte- refting to the hiftory of man. L mall firft obferve, that the young woman, at whofe delivery I was prefent, was not more than eighteen years of age: fhe was tall, well made, of a ftrong conftitution, and of a beauty which the Greeks of an- tiquity would have envied. The forerunners of child-birth manifefted themfelves at fupper-time : the young woman was conduced to her chamber, whither I had permiffion to attend her. The midwife, a wo- man much advanced in years, and whofe knowledge and experience were highly extolled, arrived, accompanied by a female affiftant, almoft as old as herfelf, but of a countenance lefs lingular and lefs ftrongly marked. A painter, who might have wiihed to reprefent a fibyl, would not have been able to choofe a better model; every thing in it announced the appearance of a forcerefs, and her anfwers to the queftions which I afked her might, from their obfcurity, pafs for fo many oracles. She likewife carried a fort of tripod, the ufe of which I was far from con- ceiving: this very Angular article of furniture is not of one entire piece of wood. Two pieces, rounded and fomewhat convex on the outfide, are united at the acute angle, and fupport at their junction a flat piece, fit for fitting on: the whole is enveloped and very negligently trimmed with old linen-cloths, and fupported by three legs, very low, and as v u 2 rudely 332 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. rudely wrought as the reft, one of which confines the fort of ftool to the angle, and the other two are placed under the two branches and toward* their extremity. The firft concern of the midwife was to caufe the locks of the doors, hoxes, trunks, and, indeed, every thing that could lock in the houfe, to he opened. This precaution of keeping every thing wide open, founded on a very whimiical analogy, is not, on any account, ,o be neglected, if it be wifhed that the delivery ihould experience no difficulties; and, through aconfequence of this ridiculous prejudice, none but married women are fuffered in it, virgins being abfolutely banifhed. I was alfo informed, that if I wifhed to be prefent, I muft determine to flay in the room till the delivery was completely terminated. This is a rule which no one can infringe. From the moment that the labour begins, thofe who are in the apartment can no longer leave it, nor can thofe who are without any longer enter it. The former incur even a fort of ftain, which deprives them of all communication with other perfons, till a prieft, who is apprized on this fubject, has given them his blefling, and freed them from the impurity which it is fancied that they have con- tracted. In the mean time Nature began to act; the efforts which the excited, for haftening the birth of a new being, were increafed and become more frequent; every thing announced an eafy labour and a happy delivery. During the continuance of this action of the child on the mother, the latter did not remain idle; the was compelled to walk inceffantly about her room : if pain, a little weaknefs, or faint-heartednefs, made her de- firous to take a moment's reft, the two old women fupported her under the arms, and obliged her to walk; and, in truth, fhe appeared to me to have no inclination to do fo. When the pains came on, they made her lean and bend herfelf forward on her bed, and the midwife, placed behind her, ftrongly preffed her fides with both her hands, which fhe held TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 233 held there againfl them till the pain Avas over, and that foon happened : then the walking recommenced, till a frefh pain interrupted it, and occafioned the woman to be put in a fituation to experience frefh pref- fures from the hands of the midwife. I am not fufficiently verfed in the knowledge of the mechanifm which Nature employs on this occafion, to determine, whether the method of preffing flrongly the hands on the lower part of a woman's back, at the very moment of her pains, be a falutary or hurtful method ; all that I can affirm is, that it is generally in ufe in the countries which I am defcribing, and in which deliveries are almoft always fortunate. I mail add, that I obferved from them a good effect, at leaft in appearance; for the pains were not long, although fucceeding each other rapidly, and the young woman who experienced them did not feem much affected by them. However, having confulted on this point a phyfician who has acquired in our days a great name in the art of midwifery, he has dif- approved of this practice, which he confiders as very vicious, and I give, as a note, what he has been pleafed to communicate to me on this fubjed*. Could Paris, \yh Nivofe, year ix, (2d January, 1 801.) * After having, with no lefs pleafure than intereit, not only heard but meditated on the ob- fervations which M. Sonnini has been kind enough to communicate to me verbally and in writing, refpefting the proceedings employed before and after the delivery of the Greek women, I exclaimed, Oh! a thoufand times happy are the countries where all the united efforts of routine, ignorance, and fanaticifm, have not been able to Aicceed in difappointing the with of Nature, in the exercife of the molt important function of animal economy. " During the labours of child-birth, the midwives," you fay, Sir, " make the patient lean and bend herfelf forward at every frefh pain, while the matron, placed behind her, preMes her fides, with a view of affifting the labour." Your natural fagacity, Sir, will fee the demonstration of fo vicious a practice, and the ab- surdity of which the lights of reafon alone had made you partly conceive, without the afTiftance of the principles of art. The « The age of puberty in the Archipelago. — Periodical evacuation of the women of tko/e ijlands. — Singular law of the Jews on this JubjeB. — Character of the Greek women. — Means which they employ to learn whom fate has defined for their hufband. — Fejlival of St. John. — Different rejins which the women keep inceffantly in their mouth. — Paint which they ufe. — Pretended prefervative againfi being tanned by the fun. UNDER the happy climate of Greece, the body fooner acquires its full growth than in our northern countries; there the organs, as well as all the phyfical faculties, are developed with lels flownefs ; there the human fpecies, in fome meafure more forward, feem to outftrip the period of its enjoyments, and haftens to difplay the elegant forms of beauty that Nature has lavifhed on a land which fhe had faihioned to be the abode of felicity, and which the mod difgufting tyranny, the dread- ful fcourge of focieties, has transformed into places of wretchednefs and defolation. The men, like the women, arrive fooner at that age, when the agitation and the diforder of the fenfes give birth to a new fenfe, in which man feems only to receive his exiftence, in which every thing be- comes animated and embelliihed, in which every thing appears around him to burn with the fame flame by which he is delicioufly confumed. » It is not uncommon, in the iflands of the Archipelago, to fee girls marriageable at ten years old ; and, when they have attained the age of fifteen or fixtten, they have fcarcely any thing more to acquire in point of fhape, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 35i ihape, ftrength, and all the attributes of the moil beautiful phyfical conftitution. It is well known that the periodical evacuation, peculiar to women, diminifhes in quantity in proportion to the heat and humidity of the climate. More copious in Europe, it is lefs fo in the East; it is ftill lefs in Egypt and Barbary ; very trifling in the interior of Africa, and almoft null in the countries of America bordering on the equator. Philofophers have' carried obfervation fo far as to calculate the quantity of this evacuation ; and it is from the refult of their refearches that I have compofed the account of the progreffive diminution in the different parts of the globe. But the temperature of the eaftern iflands of the Mediterranean muft have experienced fome change fince the age of Hippocrates, or elfe the human fpecies muft have undergone fome alteration, fince the weight of nine kemina, equivalent to nine ounces, at which that great phyfician had eftimated the quantity of the periodical difcharge of the women of the Ifle of Cos, his country, is at prefent too much for the women of the fame countries, as I have con- vinced myfelf. There is no one whofe evacuation even comes near the weight fixed by Hippocrates: among the greater part, it never ex- ceeds three ounces, and with feveral it is fo trifling, that it is almoft re- duced to nothing. Obfervations of this kind are not frivolous, as fome perfbns might imagine. They are important traits of our own hiftory, and it is only by colle&ing them that man will fucceed in knowing himfelf : a knowledge which, notwithftanding the number of writings that we have on this fubjecT;, is not yet much advanced, becaufe we have, in reality, written more than we have obferved. But thefe materials, of which the annals' of the human fpecies are compofed, are not eafy to prefent in a work of which it is not wiflied to make a book of anatomy. A fort of delicacy in our language rejects expreffions which art has confecrated ; then we muft 352 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. muft employ phrafes in lieu of words, and intimate rather than exprefs our meaning in a clear and precife manner. A zealous friend as I am of Nature, I am not lefs fo of propriety, and I ihall fpeak of the nice, yet interefting obfervations, to which I was impelled by a love of fcience, but with that referve of flyle, that circumfpeclion in the images, in fliort, thofe delicate precautions, which paint without dazzling, and conftitute the decency of a writer. The legiflator of the Hebrews had pronounced fentence of death againft hufbands whofe petulance did not flop at certain periods*. Moses, therefore, muft have fufpected confequences extremely fatal, and we muft have a curiofity to be acquainted with them. Differtations, as well as conjectures, have been accumulated for the purpofe of endeavouring to difcover the motive of a law fo fevere. Phyficians have feen, in an action which involved the penalty of death, the fource of a difeafe whofe irruption into Europe fome writer has, methinks, improperly thought of fixing at the moment of the difcovery of America f. They have called in to the help of their hypothefis the heat of climate, as being likely to give greater malignity to that difeafe, while experience has informed us that it was, on the contrary, much lefs violent and lefs difficult to be cured in hot countries. Others have afierted that, among a people where legiflation tended not only to favour, but even to excite the increafe of population, it was natural to prohibit acls which, not contributing to it effectually, on that account even became contrary to it. But, admitting that this was no more than a vain appeal * Qui coUrit cum mulitre in fiuxu mmftruo, et rcvela our days, they ftill preferve the difgufting im- preffion. The feverity of thefe precautions, which fill the pages of the religious code of the Kraelites, is the only motive that we can reafon- ably affign for the frightful rigour of a law, the difpofitions of which had no other object than to intimidate an ignorant and rude nation, fmce they could not reach infractions buried in darknefs and myf- tery. It is not aftoniming that women, whom the nature of the climate caufes to arrive fooner at a marriageable ftate, ihould have moral difpofitions which agree with this phyfical precocity. The vivacity, the tranfport even of feeling, accompany this forward adolefcence of the fenfes. That de- vouring fire which endeavours to communicate itfelf externally, is very active among the Greek females ; they are very fufceptible of the im- preflions of love; tender and paffionate, the object beloved is every thing in their eyes; to preferve it, no facrifice is painful to them, and they are, in this way, real heroines. What a charming country is that where the mildnefs of the climate atid the drefs of the earth are in delightful harmony with that beauty, which love animates with its fafcinating features, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 355 features, tendernefs with its fweeteft elfufions, and a generous and entire devotion with the flights of energy and courage ! But we ihoulcl be miftaken if we thought that the diforder of the fenfes accompanied that energy, that fort of delirium of fenfibility. Thefe women, fo tender and fo impaffioned, have, at the fame time, no fmall ihare of referve: while warm and profound affections torment and agitate their foul, that internal trouble is not communicated externally; their deportment preferves the appearance of calmnefs and gravity ; fcrupulous decency ceafes not to guide their actions; and, proud of being loved, becaufe they are themfelves confumed by an ardent flame, it is in a tete-a-tete only that they give themfelves up to the torrent of their tranfports, which are fo much the more impetuous as they have been longer checked. 'There it is that their exquifite fenfibility , is furrounded by all its charms, and that the delicate and fenhble man can meet with the celeftial happinefs of feeing lavifhed on himfelf the expreffions and all the marks of fentiments fo delightful, in a word, of being loved as he has fcarcely the hope to be elfewhere. No lefs fimple in their taftes than warm in their affections, the Greek females have not precife manners, and the ftudied affectation of coquetry ; characteriftic figns of a haughty pretention exacting homage, which ceafes to be fweet as foon as it ceafes to be free, as if every fpecies of tyranny was not the grave of fentiment : a refource unfkilful and unworthy of beauty, becaufe it flifles tendernefs, which can alone conftitute its happinefs, and produces only gallantry at which delicate fouls are feared. It is, in fact, no longer any thing but the mechanifm of love; it is no longer any thing but barren favours, which, like a charming ihrub that had been ftripped of its vernal flowers and foliage, lofe their fweeteft charms, and have z z 2 . then 356 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. then no attractions but for the impetuous tumult of the fenfes or the habit of depravity. Women fuch as I have juft defcribed them, who know how to" walk with fo much grace by the bright light of the torch of Love, alfo ad- vance with dignity to the altar of Hymen. The knots which they there tie with franknefs, are never loofened ; and in thofe facred engagements, which they confider as inviolable, they difplay the. fame energy of fenti- ment, the fame fires of an inflamed foul, the fame devotednefs of which- the huiband, like the lover, is the fole object, and which fcatter the rofes of Love in the temple of Hymen. A rule common to all the nations of the East, prefcribes that the women mould never prefent themfelves in the porch of that auguft tem- ple, but decorated with the qualities to which the men of thofe countries, more jealous than elfewhere of fuch a kind of priority, attach fo great a value, that it is a public dishonour in the eyes of all, and a crime with fome, for women who mould not there afford unequivocal proofs of the moft fcrupulous fidelity, in preferving a treafure of which the vanity of men conftitutes nearly all the value. However rigorous may be this obligation, more ftrictly followed by Mahometan women, becaufe more reftrained and clofely watched, they have fcarcely an opportunity of h> fringing it, the Greek females, whofe youth is not more confined than that of European girls, do not always perform it with the fame exact- nefs ; but they employ a few ftratagems for preferving at leaft the ap- pearances of it, and they exert fo much addrefs in this little fraud, that every one is deceived by it, and the union of the married couple is not thereby difturbed. It TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 357 It is not very common, however, for thofe refources employed for dif- guiiing the wanderings of love, to become neceffary. The Greek girls do not eafily allow themfelves to be robbed of a treafure which they are txy bring as a marriage-portion; their refiftance in this refpect is almoft always invincible, and affords a rather Angular contrail to the circumfpec"l facility which they grant to favoured love of gathering a few fcattered and burning flowers. It is ftill more uncommon for amorous iacrifices to leave behind them apparent traces; and when tender fentiments lead to tender errors, fimple and ingenious precautions which are not even unknown to women, prevent all accident, without being prejudicial to an entire fa- erifice to enjoyment : artifices which, as well as the leffons, or to fpeak more corre&ly, the thefts on love, taught by Sappho, and which her defcendants have not forgotten, may perhaps be dated from antiquity; they have fortunately efcaped the induftrious corruption of our morals, and I ihall take good care not to reveal them. Hearts diipofed to fentiment muft ardently wifh to meet with men worthy of their tendernefsj and who anfwer to the want which they have of loving. The girls of the Archipelago employ, with much ingenuity, various means for ascertaining whether the object beloved will become their hufband, or for knowing him whom Hymen intends for them. St. John is to the girls of thefe countries) what St. Nicholas is to thofe of my country, who addrefs to him their prayers and their vows, in order to obtain a fpeedy change of condition-. The eve of the feftival of the faint, the Greek girls affemble in feveral parties, and they there occupy themfelves folely on the interefting fubjecf. which calls them together. They fend for water from a well or ciftern; the perfon who has charge of it muft not utter a fin gle word, under any pretext whatever: this water is, for that reafon> called fecixt xvater. They fill with it a large jar, in which every one of them puts an apple; the jar, whofe lid muft lock, is then 358 ' TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. then fhut; it is placed on the flat roof of a houfe or in any other elevated fituation, and there left, during the whole night, in the open air. The next day, that is, on the very day of the feftival of St. John 7 , they affemble again after church, and no one comes too late. They ad- drefs a few prayers to St. John, which are, in reality, only invocations to love; the jar full of war is again brought with religious precaution; it is opened, and every girl draws up fecret water, in a fmall veffel, with her apple, which fhe has taken care to notice: fhe makes over each of them three figns of the crofs, at the fame time faying : " Great St. John, or- '•' dain that, if I am to marry N...., this veffel may turn to the right ; " and if he is not to become my hu/band, the veffel may turn to the left." She who has pronounced this prayer, joins her hands, at the fame time holding her thumbs raifed and fpread the one from the other; one of her female companions places herfelf before her and does the fame; on thefe four thumbs, thus arranged, is then placed the veffel, which never fails, it is faid, to turn of itfelf to the right or left, and thus to point out the hufband that is to be united to her who is expecting with inquietude the anfwer of this lingular oracle, which each girl confults in her turn, and in the fame manner. Several perfons of the graved caft have affured me, that they had feen the veffel turn ; and it would be in vain to attempt to perfuade the Greeks that St. John has no fliare in the effect, quite na- tural, of the want of folidity and mobility of a fupport, fome parts of which, by fwerving from the others, imprefs on the veffel a flight motion, which, in eyes already prejudiced, may appear as a commencement of rotation on its bafe. A reftlefs curiofity does not always flop at this firft trial, and thefe fe- males endeavour to look, in another manner, into a futurity .too flow in making its appearance. This fame day, the feftival of St. John, fome young Greek girls add a new mean to that of the turning veffel : they 5 wafh TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 359 warn themfelves with ftcret zvater in which the apples have been "bathed; they then go into the ftreet, and the firft name which they hear pro- nounced, is that of the hufband whom fate intends for them. While the girls are giving themfelves up to occupations dear to their heart, and calculated for allaying a natural impatience, the women think of the cares which cuftom prefcribes to mothers: a part of St. John's day is employed in pounding and putting by fait, which is to ferve for covering their new-born children. All, women and girls, betides the apples which the latter plunge into the jecret water, put, on the eve of the feftival, one into a jar full of water, and there leave it till noon the next day. This apple, thus fteeped, becomes a gift precious to love or friendihip; the women prefent it to the perfon for whom they have the raoft affection next to their hufband; and the young Greeks leave nothing undone to obtain the apple, a pledge of fentiments of preference, and a happy prefage of the gifts of love. The feftival of St. John is, in moft civilized countries, a remarkable day, independently of the folemnity attached to it by religion. It hap- pens in the fummer folftice, a period always accompanied by confidera- "ble changes in the atmofphere, and thefe variations are fufhciently marked to ftrike the vulgar, and make them attribute to the faint that which is no more than the natural effect of the fucceffion of the feafons. In my country, the ci-devant Lorraine, St. John rules the cutting of hay; whether or not it have attained a ftate of maturity, the fcythe lays it low the day after the feftival. In the Levant, the plague is to difappear on this very day; and the Greeks of the Archipelago are perfuaded, that, by means of certain abftinences, which are connected more with fu- perftition than with religious ideas, St. John will preferve them from fever during the whole year. In the courfe of the day of this feftival, they 360 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. they eat no fort of meat or fiili ; they even deprive themfelves of bread, -and they take nothing but herbs and'fome fruit: an auftere abftinence, which is repeated from generation to generation, although experience has fliewn that it did not attain its object. In the Archipelago, as in a great part of the East, the women make a great ufe of maftic, a refin which exudes from the lentifk culti- vated in the Ifle of Scio; they are chewing it inceflantly, and they find in it the property of preferving the teeth and of rendering the breath fweet. But as all the women of the Archipelago, where wretchednefs is greater, are not always in a fituation to procure Scio maftic, and as they are not, on that account, the lefs in the habit of holding continually fomething in their mouth, they make ufe of another fpecies of refin, produced by a plant which grows naturally on the foil of aIilo and of Argentiera, and probably on other iflands of the Archipelago. This plant, which is alfo very abundant in Candia, where it is called ardactila, and where the women likewife chew refin, is the attreBilis gummifera of Lixn^eus. The Greeks of Milo and Argextiera give it the name of anganthia tji mq/tikas, that is, prickks of majtic^ becaufe the plant is befet with prickles, and becaufe they call majlic the refin which exudes from it, although it has fcarcely any other affinity to the true maftic, the refin of the lentifk, than from the cuftom of being both bruifed between the teeth. It comes in like manner in white or yellowifh drops round the plant; it is gathered in the months of July and Auguft, and it is difficult to be detached, on account of the great number of thorns which guard it, and to which it adheres. The flowers of this attraQilis do not appear till October; the feeds, when they are ripe, are detached in flight and, as it were, winged filaments, and become the fport of the winds. The Greeks call thefe forts of little wandering ftars, which the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 361 the agitation of the air fometimes hrings into the houfes, moloyjirh, which fignifies informers, fpies. Although the greater number of the Greek women have no need to borrow any thing from art, in order to give their complexion that colour and bloom which they receive from nature, yet they frequently endea- vour to give it more luftre and vivacity. This inquietude, which occa- fions beauty never to be fatisfied with itfelf, is therefore common to all countries! But. in this, at leaft, pernicious drugs alter not the colour of a beautiful carnation, and fharp and cauftic juices dry not the flcin ; the flight artifices which an ardent and reftlefs with, rather than a movement of coquetry employs, are fimple, like Nature, which affords its elements. Anciently the Greek women made ufe of red and white. It is un- common for the Greek females of our time, thofe at leaft who inhabit the iflands of the Archipelago, to put on white; and when they ufe it, they employ for it no other fubftance than the fpecies of very fmall univalve and white fhells, of the genus of cowries, and which are known in French under the vulgar name of pucelages. After having carefully warned thefe fhells, they are pounded in order to be reduced to impalpa- ble powder, on which is expreffed the juice of a lemon, which makes it a very beautiful white. The red is drawn from the bulb of a beautiful fpecies of iris, which, with other flowers brought from the fame countries in order to consti- tute the richnefs of our parterres, embellifh the deferted plains and the rural fpots of the iflands of the Archipelago. Its item, upwards of a foot high, and its long leaves, terminated in points, are of a beautiful green; the flower is of a bright violet without, and of a bright yellow, ftriped with a deeper yellow, within; the ftamina are yellow, and the feeds 3 a or 362 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. or fruits are black, and of a very irregular form. The Greeks call this plant agrio crino, wild lily, becaufe it is, in fact, a liliaceous plant, al- though it is not, properly fpeaking, a real lily. The following is the method pra&ifed for extracting a paint from the bulhous roots of this iris. They are ftripped of their exterior pedicles, and are then of a fnow white; they are grated, and the pulp is put into water; it is then kneaded, wafted three times in clean water, and, at each time, it is ftrained through a very fine linen cloth. At the third time, the grounds are thrown away, and the laft water is left to fettle for twelve or fifteen hours. At the end of that time, the water is gently poured off by floping the jar, at the bottom of which is found an amylaceous fedi- ment; it is dried and reduced to a fine powder, which is kept in bottles or pots well clofed, to be made ufe of as wanted, and it is thus preferved for a very long time. When it is wanted for ufe, a pinch of it is taken, and put on the cheek, which is then rubbed flightly for a few minutes with the palm of the hand. This application caufes, for the firft time, a little fmarting, but the cheeks become of a vermilion red ; for this powder has alfo the property of giving a luftre to the fkin. Neither heat, nor fweat, nor any other caufe can difpel this brilliant colour, which does not confift in a coat of fubftances fpread externally, but is inherent in the fkin itfelf. It is unneceffary to renew frequently the fame opera- tion; the face preferves its bloom for feveral days, and a woman may wafh herfelf without fear of making it difappear or weakening it. I had at firft imagined that this very white powder, which gives the cheeks a red colour only by introducing itfelf into the pores, might hurt the fkin of the face and alter it. I convinced myfelf, not without fome degree of furprife, that it had no bad effect. I have examined the face of elderly women, who, from their youth, had employed this fort of paint; 5 their TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 563 their fkin was not in any way affected; it even appeared to have pre- ferved a certain brilliant colour, which could be attributed only to a long ufe of iris powder, in which I found no other defect, than a ftrong her- baceous fmell, which it would be eafy to correct. From the firft day of the month of March till Eafter, the women of the Archipelago furround their wrifts with filk thread of different colours; to thefe the rich add a gold thread. They think that this is a certain mean of fecuring themfelves from the tanning of the fun during the month of March, which they confider as the moft fatal to the fkin. On Eafter night, which all the Greeks pafs aim oft entirely at church, the women kindle a fire at the door; they throw into it the threads which they have worn as bracelets during Lent, and they addrefs prayers to God, in order that he may deign to preferve every father who loves his daugh- ter, from the mortification of feeing her attacked by the tan of March. 3a 2 CHAPTER 364 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXIX. Marriage of the Greeks. — Witchcraft of which young married people ima- gine themfehes xiRims. — Precautions which young brides muft take. — Care which mothers take of their children. — Phyjic of the Greeks in the Archipelago. — Regret which accompanies the dead. — Death and funeral of a papadia. TO the Greeks it is a focial duty, which tends to the purity of do- meftic manners> to marry young. Among them are not feen that mul- titude of old bachelors, children of the combinations of infenfibility and the fcourge of morals: girls have not many j'ears to celebrate the feftival of St. John with their fecret water, prepared with an ingenuous and reftlefs curiofity ; and young men haften to unite themfelves with thofe whom their heart, rather than their parents, has chofen. Love always prefides at knots which vile intereft has not tied ; and friendship, as well as fidelity and attachment to duties, do not permit them to be loofened, at lead in the iflands of the Archipelago, where habits are more fimple, and lefs corrupted by ambition and cupidity, than in great towns. Di- vorce, which is allowed to the Greeks, fcarcely occurs but in the bofom of trading cities and in the opulent clafs, whofe calculations and fpecu- lations frequently fupply the place of fentiment ; but this dinblution of facred engagements is extremely rare among the iflanders, who know how to love in a durable manner, and whofe marriages are better aflbrted than in the midft of the luxury of cities. Conjugal love is there in all its force ; TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 365 force; and this refpe&ed fentiment is one of the virtues of the modem Greek women. When the dowry is fettled between the families, and their confent, which is almoft always in unifon with the wifh of the lovers, has difpofed every thing for the nuptials, the young bride is conducted to the bath. The next day, a numerous retinue accompanies the young couple to church ; fongs and dances enliven a flow and grave march ; and, in general, it is preceded by torches, the emblems of that of Love and of Hymen. At the iriftant when the young couple come out of their houfe, cotton-feed is thrown on their heads by handfuls. The fame ceremony is repeated at church, at the moment of the nuptial benediction, which fignifies that they are wifhed a life of felicity, compofed of as many years as there have been feeds fcattered. Perfons in fomewhat eafy circum- ftances mix parats, fmall pieces of money of the value of fifteen of our deniers, to the feeds of the cotton-tree, and to thefe the richefl add Turkiih fequins, a gold coin, each piece of which is nearly equivalent to feven livres ten fous tournois. In India, it is the prieft who fcatters on the young couple rice-feeds, as an emblem of fecundity. The young pair choofe a godfather and godmother, Avho no longer quit them till the end of the ceremony. The retinue is received at the door of the church by the papas, who bleifes two crowns of foliage, adorned with ribands and laces, and places them on the head of the young couple; he likewife bleffes two rings, and puts them on their fingers: but, during the celebration, he changes every inftant the crowns and the rings, giving alternately the crown to the one, and the ring to the other, in fuch a manner, however, that the gold ring remains with the hufband, 366" TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. hufband; and the filver one, with the wife. Thefe changes are renewed by the godfather, the godmother, and the relations, fo that they remain a very long time in the church. At length, the papas concludes by cut- ting fmall pieces of bread, which he puts into a cup full of wine; he takes fome of the former with a fpoon, and thus diftributes it to the young couple and thofe prefent: the party then return in the fame order to the houfe where the nuptial feaft has been prepared; the relations and friends fend provifions of every fort, and the Greeks, great lovers of feftivity, there pafs feveral days. On going to and returning from church, the bride is fupported by two women, or two of her male relations ; flie walks flowly, with her eyes caft down, and the veil of a grave and interefting modefty covers her face. In'fome parts of Greece, as foon as the bride arrives at the door of the dwelling of her hufband, a carpet is fpread over a fieve, which is placed on the very threfhold of the door, and ihe is made to walk on it. If the fieve, on which Ihe fails not to tread ftrongly, did not break under her feet, this would excite againft her fufpicions which would alarm her hufband : he is quiet and contented after the trial of the fieve*. But another trial, more ferious, awaits the bride. Conducted to the nuptial-bed by the godmother t, ihe foon fees her hufband arrive, led by the godfather. They are left alone ; but the godfather and god- mother remain in an adjoining apartment, with the relations and even the friends. They go from time to time, to inquire whether every thing • See Let Lit ires fur la Grece, by Guys, Paris, 1783, vol. i. page 249. f Ducitur in thalamum wgo, fiat fronuba juxta. Claud. has TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 367 has terminated to mutual fatisfaction ; they come hack, they return, till they are allured of the fact; then they bring to the married couple a nourishing broth, which they take in bed, in prefence of the noify affembly, who then withdraw, to return no more. Among all the nations of the East, the men have been envious of the firft fruits, of which they frequently obtain no more than the ap- pearances. In Egypt, a crowd, ftill more importunate than in Greece, lays fiege to the chamber of the married couple, and abandons it not till they have given up to them the marks, often equivocal, of a vir- tue which is outraged. In Natolia, and in fome other parts of the Ottoman empire, the Turks and the Greeks who marry are obliged to fufpend, on the outfide of the houfe, thofe figns, real or fictitious, of the folly of the men, more than of the innocence of the women, in order that every paffenger may examine and afcertain that the honour of the married couple is untainted. However precious thefe marks may be in the eyes of the Orientals, the Greek women alfo attach to them another value; it is, in their opinion, the moil efficacious of all cofmetics, for removing fpots and pimples from the face, and rendering the fkin foft and fmooth. But thefe pretended figns of innocence, which a falfe pride ambi- tioufly feeks and exacts, do not always appear the firft night of the nup- tials. Several other nights, and fometimes whole months, elapfe before they can be obtained. It is no longer the fault of the wife, it is the hufband who thinks himlelf bewitched: envious people have pronounced words, and performed magical operations; he ceafes to be a man. If means be not found to break the charm, the marriage is declared null, and the unfortunate couple feparate: cuftom allows them to contract another 3(58 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. another alliance; and jealous Fate, which had accompanied them in the former, does not attend them in the latter. The magical operation by which the married couple are tied — (this is the term employed by the Greeks, and which anfwers to what was called among us, formerly, nouer Vaiguillette) — this operation, I fay, is, ac- cording to them, an evocation to the devil; it is praclifed by forming three loofe knots on a firing. When the papas gives his benediction to the married couple, the malignant genius, that withes to hurt them, draws the two ends of the firing, tightens the knots, and fays: " I tic " N and N , and the devil in the middle." Nothing more is neceffary; the impotence of the hufband lafts as long as the knots are not untied; and if the fatal firing be loft, or if an obftinate malevolence refufe to undo it, dejection becomes general, and marafmus would lead to death, if the marriage were not diffolved : but this accidental weaknefs of the body is produced only by that of the mind. There is no Greek who, in marrying, does not dread to be tied. To this precaution are added the alarms which the bride and the relations do not conceal from him : he does not prefent himfelf at the temple of Hymen but trem- bling, and with his foul full of terror; and if fome circumftances ap- pear to come to the fupport of this fear, his mind becomes troubled, and his imagination being- ftruck, produces the evil of Vhich it alone is the caufe. I have feen fingular examples of what can be effected by the wander- ing of the imagination. I fhall quote that of a young man whom I had a long time before my eyes. At the moment when he received the nup- tial benediction, a rival had formed the three knots, and pronounced the imprecations: ftruck by this idea, though he was in the prime of life, and had, before this period, given proofs of a vigour which forfook him all TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, 369 all at once; though, in ihort, his wife was upwards of twenty years of age, and was not reckoned to be of the moft rigid virtue, they could not fed their union, and Hymen extinguilhed his torch. Shame and vex- ation were painted on the countenance of the young hufbaud ; the dii- order, or rather weaknefs, increafed in proportion as the mind was af- fected. Recourfe was had to the priefts, and to the ikill of old wo- men, who pretended to have fecrets for deftroying the charm: nothing fucceeded; the witchcraft refilled every thing. The devil flood firm, and he who thought himfelf tormented by him, while he was the victim only of his own imagination, reduced to a ftate which infpired pity, re- fumed all his energy with another woman, whom he took for wife, after having languifhed, for whole months, with her who could not be fo. Independently of prayers and holy water, of which the papas is notfpar- ingwhenhe is well paid, I faw tried on this unhappy youth various means for untying him, ail abfurd, and calculated only to make his chimerical ideas take deeper root. He was made to fwim acrofs an arm of the fea : the married couple were made to lie down, {tripped of every garment, on the flat floor in the middle of the room, and they were furrounded by brambles. Another time, the hutband alone was wrapped up in thiftle- kaves, and thus left to pafs the night in cruel torment, &c. &c. remedies as chimerical as the complaint for which they were applied. When witchcraft does not happen to difturb the firft moments of an intimate union, it is recommended to' the hufband not to fuffer his wife, however thirfty fhe may be, to take, during the firft night, any fort of drink. She muft alfo keep her room, not expofe herfelf to the air for four days, and abftain from all work during eight. Thefe attentions are faid to be favourable to population; and, to judge of them by the great" number of children that are feen in thefe countries, it would appear that 3 B thev &0 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. they are not ufelefs. Not any woman is feen but with one little child ire her arms, and often two. Yet the effects of a happy fecundity are foon confirmed, difperfed, and annihilated, by a defpotifm which is in con- tinual war agaiuft nature and the human race. Nothing equals the ftate of health, the robuft coniritution of the little children, except the facility with which they come into the world; an advantage for which the Greek women are indebted to the excellence of their confiitution. to a fimple, regular life, exempt from exceffes, cares, and inquietudes, frill more than to phyfical difpofitions, calculated to render deliveries lets painful, fuch as a diftenfion more ealy, and favoured by a greater quantity of the waters of the amnios. The young married women cheerfully carry the weight of their pregnancvv They fee ap- proach, with fatisfaetion, the term when they ihall be invefted with a dear and facred title; and they acquit themfelves of the duties which this new ftate impofes on them with the tender folicitude and affec- tionate attentions which conftitute the ornament and dignity of a mo- ther. They thus prepare for themfelves the fweeteft recompenfe to which a feeling mind has a right to afpire; filial piety is the reward of maternal love; and thofe virtues, without which all fociety prefeuts only the image of a fcandalous diforganization, are held in honour among the modern Greeks, as they were among the Greeks of antiquity In the East, are not to be found women who make it an object of fpeculation to abandon their own children, in order to fuckle thofe of others ; a monftrous exchange, which dries up in their fource the fentiments of nature, and might in a great meafure be pleaded in excufe for the ingratitude of fome children towards mothers who voluntarily re- nounce all claims to their love. The children have not, for a whole year, any other nourithment than their mother's milk, How not be 1 attached, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 371 attached, without referve, to the hofoni whence we have long imbibed our firft and only fubfiftence. where, with our head foftly reclined, we have fo frequently tafted the repofe of innocence, where we have £0 many times been prelfed by the fweet embraces of maternal love ! I found a Angular prejudice fpread among the women of the Archi- pelago. Thofe who fuckle their children are perfuaded that if, for any want whatever, their milk iliould happen to be warmed over the fire, their bofom would become dry, and the milk would infallibly go away, to return no more. I have already made mention of feveral means employed for curing the complaints and indifpofitions of little children; I mail add that, when they happen to have any complaint at the navel, a cataplafm of foot is applied to it. However, all phyfic, in the Greek itlands, is founded only on practices, on fecrets, which are fcarcely more rational than the opinion of the women refpefting their milk. If we except a few foreigners, who fel- dom come thither to affume or ufurp the title of phyficians, there are none in thefe iflands; and I muft add, to the praife of the climate, more than to the detriment of the art. that, generally fpeaking, people there enjoy a ftate of health fufficiently good not to be tempted to regret it. In common complaints, or accidents, recourfe is had to women, who have the tradition of fome recipes, which they apply without too much difcernment, but which, neverthelefs, often produce good effects. The following are fuch of thofe curative methods as I have feen employed on different occafions. I am far from giving them as good remedies; but the}' afford a fketch of the ftate in which the art of phyfic is, in otjf days, among a people where it has been cultivated by immortal men, 3 jb 2 We 372 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. We may well expect not to meet with theory in the exercife of phy- fic, to which women, who have learned nothing, apply themfelves in Greece. A few recipes of empiricifm conftitute all their fkill; and if we may, with fome reafon, reproach our phyficians with too frequently abandoning obfervation, in order to fufFer themfelves to be led away by vague and ufelefs fyftematic conceptions, it mud be acknowledged that, in the East, people fall into a contrary excefs, through the ignorance which accompanies the application of remedies. Bleeding is there much in ufe; but the Greeks wait as long as they poffibly can before they fuffer blood to be drawn from the arm, becaufe they confider the firft bleeding of this part as capable of relieving them from the danger of the moft violent illaeffes; accordingly they referve it for the moil ferious cafes: in other circumftances, where bleeding appears ufeful to them, they caufe it to be pra&ifed in the foot. It is very difficult to determine them to follow another mode of proceeding. I was requefted to bleed a young girl in a fmall ifland of the Archi- pelago; it was abfolutely infilled that flie iliould be let blood in the foot, which appeared to me contrary to the nature of her diforder. I infifted on bleeding her in the arm; and as I was the only perfon who knew how to make ufe of a lancet, the relatives, as well as the patient, were compelled to fubmit to my decifion, but very much againft their inclination. Two hours after the bleeding, I afked to fee the blood: it had been thrown away, and my ufelefs curiofity was highly ridiculed : it was impoffible, faid they to me, for the blood to be bad, fince it was virgin blocd, that is, that it was the firft which iffued from the arm, and that it could not but be very stood. It is inconteftable, that the ancient phyficians of the East frequently employed oil in unction. I endeavoured to learn whether this cuftom was preferved among the modern Greeks, and I convinced myfelf that they TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 573 they fcarcely any longer made ufe of oily un&ions in their diforders. Lentifk oil is, as I have already faid, a remedy which is rather frequently recurred to in the Archipelago for rheumatic pains, and kedros oil for the cure of cutaneous difeafes. But olive-oil does not often enter into their curative methods : fometimes the loins are rubbed with it, when a perfon has ftrained himfelf ■; and the natural parts of women, to facilitate delivery, &c. &c. A Turk, commanding a galiot belonging to the Grand Signior, and enjoying, in the Archipelago, the reputation of a perfon replete with knowledge in phytic, advifed, in my prefence, a man tor- mented by acute nephritic pains, to rub with warm olive oil his loins, belly, and groin : but the oil was not to be pure ; it was neceffary to throw into it a large lark, and boil it in the oil. As for extreme un6tion, the Greeks have no other opinion of that facrament than the catholics ; it is adminiftered nearly in the fame man- ner, and they do not confume in it more oil, which proves that they imagine it not to be a final refource or remedy, endowed with a mira- culous gift. A topical preparation of origany, boiled in wine, and applied on the region of the fpleen, is one of the hereditary recipes, preferved in the iflands of Greece, for curing inflammations, obftructions, and pains of that vifcus. I muft add, that it is one of thofe which I have feen fucceed the beft, from the relief which it fails not to give in thofe forts of complaints. But, in pointing out this remedy, I muft add, that its ufe, among the Greeks, is accompanied by myfterious acceffories, without which they would have no faith in its efficacy. The application of it is to be made only on a certain day of the week, and at a certain phafe of the moon: the patient is expofed to the light of that planet; a few grains of fait are fcattered ; a few words are pronounced, and the cataplafm is applied. 374 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. applied. However, origany is more particularly met with in the Ifland of Siphaxto; thence it is commonly procured: its name, in vulgar Greek, is ? , iga»o. To eat away the fuperfluous and fungous flefh.of wounds and ulcers, the Greeks powder them with fugar, and apply over them fome bruited plant or fome ointment. In other parts of the Levant, the Turks, in order to cauie ulcers, boils, carbuncles, even thofe of the plague, to fuppurate, and to foften and difpel fuellings, bruifes, inflammations, and other accidents of that nature, make ufe of opuntia leaves, roafted for a quarter of an hour on the allies, and applied as hot as it is poflible to bear them. Doctor Shaw adds, that they are alfo made ufe of in the gout, and that with all imaginable fuccefs *. One of the remedies which the Greeks employ the moil frequently for reducing tumours, and every fpecies of enlargement, is to paint in black feveral croffes on the fkin. The latter, at leaft, which is connected with a religious creed, may very probably not effect a cure; but it has nothing hurtful, and we cannot fay as much of many others. When any one has had a fall, the Greeks think to determine with precifion the inward part which has fuffered, by rubbing, with the yolk of an egg boiled hard, all the body of the patient : the place where the yolk of the egg breaks, indicates the internal part which has been hurt. But there is no remedy more abfurd, and at the fame time more prepofterous, than that ufed in the Archipelago for curing the in- flammation and enlargement of little kernels in the neck and under the root of the tongue, a diforder which is there very common. This remedy conflfts in rubbing gently the glans of a man over the throat and neck • Shaw's Travels, 4to. vol. i. of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 375 of the patient. The Greeks of thefe countries are acquainted with no other remedies for fuch complaints; and I have feen women have recourfe to them with much gravity and the greateft potable confidence : fo true it is, that It is the corruption of ideas, and confequently of morals, which conftitutes the indecency of words and things t On the uninhabited iflets of the Archipelago, ftill more than on the uncultivated grounds of the large iflands, rue grows in abundance. The little Iflands of San Giorgio and Sant Eustachio, which form on one fide the roadftead of Argentiera, are clothed with this plant. The modern Greeks call it apigano, and they make ufe of an infufion of it for killing the worms in children: but they make a much greater confump- tion of it as a prefervative from the witchcraft occafioned by finifter looks; they place the plant whole in feveral parts of their houfes, and they wear its feeds as an amulet on different parts of the body. This fuperftition, however, is ancient; and we find it configned in works which, had they not been filled with fimilar abfurdities, would not have obtained the honours of immortality. The little pimple, which comes fometimes on the eyelids, is known by the Greeks of the Archipelago under the name of acrida, which is alfo that of the grafshopper; and the remedy is to pierce this pimple with a grain of barley. The only remedy that is employed in the difeafe which, from the ex- tremity of Araeia, has fpread over all Europe, the fmall-pox*, con- fifts in hartihorn dilfolved in water. * Aaron of Alexandria^ a prieft and phyfkian of the feventh century, is the fiifl: who made known the fmall-pox, in a treatife in the Syriae language. The 576 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The Greeks treat bites of ferpents by deep incifions on the wound with a razor, fo that the blood flows copiouily, and by applications of Venice treacle and fow-thiftle, which they call tchokous. I lhall relume this article, when I come to fpeak of the animals natural to thofe countries. My intention not being to prefent a complete courfe of the practical phyfic of the iflanders of the Archipelago, I iliall flop here to fpeak of death, which ends by deft roving all mankind, whether they be unrounded by learned phyficians, or abandoned to the hereditary routine of em- piricifm : they have, for every curativere fource, nothing but recipes, the greater part fuperftitious, like thofe of the old women of Greece. It is not, however, very certain that people die fooner in countries where there are no phyficians, than in thofe where they are common : it is not the fault of phyfic, but that of the men who have frequent need of it, from the exceffes of an intemperate and irregular life. All the expreffions and marks of grief that the moft lively fenfibility can infpire are difplayed among the Greeks, on the death of a perfon beloved, and prefent fcenes extremely affecting. Regret, tears, melting adieus, attend the departed to the grave ; it is not the cold and momen- tary tranfports which cuftom prefcribes, all the movements of which eti- quette regulates and marks out, and which affecT; not more thofe who are witneffes of them, than thofe who appear to be moved by them. There, nothing is feigned; grief takes its full fcope, and one throws one's felf into the arms of death, with the certainty of living for a long time in the memory and in the hearts of one's relations and friends; a confoling idea, which makes one defcend into the grave without regret, and fmoothens the road of eternity. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 377 The ihades of the dead do not wander forfaken amidft the folitude of tombs ; parents and married people frequently go and fix them by their prayers and their fobs; and thefe duties of fentiment, entirely difdained among nations that boaft of their civilization, as if it could confift of the excefs of infenfibility, are performed and renewed with the fame franknefs^ and with the fame marks of remembrance and grief. Fre- quent offerings of cakes, wine, rice, fruits, and other dimes, adorned with flowers and ribands, are carried- to the grave; they are there con- fumed and diftributed ; and this fort of repair., in which the Greeks likewife endeavour to make the dead perfon participate, is called collxa. The prieft bleiTes it, and takes'- a good fhare of it. Abundant alms ap- proximate to wretchednefs the misfortune of thefoul; what death would have-eaten in bread, meat, and 'fruits, during a whole year, is diftributed to the poor. Mourning, as well as every fign of affliction, is prolonged; the men fuffer their beard to- grow; the women neglect their drefs: all avoid avTemblies, even thofe of the church; and by the negligence which reigns in their exterior, and the dejection of their countenance, demou- ftrate the profound melancholy by which- they are overwhelmed, I was one day called,, in great hafte, to bleed' a young andcharrn- ing papadia : the reader may remember- that this is the name of the wife of a papas, or fecular prieft. She had, as I was told, fallen into' a fwoon, in confequence of a violent remedy which had been adminif- tered to her. I found her extended on her bed in a room rather lame, but heated by fevetal fires, and ftill more by about two hundred per- fons, who were in lamentation. The extreme heat of this apartment would have been fufneient to ftvffoeate a- perfon in the beft health. On my approach, the crowd made way ; a- filence, which was fcarcely in- terrupted by a few fmothered fobs, reigned in • the apartment : I was regarded as a man who Avas going to pronounce an oracle: every eye, 3 c as 37 S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. as well as every one's attention, was direcled towards me; an uneafy hope had taken pofl'effion of ever}' mind. The young woman ieemcd to (lum- ber; her cheeks had loft nothing of their colour, and her roiy lips were agreeably clofed againft each other. She was, neverthelefs, without movement, without pulfe, and without refpiration : a few drops of vola- tile alkali, introduced into her nofe, made no impreffion; her extremities vere cold, and every thing announced that die no longer exifted. Her relations, who furrounded the bed of death, did not think that all had been done; they required the trial of a bleeding; but the particular found con- veyed to my ear on introducing my lancet into her arm, demonftrated to me that it was entering into dead flefh. I announced that every hope was loft ; and fcarcely had I finifhed thefe words, when all thofe prefent, men and women, crowded round the corpfe, threw themfelves on the bed, at the fame time ftriking themfelves on the forehead, tearing their hair, and venting cries of defpair. They called on the dead woman with a loud voice, requefted her to live, and entreated her not to forfake them. I found myfelf in a very awkward predicament: I was no longer feen, no farther attention was paid to me. I was fqueezed on all fides, pufhed on the bed, and ahnoft fmothered. 1 had -much difficulty to extricate my- felf from this embarrafiment, and force my way through the crowd, in order to efcape from a place which no longer prefented any thing but the delirium of aflliclion. The next day, I faw the funeral procefiion of this fame woman: fiie was borne on a kind of litter, with her face uncovered, and dreffed in her wedding clothes. Her mouth was filled with cotton : it is a univerfal cuftom, among the nations of the East, to ftop clofely with cotton every aperture of the body; and the Greeks never fail, when a perfon has ex- pired, to open doors and windows, in order that the angels may come in and go out freely. A great TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 379 A great number of perfons formed the proceffion. In towns, hired female mourners vent plaintive cries; but this luxury of grief is unknown in the greater part of the iflands of the Archipelago; no one is paid to cry, and people cry themfelves with much bitternefs. The female relations of the dead woman were particularly diftinguilhable, from the excefs of their groans and the movements of their affliction : they {truck and tore their breaft; their long hair, unbraided and undretied, fell loofe on their moulders and neck, and from time to time they pulled off locks of it ; the blood gufhed from their head, and their tears were mingled with the drops of blood which flowed from their cheeks, torn by their nails. It is not poffible to paint the agitation of foul with which thefe feeling and loving women were tranfported ; and I was fo firuck by it, that I mall long prefeve the impreffion of melancholy left on my mind by the violence of their affliction. 3 C 2 CHAPTER 380 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXX. State of agriculture in the i/lands of the Archipelago. — Ivraie. — Pracliccs ufed in the /owing of com. — Mixture of corn. — Two months' corn. — Manner of preferring corn. — Hares. — Vulgar error refpecling thofe animals. — Rabbits. — Sporting dogs. — Foxes. — Moles. — Weafel. — Hedge- hog Birds which live conflantly in the i/lands of the Archipelago, and thofe which are birds of pq/fage. "* I.N the courfe of this work, I have prefented feveral details concerning the agriculture of the Orientals in general, and of the Greeks in parti- cular. To thefe I fliall add others that will complete the knowledge of the ftate in which this very important branch of public economy is in our days in the Levant. Agriculture, the energetic fpring of the prosperity of nations, and the fource of their riches ; languishes wherever it is oppreSSed by flavery and an arbitrary and violent government. If we compare its prefent Situation in countries where the climate and the foil concur to invite and preferve fertility, with what it was formerly, and what it may once more become there, the mind is again tormented by the painful recollections which arife at every Step. The farmers of moft of the iflands of the Archipelago have neither means nor induftry. Two forry oxen there draw a bad plough, the fhare of which fcarcely divides the furface of the foil. One fingle ploughing precedes the fowing ; the fower follows the plough, and Scatters the feed to TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. SSI to right and left. The harrow is not in ufe ; accordingly the feed fown is partly the prey of feveral fpecies of animals which arrive in feed- time, that is, in the month of November, and particularly ring-doves. The little attention that is paid to the choice of wheat feed, the wild plants which grow at liberty in the fields, and there fcatter their feeds, render the crops extremely encumbered by a foreign and frequently hurt- ful vegetation. Tares, which the Greeks call ira, are there very abun- dant; and as they do not always take time to feparate them from the good grain, efpecially during the years of fcarcity, which the deteftable adminiftration of thefe iflands renders frequent, the bad effects of its mix- ture is felt pretty frequently in the bread; violent headachs and pains of the ftomaeh, dimnefs of fight, in fhort, complete ftupefaclion are the con- fequence of this bad food, the fruit of negligence and a certain fign of a miferable agriculture. ■*»* But the Greeks think to redeem the indifference which they betray in their rural labours, by fuperftitious practices, more fcrupuloufly obferved than the cares of a good culture. The firft day of fowing time is a ho- liday for the owner; he dreffes himfelf in his beft clothes, invites his friends, and fpends Avith them the day in feafting and diverfion. All the time that the fowing lafts, one mull not give, nor fuffer fire to be taken from one's houfe to that of any neighbour: this precaution is the only one of which the Greeks make ufe for preferving their wheat from the rot Thefe bad cultivators frequently fow the fame field with two forts of feed at a time; an operation which is imitated in feveral of our countries, by mixing wheat and barley, or one of thefe tv/o grains with rye, and whkh good agriculture reprobates. In fad, the crops which this mixture 382 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. mixture produces lofe in quality and in quantity; for the maturity of both thefe plants not taking place at the fame time, if the cultivator wait till the moft backward grain be ripe, the ears of the other lofe their corn, and become empty : if, on the contrary, he gather in his harveft as foon as the moft forward grain is ripe, the other, which is not fo, pro- duces almoft nothing, and fpoils the good by its mixture at the mill, and in being made into bread. It appears that the legiflator of the Jews was fenlible of the inconveniences of the mixture of feveral fpecies of corn in fowing land, in ufe in the East, when he forbids them to fow together two different forts of grain. "When, in this mixture of corn-feed, wheat and barley are in equal quantity, the Greeks call it migadi; when there is more barley than wheat, the fame mixture takes the name of yenima. They fow a fort of wheat which they call diminiti, that is, of two months, becaufe, in fa&, it re- quires only two or three months to arrive at its maturity. This fpecies is much efteemed in the Levant; it yields more flour in proportion than other corn, and the bread which is made of it is finer and better fla- voured. It is fown in March or April ; its ftalk rifes lefs than that of the other wheats, but the ftraw which it furnifhes is reckoned to be hurtful to cattle. For cutting the crops, fickles are made ufe of in Greece; the fheaves are carried to a threfhing-floor made in the fields; oxen and afles tread them under foot, and caufe the grain to come out of the ear. The corn is afterwards collected; it is winnowed, and buried, for forty or fifty days, in holes prepared for receiving it every year: the Greeks afiert, that after that time it keeps better, and that it is never attacked by weevils. The utility of this very fimple method ought to induce us to 3 make TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 383 make a trial of it in. our countries, where we have fo much difficulty in preferving corn from the ravages of infects. Game is in plenty in the iilands of the Archipelago ; but it is there laborious to purfue it through thick bufb.es, or on a foil clofely ftrewn with rocks, or covered with {tones. Hares are there very common ; their fur is gray, in which they differ from ours, which are fawn colour, brown, or aim oft red. They are equally common in Turkey, and on the con- tinent of Greece. The law of Mahomet, as well as that of the Jews, forbids the ufe of the flefh of the hare; but the Turks of Constanti- nople, Salonica, and the other large trading cities, having become lefs fcrupulous obfervers of the dietetic regimen prescribed by their religious code, have determined to purfue hares and eat them. The only precaution which they take, when they have brought down any game, is to haften to bleed it in the neck, in order not to infringe a law which forbids them to make ufe of the flem of an animal that has not been bled ; and this precaution hurts the flavour of game, and in particular deprives the hare, whofe blood is very fweet and delicate, of that which contributes moft to make it a good difh. The Greeks of the Archipelago, who have preferved to the hare its ancient name of lagos, are alfo great deftroyers of this fpecies of game. They go in queft of thefe animals on the rocky mountains, of which their iilands are formed; they nimbly climb to the top of the fteepeft; they clear the precipices; and in thefe excurfions, fatiguing to excefs, and even dangerous for an European who might attempt to follow them, they feem to difpute the palm with the bouquetins which inhabit the fame rocks, and which they likewife find means to furprife in retreats in- acceffible to all others but thefe iflanders, The 3 & 4 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The leverets of Greece, like all thofe of the more fouthern coun- tries, have all their hair curling at their birth, and while very young. The fame appearances have produced, in all places, nearly the fame errors, which are accredited more or lefs, according as the number of intelligent obfervers is more or lefs confiderable. It has been faid (this is not folely a popular error, it has been written by grave authors) and, in general, it paries for a certainty in the Levant, that hares are her- maphrodites; that the males engender like the females, or rather, that there is no diftincl fex in this fpecies of animals, fince, paffing alter- nately from the one to the other, they are males during one month, and females during another month, and fmce Nature has condemned them thus to change, every thirty days, enjoyments and functions, which would form a mode of exiftence the moft whimfical that can be ima- gined. This ridiculous opinion, wholly deftitute of fenfe, and which is owing to accidents rather trifling in the genital parts of hares*, is alio adopted by the Europeans who frequent the Levant. I have often had to maintain warm difputes op this ftibjecl. Hares were inftanced to me, as being well acknowledged for, males, in whofe infide young ones had been found on opening them. But what appeared a demonftrati&n to eyes prepovTeffed, and little exercifed, was in mine no more than a very fimple erTe6t of an inattentive examination; and as I was very far from yielding to this pretended proof, ignorance, befides, being now T and then accompanied by rudenefs and vulgarity, my adverfaries ended by being ferioufly angry at my obftinacy in contending, againft what they called inconteftable proofs. Rabbits, to which warmth appears favourable,, are alfo very numerous in the East. They are feen in the . I (lands of Cyprus, of Candia, &c. * See the details of the conformation of -thofe parts, in the Hijlcire Naturelle da QuaaViijeles, by Buffon, Sonniki's edition, vol. xxiv. page 203, and following. and TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. SBS and in thofe of the Archipelago. Thefe animals are likewiie to be founi ■on the uninhabited iflets which are in the vicinity of Che large iflands, or of the. continent. I faw no pointers in the Iflands of the Archipelago; but I there found a very handfome breed of fetters, which would be excellent for the field, if they were broken in : they have an admirable nofe, and are lively, indefatigable, and very enterprifing. I had for a long time a dog of this breed, which, though of a fmall fize, poffeffed undaunted courage. One day I fliewed him two goats ftraying on fome rocky hills, by the fea-fbore. Great as was the agility with which thofe animals leaped from rock to rock, my dog prefently overtook one of them, and ftrangled it immediately; he then fet out in purfuit of the other goat, which, find- ing itfelf preffed, jumped into the fea, and fwam near a quarter of a league towards the offing. The dog followed it thither, alfo overtook it, and, after a conteft of a few minutes, in the middle of the fea, which was, neverthelefs, agitated by a fwell, he killed it, and brought it dead to my feet on the beach, where I was waiting for him. Thefe Greek dogs have, in general, eyes very fmall, but extremely quick. The other wild quadrupeds of the Greek iflands are by no means nu- merous. No wolves are found there ; but in the larger iflands, fuch as the Ifland of Scio, are foxes, whofe race is much fmaller than that of our countries, and their tail much more bufhy. The Greeks call this animal alepo. Moles arc there very fcarce, as well as in other parts of the East. I never met with any: I was affured, however, that fome were to be found, but In very fmall numbers, in the Ifle of Scio, and that they did not there make themfelves remarkable by the havock which renders them fo formidable to our farmers. The Greeks of the Ifland of 3 d Scio 386 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Scio call the mole tiphlopoudikos, that is, blind rat. Rats, mice, a? well as martins and weafels, are animals common to almoft all the i Hands. The laws of ancient Egypt placed the weafel under their fafe-guard; it was even worfhipped in Theba'is. There are vl 111 to be found in Egypt traces of this ancient refpecl for an animal, which is there com- mon, and which may enter the houfes, and commit havock with im- punity. This fort of confideration for a noxious animal has been ex- tended and preferved throughout all the Levant. The Turks, as well as the Greeks, fuffer it to live among them in full liberty; it has nothing to dread, either from the one or the other: the Greek women carry their attention fo far as not to difturb it, and they even treat it with a politenefs truly whimfical. " Welcome" fay they, when they perceive a weafel in their houfe; " come in, my pretty rvenclt; no harm Jhall happen " to you here: you are quite at home; pray make free, &c. &c. ; ' They affirm that, fenfible of thefe civilities, the weafel does no mifchief ; whereas every thing would be devoured, add they, if they did not be- have to this animal in a courteous manner. The name that it bears in thefe countries is as much connected with the manner in which it is wel- comed there as with the beauty of its fkin. The Turks call it gullendijh; and the Greeks, niphijia: thefe two words fignify, in both languages, bride. The hedge-hog Mhich I had feen in Lower Egypt, in the environs of Alexandria, where the Arabs call it confhefs, is fcattered all over the Levant. I met with it in Caramania, in Natolia, in Mace- donia, in the Morea, and in fome of the Iflands of the Archi- pelago. Almoft TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. SS7 Almoft all the fpecies of birds of our countries are met with in the Levant, whether they live there conftantly, or do no more than pafs thither. I ihall give the enumeration of thefe fpecies, at the fame time diftinguifhing thofe which are fedentary in thefe countries from the fpe- cies which are there only birds of paffage. I mall not fpeak of them all, but merely of thofe which I have obferved. This account will throw frefh light on the regular migrations of birds: the different routes which they follow, and the chart of which has been drawn by natural inftincb, are not yet much known; and this itinerary of the birds of our countries, forced to change every year their climate, in order to provide for their fubfrften.ee, is one of the raoft curious and moft interefting facts of natural hiftory. The period of the paffage of birds into the Iilands of Greece varies according to the winds which there prevail. At the end of the fummer of 1779; this paffage was delayed, becaufe the northerly winds, which are accuftomed to reign during that feafon, blew much later than in other years, and the birds which then go to the fouth, were obliged to wait for a wind that might favour them in their paffage. Accordingly, the period of their paffmg was of fliorter duration that year; the birds, eager to arrive in countries where they were to find warmth of tem- perature and abundance of food, haftened to repair thither as foon as the favourable wind had fprung up. Another general remark is, that in the fpring-paffage, that is, on their return to our climates, birds travel in bodies lefs numerous, and are more difperfed than in their paffage in autumn; and this fort of difunion constitutes their fafety: beingfeparated, they more eafily efcape the fnares which are fpread for them on all fides on their journey. They are alfo very lean in the fpririg ; while, generally fpeaking, they are very fat in their autumnal migration. 3 d 2 Hawks 383 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Hawks remain daring- the whole year in moft of the Greek iilauds. They retire by night into the holes of the rocks, and particularly into thofe of the wails of folitary windmills. They lay their eggs at the end of April, or at the beginning of May, and their little brood is hatched in the beginning of June; thefe little ones are then covered with a gray down, which the}- preferve upwards of a fortnight. Thefe birds are great deftroyers of grafshoppers and crickets ; they are very greedy after them,, and, from this natural appetite, they render fervice to agriculture, by ridding it of noxious infefts, which generate with a difaflrous fecundity, under a climate favourable to their multiplication. I brought up a jceamg bird of prey of this fpecies, taken in the neft a few days after its birth ; I fcarcely gave it any thing but grafshoppers, crickets, and flies ; it ap- peared very fond of them, and greedily fwallowed thofe infecls quite whole, however large they might be. Several other fpecies of birds of prey, fuch as the falcon, the kite, &e. appear to remain all the year in the Iflands of the Levant, and there fpread alarm and carnage among innocent families of little birds. Some kites, however, are there birds of paffage. Birds of night are there like- wife fettled, and never quit their gloomy abodes, which they caufe to re-echo with their mournful cries in filence and darknefs. Among the fmall fpecies of birds of prey, the paffage of the rufous magpies is very remarkable. Their annual migration, pretty generally admitted, has been unfeafouably difputed by a modern naturalift*. It is about the 14th of the month of Auguft that they pafs into the fouthern Iflands of the Archipelago, in order to repair to Egypt, and probably alfo to the coafl of Barbary. Notwithftanding the length of their voyage, as, in this hot feafon, they meet in their route with a great quan- * Le Vaiilant, Hi/foire Naturelk do Oi/eauxd'AfRKiVE, article magpie. ' tity TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 3B<> tity of infects, on which they principally fubfift, they are then very fat, and are, befides, delicate eating. The Greeks catch a great many of them ; but it is- on their arrival on the mores of Egypt, that is, towards the middle of September, that they afford greater fcope to their own de^ flruction, by their union and fatigue, which deprive them of the faculty of efcaping tire fnare& that are laid for them. The Arabs purfue them with nets, and they take a fomewhat confiderable number of them, which they carry alive to market, after having confined their bill with one of their large wing-feathers, in order to avoid the effects of their mifchievoufnefs. They do not remain long in Lower Egypt, and I imagine that they continue their route towards Arabia, a country that gives birth to a multitude of grafshoppers, which are, for the magpie, choice food. The Arabs call this bird dagnoafs; the Greeks, varo-kephalos, that is, heavy head ; and the Provencals, darnagua. The vulture, properly fo called, makes its appearance fometimes in the iflands; it is more common on the continent. Its fat is efteemed, by the Turks and Greeks, a very good topical remedy for curing, or at leaft for alleviating, rheumatic pains. The name of this bird, in vulgar Greek, hjkannia. If, from this clafs of deftruclive birds, living only by rapine or feeding on carcaffes, we pafs to the peaceable and ufeful gallinaceous tribe, we mall find in the poultry-yards of feveral parts of the Levant, the moft beautiful fpecies of hens, and at the fame time the moft fruitful. In the plains and on the mountains, red partridges, and bartavelles or Greek partridges, are very numerous ; but it is as difficult to get at them as at hares, when, quitting the vallies, they retire to fteep mountains, in the midft of rocks, precipices, and clumps of bufhy and clofe fet fhrubs. They 390 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. They there feed on the fruits of the juniper, the kedros, the lentifk, &c. &c. The berries of this lau-mentioned ihrub, in particular, occafion their fleih to contract., efpecially in the hind parts, a ftrong bitter flavour. Thefe partridges are the moil plentiful, as well as the belt game in the Levant. They are, in fome of the Iflands of the Archipelago, in prodigious quantities, and are there fold at a very low price. The young- partridges are hatched in the beginning of May, and they are good to be eaten in June. They are molt commonly purfued with a gun; the fowler keeping himfelf concealed, or furprifmg them when they come to drink near fome fpring. In fome places, fnares are fet for them, or they are enclofed in nets ; in the Moke a, they are caught M'ith a net, into which they are attracted by the image of a partridge painted on canvafs. The gray partridge is not known in the East. A Greek might, like Athen^eus, again manifeft furprifethat all the partridges of Italy had not a red bill, as they had in his country. We begin to meet with the gray fpecies in the north of Turkey, in the environs of Constan- tinople and of Salonica, together with the red fpecies ; the former keeps on the plains ; and the latter, on the mountains. Independently of thefe two fpecies of partridges, we alfo fometimes fee in the East another fmaller fpecies, which is called the little gray par- tridge, or the Damascus partridge of Aldrovandus*, a very roving fpecies, but which does not always follow the fame routes ; it is alfo a bird of paflage in feveral countries of Europe, and even in northern climates; they there appear in great bodies, but at diftant intervals, not regularly every year, and only for fome days; fo that the paiTage of thefe very rambling birds cannot be fixed, nor the route which they take well afcertained, any more than the motive of this erratic life. Neither does it * Tftrao da ma lit nus. Li«n. appear TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 391 appear that the feafon or the nature of the climate has any fort of in- fluence on the excurfions of this fpecies of partridge ; it is often found, and in ereat numbers, on the heated fands of Egypt, where it is called katta : on the other hand, it appears as frequently, during the cold months of December and January, in the north of Turkey, where it arrives in autumn, and I faw very numerous covies of them, which made their appearance only for a few days in a diftricl of the ci-devant Lorraine, during the winter of 1783. In fome places of this work, as well as in that which I have publilhed re- fpecling Egypt, I have fpoken of the prodigious flocks of quails that arrive in the East, prodigious from the long paffage that birds, whjch fcarcely appear to poffefs the faculty of flying, venture to undertake over the waters of the fea, as much as from the innumerable multitude of which they are compofed. Thei'e birds, in order to proceed to their deftination, follow a uniform route, from which they feldom deviate ; they do not pafs to all the Iflands of the Mediterranean, whereas they abound in fome, and a fmall number only is feen in others. The Greeks call them ortiki. The inhabitants of the Ifland of Santorin, where quails pafs in very large bodies, lay in an ample flock of them, and preferve them pickled in vinegar. On the coaft of the Morea, and particularly at Maine, they are falted, and afterwards brought for fale to the Iflands of the Archipe- lago : at Cerigo, they are falted in the fame manner; but, thus pre- pared, quails are very bad eating. Every where death awaits thefe feeble travellers, and they do not efcape, but with confiderable difficulty, the in- conftancy of the elements and the fnares of man. In the fpring, they are feen to pafs into the Iflands of the Levant, which happen to lie on their route, commonly on the 20th of Auguft, and to repafs there on the 20th of April, in order to return to our climates; fome remain, or fome are paffing during the whole month of September. 5 la 3Q2 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. In the moft northern Iflands of the Archipelago, pheafants arc fometimes feen during the winter ; they come thither from the woods of Thessalia, where they are in great numbers. The peafants of the en- virons of Salonica breed them in the country-places, for the purpofe of bringing them to the market of the town, and they are there fo common, that they may be purchafed at a very low price. It is principally the diftricl; of the little town of Seres, eight -or nine leagues to the eaft of Salonica, that furnifhes them in greater abundance. Matters of veffels who, during the winter, frequent the port of Salonica, fcarcely ever fail to lay in a flock of live pheafants, which they keep-on board in hen-coops, and feed with wheat. Thefe birds appeared to me larger and handfomer than thofe of our countries. It is an amufement for the rich Turks of Salonica, to fly at them birds of prey, which they carry on their fill. When the pheafant takes its flight, the bird of prey, which they let loofe, hovering above, compels it to perch on fome tree ; he then places himfelr on another over its head, and keeps it in fo great a fright that it fuffers itfelf to he approached and eafily taken quite alive. When the winter is cold, cocks of the wood make their appearance in the higheft mountains of the fome of the iflands, and of thofe which are fituated farthefl to the fouth, fuch as the Ifle of Milo. They quit them as foon as the weather becomes milder. It would be an eafy matter to kill fome of them ; but the Greeks fet no value on this bird, which they call agrio gallo, wild cock. Above thefe feme mountains, which offer to the fight nothing but Shattered rocks, ravens are feen hovering during the winter, together with feme vu'.ures. Thefe two fpecies of birds, equally ignoble, en- deavour, when poifed in the air, to difcover rats and fmall lizards, which are J TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 395 are numerous in the clumps of fhrubs that grow between the rocks. The name of the raven, in modern Greek, is koraka. The hooded crow * never quits the iilands ; I have feen it there in every feafon of the year. The carrion crow}", on the contrary, is there a bird of paflage. Numerous flocks of them are commonly feen on the fea- fhore, where they feed on whatever is thrown up by the waves ; in the even- ing they retire into the crannies of the rocks, in order to pafs the night. The Provencals have preferved to this fpecies its ancient French name of grmlle or graye, and the Greeks call it kouronna. They make ufe of its fieili cut into pieces as bait, which they faften to their fifh-hooks ; they praftife this manner of fiihing, when bad weather prevents them from putting to fea. Magpies are to be found almoft in every place where there are many trees, and they quit not the diftri6t in which they have taken up their abode. Flights of darlings appear fometimes during the winter ; and although their fleih is black, lean, hard, and ill-tafted, the Greeks kill them and eat them. It is faid, that when the ftarling, whofe name, in modern Greek, is mavro poallo, that is, black bird, eats figs or dates, it becomes fat, and makes a dainty dilh, A bird, common in our woods and remarkable for its brilliant colours, the jay, which the prefent Greeks callfalko kouronna, and the Provencals biuret, arrives, like moft of the other birds of paflage, about the middle of Auguft, in the Iflands of Greece, and at the fame time as the * Ccrneille manielh. Buffon, Hiftoire Naturelle des Oife.iux'. — Cor-vus comix. Linn. \ Carbine vuconeil/e noire. Buffon, Hiftoire Naturelle des Oifeaux. — Co'rvus corone. Limn. 3 e turtles. j.m TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. turtles. During this journey, it is commonly feen alone, perched on the builies, and making. flights,, fhort and low. Its fleih is at that time much loaded with fat ; but it is not better than in our countries^ on account of the difagreeable flavour with which it is impregnated. Independently of the jays of paffage, there arefome which remain all the year in the large iflands of -the northern part of the Archipelago; as that of Scio. Thefe birds- there build their nefts and lay in them four, five, and even fix eggs; they feed on olives, cherries, Avalnuts, and acorns of the fpecies of oak which grow there ; they make great havock in the plantations of fruit-trees, aud aie not contented with devouring the fruit on the A'ery trees, but make of it heaps, which they carefully conceal in the ground, and which they know how to find again in cafe of need. The Sciots amufe themfelves in rearing jays ; they cut the firing of their tongue, an operation which gives to certain fpecies of birds, and to ja}-s in particular, the facility of articulating words, and imitating the cry of different animals. In the Ifland of Scio, I have heard jays which mimicked extremely well the barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the bleating of the fheep, &c. The name of this bird, in modern Greek, is kifa.^ The bird with brilliant plumage, which makes our woods refound with its fonorous whittling, the loriot, arrives in the fouthern Iflands . of the Archipelago, at the period when figs are in a ftate of maturity, that is, at the beginning of Auguft ; this fruit is choice food, and they give to its fleih a delicacy which it wants in the countries where the fig-tree does not grow. And, indeed, the Greeks give to this bird the name of fykophagos, fig-eater, and, by corruption, in fome iflands, that ofjykopha. The paffage of the loriots in thefe iflands fcarcely lafts till the month, of September; the greater part proceed to Lower Egypt, where they in. like manner feek fig-trees, as well as mulberry-trees ; the inhabitants fhoot them, on account of the good quality of their flefh; but they ftay little 3 more TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 395 more than a fortnight in this part of Egypt, and they purfue their route towards the East, in order to find there a fuitable climate and an -abundance of food. Tficfes is the name which the Greeks of the Archipelago give to thru flies, without diftinclion of fpecies. Some are birds of paffage, and others do not quit the iflands. During the fummer, they are found fcattered in the gorges of the mountains ; on the approach of the fowler, they penetrate into the middle of the thick buflies, whence it is a very difficult matter to make them rife. In the winter they approach the in- habited places; they keep and run on the ground, alight on high {tones, points of rocks, little garden-walls, and flirubs which grow between the rocks ; and when the cold is felt with any degree of iharpnefs, and the north wind blows with violence, as I faw happen in the month of Ja- nuary 1779, thofe birds feek flicker round the habitations, and even enter the houfes, in order to fecure themfelves from the wind -and cold. Like the thruihes, the blackbirds are, fome birds of paffage, others ftationary in the Levant ; thofe which travel thither, arrive and depart at the fame period as the thru flies ; they all live there in the fame manner ; but they do not collect in fmall bodies, but are commonly feen in pairs. '. I fliall add nothing to what I have faid* of the bird with a fonorous Toice, with a powerful and agreeable warbling, with which we are acquainted by the name of Jblitary blackbii'd ; it "is not peculiar to the Ifland of Candia ; it alio frequents the remote and ftony mountains of feveral Illands of the Archipelago : in fome of them it bears the name «f j)faro finer oula, * See Chapter xx. page 25-5. 3 e 2 Bee-eaters* 395 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Bee-eaters*, which the Provencals call Jirbies, and the Greeks mclifo orghi, enemies to bees, arrive in the Iflandsof the Levant in the middle of Auguft, and repafs in fpring. Their rapid flight renders them difficult to be killed ; however, they are very good eating. I have frequently feea them, in the month of April, aflemble in numerous 'flocks in little diftricls planted with olive-trees, in order to pals the night ; but they there make only a temporary ftay, and the next day I no longer found them in the fame place. Thefe birds fly and hover in the manner of fwallows, in order to catch the winged infects, of which they make their habitual food ; and, in this feries of rapid movements, they vent a fimple, grave, and foft cry, accompanied from time to time by a cracking noife of their bill. At the fame time as the rufous wood-chats, that is, about the middle of Auguft, the fly-catchers t are feen to make their appearance. In the Levant, thefe two fpeeies are not even diftinguimed, at leaft by different names ; the Provencals who frequent thofe countries, confound them under the denomination ef darnagua, and the Greeks of the Archi- pelago under that of varo kephalos, heavy head, which they alike give to the rufous wood-chat and to the fly-catcher ; and this character of the bignefs of the head, compared to that of the body, is, fo ftriking, that,, in fome parts of our fouthern departments, it is commonly faid of any one who has a big head, that he has the head of a darnagua. No fooner do the farmers begin to fow the fields in the Greek iilands, at the period of the firft rains, which fall at the end of October, than * Le guepier. BuFKm, Hiftoire Naturelle des Oifeaux. — Merops apitifter. Linn. f It gohe-mouche, premiere elgece, Bvffon, Hiftoire Naturelle de« Oifeaux. — Mufckapa. grifoJa. Linn. there TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 997 there are feen to arrive from all quarters confiderable flights of ring-doves, troublefoifie parafites, that rob the land of its com, the fource of the riches which the cultivator intrufts to it. There are fome of different fizes, which appear to form certain races : they are birds of paffage, and, moft commonly, very fat, different from wild pigeons, which remain during the whole year, live and build their nefts in the holes of the rocks, and whofe flefh is dry and hard. The modern Greeks give the rino--dove the name of Jaffa, and to the wild pigeon that of pd'JtcrL The flefh of the turtles, whofe paffage is regular in the Archipelago, is fcarcely better than that of the wild pigeons, when they appear there in the fpring, for about twenty days : they do not fuffer themfelves to be approached without difficulty, and their leannefs confiitutes their fafety; for, in that feafon, no one takes much trouble to get within gun-fhot of them. But towards the end of the month of Auguft, when they return, they acquire more plumpnefs and delicacy. Then the Greeks make war on them, and deftroy them in great numbers. It is particu- larly in the Ifland of Policandro that they abound on their return, and that they meet with ahnoft certain death. Thole which avoid de- flruclion, come the following year to expofe themfelves to the fame dai> gers that they had efcaped: inftinft, which traces to birds of paffage the route on which they are to find a certain fubfiftence, is more power- ful than the care of preferving themfelves from the fnares that await them on every point of their, journey, becaufe this uiftuicl is an in- fpiration of Nature; and the accidents and dangeus with which man eeafes not to encompafs them, are accidents which may be confidered as out of the fphere of Nature, and which, confequently, cannot be conceived but by man, the only animated being that makes it his prin- cipal ftudy incelfantly to counteract her- The 598 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY The inhabitants of Policandro pickle in vinegar, in large jars, turtles, in the fame manner as thofe of oajsttorin prefer ve -quails. The latter likewife preferve turtles, but in a fmaller quantity than at Poli- canduo, becaufe the paifage of thofe birds is lefs numerous in their iflands. However, thofe turtles oi paffage are of the fpecies which has the top of the head and of the neck cinereous; the breaft of a vinous colour; a fort of collar of black feathers, tipped with white, checquered above and below the neck; the back and the rump cinereous and fawn colour; the j-eft of the under part of the body white, with a vinous tint, which grows weaker in proportion as it approaches the lower part of the belly, where it difappears entirely; the greater wing-coverts the neareft to the to.lv, black, with a broad fawn colour border; the others cinereous; the wing- quills brown above, and gray brown beneath ; the tail blackiih above, black beneath, and tipped with white; the firft quill, that is, the outer- rnoir on each fide, having its exterior fide entirely white; the feet red; and, laftly, the claws black. When thefe birds are roafted, their red feet change colour, and there exudes from them drops of a liquor of a beau- tiful 2,-old vellow hue. 5* To the cuckoo is given the name of trigono krafli, Avhieh fignifies .conductor of turtle?, becaufes it pafies into the Iflands of the Levant at the fame time as thofe birds; and as the fpecies of the cuckoo is lefs numerous, commonly no more than one is feen in the middle of a flight of turtles, of which it feems to be the leader. The Greeks call it kfefteri, and they fay of a perfon whe has a ftep and countenance lively, but at the fame time by no means natural, that he walks like a kfcjteri, or a cuckoo. It is important to obferve, that this bird, when arrived in another country, changes almoft all the natural habits which we diftin- guiih TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 399 guuih in it; for it finds not, on the itlands which ferve it as refting-places during its journey, forefts nor even thickets fufficiently large and clofe for it to retire to, as in our countries: it ceafes alfo to be a folitary bird; it keeps with other birds of its fpecies, and even travels in numerous company with a fpecies which is quite foreign to it ; neither does it caufe to be heard the fong of love, which its name exprefies, and which, among the common people, is likewife the declaration of infidelity. Very lean at the time of its paffing in fpring, it returns in autumn loaded with fat, and is then reckoned to be very good eating. Tlie two epochs- of the paffage of the hoopoe into the Ifiands of the Archipelago are at the end of March and the beginning of Auguft. This birch Avhich the Provencals name putugue, is called by the Greeks xilopedino, wood-chicken; at Scro, Jala petino. It is a tolerably good fort' of game, and is eaten, not only in the Levant, but in Italy, and- even in Provence. It is fomewhat remarkable that, in all the fouthernv countries, the hoopoe is eaten, while, in our northern departments, it caufes difguft by its bad fmell. Sparrows, the bold parafites of our plains, avfemble in the East, a3' with us, wherever Fertility has fixed her abode; their concourfe round- the habitations, and under the roofs of farmers, is a certain fign of the abundance which there reigns, and of the flourifhing ftate of agriculture: we may, without fear of being miftaken, judge of tlie richnefs or the poornefs of a diftrict by the number of fparrows which are there to be found; and wherever there are none, poverty prevails. It is for this reafon that thofe birds, very common in the Levant, and the habitual guefts of the people of that country, do not frequent the miferable Ifland of Argentiera, except for a few moments at the period of fowing- time. 400 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. time, when they come to fteal part of the feed; while they inhabit, in great numbers, the more fertile iflands, and in particular that of Mi lo, whence they come fometimes to Argentiera to exercife their eafy robberies. The bunting, which the Greeks call pfaroni, paffes at the beginning of winter and in the month of March. In autumn, it is feen on the ground, in the fown fields, and fometimes perched on lentifks. In (bring, it frequents thefe fame dripped fields, and alights more frequently on ihrubs : it does not bide alone, but always in flocks, Avhich the inha- bitants purfue, becaufe the bird is, in general, tolerably fat, and good to be eaten. Another fpecies of fmall bird, which panes in confiderable numbers into fome of the Iflands of the Archipelago at the fame period as the bun- ting, is the lougaro of the Greeks, which is our greenfinch. The ftone-chatter, a reftlefs bird, appeared to me not to quit the Iflands of the Levant, where it finds, all the year round, infects on which it feeds. I prefume, on the contrary, that the wheat-ear is not attached the whole year to the foil of the iflands, and that it comes thither in the fpring, and at the end of the autumn. In Greece it bears the name of qfpro-kolo, or cul-blanc (white arfe), by which it is commonly diftin- guiihed in our countries. It lives alone, like the ftone-chatter, and in- dividuals of this fpecies do not affcmble in flocks; they almoft always keep on the top of ihrubs, or on the point of rocks. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 401 The bird which, from its vivacity, and the allegro of its fong, has deferred to reprefent the emblem of gaiety*, the chaffinch, does not always remain in our climates during the winter. The fpecies is half- fedeutary and half-roving; and obfervation has not yet led to a difcovery of the caufes which determine chaffinches to feek, at a diftance, a mild tem- perature, while others remain in the midft of our rural habitations, where they brave the rigour of the hoar-frofts, and fhare with the fparrows the food which the farmer's wife diftributes to her poultry. Some are feen to arrive in the Iflands of the Archipelago, towards the end of October, and they go thither with attributes which lead to their deftrucTion ; their flefh is then fat and tolerably delicate. But among the great num- ber of thefe birds which I faw in the iflands, I remarked fome whofe plumage indicated young birds of the year, which might lead me to fufpecl;, with much probability, that thofe chaffinches came not from any great diftance, and that they had neftled in fome neighbouring land. The Greeks of the greater part of the iflands call the chaffinch moadakio ; and the people of Scio, fpinos. Nightingales are feen fometimes, but rather feldom, to pafs into the fame iflands, at the end of the fummer: it appears that their route is directed more to the fouth; they live, during the fevere feafon, in the ver- dant and fmiling plains of Lower Egypt, and perhaps alfo on the coafts of Syria and of Barbary. During their paffage, and their ftay on fhores which are foreign to them, fince they do not there bufy them- felves about their reproduction, they warble not thofe melodious fongs, thofe varied and brilliant modulations, with which they, night and day, make our woods and orchards refound : they are filent, becaufe they have not to fing their loves. • The French fay, proverbially, gal comme uit fin/on, as we fay, gay as a lark. 3 f la 402 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. In fome parts of Asia Minor, as Natolia, the nightingale is rather common, and quits not the forefts and groves which it has chofen. The modern Greeks have, very nearly, preferved to this bird, whole admirable finging does not fave it from the gluttony of men, the name of acdon, which their anceftors had given it, and they ftill call it adoni, aidoni, or agdoni. The charming fpecies of little birds, whofe afpect. of fweet innocence, and whofe engaging familiarity, cannot obtain favour in the eyes of man, who facrifices every year thoufands of them to the luxury and profufion of his table, the red-breaft, arrives in the Levant in the month of October: the Greeks call it yanni, or yannaki. It feldom palfes into the open iflands ; but it feeks thofe which are fhaded by numerous clumps of trees or lhrubs, fuch as the Ifle of Scio, where the red-breafts repair in crowds, and embellifh the little woods of lentbks and wild myrtles, with which that luxuriant ifland is filled. Thefe birds, for the moft part, there find nothing but death: their number, as well as their innocent confidence, betrays them ; and the. Greek bird-catcher, like the fowler of our countries, wages againft them a war the more cruel, as they eome, with the candour of an interefting weaknefs, and prefent themfelves, as it were, of their own accord, to the fnares which he fets for them. The fame name of yanni, or yannaki, which the inhabitants of moft of the Greek iflands give to the red-breaft, is likewife applied by them to another little bird of a different fpecies, and which has fome red on a part quite op- pofite to that which is fo agreeably coloured in the red-breaft: I mean the red-ftart, whofe paffage, or rather two paffages, that of autumn and that of fpring, take place at the fame epoch as thofe of the red-breaft. I have feen thefe little birds flutter about the rocks and ihrubs the moft expofed to the fun, in the early part of the fpring, or at the beginning 5 of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 403 of March: they do not keep precifely in flocks, but are met with in tolerably great numbers, more fcattered than , affembled, in the fame diftrift. We mould frequently be led into an error, were we to adhere to the denominations which the modern Greeks give to birds, particularly to the fmall fpecies, irf order to diftinguifh them from each other. We have juft feen that they confounded, under the fame name, the red-breaft and the red-ftart ; and this name is alfo applied to other fmall birds. Thus it is that they call Jlcardalio, the common linnet, and a few other fpe- cies. Linnets are alfo birds of paffage among the Greeks of the Archi- pelago : fometimes numerous flights of them are feen ; they alight on the brambles, with which the foil is covered between the mafles of rocks- that compofe the mountains. The goldfinch, which bears the name of karedino, does not appear all the year in moft of the iflands : it is not, however, a traveller, or a bird of paffage; but it prefers keeping in the large iflands, and on the lands of the continent, where it finds places of fhelter more fafe, retreats more numerous and more agreeable, than on the naked fummit of the moun- tains, which form the greater part of the Iflands of the Archi- pelago. But on all thefe eminences, the remnant of a fubmerged continent, are feen wagtails and bergeronnettes : the former keep more willingly on the margin of rivulets and pools; the others prefer fpreading themfelves aver the enclofures, and endeavour to approach the animals which are there fed, and they all diffufe a certain movement of life and gaiety on a foil frequently rugged and melancholy. Wagtails appear to be birds of paffage, and bergeronnettes not to quit the places which have given them 3 F 2 birth, 404 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. birth. During the winter, fometimes on rocky hills, and at a little dis- tance from the fea, I met with bergeronnettes, which, to judge of them from their plumage, were very young. I was told, indeed, that thofe birds neftle, even in winter, on the little defert iflands, whence they afterwards fpread themfelves throughout the larger ones. In Egypt, I had £een a bergeronnette almoft entirely of a dazzling white: at Milo, I met with a variety of the wagtail, all the under part of whofe body was white. Common larks make their appearance, frequently in flocks, in the plains of thefe elevated countries: here, too, is alfo feen the tit-lark, which is a bird of paffage, and which the Maltefe call bourboli. I am inclined to think that a few other birds of the fame genus pafs hither regularly twice a year. Here likewife are feen feveral fpecies of the tit-moufe ; but I was not able to afcertain whether they remained here always, or whether they were only temporary vifiters. The common wren*, which the Provencals call putois and pcre de la bkajje, is a paffenger in the Iilands of the JEgean Sea: it repairs to the coaft of Egypt, and is feen pretty frequently, during our winter, in the ever-heated environs of Alexandria, and of other places in Lower Egypt. This little bird, eaten quite raw, is, according to fome phy- ficians of the Levant, an excellent remedy for the ftone in the bladder. I alfo fometimes perceived, in clumps of lentifks, the little bird which, from its orange colour crown and its weaknefs, has obtained the name • Mot ac ill a troglodytes. Linn. Of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 405 of roitelet (the gold-crefted wren) ; and I have fome reafon to think that it fixes its abode in places which afford it a mild climate and abun- dance of food. At Scio, it is called vacili/ko, and in other iflands, re- golago. Fig-peckers, birds whofe delicate and favoury flefh conftitutes one of the dimes in requeft for our tables, arrive in the Levant in the month of September, and there look for the figs as they ripen. The Ifland of Malta is a refting-place for thefe little birds, as well as for other fpe- cies, fuch. as quails, tit-larks, &c. &c. Their paffage into that ifland is fufpended when the weft and north-weft winds blow, and they arrive there only with thofe from the eaft and fouth-eaft. On the 17th of March, I faw for the firft time, in 1780, the fwallow make its appearance at Argentiera. The wind had been feveral days to the north-eaft; but in the night it had fhifted to the weft, the iky was ferene, and the fun hot. The Greeks, like their anceftors, call the fwallow kelidoni The martin comes into the north of Turkey in the month of April, and ftays there to build its neft. During the winter, the Iflands of the Archipelago are fometimes covered with woodcocks, which are alfo birds of paffage. They come thither moft commonly from the mountains of the Mo re a, where the cold is fharp, owing to the quantity of fnow which falls there, and they go as far as Lower Egypt to feek a milder temperature. Snipes are likewife feen there during the fame feafon. >o Lapwings, like woodcocks, are winter travellers; they fpread them- felves over the iflands when the cold, which there is never fevere, begins to be felt, that is, in the month of January; they are but paffengers, and 406 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. and they fcarcely appear there for more than ten or twelve clays. But on the coaft of Caramajjia, thofe birds are affembled in great numbers during the winter. In fome of the Iflands of the Archipelago, the lapwing is called pelekoda; and in others, chhnanites, or winter-bird. Sea-larks, which the Provencals call chariots de plage, fnipes, curlews, and particularly a multitude of ducks of feveral fpecies, frequent the mores and waters of the iflands, especially during the winter feafon, and are, with other water-fowl, the enumeration of which would occupy too much room in a work not folely intended for natural hiftory, a refource which adds to the abundance and the variety of food. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 407 CHAPTER XXXL Tortoifes. — Snails. — Fi/kes of the Archipelago. — Importance of the jijhefy in the Archipelago. — Common cuttle-jijh. — Eight-armed cuttle-jijh. — Nautili. — Tethys. — Conchylia. — Sea-lungs.— Sea-urchins. — Sponges. — Crujlacea. — Water caltrops. SEA-TORTOISES are rather common along the coafts ot Greece, and particularly near thofe of the Mo re a. Land-tortoifes appeared to me fcarce in the Iflands of the Archipelago: true it is, that they are not there in requeft, becaufe they are not good to be eaten. They are fome- times employed for a very lingular ufe ; they are intiufted with the care of ridding the houfes of the enormous quantity of fleas with which they are infefted, efpecially during the fummer. It is fufficient, fay the Greeks, to place one of thefe tortoifes in an apartment, to free it of fleas : thofe infeefs throw themfelves in crowds, and with a fort of rage, into the mouth of the tortoife, which the heat occafions it to keep open ; it fwal- Iows them as fall as they place themfelves there, and it thus ends by deftroying them all in the courfe of a few days. I have feen French navigators in the Levant have great confidence in this property of tortoifes, and not fail to take fome on board, in order to rid their ihips of fleas, which there alio multiply prodigioufly in thefe warm climates. On the early rains of the autumn, the inhabitants of the Iflands of the Archipelago pick up in the fields little fnails, which at that time make 408 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. make their appearance there in very great numbers*: they drefs them, in order to eat them ; and it is a very indifferent diih, which has no other merit than that of cofting nothing, though this is of fome confequence in the eyes of poor people, whom the government devotes to wretched- lids, by furling in them every germ of induftry. A very deep fea, whofe waters cover a bottom ahnoft entirely formed of fand and ftbnes, and bathe a confiderable extent of lands and rocks, which afford retreats and food to fifhes, is an immenfe refervoir, whence men may derive inexhauftible means of fubfiftence. But hilling, like every other branch of induftr5 T , languishes under an adminiftration which copioufly pours forth difcouragement ; and the want of activity, which prevails in this important branch, a fource of comfort and profperity for people that can give themfelves up to it without conftraint, renders fifh lefs abundant and dearer than it ought to be in the iflands fubject to the Ottoman empire. In fact, this part of the Mediterranean abounds with fifhes of different fpecies. I have already made mention of feveral of them : it remains for me to indicate a few others. I have not unfrequently feen caught large ray-fifh, of the fpecies which our fifhermen call the paftenague (the fire-flaire) ; and the modern Greeks, falakie. The fcarus, a fifh famous among the ancients, and which the inhabi- tants of modern Greece ftill call Jkaros, is common in their fea. It keeps in the holes of the rocks which fkirt the coafts ; and it is even afferted, that it lives there in numerous focieties, with fifhes of its fpecies, and that thefe focieties have a chief, who directs them, and whom they • The prefent Greeks call this fmall fpecies of fnails faliaka, follow TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 409 follow as foon as he iffues from the retreat which they have chofen. It is. however, a very difficult matter to draw them out of their dark abode: and, indeed, they are never caught with the net, but are taken with hook and line. When the fcarus has bitten at the hook, he is made fall to a ftring, and left in the water; then all thofe which are near the place quit their holes, furround the captive, and end by being hooked them- felves. They feed on herbs, and the plants which grow in the water. The fcarus is ftill dreffed as in former times: the ancients faid, that, on the table of the gods themfelves, fcari, whofe entrails had been taken out, -ought not to be ferved up; at prefent, even, they are never gutted, to .appear cm the table of men, and their infide is a delicate viand, which alfo communicates a flavour to their Hem. Another fpecies of rock-fim, which is frequently taken in the fea of 'Greece, is the Jea-perch. It has there preferved the name of perke, or perkis, which it bore among the Greeks of antiquity, and which is now pronounced perka. This is a fifh very common in the Mediterranean, whereas, according to Willughby, none are to be found in the waters .of the Ocean *. B e'l o n had made the fame affertion before the Engliih naturaliftf. This fi/h does not become very large; it fcarcely ever attains a foot in length ; its flefh is foft, and far inferior in point of flavour to that of the iker-perch, to which fome .people have thought proper to compare it: anciently it was held in no eftimation, and Optian ranks it :among the fifties which the fifherman haftens to throw again into the fea J. It cannot be doubted that Galen meant the river-perch, when * Hiftoria P.ifcium, lib. iv. cap. iii. page 327. -j- De Aquatilibus, lib. i. page 268. j — _____ '< Pijcator promtus in alitor f ' Demittii fercas et niliacos coracinos." 3 g he 410 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. he fays that it is a true rock-fifh very well-tafted, although its flefh is fort and fhort*. Rondelet has- afferted improperly that Galen had in view the fea-perch'f; Wixjlughbv, with reaforii reproves the French ichthyologift on this fubjecl, and he affirms, that it is ineonteftable, that the river-perch, from the goodnefs and wholefomenefs of its flefh, is far pre- ferable to the fea-perch J. It is- probable that Rosdelet, living on the fouthern coaft of France, participated in the opinion of thofe of our time, •who, accuftomed to fea-fifhes, of which they ftill heighten, by tart and heating fauces, the flavour that the fea-water occafions them to contract, no longer, have any relifh for. the flefh of frefh water fiilies, and dis- dain it»- The Greek fiiliermen alfo take with hook and line another fpecies of faxatile fifhes, 'which live, like the fearperch, in the holes of the rocks,, but whofe flefh is much more Avholefome and favoury. This is the fparusj whofe name ofjpargo. recalls to mind, that which it formerly bore in the fame countries- One of the fifties the mod common in the fea of the Archipeeac-oj is the fargus\, named by the ancient Greeks fargos ; and by the moderns^ fargo. It is a rather indifferent fifh, whofe flefh is hard, and almoft always as tough as leather, which may even be discovered in dreffing it;: for, on being cooked, it fhrinks and curls up. Although the fargus keeps in the cavities of the rocks on the feaf fhore, as, from preference, it fingles out thofe, the foot of which is covered- * De Aliment. Facult. lib. iii. •}■ Hiftoria Pifcium, lib. vi. cap. viii. page 120. . t Lcfo/ufra cunt'), \ Spans fargus. Linn. with!: TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 4ll with ooze and mire, it does not there acquire the good qualities which make other fifties, inhabitants of ftony places, a delicate food. It is commonly taken with hook and line, and the hooks are baited with pieces of crow's flefli, a pafte compofed of flour and old cheefe being firft thrown into thefurrounding water, by way of further allurement. But the fifhermen who take the greateft number of fargi, and of all the other fifties of the Archipelago, are the bold and vigorous divers of the Ifle of Svinr. They fpread themfelves in all the channels with which the Greek iflands are encompaffed ; and, while they are employed in fiftiing for fponges, they make an ample capture of fifties with which they fupply thefe fame iflands, and it is then only that this kind ofprovifion there becomes cheap. The Symiots commonly make ufe of a harpoon in the form of a trident, with which they pierce the fifties that they perceive at a great depth, and efpecially the fargi, which, keeping between the rocks of the cpaft, are more eafily difcovered, I faw but feldom the Jkarmos of the modern Greeks, which appeared to me not to differ from the fea- trout. The filvery-eyed red fparus * is common, not however on the coafts of all the iflands of the Mediterranean; but there is not any near which it appears more frequently than the little Ifland of Lampedosa. Tha Greeks call it lythrina, a word corrupted from that of erythinos, which it bore anciently. This is a greedy fifli, which not only devours fifties much fmaller than itfelf, but alfo cruftacea. In all thofe which I opened, I found remains of the fquilla gibba, and the examination that I made of their interior parts, convinced me of the error of Aristotle, who * Spflfus erythjnus, Linn, 3 G 2 was 412 TRAVELS m GREECE AND TURKEY. was of opinion that there exifted no male in this fpecies, for I faw feverap which had neither fpawn nor ovarium. The flefh of the filveiy-eyed fparus is white, fat, and of an exquifite tafte; the beft way of dreffing it, is by frying, if we except perhaps the manner taught by Jovius, of which I have not made a trial, and which conlifts in frying it as foon as it comes out of the water, and in keeping it afterwards, for a few days, in orange juice. " Thus dreffed and preferved, the filvery-eyed " red fparus," fays Jovius, " furpaffes all other fillies in point of the " flavour and delicacy of its flefh*." Pliny has faid that this fpecies of fparus, left to putrify in wine, creates a difguft for that liquor in thofe who drink of it; but I do not believe that it is neceffary to go a great way for a filvery-eyed red fparus, in order to produce fuch an effect;, and every other fiih that might be left in a ftate of putrefaction in wine, would be fit to infpi-re with difguft thofe who ihould have the courage to tafte of it. Among the rare fillies in the Archipelago, muft be reckoned the king of the mullets f. I met with but a fingle one during my flay in the Levant, and the Greeks to whom I fhewed it, in order to know its name, were not acquainted with it. But the real mullet, the bearded mullet^:, that exquifite fifli, which the cruel luxury of ancient Rome caufed to be cooked over a flow fire, on the tables even, and under a glafs, in order that the guefts might enjoy the fight of the beautitul lhades produced by the flow degradation of its charming red colour, and, as it were, feed their eyes with the fufferings * De Romanibus Paribus j Romae, 1524. folio. f Mulks imberbis. Linn. % Mulks barb at us. Lin if. Of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 413 of the fifh, before they fatiated themfelves with its flelh j the real mullet, I- fay, is frequently taken in the Archipelago. The ihielded pleuronecles * is there more fcarce; the Greeks call it glojja. Atherines, of the fpecies- which has been called joel \, and to which the modern Greeks have preferved the name of atherno, derived from that of athcrine, which it had anciently, affemble in very numerous ihoals near the mores of moft of the iflands, and fometimes a prodigious quantity of them is taken. The following is the moft ufual manner of fhhing for them. Being provided with a long ftick, at the end of which is faftened a horfe's tail, or a piece of black cloth, a man walks along the fea-more, dragging it in the water in calm weather. The atherines gather in a crowd round it, and follow its motions; in this way they are conducted into fome opening formed by two rocks, which are clofed by a net faftened to two fticks; the water is agitated, and the little fifties, wiftung to efcape, are withheld by the net, the extremities of which are drawn together. '&* The atherine, held up to the light, istliaphanous* and when it is dreifed, even by frying, the fpots or little black fpecks of its back are ftill very apparent, as well as the longitudinal ftripe of the fides of the body, Avhich become only blackiih and more narrow. However, there are frequently found among the atherines that are taken, fmall filhes which the Greeks do not diftinguhh by different denominations, although they are of feparate fpecies, and even of feparate genera. They call the fea-gudgeon %, common in their fea, kouvion. * PlwoneRes fajfer. Linn, f Atberma hej/etus. Linn. % Gobius pagandlust Linn,' 3 I fometimes 414 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY I fometimes amufed myfelf, on the folitary rocks of fome of the iflands, in holding a line fufpended above a tranquil and tranfparent water; little fifties prefently quitted the crannies of the rocks in which they dwell, and threw themfelves on a deceitful bait. In this manner, I very frequently caught the fmall variegated labrus *, with ihort and delicate fleih, but the variety and luftre of whofe colours ought to fecure it from the gluttony of men. Moft of the modern Greeks call it ilkca or igluca ; and thofe of Rhodes and Candia, afdellbs and zillo: the Italians give it the name of donzeltina, and all thefe names recall to mind its elegant form and dazzling appearance, on which gliftcn with a mild luftre the moft lively and moft harmonious colours. The fmar'is alfo increafed the produce of my fiihing ; this little fifh, of a form as elegant as the fmall variegated labrus, but far lefs richly adorned, is likewife delicate eating. It was formerly called in Greeck /maris, and now it ftill bears a name nearly fimilar, fminarida. The inlanders of the Archipelago alfo diftinguifh it by the name of tratto pfara, net iiih; the tra'itte or tratta is a fort of net with clofe mefhes, with which is taken a great quantity of thefe little filhes that abound in the openings of the rocks, of which the coafts of the iflands are ahnoft entirely formed. The fifhermen of Provence call them giarrets or jarrets, not from the latin word girus, as Bel on afferts, but on account of their form, the outlines of which refemble thofe of the calf of a leg well- rounded f. The Italian feamen, who frequently fifh for the fmaris tribe, leave them for a few days in a bafket with fait; they then firing them as a fpecies of chaplet, which they hang to dry in the fun; thus dried, thefe •fifhes are reckoned very good eating. • Sfarus fmaris Link* $ De Ajuatilibus, lib. i. page 226. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 415 The fpecies of dog-fifh, which commonly with us bears the name of polffbn-chut or chat roehier*, and which the Greeks call by the generic denomination of Jqulla pfhro, dog-fiih, delights in playing around the rocks of the iflands. The feafon in which it is nioft frequently taken is the month of March; its flefh, although very while, and not fo bad as that of feveral fi flies of the fame genus, is extremely foft and infipid, and has rather a wild tafte, which occafions it to be difdained, when any other can be procured. Its fkin is an article of trade, like that of the dog-filh. It feeds on little fillies, cruftacea, and. moll ufca. This multitude of filhes of every fpecies, the greater part of which are of an excellent quality, may become an important object, of induftry and commerce to the inhabitants of the Iflands of the- Archipelago, as a mean of maintaining abundance in their habitations. The fiiherv of narrow arms of the fea, not requiring large boats, nor very expenfive Bets and implements, and being frequently carried ou from the more- itfelf, the profit which it might procure would become more confiderable than in any other pofition, and its activity, at the fame time that it would afford the comforts of life, would form feamen capable of conduct- ing vefiels through the labyrinth which the group of lands and rocks.- render very difficult to traverfe. . The large fea-polypes; although affording a food lets agreeable and lefs : wholefome than fifh.es, are, notwithstanding, from their abundance, a re^- fource of fome value to the Greeks, who, not being able to eat fiib during, the continuance of their Lents, make a great confumption of polypes in, thofe periods of abftinence. Their fea is full of common and eight-armed. Guttle-filhes, fpecies of mollufca very numerous ; they catch a tolerably large.: Squalus jldlaris. LlilNi . quantity;.' 416 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. quantity of them, but which is not fufticient for their wants, becaufe the fiihery, as I have already remarked, is very far from having among them the degree of activity of which it is fufceptible. There are annually brought" to them, from the coaft of Barbary, a great many common and eight- armed cuttle-fiihes, dried in the fun, after having been cut through the middle longitudinally, and they are thus obliged to purchafe this lent pro- vender, which they might procure themfelves in their own country. They call the common cuttle-fifh foupia : the back-bone of this polype becomes an article of houfehold furniture of the Greek women; they ufe it byway of a pm-cufhion. 'In fome places, the Ifle of Scio in. particular, the women find a more refined ufe for this bone of a friable fubftance, fince it ferves them to heighten their beauty; they calcine it, and reduce it to a very fine powder, with which they blacken their eye- brows. The folid and almoft offeous part of the common cuttle-fifh is, for the Greek fifhermen, the bait with which they nfually garnifh their lines, iu order to take the eight-armed .cuttle-fifh*, which they call ktapodi. A lead fixed to the line carries down to the bottom of the fea the cuttle-fifh bone, to which are fattened hooks; the eight-armed cuttle-fifh, which keeps fait hold of the rocks by its arms or tentacula, quits them, and attracted by the whitenefs of the cuttle-fifh bone, comes to feize it, and gets itfelf hooked. Dog-fifhes are frequently caught with thefe lines intended for catching the eight-armed cuttle-fifh. The fleih of this mollufca is hard, tough, and difficult of digeftion ; it fometimes contracts Jtd odour of mufk, which it owes, no doubt, to the nature of the food on which the animal has lived; oil being dreffed, it affumes a reddilh colour, which it communicates to the water and to the other ingredients '* Sepia cftopus. Link. in TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 417 in which it is cooked. In order to foften the membraneous fubftance, of which the body of the eight-armed cuttle-fiih is formed, it is beaten for fome time, or thrown repeatedly, and with force, againft the rocks, and at the fame time moiftened with frefh water. The Greek women, charged with this bufinefs, never fail, in performing it, to eat raw the nut, that is, the mouth of the polype, and this bit is to them a fort of dainty. On fome parts of the coaft of Provence, efpecially in the environs of To u lost, where a great many pohypes are eaten, it is affirmed that, by cutting its flefh with a piece of large reed, it becomes lefs hard. In the Levant, and even in Italy, thefe polypes are alfo pickled in vinegar; in fhort, the fragments of their fubftance are one of the baits of which the Greek fifhermen make a rather frequent ufe. It fometimes happens, that being in the water, a man is feized by the arm or leg by a large polype, which clings to it fo clofely with its tentacula and fuckers, that it would be impoffible to get rid of it, did he not haften to turn back what the fifhermen call the capuchon, that is 3 the .head of the animal, and this operation caufes its immediate death. The fifhermen of the Levant are perfuaded that the univalved fhetis, •called nautili, ferve as a habitation to polypes, and this opinion, which is met with wherever there are fifhermen and polypes, does not appear doubtful. The paper nautili are taken in the Archipelago. There are alfo found, on the coafts of the iflancls, fea-flugs or tethys, which the iflanders call cochylis. Numerous fpecies of conchylia likewife add to the abundance of ali- ments which man draws from the fea, in countries favoured by Nature, and fo abufed by barbarous , ufurpers. Here are found the oyfter, the pholas, the clam, which the Greeks call achivada, the whelk, phofphira of the Greeks, the mufcle, the tellina, the little fpecies of porcelana, 3 H commonly 418 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. commonly called cowry, and by the Greeks gouronnaki, that is, little pig; the limpet, in Greek patellida, the pinna marina, or the nacre of the Provencals, &c. The Greeks alfo make a vaft confumption of fea-urchins, which are in great plenty on the coafts of their iflands; there are fome black, violet, purple, with the point of the fpines white, fome reddifli, flaxen colour, and dirty white: almoft all of 'them have the ftefh of a faffron yellow; they are much fatter during the winter, and, it is added, when the moon is at the full. This latter obfervation had been made by the ancients *, and it has been perpetuated, though it is no eafy matter to affign its caufe. Another remark, which has become proverbial among the fifhermen of the Mediterranean, is, that one muft not go a fifhing for fea-urchins when the fea beats on the fhore, that is, when it is rough. This fifhery is, in fa6t, productive only in calm weather. Sea-urchins keeping at a fmall depth clinging to the rocks, they are eafily perceived when the fea is fmooth ; they are detached with a hook fixed to the end of a long ftick, which is accompanied by a fmall piece of net, that ferves to en- velop the fea-urchin, and bring it out of the water, when it no longer adheres to the rock: other fiihermen dive and feize them with the hand. The large fea-urchins, whofe violet colour points are tipped with white, are not eaten; their flelh is foft, black, and unwholefome. This is the cafe with another fmaller fpecies, black, and with very long fpines. The Provencals call thefe urchins Jezvs, and they confider them bad, and even dangerous to be eaten. I have fometimes feen perfons amufe themfelves with chewing fea-urchins whole, with their ftony fhell, without having their mouth hurt by the prickles, which they had the addrefs to arrange * Luna a!it efirea et impkt ecbinos. Lucilius apud Aul. Gell, lib. xx. cap. xiii.— See alfo Pliny, Manjlius, &c. &c. 3 in TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 4 19 in fuch a manner as not to be wounded by them. But feveral terreftrial quadrupeds devour fea-urchius with pleafure and avidity. Sea-nettles, with which the furface of the rocks, bathed by waters not much agitated, is frequently covered, are a very common article of food with the Greek iflanders, efpecially during Lent. They call this zoophyte, kolitjiano. In the fpring, the fponge-fhhers fpread themfelves in the Archipelago. Thefe zoophytes, placed at the laft link of animated beings, are very common on the funken rocks of thefe feas, and they there conftitute a branch of commerce. The fifhermen detach them from the ftones to •which they cling, either by diving, or with hooks fixed ou long poles; but in whatever manner this filhery be carried on, it requires ferene wea- ther and a calm fea, which may allow of diftinguiihing the fponges at the bottom of the water. Several fpecies of cruftacea are there equally common, particularly the crab, kavoura ©f the Greeks, the poupart, or koutfonna, the fpider- crab, or kavour on mana, that is, the mother of the crabs; Bernard the hermit, or the hermit-crab, the granulated crab * the fquilla gibba, in Provence, carambot, in Greece, keridia, Sec. &c. It is not my in- tention to enter into a minute detail of all the productions of the eaftern part of the Mediterranean; this would be an undertaking of too great extent, and at the fame time mifplaced in a work of this defcription. I have only endeavoured to give an account of the marine animals the moft ufeful to man, and to demonftrate that plenty reigns in the bofom of the fea, as Nature had fixed it on the land, before Tyranny came * Cancer granulat us. Linn. 3h 2- thither 4&> TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. thither with her brazen arm to expel it thence, m a manner, and confine it to the waters. Before I take leave of this fea, I {hall fay a word of the water-caltrops*, which is feen to float in thefpringon the furface of the waves, in the Ar- chipelago, and to ftop on the mores of the iflands. This four-pointed fruit is called by the Greeks majkoulla; they were not able to tell me ill what aquatic places of the ccaft it ripened in a quantity fufficiently great to fpread itfelf over fo large an extent of fea; the young iflanders collecl it, and amufe themfelves with filling it with gunpowder, in order to. •make a little expbfion^ In other refpe&s, it appeared to me that this water- caltrops of the Levant differed a little from that which grows in a great many parts of Europe; which leads me to prefume, with much probability, that it is the variety defcribed in the Hortas Malabaricus, and which is peculiar to the East Indies. Morrison has diftinguifhed this Afiatic variety |; and it is aftonifhing that Linnaeus fhoukl not have fcparated it from the common fpecies. * Trapa natansi Linn. ■\ Tribului ajuc.tkus -major Indicus, condihis genieulalis, foliis amplis, mimerolis, in ro/a figurant (ongregatis. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 421 CHAPTER XXXII. Rock of Pyrgui. — Strait of Polonia. — Ruins and tombs. — Another fort of Cimolian earth. — Indications of a volcano, in the Ijland of Milo. — Its plains. — Town of Milo. — Difeafes zvhich prevail there. — Pleurifies. — Churches. — Lady qfM'Aoi. — Drefs of the women.. — Their manners. — Er- rors on this fubjetl. — An aperture whence iffue pejiiferous miafmata. — ■ — Vapour baths. — Lake of hot water. — Sulphur and alum. — Mill-ftones* — Salterns* — Iron mines, — Sardonyxes.. — Catacombs.. W HEN you quit the narrow and fandy fliore, which is below the village of Argent i era^ in order to repair to "the Ifland of Milo, iituated to the fouth, you enter into a confined channel, between the Iflets of San Giorgio and Sant Eustachio and the Ifland of Argentiera. itfelf; this channel forms the harbour for merchant-veflels. Very near to the coaft, a rock projects into the fea, and although it has there opened itfelf a pauage, the fpace which feparates it from the ifland is fo narrow, that it is impoffible for the fmalleft boats to pafs. On the rock, which is- called Pyscui, is to be feen a remnant of an ancient building ; there it is,, if we muft credit the prefent iflanders, that the princes of the ifland fixed, their abode. You then pafs to the foot of the mountain, whence Cimolian earth is extracted, and you enter into a fmall {trait that forms the feparation of the Iflands of Milo and Argenttera, which the Greeks call Polokia,. and the French navigators the Pas de Pologne. In* the middle of this. pauage 422 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. paffage, which is fcarcely half a league from the one point to the other, there is a fand-bank and a few rocks, on which the fea, already pent up by coafts very clofe to one another, breaks with fury, and rifes in noifv billows. This paffage is not frequented b}' ihipping ; it is too dangerous; however, with precautions, they can clear it, and feveral have ventured into it; they even find a tolerably good anchorage in a bight formed by two capes of the Ifland of Milo, where they have feven fathoms water, and a good bottom for holding. It is in the middle of this fort of gulf that all the boats which come from Argentiera, land. On the other fide, but more towards the Weft, facing Anti-Milo, are difcovered, on the coaft of Argentiera, fome ruins which the Greeks call litiiko, a word that fignifies habitation of idolaters. Thefe ruins, which I vifited, no longer confift of any thing but a few tombs, dug in fandy and foftifh rock, the foot of which the fea wafhes and undermines. Oppofite and at a little diftan.ce, a fmall fhoal, which bears the name of Sant Andrea, was formerly connected with the ifland, as cannot be doubted, from the fhallownefs of the fea between the two, there being no more than a fathom in the middle of the channel which feparates them, and its bottom is covered with ruins. Among thefe ruins, I diftinguifhed two large and beautiful tombs with their capitals, and the opening of a fubterraneous cave in the fliape of a well. The Ihoal even of Sant Andrea, all the fides of which are fteep and ex- cavated by the fea, with the exception of the fide on an inclined plane, which faces Argentiera, ftill fupports fome fragments of ancient buildings; there are alfo feen paffages of fubterraneous galleries, in which it would be gratifying to curiofity to defcend and dig, if that were prac- ticable, without giving umbrage to a government, which has no idea of the importance of hiftoric monuments, hidden in a foil that it profanes. Jealous, not of difcoveries ufeful to the fciences, but of imaginary treafures TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 423 treafures which itfuppofes buried, it does not even endeavour, by digging, to gratify its ftupid and grofs cupidity, becaufe it fancies that the Euro- pean alone poffeffes the magic power of difcovering and getting poffeflion of gold, which cannot be drawn from the bowels of the earth but by fome talifman. Every thing announces that, in this place, a town of fome importance has exifted; here is ftill to be feen the remnant of a canal dug in the rock, into which the water of the fea enters, and which was a harbour fufficient for the fmall veffels of the ancients : pillars, alfo cut in the rock, and pieces of which are ftill fubfifting, were placed at certain diftances on the borders of . the channel, and ferved for making faft the veffels. I was ihewn a< fort of place of fepulture, in which fome enter- prifing people have dug ; their trouble obtained fome recompenfe, and they thence carried off medals, lamps, earthen veffels, little idols, and a flatue in iilver. At the entrance of the Strait of Polottia, on the coaft of Milo, which faces the north-eaft, is extracted a fort of Cimolian earth, which differs but very little from that of Argentiera ; boats alfo come and load with it, in order to convey it to the other iflands of the Archipelago : this earth is even faid to be preferred to the true Cimolian earth for warning, but that it is not fo proper for fcowring and taking out fpots. The Greeks give it no other name than that of pilo, which ugnifies clay. When you land in the Me of Milo, you perceive that fires, long hnce kindled, confume the bowels of the earth ; every thing there iudicates a fubterraneous conflagration ; and in feveral places, the ground, whii refounds under your feet, apprizes you that it is fupported by vaft cavities, In. one place, mountains are overthrown ; in another, calcined 're fad den 424 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Hidden you by their fhattered and blackiih furfice; farther on, flones and enormous pebbles atteft, by their fubftan'ce and colour, that they have been thrown up by the exploGon of a volcano ; boiling waters iffue oa all fides; pumice-ftones are fcattered about; fulphur is formed in abundance, and thews itfelf even on the furface of the ground. In the midft of thefe effe&s of the action of the great conflagrations of Nature, the vegetable earth, which moftly covers the Iile of Milo, gently warmed by fubterraneous heat, is very productive. Corn and cotton are there of an excellent quality, and the vines yield very good wine, as the trees do delicious fruits. Beautiful flowers there form a brilliant and natural carpet; but the plains are moftly abandoned to fterility : the quantity of lands lying fallow announces an exceffive dimi- nution in the population, as well as the criminal indifference of the government. The town of Mijlo, fituated in an agreeable plain which leads to the head of the harbour, is no longer any thing but a heap of ruins, where a fmall number of Greeks ftill ftruggle againft the danger incurred by inhabiting it. Of five thoufand perfons that Tournefort reckoned there, we fhould fcarcely find, in our clays, two hundred, and almofl all of them too in a ftate of languor which infpires pity. The bad quality of the waters which are there drunk, and the ftill more pernicious ftate of an atmofphere impregnated with fulphureous and mephitic exha- lations, corrupt the blood and humours, make this town a very dangerous abode, and have converted it into a defert. Strangers even dread to make there a momentary flay, particularly during the hotteft part of the fummer, and thefe pernicious effects are felt even on board the veflels at anchor in the harbour. Almofl all the inhabitants of this unfortunate town have their legs fvelled ; they are, during the fummer, fubje6b to fevers, either inter- mittent TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 42£- mittent or flow, which occafion them obftruclions foon incurable. After the hot weather, pleurifies make great ravages, and the quinfy alio carries off feveral perfons, when the very fupportable colds of the winter are felt. It is afferted, that bleeding has been obferved to be there mortal in pleurifies, if it be recurred to before the third day of the malady, and that of all thole who are bled on the firft and fecond day, not one efcapes. However, the pleurify is the mofl common diforder in thefe countries, whenever the foutherly wind, blowing constantly, renders the winters very mild ; and every where the fame opinion is entertained as at Milo, on the fubject of bleeding. The town of Milo appears to have been Avell built ; but its houfes, at prefent entirely decayed, announce the defolation by which it is afflicted. The French Capuchins had here a very handfome convent ; they have abandoned it, and it is in complete ruins. It is faid that, in this place, there were formerly a great many catholics ; there no longer re- mains a fingle one, and the apoftolical vicar that is continued to be ap- pointed, without a flock as without a wifli to be expofed to diforders, has retired to Akgentieba, where his congregation is fcarcely more confiderable, but where at leaft he breathes a pure air. The Latin church, confecrated to Saint Cosmo and Saint Damiano, has fallen away with catholicifm. The principal temple of the Greeks, dedicated to Our Lady of the Port, conftrucled in lrj64, is by no means large, but tolerably handfome ; the walls are covered with paintings, reprefenting the hiftory of the Old and New Teftament. In another Greek church, called Agio Karalobos, is feen an ex voto, prefented by the fkipper of a French bark, about eighty years ago : it is a piece of the keel of his veffel, pierced by a large cetaceous fifh, which there left a confiderable fragment of its tooth. The navigator difcovered it in careening his mip in a harbour of the Morea, and haftened to depofit it at Milo, as a mark 3 i of 426 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of his gratitude towards Heaven, that had preferved him from the danger to which he had heen expofed, through the efforts of this marine animal. The Greeks, who confider this circumftance as a miracle, have caufed to he painted on this piece of Wood the image of the Virgin, and to this they attach fo great a value, that it would he in vain to attempt to pur- chafe it. At the time when I vilited Milo, there lived in that town a lady very rich, and who enjoyed great influence. Kiera Pregoulina, this is the lady's name, was mother to JIIavroyani, then drogueman to the famous Admiral Hassan Pacha, fince inverted with the principality of Moldavia, and afterwards beheaded, according to the cuftom of a government, which fcarcely ever fails to deprive of life and fortune thofe in whom it, feemed to have the greateft confidence. Madame Pregoulina was extremely polite to ftrangers, and to the French in particular : her garden was tolerably agreeable, and the artichokes which grew there in great abundance, appeared to me the beft that I ever ate in my life. Being rather an elderly woman, ihe lived in retirement, although fhe might have refided at Constantinople, and there made a figure ; her health did not appear affected by the malignant influence of a refi- dence at Milo, and fhe affured me, on this occafion, that the women fuffered from it much lefs than the men. She wore, like all her countrywomen, the flrange drefs of the females of Argentiera, a drefs devoid of tafle or grace, and which, fo far from being advantageous to beauty, is, on the contrary, extremely un- favourable to it. This manner of dreffmg is faid to be derived from the higheft antiquity, and to have been brought from Sparta to Milo, which is, as is well known, a Lacedemonian colony, whence it has been fpread, with various changes, into the neighbouring ifiands. But the literati TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 427 literati the moft verfed in ancient hiftory positively affirm, that the drefs of the Spartan girls was very indecent, and that they were called phbio- mb-ides, becaufe they had not even the upper part of the knee covered. However the drefs of the women of Milo, difgufting and grotefque as it is, does not offend decency, fince it exactly envelops every part of the body, and is faulty rather through a contrary excefs, by giving, in general, a monftrous fize, by caufing the fhape to difappear, and by fpoiling the moft beautiful forms ; fo that " thefe ladies," fays Tour- nefort, " whatever charms they may have, are only fit to be reprefented " as fkreens or fans*." Thefe MrLO women have been defcribed under the fame traits of an exceffive gallantry as thofe of Argentiera : it is extremely probable that people have been formerly miftaken concerning both, and this imputation is at prefent a calumny. How could coquetry fix its abode in the midft of a defert infected by peftilential miafmata, and which ftrangers dread to frequent ? We find, neverthelefs, in modern works traces of an old opi nion, which the flighteft obfervation muft deftroy. An Englishman pre- fumes that thefe women of Milo " equal their mothers in their liberality ' ' towards mariners, who are driven by ftorms to take refuge in their port ; f a mode of conduct which, perhaps, might have afforded Homer the idea of his CALYPsof," but Mr. Irwin had not feen Milo but from the deck of his fhip, where the monotony of the voyage was enlivened by {lories. It is from the fame fource that he derived the information which he has pub- lished refpecting the women of Argentiera, and which he would have done better to have left where he found it : but what he fays of them is ' fufficiently curious for me to relate here, as a proof to be added to a * Voyage au Levant, vol. i. 4to, page 150. f Irwin's Travels, vol. ii< page 231. 3 1 2 thoufand 4<2S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. thoufand others, of the inconveniences to which we are expofed when we relate from hearfay. This traveller firfts repeats what others had re- peated before him, that Argentiera is ftill more notorious than Milo for the licentioufnefs of its inhabitants, " and feems to be a general " feraglio, if travellers are to be credited, for the mariners of the Le- " vast :" but he adds, what no one had faid before, that thefe feamen of the Levant " are bound to leave their offspring for the benefit of the "mothers, that the boys at an ealy age are fent'tofea, and that the " girls, in due time, fupply the place of their virtuous parents !" This is not yet all, and the following is an obfervation quite new, which belongs to Mr. Irwin, and which no one will be tempted to difpute with him. " The inhabitants of Argentiera," fays he, " are entirely females, " except a prieft or two, who give them abfolution for their fins*." Who will ablblve the traveller for having told us fuch tales ? At fome diftance from the town of Milo, I was fhewn an aperture in the ground, whence iffued vapours fo deftructive, that by placing an animal only at the mouth of this vent-hole it fell dead on the fpot : fome perfons, no lefs rafh than ignorant, had attempted to defcend into it, and had there periihed. M. de Choiseul Gouffier, as I was informed, perfuaded the inhabitants, that from this fubterraneous gallery emanated the exhalations which had made of their town a field of diforders and death. They have Hopped it up ; but the deleterious miafmata having apparently other iffues, the atmofphere is not, on that account, leh infefted. At a little more than half a league to the fouth of the town, there are hot laths, or rather a natural bagnio, formed by a fpring of boiling * Irwin's Travels, vol. ii. pages 231 and 332. water. TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 429 M'ater. Buildings conftrucled round this fpring, formerly ferved for lodging the patients, who came hither from all quarters ; thefe buildings have undergone the fate common to every thing beautiful or ufeful, that exifted in countries, whofe foil has been for along time covered with ruins and with all the hideous fymptoms of deftruction. There now remains only a little arched gallery, at the extremity of which a ftone bench ferved as a feat to a fingle perfon ; one cannot fit there without being pre- fently covered with fweat, and experiencing a fuffocatingheat. The water which forms this bagnio, fituated on a hill, runs under ground towards the lliore, and it is found again under the fand of the harbour ; it there exhales a ftrong fmell of fulphur, depofits an ochre-coloured fediment, and is feen to bubble up again at the bottom of the fea, at the diftance of ten or twelve feet from the beach. At no great diftance, and to the north of the baths, is met with a cavern, formed in a rock of a confiftence light and almoft friable, at the extre- mity of which is a fmall lake of hot water, but whofe heat is fufficiently moderate to admit of a perfon bathing ; and in it there are no more than from two to four feet water. The walls of this cavern are covered with, a thick coat of nitre, which is formed there naturally. Thefe baths are falutary effects of the general conflagration of the infide of the ifland ; their ufe is very well calculated for the cure of dif- eafes of the fkin, palfy, and rheumatic pains. The Greeks were acquainted with them in the time of Hippocrates, who fent thither patients, and fome ftill come there in our days to feek relief for their complaints. But thefe forts of favours of a frightful combuftion cannot enter into com- panion with the crowd of diforders, which, owing to it their origin, fpread themfelves over a foil, from which they feem foon likely to drive away mankind ; for their fatal influence feems to increafe with time, and has 430 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. has reached diftricis, which, not long fince, were fecure from it. 'Tis even only within a century that it has afluined this character of malig- nity which had not been felt by the ancients. In fa6t, their writings are filled with the encomiums which they beftow on the Ifle of Melos, on the abundance of its productions, and its incomparable fertility*; but they make no mention of the infalubrity of the air that is there breathed. It is one of the largeft and raoft elevated iflands of this fouthern part of the Archipelago: Pliny has faid that it was likewife the roundeft of alrf: it is about twelve leagues in circumference. The fulphur which was drawn from it was reckoned the beft, and its alum was the moft efteemed after that of Egypt. The ancients attributed to this Milo alum the property of preventing women from conception, and Dios- corides does not hefitate to make this affertionj. Native fulphur is ftill very abundant there, and even makes its appearance on the furface of the ground ; but it is no longer an article of trade any more than alum, although their extraction, from its great facility, occafioned fcarcely any expenfe. We cannot be aftonifhed at this neglect, when we reflect that feveral other branches of commerce, much more important, have been abandoned in countries of which they would ftill conftitute the wealth, durft the inhabitants turn them to account. Rock alum is commonly found at Milo, in natural excavations, where it is formed in abundance, and more beautiful and more pure than the fait of the fame fpecies, produced by our art. I entered into one of • Theophrastus, in extolling the prodigious fecundity of the foil of Milo, adds, that vegetation is there fo vigorous, that wheat, or any other grain which is fown, ripens at the expiration of thirty days, which is too difficult to be believed. f Hilt. Nat. lib. iv. cap. xii. - J Hift. Nat. lib. v. cap. cxxiii. thefe TRAVELS m GREECE AND TURKEY. 431 thefe fpacious grottoes, heated by fubterraneous fires, and fituated on the declivity of a fteep mountain. The rock in which it is dug is en- tirely calcined ; the infide affords a great quantity of large pieces of alum, incruftated on the fides of the grotto, and which cannot thence be detached but by means of an iron inftrument. This fame fait alfo {hews itfelf in efflorefcence, and, in that ftate, it prefents chryftallizat- tions in fmall bunches of different configurations. Feather alum is alfo to be remarked there in plenty ; it hangs from the roof in filky and brilliant threads. I obferved that the ftones of the entrance of this aluminous grotto had been burnt in fuch a manner, that with the fingers alone it was.eafy to crumble them and reduce them to powder. Ships ftill come to load at Milo a great quantity of thefe folid lava, of which mill-ftones are made, and which are conveyed into feveral coun- tries of the Levant, and particularly to Egypt and Constanti- nople. Thefe mill-ftone quarries were known and worked by the an- cients, and as a mill-ftone was called in Greek myllas, fome of the learned have imagined that they found in this word the etymology of the name of Melos, which was given to the ifland. At the head of the harbour have been made bafins, which are filled with fea- water ; in thefe, evaporation leaves during the hot Aveather nothing but the fait, which there becomes chryftallized. Thefe natural falterns have been very productive; they are at this clay in a ftate of decay, Avhich renders them of little profit. The ifland likewife contains many mines of iron and ferruginous py- rites, but no advantage is derived from them. By the fea-fide, to the left of the harbour, there is a black and ferruginous fand, Here too 5 were 432 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. were found fardonyxes, of which no more mention is made at prefent, be- caufe, under a formidable tyranny, a perfon who fpeaks of his riches, gives himfelf up to perfection, and not unfrequently to certain deftru&ion. Olivier and Bruguieres there difcovered pozzolana, as well as at the Iflands of Argentiera and Santorin; it is certain that other va^ luable or ufeful fubftances -would prefent themfelves to the labours of in- duftrious men, releafed from the fhackles with which the prefent inha- bitants are loaded. Under a liberal adminiftration, the Ifland of Milo might even ceafe to be an unhealthful abode ; a few precautions, a few works not very confiderable, would probably be fufficient for the ame- lioration which Humanity claims in vain, from perfons who are regardlefs of her voice ; accordingly we muft neither expect it from the government of the Turks, nor from the unfortunate people who are become their flaves, rather than their fubjecls. Several fubterraneous - galleries are met with at fome diftance from the harbour ; they are dug in the rock to a rather confiderable depth. The defcent into fome of thefe galleries is by a winding flight of fteps. To enter them is at prefent a very laborious taik ; you are obliged to crawl on your hands and knees through heaps of ftones. Along the ftaircafe are remarked fmall recefTes made in the ftone, intended, no doubt, for re- ceiving lamps for lighting thefe dark and gloomy places; for there is every appearance that they were confecrated to the fepulture of the Miliots. There are ftill feen other catacombs facing the latter, but not fo large nor fo deep. On entering them, after having walked for a few moments on an inclined plane, you meet with fome wide fteps, by which you afcend into a fpacious hall; at the farther end is a fort of bench, cut in the rock, and round it feveral fmall rooms. The entrance of this latter cave TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 43$ cave is in a mafs of ftones entirely calcined ; they are light and fpongy, like almoft all thofe of the ifland, and efpecially like thofe of the fur- rounding rocks, expofed to the action of a long and immenfe fire which all the efforts of man could not extinguish. They prefent on a fmoking ifland, whofe foil refts on vaft burning furnaces, the image of combuftion, and the fymptoms of fome confiderabLe convulfion, and perhaps of total deftruction. 2 K CHAPTER 434 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXXIII. Harbour of Milo. — Core o/" Patricha. — Engagement between A&eMignqnhe frigate and two Englijh cutters. — Harbour of Milo. — Sifour. — Ruins. — Anti-Milo. — Purgative water. — Aluminous water. — Earthquakes. — Cold. — Storm. — Remedies for the bite offerpents. — Pfylli. — Serpents. lHE Ifland of Milo is divided in its middle, and almoft throughout its whole breadth, by a deep bay, which, according to the remark of fome of the ancients, more juft than that of Plixy, gives it the form of a •bow. This is one of the fined harbours in the Mediterraxeax, fpa- cious enough to contain a fleet, and to keep the fliips belonging to it iheltered from all winds. The anchorage there is excellent; the molt common is at the very head of the gulf, abreaft of the catacombs, and nearer to the eaft coaft: anchors eafily fix themfelves in a fine fand; and veffels come to there in from twelve to eighteen fathoms water. Small craft can approach nearer the coaft, and carry out moorings to the rocks of one of the grottoes. fc>' Another anchorage, more convenient, and alfo more ftill, is on the weft coaft, in a cove called Patricha. Ships, almoft entirely land-locked, do not there feel the action of the winds, nor that of the fea, from the north-weft, which rolls in fometimes with a degree of violence on the beach at the head of the harbour, but cannot enter this recefs, defended by an advanced point, on which rifes a fmall rocky mountain. There it was that, in 1780, the Mwkonne frigate, commanded by D'Entre- casteaux, and efcorting a convoy of upwards of fixty fail, fuftained an TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 435 an engagement again ft two Englifh cutters, which came thither to at- tack her. The convoy had met with thefe two cutters in the canal of Malta; they followed it, and, during the night, threw it into confufion. The frigate not being able to check them both at once, when fhe made fail after the one, the other threatened the merchant-veffels in another quarter ; the great guns even becoming ufelefs, they would have hurt none but our own mips; and it was confidered as a proof of the activity, and, at the fame time, of the fkilfulnefs of the manoeuvres of the Mignonne, that fix mips only had fallen into the hands of the enemy; but he did not longpreferve them. The convoy, having entered the Archipelago, feemed to run under full fail towards Smyrna: the Englilh cutters, which outfailed it, were ahead, and expected to make frefh attacks during the night. Their prizes were following them. Already this fleet of hoftile veflels, which feemed to fail in company, had patted beyond the mouth of the harbour of Milo, when the Mignonne, after having commanded by fignals different evolutions, ordered her convoy to make the belt of its way into port; and by this manoeuvre me was placed between the cutters and the convoj*, and very near to the captured veffels. The latter, which for the moft part were not manned by the enemy, h aliened to approach the frigate; and the largeft, on board of which the Engliih had put an officer and thirteen men, was retaken, without the enemy, who was too far diftant, being able to afford her affiftance. The convoy anchored in the cove of Patricha: the next morning, thinking ourfelves in fafety in a harbour belonging to a neutral nation, we were preparing to take a walk on more; already had feme officers fet out, early in the mornino- on a fhooting party, when we perceived in the offing the two cutters Handing in for the bay. They entered it, in fact ; but though we could not imagine that it was for the purpofe of attacking us, we took the pre- 3 K 2 cautions 436 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. cautions which prudence required: the frigate clapped a fpring on her cable, and in this pofition fhe covered the whole of the merchant-fhips lvinar in the cove. Each of the enemy's veffels was itronger than the MlGisoKtfE, not per- haps in point of men, whole number became ui clefs to us on this occafion; neither were they fo from the number of guns, but from the calibre of the pieces, which, on board the French frigate, were only eight-pounders, whereas the cutters had twelve-pounders mounted. We had every reafon to think that thefe veffels would caft anchor in the head of the gulf; but they had no fuch intention : they kept under fail, abreaft of the frigate, making boards, and putting about, the one after the other, under her flern, clofe enough to touch the enfign that was there flying. Thefe reiterated infults were to be confidered as infolent provocations, and as a real attack on the part of audacious people, regardlefs of the rights of nations. It was impoffible to tolerate longer fuch outrages to the ho- nour of the flag: we fired; and what proved to us that the enemy had had no other intention than of forcing us to commence hoftilities, as if they confided only in gun-fhots, was, that at the very inftant of our firft broadlkle, ihe returned it with incredible promptitude and brifknefs. The action began with confiderable obflinacy : Ave had to fuftain fuc- ceffively the fire of four tiers of guns, and we had but one to oppofe to them, fince the other was turned towards the fliore; and, indeed, two guns of the acting broadfide were for the moil part in a ftate of in- action, becaufe they were mafked by a tongue of land. But our artil- lery was better ferved; it had alfo the advantage of firing from a fixed point, while the fhot of the enemy's veffels, always under fail, became more uncertain. In fhort, after four hours' action, the cutters, very roughly handled, fheered off, and left the harbour, to re-appear there no more. TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 43? more. We learnt afterwards, that they had loft a great many men, and that, ready to fink, they had heen forced to undergo a repair. I muft not omit a trait which may give au idea of the want of delicacy, I had almoft faid of the ferocity, of the officers Avho commanded thefe cutters. Our midihipmeu, who were on a lhooting excursion, haftened, at the report of the firft gun, to approach the beach : we could not fend the boat for them during the action, and they feated themfelves on the rocks in the middle of the coaft, fimple fpeclators of the engagement, impelled by the mortification of feeing the mifcarriage of their enterprife, no lefs rafli than contrary to the laws of war, the enemy had the_ meannefo to direct againft thefe youths, whom he knew by their uniform, feveral broad-fides, which covered them with fplinters of rock. After fo manifeft an outrage againft the laws of nations and humanity, -we were to-expect frefli enterprifes on the part of the Engliih. D'Entre- casteaux couimifiioned me to ere6l a battery on the top of the hill, at the foot of which the frigate was at anchor: we difmounted the guns from the fide of the fiiip that faced the land; and they were dragged over a fteep furface, thickly ftrewn with rocks, with that tranfport Of courage which diftinguifhes French warriors, and prefently the rock was trans- formed into a fortlet capable of refilling ihips of war. Thefe precautions removed not the apprehenfions of D'Entrecasteaux ; he dreaded an alfemblage of fuperior force, and even the treachery of the Greeks: during the night, he caufed the guns to be haftily re-embarked, and the flotilla to make a retrograde movement, by conducting it under the cannon of the fort of Suda, in the Illand of Caxdia. I had joined the 3Iignonne in the cove of Patricha: and, fin ce her departure, I followed I 438 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. followed her deftination, and no longer quitted her. But I return to the- Ifle of Milo. The entrance of the harbour faces the north-weft. It is very wide, and fliips may, without rifle, approach very near to the coafts by which it is formed. They have on the ftarboard hand, or to the right, Cape Vavi ; and to the left, Cape Lakida: the gulf then contracts between Cape San Dimitsi and Cape Bombarda. On the latter, a high mountain, formed like a fugar-loaf, bears at its fummit a village, to which has been given the name of Sifour ; it is furrounded by walls, which have obtained it the epithet of caftle, in Greek caftro, although, with the exception of this fimple and feeble enclofure, it affords nothing that refembles a fortrefs. It is at Sifour that the pilots for the Archipelago refide. The air there is pure and wholefome; the peftilential vapours of the plain do not reach it with deftructive influence : accordingly this place is more popu- lous than the capital of Milo; and the inhabitants exhibit, throughout their whole exterior, the figns of vigour and health, in which their un- fortunate countrymen are deficient. From the top of this narrow mountainous point, on which is built the fteep village of Si four, the view embraces a vaft extent : on the one fide it difcovers the mountains of Attica, the fields ofARGOs, and the lands of ancient Laconia; to the fouth, the celebrated mountains of Ckete; and, on the other quarters of the horizon, the numerous Iflands of the Archipelago, which feem to float on the waters. There is every ap- pearance that, formerly, the principal place of the Ifle of Milo was to- wards the fite of Sifour, fince all the ancient habitations of the Ar- chipelago are built on eminences the moft lofty, and whofe accefs is the moft rugged. Quarrels incelTantly reviving between one tribe and another, induced the neceffity of being continually prepared againft an enemy TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 439 enemy, whofe principal tactics, according to the genius of the whole na- tion, confiftcd in cunning and furprife, and his approach was eafily dif- covered from the top of mountains which no other commands. Thefe points of rocks, towering towards the iky, were from their fituation eafy to defend, and extremely well calculated to flop the enemy and repel his attacks. Befides, in a country where all religious opinions referred to theogony, the men, placed far above the level of the ground, fancied themfelves nearer to the gods, and thought that they were more furely heard by them. It is only when diffenfions left a few intervals, of which the arts and commerce were able to get poffeflion, that nations ap- proached the plains and the low coafls, where they could give themfelves up, with greater comfort and fuccefs, to trade, and every kind of in- dufixy. And what proves that the pofition of Sifour was alike inhabited by the ancients, is, that we fee there confiderable ruins, pieces of wall thrown down, fragments of columns of Parian marble, and fubterraneous gal- leries; antique catacombs, where flight, but fecret digging, daily brings to light funeral infcriptions, vafes, idols, medals, &c. Every thing an- nounces the remains of a confiderable city. On a broad fragment of frize is ftill to be read, in large characters, in very good prefervation, SABEINOSOnT that is, Sabinus, fon of Py The remainder is wanting. A defert iflet, very elevated above the furface of the waters, appears oppofite the entrance of the harbour ; it is a fragment of numerous ruina- of an ancient land, fhattered on all fides: the Greeks call it Hemomilo; and our navigators, Anti-31ilo, or Ajxtj-Mile, Neat 440 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. . Near Sifour, a fining, of a water almoft lukewarm, and of a flat and naufeous tafte, hTues from an eminence towards the fea-fliore. It i* from this natural pharmacy that the Greeks fetch their purgative potions, and a few glafles of this water produce the effect of a medicine. This is the country for hot waters, impregnated with foreign fubftances: there are very few good to drink; and this fcarcity of pure and wholefome water undoubtedly contributes to the diforders with which the inhabitants are overwhelmed, with the exception of thofe of Sifour, who have an- opportunity of drinking limpid water. On the fide oppofite to Sifour, that is, on the weft part of the iiland, is found a fpring of water, fo loaded with alum, that it depofits that mineral on the furface of the ground which it bathes.. The inflamed vapours of the bowels of the earth are exhaled by fo> great a quantity of vent-holes, they remain fo little concentered in ca- verns, where fires are inceffantly burning, that the foil of the Ifle of Milo is not, as might be imagined, frequently fhaken by fubterraneous commotions. During the years 1779 and 1780, there were felt in the Ifle of Milo, and in that of Argentiera, which has always fhared the political fate of the former, as it fliares the effects of a vaft conflagration of Nature; there were felt, I fay, only two flight fliocks of an earth- quake: the former, during the night from the 6th to the 7th of January, in calm weather, but at the expiration of forty days- of an impetuous northerly wind; the latter, on the 6th of December, during a. hurricane from the fouth-weft, which, at the very inftant of the (hock, veered round: fo the northward, blowing with equal fury. But what is remarkable, is, that both thefe commotions were much more perceptible in the Ifland of Candia, where fome houfcs were overthrown, edifices damaged, and men flung on the ground. Communications, formed at immenfe depths, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 441 depths, fpread afar the fire with which the bowels of the globe are confirmed, eftablifh a feries of galleries extending in every direction, and threatening, perhaps, the furface of the earth with new convulfions, and mankind with frefh deftruclion. This fame year of 1779 was alfo remarkable, in the Archipelago, for the duration and violence of the north wind, and from the cold, extra- ordinary for thefe parts, which was there experienced. The mountains of the .neighbouring continents were covered with a great quantity of fnow; and it froze rather hard in the Iilands of Milo and Argentiera, where I then was. The ice, in fome places, was upwards of an inch in thicknefs, and might be reckoned a prodigy, in a country where it may al- moft be faid that it never freezes. The oldeft inhabitants did not remember to have feen fo hard a froft. There was one in the winter of ] 76*8-69; but it was extremely flight, in comparifon to that of 1779- And, indeed, the furprife of the Greeks, aftonifhed at the fight of the various forms of the hides fufpended to the houfes- and the trees, was truly pleafant: they broke off the fragments Avhich appeared to them moft curious, carried them along the ftreets on difhes, uttering cries of admiration; in fhort, they all fliewed, in an unequivocal manner, that the) 7 beheld ice for the firft time. It did not laft. long; and, in twenty- four hours, a mild fun diffipated thefe gloomy but tranfient fymptoms of a fevere winter, and began again to warm the earth, aftonifhed at the cold to which it was a ftraneer. 's> v Impetuous winds, hurricanes, and extraordinary meteors, likewife diftinguiihed, in the Levant, the year 1779. This derangement of the atmofphere was, doubtlefs, owing to diftant caufes, with which I was not acquainted, fuch as violent commotions, or great convulfions in fome parts of the globe. The fea participated in this ftate of derange- 3 l ment 442 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. ment of the air and temperature: fhipwrecks covered with their re- mains the waves, raifed by the ftrength of the winds. At the be- ginning of a winter fo rough, and prefenting feveral phenomena, I was witnefs of the moft violent ftorm that I ever beheld in my life: it took place at two o'clock in the afternoon, during my ftay at Argentiera. The wind blew firft from the fouth-weft with great force; the iky was overcaft, and the rain had been almoft continual: the clouds had be- come lei's thick from ten o'clock in the morning ; but the arc of the horizon to the fouth-weft was blackened, in a frightful manner, with clouds heaped up, precurfors of the ftorm. The wind prefently ihifted to that quarter; an almoft total darknefs was fpread oevr the atmofphere, and mountains of clouds, of a greeniih tint, advanced with rapidity; long ftreams of fire divided them in every direction, and the thunder never ceafed to roar, but in a hollow manner, and without claps. A water-fpout, whofe form was that of a cylinder widened at both ends, joined the fea to the clouds; the waters boiled up at its bafe, which I eftimated at a quarter ofa league in circumference, and it moved with ex- treme fwiftnefs. "When arrived over the illands, the ftorm became terrible: the impetuofity of the wind mattered feveral wind-mills; thunder roared on all fides, a frightful fhower of hail, the ftones of which were of the fize ofa common walnut, fell with a dreadful force: Nature appeared on the point of being fwallowed up in an abyfs, and confternation reigned in every mind. A deluge of rain fucceeded this fcene of terror; and the wind, which flew to the north, drove the remains of the tempeft towards other fhores. During the fhort time that I paffed at Sifour, I faw a child that had, three or four hours before, been bitten by a viper, or a venemous fnake, in the fmall of the leg: it was brought to me, under the idea that I might afford it fome affiftance. The leg and foot were much fwelled, very hard, and 1 of TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 443 of a bluifh colour: the child fuffered great pain; the wound no longer "appeared, and the place was not to be diftinguifhed but by a larger fwelling, and by pains more acute, which were occafioned by touching it. I had experienced on feveral occafions, and particularly at Guiana, where fnakes are equally numerous and formidable, the efficacy of eau de Luce as a prefervative againft their venom. I made the child fwallow a few drops of it, in half a glafs of wine; and, after fome fcarifications on the part bitten, I applied to it a comprefs, deeped in this fame water, which is known to be compofed of volatile alkali and oil of amber. Eour hours after, the fwelling was confiderably diminiibed ; the child no longer felt any pain, and was in the mod tranquil date. I renewed the comprefs of eau de Luce, and difmiffed the little patient, at the fame time recommending that he might not be didurbed, and, above all, that bo fort of remedy might be adminidered to him. But thefe recommendations were vain : fcarcely had the child left the lioufe that I inhabited, before fome old women, exercifing empiricifnr ex- clusively, perfuaded the father of the little patient that the remedies of the Franks were good for nothing, and even might be pernicious to* Orientals. -It is to be remarked, that this is precifely the language of the fanatic and haughty Mahometan, who, at once proud and ignorant, alike difdains men and things that are foreign to his religion and his cudoms ; but it is not aftoniming that the Have mould hold the fame lan- guage as the tyrant. The advice of the old female empirics was attended to : the child Was afleep; it was awakened; the comprefs of eau de Luce was taken off. The wound was laid open with a razor, and two ligatures were made, the one on the calf of the leg, and the other on the middle of the thigh, with two fmall cords drawn, fo tight, that the unfortunate child, who Si-2 was 444 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. was thus left to pafs the night, had the next morning fo extraordinary a fwelling on the thigh and leg, that the ligatures Mere over-hung and covered by the flefh, which was hard, inflamed, and fo exceffively painful, that a fly, which alighted on the leg, caufed the patient to vent loud cries. A burning fever, attended with delirium, tormented him; and his ftate of danger had decided the parents to bring him to me again, contrary to the advice of the cruel female phyficians. My firft care was to cut the cords, whofe effect made me tremble; but when, on examining the wound, I found that the flefh had been cut with fo little precaution that the mufcle was injured ; that, moreover, there had been applied to the wound a cataplafm, which had brought on fuppura- tion ; and that, regard being had to the exceffive ftate of inflammation of the leg and thigh, and to the great heat of the atmofphere, this fup- puration might be attended by the moft ferious confequences, I difmiffed the patient, and would have no more to do with him. Notwithstanding the unfavourable refult of this accident, it is certain that the ligatures, flafhes rather than fcarifications, and fuppurative plafters occafioned all the mifchief, fince the fwelling Mas confklerably diminifhed, and the pain entirely removed, by the ufe of cau de Luce applied as a topic, and taken internally; and this is an effect which it fails not to pro- duce, when it is opportunely reforted to in fimilar circumftances. The remedies which the Greeks commonly employ for curing the bite of fnakes, confift in cataplafms of emollient plants, calculated to promote fuppuration. Sow-thiftle is reckoned among them to poflefs particularly a fpecific virtue againft this fort of venom. But this treatment is very long; it frequently lafts two months, and never lefs than one; neither is it always fuccefsful, and death pretty frequently carries off the pa- tient TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 445 tient from the torments which this mode of treatment caufes him to fuft'er. The East was at all times the country of magicians: men, boafting to have the power of charming ferpents, of braving their bite and their venom, of rendering them docile to their voice, formerly exifted there under the name of Pfylli; and there are ftill to be found people who pretend to have inherited their fecrets. I knew one of thofe verfed in this kind of fafcination ; he was certainly the mod ignorant and moft foolifh of the Greeks: his fecret principally confifted in thirteen words, which it was neceffary to pronounce in fight of the ferpents. He told me alfo, that, in order to guard againft the bite of thefe reptiles, it was neceffary to try to take one alive, with the precaution of feizing it ftrongly by the neck, fo as to prevent it from biting, and not to concern myfelf about its body and tail, the twiftings of which lightly fqueeze the arm. You muft then flip round its neck a running knot, made with coarfe thread, and draw it tight by degrees, till the animal is ftrangled. When it is on the point of dying, you open it, and take out its fat, with which you rub your hands : then my modern pfyllus faid to me, " You have nothing more to fear from the bite of every fpecies of fer- " pent." Though I have been affined, and have every reafon to believe, that ferpents are common in the Iflands of Greece, I never met with any, fo that I cannot fay what are the fpecies that are there to be found ° there are, as I was told, fome very large, and upwards of feven feet long. Thefe reptiles, feveral of which diftill from their canine teeth a very fubtle venom, retire into holes, under ftones and ruins, during the winter: they reappear in the fpring, and even introduce themfelves into the " 44S TRAVELS IN GREECE ANI> TURKEY. the houfes. At this period, the inhabitants look for the fkin which they have caft; and, by wearing it on their hat, they imagine themfelves fecure from their bite. It is alfo afferted, that, to drive them away from the houfes, it is fufficient to burn there hartfliorn, the linell. of which, it is faid, is to them infupportable. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 447 CHAPTER XXXIV, . I/land of Policandro. — IJle of Sikino. — Panagia of Cardioliffa. — Ifland of Siphanto. — Its mines; its productions ; its inhabitants. — Goat. — Strongylo and Defpotico. — Antiparos. — Grotto 0/* Antiparos. — I/land of Paros. — Its harbours. — Road of Nauffa. — EJtabliJliment of the Ruffians in that road. IF, from the Ifle of Milo, .you fail to the eaftward, inclining a little towards the fouth, you foon meet with the Ifland of Policandro, which is diftant from it only feven or eight leagues. It formerly bore the name of Pholegandros, and to this the poet Aratus added the epithet ferrea, m order to give, in a Angle word, the idea of its foil, rugged, ftony, and, as it were, compofed of iron. The coaft affords no harbour to ihips which approach it ; its population is by no means numerous, and confined in a village enclofed by Avails, and near which rifes very high a rock of a frightful afpe6t. The vine, which grows there between the ftones, yields good wine; but agriculture finds few fpaces which are fuitable to it. In a few diftricts corn and cotton are cultivated, and with this latter commodity tolerably fine cloths are manufactured. Game de- lights in this rugged foil, and birds of paffage make it their principal rendezvous in their regular migrations,, Further on is Sikino, an ifland nearly of the fame fize as Policandro called i ZlKENOS but of a foil lefs rugged and more fertile. The ancients called it 448 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Zi.vr.vos and Srcimus, from Si^kixus, fon of a nymph and of Thoas king of Lemxos. It was alfo called CExoe, the wine ifland, on account of the fertility of its vineyards, and the excellence of its grapes. There is no harbour; the boats of the country flop at the lower part of the town, on a very narrow fandy beach, on which their crews are obliged to draw them on more between two enormous maffes of rocks, perpendi- cular, and, as it were, fufpended above the waters of the fea. The town or village, enclofed by walls like almoft all thofe of the fame countries,, is built on one of thefe enormous rocks, and the population, notwith- ftanding the goodnefs of the foil of the ifland, is there fcarcely more considerable than at Policandro, becaufe the fame caufes or the fame vices of administration prevail in this place, as well as ia the other; iflands. Between Sikino and Policandro is a flioal, the remains of the lands by which they were united. A chapel dedicated to the Virgin^ whither the Greeks bring their offerings on the great feflivals of the year, is built on an iflet which is inhabited only at the periods of thefe religious affemblies; it is called Panacia, or Our Lady of Cardio- hssa. The Ifland of Siphanto lies to the north of Argentiera, and very clofe to it. In former times it was flourifliing, under the name of Siphnqs; it was even reckoned the richeft of the Archipelago, on ac- count of the gold and filver mines which had there been difcovered, and : the tenth alone of which furaifhed the temple of Apollo at Delphos with the riehefl treafure that had been feen. Thefe mines dishonour the Siphnians, at the fame time that they enrich them ; and as if a too great opulence -could not exift without corruption of morals and duplicity of character , TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 449 character, thefe vices of depravity were fo common at Siphnos, that they ferved throughout all Greece as a term of comparifon, when it was required to paint difcredited morals, or perfidy of conduct At this day the treafures which the earth conceals in its bofom, remain unknown; they wait for wife and enlightened hands to be difcovered anew, and again become a fource of riches to an ifland which figures at prefent, but with lefs' nakednefs than many others, in the- picture of mifery common to all thofe countries. The mines of gold and filver are not the only ones of Siphanto; there are fome very abundant in lead, iron, and loadftone. Its moun- tains alfo contain quarries of very beautiful marble, and the ancients fpeak of a fpecies of very foft ftone, with which they made vafes which were conveyed throughout all Greece, and which are no longer known in our days; fo that the Ifland of Siphanto would ftill be the richeft of the Archipelago, if it ceafed to be fubject. to a government which erufhes it with an iron hand. It is alfo one of the moft agreeable and moft cheerful; the air there is very pure and wholefome; the plains are adorned with the variety of drefs which it owes to eafy labours, and the excellent quality of their productions is another' precious favour of Nature. Silk, cotton, figs, oil, wax, and a few other com- modities of lefs importance, there compofe the crops and the trade; and it is eafy to judge how much they might be increafed, either by other kinds of culture, or by a greater abundance in the produce. The prefent induftry is fufficient to fliew what it would become in circum- ftances more propitious. Fine cotton-cloths, flraw-hats, &c. are there jsmnufaclured. 3 M The HO TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The inhabitants of Siphanto are mild and hofpitable; the women are beautiful: but their drefs, which too much refembles that of their female neighbours of Argentiera and Milo, robs them of many of their charms. This iiland has no harbours, except for fmall velfels ; the moft confi- derable place, which is called Serai, is built on fteep rocks, which leave below the town only a very fmall cove where boats caft anchor, becaufe if they were furprifed there by a northerly wind, they would foon be dallied to pieces on the coaft: thofeof the country are haftily drawn on ftiore as foon as they are unloaded. At Siphanto there was a Greek phyfician, whofe knowledge confifted in a collection of recipes which he applied on every occafion. His coun- trymen had no great confidence in him ; and, indeed, he fpent moft of his time in vifiting the neighbouring iflands, and there feeking patients more credulous : he was, however, an unexceptionable man, very oblig-- ing, and a great friend to the French. I faw at his refidence a goat of the beautiful race which is bred at Santorin; it lived familiarly in his houfe,went every where without doing the fmallefl damage, and was equally well fatisfied with bread, meat, fait fifh, &c. &c. but it was extremely delicate in point of cleanlinefs; if in eating it dropped any bit, it did not pick it up; and if one prefented it what it liked beft at the fame time holding it in one's mouth, it refufed to touch its favourite food. Thefe little fafts of which I was witnefs, and which are a proof of the inftinft of cleanlinefs natural to goats, and of that which they require in a ftate of domefticity, are not altogether uninterefting to natural hiftory, and even to rural economy, becaufe they ferve to direct it in the manner of rearing animals, the moft conformable to their habits, and confequently the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, 451 the moil profitable. However, this goat belonging to the phyfician of Siphanto was extremely productive, as well from the quantity of its milk, as from the number of its kids. On the fame direction as Siphanto, from weft to eaft are ranged the Iflands of Antiparos, Paros, and N~axia, all three celebrated, and ftill very remarkable. I do not fpeak of thofe two iflets in front of the former of thefe iflands, and detached from them, and the fmalleft of which, as well as the mofl advanced towards the weft, bears the name of Steongylo, and the other that of Despotico. They are both uninhabited ; yet they are not ufelefs, owing to the good anchorage which they afford to the largeft fhips, in the midft of the channel that feparates them from the Ifland of Antiparos. This latter ifland, which is narrow and long, in a direction from north- eaft to fouth-eaft, is the ancient Olyaros, a colony of Sidonians. tts foil, which might be better cultivated, is tolerably fertile; it is not even without agreeablenefs ; but the tint of wretchednefs, which there prevails, conceals thefe gifts of Nature, and no longer fuffers any thing to be perceived but accumulated ills, which the breath of an adminiftration, friendly to human nature, would foon caufe to difappear* But what renders Antiparos one of the mod famous iflands of the Archipelago and even in the world, is the grotto which penetrates into its bofom to a great depth, and which, according to what is related of it by the Greeks, communicates beneath the waters with fome neigh- bouring iflands ; an abyfs whofe windings have not yet been difcovered and vifited, and which offers a field to obfervation no lefs extenfive than curious. T.ouRNEfORT has defcribed, with much exaeinefs, the grotto 3 m 2 of 462 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of Anttparos. M. de Choiseul-Gouffier has given fome very beautiful drawings of it in his Voyage Pittorefque dt la Grece; and as I could only repeat what has been faid of it by thofe two illuftrious tra- vellers, I prefer referring the reader to their works than to copying them. The Ifiand of Paros is feparated only by a narrow channel from the more inconfiderable one of Anttparos, of which I have juft fpoken, Like all the other iflands of the Archipelago, Paros has borne feveral names in antiquity: it was called Minoa, becaufe it was conquered by Minos, the renowned king of Crete; before, it was called Pactia, and it has fince changed its name repeatedly, till it took and at laft retained that of Paros, from the name of the fon of Jason, or of a certain Arcadian, fon of Parrhasius*- Though of little extent, the Ifiand of Paros formerly prided itfelf on its power and riches. For thefe it was indebted to the activity of its commerce and the culture of the arts; excellent harbours favoured navi* gation and trade, as quarries of one of the moft beautiful marbles in the world had there infphed the tafte of the arts. This marble, of a dazzling whitenefs, was almoft reckoned a precious (tone in the eyes of the an- cients ; gold was frequently deftined to accompany it, and the gods had no temples, nor ftatues of a fubftance more efteemed. In the fame place where Nature placed the fubftance the moft in requeft.for the chifel of the fculptor, ihe alfo gave birth' to the two moft celebrated artifts of antiquity, and who may be conudered as the geniufes to whom fculp- *-Pl-in. Hift. Nat. lib. ivs cap. xii; . t-u re TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 453 tore owed its luftre. Phidias and Praxitiles were born at Paros. Their mafter-pieces, the ornament of Greece, are at prefent loft, muti- lated, or buried under rubbiih, and their defendants, whom mifery and' flavery have degraded, are no longer acquainted with an art which con- ftituted the glory of their country. The very quarries of this beautiful marble are abandoned and partly filled up. One can no longer defcend but with the greateft difficulty into fome of their galleries. If they were difencumbered of the Hones heaped up and the earth fallen in, which obftruct them, one might reach' the cavities whence ilfued blocks which took admirable forms under the chifcl of the ancients, and whence, in. all probability, will again ilfue thofe with which modern artifts will reprefent heroes very much above the gods of antiquity. ■ A fmalitown called Par'vchia has replaced the ancient city of Paros^ on the weft coaft of the illand, facing Antiparos: it prefents no idea of it, unlefs by the beautiful ruins which are employed without re- ferve, as without tafte, in its conftrufition. Similar fragments of mag- nificent monuments load, in- a ufelcfis manner, almoft all the territory of the ifiand;: and, iiv thefe deferred remains, art would ftill difcover objects worthy of its admiration. Off Parechia, the fea forms a bight,, and a harbour whofe entrance is difficult, on account of the ilioals by which it is obftructed on the oppofite coaft'; the harbour of Marmara has not the fame inconveniences, but it is more open: Lower down on the fame fide, Port Tre'o, protected by three iflets; affords to navigators a very convenient watering-place, and above Marmara, at the north-weft point of the ifiand, Port Santa Maria is alfo a good anchorage. The coafts of Paros have alfo other an- chorages,, where fliips may find temporary fhelter againft the violence of. 454 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. of the winds ; but the mod excellent of harbours, which will always make Paros an ifland of great importance, is that of Naussa to the north-north-eaft. Placed in the middle of the Archipelago, this harbour, not fo large as that of Milo, is, neverthelefs, more advantageous; fleets can lie there in fafety, and none is more fa- vourable for an eftabliihment. The Ruffians had chofen it for the depot of their forces, and the centre of their operations; they had erected batteries to defend its entrance, conftrucled fortifications, and built magazines and other edifices, in order to make up for the few refources which they would have found in the little village of Naussa. Though thefe works were made in our time, though in 1776, M. pe Choiseul-Gouffier again vifited them and found them ftill entire, the empire of deftruction has in fuch a manner eftablifhed itfelf in thefe beautiful parts of the East, that they are at prefent quite rafed and demolished, and that if it were wiflied to make of the fine road of Naussa a naval and military eftabliihment, every thing there muft be re-conftrucled. However, this ftay of the Ruffians at Paros has not produced there the effeel; that might thence be expected. Armed in appear- ance for the purpofe of reftoring to the Greeks their ancient liberty, they became their fcourge; not that they had an intention of hurt- ing a nation which it was their intereft to fpare, and to which they themfelves bear much refemblance ; but they appeared accompanied by the frightful train of war, and it is well known that, at its af- peet, every kind of liberty difappears. Obliged, in foreign parts, to employ as auxiliaries undifciplined men, Albanians, exercifed to rob- bery and excelies, thefe very Ruffians from whom the Greeks expected their emancipation, fhewed themfelves rather as enemies than as deli- verers: the inhabitants of Paros ; worn out by the moft cruel exac- 3 tions, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 455 tions, quitted their dwellings, and were reduced to regret Muffulman defpotifm. Since that period, the ifland is almoft deferted, and this people, who were oppreffed under the pretext of a falfe liberty, are at prefent on their guard againft fimilar attempts, and we could not, without infinite difficulty, fucceed in making them liften to promifes more certain, and fubfcribe to offers more real. CHAPTER 456 . TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXXV. Plan of a particular commerce to be ejiabh 'fixed in the IJlands of the Le- vant. — Description of the I/land of Naxia. — Account of the various articles of merchandife fit to he introduced into the trade of the Archi- pelago. A.T the moment when peace, haftened hy victory, at length yielding to the willies of mankind, is on the point of fpreading its happy influence over countries long a prey to agitation and troubles; at the moment when its benefits, fo impatiently expected, are going to reflore life to commerce, and a peaceable courfe to the channels of general profperity; the public mind, fatigued by the fudden undulations of actions and re- actions, and no longer having any uneafinefs to conceive respecting the dangerous confequences of the intrigues of a few ambitious men, who have by turns difputed with each other the political fcene, is going to be directed towards a laudable and ufeful object, and to be occupied with commercial undertakings and fpeculations, which, being favourable to private intereft, will turn at the fame time to the wealth and fplendour of the country. A war cruelly prolonged, but entirely new in hiftory, had infulated France; all communication from without was prohibited, as well as all fpeculation extinguifhed. At prefent, the barrier is < pened ; the field of ufeful enterprife is enlarged and becoming immenfe, and every one will be TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 457 be able to take an active part in that fort of common flock, where pro- perty will always be found by the fide of active induftry. Among the efforts of commercial induftry, thofe whofe motives _and object fhall be to revive our rich Levant trade, muft be placed in the fhft rank : but, independently of the general means of reftoring to this trade its ancient fplendour, there are particular ones, improperly neg- lected before the revolution, and which are, neverthelefs, of great moment: I mean, an eftabliihment fit for the Iflands of the Levant. Whether thefe iflands remain in the hands of the Turks, or whether, through a defirable revolution, they pafs under a government more mild and liberal, they will equally afford great profits to thofe who fhall make them the ob- ject of their fpeculations. And the .local knowledge which I have acquired, has fo fully convinced me of the importance, and at the fame time of the facility of fuch an undertaking, that I would not hefitate to contribute to it with all my means, among which, befides a perfect notion of the places, I will ven- ture to reckon the intelligence which creates refources, the experience which fuggefls them, the activity which multiplies them, and laftly, the probity which applies them to common advantage. We are not here fpeaking of an eftabliihment too diitant, difficult, or dangerous, nor of a commerce which requires privileges for itfelf, or fome exclufion far others. It is .in the fortunate climate of Greece, in countries fo favoured by Nature, that the barbarifm of the people who have invaded them has not been able to efface their fmiling afpect, nor to ■caufe all their charms to difappear : it is in the middle of a civilized, mild, induftrious nation, with which France has connexions free and quick; Jt is in the Iflands of the Archipelago, in fhort, that it is propofed to 3 » eftablifh 458 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. eftabliih a traffic which requires no other prerogative, on the part of the government, than authority to form it; if, however, in a ftate well- organized, where fraud alone ought to meet with obftacles, fuch an authority became neceflary; nor any other protection than that to which every Frenchman is entitled, when he devotes himfelf to undertakings •which muft turn to the general advantage. It is not that, considering it in a point of view lefs contracted, the government might not perceive a mean of reviving the French trade to the Levant, and of counter- balancing that which the Englifh, at this day our enemies, and always ©ur rivals, carried on there with an advantage which had evidently in- creafed within thefe few years. Under this afpeft, it would have well- founded claims to the encouragement which the State owes to enterprifes- that fo nearly concern its riches and glory. This traffic is alfo of a nature neither to caufe umbrage nor jealoufy, frnce the traders of Marseilles, who, under the old order of things, had nearly the exclufive privilege of the trade of the Levant, would not even have been able to complain of competition. In fa6t, with the ex- ception of the Iflands of Rhodes, Stancho, and Scio, in which there ftill exifted fome trace of their ancient commerce, denoted by a vice- conful without merchants, they have abandoned all the other iflands, even that of Mitylene, where their fhips took in cargoes of olive-oil, and whence the government alfo withdrew its agent, upwards of twenty years ago. I fhall not examine the motives which determined the reform of eftablifhments whofe utility has long appeared inconteftable. Under the reign of Louis XIV. that is, at the period when the commerce of France enjoyed its greateft fplendour, each of the Iflands of the Ar- chipelago, of any confequence, had a French agent, who watched over the national interefts, and pointed out to traders the articles from which they might derive any benefit in thefe fame iflands; but thofe confuls, 3 vice- TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 459 vice-confuls, and agents, were themfelves dealers; their views were pro- fitable, becaufe they did not go beyond the interefl of trade and naviga- tion. All, or almoft all, have been withdrawn; and the confuls of the Levant are become diplomatic agents, and nearly ufelefs in countries where diplomacy is a fcience abfolutely unknown, and where people are quite ignorant of its forms. On this fubjecr., the reader may confult a work entitled " Rcmarques fur diverfes Braitches de Commerce et de Navi- " gation," 8vo. printed in 1758. But it will not be unfeafonable to indi- cate one of the caufes which may have contributed to render thefe fame eftablifhments lefs profperous. The moft opulent traders, who, before the revolution, fent their fhips to our colonies, had no other manner of getting rid of their cargoes than of forming, in the places where they touched, ftorehoufes, in, which the colonift found daily, and in whatever quantity he pleafed, the mer- chandife of Europe: he delivered, in exchange, the fruits of his cul- ture. A little time was fufficient for the fale of the cargo arrived from Fkakck, and for completing that of the return. This method, which ap- pears the moft natural, feemed to be difdained in the markets of the Levant. The houfes of Marseilles difpatched thither various goods to their employers in the different feaports. The latter fold them whole- fale to the dealers of the country, who, in their turn, alfo fold to the French the articles which paffed into France. Turkifli, Greek, or Jew agents, arranged thefe reciprocal fales. The employer neither looked for 31 or faw his dealers, and he had no concern but with his ccnfal: the agent, or broker, is thus called in the Levant. The fales and purchafes were frequently delayed; a good part of the profits remained, both in the hands of the Levantine feller, and in thofe of the agent. Thence fmall cargoes, returns of little importance, flow expeditions, frequent demur- 3 n 2 rage, AGO TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. rage, and moderate fortunes*. A few vefTels, come from Marseilles; and bound to Smyrna, for example, appeared to fail in ballaft, although they were fcarcely of fixty or eighty tons burden. It is admitted, that this method does not materially affect; the aggregate of trade, and that the quantity of goods imported and exported is ftill nearly the fame, al- though divided into an infinite number of channels. But the fortune of individuals is improved more difficultly; they are, confequently, not enabled, whatever activity may, in other refpects, be attributed to them, to make effectual efforts or attempts of any importance ; and it cannot be doubted that this fort of partial languor may have fome influence on ge- neral traffic. It is with the fame turn of mind that the French trade was directed in the" Archipelago. Nature, in dividing, in parcelling off, as it were, the foil of thefe countries into a multitude of portions, feemed to indicate the line to be followed. What is only lefs lucrative in the great fea'-ports, became infupportable and ruinous in an ifland, in which a cargo, even moderate, could not be fold wholefale; and this reafon alone would have been more than fufficient to induce the abandonment of fimilar eftablifhments. With other principles, we aTe juflified in expecting profits by no means common, by trading in the Archipelago, and on fome of the neigh- bouring coafls, where no factory exifts. The only queftion would be, to * The employers attached a falfe pride to this fort of routine. We faw at *** a French- man, who had the good fenfe and courage not to follow the ftream, and who had imagined that it was as honourable to fell a piece of cloth as to fell a whole bale: we faw him, I fay, experience incredible vexation on the part of his countrymen, and not be admitted into what they called the corps de la nation, a pompous title, which will appear extremely ridiculous, when it (hall be known that this corps tie la nation was compofed of live or fix faftors. It is pro- per to obferve, that this very dealer is become thehead of the principal houfe of the feaport where he refides ; an incontrovertible proof of the fuccefs attached to the operations which he had adopted. choofe TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 461 choofe fuch goods as are there of certain fale, and among which fome have been fold as high as fix hundred per cent, profit, not to lofe op- portunities of procuring cheap articles in return, and to neglect nothing for extending there our fpeculations. Our readers muft be fenfible that, without banifhing fales and purchafes by wholefale, when circumftances ihall be favourable, retail traffic would form the bafis of the under- taking, becaufe, in fael;, it is, in this fituation, not only more profit- able, but alio more admiffible,- It would be fuperfluous to enter into a minute detail of all the opera- tions which are connected with the execution, or which fpring from it; but it will be fufficient to give fome development to the principal difpofitions which are to direct the undertaking,, and infure its fuc- cefk The choice of the ifland is one of the moft important points. In order that every advantage might be found united, it would be neceffary that this ifland, fituated in the centre of the Archipelago, fhould join to a numerous population the comfort of its inhabitants; that its ports fhould be alike frequented by European fliips, and by the fmall craft of the country; that, in fhort, the ftate and diftribution of its territory fhould afford facilities for forming an efiabliihment. No ifland, in particular, pofTeffes at once all thefe elements of profperity ■; but their in->- tercourfe with each other renders them, in a • manner, ■ common to all. The large Ifland of Scio feems, at firft fight, to command the preference." a town well-built and flourifhing, the urbanity of its inhabitants, manu- factories of velvet and other filk fluffs, a harbour into which enters a crowd of vefiels, plains covered with villages and embellifhed by their culture and fertility, the filk, wax, honey, maftic, turpentine, wines, and fruits, which they produce — every thing- appears to make the fcale turn; in 462 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. in favour of Scio. Cut this ifland is fituated too far to the northward; its vicinity to Smyrna would render trade Ms advantageous: befides, the pofition of its town, at no great dilfance from the principal cities of the Ottoman empire, the fedition, infurreclions, and political commotions of which are felt, on a radius fome what prolonged; its diforderly garrifon of janizaries and marines; the Turks who refide there, and pafs there, are fo many circumitances which fometimes expofe its tranquillity. If we caft our eyes on the fouthern part of the Cyc lades, we difcover a vaft road, the ordinary anchorage of ihips which navigate in theTe feas: it is formed by the Iflands of Milo, Argentiera, and Polivo, the Burnt Island of the Europeans. There it is that intercourfe with France would be the moll frequent; but the air of Milo is fo un- wholefome, that it is dangerous to make there any flay. The tempera- ture of Argentiera is falubrious; but the only village {landing there is fo circumfcribed, the houfes which compefe it are fo mean, that one would have fome difficulty in finding a convenient lodging. Po- livo is uninhabited. On the other hand, thefe three illands are at too great a diflance from the centre of the Archipelago, which it is im- portant to occupy. It is, therefore, nearly in the middle of this group of iflands that it is proper to ftop, and every confideration unites in favour of Naxia, formerly Naxos. It is the largeft of the Ctclades, and its fertility, ftill more than its extent, has occafioned it to be called the Queen. It was formerly a powerful republic. The fame fpirit of liberty which reigned among their anceftors, has been propagated to the modern Greeks: enflaved under the brazen yoke of Muflulman defpotifm, they have fouud means to preferve, at leaft, the forms of a free ftate. They are governed by magiftrates chofen from among themfclvcs; no Turk - there TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 463 there eftablifhes his domination, and this is not one of the fmalleft al- lurements of Naxia. It is, in a word, the mod agreeable, and at the fame time the moil tranquil ifland of the Archipelago. Perfecutions are there more rare; and, what does not commonly happen either in other iflands, every one there enjoys his fortune in tolerable tranquillity. The ancients, on account of the fecundity of its territory, compared it to Sicily; and, when they fpoke of the delicious wine which it produced, they affimilated it to the nectar of the gods. Limpid waters traverfe it in every direction, and roll into its plains coolnefs and abundance. Thofe trees which are to us delicate articles of expenfe and luxury, fuch as the orange-tree, the lemon-tree, the pomegranate-tree, there grow without cul- ture ; their flowers perfume the pure air that is breathed, and their fruits acquire an exquifite flavour-. Olive-trees, mulberry-trees, fig-trees, planted here and there, add to the varied productions of the earth, di- verfify the fites, and embellifli the landfcapes. Other trees of every fize, whofe verdure never fades, there form natural groves and agreeable fhades. Vines, which ftill yield an excellent wine, recall to mind that Naxia was formerly confecrated to Bacchus. Gonfiderable flocks of fheep brouze on the odoriferous plants which clothe the declivity of the moun- tains; hares and red partridges, by procuring the amufement of moot- ing, augment the refources of the table; fifh is in great plenty; and pro- vifions of every fort are at a very low price. The Jefuits, who knew fo well how to choofe their refidence, had given the preference to this ifland of the Archipelago : they there poffefled a houfe in the town, and one more handfome in the country; and this circumftance, in the eyes of whoever was acquainted with the turn of mind of thofe ancient monks, who difcerned, with fo- much fagacity, the beft points of the eountries where they fucceeded in extending their cololfal order; this circumftance, I fay, would convey a good idea of Naxia. The 464 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. The principal inhabitants, the remains of thofe ancient families of France, Spain, and Italy, which had eftablifhed themfelves in dif- ferent parts of Greece, at the time of the couquefts of the princes of the West, have there preferved the urbanity and noble and generous man- ners of their origin ; and one is aftoniihed to find again, in thofe Greeks of recent date, affability and politenefs, the fruits of a careful education. The women, full of charms, are alfo full of amiable qualities. There was one whofe beauty, famous at the period of my travels, would have been equally lb in all times and in all places. Although Naxia has no ports fit for the reception of veffels of a certain fize, its coafts, neverthelefs, afford tolerably good places of fhelter againft contrary winds; and the fmall craft of the Archipelago are continually putting into feveral of its coves. On the other hand, the principal town, which alfo bears the name of Naxia, and off which veffels may caft anchor in a roadfiead, is at a very fmall diftance from the much-frequented harbours of the eaftern fide of the Ifland of Paros, and in particular of the capital road of Naussa, of which I have fpoken in the preceding article. To the fouth of Naxia, another road which is called the road of the Salterns, or Port Strongioli, may alfo receive flap- ping in the fummer. In fhort, the fituation of the Ifland of Naxia, its population, its fertility, and its charms, form an affemblage of inappre- ciable advantages which would with difficulty be met with elfewhere. It would be an eafy matter to procure there the neceffary lodgings and places; and, whether purchafed or hired, they might be had equally cheap. A ftorehoufe would contain the articles, the fale of which would .be the moft rapid and moft lucrative. The purchafers might be left at liberty to pay either in money, or, what would be better, in the produc- tions of the country, which the iflanders would part with at a moderate price, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 465 price, in order to provide themfelves with our merchandife we fhould, befides, be enabled to take advantage of every circumftance for pur- chafing, as cheaply as poffible, the territorial productions which bar- ter might not furnifh. This double operation would alfo double the profits. The commodities which the Ifland of Naxia itfelf would furnifh, are wine, corn, cotton, filk, oil, fruit, fait, emery, &c. It is afTerted that, befides quarries of very beautiful marble, it contains mines more rich in gold and filver. It would not be to that only that the arrange- ments would be confined ; this would, in fome meafure, be no more than the acceffory, or rather the motive; and induftry would have other means of extending itfelf in a fuitable manner. *s> 1. It has been faid that the fmall craft of the Archipelago and of the coafts of Greece frequently put into Naxia; the eftablifhment would hot fail to attract thither a greater number. Thefe boats are con- dueled by trading Greeks, and they would take at the florehoufe parcels of goods in order to convey them for fale into the other iflands, and to the neighbouring coafts of Asia and Europe. Obliged at prefent to make their purchafes at Smyrna, Salonica, and in the other factories, Avhere they buy from the fecond, and frequently from the third hand, they would find it more to their advantage to provide themfelves at Naxia; on the one hand, economy in the purchafes; and on the other, a faving in the duration, the expenfes and the dangers of the voyage. An important remark, which is of a nature to intereft the commercial men of France, and confequently her government, is that the Greek merchants in the large fea-ports, preferred taking off Englifh and Vene- tian goods which were become cheaper than ours, and, I muft add, of a fuperior quality; for, to fpeak only of the woollen-cloths, there had, 3 o within 466 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. within thefe few years, been introduced fo blameable a negligence and parfimony in the manufacturing of thofe intended for the Levant trade, that they were difdained by the Orientals. C. It would be very ufeful to have one and even feveral caiques, for the carrying-trade from ifland to ifland, and from the latter to the adja- cent coafts; they would collect in the emporium the commodities which thofe iflands and thofe coafts furnifh, and thev would carrv thither French merchaudife. Thefe little veffels belonging to Frenchmen, would be refpected by the Maltefe privateers, and by thofe of other nations, which have adopted the ftrange and impolitic fvftem of a perpetual war with the Muffulmans. They would afford a fafe paffage and inviolable protection to the Turks and Greeks, who would batten to freight them in order to trade in feas where they run great rifks, at the fame time that they pay exorbitant duties of freight and commiffion. Such an un- interrupted carrying-trade would yield a great return; and if, in the fequel, it were wifbed to give it greater increafe, it would be proper to purchafe a Bermudian floop, of the burden of fifty or fixty tons. This Hoop might alfo be made ufe of for voyages to France; in that cafe, fhe would not only fave, but alfo gain, freight. This is the fort of veffel which lies nearer to the wind, which fails the heft clofe-hauled, and which is the moft quickly managed. Although preferable to tartans, the Bermudian floop is not in ufe in the Mediterranean; yet her qualities make her well calculated for the navigation of a lea interfected by a mul- titude of lands,, between which veffels are frequently obliged to ply in narrow channels. 3. We fhould not confine ourfelves to purchafing, or receiving in ex- change, the articles which enter into the trade ufed in the Levant ; but we mould alfo take off corn and wine, in the places and at the periods when 5 they TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 40'7 they are in the greateft plenty. With the corn, we fhoulcl make bifcuit, with which, as well as with wine, we mould fupply the veffels which fre- quent the feas of Turkey, and which would prefer drawing their provi- fions from the ftorehoufe than from the fea-port towns, where all commo- dities are kept up at a high price. We may judge how interefting this article is, when we ihall recollect that, before the war, there were no lefs than five hundred French veffels engaged in the carrying-trade, in the part of the Mediterranean which bathes the Ottoman poffeffions. I have faid that thefe veffels left France in ballaft, and that they failed for three years, in the fervice and at the expenfe of the Levantines, who, for fear of privateers, durft not make ufe of their own veffels. Peace will reftore to the French carrying-trade its former activity. Upwards of three hundred veffels, Venetians, Ragufans, Neapolitans, &c. there alfo exercifed this fort of carrying-trade, in competition with the French, without reckoning the mips of all nations employed in regular voyages, that is, direct from Europe to one of the fea-ports in the Levant. The victualling of the fhips would not form the only confurnption of bifcuit; there are iilands in the Archipelago which cannot fupport their inhabitants, either on account of the aridity of their foil, or from the weaknefs of their population, or becaufe the iflanders, given up to fifli- ing or navigation, do not employ themfelves in the culture of their lands; or in lhort, becaufe defpotifm, by enchaining induftry, there extinguiihes even forefight, that ordinary companion of the love of exiftence. During the winter, a period when navigation is benumbed, fiihing fufpended, and want more perceptible, boats, loaded with bifcuit, would be re- ceived in thofe iflands, with eagernefs, and their cargoes purchafed with avidity. - 4. The progrefs and fuccefs of the undertaking depend, in a great meafure, on celebrity in the carrying-trade; boats which would never re- 3 o 2 main 468 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY main in inaction, would be fometimes employed in bringing to the ftore- houfe, wood which the crews would cut on the coafts, where frequently the fineft trees coft only the trouble of felling them; of thofe we would famion ihip-timber equally in requeft by the Levantines and by the fhips of Europe. We ihould even derive a profit from it, by fending it to France. This fummary, although greatly abridged, ihews fufhciently how many means Ave ihould have of enlarging the commerce of the Archipelago; they would be increafed on the fpot by a crowd of circumftances which would rapidly fucceed each other, and, efpecially, as I have already faid, by local knowledge, enlightened attention, and induftrious ac- tivity. The goods for importation from the Archipelago are of two forts : thofe which are common to all the Levant, as wax, oil, foot, filk, wool, cotton, hair, goat's hair, ox's hides and horns, cow's hair, drugs, raifins, and figs, coffee, &c. &c; and thofe which are peculiar to the iflands, are maftic, turpentine, jafmin pomatum, ftuffs and purfes of Scio filk, dimities* and fcamittcs of Santorin, Paros, &c ; {lockings and caps of Argentiera cotton, Tino knit filk ftockings, native Milo alum and fulphur, mill-ftones from the fame ifland, wines of Samos, Santo- rin, Tenebos, Scopoli, Naxia, and Candia; Naxia and Paros marbles, carnelions, faffron, fponges, archil, Cimolean earth, coloquin- tida, cyprefs gum and cones, filtering-ftones, gall-nuts, marum, ortolans in barrels, cuttle-fiih bones, &c. &c. * Dimity is a cotton cloth crofled, finer, ftronger, and more in requeft than the fcamitte, another fort of plain cotton cloth. The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 469 The articles for exportation mould be very diverfified. It is important always to have a complete affortment of them, and to proportion the quantity of each of the articles, to the confumption and tafte of the peo- ple for whom they are intended. The following is an account of them, in which I have adopted alphabetical order, as the mod convenient, and I have there diftinguiihed the more or lefs great confumption of the various articles f. LIST Of the different articles of merchandife which enter into the trade of the jdRCHIPELAGO. Barracan Calmande Beef-falt Cambric Beer Candles (wax) for the table, afmall Blondes quantity. Bottles (glafs) Caps (worried) red and others Bracelets Cards (playing) afew new, more old Brocades (flight) ones. Buttons, afmall quantity. Chali, a fort of twilled ferge Bougie (fpun) Chifels for ftone-cutters, marble- Cadis, a fort of ferge cutters, joiners, ironmongers, &c. f This account, which I had publilhed in 1797, was addrefied officially, by the minifter of the interior, to all the departmental adminiftrations, at the epoch of the capture of the Vene- tian Hands, and the Ifle of Cerigo by the French armies, in order to direct, in a certain manner,, the fpeculations towards the commerce of thefe fame iflands. This adoption of my views, on the part of the government, mull, undoubtedly, do me honour, but no one has known that they were mine, and I take the liberty of making this obfervation, only to fecure myfelf from the fufpicion of plagiarifm towards the minifter of the interior of that time. Cloth 470 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Cloth (gold and filver) out of fafhion, Iron and in remnants only. Kitchen utenfds Cloth (hempen) common and Dutch. Lace (narrow French thread) black Cloth (fail) and white, of little value. Cloths (woollen) I^ace (net) gold and filver, more Combs falfe than genuine. Cords Lace (gold and filver) of all breadths, Corks for dame-jeannes ! md bottles, and of the moft fhowy patterns. a great many. Lead Crape (Swifs) Legumes Crockery Linon or French lawn Damafk Mohair Dame-jeannes covered with draw. Mufkets Damafquette (Venice) Nails Drugget Necklaces Drugs (compounded) Needles, a great many. Ferret Nutmegs Flowers (Italian) Packthread Fuftain Paper Gauze painted Glaffes for mirrors Parchment, a little. Glafs-ware Pafteboard Grogrammes Pearls Gunpowder Pins Hams Piftols Handkerchiefs (pocket) Planks Hangings Prunes Hardware Ribands (filk) of all forts, and efpe- Hats cicially the handfomeft, a great Herrings many. Rings TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 471 Riags Sugar Salmon in powder Sardines Sugarcandy Sattins Taffety Sciffars Tea Serge Thimbles for fowing Serge tte Thread Ship-timber Thonine Shoes (embroidered, for women) Treacle Spirit of wine Watches (large) fome with Tu rki Steel dial-plates and characters. Stockings (thread) c t great many, a Wax-candles few pairs of filk. Wax-tapers in rolls Stuffs of all forts, befides thofe men- Wire (brafs) tioned in this lift, an< i to choofe iron among the moftyA owy ; by way of Velvet (coloured filk) trial. Velvet (cotton) N. B. It is not poffible to fix the fums that would be required for the eftablimment of which I have juft treated : the more or lefs importance that we fhould propofe to give it would regulate the amount. We might begin at a fmall expenfe, and imprefs on it by degrees the movement fit for infuring it the greateft profits. CHAPTER. 472 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. CHAPTER XXXVI. IJland of Stenofa.- — IJland of Patmos. — Its convent. — Its harbours. — Its population. — Small {/lands near Patmos. — IJlc of Samos. — Its fer- tility.— Its wines. — Its pofition. — Fournis I/lands. — IJland of Nicaria. IJland of Myconi. — Its harbours. — Its inhabitants. — Its refources. — Drefs of the women. — Trago-nifi. — Stapodia. — IJle of Delos. — What it was formerly. — What it is in our days. — I/land of Rhene. — Rematiari. — I/land of T'mo. — Its nature. — ItsJilkJlockings. — Women of Tin o. IN EAR the Ifland of Naxia, towards the eaft, lies that of Stenosa, or Narrow Island, which is, in fact, very fmali and uninhabited. Farther on, to the north-north-eaft, the Ifland of Patmos, whofe name has been disfigured by our navigators into that of Saint Jean be Patino, exhibits its arid rocks and numerous capes. It is celebrated in ecclefiaftical hiftory, from the exile of St. Johx, and ftill more from the vifions and revelations which he there received, and which ferved him for compofing the Apocalypfe. Some Caloyers, inhabitants of a vaft monaftery built on an eminence, and which, at the fiift view, one would be tempted to take for a fortrefs, true difciples of ftupid ignorance, ftill ihew the grotto where the faint wrote his myfterious book, and even the hole in the wall through which he received the infpiration of the Holy Ghoft. There TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 473 There is no library in this convent; and of what utility would it be, •among people who, for the moft part, cannot read? Out of eighty monks who rehde there, M. de Choiseul-Gouffier. found only three who knew how to read, but who made little ufe of that knowledge *. It is, neverthelefs, this haunt of brutality and ignorance, where the alphabet is fcarcety known, which has been represented recently as a place famous for its fchools of literatu:ef. The Ifland of Patmos is little more than fix leagues in circuit; confi- derably longer than broad, its direction is from north to fouth; its form is very irregular. Its coafts are divided by a multitude of gulfs and coves, and are remarkable for the number of good harbours which they prefent to na- vigators, and among which that of Scala is one of the fineft in the ^flCtflPE- lago. Whatever advantages may be derived from its harbours by a country whofe pofition marks it out for a place of trade, wretchednefs has not, on that account, the lefs got pofteffion of Patmos. Vallies which might infure abundance, are uncultivated, and from their (late of abandonment and nakednefs, offer, with the hills by which they are furrounded, only the fame afflicting tint of ruggednefs and misfortune. Population, which follows the chances of agriculture and induftry, is there fingularly dimi- nished; and, while the monafteries fwarm with fluggards, the fields become deferts. In the fummer, few men remain here ; they almoft all go and feek far off means of fubfiftenee, or carry on- with their caiques, a traffic which feeds, but does not enrich them. The women remain intruded with domeftic cares, and to make the moft of a few pieces of land, during the abfence of their fathers or hufbands; and this timid tribe hide and {hut themfelves up, when they fee ftrangers land in their ifland. * Voyage Pittcrefque de la Grece, torn, i, page 103. f Maga/in Enydopediquc, 4th year, No. xxiii. page 293. 3 p Several ft! TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Several fmall iflands are fituated to the eatt of Patmos, in the great bight of the fea, between the Iflands of Stancho and Samos. Thel'e iflands are Nacri, Lypso, Agatho-nisi, and Fermaco, they are all nearly uninhabited. To the north of them lies an ifland more famous and more important, that of Samos of Ionia; for the ancients had impofed this- fame name of Samos on three different iflands: the one fituated near Thrace, whence it had taken the denomination of Samos of Thrace, or> in a fingle word, Samothrace, at prefent Samandrachi; the fecond, which the Greeks called Samos the steep, at prefent Cephalonia; laftly, the third, lying very near the coaft of Ionia, and of which I am now fpeaking. Some affert that the name of Samos, which has replaced feve- ral other- names that this ifland had before, was given to it from a hero who was born there: others affirm that the Greeks, calling all elevated places Samos, had, under this denomination, defignated an ifland which, in faft, prefents confiderable eminences. It was formerly confecrated to Juno who there received life, on the banks of the river Imbrasus, and under the made of an agnus cajias, or chafie tree, a flirub common in Samos, as well as in the other iflands of the Archipelago. A magnificent temple had been erecred in honour of the goddefs : at this day, a few remains of it are fcarcely to be found ; it is annihilated, as well as the ancient fplendour of the ifland. Samos was alfo the cradle of Pythagoras, of the poet Cherilus, of the ma- thematician Conon, cotemporary of Archimedes, ofTiMANTHUs, one of the moft famous painters of ancient Greece ; and it was in the fame ifland that Herodotus, flying from tyranny, fought an afylum, and compofed in a fweet retreat the firft books of his hiftory. For a long time pad we cannot quote any celebrated perfonage born at Samos. It is not under the reign of heavy tyranny that genius and 1 talents TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 475 alents profper, and flaves can become great men. But the Samians diftin- guifh themfelves by amiable qualities; they are the mikleftand mod witty of tbe Greeks. Their country ftill poffefies every thing required to become flouri/hing" very good harbours, tbe bell of which is tbat of Vathi, a por- tion very advantageous for trade, a fertile foil, a wholeibme climate, a pure air, and abundant waters. What fources of riches and bappinefs, if impure hands had not dried them up by an adminiltration which feems to have been engendered by the genius of deftruclion I The productions of Samos are the fame as thofe of the moft favoured illands ; they might acquire greater abundance and Variety, if the inha- bitants durft give themfelves up to labours, which, in a ftate Avell orga- nized, would be animated by encouragement. The ancients admired the brilliant fertility of this ifland; it was an object of envy in the eyes of 'feveral nations, which repeatedly attempted to make themfelves matters of it. To convey an idea of this abundance, it was commonly faid that at Samos hens even gave milk. But what is Angular, is that the ancients there found every thing excellent, except the wine*; while it makes^ at prefent, and defervedly too, one of the belt revenues of the ifland; and its mufcadine wines would, with greater precautions, and if they were kept, attain the quality of that of Cyprus, fo efteemed among us. During my abode in the Archipelago, I faw feveral large mips from the North, and particularly Swedes, take in at Samos cargoes of wines, in order to convey them into their country, and I always have been furprifed that they have not been more in vogue in France. The Ifland of Samos is about ten leagues m length, and nearly the half in its greateft breadth ; but this extent in length exifts only in a fin * Ex vino infelix ejl cum cistera circamvkinx vino optima abundent. Str abo, rerum geograph. fib. xiH 3 p-g gle 476 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. gle point, on account of a narrow cape, ftretching very far towards the fouth, which is called Cape Colonki, and a few fragments of which have been feparated by the fea: thcfe are called Samo-povlo or Little Samos. Great Samos is itfelf but a fragment more confiderable, detached from the continent, from which it is feparated only by a channel that is fcarcely half a league in width. Navigators are acquainted with this little ftrait under the name of Little Bogaz; the great Bogaz of Samos, which is -nearly two leagues in breadth, lies to the weft, between that ifland and the fmall Fovrkis Iflands, called thus, becaufe, at a diftance, they have the figure of roofs of ovens: they "were anciently called Corses Lksulje. This is a paflage much frequented by mips failing from Constanti- nople to Syria and Egypt, and they there find good anchorages. Near thefe iflets, to the weft, is the Ifland of Nicaria, anciently Icaria, on account of the fon of Djedalus, who fell there in the midft of his ram flight, whence the fea which furrounds it alfo took the name of Ic arias Sea. The ifland is not confiderable; its length greatly ex- ceeds its breadth; it is difcoverable at a very great diftance; but naviga- tors do not endeavour to land there, becaufe it has no harbours. A fcanty population, want of energy, a foil too ungrateful in feveral diftricls, general difcouragement which the government impreffes throughout the extent of its domination, are little calculated to repair the difadvantage of an ifland which is deprived of places of fhelter for fhipping, and con- fequently of great means of trade; fo that Nicaria may be reckoned anions; the moft wretched iflands of the Archipelago. *» This is not the cafe with Mvconi, fltuated at fome diftance from Nicaria, towards the weft. A harbour known by the name of Tour- lon, on the weft fide of the ifland, is an anchorage frequented by ihips Jailing through the Archipelago, in order to repair to Smyrna and the TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 477 the north of Turkey: they are there in fafety againft the winds from the north, north-eaft, fouth, and fouth-eaft; but the others blow right in there, and raife a heavy fea. When navigators feek a ihelter againft thefe fame winds, they find it off the fmall town or village of Myconi; but they are there buffeted by thofe which cannot penetrate into the an- chorage of Tourlon/ The Greeks of Myconi are great navigators; they traverfe the fea that furrounds them with their boats, among which there are fome rather large. Addicted to maritime trade, they neglect the culture of their lands, from which they might, neverthelefs, derive confiderable advantage. All the productions which they yield in too fmall a quantity, for want of culture, are of a very good quality ; wine and fruits are there excel- lent: but though wine is almoft the only article of commerce of the Myconites, they mix it with water to increafe its quantity, without paying attention that they diminish its value. Game abounds there; the moft delicate birds arrive in numerous flights twice a year, in fpring and autumn ; in fhort, all the neceffary or agreeable articles of life are there to be found in profufion. But water is fcarce; and, during the great heat of fummer, every thing is dry in the fields, and affumes the afpect of aridity. This drought, the intenfity of which might, with eafe, be diminiihed, has, doubtlefs, contributed to narrow there the domain of agriculture, and to induce men to feek, abroad, means of exiftence more certain and lefs laborious. The name of this ifland has not changed ; the Greeks called it Myco- nos. Fable makes it the tomb of the Centaurs that were killed by Her- cules. The ancient writers have called the inhabitants of Myconi, bald heads: it is alferted that this was a defecl which was natural to them, and as it were an endemical difeafe with which they almoft all came into the 478 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the world. We no longer remark among the present iflanders thefe difpo- fitions to become bald. Thofe of antiquity were likewife reckoned great parafites, and men who prefented themfeives at feafts, without being in- vited, were proverbially called guifts of Myconi ; a habit which not only announces diftrefs, or excefs of gluttony, but alfo an abfolute want of de licacy among thofe who have contracted it. When we have feen the drefs of the women of Milo and Argen- tiera, we no longer find that of the female Greeks of Myconi fo ridi- culous; it fomewhat refembles the former, yet without being fo whimfical; it is, in general, more loaded with ornaments heaped up without tafte, without intelligence, but which are not, on that account, lefs difadvan- tageous to beauty. The principal occupation of thefe women is to fpin cotton which grows in their ifland, and to make it into ftockings or cloths. A fhoal uninhabited, and to which the Myconites fend flocks, affords a good anchorage a league to the eaft of Myconi; it is called Trago- mm, that is, he-goat iiland, becaufe, in all probability, it formerly con- tained wild he and fhe-goats; but none are feen there at prefent. Lower, and a little farther from Myconi, are two points of arid rocks, which the Greeks call Stapodia ; and our navigators, Les Deux Fre k res. A fort of religious tremor takes poffeffion of the mind, when, on quit- ting the Ifland of J/ycoki, one makes fail to the weft, and approaches an ifland very fmall, but which was in antiquity the moft celebrated of all; a facred fpot, the cradle of Apollo and Diana, the fubjecl; of the fongs of the moft famous poets, and the object of the veneration of the ancients, who came thither to adore Apollo in a temple, one of the moft fuperb edifices on earth, and the majeftic ornament of the moft magnificent city TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 47& in the world. Who has not heard of the wonders of Delos, of its mo- numents, of its riches, of its brilliant population, of the magnificent elegance of its architecture ? Who, with a tafte for the beautiful, has not, in the annals* of the happy days of Greece, greedily fought the defcrip- tion of fo many miracles of art? I fhall not here repeat what may be read in feveral works of great merit, among which that of Barthe- lemi ought, in my opinion, to hold the nrft rank*. But the Illand of Delos, formerly fo opulent, and where were cele- brated with fo much pomp religious ceremonies, in prefence of an immenfe concourfe who repaired thither from all points of the East, is now no longer any thing but a defert abandoned to filthy animals and covered with ruins and rubbim. Pirates and robbers are almoft the only men who land there; they go thither to fhare the fruit of their plunder, or concert new fchemes of rapine, feated on fragments of altars where incenfe and perfumes burnt in honour of the god of day. The ruins of Delos, the impofing remains of the moft beautiful edi- fices of which ancient Greece was proud, are now no longer what they were at the periods when modern travellers vifited and defcribed them. They themfelves have their ruins, and they owe this freih degra- dation to the profane barbarifm of people who came thither to take mate- rials for building their houfes, or to wretched Turkifh fculptors, who carry off every year precious pieces, in order to make of them thofe little pillars furmounted by a turban, which the Mahometans erect over the grave of the dead. The name even of Delos is forgotten in the feas where it had acquired fo great a celebrity. The Greeks at this day name Dili * Voyage dujeune Anarcharjis, the 430 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the two iflands of Delos, and our navigators diftinguifh them by the de- nomination of IsDlLES, LES IsDILES. A ftrait of about five hundred teifes, feparates the famous ifland of Delos from that of Rhenea, or great Delos, equally defert, and which ferved as a place of fepulture to the former, in which it was for- bidden to bury. In the middle of this narrow chaunel, are two fh'oafe called the Great and the Little Rematiari: the ancient Greeks had confecrated the larger to Hecate or Diana, and they called it the Island of Hecate, or PsAmiiTE. Ships, even men of war, find good anchorage near this ihoal. o v Almoft all the veffels which repair to Smyrna and to the other fea- ports of Asia Minor, fail out between the Iflands of Tino and J\h- coni, a channel which is not more than a league and a half in width. When the north wind blows with any degree rf violence, it becomes im- petuous in this paflage, and the fea there rifes with fury. The Ifland of Tino has no good harbour; there is only a rather bad roadftead off the fmall town of San Nicolo, -built on the ruins of the ancient town of Tenos, the capital of the ifland, whofe name has not, as is feen, much changed. Near the ancient town, a temple had been erefted to Nep- tune who was there revered, becaufe to this god the inhabitants attri- buted the happinefs of having been freed from a prodigious number of fnakes which infefted the ,ifland, and whence it had taken the name of Snake Island. This temple no longer exilis in the memory of men, neither does the town of Tenos; but the whole ifland is a real temple, dear to Nature, and which ihe has taken a delight to adorn with her favours. Its rich plains are ftill decked with all the opulence of induftry. The inhabitants are active and numerous; every thing there combines to make it one of the molt agieeable iflands of Greece, and at the fame time TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 481 time one of thole where comfort and happinefs appear to fix themfelves with moft conftancy. What would it be if fo many advantages could be feconded by a wife liberty, which conftitutes the ftrength and profpe- rity of empires ! One of the moft abundant productions of the ifland is filk; the women, employ themfelves in feeding the infect which yields it, in winding it into fkains, in fpinning it and knitting it into ftockings, which have not the luftre of ftockings wove in the loom, but which are far better, cheaper, and of excellent wear. It is, no doubt, the fear of injuring our manu- factories, which had prevented the introduction into France of the works in filk, knit by the women of Tino; they would, neverthelefs, deferve to be brought thither, and they would fuit perfons who prefer what is folid to what is agreeable. o The drefs of the women given to pleafant but uninterrupted occupa- tions, has nothing of the whimficalnefs of that of the women of feveral other iflands; it is at the fame time noble and elegant. Beauty, the ge- neral appendage of the female Tiniots, under this drefs, neither lofes the graces of its outlines, nor its bewitching forms, and the amenity of dif- pofition, the ingenuous candour, an innocent defire to pleafe, there ren- der the young women extremely amiable, and extremely attractive. 3 a CHAPTER 4$2 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY, CHAPTER XXXVII. Scio. — Character of its inhabitants, and particularly of the women. — Their clothing. — Silk piaffes which they work. — Witchcraft arifing from the look of Envy. — Trade of the IJlc of Scio. — Its wines. — Culture of the vine and ofmafiic. — Its plains. — Leprofy. — Harbour of Scio. — Ijland o/Tpfara. — The I/lands Spalmadori, Pyfargos, and Venetico. — Tfchefme\ Engagement betieecn the Ruffians and Turks. Journey by land from Tfchefme to Smyrna. — JFarm baths. — Caravanfuy. " 1 HERE is no town," fays Be'lon, "where people are more obligin " than at Cmo. And, indeed, it is, in my mind, the moft agreeable " place of refidence that I know, and where the women are moft courteous " and handfome. They afford an infallible teftimony of their ancient " beauty ; for, as a nymph in the Ifland of Chio, furpaffing fnow in " whitenefs, was called by the Greek name Chione, that is to fay, fnow ; " in this very manner the ifland taking the name of the nymph, was " furnamed Chio. The men there arealfo very amiable; and though this " is a Greek ifland, however, for the moft part, people live there in the " ftyle of the Franks, that is, after the manner of the Latins*." What Be'lon wrote in the fixteenth century, refpe&ing the capital town of the Ifle of Scio, is ftill conformable to truth, except a few mo- difications, or rather a few deteriorations, phyfical and moral, the ha- * Let Ob/er-vationt de flufieursfingularitez et cbo/es memorable;, trouvees en Grece, AJie, l$c. &c, par Pierre Be'lon. liv. ii. chap. viii. bitual TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 433 bitual effects of the prefence and harm and improvident adminiftration of the Ottomans. The town is tolerably large and well built; it is the work of the Genoefe, who for a long time had the whole ifland in their pof- feffion. The ancient town, which, as well as the ifland, bore the name of Chios or Cmo, was placed on the fummit of a mountain. The modern town , is at the foot of this fame mountain, by the fea-fide, and its fituation is thence become much more agreeable. The Greeks who inhabit it are ftill, as in Be'lo n's time, the moft polite, the moft affable, the mofl gay, and, perhaps, the moft witty of all the Greeks. The women there are charm- ing, and, asBEtojf fays, very courteous. There are none, perhaps, who have fuch engaging manners; and, to fee them at the doors of their houfes, prefs ftra'ngers to enter with them ; pull them even by the arm, and invite them with much fprightlinefs, we cannot, at firft, avoid con- ceiving an improper opinion of women fo free in appearance. But all thefe demonftrations, which, among us, are the height of depravity, are, at Scio, no more than the ebullitions of an affectionate and llofpitable heart, and of the wiih to derive fome advantage from the works on Avhichthey em- ploy themfelves; and any one would be Angularly deceived, if, emboldened by thefemblance of enticements, he ihould attempt to take an unfair-ad- vantage of women, who introduce ftrangers into their houfes with a frank- nefs which, from a habit of corruption, is reckoned a want of referve. Under appearances the moft attractive, and at the fame time the moft fa- miliar and engaging, the feducer would, in an eafy tttt-a-Ute, meet with only the impofing refiftance of the m6ft rigid virtue, and the mame of being miftaken. Thefe women fo frank, but at the fame time fo virtuous, knit with filk feveral forts of works, and particularly handfome purfes. The defire of felling them has induced thofe who work them, to learn to offer them in the language of all the nations which traffic in the Levant ; and a S q g Frenchman, 484 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Frenchman, as well as an Italian and a Swede, heard himfelf adrdeffed from all quarters, in his language, when he paffed in the ftreets of Scio, "Sir, Sir, come and fee fome handfome purfes!" I bought fome of thefe purfes at Scio ; the handfomeft, which are alfo the largeft, coft me not three livres a piece, and they could not be procured in France for more than double that price. The rearing of filk-worms is an occupation almoft general at Scio, The women there principally apply themfelves to it, and they take every precaution imaginable, in order that fome ill-difpofed perfon may not caft on valuable infects the peftiferous look of envy, which, according to the Greeks, would not fail to kill them. This fort of fupe-rftitious creed, of which I have fpoken more in detail in Chapter XXVII. is general in Greece, where it is applied to all animated beings. In fome parts of France and Germany, the country people dread the influence of finifter looks only for their cattle, and the Spanifh ladies of Peru fear it for themfelves*. It is eafier to fpread an error all the world over than to propagate a truth. If any thing could difparage the charms and affability of the women of Scio, it would, undoubtedly, be their manner of dreffing themfelves. Their clothing is without grace, and put on without tafte. The more they endeavour to adorn themfelves, the more they recede from the rules of an • " The ladies of Peru wear round their necklace amulets, which are medals without an " an impreffion, and a fmall hand of jet, three lines broad, or fig-tree wood called biga, " clofed with the exception of the thumb, which is raifed. The idea of virtue which they at- •' tribute to thefe amulets, is to fecure themfelves from the complaint which they imagine may " be communicated to them by thofe who admire their beauty; a complaint which they call the " diforderof the eyes. Some of thefe preparatives, of a larger fize, are made for children. " This fuperftition is common to the ladies and to the people." Voyage a la mer du Sttd, par Fre'zi er, page 219. art TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 48.5 art which, in order to he attended with fuccefs, ought to tend only to fet to advantage the beautiful forms of nature. The female Sciots feem to envelop thefe in a fack; their head is loaded. with a high and ihapelefs head-drefs, fomewhat fimilar to the cap of the Mamaluks of Egtpt; and their manner of adorning their feet is no lefs inconvenient than ridiculous. I have caufed to be drawn a pair of fhoes or fandals of the women of Scio, at the bottom of Plate VI. which reprefents the coftume, ftill more abfurd, of the women of Argentiera. Silk conftitutes the principal wealth of Scio ; velvets, damafks, and fluffs of different forts are there manufactured : but thefe efforts of happy indufhy, inflead of having been encouraged, have experienced difficul- ties and obftacles, which have caufed the number and the produce of the manufactories to diminifh. This ifland partakes Avith others of the fame fea, the trade of wool, wax, oil, and excellent fruits, efpecially fweet- fcented oranges and figs, which are conveyed into the great towns of Tur- key. It is well known that Scio produced wines held in great repute among the ancients ; hiftorians and poets have extolled them as the beft in Greece, a country famous for delicious- wines. At Rome, they were prefcribed for diforders of the flomach, and Cesar regaled his friends with them in the entertainments which he gave on the occafion of his triumphs, and in the feftivals in honour of Jupiter and the other Gods*. Thefe wines, fo celebrated by the wine connoiffeurs of anti- quity, are ftill very good at this day. The vine is, among the prefent Greeks, an object of great culture and attention ; they plant it on the floping grounds, and before they make the wine, they fuffer the grapes, which they cut in the month of Auguft, to dry for a week in the fun. They have preferved the manner propofed by Cato (De re ru/iicd), for * Plin. Hift. Nat. lib, xiv. cap. vii. xiv. and xv. fecuring 4*6 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. fecuring vines from the ravages of infects, and which confifts in fin- rounding the plants with a mixture of hitumen, fulphur, and oil. This prefervative, defcribed by Cato, has been announced in our days as a novelty, in feveral works of rural economy; and it is not the only very old difcovery with which certain authors have wiihed to do themfelve-. honour in more than one way. However this may be, the authority of Cato, whofe writings on agriculture are a model of fimplicity and per- fpicuity, indifpenfable in works of this fort, and which have not had many imitators, a happy, and immemorial practice among a nation, whofe wines have had and preferved a great name, muft infpire confidence, and induce the adoption of a prefervative fo ufeful. But a trade peculiar to the Ifle of Scio, is the refm, which is there made to exude from the lentifk ; whole fields are covered with this fhrub, whofe wood alfo furnifhes the heft toothpicks to the fancy of the Roman ladies. The maftic which is drawn from it, is one of the moil certain pro- ductions of the ifland: it is carried to Constantinople, and into the great cities of the Empire, -where the women are incelfantly chewing it in order to render their breath fweet and agreeable. This refin was fold at Scio, when I paifed there, for about five livres of our money the pound. There is alfo made, with maftic, a brandy very good and agreeable. When one comes from any of the Iflands of the Archipelago, whofe foil is rude and mountainous, one is ftruck by the richnefs. and beauty of the Ifland of Scio. A town elegantly built, agreeable gardens, plains delightful from the gifts of nature and the labours of a well-underfiood culture, mountains whofe arid furface ftill throws more charms over rich vallies, an amiable and induftrious people — every thing contributes to make Scio a very agreeable place, and it is with regret that one fees it de- livered up to the defpotic ignorance of the Turks. Their finifter impro- 1 vidence TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 487 violence there frequently differs the introduction of deftru6tive fcourges, "among which they themfelves hold a very remarkable rank, and the plague often exercifes its ravages in this charming country. The leprofy alfo there propagates its difgufting fymptoms ; and what proves that the precautions claimed by' humanity, but of which a ftupid adminiftration is incapable, would be fufficient to annihilate it, is that the fpecies of leprofy, common in all the East, and of which fo many victims are feen in Candia, the Jews' leprofy, is there becoming more rare from day to day. There is nothing wanting at Scio to render its trade more flourifhing, but a good harbour ; that which exifts is by no means fpacious or deep ; and rocks, even with the water's edge, obftru6b its entrance : it can re- ceive none but fmall veffels ; large fhips and men of war anchor without, in an open road, which has, at leaft, the advantage of affording the fa- cility of going out of it with all winds. France maintained at Scio a vice-conful; he occupied a large and agreeable houfe ; the Jefuits had alfo a convent there : but what is of greater importance, no merchant of our nation was there eftablifhed, although feveral had been fettled there for- merly,, and it is a place of great trade, both on account of the rich pro- ductions of the iiland, and the crowd of {hipping which put in there, or come thither to take in cargoes. 't> v Round Scro are feveral fmall iflands. About two leagues to the weft of Cape San Nicolo, the moft northern of the ifland, is Ipsara, which the ancients called Psyra and Psyria, on which there was a town of the fame name, whofe place is now occupied by the modern town : here a few veftiges of the ancient city are ftill to be feen. ' This town is the only habitation of the ifland, which is fmall, ftony, and affords no great 488 TRAVELS FN GREECE AND TURKEY. great reiburces to agriculture and commerce. The vine delights in this ftony foil, and it is to its culture that the rural induftry of the Ifpariots is nearly limited, as the wine which they export is their only branch of commerce. A league from Ipsara, lies an iflet fmaller and defert, which is calied Anti-Ipsara ; it is fcarcely two leagues in circumference: between thefe two iflands, mips find a very good anchorage. Nearer, and to the eaft of Scio, fome iflets, called Spalmadori, and ancienty jEnussa, ftill form for large fliips a fafe road. More to the louth lie two fhoals, to which the ancient Greeks have given the name of Casytes, and the moderns that of Pysargos ; laftly, at the moft fouthern point of the ifland, called Cape Mastico, becaufe it is in this diftrici that maftic is gathered, another ilioal, which has received the name of Venetico, leaves fuliicient fpace for ihips to pafs there without ri(k, a fea deep and clear, alike bathing the cape and the lhoal. The channel which feparates the Ifle of Scio from AstA Minor, is but two or three leagues in width. On the continent, the gulf and the little town of Tschesme' are oppofite to the town of Scio itfelf, eternal teftimonies of the defeat and fhame of the Ottoman navy. It was in the very harbour of Tschesme, that, in the month of July, 1770, theTurkiih fleet, confiding of twenty-five fail, fifteen of which were large caravels, was entirely deftroyed by a Ruffian fquadron of nine ihips of the line and fix frigates, under the command of Count Alexis Orloff. Never was viftory more terrible nor more complete : all the Turkiih fliips were aban- doned to the flames, all blew up with a dreadful craih ; almoft all the crews perifiVd in this conflagration, and of all their navy, there remained to the Turks, after this battle, only two fliips, which had not been able to join TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 489 join the fleet, and another old fliip unfit for fervice, in the channel of Constantinople. This formidable fleet, which ought in appearance to have driven the Ruffians out of the feas of the Levant, difappeared in an inilant, and the latter remained mailers of the Archipelago: had they chofen, they might likewife have become matters of the capital of the empire, for the difcouragement was general, and the caftles of the Dar- danelles, not being in a condition to make a powerful refifiance, would not have been able to flop the conquerors. Carcaffes of ihips half burnt and funk, tops of mafts appearing out of the water, in the head of the harbour of Tschesme', ftill attefl this event memorable and glorious for the Ruffians, who difplayed as much courage and fkill in naval taclics, as their enemies fhewed ignorance and cowardice. Tschesme', whofe name recalls that of Cyssus, which this town for- merly bore, affords nothing remarkable ; it is built on the declivity of a hill, at the head of the harbour. I had repaired thither with a boat, be- longing to the country, which was to take me to Smyrna; but, after having put into Scio, and flruggled a long time againfl the northerly vand in order to get out of the channel, I was forced to feek there a place of fhelter. Tired of waiting for more favourable weather, I refolved to proceed to Smyrna by land. I prefented myfelf, according to my cuftom, to the Turkifli commandant at Tschesme, with my firman ; he inflantly procured me horfes and a bareikdar, or enfign, to accompany me. A league from Tschesme', I faw afprhig of hot and mineral water, where the Turks belonging to the town go to take vapour baths. I there beheld a great crowd of bathers ; it was on a Friday, a holiday for the Ma- hometans ; however, they find there no other refrefhments than coffee, a beverage with which they can no more difpenfe than with baths. The road, beyond thel'e baths, becomes rather bad and difficult, acrofs a 3 k chain 490 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURRET. . chain of lofty, ftony mountains, covered with pines. I flopped, to pafs- the night, in a cajavanfary, where all travellers are received and fed in- diftin&ly, without being put at any expenfe. The aliments, which* are there fefved, are fimple, and common to all paflengers ; they confift of bread, a dilh of eggs, and water. The houfe is endowed with pro-? perty, fufficient for providing for the temporary refrefliment of travellers. Foundations of this fort are not uncommon in the East, the abode of hofpitality : in my opinion, they indicate the more greatnefs of mind and frank generofity, as fpirit of pride and orientation, of which an apparent beneficence is but too frequently the cloak, can have in them no fhare, fince it is only on the death of the founder, that we are aware of the. good which he has done. On the other hand, there are, iu. thofe coun- tries, neither great talkers nor officious public papers, which recommend to-general admiration actions, all the merit of which often lies only in an ambitious publicity, and we there blefs the memory of the founder without knowing his name, Very early the next morning, I quitted a fort of inn, very fimple in- deed, but which a traveller leaves with his mind as much fatisfied as its is frequently foured, by the infipid hofpitality and the fcandalous . cupi- dity that is met with in the multitude of inns with which our highways are covered. After having followed fome roads flill worfe than the day be- fore, I arrived early at Dourlak or Vourla, a fmall town, fituated on the fouth coaft of the Gulf of Smyrna, and, according to every probability, built on the ruins of Clazomena, an illuftrious city of ancient Greece, and the country of Anaxagoras. Several fmall iflands, which lie in front, alfo bear the name of Dourlak, and form a very good harbour, whither trading veffels come fometimes to take in dry fruits and other commodities. It TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 4v tile obfervatious of. a man of great merit, and who, having 1 vifited the Levant as a ilatefman, and lived in Turkey 1 as ambaffador from France, has been better enabled than any one to collect valuable informationrefpecting our ancient Turkey trade. "What M. de Ciioi- ST,uL-Gou ffier has written on that of Smyrna is fo important, and liis authority comes in fuch a manner to the- fupport of • my ideas on ibis fubjeel. 4 the affertion of Doctor Samoi'lowitz is inconteftably true. Although a perfon lives in ■a place infected with the plague, he will never catch it, unlefs he com- municate immediately with perfons who are attacked by it, or if he touch not fubftances which are infected and calculated to ferye it as conductors. Indeed, without mentioning the opinion generally fpread in the Levant -®n this fubject, it is fuitlcient for the Europeans fettled in Turkey, to * See the Gazelle Salutaire of the 1 8th of March, 1784. -f- Oftavo, Paris, Lederc, 1783. 3 S jhufc 498 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. fhut thcmfelves up and infulate themfelves in their houfes, in order to be- preferved from the contagion, even when it makes the greateft ravages in towns which they inhabit, and though they draw, from without, their provisions and their daily food, frequently purchafed at the dwelling of peftiferous perfons. And what proves frill more that immediate contact can alone coitt- municate the plague, is, that it happens that a portion of clothing may he fufficiently impregnated with peftilential miafmata for tranfmitting the contagion to thole who touch it, while it has no effect on him who? wears it. All animal fubftanses, whether they have preferved : then- primitive ftate, or have been famioned by the hand of men, are vehicles of ths plague; cotton, flax, hemp, and the cloths which are manufactured of them, are equally fo: paper even has this fatal property ; and, happening to be under quarantine at Malta, I was witnefs of the alarm which was there fpread by a piece of paper which the wind carried over the gates of the Lazaretto, and which had fallen in the midit of fevefal perfons. Eatables in general, and metals, are not conductors of ths contagion: one may with impunity receive from the hand of a peftiferoua perfon a piece of moaey, or any other fpecies of metal, alfo herbage, fiih, bread, &c. It is neverthelefs afferted, that bread very hot may com- municate the difeafe, whereas cold bread does not give it. The actual difpofitions of the conftitution decide on the more or lefs facility of catching the plague. Several perfons touch with impunity thofe infected without any precaution ; and, after having braved the danger for feveral years, thefe fame perfons find themfelves fomctimes attacked the firft, and fink under the difeafe. If TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 499 If there be reafon to fufpect that, at the moment when a perfon falls ill, the plague is the caufe of his illneis, there is, for afcertaining it, a method which is confidered as infallible in the Levant; this is to make .the patient take fome brandy, or conferve of rofes, which occafions it to mew itfelf immediately. The fame property is attributed to garlic It is reckoned certain that the bell; regimen to be obferved, when one is attacked by the plague, is to live only on meat or fiih falted. All other food is pernicious, and fruit, of whatever fpecies it may be, is mortal. A man, who had had an opportunity of making a great number of obfervations, during a long ftay at Constantinople, where he was chaplain of the hofpice of the Franks, had remarked a fymptom, accord- ing to which he decided immediately whether a peftiferous perfon was to periih or efcape : he was never miftaken in his prognoftics. He had dis- covered, that when the bubo is far from adherent, and ihakes on its bafe, well-founded hopes may be conceived; and that, on the contrary, if the bubo be abfolutely fixed and immoveable, there is no hope of avoiding death. This fame obferver had alfo remarked, that if a patient, after an accefs of delirium, fuddenly recovered his fenfes, he feldom got the better. It is almoft always in the groin and armpits that the peftilential bubo comes. Frequently feveral of them make their appearance. Sometimes is feen, independently of the bubo, a boil-like tumour; the complaint is .then much more dangerous : but if a perfon recovers from it, he is ia the fequel lefs expofed to the contagion. Befides the bubo and the boil, Tome perfons have likewife a fort of furuncle, which is called pJmnas, and which differs from the boil-like tumour by its not becoming black. Thofe who^are attacked by it run a more imminent danger; but if they have the 3s2 good. 500 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. good fortune not to fink under the difeafe; they have abfolutely nothing more to fear from the plague, during the remainder of their life. Although a perfon has been attacked By this terrible diforder, he is~ not, on that account, fecure from catching it again. One may be afflicted by it repeatedly ; and this obfervation appears by no means fa- vourable to the project of inoculation which has been brought forward by fome perfon s. I knew a man who had had the plague feven times; but an obfervation A ? ery Angular, and neverthelefs certain, is that when a perfon has been once attacked, and he happens to be again, even a long, time after, in a place where it reigns, he feels dull pains, pinchings, ihootings, in the place where the bubo was. Thefe fymptoms are even a mean of announcing the approaching invafion of the difeafe. There have been feen people who, being in places where no fign of the plague was perceived, complained of thefe fhooting pains, and, ere long, fymp- toms of the contagion made their appearance. The direction and ftrength of the winds contribute to increafe or di- minifh the activity of the plague. It is when the north-eaft wind blows that it exercifes the greateft ravages at Constantinople. In this fame city, a frightful ftorm has been known to ftop fuddenly the effects- of the contagion. This fmall number of obfervations, to which I might have added others more known, does not appear to me favourable to the fyftem of fome modern men of fcience who have attributed the plague to infects, as the caufe of the itch, and of the other diforders of the fkin, has been imagined to be found in little animals of the fame clafs. I do not, how- ever, avTert that this opinion, founded on certain affinities, ought to he abfolutely rejected; but it deferves to be examined with attention: it TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 501 it would, were it confirmed, put us in the direct road for obtaining the cure of the diforder the moll active and the molt cruel by which human nature is afflicted. To the fear of the plague am I indebted for the advantage of having travelled along the north coaft of the Gulf of Smyrna, as I had for the molt part followed that which is oppofite to it. After the engagement ef the 3/ignonne frigate in the harbour of Milo, I no longer quitted- that ihip, as I have before faid, during the courfe of her cruife in the fea of the Levant. The plague had broken out in feveral places, and every one dreaded to land there.. However, the ftate of war in which we were, required information that we could obtain only from our confuls. In, order to- reach thofe agents, in, the insulated fituation to which Prudence had condemned them, it was neceffary to traverfe the centre of the con- tagion. I was charged with this miffion, as more familiarized with the Turks and the dangers with which they have fuffered themfelves to be - furrounded, and at the fame time as being more habituated to the pre- cautions which dangers of this fort require. I had already been landed at Scro, where the plague reigned, and I thought for a moment that I ihould be the victim of my good will. In proceeding to the houie of our vice-condil, whatever precaution. I took to touch no one, a Turkim foldier, who was running very faft, puihed againft me at the turning of a ftreet. I own that I could not help feeling fome inquietude, which I took good eare not to communicate, but which was foon difpelled; The frigate waited for me under fail in the channel of Scio: it was of much importance- that the ihould repair to Smyrna, but the plague was there exercifing its terrible influence with greater malignity than. at Scio> D'Entrecasteaux refolved to anchor at Foglieri, and begged me to go by land to confer with the French conful-general at. Smyrna. My firman &m TRAVELS IN" GREECE AN'D TURKEY. firman fmoothened every difficulty, I foon procured horfes, and I haftened to proceed to Smyrna, which was diftaht twelve leagues: al- though I had fet out rather late, I arrived there before night. Nothing lefs than the importance of my miffion was necelTary to determine the conful to admit into his houfe a man who had juft croffed the fields, and the half of a large town, infected by the plague. I had left my horfes and their guide without the walls of Smyrna : I rejoined them the next morning early, and returned with the fame diligence to Foglieri. Al- moft all the plain which I traverfed was in a ftate of culture; it had been covered by rich crops, but of thefe there no longer exifted any thing but the remains. Innumerable legions of grafshoppers, the formidable agents of famine, had lighted on them; the ears had been cut by their fharp-edged jaws ; the ftraw even, hacked to pieces, announced con fufion and complete devastation. The waters of the little river of Sarabat, and of fome rivulets which difcharge themfelves into the fea, along this coaft, had difappeared under a thick cruft of dead bodies of grafshoppers heaped up, and the infection which they fpread corrupted the air, and threatened to add freih caufe of mortality to ihofe with which the plague defolated that beautiful country. On the Cape of Asia Minor, which forms, with that of Kara- bouroun or Black Cape, the fpacious and deep roadftead, known under the name of the Gulf of Smyrna, two places likewife bear the name of Foglilri: the one-is called New Foglieri; and the other, Old Foglieri. This is the ancient country of the Phoceans, a celebrated people of an- cient Greece. Some fmall iilands, which lie in front of New Fog- lieri, afford them and the continent a very good anchorage, fit fox the reception of the largeft ihips. m Thence TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 503 Thence we proceeded to Mitylene, one of the moll confiderable iflands of that fea, and which is no more than four leagues diftant from the continent. The name of Metelin, fometimes given to it at this day, is corrupted from the more ancient one of Mitylene, which fucceeded the name of Lesbos-, under which this ifland formerly acquired great celebrity. Its domination extended over Troas and iEoLis. But what did it more honour than its power, was to have been the cradle of illuftrious per- fonages, who conftituted its glory and that of Greece. One of the benefactors of human nature, who delivered his country from the yoke of tyranny, Pittacu-s, of the fmall number of the fages of Greece, was born at Lesbos. The poet Alcjeus there compofed his verfes; Phrynis-, the melodious airs, with which he made his lyre refound; Theophrastus, his commentaries; and feeling and love ftruck hearts drop a tear to the memory of the beautiful and ingenious Sappho. The modern town of Mitylene is built on the ruins of the ancient city of that name, and its environs ftill afford fome very beautiful remains of its magnificence. The harbour is fmall and bad; but the ifland has others, the two heft of which are Port Sigri and Port Olivier, The former is at the weft extremity of the ifland, and the. latter, which is the more frequented, is formed by a gulf that is behind and at a little dis- tance from the town of Mitylene. Its entrance is long and narrow; but the anchorage there is good and commodious. The pofition of the Ifland of Mitylene, in the vicinity of a great extent of the coaft of'NATOLiA, which it feems to command, placed at an equal diftance from the Gulf of Smvrna and the channel of Constantinople,- not far from the principal Iflands of the Archi- pelago, renders its polieffion extremely important, as its interior re- fources render it fufceptible of the molt flourifhing ftate. But it is in the 504 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the hands of the Turks: this is announcing fufficiently that the ad- vantages of its fituation are loft, and that, from day to day, population, agriculture, and all induftry, are diminiihing and falling into decay. In the channel formed hy the Ifland of Mittlexe and the coaft, at the entrance of the Gulf of Adramiti, fome fmall iflands, which the Greeks call Jlfvscoxisi ; and our navigators, 3Iysconisses, formerly bore the name of Hecatones. They are, as well as the large Ifland of Mi- tyeexe, very fertile, principally in wines and oil; hut this generofity of Nature is there powerfully counteracted by the prefent rulers. We fet fail, after a very fhort ftay on the coaft of Mitylene; we doubled Cape Baba, or Caba, formerly Lectum Prouoxtoeivm; and as our million was to cruife in thefe feas, we kept under eafy fail between the Ifland of Lemnos and that of Tenedos. The former, larger and far- ther diftant from the coaft, was confecrated to Vulcan in the time of Homer, probably on account of two volcanoes, which were here con- tinually calling forth flames, and which were confidered as the forges of the hulband of Venus. There no longer remain any veftiges of thefe volcanoes: however, interior fires are ftill burning here; for we here meet with a fpring of hot water, which has been brought to fupply baths, and another of aluminous water. This illand is hilly, but extremely fertile; it yields corn, cotton, oil, andiilk, with which a few light fluffs are manufactured. The fpecies of bole which bears the name of Lemnian earth, and to which were attributed imaginary virtues, is ftill drawn from a hill of the ifland. To be flourilhing, Lemnos wants only to be delivered from its oppreffors. Nature has done every thing for it, and one laments the ftate of languor and wretchednefs to which its deftiny has reduced it. 3 Its TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 505 Its inhabitants were formerly much given to navigation, or, to fpeak more correclly, to the carrying-trade; they are ftill trading mariners, becaufe this kind of induftry efcapes more eafdy the cupidity of tyrants, than affluence produced by agriculture or by a fedentary traffic. I there fawfome extremely beautiful women, who were very far from in j iring t-he fame difguft as the men had conceived of their grand- hibthers, on ac- count of their bad fmell ; if, however, this fa6i, quoted in a book oi the wonders of nature*, have any reality. All the eaft coafl ofJ^i^Nos is inacceffible on account of a fhoal, which extends four leagueT into the offing; the weft coafr affords to ihips a few places of flie Iter againft northerly winds. To the north, is large road; but there are no. real harbours except in the fouth part, where are to be found two; which are at no great diftance from each other; Port Cadia, and Port Sant Antonio. To the fouth of Lemnos, is a fmallifland of little importance, which the modem Greeks ca\l Agio-Strati; and our navigators, Saint Estrate ; the ancients called it Hiera.. The poffeffion of the Ifland of Tenedos^ which is fituated near the mouth of the channel of theDAKDANELtiES, might alone involve thelofs of Constantinople: from this point would be formed the blockade of that great city, with the more facility, as the channel between the 1 continent and Tenedos is* correctly fpeaking, only a large roaditead, where ihips may lie at anchor, ready to get under fail, and flop thofe which mould attempt to penetrate into the Strait of the Dardanelles. But the Ottoman government, incapable of feeling the importance ofV * Antigonus, tie Natura Mtrabilibus, 3 T £feis 606 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. this advantageous port, feems to watch it with ftill greater negligence than other places whofe prefervation would be lefs ufeful. The wines of Tenedos are almoft the fole trade of the iiland: here are made mufcadine wines, which are not inferior to thofe of Samos. We flood in and anchored under Cape Greco, at the entrance of the channel of the Dardanelles, oppofite to Cape Yeni-hisari, beyond which is the plain where Troy formerly exifted. I fhall not fpeak of this famous flrait which makes the feparation between Europe and Asia, nor of the city of Constantinople: the little time that I M'as able to allot to viliting them, allowed me not to make many remarks, and I pre- fer faying nothing about them to repeating what has been written. On leaving the new caftles of the Dardanelles, whofe conftruction, by no means formidable, is due to M. de Tott, the Mignonne directed her courfe towards the Iiland of Tasso, We palled near the point of the Kland of Imbros, which, as well as Tenedos and Samos, has retained its ancient name, which navigators have transformed into that of Lem- bro. It is from eight to ten leagues in circumference, and contains fertile vallies, and mountains covered with wood. A league to the north of. Imbros is the Iiland of Samandrakt, or Man- vraki, which is but eight leagues in circumference. This is the Samos of Thrace, or, in a fingle word, the Samothrace of the ancients. Pliny calls it Samotiiracia libra; but this liberty has vanifhed with the greater part of the advantages which it holds from nature, and which the in- dullry of its ancient inhabitants knew, or might have known, how to turn, to account At Towards TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 507 Towards the weft extremity of Macedonia, and two leagues from the continent, the Ifland of Tasso, which the French call Le Tasse, thews at a diftan.ee its high mountains covered with forefts. The chan- nel, which feparates that ifland from the main land, is alfo divided by a fteril iflet called Little Tasso, and in Greek Tasso-poulo, the veftige of an ancient continuity of lands, at prefeut feparated. A fpacious road, where the ground is good for holding, lies between the two iflands* Here we anchored. Tasso is the mod northern of the Iflands of the Archipelago; it was one of the moft famous on account of its rich gold mines: He- rodotus fpeaks of them, and they were under the direction of Thu- ctdides. No traces are now to be feen of that opulence of nature; not that it is exhaufted, but it is alike buried by ignorance, fear, and' tjTannj 7 . Thefe mines procured the ifland the Greek name Chryse, which fignifies of gold, or gilt: its riches had become proverbial, and the expreflion was a thafos of wealth. Neither are here new to be found opals, amethyfts, and the other precious ftones, which, with the gold mines, compofed its natural treafures; but here is met with that beau- tiful marble, held in fuch eftimation by the Romans, whofe M'hitenels vies with fnow, and the flnenefs of whofe grain with that of Parian marble. The greater part of the mountains are ftill formed of this marble, which thews itfelf even on their furface; and it is worthy of remark, that the two Iflands of Greece which contain the molt valu- able marbles, were inhabited by the fame people: it was the inhabi- tants of Paros who peopled the Ifland of Tasso, and there built the town of Thasos, which was its capital, and the veftiges of which are ftill to be feen. 3 T 2 The 5 OS TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TUP KEY. The bland is near thirty leagues in circumference: it produces a great deal of corn, oil, wax, &c. but its fertility, extolled by the ancients, is no longer turned to account, for want of encouragement and culture. Its wines, formerly very famous even in the time of the Lower Empire, fince John Chrysostom exclaimed againft the ex- ceffes to which they gave rife at Constantinople; its wines, I fay, no longer have the excellent qualities which caufed them to be in re- queft at a high price. Its population has experienced the fame fate as the productions of its foil ; it is considerably diminished. Tasso has ftill remaining a fort of wealth very important to a trad- ing and maritime nation: this is capital wood for fhip-building. The fineft trees grow on the fummit and declivity of the mountains; but the inconfiderate manner of felling them will foon have exhaufted thefe refources of vegetation, more valuable than the mines of gold. Oppofite to the northern point of the Ifland of Tasso, Cape Asperosa forms a bight, in which is, to the weft, La Cavale, a finall town built on a rock that projects into the fea, and which has fome refemblance to a horfe. This refemblance has procured it the name which it bears; at leaft, this is an etymology more fimple than that which derives its modern name from Bucephala, which the fame place formerly bore, on account of the town that Alexander caufed to be built there in honour of Bucephalus, the conqueror's famous fteed. La Cavale was for a long time in pofieffion of the Genoefe and Venetians ; it was become of late years a very active point of the Levant trade: its harbour, although not very fafe, was frequented by mips which came to loau there with corn, tobacco, and other commodities. 3 The TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 509 The Ifland of Tasso 1 is fituated at the entrance of a rather extenfive gulf, which is called the Gulf of Contessa, becaufe a town of that name was built at the head of it. Our navigators alfo call this bight Golfe de Rhondine, from the corrupted name of the ancient town of Rhedine; but the Greeks defignate it under the name of Orfano: this is the Sinus Strymonicus of the ancients. From Tasso we made fail towards Monte Sancto, at the foot of which we paffed. Under this name, as well as under that of Agiosoros, which the Greeks give to this mountain, and which has the fame fignification, we have fome difficulty to recognife the famous mountain whofe fummit is loft in the clouds,, and which, if we muft believe the ancients, pro- jects its made as far as the Ifland of Mitylene, and, according to Be'lon, an eye-witnefs, only as far as the harbour of the Ifle of Lem- nos, that is, to the diftance of eight leagues*. Mount Athos, form- ing an advanced promontory of Macedonia, which Xerxes, king of Persia, feparated from the continent by a long ftrait, and which Dr- nocrates, the architect of Alexandria of Egypt, wifhed to confe- crate to the perpetuating of the memory of Alexander, by making of this mountain an enormous ftatue, whofe fmalleft features would have been feveral toifes in length, is a place revered by the modern Greeks. Mil* lions of monks, an ignorant and fanatic race, occupy it at prefent: there are few of them who can read, although they have a tolerably good num- ber of Greek books, among which it would be no eafy matter to find fome that might deferve to be opened; they confift of works of theobgv and controverfy. Continuing to fail towards the weft, we crofted the entrance of the gulf which alfo bears the name of Monte Sancto, and which the an- * Qbferii.xtions, &c^ cients 510 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. cients called Sinus Singiticvs. We doubled Cape Drepano, formerly Derris Promontorium, forming with Cape Paillouri, Canastracum Pro- montorium of the ancients, another gulf, which had formerly the name of Toronaicus sinus, and which is at prefent called the Gulf of Cassandra, on account of a fmall ifland which is at its extremity, and which is thus defignated. We then entered the deep Gulf of Salonica, and caft anchor in the harbour of that great city. CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 511 CHAPTER XXXIX. Town of Salonica. — Terrible fire of which the author was witnefs. — Trade of Salonica.— Di/brders which are there experienced. — Plains of the environs o/'Salonica. — Excurjion to Mount Olympus. — The author trans- forms himfelf into a phyjician. — Companion in his journey .—He be feen pieces of ancient monuments; and every where fragments of edifices,. profaned by their mixture with common materials in modern buildings. The church of St. Sophia, eonftructed by Justinian on the model of that of Constantinople, is converted into a mofque, like ibme other churches of the Lower Empire. Here is alfo a caftle of the feven towers,, as in the capital. The afpeet. of Salonica, from the harbour, announces an agreeable enclofure ; but when you enter it, you prefently relinquish the good opinion which you had conceived of it: ftreets narrow and ill paved, as well as crooked, houfes flovenly on the outfide, and, in the infide, worfe laid out, together with a miferable population, induce the wifh of feeing it only at adiftance. It is, neverthelefs, one of the fineft towns of Turkey, and one of the moft important, from its pofition and the richnefs of its- trade. It is alfo the feat of one of the firft governments of the empire. Very fhortly after our arrival, we were witneffes of a fire which had like to have reduced the town to afhes. The fire broke out during the night in a quarter where the Jews, crowded- together, live in the moft difgufting filthinefs, and eaten up by d borders engendered by corrup- tion. The conftruction of their houfes, almoft all of wood, the Avant of police, and afhftance necefiary for {topping the progrefs of the flames, allowed them to difplay a terrible activity, and in a few moments the whole quarter was burnt. The light of this furious conflagration fpread itfelf over TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY 513 over the fea; and although the Mignonne was anchored at a fomewhat great diftance from the coaft, on board her we faw clear enough to read on deck. The wind brought on the water a prodigious quantity of fparks, which fell fufficiently near the fhip to occafion uneafinefs, and caufe every preparation to be made for getting under fail. Furniture, bales, already reached by the fire, were conveyed, in hopes of faving them, to the quarters the moft diftant from it, and there became the focus of freili blazes, which were not extinguiihed without difficulty. But it was not poffible to ftop the ravages of the fire in the quarter of the Jews ; four or five hundred houfes were the prey of the flames, and to the fright- ful fpeclacle of their combuftion, were added the cries which defpair forced from its victims, the confufed clamour of a militia, better calculated for iucreafing diforder than diminifhing it, and the grave and mournful found of a few pieces of cannon, fired from time to time as fignals of alarm — every thing concurred to make this night, a night of fright and horror. Confidered as a fortified town, Salonica is of no importance; an en- clofure of ramparts, without ditches and ill kept, ftill worfe defended by a very fmall number of bad pieces of artillery, render it fufceptible of only a feeble refiftance ; and the undifciplined troops which form its garrifon, are incapable of making amends, by their courage and fkill in tactics, for this want of fortifications. But if this city, as a ftrong hold, is not at all interefting, yet it is extremely fo from the trade of which it is the centre, and which, under another government, would become ftill more flourifhing. Situated in one of the fineft countries of Turkey in Europe, it is the emporium of a very confiderable commerce. Here is fhipped a great deal of cotton, gathered chiefly in the rich and extenlive plains by which 3 u the 514 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. the' tovrn of Seres, the ancient Serbs, is furrounded, and its brilfiant culture gives to the market of this city an extraordinary brifknefs. Here too, veffels take in a great quantity of highly-elleemed tobacco, grain ga- thered in fields of admirable fecundity, very beautiful wool, filk, and the flofs that comes from it, together with wax, honey, &c. &c. What a fruitful fource of profperity ! What a vaft field of induftry ! The one requires only to be freed from the obftacles which ftop its courfe, and the other claims a population lefs fcanty and lefs enflaved. Salonica is not always an abode fo healthy as we fhould have reafon to expect, from the beautiful fky under which that town is fituated, and from its charming polition. The plague, the formidable offspring of the improvidence of the Turks, and which neither depends on the tempe- rature nor on the nature of the atmofphere, frequently makes cruel at- tacks on its population. But the accidental infalubrity of the air occa- fions fevers, which come in autumn to fecond the plague in its terrible ravages, and this infalubrity is alfo the work of an adminiftration which, not confining itfelf to afford protection, has contrived to vie with the moll violent diforders in the frightful prerogative of deftroying. mankind Stag- nant waters have been accumulated between the town and the little river. Verdari, which the Turks call Verdac, and which discharges itfelf into the head of the gulf: from thefe marihes, the formation of which it would have been eafy to prevent, and which might as eafily be drained, emanate numerous germs of corruption to the atmofphere of Salonica, and of death to its inhabitants. I employed the time of our flay in frequent excurfions to the plains which extend to the north of Salonica, and I preferred thefe walks in the domain of Nature, to the monotony of a town, which, like all the towns of Turkey, is, truly fpeaking, only the domain of diforder, tu- mult, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 615 mult, and ennui. Every morning the frigate's boat landed me at the head of the gulf, and I paffed clays in vifiting the beautiful plain which extends as far as Seres. Shooting, efpecially at birds, among which pheafants are not fear ce, rendered my walks very agreeable; they were a neceffary diftracTiou to the chagrin which I felt in croffing dif- tricls, deftined by nature for the mod brilliant fertility, and neverthelefs uncultivated or neglected ; afflicting fymptoms of difcouragement and defpotifm. I prolonged my walks till it was dark, but the neceffity of returning on board every evening, prevented me from extending them as far as I could have wifhed. Our flay foon became ftationary. Various advices induced D'EntRecas- t eaux to remain yet fome time in the harbour of SAlonica; I refolved, hi my turn, to avail myfelf of this interval, in order to make a journey into ancient Macedonia. Mount Olympus, on the top of which the warm imagination of the Greeks had fixed the abode of the gods, prefented to our view, on the oppofite fide of the gulf, its lofty and rounded fummit. The wifh of amending that celebrated mountain, took |>oneffion of my mind, and I haftened to carry my project into execution, but when I communicated it to the French merchants and conful fettled at Salonica, Avith a view of obtaining fome information, they concurred in difluading me from it. The Albanians, who have inherited the bravery of the Macedonians, but who tarnifh it by the exercife of terrible rob- beries, had revolted ; they no longer acknowledged the authority of the Grand Signior, nor confequently that of the pacha of Constantinople, whom they confidered as an odious enemy, becaufe he had recently marched againft them with a part of his forces, and had in vain attempted to reduce them. The hatred of thefe people againft the Turks of Salo- nica extended to the very inhabitants of the fame city; the Franks fliared of this enmity ; in ihort, to expofe myfelf in countries inhabited 3 u % by 5 Iff TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. by hordes of courageous and cruel people, united under the authority of princes, real chiefs of robbers, was to give myfelf up to a certain death. This was all the information that I could collecT;, and certainly it was not of a nature to be very ufeful to me. The marks of intereft which I received on this occafion from my countrymen, penetrated me with grati- tude; I thanked them, but at the fame time I begged them not to take it amifs, if, however well founded their fubjefts. of fear might feem,. L mould not the lefs perfift in my refolution, It was in vain to endeavour to put myfelf into a ftate of defence- againft people difciplined and exercifed in the ufe of arms; a fowling- piece was the only weapon that I would take ; but I thought. of covering myfelf with a fhield, which had been of great fervice to me when I was travelling in the midft of the barbarous inhabitantsof Egypt. Being no longer able, any more than I was in that country, to appear in fafetv as a military man, in the excurfion which. I was going to undertake, I refolyed to appear there as a phyfician. It is well known how much the art of ascertaining and curing the diforders of mankind is held in veneration among Orientals, and they grant us a confidence which they refufe to the empirics of their own country, whether they have a higher opinion of our knowledge, or partake with nations more enlightened, the rage of o-iving the preference to every thing that comes from afar :. accordingly thefirft comer may call himfelf a phyfician. in thofe countries, and attract the crowd. But the practice of phytic by no means refembles that which is exercifed among us; diet, regimen, ptifans, and other, remedies which we abufe, muft be {truck out of the difpenfary of the Orientals; our perfect refignation is unknown to them; they, with for active remedies and afpeedycure, or, at leaft, palliatives from which they may feel relief. I {hall not enlarge more on the fubject of this lingular mode of treatment of TRAVELS IN" GREECE AND TURKEY. $>l? •ef the Orientals, becaufe I have fpoken of it very miuutely in my Tra- vels in Upper and Lower Egypt, The preparatives of a journey which was to laft but a few days, were not long, and I was foon ready to fet out. M. de T , an officer in. the regiment of P , and commandant of the detachment of that corps fervmg on board of the Mwnonne, wiflied to accompany me. I repeated to him all that had been told me at Salonica refpecling the inconveniences and dangers of this journey, and I apprized him that my manner of travelling was neither pleafant nor convenient, and that he muft expect fome difficulties* and, perhaps, a few untoward adventures. M. de T had a cultivated understanding and a tafte for knowledge ; to thefe he joined a refolute mind ; all that I could fay did not affect him ; he promifed me not to deviate from what I ihould have to advife him in a country, whofe manners and cuftoms were entirely unknown to him : however, full of confidence in my habit of travelling, he had, he faid, no uneafinefsj as to the dangers which had been pointed out to us. We therefore took leave of D'Entrecasteaux, who loaded us with the withes of frank and generous friendfhip; which M. de T fhared with me, and we landed from the frigate on the 10th of July, 1780, at eight o'clock in the morning. This was the hour of the appointment on which we had' agreed for our departure from Salonica, with' fome Greeks of that town, owners of a fmall' boat, and 1 with whom we had made a* bargain for taking us to the weft coaft of the gulf. We waited a long time on the beach, but no mariner appeared. It was a great feftival among the Greeks, and they did not content themfelves with celebrating it at church ; feafting was alfo part of the folemnity, and our boatmen, of a poor clafs, were celebrating the faint at a tavern. We looked for them a long time in quarters inha- bited 61% TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. bited by feafaring people ; at laft we were told where they were, and we found them at table, not thinking at all of the excurfion that we were to make. They prevailed on us to return to the beach, whither they would follow us immediately: we remained there the whole day without feeing them, and it was not till about eight o'clock in the evening that we were able to find them again; we forced them to come down to their boat, but they were in fuch a ftate of ebrjety that they could fcarcely ftand. After having fpent the day in ennui and impatience, we concluded by finding ourfelves at night at the mercy of people who, in the fituation they were in, appeared to me. more dangerous than the Albanians. How- ever we made them embark,, attherifk of being all drowned. I had no uneafmefs as to our paffage acrofs the gulf; but the landing on the weft coaft, which I knew to be obstructed by fhoals, prefented to me difficulties, which did not appear to me eafy to be avoided during the night ; befides where were we to land on a coaft with which I was not at all acquainted ? I took good care not to communicate thefe reflections to my companion ; he entered the boat with much confidence, and we fet fail. We were fix in all; the two Greeks belonging to the boat, M. de T — had taken with him the drummer of his company, and my young Greek, who had attended me from Cane a. No fooner was the fail fpread than the boatman, charged with the management of it, dropped afleep, and fell fprawling at the bottom of the boat ; he who fteercd had a great inclination to do the fame, but I kept him awake as well as it was in my power ; not that I placed much confidence in him, but I wilhed to know the direction that he would take, in order that I might be guided for making the land. When I had found that we were going nearly north-eaft, I no longer attached the fame importance to tormenting the (kipper for the purpofe of preventing him from fleeping, if, however, one could confider as awake, a man ftaggering drunk. He foon availed him- 1 felf TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY.' Sl£ frlf ox the moments of quiet which I left him, and fell afleep-; I pufhed him, he rolled to the bottom of the boat, and I laid hold of the tiller. There was a fwell on the water ; M. de T -, little accuftomed to its. agitation in a boat fo fmall as ours, was fick, and lying at his lengthy wrapped up in his cloak : my young Greek was lying befide him, ficker ftill, fo that the bottom of the boat was covered by four perfons, whom different caufes rendered incapable of movement. I remained alone with, the drummer- Favoured by a good wind, our voyage was fortunate; but, on ap- proaching the coaft, my embarraiTrnent became extreme; I heard the agitated waves breaking with noife on the beach ; and, in the dark, I did not perceive the land. We took in the fail, in order that we might not be darned to pieces, and I induced the drummer to take an oar and row as well as he could. Prefently he called out to me that he touched ground ; I ran forward, and having myfelf taken the oar, I founded to know what was the nature of the bottom; I found it of fine fand : for fear of meeting with harder fubftances, which would have ftove the boat, I refolved to run her on Ihore. I apprized M. de T of my intention, at the fame time defiring him to hold himfelf in readinefs to walk through the fhallow water in order to reach the land. At the moment when we ftruck the ground a wave came into the boat, and inundated our two drunkards, who thought themfelves loft ; we left them, and we again made a rather long trip, having the water fometimes up to our middle, before we found ourfelves on dry land. The day did not y§fc appear ; nothing around us announced the vicinity of habitations, and we refolved to wait on the beach till we mould duect • our fteps with certainty towards fome village. But we did not remain motionlefs, and we endeavoured to warm ourfelves by continual exercife. Prefently 5V0 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Prefently the watchful Aurora covered with her gold and purple cloak the arc of the horizon, which, on the eaft, feparates light from darknefs ; the luminary of the day was not long in appearing, and with it, the beautiful country which we had before us. Looking at each other, we could not refrain from burfts of laughter, on feeing the pretty pickle in which we were. Our clothes, which we had not chofen of the beft, were, for the greater part, foakedwith fea-water and clinging to us; and the cold, by which we were penetrated, gave to our countenances a painful look, wbich was perfectly in unifon with our plight. It was impoffibleto ap- pear to greater difadvantage, and we were really very ill-looking phyficians. Our mariners bad contrived to drag their boat, half-fwamped, into a little creek : fleep, and ftill more the fea, by which they had been (truck, had diffipated their ebriety; they begged us to forgive them for what had happened, and they ceafed not to congratulate us on having extricated ourfelves fo well. We left them and proceeded towards a village, built a good half league from the fea-fide. It is called Vrquueui ; its fituation is agreeable, in a fertile plain, and it is well built. Different learned focieties have feveral times propofed prizes, which were to be adjudged to the plan of conftrucYion the mod fuitable for rural habitations, the aflfemblage, or rather the huddling together of which, in the greater part of the villages of our countries, and particularly in thofe of the north-eaft parts of France, befides all kinds of inconve- niences which are there accumulated, leaves an open range to the ravages of fire, and becomes the abode of filthinefs and diforders. The queftion cannot be better folved than in the part of Macedonia which I vifited. Independently of the good conftruclion of the houfes, each of thofe which form a village is infulated, and feparated by a large fpace, from thole that Hand neareft. An enclofure, more or lefs fpacious, and formed by TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. -$U by palifades or quick-fet hedges, furrounds it ; this ground is almoft al- ways cultivated as a fruit or kitchen garden, a fort of culture which is not to the tafteof the inhabitants of our country-places, and which we cannot too much engage them to adopt as an alimentary refource that would contribute to maintain them in health. The afpecl; of the villages of Macedonia or Albania is very agree- able. The trees which grow there on all fides, prefent, atadiftance, the image of a large garden, and the houfes which appear through villas, give an idea of buildings for ornament or pleafure, rather than that of the dwellings of villagers. The air circulates freely between them, and the fummer heats are tempered by the coolnefs of the orchards by which they are ihaded. The people who inhabit them announce, by their vigour and robuft conftitution, wihat numerous advantages attend this method of building villages, and how much it were to be wifhed that it was introduced in our country-places. This is a favour which they claim, and the execution of which prefents not To many difficulties as might be imagined at fifft fight*; it is worthy of the attention of a repairing govern- ment, which is bringing back on the foil of France all forts of bleffings, with a rapidity, almoft «qual to that of the frightful overflow of ills by which me was not long fince inundated and almoft f wallowed up. Every houfe is intrufted to the care of feverai dogs, and they acquit themfelves wonderfully well of this employment. They rove night and day round their duelling ; ftrangers, who might go out alone, during the night, would infallibly be devoured by them. During the day, they content themfelves with barking and following paffengers very clofely, to fome diftanee from the houfe where they are fed, and they are fpeedily * l propofe to prefent my views on this fubjeft in a particular memoir. 3 x replaced 522 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. replaced by others ; fo that iu walking in the ftreets, or, to exprefs my- felf with greater precision, in the alleys of the villages, you have con- tinually round you five or fix of thefe great dogs, whofe anger infpires a degree of fear. And indeed it is dangerous to appear there without being- accompanied by fonie one belonging to the place ; not that his prefence hinders the dogs from running out at paffengers ; but, at leaft, he can keep them off with impunity, when they approach a little too near, and it is for this' reafon that no inhabitant goes out without being armed with a great ftick. The dogs of Albania formed a diftinguiflied race among the ancients; they have not degenerated, but are ftill very handfome and of a large flze; we ma}- add that they are very mifchievous, and this is an. affinity which they have to the men who breed them. I found, in. fact, in the inhabitants of Veouiiebi, though all. Greeks, a rude, ftern, and barbarous look, which I had not yet remarked in the different tribes- of the fame nation tnat I had vifited. An old papas was the chief of the village; he was a malicious and treacherous man,, and I thought that we fhould not get out of his hands. On our arrival we waited on this prieft-governor; I told him that we Avere phyficians of high reputation, and that we propofed to go and gather plants of great virtue which grew on Mount Olympus-; I begged him, at the fame time, to procure us the means of repairing to that mountain ; he promifed us every thing, but performed nothing ; he every moment threw frelh difficulties in my way ; and, as he had feen that I had removed a few by offering him money, he imagined that for every embarraffment, real or imaginary, which he might prefent,. 1 fhould ftill continue to give him fome. We were obliged to fpend the whole day at Vroumeri, but we did not there remain idle. Patients came to confult us, and we had work TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 523 work enough to anfwer them and point out to them remedies. The firft patient that we faw was a woman upwards of eighty, who for ten years pad had had the palfy in all her limbs ; the papas, to whom me was related, infilled that we mould cure her. — " A pretty beginning," faid M. deT to me, " if we have to treat two or three patients fo " inveterate and fo incurable, our medical reputation will go to wreck." " — Take good care, " anfwered I, " not to betray the flighted embarrarT-* " ment, or we fliall be ruined ; nothing mud appear impofliblc to us, nor " even difficult, and, by your leave, I fliall reprefent this old woman's '*■ diforder as a trifle, which cannot refifl our flail." In fact, after having pretended to examine the patient with much attention, I prefcribed and gave remedies which, I faid, were fpeedily to effect a cure ; I left, in reality, only a chimerical hope, but the fentiment of which mitigated, at lead for a few days, the fate of this unfortunate woman. On that day I alfo let blood feveral times ; M. dk T held the pallet, and frequently, on flanding oppofite to each other, we were ready to de- part from the gravity which we drove to keep, and which was always ready to efcape us. My companion could not get the better of his aftonifhment at feeing me operate, anfwer, prefcribe as a real phyfician, and as if I had never followed any other profeflion. We were treated with the highed degree of conflderation, and we paffed the day and night very quietly in a place where, but for the apparent, yet very difintereded fervices which we rendered, we might have been molefted. Early the next morning I renewed my entreaties to the papas, in order to have guides. I had acquired fufficient influence over his mind and over that of his countrymen, to fpeak with firmnefs ; I threatened to complain to the aga, ami he at length yielded to my folicitations. 3x2 We £M TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. "We were travelling in one of the moft beautiful countries in the world, where vegetation is brilliant and culture active ; ufeful trees there increafe rural riches, cover the foil with the coolnefs of their fhade, and ferve as- an afylum to birds of every fpecies, the ordinary companions of fertility. We there remarked particularly many turtles, jays, and magpies. Storks are common in all this county, efpecially in the environs of Salonica, and I found, in a neft, young ones of that fpecies, ready to take wing, at the end of the month of June. Thefe birds are to the Turks, and to all the Orientals, facred creatures; the houfes on which they build their nefts are confidered as blelfed, and fecure from all accident. It is, no doubt, a very fortunate, and at the fame time an uncommon circum- iftance, when fuperftitious ideas turn to the account of the general good ; and this fort of veneration for ftorks tends to the prefervation of animals, valuable on account of the appetite which leads them to deftroy fuch as are noxious : thus it is that the ancient Egyptians had fucceeded in rendering their country habitable and profperous, by deifying animals from which an agricultural people may derive the greater! advantages. To kill ftorks would be a crime in the East; accordingly they are often feen walking in troops in the midft of fields fown and crops, with as much tranquillity as if they had been brought up in a ftate of domefticity. After having, during the morning of the 11th, walked during a violent heat, we arrived, towards noon, at a large village called Ka- twegwn, the refidence of an Albanian Prince, to whom the Greek merchant of Salonica had given me a letter of recommendation. This Prince, who was named Halil-aga, hadjuft raifed the ftandardof revolt; he was much taken up with his warlike preparatives; miftruftful, befides, of the fnares which the Ottoman court is in the habit of laying for thofe whom it wifiies to deftroy, meafures of meannefs and fymptoms of theweaknefs of the government, he admitted no one. We were not able to fee him; but 1 he TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 525 fie excufed himfelf m a very polite manner; and when he was apprized of the fubject of our journey, he fent us two of his foldiers to accompany us to Olympus. We immediately fet out, and arrived about the middle of the night at a village fituated on the declivity of the mountain, and which the Greeks call Skala, fcale, becaufe one is already at a tolerable height when one arrives there, and becaufe the acclivity, gentle till then, becomes, above, rugged and fteep; We waited till the. day appeared in order to prefent ourfelves at the Greek convent of Skala-: the monks there gave us a good reception; a bifhop happened to be there on his tour. He was better informed than the bifhops of the iflands and of the continent of Asia are in general. The land of Macedonia or Albania is connected with that where light and knowledge are molt diffufed, and this point of contact is fuf- ficient, if not to difpel the cloud of ignorance which ft 111 covers that country, at lead to diminifh its thicknefs. This bifhop, whofe perfon was refpeclable and whofe difpofition was frank and polite, underftood Latin ; this was for us a more direct mean of communication. He related to us how many extortions the monafteries of thefe conn- tries had to fuffer from the Albanians, different parties of whom fre- quently came to plunder them or lay them under contribution. He recol- lected the two foldiers who accompanied us, to be of the number of thofe who, not long fince, had committed robberies at the convent of Skala : he reprefented them to us as two of the moft determined thieves of the country, and we had already feen enough of them to difcover that the good bifhop did not deceive us; not that they had endeavoured to ileal any thing from us, or to lead us into any ambufcade; but they really had the look of notorious fcoundrels, and their difcourfe perfectly correfpondecl with the hnifter features of their countenance. When we had quitted the plain, S26 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. plain, in order to begin to afcencl Olympus, and had reached the forefts which cover it almoft entirely, our guides began to relate to us mutually their robbing exploits, of which the woods that we were eroding had been the theatre. — "There, 1 " faid the one, "I affifted in " murdering and plundering fix travellers." — " At the foot of that tree," r.efumed the other, " I killed with a muiket-fhot a Greek trader, who " was carrying money to the convent of Skala." — "Do you remem- " ber, " rejoined the firft, " thofe Turks whom we cut in pieces with " our fabres? We are not far from the place where we fell in with V them." The converfation of our worthy guides continued nearly in the fame ftyle, during the whole time that our journey Lifted, till we reached Skala. The daiknefs of the night, and the mournful filence which there reigned, gave to their difcourfe an im predion of terror with which it was difficult not to be affected. I loft no time in difpelling the alarms of M. de T , who could not help feeling fome uneafmefs — ''The ex- " iftence of thefe two monfters," faid I to him, " is doubtlefs a misfor- " tune to human nature, but it is no lefs fortunate for us that they are " robbers well known; we have nothing to fear from them. The confi- " deration which, as robbers, their crimes have acquired them with their " fellows, fecures us from other attempts, and the aga well knew that, 41 by fuch a choice, he contributed powerfully to our fafety. On the " other hand, we have not more to dread on their part; you have taken "" notice of the refpecf which they mew us; they will continue it; Ave " are under their protection; this is a facred title in the eyes of almoft " all the nations of the East. The Bedouin who receives a ftranger " into his tent, becomes his friend and his brother; and had he met " with him on the fandy plains, which he has made his burning domain, ** he would have Gripped without pity the very man towards whom he " excrcifes TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 527 (C exercifes the virtues of hofpitality, which, through a Angular mix- " ture of good and bad qualities, he knows how to blend with vices " the moft pernicious to all human fociety. The Albanian, more warlike, *' but alfo more ferocious than the Bedouin, has not the fame focial vii> •' tues; but he lias enough of the general manners of theft: countries* " to refpecl. what he is charged to proteft ; and I am certain that we mail " have every reafon to be fatisfied with thofe who are become the com- tfc panions of our journey." A magnificent profpccl is enjoyed from the convent of Skala: on one fide, the fea, the neighbouring coafts of Mount Athos, the nume- rous iflands which render it very diverfified ; on the other, it extends over the beautiful plains of Macedonia, where Philip and Alexander reigned, now given- up to the barbarifm of ignorance, and oppreifed by the diforders of robbery. But Nature who ceafes not to embellifh them with her gifts, feems alfo to invite thither incelfantly the favours of en- lightened civilization.. o The forefts, by which the monaftcry of Ska-la is furrounded, are com- pofed of pines, firs, oaks, elms, beeches, hollies, chefnut-trees, &c. and inhabited by wild boars, flags, roe-bucks, bears, and birds of different fpecies. Worm- wood is there common ; the Greeks make a great ufe of it for curing fever- and ftrengthening the ftomach, as well as germander*, which they call kamedron. After having purged the patient, the phyfi- cians of that country make him take three times a day, morning, noon, and night, an infufion of two drachms of germander leaves; Here is alfo found a multitude of aromatic or ufeful plants, an inquiry into which might for a. long time exercife the zeal of a botanift- * Teucrium fe'vum. Link, While 52S TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. "While we were traverfmg thefe forefts, in the courfe of the day of the 12th, we heard ourfelves called repeatedly. It was our guides who were looking for us to inform us that a numerous body of Albanians had juft arrived, and eftabliihed themfelves in the monaftery. When we had joined them, they apprized us that thefe men were robbers by profeffion, much dreaded in the country. They appeared to us greatly embarrafled as to the refolution which we were to take: to fly had at firft appeared to them the moft prudent courfe; but the Albanians knew of our arrival, which might have partly occafioned their hidden vifit, and they would not fail to fet out in purfuit of us; then we mould all have been loft. On the other hand, they did not fee lefs inconvenience in lhewing us to people who were reckoned determined robbers, in whofe eyes nothing was facred; they, moreover, affined us that we ought entirely to rely on them, whatever might be our determination. The inquietude of our two foldiers was fincere, and they gave us on this occafion, as well as during the continuance of our journey, unequivocal proofs of intereft and at- tachment, which fcarcely left our reflections the power of representing to our mind that the} 7 themfelves were very wicked men. I did not hefitate as to the courfe that we had to take, and we prefented ourfelves to the chief of the robbers. Never did man, by the whole of his exterior announce better his odious profeffion. A ftature almoft coloffal, a cor- pulence which announced extraordinary ftrength, a broad face burnt by ■the fun, large eyes fhaded by thick and long eyebrows blacker than jet, a flern and gloomy look, all the features and the countenance of hard- heartednefs were difplayed on the whole perfon of this chief of robbers, who was refpectfully called aga. He was feated on a fort of fopha, placed in the cool air in a gallery of the convent; and furrounded by feveral of his officers: his long mufket,with a thin and flat butt like all thofe of Al- bania, was handing at his fide; a capital pair of piftols was fattened to his waift, TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 529 waift, and a thick chain of ma'ffy iilver, ftrengthened by feveral plates of rhe fame metal, fupported a large fcymitar. I approached and re- peated to him what I had faid to the papas of Vroumepi: that we were foreign phyfieiaias, gathering wonderful plants which the foil of Olympus produced, and of which we compofed remedies no lefs wonderful. I added that having* frequently heard of his power, we con- sidered ourielves very happy in having an opportunity of offering our fer- viccs to fo great a man. Adulation is the fnare in which fools fuffer themfelves to be caught the moll eatily; there are even people of under- funding who refill not this dangerous bait. I remarked a made lefs harm on the countenance of the aga, and drew thence the mofl favour- able omen. This man had long been troubled with an ulcer in his leg, which incommoded him greatly ; he afked m-e if I could cure him. I proraifed him the moft complete cure in lefs than a fortnight, and gave him a fmall bottle of Goulard's lotion, with which I had provided myfelf. From that moment I was invefted with the highefl favour, and might have played with fuccefs the part of a protector, which fuits the talle of fo many people, I paffed the evening with the aga: he would no longer allow me to quit him, and we fmoked and fupped together. But the rumour of the arrival of celebrated phyficians had fpread among tlfe troop of Albanians, who had taken up their quarters in a fmall infulated build- ing, while the chiefs had chofen the handfomell quarter of the monafteiy. Each of them wimed to confult, and receive advice and remedies. They difpatehed feme of the gang as deputies to their aga, in order to prevail on him to feud us to the place where they had alfembled. It was agreed that M. de T , who paffed for my affiftant, ihould re- pair thither with my little Greek, to ferve him as an interpreter. I could not help laughing at the rude trial to which neceffity Subjected my fellow-traveller, and which did not appear to him pleafant I gave him 8 r ■ haftily 550 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. haftily a few inftruclions, and he fet out,' but he acquitted himfelf fo ill frs this vifit, and betrayed fuch embarraiTment, that the Albanians,, diflatisfied,. difmifled him very abruptly. In order to prevent the fatal confequences- that might enfue from the ill-humour of thefe barbarians, I haftened to repair to the midft of the gang, and, indeed, it did not appear aftoniming that M. de T had been difconcerted. Nevertheless, they found in me great {kill in phyfic, and I came away at the fame time leaving them the high eft opinion of my talents. The night paffed in the greateft tranquillity; and, far from having had fubjects of complaint againft this horde of robbers, we prevented the Greek monks from being too ill-ufed by them. Very early the next morning we aH quitted the convent of Skala; the Albanians to gain the plain, and we to continue to afcend Olympus. We flopped at another monaftery three leagues from the former; it bears the name of St. Dennis-, to whom it is confecrated. The mountain is there divided into feveral deep- points, and the building is furrounded by thofe towering pinnacles, almoft entirely compofed of rocks. The monks mewed us a grotto, in which is a fmall chapel that they affirm to have been built by St. Dennis- himfelf; they alfo fhewed us a hut which ferved him as a retreat, and at the extremity of the grotto a fpring which iffues in a torrent from the rock, and which the faint forced to ap- pear, not by a ftroke of a wand like Moses-, but by ftriking the rock with his- cap. The fmall church of this- convent is tolerably handfome; a large beau- tiful luftre of bronze, made in Germany, is fufpended to the roof. A fmall library of Greek and Latin books printed in the fame country, and well chofen, occupies a chamber of the monaftery; but their binding will long be preferved in good condition, for no one touches them. Many 1 other TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 531 •other articles brought from neighbouring civilized countries, are to be found at St. Dennis (in Greek, Agios Dionysios.) A large clock of a very common fort is here the particular admiration of all thefe diftricts. Above this in fulated convent, which is fituated in a very wild place, there are no more habitations on Olympus. We fet out on the 14th, in order to endeavour to climb up to the fummit. We foon met with large heaps of mow. Our guides would not fatigue themfelves to no purpofe in following us farther, they waited, with the young Greek, at the foot of thefe frozen maffes of fnow, where they kindled a large fire, the cold being very fharp at this height We clambered as well as we could, the greater! part of the day, clinging to the branches of the fhrubs which became fcarcer in .proportion as we got higher, and to the pro- jections of the rocks, which, from the effect of an eternal froft, were frequently detached and remained in our hand. As long as we had trees and fhrubs to fuftain us, we were able to afcend; but benumbed vegeta- tion no longer produces any at fome diftance from the fummit of the mountain.; this fummit is naked and prefents only a cap of fnow and ice, on which it is impoffible to fuftain one's felf and walk. It is not afto- nifhing that the Greeks have placed the abode of the gods on an emi- nence which mortals cannot reach. Thus it is at leaf! that we faw the high, vaft, and luminous Olympus, as it was called by the ancients. It was the middle of July: the heat was extreme towards the bafe of the mountain as well as in the plain, and the manes of fnow which were condenfed near its fummit, did not appear to be on the point of melting. However an Englifh traveller has advanced that in the month of September no more fnow is feen on Oiympus, We are tempted not to believe the affertion of BkOwn, 3 y 2 when 552 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. when we have vifited the mountain during the hotteft part of the fummer, and have heard the teftimony of the Greek monks, who have fucceeded the gods on this great elevation of the globe: they confirmed to us, in- deed, what we could fcarcely doubt, the perpetual permanence of fnow and ice on the top of the mountain. The reader may eafily conceive the immenfe extent of different countries which our view embraced from the top of Olympus ; it feemed to us to touch Pelt on and Ossa, which form another chain of mountains; and the vale of Tempe, of which the ancient poets have fpoken to us as a place of delight, appeared to us a very narrow gorge, and the river Peneus which waters it, a ftreamlet of water fcarcely perceptible. However, we there remarked every thing that takes place on very lofty eminences; a very iharp cold, waters ftill colder, enormous fhelves of rocks heaped the one on the other, and alike threatening heaven with their point, and earth with their fall, and at our feet big clouds which, by feparating us from the abode of men, feemed to place us in the habitation of the gods, When we had admired all thefe objects wliofe afpect elevates the foul, we agreed to return to our companions, whom we had left at fome diftance above the laft monaftery; and as. on thefe rugged and fteep rocks, there neither are paths, nor tracks to follow, each of us took the way which appeared moft convenient to him to defcend, and moft fre- quently to let ourfel'ves Hide down, fufpencled to branches. But fuch is the habit of travelling in difficult places, that I foon ceafed to hear my companions, and I reached the place of rendezvous, upwards of two hours before therm. M. de T had a fever on arriving at the convent of St. Dennis, an/1 it manifefted itfelf with fuch violence as to give me fome inquietude. Two TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 533 Two days of reft did not calm it: a monk propofed to difpel it in an inftant; and as the queftion was not to f wallow any fpecies of drug, I prevailed on M. deT to fuffer him to operate. He took hold of both his arms, the one after the other; and leaning his thumb ftrongly on the artery at the wrift, he ran it along the vein, ftill preffing it violently with his thumb, and not without occafioning pain to the patient, almoft up to the moulder. I mall not attempt to explain what may be the effect of this reflux of blood in the arteries; but what I atteft, is that the fever ceafed, and we were able the next day to defcend to the monaftery of Skala. When one arrives at the frozen fummit of Olympus, one finds many- charms in the fituation of this convent ; the temperature there is mild, vegetation vigorous, and the number of animated beings greater. With the exception of bouquetins, active inhabitants of the rocks, and a few bears, there are hardly any quadrupeds to be feen beyond the half of the height of Olympus; fcarcely do birds pafs this limit, where the heat of the atmofphere begins to be loft, and where the cold increafes in propor- tion as one approaches the fummit. On the ]Oth, we repaired to Katberinn, where we fent our thanks to the ever-invifible aga; we alfo fent him a prefent, for which, according to the manner of the Turks, he thought fit to give us, in exchange, fome provisions. We returned to Vkoumeri on the 19th, a boat deeply laden with corn and foldiers belonging to the Turkim navy, was thence departing for Salonica. At the moment of ftepping into her, we fe- parated from our two Albanians; they had accompanied us to the fea- fhore, and we gave them well-deferved marks of our fatisfacHon. The wind was contrary; it rofe with ftrength, when we were in the middle of the gulf. The boat being overloaded failed ill, and we were obliged to put into 534 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. into a fmall cove on' the eaft coaft, where we fpent the night very uncom- fortably, and expofed to the infults of an armed rabble, who have courage only when they feel the fuperiority of their ftrength, and who, in battle, are the firft to fly: fo that we had more to undergo in this little run, than during the continuance of a journey which had been repre- fented to us as very dangerous. At length we arrived in the harbour of Saloxica, on the 20th of July in the afternoon, and we repaired on board of the Migxonne, where we received the congratulations of friend- ship, fo much the more warm as confiderable uneafinefs had been felt on our account CHAPTER TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. $35 CHAPTER XL,— AND LAST. Departure from Salonica. — Devil's I/lands. — Pelagn'rfi. — Serakino and Dromi. — Saint Elias. — Scopoli. — Skiato. — Skiro. — General Obfervation- on the Archipelago, — Andros, — Naples of Romania. — ■Arrival in France, Invocation to good tajle. P^ FEW days after our return from Olympus, the Mtgwo awe fet fail from the harbour of Salonica. Wefaluted, as we paffed, the ancient refidence of the gods and its antique forefts, which we had juft vifited. On going out of the gulf, the fliip directed her courfe towards the fouth, after having doubled the Devil's Iflands. Thefe are iflets, or rather fmall flioals, the moft considerable of which bears the name of Joura : they form the extremity of a chain of iflands and rocks, placed before the entrance of the Gulf of Salonica, and which extends to the eafi, from the great Promontory of Volo, the ancient (Eantium of Thessaly, till it faces Mount Athos. This iflet of Joura, and a few others, fmaller and' likewife uninhabited, are very near an ifland of little extent, which the Greeks call Pelagnisi; and our navigators, Pelerisse. It was formerly called Pefarethus, and was fcarcely more important than it is in our days; it, neverthelefs, pro- duced oil and wine which had fame reputation. The numerous windings of its coafts render them as if indented, and two deep bights would form two good harbours, were not their entrance narrow and difficult. Two 636 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY; Two fmall iflands, Serakixo and Dromi, alfo afford a place of ihelter to navigators. Between them and Scopoli, a mountain riles in the mid ft of the waters; it is called St. Elias: the (lime name is met with in feveral parts of Greece, and it is always the higheft mountains that have there been confecrated to the prophet. Scopelo, and more commonly Scopoli, the Scopelos of the ancients, is the principal of this group of iflands, fituated near the coaft of Great Greece. It is fertile, and would be an agreeable abode, if it ceafed to lofe, through the vicioufnefs of its adminiftration, the favours lavished on it by Nature. The wine of Scopoli is ftill one of the heft of the Archipelago; but a ftrong flavour of tar renders it unpalateable to many. Off the town, or rather the village, ihips find a harbour which is not very fafe; they, in general, prefer the anchorage of a great road, formed by a few fhoals and the lfland of Scopoli. The laft of thefe iflands, the remains of the continent of Greece, and confequently the neareft to the coaft, is that of Skiato, whofe name has not changed. It is feparated from the lfland of Scopoli only by a channel of about two leagues, and that which is between it and the main land is not much wider. Anchorages, rather numerous and fafe, are to be found along the eaft coaft, and between the fmall iflets which are on the fame fide; to this nearly are reduced the advantages of this little ifland. In the middle of the Ifle of Dromi are two or three rocks, which are called the Brothers, and below that of PhLAGyisi is a very fmall ifland called Skangero. We TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 537 We patted between the Iflands Ipsara and Skiro. Our navigators give to this latter the corrupted denomination of Saint George de Squirre, This was the ancient kingdom of Lycodemes, celebrated from the loves of Achilles and Deidamia. At this day it is no longer any thing but the theatre of wretchednefs, where are ftill to be found a few veftiges of the magnificence of its ancient edifices. Steep rocks rife on its furface; but they alfo leave, between their bafes, vallies which would be adorned with all the riches of culture, if the inhabitants were more numerous, more active, and lefs oppreffed. If the reader cafthis eye on the map of Greece, he will remark, that all the great capes of the continent have before them a range of iflands which extend into the fea, and always in the fame direction as the cape off which they are fituated. Thefe are, beyond a doubt, fummits of mountains detached from the chain, whofe promontories are themfelves only fhreds; and this obfervation, added to thole which are fcattered in this work, does not allow us to doubt that the Greek Archipelago, at very remote periods, formed a continent whofe plains have been fwal- lowed up, and which no longer ihews itfelf but by lofty points, fignals of its ancient exiftence, and enormous pinnacles, which the eye of the ob- ferver may ftill follow, and which ferve him to trace the large fiflures of this immenfe feparation of lands. Andros, a considerable ifland, lying in front of the peninfula of Agripo, commonly called Negroponte, inclining like it towards the fouth, cannot be miftaken for the continuation of Cape Doro. It was itfelf attached to the land of Tino, and the latter to that of 3/yconi, where the moun- tains diminilhing in height and folidity, have not been able to prefent a futhciently ftrong refiftance to the impetuofity of the waters, but have been fubmerged. Andros, which has preferved its ancient name, is 3 z one 538 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. one of the lflands of the Archipelago the moll worthy of remark, ac- cording to the exprefllon of Strabo, from the fertility of its foil and the good quality of its productions: it wants only a good harbour and a better government. We palTed between this ifland and Cape Bono, leaving on our left the fmall illand of Jovra, and, farther off, that of Syra, all whole inhabi- tants follow the catholic rite; and after having traverfed the long ftrin°" of iflands which extends from Cape Colonna very far into the fea, and for a knowledge of which I refer to the chart, having nothing particular to fay of them, fince I faw them only at a diftance, we call anchor at the head of the Gulf of Napoli, off the town of the fame name, which is commonly called Napoli m Romania, on the coaft of the Mo RE A. A fortrefs of prodigious elevation, the afcent to the top of which is by a flight of fteps almoft ftraight, the work of the Venetians, defends the town and harbour. This is one of the moft trading towns of the Levant; it would be much morefo, if the Turks knew how to afford pro- tection, inflead of fpreading deftruclion, or multiplying obftacles. There, as well as on all the coaft of the Morea, many cargoes of oil are fhip- ped, and olive-trees conftitute the principal wealth of the country. I availed myfelf of the few days which the frigate paffed in the har- bour of Napoli r>i Romania, in order to make a few excurfions in- land: I was fond of directing them towards the ancient and celebrated Argos. Had not hiflory tranfmitted to us the certainty of its exiftence, we mould at prefent be ignorant that it had ever been built. Time and men have annihilated every veflige of it, fo powerful is the empire of deftruclion which confumes works the moll fubflantial, and is in- ceffantly TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. 539 ceffanrly changing the furface of the globe! And man, hurried away in his ephemeral exiftence by the torrent of ages, acts as if he were to laft for ever, and live eternally on the earth ! The cruife of the Mignonne in the Levant was terminated : we re- paired to the Ifland of Malta, concerning which I have given fome account in my Travels in Egypt-; and, on board this mip, I entered the port of Toulon, on the 18th of October, 1780, at ten o'clock in the evening, after an abfenee and a journey of four years. In terminating this work, I cannot refrain from exprefiing a fenti- ment which weighs on my mind, a wiih which will be that of all men who have preferved the love of French literature. Great models exift; but by what fatality do they appear configned to oblivion? Not being able to follow them, I take a delight in admiring them, and I have thought of paying them the fole homage of which I was capable, by employing no other language than that which they have taught us, and by writing Travels in Greece, without any Greek expreffion, taking care to avoid that crowd of new words, which incapacity engendered, as pedantic em- piricifm wifhed to make of the language of the Racines, Voltaires, Fe'ne'lons, Bossuets, and Buffons, a barbarous tongue replete with foreign words, grotefquely metamorphofed into French. In taking up my pen to write this narrative, I invoked Peace, the object; of every with, and fource of every bleffing: it has not been able to refill: the combinations of the guardian genius of France, nor the prodigies of our arms. Eternal glory to the wifdom by which it was dictated, to the courageous talents by which it was conquered ! Mankind preferve the remembrance of great benefits, and gratitude will tranfmit this, from age to age, iu the annals of nations. 3 z <~> There 5A0 TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. There is another benefit which letters expect from this new ftate of peace and happinefs ; and where can we better place an invocation to Good Tafte than at the end of Travels in countries which were fo long *he theatre of it? Privileged heirs of what ancient Greece difplayed in graces and talents, Laharpe, Delille, Saint Lambert, Bouf- flers, Lace'pede, Berxardin Saint Pierre, Se'gur, &c. you who have all preferved that purity of ityle, that colouring of images, that iuftnefs of expreffion, that urbanity truly attic, which conftituted the glory of our literature, exert your right of inheritance, and repel the facri- legious efforts of Bad Tafte, which has attempted, unfortunately with too much fuccefs, to take polTeihon of your honourable domain: let it difappear for ever with its burlefque innovations; and our country ihall foon be, what it was not long fince, the abode of public profperity, and the brilliant appanage of the fine arts. INDEX. ( 541 ) INDEX. N. B. The figures refer to the number of the page. ^GRICULTURE. It is in a languifhing condition in the countries fubject. to tie Turks, 32. 33. Wheat and barley, formerly very common in the Ifland of Cyprus, are there be- come fcarce, 39. At Argentiera it is in the mod wretched {Lite. Flocks are there formed only of fheep, which always live in the open air. The fhepherds there are not hirelings. In what manner corn is fown in the Ifland of Candia, 225. The cultivators of the Iflands of the Archipelago are not induftrious. They take no pains in the choice of feed. Tares foon confume it, 381. The firft day of fowing-time is among them a day of feafting. They fow together feveral fpecies of different corn, 381. 382. They know how to fecure their feed from the attack of infedts, 382 and following. On Mount Olympus, vegetation is flourifliing, 524. Agrotiri (Promontory of). The Greeks call it Cape de' Gatti, on account of the great number of cats trained by the monks for hunting fnakes, 56. Albanians. Ferocious difpofition of thefe robbers, who defolate the environs of Salonica. They frequently lay the Greek monks under contribution, 525. 526. A gang of thefe robbers comes in the way of the Author, who fucceeds in gaining over the chief, 528. 529. Alexandria. Aridity of the foil which furrounds that town, 2. Quails are there common, 21. 22. Amathus (City of) at this day Limajfol. The ancient city is deftroyed, as well as other places more or lefs famous, 56. Amorgo (Ifland of). Its inhabitants ignorant; they confult a vafe as an oracle, 173. \-jt. This ifland produces very large grapes, ibid. The torch of the arts and fciences is ex- tinguifhed in this ifland. Archil, a fpecies of lichen, which gives to linen-cloths a red colour, 175. Mild character of thefe iflanders ; handfome women; their drefs, 178. 179. Andrea {Sant). Not far from this flioal, are a few fragments of ancient buildings, 42s, 422. Anti-Paros (Ifland of). Grotto which has a communication under water with fome neigh- bouring iflands, and the windings of which have never been explored, 451. 452. Arcbipelag.. bM INDEX. Archipelago (Iflands of). Opinion of the Author refpefting thefe iflands. He affirm.- that the fea of the Archipelago covers the famous Atlantis of Plato. Subterraneous vol- canoes which caufe the waters of this fea to boil up, 131. 132 and foil. Thisfea prefents a labyrinth of iflands and flioals, 282. Defcription of the dorms which prevail there during the winter, 282. 2S3 and foil. Very diverfified ipecies of birds which frequent the iflands formed by this fea, 392. 393. 394 and foil. Great variety of fifties which live in this fea, 410. 411. 412 and foil. The fifhery may become an important article of trade for thefe iflanders, 415. The promontories which are difcovered in this fea, are nothing more than fummits of mountains, 537. Argentiera (Road of j. The polacre, on board which the Author is embarked, is aflailed by a furious gale of wind at the entrance of this road. This is the place the moft frequented by (hips that navigate the Archipelago, 282. 283. Extraordinary currents. Explanation of this phenomenon, 284. Boldnefs which occafions the appearance of a Sclavonian, captain of a Maltefe privateer, in this place. He puts to flight twenty men who come to feize him, and he attempts to return to Malta with a veflel which he has ftolen, 285. 286. 287 and foil. It is fuppofed that he was fwallowed up in the waves with the fruit of his robberies, 287. 288. The only inhabited place in this ifland is on the fummit of a moun- tain. It is furrounded by high walls; but, neverthelefs, i no more than a pitiful village. The place is poor, and its houfes are ill built, 291. 292. Speftacle of wretchednefs pre- fented by the houfes covered with bad roofs in the form of terraces. Superflition of the inhabitants, 292 and foil. The Author finds, in a convent of Capuchins, a capital pifture reprefenting a miracle. The church partakes of the general wretchednefs, 293. 294 and foil. The conllruftion of this town, or village, is very modern. Miraculous origin of its foundation. The Greeks have bells in this place, 296. 297. Before the war of the Ruffians againft the Turks, this ifland enjoyed a lot lefs unfortunate. Pirates have in- creafed the calamities of this country. The ifland is formed only of fteril mountains, 298. 299. It pofiefles only pitiful flocks and a fmall number of afles. None but ciftern-water is there drunk, 301. It is, however, a place interefting from its fituation, 302 and foil. The Ifland of Argentiera is nothing but a group of volcanic fubftances. Warm and fmok- ing waters ftill atteft there the exiftence of a fubterraneous fire. Great heat of thefe waters, 307. 308 and foil. Drefs of the women of this ifland, 320 and foil. — See too Plate VI. — This ifland becomes the place whither the Author repairs after his various excurfions in the Archipelago 328. Archil. A fpecies of lichen, with which the Greeks dye their linen cloths red. This plant is rather common in the Iflands of the Archipelago, 175. Athos. This mountain is extremely revered by the Greeks. Fables related on the fubjett of the projection of its fhadow, 509. B BACHELORS, are very fcarce among the modern Greeks, 364. Barley. Excellent bread made of it in almoft all the iflands of the Archipelago. The Hebrews formerly made great ufe of it. Barley bread is much blacker in our countries than in the Eaft, 299 Beauty INDEX. 543 B cmtt y of the women. — See the article Women (Greek). Sees. They multiply with facility in the Ifland of Candia; their honey is of the gieatefi beauty, 269. Caufes of the fcarcity and dearnefs of wax in France, 269. 270. Btmito. A fpecies of tunny which announces a ftorm, 77. 78. Boudrou or Boudroum. Formerly Halicarnafius, the country of Herodotus and of Dionyfius, celebrated hiftorians. Recolle&ions of Artemifa and Maufolus. Fortrefs which is fituated at the entrance of this harbour, 157. 158 and foil. Bragadino. A celebrated Venetian general, flayed alive by the Turks, after the furrender of 1 the town of Famagufta, 53. Breji. Conful at Argentiera. Crying injuftice which the old government of France com- mits in regard to him. Eftimable qualities with which this old man was endowed, 289. 290. He was beloved and honoured by the Turks themfelves, 290. Bull-finches. Thefe birds are very common in the Ifland of Candia, 225* CABRILLA. A fmall fifh which refembles a perch, 168. — See too Plate V. fig. 3. — There are fome of different colours, 168. 169. Difcuflion on the fubject of cabrillae, 170. 171. For a long time cabrilla were fuppofed to be all females, 171. 172. Calamo, formerly Claras, a fmall ifland, which is unable to provide for the fubiiftence of its inhabitants. Very lofty mountains in this ifland. Theycontainmir.es, 160. 161. Calamary (a polype). One of thefe leaps on board the veflel in which the Author was em- barked, 126. Its fize, 127. There are feveral fpecies of them, 128. 129. Drawing of this mollufca, 129. — See too Plate IV. fig. 3. — It affords a food by no means delicate. The Greeks make a great confumption of it during their lent, 415. 416. Caloyers. Greek monks. Whimficality of their dreffes, 228. Their vows, 229. Indecorum of their religious ceremonies, 230. Candia. This ifland has a numerous population, and its climate is very agreeable, 209. 210. Its length, ib. The Author fuppofes that this ifland may have formerly joined to Africa, 211. Its climate is favourable to the expanfion of human ftrength, 258 and foil. No carnivorous or ferocious animal exifts there, 267. Fables of the ancients on this fubjeft, 271. 272. All the neceflary articles of life are there to be found in abundance, 274. 275. The town of Candia preferves the title of capital. Its harbour is -choked up through the effeel of the improvidence of the Turks. Origin and defcription of this town, which is fituated in a beautiful plain, 277. 278. Canea. It is aflerted that this town of Candia is the Cydonia of the ancients, 211. Inter- courfe which Marfeilles maintains with the modern town, 215. Manner of afcertaining, in this harbour, the ftate of the atmofphere, 226. 227. No police in this town, 240. Dan- ger 544 INDEX. ger incurred by the Author in going out of this harbour to the affiftance of a Earbary corfair, 241. 242. Ingratitude of the commander of this vefiel, 242. Eeautiful plains of the environs of Canea, 251. Copra (Ifland of). It is inhabited only by goats, which live on rocks inacceffible to men, 160. Caramania (Coaft of). Is lofty and arid, 72. The currents fet to the fouth-weft on this coaft, 73. The fea is always very high there, 119. The winds there are not fteady. High mountains by which the coaft is fkirted. Phenomenon of a black cloud of the fize of a bird. Gale of wind experienced by the Author on the fudden appearance of this cloud, 119. 120. Caravel, a Turkifh man of war. Their conftruction. They are difficult to be worked. Ig- norance of their pilots, 74 and foil. Carob-tree, which produces St. John's bread, a fruit very common in the Ifland of Cyprus, 33. 34. The poor live on it in Europe. This fruit formerly ferved as a weight among the Romans, 34. 35. Caffb. A fmall ifland. The Greeks there are more free and independent than elfewhere. Their manners, 133. 134. Cajlel Roffb (The fmall Ifland of). It contains a very good fortified caftle, placed on the fummit of the rock which forms this ifla l nd, 72. 73. Catherina (Ifland of Santa). It appears to have been detached from the Ifland of Rhodes, Catholkos (Convent of). Defcription of this place, and of the fpacious grotto which it con- tains, 235. Admirable ftali&ites which are there to be found, 235. 236. Bridge of a re- markable height. Frightful afpeft of this folitary place, 237. Cavern fituated near this convent, ib. and 23S. Cavale (La). This town was built in honour of Bucephalus, 508. Chaffinches. This fpecies is half-fedentary and half-roving. About the end of O&ober, a great number of them arrive in the iflands of the Archipelago, 301. Children ^New-born). Superftitious praftices and whimfical conceptions which accompany their birth in Greece. Strange attention paid to them; mothers alone fuckle them, 343. 344 and foil. They acquire a robuft conftitution and a quick growth; remedies employed for curing the diforders natural to this age, 370. — See the article Deli-very. Chio, or Scio. The courtefy of the inhabitants of this ifland is renowned. The name of Chio fignifies nvbitenefs. Thefe iflanders are the mod polite and the moft witty of the Greeks, 481. 482. The gardens of this ifland are very agreeable. The Turks have fuffered the plague to penetrate there for want of precautions, 486. 487. The channel which feparates Chio from Afia Minor, is very narrow, 488. Choifeul-Gouffier. He perfuades the iflanders of Milo to flop up an aperture whence iffued de- ftruftive vapours. They follow his advice, 428. Citiuvt. A town celebrated for the birth of Zeno, 55. 5 Cnidus. INDEX. 545 Cnidus. A town famous formerly for its temple and its ftatae of Venus. The Turks prohibit ftrangers from having accefs to the ancient monuments which are to be found near this town, 122.123. The coafts of Cnidus abound with ii(h, ib. Cnotfus. A town formerly very celebrated in the Ifland of Crete. Its ruins occupy a great extent of ground. Veftiges of a labyrinth, 277. 278. Cock of the wood. The Greeks fet no value on this bird, 392. Colofufes. The ancients reckoned feveral in the Ifland of Rhodes. Defcription of the (noil famous of thefe heavy roafles, which was thrown down by an earthquake, 92. 93 and foil. Conful of Rhodes. His character. His tafte for the fciences, 81, 82 and foil. Hauteur of the other confuls in the Levant, 84. 85. Copt. Se£ the article Egypt. Coral, a French captain of a Maltefe privateer. Frightful ftorm which he meets with, 287. 288. Cotton. It is fcarce in the Ifland of Cyprus. The culture of the cotton-tree would, in France, be prejudicial to the interefts of the cultivator, 35. 36. Rains of long con- tinuance are contrary to this plant, 37. Cloths, half filk and half cotton, which are ma- nufactured in Cyprus, 46. In the Iflands of the Archipelago, cotton-feeds are thrown by handfuls on the heads of the new-married pair, 365, Cuckoo. In other climates this bird changes its habits and ceafes to be folitary. It there no longer fings the fame fong as in our country, 398. 399. Culate (La). A bay near Canea. Excellent anchorage for fhips, 243. 244. Cyclades. Thefe are Iflands of the Archipelago, ranged in a circle, 462. Cyprus (Ifland of), Its pofition, 24. 25. Origin of the word Cyprus, 25. 26. What is its fineft name, 27. Turkifh defpotifm has defolated this ifland, 27. 28. Its mines of gold and copper, 28. 29 and following. Fertility of the foil, 32. Though lefs common than formerly, olive-trees and mulberry-trees are ftill in rather confiderable numbers, ib. and, foil. Its foil is favourable to the fugar-cane and to the coffee-tree, 37. 38 and foil. It produces madder and foda, 43. Great reputation of its wines, 44. Manner of con- veying them to Europe, 45. 46. The arts are there in a languishing ftate, ib. The heat there is exceffive, 48. The ifland is fubject to great droughts, 49. Woods are there ■fcarce. They were facred among the ancients, ib. Phyfical and moral character of the Cypriots, 50. 51. Length of this ifland, 52. Its trade is daily declining as well as its population, 59. Animals have there degenerated, and game is lefs common, 60. It would be lefs defolated by infects under a more rational government, 67. Importance of this ifland to France, ib. and foil. Cytberea. See the article Cyprus. D DANCE. It refembles that of the ancient Greeks. That named the Romtca is the moft ancient of all the Greek dances, 246, 247. There are mountaineers in theTfland of Candia who 4 A have 54t> INDEX. have preferved the warlike dance called the Phymc dance, 280. See too the article Spachia. Dapper. Credulity of this author on the fubjett of a pretended monfter which devours men on Mount Olympus, 67. Delivery. The Greek women are made to follow a method truly whimfical; a fort of tripod is deftined to receive them, when they feel the pains of child-birth, 331. 332. Ridicu- lous manner in which the midwife prefTes the fides of a woman ; our phyficians confider this cuftom as very vicious, 332. 333. No where are deliveries more fortunate than in the iflands of the Archipelago, although every thing is there put in practice to render them painful, 334. 335. The temperature of the atmofphere is not the only caufe which procures the women an eafy delivery. Under a burning iky, and in cold countries, de- liveries are unattended by accidents, 335. 336. The profeffion of man-midwife is entirely unknown among the Greeks. The Greek women could not have recourfe to a man-mid- wife, without violating every law of decency, 337. Treatment to which they are fubjeft after their lying-in, 340. Brandy is employed for dreffing lying-in women. Violent ihakings which the lying-in women undergo. This treatment is almoft as harm as that of the delivery, 341. 342. DifFerent attentions which are lavifhed on the new-born child ; they are blended with abfurd and fuperftitious practices, 343. 344. To fpit in the face of a child is confidered as a mean of preferving it from witchcraft. In all times the Greek women were famous for their fuperftitions, 344. 345. The influences of a Jini/ler look are confidered as very dangerous to children in the iflands of the Archipelago, 345. 346. Whimfical methods which the women employ for preventing their children from crying, 347. They do not truft to other perfons for fuckling their children. They delay their bap- tifm as long as they can, 348 and foil. Delos. The moil celebrated of the iflands of antiquity. It was the objeft of the veneration of nations. Riches of its monuments. It is at the prefent day nothing but a defert co- vered with ruins. The Turks build their houfes with thefe fplendid materials, 478. 479. Dittany. A plant celebrated among the ancients. It clothes the rocks of the Ifland of Candia. Its balfamic odour, as well as its medicinal virtues, occafion it to be in re- queft, 257. Divorce. Among the Greeks occurs only in trading towns, 364. Dock-yards. It is at Rhodes that they are eftabliflied for the Ottoman navy. In the conftruc- tion of lhips, fir is the only wood employed. Great diforder which prevails in thefe dock>- yards, 91. 92 and foil. Dogs. Thefe animals have confiderably degenerated in the Ifland of Candia. No Turkijh or naked dogs exift in Turkey, 266 and foil. No pointers are to be feen in the iflands of the Archipelago, but by way of compenfation there is a very fine breed of fetters, 385. The dogs of Macedonia keep a good watch round the villages, 521. The Albanian dogs for- merly conftituted a diftinftrace. They have loltnone of their good qualities, 522. Doves (Ring). Thefe parafitical birds are the plague of hulbandmen. Their flelh is dry and hard, 397 and foil. 5 Drejjis, INDEX. 547 Dreffes'. Whimfical dreffes of the women of Amorgo, Argentiera, Chio, and Cyprus. At the lfland of Nio they (hock modefty. See the articles Amorgo, Greek women, and Nio. Droguemans or Interpreters. Their timidity and the fear in which they ftand of the Turks, 87. E. EGYPT. A curfory view of that country, 3. 4. Comparifon between Egypt and Greece, ib' Portrait of the Copt or native of Egypt ; he has no longer any remembrance left of the great- nefs of his anceftors, ib. He lives in flavery and brutalized ftupor, 7. Entrecafteaux (D'). A naval engagement fuftained by that officer againfl the Englifh, and in which he acquitted himfelf with high honour, 434. and foil. Famagufta. The capital of the lfland of Cyprus. Etymology of its name. Fortifications of the town, 52. Fangri. A fea-fifli, rich in colours. It becomes livid in fpirituous liquor, 113. Defcription of the fangri, 1 14 and foil. See too Plate IP. jig- 2. Fajhions. They do not vary in the Eaft as in our weftern countries. The Greek women have preferved their ancient drefs, 1 jg. Fever. See Kamedron. Firman, or ordinance of the Grand Signior. One of thofe is granted to the Author to travel in the dominions of the Turkifh empire. He dares not fliew it to Murad Bey, 17. Re- fpeft which the Turks have for a firman, ib. Form of this writing, 19. 20. See too Plate II. Tranflation of this firman, ib. Fleas. No where are they more common than in the lfland of Argentiera, efpecially during the winter; one is, in a manner, eaten up by them, 292. Foglieri. This place is the ancient country of the Phoceans, 501. 502. Forefis. The Turks fuffer them to fall into decay in the iflands of the Archipelago. Refpedt of the ancients for thefe peaceful retreats. Interefting digreffion which the Author makes on the utility of trees, 49. 50, and foil. Franks. In the Levant, all Europeans are defpifed under this name, 85. Gardens. Thofe in the lfland of Candia do not refemble ours. The hand of man is not per- ceived there. Diverfified beauties of thefe gardens, 249. 250. Poetical defcription given of them by the Author, 252. 253, and foil. A crowd of birds which inhabit thefe en- chanting places, 255. 256 and foil. Garlic. In the iflands of the Archipelago, this legume has lefs pungency than in our coun- tries, 125. It is eonfidered as a wonderful antidote againft a finifter look, 344. 345. 4 A % Girls I 548 INDEX. Girls {Greek). Marriageable at ten years of age, 350. Goats. The Ifland of Capra is inhabited only by goats, which live on mountains- inac= ceffible to men, 160. Gra/sboppers. They fometimes ravage the Ifland of Cyprus. Different opinions refpetting the journies of thofe winged infefls, 39. 40. Havock which they formerly made in France. Proceedings employed for deltroying them, 42. 43. A great and long drought attrafts thofe devouring infefts, 49. Great devaluation which they exercife in the environs of Smyrna, 502. Greece. Climate of that country. Phyfical and moral portrait of its inhabitants, 4. 5 and foil. Prefent lot of the Greeks. Hopes entertained of their approaching emancipation, 8. 9 and foil. Of all the Greeks thofe of the Ifland of Cyprus are the moll canning and the mod knaviih, yet they are very hofpitable, 50. They are more free and more intelligent at Rhodes than any where elfe, 101. They feem to have degenerated in the Ifland of Candia, while the Turks there have become more robuft, 259. Different occu- pations to which the Greeks of Argentiera apply themfelves: they either are fifhermen, hunters, or traders, 323. The life of the Greeks in general is fimple: they dare not dif- play luxury, for fear of appearing rich in the eyes of the Turks, their tyrants, 329. The modern Greeks are as fuperftitious as the ancient. They believe in prefliges and in the art of witchcraft, ib. and foil. Singular cuftom which they prattife when their wives have a difficult labour, 338. The body of the children fooner acquires its full growth than in our countries. In the iflands of the Archipelago, it is not uncommon to fee girls marriageable at ten years of age. Periodical evacuation, among the women, is there lefs copious than under a climate lefs warm, 350. 351. Curious hiftorical differtation on this fubjett. Cuftoms of the Hebrews refpedling this diforder, 352. The women have moral difpofitions, which are in unifon with this phyfical precocity ; but they fhew a great deal of referve in their love. They are fimple in their tafles, 354. 355. They are obliged, before marriage, to furnifh evident proofs of their virtue. They are reproached with fapphiclove, 356. 357. They have recourfe to artifice to fet off their charms : but they are not acquainted with the fharp and cauftic juices which deficcate the fkin of our ladies, 361. Bachelors are very fcarce among them. The heart, more than intereft, decides mar- riages. Divorce takes place only in trading cities, 364 and foil. The children of the Greeks are commonly of a robuft conftitution. Remedies employed for curing the disorders natural at that age, 370* 371 and foil. Grottoes of Anti-Faros and of Catbolicos — See thofe words. Gulls. Sea-birds which wage war againft little fifhes, 156. H HARE. The flefh of this animal is prohibited by the law of Mahomet. The Greeks are great deftroyers of this fpecies of game. Popular error, accredited alfo in the Eaft, that there is no fex among hares, 383. 384. Hawk INDEX, 549 Hawk {Sparrow). This bird of prey, as well as the falcon, remains during the whole year in the Greek Iflands: kites, neverthelefs, are there only birds of paffage, 388. Hedge-hog. This animal is to be met with throughout all the Levant, 386. Hiera. This ifland has no longer any thing remarkable; the modern Greeks call it Agio~ Strati, 505. Hor/es. They have degenerated in the Ifland of Candia, 264. Hofpitah. See Leprojy. Hydrophobia or madnefs. It makes its appearance but feldom, indeed, in the Ifland of Candia. Specific employed againft that terrible diforder, 275, 276. IMBROS. This fmall ifland of the Archipelago is at the prefentday called Lemhro, 506. Ipfara, an ifland of the Archipelago, 5.37. JJland. The White IJland and the Black IJland. They were fuddenly produced from -the effeft of a fubterraneous volcano in the fea of the Archipelago. Their growth vifible to the eye, 190. 191 and foil. Thofe two iflands finifh by forming a junction, and by making but one, 194. An inquifitive party vifit the new ifland. Suffocating heat which feizes them> 1-98. 199. I/mael, a Bey of Egypt. In repairing to Constantinople, is fhipwrecked near Argentiera. Extortions which the officers of juftice commit on this fubjeft, 288. Irwin. This traveller has, in an. atrocious and ridiculous manner, calumniated the' women of Argentiera, 427. 428. Itch. The Greeks cure it with juniper-oil, 312; JJN1ZART. Serves as a guard' to the Author, 216. His cruel and ferocious difpofition, 217. 218. Jays. Thofe birds, in the iflands of the Archipelago, make great havock. The SciotB amufe themfelves by teaching them to talk, 393. 394. John, St. This faint is as much revered among the Greeks of the Archipelago as in our countries. Superftitious pradlice to which the Greek girls have recourfe on the day of his feftival, under the name of fecret water, 357. 358/ This feftivalis remarkable, in all countries, on account of the- ftriking changes which happen in the atmofphere, 359 and foil. Joura. This is the principal of the Devil's Iflands in the Archipelago, 535. Junipers. Thefe tall fhrubs yield no gum in the Ifland of Argentiera. The Greeks make ufe of the oil which they draw from the Hem and branches for the cure of the itch, 312. KJMEDRON. *50 INDEX. KAMEDROX. Thh is the germander, a tree, an infufion ofwhofe leaves ferves for curing fevers and ftrengthening the ftomach 527. Kamtmni, or Burnt Ijland. A fmall ifland, called in antiquity Hiera, facred. It is formed of calcined fubftances. Two forts of Kammeni are diftinguifhed, 188. 189 and foil. After a violent ihock of an earthquake, it appears quite refplendent with burning ftones. Dread- ful noife which is heard in this ifland, 194. 195 and foil. The Little Kammeni is deftitute cf vegetable earth. The Great Kammeni produces a few herbs, 202. Xathcrinx. A large village or town, which ferves as a refidence to an Albanian prince, 52,. Kerry. This Frenchman becomes conful at Canea, 214. Kupros, a fhrub known to botanifts by the name of Lanufima inermis, or thornlefs Egyptian priret. The women dye their nails with its flowers. This cuftom is general in Turkey, 2j. 26. L LADAXUM, known among the ancients under the name of ciftus. Goats formerly collected this refinous fubftance. New proceedings which are at this day employed for gathering it, 263 and foil. Larnica. The town of this name is fallen from its ancient fplendour. An unhealthful abode. The heat there is fuffocating. Immenfe citterns, formerly deftined for preferving the oil which was drawn from forefts of olive-trees, 54. 55. Ltmnos. Nature has done every thing for the embelliftiment of this celebrated ifland, and yet it is in a wretched ftate under the tyrannic yoke of the Muflulmans, 504. Lentifi. This fhrub is very common on the furface of Argentiera. The Greeks of fome iflands burn no other wood. From its fruits is expreffed an oil good for burning, sic. The women of the Eaft make great ufe of a gum which is drawn from it for preferving the teeth and making the breath fweet. Details refpe&ing this gum, 360. Leprofy. Still exercifes the greateft ravages in the Ifland of Cyprus, 244. 245. Infolence of the Muffulman lepers in regard to chriftians. Hideous fpe&acles afforded by the hofpitals for lepers, 246. This diforder was alfo brought into the Ifland of Candia by the crufaders, 259. hero. A poor ifland, covered with high mountains which ccntain minerals, 161. Limajfol, formerly Nemofia. Is no longer any thing but a miferable town full of ruins. Its harbour, however, is {till pretty much frequented, 56. M MACEDONIA. The houfes are very well bcilt in that country. The afpe<9 of the villages there is agreeable. The dogs keep a good watch around them, 521 and foil. Macri INDEX. ssi Macri (Golf of). It affords excellent havens to Shipping, 80. Madder. Plant with which cottons, in the Hand of Cyprus, are dyed red. Precautions which ought to be obferved when a veflel takes in madder, 43. 44. Madnefs. — See Hydrophobia. MarcDpoli. Evangelical modefty of that Greek prieft. He was very well informed, and re- fpected both by the Turks and Greeks, 29;. 296. Marriage. The Greek women, before their marriage, are obliged to furnifh evident proofs of their virtue, 356.357. The Greeks marry young. Before this ceremony, the youno- girl is conducted to the bath. Dances announce the retinue which accompanies the new couple to church, 364. 365. The young couple choofe a godfather and godmother. A Angular ceremony which is practifed for afcertaining the virtue of the bride, 365. 367 and foil. Marfeilles. Striking pifture of this town, formerly fo commercial, 12. 15. Caufe of our lo.Tes, ih. and foil. This town carries on a trade with Canea, 215. Mafiic, or gum, drawn from the kr.tijk. — See that word. Melanarus, a £fh called chlade on our coafls of the Mediterranean, 165. — See too Plate V. fg- «■ Merchandife (Lift of articles of) which enter into the trade of the Archipelago. — See the word Trade. Mezerai. This hiftorian fpeaks of a great irruption of grafshoppers in the South of France, 42. Milo (Hand of). — See too the article Arger.tiera. — Fires long fince kindled there confume the bowels of the earth. The vegetable earth there is, neverthelefs, very productive. Popu- lation has Angularly diminifhed in this Hand, 423. 424. Almolt all the inhabitants of this Hand have their legs fwelled, owing to peftilential miafmata. Strangers dread to make there even a momentary ftay. The town of Milo at this day prefents the fpectacle of de- flation, 425. 426. There, is perceived an aperture in the earth, whence iffued vapours very deftruftive. It has been ftopped up: but thefe vapours have found other iffues, 428. Vapour-baths produced by the general conflagration of the interior of the Hand. Hippo- crates formerly fent patients thither. The fulphur which is drawn from this Hand is reckoned to be of the beft quality, 430. Under a wife admimftration, it might ceafe to be an unhealthful abode, 432. A more particular defcription of the Hand of Milo. The harbour affords excellent anchorage, 434. This ifland frequently experiences earthquakes, 440. 441. Frightful phenomena which are there feen, ih. and foil. Mineralogy. The mines of Argentiera, formerly worked, are at this day abandoned. They never were very productive. The Ruffians attempted to work them anew, 302. 303. Properties of an argillaceous iubftance called Cimolian earth. No work of mineralogy makes mention of it. The Author has met with it no where. It is a natural foap, 504. 305. This earth is very fit for taking out greafe fpots. The Romans were acquainted with this mineralogical fubftance, fince Pliny ipeaks of it, 305. 306. Rock alum is to be found at Milo, 559. INDEX. Milo, in natural excavations. It there fhews itfelf in efflorefcence. Salt is made of it, ,43°- 43i- Mines of Calamo, 1 6o. Admirable ftalaftites which are found in the convent of Catholicos, 236. Mitylene. This ifland, fometimes called Metelin, was the country of Pittacus. The pofitiot of Mitylene renders the poffeffion of it very important. Monks, Greek. — See the word Caloyers. Morea (The). On all the coaft of this peninfula, a great trade is carried on in oil, 538. Mormyrus, a filh whofe flefli does not correfpond with the beauty of its exterior, 165. Mulberry-trees. There are fmall woods of them in the Ifland of Cyprus, 33. Mullets. In fummer, a great many of thefe fifties are taken in the Archipelago, 165. Mullet {Bearded). This fifh is very fcarce in the fea of the Archipelago. Cruel fufferings to which the Romans, through luxury, put this fifh, which produces the moll beautiful fhades, 412.413. Murad Bey. Character of this chief of the Mamaluks. His bravery, 1 6. 17.: Murana, or fea-ferpent. Notes on this fifh, 109. 110. — See too Plate IV. fig. 1. — Its dimen- fions, in. 112. Thefe fifties are common in the Archipelago, 113. Myconi. This ifland has a harbour much frequented by navigators. The Myconites neglef.l the culture of their lands, in order to give themfelves up to trade. Every thing is parched up in their fields. Their bad reputation in antiquity, 476. 477 and foil. Myrtles. Grow fpontaneoufly in the Ifland of Candia, and form the hedges of the country, 256. 1 N . NJNFIO (Ifland of). Its firft name, 181. It was formerly covered with forefls, 182. Red partridges are there very common. Great wretchednefs in that ifland, 183. Napoli di Romania. It has a fortrefs of prodigious elevation, the work of the Venetians: it is built near the fite of ancient Argos, 538. Naxia. The Author points out this famous ifland as likely to ferve as an emporium to the French traders in the Archilpelago. It is the largefl of the Cyclades. The Greeks of the prefent day are there (till free like their anceftors. Beauty of this ifland, 462. The prin- cipal inhabitants are defcended from ancient families of France, Spain, and Italy, and are renowned for their affability and politenefs. The coafts of their ifland afford good places of fhelter, 464. fticaria. This fmall ifland has no harbours. Scanty population. Ungrateful foil, 476. Kicofia. Capital of the Ifland of Cyprus. The palaces and the church of this town. Its agreeable fituation, 54. Niefakr, a Danifh traveller. Hja account refpefting grafshoppers, 41. j Nightingale. INDEX. 553 Nightingale. This bird diretts its route towards the fouth, and lives during the winter in Lower Egypt. It does not breed there, and is Alent during its ftay in that climate, which, is foreign to it, 401. Nio. An ifland celebrated by the death of Homer. Hofpitable character of the inhabitants. Kindnefs of the women. The ifland is fertile in corn, 1S3. 184. The drefs of the wo- men is repugnant to decency, 186. Diflertaticn on the drefs of the Turkifh women, 186. 187. Ni/ari (Ifland of). Its fabulous origin, 136. Shoals near this ifland, 1 36. 137. o OBSEQUIES (Funeral). Death among the Greeks always infpires fentiments of unfeigned grief. Relations frequently vifit the grave, and there make repeated offerings, 376. 377. They invoke the dead in a loud voice. The dead are carried to the grave with their face uncovered, and in their richeft garments, 378. 379. OH, good for burning. The Greeks of Argentiera draw it from the lentifk, and feveral iilands burn no other wood but that of this fhrub, 315. Olive-trees. They are far lefs common in the Ifland of Cyprus than in paft times. The foil is very favourable to this tree, 32. 33. No foil is more favourable to it than the Ifland ofCandia. The Greeks know not how to derive from it the advantage which we do, 260. Thefe trees were confumed by the flames in the Ifland of Argentiera, during the wars between the Venetians and the Turks, 299. Olive-oil is fometimes introduced into curative methods, 372. 373, Olivier. This naturalift and traveller aflerts that Citnolian earth is only a flow and gradual decompofition of porphyries, occafioned by fubterraneous fires, 307. Olympus- This mountain, fo celebrated, is occupied by Albanian robbers. Their hatred is terrible againft the inhabitants of Salonica, 515- The Author, neverthelefs, travels thither difguifed as a phyfician, 516. 517. He arrives at the foot of this mountain. A prieft throws great difficulties in his way, 522. 523. Vegetation is there in a moft flourifhing ftate. Storks are there very common. Veneration which is ftill entertained for thefe birds, 524. 525. Having reached a certain height, the Author fees a convent of Greek monks. Above this infulated convent there are no more habitations on Olympus, 531. Sharp cold which he there experiences. The fummit is covered with fnow and ice, and it is impoflible to reach it, ib. Magnificent profpe£t which is to be viewed from the top of this mountain. The Author's fellow-traveller falls ill. He is cured by a monk, 532. 533. Olympus (Little). A charming mountain of the Ifland of Cyprus, 51. Onions. This legume caufes no fliedding of tears in Egypt^ as it does in Europe. It is alfb very mild in the environs of Cnidus, 124. Orange-trees- Thefe charming fhrubs form bowers round the habitations of the Ifland of Cyprus. Delightful picture which the Author draws of thefe odoriferous bowers, 39. 4- B Orfam 55* INDEX. Or/ana. This gulf was known among the ancients under the name of Si/n/s S'trymomcas, 5°9- Origany. Employed as a remedy by the Greeks of the iflands of the Archipelago, 373. 374- PAINT. In the iflands of the Archipelago, it is compofed of the bulbs of air iris. Ufe which is made of this compofition. The face of the women is not affe&ed by it, 361, 362. Paillouri. A cape which, with Cape Drepano, forms the Gulf of Caflandra, 510. Pako-Gafiro. This is the name which the modern Greeks give to all ancient towns. A dreadful fright with which the inhabitants of one of thefe towns are felzed on the approach of two veflels, 279. Papbos. Formerly the abode of delight, now prefents the afpecl. of wretchedncfs, 57; Paros. This celebrated ifland has had feveral names. Its ancient fplendour. It gave birth to the moft illuftrious ftatuaries in the world, 45 1 . 452- A. fmall town has re- placed the ancient city of Paros. The coaft of this ifland prefents good anchorages: the Ruffians made fome flay here, 453. 454. Partridge. In the iflands of the Archipelago this bird with difficulty endures confinement. Bartavelle, or red partridge, of a Angular fpecies, whofe bill grows long, and bends inward, 104. 105. Thefe birds are fo common in the Ifland of Nanfio, that the inhabi- tants are obliged to deftroy a great part of their eggs, 182. 183. Partridges, efpe- cially red ones, are in great numbers in the Iflands of the Archipelago, ib. It is as difficult to get at them as at hares. The berries of the lentifk occaflon their flelh to contract a bitter flavour. The gray partridge is not known in the Eaft, 389. 39a. There is a parti- cular fpecies of partridge in the Eaft, which appears there only for a few days, ib. Patmos (Ifland of). Arid rocks and numerous capes. It is celebrated from the exile of St. John. Error refpecling a convent of monks of this ifland, 472. Patriarch (The), is appointed by the Grand Signior. This eminent place is an objeft of fpeculation, 230. 231. Humiliating manner in which he is appointed, ib. Tranflation of a firman for the nomination of a Greek bifhop, 233. Pautv. The authority of that traveller combated by the Author of this work, 6. 7. 9. ■Pedicus. A river of the Ifland of Cyprus, which rolls down in its waters red jafper, 30. Pelagniji. An iflet of the Archipelago, 536. Perch. Etymology of the name of that fifli. The ancients confidered it as unwholefome food. It is afferted that there are none in the Ocean, 409. 4ro. Pheafants. During the winter thefe birds are fometimes feen in the moft northern iflands cf the Archipelago: captains of fhips lay in a flock of them, 392. 1 /%& INDEX. 555 Phytic. The thermal waters of Argentiera are, among the Greeks, reckoned to poifefs great virtues. The Author thinks that partial applications of thefe waters on the parts affected, ■would be more efficacious than total immeriion, 308. 309 and foil. Mofl of the difor- ders by which our flocks are attacked, are unknown in the Levant. The fhepherds them- felves are the phyficians of their flocks, 324. 325. In the Greek iflands, all phyfic is founded only on ridiculouspradlices. The women are the phyficians the moll in fathion, 371 and foil. They have hereditary recipes in certain families, 374 and foil. Manner in which the Turks drcfs wounds, 375 and foil. Charafier of one of thefe quack- doflors, 450. Plague (The). Frequently ravages the Mand of Rhodes. Peftiferous perfons penetrate, with as much liberty as a healthy man, into the different countries of the Ottoman empire. Singular prefcrvative indicated to the author by fome monks, 100. 101. Courage is the belt prefervative, 141. 142. The fmall-pox is the forerunner of that terrible fcourge, and almoft always precedes it, lb. For want of care, the Turks have fuffered the plague to find its way to Chio, 486. 487. Almoft every year the plague defolates Smyrna. Stupid refignation of the Turks who might oppofe the ravages of that deflruttive diforder, 496, A perfon may fecure himfelf from it by holding no communication with thofe who are in- fected by it, 497. 49S. The constitution is of great weight in this diforder. Detail on the fubjefl of its commencement, its prog-refs, and its end, 500. 501. Plovers (Golden). Are very common in the Ifland of Candia, 374. Polkandi-o (Ifland of). The inhabitants of this ifland pickle in vinegar turtles which they kill, 398. This is the ancient Pholegandros •" its foil is extremely rugged. Scanty popu- lation. The vine grows there in the midft of Hones. It is the-rendezvous of birds of paf- fage, 447. Poll