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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A . KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
WITH THE YACHT AND CAMERA 
 IN EASTERN WATERS. 
 
DEDICATED BY SPECIAL PERMISSION 
 
 TO 
 
 COMMODORE HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 
 THE PRINCE OF WALES, K.G. 
 
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WITH THE 
 
 YACHT AND CAMERA 
 
 IN 
 
 EASTERN WATERS. 
 
 KY THE 
 
 EARL OF CAVAN, K.P. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY 
 
 LIMITED 
 St. Dunstan's House 
 
 Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. 
 
 1897. 
 
PRINTED AND ILLUSTRATED IN PHOTOMEZZOTYPE 
 
 BY 
 
 THE LONDON STEREOSCOPIC & PHOTOGRAPHIC CO., 
 
 LIMITED, 
 
 io6 &. io8, Regent Street, W., and 54, Cheapside, E.C. 
 
•eater 
 
 l^axik he^uvtiixig at Gibraltar, "Rcseneatfts' Cnjuise, ivmLer of 
 
 ■See, With ThbeYoLchb, Cacrwe,ra, & CycZe, -irv the. MedLterrouL&an , hy the s^y^ T-: 
 
X>97^ 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Both my critics and the general public have agree- 
 ably surprised me. Of the thirty-five newspapers 
 which kindly noticed my first book,* thirty-three 
 were so friendly in their comments, that the most 
 exacting Author could not wish more ; while the 
 public have shown their appreciation in a very prac- 
 tical manner. I now venture a second work, in the 
 hope that my readers may feel an equal interest 
 in the places I have since visited, the photographs 
 here given, and the short descriptions of those har- 
 bours which accompany the pictures taken. 
 
 In my last book there were a few printer's errors, 
 which, I fear, gave my readers some slight an- 
 noyance ; my annoyance was very considerable. 
 As for example, when so well known a Cape as 
 ^' Spartivento " was spelt '^ Sparlivento," and even 
 a better known locality, " Salerno," was spelt ^'Saler- 
 mo." I must also, in this place, alter a passage, 
 which was correct when it was written, but which 
 is now incorrect. I alluded, in that work, to an 
 incident which I spoke of as happening at Palermo, 
 when three of my crew were unjustly fined for 
 supposed smuggling. I then said, 'Hhe fines imposed 
 were never returned." Just after my book was in 
 
 * "With the Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediterranean." 
 
 iviS1 1.437 
 
(viii.) 
 
 print, and six months after the event, I received the 
 money back from our Foreign Office, which the 
 Government at Rome had ordered to be returned to 
 me. The greatest possible care has now been taken 
 in the production of this book, and I sincerely hope 
 that no errors may creep in. 
 
 I have a word of apology to offer to my tourist 
 readers, who may be inclined to think that I have 
 divided my book into too many chapters. As a 
 matter of experience, I have found that on board 
 every yacht, the guests invariably bring with them 
 a large number of books to read, as they are likely, 
 they think, to have much time on their hands. 
 They certainly have plenty of time, but, as a rule 
 they read very little, the truth of the matter being, 
 that there are so many passing interests on board 
 every vessel, that continuous reading is very difficult. 
 
 Of course, there are some exceptions. I have a 
 friend, exceedingly well known in the scientific 
 world, and equally well known in financial circles and 
 in the House of Commons, who never has a book out 
 of his hands. I verily believe he sleeps with one. 
 Yet he is the most charming of all possible com- 
 panions, for he tells you that he can, and very often 
 doeSy take his attention off his book, and give all his 
 attention to others without any inconvenience, so 
 you may go and talk to him when you like, and he is 
 delighted. But who is to write books for these 
 
(ix.) 
 
 exceptionally endowed people ? No, I write for the 
 ordinary yachtsman and tourist. He wants to take 
 up his book readily and put it down easily ; so, for 
 him, short chapters. Also, to thoroughly understand 
 what he is reading about, he likes a true picture 
 before him of the places described, so photographs of 
 these localities are a necessity ; I have tried to oblige. 
 I could have wished, for every reason, that we had 
 been favoured with better weather during our Eastern 
 cruise, chiefly because, owing to its badness, I have 
 been compelled seriously to curtail the number of 
 photographs I had hoped to offer, several pictures 
 not having come out sufficiently well to publish; 
 there were no less than 1 1 o of these. While some 
 of the selected ones, which I have given, are hardly 
 as clear as I should have desired. Many others I 
 have been more fortunate with, having watched for 
 and secured favourable glimpses of light, and that 
 light just coming at the right moment when I 
 wanted it. 
 
 In regard to the encouragement given me to 
 persevere in my desire to lay the whole Mediter- 
 ranean before my readers, by means of photos and 
 short descriptions, I certainly owe my best thanks to 
 Commodore H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, for the 
 kindly interest he took in my first work, and the 
 special permission he gave me to dedicate that work 
 to him. 
 
(X.) 
 
 Thanks are also due to many friends who, in a 
 variety of ways, have given me their help, both in 
 obtaining photographs and assisting me generally in 
 my work. Amongst these, I should like specially 
 to mention Major Edgar Lambart, R.A., and Mrs. 
 Lambart, Mr. Maxse (British Consul at the Piraeus) 
 and Mrs. Maxse, who all aided me with their most 
 kind and generous assistance. In my literary work, 
 I further got many useful hints from Mr. Egerton 
 (British Minister at Athens), Mrs. Egerton (nee 
 Princess Lobanoff), and Mr. Cecil Smith (the head 
 of the British School at Athens). 
 
 To the authors of other guide books, whose works 
 were of service to me before, I am again indebted. 
 
 In the appendix, at the end, I have drawn special 
 attention to a scheme for improving the harbour in 
 the Pirgeus, and I have given extracts from the Field 
 newspaper, bearing upon the revival of the Olympian 
 Games at Athens, which sports, if continued year 
 after year, will form a very considerable attraction 
 for both yachtsmen and tourists. 
 
 I feel that I am but a pioneer in the work I have 
 undertaken, and the work of no pioneer can be said 
 to be perfect ; so my reader, though unable, possibly, 
 to give unqualified praise to my efforts will, never- 
 theless, I hope, realize that a fresh departure in guide 
 books has been made, and he may, possibly, be 
 disposed to admit that, these endeavours are not 
 without some value. 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Fitting out the Roseneath — Start from Leghorn — The crew — 
 Anchor in Port Longone, in the Island of Elba — A water 
 spout — Napoleon's house ... ... ... ... ... i 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 Anchor at St. Stefano — Description of Anchorage — Civita \'ec- 
 chia — Italian men-of-war at Gaeta — Santa Lucia — Courtesy 
 of Italian Officers — Santa Venere — Arrival at Messina — 
 H.M.S. Cruiser — Sport on the Albanian Coast — Guyo 
 Harbour, Island of Paxo — Ithaca — Harbour of Vath}' — 
 Mediterranean fish ... ... ... ... ... ... 4 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Castle of Ulysses — Fountain of Arethusa — Cephalonia — Port 
 of Areostoli — Kindness of Vice-Con sul — Drives about Har- 
 bour — Hire of horses and carriages — Water — Coal — Patras 
 — Wines — Game of tennis — Itiar — Ruins of Delphos — 
 Temple of Apollo, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Corinth Canal — Procure water — Piraeus — Provisions — War 
 cruisers in Harbour — Athens — School of Archaelogy — Poros 
 Harbour — Beautiful anchorage — Bad weather — Good water 10 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Leave Poros Harbour — Zea Island — Port St. Nikolo — Anchor at 
 Mykonos in the Korpho — Good anchorage — Delos — Island 
 of Syra — Heavy squall — Ruins at Old Delos ... ... 13 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Call at Syra for Provisions — Return to Delos — Hermopolis — 
 Description of Syra — Sail for Chios — Land at Kastro — 
 Anchorage not good — Christmas at Smyrna — Advice to 
 Yachtsmen — Harbour of Foujes or Foggia — North Port of 
 Mitylene — Rough weather ... ... ... ... ... 17 
 
(xii.) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Arrival at Chanak, in the Dardanelles — Warning to Yachtsmen 
 — Anchor in Southern Harbour — Severe weather — Game 
 cheap — Anchor at Kutali, South West Stefano Lighthouse 
 — Beware of the Bosphorus in January ... ... ... 24 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Arrival at Constantinople — Description of the City — Suhan 
 going to Mosque, Yildiz Kiosk Palace — Pera — Turkish 
 battle ships and torpedo boats — General notes ... ... 28 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Bosphorus, beautiful scenery — State of the Country — Pas- 
 sage home through the Dardanelles ... ... ... ••• 35 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Sailed from Constantinople — Buzuk Chekmejeh — Sail for Galli- 
 poli — Leave Gallipoli — Niagara Liman — Morto Bay — 
 Gymno Island — Snug anchorage — Smyrna — Religious 
 Question — Advice as to coaling ... ... ... ... 4° 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Sighajik Harbour — Good milk and fresh eggs — Scala Nova — 
 Tagani Port on East Samos Island — Chelukoi Harbour, in 
 Mundayah Bay — Good shooting : wild boar and fowl — Port 
 Stavros — Island of Patmos — Priests' tradition 46 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Anchor at Delos — Blowing a gale — Syra — Charming Harbour — 
 Good and cheap coal and water — Piraeus — St. Nikolo — Is- 
 land of the Zea — Gulf of Corinth — Repair machinery— Gulf 
 of Vostitza — Advice to Yachtsmen — Corfu — Inns and accom- 
 modation for travellers, &c. — Historical notes — Albanian 
 coast — Landing place — Albania — Strada Marina, a most 
 charming promenade — Excavations at Corfu — Olives — 
 Drives and walks — One-gun Battery — Stormy crossing at 
 Gallipoli — Warning to Yachtsmen — Good anchorage at 
 Cotrone — Reggio — Very rough passage — Messina — Pa- 
 linuro — Naples ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 5^ 
 
(xiii.) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Naples — Entering Bay, delightful scenery — Ponza Harbour — 
 Civita Vecchia — Gaeta — Capital holding ground for an- 
 choring — Rome — Island of Elba — Port Longone, Leghorn 
 — Repairing in Italy ... ... ... ... ... ... 74 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Notes on crews, engineers, &c. — How to engage Italian crews — 
 
 Wages, clothing, &c. — Why I painted my Yacht white ... 79 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Exceptionally bad weather — Remarks on weather in Spring, 
 Summer, and Winter — Cycling and Shooting in the Islands 
 of the Archipelago — Providing medical comforts — Informa- 
 tion respecting food, wines, &c. — Notes on your laundry — 
 Advice as to coaling ... ... ... ... ... ... 86 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Pensions for Yachting Captains — How to carry water supply ... loi 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 General climatic conditions — Mediterranean fever — Great au- 
 thority on coins at Chios — Souvenirs for friends — Instructions 
 as to sending home goods — Habitual neglect of letters in 
 Eastern Post Offices — Value of Bible knowledge to travellers 
 in the Mediterranean — General remarks on scenery — 
 Conclusion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 106 
 
 Appendix. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Shooting Companions ... 
 
 ^\x3.p ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••< 
 
 Roseneath 
 
 Italian Provision Boat ... ... ... 
 
 Leghorn Harbour, Inner Basin 
 Gaeta Cathedral 
 ,, Anchorage 
 H. M.S. "Cruiser" leaving Corfu 
 Guyo, Island of Paxo ... 
 Vathy Harbour, Ithaca 
 Argostoli, Cephalonia ... 
 "Anxious about the Post" 
 ''All Right Now" 
 
 Entrance Corinth Canal (West Entrance) 
 Ruins near Athens 
 Mrs. Maxse, Owner, and Crew of Roseneath^ Poros, 
 
 J. O^ S *•• ••• ••• ••• ••■ ••« 
 
 X \j\ Vy O ••• ••• •«• •■• •«• «•• »•• 
 
 Yacht Roseneath and South View from Poros, 1895 
 
 XJLC^lUCril'*** ■■• ••• ••• ••• ■■• •■• 
 
 Port St. Nikolo, Gulf of Athens 
 
 Delos Anchorage 
 
 Arsida Island, Gulf of Athens... 
 
 OX' Id ••• ••• »•• ■•• •■• ,.a ••• 
 
 Quay, Smyrna ... 
 
 Lighthouse off Foggia... 
 
 Island and Lighthouse off Foggia 
 
 Gallipoli (Turkey) from Anchorage, South Harbour 
 
 On Deck for an airing after Photographic Work 
 
 After a Gale : " It might have been worse" ... 
 
 Herbert joins the Austrian Lloyd Steamer ... 
 
 Frontispiece. 
 ... To face Preface. 
 To face page x. Preface. 
 
 To face page 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 8 
 
 10 
 II 
 
 12 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 14 
 15 
 17 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 
 24 
 26 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 34 
 
(XV.) 
 
 Quiet Anchorage after a Gale... 
 
 Samson's Stone, Island of Samos 
 
 Cape Baba, Asia Minor 
 
 Scala Nova 
 
 Foreign Cruisers in Turkish Waters ... 
 
 Lighthouse, Tigani, Island of Samos 
 
 Tigani, Island of Samos 
 
 Sighajik Harbour 
 
 Sighajik Entrance 
 
 Shooting Quarters, Chelukoi, Asia Minor 
 
 View from Anchorage, Gymno 
 
 Lighthouse, Port St. Nikolo, Island of Zea 
 
 Albanian Boys ... 
 
 ,, Shepherds 
 Corfu Harbour Entrance 
 Palinuro... 
 
 Gaeta Entrance Fort ... 
 Reggio South ... 
 Port St. Nikolo, Gulf of Athens 
 Entrance to Temple of Jupiter, Athens 
 Vostitza Harbour, Gulf of Corinth ... 
 Russian Cruiser 
 View of Acropolis, from Entrance to Stadion 
 Reggio Anchorage 
 Islands between /Egina and Poros 
 Cape Colonna, Gulf of Athens 
 General View of Poros... 
 Greek Monastery on Poros Island 
 Our Chief Beater 
 
 To face page 
 
 37 
 40 
 
 40 
 40 
 
 43 
 46 
 46 
 46 
 46 
 
 47 
 48 
 
 52 
 60 
 
 64 
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 106 
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 116 
 118 
 
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Chapter I. 
 
 HAT is the twelfth to the Scotch 
 Sportsman and the first to the Enghsh 
 Sportsman ? The months are too well 
 known to require naming. Sm"ely they are 
 the dates most dear to their souls. The Yachtsman 
 and the tourists have theirs also. They measure 
 the whole year round, either from or to the dates 
 the)" each fix upon to spread their wings and take 
 their annual flight. To the man who not only owns, 
 but commands and navigates his own vessel, this 
 date means, or should mean, the satisfactory con- 
 clusion of a task which is always a labour of love ; 
 for fitting out, if it has its trials, has also its reward. 
 Finding a crew, fitting out, provisioning, coaling 
 and watering ; these, in due course, are completed ; 
 now chose a suitable companion or companions; 
 and your trip has begun. You meet your friends at 
 some rendezvous, and the mutual greetings which 
 pass between you are all very cordial ones. If they 
 should not be, the result would soon show itself, for 
 you must be together for months to come. On the 
 present occasion I have only one companion to 
 commence the trip with, though others are coming 
 later. 
 
 B 
 
I will not trouble m}' reader with the details of 
 our outward journe}^ from London to Leghorn, but 
 will ask him mentally to accompany us on board the 
 Roseneath, while together we make what I hope 
 will prove a pleasant trip amongst the Greek Islands, 
 and onwards to Constantinople. Charlie is our 
 companion. He is wholly ignorant of the sea and 
 and the ways of seamen ; he will soon learn. He 
 is to do the photographic work for us, unless too ill. 
 Will he be ? 
 
 We start from Leghorn October 6th ; our ship's 
 company consist of an English first mate, a Russian 
 engineer, an English steward and valet, one Greek 
 fireman, and the rest Italians ; a mixed lot, no doubt, 
 but certainly good men and true. Sober are they 
 always, and willing ; but smart ? Well, they will 
 improve, for they are hard working, and more than 
 anxious to please. I need not describe the yacht 
 and her equipment further, for I have given a photo 
 of her, and further infomiation mav be obtained 
 from Lloyds' Yacht Register, should the reader feel 
 interested. 
 
 It was lovely weather when we left Leghorn, so 
 with a fair breeze, and under easy steam, we sailed 
 pleasantly during the day and anchored at Port 
 Longone, in the Island of Elba, in the evening. A 
 strong southerl}^ gale sprang up almost at the 
 moment we had anchored, and the harbour was 
 soon well filled with small craft anxious to get 
 shelter. During the night it blew hard, and at 
 sunrise harder still. About lo a.m. the largest 
 water-spout I have ever seen crossed the mouth of 
 

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the harbour. It seemed quite a quarter of a mile 
 broad ; fortunately it did no damage. Charlie and 
 myself went early that day to visit Napoleon's 
 house, and we photographed the grounds and the 
 approach. It was a six mile drive from our anchorage. 
 If you will look at the map, 3^ou will see that Port 
 Ferrajo looks more sheltered from the prevailing 
 winds than Port Longone, while it is certainly nearer 
 Napoleon's house. Still, for some reasons, I preferred 
 the latter port, for I was in want of neither coal or 
 water, both of which can, no doubt, be more easily 
 got at Port Ferrajo, but I fancy our port is, on the 
 whole, better sheltered. 
 
 I do not think that any man, unless interested in 
 the iron trade, would care for any lengthened stay 
 in Elba. When you have seen Napoleon's bed and 
 his study, and have looked out of the window he 
 looked out of, and have tried to realize what he must 
 have felt in exile, and how he arranged his clever 
 escape, you will look for '^ other fields and pastures 
 new," for there is nothing else here of interest. 
 Grapes in plenty are grown on the Island, producing 
 wines of good quality, excellent in taste and very 
 rich in iron, but, when you are asked to try them, 
 you will discover that they are sadly lacking in age. 
 There is no one, perhaps, in Elba Island who would 
 buy old wine, but there is cellar room enough in 
 Ferrajo, under the houses, to store any quantity, and 
 I feel sure it would pay for keeping, bottling, and 
 exporting. 
 
 B 2 
 
Chapter II. 
 
 E returned in the evening, after visiting the 
 Emperor's house, and meant to sail next 
 day. The weather, however, prevented 
 us, and we passed a useless time watching 
 for a lull, which was not forthcoming till 24 hours 
 later. This we took advantage of, and, with fairly 
 good weather, anchored off St. Stefano in the 
 evening. 
 
 Here you may shelter in safety, and on either 
 side of the promontory on which the lighthouse 
 stands, according to the wind, and, if your vessel 
 draws less than 15 ft., and you anchor well inshore, 
 you ma}" defy any gale that blows. The Admiralty 
 chart last issued will give you all the soundings, and, 
 at a glance, you will see how near to the land you 
 may anchor. I hope it may not be out of place 
 here, to remind my reader that the instructions 
 given in the ^^Mediterranean Pilot" are drawn up, 
 and most properly so, for sailing vessels. If you 
 have steam, a good Captain, and a good leadsman, 
 you can approach very close to the shore with 
 absolute safety. 
 
 From St. Stefano, we sailed to Civita Vecchia, of 
 which port I have given a description in my former 
 
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work,* and from thence to Gaeta, where we found 
 a fleet of Itahan men-of-war at anchor. Here the 
 last Queen of Naples (a grand and noble woman), 
 did heroic deeds in defence of a hopeless cause. It 
 was not her fault that the Neapolitan Government 
 of that day was then what Turkish Government is 
 to-dav. Need I describe it. 
 
 For courtesv and kindness, Italian naval officers 
 are hard to beat. We found it so here. For smart- 
 ness and utility the palm will, I fancy, be conceded 
 to the English. I could give details, but I write to 
 please, and would not, for the world, write a line 
 disparaging our charming allies and friends. This, 
 however, I can say, that as an auxiliary force they 
 would prove of valuable assistance to any first-class 
 naval power. A glance at the splendid fleet anchored 
 here made me feel glad that England and Italy had 
 so much in common. 
 
 We sailed at daylight next morning, and anchored 
 off Santa Lucia harbour in the evening. I will not 
 weary my reader with an account of our easy and 
 pleasant voyage down the coast, anchoring first at 
 Santa Venere, and the next day at Messina, as in 
 the book before alluded to I have given short des- 
 criptions and photographs of these places, as well 
 as Corfu. At this last port we arrived on October 
 24th. We found H.M.S. Cruiser (training ship) at 
 anchor here. She went to sea daily, and it was a 
 grand sight each morning to watch her getting under 
 weigh. We remained for about a fortnight, and 
 
 * '' With the Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediterranean." 
 Sampson, Marston & Low. 
 
tried our luck on the Albanian coast. We shot a 
 few pigeons, but the woodcock had not yet arrived, 
 and with the pig we were unlucky. We found only 
 two or three, and these we could not get at. 
 
 On Xovember 3rd, we were joined by an old 
 parliamentar}^ friend of mine, who, for brevity, I will 
 call Arnold. After he had joined, we tried our luck 
 again, but Minerva had the sulks, and would neither 
 throw her shield over us in the shape of a cloud, 
 which, as the sun was shining hotly, would have 
 been most welcome, nor recognise us as true sports- 
 men, so we were not favoured with success. Dis- 
 appointing, of course. Our progi'amme, however, 
 was extensive, and we sailed for Guyo harbour, in 
 the Island of Paxo* the next day (Xovember 12th,) 
 and for Ithaca* on the 13th. Could anything look 
 more lovely than the harbour of Vathy as we entered ? 
 We ought all of us to have enjoyed it. I was the 
 only one of the three on board, however, who could 
 enjoy it at all. — Why? At dinner the previous 
 evening we had all eaten fish ; fresh, apparently, but 
 indigestable. Arnold was really ill and prostrate; 
 Charlie was slowly getting over it ; while I, having 
 eaten less than the other two, had recovered. Memo. 
 — Mind you don't eat fish in the Mediterranean, 
 unless you are absolutely sure that they have been 
 caught well out at sea, not inside your port. 
 
 * See " With Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediterranean." 
 
 Samson, Marston & Low. 
 
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 Chapter III. 
 
 
 EXT morning expeditions were formed to 
 see the Castle of Ulysses, and other 
 points of classical interest. We saw the 
 fountain of Arethusa, by the pleasant pro- 
 cess of steaming round to it, and walking up hill about 
 one-third of a mile. Having collected some flowers 
 growing near, we returned on board, and steamed off 
 to Cephalonia. I selected .the port of Argolstoli as 
 the best to anchor in. Here we remained for a few 
 days. The resident Vice-Consul was most kind, and 
 gave us some wines and brandy to taste, which were 
 home made so to speak, by a relation of his who 
 resides here. This enterprising English gentleman 
 certainly deserves success. I can very distinctly recom- 
 mend the older wines, and the brandy, although now 
 only five or six years old, shows promise of becoming 
 one of choicest quality. It is absolutely pure and 
 unadulterated. There are lovely drives round about 
 the harbour and the neighbourhood. The hire price 
 of a pair of horses and carriage for the afternoon will 
 not reach 6s, The water here can be recommended 
 as pure and good ; coal can also be got, but, of 
 course, before buying you must make your own 
 bargain. I know nothing more trying than the 
 
8 
 
 realization of the fact that there is no fixed price for 
 ordinary goods in these parts. The time lost in 
 negociating a purchase is always trying, but I suppose 
 in some mysterious way, which I do not understand, 
 it is good for one. It is, anyhow, as complete a trial 
 of patience as could be experienced. 
 
 A gale kept us in Cephalonia a day longer than we 
 wished, but on the morning of Monday, November 
 1 8th, it moderated, and we sailed for Patras the next 
 morning, arriving at our destination that evening. 
 My good old friend, Mr. Wood (the Consul), was 
 delighted to see us, and showed my guests all the 
 chief places of interest in the neighbourhood. I 
 have described some of them in a former work, but 
 I should like to add, that a German firm, now estab- 
 lished for some years, have been slowly developing 
 an extensive wine business, which promises well. 
 Our Consul can give information on this subject to 
 admirers of Greek wines and brandies. We all 
 passed a pleasant afternoon at the Consul's house, 
 while a game of lawn tennis, with real English balls 
 and our own rackets, put us all in a high glow and 
 good spirits. Exercise is the yachtsman's great 
 want, and a tennis court is a God-send after a long 
 stay on board ship. 
 
 The best of friends must part, and, after a two 
 day's stay, we bid adieu to our host and his family 
 who had all shown us great kindness. We then 
 proceed under steam to Itiar. Neither of my guests 
 had seen Delphos, so, on our arrival in the evening, 
 we make arrangements to take a carriage on the 
 next day up to the ruins. Business on board 
 
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prevented my accompanying them. They, however, 
 started early, and spent a pleasant day examining 
 the temple of Apollo, the museum, and other places 
 of interest. A French guide very courteously showed 
 them the newest excavations, and refused all recom- 
 pense. I note this incident as at once rare and 
 remarkable. From the description given by Arnold 
 and Charlie, much work must have been done since 
 my visit last spring, and visitors now may expect a real 
 treat when tempted to undertake the excursion. It 
 is useless to give less than a whole day to the visit. 
 The roads, which I described in my last work, and 
 which I found very bad, have been repaired, and a 
 comfortable carriage, with three good horses, can 
 now be engaged to bring you to the site of the ruins, 
 after a pleasant drive of 2^ hours, while i^ hours 
 will suffice to carry you home again, and at a good 
 pace, for your return journey is all down hill. 
 
 S%2S^^ 
 
Chapter IV. 
 
 T came on to blow next da}^, as it very 
 often will in these parts, and with 
 very short notice, so I had some doubts 
 whether it would be possible to put out to 
 sea. The following morning, however, it moderated 
 a little, though still blowing fresh, and we passed 
 through the Corinth Canal after a patient wait of 
 I J hours at the entrance. When the Canal is clear, 
 the guide-books inform you that the red flag is 
 hoisted. This should be so, but there are times 
 when the officials forget their duties ; so read 
 your instructions, please, with a margin. Having, 
 however, once passed through this interesting cut- 
 ting, nothing but kindness and courtesy meet us. 
 We wanted a few tons of water, so the Canal 
 Company very generously supplied us, and with 
 their own boat, immediately. I can only repeat 
 what I have mentioned in mv former book, as 
 regards the badness of the water in the Piraeus ; 
 so my reader will forgive me, if again I remind him 
 of the necessity of coming in to that anchorage with 
 a supply of good water on board. At Patras, if he 
 is coming from the West, and at Poros, if he is 
 coming from the East, he will find really excellent 
 water which is inexpensively supplied. Having our- 
 selves filled up the tanks at the mouth of the Corinth 
 
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 Canal, we sailed early next morning for the Piraeus, 
 arriving there in the middle of the day. Good 
 fortune awaits us ; my old friend, Mr. Stuart (late 
 British Vice-Consul) was still here, and, placing our- 
 selves in his hands, as regards coal, provisions, 
 engineer's and ship's stores, we were as well and as 
 reasonably provided for as could be desired. To 
 meet a reallv honest and trustworthv man in these 
 parts, who will further take the trouble to see him- 
 self that you are well served, is a piece of good 
 fortune we thoroughly appreciated. Three Austrian 
 men-of-war, one Greek ironclad, and a Russian 
 cruiser, are at anchor inside the harbour, also an 
 American vessel just outside ; they all remind us of 
 that ever present Eastern question which has just 
 now come so prominently to the front. At all 
 dinner tables and parties where Ministers and Diplo- 
 matists meet, every one is talking of the Conference 
 to be held at Constantinople. Will it succeed for a 
 few more years in patching up the status quo, or is 
 the climax near ? Who knows, or can know, when 
 the nations which send representatives cannot tell 
 themselves what fresh outbreaks or troubles may 
 arise. These would complicate the already difficult 
 position four-fold. 
 
 At Athens we are now more than ever interested 
 in the British* School of Archccology, which, since 
 last year, has been enabled to make a fresh start 
 under the able superintendence of Mr. Cecil Smith, 
 of British Museum fame. Since last year, a sum of 
 
 * See page 31 of "With Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediter- 
 ranean," Sampson Marston & Low. 
 
12 
 
 £Soo a year has been granted by the Government for 
 five years, towards the expenses of the school. 
 Should it prove a success, there is little doubt but that 
 a further extension will be applied for, and possibly 
 granted. I hope my readers will not think me 
 prolix in calling attention to our school, for every 
 yachtsman, tourist, and student will find this Institu- 
 tion of real use to him. My friend, Mr. C. Smith, 
 is always pleased to give valuable information in 
 regard to the excavations now being made, and any 
 student may take my word for it that a short period 
 passed in the School Library will amply repay him. 
 
 On Saturday, November 30th, Arnold leaves us to 
 go on by steamer to Constantinople, and thence 
 home. We all miss him, but no one more than the 
 writer. He is one of the few men one meets who 
 can reall}^ talk well. I have listened to him night 
 after night, and always regretted the arrival of the 
 hour when it was time to go to bed. The British 
 Consul and Mrs. Maxse came on board, Thursday, 
 December 5th, and we sailed for Poros Harbour, 28 
 miles from the Piraeus. A more beautiful anchorage 
 I have never seen. Our lady guest is a true artist, 
 and takes a fresh sketch on each of the five successive 
 days we remain here. Bad weather and gales all the 
 time. The holding ground is good, and the best 
 water conceivable can easily be obtained. We 
 thoroughly appreciate this last blessing, as the Piraeus 
 water is as bad as possible. Yachtsmen and tourists 
 beware. Before leaving, Mr. Maxse (a really first- 
 class photographer) and Charlie get some photos of 
 the place. 
 
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Chapter V. 
 
 N Wednesday, December nth, we leave 
 Poros Harbour, the weather having 
 greatly improved. I have been much 
 struck by the warning which the glass 
 invariably gives of coming bad and good weather. 
 There really is little excuse to be made for any 
 Captain who neglects its warning. On December 
 1 3th, a falling glass indicates that a breeze is coming. 
 During the next three days it blew a whole gale. 
 
 From our anchorage we could see the sea out- 
 side, and a more angry one I have never observed, 
 except in the North Sea. The Piraeus was soon 
 crowded with vessels of all sorts. The harbour- 
 master must have had a hard time of it. On the 
 14th, the gale still continued. The 15th (Sunday) 
 promised better weather. 
 
 Herbert (another friend of mine) joined us in the 
 evening and reported very bad weather in the 
 Adriatic. He had come straight out from England, 
 via Brindisi. 
 
 Monday i6th, we shifted our berth. It took us 
 all day to clear our anchors; a large merchant 
 steamer having fouled them. We anchored, even- 
 tually in the evening, near the King's Yacht, and in 
 a good berth. 
 
14 
 
 Thursday 17th, Captain Douglas, who had been 
 with me for 18 months, left to go home for private 
 reasons. I engaged a pilot in his place, who had 
 some experience of the Dardanelles. My friend 
 came on board in the evening to dinner, having seen 
 more of Athens in two days than most men do in a 
 week. Very active is Herbert. 
 
 Wednesday, December i8th, we crossed over to 
 the comfortable harbour of Poros, and, having got 
 our water on board early the next morning, we 
 sailed mid-dav for Zea Island, arrivins: at Port 
 St. Nikolo in the afternoon about 2 p.m. The 
 barometer was high during the whole of these two 
 days, though, curiously enough, the sky kept threat- 
 ening. My pilot remarks that ''it would blow and 
 rain too, if it was not for the glass." My own view 
 of the case was that it blew quite hard enough as we 
 crossed over, though the rain still kept off. Port 
 St. Nikolo is the place where the '' Royal Albert," 
 one of our old three-deckers, was beached about 40 
 years ago, as, owing to an accident to her screw 
 shaft, she was leaking badly, and was only saved 
 from sinking by this means.* 
 
 Friday, December 20th, we sailed from this charm- 
 ing little port. The glass still continuing to fall 
 during the night, I hoisted my boats in and lowered 
 the topmasts. Overhead and all round it looked as 
 peaceful and calm as could be wished, but we are 
 near the shortest day, and tradition has it, that on 
 and near that dav storms are to be looked for in 
 these parts. At 2.30, we anchored at Mykonos, in 
 
 * See "Murray's Guide to the Mediterranean," Vol. I., page 151. 
 
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 the Korpho, off the mole in 13 fathoms, the wind 
 having increased. There is a really good anchorage 
 here, and to the antiquarian there is much which is 
 interesting to see and even to hunt for, as tradition 
 tells both of temples and statues yet undiscovered. 
 Delos is onlv three miles off; which we remember 
 was the birth-place of Apollo and Artemis. It was 
 considered the Holy Island, principalh^, no doubt, on 
 account of the oracle which in sanctit}" was only 
 second to that of Delphos. Necessity has compelled 
 us very unwillingly on this occassion to pass by the 
 Island of Svra. We looked from the distance on to 
 its prosperous town with its 26,000 inhabitants and 
 its splendid harbour, and promised ourselves a nearer 
 acquaintance on our return journey from Constanti- 
 nople. Report speaks very highly of the health as 
 well as the wealth of its inhabitants. It must have 
 been a surpassingly lovely place when covered with 
 trees, of which, alas, not many remain. We had 
 hoped the glass would not continue to fall, but it did, 
 so we gave up the idea of leaving shelter, and on 
 December 21st, as we had steam up, we ran across 
 under the lee of the islands to Delos, anchoring off 
 the Custom House in eight fathoms. So clear was 
 the water that we could easily see our anchor. 
 About 3 p.m., a very heavy squall struck the yacht, 
 but we had a second anchor ready which we let go, 
 and, having plenty of sea room, veered on both 
 cables and rode out the gale in gi'eat comfort. 
 
 December 22nd, Sunday. The shortest day in the 
 3^ear has arrived and we have turned that corner. 
 The glass in the morning began to rise. It was still 
 
i6 
 
 very low, so I determined to remain one more day at 
 anchor and give the sea a chance to go down. In 
 the middle of the day Herbert, the pilot, and myself 
 crossed over to Old Delos to examine the ruins. 
 The Grotto from whence the Oracle was supposed to 
 speak, was in fairly good repair, but the temple of 
 the foreign gods, the temple of Apollo, as well as the 
 temple of Latona, were all in a hopeless confusion of 
 ruin. The site of the Stadium, however, though its 
 marble seats were scattered and broken up, could 
 easily be made out, and a fair idea of its ancient 
 magnificence is suggested to the mind as one stands 
 on the South side of it. The same may be said of 
 the Theatre. What I think struck us most were 
 four mosaic pavements in houses adjoining the 
 Temples. These remained absolutely intact, the 
 colours looking as bright as if they were new. It is 
 now about 2,000 years since they were placed in 
 position. 
 
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Chapter VI. 
 
 N Monday, 23rd, at 2 p.m., I tried to sail 
 across to Chios, but the wind and the sea 
 were too boisterous when we were fairly 
 outside and clear of the Islands to pro- 
 ceed. I, therefore, hove to under the lee of the land 
 till daybreak, and then, having put in to Syra for 
 provisions, I returned to our old anchorage in Delos. 
 Syra was, not many years ago, a most flourishing 
 town ; this was in the days of the old wooden ships. 
 Now the trade has decreased, and, though new 
 leather works and one or two warehouses partially 
 cover the ground where once ship building yards 
 stood, the population has decreased, and is decreasing. 
 Here there is a British Consul. 
 
 By the vicissitudes to which places, like persons, 
 are subject, Syra, though insignificant in former 
 history, has, owing to its central position, become of 
 late years a great emporium. The ancient Greek 
 city stood on the site of the present town, close to 
 the harbour ; only a few fragments are left of 
 foundations and walls. In the middle ages, the 
 inhabitants retreated for security from pirates to the 
 lofty hill, about a mile from the shore, on the summit 
 of which they built the town, now called Old Syra. 
 
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i8 
 
 The island was of no importance till the war of the 
 Revolution. Then the immigration of refugees from 
 different parts of Greece, especially from Chios and 
 Psara, rapidly raised it to its present flourishing 
 condition. Pherekydes, the instructor of Pythagoras, 
 and himself one of the earliest among Greek phil- 
 osophers to maintain the immortality of the soul, 
 was a native of Syros. 
 
 The modern town, called Hermoupolis, contains 
 upwards of 26,000 inhabitants. It is built round the 
 harbour, on the East side of the island. A stately 
 lighthouse, rising on a rock in front of the harbour, 
 a quay with numerous warehouses, and several 
 handsome houses, built of white marble, show the 
 mercantile importance of the place ; but the streets 
 are still narrow and crooked, though clean and well 
 paved. Vestiges have been found of the temples of 
 Poseidon and Amphitrite. Great attention is here 
 paid to education ; there are more than 3,000 scholars 
 in the various schools. The favourite promenade in 
 the cool of the evening is on a cliff to the North 
 of the town. 
 
 Old Syra is seated on the hill which commands the 
 port, and is now so connected with the new town by 
 continuous buildings, that the two may be regarded 
 as one city. This hill, from its remarkable conical 
 form, resembles a huge sugar loaf covered with 
 houses. The ascent is very toilsome, up steep 
 streets, crossed by a narrow flight of steps. On the 
 top stands the church of St. George, from which 
 the view is very fine ; below may be seen the church 
 of the Jesuits. Old Syra contains about 6,000 
 

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19 
 
 inhabitants, mostly Roman Catholics; often at 
 
 variance with their Greek neighbours, who regard 
 
 them as aliens. Generally speaking, the Roman 
 
 Catholics of the Levant are descended from Genoese 
 
 and Venetian settlers of the middle ages. They have 
 
 always regarded themselves as under the protection 
 
 of France ; but the nationality of the Latins of Syra 
 
 was the chief cause of the modern prosperity of the 
 
 island, which became, during the Revolution, the 
 
 refuge of numerous merchants from the distracted 
 
 parts of Greece. 
 
 On Tuesday, December 24th, we sailed at 4 a.m. 
 
 for Chios, with a fine light breeze on the starboard 
 
 quarter, so that, under steam and sail, we covered the 
 
 first 61 nautical miles in 6 hours. We arrived in 
 
 the evening at Kastro. Here Herbert and myself 
 
 landed, and were shown what there was to see by 
 
 the General Manager of the English Telegraph 
 
 Company. We owe our best thanks to him for 
 
 his kindness and courtesy. There is not much 
 
 of interest to attract except, perhaps, the new 
 
 Greek church and Turkish Hospital (really a good 
 
 one), but these will repay a visit. To telegraph 
 
 anywhere to the Company's stations costs about 6d. 
 
 a word, and this within the narrow limits of Greece 
 
 and Turkey. The harbour is not a convenient one 
 
 in an}^ way, and the anchorage outside is not good. 
 
 Yachtsmen be '^ off out of this," as our friends of the 
 
 Emerald Isle would say, and as soon as you can. 
 
 The only thing you will find here worth waiting for 
 
 is water. For your coal go to Smyrna, if voyaging 
 
 East, and to Syra if going West or South. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 We left next morning, December 25th, eating om* 
 Christmas dinner at Smyrna. Coaling and watering 
 occupied the crew next day, while Herbert and 
 m3"self visited the Bazaar, in company with a guide 
 very kindly provided for us by the Consul General. 
 The strings of camels entering with goods, the dirt 
 of the streets, and the extortionate demands of the 
 shopkeepers, all remind us that we are no longer in 
 Europe. As our time, on this occasion, is limited, 
 we have not found it possible to make any of the 
 interesting excursions to Ephesus and the neighbour- 
 hood, which every visitor here is expected to 
 undertake. I have, however, some information for 
 my yachting friends. If you want to enter the 
 harbour, you must apply either to the harbour-master, 
 or, better still, through the Consul General to the 
 proper authorities for leave; this may take a day 
 or two. In the meantime, there is a very good 
 anchorage in about five or six fathoms 300 yards 
 from the entrance of the harbour, and looking straight 
 into it. This outer anchorage is so good, and the 
 harbour is so dirty that, unless I had some important 
 repairs to make or some very good reasons for 
 entering, I would much prefer remaining outside. If 
 you like to go about 600 3"ards from the entrance of 
 the harbour, and about 120 to 140 yards from the 
 shore, you will then be clear of the large steamers 
 which come to the roadstead frequently, but do not 
 enter the harbour. The only disadvantage you will 
 suffer from is the distance your provision boats 
 have to come before reaching you. I think another 
 time, should I visit this port again, I would anchor 
 
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21 
 
 pro. tern, as near the entrance of the harbour as they 
 would allow me, just for coal and water, and then 
 shift berth as I have suggested about 600 or 700 
 yards away. Both these can be obtained on your 
 arrival. All your wants can (it is declared) be 
 supplied by at least ten different persons, who, 
 in as many boats, flock or board your vessel. My 
 advice is, deal with none of them, but, calling on the 
 Consul General, listen to what he has to say, or, 
 better still, write privately to him beforehand. His 
 courtesy, his great knowledge of the place, and his 
 power to make himself useful, will fully repay you 
 for the apparent delay. A more able and courteous 
 official does not serve the Oueen. Xow to return. 
 It can rain in Smyrna as well as elsewhere, and, as 
 the more interesting newspapers are stopped here 
 before they reach their destination, you had better 
 give up all hope of getting news, and hunt up your 
 library. Sight-seeing is impossible. There exists no 
 term in our English language, I could place on paper, 
 which adequately describes the state of the streets. 
 Could the English Government, 3 years ago, have 
 seen its way to assist in forming and opening the 
 railway between Smyrna and Constantinople, a large 
 trade would then have been opened out, and Smyrna 
 would then have been enriched and improved in 
 every respect. It is now too late ; and both France 
 and Germany have acquired interests since, which 
 should have been British. 
 
 On December 27th, we left for the small but perfect 
 little harbour of Foujes or Foggia. It was a short 
 sail of only 30 miles, but a windy one. Herbert and 
 
22 
 
 myself landed in the evening, and were much struck 
 with the industrious aspect of the place, and the 
 busy Greeks discharging or loading the small craft 
 which ply with stores up and down the coast. 
 Though a Turkish town, by far the larger portion of 
 its inhabitants are Greeks. 
 
 December 28th, we sailed for the North Port of 
 Mitvlene. The South Port has only x fathoms 
 of water in it, at its deepest part. The North has 
 4 or 5 in its deepest, and but 2 and 3 fathoms all 
 round its centre. It is small and wholly unsuitable 
 as a winter anchorage. From the North Point to 
 N.E. it is wholly unprotected. We rode out a fearful 
 gale here, with three anchors ahead and steam to 
 help us in the heaviest squalls. A more miserable 
 couple of days I have seldom spent. I never slept for 
 more than i^ hours at a time during the whole gale, 
 and was on deck always. Herbert was plucky in 
 the extreme, but his sufferings must have been great, 
 as he is by no means a perfect sailor. A more 
 cheerful companion under adverse circumstances I 
 cannot imagine, and when, on the afternoon of 
 December 30th, the stonii lulled and we could lower 
 a boat, he went on shore and had a good walk, 
 meeting on his road an Englishman, who was 
 employed as an Engineer putting up some machinery 
 for a Greek merchant. This o-entleman rave him all 
 the local news. If my brother yachtsmen will take 
 my advice, they will not enter this harbour under 
 any pretence whatsoever. In St. Paul's day, either 
 he or the captain of his ship came to the sensible con- 
 clusion that one day's stay was sufficient. I wish they 
 
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 had passed on their experiences. I do not, of course, 
 alkide to other anchorages in the Island, I only 
 speak of the two ports on each side of the town of 
 Mitylene. Jero, or Hero, harbour is, of course, 
 magnificent, zvlien you get into it, but the entrance 
 is very narrow, vide ^' Mediterranean Pilot," vol. 4. 
 
 cr--^ G 't^-<'r>'^^^w;;t>.<??r^V^ O <^-^ 
 
Chapter VII. 
 
 N December 31st, we sailed for Chanak in 
 the Dardanelles, arriving there at 10 p.m. 
 By some stupid mistake on the part of the 
 Turkish garrison, who, for some unknown 
 reason, fancied we were not going to anchor for 
 the night, they first burnt a blue light and then fired 
 two guns (unshotted), to warn us off. The next 
 gun would have been shotted, and fired at us, so I 
 took down our steam lights (a most improper pro- 
 ceeding) before we anchored. This satisfied them. 
 
 Next morning, January ist, we got our pratique 
 at Chanak, and proceeded for Gallipoli. Here we 
 took in 9^ tons of water, for which a Greek charged 
 us 5s. a ton, having made out his bill for 1 1 tons. 
 Yachtsmen beware. To get this on board we had 
 to go round to the North harbour, and onl}^ just got 
 back again to the Southern anchorage in time to 
 save being caught in one of the worst blizzards of 
 sand and wind I have ever known. There is a 
 strong current in the North harbour, especially 
 during Northerly winds, and in steaming out of it 
 great care is required while turning the ship to sea- 
 ward. It blew a hurricane for two whole days and 
 nights. The cold was so intense that we had to 
 
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25 
 
 keep the engine room door open to get warmth, 
 while two Cera stoves in the saloon hardly kept us 
 warmed. The yacht rolled about a good deal, and 
 it was difficult to get any rest. We had both anchors 
 down. It is worth while here to mention, that quite 
 close into the mouth of the little port there is a 
 depth of 4 fathoms ; it is most advisable to anchor as 
 close to this as possible. There is a current which 
 swirls round the bay which causes a nasty sea to rise, 
 and the closer in you can get the better for you. 
 We dressed for dinner each evening, I will tell you 
 how. First we put on all the warmest clothes we 
 had, then fur coats over them, and warm rugs round 
 our legs. In this way we got our dinner. Of course 
 we used, indeed we could only use, swinging plates,* 
 the ship was knocking about so much. The men 
 (all Italians) were cheerful throughout, and when 
 we weighed one anchor, which we did on the 
 morning of January 3rd, they all worked as well 
 and cheerfully as if to work in frost and snow was 
 an every day affair with them. They deserve every 
 praise. Herbert '^ fell in " to the capstan, and by 
 kindly lending us a hand to get our anchor up, he 
 got warm for the first time, he declared, for four 
 days. 
 
 On January ist, I forgot to mention that we called 
 on the Vice-Consul, and found him in the midst of 
 his family entertaining all his friends ; five Consuls 
 and Vice-Consuls were there. I had a long con- 
 versation with our hostess and the French Vice- 
 Consul. Thev cannot see how war can be averted. 
 
 * My own Patent. 
 
26 
 
 The news from England as regards the American 
 difficulty was, however, good. We were most grateful 
 for this. 
 
 The trade of Gallipoli is entirely in the hands of 
 Greeks or Jews. The houses are built of wood. A 
 fire here, with a high wind, would be most disastrous. 
 To the tourist I would say, the town is not worth a 
 visit ; and to the yachtsman, come in here for shelter 
 of course if it suits you, but get awa}^ as soon as you 
 can. Game is cheap however, and it may be worth 
 your while to lay in a stock. Woodcocks and hares, 
 IS. each ; partridges, is. 6d. a brace. So buy what 
 you want, and then go away. If, however, for any 
 reason, you are delayed, you will find the Vice- 
 Consul, and his charming w^ife, both pleasant and 
 agreeable. They speak French and Italian. English 
 is not spoken here at all, or very little. 
 
 January 4th, we weighed from Gallipoli, the gale 
 having moderated, and came to an anchor again in 
 Kutali roads at 3 p.m., the weather looking again 
 most threatening. From North and Xorth-Easterly 
 gales these roads offered very convenient shelter ; 
 from the village itself some provisions can be obtained. 
 We have now had three weeks of really bad weather, 
 intense cold and adverse gales, only here and there 
 a day when it was possible to go to sea. Water, 
 and the best, can be got near Kutali in breakers, if 
 required, and for every reason I strongly recommend 
 this anchorage. That the prospect is dreary in the 
 winter I do not deny, but those who look for warmth 
 need not travel amongst the Turkish Islands during 
 the inclement season. 
 
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27 
 
 Early on the morning of January 5th, we weighed, 
 and, with reefed main trysail, jib and staysail, assisted 
 by steam, we made the best of our way through 
 stormy rain, snow, and wind, to the roadstead an- 
 chorage on the South West side of St. Stephano 
 Lighthouse. We just reached this before dark, and 
 anchored in 6 J fathoms. The whole of the coast as 
 far as Constantinople offers to the anxious Captain 
 quiet shelter from all North and North Easterly 
 gales, which in these parts should be regarded as 
 recurring regularly every few days during the months 
 of December and January. Constantinople is cer- 
 tainl}^ worth a visit (my readers have heard this 
 before), but if 3^ou are to come out in your yacht, 
 or by one of the many steamers which run to the 
 Bosphorus, you must pay for the luxury in endurance 
 as well as in money. If you are the right side of 
 sixty, and in good health, then come by sea ; but if 
 not, then go by rail. This is my advice. Of course 
 I am now only speaking of the winter season. Things 
 change wonderfully for the better in March, and the 
 weather does not often get bad before the middle, 
 or even the end of November. This year it was 
 fair at Constantinople till about the second week in 
 December, so I was told. I cannot imagine how 
 anv weather can be much worse than that which we 
 have had, and without a break for the last fortnight, 
 so beware of Januarv. 
 

 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 ANUARY 6th, we managed to get into 
 Constantinople, and came to an anchor 
 just in time to get Major and Mrs. 
 Lambart on board, as we were preparing 
 for the coming hurricane, the glass giving us warning. 
 It came on that evening, and blew with all, if not 
 more than its usual force. It continued with unabated 
 fury for 4 days. Then cold with snow, then fairly 
 fine. Constantinople is always interesting, and we 
 make the best use we can of our time here. From 
 the Ambassador downwards every one is kind. We 
 note all the information we receive from our friends 
 in general, but here, however, it is worth mentioning, 
 that all reports and rumours which concern Turkey, 
 and which one hears in the hotels and places of 
 public resort, require scrutiny, for there is little 
 reliance to be placed on the chatter of the place. In 
 Constantinople there is no newspaper published 
 which in England we should think worthy of the 
 name. I believe this to be the general view. 
 
 The eyes of the diplomatic world are always more 
 less directed in an Easterly direction. During the 
 winter of 1895-96, the whole world has been 
 engaged in studying the Turk and his ways, while 
 
29 
 
 diplomacy seems to have exhausted its every 
 effort in an endeavour to solve the most puzzling 
 of problems. Constantinople every one knows. I 
 do not give photographs for two reasons. There is 
 too much smoke from the steamers to ensure good 
 pictures, and for navigating purposes photos would 
 be of no real value. There have been many pictures 
 given by illustrated papers. It is an immense City 
 as it is, but could it be peopled with English, French, 
 or Germans, it would more than double in size in less 
 than 10 years. 
 
 Its capacity as a trading port is inexhaustible. 
 Think of its many advantages. Here the purest 
 drinking water can easily be obtained in any quantity, 
 and also at small expense. An easier town to drain 
 does not exist, as, at the foot of the seven hills on 
 which it is built, runs a stream of salt water i mile 
 wide and 30 fathoms deep. This stream is running 
 always at the rate of from i to 4 miles an hour, 
 according to circumstances. Valleys, in which vege- 
 table produce and gi-ain will grow for seven months 
 out of the year, abound in every direction, while 
 gentle slopes with a Southerly aspect can be relied 
 upon for about 8^ months. But a human curse is 
 over the land. Justice is bought, trade stagnates, 
 murder is common, theft universal. Honesty is a 
 sign of weakness. Thrift excites the jealousy of 
 every neighbour, and it is well if this is all. Woman 
 has her place in the land, and it could not be lower 
 or more degraded. Of course I speak generally, but 
 even here an exception exists, as if to prove the rule. 
 Take a walk, if you will, in Stamboul proper, and 
 
30 
 
 even some parts of Galata, and 3^ou will see hard 
 working Turks, as well as Greeks, against whom but 
 one word can be said : ^' who would be free them- 
 selves must strike the blow." How true ever}^ where, 
 but nowhere more true than here. Where lies this 
 young Armenian's brother ? where the father of that 
 one ? and where the husband of that modest young 
 Armenian wife ? But last year they lived : to-day 
 the Bosphorus or the neighbouring prison owns 
 them ! These are as good, or rather as bad, as dead. 
 At the massacre of the Armenians last year, hundreds 
 were killed, while the Sultan's spies have recently 
 carried off numbers of suspected persons, and once 
 inside those Turkish walls, then, indeed, farewell 
 to every hope. 
 
 I visited most of the places of interest in 1853, and 
 again in 1856, when a young midshipman. This was 
 just before and just after our Crimean campaign. 
 Things have changed but little since, and almost in 
 every respect for the worse. There are some excep- 
 tions, however. The museum is new and good. 
 Remains from the site of Troy, the reputed sarcophagus 
 of Alexander the Great, and a few other objects of 
 interest really repay a visit. The Ottoman Bank 
 buildings are fine and new. The Pera Hotels are 
 good; almost all of them. We visited the '' Pera 
 Palace " Hotel and the '^ Bristol," and found them 
 excellent, but the drainage everywhere is bad ; that 
 is, of course, as judged from a Paris or London 
 standpoint. The harbour is as badly regulated as 
 possible ; it might be (after Bizerta, of course), the 
 best harbour East of Gibraltar. The streets, except 
 
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31 
 
 one in Pera, are beyond doubt the worst in the 
 world. I know the streets of Canton, so I speak 
 from experience. 
 
 On January loth, Friday, we went to the Yikhz 
 Kiosk Palace, and saw the Sultan going to Mosque ; 
 7,000 troops kept the ground. The men and some 
 officers were fine looking, strong, and doubtless 
 excellent soldiers. The Commanders, in appearance, 
 I decline to say a word about, one only shall be 
 mentioned, — Osman Pacha. He looked what he 
 was, a soldier, and a brave one too. We went, after 
 the ceremony, wishing to see the dancing Dervishes. 
 Here we were to find enthusiasm, and really deep 
 religious feeling, sympathize or not as we might. 
 Alas ! the principal dancing Dervish had caught a 
 cold, so there was no dancing. The Mosque of 
 St. Sophia, the remains of what was once the most 
 interesting bazaar in the world, before the fire of 
 1870, and the walls of the old cit}^, are in turn each 
 visited. 
 
 From an eminence at Pera, we look over the 
 Golden Horn. Here are laying at anchor 5 Turkish 
 battleships and 5 coast protectors. They went to 
 sea last in 1878. Their crews are 3,500 all told ; 
 these have yet to go to sea and learn their work. 
 15 torpedo boats and torpedo catchers are here also, 
 5 of these have been to sea. They were up to date 
 in 1888. The army has many months pay due to it. 
 The Constantinople force (about 7,000 men) being 
 the only troops paid regularly; they guard the Sultan. 
 Ball practice was ordered between 3 and 4 years 
 ago for the last time; blank cartridge has been 
 
32 
 
 considered safe and sufficient since. The new Artil- 
 lery Barracks are really splendid, — I think the finest 
 pile of military buildings I have seen anywhere. A 
 knowledge of how to use the field guns within its 
 square is to follow, but at present this instruction 
 remains in an embryo condition. Education and 
 progress is not onl}^ required in naval and military 
 matters, but by everyone in every department, and 
 everywhere. 
 
 Herbert and myself are Liberals in England, here 
 we are absolutely agreed with every Tory we meet. 
 We all praise and blame the same people and the 
 same institutions. Constantinople is so cut off from 
 all progressive civilization, as that term is understood 
 in England, France, or Germany, that there is no 
 room for small differences. We go to the Club. 
 The '' Times " of two days ago was stopped alto- 
 gether, to-day the middle sheet has been suppressed. 
 We are allowed to read only what the Sultan and his 
 officers consider good for us, so we are all reformers 
 now, and thorough-going ones too. Our Ambassador 
 here we call upon, in order to pay our respects. Of 
 what sort is he ? The best possible, but he has a 
 superhuman task ; he struggles quietly and manfully 
 with it. His staff are, indeed, excellent, and work with 
 a will to help their chief. They deserve the credit due 
 to persons who are continually rolling a stone up hill. 
 For them there is no down hill, no flat. Bigotry, 
 fanaticism, ignorance, filth, and alas, feilure must be 
 the enemies most familiar to them, and against which 
 they daily fight. Let us turn aside, this picture is 
 too dreadful to contemplate. Here is a better — 
 
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 The moon is shining on the Minarets, the Turkish 
 part of the town is illuminated with many lamps ; 
 Turkish ships, too, in the harbour, are lighted up, 
 there is a calm, and it is not too cold to enjoy the 
 sight. The day is January ii, a Mohammedan Festa. 
 Feast 3^our eyes patient traveller ; you have neither 
 seen nor heard much to delight you before. News- 
 papers there are here, no doubt, and in to-morrow's 
 press the illuminations will be reported. This cvill 
 be allowed by the authorities. The English press 
 correspondents have their work cut out for them, 
 and it is wonderful how accurate their reports are, 
 considering the almost super-human difficulties they 
 have to contend against, and then with what ability 
 do they write. All the leading London newspapers 
 have special correspondents at Pera, and Renter's 
 telegrams are forwarded by a gentleman whose local 
 knowledge and daily information cannot be surpassed. 
 How are things going on now ? In the ^' Standard" 
 of January 2nd will be found a very accurate descrip- 
 tion of the state of the country round Stamboul, and 
 those who care to know about such things may gain 
 most useful information from this source. At head 
 quarters, one of the Ambassadors has a document to 
 present to the Sultan in person. The Ambassador 
 has a cold. He is kept waiting in a wretched room, 
 without a fire, for 2 hours. It is the duty of this 
 high official to point out to His Majesty how dan- 
 gerous is the course he is pursuing, and how it might 
 imperil his throne. To which the Sultan replies that 
 unless the Ambassador goes home soon, and is quickly 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 in bed, it will be dangerous for him.* The Sultan 
 scores again ; he always does, or has up to now. 
 How long, oh how long, caii it last ? is the bitter cr}^ 
 of millions. Most of the troops are unpaid, and are, 
 therefore, tempted to join in the massacres and 
 robberies they are sent to suppress. When will a 
 much needed Cromwell or Garibaldi arise ? And, 
 civilization echoes, when ? 
 
 * A story something like this was reported in one of the newspapers 
 as occuring to our English representative, and contradicted, but I stick 
 to my tale as it stands. 
 
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Chapter IX. 
 
 O my countrymen know what they are 
 doing ? If my readers will bear with 
 me, I will at least tr}- to inform them. 
 Liberals, Radicals, Tories, or whatever 
 you may be, you are, one and all, with the best 
 intentions possible, doing the stupidest thing on 
 earth. You hold meetings, you force the hands of 
 the Government. That Government threatens, but 
 it cannot carry out its threats. As I write, I realize 
 how pleased the Sultan is at watching your impotence. 
 You have taught him how to misgovern his country, 
 even in a worse manner than before ; for, until you 
 induced him to send troops to put down the Armenian 
 atrocities, he was not aware that his soldiers, by 
 joining forces with the Kurds, and helping them to 
 further massacre their neighbours, could pay them- 
 selves the arrears due to them. Then, by promoting 
 their commanders, and distributing orders, he has 
 shown the world how completely he approves of this 
 method of military payment. If my countrymen 
 would help the Armenians, they have two courses, 
 and only two, open to them. One is to let bad 
 alone, and not make it worse. The other is to 
 give Russia a mission (if she will accept it), and let 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 her over-run and police the country. She will never 
 leave it, we all know that. This goes without saying. 
 Of course, I am aware of the binding nature of the 
 treaty of Berlin. Possibly, some day we in England 
 may learn what Russia is always teaching us, viz., 
 that circumstances alter cases, even in regard to the 
 most sacred of treaties. Need I mention certain 
 fortifications in the Black Sea, which have been 
 erected in direct defiance of a very solemn engage- 
 ment, but then in came the convenient circumstances, 
 which a great power considered had altered her 
 obligations. I hope my reader, who has bought a 
 book on yachting, will forgive me this slight digression ; 
 he will, however, be the first to agree with me, that 
 it is impossible to yacht with one's eyes shut. 
 
 We did not go further up the Bosphorus, for the 
 weather was bad, and excursions inland, which would 
 have been interesting, were too dangerous, the state 
 of the country generally being far from settled. If the 
 surrounding district should, in due course, become 
 only slightly more civilized, tourists will find here 
 beautiful scenery well worth a visit, and really good 
 sport of all descriptions, particularly wild fowl shoot- 
 ing, which will well repay them. Just now this might 
 become too exciting. If anyone should be tempted 
 to try, then on no account go alone, or even with a 
 party, unless accompanied by some person who, with 
 a thorough knowledge of the country, knows how, 
 when, and where to go. The Black Sea, or rather 
 Sebastopol (its chief attraction), does not tempt us, 
 as the difficulties now placed in the way of yachts 
 entering the harbour are serious. Perhaps in a few 
 
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37 
 
 years, or even months, things may improve, but just 
 now, if my friends will take my advice, they will 
 make very special enquiries at the Embass}^ before 
 entering on their expeditions. 
 
 Of the mouths of the Danube, I can only speak 
 from hear-say evidence. I have spoken to the cap- 
 tains of several trading steamers, and received from 
 them very little encouragement to go in that direction. 
 If, however, a desire is felt to visit these parts, 
 please remember that the ice is often dangerous to 
 vessels late in February, or even in March. May or 
 September are the best months to go there, and then 
 (if you can) get an experienced pilot to take you. 
 At the Consulate at Galata, you will find English 
 friends who will give you the best advice on most 
 points in connection with Black Sea pilots, Black Sea 
 navigation, and the Black Sea trade, if you care to 
 enquire. Circumstances may drive a man (as I was 
 driven), to see Constantinople in mid- winter or not 
 at all. Should my reader be as unfortunately placed 
 as I was, then I would say to you let your first 
 thought be given to your stoves ; see that you have 
 enough of them, and that they are the best money 
 can buy. I have no object in recommending any 
 stoves, and there may be better ones than the 
 ^^ Cera," sold by the Glasgow Cera Light Company. 
 I, however, use these myself, and have for some 
 years ; if anyone knows of a better, I shall be glad 
 of the information. Take out with you the very 
 warmest rugs and coats, and wraps, that London 
 can produce. Give your men an extra blanket apiece 
 (this is all important). Mind that your anchors 
 
38 
 
 and cables are quite beyond criticism, and then 
 harden your heart and keep your temper as long 
 as you can. If you bring your vessel to an 
 anchor at Stamboul, and leave that harbour again 
 without loss of this commodity, then the Book of 
 Job must henceforward be regarded as quite an in- 
 sufficient study : to write a book will then become 
 your duty, so as to inform the world how you did it. 
 I watched several vessels entering and leaving, as 
 well as the conduct of their several Captains, and the 
 authorized Version, in regard to patience, still remains 
 my model. 
 
 The passage home again through the Dardanelles 
 suggests, only very naturally, a series of questions. 
 Trained, as I happened to be, in Her Majesty's 
 Navy, I naturally was taught to believe that nothing 
 was, or could be, impossible for British sailors to 
 accomplish. Perhaps, therefore, my remarks may 
 require to be read with a margin. I distinctly 
 remember, when hearing of the Charge of the 
 Light Brigade at Balaclava (I actually did hear 
 the guns), that could 600 blue jackets have ridden 
 the charge, they would have done it better. This 
 creed, as a bellicose one for Naval combatants 
 generally, cannot be surpassed, so I decline now 
 to state that the English fleet, or at least some 
 of them, might not force the passage of the 
 Dardanelles, even without aid from a land force ; 
 but this, perhaps, I may say, that all the other 
 Navies in the world combined would find the evening 
 after the action by far the pleasantest part of the 
 day, that is if any of their crews lived to enjoy it. 
 
39 
 
 That a combined land and sea force could capture 
 the Dardanelles I do not doubt, but the authority 
 which ordered an Admiral to pass the Dardanelles, 
 without a sufficient land force to help him, would 
 be culpable to the last degree. I do not think a 
 book, w^hich any one might buy, the place in which 
 to put on record what I know of the strength of the 
 Dardanelles, or of the forces which are always avail- 
 able to resist attack. The yachtsman's position I 
 conceive should always be one void of offence. We 
 owe so much to all nations and all peoples, for their 
 kindness to us and our craft, that I think politics, 
 naval and military matters, and disputes generally, 
 are better left alone, unless the writer has a happy 
 knack of touching these questions with a very light 
 hand indeed. I confess that, as regards Turkey, I 
 have found my rule almost impossible to carry out, 
 certainly as conscientiously as I could have wished ; 
 but if I have erred in this respect, I believe in what I 
 have written I have the sympathy of the whole 
 civilized world with me. 
 
 -^^-^ 
 

 -M 
 
 
 
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 Chapter X. 
 
 morning 
 
 X January 12th, we sailed from Constanti- 
 nople, and passed the night at Buzuk 
 Chekmejeh, a very comfortable bay to 
 anchor in ; then to Kutali roads in the 
 Bad weather, of course. 
 January 14th, sailed early for Gallipoli, as we 
 wanted to catch a steamer bound for Constantinople, 
 Herbert having to return. We arrived in good time 
 to do this, when the saddest of partings took place. 
 We had enjoyed ourselves together so much that it 
 was hard work saying good-bye. 
 
 January 15th, sailed from Gallipoli, and anchored 
 in X^'iagara Liman. This is the bay in which all ships 
 are bound to stop to get their pratique, and show the 
 Sultan's firman authorizing them to pass through the 
 Dardanelles.* After waiting an hour, we weighed 
 again and proceeded to Morto Bay, near the entrance 
 of the Dardanelles, and there anchored. I should 
 like to have given photos of many points of interest 
 between Gallipoli and the Western entrance, but the 
 
 * The extreme inconvenience of not being allowed to pass the Dar- 
 danelles at night is felt by all nations, and is complained of by all, but 
 there seems now to be no hope that the old established rule will be 
 relaxed, or even modified. 
 
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41 
 
 whole of the narrows bristles with forts, and my 
 readers will understand the dangers as well as the 
 difficulties of so doing. Apart from the- forts, there 
 is little to interest in the winter time, as the want of 
 verdure makes the banks on each side look bare ; 
 they are white with snow, and wholly uninteresting. 
 There is fair anchorage ground on each side of the 
 entrance of the Dardanelles, but, if you have bad 
 luck, it is sure to come on to blow from the quarter 
 you are not protected from. 
 
 On the morning of January i6th, we weighed, and 
 proceeded to Gymno Island, opposite to Mitylene. 
 A splendid North-Easterl5^ breeze sending us along 
 10 or II knots until we entered the Strait. Here, 
 with a glass falling faster than I ever remember 
 before, and the weather becoming both thick and 
 rainy, I decided to get the nearest shelter I could, 
 and found a very snug anchorage inside the Gymno 
 Light, and close under the land in 8 fathoms. Yachts- 
 men come here and spend a quiet night, and do not 
 be tempted to that worst of ports in Mitylene, where 
 my pilot once persuaded me to anchor. I bought 
 my experience at the cost of two restless nights in 
 a gale of wind in the aforesaid open harbour. 
 
 There is one advantage in yachting in this part of 
 the world in the winter, — one learns a good deal. 
 I had now given my cousins. Major and Mrs. L., 
 a good sample of sea-life. They thoroughly enjoyed 
 it, proved good sailors, and worked like two slaves 
 at their self-imposed photographic task. They 
 have taken several pictures since they joined, and 
 thoroughly entered into the spirit of the undertaking. 
 
42 
 
 To be successful, one must work hard at this as at 
 everything else. 
 
 January 1 7th. We had not intended going to sea 
 on the next day, but a temporary lull in the morning 
 tempted us out, and we ran before the gale to Foujes, 
 or Foggia, harbour, having got a good photo of 
 Gymno harbour and lighthouse on our way out. 
 What a comfortable little harbour this is, and how 
 doubly welcome when one has been roughly handled 
 and tossed about in a gale. The harbour-master is 
 civility itself, and, while you are getting pratique, 
 offers you the best coffee possible. I bought about 
 40 old coins here for a srhall sum, in the hope that 
 some of them might prove genuine and valuable. 
 They will have to pass under the critical eye of an 
 expert when we reach the Piraeus. The demand for 
 old coins is so common, that it is really impossible to 
 satisfy travellers, without adding a large per-centage 
 of spurious ones. So says my guide, and he is a man 
 of experience. My only hope lies in the fact that 
 this is an out-of-the-way place, and that the ordinary 
 tourist comes here but seldom. I have previously 
 mentioned the industry of the Greek inhabitants of 
 these seaport towns, but what I think would strike a 
 new comer most, is the fact that so much splendid 
 land is left to waste. A few olive trees are planted 
 here and there, but, as a rule, on these islands and 
 along the coast, one sees thousands of acres which 
 would yield splendid produce if well cultivated. The 
 curse of Turkish rule and Turkish mismanagement is 
 over the land, and what might be a prosperous 
 country remains a standing reproach to civilization. 
 

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 January i8th. To Smyrna : blowing again, of 
 course, but picked out a good anchorage inshore, 
 opposite the Sporting Qub. So heavy were the 
 squalls during the night that I let go a second anchor. 
 Two Italian, two Russian, and two French men-of- 
 war were anchored here. The British Consul-General, 
 who I called upon, had his hands full. Reports from 
 various quarters showed that there was a very uneasy 
 feeling abroad, and troops had to be dispatched to . 
 places along the coast to keep order. In Smyrna 
 itself there is not much danger, as the majority of 
 the inhabitants are Christian, and Mohammedan 
 fanaticism would fail in its object, if anything like a 
 massacre were attempted. There being ships of war 
 at anchor here belonging to European nations, we feel 
 quite secure. The late Grand Vizier, Kiamil Pasha, is 
 the Governor-General, and as he is, unquestionably, 
 one of the most able, as he certainly is one of the 
 most enlightened of his class, no danger is anticipated. 
 The Ramazan begins in about three weeks. This 
 is likely to be a very trying time in outlying districts. 
 In most of the Turkish Islands, the Greek population 
 outnumbers the Turkish, so nothing will happen 
 there. It is more in Asia ]Minor proper where there 
 is cause for alarm. I cannot give a better description 
 of the stagnation in trade, which, in consequence of 
 this uneasy feeling, affects all classes, than by stating, 
 that of the Austrian Lloyd steamers which I saw 
 trading to Constantinople, not one of them carried the 
 full cargo allowed them as mail steamers ; while on 
 board the one which Herbert joined to take him 
 from Gallipoli to Constantinople, he was absolutely 
 
44 
 
 the only ist class passenger on board. She ought to 
 have carried 60, at least. 
 
 January 1 9th. Still blowing hard. It being Sun- 
 day, the crews of the foreign men-of-war have leave 
 on shore, and the amount of drunken men, and rows 
 in the streets, could not have been surpassed by 
 Portsmouth itself in the good old days, when it 
 seemed to be Jack's first duty to let the inhabitants 
 realize that he was on shore. 
 
 January 20th. Coaled and watered. There is no 
 place that I have yet visited where coaling and 
 watering requires more attention. The prices must 
 be fixed beforehand, of course. Then, if after all you 
 get your full weight of coal or full quantity of water, 
 you will be lucky. The Consul-General can give 
 some good advice about this. The one thing to 
 avoid, is to enter into an arrangement with any of 
 the rascals who come on board to tout for custom 
 here. The washing you send ashore, if through a 
 broker, is 3,9. 6d. a dozen ; if sent to a man whose 
 name I have left at the Consul General's office, it is 
 2s. 6d. a dozen. The same man undertakes the 
 washing in both cases. 
 
 Thursday, 21st, I called on His Highness Kiamil 
 Pasher (late Grand Vizier). He is a very interesting 
 man. He was most kind and communicative, and 
 speaks the most fluent English. On January 22nd, 
 the next day, he returned the call at the Consul 
 General's house. His view of the Armenian difficulty 
 I am not at liberty to publish, but I may say that it 
 differs toto coilo from that which is commonly held by 
 the majority of Europeans. Circumstances which have 
 
45 
 
 since transpired have convinced me that His Highness 
 was not far wrong. As Grand Vizier at the time of 
 the Egyptian Convention negotiated b}^ Sir Drum- 
 mond Wolff on the part of England, he had, of 
 course, a very leading part to play. When accurately 
 informed, and he is very well infoniied, I could 
 imagine, were he given full powers, that he would 
 act in a manner which few statesmen could find 
 much fault with; but accurate information is very 
 difficult to obtain, — it is almost impossible. Poor 
 Turkey ! poor Turkey ! when will your day of 
 enlightenment arrive ? 
 
 ^^"■^^^■^^^~?^;vs/:;\w^?^'i?cy'"^^'^ 
 
Chapter XL 
 
 ANUARY 23rd, we sailed for our old and 
 favourite anchorage of Foujes before 
 described, and, having passed a quiet 
 night there, left next morning, January 
 24th, for Sigajik Harbour, a very snug and comfort- 
 able anchorage. Yachtsmen, if you are cruising in 
 this part of the world, and if you want a perfect 
 anchorage and a quiet night, do no forget this port ; 
 good milk and fresh eggs await you in the morning. 
 This harbour is difficult to find by day, but it is 
 worth hunting for ; I should say at night it is out of 
 the question, there being no lights to guide you. 
 Next day, January 25th, to Scala Nova, 6 miles 
 from Ephesus. Of the temple of Diana there 
 remains hardly a ruin, but the port from which most 
 of her devotees disembarked to do her honour 
 remains still in a flourishing condition. Mr. W. (a 
 gentleman owning a mine in the district) joined us 
 here, and we take him for a shooting expedition. 
 The anchorage is exposed from West to North, so 
 we quit the interesting scene for a more sheltered 
 harbour. This we found in the evening at Tieani, a 
 port on the East of Samos Island. There is 4 
 fathoms inside the breakwater, and from 6 to 8 
 
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47 
 
 fathoms outside. We anchored in 7 fathoms and in 
 perfect shelter from the North wind which was then 
 blowing. 
 
 January 26th, we left our anchorage in a gale, but 
 it kept on moderating all day, and when we entered 
 the snug little harbour of Chelukoi in Mundayah Bay 
 we found a calm. I took a walk on shore to the 
 top of the hill, to inspect our shooting ground for the 
 morrow. What a view opened out. Some thousands 
 of wild duck and geese were to be seen swimming 
 about in the streams, which intersected a marsh 5 
 miles across and 8 miles long. This marsh has been 
 celebrated for its wild boar and s^ame for many a 
 long year. To-morrow we are to go and prove its 
 worth. 
 
 To-moiTow comes, and the beaters are not ready ; 
 it takes a long time to get beaters ready in the 
 East. We go the next day, however, and get 
 really fine sport, 9 wild boar killed and 3 wounded. 
 The last named will all be gathered, as the vultures 
 will show where they can be found. We stay on for 
 a few days after this enjoying the wild fowl shooting, 
 and, on February ist, bid adieu to our friends and 
 sail for Patmos. I must not omit to state that our 
 host, on whose estate we were shooting, was 
 Mehmet Bey, a real Turk, and a real sportsman, to 
 my mind, quite a remarkable combination. We 
 suffered, here, from too much attention through- 
 out our visit, as the Governor of the place insisted 
 on an escort of 3 foot soldiers and 2 mounted guards. 
 Rather in the way, all of them. Mr. W., who was 
 most kind, translated for us. He is the Manager of 
 
48 
 
 an English Company, who are engaged in exploring 
 for mines in Asia Minor, and forming Companies to 
 work them. The work is arduous, and he and his 
 friends will certainly deserve any profits which may 
 be derived from their labours. I am glad to say 
 they have begun well, but the security which good 
 government gives to trade and security of tenure are 
 not certainties here. The Company has, however, in 
 spite of all drawbacks, managed to open out a not 
 inconsiderable trade, and the authorities seem fairly 
 sanguine as to the future. Capitalists, both at 
 Smyrna and elsewhere, have much money invested 
 here, and, if things settle down, they ought to reap 
 a good harvest. They certainly well deserve it. 
 Persons interested in mining might do worse than 
 make enquiries in this direction. 
 
 Port Stavros, in the Island of Patmos, was reached 
 at 3 in the afternoon, and I landed to converse with 
 any natives I came across. An old Greek priest and 
 his female cousin welcomed my pilot (who was 
 translating for me) and myself. They treated us 
 most kindly, offering every hospitality. Our host 
 was one of 50 priests who either live in the large 
 monastery on the hill top, or are quartered in little 
 cottages near the small chapels which are dotted 
 about the island. He told me that their tradition 
 was that St. John the Evangelist wrote the gospel 
 that goes by his name, and the Apocalypse, in a 
 small cottage where the monaster}'- now stands, and 
 that the vision vouchsafed to him was deli\'ered 
 while he was laying with his head on a stone (which 
 is shown), half way down the hill on the Eastern 
 
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49 
 
 side of the island. A small but very picturesque 
 little church is built over this stone. I was much 
 astonished at finding a peasant on the island (a 
 magnificent looking man) who had never even heard 
 of St. John; he informed me that if I wanted 
 information about the Apostle, as he was a saint, 
 doubtless one of the priests could inform me, as it 
 was their business. Port Stavros is not an advisable 
 harbour, nor one I could recommend, except to 
 spend a few hours at, and then only in fine weather. 
 Port Scala, on the Eastern side, is much better in 
 every way. I only anchored at the former port 
 because it was handy to leave from in the early 
 morning, as I wanted, if possible, to reach Syra 
 harbour (80 miles off) next day. It may interest 
 my reader to hear, that before bidding my final adieu 
 to the friendly priest who welcomed me, he showed 
 me his gun, and asked if I could possibly spare 
 him some gunpowder, as there many woodcock on the 
 island, and he was fond of shooting. A priest's life 
 here seems not altogether an unpleasant one. He 
 offered me the best coffee I have yet tasted, and a 
 capital cigarette to smoke, while from an ample flask 
 he produced some wine which he had made himself, 
 and he was very proud of. A very choice grape is 
 grown on the Southern slopes of the island. 
 
 The Archimandrite lives in the monastery. He 
 speaks a little English, having been at the head of the 
 Greek Community in New York a few years back. 
 I can imagine no greater contrast than life in Patmos 
 and in New York. There is a library attached to 
 the monastery, containing many interesting works. 
 
 E 
 
=;o 
 
 The Greek Archbishop at Athens can supply infor- 
 mation of what it contains, should any visitors to 
 the Piraeus feel interested. I tried to leave Patmos 
 two days after my arrival, but had to put back, a 
 strong North East gale, which I could not run before, 
 was blowing, and a very heavy sea was running. 
 
 6^^^ 7^^!^^^^""^^ 
 
Chapter XII. 
 
 OT till February 4th did I venture out, and 
 then had first to keep under shelter of 
 Nikaria Island, and then run before a 
 whole gale to our old anchorage at Delos. 
 There was a terrific sea running, and I was very 
 grateful when we arrived, and could let go both 
 anchors under the shelter of old Lazaretto point. 
 The wind was still blowing a gale. Does it ever 
 leave off in these parts ? Some Greek sailors, be- 
 longing to a small schooner we found at anchor here, 
 told us they had been wind-bound for a month, and a 
 gale had been blowing all the time. I quite believed 
 them, for we had hardly experienced one fine day 
 during our visit to Asia Minor, or, indeed, for a very 
 long time. 
 
 Next day, February 5th, we sailed for Syra, a 
 charming harbour, clean town, good coal (cheap) 
 igs. a ton, best Cardiff coal too, good spring water 
 also, 36\ a ton. Civility is the order of the day, and 
 yachtsmen must be hard, indeed, to please if they are 
 not satisfied here. There is an Itahan Opera House, 
 and, during the season, a good company is generally 
 engaged in producing the most popular operas of the 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 day, and in very creditable style. We came in for 
 the Prima Donna's benefit, and were pleased with all 
 we saw and heard. The Mayor of the town had 
 most kindly placed his box at our disposal. At 
 almost all the ports at which we have called, and 
 above all at Syra, I have been very painfully op- 
 pressed by the thought of how impossible it was to 
 return, in any way, the many little acts of kindness 
 and civility, which have been so liberally showered 
 upon us. 
 
 February 7th, we sailed for the Piraeus, and arrived 
 on the 8th, having spent the night at the St. Nikolo 
 anchorage, in the Island of the Zea. Oddly enough, 
 fine weather the whole way. Before quitting this 
 interesting locality, an account of the Maid of 
 Athens and her family, from the travels of the late 
 artist, Mr. H. Wilhams, who lodged, as Lord Byron 
 did, in the house of Theodore Maori, may interest : — 
 
 " Our servant, who had gone before to procure ac- 
 commodation, met us at the gate, and conducted us to 
 Theodore Macri, the Consulina's, where we at present 
 live. This lady is the widow of the Consul, and has 
 three lovely daughters ; the eldest celebrated for her 
 beauty, and said to be the 'Maid of Athens' of Lord 
 Byron. Their apartment is immediately opposite to 
 ours, and if you could see them as we do now, through 
 the gently waving aromatic plants before our window, 
 you would leave your heart in Athens. Theresa (the 
 'Maid of Athens'), Catinca, and Mariana are of middle 
 stature. On the crown of the head of each is a red 
 Albanian skull-cap, with a blue tassel spread out and 
 fastened down like a star. Near the edge or bottom of 
 the skull-cap, is a handkerchief of various colours bound 
 
< 
 w 
 
 N 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 < 
 
 CO 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 
 W 
 
 D 
 O 
 
 K 
 H 
 K 
 O 
 
53 
 
 round their temples. The youngest wears her hair loose, 
 falling on her shoulders, the hair behind descending 
 down the back nearly to the waist, and, as usual, tied 
 with silk. The two eldest generally have their hair 
 bound, and fastened under the handkerchief. Their 
 upper robe is a pelisse edged with fur, hanging loose 
 down to the ankles ; below is a handkerchief of musHn 
 covering the bosom, and terminating at the waist, which 
 is short ; under that a gown of striped silk or muslin, 
 with a gore round the swell of the loins, falling in front 
 in graceful negligence ; white stockings and yellow 
 slippers complete their attire. The two eldest have 
 black, or dark hair and eyes ; their visage oval, and 
 complexion somewhat pale, with teeth of dazzling 
 whiteness. Their cheeks are rounded, and noses 
 straight, rather inclined to aquiline. The youngest, 
 Mariana, is very fair, her face not so finely rounded, but 
 has a gayer expression than her sisters, whose counten- 
 ances, except when the conversation has something of 
 mirth in it, may be said to be rather pensive. Their 
 persons are elegant, and their manners pleasing and 
 ladylike, such as would be fascinating in any country. 
 They possess very considerable powers of conversation, 
 and their minds seems to be more instructed than those 
 of the Greek women in general. With such attractions, 
 it would indeed be remarkable if they did not meet with 
 great attentions from the travellers who occasionally are 
 resident in Athens. They sit in the Eastern style, a 
 little reclined, with their limbs gathered under them on 
 the divan, and without shoes. Their employments are 
 the needle, tambouring, and reading.'' 
 
 But the beauty of the inhabitants, v^diich has 
 changed little since Mr. Williams' day, must not 
 detain us, so I will only add that we have run 
 
54 
 
 into capital weather, both for photographing and 
 enjoyment, so critics, I hope, will not complain of 
 any want of pictures round about the Piraeus, taken 
 in this cruise, which I have added to some given in 
 my last work.* 
 
 On February loth, we sailed for the entrance of 
 the Gulf of Corinth, and spent the night in the bay 
 anchorage just outside of its Eastern entrance, and, 
 of course, also of the canal. Some repairs to our 
 machinery were done during the night, at the work- 
 shop the Company have built here ; they also supplied 
 us with water, both very cheap and good. On the 
 nth, we passed the canal, and anchored in the Gulf 
 of Vostitza. A lovely night followed, quite worth 
 recording, so calm and still. Bread, meat, and milk 
 can be got here, and the best water in Greece. 
 Yachtsmen please note this, it may be of use to you. 
 Anchor off the inner hghthouse, please, in 9 fathoms, 
 or even in 8, and you will be within 200 yards of 
 the water I speak of. In the morning lovely weather 
 again, and we are off to Ithaca. The morning after 
 that, to Corfu, and, after two days, across to Gallipoli 
 in Italy. I do not say anything about Ithaca where, 
 of course, we called, but Corfu is such a centre for 
 all yachtsmen that I cannot help quoting Mun*ay in 
 extenso, not only because I know of no better or 
 shorter historical sketch of the Island, up to the date 
 when the English turned the Ionian Islands over 
 to Greece ; but I venture to hope that when the 
 traveller or yachtsman has seen my photos and read 
 this extract, as well as my own remarks in both my 
 
 *" With the Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediterranean." 
 
55 
 
 books, he will have in his mind as clear an idea of 
 the Island as he can hope for: — 
 
 "INNS AND ACCOMMODATION FOR 
 TRAVELLERS, &c. 
 
 The best hotels at Corfu are The Hotel de St. George, 
 The Club Hotel, The Hotel d'Europe, The Hotel 
 d'Orient, and La Bella Venezia. Here, as in the South 
 of Europe generally, a bargain should be made for meals 
 and accommodation. Saddle horses may be hired at 
 Corfu for about a dollar a day ; if taken for a week or a 
 month, the charge diminishes in proportion. Carriages 
 may likewise be engaged in the same manner. 
 
 There is a small inn at Argostoli, the chief town of 
 Cephalonia ; and another in Zante, the accommodation 
 in which is very bad. There are no inns in the smaller 
 islands, though lodgings may be procured in all of them. 
 
 There are Theatres at Corfu and Cephalonia, where 
 Italian Operas are given during the winter, and plays 
 and amateur representations at other seasons. 
 
 British subjects will have no trouble about their 
 luggage or passport landing in the Ionian Islands.* 
 
 I. Corfu. 
 
 It may safely be asserted, without prejudice to the 
 poetical fame of Ithaca, that of all the Ionian Islands, 
 Corfu is the one in which, in all ages, the most important 
 part on the stage of history has been played. From the 
 peculiar character of its beautiful scenery and delightful 
 climate, it forms a connecting link between the East and 
 the West, like Madeira between the old world and the 
 new. Its geographical position on the high road of 
 
 * The}' have very little now. C. 
 
56 
 
 navigation between Greece and Italy, has made Corfu 
 a possession of great importance both in ancient and in 
 modern times. 'Here (Thu-cydides, vi. 42) was passed in 
 review that splendid armament which was destined to 
 perish at Syracuse, the Moscow of Athenian ambition. 
 Here, 400 years later, the waters of Actium saw a world 
 lost and won. Here again, after the lapse of sixteen 
 centuries, met together those Christian powers which, 
 off Lepanto, dealt to the Turkish fleet, so long the 
 scourge and terror of Europe, a blow from which it has 
 never recovered.' But our space will allow us to draw 
 only an outline of the glories of Corfu, the seat of 
 government in these regions under both the Venetians 
 and the English, and for so many ages the key of the 
 Adriatic, and one of the main outposts of Christendom. 
 
 The ancients universally regarded Corcyra as identical 
 with the Homeric Scheria (derived, perhaps, from the 
 Phoenician Schara commerce) where the enterprising 
 and sea-loving Phseacians dwelt, governed by their King 
 Alcinous. The island is said also to have been called 
 from its shape, Drepane, or the Sickle ; it describes 
 a curve, the convexit}^ of which is towards the W. ; 
 its length from N.W. to S.E. is about 40 miles ; 
 the breadth is greatest in the N., where it is nearty 20 
 miles, but it gradually tapers towards its S. extremity. 
 The historical name of Corcyra appears first in 
 'Herodotus.' About B.C. 734, a colony was planted 
 here by the Corinthians ; and that maritime activity, for 
 which the Corcyrseans were afterwards celebrated, may 
 have partly arisen from the fusion of the Dorians 
 with the original inhabitants. Homer states that the 
 Phieacians had come from Sicily ; but it seems probable 
 that they were a branch of the Liburnians, that enter- 
 prising and seafaring people, who long continued to 
 
57 
 
 occupy the more Northernly islands in the xYdriatic 
 along the Dalmatian and Illyrian shores. Corcyra soon 
 became rich and powerful by its extensive commerce, 
 and founded many colonies on the neighbouring main- 
 land, such as Epidamnus, ApoUonia, Leucas, and 
 Anactorium. So rapid was their prosperity, that the 
 colonists soon became formidable rivals of their mother 
 country, and, about B.C. 665, a battle was fought between 
 their fleets, which is memorable as the most ancient 
 seafight on record. Corcyra appears to have been 
 subjugated by Periander (Herod iii., 49, seq.) but to 
 have recovered its independence. During the Persian 
 war the Corcyraeans are stated by Herodotus (vii., 168) 
 to have played false to the national cause, and their 
 names did not appear on the muster-roll of Salamis. 
 At a later period, Corcyra, by invoking the aid of 
 Athens against the Corinthians, became one of the 
 proximate causes of the Peloponesian war. During the 
 progress of that contest, her political power and im- 
 portance were irretrievably ruined, in consequence of 
 the fierce factions and civil dissensions' which agitated 
 the island, and in which both the aristocratical and 
 popular parties were guilty of the most horrible 
 atrocities. It has been truly observed, that ' it was the 
 state of parties and of politics at Corcyra, that the 
 greatest of ancient historians made the subject of a 
 solemn disquisition, considering that they were a type 
 of the general condition of Greece at the period of the 
 Peloponesian war, and that the picture which he then 
 drew of his countrymen belongs, in its main outlines, to 
 all ages and nations. He who would discuss that most 
 interesting problem, the state and prospects of the 
 Modern Greeks, can hardly do wrong in adopting for his 
 observations the same basis as Thucydides.' 
 
58 
 
 For some generations after the Peloponesian war, the 
 fortunes of Corcyra were various. Though it appears 
 never to have recovered its former political consequence, 
 a gorgeous picture of the fertility and opulence of the 
 island, in B.C. 373, has been drawn by Xenophon (Hellen, 
 vi. 2). When it was invaded in that year by the 
 Spartans, under Mnasippus, it is represented as being in 
 the highest state of cultivation and full of the richest 
 produce ; with fields admirably tilled, and vineyards in 
 surpassing condition ; with splendid farm-buildings, well 
 appointed wine-cellars, and abundance of cattle. The 
 hostile soldiers, we are told, while enriching themselves 
 by their depredations, became so pampered by the plenty 
 around them, that they refused to drink any wine 
 that was not of the first quality. At a later period, 
 the island was alternately seized by the Spartans, the 
 Athenians, and the Macedonians. King Pyrrhus, of 
 Epirus, occupied it during his Italian wars ; and it finally 
 fell under the Roman dominion B.C. 229. From its 
 situation near Brundisium and Dyrrachium, the Dover 
 and Calais of the ancients, Corcyra was frequently 
 visited by illustrious Romans. Here Augustus assembled 
 his fleet before the battle of Actium, and we have 
 notices of the presence of Tibullus, Cato, and of Cicero, 
 whose friend, Atticus, possessed large estates on the 
 opposite coast of Epirus, probably in the plain of Butrinto, 
 now so much resorted to by English shooting parties. 
 The last mention of Corcyra in the ancient authors 
 seems to have been that by Suetonius, who relates that 
 the Emperor Nero, on his way to Greece, sang and 
 danced before the altar of Jupiter at Cassiope. 
 
 Henceforward, there is little notice of Corfu until the 
 times of the Crusades, when its geographical position 
 caused it to be greatly frequented. Robert Guiscard 
 
59 
 
 seized the island in A.D. 1081, during his wars with the 
 Eastern Empire ; and another great Norman chief, 
 Richard I., of England, landed here on his return from 
 the Holy Land in A.D. 11 93. After remainmg in the 
 island for some time, he continued his voyage to Ragusa, 
 whence, proceeding by land towards his dominions, he 
 was made captive by the Duke of Austria. 
 
 During the decline of the Empire, Corfu underwent 
 many changes of fortune, being sometimes in the hands 
 of the Greek Emperors, sometimes in those of various 
 Latin princes, particularly of the House of Anjou, then 
 governing Naples, and always exposed to the incursions 
 of freebooters and pirates. At length, A.D. 1389, the 
 inhabitants sent a deputation to Venice, to implore the 
 protection of that Republic, under whose sovereignty 
 they remained until its downfall in A.D. 1797. We 
 have already drawn an outline of the political condition 
 of the lonians under Venetian rule, and of their sub- 
 sequent fortunes until united to the kingdom of Greece. 
 Venice made Corfu her principal arsenal and point 
 d'appiii in Greece, and surrounded the town with 
 extensive and massive fortifications, which set at defiance 
 the whole power of the Ottomans, in the assaults of 
 1537 and 1570, and, above all, in the celebrated siege 
 of 1 716, remarkable as the last great attempt of the 
 Turks to extend their conquests in Christendom. On 
 this occasion, the Republic was fortunate in its selection 
 as Commandment at Corfu of Marshal Schulemberg, a 
 brave and skilful German soldier of fortune, who had 
 served under Prince Eugene, and the King of Saxony. 
 While directing the retreat of a division of the Saxon 
 army before the Swedes, he had formerly extricated 
 himself, when apparently lost, by throwing his forces 
 over the river Oder, a manoeuvre which drew from 
 
6o 
 
 Charles XII. himself the exclamation, ' Schulemberg 
 has conquered us to-day! ' A statue of the Marshal, 
 erected by the Senate of Venice, stands on the esplanade 
 at Corfu, in front of the gate of the citadel.* 
 
 The Turkish fleet of 60 ships of war, and a number 
 of smaller vessels, appeared before the place on July 5th, 
 1 716; they were commanded by the Capitan-Pasha or 
 Lord High Admiral of the Empire in person ; while the 
 Seraskier or General-in-Chief led the army of 30,000 
 picked troops, which was ferried across by the boats of 
 the fleet from Butrinto to Govino. On July 8th, the 
 Venetian fleet entered the northern channel, and, by 
 saluting the Virgin of Cassopo, gave notice of their 
 approach to the Turks, who might otherwise have been 
 taken at a disadvantage. During the subsequent siege, 
 neither party felt sufficiently strong to force on a sea- 
 fight, but stood, as it were, at bay, the Ottoman vessels 
 stretching across from Butrinto to Govino, and the 
 Venetians from Vido to Sayada. 
 
 On July 1 6th, the Seraskier established his head- 
 quarters at Potamo, and laid waste the country far and 
 wide, the peasantry having mostly taken refuge within 
 the walls of the town. The garrison amounted to 5,000 
 men, chiefly Germans, Slavonians, and Italians. The 
 Turks erected batteries on Mount Olivetto, above the 
 suburb of Manduchio, on August ist, and, after several 
 failures, carried Mount Abraham by assault, on August 
 3rd. Their advanced works were then abandoned by 
 the besieged, when the Turks pushed their approaches 
 through the suburb of Castrades, and closely invested 
 the town. For several days, there were frequent assaults 
 by the Infidels and sorties of the Christians, with heavy 
 
 * A sister of Schulembery was one of the two mistresses of George I. of Great 
 Britain, and was by him created Duchess of Kendal. 
 
•^ r .• _ • * 
 
 O 
 
 z 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
6i 
 
 losses on both sides, the inhabitants, including, it is said, 
 even the priests and the women, fighting along with the 
 soldiers on the ramparts and in the trenches. An hour 
 before daybreak, on August 19th, the Turks made their 
 grand assault, and effected a lodgment in Scarponi, an 
 outwork of Port Neuf. Schulemberg then headed a 
 sally in person, and, after a desparate contest, drove them 
 from this vantage-ground with immense loss. In the 
 night of the 22nd, they retreated to Govino, re-embarked, 
 and sailed away to Constantinople, where both the 
 Admiral and General paid with their lives the penalty 
 of their failure. The Turks abandoned in their trenches 
 all their ammunition and stores, including 78 pieces of 
 artillery ; and they are stated to have lost, during the 
 siege of five weeks, full half their army in action and by 
 disease, for it was the most deadly period of a very 
 unhealthy season. The Venetians lost 2,000 out of 
 their garrison of 5,000 men.* 
 
 The first approach to Corfu, whether from the North 
 or the South, is extremely striking. The South Channel 
 will be described hereafter (section ii., Rte. i). Coming 
 from the North, the traveller sails close under those 
 
 'Thunder cliffs of fear, 
 The x\croceraunian mountains of old fame.' 
 
 An uninterrupted lofty chain, rising abruptly from the 
 
 * An excellent account of the seige of Corfu in 1716, will be found in the 'Corps 
 Papers of the Royal Engineers,' Vol. i. pp. 262—272. 
 
 The best special authorities on the antiquities and history of the island, are: — 
 
 ' Historia di Corfu,' da Andrea Marmora, Venice, 1672 ; which contains much curious 
 information, and several prints of the town and fortresses in their mediaeval aspect. 
 
 'Primordia Corcyra.' cura A. M. Quirini, 1725 ; a treatise in Latin on the antiquities 
 of Corfu, by a Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Island. 
 
 'Illustrazioni Corciresi,' da Andrea Mustoxidi, Milano, 181 1 ; comments on the his- 
 tory of his native island by a Corfoit noble of literary distinction. 
 
 'Le tre Constituzioni delle Isole,' Corfu, 1850; a valuable collection of official 
 documents, &c., throwing light on the more recent history of the Ionian Islands. 
 
62 
 
 very brink of the sea in precipitous cliffs or rugged 
 declivities, and terminating in craggy peaks, capped with 
 snow during nine months of the year. Here and there 
 an Albanian hamlet hangs like a snow wreath on the 
 mountain-side. Wherever there is a break in the heavy 
 masses of cloud, which robe so often the further summits 
 of the Pindus range, and the sun of Greece tints them 
 at mid-day with golden, at even with rosy radiance, the 
 mind delights to figure to itself, far away amid those dim 
 mysterious crags, the region of the 'wintry Dodona,' 
 now shorn indeed of its ancient sanctity and honour, 
 but still tenanted, as in Homer's time, by a race 'with 
 unwashed feet and sleeping on the ground.' (II. xvi., 235). 
 As we advance, the coast of Corfu rises to the South- 
 ward, presenting a long swelling mountain ridge, 
 
 'Spread like a shield upon the dark blue sea.' — Od. v., 281. 
 
 The outlines of the harbour are very graceful ; and its 
 surface is a dark mass of luxuriant groves of olives, 
 cypress, and ilex. The Eastern extremity of the moun- 
 tain ridge of San Salvador (the Istone of the ancients) 
 projects within 2 miles of the mainland. On the right, 
 the vessel passes the ruined walls of the mediaeval 
 fortress of Cassopo, erected on the site of the Hellenic 
 city of Cassiope ; on the left opens the plains or valley 
 of Butrinto, the ancient Buthrontum, where .^^neas was 
 entertained by his kinsman Helenus. On clearing this 
 strait, the sea again expands into an open gulf between 
 the two coasts, and the citadel and town of Corfu appear 
 in sight, forming the centre of an amphitheatre of rich 
 and varied scenery. In front, the green slopes of the 
 islet of Vido form a breakwater for the harbour. The 
 promontory on which the town is built terminates to 
 the Eastward in the citadel, built on a huge isolated 
 
63 
 
 rock, with its summit split into two lofty peaks, the 
 'aerise Phseacum arces' of Virgil (^n. iii., 2qi), from 
 which the modern name of the island is derived. The 
 hoary cliff is bound round with forts and batteries, while 
 its base is strewn with white houses and barracks, 
 perched like sea-fowl, wherever they can find a resting 
 place. The ramparts and bastions mingle with Nature's 
 own craggy fortifications, mantled by a profusion of 
 cactuses, evergreens, and wild flowers. 
 
 Across the bay, the Albanian coast presents now a less 
 rugged aspect. The ridges of snowy mountains retire 
 further into the distance, while the hills in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of the sea offer, by their bleak but 
 varied landscape, a fine contrast to the richly wooded 
 and cultivated shores of the island. In the general view 
 of the town, the Palace, formerly of the Lord High 
 Commissioner, and now of the King, stands out among 
 the other buildings as prominently as did that of King 
 Alcinous of old. (Od. vi., 300). 
 
 The channel, which separates Corfu from Albania, 
 varies in breadth from 2 to 12 miles, and appears one 
 noble lake from the harbour, whence its outlets are not 
 visible. It certainly affords one of the most beautiful 
 and stirring spectacles in the world. Its Northern ex- 
 tremity narrows until it is lost among lofty mountains, 
 swelling each over each like the waves of the ocean ; 
 while, gradually widening as it extends to the Southward, 
 it spreads round the indentations and promontories of 
 the fair and fertile island. But the whole forms a scene 
 which addresses itself to the eye and to the heart, rather 
 than to the ear. The memory of those who have once 
 beheld it will long carry a vivid impression, which they 
 will find hard to describe in adequate language. 
 
 The ordinary landing-place is at the Health Oflfiice 
 
64 
 
 mole, but there is another for men-of-war and yacht 
 boats in the ditch of the citadel, whence a flight of steps 
 lead immediately to the esplanade. 
 
 The esplanade occupies the space between the town 
 and the citadel, and is laid out with walks and avenues 
 of trees. On its Northern verge stands the Palace of 
 white Maltese stone, ornamented with a colonnade in 
 front, and flanked by the two gates of St. Michael and 
 St. George, each of which frames a lovely picture of the 
 sea and mountains. The Palace was erected under the 
 administration of Sir Thomas Maitland, and contains a 
 suite of excellent ball-rooms. The Casino, or villa of 
 the King, was built by Sir Frederick Adam in a beautiful 
 situation about a mile to the South of the town. At 
 the Southern extremity of the esplanade is a terrace 
 over-hanging the sea, a little circular temple erected 
 in memory of Sir Thomas Maitland, and an obelisk in 
 honour of Sir Howard Douglas. There is also a statue 
 of Sir Frederick Adam in front of the Palace, and one 
 of Marshal Schulemberg in front of the drawbridge 
 which leads into the citadel. To the West, the side of 
 the esplanade next the town is bounded by a loft}^ row 
 of private houses, with an arched walk beneath them. 
 
 The stranger in Corfu had better devote his first hour 
 of leisure to inspecting the splendid panoramic view of 
 the town and island, presented from the summit of the 
 citadel. The Greek garrison church is a large building 
 with a Doric portico, at the South side of the citadel. 
 The ramparts are of various ages ; some of them dating 
 as far back as A.D. 1550. At the opposite, or Western, 
 extremity of the town, rises another fortress, erected by 
 the Venetians at the end of the XVI. century, and still 
 generally known as Fort Neuf, or La Fortezza Nuova. 
 The hill on which it is built is less lofty and precipitous 
 
V3 
 
 Q 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 z 
 
 <; 
 
 I— ( 
 
 z 
 
65 
 
 than that of the citadel. The lire of these two fortresses 
 protects the harbour.* 
 
 The town, including its suburbs of Manduchio to the 
 West and Castrades to the South, contains 24,091 
 inhabitants. There are 4,000 Latins, with an archbishop 
 of their own, and 5,000 Jews, which latter live in a 
 separate quarter of the town ; the remainder of the 
 people belong to the Greek Church. 
 
 The Cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Cave, is 
 situated on the Line Wall, not far from Fort Neuf. The 
 oldest church in the island is in the suburb of Castrades, 
 near the Strada Marina. It is dedicated to St. Janson 
 and St. Sosipater, comrades of St. Paul, and who are 
 related by tradition to have been the first preachers of 
 Christianity in Corcyra. Though neglected, and re- 
 paired in bad taste, this church is a very graceful 
 specimen of Bj^zantine architecture, and seems to have 
 been finally erected out of the materials of heathen 
 temples. Several columns and other ancient fragments 
 are also built into the walls of the church at Paleopolis, 
 on the road to the One-gun Battery. There are a great 
 many other churches, the most remarkable being that of 
 St. Spiridion, the Patron Saint of Corfu, whose body is 
 preserved in a richly ornamented case. The annual 
 offerings at this shrine amount to a considerable sum, 
 and are the property of a noble Corfiot family, to whom 
 the church belongs. Three times a year the body of 
 the Saint is carried in solemn procession around the 
 esplanade, followed by the Greek clergy and all the 
 native authorities. The sick are sometimes brought out 
 and laid where the Saint may be carried over them. 
 St. Spiridion was bishop of a see in Cyprus, and w^as one 
 
 * Or rather did so until recently ; now, improved naval ordinance has rendered 
 doubtful the security of this position. — Editor. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 of the Fathers of the Council of Nice in A.D. 325. 
 After his death, his embalmed body was believed to 
 have wrought many miracles. Various and contradictory 
 accounts have been given of the cause and manner of 
 its conveyance to Corfu. 
 
 The town underwent great improvements during the 
 period of the British protectorate, but it is still cramped 
 and confined. The main streets have been widened, 
 sanitary regulations have been enforced, markets have 
 been built, an efficient police organized here (as through- 
 out the islands), new roads and approaches have been 
 constructed, especially the Strada Marina round the Bay 
 of Castrades, which now forms one of the most charming 
 public promenades in Europe. Above all, a copious 
 supply of water, of which the town was formerly 
 destitute, has been brought in pipes from a source above 
 Benizze, — a distance of 7 miles. The suburbs were 
 formerly richly planted with olive and mulberry trees, 
 but these were cut down by the French, in order to clear 
 a space before the fortifications, and their removal is 
 supposed to have contributed in some degree to the 
 improved salubrity ; fevers, however, are still prevalent 
 in autumn, though they are rarely of a malignant 
 character. 
 
 The late Bishop of Lincoln has remarked that Corfu is a 
 sort of geographical mosaic, to which many countries 
 of Europe have contributed colours. The streets are 
 Italian in their style and name ; the arcades, by which 
 some of them are flanked, might have come from Padua 
 or Bologna ; the winged Lion of St. Mark is seen 
 marching in stone along the old Venetian bastions : a 
 stranger will hear Italian from the native gentry, Greek 
 from the peasants, Arabic from the Maltese grooms and 
 gardeners, Albanian from the white-kilted mountaineers 
 
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■ 67 
 
 of the opposite coast. He may see Ionian venders 
 haggling for how much they are to receive for their 
 wares in Greek obols, bearing the Venetian hon on one 
 side and Britannia with her aegis on the other : no bad 
 epitome of the modern history of the island, and forming 
 a curious addition to the silver records which tell what 
 Corfu was in past ages. The prow of a ship, a Triton 
 striking with his trident, a galley in full sail, the gardens 
 of Alcinous, and a Bacchus crowned with ivy — these are 
 some of the monetary memorials of the ancient power, 
 commerce, and fertility of Corcyra. 
 
 We have the authority of Thucydides for the identity 
 of Corcyra with the Scheria or Phseacia of Homer ; but 
 it is impossible to draw a map of the Homeric island 
 which shall coincide with the existing localities. Ulysses 
 was brought to the island by a North wind, which would 
 seem to mark Fano as Calypso's isle. The only stream 
 of any consequence is that which empties itself into the 
 sea between Manduchio and Govino, while the tradition 
 of the peasantry points to the Fountain of Cressida, a 
 copious spring gushing out near the sea, 4 miles S.W. of 
 the modern town, as the spot where the nymph-like 
 Nausicae and her train of maidens received the suppliant 
 Ulysses. She is, perhaps, the most interesting character 
 in all ancient poetry ; and we gladly turn from the 
 savage feuds and massacres of the Peloponnesian war to 
 the contemplation of the fair daughter of Alcinous. 
 
 But, wherever may have been the Phaeacia of Homer, 
 there can be no doubt but that the Corcyra of Thucy- 
 dides occupied the peninsula between the channel and 
 the Lagoon, now called Lake Calichiopulo, after a noble 
 family of Corfu ; the shores of which were converted by 
 the English into a race-course. Excavations in this 
 direction everywhere produce sculptures, tombs (such as 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 that of Alenecrates, near the Strada Marina), and other 
 memorials of the past ; and on a diff overhanging the 
 sea, behind the Casino, are the remains of a small Doric 
 temple, with the mountain of Cardachio below it. The 
 view from this spot is particularly beautiful, and a visit 
 to it should by no means be omitted. It is about two 
 miles from the town. 
 
 It is obvious from Thucydides (iii., 72) that Lake 
 Calichiopulo is the Hyllaic harbour, and the port of 
 Castrades 'that opposite Epirus.' As Scylax (Per. 29) 
 mentions three ports at Corcyra, it may be presumed 
 that the present harbour was also used in ancient times. 
 Vido may have been the Pt3xhia of Thucydides, though 
 that islet is identified by some antiquaries with the rock 
 at the mouth of Lake Calichiopulo, and by others with 
 the vast insulated crag on which the citadel is now built, 
 and which was, probably, a stronghold in all ages. 
 
 Corfu is divided — for electoral purposes — into 14 dis- 
 tricts (Demos). Lefchimo, the Southern extremity of the 
 island, is so called from its white cliffs. All the prospects 
 in Corfu present a union of a sea-view with a rich land- 
 scape, for the water appears everywhere interlaced with 
 the land. The roads are excellent, and all the principal 
 villages can be reached in a carriage ; but the varied 
 beauties of the island cannot be thoroughly appreciated, 
 except by those who have traced out, on horseback, some 
 of the thousand-and-one bridle-paths which wind through 
 the olive-groves with the freedom of mountain streams. 
 The general absence of hedges, and of almost all show 
 of division of property, gives the landscape a unity 
 which is very pleasing to the eye. The olives of Corfu, 
 it must be remembered, are not the pruned and trained 
 fruit trees of France and Italy, but picturesque and 
 massive forest trees ; and their pale and quivering foliage 
 
69 
 
 is relieved by dark groups of tall and tufted cypresses, 
 appearing, at a little distance, like the minarets of the 
 East, or the spires of a Gothic cathedral. 
 
 The favourite and most frequented drive, ride, and 
 walk at Corfu, is to, what is called, the One-gun Battery 
 (from a cannon having formerly been placed there), 
 situated above the entrance to Lake Calichiopulo, 2^ 
 miles South of the town, and commanding a charming 
 prospect. In the centre of the strait below, and crowned 
 with a wall of Byzantine architecture, is one of the 
 islets (for there are two competitors) which claim to 
 be the Ship of Ulysses, in allusion to the galley of the 
 Phseanians, which, on her return from having conveyed 
 Ulysses to Ithaca, was overtaken by the vengeance of 
 Neptune, and changed into stone within sight of the 
 port. (Od. xiii., 161.) 
 
 ' Swift as the swallow sweeps the liquid way, 
 The winged pinnace shot along the sea ; 
 The god arrests her with a sudden stroke, 
 And roots her down an everlasting rock.' 
 
 The other competitor for this honour is an isolated rock 
 off the N.W. coast of Corfu, and which certainly, at a 
 distance, resembles much a petrified ship in full sail. It 
 is visible from the pass of San Pantaleone. 
 
 In the olive-groves near the Chapel of the Ascension, 
 on the summit of a hill, about half way between the 
 town and the One-gun Battery, is annually celebrated, 
 on Ascension Day, a most interesting Greek festa, which 
 the traveller should stay to see, even at the expense of 
 some inconvenience. It will afford him an excellent 
 opportunity of witnessing the performance of the 
 Romaika or Pyrrhic dance, and of becoming acquainted 
 with the picturesque costumes of the peasantry." 
 
70 
 
 My readers will, I hope, forgive this long extract, 
 but the description here given is so excellent that I 
 have felt quite unable to curtail it. 
 
 I must now say a word about our crossing ; never 
 have I had so bad a one. A cross sea and a hurricane 
 from the North (known here as the Bora) caught us 
 mid-way. My Italian crew behaved splendidly, and 
 I was more than grateful when, at 7 p.m., I could 
 bring them to an anchor off the South shore at 
 Gallipoh. Next morning, a change of wind made 
 our entrance into the harbour a necessity. Yachts- 
 men kindly remember, that when you enter, you 
 must come quite close round the lighthouse point 
 (about 50 yards off the rocks), as there is very little 
 water on the town side of the harbour. For choice, 
 lay 80 yards from the lighthouse, with four hawsers 
 fast to the mole 20 yards off, and one anchor ahead 
 with 30 fathoms of chain out, or, perhaps, a little 
 less, certainly not more, for you will have little room 
 to weigh again, if 3^ou have much chain out and there 
 is a strong Westerly wind. This shows how 
 small the harbour is, but still, when you do get 
 in, you may sleep in peace. If you command your 
 own yacht, you will know how much this means, 
 especially after a bad winter in Eastern waters. A 
 better anchorage still awaits you at Cotrone, 75 
 miles off on your homeward-bound passage. Only 
 last year, a magnificent breakwater was completed, 
 behind which there is shelter enough for 50 ships 
 and to spare. Here you can lay at single anchor in 
 5 or 6 fathoms of water, or haul the stern of the ship 
 in to the shore, as you like. Do not haul in closer 
 
71 
 
 than from 15 to 20 yards. The water is very clear, 
 and, if vou mean to moor stern to the breakwater in 
 this wa}^, go on shore first and pick a spot free from 
 all danger. In some places, you can haul in within 7 
 yards and have 3^ fathoms under you ; at 25 yards 
 distance you can be sure of from 4 to 5 fathoms. 
 There is lots of room to turn a 1,000 ton vessel, if 
 you enter round the new mole-head, having steered 
 S.W. for the entrance. Have nothing to do with the 
 old port or the old mole, which lays to the South- 
 ward of the new anchorage, but enter by the Xorth 
 passage. Look out for the green light, and you can 
 come in with anv weather and without fear. 
 
 Now, my reader, I have done my best for you, 
 and, if you will take a look at the photo I give of 
 the place, you should feel quite at home, even 
 before you enter. You are also within measurable 
 distance of a line of rail, and within 10 minutes of a 
 telegraph office. Capital are the fruit and vegetables, 
 while bread and meat are quite as good here as else- 
 where. If you are outward or homeward bound, to 
 or from Corfu, you will value the two ports I have 
 described, unless you are running all night for choice. 
 I like to see what there is to be seen of the coast 
 on mv vovao^es, so mv rule is to s^o to sea only bv 
 day, if by any means I can so arrange it. 
 
 February 24th, at 6.30, we sailed from Cotrone, 
 and arrived, at 11.30, at Reggio, in the Straits of 
 Messina. We were steaming with a broadside sea, 
 which knocked us about all day, and at sunset a gale 
 from the Southward sprang up. It would not 
 interest the reader to detail our sufferings, but this 
 
12 
 
 day will be remembered by all on board for a long 
 time to come. For myself, I can only say that it 
 was one of the worst passages I have ever made. 
 So dense was the fog all day, and so absolutely 
 necessary was it for me to make Cape Spartivento 
 light before entering the Straits, that my position 
 was not to be envied. When I did make the light, I 
 think I felt more relieved than I ever before re- 
 member. My Italian crew and English passengers 
 behaved heroically all day, and till we came to an 
 anchor. 
 
 Next da}^ we crossed to Messina. Several trans- 
 ports were in the harbour, shipping Italian soldiers 
 for the African war. It rained in torrents. The 
 sufferings of the crowds of troops in one steamer, 
 and the mules in another, can be guessed. The 
 Italian war correspondent, who reported the spirits 
 of the troops as ^^ excellent," must have been well 
 paid. The ''mule" steamer put back twice owing to 
 bad weather ; it was bad ! A lady, whose yacht was 
 moored near ours, was most anxious to get to sea, 
 and sought my advice. I ventured the opinion that 
 no course could be more dangerous. The grateful 
 look of her Captain quite repaid me for disregarding 
 the fair owner's suggestion. I was thanked by both the 
 next morning, as that night it blew really hard, and 
 there was, in addition, both rain and mist. One large 
 steamei; and a brig were lost off Cape Spartivento, in 
 the gale. Altogether, 20 lives were lost before sunrise 
 next morning. It moderated afterwards, and both 
 yachts went to sea. My fair neighbour went South, 
 we went North. At night we anchored at Palinuro. 
 
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 An eclipse of the moon, coming on just at the time 
 when I most wanted hght, made an inshore anchorage 
 difficult. In '^rounding to "to anchor, a curious acci- 
 dent happened. The leadsman was in the starboard 
 channels, and I gave the order "hard to starboard," 
 just when he happened to have his lead line out. It 
 fouled the screw, I never remember a similar case. 
 We cleared it at 3 a.m., by moonlight in a calm. I 
 happened to wake at that hour, and quietly calling up 
 the mate and one seaman (a very clever Italian), we 
 lowered the dinghey and did the work. The crew 
 were much surprised and delighted in the morning 
 when we weighed, to find ever^^thing clear. A pleasant 
 sail brought us to Naples next day. After many 
 tossings, and rough ones too, can anything be more 
 restful than a peaceful sail over quiet water into 
 Naples harbour ? 
 
Chapter XIII. 
 
 HERE is a feeling of coming home, with 
 most lovely scenery all round you, as 
 3^ou enter the bright bay, which is 
 quite indescribably delightful. How 
 Naples has improved since I saw^ it first thirt}^- 
 three years ago ! Some trying smells remain, 
 no doubt, but they are reduced at least two-thirds in 
 number and one-half in intensity. The King of Italy 
 was moving about the harbour when we arrived, 
 seeing the troops off to Africa ; over 3,000 embarked 
 that day. The King is popular, — the Prime Minister 
 is not (he was). The war is hated.* Have I not 
 heard the frantic cheers of the crowd, and the 
 applause of the press, given in England to my late 
 distinguished leader ? Then all changed, a few 
 only remaining attached to his party, his policy, 
 and his person ; then, again, a re-action setting 
 in favourable to himself and his young but brilHant 
 successor. Such is fame in England, and, I may add, 
 elsewhere. Poor Italv ! after our own countrv, there 
 is no country I love so dearly. If my reader is a 
 yachtsman, he is probably at one with me. But to 
 
 * The reader is aware of what has happened since this was penned. 
 The Ministry resigned after the news of the African defeat at Adowa 
 and the Marquis of Rudini came in. 
 
/D 
 
 return. I have an English artillery officer as my 
 guest. Of course he is off at once to hear and see 
 how Italian troops, horses, guns, and ammunition are 
 transported, and comes on board at night with 
 notes enough to interest him and his for many a 
 day. English yachts are here in abundance ; I think 
 six or eight. 
 
 I go to visit my friends, Mr. and ]\Irs. Rendel, in 
 their new villa. How lovely is that villa, that garden, 
 and the private harbour with his boats anchored 
 therein. No wonder it is the favourite resort of an 
 Empress : it might be the home of a goddess. Venus, 
 had she seen it, would certainly have arranged for 
 Paris to bring Helen there. I have seen Troy, — or, 
 rather, I have stood where Troy was, — and there is 
 no view from that ancient city comparable to this in 
 any way. Perhaps a fine view was not all the god- 
 dess had in her mind. My only object in writing 
 thus in its praise is to induce ni)^ reader, when at 
 Naples, to hire a boat, and, from off the entrance of 
 the private harbour, to feast his eyes on the lovely 
 grounds (seen best from the sea) and the perfect villa. 
 This, naturally, requires no permit, and will repay the 
 time spent. 
 
 On a previous voyage, we made use of Ponza 
 Harbour as a night anchorage, when en route to 
 Civita Vecchia, so we try it again ; not so successful 
 this time. I weighed at 4 a.m., thinking I would not 
 lose the fair wind then blowing, but before 6 a.m. 
 the wind had drawn ahead, and a very heavy sea 
 was getting up, so I '^ up helm " and ran for Gaeta. 
 There is certainly lots of anchorage room in Gaeta, 
 
76 
 
 and capital shelter from almost every quarter, so, 
 with the lead, you can go on boldly to the head of the 
 bay, and anchor in whatever depth you prefer. 
 Drawing 13 feet, I anchored in 3^ fathoms. Capital 
 holding ground, and lots of room to turn round 
 there. A little far from the town no doubt, but 
 there is not much to attract, so we do not feel the 
 inconvenience. 
 
 Not for two days could we get away ; at last we 
 did succeed, and arrived at 1 1 p.m. in Civita Vecchia. 
 If my reader should navigate his own vessel, and she 
 is a handy one and his nerves are in good order, then 
 try the South entrance by night,* and if you can find 
 an anchorage anyhow inside till daylight, then please 
 accept my congratulations. It is not a very simple 
 task. We were lucky, but when, in the course of the 
 next day, I walked on the breakwater, I hope I was 
 duly thankful to the kind Providence that looked 
 after us, the good helmsman at the wheel, and the 
 very smart engineer who carried out my instructions. 
 I remember looking over the entrance last year, and 
 mentally resolving I never would try this port at 
 night, but circumstances compelled me to. Next 
 day we went to Rome, spending 24 hours there, and 
 a very interesting day and night it was. 
 
 The Italians had then just realized the extent of 
 their African defeat. The troops were out, and the 
 King's Palace was guarded by the military. We 
 walked amongst the crowds, in those parts where 
 revolutionary tendencies were supposed to be most 
 
 * I would not try the North entrance by day or night. Of course, I 
 presume that you cannot reach your harbour by day. 
 
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 strongly represented. In favour of a Papa Re I 
 heard not one cry raised. One very feeble cry for 
 a Republic fell absolutely flat. Some Socialists were 
 present, but they were neither strong in numbers 
 nor coherent in their desires. There was, in short, 
 no heart in any revolutionary party. The police 
 moved very quietly about, and there was no fault to 
 find with them. Italy has learnt wisdom in every- 
 thing but finance ; she is learning that now. She 
 has her generals to find out too, but the material is 
 there. I have seen, in my day, fighting men of 
 many nations run away. I have been in two very 
 disastrous defeats to the English arms myself, one in 
 the Crimea, October 17th, 1854, and the other at 
 Peiho in China. But I believe in English valour, all 
 the same. The Italians will have their victories to 
 follow in due course, like ourselves. I am unable to 
 join in the cry against the Italian army. Criticism 
 is often the most obtrusive where experience is 
 lacking. I have yet to learn that the Italian regulars 
 ever had a fair chance.* Time will show. 
 
 On the 7th, we sail for the Island of Elba, reaching 
 Port Longone in the evening. The Guinevere, a 
 screw schooner, started just after us, and got in 10 
 minutes before us ; we were together all day. She 
 is a much larger and more powerful vessel, and we 
 were very proud at doing so well. 
 
 March 9th, our last day's sail. We weighed 
 early, and reached Leghorn about 2 p.m. I had 
 previously written to the English Consul, asking him 
 
 * It has since been abundantly proved that some of the finest deeds 
 of valour ever known were done on that fatal Adowa day. 
 
78 
 
 kindly to obtain leave from the Italian Naval Au- 
 thorities for me to enter the inner port at once, and 
 have the gates opened on my arrival. Nothing 
 could surpass the kindness of the officials, who had 
 the bridge gates opened for us as we came in, so at 
 once, we moored the yacht for the summer inside 
 the basin, and made arrangements for storing her 
 gear. 
 
 Wintering or summering in an Italian port differs 
 widely from the same operation in England. In 
 England, if you want a new boiler or great changes 
 made in your machinery, you will find everything 
 read}^ to your hand, and, if your purse is an ample 
 one, nothing can be more perfect than the arrange- 
 ments which any of the leading firms in Cowes 
 or Southampton will make for you. If, however, 
 economy in repairs, or the price of 3^our berth and 
 store-room be any object, I should be doing an in- 
 justice to those who have behaved very well to me, 
 if I did not state that, having tried England and 
 Italy, I have found Italy suits my purse and my 
 temper the best. It would, however, be an injustice 
 to the English firms if I did not state, that for rapidity 
 of work, as well as for the ease with which a contract 
 can be made, England stand first. Yes, and a long 
 way first. 
 
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Chapter XIV. 
 
 PROMISED in my last work (to which 
 I have previously referred) to give the 
 readers of my next book the result of 
 my inquiries as regards English and 
 Foreign crews. I much regret that, owing probably 
 to the very bad weather we all experienced in the 
 East of the Mediterranean during the winter, very 
 few yachts were out, and, therefore, whatever in- 
 formation I may give, must be taken only as being 
 founded on the best evidence I could obtain, and 
 which I could not myself regard as conclusive. So 
 far as I am concerned, I consider I am in a position 
 to speak almost conclusively, but it would be a 
 gross injustice to those who may hold opposite 
 views, did I not make the above admission. 
 
 As regards the comfort of the owner, and certainly 
 the crew have very much to do with this, Italians 
 will bear very favourable comparison with Enghshmen. 
 They never get drunk or break their leave, they are 
 easily pleased, and work far more steadily at daily 
 routine work than Englishmen. Twice in my cruise 
 
 1 ordered steam at 6 a.m., but waking myself at 
 
 2 a.m., and finding a clear moon and favourable 
 change of weather, I called the men and I was off. 
 
8o 
 
 On neither occasion did I hear one word of complaint. 
 Of course, either you, if you command your own 
 vessel, or your Captain if you do not, must speak 
 Italian. This goes without saying. Italians are 
 cheaper as regards wages, and much less extortionate 
 in every way. On the other hand, the English 
 sailor is far better for boat-work. He also 
 dresses much smarter. I fancy, too, he stands 
 the cold better, but I am far from being quite clear 
 on this point. I am assured, that in heavy weather 
 Jack is the better man of the two, but my experience 
 makes me somewhat doubtful on this point, as far 
 as yachts are concerned. I admit, that on board a 
 man-of-war, where you have naval discipline, the 
 Englishman comes out far ahead in almost every 
 particular, but, for Mediterranean yachting, give me 
 an Italian crew. I would not even try a Spanish 
 or a Greek one ; I plead my bigotry and insular 
 prejudice for not writing about them. 
 
 I have heard from French yachting friends 
 very good accounts of their men, but old feuds and 
 prejudices, and rivalries, would, I imagine, make 
 it very difficult for English owners to work smoothly 
 with them. French cooks, however, are often 
 beyond praise, and in this capacity, as every one 
 knows, our neighbours far surpass all rivals. 
 
 Russians are often capital engineers, most pains- 
 taking, and very proud of their engines and their 
 own work on them ; I have proved this. They are 
 good linguists, too, and can generally speak three or 
 four languages ; a most useful qualification on board 
 any yacht, or elsewhere. Speaking of languages, I 
 
8i 
 
 hope my reader will forgive me for mentioning a fact 
 he may have overlooked, viz., that sailor's French 
 and Parisian French are not the same by any means. 
 I once remember an English friend of mine being 
 much confused by this discovery. He would have 
 been considered, for an Englishman, quite a first-class 
 French scholar in Paris. At Marseilles, he had to 
 speak very slowly indeed, and with much gesticu- 
 lation, to make himself understood when conversing 
 with a native seaman. A similar hint may not be 
 out of place in regard to different Italian dialects. 
 I was much amused by finding that my Genoa and 
 Leghorn seamen were often quite unable to under- 
 stand their Neapolitan countrymen ; but, of course, 
 this is a very extreme case. Generally speaking, 
 good Italian is understood all over Italy ; though a 
 good Italian scholar will often find that he is almost 
 unable to understand what a Neapolitan is saying 
 to him. On board Mediterranean yachts with foreign 
 crews, there are usually many Italian seaman who 
 habitually use certain English naval expressions : — 
 ''Starboard," ''Port," "Steady," "Ahead," "Astern," 
 "Stop," "Let go," and "Make fast," are all familiar 
 terms in constant use, to which they are accustomed. 
 One great blessing one enjoys with Italian North 
 country seamen, is that they are extraordinarily 
 cleanly in their habits. They really seem to be 
 always washing their clothes. The best way to ship 
 such a crew, should my reader desire to do so, is to 
 apply at the English Consulate some weeks before 
 they are required, and there he will generally find 
 some one who will engage seamen for him at about 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 5^. a head commission. This plan has many advan- 
 tages over any other. There are always interpreters, 
 commission agents, old captains, and hangers on of 
 all sorts, who will offer their help. Employ none of 
 these. It may not be out of place here to mention, 
 that all engagements are made in Italian lire, of 
 which, as a rule, 27 go to the English pound. The 
 quoted price can be, of course, seen in the papers 
 daily. The usual wage for an A.B. is 25 lire a week, 
 with one more added, if he is coxwain of a boat or 
 oilman. 
 
 Italian carpenters and shipwrights are far handier 
 and better than our English ones (so far, at least, as 
 my own experience goes), indeed, they seem able, 
 and, .what is more, are willing to do almost anything. 
 Their wages are about 30 lire a week, and they are 
 worth it. Firemen are at about zy to 33 lire, ac- 
 cording to their experience and ability. I strongly 
 recommend, however, English stewards, for every 
 possible reason. 
 
 Uniforms, of any desired pattern, can be made, or, 
 rather, copied, by Italian tailors. You will do wisely, 
 when fitting out, to order also, hi addition, a warm 
 jersey to each man. For some reason or another, 
 Italians seem more chilly than Englishmen, but of 
 this I cannot be sure. Little considerations like these 
 affecting their comforts, are, however, very highly 
 appreciated by Italians, and will repay the owner. 
 One great advantage in an Italian crew, is the hold 
 the Captain has over his men in one important 
 respect. Every Italian seaman is obliged to have in 
 his own possession when on shore, and his Captain's 
 
83 
 
 when afloat, a book which contains his date of birth, 
 his certificates, and, indeed, all about himself. This 
 is the law. On joining, he gives this up to his 
 Captain, who is in legal charge of it till he leaves. 
 The seaman then adds his late discharge to former 
 documents, when he is again ready to show his papers 
 to his next employer, or to the police, if required. 
 The advantage of this arrangement to every good 
 man, as well as to his employer, is obvious. If a 
 bad man, and he should desert, the police would 
 soon find him on shore, and he would be prosecuted 
 as a seaman without his book, as well as a deserter ; 
 so Italians do not desert. If he misbehaves, his 
 certificates show this, and it is against him in getting 
 another ship, so he does not misbehave or get drunk. 
 I can conceive no arrangement better calculated to 
 separate the bad from the good. To prevent the 
 capricious use of this power by the Captain, the sea- 
 man has a right to demand a court from the Consul, 
 to inquire into his own or his Captain's conduct. 
 The Consul must, of course, be satisfied that the case 
 is one which requires a court, or the Consul may be 
 able to settle the case himself at once. In every case, 
 the seaman has quite sufficient protection against any 
 abuse of power. Could the same, or some similar 
 arrangement, be carried out in England, there would 
 be no necessity for English owners to look elsewhere 
 for their seamen. 
 
 In Austria, yachts belonging to their Royal Yacht 
 Squadron ship their crews from the Ro3'al Austrian 
 Navy, who are engaged under terms which are ad- 
 vantageous both to the country and the owner, while 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 a place on board a yacht is much sought after b}" 
 every Austrian seaman.* It has always been a source 
 of astonishment to me, why a mixed Committee of 
 well-known practical yachtsmen and Xaval Officers 
 should not be appointed, to report to Parliament on 
 the whole question of the employment of seamen 
 on board yachts, with a view to their being drilled at 
 convenient times, and subject to service in the Royal 
 Navy, if called upon. The Regulations existing, 
 bearing on this point require revision. I think, now, 
 I have done all that I can to impress upon my 
 reader the importance of the subject. I will now 
 give him my experience in regard to another. 
 
 We will leave the question of the yacht's crew, 
 and come to the vessel herself. My vessel was 
 painted black, she is now white, or, rather, she is 
 painted so pale a grey that she almost looks white. 
 White yachts are no doubt increasing in number, 
 and this will show that, for various reasons, owners 
 and Captains prefer it. I will give my reasons for 
 the change I have made. Let me admit at once that 
 these will not, perhaps, seem quite conclusive, but the 
 weight of evidence, such as it is, seemed to indicate 
 the desirability of change. I am very frequently 
 at sea, and lay in harbour, generally, only for short 
 periods. My vessel looks presentable always after 
 one day in harbour, no matter what the weather ; 
 when she was painted black it took two days to get 
 her to look as well ; so it appeared, and appears still 
 
 * Some little difficulty has lately arisen, in res^ard to the employment 
 of Austrian Naval Officers with their men, but the question is, I am 
 assured, one which will shortly be amicably arranged. 
 
85 
 
 to me. You can neither patch black or white satis- 
 factorily, but, if 3^ou must do one or the other, to my 
 fancy the white looks less bad than the black. Italian 
 paints, I may here remark, are remarkably good and 
 cheap. Lastly, white paint keeps the vessel much 
 cooler when the sun is out. A friend of mine, who 
 still paints his yacht black, has urged against my 
 objection that his ship looks better so, that she 
 always was painted black (a very conservative argu- 
 ment), and, lastl}^, that his crew, when in harbour, 
 always got into trouble if not employed, and it keeps 
 them busy. The last argument I feel I am unable 
 to meet, so I am silent, and our friendship remains. 
 We had bad weather enough this winter to give our 
 grey paint a severe trial. 
 
Chapter XV. 
 
 Y reader will have gathered from the 
 foregoing pages, that the weather we 
 experienced was decidedly bad ; but, from 
 inquiries I have made, I believe it was 
 exceptionally bad. There have, no doubt, been bad 
 years from time to time, but then there have been 
 good ones, and these seem to be in the proportion of 
 about two to one. Again, in the winter months, 
 Athens and Constantinople have very different cli- 
 mates ; Athens nearly always being the best. The 
 harbours, also, on the home side of Athens, are far 
 more numerous and better than thev are on the 
 other side, and, if the yachtsman will bear in mind 
 the water difficulty I have before drawn attention to 
 in the district of the Pira3us, there is no reason why 
 he should not enjoy himself immensely as far North 
 as Syra. If you go farther North, you must expect 
 less and less comfort, and less and less warmth. It 
 is very difficult, also, for the stranger to realize how 
 hard it can blow down on vessels at anchor in all 
 the Eastern basin of the Mediterranean and the 
 ^gean Sea. You may be anchored behind a hill 
 which rises almost perpendicularly from the harbour, 
 but gusts of wind come down this elevation with a 
 force which must be felt to be realized. The only 
 
87 
 
 squalls like these that I know of in England are 
 the gusts that descend from Mount Edgecumbe at 
 Plymouth ; and they exhibit only very poor examples 
 of how it can blow in the East. Whenever I moored 
 to the shore in Eastern waters, I used two hemp and 
 two wire hawsers, and was always thankful I had 
 done so. Of course my experience was only during 
 the winter months, when bad weather is to be 
 looked for. In the advanced spring, summer, and 
 autumn, my friends tell me that these squalls are 
 very rare, and never blow either so hard or for so long. 
 The barometer no doubt, on the Southern side of the 
 Dardanelles, will almost always give some indication 
 of coming weather, but it wants watching very 
 closely. Between the entrance of the Dardanelles 
 and Constantinople, the glass is of no use at all, but 
 I am assured by Captains of Black Sea steamers that 
 the barometer there during the winter months can 
 be fairly trusted. It works, however, they say, in 
 this region, in a contrary way, as a rising glass means 
 bad weather, and a falling glass means good weather. 
 I am inclined to believe this to be true, as I certainly 
 saw signs of it at Constantinople. 
 
 I confess to a feeling of depression while writing 
 about these waters, and for this reason : — That I do 
 not believe all the nautical writers in the world could 
 make these ports popular with yachtsmen during the 
 winter months. There is really too much to put up 
 with, and too little return. Of course, if the traveller 
 is on shooting bent, he will find in parts of Asia 
 Minor all he wants, but the state of the country is 
 such, that, unless he has really first-class information 
 
88 
 
 from some English Consul, some English resident, 
 engineer, or trader, it will be wise for him to post- 
 pone his visit until his information is more complete. 
 In my last work, I gave cyclists all the information 
 I could in regard to their favourite pastime. I can 
 now put all the information I possess, in regard to 
 roads between the Pirceus and Constantinople, in a 
 very few lines. A bicycle takes up very little room 
 on any yacht, but to take one on board, if you are 
 cruising in these Eastern waters, is really to waste 
 useful space. North and East of the Piraeus, your 
 bicycle will be of no use to 5^ou. An old saddle and 
 bridle you will often find useful, and, if you have 
 ladies on board, a lady's saddle will prove quite a 
 luxury. On many of the islands, and on the main 
 land, there are almost always ponies, mules, or 
 donkeys you can hire, and if you can induce these 
 animals to put up with an English saddle, you will 
 save yourself much discomfort. In regard to guns 
 and cartridges, no one who has not experienced it 
 would believe how hard it is to get these simple 
 requirements out from England, and on board your 
 yacht. They seem never to anive if sent out by 
 steamer, indeed many Companies will not caiTy 
 cartridges at all at any price, and then those who do 
 charge so highly for freight that it is almost ruinous. 
 Of course you cannot send them overland. If your 
 yacht is in the Mediterranean, the best thing you 
 can do is send them out to some English port, such 
 as Malta or Gibraltar, at least six weeks before they 
 will be required. Get some friend or agent at one of 
 these places to take care of them for you till you call 
 
ENTRANCE TO TEMPLE OF JUPITER, ATHENS. 
 
89 
 
 for them, and shut your eyes and ears to the expense. 
 This will be heavy, but it will be nothing to what you 
 will have to pay if they go to a foreign port. All 
 foreign powers are jealous of the shipment and landing 
 of arms, and the excise duties on these goods in France 
 and Italy are enormous. Many years wall have to 
 pass before the powers that be become aware that 
 the invasion of their country would not be made with 
 small shot or smooth bore guns, and that the impor- 
 tation of the latest improvements in fire arms into 
 their country would be an immense boon to their 
 own gun-makers, through w^iose hands many of 
 them would pass, and to w^hom they would be sent 
 for repairs. It is curious to note in one's conversa- 
 tions with French and Italian gentlemen, how, 
 without exception, they see and admit this, yet the 
 wisdom of the cafe, of the railway carriage, and of 
 the pavement, will not enter the bureau for years. 
 Surely it was one of England's wisest Statesmen who, 
 years ago, saw how important it was that foreign 
 war ships should be built in England, and foreign 
 guns and rifles should be manufactured here. The 
 English manufacturer is thus always up to date. 
 The w^eak retort that these might some day be used 
 against us is now only used by those who are ill- 
 informed of the advantage gained, and cannot, 
 therefore, weigh both sides. In these matters, there 
 is no such thing as an unmixed advantage. 
 
 In regard to duties, as I am on the subject, I 
 think the yachtsman should know how^ many disad- 
 vantages he will have to contend against in regard 
 to what used to be called " medical comforts." Of 
 
90 
 
 course, in very large ports, such as Nice, he would 
 probably be able to procure any patent or other 
 medicine he requires, but, as he proceeds Eastwards 
 in the Mediterranean, his difficulties will increase. 
 So many of our English patent medicines are in 
 common use to-da}^, and the facilities of getting 
 them out from England are so great, that possibly he 
 will forgive me for reminding him of how necessary 
 it is to be well provided in this respect. At Naples 
 and Corfu he may find what he wants, if the medicine 
 he seeks is really well known, but East of these 
 ports he will find it very hard to find anything he 
 wants. I may, however, mention a fact which will 
 be useful to him. There are in all these Eastern 
 towns an increasing number of able medical men, 
 whose knowledge of the requirements of their dis- 
 tricts is often very useful. A knowledge of the 
 peculiarities of English constitutions is lacking, but 
 each English vessel that requires attendance increases 
 this knowledge. A drug or patent medicine may, 
 again, have suited well in other climates, while its 
 action here is not so favourable. I have m3"self 
 found that sometimes, when I had a chance of con- 
 sulting physicians holding French or German diplomas 
 (there are very few holding English), that they have 
 been able often to substitute something very suitable 
 to the climate in which they live. At Corfu, the 
 doctor of the port is one of those who hold a French 
 Diploma, I have had to consult him in regard both to 
 my passengers and crew, and always with advantage. 
 The Eno^lish Consul or Vice-Consul is almost ahvavs 
 able to give good advice as to who to go to, at almost 
 
91 
 
 every port. The charges are usually very moderate, 
 and I am bound to say, that the medical men whom 
 I have had to consult, in regard either to myself, my 
 crew, or my passengers, have all been kind, reasonable 
 in their charges, and attentive. It often happens, 
 also, that an English vessel with a doctor on board 
 visits the same port you are in, and, in case of 
 necessity, a little diplomacy will often procure his 
 services. I have, however, sometimes discovered, that 
 if the great authority consulted finds out that you are 
 employing a doctor with a French or German diploma, 
 he proceeds to differ with him forthwith. Perhaps 
 that is innate in the British character, and not even 
 a first-class medical training can quite extinguish the 
 hereditary taint. There is this difficulty, also, with 
 the English doctor, viz., that he may possibly pre- 
 scribe something the chemist has not got, or, if he 
 has, its. preparation is not the same in all countries. 
 Colds and coughs are, I think, the most common 
 maladies which crew and passengers suffer from 
 during the winter, and these are not usually difficult 
 to cure. I am certainly no physician, but I fancy 
 both these complaints get well on board ship more 
 quickly than on shore, provided a few good nights' 
 rest can be secured, in any case, my own ailments 
 of this description got well very soon at sea. 
 
 Would my reader care for some information as to 
 food in Eastern waters ? Certainly, what may be 
 called the daily requisites of life can very easily be 
 obtained in most ports, except cow's milk, butter, 
 and cocoa. Goat's milk can almost always be 
 obtained, but good cow's milk and butter you must 
 
92 
 
 say good-bye to, when quitting the Gulf of Corinth. 
 My steward bought some at Athens, Syra, and 
 Constantinople, but it was very poor in quality, 
 and quite double the price usually paid in England. 
 In the French Stores, at the Pera Palace Hotel 
 in Constantinople, I bought some beautiful butter 
 in 2 lb. and 4 lb. tins. This will keep fresh for 
 almost any time, if kept in a cool place. The same 
 may be said of the tinned cream, which is more like 
 Devonshire cream than anything else. We bought 
 enough of both these commodities to last us three 
 months, and it kept good all the time. Tea and 
 cream can be got good at these stores, but the price, 
 owing to the duty, is heavy indeed. Curiously 
 enough, we got here also, some real York hams ; I 
 think the best I have ever tasted, and at quite a fair 
 price. I have mentioned these stores before, but I 
 make no apology for again drawing attention to 
 them, because this is the only spot East of IMalta 
 where provisions of this description, and of surpassing 
 excellence, can be obtained. In view of the coming 
 revival of the Olympic games, efforts are being made 
 at Athens to set up stores, or, rather, to replenish 
 existing stores with these and other requisites, but 
 the very heavy duties (much heavier there than at 
 Constantinople for most goods) will, I fear, handicap 
 that City for some time to come. However, if they 
 can be got at all, and at any price, it will be a great 
 boon to the touring and yachting community. Some 
 day it will occur to a Greek Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, that if he can put his hands into the 
 pockets of three men, and pull out a shilling from 
 
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93 
 
 each, he will be better off than if able only to put 
 his hands into one man's pocket, and from thence 
 extract two shillings. But this enlightenment is far 
 off and quite in the dim distance, so we need not 
 discuss it further. 
 
 Of daily provisions, such as bread, meat, chickens, 
 eggs, vegetables, and fruit, I found no difficulty 
 anywhere in obtaining these. Bread is not only 
 good in all towns East of the Gulf of Corinth, but 
 in many it is quite remarkable for its purity and 
 excellence. In the small villages it is coarse and 
 bad, but one is seldom compelled to buy this. The 
 price of bread is, if anything, cheaper than in England 
 of the same quality. Meat is cheap in Greek 
 quarters, and is fairly good ; it is very cheap, and much 
 better usually, in Turkish towns and Turkish islands. 
 My steward has often bought the best beef and 
 mutton at about 5^. the lb. I have seen at Chanak, 
 in the Dardanelles, really very good beef and mutton 
 at about ^d. a pound. At this port, I bought three 
 fine hares, four wild ducks, and eight woodcocks for 
 15 francs, not a bad bargain. At Gallipoli (in Tur- 
 key), a boat well laden with game would often go 
 alongside a steamer bound for Constantinople, and, 
 if the owner of the boat did not sell off, he would 
 then come alongside of our yacht, and it was really 
 quite wonderful how cheaply he would then part with 
 the remainder. In none of the islands, Turkish or 
 Greek, can meat be bought more cheaply than here, 
 also, when in season, partridges, and, indeed, almost 
 every sort of game, can be procured in great 
 abundance. Chickens and eggs are also very cheap 
 
94 
 
 and very good in all places where they can be 
 bought at all, and there are very few places where 
 they cannot be bought. 
 
 In the very small islands I have, however, some- 
 times found that, so far from having provisions to sell, 
 the inhabitants were anxious to buy. They depend 
 very largely on their fishing boats and small coasting 
 schooners to bring their provisions from the main land, 
 but if the prevailing gales have been so heavy that 
 these could not put to sea, they are often hard pressed. 
 
 Vegetables are excellent, abundant, and cheap, 
 almost everywhere, and, if you are fortunate enough 
 to call in anywhere where the market has not been 
 spoilt, you will have every reason to be satisfied with 
 what you get, and pleased with the bill. Fruit is 
 abundant, no doubt, but here a word of warning may 
 not be out of place. It often happens that you wish 
 to go to sea at daylight or soon after, and your caterer 
 or steward has, the evening before, ordered everything 
 to be ready for him in the early morning. He knows 
 you want to be off, and he does not wish to keep 
 you waiting, so he takes unripe oranges and fruit to 
 sea, having had no time to look these carefull}' over. 
 I found the best way in the East was only to buy 
 fruit when there was lots of time, even at the risk of 
 having sometimes to go without. You may be wise 
 enough not to eat unripe fruit, but your steward, 
 rather than see it wasted, turns it over to the men ; 
 then you may be delayed at your next port for two 
 or three days, till the crew have got over it. This is 
 an indiscretion which my sailors sometimes indulged 
 in. When an Italian is ill, he is very ill, and it seems 
 
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95 
 
 to me that, when he recovers, he always regards it 
 as more or less of a miracle, and seems quite surprised. 
 Apropos of catering, if you have a Greek on board, 
 he can certainly buy provisions, or indeed anything, 
 at half the price you can, so it is quite worth while 
 shipping one. At Ithaca, some capital firemen can 
 be got, and should you ship one, he will pay his own 
 wages over and over again, if you send him ashore 
 with your steward or caterer. Why there should be 
 good fireman in Ithaca has surprised man}^, as it 
 surprised me when I first heard of it, but, as a matter 
 of fact, many of the Danube steamers get their fire- 
 men from there. I shipped one, and found my other 
 fireman only too gladly did his work, when he found 
 out how much he gave the crew to eat, and how 
 little he paid for it. It saved so much quarrelling, 
 both on shore and on board, that I hope I may be 
 pardoned for mentioning the fact. 
 
 We have now done with food, so our next con- 
 sideration is wine. My heart fails me when I enter 
 on this most disputable ground. My publisher tells 
 me that, in a very short time, some 600 persons 
 bought my first book. Will the same number buy 
 this one ? If so, am I to risk making 600 unrelenting 
 enemies for the rest of my days ? You may lend a 
 gun to a friend, and you may know its little failing 
 to be that cartridges somehow always jam in that 
 gun. You may lend another friend a hunter that no 
 living man can get over a water jump. For all 
 these, and worse things, shall you be forgiven, m 
 time, but be the means of pouring a bad bottle of 
 wine down his throat, and you shall never be for- 
 
96 
 
 given, nay, more the heinousness of your crime 
 increases as years go on, each dinner party affording 
 an opportunity of recaUing the circumstance. In one 
 of the countries with which I am acquainted, there 
 hves a gentleman of undoubted abihty who has 
 obtained Cabinet rank. He is unpopular all the 
 same, and, curiously enough, he has never been able 
 to account for his unpopularity. I have had the 
 honour of being asked to his table twice, and went 
 once. A colleague of his, in conversation with me 
 quite lately, remembered a dinner he had eaten at 
 his house three years ago. His host had committed 
 the unpardonable crime. I must see if I can avoid it. 
 ^^ What wine does the landlord drink?" has often 
 in England been the question which has saved many 
 a man from a bad headache. It would not do so in 
 the East. There is a tartness about most of the red, 
 and even a few of the white wines, grown in Greece, 
 which I can never get over. My rule, however, is 
 almost always to drink white wine. In Italy, Vino 
 Capri, when it can be got old, is the best wine I 
 know of. I always drink it. At Corfu and Ithaca, 
 really good white wine can be got. At the former 
 place, I drink Domestica, and at the latter there is a 
 native wine 17 years old, sold by a merchant who 
 speaks capital English, and who lives near the Pratique 
 Office. I always lay in a store of this, and I drink 
 nothing else for lunch or dinner till my stock is 
 finished. All my friends like it too. As he is the 
 only man who sells wine of this age, and speaks 
 English, you cannot make a mistake. The corks of 
 the bottles should be seen to, as it is drawn from the 
 cask and bottled on the spot. 
 
97 
 
 At Patras there is some capital wine sold by a 
 German merchant, who has a large store ; it is well 
 worth a visit, and about three miles out of the town. 
 You can get wine 5, or even 6 years old there ; they 
 have, however, some which I tasted 8 years old, but 
 they would not sell that, so I went without. Perhaps 
 mv reader mav have better luck. At Athens, at the 
 large hotels, there is some very good wine. Talk 
 privately to the manager first before ordering, then 
 note the name of the wine and merchant on the 
 label, and order from him direct, after having sampled 
 in his ocun office. In comparison to the prices we 
 pa}" in England for good wines, all the above will 
 seem cheap. 
 
 At Syra there is a little good wine, but it is almost 
 all in private cellars. At Constantinople, there is no 
 wine you are likely to want that you cannot get. 
 Inquire from the very courteous managers of either 
 the '^ Bristol" or ^^ Pera Palace" Hotels. Perhaps 
 my taste is not a highly refined one, but I confess to 
 a partiality for these light countr}" wines, grown on 
 the Southern slopes of the main land in Greece and 
 Turkey. They give me no headache, and are void of 
 acidit}", that is when I can get them fairly old, and, 
 of course, of the finest growth. 
 
 Real old whiskev, worth v of the name, is now so 
 popular, that I must risk the chance of being thought 
 tedious if I say a word about this drink. Xot all the 
 hotel proprietors put together, between Malta and 
 Constantinople, should induce me to depart from my 
 custom of securing this beverage in either England 
 or Scotland. I should, however, feel quite culpable, 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 did I say a word to discourage them in their efforts 
 to give of their best to their customers ; all the more 
 so, as I know both the demand for the very best, 
 and the supply, is better year by year. 
 
 To those who prefer brandy, I may sa}" that, in 
 two or three 3^ears, lovers of this spirit will find a 
 genuine, purel}^ made liquid bearing this name, which 
 will then be 8 or 9 years old, ready for sale at Athens. 
 The same is also true of Cephalonia. In both these 
 localities, a detemiination has been shown to en- 
 deavour to rival the French in this manufacture. 
 To my mind and taste, the Frenchman comes in first 
 up to the moment of writing, but I am far from clear 
 that the future should be, or could be, guaranteed to 
 him. I would still, if going East, call in at Nice, or 
 some French port, to secure a supply of this com- 
 modity, if I thought there was likely to be any 
 demand for it on board. 
 
 Of the class of drinks known as non-intoxicants, a 
 few are advertised in the larger hotels at Athens and 
 Constantinople, but only there. I had not the 
 privilege of meeting any one who had tried these, 
 and I did not myself feel disposed, so I fear I 
 cannot help my reader in this respect. Of mineral 
 waters, to take with wine or spirits, I tried a few ; 
 all good. That is to say, all were good that happened 
 to be well corked, and only a very few were not. 
 
 Another subject, and a very homely one now, de- 
 mands attention. '^ It is time we had our washing 
 done, sir," says the steward. '' I can only last three 
 days more," says your lady or gentleman guest ; so 
 this question must be faced. In no part of the 
 
I 
 
 99 
 
 Mediterranean is it possible to have your clothes 
 more frequently washed than in these Eastern waters, 
 and, I may add, in no part do your clothes suffer 
 more under the operation. The moment you come 
 to an anchor anywhere, you will find amongst the 
 many commodities offered you by the agents or in- 
 terpreters who flock on board, a very large number 
 who will take your washing on shore there and 
 then, and offer to return it in two days. On two 
 separate occasions, they kept their word literally, 
 but the washing came back wet and unstarched. Oh 
 those agents ! The washing of clothes is more often 
 than not, one of the vachtsman's severest trials. Not 
 only does it very frequently happen that you are 
 bound to stay in harbour when a fair breeze springs 
 up, but, when your washing does come on board, 
 many a garment that was landed a shirt comes on 
 board a rag. The usual price being about 3 francs a 
 dozen, you have made your contract, or, more pro- 
 bably, your steward has for you. To your surprise, 
 your washerman charges much more, — why ? He 
 has counted each sock as one piece, while one excep- 
 tional rascal had the impudence to charge for each 
 shirt, each collar, and each cuff; the collars and cuffs 
 being parts of the shirt, and sewn on. Such are 
 some of their many little tricks. The best way of 
 all is to make inquiries, before sending washing 
 on shore, of that tradesman with whom you have 
 your largest dealings, — the Consul (if a friend), or 
 the first respectable man you meet. If there is a 
 large hotel near, then pay the extra -^-franc a dozen, 
 and send your washing there, it will pay you. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 Now in regard to coaling, just a few words. How 
 often does my reader think that he really has on 
 board the amount of coal charged for in the bill he 
 so readily pays ? I know, on the best authority, 
 how small is the proportion of yachts that achieve 
 this ; I mean where no person gets a secret com- 
 mission, when the baskets contain the coal they are 
 supposed to, or where the boat sent off to the yacht 
 really has on board the number of tons ordered, and 
 which very certainly will be charged for in the bill. 
 I should not have alluded to this, had it not been 
 that I have experienced in a small way, what some 
 of my friends have in a much larger. The Greek 
 coal merchant is, I fear, by no means necessarily an 
 immaculate person. That the fault does not always, 
 or even primarily lay with the merchant, I am well 
 aware. There are, unfortunately, too many yacht 
 owners who know where the fault does lay, but, 
 either they fail to get absolute proof, and are there- 
 fore well advised in not bringing a charge, or the}^ 
 think the trouble of sifting the matter too great ; or 
 they know that either A. or B., perhaps both, always 
 expect and get a commission (the owner little dreams 
 how much) or, having made up their minds to spend 
 so much on their cruise, do not very much care 
 whether they have to lay their vessel up a week or 
 two sooner or later. In a great number of cases, the 
 owner, though he hates being done, does not want 
 to be bothered, and stops, so to speak, at the half- 
 way house, where he just finds out enough to annoy 
 him, but does not take the trouble to run the dis- 
 honesty home, and stop it. Perhaps he cannot. 
 
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Chapter XVI. 
 
 HAT are we to do ? " said an old yachting 
 skipper to me one day, ''our employ- 
 ment is the most precarious in the 
 world. We have no pensions to look 
 forward to, the children at home want something to 
 eat, and the Governor does not seem to mind : 
 what's a sovereign or two to him ? why, about as 
 much as a shiUing to me ! and he'd a deal sooner 
 not be bothered." I confess there is now no answer 
 to this, but when the mixed Committee of naval 
 officers and yacht owners, which I have suggested, 
 meet and send in their report, there should be an 
 answer. Yachting captains will then have pensions, 
 for they will be old naval men, and the path of 
 honesty will be made much easier for them. " Five 
 and twenty years ago, sir, I entered as a boy on 
 board H.M.S. Progress, and now I command one of 
 the finest yachts out of Cowes." This should not be 
 an impossible boast. Surely of all employments for 
 pensioned seamen or petty officers, none could suit 
 them better than an officer's place on board a yacht. 
 Yet there are two drawbacks. One his want of 
 
102 
 
 navigating knowledge, and the other the vast differ- 
 ence between vacht and man-of-war service. This, 
 however, would be somewhat remedied if the sea- 
 men of yachts were, for the most part, naval reserve 
 men ; while the privilege of studying navigation, free 
 of cost, on board Her Majesty's ships, with a view 
 to future employment on board yachts and merchant 
 vessels, would, it seems to me, be an inducement to 
 boys to enter our Navy. I would suggest that, 
 whenever any petty officer desired to study naviga- 
 tion, he might be granted facilities for so doing, if his 
 Captain approved. The sight of a yacht's Captain in 
 the uniform of the R.Y.S., or any recognised yacht 
 club, wearing also a distinguished mark, showing that 
 he belonged to some class of naval reserve officers, or 
 petty officers, would, I conceive, be a great inducement 
 to English boys to enter the Royal Xavy. Yachts go 
 everywhere now, and each qualified yacht Captain 
 might have powers, under proper conditions, to send 
 boys for enlistment in the service. Of course, they 
 must be encouraged to do so. The position of a 
 qualified yacht Captain would then be an enviable 
 one. I am quite unable to see who the person could 
 be who would not gain by such an arrangement. 
 The State obviously would, for there would be further 
 inducement to enlist. The yacht owner, even if not 
 a seaman, would be quite capable of appreciating the 
 obvious advantage of having a well tried class of 
 men to choose from ; the men selected as Captains 
 and Officers would gain, and the boys of England 
 w^ould gain ; one more opening for them. 
 
 "I suppose. Sir, I should not be expected to put 
 
103 
 
 my hands in the skish bucket ? " said a candidate, 
 who lately sought the position of Captain of one of 
 the R.Y.S. yachts. The owner had been an old 
 naval officer, and his reply was significant. ^'Oh 
 dear no," he said, ^'I often did, to get the tar off my 
 hands after going aloft, or after showing someone 
 how to knot or splice, but, of course, I should not 
 expect you to do so." The yacht Captain of the 
 future, as I hope he may be, would be much amused 
 at any friend of his asking for such an exemption. 
 
 I should be very sorry if my reader should suppose 
 by any of these remarks, that I am unaware of how 
 many excellent yacht Captains there are now afloat, 
 who readily turn their hands to any work, who are 
 not to be bribed by any one, and whose value to 
 their employer is proved from the fact that they are 
 not only engaged, 3"ear after year, for sea service, but 
 are often retained when the vessel is laid up, and 
 when the work to be done on board is not of an 
 arduous character. My only object in wTiting as I 
 have done, is, if possible, to suggest improvements in 
 our present practice where improvement is felt to be 
 necessary, and to sound a note of warning to those 
 who may be sailing in Eastern waters for the first 
 time, in regard to their dealings with merchants and 
 others with whom they may be brought in contact. 
 
 I make no apology for following up my remarks in 
 regard to coal, with a word or two about water. 
 Every yacht captain sees, or ought to see, that his 
 tanks are thoroughly cleaned out at least once (they 
 should be twice) every year. While I was in the 
 East, I had my own looked to twice in five months, 
 
104 
 
 and I did not think the trouble too great or the 
 precaution by an\' means unnecessary. Of course, if 
 you could make sure of ahva3"s watering either at 
 Syra, Patras, or Poros Island, this precaution would 
 be superfluous. But, unless you carry a large supply 
 of fresh water or condense your own water on board, 
 you will often have to trust to good luck in getting 
 a perfectly pure fluid brought off, and this, of course, 
 in an absolutely clean boat or tank. I am sorry to 
 say that you have only good luck to trust to, and, 
 after rainy weather, you will be indeed fortunate, if 
 the discoloured water which is brought alongside is, 
 nevertheless, quite wholesome and fit to drink. 
 When this happened to me, I always pumped over- 
 board all the water I had left in the tanks, cleaned 
 them as well as I could, and then pumped in fresh 
 water at the first good watering place I reached, 
 using the discoloured water only for the passage, and 
 always after boiling. Filters are useful on board at 
 all times, if the}^ are kept clean, and well looked 
 after, but perhaps there is no part of the Mediter- 
 ranean where this precaution is more needed than in 
 its Eastern portion. As regards price, in 9 cases out 
 of 10, 5"ou are at first asked a much larger sum than 
 is right or usual. I have been asked 7 francs a ton, 
 when 4 francs has been eventually accepted ; I have 
 paid as little as 3 Greek francs (about is. 6d.), and as 
 much as 5 Italian lire (about 45.) a ton, never more. 
 In every place the price varies, and in the same 
 place it again varies at different times of the year, 
 and according to the demand. I am vevy sorry I 
 cannot be of more assistance to mv reader in this 
 
lO: 
 
 respect. One hint, however, I may give which might 
 prove of use. If, on your outward journey, a hst 
 of prices paid is accurately kept, it will be found of 
 great value for the return journey. It saved me a 
 great deal of argument when I could state, ^Hhis is 
 what I paid before." 
 
 '^^"^■^ (S^T^i) W^'^ 
 
Chapter XVII. 
 
 S regards air and climate : — The air on the 
 shores of Asia Minor where the ground 
 is flat and marshy, is really as bad as can 
 be, but then the sport to be obtained is 
 often really good, and, as the evening draws in and 
 the sportsman grows weary, the noxious vapours rise, 
 and then '^ quinine quick," or you are in for a fever. 
 Even with every precaution there is some danger. 
 This risk, however, decreases with the arrival of 
 frost or snow, so the winter is, doubtless, the safest 
 time, even though the most disagreeable. I have no 
 fault, on the contrary, nothing but praise, for the air 
 of the Piraeus, and, indeed, the whole of the moun- 
 tainous or sandy East, right up to Constantinople. I 
 have heard a few complaints of the air of Smyrna, it 
 being regarded by some as rather relaxing, but the 
 weather was so cold while we were there that we 
 did not feel this. I suppose the truth really is that 
 in almost all hot climates, and in the warm months, 
 the air is relaxing, and vice versa in the winter. The 
 breezes off and on to the Greek Islands, during the 
 Spring and Autumn, are described by all residents as 
 bracing and delightful, which I quite believe. The 
 
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 number of villas and residences of all sorts, up and 
 down the Gulf of Corinth, are, in themselves, quite a 
 good enough test of the value the inhabitants attach 
 to the air and climate of that locality. Taken as a 
 whole, there is little fault to be found with the 
 climate in Eastern waters, except for the three winter 
 months, when I am told by medical men that, per- 
 sons with delicate chests or unusually subject to cold, 
 had better postpone their visits till the spring. 
 
 Every one is acquainted, either actually or by 
 report, with what is known as Mediterranean fever, 
 so I need say little about it. In the case of a young 
 naval officer of my acquaintance, who used to suffer 
 much from it, a return to the station was abso- 
 lutely forbidden. Doctors say that no one should 
 return to the Mediterranean, who has once had a 
 bad attack. I know nothing more disappointing 
 than to see a fine able bodied young man struggling, 
 while still m the Mediterranean, to get over this 
 liability to attack and failing each time. He comes 
 home at last, and is then sent to China or some 
 other station which is, perhaps, considered a worse 
 one, and he then finds himself, much to his own 
 astonishment, in excellent health and as strong 
 as any one. So after Mediterranean fever come 
 home. That almost all Italians, Greeks, and Turks 
 wear something wami round their waists, seems 
 enough in itself to show the necessity of not 
 forgetting some such protection. I mention this 
 purposely, as in England this is not a regular 
 practice. The Lenten fast, also, which in Catholic 
 and Greek orthodox countries is kept with more or 
 
io8 
 
 less strictness, has undoubtedly a very favourable 
 effect on the health, and at a time of year when a 
 change of food seems called for. I have known 
 English doctors, resident in Italy, who always re- 
 commend something of the sort to their patients, 
 quite apart, of course, from any religious motive. 
 On board yachts which are much at sea, and 
 wherever much hard work has to be done, other 
 considerations naturally arise ; but diet, in any case, 
 in spring and autumn, has I fancy, in the Mediter- 
 ranean, to be always carefully watched by delicate 
 persons. 
 
 I have, I hope, laid before my reader most of the 
 points which generally influence yachtsmen in the 
 choice of where to go. Should any tourist now 
 determine to try Eastern waters, he will, I fancy, at 
 most seasons of the year be far from disappointed, 
 although, of course, luxuries which he has been 
 accustomed to and obtained easily in ports such as 
 Nice, Algiers, or Naples, will be denied him. He 
 will, of course, also wish to keep alive a recollection 
 of the places he visits, so he will make purchases. 
 How is he to send these home ? I will tell him 
 a httle further on. At almost every port in the 
 ^gean Sea and the Sea of Marmora, and along the 
 coast of Asia Minor, he will be offered ancient (?) 
 coins, either by persons who come alongside, or when 
 he goes on shore. I bought 40 coins once at Foujes 
 for 10 francs. Two of these were really of some 
 value, perhaps about 5 or 6 francs each. It was a 
 very happy bargain, the result of an accident I am 
 sure. But men mark the hits and not the misses, and 
 
in 
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109 
 
 I could tell some tales with a bearing of different 
 complexion. A knowledge of coins is, I conceive, a 
 rare accomplishment, or else I am not fortunate in 
 knowing many persons who are good judges. The 
 best way to buy valuable coins, should there exist 
 such a desire, is, I think, to confine purchases to the 
 larger towns, unless in very exceptional instances. 
 If this is done, and some known judge or expert is 
 employed (the best hotel keepers often know these), 
 then a prize or two may be secured. Of course, 
 now and then the peasantry who first find them may 
 not have the power of discovering the value of the 
 coins they possess, and you may have the luck to 
 pick up a bargain, without yourself knowing that 
 you are under-paying the poor man. But this piece 
 of luck happens to few, and I suspect that if a man 
 desires a souvenir of his trip, or wishes to make a 
 present to a friend, he generally would prefer paying 
 a good round sum and securing a really valuable 
 specimen, to any chance methods. 
 
 As an exception to the advice I have ventured 
 (not without some misgivings) to offer, in regard to 
 purchases only in the larger towms, on account of the 
 comparative ease with which experts can there be 
 found, I may mention that, in Chios there lives an 
 agreeable and highly educated gentleman, who is also 
 a great authority on coins. He is in constant corres- 
 pondence with the British Museum on this subject, 
 and is an expert of very high standing. I purposely 
 do not mention his name, as I should be repaying 
 his kindness to me in very base coin indeed, if, in 
 consequence of the pubhcity I gave him, he became 
 
no 
 
 troubled with letters which might cause him annoy- 
 ance; but I think I might say this, that if any 
 yachtsman who was anchoring off this island on his 
 way, perhaps, to Smyrna, were to call on the British 
 Vice-Consul and receive an introduction from him, 
 the visit might prove not only interesting but in- 
 structive. As souvenirs, of course gold coins are 
 more in request than silver; but the demand is a 
 very long way ahead of the supply. Gold orna- 
 ments, of very ancient date, may here and there be 
 obtained, but the prices asked, as may be imagined, 
 are high indeed. Should my reader make the ac- 
 quaintance of any of our Consuls or Vice-Consuls in 
 Asia Minor, particularly in the neighbourhood of 
 Troy, Ephesus, or Smyrna, he will almost certainly 
 obtain either direct information from them, on this 
 as well as other subjects, or they will put him in the 
 way of obtaining the information he requires. 
 
 A very pretty present for a lady, and one which 
 my lady friends tell me is always an acceptable one, 
 can readily be obtained at Athens, and sometimes at 
 Corfu as well as at Smyrna, — I allude to the Greek 
 embroidered jacket. It goes with almost anything 
 I am informed, and particularly well with hght white 
 stuffs, or better still with white and gold. The little 
 embroidered caps, which one can sometimes buy to 
 go with them, look exceedingly pretty, and seem to 
 suit almost all complexions. I do not know any part 
 of the world where more charming souvenirs of this 
 description can be bought ; moreover, prett}^ presents, 
 which are always to be found in these Eastern shops 
 or bazaars, will suit all purses. Some lovely little 
 
I II 
 
 white head-dresses cost only 3 francs a piece, while 
 complete costumes, when richly embroidered, reach 
 almost to any figure ; if to these are added the silver 
 or gold belts recommended to be worn with the dress, 
 about as rich a present as can be purchased anywhere 
 may be secured. The shops, however, in which 
 you buy these jackets are not the best for the belts, 
 which can only be got really good from the jewellers. 
 Of the time it takes to purchase any article in the 
 East, I only wish I had one encouraging word to say. 
 If you desire to buy such a costume as I have 
 described, and you get it in three days, at anything 
 less than double its real value, you will have done 
 well. By far the best way in Smyrna, for instance, or 
 in the Jew's quarter in Corfu, is to select for yourself 
 and get some residerit to buy for you ; if you bu}^ it 
 }'ourself the odds are very long against you. These 
 Jewish, Armenian, or Greek merchants are wonderful 
 judges of men and women and their ways. The 
 weaker side of human nature is their special studv, 
 and time is no object to them. You must, indeed, 
 go to work with a wonderful amount of self con- 
 fidence, if you think you are to get the best of 
 the bargain with an}^ of these gentry. If, however, 
 for any reason 3^ou wish to deal directly (and I know 
 a lady who always' does this, and with astonishing 
 success) then remember you have one advantage, 
 I think 3^our only one. These vendors are very 
 jealous of each other, and, by a very small purchase 
 in another shop, you may succeed in bringing your 
 extortioner to reason. I learnt this from mv ladv 
 friend. We men are but poor creatures when it 
 
112 
 
 comes to dealing. I honestly believe that if you make 
 up your mind, in any of these localities, to spend say 
 £20 in buying things, that a clever resident lady can, 
 if she likes, give you double the value you could get 
 otherwise for that sum. If you mean to spend 
 £200, then she would save you even a larger pro- 
 portion, as those articles which are only bought by 
 rich people are heavily charged for, especially by 
 Armenians ; you will find that this is true in Smyrna 
 more particularly. In Constantinople, frequent fires 
 have all but destro5^ed those splendid old bazaars, 
 so do not put off buying till you get there, as your 
 choice of what may be called Eastern goods, is much 
 smaller there than at Smyrna, or even at Athens. 
 It is worth the yachtsman's while, also, to bear in 
 mind the fact that, if time is generally on the side of 
 the bazaar stall holder, it is a little also on his, as he 
 may be calling at the same ports, or at least some of 
 them, on his way home. This is necessarily true 
 about Athens. As to the purchase of goods, not 
 essentially Eastern, in Constantinople, I might as 
 well write about going shopping in Paris. 
 
 In reference to sending home goods, perhaps I 
 may be allowed to offer a hint which may be of use. 
 If the purchaser should wish to send goods home by 
 rail, it is well to bear in mind that, it is by no means 
 an uncommon occurrence for trains to be blocked 
 on the lines by snow during the winter. This was 
 not unfrequently the case during the winter of 
 1895 — 9^- The luggage and goods are naturall}" the 
 last things to be thought of, the lives of the pas- 
 sengers and the mail being, of course, the first care 
 
113 
 
 of the Company. I can leave my reader to imagine 
 what would happen, for example, to a Greek em- 
 broidered dress, if left in the snow for a few hours. 
 Of course, when there is no hurry, the yacht herself 
 could bring home anything, but I am supposing, for 
 some reason or another, that this course is not 
 desired. By inquiry at Cook's office, or of the 
 British Consul or Vice-Consul, it is not difficult to 
 ascertain what steamers are going either direct home 
 or to Marseilles. There is almost always some 
 shipping firm which will undertake delivery. This is 
 the course I adopt myself in an ordinary way. If, 
 however, I get a chance of seeing a home going 
 Captain or purser myself, or, better still, the ship's 
 steward (should she be a passenger steamer), I prefer 
 a private arrangement, if love or money can secure 
 it. Now and then exceptional facilities offer, as, for 
 instance, the Consul is going home on leave, and you 
 are his friend ; or one of the Embassy or Legation 
 staff. But, naturally, as a means of transport, this is 
 not open to the general public. I should not have 
 mentioned these facilities at all, had it not been that 
 it affords me an opportunity of drawing attention to 
 the uniform courtesy which yachtsmen in the East 
 receive at the hands of the Diplomatic and Consular 
 Staff, wherever they happen to call. 
 
 As I am on the question of transport, may I call 
 attention to a dreadful Eastern practice, which is 
 more common than is generally believed. Letters 
 are treated with habitual neglect, in almost all 
 Eastern post offices. If the letters you send home, 
 
 and which are sent out to you, do all of them arrive 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 anyhow, whether punctually or not, you will have 
 experienced, what very few of your fellow travellers 
 have done. But what is more trying still, is that, 
 after taking all the precaution you can, if telegrams 
 are sent to you through the post office, you often do 
 not get them for hours, sometimes da3^s, after their 
 arrival. The Greeks, in this respect, are, I fancy, 
 much greater sinners than the Turks. I will give 
 one instance out of many. I sent from Syra, a wire 
 to my friend, Mr. Maxse, the British Consul at the 
 Piraeus. The distance, as every one knows, is not 
 great, and the telegraph line quite direct. It was a 
 ware of great importance, both to me and to him. It 
 was kept a whole day at the post office at the 
 Piraeus. 'On asking for an explanation, he was 
 informed that the post offices authorities had been 
 very busy on that particular day. I could tell many 
 queer stories about the Postal Authorities, but, I 
 think I have given, in this example, an idea of what 
 travellers may expect as regards telegrams. I will 
 give one as regards letters. I expected one of im- 
 portance; it did not arrive, though it was due, and, 
 after w^aiting three days, I went to sea. Six weeks 
 later I arrived in England, and one week after that 
 my letter arrived. I think I have fairly made out 
 my case. Improvement, I am told, is going forward 
 in this department, well, let us hope so, there is 
 room. 
 
 I have now, I think, given all the general infor- 
 mation in my power, in regard to our yachting route 
 to Constantinople, its pros and its cons. There have 
 been, perhaps, more cons than pros, yet I should be 
 
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115 
 
 sorry if, in an3^thing I have written, I have dissuaded 
 anyone from voyaging Eastward. Circumstances 
 necessitated my going to Constantinople at the 
 worst possible time of the year, and I shall have 
 written to little purpose, if I have not made it clear 
 that December, January, and February, are the least 
 desirable months to select for seeing Stamboul, and 
 for yachting in the East of the Mediterranean, the 
 ^gean Sea, and Sea of Marmora. 
 
 I have recently been asked, by a lady who has 
 much experience in yachting matters, and is her- 
 self an owner, what I should advise as regards a 
 yachting trip to the East ? And the answer I made 
 her I have no reason to modify. I gave her a sketch 
 of all the ports I visited on the road to Constanti- 
 nople and back, and I think they will be found the 
 most convenient; I then added, ^'do not go when I 
 did." If you can get to Constantinople by October 
 15th, then go; you can then be back again to Corfu, 
 or to the West of the Gulf of Corinth, amongst 
 some well sheltered ports, before November 28th. 
 If you cannot do this, then put off Constantinople 
 till March 15th, and be back in the Mediterranean 
 by May ist. I hardly know whether this advice 
 can be bettered. As far as my knowledge goes, and, 
 as far as I can gather from others, I do not think I 
 could improve on those dates. 
 
 It will be obvious to my readers, that the Gulf of 
 Salonica, Mount Athos, and other places of great 
 interest, have not been visited by me, but the omis- 
 sion will, I hope, suggest to others, more able than 
 
 myself, the desirability of giving information and, 
 
 I 2 
 
ii6 
 
 above all things, producing and publishing photos of 
 these and other places, along the Xorth Coast of 
 these Eastern waters. So far as I am aware, no such 
 attempt has yet been made. The games at Athens, 
 the ever present Eastern question, and other incidents, 
 are all tending to turn the public eye in a direction, 
 where accurate information and accurate pictures will 
 be increasingly welcome. I am divulging no secret 
 between my publishers and myself, when I say that 
 they are quite prepared for any good book on this 
 subject. My own powers are far too limited, as well 
 as my opportunities ; I cannot do more than to act 
 as a pioneer in a very humble manner, but the 
 reception the public and my critics were kind enough 
 to give my last work, has encouraged me, and 
 should encourage others. There is a heap of over- 
 whelmingly interesting work to be done in the 
 Mediterranean, indeed, as one goes on, one sees how 
 much. If only a quarter of our yachting community 
 would give photos of the places at which they 
 anchor, and short descriptions, we should soon be 
 rich enough in knowledge. I am quite aware of 
 how much has been done. 
 
 Messrs. Cassell have published a most beautiful 
 work (^'Picturesque Mediterranean"), and the wood- 
 cuts, engravings, and letterpress are all beyond praise, 
 but the book is large and, though a marvel of cheap- 
 ness as regards value given, it costs a good round 
 sum. This is not at all the sort of book I am 
 thinking of The work that is wanted should be one 
 which would be at once smaller, handier, and 
 cheaper. It must, also, contain some uninteresting 
 
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117 
 
 looking photos (of course I mean to the general 
 public), and would have to run the gauntlet of the 
 critics, in consequence. No human powers can 
 make the entrance of many ports look interesting 
 to the reading world in general, yet it is precisely 
 these uninteresting looking places, the entrances to 
 which are so difficult to recognize at a distance, 
 which the navigator and the visitor most want. 
 '' Where is our harbour ? " is the question on every 
 one's lips when land is first sighted. A photograph 
 of the entrance soon sets the enquirer at rest. Yet 
 look at this photo by your fireside at home, and it 
 seems the most uninteresting of pictures. Happily, 
 this is not always the case, and the picturesque as 
 well as the useful can often be combined. 
 
 May I here be permitted to mention a few works, 
 which are much needed by all tourists in Eastern 
 waters. No one half realizes the charm of the East, 
 without a knowledge of both the Iliad and the 
 Odyssey. Yet neither of these have been illustrated 
 as they should be, with the places mentioned as they 
 look now, and as they probably looked then, side 
 by side. The interest of such a book would be 
 enormous, and, if undertaken by a scholar, a draughts- 
 man, and a photographer, would be of great and 
 lasting value. The Bible ports, and places of interest, 
 have been much more thought of and worked at, but 
 a yachtsman's Bible, by which, I mean, a Bible full 
 of photographs of the Bible ports, with hints at the 
 bottom of each page as to the possibility of anchoring 
 at places mentioned, is much wanted. The foot 
 notes might also contain information as to the depth 
 
ii8 
 
 of the water, the leading marks, the best times of the 
 year to go to these places, the prevailing winds, the 
 possibility of getting pilots, and the prices to pay them ; 
 water and coal supply up to date, together with 
 interesting facts, in regard to ancient monuments 
 or hieroglyphics, bearing on Bible history or Bible 
 questions. I am quite aware of the opposition I 
 may meet with, from those who would object to 
 binding secular information within the covers of the 
 sacred volume, but would not the gain be greater 
 than the loss ? No man writes a book without 
 laying himself open to some criticism, and, in draw- 
 ing attention to what seems to me a pressing want 
 of Eastern tourists and yachtsmen, I must run some 
 risk. I believe the cause to be a good one. 
 
 Now for another want. There would, at first 
 sight, be something comical about the appearance of 
 a book which might be called ''The Yachtsman's 
 History of Greece," for some cynic would be sure to 
 suggest that the time seems to have arrived when 
 yachtsmen, like children, must have their own History 
 of Greece, and quite full of pictures. To which I 
 should feel inclined to reply : " You enjoy the laugh, 
 but let me enjoy the book." There is, as far as I am 
 aware, no such work. Every yachtsman and tourist 
 probably knows the names of the principal battles of 
 ancient Greece, but very few indeed know the best 
 anchorages, at different seasons of the year, to go 
 to, in order to visit the sites where these took 
 place. Photographs of these anchorages, as well 
 as the battle-fields, as they now appear, might be 
 interesting to a very wide circle of readers. Of 
 
w 
 
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119 
 
 course, if you like to anchor in the Piraeus, and send 
 your vessel over periodically to Poros for water, you 
 can visit ever}^ spot, by road or rail ; some, for want 
 of good information, have already done so, or some- 
 thing like it. But this is not business. It is no use 
 having a home always with you wherever you go 
 (the yachtsman's splendid privilege), if you are de- 
 liberately to leave your comforts out of reach. An 
 instinct here tells me, that if I go on in this strain, 
 I shall get troublesome to my readers, so I shall 
 stop, and at once. 
 
 I have purposely left to the last the question of 
 scenery in Eastern waters. There is so much to read 
 in these days, that some tired souls may not im- 
 probably do with my book what they have done 
 with others, viz., read a bit here and there, then skip 
 on to the end. My finish, therefore, shall be an 
 answer to the question, "What is there to see?" 
 This is an important question. '^ Fancy yachting 
 with uninteresting scenery always. Who, then, 
 would ever buy a vessel at all ? " Well, in your 
 Eastern travels you will not find this. Xo, a 
 thousand times no, though, at times, I felt myself 
 disappointed. But then I went at the worst time of 
 the year ; yes, the very worst, for if I had gone in 
 July, I might have suffered much from the heat, but, 
 oh ! those mornings and evenings ! They are, I 
 know, worth more than can be described. How do 
 I know, as I was not there ? Well, I have a lady 
 friend, whose more than beautiful sketches and 
 oil paintings have shown me what those lovely 
 Greek islands are like during the summer months. 
 
120 
 
 Then she has a husband, about the best amateur 
 photographer that I have ever known, and this 
 artistic pair have many times and oft described 
 the beauties surrounding their home during the 
 warm season. ^' Now name your friends," says my 
 reader. — No, I will not, but they live within a loo 
 miles of the Piraeus. Nearer than this I will not 
 go, except to say that the lady was once the favourite 
 pupil of the greatest of French painting masters, and 
 that she has exhibited in the Paris Salon. So you 
 may work out the puzzle for yourself, then, if she 
 exhibits again, you may buy her pictures. Consols 
 now stand at 113; this picture investment will pay 
 you better. 
 
 To return, I think the scenery North of the Piraeus 
 and the Greek Islands only beautiful here and there. 
 There are many islands almost bare of trees; the 
 Government has not encouraged, and the inhabitants 
 have not had the enterprise, to replant those that 
 have been cut down for fire-wood or destroyed by 
 gales. But others there are that, during the best part 
 of the year, must be beautiful. I will mention a 
 few : — Poros, Mitylene, Syra, Patmos, Samos. The 
 Island of Delos, though interesting as the birthplace 
 of Apollo and Artemis, and the ruined temples once 
 erected to their honour, can never be beautiful ; the 
 lack of trees being only too conspicuous. 
 
 The passage of the Dardanelles, as every one 
 knows, cannot be made at night, so all passengers 
 are sure to see that most interesting locality. That 
 is certainly always lovely, except when the snow is 
 on the ground, when it looks about as dreary as it 
 
121 
 
 is possible for any place to look. On both sides of 
 the Sea of Marmora the scenery is most lovely, 
 while its many islands add immensely to its beauty. 
 The state of the country is, however, so unsatisfactory, 
 that I should be sorry to form one of a sketching or 
 photographic party, unless I was very distinctly 
 within a sight of my vessel, and I had a boat handy 
 to take me on board. A large number of anchor- 
 ages on both sides of the Sea of Marmora, however, 
 make sketching from the yacht comparatively easy, 
 while the entrance to the Bosphorus, when the 
 sun or, better still, the moon, is shining on Con- 
 stantinople, with its many domes and minarets, has 
 too often attracted the artist for me to dwell at 
 length on the beauty of the scene. Unfortunately, 
 the smoke from the many steamers which ply up 
 and down the Bosphorus, makes all photographic 
 work unusually difficult, there being only a few, if 
 any, opportunities of getting satisfactory pictures 
 during the day. There are some beautiful bits of 
 scenery meeting the eye of the tourist, as he ap- 
 proaches the entrance to the Black Sea, and the 
 valley extending to Therapia is quite unquestionably 
 one of the prettiest of the many lovely valleys of 
 which Turkey can boast. On the homeward bound 
 journey, should there be time, I doubt if much more 
 attractive scenery can be found, than the view which 
 will present itself to the yachtsman's eye, if he can 
 resist the temptation of entering the harbour of 
 Vathy in Ithaca, and will steer between this island 
 and the island of Cephalonia. It is a very far cry, 
 indeed, from the Bosphorus to Ithaca, but I have 
 
122 
 
 purposely drawn attention to these two places to- 
 gether, because of a very strange similarity of view 
 when passing between Europe and Asia in one case, 
 and the two islands mentioned in the other. Of 
 course there are no palaces in the islands, but the 
 configuration of the land, in both cases, is curiously 
 similar. Both, certainly, are equally lovely. When 
 passing Ithaca, the photographer and the artist can 
 work without the drawback of smoky steamers, and, 
 despite the popularity of the Bosphorus as a scene 
 for artistic labour, I believe the Cephalonia channel 
 will give even greater satisfaction to the worker. 
 
 I must now bid adieu to my reader, and must 
 leave him to find out yet new beauties and new 
 attractions for himself. There are plenty of these in 
 these Eastern waters. I have only indicated, to 
 those who have followed our cruise on paper, a few 
 attractions and interests as they appeared to the 
 writer, and to those who did him the honour to 
 accompany him as his guests and companions. 
 There is plenty of overwhelmingly interesting work 
 to be done here, by any one who cares to give the 
 public the result of his experiences, and will show 
 also, by photographs, the many points of interest 
 left untouched in this little work. If I have, in any 
 degree, succeeded in re-awakening an interest in 
 Grecian and Turkish waters, I shall feel more than 
 repaid. 
 
 The End. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 The following very admirable account of the opening of 
 the Olympic Games, was published in the Field news- 
 paper, of April i8th, 1896 : — 
 
 "The visitor to Athens now enters by the new underground railway, 
 that terminates near the Place de la Concorde, so that he avoids the 
 former long drive up the Ru du Stade, which is brilliantly decorated 
 with flags of all kinds and colours, the Greek pale blue and white, of 
 course, predominating. He soon sees that the whole city is en fete, 
 and that nothing has been spared to show it at its best. The streets 
 are thronged with strangers, for the most part Greeks from the pro- 
 vinces and islands, and adjacent shores of the yEgean and Levant, all 
 attracted by the great athletic gathering, organized on a scale un- 
 approached since classical times. The day fixed for the opening of 
 the games was Easter Monday, which, this year, coincides with the 
 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Greek National 
 Festival, April 6th. The games were to begin at 3 p.m., but, as early 
 as I o'clock, people began to stream down towards the Stadium. By 
 2, there were vast groups every here and there, but they appeared as 
 nothing in the vast edifice. All round the outside of the top the people 
 were crowded, covering, also, the elevations on either flank of the 
 building. Officers were stationed at all points of the Stadium, 
 directing people to their places, and, in this respect, the arrangements 
 were perfect, which is more than can be said of the facilities — or want 
 of facilities — for members of the press, or of the telegraph and number 
 board. All the seats in the lower half of the Stadium had cushions, 
 stuffed with cotton wool. At 2.30, Mr. Deliyannis, the Prime Minister, 
 appeared, and was cordially received. The stream of people continued 
 to pour in till 3 o'clock. Soon afterwards, the King and Queen and 
 Royal party entered, amid the acclamations of the multitude, and 
 proceeded to their seats, to the strains of the national air. Then the 
 Crown Prince, as President of the Games Committee, advanced, and 
 
124 
 
 read an address from the Committee to their Sovereign, congratulating 
 him on the happy event. Then followed the Olympic Hymn, written 
 by C. Palamas, and composed by the well-known Greek composer, 
 Samaras, who led the massed bands and choirs, a splendid and thrilling 
 piece of music, admirably rendered. The sight of the immense mass 
 of people, in and around one building, was one never to be forgotten. 
 It has been estimated that there were 40,000 people inside the Stadium, 
 and almost as many round the outside. 
 
 In the evening, there were illuminations in the chief squares and 
 streets of the city. The Rue du Stade, which runs from the Place de 
 la Constitution to the Place de la Concorde, was lit up by arches of 
 gas jets, stretching across from lamp-posts on opposite sides, at about 
 every 40 paces, the effect, though produced by simple means, being 
 very pretty. The squares, above mentioned, were lit up in the same 
 way, the lamp-posts being also joined by garlands of green leaves. 
 Bands of music, with torch-bearers, promenaded the streets." 
 
 I have been tempted to give the foregoing quotations 
 in extenso^ as being the best inducement which could be 
 offered to yachtsmen to visit this interesting sight.* I 
 must now add a few words of my own. There was a 
 scheme, which was very favourably received by the 
 Authorities in the Piraeus, a few years ago, for extending 
 their harbour accommodation. Every visitor to this 
 port must have been struck by the very limited space 
 which can be allotted to trading vessels and yachts in this 
 harbour, when there are also in it several men-of-war. 
 The scheme then proposed was, to run a breakwater 
 across the entrance of the outer or quarantine harbour, 
 and so enclose a sheet of water, which would nearly 
 double the present accommodation for shipping. A 
 quarantine harbour could, possibly, then be made in the 
 Gulf of Salamis. This scheme was, for the moment, 
 placed on the shelf, owing to a want of funds. Once 
 
 * The games are to be repeated annually ; so, at least, it is reported. 
 
125 
 
 again, this excellent plan has come to the front, and 
 there seems some chance of its being realized. Every 
 yachtsman who, by his influence, can help forward this 
 idea, will be doing a service, not only to the trading and 
 yachting community generally, but to the Piraeus, 
 Athens, and, indeed, to the whole Greek nation. With 
 the double attraction, not only of the Gulf of Corinth 
 Canal and a really splendid harbour at the Piraeus, such 
 as, indeed, might and could be offered, not only would 
 almost every Mediterranean yacht tending Eastward be 
 attracted, but the path of the tourist would be made 
 much more simple and easier than it is now. For a very 
 small expenditure in money, considering the advantages, 
 this improvement might be carried out. 
 
 The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, Limited, Printers, 54, Cheapside, E.G. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 
 PLACES NAMED. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 
 Albanian Coast ... ... 63 
 
 Albanian Boys. 
 
 
 „ Shepherds. 
 
 
 ,, Chief Beater. 
 
 Athens ... 52, 86, 98, 1 10 
 
 Athens — Ruins near. 
 
 Black Sea 
 Bosphorus ... 
 Buzuk Chekmejek 
 
 ... 36,37 
 30, 36, 121 
 
 40 
 
 Cape Spartivento ... ... 72 
 
 Cephalonia ... ... 7, 8, 55, 98 
 
 Chanak ... ... ... 24 
 
 Chelukoi ... ... ... 47 
 
 Chios 17—19, 109 
 
 Civita Vecchia ... ... 4, 7^ 
 
 Constantinople 2, 27, 28, 31, 37, 86 
 
 -88, 97 
 Corfu 5, 54, 55, 58-60, 71, 90, 96, 
 
 no 
 10 
 54, 92, 93 
 
 ••• ••• /X 
 
 Corinth Canal 
 
 „ Gulf of 
 Cotrone 
 
 Dardanelles 
 Delos... 
 
 ,, Island... 
 Delphos 
 
 Elba Island ... 
 
 14, 38-41, 87, 120 
 
 15,17,51 
 120 
 
 
 
 • • • • • • O 
 
 ••• ••• ^^ f f 
 
 Foujes or Foggia ... 21,42,46 
 
 „ Entrance to Temple of 
 
 Jupiter. 
 Gulf of Athens — Port St. Nikolo. 
 „ Arsida Island. 
 
 ,, Cape Colonna. 
 
 Argostoli. 
 
 Chelukoi — Shooting Quarters. 
 
 H.M.S. Cruiser. 
 
 Corfu Harbour Entrance. 
 
 Corinth Canal, W. entrance. 
 
 Gulf of Corinth — Vostitza Harbour. 
 
 Cape Baba, Asia Minor. 
 Delos Anchorage. 
 
 Foggia — Lighthouse off. 
 
 Island and Lighthouse. 
 
127 
 
 PLACES NAMED. 
 
 Gaeta... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 s, 76 
 
 Galata 
 Gallipoli 
 
 Guyo... 
 
 Gymno Island 
 
 Hermopolis ... 
 
 ... 30, 37 
 24, 26, 40, 93 
 
 6 
 ... 41,42 
 
 18 
 
 Ithaca 
 Itiar .. 
 
 Jero .. 
 
 K astro 
 Kutali 
 
 Lazaretto Point 
 Leghorn 
 
 Messina 
 
 ,, Straits of 
 Morto Bay ... 
 Mundayah Bay 
 Mykonos 
 
 Naples 
 
 Niagara Liman 
 Nikaria Island 
 
 Palinuro 
 
 Patmos, Island of 
 
 Patras 
 
 Paxo, Island of 
 
 1 era ... ... 
 
 6, 54, 95, 96, 121, 122 
 
 o 
 
 19 
 ... 26, 40 
 
 51 
 
 ... 2, 77 
 
 ... 5,72 
 71 
 40 
 
 47 
 14 
 
 73,75,90 
 40 
 
 51 
 
 72 
 
 ... 48, 50 
 
 10, 97, 104 
 
 6 
 
 30, 31, 33 
 
 Piraeus IO-I3, 52, 54, 88, 119 
 
 Psara ... ... ... 18 
 
 Ponza Harbour ... ... 75 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Gaeta- — Anchorage. 
 ,, Cathedral. 
 ,, Entrance to Fort. 
 
 Gallipoli — From Anchorage', South 
 
 Harbour. 
 Island of Paxo. 
 Gymno — View from anchorage. 
 
 Vathy Harbour, 
 
 Leghorn Harbour, Inner Basin, 
 
 Palinuro. 
 
128 
 
 Poros.. 
 
 PLACES NAMED. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 lo, 12-14, 104 
 
 Port Argostoli 
 Ferrajo 
 Longone 
 Mitylene 
 St Nikolo 
 Scala ... 
 Stavros... 
 
 Reggio 
 
 Rome 
 
 St. Stefano ... 
 Santa Lucia ... 
 
 ,, Venere 
 Samos Island 
 
 Sebastopol ... 
 Sigajik Harbour 
 
 ... 7,55 
 3 
 ... 2,77 
 22,23,41 
 ... 14, 52 
 
 49 
 ... 48, 49 
 
 71 
 
 76 
 
 ... 4, 27 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 46 
 
 36 
 46 
 
 Scala Nova ... ... ... 46 
 
 Smyrna 19-21, 43, 48, 106, no 
 
 Stamboul ... ... ... 29, 38 
 
 Syra Island 15, 17-19,49,51,97, 104 
 
 Vathy Harbour 
 Vostitza, Gulf of 
 
 Zea Island ... 
 
 ... 6, 121 
 54 
 
 ... 14. 52 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Poros — Mrs. Maxse, Owner, and 
 Crew of Roseneath. 
 ,, View of Harbour. 
 ,. South View of yacht 
 
 Roseneath. 
 ,, Island between ^gina and 
 
 Poros. 
 ,, General View. 
 ,, Greek Monastery. 
 
 Port St. Nikolo— Gulf of Athens. 
 
 Reggio — South. 
 ,, Anchorage. 
 
 Samos Island — Samson's Stone. 
 Tigani. 
 Lighthouse, Tigani. 
 
 
 Sigajik Harbour. 
 
 Scala Nova. 
 Smyrna. 
 
 Entrance. 
 
 Syra. 
 
 Vathy Harbour — Ithaca. 
 
 Vostitza Harbour — Gulf of Corinth. 
 
 Island of Zea — Lighthouse, Port St. 
 
 Nikolo. 
 
WITH THE YACHT, CAMERA, & CYCLE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, 
 
 By earl of CAVAN, K.P. 
 
 Sampson Low, Marston and Company. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 "To yachtsmen and cyclists the volume should prove very useful and attractive, 
 being full of practical information very pleasantly conveyed. The idea of employing 
 the camera for the guidance of the yachtsman is an excellent one, and the result is so 
 full of attraction, that even sta3--at-home readers will find a great deal to interest them 
 in the book. The views given of the Corinth Canal are very striking, and those of 
 Bizerta are not less full of instruction and interest than Lord Cavan's enthusiastic verbal 
 description of that remarkable harbour. Lord Cavan promises to continue and com- 
 plete his work by obtaining photographs and giving information in reference to ports 
 which he has not hitherto visited, should the present instalment prove acceptable. We 
 have little doubt that this condition will be abundantly fulfilled. Nothing can be more 
 delightful than a winter cruise in the Mediterranean to those who are fortunate enough 
 to be able to enjoy it, and few yachtsmen contemplating such a cruise, are likely to 
 regard their equipment as complete without a copy of Lord Cavan's useful little 
 volume. " — Ti7?ies. 
 
 " The modern yachtsman is not contented with his ship ; he also takes his camera 
 to record his impressions, and his bicycle to enjoy a run on shore whenever he finds a 
 good road near some port, and to astonish the natives who have never yet seen 
 men and women spinning along balanced on wheels. All these things the Earl of 
 Cavan and his party did, and their doings are set forth in a pleasantly written little 
 volume, which is rendered a really valuable addition to the librarj^ of a j^acht by the 
 excellent photographs taken by a lady of the part)-. Most photographs of foreign places 
 show the towns and harbours as the appear from the shore, but these ])ictures show them 
 as they appear from the sea, a very different thing. As a rule the plates are very good, 
 and those who know the places photographed, will recognise with pleasure the pictures 
 they themselves would have taken had they only had a camera with them. It was a 
 most enviable voyage, and Lord Cavan's book is full of useful hints for yachtsmen who 
 intend to follow in his path. For those who stay at home, the little book with its wealth 
 of illustrations is pleasant reading, while for those who go yachting in the Mediter- 
 ranean, whether in their own boats or in co-operative steamships, it is an indispensable 
 part of the librar)'." — Graphic. 
 
 "Lord Cavan's e.xhilarating book affords abundant evidence of the wisdom of his 
 recommendation. Many a pleasant bicycling tour will here be found associated with 
 the experiences of life aboard ship, and the vi.sits to the numerous spots around the 
 Mediterranean that have so materially helped to furnish subjects for the extensive and 
 pretty series of views rej^roduced by the photomezzotype process, by the London 
 Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, which are the especial glory of the volume. 
 Not to every man's lot does it fall to go to Corinth, says the Latin poet : and yacht 
 cruises in the Mediterranean are unhappily not within the reach of all ; but the reader 
 will get from these pages, with their endless accomjianiment of sun pictures, a very fair 
 notion of the yachtsman's peculiar sense of freedom and keen enjoyment of the ever- 
 moving panorama of sea and shore." — Daily N ews. 
 
"A volume useful alike to the ordinary tourist, the yachtsman, and the cyclist, for 
 its author has carefully culled information for each. But its pictures give the work its 
 chief value — nearly a hundred excellent full-page photogravures from prints taken 
 under the direct supervision of the Earl, and giving a splendid idea of the many ports 
 and places which his party visited." — Review of Reviews. 
 
 "Is an altogether admirable record of yachting and shooting in the Mediterranean 
 and thereabouts. It contains close upon a hundred full-page photographs, and cannot 
 but please the reader, whether it does or does not produce its effect by awakening in 
 him pleasant memories of past journeys in the same blue water and romantic islands." 
 — Black and White. 
 
 " A pleasant, gossipy narrative, written evidently with a view to the benefit of other 
 travellers over the same route." — Bookmayi. 
 
 "The book is, in fact, a chatty and sumptuously illustrated supplement to the 
 ' Mediterranean Pilot,' with hints thrown in for the benefit of those who are photo- 
 graphers and bicyclists as well as yachtsmen, one of the chief objects of the author 
 being to provide the navigator with pictures of the approaches of the various harbours, 
 to assist him in recognizing and entering them. In a subsequent volume he hopes to 
 deal in the same way with the harbours of the Levant and the Archipelago, the parti- 
 cular cruise of which the present book is mainly a description not extending further 
 eastward than Athens." — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 "More than a hundred full-page illustrations, from photographs excellently re- 
 produced by the Stereoscopic Company, space out a fair-sized volume, which contains 
 less than as many pages of letterpress. These photographs are certainly the principal 
 feature of the book. And since one object of Lord Cavan's account of his Mediter- 
 ranean yachting tours, with the bicycle on board for inland excursions, was to give the 
 reader a real notion of what the principal Mediterranean ports are like, he may be said 
 to have done his very best in this direction. For cycling. Lord Cavan speaks of the 
 South of France as a paradise. If you go to Spain, leave your own bicycle at home 
 and hire one on the spot ; the roads are bad and the Custom House worse. Without 
 being in any way pretentious, this book is pleasantl)' written and pretty withal." — St. 
 James's Gazette. 
 
 " To some ninety pages of letterpress there are about one hundred pages of illus- 
 trations, in what is called photomezzotype, and these are of unusual excellence. They 
 are from photographs by Miss Olive Holdsworth, who was one of the party on a yachting 
 expedition extending to Algeria, Sicil}% the Ionian Islands, Greece, and most other 
 parts of the Mediterranean coast that are best worth visiting. The points of view are 
 skilfully chosen, and the result is to produce works of art of a standard very different 
 from that attained by most amateurs. It would be difficult to improve such pictures as 
 those of 'Sunset over the town of Corinth,' and of the Harbour of Ponza, and as most 
 of them have been taken from the sea, they will furnish yachtsmen with a useful means 
 of identifying various out-of-the-way places. Lord Cavan's hints, too, will be of sub- 
 stantial value to those who are inclined to follow his course, and he takes care to note 
 where provisions, water, and coal ma)- be best obtained, and what ports are convenient 
 centres for inland exploration and supply roads suited to bicycles. Some of the 
 practical hints to navigators are very useful, as, for example, the warning tliat at one 
 place outside Bizerta, where the chart marks seven fathoms, the actual depth is only 
 four and a half fathoms." — Morjiing Post. 
 
 " The illustrations are so numerous that, to a certain extent, this book may be 
 regarded as an album with descriptive letterpress ; but in addition to this the author gives 
 some valuable information to navigators, the outlines of two cruises in the Mediterranean, 
 
a good deal of information that will be useful to cyclists, and concludes with some general 
 hints to yachtsmen and yacht builders. The book is very well got up, it is written in a 
 pleasant, readable style, and the illustrations, which have been produced in photo- 
 mezzotype by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, are worthy of 
 special commendation." — Field. 
 
 "The small volume before us contains a short but pleasantly-written account 
 of the cruise, and is illustrated with nearlj' one hundred photographs, taken by 
 Miss Holdsworth, one of the party, and printed by The London Stereoscopic Company. 
 The object of the Earl, who is himself an experienced yachtsman, has been firstly to 
 supply a series of photographs which will give some idea of the appearance of the 
 ports, &c., to an approaching visitor : to indicate some of the principal objects of 
 interest in each locality, and to furnish information, supplementary to that contained in 
 the ordinarj' guide-books and manuals, which will be serviceable to yachtsmen and 
 cyclists. There is no doubt that intending visitors to the countries described might 
 derive many useful hints from this work, the small size of which renders it sufficient!}' 
 portable to be used as a companion to the guide-books. The illustrations are excellent ; 
 and we observe with pleasure that the author hopes to follow up the present volume 
 with others at a later date, illustrating parts of the Mediterranean not visited during 
 his last cruise." — The Spectator. 
 
 " It is rarely that a volume of travel-talk about more or less familiar places is as 
 charming as is the Earl of Cavan's little volume. The book is written in a bright, 
 pleasing, and informing manner, and is enriched with close upon one hundred full-page 
 plates from photographs, illustrating all the more important places visited. Not only 
 does the author describe his own journeyings, but he gives his readers the benefit of his 
 experience in mapping out some suggested tours, and in giving some hints to yachtsmen 
 in the Mediterranean. To visit the Mediterranean is a strong desire with most people ; 
 an hour spent with this delightful volume will not only add considerably to their know- 
 ledge of Southern Europe, but will even further accentuate the desire to be off on a 
 prolonged trip to those sunny scenes." — Publisher's Circular. 
 
 " The cream of traveUing for pleasure is still that which is to be found on the 
 shores of the Mediterranean, and the most delightful of all means of visiting the famous 
 cities and beautiful scenes fringing the Middle Sea is that provided by a well-bound, 
 comfortable, and seaworthy yacht. But if we may credit the Earl of Cavan, a yacht is 
 not rightly equipped unless she have a camera and bicycle on board. With the one the 
 voyager, or, as on board the 'Roseneath,' some fair member of the party detailed for the 
 duty, snaps impressions by the waj' to pleasure and profit after daj^s and other travellers. 
 With the other, an amount of freedom and ease of locomotion on land is obtained 
 rivalling that which the yacht provides at sea. The photographs taken by Miss O. 
 Holdsworth. and printed in photomezzotype by the London Stereoscopic Company are 
 undoubtedly the great feature of Lord Cavan's 'With the Yacht, Camera, and Cycle.' 
 To stay-at-home people they bring a gust of Mediterranean lands and seas that will 
 infallibly kindle the desire to see with their own eyes the places visited by the 'Rose- 
 neaths ' party. To others accustomed to yacht cruising, they will be of real serv-ice as 
 well as pleasure, by supplementing in a way that only photographic art can do, the 
 information given concerning harbour entrances and the like by such duller media as 
 the guide-books and the Admiralty charts. Lord Cavan's running log of the cruise is 
 just such a bright, unassuming, and useful narrative of the ground gone over, as yachts- 
 men will wish to possess. It is thoroughly practical in its spirit ; and description and 
 counsel are thoroughly good of their kind. Yachting has never been placed in a more 
 attractive light before the world than in this little volume, which the author has de- 
 dicated to the Prince of Wales. " — Scotsman. 
 
"We have nothing but praise for this book; and can cordially recommend it to any 
 one who is projecting a winter tour in the Mediterranean. It is, perhaps, the jnost un- 
 sentimental journey that we have ever read, and, considering the object with which it is 
 written, one of the best. Lord Cavan, in fact, discards all the usual methods of the 
 writers of travels, carefully avoids boring the reader with needless detail or irrelevant 
 description, and presents him instead with plenty of practical advice and with a series 
 of photographs, of which many will be found useful as well as beautiful. So far from 
 padding his little book — for it is quite short — Lord Cavan surprises one by the quantity 
 of plain information that he has packed into a small compass. He cruised in a schooner 
 yacht of two hundred tons, with auxiliary steam-power, from Gibraltar to Athens, 
 paying off the yacht at Leghorn on the return journey. He carried bicycles for himself 
 and for some of the ladies of the party, and recommends everj' one to do the same ; and 
 more, he is careful to note the condition of the roads wherever he went, and the facilities 
 for the repair or the hire of machines. This, indeed, is one of his objects in writing 
 the book, now that all the world goes on wheels. Another of Lord Cavan's objects, as 
 a practical yachtsman, was to give, by means of photographs, an idea of the appearance 
 of the various ports from the offing. As he truly says, every navigator will appreciate 
 a picture of the port he is about to visit. His information is short and useful, and he 
 hardly ever departs from the businesslike character he has assumed, though his pages 
 are now and then lightened agreeabl)' by such events as the shooting of a wild boar, 
 or the bribing, with instantaneous effect, of a magnificent Spanish customs official. 
 Having said this much of what Lord Cavan modestly calls 'the letterpress,' we must 
 briefly express our admiration of the many excellent photographs or heliographs that 
 adorn the book. We infer, from internal evidence, that they are the work of Miss Olive 
 Holdsworth, one of Lady E. Lambart's friends and companions. They have been 
 done with equal skill and intelligence, and it is no exaggeration to say that they leave 
 nothing to be desired." — Natio>ial Obserzwr. 
 
 " Not everybody can go cruising in the Mediterranean, but those who can will find 
 in the Earl of Cavan's ' With the Yacht, Camera, and Cycle in the Mediterranean ' 
 many hints and much information, and those who cannot will at least enjoy the reading 
 of the book. It is to be hoped that the Earl's attempt to supply a sort of unconventional 
 handbook to the Mediterranean will encourage him to make, as is his intention, another, 
 and give photographs of and information concerning the Mediterranean ports which he 
 has not hitherto visited." — Westminster Gazette. 
 
 "In Lord Cavan's addition to the guide-books of the Mediterranean, the camera 
 results quite dwarf the author's descriptions of yachting and cycling, there being in it a 
 larger number of full-page photos than pages of letterpress. The illustrations are, 
 however, so well done and excellently reproduced that they alone make the book valu- 
 able, and one of the chief intentions of the work — namely, to show yachtsmen the 
 appearance of the Mediterranean ports from the sea at varying distances — is very well 
 carried out. The volume is full of useful hints to yachtsmen as to anchorages and 
 other practical matters ; and to cyclists, regarding the landing of machines, possibilites 
 of hiring, roads, and so on." — World. 
 
 w 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA— BERKELEY 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the 
 
 date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
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