TRAVELS 
 
 IN 
 
 GREECE, PALESTINE, EGYPT, 
 
 AND 
 
 BARBARY, 
 
 DURING THE YEARS I8O6 AND 180^. 
 
 BY F. A. DE CHATEAUBRIAND. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH 
 
 BY FREDERIC SHOBERL, 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN, 
 
 ENGLISH AND FOREIGN PUBLIC LIBRARY, CONDUIT STREET, 
 HANOVER SQUARE. 
 
 1812. 
 
igurs, Printer, 5, Princes Street, 
 Lei€«6t«fr Square, London. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 THE 'Volumes here mhmitted to the public, are 
 the last performance of a man, whose zcorks, though less 
 known in this countri/ than they deserve to he, have gained at 
 ko)ne a greater share both of applause and animadversion than 
 tho^e of perhaps any living zvriter. His Atala, or the Amours 
 oi^lTwo Savages in the Desert, and a short extract from his 
 great work Genie du Christianisme, which appeared under the 
 title of a Demonstration of the Existence of God, are the 
 only part of his zoritings that has hitherto been laid before 
 the English reader. Les Martyrs, ou le Triomphe de la 
 Religion Chretienne, zohich may be considered as his master^ 
 piece, yet remains wholly unknozon here; though repeated 
 editions of each of these performances evince the celebrity 
 which they have acquired in France. 
 
 It zms the latter that furnished occasion for the present 
 Tour. When zee behold an author, for the sake of a close adher- 
 ence to truth and nature, quitting his native land, and exposing 
 himself in once classic, but now barbarous countries, to eveiy 
 species of fatigue, hardship, and danger, at the expence of his 
 fortune and his health, merely that he may give a faithful 
 portraiture of the scenes which he has chosen for a work of 
 fiction ; it is impossible to withhold our admiration of the ar^ 
 dour and enthusiasm zvhich alone could s2igorest the idea of 
 such an enterprize, and communicate the fortitude and energy 
 requisite for its accomplishment. 
 
iv 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT, 
 
 Such, as we are informed hy M. de Chateaubriand himself , 
 was the sole motive for these Travels; the journal of uhich, 
 though not originalli/ intended for publication, zcill, unless 
 I am mistaken, excite a considerable degree of interest 
 in various classes of readers. The scholar and the man of 
 science will accompanif his steps, uith feelings of mingled 
 pleasure and pain, through some of the most renozcned regions 
 of antiquiti/; the Christian xdll follow him with devotion 
 in his pilgrimage to the scenes hallozced bif the presence and 
 the miracles of the Divine Founder of his religion ; the ar- 
 tist zmll fnd studies ready sketched to his hand ; and the 
 general reader will be delighted zcith the variety of inform- 
 ation, the adventures, and the reflections alternately sublime 
 and pathetic with which these volumes are interspersed: zchile 
 a tinge of melancholy which pervades all the works of this 
 zsriter, a grandson of the illustrious M. de Malesherbes, and 
 zehich may doubtless he ascribed to' the domestic calamities that 
 his early life zcas destined to experience from a sanguinary 
 revolution, will assuredly not diminish the iiiterest arising 
 from the perusal. 
 
 With respect to the translation I shall merely observe, that 
 J believe it zmll be found as free from imperfections as the very 
 short time alloicedfor its execution would admit. A tolerably 
 copious Index, zchich is not in the original, will, it is hoped, 
 prove an acceptable addition. 
 
 P. SHOBERL. 
 
 London, 
 Oct. 3, 1811. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 If I were to assert that these Travels were not 
 intended to see the light; that I give them to the 
 public with regret^ and as it were in spite of my- 
 self, I should tell the truth and probably nobody 
 would believe me. 
 
 My tour was not undertaken with the intention 
 of writing it ; I had a very different design, and this 
 design I have accomplished in the Martyrs.^ I went 
 in quest of images and nothing more. I could not 
 behold Sparta, Athens, Jerusalem, without making 
 some reflexions. Those reflexions could not be 
 introduced into the subject of an epopee ; they were 
 left in the journal which I kept of my tour, and it is 
 these that I now submit to the public. 
 
 * Les MartyrSi ou le Triomphe de la Religion Chretienney ii) 
 3 vols, 8vo. published by the author about two years ago. 
 
vi PREEACE. 
 
 I.must^ therefore, request the reader to consider 
 this work rather as memoirs of a year of my life, 
 than as a book of travels. I pretend not to tread in 
 the steps of a Chardin, a Tavernier, a Chandler, a 
 Mungo Park, a Humboldt ; or to be thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with people, through whose country I have 
 merely passed. A moment is sufficient for a land- 
 scape-painter to sketch a tree, to take a view, to 
 draw a ruin ; but whole years are too short for the 
 study of men and manners, and for the profound 
 investigation of the arts and sciences. 
 
 I am, nevertheless, fully aware of the respect 
 that is due to the public, and it would be wrong to 
 imagine that I am here ushering into the world a 
 tvork that has cost me no pains, no researches, no 
 labour ; it v/ill be seen, on the contrary, that I have 
 scrupulously fulfilled my duties as a writer. Had I 
 done nothing but determine the site of Lacedaemon, 
 discover a new tomb at Mycenae, and ascertain the 
 situation of the ports of Carthage, still I should 
 deserve the gratitude of travellers. 
 
 In a work of this nature I have often been 
 obliged to pass from the most serious reflexions ta 
 
PREFACE. Yli 
 
 the most familiar circumstances : now indulging 
 my reveries among the ruins of Greece, now re- 
 turning to the cares incident to the traveller, my 
 style has necessarily followed the train of my ideas 
 and the change in my situation. All readers, there- 
 fore, will not be pleased with the same passages ; 
 «ome will seek my sentiments only, while others 
 will prefer my adventures : these will feel themselves 
 obliged to me for the positive information I have 
 communicated respecting a great number of ob- 
 jects ; those again will be tired of the observations 
 on the arts, the study of monuments, and the his- 
 torical digressions. For the rest, it is the man 
 much more than the author, that will be discovered 
 throughout ; I am continually speaking of myself, 
 and I spoke, as I thought, in security, for I had 
 no intention of publishing these Memoirs. But as 
 I have nothing in my heart that I am ashamed to 
 display to all the world, I have made no retrench- 
 ments from my original notes. The object which I 
 have in view will be accomplished if the reader per- 
 ceives a perfect sincerity from the beginning of the 
 work to the end. A traveller is a kind of historian ; 
 it is his duty to give a faithful account of what he 
 has seen or heard ; he should invent nothing^ but 
 
Viii PREFACE. 
 
 then he must omit nothing ; and whatever may be 
 his private opinions, he should never suffer them 
 to bias him to such a degree as to suppress or to 
 distort the truth. 
 
INTHOBUCTION. 
 
 FIRST MEMOIR. 
 
 i SHALL divide this Introduction into two 
 Memoirs ; in the first I shall take up the his- 
 tory of Sparta and Athens, at about the age 
 of Augustus, and bring it down to the present 
 time. In the seconfl I shall enquire into the 
 authenticity of the religious traditions relative 
 to Jerusalem. 
 
 Spon, Wheeler, Fanelli, Chandler and 
 Leroi have, it is true, treated of the fortunes 
 of Greece in the middle ages ; but the picture 
 drawn by those Avriters is far from being a 
 finished one. They have contented themselves 
 with general facts, and not taken the trouble 
 to dispel the confusion which pervades the 
 history of the Byzantine empire : they were 
 moreover ignorant of the existence of some 
 Travels in the Levant. While I avail my- 
 self of their labours, I shall endeavour to 
 supply their omissions. 
 
 As to the history of Jeiiisalem it is in- 
 yolved in no obscurity in the barbarous ages ; 
 
 B 
 
^ INTRODUCTION^. 
 
 we never lose sight of the holy city. Bat 
 when the pilgrims tell you : " We repaired 
 to the tomb of Jesus Christ ; we entered the 
 grotto where the Redeemer of the world 
 sweated blood, &c." an incredulous reader 
 might imagine that the pilgrims were misled 
 by uncertain traditions. Now this is the 
 point which I purpose to discuss in the second 
 memoir of this Introduction. 
 
 I now proceed to the history of Sparta 
 and Athens. 
 
 When the Romans began to make their 
 appearance in the East, Athens declared itself 
 their enemy, and Sparta followed their for- 
 
 B.G. &7. tunes. Sylla burned the Pirseus and Muny- 
 
 Appiaa.^^ chia ; he plundered the city of Cecrops, and 
 made such a slaughter of its citizens, that^ as 
 Plutarch informs us, their blood filled the 
 whole Ceramicus, and ran out at the doors. 
 
 B.C. 87. In the civil wars of Rome, the Athenians 
 espoused the cause of Pompey, which they 
 looked upon as the cause of Liberty : the Lace- 
 daemonians adhered to Caesar, Vv'ho was too 
 generous to revenge himself on Athens* 
 
 B.C. 47. Sparta, faithful to the memory of Caesar, 
 
 C3e8,deBell. -T ^ .... 
 
 civil. Dion, fousrht at the battle of Philippi a2:ainst Brutus, 
 
 AppianPkt °, . ri ^ > 
 
 jnVit.Brut. who had promised the pillage of Lacedaemon 
 ^•^**^* to bis soldiers in case they were victorious. 
 liutin^Ant '^^^ Athenians erected statues to Brutus, at- 
 tached themselves to Anthony, and were 
 p^aV P^^is^^^ Augustus, Four years before the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 death of that prince^ they revolted against a.d. lo. 
 
 Suet.m Aug 
 
 him, 
 
 Athens was free during: the rei^n of Ti- 
 
 ^ ^ Tit. Ljiv.An, 
 
 berius. Sparta pleaded at Rome^ and lost a 4. 
 petty cause against the Messenians, formerly 
 its vslaves. The contested point was the pos- 
 session of the temple of Diana Limnatis, that 
 very Diana whose festival \vas the occasion of 
 the Messenian wars. 
 
 If we suppose Straho to have lived during DeSit.Orb. 
 the reign of Tiherius, the description of Sparta 
 and Athens hy that geographer, must refer to 
 the time of which we are now speaking. 
 
 When Germanicus visited Athens, out of^'^-^^- 
 
 Tacit. Aan, 
 
 respect to its former glory, he divested him- i- «• 
 self of the insignia of power, and was pre- 
 ceded only hy a single lictor. 
 
 Pomponius Mela WTote about the time of a.o. 56. 
 
 ^ ^ ^ De Sit. Orb. 
 
 the Emperor Claudius. He merely mentions ^- 
 Athens in his description of the coast of Attica. 
 Nero visited Greece, but he went neither ^- 
 
 Xiphil. ia 
 
 to Athens nor to Lacedsemon. Ner. 
 
 Vespasian reduced Achaia to a Roman a.d. 79. 
 province, and gave it a proconsul for its go- 
 vernor. Pliny the elder, a favorite of Ves- 
 pasian and Titus, wrote, in the time of those 
 princes^ concerning various monuments of 
 Greece. 
 
 V Apollonius of Tyangea, found the law^s of a.d. 91. 
 Lycurffus still in force at Laced^mon durins: vit. 
 the reign of Domitian. 
 
 B 3 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION?. 
 
 £..u*Vkt. Nerva favoured the Atbenidns. The md-» 
 numents of Ilerodes Atticiis, and the descrip- 
 tion of Ptiusanias are nearly of this period. 
 
 Tihujun.' Pliny the younger, under Trajan, exhorts 
 
 1.8. c. 24. Maximus, proconsul of Achaia, to govern 
 Athens and Grece with equity. 
 
 A D 134. Adrian rebuilt the monuments of Athens, 
 
 T)io. Sjjart. Ill 1 • T • /-^ 
 
 Eiiseb. completed tne temple ot Jupiter Olympus, 
 erected a nev/ city near the ancient one, and 
 caused the arts, sciences and letters to flourish 
 (/nee more in Greece. 
 
 A.D. 170. Antoninus and Marcus Aurelins loaded 
 
 Capitol. Dio. , 
 
 Athens with favours. The latter in particular 
 was solicitous to restore the Academy to its 
 ancient splendor ; he increased the number of 
 the professors of philosophy, eloquence, and 
 civil law, and fixed it at thirteen; twoplatonic, 
 two peripatetic, two stoic, two epicurean, two 
 professors of civil law, and one prefect of 
 youth. Lucian, who lived at that time, says, 
 that Athens swarmed with long beards^ man- 
 tles, sticks, and wallets. 
 
 The Poh/Iiistor of Solinus appeared to- 
 vrards the conclusion of this century. So- 
 linus describes several of the monuments of 
 Greece. He has not copied Pliny the na- 
 turalist, so closely as he has thought fit to 
 assert. 
 
 A D. 194. Severus deprived Athens of part of its 
 ijpiXriio. privileges as a punishment for having declared 
 in favour of Pescenmus !Niger. 
 
JJTTRODUCTIOIjr. 
 
 5 
 
 . Sparta liavino; fallen into obscuritv, while -^^^ 
 Athens yet attracted the notice of the worlds 
 deserved the disi>:raceful esteem of Caracalla, 
 who had in his army a battalion of Lacedse- 
 monians, and a guard of Spartans about his 
 person. 
 
 The Scythians havinsr invaded Macedonia. ^ 26o. 
 in the time of the Emperor Gallienus^ laid 
 siee^e to Thessalonica. The terrified Athe- 
 nians rebuilt in haste^ the w alls w^hich Sylla 
 had demolished. 
 
 Some years afterwards, the Heruli pillaged .^^?-,f^ ^• 
 
 JO rrebeil. 
 
 Sparta, Corinth, and Argos. Athens w^as 
 jsaved by the valour of one of its citizen^, 
 pained Dexippus, eqjially renowned in the 
 career of letters and of arms. 
 
 The archoiiship w^as abolished about this . 
 
 ^ ^ ^ Trav. 
 
 lime, and the stratigos, the inspector of the 
 agora or market, became the first magistrate 
 of Athens. 
 
 During the reign of Claudius II. this city A. d. 26?. 
 was taken by the Goths; they would have 
 burned the libraries, but one of the barbarians 
 opposed the design : " Let us," said he, 
 " preserve the books, which render the Greeks 
 $o easy a conquest, and extinguish in them 
 the love of glory." Cleodemus, an Athenian, 
 >vho had escaped the calamity of his country, 
 collected some troops, attacked the Goths, 
 killed a great number^ and dispersed the rest, 
 
 b3 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 A.D. 259. thus proving to the barbarians that science is 
 
 not incompatible with courage. 
 A.D. 3?3. Athens speedily recovered from this dis- 
 Zoo, ' ' aster^ for we find it soon afterwards offering 
 honors to Constantine and receiving thanks 
 from him. This prince conferred on the 
 governor of Attica the title of grand-dnke ; a 
 title, which being usurped by one family, at 
 length became hereditary, and transformed the 
 republic of Solon into a Gothic principality. 
 Pita, Bishop of Athens, was present at the 
 Council of Nice. 
 A.D.337. Constantius, the successor of Constantine, 
 Zon/in after the decease . of his brothers Constantine 
 
 Const. 
 
 and Constans, made a present of several islands 
 to the city of Athens. 
 A. D. 354. Julian, educated amons: the pliilosophers of 
 
 , Zos. Jib. 3. . . . , . " 
 
 ' Jul. Ep. ad the Doilico, did not quit Athens without shed- 
 Greg.Cyr. diug: tears. Gre«:or7, CvriL Basil, and Chn^- 
 
 Bas. Cl.rys. ^ ... . . 
 
 Oper. Ap. sostoni, imbibed their sacred eloquence in the 
 
 Bibl. Pat. ^ ^ ^ A 
 
 birth-place of Demosthenes. 
 A.D. 377. During the reim of Theodosius the Great, 
 
 Zos. lib. 4. & , rr. 
 
 chandi. In- the Goths ravafi^ed Epire and Thessalv. They 
 
 ficr.p. antiq. . " . i-. *i 
 
 were preparing to pass mto Greece, but were 
 prevented by Theodore, general of the Achai- 
 ans. Athens out of gratitude, erected a statue 
 to her deliverer. • 
 A. x> 395. Honorius and Arcadius held the reins of 
 
 Zos. lib. 5. . , . 
 
 empire when Alaric penetrated into Greece, 
 Zosiinus relates, that the conqueror^ as he ap- 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 7 
 
 preached Athens^ perceived Minerva in a me- a,d.395. 
 nacing attitude on the top of the citadel^ and 
 Achilles standing before the ramparts. Alaric^ 
 if we are to believe the same historian, did not 
 sack a city which was thus protected by heroes 
 and by gods. But this story has too much of 
 the air of a fable. Synesius, who lived much ^^"^p 
 nearer to the event than Zosimus, compares ^ 
 Athens burned by the Goths, to a victim con- 
 sumed by the flames, and of which nothing 
 but the bones are left. The Jupiter of Phidias chamiu 
 is supposed to have perished in this invasion of 
 the barbarians. 
 
 Corinth, Argos, the cities of Arcadia, Elis 
 and Laconia shared the same fate as Athens. 
 " Sparta, so renowned," continues Zosimus, 
 " could not be saved : it was abandoned by its 
 citizens and betrayed by its chiefs, the base mi- 
 nisters of the unjust and dissolute tyrants who 
 then governed the state." 
 
 Stilico, when he marched to drive Alaric 
 out of the Peloponnese, completed the de- 
 vastation of that unfortunate country. 
 
 Athenais, daughter of Leontius the philo- a. d 433. 
 gopher, known by the name of Eudocia, w^asTh.ii. 
 born at Athens, and became the wife of Theo- 
 dosius the younger. ^ 
 
 * Historians have not paid attention to chronoiogical 
 order, and have misplaced the marriage of Eudocia, by 
 making it anterior to the taking of Athens by Alaric. Zo- 
 naras sa^s, that Eudocia, driven from home by her brothers, 
 B 4 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A D. 430. While Leontius held the reins of fhc eastern 
 
 froco,). de 
 
 Beii vanda. empire^ Genseric made a fresh incursion into 
 
 1. 1. c. ^ ^ 
 
 Achaia. Procopiu8 does not inform us how 
 Sparta and Athens fared in this new invasion. 
 AD.oiT The same historian describes, in his Secret 
 
 Free, c, IS 
 
 History^ the ravages of the barbarians in the 
 following terms : Since Justinian has go- 
 verned the empire^ Thrace, the Chersonesus, 
 Greece/ and the whole country lying between 
 Constantinople and the Giilph of Ionia, have 
 been yearly ravaged by the Antes, the Slavo- 
 nians, and the Hans. ?>iore than tv/o hun- 
 dred thousand Romans have been killed or 
 made prisoners by the barbarians in each inva- 
 sion, and the countries which I have men- 
 tioned are become like the deserts of Scythia." 
 
 Justinian caused the v^'alls of Athens to be 
 repaired, and towers to be built on the Isthmus 
 of Corinth. In the list of towns embellished 
 Proc. de or fortified by this prince, Procopius has not 
 C.2. ' included Lacedaemon. It is remarked, that the 
 emperors of the East had a Laccnian, or, ac- 
 cording to the pronunciation then introduced, 
 
 Valerius and Genesius, was obliged to seek refuj^e at Con- 
 stantinople. Valerius and Genesius lived peaceably in tlieir 
 native counlry, and Eudocia procured their elevation to 
 dignities of the empire. Is not all this bistcry of the mar- 
 riage and family of Eudocia a proof that Athens was not so 
 great a sufferer bv the invasion of Alaric as Synesius asserts, 
 and that Zosimus may be right, at lea^t in regard to the 
 fact? 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a Tzaconian guard; the soldiers composing it a-JP^s^h-^ 
 were armed with pikes, and wore a kind o^^g^^Vp^^,** 
 cuirass^ adorned with the figures of lions ; they 
 were dressed in a short wide coat of woollen 
 cloth, and had a hood to cover the head. The 
 commander of these men was called Strata- 
 pedm^clia. 
 
 The eastern empire having heen divided 
 into governments, styled Themata, Lacedae- 
 mon hecame the appanage of the brothers, or 
 eldest sons of the emperor. The princes of 
 Sparta assumed the title of Despots ; their a. d. 5a. 
 wives were denominated Despoenes, and the 
 government Despotship. The despot resided 
 at Sparta or Corinth. * 
 
 Here commences the long silence of history, 
 concerning the most celebrated regions of the 
 universe. Spon and Chandler lose sight of 
 Athens for seven hundred years, " either," as spo„. voy, 
 Spon observes, " on account of the defective- ^* 
 ness of history, which is brief and obscure in 
 those ages, or because fortune granted it a long 
 repose." We may, however, discover some 
 traces of Sparta and Athens during this long 
 "interval. 
 
 The first mention we find of Athens is in Thpoph.1,8. 
 
 c. 12. ap. 
 
 Theophylactus Simocattus, the historian of Byz. Script, 
 the Emperor Mauritius. He speaks of the 
 
 * This title of despot is not, however, peculiar to . 
 Sparta, and Ave find despots of the East, of Thessaly, &c. 
 which produces very great confusion in liistory. 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 590. Muses " who shine at Athens in their most 
 superb dresses/' which proves that about the 
 year Sgo, Athens was still the abode of the 
 Muses. 
 
 Rav?n^^^' The anonymous geographer of Ravenna, a 
 Anon. 1. 4. Gothic wHter, who probably lived in the se- 
 venth century, names Athens thrice in his 
 Geography ; a work of which we have as yet 
 but an ill-executed abridgment by Galateus. 
 A.D. 846. Under Michael III. the Sclavonians over- 
 
 Const. 
 
 porph.de j-an Greece. Theoctistus defeated and drove 
 
 Adm. Imp. 
 
 them to the extremity of the Peloponnese. 
 Two hordes of these people, the Ezerites and 
 the Milinges, settled to the east and west of 
 Taygetns, called at that time Pentadactyle. 
 Notwithstanding vrhat we are told by Con- 
 stantine Porphyrogenitus, these Sclavonians 
 were the ancestors of the Mainottes, who are 
 not descended from the ancient Spaitans, as 
 some yet maintain, without knowing that this 
 is but a ridiculous opinion broached by the last- 
 mentioned writer. * It was doubtless these 
 Sclavonians that changed the name of Amyclae 
 into that of Sclabochorion. 
 A. D. 915. We read in Leo the Grammarian, that the 
 
 Leo. Vit. ^ ^ , ^ 
 
 Const, c. 2. inhabitants of Greece, no longer able to en- 
 dure the oppressions of Chases, the son of Job 
 
 * The opinion of Pauw who makes the Mainottes the 
 descendants not of the Spartans, but of Laconians set at 
 liberty by the Romans, is not grounded on any historic pro- 
 bability. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 11 
 
 and prefect of Acbam, stoned him in achurcli a.d.915. 
 at Athens during the reign of Constantine VII. 
 
 Under Alexis Comnenus, some time before a,d. losi. 
 
 Leo. Ann, 
 
 the Crusades, we find the Turks ravaging' the Comiuiib.?. 
 Archipelago and all the western coasts. 
 
 In an engagement between the Pisans and ^;,^Coma: 
 the Greeks, a count, a native of the Pelopon- '* ^' 
 nese, distinguished himself by his valour about 
 the year 1085 : so that this country had not 
 yet received the name of the Morea. 
 
 Epire and Thessaly were the theatre of 
 the wars of Alexis Comnenus, Robert and jf^^^^"^"; 
 Bohemond ; and their history throws no Giycus. 
 light on that of Greece, properly so called. 
 The first crusaders also passed through Con- 
 stantinople without penetrating into Achaia. 
 But, during the reign of Manuel Comnenus, 
 who succeeded Alexis, the kings of Sicily, the 
 Venetians, the Pisans, and other western na- 
 tions, invaded Attica and the Peloponnese. 
 Roger I., king of Sicily, removed Athenian a. d. 1130. 
 artisans, skilled in the cultivation of silk, to 
 Palermo. It was about this time that the Pe- 
 loponnese changed its name for that of the 
 Morea; at least I find the latter made use of N'"t. Hist 
 
 Bald. c. 1. 
 
 by Nicetas, the historian. It is probable that 
 as silk-worms began to multiply in the east, a 
 more extensive cultivation of the mulberry was 
 found necessary. The Pelopennese derived its 
 new appellation from the tree which furnished 
 it with a new source of wealth. 
 
^2 INTKODUCTIOK. 
 
 KL^t'Man! r^oger mane himself master of Corfii, 
 Thebes, and Corinth, and had the boldness, 
 says Nicetas, to attack towns situated farther 
 up the country. Bat according to the his- 
 torians of Venice, those republicans assisted 
 
 Coron.p.iT. the Euipcror of the East, defeated Roger, and 
 prevented him from taking Corinth. It was 
 on account of tins service, that two centuries 
 afterwards, they asserted a claim to Corinth 
 and the Peloponnese. 
 
 A. D. 11.70. The travels of Beniamin of Tudela, in 
 
 Itiner. Benj. ^ 
 
 Tudej. Greece, must be placed about the year 10/0. 
 He visited Patras, Corinth, and Thebes. In 
 the latter city he found two thousand Jews 
 engaged in the manufacture of silks and the 
 dying of purple. 
 
 Eustathius was then Bishop of Thessa- 
 lonica. Letters must consequently have been 
 still cultivated with success in their native 
 land, since this Eustathius is the celebrated 
 commentator on Homer. 
 
 A.D.]:o4. The French, headed by Boniface Marquis 
 
 >icet. in * ^ 
 
 Bald, vilie- Qf Montferrat, and Baldwin Count of Flan^ 
 
 Hard. ' 
 
 c. 136, et ders : and the Venetians under the conduct 
 
 seq. 
 
 of Dandolo, drove Alexis from Constanti- 
 nople, and replaced Isaac Angelus on the 
 throne. It was not long before they seized 
 the crown for themselves. Baldwin obtained 
 the empire, and the Marquis of Montferrat 
 was declared King of Thessalonica. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 13 
 
 About this time a petty tyrant of the Morea, 1^^"^' 
 named Sgure, a native of Napoli cli Romania, 
 laid siege to Athens, but Avas I'epnlsed by the 
 Archbishop Michael Chonlates, brother to 
 Nicetas, the historian. This prelate ccfni- 
 posed a poem, in wliich he compared the 
 Athens of Pericles with the Athens of the 
 twelfth century. Some verses of this manu- 
 script poem are yet extant in the Imperial 
 Library at Paris. 
 
 Some time afterwards, Athens opened her ^^'^^^f- 
 gates to the Marc|uis of Montferrat, who con- 
 ferred the investiture of the lordship of 
 Thebes and Athens on Otho de la Roche. 
 Otho's successors assumed the title of Dukes 
 of Athens and Grand-sires of Thebes. Ac- 
 cording to Nicetas, the Mai-quis of Montferrat 
 extended his conquests to the farthest extre- 
 mity of the Morea, and made himself master of 
 Argos and Corinth, but v» as unable to reduce 
 the castle of the latter city, defended by Leo 
 Sgnre. 
 
 While Boniftice vras followhisr ud liis sac- ^"I'e-Hard. 
 
 A c. 173. et 
 
 cesses, a squall drove some more Frenchmen ^^q-^^ucang. 
 into Modon. Geoffrey de Ville Hardouin, 
 who commanded them, and was on his return 
 from the Holy Land, joined the Marquis de 
 Montferrat, then engaged in the siege of 
 Napoli, and being well received by Boniface, 
 undertook, with William de Cbamplite, the 
 conquest of the Morea. Their success was 
 
14 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 1204. equal to their Lopes; all the towns surren- 
 dered to the two knights, except Lacediemon, 
 where reigned a tyrant named Leo Chama- 
 
 Nicet. in ret as. Soon afterwards, the Morea was given 
 ''''^'*'*^* up to the Venetians, to whom it was ceded 
 by the terms of a general treaty, concluded at 
 Constantinople, between the crusaders. The 
 Genoese pirate, Leo Scutrano, made himself 
 
 Coronei. master for a moment of Coron and Modon, 
 
 ist^de * but was soon driven out of those places by the 
 
 Venet. . 
 
 V enetians. 
 
 A. D. 1210. William de Champlite assumed the title 
 
 Uucangp J 
 
 Hi.t^const. of Pnnce of Achaia. At his death, William 
 de Ville Hardouin inherited the possessions 
 of his friend, and became Prince of Achaia 
 and the Morea. 
 c*nt^m^'** The origin of the Ottoman empire dates 
 Hist, of the from about the time of which we are treatin^^. 
 
 UtJ). Emp. o 
 
 Solyman Shah, issued about the year 1214, 
 from the deserts of the Oguzian Tartars, and 
 advanced towards Asia Minor. Demetrius 
 Cantemir, who has given us a history of the 
 Turks, from the original authors, is more 
 worth V of credit than Paul Jovius and the 
 Greek WTiters, who often confound the Sara- 
 cens with the Turks. 
 
 The Marquis of Montferrat having been 
 killed, his widow was declared Regent of 
 the kingdom of Thessalonica. Athens, aj>- 
 parently weary of the dominion of Otho de la 
 Roche, or his descendants, deteridined to spb- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 15 
 
 mit to the Venetians; but tins design wasA^^.i^i^s 
 frustrated by Magaducius, tyrant of the 
 Morea, so that this country had probably 
 shaken off the yoke of Ville Hardouin, or of 
 Venice. This new tyrant, Magaducius, had 
 under him other tyrants; for besides Leo^'^-^"^* 
 Sgure, ah'eady mentioned, we find one Ste- 
 phen, a fislierman, Signore di molti stati nella 
 Morea^ says Giacomo Diedo. 
 
 Theodore Lascaris re-conquered part of 
 the Morea from the Franks. The struggle 
 between the Latin emperors of the East, and 
 the Greek emperors who had retired into 
 Asia, lasted fifty- seven years. William de 
 Ville Hardouin, successor of Geoffrey, had be- 
 come Prince of Achaia. He fell into the 
 
 A. D. 1259, 
 
 hands of Michael Palseolosrus, the Greek em- P^chy. 
 peror, who returned to Lonstantmople m Ducang. 
 August, 1261. To regain his liberty, Wil-Hb. 5. 
 liam ceded to Michael the places which he 
 possessed in the Morea, and Avhich he had 
 conquered from the Venetians and the petty 
 princes who alternately started up and dis- 
 appeared. These places were Monembasia, 
 Maina, Hierace, and Misitra. Pachymeres 
 writes without reflection, without astonish- 
 ment, and almost without thought; as if this 
 Misitra, the insignificant lordship of a French 
 gentleman were not the heir of the renowned 
 Lacedaemon. 
 
16 
 
 INTKODUCTION*. 
 
 A. D. 1259. We have not long since seen Lacedcemofi 
 making its appearance under its ancient name, 
 when it was governed by Leo Chamaretus. 
 ?>Iisitra must therefore have been for some 
 time contemporary with LacecUemon. 
 
 William ceded Anaplion and Argos also 
 to the emperor Michael : but the country of 
 Ciusterne remained an object of dispute. Wil- 
 liam is the same prince of the ]Morea men- 
 
 jninv. Hist, tioned by the Sire de Joinville : 
 
 tie Saint 
 Lo..i- Du- 
 
 cange. Au- LoFS villt 
 
 aot. ^ . , , 
 
 Avec mamte arnieure doree, 
 Celui qui prince est de la Moree. 
 
 Sr.Re^rd*e ^''^^^^ C'^A^s him William Ville, thus re- 
 Veo. lib. 6. trenching half his name. 
 
 Pachym. Pacliymercs mentions about this period, 
 
 a certain Theodosius, a monk of Morea, 
 " sprung from the race of the princes of that 
 country." We also find that one of the sisters 
 of John, heir-apparent to the throne of Con- 
 stantinople, married Matthew de Valincourt, 
 " a Fi cnchman from the Morea." 
 
 Michael equipped a fleet, and retook the 
 islands of Naxos, Paros, Ceos, Carystes, and 
 
 A. D. 12(3. Orea ; at the same time he reduced Lacedae- 
 mon, a distinct place of course from Misitra, 
 ceded to the emperor as part of the ransom of 
 the prince of Achaia. We find the Lacedae- 
 monians serving in Michael's fleet; they had, 
 
 PacL>m.i.3. accordlug to the historians, been transferred 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from their own country to Constantinople in a.d. 12( 3. 
 consideration of their valour. 
 
 The emperor then made war on John Ducas pJ^hj J^fS; 
 Sebastocrator, who had rebelled against him. 
 This John Ducas was the natural son of Mi- 
 chael, despot of the West. The emperor be- 
 sieged him in the town of Durazzo. John 
 found means to escape to Thebes, where 
 reigned a prince, Sire John, styled by Pachy- 
 meres, Grand-signior of Thebes, and who was 
 perhaps descended from Ctho de la Roche. 
 This Sire John caused his brother William to 
 marry the daughter of John Ducas. 
 
 Six years after this, a prince "of the il- a.d. 1275. 
 lustrious family of the princes of the Morea" 
 was engaged in a contest with Veceus for the 
 patriarchate of Constantinople. 
 
 John, prince of Thebes, died, and left his 
 brother William his heir. In right of his wife, 
 grand-daughter to the despot of the West, Wil- 
 liam also became prince of part of the Morea ; 
 for the despot of the West, had, in spite of the 
 Venetians and the prince of Achaia, made 
 himself master of that fine province. 
 
 Andronicus, on the death of his father Mi- ^-P'^^p^ 
 ' Pachyia.1.9. 
 
 chael, ascended the throne of the East. Ni- 
 cephorus, despot of the V/ est, and son of that 
 Michael, the despot who had conquered the 
 Morea, followed the emperor Michael to the 
 tomb, leaving a son and heir, Thomas, and a 
 
18 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A.D. 1293. claugliter, named Itamar. The latter married 
 Philip, grandson of Charles, king of Naples : 
 she brought him for her portion^ several towns, 
 and a considerable extent of country. It is 
 therefore probable, that the Sicilians had then 
 some possessions in the Morea. 
 
 A*D. 1300. Abont this time I find a princess of Acbaia, 
 
 P.icUym. J. ^ * 
 
 'J* a widow, and very far advanced in years, to 
 
 whom Andronicus w^as desirons of marrying 
 his son John,the despot. This princess was per- 
 haps the daughter, or even the relict of William, 
 prince of Achaia, who, as we have seen, was 
 at war w^ith Michael, the father of Andronicus. 
 
 A. T). 1305. Some years afterwards an earthquake shook 
 Modon and other towns of the Morea. 
 
 A D. 1312. Athens then witnessed the arrival of new 
 
 Pacliyni. I. 
 
 masters from the West. A body of Catalans, 
 seeking their fortunes under the conduct of 
 Ximenes, Roger and Berenger offered their 
 services to the emperor of the East ; but soon 
 growing dissatisfied with Andronicus, they 
 turned their arms against the empire, 
 pacif.is'otiz. They ravaged Achaia and numbered Athens 
 
 del. due. , f r ' 
 
 d'Ath. among; their conquests. It is now, and not 
 
 FanelAthen. . ^ ^ , -r^ > • p , 
 
 Attic. berore, that we see i/elves, a prince or the 
 
 Spon.tom.l. 
 
 Chaoduvoi. house of Arragon upon the throne. History 
 does not record whether he found the heirs of 
 Otho de la Roche in possession of Attica and 
 Boeotia. 
 
 the O hm. The invasion of Amurat, son of Orcaa 
 
 Xtnp. lib. 2. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 must be placed under the same date : we know ^^^'^^ 
 not with what success it was attended. * 
 
 The emperors John Palseologus and John ^^•^^^•^^^3* 
 Cantacuzenus determined to carry their arms c- 11. 
 into Achaia. To this they were invited by the 
 Bishop of Corone and John Sidere, governor 
 of several towns. The Grand-duke Apocau- a. d. 1342. 
 
 , , , , T . , Cant. lib. 3. 
 
 cus, who had revolted against the emperor^ c 71. 
 pillaged the Morea^ and laid it waste with fire 
 and sword. 
 
 Reinier Acciajuoli, a Florentine, drove the Pacif.'Kot^* 
 Catalans from Athens. He governed that city d'Atl""^' 
 for some time, and havins»: no leg^itimate heirs, Faneii. 
 
 ^ ' ^ ® ^ ^ ' Alhen. At- 
 
 left it by his will to the republic of Venice : Man. 
 
 ' Cms. J, 2, 
 
 but his natural son Anthony, whom he had ^.p^"- & 
 
 - ' Chandler. 
 
 established in Thebes, took Athens from the 
 Venetians. 
 
 Anthony, prince of Attica and Boeotia, was f"^^^^^* 
 
 succeeded by one of his relatives named Nerius. Auct.sup. 
 
 ... ^'^ 
 who was expelled from his dominions by his 
 
 brother Anthony II. and never returned to his 
 principality till the death of the usurper. 
 
 Bajazet then stnick terror into Europe and 
 Asia ; he threatened to invade Greece ; but I 
 nowhere find that he reduced Athens, as Spon 
 and Chandler assert. They have besides con- 
 founded the order of time in making the 
 arrival of the Catalans in Africa precede the 
 supposed incursion of Bajazet. 
 
 * Some traces of this invasion are to be seen in Cantd- 
 cu^enus, lib. 1. c. '39. 
 
 C 2 
 
2Q 
 
 INtKOBUCTIOSf. 
 
 A. D. 1400. Be this as it mav, the consternation -with. 
 which this prince filled Europe, produced one 
 of the most singular events recorded in history, 
 Theodore Porphyrogenitus, despot of Spaita, 
 was brother to Andronicus and Manuel, sue- 
 Hist.de eessively emperors of Constantinople. Baja- 
 Malt. La zet menaced the iVlorea with an invasion, and 
 Laced, zv.c. Thcodorc thiukiug himself unable to defend 
 his principality offered to sell it to the knights 
 of Rhodes. Philibeit de Naillac, prior of Aqui- 
 tsiBe and grand-master of Rhodes, purchased 
 in the name of his Order, the despotship of 
 Sparta. He sent thither two French knights, 
 Raymond de Leytoure, prior of Toulouse, and 
 Clie du Fosse, commander of St. Maixance, 
 to take possession of the country of Lycurgus. 
 The treaty was broken off, because Bajazet, 
 being obliged to return to Asia, there fell into 
 the hands of Tamerlane. The two knights, 
 who had alreatly established themselves at 
 Corinth, delivered up that city, and Theodore 
 paid back the money which he had received as 
 the price of Laced^emon. 
 A. D. 1410. Theodore*s successor was another Theo- 
 TuTco-Gr'^. dore, his nephew, and son of the Emperor 
 La red. anc. Emanuel. This Theodore II. married an Ita- 
 lian lady of the house of Malatesta. On ac- 
 count of this alliance the princes of that illus- 
 trious house assumed in the sequel, the title of 
 Ihikes of Sparta. 
 
 Theodore left the principality of Laconia 
 
i N TVx D UC T ION. ' 21 
 
 toliis brother Constantine, siirnamed Dragazes. a. d. hio. 
 This Constantine, who ascended the throne of 
 Constantinople, was the last emperor of the 
 East. 
 
 While he was yet only prince of Lacedse- a. d. 1420. 
 
 .• - i- I litem . 
 
 mon, Amurat II. invaded the Morea, and 
 made himself master of Athens : but that city 
 soon returned under the dominion of Reinier 
 Acciajuoli. 
 
 The empire of the East was now no more, c«n?en/^' 
 and the last relics of Roman o-reatness were 
 swept away; Mahomet II. had entered Con- 
 ' stantinople. Greece, though threatened ^vith 
 impending slavery, was not yet bound by tho?e ^p^^*^*""' 
 fetters which it speedily demanded of the 
 Mussulmans. Francus, son of the second An- 
 thony, summoned Mahomet II. to Athens, to 
 dispossess the widow of Nerins. * The snltan 
 w^ho made these intestine broils subservient to 
 the increase of his power, espoused the cause 
 of Francus, and banished the widow of Nerius 
 to Megara. Francus caused her to be poi- 
 soned. This unfortunate princess had a young 
 son, who, in his turn, submitted his complaints 
 to Mahomet. The latter, an interested 
 avenger of guilt, took Attica from Fran ens, a. d. 1444. 
 and left him nothing but Boeotia. It was in a. d. 1455. 
 1455 that Athens passed under ihe yoke of the 
 barbarians. It is said that Mahomet seemed 
 
 * Ihe time when Nerius died is not kno\vn« 
 c 3 
 
.22 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 1458. enchanted with the city, thai he spared it from 
 plunder, and minutely examined the citadel. 
 He exempted the convent of Cyriani, seated on 
 Mount Hymettus, from all taxes, because 
 the keys of Athens had been delivered to 
 him by its abbot. Some time after, this 
 Francus Acciajuoli was put to death for con- 
 spiring against the sultan. 
 A. D. 1^60. Let us now enquire what was the fate of 
 "Hist. Turr. Sparta, or rather of Misitra. I have related, 
 
 J.lO.Ducas. ^ . 1 1 . , 
 
 Hist. C.46. that It was governed bv Lonstantiue, surnamed 
 
 Sansow Ann. . * i . i r 
 
 Turc. Crus. UracTazes. 1 his prmce, on his departure for 
 1. 1. Constantinople, to assume the crown which he 
 lost with his life, divided the Morea between 
 his two brothers, Demetrius and Thomas. 
 Demetrius fixed his residence at Misitra, and 
 Thomas at Corinth. The two brothers went 
 to war, and had recourse to Mahomet, the 
 murderer of their family and the destroyer of 
 their empire. The Turks first drove Thomas 
 from Corinth. He fled to Rome. Mahomet 
 then went to Misitra, and prevailed on the 
 governor, by a bribe, to surrender the citadel. 
 This unfortunate man had no sooner put him- 
 self in the hands of the sultan than he ordered 
 him to be sawed through the middle. Deme- 
 trius was exiled to Adrianople, and his daugh- 
 ter became Mahomet's wife. The conqueix>r 
 esteemed and feared this young princess too 
 much not to make her the partner of his 
 bed. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 23 
 
 Three years after this event, Si;^ismond a.d. 1463. 
 Mahitesta Prince of Rimini laid siea:e to Misi- Wd.-uc 
 tra. He took the town, hut being unable to 
 reduce the castle, he returned to Italy. 
 
 The Venetians made a descent at Pirscus a.d. ufi;. 
 
 Cl'aiidl. 
 
 in 1464, surprized Athens, plundered the city, Trav. 
 and retreated with their booty to Euboea. 
 
 During; the rei^:n of Solyman I. they rava- -^-^ ^-^^^^ 
 fired the Morea and took Coron, but were ^'^^ ^^f'- 
 
 ° I. 3. t 'oioti, 
 
 soon afterwards driven out by the Turks. 
 
 Mor. 
 
 They ouce mor^s conquered Athens andA. d. leas. 
 all the Morea in l6S8 ; the former t^iey again ^.,1"*^ 
 lost almost iijimediately, but the latter they 
 retained till 171^? when it returned under the 
 dominion of the Mussulmans.. At the instiga- 
 tion of Catharine IL the wretched inhabitants a. d. 1770. 
 
 Choiseul 
 
 of the Peloponnese were induced to make a ^'"y- ^^'^ ^* 
 
 ^ ^ ^ Grlce. 
 
 last and unavailing effort in favor of liberty. 
 
 I have abstained from intermixing the 
 dates of travels in Greece, with the historical 
 events. I have mentioned only those of 
 Benjamin of Tudela : his account is of such 
 high antiquity, and gives us so little in- 
 formation, that it may be comprized with- 
 out inconvenience in the series of facts and 
 annals. We now proceed to the chronology 
 of travels and geographical works. 
 
 No sooner had Athens, the slave of the 
 Musulmans, disappeared in modern history, 
 than she began to receive a new kind of 
 illustration more worthy of her ancient re- 
 
24 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A.D. 1V70. nown. When she ceased to be the patxrimoriT 
 of obscure princes, she resumed, as it were, 
 her ancient empire, and summoned all the 
 
 A.D. 1455. arts to her venerable ruins. As early as 1465, 
 
 Giambetti. Fraucesco Giambetti made drawings of some 
 of the monuments of Athens. The m.anu- 
 script of this architect was on vellum, and 
 was preserved in the Barberini library at 
 Rome. It contained, among other curious 
 things, a view of the Tower of the Winds 
 at Athens, and another of the ruins of Lace- 
 daemon, four or five miles from Misitra. On 
 this subject Spon observes, that Misitra does 
 not stand on the site of Sparta, as had 
 been asserted by Guillet, after Sophianus, 
 Niger, and Oiteliius ; and he adds, I con- 
 sider the manuscript of Giambetti as the more 
 curious, because the drawings were taken be- 
 fore the Turks had made themselves masters 
 of Greece, and laid in ruins several fine m^onu- 
 ments, which were then entire." The obser- 
 vation is just respecting the monuments, but 
 false in regard to the dates: the Turks were 
 masters of Greece in 1465. 
 
 A.D. 1550. In 1550, Nicliolas Gerbel published at 
 Basle, his work, intituled, Pro Dedaratione 
 Piciurce sive Descriptionis Grcecice Sophiani 
 Ubri septem. This description, excellent for 
 the time, is clear, concise, and yet substantial. 
 Gerbel says very little concerning ancient 
 Greece; of modern Athens^ he observes: 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 ^neas Sylvius Athenas hodie parvi oppiduli a.d. 1550. 
 speclem gerere dicit, cujus munitissimam 
 adhuc arcem Florentinus quidam Mahometi 
 tradiderit, lit nimis vere Ovidius dixerit : 
 
 Quid Pandioniae restat, nisi nomen Athenae 7 
 
 O reriim humananim miserabiles vices ! O 
 tragicam liumanae potentise permiitatiouem ! 
 Civitas olim inuris, navalibus, aedificiis, ariiiis, 
 opihns, viris, prudentia atque omni sapientia 
 florentissima, in oppidulum sen potius vicuiTi, 
 redacta est. Olim libera, et suis legibiis 
 vivens ; nunc immanissimis belluis;, servitutis 
 jugo obstricta. Proficiscere Atheuas, et pro 
 niagnificentissimis operibus videto rudera et 
 lamentabiles ruinas. Noli, noli nimium fidere 
 viribus tuis ; sed in eum confidito qui dicit : 
 Ego Dominus Deus vester. *'* 
 
 * " .flneas Sylvius says, tliat Athens, whose very strong 
 citadel was delivered by a certain Floreuline to Mahomet, 
 now exhibits the appearance of a very small town, so that 
 Ovid might but too truly exclaim; What, besides the 
 name, is left of Pandionian Athens ! 
 
 " O the deplorable vicissitudes of human things ! O 
 the tragic c'lange of human power! A city once renowned 
 for its walls, harbours, buildings; pre-eminent in arms, v. eallh, 
 citizens, wisdom, and every species of learning, is now re- 
 duced to a petty town, or rather a village. Formerly free 
 and living under its own laws; now oppressed by the most 
 cruel monsters, and bowed down by the yoke of slavery ! Go 
 to Athens, and instead of the most niagniiiccnt works, behold 
 
26 
 
 IKTKODUCTION. 
 
 A.D. J550. This apostrophe of an aged and respect- 
 able scholar to the mins of Athens, is highly 
 impressive. We cannot cherish too much 
 gi-atitude towards those who opened the way 
 for us to the beauties of antiquity. 
 
 A.D. 1554. Dupinet asserted, that Athens in his time 
 
 Dupinet. 
 
 was bat an insignificant village, exposed to 
 the ravages of foxes and of wolves. 
 
 A.D. 1557. Laurenberg, in his description of Athens, 
 emphatically exclaims : Fuit quondam Grcechy 
 fuerunt Athenas: nunc neque in Grcecid 
 Afhence, neque in ipsa Grcecid Grcecia est. — 
 There was a time when Greece, when 
 Athens existed : now neither is there an 
 xVthens in Greece, nor is Greece itself any 
 longer to be found." 
 
 A.D. 1578. Ortellius, surnamed the Ptolemv of his 
 time, rurnished some new mrormation respect- 
 ing Greece, in his Tlieatrum Orhis Terraruniy 
 and in his Synonima Geographica, reprinted 
 with the title of Thesaurus Geographicus ; but 
 he erroneously confounds Sparta and Misi- 
 tra. Ke also believed that nothing was left 
 of Athens, but a castle and a few cottages : 
 nunc casulce tantura supersunt qucedam. 
 
 .4. D. 1534. Martin Crasius, professor of Greek and 
 
 Krausl ' ' Latin at the University of Tubingen, towards 
 
 heaps of rubbish, and lamentable ruins. Beware, beware 
 of confiding too much in thine cwn strength, but put thy 
 trust in Him who sav, I am t..e Lord your God.'' 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the conclusion of the sixteenth century, made ^-^ ^'^84. 
 diligent enquiries concerning the state of the 
 Peloponnese and Attica. His eight books, 
 intituled, Turco-Grcccia, give an account of 
 Greece from the year 1444, to the time in which 
 he wrote. The first book contains the politi- 
 cal, and the second the ecclesiastical history 
 of that interesting country. The six others 
 are composed of letters sent to different per- 
 sons by modern Greeks. Two of these let- 
 ters, containing some particulars relative to 
 Athens, deserve to be known. The first is 
 addressed in 1575, by Theodore Zygomalas, Zygomaias. 
 who styles himself Prothonotary of the great 
 church of Constantinople, " to the learned 
 Martin Crusius, professor of Greek and Latin 
 literature at the University of Tubingen^ and 
 very dear in Jesus Christ." 
 
 " Being a native of Nauplia, a town of the 
 Peloponnese, not far from Athens, I have 
 often been at that city. I have examined 
 with care the objects which it contains, the 
 Areopagus, the Antique Academy, the Ly- 
 ceum of Aristotle, lastly, the Pantheon. This 
 edifice is the most lofty, and surpasses all the 
 others in beauty. The exterior all round 
 exhibits in sculpture the history of the Greeks 
 and of the gods. Over the principal en-= 
 trance in particular, you observe horses which 
 appear absolutely alive, so that you may fancy 
 
A, D. J584. you hear them neigh.* They are said to be 
 the work of Praxiteles : the soul and genius 
 of the man have been transferred to the stone. 
 There are in this place several other things 
 worthy of notice. I say nothing of the oppo- 
 site hill on which grow all kinds of herbs 
 useful in medicine a hill which I call the 
 garden of Adonis. Neither do I say any 
 thing concerning the serenity of the air, the 
 excellence of the water^ and other advantages 
 enjoyed by Athens ; whence it happens that 
 its inhabitants now fallen into barbarism^ stili 
 retain some remembrance of what they have 
 been. They may be known by the purity of 
 their language : like syrens^ they charm all 
 who hear them, by the variety of their accents. 
 — But why need I say more of Athens ? The 
 animal indeed has perished, but the skin re- 
 mains." 
 
 This letter abounds with errors, but it iS 
 
 * ^fi'jxja-o^iiHi a»o^fx.£X9 co^ko. — This expression I do 
 not understand. The Latin version has : tanquam fremen 
 tes in. carnem humanam. Spon, ^vho translates part of 
 this passage, has adhered to the Latin version, which is 
 just as obscure to me as the original. He renders it: 
 " which seem to long for a repast of human flesh." I can- 
 not admit this signification, \vhich to me appears absurd, 
 unless Zygonialas means here to allude to the horses of 
 Dionied. 
 
 t Probably Mount Hymettus. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 29 
 
 valuable on account of its ancient date. Zy- a.d. i584. 
 gomalas made known the existence of the 
 temple of Minerva, which was supposed to 
 be destroyed, and which he wrongly denomi- 
 nates the Pantheon. 
 
 The second letter, written to Cnisius, by Cabasiia?, 
 Simeon Cabasilas, a native of Acarnania, fur- 
 nishes some additions to the information given 
 by the Prothonotory. 
 
 " Athens was formerly composed of three 
 parts, all equally populous. At present, the 
 first part, situated on an eminence, contains 
 the citadel, and a temple dedicated to the Un- 
 known God ; and is inhabited by Turks. Be- 
 tween this and the third is situated the se- 
 cond part, where the Christians live together. 
 After this second part comes the third, over 
 which is the following inscription : 
 
 THIS IS ATHENS, 
 THE ANCIENT CITY OF THESEUS. 
 
 In this last portion is seen a palace, 
 covered with large marbles, and supported 
 by pillars. Here you still find inhabited 
 houses. The whole city may be six or seven 
 miles in circumference, and contains about 
 twelve thousand inhabitants." 
 
 Four important things are to be remarked 
 in this description, l. The Parthenon had 
 been dedicated by the Christians to the Un- 
 known God, mentioned by St, Paul. Spon 
 
30 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A.D.15S4. unseasonably cavils with Guillet on the sub- 
 ject of this dedication : Deshayes has men- 
 tioned it in his travels. 2. The temple of 
 Jupiter Olympus (the palace covered with 
 marble) or at least great part of it was stand- 
 ing in the time of Cabasilas : no other travel- 
 ler has seen any thing of it but the ruins. 
 3. Athens was then divided in the same man- 
 ner as it is still ; but it contained twelve 
 thousand inhabitants, and has now no more 
 than eight thousand. Some inhabited houses 
 were then to be seen near the temple of 
 Jupiter Olympus : that part of the city is now 
 deserted. 4. Lastly, the gate with the in- 
 scription : This IS Afhem, the ancient city of 
 Theseus^ has stood till our times. On the 
 other side of this gate, next to Hadrianopolis, 
 or Athenee novce we read : 
 
 THIS IS THE CITY OF ADRIAN, 
 AND NOT THE CITY OF THESEUS. 
 
 Pi-eviously to the appearance of the work 
 of Maitin Crusius, Belon had published, in 
 1555, his Observations on various singular and 
 remarkable tkingsJou7id in Greece. I have not 
 quoted his work, because this learned botanist 
 visited only the islands of the Archipelago, 
 Mount Athos, and a small portion of Thrace 
 and Macedonia. 
 A.D. 1625. D'Anville, in commenting upon Deshayes, 
 
 Deshayes. J 
 
 has conferred celebrity on his work relative 
 
INTRODUCTION?. 
 
 31 
 
 to Jenisalem; but it is not generally known a.d. 1625. 
 ! that Deshayes is the first modern traveller 
 who has given us any account of Greece, pro- 
 perly so called : his embassy to Palestine has 
 eclipsed his journey to Athens. He visited 
 that city between the years 162I and l630. 
 The lovers of antiquity will not be displeased 
 to find here the original passage of the first 
 Travels to Athens — for that appellation can- 
 not be given to the letters of Zygomalas and 
 Cabasilas. 
 
 " From Megara to Athens is but a short 
 stage, which took us less time than we should , 
 have been walking two leagues : no garden in 
 the midst of a wood of forest trees can afford 
 greater pleasure to the eye than this road. 
 You proceed through an extensive plain fall 
 of olive and orange-trees, having the sea on 
 the right, and hills on the left, whence spring 
 so many beautiful streams, that Nature seems 
 to have taken pains to render this country so 
 delightful. 
 
 " The city of Athens is situated on the de^ 
 clivity and in the vicinity of a rock, imbedded 
 in a plain, which is bounded by the sea on the 
 south, and by pleasant hills that close it to- 
 wards the north. It is not half so large as 
 formerly, as may be seen from the rains, to 
 which time has done much less injury than 
 the barbarism of the nations who have so often 
 pillaged and sacked this city. The ancient 
 
32 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^•buildings, still standing, attest the magnifi- 
 cence of those who erected them ; for there 
 is no want of marble, or of columns and pi- 
 lasters. On the summit of the rock is the 
 castle, which is stiii made use of by the Turks. 
 Among various ancient buildings j is a temple 
 as entire and as unimpaired by the ravages of 
 time, as if but recently erected. Its arrange- 
 ment and construction are admirable; its figure 
 is oval, and vvithout, as vrell as within, it is 
 supported by three rows of marble columns 
 decorated on their bases and capitals : behind 
 each column there is a pilaster of correspond- 
 ing style and proportion. The Christians of 
 the country assert that this is the very same 
 structure which was dedicated to the Unknown 
 God, and in which St. Paul preached : at pre- 
 sent it is used as a mosque, and the Turks as- 
 semble there to pray. This city enjoys a very 
 serene air, and the most malignant stars divest 
 themselves of their baleful influences when 
 they turn towards this country. This may 
 easily be perceived, both from its fertility, and 
 from the marbles and stones, which, during 
 the long period that they have been exposed 
 to the atmosphere, are not in the least Avorn or 
 decaved. You may sleep out of doors bare- 
 headed, without experiencing the smallest in- 
 convenience ; in a word, the air which you 
 breathe is so agreea'^le and so temperate, 
 that youperc :. ve a great difference on your de- 
 
INTROBUCTION, 
 
 partnre. As to the inhabitants of the country, a. d. I625. 
 they are all Greeks, and are cruelly and bar- 
 barously treated by the Turks residing there, 
 though their number is but small. There is a 
 cadi, who administers justice, a sherif, called 
 soubachy, and some janizaries sent hither 
 every three months by the Porte. All these 
 officers received the Sieur Deshayes with great 
 respect when we visited the place, and ex- 
 empted him from aU expences, at the cpst of 
 the Grand Signior. 
 
 " On leaving Athens you pass through the 
 great plain which is fall of olive-trees, and 
 watered by several streams that increase its 
 fertility. After proceeding for a full hour you 
 reach the shore, where is a most excellent 
 harbour, which was formerly defended by 
 a chain. The people of the country call it 
 the Lion's Harbour, from a large lion of stone 
 w hich is still to be seen there ; but by the an- 
 .cients it was denominated the harbour of Pi- 
 raeus . It was at this place that the Athenians 
 ^assembled their fleet and were accustonied to 
 embark." 
 
 The ignorance of Deshayes' secretary, for 
 it is not Deshayes himself who writes, is as^ 
 tonishing ; but we see what profound admira- 
 tion was excited by the view of the monuments 
 of Athens, when the finest of thos^ monuments 
 gtill existed in all its glory. 
 
 Thip establishment of French consuls in French eon? 
 
 P 
 
54 
 
 INTRODUCTIONT. 
 
 A. D. 1625. Attica preceded, by some years the visit of 
 
 s.chove. I conceived, at first, tliat Stochove liad 
 
 been at Athens in l630; but on comparing 
 his text with that of Dcsiiayes, I am convinced 
 that this Flemish gentleman merely copied 
 from the French ambassador. 
 
 A. v>Ac>i6. Father Antonio Pacifico published, in 
 
 Aut.racific. ^ ^ * ' 
 
 1636, at V^enice, his Description of the Morea, 
 a v. ork without method, in which Sparta is 
 taken for Misitra. 
 A. D. 164.5. A few vears afterwards Greece Avitnessed 
 
 Prt-ncb M:s- 
 
 sioiiaries. arrival of some of those missionaries who 
 spread the name, the glory, and the love of 
 France over the whole face of the globe. The 
 Jesuits of Paris settled at Athens about the 
 year l645, the Capuchins in l658, and in 
 1669, Father Simon purchased the Lantern of 
 Demosthenes, which became the place of en- 
 tertainment for strangers. 
 
 A. D. 1668. Dg Monceaux visited Greece in 1668. We 
 
 De Mon- 
 ceaux. h^\e an extract from his travels printed at the 
 
 end of Bniyn's. He has described antiquities, 
 especially in the Morea, of which not a vestige 
 is left. De Monceaux travelled with rAisn(^ 
 by order of Louis XIV. 
 * The French missionaries whilst engaged in 
 
 W'orks of charity, Avere not unmindful of those 
 pursuits which were calculated to reflect honor 
 A.D. 1672. on their country. Father Babin, a Jesuit, 
 F.th.Babin. j^^yj^j^gj 1672, an Account of the present 
 
INTRODUCTIOJT. 
 
 35 
 
 Slate of the Citij of Athens, Spon was theA.D. lera. 
 editor of this work. Nothing so complete and 
 so circumstantial on the antiquities of Athens 
 had yet appeared. 
 
 M. de Nointel, the French ambassador to a. d. i6r4. 
 
 11 ^^'iifel and 
 
 the Forte, passed through Athens m 1074 ; he Gaiiaad. 
 was accompanied by Gall and, the learned 
 orientalist. He had drawings made of the 
 basso relievos of the Parthenon. The originals 
 have perished, and we think ourselves ex- 
 tremely fortunate in still possessing the copies 
 of the Marquis de Nointel. None of these, 
 however, has yet been published, except that 
 which represents the pediment of the temple 
 of Minerva.* 
 
 In 1675, Guillet, under the assumed name a.d I674 
 of La Guilletiere, published his Ancient and Gu:i:ei:tvc, 
 Modern AtJiens. This work, which is a mere 
 romance, occasioned a violent quarrel among 
 the antiquaries. Spon detected Guiilet's false- 
 hoods : the latter was nettled, and wrote an 
 attack in the form of a dialogue, on the Tra- 
 vels of the physician of Lyons. Spon now 
 determined not to spare his antagonist ; he 
 proved that Guillet or La Guilletiere liad never 
 set foot in Athens, that he had composed his 
 rhapsody from memoirs procured from the 
 missionaries, and produced a list of questions 
 
 * In the atlas to the new edition of the Travels of Ana 
 .charsis. 
 
36 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A.D. iG74,transmitte(i by Guillet to a capuchin of Pa- 
 tras : nay, more, he gave a catalogue of one 
 hundred and twelve errors, more or less gross, 
 which had escaped the author of Ancient and 
 Modern Athens in his roman<:e. 
 
 Guillet or La Guilletiere is consequently 
 entitled to no credit as a traveller, but his 
 work, at the time of its publication, was not 
 without a degree of merit. Guillet made use 
 of the accounts which he obtained from the 
 Fathers Simon and Barnabas, both of whom 
 were missionaries at Athens ; and he mentions 
 a monument the Phanari tou Dio^enh. which 
 was Bot in existence in the time of Spon. 
 Siio^^nd^ The travels of Spon and Wheeler, per- 
 Whetier. formed in 1675, and the following year, ap- 
 peared in 1678. Every reader is acquainted 
 with the merits of this work, in which the arts 
 and antiquities are handled with a critical skill 
 before unknown. Spon's style is heavy and 
 incorrect ; but it possesses the candour and 
 the ease which characterize the publications of 
 that dav. 
 
 Wirciifsla.' The Earl of Winchelsea, ambassador from 
 the court of London, also visited Athens in 
 1676, and had several fragments of sculpture 
 conveyed to England. 
 
 While the general attention was thus dr- 
 A. D 1676-rected to Attica, Laconia was neglected. Guil- 
 Guiiieiltre. let eucouraged by the sale of his first im- 
 posture, produced, in 1676, his Ancient and 
 
INTRODUCTIONe 37 
 
 Modern Lacedcemon, Meursius bad published A.p.iiiTe. 
 his different treatises, de Popults Atiicce^ de 
 Festis Groecorum, &c. &c.; and thus furnished 
 a stock of materials ready prepared for any 
 writer who chose to treat of Greece. Guillef ^ 
 second work is full of the most egregious 
 blunders on the locality of Sparta. The au- 
 thor insists that Misitra is Lacedeemon^ and it 
 •vvas he who first gained credit for that egregious 
 error. Nevertheless," says Spon, " Misitra 
 does not stand on the site of Sparta, as I know 
 from M. Giraud, Mr. Vernon, and others. 
 
 Giraud had been the French consul at Giraud, 
 Athens for eighteen years w^hen Spon travelled 
 in Greece. He understood the Turkish and 
 Greek languages, as well as the vulgar Greek. 
 He had begun a description of the Morea, but 
 as he afterwards entered into the service of 
 Great Britain, his manuscript probably fell 
 into the hands of his last employers, 
 
 Venion, an English traveller, has left no- Vemon, 
 thing but a letter printed in the PhilosophiGal 
 Transactions for 16/6. He gives a rapid 
 sketch of his travels in Greece. Sparta,'* 
 says he, is a desert place : Misitra w^hich is 
 four miles off, is inhabited. You find at Sparta 
 almost all the w^alls of the towers and the 
 foundations of the temples, with many columns 
 demolished, as well as their capitals. A theatre 
 is yet standing, perfect and entire. It Avas 
 formerly five miles in circumference, and is si- 
 D 3 
 
3S 
 
 iKTnoDucTio:v\ 
 
 A. D. 1676. tuated about a quarter of a mile from the rivet 
 Eurotas." 
 
 It should be observed, that Guillet, in the 
 preface to his last work, mentions several ma- 
 nuscript memoirs on Lacedaemon. The least 
 defective/' says he, are in the possession of 
 M. Saint Challier^ secretary to the French em- 
 bassy in Piedmont." 
 
 We have now arrived at another epoch in 
 the history of the city of Athens. The tra- 
 vellers whom we have hitherto quoted, beheld 
 some of the most beautiful monuments of Pe- 
 ricles in all their integrity*. Pococke, Chand- 
 ler, and Leroi, admired them only in their 
 A. D. ruins. In 1687, vdille Louis XIY. was erect=- 
 ing the colonnade of the Louvre, the Vene- 
 tians were demolishing; the temple of Minerva. 
 I shall speak hereafter of this deplorable events 
 a consequence of the victories of Koningsmark 
 and Morosini. 
 
 In this same year, iGS/, appealed at Ve- 
 nice, the Notizia del Ducrito d'Atene, by Pietfo 
 Pacifico^ a small work which displays no marks 
 of taste or pains. 
 A.D. 16S3, Father Coronelli, in his Geographical De- 
 Coroaeiiu ^^y^jp^ig^.^^ ^j' fj^^ Mvvea recoYiquered hi/ the / e- 
 nelianSy has shewn erudition ; but he furnishes 
 no new information, and his c^uotations and his 
 maps should not be implicitly relied on. The 
 petty military transactions extolled by Coro- 
 nelli, form a striking contrast with the places- 
 
li^TRODUCTIOjJ. 39' 
 
 %rich are the theatre of tliem. Among the a. D. 1638. 
 li£»roes of this conquest, we remark, ho^vever^ 
 II prince de Turenne, who fought near Pylos, 
 says Coronelli, with the intrepidity natural to 
 all the members of his house. Coronelli con 
 founds Sparta with Misitra. 
 
 The Atene Attica of Fanelli takes up theFaneiiu 
 history of Athens from its origin, and brings it 
 down to the period at which the author wrote. 
 His work is of little importance as far as re- 
 gards antiquities ; but it contains curious par- 
 ticulars of the siege of Athens -by the Vene- 
 tians in 16S7, and a plan of that city, of which 
 Chandler seems to have availed himself. 
 
 Paul Lucas enjoys a high repntation among a. d. i':o4. 
 the class of travellers, and I am astonished at 
 it : not but tliat he amuses us with his fables ; 
 the battles which he fights single-handed 
 against fifty robbers — the prodigious bones 
 which he meets with at every step — the cities 
 of giants which he discovers — the three or four 
 thousand pyramids which he finds on a public 
 road, and which nobody besides himself ever 
 saw, are diverting stories enough : but then he 
 mangles all the inscriptions that he copies, his 
 plagiarisms are incessant, and his description 
 of Jerusalem is copied verbatim from that of 
 Deshayes. Lastly, he speaks of Athens as if 
 he had never been there, and Avhat he says of 
 that city is one of the most glaring falsehoods 
 that ever travelkr had the impudence to publish, 
 
 D 4 
 
46 
 
 A. r). 1704. Its ruins/' says he, " are, as may be sup^ 
 posed, the most remarkable part of Athensw 
 In fact, though the houses are very numerous 
 in that city, and the climate delicious, there 
 are scarcely any inhabitants. Here you find 
 an accommodation that you meet with no 
 "where else ; whoever pleases may live here 
 without paying ariy rent, the houses being 
 given away for nothing. For the rest, if this 
 celebrated city surpasses all those of antiquity 
 in the number of monuments which it has con- 
 secrated to posteiity ; it may likewise be as- 
 serted, that the excellence of its climate has 
 J)reserved them in better condition than those 
 of aiiy other place in the world, at leasts of all 
 STich aJj I have seen* It would seem as if else- 
 where people had taken delight in the work of 
 destiiiction ; and war has^ in almost every 
 country^ occasioned ravages which, while they 
 have ruined the inhabitants, have at the same 
 time disfigured all the monumeiits of their 
 better days* Athens alone, either accidentally, 
 or from that respect which must necessarily be 
 commanded by a city, once the seat of the sci- 
 ences, and to which the whole world is under 
 obligation — Athens, 1 say, was alone spared in 
 the universal destruction. In every part of it 
 Vou meet with marbles of astonishing beauty 
 iand magnitude ; they Were profusely intro- 
 duced; and at every step you discover columns 
 of granite and of jasper/' 
 
INTRODUCTION* 
 
 41 
 
 Alliens is very populous; houses are not ^' ^"^^^^ 
 given away there, neither are columns of gra- 
 nite and jasper to be met with at every step : 
 in a word, seventeen years prior to 1/04, tbe 
 monuments of that celebrated city had been 
 demolished by the Venetians. The most sin- 
 gular circumstance is^ that we were already in 
 possession of M. de NointeFs drawings and 
 Spon's travels, when Paul Lucas printed this 
 account, worthy of a place in the Arabian 
 Nights. 
 
 The Narrative of the Travels of the Sieur a.d. 1719. 
 Pellegrin, in the kingdom of Morea, is dated 
 17 18* The author seems to have been a 
 man of little education and still less science. 
 His paltry pamphlet of one hundred and eighty- 
 two pages is a collection of anecdotes of gal- 
 lantry^ songs and wretched poetry. The Ve- 
 netians had remained masters of the Morea 
 from l685 ; they lost it in 1715. Pellegrin 
 has sketched the history of this last conquest 
 of the Turks, which is the only interesting 
 part of his work. 
 
 The Abbe Fourmont went to the Levant, a. d. 1*728. 
 by order of Louis XV. in quest of inscriptions 
 and manuscripts. I shall have occasion to 
 mention in the present work some of the dis- 
 coveries made at Sparta by that learned anti- 
 quary. His travels have remained in manu- 
 script, and only some fragments of them are 
 known ; their publication would be highly de- 
 
42 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. i':2S.sirablej as we ])ossess nothing complete respect- 
 ing the monuments of the Peloponnese. 
 A.D.nsg. Pococke visited Athens on his return from 
 
 Potocke. 
 
 Egypt. He has desciibed the monuments of 
 Attica with that accuracy which communicates 
 a knowledge of the arts, but excites no enthu- 
 siasm for them. 
 A. D. 1740. Wood, Dawkins, and Bouverie, vrere iust 
 
 Wood, Daw- 
 kins, and then making their literarv tour in honour of 
 
 Bouvcrie. 
 
 Homer. 
 
 A. D. 1753. The first picturesque tour of Greece was 
 that of Leroi. Chandler accuses the French 
 artist of a violation of truth in some of his 
 drawings ; and I have myself remarked in 
 them superfluous ornaments. Lcroi's sections 
 and plans have not the scrupulous fidelity of 
 Stuart's ; but taking it altogether, his work is 
 a monument honorable to France. Leroi was 
 at Lacedc^mon, which he clearly distinguishes 
 from Misitra, and where he recognized the 
 theatre and the dromos, 
 
 A. D. 1759, I know not, if the Ruins of Athens by Ro- 
 bert Sayer, be not an English translation 
 of Leroi's book Avith new en^ravinsrs of the 
 plates. I must likewise acknowledge my ig- 
 norance of Pars' work, which Chandler men- 
 tions with commendation. 
 
 A. D. 1761. In l/Gl, Stuait enriched his country with 
 his celebrated work, intituled, Antiquities of 
 Athens It is a grand undertaking, particularly 
 useful to artists, and executed vrith that accn- 
 
INTRODUCTIOTTi 
 
 43 
 
 racy of ailrneasurement, which is, at the present A. d. nsh 
 day, considered sv.ch a high recommendation : 
 but the general effect of the prints is not good ; 
 the whole togetlier is deficient in that truth 
 which perv>*des the details* 
 
 Chandlers Travels^ which speedily fol- ciVif^* 
 lowed Stuart's Antiquities, might enable us to 
 dispense with all the others. In this work 
 the doctor has displayed uncommon fidelity, 
 a pleasing and yet j)rofourid erudition, sound 
 criticism and exquisite taste. I have only one 
 fault to find with him, which is, that he fre^ 
 quently mentions Wheeler, but never intro- 
 duces the name of Spon without a marked 
 reluctance. Spon certainly deserves to be 
 noticed when the partner of his labours is 
 spoken of ; Chandler, as a scholar and a tra- 
 veller, ought to have forgotten that he was an 
 Englishman. In 1805, he published his last 
 work on Athens, which I have not been able 
 to procui*e. 
 
 Riedesel visited thePeloponnese and Attica a. a im 
 ih 1773, He has filled his little work with 
 many grand reflections on the manners, laws, 
 and religion of the Greeks and Turks. The 
 baron travelled in the Morea three years after 
 the Russian expedition. A great number of 
 monuments had perished at Sparta, at Argos, 
 and at Megalopolis, in consequence of this 
 invasion : in the same manner as the antiqui^ 
 
 I 
 
44 
 
 tKTRODUCTIO^^ 
 
 A. D. 1773. ties of Athens owed their final destruction to 
 the expedition of the Venetians. 
 
 The first volume of M. de ChoiseuFs inas:- 
 
 A.D. 17T8. 
 
 Ch. 
 
 lieu I 
 
 Chabcrt. nificent work appeared at the beginning of 
 177s. This performance I shall have frequent 
 occasion to mention with deserved commenda- 
 tion. I shall merely remark in this place, that 
 M. de Choiseul has not yet published the Mo- 
 numents of Attica and of the Peloponnese. 
 The author was at Athens in 1^84 ; and it vras 
 the same year^ I believe, that M. Chabert 
 determined the latitude and longitude of the 
 temple of Minerva. 
 
 A. D. 1780. Xhe researches of Messrs. Foucherot and 
 
 Foucberot 
 
 andFauvei. Fauvcl began about 1/80, and were prosecuted 
 in the succeeding: vears. The Memoirs of the 
 latter describe places and antiquities heretofore 
 unknown. M. Fauvel was my host at Athens, 
 and of his labours I shall speak in another 
 place. 
 
 Viiioison. Our great Greek scholar d'Ansse de Vil- 
 loison travelled over Greece nearly about this 
 period, but we have not reaped the benefit of 
 his studies. 
 
 A. D. 17S5. Lechevalier paid a hasty visit to 
 
 Lechevaher. •*■ 
 
 Athens in 17S5. 
 A. D. 1794. Xhe travels of M. Scrofani bear the stamp 
 
 Scrotani. 
 
 of the age, that is to say, they are philoso- 
 phical, political, economical, &c. To the 
 study of antiquity they contribute nothing; 
 
tfJTRODUCTIOIC. 
 
 45 
 
 bat the authors observations on the soil, ^"^^^^ 
 population, and commerce of the Morea are 
 excellent and new. 
 
 At the time of M. Scrofani's travels, two 
 Englishmen ascended the most elevated sum- 
 mit of the Taygetus. 
 
 In 1797, Messrs. Dixo and Nicolo Ste- a. ^- ^^^7. 
 
 * ^ Dixo and 
 
 phanopoli, were sent to the republic of Maina ^''^'^'^^f?- 
 by the French government. These travellers 
 highly extol that republic, which has been 
 the subject of much discussion. For my part, 
 I have the misforttme to consider the Mainottes 
 as a horde of banditti, of Sclavonian ex- 
 traction, and no more the descendants of the 
 ancient Spartans, than the Druses are the off- 
 spring of the Count de Dreux. I cannot there- 
 fore share the enthusiasm of those who behold 
 in these pirates of Taygetus, the virtuous heirs 
 of Lacedaemonian liberty. 
 
 M. Poucqueville would certainlv be the a. d. 179?, 
 
 • -i» /r . ^ Poucque- 
 
 best guide for the Morea, if he had been able vii'e. 
 to visit all the places that he has described. 
 He was unfortunately a prisoner at Tripolizza. 
 
 About this time Lord Ela^in, the Eng:lish ^^'^'^ E'gin* 
 
 . , Swinton.^c 
 
 ambassador at Constantinople, caused re- Hawkins, 
 searches and ravages to be made in Greece, 
 which I shall have Occasion to praise and to 
 deplore. Soon after him, his countrymen 
 Swinton and Hawkins visited Athens, Sparta, 
 and Olympia. 
 
46 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The Fragments designed to cojitrilute to 
 the Knowledge of Modern Greece conclude the 
 list of all these travels. They are indeed but 
 frai^meuts. 
 
 Let us now sum up, in a few words, the 
 history of the monuments of Athens. The 
 Parthenon, the temple of Victory, great part 
 of the temple of the Olympian Jupiter, another 
 monument denominated by Guillet the Lantern 
 of Diogenes^ were seen in all their beauty by 
 Zygomalas, Cabasilas, and Deshayes. 
 
 De Monceaux, the Marquis de Nointcl, 
 Galland, Father Babin, Spon, and Wheeler, 
 also admired the Parthenon while yet entire ; 
 hut the Lantern of Diogenes had disappeared, 
 and the temple of Victory had been blowTi up 
 by the explosion of a powder-magazine ; * so 
 that no part of it was left standing but the 
 pediment. 
 
 Pococke, Leroi, Stuart, and Chandler, 
 found the Parthenon half destroyed by the 
 bombs of the Venetians, and the pediment of 
 the temple of Victory demolished. Since that 
 period the ruins have kept continually en- 
 creasing. I shall relate in what manner they 
 were augmented by Lord Elgin. 
 
 The learned world consoles itself with the 
 drawings of M. de Nointel, and the picturesque 
 
 * This accident happened in 1 65G. 
 
INTEODUCTION. A^ 
 
 tours of Leroi and Stuart. M. Fauvel hasA.D. i803, 
 taken casts of two cariatides of the Pandroseum 
 and some basso-relievos of the temple of 
 IMinerva. A metope of the same temple is in 
 the hands of M. de Choiseul. Lord Elgin took 
 away several others which, perhaps, perished 
 with the ship that foundered at Cerigo. Messrs, 
 Swinton and Hawkins possess a bronze trophy 
 found at Olympia. The mutilated statue of 
 Ceres Eleusina is also in England. Lastly, we 
 have in terra cotta the choragic monument of 
 Lysicrates. It is a melancholy reflection, that 
 the civilized nations of Europe have done more 
 injury to the monuments of Athens in the 
 space of one hundred and fifty years than all 
 the barbarians together in a long series of 
 ages : it is cruel to think that Alaric and 
 Mahomet H. respected the Parthenon, and 
 that it was demolished by Morosini and Lord 
 Elgin.. 
 
INXrxODUCTIOjT, 
 
 SECOND MEMOIR, 
 
 I HAVE already observed, that it is my 
 intention to inquire in this Second Memoir, 
 into the authenticity of the christian traditions 
 relative to Jerusalem. The history of that 
 city being involved in no obscurity, has no 
 occasion for preliminary explanations. 
 
 The traditions respecting the Holy Land, 
 derive their certainty from three sources : 
 fi'om history, from religion, and from places 
 or local circumstances. Let us first consider 
 them in an historical point of view. 
 
 Christ, accompanied by his Apostles, ac 
 complished at Jerusalem, the mysteries of his 
 passion. The writings of the four Evangelists 
 are the earliest documents that record the 
 actions of the Son of Man. The acts of 
 Pilate, preserved at Rome, in the time of Ter- 
 tullian,^ attested the principal event of that 
 history, the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
 The Redeemer expired. Joseph of Arima- 
 tliea obtained the sacred body, and deposited 
 it in a tomb at the foot of Calvary. The 
 Messiah rose again on the third day ; appeared 
 
 * Apolog. advers, Gent, 
 
INl'RODUC'riON. 
 
 to his apostles and disciples, gave them his 
 instaictions, and then returned to the right 
 hand of his Father. At this time the church 
 commences at Jerusalem. 
 
 It is natural to suppose that the first 
 apostles and the relatives of our Saviour^ 
 according to the flesh, who composed this 
 first church in the world, were perfectly ac- 
 quainted with all the circumstances attending 
 the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is 
 essenticvl to remark, that Golgotha was out 
 of the city as well as the Mount of Olives : 
 whence it follows, that the apostles might 
 the more freely perform their devotions in the 
 places sanctified by their divine master. 
 
 The knowledge of these places was not 
 long confined within a narrow circle of dis- 
 ciples : Peter, in two harangues^ converted 
 eight thousand persons at Jerusalem;* James, 
 the brother of our Saviour, was elected the 
 first bishop of this church, in the year 35 of 
 our era ;"f- and was succeeded by Simeon, the 
 cousin of Jesus Christ. J We then find a 
 series of thirteen bishops of Jewish race, who 
 occupy a space of one hundred and twenty- 
 three years, from Tiberius to the reign of 
 Adrian. The names of these bishops are : 
 
 * Acts of the Apostl. c. 2 and 4. 
 
 t Eus. Hist. Eccl lib. II. c. 2. 
 
 : Eus. Hist. Eccl lib. IIL c. 11—33. 
 
IN TKODUCTION. 
 
 Justus, Zacheus, Tobias, Benjamin, John, 
 Mathias, Philip, Seneca, Justus II. Levi, 
 Ephraim, Joseph, and Jude.* 
 
 If the first christians of Judea conse- 
 crated monuments to their reh'gious worsliip, 
 is it not probable that they erected them in 
 preference on those spots \vhich had been 
 distinguished by the miracles of their faith ? 
 Can it be doubted, that in those times there 
 existed sanctuaries in Palestine, when the 
 believers possessed such at Rome, and in all 
 the provinces of the empire ? When St. Paul 
 and the other apostles gave exhortations and 
 laws to the churches of Europe and Asia, to 
 whom did thev address themselves, unless to 
 a con^esration of believers meeting: in one 
 common place, under the direction of a 
 pastor ? Is not this even implied by the word 
 Ecclesia, which in Greek signifies either an 
 assembly, or a place of assembly ? St. Cyril 
 takes it in the latter sense. -f* 
 
 The election of the seven deacons in the 
 A.D. 33. year 33 of the christian eera;:{: and the first 
 A.D.5I. council held in 51,§ shew that the apostles 
 had particular places of meeting in the Holy 
 City. We find no difficulty in believing also, 
 that the Holy Sepulchre was honored from 
 
 * Eus. Hist. Eccl. lib. HI. c. 35. and lib. IV. c, 5- 
 t Catech. XVIII. t Acts, c. 6. 
 \ Acts. c. 15. 
 
IMTRODUCTIOJT. 
 
 61 
 
 the first institution of Christianity under the a. D. 51. 
 name of Martyr ion, or the Testimony, At 
 least, St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, preach- 
 ing in 347, in the church of Calvary says : 
 This temple does not hear the name of 
 church like the others, but is called 
 Testimony, as the prophet predicted. 
 
 At the commencement of the troubles inA.D.70. 
 Judea, during the reign of Vespasian, the 
 christians of Jerusalem withdrew to Pella,'f' 
 and as soon as the city was demolished, they 
 returned to dwell among its ruins. In the 
 space of a few months,;{; they could not have 
 forgotten the position of their sanctuaries, 
 which being, moreover, without the walls, 
 must not have suffered much from the siege, 
 Simeon, the successor of James, governed the 
 church of Judaea, when Jerusalem was taken 
 since we find the same Simeon, at the age of 
 one hundred and tv/enty years, receiving the 
 crown of martyrdom during the reign of 
 Trajan. § The succeeding bishops, whose ^ ^ u^^ 
 names I have mentioned, fixed their residence 
 on the mins of the Holy City, and preserved 
 the christian traditions respecting it. 
 
 * S, Cyr. Cat. XVI. Ilium. 
 
 t Euseb. Hist. Ecci. lib. III. c. 5. 
 
 X Titus appeared before Jerusalem about Easter, in 
 the year 70, and the city was taken iji the month pf Sep- 
 tember, the same year. 
 
 § Eus, Hist. Eccl. lib. III. c. 33, 
 E 2 
 
53 IT^TRODUCTIO^r. 
 
 A.D.157. Tliat the holy places were generally known 
 in the tin^e of Adrian, is demonstrated by an 
 undeniable fact. That emperor, when he 
 re-built Jerusalem, erected a statue of Venus 
 on Mount Calvary, and another of Jupiter 
 on the holy sepulchre. The grotto of Beth- 
 lehem was given np to the rites of Adonis.* 
 The folly of idolatry, thus published, by its 
 imprudent profanations, the silly doctrine of 
 the Cross, which it was so much to its own 
 interest to conceal. The faith made such 
 rapid progress in Palestine, before the last 
 insurrection of the Jews, that Barcochehas, 
 the ringleader on tliis occasion, persecuted 
 the christians to oblige them to renounce their 
 religion.'^ 
 
 No sooner was the Jewish church of 
 Jerusalem dispersed by Adrian, in the year 
 of Christ 13/5 than we find the church of 
 the Gentiles established in that city. Mark 
 was its first bishop, and Eusebius gives us a 
 list of his successors till the time of Diocle- 
 sian. These were : Cassian, Publius, Max- 
 A.p. 162. iixiiis. Julian, Cains, Symmachus, Caius 11. 
 
 Under Com- - ^ ' - ' 
 
 mod. Julian II. Capiton, Valens^ Dolichian, Nar- 
 Under Se-* cissus, tlic thirtieth after the apostles,,"}; Dins, 
 
 * Hieron. Epist. ad Paul — Ruff. Sozom. Hist. EccL 
 lib. II. c. 1.— Socrat. Hist. Eccl. lib. 3. c. 17.— Sev. lib, 
 n._^rj^eph. lib.XVlII. 
 
 t Eu?. lib. IV. c. 8. I Idem lib. V. c. \Q. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 53 
 
 G;drmaiiion, ^ Gordiiis, * Alexander, -f- Maza- a. d. 
 banes, J Hynienasus,^ Zabdas, PIermon,|| the 
 last bisho]3 before the persecution of Diocle- UndcrCau. 
 sian. A.D. 28 k 
 
 Adrian, though so zealons in behalf of 
 his deities, did not persecute the christians, 
 except those of Jerusalem, whom lie doubt- 
 less looked upon as Jews, and who were in 
 fact of the Israelitish nation. The apologies 
 of Quadratus and Aristides are supposed to 
 have made an impression upon him.^ He 
 even wrote a letter to Minuciiis Fundanus, A. D. isc. 
 governor of Asia, forbidding him to punish 
 the believers without just cause. *^ 
 
 It is probable that the Gentiles, converted 
 to the faith, lived peaceably at ^lia, or New 
 Jerusalem, till the reign of Dioclesian : this 
 is indeed evident, from the list of bishops of 
 that cliurcli "iven above. When Narcissus ^ 
 filled the episcopal chair, the deacons were ^ jj^^' 
 in want of oil at the feast of Easter : Narcis- 
 sus we are told performed a miracle on that 
 occasion."^-}- The christians at this period 
 therefore, celebrated the mysteries of their 
 religion in public at Jerusalem, and had con- 
 sequently altars consecrated to their worship. 
 
 * Eus. lib. VI. c. 10. t Id. lib. VI. c. 10, 11. 
 : Id. lib. VII. c. 5. § Id. lib. VII. c. 28. 
 
 II Id. Lb. VII. c. 31. 
 
 ^ Tiliem. Persec. Sous Adr.— Eus. lib. IV. c. 3. 
 Eus. lib. IV. c. 8. tt Eus. lib. VI. c. 9^ 
 
54 INTRODUCTION'. 
 
 A. D. 162. Alexander, another Bishop of ^lia^ during 
 the reign of the Emperor Severus, founded 
 a library in his diocese now this circum- 
 stance must pre-suppose peace, leisure, and 
 prosperity ; proscripts never open a public 
 school of philosophy. 
 
 If the faithful were not at this time 
 allowed the possession of Calvary, the Holy 
 Sepulchre, and Bethlehein, to celebrate their 
 festivals, the memory of those sanctuaries 
 could not at least be effaced. The very idols 
 served to mark their places ; nay, more, the 
 Pagans themselves hoped that the temple of 
 Venus, erected on the summit of Calvary, 
 would not prevent the christians from visit- 
 ing that sacrod mount ; for they rejoiced in 
 the idea, that the Nazarenes, when they re- 
 paired to Golgotha to pray, vi^ould appear to 
 be paying adoration to the daughter of Ju- 
 piter.f This is a striking proof of the perfect 
 knowledge of the sacred places retained by 
 the church of Jem sal em. 
 
 There are writers Avho go still farther, and 
 assert, that prior to the persecution of Dio- 
 desian, the christians of Judea had regained 
 A.D. 326. possession of the Holy Sej)ulchre.:}; It is cer- 
 Cpnsunt. tain that St. Cyril, S}>€aking of the church 
 of the Holy Sepulchre, positively says : *^ It 
 
 * Eus. lib. VI. c. 20. t Sozom. lib. 11. c. 1. 
 X Epitoa. Bell. Sacror. torn. Vi. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 is not long since Betlilehem \vas a country A. o. 326 
 place, and Mount Calvary a garden, the traces 
 of which are yet visible."* What then had 
 become of the profane edifices ? There is every 
 reason to believe that the Pagans of Jenisalein, 
 finding their number too small to maintain 
 their ground against the increasing multitude 
 of the faithful, by degrees forsook the temples 
 of Adrian. If the church, yet exposed to per- 
 secution, durst not rebuild its altars at the 
 sacred tomb, it enjoyed at least the consolation 
 of worshipping there unmolested, and of be- 
 holding the monuments of idolatry moulder 
 into niin. 
 
 We have now arrived at an epoch when a. D. 327 
 the Holy places begin to shine with a lustre no 
 -more to be effaced. Constantine having placed 
 the Christian religion npon the throne, wrote 
 to Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem. He ordered 
 him to cover the tomb of our Saviour with a 
 magnificent church. f Helena, the emperor s 
 mother, went herself to Palestine, and directed 
 search to be made for the Holy Sepulchre It 
 had been buried under the foundation of Adri- 
 an's edifices. A Jew, apparently a Christian, 
 who, according to Sozomenes, had preserved 
 memorials of his forefathers, pointed out the 
 place where the tomb must have been. Helena 
 
 * Cateches. XI!. ami XIV. * 
 
 t Eus. in Const, lib. III. c. 25-43. Socr. lib, I. c. p. 
 E 4 
 
66 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A.D.327. had the glory to restore to religion the sacred 
 monument. She likewise discovered three 
 crosses, one of wliich is said to have heen re- 
 cognized hy its miracles, as the cross on which 
 the Redeemer suffered. =^ Not only was a mag- 
 nificent church erected at the Holy Sepulchre, 
 but two others were built by Helena; one over 
 the manger of the Messiah, at Bethlehem, and 
 the other on the Mount of Olives, in memory 
 of the ascension of the Lord.f Chapels, ora- 
 tories, and altars by degrees marked all the 
 places consecrated by the acts of the Son of 
 Man : the oral traditions were committed to 
 writing, and thus secured from the treachery 
 of memory. 
 
 Eusebius in his History of the Churchy his 
 Life of Constant ine, and his Onomasticiun ur- 
 bium et locorum Sacroe Script uros^ has, in fact? 
 desciibed the holy places as we see them at 
 the present day. He speaks of the Holy Se- 
 pulchre, of Calvary, of Bethlehem, of the 
 Mount of Olives, and the grotto where Christ 
 revealed the mysteries to the apostles. After 
 him comes St. Cyril_, whom I have already 
 quoted more than once : he shews us the sa- 
 cred stations such as they were before and 
 after their embellishment by Constantino and 
 
 * Socr. c. 17. — Sozom. lib. III. c. 1. 
 t Eus. in Const, lib. II. c. I. 
 X Eus, in Const, lib. III. c. 43, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 57 
 
 St. Helena. Socrates, Sozomeiies, Theodoret, a d. 327. 
 Evagiius then give the succession of several 
 bishops from Constantine to Justinian : Maca- 
 riiis,^ Maximus.'l- Cyril, i Hcrennius, Herac- ^t P-j?^^^' 
 lius^ Hilarius,^ John,!! Sallust, Martyrius, ^ JJ-^^^i- 
 Elias, Peter, Macarius 11.,^ and Jobn,=^=^ ^-J^-^s;. 
 the fourth of that name. Ircad*'"''^ 
 
 St. Jerome, who retired to Bethlehem n\? T^^^' 
 about the year 385, has left us, in various parts fj^^;^^' 
 of his works, the most complete delineation of^'^'^'^^* 
 the sacred places. -f-f- It would be too long,'* 
 says he, in one of his letters, :};:{! " to go 
 through ail the ages, from the ascension of 
 the Lord, to the time in which we live, to re- 
 late how many bishops, how many martyrs, 
 how many teachers have visited Jerusalem, for 
 they would have thought themselves possessed 
 of less piety and learning had they not adored 
 Jesus Christ on the very spot where the gos- 
 pel began to diffuse its light from the sum- 
 mit of the cross." 
 
 St. Jerome declares, in the same letter, that a. d.385. 
 pilgrims from India, Etliiopia, Britain, and 
 
 * Socrat. lib. I. c. 17. 
 
 t Socrat. lib. II. c. 24.--Sozom. lib. II. c. 20. 
 
 X Socrat. lib. III. c. 20. 
 
 § Sozom. lib. IV. c. 30. 
 
 II Sozom. lib. VII. c. 14. 
 
 IF Evagr. lib. IV. c. 37. 
 
 ** Evagr. lib. V. c. 14. 
 
 tt Epist. XXII. &c. De situ et norn. loc. hebraic, &c. 
 XX Epist. ad Marcel. 
 
58 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. _ 5. Jlibcrnia^* resorted to Jerusalem, and sung in 
 their various languages the praises of Christ, 
 around his tomb. He says that alius were 
 gent from all parts to Calvary ; he mentions 
 the principal places of devotion in Palestine 
 and adds that, in the city of Jerusalem alone, 
 there were so many sanctuaries that it was im- 
 possible to visit them all in one day. This 
 letter is addressed to Marcella, and is con- 
 jectured to have been written by St. Paula and 
 St. Eustochium, though it is ascribed in nxanu- 
 scripts to St. Jerome. Could then the believers 
 who, from the days of the apostles to the con- 
 clusion of the fourth century, had frequented 
 the tomb of our Saviour, could they, I ask, be 
 ignorant of the situation of that tomb ? 
 
 A.D. 404. The same father of the church, in his letter 
 to Eustochium, on the death of Paula, thus de- 
 scribes the stations visited by the pious Roman 
 lady: — 
 
 " She prostrated herself," says he, ^' before 
 the cross, on the top of Calvary ; at the Holy 
 Sepulchre she embraced the stone which the 
 angel rolled away, and kissed, with particular 
 reverence, the spot where the body of Christ 
 was laid. She saw on Mount Sion, the pillar 
 ^vhere our Saviour was bound and scourged 
 with rods ; the pillar then supported the portal 
 of a church. She desired to be conducted to 
 
 Epist. XXIL 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 59 
 
 the place where the disciples were assembled"^ 
 when the Holy Ghost descended upon them. 
 She then repaired to Bethlehem and stopped 
 hy the way at Rachael's sepulchre. She adored 
 the manger of the Messiali, and pictured to 
 herself the wise men and the shepherds as still 
 present there. At Bethphage she foond the 
 monument of Lazarus, and the hahitation of 
 Martha and Mary. At Sichar she admired a 
 church erected over Jacob's well, where Christ 
 conversed with the Samaritan womiua, and 
 lastly, she found at Samaria the tomb of 
 St. John Baptist."^ 
 
 This letter is of the year 404 ; consequently 
 more than fourteen centuries have elapsed 
 since it was written. Read all the accounts of 
 the Holy Land, all the travels from Arculfe*s 
 to mine, and you will see that the pilgrims 
 have invariably found and described the places 
 marked by St. Jerome. Surely this is at least 
 a high and imposing antiquity. 
 
 A proof that the pilgi images to Jerusalem 
 were of older date than the time of St. Jerome, 
 as that learned writer has expressly said, is to 
 be found in the Itinerary from Bordeaux to 
 Jerusalem. This itinerary was composed, ac- 
 cording to the ablest critics in 333, for the use 
 of the pilgrims from Gaul.f Mannert is of 
 
 * Epist. ad Eustoch. 
 
 t SeeWess. Fraf. in Itin. p, 5. 37. 4-7. — Berg. Chem. 
 de TEnip. 
 
6o 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 4C4. opinion that it was a sketch of the route for 
 some person charged with a commission by 
 the prince : * but it is much more natural to 
 suppose that it was designed for a general pur- 
 pose ; and this is the more probable as the 
 holy places are there described. 
 
 A. D.379. So much is certain, that Gregory of Nyssa 
 censured the abuse, as early as his time, of pil- 
 grimages to Jerusalem.'}- He had himself 
 visited the holy places in 3^9; he particularly 
 mentions Calvary, the Holy Sepulchre, the 
 Mount of Olives, and Bethlehem. We find 
 this journey among the works of the pious 
 bishop, under the title of Iter Hierosoh/ma\ 
 St. Jerome likewise endeavoured to dissuade 
 
 A.D. 404. Paulina fi om undertaking a pilgrimage to the 
 Holy Land.;}: 
 
 It was not only priests, recluses, bishops, 
 and doctors that flocked from all quarters to 
 Palestine at the period of which we are treat- 
 ing ; but likewise females of high rank, even 
 princesses and empresses. I have already 
 mentioned Paula and Eustochium, and must not 
 omit the two Melanias.§ The monastery of 
 Bethlehem was filled with the most illustrious 
 families of Rome who fled thither from Ala- 
 ric. Fifty years before, Eutropia, widow of 
 Maximian Hercules, had made the tour of 
 
 * Geog. I. f Epist. ad Ambros, 
 
 X Epist. ad Paulin. § Epist. XXII. 
 
INTRODUCTION-. 
 
 6i 
 
 Palestine, and destroyed the relics of idolatry a. d. 404. 
 which still appeared at the fair of Terebinthus 
 near Hebron. 
 
 In the age succeeding that of St. Jerome? 
 we never lose sight of Calvary. It was then 
 that Theodoret wrote his Ecclesiastical His- 
 tory, in which we find frequent mention of the 
 Christian Sion. We have a still more dis- 
 tinct view of it in the Lives of the /Inchorifes, a.d. 4r>D, 
 by tlie same author. St. Peter, one of their 
 number, performed the sacred journey.* Theo- 
 doret himself passed through Palestine, v/here 
 he surve^fed with astonishment the ruin^ of 
 the Temple, f The two pilgrimages of the em- 
 press Eudocia, wife of Theodosins the younger, 
 took place in this century. She caused mo- 
 nasteries to be erected at Jerusalem^ and there 
 ended her days in retirement.:!: A.d. 430, 
 
 The coinmenceraent of the sixth century^ a. d. 500. 
 furnishes us v/ith the Itinerary of Antoninus of 
 Placentia: he describes all the stations like 
 St. Jerome. In this account, I remark the 
 burial-place of pdgrims, at the gate of Jeru- 
 salem, which plainly evinces the affioence of 
 these pious travellers. The author found Pa- 
 lestine covered with churches and monasteries. 
 
 * Hist. Relig. c. 6. f Serra. II, De Fine et Jr.dicio. 
 
 X Evagr. c. 20. — Zouar in Tlieod. H. This illustrious 
 Athenian lady has already been mentioned in t!'.e first Me. 
 moir. 
 
62 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A D. 500 He says, that the Holy Sepulchre was adorned 
 with precious stones, jewels, crowns of gold, 
 necklaces, and bracelets.* 
 
 A. D.573. Gregory of Tours, the earliest historian of 
 the French monarchy, also speaks in this century 
 - of the pilgrimages to Jerusalem. One of his 
 deacons having gone to the Holy Land, had, 
 with four other travellers, beheld a miraculous 
 star at Bethlehem. -f- According to the same 
 historian, there was then at Jerusalem a spa- 
 cious monastery for the reception of travellers.;}: 
 It was, without doubt, the same establishment 
 that Brocard found two hundred years later. 
 
 A. D.093. In the same century it was also that Jus- 
 tinian exalted the Bishop of Jerusalem to the 
 patriarchal dignity. The emperor presented 
 to the Holy Sepulchre the sacred vessels which 
 Titus had carried away from the Temple, 
 These vessels, which in 455, had fallen into 
 the hands of Genseric, were recovered bv Beli- 
 sarins, at Carthage. § 
 
 A. r> 613. Cosroes took Jenisalem in 6l3. Herac- 
 lius restored to the tomb of Christ, the real 
 cross which the Persian monarch had taken 
 away. Twenty-three years afterwards, Omar 
 A. D. 630. made himself master of the Holy City, which 
 
 * Itin. de Loc. Terr. Sanct. 
 i Greg. Tar. de Martyr, lib. I. c. 10. 
 J Greg, Tur. de Martyr. lib. I. c. 11. 
 § Proccj). de Beil Vaud. iib. XT. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 63 
 
 continued under the yoke of the Saracens till a. d.css, 
 the time of Godfrey de Bouillon. In another 
 part of this work will be found the history of 
 the church of the Holy Sepulchre during these 
 calamitous ages. It was saved by the invin- 
 cible constancy of the Believers of Judea: 
 they never abandoned it, and the pilgrims, 
 emulating their zeal, ceased not to throng to 
 the sacred shore. 
 
 Some years after Omar's conquest, Arciilfe 
 visited Palestine. Adamannus, abbot of lona, 
 a British island, drew up a description of the 
 Holy Land, from the account of the French 
 bishop. This curious description is yet extant. 
 Seranius publishe'l it in 1S19, Ingolstadt, . 
 under this title : De Locls Terrce Sanctce, lib, 3. 
 An extract from it may be found in the works of 
 the venerable Bede : De Situ Hlerusalem et 
 Locorum Sanctorum Viher, Mabillon has in- 
 troduced the performance of Adamannus into 
 his great collection : Acta S, S, Ordin. S\ Be- 
 nedicti II. 5i4. 
 
 Arculfe describes the holy places as they 
 were in the time of St. Jerome, and as we be- 
 hold them at the present day. He represents 
 the church of the Holy Sepulchre as a circular 
 building : he found churches and oratories at 
 Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, in the garden 
 of the same name, and in that of Gethsemane. 
 He adir.ired the magnificent church at Bethle- 
 hem. These are precisely the same objects as 
 
64 
 
 INTIIODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 690. are still sli,e\vn, and yet this description is of 
 about the year 6Q0, if we place tlie death of 
 Adamanniis in 704."* It is to be observed tliat, 
 in the time of St. Arculfe, Jenisaleni still went 
 by the name of ^^lia. 
 A.D. 700. in the eighth century, we have two narra- 
 A D. 7G5. tives of Travels to Jerusalem, by St. Guille- 
 baud in which the same places continue to 
 be described, and the same traditions to be 
 faithfully repeated. These narratives are short, 
 but the essential stations are marked. The 
 learned William Cave mentions a manuscript 
 of the venerable Bede, m bihliotheca Gualtari 
 Copi, cod, 16*9, under the title of Libellus de 
 Sanctis Locis. Eedc was born in 672, and 
 died in 7^2. Whatever may be the nature of 
 this little work, it must be placed in the eighth 
 century. 
 
 A.D. 800. During the reign of Charlemagne, at the 
 commencement of the ninth century, the chalif 
 Haroun al Raschid, ceded to the French em- 
 peror the property of the Holy Sepulchre. 
 Charles sent alms to Palestine, for one of his 
 capitularies is extant, with this head : De 
 Eleemosijnd mtttendd ad Jerusalem. The pa- 
 triarch of Jenisalem had solicited the protec- 
 
 * Guil. Cav. Script. Eccl. Hist. litter, p. 328. 
 t Canisii Thesaur. Mod. Eccles. ct Hist, a Barn. torn. 
 II. p. I.— Mabil. II. 372. 
 
 X Cluil. Cav. Scj-ipt. Ecd. Hist, litter, p. 336. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 65 
 
 tion of the monarch of the west. Eginhard a.d. 800. 
 adds, that Charlemagne protected the Chris- 
 tians heyond sea.* At this period the Latin 
 pilgrims possessed an hospital, to the north of 
 Solomon's Temple, near the convent of St. 
 Mary ; and Charlemagne made a present of a 
 lihrarv to this estahlishment. We are in- 
 formed of these particulars, by Bernard, a 
 monk, who was in Palestine about the year 
 8/0. His account, which is very circumstan- a.d. sto, 
 tial, gives all the positions of the sacred 
 places, f 
 
 Elias, the third of that name, patriarch of a.d. 905. 
 Jerusalem, wrote to Charles the Fat, at the 
 commencement of the tenth century, soliciting 
 his assistance towards the rebuilding of the 
 churches of Judea. " We shall not," says he, 
 enter into any recapitulation of our misfor- 
 tunes ; they must be well known to you from 
 the pilgrims who daily come to visit the holy 
 places, and who return to their own country.";}: 
 
 The eleventh century, which terminates a.d. low. 
 with the crusades, furnishes several travellers 
 in the Holy Land. Oldric, bishop of Orleans, 
 witnessed the ceremony of the sacred fire at 
 the Holy Sepulchre. § Glaber's chronicle, it 
 
 * In Vit. Car. Mag. 
 
 t Mabill. Act. S. S. Ord. S. Ben. sect. III. part. 2. 
 ; Acherii Spicileg. torn. II. Edit k Barr. 
 § Glaber. Chronic. lib. IV. Apud Ducb. Hist. Franc. 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A. D. 1000. is tme, should be read with caution; but we 
 have here to record a fact, not to discuss a 
 point of criticism. Allatius, in S?jmmlctiSy she 
 Opuscidis, &c. has also handed down to us the 
 journey to Jerusalem of Eugesippus, a Greek. 
 Most of the sacred places are described in it, 
 and this account agrees with all that we know 
 on the subject. In the course of this century, 
 William the Conqueror sent considerable alms 
 
 A. D. 1099. to Palestine. Finally, the travels of Peter the 
 Hermit, which were attended with such im- 
 portant consequences, and the crusades them- 
 selves prove how strongly the attention of the 
 Christian world was attracted to that remote 
 region where the mystery of salvation was ac- 
 complished. 
 
 A. D. 1 100. J erusalem continued in the hands of French 
 princes eighty-eight years ; and the historians 
 of the collection Gesta Del per Francos have 
 recorded every thing that occurred in the 
 Holy Land during that period. Benjamin of 
 A.D. \m. Tudela visited Judea about the year 11/3. 
 AD. 1187. When Saladin had retaken Jerusalem 
 from the crusaders, the Syrians ransomed the 
 church of the Holy Sepulchre for a considera- 
 ble sum, ^ and pilgrims still continued to visit 
 Palestine in defiance of all the dangers attend- 
 ing the expedition. 
 
 * Saiiut. Lib. Secret Fidel. Cruc. Sup. Terr. Sanct. II. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 6r 
 
 Phocas in 1208,*= Willebrand of Okleii- a. d. 1200, 
 burg in 1211, Jacob Vetraco, or of Vetri, in 
 1231, t and Brocard, a Dominican friar, in 
 1^283 J, visited the sacred places and repeated, 
 in their Travels, ail that had been said before 
 them on the subject. 
 
 For the fourteenth century we have a. d. 1300. 
 Lndolph, § Maudeville, jl and Sanuto. % 
 
 For the fifteenth, Breidenbach, * * a. d. 1 400. 
 Tuchor, ff and Langi. Xt 
 
 . For the sixteenth, Heyter, §§ Salignac, A.D.1500. 
 Pascha,^^ &c. 
 
 For the seventeenth^, Cotovic, Nau, and a a.d. 1600. 
 hundred more. 
 
 For the eighteenth, Maundrell, Pococke, a,d. noo, 
 Shaw, and Hasselquist. 
 
 These travels which are multiplied ad in- 
 
 * Itiner. Hieros. ap AlUt. Symmict. 
 
 t Lib. de Terr. Sanct. ♦ 
 
 I Deseript. urb. Jerus. et Log. Terr. Sancto 
 
 § De Terr. Sanct. et Itiu. Hierosol. 
 
 j[ Deseript. Jerusalem. 
 
 IF Lib. Secret. Fidel. Cruc. 
 
 ** Peregrinat. ad Sepulch. Dom. 
 
 tl" Reise-besciireib. zum heil. grab. 
 
 It Hierosol. Urb. Tempi. 
 
 §§ Lib. Hist. Part. Orient. 
 
 WW Itin. lerosol. et Terr. Sanct. 
 
 ffl" Peregrin, cum exact. Deseript. Jerusalem. 
 
 *** I shall add no more to this list, which, perhaps, is 
 already too long. In the following sheets will be found the 
 sames of many other travellers that ^re here omitted. 
 
 F 2 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Jihitum^ are all repetitions of each otlicr, and 
 confirm the traditions relative to Jerusalem in 
 the most invariable and striking manner. 
 
 What an astonishing body of evidence is 
 here ! The apostles saw Jesus Christ ; they 
 knew the places honoured by the Son of Man; 
 fhey transmitted the tradition to the firs^ 
 Christian church of Judea ; a regular succes- 
 sion of bishops w^as established, and religiously 
 preserved the sacred tradition. Eusebins ap- 
 peared, and the history of the sacred places 
 commenced. It was continued by Socrates, 
 Sozomenes, Theodoret, Evagrius, and St. Je- 
 rome. Pilgrims thronged thither from all 
 parts. From this period to the present day, 
 an uninterrupted series of travels for fourteen 
 centuries, gives us the same facts and the same 
 descriptions. What tradition was ever sup- 
 ported by such a host of witnesses ? He who 
 has doubts on this subject, must refuse credit 
 to every thing : and, besides, I have not made 
 all the use of the crusades that I might have 
 done. To all these historical proofs I shall 
 add some reflections on the nature of religious 
 traditions, and on the local situation of Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 It is certain, that religious traditions are 
 not so easily lost as those which are purely 
 historical. The former are in general treasured 
 in the memory of but a small number of en- 
 lightened persons, who may forget the truth 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 or disguise it according to their passions : the 
 latter are circulated among a whole nation, 
 and mechanically transmitted from father to 
 son. If the principles of religion are rigid, as 
 is the case with Christianity; if the slightest 
 deviation from a fact, or an idea hecomes a 
 heresy, it is the more probable, that whatever 
 relates to that religion will be preserved from 
 age to age with scrupulous fidelity^ 
 
 I know that, in a long series of years, an 
 extravagant piety, an indiscreet zeal, the igr 
 norance attached to the times and to the in- 
 ferior classes of society, may overload a reli- 
 gion with traditions w^hjch will not stand the 
 test of criticism g but the ground-work still 
 remains. Eighteen centuries, all pointing out 
 the same facts and the same monuments in the 
 same places, cannot err. If certain objects of 
 devotion have been mistakenly multiplied at 
 Jenisalem, this is no reason for rejecting the 
 whole as an imposture. Let us not, moreover, 
 forget, that Christianity w as persecuted in its 
 cradle, and that i: has almost always continued 
 to suffer at Jenisalem. Now it is well known 
 what fidelity prevails among partners in af- 
 fliction : to such, every thing becomes sacred, 
 and the remains of ti martyr are preserved with 
 greater respect than the crown of a monarch. 
 The child that can scarcely lisp, is already 
 acquainted with this treasure ; carried at night 
 by his mother to perilous devotions^ he hears 
 
 F a 
 
IKTRODUCTION", 
 
 the singing, he beholds the tears of his kindred 
 and friends, Avhich engrave upon his tender 
 memory, objects that he can never afterwards 
 forget ; and, at an age when he might natu- 
 rally be expected to display nothing but cheer- 
 fulness, frankness^ and levity, he learns to be 
 grave, discreet^ and prudent ; adversity is pre- 
 mature old a£^e. ' 
 
 I find in Eusebius a remarkable proof of 
 this veneration for a sacred relic. He relates 
 that, in his time, the Christians of Judea still 
 preserved the chair of St. James, the brother 
 of our Saviour, and the first bishop of Jeru- 
 salem. Gibbon himself could not forbear ad- 
 mitting the authenticity. of the religious tra- 
 ditions current in Palestine. ^* They" (the 
 Christians) says he, fixed by im question able 
 tradition, the scene of each memorable event 
 — an acknowledgment of considerable weight 
 from a writer so well-informed^ and at the 
 same time so prejudiced against religion. 
 
 Finally, the traditions ic.oncerning places^ 
 are not so apt to be distorted- as those relative 
 to facts, because the face of the earth is not so 
 liable to change as that of society. This is 
 judiciously remarked by d'Anville, in his ex- 
 cellent Dissertation on ancient Jel'usalem.* 
 The local circumstances," says he, " and 
 
 * For this Dissertation, see Appendix No. I. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5nch as are determined by Nature herself, 
 have no share in the chanj^es which time an3 
 the fury of man have made in Jerusalem.'' 
 Accordingly d'Anville^ with w^onderful saga- 
 city^ discovers in the modern city^ the whole 
 plan of ancient Jerusalem. 
 
 The scene of the Passion^ if Ave extend it 
 f]om the Mount of Olives to Calvary^ occur 
 pies no more than a league of ground ; and 
 in this little space, how many objects may be 
 be traced with the greatest ease ! In the first 
 place, there was a hill denominated the Mount 
 of Olives, which overlooks the city and the 
 Temple on the east ; this hill is yet there, and 
 has not changed. There w as the brook Ce,- 
 dron, and this stream is the only one that 
 passes near Jerusalem. There was an emi- 
 nence at the gate of the ancient city, where 
 criminals were put to death ; this eminence 
 is easily discoverable between Mount Sion 
 and the gate of Judgment, of which some ves- 
 tiges still exist. It is impossible to mistake 
 Sion, because it is still the highest hill in 
 the city. " We are assured/' says the great 
 geographer already quoted, of the limits of 
 the city in that part which Sion occupied. 
 It is this part that advances farthest towards 
 the south ; and you are not only fixed in such 
 a manner that you cannot comprehend a 
 greater space on that side, but the utmost 
 breadth to which the site of Jerusalem can 
 
 F 4 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 possibly extend in this place, is determined on 
 i^e one hand by the declivity of Sion, v/hich 
 faces the west, and on the other, by its oppo- 
 site extremity towards Cedron." 
 
 This reasoning is excellent, and any one 
 would suppose that it was suggested to d'An- 
 ville, by an ocular examination of the place. 
 
 Golgotha then was a small eminence of 
 Mount Sion, to the east of that mount, and 
 to the west of the gate of the city : this emi- 
 nence, on which now stands the church of 
 the Resurrection, is still perfectly distinguish- 
 able. We kaow that Christ was buried in 
 the garden at the foot of Calvary : now this 
 garden, and the house belonging to it, could 
 not disappear at the foot of Golgotha, a hill, 
 whose base is not so large, that a building 
 situated there could possibly be lost. 
 
 The Mount of Olives, and the brook Ce- 
 dron, fix, in the next place, the valley of Je- 
 hoshaphat ; and the latter determines the po- 
 sition of the Temple on Mount Moria. The 
 Temple furnishes the site of the Triumphal 
 Gate, and Herod's palace, which Josephus 
 places to the east, in the lower part of the 
 city, and near the Temple. The Preetorium 
 of Pilate was nearly contiguous to Antonia's 
 tower, the foundations of which are known. 
 The tribunal of Pilate and Calvary being 
 thus ascertained, the last scene of the Passion 
 may safely be placed upon the road leading 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from the one to the other; especially as a 
 fragment of the gate of JaJgment is yet leff* 
 to guide us. This road is the Via dolorosa 
 so celebrated in the accounts of all the pil- 
 grims. 
 
 The scenes of the acts of Christ without 
 the city are not marked with less certainty 
 by the places themselves. The garden of 
 Olivet, beyond the valley of Jehoshaphat and 
 the brook Cedron, is manifestly at this day in 
 the position assigned to it by the gospel. 
 
 1 could add a multitude of facts, conjec- 
 tures, and reflections to those which I have 
 adduced; but it is time to conclude this In- 
 troduction, already of too great length. Who- 
 ever will examine, with candour, the reasons 
 advanced in this Memoir, must admit, that if 
 any thing on earth has been demonstrated, it 
 is the autlienticity of the christian traditions 
 concerning Jerusalem. 
 
TRAVELS 
 
 IN 
 
 GREECE, PALESTINE, EGYPT, 
 BAPiBARY, &c. 
 
 jrirst Part. 
 
 GREECE. 
 
 To the principal motive which impelled me after 
 so many peregrinations to leave France once more, 
 were added other considerations. A voyage to the 
 East would complete the circle of studies which I 
 had always promised myself to accomplish. In 
 the deserts of America I had contemplated the 
 monuments of Nature; among the monuments of 
 man, I was as yet acquainted with only two species 
 of antiquities, the Celtic and the Roman : I had 
 yet to visit the ruins of Athens, of Memphis, and 
 of Carthage. I was therefore solicitous to per- 
 form a pilgrimage to Jerusalem: 
 
 Qui devoto 
 II grand scpolero adora, e scioglie il yoto. 
 
.76 TRAVELS ly GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 At the present day it may appear somewhat 
 strange to talk of vows and pilgrimages; but in 
 regard to this subject I have no sense of shame, 
 and have long ranged myself in the class of the 
 weak and superstitious. Probably I shall be the 
 last Frenchman that will ever quit his country to 
 travel to the Holy Land, with the idea, the object, 
 and the sentiments of an ancient pilgrim. But if 
 I have not the virtues which shone of yore, in the 
 Sires de Coucy, de Nesle, de Castillon, de Mont- 
 fort, faith at least is left me ; and by this mark I 
 might yet be recognized by the ancient crusaders. 
 
 " And when I was about to depart and com- 
 mence my journey," says the Sire de Joinville, I 
 sent for the Abbe de Cheminon to reconcile myself 
 with him. And I girded myself with my scarf, 
 and took my staff in my hand, and presently I set 
 out from Joinville without ever entering the castle 
 afterwards, till my return from the voyage beyond 
 sea. — And so as I went from Bleicourt to Saint 
 Urban, when I was obliged to pass near the castle 
 of Joinville, I durst not turn my face that way 
 lest I should feel too great regret, and my heart 
 should be too strongly affected." 
 
 On quitting my country again, the 13th July, 
 I806, I was not afraid to turn my head like the 
 Seneschal of Champagne; almost a stranger in my 
 native land, I left behind me neither castle nor 
 cottage. 
 
 From Paris to Milan the route was not new 
 to me ; at ^^lilan I took the road to V^enice, all 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 77 
 
 around the country appeared nearly like the Mi- 
 lanese, one dull but fertile morass ; I gave a few 
 moments to the monuments of Verona, Vicenza? 
 and Padua. On the 23d, I arrived at Venice, and 
 spent five days in examining the remains of its 
 former grandeur. I was shewn some good pic- 
 tures by Tintoret, Paul Veronese and his brother, 
 Bassano, and Titian ; I sought in a deserted 
 church the tomb of the latter, and had some 
 difficulty to find it, as I had once before at Rome 
 to discover the tomb of Tasso. After all, the 
 ashes of a religious and unfortunate poet are not 
 very much out of their place in an hermitage. 
 The bard of Jeiiisalem seems to have sought a last 
 asylum in this obscure spot, to escape the persecu- 
 tions of men; he fills the v\^orld with his fame, 
 and himself reposes unknown, beneath the orange- 
 tree of St. Onuphrius. 
 
 I left Venice on the 28th, and at ten at night 
 embarked for terra Jirma, We had a breeze from 
 the south-east sufficient to fill the sail, but not to 
 ruffle the sea. As the vessel proceeded, I beheld 
 the lights of Venice sink into the horizon ; and 
 distinguished, like spots jpon the surface of the 
 deep, the shadows of the different islands scattered 
 along the coast. These islands, instead of being 
 covered with forts and bastions, are occupied by 
 churches and monasteries ; the sound of the clocks 
 belonging to the hospitals and lazarets reached 
 our ears, and excited no ideas but those of tran- 
 quillity and succour, m the midst of the empire of 
 
78 TRAVELS IN GREEC]^, PALESTINE, 
 
 Storms and clangers. We approached so near to one 
 of these retreats, as to perceive the monks watcli- 
 ing our gondola as it passed; they looked like o]d 
 mariners, Avho, after long peregrinations, have re- 
 turned to port: perhaps they gave their henediction 
 to the voyager, recollecting, that like him, thcr 
 had themselves been strangers in the land of 
 Egypt. 
 
 I reached the main land before day-break, and 
 took a post-chaise to carry me to Trieste. I turned 
 not out of my road to visit Aquileia ; I felt no temp- 
 tation to examine the breach by which the Goths 
 and Huns penetrated into the native country of 
 Horace and Virgil, or to seek the traces of those 
 armies which were the executors, of the wrath 
 of the Almighty. On the 29th, at noon, I en- 
 tered Trieste. This city is regularly built, and 
 seated in a very fine climate, at the foot of a chain 
 of sterile mountains ; it contains no monument of 
 antiquity. The last breeze of Italy expires on 
 tliis shore, where the empire of barbarism com- 
 mences. 
 
 M. Seguier, the French consul at Trieste, had 
 the kindness to undertake to procure me a passage. 
 He met with a ship ready to sail for Smyrna, the cap- 
 tain of which took me on board with my attendant. 
 It was agreed that he should set me on shore as 
 he passed on the coast of the Morea ; that I should 
 proceed by land across the Peloponnesus ; that the 
 vessel should wait for me some days at the Cape 
 of Attica, and that, if at the expiration of this 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 79 
 
 time I failed to make my appearance, she should 
 then ])iirsue her voyage. 
 
 We \veighed anchor at one in the morning of 
 the 1st of August — the wind was contrary as we 
 left the harbour. Istria exhibited a low tract of 
 coast, bordered in the interior of the country by a 
 chain of mountains. The Mediterranean, placed 
 in the centre of the civilized world, studded w^ith 
 smiling islands, and w^ashing shores planted with 
 the myrtle, the palm, and the olive, instantly re- 
 minds the spectator of that sea which gave birth 
 to Apollo, to the Nereids, and to Venus ; whereas 
 the ocean deformed by tempests, surrounded by 
 unknown regions, was well calculated to be the 
 cradle of the phantoms of Scandinavia, or the 
 domain of those Christian nations, who form 
 such an awful idea of the greatness and omnipo- 
 tence of God. 
 
 On the 2d, about noon, the wind became favour- 
 able, but the clouds w^hich gathered in the w^est, 
 announced an approaching storm ; we heard the 
 first clap of thunder ofi' the coast of Croatia; at 
 ' three o'clock the sails w^ere furled, and a taper was 
 set up in the captain's cabin, at the feet of an 
 image of the Blessed Vijgin. I have elsewhere 
 remarked how affecting is that religion which 
 ascribes the dominion over tempests, or rather 
 the power of appeasing them, to a feeble w^oman. 
 Sailors on shore may turn free-thinkers as w'ell as 
 any others, but human w'isdom is disconcerted 
 in the hour of danger ; man then becomes reli- 
 
 1 
 
80 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 gioiis; and the torch of philosopliy cheers him 
 in the midst of a storm, much less than a lamp 
 lighted lip before the Madonna. 
 
 At seven in the evening the tempest was at 
 its height. Our Austrian captain began a prayer 
 amid torrents of rain and peals of thunder ; we 
 prayed for Francis II., for ourselves, and for the 
 mariners sepolti in questo sacro mare. The sailors, 
 some standing and uncovered, others prostrate upon 
 the deck, also prayed responsive to the captain. 
 
 The storm continued during part of the night. 
 All the sails being furled and the crew having gone 
 below, I remained almost alone by the steersman 
 at the helm. In this situation I had formerly 
 passed whole nights on the most tempestuous seas ; 
 but I was then young, and the roar of the bil- 
 lows, the solitude of ocean, Avinds, rocks and dan- 
 gers, were to me so many sources of enjoyment. 
 I have perceived in this last voyage that the face 
 of objects has changed for me. I am now capable 
 of duly appreciating all those reveries of early 
 youth ; and yet such is the inconsistency of man, 
 that I again listened to the syren voice of hope, 
 that I again went forth to collect images and to 
 seek colours with which to adorn pictures, destined 
 perhaps to draw down upon me vexations and perse- 
 cution. I paced the quarter-deck, and from time to 
 time scrawled a note with my pencil by the light of the 
 lamp placed near the compass in the steerage. The 
 man at the helm looked at me with astonishment ; 
 he took me, I suppose for a French naval officer. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARB ART. 81 
 
 bns51y engaged like himself with the ship's course ; 
 he knew not that my compass was not so good as 
 his, and that he should make the port with greater 
 certainty than I. 
 
 The next day, August 3d, the wind having 
 settled in the north-west, we swiftly passed the 
 islands of Pommo and Pelagosa. Leaving the 
 last of the islands of Dalmatia on our left, we 
 descried on our right Mount St. Angelo, the an- 
 cient Garganus, which covers Manfredonia, near 
 the ruins of Sipontum, on the coast of Italy. 
 
 On the 4th, it fell calm; a breeze sprung up 
 at smi-set, and we continued our course. At two 
 oVlock, the night being magnificent, I heard a 
 cabin-boy singing the commencement of the 
 seventh canto of the Jerusalem : 
 
 Intanto Erminia infra I'ombrose piante, &:c. 
 
 The tune was a kind of recitative, very high 
 in the intonation and descending to the lowest 
 notes towards the conclusion of the verse. This 
 picture of rural felicity delineated by a mariner 
 in the midst of the sea, appeared to me more 
 enchanting than ever. The ancients, our masters 
 in every thing, well knew the eflect of these moral 
 contrasts. Theocritus has sometimes placed his 
 swains on the margin of the deep, and Virgil loves 
 to bring together the recreations of the husband- 
 man, and the labours of the mariner : 
 
 Invitat genialis hvems, curisqiie resoivit: 
 Ceu pressie cum jam portiun tetigtre cariuse, 
 Piippibus et Iseti nautse imposuere coroaas. 
 VOL. I. O 
 
82 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 On the 5th, the wind was violent; it brought 
 tis a greyl h bird, nearly resembling a lark ; it was 
 hospitably received. Sailors are in general pleased 
 with whatever forms a contrast to their turbulent 
 life : they delight in every thing connected with 
 the remembrance of rural life, as the barking of 
 dogs, the crowing of the cock, the flight of land 
 birds. At eleven in the morning of the same day 
 we V, ere at the gates of the Adriatic ; that is to 
 say, between Cape Otranto in Italy, and Linguetta 
 in Albania. 
 
 I was now on the frontiers of Grecian anti- 
 quity, as well as on the confines of Latin antiquity. 
 Pythagoras, Alcibiades, Scipio, Caesar, Pompey, 
 Cicero, Augustus, Horace, Virgil had crossed this 
 sea. What dififerent fortunes all those celebrated 
 characters consigned to the inconstancy of these 
 same billows ! And I, an obscure traveller, passing 
 over the elFaced track of the vessels which carried 
 the great men of Greece and Italy, was repairing 
 to their native land in quest of the Muses ; but 
 I am not Virgil, and the gods no longer dwell upon 
 Olympus. 
 
 We advanced towards the island of Fano ; it 
 bears together with the rock of Merlera, the name 
 of Othonos or Calypso's island, in some ancient 
 maps. D'Anville seems to distinguish it by this 
 appellation ; anil M. Lechevalier adduces the au- 
 thority of this geographer in support of liis opinion 
 that Fano was the place were Ulysses so long de- 
 plored his absent country. Procopius somewhere 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 83 
 
 observe^, that if one of the small islands sur- 
 rounding Corfu be taken for the island of Calj^pso, 
 this will give probability to Homers narrative. 
 In this case, indeed, a boat vv^ould suffice to pro- 
 ceed from this island to that of Scheria (Corcyra, or 
 Corfu ;) but the passage mnst have been attended 
 with great difficulties. U] jesses departs v»ith a 
 favourable wind, and after a voyage of eighteen 
 days, he perceives Scheria rising like a shield 
 above the surface of the deep. Now if Fano be Ca- 
 lypso's island, it is close to Scheria. Instead of re- 
 quiring a navigation of eighteen whole day s to descry 
 the coast of Corfu, Ulysses mast have seen it from 
 the wood where he constructed his vessel. Pliny, 
 Ptolemy, Pomponius Mela, the anonymous author 
 of Ravenna, throw no light on this subject ; but 
 Wood and the moderns may be consulted respect- 
 ing the geography of Homer. All these, with 
 Strabo, place the island of Calypso in that part of 
 the Mediterranean situated between Africa and 
 Malta. 
 
 For the rest, Fano shall be with all my, heart, 
 the enchanted island of Calypso, though to me it 
 appeared but a small heap of whitish rocks : I will 
 there plant, if you please, with Homer, " a forest 
 dried by the sun's fervid rays, of pines and alders, 
 tilled with the nests of sea-crows ;" or with Fene- 
 Ion, " I will there find groves of orange-trees, and 
 mountains whose singular shapes form an horizon 
 as diversified as the eye could wish." I envy not 
 
 G 2 
 
S4 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 him who would not beliold nature with the eyes of 
 Fenelon dud of" Homer. 
 
 The wind having hilled abont ei^ht oVlock in 
 the evening, and the sea being perfectly smooth, 
 the ship remained motionless. Here I enjoyed the 
 first sun-set and the first night beneath the sky of 
 (rreere. To the left we had the island of Fano, 
 and that of Corcvra stretching away to the east : 
 heyond these were seen the high lands of the 
 continent of Epire ; the Acroceraunian mountains 
 which we had passed, formed to the northward 
 behind us a circle which terminated at the entrance 
 of the Adriatic ; on our right, that is, to the west, 
 the sun went down beyond the coast of Otranto ; 
 and before us was the open sea, extending to the 
 shores of Africa. 
 
 The colours produced by the setting sun were 
 not brilliant; that luminary descended between 
 clouds which he tinged of a roseate hue ; he sunk 
 below the horizon, and twilight supplied his place 
 for half an hour. During this short interval, the 
 sky was white in the west, light blue at the zenith, 
 and pearl-grey in the east. The stars, one after 
 another, issued from this admirable canopy ; they 
 appeared small, not very bright, but shed a golden 
 light, so soft that it is impossible for me to convey 
 any idea of it. The horizon of the sea, skirted 
 With a slight vapour, was blended with that of the 
 sky. At the foot of Fano, or the island of Calypso, 
 was seen a flame, kindled by fishermen. With a 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 85 
 
 little strctcb of iraa^inatiGnj I might have seen 
 the Nymphs setting fire to the ship of Telemachus ; 
 and had I heen so disposed, I might have heard 
 Nausicaa sportively conversing with her com- 
 panions, or Andromache's lamentation on the banks 
 of the false Simol's, since I could perceive at a, 
 distance, through the transparent night, the moun- 
 tains of Scheria and Buthrotum : 
 
 F'rodigiosa veterum meiid-acia vatiim. 
 
 The climate operates more or less upon the 
 taste of nations. In Greece, for instance, a suavity, 
 a softness, a repose pervade all Nature, as well as 
 the works of the ancients. Yoii may almost con- 
 ceive, as it were by intuition, why the architecture 
 of the Parthenon has such exquisite proportions ; 
 why ancient sculpture is so unaffected, so tranciuil, 
 so simple, when you have beheld the pure sky, and 
 the delicious scenery of Athens, of Corinth, ^md of 
 Ionia. In this native land of the Muses^ Nature 
 suggests no wild deviations ; she tends^ on the 
 contrary, to dispose the njii>d to the love of the 
 uniform and of the harmonious. 
 
 The calm continued on the 6th, and I had 
 abundant leisure to survey Corfu, in ancient times, 
 alternately called Drepanum, Macria, Scheria, 
 Corcyra, Ephisa, Cassiopea, Ceraunia, and even 
 Argos. Upon this island Ulysses was cast naked 
 after his shipwreck. Would to God that the country 
 of Alcinons had never been celebrated, but for 
 fictitious misfortunes ! In spite of myself, I railed 
 to mind the troubles of Corcyra, which Thucydides 
 
BG tRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 has SO eloquently related. It seems, however, as if 
 Homer, in singing the gardens of Alcinous, had 
 attached something poetical and marvellous to the 
 destinies of Scheria. There Aristotle expiated, in 
 banishment, the errors of a passion v/hich phil(^ 
 sophy has not always the strength to surmount. 
 Alexander, in his youth, having quitted the court 
 of his father Philip, landed at Corcyra, and the 
 islanders beheld the first step of the armed stranger, 
 Avho was destined to visit all the nations of the 
 globe. Several natives of Corcyra won crowns 
 at the Olympic games ; their names Avere im- 
 mortalized by the verses of Simonides, and the 
 statues of Polycletus. Consistently with its two- 
 fold destiny, Corcyra Continued to be, under the 
 Romans, the theatre of glory and of misfortune. 
 Cato, after the battle of Pharsalia, met Cicero at 
 Corcyra. What a fine subject to work upon 
 would be the interview between these two Romans! 
 What men ! what sorrows ! what vicissitudes of 
 fortune ? We should behold Cato offering to 
 relinquish to Cicero the command of the last 
 republican legions; because Cicero had been consul. 
 They would then separate ; the one to tear out his 
 bowels at Utica, the other to carry his head to the 
 triumvirs. Not long afterwards, Anthony and 
 Octavia celebrated at Corcyra, that fatal marriage 
 which proved the source of so much affliction to 
 the world; and scarcely had half a century elapsed, 
 when Agrippina repaired to the same place, to pay 
 funeral honours to Germanicns : as if this island 
 
EGYPT, AND BAIIBARY. ^7 
 
 were destined to furaish two historians, rivals in 
 genius, as in language,^ vAth the subject of the 
 most admirable of their pictures. 
 
 Another order of things and events, of men 
 and manners frequently brings forward the name 
 of Corcyra, at that time Corfu, in the histories of 
 Byzantium, of Naples, and of Venice, and in the 
 collection entitled : Gesta Dei per Francos, It 
 "was from Corfu that the army of cnisaders, which 
 seated a French gentleman on the throne of Con- 
 stantinople, took its departure. But, were I to say 
 any thing concerning Apollidorns, bishop of 
 Corfu, who distinguished himself by his doctrine 
 at the council of Nice, concerning St. Arsenius 
 and George, likewise prelates of this island ; were 
 I to observe that the church of Corfu was the only 
 one which escaped the persecution of Dioclesian, 
 or that Helena, the mother of Constantine, set out 
 from Corfu on her pilgrimage to the east, i should 
 be afraid of exciting a smile of compassion in the 
 face of the free-thinker. Hov/ is it possible to 
 bring in the names of St. Jason and St. Sopistratus, 
 apostles of the Corcyraeans, during the reign of 
 Claudius, after having mentioned Homer, Aristotle, 
 Alexander, Cicero, Cato, and Germ aniens ? And 
 yet is a martyr to independence a greater character 
 than a martyr to truth ? Is Cato, devoting himself 
 for the liberties of Rome, more heroic than Sopis- 
 tratus, suffering himself to be burned in a brazen 
 
 Thucydides and Tacitua, 
 <^ 4 
 
88 TRAVELS IK GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 bull, for proclaiming to men that they are brethren ; 
 that they ougb-t to love and succour one anotlier, 
 and exalt themselves to the presence of the true 
 God, by the practice of virtue ? 
 
 I had abundant leisure for these reflections on 
 beholding the shores of Corfa, off which we were 
 detained by a profound calm. The leader perhaps 
 wishes for a favourable wind to waft me to Greece, 
 and to relieve him from mv disrressions : such a 
 M'ind we had on the morniiig of the 7th. A breeze 
 from the north-west sprung up, and we passed 
 Cefalonia. On the 8th, we had, on our left, 
 Leucate, now^ St. Maura, which was blended in the 
 view with a lofty promontory of the island of 
 Ithaca and the low-lands of Cefalonia. You no 
 longer discover in the country of Ulysses, either 
 the forest of Mount Nereus, or the thirteen pear- 
 trees of Laertes. These last have disappeared as 
 well as the two still more venerable trees of the 
 same kind, which Henry IV. gave for a watch- 
 word to his army, at the battle of Ivry. I paid my 
 distant salutiitions to the cottage of Euma^us, and 
 to the tomb of the faithful dog. We know of but 
 one dog celebrated for his ingratitude ; he was 
 called Math, and belonged, if I recollect rightly, 
 to one of the kings of England, of the house of 
 Lancaster. Histgry ba$ been at the pains of re- 
 cording the name of this ungrateful animal, as she 
 preserves the name of a man who continiies faithful 
 amidst adversitv. 
 
 On the 9th, we coasted along Cefalonia, and 
 rapidly approached Zante, the nemorosa Zacynthos. 
 
EGYPT, AND EARBARY. 89 
 
 The inhabitants of this island were looked upon in 
 ancient times, as being of Trojan origin : they 
 pretended to be the descendants of Zacynthns, the 
 son of Dardanas, who conducted a colony hither. 
 They founded Saguntum, in Spain ; they were 
 fond of the arts, and delighted in hearing the 
 verses of Homer sung: tliey frequently afibrded an 
 asylum to proscribed Romans, and it has even 
 been asserted that Cicero's ashes were found among 
 them. If Zante has actually been the refuge of 
 exiles, gladly would I decree it any honours, and 
 subscribe to its aj)pelIations of Isola d'oro, and Fior 
 di Levante. The latter reminds me that the 
 hyacinth originally came from Zante, and that this 
 island received its name from the flower which it 
 had produced : thus, in order to confer honour on 
 a mother, the ancients sometimes added the name 
 of her daughter to her own. In middle ages, we 
 find a tradition that is not generally known, relative 
 to the island of Zante. Robert Guiscard, Duke of 
 Apulia, died at Zante, on his way to Palestine. It 
 had been foretold that he should expire at Jeru- 
 salem ; whence it has been concluded, that in the 
 fourteenth century, the whole island, or some place 
 in it, was thus denominated. At the present day 
 Zante is celebrated for its springs of petroleum, as 
 it was in the time of Herodotus, and its currants 
 rival those of Corinth. 
 
 Between the Norman pilgrim Robert Guiscard, 
 and myself a Breton pilgrim, it is, indeed, a good 
 many years ; but in this interval, the Seigneur de 
 
90 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Villamont, my countryman, passed by Zante. He 
 set out in 1588, from the duchy of Bretagne for 
 Jerusalem. Courteous reader/* says he, at the 
 commencement of his Travels, " thou wilt receive 
 this my little work, and correct, if thou pleasest, 
 the faults which it may happen to contain ; and, 
 receiving it with as good a will as I present it to 
 thee, thou wilt give me courage in future not to 
 be sparing of the good things which 1 have had 
 leisure and opportunity to collect ; serving France 
 according to my desire." 
 
 The Seigneur de Villamont did not land at 
 Zante : he came, like me, in sight of the island, 
 and, like me, Avas driven by a strong west wind 
 towards the Morea. I awaited with impatience the 
 moment when I should discover the coasts of 
 Greece; I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon, and 
 fancied evefy cloud to be the wished-for object. 
 On the morning of -the 10th, I was upon deck 
 before the sun had risen. As he issued from the 
 deep, I perceived confused and lofty mountains in 
 the distance ; they were the mountains of Elis. 
 Glory must surely be something real, since it makes 
 '\he heart of him who is but the judge of it, throb 
 with such violence. At ten we passed Navarin, 
 the ancient Pylos, covered by the island of Sphac- 
 teria ; names equally celebrated, the one in fable, 
 the other in history. At noon we came to an an- 
 chor off Moclon, formerly Methone, in Messenia. 
 In another hour I was on shore, I trod the classic 
 soil of Greece, I was but ten leagues from Olympia, 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 91 
 
 tliirty from Sparta, on the road which Telemachns 
 followed when repairing to Menelans to make 
 enquiries respecting his father : and it was not yet 
 a month since I quitted Paris. 
 
 Our ship had anchored half a league from 
 Modon, in the passage formed hy the continent 
 and the islands of Sapienza and Cabrera, formerly 
 (Enussa3. Viewed from this point, the coast of 
 Peloponnesus, towards Navarin, appears dreary 
 and barren. Beyond this coast, at some distance 
 inland, rise mountains, seemingly of white sand, 
 covered hy withered herbage : these were neverthe- 
 less the Egalean mountains, at the foot of which 
 Pylos was built. Modon.has the appearance of ai 
 town of the middle asres, surrounded with Gothic 
 fortifications, half in ruins. Not a vessel in the 
 harbour, not a creature upon the shore : all was 
 silence, solitude, and desolation. 
 
 I went into the ship's boat Avith the captain, 
 to get intelligence on land. We approached the 
 beach : I was ready to spring out upon a desert 
 shore, and to salute the native country of arts and 
 of genius, when we were hailed from one of the 
 gates of the town. We were obliged to change 
 our course, and make for the castle of Modon. 
 We perceived at a distance, on the top of a 
 rock, some janissaries, completely armed, and a 
 number of Turks drawn thither by curiosity. As 
 soon as we were within hearing, they called out 
 to us in Italian : Ben venuti I Like a true Greek, 
 I took notice of these first words of good omen. 
 
92 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 that greeted my ears on the shore of Messenia. 
 The Turks phiiiged into the water for the purpose 
 of hauling our boat to lanrl, and assisted us to leap 
 upon the rock. They all spoke at once, and asked 
 a thousand questions of the captain in Greek and 
 Italian. We entered by the half ruined gate of 
 the town, and advanced into a street, or rather 
 into a real camp, which instantly reminded me of 
 the beautiful expression used by M. de Bon aid : 
 " The Turks have encamped in Europe.'* It is 
 scarcely possible to conceive how just is this ex- 
 pression in its fullest extent, and in all its bear- 
 ings. These Tartars of Modon were seated before 
 their doors, cross-legged, on a kind of stalls or 
 wooden tables, beneath the shade of tattered can- 
 vas, extended from one house to another. They 
 were smoking their pipes and drinking coffee ; and? 
 contrary to the idea which I had formed of the 
 taciturnity of the Turks, they laughed, and made 
 a good deal of noise. 
 
 We repaired to the Aga, a poor wretch lying 
 upon a sort of camp-bed in a penthouse : he 
 received me with great kindness. The object of 
 my voyage being explained to him, he replied, 
 that he would take care that I should be furnished 
 with horses and a janissary to take me to Coron, 
 to the French consul, M. Vial; that I should find 
 no difficulty in traversing the Morea, because the 
 roads were clear, since examples had been made of 
 three or four hundred banditti ; and that there 
 were now no impediments to travelling. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 9^ 
 
 The history of these three or four hundred 
 banditti, is as follows : — Near Mount Ithome there 
 was a band of about fifty robbers, who infested the 
 roads. The Pacha of the Morea, Osman Pacha, 
 repaired to the spot ; he surrounded the villages 
 where the robbers were accustomed to take up 
 their quarters. It would have been too tedious 
 and troublesome for a Turk to distinguish between 
 the innocent and the guilty : all within the Pacha s 
 enclosure were dispatched like wild beasts. The 
 robbers, it is true, were exterminated ; but with 
 them perished three hundred Greek ])easants, who 
 were accounted as nothing in this affair. 
 
 From the house of tlie Aga, we proceeded to 
 the habitation of the German vice-consul, for 
 France had not then an agent at Modon. He 
 resided in the quarter of the Greeks, without the 
 town. In all those places that are military posts, 
 the Greeks live separate from the Turks. The 
 vice-consul confirmed what the Aga had told me 
 respecting the state of the Morea ; lie offered me 
 hospitality for the night, which I accepted, and 
 returned for a moment to the ship in a galley-boat, 
 which was afterwards to carry me back to the 
 shore. 
 
 I left Julian, my French servant, on board, 
 with directions to wait for me in the ship, at the 
 promontory of Attica, or at Smyrna, if I should 
 miss the vessel. I fastened round me a girdle, 
 containing what specie I possessed ; I armed my- 
 self at all points, and took into my service a 
 
94 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Milanese, named Joseph, a dealer in tin at 
 Smyrna. This man spoke a little modern Greek, 
 ami he agreed for a stipulated sum, to act as mv 
 interpreter. I took leave of the captain, and went 
 with Joseph into the boat. The wind was violent 
 and contrary. It took five hours to reach the 
 harbour, from which we were not more than half 
 a league distant, and were tvv^ice near upsetting. 
 An old Turk, Avith a grey beard, animated eyes, 
 deeply sunk beneatli bushy brows, and long and 
 extremely white teeth, guided the helm, sometimes 
 in silence, at others shouting wildly. He was no 
 bad representation of Time carrying a traveller in 
 his bark to the desert shores of Greece. The 
 vice-consul was waiting for me on the beach. 
 We went to our lodgings in the Greek town. By 
 the way I admired some Turkish tombs, over- 
 arched with spreading cypresses, and the waves 
 breaking at their base. Among these tombs I per- 
 ceived female figures covered with white veils, and 
 looking like ghosts : this was the only circum- 
 stance that reminded me at all of the country of 
 the Muses. The cemetery of the Christians adjoins 
 that of the Mussulmans ; it is in a ruinous state, 
 without sepulchral stones^ and without trees : 
 water-melons growing here and there among these 
 forsaken tombs, resemble^ both in their form and 
 the paleness of their colour, human skulls, Avhich the 
 survivors have not taken the trouble to bury. No- 
 thing can be more dreary than these two ceme- 
 teries, where you observe the distinctions of tyrant 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 95 
 
 an4 slave, even in the equality and independence 
 of death. 
 
 The Ahbe Barthelemy considered Methone as 
 so uninteresting in antiquity, that he has made 
 mention of nothing but its spring of bituminous 
 water. Inglorious, amid so many cities founded 
 by the gods or celebrated by the poets, Methone 
 occurs not in the songs of Pindar, which, with 
 the works of Homer, constitute the brilliant ar- 
 chives of Greece. Demosthenes, recapitulating 
 the history of Messenia in his oration in behalf 
 of the Megalipolitans, makes no mention of Me- 
 thone. Polybius, a native of Megalopolis, who 
 gives excellent advice to the Messenians, maintains 
 the same silence. Plutarch and Diogenes Laertius, 
 name not one hero, not one philosopher of that 
 place. Athenaeus, Aulas Gellius, and Macrobius 
 record nothing of Methone. Finally, Pliny, Pto- 
 lemy, Pomponius Mela, and the anonymous wri- 
 ter of Ravenna, merely mention its name in enu- 
 merating the towns of Messenia ; but Strabo and 
 Pau'sanias will have it that Methone is the Peda- 
 .sus of Homer. According to Pausanias, it de- 
 rives the name of Methone or Mothone from a 
 daughter of CEneus, a companion of Diomed, or 
 from a rock which obstructs the entrance of the 
 port. Methone frequently occurs in ancient 
 history, but never as the scene of any important 
 event. Thucydides speaks of some bodies of Ho- 
 plites from Methone,* in the Peloponnesian war. 
 
96 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 From a fragment by Diodonis Sicnlus ^ve find, 
 that Brasidas defended this place again:!>t the Atbe- 
 iiialis. The same writer terms it a town of Laco- 
 nia, becanse Messenia was a conqnest of Lacedae- 
 mon, which sent to Methone, a colony of Nan- 
 jJians, who were not expelled from their new coun- 
 try when Epaminondas recalled the Messenians. 
 Methone shared the fate of Greece, when the latter 
 passed under the Roman yoke. Trajan granted 
 j)rivileges to Methone. The Peloponnesc having 
 become an appendage of the Eastern Empire, Me- 
 thone underwent the same revolutions as the rest of 
 the Morea. Laid waste by Alaric, and perhaps 
 still more cruelly ravaged by Stilico, it was dismem- 
 bered from the (ireek empire in 1 124, by the Vene- 
 tians. Restored to its former masters in the fol- 
 lowing years, it again fell under the dominion of 
 Venice in 1204. A Genoese corsair dispossessed 
 the Venetians in 1208. The doge Dandolo re- 
 covered it from the Genoese. In 1498, it was taken 
 from Venice by Mahomet II. who made himself 
 master of all Greece. Moro^ini reconquered it in 
 l686, from the Turks, who again obtained pos- 
 session of the country in 1/15. Three years after- 
 wards, Pellegrin visited this town, of which he has 
 given a description, intermingled with the scanda- 
 lous chronicle of all the French consuls. Such is 
 the obscure history of Methone from Homer to the 
 present day. As to what befel Modon at the time 
 of the expedition of the Rusisians in the Morea, the 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 9? 
 
 reader is referred to the first volame of the Travels 
 of M. de Clioiseul, and the History of Poland by 
 Rhullit^res. 
 
 The German vice-consul, who lives in a wretched 
 plastered hut^ cordially invited me to a supper, con- 
 sisting of water-melons, grapes, and black hread : a 
 person mnst not be nice in regard to victuals when he 
 is so near to Sparta. I then retired to the chamber 
 prepared for me, hut was unable to close my eyes. 
 I heard the barking of a Laconian dog, and the 
 whistling of the wind of Elis : how then was it 
 possible for me to go to sleep ? At three in the 
 morning of the 1 1th, the Aga's janissary came to ap ' 
 prize me that it was time to set out for Coron. 
 
 We immediately mounted our horses. I shall 
 describe the order of the cavalcade, as it continued 
 the same throughout the whole journey. 
 
 At our head appeared the guide, or Greek postilion 
 on horseback, leading a spare horse provided for re- 
 mounting any of the party in case an accident should 
 happen to his steed. Next came the janissary, with 
 his turban on his head, two pistols and a dagger at 
 his girdle, a sabre by his side, and a whip to flog the 
 horses of the guide. I followed, armed nearly in 
 the same manner as the janissary, wdth the addition 
 of a fowling-piece. Joseph brought up the rear. 
 This Milanese was a short, fair man, with a large 
 belly, a florid complexion, and an affable look; he 
 was dressed in a complete suit of blue velvet ; two 
 large horse-pistols stuck under a tight belt, raised 
 up bis waistcoat in such a grotesque manner, that 
 
 VOL. I, H 
 
OS TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 the janissary could never look at him without 
 laughing. My baggage consisted of a carpet to sit 
 down upon, a pipe, a cofFee-pot, and some shawls 
 to wrap round my head at night. We started at 
 the signal given by our guide, ascending the hills 
 at full trot, and descending over precipices in a 
 gallop. You must makeup your mind to it : the 
 military Turks know no other paces, and the least 
 sign of timidity, or even of prudence, would expose 
 you to their con tempi. You are, moreover, seated 
 on Mameluke saddles, with wide short stirrups, 
 tvhich keep your legs constantly bent, v»4iich break 
 your toes, and lacerate the flanks of your horse. 
 At the slightest trip, the elevated pommel comes in 
 most painful contact with your belly, and if you are 
 thrown the contrary way, the high ridge of the 
 saddle breaks your back. In time, however, you 
 find the utility of these saddles, in the sureness of 
 foot whicli they give to the horse, especially in 
 such hazardous excursions. 
 
 You proceed from eight to ten leagues with the 
 same horses. About half way they are sufx'ered to 
 take breath, w^ithout eating ; you then mount again, 
 and continue your journey. At night, you some- 
 times arrive at a kan, the ruins of a forsaken house, 
 where you sleep among all sorts of insects and rep- 
 tiles, on a worm-eaten floor. At this kan, you can 
 demand nothing, unless you have a post firman ; 
 so that you must procure provisions as you can. 
 My janissary went a foraging in the villages, and 
 sometimes brought back fowls, which I insisted on 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 99 
 
 paying for. We had them broiled upon the green 
 branches of the olive;, or boiled with rice to make a 
 pilau. Seated on the ground, about this repast, we 
 tore oar victuals to pieces with our fingers, and 
 w^hen the meal was finished, w^e went to the first 
 brook to wash our beards and hands. Such is now^~ 
 a-days the mode of travelling in the country of Ai- 
 cibiades and Aspasia. 
 
 It was still dark w^hen we left Modon. I fan- 
 cied myself w^andering among the wdlds of Ame- 
 rica : here was the same solitude, the same silence. 
 We passed through w^oods of olive-trees, proceed- 
 ing in a southerly direction. At day-break, we 
 found ourselves on the level summits of the most 
 dreary hills. that I ever beheld. For two hours we 
 continued our route over these elevated plains, 
 which being ploughed up by the torrents, resembled 
 forsaken fallows, interspersed with the sea-rush 
 . and bushes of a species of briar. Large bulbs of 
 the mountain lily, uprooted by the rains, appeared 
 here and there on the surface of the ground. We 
 descried the sea to the east, through a thinly sown 
 w^ood of olives. We then descended into a valley, 
 where we saw" some fields of barley and cotton. 
 We crossed the bed of a torrent, now dried up ; it 
 was full of rose laurels, and agnus-castus, a shrub 
 with a long, pale, narrow leaf, whose purple and 
 somewhat woolly flow^er, shoots out nearly into the 
 form of a spindle. I mention these two shrubs 
 because they are met w ith over all Greece, and are 
 almost the only decorations of those solitudes, once 
 
 H 2 
 
100 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 SO rich and gay, now so naked and dreary. Now 1 
 am upon the subject of this dry torrent, I shall ob- 
 ^icrve that in the native country of the Ilissus, the 
 Alpheus, and the Erymanthus, I have seen bat 
 three rivers whose urns were not exhausted ; these 
 were the Pamisus, the Cephisus, and the Eurotas. 
 I must also beg pardon for the kind of indifterence, 
 and almost of impiety with which I shall some- 
 times write the most celebrated and the most har- 
 monious names. In Greece, a man becomes fa- 
 miliarized, in spite of himself, with Themistocles, 
 Epaminondas, Sophocles, Plato, and Thucydidcs, 
 and it requires profound devotion not to pass Ci- 
 tseron, Maenalos, or Lycaeon, as he would ordinary 
 hills. 
 
 On leaving the valley which I have ju3t men- 
 tioned, we began to ascend fresh mountains. -My 
 guide several times repeated to me names which 
 I had never heard ; but, to judge from their posi- 
 tion, these mountains must form part of the chain 
 of Mount Temathea. We soon entered a wood of 
 blive-trees, rose-laurels, agnus-castus, and cornel- 
 trees. This wood was overlooked by rugged hills. 
 Having reached the top of these, we beheld the 
 gulf of Messenia, skirted on all sides by moun- 
 tains, among which, the Ithome, was distinguished 
 hy its insulated situation, and the Taygetas by his 
 two pointed peaks. I saluted these famous moun- 
 tains with all the fine verses that I knew, in their 
 praise. 
 
 A little below the summit of Temathea, as we 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. lOl 
 
 <!escended towards Coron, we perceive:! a wretched 
 Greek farm-house, the inhabitants of which fled on 
 our approach. As we proceeded;, we discovered be- 
 low us, the road and harbour of Coron, in v/hich 
 vre saw several ships at anchor : the fleet of the 
 Captain-pacha lay on the other side of the gulf to- 
 wards Calamate. On reaching the plain^ which 
 lies at the foot of the mountains, and extends to 
 the sea, we left on our right a village, in the middle 
 of which stood a kind of fortified castle: the whole, 
 that is to say, both the vill^age and the castle were 
 in a manner surrounded by an immense Turkish 
 cemeter}^, covered with cypresses of all ages. My 
 guide, pointing to these trees, called them Parissos. 
 One of the ancient inhabitants of Messenia would 
 have related to me the whole history of the young 
 jnan of Amyclse, only half the name of which is 
 preserved by the Messenian of the present day : 
 but this name, disfigured as it is, pronounced on 
 the spot, within sight of a cypress, and of the sum- 
 mit of Taygetus, afforded me a pleasure which the 
 poet will comprehend, J had one co;isolation in 
 beholding the tombs of the Turks : they shewed me 
 that the barbarian conquerors of Greece had alsQ 
 found their end in this country, which they have 
 ravaged. In other respects, these tombs were a 
 pleasing object. The rose-laurel there grew at the 
 foot of the cypresses, which resembled large, black 
 obelisks ; white turtle-doves and blue pigeons flut- 
 tered and cooed among their branches ; the grass 
 waved about the small funeral columns crowned 
 
 H 3 
 
102 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 with a turban ; and a fountain built by a sherlf 
 poured its waters into the road, for the benefit of 
 the traveller. Fain would I have lingered awhile 
 in this cemetery, where the laurels of Greece, over- 
 topped by the cypress of the East, seem to renew 
 the memory of the two nations whose ashes repose 
 in this spot. 
 
 From this cennetery to Coron, is nearly two 
 hours' journey. We proceeded through an unin- 
 tcrnipted wood of olives ; the space between the 
 trees being sown with vrheat, v/hich was half cut 
 down. The ground, which at a distance has the 
 appearance of a level plain, is intersected by rough 
 and deep ravines. M. Vial, then the French con- 
 sul at Coron, received me with that hospitality for 
 which the consuls of the Levant are so remarkable. 
 I delivered to him one of the letters of recommen- 
 dation to the French consuls, which M. de Taley- 
 rand had, at the request of M. d'Hauterive, politely 
 furnished me with. 
 
 M. Vial had the goodness to lodge me in his 
 house. He dismissed my janissary from Modon, 
 and gave me one of his own janissaries to travel 
 with me through the Morea, and to conduct me to 
 Athens. The Captain-pacha being at war with the 
 Mainottes, I could not proceed to Sparta by way of 
 Calamate, which you may take, if you please, for 
 Calatliion, Cardamyle, or Thalamae, on the coast 
 of Laconia, almost opposite to Coron. It was 
 therefore determined that I should raake a long 
 cii'cuit ; that I should endeavor to find the defile of 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY, 103 
 
 the gates of Leondari, one of the Hermociims of 
 Messenia ; that I should proceed to Tripolizza to 
 obtain from the pacha of the Morea, the firman 
 necessary for passing the isthmus ; that I should re- 
 turn from Tripolizza to Sparta, and thence go by 
 the mountain road to Argos, Mycenae, and Corinth. 
 
 Corone, like Messene and Megalopolis, is not a 
 place of very high antiquity, since it was founded 
 by Epaminondas on the ruins of the ancient Epea, 
 Coron has hitherto been taken for the ancient Co- 
 rone, agreeably to the opinion of D'Anville. On 
 this point I have some doubts. According to Pau- 
 sanias, Corone was situated at the foot of Mount Te- 
 mathia, near the mouth of the Pamisus: Coron, on 
 the contrary, is at a considerable distance from that 
 Tiver; it stands on an eminence, nearly in the po- 
 sition in which the same Pausanias places the tem- 
 ple of Apollo Corinthus, or rather in the position 
 of Colonides.* At the bottom of the gulf of Mes- 
 senia, on the sea-shore, you meet with ruins which 
 may be the remains of the ancient Corone, unless 
 they belong to the village of Ino. Coronelli is 
 mistaken in supposing Coron to be the ancient Pe- 
 dasus, which according to Strabo and Pausanias^ 
 must be sought in Methone. 
 
 The modern history of Coron very closely re- 
 sembles that of Modon. Coron was alternately in 
 the possession of the Venetians, the Genoese, and 
 the Turks, and at the same periods as the Htter 
 
 * This is also the opinion of M. de ChoiseuL 
 H 4 
 
J 04 TRAVELS IN GREECE, t'ALESTIXfi, 
 
 place. Tlie Spaniards besieged and took it from 
 the Infidels in l633. The knights of Malta dis- 
 tinguished themselves at this siege, which was of 
 some note. On this subject^ Vertot has fallen into 
 an extraordinary error, as he supposes Coron to be 
 Cheronsea, the birth-place of Plutarch, Avhich is 
 not, any more than the other, the Cheronaea where 
 Philip enslaved Greece. Having again fallen under 
 the dominion of the Turks, Coron was once more 
 besieged, and taken by Morosini, in l685. At this 
 vsiege were two of my countrymen. Coronelli men- 
 tions only the commander de la Tour, who there 
 fell gloriously ; but Giacomo Diedo speaks also of 
 the Marquis de Courbon. I was pleased to find at 
 my outset the traces of French honor in the genuine 
 country of glory — in the country of a people who 
 were such good judges of valour. But where are 
 not such traces to be discove;oJ ? At Constantino- 
 ple, at Rhodes, in Syria, in Egypt, at Carthage, I 
 was shewn the camp ofthe French, the tower of the 
 French, the castle of the French. The Arab has 
 pointed out to me the tombs of our soldiers beneath 
 the sycamores of Cairo, and the Siminole under the 
 oaks of Florida. 
 
 It was also in this same town of Coron that 
 M. de Choiseul began his splendid collection of 
 views.* Thus chance conducted me to the 
 same spot where my countrymen had earned the 
 double wreath of talents and of arms, with which 
 
 * For his Voyage pittoresque de la Grtce, 
 
EGYPT^ AKD BARBARY. 105 
 
 Greece delighted to crown her sons. If I have my- 
 self run without glory, hut not without honor, the 
 two careers in which the citizens of Athens and of 
 Sparta acquired such high renown, I am consoled 
 l)y the reflection, that other Frenchmen have proved 
 more fortunate than I. 
 
 M. Vial took the trouhle to shew me Coron, 
 which is hut a heap of modern ruins : he also 
 pointed out to me the spot from which the Russians 
 cannonaded the town, in 177^^ ^ f^^tal epoch for the 
 Morea, whose population has since heen swept away 
 hy the massacres of the Albanians. The narrative of 
 Pellegrin's travels is dated from 1715 to 17^9: ac- 
 cording to that writer, the territory of Coron then 
 comprehended eighty villages ; I am doubtful if five Or 
 six could now be found within the same district. 
 The rest of this devastated tract belongs to Turks, 
 who possess three or four thousand olive-trees, and 
 who consume the patrimony of Aristomenes in a 
 harem at Constantinople. Tears started into my 
 eyes, on observing the hands of the Greek slave 
 steeped, to no purpose, in that oil which nerved 
 the arms of his forefathers, to triumph over 
 tyrants. 
 
 The consul's house overlooked the Gulf of 
 Coron. From my v/indow I beheld the sea of 
 Messenia, painted v/ith the most beautiful azure : 
 on the other side of that sea, rose the lofty chain 
 of the snow-capped Taygetus, which Polybius justly 
 compares to the Alps, but to the Alps beneath a 
 more lovely sky. On my right extended the open 
 
106 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 sea, and on my left, at the extremity of the Gnlf, 
 I discovered Mount Ithome, detached like Vesuvius, 
 which it also resemhled in its truncated summit. I 
 had not power to force myself from this spectacle : 
 v hat reflections are excited hy the prospect of the 
 desert coasts of Greece, where nought is heard but 
 the eternal whistling of the wind, and the roaring 
 of the billows I The report of guns, fired from 
 time to time against the rocks of the Mainottes, alone 
 internipted these dismal sounds, by a sound still 
 more dismal ; and nothing was to be seen upon 
 this Avhole extent of sea, but the fleet of this 
 chief of the barbarians. It reminded me of those 
 / American pirates, who hoisted their bloody flag in 
 an unknown region, and took possession of an 
 enchanting country, in the name of slavery and 
 death ; or rather fancy transformed them into the 
 ships of Alaric, quitting the smoking ruins of 
 Greece, carrying oft* the plunder of the temples, the 
 trophies of Olympia, and the broken statues of 
 liberty and the arts. 
 
 On the 12th, at two in the morning, I quitted 
 Coron, overwhelmed with the civilities and atten- 
 tions of M. Vial, who gave me a letter for the 
 Pacha of the Morea, and another for a Turk at 
 Misitra. I embarked, with Joseph and my new- 
 janissary, in a skiff, w'hich was to convey me to 
 the mouth of the Parmisus, at the bottom of the 
 Gulf of Messenia. A fine passage of a few hours, 
 carried us into the bed of the largest river of the 
 Peloponnese, where our little bark grounded for 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. lO^ 
 
 ^vant of water. Tlie janissary went in quest of 
 horses, to Nissi, a considerable village, three or 
 four miles up the Pamisus. This river was co- 
 vered with a multitude of wild fowl, and I amused 
 myself with watching their spoils till the return of 
 the janissary. Nothing w^ould be so pleasing as 
 natural history, if it were always connected with 
 the history of man : we sliould with delight behold 
 the migratory birds quitting the unknown tribes of 
 the Atlantic to visit the renowned banks of the Ce- 
 phisus and the Eurotas. Providence, in order to 
 confound our vanity, has permitted the animals to 
 know before man the real extent of the abode of 
 man ; and an American bird might probably attract 
 the attention of Aristotle in the rivers of Greece, 
 when the philosopher had not the slightest suspi- 
 cion of the existence of a new world. Antiquity 
 would furnish us in its annals with numberless cu- 
 rious approximations ; the progresses of nations and 
 eF armies would be found connected with the pil- 
 grimages of some solitary bird, or with the peaceful 
 migrations of the antelope or the camel. 
 
 The janissary returned with a guide and fiv^e 
 horses ; two for the guide and the three others for 
 me, Joseph, and himself. We pcissed through Nisi, 
 which seems not to have been known in antient 
 times. I saw the waywode for a moment ; he was 
 a young and very affable Greek, who offered me 
 confectionary and wine ; but I declined his hospi 
 tality and pursued my route to Tripolizza. 
 
lOS TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 We directed our course towards Mount Ithome, 
 leaving the rains of Messene on our right. The 
 Abbe FourmoRt, who visited these ruins seventy 
 years ago, counted thirty-eight towers then standing. 
 1 think M. Vial informed me that nine of these yet 
 remain entire^ together with a considerable fragment 
 of the exterior wall. M. Poucqueville Vvho tra- 
 velled through Messenia ten years before me, was 
 not at Messene. We arrived about three in the af- 
 ternoon at the foot of Ithome, the modern Mount 
 Vulcano according to D'Anville. I was convinced, 
 by an examination of this mountain, how difficult it 
 is thoroughly to understand the ancient writers 
 Avithout having seen the places of which they treat. 
 It is evident, for instance, that Messene and the 
 ancient Ithome could not comprize the mountain 
 within their limits, and that we ought to adopt the 
 signification assigned to the Greek particle ^t^' by 
 M. Lechevalier, who, on occasion of the pursuit of 
 Hector by Achilles, observe, that it ought to be 
 rendered before Troy, and not round Troy. 
 
 We passed through several villages, Chafasa, 
 Seal a, Cyparissa, and several others recently de- 
 stroyed by the pacha, during his last expedition 
 against the banditti. In all these villages I ob- 
 served but one female ; with her blue eyes, her ma- 
 jestic stature, and her beauty, she was no disgrace 
 to the blood of the Heraclides. Messenia M^as al- 
 most invariably unfortunate : a fertile country fre- 
 fjuently proves a baneful boon to its inhabitants,. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAE Y. 109 
 
 From the desolation which reigned around me^ it 
 might have been supposed^ that the ferocious Spar- 
 tans had again been ravaging the native land of 
 Aristodemus. A great man undertook to avenge a 
 great man : Epaminondas reared the walls of Mes- 
 sene. Unfortunately this town may be charged 
 with the death of Philopoemen. The Arcadians 
 revenged it, and removed the ashes of their coun- 
 tryman to Megalopolis. I passed with my little 
 caravan over precisely the same roads as the funeral 
 procession of the last of the Greeks had done about 
 Uvo thousand years ago. 
 
 Having skirted Mount Ithome, we crossed a 
 brook which runs to the north, and may, possibly, 
 be one of the sources of the Balyra. I have never 
 defied the Muses ; they have not struck me blind 
 like Thamyris ; and if I have a lyre, I have not 
 thrown it into the Balyra, at the risk of being 
 transformed after my death into a nightingale, 1 
 mean yet to pay my devotions to the Nine for a few 
 years longer ; after which I shall forsake their al- 
 tars. Anacreon's crown of roses has no attractions 
 for me: the fairest crown of an old man is his silver 
 'hair and the recollections of an honorable life. 
 
 Andania nmst have been lower down on the 
 Balyra. I should have rejoiced in the discovery at 
 least of the site of the palace of Merope; but An- 
 dania was too far out of our track to think of look- 
 ing for its ruins. An uneven plain, covered like 
 the savannas of Florida, with long grass, and droves 
 of horses, conducted me to the extremity of the 
 
110 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 basin, formed by the junction of the lofty mountains 
 of Arcadia and Laconia. Lycaeon was before us, 
 but a little to the left, and v:e were probably tread- 
 ing the soil of Stenvclarns. There I heard not 
 Tyrtaens singing at the bead of the battalions of 
 Sparta ; but in his stead I met at this place with 
 a Turk mounted on a good horse, , and attended by 
 two Greeks on foot. Perceiving me to be a Frank 
 by my. dress, he rode up to me, saying in French : 
 " A pretty 'country forsooth is this Morea for tra- 
 velling! In France, from Paris to Marseilles, I 
 found beds and inns every where. I am excessively 
 fatigued : I have come from Coron by land, and am 
 going to Leondari. To what place are you 
 bound ?" — To Tripolizza," was my reply. " Well 
 then," rejoined the Turk, *^ we will proceed together 
 to the kan of the gates, but I am shockingly fa- 
 figued, my dear sir." This courteous Turk was a 
 merchant of Coron, who had been in France, from 
 Marseilles to Paris, and from Paris back to Mar- 
 seilles. * 
 
 It was dark when we arrived at the entrance of 
 the defile, on the confines of Messenia, Arcadia, 
 and Laconia. Two parallel ranges of mountains 
 form this hermseum, which opens from north to 
 south. The road gradually rises on the Messenian 
 side, and goes down again by a very gentle descent 
 
 * It is remarkable, that M. Poncqueville met nearly at the 
 same place with a Turk who spoke French. Perhaps it was the 
 6ame man. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. Ill 
 
 towards Laconia. This is, perhaps, the hermseum 
 where, according to Paosanias, Orestes, haunted hy 
 the first apparition of the Eumenides, bit oiF one of 
 his fingers. 
 
 Our caravan soon entered this narrow passage. 
 We marched in silence and in file. * This road, 
 notwithstanding the summary mode of administering 
 justice adopted by the pacha, was unsafe, and we 
 held ourselves in readiness for whatever might ha])- 
 pen. At midnight we arrived at the kan, situated 
 in the midst of the defile. The sound of running- 
 water and a large tree announced this pious founda- 
 tion of a servant of Mahomet. In Turkey all the 
 public institutions owe their existence to private in- 
 dividuals ; the state performs nothing for the state. 
 These institutions are the effect of a spirit of reli- 
 gion, and not of the love of country, a sentiment 
 unknown there. Now it is worthy of remark, that 
 all these fountains, all these kans, all these bridges, 
 are of the earliest times of the empire, and are 
 falling into ruin : I cannot recollect having observed 
 one single modern fabric upoli the road. Hence 
 we cannot but infer, that the religious fervour of 
 the Mussulmans is abating, and that with religion 
 the social order of the Turks draws near to its dis- 
 solution. 
 
 * I know not whether this is the same hernigeum as M. Pouc- 
 quevilie and his companions in misfortune pass€d in coming from 
 Kavarin. 
 
112 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ I'ALESTIKE, 
 
 We entered the kan tlirough a stable : a ladder, 
 in the form of a reversed pyramid^ led us into a 
 dusty loft. The Turkish mercha-nt threw himself 
 upon a mat, exclaiming: " And this is tlie best kan 
 in the Morea ! From Paris to Marseilles I found 
 beds every where." I strove to cheer his spirits, 
 by offering him half of the supper which I had 
 brought from Coron. " Ah ! my dear sir/' cried 
 he, I am so fatigued, that I am ready to die." 
 He then groaned, grasped his beard, and wiped his 
 foreliead w^ith a shawl, repeatedly ejaculating: : 
 Allah I Allah I" He nevertheless ate with a 
 good appetite the portion of the sup])er which he 
 had at first refused. 
 
 Quitting this good fellow* at day-break on the 
 13th, I continued my journey. Our progress was 
 very slow : instead of the janissary of Modon, 
 who seemed bent on riding his horse to death, I 
 had one of a very different disposition. My new 
 guard was a very meagre little man, much marked 
 with the small-pox, speaking low and deliberately, 
 and so full of the dignity of his turban, that you 
 would have taken him for some upstart favorite of 
 fortune. So grave a personage w^as not disposed 
 to gallop, except when the importance of the oc- 
 casion required; as, for instance, when he perceived 
 
 * This man, half Turk and half Greek, as M. Faiivel has 
 since informed me, is always traveiling about. He has not the 
 best of characters, on accoimt of some transactions, highly ad- 
 vantagcous tu himself, relating to the equiproeut of an army. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 113 
 
 any passenger coming. The irreverence with wliich 
 I interrupted the order of march, sometimes 
 running before^ at others to the right, or left, and in 
 any direction where I thought I discovered any 
 vestiges of antiquity, was highly displeasing to him, 
 hut he durst not complain. In other respects, I 
 found him trusty, and very disinterested, for a Turk. 
 
 Another circumstance likeAvi^e contributed to 
 retard our progress. The velvet in which Joseph 
 was dressed in the dog-days of the Morea, made him 
 extremely uncomfortable. At the least motion 
 of the horse, he clung to the saddle ; his hat 
 dropped on one side, his pistols on the other ; these 
 were to be picked up and poor Joseph to be set to 
 rights again upon his horse. His excellent temper 
 shone with new lustre in the midst of all his 
 troubles, and his good humour was absolutely un- 
 alterable. 
 
 Thus we were three tedious hours in glearing 
 the hermaeum, which in this part, strongly resem- 
 bles the passage of the Appenines between Perouse 
 and Tarni. We entered a cultivated plain Avhich 
 extends to Leondari. We were now in Arcadia 
 and on the frontiers of Laconia. 
 
 It is generally admitted, notwithstanding the 
 opinion of D'Anville, that Leondari is not Megalo- 
 polis. It is asserted that the former is the an- 
 cient Leuctra of Laconia, and in this conjecture 
 M. Barbie du Bocage coincides. Where then is 
 Megalopolis ? Perhaps at the village of Sinano. 
 To satisfy myself on this subject I should ha,ve been 
 VOL. I. I 
 
114 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALSSTIN?:, 
 
 obliged to go out of my wav, and to nntertalie re- 
 searches foreign to the object of my journey. 
 Besides, Megalopolis, which is not celebrated for 
 any memorable action, or for any master-piece of 
 the arts, could not have tempted my curiosity, 
 except as a monument of the genius of Epami- 
 nondas, and the birth-place of Philopcenien and 
 Folybius. 
 
 Leaving Leondari, a quire modem to^A-n on the 
 right, we passed through a wood of aged evergreen 
 oaks, the venerable remains of a sacred forest. A 
 prodigious vulture perched on the top of a dead 
 tree seemed still to be waiting there for the pass- 
 ing of an augur. We beheld the sun rise on 
 Mount Boicon, at the foot of which we alighted 
 to climb a road cut in the rock. Roads of this 
 kind were denominated ladder-roads in Arcadia. 
 
 I was not able to discover in the ?>Iorea either 
 any Greek roads or Roman ways, Turkish <^ause- 
 ways two feet and a half broad, carry yon over low 
 and marshy spots. As there is not a single wheel 
 carriage in this part of the Peloponnese, these 
 causeways are sufficient for the asses of the pea- 
 sants and the horses of the soldieiy. Neveitheless 
 Pausanias and Peuttinger s map lay down several 
 roads in the districts through which I passed, 
 especially in the vicinity of Mantinca. Bergier 
 has followed them very accurately in his Roads of 
 the Empire.* 
 
 * Peuttinger's man cannot be erroneous at least in regard to 
 existence of the roads, since tbey -are marked hi that curioti* 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 115 
 
 We found ourselves in the neighbourliood of one 
 of the sources of the Alphreus ; I eagerly measured 
 with my eye the ravines that we came to : all were 
 silent and dry. The road leading from Boreou to 
 Tripolizza, first crosses desert plains and then 
 abruptly descends into a long stony valley. The 
 sun scorched us. From some thinly scattered and 
 parched bushes v>^ere suspended grasshoppers which 
 were silent at our approach, but renewed their 
 chirping as soon as we had passed. Nothing was 
 to be heard but this monotonous sound;, the trampling 
 of our horses, and the plaintive notes of our guide. 
 When a Greek postilion mounts his horse, he begins 
 a song, which he continues till the end of the joui- 
 ney. It almost always consists of a long story in 
 rhyme, with which the descendants of Linus beguile 
 the tedious hours. The stanzas are numerous, the 
 tune melancholy, and very much like the airs of 
 our old French ballads. One in particular, which 
 must be very common, for I heard it all the way 
 from Coron to Athens reminded me in a striking 
 manner of the song : 
 
 Man cceur charme de sa cliaine, &e. 
 
 Were these tunes introduced into the Morea by 
 the Venetians ? or did the French, excelling in the 
 ballad, happen to chime in with the genius of the 
 
 monument, wbicli is nothing but a book of the roads of the an- 
 cients. The difficulty lies only in ttie calculation of the dis- 
 tances, and especially with reference to Gaul where the abbrevia- 
 tion leg, may sometimes be taken for Icga or legh. 
 
 I 2 
 
Il6 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Greeks ? Are these tunes ancient? If they be, do 
 they belong to the second school of music among 
 the Greeks, or owe their origin to the Olympic 
 ages ? These questions I leave to the decision of 
 more competent judges than myself. But I can still 
 fancy that I hear the songs of my unfortunate guides, 
 in the night, in the day-time, at sun-rise, at sun-set, 
 in the solitudes of Arcadia, on the banks of the 
 Eurotas, in the deserts of Argos, of C^orinth and of 
 Megara, places where the voice of the Menades no 
 longer resounds, where the concerts of the Muses 
 have ceased, where the wretched Greek seems only 
 to deplore in doleful strains the calamities of his 
 country. 
 
 . joH periti 
 
 Cautare Arcades. * 
 
 Three leagues from Tripolizza we met two offi- 
 cers of the pacha's guards, who w^ere travelling post 
 like myself. Th«y were belabouring the horses 
 and the postilion with whips of rhinoceros skin. 
 They stopped when they saw me, and asked for 
 my arms, which I refused to give them. The 
 janissary desired Joseph to tell me that their only 
 motive was curiosity, and that I might demand 
 their arms if I pleased. On this condition I agreed 
 to gratify the spabis : we exchanged arms ; they 
 
 • Spon could not help noticing in Greece a tune exactly like 
 that of Reveillez-vom, belle endormie ; and he even amused him* 
 aelf with composing words f©r it in modern Greek.^ 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. ilf 
 
 examined my pistols for a considerable tim^, and at 
 last discharged them over my head. 
 
 I had been cautioned never to put up with the 
 jokes of a Turk, if I would not expose myself to a 
 thousand insnlts. I have since found, at various times 
 the very great utility of this advice : a Turk becomes 
 as tractable, if he sees that you are not afraid of 
 him, as he is insolent if he perceives that you are. 
 I should, hoAvever, have had no need of such a 
 caution on this occasion ; the joke seemed to be 
 carried too far for me not to resent it. Chipping 
 spurs to my horse, I rode up to the Turks, and 
 fired their own pistols, so close to their faces, that 
 the priming scorched the whiskers of the y^iunger 
 «pahi. An explanation ensued between these 
 officers and the janissary, who toM them that I 
 was a Frenchman. There are no Turkish civilities 
 but what they paid i^ib or receiving this intimation. 
 They oifered me a pipe, charged my arms, and 
 returned them to me. I thought it right to keep 
 the advantage which they gave me, and merely 
 directed Joseph to load their pistols for them. 
 These two hair-brained fellows then tried to per- 
 suade me to ride a race with them, which I de- 
 clined, and they left us. It will be seen in the 
 sequel, that I was not the first Frenchman they 
 had ever heard of, and that their pacha was well 
 acquainted with my countrymen. 
 
 An accurate description of Tripolizza, the 
 capital of the Morea, is given by M. Poucqueville. 
 I had not yet seen a completely Turkish town : its 
 
 I 3 
 
118 
 
 TRAV2LS tS GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 red roofs, its minarets, and its domes, therefore, 
 struck me in a pleasing manner at the first view. 
 Tripolizza is, nevertheless, situated in a very naked 
 part of the valley of Tegea, and heneath one of 
 the summits of the Maenalion, which seemed to 
 be destitute of trees and verdure. My janissary 
 took me to a Greek, who was* acqnainted with 
 M. Vial. The consul, as I have already men- 
 tioned, had given me a letter for the pacha. The 
 day after my arrival, being the 1 4th of Angust, I 
 went to his excellency's drogman ; I requested him 
 to expedite the delivery of my travelling firman as 
 much as possible, and of the order necessary for 
 passing the isthmus of Corinth. This drogman, 
 a young man w^ith an intelligent and subtle coun- 
 tenance, answered in Italian, that, in the first 
 place, he v»'as not well ; that, in the next, the 
 pacha had just gone to his women ; that a pacha 
 was not to be talked to in that manner ; that I 
 must wait, and that the French were always in a 
 hurry. 
 
 I replied, that it was only out of form 
 that I had applied for firmans, as my French 
 passport sufficed for travelling in Turkey, now at 
 peace with my country ; and that, since they had 
 not t]ie leisure to favor me with them, I would set 
 olT without firmans, and without delivering the 
 consul's letter to the pacha. 
 
 I went away, but in an hour the drogman 
 sent for me. I found him more tractable, either 
 judging from my tone that I was a person of con- 
 
EGYPT^ AND EARBARY. tl§ 
 
 sequence, or apprehensive lest I should find mean«^ 
 to lay my complaints before his master. He told 
 me that he was going to his Greatness, to speak to 
 him concerning my business. 
 
 Accordingly, two hours afterwards, a Tartar 
 came to fetch me, and conducted me to the re- 
 sidence of the pacha. His palace is a large quar- 
 ilrangular building of wood, with a very spacious 
 court in the centre, and galleries running round 
 the four sides of this court. I was directed to 
 wait in an apartment, where I found some Greek 
 priests and the patriarch of the Morea. These 
 papas and their patriarch talked much, and had 
 precisely the loose and debased manners of the 
 Greek courtiers in the times of the eastern empire. 
 I had reason to suppose, from the bustle which I 
 observed, that a brilliant reception was preparing 
 for me: the idea of this ceremony threw me into 
 some embarrassment. My clothes were the worse 
 for wear, my boots covered with dust, my hair in 
 disorder^ and my beard like Hector s — barba 
 sqiiallda. I had wrapped myself in my cloak, and 
 looked more like a soldier who had passed the 
 night in the open field, than a stranger going to 
 the levee of a grandee. 
 
 Joseph, who pretended to be an adept in 
 eastern etiquette, had forced me to put on this 
 cloak, as he disliked my short coat : he insisted 
 on attending me with the janissary, in order to do 
 me honor. He accordingly walked behind me, 
 without boots, bare-foot and bare-legged, and with 
 
 I 4 
 
120 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 a red hankercliief tied over his hat. Thus hand- 
 somely equipped, he was unhickily stopped at the door 
 of the palace. The guards would not suffer him to 
 pass ; and I had such difficulty to refrain from 
 laughing, that I could not seriously protest against 
 his exclusion. His pretension to the turhan was 
 the cause of his disappointment, and he had only 
 a distant prospect of the honors to which he had 
 aspired. 
 
 After two hours of tedious delay, expectation 
 and impatience, I was introduced into the pacha's 
 apartment. I heheld a man, about forty years old, 
 with a handsome countenance, seated, or rather 
 reclined, on a divan, dressed in a silk caftan, 
 having a dagger enriched with diamonds at his 
 girdle, and a white turban on his head. An old 
 man, with a long beard, respectfully occupied a 
 place on his right — perhaps it might be the execu- 
 tioner. The Greek drogman was sitting at his 
 feet, while three pages standing, held pastils of 
 amber, silver nippers, and fire for lighting the 
 pipe. ]My janissary remained at the door of the 
 room. 
 
 I advanced, saluted his excellency, by putting 
 my hand on my heart, presented the consul's letter, 
 and availing myself of the privilege enioyed by t. e 
 French, I took a seat without waiting to be invite 
 Osman enquired whence I came, whither I was 
 going, and what was my business with him. I 
 replied, that I was going on pilgrimage to Jeru- 
 salem, that on my v»ay to the holy city of the 
 
122 TRAVELS IN GREECt, PALESTINE, 
 
 ing distinctions which 1 had received. How 
 fortunate, if the Turks in office were to employ 
 this simplicity of manners and of justice for the 
 benefit of the people whom they govern! On the 
 contrary, they are tyrants, who, tortured with the 
 thirst of gold, without remorse spill innocent blood 
 to appease it. 
 
 I returned to the house of my host, preceded by 
 my janissary, and followed by Joseph who had for- 
 gotten his disgrace : I passed near some ruins which 
 appeared to me to be of antique construction. I 
 now awoke from a species of distraction, into 
 which I had been thrown bv the late scenes with 
 the t^vo Turkish officers, the drogman and the 
 pacha ; I found myself, all at once, in the midst of 
 the fields of the Tegeans : and I, a Frank, in a 
 short coat and a large hat, had just received an au- 
 dience of a Tartar, in a long robe and turban, in 
 the heart of Greece. 
 
 M, Barbie du Bocage justly complains of the 
 inaccuracy of our maps of the Morea, in which, 
 even the capital of that province is very often 
 omitted. This negligence arises from a change in 
 the Turkish government in this part of Greece. 
 There was formerly a sangiac who resided at Coron. 
 The Morea having become a pachalik, the pacha 
 has fixed his residence at Tripolizza, as a more cen- 
 tral point. As to situation I have remarked, that 
 the Turks are perfectly indifferent to the beauties of 
 nature. In this respect they have not the delicacy 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 123 
 
 of the x\rLibs, for wboin, the clianns of climate and 
 position have strong allaremeiits, and who^, to this 
 day, deplore the loss of Grenada. 
 
 Tripoli zza, however, though very obscure, is not 
 wholly unknown . M. Poiicqueville writes the name 
 Tripolitza : Pellegrin speaks of it, and calls it Tre- 
 polezza ; D'Anville, Trapolizza ; M. de Choiseiil, 
 Tripolizza ; and other travellers have followed this 
 orthography. D'Anvilie observes that Tripolizza 
 is not Mantinea. It is a modern town, which ap- 
 pears to have been erected between Mantinea, Te- 
 gea, and Orchomenus. 
 
 A Tartar brought me in the evening my travel- 
 ling firman, and the order for passing the isthmus. 
 The Turks, in establishing themselves on the ruins 
 of Constantinople, have manifestly retained several 
 of the customs of the conquered nation. The in- 
 stitution of posts in Turkey is nearly the same as 
 that introduced by the Roman emperors : you pay 
 for no horses ; tlie weight of your baggage is fixed ; 
 and wherever you go, you may insist on being gra-» 
 tuitously supplied with provisions. I would not 
 avail myself of these magnificent but odious pri- 
 vileges, which press heavily on a people unfortunate 
 enough without them, but paid wherever I went for 
 my horses and entertainment, like a traveller with- 
 out protection and without firman. 
 
 Tripolizza being an absolutely modern town, I 
 left it on the 15th, for Sarte, which I was anxious 
 to reach. I was obliged to retrace my steps as it 
 were : wdiich would not have been the case had I 
 
124 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 first visited Laconia, going by way of Calamate. 
 Proceeding westward, at the distance of a league 
 from Tripolizza, we stopped to examine some ruins. 
 They proved to be those of a Greek convent de 
 stroyed by the Albanians, at the time of the Rus- 
 sian expedition ; but in the walls of this convent 
 may be discerned fragments of beautiful architec- 
 ture, and stones covered with inscriptions worked 
 into them. I spent a considerable time in attempt- 
 ing to make out one to the left of the principal door 
 of the church. The letters were in the best style, 
 and the inscription appeared to me to run alter- 
 nately from right to left, and from left to right : 
 which is not always an indication of high antiquity. 
 The characters were reversed from the position of 
 the stone, which was split, placed very high, and 
 partly covered with mortar. I could decypher no- 
 thing but the word TErEATES which rejoiced me 
 almost as much as if I had been a member of the 
 Academy of Inscriptions. Tegea must have stood 
 in the vicinity of this convent. In the neighbour- 
 ing fields are found great numbers of medals. I 
 bought three of a peasant, but they afforded me no 
 light. He sold them very dear, for the Greeks 
 have begun to learn of travellers the value of their 
 antiquities. 
 
 I must not forget to mention that in wandering 
 among these ruins, I discovered a much more mo- 
 dern inscription. This was the name of M. Fauvel, 
 written with a lead pencil upon a wall. None but 
 a traveller can know what pleasure is felt on meet- 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY* 125 
 
 ing unexpectedly^ in a remote and unknown spot, 
 with a name that reminds you of your country. 
 
 We continued our route in a north-western di- 
 rection. After travelling for three hours over half 
 cultivated lands, we entered a desert, which extends 
 to the valley of Laconia. The dry bed of a torrent 
 served us for a road : we followed its windings 
 through a labyrinth of mountains of no great 
 height, all resembling each other, their summits be- 
 ing naked, and their sides covered with a species 
 of dwarf ever-green oak, with leaves like the holly. 
 On the edge of this channel, and nearly in the 
 centre of these hills Ave came to a kan, over- 
 shadowed by two sycamores, and cooled by a little 
 fountain. We allowed some rest to our beasts, for 
 we had been ten hours on horseback. The only 
 refreshment we could meet with was goat's milk 
 and a few almonds. We set out again before sun- 
 set, and stopped at eleven in a narrow valley, on 
 the bank of another channel, which retained a small 
 quantity of water. 
 
 The road which we were pursuing, passed 
 through no place of celebrity : it might, at most, 
 have been traversed perhaps by the troops of Sparta 
 when they marched to attack those of Tegea, in 
 the early wars of Lacedcemon. There was nothing 
 upon this road hut a temple of Jupiter Scotitas, to- 
 wards the passage of Hermes ; and all these moun- 
 tains together, must have formed different branches 
 of Paruon, Cronius, and Olympus. 
 
126 TRAVELS IN' GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 On the 20th, at day-hreak, we saddled onr 
 horses. The janissary said his prayers, washed his 
 elbows, his beard, and his hands, turned towards 
 the east, as if to snmiiioii the light, and we set off. 
 As we approached Laconia, the mountains began 
 TO be more elevated, and to exhibit a few clumps of 
 trees : the vallies were narrow and rugged ; and 
 some of them, though upon a smaller scale, re- 
 minded me of the Grand Chartreuse, and the mag- 
 iiiiicent forests in the back-ground. At noon, vre 
 discovered a kan, as vrretched as that where we 
 stopped the preceding day, though it was decorated 
 with the Ottoman flag. I'hese were the only two 
 habitations we had met' with in a space of twentv- 
 two leagues : so that fatigue and hunger obliged us 
 to make a longer stay than was agreeable, in this 
 HI thy kennel. The master of the place, an aged 
 Turk, vv'ith a most repulsive countenance, was sit- 
 ting in a loft aboy^ the stables of the kan ; the 
 goats clambered up to him, and surrounded him 
 with their excrements. In this sweet place he re- 
 ceived us, and without condescending to rise from his 
 dunghill, to direct some refreshment to be brought 
 for the Christian dogs, he shoutetl with a terrible 
 voice, when a poor Greek boy^ quite naked, and his 
 body swollen with fever and flogging, brought us 
 some ewe's milk in a vessel disgustingly dirty. I 
 was obliged to go out to drink even this at my eavSe, 
 for the goats and their kids crowded round me to 
 snatch a piece of biscuit which I held in my hand. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 12/ 
 
 I had eaten of the bear and the sacred dog with the 
 savages ; I have since partaken of the repast of the 
 Bedouins, but I never met with any thing to be 
 compared with this first kan of Laconia. It ^vas 
 nearly on the same spot however, that the flocks of 
 Menelaus grazed, and that he entertained Teh- 
 machus. " They repaired to the palace of the 
 king; the attendants conducted the victims ; they 
 also brought generons wine, while their waives, their 
 foreheads adorned with clean fillets, prepared the 
 repast." ^ 
 
 We left the kan about three in the afternoon. 
 At five, we reached an elevation of the mountains^ 
 whence we descried before us Mount Taygetus, 
 which I had already seen from the opposite side, 
 Misitra situated at its foot, and the valley of La- 
 conia. 
 
 We descended by a kind of stair-case cut in the 
 rock, as at Mount Boreou ; and perceived a light 
 bridge, of a single arch, elegantly throY/n over a 
 small river, and connecting tv/o high bills. On 
 reaching the river, we forded its limpid current, 
 among tall reeds, and beautiful rose-laurels in full 
 floww. This river, y/hich I thus passed without 
 knowing its name, was the Eurotas, A tortuous 
 Talley o]}ened before us, winding round several 
 small hills, nearly alike in form ; and having the 
 appearance of artificial mounts, or tumuli. We 
 
 Odyijs. Book IV. 
 
128 
 
 TRAVELS ly GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 followed these windings, and at night-fall arrived 
 at Misitra. 
 
 M. Vial had given me a letter for one of the 
 principal Turks of Misitra, named Ibrahim Bey. 
 We alighted in his court-yard, and his slaves 
 ushered me into the strangers' apartment, which 
 was full of Mussulmans, travellers like myself, and 
 Ibrahim's guests. I took my place among them on 
 the divan, and like them, hung up my arms against 
 the wall over my head. Josepli and my janizary 
 did the same. Nobody asked me vrho I was, or 
 whence I came : each continued to smoke, to sleep, 
 or to converse with his neighbour, without taking 
 the least notice of me. 
 
 Our host, to whom M. Vial's letter had been 
 carried, soon entered the room. Ibrahim, about 
 sixty years old, had a mild and open countenance. 
 He came to me, took me cordially by the hand, 
 blessed me, endeavored to pronounce the word boii, 
 half in French, half in Italian, and seated himself 
 by my side. He spoke in Greek to Joseph, de- 
 siring him to tell me that he begged I would excuse 
 liim, if he did not receive me so well as he could 
 have wished ; that he had a little child ill ; un Jig- 
 liolo^ he repeated in Italian, and this almost turned 
 his head — ?m Ja tornar la testa, said he ; — at the 
 same time pressing his turban with both his hands. 
 I should certainly not have gone to Sparta to look 
 for paternal affection in all the simplicity of nature; 
 and yet an aged Tartar displayed this moving senti- 
 ment on the tomb of those mothers who, when de- 
 
EGYPT, AND BAREARY. 129 
 
 livering the shield to their sons, addressed them 
 in these words : — T«y,;fe itt* rav — either this, or upon 
 this, 
 
 Ibrahim left me in a few minutes to go and at- 
 tend his son. He ordered a pipe and coffee to be 
 brought me ; but as it was past the usual hour for 
 supper, I was obliged to do as well as I could with- 
 out pilau, though I should have liked it exceedingly 
 well, having eaten scarcely any thing for the last 
 twenty-four hours. Joseph took a sausage out of 
 his bag, and^'slipped a bit now and then into his 
 mouth, unperceived by the Turks : he secretly 
 offered some to the janissary, who turned away 
 with a look of mingled pity and horror. 
 
 I made up my mind, and lay down on the divan, 
 in a corner of the room. A grated window opened 
 upon the valley of Laconia, on Avhich the moon 
 threw an admirable light. Leaning on my elbow, I ga- 
 zed on the sky, the valley, the summits of Taygetus, 
 brilliant or sombre, according as they were in the 
 light or shade. I could scarcely persuade myself 
 that I was in the native country of Helen and Me- 
 nelaus. I gave way to those reflexions which every 
 person may make, and myself with more reason 
 than many others, on the vicissitudes of human 
 destiny. How many places had already witnessed 
 my slumbers, either peaceful or perturbed ! How 
 many times by the radiance of the same luminaries 
 had I, in the forests of America, on the roads of 
 Germany, on the moors of England, in the plains 
 
130 THAVElS IX GREECE, PALESTlXr^ 
 
 of Italy, on the bosom of the ocean, indulged in the 
 same ideas respecting the agitations of life. 
 
 An old Turk, apparently a man of high distinc- 
 tion, drew me from these reflexions to convince me 
 in a still more sensible manner that I was far from 
 my country. He lay at my feet on the divan : he 
 turned, he sat np, he sighed, he called his slares, 
 he sent them away again, and Avaited for day-light 
 with impatience. Day-light came (August 17): 
 the Tartar, surrounded by his attendants, some 
 kneeling, others standing, took off his turban,, 
 looked at himself in a bit of broken glass, combed 
 his beard, curled his whiskers, and rubbed his 
 cheeks to give them animation. Having thus fi- 
 nished his toilet, he majestically departed, slip- 
 shod, and giving me a look of infinite disdain. 
 
 My host entered some time afterwards with his 
 son in his arms. This poor child, sallo^^', and 
 wasted with a fever, was stark naked. He had 
 amulets and various kinds of spells hanging from 
 his neck. The father set him on my knee, and I 
 was obliged to listen to the history of his illness. 
 The boy had taken all the bark in the Morea ; he 
 had been bled (and this was the real disease) ; his 
 mother had fastened charms about him, and placed 
 a turban over the tomb of a Santon, but all in vain. 
 
 Ibrahim concluded with asking if I knew of 
 any remedy. I recollected that when I was a child, 
 I had been cured of a fever by the plant, little cen- 
 taury ; I recommended the use of it with all the 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 131 
 
 gravity of a professional man. Bat what was cen- 
 taury? I pretended that the virtues of centaury 
 had been discovered by a certain physician of that 
 neighbourhood, named Chiron, w^ho scampered 
 over the mountains on horseback. A Greek de- 
 clared, that he had known this Chiron, who resided 
 at Calamate, and generally rode a grey horse. We 
 were still in consultation, when w^e w^ere interrupted 
 by the entrance of a Turk, whom I knew by his 
 £!:reen turban to be a minister of the law. He 
 came up to us, took the child's head between both 
 his hands and devoutly pronounced a prayer : such 
 is the character of piety ; it is affecting, it is re- 
 spectable even in the most mischievous religions.- 
 
 I had sent the janissary to procure horses and 
 a guide, with the intention of first visiting Amycl?e, 
 and then tlie ruins of Sparta, where I supposed 
 myself to be. While I awaited his return, Ibra- 
 iiim sent me in breakfast in the Turkish style. I 
 was still reclined on the divan : beside me was set 
 an extremely low table ; a slave suj)plied me with 
 the necessaries for w^ashing ; a pullet hashed in 
 rice was then brought on a wooden platter, and I 
 helped myself with my fingers. After the pullet, 
 a kind of ragout of mutton was sent up in a copper 
 basin, and this was followed by figs, olives, grapes, 
 and cheese^ to which, according to Guillet, Misitra 
 owes its name.* Between each dish, a slave 
 
 * M. Scrofani has followed liim in this opinion. If Sparta 
 derived its name from the brooms growing in its territory, and 
 
 K 2 
 
Travels in c^reece, PALEfSTiNE, 
 
 poured water over my hands, and another gave fnc 
 a to wet of coarse but veiy white cloth. I declined, 
 from courtesy, to drink ant wine ; and, after my 
 coffee, I was offered soap for my mustaches. 
 
 During this repast, the chief of the law had, 
 through the medium of Joseph, asked me several 
 questions. He was desirous to know my motive 
 for travelling, as I Avas neither a merchant nor a 
 physician. I replied, that I was travelling to see 
 foreign nations, and especially the Greeks, who 
 were dead. This produced a laugh. He replied, 
 that as I had come to Turkey, I ought to have 
 learned the Turkish language. I hit upon a 
 reason for my travels, much more comprehensible 
 to him, when I told him that I was a pilgrim 
 going to Jerusalem. Hadgi I hadgi ! * exclaimed 
 he, and was perfectly satisfied. Religion is a sort 
 of universal language, understood by all mankind. 
 This Turk was unable to conceive how I could 
 quit my country from the mere motive of curiosity; 
 but he thought it perfectly natural that I should 
 undertake a long' journey with a view to oii'er up 
 my prayers at a tomb, to pray to God for some 
 blessing, or for deliverance from some afBiction. 
 Ibrahim who, when he brought his son, had asked 
 if I had any children, w^as persuaded that I was 
 
 liot from Spartus, the son of Amyclus, or Sparte, the wife of 
 Lacedffimon, that of Misitra might certainly have been borrowed 
 from cheese. 
 
 * A pilgrim ! a pilgrim I 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 133 
 
 going to Jerusalem for the purpose of obtaining 
 issue. I have seen the savages of the new world 
 indifferent to my foreign manners, but attentive 
 on]}', like the Turks, to my arras and my religion, 
 that is to say, to the two things which protect man 
 in his spiritual and corporeal relations. This 
 unanimous coincidence of all nations in regard to 
 religion, and this simplicity of ideas, have appeared 
 to me to be worthy of remark. 
 
 For the rest, this strangers' apartment, in which 
 I took my repast, exhibi-ted an impressive scene^ 
 which forciMy reminds me of the ancient manners 
 of the East. All Ibrahim's guests were not rich ; 
 "very far from it : some even were actually beggars. 
 They, nevertheless, sat upon the same divan with 
 Turks, who had a numerous retinue of horses and 
 slaves. Joseph, and ray janissary, were treated 
 like myself, except that they were not invited to 
 my table. Ibrahim saluted all his guests with 
 .equal cordiality, spoke to all, and supplied all with 
 refreshments. Among them were mendicants ia 
 rags, to whom the slaves respectfiiUy carried coffee^ 
 Here we recognise the charitable precepts of the 
 Koran, and the virtue of hospitality which the 
 Turks have learned of the Arabs ; but this frater- 
 nity of the turban steps not beyond the threshold 
 of the door : for the slave who has drunk coffee 
 with his host, perhaps has his head cut off at his 
 departure, by order of this same host. I have, 
 nevertheless, read, and been informed, that in Asia 
 there are still Turkish families who r^taiu Jthe 
 
 K 3 
 
134 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTtKE, 
 
 manners, the simplicity, and the candour of the 
 early ages, and I believe it, for Ibrahim is certainly 
 one of tlie most venerable men I ever met with. 
 
 The janissary returned with a guide, who 
 offered me horses not only for Amyclae, but also 
 for Argos. He asked a price which I agreed to 
 give. The minister of the law, who witnessed the 
 bargain, rose in a transport of anger. He told 
 me, through my interpreter, that since I was 
 travelling to study the characters of people, I 
 ought to know that I had to deal with rogues ; 
 that these fellows were robbing me ; that they de- 
 manded an extraordinary price, though I had no 
 occasion to give them any thing, since I was pro- 
 vided with a firman ; and, finally, that I was com- 
 pletely their dupe. He then departed, boiling 
 with indignation ; but I could perceive, that he was 
 not so much animated by a love of justice, as 
 shocked at my stupidity. 
 
 At eight in the morning, I set out for Amyclse, 
 now Sclabochorion, accompanied by my new guide, 
 and a Greek cicerone, very good tempered, but 
 extremely ignorant. We took the road to the 
 plain, at the foot of Taygetus, following shady and 
 very agreeable by-paths, leading between gardens, 
 irrigated by streamlets which descended from the 
 mountain, and planted with mulberry, fig, and 
 sycamore trees. We also saw in them abundance 
 of water-lemons, grapes, cucumbers, and herbs of 
 different kinds: from the beauty of the sky, and 
 the similarity of produce, a traveller might imagine 
 
E€YPT, AND BARBARY. 135 
 
 himself to be in the vicinity of Chamhery. We 
 passed the Tiasa, and arrived at Amyclffi, Avhere I 
 found nothing hut the ruins of a dozen Greek 
 chapels, demolished by the Albanians ; situated at 
 some distance from one another, in the midst of 
 cultivated fields. The temple of Apollo, that of 
 Eurotas, at Onga, the tomb of Hyacinthus, ha.v^ 
 all disappeared. I could not discover a single in- 
 scription ; though I sought with care the cele- 
 .brated necrology of the priestesses of Amyclae, 
 which the Abbe Fourmont copied in 1731 or 1/32, 
 and which records a series fornearly a thousand years 
 before Christ. Destructions succeed each other with 
 €uch rapidity in Greece, that frequently one travel- 
 ler perceives not the slightest vestige cf the monu-= 
 ments which another has admired only a few 
 months before him. Whilst I was searching for 
 fra.gments of antique ruins among heaps of modern 
 ones, I saw a number of peasants approach with a 
 papa at their head. They removed a board set up 
 against the wall of one of the chapels, and entered 
 a sanctuary which I had not yet discovered. I 
 had the curiosity to follow them, and found that 
 the poor creatures resorted with their priests to 
 these ruins to pray : they sung litanies before an 
 image of the Panagia,* xlaubed in red upon a wall 
 that had been painted blue. How widely different 
 was this ceremony from the festival of Hyacinthus ! 
 The triple pomp, however, of the ruins, of adver- 
 
 ^ The Ali holy, the Virgin Mary. 
 K 4 
 
136 TRAVELS IS GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 sity, and of prayers to the tme God^ surpassed^ in 
 my opinion, all the splendors of the earth. 
 
 My guides urged me to depart^ hecause we 
 were on the frontiers of the Mainottes, who, not- 
 w^ithstanding modern accounts, are very great 
 robbers. We recrossed the Tiasa, and returned 
 to Misitra by the mountain road. I shall here 
 notice an error which still creates much confusion 
 in the maps of Laconia. We give indiscriminately 
 the modern name of Iris or Vasilipotamos to 
 the Eurotas. La Guilletiere, or rather, Guillet, 
 cannot conceive where Niger picked up this name 
 Iris ; and M. Poncqneville seems to be equally 
 puzzled by it. Niger and Meletius, who write 
 Neris by coriTiption, are not, however, totally 
 wrong. The Eurotas is known at Misitra by the 
 name of Iri, and not Iris, as far as its junction 
 with the Tiase ; it then takes the appellation of 
 Vasilipotamos, which it retains throughout the 
 rest of its course. 
 
 In our way over the mountain, we arrived at 
 the village of Parori, where we saw a large foun- 
 tain, called Chieramo. It issues copiously from 
 the side of a rock ; a weeping willow shades it 
 above, and below stands a prodigious plane-tree, 
 round which travellers seat themselves, upon mats, 
 to take their coffee. I cannot tell whence this 
 weeping willow was brought to Misitra : it is the 
 only one that I have seen in Greece.* Common 
 
 * I am not sure, however, that I have not seen some others 
 in the garden of the aga of Naupli di Romania, at the bottom of 
 the gulf of Argos. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 137 
 
 Opinion, I believe, makes the saVix babylonica, a 
 native of Asia Minor, though it perhaps travelled 
 to as from China, through the East. The same 
 tnay be said of the pyramidal poplar which Lom- 
 bardy received from the Crimea and Georgia, and 
 the family of which has been discovered on the 
 banks of the Mississipi, above the Illinois. 
 
 Great numbers of marbles have been broken and 
 buried in the vicinity of the fountain of Parori : 
 several have inscriptions, the letters and words of 
 which may be distinguished. With time and mo- 
 ney, some discoveries might possibly be made in 
 this place ; though it is probable that most of these 
 inscriptions were copied by the Abb(^ Fourmont, 
 who collected no fewer than three hundred and 
 fifty in Laconia and Messenia. 
 
 Keeping along the side of Taygetus, about mid- 
 way between the summit and its base, "we came to a 
 second fountain called Panthalama, which derives 
 its name from the stone whence the water issues. 
 Ou this stone is seen a piece of antique sculpture, 
 badly executed, representing three nymphs dancing 
 with garlands. Lastly, we found a third fountain, 
 named Tritsella, above which is a grotto that con- 
 tains nothing remarkable.* You may if you please, 
 take one of these three fountains for the Dorcia of 
 the ancients ; but then it would be situated at far 
 too great a distance from Sparta. 
 
 * M. Scrofani meatioas these fountains. 
 
138 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ I'ALESTINE, 
 
 At tlie fountain of Tritsella we found ourselves 
 behind Misitra, and almost at the foot of the ruined 
 castle which commands the town. It stands on the 
 summit of a rock of nearly a pyramidal form. 
 Alighting from our horses^ we ascended on foot to 
 the castle^ through the Jews' suburb, \^ hich winds 
 spirally round the rock to the base of the castle. 
 This suburb was totally destroyed by the Albanians ; 
 the walls alone are standing, and through the aper- 
 tures of the doors and windows you still perceive 
 traces of the flames which consumed these ancient 
 retreats of wretchedness. Children, as mischievous 
 as the Spartans, from whom they are descended, 
 lurk in these ruins, lying in wait for the traveller, 
 andj at the moment he is passing, tumble fragments 
 of walls and masses of rock down upon him. I 
 narrowly escaped falling a victim to these Laeeda^- 
 monian amusements. 
 
 The Gothic castle which crowns this scene of 
 desolation is itself falling to ruin : from the dilapi- 
 dation of the battlements, the cracks in the arches, 
 and the mouths of cisterns, you cannot walk there 
 without danger. It has neither doors, nor guards, 
 nor 2cuns ; but you are amply compensated for the 
 trouble yon have taken to climb to the top of this 
 building, by the view which you there enjoy. 
 
 Beneath you, on the left, is the destroyed part 
 of Misitra, that is, the Jews' suburb, which I have 
 mentioned above. At the extremity of this suburb 
 you perceive the archiepiscopai church of St. Di- 
 mitri, surrounded by a group of Greek houses with 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 139 
 
 gardens. At your feet lies the quarter called Kato- 
 chorion, or the town below the castle. Beyond 
 Catochorion, is Mesochorion, middle town, which 
 contains extensive gardens, and Turkish houses 
 painted green and red. Here you perceive also 
 basars, kans, and mosques. 
 
 On the right, at the foot of Taygetus, you see in 
 succession the three villages through which I had 
 passed : Tritsella, Panthalama, and Parori. 
 
 From the town itself issue two streaius. The 
 first is called, Hebnopotamos, Jews' river, and runs 
 between Katochorion and Mesochorion. The 
 other is named Panthalama, after the fountain of 
 the Nymphs, from vdiich it springs. These two 
 streams, over which th^re is a small bridge, have 
 authorized Guilletiere to set them down for the 
 Eurotas and the bridge Babyx, under the gene- 
 ric name of r/ft^^o?. which, in my opinion, he ought 
 to have written TiCv^x. At Magouia, these two ri- 
 vulets conjointly discharge themselves into the river 
 of Magouia, the ancient Cnacion, which is itself 
 soon lost in the Eurotas. 
 
 Surveyed from the castle of Misitra, the valley 
 of Laconia is truly admirable. It extends nearly 
 from north to south, is bordered on the west bv 
 Taygetus, and on the east by Mounts Thoniax, 
 Barosthenes, Olympus, and Menelaion : small hills 
 obstruct the northern extremity of the valley, de- 
 scend to the south, diminishing in height, and ter- 
 minate in the eminences on which Sparta is seated. 
 
140 TlftAVELS IK GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 From Spaita to the sea stretches a level and fertile 
 plain watered b}- the Eurotas. 
 
 Here then was I mounted on one of the battle- 
 ments of the castle of Misitra, exploring, contem- 
 plating, and admiring all Laconia. But, methinks 
 I hear the reader enquire, when will you speak of 
 Sparta ? Where are the niins of that city r Are 
 they comprized within Misitra : Are no traces of 
 them remaining ? Why did you run away to 
 Amyclae before you had examined every corner of 
 Lacedaemon ? You merely mention the name of 
 the Eurotas without pointing out its course, with- 
 out describing its bank?. How broad is it? Of 
 what colour are its waters ? Where are its swans, 
 its reeds, its laurels ? The minutest particulars 
 ought to be related when you are treating of the 
 birth-place of Lycurgus, of Agis, of Lysander, of 
 Leonidas. Every body has seen Athens, but very 
 few travellers have penetrated as far as Sparta 
 none of them has completely described its niins, 
 and the very site of that renowned city is pro- 
 blematical. 
 
 I should long since have satisfied the reader, 
 had I not, at the very moment when he espies me 
 on the top of the castle of Misitra, been asking 
 myself all the questions which he has just pot 
 to me. 
 
 Those who have read the Introduction to these 
 Travels, will have seen that I spared no pains to 
 obtain all the information possible relative to Sparta. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 1 41 
 
 I have traced the history of that city from the Ro- 
 mans till the present day; I have mentioned the 
 travellers and the hooks that have treated of modern 
 Lacedffimon, hut unfortunately their accounts are 
 so vague, that they have given rise to two contra- 
 dictory opinions. According to Father Pacifico, 
 Coronelli, the romancing Guillet, and those who 
 have followed them, Misitra is huilt on the ruins of 
 Sparta ; and according to Spon, Vernon, the Abbe 
 Fourmont, Leroi, and D'Anville, the ruins of Sparta 
 are at a considerable distance from Misitra. Hence 
 it is evident, that the best authorities adopt the lat- 
 ter opinion. D'Anville in particular is precise, and 
 seems to scout the contrary notion : " The place,'* 
 says he, occupied by this city (Sparta) is called 
 Palaeochori, or the old town ; the new town, under 
 the name of Misitra which is erroneously con- 
 founded with Sparta, lies at a distance from it to- 
 wards the west."* Spon contesting the point 
 against La Guilleti^re makes use of expressions 
 equally strong on the authority of Vernon and tbe 
 Consul Giraud. The Abbe Fourmont, wlio dis- 
 covered so many inscriptions at Sparta could not be 
 mistaken in regard to the site of that city : we 
 have not indeed the result of his ohservations ; but 
 Leroi, who recognized the theatre and the dromos, 
 could not have been ignorant of the true situation 
 of Sparta. The best geographical works, follow- 
 ing these great authorities, have been careful to ap- 
 
 * Geog. Ana, Abrtg, torn. I. p. 270, 
 
142 Travels in Greece^ Palestine, 
 
 prize the reader, tliat Misitra is by no means the 
 ancient Lacedaemon. There are even some who 
 fix with tolerable accuracy the distance between the 
 two places, w^hich they state to be about two 
 leagues. 
 
 Here we have a striking instance of the diffi- 
 culty of restoring truth when an error has once 
 taken root. In spite of Spon, Fourmont, Leroi, and 
 D'Anville, the generality of people have continued 
 to look upon Misitra as the ancient Sparta, and 
 myself among the rest. Two modern travellers, 
 Scrofani and Poucqueville, contributed to mis- 
 lead me. I had not taken notice, that the let- 
 ter, when he describes Misitra as the representa- 
 tive of Lacedsemon, merely repeats the notions of 
 the inhabitants of the country, without giving any^ 
 opinion of his own. On the contrary, he even 
 seems to incline towards the sentiments adopted by 
 the best authorities : whence I conclude that M. 
 Poucqueville, who is accurate in regard to every 
 thing that he had an opportunity of seeing himself, 
 was deceived by what had been told him concerning 
 Sparta.* 
 
 Persuaded, therefore, by an error of my early 
 studies, that Misitra was Sparta, I began wdth 
 
 * He even asserts positively, tliat ]Misitra does not stand on 
 the site of Sparta ; but afterwards comes round again to the ideas 
 of the inhabitants of the country. It is obvious, that the author 
 wavers continually between the great authorities which he was 
 acquainted with, and the gossip of i=ome ignorant Greek. 
 
EGYPT; AND EAr.BARY. l43 
 
 the excui^ion to Amyclaej with a view to finish, 
 first, with all that was not Lacedaenion, so that 
 I might afterwards bestow on the latter my un- 
 divided attention. Judge then of my embarrass- 
 ment, when, from the top of the cattle of Misitra, 
 I persisted in the attempt to discover the city of 
 Lycurerns, in a town absolutely modern, whose ar- 
 chitecture exhibited nothing but a confused mixture 
 of the Oriental manner, and of the Gothic, Greek, 
 and ItaUan. styles, without on^ poor little antique 
 ruin to make amends. Had but ancient Spaita, 
 like ancient Rome, raised her disfigured head from 
 amidst these new and incongruous monuments ! 
 But no — Spaita was overthrown in the dust, buried 
 in the tomb of ages, trodden under foot by Turks, 
 dead, and not a vestige of her existence left be- 
 hind ! 
 
 Such vrere now my reflexion?. Mv cicerone 
 scarcely knew a few words of Italian and English. 
 To make him understand me the better. I attempted 
 some sentences in modern Greek ; I scrawled with 
 pencil a few words of ancient Greek : I talked Ita- 
 lian and Englisli; and jumbled French along with 
 them all. Joseph endeavored to explain, but he 
 only encreased the confusion : the janissary and the 
 guide (a kind of half negro Jew,) gave their opinicn 
 in Turkish, and made matters still worse. We all 
 gpoke at once, we bawled, we gesticulated: with 
 our different dresses, languages, and physiognomy, 
 we looked like an assembly of demons, perched, at 
 sun-set on the summit of these ruins. The woods 
 
144 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 and ca'^ca les of Taygetus were behind us, Lnconia 
 was at our f^et, and over our heads the most lovely 
 sky. 
 
 This Misitra, said I to the cicerone, is Lacedae- 
 mon : is it not ? 
 
 Signor r Laceda^mon ? What did you say ? — re- 
 joined he. 
 
 Is not this Laccda?mon or Sparta ? 
 
 Sparta ? What do you mean ? 
 
 I ask you if Misitra is Sparta ? 
 
 I don't understand you. 
 
 What, you a Greek, you a Lacedsemonian, and 
 not know the name of Sparta ? 
 
 Sparta ? Oh, yes ! Great republic : celebrated 
 Lycurgus. 
 
 Is Misitra then Lacedaemon ? 
 
 The Greek nodded in affirmation. I was over- 
 joyed. 
 
 Now, I resumed, explain to me what I see. 
 What part of the town is that ? I pointed at the 
 ^ same time to the quarter before me a little to the 
 right. 
 
 Mesochorion, answered he. 
 
 That I know perfectly well; but what part of 
 Lacedsmon was it ? 
 
 Lacedeemon ? I don't know. 
 I was beside myself. 
 
 At least shew me the river, cried I, and repeated : 
 Potamos, Potamos. 
 
 My Greek pointed to the stream called the Jews 
 River. 
 
EGTPT. AND BaRBaRY. 
 
 243 
 
 What! is that the Earotas r Impossible! Tcil 
 me where U the VasiliDotanios ' 
 
 The cicerone after manv sestnre^; pointed to the 
 ri^ht toward? Amvclae. 
 
 I was once more involved in all my perplexities. 
 I pronounced the name of Iri, on which my Spartaa 
 pointed to the left, in the opposite direction to Aciyclae 
 
 It was natural to conclude from thb. that there 
 were two rivers ; the one on the risht, the Vasili- 
 potamoS; the other on the left, the Iri : and that 
 neither of these rivers flowed through Misitnu 
 The reader ha- seen from the explanation which I 
 have alreadv ^ven of these two names, what occa- 
 sioned my mistake. 
 
 Bet then, said I to mvself. where can l>e the 
 Eiirotas ? It is clear that it does not pass through 
 Misitra. Misirra therefore is not Sparta anless the 
 river has changed its course and removed to a dis- 
 tance from the town, which is hy no means pro- 
 bable. ^^^lere, then, is Sparta? Have I come so 
 far without being able to discover it r Must I return 
 without beholding its ruins r I was heartily vexed- 
 As I was going down from the ca5tle, the Greek 
 exclaimed. Your lordship perhaps means Pa]3^a- 
 chori At the mention of this name. I recollected 
 the passage of D'AnviUe, and cried oot in my turn: 
 
 Yes, P.^lieochori ! The old city ! \^'here is that? 
 Where is Palseochori r 
 
 Yonder, at Magoula :~ said the cicerone, point- • 
 ing to a white couage with some trees ahju: it, at 
 a considerable distance in the vallev. 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTIN% 
 
 Tears came into my eyes when I fixed tliem on 
 this miserable lint, erecled on tlie forsaken site of 
 one of the most renowned cities of tlie universe, 
 now the only object that marks the spot where 
 Sparta flourished, the solitary habitation of a goat- 
 herd whose whole wealth consists in the grass that 
 grows upon the graves of Agis and of Leonidas. 
 
 Without waiting to see or to hear any thing 
 more, I hastily descended from the castle, in spite 
 of the calls of mv sruides who wanted to shew nie 
 modern rnins and tell me stories of agas and pa- 
 chas and cadis and waywodes ; but passing the re- 
 sidence of the archbishop, I foand some papas, 
 who were waiting at the door for the Frenchman, 
 and invited me to enter in the name of the prelate. 
 
 Though 1 would most cheerfully have dispensed 
 with this civility, I k|iew not how to decline the 
 invitation : I therefore went in. The Archbishop 
 was seated in the midst of his clergy, in a very clean 
 apartment, furnished with mats and cushions after 
 the Turkish manner. All these papas and their 
 superior were intelligent and affablcr Many of them 
 understood Italian and could speak the language 
 fluently. I related to them in what perplexity I 
 had been involved, in regard to the niins of Sparta: 
 they laughed and ridiculed the ci(^erone, and seemed 
 to me to be much accustomed to foreigners. 
 
 The Alorca in fact swarms with Levantines^ 
 Franks, Ragusaiis, Italians, and particularly with 
 young physicians, from Venice and the Ionian 
 Islands, who repair hither to dispatch the cadis and 
 
EGYPT, AND BAIIBARY. 14/ 
 
 ligas. The roads are very safe : you find tolerably 
 good living, and enjoy a great degree of liberty, 
 provided you possess a little firmness and prudence. 
 It is upon the whole a very easy tour, especially 
 for a man who has lived among the savages of 
 America. There are alwavs some Englishmen to 
 be met with on the roads of the Peloponnese : the 
 papas informed me that they had lately seen some 
 anticjuaries and officers of that nation. At Misitra 
 there is even a Greek Ijouse called the English Inn, 
 where you may eat roast beef, and drink Port wine* 
 In this particular, tlie traveller is under great obli- 
 gations to the English : it is they vrho have esta- 
 blished good inns all over Europe, in Italy, in 
 Switzerland, in Germany, in Spain, at Constanti- 
 nople, at Athens, nay, even at the veiy gates of 
 Sparta, in despite of Lycurgus. 
 
 The Archbishop knew the French vice-consul at 
 Athens, and I think he told me that M. Faavel had 
 been his guest in the two or three excursions which 
 he has made to Misitra. After I had taken coffee^ 
 I was shewn the Archbishop's palace and the 
 church. The latter, though it cuts a great figure 
 in our books of geography, contains nothing re- 
 markable. The Mosaic work of the ])avement is 
 common, and the pictures extolled by Guillet, abso- 
 lutely resemble the daubings of the school that 
 preceded Perugino. As to the architecture, no- 
 thing is to be seen but domes more or less dila- 
 pidated, and more or less numerous. This cathe- 
 dral dedicated to St. Dimitri and not to the Virgin 
 
 L 2 
 
148 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Mary as some have asserted, has for its share seven 
 of these domes. Since this ornament was cmploved 
 at Constantinople in the decline of the art, it has 
 been introduced in all the monuments of Greece. 
 It has neither the boldness of the Gothic, not* the 
 simple beauty of the antique. When of very large 
 dimensions, it is certainly majestic, but then it 
 crushes the structure which it adorns : v. hen small, 
 it is a paltry cap that blends with no other member 
 of the architecture, and rises above the entablature 
 for the express purpose of breaking the harmonious 
 line of the ogee. 
 
 I observed in the archiepiscopal library some 
 treatises of the Greek fathers, books on controver- 
 sial subjects, and two or three Byzantine historians, 
 among the rest Pachymeres. It might be worth 
 while to collate the text of this manuscript, with 
 the texts which we possess ; but it must doubtless 
 have been examined by our two great Grecians, the 
 Abbe Fourmont, and d'Ansse de Villoison. The 
 Venetians who were long masters of the Morea, 
 probably carried off the most valuable manuscripts. 
 
 My hosts olhcicusly shewed me printed translations 
 of some French works ; such as Telemachus, Rol- 
 lin, and some modern books printed at Bucharest. 
 Among these translations I durst not say tliat I 
 found Atala; if M. Stamati had not also done me 
 the honor to impart to my savage the language of 
 Homer. Tbe translation which I saw at Misitra 
 was not finished : the ti'anslator was a Greek, a 
 native of Zante, who happened to be at Venice 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 149 
 
 %vlien Atala appeared there in Italian, ami from 
 this version he began his in vulgar Greek. I know 
 not whether I concealed my name from pride or 
 modesty; but my petty fame of authorship was so 
 highly gratified to find itself beside the brilliaut 
 glory of Lacedcemon, that the Archbishop's porter 
 had reason to praise my liberality — a kind of libe- 
 rality of which I have since repented. 
 
 It was dark when I left the residence of the 
 Archbishop : we traversed the most populous part 
 of Misitra, and passed through the bazar, asserted 
 in several descriptions to be the Agora of the an- 
 cients, under the idea that Misitra is Laceda?mon, 
 This bazar is a wretched market-place^ resembling 
 those which are to be seen in oar small provincial 
 towns. Paltry shops, shawls, mercery, and eat- 
 ables, occupy its streets- These shops were then 
 lighted by lamps of Italian manufacture. Two 
 Mainottes were pointed oat to me selling, by the 
 light of these lamps, cuttle-fish and the species of 
 marine polypus, distinguis^hed at Naples by the 
 name o^ftutti di mar.e. These fishermen, who 
 were tall and stout, looked like peasants of Tranche 
 Comt^ : I observed in them ntptUing extraordinary. 
 I purchased of them a dog of Taygetus : he was of 
 middling size, with a yellow, shaggy coat^ very 
 wide nostrils, and a fierce look. 
 
 Fulvus Lacon, 
 Arnica vis pastoribus. 
 
 I called him Argus, the same name which Ulys- 
 ses gave to his dog. Unluckily I lost him a few 
 
 L 3 
 
150 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTIVE, 
 
 days after^yards in the joiirnev frora Avisos to Coriirtb . 
 
 We met several women "wrapped in their long 
 garments : we turned aside to give them the way, 
 in compliance with a cnstom originating rather in 
 jealousy than politenes I could not discern theif 
 faces ; so that I knew not whether Homer s epithet 
 of Ka.v.r/na.v.a, celchratcd for fair women^ be yet ap- 
 plicable to Sparta. 
 
 I returned to Ibrahim's, after an excursion of 
 thirteen honrs, during which I had taken but a 
 fc'\v moments' rest. Not only can I easily bear fci- 
 tigue, heat, and hunger, but I have observed^ that 
 a strong emotion protects me from weariness and 
 gives me new strength. I am besides convinced, 
 and perhaps more th^an any other person, that an 
 inflexible determination snrraounts every difficulty, 
 and even triumphs over time. I determined not to 
 lie dow n, to employ the night in taking notes, to 
 proceed the next day to the ruins of Sparta, and then 
 contimie my journey without returning to Misitra. 
 
 I took leave of Ibrahim ; ordered Joseph and the 
 guide to proceed, with their horses, along the road 
 towards Argos, and to wait for me at the bridge of 
 the Eurotas which we had already passed in our way 
 from Tripolizza. I kept the janissary only to accom- 
 pany me to the nuns of Sparta, and could I have 
 dispensed with his services I would have gone alone 
 to Magonla ; for I had experienced how much you are 
 harassed in the researches you are desirous of making 
 by your attendants who grow tired arid impatient. 
 
 Having made these arrangements, on the 18th 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 151 
 
 half an hour before day-light^ I mounted my horse 
 -with the janissary, and having given something to 
 the slaves of the kind Ibraliim, I set off at full gal- 
 loj) for Lacediemon. 
 
 We had proceeded at tliat pace for an hour 
 along a road running direct south-west^ when at 
 break of day, I perceived some ruins and a long 
 wall of antique construction : my heart began to 
 palpitate. The janissary turning towards me 
 pointed Avith his whip to a whitish cottage on the 
 right, and exclaimed, with a look of satisfaction, 
 " Palreochori !" I made up towards the prhicipai 
 ruin Avhich I perceived upon an eminence. On 
 turning this eminence by the north-west for the 
 purpose of ascending it, I Avas suddenly struck 
 Avith the sight of a vast ruin of semicircular form, 
 Avhich I instantly recognised as an ancient theatre. 
 I am not able to describe the confused feelings 
 AA^hich overpowered me, Tlie hill at the foot of 
 which I stood, A\^as consequently the hill of the 
 citadel of Sparta, vsince the theatre Avas contiguous 
 to the citadel ; the ruin Avhich 1 beheld upon that 
 hill AA'^as of course the temple of Minerva Chalcioecos^ 
 since that temple Avas in the citadel, and the frag- 
 ments of the long Avail Avhich I had passed loAA'er 
 down must have formed part of the quarter of the 
 Cynosuri, since that quarter Avas to the north of 
 the city. Sparta Avas then before me, and its 
 theatre to Avhich my good fortune conducted nie on 
 my first arrival, gaA^eme immediately the positions of 
 
 L 4 
 
152 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 all the quarters and edifices. I alighted, and ran 
 all the way up the hill of the citadel. 
 
 Just as I reached the top, the suri was rising 
 behind the hills of Menelaion. What a magnificent 
 spectacle ! but how melancholy ! The solitary 
 stream of the Eurotas running beneath the remains 
 of the bridge Ba!)yx ; ruins on every side, and not 
 a creature to be seen among them. I stood mo- 
 tionless, in a kind of stupor, at the contemplation 
 of this scene. A mixture of admiration and grief, 
 checked the current of my thoughts and fixed me 
 to the spot : profound silence reigned around me. 
 Determined, at least, to make echo speak in a spot 
 where the human voice is no longer heard, I shouted 
 with all my might : " Leonidas I Leonidas I" No 
 ruin repeated this great name, and Sparta herself 
 seemed to have forgotten her hero. 
 
 If ruins to which briiiiant recollections are at- 
 tached_, demonstrate the vanity of all terrestrial 
 things, it must however he admitted, that names 
 which survive empires, and immortalize ages and 
 places, are not an empty sound. After all, glory 
 should not be too much slighted ; for what is fairer, 
 unless it be virtue ? The highest degree of felicity 
 would be to unite them both in this life, and such 
 was the purport of the only prayer which the Spar- 
 tans addressed to the gods : ut ptdc/ira bonis ad- 
 derent ! 
 
 When my agitation had subsided, I began to 
 study the ruins around me. The summit of tht^ 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 153 
 
 hill was a platform encompassed, especially to the 
 north-west, by thick walls. I went twice round it, 
 and counted one thousand five hundred and sixty, 
 and one thousand five Imndred and sixty-six ordi- 
 nary paces; or nearly seven hundred and eighty 
 geometrical paces; but it should be remarked, that 
 in this circuit I comprehend the whole summ.it of 
 the hill, including the curve formed by the exca- 
 vation of the theatre in this hill. It was this thea- 
 tre that Leroi examined. 
 
 Some ruins partly buried in the ground, and 
 partly rising above the surface, indicate, nearly in 
 the centre of this platform, the foundations of the 
 temple of Minerva Chalcioecos ^, where Pausanias 
 in vain sought refuge and lost his life. A sort of 
 flight of steps, seventy feet wide, and of an extremely 
 gentle descent, leads from the south-side of the hill 
 down to the plain. This was perhaps the way that 
 conducted to the citadel, which was not a place of 
 any great strength till the time of the tyrants of 
 Lacedsemon. 
 
 At the commencement of these steps, and above 
 the theatre, I saw a small edifice of a circular form, 
 three-fourths destroyed : the niches within it seem 
 
 * Chalcioecos, signifies a house of brass. We must not how- 
 ever take the text of Pausanias and Plutarch in a literal sense, and 
 imagine that this temple was entirely of brass. Those writers 
 only mean to say, that it was lined with brass internally and per- 
 haps externally. I hope too, that nobody will confound the two 
 Pausaniases mentioned here, the one in the text and the other 
 in the note. 
 
154 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 eqnaKy well adapted for tlie reception of statues or 
 of urn?. Is it a tomb ? Is it the temple of the 
 armed Venus ? The latter must have stood nearlv 
 on this spot and belonged to the quarter of the 
 Egides. Caesar who boasted of being descended 
 from Venus, had the figure of the armed Venus 
 engraved on his ring: it was in fact, tlie two-fold 
 emblem of the weakness and glory of that great 
 man. 
 
 If the reader will place himself with me upon the 
 hill of the citadel, he will then have a view of the 
 following objects around him : 
 
 To the east, that is, towards the Eurotas, a hill, 
 of an oblong form and levelled at the top, as if 
 for the purpose of a race-course or hippodrome. 
 Two other hills, one on each side of that just men- 
 tioned, form Avith it two hollows, in which you 
 perceive the ruins of the bridge Babyx% and the 
 current of the Eurotas. Beyond the river, the 
 view is bounded bv a chain of reddish hills which 
 conipose Mount Menelaion. Beyond these hills, the 
 high mountains which border the gulf of Argos, 
 tower aloft in the distance. 
 
 In this space, seen to the eastward, between the 
 citadel and the Eurotas, looking north and south 
 by east, in a parallel direction to the course of the 
 river, Ave must place the quarter of the Limnates, 
 the temple of Lycurgus, the palace of King Dema- 
 raUis, the quarters of the Egides and the Messoates, 
 one of the Leschi, the nmnument of Cadmus, the 
 temples of Hercules and Helen, and the Platanistee. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARV. 
 
 155 
 
 III this extensive space, I counted seven ruins 
 standing-, and above-ground, but absolutely shape- 
 less and dilapidated. As I was at liberty to choose, 
 J gave to one of these ruins the name of Helen's 
 Temple, and another I called the Tond3 of Alcman. 
 In two others I fancied I beheld the heroic monu- 
 ments of ^geus and Cadmus ; I thus determined 
 in favor of fable, and assigned nothing to history 
 but the teui])le of Lycurgus. I prefer, I must con- 
 fess, to black broth and barley bread, the memory 
 of the only poet that Lacedicmon has produced, 
 and the garland of flowers gathered by the Spartan 
 maidens for Helen in the isle of Platanistir : 
 
 O uhi campi 
 Spercliiusque et virginibus baccliala Lacaenis 
 Ta^geta ! 
 
 Now looking towards the north, as you still 
 stand on the site of the citadel, you see a hill 
 of considerable height, commanding even that on 
 which the citadel was erected, though this contra- 
 dicts the text of Pausanias. The valley formed 
 by these two hills mnst have been the site of the 
 public place and the structures that adorn it, as 
 the buildings appropriated to the iiieetings of the 
 Gerontes and Ephori, the portico of the Persice 
 and other edifices. On this side there are no 
 ruins. To the north-west extended the quarter of 
 the Cynosuri, by which I had entered Sparta, 
 and w here I observed the long wall and some Qther 
 remains. 
 
156 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Let us ROW turn to the west, and we sLall per- 
 ceive upon a level spot in the rear and at the foot 
 of the theatre, three ruins, one of which is of con- 
 siderable height, and circular, like a tower. In 
 this direction must have lain the quarter of the 
 Pitanates, the Theonielis, the tombs of Pausanias 
 and Leonidas, the Lesche of the Crotanes, and the 
 temple of Diana I^^ora. 
 
 Lastly, if you turn your eye to the south, you 
 will see an uneven space, intersected here and 
 there by the bases of walls that have been razed to 
 the ground. The stones of which they were com- 
 posed, must have been removed, for they are not 
 to be discovered any where round about. In this 
 part stood the residence of Menelaus ; and beyond 
 it, on the road towards Amyclae, rose the temple 
 of the Dioscuri and of the Graces. This descrip- 
 tion will be rendered more intelligible, if the reader 
 will turn to Paujsanias, or merely to the travels of 
 Anacharsis. 
 
 The whole site of Lacedeemon is uncultivated : 
 the sun parches it in silence, and is incessantly 
 consuming the marble of the tombs. When I be- 
 held this desert, not a plant adorned the ruins, not 
 a bird, not an insect, not a creature enlivened 
 them, save millions of lizards, which cra\^'led with- 
 out noise up and down the sides of the scorching 
 walls. A dozen half wild horses were feeding 
 here and there upon the withered grass ; a shep- 
 herd was cultivating a few water-melons in a 
 corner of the theatre; and at Magoula^ which 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 157 
 
 gives its dismal name to Lacedsemon, I o^^served a 
 small grove of cypresses. But this Magoula, for- 
 merly a considerable Turkish village, has also 
 perished in this scene of desolation : its buildings 
 are overthrown, and the index of ruins is itself bat 
 a ruin. 
 
 I descended from the citadel, and, after walk- 
 ing about a quarter of an hour, I reached the 
 Eurotas. Its appearance was nearly the same as 
 two leagues higher, where I had passed it, without 
 knowing what stream it was. Its breadth before 
 Sparta, is about the same as that of the Marne 
 above Charenton. The bed of the river, nearly 
 dry in summer, is a sand intermixed with small 
 pebbles, overgrown with reeds and rose laurels, 
 among which run a few rills of a cool and limpid 
 water. I drank of it abundantly, for I was parched 
 with thirst. From the beauty of its reeds, the 
 Eurotas certainly deserves the e})ithet of xax;^/09ya|, 
 given it by Euripides ; but I know not whether it 
 ought to retain that of olorifer, for I perceived no 
 swans upon its surface. I followed its current, 
 hoping to meet with some of these birds which, 
 according to Plato, have, before they expire, a 
 view of Olympus, on which account their dying 
 notes are so melodious: but I was disappointed. 
 Perhaps, like Horace, I am not in the good graces 
 of Tyndarides, and they would not permit me to 
 discover the secrets of their cradle. 
 
 Famous rivers share the same fate as famous 
 nations ; at first unknown, then celebrated through- 
 
158 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 out the ^vhole Avorld, they afterwards sink into 
 their original obscurity. The Earotas, at first de- 
 nominated Himera;, now flows forgotten under the 
 appellation of Iri ; as the Tiber, more anciently 
 Albula, now rolls to the sea the unknown waters 
 of the Teverone. I examined the ruins of the 
 bridge Babyx, which are insignificant. I sought 
 the island of Platanistrc, and imagine that I dis- 
 covered it below Magonla : it is a piece of ground, 
 of a triangular form, one side of which is washed by 
 the Eurotas, while the other two are bounded by 
 ditches full of rushes, where in winter flows the 
 river Magoula, the ancient Cnacion. In this island 
 are some mulberry-trees and svcamores, but no 
 plantains. I perceived no indication that the 
 Turks still continue to make this spot subservient 
 to pleasure ; I observed there a few flowers, among 
 others blue lilies, some of which I plucked in 
 memory of Helen : the perishable crown of the 
 beauty yet exists on the banks of the Eurotas, and 
 the beauty herself has disappeared. 
 
 The view enjoyed^ as you walk along the Eu- 
 rotas, is very different from that commanded by the 
 hill of the citadel. The river pursues a winding 
 course, concealing itself, as I have observed, among 
 reeds and rose-laurels, as large as trees ; on the 
 left side, the hills of Mount Menelaion, of a bare 
 and reddish appearance, form a contrast with the 
 freshness and verdure of the channel of the Euro- 
 tas. On the right, the Taygetus spreads bis 
 magnificent curtain ; the whole space compre- 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. lo^ 
 
 liended between this curtain and the river, is occu- 
 pied by small hills, and the ruins of Sparta. These 
 hills and these ruins have not the same desolate 
 aspect as when you are close to them; they seem, 
 on the contray, to be tinged with purple, violet, 
 and a light gold colour. It is not verdant meads 
 and foliage of a coid and uniform green, but the 
 effects of light, that produce admirable landscapes. 
 On this account the rocks and the heaths of the 
 hay of Naples will ever be superior in beauty to 
 the most fertile vales of France and England. 
 
 Thus, after ages of oblivion, this river, whose 
 banks were trodden by the Lacedaemonians 
 ^vhom Plutarch has celebrated, this river, I say, 
 perhaps rejoiced, amid this neglect, at the sound of 
 the footsteps of an obscure stranger upon its shores. 
 It was on the 18th of August, I806, at nine in the 
 morning, that I took this lonely walk along the 
 Eui'otas, wliicli will never be erased from my me- 
 mory. If I hate the manners of the Spartans, I 
 am not blind to the greatness of a free people, 
 neither was it without emotion that I trampled on 
 their noble dust. One sin^^le fact is sufficient to 
 proclaim the glory of this nation. When Nero 
 visited Greece, he durst not enter Laccdaemon. 
 What a magnificent panegyric on that city ! 
 
 I returned to the citadel, stopping to survey the 
 ruins which I met with on my way. As Misitra 
 has probably been built vvith materials from the 
 ruins of Sparta, this has undoubtedly contributed 
 much to the destruction of the edifices of the latter 
 
l60 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 city. I found my companion exactly where I left 
 him: he had sat down, and fallen asleep; haA-ing 
 just awoke, he was smoking his pipe, after which 
 he went to sleep again. The horses were peace- 
 fully grazing in the palace of King Menclaus ; 
 hut " Helen had not left her distaff laden with 
 wool, dyed of a purple colour, to give them pure 
 corn in a magnificent manger."* Thus, though a 
 traveller, I am not the son of Ulysses; but yet, like 
 Telemachus, I prefer my native rocks to the most 
 enchanting foreign regions. 
 
 It was noon, and the sun darted his rays per- 
 pendicularly on our heads. We retired to the 
 shade in a corner of the theatre, and ate with a 
 good appetite some bread and dried figs, which we 
 had brought from Misitra: Joseph had taken care 
 of all the rest of our provisions. The janissary 
 w^as delighted ; he thought himself once more at 
 liberty, and was preparing to start, but soon per- 
 ceived to his no small mortification that he was 
 mistaken. I began to write down my observations, 
 and to take a view of the different places : this oc- 
 cupied me two full hours, after which I determined 
 to examine the monuments to the west of the cita- 
 del. I knew that in this quarter the tomb of Leo- 
 iiidas must be situated. We wandered from ruin 
 to ruin, the janissary following me, and leading the 
 horses by the bridle. We were the only living hu- 
 man beings among such numbers of illustrious 
 
 * Odvss. 
 
EGYPT, AND EARBARY, l6l 
 
 dead : both of ns were barbarians, strangers to each 
 other, as well as to Greece; sprung from the forests 
 of Ganl, and the rocks of Caucasus, we had met at 
 the extremity of the PeloponnestC, the one to pass 
 over, the other to live upon tombs whicli were 
 not those of our forefathers. 
 
 In vain I examined the smallest stones to dis- 
 cover the spot where the ashes of Leonidas were 
 deposited. For a moment I had hopes of succeed- 
 ing. Near the edifice, resembling a tower, which 
 I have described as standing to the west of the ci- 
 tadel, I found fragments of sculpture^ which I took 
 to be those of a lion. We are informed by Hero- 
 dotus, that there was a lion of stone on the tomb of 
 Leonidas ; a circumstance which is not recorded by 
 Pausanias. I continued my researches with in- 
 creased ardour, but all my efforts proved fruitless.* 
 
 * On this subject my memory deceived me. The lion spoken 
 of by Herodotus was at Thermopylae. It is not even related by 
 that historian that the bones of Leonidas were carried to his na- 
 tive land ; he asserts, on the contrary, that Xerxes caused the 
 body of the hero to be crucified : consequently the fragments of 
 the lion, which I saw at Sparta, cannot mark the tomb of Leoni- 
 das. It may be supposed that I had not an Herodotus in my 
 hand on the ruins of Lacedaeniou : I carried with me from home, 
 nothing but Racine, Tasso, Virgil, and Homer, the latter inter- 
 leaved for the purpose of writing notes. It cannot, therefore, ap- 
 pear surprising that, being obliged to draw upon the resources of 
 my memory, I may have been w rong in regard to the place, w ith- 
 out, however, being mistaken respecting the fact. Two neat epi- 
 grams ou this stone lion, at Thermopylx, may be seen in the An- 
 thology. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
l62 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 I know not whether this was the spot where the 
 Abb^ Fourmont discovered three curious monu- 
 ments. One of them Avas a cippus, on which was en- 
 graven the name of Jerusalem ; perhaps a memorial 
 of that alliance between the Jews and the Lacedae- 
 monians, which is mentioned in the Maccabees 
 The two others were the sepulchral inscriptions of 
 Lysander and Agesilaus. I shall observe that, to 
 my countrymen, Europe is indebted for the first sa- 
 tisfactory accounts of the ruins of Sparta and 
 Athens.* Deshayes, who was sent to Jerusalem 
 by Louis XIIL passed through Athens about the 
 year iGqq : we possess his travels, with which 
 Chandler was not acquainted. In l6*72. Father 
 Babin, a Jesuit, published his relation of the Pi e- 
 sent Stale of the City of Athens. This relation 
 was edited by Spon, before that honest and inge- 
 nious traveller had conmienced his tours with 
 Wheeler. The Abbe Fourmont and Leroi were 
 the first that threw a steady light upon Laconia, 
 though it is true that Vernon had visited Sparta 
 before them : bat nothing of his was published ex- 
 cept a single letter, in which he merely mentions 
 
 * On the subject of Athens, we have certainly the two letter* 
 from the collei.tion of Martin Crusius, written in lj8-i; but noi 
 only do they contain scarcely any information, but they were 
 written by Greeks, natives of the Morea, and consequently are 
 not the fruit of the researches of modern travellers. Spon like- 
 wise mentions the manuscript in the Barberini Library at Rome> 
 which is dated two hundred years anterior to his travels, and ia 
 fvhich he found some drawings of Athens, 
 
EGIFT, A^D BARBARY. 
 
 that he had seen Lacedsemoii, withont entering into 
 any details. As for me, I know not whether my 
 researches will he transmitted to posterity, hut at 
 least, I have joined my name to that of Spaita, 
 which can alone rescue it from oblivion ; I have 
 fixed the site of that celebrated city ; I have, if I 
 may so express myself, re-discovered all these im- 
 mortal ruins. A humble fisherman, in consequence 
 of shipwreck, or rather accident, often determines 
 the position of rocks, which had escaped the obser- 
 vation of the most skilful pilot. 
 
 There were at Sparta a great number of ^iltars 
 and statues dedicated to Sleep, to Death, to Beauty 
 (V enus Morpho), divinities of all mankind ; and to 
 Fear armed, probably that with which the Lacedfe- 
 monians inspired their enemies. Not a vestige of 
 these is now left, but I perceived npon a kind of 
 socle, these four letters aasm. Could they have 
 formed part of the word feaasma? Could this have 
 been the pedestal of the statue of Laughter which 
 Lycurgns erected among the grave descendants of 
 Hercules ? The altar of Laughter existing alone in 
 the midst of entombed Sparta, would furnish a fair 
 subject of triumph for the philosophy of Demo- 
 critus. 
 
 Night drew on apace, when I reluctantly quit- 
 led these renowned ruins, the shade of Lvcurgus, 
 the recollection of Thermopylae, and all the fictions 
 of fable and history. The sun sank behind tke 
 Taygetus, so that I had beheld him commence and 
 finish his course on the ruins of Lacedssemon. It 
 
 M 2 
 
l64 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 was three thousand five hundred and forty-three 
 years, since he first rose and set over this infant 
 city. I departed with a mind absorbed by the ob- 
 jects which I had just seen, and indulging in end- 
 less reflexions. Sucli days enable a man to endure 
 many misfortunes with patience, and above all, ren- 
 der him indifferent to many spectacles. 
 
 We pursued the course of the Eurotas for an 
 hour and a half, through the open country, and 
 then fell into the road to Tripolizza. Joseph and 
 the guide had encamped on the other side of the 
 river near the bridge, and had made a fire of reeds, 
 in spite of Apollo, who was consoled by the sighing 
 of these reeds for the loss of Daphne. Joseph was 
 abundantly provided with necessaries : he had salt, 
 oil, water-melons, bread, and meat. He dressed a 
 leg of mutton like the companion of Achilles, and 
 served it up on the corner of a large stone, with 
 wine from the vineyard of Ulysses, and the water 
 of the Eurotas. I made an excellent supper, having 
 jnst that requisite which Dionysius wanted to relish 
 the black broth of Lacedsemon. 
 
 After supper, Joseph brought me my saddle, 
 which usually serv ed me for a pillow ; I wrapped 
 myself in my cloak, and lay down under a laurel on 
 the bank of the Eurotas. The night was so pure 
 and so serene, and the Milky Way shed such a 
 light, reflected by the current of the river, that you 
 might see to read by it. I fell asleep, with my eyes 
 fixed on the heavens, having the beautiful constella- 
 tion of Leda's swan exactly over my head. I still 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. iCa 
 
 recollect the pleasure which I formerly received 
 from thus reposing in the woods of America, and 
 especially from awaking in the middle of the night. 
 I listened to the whistling of the wind through the 
 wilderness ; the braying of the does and stags; the 
 roar of a distant cataract : while the embers of mv 
 half-extinguished fire glowed beneath the foliage of 
 the trees. I loved even to hear the voice of the 
 Iroquois, when he shoafed in the recesses of his 
 forests, and when, in the brilliant star-light, amid 
 the silence of nature, he seemed to be proclaiming 
 his unbounded liberty. All this may afford deiight 
 at twenty, be<^aus€ then life suffices, in a manner, 
 for itself, and there is in early youth a certain rest- 
 lessness and inquietude, which incessantly encou- 
 rage the creation of chimccras, ipsi slbi somnia Jzii" 
 gunt ; but in maturer age, the mind contracts a re- 
 lish for more solid pursuits, and loves, in paiticular, 
 to dwell on the illustrious examples recorded in his*- 
 tory. Gladly would I again make my couch on the 
 banks of the Eurotas, or the Jordan, if the heroic 
 shades of the three hundred Spartans, or the twelv« 
 sons of Jacob, were to visit my slumbers ; but I 
 would not go again to explore a virgin soil, which 
 the plough-share has never lacerated. Give me 
 now ancient deseits, where I can conjure up at 
 pleasure the walls of Babylon, or the legions of 
 Pharsalia — grand'ia os^a ; plains whose furrows 
 convey instruction, and where, mortal as I am, I 
 trace the blood, the tears, the sweat of human 
 kind. 
 
l66 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTIKE, 
 
 Joseph awoke me, according to my directions, 
 at three in the morning of the 19th. We saddled 
 our horses and setoff. I turned my head toward 
 Sparta, and cast a farewel look on the Eurotas : I. 
 was unable to check that sensation of melancholy, 
 which will intrude itself when we are surveying a 
 grand ruin and leaving places which we shall never 
 more behold. 
 
 The road leading from Laconia into the country 
 of Argos, was in ancient times, as at the present 
 day, one of the wildest and most rugged in Greece. 
 For some time we pursued the way to Tripolizza ; 
 then turning to the east, we descended into the de- 
 files of the mountains. We proceeded at a rapid 
 rate in the ravines, and under trees which obliged 
 us to lie down upon our horses' necks. From one 
 of the branches of these trees I received so violent 
 a blow on the head, that I was thrown senseless to 
 the distance of ten paces. As my horse gallopped 
 on, my fellow travellers, v. ho happened to be before 
 me, did not immediately perceive my accident ; 
 their cnes, when they turned back to me, roused 
 me from my swoon. 
 
 At four in the morning we reached the summit 
 of a mountain, where we allowed our horses a little 
 rest. The cold became so intense that we were 
 obliged to kindle a fire of heath. I cannot assign 
 a name to this place, of little note in antiquity ; but 
 it must be situated near the sources of the Laenus, 
 in the cbain of Mount Eva, and not far from Prasiae, 
 on the gulf of Argos. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. l67 
 
 At noon we arrived at a considerable village, 
 named St. Paul, very near the sea. The only topic 
 of conversation among its inhabitants, was a tra- 
 gical event, of the particulars of which they were 
 anxious to inform us. 
 
 A girl of this village having lost her father and 
 mother, and being the mistress of a small fortune, 
 was sent by her relations to Constantinople. At 
 the age of eighteen she returned to her native 
 village. She could speak the Turkish, French, 
 and Italian languages, and when any foreigners 
 passed through St. Paul, she received them with a 
 politeness which excited suspicions of her virtue. 
 The principal peasants had a meeting, in which, 
 after discussing among themselves the conduct of 
 the orphan, they resolved to get rid of a female 
 whom they deemed a disgrace to the village- They 
 first raised the sum, fixed by the Turkish law, for 
 the murder of a Christian woman ; they then broke 
 by night into the house of the devoted victim whom 
 they murdered ; and a man, who was in waiting for 
 news of the execution, hastened to the pacha with 
 the price of blood. What caused such an extra- 
 ordinary sensation among all these Greeks of St. 
 Paul, was not the atrocity of the deed, but the 
 greediness of the pacha of the Morea. He too re- 
 garded the action as a very simple matter, and ad- 
 mitted that he had been paid the sum required for 
 an ordinary murder; but observed, that the beauty, 
 the youth, the accomplishments of the orphan, gave 
 him a just claim to a farther indemnity. He there- 
 
 M 4 
 
l68 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALEST1V«, 
 
 fore dispatched two janissaries the very same day 
 to demand an additional contribution. 
 
 The village of St. Paul is an agreeable place. 
 It is supplied with Avater by fountains, shaded with 
 wild pines, pinus silvestris. We here found one of 
 those Italian doctors who are dispersed all over the 
 Morea : I had him to bleed me. I tasted some ex- 
 cellent milk in a very clean house, very much re- 
 sembling a Swiss cottage. A young native of the 
 Morea, seated himself opposite to me : he looked 
 like Meleager both in person and dress. The 
 Greek peasants are not attired like the Levantine 
 Greeks who are to be seen in France. They Avear 
 a tunic which reaches to their knees, and is fastened 
 by a girdle ; their wide trowsers are covered by tlie 
 skirts of this tunic ; and they cross upon their bare 
 legs the strings which tie their sandals. With the 
 exception of the covering for the head, they are ab- 
 solutely the ancient Greeks without cloak. 
 
 My new companion, seated, as I have said, op- 
 posite to me, watched all my motions with extreme*" 
 curiosity. He kept his eyes fixed on me without 
 uttering a word; and even bent forward to look 
 into the earthen vessel, out of which I was eating 
 my milk. I rose and he rose too ; I sat down 
 again, and he did the same. I presented him with a 
 segar ; he was delighted, and made signs for me to 
 smoke with him. On my departure he ran after 
 me for half an hour, without ever speaking, and 
 without my being able to discover what he Avanted. 
 I gave hini money, but he threw it aw^y : the 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. I69 
 
 janissary would have driven him back, on which he 
 prepared to fight the janissary. I was affected I 
 knew not why ; perhaps, from observing, that I, a 
 civilized barbarian, was an object of curiosity to a 
 barbarized Greek.* 
 
 Having procured fresh horses, we left St. Paul 
 at two in the afternoon, and pursued the road to- 
 wards the ancient Cynuria. About four, our guide 
 called out that we were going to be attacked : we 
 indeed perceived, on the mountain, a few armed 
 men, who, after looking at us for some time, suf- 
 fered us to pass unmolested. We entered among 
 the Parthenian hills and descended to the bank of 
 a river, whose channel conducted us to the sea. 
 We descried the citadel of Argos, Naupli opposite 
 to us, and the mountains of Corinth towards My- 
 cenae. From the spot which we had now reached, 
 it was still three hours journey to Argos : we had 
 to turn the extremity of the gulf, and cross the 
 marsh of Lerne, which extended from the place 
 where we stood to the city. We passed the garden 
 of an aga, w^here I remarked Lombardy poplars 
 intermixed with cypress, orange, lemon, and many 
 other trees which I had not yet seen in Greece. 
 The guide soon afterwards missed the way, and led 
 us along narrow causeways, which formed the se- 
 
 * The Greeks of these mountains pretend to be the genuine 
 descendants of the Lacedaemonians. They assert, that the Mai- 
 nottcs are but an assemblage of foreign banditti, and they are perv 
 fectly right. 
 
IT'O TRAVELS IN' GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 paration, between small ponds and inundated rice- 
 fields. In this embaiTassing situation night over- 
 took us : at every step we were obliged to leap w^ide 
 ditches, with our horses intimidated with the dark- 
 ness, the croakius^ of a host of frogs, and the violet- 
 coloured flames that danced along the marsh. Our 
 guide's horse fell ; and as we marched in a row, we 
 tumbled one over another into a ditch. We all 
 cried out together, so that none of us knew what 
 the others said. The water was deep enough for 
 the horses to swim, and be drowned with their ri- 
 ders ; my puncture began to bleed afresh, and my 
 head was very painful. At length we miraculously 
 scrambled out of this slough, but found it impossi- 
 ble to proceed to Argos. We perceived between 
 the reeds a glimmering light : we made up towards it, 
 perishing with cold, covered with mud, leading our 
 horses by the bridle, and running the rihk of plung- 
 ing at every step into some fi esh quagmire. 
 
 The light guided us to a farm-house, situated in 
 the midst of the marsh, in the vicinity of the vil- 
 lage of Lerne. It was just harvest-time, and we 
 found the reapers lying on the ground. They 
 started up at our approach and fled like deer. W^e 
 convinced them that they had nothing to fear, 
 and passed the rest of the night with them on a 
 heap of sheep's dung, which was less filthy and less 
 damp than any other situation w^e could find. I 
 should have a right to quarrel with Hercules, who 
 has not completely destroyed the Lernaean hydra ; 
 for, in this unwholesome place, I caught a fever 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY, 1^1 
 
 which never entirely left me till after my arrival in 
 Egypt. 
 
 On the 20th, at day-break, I was at Argos. The 
 'village which has succeeded that celebrated city is 
 neater and more lively than most of the villages of 
 the Morea. Its situation is very beautiful, at the 
 extremity of the Gulf of Naupli or Argos, a 
 league and a half from the sea : on one side it has . 
 the mountains of Cynuria and Arcadia, and on the 
 other the heights of Troezene and Epidaurus. 
 
 But whether my imagination was oppiessed by 
 the recollection of the misfortunes and the excesses 
 of the Pelopides ; or I w^as struck by the real truths 
 the country appeared to me uncultivated and deso- 
 late, the mountains naked and dreary — a kind of 
 nature, fertile in great crimes and in great virtues. 
 I went to survey what are called the remains of 
 Agamemnon's Palace, the mins of a theatre, and of 
 a Roman aqueduct ; I went up to the citadel soli- 
 citous to see every stone that could possibly have 
 been touched by the hand of the king of kings. 
 What can boast of enjoying any glory beside those 
 families, sung by Homer, j^schylus, Sophocles, 
 Euripides, and Racine ? But when you see on the 
 spot where they flourished how very little remains 
 of those families, you are marvellously astonished. 
 
 It is a considerable time since the ruins of Argos 
 ceased to correspond with the greatness of its name. 
 In 175^5 Chandler found them absolutely in the 
 same state as they w^ere seen by me : the Abbe 
 Fourmont in 1746, and Pellegrin in 17 were not 
 
173 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 more fortunate. The Venetians in particular, have 
 contributed to the demolition of the monuments of 
 this city, by using their materials in the constinction 
 of the castle of Palaniis. In the time of Pausanias, 
 there was at Argos, a statue of Jupiter, remarkable 
 for having three eyes, and still more remarkable on 
 another account: it was brought from Troy by 
 Sthenelus, and was said to be the very statue, at 
 the foot of which Priam was put to death in hi» 
 palace by the son of Achilles : 
 
 Ingens arafuit,juxtaqne veterrima lauriis, 
 Incunibens ane, atque uinbr^ complexa Penates. 
 
 But Argos, which doubtless exulted in the 
 possession of the Panates that betrayed the house 
 of Priam, Argos itself soon exhibited a striking 
 example of the vicissitudes of fortune. So early as 
 the reign of Julian the apostate, its gloiies were 
 eclipsed to such a degree, that on account of its 
 poverty, it could not contribute to the re-establish- 
 ment of the Isthmian games. Julian pleaded 
 its cause against the Corinthians : his speech, on 
 that occasion, is still extant in his works (£7?.XXV). 
 It is one of the most extraordinary documents in 
 the history of things and of mankind. Finally, 
 Argos, the country of the king of kings, having 
 become in the middle ages the inheritance of a 
 Venetian widow, was sold by her to the republic 
 of Venice for five hundred ducats, and an annuity 
 of two hundred. Coronelli records the bargain. 
 Omnia vanita^ ! 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAtlVw 1^3 
 
 I was received at Argos by Avramiotti, the 
 Italian physician, whom M. Poucqneville saw at 
 Nanpli, and on whose grand-daugliter he per- 
 formed an operation for hydrocephalus M. Av- 
 ramiotti shewed me a map of the Peloponnese, in 
 which he had begun to write with M. Fauvel, the 
 ancient names by the side of the modern ones : it 
 will be a valuable performance, which could not 
 be executed but by persons resident for a number 
 of years on the spot. M. Avramiotti had amassed 
 a fortune, and began to sigh after his native land. 
 There are two things which grow stronger in the 
 heart of man, in proportion as he advances in 
 years ; the love of country and religion. Let them 
 be ever so much forgotten in youth, they sooner 
 or later present themselves to us arrayed in all 
 their charms, and- excite in the recesses of our 
 heaits, an attachment justly due to their beauty. 
 
 We conversed, therefore, about France and 
 Italy, for the same reason that the Argive soldier 
 who accompanied ^neas, recollected Argos when 
 expiring in Italy. Agamemnon was scarcely men- 
 tioned by us, though I was to see his tomb the 
 following day. We talked upon the terrace of the 
 house which overlooks the Gulf of Argos : perhaps 
 that very terrace from which a poor woman hurled 
 the tile that terminated the glory and the adven- 
 tures of Pyrrhu'*. M. Avramiotti pointed out to 
 me a promontory on the other side of the gulf, 
 and said: " It was there that Ciytaemnestra 
 stationed the slave who was to give the signal for 
 
174 TRAVELS IN GREECE^, PALESTINE, 
 
 the return of the Grecian fleet. But," added he, 
 yon have just come from Venice; I think the 
 best thins^ I could do would be to return thither." 
 
 I left this exile in Greece the following morn- 
 ing at day-break, and, with fresh horses and a 
 fresh guide, took the road to Corinth. I really 
 think that M. Avramiotti was not sorry to get rid 
 of me : though he received me with great polite- 
 ness, it Avas easy to perceive that my visist was not 
 perfectly agreeable. 
 
 After riding half an hour we crossed the 
 Inachus, the father of lo, so celebrated for Juno's 
 jealousy. In ancient times, the traveller, on leaving 
 Argos, came to the gate Lucina, and the altar of 
 the Sun, before he reached the river. Half a 
 league on the other side of it stood the temple of 
 the Mysian Ceres, and beyond that the tomb of 
 Thveste and the heroic monument of Perseus. 
 We stopped nearly on the enjinence where these 
 latter monuments existed at the period when 
 Pausanias travelled. We were going to leave the 
 plain of Argos, on which we have an excellent 
 memoir by M. Barbie du Bocage ; and to enter 
 among the mountains of Corinth when we saw 
 Naupli behind us. The place which we had 
 reached is called Carvathi ; and here you must 
 turn out of the road, to the right, to look for the 
 ruins of Mycenae. Chandler missed them on his 
 return from Argos, but they are well known, 
 from the researches made there by Lord Elgin, in 
 his tour of Greece. M. Fauvel has described them 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 175 
 
 in his Memoirs^ and M. de Choiseiil Goiiffier pos- 
 sesses drawings of them : they had heen previously 
 spoken of hy the Abb^ Foiirmont, and seen by 
 Dumonceaux. We had to cross a heath : a naiTow 
 path conducted us to these remains, which are 
 nearly in the same state as in the time of Pausa- 
 nias ; for it is more than two thousand two hun- 
 dred and eighty years since Mycense was destroyed. 
 The Argives razed it to the ground^ jealous of the 
 glory which it had acquired by sending forty war- 
 riors to die with the Spartans at ThermopylDe. 
 
 We first examined the tomb to which has been 
 assigned the appellation of the tomb of Agamem- 
 non. It is a subterraneous edifiee of a circular 
 form, which receives light by a dome, and has no- 
 thing remarkable except the simplicity of its archi- 
 tecture. You enter by a trench, which leads to the 
 door of the tomb ; this door was adorned with pi- 
 lasters of a very common species of bluish marble, 
 procured from the neighbouring mountains. It was 
 LordElgin, who caused this monument to be opened, 
 and the earth with which the interior Was filled, to 
 be cleared away. A small elliptical door conducts 
 from the principal apartment to another of le^s di- 
 mensions. After an attentive inspection, I am of 
 opinion, that the latter is merely an excavation 
 made by the workmen beyond the tomb, for I could 
 not perceive that it had any walls. The use of the 
 little door would still remain to be accoantcd for ; 
 it was perhaps simply another entrance to the se- 
 pulchre. Has this building been always buried 
 
1?6 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 under the earthy like the rotunda of the Catacombs 
 at Alexandria ? Was it, on the contrary, erected 
 upon the surface of the ground, like the tomb of 
 Cecilia Metella, at Rome ? Had it any exterior de- 
 corations, and of what order were they r These are 
 questions which yet remain to be resolved. No- 
 thing has been found in the tomb, and we are not 
 even certain that it is the sepulchre of Agamemnon, 
 mentioned by Pausanias.^ 
 
 On leaving this monument, I crossed a sterile 
 valley, and on the side of the opposite hill, I be- 
 held the ruins of Mycenae. I particularly admired 
 one of the gates of the city, composed of gigantic 
 masses of stone, laid upon the solid rock of the hill, 
 with which they seem to form but one w^hole. 
 Two colossal lions, on each side of this gate, are its 
 only ornament. They are represented in relievo, 
 standing, and face to face, like the lions which sup- 
 ported the arms of our ancient chevaliers ; but they 
 have lost their heads. I never saw, even in Egypt 
 itself, a more imposing specimen of architecture, 
 and the desert in which it stands, adds to its solem- 
 nity. It belongs to that species of buildings which 
 Strabo and Pausanias ascribed to the Cyclops, and 
 traces of which have been discovered in Italy. 
 M. Petit Radel maintains, that this kind of archi- 
 tecture preceded the invention of the orders : it in- 
 disputably belongs to the heroic ages. For the 
 
 * The Lacedaemonians also boasted that they possessed the 
 ashes of Agamemnon. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 177 
 
 rest, it was a shepherd boy, stark naked, that 
 shewed me in this solitude, the tomb of Agamem- 
 non, and the ruins of Mycenae. 
 
 At the foot of the door that I have spoken of, 
 is a fountain which shall be, if you please, the same 
 that Perseus found underamushroom, and which gave 
 name to Mycenae ; for myces is the Greek term for 
 a mushroom, or the hilt of a sword : this story is 
 told by Pausanias. On returning towards the road 
 to Corinth, I heard the ground under my horse's 
 feet sound hollow: 1 alighted, and discovered the 
 vault of another tomb. 
 
 Pausanias reckons up five tombs at Mycenae : 
 the tomb of Atreus, that of Agamemnon, that of 
 Eurymedon, that of Teledamus and Pelops, and 
 that of Electra. He adds, that Clytaemnestra and 
 ^gisthus were interred without the walls : might 
 it not then be their tomb that I discovered ? I have 
 described the spot to M. Fauvel, who will examine 
 it in his first excursion to Argos. How singular 
 the destiny that brings me from Paris to fix the 
 site of the ruins of Sparta, and to discover the 
 ashes of Clytjsmnestra ! 
 
 Leaving Nemaea on our left, we pursued oxtr route. 
 We reached Corinth in good time, having crossed 
 a kind of plain, intersected by streams of water, and 
 broken by detached hills, resembling the Acro-Co^ 
 rinthus, with v/hich they blend. The latter we per^ 
 ceived long before we arrived at it, like an irregular 
 mass of reddish granite, with a winding line of wall 
 upon its summit. All the travellers in Greece hav^ 
 ypL. I. ■ N 
 
TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 described Corinth. Spon and Wheeler explored 
 the citadel, where they discovered the lost fountain 
 of Pirene; but Chandler did not ascend to Acro- 
 Corinth, and M. Fauvel informed us, that the 
 Turks will not now permit any person to see it. In 
 fact, I could not obtain leave to walk round about 
 it, notwithstanding the applications of my janissary 
 to that effect. For the rest, Pausanias in his Co- 
 rinth, and Plutarch in his Life of Aratus, have 
 given a complete description of the monuments and 
 localities of Acro-Corinth. 
 
 We alighted at a tolerably neat kan, situated 
 in the centre of the village, and not far from the 
 bazar. The janissary was dispatched for provisions ; 
 Joseph cooked the dinner, and while they were 
 thus engaged, I took a stroll in the environs of the 
 place. 
 
 Corinth stands at the foot of mountains in a 
 plain which extends to the sea of Crissa, now the 
 Gulf of Lepanto, the only modern name in 
 Greece that vies in beauty with the ancient appel- 
 lations, la clear Aveather, you discern, beyond 
 this sea, the top of Helicon and Parnassus ; but 
 from the town itself the Saronic sea is not visible. 
 To obtain a view of it, you must ascend to Acro- 
 Corinth, v/hen you not only overlook that sea, but 
 the eve embraces even the citadel of Athens and 
 Cape Colonna. " It is," says Spon, " one of the 
 most delicious views in the world." I can easily 
 believe him, for even from the foot of Acro-Corinth, 
 the prospect is enchanting. The houses of the vil- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 179 
 
 lage, wliicli are large, and kept in good repair, are 
 scattered in groups over the plain, embosomed in 
 mulbeny, orange, and cypress trees. The vines, 
 which constitute the riches of this district,. give a 
 fresh and fertile appearance to the country ; they 
 do not climb in festoons upon trees, as in Italy, nor 
 are they kept low, as in the vicinity of Paris. Each 
 root forms a detached verdant bush, round which 
 the grapes liang, in autumn, like crystals. The 
 summits of Parnassus and Helicon, the Gulf of Le- 
 panto, which resembles a magnificent canal, INIount 
 Oneius covered with myrtles, form the horizon of 
 the picture to the north and east ; while the Aero- 
 Corinthus, and the mountains of Argolis and Si« 
 cyon rise to the south and west. As to the monu- 
 ments of Corinth, there is not one of them in ex- 
 istence. M. Foucherot has discovered among their 
 ruins but two Corinthian capitals, the sole memo- 
 rial of the order invented in that city. 
 
 Corinth, razed to the ground by Mummius, 
 rebuilt by Julius Csesar, and by Adnan, a second 
 time destroyed by Alaric, again rebuilt by the Vene- 
 tians, was sacked for the third and last time by 
 Mahomet IL Strabo saw it soon after its re- 
 establishment, during the reign of Au,^ustus. Pau- 
 sanias admired it in Adrian's time ; and to judge 
 from the monuments which he has described, it 
 must have been, at that penod, a magnificent city. 
 It would be interesting to know in what condition 
 it was in 1173, when it was visited by Benjamin of 
 
 5? 2 
 
180 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Tudela ; but this Spanish Jew gravely relates, that 
 he arrived at Patras, " the city of Antipater, one of 
 the four Grecian kings, who divided among them- 
 selves the empire of Alexander." He thence pro- 
 ceeded to Lepanto and to Corinth : in the latter, 
 he found three hundred Jews, under the superin- 
 tendence of the venerable rabbis, Leo, Jacob, and 
 Hezekiah ; and tbis was all that Benjamin con- 
 cerned himself about. 
 
 Modern travellers have made us better acquaint- 
 ed with what remains of Corinth after so many 
 calamities. Spon and Wheeler here discovered 
 the ruins of a temple of the highest antiquity ; 
 these iTiins consisted of eleven fluted columns, with- 
 out bases, and of the Doric order. Spon asserts, 
 that these columns were not in height above four 
 diameters more than the diameter of the foot of the 
 column ; by which, I suppose he means that their 
 height was equal to five diameters. Chandler says, 
 that they were only half as high as they ought to 
 have been, according to the correct proportions of 
 their order. Spon is e% idently mistaken, since he 
 takes the diameter of the foot of tlie column instead 
 of the diameter of the middle for the standard of 
 the order. This monument, a drawing of which 
 is given by Leroi, was worthy of being noticed 
 here, because it proves either that the early Done 
 had not the proportions since assigned to it by 
 Pliny and Vitrnvius, or that the Tuscan order to 
 which this temple bears a close resemblance^ did 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 181 
 
 not originate in Italy. Spon thought that he re- 
 cognized in this monument, the temple of Diana of 
 Ephesus, mentioned by Pausanias, and Chandler 
 took it to be the Sisypheus of Strabo. I know not 
 whether these columns still exist ; I did not see 
 them, but I have some confused recollection of 
 hearing that they were thrown down, and that the 
 last fragments of them were carried away by the 
 English 
 
 A maritime people, a king who was a philoso* 
 pher, and who became a tyrant, a Roman barbarian 
 who fancied that the statues of Praxiteles might be 
 replaced like soldiers' helmets ; all these recollec- 
 tions render Corinth not very interesting : but to 
 make some amends, you have Jason, Medea, the 
 fountain of Pirene, Pegasus, the Isthmian games 
 instituted by Theseus and sung by Pindar ; that is 
 to say, fable and poetry, as usual. I shall say no- 
 thing of Dionysius and of Timoleon, one of whom was 
 so cowardly as not to die, the other so unfortunate 
 as to live. If I w^ere to ascend a throne, I would 
 not relincjuisli it but with ray life ; and never shall 
 I be virtuous enough to kill my brother: I care not 
 therefore about these two men; but I love that boy, 
 who, during the siege of Corinth, melted Mum- 
 mius himself into tears, by reciting these verses of 
 Homer : 
 
 * These columns were, or still are near the harb :>ur of Sckoe- 
 D«s, and I missed them by not going down to the sea. 
 
 N 3 
 
tS2 TRAVELS IN* GREECE, FALE5TO% 
 
 T§ij ^ctKCi^ii Auvccail y.xt TfiT^axtc os tot sAo^to 
 
 HfWtTi T&i ore //o; TrXero-Trn dou^at 
 
 NtJf (xs AetyaAEu-' GavaTa- u^luozx a7\avxi. 
 
 O, thrice, and four times blest^ the Greeks 
 who perished before the vast walls of Ilion, siip- 
 portini^ the cause of the Atrides ! Would to the 
 gods, that I had met my fate on the day when the 
 Trojan javelins showered upon me while defendino^ 
 the body of Achilles ! Then should I have received 
 the accustomed honours of the funeral pile, and the 
 Greeks would have preserved my name! Now fate 
 decrees that my life should end in an obscure and 
 inglorious death T 
 
 Here is truth, natui'e and pathos ! here we find 
 a great reverse of fortune^, the power of genius, and 
 the feelings of man I 
 
 Vases are still made at Corinth, but not such as 
 Cicero so earnestly entreated his friend Atticus to 
 send him. It seems, for the rest, as if the Corin- 
 thians had Ir»st the partiality which they had for 
 strangers. While, I v/as examining a marble in a 
 vineyard, I was saluted with a shower of stones ; 
 the descendants of Lais are probably desirous of 
 keeping up the credit of the ancient ])roverb. 
 
 When the Caesars rebuilt the wall^ of Corinth, 
 and the temples of the gods rose from their ruins 
 Hiore magnificent than ever, there was an obscure 
 
EGYPT, AND 15ARBARY. 
 
 183 
 
 architect who was rearing in silence, an edifice, 
 which remains standing amid the ruins of Greece. 
 This architect was a foreigner, who gives this ac- 
 count of himself: — " Thrice was I heaten with 
 rods ; once was I stoned, thrice I suffered ship- 
 wreck. In journeying often, in perils of waters, 
 . in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own country- 
 men, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, 
 in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in 
 perils among false brethren, in weariness and pain- 
 fulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, 
 in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." This 
 man, unknown to the great, despised ])y the mul- 
 titude, rejected as the offscouring of the world," 
 at first associated with himself only two compa- 
 nions, Crispus and Cains, with the family of Ste- 
 phanas. These were the humble architects of an 
 indestructible temple, and the first believers at Co- 
 rinth. The traveller surveys the site of this cele- 
 brated city ; he discovers not a vestige of the altars 
 of paganism, but he perceives some christian cha- 
 pels rising from among the cottages of the Greeks. 
 The apostle might still from his celestial abode, 
 give the salutation of peace to his children, and 
 address them in the words, " Paul to the church 
 of God, which is at Corinth." 
 
 It was near eight in the morning of the 21st, 
 when we set out from Corinth, after a good night's 
 rest. Two roads lead from Corinth to Megara: the 
 one takes you over Mount Gerania, now Palaeo 
 Vouni, (the Old Mountain) ; the other along the 
 
 N 4 
 
IS4 tfeAVELS m GkE£CE, ?ALESTiS*E, 
 
 Saronic sea and the Scironian rocks. The lattef 
 is the most interesting ; it was the only one known 
 to ancient travellers, for they make no men* 
 tion of the first ; but the Turks will not now allow 
 you to follow it» They have established a military 
 post at the foot of Mount Oneius, neajly in the 
 middle of the isthmus, so as to command both 
 seas : this is the boundary of the province of the 
 Morea3 and yo^ are not permitted to pass the 
 main guard without producinj* an express order 
 from the pacha. 
 
 Having therefore no choice, but being obliged 
 to take the former road, I w«^s under the necessity 
 of giving up the ruins of the temple of the Isth- 
 mian Neptune, which Chandler could not find, 
 v. hich were seen by Pococke, Spon, and Wheeler, 
 and which still exist, as I was informed by M. 
 Fauvel. For the same reason I did not explore 
 the traces of the attempts made at different times 
 to cat across the isthmus. The canal begun at Port 
 Schoenus is, according to M. Foucherot, from 
 thirty to forty feet deep, and sixty wide. Such an 
 undertaking might, at the present day, be executed 
 with ease, by means of gunpowder, the distance 
 from sea to sea being no more than five miles, 
 measuring the narrowest part of the neck of land 
 by which they are separated. 
 
 A wall, six miles in length, frequently de- 
 moli'^hed and built up again, obstructed the access 
 to the isthmus, in a place denominated Hexamillia. 
 It was at this spot that we began to ascend Mount 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 185 
 
 Oneias. I frequently stopped my horse amidst 
 pines, laurels, and myrtles, to look behind me. 
 Sorrowfully did I contemplate the two seas, espe- 
 cially that which extended to the west, and seemed 
 to tempt me with the recollection of France. That 
 sea, how placid! the distance how small I In a 
 few days I might be again in the arms of my 
 friends! — I surveyed the Peloponnese, Corinth, 
 the isthmus, the place where those once famous 
 games were celebrated. What a desert! what 
 silence! Unfortunate country! unhappy Greeks ! 
 Shall France one day be stripped in like manner 
 of her glory ? Shall she, in the course of ages, be 
 thus laid waste and trampled under foot ? 
 
 This image of my country, which all at once 
 mingled itself with the scenes presented to my 
 view, aft'ected me much ; and I could not tliink, 
 without pain, of the space that I had yet to tra- 
 verse before I should revisit my Penates, 
 
 We entered the defiles of Mount Oneius, alter- 
 nately losing and recovering the view of the Saro- 
 nic sea and Corinth. From the most elevated 
 part of the mountain, which has assumed the name 
 of Macriplaysi, we descended to the dervene, that 
 is to say, the main guard. I cannot tell if this 
 spot be the site of the ancient Crommyon ; but this 
 I know, that the people whom I found tliere were 
 not more humane than Pytiocamptes.* I shewed 
 the order given me by the pacha : the command- 
 
 * The bender of pines, a robber killed by Theseus. 
 
IS6 TRAX'ELS IK GREECE^ PALES'TIKE, 
 
 ant invited rae to smoke a ]}ipe and drink coffee in 
 his barrack. He was a fat man ; the picture of 
 apathy and unconcern, who could not stir upon 
 his mat without sighing, as if the slightest motion 
 put him in pain. He examined my arms, and 
 shewed me his arms, especially a long carbine, whicli, 
 he said, would carry very far. The guards per- 
 ceived a peasant, v/ho was scrambling up the 
 mountain, out of the road ; they called to him to 
 come down, hut he could not hear them. The 
 commandant then rose with difficulty, took delibe- 
 rate aim at the peasant, between the fir-trees, and 
 fired. After this exploit, the Turk returned, and 
 seated himself on his mat, with as much calmness 
 and composure as ever. The peasant descended 
 to the guard, to all appearance wounded, for he 
 w^ept and shewed his blood ; on which fifty strokes 
 of the bastinado were administered to cure him. 
 
 I rose abruptly, and v/ith feelings the more 
 acute, as it was probably the wish to display his 
 dexterity before me that induced this ruffian to fire 
 at the peasant. Joseph would not translate what 
 I said, and perhaps prudence was necessary on this 
 occasion; but I was too indignant to listen to the 
 sufi^gestions of prudence. I called for my horse, 
 and away I went without waiting for the janissary, 
 who shouted after me to no purpose. He and 
 Joseph overtook me, when I had advanced a con* 
 siderable way along the ridge of Mount Gerania. 
 My indignation gradually subsided, from the effect- 
 produced by the scenery around me. It seemed as 
 
EGYPT, AND 15ARBARY. 18/ 
 
 if, on approacliing Athens, I had once more entered 
 a civilized country; as if Nature herself had as- 
 sumed a less dreary aspect. The Morea is ahnost 
 entirely bare of trees, though it is certainly more 
 fertile than Attica. I enjoyed the ride through a 
 wood of firs, between the trunks of which I caught 
 a view of the sea. The slopes, extending from the 
 water's edge to the foot of the mountain, were 
 covered with olive and carob-trees ; and formed 
 one of those landscapes which are very rare in 
 Greece. 
 
 The first thing that struck me at Megara, was 
 a number of Albanian women, who were, indeed, 
 inferior in beauty toNausicaa and her companions: 
 they weie merrily washing linen at a spring, near 
 Avhich were seen some shapeless remains of an 
 aqueduct. If this was the fountain of the Sith- 
 nides, and the aqueduct of Theagenes, Pausanias 
 has extolled them too highly. The aqueducts 
 which I have seen in Greece, bear no resemblance 
 to the Roman aqueducts : they are scarcely raised 
 at all above the surface of the ground, and they 
 exhibit not that series of large arches which pro- 
 duce so fine an effect in the perspective. 
 
 We alighted at the house of an Albanian, 
 w'here we found pretty good lodgings. It was not 
 yet six in the evening, and according to my usual 
 custom, I took a stroll among the ruins. Megara, 
 whicb yet retains its name, and the ]} arbour of 
 Nisffia, now denominated Dodeca Ecci^siais, the 
 Twelve Churches, though not celebrated in his- 
 
188 TRAVELS IV GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 tory, formerly contained some fine roonnments. 
 Greece, under the Roman emperors, must have 
 nearly resembled Italy during the last century; it 
 was a classic region, every city of which teemed 
 with master- pieces. At Megara, were to be seen 
 the twelve superior deities, by Praxiteles, a Jupiter 
 Olympius, begun by Theocosmos and Phidias, and 
 the tombs of Alcmene, Ipbigenia, and Tereus. On • 
 the last of these, the figure of the hoopoe was seen 
 for the first time, whence it was concluded that Te- 
 reus was metamorphosed into that bird, as his vic- 
 tims were transformed into the swallow and the 
 nightingale. As I was making a poetical tour, I 
 could do no other than firmly believe with Pausa- 
 nias, that the adventures of the daughter of Pan- 
 dion began and ended at Megara. 1 perceived, 
 moreover, from Megara, the two summits of Par- 
 nassus, and this was sufficient to remind me of the 
 lines of Virgil and La Fontaine : 
 
 Qualis populea moerens Philomela, &c. 
 
 Night or Darkness, and Jupiter Conius * had 
 temples at Megara, and it may be asserted, that 
 those two deities still continue to reside there. You 
 see here and there some fragments of walls ; whe- 
 ther they are part of those which Apollo erected, in 
 conjunction with Alcathous, I cannot tell. The 
 
 * The Dusli/, from Ko/.a, dust. This is nol absolutely 
 certain ; but I have on myj side the French translator, who, 
 indeed follows the Latin version, as the learned Larcher justly 
 observes. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 189 
 
 god, while engaged in this work, laid his lyre npon 
 a stone, which has ever since emitted an harmo- 
 nious sound, when it is touched with a pebble. 
 The Abbe Fourmont collected thirty inscriptions 
 atMegara; Pococke, Spon, Wheeler, and Chand- 
 ler, found some others, which afford nothing of in- 
 terest. I did not look for Euclid's scliool : I should 
 have been much better pleased to discover the house 
 of that pious female who interred Phocion's bones 
 beneath her hearth. After a long excursion, I re-/ 
 turned to my host, where I found that I had been 
 sent for to visit a patient. 
 
 The Greeks, as well as the Turks^ have a notion 
 that all the Franks possess a knowledge of medi- 
 cine, and particular secrets. The simplicity with 
 which they apply to a stranger for relief in their 
 diseases, has something aflecting, and reminds you 
 of ancient manners : it shews a generous confidence 
 placed by man in man. The savages of America 
 have the same practice. I conceive that, in this 
 case, religion and humanity enjoin the traveller to 
 comply with what is requested of him ; a look of 
 confidence and cheering words may sometimes re- 
 store life to the expiring, and fill a whole family 
 with joy. 
 
 A Greek had come to fetch me to visit his 
 daughter. I found the poor creature extended on 
 a mat upon the floor, and buried under the rags with 
 which she had been covered. She raised her arm 
 with great reluctance and modesty, from beneath 
 these wretdied tatters^ and dropped it lifeless upon 
 
igO TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 the bed-clothes. She appeared to me to have a 
 putrid fever : I directed the small pieces of money, 
 -with which the Albanian females of the lower 
 classes adorn their hair, to be disengaged from her 
 head ; the weight of her tresses, and of the metal, 
 concentrated the heat about the brain. I had with 
 me some camphor, as a preventive against the 
 plague ; I divided it with the patient, to whom 
 grapes had been given to eat : — a regimen of which 
 I approved. Lastly, we pj'ayed to Christos, and the 
 Panagia (the Virgin Mary), and I promised a 
 speedy cure. This, however, I was far from ex- 
 pecting ; I have witnessed the death of so many, 
 that I possess too much experience in that way. 
 
 At my departure, I found all the village assem- 
 bled at the door. The women thronged round me, 
 crying: Crasi ! crasi! wine! wine! — They were 
 anxious to shew their gratitude, by forcing me to 
 drink : this threw a rather ludicrous air over my 
 character of physician. But what signifies that, if 
 I have added at Megara another person to the num- 
 ber of mv well-wishers in the various parts of the 
 world through which I have wandered. It is the 
 privilege of the traveller to leave many memorials 
 behind him, and even sometimes to live longer in 
 the hearts of strangers than in the bosoms of his 
 friends. 
 
 I returned with painful feelings to the kan. 
 The image of the expiring young woman haunted me 
 all night; I recollected that Virgil, when visiting 
 Greece, like me, was stopped at Megai'a by the dis- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. IQ\ 
 
 order which terminated his life. I was myself tor- 
 mented with fever ; a number of my countrymen, 
 far more unfortunate tlian myself, =^ had passed 
 through Megara a few years before : and I became 
 anxious to leave a])lacc, to which something fatal 
 seemed to me to be attached. 
 
 We did not, however, get away from our quar- 
 ters till eleven in the forenoon of the next day, the 
 22d of August. Our Albanian host v/as desirous 
 of regaling me before my departure, with one of 
 those -fowls without rump or tail, wliich Chandler 
 considered as peculiar to Megara, and which were 
 originally brought from Virginia, or perhaps from 
 a small district of Germany. My landlord set a 
 high value on these fowls, concerning which, he 
 knew^ a thousand anecdotes. I informed him, by 
 my interpreter, that I had travelled in the native 
 counti'y of these birds, a country situated at a very 
 great distance beyond the sea, and that there were 
 in this country, Greeks living in the recesses of the 
 forests, among savages. It is a fact, that some 
 Greeks, weary of their yoke, have settled in Flo- 
 rida, Avhere the fniits of liberty have eiiaced the 
 remembrance of their native land. Those vrho 
 bad tasted of this sweet fi'ijit, were unable to re-< 
 linquish it; but they reSvolved to remain among the 
 Lotophagi, and forgot their country." f 
 
 The Albanian understood not a w^ord of w^hat I 
 $aid ; and only replied by inviting me to eat his 
 
 The garrison of Zante. 
 
 t Odyss. 
 
192 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 fowl and some frutti di mare. I shonlcl have pre- 
 ferred the fish, called glaucus, formerly caught on 
 the coast near Megara. Anaxandrides, quoted by 
 Athenasus, declares that Nereus was the first who 
 contrived to eat the head of this excellent fish : An- 
 tiphanes insists that it should be boiled; and Am- 
 phis serves it up whole on a black shield to the sq 
 ven chiefs, who affrighted heaven with horrid 
 oaths." 
 
 The delay occasioned by the good-nature of my 
 host, and still more by my weariness, prevent L-d our 
 reaching Athens the same day. Leaving Megara, 
 I have said, at eleven in the forenoon, we first pro- 
 ceeded across the plain, and then ascended Mount 
 Kerato Pyrgo, the Kerata of antiquity. Two de- 
 tached rocks crown its summit ; and on one of them 
 are seen the ruins of a tower which gives name to 
 the mountain. It is on the side of Kerato Pyrgo, 
 towards Eleusis, that we must place the 'paloestra 
 of Cercvon and the tomb of Alope. Not a vestige 
 of them is left : we soon came to the Flowery Well 
 at the bottom of a cultivated valley. I was almost 
 as much fatigued as Ceres, when she sat down on 
 the brink of this well, after seeking Proserpine in 
 vain all over the world. We stopped a few mo- 
 ments in the valley and then pursued our route. As 
 we advanced towards Eleusis, I did not perceive 
 any of the variegated anemones, which Wheeler ob- 
 served in the fields ; but then, indeed, the season 
 for them was over. 
 
 About five in the evening, we reached a plain en- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. IQS 
 
 compassed with mountains on the north, west, 
 ctnd east. A lonsr narrow aria of the sea washes this 
 plain to the south, and forms the cord to the arc 
 of the mountains. The other side of this arm of 
 the sea is hordered hy the shore of an elevated 
 island, the eastern extremity/ of which approaches 
 so near to one of the promontories of the continent, 
 as to leave but a narrow channel between them. I 
 resolved to halt at a village situated on a hill, 
 which stands near the sea, and forms the western 
 extremity of the circular range of mountains, men- 
 tioned above. 
 
 In the plain were to he seen the ruins of an 
 aqueduct, and many fragments of buildings, scat- 
 tered among the stubble, left from the recent har- 
 vest. We alighted at the foot of the hill and 
 walked up to the nearest cottage, where we found 
 a lodging. 
 
 While I w^as at the door, giving directions about 
 something or other to Joseph, a Greek came up and 
 saluted me in Italian. He immediately gave me his 
 history : he was a native of Athens, and followed 
 the employment of making pitch from tlie pines of 
 the Geranian hills ; he w^as a friend of M. Fauvel, 
 and certainly I should see that gentleman. I was 
 delighted at meeting with this man, hoping that I 
 should obtain from hira some information respect- 
 ing the ruins and the places in the neighbourhood 
 of that where I ^vas. I well knev/, indeed what 
 these places were, but it struck me that an Athenian, 
 and an acquaintance of M. FauveFs, couid not 
 
 VOL. I, o 
 
194 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 fail to be an excellent cicerone. I therefore re- 
 quested him to give me some account of the places 
 before me, and to inform me what things were 
 worth seeing. Laying his hand upon his breast, in 
 the manner of the Turks, he made a low bow. " I 
 have," replied he, " often heard M. Fauvel explain 
 all that ; but for my part, I am but an ignorant 
 man, and don't even know whether it is all true or 
 n6t. In the first place you see to the west, above 
 the promontory, the top of a mountain perfectly 
 yellow : that is the Telo Vouni (the Little Hymet- 
 tus). The island on the other side of that arm of 
 the sea is Colouri ; M. Fauvel calls it Salamis, and 
 says that in the channel opposite to you, a famous 
 battle was fought between the fleets of the Greeks 
 and Persians. The Greeks were stationed in this chan- 
 nel ; the Persians on the other side towards the 
 Lion's Port (the Piraeus). The king of those Per- 
 sians, whose name I have forgotten, ^v^^s seated on a 
 throne placed at the point of that cape. As to the 
 village where we are, M. Fauvel gives it the name of 
 Eleusis ; but we call it Lepsina. He says, that 
 there was once a temple (the temple of Ceres) be- 
 low this house ; and if you will take the trouble to 
 walk a few steps, you may see the spot where stood 
 the mutilated idol of that temple (the statae of Ceres 
 Eleusina); but it has been taken away by the English." 
 
 The Greek returned to his work, and left me 
 with my eyes fixed on a desert shore and a sea, 
 ^vhere not a vessel was to be seen, but a fishing-boat 
 moored to the rings of a ruined mole. 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARV. 19$ 
 
 All the modern travellers have visited Eletisis ; 
 all the inscriptions there have heen copied. The 
 Abb^ Fonrmont alone took about a score of them. 
 We have a very learned dissertation on the temple 
 of EleusiSj by M. de Sainte Croix, and a plan of it 
 by M. Foucherot. Warburton, Sainte Croix, and 
 the Abb6 Barthelemy have said all that is worth 
 saving on the subject of the mysteries of Ceres. 
 The mutilated statue carried away by two English 
 travellers, is taken by Chandler for the statue of 
 Proserpine, and by Spon for that of Ceres. Ac- 
 cording to Pococke, this colossal bust measures five 
 feet and a half across the shoulders, and the basket 
 which crowns it is more than two feet in height. 
 Spon asserts, that this statue was in all probability 
 the work of Praxiteles ; but I know not what foun- 
 dation he had for this opinion. Pausanias, out of 
 respect for the mysteries, has not described the sta- 
 tue of Ceres, and Strabo is likewise silent on the 
 Bubject. Pliny, to be sure informs us that Prax- 
 iteles executed a Ceres in marble, and two Proser- 
 pines in bronze : the first having been conveyed to 
 Rome, cannot be the same that was seen a few 
 years since at Eleusis ; and the two Prosei-pines of 
 bronze are out of the question. To judge froiXTi the 
 print which we have of this statue, it might havQ 
 represented merely a Canepkora. If I recollect 
 rightly, M. Fauvel observed to me that this statue, 
 notwithstanding its reputation^ was of very inferior 
 i^'orkmanship. 
 
 O 2 
 
196 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTIKfi, • 
 
 I have, therefore, nothing to relate concerning' 
 Eleusis, after so many travellers, except that 1 
 strolled among its ruins, went down to its port, and 
 paused to survey the Streight of Salamis- The fes- 
 tivities and the glory of Eleusis are past; profound 
 silence pervaded both the land and the sea: no 
 acclamations, no songs, no pompous ceremonies 
 on shore ; no warlike shouts, no shock of galleys, 
 no tumult of battle on the wave5. My imagination 
 was too confined, now to figure to itself the reli- 
 gious procession of Eleusis ; now to cover the shore 
 Avith tlie countless host of Persians watching the 
 battle of Salamis. Eleusis is, in my opinion, the 
 most venerable place in Greece, because the unity 
 of God was there inculcated, and because it wit- 
 nessed the grandest struggle ever made by men in 
 defence of liberty. 
 
 Who would believe that Salamis is, at the pre- 
 sent day, almost wholly eifaced from the memory of 
 the Greeks. T^e reader has seen how my Athenian 
 expressed himself. The island of Salamis," says 
 M. Fauvel in his Memoirs, has not retained its 
 name ; it is forgotten, together witli that of The- 
 mistocles." Spon relates, that he lodged at Salamis 
 with the papas Joaimis, " a man," he adds, " less 
 ignorant than any of his parishioners, since he 
 knew that the island was formerly called Salamis ; 
 and this information he received from his father." 
 This indifference of the Greeks, relative to their 
 country, is equally deplorable and disgraceful ; 
 
EGVPT, AND BARBARY. lO^ 
 
 tliey are not only ignorant of its history bat almost 
 all of them are such utter strangers to the language 
 which constitutes their giory^ that we have seen an 
 Englishman^ impelled by a holy zeal, propose to 
 settle at Athens^ for the purpose of teaching the 
 ancient Greek. 
 
 I could not think of returning: till ni^ht drove 
 me from the shore. The waves, raised by the even- 
 ing breeze, broke against the beach and expired at 
 rny feet ; I Avalked for some time along the sliore of 
 that sea which bathed the tomb of Themistocles : 
 And in all probability I was at this moment the 
 Gnly person in Greece that called to mind jthis 
 great man. 
 
 Joseph had purchased a sheep for our supper s 
 he knew that we should reach the house of a French 
 consul the next day. He cared not for Sparta 
 which he had seen, or Athens which he was going to 
 see ; but in his joy at being so near the end of his 
 fatigues, he provided a treat for the whole family 
 of our host. Wife, cliildren, husband, were all in 
 motion ; the janissary alone sat still amidst the ge- 
 neral bustle, smoking his pipe, and enjoying his 
 exemption from all this trouble, by which, however, 
 he hoped to be a gainer. Since the suppression of 
 the mysteries by Alaric, never had there been such 
 a feast at Eleusis. We sat down to table, that is 
 to say, we squatted upon the floor^around the re- 
 past : our hostess had baked some bread, which, 
 though not very good, Avas soft and smoking from 
 the oven. Fain would I have renewed the cry of 
 
 o 3 
 
198 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE^ 
 
 Xar^e, A^/^vrtj-, HuU Cercs ! This bread, made from 
 corn of the late harvest, proved the fallacy of a 
 prediction recorded by Chandler. At the period of 
 that traveller s visit, it was a current saying at Eleu- 
 sis, that if ever the mutilated statue of the goddess 
 were removed, the plain would cease to be fertile. 
 Ceres is gone to England, and the fields of Eleusis 
 are not the less favored by that real Deity, who in- 
 vites all mankind to the knowledge of his myste- 
 ries, who is not afraid of being dethroned, who 
 paints the flowers with a thousand lovely hues, who 
 tends the fruits from their fir?t formation to matu- 
 rity, and bestows, in due measure, sun-shine and 
 rain, and refreshing dews. 
 
 This good cheer, and the peace in which we par- 
 took of it, I enjoyed the more, as we were indebted 
 for them, in some measure, to the protection of 
 France. Thirty or forty years ago, the coasts of 
 Greece in general, and the ports of Corinth, Megara, 
 and Eleusis in particular, were infested by pirates. 
 The good order established in our stations in the 
 Levant, gradually suppressed this system of plun- 
 der ; our frigates kept a vigilant look-out ; and un- 
 der the French flag, the subjects of the Porte tasted 
 the sweets of security. The recent revolutions in 
 Europe occasioned for a short time other combina- 
 tions of powers ; but the corsairs have not again 
 made their appearance. We drank therefore to the 
 glory of those arms which protected our entertain- 
 ment at Eleusis, with the same feelings as the 
 Athenians must have expressed towards Alcibiades 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 199 
 
 when he had conducted the procession of lacchus 
 in safety to the temple of Ceres. 
 
 At length arrived the great day of our entrance 
 into Athens. On the 23d, at three in the morning, 
 we were all on horsehack, and proceeded in silence 
 along the Sacred Way ; and never did the most de- 
 vout of the initiated experience transports equal to 
 mine. We had put on our best clothes for the so- 
 lemn occasion ; the janissary had turned his tur- 
 iban, and, as an extraordinary thing, the horses had 
 been rubbed down and cleaned. We crossed the 
 bed of a stream called Saranta-Potamo, or the Forty 
 Rivers, probably the Eleusinian Cephisus ; and saw 
 some ruins of Gliristian churches, which stand on 
 the site of the tomb of that Zarex whom Apollo 
 himself instructed ^n tbe art of song. Other niins 
 indicated the monuments of Eumolpe and Hippo- 
 thoon. We found the Rhiti, or currents of salt 
 water, where, during the feasts of Eleusis, the po- 
 pulace insulted passengers in memory of the abuse 
 with which an old woman had once Ipaded Ceres. 
 Proceeding thence to the extreme point of the ca- 
 nal of Salamis, we entered the defile fornaed by 
 Mount Parnes and Mount ^galeon ; this part pf 
 the Sacred Way was denominated the Mystic. e 
 perceived the monastery of Daphne, erected on the 
 ruins of the temple of Apollo, and the church pf 
 which is one of the most ancient in Attica. A 
 little farther we observed some remains of a temple 
 of Venus. The defile then began to widen ; wc 
 made a circviit round Mount Pcecile placed in the 
 
200 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 middle of the road as if to hide the scenery beyond 
 it, and the plain of Athens suddenly burst upon 
 our view. 
 
 The travellers who visit the citv of Cecrops, 
 usually arrive by the Piraeus, or by the way of Ne- 
 gropont. They then lose part of the siii^ht, for 
 nothing but the citadel can be perceived as you ap- 
 proach from the sea ; and the Anchesmus inter- 
 cepts the prospect as you come from Euboea. My 
 lucky star had conducted me the proper way for 
 viewing* Athens in all its glory. 
 
 The first thing that struck me was the citadel 
 illumined by the rising sun. It was exactly oppo- 
 site to m,e, on the other side of the plain, and 
 seemed to be supported by Mount Hymettus, 
 w^hich formed the back-ground of the picture. It 
 exhibited in a- confused assemblage, the capitals of 
 the Propylaea, the columns of the Parthenon and 
 of the temple of Erectheus, the embrasures of a 
 wall planted with cannon, the Gothic ruins of the 
 Christians, and the edifices of the Mussulmans. 
 
 Tavo small hills, the Anchesmus and theiNIu- 
 seam, rose to the north and south of the Acropolis. 
 Between these two hills, and at the foot of the 
 Acropolis, appeared Athens itself. Its flat^roofs 
 interspersed with minarets, cypresses, ruins, de- 
 tached columns, and the domes of its mosques 
 crovrned with the large nests of stoiks, produced a 
 pleasing effect in the sun's rays. But if Athens 
 might yet be recognized by its ruins, it was obvious 
 at the same time, from the general appearance of 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAUY. 201 
 
 its architecture, and the character of its edifices, that 
 the city of Minerva was no longer inhabited by her 
 people. 
 
 A barrier of mountains, which terminates at the 
 sea, forms the plain or basin of Athens. From the 
 point whence I beheld this plain, at Mount Poecile, 
 it seemed to be divided into three strips or regions 
 running in a parallel direction from north to south. 
 The first and the nearest to me was uncultivated, 
 and covered with heath ; the second consisted of 
 land in tillage, from which the crops had recently 
 been carried ; and the third exhibited a long wood 
 of olives, extending somewhat in the form of a bow, 
 from the sources of the Ihssus, by the foot of the 
 Anchesmus towards the port of Plialereus. The Ce- 
 phisus runs through this forest, which, from its ve- 
 nerable age, seems to be descended from that olive- 
 tree which Minerva caused to spring from the earth. 
 On the other side of Athens, between Mount Hy- 
 mettus and the city, is the dry channel of the Ilis- 
 sus. The plain is not perfectly level : a number of 
 small hills, detached from Mount Hymettus, di- 
 versify its surface, and form the different eminences 
 which Athens gradually crowned with its monu- 
 ments. 
 
 It is not in the first moment of a strong emotion 
 that you derive most enjoyment from your feelings. 
 I proceeded towards Athens wdth a kind of pleasure 
 which deprived me of the power of reflexion ; not 
 that I experienced any thing like what I had felt at 
 the sight of Lacedsemon. Sparta and Athens have, 
 
203 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 even, in tneir ruins, retained their different charac- 
 teristics ; those of the former, are gloomy, grave, 
 and solitary; those of the latter, pleasing, light, 
 and socIaL At the sight of the land of Lycurgus, 
 every idea becomes serious, manly, and profound ; 
 the soul, fraught with ne\r energies, seems to be 
 elevated and expanded : before the city of Solon, 
 you are enchanted, as it were, by the magic of ge- 
 nius ; you are filled with the idea of the perfection 
 of man, considered as an intelligent and immortal 
 beine:. The loftv sentiments of human nature as- 
 eumed, at Athens, a degi ee of elegance which they 
 had not at Sparta. Among the Athenians, patriot- 
 ism and the love of independence, were not a blind 
 instinct, but an enlightened sentiment, springing 
 from that love of the beautiful in general, with 
 which heaven had so liberally endowed them. Iii 
 a word, as I passed from the ruins of Lacedaemon 
 to the ruins of Athens, I felt that I should have 
 liked to die with Leonidas, and to live with Pe* 
 ricles. 
 
 We advanced towards that little town whose 
 territory extended fifteen or twenty leagues, whose 
 population was not equal to that of a suburb of 
 Paris, and which, nevertheless, rivals the Roman 
 empire in renown. With my eyes stedfastly fixed 
 on its ruins, I applied to it the verses of Lucretius ; 
 
 Prima frugiferos foetus mortalibus jegris 
 Dediderunt quondam praeclaro nomine Athenae; 
 Et recveaverunt vitam, legesque rogarunt ; 
 Et primae dediderunt solatia dulcia vitae. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARV. 203 
 
 I know nothing more glorious to the Greeks 
 than these words of Cicero: — Recollect, Quintius, 
 that you govern Greeks, who civilized all nations 
 by teaching them mildness and humanity, and to 
 whom Rome is indebted for all the knowledge she 
 possesses." When we consider what Rome was at 
 the time of Pompey and Caesar, what Cicero him- 
 self was, we shall find in these words a magnificent 
 panegyric* 
 
 We proceeded rapidly through the two first of 
 the regions into which the plain of Athens appeared 
 to be divided, the waste and the cultivated region. 
 On this part of the road nothing is to be seen of the 
 monument of the Rliodian, and the tomb of the cour- 
 tezan ; but you perceive the ruins of some churches. 
 We entered the olive wood ; and before we reached 
 the Cephisas we met with two tombs and an altar to 
 Jupiter the Indulgent. We soon distinguished the 
 bed of the Cephisus, between the trunks of the 
 olive-trees which bordered it like aged willows. I 
 alighted to salute the river and to drink of its 
 water; I found just as much as 1 wanted in a hol- 
 low, close to the bank; the rest had been turned 
 off higher up, to irrigate the plantations of olives. 
 I have always taken a pleasure in drinking at 
 the celebrated rivers which I have passed in my 
 life : thus I have drunk of the water of the Missis- 
 sipi, the Thames, the Rhine, the Po, the Tiber, the 
 
 * Pliny the younger writes in nearly the same terms to Maxi- 
 mus, proconsul of Achaia. 
 
204 TRAVELS ly GREECE^ PALESTIVE^ 
 
 Eurotas, the Cephisus, the Hermiis, the Granicusi, 
 the Jordan, the Nile, the Tagus, and the Ehro. 
 What numbers on the banks of those rivers might 
 say with the Israelites : Sedlmus et flevbniis! 
 
 I perceived, at some distance on my left, the 
 iiiins of the bridge over the Cephisus, built by Xe- 
 nocles of Lhidus. I mounted my horse without 
 looking for the sacred fig>tree, the altar of Zephvrus, 
 or the pillar of Anthemocritus ; for the modern 
 road deviates in this part from the ancient Sacred 
 Way. On leaving the olive-wood, we came to a 
 garden surrounded with walls, which occupies 
 nearly the site of the outer Ceramicus. We pro- 
 ceeded for about half an hour, through wheat stub- 
 bles, before we reached Athens. A modern wnll, 
 recently repaired, and resembling a garden wall, 
 encompasses the city. We passed through the 
 gate, and entered little rural streets, cool, and very 
 clean : each house has its garden, planted with 
 orange and fig-trees. The inhabitants appeared to 
 me to be lively and inquisitive, and had not the de- 
 jected look of the people of the Morea. We were 
 shewn the house of the consul. 
 
 I could not have had a better recommendation 
 than to M. Fauvel, for seeing Athens. He has re- 
 sided for many years in the city of Minerva, and is 
 much better acquainted with its minutest details 
 than a Parisian is with Paris. Some excellent Me- 
 moirs bv him, have been publisned ; and to him we 
 are indebted for most interesting discoveries relative 
 to the site of Olympia, the plain of Marathon, the 
 
EGTPT^ AND BARBARlT. 205 
 
 tomb of Themistocles at the Pirsens, the temple of 
 Venus ia the gardens, &c. Invested with the ap- 
 pointment of consiil at Athens, which merely serves 
 him as a protection ; he has been, and still is en- 
 gaged as draughtsman upon the Voyage plttoresque 
 de la Grece. M. de Choiseul Gonffier, the author 
 of that work, had favoured me with a letter for the 
 artist, and I was furnished, by the minister, =^ with 
 another for the consul. 
 
 It will certainly not be expected that I should 
 here give a complete description of Athens : as to 
 its history, from the Romans to the present time, 
 that may be seen in the Introduction to this volume. 
 In regard to the monuments of ancient Athens, the 
 translation of Pausanias, defective as it is, will 
 completely satisfy the generality of readers ; and 
 the Travels of Anacharsis leave scarcely any thing 
 more to wish for. The ruins of this famous city 
 have been so amply described m the letters in Cru- 
 sius's collection, by Father Babin, La Guilleti^re 
 himself, notwithstanding his falsehoods, Pococke, 
 Spon, Wiieeler, Chandler, and particularly by M. 
 Fauvel, that on this subject, I could only repeat 
 what they have written. Is it plans, maps, views 
 of Athens, and its monuments that you want ? 
 These you will meet witli every where : it is suf- 
 ficient to mention the works of the Marquis de 
 Nointel, Leroi, Stuart, and Pars. M. de Choiseul 
 in finishing the work, whicli has been interrupted 
 
 * M. de Taleyrand. 
 
206 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESJIKE, 
 
 by SO many calamities will famish the public with 
 a complete delineation of Athens. The manners 
 and government of the Athenians have been 
 treated of with eqiiiil ability by the authors whom 
 I have just mentioned; and, as customs are not 
 variable in the East, as in France, all that Chandler 
 and Guys * have said concerning the modern 
 Greeks, is still perfectly correct. 
 
 Without making any display of erudition at 
 the expence of my predecessors, I shall therefore 
 give an account of my excursions and my feelings 
 at Athens, day by day, and hour by hour, accord- 
 ing to the plan which I have hitherto j'^.rsued. 
 
 I alighted in M. FauveFs court-yard, and was so 
 fortunate as to find hira at home. I immediately 
 delivered my letters from M. de Choiseul and M. 
 de Taleyrand. M. Fauvel was acquainted with 
 my name : I could not say to him, Son pittor 
 audi 10 — but at least I was an amateur fraught with 
 zeal, if not with talents ; I was so anxious to study 
 the antique and to make improvement, I had come 
 so far to sketch some poor designs, that the master 
 perceived in me a docile scholar. 
 
 A thousand questions first passed between us, 
 concerning Paris and Athens, on which we mutu- 
 ally endeavoured to satisfy each other: but Paris 
 was soon forgotten, and Athens engrossed all our 
 attention. M. Fauvel, warmed in his love of the arts 
 
 * Tlie latter, however, should be perused with caution, and 
 the reader should beware of adopting bis systera. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 20/^ 
 
 by a disciple, was as eager to shew me the remains 
 of Athens, as I was to see them ; but yet he advised 
 me to wait till the heat of the day was over. 
 
 In the house of my host^ there was nothing 
 that betrayed the consul ; but the artist and anti- 
 quary were every where apparent. How delighted 
 was I to have for my lodging at Athens, im 
 apartment full of plaster casts taken from the Par- 
 thenon ! The walls were hung round with views 
 of the Temple of Theseus, plans of the Propyltea, 
 maps of Attica, and the plain of Marathon. There 
 were marbles on one table, and medals on another, 
 with small heads and vases in terra cotta. A ve- 
 nerable dust was to my great regret swept away ; a 
 bed was made up for me in the midst of all these 
 curiosities ; and, like a conscript who joins the 
 army on the eve of an engagement, I encamped on 
 the field of battle. 
 
 M. Fauvel's house has, like most of the houses 
 ait Athens^ a court in front, and a small garden in 
 the rear. I ran to all the windows to discover 
 something or other m the streets ; but all in vain. 
 Between the roofs of some neighbouring houses 
 might, however, be perceived, a small corner of 
 the citadel ; I remained fixed at the window which 
 looked that way, like a school-bo v, whose hour of 
 recreation has not yet arrived. M. Fauvel's janis- 
 sary had monopolized my janissary and Joseph, 
 so that 1 had no occasion to concern myself 
 about them. 
 
208 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 At two I was suminoned to dinner, consisting 
 of ragonts of mutton and fowls, partly in the 
 French, and partly in the Turkish fashion. The 
 wine, which was red, and as strong as our Rhone 
 whines, was of good quality ; hut to me it tasted so 
 hitter, that I could not possihly drink it. In 
 almost all parts of Greece, it is more or less cus- 
 tomary to infuse the cones of the pine in the 
 wine-vats ; and this communicates to the liquor 
 a hitter and aromatic taste, to which it is some 
 time hefore you become habituated.* If this custom 
 be, as I presume, of ancient origin, it will explain- 
 the reason why the cone of the pine w^as consecrated 
 to Bacchus. Some honey from Mount Hymettus, 
 was brought to table : but it had a strong taste, 
 which I disliked ; and, in my opinion, the honey of 
 Chamouni is far preferable. I have since eaten a still 
 more agreeable honey, at Kircagah, near Pergamus, 
 in Anatolia ; it is white as the cotton from which the 
 bees collect it, and has the firmness and consistency 
 of paste of marsh-mallows. My host laughed at 
 the faces that 1 made, as he had expected, at the 
 w ine and honey of Attica ; but, as some compen- 
 sation for the disappointment, he desired me to 
 take notice of the dress of the female who waited 
 on us. It was the very drapery of the ancient 
 
 * Other travellers ascribe this taste to the pitch that is mixed 
 \^ith the wine: this may be partly correct; but the coae of the 
 pine is likewise iafused in it. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 203 
 
 Greeks, especially in tli-e horizontal and undulating 
 folds that were formed below the bosom, and joined 
 the perpendicular folds which marked the skirt 
 of the tnnic. The coarse stuff of which this woman's 
 dress was composed, heightened the resemblance : 
 for, to judge frorn sculpture, the stuffs of the ancients 
 w^ere mlich thicker than ours. It would be impos- 
 sible to form the large sweeps observable in antique 
 draperies, with the muslins and silks of modern 
 female attire : the gauze of Cos, and the other 
 stuffs which the satirists denominated woven wind, 
 were never imitated by the chissel. 
 
 While we were at dinner, we received the com- 
 pliments of what in the Levant is called the nation « 
 This nation is composed of the merchants, natives 
 or dependents of France, residing at the different 
 ports. At Athens there are but two or three houses 
 of this kind, engaged in the oil trade. M. Roque 
 honored me with a visit : he had a family, and 
 invited me to go and see him, with M. Fauvel. 
 He then began to talk of the news of Athens. A 
 foreigner, who had been for some time resident 
 there, had conceived or excited a passion, which 
 was the topic of the whole town .... There was 
 strange talk near the house of Socrates, ard 
 scandal in circulation by the gardens of Phocion. 
 .... As the Archbishop of Athens had not yet 
 returned from Constantinople, it was not known 
 whether justice would be obtained against the 
 pacha of Negropont, who threatened to lay Athens 
 under contribution. To prevent ^ surprize, the 
 
 Vol. I. p 
 
210 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 wall had been repaired. However, there wa^ 
 every thing to be hoped from the chief of the black 
 ennuchs, the proprietor of Athens, who certainly 
 had more influence with his Highness than the 
 
 pacha." O Solon ! O Themistocles I The chief 
 
 of the black eunuchs, proprietor of Athens ! and 
 all the other towns of Greece, envying the Athe- 
 r;ians this signal good fortune! — " For the resty 
 M. Fauvel had done very right to dismiss the 
 Italian monk who resided in the Lantern of 
 Demosthenes (one of the handsomest build- 
 ings in Athens) and to supply his place with a 
 French capuchin, a man of polite manners, 
 affable, intelligent, and behaved with great civility 
 to strangers, who, according to custom, sought 
 
 hospitality at the French convent " Such 
 
 were the topics of conversation at Athens ; whence 
 It appears that the world goes there much the 
 same as in other places, and that a traveller, whose / 
 imagination is warmed and exalted, must be some- 
 what confounded to find in the street of the Tri- 
 pods, the gossip of his native village. 
 
 Two English travellers had left Athens just 
 before my arrival : a Russian painter, who lived 
 extremely retired, still remained there. Athens is 
 much frequented by the lovers of antiquity, be- 
 cause it is on the way to Constantinople, for which 
 city a passage may easily be procured by sea. 
 
 About four in the afternoon, the heat begin- 
 ning to abate, M. Fauvel ordered his janissary and 
 mine to attend us, and we Avent out preceded by 
 our guards. My heart palpitated with joy, and I 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAE Y. 211 
 
 was asliamed of being so young. My guide pointed 
 out the relics of an antique temple, almost at bis 
 own door ; then turning to the right, we proceeded 
 along small but very populous streets. We passed 
 through the bazar, abundantly supplied with but- 
 chers meat, game, vegetables, and fruit. Every 
 hody saluted M. Fauvel, and enquired who 1 was, 
 but not one was able to pronounce my name. Wq 
 find the same inquisitive disposition as in ancient 
 Athens : All the Athenians,'* says St. Luke, 
 " spent their time in nothing else but either to tell 
 or to hear some new thing."* As to the Turks, 
 they exclaimed : Fransouse ! Effendi ! and con- 
 tinued to smoke their pipes, their favorite amuse- 
 ment. The Greeks, on seeing us pass, raised their 
 arms above their heads, and cried : Kalos ilthefe 
 Archondes ! Bate hala els paheo Athinan ! " Wel- 
 come, gentlemen ! A good journey to the ruins of 
 Athens !" and they looked as proud as if they had 
 said to us : you are going to Phidias or to Ictinus. 
 I had not eyes enough to embrace the objects that 
 struck my view, and fancied that I discovered 
 antiquities at every step. M. Fauvel now^ and 
 then pointed out to me pieces of sculpture wliich 
 served the purpose of posts, walls, and pavements : 
 he told me the dimensions of these fragments in 
 feet, inches, and lines; to w^hat kind of structures 
 they belonged ; v/hat presumptions concerning 
 them were authorized by Pausanias ; what opinions 
 
 • Acts xvii. 21, 
 
212 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 were entertained on the subject by the Abbe Bar-^ 
 theleniij Spon, Wheeler, and Chandler; and ii> 
 what respects these opinions appeared to be well 
 or ill founded. We paused at every step ; the ja- 
 nissaries, and a number of children who went be- 
 fore ns, stopped wherever they saw a moulding, a 
 cornice, or a capital, and consulted the looks of M. 
 Fauvel, to know whether they did right. When 
 the consul shook his head, they shook their heads 
 to'>, and placed themselves a few steps farther on, 
 before some other fragment. In this manner we 
 were conducted beyond the centre of the modern 
 town, and amved at the west side, which M. 
 Fauvel wished me to ^^sit first, that we might pro- 
 ceed regularly in our researches. 
 
 On passing the middle of modern Athens, and 
 proceeding directly west, the houses begin to be 
 more detached, and then appear large vacant spaces, 
 some enclosed within the walls of the city, and 
 others lying withont the walls. In these forsaken 
 spaces we find the Temple of Theseus, the Pnyx, 
 and the Areopagus. I shall not describe the first, 
 of which there are already so many descriptions, 
 and which bears a great resemblance to the Par- 
 thenon ; but comprehend it in the general reflec- 
 tions which I shall presently make on the subject 
 of the architecture of the Greeks. This temple is 
 in better preservation than any other edifice in 
 Athens : after having long been a church dedicated 
 to St. George, it is now used for a storehouse. 
 The Areopagus was situated on an eminence to 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 
 
 213 
 
 west of the citadel. You can scarcely -conceive 
 kow it was possible to erect a structure of any mag- 
 nitude on the rock^ where its mins are to be seen. 
 A little valley, called in ancient Athens, Coele, the 
 hollow, separates the hill of the Areopagus from 
 the hill of the Pnyx and that of the citadel. In 
 the Coele were shewn the tombs of the two Cymons, 
 of Thueydides, and Herodotus. The Pnyx, where 
 the Athenians first held their popular assemblies, 
 is a kind of esplanade, formed on a steep rock, at 
 t-lie back of the Lycabettus. A wall composed of 
 enormous stones supports this esplanade on the 
 north side ; on the south stands a rostrum, hewn out 
 of the solid rock, with an ascent of four steps, like- 
 wise cut out of the rock. I take notice of lli^se cir- 
 cumstances, because ancient travellers were not ac- 
 curately acquainted with the form of the Pnyx. 
 Lord Elgin, a few years since, caused this hill to be 
 cleared of the rubbish ; and to him we are indebted 
 for the discovery of the steps. As you are not yet 
 quite at the top of the rock, you cannot perceive 
 tile sea without ascending above the rostrum. The 
 people were thus deprived of the view of the Piraeus, 
 that factious orators might not lead them so easily 
 into rash enterprizes, as if they had before their 
 eyes the spectacle of their power and af their 
 fleets. * The Athenians were ranged on the espla;- 
 
 * History varies in regard to this fact. According to one 
 statement, it was the tyrants who obliged the orators to turn their 
 backs to the Piraeus. 
 
 P 3 
 
214 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 •na.de, between the circular wall which I have rnen^ 
 tioned^ on the north, and the rostrum on the 
 south. 
 
 In this rostrum then it was that Pericles, Al- 
 cibiades, and Demosthenes, delivered their ora- 
 tions ; that Socrates and Phocion harangued the 
 people in the most nielliiluous and the most ex- 
 pressive language in the world. It was here that 
 |0 many unjust acts were committed ; that so many 
 iniquitous and cmel decrees were pronounced. Tliis 
 
 as, perhaps, the spot where Aristides was exiled, 
 where Melitus triumphed, Avhere the entire popula- 
 tion of a city was sentenced to die, where a whole 
 nation was doomed to slavery. But it was here too 
 that illustrious citizens raised then* generous voices 
 a.gainst the tyrants of their country ; that justice 
 triumphed ; that truth was heard. There exist a 
 people" said the deputies of Corinth to the Spartans, 
 
 quick to conceive, ])rompt to execute. Their 
 hardihood exceeds their power. In the dangers 
 into which they often rush without re^exion, they 
 are never forsaken by hope : naturally restless they 
 seek to aggrandize themselves abroad: when con- 
 fjuerors they advance and follow up their victory ; 
 when conquered they are not disheartened. With 
 the Athenians life does not appear to be the pro- 
 perty of individuals, such is the cheerfulness with 
 which they sacrifice it for their country ! They 
 think themselves deprived of a lawful right when- 
 ever they fail to obtain the object of their wishes. 
 When frustrated in one plan^ they supply its place 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 215 
 
 With a new hope. Their projects are scarcely formed 
 before they are executed. Incessantly engaged 
 with the future, they bestow no care on the pre- 
 sent ; but strangers themselves to repose, they can_ 
 not endure it in others.*'* 
 
 But what has become of this people ? Where 
 shall I look for it — I w^ho translated this passage 
 amid the ruins of Athens, while my eyes beheld 
 the minarets of Mussulmans, and my ears rung 
 with the accents of Christians ? It was to Jeru- 
 -salem that I went to seek the answer to this 
 question, and I was acquainted before-hand Vv^ith 
 the words of the oracle : — Dominus mortificat et 
 mvlficat ; deditcit ad inferos et reducit. 
 
 Having sufficient time left before it would be 
 dark, we proceeded from the Pnyx to the hill of the 
 Museum. This hill, as every body knows, is 
 crowned by the monument of Philopappus, a nlonu- 
 ment in a bad taste : but in this instance, it is the 
 person and not the tomb that deserves the attention 
 of the traveller. This obscure Philopappus, whose 
 sepulchre is seen at such a distance, lived during 
 Trajan's reign. Pausanias, who deigns not to re- 
 cord his name, calls him a Syrian ; but it appears 
 from the inscription on his statue that he was a na- 
 tive of Besa, a village of Atticao This inan^^ then, 
 whose name w^as Antiochus Philopappus, was the 
 rightful heir to the crown of Syria. Pompey had 
 transported the descendants of King Antiochus to 
 
 * Thucyd. lib. I. 
 P 4 
 
2l6 TRAVELS IK GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Athens, where they had become private citizens. 
 I know not if the Athenians, on whom Antiochus 
 profusely lavished his favours, sympathized in the 
 misfortunes of his dethroned family ; but it appears 
 that this Philopappus was at least consul-elect. 
 Fortune, by making him a citizen of Athens and 
 consul of Rome, at a period when these titles were 
 equivalent to nothing:, seemed inclined to play new 
 freaks with this disinherited monarch, to compen- 
 sate him for one shadow with another, and to shew 
 in one and the same individual, that she laughs 
 alike at the majesty of people and at the majesty of 
 kings. 
 
 The monument of Philopappus served us as a 
 kind of observatory to contemplate other vanities. 
 M. Fau vel shewed me the various places where the 
 walls of the ancient city had stood ; he pointed out 
 the ruins of the theatre of Bacchus, at the foot of 
 the citadel, the dry channel of the Ilissiis, the sea 
 without ships, and the deserted ports of Phalereus, 
 Munychia, and Piraeus. 
 
 We then returned into Athens : it was dark, 
 and the consul sent to apprize the governor of the 
 citadel that we should pay it a visit the next morn- 
 ing before sun-rise. I wished my host a good 
 night, and retired to my apartment. Oppressed 
 with fatigue, I had been for seme time fast asleep, 
 when I was suddenly waked by the tambourine, 
 and the Turkish bag-pipe, whose discordant tones 
 proceeded from the top of the Propyla^a. Ac the 
 game time a Turkish priest began to .'.iL'g the hour 
 
EGYPT. AND BARE ART. 21 J 
 
 in Arabic to the Christian- of the citv- of Minerva. 
 I cannot describe what I felr ; thi-? iman had no oc- 
 casion to mark so precisely the flight of time ; his 
 voice alone, on this spot, announced but too clearlj 
 toe lap-e of a2:es. 
 
 This fickleness of hnman things is the more 
 striking as it forms a contrast with the stability of 
 the rest of nature. As if to mock the revolutions of 
 human societies, the verv animals are liable to no 
 con vul -ions in their empires, to no alterations iii 
 their manners. When we were on the hill of the 
 Museum, I observed a number of storks forming ia 
 battalion, and speeding their flight towards Africa* 
 Thus for two thousand years they have performed 
 the same journey ; they have remained independeut 
 and happy in the city of Solon, as well as in the 
 town of the chief of the black eunuchs. From 
 their lofty nests, which no revolutions can reach_, 
 they have beheld a total change in the race of mor- 
 tals beneath them : while impions generations have 
 sprung upon the tombs of religious generations, the 
 young stork has never ceased to feed his aged pa- 
 rent.^ If I pause TO indulge in these reflexions, it is 
 because the stork is a favourite with travellers ; like 
 them it knoweth the seasons in the heavens. -f- 
 These birds were often my companions in mv ex- 
 cursions in the wilds of America, where 1 fre- 
 quently saw them perched on the wigwam of the 
 iavage. On meeting with them again in another 
 
 * So '.> e are told by Solioui, 
 
218 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTIVE, 
 
 species of desert, on the ruins of the Parthenon, 
 I could not forbear devoting a few words to my old 
 friends. 
 
 The next morning at half past four, we went 
 up to the citadel : the top of the hill is surrounded 
 with walls partly of ancient and partly of modern 
 construction ; other walls formerly encompassed its 
 hase. In the space comprized within these walls 
 are, in the first place, the relics of the Propylaea, 
 and the ruins of the temple of Victory.* Behind 
 the Propylaea, on the left, towards the city, you 
 next find the Pandroseum, and the double temple 
 of Neptune Erectheus and Minerva Polias ; lastly, 
 on the most eleyated point of the Acropolis stands 
 the temple of Minerva. The rest of the space is 
 covered v/ith the rubbish of ancient and modern 
 buildings, and with the tents, arms, and barracks 
 of the Turks. 
 
 The summit of the rock of the citadel is about 
 eight hundred feet long, and four hundred broad; 
 its figure is nearly an oval, with the narrowest en^ 
 next to Mount Hymettus : you would say that it 
 was a pedestal formed expressly for the purpose of 
 supporting the magnificent structures by which it 
 was crowned. I shall not enter into a particular 
 description of each of these structures, but refer the 
 reader to the works which I have so frequently 
 mentioned : and without repeating here what every 
 
 * The teiiipie of Victory formed the right wing of the Pro^ 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 
 
 one may find elsewhere, I shall content myself 
 with making a few general reflexions. 
 
 The first thing that strikes you in the edifices 
 of Athens is the beautiful colour of those monu- 
 ments. In our climate, in an atmosphere over- 
 charged with smoke and rain, stone of the purest 
 white soon turns black, or of a greenish hoe. The 
 serene sky and the brilliant sun of Greece merely 
 communicate to the marble of Paros and Peute- 
 licus, a golden teint resembling that of ripe corn or 
 the autumnal foliage. 
 
 The correctness, the simplicity, and the har- 
 mony of the proportions next demand your admi- 
 ration. You here see neither order upon order, 
 column upon column, nor dome upon dome. The 
 temple of Minerva, for example, is a simple oblong 
 parallelogram, adorned wath a vestibule, s^pronaos 
 or portico, and raised upon three steps, which run all 
 round. This pronaos occupied near one-third of 
 the total length of the edifice. The interior of the 
 temple was divided into two distinct naves, wliich 
 were separated by a wall, and which received all 
 their light from the door. In one was seen the 
 statue of Minerva, the work of Phidias ; and in the 
 other was kept the treasure of the Athenians. The 
 columns of the vestibule and portico rested imme- 
 diately upon the steps of the temple ; they w^ere 
 without bases, fluted, and of the Doric order : they 
 w^ere forty-tw^o feet in height, and seventeen and a 
 half in diameter at the bottom ; the intercolumnia- 
 tjon was seven feet four inches ; and the whole 
 
220 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 structure was two hundred and eighteen feet in 
 len^^tb, and ninety-eight and a half in breadths. 
 The frieze of the vestibule was decorated Avith tri- 
 glyphs of the Doric order: metopes, or small ta- 
 blets of marble^ intervened between the triglyphs. 
 On these metopes, Phidias or his pupils had sculp- 
 tured the battle between the Centaurs and the La- 
 pith se. The top of the wall of the temple, or the 
 frieze of the Cella, was decorated with another 
 basso relievo, probably representing the festival of 
 the Panathenaea. Pieces of excellent sculpture, but 
 of the time Adrian, the period of the renovation of 
 the art, adorned the two pediments of the temple.* 
 Votive offerings, and likewise the shields taken 
 from the enemy in the Persian war, were suspended 
 on the outside of the edifice. The circular marks 
 left by the latter are still to be seen in the archi- 
 trave of the pediment facing Mount Hymettus. 
 This circumstance leads M. Fauvel to presume that 
 the entrance \vas on that side, contrary to the ge-« 
 
 * I cannot persuade myself that Phidias left the two pedi- 
 ments of the temple completely naked, whilst he bestowed so 
 much pains on the decoration of the friezes. If the emperor 
 Adrian, and his wife Sabina, were represented in pne of the pedi- 
 ments, they might have been introduced there instead of two 
 other figures, or perhaps the heads of the persons had merely 
 been changed, which was often done. In this case, it would 
 ha\e been no unworthy flattery on the part of the Athenians; 
 Adrian deserved that honor^as the benefactor of Athens, and tliQ 
 restorer of the arts. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 221 
 
 neral opinion which places it at the opposite end.* 
 Between these shields were placed inscriptions, 
 probably in letters of* brass, if we may judge from 
 the marks of the nails by which they were a/nxed, 
 M. Fauvel conceived that these nails might per- 
 haps have served to fasten up garlands, but he co- 
 incided in my opinion, when I pointed out to him 
 the regular disposition of the holes. Similar marks 
 have sufficed for restoring and reading the inscrip- 
 tion of the square e I'fi^e at Ni.nes ; and I am con- 
 vinced that if the Turks would give permission, 
 the inscriptions of the Parthenon might in like 
 manner be decyphered. 
 
 Such was the temple, justly considered as the 
 master-piece of architecture, both ancient and mo- 
 dern. The harmony and the strength of all its parts 
 are still conspicuous in its rains; for we should 
 form a very erroneons idea of it, were we to repre- 
 sent it to ourselves as merelv a handsome but small 
 structure, loaded with chasing and festoons, in our 
 manner. There is always something puny in oar 
 architecture when we aim at elegance, or heavy 
 when we aspire to majesty. See how every thing 
 is contrived at the Panhenon! The order is the 
 Doric, and the comparative shortness of the column, 
 
 * The idea is ingenious, but the proof is norte of the strongest. 
 Exclusively of a thousand reasons whicli might have induced the 
 Athenians to suspend the shields on the side next to Hymettus, 
 thev might have wished not to spoil the admirable facade of the 
 temple, by overioaduig it with foreign ornaments. 
 
222 TRAVELS IN GKEECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 in that order, immediately conveys the idea of du- 
 ration and solidity ; but this column which, more- 
 over, is without base, would have been too heavy ; 
 Ictinus has recourse to his art, he makes the column 
 fluted, and raises it upon steps, by which means he 
 combines almost the li^^htness of the Corinthian with 
 the gravity of the Doric. The only decorations are 
 two pediments and two sculptured friezes. The 
 frieze of the vestibule is composed of small marble 
 tablets, regularly divided by a triglyph : in fact, 
 each of these tablets is a master-piece. The frieze 
 of the Cella runs like a fillet along the top of a 
 solid and level wall. This is all, absolutely all. 
 How w idely different is this wise economy of orna- 
 ments, this happy mixture of simplicity, strength, 
 and elegance, from our profusion of ornaments, 
 square, oblong, circular, and lozenge-shaped; from 
 our slender columns, mounted upon enormous 
 bases, or our mean porches, which we call porti- 
 coes, crushed beneath the superincumbent weight. 
 
 It cannot be dissembled, that architecture, con- 
 sidered as an art, is in its* principle eminently reli-. 
 gious : it w^as invented for the wwsliip of the 
 Deity. The Greeks, who had a multitude of gods, 
 were led to different kinds of edifices, according to 
 the ideas w hich they entertained of the different 
 powders of those gods. Vitruvius has even devoted 
 two chapters to this beautiful subject, and teaches 
 how temples and altars to Minerva, Hercules, Ceres, 
 &c. ought to be constructed. We, who adore but 
 jne single author of Nature, we too, have, properly 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 223 
 
 Speaking, but one single natural style of architec- 
 ture, the Gothic architecture. It must be obvious, 
 at first sight, that this style is peculiarly our own, 
 that it originated and sprung up, in a manner, with 
 our altars. In the Grecian style we are but imi- 
 tators, more or less ingenious;* imitators of a 
 work, whose principle we pervert, by introducing 
 into the habitations of men those ornaments which 
 were applicable to the temples of the gods alone. 
 
 Next to their general harmony, their accordance 
 with places and sites, their adaptation to the pur- 
 poses for which tbey were designed, w hat must be 
 admired in the edifices»of Greece, is the high finish 
 of all the parts. In them, the object which is not 
 intended to be seen, is wrought w^ith as much care 
 as the exterior compositions. The junctures of 
 the blocks which form the columns of the temple 
 of Minerva are so perfect as to require the greatest 
 attention to discover them, and to leave a mark no 
 thicker than the finest thread. In order to attain 
 this extraordinary perfection, the marble was first 
 reduced to its proper shape with the chissel, after 
 which, the two pieces were rubbed one upon the 
 other, and sand and w^ater thrown upon the centre 
 of friction. The courses, by means of this process, 
 were placed with incredible precision, and this 
 precision in the shafts of the columns, was deter- 
 
 * Under the French kings of the house of Valois, a charming . 
 mixture of the Grecian and Gothic architecture was introduced, 
 but this taste was only of laouieniary duration. 
 
2:24 TRAVELS IN GREfeCE, PALESTIKE, 
 
 termined by a square pivot of olive wood. I have 
 seen one of these pivots in the possession of M. 
 Fan V el. 
 
 The roses, the plinths, the mouldings, the as- 
 tragals, all the details of the edifice exhibit the 
 same perfection. The lines of the capital, and the 
 fluting of the columns of the Parthenon, are so 
 sharp, that you would be tempted to suppose that 
 the entire column had passed through a lathe. No 
 turner's work in ivory can be more delicate than 
 the Ionic ornaments of the temple of Erectheus : 
 and the cariatides of the Pandroseum are perfect 
 models. If, after viewing the edifices of Rome, 
 those of France appeared coarse to me, the struc- 
 tures of Rome now seem barbarous in their turn, 
 since I have seen the monuments of Greece : not 
 even excepting the Pantheon, with its dispro- 
 portionate pediment. The comparison may be 
 easily made at Athens, where the Grecian archi- 
 tecture is often placed quite close to the architec- 
 ture of Rome. 
 
 I had fallen into a common eiTor respecting 
 the monuments of the Greeks : I had an idea that 
 they were perfect as a whole, but deficient in gran- 
 deur. I have shewn that the genius of the archi- 
 tects has given in proportional grandeur to these 
 monuments, what they may want in size ; and 
 Athens moreover is full of prodigious works. 
 The Athenians, a people neither rich nor nume- 
 rous, raised gigantic piles : the stones of the Pnyx 
 are absolute masses of rock; the Propyliea were 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 225 
 
 an immense undertaking, and marble slabs with 
 which they were covered, surpassed in dimensions 
 any thing that was ever seen of the kind ; the 
 height of the columns of the Temple of Jupiter 
 Olympus, perhaps exceeds sixty feet/ and the 
 whole tem.ple was half a mile in circumference; 
 the walls of Athens, including those of the three 
 harbours, extended over a space of near nine 
 leagues tlie walls which connected the city with 
 the Pirseus/were so broad, that two chariots might 
 run abreast upon them, and were flanked with 
 square towers at intervals of fifty paces. The 
 Romans themselves never erected fortifications of 
 greater magnitude. 
 
 By what fatality do these master-pieces 'of an- 
 tiquity, which the moderns come so far and with 
 such fatigue \o admire, partly owe their destruc- 
 tion to the moderns ?f The Parthenon existed 
 entire in 1687 *• the Christians first converted it 
 into a church ; and the Turks, from jealousy of 
 the Christians, changed it in their torn, into a 
 mosque. Amidst the illumination of science that 
 pervaded the seventeenth century, the Venetians 
 
 * Two hundred stadia, according to Dio Chrysostom. 
 
 j- Every body knows how the Coliseuin at Rome was destroyed^ 
 and also tlie Latin pun on the subject of Barberini and Barbarians. 
 Some historians suspect the Knights of Rhodes of having de- 
 molished the celebrated tomb of Mausolus: it was, to be sure, 
 for the defence of Rhodes, and to fortify the island against the 
 Turks; but if this be an excuse for the knights, the destructioa 
 of that wonder of the world is not the less unfortunate for us. 
 
 VOL. Ic U 
 
!2:26 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 came and cannonaded the momiments of the age 
 of Pericles : they fired red hot balls on the Propy- 
 la^a and the temple of Minerva ; a ball fell upon 
 the latter, penetrated the roof, set fire to some bar- 
 rels of gunpowder, and blew up part of an edifice 
 which did less honor to the false gods of Greece than 
 to human genius.* The town being taken, Morosini, 
 with a view to embellish Venice with the spoils of 
 Athens, attempted to remove the statues^ from the 
 pediment of the Parthenon, and broke them to 
 pieces. Another modern came, oat of love to the- 
 arts, to accomplish the work of destruction which 
 the Venetians had begun.-}- 
 
 In this work I have had occasion to make fre- 
 quent mention of the name of Lord Elgin. To 
 him vi'C are indebted, as I have observed, for a per-r 
 feet knowledge of the Pnyx, and the tomb of Aga- 
 memnon ; he still keeps an Italian in Greece, who 
 
 * Tlie invention of fire arms is a fatal circumstance for the 
 arts. Had thy barbarians been acquainted with gunpo-5^'der, not 
 a Greeiaa or Roman edi(ice would Iiave been left standing; they 
 would have blown up the very Pyramids had it been only to s^eek 
 for hidden treasures. One year of war among us destroys more 
 buildings than an age of lighting did among the ancients. Thus 
 it would seem, that among the modems, every thing opposes the 
 perfection of the art; their climate, their manners, their customs, 
 their dress, and even their very discoveries. 
 
 t They mounted their battery, composed of six pieces of 
 cannon and four mortars, ou the Pnyx. It is scarcely conceiva- 
 ble how it happened that at so short a distance, they could 
 avoid destroying all the edifices of the citadel. See Fanelli * 
 Attne Attica, aud the Introduction to this work. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 22^ 
 
 h engaged in prosecuting his researches, and who, 
 when I was at Athens, had just discovered some 
 antiques which I did not see.* But Lord Elgin 
 has counterbalanced the merit of his hmdable 
 efforts, by ravaging the Parthenon. He was de- 
 sirous of removing the basso relievos of the frieze ; 
 the Turkish workmen emploved in the execution 
 of this design, first broke the architrave, and 
 threw down the capitals ; and then, instead of 
 taking out the metopes by the grooves, the barba- 
 rians thought it the shortest way to break the 
 cornice. The temple of Erectheus has been robbed 
 of the corner column, so that it is now found 
 necessary to support with a pile of stones, the 
 whole entablature, which is nodding to its fall. 
 
 The English, who have been at Athens since 
 the visit of Lord Elgin, have themselves deplored 
 these fatal effects of an inconsiderate love of the 
 arts. We are told that Lord Elgin has asserted, 
 in excuse of himself, that he had merely followed 
 our example. The French, it is true, have stripped 
 Italy of its statues and pictures; but they have 
 mutilated no temples for the sake of the basso 
 
 * They \vere discovered in a sepuJdire; I believe that of a 
 child. Among other curiosi-ties found on this occasion, was an 
 unknown game, the principai piece of which, if I remember rightly, 
 was a ball of polished steel. I rather tliink there is some allusion 
 to this game in Athenseus. The war between France and England 
 prevented M. Fauvel from applying in my behalf to Lord Elgin's 
 agent, so that I had not an opportunity of seeing the antique 
 tQys which constoled an Athenian boy in his tonib, 
 
 a2 
 
228 TRAVELS IS GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 relievos : they have only imitated the Romans whey 
 plundered Greece of her master-pieces of painting 
 and sculpture. The monuments of Athens, torn 
 from the places to which they were adapted, will 
 not only lose part of their relative beauty, but 
 their. intrinsic beauty will be materially diminished. 
 Jt is nothing but the li£:ht that sets off the delicacv 
 of certain lines and certain colours : consequentlv, 
 as this light is not to be found beneath an English 
 skv_5 these lines and these colours will disappear or 
 become invisible. For the rest, 1 will acknowledge 
 that the interest of France, the glory of our coun- 
 try, and a thousand other reasons might call for 
 the removal of the mounments conquered by our 
 arms ; but the fine arts themselves, as belonging to 
 the side of the vanquished and the number of the 
 captives, have perhaps a just right to deplore their 
 transplantation. 
 
 We passed the vrhole morning in the examina- 
 tion of the citadel. The Turks had formerly stuck 
 the minaret of a mosque to the portico of the Par- 
 thenon. We ascended by the half-destroyed stair- 
 case of this minaret ; we seated ourselves on a 
 broken part of the frieze of the temple, and looked 
 around us. We had Mount Hymettus on the east; 
 the Pentelicu? on the north ; the Parnes on the 
 north-west; the Mounts Icairus^ Cordyalus, or 
 jEgalaea on the west, and beyond the former was 
 perceived the summit of the Citharron ; and to the 
 south-vrest and south appeared the sea, the Pirseus, 
 the coasts of Salamis, -S^gina, EpidaiiiTis, and the 
 citadel of Coriuthc 
 
EGY^PT, AND BARBARY. 229 
 
 Below us, in tlie hollow^ whose clrciimfereiice I 
 hav^e just described^ were seen the hills and most of 
 the monuments of Athens ; to the south-west the 
 hill of the Museum with the tomb of Philopappus ; 
 to the west the rocks of the Areopagus, the Pnyx, 
 and the Lycabettus ; to the north the little Mount 
 Achesmus, and to the east the hills which overlook 
 the Stadium. At the very foot of the citadel lay 
 the ruins of the theatre of Bacchus and of Herodes 
 Atticus. To the left of these ruins stood the hu2:e 
 detached columns of the temple of Jupiter 01yn>- 
 plus; and still farther off^ looking toward the north- 
 west, we perceived the site of the Lyceum, the 
 course of the Ilissus, the Stadium and a temple of 
 Diana or Ceres. In the west and north-west quar- 
 ter, towards the large wood of olive trees, M. Fau- 
 vel pointed out the site of the outer Ceramicus, the 
 Academy, and its road bordered with tombs. Lastly, 
 in the valley formed by the Anchesmus and the ci- 
 tadel was seen the modern town. 
 
 You must now figure to yourself all this space, 
 partly w^aste and covered with a yellow heath ; 
 partly interspersed with olive groves, fields of bar- 
 ley, and vineyards. Your imagination must repre- 
 .sent shafts of columns and heaps of ancient and 
 modern ruins, scattered among these cultivated 
 lands ; and whitened walls, and the inclosures of 
 gardens intersecting them. You must scatter over this 
 space Albanian women fetching water, or washing 
 the garments of the Turks at the wells ; peasants go- 
 ing and coming, driving asses, or carrying provisions 
 
 a 3 
 
'230 TRAVELS IK GREECE, PALESTIKK^ 
 
 on their backs to the city. You mnst conceive all 
 these mountains which have such fine names, all 
 these celebrated niins, all these islands, all these 
 seas not less famous, illumined by a brilliant light. 
 From the summit of the Acropolis, I beheld the 
 sun rise between the two peaks of Mount Hymettus ; 
 the crows whicli build their nests around the cita- 
 del, but never soar to its summit, hovered belciw 
 us ; their black and polished wings were tinged 
 with roseate hues by the first radiant beams of Au- 
 rora ; columns of light, blue smoke ascended in the 
 shade, along the sides of the Hymettus and marked 
 the gardens where the bees are kept ; Athens, the 
 Acropolis and the ruins of the Parthenon were co- 
 loured with the most beautiful tints of peach-blos- 
 som ; the sculptures of Phidias struck horizontally 
 by a ray of gold, started into life and seemed to 
 move upon the marble from the mobility of the 
 shadows of the relief: in the distance, the sea, and 
 the Piraeus, were perfectly white with the light; 
 and the citadel of Corinth reflecting the brilliancy 
 of the rising day, glowed on the southern horizon 
 like a rock of purple and fire. 
 
 From the spot where we were placed, we might, 
 in the prosperous times of Athens, have seen her 
 fleets standing out of the Pirceus to engage the 
 enemy, or to repair to the feasts of Uelos ; we 
 might have heard the griefs of CRdipe, Philoctetus, 
 and Hecuba burst from the theatre of Bacchus ; 
 we might have listened to the applauses of the citi- 
 zens and tlie orations of Demosthenes. But alas ! 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. ^34 
 
 no sound met our ears, save a few shouts from an 
 enslaved populace, issuing at intervals from those 
 walls which so long re-echoed the voice of a free 
 people. To console myself I said what we are 
 obliged to be continually repeating : Every thing 
 passes away^ every thing must have an end in this 
 workL Whither are fled those divine geniuses, 
 who reared the temple on whose ruins I was seated ? 
 This sun which, perhaps, beamed on the last mo- 
 ment of the poor girl of Megara, had witnessed the 
 death of the brilliant Aspasia. This picture of At- 
 tica, tliis spectacle which I contemplated, had been 
 surveyed by eyes that have ])een closed above two 
 thousand years. I too shall soon be no more, and 
 other mortals, transitory as myself, will make the 
 same reflexions on the same ruins. Our lives and 
 our hearts are in the hands of God; let him then 
 .do with both what he pleases. 
 
 On descending from the citadel I picked up a 
 piece of marble belonging to the Parthenon ; I had 
 also preserved a fragment of the tomb of Agamem- 
 non ; and I have since made a practice of taking 
 something av/ay with me from the monuments I 
 have visited. They are not such splendid memo- 
 rials of my peregrinations as those collected by M. de 
 Choiseul and Lord Elgin ; but I am satisfied with 
 them. I preserve them with as much care as the 
 little marks of friendship whicli 1 have received 
 from my hosts, among others^ a bone box given 
 me by Father Munoz at Jaffa. When I survey 
 these trifles^ they immediately remind me of :ny 
 
 a 4 
 
232 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 pilgrimages and adventures. Ulysses retiirne4 
 home with large chests fnll of the rich presents 
 made him hy the Phaeacians ; I returned to my 
 home with a dozen stones picked up at Sparta, 
 Athens, Argos, and Corinth ; three or four small 
 heads in terra cotta given me by M. Fauvel, some 
 chaplets, a bottle of the water of the Jordan, 
 another from the Dead Sea, a few reeds from the 
 Nile, a piece of marble from Carthage, and a 
 plaster moulding from the Alhambra. 1 have spent 
 fifty thousand francs on my tour, and left behind 
 me my linen and my arms as presents. Had it 
 lasted a little longer I should have returned on foot 
 with a white staff in my hand. Unfortunately I 
 should not have found, on reaching my native land, 
 a kind brother to say to me, like the old man in 
 the Arabian Nights : " Here, brother, are a thou- 
 sand sequins for you, buy camels and give up tra« 
 veiling." - 
 
 On returning from the citadel we went to din- 
 ner, and in the evening walked to the Stadium, on 
 the other side of the Ilissus. This Stadium has 
 perfectly retained its form ; but the marble seats 
 with which it was adorned by Herodes Atticus are 
 no longer to be seen. As to the Ilissus, its channel 
 is dry. On this occasion Chandler, overstepping 
 the bounds of his usual m'ivleration, exclaims against 
 the poets, who give the Ilissus a limpid current 
 and border its stream with tufted willows. It is ob- 
 vious, through his spleen, that he has a great de- 
 sire to attack a drawing of Leroi's, which represents 
 
\ 
 
 EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 233 
 
 a view of the Ilissus. I am like Dr. Chandler: I 
 detest descriptions that are deficient in truth, and 
 when a river is without water^ I like to be told so. 
 It will be seen that I have not embellished the banks 
 of the Jordan, nor transformed that stream into a 
 great river. Here, however, I had abundant op- 
 portunity for exaggeration. All travellers, and 
 Scripture' itself would have justified the most pom- 
 pous descriptions. But Chandler has carried his 
 censure rather too far. The following curious fact 
 I state on the authority of M. Fauvel : if you dig 
 ever so little in the bed of the Ilissus, you are sure 
 to find water at a very small depth below the sur- 
 face; and this is so well known to the Albanian 
 women that they make a hole in the bottom of the 
 ravine, when they are going to wash linen, and 
 immediately meet with water. It is, therefore, 
 highly probable, that the channel of the Ilissus has 
 been gradually choked with stones and gravel 
 washed down froni the hills, and that the water at 
 present runs between two beds of sand. This is 
 quite sufficient to justify those poor poets w^ho ex- 
 perience the fate of Cassandra : in vain they sing 
 the truth, they are not believed ; if they were con- 
 tent to say it, they would, perhaps, be more fortu- 
 nate. In this case they are, moreover, supported 
 by history, which assigns water to the Ilissus ; and 
 why should this Ilissus have a bridge, if it never 
 had water, even in winter? America has rather 
 spoiled me in regard to rivers ; but I could not for 
 bea|:' to vindicate the honour of that Ilissus which 
 
 I. - 
 
^34 TRAVKLS IN GREECE, PALESTINE^ 
 
 gave a surname to the Muses, and on whose banks 
 Boreas carried off Orithya. 
 
 On our return from the Ilissus, M. Fauvel led 
 me over waste grounds^ where the site of the Ly- 
 ceum must be sought. We next came to the large 
 detached columns, standing in that quarter of 
 the city which was denominated New Athens, or 
 the Athens of the Emperor Adrian. Spon asserts, 
 that these pillars are the remains of the portico of 
 the One Hundred and Twenty Columns ; and 
 Chandler presumes that they belonged to the temple 
 of Jupiter Olympus. Xhey are mentioned by Le- 
 chevalier, and other travellers. Good representa- 
 tions of them are given in the different views of 
 Athens, and especially in the work of Stuart, who 
 has restored the entire edifice after its ruins. On a 
 portion of the architrave, which still connects two 
 of these columns, is seen a mean building, formerly 
 the habitation of a hermit. It is impossible to con- 
 ceive how this hut could have been built on the 
 capitals of these prodigious columns, which are 
 perhaps upwards of sixty feet in height. Thus, this 
 vast temple, at which the Athenians worked for 
 seven hundred years ; which all the kings of Asia 
 coveted the honor of finishing ; which Adrian, the 
 master of the world, had alone the glory to com- 
 plete ; this temple has been laid low by the attacks 
 of time, and the cell of an anchorite still continues 
 standing upon its ruins! A miserable hovel of 
 
 * Ilissiades: they had an altar on the banks of the Iliasus. 
 
EGYPT. AND BAP.BARY. 235 
 
 plaster is supported in the air by two colnrans of 
 marble, as if Fortune had determined to exhibit to 
 mankind on this magnificent pedestal, a monument 
 both of her triumphs and her caprices. 
 
 Tliese column-, though much more lofty than 
 those of the Parthenon, are far inferior to them in 
 beauty ; the degeneracy of the art i^ observable in 
 them ; but as they stand insulated and scattered 
 over a naked space, they produce a surprising effect, 
 I stopped at their bases to listen to the wind whist- 
 ling about their summits : they resemble those soli- 
 tary palm-trees which are here and there to be seen 
 among the ruins of Alexandna. When the Turks 
 are threatened with calamities of any kind, they 
 bring a lamb to this place, and force it to bleat 
 while they hold up its head towards the sky. Un- 
 able to find the voice of innocence among men, they 
 have recourse to the young of the harmless sheep 
 to avert the wrath of heaven. 
 
 We returned to Athens through the gate, over 
 which is seen the well-known insciiption : 
 
 THIS IS THE CITY OF ADRIAN, 
 AND NOT THE CITV OF THESEUS. 
 
 We retunied the vi-it which had been paid roe 
 by M. Roque, and spent the evening at his house, 
 where I met several ladies. Such readers as wish 
 for information respecting the dress, manners, and 
 customs of the Turkish, Greek, and Albanian wo- 
 men at Athens, may consult the twentv-sixth 
 chapter of Chandlers Travels in Greece. I would 
 have transcribed that whole passage, had it not been 
 
236 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 too long. I shall merely observe, that the women 
 of Athens appeared to me smaller and less hand- 
 some than those of the Morea. Their practice 
 of painting the orbit of the eyes blue, and staining 
 the tips of the fingers red, is disagreeable to a 
 stranger ; bat as I have seen women with pearls 
 suspended to the nose, as the Iroquois think this 
 custom exceedingly genteel, and I was myself in- 
 clined to be partial to it, I must not find fault with 
 tastes. For the rest, the women of Athens were 
 never celebrated for beauty. They were re- 
 proached with a fondness for wine. As a proof 
 that their charms were not the most powerful, all 
 the celebrated men of Athens were attached to fo- 
 reign females : Pericles, Sophocles, Socrates, Aris- 
 totle, and even the divine Plato. 
 
 On the 25th, we mounted our horses very early, 
 and leaving the city, took the road to the Phalereus. 
 As we approached the sea, the coast gradually be- 
 came more elevated, and terminated in heights, the si- 
 nuosities of which form, to the east and west, the har- 
 bours of Phalereus, Munychia, and Piraeus. On the 
 beach of the Phalereus, we discerned traces of the 
 Avails that encompassed the port, and other ruins 
 which were mere heaps of rubbish ; these were, per- 
 haps, the temples of Juno and Ceres. Near this spot, 
 lay the little field and tomb of Aristides. We went 
 down to the harbour, a circular ba«in, with a bot- 
 tom of fine sand, capable of containing about fifty , 
 boats. This was exactly the number that Menesr 
 theus conducted to Troy : 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 237 
 
 ** He was followed by fifty black vessels." 
 
 Theseus also set sail from Phalereiis at his de- 
 parture for Crete. 
 
 Pourquoi, trop jeune encor, ne phXes vous alors 
 Entrer dans le vaisseau qui le mit sur iios bords? 
 ^'ar vous auroit peri le moiistre de la Crete, &:c. 
 
 It is not always large ships and capacious har- 
 bours that confer immortality. The name of a - 
 small creek, and of a little bark, sung by Homer 
 and Racine can never perish. 
 
 From the harbour of Phalereus we proceeded to 
 that of Munychia, vv hich is of an oval figure and 
 rather larger than the former. Lastly, turning the 
 extremity of a craggy hill, and advancing froni 
 cape to cape, we reached the Piraeus. M. Fauvel 
 stopped in the curvature formed by a neck of land, 
 to shew me a sepulchre excavated in the rock ; it is 
 now without roof, and is upon a level with the sea. 
 By the regular flowing and ebbing of the tide, it is 
 alternately covered and left exposed, by tunis fall 
 and empty. At the distance of a few paces on the 
 shore are seen the remains of a monument. 
 
 M. Fauvel insists, that in this place the bones of 
 Themistocles were deposited. This interesting dis- 
 covery is, however, contested. It is objected, that 
 the fragments scattered around, are too fine to have 
 been the tomb of Themistocles ; and that, accord- 
 ing to Diodorus the geographer, quoted by Plu- 
 tarch^ this tomb was in reality an altar. 
 
238 TRAVELS IN" GREECE, PALESTINE^ 
 
 This objection is by no means solid. Why intro- 
 duce into the original question, another that is to- 
 tally foreign to the subject ? May not the ruins of 
 white marble, concerning which such difficulties are 
 raised, have belonged to a very different sepulchre 
 from that of Themistocles ? Why might not the 
 descendants of Themistocles, after the popular ani- 
 mosities had subsided, have decorated the tomb of 
 their illustrious progenitor whom they had first in- 
 terred in a simple manner, and even by stealth, 
 as V, e are informed by Thucydides ? Did they not 
 consecrate a picture representing the history of that 
 great man ; and was not this picture exhibited to 
 public view in the Parthenon, at the time of Pau- 
 sanias ? A statue was, moreover, erected in honor 
 of Themistocles, in the Prytaneum. 
 
 The spot where M. Fauvel has discovered this 
 tomb, is precisely the Cape Alcimus : and of this I 
 shall adduce a stronger proof than that of the calm- 
 ness of the water in this place. There is an error 
 in Plutarch ; the name should be Alimus, instead 
 of Alcimus, according fo the remark of Meursius, 
 mentioned by Dacier. Alimus was a demos, or 
 liamlet of x^ttica, in the district of Leontis, and si- 
 tuated to the east of the Piraeus. Now the ruins of 
 this hamlet are still visible in the vicinity of the 
 tomb of which we are speaking.^^ Pausanias is ex- 
 
 * I have no wish to conceal any difficulty, and am aware that 
 some writers have placed Alimus t© the eastward of Pbalereus. 
 Thucvdides was a native of Alimus, 
 
EGYPT, AKD BARBART. 239 
 
 tremely confused in what he says, concerning the 
 position of this tomb ; but Diodorus iPeriegetes is 
 perfectly clear: and the verses of Plato, the comic 
 poet, quoted by this Diodorus, describe the very 
 spot and the sepilchre found by M. Fauvel : 
 
 " Situated in an open place, thy tomb is greeted 
 by the mariner as he enters, or sails out of the har- 
 bour ; and in any future naval engagement, thou 
 wilt witness the shock of the vessels."^ 
 
 If Chandler was astonished at the solitude of 
 the Piraeus, I can affirm that I v/as not less struck 
 by it than he. We had explored a desert coast, v^^e 
 had surveyed three harbours, and in these thre& 
 harbours had not perceived one single vessel. 
 Nothing was to be seen but ruins, rocks, and the 
 sea ; and no sound met the ear, save the cries of the 
 kingsfisher, and the dashing of the surges against 
 the tomb of Themistocles, producing an incessant 
 murmur in the abode of eternal silence. Washed 
 away by the billows, the ashes of the conqueror of 
 Xerxes reposed beneath them, commingled with 
 the bones of the vanquished Persians. Jn vain my 
 eye sought the temple of Venus, the long gallery 
 and the statue emblematic of the people of Athens : 
 the image of that inexorable people v/as for ever 
 fallen near the well, to which the exiled citizens re- 
 paired, to no purpose, to reclaim their country. 
 Instead of those superb arsenals, those porticoes 
 whence the galiies were launched, those Agorae, re- 
 
 * Plutavch's Life of Themistocks, 
 
240 TRAVELS IN GREECE^, PALESTINE, 
 
 verberating the shouts of the seamen ; instead of 
 those edifices, resembling the city of Rhodes in 
 their general appearance and beauty ; I saw nothing 
 but a dilapidated convent and a magazine. Here, 
 in a wretched hut of wood, a Turkish custom-house 
 officer sits all the year round, the lonely sentinel of 
 the coast, and a model of stupid patience : whole 
 months elapse without his witnessing the arrival of 
 a single vessel. Sach is the present deplorable con-^ 
 dition of these once famous harbours. What can 
 have destroyed so many monuments of the gods and 
 of men ? Tliat mysterious power which overthrows 
 all things, which is itself subject to the Ayvi^r^; eso;, to 
 that unknown God whose altar was seen by St. 
 Panl at the Phalereus. 
 
 The port of the Piraeus forms a bow, the two 
 ends of which approach so near to each other as to 
 leave only a narrow passage : it is now called the 
 Lions Port, from a lion of marble, which was 
 formerly to be seen there, and in l6s6 was removed 
 to Venice by Morosini. The interior of the harbour 
 was divided into three basins, Cantharus, Aphro- 
 disus, and Zea. You still see a wet dock almost 
 half filled up, which may possibly have been the 
 Aphrodisus. Sirabo affirms, that the great port of 
 Athens was capable of holding four hundred ships, 
 and Plinv s^vells the number to a thousand. Fifty 
 of our brigs would completely fill it ; and indeed I 
 know not, if two of our frigates would ride there at 
 their ease, especially now that they moor with such 
 u length of cable. But the water is deep and the 
 
EGYPT, AND EARBARY. 241 
 
 bottom excellent ; so that in the hands of a civilized 
 nation, the Pireeiis might become an important har- 
 bour. The only warehouse now to be seen there is 
 of French origin, having been erected by M. 
 Gaspari, formerly the consul of France at Athens. 
 Thus it is not long since the Athenians were repre- 
 sented at the Piraeus, hy the nation which bears the 
 nearest resemblance to them.. 
 
 Having rested for a moment at the custom- 
 house and at the monastery of St. Spiridion, we re- 
 turned to Athens by the road from the Pireeus. 
 We perceived the remains of the long wall the whole 
 way. We passed the tomb of Antiope the Amazon, 
 which has been explored by M. Fauvel, who has 
 given an account of this research in his Memoirs. 
 We I'ode among low vines as in Burgundy, the 
 grapes upon which were just beginning to turn red. 
 We stopped at the public reservoirs and under olive- 
 trees ; and I had the mortification to find that the 
 tomb of Menander, the cenotaph of Euripides, and 
 the little temple dedicated to Socrates, no longer 
 exist ; at least they have not yet been discovered. 
 We pursued our way, and on approaching the Mu- 
 seum, M. Fauvel pointed out to me a path winding 
 ^p the side of that hill. This path he told me had 
 been made by the Russian painter, who every day 
 repaired to the same spot to take views of Athens, 
 If genius be no other than patience, as Buflon has 
 asserted, this painter must possess a large share of 
 that quality, 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 TRAVELS I]f^ GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 It is near four miles from Athens to tlie Pliale* 
 reus ; three or four from the Phalerens to the 
 Piraeus, following the windings of the coast, and 
 five from Piraens to Athens, so that, on our return 
 to the city we had been about twelve miles. A^ 
 the horses were hired for the whole day^ we made 
 haste to dine, and at four in the afternoon set out on 
 another excursion. 
 
 We went out of the town on the side next to 
 Mount Hj'^mettus. My host took me to the village 
 of Angelo Kipous, where, as he conjectures, he ha* 
 discovered the temple of Venus in the Gardens, for 
 reasons which he has stated in his Memoirs. The 
 opinion of Chandler, who places this temple at 
 Panagia Spiliotissa, is likewise very probable and 
 has an inscription in its favour ; but M. Fauvel ad- 
 duces, in behalf of his idea, two aged myrtles and 
 some fine ruins of the Ionic order : enough in all 
 conscience to answer a great many objections. Such 
 is the way with us anticparians ; we are never at a , 
 loss for proofs. 
 
 Having inspected the curiosities of Angelo Ki- 
 pons, we turned directly west ; and passing betweeit 
 Athens and Mount Anchesmus, we entered the 
 great olive wood. There were no mins on this* 
 side, so that we merely enjoyed a pleasant ride, ac- 
 companied by the recollections of Athens. We 
 came to the Cephisus, %vhich I had already saluted 
 lower down on my way from Eleusis. At this* 
 height it had water^ but that water, I am sorry ta 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBaRY. 243 
 
 say, \Ta? rather muddy ; it serves to inigate the or- 
 chards, and gives a freshness to its banks but too 
 rarelv met with in Greece. We then turned back, 
 still continuinfr our ride through the f orest of olive- 
 trees. We left on the right a small eminence co- 
 vered with rocks. This was Colone, at ihe foot of 
 which formerly stood the village containing the re- 
 treat of Sophocles, and the place Tvhere that great 
 tragic poet drew the la^^t tears from the eyes of the 
 father of Antigone. We followed, for some distance, 
 the Brazen Wav, where are to be seen vestiges of 
 the temple of the Furies ; and then, on approaching 
 Athens, we rambled for a considerable time in the 
 environs of the Academy. Nothing now marks this 
 retirement of the philosophic sages. Its first plan- 
 tains fell by the axe of Sylla, and those with which 
 Adiian probably caused it to ]ye embellished, have 
 not escaped the ravages of succeeding barbarians. - 
 The altars of Cupid, Prometheus, and the Muses 
 are no more ; every spark divine is extinguished in 
 the groves where Plato so oft received inspirations. 
 Two facts will demonstrate what beauty and what 
 grandeur were discovered by the ancients in the les- 
 sons of that philosopher. The night befoi'e Socrates 
 received Plato among his disciples, he dreamt that 
 a swan came and a.lighted on his bosom. Death 
 having prevented Plato from completing his Critias, 
 Plutarch deplores this misfortune, and compares 
 the woi*ks of the teacher of the AcaLlemy, with the 
 temples of Athens, among which that of Jupiter 
 Olympus alone was left unfinished. 
 
 ^ 2 
 
244 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 It had been dark an hour before we thought of 
 returning to Athens : the sky was studded with 
 stars, and the air incomparably soft, pure, and 
 transparent ; our horses went at a slow pace, and 
 we had both become silent. The way which we 
 were pursuing, was probably the ancient road to 
 the Academy, bordered by the tombs of such citi- 
 zens as had fallen for their country, and those of 
 the greatest men of Greece. Here reposed the 
 ashes of Thrasybulus, Pericles, Chabrias, Timo- 
 theus, Flarmodius, and Aristogiton. It was a 
 noble idea to collect in one spot, the remains of 
 those renowned persons who lived in different ages, 
 and who, like the members of an illustrious family 
 long dispersed, repaired hither to lie down to rest 
 in the lap of their common mother. What variety 
 of genius, of greatness, and of courage ! What 
 diversity of manners and genius was here embraced 
 in one view ! And these virtues attempered by death, 
 like those generous wines which we mix together, 
 says Plato, with a sober divinity, no longer dazzled 
 the eyes of the living. Admiration, untinctured 
 with envy, was the only sentiment felt by the pas- 
 senger, on reading upon the funeral column these 
 simple words : 
 
 PERICLES OF THE TRIBE OF ACAMAKTIS 
 AND OF THE VILLAGE OF CHOLARGUA. 
 
 Cicero represents Atticus wandering among these 
 tombs, and seized with a holy awe, at the sight of 
 these august remains. At the present day he could 
 no longer draw the same picture. The tombs are 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 24^ 
 
 destroyed ; the illustrious dead, whom tbe Athe- 
 nians had placed without the city, as for an advan- 
 ced post, rose not to defend ifc, but suffered the 
 Tartars to trample it under their feet. Time, 
 violence, and the plough, as Chandler observes, 
 have levelled every thing. In this place the plough 
 is superfluous ; and that single remark will convey 
 a more accurate idea of the desolation of Greece, 
 than all the reflexions in which I could indulge. 
 
 I had not yet seen the theatres and edmces in 
 the interior of the town ; to the survey of these I 
 devoted the 26th. The theatre of Bacchus, as I 
 have before observed, and as every reader knows, 
 stood at the foot of the citadel, on the side next to 
 Mount Hymettus. The Odeum begun by Pericles, 
 finished by Lycurgus, the son of Lycophron, 
 burned by Aristion and Sylla, and rebuilt by Ario- 
 barzanes, was situated near the theatre of Bacchus, 
 and probably connected with it by a portico. It is 
 probable, that near the same spot, there was a 
 third theatre erected by Herodes Atticus. The 
 seats of these theatres rested against the slope of 
 the hill which served them for a foundation. A 
 contrariety of opinions prevails respecting these 
 structures : what Stnart regards as the theatre of 
 Bacchus, is taken by Chandler for the Odeum. 
 
 The ruins of these theotres are insignincant. I 
 was not struck with th^rn, because 1 had ^cc t mo- 
 numents of this kind in Italy, far superior in size, 
 and in macb better preservution ; but I made this 
 very painful refiexioD, that under the Kpman em- 
 
 r3 
 
246 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 perors, at a time when Athens \vas still the school 
 of the universe, gladiators exhibited their sanguinary 
 games in the theatre of Bacchus. The master- 
 pieces of ^schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides Avere 
 banished from the stage : assassination and murder 
 superseded those spectacles which excite so high an 
 idea of human genius, and are the noble amuse- 
 ment of polished nations. The Athenians ran to 
 behold these cruelties with the same eagerness as 
 th^y had formerly resorted to the Dionysiaca. How 
 could a peojde who had exalted themselves to such 
 a height, how, I a«!>k, could they now descend so 
 low ? W hat had become of that altar consecrated 
 to Pity, which once stood in the midst of the public 
 place at Athens, and to which her votaries sus- 
 pended fillets and locks of their hair? If, as Pausa- 
 nias asserts, the Athenians were the only Greeks 
 who worshipped Pity, and looked upon her as the 
 consolation of life, how much must they have 
 chan£:ed ! Most certainlv it was not on account of 
 the combats of gladiators that Athens received the 
 name of tlie sacred abode of the gods. Perhaps 
 nations, like individuals, are cruel in decrepitude as 
 in infancy; perhaps their genius may be exhausted, 
 andvv^hen it jias run its career, when it has brought 
 forth, relished, and enjoyed all that it can, cloyed 
 with its own master-pieces, and incapable of pro- 
 ducing new ones, it grows besotted, and returns tp 
 purely physical sensations. Christianity will pre, 
 vent modern nations from falling into such a deplo- 
 rable decrepiuide ; but were all religion extin. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 24? 
 
 guished among us, I should uot be astonished to 
 hear the groans of the gladiator expiring on that 
 stage which now echoes the sorrows of Phaedra and 
 Andromache. 
 
 Having examined the theatres, we returned into 
 the town, where we looked at the portico, which 
 perhaps formed the entrance to the Agora. We 
 stopped at the Tower of the Winds, which is not 
 mentioned by Pausanias, but is described by Vitru- 
 vius and Varro. Spon gives all the details of this 
 edifice, with an explanation of the winds ; the en- 
 tire monument has also been described by Stuart, 
 in his Antiquities of Athens. A drawing of it was 
 taken by Francesco Giambetti, in 1465, the epoch 
 of the revival of the arts. In the time of Father 
 Babin, in 1672, this Tower of the Winds was mis- 
 taken for the tomb of Socrates. 
 
 I pass over in silence some ruins of the Corin- 
 thian order, which are conjectured to be the re- 
 mains of the Poecile, of the temple of Jupiter Olym 
 pius, of the Prytaneum, and perhaps belong to 
 none of those edifices. So much is certain, that 
 they are not of the age of Pericles. You perceive 
 in them the Roman grandeur, but likewise the Ro- 
 man inferiority; whatever the emperors had a hand 
 in at Athens, may be discovered at the first glance, 
 and exhibits a striking inequality to the master- 
 pieces of that age. We lastly went to the French 
 convent^ to return the only religioUsS who occu- 
 pies it^ the visit Avhich he had paid me. I have 
 already observed, that the convent of our mission- 
 
 R 4 
 
248 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 aries includes in its premises, the choragic monu- 
 ments of Lysicrates. It was with this last monument 
 that I completed my tribute of admiration to the 
 ruins of Athens. 
 
 This elegant production of the genins of the 
 Greeks, was known to the early travellers by the 
 name of Fanari ton Demostheriis " To the house not 
 long since purchased by the Capuchin Fathers," 
 says Babinthe Jesuit, in 16/2, belongs a very re- 
 markable piece of anticjuity, which has remained 
 entire ever since the time of Demosthenes : it is 
 commonly called the Lantern of Demosthenes." =^ 
 
 It has been since discovered, and first of all by 
 Spon, that it is a choragic monument, erected by 
 Lysicrates, in the street of the Tripods. M. Le- 
 grand, some time since, exhibited in the court of the 
 Louvre, a model of it, in terra cotta : f this model 
 was a very correct resemblance, only the architect, 
 doubtless with a view to give his work a greater de- 
 gree of elegance, had suppressed the circular wall 
 which fills the intercolumniations of the original. 
 
 It is certainly not the least surprising of Fortune's 
 freaks, that she should have assigned to a capuchin a 
 habitation in the choragic monument of Lysicrates ; 
 hut what at first sight may appear ludicrous, be- 
 
 * It appears, fliat in IO09, there existed another monument 
 at Athens, called the Lantern of Diogenes. On the subject of 
 this monument, Guilltt appeals to the testimony of the Fathers 
 Barnabas ant! Simon, and 'jf Messrs. de Moncdaux and i'Aine. 
 
 t A monument has since been erected after this monument at 
 St. Cloud. 
 
EGYPT, AXD BARB ART. 249 
 
 coraes serious and affecting, vrhen we ccnsicer the 
 happy efi'ects of onr missions, when we reuect that 
 a French capuchin afforded hospitality to Chandler, 
 while other French religions were entertaining 
 other travellers in China and in Canada, in the de- 
 serts of Africa and the wilds of Tartary. 
 
 " The Franks, at Athens, have no chapel," says 
 Spon, " except that of the Capuchins, which is at 
 the Fanari ton JJemasfhenls. hen we were at 
 Paris, the onlv person there was Father Seraphin, 
 a very worthy man, from whom a Turk helong^iug 
 to the garrison, one day, took his cord girdle, either 
 out of malice, orthe effects of intoxication, having met 
 him in the road to the Lion's Port, whence he was 
 returaing alone from a visit to some Frenchmen on 
 board of a tartan, then lying in that harbour. 
 
 The Jesuits were established at Athens be- 
 fore the Capuchins, and were never driven irom the 
 citv. They retired to Xegropont, merelv because 
 they there found more occupation, and a greater 
 number of Franks than at Athens. Their convent 
 was almost at the exti'emity of the town, ne^ar the 
 archbishop's palace. As to the Capuchins, thev 
 have been settled at Athens ever since 1d3S, and 
 Father Simon purchased the Fanari and the adjoin- 
 ing house, in 1069, there having been other re- 
 ligious of his order, before him, in the town." 
 
 It is then to these missions, so long decried, 
 that we are indebted for our earlv notions respect- 
 ing ancient Greece. Xo tiaveller had vet quitted 
 his home to visit the Paithenon, v.hen some re- 
 
250 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 ligious, self-exiled to these renowned ruins^, awaited, 
 like hospitable deities, the antiquary and the artist. 
 The scholar enquired what had become of the city 
 of Cecrops, and there was a Father Barnabas at 
 Paris, in the noviciate of St. James, and a Father 
 Simon at Compiegne, who could have given him 
 information on the subject ; but they made no pa- 
 rade of their knowledge. Retiring to the foot of 
 the ei'Qcifix, they buried in the obscurity of the con- 
 vent, Avhat they had learned, and above all, what 
 they had suffered for twenty years, amidst the ruins 
 of Athens. 
 
 " The French Capuchins," says la Guilletiere, 
 who have been called to the mission of the 
 Morea, by the congregation de Propaganda Fide, 
 have their principal residence at Napoli, because 
 the gal lies of the Ijeys winter at that place, where 
 they in general lie from the month of November 
 till St. George's day, on which they again put to 
 sea. They are manned with christian slaves, who 
 stand in need of instruction and encouragement ; 
 and this is imparted to them with equal zeal and 
 benefit by Father Barnabas, of Paris, who is at 
 present the superior of the Mission of Athens and 
 the Morea." 
 
 But if these religious, after their return from 
 Sparta and Athens, were so modest in their 
 cloisters, perhaps it was because they wanted a 
 relish for the admirable remains of the Grecian 
 art ; perhaps too they had not previously acquired 
 the requisite information. Let us hear what is 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 251 
 
 said by Father Babin, the Jesuit, to whom we are 
 indebted for the earliest account we have of 
 Athens. 
 
 You may find," says he, in various books, 
 a description of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, 
 and the other principal cities in the world, such as 
 they are at present; but I know not what book 
 describes Athens as I have seen it ; and you would 
 not find the city at all if you were to look for it 
 as represented in Pans an i as and other ancient 
 authors : but you shall here see it in the state in 
 "which it appears at this day, which is such, that, 
 though in mins, it nevertheless excites a certain 
 respect, both in those pious persons who behold 
 its churches, and in those scholars who acknow- 
 ledge it to be the mother of the sciences, and in 
 those military men and generous minds, who con- 
 sider it as the field of Mars, the theatre where the 
 greatest conquerors of antiquity signalized their 
 valour, and gloriously displayed their energies, 
 their courage, and their industry. Finally, these 
 ruins are valuable as attestations of its primitive 
 splendour, and demonstrating that it was formerly 
 an object of the admiration of the universe. 
 
 " For my part, i must own that, when I looked 
 at it with a telescope from the sea, when I beheld the 
 numbers of large marble columns which are visible 
 at a great distance, and evince its ancient magnifi- 
 cence, I could not help feeling some respect for 
 it." 
 
 The missionary then proceeds to a description 
 
/ 
 
 252 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 of the different edifices. More fortunate than we, 
 lie saw the Parthenon entke, and has described it 
 in the following terms : 
 
 " This temple, which may be seen very far off, 
 which is the most elevated structure in Athens, 
 and stands in the midst of the citadel, is a master- 
 piece of the greatest architects of anticjuity. It is 
 about one hundred and twenty feet in length, and 
 fifty in breadth. You there see three ranges of 
 roofs supported by very lofty marble columns ; that 
 is to say, tbe nave and two wings : in which it 
 surpasses St. Sophia's, erected at Constantinople 
 by the Emperor Justinian, though in other respects 
 a wonder of the workl. But I took notice that its 
 walls are only encrusted and lined with large slabs 
 of marble, Avhich have fallen down in some places 
 from the galleries above, where you may see bricks 
 and stones Avhich were covered witb marble. 
 
 But though this temple of Athens be so mag- 
 nificent in regaid to its materials, it is still more 
 admirable for its style and the skill displayed in it: 
 Mater lam super abat opus. Among the roofs, all 
 of which are of marble, one is more particularly 
 remarkable, because it is adorned with as many 
 beautiful figures engraven upon the marble as it 
 can posssbly hold. 
 
 " The length of the vestibule is equal to the 
 width of the temple, and it is about fourteen feet 
 broad. Above it there is a flat roof, which looks 
 like a rich floor, or a magnificent ceiling ; for you 
 there perceive large pieces of marble, resembling 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 253 
 
 long, thick beams, which support other great 
 pieces of the same material, adorned with various 
 figures, executed with wonderful skill. 
 
 " The pediment of this temple, which is at a 
 great height above the vestibule, is such, that I 
 scarcely think there is any tiling equal to it for 
 magnificence and workmanship in all France. 
 The figures and statues of the Richelieu palace, 
 the miracle of France and the master-piece 
 of the artists of the present day, are not to be ' 
 compared with these large and beautiful figures 
 of men, women, and horses, which appear to the 
 number of thirty in this pediment ; and there are 
 as many more at the other end of the temple, be- 
 hind the place where stood the high altar in the 
 times of the Christians. 
 
 On each, side of the temple is an alley or 
 gallery, where you pass between the w^alls of the 
 edifice, and seventeen very thick and lofty fluted 
 columns, which are not of a single piece, but of 
 several large pieces of fine w^hite marble, laid one 
 upon another. Between these pillars there is, 
 along this gallery, a low wall, which leavea be- 
 tween each column, a' space of sutKcient length 
 and breadth for an altar, a cbiipel, such as are 
 seen along the sides and near the walls of large 
 churches. 
 
 " These columns serve to support the walls of 
 the temple above with arched buttresses, and pre- 
 vent them from being injured externally by the 
 weight of the roof. The wails of the temple, on 
 
254 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 the outside, are embellished above with a beautiful 
 band of marble tablets, exquisitely wrought, on 
 which are represented a great number of triumphs, 
 so that you see upon them numberless figures of 
 men, women, children, chariots and horses, execu-' 
 ted in basso relievo on these stones, which are. at 
 such a height, that the eye can scarcely discover 
 all their beauties, or appreciate all the ingenuity of 
 the architects and sculptors, by whom they were 
 made. One of these large stones, composing this 
 band, having got loose from its place, and fallen 
 down, had been carried into tlie mosque behind 
 the portico ; and on this you behold, with admira- 
 tion, a great number of persons represented upon it 
 with inimitable skill. 
 
 All the beauties of this temple which I have 
 just described, are the work of the ancient pagan 
 Greeks. The Athenians having embraced Christi- 
 anity, converted this temple of Minerva into a tem- 
 ple of the true God ; they erected in it an episcopal 
 throne and a pulpit, w^hich are still standing, and 
 altars, which have been overthrown by the Turks? 
 who offer no sacrifices in their mosques. The place 
 of the higli altar is still considerably whiter than 
 the rest of the \vall : the steps to ascend to it are 
 entire, and magnificent.'* 
 
 Is not this simple description of the Parthenon, 
 such as it was at the time of Pericles, to the full as 
 valuable as the more scientific accounts that have 
 been given of the ruins of this beautiful temple ? 
 
 Finally, w^ere these missionaries strangers to 
 
I 
 
 EGYPT. AXD BARBART. 253 
 
 that compassion for the Greeks, those philanthropic 
 sentiments, which we are so proud of introducing 
 into our modern traTels : Let us turn again to Fa- 
 ther Babin : 
 
 If Solon, surveying from a mountain, this 
 large city, and the great number of magnificent 
 palaces of marble which it contained, formerly ob- 
 served to one of his friends, that it was but a large, 
 though rich hospital, filled with as many poor 
 wretches as the citv comprehended inhabitants ; I 
 should have much greater reason to talk in this 
 manner, and to say that this town, rebuilt with the 
 ruins of it^ ancient palaces, is but one large and in- 
 digent hospital, containing as manv poor wretches 
 as there are christians to be seen in it.'' 
 
 I beg pardon for having expatiated on this sub- 
 ject. Xo traveller before me, Spon excepted, has 
 done justice to the missions at Athens, which are 
 so interesting to a Frenchman. I had myself over- 
 looked them in the Genie du Chj^istianisrne. Chand- 
 ler says very little concerning the religious, whose 
 hospitality he shared; and I am doubtful whether he 
 has once condescended to mention his name. God 
 be thanked, I am above such petty scruples. When 
 a person has laid me under obligation, I say so : 
 and, in the next place, 1 blush not for the arts, 
 neither do I think the monument of Ly^icrates dis- 
 honored because it forms part of the convent of a 
 Capuchin. The christian who preserves a monu- 
 ment, for the pui-pose of devoting it to works of 
 charity, appears to me quite as respectable as the 
 
256 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 pagan who erected it in commemoration of a victory 
 gained in a concert of music. 
 
 Such was the conchision of my survey of the 
 ruins of Athens. 1 had examined them in order, 
 and aided by the intelligence and experience ac- 
 quired by M. Fauvel, during a residence of ten 
 years on the spot. He had saved me all the time 
 that is lost in groping, in doubting, and in seeking^ 
 when we arrive alone in a new world. I had ob- 
 tained clear ideas of the monuments, the sky, the 
 sun, the prospects, the land, the sea, the rivers, the 
 woods, and the mountains of Attica ; I could now 
 correct my sketches, and give my pictures of these 
 celebrated places their appropriate colouring. I 
 had nothing to do but to pursue my route. My 
 principal object now was to reach Jerusalem, and 
 what an interval I had still before me ! I considered 
 that the season was advancing, and that if I made a 
 longer stay, I might miss the ship which annually 
 sails from Constantinople to Jaiia, with pilgrims 
 for Jerusalem. I had every reason to apprehend 
 that my Austrian vessel was not waiting for me all 
 this time at the extremity of Attica, and that, not 
 finding me there, she had proceeded to Smyrna. 
 My host acquiesced in my reasons, and pointed out 
 the track which I ought to follow. He advised 
 me to go to Keratia, a village of Attica, situated at 
 the foot of Mount Lauriam, at some distance from 
 the sea opposite to the island of Zea. " When 
 you have reached this village," said he, " the peo- 
 ple will kindle a fire upon a hill : one of the boats 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 257 
 
 of Zea, accustomed to the signal^ will immediately 
 cross over to the coast of Attica. You will then 
 embark for the port of Zea, where you vs-ill perhaps 
 meet with your ship from Trieste ; if not, you will 
 fiad no difficulty in procuring there a felucca^ to 
 Chio or Smyrna/* 
 
 A man who, from a motive like mine, under' 
 takes such a voyage as I had done, is not to be de- 
 terred by risks and accidents. Necessity com- 
 manded Uiy departure, and this was the only way 
 by which I could leave Attica, for there was not a 
 vessel of any kind at the Pirseus.* I therefore re- 
 solved to put the proposed plan into immediate exe- 
 cution. M. Fauvel wished to keep me a few days 
 longer, hut the apprehension of losing the season 
 for the voyage to Jerusalem overpowered every 
 other consideration. The north winds had but six 
 weeks longer to blow ; and if I should arrive too 
 late at Constantinople, I ran the risk of being de- * 
 tained there by the westerly winds. 
 
 I dismissed M. Vial's janissary, having first 
 paid him, and given him a letter of thanks to his 
 master. In a journey attended with any hazards, 
 it is painful to part with a fellow-traveller with 
 whom yon hav^ for some time associated. When 
 I saw the janissary, after wishing me a good jour- 
 ney, mount his^ horse alone, take the road to Eleu- 
 sis, and ride off in the very opposite direction to 
 
 ^ The troubles in Roraelia rendered ajourne)' to Conslanti* 
 mple by land absolutely impracticable. 
 
^5)5 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 that which I was about to pursue, I felt an invo- 
 hintan^ emotion. { followed him with ray eyes, re- 
 jecting that he was going to revisit alone the de- 
 serts which we bad seen together/ It struck me 
 also that this Turk and I should never meet again, 
 that we should never more hear of each either. I 
 represented to myself the lot of this man, so dif- 
 ferent from my lot, his joys and his griefs so diflfer- 
 cnt from my joys and my griefs, and all to arrive 
 at the same point at last : — be in the spacious and 
 beautiful cemeteries of Greece ; and myself, by the 
 road, or in the suburbs of some city. 
 
 This separation took place in the evening of 
 the same day that I visited the French convent ; 
 for the janissary had received intimation to hold 
 himself in readiness to return to Coron. I set off 
 in the night for Keratia with Joseph and an Athe- 
 nian who was going to pay a visit to his relations- 
 in Zea. This young Greek was our guide. M. 
 Pauvel accompanied me to the gate of the city, 
 where we mutually bade adieu, and expressed our 
 wiiihes that we might soon meet again in our com- 
 roon country^ 
 
 I was very glad that I left Athens at night. I 
 should have felt too strong a regret to turn my 
 ^back on its ruins by day-light. As it was, like 
 Hagar, I beheld nat what I was losing for e\^en 
 I laid the bridle on the neck of my horse, and fol- 
 lowing Joseph and the guide, relinquished the rein* 
 also to my imagination, which was employed the 
 whole way with a curious reverie, I fancied that 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 259 
 
 Attica WHS given to me in full sovereignty. I 
 published tlirougliont Europe, that all who were 
 weary of revolations and desh'oas of enjoying peace 
 might repair to the ruins of Athens, where I pro- 
 mised them security and repose. I constructed 
 roads, built inns, and provided all sorts of accom- 
 «iodations for travellers ; I purchased a harbour on 
 the gulf of Lepanto, to abridge and facilitate the 
 passage from Otranto to Athens. It is natural to 
 suppose that the edifices were not neglected : all 
 the master-pieces of the citadel were re!)uilt on the 
 same sites, and as nearly as possible after their for- 
 mer plans. The city, encompassed with good walls, 
 was secured from the depredations of the Turks, 
 I founded an university, to which the youth of all 
 Europe resorted to learn the ancient and the vulgar 
 Greek. I invited the Hydriots to settle at the 
 Piraeus, and I created a navy. The naked moun- 
 tains were clothed with pines to give back their 
 waters to my rivers : I encouraged agriculture : 
 numbers of Swiss and Germans mingled with my 
 Albanians : every day brought to light new disco- 
 veries, and Athens arose from her tomb. On reach- 
 ing Keratia I awoke from my dream, and found 
 myself the same Giles Jolt as before. 
 
 We had turned the Hymettus, and passed to 
 the southward of tlie Pentelicus ; then striking off 
 for the sea, we proceeded among the hills belong- 
 ing to the chain of Mount Laurium, in which the 
 Athenians of old had mines of silver. This part 
 of Attica was never much celebrated^ Between the 
 
 8 2 
 
260 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Phalerens and Cape Snnium were situated several 
 towns and villages, as, Anaphlystus, Azenia, Lam- 
 pra, Anagynis, Alimus, Thorae, ^xone, &c. 
 Wheeler and Chandler made unproductive excur- 
 sions in this deserted tract ; and M. Lechevalier 
 crossed the same desert on his way to Athens from 
 Cape Snnium where he landed. The interior of 
 this district was still less known and thinner of in- 
 habitants than the coasts; and I am at a loss what 
 origin to assign to the village of Keratia.^ It is 
 situated in a very fertile valley, among hills which 
 overlook it on every side, and whose sides are ca- 
 vered with sage, rosemary, and myrtles. The bot- 
 tom of the valley is cultivated, and the possessions 
 of the different proprietors are divided by quickset 
 hedges, as they formerly were in Attica, and as they 
 commonly are in Bretagne and in England. Birds 
 abound in this part of the country, especially the 
 hoopoe, the wood-pigeon, the red partridge, and the 
 hooded crow. The villasre consists of about a dozen 
 houses, very neat, and standing detached. On the 
 hills browse great numbers of goats and sheep; and 
 in the valley are seen hogs, asses, horses, and a few 
 cows. 
 
 We alighted on the S/th, at the house of an 
 
 * Meursius iu bis treatise De populis AtticiP, speaks of the 
 ■village or demos K£/^i«(5*t, of the tribe of Hippotheontis. Spou 
 finds a Kt^rlaoat, in the trib<^ of Acamantis ; but he furnishes n(y 
 inscription, and supports the assertion only by a passage in Hc- 
 syr.hius. 
 
EGYPT. AND BARBARY. 26l 
 
 Albanian, an acquaintance of M. Fauvel'f. I kas- 
 tened, immediately, on my arrival, to an eminence 
 eastward of the village, to try whether I conld dis- 
 cover the Austrian ship : nothing was to be seen 
 but the sea and the island of Zea. In the evening 
 at sun-set a fire was kindled with myrtle and heath 
 on the top of a mountrdn ; and a goat-herd stationed 
 on the coast was to apprize us of the approach of 
 the boats from Zea as soon as he should perceive 
 them coming. The use of fire-signals is of very 
 high antiquity, and has furnished Homer with one 
 of the finest similes in the Iliad : 
 
 'Qc * ' ore nxTTiic Ixy a,<7Teo<; ca^sp 'ly.r.rxi. 
 
 Thus you see a sraoke ascending from the top of the towers 
 of a city besieg'd by enemies." 
 
 Repairing the following morning to the signal 
 hill, I took my gun with me and amused myself with 
 shooting. It was just the hottest part of the day, 
 and I received a coup de soleil on one of mv hands and 
 part of my head. The thermometer had stood con- 
 tinually at 28° during my stay at Athens.* The 
 most ancient map of Greece, that of Sophian, fixed 
 the latitude of x\thens at 37^^ 10 to 12 : Vernon 
 made it 38^ 5'; and M. Chabert has finally deter- 
 mined it to be 37° 58' l" for the temple of Minerva. 
 In so southern a latitude, in the month of August, 
 the sun nmst naturally be very powerful. At night, 
 having wrapped myself in my cloak, I was going to 
 
 * M , Fauvei iniornied me that the heat very often rises to 
 32^ and 34°. 
 
 s 3 
 
26^2 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PAL£STIN% 
 
 lie clown on my mat, wlien I felt my head grow ex^ 
 tremely confused. Our establishment was none of 
 t"he most commodious for a sick person. We lay 
 iipon the floor in the only room, or rather in the 
 shed of our host, with our heads next the wall. I 
 was placed between Joseph and the young Athe- 
 nian ; over oar pillows v;ere suspended the house- 
 hold utensils ; so that my host's daughter, himself 
 and his men, had to step over us, whenever they 
 came to fetch any thing they wanted, or to hang it 
 np again. 
 
 If ever in my life I gave way for a moment to 
 despair, I think it was on this occasion, when seized 
 with a violent fever, I found that my senses were 
 failiug me, and that I was growing delirious; my 
 impatience aggravated the disease. How unfortu- 
 nate to be all at once stopped short by this acci- 
 dent I to be detained by the fever in an obscure 
 f lace ; in the hut of an Albanian! O that I had 
 but remained at Athens ! that 1 had expired on the 
 bed bf honor, with my eyes fixed on the Parthenon! 
 But even if this fever should not prove fatal, yet if 
 it Ifisted but a few days, it might totally derange 
 my plans. The pilgrims for Jerusalem would be 
 gone ; the season would be past. What was I to 
 do in the East ? To go to Jerusalem by land? or to 
 wait another year ? France, my friends, my pro- 
 jects, any work which I should leave unfinished, al- 
 ternately occupied my mind. AIL night Joseph 
 kept ^riving me large pitchers of water to drink, but 
 nothin>g could (juench my thirst. The floor on 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY, 263 
 
 which I lay, was literally bathed with sweat ; and 
 it was this copious perspiration that sav^d my life. 
 I was for a short time perfectly delirious, and be- 
 gan singing the song of Henry IV, " O D'lo /" 
 exclaimed Joseph in the deepest affliction, che 
 qiiesto ? II signor canta ! Poveretto ! 
 
 The fever abated about nine in the morning of 
 the 26th, after overwhelming me for seventeen 
 hours. If I had had a second attack of equal vio- 
 lence, I think I could not have got over it. The 
 goat-herd returned with the unpleasant intelligence 
 that no boats from Zea had yet made their appear- 
 ance. I made an exertion and wrote to M. Fauvel 
 requesting him to send a vessel to take me up at the 
 nearest point of the coast to the village where I 
 was, and carry me to Zea. While I was writing, 
 my host told me a long story and begged my interest 
 in his behalf with M. Fauvel. I endeavoured to sa- 
 tisfy him ; hut my head was so weak that I could 
 scarcely guide the pen. The young Greek set out 
 for Athens with my letter, undertaking to bring a 
 vessel himself, if any were to be found. 
 
 I passed the whole dav on my mat. The people 
 ©f the house were gone abroad ; Joseph too was out, 
 and not a creature was left with me but the daugh- 
 ter of my host. She was a handsome girl of seven- 
 teen or eighteen, and went about barefoot and with 
 her hair covered with medals and 5 mall pieces of 
 money. She took no notice of me ; but continued 
 her work just as though I had not been there. The 
 door was open, the sun shone in at the door, and 
 
 s 4 
 
564 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 this was the only place for the admission of light 
 into the apartment. 1 dosed from time to time, 
 and on awaking I still saw the Albanian girl engaged 
 in something or other, singing in a low tone, and 
 arranging her hair or some part of her dress. I 
 asked her sometimes for water : nero J She brought 
 nie a mug full, and crossing her arms waited with 
 patience till I had finished drinking ; and when I 
 had done, she wonld say: Judo p — is that right? 
 and return to her work. Amid the silence of noon 
 nothing: was to he heard but the buzzins: of the flies 
 in the hut, and the crowing of some cocks out of 
 doors. My head felt vacant, as is usual after a long 
 attack of fever ; my eyes, weakened by the violence 
 of the disorder, beheld a multitude of sparks and 
 globules of light dancing about me : I had none but 
 confused, though soothing ideas. 
 
 Thus passed the day ; in the evening I was 
 much better and got up. 1 slept well the following 
 night, and on the morning of the 29th, the Greek 
 returned with a letter from M. Fauvel, some Je- 
 suit's bark, Malaga wine, and favourable intelligence. 
 By the greatest accident in tlie world, a boat had 
 been procured ; this boat had set out from the 
 Phalereus with a fair wind, and was to wait for me 
 in a small creek, two leagues from Keratia. For 
 this place I had conceived such an aversion, that I 
 immediately prepared for my departure. A shiver- 
 ing came over me; I foresaw the return of my fever, 
 and took without hesitation a triple dose of bark. I 
 Jiave always been convinced that the French physi- 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 265 
 
 ciaiis administer this medicine with too mnch pre- 
 caution and timidity. The horses were brought and 
 ■\ve set out with a guide. In less than half an hour, 
 all the symptoms of a relapse were dispelled ; and I 
 recovered all my hopes. We proceeded westward 
 through a narrow valley that runs between sterile 
 mountains. After riding an hour we descended 
 into a beautiful plain which had an extremely fer- 
 tile appearance ; then changing our direction, we 
 turned directly south across the plain, and reached 
 the high lands which formed, unknown to me, the 
 promontories of the coast ; for after we had passed 
 a defile, we all at once perceived the sea and our 
 vessel moored at the foot of a rock. At the sight 
 of this bark, I thought myself delivered from the 
 evil genius, which would have buried me in the 
 mines of Athenians, perhaps to punish me for mv 
 contempt of Platus. 
 
 We sent back our horses with the guide, and 
 went on board our vessel which was managed by 
 three men. They hoisted our sail, and favoured by 
 a south wind we steered towards Cape Sunium. 
 I know not, if the bay we set out from be that 
 which, according to M. Fauvel, is called Anaviso ; 
 but I did not see the ruins of Enneapyrgie, the Nine 
 Towers, where Wheeler halted on the way from 
 Cape Sunium. The Azinia of the ancients must 
 have stood nearly in this place. About six in the 
 evening we passed within the Isle of Asses, formerly 
 the island of Patroclus ; and at sun-set entered the 
 Port of Sunium, a creek sheltered by the rock wliich 
 
^66 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTIVE, 
 
 supports the niins of the temple. We leaped cn 
 shore, and i clambered to the summit of the cape. 
 
 The Greeks excelled not less in the choice of the 
 sites of their edifices, than in the architecture of the 
 edifices themselves. Most of the promontories of 
 the Peloponnese, of Attica, Ionia, and the islands 
 of the Arcliipelago were crowned with temples, tro- 
 phies, or touihs. These monnraents surrounded 
 ■with woods and rocks, viewed in all the accidents 
 of light, sometimes enveloped in sable thunder 
 clouds, at others reflecting the soft beams of the 
 moon, the golden rays of the setting sun, or the ra- 
 ^ diant tints of Aurora, must have imparted incom- 
 parable beauty to the coasts of Greece. Thus de- 
 corated, the land presented itself to the mariner un- 
 der the features of the ancient Cybele, who, crowned 
 with towers, and seated on the shore, commanded 
 her son Neptune to pour forth his waves at her 
 feet. 
 
 Christianity, to which we are indebted for the 
 only species of architecture conformable to our 
 manners, also taught us the proper situations for 
 our genuine monuments. Our chapels, our abbies, 
 our monasteries v/ere scattered among woods and 
 upon the summits of hills : not that the choice of 
 sites was always a premeditated design of the archi- 
 tect ; but, because an art, when in unison with the 
 customs of a nation, adopts instinctively the best 
 method that can be pursued. Observe, on the other 
 hand, how badly our edifices, imitated from the an- 
 tique, are in general placed. Did we ever think, for 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 267 
 
 instance, of adorning; the only eminence that over* 
 looks Paris ? Religion alone thought of this for ns. 
 The modern Grecian structures resemble the corrupt 
 language which is now spoken at Sparta and 
 Athens ; in vain you may insist that it is the lan- 
 guage of Homer and of Plato ; a medley of gross 
 words and foreign idioms every moment betrays the 
 barbarians. 
 
 Such were my reflexions on beholding the tem- 
 ple of Sunium. This temple was of the Doric or- 
 der, and of the time when architecture flourished. 
 I surveyed, in the distance, the sea of the Archipe- 
 lago with all its islands : the setting sun shed his 
 radiance over the coasts of Zea and the fourteen 
 beautiful columns of white marble, at whose feet I 
 was seated. The sage and the juniper diifused an 
 aromatic fragrance around the ruins, and the mur- 
 mur of the waves beneath scarcely reached my ear. 
 
 As the wind had lulled, we were obliged to wait 
 for a fresh breeze before we could depart. Our 
 sailors threw themselves along the bottom of the 
 boat and fell asleep. Joseph and the young Greek 
 continued with me. After taking a little refresh- 
 ment and conversing for some time, they went to 
 sleep also. Throwing my cloak over my head to 
 protect myself from the dew, and reclining against 
 a column, I alone remained awake, contemplating 
 the sea and the skies. 
 
 The most beautiful sun-set was succeeded by the 
 most lovely night. The firmament reflected in the 
 Water/ seemed to rest on the bottom of the sea. The 
 
268 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 evening stai,, the faithful companion of ray way, 
 was ready to sink below the horizon ; it was per- 
 ceptible only from the long rays which it threw, 
 from time to time, upon the waves beneiith, like 
 the flashes of an expiring taper. A momentary 
 breeze now and then ruffled the image of the hea- 
 vens in the bosom of the deep, agitated the coiistel" 
 lations and died away with a gentle murmur among 
 the columns of the temple. 
 
 This spectacle was, however, cheerless, when 
 I reflected that I was contemplating it amidst 
 ruins. Around me, on the one hand, were tombs, 
 silence, destruction and death ; on the other, a few 
 Greek sailors sleeping, without cares and without 
 dreams, upon the relics of Greece. I was going to 
 C(uit for ever this sacred soil : my mind filled with 
 its past greatness, and its present debasement re- 
 newed the picture by which my eye had so recently 
 been pained. 
 
 I am not one of those intrepid admirers of anti- 
 quity, whom a verse of Homer consoles for eveiy 
 thing ; neither could I ever comprehend the senti- 
 ment expressed by Lucretius : — 
 
 Suave mari magno, tiirbantibus aequora ventis, 
 E terra magnum alterius spectare laborera. 
 
 So far from receiving pleasure from contemplating 
 on shore the shipwreck of others, I feel pain my- 
 self when I behold my fellow-creatures in distress : 
 the Muses have then no power over me, unless it 
 be that which excites pity for misfortunes. God 
 
EGYPT, AND B4RBARY. 269 
 
 forbid that I should fall at the present day, into 
 tliose declamations which have brought snch cala- 
 mities upon our country ; but if I had ever thought, 
 with men for whose character and talents I have 
 otherwise the highest respect, that an absolute go- 
 vernment is the best of all governments, a few 
 months' residence iu Turkey would have completely 
 cured me of that opinion. 
 
 The travellers who are content to visit civilized 
 Europe are extremely fortunate : they penetrate not 
 into those once celebrated regions where the heart 
 is wounded at every step ; where living ruins every 
 moment divert the attention from the ruins of stone 
 and marble. In vain would you give full scope in 
 Greece tothe illusions of the imagination: the mourn- 
 ful truth incessantly pursues you. Cabins of dried 
 mud more fit for the abode of brute animals than of 
 man ; women and children in rags, running away 
 at the approach of the stranger and the janissary ; 
 the affrighted goats themselves scouring over the 
 hills^ and the dogs alone remaining to receive you 
 with their barking — such is the scene that dispels 
 the charm which fancy would fain throw over the 
 objects before you. 
 
 The Peloponnese is a desert : since the Russian 
 expedition, the Turkish yoke lias borne vrith en- 
 creased weight on the inhabitants of the Morea; 
 part of its population has been slaughtered by the 
 Albanians. Nothing meets the eye but villages 
 destroyed with fire and sword. In the towns, a^ 
 
2/0 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 at MIsitra, whole suburbs are deserted ; and I have 
 often travelled fifteen leagues in the country with- 
 out coming to a single habitation. Grinding op- 
 pression, outrages of every kind complete the de- 
 ' struGtion of agriculture and human life. To drive 
 a Greek peasant from his cabin, to carry off his 
 wife and children, to put him to death on the 
 slightest pretext, is mere sport with the lowest aga 
 of the most insignificant village. Reduced to the 
 lowest depth of misery, the Morean abandons his 
 native land, and repairs to Asia in quest of a lot 
 less severe. Vain hope * He cannot escape his 
 destiny: he there finds other cadis and other 
 pachas, even in the sands of Jordan, and in the 
 deserts of Palmyra. 
 
 Attica, with somewhat less wretchedness, is not 
 less completely enslaved. Athens is under the im- 
 mediate protection of the chief of the black 
 •eunuchs of the seraglio. A disdar or governor is 
 the representative of the monstrous protector 
 among the people of Solon. This disdar resides 
 in the citadel, filled with the master-pieces of 
 Phidias and Ictinus, without enquiring what nation 
 left these remain^ behind it, without deigning to 
 step beyond the threshold of the mean habitation 
 which he has built for himself under the ruins of 
 the monuments of Pericles : except very rarely 
 when this automaton shuffles to the door of his 
 den, squats cross-legged on a dirty carpet, and 
 while the smoke from his pipe ascends between the 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 2^1 
 
 columns of the temple of Minerva, eyes with 
 vacant stare the shores of Salamis and the sea of 
 Epidanrus. 
 
 You would suppose that Greece herself in- 
 tended, by the mourning which she wears, to an- 
 nounce the wretchedness of her children. The 
 country in general is uncultiv ated, bare, monotonous, 
 wild, and the ground of a yellow hue, the colour 
 of withered herbage. There are no rivers that de- 
 serve the appellation ; but small streams and tor- 
 rents which are dry in summer. No farm-houses, 
 or scarcely any, are to be seen in the country ; you 
 observe no husbandmen, you meet no carts, no 
 teams of oxen. Nothing; can be more melancholy 
 than never to be able to discover the marks of 
 modern wheels, where you still perceive in the 
 rock the traces of ancient ones. A few peasants 
 in tunics, with red caps on their heads, like the 
 galley-slaves at Marseilles, dolefully wish you as 
 they puss Kcdi spera, good morning. Before them 
 they drive asses or small horses with rough coats, 
 which are sufficient to carry their scanty rustic 
 equipage, or the produce of their vineyard. Bound 
 this desolate region with a sea almost as solitary ; 
 place on the declivity of n rock a dilapidated watch- 
 tower, a forsaken convent ; let a minaret rise from 
 the midst of the desert to announce the empire of 
 slavery ; let a herd of goats, or a number of sheep, 
 browse upon a cape ^imong columns in ruins ; let 
 the turban of a Turk put the herdsmen to flight, 
 and render the foad still more lonely j and you 
 
TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 will have an accurate idea of the picture which 
 Greece now presents. 
 
 Inquiries have been made into the causes of the 
 decline of the Roman empire : a fair field is open 
 for the writer who would investigate the causes 
 that hastened the fall of Greece. The decline of 
 Athens and Sparta was not owing to the same 
 reasons that occasioned the ruin of Rome : they 
 were not crushed by their own weight and by the 
 magnitude of their empire ; neither can it be 
 asserted that they perished by their wealth. The 
 gold of the allies and the abundance which com- 
 merce diffused at Athens, were, at the highest, but 
 trifling ; never were there seen among their citizens 
 examples of those colossal fortunes which announce 
 a change of manners and the state was always 
 so poor, that the Kings of Asia contributed to sup* 
 port it, or to defray the expence of its edifices. 
 With respect to Sparta, though the wealth of the 
 Persians might corrupt a few individuals, yet the 
 repul)lic itself was never raised above indigence. 
 
 As the primary cause then of the fall of the 
 Greeks, I should assign the v/ar which the two 
 republics waged with each other after they had 
 conquered the Persians. Athens ceased to exist as 
 a state, from the moment that it was taken by the 
 Lacedaemonians. An absolute conquest puts an end 
 to the existence of a nation, by whatever name it 
 
 * Great fortunes, such as that of Herodes Attijus were not 
 accumulated at Atlieus, till the time of the Roman empire. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 1^75 
 
 jnay be afterwards known in history. The vices 
 of the Athenian government paved the way to the 
 victory of Lac^daemon. A purely democratic state 
 is the worst of all governmentSj when it has to 
 contend with a powerful enemy, and one single 
 will is necessary for the safety of the country. 
 Nothing could be more deplorable than the infa- 
 tuation of the peonle of Athens, while the Spartans 
 were at their gates. Alternately banishing and 
 i*ecalling the citizens, who alone were able to save 
 the state, and complying with the suggestions of 
 factious orators, they shared the fate which they 
 had deserved by their follies; and if Athens was 
 not razed to the ground, it owed its preservation 
 solely to the respect of the conquerors for its 
 andeht virtues* 
 
 Lacedaemon, now triumphant, found in her 
 turn, the principal cause of her rain in her own 
 institutions. Modesty, which an extraordinary 
 law had expressly trampled under foot in order to 
 preserve that modesty, was finally overthrown by 
 this very law. The women of Sparta, who exposed 
 themselves half naked to the view of the other 
 sex, became the most corrupt in Greece : and 
 nothing was left to the Lacedaimonians of all their 
 unnatural laws, but debauchery and cruelty i Ci- 
 cero, w^ho v/as an eye-witness of the pastimes of 
 the Spartan boys, represents them as tearing each 
 other in pieces with teeth and nails* And w^hat 
 end was answered by these brutal institutions ? 
 Did they preserve the independence of Sparta? 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 It was not worth while to educate men like fero- 
 cious beast?, for the purpose of obeying the tyrant 
 Nabis, and becoming: slaves to the Romans. 
 
 The best principles may be carried to excess 
 and become dangerous. Lycurgus, by extirpating 
 ambition in Lacedaemon, designed to save the 
 republic, but actually occasioned its ruin. Had 
 the Spartans, after the humiliation of Athens, re- 
 duced Greece into Lacedaemonian provinces, they 
 would perhaps have made themselves the master* 
 of the universe : a conjecture the more probable, 
 since, without any pretension to these high desti- 
 nies, they shook, in Asia, weak as they were, the 
 empire of the great king. Their successive victo- 
 ries would have prevented the erection, in the 
 neighbourhood of Greece, of any powerful monar- 
 chy, for the conquest of the republics. Lacedaemon, 
 by incorporating with herself the nations van^ 
 quished by her arms,, would have crushed Philip in 
 his cradle; the great men who were her enemies, 
 would have been her subjects ; and Alexfinder^ 
 instead of being born under a monarchy, would 
 have sprung like Caesar from the bosom of a re- 
 public. 
 
 Instead of being actuated by this aspiring spirit, 
 and this preservative ambition, the Lacedaemonians, 
 content with having set up thirty tyrants at Athens, 
 immediately returned to their valley, out of that 
 love of obscurity inculcated by their laws. In thi& 
 respect, a nation is not like an individual ; that 
 moderation in fortune, and that fondness for re- 
 
EGYPT, AXD BARBIRY. 2"^ 5 
 
 pose, which may be very becoming id a citizen, will 
 never do for a state. Never ought it, indeed, to 
 engage in an impion^^ war ; never sboaid it purchase 
 glory at the price of injustice ; but not to know how 
 to profit by its position, how to honor, to aggrandize, 
 and to strengthen itself, is rather a deficiency of 
 gBoius than a virtnons sentiment in a nation. 
 
 What was the consequence of this conduct in 
 the Spartans : Macedonia soon became misti ess of all 
 Greece : Philip dictated laws to the council of Am- 
 phycrioBS. On the other hand, the feeble empire 
 of Laconia, fonnded only on military renown, and 
 not supported by real strength, fell to the ground. 
 Epaminandos appeared : the Lacedaemonians, de- 
 feated at Leuctra. were obliged to enter into a long 
 justification of themselves before the conqueror; 
 and heard this cruel observation : ** We have put 
 an end to your Laconic eloquence!" ^Tos brevi 
 eloquent vestroe fineyn imposuimits. The Spartans 
 must then have been sensible how advantageous it 
 would have been for tliem to have combined all 
 the cities of Greece into one state ; to have num- 
 bered Epaminoudas among their generals and their 
 citizens. The secret of their weakness being once 
 known, all was irretrievably lost; and Pbiiopoemen 
 completed what Epaminondas had begun. 
 
 Here we ba^e a meinorabJe example of the su- 
 periority which letters give to one nation over ano- 
 ther; when that natioa has besides displayed mili- 
 tary virtues. It may be asserted that the battles 
 of Leuctra and Mantinea eiiaced the name of 
 
5/5 TRAVELS ty GRErCE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Sparta from the eaith ; whereas Athens, though 
 triken by the Lacedaemonians, and plundered by 
 Sylla, still retained her empire. She had the gra- 
 tification to see those Romans, by whom she had 
 heen conquered, thronging to her bosom, and mak- 
 ing it their pride to be accounted her sous : one as- 
 sumed the surname of Atticus; another declared 
 himself the disciple of Plato and Demosthenes, 
 The Latin Muses, Lucretius, Horace, and Virgil, 
 incessantly celebrate the praises of the Queen of 
 Greece. " I forgive the living for the sake of the 
 dead," exclaimed the greatest of the Caesars, when 
 pardoning the guilty Athenians. Adrian annexed 
 to his imperial title that of Archon of Athens, 
 and encreased the number of the master-pieces of 
 the land of Pericles. Constantine the Great was 
 so flattered by the erection of a statue in honor of 
 him at Athens, that he loaded the city with favors. 
 Julian slied tears on quitting the Academy, and 
 when triumphant; he ascribed his victory to the 
 Minerva of Phidias. A Chrysostom, a Basil, a 
 Cyril, came like a Cicero and an Atticus, to study 
 eloquence at its source, and till the middle ages, 
 Athens was denominated the School of Science and 
 of Genius. When Europe was roused from barba- 
 rism, her first thought was directed to Athens, 
 What is become of Athens ?" was tlie universal 
 cry r and when it was known that her ruins still 
 existed, the learned and the ingenious flocked 
 thither as if they had discovered the lost ashes of a 
 parent. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 277 
 
 How difTerent from ihis renown is that derived 
 from arms alone I While the name of Athens is in 
 every mouth, Sparta is totaUy forgotten. We see 
 her under Tiherius, plead and lose a petty cause 
 against the Mossenians ; we read, twice over, the 
 passage in Tacitus, to make sure that it is to tli^ 
 celehrat-ed Lacedaemon he alludes. Some centuries 
 nfterwiirds Ave find a Lacedaimonian guard about 
 the person of Caracalla ; a xlisnuiJ honor which 
 seems to shew that the offspring of L-ycurgus still 
 retained their ferocity. At length Sparta wiis, trans- 
 formed, under the Greek empire into a ridiculous 
 principality, whose riilers assumed the title of Des- 
 pots, an epithet since become .syifsonlmous with that 
 of tyrants ; and a banditti, who assert themselves 
 to be the genuine descendants of the Lacedaemo- 
 jiians, constitute at present all the glory of Sparta* 
 I have not seen enough of the modern Greeks 
 to venture to form an opinion respecting their cha- 
 racter. Full well I know how easy it is to slander 
 the unfoi'tunate ; aiothing' is more natural than for 
 those who are secure from all danger, to say : 
 Why do they not break the yoke under which 
 they groan?' Any man may express in hi^ own 
 chimney corner these lofty sentiments, and this 
 proud spirit of indepe^ndejice. Besides, decisive 
 opinions abound in an age when nothing is doubted 
 of but the existence of God. But as the general 
 opinions which we form of nations are very ohen 
 contradicted by experience^ I shall beware of form- 
 ing any. I merely think that there is still abund- 
 
 T 3 
 
278 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 aiice of genius in Greece ; I even think that our 
 masters in every line still reside there ; just as I 
 conceive that human nature still preserves its supe- 
 riority at Rome ; by which, I would not he under- 
 stood to say that superior men are now to be found 
 in that city. 
 
 But, at the same time, I fear that the Greeks 
 are not too well disposed to break their chains. If 
 even they were released from the tyranny which 
 oppresses them^ they would not lose in a moment 
 the marks of their fetters. They have not only 
 been cmshed beneath the weight of despotism, but 
 for these two thousand years they have been a su- 
 perannuated and degraded nation. They have not 
 been renovated like the rest of Europe, by barbarous 
 iiations ; and the very nation which has conquered 
 them has contributed to their corruption. That 
 nation has not introduced among them the rude 
 and savage manners of the natives of the north, but 
 the voluptuous customs of southern climes. To s{iy 
 nothing of the religious crirne which the Greeks 
 would have committed in abjuring their altars, they 
 would have gained nothing by the adoption of the 
 Koran. In the book of Mahomet, there is no prin- 
 ciple of civilization, no precept that can impart ele- 
 vation to the character: that book inculcates neither 
 a hatred of tyranny, nor a love of independence. 
 In embracing the religion of their rulers, the 
 Greeks would have renounced the arts, sciences, 
 and letters, to become the soldiers of fortune, and 
 blindly obey the caprice of an absolute sovereigQ, 
 
ECYPT^ AND BARBARY, -^^Q 
 
 IChey would have spent their lives in ravaging the 
 %vorld, or in slumbering on a carpet among women 
 and perfumes. 
 
 The same impartiality which obliges me to 
 speak of the Greeks with the respect which is due 
 to misfortune, would have prevented me from treat- 
 ing the Turks with the severity which I do, had I 
 seen among them any thing besides the abuses which 
 are too common among conquering nations. Un- 
 fortunately republican soldiers are not more just 
 masters than the satellites of a despot ; and a pro- 
 consul was not less rapacious than a pacha. ^ But 
 the Turks are not ordinary oppressors^ though they 
 
 * The Romans, like the Turks, frequently reduced those whom 
 "they had conquered to slavery. But if I may be allowed to say 
 what I think, in my opinion this system of slavery was one of the 
 causes of the superiority of the great men of Athens and Rome 
 over those of modern times. It is certain that you cannot exer- 
 cise all the faculties of the mind except Avhen you are relieved 
 from the material cares of life ; and you are not wholly relieved 
 from these cares, but in countries where the arts, trades, and 
 domestic occupations are relinquished to slaves. The service of 
 the man whom you hire, who leaves you when he pleases, whose 
 negligence or whose vices you are obliged to put up with, cannot 
 be compared with the service of him whose lite and death are m 
 your hands. It is likewise certain that the habit of absolute com- 
 mand imparts an elevation to the mind, and a dignity to the man- 
 ners which can never be acquired in the equality of our cities. 
 But let us not regret this superiority of the ancients, since it was 
 not to be purchased but at the expence of the liberty of mankind, 
 and let us bless Christianity, which has burst the bonds and 
 broken the fetters of servitude. 
 
 T 4 
 
280 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTiyS, 
 
 have found apologists. A proconsul might be a 
 monster of Just, of avarice and of cmeltv, bnt 
 all the proconsuls did not delight, svstematically 
 and from a spirit of religion, in overthrowing the 
 monuments of civilization and the arts, in cut- 
 ting down trees, in destroying harvests, nav, even 
 Avhole generations ; and this is done by the Turks 
 every day of their lives. Is it conceivable that there 
 should exist tyrants so absurd as to oppose every 
 improvement in things of the first necessitv ? A 
 bridge falls down ; it is not built up again. A man 
 repairs his house ; he becomes the victim of extor- 
 tion. I have seen Greek captains run the risk of 
 shipwreck with their tattered sails, rather than 
 mend them ; so apprehensive are they lest their in- 
 dustry should excite suspicions of affluence. Finally, 
 had I found in the Turks free and virtuous citi- 
 zens at home, though ungenerous to conquered 
 nations, I had been silent, and secretly sighed over 
 the imperfection of human nature : but to behold 
 in one and the same person the tyrant of the Greeks 
 and the slave of the Grand Signor; the executioner 
 of a defenceless people, and the servile wretch 
 whom a pacha has the power to plunder of his pro- 
 perty, to tie up in a leather sack and throw into the 
 sea — this indeed was too much, and I know not the 
 brute but what I would prefer to such a man. 
 
 The reader will perceive that I did not indulge 
 on Cape Sunium in the most romantic ideas — ideas 
 which, nevertheless^ the beauty of the scene might 
 be expected to excite. Beiog on the point of quit* 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARV, 5^81 
 
 ting Greece, I naturally reviewed the history of that 
 country , I strove to discover in the ancient prospe- 
 rity of Sparta and Athens, the cause of their present 
 degradation, and in theij* present lot the germs of 
 their future destiny. The dashing of the sea against 
 the rock gradually growing more violent, apprized 
 me that the wind had risen, and that it was time to 
 continue my voyage. I awoke Joseph and his com- 
 panion. We went down to the vessel, where our 
 sailors had already made the necessary preparations 
 for our departure. We stood out to sea, and the 
 hreeze which blew from the land rapidly wafted us 
 towards Zea. As we withdrew from the shore, the 
 columns of Sunium appeared more beautiful above 
 the waves : we could perfectly distinguish them on 
 the azure sky, from their extreme whiteness and the 
 serenity of the night. We were at a considerable 
 distance from the Cape when we could still hear 
 the breaking of the surges against the foot of the 
 rock, the murmuring of the wind among the juni- 
 per-trees, and the chirping of the grasshoppers, the 
 only modern inhabitants of the ruins of the temple. 
 These were the last sounds that met my ear on the 
 shores of Greece, 
 
THE ARCHIPELAGO, ANATOLIA, 
 
 AND 
 
 CONSTANTINOPLE. 
 
 The islands whicli I was now abont to traverse^ 
 formed, in ancient times, a kind of bridge thrown 
 over the sea, to connect Asiatic Greece with the 
 original Greece. Free or dependent, following the 
 fortunes' of Sparta or of Athens, of the Persians or 
 of Alexander and his successors, they fell at length 
 under the Roman yoke. Alternately wrested from 
 the Greek empire by the Venetians, the Genoese, 
 the Catalans, and the Neapolitans, they had their 
 own princes and dukes, who assumed the general 
 title of dukes of the Archipelago. Finally the sul- 
 tans of Asia appeared on the coasts of the Mediter- 
 ranean, and to proclaim to that sea its future des- 
 tiny, they ordered salt water, sand, and an oar, to 
 be brought to them. The islands were nevertheless 
 subdued the last ; but at length they shared the ge- 
 neral fate ; and the Latin banner, driven farther 
 and farther by the Crescent, was unable to make a 
 stand till it reached the shores of Corfu. 
 
 In consequence of these struggles of the Greeks, 
 the Turks, and the Latins, the islands of the Archir 
 
284 THAVELS IS GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 pelago were perfectly well known in the middle 
 ages : they were in the way of all those fleets which 
 carried out armies or pilgrims to Jemsalem, Con- 
 stantinople, Eg^-pt, and Barbary ; they became the 
 stations of all those Genoese and Venetian ships 
 which revived the commerce with India by the port 
 of Alexandria. Thus we find the names of Chio^ 
 Lesbos^ and Rhodes in every page of Byzantine 
 history; and while Athens and Lacedaemon were 
 forgotten, the world was acquainted \\'ith the for- 
 tune of the smallest rock of the Archipelago. 
 
 Numberless are, moreover, the Travels in those 
 islands, commencing so early as the seventh cen- 
 tury : there is not a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 
 but what begins with a description of sorhe of the 
 rocks of Greece. As far back as 1555, Belon pub- 
 lished in French his Observations on various Curio- 
 sities discovered in Greece ; Tournefort's Travels is 
 in every body's hands ; the Correct Description of 
 the Islands of the Archipelago^ by Dapper, a Flem- 
 ing, is an excellent work ; and there is no reader 
 hut what has seen the Views of M. de Choiseul. 
 
 We had a fine passage ; at eight in the morning 
 of August the 30th, we entered the port of Zea. 
 It is capacious, but has a dreary and desert appear- 
 ance from the height of the surrounding coast. 
 Under the rocks that skirt the beach, you perceive 
 nothing but some chapels in ruins, and the maga- 
 zines belonging to the customs. T .e village of 
 Zea stands upon a hill, a league to the east of the 
 harbour^ and occupies the site of the ancient Car* 
 
EGYFT, ASV KAKEAEY- 2S5 
 
 t^ea. On my arrival I saw only two or three Greek 
 feluccas, and gave np all hopes of meedng with my 
 Austrian vessel. Leaving Jos^h at the poft, I 
 proceeded to the village with the young Athenian. 
 The road to it i? rcgged and wild : this fir?t pros- 
 pect of an island of the Archipelago was none rf 
 the most agreeahle, but I was acmstnmed to disap- 
 pointments. 
 
 Zea, bnUt in the manner of an : • f :n 
 
 the unequal declivity of a hill, is 
 
 unpleasant village, though very i ^ . 
 
 asses, the hogs, the fowls, almost obstmct yoor pas- 
 sage through the streets, and there are sadi prodi- 
 gious numbers of cocks, and these cocks crow 50 
 often and so loud, that ycni are absolutely strnmed. 
 I went to the house of M. Pengali, the French 
 Tice-consul at Zea. told him who I was, whence I 
 came, and whither I wanted to go, ani requested 
 him to hire me a ves^l to carry me to Chio or to 
 Sm}Tna. 
 
 M. Pengali received me with the utmost cordi- 
 ality. His son went down to the harbour, where 
 he found a galley-boat that was returning to Tiao. 
 and was to sail the following day. I resolved to 
 avail myself of this opportunitv. which would at 
 any rate set me forward a little on mv wav. 
 
 The vice-consul insisted on mv being his guest, 
 at least for the remainder of the dav. He had four 
 daughters, and the eldest was ju«i going to be mar- 
 ried : preparAtions were ahready making for the 
 nuptials ; so that I passed from the ruiixs of the 
 
286 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 temple of Simium to a festival. What a singular 
 destiny is that of the traveller! In the morning, he 
 leaves one host in tears, at night he finds another 
 in joy ; he becomes the depositary of a thousand 
 secrets : Ibrahim had related to me at Sparta all 
 the symptoms of the disease of the little Turk ; and 
 at Zea I was made acquainted with the history of 
 the son-in-law of M. Pengali. Can any thing be 
 more pleasing than this unaffected hospitality ? Are 
 you not too fortunate to be thus received in places 
 where you would not otherwise meet with the smallest 
 accommodation ? The confidence which yon excite, 
 the frankness which is manifested towards you, the 
 pleasure which your company apparently and really 
 affords, are certainly high gratifications. Another 
 circumstance also made a deep impression upon me, 
 and that was the simplicity with which I was 
 charged with various commissions for France, Con- 
 stantinople, and Egypt. Services were asked of 
 me ^^ ith as little reserve as they were rendered 5 
 my hosts were persuaded that I would not forget 
 them, and that they had become my friends. I sa- 
 crificed to M. Pengali the ruins of loulis, w^hich I 
 had at first intended to visit, and determined, like 
 Ulysses, to participate in the festivities of Aris- 
 tonons. 
 
 Zea, the ancient Ceos, w^as celebrated in anti- 
 quity, for a custom which existed also among the 
 Celts, and which has been found to prevail among 
 the savages of America : the aged people at Ceo? 
 put an end to their own lives, Aristaeus^ whosa 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 287 
 
 "bees are sung by Virgil, or some other Aristaeus, 
 king of Arcadia, retired to Ceos. It was he who 
 obtained of Jupiter the Etesian winds to moderate 
 the intense heat of the dog-days. Crasistratus, the 
 physician, and Aristo, the philosopher, were natives 
 of the town of loulis, like Simonides and Bacchy- 
 lides, by the latter of whom we have some very in- 
 different verses, in the Poetce Grceci minores, Si- 
 monides v/as a superior genius ; but his under- 
 standing was more elevated than his heart : he ce- 
 lebrated Hipparchus, who had loaded him with 
 favors, and he celebrated likewise the assassins of 
 that prince. It was probably to give this example 
 of virtue, that the just gods of paganism preserved 
 Simonides in the fall of a house. We must accom- 
 modate ourselves to the times, says Le Sage ; ac- 
 cordingly, the ungrateful shake off the burden of 
 gratitude, the ambitious desert the vanquished, and 
 cowards range themselves on the side of the con- 
 queror. Marvellous wisdom of man, whose max- 
 ims ever superfluous for courage and virtue, serve 
 only as a pretext for vice, and an excuse for base- 
 ness of heart ! 
 
 The commerce of Zea at present consists of the 
 acorns of the velani, a species of oak, which are 
 used in dying. The silk gauze worn by the an- 
 cients, was invented at Ceos ; * the poets, to con- 
 
 * I follow the common opinion ; but it is possible that Pliny 
 and Solinus may be mistaken. According to Tibuilus, Horace, 
 a^d other§, the silk gauze was made at Cos, and not at Ceos. 
 
288 TRAVEtS IN GREEC^E, PALEStiyE, 
 
 vey an idea of its fineness and transparency, called 
 it woven wind. Zea still furnishes silk. " The 
 women of Zea," says Toumefort, " generally assem- 
 ble in companies to spin silk, and they seat them- 
 selves on the edge of the terraces at the top of the 
 houses, that they may drop the spindle down to the 
 street, and draw it up again as they wind the thread. 
 In this attitude we found the Greek bishop : he en- 
 quired who we were, and told us that our occupa- 
 tions were extremely frivolous, if we came only to 
 look for plants and old pieces of marble. We re- 
 plied, that we should be much more edified to see 
 him with the works of St. Chrysostom or St. Basil 
 in his hand, than twirling the spindle." 
 
 I had continued to take three doses of bark a 
 day: the fever had not returned, but I remained 
 very weak, and one of my hands as well as one 
 side of my face still looked black from the effect 
 of the coup tie soleiL I was therefore a guest with 
 a very light heart, but of a very sorry appearance. 
 That I might not look like an unfortunate relation, 
 I made myself merry at the wedding. My host set 
 ine an example of fortitude : he was at this moment 
 suffering excruciating pains from the stone, and, 
 during the singing of his daughters, so acute was 
 the agonv, as sometimes to extort cries from him. 
 All this formed a mixture of the most discordant 
 things : this sudden transition from the silence of 
 ruins to the bustle of a wedding, was extraordinary. 
 Such a tumult at the gate of everlasting repose! 
 such mirth amidst the great mourning of Greece ! 
 
ECiYPT, AND BARBARY. 289 
 
 One idea made me smile : I represented my fiiendij 
 thinking of me in France ; I saw them following 
 me in imagination, exaggerating my fatigues, 
 alarmed at my dangers ; but what would have been 
 their surprize, had they all at once perceived me 
 with my half burned face, attending a village wed- 
 ding, in one of the Cyclades, praising the perform- 
 ance of the Misses Pengali, who sung in Greek: 
 
 Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman, &c, 
 
 while their father was crying out with agony, 
 while the cocks were crowing as if they would 
 have split their throats, and all remembrance of 
 loulis, Aristffius, and Simonides, was completely 
 effaced. In like manner, on my landing at Tunis, 
 after a passage of fifty-eight days, which might be 
 called a continued shipwreck,.! happened to reach 
 the house of M. Devoise, just in the middle of the. 
 carnival : instead of going to meditate among the 
 Tuins of Carthage, I was obliged to run to the ball, 
 to dress in the Turkish habit, and to join in all the 
 frolics of a party of American officers, full of the 
 gaiety and spirits of youth. 
 
 The change of scene on my departure from 
 Zea, was not less abrupt than it had been on my 
 arrival in that island. At eleven o'clock at night 
 I left the joyous family, and went down to the har- 
 bour, where, though the weather was tempestuous^ 
 I embarked in a caick, with a crew consisting of 
 three men and two boys. Joseph, who was very 
 bold on land, was not so courageous at sea. 
 
 VOL, I, u 
 
2^ TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 made many useless remonstrances ; he was obliged 
 to accompany me on board, and to follow my for- 
 tunes. We stood out of the harbour; our vessel 
 heeling with the weight of the sail, went gunwale- 
 to ; the sea ran very high, and the cuiTents of the 
 Enboea increased the swell ; the sky was overcast, - 
 and flashes of lightning and the phosphoric glim- 
 mer of the waves lighted us on our way. I meau 
 not to make a parade of my efforts, insignificant as 
 tliey have been ; nevertheless, I hope that when 
 I am seen tearing myself away from my country 
 and my friends^ enduring fever and fatigue, traver- 
 sing the seas of Greece in little barks, exposed to 
 the fire of Bedouins, and all this out of respect to 
 the public, and that I may present it with a work 
 less imperfect than the Genie du Christianisme ; I 
 hope, I say, that some credit will be given me for 
 my eifarts. 
 
 In spite of the fable of the Eagle and the Crow,^ 
 nothing brings you better luck than to imitate a 
 geat man. I had acted Caesar: Quid times?' 
 Caesarem vehis — and I reached the place of my 
 destination. We arrived at six in the morning of 
 the 31st, at Tino, where I found a Hydriot felucca 
 just ready to sail for Smyrna, and which intended 
 to toucli only for a few hours at Chio. The caick 
 put rae on board the felucca, so that I did not even 
 go on shore. 
 
 Tino, formerly Tenoj, is separated only by & 
 harrow channel from Andros : it is a lofty island^ 
 reposing on a rock of marble*. It was long in the 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 2^1 
 
 possession of the Venetians ; and in ancient times 
 was celebrated for nothing but its serpents ; the 
 viper derived its name from this island.* M. de 
 Choiseul has given a charming description of the 
 women of Tino : his views of Port San Nicolo 
 appeared to me remarkably correct. 
 
 The sea having become calm^ and the sky 
 serene, I breakfasted upon deck, as it was not yet 
 time to weigh anchor. I beheld, at dilFerent dis- 
 tances, all the Cycjades ; Scyros, where Achilles 
 spent his infancy ; Delos, celebrated for the birth 
 of Diana and Apollo, for its palm-tree and its 
 festivals; Naxos, which reminded me of Ariadne, 
 Theseus, Bacchus, and some exquisite pages in the 
 Studies of Nature. But all these islands, once so 
 enchanting, or perhaps so highly embellished by 
 the imaginations of the poets, now wear no other 
 appearance than that of desolation and sterility. 
 Dreary villages rise in the form of a sugar-loaf 
 upon the rocks ; they are commanded by castles 
 still more dreary, and sometimes surrounded with 
 a double or a triple wall, within which the inha- 
 bitants live in perpetual fear of the Turks and of 
 pirates. As these fortified villages are nevertheless 
 falling to ruin, they convey to the mind of the tr^ 
 veller, an idea of every species of wretchedness at 
 once. Rousseau somewhere says, that he wishe<J 
 
 • A species of viper called Tenia, was a native of Tenos : the 
 island was originally named Ophissa and Hydrussa, on acQQ^^t 
 of its serpents^ 
 
2^2 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 himself exiled to one of the islands of the Archipe- 
 lago. The eloquent sophist would soon have re- 
 pented his choice. Separated from his admirers, 
 hanished among clownish and perfidious Greeks, 
 he would have found neither flowers, nor brooks, 
 nor shade in the vallies scorched by the sun ; he 
 would have beheld around him no other objects 
 than chimps of olive-trees, and reddish rocks covered 
 with wild sage and balm : and I shrewdly suspect 
 that he would not have wished to continue his 
 Xvalks for any length of time, to the whistling of 
 the wind and the roaring of the sea along an un- 
 inhabited coast. 
 
 At noon we got undet weigh. The north wind 
 carried us at a great rate toward Scio, but we were 
 obliged to keep tacking between the island and the 
 coast of Asia, in order to enter the channel. We 
 beheld land and islands all round us ; some circu- 
 lar and lofty, like Samos ; others oblong and low, 
 like the capes of the gulf of Ephesus ; and all 
 tinged with different hues according to their dis- 
 tance. Our felucca, a very light and elegant vessel, 
 had one large and only sail, shaped like the wing 
 of a sea-biid. It was the property of one family, 
 composed of a father, mother, brother, and six 
 sons. The father was the captain, the brother 
 acted as pilot, and the sons were the common 
 sailors : the mother prepared their repasts. Never 
 did I see such cheerfulness, such cleanliness, and 
 such dexterity, as among this crew of brothers. 
 The felucca was swept, scoured, and decorated 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 293 
 
 like a favorite apartment : it had a large chaplet 
 at the stern, with an image of the Panagia, and an 
 olive branch above it. It is very common iu the 
 East, to see a family thus enibai^ its whole fortune 
 in a vessel, change its climate without quitting its 
 home, and withdraw itself from servitude, by lead- 
 ing the life of the Scythians on the bosom gf the 
 deep. , ' 
 
 In the night we came to an anchor in the port 
 of Chio, " the favored country .of Homer," says Fe- 
 nelon in the adventures of Aristonou3, a master-, 
 piece of harmony and of antique taste. I was in a 
 sound sleep, from which Joseph did not wake me 
 till seven in the morning. I lay upon the deck, 
 and when I opened my eyes, I fancied that I wa3 
 transported into some fairy region. J fpund my- 
 self in the midst of a port full of shipping, having 
 before me a charming town overlooked by hills, 
 whose ridges were covered with olive, palm, mas- 
 tick, and turpentine trees. The quays were 
 thronged with Greeks, Franks, and l\irks, and the 
 ear was sakited with the ringing of bells.* 
 
 I went on shore, and enquired if there was not 
 a consul of our nation in this island. I was directed 
 to a surgeon, who acted in the capacity as French 
 agent : he lived close to the harbour. I paid him 
 u visit, and was very politely received. His son 
 
 * The Greek peasants of the island of Chio alone enjoy the 
 privilege of ringing bells in Turkey. This privilege and severa] 
 Athers they owe to the cultivation of the mastick-tree. 
 
 u 3 
 
2^4 TRAVELS IN GREECfi, PALESTINE, 
 
 attended me for some hours as mv cicerone, about 
 the town, whicli greatly resembles a Venetian town. 
 Baiidrand, Ferari, Tournefort, Da])per, Chandler, 
 de Choiseiil, and a hundred other g-eo^aphers and 
 travellers, have described the isle of Chio, and to 
 their works I refer the reader. 
 
 I returned at ten o'clock to the felucca, and 
 breakfasted with the family. They danced and 
 sung about me on the deck, drinking Chio wine, 
 -which Avas not of the time of Anacreon. An in- 
 strument, not the most harmonious, accompanied 
 the steps and the voices of my hosts; it has re- 
 tained nothing of the ancient lyre, but its name, 
 and has degenerated like its masters. A d^escrip- 
 tion of this instrument is given by Lady Craven. 
 
 We left the port on the first of October, at 
 noon. A breeze sprung up from the north, and 
 soon encreased to a gale. We first endeavoured 
 to make the western passage between Chio and the 
 Spalmadores, formerly the CEnussse, which lie at 
 the extremity of the channel as yon sail for Metelin 
 or Smyrna. But finding that we conld not double 
 Cape Dclphina, vre tacked to the east and bore 
 away for the port of Tchesme ; then returning 
 towards Chio; and bearing away again for Mount 
 Mima-, we at length made Cape Cam Bouroun, 
 at the entrance of the gulf of Smyrna. It was now 
 ten at night ; the wind failed., and we passed tlie 
 night becalmed off the coast of Asia. 
 
 On the 2d, at day-break, we rowed off from the 
 shore, to avail ourselves of the sea-breeze, as soon 
 
EGYPT, AN3> BARBARY. 
 
 it should begin to blow, whicli it did, earlier 
 til an usual. We soon passed the islands of Dour- 
 Idch and were off the castle, which commands the 
 bottom of the gulf, or the port of Smyrna. I then 
 perceived the city in the distance through a forest 
 of masts ; it seemed to rise from the sea, being situ- 
 ated on low and level ground, and commanded on 
 'the south-east by mountains ef a barren appear- 
 ance. Joseph was unable to restrain his joy ; to 
 him Smyrna was a second country. The pleasure 
 manifested by this poor fellow almost grieved me ; 
 in the first place by reminding ijne of my native 
 land ; and in the eecoml, by demonstrating that the 
 axiom ubi bene:, ibi patria is but too true in regard 
 to the generality of mankind. 
 
 Joseph, stationed by my side on the deck, told 
 -jne the name of every thing I saw as we advanced. 
 At length we lowered our sail ; and carne to an an- 
 chor in six fathoms water, without the first tier of 
 ships. I looked out for my vessel from Trieste, and 
 discovered her by her flag. She was moored near 
 the European quay. I got into a boat that carne 
 alongside of us, with Joseph, and was carried on 
 board the Austrian sliip. Tlie captain and his mate 
 were on shore ; but the seamen knew me again and 
 received me with great demonstrations of joy. 
 They informed me that the ship had reached 
 Smyrna on the 18th of August; that the captain 
 had stood off and on two days, to wait for me be- 
 tween Zea and Cape Sunium, and that the wind had 
 then obliged him to continue hLs voyage. They 
 
 u 4 
 
296 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 added that my servant had^ by the direction of the 
 French consul^ bespoken a lodging for nie at an 
 inn. 
 
 I was pleased to find that my old ship-mates had 
 been as fortunate as myself in their voyage. They 
 insisted upon putting me on shore ; I got into the 
 boat and we soon reached the quay. A crowd of 
 porters eagerly offered their hands to assist me in 
 landing. Smyrna, where I saw a great number of 
 hats exhibited the appearance of a maritime city 
 of Italy, with one quarter inhabited by orientals. 
 Joseph conducted me to the hou^e of M. Chauder- 
 loz, who was at that time the French consul at this 
 important station. I shall have frequent occasions 
 to repeat the commendations which I have already 
 bestowed on the hospitality of our consuls. I beg 
 pardon of the reader, for though these repetitions 
 may be tiresome, still 1 cannot help being grateful. 
 yi. Chauderloz, the brother of M. De la Clos, re- 
 ceived me Avith politeness ; but he did not give me 
 a lodging at his honse, because he was ill, and be- 
 cause Smyrna, moreover, affords all the accommo- 
 dations of a large European city. 
 
 We immediately aiTanged the ])lan of the re" 
 mainder of my tour. I resolved to proceed by 
 land to Constantinople, to procure firmans, and 
 then embark with the Greek pilgrims for Syria ; 
 
 * The turban and the hat form the principal distinction be- 
 tween the Franks and the Turks, w hose number ib reckoned, m 
 the language of the Levant, bv hats and turbans. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 297 
 
 but I determined not to follow the direct road, in- 
 tending to visit the plain of Troy and to cross 
 Mount Ida. The nephew of M. Chauderloz, who 
 had just returned from an excursion to Ephesus, in- 
 formed me that the defiles of the Gargara were in- 
 fested by robbers, and occupied by agas still more 
 dangerous than they. As I adhered to my plan, 
 they sent for a guide, who was reported to have 
 conducted an Englishman to the Dardanelles by 
 the route which I proposed to pursue. This guide 
 actually agreed to accompany me, and to furnish 
 me with the requisite number of horses for a very 
 considerable sum. M. Chauderloz promised to pro- 
 cure me an interpreter and an experienced janis- 
 sary. I then saw that I should be obliged to leave 
 part of my luggage at the consul's, and be content 
 to take with me no more than what was absolutely 
 necessary. The day fixed for my departure was the 
 4th of September, the next but one to that of my 
 arrival at Smyrna. 
 
 ' Having promised M. Chauderloz to return to 
 dinner with him, I went to my inn, where I found 
 Julian comfortably fixed in a very neat apartment 
 furnished in the European style. This house, 
 which is kept by a widow commands a very fine 
 view of the port ; I have forgotten its name. After 
 the descriptions of Tournefort, Chandler, Peyssonel, 
 and so many other writers, I have nothing to say 
 concerning Smyrna, but 1 cannot deny myself the 
 pleasure of quoting the following passage from M. 
 de Choiseurs Travels : 
 
298 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 The Greeks who left the quarter of Ephesns 
 called Smyrna, had built only a few cottages at the 
 bottom of the gnlf, which has since received the 
 name of their former abode. Alexander assembled 
 them, and gave them directions to build a city near 
 the river Meles. Antigonus commenced this work 
 by his command; and it was finished by Lysimachus. 
 
 " So excellent a situation as that of Sm^Tna was 
 worthy of the founder of Alexandria, and could 
 not fail to ensure the prosperity of that establish- 
 ment. Being admitted by the cities of Ionia to 
 share the advantages of their confederation, this 
 place soon became the centre of the commerce of 
 Asia Minor. Its wealth attracted all the arts ; it 
 was adorned with magnificent edifices and thronged 
 with strangers, who resorted hither to enrich this 
 city with the productions of their countries, to ad- 
 mire its wonders, to sing with its poets, and to de- 
 rive instruction from its philosophers. A smoother 
 dialect imparted new charms to that eloquence 
 which appeared to be an attribute of the Greeks. 
 The beauty of the climate seemed to influence that 
 of the inhabitants who furnished artists with mo- 
 dels, by means of which they were enabled to make 
 the rest of the world acquainted with nature and art 
 combined in their perfection. 
 
 " It was one of the cities which claimed the 
 honor of having given birth to Homer. On the 
 banks of the Meles was shewn the spot where 
 Critheis, his mother, brought him into the world, 
 anr>. the cavern to which he retired to compose hi^ 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 299 
 
 immortal verses. A monument erected to his me- 
 mory and inscribed with his name, stood in the mid- 
 dle of the city, and was adorned with spacious por- 
 ticoes, under which the citizens assembled. Finally, 
 their coins bore his image, as if they had acknow- 
 ledged for their sovereign the genius who conferred 
 honour on them. 
 
 " Smyrna preserved the precious relics of this 
 prosperity, till the struggle in Avhich the empire 
 was involved with barbarians. It was taken by the 
 Turks, retaken by the Greeks, always plundered 
 and always destroyed. At the commencement of 
 the thirteenth century, nothing of it existed but its 
 niins, and the citadel, repaired by the emperor John 
 Comnenus, who died in 1224. This fortress could 
 not withstand the eflforts of the Turkish princes, 
 who frequently made it their residence in spite of 
 the Knights of Rhodes, who, seizing a favourable 
 opportunity, erected there a fort, in which they 
 for some time maintained themselves ; but Tamer- 
 lane in a fortnight reduced this place, which Baja- 
 zet had blockaded for seven years. 
 
 Smyrna did not begin to ri e from its ruins till 
 the Turks were completely masters of the empire ; 
 its situation then restored to it the advantages 
 which it had lost by war, and it once more became 
 the mart of the adjacent countries. The inhabi- 
 tants taking courage, forsook the summit of tlie 
 mountain, and erected new houses on the beach. 
 These modern buildings have been constructed with 
 the marble of all the ancient monuments, of which 
 
I 
 
 300 TRAVELS IN GREEC^:^ PALESTINE, 
 
 scarcely any fragments are left; so that the site of 
 the stadium and the theatre only can now he recog- 
 nized. In vain should we puzzle ourselves to deter- 
 mine to what edifices belonged the vestiges of 
 foundations and the fragments of Avails to be per- 
 ceived between the fortress and the site of the pre- 
 sent town." 
 
 As ancient Smyrna was destroyed by the barba- 
 rians, so the modern city has suffered severely from 
 earthquakes, conflagrations and pestilence. The 
 latter scourge furnished occasion for a self-devotion 
 which deserves to be recorded among the sacrifices of 
 so many other missionaries. The authenticity of the 
 fact will not be suspected, as an English clergyman 
 is the relater. Brother Louis of Pavia, of the order 
 of Franciscans, the superior and founder of the hos- 
 pital of St. Anthony at Smyrna, being attacked by 
 tjie plague, made a vow, if God preserved big life, to 
 devote it to the attendance on persons afflicted with 
 that disease. Snatched almost miraculously from 
 the jaws of death. Brother Louis fulfilled his vow^ 
 Numberless were the infected whom he attended ; 
 and it is calculated that near two-thirds of these un- 
 fortunate creatures were restored to health.* 
 
 I had therefore, nothing to see at Smyrna, un- 
 less it were the Meles, which nobody knows any 
 thing of, and whose very name is a disputed point 
 
 . * See Dallaway. The chief remedy employed by Friar Louis 
 >\a3 to wrap the head of the patient iu a napkin steeped in oil. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 30l 
 
 between three or four ditches.^ A circumstance, 
 however, which struck and surprized me was the 
 extreme softness of the air. The atmosphere, less 
 pure than that of Attica, had that teint which is 
 termed by painters a warm tone; that is, it was 
 filled with a fine vapour tinged by the light with a 
 reddish hue. In the absence of the sea-breeze' I felt 
 a languor which approached to fainting, and clearly 
 recognized the soft Ionia. My stay at Smyrna 
 compelled me to a new metamorphosis : I was ob- 
 liged to assume the appearance of civilization, to 
 dress, to receive and to return visits. The mer- 
 chants w^ho did me the honour to call upon me, 
 were rich ; and when I went to see them in my 
 turn, I found at their houses elegant females who 
 seemed that very morning to have received their 
 fashions from the metropolis of France. Placed 
 between the ruins of Athens and the relics of Jeru- 
 salem, this second Paris where I had arrived in a 
 Greek vessel, and which I was about to leave with 
 a Turkish caravan, formed a striking contrast with 
 
 * Chandler has nevertheless given a highly poetical description 
 of it, though he animadverts upon the poets and painters who 
 have thought fit to assign water to the llissus. According to him, 
 the Meles runs behind the castle. M. de Choiseul's plan of Smyr- 
 na also lays down the course of this river, the father of Horaer. 
 How happens it that with all the inifjgination which I have re- 
 ceived' credit for, f was unable to discover in Greece, what has 
 been seen by so many grave and eminent travellers 1 I have an 
 iinlucky love of truth, and a fear of saying the thing which is not, 
 that are paramount with me to every other consideration. 
 
S02 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 the scenes that I had just beheld : it was a kind 
 of civilized Oasis, a Palmyra seated amid deserts 
 and barbarism. I must however acknowledge, that 
 naturally somewhat wild, I had not come to the 
 east in search of society : I longed to see camels, 
 and to hear the cry of the cornac. 
 
 On the morning of the 5th, all the necessary 
 arrangements being made, the guide went before 
 with the horses, to wait for me at Menemen Eske- 
 lessi, a little port of Anatolia. My last visit at 
 Smyrna was to Joseph, but quantum mutatis ah illo! 
 Was it possible that this could be my dignified 
 drogman ? I found him in a wretched shop, ham- 
 mering away at some utensil or other of tin. He 
 had on the same waistcoat of blue velvet which he 
 wore among the iiiins of Sparta and Athens. But 
 what availed these marks of his glory ? What 
 availed his having seen cities and men — mores ho- 
 minum et urbes ? He was not even the owner of 
 his shop. I perceived in a corner a surly looking 
 master who spoke roughly to my old coriipanion. 
 And was it for this that Joseph so heartily rejoiced 
 on his amval ? During my tour I met with only 
 two subjects of regret, namely, that I was not rich 
 enough to set up Joseph in business at Smyrna; 
 and to ransom a captive at Tunis. I took my last 
 farewel of my poor comrade : he wept, and I was not 
 much less affected. I wrote my name for him on a 
 small piece of paper, in which I had wrapped tho 
 marks of my sincere gratitude ; so that the mast«rr 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 303 
 
 of the shop remained ignorant of what passed be- 
 tween us. 
 
 In the evening", having thanked the consul for 
 all his civilities, I embarked with Jniian, the drog- 
 man, the jannissaries, and the nephew of M. Chau- 
 derloz, who had the kindness to accompany me to 
 the port, where we soon arrived. The guide was 
 on the shore. Having taken leave of my young 
 host who returned to Smynia, we mounted ouv 
 horses and pursued our journey. 
 
 It was midnight when we arrived at the kan of 
 Menemen. I perceived at a distance a great num- 
 ber of scattered lights : it was a caravan making a 
 halt. On a nearer approach I distinguished camels, 
 some Iving, others standing, some with their loads, 
 others relieved from the burden. Horses and asses 
 without bridles were eating barley out of leather 
 backets ; some of the men were still on horseback, 
 and the women, veiled, had not alighted from their 
 dromedaries. Turkish merchants were seated cross- 
 legged on carpets in groups round the fires, at which 
 the slaves were bnsily employed in dressing pilau. 
 Other travellers were smoking their pipes at the 
 door of the kan, chewing opium, and listening to 
 stories. Here were people burning coffee in iron 
 pots ; there hucksters went about from fire to fire 
 offering cakes, fruits, and poultry for sale. Singer* 
 were amusing the crowd ; imans were performing 
 their ablutions, prostrating themselves, rising again 
 and invoking the prophet ; and the camel-driverg 
 lay snoring on the ground. The place was strewed 
 
304 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 with packages, bags of cotton, and coirffs of rice. 
 All these objects now distinct and reflecting a vivid 
 light, now confused and enveloped in a half-shade, 
 exhibited a genuine scene of the Arabian Nights, 
 It wanted nothing but the caliph Haroun al Ras- 
 chid, the vizir Giaffar, and Mesrour, the chief of 
 the black eunuchs. 
 
 I then recollected for the first time, that I was 
 treading the plains of Asia ; a quarter of the globe 
 which had not yet beheld the traces of my steps, 
 nor, alas I those sorrows, which I share with the 
 rest of mankind. I felt impressed with profound 
 respect for this ancient soil, which was the cradle 
 of the human race, the abode of the patriarchs ; 
 where Tyre and Babylon reared their haught)| 
 heads ; where the Eternal called Cyrus and Alex- 
 ander ; and where Christ accomplished the mystery 
 of our salvation. A ncAv world lay open before 
 me : I was ffoinsr to visit nations to which I was a 
 stranger ; to observe different manners and different 
 customs ; to behold other animals, other plants, a 
 new skv, and a new nature. I should soon pass 
 the Hermus and the Granicus : Sardis was not far 
 distant: I was advancing towards Pergamus and 
 Troy. History unfolded to me another page of the 
 revolutions of mankind. 
 
 To my great regret I left the caravan behind. 
 In about two hours we reached the banks of the 
 Hermus, which we crossed in a ferry. It is still 
 the turhidus Hermus ; but I know not whether its 
 sands yet continue to yield gold. I beheld it with 
 
EGYPT, ANP BARBARY. 305 
 
 pleasure ; for It was the first river, properly speak- 
 ing, that I iiad met with since I left Italy. At 
 day-hreak we came to a plain bordered with hills 
 of no great elevation. The country exhibited an 
 aspect totally different from that of Greece; the 
 fields were agreeably diversified with verdant cot- 
 ton trees, the yellow straw of the corn, and the va- 
 riegated bark of the mastick, while camels and buf- 
 faloes were grazing here and there. We left Mag- 
 nesia and Mount Sipylus behind us ; so that we 
 Vi^ere not far from the fields of battle where Agesi- 
 laus humbled the pride of the great king, and where 
 Scipio gained that victory over Antiochus which 
 opened a way for the Romans into Asia. 
 
 At a distance on our left we perceived the ruins 
 of Cyme, and had Neon Tychos on our right. I 
 was tempted to alight from my horse and to walk, 
 out of respect for Horner^ who passed over the same 
 ground. 
 
 Some time afterwards the unfavourable state 
 of his affairs induced him to go to Cyme. Having 
 set out, he crossed the plain of the Hermus, and 
 arrived at Neon Tichos, a colony of Cyme : it was 
 founded eight years after the latter. It is said 
 that being in this town, in the house of a smith, he 
 there recited these verses the first that he ever com- 
 posed : — ' O ye citizens of the amiable daughter of 
 Cyme, dwelling at the foot of Mount Sardene, 
 whose summit is covered with woods that yield a 
 refreshing shade, and who drink the waters of the 
 divine Hermus, sprung from Jupiter^ have compas- 
 
 VOL. i. X 
 
306 TRAVELS ly GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 sion on the poverty of a stranger, who has no home 
 in which to lay hrs head V 
 
 " The Hermus runs near Neon Tichos, and 
 Mount Sartlene overlooks both. The smith, whose 
 name was Tychhis, was so pleased with these verses, 
 that he determined to receive him into his house. 
 Full of commiseration for a blind man reduced to 
 the necessity of begging his bread, he promised ta 
 d»ivide with him what he had. Melesigenes having 
 Entered his shop, took a seat, and some of the citi- 
 zens of Neon Tichos being present, he shewed thein 
 a specimen of his poetry : it was the expedition of 
 Araphiaraus against Thebes, and the hymns in ho- 
 nor of the gods. Each expressed his sentiments 
 upon them, and Melesigenes having thereupon pro- 
 nounced his opinion, his auditors were filled with 
 admiration. 
 
 As long as he remained at Neon Tichos his 
 poetry supplied him with the means of subsistence. 
 The place where he was accustomed to sit when he 
 tecited his verses was still shewn in mv time. This 
 spot, which was yet held in high veneration, was 
 shaded by a poplar that had begun to grow at the 
 time of his arrival."* 
 
 Since Homer had a smith for his host at Neon 
 Tichos, I need not be ashamed of having had a tin- 
 man of Smyrna for my interpreter. Would to 
 Heaven the resemblance were as complete in every 
 other respect, were I even to purchase the genius 
 
 * Life of Homer, 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. SOJ 
 
 of Homer at the expence of all the misfoitunes 
 witb which the bard was overwhelmed! 
 
 After a march of several hours we ascended one 
 of the ridges of MoiiTit Sardene. and amved on the 
 bank of the Pythicns. We halted to allow a cara- 
 van that was crossing the river to pa^s. The ca- 
 mels, each fastened to the tail of the other, did not 
 commit themselves to the water without resistance; 
 they stretched out their neck's^ and were drawn 
 alons^ by the ass that headed the caravan. The mer- 
 chants and tlie horses had stopped opposite to uSj 
 on the other side of the riven and a Turkish woman 
 was sitting by herself covered with her veil. We 
 crossed the Pythicus in our turn, below a wretched 
 stone bridge, and at eleven o'clock we reached a 
 kan where we baited our horses. 
 
 At five in the evening we pursued our journev. 
 The country lay high, and was tolerably well culti- 
 vated. We saw the sea on our left. I observed 
 for the first time, some t^ents belonging to Turco- 
 mans ; they were composed of black she^p-skins, 
 and reminded me of the Hebrews and the pastoral 
 Arabs. We descended into the plain of Myrina, 
 which extends to the gulf of Elea. An old castle, 
 called Gazel Hissar, crowns one of the summits of 
 the mountain which we had just left behind. At 
 ten at night we encamped in tiie midst of the plain. 
 A blanket which I had bought at Smyrna w^as 
 spread upon the ground. I lay down upon it and 
 went to sleep. On waking some hours aftervrards, 
 1 beheld the stars glistening over my head, and 
 
 X 2 
 
SOS TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 heard the shouts of the camel-driver conducting ft 
 distant caravan. 
 
 On the 5th we mounted our horses before it was 
 light. Our road led over a cultivated plain ; we 
 crossed the Caicus, at the distance of a league from 
 Pergamns, and at nine in the morning entered the 
 ^.own, seated at the foot of a mountain. While the 
 guide led the horses to the kan, I went to examine 
 the relics of the citadel. I found ruins of the walls 
 of three edifices, the remains of a theatre and a 
 temple, perhaps that of Minerva ; and i emarked 
 some fine fragments of sculpture, among others a 
 frieze adorned with garlands, supported hy the 
 heads of oxen and by eagles. Pergamus lay below 
 me to the south ; it resembled a camp composed of 
 red barracks. To the west stretches a spacious 
 plain bounded by the sea; to the eastward extends 
 another plain, bordered in the distance by moun- 
 tains ; to the south, and at the foot of the town^ first 
 appeared cemeteries planted with cypresses, then a 
 tract cultivated with barley and cotton; next tu'o 
 large tumuli ; after which came a border of trees ; 
 and lastly a long high hill which intercepted the 
 view. I perceived also to the north-west, some of 
 the windings of the Selinus and Cetius ; and to the 
 east, the amphitheatre in the hollow of a valley* 
 As I descended from the citadel, the town exhibited 
 the remains of an aqueduct and the ruins of the Ly- 
 ceum. The scholars of the country assert that the 
 latter edifice contained the celebrated library. 
 
 But if ever description was superfluous, it is 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 309 
 
 this which I am attempting. It is but a few months 
 since M. de Choiseul pu])Iished the continuation of 
 his Travels. This second volume, which displays 
 the maturity of talents improved by exercise, time, 
 and adversity, gives the most accurate and curious 
 particulars relative to the edifices of Pergamus, and 
 the history of its princes. I shall therefore indulge 
 in only one reflexion. The name of Attains, dear 
 to arts and letters, seems to have been fatal to kings. 
 Attains the third of that name died almost an ideot, 
 and bequeathed his possessions to the Romans : on 
 which these republicans, w^ho probably considered 
 the people as part of those possessions, seized his 
 kingdom. We find another Attains, the puppet of 
 Alaric, w^hose name is become proverbial to express 
 the shadow of royalty. He who know^s not how to 
 wear the purple, ought not to accept it : better were 
 it, in this case, that he clothed himself in goi^-tr 
 skin. 
 
 We left Pergamus at six in the evening; and 
 proceeding northward, we halted for the night at 
 eleven, in the middle of a phiin. On the 6th, at 
 four in the morning, we resumed our route, and 
 continued our progress over the plain, which, with 
 the exception of the trees, is very much like Lom- 
 hardy. I was overtaken by sach a fit of drowsiness 
 that I could not possibly w^ithstand it, and fell from 
 my horse. It w^as a wonder I had not broken my 
 neck ; bat I came off with a slii^ht contusion. About 
 seven o'clock we found ourselves upon an uneven 
 tract of country, formed of small hills. We then 
 
 X 3 
 
3 id TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 descended into a charming dale planted with ninl- 
 berry and olive-trees, poj^lars, and pines in the 
 form of a parasol (pinus pinea), Asia in general 
 appeared to me far superior in beauty to Greece* 
 We ai rived betimes at Somma, a wretched Turkish 
 town, where ^ve spent the day. 
 
 I was an utter stranger to the route which we 
 were now pursuing. I had got out of the track of 
 travellers, who, in going to Bursa, or returning 
 from that city, keep much farther to the east along 
 the road to Constantinople. On the other hand, it 
 seemed to me, that in order to come upon the back 
 of Mount Ida, we ought to have proceeded from 
 Pergamus to Adramytti, and then keeping along 
 the coast, or crossing the Gargarus, we should have 
 descended into the plain of Troy. Instead of fol- 
 lowing this track, we had marched along a line 
 precisely between the road to the Dardanelles and 
 that to Constantinople. I began to suspect some 
 shuffling on the part of the guide, especially as I 
 had observed him frequently engaged in conversa- 
 tion w^itii the janissary. I desired Julian to call 
 the drogman, and asked him how it happened that 
 we had taken the road to Somma. The drogman 
 appeared embarrassed : he replied that we were 
 going to Kircagach ; that it \A'as impossible to cross 
 the mountains where we should infallibly be all 
 murdered ; that our company was not sufficiently 
 numerous to venture upon such a journey, and that 
 it was mucl. more advisable to make the best of 
 our way into the road for Constantinople. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAUY, 
 
 311 
 
 This answer threw me into a passion. I clearly- 
 perceived that the drogman and janissary, either 
 from fear or other motives, had concerted a plot to 
 lead me out of my way. I sent for the guide, and 
 reproached him with his dishonesty. I told him, 
 that since he considered the road to Troy as im- 
 practicable, he ought to have told me so at 
 Smyrna ; that though a Turk, I should not hesitate 
 to call him a scoundrel ; that I would not relin* 
 -quish my plans in compliance with his fears or his 
 caprices ; that my bargain was to be conducted to 
 the Dardanelles, and to the Dardanelles I was de- 
 termined to go. 
 
 At these words, which the drogman faithfully 
 interpreted, the guide became furious. Allah ! 
 allah !" exclaimed he, shaking his beard with rage ; 
 he declared, that in spite of all I could say or do, 
 he would conduct me to Kircagach ; and that we 
 should see which of the two would have most 
 weight with the aga, a Christian or a Turk. But 
 for Julian I think I should have knocked ihe 
 felloAv down. 
 
 Kircagach being a large and opulent town, 
 three leagues from Somma, I was in hopes of find- 
 ing there some French agent who would bring this 
 pestilent Turk to reason. I was too much agitated 
 to sleep. On the 6th, our whole company was on 
 horseback at four o'clock, according to the orders 
 which I had given. In less than three hours we 
 arrived at Kircagach, and alighted at the door of a 
 very handsome kan. The drogman immediately 
 
 X 4 
 
Si 2 TRAVELS IK GREECE, PALESTIKE, 
 
 enquired if there was any French consul in the 
 town, and was directed to the house of an Italian 
 surgeon. To this reputed vice-consul I posted, 
 and explained my errand. He inimediatelv went 
 to give an account of the matter to the governor, 
 who directed that 1 should appear before him with 
 the guide. I repaired to the tribunal of his Excel- 
 lency, preceded by the drogman and the janissary. 
 The aga was half reclined in the corner of a sofa, 
 at the farther end of a laige handsome room, the 
 floor of which was covered with a carpet. He \\t^ 
 a young man, of the family of a vizier. Fire-arir%% 
 hung up over his head, and one of his officers was 
 seated beside him. He continued smoking out of 
 a large Persian pipe, with a look of contempt, and 
 from time to time burst into a loud laugh as he 
 looked at us. This reception nettled me. The 
 guid:, the drogman, and the janissary, pulled off 
 thei: sandals at the door, according to custom; 
 the advanced and kissed the skirt of the aga*s 
 robe, and then went biick and seated themselves at 
 the door. 
 
 The matter did not pass off so quietly in regard 
 to me. I was completely armed, booted, spurred, 
 and had my whip in my hand. The slaves insisted 
 on my leaving my boots, my whip, and my arms, 
 at the door. I ordered the drogman to tell them 
 that a Frenchman follows the customs of his 
 country wherever he goes; and that if they pre- 
 sumed to lay a finger upon me, I would make them 
 repent their insolence. I advanced at a quick pace 
 
EGYPT, AND PARBARY. 313 
 
 into the room, regardless of their cries. A spahi 
 seized n)e by the left arm, and pulled me forcibly 
 back. I gave him such a cut over the face with 
 my whip, that he was obliged to loose his liold. 
 He clapped his hand to the pistols which he carried 
 at his girdle ; but taking no notice of his menace, 
 I went and seated myself by the side of the aga, 
 whose astonishment and terror were truly ludicrous. 
 I addressed him in Frencli : I complained of tlie 
 insolence of his people ; I declared it was only out 
 of respect to him that I had not killed his ja- 
 nissary ; that he ought to know that the French 
 were the oldest and the most faithful allies of the 
 Grand Signor ; that the fame of their arms was 
 sufficiently spread in the East, to teach people to 
 respect their hats, in like manner as they honored 
 without fearing the turbans ; that I had drunk 
 coffee with pachas, who had treated me like their 
 son, and that I had not come to Kircagach to 
 allow a slave to instruct me how to conduct myself, 
 or to have the presumption to touch even the skirt 
 of my coat. 
 
 The astonished aga listened as if he had under- 
 stood me : the drosman interpreted what I had 
 said, word for w^ord. He replied, that he had 
 never seen a Frenchman ; that he had taken me 
 for a Frank, and would most assuredly do me jus- 
 tice. He then ordered coifee to be brought for me. 
 
 Nothing could be more diverting than to ob- 
 serve the stupitied look, and the lengthened visage 
 of the slaves^ who beheld me in my dusty boots 
 
314 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 seated on the divan by the side of their master. 
 Tranquillity being restored, I explained mv er- 
 rand. Having heard both sides, the aga gave 
 such a deci>ion as I by no means expected. He 
 commanded tlie guide to return me part of my 
 money : bur declared, that as the horses were tired, 
 live men only could not without hazard attempt a 
 passage over the mountains ; and that consequently 
 I ought quietly to pursue the road to Constan- 
 tino})le. 
 
 In this decree there was a remarkable share 
 of Turkish good-sense, especially when the youth 
 and inexperience of the judge are taken into consi- 
 deration. I told his excellency, that his decision, 
 though in otlier respects very just, was faulty for 
 two reasons : in the first place, because five Hien 
 well armed might venture any where ; and in the 
 second, because the guide ought to have made ob- 
 jections at Smyrna, and not to have entered into a 
 contract which he had not the courage to fulfil. The 
 aga agreed that my last remark was perfectly cor- 
 rect ; but that, as the liorses were fatigued, and in- 
 capable of performing so long a journey, fate it- 
 self compelled me to take another road. 
 
 It would have been useless to stniggle against 
 fate : all were secretly against me ; the judge, the 
 drogman, and my janissary. Tl>e guide would 
 have raised difficulties on the subject of the money; 
 but he was peremptorily told that a hundred strokes 
 of the bastinado awaited him at the door, unless he 
 returned part of the sum which he had received 
 
mem, axd baxukt. 
 
 3!3 
 
 He drew h with ^rat vtkmttamee hum a fkdt 
 tkcrfaa^ aad came mp mml timiird k to 
 k, bat care it ham back agam, 
 
 . Scttthamf k the great vice af tbc Mwgrf- 
 mam, aad libenJitr the riitae wUdi tky 
 the hiehest esteem. Mt 
 
 fc !■ ■■■■ " ■ fc ' -~ - f 
 
 At my depaitaie I 
 afl th^ slaves, and ciem b^ ^ ^ahi vhom I had 
 strack; ther expftrfrJ nam ibiafe far a trmt, as 
 ther cJl h. I sare two piMS of poU to the Mb^ 
 I had beaten ; I date §ay, for that: pr t 
 mt have made the ofafectioas which S 
 dU to ddirer the Pnacc» Mcmca. A% 
 of the ciew, thrr were taU fr: 
 rer n^' 
 
 of IBoa, an . 
 ta mva^C br o: 
 
 sarOT pass Troy j 
 
 Imicfatpe: !i the c^ 
 
 pdrsse my |OBrT-= . - ^" ^ 
 
 I wut to pay a 
 
 with the cmde, otL 
 
 support iQc. or for i^e-ar oi lae £oven : : 
 waDced toeeJier aboat the fowm, which i- 
 popakms. Here I saw whar I Vi3 r - : _ 
 
3l6 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 with — young Greek women without veils^ sprightly, 
 handsome, courteous, and to all appearance, daugh^ 
 ters of Ionia. It is a singular circumstance that 
 Kircagach, so celebrated throughout all the Levant 
 for the superiority of its cotton, is not to be found 
 in any traveller*, neither is it marked in any map. 
 It is one of those towns which the Turks call sa- 
 cred : it belongs to the great mosque at Constan- 
 tinople, and the pachas are not permitted to enter 
 its walls. I have noticed tbe singular and excellent 
 qualities of its honey, in speaking of that of Mount 
 Hymettus. 
 
 At three in the afternoon we left Kircagach, 
 and pursued our way towards Constantinople. 
 The road led to the north, through a country 
 planted with cotton-trees. We climbed a hill, 
 then descended into another plain, and at half-past 
 five, we halted for the night at tbe kan of Kelembe. 
 This is probably the same place that Spon calls 
 Basculembei, Tournefort Baskelambai, and The- 
 venot Dgelembe. The Turkish geography is veiy 
 obscure in the works of travellers, each having fol- 
 lowed the mode of spelling suggested by his ear. 
 It moreover requires infinite pains to establish the 
 
 * M. de Choiseul is the only one that mentions its name. 
 Tournefort speaks of a mountain called Kircagan-Paul. Lucas, 
 Pococke, Chandler, Spon, Smith, and Dallaway say nothing con- 
 cerning Kircagach. D'Anville passes it over in silence ; and no 
 notice is taken of it in Peyssonei's Memoirs. If some of the num- 
 berless Travels in the East make mention of this place, it is in a 
 very obscure raamier, and has totally slipped my memory. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 317 
 
 concordance of ancient and modern names in Ana- 
 tolia. In this point D'Anville himself is not com- 
 plete ; and unfortunately the chart of the Pro- 
 pontis, executed for M. de Choiseul lays down no- 
 thing but the coasts of the sea of Mamora. 
 
 I took a walk in the environs of the town ; the 
 sky was cloudy, and the air cold as in France : it 
 was the first time that I had remarked this kind of 
 atmosphere in the East. Such is the influence of 
 the attachment to country, that I felt a secret plea- 
 sure in contemplating this grey and gloomy sky, 
 instead of that pure and serene atmosphere which I 
 had so long been enjoying. 
 
 On the 8tli, at break of day, we turned out of 
 our quarters, and began to climb a billy tiact, 
 which would be covered with an admirable forest 
 of oaks, pines, phyllereas, andrrchnes, and turpen- 
 tine-trees, if the U urks would sj^er any thing to 
 grow ; they stc fire, on the contrary, to the young 
 plants, and mutilate the large trees : there is no- 
 thing but what these peopit: destroy; thev are a 
 real pest.* The villages in the mountains are 
 poor; but the animals of various species are nu- 
 merous. You may see in the same yard, horned 
 cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules, 
 intermixed with fowls, turkeys, ducks, and geese. ' 
 Some wild birds, as storks and larks live on, familiar 
 
 * Touriiefort asserts that ihe Turks bum these woods to in- 
 crease the quantity of pasturage: but this would be the height 
 of absurdity, as a want of wood prevails throughout all Turkey, 
 and there is already a superabundance of pasturage. 
 
318 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 terms with these domestic animals. Among these 
 peaceable creatures reigns the camel, the most 
 peaceful of them all. 
 
 We dined at Genjouck ; then continuing our 
 route, we drank coffee on the top of the mountain 
 of Zebec, and slept at Chia-Ouse. Tournefort and 
 Spon mentioned a place upon this road, called 
 Courougoulgi. 
 
 On the gth, we crossed higher mountains than 
 those over which w^e passed the preceding day. 
 Wheeler asserts that they form the chain of 
 Mount Timnus. We dined at Manda Fora, called 
 by Spon and Tournefort, Mandagoia, where some 
 antique columns are to be seen. At this place 
 travellers commonly sleep ; but we pursued our 
 journey, and halted at nine in the evening at the 
 inn of Emir Capi, a detached house in the middle 
 of a wood. We had travelled thirteen hours. The 
 master of the house had just expired, and was ex- 
 tended upon a mat, which was quickly pulled from 
 under him, for m.y accommodation. It was still 
 warm, and already had all the friends of the de* 
 ceased forsaken the house. A kind of waiter, who 
 alone was left, assured me that his master had not 
 died of any contagious disease ; I therefore spread 
 my blanket on the mat, laid myself down and went 
 to sleep. Others will sleep in their turn on my 
 last bed, and will think no more of me than I did 
 of the Turk who had given me his place. 
 
 On the 10th, after a ride of six hours, we 
 arrived at the pretty village of Souseverl^, This 
 is perhaps the Sousurluck of Thevenot, and cer- 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 3Tg 
 
 taiiily the Sousighirli of Spon, and the Sonsongliirli 
 of Tournefort. It is situated at the termination 
 and on the back of the monntains which we had 
 just passed. About five hundred paces from tlie 
 village runs a river, and beyond tliis river extends 
 a beautiful and spacious plain. This river of Soii- 
 songhirli is no other than theGranicus; and this 
 unknown plain is the plain of Mysia. 
 
 What is then the spell of glory ? A traveller 
 comes to a river, in which he observes nothing 
 remarkable ; he is told that the name of this river 
 is Sousonghirli : he crosses it and pursues his way. 
 But should some one perchance call out to him i 
 'Tis the Granicus ! — he starts, opens his astonished 
 eyes, fixes them on the river, as if the water pos- 
 sessed a magic power, or as if a supernatural voice 
 were to be heard on its banks. We halted three 
 hours at Sousonghirli, and I spent the whole of 
 that time in contemplating the Granicus. It is 
 very narrow ; the west bank is steep and rugged ; 
 and its w^ater, which is bright and limpid, flows 
 over a sandy bottom. This stream, in the place 
 w^here I saw it, is not more than forty feet broad,' 
 and three and a half deep ; but in spring it rises 
 and runs with impetuosity. Let us hear what 
 Plutarch says : 
 
 In the mean time, Darius' generals had assem - 
 bled an immense army, and had taken post upon 
 the ])anks of Granicus ; so that Alexander was 
 under the necessity of fighting there, to open the 
 gates of Asia. Many of his officers were apprehen- 
 sive of the depth of the river> and the rough md 
 
320 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 "uneven banks on the other side ; and some tbonghi 
 that a proper regard should be paid to a tradi- 
 tionary usage with respect to the time, for the 
 kings of IM acedon never marched out to war in the 
 month Dtesius. Alexander cured them of this 
 piece of superstitution, by ordering that month to 
 be called ' the second Artemisius.' And when 
 Parmenio objected to his attempting a passage so 
 late in the day, he replied ; ^' The Hellespont would 
 blusli^ if after having passed it, he should be afraid 
 of the Granicus/' At the same time, he threw 
 himself into the stream with thirteen troops of 
 horse ; and as he advanced in the face of the 
 enemy's arrows, in spite of the steep banks which 
 were lined with cavalry well-armed, and tlie rapi- 
 dity of the river v/hich often bore him down or 
 covered him with its waves, his motions seemed 
 rather the effects of madness than sound sense. 
 He held on, however, till by astonishing efforts he 
 gained the opposite banks, which the mud rendered 
 extremely slippery and dangerous. When he was 
 there, he Avas forced to stand an engagement with 
 the enemy hand to hand, and with much confusion 
 on his part, because they attacked his men as fast 
 as they came over, before he had time to form 
 them. For the Persian troops charging with loud 
 shouts, and with horse against horse, made good 
 use of their spears, and when those were broken, 
 of tbeir swords. 
 
 " Numbers pressed hard upon Alexander, be- 
 cause he was easy to be distinguished both by his 
 buckler and his crest, on each side of which was a 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 321 
 
 large and beautiful plume of white feathers. Hi:^ 
 cuirass was pierced by a javelin at the joint ; but he 
 escaped unhurt. After this Rhcesaces and Spith- 
 ridates, two officers of high distinction, attacked 
 him jointly. The latter he avoided with great 
 address, and received the former with such a stroke 
 of his spear upon his breast-plate, tl>at it broke in 
 pieces. He then drew his sword to dispatch him, 
 hut his adversary still maintained the combat. Ill 
 the mean time Spithridates came up on one side 
 of him, and raising himself on his horse gave him 
 a blow with his battle-axe, which cut oiF his crest 
 with one side of the plume. Nay, the force of it 
 was such, that the helmet could hardl / resist it; 
 it even penetrated to his hair. Spithridates was 
 about to repeat his stroke, when the celebrated 
 Clitus prevented him, by running him through the 
 body with his spear. At the same time, Alexander 
 with his sword brought Rcesaces to the ground* 
 
 " While the cavahy were thus furiouslv 
 and critically engaged, the Macedonian phalanx 
 passed the river, and then the infantry likewise 
 engaged. The enemy made no considerable or 
 long resistance, but soon turned their backs and 
 fled; all but the Grecian mercenaries, who forming 
 upon an eminence, desired Alexander to give his 
 word of honor that they should be spared » But 
 that prince, influenced rather by his passion than 
 his reason, instead of giving them quarter advan- 
 ced to attack them, and was so warmly received 
 that he had his liorse killed under him. It was 
 
 VOL. I. Y 
 
322 
 
 TRAVELS IN GiXEZCE, PALESTINE, 
 
 not, however, the famous Bucephalus. In thisp 
 dispute, more of his men were killed and wounded, 
 than in all the rest of the battle ; for here they had 
 to do with experienced soldiers, who fought with a 
 courage heightened by despair. 
 
 The barbarians, we are told, lost in this battle 
 twenty thousand foot and two thousand five hun- 
 dred horse; whereas Alexander had only thirty- 
 four men killed, nine of which were infantry. To 
 do honor to their memory, he erected to each of 
 them a statue in brass, the workmanship of Lysip- 
 pus. And that the Greeks might have their share 
 in the glory of the day, he distributed among them 
 presents out of the spoil ; to the Athenians, in par- 
 ticular, he sent three hundred bucklers. Upon the 
 rest of the spoils he put this pompous inscription ; 
 ' Won by Alexander the son of Philip, and the 
 Greeks (excepting the Lacedsemonians) from the 
 barbarians in Asia.'" 
 
 It is one single individual, then, who thus im- 
 mortalizes a little river in a desert ! Here falls an 
 immense empire, and here rises an empire still 
 more immense ; the Indian Ocean hears the fall 
 of the throne that is overturned near the shores of 
 the Propontis ; the Ganges beholds the approach of 
 the leopard with four wings,* which triumphed on 
 the banks of the Granicus ; Babylon, which the 
 king built in the splendour of his power, opens her 
 gates to admit anew master; Tyre, the queen of 
 
 DauieL 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 323 
 
 ships, is humbled, and her rival springs up out of 
 the sands of Alexandria. 
 
 Alexander was o:uilty of crimes : he was unable 
 to withstand the intoxication of his success, but by 
 what riiasnanimitv did he not atone for the errors 
 of his life ! His crimes were always expiated by his 
 tears : with Alexander every thing came from the 
 heart. He began and terminated his career w^ith 
 two sublime expressions. On his departure to 
 make war upon Darius, he divided his dominions 
 among his officers. " What then do you reserve 
 for yourself?" cried they in astonishment. " Hope/' 
 was his reply. To whom do you leave the em- 
 pire ?" said these same officers to him when ex- 
 piring. " To the most worthy," said he. Phice 
 between these two expressions, the conquest of the 
 world, achieved with thirty-five thousand men, in 
 less than ten years, and you mast admit that if 
 ever man resembled a god among men, it was 
 Alexander. His premature death adds something 
 divine to his memory, for we behold him ever fair, 
 young, and triumphant, without any of those cor- 
 poreal infirmities, w^ithout any of those reverses of 
 fortune that age and time are sure to bring. This 
 divinity vanishes, and mortals are unable to sup- 
 port the weight of his work. " His kingdom," 
 says the prophet, " shall be divided toward the 
 four winds of heaven."* 
 
 At two in the afternoon we left Sousonghlrli, 
 
 Darnel, 
 
;j24 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 crossed the Granicus, and advanced into the plam 
 of Mikalicie, wliich belonged to the Mysia of the 
 ancients. We halted for the night at Tehutitsi, 
 which may perhaps be the Squeticui of Tonrnefort. 
 The kan being full of travellers, we took np our 
 quarters under some spreading willows, planted in 
 quincunx order. 
 
 On the 11th we set out at day-break, and 
 leaving the road to Bursa on the rig^ht, we con- 
 tinued our route through a plain covered with 
 rushes, in which I observed the remains of an 
 aqueduct. At nine in the morning we reached 
 Mikalitza, a large, dull, dilapidated Turkish toAvn, 
 seated on a river, to which it gives its name. I 
 know not whether this river be not the same that 
 issues from Lake Abouilla : so much, however, is 
 certain, that a lake is to be seen at a distance in 
 the plain. In this case, the river Mikalitza must 
 be the Rhyndacus, formerly the Lycus, which took 
 its rise in the Stagnum Artynia; a conjecture 
 which is strengthened by its having at its mouth 
 the little island (Besbicos) mentioned by the an- 
 cients. The town of Mikalitza is not far from the 
 Lopadion of Nicetas, which is the Loupadi of 
 Spon, the Lopadi, Loubat, and Oaloubat of Turne- 
 fort. Nothing is more tiresome for a traveller 
 than this confusion in the nomenclature of places ; 
 and if in regard to this point I have committed 
 almost inevitable errors, I request the reader to 
 recollect, that men of superior abilities have them- 
 selves fallen into mistakes. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARB4RY. 325 
 
 We left Mikalitza at noon, and advanced along 
 the east bank of the river towards the high lands, 
 forming the coast of the sea of Marmora, the an- 
 cient Propontis. On my right, I perceived superb 
 plains, an extensive lake, and, in the distance, the 
 .chain of Olympus : all this country is magnificent. 
 After riding an hour, we crossed the river by a 
 wooden bridge, and came to the pass of the heights 
 which lay before us. Here we found the port of 
 Mikalitza. I dismissed my scoundrel of a guide, 
 and took my passage in a Turkish vessel ready to 
 isail for Constantinople. 
 
 At four in the aftenioon, we began to fall down 
 the river ; the port of Mikalitza being sixteen 
 leagues from the sea. The river had here increased 
 to nearly the size of the Seine ; it flowed between 
 verdant hills whose foot is washed by the current. 
 The antique form of our galley, the oriental costume 
 of the passengers, the jSve half-naked sailors towing 
 us along with a rope, the beauty of the river, and 
 the solitude of the banks, rendered this trip pic- 
 turesque and agreeable. 
 
 As we approached the sea, the river behind us 
 formed a long canal, at the end of which we per- 
 ceived the heights that we had passed between ; 
 their slopes were tinged by a setting sun not visible 
 to us. Swans were sailing before us, and herons 
 were repairing to land to seek their accustomed re- 
 treat. The whole strongly reminded me of the ri- 
 vers and scenery of America, when, at night, 1 left 
 Tiiy bark canoe, and kindled a fire on an unknown 
 
 Y 3 
 
326 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, l»ALESTIKE, 
 
 shore. All at once, the hills hetween which wc 
 were winding, falling back to the right and left, 
 the sea opened npon our view. From the foot of 
 the two promontories extended a low tract, half 
 nnder water, formed by the alhivions matters depo- 
 sited by the river. We moored onr vessel close to 
 this marshy spot, near a hut, the last kan of 
 Anatolia. 
 
 On the 12lh, at four in the morning, we weighed 
 anchor with a light, favourable breeze, and in 
 less than half an hour we cleared the mouth of the 
 liver. The scene is worthy of being described. 
 Aurora dawned on our right behind the high lands 
 of the continent ; on our left extended the sea of 
 Marmora; a-head of us appeared an island; the 
 eastern sky of a deep red, gi'ew paler as the light 
 increased ; the morning star sparkled in this em- 
 purpled radiance ; and below that beautiful star 
 the crescent of the moon was scarcely discernible, 
 like the faint traces of the most delicate pencil. 
 One of the ancients would have said that Venus, 
 Diana, and Aurora, had met to announce to him 
 the most brilliant of the gods. This })icture 
 changed whilst I contemplated it: green and roseate 
 rays proceeding from one common centre, soon shot 
 from the east to the zenith ; these colours died 
 aM^ay, revived and were again extinguished, till the 
 fun appearing on the horizon, melted all the tints 
 of the atn^osphere into one universal white slightly 
 tinged with a golden glow. 
 
 We steered northward^ leaving the coasts of 
 
EGYPT, AND BAREARY, 32^ 
 
 Anatolia on our right ; the wind lulled honr af- 
 ter sun-rise and we took to our oar^. The calm 
 continued the whole day. The sun-set was cold, 
 red, and unattended with any accidents of light ; 
 the opposite horizon was greyish, the sea of a lead- 
 colour, and without birds ; the distant coasts ap- 
 peared of an azure hue, but had no brilliancy ; 
 ihe twilight was of very short duration, and was 
 suddenly succeeded by nieht. At nine o'clock a 
 breeze sprung up from the east, and we proceeded 
 at a bri>k rate. On the 13th, at the return of dawn, 
 we found ourselves near the coast of Europe, off 
 Port St. Ste])hen ; this coast was low and naked. 
 It was two months, to the very day and hour, since 
 I left the capital of civilized nations, and I was now 
 going to enter the capital of barbarous nations. 
 How much had I seen in this short space of time ! 
 How much older had I erown in these two 
 months ! 
 
 At half an hour after six we passed the powder- 
 mill, a long white building in the Italian stvle. 
 Behind this edifice, extended the land of Ein'opej 
 which appeared flat and uniform. Villages, whose 
 situation wa^ marked by trees, were scattered here and 
 there. Above the point of this land wliich formed 
 a semicircular curve before us, we disceryed some 
 of the minarets of Constantinople. 
 
 At eight o'clock, a gallev-boat c^ime alongside of 
 us : as we were almost becalmed, I cpiitted the fe- 
 lucca, and went with my people into the boat. We 
 
 Y 4 
 
32S TRAVELS IX GREECE, PALESTINE^ 
 
 kept close under Point Europa, on which Stands 
 the castle of the Seven Towers, an old Gothic for- 
 tress now falling to ruin. Constantinople, and the 
 const of Asia in particular, were enveloped in a 
 thick fog : the cypresses and the minarets, which I 
 perceived through the vapour, exhibited the ap- 
 pearance of a leafless forest. As we approached the 
 point of the Seraglio, a breeze sprung up from the 
 north, and as if by the, waving of an enchanters 
 wand, the mist was swept in a few moments from 
 the picture, and I found myself all at once in the 
 midst of the palaces of the Commander of the 
 Faithful. Before me the channel of the Black Sea, 
 meandered like a ma.jestic river between charming 
 hills : on my right I had the coast of Asia and the 
 city of Scutari ; that of Europe lay on my left, 
 forming, as it receded, a capacious bay full of large 
 ships at anchor, and innumerable small vessels tra- 
 versing it in every direction. Tliis bay, bounded 
 by two hills, presented a view of Constantinople 
 and Galata, disposed in the form of an amphithe- 
 atre. The imm.ense extent of these three cities of 
 Galata, Constantinople, and Scutari, with their 
 buildings rising in stages one above anotlier ; the 
 cypresses, the minarets, the masts of ships inter- 
 mingled on every side ; the verdure of the trees ; 
 the colours of the houses white and red ; the sea 
 spreading its blue expanse below these objects and 
 the sky its azure canopy above, altogether formed 
 a picture^ that filled me with admiration. It mus.t 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. S2§ 
 
 indeed be allowed that those are guilty of no exag- 
 geration, who assert that Constantinople exhibits a 
 view superior in beauty to any in the world.* 
 
 We landed at Galata. I immediately remarked 
 the bustle on the quays, and the throng of porters, 
 merchants, and seamen, the latter announcing by 
 the different colour of their complexions, by the di- 
 versity of their languages, and of their dress, by 
 their robes, their hats, their caps, their turbans, that 
 they had come from every part of Europe and Asia 
 to inhabit this frontier of two worlds. The almost 
 total absence of women, the want of wheel car- 
 riages, and the multitude of dogs without masters, 
 were the three distinguishing characteristics that 
 first struck me in the interior of this extraordinary 
 city. As scarcely any person walks abroad but in 
 slippers, as there is no rumbling of coaches and 
 carts, as there are no bells and scarcely any trades 
 that require the aid of the hammer, a continual si- 
 lence prevails. You see around you a mute crowd 
 of individuals, seemingly desirous of passing unper- 
 ceived, as if solicitous to escape the observation of 
 a master. You are continually meeting with a bazar 
 and a cemetery, as if the Turks were born only to 
 buy, to sell, and to die, The cemeteries, without 
 walls, and situated in the middle of the streets are 
 magnificent groves of cypresses ; the doves build 
 their nests in these trees and share the peace of the 
 dead. Here and there you perceive antique struc- 
 
 For my part, howf^ver, I prefer the bay of N^:>les. 
 
330 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTIKE^ 
 
 tures, harmonizing neither with the modern inha- 
 bitants^ nor with the new edifices by which they are 
 surrounded : you would ahnost imagine that they 
 had ])een tran5ported into this oriental city by the 
 effect of enchantment. No sign of jov, no ap- 
 pearance of comfort meets your eye ; what yon see 
 is not a people, but a herd tended by an iman and 
 slaughtered by a janissary. Here is no pleasure 
 but sensual indulgence, no punishment but death. 
 T he dull tones of a mandoline sometimes issue from 
 the extremity of a coffee-room, and you perceive 
 tile children of infamy performing immodest dances 
 before a kind of apes seated around small circular 
 tables. Amidst prisons and bagnios rises a seraglio, 
 the Capitol of slavery : 'tis here that a consecrated 
 keeper carefully preserves the germs of pestilence 
 and the primitive laws of tyranny. Pallid votaries 
 are incessantly hovering about this temple, and 
 thronging to offer their heads to the idol. Hurried 
 on by a fatal power, nothing can divert them from 
 this sacrifice ; the eyes of the despot attract the 
 slaves, as the looks of the serpent are said to fascir- 
 nate the birds on which he preys. 
 
 There are so many accounts of Constantinople, 
 that it would be absurd in me to pretend to give a 
 description of that city. The reader may, therefore, 
 consult Stephen of Byzantium ; Gylli de Topogra- 
 phia Comtanfhwpoleos ; Ducange's Comtantinopo^ 
 lis Christiana ; I^orter s Observations on the Reli- 
 (^io7i, 8^c. of the Turks; Mouradgea d'Ohsson's 
 Tableau de V Empire Ottoman ; Dallaway's Ancient 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 331 
 
 and Modern Cojutantinoplc ; Paul Lucas ; Theve- 
 not; Tournefort ; lastly, x\\q T'oi/age jnttoresque de 
 Cojistantinople ef des Rives du BospJtore ; tlie frag- 
 ments publiijhed by M. Esuienard, &c. &c. 
 
 There are several inns at Pera which resemble 
 those of the other cities of Europe ; to one of these 
 inns I was conducted by the porters who officiously 
 seized my baggage. I then repaired to the French 
 palace. I had had the honour of seeing at Paris 
 General Sebastiani, ambassador from France to the 
 Porte : he insisted on my dining every day at his 
 table; and it was only on my eaniest solicitation, that 
 he permitted me to remain at my inn. By his di-^- 
 rections, the Messrs. Franchini, the chief drogmans 
 to the embassy, procured the firmans necessary 
 for my voyage to Jerusalem, which the ambassador 
 accompanied with letters addressed to the superior 
 of the religious in the Holy Land, and to our con- 
 suls in Egypt, and in Syria. Fearing lest I should 
 mn shoit of money, he gave me permission to draw 
 bills upon him at sight whenever I might have oc- 
 casion ; and adding to these important services the 
 attentions of politeness, he condescended to shew 
 me Constantinople himself, and to conduct me to 
 the most remarkable structures. His aides-de-camp 
 and the whole legation shewed me so many civili- 
 ties that I was absolutely jmt to the blush; and I 
 deem it my duty to express in this place my un- 
 feigned gratitude to those gentlemen. 
 
 I know not how to speak of another person 
 whom I ought to have mentioned the first. Her 
 
333 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 extreme kindness was accompanied with a moving 
 and pensive grace, which seemed to be a presenti- 
 ment of what was to follow: she was nevertheless 
 happy, and a particular circumstance heightened 
 her felicity. I myself shared that joy which was so 
 soon to be converted into mourning. When I left 
 Constantinople Madame Sebastiani was in the 
 bloom of health, hope, and youth ; and before my 
 eyes again beheld our country, she was incapable of 
 hearing the expression of my gratitude : 
 
 Trojd infeiice sepultum 
 Detinet extreme terra aliena solo. 
 
 At this very time a deputation from the Fathers 
 of the Holy Land happened to be at Constantino- 
 ple. They had repaired thither to claim the pro- 
 tection of the ambassador against the tyranny of the 
 governor of Jerusalem. The Fathers liirnished me 
 with letters of recommendation for Jaffa. By 
 another piece of good fortune, the vessel carrying the 
 Greek pilgrims to Syria was just ready to depart. 
 She lay in the road and was to sail with the first 
 fair wind : so that had my intention of exploring 
 the plain of Troy been accomplished, I should 
 have been too late for the vovae^e to Palestine. 
 The bargiiiu \vas soon concluded with tlie captain, 
 and the ambassador sent on board for me a supply 
 of the most delicate provisions. He gave me a 
 Greek, named John, a servant of the Messrs, 
 Franchini, for my interpreter. Loaded with kind- 
 ness aud good wishes, I went on the 18th of Sep-^ 
 
EGYPT. AND BARBAKV. 
 
 33r 
 
 tember, at nooDj on board of tbe ship of the pil- 
 grims. 
 
 I niuit confess, that if I wai sorry to quit those 
 from whom I had received such extraordinary at- 
 tention and civility, I was nevertheless very glad to 
 leave Constantinople. The feeling? which, in spite 
 of yon, will obtrude themselves in that city, spoil 
 all its beauty. When you reflect that these regions 
 were formerly inhabited but by Greeks of the 
 Eastern Empire, and that they are now possessed 
 by Turks, you are shocked at the contrast between 
 the people and the country ; you think that slaves 
 50 base, and tyrants so cruel ought nevei to have 
 dishonored such magnificent abodes. I had arrived 
 at Constantinople on the very day of a revolution : 
 the rebels of Romelia had advanced to the gates of 
 the city. Obliged to bend to the storm, SelLm had 
 exiled and dismissed the ministers obnoxious to the 
 janissaries ; it was expected every moment that the 
 discharge of cannon would announce the execution 
 of the proscribed. When I contemplated the ti'ees 
 and the palaces of the seraglio, I could not suppress 
 a feeling of compassion for the ruler of this vast 
 empire.* Oh ! how wretched are despots amidst 
 their prosperity, how weak amies: their power I 
 How are they to be pitied who wring floods of 
 tears from so many of their fellow-cre^itures, with- 
 out being sure that it will not come to their turn to 
 
 * Tbe unhappy end oi Selim bsi but too well jusuned this 
 pity. 
 
334 TRAVELS IN GRE£CE, PALESTINE, &:C. 
 
 weep, without being able to enjoy the slumbers of 
 which they deprive the unfortunate I 
 
 My residence at Constantinople was disagreea- 
 ble. I take delight in visiting sucli places only as 
 are embellished by virtues or by the arts ; and in 
 this country of the Phocases and the Bajazets I 
 found neither. My wishes were soon fulfilled, for 
 we w^eighed anchor on the very day of my embarka- 
 tion at four in the afternoon. We hoisted our sail 
 to the north wind and steered towards Jerusalem 
 under the banner of the cross, which waved at the 
 mast-head of our vessel. 
 
RHODES, JAFFA, BETHLEHEM, 
 
 THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 We had on board near two hundred passengers, 
 men, women, and chikhen ; the like number of 
 mats were seen ranged in order on either side of the 
 ship between decks. A slip of paper pasted above 
 each mat was inscribed with the name of the pro- 
 prietor. Each of the pilgrims had susj}ended his, 
 staff, his chaplet, and a small cross over his pillow. 
 The captain's cabin was occupied by the papas who 
 were the conductors of the company. At the en- 
 trance of this cabin, two antichambers had been 
 contrived : in one of these dark holes, about six feet 
 square, I had the honor to lodge with my two ser- 
 vants ; and the apartment opposite to mine was oc- 
 cupied by a family. In this kind of republic each 
 lived as he pleased : the w^omen nursed their chil- 
 dren, the men smoked, or dressed their dinners, and 
 the papas spent their time in conversation. On all 
 sides were heard the sounds of mandolines, violins, 
 and lyres ; some sung, others danced, laughed, or 
 
336 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 prayed. Joy was imprinted on every face. Jera- 
 salem ! said they to me, pointing to the sonth, and 
 I replied: Jerusalem I In short, but for fear, we 
 should have been the happiest creatures in the 
 world ; but at the least gust of wind the seamen 
 furled the sails, and the pilgrims ejaculated: Chris- 
 tos J Kyrie eleison. The gale subsided, and we re- 
 gained our courage. 
 
 For the rest, I observed none of those irregula- 
 rities that are spoken of by some travellers. We 
 were, on the contrary, very modest and well be- 
 haved. The very evening of our departure two 
 papas read prayers, which were attended by all the 
 pilgrims with great devotion. They blessed the ves- 
 sel ; a ceremony that was repeated with every gale. 
 The singing of the Greek church is melodious 
 enough, but has very little gravity. One singula- 
 rity which I remarked was this : a boy began the 
 verse of a psalm in a high tone, and thus proceeded 
 on one single note, while a papas chaunted the 
 same verse on a different note, beginning when the 
 boy had more than half finished. They have an 
 admirable Kyrie eleison : it is but one note kept up 
 by different voices, some bass, others treble, execut- 
 ing, andante and mezza voce^ the octave, the fifth, 
 and the third. The solemn and majestic effect of 
 this Kyrie is surprizing. It is doubtless a relic of 
 tlie ancient singing of the primitive church. I sus- 
 pect that the other psalmody is that modern method 
 introduced into the Greek ritual about the fourth 
 
 6 
 
EGYPT, A^W BARI5ARY. 33/ 
 
 cehtnrv, and which St. Augustine had such ample 
 reason to censure. 
 
 The very day after our departure, my fever re- 
 turned with great violence, and confined me to my 
 mat. We proceeded at a rapid rate through the 
 sea of Marmora, the ancient Propontis ; and passed 
 the peninsula of Cyzicus, the mouth of ^gos Pota- 
 mos, and the promontories of Sestos and Ahydos. 
 Neither Alexander and his army, Xerxes and his 
 fleet, the Athenians and Spartans, nor Hero and 
 Leander could drive away the head-ache which dis- 
 tracted me ; hut w hen I was told, at six in the 
 morning of the 21st of Septemher, that we were just 
 going to douhle the castle of the Dardanelles, the 
 fever was dispelled by the recollections of Troy. I 
 crawled upon deck ; the first object that met my 
 eye was a lofty promontory crowned with nine 
 mills : this w^as Cape Sigeum. At the foot of the 
 cape I distinguished two tumuli, the tombs of Achil- 
 les and Patroclus. The mouth of the Simois w^as 
 on the left of the new castle of Asia ; still farther 
 a-stern of us appeared Cape Rhoetus and the tomb 
 of Ajax. In the distance rose the chain of Mount 
 Ida, the declivities of w hich, viewed from the point 
 •where I w^as, appeared gentle, and of an harmonious 
 colour ; and Tenedos was a-head of us. 
 
 My eye expatiated over this picture, and invo* 
 luntarily returned to the tomb of Achilles^ I re- 
 peated these verses of the poet : 
 
 VOL. I, 
 
S3B TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Odyss. lib. 24w 
 
 The army of the warlike Greeks ererts on the shore a vast 
 ?tk1 admirable monument, which is ]>erceived afar off by those 
 wha pass it on the sea, and will attract the notice of the present 
 aud of future gcDeratious." 
 
 The pTramicIs of the Egyptian monarchs are in- 
 si^ificant compared with the glory of that tomb 
 of turf, which Homer sung and Alexander made 
 the circuit of. 
 
 I experienced on this occasion a remarkable ef- 
 fect of the power of the feelings and the influence 
 of the soul over the body : I had gone upon deck 
 "with the fever ; but iny head-ache suddenly left me ; 
 I recovered my strength, and what is still more ex- 
 traordinary, all the eneroies of mv mind. Twemv- 
 four hours afterwards, it is true, the fever had re- 
 turned. 
 
 I had no reason to reproach myself: I did in- 
 tend, in my progress through .Anatolia, to visit the 
 plain of Troy, and the reader has seen how 1 was 
 obliged to relinquish that -design : I then purposed 
 to land there as I passed, and the captain of the 
 ship obstinately refused to set me on shore, though 
 he had engaged to do so by our contract. These 
 crosses at first occasioned me a good deal of vexa- 
 tion, but at present I make myself easy on the sub- 
 ject. I have been wofuUy disappointed in Greece^ 
 
EGYPT, AND EARBARY. 339 
 
 uTii the same fortune perhaps awaited nie at Troy. 
 1 liave at least retained all my illusions respecting 
 the Simois, and moreover had the good fortune to 
 salute the sacred soil, to behold the ^^aves that 
 bathe it, and the sun by vrhich it is ilhimined. 
 
 I am aston i dled that travellers who treat of the 
 plain of Troy, should almost always overlook the 
 circumstances of the Eiieid. Troy is nevertheless 
 the glory of Virgil, as well as that of Homer. It 
 is a rare destinv for a country to have inspired the 
 finest strains of the two greatest poets in the world. 
 While the coast of Ilion receded from my view, I 
 €trove to recollect the verses which so admirably 
 <lescribe the Grecian fleet, leaving Tcnedos, and 
 advancing persilentia luncc, to these solitary shores, 
 which were successively presented to my view. 
 Horrid shrieks soon succeeded the silence of night, 
 and the flames of Priam's palace reddened that sea 
 which our vessel was peaceably ploughing. 
 
 The Muse of Euripides also seizing this mourn- 
 ful subject, prolonged the scenes of sorrow on these 
 tragic shores. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Hecuba, seest thou Andromache advancing seated in a foreign 
 car? Her son, the son of Hector, the young Astyanax follows 
 the materuul bosom. 
 
 Hecuba. 
 
 O unfortunate woman, whither wilt thou be carried, surroua- 
 ■<kd with Hector's arms and the spoils of Phrygia 1 
 
 Andromache. 
 
 O grief J 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 TKAVfiLS IS GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Hecuba. 
 
 My chiklren ! 
 
 ANDROM ACKE. 
 
 Wretched woman! 
 
 Hecuba. 
 
 Ami my cuilclien! 
 
 Andromache. 
 Assist me, my husband ! 
 
 Hkct BA. 
 
 Ah ! come thou scourge of Greece ! Thou first of my chil- 
 dren! Kestore to Priam in the shades, lier who on earth was so 
 tenderly attached to him. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 What else is left us but our sorrows, and the tears which we 
 
 shed upon these ruins. Woes have succeeded woes Troy is 
 
 bowed dow n by the yoke of slavery. 
 
 Hecuba. 
 
 Alas i the palace where I became a motlier is fallen ! 
 Chorus. 
 
 Omy children, your country is transformed into a desert!* 
 
 While I was engaged v. itli the sorrows oFHe- 
 cuhaj the descendants of the Greeks on board our 
 ship, still seemed to rejoice over the death of Priam. 
 Two sailors struck up a dance on deck, accompa- 
 nied by a lyre and a tambourine ; they performed a 
 kind of pantomime. Sometimes tliey raised their 
 hands towards heaven ; at others they would drop 
 one arm by their side, extending the other like an 
 orator making a speech, and afterwards laying it 
 on the heart, the brow, and the eyes. All these 
 actions were intermingled with attitudes more or 
 
 * The Troades. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 341 
 
 less ludicrous, without any decisive character, and 
 very mncb resembling the contortions of the savages. 
 On the subject of the dances of the modern Greeks, 
 the reader may consult the letters of M. Ciuys and 
 Madame Ch^nier. This pantomime was followed 
 by a rondo, in which the performers, passing and 
 repassing at different points, strongly reminded me 
 of the subjects of those basso relievos which l epre- 
 sent antique dances. Fortunately the shadow of 
 the sails prevented my having a distinct view of 
 the faces and dress of the actors, so that my imagi- 
 nation was at liberty to transform our di^ty sailors 
 >nto shepherds of Sicily or Arcadia. 
 
 The wind continuing favorable we quickly 
 cleared the channel which separates the island of 
 Tenedos from the continent, and we coasted along 
 Anatolia to Cape Baba, formerly Lectum Promon- 
 toriiim. We then stood to the west, that we might 
 be able at night-fall to double the point of the 
 island of Lesbos. Lesbos was the birth-place of 
 Sappho and Alcseus, and here the head of Orpheus 
 was cast on the shore, still repeating the name of 
 his Eurydice : 
 
 Ah ! miseram Eurydicen, anim-A fugient<j, voeabat. 
 On the morning of the 22d, the north wind 
 sprung up with extraordinary violence. We ought 
 to have pat into Chio, to take some more pilgrims 
 on board ; but through the captain's timiditv and 
 bad management, we Vi ere obliged to run for the 
 port of Tchesm^, and there come to an anchor at the 
 
 z 3 
 
342 TRAVELS IK GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 foot of a very dangerous rock near the wreck of a 
 large Egyptian vessel. 
 
 This xisiatic port seems to have something fatal 
 attached to it. Here the Turkish fleet Avas burned 
 in 1770? by Count Orlow^ and here tlie Romans de- 
 stroyed the galiies of Antiochus, I9I years before 
 the christian sera ; if^ however, the Cyssus of the 
 ancients be the Tchesme of the moderns. M. de 
 Choiseul has given a plan and a view of this port. 
 The reader will probably recollect that I was off 
 Tchesme in iny voyage to Smyrna, on the 1st of 
 September, twenty-one days before iny second pas- 
 sage through the Archipelago. 
 
 We vraited on the 22d and 23d for the pilgrims 
 from the island of Chio. John went on shore, 
 and procured me an abundant supply of pomegra- 
 nates from Tchesm^. But I have just mentioned 
 John's name, and this reminds me that I have yet 
 said nothing to the reader concerning this new in- 
 terpreter, the successor of the good-hearted Joseph. 
 He was the most mysterious creature I ever met 
 ^vith : two small eyes sunk deep in their sockets, 
 and hidden in a manner by a very prominent nose, 
 two red mustaches, a continual habit of smiling, 
 and a certain suppleness in his deportment, will 
 give at once an idea of his person. When he had 
 occasion to speak to me, he would advance side- 
 long, and after making a long circuit, come almost 
 creej ing, and whisper in my ear the most trifling 
 thing in the world. As soon as I perceived bim, I 
 used to cr\y WalK upright, and speak loud — a 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 343 
 
 piece of advice that many others besides poor Jolm 
 Stand in need of. He was acquainted with th^ 
 principal papas ; he related to nie very extraor- 
 dinary tilings ; he bronght me cp npli?nent§ from 
 the pilgrims who lived in the holcl, and whom I 
 Jiad never seen. At meal-times John never had 
 any appetite, so far was he above all vulgar v/ants ; 
 but no sooner had Julian done dinner, than John 
 would slip down into the boat where my provisions 
 ^ye^e kept, and under the pretext of putting tiiia^^s 
 to rights in the hampers, he would swallow darge 
 slices of ham. devour a fowl, empty a bottle of 
 wine, and that with such dispatch that the motion 
 of his lips was not to be perceived. He would then 
 return with a look of dejection, and ask me if I 
 "wanted him for any thing. I exhorted him to keep 
 up his spirits, and to take a little nourishment, other- 
 wise he ran the risk of making himself ill. The 
 fireek thought rae his dupe, and this gave him so 
 much pleasure, that i never nndeceived him. Not- 
 withstanding these small faults, John w^as in the 
 bottom a very honest man, and deserved the confi- 
 dence reposed in him by his masters. It may not 
 be amiss to observe that I have delineated this por- 
 trait and some otliers merely to gratify those rea- 
 ders who are curious to know something abont the 
 persons to whom they are introduced. For my 
 part, had I a talent for drawing caricatures of this 
 kind, I would assiduously strive to smother it; 
 whatever exhibits human nature in a ludicrous 
 light, seems to me undeserving of esteem. .Of courscj 
 
 Z 4 
 
344 Travels in Greece, Palestine, 
 
 1 mean not to include in this condemnation gennine 
 wit, delicate raillery, the grand irony of the ora- 
 torical style, and the higher department of comedy. 
 
 In the night hetween the 22d and 23d, the ship 
 hronght home her anchor, and we expected every 
 moment to run foul of the wreck of the Alex- 
 andrian vessel, near which we lay. The pilgrims 
 from Chio, sixteen in nnmher, arrived on the 23d 
 at noon. At ten P. M. the night l>eing very fine, 
 we got under weigh with a moderate hreeze at east, 
 Vthicli shified to the north before day-break on the 
 24th. 
 
 We passed between Nicaria and Samos, cele- 
 brated for its fertility, its tyrants, and above all, 
 for giving birth to Pythagoras. The beautiful epi- 
 sode in Telemachus has effaced all that the poets 
 have told us concerning Samos. We entered the 
 channel formed by the Sporades, Patmos, Leria, 
 Cos, &c. and the coast of Asia. There flowed the 
 winding Meander, there stood Ephesus, Miletus, 
 HalicaiTiassus, and Cnidus. I greeted, for the last 
 time, the native land of Homer, Herodotus, Hippo- 
 crates, Thales, and Aspasia ; but I could perceive 
 neither the temple of Ephesus, nor the sepulchre 
 of Mausolus, nor the Venus of Cnidus ; and but for 
 the works of Pococke, Wood, Spon, and Choiseul> 
 I should not have recognized the promontory of 
 Mycale, by its modern and inglorious name. 
 
 On the 25th, at six A.M. we came to an an- 
 chor in the harbour of Rhodes, to take on board a 
 pilot for the coast of Syria. ] landed^ and went to 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 345 
 
 tile house of the French consul, M. Magallon. 
 Still the same reception, the same hospitality, the 
 same politeness! M. Magallon was ill; he never- 
 theless introduced me to the Turkish governor, a 
 very good-natured man, who made me a present of 
 a hlack kid, and gave me permission to go wherever 
 I pleased. I shewed him a firman, which he laid 
 upon his head, declaring that he carried all the 
 friends of the Grand Signor in that manner. I 
 was impatient for the termination of this interview, 
 that I might at least get a sight of that celebrated 
 Rhodes, where I had but a moment to spend. 
 
 Here commenced for me an antiquity that 
 formed the link between the Grecian antiquity 
 which I had just quitted, and the Hebrew antiquity 
 which I was about to explore. The monuments of 
 the Knights of Rhodes roused my curiosity, which 
 was somewhat fatigued by the ruins of Sparta and 
 Athens. Some wise laws respecting commerce,* a 
 few verses by Pindar on the consort of the Sun and 
 the daughter of Venus,f some comic poets, and 
 painters, and monuments more distinguished for 
 magnitude than beauty, such I believe is all that 
 can remind the traveller of ancient Rhodes. The 
 
 * See Leunclavius's Treatise on the Maritime Law of the 
 Greeks and Romans. Tlie excellent ordonnance of Louis XIV. 
 on the subject of the marine, retains several clauses of the 
 Khodian laws. 
 
 t The nymph Rhodps. 
 
346 TRAVELS GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Rhodians were brave ; it is a singular circumstance, 
 tliat they acquired celebrity in arms for having 
 gloriously sustained a siege^ like the knights \he\v 
 successors. Rhodes, honored with the presence of 
 Cicero and Ponipey, was contaminated by the re- 
 sidence of Tiberius. During the reign of Honorius, 
 the Persians made themj^elves masters of Rhodes* 
 It was afterwards taken by the generals of the ca- 
 liphs, in the year 647 of our sera, and retaken by 
 Anastasius, emperor of tlie East. The Venetians 
 gained possession of the island in 1203, but it w^as 
 Avrested from them by John Ducas. The Turks 
 conquered it from the Greeks. In 1304, 1308, or 
 1319, it was seized by the Knights of St. John of 
 Jerusalem, by whom it was retained about two cen^ 
 turies, and surrendered to Solyman II. on the 25th 
 of December, 1522. On the subject of Rhodejj, 
 the reader may consult Coronelli, Dapper^ Savary, 
 and ChoiseuL 
 
 Rhodes exhibited to me, at every step, traces of 
 our manners, and memorials of my country. I 
 found here a little France in the midst of Greece. 
 I walked thu agh a long street, still called the 
 Street of the Knights. It consists of Gothic 
 houses, the walls of which are studded with Gallic 
 devices, and the arms of families tbat figure in our 
 annals. I remarked the lilies of France crowned, 
 and as fresh as if they had just come from the 
 hands of the sculptor. The Turks, who have 
 ^ every wliere mutilated the monuments of Greece, 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. S4J 
 
 have spared those of chivalry ; christian honor as- 
 tonished infidel bravery^ and the Saladins felt re- 
 spect for the Coucis. 
 
 At the end of the Street of tlte Knights, you 
 come to three Gothic arches which lead to the pa- 
 lace of the grand master. This palace is now con- 
 verted into a prison. A half-ruined convent, inha- 
 hited by two monks, is the only memorial at 
 Rhodes of that religion which there performed 
 such miracles. The fathers conducted me to their 
 chapel. You there see a Gothic virj^^in, with her 
 child, painted on wood ; the arms of d'Aabusson, 
 the grand master, are carved at the boitorn of the 
 picture. This curious piece of antiquity was dis- 
 covered some years since by a slave who was at 
 "Work in the garden belonging to the convent. In 
 the chapel is a second altar dedicated to St. Louis, 
 whose image is met Avith all over the East, and 
 whose death-bed I saw^ at Carthage. I left my 
 mite upon this altar, requesting the fathers to say a 
 mass for my prosperous voyage, as if I had foreseen 
 the dangers I should encounter on the coast of 
 Rhodes, in my return from Egypt. 
 
 The commercial port of Rhodes would be very 
 safe, if the ancient works which defended it were 
 rebuik. At the extremity of this harbour stands a 
 wall flanked with two towers. These towers, ac- 
 cording to a tradition current in the country, oc- 
 cupy the site of the two rocks which served as a 
 base for the Colossus. Every body knows that the 
 
' 348 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 ships did not pass between the legs of this statue; 
 I mention it merely not to omit any thing. 
 
 Very near this first harbour are situated the 
 basin for gallies, and the dock-yard. A frigate of 
 thirty guns was then on the stocks, and Vv'as to 
 be built entirely of fir from the mountains of the 
 island. 
 
 The coast of Rhodes opposite to CaramaniJi, 
 the ancient Doris and Caria, is nearly upon a level 
 with the sea ; but the land rises in the interior ; 
 and a lofty mountain, with a flat summit, men- 
 tioned by all the geograj)hers of antiquity, appears 
 very conspicuous. At Lindus are yet left some 
 vestiges of the temple of Minerva; but Caminis 
 and lalysus have totally disappeared. Rhodes for- 
 merly supplied all Anatolia with oil ; at present it 
 has not enough for its own consumption. It still 
 exports a small quantity of corn. The vineyards 
 yield an excellent Avine, resembling those of the 
 Rhone : the original plants were probably brought 
 from Dauphine by the chevaliers of that tongue ; 
 a conjecture which is strengthened by this circum- 
 stance, that these wines are here called, ^is iu 
 Cyprus, Cojnm.andery wines. 
 
 Our books of geogiaphy inform us that Rhodes 
 has manufactures of velvet and tapestry, which are 
 held in high estimation. Some coarse linens, 
 which are made up into furniture equally coarse, are 
 the only produce in this line of the industry of the 
 Rhodians. These people, whose colonies of old 
 
tounded ISaples ana Agrigeiitnm, now occupy no 
 more than a corner of their own desert island. 
 An aga, with about a hundred degenerate janissa- 
 ries, are sufficient to overawe a herd of slaves. It is 
 a wonder that the Order of Malta never attempted 
 to recover its ancient domain ; nothing would have 
 been more easy than to regain possession of the 
 island of Rhodes : the knights might without much 
 trouble, have repaired the fortifications, which are 
 yet very good ; they would not have been a second 
 time expelled ; for the Turks, who were the first 
 people in Europe that opened trenches before a 
 place, are now the very last of all in the art of 
 sieges. 
 
 At four in the afternoon of the 25th, I parted 
 from M. Magallon, after leaving with him some 
 letters, which he promised to forward, by way of 
 Caramania, to Constantinople. 1 hired a galley- 
 boat, and followed our ship, which was already 
 under, sail, having taken on board her coasting 
 pilot, a German, who had been settled at Rhodes 
 for many years. We steered witli a view to make 
 the cape ait the point of Caramania, formerly the 
 promontory of Chimsera in Lycia, A-stern of us, 
 Rhodes exhibited in the distance a bluish range of 
 coast under a golden sky. In this range we distin- 
 guished two square mountains which seemed to 
 have been cut out expressly for the erection of 
 castles, and nearly resembled in their form the 
 acropolis of Corinth, Athens, and Pergamas, 
 
 The 26lh was an unlucky day. We lay be- 
 
350 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 calmed off the continent of Asia, nearly a-breast of 
 Cape Chelidonia, which forms the point of the 
 gulf of Satalia. I saw on our left the loftv peaks 
 of the Cras'ns. and called to mind the verses of the 
 poets on the frigid Lycia. I knew not that I 
 should one day execrate the summits of tliis Taurus 
 which I now contemplated with pleasure, and fondly 
 reckoned among the celebrated mountains whose 
 tops I had beheld. The currents were strong, and 
 carried us out to sea, as we found the following 
 day. The ship which was in ballast, laboured 
 exceedingly: we shivered our main-top-mast and 
 the fore-top-sail-yard ; which, to sailors so inex- 
 perienced as we, was a very serious misfortune. 
 
 It is really surprising to see how the Greeks 
 navigate their ships. The pilot sits cross-legged, 
 with his pipe in his mouth, holding the tiller, 
 which, to be on a level with the hand that guides 
 it, must graze the deck. Before this pilot, who is 
 half reclined, and consequently can exert no force, 
 stands a compass, which he knows nothing about, 
 and which he never looks at. On the least appear- 
 ance of danger, French or Italian charts are spread 
 out- upon the deck; the whole crew, with the 
 captain at their head, lie down upon their bellies ; 
 they examine the chart ; they follow the lines de* 
 lineated upon it with their fingers ; they endeavour 
 to find out where they are, each gives his opinion : 
 they conclude at last that it is impossible to make 
 head or tail of these conjuring-books of the Franks, 
 fold up the map again, lower the sails, or bring 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 351 
 
 the wind a-stern : they then have recourse again 
 to their pipes and their chaplets, recommend them- 
 selves to Providence, and await the event. In this 
 way many a sliip gets two or three hundred leagnes 
 out of her course, and finds herself off the coast of 
 Africa instead of making that of Syria ; hut all 
 this cannot prevent the crew from joining in a 
 dance on the first gleam of sun-shine. The a.ncient 
 Greeks were, in many respects, hut amiable and 
 credulous children, who passed with all the levity 
 of infancy from grief to joy, and the modern 
 Greeks have retained something of this character : 
 happy at least to find in this versatility of dispo- 
 sition some relief from their woes ! 
 
 About eight in the evening, the wind got round 
 again to the north ; and the hopes of soon being 
 at the end of their voyage, once more cheered the 
 spirits of the pilgrims. Our German pilot informed 
 us that at break of day we should perceive Cape St. 
 Iphane in the island of Cyprus; and nothing was 
 now tlionglit of but how to enjoy life. The whole 
 company had supper brought upon deck ; ther 
 divided into groups, and each sent to his neighbour 
 whatever that neighbour happened to stand in need 
 of. I had adopted the family that lodged opposite 
 to me, at the door of the captain's cabin ; it con- 
 sisted of a young woman, her two children, and 
 her aged father. This old man was performing 
 his third voyage to Jerusalem ; he had never yet 
 seen a Latin pilgrim, and the good creature wept 
 for joy when he looked at me : I therefore supped 
 
352 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Avith his family. Never did I behold a scene more 
 pleasing and more ])icturesque. The wind was 
 cool, the sea beautiful, and the sky serene. The 
 moon seemed to hover between the masts and 
 among the rigging ; sometimes she appeared with- 
 out the sails, and all the ship was illumined ; at 
 others she was hidden behind the sails, and the 
 groups of pilgrims were again thrown into the 
 shade. Who would not have blessed religion, on 
 reflecting that these two hundred persons, so 
 happy at this moment, were, nevertheless, slaves, 
 bowed down by the yoke of tyranny ? They were 
 proceeding to the tomb of Christ, to bury in ob- 
 livion the past glory of their country, and to seek 
 consolation for their present afflictions. 
 
 On the morning of the 27th, to the great sur- 
 prize of the pilot, we found ourselves in open sea, 
 and out of sight of any land. A calm overtook 
 us : the consternation was general. Where w^ere 
 we? Were we within or without the island of 
 Cyprus ? The whole day passed in this extraor- 
 dinary dispute. To have talked of taking the 
 reckoning, or the altitude, would have been He- 
 brew to our sailors. When the breeze sprung up 
 towards evening, they were thrown into a new^ em- 
 Ijarrassment. On what tack were w^e to steer? 
 The pilot, who imagined that we were between 
 the north coast of Cyprus and the gulf of Satalia, 
 proposed to keep the ship's head to the south, to 
 get sight of the former ; but the consequence would 
 have been, that, had we passed the island, we 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBAllY. S53 
 
 slionld have gone, by following that point of the 
 compass, right to Egypt. The captain was of 
 opinion that we onght to steer to the north, in 
 order to find the coast of Caramania; this wonld 
 have been putting back, and, besides, the wind was 
 contrary to that cotii"se. My opinion was asked; 
 for in all cases of any difficulty, the Greeks and 
 Turks invariably have recourse to the Franks. 
 My advice was, that we should steer to the east- 
 ward, for an obvious reason : we were either with- 
 in or without the island of Cyprus ; now, in either 
 case, by standing to the east, we should be making 
 progress- Besides, if we were v/ithin the island, 
 we could not fail to see land to larboard or star- 
 board in a very short time, either at Cape Anemur, 
 in Caramania, or at Cape Cornachitti, in Cyprus. 
 We should then have nothing to do but to double 
 the eastern point of that island, and afterwards 
 drop down the coast of Syria. 
 
 This method of proceeding seemed the most 
 eligible, and we turned the ship's head to the east. 
 At five in the morning of the 28 th, to our great 
 joy, we descried Cape de Gatte, in the island of 
 Cyprus, bearing to the north, about eight or ten 
 leagues distant. Thus we found ourselves without 
 the island, and in the proper direction for Jaffa. 
 The currents had carried us out to sea lo the south 
 west. 
 
 The wind fell at noon : we were becalmed the 
 r«st of the day and part of the 2gtli. ¥/e were 
 joined by three fresh passengers ; two water-wag- 
 vox., I- A A 
 
354 TRAVELS fN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 tails and a swallow: I know not what conld have 
 iticliicetl the former to quit their companions ; as 
 to the latter it was goini^ perhaps to Syria, and it 
 came perhaps from France. I was tempted to 
 enq^iire *of it about that paternal roof Avhich I had 
 to long quitted. I recollect that when I was a 
 child, 1 passed whole hours in watching, with a 
 mtain melancholy pleasure, the swallows flying 
 ^bout in autumn ; as if some secret instinct had 
 lA'hisnered that I should be a traveller like those 
 birds. They assembled about the end of September^ 
 among the rushes of a large pond ; there twittering 
 and making a thousand evolutions over the surface 
 of the water, they seemed to be trying their wing& 
 and preparing for a long pilgrimage. Among all 
 the recollections of existence, why do we piefer 
 those of our infancy ? The pleasures of self-love, 
 the illusions of youth, appear not to the memory 
 clothed in charms ; we think them, on the con- 
 trary, insipid or bitter : but the most trifling cir- 
 cumstances awaken in the heart the emotions of 
 childhood, and ahvays with new attractions. On 
 the banks of the lakes of America, in an unknown 
 desert, which relates nothing to the traveller, in a 
 region which has nothing to boast but the gran- 
 deur of solitude, d swallow was sufficient to revive 
 the scenes of the early days of my life, as it recalled 
 them to my memory on the sea of Syria, in sight 
 of an antique land re-echoing the voice of ages and 
 the traditions of history. 
 
 The currents now carried us tow^ards the 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 355 
 
 island of Cyprus. We descried its low, sandr^ 
 and apparently sterile coasts. On tliese shores 
 Mythology placed her most pleasing fables : 
 
 Ipsa Papiium sublimis abit, sedesqiie revisit 
 Ljtta suns, ubi templuni illi, centunique Sabceo 
 Tiiure calent arse, sertis |U€ recentlbus lialant. 
 
 As soon as I went on shore/' said the son 
 of Ulysses, I perceived a certain softness in the 
 air, which, thorjgh it rendered the body indolent 
 and inactive, yet brought on a disposition to 2:aiety 
 and wantonness ; and, indeed, the inhabitants 
 were so averse to labour, that the country, though 
 extremely fertile and pleasant, was almost wliolly 
 uncultivated. I met, in every street, crowds of 
 xvomen loosely dressed, singing the praises of 
 Venus, and going to dedicate tliemselves to the 
 service of her temple. Beauty and pleasure spark- 
 led in their countenances, but their beauty was 
 tainted by affectation ; and the modest simplicity, 
 from which female charms principally derive theii* 
 power, was wanting ; the dissolute air, the studied 
 look, the flaunting dress, and the lascivious gait, 
 the expressive glances that seemed to wander in 
 search after those of the men, the visible emulation 
 who should kindle the most ardent passion, and 
 whatever else 1 discovered in these women, moved 
 only my contempt and aversion, and I was dis- 
 gusted by all that they did with a desire to please, 
 
 ^' I was conducted to a temple of the goddess, 
 of which there are several in the island ; for she is 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 worshipped at Cythera, Idalia, and Paphos. That 
 which I visited was at Cythera : the structure, 
 which is all of marble, is a complete peristyle ; and 
 the columns are so large and lofty that its appear- 
 ance is extremely majestic : on each front over the 
 architrave and frieze, are large pediments, on 
 which the most entertaining adventures of the god- 
 dess are represented in bas-relief. There is a per- 
 petual crowd of people with offerings at the gate, 
 bat within the limits of the consecrated ground no 
 victim is ever slain ; the fat of bulls and heifers is 
 never burnt, as at other temples ; nor are the rites 
 of pleasure profaned with their blood : the beasts 
 that are here offered are only presented before the 
 altar ; nor are any accepted but those that are 
 young, w hite, and without blemish ; they are 
 dressed with purple fillets embroidered with gold, 
 and their horns are decorated with gilding and 
 flowers ; after they have been presented, they are 
 led to a proper jdace at a considerable dista,nce, and 
 killed for the banquet of the priests. 
 
 Perftimed liquors are also offered, and v/ines 
 of the richest flavour. The haljit of the priests is 
 a long white robe, fringed with geld at the bottom, 
 and bound round them with golden girdles ; the 
 richest aroinatics of the East burn night and day 
 upon the altars, and the smoke rises in a cloud of 
 fragrance to the skies. All the columns of the 
 temple are adorned with festoons ; all the sacrificial 
 vessels are of gold ; and the whole building is 
 surrounded by a consecrated grove of odoriferous 
 
EGYPT, ANJD BARBARA. 357 
 
 TTiyrtle : none are permitted to present tbe victims 
 to the priest, or to kindle the hallowed fire, hut 
 boys and girls of consninmate beauty. But this 
 temple, iTowever magnificent, was rendered in- 
 famous by t lie dissolute manners of the votaries."^ 
 In regard to Cyjjrus, we had better adhere to 
 poetry than history, unless we can derive pleasure 
 from the recollection of one of the most flagrant 
 acts of injustice ever committed by the Romany, 
 and a scandalous expedition of Cato's. But it is 
 a singular thing to represent to ourselves, that in 
 the middle ages, the temples of Amathus and Idaiia 
 were transformed into dungeons. A French gen- 
 tleman was king of Paphos, and barons covered 
 w ith coats of mail w^ere quartered in the sanctuaries 
 of Cupid and the (iraces. Iq Dapper's Archtpe- 
 hgo may be seen the complete history of Cyprus ; 
 and the Ahh6 Mariti has treated of the modern 
 revolutions and the present state of this island;, 
 which, from its position, is still a place of import- 
 ance. 
 
 The weather was so fine, and the air so mild^ 
 that all the passengers continued the w hole night 
 upon deck. I had a contest about a little corner 
 of the (juarter-deck, with two lusty caloyers^ who 
 gave it up to me^ but not without grumbling. 
 Here I was sleeping at six in the morning of the 
 30th of September, when I was rouzed by a con- 
 fused sound of voices : I opened my eyes and per- 
 
 * Telemachuv;, Book IV. 
 A A 3 
 
358 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 ceived a^l the pilgrims looking towards the pro^ 
 of the vessel. I asked what was the matter, and 
 the? called out to me : Si^mor, il Carmelo ! Mount 
 Carmel ! A breeze had sprung up at eight the 
 pTeceding evening, and in the night we had come 
 in sight of the coast of Syria. As I had lain do^vn 
 in my clothes, I w^as soon on my legs, enquiring 
 -which was the sacred mountain. Each was eager 
 to point it out to me, but I could see nothing of it 
 because the sun began to rise in our faces. This 
 moment had something religious and august; ail 
 the pilgrims, with their chaplets in their hands, 
 had remained in silence in the same attitude, await- 
 ing the appearance of the Holy Land. The chief 
 of the papas was praying aloud ; nothing was lo 
 be heard but this prayer and the noise made in her 
 course by the ship, wafted by a most favorable 
 wind upon a brilliant sea. From time to time a 
 cry was raised on the prow, when Carmel again 
 appeared in sight. At length I perceived that 
 mountain myself, like a round spot beneath the 
 rays of the sun ; I fell upon my knees after 
 the manner of the Latin pilgiims. I felt not 
 that agitation which seized me on beholding, for 
 the first time, the shores of Greece; but the sight 
 of the cradle of the Israelites and the birth-place 
 of Christianity filled me with awe and veneration. 
 I was just arriving in that land of wonders, at the 
 sources of the most astonishing poesy, at the spot, 
 where, even humanly speaking, happened the greatest 
 event that ever changed the face of the world ; I 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 359 
 
 ^fiaean the coming of the Messiah : I Vv as just reach- 
 ing those shores which were vi ited in like nianner 
 by Godfrey de Bouillon, Raimoud de St. Gilks, 
 Tancred the Brave, Robert the Strong, Richard 
 Coenr de Lion, and that St. Louis, whose virtues 
 were the admiration of infidels. But how durst an 
 obscure pilgrim like nie tread a soil consecrated by 
 so many illustrious pilgrims r 
 
 As we approached nearer and the sun got 
 higher, the Ian I became more distinctly visible. 
 The last point that we perceived in the distance oa 
 our left, towards the north, was the cape of T^/re; 
 next came Cape Blanco, St. John d'Acre, Mount 
 Carmei with Caifa at its foot, Tartoura, formerly 
 Dora, the Pilgrims' Castle, and C^sarea, the ruins 
 of which are to be seen. We knew that Jaffa must 
 be right a-head of us, but it was not yet discernible. 
 The coast then gradually sunk to the last cape to- 
 wards the south, where it was entirely lost : here 
 commence the shores of ancient Palestine, here 
 they join those of Egypt, and are nearly upon a 
 level with the sea. The land, eight or ten leagues 
 distant from us, appeared generally white .with 
 black undulations produced by the shadows; there 
 was nothing prominent in the obliqne line which it 
 formed from north to south : Mount Carmei itself 
 was not conspicuous ; the whole was uniform and 
 dull. A file of V bite and indented clouds followed 
 the direction of the land upon the horizon, and 
 jseemed to repeat the appearance of it in the sky. 
 
 A A 4 
 
3GO TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 At noon the wind failed iis ; a breeze sprmig^ tip 
 at four o'clock, but through the ignorance of the 
 pilot, we overshot cur mark. We were steering in 
 full j?ai} for Gaza, when the pilgrims, from the in- 
 spection of the coasty discoTered the mistake of our 
 Crerman ; we were then obliged to put the ship 
 about, which occasioned a loss of time, and night 
 came on. We, however, approaclied Jaffa, and 
 could even perceive the lights in the town, when a 
 stiff breeze beginning to blow from the north-w^est, 
 the captain was afraid to venture into the road in 
 the night, and suddenly turiiing the head of the 
 ship, he put off again to sea. 
 
 1 was standing on the poop and beheld the land 
 receding from us with real mortification. In about 
 half an hour 1 perceived something like the distant 
 yefiexion of a fire on a peak of a chain of moun- 
 tains ; these were the mountains of Judea. The 
 moon that produced the effect with which I was 
 struck, soon shewed her ample and blushing orb 
 above Jerusalem. A friendly hand seemed to place 
 this pharos on the summit of Sion to guide us to 
 the Holy City. Unfortunately we were not dis- 
 posed like the Magi, to follow the kindly luminary, 
 and her refulgence served only to light us from the 
 so ardently wished-for port. 
 
 The next morning, October I st, at break of day, 
 we found ourselves becalmed off' the coast, nearly 
 a-breast of Csesarea : we were now obliged to range 
 again to the south along the shore. The lit- 
 tle wind we had wiis fortunately fair. In the 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 36l 
 
 distance rose the amphitheatre of the mountains of 
 Judea^ at the foot of which a spacious plain de^ 
 scended to the sea. Scarcely any traces of culti\ a- 
 tion were perceptible, and not a habitation was to 
 he seen but a Gothic castle in ruins surmounted 
 with a falling- and deserted minaret. On the border 
 of the sea, the land was terminated by yellow cliffs 
 streaked with black ; from these sloped the beach^ 
 on which we saw and heard the billows breaking. 
 The Arab, roving on this inhospitable shore, pur- 
 sues with eager eye the vessel that scuds along the 
 horizon ; he lurks in expectation of the plunder of 
 the wreck, on that very shore where Christ gave 
 the injunction to feed the hungry and to clothe the 
 naked. 
 
 At two P. M. we at length again descried Jaffa, 
 We were perceived from the city ; a boat put off 
 from the harbour, and came to meet us. I availed 
 myself of this opportunity to send John on shore, 
 with the lettei of recommendation given me at 
 Constantinople by the deputies from the Holy Land^ 
 and addressed to the Fathers of Jaffa. This letter 
 I accompanied with a note from myself. 
 
 An hour after John's departure we came to an 
 anchor qft^ Jaffa, the town bearing south-east, and 
 the minaret of the mosque east-south-east. I am par- 
 ticular in marking the points of the compass in this 
 place^ for a reason of some coBse(|uence : the Latin 
 vessels usually bring-to farther out in the offing ; 
 they are then upon a ledge of rocks which are liable 
 to cut their cables, whereas the Greek vessels by 
 
362 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 Standing in closer to the shore, find a much safer 
 bottom between the basin of Jaffa and the rocks. 
 
 Jafta exhibits a miserable assemblage of houses 
 huddled together, and built in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre, on the declivity of a lofty hill. The calami- 
 ties wliich this town has so often experienced have 
 multiplied the number of its ruins. A wall be- 
 ginning and ending at the sea, encompasses it on 
 the land-side and secures it from anv sudden sur- 
 prize. 
 
 Galley-boats soon approached from all quarters 
 to fetch the pilgrims : the dress, features, com-^ 
 plexion, look, and language of the masters of these 
 boats, at once announced the Arab race and th^ 
 frontiers of the desert. The landing of the pas- 
 sengers was conducted without tumult, but with a 
 degree of eagerness on their part that was very ex- 
 cusable. This crowd of men, women, and chil- 
 dren, did not set up those shouts, those bowlings, and 
 lamentations, represented in some imaginary and 
 ridiculous accounts. They were perfectly com- 
 posed, and among them all I was certainly the most 
 agitated. 
 
 At length I perceived a boat coming with my 
 Greek servant, accompanied by three of the reli- 
 gious. The latter knew me by my Frank dress, and 
 waved their hands in the most friendly manner. They 
 soon reached the ship. Though these Fathers were 
 Spaniards, and spoke an Italian that was difficult to 
 be understood, we shook hands like real countrymen. 
 I went with them into the boat, and we entered the 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 
 
 3(73 
 
 ^ port by an aperture formed between two rocks, and 
 dangerous even for so small a vessel. The Arabs 
 on shore advanced into the water up to their waists, 
 to take us upon their shoulders. Here ensued a di- 
 verting scene. My servant had on a light drab 
 great coat, and white being the colour of distinction 
 among the Arabs, they judged that he was the 
 sheik. Accordingly they laid hold of him and car- 
 ried him off in triumph in spite of his protestations, 
 whilst I, tlianks to my blue coat, rode obscurely on 
 the back of a ragged beggar. 
 
 We proceeded to the hospital of the Fathers, a 
 plain wooden building close to the harbour, com- 
 manding a very fine view of the sea. My hosts first 
 led me to the chapel which I found lighted up, and 
 where they returned thanks to God for having sent 
 them a bi other — affecting christian institutions, by 
 means of which the traveller finds friends and ac- 
 commodations in the most barbarous regions ; insti- 
 tutions of which I have elsewhere spoken, and which, 
 can never be sufficiently admired ! 
 
 The names of the three religious who had come 
 on board to fetch me, were John Traylos Penna, 
 Alexander Roma, and Martin Alexano. They com- 
 posed at this time the whole establishment, the 
 rector Don Juan De la Conception being absent. 
 
 On coming from the chapel, the Fathers ushered 
 me into my cell, in which was a table, a bed, ink, 
 paper, fresh water, and clean linen. To form a 
 true estimate of these comforts, you must be cooped 
 up as long as I had been in a Greek ship with twQ 
 
364 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 hundred pilgrims. At eight in the evening we re- 
 paired to the refectory. Here we found two other 
 Fathers, Manuel Sancia and Francisco Munoz, whch 
 had come from Rama, and were b(iund to Constaiw 
 tinople. They commonly say the Benedicite, pre- 
 ceded by the De projundis — a memorial of death 
 which christiH' ity mingles with all the actions of 
 life to render them more solemn, as the aacients 
 did with their banquets to give a higher zest to their 
 pleasures ! On a small, clean, separate table, they 
 set before me poultry, lish, excellent fruit, such as 
 pomegranates, water-melons, grapes, and dates in 
 their prime ; I had as much Cyprus wine and 
 Turkey coffee as I chose to drlrik. While I was 
 thus liberally supplied with good things, the Fathers 
 ate only a little fish without salt or oil. They were 
 cheerful with moderation, familiar with politeness ; 
 asked no useless questions and shewed no vain cu- 
 riositv. All their conversation turned on the sub- 
 ject of my tour and the measures that ought to be 
 adopted to enable me to accomplish it in safety ; 
 
 for," said they, " we are now answerable for you 
 to your country." 1 hey had already spnt off an ex- 
 press to the sheik of the Arabs in the mountains of 
 Judea, and another to the Father Procurator of 
 Rama. " We receive you," said Father Munoz to 
 to me, " with a heart limpido e hiancoy This good 
 Spaniard had no occasion to assure me of the sin-: 
 ceriXy of his sentiments ; I should easily have dis- 
 covered it in the benifrnitv of his looks. 
 ^ This truly christian and charitable reception iq. 
 
EGYPT^ AKD BARBAHY. 365 
 
 that land where Christianity and charity took their 
 rise ; this apostolic hospitality in a place where the 
 first of the Apostles preached the doctrines of the 
 gospel, moved me to the very heart : I recollected 
 that other missionaries had received me with the 
 same cordiality in the wilds of America. The re- 
 ligious of the Holy Land have the more merit, for 
 while they dispense, with liheral hand, the charity 
 of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims to Jerusalem., they 
 have reserved the Cross that was erected on these 
 shores for themselves. This Father, w^ith a heart so 
 limpido e bianco, nevertheless assured me that the 
 life which he had led for these fifty years seemed to 
 him un vero paradiso. Would the reader like to 
 know what sort of a paradise this is ? Every day 
 a new oppression, menaces of the bastinado, of fet- 
 ters, of death. These religious having last Easter 
 washed the linen belong to the altar, the water 
 impregnated with starch, as it ran awav from 
 the convent, whitened a stone. A Turk passed, 
 and seeing this stone, went and informed the cadi, 
 that the Fathers had been repairing their house. 
 The cadi hastened to the spot, decided that the stone 
 which was black had become white, and without 
 hearing what the religious had to say, obliged them 
 to pay ten purses. The very day before my arrival 
 at Jaffa, the Father-procurator of the hospital had 
 been threatened with the rope by one of the as^a's 
 attendants in the presence of the aga himself. The 
 latter sat quietly curling his whiskers without 
 deigning to speak ^ word in favour of the dog. 
 
366 TRAVELS IX GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Sucli is the real paradise of these monks, who, ac- 
 cording to some travellers, are little sovereigns in 
 the Holy Land, and enjoy the highest honors. 
 
 At ten o'clock my hosts conducted me hack 
 through a long passage to my cell. The billows 
 dashed against the rocks of the harlionr : with the 
 window shut, you would have thought it a tem- 
 pest ; when it was open you beheld a serene sky, a 
 peaceful moon, a calm sea, and the vessel of 
 the pilgrims lying in the ofiing. The Fathers 
 smiled at the surj.rise which I shewed at this con- 
 trast. I said to them in had Latin : Ecce mo- 
 nacMs simiUtudo mumli : quantumcunque mare 
 fremitum reddat^ els placidce semper undas videntur; 
 omnia tranqullUfas sereids anlmls. 
 
 I spent part of the night in contemplating thi? 
 tea of Tvre, which is called in Scrioture the Great 
 Sea, and v^ hich bore the fleets of the royal prophet 
 when thev went to fetch the cedars of Lebanon and 
 the purple of Sidon ; that sea where Leviathan 
 leaves traces behind him like abysses ; that sea to 
 which the Lord set barriers and gates ; that af- 
 frighted deep which beheld God and fled. This 
 was neither the wild ocean of Canada, nor the 
 playful waves of (rreece : to the south extended 
 that Egypt, into which the Lord came riding upon 
 a swift cloud to dry up the channels of the Nile and 
 to overthrow the idols ; to the north was seated 
 that cjueen of chies whose merchants were princes ; 
 " Howl ye ships of Tarshish for your strength is 
 laid vv'aste ! The city of confusion is broken down; 
 
BOYPt, AKD BARBARY. 36/ 
 
 every house is shut that no man may come in. 
 When thus it shall be in the midst of the land 
 among the people ; there shall be^ as the shaking of 
 an olive-tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the 
 vintage is done." Here are other antiquities ex- 
 plained by another poet : Isaiah succeeds Homer. 
 
 But this was not all : this sea whicli I contem- 
 plated ^vashed the shores of Galilee on my right 
 and the plain of A?calon on my left. In the former 
 I met with the traditions of the patriarchal life, and 
 of the nativity of our Saviour; in the latter I dis- 
 covered memorials of the Crusades^ and the shades 
 of the heroes of Jerusalem. 
 
 Grande e mirabil cosa era il vedere, &c. 
 
 " What a grand and admirable spectacle to be- 
 hold the two camps advancing front against fronts 
 the battalions forming in order, impatient tomarch^, 
 impatient for the attack. The streaming banners 
 float in the air, and the wind waves the plumes on 
 the lofty helmets. The garments, fringes, devices, 
 colors, arms of gold and iron glisten in the rays of 
 the sun." 
 
 It was with reluctance that I withdrew my eyes 
 from that sea which revives so many recollections ; 
 but exhausted nature must be recruited by sleep. 
 
 Father Juan de la Conception, rector of Jaffa, 
 and president of the convent, arrived on the morn- 
 ing of the next day, October 2d. I purposed to see 
 the town, and pay a visit to the aga, who had sent 
 to compliment me ; but the president dissuaded me 
 from this intention. 
 
BGS travels in GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Yon know nothing about these people," said 
 lie, What you take for politeness is mere e^pion- 
 nage. 1 hey have sent to salute you for no other 
 purpose than to Snd out who yon are, whether you 
 are rich, and whether they can plunder you. If 
 you would see the aga, you must first carry him 
 presents : he will not fail in that case to give you, 
 in spite ,of all yon can sav, an escort to Jerusalem; 
 the aga of Rama w ill swell this escort ; the Arabs, 
 persuaded that a rich Frank is going on pilgrimage 
 to the Holy Sepulchre, will raise the duties of caf" 
 Jaro, or attack you. At the gates of Jemsalem you 
 T/ill find the camp of the pacha of Damascus, who 
 has come to levy contributions, before he conducts 
 the caravan to Mecca : the shew you make will 
 give umbrage to this pacha, and will expose you to 
 new extortions. On your arrival at Jerusalem, 
 three or four thousand piastres will be demanded 
 for your escort. The populace, informed of your 
 coming, w ill annoy you to such a degree, that if 
 you possessed millions, you could not satisfy their 
 rapacity. The streets will be obstructed as you 
 pass, and you will not be able to visit the sacred 
 places. Take my advice, and to-morrow we will 
 disguise ourselves as pilgrims, and proceed together 
 to Rama : there I shall receive an answer to my ex- 
 press ; if it be favorable, you may depart at night, 
 and arrive safe and sound, with little expence, at 
 Jerusalem.'* 
 
 In support of this advice, the Father urged a 
 thousand examples, and in particular that of a Pq:3 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 369 
 
 Jish bishop^ who had nearly lost his life two years 
 before, on account of too great an appearance of 
 wealth. This I relate merely to shew to what apitch 
 corniption. love of gold, anarchy and barbarity, are 
 carried in this unhappy country. 
 
 Guiding nivsclf therefore by the experience of 
 my hosts, I kept close in the convent, wdiere I spent 
 an agreeable day in pleasing conversation. I re- 
 ceived a visit from M. Contessiiii, who aspired to 
 the vice-consulship of Jaffa, and from Messrs. D.i- 
 miens, senior and junior. Frenchmen by birth, and 
 formerly in the service of Djezzar at St. John 
 d'Acre. They related to me some curious facts re- 
 lative to the recent events in Syria ; they spoke of 
 the renown which the emperor and oar arms have 
 left behind in the desert. Men are still more feel- 
 ingly alive to the glory of their country, when away 
 from that country, than under the paternal roof ; 
 and we have seen French emigrants claiming their 
 share of victories which seemed likely to doom them 
 to everlasting exile.* 
 
 I spent five days at Jaffa on my return from 
 Jerusalem, and examined it most minutely. I 
 ought therefore to defer my observations till that 
 period, but that I may not derange the order of my 
 route I shall introduce them in this place : besides 
 which^ it is probable, that after the description of 
 
 * The same sentiment is said to have been expressed by 
 James If. of England, after the loss of his kingdom, on occasioa of 
 the battle of La Hogue. 
 
 VOL. I, B B 
 
S/O TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 the sacred places, the reader would not take any 
 great interest in that of Jaffa. 
 
 Jaffa was formerly called Joppa, which, accord- 
 ing to Adrichoinius, signifies beantifnl or agreeable. 
 D'Anviile derives the present name from the primi- 
 tive form of Joppa which is Japho.* I shall ob- 
 vServe, that in the land of the Hebrews there was 
 another city of the name of Jaffa, which was taken 
 by the Romans : this name perhaps was afterwards 
 transferred to Joppa. According to some commen- 
 tators, and Pliny himself, the origin of this city is 
 of very high antiquity, Joppa having been built be- 
 fore the deluge. It is said, that at Joppa Noah 
 went into the ark. After the flood had subsided, 
 the patriarch gave to Shem, his eldest son, all the 
 lands dependent on the city, founded by his third 
 son Japhet. Lastly; according to the traditions of 
 the country, Joppa contains the sepulchre of the 
 second father of mankind. 
 
 According to Pococke, Shaw, and perhaps d'An- 
 ville, Joppa fell to the share of Ephraim, and with 
 Ramla and Lydda, formed the western part of that 
 tribe : but other authors, and among the rest Adri- 
 choraius, Roger, &c. place Joppa in the tribe of 
 Dan. The Greeks extended to these shores the 
 empire of fable, and asserted that Joppa derived 
 
 * In Syria, I know, the name of this town is pronounced 
 Y^fa, and it is so written by Vohiey ; but I am not acquainted 
 with Arabic, and besides I have no authority to correct the ortho- 
 graphy of D'Aaville, and so many other learned writers. 
 
EGYPT;, AND BARBARY. 
 
 its name from a daiigbter of ^olas. They placed 
 in j:he neigh honrhood of this city the adventure of 
 Perseus and Andromeda. Scaurus, according to 
 Pliny, transported from Joppa to Rome the bones 
 of the sea monster sent by Neptune. Pausanias 
 assm'es iis, that near Joppa was to be seen a foun- 
 tain, where Perseus washed off the blood with which 
 the monster bad covered him ; and from this cir- 
 cumstance the water ever afterwards remained of a 
 red colour. Finally, St. Jerome relates, that in his 
 time the rock and the ring to which Andromeda 
 was bounds still continued to be pointed out at 
 Joppa. 
 
 It was at Joppa that the fleets of Hiram, laden 
 with cedar for the Temple landed their cargoes ; 
 and here the prophet Jonah embarked when he fled 
 before the face of the Lord. Joppa fell five times 
 into the hands of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and 
 other nations, who made war upon the Jews, pre- 
 viously to the arrival of the Romans in Asia. It 
 became one of the eleven toparchies where the idol 
 Ascarlen was adored. Judas Maccabeus burned 
 the town, whose inhabitants had slaughtered two 
 hundred Jews. St. Peter here raised Tabitha from 
 the dead, and received the men sent from Ceesarea 
 in the house of Simon the tanner. At the commence- 
 ment of the troubles of Judea, Joppa was des- 
 troyed by Gestius. The walls having been rebuilt 
 by pirates, Vespasian again sacked it, and placed a 
 garrison in the citadel. 
 
 We have seen that Joppa existed about two cenr- 
 
 B B 2 
 
3/3 TRAVELS IN GxlEECE, PALESTIN% 
 
 turies posterior to these events, in the time of St* 
 Jerome, who calls it Japho. It passed with all Sy- 
 ria Tinder the yoke of the Saracens ; and again 
 makes its appearance in the historians of the cru- 
 sades. The anonymous writer who begins the col- 
 lection intituled Gesta Dei per Francos^ relates 
 that^ when the army of the crusaders was under the 
 walls of Jerusalem, Godfrey of Bouillon sent Rai- 
 mond Pilet, Achard de Mommellou, and William 
 de Sabran, to guard the Genoese and Pisan vessels, 
 which had arrived in the port of Jaffa* Benjamin 
 of Tudela speaks of it, about the same period, by 
 the name of Gapha : Quinque ab June leucis est Ga^ 
 pha oUm Japho, aliis Joppe dicta, ad mare situ; uhi 
 iinus tantum Judceus, Isque lance injiciendce artifeoa 
 est, Saladin retook Jaffa from the crusaders, and 
 Richard Coeur de Lion recovered it from Saladin. 
 The Saracens once more gained possession of the 
 town, and put the Christians to the sword : but at 
 the period of the first expedition of St. Louis to the 
 cast, it w^as not in the power of the Infidels, being 
 then held by Gautler de Brienne, who assumed the 
 title of Count of Japhe, according to the orthogra- 
 phy of the Sire de Joinville. 
 
 Now when the Count of Japhe saw that the 
 king was arrived, he set his castle of Japhe in or- 
 der, and put it into such condition that it resembled 
 a well fortified town. For on the battlements on 
 each side of his castle there were at least five hun- 
 dred men. each provided with a buckler and a pen- 
 non to his arms^ which was a very goodly sight to 
 
EGYPTj AND BARBARV. 
 
 fceliold : for his arms were of pure gold, anci the 
 cross very richly made. We took up our quarters 
 in the fields round about this castle of Japhe, which 
 was situated on a level with the sea, and in an 
 island. And the king commanded a town to be 
 begun to be built all round the castle, and en<^losed 
 with a wall, from one of the seas to the other." 
 
 It was at Jaffa that the consort of St. Louis was 
 delivered of a daughter named Blanche, and in the 
 same town St. Louis received information of his 
 mother s death. He fell upon his knees, and ex- 
 claimed : " I thank thee, O my God I for having 
 spared Madame, my dear mother to me so long as 
 it was pleasing to thee ; and for having now, in 
 thy good pleasure, taken her to thyself. I loved 
 her, it is tme, above all creatures in the world ; but 
 since thou hast taken her from me, blessed be thy 
 name to all eternity ! " ' 
 
 Jaffa, while under the dominion of the Chris- 
 tians, had a bishop, suftiagan to the see oi Casarea. 
 When the knights were compelled to take their 
 final leave of the Holy Land, Jaffa, together with 
 all Palestine, fell under the yoke of the sultans of 
 Egypt, and afterwards under the dominion of the 
 Turks. 
 
 From that period to the present time, we find 
 mention made of Joppa or Jaflu in ail the Travels 
 to Jerusalem ; but the town, such as we see it at 
 present, is not much more than a century old, since 
 Monconys, who visited Palestine in 1647, found no- 
 thing at Jaffa but a castle and three caverns scoope4 
 
 B B 3 
 
374 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 out of the rock. Thevenot adds, that the monkf 
 of the Holy Land erected wooden huts before the 
 caverns, but that they were forced to demolish thera 
 by the Tuiks This circumstance explains a pas- 
 sage in the narrative of a Venetian fiiar, who re- 
 lates, tJiat on the arrival of the pilgrims at Jaffa, 
 they vere shut np in a cavern. Breve, Opdam^ 
 Deshaves, Nicole ie Hiien, Barthelemi de Salignac, 
 Dnloir, Zu all art, Father Roger, and Pietro de la 
 Vallee, are unanimous respecting the insignificance 
 and poverty of Jaffa. 
 
 Whatever concerns modern Jaffa, the history of 
 the sieges which it has sustained during the wars of 
 Daher and Ali Bey, as well as other particulars re- 
 lative to the excellence of its fruits, the beauty of 
 its gardens, &c. may be found in Volney. I shall 
 subjoin a few observations. 
 
 Independently of the two fountains of Jaffa 
 mentioned by travellers, you meet with fresh water 
 along the sea-coast on the way towards Gaza. No- 
 thing more is necessary than to scoop a hole with 
 your hand in the sands to make fresh water spring 
 up even on the very brink of the sea. I hfive my- 
 self tried this curious experiment with M. Contes- 
 sini, from the northern angle of the town to the 
 habitation of a santon, which is seen at some dis- 
 tance on the coast. 
 
 Jaffa, which sustained so much damage in Da- 
 her s wars, has been a great sufferer by more recent 
 events. Thfe French, commanded by the emperor, 
 took it by assault in 1799' After the return of our 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 3^^ 
 
 troops to Egypt, the English, in conjunction with the 
 forces of the Grand Signor, erected a bastion at the 
 south-east angle of the town. Aboii Marra, a favorite 
 of the grand vizir s, was appointed governor of the 
 place. Djezzar, pacha of Acre, Ijeing an enemy to 
 the vizir, laid siege to Jaffa, on the departure of the 
 Ottoman army. Abou Marra valiantly defended 
 himself for nine months, and then found means to 
 escape by sea: the niins seen to the east of the 
 town are some of the effects of this siege. After 
 Djezzar s death, Abou Marra was appointed pacha 
 of Jidda, on the Red Sea. This new pacha pro- 
 ceeded through Palestine ; but by one of those re- 
 volts so common in Turkey, he stopped at Jaffa, and 
 refused to repair to his pachalik. The pacha of 
 Acre, Suleiman Pacha, the second in succession to 
 Djezzar,* received orders to attack the rebel, and 
 Jaffa was once more besieged. After a very feeble 
 resistance, Abou Marra fled for refuge |o Mahomet 
 Pacha Adem, who had been raised to the pachalik 
 of Damascus. 
 
 I hope I shall be forgiven for the dryness of 
 these details, on account of the imp-ortance which 
 Jaffa formerly possessed, as well as that which it 
 lias recently acquired. 
 
 I waited with impatience for the moment of my 
 departure for Jerusalem. On the 3d of October^ at 
 
 * The name of Djezzar's immediate successor was Ismael Pa- 
 cha, who was possessed of the chief authority at the time of Djez* 
 zar's death, 
 
 £ B 4 
 
T^G TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTIKE^ 
 
 four in the afternoon, my servants put on goat-skin 
 dresses, made in Upper Egypt^ such as are com- 
 monly worn by the Bedonins. I put on the same 
 kind of dress over my clothes, and we mounted our 
 horses which were of very small size. Pads served 
 lis for saddles, and cords instead of stirrups. The 
 president of the convent rode at our head like a 
 common friar; one Arab, almost naked, accompanied 
 us for a guide, and we were followed by another 
 who drove before him an ass that carried our 
 baggage. We went out at the back of the convest, 
 and proceeded among the ruins of houses destroved 
 in the late siege, to the south gate of the town. 
 The road at first led among gardens, which must 
 formerly have been charming. Father Neret and 
 M. de Volney speak of them in high terms. These 
 gardens have been laid waste by the different par- 
 ties that have contended for the ruins of Jaffa ; but 
 there are still left some pomegranate, Pharaoh's fig, 
 and lemon-trees, a few palms, nopal bushes, and 
 apple-trees, which are also cultivated in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Gaza, and even at the convent of Mount 
 Sinai. 
 
 We advanced into the plain of Sharon, the 
 beauty of which is highly praised in Scripture. In 
 the month of xVprii, 1713, when Father Neret tra- 
 velled through this plain, it was covered with tulips. 
 " The variety of their colours," says he, forms a 
 beautiful parterre." The flowers which, in spring, 
 adorn this celebrated plain, are the white and red 
 rose^ the narcissus^ the white and orange lily, the 
 
fiCYPT, AND BARBARY. S77 - 
 
 carnation, and a highly fragrant species of everlast- 
 ing flower. The plain stretches along the coast 
 from Gaza in the south, to Mount Carmel on the 
 north. To the east it is bounded by the mountains 
 of Jndea and Samaria. The whole of it is not up- 
 on the same level : it consists of four platforms, se- 
 parated from each other by a wall of naked stones. 
 The soil is a very fine sand, white and red, and 
 though intermixed with gravel, appears extremely 
 fertile. Thanks, however, to Mahometan despo- 
 tism, this soil exhibits on every side nothing but 
 thistles, dry and withered grass, interspersed with 
 scanty plantations of cotton and patches of doura, 
 barley, and wheat. Here and there appear a few 
 villages, invariably in ruins, and some clumps of 
 olive-trees and sycamores. About half way between 
 Rama and Jaffa you come to a well mentioned by 
 all travellers ; the Abbe Mariti gives a history of it 
 that he may enjoy the pleasure of contrasting the 
 utility of a Turkish santon with the uselessness of a 
 Christian monk. Near this well you observe a 
 wood of olive-trees planted in the quincunx form, 
 •and the origin of which is ascribed by tradition to 
 the time of Godfrey of Bouillon. From this spot 
 you perceive Rama or Raml^, in a charming situa- 
 tion, at the extremity of one of the platforms or 
 stages of the plain. Before we reached it, we went 
 out of the road to look at a cistern, a work of Con- 
 stantine's mother's.^ You go down to it by twenty* 
 
 * According to the tradition of the country, St. Helena erected 
 all the structures in Palestine : a notion wholly incompatible with 
 
3/8 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 seven steps ; it is thirty-three feet in length and 
 thirty broad ; is composed of twenty-four arches, 
 and receives the rain water by twenty-four aper- 
 tures. We thence proceeded through a forest of 
 nopals to the tower of the Forty Martyrs, now the 
 minaret of a forsaken mosque, formerly the steeple 
 of a monastery, of which some fine ruins are still 
 remaining. These ruins consist of a kind of por- 
 ticoes, very much resembling those of Maecenas's 
 stables at Tibur ; they are fiill of wild fig-trees. It 
 is said, that in this place Joseph, the Virgin, and 
 the Child, halted during their flight into Egypt ; 
 this would certainly be a charming spot to take for 
 the scene of the repose of the Holy Family ; and 
 the genius of Claude Lorrain seems to have intui- 
 tively divined this landscape, to judge from his ad- 
 mirable picture in the Doria palace at Rome. 
 
 Above the gate of the tower is an Arabic in- 
 scription, copied by Volney : and close to it is a 
 miraculous antiquity described by Muratori. 
 
 Having inspected these ruins, we passed very 
 near to a deserted mill, mentioned by Volney as the 
 only one he saw in Syria ; ^t present there are se- 
 veral others. We alighted at Rama, and arrived at 
 the convent of the monks of the Holy Land. This 
 convent had been plundered five years before, and 
 
 the great age of that princess v>hen she weLt on pilgrimage to the 
 Holy Land. It is nevertheless certain, from the united testimony 
 of Eusebius, St. Jerome, and all the ecclesiastical historians, that 
 Helena powerfully contributed to the rebuilding of the sacred 
 places. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBAPY. 379 
 
 1 was shewn the grave of one of the friars who pc* 
 rished on this occasion. The fraternity had just 
 obtained permission, with very great difficulty, to do 
 the most uri^ent repairs required by their monastery. 
 Favourable tidings awaited me at Rama : I 
 there found a drogman belonging to the convent of 
 Jerusalem^ whom the Superior had sent to meet 
 me. The Arab chief whom the fathers had ap- 
 prized of my coming, and who was to be my escort, 
 was hovering at some distance, for the aga of Rama 
 permits none of the Bedouins to enter the town. 
 The most powerful tribe in the mountains of Judea 
 resides at the village of Jeremiah : these people 
 allow the passage of travellers to Jerusalem, or ob- 
 struct it at pleasure. The sheik of the tribe was 
 lately dead. He had left his son Utman under the 
 guardianship of his uncle, Abou Gosh ; the latter 
 had two brothers, Djiaber and Ibrahim Habd ej 
 Rouman, who accompanied me on my return. 
 
 It had been concerted that 1 should set out in 
 the middle of the night. As it was not yet dark, 
 we supped on the terraces that form the roof of the 
 convent. I'he monasteries of the Holy Land look 
 like low heavy fortresses, and in no respect re- 
 semble the convents of Europe : the houses of 
 Rama, plaster huts crowned with a small dome, 
 similar to that of a mosque or the tomb of a santon, 
 are embosomed among olive, fig, and pomegranate- 
 trees, and surrounded with large nopals which 
 shoot up into singular shapes, and confusedly pile 
 their tufts of prickly pallets one upon another. 
 
380 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE^ 
 
 This mingled group of trees and houses is over, 
 topped by the finest palm-trees in Idumea. There 
 was one in particular, in the garden of the convent 
 which I could not sufficiently admire : it rose in a 
 perpendicular column to the height of above thirty 
 feet, and then gracefully expanded its bending 
 branches, under which the half-ripe dates hung 
 like crystals of coral. 
 
 Rama is the ancient Arimathea, the birth-place 
 of that righteous man who had the glory to bury 
 our Saviour. It was at Lod, Lydda, or Diospolis, 
 that St. Peter performed the miraculous cure of 
 the man afflicted with palsy. As to what concerns 
 Rama, considered in a commercial point of view, 
 the reader is referred to Totf s Memoirs, and Vol- 
 ney's Travels. 
 
 We left Rama in the middle of the night of the 
 4th of October. The president conducted us along 
 by-roads to the place Avhere Abou Gosh was wait- 
 ing for us, and then returned to his convent. Our 
 company consisted of the Arab chief, the drograan 
 from Jerusalem, my two servants, and the Bedouin 
 of Jaffci, who drove the ass that earned our bag- 
 gage. We still retained the dress and appearance 
 of poor Latin pilgrims, but carried our arms under 
 our clothes. 
 
 After a ride of an hour over uneven ground, 
 we came to some mean houses on the top of a rocky 
 eminence. We ascended one of the stages of the 
 plain, and in another hour, arrived at the first un- 
 dulation of the mountains of Jude^. We turned 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 381 
 
 by a rugged ravine round a detached and barren 
 hill. At the summit of this eminence we could 
 just discern a village in ruins, and the scattered 
 stones of a forsaken cemetery. It is called Latroun, 
 or the Thief's Village, having been the birth-place 
 of the criminal who repented on the cross, and in 
 whose behalf Christ performed his last act of 
 mercy. Three miles farther, we entered the moun- 
 tains. We followed the dry bed of a torrent : the 
 waning moon, whose orb was diminished one half, 
 scarcely lighted our steps along the channel : and 
 the wild boars set up around us a cry singularly 
 savage. From the desolation of these parts, I was 
 now enabled to conceive why Jephtha's daughter 
 w^ent to weep on the mountains of Judea, and why 
 the prophets repaired to the high places to pour 
 forth their lamentations. At day-break we found 
 ourselves amidst a labyrinth of mountains of a co- 
 nical figure, nearly alike, and connected with each 
 other at their feet. The rock composing the base 
 of these mountains was bare. Its strata or parallel 
 beds were ranged like the seats of a Roman amphi- 
 theatre, or like the walls in the form of flights of 
 steps which support the vineyards in the vallies of 
 Savoy.* In every redent of the rock grew clumps 
 of dwarf oaks, box, and rose-laurels. From the 
 bottom of the ravines olive-trees reared their heads ; 
 and sometimes these trees formed continued woods 
 on the sides of the mountains. We heard the cries 
 
 In Judea they were formerly supported in the same manner. 
 
382 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 of various birds, especially of jays. On reaching 
 the most elevated summit of this chain, we over- 
 looked behind us, to the south and west, the plain 
 of Sharon as far as Jaffa, and the horizon of the sea 
 to Gaza ; before us, to the north and east, opened 
 the valley of St. Jeremiah, and in the same direc- 
 tion, on the top of a rock, appeared in the distance 
 an ancient fortress called the Castle of the Mac- 
 cabees. It is conjectured that the author of the 
 Lamentations came into the world in the village 
 which has retained his name amidst these moun- 
 tains : ^ so much is certain, that the melancholy 
 of these parts seems to pervade the compositions of 
 the prophet of sorrows. 
 
 On approaching St. Jeremiah, however, I was 
 gomewhat cheered by an unexpected sight. Herds 
 of goats with pendant ears, sheep with large tails, 
 and asses which remind yon by their beauty of the 
 onagra of Scripture, issued from the village at the 
 dawn of day. Arab women were hanging grapes to 
 dry in the vineyards ; others with their faces veiled, 
 carried pitchers of water on their heads like the 
 daughters of Midian. With the first heams of 
 light, the smoke of the hamlet ascended in a white 
 vapour; confused voices, songs, shouts of joy met 
 the ear. This scene formed a pleasing contrast 
 with the desolation of the place and the recollections 
 of the night. 
 
 ♦ This popular tradition is not inconsiiJtent with criticism^ 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 383 
 
 Our Arab chief had received before-hand the 
 sum required of travellers by the tribe, and we 
 passed without molestation. All at once I was 
 struck with these words, distinctly pronounced in 
 French: En c^^ant ! marche! "Forward! march T 
 I turned my head and perceived a troop of young 
 Arabs, stark naked performing their exercise with 
 palm sticks. Some recollection or other of my 
 early life continually haunts me ; my heart throbs 
 at the mention of a French soldier; but to see 
 young Bedouins in the mountains of Judea, imitating 
 our military exercises and preserving the remem- 
 brance of our valour ; to hear them pronounce what 
 may be termed the watch-words of our armies, 
 would have been sufficient to make an impression 
 on a man less tenacious than myself of the glory of 
 my country. 1 was not so much alarmed as Crusoe 
 when he heard the first words uttered by his parrot, 
 but I was not less delighted than that renowned 
 traveller. I gave a few medines to the little bat- 
 talion, repeating the words : " Forward ! march !" 
 and that I n\ight omit nothing, I cried, " 'Tis the 
 will of God! 'tis the will of God!" like the com- 
 panions of Godfrey and St. Louis. 
 
 From the valley of Jeremiah we descended into 
 that of Turpentine, which is deeper and narrower 
 than the former. Here are to be seen some vineyards 
 and a few patches of doura. We arrived at the 
 brook where the youthful David picked up the 
 five stones with one of which he slew the gigantic 
 Goliath* We crossed this stream by a stone bridge. 
 
384 Travels in Greece, PAi^ESTixE, 
 
 the only one you meet with in these deserts : a 
 small quantity of stagnant water still occupied the 
 channel. Close to it, on the left, below a village 
 called Kaloni, I remarked among the more modern 
 ruins, the remains of an ancient fabric. Mariti 
 ascribes this structure to some monks or other. 
 For an Italian traveller the error is a gross one. 
 If the architecture of this edifice be not Hebrew, 
 it is certainly Roman ; the junctures, the figure and 
 the bulk of the stones leave no doubt on this 
 feubject. 
 
 Having crossed the stream you perceive the vil- 
 lage of Keriet Lefta on the bank of another dry 
 channel, which resembles a dusty high road. El 
 Bir^ appears in the distance, on the summit of a 
 lofty hill, on the way to Nablous, Nabolos, or Na- 
 bolosa, the Shechem of the kingdom of Israel and 
 the Neapolis of the Herods. We pursued our 
 course through a desert where wild fig-trees thinly 
 scattered waved their embrowned leaves in the 
 southern breeze. The ground which had hitherto 
 exhibited some verdure, now became bare; the 
 sides of the mountains, expanding themselves, as- 
 sumed at once an appearance of greater grandeur 
 and sterility. Presently all vegetation ceased ; even 
 the very mosses disappeared. The confused am- 
 phitheatre of the mountains was tinged with a red 
 and vivid colour. In this dreary region we kept 
 ascending for an hour to gain an elevated hill 
 which we saw before us ; after which we proceeded 
 for another hour across a naked plain bestrewed 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 383 
 
 ^Vith loose Stones. All at once^ at the extremity of 
 this plain I peixeived a line of Gothic walls, 
 flanked with square towers, and the tops of a few 
 buildings peeping above them. At the foot of this 
 Wall appeared a camp of Tarkish horse^ with all 
 the accompaniments of oriental pomp. El Cods ! 
 
 The Holy City !" exclaimed the guide^ and away 
 he went at fall gallop.^ 
 
 I can now account for the surprize expressed 
 by the crusaders and pilgrims, at the fir.^'t sight 
 of Jerusalem, according to the reports of histo- 
 rians and travellers. 1 can affirm, that whoever 
 has, like me, had the patience to read near two 
 hundred modern accounts of the Holy Land, the 
 rabbinical compilations and the passages in the 
 ancients relative to Judea, still knows nothing at 
 all about it. I paused with my eyes fixed on Jeru- 
 salem, measuring the height of its walls, reviewing 
 at once all the recollections of history from Abra- 
 ham to Godfrey of Bouillon, reflecting on the total 
 change accomplished in the world by the mission 
 of the Son of Man, and in vain seeking that Tem- 
 ple, not one stone of which is left upon another. 
 Were I to live a thousand years, never should I 
 forget that desert which yet seems to be pervaded 
 by the greatness of Jehovah and the terrors of 
 death. 
 
 * Abou Gosh, though a subject of the Grand Sii^ior, ^vas 
 apprehensive lest he should be maltreated and bastinaded by the 
 pacha of Damascus, whose camp we were in si^ht of. 
 VOL. I. C C 
 
3S6 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 The cries of the drogman, who told me that it 
 was necessary for ns to keep close together, as we 
 were just at the entrance of the camp, roused me 
 from the reverie into which the sigiit of the Holy 
 City had plunged me. We passed among the 
 tents covered with black lamb-skins : a few, among 
 others, that of the pacha, w^ere formed of striped 
 cloth. The horses, saddled and bridled, Avere 
 fastened to stakes. I was sui-prized to see four 
 pieces of horse-artillery ; they were well mounted^ 
 and the carriages appeared to be of English con- 
 struction. Our mean equipage and pilgrims' dress, 
 excited the laughter of the troops, llie pacha 
 was coming out of Jemsalem, as we drew up to 
 Jthe gate of the city. I was obliged to take off, as 
 quickly as possible, my handkerchief, which I had 
 tied over my hat to keep off the sun, lest I should 
 draw upon myself a similar affront to that w^hicb 
 poor Joseph incurred at Tripolizza. 
 
 We entered Jerusalem by the Pilgrims' Gate, 
 near which stands the .tower of David, better 
 known by the appellation of the Pisans' Tower. 
 We paid the tribute, and followed the street that 
 opened before us; then turning to the left betweea 
 a kind of prisons of plaster, denominated houses. 
 We arrived, at twenty-two minutes past twelve, at 
 the convent of the Latin Fatliers. I found it ii> 
 the possession of Abdallah's soldiers, who appro- 
 priated to themselves whatever they thought fit. 
 
 Those only who have been in the same situa- 
 tion as the Fathers of the Holy Land, can form a 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. S87 
 
 t^oniCeption of the pleasure which they received 
 from my ai'rival. They thought themselves saved 
 hy the {presence of one single Frenchman. I de- 
 livered a letter from General Sebastiani, to Father 
 Bonaventiira di Nola, the superior of the convent. 
 " Sir," said he, " it is Providence that has brought 
 you hither. You have travelling firmans. Permit 
 us to send them to the pacha; he will thence find 
 that a Frenchman has arrived at the convent ; he 
 will believe that we are under the special protection 
 of the emperor. Last year he forced us to pay 
 sixty thousand piastres ; according to the regular 
 custom we owe him but four thousand, and that 
 merely under the denomination of a present. He 
 wishes to extort from us the same sum this year, 
 and threatens to proceed to the lafst extremity if 
 we refuse to comply with his demands. We shall 
 be obliged to sell the consecrated plate, for during 
 the last four years we have received no alms from 
 Europe : if this should continue, we shall be forced 
 to quit the Holy Land, and leave the tomb of 
 Christ in the hands of Mahometans." 
 
 I thouglit myself extremely fortunate to have 
 it in my power to render this small service to the 
 superior. I requested, however, that he would 
 permit me to make an excursion to the Jordan, 
 before he sent the firmans ; that the difficulties of 
 a journey, which is always attended with danger, 
 might not be farther increased : for Abdallah 
 might have caused me to be assassinated bv the 
 
 c c 2 
 
SSS TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 Tray, and then have thrown the blame vrpon tli^r 
 Arabs. 
 
 Father Clement Peres, procurator-general of 
 the convent, a man of extensive information, 
 cultivated understanding, and pleasing manners, 
 conducted me to the state chamber of the pilgrims, 
 Mv baggage was here deposited, and I prepared to 
 leave Jerusalem, a few hours after I had entered 
 the city. I had, however, more occasion for re- 
 pose than to battle with the Arabs of the Dead 
 Sea. I had long been traversing the land and the 
 sea on my way to the holy places ; and no sooner 
 had I reached the wished-for goal, than I quitted it 
 again. But I considered this sacrifice to be due to 
 men who are themselves making a perpetual sacri- 
 fice of their property and their lives. I might, 
 moreover, have reconciled the interest of the fa- 
 thers, Avith my own safety, by relinquishing my de- 
 sign of visiting the Jordan ; and it only depended 
 on myself to set bounds to my curiosity. 
 
 While I was waiting for the moment of de- 
 parture, the religious began to sing in the church 
 of the monastery, I enquired the reason of this 
 singing, and was informed, that they were celebra- 
 ting the festival of the patron of their order, I 
 then recollected that it was the 4th of October, St. 
 Francis's day, and the anniversary of my birtli. I 
 hastened to the church, and offered up my prayers 
 for the felicity of her, who on this day had brought 
 me into the world. I deem it a happiness thar 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 389 
 
 my ^rst prayer at Jemsalem was not for myself. 
 I contemplated with respect those religious singing 
 praises to the Lord, within three hundred paces of 
 the tomb of Christ; I was deeply affected at the 
 sight of the feeble but invincible band which has 
 continued the only guard of the Holy Sepulchre 
 since it was abandoned by kings. 
 
 The superior sent for a Turk, named Ali Aga^ 
 to conduct me to Bethlehem. He Y/as the son of 
 an aga of Rama, vvho lost his head under the ty- 
 ranny of Djezzar. Ali was born at Jericho, at 
 present Rihha, and called himself the governor of 
 that village. He was intelligent and courageous ; 
 and I had every reason to be satisfied with himo 
 The first thing he did was to make my servants 
 and myself relinquish our Arabian attire, and re- 
 sume the French dress ; that dress, once so de- 
 spised by the Orientals, now inspires respect and 
 fear. French valour has regained the renown 
 whicli it formerly acquired in this country. It was 
 French chevaliers who established the kingdom of 
 Jerusalem, as it was the soldiers of France tiiat 
 gathered the last palms in Idumea. The Tiirks 
 point out to you at one and the same time«, Bald- 
 win's Tower and the Emperor's Camp : and at Cal- 
 vary you find the sword of Godfrey of Bouillon, 
 which, in its ancient sheath, seems still to guard 
 the Sacred Sepulchre. 
 
 At five o'clock in the evening, three good horses 
 were brought, and we were joined by Michael, 
 
 c c 3 
 
390 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 drogman to the coiiA ent : Ali put himself at our 
 head, and we set out for Bethlehem^ Avbere we 
 were to sleep, and to take forward an escort of six 
 Arabs. I had read that the superior of St. Sa- - 
 viour s is the only Frank who enjoys the privilege of 
 riding on horseback at Jerusalem, and I was some- 
 w^hat surprized to find myself galloping on an 
 Arabian steed ; but I have since learned that any 
 traveller may do the same for his money. We 
 left Jerusalem by the Damascus gate, then turning 
 to the left, and crossing the ravines at the foot of 
 Mount Sion, we ascended a mouutain, and found 
 at the top of it a plain, over which we proceeded 
 for an hoar. We left Jerusalem to the north, be- 
 hind us; on the v.est v/e had the mountains of 
 Judea, and on the east, beyond the Red Sea, those 
 of Aralria. V/e passed the convent of St. Elijah. 
 The spot where thi'.t prophet rested on his way to 
 Jerusalem, is sure to be pointed out to you, under 
 an olive-tree that stxinds upon a rock by the side 
 of the road. A league farther on we entered the 
 plain of Rama, where you meet with Rachel's 
 tomb. It is a square edifice, surmounted with a 
 small dome: it enjoys the privileges of a mosque, 
 for the Turks as well as the Arabs, honor the fa- 
 milies of the patriarchs. The traditions of the 
 Christians agree in placing RacheFs sepulchre on 
 this spot; historical criticism favors this opinion ; 
 but in spite of Theyenot, Monconys, Roger, and 
 many others, I cannot admit what is now denomi- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. l^Ql 
 
 •nated Rachel's tomb, to be an antique monument: 
 it is evidently a Turkish edifice, erected in memory 
 fof a santon. 
 
 We perceived in the mountains, for night had 
 come on, the lights of the vilhige of Rama. Pro- 
 found silence reigned around us. It was doubt- 
 less in such a night as this that Bachel's voice 
 suddenly struck the ear : " A voice was heard in 
 Rama, lamentation and bitter weeping ; Rachel 
 weeping for her children, refused to be comforted, 
 because they were not." Here the mothers of As- 
 tyanax and Euryalus are outdone ; Homer and 
 Virgil must yield the palm of pathos to Jeremiah. 
 
 We arrived by a narrow and rugged road at 
 Bethlehem. We knocked at the door of the con- 
 vent ; its inhabitants were thrown into some alarm, 
 because our visit was unexpected, and Alfs turban 
 ;at first excited terror; but matters were soon ex- 
 plained to their satisfaction* 
 
 Bethlehem received its name, which signifies 
 the House of Bj^ead, from Abraham ; and was sur- 
 named Ephrata, the Fruitful, after Caleb's wife, to 
 distineuish it from another Bethlehem, in the tribe 
 of ZebuloUo It belonged to the tribe of Judah, 
 and also went by the name of the City of David, 
 that monarch having there been born, and tended 
 fiheep in his childhood. Abijan, the seventh judge 
 of Israel, Elimelech, Obed, Jesse, and Boaz were, 
 like David, natives of Bethlehem, and here must 
 be placed the scene of the admirable eclogue of 
 Jluth. St, Matthias the apostle, also received life 
 
 c c 4 
 
392 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 in the same town where the Messiah came into the 
 world. 
 
 The first Christians built an oratory over tlio 
 manger of our Saviour. Adrian ordered it to be 
 demolished, and a statue of Adonis erected in its 
 stead. St, Helena destroyed the idol, and built a 
 church on the same spot. The original edifice is 
 now blended with the various additions made by 
 the Christian princes. St. Jerome, as every reader 
 knows, retired to the solitude of Bethlehem. Con- 
 r^uered by the crusaders, Bethlehem returned with 
 Jerusalem under the yoke of the Infidels ; but it 
 has always been the object of the veneration of the 
 pilgrims. Pious monks devoting themselves to per- 
 petual martyrdom, have been its guardians for seven 
 centuries. With respect to modern Bethlehem, its 
 soil, productions, and inhabitants, the reader is re- 
 ferred to the work of Volney. I have not, however, 
 remarked in the vale of Bethlehem the fertility 
 which is ascribed to it : under the Turkish govern- 
 ment, to be sure, the most productive soil will in a 
 few years be transformed into a desert. 
 
 At four in the morning of the 5th of October, I 
 commenced my survey of the monuments of Beth- 
 lehem. Though these structures have frequently 
 been described, yet the subject is in itself so inte- 
 resting that I cannot forbear entering into some 
 particulars. 
 
 The convent of Bethlehem is connected with the - 
 church by a court inclosed with lofty wails. We 
 crossed this court^, and were admitted by a small 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 393 
 
 side-door into the clmrcli. The edifice is certainly 
 of high antiquity^, and though often destroyed and 
 as often repaired^ it still retains marks of its Grecian 
 origin. It is built in the form of a cross. The long 
 nave, or if you please, the foot of the cross, is 
 adorned witli forty-eight columns of the Corinthian 
 order, in four rows. These columns are two feet 
 six inches in diameter at the base, and eighteen feet 
 high, including the base and capital. As the roof 
 of this nave is wanting, the columns support no- 
 thing but a frieze of wood, which occupies the place 
 of the architrave and of the whole entablature. 
 Open timber-work rests upon the v/alls, and rises 
 into the form of a dome, to support a roof that no 
 longer exists, or that perhaps was never finished. 
 The wood-work is said to be of cedar, but this is a 
 mistake. The windows are large, and were for- 
 merly adorned with mosaic paintings, and passages 
 from the Bible in Greek and Latin characters, the 
 traces of which are yet visible. Most of these in- 
 scriptions ai'e given by Quaresmius. The Abbe 
 Mariti notices, with some acrimony, a mistake of 
 that learned friar in one of the dates : a person of 
 the greatest abilities is liable to error, but he who 
 blazons it without delicacy or politeness, affords a 
 much stronger proof of his vanity than of his know- 
 ledge. 
 
 The remains of the mosaics to be seen here and 
 there, and some paintings on wood, are interesting 
 to the history of the arts ; they in general exhibit 
 figures in full face^ upright;, stiff;, without motion 
 
39^ TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 and without shadows ; but their effect is majestic, 
 and their character dignified and austere. 
 
 The Christian sect of the Arminians is in pos- 
 session of the nave which I have just described. 
 This nave is separated from the three other branches 
 of the cross by a wall, so that the unity of the edi- 
 fice is destroyed. When you have passed this wall, 
 you find yourself opposite to the sanctuary, or the 
 choir, which occupies the top of the cross. This 
 choir is raised two steps above the nave. Here is 
 seen an altar dedicated to the Wise Men of the 
 East. On the pavement at the foot of this altar 
 you observe a marble star, which correspondi?, as 
 tradition asserts, with the point of the heavens 
 \vhere the miraculous star that conducted the three 
 kings became stationary. So much is certain, that 
 the spot where the Saviour of the world was born, 
 is exactly underneath this marble star in the subter- 
 raneous church of the manger, of which I shall 
 presently have occasion to speak. The Greeks oc- 
 cupy the choir of the Magi, as well as the two other 
 naves formed by the transom of the cross. These 
 last are empty, and without altars. 
 
 Two spiral staircases, each composed of fifteen 
 steps, open on the sides of the outer church, and 
 conduct to the subterraneous church situated be- 
 neath this choir. This is the ever-to-be revered 
 place of the nativity of our Saviour. Before I en- 
 tered it, the superior put a taper into my hand, and 
 repeated a brief exhortation. This sacred crypt is 
 irregular, because it occupies the iiTegular site of 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 395 
 
 the Stable and the manger. It is thirty-seven feet 
 six inches long, eleven feet three inches broad, and 
 nine feet in height. It is hewn oat of the rock ; 
 the sides of the rock are faced with beautiful mar* 
 hie, and the floor is of the same material. These 
 embellishments are ascribed to St. Helena. The 
 church receives no light from without, and is il- 
 lumined by thirty-two lamps, sent by different 
 princes of Christendom. At the farther extremity 
 of this crypt, on the east side, is the spot where the 
 Virgin brought forth the Redeemer of mankind. 
 This spot is marked by a wliite marble, incrusted 
 ■with jasper, and surrounded by a circle of silver, 
 having rays resembling those with which the sun is 
 represented. Around it are inscribed these words : 
 
 inC DE VIRGINE MARIA 
 JESUS CflRISTUS NATUS EST. 
 
 A marble table, which serves for an altar, rests 
 against the side of the rock, and stands over the 
 place where the Messiah came into the world. This 
 altar is lighted by three lamps, the handsomest of 
 which was given by Louis XIII. 
 
 At the distance of seven paces towards the south, 
 after you have passed the foot of one of the stair- 
 cases leading to the up})er church, you find the 
 Manger. You go down to it by two steps, for it is 
 not upon a level with the rest of the crypt. It is a 
 low recess, hewn out of the rock. A block of white 
 marble, raised about a foot above the floor, and 
 holh^w>ed in the form of a manger^, indicates the 
 
396 
 
 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 very spot where the Sovereign of Heaven was laid 
 upon straw. 
 
 Two paces farther, opposite to the manger, 
 stands an altar, which occupies the place where 
 Mary sat when she presented the Child of Sorrows 
 to the adoration of the Magi. 
 
 Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calcu- 
 lated to excite sentiments of devotion, than this 
 subterraneous church. It is adorned with pictures 
 of the Italian and Spanish schools. These pic- 
 tures represent the mysteries of the place, the Vir- 
 gin and Child after Raphel, the Annunciation, the 
 Adoration of the Wise Men, the coming of the 
 Shepherds, and all those miracles of mingled gran- 
 dear and innocence. The usual ornaments of the 
 manger are of blue satin embroidered with silver. 
 Incense is continually smoking before the cradle of 
 the Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched by 
 no ordinary hand, play during mass, the sweetest 
 and most tender tunes of the best Italian composers. 
 These concerts charm the Christian Arab, who, leav- 
 ing his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of 
 old to Bethlehem, to adore the King of Kings in 
 his manger. I have seen this inhabitant of the de- 
 sert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with a 
 fervour, a piety, a devotion unknown among the 
 christians of the west. No place in the woild," 
 says Father Neret, excites more profound devo- 
 tion. The continual arrival of caravans from all 
 the nations of Christendom ; the public prayers ; 
 the pi^ostrations ; nay, even the richness of the pre- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. SQJ 
 
 seiits sent hither hy the christiiiii princes, altoge- 
 ther produce feelings in the soul which it is much 
 easier to conceive than to descrihe." 
 
 It may he added, that the effect of all this is 
 heightened by an extraordinary contrast ; for on 
 quitting the crypt, where you liave met with the 
 riches, the arts, the religion of civilized nations, 
 you find yourself in a profound solitude, amidst 
 wretched Arab huts, among half naked savages and 
 faithless Mussulmans. This place is, nevertheless, 
 the same where so many miracles were displayed ; 
 but this sacred land dares no longer express its joy, 
 and locks within its bosom the recollections of its 
 glory. 
 
 From the grotto of the Nativity we went to the 
 subterraneous chapel, where tradition places the se- 
 pulchre of the Innocents : Herod sent forth and 
 slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and 
 in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and 
 under. Then Avas fulfilled that wliich was spoken 
 by Jeremie the prophet, saying : In Rama was there 
 a voice heard," &c. 
 
 The chapel of the Innocents conducted us to the 
 grotto of St. Jerome. Here you find the sepulchre 
 of this Father of the church, that of Eusebius, and 
 the tombs of St. Paula and St. Eustochium. 
 
 In this grotto St. Jerome spent the greater ])art 
 of his life. From this retirement he beheld the fall 
 of the Roman empire, and here he received those 
 fugitive patricians, who, after they had possessed 
 the palaces of the earth, deemed themselves happy 
 
398 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 to share the cell of a cenobit^. The peace of the 
 »aint and the troubles of the world produce a won- 
 derful effect in the letters of the learned commenta- 
 tor on the Scriptures. 
 
 St. Paula and St. Eustochium were two illustri- 
 ous Roman ladies of the family of the Scipios and 
 of the Gracchi. They relinquished the delights of 
 Rome, to live and die at Bethlehem in the practice 
 of the monastic virtues. Their epitaph, Avritten by 
 Jerome, is not a very good one, and is so well 
 known, that I shall not insert it here. 
 
 In the oratory of St. Jerome is a picture in 
 which the head of that saint exhibits much the same 
 air that has been given to it by the pencil of Caracci 
 and Domenichino. Another painting contains the 
 figures of Paula and Eustochium. These descend- 
 ants of Scipio are represented reposing in death in 
 the same coffin. It Avas an affecting idea of the 
 painter to make the two saints the perfect image of 
 each other. The daughter is to be distinguished 
 from the mother only by her youth and her white 
 veil ; the one has been longer, the other more ex- 
 peditious in performing the voyage of life ; and 
 both have reached the port at the same moment. 
 
 Among the numerous pictures which are to be 
 seen at the sacred stations, and which no traveller 
 has described,^ I imagined that I sometimes disco- 
 vered the mystic touch and inspired tone of Mn- 
 rillos ; it would be a singular circumstance if the 
 
 * Villamoat was struck with the beauty of a St. Jerome. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 393 
 
 manger or the tomb of our Saviour should be found 
 to possess some unknown master-piece of any of the 
 great painters. 
 
 We returned to our convent, and I surveyed 
 the country from the top of a terrace. Bethlehem 
 is built on a hill which overlooks a long valley, 
 running from east to west. The southern hill is 
 covered with olive-trees, thinly scattered over a 
 reddish soil bestrewed with stones ; that on the 
 north side has fig-trees on the sanse kind of soil. 
 Here and there you perceive some ruins, among 
 others, the remains of a tower called the Tower of 
 St. Paula. I went back into the monastery, which 
 owes part of its wealth to Baldwin, King of Jeru- 
 salem and successor to Godfrey of Bouillon : it is 
 an absolute fortress, and its w^alls are so thick that 
 it would be capable of sustaining a siege against the 
 Turks. 
 
 The escort of Arabs having arrived, I prepared 
 for my expedition to the Red Sea, Whilst break- 
 fasting with the religious who formed a circle round 
 me, they informed me that there vvas in the con- 
 vent a Father who was a native of France. He was 
 Kent for : he came with downcast looks, both liis 
 hands in his sleeves, and walking with a solemn 
 pace : he saluted me coldly and in few words. Ne- 
 ver did I hear in a foreign country the sonnd of a 
 French voice without emotion. I asked him some 
 questions, and he informed me that his name was 
 Father Clement ; that he w^as a native of the vici- 
 nity of Mayenne ; that being in a monastery in 
 
400 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ 
 
 BretagTie, he had been transported with about a hun- 
 dred other priests like himself, to Spain, where he had 
 been hospitably received in a convent of his order, 
 and afterwards sent by his superiors as a missionary 
 to the Holy Land. I asked him if he should not 
 like to revisit his country, and if he had any letters 
 to send to his iamiiy. His answer was, Avord for 
 word, as follows : — " Who is there that still re- 
 members me in France ? How should I know 
 whether any of my brothers and sisters be yet liv- 
 ing ? I hope to o])tain, through the merits of my 
 Saviour, the strength to die here without troubling 
 any body, and without thinking of a country which 
 I have forgotten." 
 
 Father Clement Avas obliged to retire ; my pre- 
 sence had revived in his heart sentiments which he 
 was striving \o extinguish. Such is the destiny of 
 man. A Frenchman is, at this day, mourning the 
 loss of his country on the same shores, the remem- 
 brance of which formerly inspired the most sublime 
 of songs on the love of country. But those sons of 
 Aaron, wlio hung their harps on the willows of 
 Babylon, did not all return to the city of David ; 
 those daughters of Judea, who on the banks of the 
 Euphrates exclaimed : 
 
 O shores of Jordan ! plains belovM of Heav'n ! 
 
 those companions of Esther, were not all destined to 
 revisit Emmaus and Bethel : the remains of many 
 of them were left behind in the land of their capti- 
 vity. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 401 
 
 At ten in tlie morning, we mpmited our Lorses 
 and set out froniBethlebeni. Six Betblehemite Ara])s 
 on foot, armed with daggers and long matclilocks 
 formed our escort : three of them marched before 
 and three behind. We had added to our cavalry an 
 ass, which carried water and provisions. We pur- 
 sued the way that leads to the monastery of St. 
 Saba, whence we were afterwai'ds to descend to the 
 Dead Sea and to return by the Jordan. 
 
 We first followed the valley of Bethlehem, 
 wdiich, as I have observed, stretches away to the 
 east. We passed a ridge of hills, where you see, 
 on the right, a vineyard recently planted, a circum- 
 stance too rare in this country for me not to remark 
 it. We arrived at a grot called the Grotto of the 
 Shepherds. The Arabs still give it the appellation 
 of Dta el Natour, the Village of the Shepherds. 
 It is said that Abraham here fed his flocks, and that 
 on this spot the shepherds of Judea were informed 
 by the angel of the birth of the Saviour. 
 
 The piety of the Faithful has transformed this 
 grot into a chapel. It must formerly have been 
 highly decorated : I observed there three capitals of 
 the Corinthian order and two others of the Ionic. 
 The discovery of the latter is really a wonder, for 
 after the time of Helena w^e scarcely find any thing 
 but the everlasting Corinthian. 
 
 On leaving this grot and proceeding east by 
 south, we quitted the red hills and reached a chain 
 of whitish mountains. Our horses sunk in a soft, 
 chalky soil, formed from the remains of a calca- 
 
 V OL. I. D D 
 
402 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 reous rock. This tract was horridly bare, and not 
 even a root of moss was to be seen upon it. Its 
 only vegetable productions were here and there a 
 tuft of thorny plants as pale as the soil that 
 bore them and apparently- covered with dust, like 
 the trees by the side of our high roads in summer. 
 
 On turning one of the ridges of these moun- 
 tains we perceived two camps of Bedouins : one 
 composed of seven tents of black lamb-skins, form- 
 ing an oblong square, open at the east end ; the 
 other, consisting of twelve tents, pitched in a circle. 
 A few camels and mares were feeding near them. 
 
 It was too late to recede : we were obliged to 
 put on the best face, and pass through the second 
 camp. All Avas quiet at first. The Arabs touched 
 the hands of the B e th 1 eh e mites and Ali Aga's 
 beard ; but scarcely bad we reached the last tents 
 when a Bedouin stopped the ass that carried our 
 provisions. Tlie Bethlehemites attempted to drive 
 him away ; but the Arab called his fellows to his^ 
 assistance. Leaping upon their hoi'ses they seized 
 their arms and surrounded us. Ali at length con- 
 trived to appease the tumult with money. Tliese 
 Bedouins required a tribute on passing : they pro- 
 bably "look upon the desert as a high road ; and 
 every person is master in his own possessions. This 
 was but the prelude to a still more violent alterca- 
 tion. 
 
 A league farther, on descending the side of a 
 mountain, we discovered the tops of two lofty towers 
 rising from a deep valley. This was the convent 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 403 
 
 of St. Saba. As we were approaching it, a fresh 
 troop of Arabs, concealed in the bottom of a ravine, 
 rushed upon our escort with loud shouts. In a mo- 
 ment we beheld stones flying, daggers glistening, 
 pieces cocked. Ali rushed" into the midst of the 
 fray, and we ran to his assistance. Ke seized the 
 chief of the Bedouins by the beard, pulled him 
 down under the belly of his horse, and threatened 
 to kill him unless he put an end to' the quarrel. 
 During this tumult, a Greek monk shouted on his 
 part, and m.ade motions from the top of a tower ; 
 in vain he endeavoured to restore peace. We had 
 now all arrived at the e:ate of St. Saba. The friars 
 Vvithin turned the key, but only very deliberate! y^ 
 fearing lest their monastery should be plundered in 
 the confusion. The janissary, impatient of this de- 
 lay, flew into a passion both with the religious and 
 the Arabs. At length he drew his sabre, and seemed 
 preparing to cut olF the head of the Bedouin chief, 
 whom he still held by the beard, v/ith surprizing 
 force, when the gate of the convent opened. Into 
 the court we rushed pell-mell, and the gate closed 
 upon us. The affair now became more serious : Ave 
 were not in the interior of the convent ; there was 
 another court to pass, and the gate leading to it 
 was not open. We were confined in a very narrow 
 space, where we wounded one another with our 
 arms, and where our horses, terrified at the noise, 
 became ungovernable, Ali pretended that he had 
 turned aside the dagger of an Arab, who had aimed a 
 stroke at me from behind, and shewed me his hand 
 
404 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 covered vrhh blood ; b\it Ali, thoTiijli a very honest 
 fellow in otiier respects, was fond of money, like all 
 the Turks. The second ^ate of the monastery 
 opened ; the Superior appeared, said a few words, 
 and the tumult was appeased. We were then ap- 
 prized of the cause of the dispute. 
 
 The Arabs who had last attacked us, belonged 
 to a trWye that claimed the exclusive right of con- 
 ducting strangers to St. Saba. The Bethlehemites, 
 who were desirous of receiving the price of the es- 
 cort^ and who have a character for courage to sup- 
 port, would not give up the point. The superior 
 of the monastery had promised that I should satisfy 
 the Bedouins, and matters were adjusted. I de- 
 clared I wQuld give them nothing to jmnish them. 
 All Aga represented that if 1 adhered to this resolu- 
 ticrr, we should never be able to reach the Jordan ; 
 that these Arabs would summon other tribes to their 
 aid ; that we should be infallibly murdered ; that 
 this was the reason why he would not kill their 
 chief, because if blood were once spilt, we should 
 have no alternative but to return with all possible 
 expedition to Jerusalem. 
 
 I doubt whether any convent can be situated in 
 a more dreary and desolate spot tlian the monastery 
 of St. Saba. It is erected in the very ravine of the 
 brook Cedron, which in this place is three or four 
 hundred feet in depth. This channel is dry, and it 
 is only in spring that a muddy stream of reddish 
 ^vater flows along it. The church is seated on a 
 little eminence in the bottom of the bed ; whence 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 
 
 405 
 
 tile buildings of the monastery rise by pei pen^licii- 
 lar flights of steps and passages hewn out of tlie 
 rock on the side of the ravine, and thus reach to 
 the ridge of the hill where they terminate io two 
 sqnare towers. One of these t<iwers is out of the 
 convent ; it formerly served as an advanced post to 
 watch the motions of the Ai ubs. From tlie top 
 these towers, yon descry the sterile summits of the 
 mountains of Jndea ; and the eve traces beneatb 
 yon the dry channel of the ))rook Cedron, where 
 you perceive the grots formerly* inhabited by the 
 first anchorites. Blue pigeons now build their nests 
 in those grots, as if to remind you by their sighs, 
 their innocence, and gentleness, of the saints who 
 formerly peopled these rocks. 1 must not forget a 
 palm-tree which grows upon one of the terraces of 
 the convent. 1 am convinced that it will be noticed by 
 all travellers as well as myself: those only who are 
 surrounded by sucli dreary sterility can appreciate 
 the value of a tuft of verdure. 
 
 For the history of the convent of St. Saba, the 
 reader may refer to Father Neret's letter, and the 
 Lives of the Fathers of the Desert. In this monas- 
 tery yoii are still shewn three or four thousand skulls 
 which belonged to religious murdered by the Infidels. 
 The monks left me for a quarter of an hour by 
 myself with these relics ; they seemed aware that 
 I designed one day to delineate the state of mind of 
 the hermits of Thebais. I cannot, however, re- 
 collect without a feeling of pain that a caloyer began 
 to talk of political affairs, and to reveal to me the 
 
 D D 3 
 
406 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 secrets of the court of Russia. " Ah? Father," said 
 I, " where will you seek peace, if you cannot find 
 it here 
 
 We left the convent at three in the afternoon ; 
 we proceeded along the channel of Cedron, and 
 then crossing the ravine pursued our course to the 
 east. We descried Jerusalem, through an opening 
 between the mountains. I knew not exactly what 
 it was that I saw; I took it for a mass of rugged rocks. 
 The sudden appearance of that City of Desolations 
 amid a solitude so desolate had something awful; 
 she was trulv the Oueen of the Desert. 
 
 As we advanced the aspect of the mountains ^till 
 continued the same, that is, white, dusty, without 
 shade, without tree, Avithout herhage, without moss. 
 At half-past four we descended fromthelofty chain of 
 these mountains to another less elevated. We pro- 
 ceeded for fifty minutes over a level plain, and at 
 length arrived at the last range of hills that form 
 the western border of the valley of the Jordan and 
 the Dead Sea. The sun Avas near setting, we 
 alighted to give a little rest to our horses, and I con- 
 templated at leisure the lake, the valley and tlie 
 river. 
 
 When we hear of a valley, we figure to ourselves 
 a valley either cultivated or uncultivated: if the 
 former, it is covered with crops of various kinds, 
 vineyards, villages, and cattle ; if the latter, it 
 presents herbage and woods. It is watered by a 
 river, this river has windings in its course ; and the 
 hills which bound this valley have themselves uu- 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 40/ 
 
 dnlations which form a prospect agreeable to the 
 eye. 
 
 Here nothing of the kind is to-be found. Figure 
 to yourself two long chains of mountains running 
 in a parallel direction from north to south, without 
 breaks and without undulations. The eastern 
 chain, called the mountains of Arabia is the highest ; 
 when seen at the distance of eight or ten leagues, 
 you would take it to be a prodigious perpendicular 
 wall perfectly resembling Jura in its form and azure 
 colour. Not one summit, not the smallest peak 
 can be distinguished; you merely perceive slight 
 inflections here and there, as if the hand of the 
 painter who drew this horizontal line along the sky, 
 had trembled in some places. 
 
 The western range belongs to the mountains of 
 Judea. Less lofty and more unequal than the. east- 
 tern chain, it diflers from the other in its nature also: 
 it exhibits heaps of chalk and sand, whose form 
 hears some resemblance to piles of arms,, waving 
 •standards, or the tents of a camp seated on the bor- 
 der of a plain. On the Arabian side, on the contrary^ 
 nothing is to be seen hut black perpendicular rocks^ 
 which throw their lengthened shadov/ over the 
 waters of the Dead Sea. The smallest bird of heaven 
 would not find among tlicse rocks a blade of grass 
 for its sustenance ; every thing there annoujjiees the 
 country of a reprobate people, and seems to breathe the 
 horror and incest whence sprung Ammon and Moab. 
 
 The valley, bounded by these two chains of 
 mountains, displays a soil resembling the bottom o£ 
 
 D D 4 
 
40S TRA\'ELS IX GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 a sea that Las long retired from its bed. a beach 
 covered Avith salt, dry mud, and moving sands, fur- 
 rowed as it Avere, by the waves. Here and there 
 stunted shrubs with difiicnlty vegetate upon this 
 inanimate tract ; their leaves are covered with salt^ 
 which has nourished them, and their bark has a 
 smoky smell and taste. Instead of villages you 
 perceive the ruins of a few towers. Through the 
 middle of this vallev flows a discoloured river, which 
 reluctantly creeps towards the pestilential lake by 
 which it is engulphed. Its course amid^t the sands 
 can he distinguished only bv the willows and the 
 reeds that border it; and the Arab lies in ambush 
 among these reeds to attack the traveller and to 
 plunder the ])ilgrim. 
 
 Such is the scene famous for the benedictions 
 and the curses of Heaven. This river is the Jor- 
 dan : this lake is the Dead Sea; it appears bril- 
 liant, but the guilty cities entombed in its bosom 
 seem to have poisoned its waters. Its solitary 
 abysses cannot afford nourishment to any living 
 creature:* never did ve.-.^el cut its waves ;f its 
 shores are without birds, without trees, without ver- 
 dure : and its waters excessively bitter, and so 
 
 * I lullow ibe izeorral opiiii'jn ; though, as will be presently 
 seen, it is, }X-rha})s, unfounded. 
 
 t Strabo, Pliin, and Diodorus Siculus, speak of rafts on 
 ^^hitb the Arabs go to cjllect asphaltos. Diodorus describes 
 tliese rafts which were composed of mats of interwoven reeds, 
 (Diod. lib. XIX.) Tacitus makes mention of a boat, but he is 
 obviously mistaken. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 409 
 
 heavy, that the most impetuous winds can scarcely 
 ruffle their surface. 
 
 When you travel in Judea, the heart is at first 
 filled with profound disgust ; but when passing 
 from solitude to solitude, boundless space opens 
 before you, this disgust wears off by degrees, and 
 you feel a secret awe, which, so far from de])res- 
 sing the soul, imparts life, and elevates the genius. 
 Extraordinary appearances every where proclaim 
 a land teeming Avith miracles : the burning sun^ the 
 towering eagle^ the barren fig-tree, all the poetry, 
 all the pictures of Scripture are here. Every name 
 commemorates a mystery ; every grot proclaims the 
 future, every hill re-echoes the accents of a pro- 
 phet. God himself has spoken in these regions : 
 dried up rivers, riven rocks, half open sepulchres, 
 attest the prodigy : the desert still appears mute 
 with terror, and you would imagine, that it had 
 never presumed to interrupt the silence since it 
 heard the awful voice of the Eternrd. 
 
 We descended from the ridge of the mountain, 
 in order to pass the night on the banks of the Dead 
 Sea, and afterwards proceed along the Jordan. 
 On entering the Aalley, our little company drew 
 closer together ; our Bethlehemites prepared their 
 pieces and marched cautiously before. We found, 
 as we advanced, some Arabs of the desert, who 
 resort to the lake for salt, and make war without 
 mercy on the traveller. The manners of the 
 Bedouins hegin to be corrupted by too frequent 
 communication with the Turks and Europeans. 
 
410 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE^ ' 
 
 They now prostitute their wives and daughters, and 
 murder the traveller whom they were formerlv con- 
 tent to rob. 
 
 We marched in tliis manner for two hours, 
 "With pistols in our hp^s, as in an enemy's country. 
 We followed the fissures formed between the sand- 
 hills, in mud baked by the rays of the sun. A crust 
 of salt covered the surface, and resembled a snowy 
 plain, from which a few stunted shrubs reared their 
 heads. We arrived ail at once, at the lake ; 1 say 
 all at once, because I thought we were yet at a 
 considerable distance from it. No murmur, no 
 cooling breeze announced the approach to its 
 margin. The strand, bestrewed with stones, v/as 
 hot ; the waters of the lake were motionless, and 
 absolutely dead along the shore. 
 
 It was quite dark. The first thing I did on 
 aligliting, was to walk into the lake up to my 
 knees, and to taste the water. I found it impossi- 
 ble to keep it in my mouth. It far exceeds that of 
 the sea in saltness, and produces upon the lips the 
 effect of a strong solution of alum. Before my 
 boots were completely dry, they were covered with 
 salt ; our clothes, our hats, our hands, were, in 
 less than three hours impregnated with this- 
 mineral. Galen, as early as his time, remarked 
 these effects, and Pocccke confirms their exist- 
 ence. 
 
 W e pitched our camp on the brink of the lake, 
 and the Bethlehemites made fire to prepare coffee. 
 There was no want of wood, for the shore was 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 411 
 
 strewed with bran dies of tamarind-trees bronglit 
 by the Arabs. Besides the salt which these people 
 find ready formed in this place, they extract it from 
 the water by ebullition. Such is the force of habit, 
 that our BethlehemiteS who had proceeded with grettt 
 caution over the plain, Avere not afraid to kindle a 
 fire which might so easily betray us. One of them 
 employed a singular expedient to make the wood 
 take fire : striding across the pile, he stooped down 
 over the fire, till his tunic became inflated with the 
 smoke; then rising briskly, the air expelled by 
 this species of bellows, blew up a brilliant flame. 
 After we had taken coiree, my companions went to 
 sleep, while I alone remained awake with our 
 Arabs. 
 
 About midnight I heard a noise upon the lake. 
 TheBethlehemites told me that it proceeded from le- 
 gions of small fish which come and leap about on 
 the shore. This contradicts the opinion generally 
 adopted, that the Dead Sea produces no living crea- 
 ture. Pococke, when at Jerusalem, heard of a 
 missionary who had seen fish in Lake Asphaltites. 
 Hasselqnist and Maundrell discovered shell-fish on 
 the shore. M. Seetzen, who is yet travelling iu 
 Arabia, observed in the Dead Sea neither the helix 
 nor tbe muscle, but found a few shell-snails. 
 
 Pococke had a bottle of the Avater of this lake 
 analysed. In l/^S, Messrs. Lavoisier, Macquer, 
 and Sage, repeated this analysis ; they proved that 
 one hundred pounds of water contain forty-five 
 pounds six ounces of salt, that is^ six pounds four 
 
412 TRAVELS IX GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 ounces of common marine salt and thirty-eierht 
 pounds two ounces of marine salt with an earthy 
 base. The same experiment has recently been 
 made in London by Mr. Gordon. The specific 
 gravity of this watei;," says M. Malte Brun^ in his 
 Annals, "is 1,211, that of fresh Avater being 1,000, 
 It is perfect]; trans jiarent. Reagents demonstrate 
 in it the presence of marine and sulphuric acid ; 
 there is no alumine ; it is not saturated with n^arine 
 salt ; it does not change colours, such as the turn sol 
 and violet. It holds in solution the following sub- 
 stances, and in the under-mentioned proportions ; 
 
 Muriate of lime 3,020 
 
 Magnesia 10,246 
 
 Soda J0,3(i0 
 
 Sulphate of lime ,0j.1. 
 
 24,0 SO in 100 
 
 " These foreign substances form about one- 
 fourth of its weight in a state of perfect desiccation ; 
 but when dried only with a heat of 180° (Fahren- 
 heit) they form 41 per cent. Mr. Gordon who 
 brought home the bottle of water, which was the 
 subject of this analysis, ascertained that persons 
 who have never learned to swim will float on its sur- 
 face." 
 
 I possess a tin vessel full of water which I 
 took up mvself ont of the Dead Sea : I have not 
 yet opened it, bat to judge from the weight and 
 sound, the fluid is not much diminished. I in- 
 tended to try the experiment proposed by Pococke^ 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 413 
 
 which is, to put small sea fish into this water, and 
 observe whether they would live in it : other occu- 
 pations have hitherto prevented the accomplish- 
 ment of this design, and I am afraid that it is now 
 too late. 
 
 The moon rising at two in the niorning, 
 brought with her a strong breeze, which, without 
 cooling the air, produced a slight undulation on 
 the bosom of the lake. The waves, charged with 
 salt, soon subsided by tlieir own weight, and 
 scarcely broke aaainst the shore. A dismal sound 
 proceeded from this lake of death, like the stifled 
 clamours of the people eugulphed in its w aters. 
 
 The dawn appeared on the opposite mountains of 
 Arabia. The Dead Sea, and the valley of the 
 Jordan, glowed with an admirable teint ; but this 
 rich appearance served only to heighten the desola- 
 tion of the scene. 
 
 The cele])rated lake which occupies the site of 
 Sodom and Gomorrah, is called in Scripture, the 
 Dead or Salt Sea ; by the Greeks and Latins, As- 
 phaltites ; Almotanah and Bahar Loth, by the 
 Arabs ; and Ula Deguisi, by the Turks. I cannot 
 coincide in opinion with those who suppose the 
 Dead Sea to be the crater of a volcano. I have 
 seen Vesuvius, Solfatara, Monte Nuovo, in the 
 lake of Fusino, the peak of the Azores, the Mame- 
 lif, opposite to Carthage, the extinguished volcanos 
 of Auvergne, and remarked in all of them the 
 same characters, that is to say, mountains exca- 
 vated in the form of a tunnel, lava, and ashes. 
 
414 TRAVELS IN GREECE. PALESTINE, 
 
 which exhibited incontestible proofs of the agencf 
 of fire. The Dead Sea, on the contrary, is a lake 
 of greet length, curved like a bow, placed between 
 two ranges of mountains, which have no mutual 
 coherence in form, no homogeousness of soil. 
 They do not meet at the two extremities of the 
 lake, but continue, the one to bound the valley of 
 of Jordan, and to run northward as far as the lake 
 of Tiberias ; the other to stretch away to the south 
 till lost in the sands of Yemen. Bitumen, warm 
 springs, and phosphoric stones are found, it is true, 
 in the mountains of Arabia; but I met with none 
 of these in the opposite chain. But then, the pre- 
 sence of hot springs, sulphur, and asphaltos, is not 
 sufficient to attest the anterior existence of a vol- 
 cano. With respect to the engulphed cities, I ad- 
 here to the account given in Scripture, without 
 summoning physics to my aid. Besides, if we 
 adopt the idea of Professor Michael is, and the 
 learned Busching in his Memoir on the Dead Sea, 
 physics may be admitted in the catastrophe of the 
 guilty cities, Avithout olTence to religion. Sodom 
 was built unon a mine of bitumen, as we know 
 from the testimony of Moses and Josephus, Avho 
 speak concerning wells of bitumen, in the valley of 
 Siddim. Lightning kindled the combustible mass, 
 and the cities sunk in the subterraneous confla- 
 gration. M. Make Brun ingeniously suggests, 
 that Sodom and Gomorrah themselves might have 
 been built of bituminous stones, and thus have 
 been set in flames by the fire of heaven. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 415 
 
 Strabo speaks of thirteen towns swallowed up 
 in the Lake Asphaltites ; Stephen of Byzantium 
 reckons eight; Genesis places five in the vale of 
 Siildim, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah^ Zeboim, and 
 Bela, or Zoar, but it memions only the two former as 
 having been destroyed by the wrath of God. Deu- 
 teronomy mentions four, omitting Bel a, and Eccle- 
 ^iasticus speaks of five, without enumerating them. 
 From the remark of James Cerbus, that seven 
 considerable streams fall into tlie Dead Sea, Re- 
 land concludes that it discharges its superfluous 
 waters by s'-bterraneous channels. Sandvs, and 
 some other travellers, have expressed the same 
 opinion ; but it is now relinquished in consequence 
 of Dr. Halley's observations on evaporation ; ob- 
 servations admitted by Shaw, though he calculates 
 that the Jordan daily discharges into the Dead 
 Sea six millions and ninety thousand tons of water, 
 exclusively of the Arnon, and seven other streams. 
 Several travellers, and, among others, Troilo and 
 d'Arvieux assert, that they remarked fragments of 
 walls and palaces in the Dead Sea. This state- 
 ment seems to be confirmed by Maundrell and 
 Father Nau. The ancients speak more positively 
 on this subject : Josephus, who employs a poetic ex- 
 pression says, that he perceived, on the banks of the 
 lake, the shades of the overwhelmed cities. Strabo 
 gives a circumference of sixty stadia to the ruins of 
 Sodom, which are mentioned also by Tacitus. I 
 know not whether thev still exist ; but as the lake 
 rises and falls at certain seasons, it is possible that 
 
4l6 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 it iii'dT alternately cover and expose the skeletons 
 of the reprobate cities. 
 
 The other marvellous properties ascribed to 
 the Dead Sea, have vanished upon more rigid in- 
 vestigation. It is now known that bodies sink or 
 float upon it accr>rding* to the proj)ortion of their 
 gravity to the gravity of the water of the lake. 
 The pestilential vapours said to issue from its 
 bosom, are reduced to a strong smell of sea- water 
 and puft's of smoke, which amiounce or follow the 
 emersion of a-phalto?, and fogs that are really un- 
 wholesome, like all other fogs. Should the Turks 
 ever give permission, and should it be found prac- 
 ticable to convey a vessel from Jaffa to the Dead 
 Sea, some curious discoveries would certainly be 
 made in this lake. The ancients were much better 
 acquainted with it than Ave, as may be seen by- 
 Aristotle, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Taci- 
 tus, Solinus, Josephus, Galen, Dioscorides, and 
 Stephen of Byzantium. Our old maps also trace 
 the fisrure of this lake in a much more satisfactory 
 manner than the modern ones. No person has yet 
 made the tour of it, except Daniel, Abbot of St. 
 Saba. Nau has preserved in his travels the narra- 
 tive of that recluse. From his account we learn, 
 that the Dead Sea, at its extremity, is separated 
 as it were into two parts, and that there is a way 
 by whicli you may walk across it, being only mid- 
 leg deep, at least in summer ; that there the knd 
 rises and bounds another small lake of a circular 
 or rather oval figure, surrounded w^ith plains and 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBARY. 41^ 
 
 mountains of salt; and that the neighhouring 
 country is peopled by innumerable Arabs." Ny- 
 embourg gives nearly the same statement ; and of 
 these documents the Abb^ Mariti and Volney have 
 availed themselves. Whenever M. Seetzen pub- 
 lishes his ti-avels we shall probably possess more 
 complete information on the subject. 
 
 There is scarcely any reader but w^hat has heard 
 of the famous tree of Sodom ; a tree^ said to pro- 
 duce an apple pleasing to the eye^ but bitter to thd^ 
 taste, and fall of ashes. Tacitus, in the fifth book 
 of his History, and Josephus in his Jewish ivar, 
 are, I believe, the two first authors that made men- 
 tion of the singular fruits of the Dead Sea. Foul- 
 cher de Chartres, who travelled in Palestine about 
 the year 1100, saw the deceitful apple, and com- 
 pared it to the pleasures of the world. Since that 
 period, some writers, as Ceverius de Vera, Baum- 
 garten, de la Valine, Troilo, and certain mission- 
 aries, confirm Foulcher's statement ; others, as 
 Reland, Father Neret, and Maundrell, are inclined 
 to believe that this fruit is but a poetic image of 
 our falsie joys ; while others again, as Pococke and 
 Shaw absolutely question its existence. 
 
 Amman seemed to remove the difficulty. \ He 
 gave a description of the tree, which, according to 
 him, resembles the hawthorn. ^' The fruit," says 
 he, is a small apple, of a beautiful colour." 
 
 Hasselquist, the botanist, followed, and he tells 
 a totally different story. The apple of Sodom, as we 
 are informed by bi^; is not the fruit either of a tree 
 
 VOL. I. EE 
 
418 TRAVELS IN GREECE^ PALESTINE, 
 
 or of a shrub, but the production of the solanum 
 mehngena of Linnaeus. " It is found in great 
 abundance," says he, " round Jericho, in the vallies 
 near the Jordan, and in the neighbourhood of the 
 Dead Sea. It is true that these apples are some- 
 times full of dust ; but this appears only when the 
 fruit is attacked by an insect (tenthredo) which 
 converts the whole of the inside into dust, leaving 
 nothing but the rind entire, without causing it to 
 lose any of its colour." 
 
 Who would not imagine, after this, that the 
 question had been set completely at rest, by the 
 authority of Hasselquist, and the still greater 
 authority of Linnaeus, in his Flora Palcestina ? 
 No such thing. M. Seetzen, also a man of science 
 and the most modern of all travellers, since he is 
 still in Arabia, does not agree wdth Hasselquist in 
 regard to the Solanum Sodomeum. " I saw," says 
 he, during my stay at Kan'ak, in the house of 
 the Greek clergyman of that town, a species of 
 cotton resembling silk. This cotton, as he told 
 me, grows in the plain of El Gor, near the southern 
 extremity of the Dead Sea, on a tree like a fig-tree, 
 called Abescha-ez ; it is found in a fruit resembling 
 the pomegranate. It struck me, that this fruit, 
 which has no pulp or flesh in the inside, and is 
 unknown in the rest of Palestine, might be the 
 celebrated apple of Sodom." 
 
 Here I am thrown into an awkward dilemma; 
 for I too have the vanity to imagine that I have 
 discovered the long-sought fruit. The shrub 
 
EGYPT, AND RARBARY. 419 
 
 which bears it grows two or three leagues from the 
 mouth of the Jordan; it is thorny, and has small 
 taper leaves. It bears a considerable resemblance 
 to the shrub described by Amman ; and its fruit is 
 exactly like the little Egyptian lemon, both in size 
 and colour. Before it is ripe^ it is filled with a cor- 
 rosive and saline juice ; when dried it yields a 
 blackish seed which may be compared to ashes, and 
 which in taste resembles bitter pepper. I gathered 
 half a dozen of these fruits ; I still possess four of 
 them, dry, and in good preservation ; they may per- 
 haps be deserving of the attention of naturalists. 
 
 I passed two whole hours (October 5th^) in 
 strolling on the banks of the Dead Sea in spite of 
 my Bethlehemites who urged me to leave this dan- 
 gerous country. I was desirous of seeing the Jordan 
 at the place where it discharges itself into the lake ; 
 an essential point which Hasselquist alone has 
 hitherto explored ; but the Arabs refused to con- 
 duct me to it, because the river near its mouth turns 
 off to the left and approaches the mountains of 
 Arabia. I was therefore obliged to make up my 
 mind to proceed to the curve of the river that was 
 nearest to us. We broke up our camp, and ad- 
 vanced for an hour and a half with excessive diffi- 
 culty, over a fine white sand. We were approach- 
 ing a grove of balm-trees and tamarinds, which to 
 my great astonishment I perceived in the midst of 
 this steril tract. The Arabs all at once stopped, 
 and pointed to something that I had not yet re- 
 marked at the bottom of a ravine. Unable to make 
 
 EE 12 
 
420 TRAVELS IN GKEECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 out what it was, I perceived what appeared to be 
 sand in motion. On drawing nearer to this singu- 
 lar object, I beheld a yellow current, which I could 
 scarcely distinguish from the sands on its shores. 
 It was deeply sunk below its banks, and its slug- 
 gish stream rolled slowly cn. This was the Jor- 
 dan. 
 
 1 had surveyed the great rivers of America with 
 that pleasure which solitude and nature impart ; I 
 had visited the Tiber with enthusiasm, and sought 
 with the same interest the Eurotas and the Gephi- 
 sus ; but I cannot express what I felt at the sight 
 of the Jordan. Not only did this river remind me 
 of a renowned antiquity, and one of the most cele- 
 brated names that the most exquisite poetry ever 
 confided to the memory of man ; but its shores 
 likewise presented to my view the theatre of the 
 miracles of my religion. Judea is the only country 
 in the world that revives in the traveller the me- 
 mory of human affairs and of celestial things, and 
 which, by this combination, produces in the soul a 
 feeling and ideas which no other region is capable 
 of exciting. 
 
 The Arabs stripped, and plunged into tbe Jor- 
 dan. I durst not follow their example, on account 
 of the fever by which I was still tormented ; but I 
 fell upon my knees on the bank with my two ser- 
 vants and the drogman of the monastery. Having 
 forgotten to bring a Bible, we could not repeat the 
 passages of Scripture relating to the spot where we 
 now were ; but the drogman, who knew the cus- 
 t jms of the piace^ begau to sing : Ave maris stella. 
 
EGYPT^ AND BARBAKY. 42 L 
 
 We respoTicled like vSailors at the end of their voyage: 
 Sire de Joinville could not have been more clever 
 than we. I then took up some water from the river 
 in a leather vessel : it did not seem to me as sweet 
 as sugar, according to the expression af a pious mis- 
 sionary. I thought it, on the contrary, rather brack- 
 ish ; but thoiigh I drank a considerable quantity, 
 I felt no inconvenience from it : nay. I even think 
 it would be very pleasant if it ^vere purified from the 
 sand which it carries along with it. 
 
 Ali Aga himself performed his ablutions. The 
 Jordan is a sac^^ed stream v/ith the Tudis and Arabs, 
 who preserve many Hebrew and Christian tradi- 
 tions, the one derived from Ishmael, whose country 
 the Arabs yet inhabit, the other introduced among 
 the Turks together w^ith the fables of the Koran. 
 
 According to d'Anville, the Arabs assign to the 
 Jordan the name of Nahar el Arden ; but Father 
 Roger saj'S that they call it Nahar el Cbiria. The 
 Ab]>e Mariti gives to this name the Italian form of 
 Scheria, and Volney writes El Charia. 
 
 St. Jerome, in his treatise de Situ et Nominibus 
 Locorum Hehraicorum, a kind of translation of Eu- 
 sebius's Chronicon^ conceives the name of Jordan to 
 be derived fi*om the union of Jor and Dan, the ap-^ 
 peliation of the two sources of that river ; but in an- 
 other place he varies from this opinion. It is re- 
 jected by others, on the authority of Josephus,Plinv> 
 and Eusebius, who place the only source of the 
 Jordan at Paneades, at the foot of Mount Hermon, 
 in the Anti-Libanus. La Roque thoroughly inves- 
 
 ^ E 3 
 
422 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 tigates this question in his Travels in Syria: the 
 Abbe Mariti merely repeats what is said by La 
 Roqae, with the addition of a passage from William 
 of Tyre, to prove that Dan and Paneades were one 
 and the same town, which was well known before. 
 We may remark with Reland, in contradiction to the 
 opinion of St. Jerome, that the name of the sacred 
 river in Hebrew is not Jordan but Jorden : that, ad- 
 mitting the former reading, Jordan signifies the 
 River of Judgment, from Jor, w^hich St. Jerome 
 translated V^^^""' jiuvius^ and T)iin, judica?7s, ox judi- 
 cium: an etymology so just that it would render the 
 opinion respecting the two sources of Jor and Dan 
 improbable, if, however, geography left any room 
 for doubt on the subject. 
 
 About two leagues from the place where we 
 halted, I perceived higher up the river a thicket of 
 considerable extent. I determined to proceed thither, 
 for I calculated that this must be nearly the spot 
 where the Israelites passed the river, facing Jericho, 
 where the manna ceased to fall, where the Hebrews 
 tasted the first fruits of the Land of Promise, where 
 Naaman was cured of his leprosy, and lastly, where 
 Christ was baptized by St. John. Towards this 
 place we advanced, but as w^e drew^ near to it we 
 heard the voices of men in the thicket. Unfortu- 
 nately the human voice which cheers you every 
 where else, and which you would love to hear on 
 the banks of the Jordan, is precisely w^hat most 
 alarms you in these deserts. The Bethlehemites 
 and the drogman proposed an immediate retreat ; 
 but I declared that I had ilot come so far to be in 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 423 
 
 such a hurry to return ; that I agreed to go no 
 higher up the river; hut that Iwas determined to ex- 
 amine the river facing the spot where we then stood. 
 
 They yielded with rehictance to my resolution, 
 and we again repaired to the bank of the Jordan, 
 which a bend of the river had carried to some dis- 
 tance from us on the right. I found it of the same 
 width and depth as a league lower down, that is, six 
 or seven feet deep close to the shore, and about fifty 
 paces in breadth. 
 
 The guides urged me to depart and Ali Aga 
 himself ginimbled. Having finished making such 
 notes as I considered most important, I complied 
 with the wishes of the caravan ; I saluted the Jordan 
 for the last time, and took a bottle of its water and 
 a few rushes from its bank. We now quitted the 
 river and pursued our way to the village of Rihha,*' 
 the ancient Jericho, at the foot of the mountains of 
 Judea. Scarcely had we proceeded a quarter of a 
 league in the valley, when we perceived numerous 
 tracks of men and horses in the sand. Ali proposed 
 that our troop should march in close order to pre- 
 vent the Arabs from counting our number. " If 
 they are led," said he, " by our order and our dress 
 to take us for Christian soldiers, they will not 
 venture to attack us." What a magnificent pane- 
 gyric on the valour of our armies ! 
 
 * It is remarkable that this name which signifies perfume, is 
 nearly the same as that of the woman who entertained the spies 
 from Joshua's army at Jericho. She was called Rahab. 
 
 E E 4 
 
424 TRAVELS IN GREECE;, PALESTINE, 
 
 Our suspicions were not groundless. We soon 
 discovered in our rear, on the hank of the Jordan, 
 a body of about thirty Arabs, who were watching 
 our motions. Our infantry, that is, our six Beth- 
 lehemites, formed the van ; and brought up the 
 rear with our cavalry. The baggage was placed in 
 the centre, but unluckily the ass which carried it 
 grew restive, and would not stir without incessant 
 beating. The drogman's horse having stepped up- 
 on a wasps' nest, the insects fell upon him, and he 
 ran away with Michael, who setup the most lamen- 
 table cries. John, though a Greek, kept up a good 
 countenarjce, and Ali was as courageous as a janis- 
 sary of Mahomet 11. As for Julian, nothing ever 
 • made any impression unon him : the world had 
 passed before his eyes, without his bestowing a look 
 upon it : he still fancied himself in the Rue St. 
 Honor e, and coming up to me at a slow pace, said, 
 with the utmost composure, " Is there no police. 
 Sir, in this country, to keep those people in order?" 
 
 Having looked at us for some time, the Arabs 
 made some motions towards us, and then to 
 our great astonishment returned to the bushes 
 which border the river. Ali was right ; they un- 
 doubtedly took us for Christian soldiers. We ar- 
 rived without accident at Jericho. 
 
 The Abbe Mariti has given a good sketch of the 
 historical facts relative to this celebrated town.* 
 
 * He has, however, omitted some, as for instance, the present 
 which Anthony made to Cleopatra of the territory of Jericho. 
 
EaYPT, AND BARBARY. 425 
 
 He has aho treated of the productions of Jericho, 
 the manner of extracting the oil of Zaccon, &c. It 
 would therefore answer no end to repeat what he 
 says, except to make Travels out of Tra> els. It is 
 also well known, that the environs of Jericho are 
 adorned with a spring, whose v/aters^ formerly bit- 
 ter, were rendered sweet by a miracle of Elisha's. 
 This spring is situated two miles above the town, 
 at the foot of the mountain where Christ prayed 
 and fasted forty days. It separates into two 
 branches. On its banks are seen seine fields of donra, 
 groups of acacias, the tree which yields the balm of 
 Judea,* and shrubs resembling lilac in their leaves, 
 but which were not in flower. At present there 
 are neither roses nor palm-trees at Jericho ; and I 
 could not treat myself with the nicolai of Augustus : 
 these dates^ in Belon's time^ were much degenerated. 
 An aged acacia overhangs the spring, and a little 
 lower another tree bends in such a manner over the 
 stream that issues from this spring as to form a na* 
 tural bridge across it. 
 
 I have observed that Ali Aga was a native and 
 governor of the village of Rihha. He conducted 
 me into his territory, where I could not fail to be 
 well received by his subjects^ who actually came to 
 pay their respects to their chief. He wished me to 
 go into an old house which he called his castle, 
 but I refused this honour, and chose rather to 
 
 * This must not be mistaken for the celebrated balm-tree 
 which no longer exists at Jericho. It would appear that the latter 
 perished about the seventh century, for it was not to be found at 
 the period of Arculfe's viiit. 
 
426 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 dine by the side of Elislia's spring, now deno- 
 minated the King's fountain. As we passed 
 through the village, we saw a young Arab seated 
 by himself, with his head adorned with feathers, 
 and dressed as for some extraordinary occasion. 
 All who passed that way stopped and kissed his 
 forehead and cheeks : I was informed that he was 
 just married. We halted at Elisha's spring. A 
 lamb was slaughtered, and put down whole to 
 roast before a fire kindled on the brink of the 
 water; when the banquet was ready, we seated 
 ourselves round a wooden dish, and each tore in 
 pieces with his fingers a portion of the victim. 
 One is fond of discovering in these customs some 
 traces of the manners of ancient times, and of find- 
 ing memorials of Abraham and Jacob among the 
 descendants of Ishmael. 
 
 The Arabs, wherever I have seen them, in 
 Judea, in Egypt, and even in Barbary, have ap- 
 peared to me to be rather tall thaa short. Their 
 demeanor is haughty. They are well made and 
 active. They have an oval head, the brow 
 high and arched, aquiline nose, large eyes with 
 a watery and uncommonly gentle look. No- 
 thing about them would proclaim the savage, if 
 their mouths were always shut ; but as soon as 
 they begin to speak, you hear a harsh and strongly 
 aspirated language, and perceive long and beau- 
 tifully white teeth, like those of jackals and 
 ounces : differing in this respect from the American 
 savage, whose ferocity is in his looks, and human 
 expression in his mouth. 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY. 42J 
 
 The Arab women are still taller in proportion 
 than the men. Their carriage is dignified ; and 
 by the regularity of their features, the beauty of 
 their fi^nres, and the disposition of their veils, they 
 somewhat remind you of the statues of the Priest- 
 esses and of the Muses. This must, however, be 
 understood with some restriction : these beautiful 
 statues are often clothed in rags; a wretched, 
 squalid, and suffering look degrades those forms so 
 elegant ; a copper teint conceals the regularity of 
 the features ; in a word, to behold these women as 
 1 have just delineated them, you must view them 
 at a distance, confine yourself to the general ap- 
 pearance, and not enter into particulars. 
 
 Most of the Arabs wear a tunic, fastened round 
 the waist by a. girdle. Sometimes they take one arm 
 out of a sleeve of this tunic, and then they are habited 
 in the antique style; sometimes they put on a white 
 Voollen covering which serves for a toga, a mantle, 
 or a veil, according as they wrap it round them, 
 suspend it from their shoulders, or throw it over 
 their heads. They go barefoot, and are armed with 
 a dagger, a pike, and a long firelock. The tribes 
 travel in caravans ; the camels going in file. The 
 first camel is fastened by a cord made of the tow 
 of the palm to the neck of an ass, which is the 
 guide of the troop. The latter, as leader, is ex- 
 empt from all burden, and enjoys various privi- 
 leges. Among the wealthy tribes, the camels are 
 adorned with fringes, flags, and feathers. 
 
 The horses are treated, according to the purity 
 of their blood, with more or less honour, but 
 
428 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 always with extreme severity. They are never put 
 under shelter, but left exposed to the most intense 
 heat of the sun, tied by all four legs to stakes 
 driven in the ground, so that they cannot stir. 
 The saddle is never taken from their backs ; they 
 frequently drink but once, and have only one feed 
 of barley in twenty-four hours. This rigid treat- 
 ment, so far from wearing them ont, gives them 
 sobriety, patience, and speed. I have often ad- 
 mired an Arabian steed thus tied down to the 
 t)urning sand, his hair loosely flowing, his head 
 •bowed between his legs to find a little shade, and 
 stealing with his wild eye, an oblique glance at his 
 master. Release his legs from the shackles, spring 
 upon his back, and he will paw in the valley, he will 
 rejoice in his strength, he will swallow the ground 
 in the iiercerjes5 of his rage, and you recognize 
 the original of the picture delineated by Job. 
 
 All that has been related concerning the pas- 
 sion of the Arabs for stories is true, and of this I 
 shall give one example. In the night that we 
 passed on the shore of the Dead Sea, our Bethle- 
 bemites Avere seated round their fire, their pieces 
 being laid on the ground by their sides ; while their 
 horses, tied to stakes, formed a second circle about 
 tliem. Having drunk their coffee and talked a 
 good deal together, these Ai-abs all became silent, 
 with the exception of their sheik. By the light of 
 the fire I could see his expressive gestures, his black 
 beard, his white teeth, the various forms which he 
 gave to bis garments in the course of his relation. 
 His companions listened with profound attention, 
 
EGYPT, AND BARBARY* 
 
 all bending forward with their faces over the fire, 
 sometimes ejaculating an expression of admiration, 
 at others, repeating, with emphasis, the gestures 
 of the narrator. Some horses' heads advancing 
 over the company and discernible in the shade, 
 contributed to give this scene the most pic- 
 turesque character, especially if ^ve include in the 
 view, a corner of the Dead Sea and the mountains 
 of Judea. 
 
 If I had studied with such interest the American 
 hordes on the banks of their lakes, what a different 
 species did I here contemplate ! I had before me 
 the descendants of the primitive race of mankind ; 
 I beheld them with the same manners which they 
 have retained ever since the days of Hagar and 
 Ishmael ; I beheld them in the same desert that 
 was assigned to them by God for their inheritance : 
 Jie dwelt in the ivllderness of Pkaran. I found them 
 in the valley of the Jordan, at the foot of the moun- 
 tains of Samaria, in the neighbonrhood of Hebron, 
 on the spot where at Joshua's command the son 
 stood still, in the plain of Gomorrah yet reeking 
 with thcAvrath of Jehovah, though formerly cheered 
 by the gracious miracles of Christ. 
 
 What particularly distinguishes the Arabs from 
 the tribes of the New World, is, that amidst the 
 rudeness of the former you still perceive a certain 
 degree of delicacy in their manners ; , you perceive 
 that they are natives of that East which is the cra- 
 dle of all the arts, all the sciences, and all religions. 
 Buried at the extremity of the west, in a by-corner 
 pf the universe, the Canadian inhabits vallies shaded 
 
430 TRAVELS IN GREECE, PALESTINE, 
 
 by eternal forests, and watered by immense rivers : 
 the Arab, cast as it were, upon the high road of the 
 world, between Africa and Asia, roves in the bril- 
 liant regions of Aurora over a soil without trees and 
 without water. Among the tribes descended from 
 Ishniael, it is requisite that there should be masters 
 and servants, domestic animals, and a liberty in sub- 
 jection to laws. Among the American hordes man 
 still enjoys in unsocial solitude his proud and cruel 
 independence ; instead of the woollen garment he has 
 the skin of the bear; instead of the lance he is 
 armed with the arrow, instead of the dagger with the 
 club. He knows not, and if he did, would disdain 
 the date, the water-melon, the milk of the camel : 
 flesh and blood must compose his banquets. He 
 has not woven the hair of the goat, that he may 
 shelter himself under tents ; the elm which has fal- 
 len from age supplies bark for his hut. He has not 
 trained the horse to pursue the antelope ; he him- 
 self runs down the elk in the chace. He is not con- 
 nected by his origin with the great civilized na- 
 tions ; the names of his ancestors are not to be 
 found in the annals of empires ; the contemporaries 
 of his ancestors are ancient oaks that are still 
 standing. Monuments of nature and not of history, 
 the tombs of his fathers rise unheeded among un- 
 known forests. In a word, with the American 
 every thing proclaims the savage, who has not yet 
 arrived at a state of civilization ; in the Arab, every 
 thing indicates the civilized man who has retained 
 to the savage state. 
 
 On the 6th, at three in the afternoou, we quitted 
 
I 
 
 EGYPT, AISD BARBARY. 431 
 
 Elisha's spring, and set out for Jerusalem. We 
 left on the right, the mount where Christ fasted 
 forty days, which rises above Jericho, exactly op- 
 posite to Mount Abarim, whence Moses, before his 
 death, surveyed the Land of Promise. As we en- 
 tered the mountains of Judea, we saw the remains 
 of a Roman aqueduct. The Abb^ Mariti, haunted 
 by the recollection of the monks, insists that this 
 aqueduct belonged to some ancient fraternity, or 
 served to irrigate the adjacent lands, when the su- 
 gar-cane was cultivated in the plain of Jericho. If 
 the mere inspection of the work were not sufficient 
 to confute this absurd idea, we might consult Adri- 
 chomius, in his Theatrum Terras Sanctce, the Elu-- 
 cidatio historica Terras Sanctce, by Quaresmius, and 
 most of the travellers already quoted. The road 
 which we pursued among the mountains was broad 
 and sometimes paved; it is perhaps an ancient 
 Roman way. We passed the foot of a mountain 
 formerly crowned with a Gothic castle, which pro- 
 tected and commanded the road. We then de- 
 scended into a deep gloomy valley, called in He- 
 brew Adommin, or the place of blood. Here stood 
 a small town belonging to the tribe of Judah, and 
 in this lonely spot the Samaritan succoured the 
 wounded traveller. We here met the pacha's ca- 
 valry proceeding to the other side of the Jordan, on 
 an expedition which I shall have occasion to notice 
 hereafter. Fortunately night concealed us from 
 the view of these troops. 
 
 We passed through Bahurim, where David, 
 fleeing before Absalom, was stoned by Shimei. A 
 
43i TRAVELS IN GREECE, PAI.ESTI>'E, ficC. 
 
 little farther we alighted at the fonntain where 
 Christ was accustomed to rest with his apostles as 
 he returned from Jericho. We began to ascend the 
 back of the Mount of Olives ; and came to the vil- 
 lage of Bethany, where the ruins of Martha's house 
 and the sepulchre of Lazarus are still shewn. We 
 then descended the Mount of Olives which over- 
 looks Jerusalem, and crossed the brook Cedron in 
 the valley of Jehoshaphat. A path winding at the 
 foot of the temple and leading over Monnt Sion, 
 led us to the Pilgrims' Gate after making the 
 conmlete circuit of the citv. It was midnight. 
 Aii Aga obtained admission for us. The six Arabs 
 returned to Bethlehem and we repaired to the con- 
 vent. A thousand unfavourable reports had already 
 been circulated respecting us. It was said, that we 
 had been killed by the Arabs or the pacha's ca- 
 valry : I was censured for having undertaken the 
 expedition with so small an escort, a circumstance 
 the blame of which was thrown on the imprudent 
 character of the French. Succeeding events, how- 
 ever, demonstrated that had I not adopted this re- 
 solution, and availed myself of the first hours after 
 my arrival at Jerusalem, I should never have been 
 able to penetrate to the Jordan.* 
 
 * I have been informed, that an Englishman, in the disguise 
 of an Arab, wentalone twice or thrice from Jerusalem to the Dead 
 Sea. This is very possible, and I even think, that in this way, 
 a man runs less risk thaii with an escort of ten or twelve persons, 
 
 \ 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 JPnuiea by J, Damcit^ Leather lime. 
 
1^' fi