A Visit to Greece and Constantinople in 1827, 8

Front matter

A VISIT TO GREECE AND CONSTANTINOPLE, IN THE YEAR 1827-N. BY HE1VRY A. V. POST. ONE OF THE AGENTS OF THE NEW YORK GREEK COMMITTEE. NEW YORK : SLEIGHT & ROBINSON, PRINTERS. No. 26 William Street. SOLD BY 6. AND C. AND H. CAKVILL ; WHITE, GALLAHER AND WHITE ; E. BLISS ; COLLINS AND HANNAY ; COLLINS AND CO.; W. B. GILLET ; J. LEAVITT ; T. AND 3. SWORDS; J. P. HAVEN J A. T. GOODB1CH ; C. S. FRANCIS ; O. A. ROORBACH ; WM. BDRGESS, JR. — PHILADELPHIA : CAREY AND HART ; TOHN GRIGG. 1830. Southern District of New York, ss. BE it remembered, That on the twenty-tilth day us March, in the filiy-fourtu year of the Independence of the United States of America, Sleight & Robinson, of the said District, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit : " A Visit to Greece and Constantinople, in the year 1827-8.

By Henry A. V. Post, onr of the agents of the New York Greek Committee." In conformity to the act of Congress of the United States, entitled " An at for the en couragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled "An act supplementary to an act, entitled An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts ol" designing, entrraving, and etching historical and other prints." FRED. J. BETTS, Clerk of the Southern District of New York A VISIT TO GREECE &.C. &c

Preface

. The author of this volume sailed for Greece on the 12th ot' September, 1827, as agent for the distribution of a cargo of provisions and clothing among the suffering people of that country. Some time after his return he was tempted by a period of leisure, to prepare for the press a short account of the things which he saw and heard during his sojourn abroad, hoping that it might perhaps be read with some interest, at a moment of such universal anxiety and curiosity respecting that portion of the globe which he visited. It was not, however, until the latter part of the summer of 1829, that he resolved to undertake the task ; and since that time the completion of it has been unavoidably delayed by circumstances of a private nature. With a trembling hand, the author now lays the result of his labours before the public : he knows the stern tribunal before which he has to appear, and nei ther asks nor expects any indulgence.

He would only state, in order to justify himself in anticipation against the charge of pre sumption, that he has not ventured upon the hazardous experiment of publication, without taking the advice of those whose judgment he has reason to respect. If he has been deceived and misled by the partiality of friendship, let the work be consigned without mercy to the flames, and let all the people cry, amen ! A few words of explanation are here necessary, respecting the rule which has been adopted by the author in the writing of Greek names. The general practice of foreigners in this particular is extremely various, and in most cases erroneous. The VI

PREFACE.

. French and Italians almost uniformly follow, with regard to the Greek, the same absurd plan which they have adopted in relation to other foreign languages ; that of mutilating and distorting and entirely remodelling all proper names, so as to accommodate them to their respective idioms. The English are not often directly guilty of this practice, although they sometimes render themselves accessaries after the fact, by receiving and adopting the perversions of the French and Italians. Another common source of error, is the circumstance of not attending to the distinction between the nominative and vocative cases. As the latter is used by persons addressing each other, it is more frequently heard than the former, and is therefore very naturally mistaken for the name of which it is an inflection.

Many foreigners. moreover, either from ignorance of the language, or inadvertency, or the strangest notions of propriety, write the Greek names according to the sound, without paying any regard to the orthography. Owing to these and perhaps other causes, it rarely happens that a Romaic name is correctly spelled by a Frank. For loannes, we sometimes find Yani ; for Georgios, Yoryi, or Yorgi ; for Demetrios, Demetri ; for Nikolakes, Nicolaky ; for Panagiotes, Panayotti ; and so with many others that might be enumerated. The names of this description, that occur in the following pages, are given for the most part in their native Greek form, without regard to the pronunciation, or to the corruptions sustained in passing through other languages. The only exceptions to this general rule are some few names of places, which we have been so long accustomed to see in a foreign dress, that they would scarcely be recognised in their native costume.

Such, for in stance, are Coron, Modon, Navarino, Missalonghi, Scio ; which, if correctly written, would be Korone, Mothone, Abarinos, Meso loggion, Chios.* There are indeed two or three names of per- * The uniform change of v into y may appear to be another depar ture from the rule laid down ; but this letter when unconnected with another vowel, seems in reality, both in ancient and modern Greek, to be the same thing as our y, and is always so rendered in Latin : as, fov example, in the words. Corcyra. Syria. &c.

PREFACE.

. VII sons, which have inadvertently been slightly changed from their original form, by attending to the sound instead of the orthography ; such as Grivas and Tombazes, which if written with strict accuracy, would be, Gribas, Tompazes. As some difficulty or doubt may arise, as to the pronunciation of these Romaic names, it may not be improper to observe, that ai must be sounded as a in mate ; au, as av, or as ; ei, oi, and ui, as e long ; eu, as ev, or ef ; b, as v ; g before e and i, as y in the beginning of a word : d, as ih in them ; p after m, and mp in the beginning of a word. as b ; t after n, as d ; and the termination es, (being formed in Greek by ■>],) as ees, with the hard sound of the s. These are the chief peculiarities of the Romaic pronunciation, to which it is necessary to pay attention.

An ode, and a number of political documents in the original Greek, have been placed at the end of the volume, under the belief that they will be interesting to some persons, as specimens of the language, as it is now written among the higher classes of the people. A VISIT TO GREECE, &c

Chapter I

There is an " evil under the sun," and a sore evil too, which the greater part of mankind have never known : it is, to arrive in some tranquil port, after the toils and turmoils of a tedious voyage, tired of the confinement of a pent-up cabin, and delighted with the novel and inviting prospect of a strange city, and though free from the remotest symptoms of pestilence or disease, to be sent off, like malefactors, to the irksome durance of a lazaretto. Such was our unhappy fate, on arriving at Gibraltar, after a month's tossing to and fro, upon the stormy bosom of the Atlantic. We were putting ourselves in order for going ashore, and were nearly ready to step into the jollyboat, when the health officer came alongside, and, after the usual interrogatories, sentenced us to a five days quarantine.

If he had sentenced us all to be hung, our surprise and disappointment could hardly have been greater. It was in vain we represented, that we had left New York without even a suspicion of any contagious disease, that we had had no sickness during the passage, and that all on board were in perfect health : we had come from America, that land of yellow fever, and this alone was sufficient for our condemnation. It mattered not whether we had been fifty or five hundred days at sea : we might have been blown upon and ventilated by Atlantic gales till the end of time, and the pestilential vapours GIBRALTAR. would still have clung to us. But by the simple process of lying five days in port, in the midst of a congregation of vessels from the most unhealthy portions of the globe, without raising a hatch or moving a barrel, and even without the application of a single bucket of water, the contagious influences were so thoroughly purged away, as completely to quiet the apprehensions of the timid Spaniards, and their most sapient English rulers.

The boats, which but the day before had cautiously kept aloof, now came fearlessly alongside of us ; the hands, which had not even dared to take a letter from us but by means of long tongs, now "joined gripes " with us without alarm ; and we circulated freely through the city, jostling several of the inhabitants on our way, without pro ducing a single case of plague or yellow fever ! The only landing place for every thing that enters Gibraltar, is a small projecting quay or mole, immediately under the guns of a formidable battery of granite. All vessels discharge their cargoes in the bay, by means of lighters, which are constantly crowding with their burdens around this common receptacle. From its contracted limits, it necessarily becomes a place of great bustle and confusion. It is constantly heaped up with bales and boxes of merchandise, and crowded with carts, and horses, and mules, and asses, and an obstreperous multitude extracted from almost every nation under the sun.

The pulling, and hauling, and shouting, and braying, and bellowing, raise together a din and hubbub never surpassed by either Babel or Bedlam. Many of the peasantry, from Algeciras and the other neighbouring towns, were standing on the mole when we landed. I shrunk from them involun tarily, as though I had been surrounded by so many banditti. They have a singularly savage and cut-throat appearance, which cannot fail to excite suspicion and distrust in the mind of every stranger who sees them for the first time. From the well known character of the Spanish peasantry in general, the samples that we saw of them were probably no better -than GIBRALTAR. they seemed. But it is dangerous to condemn a man from his physiognomy alone ; and even these desperate looking Spaniards may perhaps " belie their countenances," as Addi son significantly expresses it, and, in spite of their big black whiskers, sunburnt complexions, and fierce-rolling eyes, may be as honest fellows as any in the world.

Their costume is quite picturesque. It consists of a small spherical hat of wool, with a broad band of figured velvet, a short jacket, a red sash round the waist, tight breeches, and leggings below the knees, of figured leather. The farfamed rock of Gibraltar is an oblong and rugged hill, jutting out into the sea, and rising abruptly from the water to the height of nearly 1500 feet. Its summit is a broken, undulating ridge, of which the most elevated part is the southernmost peak, called the Sugarloaf. It is nearly insulated, communicating with the mainland by only a low and narrow sandbank. The town is built much in the Italian style, and stands upon the side of the rock, facing the bay. It is securely defended from any assault in front, by a long line of fortifications, handsomely built of large blocks of hewn granite, and strongly mounted with heavy artillery.

When viewed from the bay, it has a gay and inviting appearance ; but like many other a seeming fair one, loses many of its charms upon closer inspection. It has an odd effect, to see English names to Spanish streets, and English signs upon Spanish houses. The city is de cidedly continental ; but a walk of five minutes through the streets, proclaims at once the usurped dominion of the mistress of the seas. The present Governor is Sir George Don : his bust fills a niche in the faqade of the Exchange. The population is a motley and heterogeneous mixture. The ruddy Englishman, the swarthy Spaniard, the tawny Moor, the turbaned Turk, the wily Israelite, and the meekly plodding donkey, (among whom the latter two hold the most con spicuous rank,) crowd the streets, and present probably as GIBRALTAR. striking a variety os costume and character, as is to be met with in any city of Europe.

It is rather remarkable, that in a town like Gibraltar, containing so large a number of English residents, there should be no Protestant place of worship besides the private chapel of the Governor. It is the more remarkable, because the English are in general, above every other nation, scrupulously attentive to the external observance of their religion. In every city on the continent, which is at all frequented by them, they have their own chapel, (sometimes indeed nothing more than an ordinary chamber,) where service is regularly per formed by some one of their clerical travellers. This reproach, however, will soon be removed from the English at Gibraltar ; for they are now erecting a large and elegant church, in the Moorish style of architecture, which, when finished, will be the finest building in the city.

Another fact perhaps still more surprising is, that there is but one Catholic church in the whole town : a fact, from which we may venture to infer, that the Spaniards here are little more devout than their English neighbours. We formed a party of six or eight Americans, and spent a day in an interesting walk over the rock and fortifications. The subterraneous excavations are probably the most stupendous works of the kind in the world ; not even excepting the admired galleries of the Simplon, or the famous outlet of the lake of AlbanO, executed by the ancient Romans. They consist of an immense labyrinth of winding galleries, cut through the solid rock, and in the very bowels of the mountain, and large enough for a carriage to drive through. From these principal avenues, branch off at intervals a great number of lateral corridors, terminating in small chambers with deep sunk port-holes, in which hundreds of the largest guns lie constantly in ambush, ready at any moment to blaze forth their deadly contents upon the intruding foe.

The most remarkable parts of the excavations are Cornwallis' and St. GIBRALTAR. George's halls ; two large vaulted chambers, hollowed out of projections in the mountain, with walls, floor, and roof, all of one entire mass of solid rock. After groping for an hour in subterranean darkness, we emerged into the upper air, and ascended to the signal-house, a neat little building, perched upon one of the highest peaks of the rock. Its elevation is 1276 feet above the level of the sea. A gun is fired here at sunrise, sunset, and nine o'clock in the evening. After the Sunset gun, the gates are closed, and nothing is permitted to enter or leave the town. Here also is the telegraph station, which gives notice of all vessels that make their appearance in the straits. We were regaled with bread, cheese, eggs, and wine, by the sergeant's wife, a tidy little woman, who claimed relationship to us, on the ground of having been born at Halifax.

Our entertainment was gratuitous ; that is, no price was set, but it was left to our generosity to give such an honorarium as we pleased ; a device very common in Europe, by which the host not only gains credit for his hospitality, but is sure of receiving five times as much as his bounty is worth. From the signal-house we descended towards point Europa, the southernmost extremity of the rock, to visit a natural curio sity, which threw far into the shade the artificial works which we had just been admiring. This is St. Michael's cave, a frightful cavern which opens its tremendous jaws upon the astonished beholder, with sufficient terrors to be the " descen sus averni," or the mouth of the bottomless pit. The en trance is through a stupendous arch, whicli leads by a steep and slippery path, farther than the enterprise of man has yet ventured to explore.

It is the vulgar belief that it extends under the bed of the sea, all the way to Apes hill, on the op posite continent. This notion has its origin in the strange and mysterious visits which are sometimes made by the monkey tribes of Africa ; for it seems taken for granted that they must cross over from the African side. As they are never seen CERIGO. upon the water, and the distance in fact seems too great for them to swim, and as they are not known to possess the power of flying, or in other words, as they neither pass through the water, nor over it, it is natural to infer that they must find their way under it ; and the idea is rendered sufficiently plausible to the vulgar mind, by the existence of this singular and unfathomable passage through " the solid entrails of the earth." The first part of the cavern is immensely high.

Its lofty arched roof, and long pendent stalactites call forcibly to mind some rude Gothic cathedral. As you descend and advance, the ascending stalagmite rises to meet the descending stalactite, the rocks are thrown together in every grotesque variety of form and colour, the passages become narrow and intricate, and all is soon lost in impenetrable darkness. The dimly seen stalagmites rising in fantastic shapes in the distant obscurity, and spotted here and there with a few scattered rays of light, look like so many spectres or goblins, lurking in their silent and gloomy abodes. The awful sublimity of the scene is greatly heightened by the incessant chirping of crickets, and the chattering and fluttering of bats, which, together with the slow trickling of water, and the voice or tread of some occasional visiter, are the only sounds that ever disturb the death-like stillness of this singular place.

Another similar, though smaller cavern, was discovered some years ago by a soldier, who, pursuing a young hawk, at the risk of his life, high up the rock, suddenly came upon its mouth. We left Gibraltar with a propitious breeze, which carried us, in the short period of eight days, to Cerigo, the southern most of the Ionian Islands. This is the ancient Cythera, the birth-place, or rather the landing-place of Venus, where she was carried by the Zephyrs, as she arose from the foam of the sea. Cerigo is a most unclassical looking spot of earth, and unless it has very much changed in character, as in name, from the ancient Cythera, must have been a most unfit abode for the Goddess of love and beauty, or any Goddess at all, but CERIGO. the Goddess of barrenness and deformity. We came to an chor at Kapsali, the principal harbour in the island, to make the necessary inquiries respecting the situation of affairs in Greece.

We here received the joyful intelligence, which has since thrilled the heart of every Christian and philanthropist throughout Europe and America, that the formidable arma ments of Constantinople and Alexandria, which had been sent forth to Greece with commissions of death and destruction, to crush the last hopes of liberty in that devoted country, by one final and exterminating blow, had been totally destroyed but ten days before, by the combined fleets of England, France, and Russia, in the ever memorable battle of Navarino. The long expected and long delayed interference of the allied powers, arrived just in time for the salvation of Greece. She was nearly expiring, the miserable victim of the private feuds and jealousies of her unprincipled rulers ; without money, without resources of any kind, without any other means of defence, than a few wretchedly equipped vessels, and a handful of half-starved, undisciplined troops ; without even the spirit to attempt any resistance against an attack, which threat ened her with instant and certain destruction.

But the haughty Moslem dared to insult the majesty of England — the insult was avenged — and Greece was delivered. At the moment when she had given up all hopes of safety, and her trembling children, resigning themselves to their fate, " Stood motionless expectants of her fall ;" while the exulting Turk was bending with his envenomed poniard over his helpless prey, the dreadful blow was arrested, and Greece was forever freed from Turkish tyranny and oppression. We had good reason to rejoice in this important event, in an interested point of view ; for if it had not taken place, we should probably have fallen in with the Ottoman squadron. ARRIVAL AT NAPOLI. and if they had discovered our destination, we might have been strung up to the yard-arm, or carried off to the shambles of Smyrna or Constantinople.

We were congratulating ourselves upon our happy escape, when the same voice which had communicated the glad tidings of the victory of Navarino, cautioned us in the next breath to beware of the piratical vessels, which were swarming along the whole coast of Greece. The same caution was repeated to us by the captain of the British frigate Glasgow, who came alongside of us off St. Nicholas, another harbour in the island, and consoled us with the additional information, that one of our countrymen had been robbed a few days before off Cape St. Angelo.* We were ill equipped for fighting, our only weapons, offensive and defensive, consisting of one old six pounder, three muskets, two pair of pistols, a rusty sword, and a few boarding pikes ; but we determined nevertheless to put on a bold face, and if need should be, to try the fortune of war with the first invader.

There is no telling what prodigies of valour we might have performed, in case we had been attacked ; but we were unfor tunately deprived of so favourable an opportunity of distin guishing ourselves. We continued on our course without "let, hindrance, or molestation," until sundown the next day, when we dropped anchor before Napoli di Romania, within sight of Argos, and at the head of that magnificent bay, whose waters once bore the proud ships of Agamemnon. * This was the Phœbe Ann of New York, which was taken into Mo ncmbasia, robbed of her cargo, and then released.

Chapter II

Early the next morning, the governor and several of the other dignitaries of the town, paid us a visit, in a huge, clumsy caique, accompanied by a pompous retinue of splendidly equipped soldiers. They were richly arrayed in the graceful and manly costume of Albania,* and armed with gold and sil ver-mounted swords and pistols, of elegant and costly work manship, the spoils which had been taken in battle from their * The Albanian costume is universally worn by the Greek soldiers, and very generally among the other classes, except in the islands, where the Hydriote dress prevails. It consists of ashort embroidered jacket, made without any collar, with sleeves opening from a little below the elbow, and displaying around the wrist, the loose, ungathered sleeves of the shirt ; a close buttoning vest of the same materials and workmanship ; a phoustanella, or sort of petticoat, of white linen or muslin, gathered close around the waist and hanging in voluminous folds a little below the knee ; tight embroidered leggings of cloth ; a sort of nondescript sharp-pointed shoes, and a sash around the waist.

The forehead, temples, and face, excepting the upper lip, are shaved close, the hair suffered to run wild behind, and the only head-dress is a scull-cap of red cloth, with a silk tassel in the centre. The phoustanella from its ample dimensions, is the most singular part of the dress ; its ordinary circumference is from twelve to eighteen yards. Those who carry arms, wear over the sash, a broad leather belt, in which they stick their pistols and ataghan. The Hydriote costume consists of a jacket and vest of similar fashion, but less gaudy decorations ; pantaloons in the form of an immense bag, drawn up close around the waist, with holes at the corners for the legs to pass through, and reaching just below the knees ; plain shoes and stockings ; and a sash, in which is generally worn a small silver-sheathed knife. 3VAPOLI DI ROMANIA.

Turkish foes. The object of their visit was to solicit relief for the famishing multitudes that were lying within their walls. We accompanied them on shore, and after surveying with our own eyes the shocking extent of misery which prevailed in the city, and satisfying ourselves of the urgent necessity that ex isted for immediate assistance, delivered over to the magistrates five hundred barrels of flour, and a quantity of clothing, for the benefit of the suffering inhabitants.* We dined in the afternoon in company with the governor, and a number of other distinguished characters, civil and military. The dinner was a very novel and curious scene. It was served up in the Italian style, though with very little style at all, in a large, antiquated, Turkish hall, with no other furniture than the table, a rude sofa, and a few chairs.

A score of wild looking domestics surrounded the table, armed to the teeth, carelessly smoking their pipes, and chatting familiarly with their masters, in true republican style. The Greeks toasted America, and we in turn toasted the Greeks, in an endless variety of cordials, which soon began to show their effect in an excess of obstreperous mirth, which we were apprehensive might call forth the pistols and ataghans that filled the belts of our half savage hosts. One fierce little fellow who acted as master of ceremonies, started up from his seat after several rounds of the bottle, waved bis glass wdth an air of defiance and exultation, and cried out, " Health to all the sovereigns in the world but the Sultan." A dozen glasses in stantly clashed together in the centre of the table, and the patriotic toast was echoed by the whole company.

Soon after dinner, musicians were introduced, who seated themselves cross-legged upon the floor, and entertained us with a number * The greater part of this donation, we afterwards learned, was seized by the commanders of the castles, and laid up in store for their soldiers. They had the generosity, however, to leave a hundred barrels for the use of the poor inhabitants. EXCURSION TO TIRYNS AND MYCENÆ. 11 of the national airs of Greece.* We were savoured also with songs from several of the gentlemen, which excited a great deal of admiration, but which to our untutored ears had an effect very nearly approaching the ludicrous. A peculiar na sal twang and drawl form the most striking characteristic of a Grecian song, and are considered by the natives its greatest beauty ; none of them in fact have any idea of singing without it.

But the most singular part of our entertainment was an Albanian dance, in which an Arabian prisoner of war, showed the most astonishing grace and agility. It consisted of rapid and violent motions of the whole body, intermingled with slow and solemn movements, and not unlike the imitations I have seen of an Indian war dance. They gave us also the Romaiko, the common dance of the country, admired for its pretend ed antiquity— the dull roundabout of the Greeks, as Lord By ron terms it; and it is indeed a most insipid invention, com pared with the gay and sprightly Albanitiko. The next day we made an excursion to Tiryns and Mycenæ, accompanied by several of the magistrates of Napoli. They offered us Arabian horses, but in order to show us the mettle of the animals before we ventured to ride them, they ordered one of them to be led forth, and the dancing Arab to mount him.

He took in his hand a jereed, or blunt javelin, seized the flowing mane, sprang to the saddle with the lightness of a feather, struck the sharp corners of his broad stirrup irons into the sides of the impatient steed, and bounded away with a swiftness that was really frightful to behold. We were asto nished and delighted with the various performances of both horse and rider ; but we very soon concluded to decline the offer of the Arabians, and mounted in their stead a troop of fiery little native quadrupeds, undeserving, perhaps, of the ig- * On calling for some popular national march, I was quite surprised to hear them strike up the old tune of " Life let us cherish." For the ad mirable verses which are sung to this air, see Appendix No. I. TIRYNS AND .MYCENÆ. noble appellation of mules, but bearing some most suspicious marks of donkey pedigree.

Our route lay principally over the beautiful and classic plain of Argos, once ruled by the " King of men," but now presenting a melancholy prospect of desolated fields and deserted villages, the sad and mournful traces which successive invaders had left behind them. A few olive, lemon, and fig trees, with here and there a small patch of cotton or tobacco, were the only signs of cultivation, over the whole of this extensive and fertile territory. We passed from time to time a few wretched peasants, who were guarding the little spots which they had sown, uncertain who should reap them ; or watching the numerous flocks of some rich Kapitanos or Proestos,* which were fattening upon the rank herbage that sprang spontaneously from the soil. The ruins of Tiryns are but a very short distance from Napoli.