mm mi ,fil|,H)i iliii;; ,,|l(i'.!i'i;H:. liiiiiin;!: vimm mm- (i-'Hi: 111 '^iSi 1^ : ill t mm ' ;'i !i I If hi! m 'iw;i ijjiillii!';:, ill i iliii !;;■ Hi! Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2010 witii funding from Tine Library of Congress littp://www.arcliive.org/details/liistoryofmoderngOObost THE 1/ HISTORY MODERN 1&REECE, WITH A VIEW OF THE GEOGRAPHY, AKTIQU[[^IES, PRESENT CONDITION OF THAT COUNTRY. FROM THE LONDON EDITION, OTCtfi a Couttuuattou of tiie i^tstoru, TO THE PRESENT TIBIE. BOSTON : PUBWSHED BY NATHAN HALE CONGRESS STREET. WiUi&m L. Lewis Printer. 18 27. HISTORY AND DESCRIPTIOIV OF MODERN GREECE. This volume is a republication of part of a periodi- cal work, edited with much care and ability, and pub- lished in London, called the Modern Traveller. The numbers of that work relating to Greece in particular, here republished, appear to have been compiled with much labour and discrimination, from the great mass of materials which very recent travellers have afforded, to illustrate the Geography and history of that country. The interesting struggle which is now carried on in Greece, the very contradictory accounts which have been laid before the public, of the progress of that struggle, and also of the state of society and manners among the inhabitants, and the intimate and satisfac- tory acquaintance with the present situation of the country, afforded by the united testimony of so many IV INTRODUCTION. travellers as have lately visited it, and published the results of their observation, present a favourable oppor- tunity for inviting the attention of the public, to a con- nected and summary view of the most important par- ticulars which have been thus brought to light. The work was first published in the summer of 1 826, and it brought down the sketch of the war in Greece only to the end of the year 1825. In the present volume a supplementary narrative is given of the incidents of the war, to the date of the latest accounts from Greece, in April last ; when, in consequence of the arrival of Lord Cochrane, and of some important additions to the naval force, the termination of some of the dissen- sions by which the country has been distracted, and the efforts to establish a more efficient government, a brighter prospect was opening. CONTENTS. PAGE BOUNDARIES, 9 ON THE PROPER APPLICATION OF THE TERMS GREECE AND GREEK, 10 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE, ..... 13 NATURAL HISTORY, 18 POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND POPULATION, .... 22 WORKS OF MODERN TRAVELLERS IN GREECE, . . 27 HISTORY OF THE GREEK REVOLUTION, .... 30 STATE AND CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE, .... 41 HISTORY OF ALI PACHA OF lOANNINA, .... 45 ORIGIN OF THE HETARISTS, 87 COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION, .... 94 FALL OF TRIPOLITZA, 102 CONGRESS OF EPIDAURUS, 106 DESTRUCTION OF SCIO, . . . . . . .ill FIRST SIEGE OF MISSOLONGHI, 121 CAMPAIGN OF 1822, . . 126 CONGRESS OF ASTROS, 133 CAMPAIGN OF 1823, 135 STATE OF AFFAIRS AT THE ARRIVAL OF LORD BYRON, 142 CAMPAIGN OF 1824, 146 FALL OF IPSARA, 146 STATE OF GREECE AT THE BEGINNING OF 1S2J5, .151 CONTENTS. PAGE SIEGE AND FALL OF NAVARINO, 154 SECOND SIEGE OF MISSOLONGHI, 162 STATE OF PARTIES IN THE AUTUMN OF 1825, ... 167 CHARACTER A^'D DEATH OF ODYSSEUS, . . . .172 INTERVIEW WITH IBRAHIM PACHA, 178 POSTURE OF AFFAIRS AT THE CLOSE OF THE FIFTH CAMPAIGN, .179 THE MOREA. NAVARINO, 184 MODON, 187 CORON, 190 FROM NAVARINO TO ARCADIA, 191 FROM OLYMPIA TO ARCADIA, .195 FROM ARCADIA TO MESSENE, 198 MESSENE, • 200 FROM SCALA TO MAINA, 203 KALAMATA, 208 KIIRIES, 211 KARDAMOULA, 218 MARATHONISI, 225 CHARACTER AND HISTORY OF THE MAINOTES, . . 229 CERIGO, . . ■ 233 FROM MARATHONA TO MISTRA, . . . . . .235 FROM LEONDARI TO MISTRA, 237 MISTRA, 242 SPARTA, .... 249 FROM MISTRA TO NAPOLI DI MALVASIA, .... 257 TRIPOLITZA, • .... 258 FROM ARCADIA TO TRIPOLITZA, 261 ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF LYCiEUS, . . ' . . 269 KARITENA, 273 MEGALAPOLIS, 275 FROM TRIPOLITZA TO ARGOS, • . 282 TEGEA, , 282 CONTENTS. 7 PAGE MANTINEIA, 286 ORCHO.MENOS, 286 ARGOS, 288 MYCEN^, 299 TIRYNS, 314 NAPOLI DT ROMANIA, . . • 318 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MODERN GREEKS, . 323 FROM NAPOLI TO EPIDAURUS, 327 GROVE OF ^SCULAPIUS, 330 EPIDAURUS, . • 337 FROM EPIDAURUS TO DAMALA, (TR(EZEN) . . . .338 METHANA, 342 ISLAND OF KALAURIA, . • 345 HYDRA, 347 SPEZZIA, 355 FROM ARGOS TO CORINTH, 357 NEMEA, . 358 CORINTH, 363 THE ISTHMUS, 376 FROM CORINTH TO MEGARA, 380 FROM CORINTH TO SICYON, ....... 386 FROM SICYON TO ARGOS, 391 FROM SICYON TO PATRAS, 392 FROM TRIPOLITZA TO PATRAS, 397 PATRAS, . 413 FROM PATRAS TO OLYMPIA, 419 ELIS, 420 OLYMPIA, -427 HELLAS. FROM PATRAS TO SALONA, .433 DELPHI, -440 THE CORYCIAN CAVE, 455 ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF PARNASSUS, ... 457 THERMOPYLiE, 46S 8 CONTENTS. PAGE FROM DELPHI TO ATHENS, 468 LIVADIA, 470 ATHENS, 475 ^GINA, 479 HISTORY OF THE WAR CONTINUED, .• ... 481 SIEGE OF MISSOLONGHl, 482 INTERVENTION OF CAFT. ABBOTT, 483 FALL OF MISSOLONGHl, 486 FAVIER'S EPFEDITION TO NEGROPONT, . . .490 THIRD NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AT EPIDAURUS, ... 490 INACTIVITY OF IBRAHIM PACHA, 493 SIEGE OF ATHENS, 493 MOVEMENTS OF THE TURKISH AND GREEK FLEETS, . 495 IBRAHIM'S INVASION OF MAIN A, ...... 496 ARRIVAL OF STEAM BOAT PERSEVERANCE AND FRIGATE HELLAS, .497 FEEBLENESS OF THE GREEK GOVERNMENT, . .498 ATTEMPT TO RAISE THE SIEGE OF ATHENS, ... 499 DEATH OF COL BURBAKI, 500 ARRIVAL OF LORD COCHRANE, 501 APPOINTMENT OF COUNT CAPO D'ISTRA, .502 SUPPLIES FROM THE UNITED STATES, .... 502 MODERN GREECE Greece lies between lat. 36° 15' and 40° N., and long. 20° 10' and 24° 5' E ; and is bounded on the north by Albania Proper and Macedonia ; on the east by the Egean Sea ; on the west by the Ionian Isles ; and on the south by the Mediterranean. Three centuries and a half have elapsed since, by the ces- sion of the ]\Iorea to the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople, the name of Greece was blotted out from the map of Europe. It had long been reduced to a mere name. From the time that Alliens fell before the arms of Sylla, (B.C. 86,) it had ceased to be an independent powe'r. When tlie master of the Roman world removed the seat of empire from Italy to Thrace, Greece was still nothing more than a province of Rome ; and the historian remarks, that " in the lowest period of degeneracy and decay, the name of Romans adhered to the last fragments of the empire of Constantinople."* It is not ti'ue, that the "majesty of Greece fell under the sci- mitar of Mahomet II." Jt had long been despoiled of its hon- ours by Christian invaders ; and the pillage of Constantinople by the Latin barbarians, in the fifth crusade, was not surpassed in horrors by that which ensued on the Mussulman conquest. In the partition of the empire by the French and the Vene- tians in 1204, Greece, " the proper and ancient Greece," again received a Latin conqueror in the Marquis of Montferrat, who is described by Gibbon as treading with indifference that classic ground. " He viewed with a careless eye the beauties of the valley of Tempe, traversed with a cautious step the straits of Thermopylae, occupied the unknown cities of Thebes, Athens, and Argos, and assaulted the fortifications of Corinth and Napoli ^ Gibbon. 10 MOBERN GREECE. di Romania, which resisted his arms."* The fertile island of Crete was purchased of the Marquis by the Venetians, " with the ruins of a hundred cities," and colonised with the refuse of the Adriatic. Sclavonian robbers had desolated the peninsula before the Turks became its masters. AH of ancient Greece that had noj perished, consisted of its language, its monuments, and its haunted and teeming soil, — its " vales of evergreen and hills of snow," — "The sun, the soil, but not the slave, the same : •Unchanged in -all, except its foreign lord." " Some confusion,", remarks an accomplished Philhellenist, " has been occasioned by the different ideas attached by various writers to the denominations Greece and Greeks. When they are exclusively restricted to those commonwealths that took part in the Pelopennesian war, or those that sent deputies to the coun- cil of Amphictyons, Macedonia, Epirus, and Constantinople will be without their limits ; and if a wider range be taken, there will be danger of confounding with the descendants of the Hel- lenes, many nations of perfectly different origin, but whose reli- gion and habitual language have embodied them with the Greeks. The Wallachian colony that occupies the passes of Pindus and the frontiers of Thessaly and Macedonia, is distinguished from its neighbours by the preservation of a dialect retaining much more of the Latin than any of its other derivatives. They are supposed to have acquired this idiom from the Roman colonies planted by Trajan upon the Dacian frontier. A Sclavonian race is immediately distinguishable in the figure, countenance, , and habits of tha Albanian : his native idiom bears also marks of the same origin. But the common tongue of both these tribes, even among themselves, is Greek ; and few of the Albanian colonists of Peloponnesus retain even a recollection of their ori- * Gibbon, ch. 61. "It was evident," says Daru, "that this division of the empire would in a short time ruin the power of the Latins in the East. Powerful enough to destroy, they were not sufficiently so to preserve. When we read, in Viilehardouin, of the conquests which this and that prince under- took with a hundred or six-score knights, we seem to be reading of the expe- ditions of the lieutenants of Pizarro or Ferdinand Cortes ; and one is morti- fied to see the descendants of the Greeks and the remains of the Roman empire treated with such contempt These possessions were conceded to barons with titles hitherto unknown in the East. The earl of Blois was duke of Nicea ; Viilehardouin, marshal of Romania. The novelty of the titles bespoke the great change which had taken place in the constitution of society ; and Greece must doubtless have been astonished at beholding an earl of Naxos, a prince of Lacedaemon, a duke of Athens." — Histoire dt Venise, lib. iv. sec. 37. MODERN GREECE. 11 ginal language.* Mussulmans in their native mountains, the Albanians have generally assumed the Greek faith in their emi- grations to the south, and are supposed to be equally negligent of both. Thessaly, Boeotia, Attica, and the eastern Morea, are full of their villages ; and the effeminate Greeks are gradually yielding to a more hardy race, the care of the flock and culture of the field. " When the Russians, after their abortive expedition to the Morea, left its inhabitants, without protection, to the fury of their masters against whom they had rebelled, the Turks, too indolent for the work of slaughter themselves, turned the Albanian bloodhounds upon that devoted region ; nor was the task they had given them neglected. All the Morea, northward of the impervious mountains of Maina, remained many years in the possession of an unrestrained banditti. Some of these robbers, no doubt, setded in the country which they had pillaged ; but the tall, strong figures and sandy countenances of many of the peasants in Argolis and Arcadia, refer their Sclavonian blood to a much earlier date. The despot of the Morea is said to have had Albanians in his service ; and Gibbon mentions several irruptions of Sclavonians into that country so early as the eighth century. At present, the majority of the smaller villages is cer- tainly occupied by the descendants of Sclavonians ; and the pure Greek blood is more lilcely to be found in the islands of the Ai'cliipelago, than upon the continent, except in some singular cases. Eastward of the Strymon, the Albanians are but thinly scattered ; but the Bulgarians, who occupy the ancient Thrace, are united, by the Mussulmans, with both Albanians and Greeks, in the common appellation of Giaour or infidel, and agree with them in religion and in the general use of the same tongue. "f The claims of the modern Greeks to the sympathy and aid of Christian Europe, cannot depend on the geographical, or rather historical question which relates to the proper application of the name. Their right and title to the soil, on the ground of inheritance, would seem to be not much more valid than that of the Welsh, the genuine Britons, to the sovereignty of the British isles. Whether, then, the Mainotes are descended, as they boast, from the ancient Spartans, or from Laconian pirates ; whether the Hydriotes are Hellenists by descent, or belong, as * Mr. Leake states, tliat the descendants of the Albanian colonists who, about two centuries ago, settled in Boeotia, Attica, and Argolis, still speak the Albanian tongue. — Outline, S^c. p. 9. t Douglas (Hon. F.S.N ) on certain Points of Resemblance between the An- cient and Modern Greeks. 8vo. pp. 40—43. (3d edn. 1813.) 12 MODERN GREECE. has been contended by a modern traveller,* to " the worst and lowest species of Albanians ;" whatever be the origin of the various tribes of the peninsula, or how mixed soever they may be with Sclavonic or Venetian intruders, their cause is the cause of freedom and of humanity. Like the Copts of Egypt, they are doubtless both a mixed and a degenerate race. Still, the inter- est attaching to them as- Greeks, and which, in spite of all that may be said against them, must attach to their name, linked as it is witli every classical prepossession and with the proudest his- torical recollections, — this interest belongs to the soil, not to the race. Their substantial claims are those of a persecuted and oppressed people ; the accidental interest of their cause arises from the dialect they speak and the country they occupy. It is felt as a violence done to every association, an incongruity in the political state of things, a disgrace to human nature, — that Greece, the cradle of western learning and the birth-place of liberty, where the language of Homer and Pindar and Plato is still the vernacular tongue, should be the seat of Tatar barbarism and Mussulman intolerance, peopled only by tyrants and by slaves. The distinguishing, perhaps we might say the redeeming characteristic of the mo^dern Greeks, — that bond which still unites the mixed tribes as one people, and at the same time con- nects them with the country and its ancient masters, is their lan- '■ guage ; — that brilliant phenomenon, alike wonderful in its pre- servation and in its origin, which has survived the political revo- lutions of thirty centuries, and which, disdaining to blend with the barbarous idioms of successive invaders, has triumphed over the Latin itself, and still vindicates its claim to be the only indi- genuous language of Greece. f Disguised as it is in the Romaic by various dialects and perhaps a corrupt pronunciation, it retains, if we may be allowed the expression, all its vital force, and is almost daily resuming more and more of its original character as embodied in the ancient' literature. The little Greek spoken in Asia Minor, on the contrary, is nearly unintelligible to the in- habitants of the Peninsula, on account of the number of Turkish words with which it is interlarded. | Thessaly and the northern provinces have adopted' the barbarisms of Albania, and an Italian « Sir W. Gell. t " The Greeks have preserved their original tongue in greater purity during- an equal extent of years, than any nation with whicli we are acquainted, per- haps with the single exception of the Arabians ; and 1 believe, the contempo- rary of William of Malmsbury or of Froissart would lind more difliculty in conversing with his modern countrymen, than any Athenian of the purer ages With his." — Douglas, p. 91. :f See Mod. Trav., Syria and Asia Minor, vol. ii. pp. 134; 155, 6; 173. MODERN GREECE. 13 may generally be substituted for a Greek word at Athens and in the Morea. Tiie IMegareans speak a language much less corrupt than what is spoken in Attica. The harsh and guttural utter- ance of the Mainotes has been remarked b}^ more than one trav- eller. In Crete, where few e\^en of the Turks understand their native tongue, the Romaic is universally employed in conversa- tion, and appears to have retained the greatest number of ancient Greek words. Strange to say, the purest Greek is spoken by the Fanariots of Constantinople, many of whom employ the ancient idiom with as much facility as if it were sdll in general use ;* but this is the result of cultivation. In Greece Proper, it seems to be the very effluence of the climate and the inspira- tion of the scene. Upon the whole, the Greek language may be said still to pre- vail, more or less, over the whole of what was anciently consid- ered as included in Hellas ; namely, from the Tagnarian promon- tory to Upper Macedonia, together with the islands and coasts of the Egean Sea ; and these are the countries that will now^ come more immediately under our observation. The division, political and military, which has been, adopted by the Greek government, is that of Eastern Hellas, Western Hellas, the Mo- rea, the Islands, and Crete. To this we shall adhere, adverting only occasionally to the ancient and other modern divisions. But first, we shall take a o;eneral view of the i PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. The long chain of mountains which, stretching across Euro- pean Turkey from east to west, divides Servia and Bulgaria from Romelia and Albania, sends out two secondary ranges, one of which, the ancient Rhodope, runs in a south-easterly direction to the Sea of Marmora ; the otlier, improperly termed the Pindus Chain, separating the ancient Illyricura from Macedonia, extends southward through the whole of Greece, terminating in the Corinthian Gulf, while various collateral ranges on the western side, traverse Albania, and extend to the shores of the Gulf of Arta. This mountain barrier, dividing the country longitudmally into two unequal portions, separates what is now termed Eastern from Western Greece ; while, in the parallel of 39**, its lateral branches extend quite across the continent, from the celebrated pass of Thermopylae on the shores of the Maliac " The dialect spoken by the Greeks at Joannina^ is considered as one of the pui-est forms of the Romaic. 14 MODERN GHEECE- Gulf, to the coast of Acarnania. This is the range known under the name of Mount CEta, which separates the plains of Thessaly from BcEotia. A double barrier of mountains divides the isthmus from Continental Greece, wliile an apparent prolon- gation of the great longitudinal chain traverses the whole of the peninsula, terminating in the rocky coast of Maina. The Boeotian plains terminate to the north-west in the valley of Phocis and Doris, watered by the Cephissus and its branches, wliich have their origin in Mount CEta. This valley separates , the mountains that rise from the Gulf of Corinth, and which anciently bore the names of Helicon, Corax, Parnassus, &c., from the mountains of Locris, the ancient Callidromus and Cnemis, which are a prolongation of Mount CEta, and the north- ern face of which looks down on the valley of the Spercheius and the Maliac Gulf. These two ranges are united in the region of the ancient Doris ; and from their junction, the central chain of Pindus continues in a N. or N.N.E. direction, gradually inclining towards the coast of the Adriatic, and giving off collat- eral branches which-, intersect Albania. For about a hundred miles, this elevated range is nearly equi-distant from the eastern and western coasts. In Western Greece, a series of plains and valleys lie be- tween Mount Pindus and the irregular range which borders the entire extent of the western and southern coast. At some dis- tance from the eastern extremity of the Gulf of Arta (the ancient Ambracia), which divides Epirus from Acarnania, rises a steep, woody mountain, now called Makrinoro (or Makronoros, the Long Mountain), which constitutes a pass of great strength and importance, corresponding to that of Thermopylae at the eastern end of the CEtean range, and completing the barrier between Eastern and Western Greece. To the north of this ridge rises the vast and apparently insulated mass called Tzum- erka ;* and still loftier mountains, rising to the N. E. and N. of this, divide the valley of the Aracthus or river of arta, from that of the Aspropotamo (the ancient Achelous). These moun- tains are commonly known under the name of Agrafa : as seen from the elevated plain of loannina, they appear to fill up, in the distance, the interval between the Tzumerka and the narrow and lofty ridge called Metzoukel, which separates tlie plain of loannina from the deep valley of the Aracthus. Immedi- ately beyond the river commences the ascent of a lofty group, the successive ridges of which conduct the eye to summits, sup- * Supposed bj' Dr. Holland to be the ancient Tomarns. MODERN GREECE. ' 15 posed to be not less tlian 7000 feet above the level of the sea. These inountains, which now bear the name of the Greater Metzovo are, apparently, the very nucleus of the chain of Pindus. The town of Metzovo is situated near one of the sources of the river of Arta, in the bosom of these Alpine regions, and forms one of the most interesting geographical points in the country. From this part of the chain of Pindus, four considerable rivers take their rise, each pursuing its course to the sea in a different direction. These are, the Ai'acthus, which flows in a south-wester- ly direction into the Gulf of Arta ; the Achelous, which rises at no great distance, and takes a southerly course through a mountainous district, entering tlie Ionian Sea near Messolonghi ; the Peneus (or Salpnpria), which, rising on the eastern side of that part of Pindus iiiimediately above Metzovo, decends into the great plains of Thessaly, and pursues its course to the Archipelago through the precipitous defiles of Tempo ; and lastly, the Viosa (Vioussa), or Aous, which has its origin in the mountains to the north of Metzovo, and flowing in a N.E. direction to Tepeleni, enters the Adriatic near- tlie site of the ancient Apollonia. One of the principal routes over Pindus, in proceeding from the western coast, lies through the canton of Zagora, in which one of the branches of the river of Arta has its source, forming its junction with the Metzovo branch in the deep hollow between Metzoukel and Pindus. The Zagora mountains are distinguish- ed from most other parts of the Pindus chain by their summits spreadmg out into wide and open plains, instead of forming narrow ridges. Beyond Metzovo, in the same direction, is the ridge of Mavronoros, or the Black Mountain ; and stiU ^further northward are the mountains of Tzebel and Samarina, wliich are believed to be anaong the most elevated points in Alba- nia. The chain continues to run northwards, dividing lUyricum from Macedonia, till it unites with the mountains that enclo-se the basin of the Danube. The upper ridge of Pindus, near Metzovo, appears to be composed entirely of serpentine. The exposed surface of the rock is every where covered with a yellowish green steatite, gen-. erally disposed in a sort of scales upon the serpentine, which is probably superposed upon primitive slate. The ridge intervening between the plains of loannina and the valley of the Aracthus, exhibits a series of layers of calcareous slate, apparently of re- cent formation, interrupted at intervals by rocks of limestone, which come down in abrupt cliffs to the channel of the stream. This limestone probably forms the basis of all the country west- ward of the river of Arta, and is the material also of the lower 16 MODERN GREECE, parts of the Pindus chain on the eastern side. The bed of the river, however, and the channels of the streams which join it from the east, contain fragments of syenite, porphyry, and ser- pentine, and sometimes mica-slate, jasper, and conglomerate rock, indicating that the more central parts of Pindus are com- posed in part of primitive formations. In the valley of the Salympria, there is a most remarkable groupe of insulated rocks, composed entirely of a conglomerate, consisting of granite, gneiss, mica slate, chlorite slate, syenite, greinstone, and quartz pebbles. The origin of this formation, which is of a very lim- ited extent, presents an interesting problem to the geologist. Limestone, however, is the prevailing rock, for the most part cavernous, and with abrupt and precipitous faces. The whole chain of OEta, in particular, appears to belong to the great cal- careous formation of Greece. The general appearance of the limestone strikingly corresponds to that in the north of Ireland ; its colour, in general, is nearly milk-white ; it contains a great quantity of flint, either in layers or in nodules 5 and large de- posites of gypsum have taken place upon it, particularly near the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian seas. The Scironian rocks on the southern coast of the Isthmus, consist of breccia, lying, as in Attica and over all the northern part of the Morea, on a stratum of limestone. In Thessaly, the limestone gives way to the serpentine breccia called verde antko ; and that curious aggregate of dark diallage and white feld-spar, called by Italian lapidaries bianco e nero antico, is found in Macedonia. Other varieties of porphyry occur also in Thrace, particularly one of hornblende, resembling lava, in the great plain of Chouagilarkir, near the foot of the Karowlan mountains, a branch of the an- cient Rhodope. But in Hellas Proper, with the exception above mentioned, to which may be added the breccia formation around Mycenae, and the substratum of the rock of the Acropo- lis at Athens, the mountains so uniformly consist of limestone, that scarcely any other substance can be met with.* The most fertile districts of Greece are Macedonia, Thes- saly, and the eastern parts of Phocis and Boeotia.f The agricultural produce of Attica, owing to the lightness of the soil, * These g-eological observations are taken chiefly from Dr. Holland's Trav- els in the Ionian Isles, &-C., and Dr. Clark's Travels, part. ii. t " Marathon, forg-otten in every other )respect, is now only regarded, as it was before its glory, for being tlie granary of the barren Attica .... Pindus and CEta, with their various branches, are impracticable to the Albanian hus- bandman ; though in the little winding valleys (the larvxai) i that intersect them, wesmay be secure of always finding a village with its surrounding fields of maize or cotton." — Douglas, p. 51. • MODERN GREECE. 17 is confined to barley and olives. The Morea is said to be susceptible of every species of cultivation.* The mountainous region of Epirus is the most barren. Thessaly yields wool and silk ; and the soil of Macedonia is particularly favourable to tobacco : that of Yenige, on account of its balsamic odour, is preferred even to that of Latakia in Syria. Cotton also is ex- tensively cultivated. But the principal wealth of Macedonia anciently consisted of its mines. The most celebrated were those of the mountain Pangseus, from which Philip annually de- rived a thousand talents of gold ; and by means of the treasure thence extracted, he became the master of Greece. In the plain of Aita, one of the most fertile districts of Epirus, maize, wheat, rice, and tobacco are cultivated ; the vineyards are nu- merous, and the orange-tree and fig-tree are made objects of peculiar attention. The oak, the plane, and the chestnut, are the chief ornaments of the valleys ; and the vast precipices of the Pindus chain are clothed with forests of pines. The forests of the Morea are in some districts very extensive, especially in Elis and on the western coasts, which have long furnished oak * " The corn of the Morea has long been highly prized \n the adjoining islands, and its culture is proportionally extensive. Its barley, however, is not so much esteemed, and its Indian corn has never been exported. The Peninsula is by no means a country for wine, the greater portion of its con- sumption being imported from the Archipelago. Two species, however, are admired by the Greeks ; the wine of Mistra, and that of St. George in Corinth. Both are only of a light body, and acquire a disagreeable flavour from the turpentine with which they are purified. The grapes are neither large nor of fine flavour ; the best are produced at Gastouni. One species, however, the raisin de Corinthe (Zante currant), has been extensively cultivated of late along the shores of the gulfs of Lepanto and Salarais, where it has taken the place of tobacco plantations. Other fruits are likewise produced in abund- ance ; — lemons, not large nor peculiarly fine ; oranges, — the best are found at Calamata ; peaches, pomgranates, apricots, almonds and a variety of shell fruit. The figs, especially those of Maina, are remarkable for their sweet- ness. The markets of Napoli di Romania are plentifully supplied with cucum- bers, love-apples, spinnach, asparagus, and other vegetables. Olives abound in every district, but especially in Maina and Argolis. Manna and Indigo were formerly cultivated, but are now neglected, as well as the gathering of galls, which used to be found in every forest. Cotton was never grown in large quantities, but its quality was remarkably white and delicate. The culture of flax was but little known. The immense flocks of Argolis, Mes- senia, and the valleys of Arcadia, furnish a proportionate quantity of wool, the exportati.^n of which to the Ionian Islands, together with the sheep them- selves, and a little wine, constitutes the only remnant of the once extensive trade of Pyrgos." Large quantities of wax are still exported from Napoli to Syra. The barren and mountainous districts abound with beds of thyme, fen- nel, and mint , but the honey of the Morea is decidedly inferior to thet of Attica, and must be used with caution on account of its medicinal properties. Emerson's Journal in " Picture of Greece in 1825," pp. 314 — 18. 3 18 MODERN GREECE. and pine for the construction of the Hydriot vessels, and large quantities of vallonia for exportation to Zante and Malta.* The zoology of Greece, so far as known, does not appear to furnish many distinct species. The lynx, the wild cat, the wild boar, the Avild goat, the stag, the roe-buck, the badger, and the squirrel, inhabit the steeper rocks of Parnassus, and the thick pine forests above Callidia. The bear is also sometimes found here. The rugged mountains about Marathon are fre- * Among the extracts from Dr. Sibthorpe's papers, given in Mr. Walpole's Memoirs, will be found a valuable list of Grecian plants, with an account of their medicinal and economic uses. Of seventy ^irticles, the principal are the following : Pinus maritinia (tteukos) ; pinuspinea (ot't-uj) of the ancients ; now called, from the fruit, {kouhonaria) ; ■pinus picea. Quercus cBgilops ; q. ilex ; q. coccifera ; (q.cerris f) A'butus unedo {KOjiaQia), the fruit of wliich is esteem- ed a delicacy ; a spirit is also drawn from it, and a vinegar of a bright gold colour; the flutes {(fXovgia) of the Greek shepherds are made of the wood ; arbutus andrachne, the inmt oi which K not eaten. Rhus colinus, yielding a beauti.ful yellow dye ; the powdered fruit, called sumach by the Turks, is sprinkled upon meat as seasoning. Laurus nobilis {Ad(pvri),the most aromatic of the Greeek shrubs ; the oil expressed from the berries is used to anoint the hair. JVeriuni oleander (the ancient poSoSa(pvri) ; the flowers are used to adorn the churches on feast-days. Viiex agnus castus, the constant companion of the oleander ; the leaves yield , a yellow dj'e, and baskets and bee-hives are made of the twigs. Salix Babylonica. Pistachia lentiscus, — yielding the mas- tich ; p. terebinlhus ; the fruit is eaten, and an oil is expressed from it. Ju- nipet-us oxycedrus (Kiipos). Cercis siliquastrum. Daphne dioica, yielding a yellow dye. Myrlus communis ; Xhe fruit fiovpa is eaten in Greece, both the white fruit and the black ; the plant is used in garlands and to ornament the churches ; in Zante, a syrup is made from the fruit, and a purple colour is also obtained from the plant. Ficus carica. Hedera heiix. Juncus acuius. Cislus creticus ; the laudanum is not collected. Arum maculatum ; the root is used in the Morea, in times of great scarcity, instead of bread. Ceraionia siliqua ; the fruit is an article of commerce. Rhamnus Grcecus ; the berries yield a yellow dye. Populus nigra {\evKfi). Sambucus nigra; it forms the hedge to the vineyards about Livadia. Salsola fruiicosa ; the alkali obtained from it is used in the manufacture of soap and of glass. Jlmygdalus comjnunis sylvestris. Nigella Damascena. Echiiim Italicmn. Carihamuscorymbosus. Erigeron gra- veolens, — gives a green dye. Saiureia capiiatu {Bv^os), the plaiit to the flowers of which the Hymettian honey owes its celebrity. Erica muliiflora, — flowers in winter, and during that season furnishes the principal food of the bee ; but the honey made from it sells at half the price of that made during the summer from the wild thyme. Salvia arborea. Rubia peregrina ; the root gives a red dye. Hyoscyamus albus {Upbs) ; the leaves are used as an opiate in the tooth-ach, externally applied, or the fumes of the burnt seed are inhaled for the same purpose. Lolium temulentum {aipa), supposed to be the sizanion of the New Testament (Matt, xiii.) the ziwan of the Arabians, and the rosch of the He- brews : the seeds often become mixed with the corn, and when eaten produce violent giddiness. Smilax aspera ; the flowers are extremely fragrant, and ai'e put into wine to give it a grateful flavour ; the root is used as a depurator of the blood. Jlsphodelus ramosus. Jlmaryllis Ivtca, used as a coronary or ornamental plant ; and the Turks plant it on the graves of their friends. The mallow, the asphodel, and the myrtle, were anciently used for the same pur- pose. Malva sylveslris. used as a pot-herb. Scolymus maculalus, eaten as a salad. Scilla officinalis; the root is made into an electuary. Asparagus aphyl- }us; this is boiled and eaten during Lent. MODERN GREECE. 19 quented by wolves, foxes, and jackals ; weasels are sometimes taken in the villages and out-houses ; hares* are too numer- ous to be particularised. The mole burrows in the rich ground of Livadia (Boeotia), and the hedge-hog is found in the environs of Athens. The otter inhabits the rivers and marshes of Boeotia, and the phoca and the porpoise are seen in the Cor- inthian Gulf and off the coast of Attica. The small species of bat flutters about the ruins of Athens, and a larger species in- habits the caverns of the island of Didascalo. The large vulture (ogreo) frequents the cliffs of Delphi, and the woods and precipices of Parnassus. There are several species of.the falcon tribe. Dr Sibthorp particularises what he supposed to be the ya?co chrysaetos (^called by the guide aeios),xhe falco ierax, and the falco kirkenasi. The latter, " half domestic, ar- rives early in the spring Vvith the storks in immense numbers, joint inhabitant with them of the houses and temples of the Athenians, and retires with these birds at the end of August." He noticed also a large grey hawk of the buzzard kind on the plain of Marathon ; another species, brown, with a white band on the wings, near Livadia ; and a small dark hawk near Cape Sunium. The little owl [strix passerina) is the most common species of Minerva's bird in Greece ; it abounds in the neigh- bourhood of Athens. The horned owl is sometimes, but rarely seen. The ash-coloured, the red-headed, and the small grey butcher-bird, frequent the olive-grounds. Of the crow tribe, the raven, the hooded crow, the jackdaw, the magpie, the jay, the alcedo ispida, and the Cornish chough, are found here. The latter generally confines itself to the mountainous parts, in- habiting the broken cliffs and caverns of Parnassus, but some- times decends into the plains. The hooded crow (called by the peasants %ogcovrj), which retires from England during the summer, is a constant inhabitant of Attica. The roller frequents the gardens and olive-grounds. The • cuckoo is heard early in the spring. The merops, attracted by the bees of Hymettus, appears at the latter end of summer. The hoopoe is also here a bird of passage. The sitta was seen on the rocks near Delphi. Wild pigeons abound in the rocks ; and the turtle and wood-pigeon are found in the woods and thickets. The red-legged partridge abounds every where. Among the larks, the crested lark is the most frequent ; but there are some of the other species. " Blackbirds frequent the olive grounds of Pendeli ; the solitary sparrow inhabits the cliffs of Delphi ; and * Taooshan, hare, is the nick name given by the Turks to the Greek island- ers. 20 MODESN GREECE. the song-thrush is heard m the pine woods of Parnassus. Above these, where the lieights are covered with snow, is seen the emberiza nivalis, inhabitant alike of the frozen Spitzbergen and of the Grecian Alps. The bunting, the yellow-hammer, and a species of emberiza nearly related to it, haunt the low bushes in the neighbourhood of corn-fields." The goldfinch and the lin- net rank also among the Attic choristers ; and the fringilla jlaveola is not unfrequent about Athens. Of the slender-billed birds, the wheatear is the most general species throughout Greece, inhabiting alike the highest mountains and the lowest plains. The white water-wagtail haunts the banks of rivulets, and the red-start is found on the eastern coast. The king- fisher is also seen here. Various species of the duck tribe visit the salt lakes and the shores of Attica during the winter, retiring in summer to more unfrequented fresh-water lakes and deep morasses. Woodcocks, snipes, and bustards, in considerable numbers, visit the neighbourhood of Athens during winter. The curlew and the red-shank, the purple and the grey her- on, the long-legged, the grey, and the sand plover, also frequent the marshes of Boedtia and the eastern coast. The privileged stork generally arrives at Athens some time in March, and leaves it when the young are able to support a long flight, about the middle of August. The quail is another annual visiter. All the European species of the swallow tribe are found here, except the pratincola ; also, various species of motacilla, confounded under the general name of beccafica. The sand- martin burrows in the cliffs of Delphi, and the goat-sucker still retains its ancient name, and the stigma attached to it. The storm-finch, the sea-gull, and the sea-swallow are seen on the coast of the Egean Sea.* " One of the most agreeably diversified countries of the globe," says M. Beaujour, who was long resident in it, " is Greece : it is the epitome of all climates. .The plants which grow within the tropics, flourish in its plains and on its hills, and those of the most northern regions thrive on the mountains. Olympus, Pindus, Parnassus, the craggy mountains of Ai'cadia, preserve on their sides and summits a perpetual coolness, while the valleys lying at their feet enjoy a perennial spring. The lands unsusceptible of culture are still not destitute of vegetation, but produce spontaneously thyme, marjoram, and all the aromatic plants. Such a country would seem to be singularly adapted to yield rich pasture : accordingly, there are numerous herds. For * From the papers of the late Dr. Sibthorpe. Walpole's Memoirs, pp 73— 7 ; see also pp. 255—273, MODERN GREECE. 21 MX months of the year, indeed, it supports all those of the neigh- bouring regions. \Vhen tlie severity of the winter drives the Albanian shepherds from their native mountains, they descend to seek, in the tine climate of Greece, pastures more substantial and luxuriant. They enjoy the right of common in all the lands which ai-e not under cultivation ; and notwithstanding the tyranny of the Beys, who levy contributions upon them ^vithout mercy, their ^vinterin2;s in greneral cost them but little."* op ^ _ Nothing, it is said, can surpass the delicious temperature of the islands in autumn, and of the winter at Athens, where the thermometer rarely descends below the freezing point. The longevity of the natives bears testimony to the salubrity of the air of Attica, wliich was always esteemed for its purity, and is still the best in Greece. Its extreme dryness has greatly con- tributed to the admirable preservation of the Athenian edifices. The corn in Attica is ripe about twenty-five days sooner than in the Morea and in Crete, owing, it is supposed, in part, to the abundance of nitre with which the soil is impregnated. The olives and the honey are still the best in the world. f Many parts of Greece, however, are far from being salubrious ; and it is probable, that great changes have taken place in this respect, owing to the desolation spread hf war, pestilence, and oppression. The air of Corinth is so bad, that the inhabitants abandon the place during the summer months, through fear of the malaria, which is the scourge of the maritime plains. J Lord Byron pronounces the air of the Morea to be heavy and imwholesome ; but, on passing the isthmus in the direction of Megara, a strildng change is immediately perceptible. The transition is equally great after passing the ridges of Citheron. * Beaiijour. Tableau dn Commerce de la Gr^ce, vol. i. p. 136. The number of sheep in Attica was computed, in 1786, at 60,000; the goats at 100,000; and 10,000 g-oats and 5000 sheep were killed annually. " During the winter months," says Dr. Sibthorpe, " a nomade tribe drive their flocks from the mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and Bceotia, and give some pecuniary consideration to the pacha of Negropont and the vaivode of Athens. These people are much famed for their woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks worn by the Greek sailors." — Walpole's Memoirs, p. 141. t Dodwell, vol. ii. p. 7. Mr. Hobhouse, who was at Athens in tlie depth of winter, speaks in more qualified language of the climate. " The weather was never so inclement as to prevent an excursion on horseback. To the northern constitution of an Englishman, the Athenian winters are not commonly so rigorous as, from ancient accounts, you might be led to expect. After having found it agreeable to bathe, a little before Christmas, at Thebes, where a poet of the country (Hesiod) describes the cold to be so excessive as to freeze up the spirits of all nature, animate and inanimate, and to inflict upon man him- self the miseries of a premature decay, it will not be supposed that the inclem- ency of Attica was by us severely felt." — Journey, <^c. letter 24. t Clarke's Travels, P. ii. § 2, ch. 9. 22 MODERN GREECE. The climate of Attica, he describes as a perpetual spring ; rain is extremely rare, and even a cloudy day is seldom seen. Nei- ther in the Spanish peninsula, nor in any other part ol the East, except Ionia, in his Lordship's opinion, is the climate equal to that of Athens ; but " I fear," he adds, " Hesiod will still be found correct in his description of a Boeotian winter."* " The unwholesome marshes of Boeotia," remarks Mr. Douglas, " are inhabited by a race whom the vanity of the Athenians still de- spises as inferior beings." Speaking generally of the country, he says : " The mixture of the romantic with the rich, which still diversifies its aspect, and the singularly picturesque form of all its mountains, do not allow us to wonder that even Virgil should generally desert his native Italy for the landscape of Greece. Whoever has viewed it in the tints of a Mediterranean spring, will agree in attributing much of the Grecian genius to the influence of scenery and climate. "-j- POLITICAL DIVISIONS AND POPULATION. The limits of Greece are too indeterminate to admit of any very correct estimate of its territorial extent. Including the southern parts of Albania and Macedonia, as high as lat. 42°, it is about 400 miles in length by a mean breadth of 1 60 ; but the whole of Greece Proper does not extend in length above 225 miles. Make Brun gives, as the result of a comparative exami- nation of modern accounts and maps, the following table : Square Miles. Eastern and Western Hellas, including Epirus, Thes- saly, and Livadia 14,915 Morea 7,227 Euboea (Negropont) and the other Isles 3,806 Crete 4,613 Macedonia 21,142 Albania Proper 16,645 * Notes to Childe Harold, canto ii. t Essay on Ancient and Modern Greeks, p. 52. 30,561 37,787 68,348 MODERN GREECE. ' 23 ' Greece, including die peninsula and the islands, forms, accord- ing to this computation, not quite a seventh of Turkey in Europe, or, togetlier with Macedonia and Illyricum, rather less than a third.'* The population of Greece has been very variously estimated, and the dreadful effects of the revolutionary struggle render it nearly impossible to ascertain with any accuracy the present numerical amount. While some wi'iters estimate the whole population of European Turkey at twenty-two millions, others reduce it to eight millions. By some, the Greeks have been supposed to amount to between two and three millions, but the Greek population of Asia Minor and the Crimea has probably been included. The Hon. Mr. Douglas thinks that, adopting Hume's estimate of ] ,290,000 as the total of ancient Greece, exclusive of Laconia,f the present inhabitants of the country in all probability greatly surpass their ancestors in number ; but " this computation," he adds, " will include all the natives of that country, whether Mussulmans or Christians, of whom the pure Greek race assuredly does not compose ahove a third, though * " The extreme diminutiveness of Greece," remarks Mr. Hobhouse, " may make some readers suspect, that they and the rest of the world have fixed their admiration upon a series of petty and insignificant actions, scarcely worthy of a detail, or of finding a place among the histories of empires ; but others will feel only an increase of esteem and respect for a people whose transcend- ent genius and virtue could give an interest and importance to events trans- acted upon so inconsiderable a spot of earth. Greece Proper scarcely con- tained more space than the kingdom of Naples formerly occupied on the continent of Italy; and Sicily is considered as large as Peloponnesus .... A man might very easily, at a moderate pace, ride from Livadia to Thebes and back again between breakfast and dinner, particularly as he would not have a single object to detain him by the way ; and the tour of all Boeotia might cer- tainly be made in two days without baggage." — Journey through Albania, pp. 483, 275. The diminutiveness of Palestine has awakened similar feelings ; but the ancient kingdom of Judaea was far more populous than Greece. t " Hume has shewn, by very powerful arguments, the little faith that is to be attached to the extravagant accounts of the Greek population, to be found in AthenBBus and other ancient authors. 1 am inclined to believe that ancient Greece was never a very populous tract. The vast ranges of barren mountains that intersect the whole country, together with the immense woods and marshes, still more considerable formerly than at present, must ever have been great obstacles to populousness ; and we may perceive, in the importance attached thi'oughout ancient Greece to the character of a citizen, (insomuch that the capital was often contemplated as the whole state,) a further proof that the population of the villages was comparatively insignificant. In Attica, where the number of Svi^oi is known, and where the people were noted for their attach- ment to a country life, there are now as many villages as in the time of its liberty. And as the people have no longer the same objects in flocking to the capital, the diminution of inhabitants in the cities cannot be taken as a criterion of a general decrease. . . . The plains of Messenia and Thessaly might be quoted as instances of population hardly equalled in any part of the world. In one view over the Larissce campus opimce, I have counted eight and thirty villages." Douglas on the Modern Greeks, p. 44. 24 • MODERN GREECE. the proportion is very different in different provinces."* M. Beau- jour states the total population of Greece at 1,920,000 ; but he includes Macedonia, to which is assigned 700,000. The re- mainder is thus distributed : Inhabitants. Epirus 400,000 Thessaly 300,000 iEtolia, Phocis, and Bceotia 200,000 Attica 20,000 Morea . 300,000 1,220,000 But it is not a little remarkable, that the population of the islands should be whollj overlooked in this computation. f Col. Leake thinks, that, in the latter years of the reign of Ali Pasha, the population of Continental Greece, from Cape Tsenarum to the northernmost limits at which the Greek language is in common use, was not much above a million. Mr. Waddington, one of our most recent authoriUes, professes himself to be strongly of opinion, that the whole number of " actual insurgents" is some- what under one million, including the population of the islands, which he estimates at 250,000 souls. To Eastern and Western Hellas, he assigns 150,000,f and to the Morea, half a million. *In some parts of the Morea, (Messenia and Elis in particular,) as well as in all the large villages, the Turks outnumbered the Christians. In Attica and Boeotia, the Christians were supposed to be ten in eleven. In Thessaly and Epirus, the preponderance was very slightly in favor of the Moslems. The islands were generally free from the presence of a Turk ; and even in Scio and Mytilene, they were few in comparison with the Greeks. Under the rapacious administration of Veli Pasha, the Morea was to a great extent exhausted of its Greek population by emigrations to Hydra and the opposite coasts of Asia Minor, and even to Albania. These fluctuations, occasioned by internal politi- cal changes, increase the difficulty of ascertaining the true state of the popula- tion. t Mr. Hobhouse says, that the number of Greek mariners, actually employed at sea, is supposed to be at least 50,000. — Journey, ^c. p. 600. j; Since the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, the province of Western Greece, according to Mr. Waddington's representation, has been for the most part confined to the walls of Missolonghi. " I am assured," he says, " that during the second siege, nearly 40,000 souls were collected in the city, and that this number comprehended the great majority of the villages and movmtaineers, who had fled to the only place of security. We may then cal- culate the Avhole population of the province at 60,000. I am the more inclined to attach credit to this estimate, because my own inquiries in Attica, respecting the physical force of Eastern Greece, led me very nearly to tlie same result. Many fugitives from both these districts, are to be found, as soldiers or shep- herds, in the cities or on the mountains of the Morea." — Visit to Greece, p. 172. This last remark may account for the alleged increase in the population of the MODERN GREECK. 25 In this estimate, Epirus and Thessaly are apparently put out of consideration, and only die " insurgent" Greeks are reckoned.^ Crete alone was formerly supposed to contain a population of 280,000 souls, of whom 130,000 were Greeks.* If the total number of Greeks were the subject of inquiry, it would be necessary to ijiclude those of the more northern provinces of European Turkey, of Tinace and Wallachia, as well as those who have taken refuge under the empire of Russia, together widi die Greeks of Cyprus, Asia Minor, and S}^ria. But the population of the country, whether Greek, Turkish or Albanian, is the proper question ; and the following, as a mean estimate, may perhaps be considered as an approximation to the fact : Inhabitants Eastern Hellas 80,000 Western Hellas 70,000 Morea 450,000 Crete and the Islands 350,000 950,000 Epirus 400,000 Thessaly 300,000 Macedonia 700,000 f 2,350,000 Of these, taking one province with another, it may be pre- sumed, that about one third are Greeks ; the other two-thirds being Albanians and Turks, with the exception of some few thousands of Franks and Jews. The above general divisions of the country are those which have been adopted by the provisional government of Greece. Under the Turks, the whole of Greece was latterly divided into four great pashaliks, deriving their names from the seats of go- vernment. The pashalik of Tripolitza comprised the whole of Morea, stated by Dr. Clarke at 300,000, and by this Traveller at half a million. M. Pouqueville states the population of the Morea, exclusive of the Maiaotes, at 419,000 ; viz. 400,000 Greeks, 15,000 Turks, and 4000 Jews. * The Moslems in Crete, now become " an Egyptian province," are stated by Mr. Sheridan to be as 6 to 4, 150 to 120,000, and " the most daring and ferocious in Turkey." t This allows, in Macedonia, 370 persons for every square league ; about half the proportion which the population bears to the territorial surface in Spain, and not a third of that of Switzerland. In the pashalik of Saionica, however, which comprises all Lower Macedonia, and in the mousselinilik of Larissa, the proportion is 500 to every square league. Upper Macedonia is almost a desert. — See Beaujour, torn. i. p. 12S. 26 MODERN GREECE. tlie Morea; that of Egripo (Negropont), included that island, with Boeotia and the eastern part of Phocis ', that of Salonica extended over the southern division of Macedonia ; while Thes- saly, Epirus, and part of Livadia, were included in that of loan- nina. Athens and Livadia had each its independent waiwode^ and Larissa was governed by a mousselim. It wiU, perhaps, be acceptable to the reader, to have the corresponding ancient and modern subdivisions more distinctly laid before him. We shall take them proceeding from south to north. Ancient Divisions. Achaia N. Argolis, N.E. Arcadia Cent. Laconia, S.E. < Messenia, S.W. Elis, N.W. Attica. Bceotia. EubcEa. Loci is (Opuntii.) Phocis. Doris. Locris [Ozolce). The Morea, or Peloponnesus. Venetian. Turkish, Chief Places. Chiarenza. Sacania. Zaccuniaor ^ Maina. CEtolia. Acarnania.* Thesprotia. Molossia. Chaonia. Thessaly. Macedonia. > Belvedere Pashalik of Tripolitza. ' Corinth. Patras. Napoli di Romania Tripolitza. Arcadia, <( Mistra. Navarino. Modon. Kalamata. Pyrgos. Eastern HeUas. Modern. J> Livadia. 1 Pashalik of Egripo. ) Pashalik of } loannina. ' Athens. Marathon. Livadia. Thebes. Egripo. Thermopylae. Talanta, < Delphi. Gavria. Salona. Suri. L Western Hellas. Karl-ili. I ^Thalik ^f^'/Messolonghi.Lepanto. shalik of loannina 1 Vonitza. Actium. Epirus. — Albania . f Tzamouria. \ loannina. > loannina. Liapuria. j Sanjiak of Triccala. Pashalik of Salonica. {Arta. Parga. loannina. Dodona. Chimara. Ericho. Triccala. Larissa Salonica. * Acarnania belongs to Epirus, in ancient geography, but is included in Western HeUas. t Albania comprises part of Macedonia, Illyria, Chaonia, and Epirus. Del- vinachi is the frontier village of Epirus and Albania Proper. MODERN GREECE. 27 MODERN TRAVELLERS IN GREECE. Having taken this general view of the physical and political geography of these regions, we ought now to proceed to give the result of modern observation respecting the characteristic featiu-es of the population ; but an account of their manners and local customs will naturally connect itself with the topographical details ; and with regard to the moral and intellectual character of the Greeks, the testimonies of modern travellers are so much at variance, owing to the influence of political sentiment or per- sonal bias, that it is difficult to form a just and impartial estimate. In fact, the most delicate and embarrassing part of our task, is to decide upon the degree of authenticity and correctness attaching to the conflicting reports of the host of modern travellers who have furnished us with accounts relating to Greece and its inhabi- tants. The quaint narratives of Sir George Wheler and Dr. Spon, who travelled through Greece in 1675-6, are referred to by Mr. Douglas as containing perhaps the best information we possess in our own language. The merit, however, of having first drawn the attention of English travellers to the ruins of Athens, is assigned by Dr. E. D. Clarke to De la Guilletiere, who visited Attica seven years before, and from whose work he accuses Wheler of borrowing without acknowledgment. Chandler's Travels are liighly valuable as well as entertaining ; yet, remarks Mr. Douglas, " after the description of Athens, in the second volume, much of which is borrowed from Stuart, he tells us little or nothing. Ill health and other causes compelled him to pass through the Morea in so much haste, as to be able to make but scanty observations, and the few he has given us are not always ac- curate, and are still seldomer interesting." Pocoke visited some parts of Thessaly and Eastern Hellas, but his narrative, in this part, is unusually vague and meagre. Lord Byron, complaining of the deplorable deficiency of information on the subject of the Greeks, remarks, that Eton and Sonnini have led the public astray by their panegyrics and projects, while De Pauw and Thornton have debased the Greeks beyond their demerits. " It would be worth while," he adds, "to publish together and compare the works of Messrs. Thornton and De Pauw, Eton and Sonnini ; paradox on one side, and prejudice on the other." With regard to Eton, Mr. Douglas remarks, that " it is vain to expect a cor- rect estimate of the Greeks from an author whose every sentence ■^^hews his original intention to have been, the eulogy of the Rus- 28 MODERN GREECfT. sians and the satire of their enemies.* Neither is the peri which has undertaken his refutation, however excellent upon other topics, less prejudiced in respect to the Greeks. Thorn- ton, as has been observed by the author of Childe Harold, could scarcely form a correct judgment of that nation from a constant residence at Pera ; and what little he has recorded, bears often the appearance of a wish to convict his antagonist, rather than of an impartial inquiry after truth," " The French," continues this accomplished critic, " abound in writers upon Greece. Of these, the more modern, particu- larly Sonnini and Savary, have fallen into two great faults inci- dental to the degeneracy which seems to have taken place in the taste of most of their countrymen. A tedious superabund- ance of sentiment, lavished upon every thing that comes in their way, not to mention its intrinsic dulness, diminishes our confi- dence in the facts which they relate. We are still more disgust- ed, however, by their affected contempt for all established opin- ions and sound learning. Chateaubriand is only obnoxious to the first of these charges, and he amply redeems all the errors of his slight sketch of Greece, by his eloquent delineation of Palestine. Dr. Pouqueville, the French resident at loannina, has collected much curious information respecting the Morea. His account of the Albanians, though debased by the bigotry of a partisan, gave us our first knowledge of a people whom the genius of Ali Pasha has raised to a level with the greatest na- tions of the continent, f But the most useful, the most amusing and the most accurate traveller that ever visited those regions is Tournefort. It is to be regretted, that his tour w^as confined to so small a portion of the Levant." Since the publication of these remarks upon preceding \vriters, the list has been greatly extended, and we can no longer com- plain of a dearth of information. In the years 1794 and 5, sev- eral parts of Greece were visited by Mr. Morritt, Mr. Hawkins, and Professor Sibthorp, valuable extracts from whose manuscript jour- nals are given in the Memoirs relating to European and Asiatic * " The emperor Paul," says Mr. Eton, " is a prince of the most scrupulous honour and the greatest integrity." — Pref. p. xix. t " Pouqueville is always out," is the pithy remark of Lord Byron, in re- ference to his mistaking the lake of loannina for Acherusia. " It is a curious circumstance," adds his Lordship, " that Mr. Thornton, who so lavishly dis- praises Pouqueville on every occasion of mentioning the Turks, has yet re- course to him as authority on the Greeks, and terms him an impartial observer. Now Dr. Pouqueville is as little entitled to that appellation, as Mr. Thornton is to confer it on him." MODERN GREECE. 29 Turkey, edited by tlic Rev. Mr. Walpole.* Li 1 801 and 2, Colo- nel Lealie, Lieut. Colonel Squire, Dr. E. D. Clarke, Mr. Dod- well, and several other accomplished travellers, explored these classical regions. Sir Wm. Gell, and the Hon. Mr. Craven travelled in 1804 ; Mr. Hobhouse and Lord Byron, in 1809-10 ; the Hon. Mr. Douglas, in 1811; Dr. Holland, in 1812-13; and the Rev. T. S. Hughes in the following year. To the re- searches of these gentlemen,^ most of whom have published an account of their tours, we shall be chiefly indebted for our des- criptive and topographical details. There now occurs a consid- erable interval, during which the attention of English pliilhellenists seems to have been diverted from the classic attractions of Greece by the interest of passing events nearer home. In 1821, the revolutionary struggle commenced ; and now, within the past two or tlii'ee years, tlie press has teemed v^dth memoirs and journ'^ls relating to this unliappy country. Mr. Waddington's Visit to Greece in 1823-4, is characterised by its apparent fair- ness and impartiality. Mr. Bulwer passed his " Autumn in Greece" in 1 824, and Colonel Stanhope visited the country, as agent of the Greek Committee, in the same year. A Picture of Greece in 1825 has been furnished by the journals of Messrs. Emerson and Humphreys and Count Pecchio ; and the Journal of the Rev. Charles Swan comes down as late as September last. Some of these publications betray rather too evidently the warmth of the partisan, while others have been written under an opposite bias, the result of disappointment or personal disgust, f * 4to. London. 1817. Travels in Continuation of Memoirs. 4to. London. 1820. t " It is remarkable," observes Mr. Leake, " that travellers who visit Greece, generally return with an unfavourable opinion of the people. But it is not difficult to account for this. From a real or supposed want of time, or in consequence of the disgust and impatience usually produced by the privations and inconveniences of a semi-barbarous state of society, travellers are gen- erally contented to follow the beaten route of Athens, the Islands, the Asiatic coast, Troy, and Constantinople : their journey is concluded before they have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the language to form any impartial estimate of the national character } and they come chiefly in contact with those classes upon which the long subjection of the nation to the Turks has had the greatest effect, such as persons in authority under the government, or otherwise under Turkish employ, servants, interpreters, the lower orders of traders, and generally, the inhabitants of those towns and districts in which the Turkish population has a great preponderance of numbers." — " Among the various foreigners resi- dent in Athens," remarks Lord Byron, " French, Italians, Germans, Rag- usans, there was never a difference of opinion in their estimate of the Greek character, though on all other topics they disputed with great acri- mony. M. Roque, a French merchant of respectability, long settled in Ath- ens, asserted, with the most amusing gravity : ' Sir, they are the same canaille that existed in the days of Themistocles !' — an alarming remark to the lauda- tor temporis acti. In short, all the Franks who are fixtures, and most of the 30 MODERN GREECE. It will be G«r business, so far as possible, to elicit a consistent statement from their conflicting representations. In addition to the above mentioned works, the unfinished rev- olution has already found its historians. Mr. Blaquiere has giv- en, in a modest volume, a sketch of its origin and progress to the close of the third campaign. M. PouqueviUe has put forth a history of Greece from the year 1740 to 1824, in four volumes octavo ; and M. RafFenel, in three successive volumes, brings down the history of events in Greece to the close of the campaign in 1825. Our limits would not admit of our entering very fully into the florid recitals of these rival French writers, even could we place an implicit reliance upon their fidelity ; but as our readers will expect some account of the revolution, we shall endeavour to put them in possession of the leading facts, availing ourselves occasionally of all these works, as well as of the intelligent ob- servations of ]Mr. Leake, in his " Historical Outline," recently published. HISTORY OF THE GREEK REVOLUTION. To whatever circumstances, we may ascribe the first insur- rectionary movements in Greece, the determined and heroic spirit in which the struggle has been maintained, leaves no room to doubt that causes had long been in operation, to which the new position and character assumed by the Greeks must ultimately be traced. For more than nineteen centuries they had ceased to exist as a free people ; or, if we consider them as Graeco-Ro- mans, Romaiks (to apply to them the name of their language), and date their political bondage from the time when it was sealed by the treaty between the Turks and Venetians in 1454, which secured to the latter the commerce, and to the former the terri- tory of Greece, — still, three centuries and a half of patient vas- salage might seem sufficient to have extinguished every hope and every feeling allied to political independence. Indeed, up to the beginning of the eighteenth century, the country had not ceased to be the seat of contest between the Venetians and the Ottomans ; and all that the Greeks could hope for, was a change of masters, between whom there was not much to choose, the Latins being, even on religious grounds, the objects of nearly as great antipathy as the Moslems. When, however, in 1685, Englishmen, Germans, Danes, &c. of passage, come over by degrees to (he same opinion, on much the same grounds that a Turk in England would con- demn the nation by wholesale becaus« he was wronged by his lacquey, or overcharged by his washerwoman." MODERN GREECE. 31 Francis Morosini, tlie general of the Republic, invaded the Mo- rea at the head of an army of German mercenaries, the inhabi- tants of Maina declared for the Republic, and contributed to die defeat of a body of troops commanded by the captain-pasha in person, which made the Venetians masters of that province. Napoli di Romania, then the capital of the peninsula, fell in 1686, and Athens v^as taken by them in the foUovi^ing year. By the peace of Carlowitz in 1699, the Porte ceded to the Repub- lic all its conquests in the Morea, as far as the isthmus, together with the isle of Egina on one side, and that of Santa Maura on the other, wliile the fortifications of Lepanto, Romelia, and Pre- vesa, were to be demolished. This peace, however, was not of long continuance ; and the reconquest of the Morea by the Turks in 1714, almost without resistance, reflected equal dis- grace on the pusillanimity of the degenerate Italians, and the barbarity of the ruthless Ottomans.* Crete was lost in the fol- lowing year ; and the treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, in which the Republic was included, without being consulted in the nego- ciations, finally deprived that once haughty and powerful state of all its vast dominions in the East, with the exception of the Ion- ian Isles, and the territories of Cattaro, Butrinto, Parga, Prevesa, and Vonitza, on the continent. Li the mean time, a new maritime power was growing up in the north of Europe ; and the founder of St. Petersburgh was forming that infant navy which was destined to prove a more formidable enemy to the Ottoman than all the fleets of the Adri- atic. To Peter the Great is ascribed the first conception of the project more earnestly taken up and pursued by his successors, the restoration of the eastern empire in the person of a Russian prince, and the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. f In the * Corinth capitulated after five days' siege, notwithstanding which, the greater part of the garrison were put to the sword, and the remainder were sent prisoners on board the galleys of the captain-pasha, to be beheaded be- fore the port of Napoli, in sight of the Venetian troops on the ramparts. That place was taken by storm shortly after, and a general massacre of the inhab- itants struck with panic terror the garrisons of the towns that yet held out. Malvosie was given up by the Venetian commander, Badouer, without a blow. " We can no longer recognise," remarks Daru, " in this series of disasters, either the brave defenders of Candia, or that audacious navy which had so re- peatedly destroyed the Ottoman fleets. Officers and soldiers, all were equally struck with terror ; and the government shewed itself to be as devoid of ac- tivity and energy as of foresight. Candia had been defended during five and twenty years : the Morea was lost in a few months. And it was within less than half a century, that a government — a nation had thus degenerated." — Hist de la Republique de Venise, liv. xxxiv. sec. 13. t " Au nom de Pierre le Grand," says M. Pouqueville, in his flowery style, " le Hellade aper^ilt d'autres cieux et un nouvel horizon ! Les insulaires de I'Archipel oserent, nouveaux Argonautes, porter leurs regards vers la mer de 32 MODEBN GREECH. year 1769, the first war broke out between the Russians and the Turks, which in its issue, proved so calamitous to the Greeks, its only victims. To the astonishment of Europe, instead of at- tacking Turkey from its southern frontier, the Empress despatch- ed an armament from the Baltic, consisting of twenty sail of the line, besides smaller vessels and transports, which had to cir- cumnavigate Europe, and actually wintered at Leghorn, before it was brought into action. Intrigue had been actively employed by Russian agents in the interim,* in order to secure the co-op- eration of the Greeks. The delay of the expedition is ascribed to the indecision or indolence of OrlofF, to whom Catherine had capriciously entrusted the command. The whole winter passed away ere it was determined in what part of Turkey to strike the first blow. The Greeks themselves decided the question. The result we give in the words of the Author of Anastasius, who has mingled so much real history with his romance, that it may vie in authenticity with the romances of the historian. Colchos : ils decouvraient le labarum dans un lointain mysterieux, quand le nouveau Constantin qu'ils attendaient, Pierre I., accable par les Turcs sur les bords du Pruth, ti'op heureux d'obtenir sa liberte d'un visir, au prix de quel- ques-unes de ses conquetes, les laissa sans avenir."-— Tom. i. p. 4. That the " children of Pindus and Parnassus," as the Doctor calls them, sympathised with the Czar in this defeat, is, we suspect, an embellishment. * In the reign of the Empress Anne, Russian emissaries had been sent into Gieece by Marshal Munich, to sound the disposition of the natives, or, as, M. Fouqueville phrases it, qui parlaieni aux Chretiens de patrie, de religion, et de liberty. This was the secret prelude to the war already contemplated. A partial insurrection was the consequence ; but the Greeks were abandoned to their fate at the peace of 1739. Among the emissaries employed by Munich, the Russian prime minister, was a Greek priest, who endeavoured to excite the popular enthusiasm by recalling to mind a traditional prediction, that the Ot- toman empire should be overthrown " by a fair nation named Ros, proceed- ing from the north, and united to them by the ties of religion." On the ac- cession of Catherine II., a new agent was employed to sow the seeds of insur- rection in Greece^ — Gregory Papadopoulo, a native of Larissa, an artillery officer in the imperial guard of Russia, and a creature of Orloff's. In 1767, the false Peter III., at the head of his Montenegrins, declared war against the infidels', but was soon compelled to take refuge in the mountains. M. Pou- quevUle represents the court of St. Petersburgh as acting on this occasion a very insidious part. " While it was sending arms, ammunition, and money to the Greeks, it requested the sultan to crush its rebellious subjects, and to deliv- er up Stephano Piccolo," — the name of the adventurer. " In the meantime," continues M. Pouqueville, " Alexis and Theodore Orlofi", who were residing at Venice, were using every effort to engage Greece in the interest of Russia. Assisted by the banker Meruzzi, a native of Yanina, they repeatedly for- warded to Suli, to Acroceraunia, and to the Morea, military stores, arms, and money, which were distributed from hand to hand by secret agents, till they reached the Jlrmatolis of Pindus and Parnassus." A worthy coadjutor of the ambulatory diplomatist, Papadopoulo, presented himself in an enthusiast named Tamara, who is said to have gone about throughout Hellas and the Morea, endeavouring to persuade the deluded natives that the august Cather- ine was about to restore them to political freedom. The correspondence be- tween Voltaire and the King of Prussia, proves that that ambitious princess had no such liberal intention. — See Pouq,ueville, torn. i. pp. 5, 22, 40. MODERN GREECE. S^ " A few turbulent codgea-bashees (heads of districts) of the Morea, fearing tlie lash of their Turkish governor, sent to the Russian commanders a forged plan of insurrection as one already organised ; and, on the return of the deputation, employed the promise of Russian assistance thus fraudulently obtained, to pro- duce the commotion which they had already described as on the point of breaking out. Their labour was assisted by the Turks themselves. Suspecting a plot against their tyranny, these pusil- lanimous oppressors acted like men who, from the very fear of a precipice, plunge headlong down it. In their panic, they mas- sacred a whole troop of Zacuniote peasants, peaceably return- ing from a fair at Petras, whom they mistook for an army of rebels marching to attack them. The cry of revenge now re- sounded from all quarters ; and when, therefore, in the spring of 1770, the Russian fleet cast anchor in the bay of Vitulo, its commanders were eagerly received by the bishops of Lacedsemon and Cliristianopolis, followed by Greeks of all descriptions, who only begged as a favour, permission to enlist under the Russian banners. Fair as seemed this beginning, the understanding be- tween the two nations was short-lived. The Greeks expected the Russians alone to accomplish the whole task of their deliver- ance. The Russians had laid their account with a powerful co- operation on the part of the Greeks. Each, alike disappointed, threw on the other the whole blame of every failure. Their squabbles gave large troops of Arnaoots time to pour from every neighbouring point of Roumili into the peninsula ; and the Rus- sian commanders, seeing all chance of success vanish in that un- promising quarter, sailed liigher up the Archipelago, leaving the Moreotes to their fate, and carrying away no other fruits of the momentary contact of Greeks and Russians, than an increase of rancour between the two nations, — too nearly allied in faith, not to feel towards each other the most cordial aversion.* * M. Pouqueville gives the words of the altercation that took place between Alexis Orloff and Mavro-Michaiis, the bey of Maina. His narrative agrees substantially with Mr. Hope's spirited recital, and he states, that he derived his information from M. Benaki, the Russian consul-general at Corfu. A number of Greeks who had taken refuge in the island of Sphacteria, were perfidiously abandoned by Dolgorouki, the Russian commander, and massacred by the Turks. M. de Vaudoncourt represents the Empress to have been deceived by her own agents, who, in order to flatter and gain favour, gave assurances that nothing more was necessary than for a squadron to appear on the shores of Greece, when the whole Greek population would receive their liberators with open arms. " All the memoirs presented to the Russian government contained the same exaggerations ; nor is it indeed astonishing that the Gov- ernment should have blindly believed what was announced by men expressly sent out for the purpose of examining the state of things on the spot. It was not that the enthusiasm of the Greeks failed at that time to be carried to the 5 34 - MODERN GREECE. "The ferocious mountaineers of Albania, who, under the name of Arnaoots, form a chief part of the forces of the Otto- man empire, and of the body-guard of its various pashas, present in their rugged yet colourless countenances, the greatest con- trast to the regular features and rich complexions of the Greeks. In the faith of the two nations, the difference is less marked : the worship of the Arnaoots is generally determined by the master whom they serve ; and many of those who, on the spur of pay or plunder, came to assist the Moreote Mussulmans against the Christians, themselves professed the Christian faith. Their total number was computed at about 20,000. When their work was achieved, they demanded their wages. The money was want- ing, or at least the pay was witlrheld. This furnished them with a plausible pretence for disbanding on the spot, and paying them- selves by pillaging the country. Some, after laying waste the villages, drove the inhabitants before them like herds of cattle through the derwens or defiles that guard the entrance of the peninsula, and thus regained, with their new slaves, their native mountains. Others remained stationary in the Morea : by in- stalling themselves in the houses and lands of the Greek peasantry, they dep]:ived the soil of its husbandmen and the Turks of their subjects ; and at last, finding no more rayahs* to oppress, turn- ed their violence against the Moslems themselves, and treated like the vanquished, those whom they had come to defend. Nine succeeding years had seen eleven different governors arrive, one after the other, with peremptory instructions to exter- minate the banditti, and again depart without succeeding ; some for want of sufficient force to repress their outrages ; others, it is said, for want of sufficient resolution to resist their bribes. At length, in 1799, the famous Hassan Capitan-pasha received the sultan's orders to expel from the Morea the refractory Ar- , naoots."f M. Pouqueville shall tell the sequel. " The principal corps o^ schypetars, reckoned at 10,000 men, were entrenched under the walls of Tripolitza. Hassan, not having been able to sue- highest pitch, or that they would have been unable to expel the Turks, if they had been furnished with the proper means ; but the Russiaos brought witli them neither arms nor warlike stores. As soon as they had effected their land- ing, instead of scattering money in the country, and thus giving some earnest of the promises they had lavished, their officers thought of nothing else but pillaging those they were come to defend. * The name given to subjects of the Porte, not Mohammedans, who pay the capitation-tax, such as Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Gipsies. t Anastasius, vol. i. pp. 26 — 29. The Hassan Pasha alluded to is the same that effected the destruction of the Sheikh Dahher. See Mod. Trav., Syria, vol. i. p. 23, and plate. MODERN GREECE. 35 ceed in making them accept a paternal capitulation, resolved to subdue them by lorce of arms. He had been encamped during a month at Argos, when, on the 10th of June, 1799, he set out immediately after the mid-day prayer, and having marched dur- ing part of the night, appeared at day-break before Tripolitza. He immediately attacked the rebels, and routed them ; and be- fore the end of the day, he had erected before the eastern gate of the town, a pyramid of more than 4000 heads, of which 1 saw the remains in 1799. Those of the ^cAj/peiars who escaped, were relendessly pursued, and being tracked through the wind- ings of the CEnian mountains, were exterminated at the bottom of a woody gulley, which has shice been known under the name of the Defile of the Massacre.'^*" When the treaty of Kainardji, signed in July, 1774, put an end, for the time, to hostilities between the Empress and the Porte, an article was introduced, guaranteeing protection and immunity to such Greeks as had taken part in favour of the Russians during the war. No sooner, however, had the islands taken by the Russians been restored, than, with the most profli- gate disregard of diis solemn stipulation, the Turkish govern- ment, while it let loose the Albanians on the JVIorea, committed to the capitan-pasha the punishment of the islanders. It has been affirmed, we know not on what distinct evidence, that a hundred thousand Greeks, of both sexes, either perished by the sword, or were carried into slavery, the victims of Turkish vengeance. f Li the year 1787, a war again broke out between Turkey and the allied powers of Russia and Austria, and again the Empress issued her manifestoes to the Greeks, calling upon them to co- operate A^idi her in expelling the enemies of Christianity from their natal soil. On tliis occasion, however, the north of Greece was the scene of insurrection. A Greek of the name of Sottiri was sent into Epirus and Albania to organize a revolt, and Suli was the head-quarters. The pasha of loannina was defeated by the insurgents ; liis son was killed in the encounter, and the rich aimour of wliich he was despoiled, was transmitted * Histoire de la Regen. i/-c., torn. i. ch. 2. t Mr. Eton states, that a deliberate proposal was made in the divan, to ex- terminate all the GreFks of the Morea in cold blood. " Nor was this," he says, " the first time that the massacre of the whole Greek nation had been seriously debated ; it was, however, in the present instance, successfully opposed by Gazi Hassan. The chief argument which he used, and which alone carried conviction to his hearers, was : If we kill all the Greeks, we shall lose all the capitation-tax they pay. Even without such a provocation, Sultan Mustafa, predecessor and brother of Abdulhamid, on his accession, proposed to cut off all the Christians in his empire, and was with difficulty dissuaded from it." — Eto:*. p. 356. 36 MODEKN GREECE. by the hands of three deputies to her imperial majesty, accom- panied with a memorial, imploring her succour, and denouncing as a traitor the Captain Psaro to whom the Russian government had intrusted the distribution of the subsidy and ammunition in- tended for the Greeks.* Mr, Eton states, that the Venetians, still unwilling to offend the Porte, had thrown obstacles in the way, obstructing the communication with the Russians by means ol the port of Prevesa. On the other hand, the Venetians were sus- pected by the Porte of having an understanding with the Musco- vites, as it was in the Ionian Isles that Papadopoulo had matured the plan for the first rising in the Morea. More than a hundred thousand Christians are said to have taken refuge from the scimi- tars of the Moslems in those islands and in the territory of Naples, while vast numbers of fugitive Romeliots had found an asylum among the armatolis of the mountains of Agrafa. Sicily had been fixed upon as tlie station where the above-mentioned Captain Psaro was to establish magazines for the Russian armament that was to co-operate with the Greeks. But whether he was really a com- missioned agent of Russia or an artful adventurer, seems very questionable. The Empress, it is pretty evident, whatever might be her ulterior views, had, at this time no serious intention of undertaking the deliverance of the Greeks. The three dep- uties, after doing homage to the Grand-duke Constantine, as the future king of the Hellenes, were sent to Prince Potemkin, then with the army in Moldavia, whence they proceeded to Greece by way of Vienna, accompanied by Major-general Tamara. They were to prepare every thing, but to undertake nothing till they should receive directions from the court of St. Petersburgh. Things remained in this state till the campaign in Moldavia had ended, and Prince Potemkin had returned to the capital. Early in the following year, before Potemkin had rejoined the army, the preliminaries of peace between Russia and the Porte were already signed. Lambro Canziani, a brave Greek, who had fitted out a small armament at Trieste, by means of private subscriptions, and who, after his little fleet had been destroyed, had again sailed in a single ship to attack the Turks, was de- clared a pirate ; being disavowed by Russia, he was suffered to be imprisoned for debts contracted in fitting out his vessel, and was released only by the contributions of his countrymen.f * Eton, p. 364. If the engagement between the Suliots and Ali Pasha be referred to, the account is very incorrect : he lost no son on the occasion. t The statements in the above paragraph are taken chiefly from Eton, the panegyrist of the Russian court ; they may therefore be presumed to be sub- stantially authentic. He gives at length the memorial of the Greek deputies. MODERN GREECE. 37 The Empress Catlierine died in 1796, and with her expired for the time the hopes of those who looked to see another Con- stantine on the throne of Constantinople. In the mean time, anotlier personage had risen into commanding influence and im- portance in the mountains of Epirus, who at one period bade much fairer to become the king of Greece, than any one who had appeared on the theatre of Europe since the extinction of tlie eastern empire. This was no other than the celebrated Ali Tepeleni, pasha of loannina. Before we proceed, however, to give a sketch of tliis extraordinary man's romantic and revolting liistory, with which the cause of the Greeks has been closely implicated, we must advert to other political changes, which, towards the close of the last century, produced a very material alteration in the character, condition, and resources of the Greeks. Whatever regret we might have felt at the occupation of classic Greece by the barbarous Ottomans, or whatever an am- bitious policy might have dictated to any of the powers of Chris- tian Europe, had no internal changes taken place anaong the Greeks themselves, they must still have continued to be the pas- sive, crouching slaves or helpless victims of their Frank or Mussulman masters. Their country had been made the scene of repeated conflicts between the soldiers of the cross and of the crescent ; but, except at the instigation of foreign emissaries and under a foreign standard, the natives had made no attempt to shake off the Turkish yoke. In Greece, at all events, the crusades had no beneficial influence, but were fatal alike to learning and to liberty. But the same causes which gave the first impulse to European civilization in the tenth century, and to which the revival of letters and the first movements of free- dom are ultimately to be ascribed, were now gradually prepar- ing the Greeks, after a political extinction of nineteen centuries, again to assume the form and rank of a nation.* Towards the Pano Kiri, Christo Lazzotti, and Nicolo Pangalo. From the style, the Frenchj.rather than the Greek, would seem to have been the original of the document. That they were authorised to implore, as the wish of their na- tion, that the Empress would deign to give them her grandson Constantine as a sovereign. Catherine was too shrewd to believe, though Mr. Eton seems to give them credit for it. Their plan of operation was magnificent ; but one is astonished to find any thing so absurdly visionary gravely reported. Wheth- er they were knaves or enthusiasts, is not clear. The memorial was proba- bly of foreign manufacture. The only humane part of the Empress's conduct was, the paying their expenses to Moldavia, and enjoining them not to act till they heard from her. * " Warton appears to have unconsciously approximated the true solution of the question, when he fixes on commerce as the real source of that influx, not of poetry and romance indeed, but of liberal ideas, productive industry, S8 MODERN GREECE. latter end of the eighteenth century, Marseilles almost monopo- lised the commerce of the Levant. France was the only pow- er in favour with the Divan ; her consuls maintained throughout the dominions of the Porte her conimercial ascendancy, and the French language was, in Greece as well as in Turkey, Anatolia, and Syria, the only medium of commercial intercourse. A great part of the internal commerce of European Turkey was still indeed in the hands of the Greeks. Notwithstanding the superiority which the Frank merchant enjoyed over the Greek native, in paying a single ad valorem duty of three per cent on imports and exports, while the rayah paid five per cent, in ad- dition to repeated charges on moving his merchandise, and the illegal extortions to which he was subject, — the advantages which a native merchant always possesses, had gradually enabled the Greeks to drive the Frank traders from the fairs of Greece ; and their competition is even said to have occasioned the de- cline of the European factories which had long flourished in the principal Turkish marts. But the immediate cause of their rapid transformation from a nation of pirates into active merchants, requires explanation. The following account is taken from the pages of an intelligent French writer. and wealth, to which the revival of learning must be ascribed. The shores of the Mediterranean still commanded and concentrated, at that time, the com- merce of the world ; and in the wake of commerce, Christianity, freedom, lit- erature, and the arts, have uniformly followed. The Italian republics derived their riches and their greatness from the commerce of the Levant ; and to the same cause the maritime capitals of Provence and Catalonia owed their com- mercial and political greatness. Barcelona was recovered from the Moors by Louis the Debonair, early in the ninth century. For seventy years after, it was governed by French viceroys, till at length, in 874, it was acknowledged as an independent earldom. From the earliest times, there appears to have been a close connexion between the Catalonian capital and Marseilles. In the former city, great numbers of Jews are said to have found shelter, bringing with them their well-known habits of mercantile enterprise. Refugees and adven- turers of all nations would naturally be attracted to those free and populous cities which held out at once religious toleration and encouragement to indus- try. The effect of commerce upon internal trade and manufactures need not be pointed out. The manufactures of Barcelona were famous in the thirteenth century, and are probably more ancient, while those of Marseilles were equal- ly, if not more consideral)le. It is remarkable, that thf^ Cathari or Puritans, who began to attract attention early in the twelfth century, and whom there is good reason to identify with the Albigenses and Vaudois, are said to have been called in France, Tisserands, weavers, because numbers of them were of that occupation : — a singular coincidence, that the Protestants, the Hugonots of that day, should be distinguished by a name that recalls the origin of our own silk manufactures, for which we are indebted to the edict of Nantz. It is not therefore, a mere hypothesis, but an historical fact, that the first bud- dings of literature, after the dreary winter of tlpe dark ages, the first kindlings of intellectual and moral life, took place in the immediate neighbourhood of those great maritime cities, which furnished at once a vent and mart for the productions of industry, and an inlet to knowledge as well as to wealth, and every humanising influence." — Eclectic Review, April 1826, p. 315. MODERN GREECE. 39 " The foreign ministers to the Porte generally received a kind of diplonia called a harat (berath,) which secured to the bearer a special protection. He was treated as a subject of the pow- er to whose ambassador the barat had been granted, and as such, was secured from uU the risks of Turkish despotism. These barats were originally intended for subjects of the Porte em- ployed in the service of foreign ambassadors and consuls. A great number of Christian merchants soon became anxious to procure them, to enable them to trade freely, and save them from being exposed to any ill usage. The ambassadors of the great powers sold them as high as ten thousand piastres each ; those of powers of the second rank, whose protection was less effectual, sold them at a lower rate. Thus was purchased the right of becoming a foreigner in Turkey, and of enjoying by this means the rights of man. Russia was eager in procuring an extraordinary quantity of this description of charters, and dis- tributing them among the Greeks, to increase its influence over them. The Russian baratarians (berathlees) increased rapidly, and a part of the subjects of Turkey was thus transferred to a hostile court. The ignorant and indolent Divan was not sensi- ble of this abuse till long afterwards, and even then, not till it was warned by powers jealous of Russia. In the year 1806, the Porte protested against it, and declared that it would recognise no baratarians but such as actually resided with the respective consuls. This declaration produced a long op- position from the foreign ministers, who derived a considerable portion of their income from the sale of these. At last the Porte, not to alienate in this manner a part of its subjects, and not to give up to others so considerable an advantage, re- solved to take the regulation of the barats into its own hands, and to increase their privileges. New barats were issued, which secured to the holder the protection of the dragoman of the Porte, (who, though a Greek, possessed almost the power of a minister,) and of the cadi of every city in the Ottoman domin- ions ; they secured him against the pachas, who were bound, on pain of being disgraced, to respect him ; they conferred on him the right of carrying on trade with Europe, without paying any higher duties than other nations ; they allowed him to unite with the other holders of barats, to choose deputies and a chancellor, to open chambers of assurance, to be judged by arbitrators, and to conform to the laws of commerce, instead of being subject to the Turkish jurisprudence. The purchase of these rights, which were only those of man, was made for a pretty moderate sum, and the Jewish, Christian, and Greek merchants made 40 MODERN GREECE. haste to obtain them ; and the number of their holders has in- creased so much, as to form, in the midst of the Turkish empire, an independent and powerful corporation, which has at its dis- posal all the rich commerce of the East. The Greeks especially have made considerable advances in commerce, by becoming almost all of them baratarians. Their industry has thus given them a taste for, and courage to maintain their independence. The acquisition of barats has been to them, what the emancipa- tion of the communes was to the French serfs in the twelfth cen- tury. Both obtained this emancipation by means of money ; and it is always the need which governments have of men, that secure their liberty."* The French Revolution had a further effect in extending the commerce of the Greeks, by placing in their hands the greater part of the carrying trade of the Black Sea and the Mediterra- nean, which had formerly been enjoyed by the French and the Italians, f With the possession of Malta, the sovereignty and guardianship of the Mediterranean had passed into the hands of Great Britain. For several years before the present insurrec- tion broke out, there were between 4 and 500 Greek ships em- ployed in the commerce, and the increase of knowledge had kept pace with this rapid improvement in their political condition. Colleges with professorships in various branches of instruction were instituted at Kidonies (Haivali) J and Smyrna, at Scio, and at Ioannina,§ besides the smaller establishments at Patmos,|| Sa- lonika, Ambelakia, Zagora, Athens, and Dimitzana, in the Morea : some of these were of old date, but had recently been revived or increased. " And here," remarks Mr. Leake, after adverting to these facts, " the reflection may be made, that if Greece should achieve her liberation, she will be indebted for the return of civilisation and independence to the same peculiarities of geographical position and structure, to the same indelible fea- * Thiers. " Pyrenees and South of France in 1822," p. 52. t " The island of Hydra is inhabited chiefly by sailors and ship owners, who, at the beginning of the Revolution, when France was shut out of the Bal- tic, supplied her with corn from the Archipelago." — Hope's Anastadus, vol. i. ch. 7, note 3. t The college at Haivali was foiinded in 1803. For a history of this once flourishing town, and its founder Economos, see Mod. Trav. Syria and Asia Minor, vol. ii. p. 176, &ic. § loannina was famous for its schools more than half a century before, un- der the celebrated Methodius ; and modern Greek literature was cultivated there at a time when it flourished in no other part of Greece. II About 1770, Daniel of Patmos had a school of considerable repute, which sent out several good masters. MODERN GREECE. 41 tures of nature, which raised her to greatness in ancient times. While her extensive sea-coast and numerous islands and harbours rendered her the country of maritime commerce, and were the original cause of the opulence which led to perfection in the en- joyments and arts of civilised life, the mountainous structure of tlie interior generated that free and martial spirit, which, however cruelly suppressed, has never been completely destroyed."* Between xhe mountaineers of Greece, the Mainote pirates, the Albanian Moreotes, the Romeliot klephts and arraatoli, and the sailors and merchants of Hydra and the other islands, there is, however, as wide a difference of character and senti- ment, and almost as httle disposition to coalesce, as existed be- tween the ancient inhabitants of Athens and Sparta. Even the distinctions of national origin are less marked and less attended to, than those which arise from opposite modes of life and local habits ;f and in the new Greeks, (as we might designate the Albanian Christians of Southern Greece and the islands,) the country possesses, perhaps, its most effective population. The Fanariots, or Constantinopolitan Greeks, and the Greek clergy, may be added to the enumeration, as in some respects distinct and differing from all. It will be necessary to explain these dis- tinctions. The moimtains of Greece have never been completely subdued by the Ottomans. While the Christian inhabitants of the plains either retired before the conquerors or became their vassals, the hardy peasantry of the mountains retained possession of their na- tive soil, where they were joined by many of the lowlanders fleeing from Turkish tyranny. From thence they waged a predatory warfare, which was not confined to their oppressors.^ The depopulation arising from these circumstances, together with frequent visitations of the plague, has produced, in many of the most fertile parts of Greece, desolation and consequent insalubrity. And the effects would have been still more exten- sive, had not the vacancy been in part supplied by successive migrations from Albania and of the Black Sea alone. The ex- tension of education in Bulgaria, where local wars, Mussulman persecution, or redundant numbers on a very poor soil, had oc- casionally caused even greater distress than had driven the * Outline, p. 25. t In 1818, there was a colony of Moreote refugees residing in a suburb of Haivali, who had been established there ever since the calamities brought upon their country by the Russians in 1770. Yet they preferred to live apart from the other Greeks, and retained a different dress. — See Jowett's Christian Researches, vol. i. p. 66. 6 42 MODERN GREECE. Greeks from their native lands. About two centuries ago, a large colony of Christian Albanians settled in Boeotia, Attica, and Argolis, and a small tribe passed over into the barren island of Hydra, where they founded the community which has since been so conspicuous for its commercial enterprise and opulence. The want of hands in the plains of Greece attracted great num- bers of labourers during the harvest, the vintage, and the olive- crop, from the islands of both seas, who returned home at the end of the season with the produce of their well-paid labour. The greater part of the peasantry in the plains of Northern Greece, and in the neighbourhood of the great Turkish towns, were unarmed ; but, in the more mountainous parts, and gene- rally throughout the Morea, there were few who did not possess a weapon of some kind. In case of any alarm of war with a Christian power, the Porte never failed to issue its decree for disarming all rayahs ; but the Turks, not being very fond of ven- turing into the mountainous districts, were always willing to ac- cept a small pecuniary compromise ; and the suiLan's commands, like many other of his decrees relating to his Christian subjects, ended in a contribution to the provincial governments. In some of the more mountainous parts, villages, and even whole districts, were left to the management of the primates [proesti or native magistrates), who were responsible for the payment of the ordi- nary contributions, and who generally farmed the taxes from the Turkish Government. In some parts, not even the kliaradj, or mountain-tax, was paid. These village oligarchs are represent- ed to have been, in many cases, as oppressive towards the peas- antry as they were contentious and jealous of each other ; and the more powerful chieftains would often league with the pasha to plunder their fellow Christians. " These persons," says Mr. Leake, " being interested in the continuance of ignorance and Turkish tyranny, were, together with some of the higher clergy, the greatest obstacles to national improvement ; for the latter class, having generally procured their ecclesiastical dignities at a considerable expense, were, (except in the greater permanence of their offices) placed in a situation very similar to that of the Turkish governors' of provinces and districts, whose bbject it necessarily was, to exact from the governed as much as they possibly could during their transitory authority." The armatoli were originally a species of militia, an establish- ment of the Byzantine empire, whose most important office was to keep the roads clear of robbers, and to guard the mountain passes. The Ottomans found it necessary to maintain tlie same, kind of police ; and all Greece, from the river Axius to the MODERN GREECE. 43 Istlimus, was gradually dixided into seventeen armatoliks. Of these, ten were in Thessaly and Livadia, four in Etolia, Acar- nania, and Epirus, and three in Southern Macedonia. The IMorea never contained any. The rank of a captain of arraatoU was hereditary. The members of each band were called pa- likars (bravos or heroes), and the protopalikdr acted as lieuten- ant ancl secretauy to the cajyitcmGS. In addition to the bodies of armatoli acknowledged by the Porte, all the mountain communi- ties maintained a small body of palikars, professedly for the pro- tection of the district ; but more frequently they were employed against a neighbouring rival, or to withstand either Turkish or Albanian encroachments. The klephtai, or robbers, (and they gloried in the name,) differed chiefly from the armatoli in preferring open rebellion and the adventurous life of marauders, to any compromise with then- -.Turkish masters. In fact, the only distinction vanished, when, as often happened, the discontented or oppressed arma- tole became a klepht, or when it suited the Turkish pashas to include them under one common title. Owing to this, the terms came to be often used indiscriminately ; and in Thessaly, the word klepht designated either or both. Their general char- acter and habits are thus portrayed by an enthusiast in the cause of Greece, to whose hereditary talent we are indebted for a translation of some of the more popular ballads still current in the highlands, — the minstrelsy of the Grecian border.* " The klephts were hardy to a degree scarcely credible. They had no fixed encampment, wandering in summer among the higher, in winter, over the lower mountainous regions. But they had always a spot for rendezvous and occasional so- journ, called limeri, situated near the armatolik from which they had been driven. When not engaged in an expedition, their chief resource for amusement was found in martial games, and particulai'ly in firing at a mark. Constant practice in this led to a surprising degree of skill. By day-light, they could strike an egg, or even send a ball through a ring of nearly the same di- ameter, at a distance of 200 paces ; and in the most pitchy darkness, they could hit an enemy, directed only by the flash of his musket. The activity of their limbs equalled the correct- * Sheridan's " Songs of Greece." London, 1825. One highly characteris- tic mark, Mr. Sheridan says, distinguished the klepht kom a regular arma- tole : this was a worsted rope coiled round his waist, for the purpose of binding the Turks whom he might capture, who were generally kept for the sake of ransom ; " though, on occasions when it was impossible to make prisoners, they were killed like wolves, without hesitation." 44 MODERN GREECE. ness of their eye. Niko Tzaras could jump over seven horses standing abreast, and others could clear, at one leap, three wag- ons filled with thorns to the height of eight feet. Their powers of abstinence were not less surprising. A band of klephts have been known to combat during three days and nights, widiout either eating, drinking, or sleeping.* Pain found their courage as untameable as thirst and hunger, although ev,ery klepht taken alive was inevitably subjected, before death came to his relief, to the most dreadful and protracted tortures. The klephts combined to a degree very rare among a rude tribe, an enthusiastic piety, with a distrust of the clergy, and of that union of church and state, the efficacy of which for the support of despotism and the riv- etting of mental chains, was no where better understood than in Turkey, where the sultan was in fact the real head of the Christian, as well as of the Mahommedan hierarchy. Yet, in their wildest solitudes, in their most pressing dangers, they per- formed the ceremonies of their religion ; and the captain who plundered a chapel or a votive offering, was as unrelentingly put to death as if he had insulted a female captive. Blachavas, with his protopalikar, left his beloved mountains, at the age of seventy-six, to visit the holy city on foot, and actually died at Jerusalem. Frequent as apostacy was for ages among the harassed inhabitants of the plains, never did a klepht hesitate to prefer captivity, death, and even tortures, to the denial of his Redeemer. Yet, they had the sagacity to perceive, that the clergy, who looked to the Turks for promotion, and whose cor- porate property the infidels always respected, must be suspici- ous friends, and often dangerous enemies to the revolted Greeks. The clergy of Greece have been her curse, alike under the By- * The instance referred to in substantiation of this statement, is that of the famous Thessalian klepht, Niko Tzaras, who, on his road to join Prince Ipsi- lanti in Wallachia, at the head of 300 klephts, was stopped at the bridge of Pravi, on the banks of the Karasou, by 3000 Turks : he " broke through thera, crossed the bridge, and entered Pravi, where his gallant band re- freshed themselves, after a fast of four, and a fight of three days." This was in 1804 or 5 : he perished about two years after in an affray, by the hand of an assassin who had been one of his own palikers. — Sheridan's Songs of Greece, p. 63. Another remarkable story is that of Spiros Skyllodemos, of an ancient armatoli family in Acarnania. In 1806, he fell into the hands of Ali Pasha, who threw him into a deep dungeon, where he lay for many months, chained and immersed in mud and water. By means of a long sash and a file, he one night escaped from prison, but the gates of the citadel were closed. As his sole chance of escape, he buried himself to the throat in the forest of reeds which fringes the lake of Joannina, endured in this situation dur- ing three days and nights the extremes of cold and hunger ; then, seizing a boat, crossed the lake and escaped by mountain paths into Acarnania. He was subsequently pardoned by Ali, and became protopalikar to Odysseus, when appointed by that pasha commander in Livadia. — Ibid. p. 52. MODERN GREECE. 45 zantine and under tlie Tatar systems of tyranny, and would equally continue to be so if the Scytliians seized the country. Contemporaneous documents exist to shew, that the Russian cabinet fully expects to receive tliis assistance from the hierarchy of Greece. Next to their touching piety, the most striking qualities among the klephts were, generosity to their poorer and more timid countrymen, and especially to the herdsmen who shared the mountains with them ; devoted love of their country in general, and of tlieir own rugged haunts in paiticular ; and tenderness in those domestic affections which formed a beautiful relief to the stern and rugged parts of their character."* Such were the klephts, with a view to the extirpation of whom, the Porte bestowed on Ali Pasha of loannina the import- ant office of Dervenji Bashi, or Grand Inspector of the Passes of Northern Greece ; an appointment from which he dated his fortune and his power. Having succeeded in recommending himself to the Turkish Government as a fit and proper person to undertake to clear the roads of robbers and rebels, he soon made liimself at once too useful and too powerful to be dis- placed. The steps by which he arrived at the height of bis all but absolute power, must now be briefly traced. Ali, whose surname was Hissas, was born at Tepeleni, a small towTi of the Toshke clan, situated on the left bank of the Voi'ussa, about the year 1748.f His family had been estab- lished in that place for several centuries ; and one of his ances- tors, named Muzzo, having been very successful in the honour- able profession of a klepht, procured for himself the lordship of Tepeleni, which he transmitted to his descendants. All's grand- father, Mouktar Bey, was deemed the greatest warrior of his age, and fell bravely fighting at the siege of Corfu, leaving three sons. Veli Bey, the father of Ali, was the youngest : though in early life a professed klepht and a fratricide, he is said to have been a man of humane disposition and extremely well disposed to the * Sheridan, pp. xxv. — xxxi. The character of the religion of the Greeks? and of klephtic piety, will be considered hereafter. The above remarks would seem to apply more particularly to the higher order of clergy, but the writer's indiscriminate censure of the hierarchy is alike indiscreet and unjust. The Revolution has drawn forth many patriotic priests and prelates, and not a few of the order have been its victims. In fact, Greek priests are represented by Col. Stanhope as having been chiefly instrumental in bringing about the Rev- olution; many of them fought in the ranks, some as captains; and several members of the executive, as well as of the legislative body, are ecclesi- astics. t M. Pouqueville, indeed, makes Ali to have been 78 years of age in 1819, which would carry back bis birth to 1741 ; but he does not give his au- thority. 46 MODERN GREECE. Greeks.* He held for some time thepashalik of Delvino, but was deprived of it by the intrigues of a cabal, and retired in chagrin to his native lordship of Tepeleni, where, harassed by the neigh- bouring beys and agas, and unable to make head against his enemies, he is stated to have died of grief and vexation at the age of forty-five, leaving five children. f The mother of Ali and of his sister Shainitza, was a woman of uncommon talents and undaunted courage, fierce and implacable as a tigress. " I owe every thing to my mother," said Ali, alluding to the educa- tion he received from her, and the ambitious projects with which she inspired him. At the death of his father, Ali was under fourteen years of age ; an obstinate, petulant, intractable child ; but he was attached to his mother, and she was well able to as- sert her authority. So long as Veli Bey lived, Khamco had appeared only an ordinary woman; but now, with courage equal to her ambition, she renounced the spindle for the sword, the veil for the helmet, and with a handful of faithful followers, defended the remainder of her possessions against the hostile clans, and effectually checked their encroachments. At one time, she was taken prisoner, together with her daughter Shain- itza, by the inhabitants of Gardiki, who are said to have treated their captives with almost incredible brutality : if authenticated, it would go far to extenuate the dreadful retribution with which, forty years after, the town was visited at the hands of Ali. After enduring this barbarous treatment for more than a month, they obtained their liberty, — it is said by ransom ; at all events, Khamco was reinstated at Tepeleni, where she still continued to maintain her authority, till Ali grew old enough and powerful enough to take the burden of government off her hands. J * This excellent pei-son, as Mr. Hughes characterises him, having been ex- pelled his paternal home by his two brothers, on the death of the father, fol- lowed for some years the profession of knight-errant of the mountains, till, having collected a sufficient sum to retire on, he suddenly appeared with his banditti before Tepeleni, and burned his two brothers in their own citadel. He then took quiet possession of the family title and estates, prudently re- nouncing his old trade forever. t M. Pouqueville says that he was carried off by a disorder, " attribute a des exces bachiques." He says nothing of his having filled the office of pasha of Delvino, and attributes his quarrels with his neighbours to his unsubdued klephtic propensities. t In attempting to combine the various accounts of Ali's early life in a con- sistent narrative, we are met at every step by irreconcileable contradictions or disciepancies. The Rev. T. S. Hughes, who appears to have taken consider- able pains in collecting authentic materials, states, that Veli Bey left two wid- ows and three children, attributing to Khamco, Ali's mother, the poisoning both of her rival and of the elder son. M. Pouqueville (whom the compiler of the Life of Ali Fasha, 8vo. 1823, has copied) states, that Veli left Jive, chil- MODERN GREECE. 47 Ali's first exploits, undertaken, as it should seem, without the sanction of his mother, were more daring than successful. Be- fore he had attained his sixteenth year, he had acquired as much celebrity as the fabled offspring of Jupiter and Maia, and in tlie same honourable calling. He plundered all his neigh- bours, till he found hiiuself possessed of means sufficient to raise a small number of partisans ; and now commencing ope- rations on a bolder scale, he undertook an expedition against the town of Chormovo. He was beaten, and re-entered Tepe- leni a fugitive, where he had to encounter the indignant taunts of liis mother, who bade him, coward as he was, go join the women of the harem. Again, however, he took the field, and having commenced hostile operations in the sanjiak of Avlona, was taken prisoner. Kourd Pasha, into whose hands he had thus fallen, was an old man of mild and humane character. Struck, it is said, with the youthful beauty, the graceful manners, and the natural eloquence of the young klepht, he satisfied himself dcen, but that the mother of the elder two died before him. He imputes to Khamco the poisoning of the elder brother, and says, that the idiocy of a sec- ond was believed to have been caused by her hand. According to M. de Vau- doncourt, on the contrary, whose narrative bears stronger internal marks of authenticity, the brother was made away with at the time that Ali seized the reins of authority from the hands of his mother, and the suspicion of fratricide attached to Ali. " The partisans of Ali Pasha," he says, " assert, that Ali's mother caused him to be poisoned, in order to secure to her own son the remains of his father's inheritance, and free him from a dangerous rival. This report is, at least, most prevalent throughout the whole of his states. His enemies, on the contrary, affirm, that it was he himself who stabbed his brother, having persuaded the multitude that he was engaged in a treacherous correspondence with their enemies. It is thus also that the story is related in the Ionian Islands " M. Pouquevil)e, too, kills one of Ali's brothers at this period. Again, with regard to the alleged treatment of Ali's mother and sister at Gar- diki, Mr. Hughes tells us, that the people of that town secretly attacked Tepe- leni by night, and succeeded in carrying them off ; that their subsequent es- cape was effected through the generous aid of an individual Gardikiote, named Dosti, " whose turn it was to receive them into his dwelling;" he es- corted them in safety to Tepeleni, " where they found the indignant Ali just preparing" (after the lapse of a month!) " to attempt their liberation with a large body of troops he had collected ;" further, that, on discovering the flight of their captives, the people of the town pursued them, but in vain, and on their return, set fire to Dosti's house. M. Pouqueville's version of the story is, that Ali was taken prisoner with his mother and sister ; that it was by means of an ambuscade ; and that their liberation was effected by a Greek merchant t)f Argyro Castro, who ransomed them for 22,800 piasters (about 3,700/.). The atrocious treatment they are said to have met with, the most improbable as well as revolting part of the tale, is, strange to say, the only point in which the two stories agree. M. de Vaudoncourt, without adverting to the circum- stances alluded to, simply says : " It was about this time that she (Ali's moth- er) was taken prisoner by the inhabitants of Goriiza, when her ransom aJj- sorbed the greater part of the treasures she had been able to save." 48 MODERN GREECE. with reprimanding himj and, after a friendly detention, dismissed him with presents.* It must have been about this period that, at the head of thirty palikars, he entered into the service of the pasha of Egripo. From this engagement, though it could not have been of long duration, he reaped sufficient wealth to enable him, on his re- turn to his native mountains, to re-commence operations as a klepht on a grander scale. After some successes near Tepeleni, he turned his steps towards the passes of Pindus, and pillaged some hamlets of the canton of Zagora ; but being overtaken and de- feated by the vizir of loannina, he was made prisoner a second time. And now, we are told, the neighbouring beys, and more especially Selim, pasha of Delvino, urged the necessity of inflict- ing summary justice on the incorrigible marauder. The vizir, however, had his reasons for not obliging them in this matter. He knew that he had less to dread from Ali than from the beys of Argyro-castro and Premeti, while Selim's Venetian connex- ions rendered him equally an object of suspicion ; he therefore was not sorry to afford them fresh occupation, and he turned Ali loose again, who it is said, gave him no further cause for inquie- tude during the rest of his days. Nevertheless, collecting the remains of his scattered troops, he again ventured to take the field, but was beaten afresh near the sources of the Chelydnus ; and so complete was the rout, that he was obliged to seek for refuge alone on Mount Mertzika. Here he was reduced to pledge his scimitar, in order to procure barley for his horse, no longer able to carry him. On returning again to Tepeleni, a fugitive, he was assailed by his mother with harsher reproaches than ever. When, with great difficulty he appeased her, and obtained further supplies, * M. Pouqueville's account of this transaction is as follows : — " Ons'attendait qiCMi Tibelen, dont Us compagnons d'armes furent pendus, strait puni sup- plice reserv6 aux brigands ; mais qiumd Courd pasha vit a ses pieds un jeune hoinme avec lequel il avail des liens de parcnid, it cv.t pilii de ses igarements, et reiint sa coBre. Mi 6tait dans cet dge ou Vhomme interesse. line longue cheve lure blonde, des yeux Mens, remplis de feu et brillants d'isprit une eloquence iiaturelle, achevdrent de gagner le cceur du vieux visir, qui le garda plusieun annees dans sonpalais, oii il lui prodiguait ses bienfails, en tdchant de le ramener dans le sentier de laprobite. Enfin, louche par les pritres de Khamco, qui re- dtmandod sans cesse son cher fits, il le lui rendit, en les prevenani Vun et V autre, qu'ils n'auraient phis de grace a esperer s'ils osaient Irouhler I'ordre public. Its promirent done de rester tranquilles, et its tinrent parole aussi long-temps que Courd pasha vecui." Mr. Hughes makes both the wife and the daughter of Kourd Pasha fall in love with the young hero ; and adds, that in a war which broke out between Kourd and the pasha of Scutari, Ali so distinguished him- self and gained on the affections of the soldiery, that Kourd's/ta^narfar (treasurer) advised his master either to put him to death, or make him his son-in-law. Kourd preferred the middle course of honourably dismissing him with presents. MODERN GREECE. ' 49 tliey were accompanied with the injunction not to return again but either as a conqueror or a corpse. " Witli the money thus obtained, AJi immediately collected 600 men, and directed his march through tlie valley of the Chelydnus towards Mertzika and Premeti. His first battle was again unsuccessful, and he was obliged to retire with loss. Having encamped the remnant of his troops in the vicinity of a deserted chapel not far from Valera, he entered into the solitary pile to repose, as well, as to meditate on liis bereft situation. There, he said, (for it was from himself the narrative was obtained,) reflecting on that for- tune by which he was persecuted, calculating the enterprises he w^as still able to attempt, and comparing the weakness of his means with the forces he had to combat, he remained a long time in a standing posture, mechanically furrowing up the ground with his stick, which the violence of his sensations caused him frequently to strike with vehemence. The resistance of a solid body, and the sound which issued from it, recalled his attention. He bent down, and examined the hole he had unconsciously made, and ha^dng dug further, had the happiness to find a casket. The gold which it contained, enabled him to levy 2000 men, and having been successful in a second battle, he returned to Tepeleni a victor. From this period, fortune never abandoned liimr"* * Vaudoncourt, p. 226. Mr. Hughes tells the same tale, with some slight variation. M. Poaqueville says, the whole story is a fiction, invented by a Greek named Psallida, and that Ali himself told him so. " Cela donne une physionomie miraculeuse a ma fortune,'' was his indignant remark. It may be true, nevertheless. In Mr. Hughes's narrative, however, Ali is represented as having dated the commencement of his good fortune from a still more roman- tic circumstance. He had, it seems, got married, and having raised fresh levies, was determined to make one last desperate effort against his ancient foes. In this expedition he was accompanied by his mother and his bride. The confederate beys of Argyro-castro, Gardiki, Kaminitza, Goritza, Chormo- vo, fee. opposed him with an overwhelming force, and the Tepelenites were totally routed. The chiefs of Argyro-castro and Gardiki had returned home, when Ali resolved on the bold and decisive manoeuvre of going alone by night to the camp of the other confederates and placing his life and fortunes in their hands. The hazard he ran was not so great as might at first appear, since a vol- untary suppliant is sure of obtaining protection from an Albanian chieftain ; but Ali aimed at something more than securing his own safety. He sought to wia them over to his cause, by representing that his enemies were in fact theirs ; that the absent chiefs were already too formidable, and that they sought his destruction, only to be enabled the more easily to place the yoke on their necks. And so well did he succeed in rousing the jealousy of the beys, that they not only determined to spare his life, but to range themselves under his standaid. All's mother, who, on discovering his flight, had, we are told, given way to transports of alarm or vexation, met him returning at the head of the troops who had fought against him. By the support thus obtained, he secured an honourable peace, and secured his future fortune. On reaching Tepeleni, he took possession of the place as its master. 7 50 MODERN GEEECE. And now it was, as it should seem, that All resolved to take the management of affairs into his own hands. Having gained over the principal chiefs of Tepeleni, he took possession of the fortress, and confined his mother thenceforth to tlie harem. She died soon after.* The state of his coffers being, however, un- equal to his ambitious projects, he resolved to have recourse to his old profession. Having secured the whole of the defiles leading across the chain of Pindus into Thessaly and Macedonia, he pillaged and ransomed travellers and caravans, levied contri- ' butions on the villages, and sacked several defenceless places, till the ravages committed awakened the attention of the divan, and the dervenji pasha was ordered to march against him. The office was at this time held by no other person than All's old friend Kourd Pasha, who soon found it adviseable to attempt to settle matters by negotiation, as there was little prospect of ac- complishing it by force of arms. He invited Ali to a conference, at which the latter displayed his usual address, and the old vizu* was induced to accept of his services in the warfare he was prosecuting against the rebel pasha of Scutari. The effective aid which Ali rendered, secured the success of the expedition, and his conduct was represented in the most favourable light at Constantinople. Supported by this powerful alliance, Ali now came to be held in high consideration, and the pasha of Argyro-castro granted his daughter to him, by whom he had his two eldest sons, Mouk- tar and Veli.f His ambitious projects soon began to develop themselves. The towns of Kaminitza and Goritza first fell * Her death, Mr. Hughes says, has been ascribed to Ali's jealous policy, but without foundation. M. Pouqueville, indeed, gives a most horrific account of her death. " La modcrne Olympins, atteinte depuis long-temps d'un cancer utdrin, fruit honteux de sa depravation, termina sa carriere, apres s'Stre defaite par le poison du dernier desfrtres consanguins d'Mi Pacha. Telle fut la Jin de sa vie, dont elle employa les derniers moments a se faire relire son testament, monument digne des furies. Cet acle prescrivaii a Mi et a Shainitza, d'extermi- ner, d^s qu'ils le pourraient, Its habitants de Cardiki et de Cormovo, dont elle avait it6 I'esclave, ainsi qu'eux ; leur donnant sa malediction sHls contrevenaient jamais a ce dessein . . . .La personne de qui je tiens ces details, ajoute, que, suffo- qu6e par une hydrothorax, et rongi", par un ulcere devorante, elle expira dans des transports de rage, en vomissant d'horribles imprications contre la providence iternelle." This is sufficiently diamatic. Ali, it is added, did not arrive at Tepeleni till an hour after his mother had expired ; he bedewed her remains with his tears, and joining hands with his amiable sister, swore to accomplish the dying injunctions of his mother. That part of her will, however, which directed that a pilgrim should be sent to Mekka, to present an offering at the tomb of the Prophet for the repose of her soul, was never performed, because the law requires that the property so offered should have been legitimately acquired ! ! t His marriage must have taken place long before this, if, as M. de Vau- doncourt states, he was only twenty years of age when he married. MODERN GREECE. • 51 under liis power : tliey were taken aiid pillaged. His next at- tempt was a daring one. The old pasha of Argyro-castro, Ali's fatlier-in-law, had died, and the elder son had been assassinated by his brodier. Ali hastened to allay the civdl war this murder had given rise to ; but the inhabitants, aware of his designs, united against him, and he was compelled to wthdraw.* About diis period, he is stated to have entered into a war with the town of Liebovo (or Libochobo), wliich, after an ineffectual resist- ance, submitted to his arms. Lekli, Giates, and some other places were subdued in the same manner. He now determined to attack the sti'ong place of Chormovo, on the inhabitants of which he had vowed vengeance. Internal dissensions favoured his project. The inliabitants, alarmed at his approach, endeav- oured to propitiate him by submission ; but Ali, having decoyed the chief citizens to a conference, had them treacherously seized, while his troops fell upon the defenceless inhabitants, massacred a great number, and razed tlie town to the ground. The wo- men and children were sold into slavery. One individual par- ticularly obnoxious to Ali, named Papas Oglou, or Krauz Prifti (son of a priest), is stated to have been impaled and roasted alive by his orders : the executioner was a black slave, his foster brother. By this execrable act of vengeance, he spread a terror of his name tliroughout the neighbouring tribes, f * M. Pouqaeville gives a totally different account. In the first place, he states, that Ali was about twenty-four when he married Emina, the daughter of Capelan the tiger, pasha of Delvino, who resided at Argyro-castro ; this said Capelan, urged on by his worthy son-in-law, is represented as having se- cretly favoured tlie Montenegrins, while Ali gave secret iiiformation of his dis- loyalty to the Porte. Capelan was consequently sent for to answer for his conduct, and his son-in-law strongly urged him to obey the summons ; he lost his head of course, but the pashalik was given to Ali of Argyro-castro, and the traitor was disappointed. The insurrection of Stephano Piccolo took place in 1767: and, if this account be correct, Ali must have been born before 1747, or he could not have become Capelan's son-in-law by that time at twenty- four years of age, and have acted subsequently the part here ascribed to him. M. Pouqueville goes on to state, that a marriage was brought about between the new pasha of Delvino and Shainitza, Ali's sister; but the pasha in vain endeavoured to conciliate the good-will of his brother-in-law by benefits. Not having been able to persuade his sister to poison her husband, Ali found means to persuade the pasha's brother Soliman to turn assassin, on condition of marrying the widow ! Again, however, Ali was disappointed of obtaining the vacant pashalik, which vvas given to Selim Bey, whose treacherous assassina- tion by his dear friend Ali, is not very consistently made to follow close upon the breaking out of the war in 1768. According to this statement, Ali must have got rid of three successive pashas of Delvino in about a twelvemonth ! t Tills act of diabolical cruelty, which reminds us of the crusaders, seems to be the best attested part of the narrative. Vassily, Mr. Hobhouse's attendant, (who appears to have been a native of Chormovo, although the name of the place is not given,) told him, that he had many a time gone down with the men of the village, and broken All's windows with shot when he durst not stir out 62 MODERN GREECE. These expeditions had made him master of the whole valley of the Chelydnus in front of Argyro-oastro, which he held under observation, while the inhabitants on their side established a sort of redoubt, and a post of 500 men on the bridge below the city. He is said to have even made attempts at this time on both loan- nina and Arta, but was repelled. Shortly after, by means of his emissaries at Constantinople, he procured a commission for attacking Selim, pasha of Delvino, who had fallen under the displeasure of the Porte for having delivered up to the Vene- tians the fortress and territory of Bucintro. Resorting to his favoiirite measures of deceit, he appeared before Delvino with only a small band of troops, under pretence of flying from his enemies. Having gained the confidence of the unsuspecting Selim, as well as of his son Mustafa, he was enabled to surround them with his own satellites. He caused the father to be be- headed, and the son to be Arrested, and succeeded in carrying off his prisoner in the precipitate retreat which he was obliged to make, in order to escape from the indignation of the inhabi- tants. He obtained a large sum as a ransom for his captive, but this was the only fruit of his perfidy. In the mean time, Kourd Pasha having fallen into disgrace,* a new dervenji pasha had been appointed, who, either actuated by the policy of setting a thief to catch a thief, or influenced by more substantial inducements, named Ali as his lieutenant. In- stead of clearing the roads of banditti, Ali commenced a trade in licenses, which he sold regularly to the klephts, receiving over and above, a per centage on their booty. This traffic did not last, however, above six months, though Ali is said to have cleared 150,000 piastres by the job. The country, as the natu- ral consequence, having become quite impassable, the dervenji pasha was recalled, and paid the penalty of his head, while his crafty lieutenant bought himself off. So high did Ali's character, however, now stand for bravery, or so well was his money laid out at Constantinople, that, on the breaking out of the war with Russia, he obtained a command, at the head of his Albanian corps, in the army of the grand of Tepeleni. "Well," he was asked, "and what did Ali do to the men of your village ?" '■^Nothing at all; he made friends with our chief man, per- suaded him to come to Tepeleni, and there roasted him on a spit; after which, we submitted." — Hobhouse's Mbania, letter xi. * Kourd Pasha is styled by Mr. Hughes and M. Pouqueville, vizir and pasha of Berat. M. de Vaudoncourt says, he was vizir of Avlona; that on his dis- grace, the sanjiak of Avlona was dismembered, several districts passing under the control of the vizir of Scutari, while others were united to the sanjiak of Elbassan, whose pasha was created a vizir, and fixed his residence at Berat. MODERN GREECE. 53 vizir Jousouf. " His conduct during the war," we are told by M. de Vaudoncourt, " was brilliant : his military talents and the valour of his soldiers, inured by twenty years of war and victory, obtained for him general esteem, and at the same time tended greatly to enrich him. But his attention was not withdrawn from his ambidous projects. Hitherto, he had no government, no title, and he wished to be a sovereign, whatever was the sacrifice. Under the pretext of obtaining the release of Mahmoud, one of his nephews, who had been taken prisoner by the Russians, he entered into correspondence with Prince Potemkin. The eor- respondence soon became active, and took a direction favoura- ble to the interests of Russia, who would have been able at that time to rely on Ali Bey in case of a fresh expedition to the Mediterranean. The correspondence between Ali and the Rus- sian Government lasted tiU he had become master of loannina, as well as of nearly all Albania, and had no longer any direct in- terest in aiding the designs of that power."* The war being ended, Ali had gained sufficient credit at Con- stantinople to have himself nominated to the government of Tric- cala in Thessaly, with the rank of a pasha of two tails. The situation of this place was particularly adapted to his views. It commands the passage of merchandise from loannini to Constan- tinople ; and whoever possesses the country has it in his power to intercept all supplies of corn from the fertile plains of Thes- saly, upon which the provinces of Western Greece frequently depend for tiieir subsistence. Here he established himself as ab- solute master over all Thessaly, except Larissa, which is an in- dependent jurisdiction. The people of loannini, particularly the Greek merchants, who feared his exactions, beheld with the more alarm their formidable neighbour, inasmuch as complete anarchy then prevailed in that city. The turbulent and powerful beys were not only in rebellion against the pasha, but were engaged in the fiercest contests with one another, so that it was frequendy unsafe for a person to stir out into the streets. The most atrocious murders were committed in open day, till the very bazar became deserted. At length, the death of the pasha aiForded Ali the golden opportunity he had been watching for. * Vaudoncourt, p. 234. The Author himself sayv at loannina a watch set in diamonds, which Potemkin presented to Ali after the treaty of peace had been signed, "in testimony of esteem for his bravery and talents." Mr. Hughes says, that Ali had conceived strong hopes of being acknowledged sov- ereign of Epirus when his friend should be seated on the throne of Constan- tinople ; that the correspondence which Potemkin held with Ali and many other Greek and Turkish chieftains, became known to Catherine, and proba- bly precipitated the fall of the favourite. 54 MODERN GREECE. We give the sequel in the words of Mr. Hughes, with whose narrative the statement of M. de Vaudoncourt substantially agrees. " When Ali thought affairs were ripe enough for his presence, he collected a considerable number of troops, passed the chain of Mount Pindus, and made his appearance on the plains to the north of loannini. This manoeuvre caused great consternation in the city : the beys, in imminent danger, stifled their enmity to- wards each other, joined their forces together, and advanced to meet the invader. In a great battle which was fought at the head of the lake, they were beaten and driven back into the city by Ali, who encamped before it with his victorious troops. Not being strong enough to attempt it by storm, he employed a surer method for success. He had already gained a considerable number of adherents amongst the Greeks in the city, and especially in the district of Zagori : these by bribery and large promises he engaged to enter into his views and send a deputation to Constantinople, to solicit for him the pashalik. They acted as he requested ; but the opposite interest proved too strong for them at the Porte, and they were made the bearers of an order to their principal to retire immediately to his own government and disband his troops. One of the deputies, most attached to his interest, rode forward night and day, to give him early informa- tion of the failure of their mission, and on this occasion Ali executed one of those strokes of policy which has given him such advantage over the imbecility of the Ottoman Porte. Af- ter a short consultation with his friend, he dismissed him to re- turn and meet the deputies, who waited a few days on the road, and then proceeded straight to loannina. The beys, to whom its contents had been already intimated, advanced as far as the suburbs to meet the firman. It was produced, and drawn out of its crimson case ; when each reverently applied it to his forehead, in token of submission to its dictates. It was then opened, and to the utter consternation of the assembly, it announced Ali, pasha of loannina, and ordered instant submission to his authority. " The forgery was suspected by many, but some credited it ; whilst others, by timely submission, sought to gain favour with the man who they foresaw would be their ruler : in short, his partisans exerted themselves on all sides, the beys were dispirit- ed, and whilst they were irresolute and undetermined, Ali enter- ed the city amidst the acclamations of the populace. His chief enemies in the mean time sought their safety by flight, passing MODERN GREECE. 55 over the lake and taking refuge in the districts of Arta, Etolia, and Acarnania. " Ali's first cai*e was to cahn tlie fears of all ranks ; to the people, he promised protection ; to the beys who remained, rich offices and plunder ; his friends were amply recompensed, and his enemies reconciled by his frankness and engaging affability. In the mean time he put a strong garrison into the castron or for- ti'ess, and thus acquired firm possession of the pashalik before tlie imposture of the firman was discovered. It was now too late to dispossess liim of his acquisition : his adherents increased daily ; a numerous and respectable deputation, led by Signore Allessio's father, carried a petition to Constantinople, and second- ing it with bribes to a large amount, ultimately prevailed in es- tablisliing his usurped dominion. Thus, according to custom, despotism succeeded to the turbulence of faction, and the people not unwillingly submitted to the change." Soon afterwards, Ali, doubtless by the same potent agency — gold, obtained fi-om the Porte the important office of dervenji- pasha of Rumelia : whether he had a lieutenant, is not stated, but if he had, he took good care that he should not trade in licenses to the klephts. This office not only augmented his rev- enue, but gave him an opportunity to create an influence in many provinces of the Turkish empire. His next step was to pick a quarrel with his neighbour, the Pasha of Arta, and to annex liis territories, as well as the whole of Acarnania, to his own dominions. Then, in order to establish a free communica- tion between loannina and his native territory, he attacked and took possession of the strong post of Klissura, following it up by the reduction of Premeti, Ostanizza, and Konitza, which secure the whole course of the Voi'ussa, from its source in Mount Pin- dus, to Tepeleni.* * Klissura is situated at the entrance of the narrow defile anciently called the Fauces Antigontce Stena Jloi, where, in the first Macedonian war, Pliilip stopped the advance of the Roman legions till the key of his position was be- trayed to Flaminius by a shepherd. Liv. 1. xxxii. c. 5. The mountains forming the defile are now called, those on the north side Trebechina and Mejcurani, those on the south Melcliiovo. The defile is about ten miles in length from Klissura, (which, from the remains of Cyclopean masonry observable there, Mr. Hughes supposes to be the site of Antigonea,) to the junction of the Aous with the river of Argyro-castro above Tepeleni. The precipices on each side are tremendous, being not much less than a thousand feet in perpendicular height. Premeti, which some persons have taken for Antigonea, is about twelve miles higher up the Aous or Voiussa. Hughes ii. p. 119. M. Pouqueville states that the bey of Klissoura at this time was Mourad, Ali's own nephew ; and he gives a very minute account of his assassination by his uncle, who pretended to have been attacked by him. Mr. Hughes says, " I have read, in an account which pretends to be genuine, that Ali shot his favourite nephew in one of the 56 MODERN GBEECE. Soon after this, Ibrahim Pasha, of Berat, who had formerly rejected his alliance, gladly accepted the proposal to affiance his three daughters to the two sons and nephew of Ali, who himself espoused the rich widow of a pasha with a considerable dowry in land. The accession of Ali Pasha to the government of loannina is stated by M. Pouqueville to have taken place towards the end of the year 1788. In the following year the Sultan Abdulhamid died, and was succeeded by Selim III. who, on his exchanging the imprisonment of the seraglio for the throne, confirmed AU Pasha in all his honours and appointments. The situation of the Turkish empire was at this period most critical. The plan for the seizure of the Ottoman territories is said to have been arranged in the personal interviews between the Emperor Joseph and the Russian Czarina, during their journey to the Crimea, in 1787,* and they were carrying on their preparations for open- ing the campaign with an attack along the whole line of the Turkish frontier in Europe, when the Porte anticipated them in the declaration of war. It is stated by M. de Vaudoncourt, that Greek officers in the ser\dce of the Emperor, accompanied by engineers, had gone over the coasts of Albania, the Morea, and the gulfs of Lepanto and Avlona ; that they had made plans of the fortified towers of Navarino, Modon, and Patras, and recon- noitred the isthmus; that by means of a Greek archbishop, whom he had allured to Pesth, and of Greek merchants settled at Trieste and Fiume, he had opened communications with all parts of Greece ; that he kept up a large number of emissaries in Albania, who had extended themselves as far as loannina and even Larissa ; that at Ragusa, the Emperor had forty-four ves- sels, placed under the name of a merchant, which in a few days could be equipped as frigates ; that, in a word, the Austi'ian government at that time had neglected nothing to obtain the sup- apartments of his palace at Litoritza. But mark the difference ! I once spent an hour in that very apartment with Ali's chief physician, waiting for an audi- ence. This gentleman, in whose arms the young bey expired, gave me the particulars of his death, which was the consequence of a fever : he informed me that the vizir was so doatingly fond of the youth, that he could scarcely be induced to quit his bed-side, and so inconsolable at his loss, that he had never once entered into the room from that time to the present. And this relatioa was amply confirmed to me by others." Hughes, vol. ii. p. lOS. * Thornton cites a curious passage from the letters of the Prince de Ligne, (dated Baktcheserai, June 1, 1787). ' " Leurs majesf^s imperiales se tdtoient quelqiiefois sur les pauvres diables de Turcs. Onjeloit qiielqiie propos en se re- gardant. Coimne amateur de la belle anliquiie, et d'un peu de nouveautes, je parlois de ritahlir les Grecs ; Catherine, de faire rendiire les Lycurgues et les Solo?is. Moi, je parlois d'Mcibiade ; mais Joseph II., qui etoii plus pour I'avenir . que pour le pass6, etpour le positif que pour le chimere, disoit, Que diable faire de Constantinople 9'\ — See also Coxe's Life of Catherine II., vol. iii. p. 291. MODERN GREECE. 07 port of the Greeks, who, in fact, began to consider Joseph 11. as their future liberator, and to feel towards him the same attach- ment they had always entertained for Russia.* But if ever there was any cordial union between the two imperial confederates who planned, at tliis time, the overthrow of the Ottoman empire, the death of tliat emperor terminated the dangerous alliance. The mutual jealousy by which each power was actuated, pre- vented their union m any common effort ; and the war was pros- ecuted by Austria, as much for the sake of checking or thwart- ing its too powerful rival, as with any view to tlie conquest of Greece. Thus it was that their united attack on a tottering and debilitated empire produced nothing but the capture of Oczakow and Belgrade, followed by separate treaties of peace. f By the treaty of Yassy, Russia added to her vast dominions only the steppe between the Bogh and the Dniester. Ali Pasha received orders to join, at the head of his contingent of troops, the Turkish army on the banks of the Danube. Ac- cording to M. Pouqueville, he had seen only the smoke of the German bivouacks, when he re-entered his winter quarters at loamiina, bringing home with him, instead of captives, some hundreds of Servians and Bulgarians, peaceable subjects of the Grand Seignior, whom he formed into two little colonies at Bo- nila and Mouchari, in the interior of Epirus. This appears to have been in 1789. Whatever were All's "views at tliis time, the death of his friend Potemkin, and the unexpected turn of affau"s in Europe, appear to have decided him on identifying his * " Under the pretence of furnishing Hungary with cultivators, he sought to induce Greeks to fix their residence there. He not only favoured the emi- gration of whole families, seeking to flee from the oppression of th^ir masters, but he also spread decoyers in the most distant provinces of his dominions. Another not less efficacious mean was his edict of toleration, issued in 1782. He therein formally promised the Greeks who might come to establish them- selves within his states, to admit them to all civil and military dignities, ac- cording to their merits. A great number of Greeks flocked there from all parts. Many formed establishments in Trieste and Fiume ; others were ad- mitted into the military service. The Aixhbishop of Patras, Parthenius, who had been one of the most ardent in stirring up the Morea in favour of Russia, in the year 1770, and who had been obliged to take refuge at St. Petersburg, was allured to Pesth, where Joseph made a handsome provision for him, and whence he carried on an active correspondence with Greece. In 1782, two Albanian captains penetrated to Maina, and entered into negociations with that republic, ofiering succour in warlike stores and money, and promising to transport field pieces there by a sea conveyance." — Vaudoncourt, pp. 24 — 31. t The reduction of Orsova, in April 1790, was the only military event of importance that took place on the part of the Austrians after the death of .Joseph II. The insurrection in the Low Countries, the transactions on the Prussian frontier, and the influence of Great Britain, compelled the Emperor to enter into an armistice, and finally to conclude a separate pe.ace with the Porte, on the basis of the status quo ante bellum. 8 58 MODERN GREECE. interests with those of the Porte. But his correspondence with Potemkin had got wind, and his enemies at Constantinople were endeavouring to make use of the circumstance, to under- mine his influence in the divan. Fertile in expedients, he found means to counteract these plots, and to allay the coming storm ; principally, it is asserted, by the good offices of the French minister at the Porte, whose protection he obtained through the means of the consul at Prevesa.* It does not appear that the long-protracted contest been Ah and the little republic of Suli, had any political causes for its origin. M. Pouqueville represents the Suliots to have been in- stigated to hostilities by Ibrahim, the vizir of Berat, and the agas of Thesprotia ; but he seems to think that their minds were in- flamed by the flattering statements brought back by the Greek deputies froiB St. Petersburgh. It is not, however, at all likely, that they would have attempted a rising at so inauspicious a crisis, contrary to the express injunctions of the Russian Gov- ernment. It may be true, that at Suli, the rebellion was plan- ned under Lambro Canziani, that was to have liberated the Greeks from the Ottoman yoke ;f and Sottiri may have en- deavoured to engage the mountaineers of Epirus in the vision- ary plans of a revolution to be undertaken under the faithless auspices of Russia. But the Suliots were genuine klephts ; and nothing was more inevitable than that their proceedings should clash with the official duty and private interests of the dervenji- pasha, in which capacity the Vizir of Epirus had most legitiinate grounds for waging warfare against them. It seems that the first force which was sent out against these mountaineers, was defeated with great slaughter, and pursued to the very plain of loannina. This is said to have taken place before Ali joined the army of the Danube, and must apparently have happened in the time of his predecessor. In the spring of 1791, the Suhots, who had been for some time quiet, issued from their retreats, and ravaged Amphilochia. " Pillaging alike friends and foes," says M. Pouqueville, " they carried their imprudence so far as to embroil themselves with the chiefs of the armatohs, and even with the Turks of Thesprotia. All commercial intercourse was interrupted in Lower Albania. The defiles were no longer passable without numerous escorts, which were often defeated by * Hughes, vol. ii. p. 118 Vaudoncourt, p. 238. The latter tells an im- probable story of All's writing to Louis XVI., and receiving from the French minister an insulting reply, declining his proposals, on which he turned his rage on the French consul at Arta. t Hughes, vol. ii. p. 122. Eton, p. 364. MODERN GREECE. 59 tliese audacious mountaineers. They even ventured to spread themselves over Pindus, and only withdrew to their own country at the approach of winter, at which season the snows render the rocky heights of Epirus uninhabitable." It seems pretty clear, tliat, in his attempt to restrain and punisli these marauders, Ali was supported by the Greek armatolis, whom he is stated to have taken into his pay, but who had themselves suffered irom the incursions of the klephts. In his first serious expedition against the Suliots, it is expressly mentioned, that to the forces of the agas of Chamouri, and a corps of auxiliaries furnished by Ibrahim, pasha of Berat, were joined the ai'matolis of Agrafa, headed by Demetrius Pa- leopoulos, his brotlier-in-law Anagnostis Canavos, and Hyscos of Karpenitza. Altogether, the army is stated to have amount- ed to 15,000 men.* At the head of this formidable force, Ali set out from loamiina on the 1st of July 1792. To conceal his designs, he began his march in the direction of Argyro-castro, but he had scarcely proceeded twenty miles when he halted and encamped. A copy is given by Mr. Hughes of a letter which he is said to have sent to Botzari and Tzavella, two of the most distinguished Suliot leaders, requesting them to join his army at the head of their palikars, and promising them double pay. Suspicious, as it should seem, of his real intentions, Tzavella only obeyed the summons at the head of seventy palikars. All of these were now seized and bound, except one, who escaped by swimming the river Kalamas, and gave the alarm at Suli. When Ali made his appearance in that district, therefore, he found the Suliots fully prepared to give him a warm reception. Having ordered Tzavella to be brought before him, the wily Pasha now offered him the amplest reward if he would procure the submission of the republic, holding out the horrible alterna- tive of being flayed alive. Tzavella represented, that his coun- * Pouqueville, vol. i. pp. 51, 90. This Demetrius Paleopoulos, a native of Karpenitza in ^tolia, is celebrated as a man of distinguished bravery and tal- ent. In the heroic age, says M. Pouqueville, he would have been a Theseus. As it was, he was only a klepht, till promoted by the Porte to be a vaivode of his native district. He had attached himself to Ali as far back as 1786, when they met at Triccala, and their fathers are said to have been intimate. On the occasion of the Suliot war, this Greek patriot took the lead against the klephtic republic. Nicolas Cojani, Boucovallas, Stathos, his son-in-law, Eu- thymos Blakavas, Zitros of Olosson, Macry-Athanasios, and Macry-Poulios of Greveno, Christakis of Prevesa, and Andriscos, the companion in arms of Lambro Canzianis, — are mentioned by Pouqueville as maintaining on this oc- casion an armed neutrality. A pretty clear proof that the cause of Suli was not then considered as identical with that of Grecian liberty. The number of the troops which were sent against Suli, is stated by M. Prevaux, " the histo- rian of Suli," at 28,000 men. Mr. Hughes says, "about 10,000, all tried Albanian troops." This, all were not. 60 MODERN GREECE. try men would never treat while he remained a prisoner, but he offered his son Foto as a hostage, if Ali would let him return to Suli, to endeavour to bring about a negociation. . His proposal was accepted, and as soon as he had regained the mountains, and consulted the other captains, he sent back a letter of defi- ance, in which, anticipating the sacrifice of his son, he swears to revenge him.* Foto, however, was not put to death, but subsequently obtained his liberty. The Pasha now pre- pared to attack Suli by force of arms ; but at this crisis, the campaign had well nigh been terminated by the death of their enemy. A detachment of these brave mountaineers, to the number of 200, having learned that Ali was encamped with his body-guard at some little distance from the main army, march- ed out with the determination to take him alive or dead ; and but for the timely information conveyed to Ali by a traitor, they would probably have succeeded. Ali, now infuriated to the ut- most, put his troops immediately in motion. The four villages which formed the principal seats of this mar- tial clan, occupied a sort of natural citadel in the heart of the Cassopa^an mountains, consisting of a small plain about 2000 feet above the bed of the Acheron : a grand natural breast-work descends precipitously to the river, while behind towers a lofty range of mountains. " The Acheron (Kalamas) after passing through the valley of Dervitziana, fi,rst enters this chasm at the gorge of Skouitias, so called from a small village of that name. A narrow path, which winds through the dark woods on the right bank, conducts the traveller in about two hours to a narrow cut across his path, called Klissura, admirably adapted to stop the progress of an enemy. This defile was commanded by a fort called Tichos, and near it was the first Suliot village, called Ava- rico. From this point, a gradual ascent leads to the deserted site of Samoniva, thence to Kiafla (a word signifying a height), and lastly to Kako-Suli, the capital of the republic. Near the spot where the mountain-path leaves the side of the Acheron, to wind up the precipices between Kiaffa and Kako-Suli, a conical hill overhangs the road, called Kunghi, on which stood the largest of the Suliot fortresses, named Aghia Paraskevi (Saint Friday. )f At this point, another small river, flowing from the Parami- thian mountains, joins the Acheron, which, descending the ro- mantic defile of Glyki, enters the great Parraithian plain, and * Hughes, vol. ii. p. 130. Pouqueville, vol. i. p. 99. t Paraskeve and Kuriake (Friday and Saturday) are among the common names given to Greek girls. MODERN GREECE. 61 empties itself, after flowing through the Acherusian lake, into the Ionian Sea, near the ancient city of Cichyrus or Ephyre."* The Suliots, being obliged to retreat before superior numbers, were closely pursued by All's forces do^vn tlie valley of the Ach- eron, but, at the pass of Klissura, they made a stand. And here the Albanian troops were assailed by such volleys of musketry from the fortress of Tichos, and from behind the rocks which form the defile, tliat the passage became nearly choked up with the slain. The ammunition of the Suliots at length beginning to fail, they were compelled to retire towards KiafFa. This also was soon found to be untenable, and, followed by the Pasha's army, they retreated towards Kako-Suli. The great fort of Aghia Paraskevi, which commands the Tripa, a deep chasm between KiafFa and the capital, was at this time so thinly garrison- ed, diat Suli would have been lost but for an act of female valour, wliich well deserves comparison with that of Telesilla and her Ai'gives. " The heroine Mosco, (the ^vife of Tzavellas,) arming all her female warriors, rushed out of the town sword in hand, stopped the retreat of husbands and brethren, headed them in a valiant attack upon the assailants, now breathless from their pur- suit of the fugitives up these steep acclivities, and in a moment turned the tide of war. The Albanians in their turn retreated aird fled ; the garrison of Paraskevi, reinforced by a number of fugitives, made a sally to increase their confusion ; heaps of stones were rolled down upon the flying foe, who were again in- tercepted at the fort of Tichos, and almost anniliilated. Hun- dreds of dead bodies were rolled into the bed of the Acheron, whose torrent was encumbered with the slain. " Arrived at tliis tower, Mosco discovered the body of her fa- vourite nephew, who had been killed in the first attack on this position. Animated with a desire of vengeance at the sight, she kissed the pale lips of the corpse, and calling on the Suliots to follow, she led them, like a tigress bereft of her whelps, against those troops who remained about the Pasha in the upper regions of the valley. Terrified by the fate of their companions, these took immediately to flight, and were pursued by the victorious Suliots as far as the village of Vareatis, within seven hours of loamiina : they lost aU their baggage, ammunition and arms, which were thrown away in the flight, besides an immense num- * Hughes, vol. ii. p. 121. The name of Suli is probably a corruption of the ancient Selli ; (Homer, Iliad, lib. xvi. 233,) but no vestiges of any ancient cities have been discovered within the district of the Suliotes. The distance of Suli from Joannina is 14 hours ; from Prevesa, 13 ; from Arta, 14 ; from Parga, 8 ; from Margarita, 6 ; from Paramithia, 8. 62 MODERN GREECE. ber of prisoners, whose ransom served to enrich the conquerors. Ali liimself killed two horses in liis precipitate escape, and when he arrived at his capital, he shut himself up in his harem for sev-, eral days. About 6000 men are said so have been slain and taken prisoners : the remainder having been dispersed over the woods and mountains, did not collect together at loannina for sev- eral weeks. This battle occurred July 20, 1792."* Ali now saw that the conquest of SuH must be given up for the present, and he is said to have made peace on most degrad- ing terms, ceding to them possession of their acquired territory as far as Devitziana, and paying a large sum as ransom for his cap- tive troops, besides restoring the palikars whom he had trepanned, and Foto Tzavella among the rest. During the ensuing four or five years, Ali appears to have kept quiet, directing his attention to the improvement of his cap- ital, the construction of roads for the facilitating of internal com- merce, and the extirpation of the robbers who infested all parts of the country. His subjects had to complain of his oppressive avanias ; but it seems to be admitted, that, at this period, he did not display that severity of character which subsequently broke out into so many acts of wanton cruelty ; and his despotism was on the whole a beneficent one to. the country. In the meantime, French revolutionists were busy about Ali, flattering him with the hope of being enabled to throw off the yoke of obedience to the Porte, and to assume the independent sovereignty of Epirus ; and when, in 1797, he saw the Venetians driven from the Ionian Islands and their continental dependencies, in pursuance of the treaty of Campo Formio, and the French flag waving on the shores of Epirus, he eagerly entered into secret negotiations with General Bonaparte, then at the head of his victorious army in Italy. The benefits which he drew from this alliance were sub- stantial and immediate. He gained permission to sail with his flotilla through the channel of Corfu, in spite of former treaties; and he surprised and captured the two independent towns of Ag- hio Vasili and Nivitza, on the coast opposite to that island, mas- sacring the inhabitants in church one Easter Sunday, while en- gaged in divine service. Soon after this, he took possession of die important fishery at Santa Quaranta, as well as of the excel- lent harbour of Porto Palermo, where he built a large fort, thus drawing a cordon round the pashalik of Delvino. His agents at * Hughes, vol. ii.-p. 132. M. Pouqueville says, that Ali escaped in disguise, having exchanged clothes with Paleopoulos ; and that the greater part of those who rallied round him were armatolis, who had formed his body-guard: those who perished in the defile, were chiefly Moslems. MODERN GREECE. Co Constantinople made a merit of these acts, by representing them as done solely for the advantage of the Porte and the subjugation of infidels, which Ali did not fail to confirm by paying tribute for every place he conquered. Still further to raise his credit at Constantinople, he headed his contingent of Albanian troops, and joined the Grand Vizir in his campaign against the rebel pasha of Widin, Paswan Oglou.* He was engaged in this expedition when he received intelligence of the invasion of Egypt by the French, and the approaching rupture between France and Tur- key. Foreseeing that the Ionian Islands would probably again change hands, he hastened back to loannina, leaving his son Mouktar in command of his troops, that he might be in readiness to avail himself of any events that might be converted to his own advantage. In fact, he did not wait long before he commenced operations by seizing on Prevesa, the strongest and most impor- tant of all the ex- Venetian possessions on the continent. The alleged detention of one of his brigs sailing into the Gulf of Arta, was made the pretext for attacking his former allies. The un- fortunate Prevesans had scarcely time to send their families and moveable property to the neighbouring islands ; and many, dis- crediting the report of the Pasha's approach, neglected that pre- caution. The place was ill prepared to make any defence. The French garrison capitulated after a short resistance, and the Prevesans being easily routed, their city was given up to pillage. f Vonitza, Gomeiiitza, and Bucintro subsequently fell into his hands, and Parga and Santa Maura narrowly escaped ; the former, through the determined conduct and bravery of the inhabitants,, the latter through the timely interposition of a Greek captain in the Russian service, who arrived off the island just in time to intercept All's flotilla. No failure in his schemes, it is said, ever annoyed him so much as this disappointment. In March 1800, a treaty was concluded between Russia and Turkey, by which the independence of the Seven Islands was guaranteed under protection of the former power, upon payment * An anecdote, highly characteristic, is related of him at this period. The gi'and vizir, under pretence of bestowing public approbation upon his conduct, requested his attendance in full divan. Ali, conscious how much more he merited the bow-string than half the victims who had been honom-ed with that Turkish martyrdom, went, but had the precaution to surround the vizir's tent with 6000 of his Albanians. As might be expected, his reception was courte- ous, but the conference was short t The bishop of Prevesa, is said to have been an active agent in forming a party at Prevesa in favour of Ali ; but, disgusted with his atrocious cruelties,, he afterwards deserted him. Upwards of 300 Prevesans are stated to have feeen massacred, by All's orders, in cold blood. 64 MODERN GREECE. of ail annual tribute of 75,000 piastres to the Porte : the conti- nental' dependencies were all annexed to the dominions of the Sultan, except Parga, which resolutely maintained its independ- ence. When the Russian forces had retired, Ali, unwilling to abandon his project, still indulged the hope of being able to seize on Corfu and Santa Maura, the possession of which would have consolidated his power on the adjacent part of the continent. Under pretext of sustaining the pretensions of the nobility, he excited the first commotions that broke out in those islands, of which he availed himself to represent to the Divan, that the only means of restoring tranquillity, would be to allow him to garrison Corfu, Parga, and Santa Maura. His representations and his gold would probably have prevailed at Constantinople, had not the Ionian senate defeated his intrigues by throwing themselves into the arms of Russia. This measure, which overturned all his projects, did not fail to increase his jealousy against that power, and he was thenceforth its implacable enemy. Anxious to extend his foreign relations, he now availed himself of the appearance of a British squadron in the Ionian Sea, to open a correspondence with the admiral ; but it does not appear that his negotiations led at this time to any definite result, and he soon reverted to his French connexions. It was some compensation for the disappointment of his schemes, that the ambitious Vizir now received the public thanks of the Sultan for his eminent services, together with a present of the kelick-caftan (a fine ermine pelisse) and a sword decorated with brilliants. To complete his elevation, he was made Rumelie-valisee or viceroy of Romelia. Bound by the duties of his office to visit the provinces confided to his jurisdic- tion, he did not fail to turn to good account the discharge, of tliis obligation. Being charged to collect the arrears of contributions due to the imperial treasury, as well in money as in kind, he in- creased them, it is said, in the proportion of three to five, reserving two-fifths as his per-centage for the trouble of collect- ing. He took up his residence for some time at Monastir, a large town about a day's journey west of the lake of Ochrida, which he pillaged in the most shameless manner, carrying away nineteen wagons laden with valuable effects. It is calculated that, besides money and other articles, 20,000 sheep were, by this visitation, added to his property ; and the sum total of the exactions wrested from these provinces has been esthnated at 10,000,000 of piastres. The victory of Austerlitz and the peace of Presburg, by which Dalmatia and Illyricum were annexed to the kingdom of MODERN GREECE. 65 Italy, recalled the attention of Ali towards France. As Russia still continued in hostility with Napoleon, and had just seized on Cattaro, Ali thought that a favourable opportunity was now afforded for attacking that power in the Ionian Islands. He accordingly sent a secret agent to Bonaparte, to solicit that a French consul might be sent to reside at his capital ; and M. Pouqueville was selected for the office, with the tide of consul- general, while liis brother was appointed vice-consul under him at Prevesa. The French minister at the Porte at this time governed the divan. Through his interest, Ali procured the pashalik of Lepanto for his elder son, Mouktar, and for Veli, his younger son, that of the Morea. In return, he assisted Stbastiani in promoting the rupture between Turkey and Russia. Hostilities having commenced, he engaged to push the war so vigorously against the Russians in the islands, that they should be unable to annoy the French army in Dalmatia, provided that he were supplied with artillery and engineers. At the com- mencement of 1807, he appeared to be on the point of obtain- ing die object of his wishes. Fifty artillery men, several offi- cers, together with ordnance and military stores, were sent out to liim in a gunboat and a corvette from the kingdom of Naples, while Colonel Vaudoncourt, a skilful engineer sent out by Mar- shal Marmont, remained with Ali to superintend operations. Under his du-ection, additional works were tlii'own up round loannina, Prevesa was fortified, and the siege of Santa Maura was begun. Notwithstanding a well-timed diversion promoted by the Russians, who excited a general insurrection of the Tza- mouriots and Paramithians, it was prosecuted with vigour. The explosion of a powder-magazine having dismantled one of the forts, a landing-point was left uncovered, and orders were given to construct a sufficient number of flat-bottom.ed boats to turn it to advantage. Indeed, every thing was ready for the arrival of a corps of 10,000 Albanians, when the peace of Tilsit most opportunely put a stop to hostilities. Ali would fain have prose- cuted his operations ; but the French officers refused to consent, and Santa Maura was saved. Napoleon was sufficiently informed that all Ali's selfish views centered in the occupation of the Septinsular republic, and Mehemet Effendi, an Italian renegade despatched by Ali to the emperor, used every exertion to obtain a promise from Napoleon, that at least Santa Maura and Parga should be ceded to his master. The integrity of the Ionian Republic was, however, one of the bases of the negotiations resolved upon at Tilsit, and his agent could accomplish nothing. 9 66 MODERN GREECE. Parga, of which he endeavoured to gain possession, placed itself under the protection of the Ionian Government. As soon as Ali saw the islands occupied by French troops, his friendship with Napoleon was at an end. He now again turned to England, and requested that an accredited agent might be sent out to him from this country. In the autumn of 1808, a British agent had a secret conference with the Vizir at Pre- vesa, at which the plan of operations was concerted. Ali en- gaged to second, by all his influence, the attempts of Sir A. Paget to bring about a peace between Turkey and Great Bri- tain ; and to him it is stated to have been entirely owing, that the point was carried. At that moment, the insurrection of the janissaries and the death of the Grand Vizir had thrown every thing at Constantinople into such confusion, that Mr. Adair was about to quit his station in despair, when Ali wrote to him to urge his remaining to wait the event. So important, indeed, were his services deemed by the British cabinet, that, by way of acknowledgment, a very fine park of artillery, with several hundreds of the then newly-invented Congreve's rockets, were sent him on board a transport, while Major Leake, who had the care of the artillery, was ordered to remain to teach his Alba- nian troops the use of it, and to act as English resident. The expulsion of the French from Zante, Cephalonia, Ithaca and Cerigo, and the occupation of those islands by the English in the autumn of 1809, confirmed his determination openly to espouse the interests of Great Britain. He now opened his ports to our merchants and cruisers, and granted supplies, on most liberal terms, for our navy and the army in the Spanish Peninsula. By this means, he secured a powerful ally against the hour of need ; and when, in 1813, the Divan, instigated by Andreossy, the French minister at the Porte, had, as it appears, well nigh determined on his destruction, the representations of the British ambassador had no small influence in averting the storm from the dominion of so useful an ally.* We must now go back a little, to give the sequel of the histo- ry of Suli. On his return to loannina, after his expedition to Romelia in 1800-1, Ali determined to recommence operations * M. Pouqueville asserts, that Ali actually received orders to quit loannina, and to retire to Tepeleni ; and he gives a long- conversation which he alleges to have passed between the Vizir and himself on the occasion of his departure. The French had then just entered Moscow. But no sooner had the tragical twenty-ninth bulletin of the grand army spread through Greece the news of Napoleon's disasters, than Ali returned to loannina. " A son atiitvde, on aurait imaging qu' il avail aussi triompM de ces armies vamcus par le climat." vol. i, p. 395. MODERN GREECE. 67 against this little republic, to which he was more particularly incited by its intiiuate connexion with Parga and Corfu. Bot- zai'i, one of the most distinguished leaders, had been, in the mean tune, bought over to his interests, and the Pasha was led to believe that Suli would surrender on the first attack. He was, however, woiully mistaken. Foto Tzavella survived, and together with the Amazon JMosco, a martial calayer or monk, named Samuel, of wild, enthusiastic character, and some other leaders of kindred spirit, still defied his power. All took the field with about 18,000 men : the number of Suliot palikars never exceeded at any time 3000.* But numbers, far from being of avail in such a field of action, only served to create confusion and embai'rassmcut. The Albanian troops, on en- deavouring to penetrate the defile of Glyki, were overwhelmed with huge stones poured down from the overhanging precipices, and with A'oUeys of musket-balls from unseen marksmen. Foto Tzavella, at the head of about 200 chosen palikars, is stated to have routed with great slaughter a detachment of 3000 Alba- nians, while his own loss did not exceed twenty men. The total loss, in killed and prisoners, on the part of Ali, in various successive attacks, exceeded in numbers the sum total of the Suliot army. Botzari was himself repulsed in a treacherous attempt to lead a party over the mountain of Raithovuni ; and his death, a few months after, was supposed to be the effect either of chagrin or of poison administered by his own hand. Despairing to subdue such valiant and determined enemies in open warfare, Ali turned the siege into a blockade, resolving to trust to famine and treachery. But his troops began to desert ; and while the Suliots, according to a Parghiot historian, lost in nine months but twenty-five men, Ali lost, by defection and in various skirmishes within the same period, nearly 4000. In the desperate emergency to which the besieged were sometimes reduced, many stratagems were resorted to for procuring provi- sions, among which the contrivance of Gianni Striviniotti deserves particular mention. " Tliis man, having received intelligence that the Turks had lately procured a large supply of cattle from * Before their first war with Ali Pasha, the Suliots possessed sixty-six vil- lages, " all conquered by their arms ;" but the republic consisted of the four stations, Kako-Suli, containing 425 families ; Kiaffa, 60 ; Avarico, 55 ; and Samoniva, 30 ; total 570. The settlement is said to have originated with a few goatherds about the middle of the seventeenth century. In the notes to Sheridan's Songs of Greece, among which will be found several relating to Suli, it is stated that the Suliots never reckoned more than 1,500, and seidom above 1000 muskets. The population is set down at 5000 souls. But little dependence can be placed on Greek statements. 68 MODERN GREECE. the neighbouring pastures, dressed himself in his white capote and caraise, and concealing himself till the shades of evening had descended, walked out on all fours from his lurking place, and mingling with the herds, entered together with them into the stalls where they were shut up. In the dead of the night he arose silently, opened the doors, unloosed the oxen, and drove them towards a party of his friends who were in waiting to re- ceive them. The Albanians heard the noise, but were so alarmed by suspicion of an ambuscade, that they lay still, and preferred the loss of their cattle to the danger of their lives." About this time, Ali was called off by orders from the Porte to lead his contingent against Paswan Oglou, and the Suliots availed themselves of his absence to lay in stores both of provi- sions and arms. On his return, he again had recourse to a false and treacherous proposal of peace, on the conditions of being allowed to build and garrison one tower within their district, and of their banishing the brave Foto Tzavella from the Suliot ter- ritory, as the chief impediment in the way of tranquillity. It does not appear that the former condition was complied with ; and yet, the folly and infatuation which a compliance with it would have displayed, would not have been greater than the Sul- iots were actually guilty of in " requesting the secession" of their bravest captain, whose highest panegyric was conveyed by the insulting proposal. Ali's ambassadors on this occasion were, as usual, two traitors who had deserted their country's cause ; and by dint of threats and promises, they prevailed. Foto, on find- ing himself forsaken by his deluded followers, set fire to his dwelling, declaring that no enemy of Suli should ever cross the dwelling of the Tzavellas ; he then buried his sword, -and left his countrymen " much in the same state," remarks Mr. Hughes, " as the silly sheep who were persuaded by the wolves to dismiss their guardians." After this act of folly and baseness, one really feels a diminished interest in the fate of the republic. Whether a peace was or was not nominally concluded, or whether the Suliots were still in a state of blockade, is not very clear ; but in May 1 803, the Suliots made a vigorous attack upon an Albanian fortress at Villa, which served as the principal maga- zine for Ali's army. This they succeeded in taking, and de- stroyed by fire and sword nearly the whole garrison. So daring an achievement could not but inflame their implacable enemy to the utmost height of fury. He issued proclamations, calling upon every Mahommedan throughout his dominions to avenge this slaughter upon the heads of the infidels, and an immense army was again brought into the field against this small band of moun- MODERN GREECE. 69 taineei's. Treachery opened to the invaders the otherwise im- penetrable passes, and the Suliols, worn down at length by war and famine, and strictly blockaded, were reduced to the necessi- ty of accepting terms of capitulation, which Ali never meant to fulfill. The treaty was ratified on the 12th of December, 1803, by which the whole population was to be allowed to emigrate and settle wherever they might please. Men, women, and children being gathered together, they separated into two bodies ; one taking the direction of Parga, the other that of Prevesa. Both parties were waylaid by the troops of the perfidious tyrant : the former fought their way through, but the latter all eventually perished. A party of about a hundred women and children, being cut off from the rest, fled, it is stated, to a steep precipice near the monastery of Zalongo ; there, the children were first throvvn over the rocks by their mothers, and then the matrons, joining hand in hand, and raising their minds to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by native songs, whirled round and round in a species of fi-antic dance till they approached the edge of the cliff, from which they one and all threw themselves headlong. Another small detachment, having been taken captive, was sub- sequently released and allowed by Ali to settle at Vurgareli at tlie foot of Alount Tzumerka ; but this was only a treacherous respite : they were afterwards extirpated by a detachment of Al- banians, except a few that escaped into Acarnania. The scat- tered remnant of the tribe took refuge, some at Santa Maura, others with the Albanian beys ; but the greater part retired to Parga and Corfu, to subsist on charity, or to enrol themselves in the service of their protectors. A number of them subsequently entered into the Russian service, and formed a regiment in the Albanian battalion. After the peace of Tilsit, this corps passed into the service of the French under Colonel Minot. Foto Tzavella and Mosco, his raother, both held commissions for some time, but resigned them from disgust at ill-treatment. The for- mer passed over to loannina, threw himself at the feet of the de- stroyer of his country, and was received into his service- Mos- co, who accompanied him, married a second husband, and was living in the capital at the time of Mr. Hughes's visit. Theii- na- tive mountains then formed the strongest post in their conqueror's dominions, and a splendid fortified serai adorned the highest top •of Kiaffa as a monument of his base triumph. The liistory of Ali Pasha now becomes interwoven with a complicated series of intrigues and counterintrigues on the part of Russian, French, and English agents, which it is very difficult to develop. M. Pouque\ille admits, that Ibrahim Pasha of 70 MODEKN GREECE* Berat had written to the French Government, entreating to be taken under its protection, and offering the exclusive commerce of the port of Avlona, as well as proposing to admit some French artillery-men into that fortress. The expedition of Ali against Berat, was not undertaken, therefore, without a plausible pre- text. The vizir of loannina had good reason to dread the machi- nations of the French in that quarter ; and notwithstanding M. -Pouqueville's pathetic and sentimental exclamations against the cruel treatment of the venerable Ibrahim, who, as being in the French interest, must needs have been one of the very best of men, there can be no doubt that, had not Ali seized upon Berat, his own dominions would soon have been invaded from that quar- ter.* The citadel of that town, planted on a lofty hill on the right bank of the Apsus, had hitherto been deemed impregnable ; but so effectively plied were the newly-invented rockets under the direction of the English engineer officer (Major Leake), that Ibrahim was obliged to capitulate upon condition of retiring with all his suite and treasure to Avlona. " Ali, in his carriage," (we borrow the account from Mr. Hughes,) " surrounded by his troops, waited on the left bank of the river till Ibrahim had passed over the bridge ; he then entered and took possession of Berat, not only without the sanction, but even without the knowl- edge of the Porte. He thought it proper, however, to send a despatch to Constantinople, informing his sovereign, that a great part of Upper Albania being in a state of revolt, and Ibrahim Pasha being not only incapable, by reason of his age and other infir- mities, to restore order, but lying under strong suspicions from Ins attachment, first to the Russians, and lately to the French, he had deemed proper to secure this important fortress with troops that could be relied on. He also sent very large sums of money to be distributed among the members of the Divan, and thus pro- * " Tignore de quel artifice son verjide aniagoniste se servit, pour le porter d, s'adresser au gouvernement Frangais, qu'ilpriait de le prendre sous sa protection, parceque le divan I'abandonnait a un ennemi qui 6iait vendu au ministire Briian- nique." — PouciUEViLLi:, torn. 1. p. 310. It is impossible to read this Writer's highly-embellished narrative, without being continually disgusted with his gross unfairness, or without the suspicion that he has drawn very largely on his invention. " His main design," as Mr. Leake justly remarks, " appears to have been, as a true disciple of the Napoleon school, to throw blame and odium upon England avid Englishmen." The British Septinsular government, he politely entitles the '"Pandemonium of Corcyra ;" and he is indignant that the ashes of Nelson should repose at Westminster, (a specimen of his accurate information,) chiefly because he addressed a complimentary letter to " the hero of Epirus," and fell in love with Lady Hamilton. This high-toned mo- rality disappears, however, from his pages, when the English are not the objects of his virtuous animadversions ; and he dispenses the crown of mar- tyrdom on all the victims of All's tyranny with more than catholic liberality. MODERN GREECS. 71 cured, not only pardon, but approbation from the Sultan, who yielded immediately to his request of conferring the government upon his son Mouktar. The three tails, however, were not taken, as is usual on losing a pashalik, from Ibrahim, whose chiu-acter was held in high estimation both at Constantinople and in his own dominions. " This success threw into the hands of Ali, not only the strongest fortress, but the finest province of Upper Albania ; for the great plain of Musakia is the very granary of the coun- try. He at first used his victory with great moderation, lest the people, if persecuted, should join the standard of their former chief. Leaving this new acquisition in the hands of his faithful follower, Usuff Araps, Ali returned speedily to his capital, to take every advantage of the success of the British in the Ionian Sea. During the bombardment of Santa Maura by our troops, he encamped opposite that island with a large force, anxious to find some opportunity of mingling in the affray, and urging his own claims to the occupation of the island. These he pressec^ vehemently after its surrender, but, being unable to substantiate them, he deceived our commanders by cunningly gaining per- mission to build barracks for his soldiers ; instead of which he threw up two strong fortresses, each commanding an entrance into the Dioryctos or channel, and one of them even the castle of Santa Maura. " But, though Ali could neither gain from his British allies the possession of Santa Maura, nor persuade them at this time to drive the French out of Parga, that he might himself occupy that fortress, he did not think it his interest to shew any sign of ill-humour at present : he still had a great game to play, in wliich no ally could afford him such material assistance as England. He was placed in a most advantageous position be- tween the great rival powers, and he was determined to make the most of it. Five of the islands were under the protection of the British, and two under that of the French ; the former courting his assistance, the latter dreading his enmity. In this conjuncture of circumstances, he played his cards admirably. He encouraged us to blockade Corfu, under promise of co- operation, while he took advantage of its distress to introduce provisions secretly for his own gain and profit,* Forging letters * " II m'aida igalement, en Its irompant (the English), d, procurer des ap- provisionnements, des signaux de reconnaissance aux assieges ; et il offrit meme, sije voulais engager noire general d 6vacuer la. citadelle, de Voccuper et defaire cause commune avec nous contre les Jlnglais." — Pouqueville, torn. i. p. 321. The French Consul claims great merit for rejecting these proposals, and for permitting things to take their course. The fact is, that the French would 73 MODERN GREECE. of correspondence between the French generals and Ibrahim Pasha, or the rulers of other states upon the coast of the Adri- atic,* he very easily procured the assistance of our naval com- manders in all his enterprises ; while those hardy and warlike tribes who had hitherto resisted his aggressions, because their own valour had been seconded by the powers which possessed the Ionian Isles, finding their succours thence cut off, and their offers of devotion rejected, were obliged to surrender uncon- ditionally to his arras, or run the chance of extermination. The Chimarriots, descendants of the ancient Chaonians, and the bravest people of Epirus, whose very trade was war, defended their rugged mountains to the last extremity, fighting sword in hand with very little intermission for three successive days, after they had expended all their ammunition. Ali, however, had gained possession of their principal village, called J^ouno, by his old art of bribery, and falling upon the rear of these warriors, cut the greater part of them to pieces. The country then sur- rendered, and the Vizir, having garrisoned its strong holds, car- ried to loannina 250 hostages for the peaceable conduct of the inhabitants. "In 1810, Ali escaped the greatest danger with which he had hitherto been threatened. This was nothing less than a plan of operations concerted between the French generals, and sanctioned by the Porte, to attack him by a force from the island of Corfu, and at the same time by a, large corps under Marshal Marmont from Dalmatia. Nothing but the success of the Brit- ish armies in Spain, which called Marmont's army to that quarter, preserved Ali from destruction. The French, how- ever, never totally gave up the plan, and would have made the attempt from Corfu alone but for the intervention of a British fleet.f Poor Ibrahim Pasha had been implicated in the forma- tion of this enterprise, and was now left alone to resist the at- tack of his irritated and powerful adversary. Ali besieged him have gained nothing by surrendering- the island to Ali ; and if the crafty vizir really made this proposal, he could have entertained no very high opinion of the Consul's sagacity. * Whether they were forged letters, as Mr. Hughes asserts, may be ques- tioned. M. Pouqueville admits, that Ibrahim Pasha had transmitted propo- sals to the French Government ; and Mr. Hughes, in the latter branch of this same sentence, speaks of an actual correspondence between the Chimarriots and the French and Russian authorities in the Ionian Isles. t M. Pouqueville takes credit for originating the plan that " was destined to rid the earth of one of its most cruel devastators." " Le secret fut promis a celui qui vivait sous It glaive de Damocles sans etre assis a son banquet. Les moyens demandis ^urent agrees par le sultan, au mois de juillet 1810. Sans prdciser le temps ou il les mettrait a execution, la perte d'Mli et de sa race san- gui7iairefut erigie en maximepar le sultan." MODERN GREEftE. 73 SO closely in Avlona, while two English frigates blockaded the port against the introduction of supplies from the French, that Ibrahim fled in disguise, with a few of his principal followers, and took refuge in the mountains of Liaberi or Liapuria. There, he \\as soon after betrayed, and was conducted by his conquer- or in a species of mock triumph to the city of Konitza, whenqe, after the lapse of^ year, he was conducted to loannina, and con- fined a close prisoner in a solitary tower, where this venerable old man, the father-in-law of All's two sons, might be seen like a wild beast through the iron bars of his dungeon. " The Pasha of Delvino, with the chiefs of Liapuria, Argyro- castro, and Gardiki, alarmed at the storm which they saw gath- ering round tliem, speedily assembled their forces, which were attacked and defeated by Ali in the plains between Argyro-cas- tro and Delvino. He then entered and took possession of the latter place, making prisoners two sons of Mustafa Pasha, whom he sent to loannina, and confined in a convent of the island. Two others made their escape to Corfu, where they were soon assassinated by an emissary of the Vizir's. Mustafa him- self had retired to Gardiki. The great city of Argyro-castro next surrendered after a short conflict, upon condition of becom- ing a chijlik ; and the whole valley of the Druno, the richest and most populous in all Albania, fell entirely under the Vizir's dominion."* No place now remained for him to conquer, but Gardiki, which had first offended him, and upon which he resolved to pour the vial of his wrath. This place, the population of which was entirely Mohammedan, surmounted a fine conical hill, sur- rounded with an amphitheatre of the most splendid mountain scenery. ^ Well knowing what they had to expect fi-om the re- sentment of their ancient foe, the Gardikiotes prepared for the most vigorous defence. For a long time, operations went on slowly. All's own generals discovered a reluctance to execute his vindictive intentions, upon which he despatched a confi- dential officer, at the head of a large body of Greek and Alba- nian troops, with instructions to act promptly in combination with all the other Greeks in the army. They, he well knew, would exterminate a Mohammedan tribe with the greatest alacrity ; and as the Turkish generals did not dare interfere, the city was soon given up to all the horrors of assault. Very few persons escaped. Those who were reserved as prisoners, were afterwards, to the number of between seven and eight hundred j . * Hughes, vol. is. pp. 187—191. 10 74 MODERN GREECE* massacred in cold blood in the presence of Ali, their bodies being left unburied, to rot upon the place of execution, which was a large khan near the commencenaent of the Gardikiote territory. The gate-way of the area was then walled up, and an inscription placed over it cut in stone, which signifies, " Thus perish all the enemies of All's house." It is stated, that every individual victim underwent a personal examination by the Vizir himself, previously to the order being given for the execu- tion, and that some few were in consequence spared, probably on its being found that they were unconnected with the old inhabi- tants. On the same day, seventy-two Gardikiote beys and other prisoners of distinction, who had been conveyed to loan- nina, and treated with a delusive show of clemency and respect, were all strangled. From the khan, Ali marched to Gardiki itself, which he laid in ruins, placing it under an anathema, and prohibiting it from ever again becoming the habitation of man. The property of its citizens he had already converted to his own use ; and as they were great merchants, he is staled to have kept an accurate account of all the debts due to them, and to have exacted the most punctual payment. " Every Gardikiote that was subsequently discovered within the dominions of Ali, was arrested and put to death, when his corpse was sent to aug- ment the mouldering heaji of his unfortunate countrymen at the khan of Valiare. The Vizir was grievously offended with his son Veli, who refused to put to death some Gardikiotes in his service, or surrender them up." This crowning act of atrocity took place on the 15th of March, 1812. Mustafa, Pasha of Delvino, died soon after in prison at loannina, not without suspicion of having been starved to death.* A few months after this, Ibraliim Pasha disappeared : it was the general belief at loannina, that he too had been put to death, and the French consul despatched a courier with the intelligence to Constantinople. A capigi-bashee of the highest rank was con- sequently sent to loannina, with orders to investigate the affair. On his arrival, Ali expressed the greatest astonishment, and di- rected the officer of the Porte to be conducted to Ibrahim's apartipent, where the object of his visit was found surrounded with every comfort, and professing to be perfectly happy in the society of his daughters and their children. The capigi-bashee was dismissed with magnificent presents, and on his return, gave a most favourable report of All's conduct. This attempt to * M.Pouqueville states, that his fate was the same as that of Toussaint Louverture. In his anxiety to blacken the dark character of Ali, he forgets that he was himself at this time the agent of Toussaint's murderer. MODERN GREECE. , 76 draw do\\Ti on him tlie vengeance of the Porte, only turned therefore to his advantage ; but Ali was not ignorant of the dan- ger to which he had been exposed, or of the quarter in which it had originated.* In the mean time, the battle of Leipsig had totally changed the aspect of political aftairs in Europe, and Ali saw himself on the point of being relieved from any dangers arising from French influence in the Divan. Foreseeing that the French possessions ill the Ionian sea would fall into the hands of the British, he re- solved to be before-hand with us in seizing upon Parga, — " that single, solitary rock, which alone, throughout the whole extent of his dominions, was illuminated by the rays of liberty." " Having failed," says Mr. Hughes, " in the alluring tempta- tions which he held out to M. Pouqueville and General Denze- lot (the commandment at Corfu), he determined upon one of those prompt movements which are so habitual to him, and for which he had been some time prepared, feeling little doubt that, if he should once gain possession of the place, he could find means to justify his conduct or to appease resentment. Unauthor- ised, then, by his Government, which, at tliis time, was at peace with France, and without any declaration of war, he moved an overwhelming force against Parga, in the month of February 1814; at the same time ordering his flotilla to sail from Prevesa for the pm'pose of aiding in the siege, ~ and of intercepting all the inhabitants that might endeavour to escape to the islands. These directions, however, were rendered nugatory by the spirit- ed conduct of some English cruisers, who refused to let his vessels approach. On the 2Sth of February, All's troops carri- ed by assault Aja and Rapesa, two frontier villages of the Par- ghiot territory, putting to death many of the inhabitants, and sending the remainder into slavery. Here a small fort was erected, and the army . advanced upon Parga. The French garrison retired into the citadel without any show of resistance, the only opposition being made by the bravery of the inhabitants. These marched out witli exultation to the defence of their country, accompanied by women and children, who handed ammunition, and loaded the muskets of their husbands and parents. The contest was neither long nor sanguinary ; for the Parghiots, having die advantage of ground and shelter, effectually checked the Vizir's troops ; especially his cavalry, as they charged up a " Mr. Hughes considers the whole to have been a manosuvre of Ali's, hav- ing for its object to sound the feelings of the Divan, prior to his venturing on the murder of Ibrahim. This does not appear, however, to be ii.ore than a probable surmise. If it was so, the French consul was clearly outwitted. T6 MODERN GREECE. narrow causeway leading to the city, so that they were obliged to retreat, after losing several of their companions, among whom was a near relation of All's, the commander of the Albanian forces.* In spite of this victory, the Parghiots had sufficient cause to tremble ; and they had additional reason for alarm when they discovered that a secret correspondence was carried on between their inveterate foe and the commandant of the French garrison. f In this dilemma, they despatched a message to Captain Garland, who had lately taken possession of the little island of Paxo, re- questing to be received under British protection With the utmost secrecy, a plan was organized for taking possession of the citadel. An English flag, concealed under the girdle of a boy, was brought into the fortress without exciting suspicion ; a signal was given by ringing a bell to the conspirators, who rushing for- ward, disarmed the centinels, seized upon the rest of the garri- son, and hoisted the British standard in place of the tri- coloured flag. Only one man lost his life in this almost bloodless conspiracy : he was a Cefalonian in the French service, and commissary of police, who, thrusting his head out of a window, with loud exhortations to blow up the magazine, was instantly shot. The inhabitants being now in full possession of the place, the Hon. Sir Charles Gordon landed with a detachment of British troops, sent off" the French garrison, under terms of capitulation, to Corfu, and took possession of the place on the 22d of March, 1814. " Under the powerful segis of Great Britain, Parga remained for about three years comparatively happy, increasing both in wealth and population, although the mention of its name was omitted in the treaties of Vienna and Paris, which consigned to English protection the Septinsular Republic But Ali Pa- sha's ambitious mind could not rest quietly when disappointed in a design which lay nearest his heart ; and liis gold proved in this, as in many other instances, all powerful at Constantinople. Par- ga was demanded by the Porte as the price of her acquiescence in our occupation of the Ionian Isles ; and a secret treaty con- signed over to Mohammedan despotism the last little spot of ancient Greece that had remained unpolluted by her infidel con- querors. An article, however, was inserted in tliis treaty, which provided that every person who emigrated should be remunera- ted for the loss of his property."! * Athanasius Macrys. ^ t M. Pouqueville pretends, that Colonel Nicole had not been in correspond- ence with Ali, but his own statement makes against him. t Hughes, vol. ii. pp. 200 — 204. We have purposely refrained from going MODERN GREECE. 77 On the 10th of May, 1S19, the unfortunate inhabitants re- soh^ed not to live under Turkish despotism, prepared to evacu- ate their native soil ; and when Ali Pasha reached the walls, he found the city silent and deserted. The whole population had embarked, voluntary exiles, for the Ionian Isles. Still, he ex- uhed over the barren conquest, which made him the master of continental Greece " from the Attic boundary of Parnes to the rugged mountains of Illyricum." But the career of this modern Herod was now drawing to a close.* The accidental destruction of his palace at Tepeleni by fire, is stated to have led to the discovery of the immense wealth concealed witliin its walls, exaggerated accounts of wliich reaching the ears of the Sultan Malimoud, excited the cupidity, while it offended tlie pride of that monarch. Ali, hovv'ever, might yet have been permitted to die in his bed, and the Porte woidd have been contented to become liis heir, had it not been for the secret measures taken by iiis implacable enemy, Ismael Pacho, whom Ali's emissaries had repeatedly attempted to assassinate. Having gained over Khalet EfFendi, who had formerly been in the interest of Ali, but whom the avaricious Vizh' had imprudently ceased to salary, Pacho resolved to make use of his powerful influence in the Divan, to execute his long cherished scheme of vengeance against the family of Tepeleni. Ali heard with dismay, that the object of his hatred and fear was nominated a capigi-hashee ; and the next intelligence was, that his son Veli was dismissed from the government of Triccala to the p^shalik of Lepanto. It was evident, either that his gold had lost its charm at Constantinople, or that it had not been of late so liberally distributed as formerly ; and there is some rea- son to believe that his avarice paved the way for his downfall. It was, however, now too late to intrigue, and Ali resolved to intimidate the Divan by one of those bold strokes which he had often found to succeed. Two Albanians were despatched to into the delicate question relating- to the policy and humanity of ceding Parga to the Porte. Mr. Hughes stigmatises the transaction as unjust, cruel, and impolitic ; and his account of Sir Thomas Maitland's conduct g-ives almost as unfavourable an idea of his character, as the caricature portrait inserted in M. Pouqueville's History does of his physiognomy. The statements of Colonel de Bosset and the French consul have met with a very insufBcient and equally suspicious reply from a party writer in the Quarterly Review, whose illiberal aspersions on the Parghiots are disproved by every respectable authority. The pretence urged in justification, that Ali Pasha had nothing to do with the negotiation, that it was ceded to the Porte, is a paltry subterfuge. * In 1819, Ali himself was, according to M. Pouqueville, seventy-eight years of age. Of his family, there were living, Mouktar, beglier-bey of Berat, aged fifty ; Veli, vizir of Thessaly (Triccala), aged forty-six ; Salik, pasha of Lepanto, aged 18. 78 MODERN GREECE. Constantinople with orders to destroy Pacho Bey. The attempt was made, but their intended victim escaped ; and one ol the culprits being pursued and overtaken, after confessing that they had been employed by Ali Pasha, was hung before the gate of the imperial seraglio.* The Divan now thought it high time to take strong measures ; and in a council specially summoned, the sentence oi fermanly was pronounced against the old Pasha, by which he was placed under the ban of the empire, unless within forty days he should appear at the golden threshold of the gate of felicity, to answer to ' the charge of high treason. His old enemy, Ismael Pacho Bey, was nominated pasha of loannina, and appointed to the command of the expedition that was directed to proceed against this too formidable subject. And to give the greater effect to these decided measures, a bull of excommunication and anathema was issued against Aii by the mufti, the primate of Islam. These events took place in the month of February, 1820. March, however, passed away without the army having been put in motion ; and an interval occurred, which might have been turned to good account, had Ali possessed talents and energy equal to the occasion. But he seems to have halted between a desire to be reconciled to the Grand Seignior, and the determi- nation to defend his possessions ; and thus divided, he took no effectual or decisive steps to accomplish either. His mind does not appear to have been enfeebled by age, so much as by avarice and distrust, which infallibly attend the last stage of a despot's career, neutralising or paralysing the passion of ambition itself. All's avarice had raised up his most formidable enemies, and it now withheld him from making the sacrifices which might yet have propitiated the Divan, or defeated its measures. On the other hand, he had reason for distrusting his Mohammedan sub- jects, well knowing that their religious scruples would restrain them from openly resisting the imperial ^rmaAw, backed as it was by the anathema of the mufti. Under these circumstances, Ali had no alternative but to call the Armatolis to his aid, and to put arms into the hands of the Albanian and Greek Christians, * M. Pouqueville tells us, that Ali sent three assassins ; that they all fired at Pacho Bey, as he was on his way to the mosque of St. Sophia, but that he was only slightly wounded ; and that all thiee were seized in the very act, and executed. An anonymous but more credible accotmt, given in a private let- ter, states, that the chamberlain was fired at while looking out at his window ; that the assassins scampered off at full gallop, and that one only was over- taken at a village about sixty miles from Constantinople. In this account, the promotion of Pacho Bey, who had previously been sentenced to death, through the machinations of Ali, is ascribed to the influence of the viceroy of Egypt, to whom he had fled for protection. — See Hughes's Travels, vol. ii. p. 221. MODERN GREECE. 79 with the promise of liberal pay and ample booty. At the same time, he despatched emissaries to tlie Montenegrins and Servians, to excite them to a simultaneous revolt. It is even said, that he dissembled so far as to profess an intention to embrace Chris- tianity ; that he talked of emancipating the Greeks as a nation, a.'id driving their Ottoman tyrants beyond the Bosphorus. The Ai-matolis rose in a mass at his call, and dispersing themselves over the mountain roads and defiles, performed with alacrity his orders in intercepting all couriers, plundering the caravans, and putting a stop to all intercourse with the western provinces. But it does not appear that Ali placed much reliance on these guerilla bands ; and liis object seems to have been, to intimidate the Porte by this manoeuvre, rather than to repel invasion. The time had been, when tlie Divan might have been compelled by these means to come to some amicable arrangement ; but in vain did the primates now represent that Ali alone was capable of repressing these disorders : the stratagem, if such it was, did not take. The Turkish authorities had recourse, indeed, to a very dangerous and impolitic expedient for counteracting these opera- tions. Suleyman Pasha, on entering Thessaly as seraskier, ad- dressed a proclamation to the ecclesiastics, civil primates, and other persons in authority, authorising the people to take up arras against Ali. It has been supposed, however, that this measure was either an unauthorised act of the Turkish commander, and disapproved of by the Porte, or that it was the result of intrigue, perfidiously devised by Suleyman's Greek secretary, Anagnostis, who issued the proclamation in his own language only. How- ever this may have been, or whether Suleyman had really entered into any correspondence or not with the rebel Vizir, he was suddenly recalled, and, in his way to Constantinople, was met at Salonika by the fatal capigi-bashee, who came for his head. The pashalik was given to Mohammed Drama Ali, the father-in-law of Ismael Pacho. And now the war against Ali appears to have been undertaken in earnest ; and while Ismael Pacho received orders to hold himself in readiness to march on Epirus, a Turkish squadron appeared in the Ionian Sea. Elated by some trifling success, and deceived by hollow protestations of fidelity and the sem- blance of enthusiasm in the people of loannina, Ali appears to have been lulled mto a fatal security. Could he have depended upon his ti'oops, indeed, his situation would have been by no means hopeless. All his fortresses, twenty-five in number, had been put into a state of complete defence, and he was amply supplied witli warlike stores. But the beys and warlike chief- 80 MODERN GREECE. tains of Albania who might yet have rallied round his standard, had been exterminated ; and all faithful Moslems eagerly longed to be delivered from the infidel ; while the Greeks, who were for the most part little disposed to confide in his professions, were again looking to Russia for deliverance, and the despot of Epirus was the enemy of Russia. On former occasions, Ali had been able to play off the Greeks against the Moslems and the Moslems against the Greeks ; and holding the scales between contending foreign factions, he had been indebted alternately, more perhaps than he was aware, to Russian, French, and Eng- lish co-operation, in defeating his enemies. But alike selfish and faithless, he had betrayed all his allies by turns ; and left to himself, the colossus fell as by his own weight. The armatolis of Thessaly submitted to Mohammed Drama Pasha without a blow. Veli, at the approach of the Turkish army, abandoned Lepanto, and took the road to loannina, sending away his harem and all his moveables by sea to Prevesa. Avlona and Berat opened their gates to the Pasha of Scutari; and when the Capudan-bey, having seized the port of Panormo and the for- tresses of Delvino and Butrinto, appeared before Parga, young Mehemet Pasha, All's grandson, embarking with about thirty followers in a felucca, surrendered at discretion. Finally, as soon as Pacho Bey had entered the defiles of Anovlachia, Omer Bey Brioni, All's seraskier and favourite general, together with his lieutenants, Mantho (who had been one of the Vizir's private secretaries) and Alexis Noutza, primate of Zagori, went over, with their divisions, to the invading army. Thus Ali, who had reckoned upon 17,000 men, suddenly found himself without generals and without an army. All's means of defence, however, were still formidable, and he had prepared for the worst. His castle and vast fortress on the lake of loannina were fortified with 250 pieces of cannon, and by means of a small squadron of gun-boats, he still com- manded the navigation of the lake. Hither, therefore, he now retreated with his remaining adherents, while loannina, after being pillaged, was set on fire in order to prevent its affording shelter to the enemy. The ruins of the capital were yet smoking, when Pacho Bey, on the 20th of August, m»de his public entry, and set up his three-tail standard as pasha of loan- nina and Delvino. From the bastions of his castle, Ali might hear the acclamations of the Turks saluting his successor, and the cadi reading the sentence of deposition and anathema : a brisk fire from the guns and mortars of his fortress was his com- ment upon the proceedings. All's garrison was about 8000 MODERN GREECE. 81 Strong, all firmly attached to him ; and the castle on the lake to which he had retired, was provisioned for four years. The Turkish army, on the contrary, had brought neither heavy artil- lery nor engineers for commencing the siege in form ; and their pronsions had begun rapidly to diminish, exciting symptoms of discontent and even mutiny, before mortars and cannon arrived. The approach of winter rendered Ismael Pasha's situation still more critical. Already the early snows began to cover the sum- mits of Pindus, and the different hordes of Macedonia and Thessaly had disbanded for the purpose of reaching their homes. Discontent soon found its way among the Albanian militia, unac- customed to the tardy operations of a siege ; and dissensions broke out between the Moslems and the Christians. In order to procure fuel, the Turks were obliged to rummage among the ruins of the town ; provisions, too, had become scarce, as the convoys were generally attacked by the banditti headed by Odysseus, who, after a pretended desertion to Ismael, had dis- appeared, and collected a band of klephts or armatoles in the mountains. The total consumption of their harvests and the devastation of their villages, made the inhabitants regret even the government of Ali. In the mean time, seditious movements in the northern provinces occasioned fresh alarms, and the Ru- melie-valisee, Achmet Pasha, received orders to quit Epirus for tlie banks of the Danube. More than 5000 bombs had already been thrown against the castles of Ali, without producing any considerable effect ; and the Sultan, growing impatient, addressed a haiti shereef to Ismael Pasha, blaming the inefficiency of his plans for reducing the rebel Vizir. Ali, in the mean time, greater in adversity than he had ever shewn himself in the day of his power, maintained an unshaken firmness and tranquillity, and set his enemies at defiance. He seemed, indeed, to have triumphed not only over his years, but over his passions. When informed that his sons Mouktar and Veli, who held the fortresses of Argyro-castro and Prevesa, had capitulated to his enemy, on the faith of the deceitful prom- ises of the Porte,* he told his followers, that thenceforth the brave defenders of his cause were his only children and heirs. The aged Ibrahim Pasha and his son, he set at liberty to gratify his troops ; and when they next demanded an advance of pay, he immediately raised it to about 41. a month, saying, " I never * The proposals made were, that Veli should be nominated pasha of Acre, and Mouktar and Salik were to be appointed to sanjiakats in Anatolia. Both of them subsequently fell by the hand of a capiji bashi, on the very doubtful ohai-ffe of holding- a secret correspondence with their father. 11 S2 MODERN GREECE. haggle with my adopted children : they have shed their blood for me, and gold is nothing in comparison with their services." Having exact information as to the state of the besieging army, he insultingly sent Ismael Pasha some sugar and coffee, and even offered to sell him provisions. His communication with the interior was secured by the gunboats which still commanded the lake ; by this means he was able to obtain better intelligence than the seraskier himself, and to disperse his emissaries in all dii'ections. So well did they execute their commission, that the Suliots entered into the service of their ancient enemy, on con- dition of receiving 2000 purses, and being reinstated in their strong holds. Joining the armatoles under Odysseus, and 800 Zagorites under Alexis Noutza, (whose desertion seems also to have been a mere feint,) they gave a new character to the con- test ; and the winter of 1820 had hardly expired, when Ali found himself unexpectedly supported by a general insurrection of the Greeks. It is possible, that he might even imagine him- self to be the prime mover of a revolt to which he only furnished the stimulus of opportunity, and perhaps gave the signal ; and he talked of planting the Greek standard upon the walls of Adrianople. If this was not mere bravado, the subsequent de- feat of the insurgents, by Khourshid Pasha, must have convinced him that no Greek army was likely to come to his relief. Ismael Pasha had been superseded as seraskier by this gen- eral in the spring of 1821, but Khourshid's presence was soon required in other quarters, and it was not till November, that he re-appeared before loannina with a powerful reinforcement, and made preparations to carry the fortresses by storm. In the July of this year. All's castle on the lake had taken fire from accident, and almost all his magazines had been destroyed. Owing, it may be presumed, to this disaster, he began to be straightened about December for necessaries. Disease and desertion had reduced his garrison to 600 men ; and now his chief engineer, a Neapolitan adventurer named Caretto, went over to the enemy, and perfidiously instructed the besiegers how to direct the fire of the batteries with the greatest effect. The island of the Lake was taken towards the close of December, by a small flotilla which the Turks had at length fitted out. Treachery opened to Khourshid the gates of the fortress of Litaritza soon after this ; and " the Old Lion" was at length reduced to take refuge, with about sixty resolute adherents, in the citadel, to which he had previously transported provisions, all his remaining treasures, and a tremendous quantity of gunpowder. The sequel is as differently told as every other part of All's eventful story. The MODERN GREECE. 83 following account, given by jMr. Waddington, is stated to be derived from the official communication verbally made by the Reis Effendi to the first interpreter of the Britannic Embassy, for the information of his Excellency Lord Strangford. " Kliourshid Pasha, informed of this arrangement, sent his silikdar to Ali, to propose to him to surrender at discretion, to restore the part of the citadel which he possessed, and to con- sign his treasures to that officer ; for such appeared, in the ex- tremity to which he was reduced, to be the only rational deter- mination which remained for him to adopt. He added, that he knew a report had been spread, that Ali had resolved, in case he should be tlirown into despair, to set fire to the powder, and to blow up himself with his treasures, and all those who sur- rounded him ; but that this threat did not frighten him, and that if Ali did not decide immediately, he would come liimself and apply the torch. Ali Pasha replied to the silikdar, that he was well assured that in his situation there was no other choice, and that he was determined to surrender as soon as he should be assured of his life. " The silikdar undertook to carry his answer to his master ; and returned soon afterwards to inform him, in the name of Khourshid Pasha, that the fulfilment of this request depended exclusively on the Sultan ; that the Pasha would willingly give him his good offices with his Highness, but that he could not do it mth any 'hope of success unless Ali should previously deliver up all he possessed ; that he proposed to him consequently to effect the surrender of the fort, of the treasures, of the stores, &;c. Sic, and to retire and await the arrival of the resolution of • the Sultan in the small island on the lake near the citadel. " Ali Pasha asked time at first to reflect on the decision which he should make ; at last, after several conversations with the silikdar, he consented to leave the citadel, and he retired into the island with all his little troop, with the exception of one of his trusty friends, with whom he agreed on a signal which would instruct him v/h ether he was to set fire to the powder, or give up all that was intrusted to his care to the officers of KJiourshid Pasha. " The silikdar received Ali Pasha in the island, at the head of an equal number of men Avith that which accompanied the Vizir ; they paid him all the honour due to his rank, and after having been treated for several days by Kliourshid Pasha with the greatest respect, Ali had confidence enough to order the sur- render of all that he had left in the citadel. They immediately made haste to transport the powder into a place of safety. 84 MODERN GREECE. " Directly aftervvardsj Ali Pasha requested that one of his officers who commanded a small party of a hundred men in the environs of loannina, might be permitted to join him in the island. Khourshid Pasha consented to this, but sent at the same time a detachment, composed of an equal number of men, to keep All's troops in awe. " Different pashas of inferior rank had been several times to visit Ali. On the 13th day of the moon Djeraaziul Awwel, (the 5th of February,) Mohammed Pasha, governor of the Morea, offered to procure for Ali every possible comfort, i^aming par- ticularly provisions. Ali replied to this offer, that he desired no- thing more than a supply of meat ; he added, however, that he had still another wish, though his unwillingness to offend the scruples of religion forbade him to give utterance to it. Being pressed to name it, he owned that it was wine which he wished for, and Mohammed Pasha projnised tliat he should receive it. The conversation continued for some time in the most friendly manner, till, at last, Mohammed Pasha rose to take leave. Being of the same rank, they rose at the same moment from the sofa, according to the usual ceremony, and before leaving the room, Mohammed Pasha bowed profoundly. Ali returned the com- pliment, but at the instant of his inclination, Mohammed executed the will of liis sovereign, and put him to death by plunging a poniard into his left breast. He immediately quitted the apart- ment, and announced that Ali had ceased to exist. Some men of Mohammed's suite then entered, and divided the head from the body. The former having been shewn to the Sultan's troops as well as to those who had embraced the rebel's part, a strife followed, in which several men were killed. But the minds of the people were soon calmed, and all discord was appeased by shouts of ' Long live Sultan Mahmoud and liis Vizir Khourshid Pasha.' "* * M. Pouqueville must be allowed to kill Ali in his own way, and it will be confessed, he does it with more dramatic effect ; but he omits to mention his authorities. " It was five o'clock," says the Historian with his accustomed precision," when the Vizir, who was sitting opposite to the entrance gate, saw arrive with gloomy countenances, Hassan Pasha, Omer Briones, Mehemet, Khourshid's selictar, his kafetangi, several officers of the army and a numerous suite. At their appearance, Ali rises with impetuosit}', his hand on the pistols in his girdle. 'Stop! what do you bring me ?' he exclaims to Hassan in a voice of thunder. 'The will of his Highness} do you know these august characters .'" — shewing him the brilMant gilded frontispiece which adorned the firmah. 'Yes; 1 reverence it.' ' Well, then, submit to fate ; make your ablutions ; address your prayer to God and the Prophet : your head is de- manded b}'' — ' My head,' replied Ali, furiously interrupting him, ' is not to be given up so easily.' These words were no sooner uttered, than they were followed by a pistol shot, which wounded Hassan in the thigh. With the ra- MODERN GREECi:. 85 Thus fell a man who, for nearly sixty years, had hraved every danger and dared every crime, and wlio, for half that period, had virtually ruled the greater part of Continental Greece and Epirus. With regard to his character, there cannot be two opinions : it was one of pure unsophisticated evil, with scarcely a redeeming quality ; one of those rank productions of the hot- bed of Turkish despotism which are remarkable only for their enormous growth ; not differing otherv\nse, in a moral point of view from the vulgarest specimen. Ah Tepeleni, Djezzar, Kutchuk Ali, Mohammed Aii, have all risen to power by the same profligate means ; and their biography consists of a repeti- tion of the same crimes or intrigues. The horrible political system of which they were component parts, the government of which they were the legitimate and patronised depositaries and ministers, must be considered as, in fact, the parent of all the evil. Estimating Ali with a reference to the habits of his coun- tiy, the system of his education, and the principles of his reli- gion, comparing him with his predecessors and his rivals, there was nothing in his character out of nature, nothing enormous but his power. Aiid if we consider the state of social disorder to wliich liis strong government succeeded, the multitude of petty tyrants and brigands which he swept away to make room for the foun-. dation of his empire, tlie number of smaller reptiles which this^ ai'ch-serpent swallowed up, we shall be disposed to adopt Mr. pidity of lightning, Ali kills the kafetanji, and his guards firing at the same moment on the crowd, bring down several tchoadars. The terrified Osnianlis flee from the pavilion. Ali perceives that he is bleeding : he is wounded in the breast. He roars like a bull. They fire from all parts on the kiosk, and four of his palikars fall at his side. He no longer knows where to make head. He hears the noise of assailants beneath his feet : they fire through the wooden floor which he treads. He has just received a ball iu his side ; an- other, fired upwards from below, hits him in the vertebral column ; he totters — catches at a window — falls on a sofa. ' Run," he cries to one of his tchoadars; ' go, my friend, and despatch poor Vasiliki' (his favourite wife), ' that the un- happy woman may not be outraged by these wretches.' The door opens : all i-esistance is at an end. The palikars, who have ceased to defend the ty- rant, throw themselves from the windows. The selictar of Khourshid Paslia enters, followed by executioners. Ali was yet full of life. 'Let the justice of God be accomplished,' said a cadi ; and the executioners seizing, at these words, the criminal by the beard, drag him under the peristyle ; there, placing his head on one of the stairs, they had to strike repeatedly with a notched cut- lass before they could efiect his decapitation " — Histoire, ^c. torn iii. pp. 374 — 6. M- Pouqueville's sentimental reflections on the agonies which Ali is represented to have sufiered, and on the warning which his fate reads to ty- rants, we have not thought it necessary to give. If his authority may be re- lied on, the head of Ali preserved something so imposing and terrible, that the Turks could not help gazing on it with a sort of stupor ; Khourshid rose when it was brought him, bowed thrice, and kissed the beard of the deceased hero ; and the lameutations of the warlike Epiriotes, were eloquent and un- paralleled ! 86 MODERN GREECE. Hughes's conclusion, that his government was on the whole a blesssing to the inhabitants. Nothing could be worse, that Traveller remarks, than the im- placable feuds between fierce and independent tribes, and the perpetual civil dissensions which desolated the western pasha- liks prior to the consolidation of All's power ; and so lawless were the natives of the wild mountains, to such an extent did brigandage prevail, that agriculture was neglected, commerce languished, the very arts of civilisation began to disappear, and the whole land presented one unvaried scene of poverty and wretchedness. But, under Ali, though all were subject to one mighty despot, no petty tyrants were permitted to exist, and pro- tection was given equally to the Turk, the Greek, and the Alba- nian against the aggressions of each other. Religious toleration was freely granted, and the regularity of monarchial power had in some measure succeeded to the factions of aristocracies and republics. " There exists at present," says Mr. Hughes in 1819, "a security in these dominions, which we should seek for in vain elsewhere where the baneful influence of the Cres- cent extends. A police is organised, robbers are extirpated, roads and canals are made or repaired, rivers are rendered nav- igable, so that the merchant can now traverse the Albanian dis- tricts with safety, and the traveller with convenience. Agricul- ture, in spite of all obstacles, improves ; commerce increases ; and the whole nation advances, perhaps unconsciously, towards higher destinies and greater happiness." * The author and main spring of these improvements may have been licentious, — he was a Moslem ; cruel and pitiless, — he was born and bred a brigand ; faithless and perfidious, — he was a compound of Turk and Greek, and all mixed castes inherit the vices of both sides 5 besides, he had Turks and Greeks to deal with. In a word, totally devoid of religion, he was restrained by no conscientious scruples, no moral principles. But he must be admitted to have possessed at least a capacity for greatness ; and he deserves to rank in this respect, not with the Djezzars or Domitians of the earth, but with the Herods and the Napoleons. The fall of Ali was the occasion of high satisfaction and tri- umph to the Porte. The exhibition of his head at the imperial gate in February, 1822, and the triumphal conveyance into the capital of part of liis spoils, excited a high degree of popular * Hughes, vol. ii. p. 215. Some further anecdotes relating to Ali Pasha's personal character and habits will be given in the description of loannina. It is in a political point of view, chiefly, that the historian has to contemplate him. MODERN GREECE. 87 enthusiasm at a critical moment. Only a small part of the Pasha's gold, however, found its way into the imperial treasury ; and the Porte gained but little in the substitution of one Alba- nian for another in the government of Epirus, when it bestowed on Omer Vrionis the pashalik of loannina and Arta, as the re- ward of his treachery. "Ali Pasha," remarks Mr. Leake, " may have thwarted the execution of all the measures of the Porte, which tended to reduce his authority, and, in general, those which did not originate with himself; he may have trans- mitted a larger sum to Constantinople in the shape of presents to persons in power, than in that of tribute to the imperial treasury ; and in the latter respect, he may never have sent as much as would satisfy the wishes of Government; nevertheless, it is probable, that tlie Porte, during his reign, was more truly master of Greece than it had ever been before, and that it derived, upon the whole, as much revenue from the country; while it is cer- tain, that, by leaving Ali to oppose the armed Greeks to one another, and to suppress the spuit of revolt by the military strength of Albania, she most effectually secured herself against the consequences of foreign intrigues among the Christian sub- jects of European Turkey ; — ^that the concentration of power in All's hands was the best protection which the empire could pos- sess, on a frontier where it was (at one time) endangered by the increase of the power of France, not less than the north-eastern side was menaced by the encroachments of Russia .... Affairs, in fact, became less favourable to the future influence of the Porte over Albania, after his fall, than they had been under Ali, or than they would have been under the government of his sons." * It appears pretty certain, that the rebellion of Ali Pasha de- termined, more than any other known event, the period of that extensive insurrection, for which things had long been in a course of preparation ; and it seems equally clear, that the explosion was premature. Other circumstances had concurred to excite that fermentation, which led to the first irregular movements in the cause of Grecian independence. An association of Greeks, styling itself the Society of Friends (?^ eraigsik (pLlLxri), had been formed in the dominions of Aus- tria and Russia, about the year 1814, in imitation of the revolu- tionary societies then prevalent in Italy and Germany. The liberation of their country, which had long been the cherished object of the Greeks settled in those countries, was the project * Outline, pp. 34, 62. 83 MODERN GREECE. 'to which the members of the Hetaria bound themselves by oath to devote theu' lives and fortunes.* Its members were divided into three classes (6a6fio(.y, blamides or chiefs, systemeni or coad- jutors, and hiereis or priests. The three classes had distinct signs and private means of communication by the position of the hand and fingers, as in free-masonry ; and each class had a separate cipher ; though they appear to have possessed also a common method intelligible to all. The facility afforded for the admission of new members was very great, as any one member, with the privity of a second, had the power of admitting a can- didate whom he deemed qualified. The requisite qualifications were, that he be a true Hellene, a zealous lover of his country, and a good and virtuous man ; that he be a member of no other secret society ; and that his desire to be catechised into the Hetaria proceed from no other motive than pure patriotism. The funds of the Hetaria are believed to have been very consid- erable, derived principally from the sum paid by every member on his admission. They were deposited in the hands of Greek merchants at Odessa, and were for the most part consumed by the calamitous expedition of Ypsilanti. In fact, there seems to be little doubt, that the focus of the Hetaria was in the southern * The object of the Society is thus expressed in the Romaic document cited by Mr. Waddington, from whose volume these particulars are taken : " The Hetaria consists of native Greeks, patriots, and is named the Society of the Friendly. Their object is tlie purification of this nation, and, with the aid of heaven, their independence." The principal oath, or form ef adjura- tion, contained the following clauses ; " In the presence of the true God, spontaneously I swear, that I will be faithful to the Hetaria in all and through all ; I will never betray the slightest portion of its acts or words ; nor will I ever in any manner give even my relatives or friends to understand that I am acquainted with them. I swear, that henceforward I will not enter into any other society, or into any bond of obligation ; but whatever bond, or whatever I may possess in the world, when compared with the Hetaria, I will hold as nothing, I swear, that I will nourish in my heart irreconcileable hatred against the tyrants of my country, their followers, and favourers j and 1 will exert every method for their injury and destruction." [Then, after two or three clauses binding the members to acts of friendship and mutual assist- ance, and referring to the introduction of others into the society, it proceeds.] '' I swear, that I will ever so regulate my conduct, that I may be a virtuous man ; I will incline with piety towards my own form of worship, without disrespectfully regarding those of foreigners ; I will ever present a good example ; I will aid, counsel, and support the sick, the unfortunate, and the feeble ; T will reverence the government, the tribunals, and the ministers of the country in which I may be residing. Last of all, I swear by thee, my sacred and suffering country (5 Upa koI a0Aia Trarptj), — I swear by thy long-en- dured tortures, — I swear by the bitter tears which for so many centuries have been shed by thy unhappy children, — I swear by the future liberty of my countrymen, — that I consecrate myself wholly to thee ; that henceforth thou shalt be the scope of my thoughts, thy name the guide of my actions, thy happiness the recompense of iny labours." MODERN GREECE. 89 provinces of Russia, and tliat tlie numerous Greek residents tliere, formed by far the majority of its members. Few, if any Athenians, Mr. Waddington says, were Hetarists, and some of the principal Hydriotes, though frequendy invited to become members, refused to give any countenance to the society. Widi regard to the immediate originators of the society, and the author of the catechism and oadi, we have at present no cer- tain or specific information. It seems that an association of seven individuals had been formed as far back as the year 1792, of whom die celebrated Riga, styled die Modern Tyrtseus, was one,* the object of which was to prepare the minds of the people for a new effort in favour of emancipation ; but wheth- er the Hetaria was in any way connected with that association, does not appear. In a memoir on the origin of the revolution, written in Greek, referred to by Mr. Waddington, it is stated, that Prince Mavrokordato, the ex-hospodar of Moldavia, con- ceived and executed, during his exile in Russia, as early as the year 1802, the project of forming a society of Greeks for the purpose of instructing and enlightening his countrymen. This society, it is stated, had no immediate political view ; its only ostensible object was the education of Greece. Prince Mavro- kordato died in 1814 ; and the direction of the society falling into the hands of less patient politicians, it changed its name, its nature, and principles, and became such as the Hetaria Philike has been described. Four persons, whose names are not men- tioned, are represented as having then assumed the direction of it, who drew up the statutes and the formula of the terrible oath to be subscribed by the members. " The more active chiefs of the Hetaria sustained the ardour of the society by repeated promises of Russian protection ; their sincerity, however, was sometimes doubted, and a Moreote named Galabi, or Galeotti, was sent to St. Petersburgh to ascertain the real state of the case by a personal conference with Capo d'Istrias. That minis- ter immediately undeceived him as to any hope of assistance * This accomplished Greek, whose name is still held in the highest honour by his countrymen, was bora in Thessaly about the year 1760, and finished his education in Italy. He subsequently made the tour of Europe. On his re- turn home, he devoted his whole soul to the endeavour to rouse the sjiirit of freedom in his countrymen. In addition to his odes and songs, which are to be heard in every part of the countvy, he bad commenced translations of the Travels of Anacharsis, Marmonlel's Tales, and some other French vsorks. He was also the first person who published a map of Greece with a nomenclature in the vernacular tongue. The seizure of Riga on the Austrian territory by Turkish emissaries, and his execution at Belgrade, with the connivance of the Imnerial Government, is an indelible stain on the cabinet of Vienna. 12 90 MODERN GREECE, from Russia, and Galabi returned to inform his countrymen ; but he had scarcely set foot in the Morea when he died."* The first operations of the Hetaria were conducted apparently, i with little prudence, since in 1815, Ali Pasha obtained posses- sion of a copy of the catechism, which he sent to General Camp- bell, (at that time commander of tlie forces in the Ionian Isles,) for his inspection. Fortunately, the Vizir mistook the origin of the document, attributing it to some private machinations of the Philo-music society, an association purely literary, and which was fortunate enough to obtain the patronage of crowned heads. In the year 1819, Count Capo d'Istrias visited Corfu, his na- tive island; and his journey, whatever was its real object, excit- ed intense interest and sanguine expectation on the part of the Hetarists, who regarded him as their great patron and protector, and were ready to hail his appearance as the hour of their re- demption and the signal for revolt. So sudden an explosion, however, would not have coincided with the views of the wily pol- itician. To allay the effervescence thus unintentionally excited, and to prevent any premature insurrectionary movements, he drew up a very singular document, entitled, " Observations on the means of meliorating the condition of the Greeks." In this paper, which has been supposed to be intended as a land-mark to direct the blind and irregular movements of the Hetarists, the Writer labours more especially to inculcate the necessity of an entire devotedness to the Greek Church, and of doing nothing except through the medium, and with the concurrence of the priests. f The publication of this document had for the time its intended effect. Every thing remained tolerably quiet till the period of the rebellion of Ali Pasha, which took place about a * M. Pouqueville, who affects to know all about the Hetaria, says, that it was founded in 1814, at Vienna. Mr. Blaquiere states, that its head-quarters were at St. Petersburgh. The latter statement is no further correct, we im- agine, than as Capo d'Istrias was looked to as its patron. As to the former, the reader will recollect Lord Byron's remark — " Pouqueville is always out." t " Quelques soieni Us chances des 6venemens, soil que la situation actuelle de notre patrie ait ase maintenir inalterable pour des longues anntes, soit que la Greet ait a. subir une crise, il est toujours d'un grand interet ; le. Que la Nation soit entihrement devoui 6 son Eglise, etque par la, lepeuple de chaque contree soit parte naturellement a reconnailre el a cherir les chefs qui se trouvent avoir le plus travaille a son bonheur. 2e. Que les Pasteurs soient, aidant que faire se pourra, les organes de ce grand resullat. 3o. Que Vinstruciion publique soit ideniifiec a celle du Clerge, que rune ne puisse jamais se dciarher de Vautre, mains encore etre en divergence." " Fits de notre Sainte Mere Eglise, nous sam- mes tousfreres,'' is the first sentence in this document. But why confide education exclusively to the hands of an illiterate and degraded priesthood, which is admit- ted to require almost entire re-organisation .'' " For this plain I'eason," remarks Mr. Waddington, " that in any matter of political importance, the Greek priest- hood were quite sure to be the machine of the only power in Europe profess* MODERN GREECE. 91 yeai* and a half after Capo d'Istrias's visit to Corfu. " A new fermentation was then perceived tliroughout Greece, and all the springs of the Hetaria were once more put in motion. Agents or members of that body, styling themselves Apostles, pressed down in swarms from the banks of the Danube, the Dniester, and the Dnieper, and proclaimed by their presence the approach of the crisis which they were hastening by their exhortations. The sedati^'e which had proved formerly of so much avail, was again administered ; and during the winter of 1820-1, written copies of the "Observations" were once more distributed. But the disease had increased in violence, or the medicine had lost its efficacy, and the voice of moderation and policy was lost in the explosion of the Greek Revolution."* The time originally fixed by the Hetaria for carrying its great enterprise into execution, is said to have been in the year 1825. The quarrel between Ali and the Porte, the seditious attitude of Servia, and the discontents in Wallachia and Molda- via, which, in February 1821, had broken out into open acts of violence, were the circumstances which led to the firing of the train. On the 7tli of March, 1821, Alexander Ypsilanti, then a major-general in the Russian service, and son of a former Greek governor of Wallachia, entered Moldavia with a Greek corps, and, in concert with Michael Sutzo, the reigning viceroy, issued a proclamation calling on the Christians to take up arms, and promising them, in not very ambiguous terms, the support ing- the Greek religion. Here it is, then, that we discover the ambiguous features of the political Hetarist. Under the well-disposed drapery of the patriot of Greece, it is here that we recognise the minister of Russia." * Waddiagton, p. 1. These " Apostles" (as they were styled by their em- ployer), were known to the lower classes, Mr, Blaquiere says, only under the denomination of philosophers. Their appearance in Greece coincided with the first movements of Ypsilanti. " They went about," says Mr. Blaquiere, circulating reports that the Sultan had declared his resolution of transporting all the Greeks into Asia Minor, and establishing Turkish colonies, drawn from that portion of the empire, in their place ; that Prince Alexander was abetted and supported by Russia, and that he was marching at the head of a large force upon Constantinople. Some of then! affected to imitate the language an'd gestures of the old Grecian orators ; and a ludicrous scene occurred at Spezzia, where an apostle who had proposed Demosthenes as his model, mounted a rostrum and freely indulged in such reproaches as that great mas- ter of his art used not unfrequently to address to his countrymen ; but the Spezziots, less accustomed to such harangues, and by no means so gifted with patience as the Athenians, pulled the modern censor from his pedestal, and rewarded his frankness with a sound drubbing. On the whole, however, these emissaries produced a great effect ; their reports were greedily swallow- ed by the people, while the Greeks, influenced by their characteristic ardour, neither lost a moment in deliberation, nor in waiting for more correct inform- ation of what was passing elsewhere, but rushed at once into the enterprise." Blaquieke, p. 96, 93 MODERN GREECE. of Russia. This, he was not only unauthorised to promise, butj if the Greek authority cited by Mr. Waddington may be relied upon, he knew would not be afforded. It is stated that, not long after the first deputation from the Morea had waited on the Russian minister at St. Petersburgh, Ypsilanti had allowed him- self to be called to the direction of the Hetaria,* and having obtained a two year's leave of absence from his military duties, had fixed his head-quarters at Kischenow, where he took mea- sures to organise the insurrection. The Moreotes, however, still distrustful, sent two other deputies to ascertain the real pos- ture of affairs ; one to St. Petersburg, the other to Kischenow. " The latter became the dupe of Ypsilanti, and returned to the Morea with a fictitious ukase, in which the Emperor was made to hold language the most favourable to the Greeks and the most hostile against the Porte. Camarina, the other deputy, repaired direct to St. Petersburgh. There he had an interview with Count Capo d'Istrias, who, not content with giving an express verbal disavowal of Ypsilanti's enterprise, put into the hands of the Moreote deputy, circular letters for the primates of the Peninsula, in which he pointed out the abyss into which the attempt was likely to precipitate them. But Camarina was to share the fate of Galabi : just as he was about to embark at Galatez to cross the Danube, he died by the hand of an assassin, and his death again intercepted that intelligence respecting the true state of the case, which the Moreotes had twice attempted to obtain. Ypsilanti then attempted to excite the Servians to ■ revolt ; but his papers were intercepted by the Turkish authori- ties at the passage of the Ada on the Danube, and discovered his designs. The emperor Alexander, moreover, who was then at Laybach, having immediately disavowed the proceedings of Ypsilanti and Sutzo, the issue of the attempt could not long be doubtful. After some acts of cruelty on both sides, the expedi- tion ended in the evacuation of Yassy by Ypsilanti, and of Bu- karest by Theodore, chief of the Vlakho-Mold avian insurgents, whom Ypsilanti shortly afterwards seized and put to death. j- He himself, after a single encounter \vith the Turks, which ex- hausted his resources, was compelled to flee into the Austrian * " // se declara Vorgan officiel de celte puissance occvlte ; il crea des Ephoris, ou commites dirigeants sur divers points de la Grece ; il lexir recommanda Vemploi de tousles moyens propres a seduire les Grecs, a organiser V insurrection." — Waddington. p. Iv. t M. Pouqueville says, that Theodore had betrayed to the Grand A''izir the projects of Ypsilanti and the Hetarists, in the hope of obtaining for himself the government of Wallaciiia. MODERN GREECE. 93 dominions, where he was immediately seized by the government, and thrown into a dungeon." Thus, then, it would seem that the insurrection was immedi- ately produced by the artifices and false representations of Yp- silanti, who made use of the machinery of the Hetaria for the accomplishment of his schemes. A Russian subject, whose acti\nty in exciting revolutionary movements in Greece during the autumn of 1820, can be sufficiently proved, is supposed to have been either his agent or his dupe. What were Ypsilanti's motives for thus rashly embarking in so desperate an enterprise, in direct opposition to the advice of the Russian minister, can only be matter of surmise. Was he in the confidence or in the pay of the Vizir of loannina *? It seems to be nearly certain, that Ali Pasha had at least information of his designs. " Only assist me till March,^'' he said to the Suliots, " and the Sultan will then have enough upon his hands." In March, Ypsilanti issued his proclamation. At another time during the siege of his castle, the Vizir declared, that in a few moi>hs he would - shake the empire, and that those who attacked him should trem- ble even in the heart of Constantinople. " Execrable city !" he exclaimed ; " before he dies, Ali shall yet behold thy palaces in ashes."* That a grand plot was formed at Constantinople for the burn- ing of the city and the murder of the Sultan, Mr. Waddington says, is not at all generally doubted ; and the contemporaneous seizure of all the Turkish fortresses in the Morea, was another part of the same extensive conspiracy. The existence of some such conspu'acy is established by the fact, that the principal merchants of the Islands had, as early as the October preceding, recalled the greater part of their vessels, which were detained in port in condition for immediate service. And it was the de- tection of this plot by the Turkish Government, tliat is said to have forced the conspiracy into action before it was ripe, or the arrangements necessary for its success had been completed. The prematurity .and failure of Ypsilanti's expedition, are attributed to this circumstance. f Nothing, however, can justify Ypsilanti's disingenuous concealment of the unfavourable disposition of the * Pouqueville, torn. ii. p. 163. t Waddington, pp. vi. Ixviii. M. Raffenel, in his " poetical History of the Revolution," (as Mr. Wadding-ton justly characterises it,) affirms that the Porte received its first information of the meditated revolt, from the British ambassador, Lord Strangford. The fact is, that his Excellency did not reach Constantinople till the 21st of February, and Ypsilanti was issuing proclama- tions at Yassy on the 6th of March ; an interval which would not have allowed of the requisite communications. Ypsilanti's letters to the Servians had indeed 94 MODERN GREECE. Russian court, and the false information by which he deceived his fellow patriots. The only probable explanation of his con- duct is, that being as vain as he was ambitious, and having com- mitted himself by holding out the idea that he was countenanced by his own Government, — a supposition which he knew to be essential to his success, — he could not brook that the truth should be discovered; he therefore resolved at all hazards and by all means to drive on his projects, in the hope that, if successful, he should be able to justify his conduct.* Transitory as were the effects of this rash and ill-conducted enterprise in the Dacian provinces, it had the greatest influence, in connexion with the rebellion of Ali Pasha, in exciting the insurrection in Greece. The example of resistance was set, towards the end of March, by Germanos, Archbishop of Patras, who, having been summoned to the capital, had proceeded as far as Kalavryta, when, finding the people, together with a body of armatoli, well disposed to his views, he openly raised the standard of independence. This was immediately followed by a similar manifestation at Patras ; but there, the attempt had no other effect than to cause the destruction of the town, while the castle, being strongly garrisoned, remained in the possession of the Turks. The Mainotes, descending from their rugged moun- tains, speedily occupied the plains of Laconia and Messenia. Before the end of April, a senate had assembled at Kalamata, and the fleet of Hydra had proceeded to the little island oi been intercepted by the Turks some weeks prior to Lord Strangford's arrival. Such a conspii'acy, However, had it come to his Lordship's knowledge, it would have been hardly consistent with his diplomatic character not to reveal. M. Raffenel belongs to the same school as M. Pouqueville. An amusing speci- men of his learning and accuracy may be given, in his etymology of the word Hetarists, which he writes JFAheristes. " It would be difficult," he says, " to give the exact sense which the Moldavians attach to this word : they intend to express by it all the purity of their intentions, — the sublimity of their entei'prise. It is the Greek loord jEthek in all its force.''' , * M. Pouquevilie gives the following portrait of Ypsilanti : " Destitute of talent (depourvu de talents), but educated, according to the custom of the soi- disant princes of the Phanal, by preceptors who had taught him to speak correctly several languages, he was learned without possessing that masculine knowledge which is the result of well-directed study ; a poet without inspira- tion ; amiable without urbanity ; a soldier without being warlike, although he had lost the right arm at the battle of Culm. But what especially character- ised Alexander Ypsilanti was, the vanity common to the Phanariots, their spirit of intrigue, the ambitious end of which terminated in becoming hospo- dars of the brutish nations of ancient Dacia, and a feebleness of character wliich shewed itself in his suffering himself to be ruled by persons unworthy of his confidence." — Histoire, torn. ii. p. 307. What persons are alluded to, the Historian does not explain, Mr. Waddington says, that proofs were pre- sented at the congress of Verona, of a correspondence of some extent between the Greek patriots and the Carbonari, and that the revolution of Naples was hailed by the misguided Hetarists as tlie beacon of liberty. MODERN GREECE. 1)5 Psara, which, strong in its fortified rock and nunierous ships, had been among tlie first to set the example of insurrection, although situated on the advanced posts of the enemy. In the mean time, orders had been transmitted by the Porte to all the pashas, instantly to disarm all the Greek population j and the signal for a war of extermination was given by Sultan Mahmoud and his janissaries at Constantinople. On the 22d of April, being Easter-day, the greatest of the Greek festivals, Gregorious, patriarch of Constantinople, the head of the Greek Church, acknowledged and appointed by the Porte, and who had recently issued his anathemas against the insurgents, was seized and hanged before the patriarchal church in which he had been officiadng ; and, as a consummation of ignominy in the eyes of die Greek, his body was delivered to Jews to be drag- ged through the streets. This murder was accompanied or speedily followed by that of several other ecclesiastics of the highest rank, in the capital and other parts of the empire, as well as by that of many other Greeks of every class.* The motive for these atrocious proceedings, was probably the hope of terrifying the Greeks into submission ; but they excited more indignation than terror, and only tended to make the insurrec- tion universal. The destruction of several Greek churches heightened the exasperation of the Christians, and a general con- viction prevailed, that these proceedings were but a prelude to an intended extermination of the whole nation. The priest- hood of the islands of the Morea, thinking themselves to be peculiarly marked out for destruction, did not hesitate to in- crease the ferment by their spiritual influence, and to inspire the rebellion with all the energy and malignity of religious warfare. Hence, neither the reverses in the Dacian provinces and the overthrow of the Hetarists, nor the failure of the conspiracy at Constantinople, prevented the prosecution of the warfare in Greece, where the fond persuasion that Russia was on the eve of a rupture with the Porte, contributed to sustain the enthusi- asm and exertions of the insurgents. * Mr. Blaquire says, that the number of Gi'eeks sacrificed during the first three months of the contest, is estimated at 30,000 ; but this must be intended to include those who fell in different conflicts, and even then is doubtless an exaggeration. The murder of the patriarch was preceded by that of Prince Morousi, " one of the most enlightened and patriotic men possessed by Mod- ern Greece." Three archbishops are stated to have been hung at the very threshold of the church, besides the primate, who was upwards of seventy years of age. He is stated to have been a man of unaffected piety and sim- plicity of manners ; and it is no slight testimony to his worth, that he is said to have died poor. 96 MODERN GREECE. Hydra, Psara, and Spezzia were able to enter upon the naval campaign with a force of between eighty and ninety vessels, of the average bulk of 250 tons and the average strength of 12 guns. Fifty or sixty of a smaller class, and many others still smaller, were supplied bj^ the other islands. In the latter end of May, the inferiority of the Turkish marine in skill and enter- prise, was shewn in the loss of one of their two-decked ships of war, which, having been separated from the Turkish squadron near Lesbos, was burned by a Hydriot fire-ship. Soon after Midsummer, not only in the Morea, but throughout a great part of Northern Greece, as far as Salonika, the Turks had retired into the large towns and fortified places, all the mountains and open country being either in the hands of the Greeks or exposed to their incursions. Agents had been sent to Europe for the purchase of arms and ammunition ; many volunteers, Franks as well as Greeks, had arrived in the Morea ; and some generous contributions of money and stores had been received, both frorn foreigners and from opulent Greek merchants settled in different European seaports. The native Greeks who took the lead in the Peninsula were, Petros Bey, since better known under the name of Mavi'omik- hali, who had been nominated Bey of Maina by the Sultan ; Constantino Kolokotroni, in person an Ajax, who, like his father, had long been a capitanos of armatoli in the Morea, and had held military rank in both the Russian and the English service ; Demetrius Ypsilanti, who, like his brother Alexander, was an officer in the Russian army ; and Alexander Mavrokordato,* also of a distinguished Fanariot family. Demetrius, who reached Hydra in June from Trieste, bore a commission from his brother, appointing him general in chief of all the forces in Greece. He was received by the Hydriots with discharges of artillery and other demonstrations of joy. ' Among his followers were a younger brother of Prince Cantacuzene and an indi- vidual named Condiotti, who had been valet de chamhre to Count Capo d'Istrias. On proceeding to the Morea, Ypsilanti assumed the command of the patriot army before Tripolitza, which was readily conceded to him, under the idea that he had brought with him large sums of money and a quantity of military stores. But this illusion soon vanished ; and as soon as the dis- astrous issue of his brother's expedition became known, little disposition was shewn to defer to his authority. Condiotti soon withdrew, not without having incurred suspicion of being one of * Mavrokordato joined the array in August. MODERN GREECE. 97 those who had embezzled part of the sums raised by the Heta- rists. Ailendouli, anotlier determined partisan of Russia, went to Crete, and obtained the command of the insurgent troops in that island, but was subsequently obliged to flee, being driven away as an impostor. Demetrius, however, is generally represented to be a high- minded and honourable man, courteous, humane, and disinter- ested.* He was now not more than twenty-two years of age ; and his situation, alike delicate and arduous, called at once for more than the energy of youth, tempered by the counsels of age. " Ypsilanti," says Mr. Blaquiere, " had two import- ant objects in \iew : one of these was, to establish a. general and central government for all Greece ; the other to put the army upon a regular footing, and to assimilate it to the troops of Eu- rope. Both the above designs met with numberless obstacles ; the first would have destroyed the influence of many interested individuals, who were at the head of different states of the con- federation, and the second was calculated to lessen tlie power of tlie military chiefs. The captains and ephors therefore joined in opposing them, and in other respect-s created such difficulties as to render the situation of the Prince exceedingly irksome. In the meanwhile, two events occurred, which, though favourable to the cause of independence, tended, by their consequences, to exasperate Ypsilanti still more. The strong fortresses of "•*Mr. AVaddington, who found him living at Tripolitza in 1823, in perfect privaci', cliaracterises him as " an honest, well-meaning, disinterested patriot," but, unfortunately, possessed of "neither wealth, talents, nor physical power sufficient to qualify him for any eminent situation, civil or military ; and the magic of his name had nearly passed away." " His violent personal jealousy of Mavrokordato will prevent him, I fear," adds this writer, " from any cor- dial co-operation with a person whose energies are proved by every collision to be so far superior to his own." Count Pecchio thus describes him. " He is bald, short in stature, and of a slight form ; but if nai»re has not gifted him with a military presence, I was assured that he had always shewn himself intrepid in war. He adopts the European habits, and speaks French well." "Though considered deficient in energy," says Captain Humphreys, "he possesses tried personal courage, great judgment and discrimination of cliar- acter, sincere patriotism, disinterestedness, and integrity, little common in Greece ; and though by descent a Fanariot, is not addicted to intrigue. His predilections appear Russian ; but I believe no Greek has the welfar* of his country more sincerely at heart. His shyness is much to his disadvantage in his intercourse with strangers, but to his intimates he shews an amiable character ; and I have observed, the officers and dejjendants of his suite have never left him in his retirement." " His greatest fault, perhaps," says Mr. Blaquiere, " is that of not possessing sufficient energy, and being too mild for the circumstances in which he was placed, and the men with whom he had to act ... .Although no man had deeper reasons for hating the Turks, yet he constantly interposed to save them from insult and ill-treatment when van- quished ; and by example as well as precept, endeavoured to check the excesses inseparable from such a war." 1.3 98 MODERN GREECE. Malvasia and Navarin surrendered to the patriots in August. The former, situated on the eastern coast of Laconia, is a place very difficult to reduce, being built on a rock washed on every side by the Egean sea, and communicating with the continent only by a bridge. Defended in this quarter by a strong treble wall, it is inaccessible at every other point, containing within itself sources of excellent water, and a small patch of cultivated land, sufficient to support a garrison of fifty or sixty men. Be- low this impregnable citadel, is a port and suburb, where most of the inhabitants reside. The Greeks had kept it closely blockaded both by sea and land, since the month of April ; Cantaciizene arrived in the camp about the middle of July, and took the command. Famine had already made dreadful havoc amongst the Mahometans, who, after prolonging their existence by the most unnatural aliments, were at length reduced to feed on human flesh, eating their prisoners, and even their own child- ren. Nor was this a solitary instance, as most of the strong holds in the Peloponnesus presented similar examples. To such extremities will men go, in obedience to the great and irresistible law of self-preservation. But while the majority of the popula- tion was thus suffering, the governor, shut up \vith tv/o hundred soldiers in the citadel, enjoyed abundance, and gave himself no trouble about the fate of liis countrymen in the lower town. These last were disposed to famish rather than trust to die mercy of the peasants and Mainotes, who were investing the place ; but the arrival of Prince Cantacuzene having inspired them with some degree of confidence, they ventured to open a negotiation. Full protection was stipulated for their lives, moveable property, and the honour of their families ; it vv^as also agreed, that they should be transported in Greek vessels to the coast of Anatolia. On the faith of these assurances, a part of the inhabitants got into the castle by stratagem, seized and disarmed the governor and his troops, and on the 3d of August, opened the gates to the besiegers. " Prompted by those feelings of irritation and revenge which have been so often, betrayed under similar circumstances, and impressed with a notion that the garrison was not entitled to the benefits of a capitulation entered into with the inhabitants of the town, the Greek soldiery, strangers to discij)line, fell on the former, of whom numbers perished. To the credit of Cantacu- zene, it should be added, that he displayed equal prudence and firmness on this occasion, interposing his authority with such effect, as to save a number of lives ; and he eventually succeed- ed in putting a stop to the excesses, though not without consider- MODERN GREECE. 99 able risk from his own soldiers, who conceived they were only retaliating the countless murders previously committed by the infidels. Considering the relative situation of the parties now opposed, and the nature of the war, it could hardly be expected that the minor articles of the capitulation should be very scru- pulously observed. The Turks, were, however, shipped off in three Ipsariot vessels, and landed on a small island close to the Asiatic coast, whence they reached the continent. Though the Greeks have been reproached for this act, they can scarcely be blamed for not entering an Ottoman port, well knowing that such a step would have been attended with certain death. " Navarin, which also surrendered soon after, was the theatre of another tragedy, to v/hich none but wars between slaves and tlieir task-masters ever give rise. Well fortified, and possessing one of tlie finest harbours in Europe, this city is built in the im- mediate vicinity of the ancient Pylos. It was ably defended by the Turks, who made several vigorous sorties, but at last, every kind of sustenance being exhausted, after devouring even their slippers, they were forced to capitulate. Ypsilanti had sent one of tlie best and most distinguished of his friends, Tipaldo the Cephalonian, to conduct the siege. Tipaldo was a man of virtue and abilities, who, after practising as a physician in Bessarabia with great success, abandoned the rising prospect of wealth to take his part in the national war. ^ He manifested great spirit, at the head of some lonians, in the various actions which were fought under the walls, and it was his presence that chiefly in- duced the Turks to treat about a surrender ; for such was their obstinate resolution, that they had placed barrels of gunpowder under their houses, with the intention of blowing up the town, when a longer resistance should become impossible : the same terms were granted here as at Malvasia. It was while the siege of both these places had been carrying on, that the news of the patriarch's murder, and that of the Greek clergy at Adrianople, together with the profanation of the Christian churches through- out the empire, spread through Greece : the fury of the troops, worked up to madness, was therefore vented on the garrison, of whom a considerable number were sacrificed. Tipaldo endeav- oured in vain to arrest tlie heart-rending spectacle : the infuriated soldieiy answered his exhortations by citing some act of person- al suffering or oppression, and directing his attention to the recent massacres of the capital and other places. " These disorders, joined to the opposition he experienced in other respects, roused the indignation of Ypsilanti, who determin- ed to v^athdraw until a clearer understanding €ould be established. 100 MODERN GREECE. He accordingly issued a proclamation, in which he inveighed bitterly against the cruelties and indiscipline of the Peloponne- sians, and giving up the command, proceeded to Leondari. The primates- and captains being, however, alarmed at this step, sent a deputation to the place of his retreat, and persuaded him to resume his functions as generalissimo."* In the mean time, Samos and most of the .islands in the Archi- pelago had followed the example of Hydra ; and the presence of Ottoman garrisons, reinforced from Anatolia, alone kept Les- bos, Rhodes, and Scio in subjection. Ten thousand Syrian troops were also transported into Cyprus, and the horrible atro- cities committed there, without an attempt at a rising on the part of the inhabitants, formed a counterpart to those of the capital, f In the month of June, the Greek marine, emboldened by their successes, are believed to have been meditating an attack on Srayi'na, when intelligence was brought them that Kydonies (Haivali) was menaced by the Turks. The contest which fol- lowed, by which that opulent and flourishing to^vn was reduced to a heap of cinders, forms a melancholy episode in the history of the Revolution. J The capture of Navarin and Malvasia was followed by the in- vestment of Tripolitza, of which Ypsilanti undertook the super- intendence. This place, which is of modern origin, is built on the southern edge of a long and elevated plain surrounded with the bleak and rugged mountains anciently known as mount Maenalus, about half way between the ancient Arcadian cities of Mantineia and Tegea. " The town," Mr. Blaquiere says, " is irregularly constructed, mostly of stone, with narrow, dirty, and crooked streets, having on the whole a very mean appearance. With respect to the fortifications, they consist of a wall of ma- sonry nine feet high, six feet thick at the bottom, three at the top, and furnished with a double row of ill-contrived loop-holes : at about two-thirds of its height from the ground, runs a narrow and inconvenient banquette, which can only be ascended by flights of steps, placed at unequal distances for this purpose. In-~ stead of bastions, there are demi-towers at different points, where cannon are placed, the rest of the wall being only defended by musketry. A citadel has been constructed west of the town, * Blaquiere, pp. 125 — ^130. Cantacuzene quitted Greece altogether in dis- gust in October, and repaired to Italy. t The iiurabfr of Christians who perished in Cyprus, is estimated, somewhat too roundly, at 10,000. if For an account of this interesting- colonv and its catastrophe, see Mod. Trav., Syria, fee, vol. ii. pp. 175, 194. MODERN GREECE. 101 and on a somewhat more regular plan, with casements whose roofs are bomb-proof ; but as these are open at the sides, and the whole interior space is extremely small, it is' incapable of de- fence, if regulai-ly attacked. The artillery, composed of thirty pieces of brass, and partly of old iron guns, many of them honeycombed, was moimted on loose blocks of wood; instead of carriages, and but very indifferently supplied with ammunition or shot. Besides these disadvantages, another rocky eminence, commanding the town and citadel, within little more than two hundred yards, completely screens the approaches of a besieg- ing army." Besides its o^vn population of about 25,000 persons, Tripolitza now contained an influx of Turks from all quarters ; especially fugitives from Londari, and almost the entire population of Bar- dunia, (a part of Mount Taygetum,) consisting of a colony of Mohammedan Albanians, resembling the Mainotes, their neigh- bours, alike in their warlike disposition and predatory habits. In addition to these, the town was garrisoned by between 3 and 4000 men, half of them Albanians, under the command of the kihaya (lieutenant) of Khourshid Pasha. The Greeks were at first very inferior in numbers, and many of thern were scarcely armed ; they had no cavalry, and their artillery consisted only of five or six cannon and two mortars, managed by a few Euro- pean adventvu'ers. The hopes of the besiegers depended on cutting off the supplies of the town; but their opponents had a formidable cavalry, and so long as the Turkish horses were fit for service, the Greeks did not attempt to occupy the plain. As the ground is entirely parched up in autumn, and the only forage consisted of vine-leaves, the Mussulman cavalry were gradually ruined, and the Greeks were enabled to render the blockade closer, by posting themselves in the hamlets round the town. Frequent skirmishes were brought on by the attempts of the Turks to penetrate into tlie vineyards, and on one occasion, a detachment, who had made a sally on a foraging expedition, fell into an ambuscade on returning, and were defeated by Koloko- troni with the loss of a hundred men. Provisions soon began to get scarce, and the besiegers having cut the pipes that con- veyed water to the town, the distress both of the garrison and the other inhabitants became excessive. An epidemic disease committed great ravages ; and symptoms of mutiny were dis- covered among the Albanians. Towards the middle of Septem- ber, the besieged were led to cherish some hopes of relief by the intelligence of the arrival of the Turkish fleet, which, after making an unsuccessful attempt upon Kalamata, and throwing 102 MODERN GREECE. supplies into Mothoni and Koroni, had been joined at Patras by some Algerine ships and by the Capitan-bey, who had been em- ployed on the coast of Epirus against Ali Pasha. This hope of succour, however, was soon dissipated. Ypsilanti having proceed- ed to occupy the Arcadian passes towards Patras, no attempt was made from that quarter to relieve Tripolitza. One cause of this inactivity on the part of the Turkish commander, was the failure of an attempt, made in the early part of the month, to penetrate from Thessaly into Boeotia. The Turkish forces had been met by the insurgents at Fondana, in the pass leading from the head of the Maliac Gulf over Mount Cnemis into Phocis, and had been obliged to retreat with considerable loss. No hope remain- ed, therefore, of any co-operation by way of the Isthmus. At length, the Ottomans began to make some indirect over- tures for a capitulation ; but the absence of Ypsilanti and of the Europeans who accompanied him, having put an end to any thing wearing the semblance of a regular army, it was impossi- ble to arrange any terms in which the besieged could place con- fidence ; nor were they agreed among thernselves. In fact, there seems to have been an end to all discipline and concert on both sides. Wliile the kihaya was .treating with an officer of Ypsilanti's staff, left behind for that purpose by the Prince, the Bardouniots were negotiating with the Bey of Maina, and the Albanians with Kolokotroni. The latter soon came to an under- standing : it was agreed that they should be allowed to return to Epirus, to enter the service of Ali Pasha. On the 1st of Octo- ber, the Bai'douniots, to the number of' 2,500, came out and surrendered to the Mainotes. Several rich Turks and Jews purchased the promise of a safe conduct from Kolokotroni and Mavromikhali ; but these chiefs, though they received the price of their engagements, were not able to execute them. " On the 5th of October, some of their followers, having discovered what was passing, and being resolved not to be defrauded of their ex- pected plunder by the selfish avidity of their leaders, assaulted the walls on the northern side, and were speedily followed into the city by all the besieging army."* * Leake's Outline, p 54. Mr. Blaqiiiere's account of the transaction is as , follows : " On the 5th of October, a verbal capitulation is said to have been agreed upon ; but scarcely was it concluded, when a fortuitous circumstance rendered the compact of no avail, and brought on a terrible catastrophe. A few Greek soldiers, having approached the gate of Avgos, entered into con- versation with the Turkish sentinels, and began as usual to barter fruit. The Turks were imprudent enough to assist them in mounting the wall, with a large basket of grapes, in exchange for which they gave their arras ; but no sooner had the Greeks gained the summit, thau they hurled down the unguarded Ma- - MODERN GREECE. 103 For two days, the town was given up to the unbridled fury and vengeiuice of a savage soldiery. Every kind of excess which a thirst for plunder, the wantonness of cruelty, and the lust of revenge could instigate, was perpetrated by the victors. " The Arcadian peasants, naturally tierce and ungovernable, and who had long suffered every species of outrage and indignity from the haughty Moslems of Tripolitza, shewed themselves both cruel and relendess towards their fallen oppressors ; while the Mainotes, less greedy of blood than of spoil, secured the largest share of booty. About 6000 Turks are said to have perished, and some thousands were made prisoners, while numbers escaped to the mountains. The loss of the Greeks was never very ex- actly known, but was estimated at 500 killed and wounded. The Albanians, to tlie number of fifteen hundred, marched out of the town as the Greeks entered, without the least hostility passing between them, and were escorted by 500 of Kolokotroni's troops to Vostizza, whence they crossed over to Romelia. On finding themselves, however, on the other side, out of danger, the re- mainder of their maixh was marked by tlie greatest excesses." The barbarous conduct of the conquerors of Tripolitza has been very unfairly adduced by the enemies of the Greeks, in order to throw discredit on their cause. Mr. Blaquiere asks : " What means did they possess of guarding the Turks as pris- oners, or of sending them out of the country *? A scarcity bordering on famine had already overspread the land. Patras, Corinth, Modon, Coron, and Napoli were still in the hands of the enemy ; a formidable Turkish fleet was at sea, and an Alge- rine squadron was cruising among the islands of the Archipelago." It may be questioned, however, whetlier considerations like tliese weighed with the victors. It is a more direct exculpation of the leaders in the cause, that Ypsilanti was absent ; that there exist- horaetans ; opened the g:ate, tlie only one that was walled up, to their com- rades, and displayed the standard of the cross above it. When. this emblem was perceived from the camp, it acted like an electric shock ; the whole Christian army instantly rushed from all sides to the assault, and the disorder, once begun, could not be stopped, for the Turks immediately opened a brisk fire of cannon and small arms upon them from the citadel and ramparts. The prin- cipal Greek officers, who certainly could not have restrained their men, were drawn away by the torrent : Kolokotroni was one of the last to hear what was passing, and as he would not deign to follow the steps of any other cap- tain, he determined to force a passage for himself, so that his troops suffered severely. After the gates were broken down and the walls scaled, a furious struggle was maintained in the streets and houses ; but the Peloponnesians, flushed with victory and spurred on by vengeance, were irresistible ; and before sunset, All opposition was quelled in the blood of the unfortunate Moslems. The citadel, where a large body of Turks had taken refuge, having held out till the following evening, surrendered at discretion." 104 MODERN GREECE. ed, in fact, neither concert between the chiefs, nor discipline among the troops; that the besieging force consisted in great measure of a lawless peasantry, who had long smarted under oppression ; and that the war in which they were engaged was, on the part of the Turks, a war of extermination.* The Greek chiefs are stated most sincerely to have lamented the excesses committed on the occasion ; excesses, nevertheless, execrable as they were, that have attended, in a thousand instances, the progress of the disciplined troops of the Christian powers of Europe. On the 15th of October, Prince Demetrius, having hastened back on receiving intelligence of the fall of Tripolitza, made his public entry into the capital. " Nothing," says Mr. Blaquiere, " could be more deplorable than the appearance of the town : not a single door-lock, and scarcely a nail was left, the Mainotes having carried off every thing of that description. The plunder was taken home on the backs of their wives, who came down in great numbers for this purpose from their native fortresses. Ypsilanti had intended to appropriate the lead which covered the mosques, to the public service, but it had all been stripped off. When every other portable article was gone, peasants were seen driving away their asses loaded with doors and window- shutters. Of the immense booty, nothing was assigned to the exigencies of the nation, except the artillery : every thing else became private property. Most of the chiefs and primates en- riched themselves ; the Prince alone sternly refused to convert any thing to his own use. The streets were incumbered with dead bodies ; even the houses wexe filled with the slain of either party ; while the mountaineers and ^ shepherds, accustomed to dwell in rocks and woods, had now established their bivouacs amidst the broken fragments of oriental luxury. Fires broke out in the town every night, and the Prince himself was burnt out of his quarters a few days after his arrival. The only thing that occupied the Greeks, was the unequal manner in which the spoils had been shared. Complaints were heard on every side, and while some wished to conceal their gains, others murmured * Many were the fathers and husbands, rve are told, who were drawn to Tripolitza for no other purpose than to be avenged for the robberies and nameless injuries that had been perpetrated by Turkisli troops. " The palace of the bey at Tripolitza, was one of those which afforded the greatest facility for defence to the Turks. VYhen the assault commenced, 700 of the infidels shut themselves up here, and continued to five on the Greeks from the win- dows, until the latter were obliged to set it on fire to dislodge their opponents. Such was the horror in which this edifice was held, that the Greek peasantry rased the walls to the ground, rather than suffer the sight to offend their eyes, and remind them of those terrific scenes of which it had been the theatre." MODERN GREECE. 105 loudly at being defrauded of a fair portion. Ypsilanti's first ob- ject was to put an end to the great confusion that prevailed. He certainly succeeded in restoring some degree of order, but tliis was chiefly owing to the breaking up of the array, which gradually dispersed and melted away, carrying into the furthest - corners of tlie Peloponnesus those discontents and heart-burn- ings, the seeds of which were sown at the sacking of Tripolitza. There now remained only the regular troops, consisting of one battalion of infantry and a company of artillery, with the retinue of some captains ; a force scarcely sufficient to guard the Turk- ish prisoners. " The Greeks had always pointed to the reduction of this place as the period when disprder and anarchy were to cease, and to be replaced by a regularly-organised system of govern- ment. It had now fallen 5 but such were the difficulties op- posed to this most desirable object, that the event seemed only to have imbittered the dissensions of the leading liien. Per- ceivhig that his plans of melioration were opposed with scarcely less pertinacity than before, and that his influence was every day declining, Ypsilanti resolved to submit all the disputed points to a national congress, which was summoned to meet at Tripolitza. But a contagious disease, which broke out there in the beginning of November, spread with such rapidity, aggrava- ted, probably, by the great number of putrefying carcasses, that it was found necessary to abandon the place altogether for a short time. The assembly was therefore convoked at Argos, whither the prince repaired, to attend the deliberations." Ypsilanti had another object in view in going to Argos ; he wished to push the siege of Napoli di Romania, for which Colonel Voutier, a French officer, who at that time commanded the Greek artillery, had been actively engaged in making prepar- ations. A report having been spread, that that place was on the point of capitulating, thousands of peasants were soon col- lected from all quarters, attracted by the hope of sharing its spoils. They were, however, disappointed this time of their prey. On the 16th of December, an attempt was made to take the tov/n by escalade ; but, owing to a want of concert among the leaders and the misconduct of the native troops, the assailants were repulsed, with the loss of about thirty men in killed and wounded, while the scaling-ladders were earned off in triumph by the Turks. At Patras, too, the besiegers were routed by Yusuff Pasha, and Mavrokordato narrowly escaped in a boat. Galaxidhi, a flourishing Greek town on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, had been burned by the fleet of the Cap- 14 106 MODERN GREECE. itan Pasha, at the beginning of October, when between thirty and forty Greek ships which were lying there, fell into the hands of the Turks, who, by this operation, became undisputed mas- ters of the Gulf. In Macedonia, the insurrection wore an aspect not much more promising. Cassandra, where the Chris- tians had strongly intrenched themselves, was taken by storm by the Pasha of Salonika on the 12th of November, and Mount Athos capitulated shortly afterwards. Such was the state of affairs at the close of the first campaign. After the check sustained at Napoli, Prince Demetrius re- turned to Argos, and frequent meetings of the deputies collect- ed from various points of the confederacy, were held at his • quarters. On the arrival of Mavi-okordato, however, Ypsilanti soon found the number of his partisans fall off ; nor could he conceal the jealousy and aversion with which he regarded his more popular rival. But his attention was now called away to another quarter, and he left the scene of legislation and intrigue, to join the troops before Corinth. Early in December, with a view to greater security, the Congress resolved to transfer their sittings to Epidaurus, in the Gulf of Egina. By the middle of the month, the number of representatives who had assembled there, exclusive of Mavrokordato and the military chiefs, exceeded sixty : they consisted of ecclesiastics, proprietors, merchants, and civilians who had for the most part received a liberal education in Western Europe. Their first act was to name a commission to draw up a political code ; and on the 1st of Januarys, 1822, was put forth the memorable declaration of Lidependence.'^ The draft of the provisional constitution-|- was presented at the same time ; but, ?s many of the articles re- quired to be discussed, it was not. promulgated till the 27th, when the code was solemnly proclaimed amid tlie acclamations of the deputies, the soldiery, and the people. By this legislative act, the established religion in Greece is de- clared to be that of the Orthodox Eastern Church, with full tol- eration of all other forms of worship. The government is com- posed of the senate and the executive power. The senators are to be annually chosen. The executive power is composed of five members, taken from the legislative body, and the president * " la the name of the Holy and Invisible Trinity. The Greek Nation, wearied by the dreadiul weight of Ottoman oppression, and resolved to break its yoke, though at the price of the greatest sacrifices, proclaims to day, before God and men, by the organ of its lawful representatives, met in a national as- sembly, its Independence." t HPOSflPINON nOAITEYMA TH2 EAAAA02. MODERN GREECE. 107 and vice-president are annual officers. The judicial power, foi'med of eleven members, chosen by the government, is de- clared to be independent of both the senate and the executive. Civil and criminal justice is to be regulated according to the leg- islation of the Greek emperors ; and with respect to all mercan- tile affairs, the French commercial code is to have the force of law in Greece.* Such are the leading features of the Greek constitution, which, upon the whole, reflects great credit on its authors by its moderation and enlightened spirit.f Its grand de- fect is, that, in common with all republican theories, it imposes shackles on the executive power, scarcely compatible with an efficient discharge of the functions of government, more espe- cially under the exigencies of such a contest. J All experience * The Greek code referred to is known under the name of the Basilics, and was the work ot the emperors, Basil I., Leon the Philosopher, his son, and Coustantine Porphyrogenitus, his grandson. — See Gibbon, c. slviii. This code had not altogether ceased to be in force among the Greeks. The French commercial code was first established in some of the maritime towns of the Levant in 1S17, the permission of the Turkish Government having been ob- tained by purchase by tlie Greek merchants. Two Greek translations of this code have been published ; one at Constantinople, the other at Paris, in 1820. t Article 2 secures to every individual of the Christian faith, whether a na- tive or naturalised foreigner, an equal enjoyment of every political right ; a liberality which the Spanish revolutionists either did not possess or diust not display. Article 46 gives every periodical writer a free entry in the sitinigsof the legislative body ; an enactment more liberal, however, than prudent or convenient during a national struggle. Net only torture, but confiscation is abolished by Art. 99 ; and by Art. 107, the government charges itself with providing for the widows and orphans of those who die in deleuding their country. X " No declaration of war, nor any treaty of peace, can be made without the participation of the senate. In like manner, every agreement, of whatever nature, between the executive and a foreign power, must be previously ap- proved by the senate, except in the case of a very short armistice." — Art- 40. And even in such case, the executive is under the obligation of communicating it to the senate. — Art. 77 " The senate has the right of approving the mili- tary promotion which the government proposes." — Art. 42. " It is likewise en- titled to decree, on the proposal of government, the distinguished recompenses due to patriotic services. "-^Art. 43. " It is to settle a new system of money to be struck at the national mint, under the direction of government."— Art. 44. " The senate is expressly forbidden to accede to any transaction which threatens the political existence of the nation. On the contrary, if it perceives the executive engaged in negotiations of this nature, the senate is to prosecute the president, and after his condemnation, to declare his charge forfeited in the face of the nation." — Art. 45. By articles 63 and 64, the executive is au- thorised to contract loans, and to pledge the national property for them, " consulting the senate ;" and to alienate, under the same condition, a por- tion of this property according to the wants of th&' state. By Art. 83 it is pro- vided, that " as soon as an accusation against one of the members of the execu- tive is received, the accused is considered as stripped of his office," and his trial is to proceed. Thus, the nominal inviolability of the executive power, " taken collectively," (Art. 54) is completely nullified; and the senate, by re- serving to themselves the regal attributes of levying war, approving of military 108 MODERN GREECE. proves that a state is in more danger, at such a crisis, ifrom the cabals of a faction, than from the ascendancy of any too-power- ful citizen. It had been proposed to concentrate the executive power in a triennial president, and to make the senate re-eligible every other year. The rejection of this plan discovered an unseasonable jealousy on the part of the national representatives ; and the issue has shewn, how much easier it is to frame a consti- tution than to create a government. Up to the present time, the Greeks may be said to be without a ruler, for the executive has not been invested with the power to rule. That power, it would seem, must either originate in usurpation, or in concessions made in the hour of public danger, by people willing to compromise their rights in order to obtain efficient protection. The office of president of the executive body was conferred by the congress upon Prince Mavrokordato, whose talents and extensive information were eminently displayed in aiding the commission appointed to draw up the constitution.* Demetri- us Ypsilanti was invited to preside over the senate, but he de- clined the proffered honour, having, it is supposed, conceived himself to be entitled to fill the highest station ; and the office was bestowed on Petro Bey Mavromikhali. The other members of the central government were Athanasius Canacari, vice-president, Anagnosti Pappaiannbpoulo, John Orlando, and John Logotheti. Theodore Negri was appointed first secretary of state. While the legislators of Epidaurus were thus occupied in organising a system of government, Ypsilanti was ineffectually endeavouring to obtain possession of Corinth by negotiation with the garrison. On this occasion he does not appear to have dis- played either much address or much penetration. He had relied on the services of Kiamil Bey, a rich Turk, whose family had for nearly a century governed the disti'ict, but who, on the fall of Tripolitza, had affected to espouse the Greek cause, and had promised to induce the garrison to surrender. The cun- ning Moslem, aware of the preparations which Khourshid Pasha was making in Epirus, shewed little disposition to fulfil his en- gagement. At length, his equivocal conduct having drawn vio- promotion, and settling the mintage, is, in fact, the fountain of honour as well as the depositary of all real power. * Mavrokordato's name is affixed to the provisional constitution as Presi- dent of the Congress. Then follow the names of Adam Douka (Ducas), Athan. Canacaris, Alexander Naxius, Alexis Zimpouropoulo, and fiffy-four others, among which occur those of Germanus, Archbishop of Fatras, the bishops of Litza and Agrafa, Toumbosi, and Talantium, Th. Negri, J. Logotlieti, J. Or- hindo, Petrobey Mavromikhali, J. Coletti, &;c. MODERN GREECE. 109 lent threats from Kolokotroni and the other chiefs, he Avrote a letter to his wife and mother, commanding them to capitulate to the Greeks, while he found means of secretly apprising them of his real hopes and wishes. But the arrival of Panouria of Sa- lona, a popular armatole captain, gave a new turn to affairs. " Having reproached the chiefs and soldiery with their inactivi- ty, Panouria suggested various projects by which the Acro-Cor- intlius might be carried ; finding, however, but little disposition to adopt them, he determined to open a communication with the Albanian portion of the garrison. This plan succeeded so well, that a treaty was concluded, by which they consented to with- draw, on condition of being allowed to return home with their arms and a gratification in money. These terms being readily granted, they descended from the citadel, to the number of two hundred, on the 22d of January ; and having been escorted to the beach, were embarked in boats, wliich transported them to the opposite shore of the Gulf. The retirement of the Albani- ans having removed all further hope of holding out on the part of the Turks, they also declared themselves ready to capitulate. Such, however, was the altered state of things, that they were now obliged to accept the terms granted by the besiegers. It was then agreed, that the garrison should lay down their arras, and be conveyed to the coast of Asia Minor, in transports pro- vided by the Government of Greece. The first part of these conditions was carried into effect on the 26th, and preparations were made to execute the second, which was also fulfilled to a certain extent ; but, owing to a delay in the arrival of transports, the peasants, who had been exposed to the innumerable exac- tions and oppressive acts of Kiamil Bey, rushed into the citadel, and gratified their irresistible thirst for revenge on many of the Turks. The conduct of Ypsilanti on tliis, as on every former occasion, was marked by the greatest humanity ; and though his interposition could not entirely prevent the effervescence of popular feeling, it soon had the effect of calming the passions of the multitude."* On the 27th of February, the newly-constituted executive, and the senate of Epidaurus, proceeded to take advantage of the fall of this important military position, by transferring thither the seat of government. Here, on the 31st of March, the President is- sued the declaration of blockade which gave so much um- brage to the Christian powers in alliance with the Porte. This was followed up by a spu'ited but unavailing appeal to the pow- ers of Christendom, dated Corinth, April 15, 1822. Nor did * Blaquiere, pp. 181 — 3. 110 MODERN GREECE. Movrokordato confine his exertions to such measures as these. He went in person to Hydra, to urge on the islanders the neces- sity of sending divisions of the fleet towards the Dardanelles and the Gulf of Lepanto ; and on his return, a system of order and activity commenced, which had hitherto been unknown in the confederacy. With a view to make a beginning in the organisation of the army, a corps was formed, officered chiefly by Euro- pean volunteers, which was to be styled the first regiment of the line. There being, however, a much larger number of these than vvas required, the remainder were embodied into a second corps, which assumed the name of Philhellenes. The organisation and command of the regular troops were intrusted to General Normann, a German officer who had recently arrived from Marseilles with a number of volunteers. Ypsilanti, having declined the presidency of the legislative body, and renounced the assumed tide of generalissimo, joined a detachment of troops headed by Niketas, which was destined to watch the mo- tions of the enemy at Zetouni. A second corps of 3000 men was sent to re-establish the blockade of Patras under Koloko- troni ; and a smaller body of troops was detached to Athens, under the French Colonel Voutier, in order to reduce the Acropolis. The force before Napoli di Romania was also strengthened, and the garrisons of Modon and Koron continued to be closely invested by the armed peasantry. The critical posture of affairs called, indeed, for the most energetic measures, and the situation of the President was any thing rather than enviable. The cause of Grecian liberty ap- peared to most persons at this time little better than desperate. " On one side," remarks Col. Leake, " w&s a power larger in extent of territory than any in Europe, which had maintained its station, for nearly four centuries, in one of the most com- manding positions in the world ; whose integrity was admitted by all the other great powers to be essential to the general peace ; ready, by the nature of its government, to enter upon war at a short notice, and furnished with all the fiscal, mili- tary, and naval establishments of a monarchy of long stand- ing. On tlie other, were the inhabitants of a small pi'ovince of this extensive empire, without any central authority, with- out cavalry, artillery, magazines, hospitals, or military chest ; whose whole military force, in short, consisted only of a rude, undisciplined infantry, armed with an awkward long musket, to which was added, according to the circumstances of the individual, pistols, a dagger, or a sword, — ignorant of the use of the bayonet, acknowledging no discipline, and more MODERN GKEECB. HI uninstructed In war as an art, than the Greeks of the heroic ages, — led, indeed, by men possessing courage and enterprise, and some of the essential qualifications of command, but who were scarcely less ignorant and unenlightened than their sol- diers, and too selfish to loose any opportunity of enriching them- selves, or to preserve that harmony with the other leading men, which was so necessary in tlie dangerous position of the country." The fall and death of Ali Pasha of loannina, had placed at the disposal of Khourshid Pasha such abundant resources, both in men and money, that had his plans been carried into execu- tion with an ordinaiy portion oi skill, they must have led to the destruction of the Greek cause. The conquest of loannina had put into die hands of the Turks the strongest and most important point in Western Greece, while the possession of Arta, Prevesa, and Vonitza, gave them the command of Acarnania, and the whole level on the northern side of the Ambracic Gulf. The surrender of Corinth might in some measure have counterbal- anced these advantages, had the Greeks known how to turn it to account ; and a circumstance still more in their favour, was the hostilities that had broken out on the Persian frontier, which gave the Asiatic Turks an excuse, at least, for keeping their contin- gents at home. Neither of these circumstances, however, had much influence in determining the successful issue of the second campaign. The commencement of the campaign of 1822 was marked by one of the most atrocious and tragical exhibitions of Turkish vengeance and cruelty that are recorded in the annals of barba- rian conquest ; the scene of the catastrophe was the once fertile and flourisliing island of Scio. The details we give in the words of Mr. Blaquiere. " The people of Scio had been remarkable for their peacea- ble habits and quiet submission to the Porte, ever since the cap- ture of Constantinople ; and although the inhabitants of a spot where education had made such rapid progress, could not be less interested in the regeneradon of Greece than the rest of their countrymen, yet were there many causes to prevent them from taking any part in the revolt when it first broke out. The commercial relations of the island were more complicated and extensive than those of any other part of the confederation ; there being scarcely a capital of Europe without some establish- ments kept by Sciot merchants, while a very large portion of their wealth was locked up at Constantinople and Smyrna, the trade between these two cities being almost exclusively con- ducted by them. Possessing such ample means of ministering 112 MODERN GREEC?:. to the avarice of their tyrants, the civil government had long been confided to the elders, whose adnainistration was of the most paternal description. What with its palaces, country- houses and gardens, its colleges and general state of improve- ment, Scio presented so striking a contrast to the other islands of the Archipelago, that travellers could hardly be persuaded it was under the same dominion. No wonder, therefore, that such a picture of happiness and prosperity should have excited the hatred and jealousy of the infidels. " Occupied in their commercial pursuits, or in promoting the cultivation of learning and science, there was no attempt what- ever made to participate in the revohition ; so that the island re- mained perfectly tranquil until the beginning of May, 1821, when the appearance of a small squadron of Ipsariots off the coast, furnished the aga, or military governor, \vith a pretence for com- mencing the same system of intolerable violence which had been already extended to Mytilene, Rhodes and Cyprus. One of the first measures now adopted, was that of seizing forty of the elders and bishops, who were shut up in the castle as hostages for the good conduct of the people. A large body of troops were brought from the neighbouring coast of Asia Minor ; and, as in the other islands, the arrival of these lawless hordes was attended with every species of irregularity and excess. Li addi- tion to numerous assassinations, and plundering the most wealthy inhabitants, all the provisions that could be found were seized for the use of the garrison, while new imposts were levied to pay the troops and the pasha who had led them to the island. It was not until Scio had been during a whole year exposed to a sys- tem like the above, and when it seemed impossible any longer to bear up agamst it, that an attempt was made to rouse the people to resistance. Totally unprovided,' however, as were the peas- antry, either with arms or leaders, there is no doubt but they would have continued to suffer all the evils of tlieir situation, had it not been for two adventurers named Burnia and Logotheti, who, without any previous communication with the Provision^ Government, and merely to gratify views of personal ambition, concerted a plan of revolt. Landing from Samos on the 17th and 18th of March, at different points of the island, with a very small number of followers, they called upon the people to join them. Aware of the disastrous consequences which must fol- low this unexpected descent, the elders who were still at large, made every effort to prevent the peasantry from taking any part in the insurrection. In the meanwhile, a strong detachment of cavalry was sent out by the Pasha to oppose the Greeks, and on MODERN GREECE. 113 the 22d, the number of hostages aheady in the citadel was doub- led, the victims being selected from the most opulent and distin- guished inhabitants. Hearing, on the following day, that anoth- er body of men had landed fi-om Samos, the Pasha sent to ascertain whether tiiey had been joined by the peasantry, and on his being assured that they had not, a considerable force was ordered to march against them. " The Turks set forward for this purpose, but, on perceiving that the Greeks were determined to resist, they immediately re- treated towards the town, pursued by the insurgents, till they were at length forced to shut themselves up in the castle ; thus leaving the Greeks in full possession of the open country. En- couraged by their success, Burnia and Logotheti appealed once more to the people ; and as matters had now gone so far that it was impossible to retrograde, a few hundred peasants flocked to their standard, many of these being merely provided with sticks for their defence. Although the elders and primates who had not been imprisoned, continued to remonstrate against the conduct of Burnia and his coadjutor, they now saw the necessity of acceding to the entreaties of all parties, that a local govern- ment should be established. A junta of twelve persons being named for this purpose, they began to make various requisitions, and to organise the means of securing the advantage which had been already achieved. It w^as, however, soon discovered, that tiiere w^ere really no means of arming the people to any extent, and that the expedition was itself but badly armed, as well as totally unprovided with cannon. Convinced, on the other hand, that miion and perseverance could alone save them, several plans of organisation were adopted ; and had the Greek fleet anticipated the arrival of the pasha, there was every reason to hope the in- habitants would have been enabled to prevent the catastrophe which followed his appearance. This event took place on the 23d of April, when a fleet of fifty sail, including five of the line, anchored in the bay, and immediately began to bombard the town, wliile several thousand troops were landed under the guns of the citadel, wliich also opened a heavy fire on the Greeks. It was in vain for the islanders to make any resistance : deserted by the Samians, most of whom embarked and sailed away when the Turkish fleet hove in sight, they were easily overpowered and obliged to flee. From this moment, until the last direful act, Scio, lately an object of so great admiration to strangers, presented one continued scene of horror and dismay. Having massacred every soul, whether men, women, or children, whom they found in the town, the Turks first plundered and then set 15 114 MODERN GREECE. fire to it, watching the flames until not a house was left, except those of the foreign consuls. Three days had, however, been suffered to pass, before the infidels ventured to penetrate into the interior of the island, and even then, their excesses were con- fined to the low grounds. But there was ample scope on these, for gratifying their thirst for Christian blood. An eye-witness, who escaped as it were by a miracle, thus expressed himself in a letter to a friend : ' O God ! what a spectacle did Scio present on this lamentable occasion ! On whatever side I cast my eyes, nothing but pillage, murder, and conflagration appeared. While some were occupied in plundering the villas of rich merchants, and others in setting fire to the villages, the air was rent with the mingled groans of men, women, and children, who were falling under the swords and daggers of die infidels. The only excep- tion made during the massacre, was in favour of young women and boys, who were preserved only to be afterwards sold as slaves. Many of the former, whose husbands had been butch- ered, were running to and fro frantic, with torn garments and dishevelled hair, pressing their trembling infants to their breasts, and seeking death as a relief from the still greater calamities that awaited them." " Above 40,000 of both sexes had already either fallen vic- tims to the sword, or been selected for sale in tlie bazars, when it occurred to the Pasha, that no time should be lost in persuading those who had fled to the more inaccessible parts of the island, to lay down their arms and submit. It bemg impossible to effect tJiis by force, they had recourse to a favourite expedient with Mussulmen, that of proclaiming an amnesty. In order that no doubt should be entertained of their sincerity, the for- eign consuls, more particularly those of England, France and Austria, were called upon to guarantee the promises of the Turks : they accordingly went forth, and invited the unfortu- nate peasantry to give up their arms and return. Notwithstand- ing their long experience of Turkish perfidy, the solemn pledge given by the consuls at length prevailed, and many thousands, who might have successfully resisted until succours arrived, were sacrificed ; for no sooner did they descend from the heights, and give up their arms, than the infidels, totally unmindful of the proffered pardon, put them to death without mercy. The num- ber of persons of every age and sex who became the victims of this perfidious act, was estimated at 7000. " After having devoted ten days to the work of slaughter, it was natural to suppose that the monsters who directed this frightful tragedy would have been in some degree satiated by MODERN GREECE. 115 the blood of so many innocent victims ; but it was when the excesses had begun to diminish on the part of the soldiery, that fresh scenes of horror were exhibited on board the fleet and in tlie citadel. In addition to the women and children embarked for the purpose of being conveyed to the markets of Constanti- nople and Smyrna, several hundreds of the natives were also seized, and among these, all the gardeners of the island, who were supposed to know where the treasures of their employers had been concealed. No fewer than 500 of the persons thus collected were hung on board the different ships. When these executions commenced, they served as a signal to the command- ant of the citadel, who immediately followed the example, by suspending the whole of the hostages, to the number of seventy- six, on gibbets erected for tlie occasion. With respect to the numbers who were either killed or consigned to slavery, during the three weeks that followed the arrival of the Capitan Pasha, there is no exaggeration in rating the former at 25,000 souls. It has been ascertained that above 30,000 women and children were condemned to slavery, while the fate of those who es- caped was scarcely less calamitous. Though many contrived to get off in open boats, or such other vessels as they could pro- cure, thousands who were unable to do so, wandered about the mountains, or concealed themselves in caves, without food or clothing, for many days after the massacre had begun to subside on the plains. Among those who had availed themselves of the pretended amnesty, many families took refuge in the houses of the consuls, who were indeed bound by every tie of honour and humanity to afford them protection. It has, however, been asserted, upon authority which cannot well be doubted, that the wi'etched beings thus saved from Mussulman vengeance, were obliged to pay large ransoms before they could leave the island ; nay, more, numbers of those who escaped the massacre affirm, that it was extremely difficult to obtain even temporary protection under the Christian flags, without first gratifying the avaricious demands of those who conceived this appalling event a legitimate object of mercantile speculation. " As the massacre of Scio furnishes the best occasion present- ed by the war, to establish a comparison between the conduct of the Greeks and their inexorable masters, it is of consequence to prove, that so far from the atrocities in that devoted island hav- ing been the result of those excesses in which a soldiery, irritated by previous resistance and sufferings, have so frequently in- dulged, they originated in the cool and deliberate councils of the divan. With respect to the provocations given by the 116 MODERN GREECIJ. Sciots, their fidelity to the Porte had never been suspected be- fore the revolution ; and it has been ascertained beyond contra- diction, that the number of those who joined the expedition from Saraos did not exceed 2000 ; while it is equally true, that the whole loss of the Turks during the ephemeral conflict did not amount to 300, and these fell in the skirmishes which took place between the opposing parties, as there was no instance of gra- tuitous cruelty on the part of the Greeks. The readiness with which the elders and primates gave themselves up as hostages, and their efforts to prevent the peasantry from joining Burnia and Logotheti, afford ample proof of their perfect innocence. Yet, it was under all these circumstances, that a population of more than 100,000 souls was doomed to general destruction ; not by an unbridled and undisciplined soldiery, stimulated by the oppo- sition and privations attendant on a long siege, but by a positive order from a sovereign and government, whose legitimacy had been solemnly proclaimed by the Christian potentates assembled at Laybach and Verona. That the whole of this terrific drama - had been got up at Constantinople, a variety of concurrent cir- cumstances tend to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. When the messenger who announced the descent from Samos reached the capital, it was decided in full divan, that the Capi- tan Pasha, whose preparations were still incomplete, should sail with all possible despatch, and take such measures with the people of Scio as would effectually prevent their joining the con- federation. All the most opulent Sciot merchants resident in the capital, were at the same time seized and thrown into prison as hostages. The fate of these unfortunate persons leaves no room whatever to doubt that the proceedings at Scio were fully approved of at Constantinople ; for it was immediately after the arrival of the Capitan Pasha in the former place, and when the steps he had taken must have been known, that the whole of them were impaled alive by a mandate from the Sultan himself. " Thousands of the Sciot women, remarkable throughout the Archipelago for their grace and beauty, continued to be exposed for sale, both in the island and at SmjTua and Constantinople, for several months after the massacre.* After detailing such scenes as these, it becomes a matter of trifling import to state, * " On the 13th of May was the first arrival (at Constantinople) of slaves from that devoted island ; and on the 18th, sixteen most respectable mer- chants, resident at Constantinople, but who were guilty of having been born at Scio, were executed. Three of these persons were by the Turks called hostao;es, which means, that they were persons of influence and character, who had been seized by the government, and by it made responsible for the conduct of their countrymen. The continued sale of the Sciot captives led to MODERN GREECE. 117 tliat the finest modern Greek library in existence, comprising above 60,000 volumes, was completely destroyed during the eonHagration. " Of all the errors laid to the charge of the naval chiefs of Greece, their delay in coming to the relief of Scio is unques- tionably the best founded, as it is most to be lamented. This omission is doubly to be deplored, when it is considered, that the appearance of a squadron simultaneously with the Capitan Pasha, would have paralysed his operations and encouraged the inhabitants to greater resistance. Had the fleet arrived even after the slaughter had commenced, there is every reason to be- lieve, that a few well-directed fire-ships could not have failed taking effect on the Turkish ships, a great part of whose crews were employed in aiding to perpetrate the massacre on shore. From whatever cause it arose, the fleet did not arrive until the last week in May, when the catastrophe was ah-eady consummat- ed. Tombasi, the Hydriot admiral who commanded, had, however, the satisfaction of saving a great number of both sexes, who succeeded in escaping to the mountains."* the commission of daily brutalities. On June the 19th, an order came down to the slave market for its cessation ; and the circumstances which are be- lieved to have occasioned that order, are extremely singular and purely Ori- ental. The island of Scio had been granted many years ago to one of the sul- tanas, as an appropriation, from which she derived a fixed revenue and a title of interference in all matters relating to police and internal administration. The present patroness was Asnia Sultana, sister of the sultan ; and that amia- ble princess received about 200,000 piastres a year, besides casual presents, from her flourishing little province. When she was int'ormed of its destruc- tion, her indignation was natural and excessive ; and it was directed, of course, against Valid, the pasha vrho commanded the fort, and the capudan pasha, to whose misconduct she chiefly attributed her misfortune. It w.is in vain that that officer selected from his captives sixty young and beautiful maidens, whom he presented to the service of her highness. She rejected the sacrifice with disdain, and continued her energetic remonstrances against the injustice and illegality of reducing rayalis to slavery, and exposing them for sale in the public markets. The sultan at length yielded to her eloquence or importunity. A license, the occasion of hourly brutalities, was suppressed ; and we have the satisfaction of believing, that this act of rare and unprece- dented humanity may be attributed to the influence of a woman." — Wadding- ton's Visit to Greece, p. 19. It is humiliating to reflect, that all this while, a British ambassador remained the passive and unconcerned spectator of these enormities ; and that Lord Londonderry, in answer to a question put to him in the House of Commons by the member for Norwich, coolly replied, that " a calamity had occurred, which had arisen out of the peculiar acts of barbarity perpetrated on both sides." * Blaquiere, pp. 188 — 200. Mr. Leeves, agent to the British and Foreign Bible Society, visited Scio in the September following, and he thus describes the scene which it then presented : " Melancholy and utter desolation has befallen this beautiful and once flourishing island. I could not have conceived, with- out being an e3'e-witness, that destruction could have been rendered so com- plete. We walked through the town, which was handsome and built entirely 118 MODERN GREECE. The situation of those who succeeded in getting to Ipsara was most deplorable. There were no means of providing for their wants in that island, and thousands were obliged to sleep in the open air till they could obtain a passage to some other part. Being now joined by an Ipsariot squadron, Tombasi resolved to make an attempt on the Turkish squadron ; but a gale of wind separated the fleets, and the sailing of an Egyptian squadron for the relief of Candia compelled him to proceed toward that island. Shortly after his departure, Miaulis, the Hydriot admi- ral, who remained off this station, detached two fire-vessels, with directions to keep near the shore, as if they were merchant-ships bound to Smyrna. By this stratagem they were enabled to sail by night into the midst of the Turkish fleet anchored in the Scio roads, before they were discovered, and to attach them- selves to two of the largest Turkish line of battle ships. One of these contrived to disengage herself without much damage ; but the fire-vessel commanded by the intrepid Canaris took full effect on the ship of the Capitan Pasha, who was destroyed, with nearly the whole of his crew.* The ship was loaded with the spoils of Scio, and it is feared that many Greek women and children perished in her. of stone, and found the houses, the churches, the hospitals, the extensive col- lege, where, a few months ago, 600 or 700 youths were receiving their educa- tion, one mass of ruins. On every side vi^ere strewed fragments of half-burned books, manuscripts, clothes, and furniture ; and, what was most shocking to the feelings, numerous human bodies were mouldering on the spot where they fell. Nothing that had life was to be seen, but a few miserable half-starved dogs and cats. The villages have shared the same fate ; and of a population of 130,000 Greeks, there remain, perhaps, 800 or 1000 individuals scattered through the most distant villages. In the town, nothing has escaped but the consuls' houses and a very few immediately adjoining them, which could not be burned without burning the consulates. From the painful sight of these dread- ful effects of unbridled human passions, we were a little refreshed by visiting, in the afternoon, the country-house of the British vice-consul, Signor Giudice, wiio, during the sack of Scio, humanely received all the unfortunate creatures who fled to him for protection, and has redeemed many others from slavery. He has a little colony of 207 Sciots, chiefly women and children, hutted in his garden and premises, whom he feeds at his own expense, and who, under the British flag, have found protection amidst the wreck of their country. There are similar establishments in some of the other European consulates Their food, at present, consists chiefly of the figs and grapes, which are now common property, there being no hands to gather in the fruits of the soil ; but, as this sup- plv will soon fail, we have, since our return, commenced a subscription among the English residents at Constantinople, who have been ever ready to meet simi- lar calls upon their charity during this calamitous period, in order to send them a supply of biscuit and flour for the winter months. — Miss. Reg., Jan. 1823, p. 19. " The Capitan Pasha was killed by the fall of a mast in endeavouring to reach the shore with the very small portion of the ship's company which es- caped destruction. This took place on the 18th of June. MODERN GREECE. 119 So great was the effect of this exploit in confirming the fears which the Turks ah-eady entertained of the Greek fire-ships, tliat they durst not venture into the narrow extremity of the Ar- golic Gulf, either in proceeding to Patras or in returning thence ; although tlie success of their ai'my, which was then entering the Morea, and tlie safety of Napoli di Romania, depended on their co-operation. The whole plan of the campaign on the part of the Turks was thus completely deranged by one bold and fortunate achievement, wliich tended powerfully to establish the character antl confidence of the Greek Islanders. Nor were the dreadful transactions at Scio unattended by beneficial consequences : they superinduced upon the other motives to exertion, a general con- viction among the Greeks, that there was henceforth no safety but in tlie success of their arms. Li the mean time, Mavrokordato, perceiving the importance of diverting the attention of the Greeks from the Morea, resolv- ed on an expedition into Western Greece, having persuaded his colleagues to consent to his assuming the direction of affairs in tliat quarter. His plan was excellent, and, had he been effi- ciently supported, might have been productive of most important advantages ; but his absenting himself at such a crisis from the seat of government, was scarcely justifiable, since, by weaken- ing the executive, it greatly contributed to favour the growth of dissension and msubordination.* The expedition was to have been joined by 1,500 men from the army before Patras; but Kolokotroni objected to parting with any of his troops, so that Mavrokordato arrived at Messolonglii in May, with only the battalion of Philhellenes (about 100 in number), the regiment of regulars (of 600 men), commanded by a Piedmontese, a small body of Suliots under Marko Botzari, and a few other armatoli. His first object was the relief of Suli, in which he was assisted by a body of Mainotes under Kiriakouli, the brother of Petro-bey. Having collected all the troops he could find at Messolonghi, Mavrokordato's whole force did not amount to 2000 men, being less than half the number at first proposed. With this force, however, he took the field, and having passed the Acheron to- wards the latter end of June, he proceeded through Loutraki' fit towards the defiles of Makrinoros. At Komboti, near where the pass opens into the plain of Arta, several skirmishes took place with the Turkish cavalry, who were posted there in far superior force, but were uniformly beaten off by the Greeks. * To his assumption of the military character on this occasion, Mr. Wad- dington ascribes the subsequent decline of his influence ; and his absence from the Morea enabled Negri and others to intrigue against him with success. 120 MODERN GREECE. Too much elated by these successes, the Prince rashly consented to allow Botzari to proceed with 600 men to relieve KiafFa ', and while the main body under General Normann advanced to the village of Peta, Mavrokordato left the army, to raise levies and supplies in the neighbouring districts. The imprudence of thus dividing their force, already so much inferior to that of the ene- my, was soon apparent. Botzari, being met at Plaka by some Turkish troops, was compelled to retreat to the mountains ; and the treachery of an old captain of armatoli from Athamania, named Gogo, ruined the expedition. In the midst of a general attack from the Turco-Albanian forces at Arta, this coward, or traitor, to whom the key of the position of Peta iiad been en- trusted, basely fled with all his followers, thus enabling the ene- my to turn the flank of the Greeks, and to destroy or disperse their little army. Of 200 who were slain on the part of the Greeks, nearly one-fourth were officers, and General Normann, who was wounded, with difficulty escaped. The panic spread by this defeat was increased by the arrival of the Capitan Pa- sha's fleet at Patras, and by the report that Mahmoud Pasha had reconquered the Morea. The greater part of the population betook themselves to the mountains, while a considerable number of the more helpless part of the community sought refuge in the, desert island of Kalamos, from which place they were harshly expelled by order of the Ionian Government, on the pretence of maintaining the system of neutrality.* It was not long be- fore tidings of a more favourable nature from the Peninsula, together with the retreat of the Turkish fleet from the western coast, revived the hopes of the Greeks. But the leader of the Mainotes having been slain near Suli, the Suliots, reduced to the utmost distress, and despairing of succour, were glad to accept of British mediation,! and to give up the castle of KiafFa, on condition of being transported to Cefalonia. Mavrokordato preserved for some time his positions in Acar- nania; till, towards the close of September, the defection of another chieftain of armatoli, named Vernachiotti, obliged him to give up all the country westward of the Achelous, and to re- * " As those who took refuge in Calamos consisted almost exclusively of old men, women, and children, it was not thought likely that their presence on a desolate rock, which had not been thought of sufficient importance to require even a military post before the present contest, could tend in any way to vio- late the neutrality ; while the wretched condition of the fugitives, without food or raiment, was such as to excite pity and commiseration in the most ob- durate heart." — Blaquiere, p. 236. t The British Consul at Prevesa, Mr. Meyer, was the individual to whose mediation they were indebted, and who guaranteed theii safe transport to the Ionian Islands, with their arms and baggage. MODERN GREECE. 121 tire before an overwhelming force headed by Omer Vrioni, the new Paslia of loannina, and the bravest general in the Ottoman army. By the middle of October, alter some attempts to de- fend' the strong approaches to the jEtolian lagoons, the remnant of the Greek forces were invested by land and by sea in the penin- sula of JMissolonghi and the island of Anatolico, while all the inhabitants who had the means of escaping, retired into the ad- jacent islands or the Morea.' ♦ " The town of Missolonghi " (we cite Mr. Blaquiere) " is built on a perfect flat, and though its walls are washed by an arm of the sea, the water is so shallow, as not to admit the approach of any vessel larger than fishing-boats, nearer than four or five miles. Its fortifications consisted of nothing more than a low wall witliout bastions, and surrounded with a ditch seven feet wide, by four in depth, and filled up with rubbish in many places. The pai'apet, which did not rise more than three feet above the counterscarp, was formed of loose stones, very much out of re- pair, and broken down in a number of places. Although the defence of tliis extensive line would require above 3000 men, the whole number of combatants whom the Prince had nov/ with him, including those found in the town, did not amount to 500. The only cannon to be found within the walls, were four old ship guns and a dismounted thirty-six pounder. As to ammunition, there was not sufficient for a month's siege, and with the ex- ception of maize, every kind of provisions v/as extremely scarce. It was in a place thus destitute and exposed, that Mavrocordato and his followers formed the resolution of making a stand against an army of 14,000 men. For this purpose, not a moment was lost in repairing the wall and clearing the ditch, a work in which even the women were employed : the guns being placed in the most commanding points, all the houses built near the parapet were pierced with loop-holes, from which a fire of musketry could be kept up. In order to deceive the enemy as to their numbers, a quantity of bayonets found in the town, being made bright, were attached to poles, and arranged round the walls. When the President quitted Anatolico, it was agreed that Marco Botzaris should occupy the passes through which the enemy would be likely to advance, between that place and the sea. The temporary occupation of this point enabled the Greeks to drive a quanfit}" of catde into Missolonghi. They were, how- ever, obliged to retu'e in two days ; upon which, Botzaris, fol- lowed by a small detachment of Suliots, succeeded in reaching the town, all the rest ha^ing dispersed among the mountains. A large division of the Turkish army appeared before the walls 16 , 122 MODERN GREECE. two days after, and immediately commenced a cannonade and fire of musketry, which continued with little intermission until the next day, when it was only suspended to propose a capitula- tion.* Profiting by the stupidity of the enemy in not attempt- ing an attack, which must have ended in the total destruction of the Greeks, Mavrocordato, whose only chance of safety depend- ed on gaining time till succours were sent, replied in such a way as to make Omer Vrioni imagine that his proposal would be accepted. Though these negotiations were frequently interrupt- ed by the renewal of the enemy's fire, they enabled the Qreeks to make considerable progress in their preparations for defence : such, however, was the total inadequacy of means and resources, that there seemed to be no hope of escape. Matters went on in this state of painful suspense, until the morning of the 9th of %%■ November, when the Turldsh brig and schooner, which had been sent to blockade the place by YussufF Pasha, were observ- ed to steer towards Patras : but the former, being unable to reach the roadstead, owing to a strong southerly wind, bore up and stood for Ithaca, chased by six vessels, on board of which the Greek flag was seen flying. The ships were followed by the eager eyes of the Prince and his brave followers until night closed in, and they were once more left to ruminate on the perils ' of their situation. Although the appearance of this small squad- ron filled every breast with hope, yet, a vigorous attack during the night might enable the infidels to render all opposition fruit- less : as it fortunately happened, no attempt was made, and their joy may be readily conceived on the return of daylight, to per- ceive the whole of the Greek squadron anchored as near the town as it could be approached. Having chased the Turkish brig until she was run on the rocks of Ithaca by her crew, the Greek commodore came to announce that a body of Peloponne- sians were ready for embarkation at Chiarenza and Katakolo, destined for the relief of Missolonghi. A part of the ships were despatched on the following day for these most acceptable auxiliaries, and the remainder were joined by four Ipsariot vessels, thus forming a naval force which was of itself calculated greatly to diminish the hopes of the enemy. The long wished- for succours arrived on the 14th : they consisted of 1,200 men, headed by Mavromichalis, who was accompanied by Andreas Lundo of Vostizza, and Deligianapulo, both distinguished Mai- note chiefs. These troops, having formed part of the army * " One of the articles contained in this proposal, required that Mavrocor- dato and about twenty others, whose names were mentioned, should be given up, as a preliminary to any negotiation in favour of tlie garrison." MODERN GREECE. 123 whicli had partaken in the victories gained on the plain of Argos, and before Na[)oli di Romania, were flushed with the recollec- tion of dieir recent successes, and could not brook the thought of remaining shut up within the walls of Missolonghi. A sortie was accordingly made on the 27th November, in which 110 Turks were lelt dead on the plain, while the loss of the Greeks did not amount to more than twenty in killed and wounded. " Such were the cruelties and excesses which followed the arrival of the infidel army in Acarnania and Etolia, that no soon- er had the peasantry recovered from their consternation, than all those who had been able to retain their arms, rose, and greatly harassed the Turks, by interrupting their communications and preventing the arrival of any supplies. In order to second these efforts of the people, it was determined that a part of the troops sent from the Morea should embark, and landing at Dragomeste, co-operate with the inhabitants of Valtos and Xeromeros, for the purpose of re-occupying the defiles, and thus effectually cut off the enemy's communicadon with Arta and Vonitza. The com- mand of this expedition was assumed by Ma\Tomichalis, who sailed for his destination on the .24th of December. His de- parture reduced the garrison so much, that Omer Vrioni, who had remained for two months without attempting an assault, now determined to take advantage of this circumstance. Knowing also that Christmas day was generally passed by the Greeks in the performance of religious rites which would give them full occupation, he had an additional motive for carrying his design into execution at once. Aware, from the movements of the Turkish camp, that something was in agitation, Mavrocordato, Botzaris, and the other chiefs, held a council of war, at which it was decided that every body should be on the alert during the night ; and contrary to the usual custom, the church bells were not to be rung, lest the noise might prevent a knowledge of what passed close to the walls. Both Mavrocordato and the other leaders continued to visit all the posts, so as to prevent surprise, and to give the necessary directions in case of an attack. " The plan of the Turks was to send eight hundred picked men \vith scaling-ladders to the weakest point ; these were to be followed by two thousand more, intended to draw off the at- tention of the Greeks, and induce them to quit their posts while the first party entered the town. Other divisions of the enemy were to advance simultaneously on every side. The signal for commencing the attack was made at five in the morning of the 25th, by firing a gun, A tremendous cannonade began along 124 .MODERN GREECE. the whole Turkish line, and was as briskly answered by the Greeks. The escalading party contrived to approach within. a few yards of the wall unperceived, and had even fixed some ladders, which enabled a few of the Turks to pass the parapet ; these were, however, instantly cut down ; two-standard bearers, who succeeded in planting the crescent on the walls, shared the same late ; all, in fact, who attempted to mount the wall were precipi- tated into the ditch ; and as the Greeks felt that their existence depended on the issue of this struggle, they vied with each other in acts of valour and boldness. Though short, the con- flict which followed was both desperate and sanguinary, for, when daylight broke, the whole of the glacis was seen covered with the dead. Though the Turks now perceived that they had nothing to hope from prolonging the contest, numbers con- tinued to advance for the purpose of carrying off their dead com- panions, not one of whom was suffered to escape. The infidels lost above twelve hundred men and nine stands of colours in this affair ; while, incredible as it may appear, the utmost loss of the Greeks was only six killed and about thirty wounded. Such was the result of an attack, upon the success of whic^h the Turkish chief calculated so fully, that he assured those around him it was his intention to dine at Missolonghi on the great an- niversary of the Christians. The immediate effect of this signal discomfiture was that of making the rising general throughout the neighbouring provinces. Those who had entertained any dread of the enemy before, were now quite disengaged from their fears ; and bands were formed in all directions to cut off their retreat whenever they attempted to recross the mountains. The only fear entertained by Mavrocordato was, lest the Turks should flee before the arming of the peasantry had been com- pleted. On the other hand, it required all the efforts of the chiefs to prevent their men from sallying forth at once, and grappling with the whole of the infidel army on the plain. " Omer Vrioni, having sent Varnachiotti to Xeromeros, in or- der to procure provisions and forage, received a letter on the 31st from the traitor, informing him that Rongo, whom Omer had sent into Valtos for the same object, had abandoned the cause he had ..feigned to espouse, the more effectually to de- ceive the enemy, and that, at the head of three thousand men, he was marching to cut off Omer's retreat by Langoda ; that the people of Xeromeros had taken ai-ms in spite of all his influ- ence ; and that the Prince of Maina, at the head of fifteen hun- dred men, had just driven the Turks from Dragomeste, and was advancing to occupy the defiles by which the Pasha could alone MODERk GREECE. 125 effect his retreat to Vonitza. The Turks, whose characteristic is fear, were so panic-struck by this intelligence, that it had not reached the camp two hours before their retreat commenced with die greatest disorder. This was so sudden and precipi- tate, that diey left die whole of their artillery, consisdng of eight fine pieces of brass cannon, widi a complete field-train and tum- brils, two howitzers, ammunition, and camp-equipage, together with a large quantity of provisions and all the baggage. To in- crease their embarrassment, die infidels were scarcely in mo- tion, when a detachment of five hundred men sallied from the town, and overtaking their rear-guard at Kerasova, killed a great number. On reaching the Acheron, its waters were so swollen by the condnued rains, that the enemy could not pass, so that they now found themselves enclosed on every side and without provisions. It was while the infidels were in this situ- ation and meditating the means of escape, that a large division of the Greeks under Marco Botzaris appeared marching to- wards them. Such was the effect of this movement, that the Turks, more panic-struck than ever, determined to attempt the passage of the river, rather than risk a battle. They according- ly plunged into the stream, and several hundreds were drowned in crossing, while those who did not adopt this perilous mode of saving themselves, were under the necessity of surrendering as prisoners to the Suliot chief. Having gained the right bank of the Acheron, the Turkish hordes had fresh enemies to contend with at every step, in the armed peasantry of Xeromeros, Valtos, and the other districts dirough which their line of retreat lay ; so that, of the large force brought into Acarnania only three months before, not more than half the number escaped : nor did the fugitives stop before they reached Arta and Anacori, be- yond the passes of Macronoros. • " With respect to Mavrocordato, whose firmness and per- severance during this most arduous period are above all praise, he was now enabled to realise his favourite plan of civil organi- sation. A local junta being formed at Missolonghi, measures were immediately adopted for carrying the law of Epidaurus into effect throughout Acarnania and Etolia. Arrangements were also made for re-organising the military system of the provinces. The importance of Missolonghi being now more apparent than ever, it was determined that a moment should not 'be lost in remodelling its dilapidated fortifications. The com- pletion of this task was considered so urgent, that, in addition to the regular working-parties, the inhabitants, of whom considera- ble numbers returned after the retreat of the enemv, were called 126 MODEKN GREECE. upon to assist in throwing up the new works. This call being readily obeyed, they proceeded with such alacrity and spirit that, in less than three months, Missolonghi was placed in a state of perfect security froin all future attacks. These important ob- jects accomplished, the President re-embarked with all the troops that were not required for the defence of the town, and crossed over to the Peloponnesus, where he arrived in the early part of April, after an absence of ten months." We must now return to the state of affairs in the Peninsula. Soon after the depai:ture of Mavrocordato for Western Greece, the seat of government was again removed to Argos, a small garrison only being left to defend the Acro-Corinthus. No more striking proof of the weakness or incompetency of the new Government, could be given, than its neglecting to secure this important post, which a small force, well provisioned, might have defended against all the power of Turkey. Either through want of means or of foresight, it was alike unfurnished with ammunition, engineers, and provisions ; and on the approach of the Turkish army, the Hydriot papas who had been entrusted with the defence, whether through pusillanimity or treason, fled without making an effort to maintain the post confided to his charge.* It was towards the end of May 1822, that Khurshid Pasha, having finally resigned the conduct of the war in Western Greece into the hands of Omer Vrioni, put himself at the head of the army which had been for some time collecting at Larissa and Zetouni. These forces consisted of about 30,000 troops of the Porte, more than a third of whom were cavalry, and be- tween ten and twelve thousand horse furnished by the great feu- datories of Rouraeli, besides the personal guards of the respec- tive pashas. The month of June had elapsed before the pre- parations for passing the Spercheius were completed. At length, the order to advance being given, the cavalry dashed forward, leaving the artillery and infantry far behind, and crossed the ridges of Othrys and GEta without opposition ; although Odysseus had successfully opposed a large army of Turks at the passes of Callidroraus and Cnemis the preceding year.f » Previously to his evacuation of the Acro-Corinthus, lie caused Kiamil Bey to be put to death, on the charge of holding a secret correspondence with the enemy, or, according to another version of the story, for i-efusing to dis- close vi^here he had concealed his treasures. Tlie secret, it is said, was subse- <|uently revealed by his widow to Mahmoud Pasha, who married her after his retreat from Argos. t" Whether the inactivity of Odhyssefs on this occasion arose from a spirit of opposition to the central government, with which he had had some recent MODERN GREECE. 127 The consequences of his negligence or policy, although at first alarming, proved ultimately heneficial to the Greeks. The Turkish army, having crossed Phocis and Bania, " plun- dering, burning, and murdering, while ^ley published the amnesty of the Porte," arrived at Corinth without having met ' with any resistance. Elated by the surrender of that import- ant fortress, they advanced in full security to occupy the Argolic plain, and to open a communication with the garrison of Napoli, which had already (in the end of June) agreed to deliver up /! the place, if tliey should not be relieved within forty days. As soon as the enemy entered the Argolis, the Vice-president Can- acari, w^th the other members of the Executive, deemed it expe- dient to take refuge in a neighbouring island, and to abandon the entire management of the contest to the military leaders. On this occasion, Demetrius Ypsilanti displayed a courage and reso- lution which did him honour. Without money or provisions, having scarcely 1,300 men to oppose to an army of 30,000, he threw himself into the ruined citadel of Argos, in order to check the progress of this formidable enemy. In the mean time, Colocotroni had, on the sixth of July, sud- ' denly raised the blockade of Patras without orders, and had proceeded with all his forces to Tripolitza, leaving the Turkish garrison at liberty either to penetrate into the Morea or to cross the Gulf of Lepanto. Whatever were his reasons for this extra- ordinary step,* it excited at the time the astonishment as w^ell as displeasure of the Government : so little concert or intelligence was there between the civil and military authorities. Scarcely had he been a week in his new quarters, when he received intel- ligence that the Turkish army had advanced to the walls of Cor- inth. And now, if his conduct had before seemed equivocal, it was marked by the greatest firmness and presence of mind, and his subsequent efforts entitled him to the warmest gratitude of disagreement, or whether he calculated that, by allowing the enemy to spread over a larger tract of country, the Greeks would have it in their power to inter- cept his communications, and to harass him in detail with better cfiTpct, is per- haps known only to Odhyssefs himself. His courage and ability had hitherto been eminently useful to the cause of his country. He soon afterwards op- posed Khurshid himself at the head of the reserve of the Tnrkisli army with success ; and has since repeatedly shewn how formidable a barrier to the south of Greece the (Etajn passes are in his hands." — Leake, p. 88. * It is not likely that this step should have been taken without some urgent motive ; and if Colocotroni had obtained intelligence of the preparations making by the Ottomans, this might explain and justify his conduct. It is equally probable, that his troops began to want provisions or to murmur for pay, and that, in proceeding to Tripolitzn, his object was to call together the senate, which, in fact, was subsequently formed here after the embarkation of tlie executive. 128 MODERN GREECE. his countrymen. The utmost force he could muster did not exceed 2000 men. Forming this small corps into two divisions, he sent the larger, consisting of 1,200 men under the command of his most confidential officer, Coliopulo, to occupy the passes between Corinth and Argos, while with the remainder he advanc- ed into Argolis. After communicating with Ypsilanti, he in- trenched himself at Lerna, a strong position on the western shore of the Gulf, to wait the arrival of reinforcements from Mania, Arcadia, and other points. Here he was eventually joined by Prince Demetrius, who, leaving by night the dilapidat- ed fortress into which he had thrown himself, and which was entirely destitute of water, succeeded in joining the main body without losing a man. The Turkish army, commanded by Mahmoud, Pasha of Drama, occupied all- the eastern part of the Argolic plain, and Mahmoud entered Napoli ; but here ended his };rogress. So far from having brought supplies to the starving garrison of that fortress, the Ottomans had advanced without providing any means of subsistence for themselves, fondly expecting that the Greeks would suffer the produce of the harvest to fall into their liands. In vain they now looked for the Turkish fleet to furnish supplies.* Threatened with all the horrors of famine and drought, it soon became impossible for the Pasha to continue in his position, or longer to delay his retreat towards Corinth. No sooner were the orders given, and the baggage-camels laden, than the Moslem army set forward in great disorder. Minutely informed by their outposts of what was passing in the plain, the Greek chiefs at Lerna had abeady sent off detachments by a mountain pathway, so as to overtake the retreating columns as they entered the defiles between Mycene and Corinth. " Colo- cotroni himself advanced with the main body, the moment he perceived that the Turks were in motion ; while a part of the troops employed before Napoli advanced on their right flank. These movements were so well contrived and executed, that the enemy, whose rear-guard had suflered severely on the first day's march, was attacked with such impetuosity on the second, that not fewer than five thousand were destroyed in the course of a few hours ; and had it not been that many of the Greek soldiery paid more attention to the loaded camels than' to the fu- . gitives, the loss of the Turks would have been much greater. The fate of the advanced guard was little betteu than that of * Its detention on the coast of Asia had prevented its timely co-operation with the armv. MODERN GREECE, • 129 their companions. On reaching the defiles near Corinth, they were met by the Mainotes despatched from Lerna, under Nike- tas, and attacked so furiously, that above twelve hundred of them perished in the first onset. Many more were killed in trying to force the passes. A great quantity of baggage and a number of horses fell into the hands of the Greeks. These memorable successes occurred between the 4th and 7th of August. Some of the foreign volunteers who were present during this retreat, have expressed their astonishment at the tranquil manner in which the Turks, both infantry and cavalry, suffered themselves to be cut down, without making the smallest resistance, as if they had looked upon themselves as consigned to death by some supernatural power. " Having collected the remnant of his army under the walls of Corinth, and been joined by the reserves left there, Mah- moud Pasha made a movement on the 18th, with the seeming view of resuming the offensive and marching towards Argos : the real object of this movement was, however, to draw the Greeks, who had been watching him, into an ambuscade. Aware of his intentions in time, the Greeks, instead of attempting to impede him, got into his rear, when the Turks attacked them, but, owing to the advantageous position taken up by the Greeks, the enemy was again repulsed with great loss. A still more bloody affair took place on the following day. Determined to regain the position they had abandoned, the Turkish troops were headed by Hadji Ali, second in command to Mahmoud ; this ofHcer, one of the bravest of the Ottoman army, was killed while encouraging his men. In the above desperate effort, the enemy lost nearly two thousand men, together with a large quan- tity of baggage and several hundred horses."*' The Greeks unfortunately had no means of following up these successes. Their troops, not being regularly supplied with ra- ' tions, and receiving no pay, became so tired of the service that great numbers deserted. The fugitive Government was loudly censured, although it is doubtful whether they had it in their * Blaquiere, pp. 218 — '20. Mr. Waddington states, that he possesses a copy of the letter from Niketas to Odysseus, giving an account of this affair, in which he "estimates his own loss at fifteen killed and wounded, and eight miss- ing; that of the Turks at 4,500. " The Mussuhnan rode into the passes, with his sabre in the sheath and his hands before his eyes, the victim of destiny. And if the Greeks, from fear or neglect, had not left one road entirely unoc- cupied, by which most of the enemy escaped, the whole of the Ottoman army might have fallen on that spot. The naine of the pass most fatal to the in- vader is Dervenaki: it lies on the principal road from Argos to Corinth." — Waddington, p. 144. 17 130 MODERN GRfcECE. power to remedy these evils. In the altercations which ensued on their return to Lerna, the members of the Executive were prevented from resuming their functions for some weeks. In the mean time, the senate had been called together at Tripolitza ; and with them, as the only efficient organ, Colocotroni now pro- ceeded to concert measures for providing for the subsistence of the troops and for the vigorous prosecution of the campaign. Ypsilanti left the Argolis for Athens, to reinforce the garrison there ; but, on finding that the enemy did not attempt to ap- proach that place, he returned to the Peninsula, and rejoined Colocotroni and Niketas, who were blockading Napoli. " The sufferings and privations of the Greek soldiers," Mr. Blaquiere says, " whether employed before Napoli or in the passes, during November and the following month, were of the most harassing description. They had no shelter whatever at night, though exposed to the piercing cold and incessant storms which prevail on the mountains of Greece at this period, and without any other covering than the rude Albanian mantle ; while the daily ration of each man did not exceed half a pound of the coarsest bread. Those stationed at the Dervenaki were frequently obliged to march over rocks and inaccessible crags from daylight till dark, and not unfrequently during the night. Nor was the situation of the blockading force before Napoli much better : it was very rare for these to have their arms out of their hands, while they were either exposed to chilling blasts on the heights, or inundated with rain on the plain blow. It is true, the sufferings of the Greeks here were trifling when com- pared with those of the Turkish garrison, which had been reduc- ed to the last extremity of want, for some weeks before its capitulation. Nor was it until all the horses were consumed, and that many of the wretched soldiery were driven to the hor- rible necessity of subsisting on the carcasses of their fellow-suf- ferers, that those charged with the defence of the Palamida, or citadel, built by the Venetians on a mountain which overlooks the town, suffered themselves to be surprised by a party of Greeks, without making the least resistance. On scaling the wall, there were not more than thirty men found in that part of the fortress, and these had nearly the appearance of skeletons. Hearing that the Greeks had entered, the remainder of the Turks descended into the town by a covered way. Notwith- standing the dreadful condition of the garrison, Ali Bey hesitated to enter into terms, even after he discovered that the Palamida had been carried. But there was now no choice between imme- diate destruction and surrendering. The gates were therefore MODERN GREECE. 131 opened, on condition that the lives of the prisoners should be saved, and that they should be transported to the coast of Asia Minor by the Provisional Government. Pursuant to the terms thus arranged, the Greeks took possession of this highly import- ant place on the 11th of January, the anniversary of St. An- dreas, the patron saint of the Morea ; a circumstance which could not fail greatly to enhance the value of the triumph in the eyes of the people. " The surrender of Napoli led to another triumph on the part of the Greeks, destined to form the last portion of that ter- rible fate which had awaited the army of Mahmoud Pasha. The object of the division which remained at Corinth being to relieve the garrison of the above place, there was no longer any motive for its continuance there. Want of provisions had, be- sides, rendered a change of position absolutely necessary. The Turkish commanders, therefore, determined to march towards Patras, the blockade of which place had been lately neglected by the Greeks. Setting out about the middle of January, with nearly 3000 men, of whom a large portion was cavalry, they had only advanced as far as Akrata, near Vostizza, when Lundo,. who was returning from Missolonghi with a small body of troops, appeared on a height through which the road lay, while the infidels were reposing in a deep valley, and thus suddenly stopped their progress. There being no attempt made to force a passage, the Greek general had ample time to send ofi:' ex- presses for reinforcements, and was shortly joined by Petmezza, another distinguished chief, who occupied the opposite side of the valley. A new scene of horror was thus prepared for the devoted Turkish soldiers. Their scanty stock of bread being exhausted, they began to feed on the horses ; when the whole of these were devoured, recourse was had to the herbs which grew on the surrounding rocks ; having subsequently attempted to derive sustenance from their saddles, they were at last obliged to follow the shocking example furnished at Malvasia and Na- poli. The blockade had continued for nearly three weeks, when Odysseus, who had joined the other chiefs with about 200 men, chanced to recognise an old acquaintance in one of the two beys who commanded the Turks : negotiations were entered into, by which those who survived obtained permission to embark, on condition of giving up their arms and effects." The remaining operations of the Turkish fleet in this year were equally inglorious. After the destruction of the Turkish admiral's ship by Canaris in the roads of Scio, the fleet proceed- ed to Patras, v/here it took on board the officer appointed to 132 MODERN GREECE. succeed the Capitan Pasha, and disembarked a small body of troops. It then sailed for the eastern coast of the Morea; but, long before it could reach the Argolic Gulf, the army of Mah- moud Pasha had been defeated, and had taken shelter under the guns of Napoli and Corinth. It was not till the end of Sep- tember that it arrived near Spetzia, where it was met by a great number of Greek vessels. Unable to use their fire-ships in the open sea, the Greeks did not venture to approach the heavy ar- tillery of the Turks, and the latter were equally afraid to venture into the narrow exU'emity of the Gulf near Napoli. Instead of entering it, therefore, the Turkish admiral sent in two vessels, which were intercepted long before diey could reach the town. Me then sailed to Crete, and thence to Tenedos, where, in the middle of November, he was attacked, while at anchor, by the same enterprising Ipsariot, Constantine Canaris, who had burned the ship of his predecessor. On this occasion, however, the Capitan Pasha's ship escaped, and it was another that suffered. After some further losses from the weather, the remainder of the fleet sought safety in the Dardanelles ; and thus ignominious- ly closed the naval campaign. Such was the termination of the second campaign, on the re- sults of which the Porte had fondly calculated for re-establishing its iron despotism in Greece. The loss of the Turks in the Morea alone, by famine and the sword, is supposed to have been not less than*25,000 men ; while of the large force which in- vaded Acarnania, amounting to between 13 and 14,000 men, it is supposed that not more than one half escaped. By the de- struction of Scio, they had excited a spirit which could be sub- dued only by the extermination of the nation ; and this was their only conquest. They still retained possession, indeed, of all the fortresses of the Morea except two, with just so much of the level country of Northern Greece as their posts at Larissa, La- mia, and the Euripus could command. " In other respects, their embarrassments were increasing. The Porte found great difficulty in equipping its fleet, and it had resorted to such violent measures for sustaining its finances, that the piastre, which not many years before had been equivalent to an English shilling, was reduced in value to 5 l-3d. "But, on the other hand," continues Col. Leake, " thewealdi of the commercial islands and towns of Greece were equally ex- hausted by the exertions which had been made since the begin- ning of the contest : some of the powers of continental Europe continued to regard the insurrection as part of a general conspi- racy against established governments ; the others refused all MODERN GREECE. 133 countenance to tlie insurgents ; and individual charity was very inadequate to supply the wants of a people in the situation of the Greeks. Hence tliey were unable to retain in their service, or to satisfy even the most moderate expectations of the numerous militaiy men of experience, who had been left in idleness in every part of Europe by the general peace, and who were anxious for employment in Greece. They were unable even to take into the service of Government their own private ships, by which all their naval efforts had been made, or to execute the repairs of a two year's war for them ; so that the number of those ships in a state to oppose the enemy was considerably diminished. Still less could they organise an artillery, or create a corps of infantry, under the orders and in the pay of the Executive, without w4iich it was impossible for the Government to follow any improved plan of military operations, or even to establish a national treasury, collect the taxes, and administer, for the benefit of the revenue, all that large portion of the property of the insurgent districts, which, having formerly be- longed to the Turks or their government, was now confiscated to the state. A government without a treasury, a marine, of an army, was of course little better than a cipher."* The second Greek congress was summoned by the Executive to meet at Astros, a small town on the maritime frontier of Argo- lis and Laconia, in the month of April 1823. So great was the anxiety of the people to participate in the deliberations, that, in addition to the prescribed number of representatives, no fewer than fifty delegates were sent from different parts, to be present at the national congress ; and besides the soldiery, a large con- course was drawn to the spot. The meetings commenced on the 10th of April, and were held in a garden under the shade of orange-trees. The deputies and delegates amounted altogether to nearly 300. The ancient Bey of Maina, Mavromikhali, was named president of the congress. Its first act was to appoint a commission, composed of seven members, to revise the " Law of Epidaurus," with power to make such alterations as might seem necessary. The modifications proposed having been agreed upon, the Provisional Constitution was solemnly ratified and re- promulgated, under the tide of the " Law of Epidaurus," as the political code of Greece. Its next important act was, to dissolve the local juntas of Epirus, Livadia, and the islands, and to declare all the provinces and islands immediately dependent upon the General Government. By a third decree it was enact- •*, Leake's Outline, pp. 97. 8. Canacari, the vice-prcsiflent, died at Castries in January 1823, 134 MODERN GREECE. ed, that the powers of the archistrategia (generalissimo) and of the archinavarchia (admiral-in-chief) should severally last only during the expedition in which they might be employed, on the termination of which they should return to their original mil- itary rank. The military code of France, with a few modificar- tions, was provisionally adopted as the law of the confederacy. A proposal was made to introduce into the juridical administra- tion the trial by jury ; but this was overruled, and a committee of nine was appointed to compile from the Basilics and the Code Napoleon, such penal laws as might appear' most suitable and requisite. The subject of ecclesiastical jurisdiction was referred to the minister of religion, who was to consult the clergy and make his report to the government.*' The Congress then proceeded to nominate Petro-bey Mavromikhalis president of the executive ; Colocotroni was chosen vice-president, and George Conduriotti, of Hydra, was elected president of the senate. f Odysseus, Goura, Panouria, and the two Hvoldaches, were named stratarchs of Eastern " Greece ; Constantine Metaxas was made eparch of Missolonghi ; and Emanuel Tombazis was re-appointed harmostis (captain-general) of Crete. The Congress concluded its functions on the 30th of April, by issuing a declaration, in which they re-asserted the national inde- pendence, and returned thanks to the land and sea forces for their noble efforts during the two preceding campaigns. The promulgation of this address was followed by the imme- diate transfer of the executive and legislative bodies to Tripo- litza, where the seat of government was established for the present, and immediate steps were taken for opening the third campaign. For this, however, they were but slenderly provid- ed with resources. " As the invasion of the Morea, and the operations in Acarnania, had rendered it impossible for the people to cultivate the grounds, little could be expected from the ensuing harvest ', an arrangement, however, was made by which the national property and the forthcoming crops, estimated at twelve millions of Turkish piastres, were farmed out for about a third of that sum ; and this, together with a few millions fur- nished by the patriotic zeal of individuals, was all that the Greek government had, with which to enter the field a third * " They decreed the abolition, in the meantime, of imprisonment and the bastinado, which the members of the higher clergy were accustomed to inflict on the secular priests before the revolution, declaring those usages to be barba- rous and tyrannical." — Pouqueville, torn. iv. p. 313. t The other members of the executive council were, Andrea Metaxa, Sortiri Charalambi,and Zaimi; the latter a captain, but a constitutionalist. MODERN GREECE. 135 time against the whole military and naval power of the Ottoman empire."* Early in the summer, before the Greek navy could be brought to act, a powerful Turkish fleet had, without opposition, conveyed supplies and reinforcements to the fortresses still held by the Turks in Negropont, the Morea, and Crete. The object of the Porte seems to have been, as in the preceding campaign, to make a simultaneous attack upon the northern coast of the Morea from Eastern and from Western Greece. An army of 25,000 men hav- ing been assembled at Larissa early in June, it was formed into two divisions, intended to act at separate points. One of these, under YussufF Pasha, marched towards Thermopylae ; while the other, under Mustafa Pasha, proceeded to the pass of Neopatra near Zeitouni. The Greeks posted at the latter point were too weak to attempt resistance, so that tlie enemy advanced into Livadia unopposed, and encamped at Necropolis on the 20th of June, to await the result of YussufF's operations. This Pasha, after laying waste the whole country round Parnassus and Liva- dia, and setting tire to Rachova and Delphi, at length received a check from the armatoli bands unde^ Odysseus and Niketas who joined their forces at Dobrena. A system of guerrilla warfare was now commenced, by which the Turks were so harassed, that they soon retreated in the greatest disorder, pursued by the Greeks, who killed great numbers, and took a large quantity of their baggage. Odysseus then pushed forward to attack the division under Mustafa Pasha, wlr^h he forced to take refuge in Negropont, leaving behind most of its baggage and military stores. In the autumn, the Turks found themselves under the necessity of withdrawing a part of their forces into Thessaly, while with the remainder they cruelly persecuted and plundered the inhabitants of Euboea, " who the less deserved it, as they had hitherto been slow in joining the insurrection. "f The Osmanlys were, however, soon followed into this island by Odysseus, who, having been speedily joined by some of the Thessalian armatoli, and assisted by reinforcements landed from the Greek fleet, compelled the enemy, before the winter, to retreat behind the walls of Carystus and the Euripus. After these successes, which removed all apprehension of any new * Blaquire, p. 263. " The collecting' of the contributions in every part of Greece, except the islands, and with it all real power, stil! remained in the hands of the illiterate chieftains of the land forces, who, though brave and sincere in the cause, were too ignorant to see the necessity of giving way to others for the general advantage." — Leake, p. 99. t Leake, p. 105. 136 MODERN GREECE. attack on the side of Corinth, Niketas proceeded to Salona, to concert measures for the defence of that place. In Western Greece, the management of the war was entrusted by the Pofte to Mustafa, Pasha of Scutari with YussufF, Pasha of Serres (Sirrce), as his second in command. The whole of July had passed away before a sufficient force could be collected to take the field. At length, at the head of 8000 ti'oops, chiefly Albanians, collected at Prevesa, Yussuff took up a position at Ponda (near the ancient Actium), where he awaited the arrival of the Pasha of Scutari. No sooner, however, had the Albanians received the allowances usually made before enter- ing the field, than they mutined and deserted in a body ; the Pasha being compelled to consult his personal safety by embark- ing for Patras. This defection is said to have been either instigated or encouraged by Omer Vrioni, who had taken offence, and perhaps alarm, at the preference given to YussufF Pasha, and determined to deprive him of all means of co-op- erating with Mustafa. The Albanian deserters passed round the Gulf and through the Makrinoro without any molestation from the Greeks, and the greater part ranged themselves under the standard of Omer Pasha, who took post at Lepanore, on the right of the Acheron. The Greeks were not idle spectators of this transaction, Marco Botzaris and Joncas of Agrafa, were stationed with 1 ,200 men at Katochi between Missolonghi and Vonitza. On reach- ing Patras, Yussuff despatched a body of troops to Crionero, with orders to attack them in flank. Apprised of their landing, tlie Suliot chief fell on the Moslems, and having either killed or captured the greater part, drove the rest to their boats. But a more formidable enemy having crossed the ridge of Agrafa, was on the point of entering Acarnania, and Botzaris resolved to dispute his passage. To effect this object, it was necessary to undertake one of those extraordinary forced marches by which, during the present contest, the Greeks have so frequently secured the victory. On the 19th of August, Mustafa Pasha, at the head of 14,000 men, had encamped on an extensive plain near Karpenisi. The Greeks could scarcely number" 200t). Undaunted by such fearful odds, Botzaris proposed in council, a night attack on the enemy, and called upon those who were ready to die for their country to stand forward. The ap- peal was answered, and having selected 300 palikars, chiefly Suliots, to act immediately about his own person, Botzaris direct- ed that the remainder of the troops should be formed into three divisions, for the purpose of assailing the enemy's camp a tdiffer- MODERN GREECE. 137 ent points, while, willi his chosen band, he penetrated to the centre. That tliis might be simultaneous, not a shot was to be fired nor a sword drawn till they hi^ard the sound of his bugle. Every thing being prepai'ed by midnight, his last directions were, "If you lose sight of me, come and seek me in the Pasha's tent." Botzaris succeeded in deceiving the Turkish sentinels by telling them, in Albanian, that he came with reiiiforcements from Omer Vrioni. On reaching the centre of the camp, he sounded his bugle, and the attack commenced on every side. The enemy, panick-struck, opposed an ineffectual resistance ; and by dayhght, the struggle had terminated, leaving the Greeks in possession of the Turkish camp, with eighteen standards, a great quantity of baggage and ammunition, a number of horses, and some tliousand head of oxen. The loss of the Turks must have been very considerable ; that of the Greeks was numerically small, — it is said, only thirty killed and seventy wounded ; but the victory, decisive and important as it was, was dearly bought with the life of the heroic Marco Botzaris. Just as he had ordered the Pasha to be seized, his voice being recognized, he received a ball in the loins : he continued, how- ever, to animate his men, until wounded a second time in the head, when he fell, and was borne from the field of his glory.* The command of the troops was devolved by acclamation on Constantino Botzaris, the hero's elder brother. Notwithstanding these checks, liie Pasha of Scutari was enabled, by superiority of numbers, to overcome at length all opposition on the part of the armatoli posted in the defiles, and to effect a junction, in the end of September, with the troops of Omer Pasha in the ^tolian plain, where they speedily estab- lished a communication with Patras and the Turkish squadron in the Gulf. They then penetrated through the defiles of Mount Aracynthus, and Missolonghi was again threatened with a siege. Early in October, the small town of Anatolico, built on a neck of land at the eastern extremity of the gulf to v/hich it gives name, about three leagues from Missolonghi, was closely invested by the Albanian army. An old dilapidated wall, with a ditch filled up in several places, was the only defence of the town ; yet, for three weeks, the Turks continued to fire shot and shells into the place without making any impression on the garrison, till their ammunition and provisions were alike exhausted,-}" '■^ No chief stood higher in the estimation of his countrymen, for bravery, ilisinterestedness, and simplicity of character; and his loss was justly consid- ered as irreparable at this crisis. t The number of shot and shells thrown into the town, according to Mr. 18 138 MODEKN GREECE. and an epidemic fever broke out in the Pasha's army, which proved the best ally of the besieged. At length, on the 19th of November, Mustafa commenced a disorderly retreat towards Albania, leaving behind a number of guns and a considerable quantity of baggage. Omer Pasha once more retired to his positions on the Ambracic Gulf ; and a small squadron from Hydra and Spetzia about the same time relieved Missolonghi from its naval blockade. The garrison of Cdrinth had, in the mean time, obstinately rejected every overture to surrender, though frequently reduced to great distress for provisions, till the latter end of October, when, there being no longer any hope of succours from the Capitan Pasha, they capitulated to Staiko of Argos and Giorga- ki Kizzo, who were maintaining the blockade, and were allowed to embark on board some Austrian vessels which conveyed them to Smyrna.* The Turkish admiral, on his return to the Dar- danelles, was met by a Hydriot squadron under Miaulis, and sustained some damage, together with the loss of one of his ships of war. A convoy proceeding from Salonika to the Blaquiere, was estiD)at€d at 2,600 ; yet, only about fifty Greeks were killed or wounded ; while the Turks are represented to have lost above 400 in diflferent sorties and skirmishes, besides 1,200 by the distemper. A very remarkable circumstance is mentioned by Mr. Blaquiere as eccurring during this siege. " Being aware that there was neither water nor cisterns in the town, one of the first measures of the Turks was to possess themselves of the fountain on Terra Firma, at a distance of nearly two miles, where the inhabitants had always drawn their supplies ; so that the blockade had not continued many days, before those who remained were in the greatest distress, and would have been forced to surrender, had not a small supply been occasionally sent from this place during the night. But every further hope was destroyed by the enemy placing a strong post and battery close to the narrow channel through which the boats had to pass, so that the garrison looked forward to their imme- diate destrudtion as inevitable, for the town was hemmed in on every side, and had been without any communication with Missolonghi for several days, when a shell from a ten inch mortar, entering the front of St. Michael's church, and penetrating the flagged pavement, lighted on a source of excellent water ! What adds to the singularity of the circumstance is, that a few women and children who continued in the town (for the greater part had been sent hither) took up their abode in the church, as the most secure asylum, and were in it when the shell entered, without receiving the least injury.' With re- spect to the water thus miraculously dist Mvered, it was not only most abundant, but fully equal in quality to that of the fountain of which the enemy had taken possession. It is needless to say that this fortunafe coincidence was re- garded as a miracle in every sense of "the word ; that it saved Anatolico there is no doubt." — Blaquiere's Second Visit, p. 44. * Mr. Blaquiere states, that Colocotroni and one or two other chiefs, hear- ing of the intended negotiation, repaired to the spot with a view to participate in the spoils ; but the Turks refused to open the gates to any but the individu- als mentioned in the text, and Colocotroni, disappointed and mortified, was obliged to retrace his steps to Tripolitza. Giorgaki is brother to Vasilika, the favourite wife of Ali Pasha of loannina. MODERN GREECE. ij9(Q Euripus, was about the same time attacked by the Greeks in the Bay of Opus, aiid suffered great loss. Descents were made during the autumn by the Greek navarchs on the coasts of Mace- donia and Asia Minor, which served as useful diversions, detain- ing the Turkish forces in those quarters. In Samos also, and in Crete, the war was prosecuted with considerable success on the part of the insurgents. Upon the whole, the campaign of 1 823 was alike disastrous and inglorious to the Turks. After a three years' contest, unaided Greece was still so far from being con- quered, that not a single step had been gained towards suppress- ing the insurrection. On the other hand, the strong fortress of Egripo, on which the security of Eastern Greece mainly depends, together with Lepanto and Patras, which give the naval command of the Gulf of Corinth, being still in the hands of the Turks, the Greeks were far from having gained possession of the country.* Their excessive ignorance in the art of war, their want of union, and their poverty, had hitherto precluded their making good their claims to be recognised as a free and independent nation. The want of a treasury more especially had presented an insuperable obstacle to improvements in the conduct both of their civil and their military affairs, while the unhappy dissensions between the executive and legislative bodies threatened to occasion the ruin of the cause. It has already been mentioned that, by the Congress of Astros, Petro-bey and Colocotroni were made president and vice-presi- dent of the Executive Council [ExTsXsdziKov')^ in the room of Mavi'ocordato and Canacaris. Having thus at once the civil and military powers in their hands, they soon reduced the Senate (^BovXevzi'/.ov Zofxa) to total imbecility. The latter attempted, indeed, to preserve its authority, and was engaged, during the remainder of the year, in checking the abuses of the military government. But two successive presidents, Conduriotti and Mavrocordato, having been compelled to flee to Hydra, the Senate, supported by the islands and naval leaders, came to an open rupture with the ExecutiA^e. The immediate occasion of the disagreement is thus stated. The seat of government had been removed from Tripolitza to Napoli, where it became necessary that at least three members of the Executive Council should reside, that number being required to form a quorum. Coloco- * " Nothing," remarks Colonel Leake, " can more strongly shew the inefii- ciency of the military government of Greece, than that a post go contemptible as the castle of Patras should have held out for three years after its investment by the Peloponnesian armatoli." 140 MODERN GREECE. troni and Petro-bey, however, were with the army, when Metaxa,* one of the other three members of the supreme council, with- drew himself to Carilis, thus leaving the Executive in a state of political incompetency. For this act he was arraigned by the legislative body, and expelled, Coletti being named as his suc- cessor. The minister of finance was in like manner displaced, for having, without any authority, established a salt monopoly ; and four representatives were also dismissed for not attending their duties when called on to do so. Irritated at these vigorous proceedings, the other members of the Executive sent Niketas and young Colocotroni with two hundred men to Argos, whither the legislative body had transferred their session, to enforce an explanation. They found the assembly sitting, and proceeded to demand the reason of their removing Metaxa and the finance- minister from their ofiices. Niketas is said to have threatened to make law with his sword, and the affair ended by his directing the soldiers to seize the archives of the legislative body. They were fortunately recovered the same evening by a capitanos named Zacharapoalo, who had the address to intoxicate the principal officers, and then rob them with impunity of their spoil. The majority of the legislative body then transferred their sittings to Kranidi, at the extremity of the Argolic peninsula, near Spetzia. Here they issued a proclamation, protesting against the lawless act ; and having previously summoned and deposed Petro-bey and Charalambi,f they proceeded to nominate in their * Andrea Metaxa is a Cefalonian, who, tog-ether with his brother Constan- tine, (the defender of Anatolico in 1823,) passed over into the Morea at the beginning of the insurrection, and became outlawed by the Ionian Govern- iftent. They appear to have been Hetaiists, and publicly avowed their connex- ion with Ypsilanti. They were consequently, as well as Colocotroni, decidedly anti-Anglican. " Metaxa," writes Col. Stanhope, " is a sly politician, who has injured his country and raised himself by his cunning. He is Pano's adviser," " Coray cuts up Metaxa for his petition to the Pope, in which he places Greece at the disposal of the Holy Alliance." Mr. Blaquiere represents Metaxa as the prime mover of the senseless quarrels. — Stanhope's Greece, p. 172; 182. Waddington, p. 191. t Colocotroni, Mr. Waddington states, had voluntarily resigned some months before. The following ate stated to be the charges of which the deposed mem- bers of the executive were found guilty by a commission of nine of the legis- lative body. " 1. For having misapplied the funds of the land and sea forces. 2. For having allowed two members to carry on the functions of the executive. 3. For promoting officers contrary to law. 4. For having sold the cannon taken at Napoli without consulting- the representatives. 5. For uniting the cantons of St. Pierre and Pratos without consulting the legislative body. 6. For selling Turkish slaves contrary to law. 7. For having piodaimed the sale of the national property without the consent of the legislative body. 8. For allowing the finance-minister to establish a monopoly of salt. 9. For sending M. Metaxa, a member of the executive, to Carilis, and leaving the supreme body of the state with only two persons, and from that period having avoided MODERN GREECE. 141 room the Hydriote, Conduriolti, (as president,) and Boutasi, a Spezziote ;* Coletti being already appointed in the room of jVletaxa.f The minority, consisting chiefly of Moreote mem- bers, retired to Tripolitza, the residence of Colocotroni and the otlier ex-ministers. J These events appear to have occurred in December 1823. all correspondence with tlie legislative body. 10. For having allowed M. Metaxa to act as a member of the executive after he had been sentenced to dismissal by a commission of the legislative body. 11. For not having ac- knowledged M. Coletti as a member of the executive after he had been chosen by the legislative body. 12. For having allowed an armed body to depart from Napoli, and to act against the legislative body at Argos." — Stanhope, p. 107. * Since deceased. t "Of these" (the members of the executive), "John Coletti, a physician bj' profession, and, as such, formerly in the pay of Ali Pasha, is by far the most clever and intelligent. Of his sterling patriotism, however, there are few in the Morea, or even among his own countrymen, who are not rather scepti- cal. The exactions which have been carried on in Romelia by his agents and with his approbation, have rendered him odious to the people whom he repre- sents ; and his intriguing spirit, forbidding countenance, and repulsive man- ners, have gained him, both with the Moreotes and with foreigners, a character for cunning, avarice, and dangerous ambition. Nevertheless, his acknowledg- ed abilities have given him such an ascendency with the president and with the executive body, that he may be considered as the spring of its move- ments." — Emerson's Journal, p. 86. t " I have presented myself three or four times at the levees of Colocotroni, and have received from him repeated assurances of his peculiar respect for the English nation, and his attachment to its individual members ; and in fact, he immediately provided me with an excellent lodging, which I could not otherwise have procured. These professions amuse me the more, as the old hypocrite is notoriously anti-Anglican, and is continually and publicly accus- ing the British Government of designs to occupy and enslave the Morea. His- manners, however, to do him justice, are utterly devoid of urbanity, and, like his countenance and dress, are precisely those which best become a distin- guished captain of banditti. His court seems to consist of about fifteen capi- tani, who seat themselves on the sofa which lines three sides of his spacious hall ; from the walls are suspended Turkish muskets, curiously inlaid, with many valuable pistols and sabres. His capitani are as filthy a crew as I ever beheld, and for the most part ill-looking and very meanly attired ; but the most miserably starving wretch that I have observed among them is a papas, or priest, bonneted and bearded, but still military. Their usual covering for the head is nothing more than the red cap of the country ; but there are gen- erally two or three of the party who think proper, from whatsoever feeling of vanity, to burden themselves with extremely large and shapeless turbans. Colocotroni takes little notice of any of them, and seldom rises at their en- trance. The fourth side of the room is occupied by a number of soldiers, who remain standing. Upon some occasion, Colocotroni thought proper to com- mand them to retire ; they obeyed reluctantly and slowly, and in a very few minutes returned in parties of two or three, and re-occupied their station .... Petro Bey is a fat, dull, well-looking personage, who is addicted to no particu- lar class of political opinions, and appears peculiarly unenlightened by any sort of foreign information : he is understood to have made great progress (for an oriental) in the science of gastronomy ; and is believed to be willing to embrace any form of government which will leave him riches, and give hiu'i peace, abundance, and security. It is then imagined that he would introduce i^ MODERN GREECE. The main support of the constitution now rested on the Is- landers, upon whom had fallen the principal expenses of the war ; for the Morea had not contributed its quota towards de- fraying them, owing, as was suspected, to the private extortion or embezzlements of the captains, which was one reason of the hostility between the military and naval parties.* Napoli di Romania was still in the hands of the Moreotes, and Panos Co- locotroni, the eldest son of the old archistrategia, assumed there, under the title of phrourarch (commander of a garrison), an ab- solute authority. After the cession of this fortress had been frequently and vainly demanded, the Kranidiotes (as the consti- tutionalists were contemptuously called by the military party) determined to commence hostilities, and to reduce it to submis- sion by blockade. A Hydriote and a Spezziote brig sufficiently enforced this by sea, while a party under Coliopulo occupied without bloodshed the country between Argos and the head of the Gulf. Panos, however, held out till an accommodation took place between the Tripolitza faction and the constitutionalists. The misunderstanding between the executive and the legisla- tive bodies was at its height, when, on the 12th of December, Col. Leicester Stanhope arrived at Missolonghi, as agent of the Greek Committee of London. On the 5th of January, 1824, he was followed by Lord Byron. His Lordship's arrival had long been looked for with intense interest, and he was received with military honours and an expression of popular enthusiasm. Mavrocordato had previously arrived from Hydra, being appoint- ed by the legislative body to the government of Western Greece ; and here he proceeded to summon a congress, consisting of the primates and captains of the province, at which some wise a&id salutary regulations were agreed upon. But the spring and the chief part of the summer passed away without any effective ex- ertion. During the few months that Lord Byron survived his arrival in Greece, his wisest and noblest exertions were continu- ally frustrated by the impracticability and ingratitude of the ob- jects of his exertions.f He began by taking 500 Suliots into French cookery among the Mainotes, as an excellent substitute for the indif- ferent potations of their Spartan ancestors." Demetrius Ypsilanti was also living here in perfect privacy. — Waddington, pp. 150 — 2. * " It had beeh rumoured," Mavrocordato said, " that Western Greece wished to separate her" interests from those of the Morea. It was not so ; but, if the latter possessed resources beyond her wants, it was but just that she should contribute to a war carried on for the defence of her outworks." — Stan- hope, p. 66. t " Some thought that he aimed at the monarchy of Greece ; others, that he was an agent of Government, charged to buy the country ; and almost all were MODERN GREECE. J4«5 pay, and having been officially invested with the command of about 3000 troops, he projected to conduct in person offensive operations against Lepanto. The Missolonghi Government, however, he soon found, had not the means of undertaking the siege : the treasury was empty, and the troops murmured for then- arrears of pay. The Suliots readily accepted Lord By- ron's money, but refused to march against Lepanto, saying that they would not fight against stone walls. Arta was afterwards mentioned as the object of an expedition better suited to the military taste of those wild mercenaries ; but neither Arta nor Lepanto was molested. Li the mean time, the Suliots quartered themselves on the citizens, by whom they were both hated and feared, refusing to quit the place till their arrears were paid. Many wanton murders were committed by them ; and the per- sons even of Europeans not being deemed safe, several of the engineers and workmen, sent over by the Greek Committee, abandoned the service in disgust.* Colonel Stanhope appears to have accomplished notliing beyond establishing two newspa- pers, the Hellenic Chronicle and the Greek Telegraph ; a mea- sure deprecated by both Mavrocordato and Lord Byron, as at once unseasonable and dangerous. f After quarrelling with his noble countryman for declaiming against the wild projects of the Uberals, and reproaching him as a Turk, the Colonel left Misso- longhi tow^ards the close of February for Eastern Greece, where he attached himself to the interests of Odysseus. On the 19th of April, Lord Byron expired, — an irreparable loss for Greece at that crisis, and it threw affairs into inextricable confusion. A loan had been negotiated in England for the Greek Government, which, had it been properly applied, would have been of infinite advantage in strengthening the constitu- tional Government, and enabling them to re-organise the civil and military systems. Owing to the intelligence received respect- convinced that he had some private design which would hereafter develop it- self." — Waddisgton, p. 175. " Lord Byron had acted towards them (the Su- liots) with a degree of generosity that could not be exceeded ; and then, when his plans were all formed for the attack of Lepanto, and his hopes were raised on the delivery of Western Greece from the inroads of the Turks, these un- grateful soldiers demanded, and extorted, and refused to march till all was settled to gratify their avarice." — Stanhope, p. 116. ^ Stanhope, pp 87, 113, 118, 119, 120. t " He (Lord B.) said, that he was an ardent friend of publicity and the press, but he feared that it was not applicable to this society in its present combustible state. . . .The Greek newspaper has done great mischief both in the Morea and in the Islands, as I represented both to Prince Mavrocordato and to Colonel Stanhope, that it would do in the present circumstances, unless great caution was observed." — Stanhope, pp. 92, 126. 144 MODERN GREECE. ing the triumph of the military faction, and the expulsion of Mavrocordato from the Morea, measures of precaution had very prudently been taken to prevent the funds from falling into im- proper hands ; but, as it turned out, the decisions adopted were most unfortunate. The three commissioners nominated to super- intend the application of the loan, were Lord Byron, Mr. Gordon, and Lazzaro Conduriotti, of Hydra ; Col. Stanhope being authorised to act for Mr. Gordon, until the latter should arrive in Greece. The loan was consigned to Messrs. Barff and Logo- theti, of Zante ; and on the 24th of April, Mr. Blaquiere reach- ed that island from England with the first instalment.* The first thing he heard was, that Lord Byron was no more ; and his death having invalidated the commission, Messrs. Barflf and Logotheti i-efused to issue the money. As if a fatality attended the whole affair, a proclamation issued by the Provisional Gov- ernment, in which Zante and Cerigo were inadvertently named as the depots for the future instalments, had the effect of elicit- ing a counter-proclamation from the Ionian Government, by which it was declared, that the transfer of the money sent to Zante would be regarded as a breach of neutrality, exposing the offenders to all the pains and penalties denounced in an edict promulgated by Sir Thomas Maitland in 1822. It thus became impossible to extricate a farthing of the loan. At this very time, a formidable expedition was preparing at Alexandria, the Turkish fleet was actually at sea, and an army of 60,000 men were marching on Salona, destined to cross over to the Morea, to co-operate with the Egyptian troops. Many persons who had engaged to furnish Missolonghi with supplies, now refused to fulfil their promises ; while the Suliots became so ungoverna- ble, that Mavrocordato's situation became most embaiTassing, and not unattended with personal danger. f The military party had always been averse to the loan, affect- ing to consider it as equivalent to the sale of the Morea ; and one of their agents now repaired to Zante, to endeavour to prevent * 40,000Z. in sovereigns and dollars. t It ought to be mentioned, that these intractable warriors had suffered the greatest privations, and they had strong claims on the Government. " All that they wanted," Botzaris, their leader, told Mr. Blaquiere, " was, an asy- lum and the means of existence for their families, whom they could not think of leaving destitute." And when assured that the Government had determin- ed to allot them a fertile district in Acarnania, and that every effort was mak- ing to procure them the amount of their arrears, he seemed perfectly satisfied. At length, Mr. Blaquiere, on his personal responsibility, advanced 10,000 dollars ; and trifling as this sum was, it not only enabled Mavrocordato to put the Suliots in motion, but to strengthen several points on the northern frontier. MODERN GREECE. 145 jts payment, while a report was industriously spread, that the money was all to be sent back to England. The fact was, that tliey dreaded its falling into tlie hands of their antagonists, and depriving them of power. Col. Stanhope, with whom it seems to have rested to authorise the transfer of the loan, treated lightly the fears of Mr. Blaquiere and the moving entreaties of Mavro- cordato, rebuking the " feverish impatience " with which the nation looked forward to its arrival ;* and by unseasonable ex- hortations to disinterestedness, insulting the people he came to aid. The Turks and the Egyptians were at hand, and the money, he was well aware, would " settle the government, and give it the means of repelling the enemy ;" yet, not deeming the government " sufficiently organised," he opposed the issue of the loan ; and the consequences were most calamitous. What renders the Colonel's conduct the more inexplicable is, that Colocotroni and his party, having been deserted by their followers after a few sldrmishes with the constitutionalists, had, towards the close of April, tendered their submission, and both Tripolitza and Napoli had surrendered to the constitutionalists. f At length, instructions were received from England to place tlie money unconditionally at the disposal of the Greek Govern- ment. Not only was it then too late, however, to remedy some of the disastrous effects of the delay, but the abandonment of all precaution in delivering it, rendered it the source of fresh evils. J The first supply reached Napoli in July, and 90,000 dollars were * Stanhope, pp. 216, 224, 242. " Your common cry is for money. . . .It is false to say, that gold and iron are the sinews of war : these are but the acces- sories ! !" t Col. Stanhope writes to Mr. Bowring, April 12 : " The legislative and ex- ecutive bodies, indeed all the people, think the loan will save Greece, if it arrives in time. Every preparatory measure has been taken towards the proper disposal of the money. The Greeks are careful of their money, and not at all disposed to squander the resources of the state. The only danger is, that it should fall into the hands of a few individuals, and be appropriated to their particular interests. The present crisis is favourable. The proffered aid could not arrive more opportunely. Had it come sooner, it might have fallen into the hands of the military oligarchs. At present, their fortresses are about to surrender to the constituiionalists, and the government makes progress to- wards improvement and strength. The loan will enable Greece to protect her frontier this year, her people to reap the fruits of their labour, and the Gov- ernment to collect the revenue." On the 28th of the same month, finding that he was nominated a commissioner, the Colonel adopts a very different tone, but says : " When the fortresses ai'e in the hands of the Government, I shall consider that they are in a condition to fulfil their contract, and to pay the interest of the money borrowed." t " This unconditioned concession of the money to the hands of the Greeks themselves, has eventually caused all but their utter ruin ; and whoever were the instigators of this measure, theirs is the guilt." — Humphkevs's Journal, p. 261. 19 146 M03DERN GREECE. paid over to the fleet, the rest being distributed among the army ; but it was a scramble, and few were satisfied. Among others, Odysseus, not finding his demands complied with, made a seizure of government money, disbanded his troops, and retired to his fortress at Parnassus. The campaign of 1824 commenced with the capture and destruction of the islands of Kaso and Ipsara by the Turks. On the 8th of June, an Egyptian squadron from Candia, con- sisting of seventeen vessels, appeared off the former island, and the Turks endeavoured to effect a landing, but were repulsed. Night put an end to the combat, but, the next morning, Ismael Pasha re-appeared, and opened a furious bombardment on the principal fortification. While the attention of the islanders was thus engaged, a party of the enemy, landing on the north-west- ern part of the island, took them in the rear. Four hundred Greeks died with arms in their hands ; the rest fled to the mountains or the neighbouring islands, and most of the women and children fell into the hands of the enemy.* Ipsara promised to oppose a more successful resistance, and the preparations on the part of the Turks were on a scale of proportionate magnitude. Housref, the Capitan Pasha, after having landed reinforcements in Negropont, and taken on board a body of Albanians at Salonika, assembled at Mytilene a pow- erful armament, amounting to upwards of 150 sail, with, which, on the 2d of July, he appeared off the island. The firing opened upon the town was returned with spirit and considerable effect from the batteries ; but during the night, a landing was effected at the back of the island, (by aid, it is said, of treachery,) and a large body of troops, having driven before them the outposts, made their appearance on the heights above the town. At this sight, the greater part of the Ipsariots retreated in confusion to their ships, and put to sea. Great numbers perished in attempt- ing to gain the vessels ; several boats were so overloaded that they sank, and several ships were intercepted by the Turkish * Ann. Reg. for 1824, p. 169. We know not on what authority, this state- ment rests. Mr. Blaquiere gives a very difi'erent account. " Previously to the grand attack on Ipsara, a smaller armament had been sent against those islands, which, without being very formidable, had been distinguished for their hostility to the Ottomans. At Scopolo, near the Gulf of Volos, the enemy was repulsed with great loss, and after several attempts to land. The infidels were, however, more fortunate at Cassos, a small island near the east end of Candia, which, like Ipsara, had acquired considerable wealth by the enterpris- ing industry of its inhabitants. Here the Turks succeeded in effecting a land- ing ; and tliough subsequently forced to retreat, they were enabled to carry off a large quantity of booty, and to destroy several of the vessels which lay in the harbour." — Second Visit to Greece, p. 77, note. MODEllN GREECE. 147 squadron. The town was soon taken, and the greater part of the remaining population, men, women, and children were mas- sacred. Many of them, to avoid falling into the hands of the Turks, threw' their children from the rocks into the sea, and then plunged after them. A party of Albanians, who, with a number of the inhabitants that could not escape, had shut themselves up in Fort St. Nicholas, after a brave defence, in wliich they re- pelled tlie enemy with great loss, destroyed both themselves and their assailants by setting fire to the powder-magazine.* The triumph of the Turks was of short duration. No sooner had tidings of this catastrophe reached Hydra, than the Greek fleet, commanded by Miaulis, wliich had been lying there in in- action, for want of funds for the payment of the sailors, animated with a desire of vengeance, immediately set sail for Ipsara. The Turkish admiral had withdrawn his arm^ament before they could reach the island, leaving nothing but about twenty galleys in the hai'bour, and a garrison of .1,500 men. Of these, only between 2 and 300 escaped. Seven of the galleys succeeded in eluding pursuit ; the remainder were taken or destroyed. The Greeks then brought away the cannon left in the fortresses, together vdth some Ipsariot fugitives who had concealed themselves in the hills ; and the island has ever since remained desolate. All its citizens who have escaped slaughter or slavery, have been in- debted for an asylum to the hospitality of their countrymen. The greater part established themselves at Napoli di Malvasiaj on the coast of Maina. .The next attempt of the Capitan Pasha was upon Samos. For this purpose, a large bod)^ of Asiatic troops was collected at Scala Nova. The Samians, aware of the enemy's designs, sent their families to the nicintains, and prepared to defend the passes, in case the Turks should effect a landing, while a division of the Greek fleet, under George Sakturi of Hydra, disputed the passage of the straits. On the 17th of August, in a fourth attempt of the Turkish fleet to run across, the brave Ipsariot, Ca- naris, attached his fire-vessel to a forty-gun frigate under sail ; ' In the account inserted in the Ann. Register, the garrison is stated to have consisted of sixty men, under the command of a Greek named Maroaki " Find- ing themselves unable to defend the place, they hoisted a flag, on which was inscribed, ' Liberty or Death,' and immediately blev^ up the fort, involving themselves and about 1.200 Turks in instant destruction." Mr. Biaquiere makes the number of the garrison amount to 500 ; but his whole account though of Greek manufacture, bears very obvious marks of exaggeration and poetic invention. " Upon a moderate computation," he says, " 4000 Ch>istians of every age perished." The other account states, that most of the inhabitants had time to escaoe with their families to Svra. 148 MODERN GREECE. the fire very speedily reaching the magazine, the greater part of those on board were destroyed, as well as several transports to , which the fire communicated. At the same time, other fireships burned a Tunisine brig of war and a large Tripolitan corvette. On the 21st of August, another fleet of transports, employed in conveying troops to the northern side of Samos, were intercepted and dispersed, a part being taken and destroyed. On the fol- lowing day, the Turkish fleet again attempted the passage from Cape Trogilium to the opposite shore ; but such was now the dread inspired by the Greek fireships, that the approach of only two or three of them was sufficient to drive back the Ottoman men of war to the Asiatic coast. The troops assembled on the shore of Mycale in readiness to embark, on witnessing this last disgrace of their navy, returned to their camp at Scala Nova j and it was not long before the greater part of the land forces which had been collected there, dispersed and withdrew into the interior. " The Capitan Pasha, feeling the necessity of giving up the attempt upon Samos for the present, proceeded to effect a junc- tion with the Egyptian expedition at Cos and Halicarnassus. Sakturi in like manner united his force with that of the chief na- varch Miaoulis, at Patmos, after which the Greeks proceeded to observe the Mussulman armament. On the 5th of September, a small division of Greek vessels with two fireships approached the Turkish fleet, when the latter got under weigh ; the Greek fleet then joined their comrades, and an action taking place, the Turks lost some men, and two fireships of their opponents ex- ploded without having done any damage to the enemy. The Greeks then retired to Panormus, (the port of the ancient Bran- chidae, in the district of Miletus,) no\^ -called leronda. It was the object of the Capitan Pasha to return with the united fleet to Samos. On the 8th and 9th of September, the Turkish vessels attempted in vain to effect a passage through the channel between Calymna and the coast of Caria, the wind not being favourable, and the Greeks advancing to meet them. On the 10th, they were still more unfortunate. Early in the morning, they had advanced with a favourable breeze against the enemy, who was becalmed near Calymna ; and the nearest of the Greek vessels, exposed to the heavy fire of the Turkish ships, were in danger of being destroyed, or at least of being cut off from the rest of the fleet, when a breeze arising, the Greek ships were enabled to act more in concert. Such a desultory combat as the great inferiority of the Greek vessels will alone admit of, was kept up until the middle of the day, when two fireships were attached to MODERN GREECE. 149 a large Egyptian brig of war, and not long afterwards, two others to the frigate which commanded the Timisine division. So con- founded were the Turks with the boldness and skill of their op- ponents in thus attacking them with their small vessels, in the open sea and under sail, that not even the Greek ships accom- panying the incendiary vessels suffered much from the Turkish fire. The Ottoman fleet returned in confusion to the anchorage near Budrum (Halicarnassus), and the burning ships drifting ashore were entii'ely consumed. Many of the seamen were drowned or slain in endeavouring to escape from the flames, but tlie Tunisine commander was taken, and remained a prisoner with the Greeks. " After tliis defeat, the principal object of the Capitan Pasha seems to have been, that of effecting a safe retreat to the Darda- nelles. Some ships of war having been left for the protection of the transports which had been sent to the upper part of the Gulf of Cos, to land the Egyptian troops, the remainder, as soon as the calms (which usually prevail for some weeks after the cessa- tion of the Etesian winds) had given place to the equinoctial gales, took advantage of a southerly breeze, and after meeting with some interruption and loss near Icaria, reached Mytilene. " On the 7th of October, the Turkish admiral, having left Ibrahim Pasha in the command of the naval forces, re-entered the Dardanelles. About the middle of the same month, Ibra- him, after some unsuccessful encounters with the Greeks near Chios and Mytilene, returned to the Egyptian armament in the Gulf of Cos ; and in the month of November his ships sustained considerable damage from the enemy on the northern coast of Candia."* In Western Greece, military operations were almost suspend- ed during the whole year. Mavrocordato, indeed, took post at the head of about 3000 men, on the heights of Lugovitza, near the western bank of the Achelous, where they remained for three months ; while Omer Pasha remained at Kervasara at the southeastern extremity of the Ambracic Gulf ; but neither party was able or disposed to bring his troops to act.f In Eastern Greece, an attempt was made by the Seraskier, Dervish Pasha, to penetrate from Thessaly to the Corinthian Gulf, by the route which leads firom Zeitouni to Salon a. In the * Leake's Outline, pp. 152 — 5. t A detachment of cavalry surprised the town of Vrachova, and took or killed about 300 of the inhabitants. The town, however, had been before nearly de- stroyed, and with this exploit Omer Vrioni was satisfied. — Humphreys, p, 264. 150 MODERN GREECE. («>.£<■ month of July, he succeeded in passing through the defiles; but at Ampliani, about eight miles from Salona, he was attacked and defeated by the Greeks under Panouiia; and after suffering some further loss in his retreat, he resumed his positions in Doris and Thessaly, without having effected the smallest advantage.* In concert with this operation, an attempt to recover Athens was made by Oraer Pasha of Egripo ; but he was met at Marathon in the middle of July by the Greeks under Goura, from whom he received such a check as, combined with the ill success of the Seraskier's expedition, sufficed to confine him to Boeotia, and he ultimately withdrew behind the walls of Egripo. In the Morea, an attack was made, in the early part of the year, on Modon ; but this*, with occasional skirmishes with the garrison of Patras, comprised the whole exertions on either side. Coron and Lepanto remained in the undisturbed possession of the Turks. Upon the whole, the campaign of 1824 was one of the most inglorious and unprofitable to the Ottomans of any that had hitherto taken place, and at no period had the prospects of the Greeks assumed a brighter appearance, than towards the close of this year. The arrival of the loan and the submission of the military party had given new strength and apparent stability to the civil Government ; while, as to the most important of all its foreign relations, the Ionian Government with whom there had arisen a serious misunderstanding, was now on terms of friendly neutrality, and the Lord High Commissioner had actually deign- ed to set his foot in Greece. f But unhappily, the renewal of * Captain Humphreys states, that the Turks on this occasion lost about 200 men ; the Greeks four or five. " This was the most important engagement that took place by land during the whole campaign; and constituted the ope- rations of the Turkish army of above 20,000 men, opposed to 4000." — Hum- phreys, p. 268, t An order had been issued by the British Government, towards the close of 1822, directing its officers in the Mediterranean to respect the right of the Greeks to blockade such ports of Greece as remained in possession of the Turks. This was a most important point gained, being a first step towards the recognition of their independence. Jt'was, however, notorious, that among the transports hired at Alexandria and Constantinople, a great number were under the English and the, Austrian flags Irritated at these proceedings, and alarmed at the formidable preparations which were being made in both Tur- key and Egypt, the executive council issued, on the 8th of June 1824, from Lerna, an edict authorizing their cruizers to attack, burn, and sink, all Euro- pean vessels which they should find so employed. This infraction of interna- tional law, immediately called forth strong remonstrances from Sir Frederick Adam ; but these not being attended to, on the 6th of September he issued a proclamation, notifying, that till the Greek manifesto should be fully and au- thentically recalled, the British admiral in the Mediterranean had been direct- ed to seize and detain all armed vessels acknowledging the authority of the Provisional Government of Greece. On the 27th of August, the Government MODERN GREECE. 151 those dissensions in the JMorea, which it was fondly hoped that the loan would heal, or enable the Government to terminate, not only prevented the prosecution of the winter campaign, but placed the cause in tlie greatest jeopardy. During the winter, these differences rose to an alarming height. Several instances of partiality shewn by the Govern- ment to the Roumeliots, had tended to irritate the Moreote chief- tains, who were moreover jealous of not sharing in the increas- ing power of the Government. At length, as little conciliation was employed, the dispute produced an insurrection on the part of the Moreotes, at the head of which was Colocotroni and his sons, Niketas, his nephew, Demetrius and Nicolas Deliyauni, General Sessini, Andrea Zaimi, Andrea Londos, and Giovanni and Pan- agiola Notapopuolo. The Government immediately called in the aid of the Roumeliots, two of whom. General Izonga and Goura, aided by the counsels of John Coletti, took the command of their forces. The Aloreotes carried on the civil war with considerable spirit for some time, and proceeded so far as to at- tempt the capture of Napoli di Romania ; but at length, after some delay and bloodshed, the insurgents were dispersed, and the rebellion was pretty well quelled by the end of December. The evil effects, however, of this civil contest were long felt, and one most disastrous consequence was, that it prevented the reduction of Patras, which might easily have been taken during the winter. Owing to the delay thus occasioned, it was the mid- dle of January before a few vessels sailed up the Gulf of Cor- inth, and, aided by some land forces, recommenced the block- ade-; while an active pursuit was set on foot after the fugitive leaders in the late insurrection, who had taken refuge in the dif- ferent holds of the Morea. In the meantime, the Porte was very differently occupied. The Pasha of Egypt, prompted apparently by a Mussulman feeling, and by the hope at least of adding Candia and the JNIorea to his dominions, had entered cordially into the war, and his wealth enabled him to take upon himself the chief pecuniary burthen. Unhappily for the Greek cause, the assistance of the Egyptian troops had enabled the Turks m Candia to produce a had already revoked their edict, so far as regarded all neutral ships that had not Turkish troops on board ; but this not being satisfactory, Sir Frederick Adam, two days after the issuing of his proclamation, embarked for Napoli, where he was received with the highest honours, and all differences were immediately adjusted by a new decree limiting the order to neutrals found in the enemy's ■ fleet. On the 17th of November, a proclamation from the Ionian Government enjoined all vessels bearing the Septinsular flag, to respect the blockade of thf? Gulf of Corinth maintained by the Greeks. 152 MODERN GREECE. temporary suppression of the insurrection in that important island ; and the great facility of communication which was thus estab- lished between Egypt and the Morea, enabled Ibrahim Pasha, the step-son and lieutenant of Mohammed Ali, to begin the campaign of 1825 without waiting for the return of spring. His fleet having wintered at Suda in Candia, set sail on the 23d of December for Rhodes, where he took on board 5000 disci- plined troops : with these he returned to Candia, to complete his armament, which detained him tiU the middle of February. At the same time, transports were being fitted out at Constantinople, for the purpose of relieving Modon and Patras. Omer Vrioni had been removed to Salonika, and the pashaliks of loannina and Delvino had been bestowed oh the Roumeli Valisee, to which was to be added Karl-ili, in the event of his subduing it. He immediately began to form his camp at Larissa, intending, when his arrangements should be complete, to pass over to his new pashalik, and with reinforcements levied in his progress, to descend on Missolonghi. Affairs, however, wore a favourable aspect in Greece up to the commencement of February. The last remnant of the rebellion had been quelled. A few of the leaders (or avzagTOi^ as they were called) had taken refuge in Kalamos, an island appro- priated by the Ionian Government to the reception of Grecian fugitives. The remainder had surrendered to the Government, and it having been determined to remove them to Hydra, the same vessel which brought Conduriotti from that island to resume his functions at Napoli as President of the Executive, returned with the chiefs of the rebellion on board. On the 17th of December, Colocotroni and his companions embarked, and in a few days were landed at the place of their destination — the monastery of St. Nicholas, on the craggy summit of one of the wildest hills of Hydra. " The prospects of this moment," remarks Mr. Emerson, who arrived in Greece in March, " were, perhaps, the most brilliant since the commencement of the revolution. The liberators were now in full possession of the Morea, with the exception of Patras and the unimportant fortresses of Modon and Coron. Almost all Western Greece was in the hands of the Govern- ment. The country was just freed from a rebellion, which had exposed the principles of three of the chieftains who were dis- affected, and enabled the Government to remove them from their councils and measures ; a fourth portion of the loan was at that time arrived, and a fifth expected ; whilst, about the same time, a second loan had been effected in England, so that MODERN GREECE. 153 the funds of the Government were now replenished with ample means for a long campaign. Thirty ships composed the block- ading squadron before Patras, aided by a large body of land troops. The garrison within was already reduced to straits for pro\asion, as appeared by some letters which arrived at Zante from persons witliin the walls ; and a capitulation was expected in a very short time. Constant communications being maintain- ed between Missolonghi and Larissa, and the activity of the Roumeli Valisi's movements being ascertained, it was determined to prepai'e in time to oppose him ; and for this purpose, Nota Bot- zaris, together with Generals Suka and Milios, set forward with a sufficient body of ti'oops to occupy thepassof Makrinoro, tha-ans cieat -Olyft^s, through which it was necessary he should pass. Thus prepared at every point, the spirits of the soldiers were raised to the highest pitch of enthusiasm ; and it seemed that Greece wanted but one step more to defeat her northern invaders, deliver the Peloponnesus, and complete the work of freedom. " It was, however, towards the end of the same month, that the first disastrous stroke occurred. Frequent letters from Crete had informed the Government of the return of Ibrahim Pasha from Rhodes, and of the vigour with which he was hastening the completion of his preparations. The progress of the blockade at Patras was now observed with double interest, as its fall was daily expected, and as there was no other probable means of checking the armament of the Egyptians, tlian by withdrawing the squadron which was cruising before the for- tress. This, being a desperate resource, was of course deferred to the last moment ; till at length, advices arrived of the im- mediate departure of the expedition from Candia ; further delay was impossible, and just at a moment when the garrison was ripe for surrender, tlie squadron sailed, unfortunately too late* Such was the deficiency of communication across the Morea, that almost on the same day that the fleet sailed from Patras (24th Feb.), the Egyptian squadron of four corvettes and nu- merous brigs and transports, in all thirty sail, anchored off Mo- don, and disembarked 6000 soldiers, infantry and cavalry, well disciplined, and commanded chiefly by European officers. The troops immediately encamped around Modon, whilst the ships returned without delay to Suda in Candia. A few days after, Ibrahim Pasha, at the head of 800 men, advanced to the sum- mit of the range of hills which rise at the back of Navarino. The inhabitants were instantly struck with terror, and flew to arms, wliile 700 Roumeliots, under the command of General Giavella, poured immediately into the fortress. The Pasha's 20 154 MODERN GREECE. object, however, appeared to be merely to take a survey of the situation of the fortress ; he remained quietly at his station for some hours, and then returned to his encampment. It was now clear that Navarino and the adjacent country was to be the im-^ mediate seat of war ; the attempt on Patras was consequently totally abandoned, and the troops drawn off to be marched fur- ther south. "Both parties, however, remained quiet till the 20th of March, when Ibrahim Pasha, having received a -second rein- forcement from Candia, (his ships having evaded the Greek squadron,) took up his position, and placed his camp, with 14,000 soldiers, before Navarino. The capture of this town was a considerable object to the Turks not only from its position, but from the circumstance of its being the best, or one of the best protected ports in the Morea. The harbour, which is of considerable dimensions, is protected by the island of Sphacteria at its entrance, which is so narrow, that whoever has possession of the island can prevent all ingress or egi^ess from the town by sea. " The situation of Navarino perfectly agrees with Thucydides' description of Pylos ;* from some remains of antiquity in the neighbourhood, there can be little doubt of its identity : in fact, a village about half a mile distant, built immediately at the foot of the cliff, on which stands the fortress called Old Navarino, still bears the name of Pylos. New Navarino, or Neo-Castro, as the Greeks more usually call it, formerly contained 600 Turks and about 1 30 Greeks ; the former of whom were remarkable for their villany, the latter, like all the Messenians, for their sloth and effeminacy. It now contained merely 200 inhabitants and a small garrison, having fallen into the hands of the Greeks during the early stages of the revolution. The fortifications, like all the others in the Morea, were the work of the Venetians, and though not peculiarly strong, were in a pretty fair state of repair. Every precaution Avas now taken by the Greeks. A garrison amounting to 2000 soldiers, principally under the command of Hadji Christo, and Joannes Mavromichali, son to Petro Bey of Maina, were thrown into the fortress ; a small corps of artillery, amounting to fifty or sixty men, were sent off with all haste * The modern Greek name of the castle is 'ASapTvo?, whence the Italian names of Old and New Navarino. It had been left nearly in the same state in which it was found when taken from the Turks in 1S21. The fortifications consisted of a low wall without any ditch, flanked on the land side by some small bas- tions, and still weaker towards the sea, where it had received only a slight patching, since it was battered by the Russians, from one of the opposite islands, in the year 1770. — Leake's Outline, p. 165. MODERN GREECE. 155 Iropn Napoli ; and the command of the fortifications was given to Major Collegno, who lost no time in assuming his post. Provi- sions were sent in from all parts of the Morea, sufficient for a long siege. Large bodies of Roameliots, under the command of their respective generals Giavella, Karatazzo, Constantine Botzaris, brother to the hero Marco, and General Karaiskaki, took positions 'm the rear of the enemy. Conduriotti and Prince MaM'ocordato prepared to set out from Napoli with fresh troops ; and diough aifairs were threatening, there existed the strongest hopes, from the spirit of the soldiery and the state of the fortress, that they would be able to make an effective stand against all assaults." The army of Ibraliim Pasha consisted of about 10,000 in- fantiy, 2000 Albanians, and an adequate proportion of cavalry and artillery. On the 2Sth of March, he made an assault on the town, but was opposed by the united force of the Roumeliot general, Karatazzo, and Joannes Mavromikhah. The loss on both sides was nearly equal : that of the Greeks is stated at 150 men, including their brave young leader, Joannes, who received a wound in his arm, which, being unskilfully dressed, terminated in -a mortification. The Greeks succeeded, however, in taking fi'om the enemy upwards of a hundred English muskets and bay- onets, which were immediately forwarded to Tripolitza. A sys- tem of petty skirmishing was kept up during the ensuing three weeks without any important result. In the mean time, Aus- trian, Ionian, and even English ships, laden with Turkish grain and provisions, were daily arriving at Napoli, as prizes taken by the Greek cruizers :* and on the 13th of April, three Austrian vessels, laden with provision's for the enemy, who was reported to be already in possession of Navarino, appeared at the entrance of the harbour. The Greek commandant, suspecting their in- tention, hoisted the red flag on the fortress : and the three ves- sels, entering in full confidence, were declared lawful prizes, and tlieir cargoes were applied to the supply of the garrison. At length, on the 19th of April, Ibrahim Pasha attacked, in their position, the whole force of the Greeks, amounting to about 6000 men, and completely defeated them. The partic- ulars of this important action are thus given by Mr. Emerson, * Emerson, p. 105. These vessels had invariably regular papers from their respective consuls, and cleared for the Ionian Isles : but in general, the confes- sions of the captains, or some other circumstances, condemned them. Several, however, were reclaimed, and though no doubt could be entertained of their being Turkish property, yet, as their papers were correct, the Greeks weie compelled to surrender thbm. 156 - MODERN GREECE. on the authority of letters from Navarino, transmitted td the Government at Napoli. " The positions in the rear of the enemy had been all occu- pied, with an intention of cutting off their communication with Modon, and were now extended almost in a circle. The left extremity was intrusted to Hadji Christo, Hadji Stephano, and Constantine Botzaris ; the right was commanded by the Rou- meliot generals, Giavella and Karatazzo ; whilst the centre was oc- cupied by a body of Moreotes, under General Skurtza, a Hydriote, whom Conduriotti's interest had invested with a high command, together with a few other capitani. On the evening of the 18th instant, intimation of the intended attack in the morning had been received from a deserter, and notice in consequence sent to the different generals. The commanders of the positions on the extremities were fully prepared ; but in the centre, Skurtza had as yet neglected to make the necessary entrenchments and petty lines, behind which alone the Greeks are capable of making any stand. He accordingly applied for additional assistance, and ' early in the morning, Botzaris set out to his position with a chosen body of his soldiers. About nine o'clock, the attack of the Egyptians commenced on the position of Hadji Christo, who sustained the onset with extreme courage : at the same time, another party, with three cannon and one mortar, commenced the attack on the right, where they met with an equally brave resistance from Giavella and his followers ; whilst a third, sup- ported by a body of Mameluke horse, charged on the centre. The two extremities kept their position with astonishing bravery, though not less than three hundred shot and shells fell within the lines of Giavella. In the centre, however, the want of their ac- customed tambours soon threw the soldiers of Skurtza into confusion ; and after a short stand, they commenced a precipi- tate retreat, leaving the soldiers of Botzaris to oppose the enemy ^ alone. These were soon cut to pieces ; and it was with extreme difficulty, that himself and twenty-seven followers escaped with life, after witnessing the fall of almost all the chosen soldiers of his brother Marco, who had died in his defence. Upwards of two hundred Greeks lost their lives in this engagement. Xidi and Zapheiropuolo, two of the bravest leaders, were made prisoners ; and four other distinguished capitani perished in the fray. " The day following, the enemy, elated with their success, attempted an assault on the walls : the efforts of the garrison, however, assisted by a band of Arcadians in the rear of the en- emy, were successM in driving them off with the loss of 100 slain and twenty prisoners ; whilst the Greeks took possession of , MODERN GREECE. 157 their newly-erected battery, but, not being able to carry off the cannon, contented themselves with spiking them all, and retired again within the walls." The negligence or pusillanimity of the Moreotes under Skurtza, to which Botzaris justly attributed the defeat of his troops, so materially widened tlie breach between the Roumeliots and the Moreotes, that shortly alter, hearing that the Turks were advancing on Missolonghi, the former expressed their de- termination to leave the defence of Navarino to the peninsular troops, and return to defend their own homes. Accordingly, on the 30th instant, they ai'rived at Lugos, to the number of 3000, /5*"< ^ under their respective generals, Giavella, Karaiskachi, and Bot- zaris. The Moreotes, roused by this defection, now took arras with greater spirit ; and the rebel chiefs Zaimi and Londo, driven, from Kalamos by the English resident, returned to the Morea, having submitted to the Government, and began to raise troops in their native districts of Kalavrita. In the mean time, the Roumeli Valisee had, on the 10th of if^- March, reached loannina from Larissa. On the 20th he arrived with 15,000 men at Aita ; and early in April, he succeeded in accomplishing his entrance by the pass of Makrinoro into the plains of Western Greece. The Roumeliots, under Nota Bot- zaris and Izonga, had deserted their post, and crossed the Achelous, without once coming in contact with the enemy, leaving the whole country north of that river open to his ravages, wliile the inhabitants of the villages took refuge under British protection in Kalamos. At the orders or entreaties of the Mis- solonghi Government, Generals Izonga and Makris were induced, however, to recross the Achelous, and attempt to seize the passes of Ligovitzi ; but the enemy was beforehand with them, and af- ter a short conflict, they were obliged to retreat with all expedi- tion, and prepare for the defence of Anatolico and Missolonghi. To return to the siege of Navarino. The object of Ibrahim Pasha was now to take Sphacteria ; but it was not till the arrival of his ships from Suda with a third division of land forces, that he deemed it expedient to make the attempt. On the 6th of May, a large division of the Egyptian army commenced the at- '^^,^ tack on the fortress of Old Navarino, with a view to cover the debarkation of troops from the fleet. The spirited defence made by the garrison under Hadji Christo and the Archbishop of Modon, together with the approach of the Greek fleet, defeated the plan. In the evening, after a smart action, which continued all day, the enemy retired to their former position at Petrochori, while the fleet fell back in the direction of Modon. The Greek 158 MODERN GREECE. squadron kept beating off the town, and only eight ships, includ- ing that of the brave Anastasius "^saraado, remained within tlie harbour. Early on the next morning, the Turkish fleet was again ob- served under weigh in the direction of the fortress, .and, about one o'clock, had advanced very near the island, while the Hydriot ships under Miaulis were becalmed at some distance from the shore. The island contained but one landing place, oij the western side, which was defended by a small battery" of three guns, and a garrison of 200 soldiers, under the direction of a brave young Hydriot, Stavro Sohini, and General Anagnostara. For the purpose of working tlie guns more effectually, a party of sailors, headed by Tfsamado, were landed from the ships in the bay ; and Prince Mavrocordato and Count Santa Rosa, a Pied- montese volunteer, remained on the island to direct the operations of the whole. If bravery could have compensated for the inequality of numbers, the Greeks would have triumphed. Fifty armed boats were sent off from the Turkish fleet, containing 1500 men, on whose approach the little garrison opened their, fire, and for some time maintained their position nobly ; but at length, surrounded from behind, cutoff from relief or retreat, they were overpowered by numbers, and, after a desperate re- sistance, were to a man cut to pieces, their two brave leaders being among the last that fell. The divisions stationed at other points of the little island now fled in confusion, and all the Greek vessels in the harbour, exceptf^samado's, made their escape, pass- ing unopposed through the division of the enemy's fleet placed at the mouth of the harbour to detain them. Mavrocordato and the governor of Neo-kastro, both of whom were in the island, were so fortunate as to reach the remaining ship ; but when the boats reached the shore a second time, for the purpose of bringing off others, the fugitives that eagerly crowded into them were too many, and sunk them. A few moments after, "^sarnado, desperate- ly wounded, with a few followers, gained the beach, and was seen waving his cap for the assistance his countrymen could no longer render him. The Turks soon came up, and he fell, with his handful of men, under a shower of bullets. Not a Greek was now left alive on the Island, and the solitary ship of *§^samado had to make her way out through the fleet of the enemy, drawn up round the entrance of the harbour. During four hours of a dead calm, she maintained a desperate fight, but finally fought her way with great gallantry through the forty sail of the Egyp- tians, with the loss of two men killed and six wounded. Tliree hundred and fifty soldiers perished in the island, including the un- ^ MODERN GREECE. 159 fortunate Count Santa Rosa, who fought in the ranks with his musket and ataghan, and General Catzaro, besides nisety seamen in killed, wounded, and missing ; a greater number than Hydra had lost during the four years of the war.* Two days after the capture of the island, the garrison of Old , Navarino, who were now shut up with but little provisions, and water for only a few days, capitulated on condition of laying down their arms and retii-ing. For these favourable terms, they were unexpectedly indebted to two of the French officers in the Pasha's service ; and on die faith of their representations, they ventured to march out, about a thousand men in number, under the command of General Luca and an American Philhellene named Jarvis. Having surrendered their arms at the feet of the Pasha, they were escorted for a few miles by a small body of horse, and were then permitted to depart in safety. The Turkish ships, having entered the harbour, now opened a fire upon Neo-kastro, about fifty pieces of cannon being placed in battery on the land-side ; but not till the 23rd of May, after a week consumed in negotiation, the garrison marched out on the same terms as those of Navarino, and were embarked in Euro- pean vessels for Kalamata, with the exception of Generals latracco and Giorgio Mavromikhali, who were detained' prison- ers.! •'^y t^^® ^^^ °f ^^^^^ place, Ibrahim Pasha became posses- sed of the key to tlie entire western coast of the Morea, there * Mr. Emerson was at Hydra when the vessels arrived, bring^hig the melan- choly intelligence of their fate. The sight, he says, of the anxious and ago- nized groupes of mothers and widows crowding the rocks on the beach, was most heart-rending Count Santa Rosa had but a few months before come to Greece with Major Collegno, to offer his services to the Government, " disap- pointed in his attempt to free his own country from the Austrian Sultan.' Without money, and unacquainted with the language, he discovered his error in joining a cause he could not serve in any situation becoming his rank and talents. Three letters written shortly before his death, (Picture of Greece, vol. ii. p. 180,) exhibit the ardent affection and despondency of a heart-broken exile. He had intended to return to England at the end of the campaign, and speaks with fondness of his friends in this country; but on the day of the attack on Sphacteria, he disdained to flee ; like the brave Roland of Campbell, " he fell, and wished to fall." An account of the fatal conflict, drawn up by Mavrocordato's secretary, him- self an eye-witness, will be found in the Picture of Greece in 1825, vol. ii. p. 169. See also Emerson's Journal, in vol. i. pp. 139 — 144. Leake's Out- line, p. 167. t Leake, p. 168. Emerson, pp. 152, 193. Count Pecchio states, that the garrison of Old Navarino attempted to force a passage by night througii the enemy's camp ; that they were surpiised on the road, and obliged to surrender, with the exception of 140 Roumeliots, who opened themselves a road sword in hand ; that Ibrahim Pasha detained as prisoners Hadji Christo and the bishop of Modon, and set the re?t at liberty. Journal, p. 73. 160 MODERN GREECE. being no other fortresses to oppose his progress, and the country consists of open plains, affording no impediment to the operations of cavalry ; while the beautiful harbour gave the enemy a secure hold to winter in. Shortly after the fall of Navarino, the Egyptian Pasha sus- tained a naval loss, which, though not of sufficient magnitude materially to affect the operations of the Ottoman fleet, served to revive the drooping spirits and rekindle the almost extinguish- ed ardour of the Moreotes. " Immediately after the loss of the Island, while the Greek fleet continued cruising off the coast, the squadron of the Pasha separated into two divisions, one of which remained in the vicinity and harbour of Navarino ; whilst the other, consisting of two frigates and four corvettes, with numerous transports, moved down to Modon, where on the 12th instant, they were followed by Miaulis, with four fire-ships and twenty-two brigs. In the eve- ning of the same day, a most favourable breeze setting in from the south-east, he made his signal for the fire-ships to enter the harbour. Besides the Egyptian squadron, there were likewise within, a number of other, Austrian, Ionian, and Sicilian craft, making in all about thirty-five or forty sail. The enemy, on the advance of the fire-ships, immediately attempted to cut their cables and escape ; but the same steady breeze which drove on the brulots, and blew direct into the harbour, prevented their egress. The consequence was, that they were thrown into the utmost confusion, ran foul of each other, and finally were driven, en masse, beneath the walls of the fortress ; where the brulots still advancing upon them, the whole Egyptian squadron, with a few Austrian and other ships, in all twenty-five, fell victims to the flames. Only a very few of the smaller European craft, which lay further out from the town, succeeded in making their escape, and brought the particulars of the event to the Pasha of Navarino. In the mean time, the missiles caused by the blow- ing up of the shipping and cannon, falling within the walls, set fire to a store-house containing a large quantity of ammunition and provisions, which blew up with a tremendous explosion, which was visible for several miles from sea. Owing to the panic on the first appearance of the Greeks, not the slightest opposition was made by the Egyptians ; and after destroying the squadron of the enemy, the brulottiers succeeded in regaining their own ships, without the loss of a single man." While the feelings of the Moreotes were still -vibrating be- tween joy and despondency, the cry for Colocotroni was again loudly raised. Some of the provinces had before demanded bis MODERN GREECE. l6l release, and he had himself besought the Government to allow him to engage the eneni}^, oflering his two sons as hostages. Two members of the Government were in favour of his release, and two against it ;* but, on the arrival of the President, it was referred to the legislative body, who decided the point in his favour, and a deputation proceeded to Hydra to conduct him back to Napoli.f He arrived on the 30th of May, and on the next day, his reconciliation to the Government was celebrated with all due ceremony, amid the acclamations of the populace. A general amnesty and oblivion were mutually agreedTto and ratified in the church of St. George ; after which Signor Tricoupi delivered an oration to the people and the soldiers in the grand square. Colocotroni replied without premeditation to the speech addressed to him by one of the legislative body. " In coming hither from Hydra, I have cast all rancour into the sea 5 do you so likewise ; bury in that gulf all your hatreds and dissensions : that shall be the treasure which you will gain" — alluding to the excavations in search of treasure which were then being made. * Coletti, Colocotroni' s principal enemy, was one of those who opposed his release. Conduriotti, considering Coletti as the suborner of the Roumeliot troops who had abandoned the camp, wished him to be expelled ; but, per- ceiving' that he should soon require his support against Colocotroni, he gave up this idea. Mavrocordato, however, was the most obnoxious to the Moreote paity. t " When I beheld Colocotroni sitting amid ten of his companions, pris- oners of state, and treated with respect by his guards, I called to mind the picture that Tasso draws of Satan in the council of devils. His neglected grey hairs fell upon his broad shoulders, and mingled with his rough beard, which, since his imprisonment, he had allowed to grovv as a mark of grief and revenge. His form is rugged and vigorous, his eyes full of fire, and his martial and savage figure resembled one of the sharp grey rocks that are scattered through- out the Archipelago." Such is the portrait of the old klepht, drawn by Count Pecchio. ' Mr. Emerson's description is not less picturesque, though he gives a different colouring to his hair. He obtained permission to visit the rebel chiefs at Hydra a short time before. " The generality of them exhibit nothing peculiar in their appearance, being, like the rest cf their countrymen, wild, savage-looking soldiers, clad in tarnished embroidered vests, and dirty jucta- nellas. Colocotroni was, however, easily distinguished from the rest by his particularly savage and uncultivated air. His person is low, but built like a Hercules, and his short bull neck is surmounted by a head rather larger than pi-oportion warrants, which, with its shaggy eye-brows, dark niustachioa, un- shorn beard, and raven hair falling in curls over his shoulders, formed a com- plete study for a painter. He had formerly been in the service of the English in the Ionian Islands, as a serjeant of guards, and spoke with peculiar pride of his acquaintance with several British officers. He was in high spirits at the prospect of his liberation.. . . During my visit, he spoke of his enemies in the Government with moderation and no appearance of rancour ; he, however, said little, but, on the name of Mavrocordato or Coletti being mentioned, he gathered his brow, compressed his lips, and baring his huge arm to the shoul- der, he flung it from him with desperate determination." — Picture of Greece, vol j. pp. 164, 167 ; vol. ii. p. 86. 21 162 ' MODERN GREECE. Proclamations were now issued by the Government, calling tli6 inhabitants of the Morea to arms ; all the shops of Napoli were ordered to be closed, except a sufficient number of bakers and butchers, and the whole population was to join the standard of Colocotroni. By the 10th of June, he had assembled about 8000 linen at Tripolitza. Pappa Flescia had already marched to garrison Arcadia, and Petro Bey was raising his followers in Maina. In the mean time, Miaulis, the Hydriote admiral, had deter- mined on a desperate but decisive service : this was no other than to enter the harbour of Suda, and attempt the destruction of the remainder of the Egyptian fleet. He was just about to sail, when news was brought, that the Turkish fleet had passed the Dardanelles, and was at that time within thirty miles of Hydra. Instantly signals were fired, and in a quarter of an hour, every anchor was weighed, every yard-arm spread with canvas, and the whole fleet steered for that island, to protect their homes. They had nearly reached it, when a caique came off with the gratifying intelligence that, on the 1st of June, the hostile fleet had been met in the channel of Cavo Doro by the fire-ships of the second Greek squadron under Saktouri, when a line-of-battle ship, (the Capitan Pasha's, who escaped by sailing in a smaller ship,) a corvette, and a frigate, were destroyed, and the Capitan Aga perished in the flames. Five transports also were taken, laden with stores and ammunition, which were safe- ly conveyed to Spetzia. The remainder of the fleet dispersed in all directions : one corvette was driven to Syra, where she was burned by the crew, after feigning to surrender, but 150 of the men were made prisoners. The larger body succeeded in reaching Rhodes ; but it was some time ere they could be re-as- sembled. This brilliant success, besides relieving Hydra, had a powerful effect in raising the spirits of the Greeks. The vessels contained a large proportion of the stores intended for the siege of Missolonghi. Miaulis now steering southward, was joined by Saktouri's squadron, making their united force amount to about seventy sail ; and it was resolved that the whole fleet after completing their provisioning at Milo, should proceed to Suda, where the Turkish and Egyptian fleets were now collected. It was not before the evening of the 12th that they reached the harbour, owing in part to stormy weather, and partly to delays arising from the insubordination of the seamen. On the 14th, a light breeze springing up, enabJed them to attack a division of the Ot- toman fleet in the outer harbour ; and at the expense of three MODERN GREECE. 163 fire-ships and ten men killed, they destroyed a corvette with its equipage. They were prevented from further success chiefly by the dropping of the wind, and by the unwonted precaution of the Turks, who, in consequence of information given by a French schooner, had separated into four divisions. On the 17th, a severe gale separated the Greek fleet, and they retired to Hydra, leaxang the Turkish admiral to proceed unmolested to Navarino, where he landed a reinforcement of 5000 men. Thence he pursued his course with seven frigates and several smaller vessels to Missolonghi, where he arrived on the 10th of July. The siege of tliat place had now been carried on by Reschid Pasha for upwards of two months, without making any impres- sion or gaining any important advantage. On the 27th of April, the first division of 5000 had made their appearance, and they were soon followed by other parties ; but their whole artillery consisted of only two pieces of small cannon, and they were already in want of provisions. On being joined, however, by Yousef, Pasha of Patras, their numbers amounted to 14,000 men, and they had five cannon and one mortar ; others were subsequently obtained from Lepanto, ana Patras. Several smart skirmishes took place. On the 6th of May, a body of 200 Rou- meliots attacked the enemy's position at the village of Pappadia, wliich was defended by 2000 men, under Banousa Sebrano, and succeeded in dislodging him, with a slight loss on the part of the Greeks. The Turks lost sixty killed and a number of prisoners. They then took up a new position, and were again obliged to re- tire before the Greeks with considerable loss, and to send to the camp for succours. At Anatolico, similar success attended the efforts of the Greeks in repelling an assault. On the 10th of May, the Turks, having completed their preparations for attack, commenced throwing bombs and shot into Missolonghi, which the garrison returned with equal vigour. A constant discharge of shot and shells was now kept up by the besiegers, who grad- ually advanced their lines and position nearer to the walls ; but very little mischief was done by the artillery, and the spirit of the garrison and inhabitants remained unbroken. Their provis- ions and ammunition, however, became nearly exhausted, and both parties were looking with anxiety for their respective fleets. On the arrival of the Capitan Pasha in July, the Seraskier was enabled to press the siege with increased vigour. The boats of the Ottoman fleet entered the lagoons, and the non- arrival of the Hydriote squadron rendered the situation of the besieged very critical. The garrison of Patras were able with 164 MODERN GREECE. impunity to ravage the country in the neighbourhood of Clarenza and Gastouni ; and about the middle of July, the latter town was almost totally burned by a party of Turkish cavalry. Ana- tolico surrendered on the 21st of July, the garrison of 300 men being made prisoners of war; and on the 1st of August, the Turkish commander, apprehensive of the approach of the Greek fleet, ordered a general attack upon Missolonghi. The works on the land-side were assailed in four places, while thirty boats occupied the lake. The Osmanlys were, however, every where repulsed, with the loss of part of their artillery ; and two days after (Aug. 3) the Greek fleet, consisting of about twenty-five brigs, made its appearance. So critical was the moment of their ar- rival, that the town is stated to have been on the point of capitu- lating, their ammunition and provisions being exhausted, and tlieir supply of water being cut off, when a dark night and a fa- vourable wind enabled the Greek squadron securely to pass the Turkish line, and to take up a position between them and the town. On the 4th and 5th of the month, they succeeded in de- stroying two small ships of war, as well as all the boats on the lagoon, and in throwin ^sufficient stores into the town. About mid-day, the Turkish fleet, without firing a shot, withdrew, part of it retiring behind the casties of the Gulf of Corinth, and the greater part making sail for the ^gean sea, in the direction of Durazzo. This appears to have been a feint, for they soon afterwards steered southwards for Rhodes, followed by the Greek- squadron. The Seraskier was still sufiiciently strong to maintain his po- sition without much interruption ; and he continued the siege, though with scarcely any other result except that of loss to his own troops, in expectation of reinforcements from the Egyptian fleet fitting out at Alexandria. A bold but unsuccessful attempt had been made, on the 10th of August, to destroy this fleet. Three fire-ships succeeded in penetrating into the harbour un- discovered, but a sudden change of wind defeated the project, and though the brulots were burned, they did no mischief. Had this attempt succeeded, it would have greatly altered the aspect of affairs ; but in November, the Turco-Egyptian fleet appeared lin the ^gean Sea. In the Morea, the campaign had proved the most disasti'ous that the Greeks had hitherto experienced. After the surrender of Navarino and Neo-kastro, Ibrahim Pasha remained there only a few days, for the purpose of directing the repair of the fortifi- cations and the erection of a new battery on the island, and then, dividing his forces, advanced on Arcadia and Kalamatq. The MODERN GREECE. 165 Jatter place, which possessed neitlier fortress nor defence, he gained possession of, after a well-maintained fight with a body of Greeks. But at Aghia, a strong position on the mountain which overhangs the town of Ai'cadia, a desperate conflict took place between tlie other detachment of Ibralimi's army and the^Greeks under Pappa Flescia, supported by a few German officers. That valorous priest had taken post at the head of 800 men, but 1 50 only remained widi him, the otliers ha\dng fled ; and the whole of this valiant band perished sword in hand, overpowered by numbers. Pappa Flescia fell after performing prodigies of va- lour.* Ibrahim Pasha admitted a loss, on his part, of 250 men. After this victory, the Egyptians, in advancing on Arcadia, re- ceived a check from General Coliopulo, and fell back several miles ; and on crossing the mountain called Makriplaghi, which separates the plain of Messenia from the valley of the Upper Alpheius, he sustained the loss of 150 men from the troops of Colocotroni, who was now advancing to occupy the passes ; but at length, after various shirmishes, in which the Greeks were generally worsted, Ibrahim Pasha succeeded in reaching Leon- dari. It was now in vain to think of saving Tripolitza, which con- tamed no garrison ; and orders were therefore sent to the in- habitants to burn the town. Collecting whatever portion of their property they were able to remove, they surrendered their houses and their standing crops to the flames, and retre?ited towards Argos and Napoli di Romania. On the 20tli of June, the Egyp- tians entered the abandoned and half-demolished capital ; and three days after, hastening to profit by his advantage, Ibrahim Pasha advanced on Napoli. Colocotroni, it seems, imagining that the Pasha's object would be to open a communication with Patras, had drawn off all his troops to occupy the passes in that quarter, thus leaving the route to Napoli undefended. When news arrived of his approach, Demetrius Ypsilanti, " good at need," * Pappa Flessa, or Flescia, alias Gregorius Dikaios, at this time minister of the interior, was one of the most zealous apostles of the revolution, to which cause, however, he did credit only by his bravery. A priest by profession, he lived surrounded with a numerous harem. A patriot par excellence, he en- riched himself amid the miseries of his country. It is some proof of virtuous feeling in the Greeks, that though his mUitciry talents and courage and his valuable services procured him official employment, his immoralities gave general umbrage, and he was contemned by all parties. Count Pecchio met him on the road between Argos and Tripolitza, preceded by his harem and two pipe-bearers, in the oriental style, and with all the pomp of a pasha. He was handsome, and his countenance had even an expression of majesty, adapt- ed to command the homage of the people ; yet'he was far from popular. — See Pict. of Greece, vol. i. p. 89 ; vol. ii. p. 136. 166 ^ MODERN GREECE. with about 250 men, hastened to occupy the village of Mylos (the Mills). " Early on Saturday morning, the Egyptian line was seen de- scending the hills which lead to the rear of the village. About eleven o'clock they had gained the plain ; but, instead of making any attempt on Mylos, they seemed to be only intent on pursuing their course towards Argos, and, for this purpose, passed down a narrow plain lying between the village and the surrounding hills. Just, however, as the rear of their line had passed Mylos, a vol- ley of musketry was discharged by the Greeks, a ball from which wounded Col. Seve, a French renegade, who, under the name of Soliman jSey, has long been the chief military assistant of the Pasha, and the agent for the organisation of the Egyptian troops. Immediately the line halted, and, after some little delay, the main body passed on towards Ai'gos, whilst about 2000 of the rear- guard remained behind, and advanced to the attack of the vil- lage. " Fortunately, the nature of the ground was such as to render the "assistance of the cavalry impossible. They were obliged, after some useless manoeuvres in front of the Greek intrench- ment, to retire with the loss of a few men. The main body, however, charged the garrison so closely, that, driven from every post, they were obliged to retire behind the fence of an orchard on the sea-shore, where they had a defence of three tambours, or low walls, between them and the enemy. The two first of these were quickly forced, and, driven behind the third, with no possibility of further retreat, and nearly surrounded by the over- powering numbers of the enemy, their case now seemed despe- rate. The Egyptians, at length, advanced almost close to the third wall : ' Now, my brothers,' exclaimed a Greek capitano, ' is the moment to draw our swords.' With those words, he flung away his musket, and, springing over the fence, followed by the greater body of his men, attacked the enemy with his ataghan. A desperate conflict ensued for some moments, till the Egyptians, terrified by the sudden enthusiasm of their foes, at length gave way, and commenced retreating towards the plain, whither they were pursued, for some distance, by the victorious Greeks.* Here they again rallied, and formed in order; but, instead of again renewing the attack, they left the Greeks in possession of the village, and continued their march to rejoin * It appears from other accounts, that several misticos, which lay close to the shore, opened a destructive fire upon the Egyptians, and contributed not a lit- tle to their defeat. MODERN GREECE. 167 their comrades, who about mid-day encamped witliin three or four miles of Argos. " The inhabitants of that town, on the first notice of the ene- my's approach, had fled to Napoli di Romania, with what little of tlieir property diey were able to carry off, leaving their houses and homes to the mercy of the enemy. On Sunday morning, the flames, which were clearly visible at Napoli in that direction, told that the Pasha's troops were in motion : they had advanced to the town, and, finding it totally deserted, set fire to it in va- rious quarters, and reduced the whole to ruins. The remainder of the day, all was quiet ; but early on Monday morning a party of cavalry were discovered on their march towards Napoli di Romania. All was instantly in bustle and confusion on their approach ; however, as they proved to be only about 700 in number, tlie panic soon subsided ; and a party of mounted Greeks, about eighty, who sallied out to meet them, succeeded in putting them to flight, with the loss of one man. They then retired towards their encampment, and the same evening, having struck his tents, the Pasha set out on his return towards Tripo- litza. Colocotroni, who had been advertised of his march to- wards Napoli, had, with all haste, returned from Karitena, to occupy the Parthenian passes in his rear, and by that means cut off his return towards Modon ; he was now stationed with a large body of troops on the Bey's Causeway, where the slightest op- position must have proved fatal to the Pasha's army. Such, however, was his superior knowledge of the country and the movements of the Greeks, that dividing his line into two columns, he passed on each side of the Moreotes, and uniting again in their rear, had reached Tripolitza in safety ere Colocotroni was aware of his departure from Mylos. Here he had again estab- lished his head-quarters." Napoli di Romania presented at this moment a scene of con- fusion, perplexity, and disorder, not easily to be described. Mr. Emerson, who arrived there on the 30th of June, when the con- sternation was at its height, says, that nothing could exceed the melancholy and filthy scene. " On every side, around the walls, were pitched the tents of the unfortunate refugees from Tripolitza and Argos, who had not been permitted to enter the city, for fear of increasing the contagious fever ; and within the walls the streets were thronged with soldiers, who had assembled from all quarters for the defence of the town, or their own protection. Every shop was closed, and it was with difficulty that we could procure a few biscuits, some olives, and a little cloying sweet wine for supper ; the peasantry in the vicinity having all fled on 168 MODERN GREECE. the appearance of the Egyptians, and no longer bringing in the necessary supplies of provisions for the inhabitants of Napoli. All the houses were filled with soldiers ; my own lodgings were occupied by eighteen. The streets were every where in con- fusion with the quarrels of the new-comers and the inhabitants, and the utmost efforts of the regular corps were scarcely suffi- cient to keep down the turbulence of the undisciplined soldiery. During the night, the whole body continued under arms, in the public square, awaiting every moment a general insurrection, threatened by the irregular troops, to plunder the town, and make up their deficiency of pay. This, however, did not occur ; and after a sleepless night of alarm and anxiety, morning broke, and found all in a state of comparative quiet. Every Greek whom I met, appeared at the acme of perplexity ; and their gratitude for their present escape was almost overcome by their anxiety for future events. " The Government seemed paralysed at the successes of the enemy, and at thus seeing a formerly despised foe advance openly beneath their very walls, and again return unmolested through the heart of their country. Neither were their hopes by any means raised on the receipt of a letter from Colocotroni, who was in the vicinity of Tripolitza, in which he loudly com- plained of the conduct of his troops, of their pusillanimity in formerly retreating and leaving every pass undisputed to the enemy; adding, that now, though his numbers were by no means deficient, and a spirited attack on Tripolitza might be attended with glorious results, he found it impossible to induce a single soldier to follow him." But they had still another source of perplexity in those internal factions and foreign intrigues to which the failure of the cause has hitherto been chiefly attributable. About this time, a French faction started up, headed by a General Roche, who had in- April arrived at Napoli, furnished with credentials from the Greek Committee of Paris. This gentleman professed himself a warm and disinterested Philhellenist, whose sole object was to obtain a thorough knowledge of the state of the country for the information of his colleagues, and he soon insinuated himself into the good graces of the Executive. A short time only had elapsed before he began to develope further \'iews, by reprobat- ing the idea of a republican government, and declaring his opinion to be in favour of a monarchy : he even went so far as to propose as sovereign the second son of the Duke of Orleans. This was merely thrown out, however, in conversation, till after the fall of Navarino, when he openly offered his plan to Govern- MODERN GREECE. 169 ment, promising, in case it should be accepted, the aid of 12,000 disciplined French troops. Although he met with no encourage- 'ment, the intrigues of the General and of the French Commo- dore De Rigny, still continued, and every new disaster gave a fresh opening to their efforts ; its expediency was urged m the public cafes, and a party was even formed in its favour among tlie members of Government. Mavrocordato, Tricoupi, and the Hydriote party, however, strongly opposed it, declaring that, were the protection or interference of any foreign power found requisite, that of Great Britain would be the most efficient. In fact, while Capt. Hamilton* was at Napoli, a deputation from the Islands had solicited him to take them under British pro- tection, — a request with which he, of course, explained to them that he had not authority to comply. The clamours and com- plaints of the French and English parties becoming daily more annoying, iMavrocordato repaired to Hydra, to unite with the primates in urging the fleet again to put to sea, in order, by some favourable diversion, to allay the tumult of faction ; but the sailors, taking advantage of the alarming crisis, refused to embark unless their pay (already amounting to six or seven dollars a month) were doubled, and two months paid in advance. This conduct was the more disgraceful, as their wages had always been regularly paid, even when the pay of the army had heeix allowed to run in arrears. On the 20th of July, another instal- ment of the loan fortunately arrived to rekindle the patriotism of the Hydriote seamen ; and they consented to sail in pursuit of the Capitan Pasha's fleet, which had been suffered, as akeady mentioned, to proceed to Missolonghi. Whether it was owing to the loan or to the exigencies of the country, does not appear, but, towards the end of July, the French faction was so fast giving way, and the majority of the populace, as well as of the Government, so strongly and openly declared themselves in favour of British protection, that General Roche drew up a protest against their decision, in which, strange to say, he was joined by a young American officer of the name of Washington, who had arrived in Greece in June, furnished with credentials from the American Greek Committee at Boston. * This distinguished officer has the rare good fortune of being nearly as much respected by the Osmanlys as by the Greeks ; and the influence of his name in the Levant is as great as that of Sir Sidney Smith once was in Syria, or that of Nelson all over the Mediterranean. By the Greeks, the Chaplain to H. M. ship Cambrian assures us, " Captain Hamilton is regarded as a sort of guardian angel, whose benevolence is as unbounded as his power ; yet, he has never once favoured them at the expense of justice, or when it interfered with the coarse of duty." — Swan's Journal, vol. ii. p. 155. 22 170 MODERN (SREECE. In this imbecile document, the French royalist and the American republican, united by a common hatred of England, affect to con- sider the wish for British interference as an insult to their respective nations.* The paper was, of course, treated by all parties with merited contempt ; and Mr. Washington, the soi- disant representative of America, shortly afterwards left Greece, under rather awkward circumstances.f In the mean time, it was determined at Hydra, that fresh deputies shoidd be sent to London, while Signor Tricoupi was to proceed to Corfu, to con- sult the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Isles. Accord- ingly, the eldest son of Miaulis and one of the Hydriote primates embarked for England at the end of August, and General Roche soon after left Greece for his own country. * A verbatim copy is given by the Rev. Mr. Swan (Journal, vol. ii. p. 156). We give the first two or three sentences, which contain the gist of the protest. " Les sous-dgrds Deputes des Philell^nes de France el des Etats Unis de V^miri- que, ont eu connaissance que des individus dans leur simple qualite de citoyens Grecs, se soni permis de se meltre ix, la tile d^une faction, et contre les institutions de leur pays, ont sign6 et fait circuler une diclaraiton extr^mement injurieuse au caraddre de leur nation et de leur gouvernement, qui ont toujours niontre Vinti- rit le phis vif pour la prosptrite et lind6fendance de la Grtce Les sous-sign6s savent que le Senat et le Corps Exicutif, dans leurs sdances du 22 de ce mois, ont d6cr'l6 de demander des secours au gouvernement des Isles loniennes pour la conservation de leur liberti politique, menacie par I' invasion d'lbraim Pasha. Quoqu'il ait 6li bien pinible aux sous-signes de voir le pen de confiance que le Senat Grec, dans cette circonslance si grave, a nns dans les JVations Franqaise et Americaine, Us respecthrent nianmoins ses decisions," fee. Jn conclusion, they demand an explicit explanation, that they may lay the matter before " their respective committees!" (Signed) " Le General W. Roche. " W. ToRINGHEUIT WASHINGTON. " Nauplie, le 28 Juillet, 1825." t Emerson, pp. 291, 2. In the reply of the Greek Government, it is remark- ed, that " M. Washington n'est pas un deput6 d'aucun comite : il n'est qu'un simple pariiculier." Thus, he would seem to have been a mere adventurer. They go on to say, that the document by which they place their national independence under the protection of his Britannic Majesty, is not the act of a few individuals, but of all the deputies, primates, the army, and the navy of Greece; that they complain of no govicrnment, but that they do complain of certain agents of some European powers,* who, in disregard of the neutrality proclaimed on the part of their governments at the congress of Verona and at Laybach, have pursued a conduct hostile to the dearest interests of Greece, and have endeavouied to change the form of their government} " et personne ne connait cela mieux que le Giniral Roche." — Swan, vol. ii. p. 160. Ridiculous and arrogant as appears the conduct of these foreigners, it is but just to add, that they have not gone much further than certain English Phjlhellenists, respecting whom Prince Mavrocordato is compelled to say, in a letter to Mr. Blaquiere : — " The conduct on the part of these gentlemen is well worthy of the liberty of which they wish to boast. Can there be a more cruel des- potism than that of a foreigner, who, without any right, wishes to command, without paying the least regard to the existing laws .'' Does the first comer think that lie can tread us under his feet, or are we thought capable of being led by the nose hy the first intrig^uer ?" — Blaquiere's Second Visit, p. 84, MODERN GREECE. 171 The Russian party appears to have now become quite extinct. Its death-blow was a semi-official note, put fortli in the pre- ceding year by the Russian cabinet, in which the idea was thrown out of forming Greece into principalities, on the same plan as tlie Dacian provinces ; one principality to consist of Eastern Greece (Thessaly, Boeotia, and Attica) ; a second of Western Greece, (Epirus and Acarnania,) from the Austrian boundary to the Gulf of Corinth ; tlie third of the Morea and Candia ; and tlie islands to remain under a municipal government nearly in tlieir former state. This middle course, it seems to have been thought, afforded the best basis for a treaty of peace between the belligerent parties, under the mediation of the emperor. To the Greeks, however, the proposal appeared both insidious and degrading ; and it had been the occasion of a spirited letter ad- dressed by M. Rodios, secretary of the Greek Executive, to the British Government, bearing date Aug. 12, 1824, but which did net reach this country till the following November. The letter contains the following remarkable declaration. " The Greek na- tion, as well as its government, whose organ I have the honour to be, in offering their homage to his Britannic Majesty through your Excellency, solemnly declare, that they prefer a glorious death to the disgraceful lot intended to be imposed upon them." ]\'Ii-. Canning's reply (dated Dec. 1, 1824,) assured the Greek Government, that Great Britain would " lake no part in any at- tempt to impose upon Greece by force a plan for the re-estab- lishment of peace contrary to its wishes ;" and that it might de- pend on our continuing to observe a strict neutrality ; but this was all, it was added, that could reasonably be required of the British ministers.* It was at least all that, under existing circum- stances, the unhappy Greeks were warranted to expect, or that the policy of England enabled it to concede. The object of the deputation sent to this country in 1825, was, therefore, to consult the friends of the cause in England on the most expeditious and advantageous means of terminating the war, and to obtain the suc- cour and support of certain well-known individuals, rather than to make a renewed application to tlie British Government.f To avoid an unnecessary interruption of our narrative, the * " Cofnnected as we are with the Porte," Mr. Canning goes on to say, " by the existing friendly relations, and by ancient treaties which the Porte has not violated, it can certainly not be expected that England should commence hostilities which that power has not provoked, and take part in a contest which is not ours." Both the Letter of ' M. Rodios and Mr. Canning's Reply will be found in the Annual Register for 1825, pp. 56* — 60*. t The assistance of Lord Cochrane was more especially pressed by young Miaulis. ITS MODERN GREECE. State of affairs in Eastern Greece during the year 1825 has not been distinctly adverted to, as they had little influence on the course of events ; but the death of Odysseus, which took place m June, and the circumstances which led to it, are of too inter- esting a nature to be passed over. This distinguished capitanos, the son of a Thessalian klepht, but a native of Ithaca,^ had been brought up by Ali Pasha of loannina ;f a bad school, in which he s said to have learned how to play the tyrant. He was among the first to join the insurgents ; and from his favourite haunts among the caves of Parnassus, he harassed the Turkish armies by cutting off their supplies. In September 1822, at the head of about 200 palikars, he presented himself to the Athenians, who, " thinking that they had an entire right to dispose as they liked of their own citadel, reconquered by their own exertions, resigned it, together with themselves and their property to the ambiguous protection of Odysseus." The Government had the prudence immediately to confirm their choice, and appointed him captain-general of Eastern Greece. J The whole power, civil and military, legislative and executive, was thus placed in his hands, and he is said not greatly to have abused it. In imi- tation of his old master, he established an excellent police ; and the Athenians were at least the gainers by the change which gave them a Greek, instead of a Turkish master. Such was the man whom Col. Stanhope, mistaking the crafty robber for a philanthropic liberal, — the despot for a republican, was anxious to see placed at the head of the Greek nation, and to whose malignant hatred of Mavi-ocordato he so imprudently lent himself. <§> Considering the President as the greatest obsta- * Hence his heroic cognomen, Ulysses. t See page 81. I Waddington, p. 76. Demetrius Ypsilanti and Niketas had been commis- sioned by the Executive to take possession of Athens ; but they found them- selves possessed of only a nominal authority. Odysseus had been captain of Livadia, and he had acquired popularity by his military exploits. § See Stanhope's Greece, pp. 125, 134, 197. " 1 have been constantly with Odysseus. He has a very strong mind, a good heart, and is brave as his sword ; he governs with a strong arm, and is the only man in Greece that can preserve order. He is for a strong government, for conslitutional rights, and for vigo- rous efforts against the enemy.". ." The chief Odysseus has been a mountain robber. . has refused to give up Miens to a iceak government,^ and has lately sym- pathised with the people, and taken the liberal course in politics. He is a brave soldier, has great power, and promotes public liberty. Just such a man Greece requires. . . .He is shrewd and ambitious, and has played the tyrant, but is now persuaded that the road to fame and wealth, is by pursuing good gov- ernment. He therefoi'e follows this course, aad supports the people and the republic. Negris, who once signed his sentence of death, is now (May 1824) his minister." " The fact is," remarks Mr. Waddington, in commenting upon these panegyrical expressions, "that Odysseus, to gain any end, will profess MODERN GREECE. 17S cle to his ambitious designs, Odysseus, in common with Coloco- troni, ahvays singled him out as the especial object of his jealousy and hatred, never speaking of him without contempt ; and in their English friends, they found persons too willing to assist in propagating dieir calumnies both in Greece and in this country. The breach which might possibly have been healed between the contending parties, was thus irremediably widened. The fall of any principles ; and as the Colonel was believed to be the dispenser of the good thiugs collected at Missolonghi, and to possess influence over the future distri- bution of the loan, he was obviously a person to be gained. Behold, then, the robber Odysseus, the descendant from a race of robbers, the favourite pupil of AH Pasha, the soldier whose only law through life had been his sword, sudden- ly transformed into a benevolent, liberal, philanthropic republican ! It is true, indeed, that in 1821, Odysseus signed his name to a constitution dictated at Salona by Theodore JNegris, in wliich there is one article expressly specifying a wish for a. foreign conslilntional monarch,; but circumstances. I suppose, and principles are now changed. However, it is not at last impossible, that Odys- seus may be sincere in his desire that Greece should be left to govern herself. The little kingdom of Eastern Hellas suits him very well ; and in the probable anarchy of the ' Hellenic Republic,' he may tbresee the means of securing that independence which, in fact, he possesses at present. The Central Govern- ment, probably dreading some such intention on his part, are now elevating Goura in opposition to his master. Their hopes, indeed, of establishing any degree of legal authority in that province, rest a good deal on the disunion of these two chiefs." — Waddington, p. 82. Colonel Stanhope writes to Mavro- cordato, on one occasion: " Among these bad men, the most odious and black- hearted are those who are intriguing in the dark to saddle on the Greek people a foreign king." Whether the Colonel meant to pun on the Prince's name, or not, we learn from Mr. Blaquiere, that he meant Mavrocordato to take it to himself; for he had accused him of intriguing in concert with the metropolitan Ignatius for that purpose. This cool insult, the Prince rebuts with equal dig- nity and temper. " I have nothing to appropriate to myself of all that he writes. If he is attached to our constitution, I think that he whose boast it is to have contributed to its formation ought to be much more so than any other. I know (and have even all the documents in my hands) that M. Negris ad- dressed, more than eigliteen months ago, circulars in favour of a monarchical government, of which the ex-king of Westphalia, Jerome, was to be the bead ; and I also know that I was the first to combat his opinion. Can this M. Ne- gris be the bad man of Col. Stanhope .'' I know positively also, that under the shadow of the constitution, several captains do that which the greatest despots in the world would not, perhaps, do ; that they break legs and arms, and leave in this state of dreadful torture innocent men to perish ; that they kill, that they hang, that they destroy men without previous trial ; that they revolt ; that they even betray their country. Can these be the Colonel's good men? These" latter I have always opposed, even at the peril of my life." — Blaquiere's Se- cond Visit, p. 83. That this is no libel on Odysseus, may be inferred from Mr. Waddington's brief description. " Odysseus is in no respect distinguished from his meanest soldier, otherwise than by the symmetry of his form, and the expressive animation of a countenance which, though handsome is far from prepossessing ; for an habitual frown and a keen and restless eye, betoken cruelty, suspiciousness, and inconstancy ; and those who have derived their opinion of his character from the observation of his exterior, and the rumour of his most notorious actions, pronounce him to be violent, avaricious, vindic- tive, distrustful, inexorable. Those, on the other hand, who believe themselves to have penetrated more deeply into his feelings and principles, consider him to be under the exclusive guidance of policy and interest." 174 MODERN GREECE. Mavrocordato was the favourite object of the military party ; and on their accession to power, it has been seen, he was compelled to take refuge in Hydra. Odysseus is represented as having, in 1824, offered to mediate between the Colocotroni party and the Constitutional Government at Argos ; and the surrender of Na- poli is ascribed by Capt. Humphreys to his interference.* It seems to have been his object at that time, to secure his share of the loan, his soldiers being, according to his own account, in long arrears of pay. By Conduriotti, then president, he was well received ; but by the other members of the Government, he was viewed with a distrust which was not lessened by his re- quiring a body-guard of ten followers. This was very properly objected to, but no open rupture took place. There was even a talk of nominating him to the command of the forces opposed to Dervish Pasha ; but this nomination being delayed, and his demands refused, he took offence, and, accompanied by the Englishman Trelawney, who had married his sister, and by General Karaiskaki, quitted Napoli in disgust. f Soon after, learning that Goura, formerly his lieutenant, had been nominated to replace him in the command of Athens, he disbanded his soldiers, and retired to his fortified cave at Parnassus. This strong hold he had lately prepared, in case of being reduced to extremities. It was a natural excavation, capable of accommodating 2000 per- sons, and containing a spring of fresh water. It could be reached only by ascending a perpendicular cliff a hundred feet in height, which was accomplished by means of three ladders, successively drawn up after passing them ; a number of descents and windings then conducted from the small platform to the interior. Here Odysseus had placed a few pieces of cannon, a supply of small arms, and ammunition and provisions sufficient for a ten years' siege ; and hither he removed his family and his treasures, de- termining to separate himself entirely from the Greeks and their cause, and to make his own terms with their enemies. The se- quel, we give in the words of Mr. Emerson. " The Pasha of Negropont had been one of his early friends, and he now renewed the acquaintance for the purpose of answer- * Humphreys, p. 232. This gentleman represents Coletti to have been the implacable enemy of his friend Ulysses, who is stated to have been nevertheless at this time determined to support the Government. t Humphreys, pp. 260 — 262. Capt, Humphreys states, that Ulysses was offered a command at Hydra, and refused it, as placing him too much in the power or at the disposal of the Government. The distrust was therefore mu- tual. Previously to his leaving Napoli, he is said to have been shot at when sitting at a window in the house of Niketas. This circumstance, if authenti- cated, would amply justify his " disgust," but it requires to be substantiated. Negris, whom he left behind at Napoli, died there after a short illness. MODEBN GREECE. 17.5 ihg his own views : what those were have never been understood clearly, but his means of accomplishing them were, at least, ex- tremely liable to suspicion. Frequent letters, and, at length, fre- quent conferences, of all which the Government had due notice, passed between him and the Pasha. The object of UlysSfes is stated to have been the possession of Negropont ; it is at least evident, as well from his former conduct as from his treating with an inferior, that he had no intention of attaching himself to the party of the Sultan. Be it as it may, he was now declared a traitor by the Government. Unable or perhaps too haughty to give an explanation of his motives to his personal enemies, he prepared to meet force by force. Goura, his own captain, and a wretch who had owed his fortune to Ulysses, was placed at the head of the forces in Attica, to blockade the cave and reduce him to allegiance. Ulysses immediately assembled his foUow^ers, but never on any occasion accepted of the assistance of the •Turks. Some slight skirmishes had already taken place ; but, as the soldiers of Ulysses were daily deserting, as well from an umvillingness to fight against their countrymen and government, as from being allured, by the threats and promises of Goura, he was beginning to feel himself somewhat straitened ; and gradually retreating towards the country north of Euboea, he continued to hold out against his pursuers, whilst the cave was left in charge of his family and a proper garrison." This was in March 1825. Towards the close of April, de- serted by his followers, Ulysses had retreated, with a very few attendants, to a monastery in the vicinity of Talanda, which Goura proceeded to blockade. Suddenly, it is said, on condition of being brought to trial, he came, unattended, and surrendered himself to Goura, by whom he was sent prisoner to the acropolis 'at Athens, the scene of his former power. Here he was con- fined in the lofty Venetian tower, where he lay, till the 5th of June, when his death took place under somewhat mysterious cir- cumstances. The story circulated was, that, in attempting to make his escape, the rope by which he was lowering himself broke, and he was dashed to pieces on the pavement at the base of the tower. Mr. Emerson inclines to believe that he was se- cretly put to death by order of the Government, but he gives no valid reason for fastening so black a charge on the Executive. If he fell by unfair means, the character of Goura would hot be wronged by the supposition that his jealousy and his fears might conspire to prompt him to an act by which he would get rid of the man he had treated with such ingratitude and baseness. And Mr. Swan states, that this was reported to be the case ; that 176 MODEllN GREECE. Goura let down the rope before the window of his prison, and that Ulysses, supposing it to have been furnished by friends with- out, fell into the snare.* In the mean time, the cave of Ulysses in mount Parnassus, which was left under command of Trelawney, was closely block- aded, and every attempt was made to gain possession. Ulys- ses had been himself escorted to the spot, and forced to sign a summons to Trelawney to surrender, which was not complied with.f Among the inmates of the cavern was a Captain Feriton, a native of Scotland, who had arrived a mere adventurer in Greece the preceding winter, and, during his intercourse with the European residents in the Morea, had proved himself to be divested of every principle or feeling of a gentleman. He had even stooped so low, Mr. Emerson states, as to offer his services to a person in power as the assassin of Ulysses, for the remuner- ation of a few dollars. This proposal, so far from being accept- ed, led to his being ordered to leave Napoli,J on which he * The official account, which is perfectly distinct and consistent, is given by Mr. Swan (vol. ii. p. 95), together with the affidavit of the physician. Mr. Emerson supposes the story to have been " feigned by the government, to cover their own imbecility in not daring openly to condemn or bring to trial a man whom they still dreaded, and of whose guilt they were unable to produce convicting proofs." What other proofs could be requisite than his having ad- vanced on Athens at the head of a body of Turkish cavalry and openly warred against the Government .'' — See Humphreys's Journal, p. 292. t Trelawney, Capt. Humphreys says, "had greatly determined Ulysses to leave the Turks, and proposed to him to quit Greece entirely for a time, and go to America ; lie could not, therefore, in honour betray the trust reposed in him." X Mr. Emerson does not name the person ; he asserts, however, that '^ the proposal was accepted, but a disagreement in the terms, or some other circum- stance, had prevented its execution." From whom did he learn this ? From Fenton or from Jarvis .'' Capt. Humphreys attempts to fasten the atrocious calumny on Mavrocordato. " Whoever," he says, "first made this infamous proposal, an argument used by Mavrocordato was, that Trelawney, as a native of Great Britain, being in the service of the Greeks, was out of the pale of his country's laws ; and an American of the name of Jarvis, new a Greek lieuten- ant-general, was Mavrocordato's agent in the affair, and negotiated between them." This Jarvis (or Gervase), who is the same that headed the garrison at Neo-kastro, has admitted that he vvas the person who introduced Fenton to the Prince, but states, that " he discontinued his acquaintance on Fenton 's in- timating a design to murder his friend, the man upon whom he was dependent, and with whom he lived on the strictest terms of intimacy. He regrets," adds Mr. Swan, " as well he may, having had the least acquaintance with him." — Journal, vol. ii. p. 102. Here is not a word of any proposal made to Mavrocordato ; nor is it credible that Fenton should have been expelled from Napoli by the Government, if such a proposal had been for a moment listened to. Whitcombe, however, in an intercepted let)er to this same Capt. Hum- phreys, after accusing him of deserting one whom he called his friend, charges him in the plainest terms with being himself accessory to the intended murder of Trelawney. Possibly, he had been told this by Fenton, who perhaps told Humphreys that he was engaged by Mavrocordato. Humphreys, however, by his own confession, knew, while he was with Ulysses, that Fenton was carrying MODERN GREECE. 177 determined on joining the party of the man he had offered to assassinate, and to whom his quarrel with the Government was a sufficient recommendation. He was accordingly received among the inmates of the cave, where he remained after tlie surrender of Ulysses, as the dependant rather than the companion of Trelawney ; till, on the death of the chieftain, he formed the atrocious resolution of making himself master of the cave and its contents, which, by previous contract, were now the property of his benefactor. A few days before he made the attempt, the cave was visited by a young English gentleman, named Whit- combe, whom Fenton succeeded in persuading to become his ac- complice. The plan was, that they should fire at a target, while their host and benefactor stood umpire ; and while Trelawney unsuspectingly advanced to examine the first shots, the conspira- tors both made the attempt at the same moment. Fenton's pistol missed fire ; but Whitcombe's took efi^ect with two balls, and Trelawney fell, desperately, though not fatally wounded. His attendants, rushing forward, poinarded Fenton on the spot, while his confederate was secured in u'ons. Trelawney's recovery was long doubtful, but at length he was able to leave the cave, together with his wife, Goura having consented to grant them an escort, and in September, they embarked for the Ionian Isles. Before his departure, he generously gave Whitcombe his liberty, letting him loose again on society, in consideration of his youth (scarcely nineteen) and the respectability of his family.* The cave remained in the possession of the widow of Ulysses and her adherents. The military events in Eastern Greece were of slight impor- tance, the Seraskier having found it necessary to recall into Thes- saly the troops that had entered Boeotia, for the purpose of supporting the operations of the Pasha of Egripo, in order to direct all his means to the protection of his position before Mis- solonghi. To return to the Morea. Having failed in surprismg Napoli, the object next in importance, to which Ibrahim Pasha turned liis attention, was to open a passage to Patras ; but the moun- 011 the intrigue, — " under the pretence to us," he says, " whether true or false, of entrapping Mavrocordato." This privity must certainly tend to vitiate his evidence. Yet, before he left Greece, he had the temerity to write a virulent letter to Mavrocordato, accusing him of keeping in pay assassins. — Hdm- PHREYs, p. 330. Swan, vol. ii. p. 100. '* * " Mr. Whitcombe has returned to Hydra, very little sensible, as it seems, of the heinousness of his conduct. He is said to be an extremely weak young fellow, full of daring and romance, and desirous of aping the extravagant conduct of Hope's Anastasius." — Swan, vol. ii, p. 187. 23 178 MODERN GREECE. talnous districts of Arcadia and Achaia, which intervene between that city and the plains of Mantineia and Argos, are exactly suited to such troops as the armatoli, and Demetrius Ypsilanti Was able effectually to bar his further progress in that direction. On the 10th of August, an engagement took place between a body of Egyptian troops advancing from Megalopolis and the Greeks posted near Phigalia, in which the former were repulsed with the loss of 250 killed and thirty prisoners, among whom was Deri Bey, their captain, who died of his wounds : the Greeks, firing from behind their tambours, had only three killed and five wounded. In a subsequent engagement, Ibrahim Pasha is stated to have been defeated in person by the united forces of Ypsilanti, Colocotroni, and Coliopulo : his Moorish reg- ulars having fled before the well-aimed fire of the Greeks, threw the whole army into disorder, and 300 were left dead on the field. At length, Tripolitza became an insecure position, and after the retreat of the Ottoman fleet from before Missolonghi, Ibrahim Pasha retreated with all his forces to Kalamata, there to await reinforcements and supplies. Symptoms of plague at Mo- don prevented his retiring on that place. By a shew of clemency at the opening of the campaign, and the merciful observance of his treaties at Navarino and Neo- kastro, Ibrahim had expected to carry all before him. Procla- mations of mercy and conciliation were made in his march to Tripolitza at every village ; but the inhabitants, too well instructed by experience, invariably fled to the mountains at his approach. Disappointment and rage now led him to throw off the mask. Every deserted village was reduced to ashes as he passed, every unfortunate straggler that fell into his hands was unrelentingly butchered ; and he o})enly declared that he would burn and lay waste the whole Morea.* " Thus," remarks Colonel Leake, *TheKev. Mr. Swan in September (1825), accompanied Captain Hamilton in a visit to Ibrahim Pasha, at Mistra, for the purpose of negotiating a change of prisoners. His person is thus described. " The Pasha is a stout, broad, brown-faced, vulgar-looking man, thirty-five or forty years of age, strongly marked with the small-pox ; his countenance possesses little to engage, but, when he speaks, which he does with considerable ease and fluency, it becomes animated and rather striking. He frequently accompanies his words with a long drawling cry, which, to European ears, sounds ridiculously enough. His manner carries with it that sort of decision which is the common appendage of despotism. Deprived of this, he would resemble an uneducated, hard-fa- voured seaman of our own country. He was plainly clothed for a Turk ; and his camp establishment altogether had none of that parade and luxury which we are accustomed to attach to eastern warfare." The Pasha professed his high regard for the English nation, and was at once most polite, wily, and evasive. " Speaking of the Morea," continues Mr. Swan, " although he re- gretted the necessity of his present proceedings, 3'ct it was his intention to MODERN GREECE. 179 " was annihilated in a few weeks, that slight improvement which had been produced by a three year's exemption from the blight- ing presence of the ^lussulmans ; during whicli an increase of inhabitants, seeking refuge from other parts of Greece, together witli tlie confidence inspired by a Government which, however imperfect, had been sufficiently composed of right materials to produce some beneficial reforms, promised in a short time to effect a favourable change in the whole peninsula. Schools of mutual instruction and other places of education had been estab- lished in several to^vns ; and no sooner had the government ob- tained the power of taking the collection of the revenue out of the hands of the old primates and captains of armatoli, than the national domains, formed of the confiscated Turkish prop- erty, were let for double the sum that had been given for them the preceding year." Such was the posture of affairs at the close of the fifth cam- paign ; — and here, for the present, we suspend our rapid sketch of the yet unfinished contest. The observations of Colonel Leake, in concluding the Historical Outline, to which we have had repeated occasion to refer, will assist the reader in forming a just view of the present state and prospects of Greece. " Upon reviewing the events of the contest since its first com- mencement in the summer of 1821, it will be seen how little has- been done on either side, in a military point of view, towards its decisive termination ; such children are both parties in the art pursue them to the utmost. He would burn and destroy the whole Morea ; so that it should neither be profitable to the Greeks, nor to him, nor to anyone. What would these infatuated men, the dupes of their own imbecile Govern- ment, do for provisions in the winter ? He knew that his own soldiers would also suffer— that they too must perish. But his father Mehemet Ali was training forty thousand men, and he was in daily expectation of a reinforcement of twelve thousand. If these were cut off, he would have more, and he would persevere till the Greeks returned to their former state. One of the castles on the plain, he said, had just been carried by assault, and the garrison all put to the sword ; the other was expected to fall immediately. He repeated, ' I will not cease till the Morea be a ruin,' The Sultan has already conferred upon him the title and insignia of Pasha of this unhappy land ; and, said his high- ness, 'If the good people of England, who are so fond of sending money -to the Greeks, would send it directly to mc, it would save them considerable trouble : eventually, it all comes to my treasury.' " Sulieman Bey is thus de- scribed : " He looks exactly like an ostler turned bandit : a striking vulgar face, marked with the small-pox, (as if in sympathy with his master !) is set off by small light-blue eyes, light hair, and a flat nose. 1 his person was raised from the ranks by Bonaparte, and became aide-de-camp toGeneial Ney, for attempting to effect whose escape he was outlawed. He then served in the corps of the Mamelukes, which he organized ; and, finally, abandoning his re- ligion for the polluted and degrading faith of the Crescent, be became Sulieman Bey, the associate, friend, and general of Ibrahim Pasha." — Swan's Journal, vol", ii. pp. 237, 246. 180 ' MODERN GREECE. of war, and so contemptible will their operations both by land and water generally appear to the military critics of civilized Europe. But there are two advantages possessed by the Greeks, which ought to prevent them from despairing of final success, — the strength of their country and the superiority of their seamen. The skill, the activity, and often the gallantry of the Greek sailors, have excited the approbation of some of our own sea-offi- cers. It is true, that neither tlie numbers nor the size of their vessels is such as can give them the command of the sea, or en- sure to them such a protracted blockade of the maritime for- tresses as will lead to a surrender caused by famine, or prevent debarkations, such as those which have occurred during the present year ; especially as long as the Greeks are unable to un- dertake a regular siege of the maritime fortresses. But the Turkish seamen always avoid the Greeks, and the Turkish squadrons are almost sure of receiving some damage whenever they meet. Their brulotiers in particular have furnished exam- ples of enterprise and patriotic devotion, which are fully sufficient to establish the national character, and to cancel the disgrace of any conduct that may have occurred of an opposite kind, the unavoidable consequence of insubordination and of a privation of law both civil and military. In the strength of their mountainous districts, the Greeks have a still firmer anchor for their hopes. The more exposed parfs of Greece, such as Crete, Macedonia, and Eastern Thessaly, may enter into temporary terms with the enemy ; but this cannot occur in that great citadel of mountains which extends from the plains of Thessaly and Boeotia westward as far as the sea-coast, and southward as far as the centre of the Morea — at least until the Ottomans are j;iiuch further advanced in conquest than they are at present. It might be supposed that, military ignorance being nearly equal on both sides, the party which should first establish a disciplined force, and which should first obtain any important assistance from European officers of military experience, would be almost certain of success. But the discipline of the Egyptian infantry is not as yet, we appre- hend, of a very high degree ; and there is wanting in the Egyp- tian army the education, the intelligence, and those martial habits in every gradation of officers, without which the proficiency of the troops in the European use of the musket must lose a great part of its advantage. Mehmet Aly is yet far from having over- come those numerous vices in the Turkish system, both civil and military, which so often render Turkish councils abortive. The desolation of the Morea, together with the inefficacy of a Turkish commissariat, will place perpetual obstacles in the way of Ibra- MODERN GREECE. 181 liim's progress, and will render the arduous task of subduing the mountains of Greece still more difficult. That tractability of disposition which has enabled Mehmet Aly to mould his Egyp- tians to the European discipline, is allied to an inferiority in hardihood and energy to the European and Asiatic Turks, with whom similai- attempts have always failed. The Egyptians are precisely the troops least adapted to face the active and hardy Greek, in the rude climate, the barren soil, and the strong posi- tions of his native mountains. We cannot easily conceive that Greece is destined to be subjugated by Egyptians. Even Se- sostris drove his conquering chariot no further than Thrace ; nor will those who have an opportunity of comparing the Greek with the Egyptian of the present day, think it probable that a conquest \yi]l now be effected, if it depends upon the military qualities of the two people. In short, as not even Spain in the time of the Romans was better adapted for prolonging an obstinate contest, by the strength of the country and the elastic character of the inhabitants, there is the fairest reason to hope that Mehmet Aly may be tired of his present expensive undertaking, before he has made any great progress towards its completion. " In addition to the two principal advantages which have been mentioned, the cause of the Greeks derives considerable strength and hope from the impossibility, on their part, of submitting to such a state of vassalage as they Were before subject to. They know too well, that to give the Turks such a power would be to consent to their own destruction ; and they did not want the declaration of Ibrahim to be assured, that if he should acquire the government of the Morea by right of conquest, which the Porte has promised him, he would exchange the enslaved survi- vors of the Peninsula for a colony of Egyptians. Such a termi- nation, however, all history as well as common reason tells us, is impossible, if the Greeks have but ' the unconquerable will, and courage never to submit and yield.' The utmost that can be expected is the retreat of a great part of the population .of Greece into the mountains, a continuance of predatory warfare on both sides, and the desolation of every other part of the country, ex- cept the immediate vicinity of the fortified places. " Some politicians will perhaps be inclined to say that, how- ever deplorable to the people of Greece such a result might be, it would be better that they should suffer, than that the general peace of Europe should be compromised. But, supposing the interior condnent of Greece to be thus comfortably settled for the general repose, there still remains an extensive sea-coast : in fact, the numerous islands, the winding shores, and the great 182 > MODERN GREECE. proportion of maritime outline to the size of the country, render the Greeks more peculiarly a naval people than any other in Eu- rope. If forced to the extremity of distress, they must be pirates by sea as well as freebooters by land. However disposed the nation might be to a better course, however deserving of a better fate, necessity would force the maritime population to those habits of life which are natural to Greece in a savage state, and to which its rocky creeks and islands have always afforded, and will ever give the greatest facilities. No alternative would then remain for the powers of Europe, but to give up all commercial pursuits in the Levant, or to suppress the Greek piracies by force — in other words, — to assist the Turks in exterminating them from their native islands."* It is scarcely possible, that Greece and Turkey should under any political arrangements, be re-united into one empire. This " land, the first garden of liberty's tree — It has been, and shall yet be the land of the free."t The moment, it may confidently be hoped, is approaching, when the Christian Powers of Europe will not disdain to allow the Greeks once more to take the rank of a nation. They have a country, a language, literature, laws, and with all its political de- fects, a national government, which admits of being rendered an efficient one, and which, such as it is, has proved a blessing to the people. Let it not be deemed a possible thing, that Chris- tian Europe should consent to its being extinguished in Turkish or Egyptian darkness. It has not appeared to us advisable to lay much stress on the religious claims of the Greeks ; and yet, though it be a spurious and nominal Christianity to which they are blindly but faidifuUy attached, and for which they have shed their blood, no sincere Christian can feel unconcerned respecting the issue of a contest which is to decide whether, in Greece, the Bible or the Koran shall be the acknowledged standard of faith. On the part of the Moslems, the warfare, it must not be forgot- ten, is animated by a hostility to the religion of Christ, — disguised, indeed, under idolatrous corruptions, but undistinguishable, in the eyes of the brutal Mussulman, from a purer faith. The longer such a contest lasts, remarks Col. Leake, " the more in- credible it becomes, that Christian Europe will contemplate un- moved the destruction of a Christian people by the semi-barba- rous followers of a religion hostile to the whole Christian name, because those infidels have for some centuries been suffered to "■ Leake, pp. 178, 184. t Campbell's " Song of the Greeks." MODERN GREECE. 183 abuse the possession of some of the finest countries in Europe, and because, in consideration of their proximity, and for the sake of the general peace, they have in some degree been admitted into the social system of the civilised world." The time is come, it may at length be perceived, when the interests of social order in Europe require that Greece, within whatsoever limits circumscribed, should be a free and independ- ent state. " The Greeks in slavery," it has been remarked, " invite the Russians : free, they would repel them."* Greece, even if subdued, would be the weakness, not the strength of Turkey, a barren as well as a dreadful conquest, fatal to herself. If, therefore, the peace of Europe demands the toleration of the Ottoman empire .in Turkey, in order to give stability to that empire, it is necessary that the Porte should be made to part with Greece, and that a new barrier should thus be created against tliose encroachments which tlireaten to sweep away the tottering fabric. " It is time to detach all the Christian subjects of Turkey from a Russian alliance, by giving them a country to fight for."f The aggrandisement of Egypt, at the expense of Greece, or even of Turkey, to whatever power it might be advantageous, cannot be for the interest of the Protectors of the Ionian Isles. | One thing seems certain : Greece cannot be re- stored to its former condition. It cannot, inhabited by Greeks, relapse into a province of the Turkish empire. A fearful responsibility rests upon that christian nation upon whose rulers it mainly depends to determine, whether the Morea shall remain a frightful desert, or whether from the ashes of Scio, Kidonies, and Psara, new and flourishing communities shall spring up under the protection of a free government, and literature, the arts, and die faith which Paul preachejj at Athens and Corinth, once more flourish on the shores of tl^ Levant. THE MOREA.§ In now proceeding to give, from the works of Modern Trav- * De Sismoudi on the Extermination of the Greeks. See New Monthly Magazine, July 1, 1826, p. 93. " By the conduct of the Russians," remarks M. Sismondi, " the Greeks have been so thoroughly compromised for the last half century, that there has oiilj' remained to the Turks the choice of mas- sacring them or of acknowledging their independence." t Sismondi. X Even the Porte, it is said, begins to discover that Ibrahim, in the possession of the Morea, may be a more dangerous neighbour than even a Greek repub- lic ; in consequence of which, envoys have been sent from Constantinople to treat with the rebellious provinces. § The modern name of the Peninsula is said to have been given to it, on ac- count of its resembling in figure a mulberry leaf. 184 MODERN GREECE. ellers, a topographical description of the country, we shall not unfrequently have occasion to give an account of things as they were prior to the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, rather than of their present aspect. We shall begin with the Peninsula. No one would think of visiting the Morea without the Itiner- ary of Sir William Gell. Although it is more than twenty years since he performed the tour of the Peninsula, we may safely put ourselves under his guidance as a topographer. In January 1824, he landed at Navarino, the fatal spot, where the Egyptian fleet, in May 1825, made their descent on the coast. NAVARINO. On entering the port by the southern entrance,* a curious conical mountain, called Pilaf Tepe, rises in a line with the modern fortress. The mountain of Agio JVicolo lies immedi- ately on the right of the passage. The harbour, " certainly," Sir William Gell says, " one of the finest in the world," is form- ed by a deep indenture in the coast, shut in by a long island, the ancient Sphacteria, famous for the signal defeat which the Spar- tans sustained here from the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war.f " The island (still called Sphagia) has been separated into three or four parts by the violence of the waves, so that boats might pass from the open sea into the port, in calm weather, by means of the channel so formed. On one of the portions is the tomb of a Turkish santon, and near the centre of the port is another very small island or rock. " The remains of Navarino Vecchio consist in a fort or castle of mean construction, covering the summit of a hill, sloping quickly to the south, but falling in abrupt precipices to the north and east. The town was built on the southern declivity, and was surrounded with a wall, which, allowing for the natural irregu- larities of the soil, represented a triangle, with the castle at the apex, — a form observed in many of the ancient cities in Greece. The ascent is steep, and is rendered more difficuh by the loose * The other entrance, to the north, has not sufficient water to admit anything larger than boats, and is constantly becoming s.haIlower. The port is pointed out from the sea by the ruined fortress of Old JNavarino, seated on a lofty rock at its northern extremity. t The island, according to Col. Leake, is two miles in length, and a quarter of a mile broad. The basin is six miles in circumference, having an entrance of 600 yards between Neo Kastro and the south-eastern end of Sphacteria ; the northern end being separated, by a channel of 100 yards, from a peninsu- lar promontory anciently called Coryphasium. MODERN GREECE. 185 siones and broken tiles, which are the only vestiges of the habita- tions. Two or three curtains, with towers and gates, have formerly been placed across the hill, to secure the ascent, which continues for at least one thousand paces between the shore and the citadel. The foundation of the walls, throughout the whole circuit, remains entire ; but the fortifications were never of any consequence, though they present a picturesque groupe of turrets and battlements from below, and must have been very imposing from tlie sea when the place was inhabited. From the top is an extensive view over the island of Sphacteria, the port, witli the town of Navarino to the south, and a considerable tract of the Messenian territory on the east, with the conical hill, which tliough some miles from the shore, is used as a landmai'k to point out the entrance to the port. " This place is supposed to' have been built on the site of the Pylos of Messenia ; but either the public buildings of Pylos must have been very insignificant, or this could not have been the spot, for we were unable to find any squared blocks of stone or marble, the usual indications of the existence of more ancient cities. There is a cave in the rocks below, which some Frank has taught the two or three Greeks who ever heard of Nestor, to believe was the stall where he kept his cows ; a mistake which some future traveller will probably magnify into an ancient tra- dition. " Towards the north, the island of Prote* is visible. Below us, in the same direction, we observed, between the sea and a salt lake which once formed part of the port, two points of rock, united by a semicircular causeway of sand, which the violence of the sea had driven into that form, and which the people call- ed Boudiou Chilia, the Cow's Paunch. This sand is evidently formed by a modern deposite from tlie sea ; and the rock of Navarino Vecchio must at no very remote period have been an island, and may even have formed part of Sphacteria. Ruins probably exist on the hills, near the villages of 'Petrachorio and Leukos on the north-east. " The town within the walls of the fortress of Navarino, like all those in this part of the world, is encumbered with the fallen ruins of former habitafions. These have generally been con- structed by the Turks since the expulsion of the Venetians. They were originally erected in haste, and being often cemented with mud instead of mortar, the raiijs of autumn, penetrating * The Prodano of Italian maps, but in the country retaining its ancient name.'' 24 186 MODERN GREECE. between the outer and inner faces of the walls, swell the earthy and soon effect the ruin of tlie whole structure. " The soil about Navarino is of a red colour, and is remarka- ble for the production of an infinite quantity of squills, which ' are used in medicine, and asphodels, the flowers of which are very numerous and pretty during the winter months, though, in the summer," they are reduced to the state of dried sticks, with- out any traces of vegetation. .. The rocks, which shew them- selves in every direction through a scanty but rich soil, are lime- stone : they have an extraordinary appearance, being curiously perforated in so great a number of small holes, where the softer particles have been decomposed by time, that a place to tie a iiorse or to moor a boat seems never to be wanting, either on the road or on the beach. The perpetual presence of rock has, however, a general appearance of unproductiveness round the castle of Navarino ; and the absence of trees is ill compensated by the profusion of sage, brooms, cistus, and other shrubs which start from the innumerable cavities of the limestone."* The house of the archon (Sir William's host) was new, and is described as a specimen of the mansions in this part of the country. " It is situated at the foot of a hill, sloping to the west of the port. From the extremities of the house two wings pro- ject backwards, of which one is the woman's apartment, and the other the kitchen. The remainder of the square is enclosed with a wall, which surrounds a garden rising up the hill in ter- races, the lowest of which is not entered from below, but from the gallery of the principal . apartment, by a bridge over the court. Four or five good rooms, under which are magazines^ open into a wooden gallery overlooking the court and garden. The gallery is reached by a flight of steps from the court, and serves, like the peristyles of the ancients, either as a place of conversation or for exercise, according to the season. It not unfrequently happens, that a part is separated from the rest by a rail or steps, and, being furnished with cushions, becomes the summer apartment ; answering exactly to the ala, of the ancients, both in disposition and utility. The terraces of the garden^ rising in regular gradation, with the plants and flowers, make a gay and delightful spectacle from within."f The road from Navarino to Modon (or Mothone), after pass- ing the castle, runs southward along a rugged hollow, between * Cell's Journey in the Morea, pp. 19 — 28. t Among other plants, the sugar-cane had been cultivated by the archon, and appeared to thrive The mean temperature of Navarino, Sir W, Cell supposes to be not lower than 66°. MODERN GREECE. IST the mountain of Agio Nicolo on the west, and a lower range on the east, " both ugly and uninteresting." Here and there, are vestiges of a paved way, probably Venetian, composed of small stones well united ; and wliere the road to Coron (or Korone) turns off to the left, the learned Traveller noticed small patches of arable ground. The rocky mountain on the left is perforated with caves. In about half an hour, the road leads to a wood of mulberries, interspersed with cypresses, and thence descends to a little plain at that time covered with olives. The village of Opshino lies on the left, seated on an eminence about three miles from jNi avarino 5 and still more distant is seen a pretty hamlet, ornamented with many cypresses, called Dia-ta-Bathenai. The village of Metaxadi is also seen on the left. Mount Agio Nicolo now approaches the road, and two or three ruined Greek chapels occur, with some old foundations. After passing a cave on the right, containing " something like holes for votive offerings," with an ancient quarry below, the plain of Modon may be said to commence. It was, at the time of Sir William Gell's risit, well cultivated, and being shaded by innumerable olives, presented a a smiling and inviting appearance ; here and there, were observ- ed Turkish villas ; and Sir William was convinced, that the Turkish despotism must be a blessing to the country.'^ He ar- rived at Modon after a ride of nearly two hours, a distance of about seven miles. MODON. " Modon consists at present of two portions ; one within the walls of the forti'ess, and the other a considerable Greek village to the north of it : ttie latter is surrounded with an extensive tract of gardens, many of which are delightfully planted with ^oranges, lemons, and pomegranates. It is not easy to say wheth- er the Greek or the Turkish town is the more wretched, one being built in the meanest and most irregular manner, while the other, though surrounded with walls, presents only a melancholy spectacle of deserted streets and dilapidated habitations."f ^ " The vicinity of the two forts of Navariuo and Modon seems to have given the Turkish population the greatest share in the soil in this district, and the Greek chapels on the road are all deserted and ruined." t " The Aga seemed wretchedly poor, though the governor of the place, and his house was in scarcely a less filthy and ruinous condition than that of the commandant at Navarino : so far is it from truth," adds this zealous Pliilo- Turk, " that the Turks live in ease and affluence, while the Greeks are con- demned to filth and penury." Sir William seems to consider this as a proof of the impartiality of the Turkish tyranny. 188 MODERN GREECE. Over the gate of the fortress, — " a curious octagon fort, com-- municating with the town by a stone bridge," the lion of St^ Mark still attests the ancient sway of the Venetian Republic. About two miles N. E. of Modon, is a place called Palaio Mothone, (Old Modon). The walk to it lay along the plain through gardens and olive-grounds, extending over the site of the city. " The place is marked out by mounds of earth, which point out in a very unsatisfactory manner the spot where it is sup- posed to have existed. The fields are strewed with broken tiles and pottery. A little ruined church, placed on a mount over- looking a dell, watered by a meandering brook, is possibly on the site of a temple, and contained an ancient pillar of white mar- ble, now thrown down. There is nothing worthy of observa- tion on the spot, which is, however, pretty and sequestered."* Modon has a small port, but ships generally anchor at the opposite island of Sapienza. Three batteries command the bay : the uppermost two have the appearance of being patched upon the dome of an old building. The surrounding country reminded Mr. Swan (in 1825) of the dark, barren land which occurs between Leeds and Pontefract in our coal districts, for the Turks encamped here had employed themselves in cutting down and burning the olive-trees. In other parts, the plain had a fertile aspect, and many of the Turkish tents were pitched amid extensive olive-grounds, and orange-groves. f For a description of the route to Coron, we must have re- course to the florid pages of the Viscount de Chateaubriandy who visited this part of the Morea in the year 1806. " It was still dark when we left Modon. I fancied myself wandering among the wilds of America : here was the same solitude, the same silence. We passed through woods of olive- trees, proceeding in a southerly direction. At day-break, we found ourselves on the level summits of the most dreary hills * Narrative, p. 49. In the author's Itinerary, there are stated to be at Palaio Mothone, " vestiges of a city, vvith a citadel and a few marbles. It is difficult to determine the date of the ruins. t " The Abbe Barthelemy considered Mothone as so uninteresting, that he has taken notice of nothing but its spring of Bituminous water. . . .The name frequently occurs in history, but never as the scene of any important event. From a fragment by Diodorus Siculus, we find that Brasidas defended this place against the Athenians. The same vi'riter terms it a tow^n of Laconia, be- cause Messenia was a conquest of Lacedaemon Trajan granted privileges to Mothone. It was taken by the Venetians in 1124, and, again, having reverted ■ to its former masters, in 1204. A Genoese corsair dispossessed the Venetians in 1208, but the Doge Dandolo recovered it. In 1498, it was taken by Mahom- med II., reconquered by Morosini in 1686, and finally recovered by the Turks in 1715." — Chateaubriand's Greece, vol. i. p. 81. MODERN GREECE. 189 that I ever beheld. For two hours we continued our route over tliese elevated plains, which, being ploughed up by the torrents,, resembled forsaken fallows, interspersed with the sea-rush and bushes of a species of brier. Large bulbs of tlie mountain lily, uprooted by the rains, appeared here and there on tlie surface of tlie ground. We described the sea to the east through a thinly- sown wood 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 of the agnus-castus, a shrub with a long, pale, narrow leaf, whose pur- ple and somew^hat woolly flower shoots out nearly into the form of a spindle. I mention these two shrubs, because they are met with over all Greece, and are almost the only decorations of those solitudes, once so rich and gay, at present so naked and dreary. Now I am upon the subject of this dry torrent, I shall observe, that, in the native coimtry of the Ilissus, the Alpheus, and the Erymanthus, I have seen but three rivers whose urns were not exliausted ; these were the Pamisus, the Cephisus, and the Eurotas. " On leaving the valley which I have just mentioned, we began to ascend fresh mountains. My guide several times re- peated to me names which I had never heard ; but, to judge from their position, these mountains must form a part of the chain of Mount Temathea. We soon entered a wood of olive-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 by its insulated situation, and the Taygetus by his two pointed peaks. As we proceeded, we discovered below us the road and harbour of Coron, in which we saw several ships at anchor : the fleet of the Capitan Pasha lay on the other side of the Gulf towards Calamata. 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 village and the castle, were in a manner surrounded with an immense Turkish cemetery covered with cypresses of all ages. My guide, pointing to these trees, called them Parissos. The rose-laurel there grew at the foot of the cypresses, which resembled large black obelisks ; white turtle- doves and blue pigeons fluttered and cooed among their branches ; the grass waved about the small funereal columns crowned with turbans ; and a fountain, built by a shereef, poured its waters into 190 MODERN GREECE. the road for the benefit of the traveller. From this cemetery to Coron is nearly two hours' journey. We proceeded through an uijinterrupted wood of olives ; the space between the trees being sown with wheat, which was half cut down. The ground, which at a distance has the appearance of a level plain, is inter- sected by rough and deep ravines. " Corone, like Messene and Megalopolis, is not a place of very high antiquity, since it was founded by Eparainondas on the ruins of the ancient Epa. Coron has hitherto been taken for the ancient Corone, agreeably to the opinion of D'Anville. On this point I have some doubts. According to Pausanias, Corone was situated at the foot of Mount Temathea, near the mouth of the Pamisus. Coron, on the contrary, is at a consid- erable distance from that river : it stands on an eminence, nearly in tbe position in which the same Pausanias places the temple of Apollo Corinthus, or rather in the position of Colonides. At the bottom of the Gulf of Messenia, 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 Pedasus, which, according to Strabo and Pausanias, must be sought in Methone." What is supposed to be the site of Corone, exhibits, however, but a heap of modern ruins. According to M. Pellegrin, who travelled in the Morea between 1715 and 1719, the territory of Coron then comprehended eighty villages. " I am doubtful," M. de Chateaubriand continues, " if five or six could now be found within the same district. The rest of this devastated tract be- longs to Turks, who possess three or four thousand olive-trees. The house of the French Consul overlooked the Gulf of Coron. From my window, I beheld the sea of Messenia, painted with the most beautiful azure. On the opposite side rose the lofty chain of the snow-capped Taygetus, which Polybius justly com- pares to the Alps, but to the Alps beneath a more lovely sky. On my right extended the open sea ; and on my left, at the extremity of the Gulf, I discovered Mount Ithome, detached like Mount Vesuvius, which it also resembles in its truncated summit. What reflections are excited by the prospect of the desert coasts of Greece, where nought is heard, save the eternal whistling of the wind and the roaring of the billows ! The re- port of guns, fired from time to time by the ships of the Capitan Pasha against the rocks of the Mainotes, (with whom he was then at war,j alone interrupted these dismal sounds by a sound still more dismal ; and nothing was to be seen upon this whole extent of sea but the fleet of this chief of the barbarians." MODERN GREECE. 191 The disturbed stale of the country rendering it unsafe to pro- ceed to Sparta by way of Kalamata, (a village nearly opposite to Coron on the other side of the Gulf,) M. de Chateaubriand deter- mined to proceed to Tripohtza. Embarking in a skiff, he reached in a few hours the mouth of the Pamisus, " the largest river of the Peloponnesus," where the bark grounded for want of water. Here he landed, and proceeded through Nisi, " a considerable village" three or four miles up that river, directing his course to- wards Mount Ithome, leaving on the right the ruins of Messene. He passed through " Chafasa, Scala, Cyparissa, and several other villages recently destroyed by the Pasha, in his last expe- dition against the jDanditti From the desolation that reigned around me," remarks the learned Frenchman, " it might have been supposed that the ferocious Spartans had again been ravag- ing the native land of Aristodemus." An uneven plain, covered, like the savannas of Florida, with long grass and droves of horses, conducted him to the extremity of the basin, formed by the junction of the lofty mountains of Arcadia and Laconia. The long and narrow defile which leads out into the plain of Leondari, strongly reminded him of the passage of the Apennines between Perouse and Tarni. We shall not accompany this Writer any farther in his route to Tripolitza ; but must now return to Na- varino, in order to trace the route of Sir William Gell and Ibra- him Pasha to Arcadia, and complete, from other sources, our description of the Messenian territory. FROM NAVARINO TO ARCADIA. The first stage from Navarino, proceeding northward, is to Gargagliano. The track runs along the eastern shore of the port for some time, and then descends into an alluvial plain,, leavmg the little villages of Petrachorio and Leuka on the left, and Gephyrae and Lisaki on little knolls to the right.* A little beyond, the road enters a pretty wooded valley, watered by the river Romanus, which is crossed by a bridge ; and about three- quarters of a mile farther, a woody dell, where the Brussomavof has also its bridge. Here, Sir William Gell was delighted with a thicket of arbutus, which formed a beautiful shrubbery on either hand. The aspect of the intermediate country was neither fer- tile nor inviting, and much of it was neglected. Near the Ro- manus, there was a tract cultivated with lupins, and a crop of * In the Itinerary written, Geophyre and Lirachi. t Intlie Itinerary, Brisomero Nerro. 192 MODERN GREECE. maize had recently been gathered from the plains. A steep and difficult ascent conducts from the arbutus grove to a summit af- fording a fine view of the sea and Prote ; and Gargagliano soon becomes visible, distant from Navarino five hours and a quarter. Through the whole of this uninteresting journey, the travellers did not meet a single individual on the road.* " Gargagliano is a very large Greek village, probably built under the Venetians, the name being evidently Italian. It is placed on a high flat, with a very steep descent towards the sea and the lower country on the coast, which terminates in a pro- montory opposite to the island of Prote : this is overlooked, though at some distance from the village. Prote is at present remarkable only for the number of oxen which it maintains, and for a port where small vessels frequently take shelter. Gargag- liano is distinguished by the number of cypresses with which it is ornamented : these, together with the situation, give the town ' an air of prosperity and consequence from without, which the interior is ill calculated to maintain."! The village abounded with droves of swine (" the sure symptom of a Christian popula- tion in the East,") not absolutely wild, but with, long legs and backs well arched and fringed with long bristles, resembling the boars on antique gems. Mill-stones are cut from a rock near* this place, but the learned Traveller could hear of no other pro- duction for sale. " Quitting Gargagliano at seven a. m.," continues Sir William, " we descended to the lower country on the coast, leaving the path to Prote on the left. On the right, we observed several caves, and one called Barytospelia,.once producing, as the name imports, nitre for the manufacture of gunpowder. Having passed an open grove of Velania oaks, and a plain spotted with shrubs, we descended to the river Longobardo, which we passed over a bridge of two arches. On the descent was a pretty fountain, with a Turkish inscription, and other eastern decora- tions added by the Turk who had erected it, and had conveyed the water for the use of travellers ; but the pious zeal of some * Sir William's account of the road is truly appalling. " Nothing'," he says, '' can equal the impracticability of a Greek road over a district of pointed lime- stone rocks perpetually appearing at the surface, except that across the suc- ceeding valley or plain, when it has been well soaked by the autumnal rains. The short herbage, beginning to spring up in the winter, renders it necessary for the traveller to attend to his own involuntary agitations ; while the lug- gage-horse, after a thousand slips and as many recoveries, almost invariably puts a stop to further progress for a short time, by receiving a desperate fall, after a slide of several feet, and a succession of unavailing struggles." t Gell's Narrative, pp. 62, 71. In the Itinerary, the houses of Gargagliano are stated to be good. MODERN GREECE. 193 Greeks had just deprived it of its ornaments, and destroyed tlie water-course by way of rendering a service to the cause of reli- gion. The country had here and there small patches of culti- vation, producing grain and lupins. After passing another river, called Agia Kyriaki, the hills receded from the coast, and we saw, over the tops of the nearest, the peaked summit of the lofty Mount Malia, or Mali, which may be considered as the centre from which all the other hills of the south-western point of the Morea proceed. " Three hours' ride from Gargagliano brought us to the vil- lage of Philiatra, after passing through a very rich tract of vine- yards and olive-grounds, and under a large oak with the ruins of a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicolo. The number of trees, and pai'ticularly of cypresses, formed so marked a feature in this spot, that we were not aware of the houses before we were on the point of entering the place. " Philiatra is a large and straggling village, situated in a plain, forming a cape between the mountains and the sea. The habi- tations are so interspersed with trees and vineyards, that scarcely any two are distinguishable together ; and the site was then to be recognised from a distance only by a groupe of cypresses, one of which, of great height, is visible from a considerable extent both of sea and land. Philiatra may properly be styled a Greek village, though a few Turks, and among others our Janissary Mustapha, had acquired property there. These Turks, as we were informed, held their lands upon a very uncertain tenure, for, by the strict letter of the law, they are not permitted either to buy or to inherit land from the Greeks ; a regulation intended to prevent injustice, and probably one of the articles of the capi- tulation between the Turks and the Venetians on the cession of the Morea. By a law also of their own, a Turk is not allowed to buy land at any place where there is no mosque; yet, a mosque cannot be erected without a special licence from the Mufti, and a very considerable expense. In such circumstances, these Turks, being in some degree dependent on the good-will of their neighbours, become very good citizens, equally removed, by their condition, from the rapaciousness of tyrants, and the mean- ness of slaves. " We remained at Philiatra only a few hours. It contains nothing worthy of observation ; and the lanes which serve as streets, are during the winter rendered impassable, except on horseback, by the frequent recurrence of deep and muddy sloughs. A church or two in decent repair exist in the \'illage ; and several years after, I saw from a ship at sea the slender mi- 25 194 MODERN GREECE. naret of a newly-erected mosque, possibly the consequence of the very journey which we were making in the Morea. It is now in all probability, with the other buildings of Philiatra, re- duced to a heap of ruins ; as, the village, being totally devoid of the means of defence, must have been sacked alternately by Christian and Turk. The Mainote pirates, attracted by the flourishing state of its olives and vines, have nevertheless made vain attempts to plunder Philiatra ; for the inhabitants, headed by the few resident Turks, have always repulsed them with loss. " After dinner we again pursued our journey toward the city of Arcadia, the capital of the district. The river of Philiatra, a rapid mountain-current in a deep ravine, is passed by a lofty bridge near the villages of Kanaloupon and Kalazoni, the inhabi- tants of which cultivate the red and sandy soil of the plain, which here expands on each side. A mountain on the right is called Geranion ; and we were told of a plain with an impregnable for- tress upon a conical hill on Mount Mali, where there had been a great battle between the Turks and the Venetians, and which may probably again become the scene of contention, as it has always been the refuge of banditti.* " On the right, we saw the village of Balaclava, a name re- minding us of the Tartars of the Crimea, which we could account for in this place in no other way than by supposing it a colony of Armenians, who might at some period have settled at the next village of Armeniou. We crossed by a bridge, a river called from its branches Duopotamo, and* passed through a country well covered with olives, and capable of any species of cultiva- tion. This sort of scenery continued till the mountains again approached. On the right, near a fountain called Ron- daki, and on a rocky summit attached to their most western point, the towers of the castle of Arcadia were discovered above the trees. The situation is so commanding and picturesque, that we could not but imagine we were approacliing a magnificent city, none of the houses being visible. After a short ascent, however, and passing two ruined chapels situated on projecting points of the mountain, the wretc^ied cluster of habitations which form the town broke at once upon the sight, and destroyed the illusion, though the prospect was more beautiful than ever." * This is probably the spot where Pappa Flescia had entrenched himself^ to dispute Ibrahim Pasha's advance on Arcadia. — See page 165. MODERN GREECE. 195 ARCADIA. " The town of Ai-kadia is long and naiTOW, and contains three mosques besides that in the fort : tl)e inhabitants ^are Greeks and Turks. Its population (1806) probably does not exceed 4000. Some remains of the acropolis of Cyparissiaij- enclose the mo- dern fortress, which is in ruins. It contains one mosque and some houses for the garrison. In the plain near the town are the few remains of a small Doric temple. The view irom hence is highly interesting and extensive. The eye stretches over the broad expanse of the Cyparissian Gulf to the Ionian Sea, in which the Strophades, with the more distant islands of Zakun- thos and Cephallenia are faintly visible. Towards the north, the spectator recognises Katakolo Kastro, Castel Tornese, and the low coast of Eleia, which scarcely peers above the horizon. At the extremity of this low coast begins the Cyparissian Gulf (Gulf of Ai'cadia), where the first objects are the hill of Samikon, the khan of Zakaro, the ancient city near Strobitza, and the range of the Messenian mountains, overtopped by those of Arcadia, among which Olenos is the most conspicuous. The plain and acropo- lis of Cyparissiai and the modern town terminate the view. Mount Lycason and the temple of Apollo Epikourios were con- cealed by the intervening hill of the fortress. "f Ai'cadia has no port. The surrounding country is described by Sir William Gell as a fine grove of olives ; but, in spite of its romantic name, the place itself is altogether insignificant. Mr. Dodwell reached Arcadia from the north ; and, as it will complete the description of this part of the Arcadian coast, we shall give his route FROM OLYMPIA TO ARCADIA. It was two hours and a half before the Travellers could effect their passage, and get every thing over the rapid and intractable stream of the Alpheios, by means of a rude canoe which is em- ployed for the purpose. § The passage of the horses was the * Col. Leake writes this word Arkadhia ; and Mr. Dodwell, Arkadia, for a fanciful reason, " to distinguish it from the ancient tenitory of that name," which he writes with a c. t " It is written indifferently in the singular or the plural in ancient authors. I have followed Pausanias." — Dodwell. Col. Leake writes it Cyparissus ; Sir W. Gell, Cyparissia. Pausanias speaks slightly of the place, but mentions the temples of Apollo and Minerva. t Dodwell's Classical Tour through Greece, vol. ii. p. 350. § The ferry boat, called a monoxylon, is the trunk of a large tree hollowed out, flat at one extremity and pointed at the other. Only one person at a time can embark in it, besides the two rowers, who sit at its opposite extremities « 196 MODERN GREECE. most difficult part of the undertaking, as they were to be driven into the water, when they swam across, after having been car- ried for a considerable distance down the stream. They landed at the wooded foot of a steep and picturesque hill, which they ascended by a narrow and dangerous path, bordered by the pre- cipitous banks of the Alpheios on the left, and by projecting rocks on the right. It took them an hour to ascend to the Greek village of Palaio Phanari, consisting of about twenty-five thatch- ed cottages, with a tower (pyrgos), then inhabited by a hospita- ble Turk. To the west of the village rises a pointed or conical bill, crowned with the remains of an acropolis, built of large square blocks, supposed to be that of Phrixa. The view from the summit is very extensive and interesting, commanding the course of the Alpheios meandering through the verdant meads of Olympia to the Ionian Sea. Katakolo Kastro is perceived as a spot upon the coast. On the opposite side of the river is seen the flourishing little town of Lalla, on some flat hills to- wards the north.* To the east is an extensive plain, bounded by the Arcadian mountains, and animated by the sinuous current of the Alpheios. The nearer hills are covered with forests, and the distant mountains also appear to be well wooded. At five hours and a quarter (about fifteen miles and a half) from Palaio Phanari, is the Greek village of Vrina, very pleas- antly situated. The road is "superlatively bad," but lies through " beautifully tortuous vales, in a state of variegated cultivation," and over hills covered with the waving pine. " There was some- thing so peculiarly beautiful in the country," Mr. Dodwell says, " that it appeared a region of enchantment, as if we had reached the locos leetos, et amcena vireta Fortunatorum nemorum, sedesque beatas."\ Near Vrina {Bgiva) rises a fine pointed hill, surmounted v/ith its palaio kastro or ancient citadel, — conjectured by the learned Traveller to be the ancient Minthe. An hour from Vrina is the and whirled about by the violence of the current, it is carried down the stream, often a considerable way, before it reaches the shore. It is directed by two oars, shaped nearly like a spade, which also serve as rudders. " This kind of boat was used by the ancients ; they are the fnovoivXa irXoia of Polybius, and are alluded to by Virgil (Geog. I. 136) : ' Tunc alnos fluvii primum sensere cavalas.^ " * Lalla is described by Mr. Dodwell as a town recently built, containing about 1000 houses, the inhabitants all Turks. They are, in fact, an Albanian tribe of Moslems, who took possession of the district by force. t Virg. Mn. iv. 638. Mr. Dodwell travelled towards the end of January, when the fruit-trees at Vrina were all in blossom. "This early flower falls, and when the winter is over, a second blossom appears, which gives birth te the fruit." , MODERN GREECE. 197 village of Kallonia (by Sir W. Gell written Alona), on the left bank of a stream which waters a rich agricultural plain ; and forty minutes further is a ruinous derveni or custom-house, above which rises a rocky hill crowned with the ruins of an ancient city, probably Samia or Samikon.* The walls and square towers are well preserved. This place is now called indiffer- ently Derveni and Kiaffa or Kleidi (the Key), as being the pass or key of two contiguous plains. The foot of the hills is on the confines of an extensive marsh, covered with pines, reaching to the sea, which appears at the distance of about half a mile to the west. A precipice rises near the marsh, containing two large caves, which are entered by the waters of the marsh and of some springs at the foot of the hill. " Strabo mentions the two caves, one of which was sacred to the nymphs Anigriades, while the other was famous for the adventures of the Atlantides, and for the birth of Dardanus, son of Jupiter and Electra, daughter of Atlas, King of Arcadia. He says, that the marshes have been produced by the fountain near the cave of the Ani- griad nymphs, mixing with the Anigros, which is deep and sluggish, while the surrounding country is sandy and low. Pau- sanias says, that the Anigros is fetid from its very source, which is at Mount Lapithos in Arcadia : he adds, that the mouth of this river is often retarded in its influx into the sea, by the vio- lence of the winds, which prevent the progression of its waters. It is now called Mauro-potamo, the black river."f The whole country was so much overflowed when Mr. Dod- well travelled, that it was difficult to distinguish the river from the marsh. There is a fishery here, in a lake formed by the waters of the Anigros : tlie fish are admitted in summer time by a canal, which is afterwards closed by sand-banks. The soil is a deep sand. Near where the lake ends, a road leads off to the left to Xerro Chorio. At two hours and twenty minutes from the derveni, near where a stream flowing from the hills on the east enters the sea, is the Klian of Agio Isidoro (pronounced Ayo Sidero), a melancholy spot, nearly deserted. About two miles inland, ascending this stream, is a village called Biskini or Pischini, near which are small remains of an ancient city, con- * Strabo calls the city Samia, and the mountain Samikon. It was celebrat- ed for a temple of the Samian Neptune, which stood in a grove of wild olives. It probably took its name from its lofty situation, as the Greeks called high places Yajioi. Strabo and Pausanias take Samikon to be the same as Arene, which Homer places near the river Anigros. — Dodwell, vol. ii. p. 344. t Dodwell, vol. ii. p. 345. In like manner, the scirocco sometimes blows with such violence at Ostia in the rainy season, that the Tiber stagnates at its mouth, aad occasions inundations in many parts. 198 MODERN GREECE. jectnred to be the site of the Triphyliatic or Lepreatic Pylos, " and the river may be the Amathos." The track continues . to run along a cultivated plain, bounded by the sea and by sand-banks clothed with pines on the one hand, and by gentle hills on the other. At the end of about an hour and three quarters from the khan, a road to the left turns up a pretty wooded glen with a river, leading to the village of Strovitza. Mr. Dodwell left the road to Arcadia, to explore the traces of an ancient city in this direction. In three hours from the khan, he reached the first traces of the city, near where a rapid rivulet falls down the hill, turning some small mills in its course ; and half an hour more brought him to the acropolis. " Two entire gates are remaining, of the common square form : one of them is almost buried under the ruins and earth, which reach nearly to the architrave. The towers are square ; one of them is almost entire, and contains a small window or arrow-hole. Three different periods of architecture are evident in this for- tress. The walls are composed of polygons : some of the towers consist of irregular, and others of rectangular quadrilate- rals. The ruins extend far below the acropolis on the side of the hill, and are seen on a flat detached knoll. It was evidently an extensive city. Its situation corresponds nearly to that of Lepreos in Triphylia." Strobitza is about a mile and a half to the north. An extensive view is obtained from this summit. Mr. Dodwell regained the road to Arcadia at the bridge of Boutzi, over the Neda; having passed in his way an ancient site, distinguishable by old foundations and broken pottery, which he supposes to be Pyrgos, the last town of Triphylia. The Neda rises on the west side of Mount Lycaeon, forming a deep and rocky glen, on the right bank of which are the ruins of Phigaleia, about two hours from the bridge. It anciently separated Triphylia and Messenia. It is not broad but deep, and, after hard rains, very rapid. The road now lies through swamps and pine forests, approaching the sea, and crosses a clear and shallow river, which has changed its course, rendering a fine bridge useless. Soon after, the olive re-appears. At three hours and twenty minutes from the khan near the bridge of the Neda, the traveller arrives at Arcadia : distance from the ferry of Palaio Phanari nearly fourteen hours. FROM ARCADIA TO MESSENE. From Arcadia, Mr. Dodwell proceeded to visit Mount Ithome and the fertile region at the head of the Gulf of Coron. At MODERN GREECE. 199 the end of five hours (4h. 21 min. in the Itinerary) he reached Kleissoura, which derives its name from being near the gorge or defile that leads to the great Messenian plain. The inhabitants were chiefly Greek klephts. Near the village are some imper- fect vestiges, " perhaps of the city of Dorion." Three quarters of an hour beyond this village, a rapid stream, called Kokla, runs southward to the Gulf. Forty minutes further, on the right, is seen a high insulated mount, of pointed form, crowned with a ruined Venetian castle, which is called indifferently, Palaio-kastro, Klephto-kastro, and Mila-kastro. The ruins are fine modern towers, perhaps on old foundations. This part of the road, which is a narrow defile, was reckoned particu- larly dangerous from the robbers.* Soon after, the spacious expanse of the Messenian plain, encircled with mountains, bursts on the view, and Mount Ithome appears in all its beauty. At the end of three hours from Kleissoura, is the large Greek village of Konstantino. From a neighbouring hill, "the rich plain of Messenia was seen in its full extent, with Mount Ithome, the summits of Taygeton, and the broad Pamisos, winding its way through the vale of Stenykleros to the Koroneian Gulf." From Konstantino to Mavrommati (or Maura-matia, black eyes), four miles and twenty-three minutes. The road lies through the village of Ahtoura, half an hour beyond which are the ruins of a most curious ancient bridge, " perhaps unique in Greece," but resembling the triangular bridge at Croyland in Lincolnshire. It is built over the confluence of two rivers which run southward ; the principal one, the Balyra, and the tributary stream, either the Leukasia or the Amphitos. The lower part of the bridge is ancient ; it is constructed with large blocks of stone, with two pointed buttresses that are still left : the upper pkrt is modern. Two piers remain above water, and one to a considerable height, whence arches, in three different directions, lead to the three points of land formed by the confluence. f At three hours from Konstantino is a monastery, beautifully situated * The Author was witness to a regular battle at the village of Alitoura be- tween the klephts, who, to the number of 140, had obtained possession, and a besieging force, consisting of about 100 Greeks and 60 Turks. He afterwards met 30 armed Greeks headed by &. papas, repairing, as a reinforcement, to the scene of action. The issue was not very bloody. Very few were killed on either side : and in the night, the robbers cut their way through the besiegers, #and effected a retreat to their castle and to the forests of Ithome. " They were headed by a Greek, the terror of the Morea, known by the name of Captain George, who, as they told us, spared neither Greeks, Turks, nor Franks." His real name was no other than George Colocotroni. He subse- quently took refuge in Zante, and entered the English service. t Sir W. Gell says, that the bridge "seems to have been constructed with approaching blocks, not an arch," a presumptive proof of its antiquity. 200 MODERN GREECE. I on the side of Mount Ithome, the foot of which is here com- posed of little hills intersected by small valleys cultivated with corn. Nothing, Mr. Dodwell says, can exceed the beauty and interest of the view from this solitary spot : he pronounces it to be one of the finest in Greece. The magnificent range of Taygetus, covered with snow, and broken into a diversity of gigantic forms, was seen shooting up into the air, far above the rich and level plains of Messenia ; while the continuity of the outline was finely broken by a beautiful cluster of cypresses in the fore-ground. The monastery, which they found deserted, but with signs of recent habitation, is of considerable extent. In the walls, are " two beautiful feet of a white marble statue." Having climbed still higher, the traveller reaches the summit of the pass between Mounts Evan and Ithome, and passes the walls of the ancient acropolis of Messene ; he then descends to the village of Mavrommati, situated in the centre of the ancient city, at the southern foot of Ithome, now called Vulkano. It had been Mr. Dodwdi's intention to remain some days at this interesting spot, in order to accomplish an accurate investigation ' of these " stupendous ruins, which are so perfect that they ex- hibit a complete picture, and excite a most satisfactory idea of ancient Greek fortifications." The disturbed state of the coun- try, and the panic alarm spread by the robbers, defeated his plans. MESSENE. " Pausanias," remarks the learned Traveller, " appears to have felt great interest in the history of the Messenians. His description of their wars is more minute and more animated than any other part of his narrative. His account of the city gives us a grand idea of what it must once have been ; and the present splendid remains produce a conviction of his veracity. He says : " The walls enclose not only Mount Ithome, but also a space which extends towards the Pamisos under Mount Evan. The town is enclosed by a good wall of stones, and defended by towers and battlements." He adds, that the fortifications are the best he ever saw, and superior even to those of Ambrysos, Byzantium, and Rhodes. " The village is situated on the ruins, about three-quarters of a mile from the great gates, the most magnificent ruin of the kind in Greece. A circular wall, which is composed of large regular blocks, encloses an area of sixty-two feet in diameter. In this wall are two gates, one facing Cyparissiai, and the other opposite, looking towards Laconia. The architraves have MODERN GREECE. 201 ftdlen ; but that which belonged to the Laconian gate remains entii-e, with one end on the ground, and the other leaning against a wall. It seems to be pervaded by a fissure, which was occa- sioned probably by the fall ; and it is likely that, in a few years, this magnificent block, which is nineteen feet long, will be broken in two pieces. Within the circular court is a square niche in the wall, apparently for a statue. " These noble walls were probably constructed with the assis- tance of the army of Epaminondas, and the lintel was perhaps thrown down by the Spartans at the final subjugation of the Messenians, as its destruction could not have been effected without violence. Among the ruins of Messene are the remains of the stadium and of a theatre which is one of the smallest in Greece. Several other traces, masses of fine walls, and heaps of stones that are scattered about the plain, are overgrown or nearly concealed by large tj-ees or luxuriant shrubs. Pausanias mentions a gymnasium, a stadium, a tlieatre, ten temples, and an infinity of statues, and particularly an edifice called isgoOvdiov, which contained statues of all the gods worshipped in Greece. This, however, is inconceivable, as their number must have amounted to many thousands. Perhaps he means only the great gods.* " Many abundant founts and springs, issuing from Ithome, diffuse verdure and fertility over this interesting jspot. Pausanias notices Klepsydra and Arsinoe, which still remain. The mag- nificent walls near t^je great gate are almost entirely preserved ; they are composed of square stones of a prodigious size, rustic and chipped. The pavement consists of large square stones, in which we discern the track of ancient wheels. The towers are square, and composed of much smaller stones than the walls. A few steps lead up to the door in each tower, in the second story of which are two windows of the same form as the doors, diminishing towards the top." " We ascended by a steep and winding way to the summit of Ithome. We passed by several blocks and foundations, and in a small plain on the side of the hill, observed the few remains of a Doric temple of moderate proportions, consisting of some columns and capitals, and blocks of the cella, thrown down and almost covered with bushes. There was a bronze statue of * " The Abbe Fourmont, who visited these ruins (Mycene) seventjr years ago, caunted thirty-eight towers then standing. I think M. Vial" (the French Consul at Coron) " informed me that nine of these yet remain entire." — Chateaubriand, vol. ii. p. 94. The Abbe cannot, however, be depended upon as an authority. 26 202 MODERN GREECE. Minerva on Ithome ; perhaps this was the temple dedicated to that divinity. The form of the area enclosed by the walls of this celebrated fortress, is an ■ oblong square. In some places, the foundations only can be traced ; in others, some masses of the walls remain, composed of large blocks, well hewn and united, but with some irregularity in their angles, which are fre- quently not right angles, but obtuse or acute. These were probably erected prior to the time of Epaminondas. " The town of Ithome consisted merely of what was after- wards the acropolis, that is, the summit of the mountain ; as the lower town of Messene owed its origin to the Thebans, after the battle of Leuctra. Ithome was strongly fortified by the Messenians in the first Messenian war,* when the inhabitants of the country abandoned most of their small cities, which were probably not fortified before that period. Indeed, few remains of very ancient date are observed in Messenia. The polygon or cyclopian walls are very rare, while they often occur in the neighbouring and warlike Arcadia. Most of the Messenian cities were re-established by Epaminondas It is difficult to imagine how the Messenians, when they abandoned their other cities, could be collectively crowded within the walls of Ithome. Probably, the declivities of the mountain, outside the acropolis walls, were covered with habitations ; and this locality is still marked by several traces, composed of small stones and tiles. In time of danger, the inhabitants abandoned their temporary abodes, and retired within the walls. The temple of Jupiter Ithomates, of which there are no remains, is now replaced by the monastery of St. Elias at the northern extremity of the hill, upon the edge of a steep precipice. The festival of Jupiter has ceded its oaken crown to the laurel-rose, with which the modern Greeks deck their heads in the amiual dance which they perform on the summit of Ithome. An even pavement of a circular form, which appears modern, but which is composed of ancient slabs of stone and marble, forms the theatre for the celebration of this dance, which is attended by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, and in which much pomp and ceremony are displayed. " Mount Ithome has a flat summit rising gently towards the north, where the monastery is erected. Few places in Greece combine a more beautiful, and at the same time a more classical view. It overlooks the whole extent of the once rich and war- like Messenia, which, however, in the time of Strabo, was greatly depopulated, as the cities mentioned by Homer had either entire- * This began 743 B. C. and lasted twenty years. MODERN GREECE. 203 ly disappeared, had left only faint vestiges, or had changed their names. Vicissitudes, similar to those which occurred between tlte time of Homer and that of Strabo, have continued from the time of tlte geographer to tlie present day. This beautiful and fertile region is not half cultivated ; and though irrigated with numerous rivulets, and blessed witli a delicious climate, at present exhibits only a few moderate villages scattered through the country."* On quitting Mavrommati, Mr. Dodwell proceeded along the northern side of Ithome, having in front the old Venetian castle of Mylae, and soon came to a ruined church, with a long block of stone and tumulus near it ; he then crossed a stream, and in an hour and twenty minutes from the gate of Messene, reached the triangular bridge over the Balyra, (now called the Mavro Zunie, or black broth,) which, according to Pausanias, was thirty stadia from the city. He then struck across the plain, crossing a rivulet running N. E., and in twenty minutes passed by the foot of an insulated rocky hill of inconsiderable height, rising in the middle of the plain. Leaving the road to Scala on the right, he reached, at the end of three hours and a half from the gate of Messene, the khan of Sakoua, a wretched hovelf at the foot of the mountains called Makriplai, wliich form the connecting link between Lycseon and Taygetus, and the line of separation between Messenia and Arcadia. From this place, he proceeded to visit the ruins .of Megalopolis. Before, however, we accom- pany him farther in this direction, we shall rejoin Sir William Gell at this place on his road to Maina, in order to complete our description of the southern coast. FROM SCALA TO MAINA. The road from the khan of Sakona to Scala traverses the Stenyclerian plain in a southerly direction, crossing several streams, and having on the left a projection from the great range of Taygetus, which, under the name of Mount Pala, advances towards Mount Vulcano (Ithome). The plain is marshy, but produces maize, and the whole country in this neighbourhood, when Sir William Gell travelled, seemed covered with wild lav- ender, or hyssop, which, when trampled hj the horses sent forth * Dodwell, vol. ii. pp. 359—366. f'This edifice consistSj as usual in remote situations, of a long- and low- shed, with a sort of court, surrounded with smaller hovels and ill-constructed walls about eight feet high. There was also some attempt at a garden or enclosure, attached to the khan, surrounded with a most dangerous hedge of tall Indian prickly fig." 204 MODERN GREECE. an agreeable aromatic odour. Droves of buffaloes were " wal- lowing in the marshes." Scala stands on a knoll, part of a low range of hills, dividing the plain of Stenyclerus from that of the Pamisus. It is an inconsiderable village, with several gardens protected by hedges of prickly Indian fig. Near this place, Sir William noticed a singular effect produced by a thin undulating stratum of rock, which being cracked into innumerable fragments, presented the appearance of an immense mosaic pavement. The view from these hills is described as very interesting. On the right are seen the two summits of Mount Ithome, beautifully wooded, each crowned with a little chapel, one of which occu- pies the site of the temple of Jupiter. Below is the monastery with its cypress-grove. Beyond Mount Vulcano, the peaks of Mount Mali, extending its branches westward as far as the town of Arcadia, and to Coron and Modon on the south, terminate the prospect on that side. Mount Pala forms the eastern bound- ary ;* but, to the south, all is open to the gulf, the towers of Coron bemg distinctly visible in a S. W. direction, while Capo' Grosso, the western promontory of Maina, is seen in the S. E. Below spreads the extensive plain of the Pamisus, f partially in- undated by its broad stream, and bordered by many little villages-, placed on the prettiest green hills imaginable. In the lower part of the plain are two towns, Andrutza and Nisi ; the latter in sl sort of island, as its name imports. The whole plain is naturally fertile, and the eastern part of it near Kalamata is a scene of rich cultivation. The fields are divided by high fences of cactus, and large orchards of the white mulberry-tree are interspersed with maize-fields, olive-grounds, and " gardens alinost worthy of Alcinous him.self." The fineness of the climate is indicated by the presence of the palma Christi, here called agra staphylia, or wild vine, from which is obtained castor-oil. About half an hour from Scala, in the plains, are the vestiges of a small temple, below which is a rock with a fountain, the source of the Pamisus. In the pool which it here forms, Pau- sanias states, the ceremony of ablution was anciently performed on infants, f At a short distance from this is another rock with vestiges of an ancient edifice, and a second source gushes forth, forming a river at once. A little farther is a third, equally lim- pid and copious, which has been walled round. Some fine trees * Sir William Gell says, that Mount Pala formed the boundary on the west (Narrative, p. 192.) ; but this must be an error. t Now called Pirnatza. t The waters were believed to have medicinal virtue. See Travels of Ana^ charsis, vol. iii. chap. 40. MODERN GREECE. 205 iiere form the remains of a sacred grove, and a chapel dedicated to Agios Giorgios (St. George) marks the site of a fane dedi- cated to the old idolatry.* The road over the plain is very ex- cellent, owing to the gravelly soil. Several villages occur on either side : that of Palio-castro, which is seen on an eminence on the left, a litde way beyond a bridge over a strong stream from Pedimo, exhibits vestiges of andquity, which mark the site of the ancient Thuria. In about two hours from Scala, the traveller arrives at a large brick ruin, called Lout7-o {the bath). That it w^as destined for that use, is evident from the pipes and aqueducts yet remaining : the building has been considerable, and is probably of Roman constructioy. The medicinal waters might yet be found on the hill ; at present, they seem lost in the neighbouring marsh. After passing two ruined churches, the road, no longer good, runs between two high hedges of cactus, that, almost meeting over it, threaten to shed their brittle and prickly branches upon the passengers. The mountains on the left cease at a point near the village of Delli Hassan. The town of Nisi, of considerable extent, lies on the right. The plain produces figs and olives in abundance : under some of the larger trees are the stones of chapels long since destroyed. The vil- lage of Ais Aga is well planted with cypresses ; and towej's and hamlets, with their gardens and orchards, occur in rapid succes- sion, presenting all the delights of a southern coast. At the village of Asprochomo (white earth), the soil assumes a red ap- pearance, and there are several scattered sand-hills. On a mount to the left is the monastery of Agios Gas. The road now descends into a hollow, planted with the mulberry-tree, the mastich, the fig, the cypress, the orange, the lemon, and the olive ; and in another half hour, after crossing a rividet, (the an- cient Nedon,) which descends from Taygetus, the traveller en- ters the town of Kalamata, delightfully situated in the midst of * The agiasmaia, or holy fountahis, may be ranked among the most classical superstitions of the modern Greeks. Circumstances of various import have con- ferred the reputation of sanctity upon many springs within the walls of Con- stantinople ; but a romantic and solitary situation, the neighbourhood of a cavern or a grove, is the usual characteristic of an agaisma. To these foun- tains multitudes will tiock at certain intervals, to invoke the saint (the genius loci) whose protection they are peculiarly thought to enjoy, and, by their songs and dances, to express the gay and joyous feelings which such situations have ever excited in the glowing constitutions of the Greeks. Their sick are brought in crowds to drink the waters, which, destitute of all medicinal qualities in themselves,- owe their influence entirely to the patronage of some superior being ; and it would be thought the greatest impiety and ingratitude in those who receive, or fancy they receive his help, to neglect affixing a lock of hair or a strip of linen, as the votiva tabula, which may record at once the power of the saint, and the piety of his votary." Douglas on the Modern Greeks, p. 61- 206 MODERN GREECE. these gardens on the banks of the stream ; distance from Scala four hours and a quarter ; from Sakona, nearly six hours ; and nine hours and a half from Leondari. " Sheltered as Kalamata is from the north by the high projec- tion of Taygetus, and by the main mass of the mountain running down to Cape Matapan on the east, it is not surprising," remarks the learned Traveller, " that a fruitful plain should produce every thing in the greatest luxuriance, and that the climate, compared virith that of the interior, should be of the most delightful tempe- rature, about 61'^ of Fahrenheit early in the month of March, which is perhaps the most disagreeable season in the year on the shores of the Mediterranean." " Kalamata* derives its name from Kalamse, a village about two miles further inland, which still exists, and retains its ancient name. The cultivation of the plains, and the modern buildings erected during the period that the Venetians possessed this fertile territory, have nearly obliterated the few remains of antiquity. Mr. Morritt, who travelled through this district in the year 1795, thus describes the appearance of the place. " The modern town (consisting of perhaps 300 houses) is built on a plan not unusual in this part of the Morea, and well adapted for the de- fence of the inhabitants against the attacks of the pirates that infest the coast. Each house is a separate edifice, and many of them are high square towers of brown stone, built while the Ve- netians had possession of the country. The lower story of their habitations serves chiefly for offices or warehouses of merchan- dise, and the walls on every side are pierced with loop-holes for the use of musketry, while the doors are strongly barricadoed. A small Greek church stands near the Nedon in front of Cala- mata ; and behind the town, a ruined Venetian fortress rises on a hill, over the gardens and dwellings of the inhabitants. The Greeks who lived there, were rich and at their ease ; the fields in the vicinity of the town belonged to them, and they had also a considerable trade, the. chief articles of which arose from their cultivation of silk and oil.f They were governed by men of their own nation and appointment, subject only to the approval of the Pasha of the Morea, who resided at Tripolitza, and to the payment of a tribute which was collected among themselves, and transmitted by a Turkish Vaivode, who, with a small party * Mr. Morritt suggests, that Kalamata may probably occupy the site of Pherse, which, according to Pausanias, stood at six stadia from the sea, in the way from Abia to Thuria, and near where the Nedon fell into the sea. The mouth of the stream of Kalamata is about a mile below the town. t A quantity of figs (about 5000 okes) are annually exported to Coron and Trieste. Swan's Joxmial, vol. ii. p. 211. MODERN GREECE. 207 of Janissaries, was stationed here for that purpose, and for the defence of tlie town against the Mainotes."* The town has since been laid in utter ruin by Ibrahim Pasha ; but the adjacent country, when Captain Hamilton passed through it in September 1825, exhibited few or no traces of Turkish de- vastation. Women were seen labouring in the vineyards ; plan- tations of fig-tree and mulberry abounded in the plain ; and in passing through the green shady lanes, formed by the hedges of prickly pear, its red oblong fruk Itvmg in rich clusters, festooned with bunches of grapes and blackberries. Mr. Morritt describes some considerable ruins which occur be- tween Calamata and Palaio Castro, wliich might be taken for the place described by Sir William Gell, were not the direction in which they occur, apparently far to the eastward of his route. " Leaving Calamata," he says, " we passed the village of Kutchuk-Maina, (Little Maina,) and skirting the mountain of Taygetus, which rose on our right-hand, we came in about an hour to the ruins of ancient baths, of which the buildings that remain are very considerable. The structure is of brick. The principal entrance, which is to the south, leads into a large vaulted hall with groined, semicircular arches : on each side of the enti'ance are rooms which had rows of pipes in the walls for the conveyance of hot water, of which pipes the fragments still re- main. The hall has a large arch on each side, and extends beyond the arches to the east and west extremities of the building. An arched passage between other bath-rooms, corre- sponding to the entrance, leads from the north side of the hall into a spacious saloon, the ceiling of which is also vaulted with groined arches ; the aspect is to the north. In these bath-rooms remain contrivances for heating the apartments, and in one, the wall is cased with tiles, perforated for the admission of steam. A small bath is at the end of the eastern suit of rooms, which has been lined with stucco. This has been supplied with hot water from the pipes. The water used here appears, from the sediment near the pipes and on the walls, to have been impreg- nated with sulphur. A detached semicircular reservoir, still traceable to the east of the building, supplied the water for its use. The rooms to the north-east are in ruins ; the rest, though stripped of the marble ornaments which once adorned them, remain entire. The bricks are of the size and feature of the Roman bricks, and probably the building itself must be referred to that people, though it appears to have been used long after the decline of the Roman dominion." * Walpole's Memoirs, p. 35. 208 MODERN GREECE. From this place, Mr. Morritt continued his journey to Palaio Castro, where he found a village, still inhabited, in the midst of the ruins of the ancient city. These cover an area of nearly two miles in circuit, and parts of the ancient wall of Thuria may still be traced, by the foundations that remain on a hill at the foot of Taygetus, which retains many vestiges of the former town. Among them were scattered several marble tympana of fluted columns of the Doric order ; " probably the remains of the temple dedicated to the* Syrian goddess." A large oblong cistern or tank hewn in the rock, still retains in some places the coat of cement with which it was lined : it is twenty-three yards in length, by sixteen in breadth, and about fourteen in depth, but is partially filled up. The vestiges of the city subsequently built in the plain,^.are far more indistinct : the soil there is rich and deep, and is broken into platforms and angles of a singular appearance by the waters from the mountains. Some of. these are so regular as to present almost the appearance of a modern fortification. " Here, however, the Aris, an inconsiderable stream, still flows to the Pamisus ; and w^hile the ancient walls are visible on the hill, the fertility of the plain has obliterated the more recent habitations of the Thurians. ' Deep harvests bury all their pride has planri'd, And laughing Ceres re-assumes the land.' "* From Kalamata, the road runs eastward for about twenty minutes, before it turns to the south, to skirt the shores of the bay of Koron, wliile another branch turns off to the left to Kut- chuk-Maina, and through the mountains to Mistra.f In about forty minutes, the number of trees and the signs of cultivation diminish, and on crossing a river, the traveller enters the Mai- note territory. The road now lies under Mount Jenitza, within a few hundred yards of the sea, at the angle of the gulf formed by the mountains of Maina and the plain of Kalamata. The land is cultivated with corn, where tillage is practicable ; and Sir William Gell noticed many stone enclosures, about thirty feet square, intended as a protection to young olive-trees. Here and * Walpole's Memoirs pp. 37 — 39. t Dr. Bronsted of Copenhagen undertook to pass by this rugged and peril- ous route from Mistra to Kalamata, in 1804 ; and he accomplished his hazard- ous enterprise in personal safety, but with the loss of his watch, medals, and other valuables : these, however, he succeeded in recovering. " After a long' ascent and passing a cultivated valley which extends on the east side of Tay- getus between the main mass of the mountain and the lower range at its foot, he arrived at Pischino-chorio. Thence he employed six hours on the road to Kutchuk Maina, and from that place descended in three hours to Kalamata." Gell's Narrative, p. 252. MODERN GREECE. 209 there were fields of chamomile and lupins. A village called Kalithea-Chorio is seen on the side of a liillon the left, and near the road, the leal'ned Traveller observed a new chapel, " a rare occurrence in any part of Turkey." On the right, a few minutes lurther on, is a saline spring, the waters of which are used as medi- cine by the Mainotes. At the distance of about an hour and a half from Kalamata, a deep ravine, the bed of a mountain torrent, crosses the road, affording a strong natural defence of the terri- tory, which the Mainotes have improved by walls and two tov/- ers, so as to secure the pass between Mount Jenitza and the sea.* The place is named from the salt source, Almiro. High up in the mountains is seen the village of Selytza.f Half an hour further, after crossing the beds of two more torrents, is a spot called Mylag (the Mills), where a furious stream of salt water, gushing at once from a cavern at the foot of the mountain, turns the wheels of two or three mills, which gives its name to the place. J The natives say, that the water runs through subterra- neous channels from the Gulf of Kolokythia at Marathonisi, and that the volume increases whenever the wind blows strongly from the south-east ; but this " strange fancy," which prevails in other parts of Greece, Sir W. Gell ascribes to the vulgar notion that all salt springs must have their origin in the sea. Close to the mills is a square stone tower, the residence of a Mainote chieftain ; and near some old cypresses, is a manufactory of common tiles. Medenia, a small town, is seen on the left.<5> The road now runs * " We are assured," says Sir William Gell, "that this had been the scene of a sanguinary conflict between the Turks and the Mainotes, wherein the former had been completely routed, and beyond this line had never penetrated into Maina." t " Armyros (Almiro) is at the distance of about a league and a half from Calamatte, This is,, properly speaking, only a port where a tower has been built, with some shops occupied by bakers and other venders of provisions. The town of Selitza, to which this is the port, stands upon the declivity of a mountain facing the N. W., and contains about 300 houses. Its inhabitants, a hardy athletic race, do not unite in marriage with the Greeks in the towns un- der tlie government of the Turks : proud of their liberty, they can with difficulty submit to their own bey. The little commerce they carry on in the Gulf of Coron is, however, negotiated entirely by this rTiagistrate." Pouqueville's Travels, translated hyJi. Plumpire, p. 108. :j: Mr. Morritt remarks, that these salt streams were anciently between Phe- rae and Abia, " and now divide the district of Kalamata from the Maina." Sir W. Gell, however, makes the boundary to be a river forty minutes from Kala- mata, and about twice that distance from Mylse. Atmiro must be in the Mai- note territory. § " Mandinies" (the Medenia of Sir William Gell, — Mr. Swan calls it Ma- dela) " is the second town upon the coast immediately dependent on the Bey. It lies two leagues and a half from Calamatte one league from Armyros, and half a league frosn the sea. The town, though consisting of not above 150' houses, is divided into Great and Little Mandinies. The latter division is built 27 210 MODERN GREECE. under a low, overhanging cliff, which projects so as to leave room for only a narrow path along the beach, and after passing two little capes, leads to Palaio Chora (the old town), " now reduced to a single church, near which are several wells; and the bro- ken tiles, together with the name, seem to shew that a population once existed on this spot. There is a fountain here, where ships sometimes water."* The high snowy peaks of Taygetus are now visible. A little farther, the traveller passes another neglected church in a glen, and near it, a well, on a rapid and dangerous rocky descent, leading down to another tile-manufactory, at the head of a little bay. On descending from the rock, some caves and another church are seen on the right. After crossing a glen watered by a little stream from Taygetus, another pass, between a projecting rock and the sea, leads to a bay with a stream ; and now the towers of the castle of Kitries assume an imposing appearance, well seated on a rocky promontory, over- looldng a little dark bay in which ships may anchor. The dis- tance from Kalamata is rather more than three hours and a half.f Mr. Morritt thus describes the general appearance of this part of the coast. "From Myla, the mountains of Taygetus rise in high rides to the east, and descend in rocky slopes to the sea. The country is barren and stony beyond conception ; and yet, the earth, which is washed by the rains and torrents from the higher parts, on the slope of Mount Saint Helias, the highest summit of Taygetus : the Great Mandinies stands at the foot of the slope. Its chief productions are oil and silk, and it is particularly celebrated for tlie purity of its air. The valley which runs at the foot of this mountain, is embellished with several hamlets picturesquely situated : in following the course of a little river which flows through it, we come to the ruins of an ancient town called by the inhabi- tants, Palseochori. From the ruins of some temple, they have built a church, which is called Siavros. It is not surrounded with houses ; but it is a place of assembly on festival days, and the inhabitants of Mandinies repair thither to hear mass," he. Pouquevili.e's Travels, p. 108. * This is apparently the place referred to by Mr. Morritt as the site of Abia, although the distance does not quite agree. The ruins, he says, are on the shore, about a mile southward of the salt springs. " One old piece of wall of massive masonry, of a circular form, and the remains of a mosaic pavement in the floor of a modern Greek church, are all the vestiges of antiquity that ascertain the spot where Abia stood, except the platform and marks on the ground which indicate that, other buildings formerly existed. In the tradition of the country, the circular ruin had been a bath." The distance of Abia from Mylse, according to Mr. Morritt, answers, however, more nearly to the situa- tion of the caves and church mentioned by Sir W. Gell, a quarter of a mile from Palaio Chora. M. Pouqueville supposes Palaio Chora to be Pheras. t Kitries, which is the canton of Zarnata, is reckoned ten miles from Kala- mata, and thirty from Vitulo ; eight hours from Mistra-by the shortest route ; or, over Mount Taygetus, ten hours ; and twenty hours from TripoUtza ; four- teen miles across the bay to Coron, and thirty to Modon. MODERN GREECE. 211 is supported on a thousand platforms and terraces by the inde- fatigable industry of the inhabitants ; and diese were covered widi corn, maize, olives, and mulberry-trees, which seemed to grow out of the rock itself. Through such a country we arrived at Kiti'ees, a small hamlet of five or six cottages scattered round a fortress, the residence (in 1795) of Zanetachi Kutuphari, formerly Bey of the Maina, and of his niece Helena, to whom the property belonged. The house consisted of two towers of stone, exactly resembling our own old towers upon the borders of England and Scotland 5 a row of offices and lodgings for servants, stables, and open sheds, inclosing a court, the entrance to which was through an arched and embattled gateway."* The reception which the English Traveller met with from the old laird was most hospitable, and the description conveys a pleasing idea of the manners of these Laconian highlanders, " On our approach, an armed retainer of the family came out to meet us, and spoke to our guard who attended us from Myla. He returned with him to the castle, and informed the chief, who hastened to the gate to welcome us, surrounded by a crowd of gazing attendants, all surprised at the noA^elty of seeing English guests. We were received^ however, with the most cordial welcome, and shewn to a comfortable room on the principal floor of the tower, inhabited by himself and his family ; the other tower being the residence of the capitanessa, his niece, for that was the title which she bore. "Zanetachi Kutuphari was a venerable figure, though not above the age of fifty-six. His family consisted of a wife and four daughters, the younger two of which were children. They inhabited the apartment above ours, and were, on our arrival, in- troduced to us. The old chief, who himself had dined at an earlier hour, sat down, however, to eat with us, according to the established etiquette of hospitality here, while his wife and tlie two younger cMldren waited on us, notwithstanding our remonstrances, ac- cording to the custom of the country, for a short time ; then retired, and left a female servant to attend us and him. At night, beds and mattresses were spread on the floor, and pillows and sheets, embroidered and composed of broad stripes of mus- lin and coloured silk, were brought in. The articles we found were manufactured at home by the women of the family. As the Greeks themselves invariably wear their under garments * Sir W. Gell was struck with " the effect of the architecture," as being " ex- actly that produced by many of the castles of Scotland, and at the same time full of picturesque beauty." Uader the castle is a great natural cavern, where cattle are kept. .212 MODERN GREECE. when they sleep, the inconvenience of such a bed is llttk felt. " As the day after our arrival at Kitrees was Easter Sunday, We of course remained there, and had an opportunity of witness- ing and partaking in the universal festivity which prevailed, not only in the castle, but in the villages of the country round it. In every Greek house, a lamb is killed at this season, and the Utmost rejoicing prevails. We dined with Zanetachi Kutaphari and his family at their usual hour of half-past eleven in tlie fore-^ noon, and after our dinner, were received in much state by his niece Helena in her own apartments. She was in fact the lady of the castle, and chief of the district round it, which was her own by inheritance from her father. She was a young widow, and still retained much of her beauty ; her manners were pleas- ing and dignified. An audience in form from a young woman, accompanied by her sister, who sat near her, and a train of attendant females in the rich and elegant dress of the country, Was a novelty in our tour, and so unlike the customs which pre- vailed within a few short miles of the spot where we were, that it seemed like an enchantment of romance. The capitanessa alone was seated at our entrance, who, when she had offered us chairs, requested her sister to sit down near her, and ordered her attendants to bring coffee and refreshments. We were much struck with the general beauty of the Mainiot women here, which, we afterwards found, was not confined to Kitrees ; we remarked it in many other villages ; and it is of a kind that, from their habits of life, would not naturally be expected. With the same fine features that prevail among the beauties of Italy and Sicily, they have the delicacy and transparency of com- plexion, with the brown or auburn hair, which seems peculiar to the colder regions. Indeed, from the vicinity to the sea, the summers here are never intensely hot, nor are the winters severe in this southern climate. The same causes in some of the Greek islands produce the same effect, and the women are much more beautiful in general than those of the same latitude on the con- tinent. The men, too, are a well-proportioned and active race, not above the middle size, but spare, sinewy, and muscular. The capitanessa wore a light blue shawl-gown embroidered with gold, a sash tied loosely round her waist, and a short vest with- out sleeves, of embroidered crimson velvet. Over these was a dark green velvet Polonese mande, with wide and open sleeves, also richly embroidered. On her head was a green velvet cap, embroidered with gold, and appearing like a coronet ; and a white and gold muslin shawl, fixed on the right shoulder, and MODERN GREECE. 213 passed across her bosom under die left arm, floated over the coronet, and hung to the ground behind her. Her uncle's dress was equally magnificent. He wore a close vest with open sleeves of white and gold embroidery, and a short black velvet mantle, the sleeves edged with sable. The sash which held his pistols and his poniard was a shawl of red and gold. His light blue trowsers were gathered at the knee, and below them were close gaiters of blue cloth with gold embroidery, and silver gilt bosses to protect the ancles. When he left the house, he flung on his shoulders a rich cloth mantle with loose sleeves, which was blue without and red within, embroidered with gold in front and down the sleeves in the most sumptuous manner. His tur- ban was green and gol4 ; and, contrary to the Turkish custom, liis grey hair hung down below it. The dress of the lower orders is in tlie same form, with necessary valuations in the quali- ty of the materials, and absence of the ornaments. It differed considerably from that of the Turks, and the shoes were made either of yellow or untanned leather, and fitted tightly to the foot. The hair was never shaved, and the women wore gowns like those of the West of Europe, instead of being gathered at the ancles like the loose trowsers of the East. " In the course of the afternoon we walked into some of the neighbouring villages ; the inhabitants were every where dancing and enjoying themselves on the green, and those of the houses and little harbour of Kitrees, with the crews of two small boats that were moored there, were employed in the same way till late in the evening. We found our friead Zaqetachi well acquaint- ed with both the ancient and the modern state of Maina, having been for several years the bey of the district. From him I derived much of the informadon to which I have recourse in describing the manners and principles of the Mainicts. He told me that, in case of necessity, on attack from the Turks, the numbers they could bring to act, consisting of every man in the country able to bear arms, amounted to about 12,000. All of these were trained to the use of the rifle even from tlieir child- hood, and after they grew up, were possessed of one, without which they never appeared ; and, indeed, it was as much a part of their dress as a sword formerly was of an English gentleman. Their constant familiarity with this weapon had rendered them singularly expert in the use of it. There are fields near every village, where the boys practised at the target, and even the girls and women took their part in this martial amusement. " We left Kitrees, not without regret on our part, or the kind expression of it on that of our hospitable friends, who supplied 214 MODERN GREECE. US with mules, and sent with us an escort to conduct us to Car- damoula, the ancient Cardamyle."* Kitriees is described by M. Pouqueville in 1799, as little more than a heap of ruins. " Burned by the Albanians, it is now composed only of some shops and a sort of castle or tower where the Bey resides : in fact, it is only the port to another town which lies eastward half a league inland. f This town is called Dolous : it stands in a fertile valley, which runs some way among the mountains of Taygetus, extending almost half a league in breadth. Dolous is divided into the higher and lower towns, one-half being upon the declivity of the mountain, and the other spreading out in the valley. It is very populous, the number of houses being estimated at more than 500 : they are all inhabited by numerous families, and, if necessary, the town could easily furnish 600 warriors. On the slope opposite to Dolous, and about half a league from it, stands a large village called Varousi, where the bishop of the canton (who is always called the bishop of ZarnataJ) resides. Varousi is very inferior to Dolous in extent and population, as it does not contain above 150 houses; but, to make amends, it abounds with churches, and is inhabited by a number of clergy and papas. Half a league further eastward, on the same slope with Valousi, stands Moul- titza, another village of the canton of Zarnata, consisting of about 100 houses. Sillc, oil, wine, and corn abound in all this part of the country, and its population has increased exceedingly during the last twenty years. Some rivulets and a number of springs * Walpole's Memoirs, pp. 45 — 48 Zanetachi Kutuphari (or Coiitoufari) was descended from one of the first families in Maina. Morosini^ the Vene- tian general, conferred on John Coutoufari, one of his ancestors, the honour of knighthood. The family were in possession of the lordship of three vil- lages in the district of Kalamata, and had several mills — probably at Mylse. They lost the greater part of this property owing to the troubles brought upon the Morea by the Russian war. In 1776, Zanetachi was appointed Bey of Maina by the Capitan Pasha, which had nearly proved his ruin. For some time he was a fugitive in Zante ; and M. Pouqueville will have it, that in 1787, he was strangled by order of the Capitan Pasha ; but if so, he must have come to life again in 1795, when Mr. Morritt was his guest. t In like manner, Almiro forms the port to Selitza. This may serve to ac- count for the deserted state of the coasts, which give little idea of the condi- tion of the interior. Sir W. Gell ridicules the Greeks for submitting to the inconvenience of residing in the sterile fastnesses of the mountain tops, " for the sake of calling themselves free," when under the mild and beneficent gov- ernment of the Turks, (the object of Sir William's unbounded admiration,) they might live " in the luxury and plenty of the plain below." The fact appears to be, that the coasts are rendered unsafe by piratical depredators. :|; M. Pouqueville asserts, that there is no town of this name, but that it is a canton, " the richest, the most populous, and the most fertile of the whole country," containing fifty villages not very widely scattered. Mr. Morritt. however, enumerates it among the villages. MODERN GREECE. 215 water these defiles. At the bottom of the valley near Varousi, is a village called Cambro Stavro^" In 1825, when Captain Hamilton landed at Kitrees on his way to the camp of Ibraliim Pasha, the village, though consisting of not more than eight or ten cottages, was crowded with inhabi- tants, the retainers of the far-famed Pietro Bey Mavromikhalis, who was then residing here. The Bey had 200 followers con- stantly about him. Mr. Swan thus describes the place. " Kit- rees stands upon a rock deeply embayed within surrounding mountains. The northern shore presents a series of natural terraces rising one above the other. There is great depth of water in tlie bay, even up to the very rocks, so much so, that it is necessary to secure vessels by a hawser attached to the shore. The place abounds with fig-trees. Behind the Bey's house is a small ruined castle, once held by the Turks, but blown down with cannon during a civil war." The Bey himself is thus describ- ed : — " A goodly personage, corpulent and short. His features expressed extreme goodnature, but not much understanding. His eyes project ; his face is broad and chubby ; and his mustachios, by undue training, unite with his whiskers, which are clipped above and below, but suffered to run wild in the centre, and are therefore drawn out to a prodigious length. He wore an Alba- nian dress, begirt with a splendid shawl of rich gold embroidery : a silver gilt pistol, highly chased, was attached to his belt. His presence was that of a respectable old gentleman, of about fifty years of age, over whom the finger of care has moved lightly, leav- ing none of those impressions which prey upon and overpower the mental energies.* He was attended by a number of military chiefs, in a common sort of chamber, for the appearance of which he thought it necessary to apologise. It was a barrack, he said ; his house was upon Capo Grosso, where his family then resided. "■ We were called to dinner," continues Mr. Swan, who gives the account, " at five o'clock ; and though a fast day with our worthy host, he entertained us sumptuously, while he abstained himself. As the night drew on, a dependent with a long black beard held over us a lighted lamp, and stood like a statue the whole time we were eating. This again reminded us of ancient Highland torch-bearers ; an instance of which, if I mistake not^ we find in the ' Legend "of Montrose.' Soups and fishes in every * See p. 142, note. M. Pouqueville, with his accustomed disregard of ac- curacy for the sake of effect, speaks of his " port majestueux, pareil a celui des races heroiques, de beaux traits, ^c. .' " — Hisioire de la Regen., ^c, torn. ii. p. 579. 216 MODERN GREECK. form, all excellently cooked, with country wine of admirable flavour, were abundantly supplied. At eight, our couch was spread (for we were to start at daylight) where we had dined. That part divided from the rest, and called the divan, (it had once, doubtless, been a Turkish residence,) with the space be- tween, was occupied by our company, including the Greek and Turk who travelled under our escort. On the left of the entrance, was a small door leading to a kind of balcony, which overlooked the sea. Here, with the clear blue sky for a canopy, and the murmuring ocean for their lullaby, our host had depos- ited the females of his family, among whom was an Arab slave, the most comely-looking creature of the kind that I have seen. Close by, in our own apartment, the Bey took up his rest. Two other Greeks, his attendants, lay on the side opposite to him, where stood a lamp, suspended from a short wooden stick. Over the partition forming the divan, was a small recess, in which the Panagia (All holy, applied to the Virgin) slumbered — or watched over her votaries, assisted by a lamp of oil, lighted up as the dusk approached, and secured by a small glass door covering the recess. The whole scene before us was very striking. Our situation being at the higher end of the chamber, we had a good prospect of its entire length, for the lamp was suffered to burn through the night.. The party were extended on mats in various portions of the room, the walls of which were decorated with weapons — guns, pistols, and swords ; a broad- head lance or two rested in the corner. I could scarcely pre- vent my fancy from revelling in all the luxury of romantic ad- venture. Our old host, having divested himself of his scull-cap, outer drawers, and jacket, lay along his mat in the shape of a huge mound, swelling gradually to the apex. His secretary kneeled beside him, armed with pen, ink, and paper, and em- ployed in scribbling the despatches he was dictating for Colo- cotroni and the captains we were likely to meet with in. our way. The lamp stood near them, and cast a strong gleam upon their countenances, made more picturesque by the long hair of the Bey, which swept the ground as he reposed. " In the morning, we resumed our conference with the Bey relative to the release of his son. Tears stood in his eyes when he told us the misfortunes of his family. One of his children fell at Carysto, another at Neo-Kastro, while a third remained prisoner at Modon : one of his nephews was killed at the begin- ning of the Revolution, and his brother, at this time, was a mem- ber of the senate at Napoli. These circumstances he enumer- ated to prove the sincerity of his patriotism, and to shew the MODERN GREECE. 217 exertions his family had made. He had supported the Revohi- tion almost from the very commencement ; and could we be the means of emancipating his son, nothing within the compass of his ability should be wanting to testify his gratitude — not though it were the last drop of his blood."* We now return to Mr. IMorritt, whom we left on the point of setting out for Kardamoula, distance three hours (about ten miles) from Kitries. The southern point of the bay is formed by a rocky promontory about half a mile in length. " On leaving tlie village," continues Mr. Morritt, " we ascended by a winding road in a soudi-easterly direction, until we came to the top of this stony ridge, and looked down on a valley enclosed by mountams still more to the east. Several little villages and churches are scattered over the vale and on the sides of the hills that surround it. Behind them rose a high, black, and barren range of mountains, the summits of which were covered with snow. Li one of these villages we were shewn, on inquiring after antiquities, an old ruined tower, of a construction more recent than the Grecian age, and we thought it was probably of Venetian workmanship. The valley itself and the lower hills were cukivated like a garden, and formed a scene of great beauty. The principal villages in this tract are Dokyes, Barussa, and Zarnata, among these may perhaps be discovered the traces of some of the ancient towns of the Eleuthero-Laconians, enumerated by Pausanias, near Gerenia. " We were amused, in passing through several of these little hamlets, with the simple curiosity of the people. The men who escorted us, requested with great submission that we would stop on the road, until they could apprise their friends of our arrival, because most of them had never seen a stranger, and none ol them had ever seen an Englishman. The words were no sooner given, than off they ran, and as the tidings were spread,- and shouts were heard and answered from the fields, labour stood still, and men, women, and children flocked round us on our approach. Their appearance was such as I have described ; the men well-formed and active, the women in general fairer than the other Greeks, and very beautiful. The men in succes- sion shook us cordially by the hand, and welcomed us to their country, and crowds followed us as we proceeded on our journey. The road from hence led us in a southerly direction over a most stony and barren ridge to the shore, and afterwards continued along the sea until our arrival at Cardamyla. The country * Swan's Journal, vol. ii. pp. 202 — 9. See p. 155, and 159. 28 218 MODERN GREECE. round it, though cultivated in the same laborious manner, was still more stony and barren than at Kitrees. Even in the small fissures of the rock, olives and mulberries were planted, and spots of only a few feet in diameter were dug over, and sown with corn and maize. On the hills, there were many apiaries,- and the produce is of the finest sort of honey, equal almost to that of Hymettus, but of a paler colour.* " Cardamylaf is now a small village, in which were three or four towers, the property of chieftains who possessed the country round it. We had letters to them from Zanetachi Kutuphari, and from the merchants of Kalamata, and a dispute again arose for the pleasure of receiving us. At last, we were shewn to the largest of these towers, and treated with all possible hospitality. The whole village flocked to our house, and we found that nearly all the men were relations of the chiefs and of each other ; as, in these districts, families seldom migrated, and the different branches of the clan remained with the principal stock, in whose house there was a collection of brothers, and nephews, and cousins, to, a remote degree of aflinity, who, as they became too numerous, settled themselves on the land in other houses, but seldom at a distance from the family. " Behind the town is a small rocky eminence, on whose sum- mit were a few vestiges of the ancient acropolis of Cardamyla. Just enough remained to point out the situation ; the rock itself was split by a deep chasm, ascribed by tradition to an earthquake. At the foot of this rock was seen a heap of stones, the monu- * " The dry, stony rocks of Cardamoula, exposed to the sea air, abound with the wild thyme, the favourite food of the bees ; and, on our return, we were served with a plate of honey, to which even that of Hymettus yielded in point of flavour and pureness, being of a transparent amber colour. We were also served with some phaskomelia, sage-apples, the inflated tumour formed upon a species of sage by the puncture of a cynips." — Extract from Dr. Sibthorp's Papers in. IValpole's Memoirs, p. 62. Dr. Sibthorp made an unsuccessful attempt to reach the summit of Taygetus from Cardamoula. He had proceeded about six hours, and had advanced two-thirds of the way up the mountain, when he was compelled to halt, the guides agreeing that, from the snow and the distance of the summit, it would be impossible to reach it and return to Cardamoula before night. " Though we had reached the region of the silver fir," says Dr. S., " we were not sufficiently advanced to find those Alpine plants which the height of the summit promised. We dined under a rock, from whose side descended a purling spring among violets, primroses, and the starry hyacinth, mixed with black saiyriiim, and different- coloured orches. The flowering ash hung from the sides of the mountain, under the shade of which bloomed saxifrages and the snowy isopyrum, with the campan- ula pyramidalis, called ^(^apicSvri, and yielding abundance of a sweet milky fluid. Our guides made nosegays of the fragrant leaves of the fraxinella ; the com- mon nettle was not forgotten as a pot-herb ; but the imperatoria seemed the favourite sallad. Among the shrubs, I noticed our gooseberry-tree, and the celtis australis grew wild among the rocks." — lb. p. 63. t Sir W. Gell writes it Scardaniula. MODERN GREECE. 219 inent of Turkish invasion. These were pointed out to us with all tlie enthusiasm of successful liberty, such as I had witnessed and remembered among the Swiss on shewing the monuments of their former glory, before they yielded their independence and their feelings to the thraldom of France. Here, amid the scenes of slavery that surrounded us, the contrast was still more sti'iking. Below the acropolis were several caves, and the re- mains of ancient sepulchres. We were shewn the spot where tlie children of the \'illage are taught the use of the rifle, and found that they practised it at ten, and even eight years of age. A groupe of girls and women on the village green were slinging stones and bullets at a mark, and seemed very expert. Their figures were light and active, but neither these nor their faces were more coarse or masculine than those of their enervated and languid countrywomen. The chief of Cardamyla assured us, that, in their petty wars, they had more than once followed their fathers and brothers to the field, and that the men were more eager to distinguish themselves before the eyes of their female companion, and partakers in the danger. Dances on the green succeeded in this season of festivity to these female gymnastics, until the evening closed on our gaiety. " We remained great part of the next day at Cardamyla, in compliance with the wishes of our host and of his neighbours, and partook of the amusements on the green. After dining with him and his family, he attended us in his, boat, the inland road being scarcely passable from the stony, rugged hills that it sur- mounts. We viewed the situation of Leuctra, a small hamlet on the shore, still retaining its ancient name, but found_ there few and inconsiderable traces of antiquity. About two miles and a half from hence we came to the little creek of Platsa, shut in by the rock of Pephnos, near which was a tower, the residence of the Capitano Christeia, a chief to whom we were recommended. " We had sent our letters to this chief by a messenger from Cardamyla, in consequence of which he met us at the port on our landing, attended by a large train of followers. We took leave of our friends of Cardamyla, who paid us a compliment at parting, not unusual in this country, by firing all their rifles over our heads. As this was not very carefully or regularly perform- ed, and the pieces were always loaded with ball, the ceremony was not altogether agreeable. The tower of Capitano Chris- teia was at a small distance from the port, and adjoining to it were out-buildings and a long hall of entertainment as at Kitrees. " Here, according to Pausanias, was formerly the little town of Pephnos, the situation of which is now marked only by the 220 MODERN GREECE. rocky islet of the port. The place was at that time inconsider' able, and the island contained nothing except two small bronze figures of Castor and Pollux, which were, however, miraculous- ly immovable, even by the winter's storm and the sea which beat upon them. The miracle is no longer performed, and the statues are gone. " We w^alked from the shore with our host to his castle. Capi-- tano Christeia, the owner of it, was one of the most powerful, and at the same time the most active and turbulent chieftain in the district. He had paid the price of the renown he had ac- quired, for he bore the marks of three bullets in the breast, the scars of two more upon his face, besides slighter wounds on his legs and arms : in fact, his life was a continued scene of piracy by sea and feuds at home. He was about forty-five years of age, and shewed us with much satisfaction the spoil he had amassed in lus expeditions. " In the tower to which we were shewn, we lived in a neat and comfortable room ; but the walls were thick and strong, the windows barricadoed with iron bars, and barrels of gunpowder were arranged along the shelves below the ceiling. The men who attended in the castle had an air of military service, and the whole place bore in its appearance the character of the master. We stayed a day at this singular mansion, and were prevented in the morning by a heavy rain from extending our rambles beyond the castle. We dined with the family at twelve o'clock, and after dinner went to the great room of the castle. In it, and on the green before it, we found near a hundred people of both sexes and of all ages assembled, and partaking of the chiefs hospitality. They flocked from all the neighbouring villages, and were dancing with great vivacity. The men, during the dance, repeatedly fired their pistols through the windows, as an accom- paniment to their wild gaiety ; and the shouts, and laughter, and noise were indescribable. Among the other dances, the Ariadne, mentioned in De Guy's Travels, was introduced, and many which we had not yet seen in Greece. The men and women danced together, which is not so usual on the continent as in the islands. On my complimenting the Capitano on the perform- ance of his lyrist, who scraped several airs on a three-stringed rebeck, here dignified with the name of ^vgr/, a lyre, he told me with regret, that he had indeed been fortunate enough to possess a most accomplished musician, a German, who played not only Greek dances, but many Italian and German songs ; but that in 1794, his fiddler, brought up in the laxer morals of Western Europe, and unmindful of the rigid principles of the Maina, had MODERN GREECE. 221 SO ofFended by his proposals the indignant chastity of a young woman in the neighbourhood, that she shot him dead on the spot with a pistoh As evening approached, the strangers departed to their homes after a rifle salute. We again passed the night at Christeia's house, and set out for Vitulo the next morning. " We left Plitsa on mules, attended by a strong escort of ai-med men, sentAvithus by the chief's direction. We-first pro- ceeded eastward, up a narrow rocky vale, and then turning to the south, ascended by a winding road up a high ridge of crags. We passed some villages with scanty spots of cultivation round them, and keeping high along the side of Taygetus, came in about two hours to the verge of Christeia's territory. Here our escort left us, and a guai'd belonging to one of the chiefs of Vitulo took charge of us, and conducted us down the southern side of the promontory of Platsa to their master's, which is at two hours' distance." " The whole of this tract is as barren as possible. The mountain of Taygetus is a continuance of naked crags ; the cultivation disappeared as we proceeded, and the coast which lay before us towards Cape Grosso, seemed more bare and savage than any we had passed. The villages seemed poorer, and the people less attentive to comforts and cleanliness, from the extreme poverty of the country. Still, in the scanty spots where vegetation could be produced at all, their industry was conspic- uous. Not a tree or bush is seen. We found many specimens of variegated marble in the mountains, and passed by some ancient quarries. We at last came to Vitulo, formerly CEtylos, a considerable town in this desolate country, built along a rocky precipice. Below it is a narrow, deep creek, that winds inland, and is the haven to the town. A mountain torrent falls into it, through a deep and gloomy glen that is barely wide enough to afford a passage for its waters. On the opposite rocks that boimd this glen to the south, is another village with a square Venetian fortress. Our guides conducted us through a street, filled with gazing crowds, to the house of a chief to whom we brought letters of recommendation. We found the master of the house was absent, but were hospitably received by his family, and remained there till the next day. "Li the afternoon, we examined the situation and environs of Vitulo for the remains of the ancient town of CEtylos. We found in the streets several massive foundations and large hewn stones still left, supporting the more slight buildings of modern times. We went to the church, which, in most places built on the situation of the old Grecian cities, contains the fragments of 222 MODERN GREECE. ancient architecture. We found there a beautifully fluted Ionic column of white marble, supporting a beam at one end of the aisle. To this beam the bells were hung. Three or four Ionic capitals were in tlie wall of the church, employed for building it, together with common rough stone-work. The volutes and ornaments were freely and beautifully executed, and different in some degree from any I have elsewhere seen. The cord which encircles the neck of the column is continued in a sort of bow- knot round the scroll of the volutes at each side of the capital, and is very freely carved. On the outside of the church are seen the foundations of a temple to which these ornaments in all probability belonged."* Mr. Morritt was very desirous of pursuing his survey of the Maina as far southward as Cape Matapan, and of visiting the site of the ancient Taenarus ; but he was informed that, from Vitulo, the road is impassable even for mules ; and the country round Taenarus was in so disturbed a state, that none of the chiefs could undertake to conduct the travellers thither in safety. Of the ancient cave and temples there, he could obtain no con- sistent account.f Sir Wm. Gell was told, that above Cape Mat- * (Etylos (sometimes written Befylos, and by Ptolemy, Bitula) was, as well as Leuctra, in the time of Pausanias, a city of the Eleuthero-Lacones, who possessed, by virtue of a grant from Augustus, some of the maritime towns of Laconia. Of these, nine were on tlie promontoi-y of Taygetus, to the south and west of Gythium, which also belonged to them ; viz. three on the eastern side, Teuthrone, Las, and Pyrrhichus, Coenepolis at Capo Grosso, and on the Messenian Gulf, (Etylos, Leuctra, Thalamae, Alagonia, and Gerenia. The rest were beyond the Laconian Gulf on the Malean promontory. Leuctra, Car- damyle, and Pephnos, Mr. Morritt remarks, we are enabled by decided remains of antiquity or coincidence of situation, to fix at Leutro, Cardamoula, and Platsa. Thalamae, which Meletius erroneously fixes at Kalamata, was only eight stadia from (Etj'los, and must be sought for between Platsa and Vitulo. Gerenia, Mr. Morritt supposes to have been near Kitries. In the account of the villages of Maina furnished by the Bey, given in Gell's Itinerary, there occurs the name of Garanos " near the sea," on the shoi-e of the Laconian Gulf, between Vathiand Kolokythia. The latter he supposes to be Gythium, and the coincidence of name seems to favour the opinion ; but Gythium, according to Polybius, was only thirty stadia from Sparta. Above Kolokythia is a castle called Leucadia, and in the sea are ruins and inscrip- tions. Mr. Morritt was told that there are considerable remains of an ancient city, on Capo Grosso, agreeing, so far as the distance could be ascertained, with Pausanias's description of Coenepolis. At Gerenia, was the tomb of Machaon, the son of Esculapius, who was worshipped and had a temple dedicated to him at Abia. t " Taenarus, a city of Laconia, the harbour of which is sufficiently large to contain a great number of ships, is situated near a cape of the same name, on which is a temple, as there is on all the principal promontories of Greece. These sacred edifices attract the vows and ofierings of mariners. That of Taenarus, dedicated to Neptune, stands in the middle of a consecrated grove which serves as an asylum to criminals. The statue of the god is at the entrance ; and at the bottom opens an immense cavern greatly celebrated MODERN GREECE. , 223 apan is a castle called Kisternes, from the number of cisterns it contains ; and at a place called Borlachias, there were said to be ruins of a temple of Diana and Bacchus.* The southern ex- tremity of the peninsula is called Kakaboulia, and the natives bear a very bad character, even among the Mainotes, for their barbarous and piratical habits. The precise limits of this district are not easily ascertained. M. Pouqueville says loosely, " On the other shore of the Bay of Vitulo is the town of Tichimova (Gimoba) containing about 250 houses, and commanded by a captain named Pietro Mavromikhalis.f Beyond this begins the country of the Cacovouniotes or Cacovougnis (Kakabouliots)," whose name, he says, signifies mountain-robbers ; and he gives the following account, of course from hearsay, of the district and the people. " The rugged rocks with which this region abounds, their summits blackened by thunder or by time, the red earth which appears at intervals among them, present but a fearful coup-d'oeil to the navigator. A few scattered habitations are seen among the mountains, while here and there, on the borders of some creek made by the sea, stands a solitary village. The principal of these are Kolokythia, Boularias (Bourlachias), Cariopohs, Mezapiotes,J and Porto Caillo,§ upon the Gulf of Laconia : the former of these is considered by the Cacovouniotes as their capital. The country is every where barren and destitute of wood, and depends almost entirely for a supply of the first necessary of life, water, upon some springs and natural cisterns found in their caverns. They have only one river, the Skyras, in the neighbourhood of Porto Caillo ; but this has water the whole year through. The land is not sufficiently productive to support the inhabitants ; and they would be constrained to aban- don their country, if the sea did not offer inexhaustible resources in their fisheries, and the rocks were not the asylum of an immense quantity of birds, partridges, and other game. At the times of among the Greeks . . . You behold, said the priest, one of the mouths of the infernal shades ... .It was through this gloomy cavern that Hercules dragged Cerberus up to light, and that Orpheus returned with his wife. ... We left Taenarus, after having visited in its environs some quarries from which is dug a black stone as valuable as marble." — Travels of Anacharsis, vol. iii. ch.41. * " Every information which T was able to obtain respecting this country," says M. Pouqueville, " confirmed me in the assurance that it is rich in remains of antiquity. It was, according to Pausanias, full of temples." t Mr Swan, however, makes Mavromikhalis say, that his family residence was at Capo Grosso, in the supposed country of the Kakabouliots. t In the Itinerary, Messapo castle and port. § Written by Sir W. Gell, Porto Kallio, " the Port of Archilles. and Porto Quaglio. ^24 MODERN GREECE. the equinox, before the seas are agitated by the turbulence of the winds, thousands of birds of passage assemble at Cape Tenarus, previously to taking their flight towards the country of Libya. " The Cacovouniotes, the wretched remains of the people of Nabis, whose very name denotes the estimation in which they are held by other nations, these pirates, few in number, but equal in ferocity to the Arabs of the Syrts, form a distinct society from the Mainotti. Bold and adventurous upon the element from which their chief support is drawn, they fall, equally under favour of a tempest or of a perfidious calm, upon all vessels who come within their reach, and are not of sufficient force to defend themselves ; a fate more terrible to them than being struck with lightnbg or dashed upon the rocks. Neither the fear of dan- ger nor of punishment can destroy in the Cacovouniotes this dreadful propensity to plunder ; they cannot resist, they say, the alluring spectacle of so many European vessels continually pass- ing before their eyes. " A Cacovouniote may be distinguished at the very first glance firom a Mainote. The latter is well made, has a florid com- plexion, and a tranquil cast of countenance : the former has a 'dark and suspicious eye, and is squat and stunted like the plants of his country ; he has a withered skin and an expression of countenance which betrays at once the gloomy assassin. The tone of voice of the Mainote is full and sonorous ; that of the Cacovouniote is hoarse and guttural. The one walks with a brisk and airy step ; the other rushes forward like a wild boar. The Mainote attacks with fury and plunders with delight the Turk, whom he detests : the Cacovouniote has but one enemy, but that enemy is the whole human race, whom in his blind fury he would gladly tear to pieces and extirpate."* There is probably not a little of the exaggeration of romance in this account ; and it may be questioned, after all, whether the Cacovouniotes are a race more distinct from the other inhabitants of Maina, than the smugglers, wreckers, and fishermen of the southern coast of England are from the other people of Cornwall and Devon. Abandoning with reluctance the journey to Tsenarus, Mr. * Pouqueville's Travels by Plumptre, pp. 112 — 14. From this statement, it would seem that Kakaboulia lies principally on the coast of the Laconian Gulf, and it seems to answer to what Zanetachi-bey called " the coast of Pagania;" Vathi, however, which is on that coast, belongs to Maina. South of Koloky- thia, is a port called Porto Pagano, near, and probably formed by, the Island iScopes. The name of this port seems connected with that of Pagania. MODERN GREECE. 225 Morritt resolved to strike across the Peninsula to Marathonisi,* then the residence of the Bey of Maina, and claiming on that ac- count to rank as the capital of the territor)^ He gives the fol- lowing account of his journey. " A very steep and rugged road descends into the little glen below Vitulo, and continues winding along the banks of the tor- rent for several miles, shut in by rocky and wooded precipices. Emerging from these defiles, we came to a more open and fer- tile tract of country, covered with groves of oak and a few scat- tered villages. The chief at whose house we had been at Vitu- lo, was in one of these, and our guards gave him notice of our arrival by a discharge of all their rifles. Their salute was an- swered from the \illage by a similar discharge, and the Capitano issued immediately with about sixteen armed followers, and wel- comed us in the plain. He then, with this additional escort, went forward with us to Marathonisi. We had come about t^n miles, and had nearly the same distance to proceed. The coun- try grew more open and better cultivated, as we approached the eastern shore of the Maina. We came in about an hour within sight of the sea, and then pursued our journey in a north-easterly direction through several villages, in one of which was a square Venetian fortress, until we arrived at Marathonisi. " This town, then the residence of the Bey, and the capital of the Maina, consists of little more than a single street along the shore, in front of which is a small road-stead, formed by the island of Marathonisi, the ancient Cranae of Homer. The Bey of the Mciina, Zanet Bey, had a large and strong castle within half a mile of the place, but received us at a house in the tov/n, where he was resident at this time, with great kindness and cordiality. We found he was of a character more quiet and indolent than many of the subordinate chiefs we had visited. This, as Chris- teia told us, was the reason why they had chosen him in the room ofZanetachi Kutuphari, the more intelligent apd enterprising chieftain of Kitrees. After an early dinner, he retired to his siesta, and we went to view the situation and ruins of the ancient Gythium, which stood a little to the north of the present town. What vestiges remain of Gythium, appeared to me to be chiefly of Roman construction, -and the buildings of earlier date are no longer traceable. The situation is now called Palseopolis, but no habitation is left upon it. The town has covered several low hills which terminate in rocks along the shore, on one of which we found a Greek inscription, but so defaced as to be nearly il- * The proper name of the town appears to be Marathona, and that of the island. Maratiionisi. 29 226 MODERN GREECK. legible. A salt stream that rises near the shore out of the rocksj. was probably the ancient fountain of ^sculapius. The temples and other monuments enumerated by Pausanias are now na more. Marble blocks and other remains of antiquity are still found occasionally by the peasants who cultivate the ground ; and the pastures in the neighbourhood are even now famous for- their cheeses, which were, in the time of the Spartan govern- ment, an article of trade much esteemed in the rest of Greece. " The rock near the salt-springs which I have mentioned, is cut smooth, and marks remain in it of beams, which, with the roof that they supported, have disappeared. There are two large tanks, lined with stuccoed brick-work, once vaulted over, and cut in the rocky hill, divided by cross walls into two or three sepa- rate reservoirs, for the supply of water. Beyond these are two adjoining oblong buildings of brick, with niches for urns, contain- ing the ashes of the dead, exactly similar to the colombaia, now so well known in Italy. The doors at the end of the buildings are their only entrances. There are also near the shore, ruins of baths, much like those of Thuria, but far less perfect ; on which, however, we found a scallop-shell ornament in stucco still remaining in one of the niches. There are other ruins on the shore, of which a part is now under water; but a floor of mo- saic work may be still seen. Rubbish and old walls, many of which are of brick, cover great part of the ancient Gythium, but we "sought in vain for the temples or any antiquities of value. The following day was spent ia examining those parts of the old city which we had not previously visited. The island Cranae is rather to the south of Gythium, and secured the port. Jx is low and flat, and at a distance of only a hundred yards from the shore. The ruined foundation of a temple supports at present a Greek chapel." Marathonisi is represented by M. Pouqueville to be the most important place upon the Laconian Gulf: its principal trade is in cotton and gall-nuts. Above it is a post named Mavrobouni.* At three hours from Marathonisi, in the plains on the eastern side * According to information received by Sir W. Gell from the natives, pro- ceeding' southward from Mavrobouni, it is three hours to Scutari, passing- the village of Capitano Antoni ; from Scutari to Vatika, three hours, passing Kas- tri ; from Vatika to Vathia, two hours ; thence to Kastagnia, six hours ; to Porto Quaglio (or Kallio), six hours ; (the port which gives name to the village is two hours below ;) to JaM'i, four hours ; to Pyrgi, two hours ; to Cape Ma- tapan, two hours. Distance from Mavrobouni to Cape Matapan, twenty-eight hours. This road, which lies through the interior, leaving the coast at Scu- tari, has never been explored by any English traveller. Jalli is only one hour from Capo Grosso. Kastagnia, which M. Pouqueville places erroneously to the east of Kardaraoula, is said to derive its name from the number of chestnut MODERN GREECE. 227 of the Eurotas, is the village of Helos (corrupted into Helios,) the chief place in the rich but defenceless country of the ancient Helots. From this place it is reckoned a journey of fourteen hours to Mistra, the road lying along the banks of the Eurotas and through the country of the Bardouniots, a tribe of lawless Mussulman banditti. Before, however, we turn our backs upon Maina, we shall here tlirow together a few general remarks on tl:ie country and the character of the natives. The whole district of Maina, including Kakaboulia, is formed by the branches of Mount Taygetus, (now known under the name of Mount Saint Elias,) and, with the exception of a long ti'act of low coast, called by the Venetians Bassa JVLaina, is mountainous and for the most part barren. The mountain, fa- mous in all ages for its hones, is formed of a slippery rock, so hard as not to be broken without difficulty, and bristled with little points and angles on which the gentlest fall is attended with danger. The population is distributed into litde villages, while here and there, a white fortress denotes the residence of the chief. According to M. Pouqueville, the province contains about a hundred of these chorions (towns or hamlets) under four- teen capitanos; but this appears to be incorrect.* The Maina is, in fact, divided into eight hereditary captaincies, or what in other countries would be termed lairdships, seigniories, or sheikh- doms ; the government, in many respects, strikingly resembling the ancient feudalism of the Highland clans of Scotland. Its origin, as well as that of the people themselves, is problematical ; but the Italian title assumed by the chieftains, together with the style of the architecture of their castellated mansions, seems to point to the time of the Venetians as the era of its introduction. The jurisdiction, Mr. Douglas states, " was long administered by an assembly of the old men, from among whom the protoge- ronte (arch-senator) was annually chosen. The misbehaviour of the last person who enjoyed that situation, led to the abolition of his office." Since that time, Maina has been nominally govern- ed by a Bey, elected by the capitani from among themselves, but who receives his investiture from the Capitan-Pasha. In what trees in the environs. At this place, he adds, " the Capitan Pasha was beaten and put to the rout two and twenty years ago, after having driven the Alba- nians out of the Morea. * Sir W. Gell speaks of the 117 towns and villages of Maina, but cites no authority. Zanetachi, in 1785, stated them at about 100, and the population at about 40,000 ; while another capitanos more distinctly stated, that Maina contained 70 villages, comprising 7,000 houses, and a population of 30,000, of which 10,000 were male adults. — Pouqueville's Travels, p. 464. Zanetachi.. however, in 1795, estimated the effective male population at 12,000. 228 MODERN GKEECE. ^ respect the Bey differs in office and authority from the protogC" route, who appears to have been the doge or captain-general of the little republic, does not clearly appear, and the change seems to have been little more than nominal. In the year 1776, Maina was separated from the pashalik of the Morea, and placed, like the Greek Islands, " under the pro- • tection'^ of the Capitan-Pasha. On this occasion, it seems, Za- netachi Kutuphari, of Kitries, was first raised to the dignity of hey-boiouk by a firmaunpf Gazi Hassan Pasha, which constituted him chief and commander of all Maina for the Porte.* He had npt enjoyed this post more than two years, when, having incur- red the displeasure of the Capitan Pasha through the intrigues of his drogueman, he was compelled to quit Kitries, and to take re- fuge in Zante. Through the intervention of the French ambas- sador, he obtained his pardon, and returned to Maina, where Mr. Morritt visited him in the spring of 1795. At that time, Zanet- bey, of Mavromouni in the canton of Marathonisi, enjoyed this invidious office, and he is stated by M. Pouqueville to have held it for eight years ; at the end of which he was, by rare good for- tune, permitted to retire quietly to his patrimony, and to end his days in peace as a capitanos. His successor, Panayotti Como- douro, of Cainbo Stavro near Varousi, after holding the office for three years, fell under the displeasure of the Porte, and was, in 1801, a prisoner at Constantinople. To him succeeded An- toni Coutzogligori, of Vathi, who, " at sixty years of age, impel- led by the thirst of dominion, solicited the dangerous post, and became the dependent of the Capitan Pasha." In 1805, when Sir Wm. Gell visited the Morea, this same Antoni or Andunah Bey was still in office. He was then at Kitries, to which place he had, it seems, repaired for the purpose of paying the annual tribute of 35 purses (of 500 piastres each,) equal to about 800Z., * A copy of this firmaun is g-iven by Pouqueville in the Appendix to his Travels. In this document it is intimated, that the Sultan, in issuing this fir- maun, had " changed his anger into compassion, his vengeance into clemen- cy," having pardoned all the faults of the therein-mentioned Zanetachi, therein and for ever. The fact appears to be, that the nomination, as Sir Wm. Gell intimates, was a compromise, " into which the Turks entered to save them- selves the trouble of an exterminating war," or the disgrace of failing in the attempt, " and the Greeks, for the sake of having no foreigner in the coun- try." The Bey was no otherwise distinguished from the other ca/)'(7aTO', than as their representative in all public transactions with the Turks, and the re- sponsible agent for the haralsch or capitation-tax. But, as all foreign com- merce passed through his hands, or could be carried on only with his licen.se, the post must have been a lucrative one. No Mainote engaged in commerce, and this might be one reason for their often turning pirates. The title of Bey seems, however, to have been borne by one of the family of Mavromikhali, be- fore the separation of Maina from the pashalik of Tripolitza. MODERN GREECE. 229 which the Turkish squadron then in the hay had been despatch- ed to receive : his residence was at Marathona. This tribute, comparatively small as it may seem, was raised with difficulty, so that, if Sir William Gell may be credited, " the Bey, having advanced the sum to the Turks, was obliged to call in their as- sistance to enable him to obtain the re-payment, in consequence of which he vv'as considered rather too intimate with the Turks." His successor, Constantine >Bey, " formerly a merchant, bought his investiture at Constantinople, and, by the aid of an army of Moreote-Albanians, deposed his father-in-law, who had been elected to the office.* His authority, was contested, and a civil war was the consequence. What becanae of him, we are not informed, but, at the breaking out of the Revolution, the ruling Bey was the redoubtable Pedro-bey Mavromikhali, who has been so often referred to. The Mainotes ai'e said to boast of being descended from the ancient Spartans. " It is the name by which they are known among themselves, while the histories of Lycurgus and Leoni- das, partly as saints and partly as robbers, are still figured in their popular traditions. On the other hand," remarks Mr. Douglas, " the destruction in which Nabis is said to have involved all the Spartans, greatly diminishes the justice of this claim. Probably, the writers who trace this nation from the ElavOagoi .Jaxoiva?, or the inhabitants of the sea-towns of Laconia, who were separated from the dominion of Sparta by the decree of Augustus, may be nearest the truth. De Pauw, Pouqueville, and Chateaubriand are at issue upon these points ; and perhaps Spartans, Laconians, and Slavonians are all, more or less, con- founded in this singular people. "f Little stress can be laid, however, on either of these authorities. De Pauw's account of the inhabitants of Maina partakes largely of the fabulous : he ascribes to them the most horrid and unnatural rites, and an unbounded licentiousness. Chateaubriand will not al- low them to be Greeks at all, although their customs, as well as their language, preserve the most striking resem- blance to those of the ancient Greeks. Even Sir W. Gell speaks of the Mainotes as having " at least more claims to the * The Hon. Mr. Douglas, who visited Greece in 1811, speaking (in his Essay on the Modern Greeks) of Constantine as the " present" Bey, says : " Five, however, of the eight captains are in open rebellion against him, and the power of the veteran Anton (Andunah ?) is much more substantial than all the assis- tance the Turks can confer on the usurper." t Douglas on Mod. Greeks, p. 172. If there really be the marked difference of physiognomy and character between the Kakabouliots and the other Mai- notes, that M. Pouqueville represents, it will strongly favour this opinion that they are of a mixed race. 230 MODERN GREECE. honour of Grecian descent, than the inhabitants of other parts of the Morea." Mr. Morritt states, that, among their chiefs, he found men tolerably versed in the modern Romaic literature, " and some who had sufficient knowledge of their ancient lan- guage to read Herodotus and Xenophon, and who were well ac- quainted with the revolutions of their country." Possibly, this gentleman's classic enthusiasm may have led him to overrate their attainments ; but his testimony as to their general charac- ter must be allowed to have great weight. Even their piratical habits seem to have descended to them from the heroes of the Odyssey and the early inhabitants of Greece. The robbery and piracy which they exercise indiscriminately in their roving expeditions, they dignify by the name of war. " But," remarks this Traveller, " if their hostility is treacherous and cruel, their friendship is inviolable. The stranger that is within their gates, is a sacred title ; and not even the Arabs are more attentive to the claims of hospitality. To pass by a chiefs dwelling without stopping to visit it, would have been deemed an insult, as the re- ception of strangers is a privilege highly valued. While a stran- ger is under their protection, his safety is their first object, as his suffering any injury would have been an indelible disgrace to the family where it happened." It would seem that the Homeric maxim is not yet worn out in this country — Tov ^uvov napeovra