Greece and the Golden Horn. With an introduction by the Rev. J. M. M'Clintock. Third thousand

Introduction

BY REV. JOIH M'CLIXTOCK, D.D. THIRD THOUSAND. NEW YORK: J. C. DERBY, 8 PARK PLACE. BOSTON : PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. CINCINNATI : H. W. DERBY. 1854. Entered, according to Act of Congress in the year 1854, by JULIA M. OLIN In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. STEREOTYPED BY PRINTED BY THOMAS B. SMITH, 216 WiUiam Street, N. Y. JOHN A. GRAY 95 & 97 Cliff St. A TO THE FRIENDS os J\) e dli e § I e ij q n tfijibef&iflj. THIS VOLUME, WRITTEN BY A PEN FOREVER LAID ASIDE, )S s r esj'ectfull *» tiettlcateto. CORDIAL WELCOME FROM THEM, MAY GIVE IT POWER TO AID AN INSTITUTION, FOR WHICH A SAINTED SPIRIT LABORED AND PRAYED. I it t r o hi c t i o it . The work now presented to the reader waa left in manuscript by the lamented author. His " Travels in the East," which has been for some years before the public, has gained the rank of a standard work upon the lands of the Bible ; indeed, it is in many respects the best work on those countries, for general readers, that has yet appeared.

This is eminently true with regard to Dr. Olin's account of Egypt, which brings together the best account of the policy of Mehemet Ali and of its results in the condition of the country, that can be found anywhere, to our knowledge, within the same compass. The present volume is characterized by the same excellent qualities that have marked all Dr. Olin's writings. His mind was singularly comprehensive ; but, at the same time, had a rare faculty of accurate and minute observation; and these qualifications, combined with a severe and conscientious truthfulness, fitted him admirably to write books of travel. He does not, indeed, give us romance ; but reality is better ; he tells what he saw, not what he dreamed. It is true, that amid associations such as those that haunt the hills of Athens, his calm mind grows imaginative, and, to use his own language, " finds it easy to repeople scenes that have been consecrated by the highest examples of genius and virtue ;" but his judgment, ever cool and collected, does not fail him under any degree of intellectual excitement, and his words may always be taken for true in their full meaning.

It must be remembered, however, that these pages were not prepared for the press by Dr. Olin. It cannot be expected, there- Introduction. VIII fore, that they will show the fineness of finish, or even the full ness of detail that would have been given them by his final re vision. The countries of which they treat have always been full of in terest; but now men's eyes, in all lands, are turned with straining anxiety to " Greeoe and the Golden Horn." "Within the terri tory indicated by those titles, will be found the earliest seats of empire, the scenes of God's nearest approach to man, the ground hallowed by the feet of the Saviour, the sites of the Apocalyptic churches — in a word, all the sacred localities of the Bible. Within that territory the noblest races and the highest arts of mankind have originated and flourished.

It has been the seat of more history than any other portion of the earth's surface ; and this day, its strangest history, perhaps, is enacting before our eyes. The Mussulman and the Giaour have often met in deadly combat ; for ages there has been hereditary strife between them. It has been thought that prophecy, and policy, and wisdom have all alike called for the overthrow of the Ottoman, and the rescue of the holy places from his sacrilegious hands. But, now a new crusade is preached within the coasts of England and through the valleys of France,— not to drive the Turk from Byzantium and Jerusalem, but to keep him on his throne, and to preserve the integrity of his dominion. The Czar is, by profession, a Christian monarch ; the faith of his people is that which for merly was preached in St. Sophia; but France and England unite with the Sultan against the Czar.

How is this change to be accounted for ? The reason is not far to seek. The old names do not mean the old things. The Czab affects to consider Turkey moribund, and wishes to be in at the death and take the lion's share of the spoil. To secure his ends he has exhausted every artifice of fraud and dissimulation, and now resorts to force of arms, seeking to call out the fiercest ferocity of his savage hordes by baptizing his am bition with a Christian title, and declaring, unblushingly, to all the world, that he is fighting the old hereditary battle of the Cross against the Crescent. In all this he commits at once a Introduction. IX great mistake and a great crime. His mistake is in supposing Turkey to be dying at the very time when she shows a most unconquerable vitality, and is, indeed, taking to herself new powers and a new lease of life, by dropping her old and worn-out forms of life.

One great principle of political vitality it has always had — a principle which will prevent too rapid changes, and at the same time make all needful changes possible without revolution — namely, municipal privileges and a free provincial distribution of authority. Neither in extent of dominion, in resources, nor in spirit, is Turkey either dead or dying. Michelsen gives the following statistics : " The Ottoman Empire extends over a part of Europe, Asia, and Africa, embracing an area of about 913,000 square miles. " Including the tributary provinces, the population is as follows : EUROPEAN TURKEY (rUMLI). Thrace 1,800,000 Bulgaria ...... 4,000,000 Moldavia 1,400,000 WaUachia 2,000,000 Bosnia and Herzegowina . . . 1,400,000 Rumelia 2,600,000 Servia 1,600,000 Islands of the Archipelago . . . -700,000 15,500,000 ASIATIC TURKEY (ANADOLU).

In Europe. In Asia. In Africa. Total. Mohammedan 3,800,000 12,950,000 3,800,000 20,550,000 Greeks and Armenians 11,370,000 2,360,000 13,730,000 Ro. Catholic 260,000 640,000 900,000 Jews 70,000 100,000 170,000 15,600,000 16,050,000 3,800,000 36,350,000 Here is a so-called Christian population of fifteen millions ; and besides these, there are foreign Protestants to the number of many thousands, with Protestant missionaries from England and America planted in the most important centres, and engaged in spreading evangelical Christianity. The simple question necessary to be answered, in order to decide on which side lies the Christianity in this quarrel, is, whether these Christian populations and Protestant missionaries can enjoy greater privileges and liberties under the Czar than under the Sultan ?

The claims of the Introduction. XI Czar are maintained by some parties in England ; and even in America, Bishop Southgate at least has declared his " every feeling of truth and equity convinces him that the claim of Russia is just and moderate, and that it ought to be sustained." Let us see. It is believed that no copy of the Scriptures has been printed in the vernacular language in Russia since 1823. Alexander favored the Bible Society, and even established presses to print the sacred book ; but Nicholas has changed all that, and now, according to a statement made by Lord Shaftesbury in his place in Parliament, no printing presses are permitted for printing the Bible in modern Russia, nor is a single copy of the Bible in that language allowed to circulate. There are two millions of Jews in Russia, but the Czar will not permit a single copy of the Hebrew Bible to pass his frontiers for their use.

His policy is to keep his people everywhere in the worse than Asiatic superstition that characterizes his so-called Greek church, and to let them know nothing better than a form of worship, compared with which Jezebel's worship of Astarte could almost be called rational and respectable. He represses evangelical missions with an iron hand, not merely when they seek to make proselytes from the Greek church, but even when they attack only the heathenism of his ontlying provinces. The Moravians had gathered 300 converts among the Calmucks, but the Imperial edict forbade their baptism, and the mission was disbanded. The Scottish mission in Russian Tartary was compelled to end its labors just as they were beginning to be productive. The missionaries of the Basle society were ordered to quit the Russian empire in 1833.

And in 1841, the mission of the London Society in Siberia was suppressed by an order from the Russian Synod, under the plea " that the mission, in Telation to that form of Christianity already established in the Russian empire, did not coincido with the views of the church and government." It would not be difficult, moreover, to show, that while Russia rejects all ameliorating religious influences from without, the exercise of its own power degrades the moral and religious condition of every province that it touches. On the other hand, it can be shown " that the Turks have for Introduction. XII many years been in reality— no matter under what compulsion, no matter from what motives— the protectors of nearly all the genuine Christianity that exists in Eastern Europe and in Western Asia, while Russia is slowly, surely, terribly, moving down to de stroy, as the frozen mass of a glacier makes its way, year by year, to overwhelm the homesteads of the valley."

In more than fifty towns and villages of Turkey there are Protestant congregations, many of them composed of seceders from the Greek church. A correspondent of the London Christian Times gives the following comparative statistics : Number of Protestant clergymen in Constantinople and its suburbs in 1830 — 0 Ditto ditto . . 1854 — 19 Number of Protestant sermons preached on every Sabbath in different languages, in ditto . 1830 — 0 Ditto ditto . . 1854 — 26 Number of Protestant schools in ditto . . . 1830 — 0 Ditto ditto . . 1854 — 14 These statistics refer to Constantinople and its immediate en virons alone. In the entire empire (including Constantinople) there are now sixty-five Protestant preachers. Did Nicholas reign instead of the Sultan, there would not be one. The facts of the case fully justify the strong remark made by Lord Shaftesbury (in the speech before referred to), that " Turkey had done everything to advance, and Russia everything to prevent the progress of Christianity among the millions of mankind."

The Turkish system allows free scope to Christian missionaries, whether Pro testant or Catholic, to carry on their operations by preaching, teaching, printing or circulating the Scriptures. There are presses at Constantinople, Bu&harest, and elsewhere, at which the Bible is printed in almost every Oriental tongue, including the Turkish. " There are forty depSts for the sale of the Bible in Turkey, and at this moment there are colporteurs and native agents engaged in every province." Let Turkey succumb in the approaching conflict, and Russia Introduction. XIII obtain the power she seeks, and all this will be changed. The Muscovite system of absolute exclusion will prevail, and all Pro testant missions must come to an end. The war, even at this early period, has benefited the Protestant missions, and its suc cessful prosecution on tho part of Turkey will be accompanied by still further concessions to his Christian subjects.

Islamism, as such, is of course opposed to such concessions ; but the advances of Turkey for the last twenty years have all been made at the ex pense of Islamism. The defeat of Russia will secure to the Chris tian population of Turkey a more independent position and a higher influence than they have ever yet enjoyed. "They have long been obtaining concessions of civil liberty. Their religious liberties are secure. The great officials of the empire help them to build their churches. One stigma after another has been re moved. They are rising in the social scale ; and it is to be hoped that when they have attained that true equality which is now fairly in view, they will not forget that there was a time when the shelter of the Ottoman Empire was sought by Christians un der Christian persecution, by Jews, and by all who were driven from Christian lands for liberty of thought, religious or political."

In view of all these facts, Christians — and most of all, Protestant Christians — owe their sympathy and their prayers to Turkey, England and France, in the present war. The views expressed by Dr. Olin with regard to the new Greek kingdom in the following pages, evince his keen political discrim ination and foresight. Thirty years ago English and French fleets blindly fought the battle of Russia against the Turk. Aptly does Dr. Olin ask (p. 252), " AVhat good has been done by the battle of Navarino ? Greece, too weak to be independent, and too corrupt and ignorant for freedom and self-government, has become virtually a province of Russia, under a stupid king, whose rule is decidedly more oppressive than that of the Turk." One word may be proper as to the pecuniary results of the present publication.

The Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn., of which Dr. Olin was President, lay very near his heart. In his will he made provision that, iu case ho should leave no Introduction. children, the copyright of his " Travels in the East" should be given to the University; and moreover, that on the death of Mrs. Olin, and in default of children to inherit, the whole of his property should fall to the University. His wife and son survive him — and long may they remain — but the present volume is dedi cated, in the spirit of his last will, to the object he so dearly cherished. The whole profits of the booh will accrue to the Wes leyan University, to whose Trustees the copyright has been as signed. J. M'OLINTOCK. April 27, 1854. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Page

Corfu— Albanian shores— Bay and town of Patras— Island of Zante— Harbor of ArgostoU — Wind and rain — Want of cleanliness— A comparison — Roar of the sea — Fine view of ArgostoU — Enchanting scenes 13

Chapter II

Tedious delays— Citadel of Navarino — The modern town — Violation of international law — Fortress of Modon— Bare and rocky islands — Bay of Coron, the ancient bay of Messina— Cape Matapan— Sterile coast— Fair wind and a smooth eea— Hydra— A city of granite and marble— Refuge from Turkish oppression— The Hydriots, their gallantry and successes 29

Chapter III

Bay of Egina, compared with the Bay of Naples— Distant view of tho Acropolis — First impressions of Athens — Position of the Athenian forum favorable to high displays of oratory— Pulpit of Demosthenes— Paul on Mars' Hill— The academy of Plato • 36

Chapter IV

The Theselon — Pentelic marble — Remains of an ancient temple — Massive wall of the ancient Agora — Tower of the Winds — Remains of a Clepsydra — Lantern of Demosthenes— Street of the Tripods — Curious sun-dial — Theatre of Bacchus —Noble site— Odeon of Regilla— Temple of Jupiter Olympius— Aerial habitation— Magnificent columns— The Ilissus— The Stadium— Contests of gladiators — The Lyceum— No vestiges of classic groves, or structures dedicated to serene meditation 42

Chapter V

The Acropolis— The Propy lea— Magnificent colonnade— Sculptured frieze— Elgin marbles— Lord Elgin, the spoiler of the noblest monuments of genius— The Contents. XVI PAGE Parthenon, the crown os the Acropolis— The Erccklheion— Ionic style—Cary atides—Temple of the Wingless Victory— The Muscus— Tlie Pnyx— Cyclopian architecture — Pulpit of Demosthenes 53

Chapter VI

Walls of the Acropolis— Cyclopian wall— Wall built in troublous times— History written on the wall— Temple of the Eumenides— Grotto of Pan— Interesting fragments— Three hundred churches in Athens— Rude, grotesque structures — SoUtary fanes— The Long walls 59

Chapter VII

Population of Athens— Streets and dwellings — Built on a portion of the ancient city — Reasons for and against making Athens the capital of Greece — Rapid growth of the city— Parade of business— Coffee-houses— Saints' days 66

Chapter VIII

The Greek Church— Support of the clergy— The priests badly educated— Destitute of influence, — their preaching, — costume — Public morals — Vices born of oppression and servitude— Education — University of Otho — Number of schools in Greece — Mrs. Hill's school in Athens — The Bible the book of the schools of Greece — Missionaries — Preaching the gospel entitled to the first place among the agencies for the salvation of heathen as well as Christian nations 72

Chapter IX

A government and a liberal party in Greece— Blunders and oppressions of tho Regency— The young Otho— Mistaken policy— Oppressive taxation— Despotic government— Act of lawless oppression— A degraded people— Dismissal of the Bavarians— The King thrown on his own resources— Splendor of his palace. . 80

Chapter X

Great expense of the army— Extreme poverty of the country— Cultivation of tho land— Sale of the public lands— No sorest trees— Dry beds of rivers and streams —Domestic and economic habits of the people— Want of capital— Bank on English capital— Shallow artifice gg Contents. XVII

Chapter XI. Page

Departure from the Piræus— Heavy gale— Night in a coffee-house— Group of sleepers—Rocky soil — Aerial town— Magnificent view— Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius— Venerable ruin — Precious remains of antiquity— Diminutive size of ancient temples 100

Chapter XII

Ancient Epidaurus— Slight remains ofa powerful aud opulent city — The modern town— Primitive plough, — probably the same used in the days of Homer — Adoption of the Frank dress — An upper room — Grotesque cortege— Precipitous paths— Grove of Esculapius— Ancient theatre— Stadium— Remains of ancient baths 110

Chapter XIII

Peasants cutting wood — Shepherds and their flocks— Napoli — An unhealthy city — The Palymede — A fortress-prison, — the commandant — Fine pieces of ordnance — Fortification constructed by Venetians and Turks— The bastions — Impregnable fortress — Oriental entertainment— Dishonest publican — Only good road between Macedonia and Cape Matapan 118

Chapter XIV

Fertile plain of Argos— Ancient city of Tyrius — Reasons controlling the selection of the sites of ancient cities — Gateways — Huge stones, — work ascribed to giants — Ruins of Mycenæ — Great antiquity — Cyclopian remains — Tomb of Agamemnon—Gate of lions— The citadel— Walls ofthe citadel— ''The void place" —IUustrations of prophetic language— Remote antiquity 125

Chapter XV

Argos,— market-day— Source of the power of tbe ancient Greeks— Journey in the rain— Dervenakl,— the Thermopylæ of the late Greek Revolution— Vale of Nemea— Remains of the temple of the Nemean Jupiter — Difficult paths and sagacious horses — Immense sand-hills — Corinth — Fragment of a temple of Neptune—Hospitality of the governor 137

Chapter XVI

Isthmus of Corinth— Proposed canal— Reasons of its failure— The advantages it would afford— Kind attentions from the governor of Corinth— The Bavarian regency— Municipal system— Coast oftheGulfof Lepanto— Scala Contents. XVIII

Chapter XVII

Page Lovely View— Krisso— Fertile valley— Sarcophagi— Delphi— Fountain of Castalia —Sacred rocks— narrow chasm *•"

Chapter XVIII

Ancient gymnasium— Modern use of ancient treasures— The Stadium— Valley of Delphi— Ancient dreams, and modern realities— Ancient cemetery— Terraced vineyards— ViUage of A rracaba— Remote position— Visit to a Greek family,— style of building,— comfortless mode of living 158

Chapter XXII

Magnificent plain— Cattle and sheep of Greece— Tbe feathered race— Halt at noon-day — Uncourteous treatment — Dining in public — View of the island of Negropont— Mountain scenery— Parnassus and Helicon— Transparent atmosphere— God's works all clean — Oropo— Advantage of an honorary title 184

Chapter XXIII

The Greek like the North American Indian— Aspect and dress of the peasantry- Rocky road— Plain of Marathon— Noble area— Rude monuments— Theatres of great battles— Boyish imaginations— The battle of Marathon, a conflict between light and darkness— Mighty consequence of this conflict — Battle of Cheronea— Greece, the civilizer of the world — Battles of Marathon and Cheronea, separate triumphs of the same principle — Evening meditations on tho field of Marathon Contents. XIX

Chapter XXVII

Cafes ofthe Solomynia— Curious pipes— Oriental repose— A Frank taking notes —Exaggerated reports of opium eaters— Number and elegance of the coffee-houses— Seraskier's Tower— Noble view — Sitesof public edifices— Multitude of mosques — War department — Signal for fires — Shops for vessels of brass 226

Chapter XXVIII

Tbe bazars — Bazar for the sale of shoes and slippers— Splendid bazar for the sale of rich embroidery — Saddle bazar,— glittering wares — Armenian trader in ft3ira — Characteristics of Oriental traffic— Imposing spectacle— Dignity of the Turkish merchant — Different bearing of the Jew — Armenian bazars — Exposure to fire 233

Chapter XXIX

Greek churches built by voluntary contributions — Burnt district— Frequency and extent of conflagrations— Fearful scenes— Exhibition of selfishness and bigotry -Slight structures — Ready to be bumed 240

Chapter XXX

Beautiful Armenian church— Monumental slabs used in its erection — Armenian burying-grounds — Armenian and Turkish monuments— Simple memorials of the dead— The resting-place of the dead a favorite resort for the living Contents. XX

Chapter XXXI. Page

The Sultan's navy-yard— Old ships of war— Question of the East— Political aspects—Strangers not readily admitted into the navy-yard— Mr. Rhodes, the Sultan's naval architect— Jealousy of Turkish officers— Oppression of the peasantry—New system of reform— Ruined palace of Constantine 250

Chapter XXXII

Burning heat— Changes in the temperature— Howling Dervises— Shrill frantic cries— Convulsive movements — A great Santon 258

Chapter XXXIII

The Mussulman Sabbath — Unsuccessful effort at sight-seeing — Royal visit to a mosque — A caique — Greek boatmen— Salutations to the Sultan — Martial music — Exciting race — Sultan in the place of prayer — Expectant crowd — Royal barges— Officers of State— The Sultan— Gorgeous spectacle 265

Chapter XXXIV

The heavenly waters— Turkish soldiers— Young recruits— The military system of France adopted in tho Turkish army — Frank costume — Tlie fez, or red cap- Ample Oriental costume — Slow and measured pace — Dancing dervises — Velocity of their whirl— The scarlet fleece 274

Chapter XXXV

Boatmen of the Bosphorus— Fine steamboats built by Mr. Rhodes— Head of the Golden Horn— Valley of Sweet Waters— Kiosk of tbe Sultan— Royal palaceB — Childish policy— Monument to the Sultan's skill in archery — The enchanted arrow — Armenian church at Haskra — Intolerance rebuked — Armenian school —Mosque of Eyoub— Its peculiar sanctity — Sultan's tomb— Turkish fashion of endowing tombs— Turkish mode of fostering native talent 281

Chapter XL

The Seraglio— Tragic court register— Site of the ancient Byzantium— Halls of audience—Thick cypress grove — The keeper asleep— Column of Theodosius tho Great — Deep shade — Green houses — Festive halls— The treasury — Mint — Worthless coins— The armory— Oriental repose trying to Frank impatience — Brazen camp-kettles of the Janissaries — Desecration of an ancient church. — Last day in Constantinople 31' § X ttt t. GREECE AND THE GOLDEN HORN.

Chapter I. The Ionian Islands

Corfu is the first Greek town we nave seen. It is Baid to contain three thousand five hundred inhabitants, and is situated upon the eastern side of the island, opposite to Albania, from which it is about two miles distant. Near the middle of the channel is the small island of Vidi, consisting of a few acres of rock, out of which has been excavated an impregnable fortress, not yet entirely complete. This fortress quite commands the channel, which is deep enough for ships of the line on the Albanian side, as well as towards Corfu. There are also strong forts in the city oppo site to Vida, and it appears hardly possible for an en emy to disturb this stronghold of England, which, along with Gibraltar and Malta, must secure to her the dominion of the Mediterranean, so long at least as she maintains her naval superiority.

The bay, per fectly shut in by mountains, is of great extent and depth of water, but is said to be exposed to winds from the Albanian mountains. The entrance is by a Corfu narrow winding channel that seems to be quite blocked up with mountains, when you look back to it from tho city. There was but little shipping in the harbor — mostly small Greek vessels employed in the coasting trade. The island of Corfu, seen at a distance, seems only a mass of desolate mountains. It, however, con tains many fertile valleys, which produce olives in great abundance. These constitute the agricultural wealth of the island. Corn is imported from the Biack Sea by the government, and sold to the people at cost. Vegetables, some vines, and lately potatoes, are the other products. The city of Corfu is built upon a point of land, just opposite to Vida, and though not perfectly flat, is not, with the exception of the citadel and the streets near the governor's palace, greatly elevated.

The houses built of stone or brick, and plastered and whitewashed, have a neglected and decaying appearance. The streets are very narrow, and, with a few exceptions, the shops are small, poor, and dirty. Only a few of the coarsest articles are exhibited for sale, and though the streets are several of them crowded, there is but little appearance of business. Multitudes of people stood or sat idle, laughing, talking, or smoking. No thing could be more picturesque and un-European than the whole scene. It was decidedly oriental, and the more striking for being the first oriental town I had visited. The flowing and various costumes ofthe Greeks, Turks, and Albanians, were mingled in gay confusion. "With very few exceptions, all was marked with the impress of squalid poverty. The boatmen, who Corfu 15 seem to be active and expert, generally speak a lit tle English, as do many of the shop-keepers, several of whom are, in fact, Englishmen.

The aspect of the people is decidedly Greek, and it is only here and there that, with the exception of the military, a man is seen dressed in the European fashion. Corfu, which is the key to the Adriatic and the Archipelago, may be expected to increase in size and importance. The expenditure of the army and for public works is a source of prosperity. The fleets of England are often here, and considerable trade is carried on with the neighboring coast of Turkey. The High Commis sioner is said to have the prosperity of these islands much at heart, and the native legislature, though by no means an enlightened body, concur to a good de gree in his views. Good roads have been constructed, a thing unknown in other parts of the Levant.* A * A fearful hurricane burst on the island of Corfu on the night ofthe 19th of February, 1853.

The country was everywhere rav aged, and the most lamentable misfortune was occasioned. The houses were agitated as if by an earthquake ; doors and windows were torn from their fastenings and hurled through the air, and the roofs of houses fell crashing into the streets. The town of Corfu suffered severely. Several houses were blown down ; all the ships at anchor suffered, while many were wrecked ; upwards of one hun dred trees on the Esplanade were uprooted, and a portion of the walls supporting the land was demolished by tlie sea. One account says that twenty-nine lives were lost in the environs, and another eighty. One village is spoken of as entirely destroyed. A letter dated the next day after the hurricane says : " The magnificent forest of olive-trees, which was the pride and wealth of Corfu, is entirely destroyed.

The country is literally sacked. The few trees which remain standing may be counted, but Corfu college, which is well attended, has been endowed. The professors were mostly educated in Italy, and some of them are Italians. An Englishman was ap pointed to one of the chairs, but upon an alleged in terference with the religious prejudices of the country, was compelled to retire, and a statute forbids the ap pointment of another. There is a growing attention to common schools, which are also established by the government. The land of the island is held in small estates, which are valuable in proportion to their num ber of olive-trees. The Ionian islands pay annually for the British connection, £36,000, beside maintain ing their own local institutions and improvements. The governor receives £5,000 per annum.

Inter course with the eastern part of Turkey is embarrassed by a rigorous quarantine. Upon leaving Corfu, the Albanian shores continue bleak and mountainous, with scarcely an interruption, for I should think more than a hundred miles. The same is true of the island, though the mountains are less lofty and abrupt. Ithica, which we passed before 5, on-the morning of the 21st of November, has a similar appearance, as has Cephalonia, of which we had a more distant though distinct view. These, with many smaller islands, are masses of mountains apparently it is impossible to reckon the thousands which are torn up and broken to pieces, Never have I witnessed such a deplorably deso lating scene, of whose horrors description is impossible. All tho roads are blocked up by trunks of trees ; the country no longer has the appearance of a land inhabited ; it has tho aspect of a chaotio overthrow." — Ed. Patras. 17 consisting of many rocks and peaks of a gray ashey color, nearly destitute of verdure, and quite without trees.

Many of the valleys and some small plains have great fertility, though but a thin soil. "We entered the bay of Patras between 9 and 10 A. M. The shores on either hand are still bounded by mountains of considerable height, and almost per fectly bare of verdure. Not a tree is to be seen, and the eye rests upon boundless sterility. Nearer Patras the hills recede a half a mile from the beach, and a strip of level ground, apparently fertile, stretches along the coast for several miles. Back of this narrow plain, the elevation is less than elsewhere, and ap peared to be planted with olive-trees. The town is built close to the water, extending back to the foot of a high hill which is surmounted by a citadel that quite overlooks the town, and, though constructed with bttle solidity, might resist a sudden incursion of undis ciplined foes.