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3 



L 



K^ C'i ] ' '^'^ * ' 



TRAVELS 

IS ' 

GREECE AND TURKEY, 

UNDERTAKEN 

BY ORDER OF LOUIS XVI. 

AND 

WITH THE AUTHORITY OF THE OTTOMAN COURTi 

BY . 

C. S; SONNINI, 

^EMBIR OP SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC AND LITERARY SOClITIISy 

OP THE SOCIETIES OF AORICULTURB OP PA&lty 

AND OF THE OBSERVERS OF MEN. 

IN TWO VOLUMES* 



^lluftrattO 1)11 (CiiftratJinjijar, 



AND 



4 MAP OF THOSE COUNTRIES. 



TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. 



VOL. 11. 



M^res multorum vidit ct urbcs. 

HOR. 



LONDON: 

r&INTED FOR T.N. LONGMAN AND O* REBSf rATKRNOtTBB.*K0W* 

1801. " ■-= 



f 



ni 



CONttNTU 

OF 

tHE StlCOKt) VOLUMfi; 

CHAPTER KXltL Pig<J t 

ihpartUrefrom C^nti^^''^urreni$.'i^4Vinter* 
feqfon in the Archipelago.— Ho/Zott; agita^ 
tUm 9f the waters of the Jea. ^Storm. — 
Arrroal at Argentiera. —Roadjftead of Ar* 
gentiera. -^^ Singular direQion of the cur^ 
rml#.«~Stil Nicolo; .s^ Maltefe prwateer. 
TurUJhJkip qftMr.^^A French vefei, hailed 
with il^e equipages ^Ifmael Bejf^ is wrecU^ 
ad.'^-^'Qffkers cf the Vortc Jint on this oc^ 
tafMLk^^ThiAr manner of exercijh^jujlicei 
i^^Frendh agi^t at Argentier%. -^lfi> old 
/irDiees.^^^Thei9if$tfiice which he eaperiencedi 
mmHie infiiume9 m the Leraati 

as CHAPTER 



ir CONTENTS OF THE 

\ 

^ CHAPTER XXIV. Page 17 

Village or toam of Argentiera. — Houfes. — 
Fkas. — Fejiival of the evdltation of the 
holy crqfs, — Inhabitants of Argentiera. — 

, Convent of Capuchins. — PiBure which was 
found there.— Grand Vicar. — Period of the 
conJiruQioh of the prefent town o/' Argen- 
tiera. — Greek chwxhes. — Vaivode. — Situ* 
at ion of the Greeks of Argentiera. — Their 

T agriculture Barley, — fVine.^^DomeJlic 

animals. — Water. 



, CHAPTER XXV. Page 34 

Names of the Ifland of Argentiera.— ^f/wr 

mines. -^ Cimolian earth. —Its properties; 

its ufe in the arts; the utility which might 

be derived from it for our nutnufaQ^urts ; 

facility with which, it might be procured; 

its nature Volcanoes. — Thermal xvaters. 

m^Tfieir properties; manner in which the 
Greeks make ufe of them; their Jituation.--^ 
Bluijh fiibjiance which covers the furround-^ 
ing rocks: — Stinking lake. — Grottoes. ,^^ 

Mountain. 



SECOND VOLUME.. T 

Jkhuniahi — .Birds — iKedros Oil o/'.Kc- 

dros Different nature of ike mouniaint* 

— Prafe- — Excavations. — Wild articholics. 
*— Semena. — Petrified zcood. — Lentijk,^^^ 
Saffron Manner oj felling if. — Its price. 



^ CHAPTER XXVI. Pagei/ 

fVomen of Argentievz. — Calumnious Jforie$ 

of which they have been . the fubJeB T/icir 

morals TTteir drefs — ^Particular defcrijh 

tion if their garmen ts — Their occupatiom 

Cotton Jlockings and caps. — Occupations 

of the men Flocks The management of 

them Checfc I/Iand of PolWo, or Burnt 

Illand. — Its produBions. ~— Advantages of 
poffeffing it 



CHAPTER XXVn. Page 74 

General obfercations on the manners and cuf 
tarns of the Greeks of the Archipelago.—* 

Their mode of Ife Their mind extremely 

mclined tofupeiftition — Manner in ^hich 
mothers correct their children, — . Method 

praciifed 



ti eoUtEii^iti of tiifi 

praBi/ed m the ddwery qft»Q9nen..>^*^iiiti* 
tionpaid, in M^ Ardhipekgo, to tusohb^m 
chUdren^ -— Prgeautiam taken concerning 
them. — Pretended influence of Jbtffter fooks 
en chiidrenj mm^ and animab* 



CHAPTEH XXVIiL I^agc lOd 

ne age efpuhiert^ in the Archipelago^ .^Perlc 
o£ced evacuation of the women of thojk 
ifiands. — Singular law of the Jews on thii 

JuhjeSt CharaBer of the Greek women^ 

^t^Jlieans which they employ to learn whom 

fate has de/iinedfor their hufband^^ejiioal 
of St John — JDifferent rejim which the 
women keep incejffantly in their moutk^^ 
Paint which they ii/e..^Pret€ndedpre/erv4^ 
tive again/i being tanned by the fun 



CHAPTER XXIX. Page 130 

Marriage of the Greeks.^^^JVitchcrqft of which 
young married people imagine themfehei 
wQims. — Precautions wJuch young brides 
fnuji take. — Care which mothers take of 

theif 



their children.^^Philk of the Greeks in the 

Archipelago Regret which accompanies 

fh§ dead.'rr^Death and funeral of apapadia^ 



CHAPTER XXX, Page 155 

State of agriculture in thei/lands of the Archi- 
pelago, -rr- Ivraie. — PraBices ufed in the 
f awing of com^—^Tixture of corn. — -. Two 
months^ corn.^^Manner of prejeroing com. 
—'Hares. — ^ Vulgar error refpe&ing thq/i 
animals. ^^-Jtabdits. ^ Sporting dogs^^Foxes, 

rrr-Moles. -r- JVeofel. — Hedgehog Birds 

which live conjiantly in the i/lands of the 
Archipelago, and thofe ^hifih are birds of 
^Jfage, 



CHAPTER XXXL Page 196 

Jbrtoifes.^^Jnails — Fijhes of the Archipelago, 
— Jmpartance of thefijhery in the Archi- 
pdlzgo..^JCommon cuttlefiJk..^Eight arme4 

fu ttleffijk Nautili. — Tethys Conchy Ha, 

-— . Sea-lungs. — Sea-urchins. — Sponges. — t 
(^rufi(icea,^^JVatev caltrops. 

CHAPTER 



Viil CONTENTS OF THE 



CHAPTER XXXII. Page 217 

Xock of Pyrgui. — Strait of Polonia. — Rhim 
qjid tombs, — Anoth&rfort ofCinwlian earth. 
— Indications of a volcano in the IJland 
£f Milo- — Its plains, — Town of Milo. — 
J)ifhafes which prevail there.'- — Pkurifies. — 
Chiftches. — Ladi/ of Milo. — Drejs of the 
vromen. — Their pia?niers. — Errors on this 
fiibject.-^An aperture^ whence ijfuc pefiifer- 
€its miafniata.r-^Vapour baths. — Lake of hot 
water. — Sulphur and ahan. --Milljiones. 
— Salterns. — Iron mines* — Sardonyses. ^— 
CfitacombSf 



CHAPTER XXXIII. Page 237 

JIarbour ^/Milo. — Core of Patricha, — En- 
^ gagement between the Mygnonne frigate and 
tzm EngUjh cutters. — Harbour of Milo. — 
Sifour. — Ruins. ---Anti-Milo. — Purgative 
water. — Aluminous xoater. — Earthquakes — 
Cold.— Storm. — Remedies for the bite offer- 
pents. — Pfy Hi, — Serpejjts, 

I CHAPTER 



CHAPrfiR XXXIV; Page 257 

ij/iand o/'Polican^rd— //?e of Sikino.— 3Pa^ 
iiagi^ ^Cardioliflk.-^l/fa«rf^Siphatito.-^ 
J[ts mines; its pradUSiom; its inhabitants. 
' — Ooai. — Strongylo and Defyotico. — Anti- 
.ffiai^—<SfVft0 ?/*Pa- 

J08.— jte hftrinmrs. — Road <^ Nauffa.— 
j^aHiflmenf ^ the R^fidns in that rof^ 

CliAP^EEt XXXV. Page 870 

^Idnbf a particular commerce to he efiablijhed 
in the I/lands of the Iicvant. — De/cription 
of t^ IJbmd of Naiia. — Account of tht 
pirwus articles of merchdn£Je fit to beiit^ 
trpduced into the trade of the Archipelago. 

CHAPTER XXX VL Page S96 

i/knd pf SteiiQia. ^I/land of Psttmos.— Its 
convent — Its harbours.-^Its population.-^ 
Small i/lands near Patitios.— i/?e o/*Samos* 
-^^Itsfertility. — Its wines. -^Its pofition. 
— ^Foumis ifiands.-^IJldnd of Nicaria.— • 
^flflnd of MycouL — Its harbours. — Its in- 
habitants.^— Its refource^. — Drefs ofthew^ 
*^»-~Tnjgo#iiilL— StapojJia.--](yfe gf Delos. 



i CONTE^'TS &9 tut 

— fFhqt it was formerly. — What it is in our 
days. -^ I/land of- Rhenda. — Retnatiari. — 
I/land of' Tino.r-^Its nature. — I^sJUkJiockr 
. ings^^Vomen ^Tino. 

CHAPTER XXXyn; Page 312 

Scio.—Chara^er of its inhahitantSy and pur" 
" ticularhf of the ttrnnen: — Tkeir clothing. — 
' Silk pwrfes iiohich they work. — Witchcrnft 
arijing from the look of Envy. — Trade of 
the IJle of Scio. — Its wines. — Culture of 
the vine andxfmajlic. — Its plains. — Leprojy^ 
"—Harbour of Scio.-— rjftand ^Ipfara. — The 
I/lands Spalmadori, Pyfai gqs, and Vcnctico, 
, * — ^Tfcheftn^. . — Engagement betwten the 
Jtujfians and Turks. — Journey by landfhom 
Tfchefme to Smyrna, — JVarm baths^ — i 
Caramnfary. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. Page 334 

Ob/e7vations on the plague. — Route by land 

from Foglieri to Smyrna. — Ravages of 

. . locujls. — Foglier^. — I/land of Mitylene. 

' — Its capital town ; its harbours ; its 

. advantages. — Mufco-nifi I/lands. — I/land 

, of Lemnos. — Agio-Strati. — T^nedos. — t 

Strait of the Darda^elles. — Imlbros.^^— Sa-^ 

I ' inandraki.-r^ 



mandraki. — I/land ojTTaffo. — lU mines i 
its JerfiHty; its mnfSy its woods. --^ La 
Cavale. — Conteffa, --^ Mount Athoa;-r^r-* 
r'voal at Salonica. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. • Pag€557 

J^oam ^Salonica. — Terrible fire of which the 
Author was witnefs.— Trade of Salo.oipaw — 
* Diforders which are there ex^perienceA, — 
Plains of the environs of Salonica. — ^i:- 
cur/ion to Mount Olympiis. — The Au-- 
thor transfoii7is hirn/elf into a phjifician. 
*— Companion in his journey. — He crojes 
the gulf. T-He landsy or rather is almoji 
fo/i awayy on the weji coaft of the gulf 
— Vroumerj. — ConftruQion of the rural 
fiabitations. — Dogs which are theformidaklt 
keepers of them. — Papas-gmemor. — Pa^ 
tients to whom medical treatment was^iecef 
fary. — Fields of the environs o^Vroumeru 
— Storks.- — Aga of Katherinn. — Skala. — Al-* 
banian foldiers by whom the Author was ac- 
companied. — Trees of theforefis of Olym- 
pus. — Troop of Albanian robbers. — Portrait 
of their chief — Monqftery of St. Dennis. 
'-^Ejforts qf the Autfior for reqchi?ig the 
Jismmit of the mountain. — Snaurr^h is there 

founds 



Retiring tht fetcer^^^^'^^mmdl^ 



: CHAPTEii xL^ND LAST. t^ag€ $95 

^tkpariurefrom SaIoiiica.-:.t)evir8 Ifiands.^^^ 
' Pelagnifi. -^Serkkino und Drotni. -^ Saint 
ElRw.-w5copoli..a*5k1at6.auSkiro_Ge^ 
Vbjeroation on Me Archipdago.-^^ndros— 
Kapali di iloraania. -^ Arrioal in FrancCi 
^^InvBcation to good tnjit*, 



m 



E&ftATA. 

Vox. n. 



hJ^Manv o^the followinff being typographical crtort that toy tSkSk 
Thcfeafe, theRoader a»eque(led \o na#k diem W4th a fen ot 
pencil, before he enteis on the work. 

f^e AO line I. /or the eveaiafEy vw^ JP the VfwiHi 
^i 6, ^r appendage riMu/ appanagCi 

no-*-. 8|./or kemina rf4d hemina 
J47 .-^^ %<, ftr ihe wo^s r«tf</ wnmt 

J67 8, /or hawks rM^f parrow-hawks 

173 ...^ 9, ybr Maine rWMaiaa 

170 17, if/* but . . ^^^ 

ft05 2, /or the Oiieiaed pleuroneaes r«ftf 4)« (diWT 

%i% — — 2o> j'br pho£phtfa ngd profphna 
j^g -— — m, for there rctid^eie 

311 »,/or appendage rrd^/ appanage 

32S -*^ Afdih dry 

343 —**. 2»» jfer i^ttfishoppers rr^i. jioctiftt 

3^ ^_ .9, /or grafshoppew rW loc\|fi9 



TRAVELS "':■ 
GREECE J J^D TURKEY. 



CHAPTER XXIII- 



departure f torn Canea. — CurtenU-^Winttr^ 
feqfon in tht Archipelago.— ^/fo/fiw agita^ 
iion rf the waters of the fea.-^StcHrm. — 
Arritkdat Argentmr^.—^Road/iead^ATgen'^ 
tieft. — Singtdar dirtBion of the currents. — 
San 'biicolo.'^Malte/e prwateer, — Turkijk 
flttptfwatf.-^A French vejel, loaded with 
the equipage gjT Ifmael .Bey, is wrecked.-^ 

. Officers of the^onefent on this occa/ion.^-- 
Their manner of exercying jujiice. — Frerrch 
Mgent at Airgehtiera.— ^Hw bldfervices. — The 
f^jujtice which he esferimceA^-His infiu- 
tmciinthelmtnu 

The ProWn^al ^olaCre Vhich had brought 
tne from Alexandria to Caneai in my 
rtfcoiitf^'yifit lo the Ifiand of CaNDIA, had 
th«re left i€t titjgo. The aaivity of the 
•VOL. Ji, B . cara^ 



a TRAVELS IN 

carcpoanty that ^ ^iay, of ^^carrying-trade 
from one port to another, nvits fo great iit 
the feas of Turkey; the circulation of mer- 
chandife was fo rapid, that, in lefc than a 
month, th4 veHel in Which 1 badimved^. 
had taken in a frefli cargo for Smyrna; and, 
on the 30th. 4)f. NovcwbT^ 1778, the day 
on which fhe fet fail from the harbour of 
Canea, fhe \%(^ beett waiting a week for 
a favourable wind, in order to proceed to 
luer »?w d^ftinatkift. 

I aga|a a^vaikd myletf of this v^l to 
croffli the imiali fpace of fita, which feparates 
the Hk of Canpia from the iirft iflbpdiof 
the Aachx^jeZiAGO. Thought thJA is a run 
of no more than about twenty-five, ot thirty 
hours, and) the winds had taot tkwarted U5» 
we were three da.)ts oa our paffage« Indeed, 
we met with fome fiidden and violeni: fqualls; 
but, as they did not thjRpw U4. out of our 
courie> we could not attribute to thwi the 
fioM^neis of our progrefs. It was oocafioned 
by the currents which fet to. the fouUuKard 
with fo much rapidity, that, the day after 
our departure^ from Ca?^ e a^ ^cj nsck^pqd 
ourfelyes at no igpre , than fix leag^ frpm 
^; IQq 4>f MijLOji where^, in reality, . V# 
weie-i^iU tlii^at frpm i|; i)gward| qf .fiftcep^ 
^^.•' ^ ' ' :• ' ^' ' ..The 



GREECE A«» Ttril*iCET. J 

Hi* *^nte* Wis bfeginnhig lo be ftiH iti this 
jwirt of the feas of the Levant, hot by hoar- 
ffofts, feut by impetuous winds,* and this bad 
feafon, in which navigatioii is more rough 
and dangerous, in the midft of a labyrinth 
of tflands and flioals, does not laft three 
months 2 it is, in general, reckoned Only 
irom the middle of December to the middle 
of February. In 1778, it tbok place Jnuch 
iboner. As early as the clofe of November, 
the atmofphere was loaded with big clouds, 
driven by violent winds, and the (ky was co- 
vered with the black and finifter appearance 
of a tempeft. This gloomy ahticipatibn of 
ftorms foreboded a remarkable variation in 
the temperature; the winter of this year 
was, indeed, a Veiy fhort one, but very- 
cold, and covered with fnow and ice both 
lands and plants, unaCcufiomed to lofe 
thcff gentle warmth and their verdure- ' 

Although the wind was faint, the (ky 
ferene, and the furface of the fea flightly 
ftirmwed '- by waves, when we came out of^ 
tfie harbour of Cat^ea, we felt the fliip 
fhake beloW; in an extraordinary manner; 
and thefe movements, which were communi- 
cated only from the bottom of the veffel, in- 
dicated a boHow and internal agitation, a 
B S' certain 



4^ TItAVSLS IN 

Cjertain* prefage of au aj^oaching Tifing of 
thewav^s.* . 

A furious gale of wind from the foutfi-weft . 
aijTailed us at the entraace of the roadftead of 
4,RG£NTi£i^A. I never faw the horizon fo 
darkened: the the day was hidden : although 
the fun had fcarcely reached the half of , his 
courfc^, night fecroed to have fpread her black 
a,iid mournful wjngs over the earth ; and this 
darkpefs appeared flill more profound from 
the vivid brightnefs of the repeated flafhes 
of lightning which clove the fkies ; thunder 
burft on all fides; we had difappeared to the 
eyes of the inhabitants .of Argentiera ; 
and their ifland, which we were on the point 
of touching, . was concealed. in a ihade im^- 
penetrablje to the moft piercing fight. The 
daijger became imminent, and the faint- 
heartednefs of the captain ftill increafed it: 
in his diftrefs, he vented his murmurs agamft 
me, who had induced him to enter a chaniiel 
lb narrow as that in which we were, and which 
he would have avoided, had 1 not wifli€;d'to 
be landed at Arqentiera: Fortunately, 
the fea could not rife in this confijied fpace, 
and we fucceeded in cafting anchor under 
ihelter of the ifland. This is the place the 
raofl; frequented by Ihips which nayigate in 

the 



GREECE ANB TURKEY. 5 

the AacuiPELAGO. Situated at the entrance 
of that multitude of iflands, it afford$ to na- 
victors an anchprage . the more convenient, 
as it is open on all (idesy and no wiqd can 
prevent them from leaving it at pleafure. 
They likevvife find there pilots accuftom^d to 
<:ondu;6t fhips in the midfi of lands and rocks^ 
feparated by a number of winding channels, 
and affording little fpace to traverfe: .. 

This road of Augentieba is formed by 
the Ifle of MiLO. to the fouth M^fid, by that 
of Argextie&a to the north, ami by the 
fmall Ifiands of San Georgio and of Po- 
uvo to the eaft. Trading veffds anchor be* 
tween the Iflands of Argentiera and San 
Georgio, but nearer to the former, to Wjtich 
they commonly carry, put a-haw^r to fervc 
as moorings. In thi^pofitipn, wherie^ v^eb 
are iheltered from the wind a^d the fea from 
the north, as muqh ^ it is poffibk;. to be in 
this road, they lie quite, clofe tp^ the foot of 
a high mountain whioh conce^h the view 
of the village, and; np trace of habitation or 
culture is there to be djfcoverecL 

But this anchprage lias not a fufficient 

depth of water for ihips .of war .ajgid large 

veffels; they come to more to the north, or 

to the north*eaft, in. a channel near Polivo^ 

B 3 A remark 



P TEAVISLS IH 

A reriiark '^il^hioh, at firft fight, appears very 
-extraordinary, is, that in the place where 
large vetrels caft anchor, and where the cur-* 
Tents run frequently with great rapidity, the 
dire6);io|i of thefc currents is often contrary 
to that 6f the wind ; that is to iky, that the 
Jiratefts ran to the north,- when the wi^d blowsi 
from that point, and that they fet to the 
fouth, whj3n tlie (buth wind prevails. Tlieir 
Vfoleace even is in proportion to that of the 
windd, and ^ inf>petuous, that it has happened 
Utore than once that a frigate, with her mizerln 
topfail, tnttiutopfkii, and fovefail loofe, could 
not k(dep' head to wind, but remained riding^ 
tthwtot; 

. ^ This ip^ies of phenomenon, aftoniihing in 
ftie ey* ^df navigators little accuftomed ta 
dbfttvation, is the effeft of the eddy or 
oarrferit doubled, whidi caufes the waten t(x 
take a courfe contrary to their general di* 
region. ' llie raoire violently they are im- 
jielled by tfee winds, the more evident is this 
, cfFeft, and the more muft it be felt by fhips 
which are exposed to it. 
^ A ^Inall cove below the village of Argek- 
TiERA, and at neaiiy half the length of the 
channel, is fit only for the reception of the 
boats of the countly, and, indeed, they are 

not 



GREECE AITD TtTI^KET. 7 

not there in fafety. When they hsive^ a r&th^r 
long ftay tp ihaifce cm the coaft'oF the ifland, 
thqy proceed iibore ix) the vyi^thtraix!> id 4 
co\^ whete they iarc perfeAly iheltcred, Th1$ 
iiarrow harbour, which is* fuitelble only tt> 
very finaJl veirds, is oatUtfi San NtcM^^ 
from the name of a little chapel dedicated 
to St. Nicholas, in whom tlie Greeks have 
^reat coafidence. This chapel is the only 
building on that coaft; all tii4rr€ is rock and 
defert. 

There was, on my Arrival in the little cove 
of ARGENTiERiiy a Maltefefeluoca, fbtming 
a part of an armainent wh|ch had failed irom 
MaltAj and Was commanded by a French- 
maxi named Cora l. The crew of this felucca 
coniified only of ^urteen hinds* Of all pri- 
vateer Vmen^ this captain was. oertainty die 
greatdl knave. He was a Sdavonian, exr 
traordtnarily brave^ but ftill a greater dronk- 
and, and at the fame time a plunderer escr 
tremely dread^L ^e had long followed 
this tradci and long been known in the 
Archipelago, where he had rendered himh 
ietf formidable, and had even had the aur 
dacity to fettle, having married a O^-eek 
woman belonging to Mvcoxi. A Oreek, 
brotlier to a drogueman of the PaaTE, com- 
B 4 manded 



: inaaded. there ^diie^Sclavoniaiii had fome di^ 
ference with, hisn, and ended , by giving him 
a fout^d driibbingb After thiis violent pith 
^ceeding, he^ rightly judged that it -vsui/aot 
poflible foir him to remain in an ifland go- 
Ysryied by a powerful man. whom' be iiadtfa 
•oijtrageoufly treated: he retired to* a ncigfi- 
•Jbouring ifland*. J8ut, the Greek, having pren 
ierred .hi& icomplaint to the Captain-Pacha^ 
;four tfchmoufckSi or police-officers of the 
Porte, were fi^nt thither with orders .to the 
.Greeted give, their utmoft afiiftance in.feiz- 
ing the Sola Von ifltn:: The latter irefided in a . 
fmall villagfedJftfilnt from thefea: led by fome 
liufineis^jhaJwa^^^Mi hist way to the harbout, 
;when th6«;&A<ww/ti6y arrived tliiere^ herhad 
nfi; fufpicLDu^^ but ; was.^alking ihHijg in his 
iiEia4 imanoer^. anned at all points. The 
pftlice-.officert/had taken with them twenty 
Gxeeks, and, in. order to furprife the im- 
petut)us foreigtter^. were advancing with pre- 
cipitation towards tlie .place where he dwelt; 
when. they met him. He was not difoon^ 
ccrted;. and, conceiving, from the fight of 
this party, that he wals the man on whom ' 
they had a defign, he threw off his clo^k^ 
and with his.fabre in one hand, and a piftol 
in the other, be fell^ fwearing at the fame 

tim^9 



GEEECB AH0 TURKEY. 9 

time, on the utidifciplined band/ and put 
it to.the rout. Turks and Greeks, all took 
to their heeU ; it was who could get away 
the qui<:ke(l. As for the Sclavonian, fatis* 
fieid with having got rid of a trotibl?fome 
and dafiardly gang, and with having de- 
i prived them of. any wifli to return to the 

chargio, he quietly continued his way. How- 
ever, he was fenfible that he could no longer 
xcmain in fafety in a country wJiere h6 would 
I Dot fail to be over>vhelnied by numbers, and 

[ delivered up to the vengeance of the Turks ; 

I he quitted his wife and his dwelling, and 

returned to Malta, there to refume his old 
I profeflSon of free-booter. ; 

Anxious to have a near view of fo paltry 
I an armed veflel as the felucca commanded 

! by this Sclavonian, I repaired on board, I 

was there offered a very nice collation of dried 
and preferved fruits, and excellent Cyprus 
I wine, which had not cod much to thofe who 

I piqued themfelves on it. I was extremely 

aftonifhed that a veflel, fit at mod for a fum- 
mer carrying-trade in the Archipelaqo, 
could have arrived there from Malta, 
and failed in the open fea. Upwards of 
a month had elapfed fince this little felucca 
had feparated from the Commodore's fhip, 

and 



JO .: TRAVELS 15 

Apd k was /ai^dled.tkii: the reparation hai 
jbeen 6oncerte<J aitiong the people^ to vfaom 
^BS imputed the defign of a|)propriatin|^ to 
their own ufe 9, fura of four hundred thqufaiid 
livres which they had on board, • and which 
accrued from their depredations, UiaJt thcgr 
were not agreed among theriifelves. as to the 
me^s of fecaring the poflellioR and the^dir 
yifion of riches fo ill acquired. The *gii?atcr 
part of the crew mtftiufted the raptain, 
ernd were appreiienfive that his cosineKtoHs 
in thefe parts, his boldnefs^ and. his diit- 
lionefty, would induce him to carry off the 
fum, and thus deprive : at* it his companions 
in danger and i*apine« On the other hand* 
they all dleaded to expofe tUeinfelves, in the 
winter tijgobe, to proceed to jMalta in fo frail 
H veffeL There occurred, in my prcfence, a 
.V€[r|y. animated difcufiion on the fubjecl; tlie 
j-efuU.was, that the commander would .make 
.^rrangeitients with the frendi captain of 
the |>olacre on board. of which I had ar- 
rived, 'to convey to Malta the privateer!s- 
men'and their booty; and I was requcftcd 
Jo apprize the Jatter of a project which could 
Xhot but be. agreeable to him. 

The very next day, the time fixed for 
fetding about the freight, the Sclavoaiaa 

repaired 



G&BECB AK9 TURKEY. JX 

ffpaired on board the polaere. He dined tha*e, 
and this interview gare rife to fome plea^nt 
fcenes, from the contrail afforded by the 
charaftier of the two captains. The French- 
man, a mild and well-behaved man, had-i 
befides, a confiderable fhare of devotion; 
the oaths and imprecations of the captaia 
of the privateer affefted him ftrangely; and 
he was on the point of figning his name, 
when, having obferved to tlie Sclavonian 
that he ought to think of the falvation of lus 
foul, the only anfwer he received to this 
pious remonftrance, was the brutal afferlion 
that that was ufelefs, becaufe it was not pof^ 
fiblc that the Almighty could pay any atten- 
tion to rafcals like hitafelf. 

At laft, after a long altercation, the price 
of the conveyance to Maita was fettled at 
twelve hundred dollars; the privateerVman 
requeiled to return on board his felucca^ in 
order, as be faid, to fetch that fum, anc} 
pay it inftantly ; but we faw no more of him ; 
and, after having, no doubt, deceived his 
people as to the pretended impoffibility of 
coming to any agreement, he immedii^tety 
fet lail, and faluted us by the difcUarge of a 
fwivel, on paifing us at fome diftance. 

A few days after, Captain Coral, the 
If commander 



cofntn^iuter of tli^ ^^peditioti, -cairiie itito the 
road of ARGENTtf RA with; a fniaU frigate. 
He was infearcji of his felu<?fia^ bu^ we were 
\inable to; tell him what was l^ecome. of her_^ 
According to every ;appq^anc^, the little 
treafure which flie.had.on board had been 
carried off by the Sclavoiiian, or.fwallowed 
tip wtKhim in the waves.. The next; day 
but one after the arrival of this frigate, 
theue arofe a terrible gale from the nortli, 
which forced a Turkiili Ihip of war to take 
ihelter in the fame roadftcacl. - The wind was 
fi> yiplent, that, at the ver}' moment when 
tljis fliip^anclioredy her mafts were cut away, 
in prfler to avoid dragging her anchors, 
and being dafhed'^p pieces on the coaft. 
The firft danger bfiing over, the, Turks per- 
ceiving that tliey^ were near an enemy's 
frigfate, were preparing to jump overboard^ 
and fwim on ihore; But the fame, panic, 
which h^d taken ppffeffion of .the Turkiflx 
crew, reigne^l on board the Maltefe priva^ 
teer; ant|, through an inconceivable rcfolu- 
tion, Coral cut his cables, :ai)d fled with 
precipitation. . Had he taken tlie fmalleft ftep 
for approaching the difmafted fliip^ he would 
have made himfelf \mafter of her without 
experiencing the ilighteft refiftance. 

The 



GHEECE AND T0RKEY. * l^ 

The fanic ftorm prcived fetal to a French 
veflel, having on board part of the fuite and 
equipage oFiIsmael; a Bey of Egypt, who, 
after hayingdriven Muead Bey from Caiko, 
had, in his turn, been diflodged from that 
city, and baniflied to Syria, whence he 
was repairing to Constantinople. This' 
ihipwreck was a misfortune for tiie Greeks of 
Aegentiera. The iPorte difpatched a cadi 
with two veflds, in order to afcertain the lofs 
of the ciFe&s of Ismael Bey, and recover 
the greateft part poffible, , I was witnefs of 
the fort of inqueft of thefe pretended officer*: 
of juftice; there were miany baflinadoes dif-t 
tributed, many vexations, exercifed, . and the 
moft valuable pait of the booty remained 
in the hands of thofc who .were come to fav^ 
it, and tranfmit it to the owner* 

The .number of fliips, which repaired to the 
rpid :of Argentiera, from. every point of 
ike f(ias of tlie .Levant, made the illand of 
that name;,an important poft. for navigatiton' 
and cotnmerce. llie French maintained a 
wnfnlr there, and this place liad been filled 
by M. Br?;st, who had refided there for up* 
wards of forty years.. His title was changied, 
and hig Af^intuoents were diminished; hebe- 
caifte vic^rgQnfuJ, and, during the. latter part 

of 



i6 t&AVEts i* 

dilatory and revolting reduftioh in tlie tilorfe* 
rate ftipend of M. Bkest, they knew that nd 
one would aft bettet tlian He, ^lid they did not 
iliterfer^^ in ady refj^eGt, in his adtnini{lration4 
In fa6l;, it wduld have been a difficult 
matter t5 combine with a- lotig habit of the! 
doniniei'Ci^d and maritime affairs of the Le* 
YXNT, ti mbre extenfive knowledge of.thtf 
taftes and cuiloms of the different nationsi 
by which it is inhabited or vifited^ and a 
more merited confideration. Equally efteemea 
ky the ^Fi^nch navy, by the European met-* 
ehants fettled in TuRkET, and by the navi** 
gators attrafted thither by trade ot war; M^ 
Brest enjoyed general efteem. The Turkd 
xegatded him as the moil upright of meiij 
and the Greeks entertained for him thi 
bigblsil veneration. Confidence attended 
him ; born as it were the arbitrator of the 
frequent difputes which arofe in feas re-' 
ibrted toby different nations, his decifipna 
▼ere followed without appeal, as without 
murmur; his truly patriarchal authority 
made hiiQ a fether, a beloved ruler ; and the 
French flag, which tioated above his houfe^ 
although irtfulated, aiid without liieans of 
prbteSion, was no where more refpe6led than 
at Ab^en'tiera. - . * 

•: ; ::; CHAFIER 



feftEECE AMD TtTRitKt: tf' 



^ ' CHAPTER XXIV. 

) 
♦ \ • 

I - ' ' » . 

Village or^ tenon of Argenticra. — Houfes.-^ 
Fleas. — Fejiival of the exaltation of the 
holy crqfs. -^Inhabitants of Argentiera.,— 
Concent of Capucfmt^. — PiBure which was 
foun^ there. — Grand Vicar. — Period of the 
conJiruQion of the prefent town of. Aigen- 
tiera. — Greekchurchesi — Vaivode. — Situa-^ 
tion of the Greeks of Argentiera^ — Their 
agriculture, t— Barley. — JVine. —Domejiic 
animals: — JVater. 

Th£ oniy inhdbittd piacfe iij the. Ifland 
of Abo£Nti£ra is( on the fummit of a 
mountain of rocks, the afcenj: to n^hich is 
\f a very difficttlt ro^d. It is hard to fay 
whether thiis plac6 iliduld be cSkUed a town 
Gr a village; Were wfe to pay attention only 
to the Tmall nmnber^ and above all to the 
Mrretched ctfnfirudion of the houfed, it would 
be moft affuredly no more than a bad vil- 
lage; but it is furrpunded by high walls and 
fecuried by two g'atei/ and this circumftance 
. VOL. It. t give* 



I8 tRAVALS IK 

gives it fome appearance of a town and even 
of a city. 

Be thi9 as it may, it is' a poor place, the 
houfes of whi^^ilKbmkrare ftiU kept in 
worfe order: feveral are fallhig into ruins, 
and not on€, but prefents, as it were, the 
ftanip of MTCtchednefs and the exterior of 
poverty." The^ are fmall, narrow, and by 
no tteaws loft^; they confift only of two 
apartments, one of which, low and dark, has 
every appearance of a den, and the other i» 
above it: the afceiit to the ktter is by a few 
fteps placed on the outfide, and the only door . 
that if has, opens on the landing-place of 
this fori of llair-cafe, without a batuftraide 
and without a balcony. Openings, which 
which are clofed by wooden fliirtters, fupply 
' the place of fashes, and the ground fertes as 
a floor ot; jpavemeiit. Accordingly there per- 
haps is no place iti the world where thete are 
fo many fleas, particularly during the winter/ 
ks in thefe rude dw^lttngis, efpecially itt 
thofe which have not been occupied for fone , 
time] kttd the lodging wbidi I bired was of' 
that number: in other relpe^, AbokntiIeba x 
has tlils hi common with other iflands of>^ 
the Abcsiipklago^ where the buildmgs are 
no hetUst^ The multitiKte of thofe infeds 



GREfifSB A»J> TURKEY. '19 

h reklly cxtwtordiwafy ;' otte is coVered and 
devoured by them 5 they fpread themfelr^s 
.even ovef, and flip into the hair, which I 
had not bbfented clfewhere. It is afTerted 
that they , are ftill « tno^e niiltierous in tife 
iioufes inhibited by nurfes, becaufe, it is faid, 
Iftey are attracted by the fmell of the milk. 
Thffife hotifes; fo piltry, have by ^vay df 
covismvg a bad flat roof, confiftiiig only (rf- 
^.foM: of wooden ihurdle^ on which earth is 
Ipread and beaten; Storn^y ihowers frequently 
• penetrate it, and induce the tieceffity of load- - 
ing it with frefh earth, which does not long 
fecure the irifide <^f the hoafe. In lieu of 
exerting greiter care and intelligence in the 
conilru£lion of thefe roofs, the Greeks of 
the ARCHiPBLAGb, * a people long addifiled 
to fiiperftition^ prefer relying oil heaven for 
the prefetvatiott of their dwellings. On the 
fete of the feftival df the exaltation of the 
holy crofs, it is an ancient cuftom to fwftcp 
' and clekti nicely the flat roofs of the houfes; 
when, towards the evening, the bells of the 
churches begin to ring, the inhabitants there 
draw large crofles ; and tbefi figures are, to 
their credulity, the bed means of prefervitig 
the top of their habitations froto being pene- 
trated by the winter Wins. 

c S- The 



ao TRAVELS in 

The evening of this very day which, pre- 
cedes the exaltation of ,the holy* crofs, one 
of the gieat^ftfeftivals of the Greek church, 
fires are kindled' in the ftreote. of the towns 
and villages of tbe'ARCHii^KLAGo, wliere the 
inhabitants are: hot reftrifted by the prefence 
of their; tyrants. They . aJl, great and : littl^ 
pafs thricq over tbefe fires, at the fame thnc 
•Reciting pr(l>*e»*s, by which they iroplore, 
\froni . divine' .afliftancJe^ ther. prefervation of 
their health during the following year, as weM 
as plentiful vintages. But, in. order that 
thefc players- ny^y, h^ve all tlie efficacy which 
they exped from them, they ferioufly aflert 
that.tliere iftuft be in the fires fome parts of 
the fefamam plant 

' A fingle ftr^et makes tire circumfetencfc 
of the town or village of ARG£NTi£Ei\. 
people M'ho are as badly lodged as the Greeks 
of this ifland, were not likely to think of 
paving their ftreet^ which, in rainy weather^ 
is a long heap of deep mud; humidityy 
water itfelf then finds its way into the rooms 
of the groond floor, which are almoft fub^ 
terraneous, and renders them hab^tatioBs 
equally unwhole{bme and inconvesi^t. 
. It is within this enclofure of wretched- 
neis that about two hundred Greek fainilied 

t«k^ 



GREECE' AHD.TUKXEY. 21- 

tekcAip their refiricnce. ' There werp in n^y 
time but- two . Frenchmen t the conful or 
age«t, and another Prdvenfal, who ferved 
as a pilot to /hips of war of different nations, 
which the proteftion of their eonlmerce 
brought into thefe feas. Tlierc were na 
other Catholics than the families of thefe 
two Frenchmen ; the remainder of the in- 
habitants followed the religious principles of 
the Greek church. This fmall number of 
Latrn Chriftians no longer required the care 
of feverai minifters. Some Capuchins, who ^ 
had eftabliftiedthemfelves there formerly, had 
abandoned their hofpice, built on the outfide 
of the town. This houfe was in ruins, and 
every thing that the Capuchins had left there 
was become the prey of the people of the 
country and of ftrangers. I alfo faw there 
a very fine picture, which had not excited 
the cupidity of ignorant depredators, but 
which ha4 great merit; it reprefented a 
miracle which the monks of the Trinity^ - 
occupied, as is well known, with the redemp- 
tion of Chriftian flaves in the Mahometan 
countries, relate to have happened in Bar-? 
BARY. Some of thefe monks, having learned 
that there exiftcd in the hands of the in* 
habitants of Barbauv an enormous cm* 

c 3 pifiji 



2% TKAV£LS 19* . 

cifix in bronze, vifing from the , plunder 
of feme Chrifijan ihip or fettlement, diet 
every thing in their power to obtain it; they 
Aicceeded in this only by pi:o«iifing to give, 
a weight of vfilver equal to that of the ccoft.*^ 
It is the moment when the fcales are brought 
into the prefence of the oftica's of juftice and 
of an immenfe crowd, that the painter of 
thiSi pifture has chofen. The aucifix is on, 
one of the. fcales; bags of filvei^coin, which 
the pious zeal of the Trinitarians had had fa, 
much difficulty to coll^6l, are lying orx the 
ground ; one . of thefe friars, on his knees, ia 
beginning to empty one of them into the. 
other^ fcalc, » and fcarcely arc / a few pieces, 
equivalent to the value df the copper, crucifiic, 
come out of it, than tlie equilibrium of the 
fcales is eflabliihed. The grateful ?idmba- 
tipii towards heaven, depified on the counte-s 
nance of the friars, the flnpid and ftem 
furprife on the faces of the natives of Bar- 
BAEY, the tone, of truth which reigns in a 
group compofed of a multitude of details,, 
together with the beauty of the colouring, 
announce a «ma(lerly pencil, and made this 
pi6ture a valuable work. The conful affureil 
me, that an Englifh traveller had offered the 
Capuchins to give them as many, fequina 
: i as 



' ORIBfSB AND TVJLKEY. 23 

as it could hold, placed befide each other 
on the canvas of the pifture; and thefc 
n]onk3, who fet fo high a value on its pof- 
feffion as to rejed fuch. confiderable offers^ 
ended by abandoning it, and giving it up to 
th^ dufi, and to the outrages of grofs and 
ignorant people. I had no difficulty in 
obtaining from the conful authority to relcue 
this jSne work from approaching annihilation, 
and to bring it to France. It is there in 
fa6l, but I cannot tell where ; for it was taken 
from me fome time befofg my arrival, without 
my being able to djfcovcr fincc what wa3 be- 
come of it. 

The fmall church, or the chapel of the 
Capuchins, likewife ferved for the Catholics 
of Aeoentiera; but this tetnple partook 
of the general wretchednefs; the moft fimple 
decorations were there wanting, and the 
ornaments, as well as th^ linen necelTary for 
the altar, were falling into tatters. 

Afecular prieft, bom iii the Ifland of Scio, 
and who had fiudied at Home, ilill per* 
formed divine fervice in thjs chapel. H9 
aifumed the title of gran4 vicar, and pre- . 
tended to be invefted with all the powers of 
the biihops in the Iflands of Milo and Akt 
QENTiEKA, which, accoi'ding to hinij^ were 
c 4 not 



94 TRAVELS IK 

not in the dependency of any biffioprjc, and 
formed for liim a little diftrift, over which 
he exercifed fpiritual fupreroacy; and, in 
. truth, his eminent dignity dii[l not fatigue 
him much ; for there no longer exifted but a 
, fingle Catholic in the former of thofe illands. 
All his functions were limited to faying tho 
piafsoftheconful; and, by this trifling duty, 
he compenfated for the proteftion which the 
French government granted him, as well as 
to the bifliops and other I^atin priefts feat- 
tcred throughout TuEKEY, 

The prieft of Argkktiera was very proud 
of his nominal biihopric ; he fufFered no op^ 
portunity to efcape ! of fpeaking' of it, and 
particularly of iiiferting in the fhfiall number 
of a6te whfch he had .to write, and wh'»ch 
he increafed defignedly, the formula nuUius 
di(zcejis*j the declaration of his fpiritual in^ 
dependence. With the exception of this 
little pride, which, \n other countries be- 
" iides the East, not unfrequently jpplaced 
evangelical modefty, M. Marcopoli, thi$ 
is the hame of the ecclefiaftic, was cer^' 



* Selongifif id no iioctfi: thus are called the diflrlfb 
which are not fabje^'to the jarifdi^ion of any bjihop, 
^nd w^^*"? ^^P^^^' <>^ ^clef^i&cal dignitaries dif^harge - 
epifcoparfttiifltions* ' ** .. • ^ i- 

tainly 



GKEECE AND TVltltEr. ' Ij 

\ tainly the beft man m the woritlj fntelU* 
gCQt and anxious to acquire knowledge, 
I he communicated with much complaisance 

I , that which he poffeffed i-efpefting his own 
i count cy; he was extremely ufeful to roc 

j during my travels, I had conceived for 

him much efteem and friendship, and {^ 
j learnt with concern that» a (hort time after 

my departure from the Levant, he had 
funk under a long illnefs. 
His ordinary drefs co.nfilted of a black 
I caflbck, like that of our pricfts, a broad and 

' high black cap^ of an equal width from one 

I end to the other^ and a pair of whiikers* He 

Avas refpe^d by the Turks and Greeks; but 
for this refpeft he was indebted to the pro? 
teftion which he received from France; a 
proteftion which was then of very great 
weight in countries wheie our nation enjoyed 
coniiderable influence and many cxyclufivc 
advantages. 
The town df Argkntiera is very mo^ 
I dern; its conftrudion goes no farther back 

than 1646. A tradition, preferved among 
j the /prefeht inhabitants, informs us that it 

I was begun by fome Greek fugitives from the 

Jfland of Sipiianto, who kept themfelves 
concealed, for fome tifne, in a wood which 

then 



t^fiQ dovcreci its.ifite. Thefe Greeks had 
bro^ht H^ith thbm in their flight an iiqage 
of ih^: Virgin,.' :Md. they built houfes in the 
place whcFe the reprefentation of the mother 
of <jqflbad beenpleafecl to (lop with tlienv 
9J0ld to preferve theiji from the attacks of 
^eir. enemies. • . 

jSeveral.Greek churches or chapels, fcarcely 
poflEeifing more riches than that of the catho-r 
lies, are built behind the village, * They ail 
have, above their portal, little belU^ w^jtch 
are fi:equent}y. in motion. But, on a mife? 
»blo.and infulati^ land, thei? found foare# 
•not thj8 Muffulman^, and they have difdaipeu 
to :t4ke avay .from a. handful, of Greeks, 
whofc fituation rendered thent little worthy 
of attention,: a privilege which they refufo 
with feverity in almbft all the. part^ of their 
empire,, and which is of great value in th? 
eyes of people, whofe whole chriftianity cqut 
fifts in exterior pra<5Hces. 

A Greek of Argbntiera itfclf, and fome-r 
times of a neighbouring ifland, goes every 
year to Cotsstat^tinople, to purchafe the 
right of oppreffihg , his countrymen, under 
the title of vahode. This plac*, which an- 
fwei's.to that of intendant, is a pod which is 
put. up. to. au^ion, and fold to the bigheil 
*,,..; bidder. 



GREECE AND tVRCET. ' 27 

bidder. The iflands of the AftCfliPfLAop, 
vhere the Turks do not corinnan<i in per- 
fop, have the f^me form ofadwiniftratiQu; 
the vaivode there coile6b .the publi<J - reye- 
Bues, impofes arbitrary fines ;ia elword, tor- 
ments hia fellow-citi^tens by as many exa6Uon8 
and a^s of injuftice ^s could be conEKQitied by^ / 
the moft fevere and moft coveto\is M iKfTulman'. 
officer. With the exception of. ill ufege, .bf 
excefles of an unblidled violence, in which 
the Turkiih commandants fometimes indulge 
themfelves, towards a people whom they con- 
fider as a horde of flaves and reprobates, the 
yaivod^s accompany their, temporary functions- 
with fo much harlhnefe and rapi6e, that the 
Greeks have moft frequently to repent, bifing- 
governed by a man of their osvn nation.* 

And this cruel infenfibility, which fud-: 
(Jenly converts one oppreffed into a pitifefs 
oppreffor, is not peculiar to the Greeks of 
the AiiCHiPEtAGo; it is a vice common to 
all low and debafed minds, which know no 
more of power than its abufes, and confound 
the duties of legitimate authority with. the. 
obligation of ufing extreme feverityl The 
black flaves in the West Indies had ;iio 
overfeers mdre rough and more inhumaa 
than thofe of their own colour who had 

fliared 



28 TRAVELS IN 

ihared tlicrr fiite,-an(l we iliall long have 
preftnt in ''our memory the horrors, the de* 
vaftation, inc^ the pillage which have been 
irantonly cofnthttted by a .fe\y men of the 
dregs of tlie peapte, inVefted, through the 
effe£i of ao inconceivable delirium, M'ith a 
terribl* power, which cduld fcarcely be ecjual- 
Jed by tWat aflumed by ferocious nfiirpers. 
Tho hilferable ftate of Augentieka was 
not; I was toW, earned to the pitch ii\ 
which it is at the prefent day. I was 
aflured that, before the war between the 
Ruffians and the Turks^ during which the 
former caipe from their northern countries 
by routes, the poffibility of which the igno- 
nmce of the latter had not been able to 
difcover, and eftabliihed in the ARCHiPEr* 
LAOO itfelf their fiat ion, their magazines, 
and their cruifes, whence thev threatened 
the capital of the Ottoman emph-e, this 
country enjoyed greater comfort. But, dur- 
ing this ftruggle between the Ruflians and 
the Turks^ the defencelcfs iflands were given 
up to pillage and contributions, to which 
places that become the theatre of war are^ 
always expofed. And what crowd of ills 
muft overwhelm thofe -where the barbarity 
of the men, who are at war, a^ds to the 
3 horrors 



GREECE AKD TURKEY. 29 

horrors of whi^h it compo^s its dreadful 
train ! Pirates, taking advantage of difocder 
and impunity, increafed by the|r:.robberieft 
the calamities pf tlieie countries ; and Ar- 
GEN^TiERA, whofe rqad could not fait to b# 
the place of the Archipelago tlie moft 
frequented by fliips, of every fort, more ex- 
I pofed than any other ifland^ mUd have been 
exceffively impoveriihed. 

Here was a ; general want of the neceC- 
1 lary articles of life; neither com, meat^ 
I nor vegetables were to be found. All that 
' it was poifible to procure confided; of barley* 
bread aiid a few eggs. The^ ^vl^plf ifland, 
which is fcarcely fix leagues in circuit, is 
formed by mountains of rocks, and almofl 
entirely fteriL If we except a few fig-treesj 
fcattered among the vineyards and fields, 
np tree enlivens with its verdure a rugged 
and arid foil, formerly iliaded by forefts, and 
where, more recently, ftill ^rew in abun- 
dance the tree whofe fruit furniibes the moft 
ufeful, as well as the moft favbury of oils^ 
Tliefe latter fpecies of plantations, which 
conftitute the wealth of a country whofe 
climate is favourable to, them, were, ait 
AitOENTiERA, and on fome neighbouring 
lands, the prey of flames, direfted by the 

devaftating 



3^ ' • tkAVfe'lS IN 

deViffating Hatid of war, during the long 
cWtJntiance dP hoftilities between the Vene- 
tians arid the Turks. 

All the prefent indiiftry of the Greeks df 
thi* iriand is reduced to the culture of a 
•little cottoti, forae^ barky, and a few vines. 
' When a perfon wiihe^ to eat other bi;ead, he 
Is dbHged. to fend for wheat from countries 
more fortunate. During the winter, boats 
touch here loaded with bifcuit ; their carg;o 
h preferi'tly fold; for pebple, conftantly re* 
ducecif to birley-bread^ find a fort of treat 
in k fobd-dfy and hdrd, but more rclifhingv 

It is not that the bread which b> made at 
Aii^E^tiERA, and in almoft all th^ illands 
of the Archipelago, with barley-meal, is 
not good; the people of thefe coiiiitries 
fcarcely eiit any other. Hived on it a long 
time, and not only found in it no dtfagree-* 
able flavour, but it appeared to me well-* 
. tafted and reltfliing. In all the East, this 
bread, of pure barley, is a very common 
aliment; the Hebrews made a great confump-» 
tion of it; and there is every reafon to 
prefume, that anciently, as in bur days, thd 
eultjire of barley, and its ufe as daily food, 
teould not have been fpread fo generally in 
countries where M'^heat grows in abundance, 

if 



\ GREECE ASD-'TV-RKEY. -^ 

if the bread: wlxich fe mad6^i)'allv :tt hdd 
been reckoned a coarfe and eyen difguftirig 
food, like the fame br^9fd In our northern 
departments. On my rtturh to my omi 
countty^ I. wiflied to compare the barley- .^ 
bread, ^idch, in yeju-sitfifcaiXJltyj is' fome- 
timds made in our villag^^ , with that which 
I had to frequently eaten > without difgaft 
in the Levant; and I fobnd that, iade- 
pendently. of its colour, much blacked,. lit 
was confiderably heavier arid really Jiad. 
Want alone can command tbfe ufcof it^y 
therefore, the barley of Warm climWes' miift 
yield a. . meal . more favoury than : lOf . oiir 
countries. Perhaps too, this grain^ which 
among us is not, commonly,, deftined for the 
fubfiftence of men, has not obtained the fame 
attention as wheat in its grinding, and being 
made into bread; and, perhaps, better ;at«- 
tended to, it would ultimately. furnifli bread, 
which would come near the goodndfe of the 
barley-bread of the East. 

The wine of Argentiera is not fo good 
as that of feveral furrounding iilands; and 
this defe6); of quality proceeds, no doubts 
only ironi bad management, iince the foil 
is as fit as in thofe other countries for the 
culture of the vine. I am even aftonillied 

that 



3» YkAtfits iSr 

that the inhabitants contrive to m&ke ti^kiej' 
for, no fooner are the grapes ripe, than 
they eat them in fuch great quantities, that 
it appears likely that there would no lon^€?r 
be any remaining, whofe juice may ' be ex»- 
prefled; and theie fort of partial and antici* 
pated vintages are alfo one of the caufes df 
the mediocrity of the wine, for which ai^e 
referved none but the grapes the lead ripe! 
and of the worft appearance. 

However, the Ifland of Milo, which is 

very peir, fumilhes the wine which is com-' 

inonly drunk at Argentiera; very gooA 

ilieep arc alfo thence procured. The inha- 

.bitants of Argentiera poflefs only flocks^ 

which are as pitiful as every thing that fup: 

rounds^them. A few miferable afies, a fmall 

number of hogs, and fome fowls, are the 

only domeftic animals that are there to bef 

' feen;^ and if they had not the refources 

which the fea prefents for fifliing, and that 

very limited one of fowling, it would be a 

difficult matter to live on an ifland which 

is almoft in want of every thing* Water 

even is not here common; here are no 

rivers, no rivulets, nor fprings; no other 

than ciftern water is drunk. A mlarih of 

miry water^ which is at the entranee of the 

Village 



. teREECB AND fVRKET. 3^ 

village towards the fea, is the only watering- 
j)lace where the f nail number of animals 
that are here fed can quench their third; 
its muddy banks are conftaatly enlivened 
by wagtails; thofe relllefs birds difFufe life 
and gaiety in places where every thing in- 
fpires nlefancholy, where every thing feems 
ready to be annihilated under the weight 
of penury and oppreffion. ' ' " 



.1 : , .... 

ri^OL. 11. D CHAPTER 



|| Tl^AVytS III 



CHAPTER XXV. 

i^anus of thfi I/Sand of Aigentiera. — Silver 
0mes. --^imolian earth. — Its properties ; its 
ufe in the arts; the utility 'Ufhich might be 
dervoedfrom it for our manufaBures\ fa- 
eilitywitk which it might be procured; its 
nature. — Votcanoes. — Thermal waters. — 
Their properties; manner in which the 
Greeks make ufe of them; their Jituation. — 
Blui/h fukjiance which centers thefurround- 
ing rocks. — Stinking lake. — Grottoes. — 
Mountain. — Birds. — Kedros.— Oi7 of Ke- 
dros, — Different nature of the mountains. 
— Prafe. — Excaoations. — JVild artichokes. 
— Semena. — Petrified wood. — Lenti/k. — 
Saffron. — Manner of felling it. — Its price. 

If the little Ifland of Argentxera neither 
affords the comforts nor conreniences of lifie^ 
Kature has made it an interefting place, from 
its lituation^ and the fubftances which it con- 
tains in its bofom, or which it produces fpon^ 
taneoufly on its furface. The ancients named 

it 



I 



GREEeS AKD ttltkEY. 35 

ItKiMOzos; thiqr were^lfo acquainted with 
It imdCT the nante of EtaiNtrssAi ViPteR 
IsLA}iD*j on account of the great quantity 
of thofe reptiles which it fed> at a time 
when, little .frequented by men, it was co- 
hered only by rocks, f(M-e{faj or bramblei — 
*rhe Grfccks 1131 call it at this day Kmou. 
The Europeans difcovcred there filver mines, 
whence has arifen the denomi^tion of Aa*^ 
#BirTi£iiA^ by which they hsive not fince 
eeafed to dfftinguifh it 

Thofe mines arfc abandoned; it is even 
pr6batrle that they never were very produc- 
tive, which may have occafioned the work- 
ing of tiiem to be renounced. It is tiot 
ktiofn Itw^t period they were open, nor 
it what otliet they were dcfcrted. The inhi- 
bfta^ts faive not pfeferved the remembrancd 
•f efther, and they have taken good care not 
t6 fmfk€ any attempt that xhig^t give the 
Tiirktf r«fon to fulpeft the exiftcnce of a 
jpKciou^ ii^etail: this would have been to 
them a n^' atid mexhauftible foinrce of eat^ 
tortion ifnd wifetihedn^^fs. Under an odiemii 
tyt^n% people do not become rich wi& 
impunity ; iih^fiiinent danger aocompanms 

^ Cimlm jU4e Ecbi9uffa.'^? uiisl. HiA. Nat. lib. ir. cap. xii. 
p2 what 



36 TRAVELS IN 

whateverxnay fix attention and excite cupir 
dity; ai>d they are fo reduced as to coufider 
diftrefa a defirable bleffing. 

It appears that the priiicipal mine, whence 
filver was drawn, is on a lofty cape^ oppofite 
to the littlcilfland of San Georgio. The 
Ruffians, during their long ftay in the Ar-' 
CHi'PELAcb;, attempted to work them an^w. 
I iKa knis>w that M. de Laclue, formerly 
a captain in the French navy,, made feveral 
trials in that way ; but thefe attempts ^nd 
thefe trials have demonftrated, that, the quan- 
tity of the mineral was too fmall to cover the 
coil of the working, and it is undoubtedly 
to the fame caufe that we muft attribute the 
ancient defertion of them. It might, never- 
thelefs, be poffible that, by pufliing the la- 
bours to a: greater depth than has been 
hitherto done^ adventurers might meet with 
veins more rich and an ore more abundant, 
which might indemnify them for the exr 
pcnfes, and yield a profit; but fpeculations of 
this nature fliould be deferred to other times, 
in countries where, thxough the efFeft of 9 
ftrangc barbarifm, national riches become the 
fcburge and the ruin of individuals, and 
where the mafs of earth and rocks, which 

cove? 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 37 

cover thefe gifts of Natare, cannot be com*- 
pofed of ftrata too thick, ' * '. 

The fea wafhes the foot of this moun- 
tain, which is faid to contain filver. There 
it is that the iflanders go to fupply theni- 
felvcs with an argillaceous fubftance, diluted 
by the waters, and which ferves them in lieu; 
of foap for waihing their linen. The anci- 
ents knew it by the name of terra Cimoliaj 
from thzt of KiMOLQS, which they had given ^ 
to the ifland where it is to be found. It has 
been confounded with other different mineral 
fubftances. There is no work on mineralogy' 
that does not make mention of Cimolian 
earth; but in all there e^vifts, on this fubje6^, 
an equal confufion gf words and things- In 
like manner as the name of terra Jigillataj 
which was ndthing more than a generic defig- 
nation, given to vjirious fubftances on which 
imprefiions, feals, &c. are applied, has been 
indifferently attributed to calcareous earths, 
to boles, and to clays ; the name of terra. 
Cinwlia has alfo been extended to fomg fpecies 
of fuller's earth, and even to boles. 

I have convinced myfelf that the true 

Cimolian earth of the ancients, that which 

is drawn from Kimoli or Argentiera, 

and which is very different from all the 

D 3 analogous 



j8 TltAV|lt9. IV 

analogous^ fubilances with which it has beeq 
confounded, is not at all known in FkancEji 
unleis, perhaps, by a f(^w curious perfons. 
Gn ipy return to Paris, I vifited the ware^ 
houfes of the druggifts in the Ru^ des Lom- 
bards; I there aiked for Cii^olian earth, anc); 
I was at one t^me fliewn Anpenian bole;* at 
another, reddiifa Lemnian earth ; and lailly^ 
iigiUated Maltefe earth. None of the tra- 
ders of that rich quarter, who all prob;ibly 
had an idea of Cimolian earth, knew ho^ 
to diftinguifh it; and, on feeing the ipeci- 
men which I produced, they acknow1edge4 
that it was unknown to them. 

Without admitting all the medicinal pro-p 
pjerties, attributed to the earth of Aroknt 
TiERA by tb^ ancients, who feta high value 
on it, and frequently ufed it in mediqine*, 
it has fome more real, which ought to have 
r^fcued it from the oblivion into which it 
has fellen for many ages. It i^ a finectis^ 
a natural foap, which cods only the trouble 
of taking it up at the place where Nature 
has formed it. Diffplved in >vater, this fub- 

^ AefpeAkig the vjutues of C^moltan earth, ^^ Pliny's 
Natural Hiflory» book xxxv. chap, xvii; Dio$corid£s» 
book V, chap. cxxxUi; Gal^n, Theophanis a Npnni efi» * 
tomi 4^ curatiotu morborum. Sec, Sec* 

fiance. 



GREECB AKD TVIIKET. 3I9 

fiai^ce, for a long tim^^ lAaintain^ its ft^ 
ponaceous froth and bubbles^, like commoii 
foap. Moil of the Greeks of the Arch/- 
PELAoo make ufe of no othei* fubftanc6 for 
\vafliing linen, and they have oblferved that 
it was better bleached when they employed 
^«water for dtfiblving this earth, the prefent 
name of which is pylo TsiNNUSf that is; 
TsiNKiAs clay, becaufe the Greeks call Tsts- 
KiAS the place whence it is taken. It is put 
on board bbats, which convey it to thi 
other iflands, and to different countries of th^ 
Lev ANT. That which the fea-water his pene- 
trated is taken, and foritted info little oblonjf 
mafles, which arc fuffered to dry. Experi- 
ence has, undoubtedly, taught th6 Grdeks, 
that the earth, thus moiftened, was pfd- 
ferable to that which is dry and hardened, 
of which the fame mountain is entirely com* 
pofed; never do they take any above the lind 
wafhed by the waves. Accordingly thefe^' 
forts of cakes, formed with Cimolian earth, 
always contain a ftrong dofe of marine fait, 
foreign to the earth, and vrith Whith the* 
fea impregnates it. Cimolian earth is alfo 
very fit for taking out fpots of^greafe from* 
woollens or filks : it is fuflicient to foften a' 
piece of it in common water, and to' fpread^ 
P 4 , it 



40 TRAVELS IN 

it on the place fpotted ; it is fuflfered to dry> 
then it is redu,ced to dull by rubbing it with 
a brufli ; the fpot is effaced \vithout the glof» 
or colour being impaired... Its efteft is more 
certain than that of all the ftones for taking 
out fpots. Several perfons, among whom I 
have diUributed the fmall quantity which I 
had brought home, have made the trial with 
fuccefs; but it muft be obferved that it ab- 
forbs none but grcafy fubftances, and that it 
is ufelefs for other fpots. It alfo cleans ex- 
tremely well the fword'belts, the ihoulder-) 
belts, and buff accoutrements of troops. The 
ihoemakers of the Levant make ufe of it for 
gluing leather and ikins, and its tenacity 
occafionsitto be employed, Jn the fame coun- 
tries, as a glue fit for difi'erent ufes. But this 
fabftance might become, for our manufac- 
tures, of an, utility greater and more general. 
Pun-y mentions that the Romans ufed it for 
the';l,cowcr.Hig of wooHen clottis. The lej; 
mete/l^, of which the cenfors C. Flaminius 
and L. -^milius were the authors, prefcribed 
the ordei: in which fullers were to make ufe of 
the ful}ftance§ \vhich they employ, and Cimo- 
lian earth was intended to fet off the tiue and 
valuable colours, and to revive the luftre of 
thofe which the fumes of fulphur had dar* 

kened. 



GREECE AND TtTRKEY. 4I 

kened*. The tefiimony of the ancients and 
my own obfervations leave no doubt refpeSing 
the advantaiye which might be derived, from 
the ufe of Cimolian earth in the falleries, 
and the cleanfing of wool. Means would pro^ 
bably be found to employ it with advantage 
in other arts ; and every thing inclines me to 
think th^t, by introducing it into France, we 
ihould find, in it other ufeful properties. The 
carriage alone would be attended with fome 
expenfe ; it would coft nothing to take the 
Cimolian earth from the foot of the moun- 
tain, where it is moiftened by the fea ; the 
veflels which frequent the Levant might 
eafily fliip it, to ferve them as ballaft; fo that 
we ihould have, at a very low price, a ufeful 
and inexhauftible fubftance. 

■ I have faid that I confidered this mineral 
fubftance, which is of a whitifh gray, heavy, 
fat, and faponaceous, as a fpecies of JmectU 
or JmectiteSj which does not appear to con^tain 
metallic particles. A learned traveller, Avho, 
like me, has examined the Cimolian .earth 
in the Ifland of Argentiera, affirms that 
this fubftance, very abundant, but little 

• Feres autem et pretio/os colores gmoUit CimolJa, et juodam 
nitcre exbilirat coniriftatos fidfhure. — Pun. Hill. N^tt. Ub^ 
XXXV. cap, xvii. 

known 



4Z nCAVELS 19 ' 

knoMm, is only a flow and gradilal decofn* 
pofition^ of porphyries, occafioned by fubter- 
raneous fires. ** I have brought home," lays 
OliYikr, ^ 'fpecimens of every ftate through 
which that earth pafles. This *^ obfervation 
** will, no doubt, be intcrcfting to minera}o* 
♦* gifts, and will make them acquainted with 
.** the origin of a fubfttvncre till now fo little 
*' known*." I confefs that I am at a lofs 
to comprehend how porpliyry, on which fire 
makes no impreflfion, can be deconipofed by 
the cfFeft of volcanoes, and reduced to ^ 
greafy and faponaceous fubftance. Another 
circumftance perplexes me: this is, that Ci- 
molian earth is afted on by acids, which* 
occ&iion it to enter into a ftatc of fermen-^' 
tation; whereas thefe ftime acids produce no 
fuch efFe6l; on porphyry. Thefe difficulties, 
forefeen by OLrvxE^R, are cleared up, no 
doubt,, in his theory, with which I am as 
yet acquainted only by the flight flvctch that 
he has prefeuted of it in the Report which I 
liave Jufl quoted; and his talents and his ex-> 

• Report of travels* performed by order of the French 
governmentj in the Ottiman Etnpirr, Kgyptf and PerfiUi dur- 
ing.the firft fix years of the Republic, read to the National 
IniGtute, by Citizen Olivier. — M'a^afin tncyclofedique du 
frgmier Qermnrf, an yii. No, 2%» page 198. 

tenfive 



ORBBCB AVB TURKEr« 4f 

fimftve knowledge ia natural htftory mljpire 
too much confidence to doubt that, by- de^ 
ftroying every ol:^6Hon, he haa gr^xinde^ 
his opioion on certain bafea and inconteftable 

The Ifland of AROEiTTiEitA h nothing 
but a group of volcanic iubftan^es. It ex^ 
hibit» on all fides indications of thoie grea^ 
^res which Nature feeds in the bowels of 
the es^h: every thing ther^ prefents the 
nnage of a vaft combuilion ; and it is pro* 
bable that thefe fabterraneous $res, whof^ 
adion has ihewn itfe^f externally, and hasr 
imprinted on the foil violent commotions, 
which, combined with the effort of the wa-r 
ters, may have contributed by immenfe de- 
prefljons to infulate it> are Aill burning 
with aftivily at great depths; and threaten it 
again perhaps with frefh convulfions< 

In feveral places, the rocks are calcined;, 
the produdions' of thefe volcano^ are fre-i 
quently met with, and Oljviijr has there 
difcovered ppz2olana> as w^U as at Milq 
and at Santorxn'^. Hot and fmoking waters 
ftill atteft there th? exiftence of a fubterrr 
raneous fire in fuUa^vity: they iflii^ from 



44 TRAVELS IN. i * 

a rock luear the' fea, 5n the north-weft parfc 
of ,thei iflarid. The heat of thefe waters js; 
fe powerful, that a perfon cannot hold his, 
hand in th^m ; and in an inftant eggs are 
boiled hard. They dcpofit a fediment of a 
yellow ochre; when cooled, they aflame a 
whitiih tint, and their flavour is of an ex- 
tr<?ipe tartnefs. I plunged into this burning 
and naineral fpring an aerometer; it marked 
five degrees, and the fame . infijument gave 
but one degree, put into the water, which is. 
confidered as the beft in the illand, that of. 
tlie confuls garden, after it had been purified 
by remaining; in large earthen jars. 

Thefe thermal w^tera are reckoned, among 
the Greeks, to. be very well calculated for 
curing rheuniatifio, fcintica, and other dif- 
orders of .that nature, by fteeping in them 
linen cloths which are applied to the parts 
aifefted. I .have been told of the wonderful 
effecls of applications of this fort, and I have 
had no difficulty in believiui^ them, as the 
wafers of Argextjera, nuift be 'vny aciive. 
I do not know even whether the method of 
partial applications which are made of them, 
and only on the parts affected, be not n^ore 
efficacious than total immcrfion or baths, as 
prefcribed by our phyficians in the thermal 

M'atcrs 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 4J 

wafers of our countries. Does nolj the aftioa 
of the i;emedy, fpread over the furface of t\fQ 
whole body, lofe fome of its energy wjtli re- 
fpe<a to the part affeSed; and does not. jtS 
iinpreffion prevent, or at- leaft diniinifli thp 
leifeft expedled-.fcora it for re-eftabli(hing> \jif, 
one fingle part, the circulation pf the hu.3 
mpurs, and curing local fufferings? .Lpug 
experience, tradition which is j^s old perl>^ps 
as the. times, when^ phyficians, more full (^ 
obfervation than learning, di6^ted, vi an* 
jciejat and brilliant Greece, rules fromwhidi 
Ibund practitioners are ftill afraid to deviate^ 
Jjave perhaps taught tjie. modern Jpreeks; ^he 
method of employing, on the very fpolj, therj 
jnal waters as. a topical applicatij9ja ,ratl}€f 
than as a bath. It appears to , me, indeed^ 
more natural and more fuitable tpthefpecii^ 
X)f. complaints which it is meant tO;Cure; iii»(J 
as it cannot be attended with any incgnvcnv 
ence; and as, befides, other nations pracr 
tife it with fuceefs, I recommend to phyli- 
cians, who difdain not to emplgy. the jcura- 
tive means of which they are not the autl^Oirf 
or the partifans, and the patient? who feek 
relief, to adapt this procedure witliour ther- 
axial waters. , . . \ 



4^ tRAVStI tit 

Vet t;fhaU not tell them what the Ottki 
tflfert of the fpring of hot waters of Ait- 
OkKTiERA: that it is fufficient t6 make 
life of reiterated applications, during a fltigte 
day, to be delivered from rheumatic pains 
of the moft inveterate nature. Whatever 
efficacy we may attribute to them, what* 
ever influence we may grant to climate on 
dtfbrders more frequent and more obftinate iii 
our northern countries, fo expeditious & cure 
fe fcarcely probable, when we obferve that 
thefe diforders occafion, among us, the defpait 
of phyficians^ , and ftill more that of patients^ 

However, the Greeks, whd always blend 
In their aflions fome fuperftitious pra^ices^ 
tecommend to perfons who take i trip to 
the waters, to leave there a part of the gar-« 
menta which covered them, a piece of fhirt^ 
of drawers, of waiftcoat, &c. becaufe, fay 
they, the diforder remains on the very fpbt 
with thefe fragments of clothes. 

The plate where thefe thermal waters of* 
Aroentiera irefituated, affords no accom^ 
teodatiorr to thdfer who wifh to go thitheTi 
The viiiter arrives there by a very difficuft 
road; he finds no ihelter againft the heat 
of the fun; not a hut, not a iingle tree; 
fcarcely is there in the neighbourhood a 

fpace 



€1t£EC£ A»J> TttHlCEY. 4J 

fywe fuificiently level for a few perfbns to be 
able to fit doM^n, ^11 this diftrid being tio^ 
thing more than the fummit of a liiountain, 
foFn)64 of prominent and {>oiated rocks. 
Sui a thing very remarkable, and which 
is intereiliDg to mineralogy, is, that all 
the iiones of th^ environs are covered with 
a ftratum of a mineral fubftance of a bluiih 
cotour, which prefemts a very fii^gular'ap'- 
p^arvice. 

Another trace of an extinguifhed volcano 
is to be remarked not far from the thermal 
waters, on the fea-lhore, and in following , 
t^ coaft towards the north. This is tli6 
inauth or crater of an ancient volcano^ 
which^ £^r a long time, exhaled infedious 
vapours, whence the modem Greeks have 
called It vromo, limno^ that is, jinking lake. 
This gulf is, properly fpeaking, in our days, 
Qaiy a lagoon of the fea, which no longer 
4iflPuies a bad frn^U. Remote from every 
habitation and extremely folitary, ''wild 
ducks come frequently to reft themfelves 
^\t it& tranquil waters, and it is uncom** 
S9oa not to find fome there during the 
irinten 

% tile fide of this lake, to the north, are 

met with ieveral grottoes or cav^ns cut in 

1 the 



4$ TRAVfiLS itr 

the rock, and which appear to have ferved 
as habitations. In one, there is a fpring 
of good water, which, in this retired fpot, is 
ufelefs to the inhabitants of Argentiera. 
They affert that thiefe excavations ferved their 
anceftors for melting the iron ore which they 
drew from the neighbouring mountains. A 
narrow recefs of the fea permitted boats to 
land on this coaft, and it is to be prefumed 
that, if the roadftead of Argentiera had 
not become the general rendezvous of all the 
veffels which navigate in the feas of the Le- 
vant, the prefent inhabitants would not have 
abandoned the . weft coaft, where they would 
have found a foil lefs ungrateful, fmall coves 
fit for the reception of their boats, and a co- 
pious fpring. But, among civilized nations, 
commerce is ah! irrefiftible allurement which 
hurries away nieh to places where it makes- 
its appearance, and frequently induces them 
to forfake real advantages, to run after chi- 
meras, which corrupt at the fame time that 
they enrich. , . 

This, cove, Avhere is fituated the ftinking 
Jaike of which I have juft fpoken, is formed 
to the north by a large elevated mountain, 
which is cleft and feparated from itfelf,' in 
its middle, throughout its whole lieight. One 

half 



6REECE A^9 TVRK£T« ,49 

half no longer exifta, and has been carried 
away or fwallowed up by the waves ; the 
part which remains prefents a cut nearly per- 
pendicular, and at the fame time a little 
concave, entirely compofed of a gray (lone, 
calcareous, and of a confiftence by no 
means folid. It is this foftnefs of the ilony 
fubliance of which it is formed, that has 
occafioned its falling away. In fa6l, in- 
ceffantly beaten at its foot by the waves, 
and loaded at its fummit by the weight of 
the lands foaked by the rains, it has been 
unable to refift thofe two powers adiing in a 
contrary direftion, and has nccelfarily opened 
and feparated. 

The hill, at the foot of which is the 
cove, is floping and covered with a thick 
ftratum of mould, on which grow more 
ilimbs and plants than on every other fpot 
in the illand. In this foljtude, which would 
not be one, if the population of the coun- 
tries, fubjefl; to a government which is the 
moft unfavourable to it, .was not diminifh- 
ing inftead of increafing, I found a quan- 
tit}' of birds aflembled, a living homage paid 
to the fertility of this diftrifl:. I there faw a 
great number of thrufhes of the large fpecies, 

YOU !!• JE together 



^© • • TRAVELS IM 

'togethef with blackbirds, linijcts, pettjr- 
neiiaps, partridges, a woodcock, &c, &c. 

'At foiTife dtilance, and in the north nortb- 
itift quarter' of the ifland, facing the ifland 
of StPUAKfo, is another diftrifl! which is 
called Ksi>Ros, becaufe it is furnifhed with 
the fpecies of talj junipers, which the mo- 
dern Greeks call by that name* None of 
them are feen in the other parts of the ifland, 
and they enliven this quarter, the approaches 
to which ire fomewhat gloomy, from the 
•light tint of the greenifh white of their leaves, 
arid the red of their berries, refcmbling fmall 
-cherries. Thefe tall flirubs yield no gum at 
Argentiera; their- wood, as well as their 
leaves pounded, have a very ftrong odour. 
The Greeks make ufe of the oil which they 
/ draw from the ftcm and the branches, for the 
cure of the itch. They fele6l the oldeft wood, 
and that moil impregnated with fap, which 
is then a little blackifli;' they cut it into 
fmall pieces, which they put into an earthen 
pot, with a little hole pierced in its bottom ; 
they clofe and cover with pafte the lid of 
the pot; then kindle a fii^ all round it, 

^ This is a variety of the jamper, whkh grows like- 
,wire in the fouthern countries oi France, Jvniptrus wcicedrus. 
Link. 

and 



GREEdt AMU ttlRKEY. jt 

&nd the heat caufes to trickle down, through 
the aperture in the bottom^ the oil which 
iffues from it, and which is receiv^ed into a 
vefiel placed underneath. This oil is thick, 
and yellow as faffron ; it tinges with yelloW 
the things that are rubbed with it; and the 
body of thofe who ufe it for curing them>- 
iHves of the itch, is a long time before it is 
freed from this tenacious colour. It is, how- 
ever, a very good remedy for that diforder. 

It is ieen that this oil is nearly the fame as 
the kuile de cade, which is drawn from the 
junipers of the fouth of France, and which, 
m our rural economy, is very commonly uied 
for eradicating the mange of iheep and cattle* 
Oil of Kedros may acquire greater virtues 
through the influence of climate, and per- 
haps too from the manner in which it is 
extraded. 

- It is principally on the back of a lofty 
and deep mountain, at the foot of which 
is a narrow cove, that the greateft number 
of Kedros are found in the diftrid; which 
bears the name of thofe ftrubs. The back 
of this mountain is covered with a rich and 
whitiih earth, under which is a white and 
brittle rock; a multitude of pieces of lava, 
cinereous and brown, is Scattered . over the 

£ S foil, 



J[2 TRAVBl'S III 

foil, and below, the beach is ftrewn with 
flints, black and burnt, feme of which are 
of a prodigious fize. The creek is formed 
on the right by a hill of calcareous rock, 
white, foft, calcined, and forming only one 
fingjle mals, broken and {battered on all fides-j 
-to the left, by a mountain perpendicular on 
its three fides, of the fame nature as the hill 
to the right: but, in lieu of the clefts, this 
is as if artificially ^^rought, on the naked 
fafcia, in acanthus leaves, fuch as are feen on 
the chapiters of pillars. Clofe by the fide of 
this latter mountain rifes anotlier, quite black 
and burnt, which forms a iiriking contrail 
with the whitenefs of the former. Thefe coikr 
trails between grounds very near to each 
other, are to be found in feveral parts^of 
tlie ifland, and it is pretty generally ob- 
ferved, that the mountains or hills which 
have more immediately experienced the ac- 
tion of volcanoes, are at prefent covered with 
earth ; whereas thofe, the rock of which 13 
white, are abfolutely naked. 

If, from the dift:ri6t of Kkdros, we con- 
tinue to follow the coaft, on the eaftern ihore 
-of the ifland, we find a cove larger than 
ihofe of which I have juft: fpoken ; an iflet, 
fomewbat lofty, lies in the middle; the water 
. . . is 



OREEfcE AND ttfltKEY. ^) 

id dtep; and fmall V^ffels may/awdwi' thcrt'lT 
bivt a^ this place; which is' nJinied PkA^i'u 
Iblitary, navigators are not foiad df iVequenV 
ing it. On the declivity bf" the' mountaift; 
irhich forms the head of the fnwH ifavett of 
RiASE, are feen fotne grottoes, dug in thd 
rock. The largeft has a very wide ehtran(fe J 
its interior is fpacious, and its ^xtr^nity is 
walled up. The Greeks are ignorant for what 
ufe thefe excavations have been made ; they 
know only that the wall in theinfide of the 
krge grotto was conftruded, in order to clofc 
the opening of galleries which, they fay, ex* 
tend to a very confiderable diilancis under 
ground, and to prevent the flocks which 
take flielter in thefe caverns, fiom penetrat- 
ing too far within them, and beitig there 
loft. 

• The environs of Prase, on the fide of 
Kedros, furnifti a great quantity of wild 
artichokes, which the inhabitants of Aroen- 
TiERA go to gather, and eat with pleafure. 

Another fmall harbour, fit only for the 
country barks, but extremely fafc attd quiet, 
isfituated between Prase and San Nicolo; 
it is called Semkna. The coaft there is ia 
Jike manner without habitations ; and to pro^ 
<rced thither, from Argentiera is a full 

E 3 hour's 



54 T11AVEL8 IK 

hour's jottroey, along a road eKCeiBvcly bad,- 
from the quantity of rocks and fiones with 
which it is covered. The point which hara 
the entrance of this haven to the fouth, is 
crumbled away in a great meafure, and it 
appeared to me almoft entirely compofed of 
wood petrified in mafies, or irregular firata« 
Petrifications of this fort are to be found in 
feveral other parts of the ifland, ibmetimes 
in blocks, fometimes in ftrata, and feme* 
times in detaclied pieces, &a 

The ihrub tbe mod common on the furface 
of the liland of Argentiera, is the lentifk, 
called by the modem GrecksJkiM cocco. No 
0ther wood is there burnt, and from its fruit 
is expreiTed an oil which is good only for 
J>uroing;. -however, the poor .make, ufe of it 
in their food. In other refpefts, this oil, 
V^hich is called^ifitf lado^ is clear and of a 
Jbeautiful gold colour, like the bed olive oiL 
When it is two or three years old» it b, ac* 
cording to the Grtreks, a very good topical 
jemedy for rheumatic pains. 

. Safiron aifo grows naturally on the moun* 
tains, and between the rocks of the iiland. 
3Vhen^ it is in flower, poor people difpei'fe to 
-gather it, and it affords a little branch of 
« trade for this nuferaWe country. The man- 
ner 



iier. (rf feUin^it, wlieh it js*dficd,fdff^Jitit 
c^mon in markets; it w weigtoid,* but it* ft 
a hen's egg that ferves? as u ifrc%Ut • ^ KTa Et^ 
Jentiori is paid to the fce^ of'flic egg; pm^ 
vWe^ it ha\!e pothing extradrdhwi-y^asr ta^hi 
dimfmCiofif^ : ueither ia ?t a confiHeiattDir iwhe* 
ther it be frefh ©r (hie; tt. is^ ticceflary only 
thajt it be not boiled. • It is, hdweTer; verjT 
certain that an egg weighs more when freflij 
it is al£> evident that its fize adds to its 
ivfight. The dijSerence betAveen a'freih egg 
Uid another of thfe fame fize that <haa been 
laid fix days, is at leailievengrains, and 'it 
may amount to twelve grains between eggs 
of various fizes. But the Greeks of the Ar- 
chipelago pay no attention to thefe differ- 
ences, and the fale of their faffron has no 
other regulator than the weight of eggs. 

When I was travelling in this country, the 
weight of an egg in faffron cofl twenty-eight 
or thirty parats. ' Thq mean weight of com- 
mon eggs, which we fuppofe to be five days 
old, is about an ounce, fix drachms, and fif- 
teen grains, or one thoufand and thirty-nine 
grains. On the other hand, the Turret 
parat was, during the fame period, valued at 
fixteen deniers tournois; it therefore refults 
that the pound of dried faffron was, in 1778, 

£ 4 at 



56 " TlTAVfiLS f« 

ait AEdBNtieitA, and in feveral ether iflandi 
of the ABCHlPELAOOy worth from about fix- 
teen livrea, feven fous, two deniers tournois^ 
to.feventeen livrcs, ten fbus, fix deniers. At 
the fame period, the common price of the 
pound of faffron of Gatinois, avoirdupois; 
amounted to from twenty-four to thirty livres 
toumoisr when it was not of the firft quality, 
it: was fometimea fold for rather lefs ; but there 
was almoft always near twice the difierence 
between the faflron of France and that of 
the Levant, although the* latter, as is well 
known, is of. a quality infinitely fuperior. ' 



■ i. - ■ ■ 



CHAPTER 



GREECE AHD TITRKEY. ^7 



; CHAPTER XX VL' 

ff^omefl of Argent iera. — Calumynous Jloi^ics of 
which they have been the fubjcEt. — Their 
morals.— Their drifs. — Particular defcrip- 
tion of their garments, — Their occupations. 
—Cotton Jlockings and caps. — Occupations 
df the men. — Flocks. — The management of 
them. — Cheefe. — I/land of Polivo or Burnt 

• Ifland. — Its produBions. — Advantages of 
pojfejfing it. 

£VERY one knows that the Ihores on which 
Bavigators laud in great numbers, are, not 
always the feat of virtue and modefty. When 
to this concourfe of ftrangers, endeavouring, 
by a few tranfitory enjoyments, to make 
themfelves amends for the * difficulties and 
privations of voyages, are added the cor- 
jupling gold of Commerce, and the means 
of which it can difpofe for feduftion, devi- 
ations from virtue are more frequent, and 
morals border more on depravity. It is pof- 
fij^le that fo)*merly the Ifland of Abgxk- 
fiERA, poffeffed by Europeans, who there 

difplayed 



.Nivvxl the vices of inveterate corruption, 
. ;vi V W urvTlTary rendezvous of feveral ihips 
\4a:vh ertablifhed their cruifing-ftation in the 
Vnv«ifklago, and the crews pf which came 
^hither to fpcnd the produce of their rapine, 
%\\i\ barter it away for pleafures, which ceafff 
to have charms as foon as they are pur- 
chafed ; it is poflible, I fay, and even rather 
probable, that this ifland may. have then .af- 
forded fcenes of gallantry fufficiently repeated * 
to become the piQure of licentioufnefs. ^But 
that this mifcrable country, without cdm- 
aicrce, and ahnoft without induftry, fhould 
have been metamorphofed into a temple, of 
voluptuoufnefs; that navigators of all nations 
ijio^uld come thither to pay th^ir hoinages t»' 
Venus, and there dcpofit their offerings^ 
that travellers lliould there h^v? ruu.as.Biani^ 
rifks as Tei.£machus in the Ifland of Cy-j 
PRUS, and that they fliould even have Qori^n 
qff with lefs glory tlian that ypung GreeJ^t 
having no Mentor to fnatch them from fo 
dangerous a. place*, thefe are unfaithful pic* 
turcs, at bell fit to-.be introduced into a ro- 
mance, fmce they ferve only to give birth to 
fiUfe ideas of a country refpeding. which 
• • . * . 

• •&fm> tahtSjJtes dm Mtarfiiii ir'AnG^Ns; Vol. iL* 
H«fue QciiH9n«^^77o» ptgc io«. r 

5 they 



GREECE AND TURRET. ^f 

they coxxvey images traced by exaggeration. 
TouRNEFORT had received the fame impref* 
fions on the fubjeft of Abgi;ntieka; but 
be appears furprifed not to find that pitiful 
country fo corrupted as he had jreprefented 
it to himfelf. '' This ifland/' lays he, '' k 
'* V^come quite poor, fince the king no Ipugesp 
^* fviifers any French privateers in the Le^ 
*' VANT- Argentiera was their rendezvous 
** and they there fpent, in horrible debauci^*^ 
*' eries, what they had juft plundered from 
** the Turks. ITie ladies took advantage of 
" the circumftance; they neither are the moft 
•* cruel, nor the moft uncomely: this is th^ 
'^ moil dangerous ihoal in the ARCHtPE- 
^^ l/loo i but one muft be very unfkilful to 
" ftrike on' it*/' It is feen clearly, from 
this paifage in Tournefort's narrative, tliat 
that traveller fpeaks only of what he had read 
or heard, and not of what he himfelf faw ou 
the fpot : and not having had time to obferve 
the morals of a country in which he, as it ;. 
were, did no more than make his appearance, 
be facrifices to his prejudices, by ftill throwing 
Come difgrace on the private life of the wot 
men by whom it is inhabited. 

• Fy^ie 0u Uv4nh 4to editiim, vol. u fSLgt ij^u 

But 



'6b TRAVEL'S IK~* *' 

But if fuch imputations appear cviclefctljr 
exaggerated, when we carry them back to 
periods already remote, they are truly' ca^ 
lumnious when we apply them to the tiiiife 
prefent. It is an eiTor of ibme modern tta* 
vellei-s, prepofleflTed by the accounts of thofe 
who have preceded them. M. de* CnoisEt l- 
GouFFiER, who has paid fome attention to 
Argentiera, has faid nothing of tlte kin4': 
he contents himfelf with fpeaking of the dif- 
hurfements thitt the crews of Chriftian pri- 
vateers, who formerly infefted the Archipe- 
tAGo M'ith tiicir robberies, came thither 
fkiriiTg the winter to make difljurfements, for 
which they made the inhabitants pay very 
dear, from the vexations with which they 
tormented them. He aHb mentions a cuftom 
which thefc fame privateei's men had efta^ 
bHfhed therc, and of which our navigators ftill 
avail themfelves * at Madagascar, that oi 
folemnly marrying for the time of their fta'y 
m port; fo tliat a new 4over impatiently 
waited for the departure of a captain, iti 
order to wed his wife, as foon as he fhould 
feave-fet fail^:- • • - - 

* ^ojnge Pittore/que dt la Gi ice, folio, page j, 

: ; It 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 6l 

It is very certain that this diffalutenefe of 
morals, with which the women of Argen- 
TiERA are reproached with fo much bitter- 
nefs and injuftice, cannot be imputed to thofe 
of our days. They are endowed >rith mo 
-defty and referve, which are the ordinary ap- 
pendage of the women of the East; and 
during a rather long ftay which I made among 
them, I faw but one fingle inftance of a glaring 
deviation from thofe virtues more rigidly ob- 
ferved in the Levant than elfewhere. Att 
unmarried woman, who was no longer in her^ 
prime, but who had preferved fome Ihare of 
youth and beauty, ^vithout relations, and 
living alone, was rather forced than feduced 
by a young Frenchman; llie had long op^ 
pofed a warm refiftance to the importunities 
of the mod ardent paiTion. In the middle of 
the night, flie heard near her bed her impe- 
tuous lover: the door had not been open; he 
had come down by the chimney. An attack 
fo fudden and fo unforefeeu was fucceisful, 
and attended with confequences too ap- 
parent The vavoode^ $ilways on the watch 
for every thing that can increafe his income, 
fet lip for . the avenger of outraged morals, 
and impofed on this unfortunate vi6i:im of im- 
prudent love a very heavy fine, which it was 

neceffary 



6t TRAVELS IK 

jieceflary to pay ; nor could any entreaty ob- 
tain a mitigation of a penalty inflicted by a 
tjrant whom cupidity rendered inexoraWe. 

Indeed, a punishment fo ievere announces 
not the general diirolutenefe of morals, with 
which writers have endeavoured to tarnifli the 
uromen .of Argentiera ; and thefe lines 
which I have confecrated to their reputation, 
arc no lefe the expreflion of a fentiment of 
jnftice than that of gratitude, for the atten- 
tions and tranquillity which 1 enjoyed ia 
their country. 

Thcfe women poflHs, in general, the ad- 
vantages of ihape and face ; but they fpoil 
them by the manner in which they drefi 
therafelves. It is certainly the ftrangeft garb 
that can be imagined, and a woman mud 
have many charms^ for them not to difappear 
under garments fo grotefque. The drawing 
which I give {Plate VI.) of this dre(s was 
made from a doll quite clothed and arranged 
in the country itfelf 

An Indian ihawl, that is, a tiffue of fine 
wool, and moft commonly of a dark green 
with fpots of a dull red and clouded with 
green, furrounds the head and forehead, atid 
fuifers nothing to be feen there but two^ little 
locks of fmooth and black hair, which fall 

on 



GREfiCBi AVP TURKfiY. 63 

On each temple. It is a luxury not only at 
Aroentiera, but in the other iflands of the 
Arcmifelago and in fome other parts of 
the Levant, to add to thefe tufts of hair 
(mall curling feathers of a beautiful velvety 
and fhining black, or rather of a very deep 
azure blue, which the males of certain fpecies 
of wild ducks have on the rump, two on 
each fide, Thefe little feathers, a fimple ornar 
ment, but which is not deflitute of agree- 
aUenefe, are carefully coUedied. The women 
place fome of them under their ihawl, and 
fuffer their curling points to appear on the 
forehead and temples, where their metallic 
refle^ons throw a gentle and coloured luflre^ 
which varies every moment according to the 
different lights under which they appear. 

The hair is enveloped and braided wjith rofe 
colour riband: this braid is rolled on the 
crown of the head, and confined with a 
fmall black riband; it is furmounted by a 
large ftreamer of red ribands. To the back 
of the head is faftened a long piece of filk, 
trimmed \nth at broad gold net lace, which 
tails and waves behind. On the neck is a 
collar of gold, jet, or pearls, from which 
hangs a crois- A broad piece of red velvet, 
covered with gold net lace, and bordered at 

the 



64 TRAVELS IK 

the ,top with a fky-blue riband, or a bit:of 
gold or filver brocade, covers the bread and 
the throat, above another piece of cotton. A 
fort of filk apron^ trimmed doAvn its middle 
and below with gold net lace, is faftened 
beneath the ftomacher, and reaches no lower 
than the knees ; a red riband, in the form 
of a girdle, and one end of which falls down 
on each fide, ferves to confine the handker- 
chief which hangs on the left. The fliift, 
which is, for thefe women, the richeft article 
of their drefs, made of filk, falls in front 
below the fort of apron which I have juft 
mentioned; it is trimmed with rofe colour 
riband, on which is applied the lace or open 
gold net work, which conftitutes all the 
luxuiy of the garments. Poor women ufe 
tinfel, and fometimes coarfe lace made with 
cotton thread. The Ihift comes no lower 
than the knees, below which are tied the 
firings of. the cotton drawers, which all the 
women wear in the East. But the moft ex- 
traordinary part of the drefs is the flceves of 
tire fliift, enormous fleeves, confined fii-ft on 
the fore arm with a rofe colour riband, then 
turned up and faftened to the flioulder in fuch 
a manner as to be raifed extremely high, fo 
that the head appears buried and Concealed on 

each 



6R££C«1 AUD ' tifftKEt. 6/ 

i^abh ' 'fide 'beiweeil' the ilioulders; fThefe 
ffeev^? 'oJ)e<i ttiii* triinmed' with gold net 
lace^^Miig dowii i^ a point as low^ toJ the legv 
and ifefively^c^vtlr; the fides of thefeddy* .Thle 
Jattie^piee^ of^Vctvef or brocade ihifTiVomtoii 
the hmfb 'fe tiecl behind*; a ' fmAH filver lace 
eohi MU'tink^h /fhbukler, rahdi three lat^ 
ftrei*tt^tffi¥ihattd are fkfljBDcd /^inift the 
back J fliat of tl)e middle fs bright bine; the 
other two are rofe colour; Two thidc .pieces 
of edff(fiiD, in'vei"y'dofc3fold5/ hang down,' at 
the fannie time ititi<eafing in widths . tlie one 
over thoother^ lalong the back, a&ikrasthe 
middle o( the thighs : thefe pieces of cotton 
are ftifF, do not bdkidf aiid appear like little 
mattreflbs applied ta thig body of 'the perfim 
who is loaded with them. A rofe colour ri-. 
band» faftcned to the tipper piece,) and tied 
in front underneath the apron, prevents it 
from rifirig. 

It is not a merit in the women of Argen- 
TiEEA, to have their legs (lender and grace- 
fully moulded ; on the contrary, they employ 
nofmall degree of art to render them equally 
thick throughout all their iength; and to^ give 
them the appearance of real pofts. They put. 
on feveral pairs of half ftockifigs of diffezenti 
fizes, one over the oiher^ ih order t^ fill up 

VOL, II, F tlje 



06 .\ T«;AV8Wh^iar: 

fheiOnall of the Jegf i»n<jTjiwtHei it .€|y»n ,wi|;li 
the caHl iAis./thefoip«rft5 *r#:ex;poft)cUpivi^w 
9JI higfit^aaritlije^kiiee^i: . thsy'Hialf ^ |ftin»iifl adp^n 
thorn ; liicfy.are ;Coverid tvitjh * >vejvi^r ftoc^p.- 
ing,: aiKl.a/ifmaU filvQT Uc(-)CO)rd i8.fftftened 
to/itlMrfbrfciaiiid.behm.(i, Iht^, o^y^mg far 
t^' feetidodfifte .ofiAfoUt ts^ (lipperM <ilk|. 
brocaded :Mrifchr gold Qf..filiVi9^ with a hoel hy 
00 . Yxieatti high^ d Ibte^yery^ thii\ and .th<) 
pointjihhi^. and tbmed lip^ •' * 
•i The drdk which I- hive/ |uft deierilicd ia 
that oil p^de^: the ivooi^ni generally wear 
OD6 mone' plain;. but.tvh;icbi: however, ia cQia-\ 
pofedoSi federal pieoes, tdow ci>arfe andJefa 
omameiiljed; fo that onf^ftivals, a$ on work- 
ing daysy thej alike appear iJiapekCs. maifes oi 
linen. or clol!b« / 

i The faabkuaJ[ ocqipatibn^ of thefe womeo, 
fb fitigularly clothedi . is .to fpm cotton^ and 
to knit it into (lockings and caps. At. home, 
aa weU its in theftreeta, tliey are feen with the 
ipindle or the knitting-needles in their hand. 
They make ufe of a fpindfe, which is noth^ig 
more than an iron rod tuuied fpiraJIIy in its 
middley land the top of \«hicb i$ beatiijj^ea 
hook, 4tai order » to hold the* cotton. Stock- 
ings, ulhich theymanu&^ure. with much 
care, are^ corredly Q»saking, the. otdy trade. 

.of 



GREEeB AJTD TURKEY.. 67 

of tUeSr iflarfd. ' Narigators take them fot 
thdr-'own ^^VTr '^TiA in parcels: they arc to 
be kad SIC all prfccesp, from^ tweaty parats, or 
about twenty-feveii fous, to four dollars, of 
ten or eleven livrds the pair. The fiockiogs 
of this^latter pritee areivcry fine and excellent 
Wear, '^ ais vnrelltsts tkst knit caps, mannfadured 
by t^^feitie haaids;: and; it is, imdoubtedly, 
to the prohibitimk8 which clogged the trade of 
the Xrt>AN»r,, thatw^e muft attribute the little 
knowledge tliat vre' had in Fbancit of thefe 
irfigfEit arjticlesi which deferyed to be intro-^ 
dofced' into the? traffic that we carried on with 
thofe* coutftrie^;: : . :. - 

While tfce: women fpin and knit, the men 
engage in difierunt kinds of employments. 
Softie, pPOpFietx>rs^ of boats, navigate and trade 
in the Archipelago during the famnier, 
and return' to pkfsthie winter at hoihe, and* 
there enjoy i^ peace the frutt of their in- 
Aiftty: otheiis apply themfdves to fiihing, 
t^erjr few tk) killing game, and fome to agri- 
culture; the pooreft' clafs cut and root up the 
ftfubs which grow on the mountains, and 
brihg theiKi', on tji« back of fbrry affes, to 
the vftlaige, wheretheirbi^aiiches and winding 
i^ootei are the only wood that is burnt for 
the <freftng of f6od;'lkftlyj others of the 
- F 2 ,fame 



68 TEAVELS III 

fame indigent clafs undertake to tend flackft 
of iheep and goats; for there are not, in this 
ifland, cither oxen, or cows, or any other 
Ipecies of icatde. 

I have already obferved, that agriculture 
was at AnGiNTiERA-in the inoft wretdied 
condition, although the ifland afforded feyeral 
diftrifts capable of yielding a rich prodjuce; 
neither .are the flocks very numerous. They 
arcK formed of. fheep belonging to different 
perfons: never do the animals which compofe 
thein approach the habitations ; they are not 
at all acquainted with flieds; always ftr^ying 
from njountain to mountain, they are brought 
forth and. live in the open air; fome Urge 
caverns ferve them as a flielter againfl ftormsy 
and their keepers ihare this fhdter, as well as 
their wandering life. J 

Tl^efe fliepherds of the iflands of the Ar- 
CHiPELATGO are not hirelings; they are a fort 
of farmers, who receive ewes and goats from, 
the inhabitants, on condition of furnifhin^ 
them with a .quantity of wool and cheefc pro- 
portionate to the number of the animals, $in4 
to account for the ordinal^ produce of the 
ewes; fo that, atrj.the expiration of o^ few: 
years, a maa finds bimfelf the ]>Ofleflor of a 
little flock, which lias conflantly furaiilied 



6REBCE AUD tlTRKEY. 6^ 

an: sfanoft dai ly income, with6tf¥ Hivfifg cod* 
either trouble or experife. This method^ of^ 
breeding fheep is niore advantageous to ttie-' 
proprietors and to the animals themfelves,-^ 
wfuchare more healthy and more rdbuft, an A 
whofe fleece is improved by this •ehtii'ely' 
agreftic life; but it cannot be ^dp'ted'but' 
in mountainous countries, ' where Agriculture 
has not extended her domain : in other places,* 
that want might be fupplied by extenfive parks, 
enclofure in the open air, and, * above all, by 
the profcription of low and fwampy fheep- 
folds, fuch as are feen in feveral of our de* 
partments. 

Moft of the diforders by which our flocks 
are attacked, through the efFeftof humidity 
and corruption, are unknown in the Levant. 
Veterinary treatment, which is become among 
us a difficult art, becaufe we have chofen that 
the diet of our animals, like our own, fhould 
deviate from the rules which Nature pre* 
fcribes, would there be an art alnioft ufclefs. 
Experience, that guide more fure than the in- 
dubious of medical theory, has made Ample 
ihepherds the phydcians of their flocks, as 
they are their infepar^ble companions. They 
do not load themfelves with drugs; Nature 
is at all the trouble of the preparations^ and 
F 3 their 



7^ THAVt^S IK 

tiicir pliArmaffy i$ JTc^ttered over th« ttry 
pUces vbich they tmverfe. The remedies are 
i|mpl^ like the complaints : I have remem* 
bere^ one which, among the fhepherds of the 
|U»T, .« teckoned very efficacious in putrid 
djL{^9fyf in iheep : t&is is Avallow^s dung, dif< 
^\vtd in water, and given as a drink. 

It is alfo on the very mountains, and in 
the midii of tbeix flocks, that the ^epherds 
make, wilH %ht milk of eves and goats, pre- 
pared jn the: open; air inlai^ brafs veflels, 
little chfefe^, fbrmed in riiih moulds, and of 
which the Greeks^ dffirift ohfervers of feveral 
Lents, make a great confumption. Thefe 
cheefes are very good, falted, and preierved; 
but freih,; they are delicious. 
. A few : iuhabitants of Milo and Ajioev* 
TiERA have alfo flocks on the liland of Fo- 
il v p, . whichtthe Europeans call Burnt Islakj), 
becaufe the Venetians, during the long wars 
»that they had. to maintain againft the Turks, 
deftroye^ by .fire the plive-trees with which it 
was covered. Flocks are the only inhabitants 
of th^ iiland ; it neverthelefe deferves to have 
plbhers. ^ Jn faft, the quantity of olive-trees 
wbiqh there; fubfifted, indicates the goodnefs 
of its foil ; and the finall number which is.ftill 
* '. ,,-.. cultivated 



of Au^FNttBRA, aii^'lV'ftpdAHftkF fi*6m il 
cmtyl^'a^clifrnnd a quarter of ffleftgtic vn^' 
At tile pWidd df Aiy travels, it *ddiigcd to 
cSflti^riC ihdivldUaJs of -MiLO ihd AitcEN* 
»t*iiA;^bat tli«y 4Vei'e not' in' it condition, 
Of tother th^'We^i^d' afraid to turn it to ac-^ 
count, left^hey >f}Muld attr&a tfie iittetition 
agpdextortidnsdf the Turks. Thfey wtre en- 
4lfciM0»rtng to difpbfe of it; ahd^'butfot the 
difficulties which a Frendimari tfhen expe- 
rienced in *ftablifllliil^ himfelf itf^Ttj'itKEY, 
I would hateJ'bekJomethe purchrffer.' ;Th* 
Uttl© produce which the poffeflbrs drfeW firdte 
tt, 'rebd^itd it an acquifition by no means 
^^efttite, Atid Aich that a few acres bf^ land 
^irld ntot have been* obtained in tnAt^CB at 
-the feine pri^e.* • ThW Jfland iis^ neVertheltfty 
four or five leagues in circumfcreiifceV culture 
might there fee extended To as to leave b'ut 
about the fourth of the foil, which, from its 
nature, would remain unculdvatedi Thtscoti* 
fills o3f hills, partly covered by rocks, befrween 
which grow various' plants and ihnibs.-Thefe 
hills, idthoiigh not cultivated, would not be 
unprodu^iVe; .flocks would there* find an 
F 4 abundant 



7a -: r^AymiH :l9r,-rr. 

yield wood : fad cil- /N^tuf^ |i^ pUixtefl.4^ 
tween the roc]cs bulbs of iafFroni ii> the midft 
of other ye^etabl^ prodbd^OQs, ufeful, though 
wild.; The y<}ry yocks likewife offer thcu- tri- 
bute; in their bofom are found camelians of 
feveral colours, but mod .commonly of a yd-i 
low orange colour; and agates, pf a yellow 
and tranfparent gray^ which niay be cont 
ildered as » fpecies. pf iaidonyx. An .eapr 
cavation, fupported by. polU, indicates aor 
cient mineralogical labours, : ai;id it tnight b€ 
pp(riblctO;r^ew' them with fid vantage. 
. . Tp the qulture of. various fpecies of corn^ 
.cotton, fcctp the. coUe^ian ojf wool, onte 
W^J^Uft!? the rearing pfrfc^eis, which f<fvpely 
nqW^my, pare, in a climate in whic^ they 
;much jdelight ; and i^. is^ w^ll fcnc^wn thsit: waic 
is, 19 (he Lb V AWT, a v?ry proQtable article of 
trad^ ,The fituation of Pqlivo at the en- 
.trance of. the Ai^chipei^agq, in thp vicinity 
^ a great number of ifland^ fprniingarpM, 
the, cqmmoi^^cboring-place for vefliels tha^t 
.TiaYigatp iQ thefe feas,, would give birth to 
.an infiiiite'numbfsrpf 90inraerfiif^l fpcpulatioW, 
-which could aap^ f^il :tp. hp; yejy produclivp. 
-.Oi^ thf coaft, feping AftG^N.Tj[E^iA,; are t\*?o 
;:WY?«i: i^XQ on^pf which <||^ps p^ft euter».MAt 
ii.u.L :..:^ » trifling 



e&XSCE ANP tiraKET. fl 

a trifling expenfc, one might build on the 
ihore, and within reach of a fpring of frdlh 
water, a convenient habitation, whofe pofi- 
tipn, thpugh^a little folitary^ ^M^onld be agree- 
able and pidureiTqu^: one might there pafi^ 
in comfort, and in pleafant and ufeful occih 
potions, i^ quiet and happy life; and when» 
afker long travels and perfevering labours^ 
i faw myfelf furrounded by all kinds of trou* 
klcs and treacheries, I regretted more thau 
once BOt having endeavoured to remove the 
obftacles which oppofed the acquifition of the 
peaceful Ifland of Po jlivo. In an abode nei- 
tfaer too retired, nor too much expofed to the- 
noiiy agitations of fociety, I fhould proba* 
biy have met with tranquillity and happinefii^ 
from which a fatality, by no meant common^ 
liai al^vays kept me at a diiiance. 



CHAFTfm 



; . . . I * •'. l! yJ i.jl. . ». .rf.. w A 

• CHAPTER • xxvir; ' •' .' * 

Gerieralob/irtationf/MttJie maimer^^and c^|ip9m 
of the Greeks of ^ //le^ Arcbip(^lago.."-"irAei2 
«iarfe of life. — Their mind. ej^trcmefif ipciint^ 
tc fuptrfiition. -^Manner in^ . which [ wotheff 

, correEt the^ children.~,MethpdprgBifedin 

. the deliverj/ of wofn^n.-^^t^mtiq}^ 

the^ Archipelago,, to ncw-bof^n ^kildren.r-^ 

.. Precautions taken cpricpTyfir{g^ them.-^Pre^ 
tende^inJlueTiceofJinifiGr lopks on children^ 
meh,gnd(^n}4tfs.^^^^, j / .:,*.v :,::. . ;/ M 

I HAD made/ofrtlif Jfland:of 'AitOTK.Tir£fu( 
aiul of the very neighbouring one' of Mjlo, 
wJiich will prefently be fpoken of, the fpot 
^vhither I repaiied after my different cxcur- 
fions in the Archipelago. The number of 
European veflels which put in there, the refi- 
denCe of an agent of our nation, the tran- 
quillity which there reigned, the greater faci- 
lity of there obtaining certain information 
refpefting countries w'here iincerity and truth 
are not prevailing virtues — every thing in- 
ii:iVl/vUv ' duced 



CRBBCE! AN9 XUfOCET. 75 

dttced vm toTeturarfircqutntly to one of thde 
two iflafid9> kn«{ tOtihake!a ibty there at feveral* 
p0nod$/ Tberejt )ras that I penned tlie notes 
and obfervationfi which I had colle£led, and 
'which hareierv^ed as materials for this work: 
h feems natural to me to linfert them here;: 
and aldiough they, for the moft part, refer t^ 
the inhabttanta of feveral other iflands of the 
iUaCHiPELAOO, as they are common to the 
Iflands of Arqjbntieka and Milo, they are 
ftot At ail mifplaced in the articles which treat 
of thofe two countries. They confift of ge- 
metal oblervatioas on the manners of the 
defcendants of a great people, at this day 
fiibjugated by a barbarous nation:^ it is the 
Aoral hillory c^ the Greeks of the Archipe- 
LACo; and the pifture which I am going to 
pre&nt of them will exempt me from repeti- 
tions that would become unavoidable, if I 
niihed to fpeak in particular* of feveral tfibes 
fcattered over all the eminences which tower 
above the furface of the ^Egean Si:a, and 
dn whidx the men, with the exception of a 
few iliades, have the fame qualities and the 
(ame cufioifts. The reader will find, in tills 
fame pidurie, wieat is general ia thofe cuftcmis 
and.thiife £[ua!ittes; aad he will have nothing 
iftore to da than to viiit ii^dly with me the 
5 . other 



7«^ » TRAVBLS IH 

Other iilands of the Archi^£Xaoo, aod'there 
to remark the particularities whicii diilingcifilt 
their phyfical ilate and the moral chara£ieir 
of their inhabitants. :l 

The life of the Greeks of the Archipe^ 
XAGO IS llimple; luxury dares not make it& 
appearance, becaufe the tyrant is contiiiually: 
on the watch, and ready to fall on the prcK 
duce of induftry, asfoon as it.befpeaks riches 
.foniewhat confiderable. The Greek givea 
hirafelf up only by ftealth to the fpeculationtf 
of commerce; and if they make any. diijjlay 
throOgh-too great fuocefs,. he.. trembles, ibr 
his . fortune^ fometinies . even . for his '.life; 
Rural labours woukl deftroy too much tliet 
tffcfSts of induftry, a fecret which he is forced 
to conceal with .care : thence rifults^that the 
fields are urit?altivated, that the wetchednefs 
of the country iinds its way into^the inhabited 
places, and that one.feklom perceives tberer 
the figns of a dangerous opulence, •: 

The Greeks: of antiquity .hav*e hieen re* 
preached Tdth Jiaving a mind prone to fuperfti^ 
tkm ; this inclinatian...has ^iivci«afed in ^ro< 
portion as Ignorance has iliaded^ mth, hef^ 
gloonhy • wings, couatries-wdiiih die arts and: 
fcienbaat. have not Jbeen^abb t64ecure from 
fuperftitidilk:c{diujLit^«....In} tfae-time of tha 
:. ^i - Greek 



GREECE AVP TVK£T« 77 

Greek emperors, thb weaknefs appeared to 
have attained its bigheft pitch; the people 
were given, in a farprifmg manner, to pref- 
tigesy enchantments, and pradices the moft 
abfurd; and it may be conceived whether^ 
in our days, when Slavery, the moft power- 
ful promoter oi tlie degradation of nations, 
has united her fmifter efforts to an ignorance 
ever increaiing,. j:hat old difpofition to errors 
have not (truck roots more deep and more nu- 
merous. The chriftian religion even is be-^ 
come, among tliis people, a new fource of 
£uper(lil3pns. > That religion, of celeilial ori^ 
gin, which men, and more particularly the 
ambition of priefts, have fpoiled, confifts, for 
a Greek, only in ceremonies, in minute ob- 
fervances, in a multitude of practices. To 
him the fublime moral of the Gofpel is no- 
thing ; and provided he fail fcrupuloufly, 
pronounce words which he confiders as ma- 
gical, and be exad in ceremonies, even 
foreign to thofe of religion, he is perfuaded 
that all his duties are performed, and that 
nothing can prevent him from giving him- 
felf up to exceffes againfl fociety. It is not 
uncommon to fee Greek pirates, addi&ed to 
all forts ^ of robberies, fancy tliemfclves in 

fnu • 



7$ •* traStew in 

fall- f n)<r(''mertt of a fafc corffcferic^e, beeanfit 
they 'ftriAly bbferve LenH and reefte orifons. 

Among tire cuftoms (if the ^Grttks of the 
AaCHiPEl/too, there are, ti6 dotiirt, fbmc 
whteh are derived from ai^tiquityi The EAst 
is by no means the abode of frivolity, iiof 
<rfa fickle and changmg difpofitibri j cu&ofns 
are there conftantly nmrntamed; an-d we lOve 
ter find again, even in the moft* familiar de- 
tails of private life, thofe with which we havii 
been acquainteid by the pertifal of ancient 
works; It is, for example, ftill a cuttom of 
the mothers of thefe countries to- wftip, as in 
former times, their children with tht flexible 
and elaflic branches of the a^mis caflM. 

If we examine the Greek of the A<RCHrfE^ 
LA GO in the moft folemn periods of civil life, 
we fee him always abandoned to the abfiird 
caprices of ignorance, and executing the 
mofl whimfical things, \nth as much fince- 
rity as feriotifnefs. At hi^ birth, he is' fur- 
rounded by the whole train of fu perdition, 
and he remains accompanied by it during 
the courfe of his life. The manner in which 
he comes into the world is too Angular, for me 
not to make exprefs mention of itt m'C have 
ev^ry reafon to be furprifed that, among- the 
great number of tjpavellers who have vifited 

the 



GftEECB ANP.TtritKEY. ^^ 

tbe; AhCh](«£lago> . no one . baa ; kaoim :tBe 
iDetbo4:c^hi.eh. Hrtlieife priudi(ed in theridc^ 
livery of "^qfwnf s^ mdthoA truly curiokisf mU 
'e^traor4t^arj^ l^U* \?hich our Women wffi/«Mifc; 
undoubl^ly^::W)'t/em{)ted to adopt. ; I Ixid 
an oppottom^y of Heiug pneient -ilt the delivery 
of a woBnai^^of tbl^fe countvik^r^od ^k.'I am 
the iMi who. ha3 ^kisn , o£:it, . . ! ; Iball/jeiitef 
into a £n^ fktoila oil afiaibje^i fcD:mtereflitig 
to the hiftorjitoF man* .* :i /;;/ s 

I JhaU 4rft dbferve, tlaafc.the .yoang wo- 
maii^ at whofe delivery I was prefent, was 
not more than 4^ighteen years of age: flie 
was tall, wdrmatde,' of a fivong conititution, 
and of a j>eautyMwbiGh the Greeks of anti^ . 
%^ty would haAfe dnvied.. The iVyperuiinem 
of child- iHtth. manifefted themfdives atftip- 
per-time : tlie young woman was: condHi^d 
to her chamfaear, whither £ had' permafTioti to 
attend hen The midwife, a woman mach 
advanced in years, and whofe knowledge iind 
cxperienice were liighly extolled, arrived, ac- 
eompanied by a female affiilant, almoft as^ 
old as herfelf, hut of a countenance lefs flngu^ 
lar and lefs ilrongly marked. A painter, who 
might have wifhed to repreienta fibyl, would 
not have been able to choofe^ £u better niddel; 

every 



'ere^:ihlng'inr' it' stntiounoed'the apjfea^Ktt)^ 
of a for coifs, and 'her anfwert W the qiS^ 
tiona which I aiteeid hei- miglit, from thtit 
ohfearitjr, paf» for fo many oracles. ' She 
lifceM^ carried a fort of tripod, the ufe of 
viiicli I. was feir from conceiving: this very 
fingiilar article of furniture W toot of one en- 
tice piece of wood. Two pieces, rounded and 
fomewhat convex on the outfide, are united j 
at the acuta^'augtf;, and fapport at their jUnc- I 
tion a flat piece, fit for fitting on r the Whole 
is enveloped :ahd. vtry negligently trimmed 
with old iinen^cloths,' and fupported by three 
legs, very lowf and as rudply wrought as the 
reft, oniB of which confines^ ohe fort of ftctol to 

, the angle, and' the.otheif twp are placed un- 
der the two branches and towards their ex- 
tremily. The fiitft. concern of the niidwife 

. was to caufe the locks of the ^ors, boxes^ 
trunks, and^ indeed; every thing that could 
Idcfc in the houfe, fo be opened. . This pre- 
teution of keeping, every things wide open, 
founded on a very whimlical analogy, is not, 
00 any account, to be neglefted, if it be wiflied, 
that tlie delivery ihould experience no diiSi-' 
culties; and, through a confequence of this 
Ridiculous prejudice, none but married women 
arc.fufiered in it, virgins being abfolutely 
. . baniihea. 



CREECE AND TURKEY. 8l . 

baniihed. I was alfo informed, tliat if I 
wiihed to be prefent, I mull determine to ftay 
in the roam till the delivery' jvas completely » 
terminated. This is a rule which no one 
can infringe. From the' moment, that the ' 
labour begins, thofe who are in the apart- 
ment can no longer leave jit, nor can thbfe \ 
vho arc without any longer enter it. The 
former incur even a fort of (lain, which de* 
prives them of all communication with other 
perfimsy till a prieft, who is apprized on this 
iUbjed, has given them his blefling, and freed 
tbem from the impurity \^ich it is fancied 
that they have contracted. 

In the mean jtime Nature began to ad; the 
efforts which flie excited, for haftening the 
oirth of a new being, were increafed and be- 
come more frequent; every thing announced 
an eafy labour and a happy delivery. Dur-* 
ingthe continuance of this a6iion of the child 
on the mother, the latter did not remain idle; 
ibe was compelled* to walk inceffantly about 
her room : if pain, a little weaknds, or-faint* 
faeartednefi, made her deiirous to take a mo^ 
ment's reft, the two old women fupported her 
under the arms, and obliged her to walk ; and, 
in truth. Hie appeared to me to have no incli 
nation to do (o. When tlie pains came on^ 

VOL. If. a they 



St TRAVELS IN 

they made her lean and bend herfelf for^ 
ward on her bed, and the midwife, placed 
behind her, ftrongly preffed her fides ivith 
both her hands, which ihe held there againft 
thein till the pain was over, and that foon 
happened: then the walking recommenced, 
till a freflipain interrupted it, and occafioned 
the woman to be put in a ficuati(m to experi-- 
ence frcfli preffuresfrom the bandeof thentiW'^ 
wife. • , • '^i ■•• •• •^-'•^I « 

I am not fufficiently verftd ^in the kno#f 
ledge of the mechanilm which.Nature ei»^ 
ploys on this occafi on, to determine, Whethilr 
the method of prefllng ftrongly the hati'ds dA 
the lower parr of a woman's back, at the very 
xnoujent of her pains, be a fakitary or hurt- 
ful method ; all that I can affirm is, tJ>at ft 
is generally in ufe in the countries which I 
am defcriBing,. and in which deliveries are al- 
inoft always fortunate, I fliall &dd, that 1 
obferved from them a good effedl, at leaftja 
Appearance; for the pains were not 'long, al* 
though fucceeding each other rapidly, anJ 
the young woman who experienced them did 
not feem much afFe6}:ed by them. .However, 
having . conftilted on this point a phyfician 
who has acquired! in our days a gTeat name ^ 
in the art of midwifery, he has difapproved 

of 



GREECE, ;A]^IV.5PC*«:eT. 8^ 

of this prar^icCjj whi<?h : he confidcrs ' i$ . f cry 
vicious, and I give, as a nol;e, what he has 
been pleafed^ to comniunicate to in^ on this 
fubjea*. , 

Conld 

Parii, I ith Ni^Jefyewr he, ( 2cl January, 1 8ii| . ) 

• After havingi with no left pleafare than inteireft, not 
Only heard bot meditated on the cbfervatfons which -Mi 
SoNNiNi has' been kind enough to commnnicate to me 
verbally and in writing, refpefting the proceedings cm- 
ployed before and after the delivery of the Greek women; 
Iexcl^imed,.Oh! a thoufand times happy are the coui^^ 
tries where all the united efforts of routine, ignorance, and 
foiaticifm, have not bee|i able to fucceed in difappointing 
the wiih of Nature, in the exercife of the moft important 
funftion of animal economy. 

'* During the labours of child-birth, the mid wives,** 
you fay. Sit, '* make the patient lean and bend herfelf for- 
*« ward at -every frefh pain, while the matron, placed be- 
*' hind her, prefles her fides, with a view of affifting the 
«' Jabour.** 

Your natural fagacity. Sir, will fee the demonflration 
of fo vicioUs a prafticc, and the abfurdity of which the 
lights of reafon alone had made you partly conceive, with- , 
out the aiSfknce of the principles of art. 

The relative fuuatioti of the bafin is fuch, that, when 
the woman is ere6t, the projeAion of the factum t or pof- 
terior part, is more elevated by three inches than the an- 
terior part, or upper edge of thfe fymphifus pubis. . From 
this anatomical faft, you will judge, that the upper or 
large bafid forms a very inclined plane, on which the full 
grown foetus is fupported before by the firaight mufdei, 

o % whofc 



t4 TEAVSLS IK 

Could any doubt a]:ife rerpe6);ing this prac- 
tice, unufual among us, every one will agree 
without difficulty that nothing is more cruel, 

whofe fafteniagSj dire^ioOf and tendinous interfeAions, 
fuiHciently indicate the ufes for which they are intended. 

If a woman in labonr be made to bend forward* what 
is the confeqoence? i. The uterus* an J tt»e foreign 
bodies contained in Its cavity* recede more or led frona 
the bafia. 2. All the abdominal mufdea being, on ac« 
count of this pofture* in a complete ftate of relaxation, can- 
not oppofe the fall of the belly of the woman id labour. 
3* The orifice of the uterus being conftaatly o|^ofed to 
the extremity of that vifcus* the more the extremity is in- 
clined forward* the more its orifice muft t>e inclinedjn the 
fame manner backward in j^c bend qfihcjpurum, j^ The 
natural pains of child-birth* or contradions of the uterus, 
Iraving no efficacy but as long as the axis of the body of 
the child* parallel to that of the uterus, anfwers to the 
centre of the bafin* it follows that* in cafes of obiiquityf 
the pains are loft, exhauft to no purpofe the fhrength of the 
woman in labour* and render the delivery more or lefs la* 
borious. 

I therefore conclude* from experience and obfervation, 
that of all the iitaations taken by women in labour* the 
moil vicious, the moft diametrically oppofite to the end 
that is propofed* is moft certainly that to which the igno* 
ranee and the routine of the Greek matrons fubjeft the 
Greek women. As for the efforts which they add to the 
vicioufnefsofthefituation* wemayconfider them asfrdh 
obftacles to the delivery ; ajid if thefe manceuvret do not 
increafe the number of vidims*. it is not moft affiuedly^the. 
fault of the art. 

nor 



CRJKSCS AVt TITRKBT, 85 

nor, at the lame time, more contrary; to the 
notions received, than the manner in which 
child-birth is terminated in tlie iflands Xff the 
Archipelago. Yet there is not, perhaps, 
any coui^ry on earth, where" deliveries are 
more eafy, more happy, and lefe attended by 
fatal accidents, than that in wliich every thing 
is, in a manner, reforted to for bringing about 
thofe accidents, and cauling Nature to xepent 
of the favours which ihe has lavifhed on the 
women, by decorating them with the brilli* 
ant forms of beauty, and granting them Cou- 
rage and ftrength to refiil the violence em* 
ployed towards them, at the period when the 
quality of mother comes to develop in their 
ardent foul new and precious affedlions. 

But this fort of indulgence of Nature is the 
reward of a iimple and regular life, ilill more 
than the eifeft of cliipatp. A beautiful (ky^. 
an atmofphere which the feverity of our hoar- 
frofts never condenfes, which the gentle brekth 
of fpring-^^hyrs incefTantly warms^ which 
falutary emanations iippregnate with the prin« 
ciples of health aqd vigQur^^ doubtlefs, con- 
tribute to the good fortune that the women . 
enjoy of efcaping the dangers which await 
them, and whiqh are prepariiig fot thenu But 
^1 this, 98 on other occaiionsi phyfiologiflshav^ 
Q 9 granted 



66 TRAVELS liT • 

granted too iriudh f o the power of cfitnate ; 
aiid^Nvhen we wifli to explain every thing, it 
is certain, that the temperature of a country 
frequently cOraes very opportunely to relieve 
from etnbarraflTrtient him who has undertaken 
i tafk fo difficult to. be accompliflied. And, 
in order not to deviate from my fubjeCt, I 
ihall aflc, how we fliould contrive to make 
the influence of a climate which, it is ad- 
jnitted, gives to the people who inhabit it the 
ftature and the cofputence of vigour, agree 
wilK that other influence of the fame climate, 
hy Vhlch we fiippofe that the fibres and the 
flefli of thd women there becomeYoftened, to 
/endei* deliveries by'iio means painful? Are 
not ftrength and eniergy of the phyfical con- 
ftitution on the one hand, foftnefs and re- 
liixation on this other, oppofite and contra- 
didbry qualities, when we wifli to impofe thehi 
on the famfe objeO;'? ' • 

Viffour of conflitution, which affords the 
tk'cimy of palling with a firm -fte^- through 
the rilgged career of life, is likewii^ to be 
found among the 'hations which live Under 
$ burning flvy, atid In themidft of the tribes 
wWcfi walk on a Ibil of fnow and ice. The 
inhabitants of SE**feGA'L ^^d of Jaloiff are 
perliaps the handfomeftiis weH as'tfie ftrongeft 

- •' . of 



GREEKS AND TURKEY. £7 

of men ; aiid the negreft of the fame coun* 
tries, with a fJiin of a brilliant jet, with firm 
gnd elafticr.fleih, .brings her children into the 
world with ftill greater facility than the Greek 
woman, ind, oevcrthelefs, preferves that foli- 
dity of fornix that tone of fibres, the certain 
marks of ftrength and health. Whether we 
approach Hyperbdrean lands, or vifit the An- . 
tarctic fhores, which intrepid navigators have 
added to the chart of the world, we there fee 
difpatch and eafe in deliveries; and the wof 
men, like thofe of Africa, there preferve the 
juft proportion of form. 

It is not, therefore, the temperature of the 
atmofpherc that gives to. women that happy 
habit of body which procures eaiy delivery. 
Without difallowing that it may not be re 
garded ia them as a fecondaiy caufe, it is an 
error to prefent it as the principal one, fince, 
ill its two extremes, it affords nearly the fame 
refults. Great heat, which, itisfaid, mollifies 
the flefh and relaxes the fibres, effefts not 
thofe difagreeable changes only on the women 
\Vho are not born in that country. It is on 
that account that the European woman, tranf^ 
planted into the West Indies, has foon the 
mortification to fee her cheeks lofe their co- 
lour, and her chamis fade away ; and that fhe 
1 .who 



88 \ tlfcAVELS IV 

who is there born of Europeab parents, has 
the complexion of ^ pcrfeft white, indeed, but 
which, becaufe it is uniform, without being 
animated by the foft, blufh of the rofe, be- 
fpeaks languor, flaccidity, and weaknefs. 

A cjiufe more certain than that of the dif* 
ference of climate, has produced the difparity 
which is obfervable in the conftitution of dif* 
ferent people. A long fuccefiion of mode^^ 
ration and temperance tranfmit, from gene* 
ration to generation, the precious inheritance 
of a vigorous conftitution, and preferve to 
the mufcles and fibres the tenfion neceflary 
for the fupport of the flefliy parts, and the 
regularity of the outlines. If, in our coun- 
tries, beauty has fo frequently to lament the 
lofs of its deareil advantages; if, under the 
moft fafcinating exterior, it has no longer any 
thing remaining but a mortifying disfigura* 
tion, it is^ to the irregular life, to excefles of 
every kind, the fymptoms of which are tranf- 
mitted and grow worfe from age to age, that 
we muft attribute thefe affliding diforders. 
It is not aftonifliing that delicate and feeble 
beings, who have fcarcely ftrength to exift, 
experienoe confiderabl? embarrafl'ment in pro* 
curing life to other beings, deft in ed, for the 
moft part, to the fame languifliing exiftence^ 

The 



ORZECn AKD TXTRKET. 89 

The iiriih of Nature, often called in queftion, 
IS more frequently eluded ; women dread to 
become mothers, b^caufe continual diflipation 
ftifles in their heart inna,te fentiments; as a 
mode of life, in which Nature is inceflantly - 
counterafted, has almoft deprived them of the 
ftrength to become fo. The art of midwifery 
ha$ attained the point at which it has ar-> 
rived among us, that is, an art replete with 
difficulties, only becaufe our women are be- 
come knowing in the art of creating for them- 
felves an exiftence, as it were, preternatural; 
and were it poffible not to pity them, for thus 
facrificing their charts and their real happi^ 
nefs, we fliould ceafe to remark, with fo niuch 
concern, the impreffion of intemperance in the 
painful circumftance of delivery, and in the 
diforder which is frequently the confequence 
of itj^J'^ diforder which fcarcely ever attacks 
the Greek women, whofe happy conftitution, 
ftrengthened by fimple habits and regular 
manners, has need only of a little alfiftance 
at the moment of child-birth, and renders art 
ufeleft. 

Accordingly, the profeffion of man-midwife 
is there entirely unknown, and were any to 
make their appearance, they would meet with 
a very ungracious reception, and remain iu 

complete 



PO , TRAVUS iir. 

complete ina6lipn. In. the firft pljicc,. puWic 
pior^^ls have preferved .in» the EASTejjterioj' 
aufterity; which, if it do not always conftitute 
their individual purity, ihews, jat Icaft, that 
the habit of lefpeSing them i« a national char 
rafter: men would not there be fufFered ,to 
apply thxfmfelves to the jTraftice of midwifery ; 
and without having read JHecquet's* book, 
it would there be confidered as the height of 
indecency, for a woman to have recourfe to a 
man-midwife. 

Befides, Nature takes. on lieifelf almoft ail 
'the trouble of an operation, which, in our 
countries, is reckoned a delicate one; and 
the midwife that is called in, wedded to a vul- 
gar routine, is frequently miftaken as to the 
means whicli ihe employs foraflifting Nature- 
If any difficulty occur, the midwife has re- 
courfe to fuperftitious praftices; to this is 
limited her fcience; the cafes in which J^ie 
is obliged to recur to them, fortunately, hap- 
pen, very feldom, and a difficult labour is 
there a very extraordinary event. 

During the time which I paflTed in the 
chamber of the young Greek woman in la- 

* Hecquet, a vjcry pious phyfician, has cojnppietl t 
work M th^ indectncy of m^n d€li<vtring '-Mcnun* 

hour, 



GREECE AND. TTJRKET. $t 

bouf, I put to the midwife various queftion* 
tefpe6Hng her praftice; I afked her, for in- 
(taoce, -what flie did in deliveries where the 
child did not prefent itfelf naturally,? She 
affured me, that this hardly ever happened 
to her; but that then fhe ftrove to make the 
child take a fuitable pofition, and that if ihe 
could not fucceed in this, ihe had remaining 
a refource which, flie affured me, was infal- 
lible for relieving her from embarraffment: 
this was to apply to the hufband, who, in the 
opinion of the women of this country, pof- 
feffes in an eminent degree the power of re- 
moving every obftacle that oppofes the de- 
livery of his wife; and this magic power con- 
fifts in three taps which the man is to give 
with his fhoe on the patient's back, at the 
fame time pronouncing in a loud voice thefe 
words: ** It is I who have loaded thee xoith 
this burden ; I now remove it.'* 

At length the critical moment arrived. 
The young woman was made to fit on the 
fatal tripod: the defcription M*hich I have 
given of this fort of feat fufficiently indicates 
the pofition of the woman; an air of candour 
and inquietude rendered her extremely inte- 
refting, and her features, the elegant model of 
youth and beauty, appeared by no means af- 

feded 



fl TRAVEIS IK 

fefted by pain. The midwife placed herfelf 
in front of her, and a little below her, and 
the female afliftant fat down behind her on a 
higher feat, and embraced her tightly with 
h^r arms round the. waift. 

The child prefently made its appearance; 
and as foon as it was feparated from the after* 
birth, the afliftant, with a vigorous arm, lifted 
up the lying-in-woman repeatedly, and per- 
pendicularly above the tripod, on which flie 
fuffered her to fall again with much rough- 
nefs. I could not get the better of my afto- 
nifliment to fee this interefting woman, aban- 
doned to a manoeuvre which appeared to me 
equally abfurd and revplting; flie was thus 
unmercifully Ihaken till flje was entirely de- 
livered, and very fortunately that was ere long 
accomplilhed. This violent proceeding, in 
general ufe, is a mean which the Greek wo- 
men confider indifpenfable for completing the 
delivery ; and accidents are feldom the con- 
fequence of it, although it may appear likely 
to occafiou numerous ones. *' Violent. and 
*^ repeated joltings," fays Sacombe, in a let- 
ter to me on this fubjtift, '* cannot but in^ 
*^ flame parts already bruifed and fatigued by 
5* the paflage of the child, and produce de-- 
•* fcents, or, at leaft, relaxations of the uterus 

•'^nd 



4»R£ECV AMD TURKEY. 93 

•* and vagina, uterine hemorrhages, fyncope, 
^* and convuMive attacks. If phj^ical con- 
'* ftitution preferve the Greek women from 
" the fatal confequences of this bad praftice, 
** we muft congratulate them on being bom 
** under a fky fo favoured by Nature ♦,*' 

Whatever may be the folidity of the mo- 
tives of the cenfure «vhich found phyficiana 
pronounce againft fo rough a method of 
hailening the delivery of a woman, it would 
be difficult to fucceed in caufing it to be 
abandoned in a country where experience has 
ihewn, that it is not attended with unhappy 
confequences. I faw, with furprife, that the - 
lying-in woman herfelf did not complain of 
it; and that, after a trial in appearance fo 
cruel, flic went and placed herfelf, of her 
own accord, in a bed, without appearing 
either too much weakened, or too much op- 
prefled by fatigue. A few moments o^ re- 
pofe reftored her to a ftate truly unexpeftcd; 
the colour of her face had a tint left (ivdy, 
hut it was ftill rofy: flie received, without 
confiraint, a crowd of congratulations, and 
replied to them as if {he had been in the mod 
tranquil fituation. 

* LeCDer from Sacom If to Sonnini» dated Paris> 15 
l^ivofe, jrtarix. (sd janoar/, 1801.) 

I wiflied 



94 TRAVELS in . .> 

I wiflied to afcertain the treatment to ivhich 
the Greek women are fubjefiled after their 
lying-in ; and of this it cpnfifts. Immedi* 
ately after the delivery, the woman is fur* 
rounded by a broacl Jinen roller, from the 
bofom to the loins, and it is drawn very tight; 
Here, European pradice exclaims anew to 
reprobate this bandage. *' All mechanical 
** compreffionon the belly'of a woman, newly 
** brought to bed, is very dangerous, from 
** the difpofition of the abdominal cavity and 
** an approaching inflammation. The weight 
*^ of the child, during nine months of preg^ ' 
** nancy, the fucceflive contraftions of the 
" uterus, or the violent pains of child-birth, 
** irritate that vifcus and inflame it; all 
** compreffion* muft, therefore, be /atal to 
** the woman brought to bed*." A l^rned 
theory has, doubtlefs, revealed the inconvenir 
encesofthis method; but thefe are no mor^ 
than chimeras to the Greek \yomen, who 
maintain, with as much impunity, the com* 
preffi(in of the roller with which they en-^ 
compafs thcm^ as they brave the dangers of 
the joltings of their delivery. They, on 
the contrary, find in it an advantage which 



* Letter from Sacomss to Sonnj;^]* 

IS 



GREECE AND- XURKEY. 95 

is €onne6led with thfe l)eautiful prefervatioa 
of tlitfir form, and ^^vhich a multitude of wo- 
men, of other countiies,' might ^.nvy.them: 
it is to avoid an exceflive and habitual fuel- 
ling of the belly, or, what js ftill more difa* 
greeable, the numerous folds and deep wrin- 
kles with which thfe fkin is furrowed. 
. On the fifft day, the midwife drefles the 
lying-in woman with dry rofe leaves, boiled 
in wine and honey. After feveral lotions of 
this mixture, rofe-leaves are applied till the 
next morning. The fecond day, and the fol- 
lowing days,. iJiC contents herfelf with fimply 
fomenting her patient with cotton lleeped ini 
warm wine, and then applying alternately 
pow<ler of cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs, or cu . 
min ; that is to fay, that only one of thefe 
aromatic powders is employed at a time, andr 
it is changed at each dreffing. 

In lieu of wine, which is made ufe of only . 
for delicate women, the mid wives commonly 
employ brandy, which renders the dretting 
more fmarting and more violent. Whatever 
may be the (late of the lying-in woman, 
whether her cure outftrip the common term, 
or whether it experience delays, the fame 
drefling is continued for eight days, morn- 
ing aad evening.. It is curious to remark, 

that 



9^ V tftAVBL!i 19 

that at each of thefe dreffings^ the midwife 
gets on the bed of the lying-in woman, by 
the fide oppofite to the bolfter, extends her 
legs between thofe of her patient, takes hold 
of both her hands, and with one foot, which 
ihe applies very exadlly to the parts which 
have fuffered, gives her three ftrong ihakesi, 
at the fame time preffing her rudely with her 
foot 

On the eighth day, in the evening, an egg 
is boiled hard, and ftripped of its (hell ; it is 
then powdered with fomeof the aromatics be- 
fore mentioned, and confined, with bandages, 
to the part which the midwife has preflTed 
with her foot, andxthere it is left for two or 
. three hours. It is to this operation, the ob- 
jeft of which, according to what was gravely 
related to me by the midwife,* is to attract the 
cold which the lying-in woman might have 
caught; it is to this operation, I fay, that the 
care after the lying-in is confined, and the 
midwife is difmiffed. 

This treatment is almoft as harfli as the 
mode of delivery ; it occafions acute pains, 
efpecially when brandy is made ufe of for the 
dreflings. But it might be mitigated by re- 
trenching ufelefs things, fuch as kicks, and 
be correfted, in iliort, in fuch a manner as to 

render 



GREECE AND Tl^RfCSY. 97 

render it more fupportable, Without dppriv- 
ing it of its advantages ; for it has incon- 
teftable ones, from its property of ftrengthen- 
ing and clofing parts which their owii exten- 
fion, or the manoeuvres-.of the midwife, have 
fatigued pr brulfed; its effed is equally fure 
and quick, and it furpalTes what might be 
thought likely to he expend from it, and 
what I can fay. 

The linen which has fervid for the lying-ia 
muft not be waflied in fea-water, although the 
iflanders of the Archipelago fcarcely em- 
ploy any other. for their waihing: they are 
perfuaded thatt, , if they did not change their 
cuftom on this occafion, the lying-in woman 
would infallibly die. Neither muft fhe fufFer 
herfelf to be feen by any ftar; and if /he go 
out,* as is common enough, four or five days ' 
after the delivery, that is, before the treat- 
ment is terminated, fhe takes care to return 
home, and fliut herfelf up in her chamber at 
fun-fet, and neithfertoopen, under any pre- 
text, door nor window, for fear a ftar fhould 
furprife her, and, according to the common 
prejudice, caufe the death of the mother and 
the child. 

The firft time that a woman quits her bed 
after her lying-in^ flie muft, before flie fets 

voju ir. H her 



98 TRAVELS iir 

her feet cm the floor, place them on a |Hece 
of iToitk, in OTder, it is faid, that fhe msj be* 
come ftrong and found like that metal. Nor 
can (he in like manner enter into any houfe, 
without throwing on the threfhold of the door 
a key, or any other bit f)f iron, on which 
ihe cannot difpenfe with treading, if flie wifh 
to avoid introducing with her the fatal infla-- 
ences with which ihe is fuppofed to be fur- 
rounded. 

The care which is lavifhed, in the iflands 
of the Archipelago, on new-b<H*n infants, 
is, like thofe which the mothers receive, a 
medley of ufeful prafiices and abfurd con* 
eeptions of fuperftitious Ignorance, a tyran* 
nical divinity, of whom modem Greece 
is become the frightful domain, and n^opre* 
fides at the birth of its inhabitants, accon^ 
panies them during the courfe of their life, 
and does not even abandon them on the other 
fide of the grave. 

As foon as the child is borti, it is wafhed 
with lukewarm water f it is then covered, 
from the feet to the neck, with a coat of 
fait, which is confidered as a fure prelervativ© 
, againft worms and other diforders of thefkin. 
After being ^Tapped up in fwaddling clothes^ 
it is put to bed, and then a loaf and a pefiie» 

or 



6REECB AKB TURXET. 99* 

or any other piece of faihioned wood, is placed 
at its fides : the ln*ead is to prevent the child 
from fliffering from hunger as long aa it liv«8^ , 
and theeffefil of the peAle is to render it as 
quiet as a log of wood. In othet countries 
of the East, the tnother takes her new-horn 
child, and the midwife a brais mortar, with 
which ihe ftrikes thi*ee blows preCty near to 
the child's ear, in ord^r, it is iaid, to open 
the organ of hearing; and prevent deaincfi. 
Whenever a child is laid down, the per- 
fons who are in the room are obliged to fiay 
ihere till it is arranged in its bed, and no 
other can enter daring the time that this 
Operation lafts* The importance which is an« 
nexed to the non^-infringement of thefe pre- 
cautions, proves that ihey are of fuperior in^- 
tereft in the mind of the Greeks; they are, , 
in faft, perfuaded, tliat the greateft inconveni*- 
ences would thence refult, if people took, the 
liberty of tranlgreffing them. Thefe are not 
the only indifferent a6lion9 which are reckoned 
to have fatal efftCts on children; for ex- 
ample, neither fire nor light mufi be taken 
from a hdufe. where there is a new-born in- 
fant, if one wrfhe^ not to expofe it to vent 
cries during the whole night But the in- 
ftant when it is fwaddled, is principally con- 
H « fidered 



loo . ; TRA^VEliS IV Z, 

fiderecl as likely toipFoduce 4^ngers the mod 
preffing,::if thofe about jt neglect to avoid 
every thing that they fancy-might be preju- 
dicial ta.it^ . Movemeats too much multiplied 
round its. bed; . indifcreet words, looks even, 
ate fo many . .pernicious , ai^ions : accordingly 
etvery one: remains! motionlefs, and pr^ferves 
a religiousrjfiJeijce....I h^pened oile day^ on 
feeing a cjiild fwaddled,. to fay : *' There'^ a 
prttiyuiiitthJmfimt.]'. The midwife, occupied 
wit^ this bwfinfefs, turned briflcly towards me, 
attiheiameitiine exclain^ing : /* Garlic in thy 
eyesf'' :Si\(b then, fpat, with the fame vivacity, 
and repeatedly, in the child's f^ce, .which 
very happily broke the Charm, or the bad in- 
fluence t}f :W(yTd8r €'XiHmdy innocent, and 
which I.unght think likely to be agreeable to, 
,the mothcTi 

-. Hbwever, this euftom ,of fpitting in the 
face, for the puijpofe 6f preventing the efFeft 
cffafcin^tioris, is very ancient; and, in times 
Very remote, as at prefent, nothing was more 
<lteaded for children then ; the influence :qf a 
ji(?ni/?er;foaft, M^hich, in the i4ea of the Greeks, 
-fignrifies' j^lpufy; and envy:, their anceftors 
Jivere imbiie^ with. t^e. fame, prejudices. The 
-fiiperftitiptt of the women pf Afiatic GiiiiECE, 
with- refpea to little children,; in tlieage of 

i ; . : ThEODOSTIUS 



UREECE A^D TTTRKEY. lOl 

Theooosius the Gueat, and aFfAECAbiu^ 
his fon, could not be equalled/ St. John 
Chrysojstome complained of it loudly : ' * No 
** fooner are children born," fays he, '' than 
" the women light lamps, and ^ive them the 
*' name of people who have lived a long time, 
" in order to procure them a long life. They 
" place in their hands fiftra and fnappers, and 
*' threads of fcarlet, in order to put them in 
*' greater fafcty. The women, the nurfcs, and 
" fometimes the fervant maids, go and dip 
'* their finger in a fort of mud which is at 
*^ the bottom of the baths, and afterwards 
" imprint^the fame finger on the child's fore- 
'* head; and when they are queftioned as to 
** the purpofe of this mud — It is, lay they, 
*' to avert finifter looks^ envy> and jealoufy. 
*' There were fome who wrote on the hand 
" of children the names of floods and rivers; 
" others made ufe of afhes, foot, and fait, 
" and all this in order to avert finifter looks, 
" that is, envy and jealoufy*." 

Among the Greeks of the Archipelago, 
garlic is a wonderful antidote againft malici- 
ous looks; fome is fufpended at the entrance 

* Mhuires de P Academe dus Belles Lettres^ vol. xiii. 
page 484* year 1737: dis nuturs et des u/ages du Jieck d$ 
' Thwdofi le Grand, par Dvm. Bernard Ofi Montpavcon. 

h3 of 



6f the faoufhi and chambers, and it is worn 
as an amulet In order to pneferre children 
£rom this kind of witchcraft, there are alfo 
iafiened ' before thetn three little pieces of 
charcoal and three grains of fait, fewed to* 
gether in a little linen bag; and I remem- 
ber that I had a very ferious quarrel with a 
woman of this country, for having opened 
one of thefc amulets hung to the neck of her 
child, in order to fee what it contained, and^ 
above all, for having endeavoured to demon- 
iirate ,to her the ridiculoufnefs of thefc vain 
^)raAices of fuperftition. 

It is not onjy on children that the in- 
fluence of iinifter looks are reckoned to be 
hurtful; men grown are equally expend to 
it, and the Mahometans and Greeks partake, 
in this rtfpe6l, of the lame opinions. A Turk, 
who had a great regard for me, and who 
dreaded^ on my account, the bad effe6i& of 
the glances of envy, advifed me to wear con- 
ftantly a pod of garlic on my bread; and, 
feeing that I did not appear to adopt this pre* 
fervativcwith much eagemefs, turned towards 
a Greek priell who was at his fide, and ikid to 
him Av-ith confidence : -^ " Thefe Franks arc 
""^ great blockheads^ Jince this one^ rtJiOj among 

'' than 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 10} 

'' thcm^ is reckoned to be intelligent, knows imk 
** thing of what may be ujeful to him.'' 

Flocks have alfo to fear^ in thefe (ame coun- 
tries, the maHcioufiiefs of looks: this is, how- 
ever, an ancient prejudice, which fiill fubfifts 
in the greater piut of our country-places. > Su: 
perfiitious ideas refemble each other in all 
time^, in all countries, becaufe they proceed 
from ignorance, their common fource; and 
they will fubiift as long as that miry fource 
ihaU not be dried up. This is to announce, 
that it will laft as long as the world endures; 
for, in fpite af the dreams of pretended phi- 
It^pher^, who would wiih that every clafs, 
of focietyihould attain their knowledge, and 
their lofty and chimerical conceptions, there 
will always remain, very fortunately, a labori* 
ous and fimple portion tainted, if you will, 
with chimerical opinions, but infinitely left 
dangerous and more ufeful than c^taiu 
mountebanks of philofophy, whoTe precepts, 
could they be followed, would rather effeA 
the dilfolution than the eflabliihment of hur 
man focieties^ 

Ancient authors often fpeak of this fort 

of fatal malignity, which is Ihot from the finif- 

ter eye of the envious; the poets frequently 

recall ,to mind its diiaftrous effects among 

h4 flocks 



104 ' TRAVELS IN 

flocks*. In their time, a difeafe was oc- 
cafioned among cattle by malevolent looks ; 
in our days too, in feveral diftrifts of our 
northern countries, the extraordinary difeafes 
of cattle are attributed^ to a fate \ and quacks 
know how to avail therafelves of this credu-* 
lity, in Order to make people believe that they 
have the power of breaking the charm by 
magic operations. But what is no lefs de- 
plorable, in regard to the weakncfs of the 
human mind, is, that grave authors have 
ferioufly attempted to explain the caufes of 
thefe chimerical fafcinationsf. ^ 

To thefe abfurd precautions for preferv- 
hig little children, the Greek women add 
feveral others, which do not appear always 
conformable to the rules of a falutary regi- 
mep. The means which thefe.women employ 
for hindering children from venting cries are 
rather fingular. The mother chews cumin, 
and then blows it ftrongly into the mouth 
and ears of her child. Independently of cu- 
min, the efFeft of which it is not eafy to de- 
termine in fuch a cafe, the violent puffs im- 

' . • Theocritus, Ovid, &c. Virgil makes a hcrdf- 
man fay: 

** Nefcio quis teneros oculo mihifafcinat agnos.*^ 
•f VoKT A. 'Ma^a Naturaih/ &^. Sec* 

pelled 



L 



• GREECE AN1> TUHKEY. IO5 

peUed into the cars ipuft aftoni/h the child; 
and. caufe it to be filent, at leail for fome' 
time. 

In order to excite children to fleep, they 
are made to fwallow powdered nutmeg in milk; 
but the remedy which is the moft commonly 
ufed in their illneffes, the moft excellent pa- 
nacea, is Venice treacle. On the fmalleft 
pain which they appear to feel, if they cry, 
if they fleep little, or if their appetite fail, 
in a word, in all their indifpofitions, of what- 
ever nature they may be, recourfe is had to^ 
treacle, a)s a fovereign and univerfal remedy. 
Scarcely a day p^fies without a little child 
fwallowing fqme of this drug, or at leaft hav- 
ing a plafter of it on the navel ; fo that it may 
be aifert^d that, in the Archipelago, a child 
confumes more of this treacle, during its firfl; 
two years, than the man of our countries, 
the greateft admirer of this compofition, diir-* 
ing his whole life. The poor, for whom this 
treacle is too coftly a remedy, fupply its place 
by cumin feed, the plant of which 13 very 
common in the East, and which they re- 
duce to a pafie, in order to make their young 
children fwallow it in Keu of the treacle. 

This exceflive ufe of heating drugs is, no 
doub^ attended with inconveniences; but 

there 



io6 TJiAveis 19 

tliere are to be found in that country (lout 
men, and vrpmcn of perfcdlly good conftitu- 
tiohsy and this is a prejudice in its favour: 
' while among us, w)iere knowledge abounds, 
but where, not unfrequently, the . lefibns of 
experience are iaaificed to the conceptions 
of a brilliant theory, and diidainfuUy meter 
morphofed into traditions of routine^ the 
cooling diet which relaxes and enervates^ 
ba^ prevailed in the opulent clafs, .that is to 
lay, in that which naiTows the moft the 11* 
mits of their life, by making ' the greateft 
dibrts. for enlarging them. We have before 
lis the pifture of the beings whom it pror 
duces, or rather whom it has devoted to lan- 
guor and fuiFering« In order to avoid chaps 
and excoriations which greatly incommode 
children in all parts of the body, that form 
folds moiftened by fweat or urine, the Greek 
women wafii 4hem with warm wuie, in which 
they infiife myrtle-leaves, dried and reduced 
to powder Thefe lotions are r^epeated every 
other day, with coniiderable fuccefs; for one 
never fe^s a child whofelkin is marked by the 
Highteil excoriation. 

Thefe pains, laviihed with fo much atteur 
tion on new-born infants, the (acred pledges 

of 



GREECI AK]> TURRET. lO/. 

of maternal aflfiedion, which never errs fo 
far as to intruft to a mercenary bof9m the 
ikcred obligation of fuckling its offspring dur- 
ing St whole year, do not extend to the pre^ 
cautions prefcrlbed by religion. The Gi-eeks ^ 
are not in fuch a hurry as the Catholics to 
caufe baptifm to be adipiniftcred to their chil- 
clren. Thii delay is <h)nin)oa enough in the 
dafs of the poor, becaufe fuch muft wait till 
they have laved up die money neceflary for 
the payment of the papas, whoie seal does 
jK>t go fo £xr as to di&harge their fun^on 
gntuitoafly. But as children are commmilj 
diftinguiihed only by the name which they 
rtcrive in baptifm, the Greeks ha,ve agreed 
to delignate that which waits for the facra- 
ment, by the generic denomination of drako^ 
dragon, probably becaufe at that time it has 
ibme conformity to Satan, the dragon of 



CHAPTER 



Io8 TRAVELS III 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Jhe age of puberty in the Archipelago. — Peri- 
odical evacuation of the women of thofe i/lqnds. 
— Singular law of the Jews on this JiibjeQ. 
— CharoBer of the Greek women. — Means 
which they employ to learn whom fate has 
iejiinedfor their huJbani.—FeJhi'cal of St. 
John. — ^Different re/ins which the women 
keep incejfantly in their mouth. — Paint which 
they ufe. — Pretaided prefervdtioe againji 
being tanned by the fun. 

Under the happy climate of. Greece, 
the body fooner acquires its full growth than 
in our northern countries; there the organs, 
as well as all the phyfical faculties, are de- 
veloped with lefs flownefs ; there the human 
fpecies, in fome meafure more forward, feem 
to outftrip the period of its enjoyments, and 
hafiens to difplay the elegant forms of beauty 
that Nature has laviihed on a land which ihe 
liad fafhioned to be the abode of felicity, 
and which the moft difgufting tyranny, the 

dreadful 



G&EECK A^D TURKEY. 109 

dreadful fcourge of focieties, has transformed 
into places of wretchednefi and defolation. 
The men, like the women, arrive fooner at 
that age, when the agitation and the diforder 
of the fenfes give birth to a new fenfe, in 
which man feems only to receive his exiftence, 
in which every thing becomes animated and 
embelliihed, in which every thing appears 
around him to burn with the fame flame by 
which he is delieiouOy confumed. 

It is not uncommon, in the iflands of the 
AncHipELAGo, to fee girls marriageable at 
ten years old ; and, when they have attained 
the age of fifteen or fixteen, they have fcarcely 
any tiling more to acquire in point of ihape^ 
ftrength, and all the attributes of the moft 
beautiful phyfical conftitution. It is well 
known, that the periodical evacuation, pecu- 
liar to women, diminiflies in quantity in pro- 
portion to the heat and humidity of the cli- 
mate. More copious in Europe, it is lefs 
fo in the East ; it is ftill lefs in Egypt and 
Barbart; very trifling in the interior of 
Africa, and almoft null in the countries of 
America bordering on the equator. Philo- 
fophers have carried obfervation fo far as to 
calculate the quantity of this evacuation ; and 
it is from the refult of their refearches that t 

have 



no TRAVEtS IV 

have cmopofed the account of the progrcf- ' 
five diminution in the different pjirts of the 
globe. But the temperature of the eaftcm 
iiland& of the Meditebraneak muft have 
experienced fome change fince the age of 
Hippocrates, or elfe the human fpecies 
inuft have undergone fome alteration, fince 
the weight of nine kemhtay equivalent to nine 
ounces, at which that great phyfician had 
efiimated the quantity of the periodical dif- ^ 
charge of the women of the Ifle of Cos, his" 
country, is at prefent too much for the wo- 
men of the fame countries, as I have con- 
vinced myfelf. There is no one whofe evacu- 
ation even comes near the weight fixed by 
Hippocrates: among the greater part, it 
never exceeds three ounces, and with feveral 
it is fo trifling, that it is almoft reduced to 
nothing. 

Obfervations of this kind are not frivo- 
lous, as fome perfons might imagine. They 
are important traits of our own hiftory, and 
it is only by collefting them that man will 
fncceed in knowing himfelf: a knowledge 
ii^hich, notwithftanding the number of >vrit- 
ings that we have on this fubjeft, is not 
yet much advanced, bccaufe we have, in 
reality, written, more than wc have obferved. 
S But 



GftEECS ANB TURKBT, III 

But thefe materials, of which the annals of 
the human fpecies are compofedy are not eafy 
to prefent in a work of which it is not wiflied 
to make a book of anatomy. A fort of deli- 
cacy in our language rejects expreffions which 
art has confecrated ; then we muft employ 
phrales in lieu of words, and intimate rather 
than expre(s our meaning in a clear and 
predtCe manner. A zealous fdend as I am 
of Nature, I am not lefc fo of propriety, 
and I fhall (peak of the nice, yet interefting 
obfervationa, to which I was impelled by a 
love of fcience, but with that referve of ftyle^ 
that circumfpeAion in the images, in ihort, 
thofe delicate precautions, which paint^ with- 
out dazzling, and conftitute the decency of a 
writer. 

,Thc legiflator of the Hebrews had pro- 
nounced fentence of death againft hufbands 
whole petulande did not (lop at certain peri- 
ods* MosTes, therefore, muft have fufpefted 
coniequences extremely fatal, and we muft 
have a curiofity to be acquainted with them. 
Diflertations, as well as conjeftures, have been 
accumulated for the pUrpofe of endeavouring 

* Q/fi cmrit cum muliere in fiuxu menftmc, it revilaverit 
furfiiudhtem ijmSf iffafueaperueritfomem/ttHguimsfui, intirfi^ 
ckmur onAo ^ medU fofuli fig* Lsvit. cap. xx. r. iS. 

to 



112 TRAVfiLS 19 

to. difcover tKe^ motive of a law^fo fe\^erc^ 
Phyficians have feen, in an a6lian which in-- 
volved the penalty of deaths the fource of 
a difeafe whofe irruption into Eukope fome* 
writer has, methinks, improperly thought of 
filing at the moment- of the difcovery of 
America*. They have called in to the 
help of their hypothefis the heat of climate,- 
33 being likely to give greater malignity to 
that difeafe, while experience has informed us 
that itj was, on the contrary, much l(?fs violent 
and leCs difficult to be cured in hot coun- 
tries. ; Others have' afferted that, among a 
people where legiflation tended not only to 
favour, but even to excite the igcreafe of' 
population, it was natural to prohibit a6ts 
whiclK not contributing to it efte6lually, on 
that account even became^ contrary to it. 
But, admitting that this was no more than a 
vain appeal to fterility, which is by no means 
certain, it can hardly be fuppofed that thefe 
aA$ would have been confidered as a crime 
which deferved the mod rigorous puniflmient, 
fijce the fsime laws did not, during the preg- 
nancy of women, prohibit a work of fterility 
well proved. 

t Trmi its maladus ijhiriennttf par Astruc, liv. i. 
chap. ii. 

A celebrated 



GBEEeS AN0 TURKlgT. II3 

A celebrated man of learnings by his in- 
quiries into the manners and cuftoms of the 
Ifraelites, M. Mich ae lis, had engaged the 
travellers, whom the King of Denmark fent 
into feveral countries of the East, to dired 
their obfervations towards a point on which 
depended the underfianding and explanation 
of a law very lingular, but at the fame time 
exceffively rigid* The fciences had to regret 
the intelligent and courageous men, charged 
with the honourable miiTion of going to ac- 
quire, at a difiance, information and know- 
ledge, treafures over which humanity has not 
to mourn, and from which honour and pro- 
bity avert not their looks. My. obfervations 
will not^ undoubtedly, be able to make up 
for thofe which we had a right to expeft from 
this learned aiTemblage; but I have thought 
that their refult might afford fome intereft, 
from the elucidations which they contain, on 
\ fuigedl, which has, as yet, only given room 
to conjectures. 

I havenegleded no opportunity of gathering 
precife information, whether in Eotpt, where 

* Let Vtyagiursfanani et curieux, ou X^Uttet inftnUHves et 
Guide de <eux pie fa Majefti Danmfe a meveejfet en Arabie et au^ 
tres pays 'voifins; par M. Mxchablis. London, 176%, 
qneilion 10. 

VOL, XI. I it 



1X4 TRAVELS IN 

it was difficult to obtain any, and fometimes 
dangerous to look for it, or in Greece, where 
the (ame difficulties do not exift. It is very 
certain that, in thofe countries of the East, 
the a£tion which the legiflator of the Jews re- 
preflfed with fo much fcverity, is not reckoned 
to be attended with fatal confequences, nor 
to occafion the flighteft inconvenience, al- 
though it is not there uncommon : the men 
of thofe climates even find in it fome attrac- 
tions, for reafons which are known to natural 
pliilofophers, «id which I ihall difpenfe with 
giving. Nay, we fay more, this is that the 
Orientals do not fufpeft that any thing danger- 
/)us or inconvenient can thence reftilt. Their . 
careful cleanlincfs, their frequent ablutions 
were probably fufficient for fecuring them 
from any inconvenience in this refpeft. The 
Jews, on the contrary, the dirtieft people on' 
earth, fubjcft to the leprofy, and eaten up by 
all kinds of cutaneous diforders, apparently 
imbibed from tliefe very excefi'es frefli fer- 
ments of acrimony, and a new tendency to 
<:omplatnts which the numerous precautions^ 
prefcribed by religion, had not fucceeded 
in extirpating, and of which, in our days» 
they ftill preferve the difgufting impreffioij. 
The feverity of thefe precautions, which fiU 

the 



the pages of the religious code of the If- 
iraelites, is the only motive thdt we can reafon- 
ably allign for the frightful rigeur of a law, 
the difpofitions of which had no other objefl 
than to intimidate an ignorant and rude na* 
tion^ flnce they could not reach infradions 
buried in darknefi and myflery. 

It is not aftoniihing that women, whom the 
hature of the climate caufes td arrive foonet 
at a marriageable fiate, ihould have moral 
difpofitions ivhich agree with this phyfical 
precocity* The vivacity, the tranfport even 
of feeling, accompany this forward adolel^ 
cence of the fenfes. That devouring firfc 
which endeavours to communicate itfelf ex- 
ternally, is very aftive among the Greek fe- 
males ; they are very fufceptible of the im- 
preflions of love ; tender and paffionate, the 
obje6l beloved is ever}- thing in their eyes; 
to preferve itj no facrifice is plinful to them, 
-and they are, in this way, real heroines. 
What a charming country is that where the 
mildnefs of the climate and the drefs of the 
earth are in delightful harmony with that 
beauty, which love animaltes with its fafci- 
nating features, tendemefs with its fweeteft 
etfufions, and a generous and entire devotion 
with the flights of energy and courage ! 

1 2 But 



Il6 TRAVELS IN 

But AVe fliOuld be miftaken if we thcdglit 
that the diforder of the fenfes accompanied 
that energy, that fort of delirium of fenfi- 
bility. Thefe wom6n, fo tender and fo im-> 
paffioned, have, at the fame time, no fmall 
fliare of referves while warm and profound 
affeftions torment and agitate their foul, that 
internal trouble is not communicated exter- 
nally ; their deportment preferves the appear- 
ance of calmnefs and gravity ; fcrupulous de- 
cency ceafes not to guide their actions; and; 
proud of being loved, becaufe they are them- 
felves confumed by an ardent flame, it is 5a 
a t6te-c\-t6te only that they give themfelves up 
to the torrent of their tranfports, which arc 
fo much the more impetuous as they have 
been longer 'checked. There it is that their 
exquifite fenfibility is furrounded by all its 
charms, and that the delicate and fenfible 
man can meet with the celeftial happinefs of 
feeing lavilhed on himfelf the expreflSons and 
all the marks of fentiments fo delightful, in 
a word, of being loved as he has fcarcely 
the hope to be elfewhere. 

No lefs fimple in their taftes than warm 
in their affections, the Greek females have 
not i)recife manners, and the ftudied affeda- 
tiou of coquetry ; charafteriftic figns of a 

haughty 



GREECE. AND TURKEY. II7 

haughty pretenfion exading homage, which 
ce^cs to be fweet as foon as it ceafes to be- 
ffcc, as if every fpecics of tyranny was not the 
grave of fentiment : a refouvc^ unfkilful and 
unworthy of beauty, becaufe it ftifles tender- 
nefs, which can alone conftitute its happinefs, 
and produces only gallantry at which delicate 
fouls are feared. It is, in facl, no longer any 
thing but the niechanifm of love; it is no 
longer any thing but barren favours, which, 
like ^ charming llirub that had been ftripped 
pif its vernal flowers and foljagc^ lofe their 
fweeteft charms, and have then no attraftion^ 
but for the impetuous tumult of tl)e fenfes 
gr the habit of depravity. Women fuch as I 
have juft defcribed them, yho j^now how to 
walk with fo much grace by the bright light 
of the torch of Love, alfo advance with dig- 
nity to the altar of Hymen. The knots 
which they there tie with frariknefs, are never 
loofened; and in thofe facred engagements, 
^hich they confider as inviolable, they dif- 
play the fame energy of fentiment, the fame 
fires of an inflamed foul, the fame devotednef§ 
of which the hufl)and, like the lover, is the 
fole objeft, and which fcatter the rofes of 
Ix)ve in th« tempje of llyijien- 

I 3 A rule 



Il8 THAVELS TH 

A rule common to all the nations of the 
East, prefcribcs that the women fliould never 
prefent themfelves in the porch of that auguil 
temple, but decorated with the qualities to 
which the men of thofe countries, more jea- 
lous than elfewhere of fuch a kind of priority, 
attach fo great a value, that it is a public 
diflionour in the eyes bf all, and a crime with 
fome, for women who fhould tiot there afFoixl 
unequivocal proofs of the moll fcrupulous 
fidelity, in preferving a treafure of which 
the vanity of men conftitutes nearly all the 
value. However rigorous may be this obit'* 
gation, more ftriftly followed by Mahometaa 
women, becaufe niore reftrained and clofely 
watched, they have fcarcely an opportunity 
of infringing it, the Greek females, whofe 
youth is not more confined than that of Euro- 
pean girls, do not always perform it with the 
fame exaftnefs ; but they employ a few ftra- 
tagems for preferving at lead the appearance^ 
•of it, and they exert fo much addrefs in this 
little fraud, that every one is deceived by it, 
and the union of the married couple is not 
thereby difturbed. 

It is not very common, however, for thofe 
rcfources employed for difguifing the wander- 
ings of love, to become neccffary. The Greek 

I girls 



girls do not eafily allow themfelves to be rob- 
bed of a treafure which they are to bring as 
a marriage^portion ; their refiftance in this re* 
fpe€t is almoft always invincible, and affords r 
rather fmgular contrail to the circumfped fa- 
cility which they grant to favoured love of 
gadieriog a few fcattered and burning flow- 
ers* It is (till more uncomihon fw amorous 
facrifices to leave behind them apparent traces; 
and when tender fentiments^ lead to tender 
errors, fimple and ingenious precautions which 
are not even Unknown to women, prevent all 
accident, without being prejudicial to an en« 
(ire facrifice to enjoyment : artifices whichi 
as well as the leflbns, or to fpeak more cor- 
feftly, the thefts on love, taught by SapbhOi 
and which her defcendants have not forgo^^ 
ten, may perhaps be dated from antiquity j 
they have fortunately efcaped the indviftriouft 
corruption of our morals, and I ihall talce 
good care not to reveal them. 

Hearts difpofed to fentiment muft ardently 
wifli to meet with men worthy of their tender- 
nefs, and who anfwer to the want which tlMgf 
luve of loving. The girls of the AaCBtPtf > 
LA60 employ, with much ingenuity, varioui 
means for afcertaining whether the obje^ 
beloved will become their huiband, or for 

I 4 knowing 



I20 TRAVEtS IN 

knowing him ^hdra Hymen intends for them. 
Str JoHX is to- the girls of thcfe countries, 
-what St. Nicholas is to thofeof my coun- 
tiy, who addrefs to him their prayers and their 
vows, in order to obtain a l^edy change of 
condition. On the eve of tlie feftival of the 
faint, the Greek girls alferable in feveral par- 
ties, and they there occupy themfelvcs foldy 
on the interefting fubjed which calls them 
together. They fend for water from a m'cU 
or ciftern; the perfon Avho has charge of it 
mufi not utter a fingle word, under any pre- 
text whatever: this water is, for that reafon, 
CBiWedfecret rtater. They fill with it a large 
jar, ii^ which every one of them puts an ap- 
ple; the jar, whofe lid muft lock, is then 
fliut; it is placed on the flat roof of ahoufe 
or in any other elevated fituation, and there 
left, during the whol^ iiight, in the open air. 
The next day, that is, on the very day of the 
feftival of St. John, they affemble again after 
church, and no one comes too late. They 
addrefs a few prayers to St. John, which 
lare, in reality, only invocations to love; the 
jar full of war is again brought with religious 
precaution ; it is opened and every girl draws 
vipjecret waier, in a fmall veflel, with her ap-/ 
pie, which fhe has taken care to notice: ihe 

makes 



G!tE£C& AKI> TITRKET. 121 

makes over each of them three figns of the 
crols, at the fame time faying: " Great St. 
*- John, crdain thatj if I am to niarry N...., 
** this veffil may turn to thi right; and if ht 
" is not to become my hujband, the veffhl may 
** turn to the left, " She who has pronounc^ 
this prayer, joins her hands, at the fame time 
holding her thumbs raifed and fpread the one 
from the other ; one of her female companions 
places herfelf before her and does the fame; 
on thefe four thumbs, thus arranged, is then 
placed the veifel, which never fails, it is faid, 
to turn of itfelf to the right or left, and 
thus to point out the huiband that is to be 
united to her who is expe£);ing with inquie^ 
tilde the anfwer of this fingular^ oracle, whick 
each girl confults in her turn, and in the ^ 
iame manner. Several perfons of the graveft 
call have aflured me, that they had feeo the 
veifel turn ; and it would be in vain to attempt 
to perfuade the Greeks that St. John has no 
fliare in the effect, quite natural, of the want 
of folidity and mobility of a fupport, fome 
parts of which, by fwerving from the others, 
imprefs on the veifel a ilight motion, which, 
in eyes already prejudiced, may appear as a 
commencement of rotation 4>n its bafe. 

A reaiefs 



ttt TRAVSL8 IN 

A reftlds curioiity does not always f^op at 
this firft trial/ and thefe females endeavour to 
look, in another manner, into a futurity too 
flow in making its appearance. Hits fame 
day, the feftival of St. John, fome young 
Greek girls add a new mean to that of the 
turning veffel: they waih themfelves with 
Jicret water in which the apples have b^en 
bathed; they then go into the ftreet, and 
the firft name which they hear pronounced, 
is that of the huiband whom fate intends for 
them. 

While the girls are giving themfelves up 
to occupations dear to their heart, and calcu- 
lated for allaying a natural impatience, the 
women think of the cares which cuftom pre- 
fcribes to mothers: a part of St. John's day 
is employed in pounding and putting by falt^ 
vhich is to ferve for covering their ncM'-born 
children. All, women and g'uls, befides the 
apples which the latter plunge into the Jicrei 
wattr^ put, on tlie eve of the feftival, one 
into a jar full of water, and there leave it 
till noon the next day. This apple, thus 
fteeped, becomes a gift precious to love or 
friendfliip; the women prefent it to the per- 
fon for whom lliey have the moft affefiiioiL 
next to their liufband ; and the young Greeks 

lea\'c 



OREECB AKD TURKEY, It^ 

leave nothing undone to obtain the apple^ a 
pledge of fentiments of preference, and a 
happy prefage of the gifts of love. 

ITie fellival of St. John is, in moft civi- 
lized countries, a remarkable day, indepen^ 
dently of the folemnity attached to it by reli* 
gion. It happens in the fummer foHlice, a 
period always accompanied by confiderable 
changes in the atmofphere, and thefe varia- 
tions are fufficiently marked to ftrike the vul* 
gar, and make them attribute to the faint that 
which is no more than the natural effeft of the 
fucceflion of the feafons. In my country, the 
ci-devant Lorraine, St. John rules the 
cutting of hay; whether or not it have at* 
tained a ftate of maturity, the fey the lays it 
low the day after the feftival. In the Le* 
vakt, the plague is to difappea&* on this very 
day; and the Greeks of the Archipelago 
arc perfuaded, that, by means of certain db^ 
ftinences, which are conneded more with fu-^ 
perflition than with religious ideas, St. Johx 
will preferve them from fever durinjg^ the whole 
year. In the courfe of the day of this fefti-' 
val, they eat no fort of meat or fifli ; they 
even deprive themfelves of bread, and they 
take nothing but herbs and fome fruit: aa 
auftere abftinence, which is repeated from gc* 

tiemtipu 



114 TI^AVELS IN 

neration to generation, although . experience 
has iliewn that it did not attain its objeS;. 

In the Archipelago, as in a great part of 
the East, tlie women make a great ufe of 
maftic, a. tefin which exudes from the lenr 
tiflc cultivated in the Ifle of Scio; they are 
che^ving it inceffantly, and they find in it the 
property of preferving the teeth and of render-: 
ing the breath fweet. But as all the women 
of tlje Archipelago, where wretchednefs 
is greater, are not always in a Ctuation to 
procure Scio maftic, and as they are not, on 
that account, the lefs in the habit of holding 
continually fomething in their mouth, they 
make ufe of another fpecies of refin, produced 
by a plant which grows naturally on the foil 
of MiLO and of Argentiera, and probably 
on other iflands of the Archipelago. Thi3 
plants which is alfo very abundant in Can-t 
DiA, where it is called ardaBila^ and where 
the women likewife chew refin, is the at- 
iraBilis gummifera of Linnaeus. The Greeks 
of MiLo and Argentiera give it the name 
of anganthia tji mafiikas^ that is, prickles of 
TtiqfiiCy becaufe the plant is befet with prickles, 
and hccaufe they call majiic the refin which 
exudes from it, although it has fcarcely any 
t)ther affinity to the true maftic, the refin of 
3 the 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 125 

tlife lentiflc, than from the cuftom of beitig 
both bruifed between the teeth* It comes in 
Kke manner in white or yellowifh drops round 
the plant; it is gathered in the months of 
July and Auguft^ and it is difficult to be 
deUiched, on account of the great number 
of thorns which guard it, and to t^^hich it 
adheres. The flowers of this attraSilis do 
Bot appear till Oftober; the feeds, when they 
are ripe, are detached in flight, and, as it were, 
winged filaments, and bocome the fport of 
. the winds. The Greeks call thefe forts of 
Httle Ayandering ftars, which the agitation of 
the air fometimes brings into the houfes, tno- 
lojifirh^ which fignifies informers, fpies. 

Although the greater number of the Greek 
women have no need to borrow any thing 
from art, in order to give their complexion 
that colour and bloom which they receive 
from nature, yet they frequently endeavour 
to give it more luftre and vivacity. This 
ioquietu(}e, which occafions beauty never to 
be fatisfied with itfelf, is therefore common 
to all countries ! But in this, at lead, perni- 
cious dinigs alter not the colour of a beau- 
tiful carnatiou, and fharp and cauftic juices 
dry not the fkin ; the flight artifices which an 
ardent and reftlefs wifli, rather than a move- 



tzS TRAVEtS IN 

inent of coquetry employs, are fimple, like 
Nature^ which affords its elements. 

Anciently the Greek women made ufe of 
red and white. It is uncommon for the 
Greek females of our time, thofe at lead 
who inhabit the iflands of the Archive- 
JLAOO, to put on white; and when they ufc? 
it, they employ for it no other fubftance 
than the fpecies of very fmall univalve and 
white fliells, of the genus of comtics, and 
Hrhich are known iiP French under the vulgar 
name of puceUiges. After having carefully 
waihed thefe Aells, they arc pounded in order 
to be reduced to impalpable powder, on which 
is expreffed the juice of a lemon, which makes 
it a very beautiful white. 

The red is drawii from the bulb of a beauf 
tiful ipecies of iris, which* with other flowera 
brought from the fame countries in order 
to confHtute the richnefs of our parterres, 
cmbelliih the deferted plains and the rural 
fpots of the iflands of the ArchiP£Lago. 
Its fiem, upwards of a foot high, and its 
long leaves, terminated in points, are of a 
beautiful green; the flower is of a bright 
violet without, and of a bright yellow, ftriped 
with a deeper yellow, within ; the ilamina arc 
yellow, and the feeds or fruits ate black, and 

of 



GREECE AKD TVRKEY. 12/ 

of a very irregular form. The Greeks call 
this plant agrio crino, wild lily, becaiife it 
is, in fa^t, a liliaceous plant, although it is 
not, properly fpcaking, a real lily. 

The following is the method praftifed for 
estra6iing a paint from the bulbous roots of . 
this iris. They are dripped of their exterior 
pedicles, and are then of a fnow white; they 
are grated, and the "pulp is put into >vater; 
it is then kneaded, M^alhed three times in cFean 
water, and, at each time, it is drained through ^ 
a very fine linen cloth. At the third time, 
the grounds are thrown away, and the laft 
water is left to fettle for twelve or fifteen 
hours. At the end of that time, the \vater is 
geutly poured off by Hoping the jar, at the 
bottom of which is found an amylaceous 
fediment; it is dried and reduced to a fine 
powder, which is kept in bottles or pots well 
clofed, to be made ufe of as wanted, and it is 
thus preferved for a very long time. When 
it is wanted for ufe^ a pinch of it is taken, 
and put on the cheek, which is then rubbed 
nightly for a few minutes with the palm of 
the hand, lliis application caufes, for the 
flrft time, a little fmarting, but the cheeks 
become of a vermilion red 5 for this powder 
has alfo the property of giving a lullre to the 

Ikin 



IZ8 TRAVELS IK 

ftiti. Neither heat, nor fweat, nor any other 
caufe can difpel this brilliant colour, which 
does not confiil in a coat of fubftances fpread 
externally, but is inherent in the fkin iifelf. 
It is unneccflkry tb renew frequently the 
lame operation ; the face preferves its bloom 
for feveral days, and a woman may waffi 
herfelf without fear of making it difappear 
or weakening iU 

I had atfirft imagined tliat this very white 
powder, which gives the cheeks a red colour 
only by introducing itfelf into the pores, 
might hurt the fkin of the face and alter it. 
I convinced myfelf, not without fome degree 
of furprife, that it had no bad effeft. I have 
examined the face of elderly women, who, 
from their youth, had employed this fort of 
paint; their flcin was not in any way afFefted ; 
it even appeared to have preferved a certain 
brilliant colour, which could be attributed 
only to a long ufe of iris powder, in which 
I found no other defeft, than a ftrong her- 
iKiceous Iraell, which it would be eafy to cor- 
reft. 

From the fir ft day of the month of March 
till Ealter, the women of tlie Archipelago 
Ibrround their wrills with filk thread of dif- 
ferent colours; tothcictbe rich add a gold 

thread. 



t bR&ECE kfiD TURKEt. XI9' 

thread. . They think that thi^ is a certain 
mean of ieciiiriug themfelves from the tan* 
ning of the fun during thf indnth df March) 
Vhich they cpnCder as the moil j^atal to the 
ikin. On E^fter night, which ^11 ^e Greeks 
pais almoil entirely at church, the women 
kindle a fire at the door; they thrdw into it 
the threads which they have worn as bracelets 
during Lent, and threy addreis prayers to God» ' 
in order that he may deigil to prefcrve every ' 
father wlio loves his daughter, from the 
&\ortification of feeing her attacked by the tan 
iof March. 



VOL. ir. K CHAPTER 



fJO ' TRAVELS in 



' CHAPTER XXIX. 

Marriage of the Greeks.T-JVitchcraft of which 
young married people imagine themfelvfa 
. m8ims. - — Precautions which young brides 
mtifi take. — Care which mothers take of their 
children. — Phyjtc of the Greeks in the Archi- 
. peiago. — Regret which accompanies the dead. 
-r-IXe/ith and Jimenal of a papadia^ 

1 O the Greeks it is a focial duty, which 
tends to the purity of domeftic manners^ ta 
marry young. Among them are not feea 
that multitude of old bachelors, children or 
the combinations of infenfibility and the 
fcourge of morals : girls have not many years 
to^ celebrate the feftival of St. John with 
their yetr^^ wattr^ prepared with an ingenu- 
ous and reftlefs curiofity; and yotmg meii 
,haften to unite themfelves with thofe whom 
their heart, rather than their parents, has 
chbfen. Love always {H-elides at knots which 
vile intereft has not tied ; and friendfhip, as 
well as J&ddity and attachment to duties^ do 

not 



ORBECE AND TITRKET. I3I 

liot permit them to be loofened, at leaf): in 
the iflands of the Archipelago, where ha- 
bits are more fimple, and lefs corrupted by 
ambition and cupidity, than in great towns. 
Divorce, which is allowed tp the Greeks, 
fcarcely occurs but in the bofom of trading 
cities and in the opulent clafi, whofe calcu- 
lations and fpequlations frequently fupply the 
place of fentiment ; but this diffolution of 
iacred engagements is extremely rare among 
the iflanders, who know how to love in a dur- . 
able manner, and whofe marriages are better 
aiTorted than in the midft of the luxury of 
cities. Conjugal love- is there in all its force ; 
and this refpeded fentiment is one of the 
virtues of the modern Grreek women. 

When the dowry is fettled between the 
families, and their confent, which is almoft 
always in uiiifon with the wifli of the lovers, 
has difpofed every thing for the nuptials, the 
young bride is condu6i;ed to the bath. Tlie 
next day, a numerous retinue accompanies 
the young couple to church ; fongs and 
dances enliven a flow and gmve march; 
and, in general, it is preceded by torches, 
the emblems of that of Love and of Hymen. 

At the inilant when the young couple 

come out of their houfej cotton-feed is thrown 

K « - on 



til . tICAVELS iir 

on their heads by liandfuls. The fame ceh?' 
mony is Repeated at church, at the moments 
of the nuptial bencdi6iiorfl, which fignifie» 
that they are wifhed a life of felicity, com- 
jpofed of as many years ais there have been 
feeds fcattered? Pcrfons in fonrewhstt eafy 
cir^umftances mix parats^ fmall pieces of 
money of the value of fifteen of our deniers, 
with the feeds of the cotton-tre^.and to tbcfc, 
the richeft add Turkiih fequins, a gold coin, 
e^ch piece of vhicb is nearly equivalent tor 
fevcn livres ten fous tournois. In India, it 
^ the prieft who fcatters on the young couple 
rice-feeds, as'an emblem of fec&ndity. 

The yoting pair choofe a godfather and 
godmother, who no longer quit them till the 
end of the ceremony. The retinue is re-' 
ceived at the door of the church by the pa- 
pas, who bleffes'two crowns of foliage, adorned 
. with ribands and laces, and places them on 
fhe head of the yoang couple; he likewtfe 
bleffes two ringd, and puts them on their 
Angers: but, during the cekbration, he 
changes every inftant the crowns and the 
rings, giving alternately the crown to the 
one, and the ring to the other, in fuch a 
manner, however, that the goUHing remains- 

witlf 



GREECE A»0"T0llKEY. - I33 

^th the hulbatid; and the filver one, with 
the wife. Tliefe changes are renewed by the 
godfather, the godirtother, and the relations, 
fo that they remain a very long time in, the 
church. At length, the p^as concludes by 
cutting fmall pieces of bread, which he puts 
into a cup full of wine; he takes fome of the 
former with aipoon, and thus diftributes it to 
the ybung couple aujd thofe prefent: the party 
then return in the fame order to the houie 
>vhere the nuptial feaft has been, prepared ; the 
relations and friends fend provifions of every 
fort, and the Greeks, great lovprs of feftivity,^ 
there pafs feveral days. 

On going to and returning from church, 
the bride is fupported by two women, or 
two of hpr male relations j flie walks flowly, 
with her eyes caft down, and the veil of a 
j^ve and interefting modefly covers her facf. 
In fome parts of Qreece, as foon as the 
bride arrives at the door of the dwelling of 
Jier huiband, a carpet is fpread over a lieve, ^ 
which i3 placed on the very threfiiqld of the 
door, and ^^ is niade to M^alk on it. If thQ 
fieve, on which fhe fails not to tread ftrongly, 
did not break under her feet, this would ex- 
cite agalnfl her fufpicions which wQuld alam^ 

k3 her 



134 TRAVELS X|7 

her hufband : he is quiet and contented after 
the trial of the fieve*. 

But another trial, more ferious, awaits the 
bride. Conducted to the nuptial-bed by 
the godmother f, flie foon fees her hufband . 
arrive, led by the godfather. They are left 
alone; but the godfatlier and godmother re* 
main in an adjoining apartment, with the 
relations and even the friends. They go from 
time to time, to inquire whether every thing 
has terminated to mutual fatisfa€i;ion ; they 
come back, they return, till they are affured 
of the fad; then they bring to the married 
couple a nourifhing broth, which they take 
in bed, in prefence of the noify affembly, 
who then withdraw, to return no more. 

Among all the nations of the East, the 
men have been envious of the firft fruits, of 
.which they frequently obtain na more than 
the appearances. In Egypt, a crowd, ftiU 
more'importunate than in Greece, lays liege 
to the chamber of the married couple, and 
abandons it jiot till they have given up to 
them the marks, often equivocal, of a vir- 

• See Les Letires fur la Grece, fy Guys; Paris, 1785, 
vol. i. page 249. 

t Dud fur in thalamum wgo^ftat frontila juxta. Clau)>.' 

tuc 



GREECE AND TURKEY. tj^ 

txte which is outraged. In Natolia, and 
in fome pther parts of the Ottoman empire, 
the Tilrks and the Greeks who marry are 
obliged to fufpend, on the outlide of the 
houfe, thofe figns, real or fid;itious» of the 
folly of the men, more than of the inno- 
cence of the women, in order that every 
paflenger may examine and afcertain that the 
honour of the married couple is untainted. 
However precious thefe marks may be in 
the eyes of the Orientals, the Greek wotnen 
alfo attach to them another value; it is, in 
their opinion, the moft efficacious of all co& 
metics,. for removing fpots and pimples from 
the fisLCCj and rendering the ikin foft and 
fmooth, 

- But thefe pretended figns of innocence, 
which a falfe pride ambitioufly feeks and 
exa6is, do not always appear the firil night 
of the nuptials. Several other nights, and 
fometimes whole months, elapfe before they 
can be obtained. It is no longer the fault 
of the W/ife, it is the huiband who thinks 
himfelf bewitched; envious people have pro- 
nounced words, and performed magical ope- 
rations; he ceafes to be a man. If meanS; 
be not found to break the cham^, the mar^ 
riage is declared null, and the unfortunate 
K 4 couple 



^[^ottple feparaterctiftom allows thpm to eoq^ 
trilA another alliance ; an4 jealous Fate, 
which had accompanied them in the former, 
does not attend them in the latter. 

The magical operation by which the mair7 
tied coqple are tied — (this is the term em- 
ployed by the Cr reeks, and which anfwers Xa 
t|rhat was called among us, formerly, noaer. 
faigtuUeite) — this operation, I fay, is, ac- 
cording to them, an evocation to the devil ; 
it is pradifed hy forming three loofe knots 
<m a Uring. When the papas gjves his bencr 
diAion to the married couple, the malignant 
genius, that wifhes to hurt. them, draws the 
two ends of the firing, tighteps the knots, 

and fays; '' I tie N * and N , and^ 

" the devil in the middle.'' Nothing more; 
is neceffary; th^ impotenqe of the hulband 
lafts as long as the knots are not untied; 
and if the fatal ftrin^ be loft,, or if an pbfti- 
tiate malevolence refufe to undo it, dejeftion 
becomes general, and marafmqs would lead 
f o death, if the marriage were not diflblved : 
but this accidental i(veakn^s of the body is 
produced only hy that of the mind. There 
is- no Greek who, in marrying, does not 
dread to be tied. To this precaution are 
^dded the alarmd >?hich the bride and the 

.relations 



GREECS AKD TCrRKET. IJJI 

lelations do not conceal from him : he does 
not prefent himfelf at the temple of Hymen 
but trembling, and with his foul full of 
terror; and if fome circumftances appear to 
come to the fupport of thisf fear, '^ his mind be- 
comes troubled, and hi* imagination being 
ftruck, produces the evil of which it alone 
is the caufe. 

1 have feen Angular examples of what can 
)be effected by the wandering of the imagina-^ 
tion. I (hall quote that of a young man 
ii^honi I had a long tinie before my eyes. At 
the moment when he received the nuptial 
benedjdion, a rival had formed the three 
knots, and pronounced the imprecations: 
(Iruck by this idea, though he was in the 
prime of life, and had, before this period, 
given proofs of a vigour which forfook him. 
all at once J though, in ihort, his wife was 
upward^ of twenty years of age, and was 
not reckoned to be of the moft rigid virtue, 
they could not feaK their union, and Hymen 
extinguiihed his torch. Shatne and vexatioh 
Mere painted on the countenance of tlie 
young huiband ; the dilbrder, or rather weak- 
nefs, increafed in proportion as the mind was 
affefted. Recourfe was had to the priefts, 
aud to the Ikill of old women, who pre- 
tended 



138 TRAVELS Ilf 

tended to have fecrets for deftroying tire 
charm: nothing fucceeded; the witchcraft: 
refifted every thing. The devil ftood firm, 
and Ije who thought himfelf tormented hy 
him, while he was the viAim only of his 
own imagination^ reduced to a fiate which' 
infpired pity, refumed all his energy ^with 
another woman, whom he took for wife, 
after having languished, for whole months, 
with her who^ could not be fo.* 

Independently of prayers and holy water, 
of which the papas is not fparing when he is 
well paid, I faw tried on this unhappy youth 
various means for untying him, all abfurd, 
and calculated only to make his chimerical 
ideas take deeper root. He was made to 
fwim acrofs an arm of the fea: the marrietl 
couple were made to lie down, il/ipped of 
every garment, on the flat floor in the mid- 
dle of the room, and they Avere furrounded 
by brambles. Another time, the huiband 
alone was wrapped up in thiftle leaves, and 
thus left to pafj* the night in cruel torment, 
&c. &c. remedies as chimerical as the com- 
plaint for which they were applied. 

When witchcraft does not happen to dif- 
turb the firft moments of an intimate union, 
it is reconuntmded to the hufband not to 

fuffer 



GREECE AND TURKEY. I39 

fufFer hi§ wife, however thirfty flie may be, to 
take, during the firft night, any fort of drink. ^ 
She muft alfo keep her room, not expofe her- 
felf to the air for four days, and abftain from' 
all work during eight, Thefe attentions are 
faid to be favourable to population ; and, to 
judge of them by the great number of chil-. 
dren that are feen in thefe countries, it would 
appear that they are not ufelefs. ' Not any wo- 
man is feen but with one little child in her 
arms, and often two. Yet the elFcfts of a 
happy fecundity are foon confumed, dif- 
perfed, and annihilated, by a defpotifm which . 
is in continual war againft nature and the hur 
man race. 

Nothing equals the ftate of health, the ro- 
buft conltitution of the little children, except 
the facility with which they come into the 
world; an advantage for which the Greek 
.women are indebted to the excellence of their 
conflitutiou, to a fimple, regular life, exempt^/' 
from exceffes, cares, and inquietudes, ftill 
jnore than to phyfical difpofitions, calculated 
to render deliveries lefs painful, fuch a^ a dif- 
tenfion more eafy, and favoured by a greater 
quantity of the waters of the amnios. The 
young married women cheerfully carry the 
weight of their pregnancy. They fee ap- 
proach 



140 TRAVELS IK 

proach; with fatisfadion, the term when they 
ihall be invefted with a dear and facred title; 
and they acquit themfelVes of the dnties which 
this neyr ftscte impofes on them with the 
- fender foUcitqde and afFec tionate attentions 
which conftitute the fernament and dignity 
of a mother. They thus prepare for them- 
ielves thefweeteft recomp^nfe to which a feel- 
ing mind has a right to afpire; lilial piety is 
the reward of maternal love;- and thofe vir- 
tues, without which all focicty prefents only 
the image of a fcandalous diforganization, are 
held in honour among the modern Greeks, 
iAs they were among the Greeks of antiquity. _ 
In the East, are not tp be found women 
who make it ai^ obje6); of fpeculatiqn to abanr 
don their- own children, in order tq fuckle 
thofe of oAers ; a monftrous exchange, whicl^ 
difies up in their fource the fentiments of na- 
^re, and might in a great meafure be pleaded 
in excufe for the ingratitude of fome children 
towards mothers who voluntarily renounce aH 
claims to their love. The children have not, 
for a whole year, any other nourilhment than 
their mother's milk. How not be attached, 
without referve, to the bofom whence wc 
have long imbibed ^our firft and only fubfift-: 
cnce, where, with our head foftly reclined, 
S . >ve 



dREECE AND TV^tLET. fj^t 

we have fo frequently taftect the repofe of in* 
aocence, wliere M^e have fo many times been 
prdled by the fweet embraces of maternal 
love ! 

I found k fingula'r prejudice fpread among 
the women of the ARCHiPEtAoo. Thofe 
who fuckie their children are perfuaded that 
if, for any want wluttever, their milk Ihould 
happen to be warmed over the fire, their bo- 
fom would become dry, and the milk wonld 
iniallibly go away, to return no more. 

I have already made mention of fevcral 
Ineans employed for curing the complaints 
and indifpofitions of little children ; I fliall 
add that, when they happen to have any 
complaint at the navel, a cataplafm of foot 
is applied to it. 

However, all phyfic,^in the Greek iflands^ 
is founded only on pra^icas^ on fecrets, 
which are icarcely more rational than the 
opinion of the women refpe^ttng their milk^ 
If wc except a few foreigners^ who ieldom 
come thither to affume or ufurp the title 
of phyficians, ther6 are none in tliefe iflands ; 
and I mull ^dd, to the praife of the climate^ 
more than to the detriment of the ait, that, 
generally Ipeakingf people there enjoy a ftate 
pf health fttfficiently good not to b« tempted 

to 



i42 TRAVELS IN 

to regret it. In coininoii complaints/ or ac- 
cidents, recourfe is had to women, who have 
the tradition of fome recipes, which they ap- 
ply without too much difcernment, but which, 
neverthelefs, often produce good effects. Hie 
following are fuch of thofe curative methods 
as I, have feen employed on different occafions. 
I am far from giving them as good remedies j 
,but they afford a fketch of the flate in which 
the art of phyfic is, in our days, among a peo- 
ple where it has been cultivated by immortal 
men. 

We may well expeft not to meet with theory 
in the exercife of phyfic, to which >vomen, 
who have learned nothing, apply themfelves 
in Grebce. a few recipes of empiricifin 
conflitute all their fkill; and if we may, with 
fome reafon, reproach our phyficians with too 
frequently abandoning obfervation, in order 
to fuffer themfelves to be led away by vague 
and ufelefs fyflematic conceptions, it muft be 
acknowledged that, in the East, people fall 
into a contrary excefs, through the igno- 
i-ance which accompanies the application of 
remedies. 

Bleeding is there much in ufe; but the 
Greeks wait as long as they polTibly can be- 
fore they fuffer blood to be drawn from the 

arm. 



GH^ECE AND TURKEr. l^^ 

arm, becaufe they confider the firft bleeding 
of this part as capable, of relieving them from 
the danger of the mod violent illnefles; ac- 
cordingly they referve it for the moft ferious 
cafes: in other circuraftances, w'here bleed- 
ing appears ufeful to them, they caufe it to 
be pra&ifed in the foot. It is very difficult 
to determine them to follow another mode 
of proceeding. I was requefted to bleed a 
young girl in a fmall ifland of the Arc hi* . 
PELAGO ; it was abfolutely infilled that flic 
fliould be let blood in the foot, which ap- 
peared to me contrary to the nature of her 
diforder. I infilled on bleeding her in the 
arm ; and as I was the only pAfori who knew . 
how to make ufe of a lancet, the relatives, 
as well as the patient, were compelled to fub- 
mit to my decifion, but very much againil 
their inclination. Two hours after the bleed- 
ing, I afked to fee the blood: it had been 
thrown away, and my ufelefs curiofity was 
highly ridiculed : it was impoffible, faid they 
to me, for the blood to be bad, fince it was 
virgin bloody that is, that it was the firft which 
ilTued from the arm, and that it could not 
but be vg'y good. 

It IS inconteftablc, that the ancient phyfi- 
cians of the East frequently employed oil in 

1 unftion; 



t44 TRAVELS XJH 

iiudioh. I endeavoured to leara wliethclr 
this cuftom neas jireferved among the modern 
Greeks, and I convinced myfelf that thejr 
^fcarcely any longer made iife of oily unc- 
tions in their diforders* Lentifk oil is, as t 
have already faid, a remedy which is rathei* 
frequently recurred to in the Archipelag* 
for rheumatic pains, and kedfos oil for thef 
cuttf of cutaneous, difeafes. But oHve-oil 
does not often enter into their curative me- 
thods t fometimes the loins are rubbed witH 
it, when a perfon has ftrained himfelf ; and 
the natural parts of women, to facilitate de- 
livery, &c. &c. A Turk, commanding a ga- 
hot belonging lo tbe Grand Signior, and en- v 
joying, in the Archipelago, the reputation 
of a perfon replete with kuowlcdge in ghyfic^ 
advifed, in my pfefence, . a man tormented 
by acute nephritic pains, to rub with warmt 
' olive oil his loins, belly, and groin : butth^ 
oil was not to be piire ; it was neceffary toJ 
tibrow into it a large lark, and boil it in 
the oil. 

As for extreine unftlon, the Greeks liave 
lip other opinion of that facrament than the 
catliolics; it is adminiftered nearly in the 
fame manner, and they do Hot confurae in 
it more oil, M^hich provei* that they imagine 

it 



GREECtE AND TURKEY. Z45 

it not* to be .a final refoiirce or remedy, en- 
dowed with a iBiraculous gift. 
. A topic9.1 preparation of origany, boiled in 
wine, and applied on the region of the fpl&en, 
is one of the hereditary recipes, preferved 
in the iflands of Greece, for. curing inflam- 
mations, obftruftions, and pains ofthatvif- 
cus. I muft add, that it is one of thofe w;hich 
I have feen fucceed the bcft, from the relief 
which it fails not to give in thofe forts of com- 
plaints. But, in pointing out this remedy, 
I muft add, that its ufe, among .the Greeks, 
is accompanied by myfterious acceflbrics, 
without which they would have no faith in 
its efficacy. The application of it is to be 
made only on a certain day of the week, and 
at a certain phafe of the moon: the patient is 
expofed to the light of that* planet; a few 
grains of fait are fcattered ; a few words are 
pronounced, and the cataplafm is applied. 
However, origany is more particularly met 
with in the Ifland of Siphanto; thence it 
is commonly procured : its name, in vulgar 
Greek, is rigano. 

To eat away the fuperfluous and fungous 
flefli of wounds and ulcers, the Greeks pow- 
der them with fugar, and apply over them 
fome bruifed plant or fome ointment. lu 

vax^ii. ' L other 



14^ TRAVELS IN 

Other parts of the Levant, the Turks, tn 
order to caufe ulcers, boils, carbuncles, even 
thpfe of the plkgue, to fuppurate, and to fof- 
ten and difpel fwellings, bmifes, inflamma- 
tions, and other accidents of that nature, 
make ufc of opuntia leaves, roafted for a quar- 
ter of an hour on the afhes, and applied as 
hot as it is poffible to bear them, Dodor 
Shaw adds, that they are alfo made ufe of 
in the gout, and that with all imaginable 
fuccefs *. One of the remedies which the 
Greeks employ the moft frequently for redu- 
cing tumours, and every fpecies of enlarge- 
ment, is to paint in black feveral croffes on 
the fkin. The latter, at leaft, which is con- 
nefted with a ^religious creed, may very pro- 
bably not effeft a cure; but it has nothing 
hurtfiil, and we cannot fay as much of many 
others. 

When any one has had a fall, the Greeks 
think to determine with precifion the inward 
part which has fufFered, by rubbing, witK 
tlie yolk of an egg boiled hard, all the body 
oT the patient r the place where the yolk of 
the egg breaks, indicates the internal part 
which has been hurt. But there is no re* 

* Shaw's Travefe, 410. wL u 



faiedy more abfurd, and at th6 ianie tiine^ 
more prepollerous, than that ufed in the Ah^ 
Chipklago for ciiring the inflammation and 
€nl4rgcment of little kerilels in the neck and 
under the root of the tongue, a diiordar 
which is there very Qf)nim6n. This remedy 
confifts in rubbing gently the glans of a; man 
over the throat and rieck of the patient. 
The Greeks of theie countries are acquainted 
'li^ith no other remedies for fuch complaints; 
and I have feen women have recoilrfe to theoi 
witb much gravity and the jgreateft poffiblc! 
Confidence t fo true it is, that it id the corrupt 
tion of ideas, and confequently of ihorals, 
which conftitutes the indecency of words and 
things { 

On the uninlmbited illets of the Aitcili3?E^ 
LAGo^ ftiU more than on the uncultivated 
grounds of the laagci inlands, rue grows ill 
*J)uiuianc& The littl^ Iflands of San G.iort 
oxo and Sakt EustacAxo, which form o^ 
One iide the raad(leai^ of Argentiera, are 
ddthed wit^ this plant. The modem Greeks 
call it dpiganOj and they make afe of sLu in^ 
fufion of it for killing the Wotms ih children : 
■but tbey make a much gteater confuoilpition 
«f It as. a .pFcferv^tite front the witclKniifl 
bccafioned by fiaiftet* looks; they plitfc the 

L a plant 



148 • • TRAtrELS IN 

plant whole in feveral parts of their faoufe^, 
and they wear its feeds as an amulet on dif- 
ferent parts of the body. This fuperftition, 
however, is ancient; and we find it con- 
figned in works which, had they not been* 
filled with fimilar abfurdities, would not have 
obtained the honours of immortality. 

The little pimple, which comes fometimes 
on the eyelids, is known by the Greeks of the 
Archipelago under the name of acrida, 
which is alfo that of the grafshopper; and 
the remedy is to pierce this pimple with a. 
grain of barley. 

The only remedy that is employed in the 
difeafe which, from the extremity of Arabia, 
has fpread over all Europe, thje fmall-pox*', 
confifts in hartihorn diflblved in Water. 

The Greeks treat bites of ferpents by deep 
. incifions' on the wound with a razor, fb'that 
the blood flows copioufly, and by applications 
of VENidfe treacl'e and* fow-thiftlej which they 
ealltckokokis. I Aall refume this article, \vhen 
I come'to fpeak of the animals natural to 
thofe countries. 

♦ Aaron of Alex'akdria, a pricft and pbyiiciati of 
the.fevendixeitcarx, is the firft vAo made known the frnfl^ 
pQx, in » treadfe in the Syriac laiigiMige. 

' . My 



q&EECE ASU> TITRKET. I49 

My intention not being to prefent a com- 
plete ocurfe of the pradical phyfic of the iflan- 
ders of the Archipelago, I fliall ftop here 
to fpeak of death, which ends by deftroying 
all mankind, whether they be furrounded by 
learned phyficians, or abandonied 'to the here* 
ditary routine of empiricifm : they have, for 
every curative refource, nothing but recipes, 
the greater part fuperftitious, like thofe of the 
old women of Greece. It is not, however, 
very certain that pedpl« die fooner in coun- 
tries where there are no phyficians, than in 
thofe where they are common ; it is not the 
fault of pbyfic, but that of the men who have 
frequent nc?d of it, from the exceffes of an in- 
temperate and irregular life. 

All the expreffions and marks of grief 
that the moft lively fenfibility can infpireare 
difplayed among the Greeks, on the death 
of a perfon beloyed, and prefent fcenes ex- 
tremely affefling. Regret, teais, melting 
adieus, attend the departed to the grave ; it 
is not the cold and momentary tranfports 
which cuftom prefcribes, all the movements 
of which etiquette regulates and marks out, 
and which affeft not more thofe who are wit- 
neffes of them, than thofe who appear tQ be 
moved by them. There, nothing is feigned; 

L 3 grief 



?5P tHAV^ts m 

grief takes its full fcopc, and one throws 
one's felf into the arms of death, with the 
certainty of living for a long time in thci 
memory and in the hearts of one's relatione 
and friend^ ; ^ confoling idea, which make^ 
one defcend into th^ grave without regret, 
and fmoothens the road of eternity. 

The fiiades of the i]ea,d do not wander for-; 
faken amidft the folitude of tomb? ; parent^ 
and married people frequently go and fix them 
by their prayers .^nd their fobs; and thefe 
duties of fentiment, entirely difdained among 
Bations that boaft of their civilization, a^ 
if it could cpftfiftof the excef§of infenfibility, 
are performed and renewed with the fame 
franknefs, and with the fame marks of re- 
inembrance and grief. Frequent of'ecings of 
cakes, wine, rice, fruits, and other diftes, 
adorned with flowers and ribands, »are car- 
ried to the grave; they ar? there confumed 
and diftributed ; and this fort of repaft, iii 
which th<i Greeks likewife endeavour to make 
the dead perfon participate, is called eoliva. 
The, prieft blefles it, and takes a good /hare 
of it Abundant alms approximate to wretch- 
ftdnefs the misfortune of the foul; what death 
would have eaten in bre^dj tpeat, and fruits, 
during a whole year, is diftributed to the 

pooi:. 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 15^ 

poor. Mourning, as well as every fign pf 
afQiclion, is prolonged ; the men fuffer their 
beard to grow; the women negle6t their 
drefs: all avoid affemblies, even thofe of the 
church; and by .the negligence which reigns 
in their exterior, and the dejeQ;ion of their 
countenance, demonftrate the profound me- 
lancholy by which they are overwhelmed. 

I wis one day called, in great hade, to 
bleed a young and charming papadia: the 
reader may remember that this is the name 
of the wife of a/wr/?iw, or fecular prieft. She 
had, as I was told, fallen into a fwoon, in 
conlequence of a violent remedy which had 
been adminiftered to her. I found her ex- 
tended on her bed in a room ratlier large, 
but heated by feveral fires, and ftill more by 
about two hundred perfons, who were in la- 
mentation. The extreme Tieat of this apart- 
ment would have been futlicient to fuffocate 
a perfon in the bed health. On my approach, 
the crowd made way; a filence, which was 
fcarcely interrupted by a few fmothered fobs, 
reined in the apartment : I was regarded 
as a man who was going to pronounce an 
oracle: every ^ye, as well as every one's at- 
tention, was dire6l'ed towards me; an uneafy 
Jiope had tak^Jn pofleffion of every mind. The 

JL 4 young 



»5a ' TItAVELS IN 

young woman feemed to flumber; her cheetat 
had loft nothing of their colour, and her rofy 
lips were agreeably clofed againft each other. 
She was, neverthelefs, without movement, 
without pulfe, and without refpirMion: a few 
drops of volatile alkali, introduced into her 
nofe, made no impreflTion; her extremities 
were cold, and every thing announced that 
fhe no longer exifted. Her relations, who 
furrounded the bed of death, did not think 
that all had been done; they required the trial 
of a bleeding; but the particular found con- 
veyed to my ear on introducing my lancet 
into her arm, demonftiated to me that it was 
entering into dead flefh. I announced that 
every hope was loft ; andfcarcely had I finifhed 
thefe words, when all thofe prefent, men and 
women, crowded roMod the corpfe, threw 
themfelves on the bed, at.the fame time ftrik- 
ing therftfelves on the forehead, tearing their 
hair, and venting cries of defpair. They 
called on the dead woman Avitli a loud voice, 
requefted her to live, and entreated her not 
to forfake them: I found mj^elf in a very 
awkward predicament: I was no longer feen, 
no farther attention was paid to me; I was 
fijueezed on all fides, puftied on the bed, and 
almoft fmothered. 1 had much difficulty to 

extricate 



GREECE AIJD TlfKEY, IjJ 

txtricate myfelf from this embarraflTmcnt, and 
force my way through the crowd, in order 
to efcape from a place which no longer 
prefented any thing but the delirium of afHic- 
tion. 

The ne:jft day, I faw the funeral proceffion 
of this fame woman : llie was borne on a kind 
of litter, with her face uncovered, anddreffed 
in her wedding clothes. Her mouth was 
filled with cotton : it is a univerfal cuftom, 
among the nations of the East, to flop clofely % 
with cotton every aperture of the body ; and 
the Greeks never fail, when a perfon has ex- 
pired, to open doors and windows, in order 
that the angels may come in and go out 
freely. 

A great number of perfons formed the pro- 
ceffion. In towns, hired female mourners 
vent plaintive cries ; but this luxury of grief 
is unknown in the greater part of the iflands 
of the Archipelago ; no one is paid to cry, 
and people cry themfelves with much bitter- 
nefs. The female relations of the dead wo- 
man were particularly diftinguifliable, from 
the excefs^ of their groans and the move- 
ments of their affliflion: they ftruck and 
tore their bread ; their long hair, unbraided 
and undrelTed, fell loofe on their ihoulders 
\ and 



154 TRAVELS IN 

and neck, and from time to time they pulled 
eff lock3 of it ; the blood guflied from their 
head, and their tears wer0 mingled with the 
drops of blood which flowed from their 
cheeks, torn* by their nails. It is not pof- 
fible to paint the agitation of foul with which 
tbefe feeljng and loving women were tranf- 
ported ; and I was fo ilruck by it, that I ihall 
long prefeve the inipreflion of melanchply left 
on j^y mind by the violence of their afHiftion. 



CHAPTER 



ISREECS AND TURKEY, 1 55 



CHAPTER XXX. 

State of agiHcultiire in the i/lands of the Archw 
pelago. — Ivraie. — PraBices ufcd in thefmxh 
ing of corn. — Mlvture of corn. — Two month£ 
^orn. — Manner of pre facing corn. — Hares. 
— Vulgar error refpeBing thofe animals. — 
Rabbits. — Sporting dogs. — Foxes. — Moles. 
— IVeafel, — Hedge-hog;.' — Birds xchich livcf 
conftanflif in the i/lands of the Archipelago, ^ 
(ind thofe which are birds of pajfage. 

IN the courfe of this work, I have prefented 
feveral details concerning the agriculture of 
|:he Orientals in general, and of the Greeks in 
particular. To thefe I iliall add others that 
will cojnplete the knowledge of the ftate in 
which thi$ very important branch of public 
economy is in our days in the Levant. 

Agriculture, the energetic fpring of the ' 
profperity of nations, and the fource . of their 
riches, languiihes wherever it is oppreiied by . 
flavery and an arbitrary and violent govern- 
li|ent If we compare its prefent fituation in 

countries 



%^6 TRAVELS IN 

countries where the climate and the foil con- 
cur to invite and preferve fertility, with what 
it wa? formerly, and what it may once more 
become there, the mincj is again tormented 
by the painful recoUedions which arife at 
every ftep. 

The farmers of moft of the iflands of the 
Archtpelago have neither means norinduf- 
ftry. Two forry oxen there draw a bad plough, - 
the fhare of which fcarcely divides the furface 
of the foil. Pne fingle ploughing precedes 
tha fowing ; the fower follows the plough, 
and fcatters the feed to right and left. The 
harrow is not in ufe; accordingly the feed, 
fo\vn is partly the prey of feveral fpecies pf 
animals which arrive in feed time, that is, 
. in the month of November, and particularly 
ring-doves. 

The little attention that is paid to the 
choice of wheat feed, the wild plants which ' 
grow at liberty in the fields, and there fcat- 
ter their feeds, render the crops extremely 
encumbered Jby a foreign and frequently hurt- 
ful vegetation. Tares, which the Greeks call 
iray are there very abundant; and as they do 
not always take time to feparate them from 
the good grain, efpecially during the years of 
fcarcity, which the dcteftable adminiftration. 

1 of 



GREECE AK0 TURKEY. i^J 

c5f thefe iflands renders frequent, the bad 
effefts of its mixture is felt pretty frekjuently 
in the bread ; violent headachs and pains of 
the ftomach, dimnefs of fight, in fhort, com- 
plete ftupefaftion are the confequence of this 
bad food, the fruit of negligence tfnd a cer- 
tain fign of a miferable agriculture. 

But the Greeks think to redeem the indif- 
ference which they betray m their rural li- 
bourSy by fuperftitious practices, more fcrupu- 
ioufly obferved than the cares of a good cul- 
ture. The firft day of fowing time is a ho- 
liday for the owner; he dreffes himfelf in his 
beft clothes, invites his fri^ends, anid fpend^ 
With them the day in feafting and diverfion. 
All the time that the fowirtg lafts, one mufl 
not give, nor fufter fire to be taken from one's 
houfeto that of any neighbour: this precau- 
tion is the only one of which the Greeks make 
ufe for preferving their wheat from the rot. 
Thefe bad cultivators frequently fow the 
fame-field with two forts of feed at a time; 
an operation which is imitated in feveral of 
our countries, by mixing wheat and barley, of 
one of thefe two grains with rye, and which 
good agriculture reprobates. In fad, the crops 
which this mixture produces lofe in quality 
and in quantity; for the maturity of both 

thefe 



%$ii TRAVELS IK 

thefe pUnts not taking place at the fame time^ 
if the cultivator ir^it till the moft backwards 
graia. be rip^, the ears of the other lofe theiif 
coFD> and become empty: if, on the con- 
trary, he gather in his h^arveft as foon as the 
moft forward grain is ripe, the other, which is 
not fo, produces ahnofi: nothing, and fpoib 
the good by its mixture at the mill, and in 
being made into bread. It appears that thi: 
legidator of the Jews was fenfible of the in- 
conveniences of the mixture of feveral fpecies 
of corn in lowing land, in ufe in th^ East^ 
when he forbids them to fow together twa 
different forts of grain. 

When, in this mixture of corn-feed, wheat 
and barley are in equal quantity, the Greeks 
call it migadi; wheti tl)ere Is more barley than 
wheat, tlie fame mixture takes the name of^ 
yinima. They low a fort of wheat whick 
they call diminiti^ that is^ of two months, be* 
caufe, in faj^ it requires only two or thretf 
months to arrive at its maturity. Tliis fpocias 
is much efleemed in the Levant; it yields 
more flour in proportion than other corn, and 
Alt bread which \% made of it is finer and 
better flavoured. It is fown in March or 
April; its fttdk rif^ kfs than that of tYut 

oth<r 



GREECE il^HSr TITRKEY. 1J9 

jOther wheats, but the ftraw which itfurni/Iies , 
is reckoned to be hurtful to cattle. 

For cutting the crops, fickles iare made ufe 
of in Greece; the fheaves are carried to a 
threflling-floor made in the fields; oxen and 
, afles tread them under foot, and caufe the 
gr^in to come out of the ear. The com is 
afterwards coUe£led; it is winnowed, and 
buried, for forty or fifty days, in holes pre- 
pared for receiving it every year: the Greeks 
affert, that after that time it keeps better^ 
and that it is never attacked by weevils. 
The utility of this very fimple method ought 
to induce us to make a trial of it in our coun- 
tries, where we have fo much difficulty ia 
prefcrving corn from the ravages of infefts. 

Game is in plenty in the iflands of the Aa- 
CHiPELAGo; but it is there laborious to pur- 
foe it through thick buftes, or on a foil 
clofely ftrewn with rocks, or covered witk^ 
fiones. Hares are there very common ; their 
fur is gray, in which they differ from ours, 
which are fawn colour, brown, or almofl red. 
They are equally common in Turkey, and 
on the continent of Greece. The law of 
Mahomet, as well as that of the Jews, fort ' 
bids the ufe of the flefli of the hare j but 
the Turks of Constantinople, Salonica; 

and 



.\ 



l6a TRAVELS IK 

and the other large trading cities, having te- 
come ieis fcrupulous obfervers of the dietetics 
regimen prefcribed by their religious code, 
have determined to purfue hares and eat them. 
The only precaution which they take, wheti 
they have brought down any game, i& to 
haften to bleed it in the neck, in order not t6 
infringe.a law which forbids them to make ufe 
of the flelh of an animal that has not been 
bled ; and this precaution hurts the flavour 
of game, and in particular deprives the hare, 
whofe blood is very fweet and delicate, of that 
which contributes mod to make it a good 
^difli. 

The Greeks of the Aechipelago, who 
have preferved to the hare its ancient name 
oflagosj are alfo great deftroyers of this fi)ecies 
of game. They go in queft of thefe animals 
on the rocky mountains, of which their ifland» 
are formed; they, nimbly climb to the top 
of the fteepeft; they clear the precipices j- 
and in thefe excurfions, fatigjuing to excefs^. 
and even dangerous for an European who 
tnight attempt to follow them, they feem to 
difpute the palm with the bouquetins which 
inhabit the fame rocks, and which they like- 
wife find means to furprife in retreats inac- 
ccffible to all others but thefe iflanders. 

The 



GREECII^AIID TURKEY^ l6t 

The leverets of Grrece, like all thofe of 
the more fouthern oountries^ have all their 
hair curling at their birth, aiid irhile very 
ybung. The fame appearances hare pro- 
duced, in all pliaces, nearly the fame errors, 
which. are accredited more or Jef% accord-^ 
ing as the number of intelligent obfervers is 
more or lefs confideraMe* It has been Ikid 
(thia is not folely a populat error, it has been 
^mtten by grave aivthors) and, in general, 
it paifesribr a certainty in the Levant, that 
hares aie hermaphrodites 4 tliat the males 
engender like the females, or rather^ that 
there is no dtftinf); Hex. in. this fpepies>of anfi^ 
mals, fince, pafling alternately from the on;g 
to the other, they are-^naics during^ one 
month, and females daring another moptfa, 
and fince Nature has condeinned them thus 
tp change, every thirty days, enjoyments 
and fun&ions, which M^ould form a mode 
of exiftence the- moii whimfica^ that can be 
imagined. This ridiculous opinion, wholly 
deftitute of fenfe, and which is owing to ac- 
cidents rather trifling ia the genital parts of 
hares ^, is alfo adopted by the Europeans who 

^ "Sie the details of the conformation of thofe parts^ in 
the Hifttnre Naturelk tTes Quadmf^des, by Bufpon, Sonni* 
Kx't editionj, vol. xsdv. page 303, and/oUowing. 

YOU 11. M frequent 



t6% teirvKi^s* it: 

fnequeat the liS vaict. ' L have ofteoi Iwil' M 
ttiAmtmk wami dtlptito9)on tfaistfubjedi Hane9 
yrcrt ioKlavcdd tx) aEue^ asi being n^Ui axrkndvft 
kdgedfOT! molfis^ in whofe: inficltt }iouTigvGritt9 
l^tail beai rfokiacb on openixig them^ But vfaak 
appeared a:<iemDnftratioh tbieyes prepoiftfledv 
tnd. littlei exaroifect$.:!wa6 in: mine no mpm 
than a Terjf fimple effect of: an kaiztentm 
cniaitiinatilin,; audi as; I. wa3' veryv>€ari fiom 
yieldfbg ta tltis pi^ptenikd proo^ igln<9i3UQb&^ 
befid^,: bekig m>w and tiien accomf^aaiitdf fay 
rudfinefa. and V!dga;rit79 my adyerf&ries.eaded 
hy be^igi&rioiifly an^y at my. obftmacy> ib 
cimtendiisig. agaiafli what tiiey called . huxm'^ 
teftabte prooife. .. 

o •£a]|sMik% tori^hkh''warmlibappfidT9 fkronv-^ 
^file^uarei alfo . very - nunifCXQxis ia . the fiAsnu 
^ixeVijarejfeen iti^Jtiie ;^l8t2id9.o^€YJ!)aiU8^ of 
£andi;a^ &c. aad in thofe of the.A^cttJPiH 
BAOti. .Thsfe a^fi»a)8 ace Hkewife toJoefoiuMk 
cm the tmihihsibited' ifleta.wluch ai^ ir th« 
t^izuty of the large ifiands, on of tfactcpntiS^ 
RentL- 

L ikwfnb pointeiis iout&e litands of tha Aa^ 
ci1i1'3B£ag€k; hot r there found a veiry. hand^ 
fpme breed of fetters,^whieh .would be excd- 
A^nX. for the field, if they, were broken iu: 
tl^ey hay:e stsk .^kiirable nof% a^d are li vely, 
^;::> ' jfndefttigabley 



GRSEtfV Aim TtTRKET. ' * l6j^ 

iii^faf igabk, and rtty enterprilW^^. I hati 
fbr a totig lithe a dog 6i this Weed, whicli, 
tiit^tigh o^ a ftn&H fiz^ ipolfedfed utidaunted. 
ttourage. Otitf day I fktwkd him two goats^ 
A»ayiTlg oh IbiDe roeky b^ by the fea^fbore.* 
Great as Wad the agiliiy with which thofW 
Mimdiiii teamed fltHSi rook to' rdck^ my dog 
Jftribfently overtook otfe of) them, zxSi {hufi^e<f 
it immediately; he then -ftt out in putiUit of 
tte> oth^r ^at;< wliicb, finding itfUf prefled, 
jui|Rped iMtd th& fta> and^fwam neiiir a quaD- 
tef of a k^ttel tbwards the offing. The dog' 
fbtlowed itthitSier, alfb overtook iit, and, aflter 
H cotiteft: of a fe^r minutes^ in the middle of 
thefea, irhich was; nevarthelefs, agitated by 
^ f^ell, he killed it^ dfnd brought itf dead V> 
my feet on the beadh, where I was waiting for 
hiiti. Thdb- Gteik dogs have, in general^ 
eye^Vtt^'fmaiJ, but extreinely quick. 

Thl> other wild quadrupeds of thd Greek 
iflftifttl^ ai« by no means numerous;' No 
wolves are found' there; but in the larger 
iftasids, filch a^ thelflaiid of Scio^ are foxes, 
wtk)^* race i»' niuch fmaller than that of our 
cemitriesi atfd their tiiil- much nkore builiy. 
Die Gbeete call fhk'onimal alepol Moles are 
there very ffcarce, as wfeU' as in other partd 
of the B^ST. r never met M^ith atfjf: Iv^ 
H $ «flured 



I&4 TRAV.ELa w 

aflured, however, that foii!e:wriere to be found,' 
hut in very fnmll nnnfesbefs, in: the Ifle of Sc lo, 
and that they did not. there mal^ themfelve^ 
remarkable by thehayock which renders them 
fo formidable to our'lfaxmirs.: Thp Greeks of 
the Ifland of Scio call the mole tiphlopoud^os^) 
that is, blind rait Bats, mice, as well a& mir-. 
tins and fWeafels> are animals common tO; 
alnioft all the iflandB. 

. The laws ; of anqient Eotpt placed the 
weafel under their fjife^guapi; it was evea 
worfliipped in ThejIais. There. ar( ftill to 
he found in £g7pt traces of this ancient 
refpeft for an animal, which is there com-^ 
nion, and which may ei^er the houfes, and 
ci^mmit havock with impunity./ This fort of. 
confideration for a ii6xicrfis animal ha3 been 
extended ,a|id preferved throughout all the 
Levant. • The Turks,., a^ well as the Greeks, 
fttifer it to live among them in full liberty; it 
has nothing to dread, either from the one oc. 
the other: the Creek women carry their at- 
tention fo far as not to difturb it, and they 
even treat it with a politenefe truly whimfi- 
cal. '• fVelcome,"' fay they, when they per- 
ceive a weafel in their houie; '*/ come in, my 
' • prefty wmch ; no, harm JhaU happen to you 
'^ Acre:, you are quite at home; pray make 



GHEECE AND TURKEY. 165 

''fret, &c. &c/' They affirm that, fcnfihle 
-of thefe civilities, theweafel does no mifchief ; 
whereas every thing would be devoured, add 
they, if they did not behave to this animal 
in a courteous manner. The name that it 
bears in thefe countries is as much connefted 
with the manner in which it is welcomed 
there as with the beauty of its flcin.' The 
Turks call it gullendijh ; and the Greeks, «f- 
phijia: thefe two words fignify, in both lan- 
guages, bride. 

The hedge-hog which I had feen in Lowfia. 
Egypt, in the environs of Alexandria, 
•wiere the Arabs call it confhefsy is fcattered 
all over the Levant^ I met with it in Ca- 
KAMANiA, in Natolia, in Macedonia, in 
the Mo BE A, and in fome of the Iflandsof the 
Archipelago. 

Almoft all the fpecies of birds of our coun- 
tries are met with in the Levant, whether 
they live there conftantly, or do no more 
than pafs thither. I ihall give the enumera- 
tion of thefe fpecies, at the fame time diftin- ' 
guifliing thofe which are fedentary in thefe 
countries from the fpecies which are there 
only birds of paffage. I fhall not fpeak of 
them all, but merely of thofe which I have 
obferved. This account will throw frefli light 
M 3 oa^ 



on the r£gu% piigrations of birds, s the dif- 
ferent routps which they follow^, aad this ch^ 
pf whic^ ]bia3 be^ki drawn by nati^ral wfiiiid, 
are not yiet ix^uch k90\vn -, find this itinerary* 
of the birdjj of out couatriea, forxri^d to chaxigp 
Avery ye?ir their ^climate, in order to providia 
for their fubfifltence, i$ one of the mod curi-r 
S»xs and mo(l in|;ere{ling fa6U of uatur^ hif"- 

The period of the paflagc; of birds into th<» 
Iflands of Greece varies according to tlifi 
winds which there prevail. At the end of 
the funip^r of 1779, this palTage ^as delayedj^ 
becaufe the northerly winds, which are ^ 
cuftomed to reigu during thftt feafon^ blew 
much l^fpr than in other years, and the bird^ 
which then go tq the iputh} were obliged tq 
wait for a wind that might fayoi4r them in 
their pa0age. Accordingly, the period of 
their paffing was of fliorter duration tha^ 
ye^r; the birds, eager to arrive in countrieii 
wh.ere they wefe to find warmth of tempera-^ 
ture and abundance of food, Ifaftened to re- 
pair thither as foon as the favourable wind 
had fprung up. Another general remark is, 
that in the fpring-paiTage, that is^ o^ their 
return to our climates, birds travd in bodies 
\(& I^^Ipe^ol^| and ^re mof'e difperfed ths^H 

in 



6R££Gft AV'D TUItCEY. 1*67 

m tlidr paSe^ uk attumfi^; and this fait of 
. 4iAi)^loft -CjE^fiitu t]9d tl>eir fafety : being ^ap&r 
jf^tfA, fhefy ittorb 6affity eTosi^pe the fiiare$ wbich 
ai^fpi^ead for them on all fides on dneir jour- 
ney. Tkey are alfo very ktotih the fprfag j 
while, generally f[)eakiiig> they are wry fat in, 
their autumnal migration. 

Hawks remain dufirig the whole year in 
mod of die Gi-eek iiknds. They retire by 
night mt6 the hole^ of the rocks, aiid iparti* 
cularly into thofe rfthe walls of folitq,ry wind- 
mills. Tliey lay their eggs at the efad of 
April, «r at the beginning of May, and their 
little forood is liatclied in the beginnitig of 
June; thefe litjtle ones are then covered with 
a gray down, which they preferve upwards 
of a fortnight. Thefe birds are great deftroy- 
ers of grafshoppers and crickets ; they ate 
very greedy after them, and, from this nai- 
jbiiral appetite, they render fervic^ to agricnlr 
ture, by ridding it of noxious infers, whichi 
generate with a difaftrous fecundity, under a 
idifiiate favourable to their multiplication. I 
brought up a young bird of prey of , this 
fpecies, taken in the neft a few days after its 
birth ; I fcarcely gave it any thing but grafs- 
Ifo^tru, crickets, and flies ; it appeared \'ery 

M 4 foti^ 



l68 TRAVBLS IK - 

fond of them, and greedily fwallowed thofe in- 
fe^ls quite whole, however large they might be. 

Several other fpecies of birds of prey, fucK 
as the falcon, the kite, &c. appear to ^remain 
all the year iu the lilands of the Levant, 
and there fpread alarm and carnage among 
innocent families of little birds. Some kites, 
however, are there birds of paffage. Birds 
of night are there likewife fettled, and never 
quit their gloomy abodes, which they caufe 
to re-echo with their mournful cries. in filence 
and darknefs. 

Among the fmall fpecies of birds of prey, 
the palfage of the rufous magpies is very re* 
markable. Their annual migration, pretty 
generally admitted, has been unfeafonably 
difputed by a modern naturalift*. It is about 
the Uth of the month of Auguft that they 
pafs into the fouthern Iflands of the Archi- 
pelago, in order to repair to Egypt, and 
probably alfo to the coaft of Barbary. Not- 
withttanding the length of their voyagc> as, 
in this hot feafon, they meet in their route 
with a great quantity of infe6ls, on which 
they principally fubfift, they are then very 

• Le Vaillant, Hifioire Naturtlk des OfJiauxd^AvKi* 
QUB> article magpii. 



GREECE AND TUEKET. 169 

hty and are» befides, delicate eating. The 
Oreeks catch a great many of thera ; but 
it is on their arrival on the fliores of Egypt, 
that is, towards the middle of September, that 
they afford greater fcope to their own deftruc- 
tion, by their union and fatigue, which de* 
prive diem of the faculty of efcaping the 
fnares that are laid for them. The Arabs 
purfue them with nets, and they take a fome- 
what coiifiderable number of them, which 
they carry alive to market, after having con- 
fined their bill with one of their large wing- 
feathers, in order to avoid the elFefts of their 
mifchievoufnefs. They do not remain long 
in Lower Egypt, and I imagine that they 
continue their route towards Arabia, a coun • 
try that gives birth to a multitude of grafs- 
hoppers, which are, for the magpie, choice 
food. The Arabs call this bird dagnoqfs; the 
Greeks, "oara-kephalasy that is, hemy head; 
and the Proveni^als, darnagua. 

The vulture, properly fo called, makes its 
appearance fometimes in the iflands; it is 
more common on the continent Its fat is 
efteemed, by the Turks and Greeks, a very 
good topical remedy for curing, or at leaft 
for alleviating, jheumatic pains. The name 
of this bird, in vulgar Greek, isjkannia. 

If, 



<79 TB»V(C];sr iif 

.:If, f/oiii this dais of ddftrafliire 1)1] ds, liv» 
ing only by rapise or feeding on carcafies^ we 
pufe to the peaceable and ufefiil gallinaceous 
iribC) wCfihall find in the jpoitltry-yank of 
ieveral parts of the Levant, tbe:niofi beautw 
fyA fyeoGs of heDa> asd at theiBiane time the 
irioft fi ttttfiaL 

In the plains and on the moinitains, re4i 
^rtridges, and bartavelles or Gredt partridge^ 
Ace very numerous ; bnt it is as diflicolt to got 
at them as at hares, wiien, qnitting the valr 
hm^ they retire to fteep movrntains, in the 
midd of rocks, precipices, and clumps of 
Im&y and clofe fet ihrubs. They there feed 
^n the fraits of the juniper, the kedtdSy the 
lentiik, &c. &c. The berries of tiiis laft-men-r 
tioned ihrub, in particular, occaiion their 
ileih to contrafi, efpecially in the hind parts, 
a {Irong bitter flavour. Thcfe partridges are 
the tnoft plentiful^ as wdli as the beft game 
in the Levant. They are, in fome. of the 
Jflands of the AaciiiPELAGo, in prodigious 
Quantities, and are there fold at a very low 
price. The young partridges are hatched in 
the beginning of May, and they are good to 
be eaten in June. They are moft comnionly 
puifued with a gun; the fowler keej^ing him- 
felf concealed, or furprifing them when they 

come 



GRSEeS AKID TXT&KET. 171 

iMime to drink near fome fpring. In fome 
^ilacea, ihares are &t for tfaem, * or they are 
^udo&d in nets; in the Mo re a, tbey are 
caught with a aet, into which tbey are at- 
^n&cd by the image of a partridge painted oa 
canvals. 

Hie gray partridge is not known in the 
East. A Greek might, like Athijnjeus, 
again manifeft furpiife that all the partridges 
of Italy^ liad not a red bill, as they had in 
his country. We begin to meet with the 
gray fpecies in the north of Tuekey, in the 
environs of Constantinople and of Sa- 
ICONIC A, together with the red fpecies ; the 
^mer keeps on the plains t; and the latter^ 
on the mountains. 

Independently of thefetwo fpecies of par* 
tridges, we alfo fometimes fee in the East 
another fmaller fpecies, which is called the 
little gray partriilge^ or the Damascus par* 
tridge of Aldrovandus *, a very roving 
fpecies^ but which does not always follow 
the fame routes ; it is alfo a bird of paflage 
in feveral countries of Europe, and even ih 
northern climates ; they there appear in great 
)x)dies, but at diflant intervals, not regularly 

every 



JJZ . TRAVELS IN 

every year, and only for fome days ; fo that 
the paflage df thefe very rambling birds can- 
not be fixed, nor the route which they take 
well afcertained, any more than the motive of 
.this erratic life. Neither does it appear that 
the feafon or the nature of the climate has 
any fort of influence on the excurfions of this 
ipecies of partridge ; it is often found, and 
in great numbers, on tho heated iands of 
Egypt, where it is called katta: on the 
other hand, it appears as frequently, during 
the cold months of Decembjer and Ja'nuaiy, 
in the north of Tu uke y, where it arrives in 
*autumn, and I faw very numerous covies of 
them, which made thtir appearance only ftir 
a few days in a diftrift. of the ci-deoant Loa- 
BAi^E, during the winter of 1783. 

In fome places of this work, as well as in 
that which I have publilhed refpefting Egypt, 
I have fpoken.of the prodigious flocks of quails 
that arrive in the East, prodigious from the 
longpaffage that birds, which fcarcely appear 
to poflefs the faculty of flying, venture to 
undertake over the waters of the fea, as 
mucii as from the innumerable multitude of 
which they are compofed. Theie birds, in 
order to proceed to their deftination, follow a 
uniform route^ from which they fcldom devi* 

ate; " 



GREECE AHV TtTRKET. 17J 

ate ; they do not pafs to all the Iflands of the 
Mediterranean,' wliei^as they abound ia 
fome, aod a fmall number only 'is feen m 
ethers. The Greeks call theta ortikL Thci 
inhabitants of thelflandof Santorin, vbene 
quails pa6 ia very large bodies, lay in an^ 
ample ftock of them, and preferve than pickled 
in vinegar. On the coafi: of the Mo re a, and 
particularly at Maine, they are falted, and- 
afterwards brought for fale to the Iflands of 
the Archipelago : at Cerioo, they are 
falted in the fame manner; but, thus pre* 
pared, quails are very bad eating. Every' 
where death awaits thefe feeble travellers, and 
they do not efcape, but with confiderable diffi* 
culty, the inconftancy of the elements and 
the ihares of man. In the fpring, they are 
feen to pafs into the Iflands of. the Leva^nt, 
which happen to lie on their route, commonly 
on the SOth of Auguft, and to repafs there ^ 
on the SOth of April, in order to return to 
our climates ; fome remain, or fome are pair- 
ing during the whole month of September. 

In the mod northern Iflands of the Ar* 
CHiP£LAGO^ pheafants are fometimes feen 
during the winter ; they come thither from 
the woods of Tbessalia, where they are 
ia great numbers. The peafants of the en« 

viroDs 



174 • TftAVEti fK 

Tirons of SAHaNicA breed them in tke couil« 
try-piacesy for the puTpofe of bringing thciil 
to the market of the town, and they are there! 
fo cbmmon^ that they may be purchafed at ^ 
retj low price. It is principally the diiteiSi 
of the little town of S£re$, eight or nine 
Ibagues to the eaft of Salot^ica, that for^ 
Hi/hes them in greater abundance. Mafters o^ 
i^eflelawhO) during the winter, frequent tiie 
{fcnrtof SailomtIca, fbdrcely ever fail to l^y in* 
a itock of live pheafants, which they keep on' 
board in , hen-coops, and feed with wheat. 
Theie birds appeared to me larger and hand*' 
ibnter than- thlofe of our countries. It is an-^ 
amufement for the rich Turks of S^i^LO'N'iCA/' 
td fly at them birds of prey, which they ca;rr3r 
OR their fift» When* the pheafant takes, it*^ 
flighty the bird of prey, ^diich they let toofe,- 
hovering above, compels it to perch on fom^* 
tree ;. he then placear himfelf on another over 
itar head, and keeps it in fo great a friglit 
thfett it lafFei-s itfelf to be approached and ealiiy 
taken quite ali\ie. 

When the winter is cold, cocks of the wood 
mkt dieir appearance in the higheft iiiOim<«* 
tasofof tfaefbmeof the iflands, and ofthofe 
whrch are fituated fartheft to the foutfa, fuch 
Mthelfle of Mi LO. 'Jliey quit them as foom 
^ ' 3 as 



QS'tfie weallferb^eomfs miMer. Itimuldbe 
an eafy matter to^kill fame ^( them ; but tht 
Greeks fet^ no vafee on- 1^19 bird', ^vhieh-tfaey 
csAi agrh gaUo, wild cocki 
' Above thefts fkme mmitibtirm, which offint 
to the fight nothing' but iSattcred roek$, n^ 
vens are feen hovering diiririg-tho winter, 
together with Ibime^ vtitture». Thcfe tln^ 
i^ies of birds; equally ignobk} endeavdtir^ 
when poifed in the air, to difcover rats ansd 
fihall' lizards^ which are nnmeroas in the 
clumps of flirubi* that grow between' the 
rocks. The name of the raven, in modern 
Greek, h koraka. 

The hooded crow^ never^quits the ifla«nds; 
1 have feen it there in every {^B^hn ef th© 
year. The carrion crowf, on the contrary, 
is there a bird of paffage. Numerous flecksr 
6f them are commonly feen on the fea ihore, 
where they feed on whatever is throAvn up by 
the waves ; in the evening tliey retire into th« 
crannies of the rock», in order topafs tb# 
iright; The Proven^ ak have preferved to thi9 

• Cinuilk mantiUe. BuPPOK» IBftoire NafureHc iti 
Oi£t9XLX:''^9mmt condfc* LiJtm 

fi Cariim ou cotmlk nwu Bvr^M> Rifioiie Kaiiireito 

fpeciea 



I 

176 , TRAVELS IN . 

ipeciBs its ancient French uaine of grailk ot 
grajfc, and th^ Greeks cHlit kouron^ia. They 
make ufe of its fleih cut iato ;piece& as bait^ 
which they faften to their fiih-hooks; they> 
prafiife this manner of fiihing^ when bad vrcz^ 
ther prevents theqa from patting to fea« 

Magpies are .to be fcpind tlmoft in eveiy. 
place where there are many trees^ and they 
quit not the diftrifi in which they have taken 
up their abode* 

Flights of darlings appear fometimes during 
the winter ; and although their flefh is black, 
lean, hard, and ill*tailed, the Greeks kill 
them and eat them. It is faid, that when 
the fiarling, whofe name, in modern Greek, 
is nutoropouUo, that is, black bird, eats fig» 
or dates, it becomes fat, and makes a dainty 
diih. 

A bird, common in our woods and remark- 
able for its brilliant colours, the jay, which 
the prefent Greeks cb\1 falko kourpnna^ and 
the Provencals Wi/reif, arrives, Ukemoftofthe 
other birds of paflage, about the middle of 
Auguft, in the Iflands of Greece, and at 
the feme time as the turtles. Dunng this 
journey, it is commonly feen alone, perched, 
on the bufhes, and making flights, ihort and 
low. Its fleih is at that time much loaded 
I with 



GR££GB AND TURKEY. I^y 

iritb fat; but it is not better than in our 
cottutriesy on account of the difagreeable fla*^ 
ypup with which it is impregnated. Indepen*- 
dently of tfie jays of palTage, there are fome 
which remain all the year in the large iflands 
of the northern part of the Archipelago^ 
as that of Sc i o. . Thefe birds there build their 
neds, and lay in them four, five, and even (i% 
^ggs ; th/ey feed on olives, cherries, walnuts^ 
and acorns of the fpecies of oak which grows 
there ; they make great havock in the planta- 
tions of fruit-trees, and are not contented with 
devouring the fruit on the very trees, but 
make of it heaps, which they carefully con- 
ceal in the ground, and which they know 
how to find again in cafe of need. The 
Sciots amufe themfelves in rearing jays ; they 
cut the ftring of their tongue, an operatioa 
which gives to certain fpecies of birds, and 
to jays in particular, the facility of articulat- 
ing words, and imitating the cry of different 
animals. In the Ifland of Sciq, I have heard 
jays which mimicked extremely well the bark* 
ing of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the 
bleating of the iheep^ &c. The name of this 
bird, in modern Greek, Wki/a. 

The bird with brilliant plumage, which 
ipakes our woods refound with its fonorous 

voju II. N whiftling, 



178 TliAVEti IN 

whiftling, the loriot, arrives 111 the foutheril 
Iflands of the Archipelago, at the perioct 
when fig& arc in a (late of maturity, that 
Is, at the beginning bf Aiiguft; this fruit 1.^ 
choice fockl,- and gives to its flefli a de- 
Pcacy which it wants in the countries M'here 
the fig-tree does not grow. And, indeed, 
Hie Greeks give to this bird the name of^- 
kr>p!i^v^, fig-eater, and, by corruption, in 
fome iflands; that ofjj/kopha. The paflfage of 
tlie loriots in thefe iflands fcarcely lafts till 
the month of September; the' greater part 
procerf to Lower Egypt, where they in 
like manner feek fig-trees, as well as mulberry- 
trees; the inhabitants flioot them, on account 
of the godd quality of their flcfli ; but they 
ftay little more than a fortnight in this part 
of Egypt; and they purfue their route to- 
Avards the Ea'st, in orjer to find there a fuit- 
able climate and an abundance of food. 
" TJiclhs IS the name which the Greeks of 
the AacHTiPJELAGO give to thruflies, without 
Siftindibn of fpccies. Some are birds of paf- 
fdge, and others do not quit the iflands. 
During the fummer, they are found fcat- 
tered in the gorges of the momitains ; on the 
approach of'the fowler, they penetrate ftito 
the middle of the thic^ buflics, whence it 

is 



l»> \rery*cUffidirft niatter 16 make them riik. 
In the winter they Approach the inhabited 
pikc^^^i they ke^pt and rnn on the gi^onnd, 
ailight 6i!i high ftones, points of r6cks, Kttte 
gdtdefi-AVaUk, aftd flirubi which grow between 
tht r*ckS } arid when the coW i« fcft ^ith 
Js^y^g^ee^fliarpnefs, and the north wind 
Wows With violence, as t faw happen in the 
mo*th 6f Jarturtry I77J^, tholfe birds feek 
fhdWr*i»oi^nd the habitdtiofts^ and even enter 
tfte Ikkifes, in' order to fecure themifelves flroni 
t*e wiiid ^nd cold. 

•iik^ the thrufhes, the blackbirds aife, fome 
birdd rtPpariagi^t others (iationary in thd LE- 
VANT ;-thofe which traVel thither^ arrive arid 
depart at the fame period as the thruflies ; 
they ill live there in the* fiira6 mariner ; but 
thej^ do n<Jt tolleck in fmatt bodies, but are 
comttiorily Ife^ in pairs. 

I {hill add nothing to What I have faid * ot 
Wit iJlrd with a fonorous voice, with a power- 
ful and agreeable warbling, with which ^e 
iarte' Acquainted by the nslme of Jbtitary black- 
bird; it is not peculiar to the Ifland of 
Gandia; it alfo frequents the remote and 
ftony mountains of feveral Iflandft of the 

* Set Ghipttr x*. page 390. 

N 2 Archxp£laoo : 



l8o TRAYStS IK 

AacHijPELAGO: in fome of them it bears, the 
name ofpfarofmeroula. 

Bee-eaters*, which the Proveiifals call^r^r 
msy and the Greeks melifb orghij enemies to 
bees, arrive in the Iflands of the Levant in 
the middle of. Auguft, and repafs in fpring. 
Their rapid flight :renders them difficult to be^ 
killed ; however, they are very good eating. 
I have frequently feen them, in : the month 
of April, affemblejn numerous flocks in little 
diitri^ plapjted with olive-trees, in order to 
pafs the night'; but they there make only a 
temppnury ftay, and the next day I no longer 
found them in the fam^ place. Thefe birds 
fly and hoyer in the manner of fwallow^, in 
order to catch the winged infects, of which 
they make their habitual food; and, in this 
feries of rapid movements, they vent a fimple, 
grave, and foft ciy, accompanied from time 
to time by a cracking noife of their bill. 

At the fame time as the rufous wood«>chatBy 
that is, about the middle of Augufl, the fly- 
catchers! are feen to make theit* appearanca^. 

* Leiuefur^ BuFPON,HiftoireNatarelle des Oifeaux.«— 
Minfs afiaji^. Livn. 

^ Le g^te-mottcbe, premiere efpece, Buppon, Hiaoixe 
NatttrcUc des 0\kaMX.^''4ii^cic^gnfiU. Linn. 

In 



GRESCB AKD TVUKET* l^t 

In the Levawt, thefe two fpecies are not 
even diftinguifhed, at leaft by different iham^; 
the Provencals who frequent thofe countries, 
confound them under the denomination of 
damaguay and the Greeks of the Archipe- 
lago under that oivaro kephalos, heavy head, 
which they alike give to the rufous wood-chat^ 
and to the fly-catcher ; and this charafter of 
the bignefs of the head, compared to that of 
the body, is fo ftriking, that, in fome parts 
of our fouthern departments, it is commonly 
faid of any one who has a big head, that he 
has the head of a darnagua. 

No fooner do the farmers begin to fow the 
fields in the Greek iflands, at the period of 
the fifft rains, which fall at the end of Oc- 
cober, than there are feen to arrive from all 
quarters confiderable flights of ring-doves, 
troublefome parafites, that rob the land of 
its corn, the fource of the riches which the 
cultivator intrufis to it There are fome of 
different fizes, which appear to form certain 
races: they are birds of paflage, and, moft 
commonly, very fat, different from wild 
pigeons, which remain during the whole year, 
live and build their neils in the holes of the 
rocks, and whofe flefh is dry and hard. The 
N 3 . modem 



xHQ^tm Grfek^ give tjie; rin^-dove tlie nnuip 
Q^fyff^ ^ad to the wild pigeon that of />e^ 

. TJie flfffli of the turtles, ^Yhofe paflagc \% 
regular in the Ahchipelago, is fcavcely bet-: 
tpr thau/thait of the wil4 pigeons, when they 
'^pe^.r there in the fpring, for, about twenty 
(jays: they do not fuffe^* theinfelv^s to b^ 
^pvoached without diflSculty, and their lean- 
nefs cottftitutps their fafety; for, in that fea- 
fon, i\o one tjikes much trouble to get witlui^ 
gun-fliot pf them. But towards the end pf 
the month of Auguft, when they return, they 
acquire more plumpnefs an<l delicacy. Then 
the Gifeeks make war on them, and deftroy 
them in great numbers. It is particularly 
ib the Ifland of Pot^iCANDRO that . thfey 
abound on their retuni, and that they meet 
^yith alnipft certain d^ath. Thofe which 
avoid deftruftion, come the following year 
tp expofe themfelves to the fame dangers that 
they had efcaped : inftind, which traces to 
birds of pafiage the route on which they are 
tp find a certain fubfiftence, is more power- 
ful than the. care of prefer ving themfelves 
fjom the fnares that await them on every 
point of their journey, becaufe this inftinfifc 
i$ an irjfpiration of Nature; and the acci- 

3 den:s 



GREECE AND TUSItET. 183 

dents and dangers witji which man ceafes 
not to encompafs them, are accidents which 
may be confidered as out of the fphere of 
Nature, and which, confequently, cannot be 
conceived but by man, the only animated 
being that makes it his principal ftudy in- 
ceffantly to counteraft her. 

The inhabitants of Policandro pickle ia 
vinegar, in large jars, turtles, in the fame 
manner as thofe of Santorin preferve quails. 
The latter likewife preferve turtles, but in a 
fmaller quantity than at Policanduo, be- 
caufe the paffage of thofe birds is Icfs nu- 
merous in their iflands. 

However, thofe turtles of paflage are of 
the fpecies which has the top of the head and 
of the neck cinereous ; the breaft of a vinous 
colour; a fort of collar of black feathersj 
tipped with white, checquered above and x 

below the neck; the back and the rump ci- 
nereous and fawn colour; the reft of the 
under part of the body white, with a vinous 
tint, which grows weaker in proportion as it^ ij 

approaches the lower part of the belly, where ' j 

it difappears entirely; the greater >ving-co-. I 

verts the neareft to the body, black, with a 
broad fiiwn cglour border ; the others cinere- 
ous; the wing-quills brown above, and gr^y 
N 4 browp 



184 TRAVELS IN 

brown beneath ; the tail blackifh above, black 
beneath, and tipped with white; the firft quill; 
that is, the outermoft on each fide, having its 
exterior fide entirely M'hite ; the feet red ; and, 
iaftly, the claws black. When thefe birds are 
roafted, their red feet change colour, and .1 

there exudes from them drops of a liquor of a 
beautiful gold yellow hue. 

To the cuckoo is given the name of trigono 
hraftij which figriifies conduBor ofturtks^ be- 
caufes it paffes into the Iflands of the Le- 
vant at the fame time as thofe birds; and 
as the fpecies of the cuckoo is lefs numerous, 
commonly no more than one is feen in the 
middle of a flight of turtles, of which it feems 
to be the leader. The Greeks call it Jcfefterij 
and they fay of a perfpn who has a ftep and 
'Countenance lively, but at the fame time by 
no means natural, that he walks like a kftfteri^ 
or a cuckoo. It is important to obferve, 
that this bird, when arrived in another coun- 
try, changes almoft all the natural habits 
.which we diftingoifli in it; for it finds not, 
pn the iflands which ferve it as refting-places 
during its journey, forefts nor even thicketJJ 
fufl^iciently large and clofe for it to retire to, 
ps in our countries : it ceafes alfo to be a fo- 
Jjtaiy bird; it keeps with other birds of its 
] * ipeciei^ 



GREECE And turkey. 185 

^ecies, and even travels in numerous com- 
pany with a fpecies which is quite foreign to 
it; neither does it caufe to be heara the 
fong of love, which its name cxpreffes, and 
which, among the common people, is iikewife 
the declaration of infidelity. Very lean at 
the time of its paffing in fpring, it returns in 
autumn loaded with fat, and is then reckoned 
to be very good eating. 

The two epochs of the paffage of the hoo* 
poe into the Iflahcis of the Archipelago 
are dt the end of March and the beginning 
of Auguft. Hiis bird, which the Provenjah 
namf putugue, is called by the Greeks silo-^ 
pedino, wood-chicken; at Scio, fala petino. 
It fa a tolerably good fort of game; and is 
eaten^ not only in the Levant, but in Italt, 
and even in Provence. It is fomewhat re* 
markable that, in all the fouthern countries, 
the hoopoe is eaten, while, in our northern 
departments, it caufes difguft by its bad fmelL • 

Sparrows, the bold paraiites of our plains, 
a^mbla in the East, as with us, wherever 
Fertility has fixed her abode; their concourfe 
round the habitations, and under the roofs 
of farmers, is a certain fign of the abundance 
which there reigns^ and oiF the flouriihing 
Aate of agricultare; we may, without fear 

of 



l86 TRAVELS IN 

of heing miftakcn, jinlge of the riclinef^ or 
the. poornefs of a diftrift by the number of 
ips^rrows which are there to be found; aiwl 
wh<?rever tliere are none, poverty prevails* 
It is fot this reafon that thofe birds, very, com- 
mon in the Levant, and the habitual guefti^ 
of the people of that country, do npt frequent 
the miferable Ifland of Argektiera, except 
for a few moments at the period of fowing- 
time, when they come to (leal pait of the 
feed; while they inhabit, in great numbers, 
the more fertile iflanda, ftnd in particular thai 
of MiLo, whence they come fomctimes t4> 
Arg£N t I era to exercife their eafy r rob- 
beries. 

The bunthig, which the Greeks cMp/aram^ 
pafles at the beginning of winter and in the 
month of March. . In autumn, it is feen oq 
the ground, in the fown fields, and fomcT 
times perched on lentifks. In fpring, it fr^r 
quents thefe fame dripped fields, and alight 
more frequently on Ihrubs : it does not bide 
alone, but always in flocks, which the inha- 
bitants puifue, becaufe the bird is, in gf oeral^ 
tolerably fat, and good to be eaten. 

Another fpecies of fmall bird, which pafles 
in confiderable numbers into fome of the 
Iflands of the Archipelago at tlte^ fame 

pvriod 



GitEECE AND TURKEY. itf 

perioil as the bunting, is the lougaro of the 
Grciek^ wl^qh. ia our greenfinch. 

Tl^ ftone-cbatter, a reftlefs bird, appeared 
to tne not to quit the Klands of the Levant, 
wi>ere it finds, ^U the year round, infe^ on 
which it feedb. , 

I prefame, on the contrary, that the wlieat- 
ear is net attadied the whole year to the fqit 
pf the iflands, and that jt comes thither ui^ 
tlie fpring, and at the end of the autumn. 
In Greecij; it bears the name of qfprthkolo^ 
or cul-blanc (white arfe), by which it is com* 
monly diftinguilhed in our countries. It 
lives alone, like the ftone-clmtter, and in- 
dividuals of this fpecies do not affemble in 
flocks; they alraoft always keep on the top of 
Arubs, or on the point of rocks. 

The bird which, from its vivacity, and the 
allegro of its fong, has deferved to repre- 
fent the emblem of gaiety*, the chaffinch, 
does not always remain in our climates dur- 
ing the winter. The fpecies is half-fedentary 
and half-roving; and obfervation has not yet 
led to a difcovery of the caufes which deter- 
mine chaffinches to feek, at a diftauce, a mild 

• The French fay, proverbially, gai comme un pin/on, as 
vt fay, gay ax a, hrk* 

temperature. 



l8B TRAVELS IN ' * 

tietnperature, while others retnain in the midft. 
of our rural habitations, where- they hrave the 
rigour of the hoar*frofts, and fhare with the 
iparrows the food Avhich the farmer's wife dif-- 
flributes to her poultry. Sonie are feen ta 
arrive in tlie Iflands of the Archipelago, 
towards the end of 06lober, and they go 
thither with attributes which lead to their 
deftruftion ; their flefh is then fat and tolcJ- 
rably delicate. But among the great num- 
ber of thefe birds which I faw in the iflands, 
I remarked fome' whofe plumage indicated 
young birds of the year, which might lead 
me to fufpeft, with much probability, that 
thofe chaffinches came not from any great 
diftancf, and that they had neftled in fome 
neighbouring land. The Greeks of the greater- 
part of the iflands call the chaflSnch moudakio; 
and the people of Scio, fpinos. 

Nightingales are feen fometimes, but rather 
feldom, to pafs into the fame iflands, at the 
end of the fummer : it appears that their route 
is direfted more to the fouth ; they live, dur- 
ing the fevere feafon, in tl^e verdant and fmil- 
ing plains of Lowkr Egypt, and perhaps alfo 
on the coafts of Syria and of Barbary. 
During their pallage^ and their (lay On ihores 
which are foreign to them, fmce they do not 

there 



dREECE AND TURKEY. lS'9 

there bufy tiiemfelve^ about their reproduc- 
tion, they Varble not thofe melodious fongs, 
thofe varied and brilliant^ mp^ujls^tioasy with 
which they, night and day, make our woods 
and orchards refound: they areifilpnt, becaufc 
they have not to fmg their lofV«* 

In fome parts of Asia Minor, as Na* 
TOLiA, the nightingale is rather commoa^ 
and quits not the fofefts and grpves whiph 
it has ehofen. The modern Greeks have, .very 
nearly, preferred to this bird, >yhofc ^dmiiy 
able finging does not faye it fr()m the glut- 
tony of men, the name of aosj^w, which their 
ancefiors had giyen it, and they ftill call it 
adoniy aidonii or agdonL . » 

The charming fpecies of little bird?, wliofe^ 
a(pe6l of fweet innocence, and M'hofe enga-, 
ging familifirity, cannot obtain favour in the 
eyes of man, who facrifices every year thou- 
fands of tliem to the luxury and profufion 
of his table, the. red-brealt, arrives in the Le- 
va 3fT in the month of Oftober: the Greeks 
call ityanni, or yannaki It feldom palfes into 
the open iflands ; but it feeks. thofe which aro 
iliaded by numerous clumps of tfees or flirubs, 
fuch as the Ifle of Scio, where the red-breafts 
repair in crowds, and embellilh thejittle woods 
of lentifks and wild myrtles, with which that 

luxuriant 



t^O TRAVfitS !M 

luxuriant ifland is filled. ^ Thefe birdsj for ttii! 
iwoft part, there find nothing but death : theif ' 
iTuntber, as ivelt as their innocent confidence; 
betrays them; and. the Greek bird»catcher, 
like the fmvler^of our countries, wages againft 
them a war tl>e more eruel, as they come, with 
the candour of an iriterefting weiaknefs, ahd 
prcfent themfelres, as it were, of their owvi 
alccord, to the fivares \vhich he fcts for them. 
^ The fsltne Ttwcnt'df yannty or yannaki, which 
the inhabitants of iwoft of the Greek iflandis 
gfre to the rcd-breaft, is likeWife applied by 
them to another *irttle Ibird of a different 
ijjecies, and which has fome red on a part quitd 
oppofite to that which is fo agreeably coloured 
in the red-breaft : I mean the red-fiart, whofe 
paflkge, or rather two palfages, that of aa-« 
tumn and that of li)i*ing, take place at th^ 
fame epoch zs thofe of the red-breaft. I havti* 
feen thefe little bii-ds flutter about the rocks 
and flirubs the moft expofed to the fun, in thi^" 
early part of tlie fpring, or ht the beginning 
of March : they do not keep precifely in flocks^ 
but are met with fn tolerably great numbers^ 
more fcattered than affembled, in the fame 
diftrift. 

We ihould frequently be led into an error^ 
were we^o adhere to the denominations which 

the 



GREECE AND TtTRKEY. I^t 

the modern Greeks give to birds, particu- 
larly to the fmall fpecies, in order to diftin* 
gui/h theni from each other. We have juft 
fcen that they confounded, under the lame 
name, the red-breaft and the red-ftart ; and 
this name is alfo applied to other fmall birds. 
Thus it is that they call JkardaliOy the com- 
Bfion linnet, and a few other fpecies. Lin- 
nets are alfo birds of paflTage among the 
Greeks of the Archipelago: fometimes nu- 
merous flights of them are feen;' they alight 
on the brambles, with which the foil is co- 
vered between the malTes of tocks that com- 
pofe the mountains. 

The goldfinch, which bears the name of 
k^redino, does not appear all the year in mod 
of the iflanda : it is not, however, a traveller, 
or a bird of paflage; but it prefers keeping in 
the large iflands, and on the lands of the con* 
tinent, where it finds places of fhelter more 
fafe, retreats more numerous and more agree- 
able, than on the naked fummit of the moun- 
tains, which fbrm the greater part of the 
lilands of the ARCinPELAcrt). 

But on all thefe eminences, the remnant of 
a fubmerged continent, are feen wagtails and 
bergeronnettes: thef former keep more will- 
ingly on them argm of rivulets- aiid pools; tVt 

others 



I 



I 



/ . 



192 TRAVELS IN 

Others prefer fpreading tJiemfelyes dver the 
enclofures, and endeavour to approach the 
anhnals which are there fed, and fhey all 
diifufe a certain movement of life and gaiety 
on a foil frequently rugged and melancholy- 
Wagtails appear to be birds of paffage, and 
bergeronnettes not to quit the places which 
have given them birth.' During the winter^ 
fometimes on rocky hills, and at a little dis- 
tance from the fea, I met with bergeron- 
nettes, which, to judge of them from their plu- 
mage, were very young. I was told, indeed, 
^hat thofe birds neftle, even in winter, on 
the little defert illands, whence they after- 
wards fpread themfelvcs throughout the larger 
ones. In Egypt, I had feen a bergeronnetcc 
almoft entirely of a dazzling white: at Mild, 
I met with a variety, of the wagtail, all the 
under part of whofe body was white. 

Cpmmon larks make their appeamnce, fre- 
quently in flocks, in the plains of thefe ele- 
vated countries : here, too, is alfo feen the tit- 
lark, which is a bird of paffage, and which 
t^e Maltefe call bourboli I am inclined to 
think that a few other birds of the fame genus 
pafs hither regularly twice a ye^r. 

Here hkewife are feen feveral fpecies of the 
ttt-moufe; but I was not able to afcertain 

whether 



GltBEC;^ 4H9 TURKEY. |9J 

whetiier they remained here alwitysr, pcwhe^ 
ther they were only temporary vifiter3. 

The common wren*, which the ProvenfaU 
c^U putois and jft^re de la bicqffe^ is a pafienger 
in the Iflands of the ^oean Sea: it ];epairs 
to the Goaft of Eoitpt, and is ieen pretty fre- 
qijieutly^ during par winter, in. the ever-* 
heated environs pf ALEXANDKiAt and of 
othor places in Lowi^a Egypt. Yhfs little 
bird, eaten quite raw, is, according to fome 
phyficians of the Levant, an excellent re-- 
medy for the ftone in the bladder. 

I alfo fometiraes perceived, in clumps of 
Jeniiiks, the little bii^ which, from its orange 
colojir crown and its weaknefs, has obtained 
the name of roitelet (the gold-crefted wren); 
and I have fome reafon to think that it fixes 
jitB abode in places which afford it a mild 
c)imate and abundance of food. , At Scio> 
it is called vacili/ko, and in other iflands, r^- 
golago. 

Fig-peckers, birds whofe delicate and fa- 
voury fleib conftitutes one of the . diihes in 
xequeil for our tables, arrive in the Levant 
m the month of September, and there look 
fof the figs as they ripen. The Ifland of 

, YQU II. o Malta 



t$4 TtlAVlLS IK 

Malta is a refiing-place for tliefe little birds» 
is well as for other fpecies, fuch as quails^ 
tit-larks, &c. &e. Their paffage into that, 
iiland is fufpended when the weft and north- 
weft winds blow, and they arrive there only 
with thofe from the eaft and fouth-eaft. 

On the 17th. of March, I faw for the firft 
time, in 1780, the fwallow make itsr appear- 
ance at Argentiera. The wind had been 
feveral days to the north-eaft; but in the 
Bight it had ihifted to the weft, the Iky was 
ferene, and the fun hot. The Greeks, like 
their anceftors, call the (wallow kdidonl The 
martin comes into the north of, Turret ia- 
the month of April, and ftays there to build 
its nefl:. 

During the winter, the Iflands of the 
Arc'hitelago are fometimes covered with 
woodcocks, which are alfo birds of paffage. 
They come thither moft commonly from the 
mountains of the Morea, where the cold 
is fharp, owing to the quantity of fnow which 
falls there, and they go .as far as Lower 
Egypt to feek a milder temperature. Snipes 
are likewife feen there during the fame feafon. 

Lapwings, like woodcocks, are winter tra- 
vellers; they fpread themfelves over the 
iflands when the cold, which there is never 

fcvere, 



dUESCB AKD TURKEY^ I95 

fevere,. begins to be felt^ that is, in the montli 
of January: they are but paffengers, and they 
fcarcely appear there for more than ten or 
twelve days. But on the coaft of CaeamA'^ 
HI A, thofe birds are aflembled in great num* 
bers during the winter. In fome of the Iflandd 
of the Archipelago, the lapwing is called 
piWtada; and in others, cAimamV^,. er^wintier* 
bird. 

Sea-larks, which the Provencals call char^ 
hts de pl^gCy fnipes, curlews, and particu- 
larly a multitude of ducks of fevecal fpecies, 
frequent the ihores and waters of the iflands, 
€f))ecially during the winter feafon, and are^ 
vnth other water-fowl, the enumeration of 
which would occupy too much rooip in a 
work not folely intended for natural hiftory, 
a refource which adds to the abundance and 
the variety of food 



OS CHiy>TER 



V 



*^6 ttAVEIS i» 



/ 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Tortajfis. — Stefifr. -^Fifim of the Archipc- 
- hi%o,-^Ifi^9rtance cf thejijhefy in the Ar- 
chipelago. — Common cuttk-fijh. — Eighth 
0irmed cuttk-fjk. — Nautili — Tethjf9. — 
CMfckyUa. — Sea-lungs. —Sea-urchins. — ^ 
Sponges. — CruJiacea.-^Water caltrops. 

Sea-tortoises arc rather common along 
the coa^ of Greece, and particularly near 
thofe of the MoftEA. I^nd-tortoifcs ap- 
peared to me fcarce in the Iflands of the 
AnCHii^ELACo: trae it i», that they are not 
there in requeft, becaufe they are not good 
to be eaten. They are fometimes employed 
for a very lingular ufe ; they are intruded 
v/ith the care of ridding the houfcs of the 
enormous quantity of fleas with which they 
arei^infefted, efpecially during the fummer. 
It Is fufficient, fay the Greeks, to place one 
of thefe tortoifes in an apartment, to free it 
nf fleas : thofe infe6ls throw themfelves in 
crowds, . Apd with a fort of rage, into the 
.5 mouth 



GREEO0 4tll> TVUKET. [19^ 

nonth ci the tcrtoifS^ vhich the |i»t.Q^» 
caiioas it to ke^p open ; it fw^llows them a^ 
feft OS they place theijrfelvw l^ere, and if 
thus ends by deftroying theot ^U in th^ 
eourfe of a few days; I have fe^n Frencl^ 
navigators in the Levant l>ave great eon^ 
fidence in this pro^rty oftortoifes, and not 
fell to take fome on boatd, ki order to rid 
their ihips of fleas, which ibev^ atfo multiply 
prodigioufly in thefe warm climates. 

On the early tains of the autumn, the in^ 
habitants of the Iflands of the Archipe^ 
i.AGO pick up in the fields little fnails, which 
at that time make their appearance there in 
very great numbers*: they drefs them, in. 
order to eat them; and it is a very indi^^i^^^ 
diih, which has no other merit than that of 
cofting nothing, though this is pf fome cone 
ftquence in the eyes of poor people, whom 
the government devotes to wretchedneis, l^y 
fiifliog in them every germ of induftry. 

A very deep fea, whofe waters cover a Jiotf^ 
torn almoil entirely formed of &nd and 
ftones, and bathe a confiderable e^cftent of 
lands and rocks, which aiFprd retreats an4 

• The prefeat Greeks uU xhU finall fpKiet of fy$S$ 

o3 food 



19S TftAVElS IK 

food to fiihea, is an immenfe refervoir, whence 
men may derive inextiauftible means of fob** 
iiftence. Butfiihing, like every other branch 
df ixi^uftty, languishes under an adminiftra* 
tion which cojiioufly pours forth difcourage^ . 
nient ; and the want of aftivity, which pre^ 
-yaili* in thts important branch, a fource of 
comfort and pFoi|)erity for people that can ' 
give themfelves up to it without conftraint^ 
renders fi(h lefs abundant and dearer than it 
ought to be in the iflands fubjed to the Ot- 
toman empire. In faft, this part of the Met 
BiTERRANEAN abouuds with fiflies of differ^ 
f ^nt fpecies. I have already made mention of 
feveiral of them : it remains for me to indicate 
a few others. 

I- have not unfrecjuently feen caught large 
ray:fiA, of the fpecies which our fifliermen 
call' the pqfteMgue (the fire-flaire) ; and the 
modern Greeks, Jalakie. 
> The JiaruSy a fifh famous among the anci^r 
ents, and which the inhabitants of modem 
Grekce ftiU C9\\ Jkarosy is common in their 
l^a.^ It keeps in the holes of the rocks which 
ftirt the coails ; and it is even aflerted, that 
it lives th^re in numerous fpcieties, with fiihea 
ef its fpecics, and that thefe focie^ies have 
i chief, who dirc6l8 them, and whom they 

fpUo^ 



GRCEC£:AK9 TITUCBY. I99: 

foHov is foon asirKc ilfucs from. the Tctrcat- 
which th6y have chofen*. It-isi however, a* 
vpry difficitk matter' to draxr.thcid aiit of their ' 
dark: abqd^: aadv: indeed, they are newr : 
catJgM with -the: nirti but are taken with hook': 
andiUe: Whe» the fcaruis has bitten:.at the> 
hook,; be is made-fad tcraftring,'an4 left in: 
the water ; then all ;ithofe whjch are near: the - 
pla<^^ quit their hole9; furroiind the: captive, 
and end hy being Jrtoked themfelvcs. Theyr 
feed' on herbs, and the^iflants which groW' 
in the ^ater. The fcarus isilill drefliid ais in 
former times: the aiiQientsrfaid, thit^ on the: 
table, pf the gods therofelvesi fcari, wbofe w- 
trails had been taken out^ ought not to be 
ferved up; at prefent, even, they are never 
gutted, to appear on the table of men, and 
their iniide is a delicate viand, which alfo 
cooununicates a flavour to their flelh. 

Anotlier fpecies of rock-fift, which is fre- 
quently taken in the fea of Gree^js, is the 
fea-perch. It has there preferved the name 
ofperkcy or perkis, which it bore ambng the 
Greeks of antiquity, and which is now pito- 
Bounced perka. This is a iiih very common 
in the MediterraneaVi whereas, according 
to WiLLUGHBv, none are to be found in the 
4 Waters 



yttben of the Ockav*. Bi^lohi had nia^e 
l^e fame aflertioti before the Eiigltth tiatura^ 
liftf* T^^ ^ ^oes not become very large; 
it fcarcely ever attains a foot in length; its 
ftefli is ibft, and far inferior in t>oint of fla- 
V0wr > to that of the river-^ch, to which 
foibe ^ple have thought proper to Mmpare 
it: anciently it was hetd in no efttmatioo, 
«id Opyiak tanks it among the fiflies which 
.the fiiherman baftebs to throw again into the 
fta:^. It cannot be doubted that Galck 
meant the. rtver-perdi> when he fays that it is 
a titia roAk^fiHl very well*tafted, although its 
fidh is foft and ihort^. Rokdelet has af- 
ibrted improperly that Gal£v had in vtew^ 
the fta«perch||^ Willughbt, with reafon, 
reproves the French ichthyologifl on this fub* 
Jed^ and he affirms, that it is inconteilaUe^ 
that the river-perdi> from the goodnefi and 
whblefoiheneis' of its flei(h, is far preftraible 
^tliefea-perch**. It is probable ths^RoNOSV 

.> mftodaPiTdtoiD, lib. ir. pap. iii. p;ige 32^. 
. t p« A90%41ibas^ lib. \. p;|ge iM. 

t ' ■ *' Pi/cfUor fromtus in ^ptor 

*' Dtmittitfercas ei pJiacos coracindi,**' 

f Dfe ^fmcht. Pkcdt. lib. ui. 
^' {f HiftMi ^UcMMD^ Iib# yi. cap. viii. page lao^ 
:f^.:ldC9fufra citato. 

LET, 



ORBECS AVD TITRKEt. KOt 

ztTs Ivnug on the iputbern coallof F&ai^ce; 
participated in the optnidii of thofeof our time, 
who, accufiomed to fta-fttht^y of which they 
ftill heighten, by tart and heating fauces, the 
flavour that the fea- water occaTions them to 
contra^, no longer have any reli/h for th» 
Aeih of frefli water -iiihes, »nd difiiain it. 

The Greek fifiiermen alfo take with hook 
and line another fpeciea of faxatile fiftes^ 
which live^ like the fea-petch, in the hplea 
of the rodUy but whofe fleih is much more 
wholeibme and iavoury. This is the fparus, 
whofe name of Jpargo recalls to mind that 
which it formerly bore in the fame countries. 
' One of the^ filhes the mod common in the 
.fta of tlie Archipelago, is the /argiis\ 
named by the ancient Greeks ^r^<^^; and by 
tiie modems^ yar^o* It is a rather indiifer* 
Mt fift, wh<^ flefli is hard, and almoft al« 
#aya as tough as leather, which may even be 
difcovered iii dreifing it; for, on^being cook-^ 
0A, it ihrinks and curls up. 

Although the fargus keeps in the cavities 
of the rocks on the fea ihore, as, from pre* 
fefeAce, it fmgles out thpfe, the foot of which 
is covered with ooze and mire, it does not 

theM 



%0% TRAVELS tir ; 

there acquire the good qbalities which inak« 
other fiihesy inhabitants of fiony places, a- 
delicate food. It is commonly taken with 
hook^ and line, i and the hooks are batted Vith 
pieces of crow's fleili, a pafte compofed: of flour. 
aMid old cheefe being firil thrown into the for* 
rounding water, by way offurtiber allucer 
ment But the iifhermen who .take the 
greateft nun^ber of fargi, and of aH the. other 
fi£h^. of the Arqhip£lago« art: the/hold^d 
vigorous divers of the Ifle of Szwi, ThejD 
ipread thenifelves, in all the channels . with 
which tlve Greek iflands are encompa^d.; 
and, while they are employed Jn fiihing for 
Iponges, they raakejin aniple.-papture^f fifties 
with which tlj^y fupply tbei'e fame iflandsV 
and it is then only tbajt .thJA kindiOf provifion 
there becomes chejip.; The.. Syiaiots coin4 
monly make ufe of $^ harpoqn .» the fbrtn' of 
a trident, with which they pie«?ce; the fiflMi 
that they perceive ^t a great depth,, and efpel^ 
ally the fargi, which*. Heepiug bfetween. the 
rocks of the coaft, are mofe^eaiilydifcovewd. 
. I fiiw but feldom.they^anw(?tf of the modern 
Greeks, Mfhich appeared to me not to iliiFet 
from the fea-trout. , :r.. - . ' , 

The filvery-eyed red fparus * is common, 

..«! ) •♦ not 



not however on the coails of all the HIands of 
the MEDiTERHANEAy; but there is not atiy 
Hear which it appears more frequently than 
the little Ifland of Lamfedosa. The Greeks 
i^ll'it lythrina^ a word comlpted from that of 
trytkinos^ which it bore anciently. This is 
a greedy fifli, which not only devours fiihes 
much fmaller than itfelf, but alfo cruftacea. 
In all thofe which I opened, I found remains 
Qfxbc/quillagibhay and the examination that 
I made of their interior parts, convinced me 
9f the error of Aristotle, wbo was of opi- 
nion that there exiHed no male in this fpecies, 
for I faw feveral which had neither fpawn nor 
ovarium. The flefli of the fijvery-eyed fparus 
is white, fat, and of an exquifite tafte ; the • 
beft way of dreiiing it, is by frying, if we 
except perhaps the manner taught by Jovius, 
of which I have not made a trial, and which 
eonfifis in frying it as foon as it comes out 
of the water, and in keeping it afterwards^ 
for a few days, in orange juice. ** Thus 
'* drefied and preferved, the fil very-eyed red 
^' fparus," fays Jovius, ** furpafles all other 
^^. fiihes.in point of the flavour and delicacy 
'* of its flefli*.'^ Pliky has faid that this 

* /)# Romsmhu P^fdhus ; Rom^, i$a4. folio. 

fpecies 



204 TKAYEhS 19. 

ipecies of fparus, left to putrify in winc^ 
creates a difguil for' that liquor ia tbofe who 
drink of it; but I do not believe thac it j$ 
neceflary to go a great way for a filvery* 
eyed red fpanis, in order to produce fucb an 
dfed, and every other fifh th^t might be left 
in a ftate of putrefadion in wine» would he 
fit to infpire with difguft. Cbofe who ihouUl 
have the courage to tafteofit 

Among the rare fiihes in the Archipe* 
XAGO, muft be reckoned the king of the mulr 
lets*. I met M*ith but a fingle one during 
my ftay in the Levant, and the Greeks to 
whom I flie\ved it, in order to know its n^m^ 
were not acquainted with it* 

But the real mullet, the bearded mullet f, 
that exquifite fifli, which the cruel luxury of 
ancient Rome cauied to be cooked over ^ 
ilow fire, on the tables even, and under* a 
glafs, in order that the gueiis might Go^oy 
the fight of the beautiful ihades prodiictd 
by the (low degradation of its charming red 
colour, and, as it were, feed their eyes with the 
fufieringsof .the fifli, before tliey fatiatedtbem- 
ielves with its .fiefli ; the real mullet, I ixj] 
is firequently taken in the Archipelago^ 

* UuUtuJmbfrHt. Liiik. f ^bdhuhuUhu. Linw. 

The 



6REE0S AVD TVtKfiT. ftOj 

J The ihidded pkuroneBes * is there moit 

fierce; the Greeks call it ^iSo^. 

^ . Atherinesi of the fpecies which has beea 
caUed^e/ti and to which the modem Greeks 
have preferved the^ name of athcnw^ deriVied 
Irotti that of Mtherini, which it had anciently, 
aflemble in very numerous ihoals near the 
ibores of mofl of the iflands, and fometimes 
a prodigious quantity of them is ^en. The 
feUowing is the moft ufual manner of fifhiog 
f&t thenL Being provided with a long flick, 
M the ^d of which is faftened a horfe's tail, 
or a pi^e of black cloth, a man walks along 

. the fea-ihore, dragging it in the water in 
cakn weather. The atherines gather in a 
crowd round it, and follow its motions; in 
this way they are conduced into fome open- 
ing formed by two rocks, which are clofed 
by a net faftened to two fticks; the watc^ is 
agitated, and the little fiflies, wifliing to 
efcape, are withheld by the net, the extre-» 
mities of which are drawn together. 

The athcrine, held up to the light, is dia- 
phanous; and wlien it is drelfed, even by fry- 
ing, the fpots or little black fpecks of its 
back are ftill very apparent; as well as the 

^ Pkuroneffes fqfer. Linn. ^ Atherina hep/etus. Linn. 

longitudinal 



206 TBAVELS l» 

longitudinal ftripe of the fides of the body, 
which become only blackiili and more narrow. 
However, there are frequently found among 
the atherines that are taken, fniall fiihes 
which the Greeks do not dillinguifh by dif- 
ferent denominations, although they are^f 
ieparate fpecies, and even of feparajte genera. 
They call the fea-gudgeon *j common in 
/ their ifea, koiwion. 

I fometimes amufed myfelf, on the folit^ry 
rocks of fome of the iflands, in holding a line 
fufpended above a tranquil and tranfparent 
water; little fifhes prefently quitted the cran- 
nies of the rocks in which they dwell, and 
threw themfelves on a deceitful bait In this 
manner, I very frequently caught the fmall 
variegated labrus t> with fliort and delicate 
flefli, but the variety and luftre of whofe 
coh)urs ought to fecure it from the glut- 
tony of men. Moft of the modern Greeks 
call It illeca or iglteca; and thofe of Rhodes 
and Candia, qfdellhs and zillo: the Italians 
give it the name of donzdlina^ and all thefe 
names recall to mind its elegant form and 
dazzling appearance, on which gliften with 
a mild luftre the moft lively and moft bar* 
monious colours. 

^ Gobius faganeUus% Link, \ ^fanu fmaris'*^ Linm. 

The • 



GREECE AKD TURKEY. tCJ 

Thejinaris alfo increafed the' produce of my 
fiihing; this little fifh^ of a form as elegant as 
the fmall variegated labrus, but fitr lefs richly 
adorned, is likewife delicate eating. It was 
formerly called in Greece J^/^nV, and now 
it ilill bears a name nearly fimilar, Jminarida. 
The inlanders of the Archipelago alfo dif- 
tinguifli it by the name of tratto p/hra^- net 
fi(h ; the traitte or tratta is a fort of net with 
clofe meihes, with which is taken a great 
quantity of thefe little filhes that abound in 
the openings of the rocks, of which the 
coafis of the iflands are almoft entirely 
formed. The fifhermen of Provence call 
them giarrets or jarrets^ not from the latin 
Word pruSy as Bel ox aflerts, but on ac- 
count of their form, the outlines of which 
referable thofe of the calf of a leg >vell- 
rounded f. The Italian feamen, who fre- 
quently fifli for the fmaris tribe, leave them 
for a few days in a baflcet with fait; they 
then firing them as a fi>ecies of chaplet, 
which they hang to dry in the fun ; thus 
dried, thefe fiflies are reckoned very good 
eating. 

The fpecies of dog-fifli, which commonly 
with us bears the name of poijfon-chat or 

• De JptatilihuSi Ijb. i. p^gc 226. 

chat 



%^ TRAV£t9 IV 

ehat rochkr \ and which the Greeks c(dl hy 
the generic denomibatiofi of Jquihp/aro, dog- 
fifli^ delights in playing around the rockt 
of the iflands^ The feafon in which it is moft 
frequently taken is tlie month of March; its 
fleih, although very white, and not fo bad 
as that of feveral Mies qf the fame genus, 
is^xtremely foft and infipid, and has rather 
a wild taile, which occafions it to he, dii^ 
dained^ when any other can be procured. 
Its ikin is an article of trade, like that of 
the dog-liih. It feeds on little fiflies, orufia* 
cea, and mollufca. 

This multitude of fillies of every fpecic^ 
tbe greater part of which are of an excellent 
quality, may become an important objed of 
hiduflry and commerce to the iniuibitants 
i)f the Iflands of the Archipelago, as <t 
mean of maintaining abundance in their 
habitations. The fiihery of narrow arms of 
the fea, not requiring large boats, nor very 
expenfive nets and, implements, and being 
frequently carried on from the fliore itfelf, 
the profit which it might procure would be- 
come more confiderable than in any othex 
pofition, ^nd its adivity, at the fame time 

^ Sjualm ^larU. Limn. 

that 



thai it would afford the Comforts of life, 
would fbrih ieamen capable of conduding 
Veffels through the labyi'intb which the group 
of lands and ^ocks render Very difficult to 
Iraverie. 

The large fea-polypes, although affording 
a food lefs agreeable and lefs wholefome than 
fifhes, are, notwithftandiug, from their abun- 
dance, a refource of fome value to the Greeks, 
Who, not being able to eat fifli during the con- 
tinuance of their Lents, tiiake a great con- 
iumptiou of polypes in thofe periods of abfti- 
lience. Their fea is full of common and 
eight-afmed cuttle-fifhes, fpecies of mollufca 
Very numerous; they catch a tolerably large 
Quantity of them, but which is not fufficient 
for their wants, becaufe the filhery, as I have 
already remarked, is very far from having 
among them the degiee of aftivfty of which 
it is fufceptible. There are annually brought 
to them, from the coaft of Barb a a y, a great 
tnany common and eight armed cuttle-fifhes, 
dried in the fun, after having been cut 
through the middle longitudinally, and they 
Are thus obliged to purchale this Lentpfoven- 
der, which they might procure themfelves 
in their own country. They call the com- 
mon catt\e'&(hjbupia : the back-bone of this 

VOL. II, . ]? polype 



»TO TRAVEtS IK 

# 

polype l)ccome$ an article of houfehold fuf^ 
niture of the Greek women;, they ufe it by^ 
way of a pin-cufliion. In fome places, the 
Ifle of Scio in particuW, the women find a^ 
more refindd ufe for thi» bone of a friabl<x 
fubftance, fince it ferves^ them to heighten 
their beauty; they calQine it, and reduce it 
to a very fine powder, with which they 
blacken their eye brows. 

The fond and almoft offeoua part V the 
conimou cuttle-frfli is, for th? Greek fifher- 
men, the bait with which they ufually gar- 
niili th\iir lines, in order to take the eight- 
armed Guttle-fiih *, which they call ktapodk^ 
A lead fixed to .the line carries down to the^ 
bottom of the fea the cuttle-fifh bone, ta 
which are faftened books; the eight-armed 
cuttk-filh, which keeps faft hold of the rocks 
by its arms or tentacula, quits them, and 
attraffed by the whitenefs of the cuttle-fifk 
bone, eomes tofeize it, and gets itfelf hooked* 
Dog-fiflies are frequently qaught with thefe 
lines intended for catching the eighfe-armeA 
cuttle-fifli. The flefh of this mollufca iii^ 
hard, tough, and difficult of digeftion ; it fomc 
tiihes contrads an odour of mu&, which it 



f 5^/«4^ QQopus* Link... 



owes^ 



G&EBC9 AK0 TURKEY. 211 

dwes, no doubt/ to the nature of the food 
on which the animal has lived; on being 
dreiTed, it alTumes a reddifh colour, which ; 
it communicates to the water . and to the 
other ingredients in which it is cooked^ In 
order to foften the membraneous fubftance, 
of which the body of the eighth-armed cuttle- 
ikih is formed; it is beaten for fome time, or 
thrown repeatedly, and with force, againft 
the rocks, and at the fame time moiflened 
with frefli water. The Greek women, charg- 
ed with this bufinefs, never fail, in perform^ 
. ing it, to eat raw the nut, that is, the mouth 
of the polype, and this bit is to them a fort 
of dainty. On fome parts of the coaft of 
Provence, efpecially in the environs of 
TouLOK, where a great many polypes are 
eateu, it is affirmed that, by cutting its fleih 
with a piece of large reed, it becomes Idsr 
hatd. In the Lb;vant, and even in Italt, 
tbefe polypes are alfo pickled in vinegar; in 
fliort, the fragments of their fubftaiice are 
one of the baits of which the Greek fiflier- 
men m^ke a rather frequent ufe. It fome-; 
times happens, that being in the water, a man 
is feizecl by the arm or leg by a laige polype, 
which clings to it foclofely with its tent^cula. 
V)(i fuckers, that it >vould bp impoflyible to 
Ti get 



%l» TltAVSLS in 

get nd of it, did be not hafien to turn back 
vhat the fiihermen^ call the capuckan^ that 
i%^ tht head of the animal, and this operation 
caufes its immediate death. 

The fiflicrmcn of the Levant are perfuaded 
that the univalved fhells, called nautili^ ferve 
as a habitation to polypes, and this opinion^ 
which is met with wherever there are filher* 
men and polypes, does not appear doubtful. 
The pap^ nautili are taken in the Ahchi- 
ppiAOO, There are alfo found, on the coallS 
of the iflands, fca-flugs or tetkya^ which tho 
ifiandei-s call cochylis. 

Numerous Ipecies of conchylia likewife ad4 
to the abundance of aliments which ipan 
draws from the fea, in countries favoured 
by Nature, and fo abufed by barbarous 
nfurpiers* Here are, found the oy fter, the pholas, 
the efam^ which the Greeks call achwadM, 
tlie whefk, pkq/pbira of the Greeks, the 
mufcle, the tellina, the little fpecies of por« 
^elana^ commonly called cowry, and by the 
Greeks gouronnaki, that is, little pig; tlie 
limpet, in Greek patelUday the pinna tnarinOf 
or the nacre of the Provenjab, &c- 

The Gr^ks alfo make a vaft confumption 
tff ^r-^vchkis, which are in great plenty on 
die codis.of their iflajub; there are fbtne 

black,. 



GREECE iLSTD TITRKET. , ItJ 

blacky violet, purple, with the point of the 
ipines white, fome feddiih, flaxen colour, and 
dtrty white: almoA all of them have the fleih 
of a faffiron yellow; they are much fatter 
during the winter, and, it is added, when the 
ihoon is at the fulL This latter obfervation . 
had been made by the ancients *^ and it has 
been perpetuated, though it is no^afy matter 
to affign its caufe. Another remark, which 
has become proverbial among the fifhermen 
of the Mediterranean, is, that one muft 
not go a fifhing for fea-urchins when the lea 
beats on the ihore, that is, when it is rough* ' 
This fifliery is, in feft, produftive only In 
cahn weather. Sea-iirchinskeeping at a fmall 
depdi clinging to the rocks, they are eafily 
perceived when the fea is fmooth; they are 
detached with a hook fixed to the end of 
a long flick, which is accompanied by a 
fmall piece of net, that ferves to envelop the 
fea-urchin, and bring it out of the water, 
when it no longer adheres to the rock: other 
fiftermen dive and feize them with the hand. 
The large iea-urchins, whole violet colour 

* Luna alit •Jhrea it ItHplet echinos. LucUias apnd Au!* 
GeB. lib, xx. cap. xmi-^Su alfo Yhi%Xi MAXitioi» 

pjy points 



|K4» . TSJIIVEXS » 

potntt are tipped ^ith white, are not eaten j 
tiieir/fleih is faft^ black, and unwhi^efome. 
TliU is'lfaei ca&.ifttli anotiier fmaller fpecieis, 
Uacft, tknd with very long fpines. Th* Pro- 
!inenj^8 call thcfe urchins JTorf, and they con-» 
fidecitheiD bad, and even dangefous to be 
eatisil; l^ I, havd fdmetimes feen perfons amu& 
themfelyes with chewing fea-urchins ^'hole» 
with .their ftony flielli without having their 
mouth hurt by the prickles, which they had 
the addreis to arrange in fuch a nianner aa 
not to be wounded by them. But fcveral ter-* 
rcfilrial quadrupeds • devour* fea-urchins ^with 
pleafure and avidity. 

Sea-nettles, with which the furface of the 
roekft, ^ fasathed by waters not much agitate4f 
is iVipquently covered, are a very .common 
article' of. fbodr^^ith the* Greek cflandfecs, efpe« 
ciatly during Lentr They :caH this 2X)0|^te» 
koUtfian^; : vr; .:i , : : ^ y. r . 

Iti the.fpvihg,the f\ionge*fifliersfprcadtbem- 
felvcB :in >thefA»ro»l»ixAco. Thefeado- 
phytes^ placed at tSie iail. link of animafled 
beings,: .are very /common oa the'fiuikeu 
rocks of thefe feas, and they there confti- 
tute a br^ijch ; of commerce. The fifliernjen 
detach them from: the Jiones .to which t^ey 
cliDg, either by diving, or with hooks -fixed 
i \ on 



6n long pole3 ; but in whatever irianncr ^this 
fifhery be carried on, it requires ferene wea- 
ther and a calm fea, which may allow af diP 
tinguifhing the fponges at the bottom of the 
water. 

Several Ipecies of cruftacea are there equally 
common, particularly the crab, kavoura of 
the Greeks, the poupart^ or keutjonna^ th& 
(pidercrab, or kavour ou ntanay that is, thft 
mother of the crabs; Bernard the hermit, ot 
the hermit-crab, the granulated crab*, tiie 
fquilla gibba^ in Phovznce, carambot^ ia 
Greece^ keridia^ &c. &c. It is not my in- 
tention to enter into a minute detail of all the 
produftions of the eaftern part of the Medi*^ 
TERRA.NEAN; this would be an undertaking 
of too gieat extent, and at the fame time mif« 
placed in a work of this defcription, I have 
only endeavoured to give an account of the 
marine animals the mod ufeful to man, and 
to demonftrate that plenty reigns in the bofoni 
of the fea, as Nature had fixed it on the land, 
before Tyranny came thither with her brazea 
arm to expel it thence, in a manner, and con 
fine it to the waters* 

Before I take leave of this fea, I fliall fay % 
word of the water-caltropsf, which is feen ta 

* CatKer gramJatus* Link. t Trafa naiansx LtiTN* . 

p4 float 



float in th^fpjringon the furfacc of the vave% 
in the Ahchipelaoo, and t^ flop on the 
iliores of (he ifl^nds. Xhis four-pointed fruit 
is called by the- Greeks piaJJcoulla; they wer^ 
not al;)le to tell me in what aquatic place? 
of the coaft it ripened in a quantity fuffici-- 
ently great to fpread itfelf oyer fo large ai;^ 
extent of fea; the young ifl?iuders collet it,, 
and amufe themfelves -with filling it with 
gunpowder, iri order to make a little ex:- 
plofion. ^ 

,ia otfc.er fe^e^s, it appeared to me that 
this water- caltrops of the Levant dijfered a 
little from tljat >yhich grows in a great many* 
p^rts of* Europe; which leads me to pre* 
fume, \nth much probability, that it is the 
^P^ariety de^ribed in the Hgrtus Malabaricus^ 
and. which is peculiar ^o the East Indies. 
JVIoHRisoN has diftinguifhed this Afiatic va- 
riety*; And it is allonifliing that LjNNiE iris 
fliould not have feparated it froi);i the com-? 
jnon fpecies, . , . 

• Trihulus a^uattcus major Indicus^ can^HnisgettiCulMiUffolii^ 
0mplist numero/is, tu ro/a figuram congregMtis. 



CHAPTER 



9BEECE AVD TVRKET. Zlf 



CHAPTER XXXIt 

Jtock of VyrgVLi.-^Strait of Polonia. — Ruim 
and tombs. — Another fort qfCimolian eartJu 
rr^Indicatiom of a "volcano in the I/land of 
Milo. — Its plains. -^Town ofMWo.'-^Difeqfes 
which prevail there.-^Pleurifies. — Churches. 

* -r^Lady of Milo. — Hrefs of the yeomen. — 
Their manners.^^— Errors on this JubjeB. — 
^n aperture whence ijue pejiiferous nnaf- 
vtata. — Vapour baths. — Lake of hot water. 
— Sulphur and alum. -^ MilU/iones. — Sal* 
terns. — Iron mines. -^ Sardonjfxes, — Cata-^ 
combs, 

vv HEN you quit the narrow and fandy ftiorCp 
which is below the village of Argentieea^ 
in order to repair to the Ifland of MiiiO, 
fituated to the fquth, you enter into a con- 
fined channel, between the Iflets of SAif 
Giorgio ^pd Sant Epstachio and the 
Ifland of Argentiera itfelf; this channel 
forms the harbour for merchant- veffels; Very 
nisar to the coaft, a rock proje6U into the fea^ 

and although it has there opened itfelf a 

. ^*4*Ac^nCj 



i^rS" TRAVELS IN 

paffage, the fpace which feparates it from 
the ifland is fo narrow, that it is impoffible 
for the fmalleft- boats, to pafs. On the rock, 
which is called PrKCViy is to be feentt rem- 
nant of an ancient building ; there it is, if we 
muft credit the prefent iflanders, that' the 
princes of tfie ifland fixed their abode. 

You then pafs to the foot' of the moun- 
tain, whence Cimolian earth is extrafled, and 
you enter into a fmall ftrait that forms the 
reparation of the Iflands of Milo and Aa- 
G£NTi£EA, which the Greeks call ^Paio^iJ, 
and the French navigators the Pas de Fo- 
lOGNE. In the middle of this paflage, which 
is fcarcely half a league from, the one point 
to the other, there* is a fand-bank and a few 
rocks, on which the fea, already pent up by 
coafts very clofe to one another, breaks with 
ftiry, and rifes in noify billows, * Tnis paflage 
is not frequented by iliippirig ; it is too daft* 
gerous; however^ with precautions, they can 
clear it, and feverall have ventured into it; 
they even find a tolerably' good anchorage in 
a bight fontted by two capes of the Iflatid of 
MiL'o, where they have feven fethoms water, 
and a good bottom for hokling. 

It is in the middle of this fort of <;ulf that 

all the boats which come from AaGENXiERA, 

\ land. 



land. On. the other fide^ but more towards 
the Weft, facing Anti-Mi to, are difcovered, 
on the goaft o^ Aroentikra, fome ruin9 
which the Greeks call limkb, - a word that 
iignifies habitation of idolaters, Thefe ruins^ 
which I yifited, no longer confift of any 
thing but a few tombs, dug in fandy and 
foftiih rock, the foot of which the fea waihes 
and undermines. Oppofite and ^t a Uttj^ 
iliftance, afmallilioal, which bears, the namti 
of Sant Andrea, wasi formerly conae&ed 
with the ifland, as cannot be doubtedv from 
the (hallownefs of the fea between the: two, 
there being no more thian. a fathom in :th4 
middle of the channel which ileparates them,: 
and its bottom is covered with.xiiins. . Amon^ 
thefe ruins, I diftinguiihidtwo large[Taud 
beautiful' tombs witii their capitab, and the 
opening of a fobt^rncneous..cave in the fliap© 
of a well.* The fhoU even of Sant Andrba». 
all the fides ef which are fteep and excavate^ 
by the fea, with the exception of the fide / on 
an inclined plane, which faces Abgentiera,^ 
dill fupports fome fragments of ancient buildf 
ings; there are alfo feen pafiages of fubtei^ 
raneous galleries, in which it would be gra* 
tifyingto curiofityto defcend and dig, if that 
M^ere {Mradicable> without giving umbrage t^oa 

government. 



12CI TRAVELS IS 

governihent, which has no idea of the im* 
portance of hiHorio monuinentSt hrdd^ in a 
foil that it profanes* Jealous, not of dif* 
eoveries ufeful to the fciences, but of imagi- 
nary tre^fures which itfuppofes buriei^ it does 
«p)treven endeavour, by diggings to. gratify its 
ftupid and grbfs cupidity, becaufe it fancies 
that the European alone pofieffes the magic 
p(yW6T of difcoveritig and getting polfeflion 
ef^Id,^' which ^cannot be drawn from the 
l^dwds of the earth bat by fome t&lifman* 

£very thing announces that, in this place^ 
a town of fomc importance has exifted; here 
is ftilL to be feen the remnant of a canal 
dug in the rock, into which the water pf the 
fea enters, and which was a harbour fufficiient 
for the fmall veiTeis of the ancients : pillars, 
aifo cut in the rock, and pieces of which 
are Aill fubfifiing;, were placed at certain 
dtftances on the borders of the channel, and 
fefved for mailing faft the veffels, I waa 
ibewn a fort of place of fepulture, in which 
ibme enterpriiing people have dug; their * 
trouble obtained fome recorapenfe, and they 
thence carried off medals, lamps, earthen 
veffcls, little idols, and a flatuein filvcr. 
• At the entrance of the Strait of Polonia, 
on the coaft of Mii-Oj/ivhich faces the north* 

c»ft, 



caft, is extrafted a fort of Ciinolian earthy' 
which differs but very little from that of Aft- 
centiera; boats alfo come and load with 
it, in order to convey it io the other iflands 
of the ARCHi:pELAao: this earth is even 
faid to be preferred to tlie true Cimolian earth 
,for waihing, but that it is not io proper for 
fcowring and taking out fpots. The Greeks 
give it no other name than that of pilo, 
which (ignifies clay. 

When you land in the Ifle of Milo, you 
})erceive that fires, long fince kindled, con- 
fume the bowels of the earth ; every thing 
there indicates a fubterraneous conflagration; 
and in feveral places, the ground, which rc- 
founds under your feet, apprises you that it is 
fupported by vaft cavities. In one place, 
mountains are overthrown ; in another, cal« 
cined rocks fadden you by their iliattered 
and blackiih furface; farther on, ftones and 
enormous pebbles atteft, by their fubftancd 
and colour, that they have been thrown up 
by the explofion of a vofcano ; boiling waters 
ifiue on all fides ; pumice-flones are fcattere^ 
about; fulphur is formed in abundance, and 
ihews itfelf even on the furface of the ground. 

In*the midft of thefe effe£b of the adion of 
the great conflagrations of Nature, .the vege-. 

Ubl« 



A2f ' TRAVELS III 

table earth', which moftly covers thelfle ofMl 10$ 
gently wanned by fubterraneous heat, is very 
produftive. Corn and cotton are there of 
an excellent quality, and the vines yield very 
good wine, as the trces do delicious fruits. 
Beautiful flowers there form a brilliant and 
natural carjjet; but the plains are moftly 
abandoned to fterility : the quantity of lands 
lying fallow announces an exceflive diminu- 
tion in the population, as well as the cri* 
minal indifference of the government The 
town of MiLO, fituated in an agreeable plain 
vhich leads to the head of the harbour, is 
no longer any thing but a heap of ruins, 
where a fmall number of Greeks ftill ftruggle 
againft the danger incurred by inhabiting 
it. Of five thoufand peifons that Toubne* 
pORy reckoned there, we fhould fcarcely find, 
in our days, two hundred, and almoft all of 
them too in a ftate of languor which infpirea 
pity. The bad quality of the waters which 
are there drunk, and the ftill more pernicious 
ftate of ian atmofphere impregnated whh ful« 
phureous and mephitic exhalations, corrupt 
the blood and humours, make this town a very 
dangerous abode, and have converted it into 
sudefert. Strangers even dread to make there 
a momentary fiay, particularly during the. 
'. . hotteft 



GREECfi AKD T0RKST* €t§ 

hotted part ef the fummef, and thefe perni- 
cious effe6ls are felt even on board the vefleb 
at anchor in the harbour. 

Ahnoft all the inhabitants of this unfor« 
tunate town have their legs fwelled ; they 
are, during the fummer, fubjeft to fever v 
either intermittent or flow, which occafion 
them obftruftions foon incurable. After the 
hot weather, . pleurifics make great ravages, 
and the quinfy alfo carries off feveral per- 
fons, when the very fupportabie colds of the 
winter are felt. It is aflerted, that bleeding 
has been obferved to be there mortal in plenri- 
fies, if it be recurred to before the third day 
of the malady, and that of all thofe who 
are bled on the firft and fecond day, not 
one efcapes. However, the pleurify i& the 
mod commoq diforder in thefe countries, 
whenever the Southerly wind, blowing con- 
ifatntly, renders the winters very mild ; anc^ 
everywhere the fame opinion is entertained 
as at MiLOy on the fubje6l of bleeding. 

The town of Mi to appears to have been 
^11 built; but its houfes, at prefent entirely 
decayed, announce the defolation.by which 
xt is afflifted. The French Capuchins had 
here a very handforae convent; they have 
^band^jsed it, and it.ia in complete ruins. 

It 



124 tiLAVfetS Itf 

It is faid that, in this place, there were fof- 
merly a great many catholics; there no lottgef 
remains a fingle one, and the apoftolical vicar 
that is continued to be appointed, without 
9 flock as without a wiih to be expofed to 
diforders, has retired to Argentieba, where 
his congregation is fcarcely more <^onfider- 
^ble, but where at leafl he breathes a pure 
air. The Latin church, confecrated to Saint 
Cosmo and Saint Dauiano-, has fallen away 
with catholicifm. The principal temple of 
the Greeks, dedicated to Our Lady of the 
Port, conftru6led in 1654, is by no meana^ 
large, biit tolerably handfome ; the walls are 
covered /with paintings, reprefenting the 
hiftory of the Old and New Teftament In 
another Greek church, called Agio Karalo* 
baSf is feen an ex woto^ prefented by the 
ikipper of a French bark, about eighty year^ 
ago : it is a piece of the keel of. his veffel,* 
pierced by a large cetaceous fifli, which there 
left a'contiderable fragment of its tooth. Th9 
navigator difcoveied it in careening his ihip 
in a har)>ottr ef the Mo be a, and haftened tty : 
depofit it at MiLo, as a mark of his gratitude 
towards Heaven, that had preferved him from 
the danger to which he had been expofed^ 
through the efforts of this mwine animal* 



GREi'<iE^AHD TURKEY. 22$ 

The Creeks, • Vho cdhfider this circumftance 
as a miracle/^ htfveciufed to be painted on 
tifis ^lece of w&6d the image of the Virgin, 
^itd- 16 this they attach fo great a value, that 
it would bfe iti v^iri to attlsmpt to purchafe it. 

At the time when I vifited Milo, there 
lived iii tlmttbum a lady very rich, and who 
enjoyed great influence. Kiera Phegouljna, 
thid b the lady'6 name, Was mother to Ma- 
tTROYANTy thfen drogiieman to the famous Ad- 
ioiral Hassan Packa, fince invcfted with the 
principality of. Moldavia, and afterwards 
beheaded^ according to the euflom of a go- 
vernmenti which fcarcely ev6r foils to deprive 
of life and fortune thofe in whom it feimed 
to have the greateft confidence.' Madame 
PEEGOtiLiKA was extremely polite to firan- 
gersy and to the French in particular: her 
garden was tolerably agreeable, and the arti- 
chokes which grew there m great abun- 
dance^ appeared to me the bell that I ever 
ate in uiy life. Being rather an elddrly wo- 
man, flie lived in retirement, although ihe 
might have refided at Constantinople, 
and there made a figure ; her health did not 
appear affeded by the malignant influence 
(^a refidence at Milo, and ihe aflured me, 

VOL. II. a on 



.2a6 . TAAV||(S IN 

on this occaiipn, that the woaien faffered 
from it much \^& than the men. 

She wore, like all her coimtiywomen^ the 
fUange dreft of the femsdes of Argektieea, 
a drefs devoid of t^ile or gmQe» and which. 
So far from being advantageous to beauty, is^ 
. on the contrary^ extremely ^o^vourable to it 
ThU manner of dttffmg i« fa^d to be derived 
.from the higheft antiquity, and to have been 
brpught from Spa&ta to M12.0, which is, 
as is well known^ a !Uicedeinonian colony^ 
whence it has been fpread, with varioas 
change^, into tlie neighbouring iflatida. But 
the literati the moft ver&d in anci»t hifiory 
pofitively afiinn, that the diiefa of the Spartan 
girls was very indecent, w^ that they .were 
called pMmmhiikds beoaufe they hdd xiQt 
even the tipper part of the kne^ coveted.. 
However the 4reft of the w<«»en of Mii^a^ 
difg^iling and grote&[U€ as it is, does not 
offend deceo<^y, fince it exaftly envelops 
every part of the body, and is faulty ratter 
through a contraiy exoda, by giving, in ge^ 
neral, a monilrous fize, by caufipg Uie ihape 
to diikppear, and by ipoiUng the moft beau* 
tiful forms; fo that ** thefe ladies," feys 
Tou|tK£FoaT» ^'whateyo- ofearms they may 

*Vhave, 



oRBsisfi Aim TtfRK&ir* My 

/^ havei are only fit to be repre£ii>ted as 
** flcrcens or fans*.*'^ 

Thcfe MiLo women have been defcribed 
under the fame traits of am excelTive gallMtry 
as thofe of Aroentiera: it is extremely 
probable that people have been formerly mif- 
taken concerning both, and this imputation 
is at prefeut a calumny. How could coquetry 
fix its abode in the midft of a defert infe£i;ed 
by pefiilential miafmata, and which (Irangers 
dread to freq^jcnt ? We find, neverthelefs, ia 
modem works traces of an old opinion, which 
the ilighteft obfervation niuft defiroy. Aa 
Englilhman prefumes that thefe women of 
MiLO *^ equal their mothers in their libera* 
" lity towards mariners, who are driven by 
'^ fiorms to take rei\ige in their port ; a mode 
^* of condud; which, perhaps, might have af- 
'* forded Homer the idea of hisCALTPsot,** 
bat Mr. Irwik had not feen Milo but from 
the deck of his fliip, where the monotony of 
the voyage was enlivened by ftories. It is 
froQi'tbe lame fource that he derived the in- 
£ofmation which he has publiihed refpe^ing 
the women of Aroektiera, and which he 

^ VeyagiouLivantt voLi. 4to. page 150. 
f Ikwik's Travd9t voL \u page 231. 

Q 2 would 



^wouldthi^tve doue better to have left wh6fe 
he found it: but what be fays of . them is 
fuffioi0i<tly curious for me to relate here, as 
;a proof to be. added to a thoufand others, 
of the iocohveniences to which we are ex- 
pofed whence relate from hearfay. This 
traveller firfts repeats what others had re- 
peated before him, that ARGENTIERA-is AiU 
more notorious than MiLO for the licenti- 
oufnefs of its inhabitants, ' ^^ and feems to 
** be a general feraglio, if travellers are to 
•* be creditied, for the mariners of the Le- 
*' vANT :" but he adds; what no one had iiud 
before, that thefcfeamen of the Levant **are 
" bound to leave their offspring for the be- 
*^ nefit of the mothers, that the boys at. an 
*' early age are fent to fea, and that the 
•* girls, in due time, fupply the place of their 
** virtuous parents !" This is not yet all, and 
the following is an obfervation quite new^^ 
which belongs to Mr. Irwin, and which no 
one will be tempted to difpute with him. 
*^ The inhabitants of Argentiera," lays he, 
*' are entirely females, except a prieft ortwo, 
•^who give them ablblution for their fins*^'! 
Who will abfolve the traveller for having told 
us fuch tales? 

• Irwin's Travel«« vol. ii« I>ages 231 and 2^2i 

At 



- At fome diftamieafrpmlthe tAv/ai^ ^rMtobfi 
I .was fhewii ^itn/capctoifte-m ;i4iecfga2miW|r 
whence ifiued vafimaa^'rfc jddftmelixf^ « that^ 
by^'pUctug an eiiftiial xiiily at'^llttririooth^of; 
thia-Vftit-holerik'.'AH Hoaxi onlinn^>otr:.. fcabcf 
peffons, . no' lo&rraiib/tiiamig&dmiitv^ liad iat<- 
t^n^ted' tp 'defcend'^HifO' it>. abdtihad UAfc 
peri&ed. M. pi CHoisEUi .GauniTMy ' as- 
I waa informedvifi^rfnaded the 'ihhabitants, > 
that from this fubterranieoiis gallery* rnoanated' 
the exhalations which had.madc! of. their town. 
a field of difoixbrs..a&d deaitHi --They have 
flopped it up ; biit the deletermus .miafmkta! 
having apparently other iffues; .the atmor-* 
phere is not, on that account, lefs irife6ted. 
At a little more than half a league to the 
ibuth of the town, there are hot . baths, or 
rjither a natural bagnio, formed by a fpring 
of boiling water. ' Buildings aonfiru6ied roimd 
this fpring, foriheriy fervcd fdr lodging tlic 
patients, who came hither from all quarters ; 
. thefe buildings, have undei^one. the fate com- 
mon to every thing beautiful or ufeful, that 
. exiftcd in countries, whofe foil has been for a 
long time covered with ruins and with all the 
hideous fymptoms of deftruSion. There noWi 
remains only a little arcljed gallery, at the^ 
extremity of which a ftdne bench ferved^as. 
Q 3 a feat 



a tet to M fiQgle perin; 0110 cannot fit there 
trkhont beiiig prefcntly. covered with iweat, 
ffid experiencing a fuffoeating heat Th6 
water wfaidifonnfthb ixgnto^ fitoated on a 
hilly runa inuier ground towarda the ihore» 
»nd it ft found 4gam under the fand of the 
harbour; it Acre ^shalea a ftrong fmett of 
fulphur, deports an odire^coloured fediment, 
qad is ieen to bubble up again at the bottom 
of the lea, at the diftamre often or twelve 
feet from the-heacb. 

At no great diOance, asid to the north of the 
batba, is mfst vnth a cavern, fermed* in a rock 
of a confiilence light and almoft friable, at the 
q^tremity of which is a finall lake of hot wa^ 
ter, but whoie heat is fufficiently moderate to 
admit of a perifon bathitig ; and in it there 
jire no more than from two to four feet ^vater. 
The walls of this cavern are covered with a 
thick coat of nitre, which is formed there 
naturuUy. .. 

Tliefe. baths are ihlutary effe^ of the 
general conflagration of the infide of the 
ifland ; their uie is very wpll calculated for 
the cure pf difeafes of the fkin, palfy, ami 
rheumatic pains- Tb^ Greeks were acquaint* 
ed with them in the time of Hippocrates, 
who fent thither i>atients, and feme ilill come 

tliero 



G&EECB A»n TURKEY* ±$l 

tiheremoirr dn^ to feek relief for tbeir eom^ 
plaint^' But tlwfe forts of favours of a . 
frightful. combaftidEi catinot enter into com-' 
parifoR with the croti^ of diibrders, which, 
owing to it their origin, fpread thcmfelres 
over a foil, from which they feem foon likely 
to drive away mankind ; for thei# fatal influ-^ 
ence feems to inereafe with thne^ and has 
reached difiri^, wbidh, not long fince, were 
fecuire from it 'Tis even only within a cen^- 
tury that it has affumed this chara6ler of 
nndigmity which had not been felt by the an- 
cients. In fa6k, their writings are filled with 
the encomiums which they beftow on the Ifle 
of Melos, on the abundance of its produc* 
ticHis, and it» ine<miparable fertility^; but 
they make do mention of the infalubrity of 
the air that is there breathed. 

It is one of the largeft and mod elevated 
iflands of this fouthem part of the Arcui* 
PEL ago: Pliny hasfaid that it ^vasf likewife 
the roundcft of allrf ; it is about twelve leagues 

* THKOFHRASTUt* ilk extollin|; the prodigious fecwt* 
dity of the' foil of MiLO> adds, that vegetacdon is there 
fo vigorous, that wheat, or any other grain which is fown« 
ripens at the expiration of tMrty days, which is too diffi- 
cult to be believed. 

f Hift. Nat. lib, iv. cap. xxi. 

Q 4 in 



J 



in. circumference. . Thfe fd^aitir iirhich wasf 
^rawn fnom. it was rtckoadd the beii, .and- 
its alum, was the mofl; efiefemed after that 
of Eqypt. The ancients attributed to this;^ 
MxLO alum the property of preventing wo^ 
men from concepticm, and Diosco rides 
does not h^fitate to make, this .aflertion^. 
]^^at^ye. fulphur is Xtill very abundant thcre> 
and eveu makes its appearance on the. furr 
face of ,thp ground ; but it is no longer au 
article of t^ade any more than alum, although 
their extra6lion, from it3 gileat facility, oc- 
cdiQned fcvcely any expenfe. We cannot 
be aftoniflied at this negle^, when we refled; 
that fev^pflil other branched of commerce, 
much n^or^ iinportant, have, been abandon- 
ed in countries of which they would ftill 
cpnftitute the wealth, diirft tlie inhabitants 
tjxrn. thepi to. acQQunt. 

Rock alufii is pommpnly found at Milo, 
in natural excavatious, where it is fortned in 
abundance^ apd .mpr$ beautiful and more 
pure than the fait of the fame fpecies, pro- 
daced by our. art. I entered into one of 
thefe fpacious grottoes, heated by fubter- 
raneous fires, and fituated on the declivity 

• Hift. Nat, lib, v. cap. cxxiii. 

is 



IBREEM AKD TVftlCET. ^J) 

fjf a ftecp montitain. • Tlid^rbck in whirfi it 
1$ dvig is eotirelyoaldin^d ; the iiifide a^Ebrds 
a great quantity of largef pieces t^f aluiki; 
iacmftatcd on: the fides, of the; grdttoj and 
which caonoti thence be* detiadhed' but -by 
n)^n» of an irbn inftimmeht.; /iEhis fame fait 
^Ifo (hews itfelf in efflorefccbce, i.nd, in that 
ftate, it prefents chryftallizations in fraall 
bunches of different configurations. Feather 
alum is alfo to be remarked there in plenty ; 
it hangs from the roof in filky and bril'- 
Jiant threads* I obfcrved that' the ftones of 
the entrance oP this aluminous grotto had 
been burnt in fuch a mann^, that with the 
fingers alone it; was eafy to crumble them and 
reduce them to powder. 

Ships dill come to load atMiLO a great 
quantity of thefe folid lava^ of which mill- 
llones are made, and which are conveyed into 
fipveral countries of- the Levant, and par* 
tiwlarjy to, Egypt and Constantinople. 
Thefe -mill-ftone quarries were known and 
worked by the ancients, and as a mill-ftone 
^s(s called in Greek myliasy fome of the learn- 
ed have imagined that they found in this 
word the etymology of thenuame of Melos; 
^bich was given^to the ifland^ 

.3 At 



234 • • TltAVSLS Fur * ' 

At the head of thd barbovt ^hflve been made 
iwifina, which are filled with :^ar>vater ; m 
thefe, evaporation leaves during the hot wea* 
tber nothmg but tlie lalt,^ wbieb there be* 
comes chryfiallked. Tliefe* natural faltems 
have been very produdive; they arc at this 
day in aftate of decay; hnrhich renders^ them of 
little profit 

The ifland likcwife contains many mines^ 
of iron and ferrugmous pyrites^ but no ad* 
vantage is derived from them^ By the fea- 
fide, to the. left of the harbour^ there ia z 
black and ferruginous fand. Here too were 
found fardonyxcsy of which no more mention 
h made at prefimt, becaufe, under a formi- 
dable tyranny, a perfon who fpeaks <rf his 
riches, gives himfelf up to perfecution, and 
not uhfrequently to certain deflruftiofi. 
Olivibr and BKUGurcai^ there difcovered 
pozzolana, as well a% at* the Iftinds of Aft- 
asfXTiEJCA and Sasttorin; it is certain 
tliat other valuable or ufeful fubllances wot^ld 
pneCent themfelves to the labours of indnftri''- 
oils men, leleaied from the fiiackles wkh 
which the prefent inhabitants are loaded. 
Under a libeial admiuiftration, the Ifland of 
MiLO might evdn ceafe to be an nnhealthful 
^bode J a few precautions, a few works not 
5 very 



GREECE AHP TVRXEY. Z^g 

yfcry coitfidersbic^ would probabfy be foffici- 
eikt for the itneltoratidii wfaicb Hunianity 
claiibs ia vaia^ from perfous who are regardr 
left of lief voice ; accorclingty we mufi; neither - 
O&peft it from tiie government of the Turks, 
nor frocxi the vnfortiuiate people who are 
become their flavesr, rather than their fubje£lsj 
Several fubternueaus galleries are met with 
at fotne diftance from the harbour ; they are 
dog in the rock to a rather confiderable 
depth. The defcent into fome of thefe gal-* 
leries is by a winding flight of fteps. To 
enter them is at prefent a very laborious tafk; 
you are obliged to crawl on your hands and 
knees through heaps of ftones. Along the 
Aaircafe are remarked fmall receffes made in 
&e (lone, intended, no doubt, for receiving 
Iamp9 for lighting thefe dark and gloomy 
places; for there is every appearance that 
they were confecrated to the fepulture of the 
Miliots. There are ftill feen other catacombs 
facing the latter, but not fo large nor fo deep» 
On entering them, after having walked for a 
few moments ou an inclined plane, you meet 
with fome wide fteps, by which you afcend 
into a fpacious hall ; at the farther end is a fort 
of bench, cut iu the rock, and round it fe* 
Veral finall rooms. The entrance of this latter 

eav« 



St^ TRAVELS IN 

Gav6rtis in a ihafi of fiones^ entirely calcined ; 
tbey are light and fpongy, like almoft all 
tiiofe of the ifland, and efpecia^Iy like thofe 
of. the fiirrounding rocks, expofed to the 
ai^on of a long and immenfe fire .which all 
the efforts of man could not. extingtiiih. 
They Rrefeht on a fmoking ifland, whofe fort 
ndfts on vail burning furnaces,, the image of 
combuftion,' and the fymptoms of fome con^' 
liderable convulfion, and pechaps of total '^' 
:^ru6lk>Q« 



CHAPTER 



GREECE AND TURKEY. Z^J 



CHAPTER XXXIIL 

harbour of Milo. — Cove of Patrichsu ^^En- 
gagement between the Mignonxit frigate and 
two EngUJk cutters. — Harbour o/'Milo. — 
Sifour. — Ruins. — Anti-Milo. — Purgative 
water. — Aluminous water. — Earthquakes. — 
Cold. — Storm. — Remedies for the bite qffhr^ 
pents. — Pfylli. — Serpents. 

X HE Ifland of Milo is divided in its mid* 
die, and almofl: throughout its whole breadth, 
by a deep bay, which, according to the re- 
mark of fome of the ancients, more juft 
than that of Pliny, gives it the form of a 
bow. This is one of the fined harbours in 
the Mediterranean, fpacious ^enough to 
contain a fleet, and to keep the ihips be- 
longing to it fheltered from all winds. The 
anchorage there is excellent ; the moft com- 
mon is at the very head of the gulf, abreaft 
of the catacombs, and nearer to the eaft coaft: 
uchors eafily fix tlierafelres in a fine fand ; 
*ad vefiels come to there in from twelve jto 

^ eighteen 



2^S TRAVEJ.9 IJT 

eighteen fathoms water. Small craft can ap- 
proach nearer the coaft, ami carry out moor- 
ings to the rocks of one of the grottoes. 

Another anchorage,. more convenient, and 
alfo more flill, is on the weft coaft, in a cove 
called Pathicha. Ships, almoft entirely land- 
locked, do not there feel the aftion of the 
winds, nor that of the fea, from the north- 
weft, which rolls in fometimes with a degree 
of violence on the beach at the head of the 
harbour, but cannot enter this recels, de- 
• fended by an advanced point, on which rifes 
a fmall rocky mountain. There it was that, 
in 1780, the Mignonne frigate, commanded 
by D'Ektrbcastxad^ and efcortinga con- 
voy of upwards of fixty iail, fuftamed an en* 
gement againfi two Engliih cvtters, which 
came thither to at tack her. 

The convoy had met with thefe two cutters 
in the canal of Malta; they followed it, 
aad, during the night, threw it into con^ 
fufion. The frigate not being able to check 
them both at once, w.hen Ihe made fail after 
the one, the other threatened the merchant- 
veflels in another quarter; the great guns even 
becoming ufelefi, they would have hurt none 
but our own ih\p$; and it was confidered as 
a proof of the ai^iritv, and, at the lame time, 

of 



GREECE AND TtTRKET. 239 

oi the ikilfulnefs of tlie manoeurres of the 
MioNONNE, that fix ihips only had failen 
into the hands of the enemy,; but he did 
not long prdcrve them. The convoy, having 
entered the Archipelaoo, feemed to run 
QDder full fail towards Smyrna: the Engliili 
cntters, which outiailed it, were ahead, and 
ezpeSied to make freih attacks during the 
night. Their prizes were following them. 
Already this fleet of hoftile veffels, which 
feemed to £iil in company, had pafied be- 
yond the mouth of the harbour of Milo, • 
when file Miononne^ after having command- 
ed by fignals different evolutions, ordered her 
Convoy to make the beft of its way into port; 
and by this manoeuvre (he was placed be- 
tween the cutters and the convoy, and very 
near to the captured veffi^ls. The latter, 
which for the moft part were not manned by 
the enemy, haftened to approach the frigate; 
and the largefl:, on board <^ which tlie Eng- 
liflt had pat an ofBcex and thirteen men, 
iw retaken, nvitliout the enemy, who was 
too far diilant, being able to afford her aflfift- 
anoe. The convoy anchored in tlie cove of 
Pat&icha : the next morning, tWnking our- 
feives ia fijUTety in a harbour belonging to a 
neutral nation, we were preparing to take a 

walk 



i4^ ' TRAVELS Ifif ' 

iralk on fhore; already had foihe officers Tdt 
out, eaxlyjn themoniing, on aihooting part^-^ 
nhen we perceived in the offing the two cut- 
ters ftanding in for the bay. Thtey entered it, 
in faft ; but though we could not imagine 
that it was for the purpofe df attacking u^ 
we took the precautions which prudence re- 
quired : the frigate clapped a fpring on her 
cable, and in this pofition fhe covered the 
whole of the merchant-fliips lying in tl|6 
cove. Each of the enemy's veflfels was ftrongcar 
than the MjoNoj^^^Ey not perhaps in point of 
men, wlK>fe number became ufelefs to us on 
this occafion; neither were tlifey fo from, the 
number of guns, but from the calibre of the 
pieces, whichj on board the French fri^tei 
were only eight-pounders, whereas the cutters 
had twelve-pounders mounted. Wc had every 
reafoa to think that thefe vcffels would caft 
anchor in the head of the gulf; but they had 
no fuch intention: they kept under failj 
abreaft of the frigate, making boards, and 
putting about, the one after the other, unr 
der her ftern, clofe enough to touch the ent 
fign that was there flying. Thefe reiterated 
infults were to be coniidered as infolent pro^ 
vocations, and as a real attack on the part 
pf audacious people, regardlefs of the rights 

of 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 24! 

of nations. It was impoffible to tolerate 
longer fuch outrages to the honour of the 
flag: we fired; and what proved to us that 
the enemy had had no other intention than 
of forcing us to commence hoftilities, as if 
£hey confided only in gun-fliots, was, that 
at the very infl;ant of our firft broadfide, ilie 
Jietumed it \vith incredible promptitude and' 
brifknefs. Tlie a6lion began with confider- 
able obftinacy : we had to fuftain fucceffivdy 
the fire of four tiers of guns, and we had 
but one to oppofe- to them, fince the other* 
was turned towards the fliore ; and, indeed, 
two guns of the afting broadfide were for 
the moff part in a ftate of inaftion, becaufe 
they were mafked by a tongue of land. But 
.our artillery was better ferved; it had alfo 
the advantage of firing from a fixed point, 
while the fliot of the. enemy's veflels, always 
under fail, became more uncertain. In ihort, 
after four hours' aftion, the cutters, very 
roughly handled, flieered off, and left the 
harbour, to re-appear there no more. We 
learnt afterwards, that they had loft a great 
many men, and that, ready to fink, they had 
been forced to undergo a repair. 

r niufl; not omit a trait which may give an 
idea of the want of delicacy^ I had almoft faid 

. VOL. II. R of 



442 TRAVEL^ tii 

of t^e ferocity, of the officers who com- 
manded thefe cutters. Our midfhipmen, who 
Wei*e on a Shooting excnrfion, haftened, at 
Ithe reijport of the firft gun, to approach the 
beach : We could not fend thfe boat for them 
during the aftion, and they feated them- 
felves on the rocks in the middle eif the 
'coaft, fithple fpe6btots of the engagement. 
Impelled by the mortification of feeiitfg th* 
iftifcarriage of their enterprife, no Icfe rafti 
. fhatn 'contrary to the la^vs of war, the enetrif 
had the meannefs to direft afgkrnft Ihefe 
youths, whom he knew by their lintfoWn, 
feveral broadfidej, which covered them with 
fpliriteirs 'of rock. 

After fo manffeft an outrage agairift ^kt 
latins of nation's and humanity, we were to 'e*- 
)pe6l frefli enterprifes on the part of the Eng- 
lifli. D'ENTRfecASTEAUx commiffioned' mfe 
to 6re(5l a battery on the top of the htll, tit 
the foot, of which the frigate was at anChdr: 
we difmounted the gutis from the fide d£ 
\he fhip thdt faced the land; and theyWerte 
dragged over a fteep furftlte, thickly ftrewii Witli 
rocks, Wfth fhat trari^ort of courage ti'liidh 
diftinguifheslPrench^ Warriors, and prftftritlj^ 
the rock Was tifahsformed into a fortldt capa^ 
l^le of Yefifting^flijps of Van * 

Thefe 



GREECE AND TI7RKET. £43 

Thefe precautions Temoved not the appr^- 
iienfions of D'£ktx.£casteaux; he dreaded 
9A liTemblage (^ fuperior force, ssd .even the 
treachery of the Greeks: during the night, 
he caufed the guns to be hafiily re-emharked, 
and the flotilla to make a retrograde movft* 
merxi^ by condudang it under die cannoo of 
the fort of Susa, in the Ifland eif Cakpia. 
I had joined the Miononne in the WYft of 
Patbich A ; and) fince her depaj[t«ire» I fol- 
lowed her deiiination, and no longesr quitte^l 
her. But I return to die Ifle of Mi;uOt 

The entrance of the harbosT faceft the 
north-weft. It is very wide, aa^ fliips may, 
^ff^mt Tifk, approach very near to the coafis 
a^ which It is formed. They have on the 
Harboard hand, or to the right, Cape Faj^; 
and to the left, Cape Lakwa: the gulf then 
contrads between Cape San Dimitri and 
Cape BoMBARDA. On the latter, a high 
mountain, formed like a fugar-loaf, Itears at 
Its dfunmut a village, to which has been given 
the name of Sifqur ; it is furrounded by 
walls, which have obtained it the epidiet of 
caftle, in Greek cq/iro, although, with the 
exception of this Ample and feeble enclofure, 
itafibrds nothing that refembles a fortrefs* It 
is at SiFouR that the pilots for the Archx- 

R S PELAGO 



244 TRAVELS IK 

pisl;4go refide. The air there is pure and 
Iwholedbme; the peitilential vapours of the 
:plaiii do not reach it with deftru6live influ-' 
^dce : accordingly this place is more popu- 
lous than the capital of Mild; and the in- 
habitants exhibit, throughout their whole ex- 
terior, the figns of vigour and health, in 
which their unfortunate countrymen ure de- 
^cient ' 

FroBd the top of this narrow mountainous 
point, on which is built the fteep village of 
Si FOUR, the view embraces a vaft extent: on 
the one fide^it difcovers.tbe mountains of At- 
/TicA, the fields of Argos, arid the lands of 
ancient Laconia; to the fouth, the cfele- 
bVated mountains of Crete; and, on t^ 
other quarters of the horizon, the numerous 
Iflands of the Archipelago, which feem to 
float -on the waters. There is every appear- 
ance that, formerly, the principal place of 
the Ifle of MiLO was towards the fite of 
SiFOUR, fince all the ancient habitations of 
the Archipelago are built on eminences 
the mod lofty, and whofe accefs is the inoft 
rugged. Quarrels inceflkntly reviving be- 
tween one tribe and another, induced the 
neceffity of being continually prepared againit 
an enemy whofe principal tadics, according 

to 



GREECE AND T^URKET. 245 

to the genius of the whole nation, confifted 
in cunning an^ furprife, and his approach 
was eafily difeovered from the top of moun- 
tains which no other commands. Thefe 
points of rocks, towering towards the fky, 
were from their fituation eafy to defend, and 
extremely well calculated to ftop the enemy 
and repel his attacks.' Befides, in a country 
where all religious opinions referred to theo- 
gony, the men, placed far above the level 
of the ground, fancied themfelves nearer to 
the gods, and thought that they were more 
furely heard by them. It is^ only when diffea- 
fions left a few intervals, of which . the arts 
and commerce were able to get poffeflion, 
that nations approached the plains and the 
low coafts, where they could give themfelves 
up, with greater comfort and fuccefs, to 
trade, and every kind of induftry. And what 
proves that the pofition of Si four was alike 
inhabited by the ancients, is, that we fee there 
confiderable ruins, pieces of wall thrown down, 
fragments of columns of Parian marble, and 
fubterraneous galleries; antique catacombs, 
where flight, but fecret digging, daily brings 
to- light funeral infcriptions, vafes, idols, me- 
dals, &c. Every thing announces the re 
mains of a confiderable city. On a broad 
R 3 ' fragment 



ZJ^6 tKA^ftti IN 

fragment of frizc is ftill to be read, in large 
chara6iers, in very good prefervation, 

SABEINOSOnT 

that is, SABiNUSy fon of Pr The re- 
mainder is wanting, 

A defert iflet, very elevated above the fur- 
face of the waters, appears oppofite the en- 
trance of the harbour; it is ia fragment of 
numerous ruins of an ancient land, Ihattered 
On all fides: the Greeks call it Remomilo; 
and our navigators, AntI'31ilo, or Anti- 
Mile. 

Near Sifour, a fpring, of a water almoft 
lukewarm, and of a flat and naufeous tafte, 
iflues from an eminence towards the fea-fliore. 
It is from this natural pharmacy that the 
Greeks fetch their purgative potions, and a 
few glafles of this water produce the efFeft of 
a medicine. This is the country for hot wa- 
ters, impregnated with foreign fubftances : 
there are very few good to drink ; and this 
fcarcity of pure and wholefome water un- 
doubtedlv contributes to the diforders with 
which the inhabitants are overwhfelmed, with 
the exception of thofe of Sifour, who have 
an opportunity of drinking limpid water. 

On 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 247 

On Ihe fide opipofite to Sifour, that i% 

on the weft part of the ifland,is found a fpring 

of water, fo loaded with alum, that it dcpofits 

that' mineral on the furface of the ground 

' which it bathes. 

The inflamed vapoufs of the bowels of the 
earth are exhaled by fo great a quantity of 
vent-holes, they remain fo little concentered 
in caverns, where fires are inceffantly burn- 
ing, that the foil of the Ifle of Milo is not, 
as might be imagined, frequently fliaken by 
fubterraneous commotions. During the years 
1779 and 1780, there were felt in the Ifle 
of Milo, and in that of Argextiera, which, 
has always ihared the political fate of the for- 
mer, as it fliares the efFefts pf a vaft confla- 
gration of Nature; there were felt, I fay, 
only two flight fhocks of an earthquake: the 
former, during the night from the 6th to the 
7th af January, in calm weather, but at the 
expiration of forty days of an impetuous 
northerly wind ; the latter, on the 6th of De- 
cember, during a hurricane from the fouth- 
weft, which, at the very inftant of the (hock, 
veered round to the northward, blowing with 
equal fury. But what is remarkable, is, that 
both thefe commotions were much more per- 
ceptible in the Ifland of Candia, where fome 
R 4 -houfes 



248 TRAVELS IN 

boufes were overthrown, edifices damageo, 
and men flung on the ground. Communi- 
cations, formed X at immenfe depths, fpread 
afar the fire with which the bowels of the 
globe are confumed, eftablifli a feries of 
galleries extending in every direction, and 
threatening, perhaps, the furface of the earth 
with new convulfions, and mankind with 
frefli deftruftion. 

This fame year of 1779 was alfo remarkable, 
in the Archipelago, for the duration and 
violence of the north wind, and from the 
cold, extraordinary for thefe parts, which 
was there experienced. The mountains of 
the neighbouring continents were covered 
with a great quantity of fnow ; and it froze 
rather hard in the Ifiands of Milo and Ar- 
GENTiERA, whcrc I then Avas. The ice, in 
fome places, was upwards of an inch in 
thicknefs, and might be reckoned a prodigy, 
in a country where it may almoft be faid that 
it never freezes. The oldeft inhabitants did 
not remember to have fcen fo hard a froft. 
There was one in the winter of 1768-69; 
but it was extremely flight, in comparifon 
to that of 1 779. And, indeed, the furprife 
of 'tlie Greeks, aftoniflied at the fight of the 
Various forms of the ificles fufpendcd to the 

boufes 



OREBCE ANP TURKEY. S49 

houfes and the trees, was triily pleafant : 
they broke oiF the fragments which appear- 
ed to them mod curious, carried them along 
the ftreets on diihes, uttering cries of admi- 
ration ; in iliort, they all lliewed, in an une- 
quivocal manner, that they beheld ice for 
the firil time. . It did not lafl long; and, in 
twenty-four hours, a mild fun diflipated thefe 
gloomy but tranfient fynaptoms of a feverc 
winter, and began again to warm the earth, 
afioniihed at the cold to which it was a 
ftranger. 

Impetuous winds, hurricanes, and extra- 
ordinary meteors, likewife diftinguiftied, in 
the Levant, the year 1779.' This derange- 
ment of the atmofphere was, doubtlefs, owing 
to diftant caufes, mth which I was not ac- 
quainted, fuch as violent commotions, or 
great convuWons in fome parts of the globe. 
The fea participated in this ftate of derange- 
ment of the air and temperature: ihipwrecks 
covered with their remains the waves, raifed 
by the ftrength of the winds. At the be- 
ginning of a winter fo rough, and prefent- 
ing feveral phenomena, I was witnefs of the 
moft violent ftorm that I ever beheld in my 
life: it took place at two o'clock in the after- 
Tioon, during my flay at Aegentieba. The 

wind 



9§0 YRAV£LS IS 

wind ble\r firft from the fouth^wcft vith 
great force; the Iky was overcaft, and the 
rain had been almoil continual: the clouds 
had become left thick from ten o'clock in 
the moraing; but the arc of the horizon 
to the fouth-weft was blackened, in a fright^ 
ful manner, with clouds heaped up, precuri- 
fors of the ftorm. The wind prefently ihifted 
to that quarter; an almoft total darknefs was 
ipread over the atmofpbere^ arid mountains 
of clouds, of a greenifh tint, advanced with 
rapidity; long ftreams of fire divided them 
in every direction, and the thunder never 
ceafed to roar, but in a holbw manner, and 
without claps. A water-fpout, whofe form 
was that of a cylipder widened at both ends, 
joined the fea to the clouds ; the waters boiled 
up at Its bafe, which I eftimated at a quarter 
of a league in circumference, and it moved 
with extreme fwiftnefs. When arrived over 
the illauds, the ftorm became terrible: the im* 
petuofity of the wind fliattered feveral wind- 
mills; thunder roared on all fides; a frightful 
fhower of hail, the ftones of which were of 
the fizc 6f a common walnut, fell with a 
dreadful force: Nature appeared on the point 
of being fwallowed up in an abyfs, and con- 
fternation reigned in every mind. A deluge 

of 



GREECE AND 7VEKET. Sjt 

of rain fuccceded this fcene of terror; and 
the wind, which flew to the north, drove the 
remains of the teri>peft towards other ihores. 

During the ihoit time that I pafled at 
Si FOUR, I faw a child that had, three or four 
hours before, been bitten by a viper, ora ve- 
nemous fnake, in the fmall of the leg: it was 
brought to me, under the idea that I might 
aiford it ibme aiTifiance. The leg and foot 
were much fwelled, very hard, and of a 
bluiih colour: the child fuffered great pain; 
the wound no longer appeared, and the place 
was not to be diftinguiihed but by a larger 
fwelling, and by pains more acute, which 
were occafioncd by touching it I had ex- 
perienced on feveral occafions, and particu- 
larly at Guiana, where fnakes are equally 
numerous and formidable, the efficacy of eau 
de Luct as a prefervative againft their venom. 
I made the child fwallow a few drops of it, 
in half a glaft of wine; and, after fome fcari- 
fications on the part bitten, I applied to it a 
comprefs, fteeped in this fame water, which 
is known to be compofed of volatile alkali 
and oil of amber. Fbur hours after, the 
fwelling was confiderably diminifhed; the 
child no longer felt any pain, and was in 
the moft tranquH ftate. I renewed the cora- 
5 prefs 



2j2 TRAVELS IN 

preis of eau de Luccy and difihifled the little 
patient, at the fame time riBComrtiending that 
he might not be difturbed, and, above all, 
that no fort of remedy might be adminiftered 
to him. 

But thefe recommendations were vain: 
fcarcely had the child left the houfe that I 
inhabited, before fome old women, Qxercifing 
empiricifm exclufivety, perfuaded the father 
of the little patient that the remedies of the 
Franks were good for nothing, and even 
might be pernicious to Oriei^tals. It is to 
be remarked, that this is precifely the lan- 
guage of the fanatic and haughty Mahome- 
tan, who, at once proud and ignorant, alike 
difdains men and things that are foreign to 
his religion and his cufloms; but it is not 
aftoniihiiig that the Have ihould hold the fame 
language as the tyrant. 

The advice of the old female empirics was 
attended to: the child was afleep; it was 
awakened ; the comprels of eau de Luce was 
taken off. The wound was. laid open with a 
razor, and two ligatures were made, the one 
on the calf of the leg, and the other on the 
middle of the thigh, with two fmall cords 
drawn fo tight, that the unfortunate child, 
who was* thus left to pafs the night, had the 

next 



GREECE AND tt^ILKET. 253 

tiext morning fo extraordinary a fuelling on . 
the thigh and leg, that the ligatures were 
over-hung and covered by the flefli, which 
was hard, inflamed, and fo exceflively pain- 
ful, that a fly, which alighted on the leg, 
caufed the patient to vent loud cries, *A burn- 
ing fever, attended with delirium, tormented 
him; and his (late of danger had decided 
the parents to bring him to me again, con- 
trary to the advice of the cruel female phy- 
ficians. My firft care was to cut the cords, 
whofe eflfeft made me tremble; but wheti, o^ 
examining the wound, I found that the flefh 
had been cut with fo. little precaution tliat 
the mufcle was injured ; that, moreover, thene 
-had been applied to the wound a cataplafm, 
which had brought on fuppuration; and 
that, regard being had to the exceffive ftate 
of inflammation of the leg and thigh, and 'to 
the great heat of the atmofphere, . this fug- 
• juration might be attended by the moil ibri- 
ous confequences, I difmifled the patient, and 
would have no more to do wth him. 

Notwithftanding the unfavourable refult <if 
this accident, it is certain that the ligatures, 
flailies rather than fcarifications, and Aippura- 
tive plafters occafioned all the mifchief, fince 
the fwelling was cpfifiderably diminifhed,. and 

the 



(54* TRAV£t$ tH 

the pain entirely remov^, by the ufe af eat^ 
4e Luct applied u a topic, and taken int^*r 
itaUy.; ^nd this is an efte^ which it fails not 
to produce, when k is opportunei^ rcforted to 
in fimilar circumftances. 

The jeinedies which the Greeks commonly 
employ for curing the bite of fna^kos^ confift 
- an cataplafoBs of emollient plants, calculatad 
-to promote fuppuration . Sb w-thHtle is reckon- 
-od among thcoa to poflefe particularly a ipeci- 
£c virtue againft tliis fort of vcuoni, S^ 
thi&treajtment b Very iong; it fveqiiently lai^ 
twKk nioaths, and never leis than oo^e; nei- 
thia- is it always fuccefsful, and <le^th pretty 
frequently carries off the paiietit from tfee 
.torments wiiich this mode of tt^eament eaiuff^s 
him toftiflfer. 

The East was at all times the couatry 

of imagicians: men, boaftiog to have; tjjc 

poivetf of charming ferpents, of branring tljeir 

bite anid liheir venom, of rendering them 

tifSBcite to dieir voice, fomieily ^sciAed the^e 

^ under the 'oamc of Pfylli; and tljere arelUll 

to be found people who pretjend to have in- 

iicrited their fccrets. I knew one of thofe 

-yerfed in tiiis kind of fafci nation ; he was 

'. ^ertaiaaly the naoft ignoiunt and moil fooliih 

idf tJbe Greeks: his&cret piincipally confiftod 

in 



GREECE XSD rVEKET. £55 

ill thirteen irords, whidi it was neceffary tb 
pronouHce in light of the ierpents. He told 
tne alfo, that, in order to ^uard againil the 
Wte of thefe reptifes, it was weceSBty to tiy 
to take one alive, with the precaution of 
feizitig it ftrongly by the neok^ fo as to pre- 
vent it from biting, and not to concern my* 
fdf about its body and tail, th* twifiing* 
cff whidh lightly fqueeze the ar«i. You muft 
then flip* round its neck a running knot, 
made with coarfe thread, and draw it tight 
by degrees, till the animal is itrangled. 
When it is on the point of dying, you open 
it, and take out its fat, with which, you 
rub your hands: then my modern pfyUus 
iaid to me, " You have nothing more to 
" fear from the bite of every fpecies of fer 
*' pent" 

Though I have been alfured, and have 
every reafon to believe, that ferpents are 
common in the Iflands of Greece, I never 
jnet with any, fo that I cannot fay what 
are the fpecies that are there to be found: 
there are, as I was told, fome very large, and ' 
upwards of feven feet long. Thefe reptiles, 
feveral of which diftill from their canine 
teeth a very fubtle venom, retire into holes, 
under Hones and ruins, during the winter: 

they 



. 256 TRAVELS in 

they reappear in the fpriog, and even intro- 
duce themfelves into the houfes. At this 
period^ the inhabitants look for the ikin 
which they have caft; and, by wearing it 
on their hat, they imagine themfelves fecure 
from their bite. It is alfo alferted, that, 
to drive them away from the houfes, it is 
fufficient to bum there hartlhorn, the fraell - 
of which, it is faid, is to them iufupportable. 



CFIAPTER 



ORKECE AN© rtTRKEY, 257 



CHAPTER XXXIV; 

IJlcmd o/* Polican4ro.— i/?e^ Sikino- — Pa- 
nagia o/Tardioliffa. — ^^i;2rfo/^Siphanto.— ^ 
Its mines; its productions ; its inhabitants.— 
Goat. — Strongylo and Defpotico.— Antipa^ 
ros. *-^rotto of Autiparos. — IJland. ofV^ros. 
' — Its harbours jB — Road of Nauffa. — EJia^ 
blijhment of* the Ruffians in that road. 

If, from the Ifle of MiM>/you fail to the 
cfdllward, inclining a little towards the fouth, 
you foon meet with' the Iflatd of Poljcan- 
j>EO, which is diftant ftom it only feven or 
eight leagues. It formerly bore the name 
of Phoiegandros, and to this the poet Aea^ 
TVS added the epithet Jerrea, in order tid^ 
give, in a fingle word, the idea of its foil, 
rugged, llony, and, as it were, compofed 
of iron. The coail affords no harbour to 
ihips which approach it; its population is 
by no means numerous, and confined in a 
village enclofed by walls, and near which 
rifes very high a rock of a frightful afped. 
VOL. 11^ 5 The 



25B TKAVBIS til ^ « 

The vine, which grows there between the 
ftones, yields good wine; but agriculture 
finds few fpaces which are fuitable to it. In* 
a . few diflri^ corn ^nc^ cotton are cultivated, 
and with this latter commodity tolerably fine 
cloths are manufa3:ured. Gamp delights in. 
this rugged foil, and birds of paffage make 
it their principal rendezvous in their regular 
migrations. 

Further on is Sikiko, an ifland nearly of 
the fame fize is Policandko but of a foil 
lefe rugged and more fcrtife. The ancients 
called it Zikenos and Sycinus^ from Stkintjs, 
fon of a nymph and of Thoas king of Lem- 
:kos. It wasiilfo called CBm'ij the wineiflan<^ 
on account of the fertility of its vineyarct^ 
. and. the excellence of its grapes, lliere is 
no harbonr; the boats of the country iic^ 
at the lower part of the town, on a v&y 
narrow ^ayidy beach, on which their crews 
are obliged to draw them on fliore between 
tM''0 enormous mafRfs of rocks, perpendicular, 
and, as it were, fufpended above the waeta^s 
of the fea. The town or village, enclofed by 
walls like almoft all thofe of the fame coun- 
tries, is built on one of thefe ^ enotmous 
rocks, and the population, notwithftanding 
the goodnefe of the foil of the ifland, is 

there 



. CREECH Aro^TiritKEY. ^59 

there icarcely mom oonfidbrable than at Po- 
i^icANDito^ becaufti'the &me daufes or the 
fame vices of adminiilration pi*eyatl m tbi^ 
j>\ace, aisr vHell bs in the other iHands. 

fietwcen Sikino and Folic akdro id i 
ihoa), the remains of tlte lands by which 
they were nnited. A chapel dedicated .to 
the Virgin, whittei: the Greeks bring their 
offerings on the great feftivals of the year; 
is btiiBk on an iflet which iis inhabited only 
at the periods of thefe religious aflemblies; 
it is cabled Paiiiaou\ or Our Lady of Car- 

The ifland of Siphattto lies to the north 
of Aroedttiera, and very clofe to it. In 
former times it was flourifliing, under the 
name of AmTj^os; it i^as even reckoned the 
ncbeit of the Akchipblago, on account of 
the gcfld and filver mines which had there been 
difcovercd, and the tenth alone of which fur- 
ni&ed the temple of Apoli^o at Delphos 
witi the richeft treafure that, had been feen. 
Thde nlines diihonour the Siphuians, at the 
fame time that thfy enrich them; and as if 4 
tdog^reid: opnleace could not ex ift without 
corra|ytidli of ihorals and dup&city of cha^ 
M&er, ihk& TioBsDf depravity were-fo corn*- 
moil at'8vFHsros,> that they fervid throughout 
sS all 



z6o TKAVlLft iir . 

all Gr£EC£ as a term of comparifon^ when it 
was required to fiaint difcredited morals, or 
perfidy of conduft. 

At this day the treafures which the eartk 
conceals in its bofom, remain unknown ; they 
wait for wife and enlightened hands to be 
difcovered anew^^ and again become a iburce 
of riches to an ifland which figures at pre- 
fent, but with lefs nakednefs than many others^ 
in the pidurc of mifery common to all thofe 
countries^ . 

The mines of gold and filver are not the 
only ones of Siphanto; there are fome very 
abundant in lead^ iron, and loadAone. Ita 
mountains alfo contain quarries of very beau- 
tiful marble, and the ancients fpeak of a 
fpecies of very foft ftone, with which they 
made vafes which were conveyed throughout 
all Gr£EC£> and which are no longer knowa 
in our days; fo that the Ifland of Siphant^^ 
would ftill be the richeft of the Archipelagov 
if it ceafed to be fubjeft to a government 
which cruihes it with an iron hand. It is 
alfo one of the mod agreeable and moft cheer- 
ful; the air there is very pure and whole- 
ibme ; the plains are adorned with the variety 
of drefs which it owes to eafy labours, ani 
the excellent quality of their produ&iooa 



GREECE AJSiD TXTRKET. 261 

15 another precious favour of Nature. • Silk,' 
cotton, figs,< oil, wax, and a few ^ther com* 
modities of lefs importance, there compofe 
tlie crops and the trade; and it is eaiy to 
judge how much they might be iucreafed, 
cither by other kinds of culture, or by a 
greater abundance in the produce. The pre- 
fent induftry is fufficient to Ihew what it would 
become ia circumftances more propitious. 
Fine cotton-cloths, ftraw-hats, &c. are there 
manufaAured. 

The inhabitants of 5iphanto are mild 
and hofpitable ; the women are beautiful ; bu^ 
their drefs, which too much refembles that 
of their female neighbours of Argent ikra 
and MiLO, robs them of many of their 
charms. 

This iiland has no harbours, except for 
fmall veflels; the moft confiderable place, 
which is called SiRAiy is built on deep rocks, 
which leave below the town only a very fmall 
cove where boal^ caft anchor, becaufe if they 
were furprifed there by a northerly wind, 
they would foon be daihed to pieces on the 
coaft: thofe of the country are haftily drawA 
on ihore as foon as they are" unloaded. 

At Si PH AN TO there was a Greek phyfician; 
whofe knowledge confifted in a colkftion of 
• 3 recipes 



]:eciiies .iHiich he a^ied on evrery^occafion. 
His CQuiitrymeti had no great confidence in 
him ; and^ indeed, lie fpent moil of hia time 
in Vifiting the neighbouring iflands, and 
there feekiog patients more credulous: he 
was^ however, an unexceptionable man^ v^y 
obliging, and a great friend to the French. 
I law at his re6dence a goat of the beauti* 
ful race which is bred at Santorln; it Bved 
Dsmiiliarly in bis houfe, went every where 
without doing the fmalleft damage, and was , 
equally well fatisfied with bread, meat, fait 
fifli, &c. &c. but it was extremely delicate in 
point of cleanlinefs; if in eating it dropped 
any bit, it did not pick it up; and if one pre- 
fented it what it liked bed at the fame time 
holding it in one's mouth, it refufed to touch 
its favourite food, lliefe little fafts of which 
J was witnefs, and which are a proof of the 
inftinft.of cleanlinefs natuml to goat^ and 
of that which they require in a ftate of do- 
mefticity, are not altogether uninterefting 
to natural hillor}% and even to rural economy, 
becaufc they ferve to direft it in the manner 
♦)f rearing animals, the moft conformable to 
their habits, and confequently the moft pro* 
fitable. However,^ this goat belonging to the 
•phyficiaa of.SiFttANTo was extremely pro- 
t 5 ' dudive 



GREECE AND TURKEY. 263 

duftiye as well from the quantity of its miik, 
^ from the nmnber of its kids. 

On the fame direction as Siphanto, from 
weft to eaft are ranged the Iflands of Anu- 
BAnoSf Paros^ and Haxia, all three cele- 
brated, and ftill very remarkable. I do not 
{j^eak of thofe two iflets in front of the former 
of thefe iflands, and detached from them, and 
tlie fmalleft of which, as well as the moft ad- 
vanced towards the weft, bears the name of 
Strongyio, and the other that of Despotico, 
They are both uninhabited; yet they are not 
ufelefs, owing to the good anchorage which 
they afford to the largeft fhips, in the midft 
of the channel that feparates them from the 
Ifland of Antipabos. 

This latter ifland, which is narrow and long, 
in a direction from north-eaft to fouth-eaft, 
is the ancient OlyaroSj a colony of Sidonians. 
Its foil, which might be better cultivated, is 
tolerably fertile ; it is not even without agree- 
ablenefs; but the tint of wretchednefs, which 
there prevails, conceals thefe gifts of Na- 
ture, and no longer fuffers any thing to be 
perceived but accumulated ills, which th^ 
breath of an adminiftration^ friendly to human 
nature, would foon caufe to difappear. 

s 4 But 



264 ^ TRAVELS IH 

But what rendei^ Ant^paros one of the 
inoft famous iflands of the Archipelago 
afad even in the world, is the grotto which 
penetrates into its bofom to a great depth, 
and which, according to what is related of it 
by the Greeks, communicates beneath the wa- 
ters with fome neighbouring iflands; an abyfs 
vhofe windings have not yet been difcovered 
and vifited, and which oflFers a field to obfer- 
vation no lefs extenfive than curious- Tour- 
NEFORT ; has defcribed, with much exaft- 
nefs, the grotto of Antiparos. M. de 
Choiseul-Gouffier has given fome very 
beautiful drawint^s of it in his Voyage Pit* 
torefque de la Grece; and as I could only re- 
peat what has been faid of it by thofe two 
illuftrious travellers, I prefer referring the 
reader to their works than to copying them. 

The Ifland of Paros is feparated only by 
. a narrow channel from the more inconfider- 
able one of AntipaAo^, of which I have 
juft ipoken. Like all the other iflands of the 
Archipelago, Paros has borne feveral 
names, in antiquity: it wa3 called Minoa^ 
becaufe it was conquered by Mjnos, the re- 
nowned king of Crete ; before, it was called ' 
Pactia, and it has fince changed its name 
repeatedly, till it took and at lafl retained 

that 



GREECE ANP TURICET, ^6^: 

that of Paros^ from the naine of the foa 
of Jason, or of a certain Arcadian, fon of 
Parrhasius*. 

Though of little extent, the Ifland of Paros 
formerly prided itfelf on its power and riches. ' 
Per thefe it was indebted to the aftivity of 
its commerce and the culture of th^ arts ; ex- 
cellent harbours favoured navigatian and 
trade, as quarries of one of the moil beauti- 
ful marbles in the world had there infpired 
the tafte of the arts. This marble, of a daz- 
zling whitenefs, was almoit reckoned a pre- 
cious ftone in the eyes of the ancients; gold . 
was fre;quently deilined to accompany it, and 
the gods had lio temples, nor ftatues of a 
fubftance more cfteemed. In the fame place 
where Nature placed the fubftance the mod in 
requeft for the chifel of the fculptor, flie aifo', 
gave birth to the two moft celebrated artifts 
of antiquity, and who may be confidered 
as the geniufes to whom fculpture owed its 
luftre. Phidias and Puaxitiles were born 
at Paros. Their mafter-pieces, the orna- 
ment of Greece^ are at prefent loft, muti- 
lated, or buried under rubbifh, and thdr 
defcendants, whom mifery and flavery have 

* Plin. Hift* Nat« lib. iv. cap. xii. 

degraded. 



1^66 TRAYELSvIV 

degraded^ are no longer acquainted with atr 
art which conftituted the glory of their couni^ 
try, . 

The very quarries of this beautiful eiarblc 
are abandoiied and partly filled up. One 
can no longer defcend but with the greateft 
difficulty into fome of their galleries. If 
they were difencumbered of the ilones heaped 
Bp and the earth fallen in^ which obftru6k 
them, one might reach the cavities whence 
ilfued blocks which took admirable forms 
Ulider the chifel of tlic ancients, and whence, 
in all probability, will again ifiue thofe with 
which modem artifts will reprefent lieroes 
very much above the gods of antiquity. 

A fmall town called Parechia has re* 
placed the ancient city of Paros on the weft 
coaft of the ifland, facing Antiparos : i% 
prefents no idea of it, unlefs by the beautiful 
ruins which arc employed without referve 
as without tafle, in its confirudion. Similar 
fragments of magnificent monuments load, 
in a ufelefs manner, almoft all the territory 
j[)f the ifland; and, in thefe deferted re- 
mains, art would ftill difcover objefts wortliy 
of its admiration. Off Pa r e'c u i a, the fea 
forms a bight, and a harbour M^hofe entrance 
is difficulty on account o£ the Oioals by 
, which 



OREECE kV9 yVtKEY. ^Sj&f 

.\rhicfa it b obftru^ft^ on thie ^pofite coaft; 
'th^ harbour of Mab^maiu has not tlte feme 
inconvenieaces, but it is more opea« LoMser 
^own on the fame fide, Port TRtfo^ pro- 
.^tefled by tbree iflets, afforda to uavigatois 
a very coaveQient wateriog-place, and above 
MAHttARAy at the north-weft paint of die 
iOand, Port Santa Maria i$ alfo a good an- 
chorage. The coafts of Pa bos have alio 
Qther anchorages,' where ihips* niay find, 
temporary Ateltec againii the iriolence of eke 
wmds ; but the moft excellent of harboiin^ 
which will always make Paros an itbfid of 
•great importauce, is that of Nao^sa to the 
Borth-north-eaft. Placed in the middle df 
the ArchipelaOo, this harbour, not (b 
large a$ that of Milo,. ts» nevertheleft, more 
advantageous; fleets can lie there in iafety; 
and none is more favourable for an eflablilhr 
ment. The Roflians had chofen it for the 
depot of their forces, and the centre of their 
operations; they had erefted batteries to de- 
£pQd its entrance, conftruded fortificatibpSi 
and baiU magazines and other edifices, in 
order to make up for the few refources 
which they would have found in the ^ittle 
Tillage of Naussa. Though thefe works 
were made in our time, though in 1776, 

. M. PE 



268 TKAVELS IH 

M. DE Choiseul-Gouffier again vifited 
them and found them ilill entire, the empire 
of deftruftion has in fuch a manner efta- 
bliilied kfelf in thefe beautiful parts of the 
East, that they are at prefent quite rafed 
and demolifhed, and that if it were wiflied 
to make of the fine road of Naussa a naval 
and military efiablifhment, every thing there 
muft be re-conftrufted. 

However, this ftay of the Ruifians at Pa- 
»os has not produced there the eifeft that 
inight thence be expeded. Armed in ap- 
pearance for the piirpofe of reftoring to the 
Greeks their ancient liberty, they became 
their fcourge ; not that they had an intent 
tion of hurting a nation which it was their 
intereft to fpare, and to which they themi- 
felves bear much relJjmblance ; but they ap- 
peared accompanied by the frightful train 
of war, and it is well known that, at it? 
Hfpeft, every kind of liberty difappeaiv. 
Obliged, in foreign parts, to employ as 
auxiliaries undifcipiined men, Albanians^ e^* 
ercifed to roboery and exceffes, thefe very 
Huffians from whom the Greeks expecSled 
their emancipation, fhewed themfelves rather 
as enemies than as deliverers; the inhabi- 
tants of Pabos, worn out by the uioft cruel 
1 exacr 



exa^ionSy quitted their dwellings, and wera 
reduced to regret Muflulman defpotifm. Since 
that period, the ifland is almoil deferted^ 
and this people, who were opprefled under 
the pretext of a falfe liberty, are at prc- 
fent on their guard againft fimilar attempts, 
.and we could not, without infinite difficulty, 
fucceed in making them liften to promifes 
more certain, and ful>fcribe to offers more 
real. 



CHAPTER 



^fJ9 TR.AVSL5 IV; i 



CKAPtER XXXV. 

PUtn of a particular cemlnerce to be e/tapUjhed 

'in the JJlands ef the I^vaiit. — Dejcription 

of the ijland (^ Naxiaw — Accmcnt of the 

various articles of rnerchandife fit to be iti^ 

troduced into the trade of the Archipelago. 

i\T the moment when peace, haftened by 
., vidory, at length yielding to the wiflies of 
mankind, is on the point of fpreading its ; 
happy influence over countries long a prey 
to agitation and troubles; at the moment 
when its benefits, fo impatiently expeded, 
are going to reftorc life to commerce, and 
a peaceable courfe to the channels of general 
profpeiity ; the public mind, fatigued by the 
fudden undulations of anions and readions, 
and no longer having any uneafinefs to con- 
ceive rcfpefting the dangerous confequences 
of the intrigues of a few ambitious men, 
who have by turns difputed with each other 
the political fcene; is going to be dire6ied 
towards a laudable and ufeful al)jecl, and to 

he 



GREECS AN1> TTTItKBY. ^ft 

be' occupied with commercial undertakings 
and lJ>eculations5 which, being favourable to 
private intereft^ will turn at the fame time 
to tlie wealth and fplendour of the country; 
A war cruelly prolonged, but entirely ne^ 
in hiflory, had infulated Francs; all com* 
munication from without was prohibited, a& 
well as all fpecolatiou extinguiihed. At pre^ 
fent, the barrier is opened ; ti\e field of ufeful 
enterprifeis enlarged and becoming immenfe^ 
and every one will be able to take an a6liv^ 
part in that Ibrt of common ftock, where pro* 
perty will always be found by the fide of ac* 
live induftry. 

Among the efforts of commercial in<|uftrjv 
thofe whofe motives and objed ihall be to 
revive our rich Levant trade, muft be placed 
in Ae firft rank : but, independently of the 
general means of reiloring to this trade its 
ancient fplendour, there arc particular ones, 
improperly neglected before the revolution, 
and which are, neverthelefs, of great moment: 
I mean, an eftabliihment fit for the Iflands 
of the Levant. Whether tbefe iflands re- 
main in tlie hands of the Turks, or whether, 
trough a definable revolution; they pafs un>* 
der a government more mild and liberal, they 
will equally afifqrd great profits to thpfe who 

ihall 



tyt TRAVELS I« 

ihall make them the objeft of their fpcculs^- 
,tions. And the local knowledge which i have 
acquired, has fo fully convinced me of the 
importance, and at the fame time of the fa/» 
cility of fuch an undertaking, that^ I would 
not hefitate to contribute to it with all mj 
means, among which, befides a perfe'ft notion 
of the places, I will venture to reckon the 
intelligence which creates refources, the ex- 
perience which fuggefts them, the aftivity 
which multiplies them, and laftly, the pro- 
bity which applies them to common advan-» 
tage. 

We are not here fpeaking of. an eftahliflir 
ment too diftant, diflficult, or dangerous, nor 
of a commerce which requires privileges for 
itfelf, or fome exclufion for others. It is in 
the fortunate climate of Greece, in coun- 
tries fo favoured by Nature, that the bar- 
barifm of the people who have invaded them 
has not been able to efface their fmiling af- 
pe6t; nor to caufe all their charms to difep* 
pear: it is in the middle of a civilised, mild, 
induftrious nation, with Avhich Fbance has 
connexions free and quick ; it is in the Iflands 
of the Archipelago, in fliort, that it is 
propofed to eftabliih a traffic which requires 
no other prerogative, oa the part of the go- 
vernment 



V^Ml^eiit, AaaiM Attthwlly to form it( if, 

'HMad alone r^u^t *ttk' meet hWj^/ obftacles, 

-Aich - an' authority^ bechiiteineoeflny } nor any 

'9rti6#- pi^Ote^^ion thftn tUftt to which every 

'FiPefidi^hMin ib entitled, wilien 1» devotes him- 

ftlf^^A Ui^dertakiAgfl ;whidL muft turn to the 

jgfMewl dtdva^tage. It is^not that, confider- 

^ing it in tt^ point of view 4^8 oontrslfled, the 

■ Ooi^emment anight not perceive a mean of 

reviving the French trade to the Levant, 

-arfd of counter balancing that which the 

Edgllifli, at this, dsy our enemies, anjd al- 

iwaysHMir'xivik, cunedon.there^h.an ad- 

- vafilkge which haA evidently inoreaiisd within 

thefo^fe^r yeara.; »Unddr this afped, it would 

thave-'wcU-^founded cliim& to the encourage- 

-metlt which the State' owes to enterprifes that 

lb n^^ly concern its riches and glory. 

> » Thii< traffic is alfo of a nature ndther to 

caufb umbrage nor jealoufy, fince the tracers 

of Marseilles, who, under the old order 

of things, had nearly the exclufive privilege 

of the trade of the LigvANT, would not even 

have been able to complain of competition. 

In fad, with the exception of the lilands 

of Rhodes, Stancho, and Scio, in which 

there dill exifted fomo. trace of their ancient 

VOL. lu T commerce^ 



comttience, deiiotv«t4>y ^lArioeprAinfulr^M^^ 
merehai^ta^ ithtty* jhlUye abdi«iloiied lill ^Ib^Alb^ 
tflandliyMevdifc thaittflf MjTrtt^ȣi;.>^r4>tMr 
Aipi^ took/iB'tergDos of>oUveHoHr antff rtrhfenfle 
vtbe GdveqfiMneiitjatfd M^iftihirewi Jt9 9gfn(oiVf* 
waifds c£ tweaTtyt ^^earij. ago« 2 fbeiixtfA^" 
aAtiine die iilotirei'jSvbick;:^eti?mimcd ^li^irit- 
form of efiabliibmeiiti wbojEe wfeilit}^ Ua&^lo^ 
a^peai»ed i^. ontefljible. v Unrier^ the reii^af 
I^Dis X 1. . t/:<5, at iifo? peijod whettf*^ 
comtnf t': > ! . . ' tc enjoyed* its greiaitfO^ 
fplendour, "* c » ^* Ur ul^i.ofc the jA^^ 

Frenchi agent, whfii .v.. > r tn i^istumal 
;iiitereft^ and.. pointed ^ ^t u; : o^^ns tlu^ ar«* 
iltfcies froftiMT^hicHj Afeytnii-h' ,».:«•:/( ary 
beniEjfit in thde.&me iflands: bui..'. ' ^<* < wU* 
Talk, viee-otmfokf and. agentfcl Hy^fiiie^ iiH<^ '^- 
felves dealars; ^heirviews Anoi^poroiUiiikte) U 
caufe thq^ did; not go l^};oad (S^e iiitciltit of 
trade and ^ jnat^igatioii. All, or almoftijaB* 
have been irithdrawn; . and the conObls q€ 
.iivi' Lxvi^TST ZK become diplomatic a^mt^, 
.and tearly iHeleft io pouaCries where diplo- 
macy *« a fctence abfolutdy. unknown, and 
wbere people are quite ignohint of. itsrfbnns. 
Oa this 'fabje^ the rea^let may iiatiiUlt 
?«'iMrk-ieiitit3ed: 1< RcjriarquGi faf. timitjis 



putzcn Anx> TiriiKET. 975 

'^ Branches de Commerce et de Narigation/* 
8Vo. printed in 1758. But it will not be um 
feafdnable to indicate one of the caufes which 
may have contributed to render tbefe fame 
eftablifhments lefs profperous. 

The moft opulent traders^ who, before tho 
revolution^ fent their Ihips to our coloikies, 
had no other manner of getting rid of their 
cargoes than of forming, in the places where 
they toQched, ilorehoufes, in which the colo- 
nift found daily, and in whatever quantity he 
pleafed, the merchandife of Europe: he de- 
livered, in exchange, the fruits of his cul- 
ture. A little time was fufficient for th« fal« 
of the cargo arrived from Francb, and foe 
c6m{deting that of the return. This method;^ 
which appears the moft natural, feemed to 
be difdained m the markets of the Levant^ 
The houfesof MARssixtss difpatched thithei 
various goods to their employers in ^e difi 
ferent feaports. The latter fold them wholes 
fele to the dealers of the country, who, in 
their turn, alio fold to the French the articles 
which pafled into France. Turkifli, Greeks 
or Jew agents, arranged thefe reciprocal fales. 
The employer neither looked for nor faw his 
dealers, and he had no concern but with his 
cm/iU: the agent, or broker, is thus called i» 

T 2 the 



fj^ TRAVEL^ ill 

ihe Levant. The fales and purcliafes WefSrf 
frequently delayed; agood part of the profite 
Remained, both in the hands of the Levantine 
feller, and in thofe of the agent. Thefice 
fmall cargoes, returns of little importance, 
flow expeditions, frequent demurrage, and 
moderate fortunes *. A few veffels, come 
froiri Marseilles, and bound to Smyrna, 
for example, appeared to fail in ballaft, al- 
though they were fcarcely of fi^tty or eighty 
tons burden. It is admitted, that this method 
does not materially alFeft the aggregate of 
trade, and that the quantity of goods imported 
ind exported is ftill neavly the fame, although 
divided into an infinite kiumber of channels* 
Bat the fbrtune of individuals is improved 

^ The empbyers attached a faHe pride to this fort of 
foutine. We law at * • • a French man* who had thd 
^ood ieafe and courage not to follow the ftreanl> and who 
kad ima^ned that it was as hononrable to fell a piece of 
doth as to fell a whole bale: we faw him, 1 fay, experi* 
ence incredible vexation on the part of his countryiDen« 
and Aot be admitted into wkat they called the corfs it ia 
Mtiottt a pontpoltts title, which will appear extremely 
lidicoloas, when it (hall be known that this corps di Ul 
Mtuium was compofed of five or fix fadors. It is proper to 
obierve* that this very dealer is become the head of tint 
principal houfd of the feaport where he reiides ; an incon- ' 
' trovertible proof of the fticcefs attached to the operations 
which he had adopted* • «« * 

more 



GREECB AKD TURKET. tjj. 

wore difficultly; they are, a>nfeqaently, nofc 
enabled, whatever a6fcivity may, in other re^ 
fpe6ts, be attributed to theni, to make effectual 
efforts or attempts of any importance; and 
it cannot* be doubted that this fort of partial 
languor may have fome influence on general 
traific. It is with the fame turn of mind that 
the French trade was directed in the Archi- 
pelago. Nature, in dividing, in parcelling 
off, as it were, the foil of thefe countries into 
a multitude of portions, feemed to indicate 
the line to be followed. What is only lefs 
lucrative in the great fea-ports, became in- 
fupportable and ruinous in an ifland^ in whictji 
a cargo, even moderate, could not be fold 
wholefale; and this reafon alone would have 
been more than fufficient to induce the aban- 
donment of fimilar eftablifhments. 

With other principles, we are juftified in ex.- 
peding profits by no means copimon, by trad- 
ing in the Archipelago, and on fome of 
the neighbouring coafts, where no faftory 
exifisi The only queftion would be, to 
choofe fuch goods as are- there of certajg 
fale, and among which fome have been fold 
as high as fix hundred per cent profit, not 
to lofe opportunities of procuring cheap arti- 
cles in return^ and to neglect nothing for ex,- 
T 3 tending 



I7S TltAVBLS IN 

tending there our fpeculations. Our readers 
muft be fenfible that, without baniiliing ikies 
and purchafes by wholefale, when circum- 
ilance^ fliall h^ favourable, retail traffic would 
form the baiis of the undertaking/ becaufe, 
in fa6t, it is, in this fituation, not only moro 
pi'ofitable, but alfo more admiffible* 

It would be fuperfluous to enter into a mi^ 
fiiute detail of all the operations which are 
conne^ed with the execution, or which fpring; 
from it; but it will be fufficient to give 
(bme development to the principal difpofitions 
which are to dire& die undertaking, and 
infure its fuccefs. 

The choice of the Uland is one of the 
inoft important points. In order that every 
advantage might be found united, it would 
be n^ceifary that this ifland, fituated in the 
tsentre of the Archipelago, ihould join to a 
numeroiia population the comfort of its ia- 
habitants; that its ports fhould be alike fre* 
quented by European ihips, and by the froall 
craft of the country; that, in fhort, the 
Q;ate and difiribution of its territory ihould 
•.flford facilities for forming an efiabliihment. 
No ifland, hi particular, poffefles at once all 
thcfe elements of profperity; but their in- 
tercourse with ^ch other lindens them^ in 

a manner 



a ntatitier, c^vAon tD alL f The laSr^ltlafld 
•o£{ Set o i feeftta,' aO£rft »figbt, : ttk^CDnimami tlie 
|)rdiliiencec d totrnvArdl'^buift^axiul ftami^ing; 
tbe: urbanity of its inl^b^mts^i'manufkdtoiries 
of velvet ?rttfl ' otter filk ftiifi^.' a 4iarboiir 
jntb which 'etiurs .k/<T^ plains 

^covered with viliagesi and jembelitihetl "by 
tYievi <;ulture and ferdlity/ the filk^^^i^:^ 
litmey,' maftic^> turpentine, wtii^, and iVtiH^s 
^hich they prodttce-r-every thing^ appears tb 
-make thefcaletum in favour of Scio. ' Bttt 
this ifland'is fituated too far to tbe^north* 
^ward ; its vicitiity to Smyrwa would^re^ider 
trade lefs advpintafgdods: befides^ t^^pofitioti 
of its tdwn, at- no 'great diftance^frotoi thb 
principal cities of the Ottoman empire, the 
fedition,' infurredioni, and political cofn- 
motions of which ar6 felt, on a radius fome- 
what prolonged ; its diforderly garrifon of 
janizaries and marines; the Turki who refide 
there, and pafs there, are fo mjiny bivcum- 
ftances which fometimes expoft its tranquillity* 
.If we caft our eyes on.thefouthern part of 
the CvcLAi^Es, wedifcover s). vaft «oad, the 
ordinary anchorage of (hips> whicli mavigaite 
inthefefeas: it is formed by the* lilands of 
MiLo, AR6KNTt£RA,and PoLfv^G, theJBc7Rvr 
Island of the Europeans. There it is that 
T 4 intercourfe 



fiSp . V ' TEAVSXft HI .; h ;: r 

Anterboiitrih with France would be the mbft 
;fi!e(]^cnt:; • butrtha air of .Mii-o is £> uur 
i^b<4efome, thatjt is'daiu^eroiis to make tbevt 
i^y fteyi. :The temperature of ARGENTiEiiA 
^..fi|lul>rjou»^\but the oaly village^ (landing 
^bere i» -fo eineumfcribed, the houfes which 
*/K>nlpofe; it are ib; n^ean^ that one would 
Jbt9v€ foisQe difficulty, in finding a convenient 
^ging. . Potivo is uninhabited. On the 
(0ther haod^ thefe three illands are at too great 
jadiftance from; the centre of the AkchIpb- 
4iAOO, .which it is important to ocfcupy. 
•I It i$, therefore, nearly in the middle of 
ithis group of iflands that it ia proper to (lop, 
and ev^ry confideration umtes in favour 
of Naxia, formerly Nazos. -It h the largeft 
-of the Cyc IAD ts, and its fertility, ftill m^ore 
than its extent, has occafioned it to be called 
.the QuB^ff. / It was formerly a powerful re- 
public.: The fame fpirit of liberty which 
reigned among their anceilors, has been 
j^rop^gated to! the. modern Greeks: ^enflaved 
under the brazen yoke of MuiTulman defpo^ 
jtifin, thiey have found means to preferve, at 
Jeaft, the forms of a free ftate. They are go- 
iverned by magiftrates chofen from among 
tliemfelVes; no Turk there eft Jiblillies hisdci- 
:mination, and* this is not one of the fmaltejfl 

allurements 



CHEEOE AND rVRKEr. &8t 

^llui^meiits of N^xiA. It ia^.m a word, 
the inod agreeable, and at the fame time the 
paoil tranqiiU ifland of the AaqHiP£LAOo« 
Berfecutions a^e there more rare; and, what 
^oes not ' commonly happen either Jn other 
ifland^ every one there enjoys his fortune la 
tolerable tranquillity. The ancients, on acr 
count of the fecundity of its territory^ com- 
pared it to Sicily; and, when they ipoke 
of the delicious wine which it produced, 
they aflimilated it to the neflar of the gods. 
Limpid waters traverfe it in every direftion, 
and roll into its plains coolnefs and abua- 
•dance. Thofe trees which are to us delicate 
articles of expenfe and luxury, fuch as the 
orange-tree, the lemon-tree, the pomegranate- 
tree, there grow without culture ; their 
flowers perfunde the pure air that is breatheyd, 
and their fruits acquire an exquiiite flavour. 
Olive-trees, mulberry-trees, fig-trees, planted 
here and there, add to the varied produ6tions 
of the earth, diveriify the fites, and embellifh 
the landfcapes. Other trees of every fiz^ 
whofe verdure never fades, there fpi-m natural 
groves and agreeable fhades. Vines, wUch 
ftill yield an excellent wine, recall to mind 
that Naxia was formerly confecrated to Bag. 
-CQUS. Confiderable flocks of flieep brouz^ 

Oft 



ZSZ TRAVELS IK 

on the odoriferous plants which clothe the 
<{ecltvity of ^he mountains; hares and red 
partridges^ by procuring the amufement 6f 
Ihooting, augment the refources of the table; 
eft is in great plenty; and provifions of every 
fort are at a very low price. The Jefuits^ 
irho knew fo well how to choofe their refi- 
dence, had given the preference to this ifiand 
of the Archipelago : they there poffefled 
a houfe in the town, and one more handfome 
in the country ; and this circumftance, in the 
eyes of whoever was acquainted with the 
turn of mind of thofe ancient monks, who 
difcerned, with fo much fagacity, the beft 
'points of the countries where they ibcceeded 
in extending their cololftil onler; this cir- 
cumftance, I fay, would convey a good idek 
of Naxia. 

The principal inhabitants, fhe remains 6f 
thofe ancient families of France, Spaii/, 
and Italy, which had eftabliflied themfelves 
in different parts of Greece, at the time rif 
the conquefts of the princes of the West, 
have there preferved the urbanity and nobfe 
and generous manners of their origin ; aiid 
one is aftoniflied to find again, in thofe 
•Greeks of recent -date^ affability and politte- 
nefs, the fruits of a careful education. Tlife 
S women 



GEEBCE AND TVIKET. aSj 

iromen, full of charms^ are affq full of amir 
able qualities. There was one whofe beauty, 
£imou8 at the period of my travels, would 
have been equally (b in all times and in all 
' places. 

Although Naxia has no ports fit for the 
reception of veflelsof a certain fize, its coails, 
©everthelefs, afford tolerably good places of 
Shelter againfl contrary winds; and thefmall 
craft of the Archipelago are continually 
putting into feveral of its coves. On tlie 
other hand, the principal town, which alio 
bears the name of Naxia^ and off which 
veflels may cafl anchor in a roadftead, is at a 
very fmall diilance from the much-frequented 
harbours of the eaflem fide of the Ifland of 
ParoIs, and in particular of the capital road 
of Naussa, of which I have fpoken in the . 
preceding article. To the fouth of Naxia, 
another road which is cMed the road of the 
Salterns, or Port StJtojfoiozh may alfo receive 
ihipping in the fummen In fhort, the fitua^ 
tiott of the Ifland of Naxia, its population, 
its fertility, and its charms, form an afTem* 
blage of inappreciable advantages which 
would with difficulty be met with elfewhere. 

It would be an eafy matter to procure there 
the uecefTary lodgings and places; and^ whe« 

ther 



J 



tber purebred or hir^, they might ,be had 
equally cbeafi. A Aorehoufe would contain 
the ajrticles, the fale of which would be the 
inoft rapid and moft lucrative* The pur« 
chafers might be left at liberty to pay either 
in money, or, what would be better, in the 
produAions of the country, which the 
iflanders would part whh at a moderate 
price, in order to provide themfelves with 
our mercliandife we ihould, befnles, . be en<? 
abjed to take advantage of every eircum* 
fiance for purchafing, as cheaply as poflible^ 
the territorial produ6lions which barter might 
not fumiHi. This double operation would 
alfo double the profits. 

The commodities which the Ifland of Nax 14 
Jtfelf would furniib, are wine, coru, cotton^ 
£ik, oil, fruit, fait, emery, &c. It is aflerted 
that, befides quarries of very beautiful mar- 
ble, it contains mines more rich in gold 
and filver. It would not be to that only 
that the arrangements would be. confined; 
this would, in fome meafure, be no more than 
the acceffory, or rather the motive; and in- 
duflry would have other means of e:^teHding 
itfelf in a fuitable manner, 

K It has been faid that the fm^l Q*aft of 
the Archipelago and pfthecoafts of Grebc3[^ 

frequently 



fireqiiently put into Naxia; the eftabliihment 
would not fail to attrafb thither a greater 
ijumber. Tiiefe boats are conduftcd by trad- 
ing Greeks, and they would take at the ftore* 
houfe parcels of goods in order to convey 
them for fale into the other ifland^^ and to 
the neighbouring coafts of Asia and Eu rope. 
Obliged at prefent to make theit purchafes at 
Smyrna, Salonica, and in the other fac- 
tories, where they buy from the fecond, and 
frequently from the third hand, they would 
ifind it more to their advantage to provide 
themfelves at Naxia; on the one hand, 
economy in *the purchafes; and on the other, 
a faving In the duration, the expenfes and 
the dangers of the voyage. An important 
remark, which is of a nature to intereft the 
commercial men of France, and confe- 
quently her government, is that the Greek 
merchants in the large fea-ports, preferred 
taking off Eagliih and Venetian goods which 
were become cheaper than ours, and, I mud 
add, of a fuperior quality; for, to fpeak 
only of the woollen-cloths, there had, within 
thefe few years, been introduced fo blame^ 
able a negligence and parfimony in the 
tnanuiaduring of thofe intended forthe Lf> 

VANT 



lS6 TRAVBtS tK 

▼ANT trade, that they were difdained by the 
Onentals. 

9. It would be very ufeful to have one and 
cven^feveral caiques, for the carrying-trade 
from ifland to iflapd, and from the latter to 
the adjacent coa(l»; they would colled; in the 
emporium the commodities which thofe iflands 
and thofe coafts fumifii, and they would 
carry thither French merchandife. Theftf 
little veffels belonging to Frenchmen, would 
be refpeded by the Maltefe privateers, and 
by thofe of other nations, which have adopted 
the ilrange and impolitic fyfiem of a perpe* 
tual war with the MuiTulmans. They would 
afibrda fafe pafiage and inviolable prote&ion 
to the Turks and Greeks, who would hafiea 
to freight them in order to trade ia fead 
where they run great rifks, at the fame time 
that they pay exorbitant duties of freight 
and commiflion. Soch an uninterrupted 
carrying-trade would yield a great return] 
and if, in the fequel, it were wiflied to giv# 
it greater increafe, it would be proper to 
purchafe a Bermudian floop> of the burden 
of fifty or fixty tons. This floop might aJfo 
he made ufe of for voyages to Fbakcb; in 
that cafe^^ ihe would not only fave, but a^lib 
gain, freight. This is the fort of vetfel 

which 



GREECE AND TUHKEY. 287 

whi^ lies nearer to the wind^ yirhich fii\f^ 
die bed cJofe-|j?iu}ed^ and which, is tbe mol^ - 
f^nickly mansigefi Although prf ferabl^ to 
Jtarta^s, the Berm^^i^i^ ^o^P i&iQot in ufe in 
the MfiDiTERRANEAN; jet her qualkij» 
insJte her well oa)culated for the .navigs^ion 
of a fea interfe6led by a multitude pf landsi, 
ietveen which veffels are frequently obliged 
tp ply in narrow channels. 

5, We iliould not confine ourfelves to pur- 
cliaiing^ or receiving in exchange, the articles 
which enter into the trade ufed in the Le- 
vant; but weihould alfo take off com and 
wine^ in the places and at the periods when 
tiiey are in, the greateil plenty. With the 
com, we ihoiild make bifcuit, with which, s^ 
well as with wine^ we ihould fupply the vefiels 
which frequent the feas of Tui^&j&Ty apd 
which would prefer drawing their provifions 
from the (lorehoufe . than from the fea-por^ 
towns, where all commodities are kept up at 
-a high price. We may judge bow intereft- 
lug this article is^ when we ihall recoUea 
that, before the war, there were no lef^ than 
five hundred French vdTels engaged ii^ the 
canying-trade, in the part of the Mediteh^ 
Aanpan which bathes the Ottoman potre^- 
r«>ns. I have faid that thefe veflels left 

FUANCE 



afeB TfeAVELS Id 

France in ballail, and that they failfed tdt 
three years, in the fervice and at the ex^ 
penfe of the Levantines, who, for fear of' 
privateers, durft not make ufe of their own 
veffels. Peace will reftore to the French car- 
rying-trade its former aftivity. Upwards of 
three hilndred veffels, Venetians, Ragufan^ 
Neapolitans, &c. there alfo exercifed this foil; 
of carrying-trade, in competition with the 
FVench, without reckoning the iliips of all 
nations employed in regular voyages,- that is, 
direft from Europe to one of the fea-ports 
in the Levant. The viftualling of the (hips 
"Would not form the only confumption of bif- 
cuit; there are iflands in the Archipelago 
which cannot fupport their inhabitants, either 
on account of the aridity of their foil, tfr 
from the weaknefs of their population,, or be- 
caufe the iflanders, given up to fifliing dr 
navigation, do not employ themfelves in tlie 
culture of their lands; or in ihort, becaufe def- 
potifm, by enchaining induftry, there extin* 
guiihes even forefight, that ordinary com- 
panion of the love of exiftence. During the 
winter, a period when navigation is be- 
numbed, fifhing fufpended, and want more 
perceptible, boats, loaded with bifcuif^ would 

be 



GREeCe AND TtflkKBY. 289 

be received in thofe iflands, with- eagdrnefi, 
and their cargoes^ purchafed with avidity. 

4. The progrefs and faccefebf the under- 
taking depeild^ in a.greit mriafure, on cele- 
brity 4n the carrying-tFade; boats which 
Vould never remain in inaftion, Would bb 
Tometimes employed in bringing to the ftore^ 
. houfe, wood which the crews would cut on 
the coafts^ where frequently the fineft trees 
coft only the trouble of felling them ; of thoft 
'we would fafliion fliip-timber equally in re- 
queft by the Levantines and by the fliips of 
EuRttPE. We ihould even derive a profit 
from it, by fending it to France. 
^ This fummary, although greatly abrrdged, 
^ws Tufficietitly how many, means we fhould 
have of enlarging the commerce of the Ar* 
(IHIPELAGO; they would be .increafed on 
the fpot by a crowd of circumftances whicH 
frould rapidly lucceed eiach other, arid, efpect- 
stUy, as I have already faid, lly - local know*^ 
ledge, enlightened attention, and induftrious^ 
aftivity; - •- ' -••* 

The goods for importation from the Arc hi- 
FELAGo areof two forts; thofe which arecbm^ 
^non to all the Leva 51 t, .as, w^ty, oil,, ibot^ 
filk, wool, cotton, hair, goat's hair, ox'^hiddy 
and liorns, cow's hair, drugs, raifins, and figs, 

VOL. If. u coffee. 



d^ - tRAVStS IK . , ' J 

coffee, 8cc. &c ; and thofe which are peculiar 
to the iflands^ are maftic, turpentine, jafinia 
pomatum, fiufiB and purfes of Scio (ilk, ^mi-- 
ties* and Jbamitte^ /of Saktokin, ParoSp 
&c; (lockings andcapsof Argi&ntieba cot- 
ton, Tmo knit fUk (lockings, native Mxlo 
alum and fulphur, mill-ftones from th^ iame 
ifland, wines of Samos, Santo ami, Teke- 
x>08,ScoPOLi, NAxiA,andCAKi)iA; Naxia 
and Paros marbles, carnelions, f^iflfroOj 
ipongea, arclpttl, Cimolean earth, coloquin-* 
tida, cyprefs guttt and cones^ filtering-^dones, 
gall-nuts, marum, ortoktns in barrels, cuttle* 
fifh bones, &c. &c. 

The articles for expoirt^ipn fhovld be very 
dUverfifie4« It is important always to have a 
Cpmplete affortmeijkt of them, and to prc^ 
porti^on the quantity of each of tlie adticles^ 
to the confumption and tafteof the people fov 
Vhom they are intended. The following i» 
an acoount of them, in which I have adapted 
alphabetical order^ as the moft convenient 
and I hav^ there diflinguiihed the moie of 



* J)xW/jr is a cotton cloth crofled, finer, ftronger, and 
iliott in reqaeft than tiie fittmtti, another fort of plainr 



)(^s gireat coniUinption of the variotis ar- 
ticles.* 



LIST 

Of the£ferent articka if merchandi^ which 
,. enter into the trade oftheAt^amLAOOi 

Barrac2lti 

feeef-falt , 

Beer 

Blonded 

Bottles (glafs) 

Bracielets 

Brocades (flight) > 

ButtoM, afmail qudniity. . ^ 

Bougie (fpun) 

r 

^ This addount^ which I had jpaBIiiheii U 1797, Sni 
addrefled officially! by the miniftcr of the intetiof« to all 
the departinental adxniiiiftratieiis« at the epoch of tiie csp^' 
tare of the Venetian Iflands, and the Ifle of Cmgehy the 
French armies^ in order to dired> in a certain manaefrj the 
fpecttlations towards the commerce of theft fame iflands* 
This adoption of my Tiews> on the part of the ^ovem^ 
ment> mllftj nndbubtedly, do m^ honour » but no one him 
known that they were mine» and I take the liberty of malt- 
ing this obfervation, only to fecare myfelf hom the fu£> 
picion of plagiarifm towards the miniftcr of the interior 
<>fthattimt« ' 

V « Oidis, 



Zga> TftAVElS m 

Cadis, a fort of ierge . ' 
Calmande 
Cambric . , 

Candles (wax) for the table, ajmall quantity. 
"Caps (worded) redaud others 
Cards (playing) a few new, more old ones. 
Chali, a fort of twilled ferge 
ChHels for ftone-cutters, marblc-cutteri, 

joiners, ironmongers, &c. 
* Cloth (gold and filver) out of fafliion^ and in 

remnants only. 
Cloth (hempen) common and Dutch 
Cloth (&il) 
Cloths (woollen) 
Combs 
Cords 
Corks for dame-jeaulies and bottles, a great 

many. 
Crape (3wi&) 
Crockery 
Damaiflc^ 

Dame-jeannes covered^ with draw* 
Damafquette (Venice) 
Orugget 

Prugs (compounded) 
Ferret 

Rowers (Italian) 

Fullain \- * 

,.•:/> iJ : . Ganze 



GREECE AND TURKEY* . ipj 

Gauze 

Glaffes for mirrors - 

Glafs-ware '"' 

Grogramme^ 

Gunpowder 

Hams 

Handkerchiefs (pocket) 

Hangings 

Hardware 

Hats 

Herrings - ' 

Iron 

Kitchen utenfils 

Lace (naiTow French thread) black and whitfe, 

of little value, 
I^ce (net) gold and filver, more falfe than 

genuine, 
Lace (gold and iilver) of all breadths, and of 

the moft fliowy patterns* 
Lead , 

Legumes 

Linon or French lawn 
Mohair 
Mulkets 
Nails 
Necklaces 

Keedles, a great many. 
Nutmegs 
*• ' u » P&ckthread 



X9i^ TRAY»tl in 

Packthread 

Paper 

■ ■ . ' painted 

Parchment, a /i«fc. ^ ^ 

Pafteboard 

Pearls 

Pins 

^iftjOls 

Planks \ 

Prunes 

Ribands (filk) of all forts, and efpecially t^^ 

. handfomei):, a great nuiny. 

Rings 

Salmoa 

Sardines 

Sattins 

Sciifars ' * 

Serge 

Sergettc 

Ship-timber 

Shoes (embroidered, for women) 

Spirit of wine 

Steel 

Stockings (thread) a great many, ajewptfin 

offilk- 
Stuffs of all forts, befides thofe m^ntion^ in 

, this lift, and to cboof(^ sjynong th^ wA 

Jhouyi bjf nay of trial. 

Sugar 



GUBECl AVO TURKST» 99 j 

Sugar 

in powder 

Sugarcandy 

TafTety 

Tea 

Thimbles for fowing 

Thread 

Thonine , 

Treacle 

Watches (large) fome with Turkiih dial*plate9 

^ and charaders. 

Wax-candles 

Wax-tapers in rolls 

WircCbrtfs) 

• • iron 

Velvet (coloured filk) 
Velvet (cottop) 

N. B. It is not poffible to fix the Aims that 
would be required for the eftablifhtnent of 
which I have juft treated: the more or left 
importance that we ihould propofe to give it 
would regulate the amount. We might begin 
9X afmall expenfe, aud imprefs on it by de^^ 
grees the movement £t for iufuring it tlie 
gre^teft profits. 



u 4 CHAPTER 



S9^ TRAVStS III 



CHAPTER XXXVL 

IJland of Stenofa. — IJIand of Patmos. — lu 
corvcent.—Its harbours. — Its population.'-^ 
Small yiands near Patmos. —IJlc o/'Samos. — , 
Itsfertiliiy. — Its wines. — Jts portion. — 
Fournis IJlands. — IJland of^\czx\^ — IJland^ 
ofMycom.-^Its harbours.r^Its inJiabitantA. 
— Its refources. — Drefs of the women. — ^ 
Trago-nifi. — Stapodia.— 7//t; of Delos. — 
What it was formerly. — What it is in our 
days. -*- IJland of Khene. — Rematiari. — 5 
IJland of Y\\\o. — Its nature. — ItsJilkJiocJc^ 
iflgs.--7WomenqfTiNa. 

^EAR the Ifland of Naxia, towards the eaft> 
lies that pf Stenosa, or Narrow Island, 
vhich i$9 ip fad, very fmall and uninhabited. 
. Farther on, to the north-north-eaft, the 
Ifland of Pa,tmo$, "Whofe name ha$ been 
disfigured by our navigators into thi^t <^ 
Saint Jean de Fating, exhibits its arid rocks 
and numa'ous capesi. Jt is celebrated in 
^' ; ■ ■ ' ^ J ; ecclefiaftical 



GREECE- AMD TTTltKEY. 4^J 

^cclefiaftical hiftory, • from the exile of St* 
John, and HUl more from the vifious an4 
revelations which he there received, and 
which ferved him for compofing the Apoca« 
lypfe. Somd Caloyers, inhabitants of a vaft 
monaftery huilt on an eminence, and which^ 
at the firft view, one would be tempted to 
take for a fortrefs, true difciples of ftupid ig- 
norance, ftill fliew the git)tto where the faint 
wrote his myfterious book, and even the hole 
in the wall through which he received the 
infpifation of the Holy Ghoft 

There is no library in this convent; and 
of what utility would it be, among people 
who, for the mod part, cannot read? Out 
of eighty monks who . refide there, s M. de 
Choiseul-Gouffier found only three who 
knew how to read, but who made little nfe 
of that knowledge *• It is, neverthelefs, this 
haunt of brutality and ignorance, where the 
alphabet is fcarcely known, which has been 
reprefented i;^cently as a place famous for its 
fchools of liter^turef. 

The Ifland of Patmos is little more than 
fix leagues in circuit;, confiderably longer 

^ ^VH^ Pittorefqui dt la Grkcit torn. i« page 103. 

^ Magafin Enc^Uptdiqui^ 4th year. No. xxiii. page 295* 

thaa 



t^9 * TRAVELS IH. 

tlian broad, its direAion is from nort^ to 
loath ; its form is very irregular. Its coafts are 
divtd^ by a multitude qf gulfs and coves, md 
are remarkable for tbe nuipber of good bar* 
bouTS which they prefent to navigators^ ami 
among which that of Scal a is one of the fineft 
in tht Arcbipelago. Whatever advantages 
aiay be derived from its harbours by a country 
whofe pofition marks it out for a place of 
trade, wretchedneis l^as not, on that account^ 
the leis.gc^ poflbflion of Pathos. YaUies 
which mi^ht infure abundance, are uncol^ 
tivated, and from their ftate of abandonment 
and nakedneiss o^er, with the hills by which 
they are furrounded, <H)ly the fame afBiding 
tint of ruggednefs and misfortune* Popular 
tion, which follows the chances of agricul* 
ture. and induftry, is there fingularly dimi-« 
niflied ; and, while the monafteries fw^nn with 
fiuggards, the fields become deferts. Ii| the 
fiimmer, few men remain here ; tfa^y almoft 
all go and feek far off means of fubfifience,^ 
or carry on with their csuques, a traffic which 
feeds, but does not enrich them* 'J he women 
remain intrufled with domeilic cares, and 
to make the mofl of a few pieces of land, 
during the abfence of their fathers or huf- 
bands; and this timid tribe hide and ihut 

themfclves 



Hiemfelves up, whpn they fee ftrangers land . 
In their ifland* 

Several: fmall iflandtt ^ are fituated to the 
eaft of Patmos, in the great bight of the fea, 
between the Iflands of Stancho and Samoa. 
Thefe iflands are Nacrj^ Lypso, Joatho-nisi^ - 
and JFERBfAco, they are all nearly uninhabited. 
To the north of them lies an ifland more iu- 
mous and more important, that of Samos of 
Ion-ia; for the ancients had impofed thb 
iame name of Samos on three different 
iflands; the one fituated near ThracEp 
whence it had taken the denomination of 
flAMos OF Thhach, or, in a fingle vord, Sa- 
^OTHBACEy at prefent Sauandracmi; the 
fecond, which the Greeks called Samos ts» 
fiTEEP, at prefent Cephalonia; laftly, the 
third, lying very near the coall of Iokia^ 
and of which I aA now fpeaking* Some ^ 
aflert that the name of Samos^ which has re* 
placed feveral other names that this ifland 
had before, was given to it from a hero who 
was born there : others affirm that the Greeks, 
fcalling all elevated places Samos^ had, under 
^his denomination, defignated an ifland which^ 
)n fa^ prefents confiderable eminences. 

It was formerly confecrated to Juno who 
there received life, on the banks of thfe' 
3 river 



goo TRAVELS IV 

river Iubrasus, and under the ihade (>f 
an (tgnus cajius, or chafte tree, a ihrub com- 
iDon in Samos, as well sts in the other iflands 
of the Archipelago. A magnificeiit temple 
had been er63;ed in honour of the goddefs: 
at this day, a few remains of it are fcarcely to 
be' found; it is annihilated, as well as the 
ancient fplendour of the ifland. Samos was 
alfo the cradle' of Pythagoras, of the poet 
Cherilus, of the mathematician Conobt, 
cotemporaiy of Archimedes, of Timan- 
THUS, one of tlie mod famous painters of 
ancient Greece; and it was^in the fame 
ifland that Herodotus, flying from tyranny^ * 
ibaght an afylum, and compofed in a fweet 
retreat the firft books of his hiftory. 
. For a long time paft we cannot quote any 
celebrated perfonage bom at Samos. It is 
not under the reign of heavy tyranny that 
genius and talents profper, and flaves can be- 
come great men. But the Sp^mians diftinguifh 
themfelves by amiable qualities; they are the 
mildeft and moft witty of the Greeks. Their 
xx>UQtry ftill pofleiTes every thing required to 
become flouriihing: very good harbours, the 
bdl of which is that of Vathj^ a pofition very 
advantageous for trade, a fertile foil, a whole- 
fome climate, a pure air, a^nd abundant waters. 

' .- What 



GRESCE AHI> rtTRKEY. ^6l 

What fources of riches aild happittefi, if im- ' , 
pure hands had not dried theni up by an ad- . 
miniftration which ieems to have been en- , 
gendered by the genius of deAruAion ! 

The produdions of Samos are Che fame as 
thofe of the moft favoured iflands; they, 
might acquire greater abundance and variety, 
if the inhabitants durft give themfelves^up 
to labours, which, in a ftate well organized, 
would be animated by encouragement. 'The 
ancients admired the brilliant fertility of this 
ifland; it was an objefl; of envy in' the eyes 
of feveral nations, which rei)eatedly attempt- 
ed to make themfelves mailers of it. To 
convey an idea of thb abundance, it was com** 
xnonly faid that at Samos hens even gave 
milk. But what is lingular, is that the ^,n^ 
cients there found every thing excellent^ 
except the wine*; while it makes, at pre* 
fent, and defervedly too, one of the^ bell 
revenues of the illand; and its mufcadine 
wines would, with greater precautions, and 
if they were kept, attain the quality of that 
of Cyprus, fo efteemed among us. During 
my abode in the Archipelago, I faw fe^ 

* Exjwnd infebx ijt cum c^ter^ drcitmvicina *viM opitmt 
shmdeni^ StrabOi rcrum geogntph. lib. xiv. 

veral 



J62 tftAVxiii ijr 

veral large ihips from the Korthi and pitf^ 
ticularly. Swedtfs, take in at Samos cargoed 
of winesi in order to convey them into their 
country, and I always have been fulprifed 
fhat they have not been more in vogue in 
France. 

The Ifland of Samos is about ten leagues 
in length, and nearly the half in its greateft 
breadth; but this extent in length exifls only 
in a fingle point, on account of a narrow 
cape, firetching very far towards the fouth, 
which is called Cape CotoUmy and a few frag^ 
xifients of which have been feparated by the 
feai thefe are called Samo-povlo or Littlh 
Samos. Grbat Samos is it&lf but a^ fr^^* 
ipent more confiderable, detached from th« 
continent, from which it is feparated only by 
a channel that is fcarcely half a league in 
width. Navigators are acquainted with thid 
little (Irait under the name of Little Bogaz; 
|he great Bogaas of Samos^ which is nearly 
tu'o leagues in breadth^ lies to the weft, be^^ 
tween that ifland and the fmali FoijRSis 
Iflands, called thus, 'becaufe, at a diftance, 
they have the figure of roofs of ovens: they 
were anciently called Corseje J'nsulje. This! 
ii^ a paflage mu£h. frequented by Ihips fait'- 

ing' 



GREECE AN0 tURKBTi ' JOJ 

ing from CoKsxANxtNOPLE to Stria and 
EaiTPT, and they there find good anchorages. 
Near thefe iflets^ to the weft, is the Ifland 
efNicARiA^ anciently /ciiRJ^ on account of 
the fon of Dxdalus, who fell there in the 
midft of his rafli flight, whence the fea which 
furrounds it alfo took the name, of Icarian 
Sea. The ifland is not confiderable; its 
length greatly exceeds its breadth; it is dif- 
coverable at a very great di (lance; but navi- 
gators 4o not endeavour to land there, be- 
cauib it has no harbours. A fcanty popula^ 
tioD, want pf energy, a foil too ungrateful iu 
feveral diftri£b, general difcouragement whicb 
the government imprefles throughout the ex^ 
teat of its domination, are little calquUte4 
to repair the difadyantage of an ifland v^kh 
is deprived of places of fhelter for ihipping« 
and confequently of great means of trade ir 
(b that ISficARiA may be reckoned amon^ 
Mi^ moft wret^hod iflands of the Arghipe^ 

X.AGO. ^ , 

Tbi$ is not tlie cafe with Mtgoni, fitut^ 
ated ajt fome diftance fromNicARiA, towards 
the weft A harbour known by the name 
of ToyRLQK, on the wefl fide of the ifl4nd| 
is an anchorage frequented by fliips failing 
through ttie Archipelago, in order to re-, 

pair 



Jta|. TRAVELS in 

Jjair to Smyrna and the north of^ TuBkiiyt 
they are there in fafety againft tlie wind^ 
from the nw th, north-eaft^ fouth^ and fouth- 
caft; but the others blow right in there^ and 
taifp a heavy fea. When navigators feek d 
fiielter againft thefe fame wiijds, they find 
it off the fmall town or village of Myconi; 
but they are there buffeted by thofe which 
cannot penetrate into the anchorage of 

TOURLOX. t 

The Greeks of Myconi are grelt niviga-* 

tors; they traverfe ,the fea that furtounds 

them with their boats, among which theref 

are fome rather large. Addifted to maritime^ 

trade^ they neglefl the culture of their lands, 

ftom which they might, neverthelefe, deriv^ 

confiderable advantage. All the produd;ibn£; 

which they yield in too finall a quantitj^ for 

want of culture, are of a very good quality ; 

wine and fruits ire there excellent : but 

though wine is almoft the only article of 

commerce of the Myconites> they mix it witif 

water to increafe its quantity, without paying 

attention that they diminifh its val^e: Game' 

abounds there; the moft delicate hirds arrive-' 

in numerous flights twice a year, in fpring' 

and atitumn ; in ihort, all the neceffary or- 

agreeable articles of life are there to be foun* 

* . . ia 



GREECE AK0 TURKEY. 3O5 

lu profufion. But water is fcarce; and, 
during the great heat of fummer, every thing 
is dry in the fields, and aflumes the afpe^ of 
aridity. ^ This droughty the in tenfity of which 
might, with eafe, be diniiniihed, has, doubt- 
lefs, contributed to narrow there the domain 
of agriculture, and to induce men to feek, 
abroad, means of exiftence more certain and 
iefs laborious. 

. The naipc of this illand has not changed ; 
the iGreeks called it Myconos. Fable makes 
it the tomb of the Centaurs that were killed 
hy Hercules. The ancient writers have 
called the inhabitants ofMvcoNi, bald heads: 
it is afferted that this was a defe6l which was 
natural to them, and as it were an endemical 
difeafe with which they almoft all came into 
the world. We lio longer remark among 
the prefent iflanders thefe difpofitions to be- 
come bald. Thofe of antiquity were like wife 
reckoned great parafites, and men who pre- 
fented themfelves at feafts, without being in- 
vited, were proverbially called gue/is of My^ 
^oNi; a habit which not only announces dif- ' 
ftrefs, or excefs of gluttony, but alfo an abfo- 
lute want of delicacy among thofe who have 
contra^d it. 

VOL. I J. X When 



j6ft tRAVftLS in 

witch 1^ have reen the drefi of the wo- 
mcil of MiLo and Argentiera, weno longer 
Ihid that of the female Greeks of MrcoNi fa 
tidiculous; it fomewlUrt refembles the former^ 
yet i^nthout being fo whimfical ; it is, in ge- 
neral, more loaded with ornaments heaped up 
without tafte, without intelligence, but which 
ere not, on that account, lefs difadvantage- 
ous to beaut}'. The principal occupation of 
tliefe women is to fpin cotton which grows ia 
their ifland, and to make it into Itockings or 
ciloths. 

A flioal uninhabited, and to which the 
Myconites fend flocks, affords a good anchor- 
age a league tothe eaft of Myconi ; it is 
called TragokisIj that is, he-goat illand, be*- 
caufe, in all probability, it formerly contained 
wild he and flie-goats ; but none are feen there 
atprefent. 

Lower, and a little farther from Mycont, 
4rctwo points of arid rocks, which the Greeks 
call STAPdi)u ; and our navigators, Les Devx 
Fre'r^s. 

A fort of religious tremor takes pofTelfion of 
the mind, when, on quitting the Ifland of 
Mrcomy one makes fail to the weft, and ap- 
proaches an ifland very fmall, but which was 
in antiquity the qioft celebrated of alU ^ 

facred 



bREI^CB AND TtTRKEY. 3O7 

fdcred fpot, the cradle of Apollo and Diana, 
the fubje6l of the fongs of the mod famoiu 
poets, and the objeft of the veneration of the 
ancients, who came thither to adore Apollo 
in a temple, one of the moft fuperb edifices 
on earth, arid the tnajeftic orhatnent of the 
moft magnifipent city in the world. Who 
has not heatd of the wonders of JDelos, of 
its monuments, of its riches, of its brilliant 
population, of the magnificent elegance of 
its architeftiire ? Who, with a tafte for the 
beautiful, has not, in the annals of the happy 
days of Gre£cb, greedily ibught the defcrip- 
tioh of fo many miracles of irt ? I fllall not 
' here repeat what may be read in feveral works 
of great merit, among which that of Bar- 
tHtLEMi ought, in my opinion, to hold the 
fiiH rank*. 

But the liland of Delos, formerly fo opu- 
lent, and where werfc celebrated with fo much 
j^m{i religious ceremonies, in prefence of an 
immenfe concourfe who repaired thither from 
all points of the East, is now no longer 
any thing but a defert abandoned to filthy 
animak and covered with ruins and rubbifli. 
Pirates and robbers are almoft the only mett 

x2 who 



30S . TRA.TEL9 IH . 

who land there; they go thither to;, flilre the 
fruit of their plunder, or concert new fchenies 
of rapine, feated on fragments of altars where 
incenfe and perfumes burnt in honour of the 
god of day. 

The ruins of Delos, the impofing remains 
of the mod beautiful edifices of which an- 
cient Greece was proud, arc now no longer 
what they were at the periods when modern 
travellers Vifiti^d and defcribed them. Tliey 
themfelves have their ruins, and they owe 
this frefli degradation to the profane barbarifm 
of people who came thither to take materials 
for building their houfes, or to wretched 
Turkifli fculptors, who cany off every year 
precious pieces, in order to make of them 
thofe little pillars furmounted by a turban, 
which the Mahometans ereft over the grave 
of the dead. The name even of Delos is for- 
gotten in the feas Avhere it had acquired fo 
great a celebrit3^ The Greeks at this day^ 
name Diu the two iflands of Delos, and our 
navigators diftinguiih them, by the denomi- 
nation of IsDJLESf LeS IsDILBS. 

A ftrait of about five hundred toifes, fe- 

parates the famous iflaud of Delos from 

that of RheneAj or gieat Delos, eqlially 

defert^ and which ferved as a place of fepul- 

* / ture 



GRBECS AND JURKEY. 309^ 

^ire. to the former, in which it was forbid-' 
den toTSfery. In the niiddle of this narrow 
channel, are two fhoals called the . Gheat 
and the Z/TTLE R^miTiARi: the ancient 
Greeks had copfecrated the larger tl) He- 
cate or Diana, and they called it the. 
Island of fl^cATEy or Psammite. Ships, 
even m^x\ of w?tr, find good anchorage near 
thisfhoal. 

Almoft all the v^ffels which repair to 
SM.YKNA apd to the other fea ports of Asia 
MiNoi^, fail out between the Iflands of Tjno 
and Myconu a channel which \s not more 
than 9. leagqe and ^ half in width. When 
the north wind blows with any degree of vio- 
lence, it becomes impetuous in this palfage^ 
and the fea there rifes with fury. The Ifland 
of T^NQ has nQ^ood harbour; ther^ is only 
a rather b^d roadftead off the fmall town of 
San NicoLOy buijt on tl^e ruins of the anciept 
town of Tenos, the capital of ^he ^fland, 
whofe name has not, as is feen, * much 
changed. Near the ancient town, a temple 
had been erefted to Neptune who was 
there revered, becaufe to this god the inha- 
liitants attributed the happinefs of haviqg 
been freed from a prodigious number of 
fpakes \vhich infefted the iilaud| and wl^enee 
:^3 it 



$10 . TRAV11X.$ IV 

it had taken the n^mt\o^ Snakz I^lanv. 
This temple no Ipngef exifls in the memory 
of men, iieither does the town of TeaWj 
but the whole ifland is a real temple, dear 
to Nature, and which flie has taken a de- 
light to adorn with her favoura. Its. rich 
plains are ftill decked with all the opulence of 
induftry. The inhabitant^ are aftive and nu- 
merous; every thing there combines to make 
jtone pf the moft agreeable iflands of Qreece, 
and at the fame time one of thofe where 
comfort and happinefs appear to fix them- 
felves with jnoft con^ancy. What would it 
be if fo many advantages could be feconded 
by a wife liberty, which conftitutes the ftrength 
ai^d profperity of empires ! 

One of the moft abundant produftipns of 
the ifland is filk; the Vomen employ them- 
felves in feeding the infeft which yields it, 
in winding it into fkains, in fpinning it an^ 
knitting it into ftockings, which have not 
the luftre of ftockings wove in the loom, h\xt 
which are far better, cheaper, and of excel- 
lent wear. It is, no doubt, the fear of in-r 
juring our manufaftories, which had pre- 
vented the introduftion into France of 
the works in filk, knit by the woipen of 
Ti3|io; they would, neverthelefs, deferve to 

be 



GREECE AND TU^K^T. 3II 

be brought thither, and they would fuit per* 
fons who prefer what is folid to what is agree- 
able. 

Tlie dreis of the womeh given to pleaiant 
but uninterrupted occupations^ has nothing 
of the whinificalnefs of that of the women 
of feveral other idands; it is at the fame time 
noble and elegant. B^^auty, the general ap* 
pendage of the female Tiniots, under this 
drefs, neither lofes the graces of its outlines, 
^or its bewitching forms, and the amenity of 
difpofition, the ingenuous candour, an inno* 
cent defire to pleafe, there render the young 
M'omen extremely amiable^ and e3(:tremely at- 
traftiv?. 



K 4 CHAPTER 



'• 4 
$IX tRAVELS IH 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Scio. — CharaBer of its inhabitants, and parr, 
ticularly of the womenl — Their clothing.— : 
Silk pjir/es which they work.-- Witchcraft 
arifing from the look of Envy, — Trade of 
the Ifle of Scio. — Its wines. — Culture of 
the vine andofmajiic. — Its plains. — Leprojjf. 
— Harbour of Scio. — I/land o/'Ipfam. — The 
I/lands Spaimsidoxi, Pyfargos, and Vcntiico. 
— Tfchefm6 — Engagement between the Riff- 
fians and Turks. — Journey by land from 
Tfchefm6 to Smyrna. — Warm baths. — Ca- 
Twcanfary. 

'* There is no town, "fays Be'lon, '* where 
'* people are more obliging than at C'hio. 
** And, indeed, it is, in my mind; the moft 
** agreeable place of refidence that I know, 
** and where the women are moft courteous 
" and handfome. They afford -an infallible 
*^ teftimony of their ancient beauty,; for, 
'* as a nymph in the Ifland of Chio, fur- 
** pafling fnow in whitenefs, was called by 

'' the 



€REECE AND TURKEY. 313 ' 

^* the Greek name Chjone^ that is to fay^ 
<^ fiiow; in this very manner the ifland tak* 
" ing the name of the nymph, was furuamed 
• * Chio. The men there are alfo very ami- 
'^ able; and though this is a Greek ifland, 
** however, for the moft part, people live 
'* there in the ftyle of the Franks, that is, 
^* after the manner of the Latins* " 

What Be'lon wrote in the fixteenth cen- 
tury, refpeii^ing the capital town of the We 
of Scio, isftill conformable to truth, except 
a few modifications, or rather a few deteri- 
orations, phylical and moral, the habitual 
effe6ls of the prefence and harfli and hnpro- 
vident adminiftration of the Ottomans. The 
town is tolerably large and well built; it is 
the work of the Genoefe, who for a long 
time had the whole ifland in their poffeffion^ 
The ancient town, which, as well as the ifland, 
bore the name of Chios or Cmo, was placed . 
on the fummit of a mountain. The modetn 
town is at the foot of this fame mountain, 
by the fea-fide, and its fituation is thence 
hecome much more agreeable. . The Greeks 

• Les Ob/ervations deplu/Uurs fingidaritex et cbo/es mmor'^ 
ahhi, trou<vees en Grice, Jfie, i^c. tic. par Pierrk Be'lon. 
livl ii. chap, viii* 

who 



314 TRATEI^S IV 

who inhabit it are fiiWy as in B e'l o n 's tima^ 
the moft poJitc, the moft affable, the moil gay, 
aind, perhaps, the moft witty of all the Greeks, 
The women there are charming^ and^ as 
Be'lov lays, very courteous;. There are 
nooc, perhaps, M'ho h^ve fwch engaging man- 
ners; and, to fee them at the dcprs of their 
boofes, preft ftrangers to enter with them, 
pall them even by the arm, and invite thesQ 
with much fprightlioefs, we cannot, at firft, 
avoid conceiving an improper opinion of wo- 
men fo frfe in appearance. But all thefe 
demonftratioDS, which, among us, are the 
Jicight of depravity, are, atSciQ, no more than 
the ebullitions of an affeftionate and hofpitable 
heart, and of the wiih to derive fome advan- 
tage from the works on which they employ 
themfelves; and any one would be fingularly 
deceived, if, emboldened by the femblance of 
enticen>ents, he ihould attempt to take an 
unfair advantage of women, who introduce 
Grangers into their houfes with a frankneis 
which, from st habit of corruption, is reckoned 
a want of referve. Under appearances the 
moil attractive, and at the fame time the moft 
familiar and engaging, the feducer would, iii 
an eafy tHe-h-Ute, meet with only the im- 

pofing 



PREECK AND TITE(Bir. 315 

pofing refiftance of the moft rigid virtue^ 
and the ihame of being mifiaken. 

Thefe womfn fp frank, but at t|ie fanie 
time fo virtuous, knit with filk feveral forts of 
>rarkS) and particularly handfome purfes. 
The defire of felling them has induced thofc 
>vhq work them, to learn to offer them in 
the language of all the nations whiph traffic 
in the Levant ; and a Frenchman, as well 
as an Italian and a Swede, heard himfelf ail- 
^reifed from all quarters, in his language^ 
when he paffed in the ftreets of Scio, ** Sir, 
'* Sir, come and fee fome handfome purfes!* 
I bought fome of thefe purfes at Scio ; the 
handfomeft, which are alfo the largeft, coft 
me not three livres a piece, and they could 
|iot be procured in France for more than 
double that price. 

The rearing of filk-worms is an occupation 
almoft general at Scio. The women there 
principally app*y themfelves to it, and J:hey 
take every precaution imaginable, in order 
that fome ili-difpofed perfon may not caft on 
valuable infefts the peftiferous look of envy, 
which, according to . the Greeks, would not 
fail to kill them. Tliis fort of fuperftitious 
creed, of which I have fpoken more in de- 
rail in Chapter XXVIL Is general in Greece, 

where 



5l6 TRAVELS IV 

^here it is applied to all anihiated being!^^ 
In fome parts of France and Germany^ 
the' country people dread the influence of 
iinfftev looks owly for their cattle, and. the 
Spanifli ladies of Per V ft^r >t for thenifelves*. 
It is eafier to ^read aq error all the world 
over than to prj»pagate a truth. 

If aby thing could difparage the charms 
and af^'bility of tlie women o( Scio, it 
wfiuld, undoubtedly, be their manner of dref- 
$iig tbemfelves. Their clothing is without 
jgrace, and put on without tafte. The more 
they endeavour to adorn themfelves, the more 
they recede from the rules of an art which, in 
order to be attended with fuccefs> ought 
to tend only to fet to advantage the beautiful 
forms of nature. The female Sciots feem to 

. * ** Tlie ladies o£Feru wear rQond their necklace amulets, 
«« whicli are medals without an imprefllon, and a fmajyi 
** hand of jet, three lines broad, or fie- tree wood called 
*' ^fga, clofed with the exception of tire thumb, which is 
^ aifed. The idea of virtve which they attribute to thefe 
*< amulets, is to fecure themfelves from the complaint which 
•' they imagine may be communicated to them by tho& 
*' who admire their beauty; a complaint which they call 
•' the diforder of the eyes. Some of thcfc preparatives, of 
*♦ a larger fize, arc made for children. This fuperilition 
^fk common to the ladies and fo the people.'* F^a^i 
** la met du SuJ, par F r e^^z i E a, page 219. . 

envelop 



tSREECfi AKto TtTltKET. ,^1^ 

Envelop thefe in a facfc; their head is loaded 
vith a high and fhapeteCs head-drefs, (bme^ 
Mrhat (imilar to the cap of the* Matnalftkfc 
of E«ypt; and their manner of adorning; 
their feet is no left inconvenient than ridicu- 
lous. ' I have caufed to be 'drawn a pair of 
<hoes or faudals of the women of Scio; at 
the bottom of ^ Plate VI. which reprefents 
the cofiume, dill more abfurd, of the women 
of Arg£nti£ua« 

Silk conftitutes the |)rincipal wealth of 
Scio; velvets, damaiks, and ft uflfs of differ- 
ent forts are there manufaSured : but thefe 
efforts oi happy induftry^ iaftead of hariog 
Mttn encouraged, have experienced difficult 
ties and obftacles, which Jiave caufed the 
number and the produce of the manufactories 
to dirainiih. This ifland partakes with others 
of the fame fta, the trade of wool^ wax^ oil, 
and excellent fruits, efpecially fweet-fcented 
oranges and figs, which are conveyed into the 
great towns of Tu rket. It is well known tliat 
Scio produced wines held in great repute 
among the ancients ; hiftorians and poets have 
extolled them as the beft in Gui ece, a coun- 
try famous for delicious wines. At Romb> 
they were prefcribed for diforders of the 
' flomachy and Cesar regaled his friends with 

them 



$ii TRAvfiti IK 

them in tlie entertainments which he gave c^ 
theoccafion of his triumphs, and in the fefti- 
Vals in hdnour of Jupiter and the other 
Gods*. Thefe wine&, fo celebrated by the 
Wine connoiffeurs of antiquity, are ftill very 
good at this day. The vine id, ^mong thri 
prefeiit Greeks, an objeft of great culture 
and attention ; they plant it on the floping 
grounds, arid before they make the winej 
they fuffer the grapesj which they cut in the 
month of Auguft, to dry for a week in the 
fun. TItey have^preferved the manner pro- 
pofed by Caio (De re rn/iicd)^ for fecuring 
vines from the ravages of infe6l$, and which 
confifts in furrounding the plants with a mix- 
ture of bitumeii, fulphur, and oil. This pre^ 
fcrvative, dofcribed by GatO, has been an* 
noUDCed in our days as a novelty, in feveral 
Irorks of rural economy; and it is not the 
only very old difcoVery with which certain 
authors have wiflied to do themfelves honour 
in more than one way. However this may 
lie, the authority of Cato, whofe writings 
on agriculture are a model of fimplicity and 
perfpicuity, indiipenfable in works of this 
fcrt, and which have not had many imita- 

* Plxn. Hift. ^at. lib. xiv. cap. vii. xiv. and xv. 

tors. 



tors, a happy and immemorial practice among 
a nation, whofc wines have had and preferved 
a great name, muft infpire confidence, and 
induce the adoption- of a prefervativc fo ufefuL 
But a trade peculiar to the Ifle of Scio^ 
is the refin, which is there made to exude 
from the lentiflc; whole fields are covered 
with this flirub, whofe wood alfo fumifhes tlie 
beft toothpicks to the fancy of the Romani 
ladles. Tlie mailic which is drawn from it, 
is one of the moft certain produftions of 
the ifland: it is canled to Constantino^ 
PLE, and into the great cities of tht Empii^ 
where the women are inceffantly chewing it 
In order to render their breath fweet and 
agreeable. Tliis refin was fold at Scio, when 
I paflied there^ for about five livres of our 
money the pound. There is alfo made, with 
tnaftic, a brandy very gt>od and agreeable* 

When one comes from any of the Iflands 
of the AiicHiPELAoo, whofe foil is rude and 
mountainous, one is (Iruck by the richneft 
and beauty of the Ifland of Scio. A to\nL 
elegantly built^ agreeable gardens, plains de* 
lightful from the gifts of nature and the la* 
hours of a welUunderftood culture^ moun- 
tains whofe arid furface fiill throws more 
charms over rich vallies, an amiable and 
3 induftriotti 



|i6 TRAVELS ijr 

induftrious people — ^^eveiy thing conti?b«tci 
to make Scio a very agreeable place, and it 
is with' regret that one fees it delivered up tQ 
the defpotic ignorance of the Turks. Tlieir 
iiniiler improvidence there frequently fufFers 
the introduftion of deftruftive fcourgea^ 
among which they themfelyes hold a very 
remarkable rank, and the plague often ex- 
crcifes its ravages in this charming country. 

The ieproiy alfo there propagates its dif- 
gufting fymptoms ; and what proves that the 
precautions claimed by humanity^ but of 
which ailupid adnainif^ation is incapable, 
Irbuld be fufficient to annihilate it, is that 
the fpecies of leprofy, common in all the 
East, and of which fo many viftims are 
feen in Candia, the Jews' leprofy^ is there 
becoming more rare from day to day. 

There is nothing wanting at Scio to ren- 
der its trade more flourifhing, but a good 
harbour ; that which exifts is by no means 
fpacious or deep; and rocks, even witl/the 
water's edge, obftrudl its entrance: it can 
receive none but fmall veifels ; large ihips and 
men of war anchor without, in an open road, 
which has, at leaft, the advantage of afford- 
ing the facility bf going out of it with all 
wind& France maintained at Scio a vice- 

conful 



GREEC5 AND TURKEY* , 32I 

conful; he occupied a large and agreeably 
lioufe ; the Jefuits had alfo a convent there ; 
but what is of greater importance, no merch- 
ant of our nation was there eftabliflied, al*. 
though feveral had been fettled there for- 
merly, and it is a. place of great trade, both 
on account of the rich produ6lions of the 
ifland, and the crowd of fliipping which put 
in there, 01; come thither to take in cargoes* 

Round Scio are feveral fmall iflands. , 
About two leagues to the weft of Cape San 
NicoLO, the moft northern of the iflaad, 
is IpsarAj which the ancients called Psyfi.* 
and PsYRiAy on which there was a town of 
the fame name^ whofe place . is now' occu-. 
pied by the modern town : here a few veftiges 
of the ancient city are ftill to be feen. This 
town is the only habitation of the ifland^ 
which is fmall, ftony, and affords no great 
refources to agriculture and commerce. The 
vine delights in this ftony foil^ and it is to its 
culture that the rural induftry of the Ilpa- 
riots is nearly limited, as the wine which 
they export is their only branch of com- 
merce, 

A league from Ipsara, lies an iflet fmallec 
and defert, which is called Anti-Ipsara ; it 
is foarcely two leagues in circumference:, 

VQL. II. 1; betweeia 



32Z TRAVELS IK 

^between thefe two tflands, (hips find a very 
good ancIuMUgei 

Nearer, and to the eaft of Scro, fome 
iflets, called Spaluadori^ and anciently 
JEnussa^ fiiU form for large (Iiips a fafe road. 
More to the fouth lie two ihoals, to which 
the ancient Greeks have given the name 
of Casytes^ and the moderns that of Pysar-- 
cos ; lafily, at the mod fouthern point of the 
iflaad, called Cape MasticOj becaufe it is 
in this diftriA that mafiic is gathered, another 
ihoai, which has received the name of Fese- 
TJcOf leaves fufficient fpace for fliips to pafs 
there without rifk, a fea deep and clear, alike 
bathing the cape and the ilioaL 

The channel which feparates the Ifle of 
Scio from Asia Minor, is but two or three 
leagues in width. On the continent, the gulf 
and the little town of Tschesme are oppofite 
to the town of Scio itfelf, eternal teftimo- 
nies of the defeat and fltame of the Otto-- 
man navy. It was in the very harbour of 
TscHESMs', that, in the month of July, 1770, 
the Turkifh fleet, confiding of twenty-five 
fail, fifteen of which were large caravels, 
was entirely deftroycd by a Ruffian fquadron 
of nine Ihips of the line and fix frigates, »n- 
4der the command of Count Alexis Orlofp- 

. Never 



GRfiECfi ARD TUikET. 323 

N^Ver was viftbry more terrible nor more 
complete: all the Turkjih fhips were aban- 
doned to tlie flatnes, all blew up With a dread- 
ful crafh ; almoft all the crews periihed hi 
thw conflagration, and of all their navy, 
there remained to the Turks, after this battle, 
ohlj two Ihips, which had not been iable to 
join the fleet, and anothel- old fliip unfit fot 
fervice, in the channel of Constantinopi.e. 
This formidable fleets which ought in appear- 
ance to have driven the Rufiiah^ out of the 
feas of the Levant, difappearcd in an in* 
ftant, ahd the latter remained mafl:ets of the 
ARCHtPELAoo; had they chofen, they might 
likewife have become maiders of the capital 
of the empire, for the difcouragement was ge- 
fleral, and the caftles of the Dardanelles, 
not being in a condition to make a powerful 
refiftance, would not have been able to flop 
the conquerors. Carcaflfes of fhips half burnt 
and funk, tops of mails appearing out of tlie wa- 
tet, in the head of the harbour of TscHEiMt', 
ftill atteft this event membrable and gloridhS 
for the Huflians, who difplayed as much cou- 
rage and flcill in naval tadics, as their enemies 
fliewed ignorance and cowardice* 

TscHESMi!', whofe namfc recalls that cft 

Ctssirs, which this town formerly bote, aflbrdrf 

r% nothing 



324 TRAVELS IK . 

nothing remarkable ; it is built on the de- 
clivity of a hill, at the head of the harbour. 
I had repaired thither with a boat, belonging 
to the country, which was to take me to 
Smyrna; but, after having put intp Scio, 
and ftruggled a long tin>e againft the nor- 
therly wind in order to get out of the chan- 
nel, I was forced to feek there a place of ihel- 
ter. Tired of waiting for more favourable 
weather, I refolved to proceed to Smyei^a 
by land. I prefented myfelf, accordmg to 
my cuftom, to the Turkiih commandant at 
Tschesme', with my firman; he inftantly 
procured me horfes and a bareikdar^ or enfign, 
to accompany me. 

A league from Tschesme', I faw a Ipring of 
hot and mineral water, Avhere the Turks be- 
longing to the town go to take vapour baths. 
I there beheld a great crowd of bathers ; it 
was on a Friday, a holiday for the Maho* 
metans ; however, they find there no other 
refrefhments than coffee, a beverage, with 
which they can no more difpenfe than with 
baths. The road, beyond thefe baths, be 
comes rather bad and ctrfficult, acrofs a chaia 
of lofty, ftony mountains, covered with pines. 
I. (lopped, to pafs the night, in a caiavan- 
iary, yhere all travellers , are received andb 
'■:''• fed 



GREECE AND TITRKEY. '325 

fed indiftiiiAly, without being put at any 
expenfe. The aliments, which are there 
ferved, are fimple, and common to- all paf- 
fenger:S ; they confift of bread, a dilh of eggs, 
and water. The houfe is endowed with pro- 
perty, fufficieiit for providing for the tempo- 
rary refrefliraent of travellers- Foundations 
of this fort are not uncommon in the East, 
the abode of hofpitality : in my opinion, they ^ 
indicate the more greatnefs of mind and frank 
generofity, as fpirit of pride and often tation, 
of which an apparent beneficence is but too 
frequently the cloak, can have in them no 
ihare, lince it is onlv on the death of the 
founder, that we are aware of the good which 
he has done. On the other hand, there are, 
in thofe countries, neither great talkers nor 
officious public papers, which recommend 
to general admiration aftions, all the merit of' 
which often lies only in an ambitious publi- 
city, and we there blefs the memory of the 
founder without knowing his name. 

Very early tlie next morning, I quitted 
a fort of inn, \ery fimple indeed,, but which 
a traveller leaves with hi^ mind as much fa- 
tisfied as it is frequently foured, by the infipid 
hofpitality and the fcaudalous cupidity that 
is met with in the multitude of inns with which 

t 3 our . 



3a.6 TRAVELS IM 

our highways are covered. After having fol- 
lowed fome roads ftill* worfe than the <lay be- 
fore, I arrived early at Dourlak or VauRLA» 
a fmall towfa, fituated on the fouth coaft of 
the Gulf of Smyrna, and, according to every 
probability, built on the juins of Clazouena^ 
an illuftrious city of ancient Greece, and 
the country of Anaxagoras. Several fmall 
iflands, which lie in front, alfo bear the name 
of DovRLAKj and form a very good harbour, 
whither trading veffels come fometimes to 
take in dry fruits and other commodities. 

It i{j reckoned twelve hours' journey fnm 
Tschesme' to Doui^LAK ; I was very well re- 
ceived here by a Greek pioogrel, for he was 
the fon of a Frenchman and a Greek woman^ 
He had been fettled her^ for a long time, 
and praftifed ph^fic; he was,' befides^ very 
eager to render fervices to the French, 
whom he confidcred as his countrymen. 
Here I took other borfes, which the Tuikilh 
comipandant procured me ; he ^alib gave me 
a ulugh'bachiy or captain of the gates, as an 
^fcort. The road which leads from Do y rlak 
to Smyrna, is more agreeable than that from 
Tschesme' to DouuLAK. It runs along the 
coaft of the gulf; the way is not folitary; 
you pafs by habitations ; birds a^e numerous 

on 



GItEECE AHD TlTItKET. ^27 

Oil the trees of the countrv, and thofe of the 
ihore give life ev^ii to the faacl of the beach ; 
while veffela of every fize, with fwelling faifa, 
feem to fly over the furfece of the waters. 

After having paifed CayaderAj you leave 
on the right two mountains, or vather two 
points of mqutitains, which appear of (imilar 
form and iize: our feamen of the Mcditer- 
RANEAy have given to thefe two hills the 
denomination of pouffbs^ which in the Pro- 
venial diale6t iignifies mamelles^ (p^P^)* ^^^ 
then arrive at a fortreis, which is called 
Smyrna Castle, intended for defending the 
approaches of that large city. Ships are coni- 
pelled to pais under the cannon of this- fort, 
in order to avoid feme ilioals by which this 
part of the gulf is obftru^ed ; and it would ^ 
perfe£):ly accomplifh its deftination, Were it 
not in a ftate of decay, which would render 
it a weak place of defence. In fhort, after 
having travelled about ten leagues, you 
arrive at Smyrna, a large city, "built at the 
very head of the gulf, at the foot of a hill, 
and on the fea-lhore. 

Tliere is not in the Levant any fitua- 

tion better calculated to be the centre of a 

ilourifhing trade than that of Smyrna ; it 

Wfis ajfo the richeft and mod fplendid fea-port. 

y 4 * Numerous 



326 TRAVELS Iff 

•Ntimerous caravans bring thither fi-om the 
interior, fpun cotton, filky Angora fleeces, 
Persia filk and carpets, drugs of every fpecies, 
wax, figs, the fine dry raifins, known by the 
French, in the Levant trade under the name 
'Of pances de SidYRNEf &c. &c. and even goods ' 
and merchandife from the foutli of India by 
•way of Persia and Aleppo ; while fhips of 
all the trading nations of EuROt>E, loaded 
with commodities from that part of the world 
and with thofe of America, arrive and fuo- 
ceed each other in a harbour, no lefs fpacious 
•than' fafe and convenient. This was alfo the 
-rendezvous of fhips of war belonging to the 
European nations, intended for protefting 
merchant- veliels in the feas of Tujiket. 
They retired thither during the two or three 
wintel- months, a feafon in which the naviga- 
tion of the Archipelago is very dangerous, 
on account of the long nights, which fre«- 
quently prevent a navigator from knowing 
where he is, in the midft of a labyrinth form^ 
ed by a multitude of iflands lying near to 
each othei:, and of waves which, not being 
able to fpread, break, and are thrown back 
on all fides with much impetuofity, which, 
according to the expreffion of the ancients, 
gives them fome refemblance to goats bound- 



^ . 'GREECE AKD TURKEY* 3^9 

in the fields. Entertainments given and re- 
turned, made this refrelhing place a port very 
agreeable and much wiilied for by the officers ' 
of thofe fliips. 

The quarter of Smyrna occupied by the 
Europeans, refembled a town of Europe, and 
the mild and tolerating character of the 
Turks, inhabitants of the other quarters, 
rendered it a tranquil and fafe refidenceto 
ftrangers. An aftive induftry an^ no fmall 
ihare of affability, reign among the Greeiks 
of this town ; their women have all the ex- • 
terior qualities of beauty, and they know 
how to give them ftill more charms and dit 
play, by the noble, agreeable, and even vo- 
luptuous form of their garments. A few tra- 
ders of Europe there difplayed great luxury. 
Our conful-general, of whom the merchants 
had frequently to complain, forgetting the 
origin of his inffitution, and fancying himfelf 
governor^ general or ambaffador, Kved there 
in much hauteur and pomp* I was really 
ihocked at being a witnefs of a bargain con- 
cluded by a conful for the hire of a houle '; 
the annual price of this rent, ruinous to 
trade, was fettled at eleven hundred Turkifh 
piailres, that is, near twerity-feven thoulahd 
iivrlps, Jt was certainly neccffary, that the 

other 



3J^ -TRAVELS IK 

etber parts-pf the expenfe fliould agree vith 
that of the hoiiie, and one may judge hoif 
ibeh efiabJiihmeiitSy regulated oh bates fo de* 
feftive, became burdenfome to the State, 
withoot being more ufeful to cooimerce. 
This ftyle of grandeur, which ft^uentty 
boidered on an unbecoming hauteur, even 
icached the ^^ery connting-bottfea cif the 
ttadersy and one was aftouiibed to find among 
iunple £si£iors or brokers lofty aud pompous 
pretenfions. This fpirit, by no meana cofl»- 
patiMe with that of traffic, contiiiued always 
increafijig^ without commercial operationa 
following the fame ^rogreffion; but it muft 
be admitted, that if the obferver bad to la- 
ment thb falfe diredion of the agents of 
commerce, the man, a firanger to thcfe ferioua 
reflections, found in the ai]emblage of Europe* 
ana fettled at Smyrna the charms of good 
company, and the pleafures which opulence 
finds means to fix in every country on earth. 

A line of conduct more ferious, but at the 
fame time better direded towards a great ob- 
ject of utility, was followed at Smyrna by the 
merchants of fome other nations of Eukope. 
What I have faid on that fulvjcft indifferent 
places of this work, and particularly in Chap- 
ter XXXV, is confirmed by the oblervationa 
3 of 



GREECB AN1> TURKEY. 3|I 

of a man of great merit, and wHp, having 
vifited the Levant as a ftatefmaui and lived 
in Turkey as ambaflador from France, 
lias ,becn better enabled than any one to <iol- 
left valuable information refpeding our an- 
cient Turret trade. What M. de Choi* 
sEUL-GouFFiER has Written on that of 
Smyrna is fo important, and bis authority* 
comes in fuch a manner to the fbpport of my 
ideas on this fubjed, that I can'do no better 
than report the paflage in, which he fpeaks 
of it in his " Voyagi: pitT4}resque De la 
Gr^ce. 

'' Were we tojudge," fays M.^eCHOiSEirE,. 
t<m. 1. page 203^ ** of the diftribution of 
'* the trade of Smyrna, by the number of 
*' merchants of each nation, France would, 
'* for a long time paft, have appeared much 
** more powerful than flie then was in reality, 
'^ fmce fhe had twenty-five houfes, while the 
*' Englifh had but ftx, and the Dutch four. 
'* She carried on, however, but the third of 
^* the trade, and made up, by the number 
*' of her agents, for what might be wan* 
** ting, in other refpefts, to their exiftence, 
'* Foreigners, and efpecially the Dutch, come 
*' into the Levant with confiderable capitals, 
*' there form fubftantial eftablifliments, and 

** being 



\ 

3J2 TRAVELS IK 

** being already rich, fee, by the credit \rhfch 
^* tlieir opulence infures them, the means of 
*' enrichingthemfelves alfo increafe in all forts 
" ofbufinefe: they themfelves direO; the pro- 
*' ceedihgs of their couful, are at his fide, 
" and not in his fuite. The Frenchman, 
** on the contrary, a fimple broker, does 
** bufiuefs only for the Mars£ill£s mer- 
•* chant, whofe manager he is, Ihares with 
** him all the duties of commiflion, and fome- 
** times may complain of the conful, who 
'^ thinks tbkt every one ought to obey hixi^ 
•* blindly : afpiring only to the pofleflion of 
" apeculium^ which may allow him to return 
** to his own country, this Frenchman l^aflens 
*^ the end of his exile, by every means that 
*^ the moft conftant economy can afford, 
" and renounces that » kind of confequence 
/^ which, is always obtained by the appearance 
•* of wealth." 

Nothing lefs is required than the beautiful 
climate -of Smyrna, its delightful and im- 
portant fituation, the freedom which is there 
enjoyed, and the opulence of its commerce, 
to induce men to fix themfelves on a foil 
which i^ agitated and overthrown by fre- 
quent ihocks. Violent earthquakes are there 
often felt; the ground opens in feveral places ; 

noifes 



•^ CREECB AlSJD TURXEY. ** 333 

noifaft formed by vaft cavitiep, terrify the in- 
habitants, while their flia^en houfes fall and 
bury them under their ruins. Thefe fceues 
of diforder and desolation are^ frequently re- 
newed, And fii"*, the inevitkHle 'donfequences . 
of the overthrow of a populous town, likewifc 
add to their horrar, and conftune, with fright- 
ful rapidity^ whole quarters, half laid in ruins 
by terrible commotions. ' 

To thde great difafters, the idea of which, 
'to any one who is acquainted with the Le- 
vant, is infeparable from that of Smyrna, 
are alfo added, every ye^r, the ravages of 
th^' plague. The Europeans then condemo, 
themfelves to a falutary imprifonment ; while, 
on all fides, men "fall ftruck by this frightful 
diforder, and their dead bodies heaped iq), 
atteft the criminal and ftupid want of fore- 
fight pf the government, ftill more than the 
• violence of the contagion. 



I. CHAPTER 



334 TRAVBtS IK 



CHAPTER XXXVIiL 

' Oi/ervations on the plague — Roufe *y land 
yroi»Foglieri to Smyrna. — Ravages qfgrafi^ 
hoppers. — FoglierL — IJland ^Mitylene. — - 
Its capitcU town; its harbours; its advan- 
tages. — r- Mufco-nifi I/lands. — I/land of 
Lemnos,— Agio-Strati. — Tenedos. — Strait 
of the Dardanelles. — Imbros, — Samandraki. 
IJland of Tzffo.^— Its mines; its fertility; 
its wines; its woods. — La Cavale. — Con- 
tefla. — Mount Athos. — Arrival at Sa- 
lonica. 

IN the preceding chapter, I hav^ Ipoken 
of tlie plague, a deftrudive and permanent 
fcourge.in Turket, participating with earth- 
quakes in the ruin and defolation of the 
flourilhing town of Smtrna. Its difaftrous 
effefts, which fcarcely fail to be renewed 
every year, have not always the fame in- 
tenfenefs, nor the fame violence. The year 
1778 was one of the moft remarkable for its 
ravages: at Constantinople, there died to 

the 



GREECE AND TUHITfiT. 53^ 

the number oi t«ro thoufand people ia i 
day. What frightful rapidity of deftru£iion! 
Aod what ftuptd refignatton on the part of . 
mcii, who, for centuries paft, fuiFcr tfaeni^ 
lel^es to be mowed down by the fey the* <rf' 
contagtotii without leeking the means of 
preferving themfelves from it! 

Phyfic has as yet difcovcred no certain re- 
medies for the plague, and the recipes which 
are found in books are by no means effiefluaL 
It is difficult and very dangerous to indulge 
in obfervations on a di&afe which is commu* 
tiicated with a frightful promptitude, and [ 
every phyfician has not the courage, or, to 
fpeak more corredly, the madnefs of that 
KufTian furgeon, prifoner at CoNSTAisTTiNO-* 
'PL£ with a number of his countrymen, who 
took it into his head to inoculate tfaeie linfor* 
binate beings with the plague, in order to ^ 
tender the contagion lefs deftruftive : by ihi$ - 
means he killed two hundred of thefe prifo- 
ners; and, fortunately for the reft, theiliocu* 
lator, after having performed the operation dft 
himfelf, died of liis own tfeatment By col« 
ie8;iiig remarks already fomewhat numerous 
on the fubje^ of this difeafe, we fhall fuc-' 
ceed ia afcertaining its nature, and ihortljf 
in delivering from it the humaft race. It 



5j6 TRAVELS lir 

18 for the purpofe of contributing, as far as 
lies in my power, to art* obje6l fo defirable^ 
that r fim going to add a few notions to thof« 
which I have. already mentioned in Chapter 
XL relative to the plague, which I have 
frequently had an opportunity of feeing very 
near at hand, and tQ which. I have been more 
than once expofed. 

. "Some French phyficians have improperly 
reproved M. SAMoiLowiTZ, a celebrated 
Ruffian phyfician, and author of a very good 
Memoir on the plague, printed in 1783*, 
for having advanced that this difeafe exifts 
neither in the air, nor is communicated by 
the air, but by conta6l alone. Notwith* 
Handing all the arguments of thefe phyfici- 
ans, and the contrary obfervations of a M- 
Paris, which they quote f? the affertion of 
Doftor Samoilowitz is inconteftably true. 
^Although a perfon lives in a place in fe6ied 
with the plagite,* he will never catch it, 
unlefs he comniunicate immediately with per- 
fons who are attacked by it, or if hp touch 
pot fubilances \^^ich are infeSed and calcu- 
lated to ferve it as conduflors. Indeed, with- 

• * See the Gaza a Sabuain of the i8th of March, 1784*' 
t Oftavo, Paris, Lcdcrc, 1783. • 

out 



OkEfiCB AKD TURXST. 337 

Out riientioning the opinion generally fpread 
in the Levant on this fubjeft, it is fuffici' 
cnt for the Europeans fettled in Turkey, to 
ftut themfelves up and infulate themfelves in 
their houfes, in order to be preferved from the 
contagion, even when it makes the greateft 
ravages in towns which they inhabit, and 
though they tlraw, from without, their pro- 
yifibns and their daily food, frequently pur- 
chaied at the dwelling of peftiferous perfons. 

And what proves ftill more that immediate 
contafl call alone communicate the plague, 
is, that it happens that a portion of clothing 
may be fufficien^tly impregnated with pefti- 
lential miafmata for tranfmitting the con* 
tagion to thofe who touch it, while it has no 
eiFeft on him who wears it. 

AH animal fubftances, whether Ahey have 
preferved their primitive (late, or have. beeU 
^lihioned by the hand of men, are vehicles 
of the plague; cotton, flax, hemp, and the, 
cloths which are manufadured of them, are 
equally fo : paper even has this fatal property; 
and, happening to be under quarantine at 
Malta, I was witnefs of the alarm which 
was there fpread by a piece of paper which 
the wind carried over the gates of the La^a-^ 
retto, and which had fallen in the midfl 

VOL. ir. z of 



338 TRAVSLS 19 

of feveral perfons. Eatables in general, and 
- metals, are not condudors of the contagion : 
one may with impunity receive from the hand 
of a peftiferous perfon a piece of money, or 
any other fpecies of metal, alfo herbage, fifli, 
bread, &c. It is neverthelefs alTerted, that 
bread very hot may communicate the difeafe, 
whereas cold bread does not give it 
, The a£lual difpofitions of the conftitution 
decide on the more or iefs facility of catch* 
ing the plague. Several perfons touch with 
impunity thofe infe£ted without any precau- 
tion ; and, after having braved the danger for 
feveral years, thefe fame perfons find them- 
felves (bmetimes attacked the firft, and fink 
under the difeafe. 

If there be reafon to fufpedi that, at the 
moment when a peiibn falls ill, the plague 
is the caufe of his illnefs, there is, for afcer- 
taining it, a method which is confidered as 
infallible in the Levant; this is to make 
the patient take fome brandy, or conferve of 
rofes, which occafions it to fliew itfelf im- 
niiediately. The fame property is attributed 
to gariic. 

It is reckoned certain that the beft regimen 

to be obferved, when one is attacked by the 

ptague, is to live only on meat or fifli falted: 

^ AH 



6REECB AND T^aKET. $39 

All Other food is perniciousi and fruit, 
of whatever fpeci^s it may be, is mortal* ' 
A man,* who had had an opportunity of mak- 
ing a great number of obfervations, during 
a long (lay at Constantinople, where he 
was chaplain of the hofpke of' the Franks, 
had remarked a fymptom, according to which 
he decided immediately whether a peftifer- • 
ous perfon was to perifli orefcapc: he was 
never miftaken in his prognoftics. He had 
difcovered, that when the bubo is far from 
adherent, and ihakes on its bafe, well-founded 
hopes may be conceived; and that, on the 
contrary, if the bubo be abfolutely fixed 
and immoveable, there is no hope of avoid- 
ing death. This fame »obferver had alfo re- 
marked, that if a patient, aftier an accels of 
delirium, fuddenly recovered his fenfes, he 
feldom got the better. 

It is almoft always in the groin and arm- 
pits that the peftilcntial bubo comes. Fre* 
quently feveral of them make their appear* 
smce« Sometimes is feen, independently of > 
the bubo, a boil-like tumour; the complaint 
]9thea much more dangerous: but if aper- 
iotk recovers from it, he is in the fequel lefs 
expo&d tQ the conti^ion. Befides the bubo 
aad the boil, ibme perfons have likewife a 
z 2 fort 



34^ tftAVEXS lit 

fort 6( furuncle, which is called phimasj and 
which differs from the boiHike tumour by its 
not becoming black. Thofe who are attacked 
by it run a more imminent danger; but if they 
have the good fortune not to fink under the 
difeafe, they have abfolutejy nothing more to 
fear from the plague, during the remainder of 
their life. 

Although a perfon has been attacked by 
this terrible diforder, he is not, on that 
account, fecure from catching it again. One 
may be afflicted by it repeatedly ; and this 
obfervation appears by no means favourable 
to the proje6l of inoculation which has beea 
brought forward by fome perfons. I knpw 
a man who had had the plague feven tunes; 
but an obfervation very lingular, and never I 
thelefs certain, is that when a perfon has beea 
once attacked, and he happens to be again, 
even a long time after, in a place where it 
reigns, he feels dull pains, pincbings, Shoot- 
ings, in the place where the bubo was. Thefe 
fymptoms are even a mean of announcing 
the approaching invafion of the difeafe. There 
have been feen people who, being in places 
where no fign of the plague was perfccived, 
complained of thefe ihooting pains, and, ere 

long. 



GRBECB AND TURKEY. 34! 

long, fymptoms of the contagidn made their 
appearance. 

The dire6iion and ftrength of the winds 
contribute to increafe or diminiih the adivity 
of the plague. It is when the north-eaft wind 
blows that it exercifes the greateft. ravages at 
CoxVSTANTiNOPLfi. In this fame city, a 
frightful ftorm has been known to (lop fud- 
denly the effefts of the contagion. 

This fmall number of obfervations, to which 
I might have added others more known, does 
not appear to me favourable to the fyftcm 
'of fome modern men of fcience who have 
attributed the plague to infe<5ls, as the caufe 
of the itch, and of the other diforders of 
the fkin, has been imagined to be found iu 
little animals of the fame clafs. I do not, 
however, affert that this opinion, founded 
on certain affinities, ought to be abfolutely 
rejefted ; but it deferves to be examined with 
attention: it would, were it confirmed, put 
us in the diredl road for obtaining the cure 
of the difqrder the moft aftive and the raoft 
cruel by which human nature is afflided. ^ 

To the fear of the plague am I indebted 

for the advantage of having travelled along 

the north coaft of the Gulf of Smyrna, as 

I had for the moft part followed that which 

9 3 is 



34^ TRAVELS in 

is oppofite to it After the engagement of 
the MiGKONNE frigate in the harbour of 
Mllo, I no longer quitted that flup, as I 
have before feid, during the courfe of her 
cruife in the fea of the Levant. The plague 
had broken out in feveral places, and every 
one dreaded to land there. However, the 
ftate of wai' in which we were, required in- 
formation that we could obtain only from 
our confuls. In order to reach thofe agents, 
in the infulated fituation to which Prudence 
had condemned them, it was neceffary to 
traverfe the centre of the contagion.. I was 
charged with this niiffion, as more familii' 
arized with the Turks and the dangers .with 
which they have fuffered thenifelves to be 
furrounded, and at the fame time as being 
more habituated to the precautions which 
dangers of this fort require. I had already 
been landed at Scio, where the plague reign- 
ed, and I thought for a moment that I ihould 
be the vi6lim of my good will. In proceed- 
ing to tlie houfe of om* vice-conful, whatever 
precaution I took' to touch no one, a l^rkifli 
foldier, who was running very faft, pufhed 
againft me at the turning of a ftreet i^.owft 
that I coujd not help feeling fome inqui^ude^ 

which 



6REBCB AKD TlTRKET. 343 

irhich I took good care not to communicate, 
but which was foon difpelled. 

The frigate waited for me under f^il in the 
channel of Scjo: it was of much importance 
that fhe ihould repair to Smyrna, but the 
plague was there exercifing its terrible influ- 
ence with greater malignity than at Scio. 
D'Entrecasteaux refolved to anchor at 
FoGLiERj, and begged me to go by land to 
confer with the French conful-general at. 
Sktrna. My firmam fmoothened every dif- 
ficulty. I foon procured horfes, and I 
hafiened to proceed to Smyrna, which was 
difiant twelve leagues : although I had fet 
out rather late, I arrived there before night. 
Nothing left than the importance of my 
miffion was neceflary to determine the con^^ 
ful to admit into his houfe a man who had 
juft crofled the fields, and the half of a large 
town, infeded by the plague. I had left 
my horfes and their guide without the walla 
of Smyrna : I rejoined them the next morn- 
ing early, and returned with the fame dili* 
gence to Foglieri. Almoft all the plain 
i^li^ich I traverfed was in a ftate of culture; 
it had been covered by rich crops, but of 
thefe there no longer exifted any thing but 
the remains. Innumerable legions of grafs* 
z 4 hoppeis^ 



344 TRAVELS IV 

hoppers^ the formidable agents of faming had 
lighted on them ; the ears had been cut by 
their fliarp-edged jaws ; the ftraw even, hacked 
to pieces, announced confufion and complete 
deyaflation. The waters of the little river 
of Sarabat^ and of fome rivulets. which dif- 
charge themfelves into the fea, along this 
coaft, had difappeared under a thick craft of 
dead bodies of grafshoppers heaped up, and 
the infeftion which they fpread corrupted 
the air, and threatened to add frefh caufe of 
mortality to thofe with which the plague drfo- 
lated that beautiful country. 

On the Cape of Asia Minor, which 
forms, with that of Karabovroun or BlAck 
CapEj the fpacious and deep roadllead, known 
under the name of the Gulf of Smyrna, two 
places likewife bear the name of Foguilri:^ 
the one is called Niw Foglieri; and the 
other, Old Foglieri. This is the ancient 
country of the Phoceans, a celebrated people 
of ancient Greece. Some fmall iflands, 
which lie in front of New Foglieri, afford 
them and the continent a very good anchor- 
age, fit for the reception of the largeft fhips. 

Thence we proceeded to Mittlene^ one 
of the moll confiderable iflands of that fea^ 
and which is no more than four leagues dif- 

tant 



©REECE AND TURKEY. 345 

tant from the continent. The name of Me- 
te lin, fometimes given to it at this day, is 
corjupted from the more ancient one of Jliirr- 
x^ENEy which fucceeded the name of Lesbos, 
under which this iiland formerly acquired great 
celebrity. Its domination extended over 
Troas and jEolis. But what did it more 
honour than its power, was to have beea 
the cradle of illuftrious perfonages, wlio 
conftituted its glory and that of Greece. 
One of the benefaflors of human nature, 
who delivered his countiy fi-om the yoke of 
tyranny, Pittacus, of the fmall number 
of the fages of Greece, was bom at Lesbos. 
The poet Alc^us there compofed his verfes; 
Phrynis, the melodious airs, with which 
he made his lyrerefound; Theophrastus, 
his commentaries; and feeling and love* 
firuck hearts drop a tear to the memory of the 
beautiful and ingenious Sappho. 

Tlie modern town of Mitylene is built on 
the ruins pf the ancient city of that name, and 
its environs ftill afford fome very beautiful 
remains of its magnificoQce. The harbour is 
fmall and bad; but tl)£ ifland has others,, 
the two beft <Jf which are Port Sigri and 
Port Olivier. The, former is at the weft ex- 
tremity of the ifland; and the latter, which 



34^ TRAVELS 19 

is the more frequented, is formed Iby a gulf 
that is behind and at a little diftance from 
the to\ni of Mittleke. Its entrance is 
long and narrow; but the anchorage there is 
good and commodious. 

The pofition of the liland of Mittlene; 
m the vicinity of a great extent of the^coaft 
of Natolia, which it feems to command, 
placed at an equal diftance from the Gulf 
of Smyrna and the channel of Cojtstan* 
TiNOPLE, not far from the principal Iflandft 
of the Archipelago, renders its pofleflioiO 
extremely important, as its interior refoorces 
render it fufceptible of the moft flouriihing 
iiate. But it is in the hands of the Turks: 
this b announcing fuiiiciently that the ad* 
vantages of its fitultion are loft, and that, 
from day to day, populatiou, agriculture, and 
all induftry, are diminiihing and falling into 
decay. 

In the channel formed by the Ifland of 
MiTYLEXE and the coaft, at the entrance 
of the Gulf of ^DRiiAf/ri, fome fmall iflands, 
which the Greeks call Muscomsi ; and our 
savigatora, Mysconisses^ formerly bore the 
name of Hicatonu. They are, as well as 
the large Ifland of Mi xylene, very fertile, 
principally in wines and oil; but this gene* 

nofity 



GREECK AND TURKEY. 347 

rofity of Nature is there powerfully counter- 
aded by the prefent rulers. 

We fet fail, after a very Ihort ftay on the 
coaft of MiTYLENE ; we doubled Cape Baba^ 
or Cabaj formerly XjECTiTJkr Promontorivm; 
and as our miffion was to cruife in thefe feas^ 
we kept under eafy fail between the Illand of 
Lemnos and that of Tenedos. The former^ 
larger and farther diftant from the coaft, was 
cpnfecrated tp Vulcan m the time of Ho- 
mer, probably on account of two volcanoes^ 
which were here continually cafting fortk 
flames, and which were confidered as the 
forges of tbehulband of Vekus. There nd 
longer remain any veftiges of thefe volc^ 
noes: however, interior fires are ftill burn- 
ing here; for we here meet with a fprin^ 
of hot water, which has been brought tb 
fupply baths, and another of alumiAous waten. 
Tills iiland is hilly, but extremely fertile; Jt 
yields com, cotton, oil, and filk, with whidi 
a few light ftujfFs are manufaftured. 

The fpecies of bole which beard the tiame 
of Lemnian earth, and to which were a1»p 
tributed imaginary virtues, is flill drawn from 
^ hill of the iiland. To Le flouri/hing, Lem- 
iros wants only to be delivered from its op-' 
preflbrs. Natord hn doM eveiy thing for 

it 



34^ TRAVELS IN 

it, and one laments the ftate of languor and 
wretchednefs to which its deftiny has xedaced 
it. Its inhabitants were formerly much given 
to navigation, or, to fpeak more corredly, 
to the carrying-trade; they are ftill trading 
mariners, becaufe this kind of induftry efcapcs 
more eafily the cupidity of tyrants, than 
HfSuence produced by agridulture or by a fe- 
identary traffic, I there faw fome extremely 
beautiful women, who were very far from in- 
ipiiing the fame difguft as the men had con- 
.ceivad of their grand- mothers, on account 
of their bad fmell; if, however, this fa6l, 
quoted in a book of the wonders of nature*, 
tave any reality. 

All the eaft coaft of Lemnos is inac- 
ceflTible on account of a flioal, which ex- 
tends four leagues into the offing ; the weft 
coaft affords to ihips a few places of flielter 
againft northerly winds. To the north, is 
a large road ; but there are no real harbouri^ 
except in the fouth part, where are fobe 
found two, which are at no great difiance 
from each other j Port Cavia, and Port Sant ' 

To the fouth of Lemnos, is a fmall iftand 
of little importance, which the modern Greeks 

• AnriGONUt, de Hmura MtrabiUbui% 

call 



6ILEECE A^^ TUftKET. 34f 

kjM Agio-Strati; and our navigators, Saint 
EsTRATE : the ancients called it Hiera. 

The poffeffion of the Ifland of Tinebos^ 
which is fituated near the mouth of the chan-^ 
nel of the Dardanelles, might alone in* 
volve the lofs of Constantinople: from 
this point would be formed the blockade 
of that great city, with the more facility, 
as the channel between the continent and 
Tenedos is, correctly fpeaking, only a large 
roadilead^ where fhips may lie at anchor, 
ready to get under fail, and flop thofe which 
ihould attempt to penetrate into the Strait of 
the Dardanelles. . But the Ottoman go- 
vernment, incapable of feeling the import- 
ance of this advantageous port, feems to 
watch it with ftill greater negligence than 
other places whofe prefervation would be lefs 
ufeful. The* wines of Tenedos are almoft 
thefole trade of the iiland: here are made 
mufcadine wines, which are not inferior to 
thofe of Samos. 

We flood in and anchored under Cape 
GREcOf at the entrance of the channel of 
the Dardanelles, oppofite to Cape Yeni- 
hxsa^i, beyond which is the plain where 
Troy formerly exifted. I fhall not fpeak of 
this famous fbrait which makes the feparatioiL 
1 between 



35^ THAVSLS IK 

between Europx and Asia, nor of the city 
of Constantinople: the little time that 
I was able to allot to vifiting them, allowed 
me not to make many remarks, and I pre* 
fer faying nothing about them to repeating 
what has been written. 

On leaving the new caftles of the DardA'^ 
KELLES, whofe conftruaion, by no means for^ 
nridable, is due to M. de Tott, the Mig* 
KONNZ. diieftedher courfe towards the Ifland 
gf Tasso* We palTed near the point of the 
Ifland of luBRoSy which, as well as Tenedos 
and Samos, has retained its ancient name, 
which navigators have transformed into that 
of Lembhq. It is from eight to> ten leagues 
in circumference, and contains fertile valUeSi 
and mountains covered with wood. 

A league to the north of Imbros is the 
Ifland of Samandraki, or Mandraki, which 
is but eight leagues in circumference. This 
is the Samos of Thracr^ or, in a (ingle word, 
the Samothrace of the ancients. Pliny calls 
it Samothracia libra; but this liberty has 
Yaniihed with the greater part of the advan- 
tages which it. holds from nature, and which 
the induflry of its ancient inliabitants knew^ 
W might have known, how to turn to ac- 
count 

.5 Towards 



ORBECX AND TURKXT. 3jl 

Towards the weft extremity of Macedo- 
KIA, and two leagues from the continent, 
the Ifland of Tasso^ which the French call 
Le Tasse, ihews at a diflance its high moun- 
tains covered with forefis. The channel, 
which feparates that ifland from the maia 
land, is alfo divided by a fteril iflet called 
Little Tasso, and in Greek Tasso-poulo^ 
the yeftige of an ancient continuity of lands, 
at prefeut feparated. A ipacious road, where 
the ground is good for holding, lies betweea 
the two iflands. Here we anchored. 

Tasso is the mod northern of the Iflands 
of the Archipelago ; it was one of th& 
moil famous on account of its rich gold 
mines: Herodotus fpeaks of them, and 
they were under the diredion of Thuct- 
dides. No traces are now to be feen.of 
that opulence of nature; not that it is ex* 
baufted, but it is alike buried by ignorance, 
fear, and tyranny. TJiefe mines procured 
the iflaftd the Greek name Chryse, which 
fignifies of gold, or gilt: its riches had be- 
come proverbial, and the expreflion was a 
tha/bs of wealth. Neither are here now to 
be found opals, amethyfls, and the otliier 
precious ftones, which, with the gold mines, 

compofed its natural treafures; but )iere is 

met 



55* TRAVfcLS tft 

itiet with that beautiful marble, held m fucft 
eftimation by the Romans, whofe whiteaefir 
vies with foow, and the finenefs of whofe 
grain with that of Parian marble. The 
greater part of the mountains are dill formed 
of this marble, which fhews itfelf even on 
their furface; and it is worthy of remark^ 
that the two Iflands of Greece which con-^ 
tain the mod valuable marbles, were inha-' 
bited by the fame people: it was the inhabi- 
tants of Paros who peopled the ifland of 
Tasso, and there built the town of TAasos, 
which was its capital, and the veftiges of 
which are ftill to be feen. 

The ifland is near thirty leagues in cir* 
cumference: it produces, a great deal of 
Corn, oil, wax^ &c. but its fertility, ex-* 
tolled by the ancients, is no longer turned 
to account, for want of encouragement and 
culture. Its wines, formerly very famous 
even in the time of the Lower Empire, fince 
John Chrtsostom exclaimed againft the 
excefiesto which they gave rife at Constan- 
TiNOPXE ; its wines, I fay, no longer have 
the excellent qualities which cauied them 
to be in requeft at a high price. Its popu^ 
latioQ has experienced the fame fate as 

the 



GREECE AND TITllJCET. $^^ 

iftie produQiioiis of its foil; it is toirfideraBly' 
diminiihed. ^ * 

Tasso has ftill remainingv a fort of wealth * 
very important to a trading and maritime • 
nation: this is capital wood For fliip-huild" 
ing. The fineft trees grow on the fummi€ 
and declivity of the mountains; but the in- 
confiderate manner of felling them AviH foon 
have exhaufted thefe refources of vegetatioti; 
more valuable than the mines of goM. ^ *- -^ 

Oppofite to the northern point of the IStmd 
of Tasso, Cape Asperosa forms a bight* in 
which is; to the weft, LACAVAit, 2L{m^\ town 
built on a rock that projefts into the iea," and 
\i4iich has feme refemblande to a horfe. Thlk 
rcfcmblanee has procured it the name which 
it bears; atleaft, this is an etymology more 
Umplc* than that which derives its rfiodtfrti 
natne from Bucefhala, which th^ fame place 
formerly bore, on account of the' town that 
Alexander caufdd to be buHf there in ho«* 
nbur of BnctTHALUSy^e conquerors ftmou» 
fteed.- ^ ' ••.•:..• 1 : 

La Cavale was for a long' timtf • ta 
poffeffion of the Genoefe and Venetians; ft 
was become of late years a very aftive point 
of the Levant trade : its harbour, although 
not very fafp^ wsis frequented by fliips which 

Voj.. it;* A a c^me 



354 TEAVE^S XH 

^me tp load there with corn, tobacco, an(| 
other commodities. 

Tlic Ifland Q^ Ta$sp is fi^uated at ^q 
entrance of a rather extenfive gulf, which i^ 
called the Gui^ of Conte^a^ becaufe ^ 
town of that nanie was built at the head of 
it Our navigators alfq call this bight 
GoLFM Df liBONpiJfEj frQm the porruptec} 
name of the apciept town of kHEj>iNZ ; b\i^ 
the Grjseks d^fignate it lender the name. of 
Omfavo: this is the Siifus STRX^^^^9^s of 
the ancients. 

Prom Ta^so we made &il towards, ^oi^r^ 
SanctOj at the foot of which we pafled. Un^ 
der this name, as well as under that of Aqjo* 
soM^y whjqh the Greeks givq to this moan^ 
tain, and which. has the fame fignif^catipn^ 
we have fomu difficulty to recognife the fa* 
inous ^ountaif^ >vhpfe fummit is loft in th^ 
clouds, and which, if ve ipuft believe th^ 
ancients, proje^ its.i}\ade as., far as the 
Iflandr of MiTVLENE, and, accordj^ig. to 
Be'lon, an eye-witnefs, only as far a^ thp 
Jiarhouc of the Iflp of Li:mnos, that .]% to 
the diftance of eight leagues*. Moun^t^ 
j^THQ^t forming an advanced prpmontqry otf 

* OifirvatioMf, SsQn 

Macedonia, 



GREECE A»R XtTUKCr. 355 

^ACEDONJA, which Xerxes, ki9g of 
Pkrsi A> fcparated from the contioeot by a 
l^ng. ftrait, and which Dii^ocrates, the 
archited of Alexandria of Egypt, wiihed 
to confecrate to the .perpetuating of the 
memory of Alexander, by making of this 
mountain an enormous ilatue, whofe fmalleft 
features would have been feveral toifcs in 
length, is a place revered by the modem 
Greeks. Millions of monks, an ignorant and 
fanatic race, occupy it at prefent: there are 
few of them who can read, although they 
have a tolerably good number of Greek 
books, among which it would be no eafy 
matter to find fome that might deferve to be 
opened; they conlift of works of theology 
jtnd controverfy. 

Continuing to fail towards the we(^ we 
croifed the entrance of the gulf which aUb 
bears the name of MoifTE Savcto^ and which 
the ancients called SiNua Simtfiovs. We 
doubled Cape Drepano, formerly Der- 
Jtis PROMONTQRiVMf forming with Cape 

PAlLLOURIy Ca^ASTRACVM PitOMONTORWU Ot 

the ancients, another gulf, which had for*!* 
merly the name of Torqnaicus wnm, and 
iprl^ich is at prefent called the Gulf of Cas- 

44 9 SASpttAy 



3S^^ THAirmw iir " 

sjiVDiUf ^n .accouak ofi^s ftnall iflMd ^kkh 
is at at3 exticmty, und'irhicbr is ^tku» <l«fig^ 
nftttd. * We: thaiTenteveitl ifag deep Gulf 
df:SA];ojrxoA, aikd/caft anchor in the* hitf^ 
fafinar of ;tlmt gf«t i?i*y. 



'\ 



,.',.) V f .-. . .. ; :. )...- ' 






>v/ vr- •; " :^. •• 



> ' t . 






1... J *. i 



CHAPTER 



GREECS AKB TVIXET. ^jf 

CHAPTER XX3tXX. 

T&wn of Salonica. — Terrible Jire of which the 
author was witnefs. — Trade g/* Salonica.— 
Di/brders wUch are there experienced. — 
Plains of the emirons of Salonica. — Ex* 
curjion to Mount Olympus. — The author 
transforms him/elf into a phyfician. — Com- 
panion in his journey. :'--He crojfes the gulf. 
— He landsy or rather is almojl caji awdy^ on 
the we/i coaji of the gulf. — ^Vroumeri.— 
Con^ruBion of the rural habitations. — Ihgi 
which are the formidable keepers ofihem.'-^ 
Papas'gc^ernor. — Patients to whom medical 
treatment was neceffary. — Fields of the enp 
vwons of Vroumeri.— 5/orfo. — Aga ofKz.^ 
therinn. — Skala — Albanianfoldiers by whom 
the Author was accompanied. — Trees of the 
forces of Olympus.— Troop of Albanim - 
robbers. — Portrait of their chief. — Mo^ 
najiery of St. Dennis. -^Efforts of the au^ 
thorfor reaching thefummt of the moun^ 
tain.— Snow which is there found. — E^xtent 
qftheprofpeS. — Secret fot curing the fever. 
Animals of Olympus.-^-Return to SaXomcz^ 

jTh^ latitude of the town of Salonica i% 

40MI' l(f\ and its longitude 20'' 48/ from 

Aa 3 the 



3jd tRAVBLS m 

the meridian of Paris. It is built almoft 
at the head, and on the eafi coaft of a gulf 
that bears its name, the entrance of which 
is nine leagues in width, and the bight runs 
inland upwards of twenty leagues. The road, 
which begins at two capes, called Great and 
Little BouRNOUt and terminates at a /hoal 
which is fituated at the very head of the gulf, 
•affords good anchorages to iliips of every fize, 
and a fafe retreat to fleets. 
, Its name has^ot changed for ages; it is 
only abridged, and is not difficult to be rc- 
cognifed, in the prefent town of Salonica 
or Salonikj^ the ancient and celebrated Thes- 
sALoyjCA, founded, it is faid, by the filler 
of Alexander, on the fite of a more anci-r 
ent city, which was called Therma. It is 
alfo the capital of Macedonia, and one of 
the largeft and mod populous towns of the * 
Turkiih empire. Here are dill to be fecn 
pieces of ancient monuments; and every 
where fragments of edifices, profaned by 
their mixture with common materials in 
modern buildings. The church of St. &0' 
FHiA, conftrutSed by Justinian on the 
model of that of ConstatJtinople, is con- 
verted into a mofque, like fome other churches 

of 



•RBEfcE AND TI^RKEY; 559 

bf the Lower Eihjiire: Hfere is alfo a caftle 
of Ihe fevien towers, ks in the c2t|>itaL 

Tlie afpta of SalonicA, from thfe hat- 
hour, annOutic^^ an agreeable enClofiire ; but 
when you enter it, yoU pi^efently tclinquifli 
th^ good opitaion which you had cbhceived 
of it: flreets narrow and ill pavfed, as well as 
crooked, houfe^ ilovetaly on thie! otitfide, and, 
in the infide, wotfe laid out, together with a 
iniferable populatibn, ifaducb the wifli of fee- 
ing It only at a diftancb. It is, nevierthelefi, 
one of thfe fined towns of TuRkeV, Arid one 
of the moft important,, iVom iti pbfitioji and 
the richnefs of its trade. It is alfd the feat of 
one of the firft governments of thie empire. 

Very Aortly after out arrival, tve were 
witnefTes of a fire which had like to have 
reduced the town to aflifes. The fire brok^^^ 
out during the night in a quarter where tb4 
Jews, crowded togethet*, live in thfe moft 
difgufting filthineis, and eat^n Mp by difor- 
ders engendered by corruption, . The con- 
ftrudion of their houfes, almoft all of wood, 
the want of police, and afliftance ncceflary 
for Hopping the progreis of the flames> al- 
lowed them to difplay a terrible adivity, and 
in a few moments the whole quarter Wa& burnt. 
Tbe light of this furious conflagration fpread 
Aa4 itfdf 



j60 ^ ,^RAVE1.S m o 

idelf over the fea; and although the MiONONyn 
was anchored at a fomewhat great diftance 
from the coaft. en board her we faw clear 
enough to read on deck. The wiiid brought 
cm the water a prodigious quantity of fparksi 
which fell fufficiently near the fliip to oc- 
fadon uneafinefs,. and caufe every preparation 
to be made for getting under fail. FurnH 
ture, bales, already reached by the fir^, were 
cqnveyed, in hopes of faving them, to the 
quarters the moft diftant from it, and there be- 
came the focus of freih blazes, which were 
not extinguiihed without difficulty. But it 
was not poflible to ftop the ravages of the fire 
in the quarter of the Jews; four or five hun- 
dred houfes were the prey of the flames, and 
to the frightful fpe6iacle of their combuftion, 
were added the cries which defpair forced from 
its vidims, the confufed clamour of a militia^ 
better cal^culated for increafing diforder than 
diminifhing it, and the grave and mournful 
found of a few pieces of cannon, fired frowt 
tim^ tp time as fignals of alarm — every thio^ 
concurred to make this night, a night of 
fright and horror. 

, Confideredas a fortified town, SaloKjca; 
is of no impoitance; an enclofure of ram- 
p*iji§, without ditches and ill kept, ftill worfc 

ii. i defended 



defended by a very fmall number of bad pieces^ 
of artillery, render it fufceptible of only n 
feeble refiftance ; a4d the undifciplined troops 
which form its garrifon, arc Incapable of 
making amends, by their courage and ikill in 
ta6tics, for this want of fortifications. But 
if this cityj as a ilrong hold, is not at all 
interefiing, yet it is extremely to from the 
trade of which it is the centre, and which, 
under another govemmenti would beco^ie 
ftill more flourifliing. 

Situated in one of the fined countries of 
Turkey in Europe, it is the emporium of 
a very confiderable commerce. Here is ihip7 
ped a great deal of cotton, gathered chiefly 
in the rich and extenfive plains by which the 
town of SebbSj ^the ancient Serrje^ is fur- 
rounded, and its brilliant culture gives to the 
market of this city an extraordinaiy briiknefs* 
Here too, velfels take in, a great quantity of 
highly-eileemed tobacco, grain gathered in 
fields of admirable fecundity, very beautiful 
wool, filk, and the flofs that comes from i^ 
together with wax, honey, &:c. &€. What a 
fruitful fource of profperity ! What a vaft 
field of induftry ! The one requires only to 
be freed from the obftacles wju«h ftop its 

.courfe 



$6^ tRAviti rir 

coui-fe, and the other claims a pdpulatioil 
lefs fcanty and lefs cnflaved. 

Salonica is not always in Sibdde jR> 
healthy as we fhould have reafon to expeft, 
from the beautiful fky under which that to\vn 
is fituated, and from its chlrttiing pofition. 
The plague, the formidable offspring of tlic 
improvidence of the Turks, and which neithc^ 
depends on the temperature ttor on the na- 
ture of the ^tmofpheie, frequently liiaked 
cruel attacks on its population. But the ac*» 
cidental infalubrity of the air occafidns fevers, 
which come in autumn to fecond the plague 
in its terrible ravages, and this infalubrity is 
alfo the work of an adminiftration which, not 
confining itfelf to afford proteftibn, has con- 
trived to vie with the mofl violent diforders ill 
the frightful prerogative of defiroying man- 
kind. Stagnant waters have been accumu- , 
lated between the town and the little river 
Verdari, which the Turks call Frrdac^ and 
which difcharges itfelf into the head of th^ 
gulf: from thefe marfJies, the formation of 
which it would have been eafy to pi-event,- 
and which might as eafily be drained, emanate 
numerous germs of corruption to the atmof- 
pbere of Salonica, and of death to its inha* 
bitaAts, 

I ecpployed 



6RBECE AlfB TURKXT. 365 

I employed the time of our ftay in fre- 
quent excurfions to^the plains ^vhich extend 
to the north of Saionica, and I preferred 
thefe walks in the domain of Nature, to the 
monotony of a town, which, like all the 
towns of^ Turkey, is, truly fpeaking, only 
the domain of diforder, tumult, and ennui. 
Every morning the frigate's boat landed me 
at the head of the gulf, and I paffed days in 
Tifiting the beautiful plain which extends a» 
&Lr as Seres. Shooting, efpecially at birds, 
among which pheafants are not fcarce, ren- 
dered my walks very agreeable; they were 
a neceflary diftraAiou to the chagrin which 
I felt in crofling difirifis, deftined by nature 
for the moft brilliant fertility, and neverthe- 
iefi uncultivated or negleSed; affli6ling 
fymptoms of difcouragj^ment and defpotifnu 
I prolonged my walks till it was dark, but 
the neceffity of returning on board every 
evening, prevented me from extending them 
as far ^ I could have wifhed 
. Our ftay foon became ftationary. Various 
advices induced D'Entrecasteaux to re- 
main yet fome time in the harbour of Salo- 
kica; I refolved, in my turn, to avail my- 
felf of this interval, in order to make a 
Journey into ancient Macedonia. Mount 

Olthfus^ 



3*4 TRAS^BtS l» ^ 

OLVMPtrt, on th* top of ifrhith the wahn 
iniagmation of the Greeks had fixed the 
abode of the gods^ prefeuted to our view, 
on the oppofite Cide of the gulf, its lofty 
and rounded fummit The ^viifli of afcendkig 
that celebrated mountain, took po0effion of 
my mind, and I haftened to cany my proje& 
into execution , but wlien I communicated it 
to the French merchants and conful fettled 
St Salon ic A, with a view of obtaining fome 
information, they concurred in diffaadii^ me 
from it. The Albanians, who hlive inherited 
the bravery of the Macedonians, but who 
tarnifh it by ,the exercife of terrible rob- 
Ijeries, had revolted ; they no longer ac- 
knowledged the authority of the Giund 
Signior, nor oonfequently that of the paqha of 
CoNSTANTt3(roPLE, whom they confidered 
as an odious enemy, becaufe he had re- 
<!tently marched againft them with a part of 
l|is forces, and had in vain attempted to re- 
duce them: The hatred of thefe people againft 
the Turks of SaLok ic a extended to the very 
infaabftauts of the fame city; the Franks 
jQiaYed of this enmity ; in ihort, to expofe 
myfelf in countries inhabited by hordes of 
ODurageous and cruel p^ple, united under 
At aiftthority of princes, real chiefs of rob- ^ 

bers, 



ten, was to give myiblf up to a certain xleadi.' 
This^vas idl the inlpniiEtion that I couM 
oAie&f and certainly it M^as not of a nature 
to be very uttfuH to me. liie marks of intereflf 
Which I reeeivecl on tttis occafuni f«om my: 
coimtrymea^ penetmted me with .gaatttade; 
I thanked theiiK but at the iame dine f 
Ik^^d them not to take it' amHb, W; lio«w 
met well founded theirfrQibjeda of fear might 
ftnn, I ihould not thelefs perfi'St in my «e^ 
fidutiom '• 

It was te train to-ehd^aTour to put' tfyi 

itUkLto « it^lU^ DfT Mimoe agaiult ^66{tl« 

dHbinlmed and eji€«ictt9diiiJtii«^«iib;ofaites| 

a-^Mikig^ piece wa^ tbe »tifty weapon ilkdt 

woiiIi:>talie{^b«tI thpnj^Tof eov«ra)^g>^^i]6rffdlf 

witb .a^flftetd, ^ifh >h«id bem efi gf eslt fer^ 

m&^to^me'^en 1 >\iM4j<^eUin^ In Hh^jnidft 

of the barbarous inhabitants of EdPr^'ft ^ *^9»k|. 

mg tio^ Ibngnr abic^ aiiy more t'tmt I wa» in ^ 

tiaitfVOUfttty, to dppeai^inikftty as a niQSiaiy 

BMtn, in ihe lexeurfiQ^^hich I was gUierg-ttf 

n«41eriak», I refoived^fo appear ^efe e»' i 

pi|3ltficiiili« ft is- wen ftn4»Kvn hqw^ raueh 4Si« 

in;«i<irctwaming*ai^ cMing^ 1^^ difimteitf 

ttf WMfkmd ia htM \n ^ehersttivt iMAftn^ 

OtiWHli^ and >hey gMini us a eoitfidef^* 

l#lkM^y<#efkfe lO'the^eflftpiriea e^W €)Mh 

.r. • >'-, I country, 



3d6 YKAV2LS iir 

country, whether they have a higher qjmioa 
of our knowledge, or partake with tiatioiis 
more enlightened, the rage of giving' .the; 
pn&ference to every thing that comes -fionr 
afar : accordingly the lirft conifir may call 
J^imfelf a phyfician in thofe oovmtncsi and 
aEttraft the crowd. But . the pradtice of p^^fio 
by no means refembles that which isexerctfed 
among us ; diet, regimen, ptifan^,. and other 
yemedies which we 9ibuf6 inqiQ: bei^ruck out 
of the difpenfary of the Orientals ; qht per*: 
fn^ refignation is unHnown to tbem;- tjiey 
wiih Wa^ve remedies and ^/peedy mi«, or,.- 
atlesft, pallia*iveifw>m .which, they inayifcel 
relief. I fliall not enlug« jmoif ^qn ;tl;errttl>je& ' 
of this Singular mode 0f treata^v^ cC the 
Orientals, becaufe I have fpoken OfHiVeiy mu 
Butely in my Travi^u in* VrsBp.. Ajrnr 
Lower Egypt. , .jr-t. : ...: -^ 

The preparativeti of a journf^ wjbich was 
to. lail but a few dayjs,. were not ^ng^j^wid i 
was fpon ready to fet out. M, de T-r— ryjux 
ofiicer.in the regiment of P — r-f, ^d^fiomn 
man(lant of the detachment of thil. idifps 
Serving on board of the MjGKomi^> ftiibtdt 
to accompany me. 1 1 jrepeatied ijt;^>jbiim oU 
that had been told me at SAi'<>^J(c^ljrr%^* 
ing <lie.rteoRyei^ipnc?s and,dWg«««litlti» 
. ^ ' journey, 



GREECB ANI>, TURltET. 3IS7 

journey, and I apprized him that my manner 
pf travelling was neither pleafant nor caa- 
yenient, and that he muft expert fome diflSl-» 
fuUies, ^nd, perhaps, a few untoward ad- 
ventures. M. DE T had a cultivated 

underiland^ng and a tafte fpr knowledge; to 
thefe he joined a refolute mind; al^ that I 
con W fijy did not affefl; him j he promifed 
me not to deviate from what I ihou^ld have 
to advife faipi in a country, whofe mannets 
and cuiloms were entirely unknown to him: 
hojveyer, full of confidence in my habit of 
travelling, he ha^!, he f^tid)' no uneafinefs» 
as to th^ dange]:s which had lH:en pointed out 
tp us. We thprefore took leaye of D'Ent^b- 
CASTEAyxj ^yho loaded us with the wifhes of 
frank syid gen.erous friendfliip, which ML 
PE . T— ^ ihared with me, and . we landed 
from the frigi^te on the IQth of July, 1730, 
^t eight q'clock in the mprnina;. 

This was tbie hour of the appointment on 
lyhifh we hgd agreed for oiir departure from 
Salonica, with fome #re^ks of that town, 
owners of a.fqiaU boat, ^nd with whom we 
|iad made a bargain for taking us to the 
.weft coaft ofthe.gulf^ We waited a Ipng 
time 05, the.. beach, but no mariner appeared. 
]^t was a^g^eat feftival ^ifiong the Gree](9^ aiid, 
3 they 



$69 "TRAVELS in 

Hicy did not content themfcflves vrtth ceic-*- 
brating it at church ; feailing iras alfo part 
dt the iolemnity, and our boatmen, of a poor 
ctllfs, were celebrating the faint at a tavern^ 
We looked for themtt long time in quarters 
inhabited by ieafaring people ; at laft we were 
told where th^ were, and we found them 
at table, not thinking at all of the likcarfion 
tiiat we were to make. They prevailed on us 
to return to the beftch, whithfer they would 
follow 4i6 immediately : we remained there 
the whole day wi|:hoat ieeing ihem, and it 
was not till about ^ght e clock in the eyen* 
ing that' we were able to find llhem agftSn-; ' 
'w» 'forced '4hem to come doiMn to their boat^ 
but tjhey wer<e 4ttlkcli a' fliate of ebriety that 
^y could fcntcety ftand. After :ha(VHi^fpent 
the day in ennui and impatience, we con- 
cluded fey ''finding 'ourfelves at night ^t the 
mercy of pe€)^e who, in Ae fituati on tlicy 
^w^epein, appeati^dto me more dangeroua than 
•tfie Albanians^ However we made them em- 
'bark» at the rifii of being all drowned, t 
'itaA no nneafinefi as to our paif^e acr6& 
-the gulf ; bgat the landing on the weft coaft» 
which I knew to be obftm^ed by fhoals, pre-» 
ftnted to me difficulties, which did not appear 
to m€«Sy to* beavoided during tbc night; 
5 - befides 



GltE£CE\Allt>' TVRKBT. 369 

hefiim Inhere were we to land^«i'a<;6Jft ^irti 
iHiteh I wa^ D6t at all acqiUibtcdr I todk 
gbid cart liot to communicate" thdfe refleil- . 
tf6\n to my •c<Mnpa;tii(jn } he entered the hoAt 
wth mucli cfonfido^e, and we let falil. 

We were fix \n all ; the two Greeks belotig- 

ing»>faK!t# feoat, M; t>E T had't^kfen with 

llfite the drummer of his company, and I my 
young Greek, who had atfef^d^ ttie ftom 
Cax^a. No fooner was the '^ftlil fpread 
than the bOitman, charjgsed with the manage- 
ment of it, dr6ppfed^afleep, and fell fprawling 
a% the bottotn of the boat ; he who fteer^ 
had a grisaf indliiiMion to do the (kme, but I 
k^t him awake as well as Jf trasin rty powef; 
not tllat'I pl&c^ niuch confiderioe hi him, 
But I whhed^ to know the^ dlneftiofn that he 
would take, in ordei" that t Height be guided 
for making the Isirid. When I had found 
%hat we wire goihg iieftrly *orth-eaA, I no 
IbDtiger Attached the fame importanoe to ftfii 
Ih^nting tfei Ikipper 16f the pii^oft ttf pr^ 
▼entingliim ftoth ikepiiig, if/ however, onfe 
could ^(ider as lawak^; i ihan Haggerinf 
d^onk; He fcktti aVttiled himfeMF of the mo*^ 
liiMts df quiet which I lefr him, and ftll 
dle«^; Ipiiffiied him, Ke fofled^to tife \kft- 
tMk of the boait^ «^d llaid li(dd df the tH^ 

v»L. XI. B b ler. 



37^ TSAT£LS IK 

ler. There .11*4 a iWell cm the water; M. 
BK T--^^, little accuilotned to its agitation 
in a boat (6 fmall as ours, ww fick, and ly- 
ing at. his length, wrapped up in his cloak : 
my young! &F€ek wa^ lying befide htm, fidcer 
dill, fo that. the bottom of the )boat was co- 
vered by fqur perfons, whom dtfierent <;attfes 
rendered incapable of movement I remsuned 
alQne vfitlx the drummer. 

:I^voUr6d by a good wind, our voyage 
wa3. fortunate ; but, on approaching the 
coaft, my enibarraiTment becaihe extreme; 
I. hcQrd.the agitated waves breaking with 
ndfc on the beach ; and, in the dark, I 
did not perceive the land. We took in the 
fail,. '\^ Ofder thi&t we might not be daihed 
to pieces^ a^d I induced thej drummer to 
take an oiar and row as well as he coukL 
Prefently he called out to me that he touched 
groiind; ,1 ran forward, and having myfetf 
take|i;tbe oar, I founded to kpow what was 
the liftti<re of the bottom ; I found it of fine 
fand :^i^ fear of meeting with harcler fub- 
fiancesi fti^high: would liave flofre,<t|ie l|oat, 
I refolvjcd to ;rua her on ihore. il appriaetl 
Mi D? T— ^^ of my intension, a^ the -fanje 
.^e ii^^firipg him. ^ hoM^himfejfiin .ires^di- 
n^^jiP <^\KM\Toagii Jfte.4|«aiqw. wgter in 
d u Xi j^d^^ 



•i£EG£ Aiu> TITRKfet. ^ft 

order to reach tb^ land. At the moment 
vbeii-we firuck the ground a waive came into 
tl)e boat, and inundated oar two drunkards, 
who thought themfelves loft; we left them, 
and .we agi^in made a. rather long trip, having 
the water fometimes up to our middle^ be^ 
fore we found ourfelyes on dry land« 

The day did not yet appear; nothing 
ai-ou^d us announced the vicinity of habi- 
tationsy and we refolved to Wait on the beacU 
till We (hould dired qjar fieps with certainty 
towards fome village. . But we did not re^ 
main motionlefs, and we endeavoured to warm 
ourfelves by continual exerx^iie. Prefentlythe 
watchful Aurora covered with her gold and 
purple cloak .^ the arc of the horizon, which, 
oja. the. eafl, feparates light from darknefs; 
the.luminafy of the day. was not long in 
^pearing^ anc^ with it, the beautiful country 
^hichwe.had before us. Looking at each 
f^er, .we could not refrain from burfts of 
IjWightf^r, on feeing the pretty pickle in which 
we^^^r^. ..Our clothes, which we had not 
cjl^jfp of the befi, were, foi; the greater 
g{yrt, fjp^ed with fea-water and clinging to us ; 
^nd the coW, by which we were penetrated, 
gi^ye to our countenances a painful look, 
which was perfectly in unifon with our plight 
B b S It 



^)i +<tAVELS tir • 

it was rmpoHiUetoappeir tb gfeatef dffitdvati'' 
tagf , and vre vfferc really very flUoikhtg ^Jf- 
Ifciatre; Oilr ftiariners liad contrived tb drag 
thdt boat, half^fwamped, irito a little er^elt t 
fleej^, and ftlir more the fea, by ^rhich they 
had been ftruck, had ^iffipatcd' their ebriety; 
they beggtid Us to forgive them -for what had 
happened, and they ceafed riot to congVatiifete 
ir$ on havlhg extricated ouMiilves fof well. 
We left them and pi*ocieded t6wards a VIHage^ 
bttih a g;ood half league froih the fei-fide. 
rt is called FnouMtiti ; its fituation is agree- 
able, in a fertile plain, and it is Well bftilt, 
- Diifei-ent learned foeiettes have 'fefewt! 
tirnes propofed prizes, t^hich were' tp hS 
adjudged to the plati of cotiftrtiaion tho 
moft fuitaMc for rural habitations, the aflem- 
bhtge, or rather the huddling together of 
irhich, in the greater part of the 'V^Ha^fl^ 
of our countries, and particularly^ in thofe df 
the north-eaft parts of FaAWCE, befid^ aH 
kinds of inconveniences which ai*^ thc^e*e- 
cumutatbd, leaves an opeii range ^o tfti^va- 
ges of fire, and becomes the abodfe of '^Itti- 
nefs and dilbrdets. The tjiieftibh cigftVtot* ttt 
better folvtrf than in t^e paVt d(MAtrti0^fM 
whidi I viflted. Indepcft'dently iftfie^a 
conttruAibn xjf the hoUfes, eadh T)f -tliof^i 

' ^- which 



^Ifich form. » vill§8? i^ inft4atf?d^ ai^ %*• ^ 
rated by ji^Mrgf ^PK^i ^^^^^-i^^l^^fe th*t fta»4: 
^^ V^ftf . An i^dyfu^r^ »0E^ ^ ^ff*: ip^w^iougi p 
V^ formed by :|nilipidcs or qiuck^fi^ hedges,; 
furroundsit; thi$.grout)d is ^Imod alwa^ 
cultivated a& a;j^qit,ior kitf^ent :f;|fdei}, a foi|k 
of culture wi^ipb )s ivot tof^he^X^e of ^^ in-, 
habitants of our country-places^ aodwhiclv 
YTfL canjaot too nifcl^ P^S^SP ^^ ^ ^9pt 
as».4n alimentary, r^fouvci? that, ivpuld pqq^ 
triibute to majojUiuthem in 'bq^th- 

Thp alpe^^jf.tbe villages pf ]^4Cj|Df(^iA 

or.Ai.^V}A is 'Very agree9b}>^ Tt^ tr^ 

which grow there ov all Mes^y Bfffi^t, gt ^% 

diilance, th« imsig^ of ^ larg^ g^mdra^ j^ml 

the ,hoiiies wh^h appear through yid^ giv^ 

an idea of buildings for ornament or p}ef^ 

fure, rather than th^t pf the . dwellings <»f 

liljagers. The air circulfLte^ freely* betw«9i^ 

tbenoi and thefnnsmer h^ats arf teoiper^d by 

thje coolnefe of . t,h(^ prichards l^y .vhi«i) tH^ 

are (baded. Jh^ people who iahj^bit them 

announce, by their vigour and robuil cpn({ir 

tutAOff, vhf^t nuqi^rous adyant9ge94t)^nd tl»^ 

method of bviildw^^ villages^ ^nd h(^W. m^liih 

it were to be wi(hed that it was introduced 

ii^ our couutcy-places. . Thi» is ^ f^vo^r ^l^ch 

they claim, and the executioaxif mfaich pre^ 

Bb 3 fents 



374 'fiiAviLS IN , 

fetfts not fo many difficulties ias might be 
imagined at firft fight*; it is worthy of the at- 
tention of a repaiiing ^^Trnmen^, which it 
bringing bacic on the foil of Feance all forts 
. of bleffing*s, with a rapidity, almoft equal to 
that of the frightful overflow of ills by which 
fhew95 not long fincc inundated «nd almoft 
fwaliowed up. 

Every houfe is intrufted to the care of fc- 
veral dogs, and they acquit themfelves won- 
derfully well of this employtnentt They rove 
Qtght and day round their dwelUpg ; ftran- 
gers^ who might go out alone> during tlie 
jiTght, wouM infallibly be devoured by them. 
During the day, they content themfelvess 
with barkingdand following paifeiigera very 
olofely, to fome diftance from the houfb where 
they are fed, and they are fpeedily re- 
placed by others ; fo that in walking in the 
ftreets, or, to exprefs myfelf with greater 
precifion, in the alleys of the village?, you 
have continually round y<iu five or fix of thefe 
great dogs, whofe angei* ipfpires % degiee of 
^r. And indeed it is dangerous to appear 
there without being accompjmied'by fome one 

' ^ I propoTe to prcTcnt m^ views pn this AibjeA in a 

belonging 



6RSECB AKO TlfRK£Y. 375 

belonging fb the plaoe ; not that his prefence 
hinders the dogs from running out at paffed- 
gers ; but, at leaft, he can keep them off with 
impunity, when th^y approach a little too 
Hear, and it is for this reafon that no in- 
haibijtant go^ out without being ann^d with 
agr^tftick. 

The dogs of Albania formed a diftinguifli- 
ed race among the ancients; they have not 
degenerated, but are ftill very handfome and 
of a large fi^; we may add that they are 
y^ry niifchievous, and this is an affinity which 
ihey have to the men who biTeed them, I 
found, iQ fdjEty in the inhabitants of VRon- 
MCRi, though all Greeks, a rude, Aern, 
and barbarous look, which I had not yet 
Tomarked in the different tribes of the fame 
nation that I had vifited. An old papas was 
the chief of the village ; he was a mali- 
cious and treacherous man, and I thought 
that we ihould not get out of bis hands. 

On our arrival we waited on this prieft<» 
governor; I told him that we were phyficians 
of high reputation, and that we propdfed to 
90 and gather plants of great virtue which 
gprew on Mount Oltmpus; I begged bim, 
at the fame tiine, to procure us the means of 
repairjpg to that mountain; be prooiifed us 
Bb 4 every 



57* . — TE4Vt|r» 111 

ev<^ thiag, Imt performed nofchitig ; h« ewty 

moment: threw freih di^culties : an my ^ay ; 

2li4> as h^ ba4 feen that I had removed a few 

]Qf offering him money, berims^iiRed that for 

ev^rycmherr^ifinent rcalorimaginajy, which 

h^jpight pr^ifpt, 1 ihould ftill coRtioue to 

give him feme. We were obliged: ;tx>fpend 

th^ whole day ^t VftouMEEj, bat we did 

not th^re r^iii^in idle. Patients came to con^ 

(ult qp^ pjk^ we h^ "work .en.QugJi to anfwer 

tbeni; and point out to them remedies* Thb 

£ril patient tb^t we faw was a womi^n upr 

wards of agbty, who for ten years pad liad 

had the palfy in all her lmb$ ; the papas> ta 

whom ihe was related, infifted that we ihould 

«re her. — * * A pretty beginning, " fiud M. ox 

T — r- IsQ roe, " if wc have to treat two or 

'^ three paitients fo inveterate and fu incur* 

'' .able^ out medical reputation will go to 

^* wreck. "-T-** Take good care," anfwered I, 

** not to betray the dighteft embarraiiinenlv 

" or we ilhall be rmiaed ; nothing muft ap- 

** pea,r impoffible to vi% . nor even di&gnltt 

'^ 9^ii,fhy your leave, I iJ^ll repr^fent this 

y old vpman's diforder air^ trifie, w^ioh can- 

V qot.Teua our ftill." Inifa^r scfter bw^img 

ff^^iff^d^l to exaviHie the patient with much 

^ttiii^M^ I prei^rilMMl wi^ ^ik remedies 

which^ 



GREECB Airi>.T0miCET. iJJ 

irfaiflb,tl> (aid, mre fpecdily to effdtmovh ; 
I left;.>ia.teal}ty, oiri^ -ti! chknencDl ihiipcv 
Ijliit tiieffHtimcntof itiiich iiiitigated««mt'leai: 
for a few days, the fate.of thii un£3rtiuaa|ft 
woman. . * / , . ' - .i ... 

' O^jthatidfty. lalfo let blopd isvend timcsqi 
M. DteT-rrtrrr bfld theipailrt, anil fcequentiy; 
4n (landiuDg: oppofite to each odicr, . we wen 
ready jbo. dispart from the gi^rity which wt 
iirQM.ta keep, and i^hich was alaaayi reac^^ 
to. efpat)e "us. Aiy compauion could ' not 
fftt \bt better o€ hi:i aftaniifame nt at feeing 
mc operate, . anfwer, prefcribe as a real pfayw 
HciaA/ and as if I had nerer folknred any 
{^tbeTiprofefiion. We wera treated with tlui 
iiighaft degree ofconfideratiDii, and we ^pafled 
the <^y laad nSght rery quietly in a place 
vhere, \mt Sot the apparent, yrt very diiiAr 
terefird'ierTtces ivhich we rendered^ we might 
liave i)een> mnleftcd* Early the next morning 
I. renewed my entreaties to the papas, i« 
order to have guides. I had acquired fu& 
§denjt influence over hia mind and ovit 
that, of hU eouiitryipen, to fpeak with flim- 
-neb i I threatened to eomplain to tlte aga^ 
and he at length yieided to my fohcitationa. 
We were ttaiielliog iu one ot the niott lieao- 
tifol coui|trka ia tiie worid^ wh^« yegecation 

is 



J 



378 TAAVEXS IN 

h brilliozit' and cultuie aftive; ufeful trees 
tli€|re:iiiier£a(e raral^riclves, cover the foil with 
tiieiicooloefs of their 9iade, aodferve as an 
afyltun.ta birds of every fpecies, the ordinary 
companions of fertility. We there remarked 
]Nifticu1arly nlany turtles, jays, 4ted magpies. 
Sttfks are common^ in all this country, efpedi« 
a%. in the environs of SAtoNicA, and I 
fimnd, in a nefi». young ones of .tbat^^ecies, 
ready to take wing^, at the end of the month 
bf June. Thefe abird& are to the Turks, and 
to fall the Orientals, facred creatures; tlie 
IiDiifes.on which they, build their nefts ane 
confidered as bldledy and fecnre from all 
Sitcidteht. ; It is, no. xloubt, a very fortunate, 
Biui:'at tlie fame time/ian nncomnion cincum* 
ibmipe, when fuperfbitious idea&'tura to the 
account of the general good ; and this fort of 
.veneration for dorks tends to the pref^rvatton 
of animals, valuable on account, of the ap- 
petite which leads. them to deftroy iuch as 
^re ttOXJjQUd : thus it is that the' ancient 
EgypUaos had fucceeded in rendering their 
coUntiy habitable and profperou^ . by deify- 
ing animals from which an agricultural peo- 
ple may dei-ive the greateft advantages. To 
kill ftorks would be a crime in the East; ac- 
. cordingly they.are.often feen >yalking in troops 



ia the midft Kif fields foWti and cropft, with 
as much trtiliquilfity as i^ tbey had heea 
brought VLf in a fiste of dontejlicity. 

After having, during the moriring of tlie 
lith, walked during a violent' heat, we' 
arrived, towards ' iiopd/ at a large village 
called KATBtu^Ny the' refidenee of an AU 
banian Piince, to whom the tjrf^ek merchant \ 
of SAtovrcA had given IM a: fetter of reobm-* 
mendalion. This Prince, who was halsied' 
Haul* AC At had juft raifed the ilaiidard of 
nvolt ; hc^ was much taken up with his watUke 
preparatives; millruftful, befides, of thefnam 
whieh the Ottoman court is in the habit of 
^7>Ag for thofe whom it wiAes to- d^roy; 
meafures of meannefs and iymptoms of the 
weaknefi of the government, he admitted no 
one. We were not able to fee him ; but he 
excufed himfelf in a very polite manner^ 
and when he was apprized of the fubjed of 
our journey^ he ient us two of his foldiers tcl 
accompany us to Oltmpus. ^e immedi* 
ately fet out, ftnd arrived abou* the middle 
of the night at a village fituated on the 
dejplivity of the mountain, and which the 
Greeks ca^l SkaIa^ fcale, becaufe one is al- 
ready at a tolerable height whoi one arrives 

there. 



t)tfip», mA fa»Muift the itpflivitf, gonttetiB 

Wc waited tiK tte: d^y appeared Jo ofderf 
t9 pTf((ent:^nfklvt6]^t; the Grcak iconrcnt 
QgiSK4i4i th^. monlfis th*fe gate ui.» good 
9»e(^m; ft bkhop h^ppane^iJa .hfi tblBM.oa 
bi9 twf.' He wlw^ better infi»r»»d JAam the 
biib^p^ fif the Klftn^sk :W(d of |lifi.:c<folinosif 
of A^^A aff jftf gpeMrai. Thd. lito4 :^ M^^ 

^^vkAr .M'fiii this ppinl; of cotnt^ft i^.iut* 
fi^et,:tf nPt to^idKpel.the.dou^ oCTigii^ 
t^O^.'i'vthiiSk .itUl j^(ra^s. tJbat couAtrjr,^ a* 
lis»A t^ dimiotAi. it9 tbipkuefs. This biftofm 
wl^ftr p^ribniim sd{>6aAbk »dwhofe dtfv 

14%;! tbiftiitad fodTji^ a moreiltKf^ mean of 

V0 i$«I^tod to U9]mip mAQjr. exAoiticiiiB .the 
mowiA^rks of l^befe coiiDtries h^ ta fuffet 
£r«m.i)Ml AUpanUns, diffo^eat p^ftioikof whom 
frequently c%m& to;plu9der tbennof lAjr them 
UPlfler ^optrihutioo. Jfc jrecdlo^t^ tbejtwo 
&ldiat9 who «ecooipaniod. m, ta.be.of the 
iiriim))er of thofe ivho, not Jrag fince* had 
coivmitt^ cobbrrimM^t tbe^coiiAretttiof S&a> 
JjA : jhe reprefented them to us as two of the 

ipoft 



(hdd «Eg(Khf)ined tht^e» «f the doustiy, knd 
t«% bad oJrMidy ftftt enough «f.them to dif* 
^v^ tItei<>«lir:^odd biiliop did not deoci<^e 
Mj ii«t-that*tlWy >had tetideavoured to fteal 
sthy dinftg^^mYn- us, or to lead A6 Imto a»^ 
aftibtrfeidd ; Mi they i^eUly bttd the look- 'Of 
notorious: f^ui^drels, atidr«)M»9Rdif«i$iirf«'^et- 
liiaiy-4:(#re(^ded ^rkh^ tbe^^Tifii^ -^tiireft 
oftheif botfhtfftttatice. ' Wlicrf '»« had <^toiit«d 
Che plain, m order to begin to sfcoict O2.YM- 
^V9, and hftd reached tbe forf^ which eOvtt 
it almolt entirely, oUr guides hegan to r£- 
lM6 to us mntuatly their rtfbbilig' exploits, 
0i -vrh^b the woods thtt ^^e "Vit^ erc^tig 
had beau th6 theatre; -^ " There, '^ ftid thft 
one, ^ ' I affified in iMurdeHiig ftxid 'pliinddrioTg 
" -fix tsrturellefs:?^ ^ " At tUfe 'fdm- «f i^hdt 
" tree," refiimtd the oth«r, "I kiU<}d:with a 
** KtauIKjit-ihct a Greek triidtAr, ivtko'W^'Xiaf^ 
*< tyiuf^ iaoP«!^ to thfe '<*flViBiit Of SkA^Lk." 
o^'f: Dd y«a"r«ine*b«^/" It^ttteed tih« feft; 
f* tf^ TliVks Wh^m it<6 etit Itt^CM irith- 

*«'J>la<*M*«i»e We fell in With thetift.J* - 
■ 1Ph«; iititmMioh • df^'W Vofth;f i ^itl^ 
ofiittJWdfed^ttefiH*^ m tliie'ftintf'if^fel'^dHn^ 
^bf WlMid'tittie that! our journejr lafted; tilt 
itre' reaetNl^ 'SkAl-a. llie darkftde nf-'-tMi 

nightj 



$9z TlAVEtS 19 

niglit, and the moiirafiil filQnce iiiiich tber« 
rc%ned^ gave to their difeourfe sm Imprcffiop 
of terror with which it was difficult not to be 
aflfefled. I loft no time m difpeUmg thie 
^armsof M. i)£ T......» who ^oold not. help 

feeling fome uneaiSne& — '^ The exiftence of 
'* thefetwo monfierSf" iatd I to him^ ^'is 
** doubtlefi a jnisfbrtune to human nature, 
^* 'l^t it is no kfe foitunate for us that th^ 
^^ are robbers well known; we have nothing 
^^ to fear from them. The confideration 
^^ which, atf robbers, their crimes have ao- 
^^ quired them with their feUows, fecures us 
^' from other attempts, and the aga well 
•r knew that>. by fuch a choice, bfccontri- 
* * buted powcrfuliy to our fafety. On the 
^^ other hai^d, we have not more to^ad om 
^' their part; you hAve taken notice of the 
** reQ>e6L which tliey ihew us; i^}L:mll 
<< continue it ; we are under t)id^>§rc$edion; 
^' this is a facced title in the ey«s of almofi 
f^/all the nations of tlie £497. Thp Bedouin 
^ \ : wboi .receives a Granger into Jii^; lent,* be- 
^^ com^ his fi-iend and his iM-otlierj^r^nd 
^* .ba4 be.met with him on the fan^y^ pUU^s, 
^■nivbteh he hs^ «»a^ his^ barniiig.dowwiiti 
?':4«J;5y^Mld havp ftripped witbput pity tbft 
"-■ ^'^y n»A towards whoqi. {u? . e^Mfil^^ tb© 
, •'/. ** virtues 



GRBECB AlW TVRKBY. . 383 

*' virtue^ of hofpitality, . whtcfa^ thrott^a 
'' iiDgular mixture of good and bad quali- 
^^ ties, he knows'how to blead witfh .vices 
'' the moft pernicious to all human fociety*. 
'' The Albanian, more warlike, but alio more 
^^ ferocious than the Bedouin, has not the 
'' fame focial virtues; but he ha3 enough of 
'' the general manners of tliefe countries, 
** to rdped; what he is charged to proteA; 
'^ and I am certain that we ihall have every 
*^ reaibu to be fatisfiied widi tKofe who are 
^^ become the companionfi of our journey." 

A magnificent profpedl is enjoyed from 
the consent of Ska la: on one fide, the fea, 
the neighbouring coafis.of Mount Athos, 
the numerous iflands which render it very 
diverfified; on the other, it extends over, 
the beautifui . plains of >(ace0okia, where 
Philip andAL£XA^B£^ reigned, now given 
up to the barbariim of ignorance, and op- 
prefled by the diibrders of robbery. But Na- 
ture who ceafes not to embellilh themrwtth 
her gifts, feems alio to invite thither tnceff- 
antly the favours of enligjitened civilization. 

The forefts, by which the mcfnaftery of 
Ska LA is furnounded, aio compoi^d of pines, 
firs, oaksy elms, beeches, ^hollies, chefnut- 
trces, &c. and inhabited by \*Tld boars, flags, 

roe- 



j84 * ftLkTBLS t» 

nt^boria, befen, ami birds of ^i^ft-eht/ifecies- 
Wocni«»m>od ( is there' conmibri;' the Greeks 
Bftke it greJit ufe of it for icufing fever aad 
ftrcDgthening the ftomach,* aa well as ger- 
mairder*, which they call karnedrdn. After 
)lav&ii^ fmi*g^ thie patient, the phyfit?aris of 
t^alt country make hfcn take thrW tfhnes a 
day, mornings liooni atid night, an iirfufion 
of>t«m dtaebm^'ef gerrttender tetft^e*. Here 
b olfo fbutkd a ttiffltitufd'e ^f »h><nattc or 
ufeftd phfits, iM inquiry int6 wllicb might 
forakingtiiiieesterei'fe the'zearbf abcrtanift* 
... WHiierwe verc traverflng the(c fcrefts, in 
the cdtirfe of the day 6f the Mth, ^** heard 
oorfrWefl called repeatedly. It ^as otl^ guides 
who were looking ^fer us to inform -us that a 
nnmerovs^ b^dy of Albanians had juft arrived, 
andeftabliftied themfelves 5n ! tfcc monaftery: 
Wbta- we had j6itied th#m, • tiwy- apprized 
m that thefe men were rdbbers" % profeffion, 
amch dreaded in -the country^ • 'they ap- 
.paared to us gieatly embarraffcd as to the re^^ 
Iblutibii whi<!h we \frere to take* to fly had at 
firil appeared to them the^oft pnident-eourfe ; 
iwt thfe Alhaniahs knew of our Arrival, which 
roigbt^havi partJj^^cafioned'-thciT fudden 

3 ' vifit,. 



GREECfe AND TTTItKET^ 381; 

tifit, and tiiey would not fail tofetoutm 
purfuit of us; then we ihould all have been 
loft. 

On the other hand, they did not fee Ids in- 
convenience in ihewing us to people who were 
reckoned determined robbers^ in whofe eyes 
nothing was facred : they> moreover, alTured 
us that we ought entirely to rely on them, 
whatever might be our determination. The 
inquietude of our two foldiers was fincere, 
and theji gave us on this occafion, as well as 
during the continuance of our journey, un- 
equivocal proofs of intereft and attachment, 
which fcarcely left our refle6tions the power 
of reprefenting to our mind that they them-> 
felves were very wicked men. I did not hefi- 
tate as to the courfe that we had to take, 
and we prefented ourfelves to the chief of the 
robbers. Never did man, by the whole of 
his exterior announce better his odious pro** 
feflion. A ftature almoft coloffal, a cor** 
pulence which annoimced extraordinary 
firength, a broad face burnt by the fun, 
large eyes ihaded by thick and long eyebrows 
blacker than jet, a ftem and gloomy look, 
all the features and the countenance of hard 
heartednefs were difplayed on the whole pcr-t 
fon of this chief of robbers, who was re* 

VOL.11. cc fpeftfuUj 



386 THAVItS TBT. 

fpe6ifully called ^a. He was feaitedf on s 
fort of foplia, placixl in th« cool air in a gaV- 
lery of the convent; and furrounded by 
feveral of hia officers: bU long mufk^t, with 
a thin aftd ftat butt like all thofe of Al^j^nia^ 
was ftending ^t hit fide ; a cs^ital pair of piP 
ftola was ^fUlened to bis waift^ and a tliick 
chain of maly filver, ftrengthened by feverai 
plates of the fame metal, fapporied a large 
fcymitar. I approached and repeated to bim 
wh^t I had faid to the papas of Fj^inrcBz; 
that we wei^ foreign f^yftciana, gathering 
wondtrfnl plaiHs which the foii of Olympus 
proilocedy and of which we compofed re* 
medics no lefa wonderful I added that hav** 
lag frequently beard of bk power, we con-- 
fidcrcd ourfelves very happy in having an 
0pporttinity of offering our fervicea to fo great 
tnan. Adulation is the fnare in which fools 
fufFer tb^mfelves to be caught the mod eafily ; 
there are even people of underfiauding wha 
refill not this dangerous bait* i remarked 
a ihade le& barfb on the countenance of the 
aga^ and drew thence the moil fiivourabl^ 
omen. This man had long beea troubled 
with an nicer in bis kg, which iniiomtnod*^ 
ed him greatly ; he afked me if I could cure 
him. I prbmifed him the moft comidete cure 

m 



ckEECB Alrb TiTRkEt. 3S7 

in lefs than a fortnight, md gave him a 
ftnall bottle of Goulard's lotion^ with which 
I had provided rayfelf. 

From that Udoment I tm iavdled with 
the higheft favour^ and might have played 
with fucoefft the part of A prote6lofj which 
fuits the tafte of fo inMiy people. I paffe<i 
the evening with the agat he Would no longer 
allow me to quit hin>^ and we fmoked and 
fupped together. But the rurtiour of the 
arrival pf celelwated phyficians had Ipread 
among the troop of Albanians, who had taken 
up their quarters in a fmall infulated build- 
ing, while the chiefs had chofen the hand- 
fomeft quarter of the nionailery. Each of 
them wiihed to confult, and receive advice 
and remedies. They difpatclied fome of the 
gang as deputies to their aga, in order to 
prevail on him to fend us to the place where 
they had aifemUed. It was agreed that M. 
DB T..4*.9 who pafled for my affiftant, ihould 
repair thither with my little Greek, to fervc 
hijm as an interpreter, I could not help 
laughing at the ru<le tiial to which neceility 
^fubjefted my fellow- traveller, and which did 
not appear to him pleafant I gave him 
haiHly a few inilru£iaons, and he fet out; but 
lue acquitted himfelf fo ill in this vifit, uid 
c c 2 i)etraye4 



368 TRAVELS IK 

f 

betrayed fuch embaiTaffment, that the Al- 
))aniaDS, diffatisfied, . difmiCfed 'him very 
abruptly. In order to prevent the fatal con- 
fequences that might enfue from the ill* 
humour of thefe barbarians, I hafiened to 
repair to the midil of the gang, and^ indeed^ 
it did not appear afionifhing that M. D£ T..... 
had been difconcerted, Neverthelefs, they 
found in me great ikiU in phyfic, and I came 
away at the fame time leaving them the 
higheft opinion of my talents. The night 
paifed in t^be greateft tranquillity; and, fiar 
from having had fubjeds of complaint againft 
this horde of robbers, we prevented the Greek . 
monks from being too ill-ufed by them. 

Very early the next morning we all quitted 
the convent of Ska la ; the Albanians to gain 
tlie plain, and we to continue to afcend 
.Ol Y M p u s. We (lopped at another monaftery 
three leagues from the former; it bears the 
name of St. Dennis, to whom it is confe- 
crated. The mountain is there divided into 
feveral deep points, and the building is fur- 
rounded by thofe towering pinnacles, almoft 
entirely compofed of rocks. The monks 
ihewed us a grotto, in m hich is a fmall 
chapel that they affirm to have been built 
by St,- Dennis himfelf; they alfo ihewed 
5 ' us 



6EESCB AND TURKEY. 389, 

US a hut which ferved him as a retreat, and 
at the extremity of the grotto a fpring which 
iflues in a torrent from the rock, and which 
the faint forced to appear, not by a firoke 
of a wand like Moses, but by ilriking the 
rock with his cap. 

The fmall church of this convent is toler-* 
ably handfome; a large beautiful luftre of 
bronze, made in Germany, is fufpended to 
the roof. A fmall library of Greek and Latin 
books printed in the fame country, and well 
chofen, occupies a chamber of the monaf- 
tery; but their binding will long be pre- 
served in good coiulition, for no one touches 
them. Many other articles brought from 
neighbouring civilized countries, are to be 
found at St. Dennis (in Greek, Agios 
DioNYSJos. ) A large clock of a very com^ 
mon fort is here the particular admiration 
of all thefe difirias. 

Above this infulated convent, which is 
fituated in a very wild place, there are no 
more habitations on Olympus. We fet out 
on the 14th, m order to endeavour to climb 
up to the fummit. We foon met with large 
heaps of fnow. Our guides would not fa-" 
tigue thetttfblves to no purpofe in following us 
farther, they waited, with the young Greek, 
c c 3 ^at 



39® TBAVEL8 Itf 

at the foot of thefe frozen maffes of fnow^ 
iH^here they kindled a lai^e fire, the cold be* 
ipg verj' fliarp at this height* We clambered 
as wejl as we could, the greateft part of the 
day, clinging to the branches of the fhruba 
%vhich became fcarcer in proportion as we 
got higher, and to the projeftions of the 
rocks, which, from the effeft of an eternal 
froft, were frequently detached and remained 
in our hand. As long as we had -^trees an(t 
jhrubs to fuftain us, we w«re able to afcend ; 
but benumbed vegetation no longer produce^ 
any at fome diftance froni the fummit of 
the mountain ; this fmnmit is naked and pr&- 
fcnts only a cap of fnow and ice, on whicl^ 
it is impoflible to fuftain one's felf and walk. 
It is not afioniihing that the Greeks have 
placed the abode of the gods on an emi^ 
nence which mortals cannot reach. 

Thus it is at leaft that we faw the high, 
vaft, and luminous Olympus, as it was called 
by the ancients. It was the middle of July : 
the beat was extreme towards the bafe of the 
mountain as well as in the plain, and the 
mafies of fnpw which were condenfed near its 
fummit, did not appear to be on the point 
pf melting. However an E!ngliflr"traveller 
b?s advanced that ia the month of Sep* 

Member 



OREECS A]l» TVtKET. 39I 

lemberna more faovr i^iben on Oltm^u^. 
We are tempted not to believe the aifer- 
tion of Beowk, ^liien we luve vifited 
the tnoumain during the hotted part of the 
fummtr, and have heard the teftimony of 
the Greek nionks, who have fuceeeded the 
gods on this great elevation of the globe: 
they confirmed to us, indeed, what we could 
ibarcely doubt, the perpetual permanence of 
ihow and ice on the top of the mountain. 

Th« reader may eafily conceive the im^menfe 
extent of different countries which our view - 
Embraced from the top of Olympus; it 
Itsemed to us to touch P£tiON*and Ossa, 
which form another chain of mountains-; and 
the vale of Tempe, of which the anbient 
poeto have fpoken to us as a place of delight, 
appeared to us a very narrow gorge, and 
the river Peneus which waters it, a ftreamlet 
of water fcarcely perceptible. However, we 
there remarked every thing that takes place 
on very lofty eminences; a very iliarp cold, 
waters flill colder, enormous fhelves of rocks 
heaped the one on the other, and alike 
threatening heaven with their point, and 
earth with their fall, and at our feet big 
clouds which, by feparating us from the abode 
of men, feemed to place us in the habitation 
c c 4 of 



39^ TRAVELS IK > 

of the gods. When we had admired all thefe 
obje£b whofe afpe& elevates the foul, we 
agreed to return to our companions, whom 
we had left at fome diftance above the 
laft monaftery; and as on thefe ragged 
and ileep rocks, there neither are paths, nor 
^rajcks to follow, each of us took the way 
*^hich appeared moil convenient to him to 
defcend, and mofl frequently to let our- 
ielves Aide down, fufpended to branches, 
£ut fuch is the habit of travelling in diffi- 
cult places, that I foon ceafed to hear my 
.companions, and I reached the place of 
rendezvous, upwards of two hours before 
them. 

^ M. D'E T.,... had a fever on arriving at 
the convent of St. Dennis, and it manifeft- 
ed itfelf with fuch violence as to give me 
ibme inquietude. 

Two days of reft did not calm it: a mouk 
propofed to difpel it in an inftant; and as 
the quellion was not to fwallow auy fpecjes 
of drug, I prev-ailed on M. de T..... to fuffer 
him to operate. He took hold of both his 
arms, the one after the other; and leaning 
his thumb ftrongly on the artery at the >vrilt, 
he ran it along the vein, ftill preffing it vio- 
kntly with^ his thumb, and not without ocr 

cafionipg 



GREECE AKP TURKEY. 393 

cafiomng pain to the patient, almoft up to 
the ihottlder, I ihall not attempt to explain 
what may be the effeft of this refliix of 
blood in the arteries; but what I atteft, is 
that the fever ceafed, aiiid we were able the 
next day to defcend to the monaftery of 
Skala. 

When one arrives at the frozen fumniit of 
Olympus, one finds many charms in the 
fituation of this convent; the temperature 
there is mild, vegetation vigorous, and the 
number of animated beings greater. ^With 
the exception (MT bouquetins, a^live inhabit 
tants of the rocks,* and a few bears> there 
are hardly any quadrupeds to be feen beyond 
the half of the height of Olympus; fcarcely 
do birds pais this limit, where the heat of the 
atmofphere begins ti>^e loft, and where the 
cold increafes in proportion as one approaches 
the fummit. y 

On the 10th, we rep^red to J^ATHE&mir, 
where we fent our thanks to the ever-invifible 
aga; we alfo fent him a prefent, for which, 
according to the manner* of the Turk.s, ht 
thought fit to give us, in exchange, fome 
proviiidbs. We returned to Vroumerx on 
thtf 19th, a boat deeply laden with com and 
foldiers belonging to the Turkifii navy, was 

thence 



j^4 XXAVBLS IK 

th^ce departing for Sa ionic a. At tbe 
numffot of fiepping into lier, we ieparated 
from our two Albanians; they bad accom* 
panied us to the fba ibbre,- and we gave 
ibfim we}l<^ferved marks of oar fatisfac- 
tio^. The wind was bontratyr it roife with 
idrength, when we were in the middle of the 
'ga\f. The boat being overloaded failed ill^ 
and we were obliged to pnt into a fmall cove 
on the eaft eooft, where we fpbnt the night 
very uncomfortably!, and^ expofed to tbe inr 
N fults of. aa armed raibbli^ who have 4:oaTage 
Ofily:when they feid thefujteriority of their 
Arength, and who^ in .battle»/are the fifft to 
%: i^^tbftt we had more to ondergo in tl^ 
lit^e^run, than, dunng the continuant of 
a jottrney which bad been re}^efeqted to uj 
aa very daiigerons.i At length^re arrived in 
the harbour of SaloniCa, .on the 20th of 
July in the afternoon, and we rqpaired on 
board- of (h« AfiQNQNNEy wher6 we received 
the congratulations . of friendilli}),. fo much 
tbe moijewarm M.coaifidcrableurteafincfs hid 
feeen. felt on ! our account 






CHAPTEa 



qRSEC9 A»P TVEKPT^ 395 



CHAPTER 'XL.^AND;iAST/ 

peparturejrom Salon i^^a. — Deyirs I/lofids.-^ 
Pclagoifi. — S^rakifto and Droini. — Saint 
Elias. — ^Scopoli. — Skiata — Skiro — General 
Obfcrvatio^ on the Archipelago- — Andros. 
•p-Naples of Romania.^— ^rriw/ 11% Frs^ncc 
JnvQcatioii fo good tqfi^. 

JSl 1?EW daya after our jretarn from. Olym- 
TV9f th^ MiGiNQNJiS, fct fail from the harboiir 
of SALOJtfiQji. We faluted, as we paffed^ the 
an><rieot refidence of the gods and its antique 
forefis^ wlueli we had juft vifited. 

On going! out of the gulf, ^ the fliip di- 
rcQ«d her courfe towards the fouth, after 
having doubled the Devil's Iflands. Thcfc 
fire iftet^ or rather fmall flioals, the moft 
ConlideTabie of which bears the came of 
Jquju : they form the extremity of a chain 
of iflands and r^cks, placed before the en« 
trance of the Gulf of Salonica^ and whicli 
extends to the eaft, from the great Promon- 
tory of VoLO, the ancient CEantium of 
Th£S8Aly; till it faces Mount Athos. 

3 Tliis 



39^ TRAVBtS 19 ) 

This iflet of Joura, and a few others, 
fmaller and likewife uninhabited, are very 
near an ifland of little extent, which the 
Greeks call P£LiiON/5/; and our navigators, 
J^ELEJtJssE. It was formerly called PepahE" 
THUSy and was fcarcely more important than 
it is in our days; it, neverthelefs, produced 
oil and wine which had fome reputation. 
The numerous windings of its coails render 
them as if indented, and two deep bights 
would form two good harbours, were not their 
entrance narrow and difficult 

Two fmall iflands, Serakjno and Dbomt, 
alfo afford a place of fhelter to navigators. 
Between them and Scopou^ a mountain 
rifes in the midft of the waters; it is called 
St. Elias: the fame name is met with in 
ieveral parts of Greece, and it is always 
the higheft mountains that have there been 
confecrated to the prophet. 

ScoPELOy and more commonly Scopoli, 
the Sc0PELos of the ancients, is the principal 
of this group of iflands, fituatednear the coaft 
of Great Greece. It is fertile, and would 
be an agreeable abode, if it ceafed to lofe, 
through the vicioufnefs of its adminiilration, 
the favours lavilhed on it by Nature. The 
wine of ScQPoti is ft ill one of the beft of 

the 



GREECE AND TURKEY* 397 / 

the Archipelago; but a ftrong flavour 
of tar renders it unpalateable to many. Off 
the town, or rather the village, fliips find at 
harbour which is not very fafe; they, in ge- 
neral, prefer the anchorage of a great road> 
formed by a few ihoals and the Iflaud of 

^COPOLI. 

The laft of thefe iflands, the remains of 
the continent of Greece, and confequently 
the neareil to the coaft, is that of Skiato, 
whofe name has not changed It is feparated 
from the Ifland of Scopoli only by a chan^ 
iiel of about two leagues, and that which is 
between it and the main land is not much 
wider. Anchorages, rather numerous and 
fafe, are to be found along the eaft coaft, and 
between the fmali iflets which are on the 
fame fide: to this nearly are reduced the 
advantages of this little illand. 

In the middle of the Ifle of Dromi are 
two or three rocks, which are called th^ 
Brothers, and below that of PiLAGyisi is a 
very fmall ifland cMed Skanckro. 

We paffed between the Iflands Ipsara and 
Skiro. Our navigators give to this latter the 
corrupted denomination of Saint Georoe ve 
Squirre. ' This was the ancient kingdom of 
Lycopemes, celebrated from the loves of 

Achilles^ 



39^ ritAvsts in 

Achilles and DEiOAMiiu At this day it 
h, no longer any thing but the theatre of 
vretehedoefs, >vhere are fiill to be found a 
few veftiges of the magnificence of tts aacient 
cdlficek* Steep rocks rife on its furftce; but 
they alfo leave, l^etween tlieij- bales, vallies 
Vhich would be adorned with all the riches 
of culture, if the inhabitants were more nuuie^ 
xous^ more a6iiye, and kfs opprefied. 

If the reader caft his eye on the map of 
Gb££CE, he will remark, that all the great 
capes of the continent have before tliem a 
nnge of iilands which extend into the fea, 
and always in the fame dia^d;ioin as the 
cape off which they are fituated. Thefe 
are, beyond a doubt, fummits pf inoun«^ 
tains detached from the chain, whofe pro- 
montories are themfelves only ihreds; and 
this obfervation, added ta thofe which are 
fcattered in this work, does not allow us to 
doubt that the Greek Abchipelago, act 
very remote periods, formed a continent 
whofe plains have been fwallowed up, afld 
which no longer fliews itfelf but by lofty 
points, lignals of its ancient exiftence, and 
enormous pinnacles, which the eye of the 
ob&rver may dill follow, and which ferve him 

to 



GREECE A2ff2> TVRKBr. 599 

to trace the large Mures of this immenfe re- 
paration of lands* 

ANDBoa, a confiderable ifland, lying in 
front of tbe pe&infula of AaRiFOf commonly 
called NEGMOPovTEy inclining like it towards 
the fouth; cannot be miftaken for the con* 
tiauation of Cape Doro. It was itfelF at* 
tached to the land of TiNOy and the latter 
to that of Mrcoifjy where the mountains 
dimintihing in height and folidity, have not 
been able to pre&nt a fufficiently ftrong re- 
iiAance to the impetuofity of the waters^ 
but have been fubmerged. Andros, which 
has preferved its ancient name, is one of 
the Iflands of the Archipexago the mod 
worthy of remark, according to the exr 
preflion of Strabo, from the fertility of its 
foil and the good quality of its produAi<ms : 
it wants only a good harbour and a better 
government. . 

We paffed between this ifland and Cape 

Donoy leaving on our left the fmall iftand of 

JouRAj and, &rther oif, that of SyrAj all 

whofe inhabitants follow the catholic rite; 

and after having tfaverfed the long (Iring of 

. iflands which extends from Cape Colonna 

very far into the fea, and for a knowledge 

of which I refer to the chart, having nothing 

particular 



40a TKAV £LS IK 

j^articular to fay of them» fince I faw them 
only at a diftance, we caft ^inchor at the 
head of the Gulf of Napou^ off the town of 
the fame name, which is commonly called 
Nafoli m Romania, on the coafi of 
the MoREA. 

A fortrefs of prodigious elevation, the 
afcent to the top of which' is by a flight 
of fteps almoft ftraight, the work of the 
Venetians, defends the .town and harbour. 
This is one of the mod trading towns of 
the Levant; it would be much morefo, if 
the Turks knew how to afford protedtion, in- 
ilead of fpreading deftrudion, or multiplying 
obftacles. There, as well as on all the coaft 
of the MoBEA, many cargoes of oil are ihip- 
ped, and olive-trees co'nftitute the principal 
wealth of the country. 

I availed myfelf of the few days which 
the frigate pafied in the harbour of Napoli 
Di Romania, in order to make a few ex- 
curfiODs inland: I was fond of direding 
them towards the ancient and oelebrated 
Argos. Had not hiilory tranfmitted to us 
the certainty of its exiftence, we ihould at 
prefent be ignorant that it had ever been 
built Time and men have annihilated 
every veftige of it, fo powerful is the em- 
pire 



pire of defiru&ion which confmnes works 
^ the moft fabflantial, and IS inceflantly change 
ing the furface of the globe ! And man, hur^ 
rried awray in his q>henier^ exifience by th« 
torrent of ages, ads as if he were to laft for 
ever, and ^ve eternally on the earth 1 

The cruife of the Midvovm in the Le- 
vant was taminated: we repaired to the 
liland of Malta, concerning which I have 
given ibme account in my TraveXtS iic 
Egypt; and, on board this ftip, I entered 
the port of Toflok, on the J 8th of Oc- 
tober, 1780, at ten o'clock in the ^evening^ • 
after an abfence and a journey of four years. 

In terminating this work, J cannot re* 
frain from expreflipg a fentiment which 
weighs on jny mind, a wiih which will be 
that of all men who have preferved the love 
of French literature^ Great models exift; 
but by what fatality do they appear configned 
to oblivion? Not being abl^ to follow theni, 
I take a delight in admiring them, ahd I have 
thought of paying them the fole homage of 
which I was capable, by employing no other 
language than that which they have taught 
us, and by writing Travels in GacECICt with- "" 
out any Greek expreifion, taking care to 
avoid that crowd of new words, which ia- 

VOL. II. D d capacity 



402 TRAVELS IN 

capacity engendered, as pedantic empiricifm 
wiihed to make of the language of the Ra* 

CIK£8» VOLTAIBES, FeKE'LONS, BoSSUETS, 

«nd BuFFONSy a barbarous tongue replete 
irith foreign words^ grotefquely metamor- 
phofed into French. In taking up my pen 
to write this nanative, I invoked Peace, 
the obje6t of every wifh, and fource of 
every Weffing: it has not been able to refill 
the combinations of .the guardian genius of 
Fraj^ce^ nor the prodigies of our anns^ 
Eternal glory to the wifdom by which it 
was diftated, to the courageous talents by 
which it was conquered I Mankind preferve 
the remembrance of great benefits, and gra- 
titude will tranfmit this, from age to age, in 
the annals of nations. 

There is another l^cncfit which letters ex- 
peft from this new ftate of peace and hap- 
pinefs; and where can we better place an 
invocation to Good Tafte than at the end 
of Travels in countries which were fo long 
^be theatre of it? Privileged heirs of what 
ancient Greece difplayed in graces and 
talents, Laharpe, Delille, Saint Lam- 
bert, BOUFFLERS, LaCEPE'DE, BeRNARPIN 

Saint Pierre, Seguh, &c. you who have 
all prefcrved that purity of ftyle, that co- 

. louring 



GREECE AKD TURKEY. 40j[ 

louring, of images, that juftnefs of expreffion, 
that urbanity truly attic, w'hich conftituted 
the glory of our literature, exert your right 
of inherhance, and repel the facrilegious ef- 
forts of Bad Tafte, which has attempted, un* 
fortunately with too much fuccefs, to take 
pofleffion of your honourable domain : let it 
difappear for ever with its burlefque innova- 
tions; and our country ihall foon be, what 
it was not Fong fince, the abode of public 
profperity, and the brilliant appanage of the 
fine arts. 



DD 2 - INDEX. 



C 405 > 



INDEX 

, TO 

BOTH VOLUMES. 



N, B* The Ronua figures indicate tbt Vofauoe; aa4 th* 
Arabic^ the Pfge, 



jioUCVaVRM. Ic ia iaa lai^iiihiiig eoaditiott in 
the coantrics fobjea to the Tnrki* i. 50. 51. Wheat 
aad barley* fotmerly rery commoa in the Iflaadof Cy<» 
pros, are there becooiie fcaroe, 6u At Argenticra k ia 
ui the moft wretched ftate. Flocb are there fotacA 
only of (heep, which always lir6 in the open air. The 
ihepherds there are not hirelings. In what manner com 
is fown in the Ifland of Candia> 344. The cnltirators of. 
the Iflands of the Archipelago are not indoftrioos. 
They take no pains in the choice of feed. Tares fooa 
confnme it, ii. 156. The firft day of foraigf-time it 

. among them a day of feafting. They fow together 

fereralfpecieiof diflfcrentcom, 157. 158. They know 

Dd 3 how 



4o6 INBE*. . 

how to fecure their feed from the attack of infed3, 382 
and following. On Mount Olympus* vegetation is 
floarifhing, 377. 378. 

Agrotiri {Promontory of). The Greeks call it Cape de^ 
Gattif on account of the great number ef cats trained by* 
the monks for huni&g (haltes* k 88* 

jilhamans. Ferocious difpoiition of thefe robbers, who 
defolate the environs of Salonica. They frequently lay 
the Greek monks under contribution, ii. 380. 381 and 
foil. A gattg^f thde robbers comis in'^e way of the 
Author, who fucceeds in gaining over the chief, 384. 
385 and foil. 

Alixandria, Aridity^of the foil which furrounds that 
'^tdt^n, i. 2. 3^: Quails ar^ there common, 33. 34. 

Amatbus (City of) at' this day ^Vn^/. The ancient city 
is deftroyed, as welhanrDther^phces nnore or lefi fa- 
mous, i. 87. 

Amorgo (Ifland of). Its inhabitants ignorant: they con- 
fttlt a vafe as an oracle, i. 266. 267. This ifland pro- 
duces very large grapes, 268. The torch of the arts 
:fiQd-fcieBCts« ia.eztxn^ttiihed in this iland. Aichil*- a 
fipi^ies of lichen, which* gives to linen-cloths a red 
' -cldlour, iJGg. Mild character of thefe iflandcts ; faaad- 
^ foine women; their drefs, 274. 27$. 
Jhdrea {Sant). -Not far from this flioal, are a few frag- 
' ments of ancient buildings, ii. 217.218. 
Jfnti'Paros (Ifland of). GroHO which has a communi- 
cation under water with fomc neighbouring iflands, and 
the windings pf which have never been explored, ii. 
. *. 263. 264. 

Archiffl^o (Iflands of). Opinion of the Author rc- 
,. fpeftiog'thefe iflands. He affirms that the fea of the 
.. Archipelago covers the famous Atlantis of Plato. Sub- 

terraneou& 



INDEX. 402 

' termneoas volcanocis which cktA the waters of thjs fez 
to boil ap« i. 201 . 202 and foil* This fea preients a la- 
byrinth of iilands and ihoals, ii. j. Defcription of the 
ilorms which prevail there during the winter, 3^. 4. and 
foil. Very diveHified fpecies of birds which frequent 
the idands formed by this fea, 173. 174, 175 and foil. 
Great variety of fifhes which live in thb fea, 201. 
202. 203 and foil. The fiijieryinay become an ix^ppr- 
. taot article of trade for.thefe iflanders, 208. 209. The 
, promontories which are difcovered in this fea, ate no- 
thing more than funimits of mountains,. 398. 399.. 

jirgentiera (Road of), ' Tlie polacre, on 'board which the 
Author is embarked, -is aflaiied by a- furious gale of 
wind at the entrance o/'this road. This is the place 
the moft frequented by ihips that navigate the Archipe^ 
lago, u. 4. 5. Extraordinary currents. . Explanation 
of this phenomenon, 6; Boldnefs which: occafions the 
appearance of a Sclavonian, captain <if » Maltefe. pri- 
vateer, in thU place.* He puts to flight twenty men 
who come to feize him, and he attempts to return to 
Malta with a veiTel which he has fiolen, 7. 8. 9 and foil. 
It is fuppofed that he was fwallowed up in the waves 
with the fruit of his robberies, 12. 13I The only in- 
habited place in this ifland is on the fummit of a moun- 
tain. It is furrounded by high walls; but, neverthelefs^ . 
is no more than a pitiful village* The place is poor, 
and its houfesare ill built, 17. 18. Spedacle of wretch- 
ednefs prefented by the houfes covered with bad roofs 
in the form of terraces. Superftitioo of the inhabi- 
tants, 19 and foil. The Author finds, in a convent of 
Capuchins, a capital pidiure re|>rerenting a miracle. 
The church partakes of the general wretcbednefs, 20. 2 i 

. and foil. The conftrudlion of this town, or village, 

is very modern.. Miraculous origin of its foundation. 

D d 4 The 



4«»- INDEX. 

Th^ Oredcs hare bells in tkts phice« 25. 26. Befbrt 
the wa^ of the Ruffians againft the Tnrks, this ifland 
ei^oyed a lot lefs unfbrtanate. Pirates have increafed 
the calamities of this country. The ifland is formed 
only of fteril mountains, 28. 29. It pofielTes only piti* 
fill flocks and a fmall number of afTes. None but 
ciftem^water is there drunk, 32* It is> howerer, a 
place interefting from its iituation, 34 and foil. The 
Ifland of Argentiera is nothing but a group of rolcanic 
fttbftances. Warm and fmoking waters ftill atteft ther^ 
the exigence of a fubterraneons fire. Great heat of 
thefe waters, 43. 44* and foil. Drefs of the women of 
this ifland, 6a and f631.^Sii too Piati f7.— This ifland 
becomes the place whither the Author repmrs after his 
varioBs eacogrfions in the Archipehigo, 74. 

drdiL A fpedtt of lichen, with which the Greeks dye 
thmr linen cloths red. This plant is rather common in 
the Iflanda af the Archipelago, i. 269. 

Jehi. This mountain is extremely revered by the Greeks. 
Fables related on the fubjeft of theprojefdonof its 
ihadow, ii. 354. 355. 



B 



BJCHELORS9 ate very fcarce among the modem Greeks, 
ii. 130. 

BiorUy. Excellent bread made of it in almoft all .the 
iflands of the Archipelago. The Hebrews formerl/ 
made great ufe of it. Barley bread is much Uacker 
in our countries than in the Eaft, ii. 30* 

J^tfitff of the women.«-^M the article Wmiu (Gmk). 

Bus. They multiply with facility in the Ifland of Can«> 
dias their honey is of the greateft beaaty, i. 411* 

Canfes 



INDEX. 409 

Caofes of the fcircity and dearnefs of wal( in Fraike, 

Bgfuu. A species of niiiiiy which tinBoaacet- s- ftorm, i. 

119. tto. 
B9udrni or Boudromti. Formerly Halicaraaffus, the cOdiitry 

of Herodotnt and of Dionyfius^ celebrated hiftoriaitt. 

Recone£liol|»of Arteoiifa and Manfolus. Fortrefs which 

11 fitnated at the entrance of thu'harboury i. 242* #45 

and foil. 

BragaSmi A celebrated Venetian general^ flayed aUve 
by the Tiirksj after the forrender of the town of Fa«a« 
gnitej i. 8a* 83. 

BrtJI. Cpnfal at Argentiera. Crying tnjniBce which 
the old government of France commitB in regard to 
hinik ESimable qaalities with which this old man 
was endowed, ii. 1 3. 1 4« and foil. He was beloved and . 
honoured by the Tories chemfelves, 1$. i6. 

BuU-fouhes. Thefe birds are very common in the Ifland 
ofCandia, L 343. 



CJBRILLA. A (mall fifli which refcmbles a perch» i. S5$. 
Si$ too Platt V. fig. 3.«-'There are fome of different co- 
loorsp 259. 260. 261.. Difcttffion on the fobjed of ca- 
brillc, 262. 263. For a long time cabriUc were fop- 
pofed to be all fdbales, 264. 265. 

Qahm, formerly Clans^ a fmall ifland, wh&h is unable 
to provide for the fnbfillence of its inhabitaints. Wtrf 
lofty mountains in thb ifland. They contain mines, 
i. 246. 247. 

'CalMTuay ^ polype). One of thefe leaps oril board the 
vefiel in which the Anthor wm embarked, u i^^ Its 

fixe. 



4^0 IN1>EX. 

fee; I'tjy* There arc fevei^l fpecies of them, 198. 199. 
Drawing of this Tnollafca, 200.— ^» too Plan IV, fig. 3, 
— It'aiFQcds d food by no 'means delicate. The Greeki 
make a great confumption of it daring their lent^ 415. 
416. 

C^tjfTf. Gwek' monb* . Whimficsdity of %}mx drefles, 
'i».>4?. Their. vOWs» ^48. 349.. Indecorum of their 
religious ceremonies, . 550. 

Candia. This ifland has a numerous population, and it5 
eliniate is very agreeable, i/3i9.v32o: Its length, 321; 
The Author fttppofes that this ifland nay have formerly 
Joined to Africa, 322. Its climate is fiivo^rable to 
the- expaniion of human •drength, 394 and folL N# 
ciarnivorotts or ferocious animal eidfts theye, 408. Fa- 
Ues of the ancients on this fubjed* 414. 415. All the 
ifteteflary article^ of Ufe are there to be found in abun- 
dance, 419. 4ao« Thje town of Caadia preferves the 
title of capital. Its harbour is choked up through the 
effeft'of the improvidence of the Turks. Origin and 
defcription of this tovrn, which is fituated in a beauti- 
ful plain, 423. 424. 

Canea. It is affcrted that this town of Candia is theCy- 
donia of the ancients, i. 323. Intcrcourfe which Mar- 

' feilles maintains with the modern town, 329. Manner 
of afcertaining, in this harbpur, the ftatc of the atntof- 
phere, 346. No police in this town, 366. Danger 
incurred by the Author in going out of this har- 
bour to the affiftance of a Barbary corfair, 368. 369. 

• Ingratitude of the commander of this veffel, '3/0. Beau- 
tiful plains of the environs of Canca, 382. . 

Capra (Ifland of). It is inhabited only liy goats, which . 
live on rocks inacceflible to men, i. 2.46. 

C«r^ffWf;;V (Coafl of ). Is lofty and arid, i. 111. The 

. ; ciirrcnt> 



carr^nts'ftt to the foutk-weft on this coafi, 113. The 
' Tea is always -very* high thcpt, 18 j. The whi^s there 
' are not fiipady. High monnblifs by which Sie eoaft 
is ikifted: ' Phenomenon of a bkck cloud of the fizc 
of a bird. Gale of wihd cxpeticnccd by the Author 
on the fadden apfiPearahce of this -cload^ iS^i iS^,' 

Caravif, a Turkilh man of war. Their conftrudlion. 

They are 'liiAcult to beworiBid. Ignorance of their 
- pilots^ i. 115. 114 arid foil. 
Caroh'trtet whick produces StV Johii*s breads a fruit ' l^ry 

common iA • the. Ifland of Cyprus, i. 52. 53.' 'The 

poor live on it in Europe. This frtiit formerly ferved 

as a weight among the Romans* 53* 54* 
Cafo, A fmall ifland. ' The Gl-eeks there are more free 

and independent than elfewhdre: Their manners, i. 
, 205. 206. • . 

Capi Roffo (The fmall Ifland of).. It contains a very 
good fortified caflle, placed On the fummit of the 
rock •which forms this ii)and> i. ill. 112. - 

Catherina {Ifland of Sknta), - It -Appears to ,have been 
~ detached from the Ifland of Rhodes, W 204I ^ 

Catbolicos (Convent of). Defcription of 'this place, and 
of the fp&cious grotto Vthich it contains, i. 358. Ad- 
mirable ftak6titesr which are there to be found, ^3 59. 
360. Bridge of a remarkable . height. Frightful afpefl 
of this^ folitiii^ place, 361. 362. Cavern fituated near 
this convent, 363. 364. 

Ca'vale {La}. This town was buil« in honour of Bucepha- 
lus, ii. 353. — 

Chaffinches, This fpecies is half-fedentary and half- 
roving. About the end of Oftober, a great number 
of them arrive in the iflands of the Archipelago, ii, 187. 
i8». 



417 INDEX. 

ChiUren {Nemf-km) . SoperMdoiu pfaAkes^ ind wkuifi- 

. c»| c9n«^tiptts which accompanj th«br birth in Greece. 
Strange ^tteotion piid to thorn 2 mothers alone fockle 
thea, .ii. 98. 99 and foU. They acquire a robaft 
coa^tatK>a aad a qi|i|Bk growthi reisedict emplojed 
for caring th^.cUfofders natural 40 thW ace» 139.—- & 
the article Z>/^'«<i7. 

Ci»V| or <icM. The ^m^j ef the inhabitants of this 
ifland is renowned. The name of Chi^ fig niiies wiii/r- 

. a^. Thde iflaaders .^re the moft polite and the moft 
vitty of the QreeMt iii- 31 a. 513 and foU. The 
gardens of thii iiland are very agreefible. The Torks 
have fuifered the plague to penetrate thj^e for want of 
precaations, 319. 320* The channel which feparates 
Chio from Afia Minor* is very narrow^ 3 aa* 

Cbm/eul-Gouffer. He perfnades the iflandere of hfilo to 
flop up an aperture whence iflued deftradive vapours. 
They follow his advice* ii. 229. 

Citiwn. A town celebrated for the birth of Zeno» L 86. 

QiiJuu A town famous formerly for its temple aad it^^ 
ftatne of Venus. The Torks prohibit Arangen firom 
having accefi to the ancient monuments which are to 
be found near this town* i. 188. 189. Thecoaftsof 
Cnidus abound with £fh* 191. 

Cnoffus* A town formerly very celebiated in the Ifland 
x^ Crete. Its mins occupy a great extent of gro«ad« 
Veftiges of a labyrinth* i. 424. 425. 

Cock of the wood* The Greeks fet no value on this bird» 

i. 174. 
CpUfufii. The ancients reckoned feveral in the Ifland of 

jUiodes. Defcription of t^ie moft fiunous of thefe heavy 

i^afles, which was thrown down by an earthquake^ L 143. 

JL44. and foil. 

5 CmifiU 



INDEX. 413 

C§»fki of Rhodct* His clutfader. Hk tate fat the 
feictiee8>L 124. 125. and foil. Hanteur of the other' 
coofttla in the Levant, 129. 130. 

Cy/. &ir the article f^^. 

Cmali a French ca(>tain of a Maltefe privateer. Frightfal 
Aormf which he meets with> ii. 1 1. 12. 

Coitm. It is fcarce in the Ifland of CTpms. The cnl- 
mre of the cotton-tree wonld« in France, be^ preju- 
dicial to the interefts of the cnltirator, i. 54. 55 and 
foil. Rains of long continuance are contrary to tbif 
plant, 57. Cloths, half filk^nd half cotton, which are 
mamifibftnxed in Cypms, 72. In the Iflands of the Ar- 
chipelagOy cotton-feeds are thrown by handfub on the 
heads of the new-married pair, ii. 132. 

OiciM. In other climates this bird changes its habits and 
ceafes to be folitary. . It there no longer fings the fiune 
fong as in oar connlry* ii. 184* 18$* 

Cmlau (Im). A bay near Canea. ExceDent anchorage 
for ihips, L 372. 373. 

Qyctmdii* Thefe are Iflands of the Archipelago, ranged 
in a circle, ii. 279. 280. 

Cjpnu (Ifland of)» Its. pofition, i. 37.38. Origin of 
atit word Cjfnu, 39. 40. What is its £neft name, 42. 
Tiiritifli defpotifm has defolated this ifland, 42. 43. 
Its mines of gold and copper, 44. 45 and following. 
Fertility of the foil, 50. Though lefs common than 
formerly, olive^tites and mulberry-trees are llill in 
rather confiderable numbers* ii. and fblK Its foil it 
favourable to the fugar-cane and to the coSee-tree, 
^7. 58 and foil. It produce* madder, and foda, 67. 
<vccat repotatibii of its wihei, 68. Manner of cpn« 
veying them to Europe, 70. ft. The arts are there in 
a lai^^mihyig Ibte, ik and foil. The heat there is ex- 

ceiEve, 



414- INDEX. 

ct^ns, 74* 7;. The xflaod ^ fubjedi to great drpug^ts^ 
ii^ Woods are ther^ fcaroe. T.^^J ^f^^ Tacred among 
the ancients, 76. Phyfical and moral charaQer of the 
Cypriots^ 78. 79. Length of this idand, 8ow 9i«.. Ici 
trade is daily declining as well as its popalation^gi. 9a. 
Animals have thero degenerated, and game is lef^i com - 
inon, 92. 93. It would be lefs defolated by infeds un- 
der a more rational government/ 104. Importahce of 
this ifland to France, i&. and foil. 

Cytherea, See the article Cyprus. 



D 



DANCE. It refembles that of the ancient Greeks. Thac 
named the Romca is the mod ancient of all the Greek. 
dances, 1. 377. 378. There are mountaineers in the 
Ifland of Candia who have preferved th^ warlike dance 

' C4ll.<d the Piyrric dance, 427. See too the article 
Sfbachia. 

Pi^/cn Credulity of this author on the fubjed of a 
pretended monfter which devours men on Mount Olym* 
pus> i. 103. 

Deliwty. The Greek women are made to fdliow a me- 
thod truly whimfical; a fort of tripod is defined to re- 
ceive them, when they feel the pains of child^biith» 
ii* 79. 80. Ridiculous manner in which the midwife 
prefles'the £des of a woman; our phyficiansconfider 
this cttilom as very vicious, 82* 83. No where are de- 
liveries more fortunate than in the iflands of the Archi* 
. pelago, although every thing is there put in pradice to 
render them painful, 8^. 86. The temperature of the 
atmofphere is not the only caufe which procures the 
women an eafy delivery. Under a burning-^y, and 

in 



INDEX. 415 

in cold cOttBtries, deliveries are unattended by acd^ 
dentsy 86. ^7 and foil. The profeffion of man-midwife . 
is entirely unknown among the ^Greeks. The Greek 
women coold not have recourfe^ to a maQ«midwife» 
without violating every law of dcctncy, 90. Treatment 
to which they are fabjeA after their lying-in, 94. 
Brandy is employed for ^rei£ng lying-in women. 
Violent ihakings which the lying-in women undergo. 
This tf'eatment is almoft as harfh as that of the de- 
livery, 95. 96. Different attentions which are laviihed 
on the new-born child ; they are blended with abfnrd 
and fttperllitious practices, 98. 99. To fpit in the face 
of a child is coniidered as a mean of preferving it from 
witchcraft. In all times the Greek women were famous 
for their fuperflitions, loo. 101 and foU. The i^nfln- 
ence of a finiftcr look is coniidered as very dangerous 
' to children in the iilands of the Archipelago, 102. 
103. Whi0fical methods which the women emplojr 
for preventing their chfildren from crying, 104. They 
do not truft to other perfons for fuckling their children. 
They delay their baptifm as long as they can, ib6 and 
foil, 

J^ehs. The moft celebrated of the iilands of antiquity. 
It was the obje£l of the veneration of nations. Riches 
of its monuments. It is at the prefent day nothing 
but a defert covered with ruins. The Turks build 
their houfes with thefe fplendid materials, ii. 506. 307 
and foil. '. 

Dittattf. A plant celebrated among the ancients.. It 
. clothes the rocks of the liland of Candia. Its bal- 
famic odour, as well as its medicinal virtues, occafion 
it to be in requeft, i. 392. 

Diwrct. Among the Greeks occurs only in trading 



towns, u. 131. 



Dock^ 



4i6 INDEX. 

JhA-ymrdt. It is at Rhodes thai they artfetaUiflied for 
the Ottoman navy. In the conftructson of fti|is, fir ia 
the ondy.wood employed* Great diforder which pre- 
vails in thefe dock-yards^ i. 131. 13a* and IblL 
^ B^p, Thefe ammals have confiderably degenerated in 
the Ifland of Candia. No Twrldfi or wakgiAgi ezxfl in 
, Turkey, i. 407. and foil. ' No pointers are to be feen in 
the iilands of the Archipelago, but, by way of compen- 
fation, there is a ^txy fine breed k^ fitters, ii. f 6s and 
foil. The dogs of Macedonia keep a good watch 
roahd the villages, 374. The Albanian dogs formerly 
conftituted a diftind race. They have loft none of their 
good qualities, 375. 

Ikves {Ring). Thefe parafitical birds are the plague of 
hdbandmen. Their fleih is dry and hard> ii. 181 and 
foil. 

Dnja^ Whiiftfical drefles of the women of Amorgo, 
Argentiera, Chio, and Cyprus. At th# Ifland of Nio 
tliey iho^k modefty. See the articles Amtrp, Qruk 
and Ni9* 



Drtgwematu or hiafretfrs^ Their timidity and the fear in, 
which they fiand of the Tnrks, i. 133. 134. 



E* 



BGTTT. A carfory view of that country^ il 3. 4 and foil. 
Comparifon between Egypt and Greece, ih. Portrait of 
the Ctpi or miivi of Egy^t ; he has no longer any re- 
membrance left of the greatneis of his anceftors, 6. He 
lives in flavery and bnttaliaed ftupor, 12. 

Emncajhaux (D*)« A naval engagement fnflained by that 
officer againft the Eagliih, and in which he acquitted, 
himfelf with high honour, ii. 238 and foil. 

F. Famagujta. 



IKDEX. 417 

F. 

fmma^ufta. The capital of the Ifland of Cyprus. Etymo- 
logy of its name. Fortifications of the town^ i. 8 1 . 

Fangri. A fei-fifli, rich in colours. It becomes Kvid in 
fpiriCUOQS liquor, i. 175. Defcnption of the fangri> 176 
and folk Sie too Plat$ IF. fg. 2. 

Fajhions, They do not rary in the Eafl as in our weilern 
countries. The Greek women have prcfertcd their an- 
cient drefs, i. 275. 276. 

Fruer. See Kamedron, 

Firman^ or ordinance of the Grand Signior. One of thofe 
is granted to the Author to travel in the dominions of 
• the Turkifh empire. He dares not (hew it to Murad 
Bey,, i. 24, 25. Refped which the T&rks have for a 
firman,/^. Form of this writing, ^7. 28. and foil. Su 
too Fhate //• Tranflation of thb firman, ih. 

Fkas. No where are they moire common than in the 
Ifland of Argentiera^efpecially during the winter) one 
is, in a manner, eaten up by them, ii. 18. 19'. 

FoglierL This place is the ancient country of th^ PhocC' 
an»» "• 343- 344- 

Ftrefts. The Turks fuffer them to fall into decay in the 
iilands of the Archipelago. Refpe^ of the ancients for 
thefe peaceful retreats. Interefting digreffion which the 
Author makes on the utility of trees, i. j6, 77 and foil. 

Franks. In the Levant, all Europeans are defpifed under 
thisname> s. 13. 

Qardens. Thofe in the Ifland of Cahdi^ do not refemUe 
ours. The hand of man is not perceived there. Di- 
Voi». lu a e rerfified 



41 S INDEX. 

verfified beauties of thefe gardens^ i. 379. 380. Foeti-' 
cal defcription given of them by the Author, 384. 385 
and foil. A crowed of birds which inhabit thefe en- 
chanting places, 389. 390 and foil. 

Garlic. In the iflands of the Archipelago, th» legume 
has lefs pungency than in our countries, i. i92« It is 
confidered as a wonderful antidote againfl a finifter 
look, ii. 100. 1 01^ 

Girls ifireik). Marriageable at ten years of age, ii. 109. 

Goats, The Ifland of Capra is inhabited only by goats, 
which live on mountains inacceffible to men, i. 246. 

Grafshufpers. They fometimes ravage the Iflai^d of Cy- 
prus. Different opinions refpefting the journies of 
thofe winged infedls, i. 61. 6z and foil. Havock which 
they formerly made in France. Proceedings employed 
for deRroying them, 65. (}(i and foil. A great and 
long drought attra^s thofe devouring infeAs, 'j^. Great 
devaftation which they exercife in the environs of 
Smyrna, 'ii. 343. 344. 

Greece. Climate of that country. Phyiical and moral 
portrait of its inhabitants, i. 6. 7 and foil. Prefent lot 
of the Greeks. Hopes entertained of their approach- 
ing emancipation, 12. 13 and foil. Of all the Greeks 
thofe of the Ifland of Cyprus are the moft cunning 
and the moft knavilh, yet they are very hofpitable, 78. 
They are more free and more intelligent at Rhodes than 
any where elfc, 156. 157. They feem to havedegc- 

* nerated in the Ifland of Candia, while the Turks there 
have become more robuft, 359. Different occupations 
to which the Greeks of Argentiera apply themfelves : 

. they either are Aihermen, hunters, or traders, ii. 67. 68, 
The life of the Greeks,, in general, is iimple; they dare 
not difplay luxury, for fear of appearing rich in the 

cy«» 



INDEX. 419 

.tyes of the Turks; their tyrants, ^6. The modem 
tSrechs are as fupcrftitibus las th6 ancient. They be- 
lieve in preiliges and in the art of witchcraft, /k and 
foil. Singaiar cnftom which they pradife when their 
iviyes have a difficult labour, 90. 91. The^body of 
the children fooner acquires its full growth than in 
our countries. In the iflands of the Archipelago^ it is 
not uncominpn to fee girls -marriageable at ten years of 
age. Periodical evacuation, among the women, is 
there lefs copious than under a climate lefs warm, 168. 
109 and foil. Carious hiftorical diiTertation on this 
fubjeft, Cuftoms of the Hebrews refpe6ling this dif- 
X)rder, ili. 112. The -women have moral difpofitions, 
which are in unifon with this phyfital precocity'; but 
they fliew a great deal of referve in their love. They 
«are fimple in their taftes, 115, 116 and foil. They are 
obliged, before marriagtf, to fnrnifh evident proofs 
of their virtue. • They are reproached with fapphic 
love, n8. 119. They have recourfe to artifice to 
fet off their charms: but they are not acquainted with 
the fiiarp and cauftic juices which deficcate the fkin of 
iour ladies, 125. 126. Bachelors are very fcarce among 
them. The heart, more than intereft, decides mar- 
riages. Divorce takes place only in trading cities, 
130 and foil. The children of the Greeks are com* 
monly of a robuft conMtotion. Remedies employed for 
caring the diforders natural at that age-, 139. 140* and 
foil. 
'Crottm of Juti-Panf and of CaihoUctft^^ei thofe words* 

€Mh. Sea-birds which wage war agaiaft little fiihes; 
i. 241. 

H 

SAKE. The flefli of this aiiimal is prohibited by the 

law of Mahomet, The Greeks aire great deftroyers of 

4ie 4 . this 



420 INDEX* 

this fpecies of game. Popalar error, accredited alfo 
in the Eaft, that there is no fex among hares, ii. 159. 
160 and foil. 

Havok (Sparrow). This bird of prey, as well as the fal- 
con, remains during the whole year in the Greek Iflands : 
kites, neverthelefs, are there only birds of paflage> 

• ii. 167. 168 and foil. 

Hedge-hig. This animal is to be met with thronghoat 
the Levant, ii. 165. 

Hiira. This ifland has no longer any thing remarkable ; 
the modern Greeks call it Jgio'Stratit ii. 348. 349. 

Hor/ts. They have degenerated in the Ifland of Candia^ 
1.404. 405. » 

HoJpiiaU.' See Liptojy. 

Hydrophobia or madne/s. It makes its appearance but fel* 
dom, indeed, in the Ifland of Candia. Specific em<* 
ployed ^gainft that terrible diforder, i. 420. 421 and folL 



1MBR0S. This fmall ifland of the Archipelago b at the 
prefent day called Lembro, ii. 350. 

Ipfiara» an i^nd of the Archipelago, ii. 397. 

Jfland. The White Ifland and the Black IJUmd. Thejr 
were fuddenly produced from the effect of a fnbtemne- 
ous volcano in the fea of the Archipelago. Their 
growth vifible to the eye, i. 29a. 293 and foil. Thofe 
two iflands finifli by forming a jnndion* and by making 
but one, 297. 298. An inquifltive party vifit the new 
ifland. Suffocating heat which feizes them, 303, 304 
and foil. 

I/moil^ a Bey of Egypt In rq>airbg to Copfiantiaople* 



INDEX. 421 

IS ihipwrecked near Argentiera. Extortions which the 
officers of jadice commit on this fobjed, ii. 13. 

IrvutM, This traveller has, in an atrocious and ridicalont 
manner, calumniated the women of Argentiera« ii. 227. 
228. 

ItcJ^, The Greeks cure it with juniper-oil, ii. 50. 



JANIZART. Serves as a guard to the Authof, i. 331. 
His cruel and ferocious difpofition, 332. 333. 

Jays. Thofe birds, in the iflands of the Archipelago, 
make great havock. The Sciots amufe themfelves by 
teaching them to talk, ii. 176. 177. 

yohn, St. This faint is as much revered among the 
Greeks of the Archipelago as in our countries. Su« 
perditions practice to which the Greek girls have re» 
courfe on the day of his feftival, under the name of/ecret 
•wateTj ii. 120. f2i. This feftival is remarkable, in all 
countries, on Recount of the ftriking changes which 
happen in the atmofphere, 123 and foil. 

Joura. This is the principal of the Devil's Iflands in the 
Archipelago, ii. 395. 396 

Junipers. Thefe tall fhrubs yield no gum in the Ifland 
of Argentiera. The Greeks make ufe of the oil which 
they draw from the flem and branches for the cure of 
the itch, ii. 50* 

K 

KAMBDRON. This is the germander, a tree, an info* 
fion of whofe leaves ferves for curing fbveri and fb-ength- 
ening the ftomach ii. 384. 

E e 5 Kammeni* 



412 INDEX. 

Kammini, or Burnt IJland, A fmall Iflandj called in antir 
quity Hiera, facred. It is formed of calcined fubftan- 
ccs. Two forts of Kammeni arc diflinguiihcd, i. 288. 
289 and folL After a violent Hiock of an earthqaake, 
it appears quite refplendent with burning flones. 
Dreadful noife which is heard in this i(land> 298. 29^ 
and foil. The Little Kammeni is deftitute of vegetable 

I earth. The Great Kammeni produces a few herbs, 309* 

Katherinn. A large village « or town, which ferves a^ 

a reiidence to an Albanian prince, ii. 379. 

Kerry* This Frenchman becomes confql at Canea, i' 327* 

Kupros, a ihrub known to botanifls by the name ofLaw^ 

/(fma inermisf or thornlefs Egyptian privet. The women 

dye their nails with its flowers. This cuftom is general 

in Turkey, i. 39. 40 and foil. 



LADANUMf known among the ancients under the name 
oiciftus. Goats formerly coUeded this refinous fub- 
fiance. New proceedings which are at this day em- 
ployed for gathering it, i. 402 and foil. 

Lamica, The town of this name is fallen from its ancient 
fplendour. An unhealthful abode. The heat there 
is fufFocating. Immenfc cifterns, formerly deftined for 
preferving the oil which was drawn from forefts of 
olive-trees, i. 84. 85 and foil. 

Lemnos. Nature has done every thing for the embel- 
llifliment of this celebrated ifland, and yet it is in a 
wretched Hate under the tyrannic yoke of the Mufful- 
mans, ii. 347. 

hentifi^ This fbrub is very common on the furface of 
Argenticra. The Greeks of fomc iilaiids bttxa no other 

wood. 



INBEX. 423 

wood. From its fruits is exprefled an oil good for 
barning, ii. 54. The women of the Eaft make great 
ttfe of a gum which is drawn from it for preferving 
tlie teeth and making the breath fweet. Details re* 
fpeding thisgum^ 1^4. 

Lefrojy, Still exercifes the greateft ravages in the Ifland 
of Cyprus, i. 373. 374. Infolence of the Muflulmaa 

X lepers in regard to chriftians. Hideous fpedacles afford^ 
cd by the hofpitals for lepers^ 375. 376. Thisdiforder 
was alfo brought into the Ifland of Candia by the crufa* 
ders, 396. 

Lero, A poor ifland, covered with high mountains which 
contain minerals, i. 248. 

UmalfoU formerly Nemoiia. Is no longer any thing but 
a miferable town full pf ruins. Its harbour^ however, 
is flill pretty much frequented^ i. 87. 88* 

M 

MACEDONIA. The houfes are very well built in that 
country. The afped of the villages therq is agreeable. 
The dogs keep a good watch around them, ii. 373, 
374 and foil. 

Macri (Gulf of). It affords excellent havens to ihipping, 
i. 122. 123. 

Madder. Plant with which cottons, in the Ifland of 
Cyprus, are dyed red. Precautionk which ought to 
be obferved when a veflel takes in madder, i. 67. 68» * 

Madtufs.-^et Hydrophobia. 

Marcopoii. Evangelical modefly of that Greek prieft. He 

was very well informed, and refpef^ed both by th^ 

Turks and Greeks, ii. 24. 25^ 

B c 4 Marriaii^ 



424 INDEX. 

Marri4ig§. The Greek women, before their marrkgCj, 
Are obliged to furni(h evident proofs of their virtacs 
ii. ii8. 119. The Greeks marry young. Before thi$ 
ceremony, the young girl is conduced to the batht 
Dances announce the retinue which accompanies the 
aew couple to church* 130. 131. The young touple 
choofe a godfather and godmother. A fingular cere* 

' mony which is pradlifed for afcertabing the virtue 
oC the bride, 133. 134 and foil 

Marfeilks. Striking pi^ure of this town^ formerly fo 
.commercial, i. 18., 19. Caufe of our loffes, 20. 21 and 
foil. This town carries on a trade with Canea, 329. 
Mafticy or gum, drawn from the Untifit, — ^u that word. 

Idelananuf a fiih called ciloiU on our coafts of the Medi^- 
terranean, i. 255.— 5>* too Plate V.fig. i. 

MerchanSfi (Ufl of articles of) which enter into the 
trade of the Archipelago. — See the word Trade. 

Mcxeroi. This hiftorian fpeaks of a great irruption 
of grafshoppers in the South of France, i. 6^ 

Milo (Ifland of ) -r-5'^^ too the article Argentiera. — Fires 
long fmce kindled there confume the bowels of the 
earth. The vegetable earth there is, neverthelefs, very 
prodtfdlive. Fopuhtion has Angularly diminiihed in 
this ifland, ii. 221. 222. Almoft all the inhabitants of 
this ifland have their legs fv^elled, owing tp peililentia| 
miafmata. Strangers dr^'ad to make there even a mo* 
mentary ftay. The town of Milo at this day prefents 
the fpe£Ucle of defolation, 223. 224. There, is per* 
ceived an aperture in the earth, whence ifliied vapoura 
-very dell ru6live. In has been (lopped up: but thefe 
vapours have found other ifTues, 229. Vapour-baths 
produced by the general conflagration of the interior of 
the iiland. Hippocrates formerly fent patients thither. 

The 



INDEX* • 4aj 

The fulphar which is drawn from this ifland is reckoned 
to be of the bed quality, 232. Under a wife adminiiba- 
tion, it might ceafe to be an unhealthful abode, 234. 
^35. A more particular defcription of the Ifland of 
Milo. The harbour affords excellent anchorage, 237. 
This ifland frequently experiences earthquakes, 247. 
248. Frightful phenomena which are there feen> 249. 
£50 and folL 

JUineralogy. The mines of Argentiera, formerly worked* 
are at this day abandoned. They never were very prb-» 
dttdlive. The^ Ruffians attempted to work them anew* 
ii. 34. 35. Properties of an argillaceous fubftance called 
Cimolian earth. No work of mineralogy makes mendotf 
pf it. The Author has met with it no where. It is s| 
natural foap, 37. 38 and foil. This earth is very fit for 
taking out greafe fpots. The Romans were acquainted 
with this mineralogical fubflance, fince Pliny fpeaks of 
it, 39. 40 and foil. Rock alum is to be found at Milo* 
in natural excavations. It there fhews itfelf in efilord-i 
fcence. Salt is made of it, 232. 233 and foil, 

Mines of Calamo, i. 246. 247. Admirable ftalaftites whicb 
are found in the convent of Catholicos, 358. 

Mitylene. This ifland* fometimes called Metelin, was the 

. country of Pittacus. The pofition of Mitylene renders 

the poiTeffion of it very important, ii. 344. 345 and foU« 

Mottksy Greei.-'^See the word Cafoy^s. 

Morea (The). On all the coaft of this peninfula, a grea| 
trade is carried on in oil, ii. 400. 

Mormyrus, a fifti whofe flefh does not correfpond with th^ 
beauty of its exterior, i. 254. 255. 

Mdherry-trees. There arc fmall wood» of them in the 
Bland of Cyprus, i. 51, 

Mulktu 



4»6 INDEX. 

Inlets. In fummer^ a great many oftheTe fifhes are takei\ 
in the Archipelago> i. 255. 254. 

MulUt {Bearded). This iifli is very fcarce in the Tea of tht 
Archipelago. Cruel fufFerings to which the Romanj« 
through luxury^ put this fifh> which produce^ the moft 
beautiful fhades, ii. 204* 205. 

Murad $ey. Charadlcr of this chief of the Mamaluks, His 
bravery, i. 24. 25. 

Munetta, or fea-ferpent. Notes on this fifli, i. 168. 169 
and foil.— *5« too Piafe IF. Jig, 1.— Its dimenfions, 172. 
173. Thcfe fiflies are common in the Archipelago, 174. 

Myconi. This Ifland has a harbour much frequented b^ 
navigators. The Myconites neglert the culture of their 
lands, in. order to give themfelves up to trade. Every 
thing is parched up in their fields. Their bad reputa^ 
tion in antiquity, ii. 303. 304 and foil. 

f^ljrtles. Grow fpontaneoufly in the Ifland^ of Candia^ 
and form the hedges of the country, i. J^i. 



N 



NJNFIO (Ifland of). Its firft name, i. 277, 278. It was 
formerly covered with forefts, 279. Red partridges 
are there very common. Great wretchednefs in that 
ifland, 280. 281. 

Nafoli di Romania. It has a fortrefs of prodigious eleva- 
tion, the work of the Venetians, it is built near the fiC(C 
of ancient Argos, ii. 400. 

J^axia- The Author points out this famous ifland as likely 

Xo ferve as an emporium to the French traders in the 

. Archilpelago. It is the largeft q( the Cycla4es, The 



\ 



INDEX. 4,7 

f 

IJreeks of the prefent day are there ftill free like their 
#Dceilors. Beauty of this ifland, ii. 280, 281. The 
principal inhabitants are defcended from ancient fami- 
lies of France, Spain, and Italy, and are renowned for 
their affability and politenefs. The coaib of their iiland 
afford good places of fhelter, 282. 283. 
jffscaria. This fmall ifland has no harboars. Scanty po- 
pulation. Ungrateful foil, ii. 303. 

Hicofia. Capital of the Ifland of Cyprus. The palaces 
and the church qf this town. Its agreeable iituation, 
i. ?4- 

Niihuhr, a Danifh traveller* His account refpe£tin^ grais- 
hoppers, i. 63. 64. 

NigbitngaU, This bird direfls its route towards the fouth^ 
and lives during the winter in Lower Egypt- It does 
not breed there, and is filent during its flay in that 
climate, which is foreign to it, ii. 188. 189. 
I Nio' An ifland celebrated by the death of Homer. Hof- 
pitable chara6ter of the inhabitants. Kindnefs of the 
women. The ifland is fertile in corn, i. 281. 282. The 
drefs of the women is repugnant to decency, 285.285* 
DifTertation on the drefs of the Turkifh women, 28.6* 
287. 
Ni/ari (Ifland of]* Its fabulous origiuji i. 2oS. 209^' 
Shoals near this ifland> 209. 210* 



Q 



OBSE^IES (Funeral). Death among the Greeks al« 
ways infpires fentiments of unfeigned grief. Relations 
^equently vifit the grave, and there make repeated 
offerings, ii. 149. 150 and foil. They invoke the dead 
in a loud voice* The dead are carried to the grave 

VitJ\ 



4M« INDEX. 

with their face uncovered, and in their richcft garments, 
152. 153 and foil. 
Or/, good for burning. The Greeks of Argentiera draw 
if from the Icntiik, and feveral iflands bum no other 
wood but that of this fhrub, ii. 54. 

Olifft'trees, They arc far lefs common in the li^nd of 
' Cyprus than in paft times. The foil is very favourable 
to thii tree, i. 50. 51. No foil is more favourable 
to it than the ifland of Candia* The Greeks know 
sot how to derive from it the advantage which wc 
io, 398. Thefe trees were confumed by the flames 

. ia the Ifland of Argentiera, during the wvs between 
the Venetians and the Turks, ii. 29. 50. Olive-oil la^ 

. fbmetimes introduced into curative methods, 143. 144. 

QStnir, This naturalifl and traveller aiTerts that Cimo^ 
limn iorth is only a flow and gradual decompofiiion of 
porphyries, occaiioned by fubterrancous fires, ii* 41. 42. 

Ofympm* This mountain, fo celebrated, is occupied by 
Albanian robbers. Their hatred i& terrible againft tho 
inhabitants of Salonica, ii. 364. The Author, ne? erthe-* 
lefs, travels thither difguifed as a phyflcian, 369. '^tS 

. imd foil. He arrives at the foot of this mountain. A 
l^rieft thrown great difirculties in his way, 375. ^j6 and 
iblU Vegetation is there in a moft flourifliing flate. 
$torks are there very common. Veneration which it 
fiill entertained for thefe birds, 377. 378. Having 
reached a certain height, the Author fees » convent of 
Creek monks. Above this infulated convent there are 
no more habitations on Olympus, 3S9. Sharp cold 
which he there experiences. The fummit is covered 
with fnow and ice, and it is impofllble to reach it, i^ 
and 390. Magnificent profpedl which is to be viewed 
from the top of this mountain. The Author's fellow* 
traveller falls ilL He is cured by a monk> 39*. 393* 



INDEX. 4«9 

Ofymfus (Little). A cliarining mountain of tlic Mani of 

Cyprus, i. 79. 80. 
Otfi^ns. This legume caufes no ihedding of tears ia 

Egypt, as it docs in Europe. It is alfo very mili i« 

the environs of Cnidus, i. 191, 192. 
Oraage-treei. Thefe charming (hrobs form bowers round 

the habitations of the Ifland of Cyprus. Delightful 

pifture which the Author draws of thefe odorifcrow 

bowers, i. 60. 
Orfam. This gulf was known among the ancients nnr 

dcr the name of Sinus StrymvnicuSf ii. 354- 
Origan;. Employed as a remedy by the Greeks of the 

iilands of the Archipelago, iL 145. 



FjilNT. In the iflands of the Archipelago, it is com- 
pofed of the bulbs of an iris* Ufe which is made of 
this compofition. The face of the women is not affeded 
by it, ii. 125. 126. 

Fatlhuri. A cape which, with Cape Direpano, forms th^ 
Giilf of Caflandra, ii. 355. 

PaUo-^Cafiro. This is the name which the modem Greeks 
give to all ancient towns. A dreadful fright with which 
the inhabitants of one of thefe towns are feized on the 
approach of two veiTels, i. 427. 

Pupbos. Formerly the abode of delight> now.prefent» the 

afped of wretchednefs, i. 88. 89* 
Pivs, This celebrated .ifland has had feveral names* 

Its ancient fplendour. It gave birth to the moft 

illnftrious ftatuaries in the world, ii. 263. 264 and foil. 

Aijnall town has replaced the ancient city of Paros. 

The 



4)0 itfUEt^ 

The coaft of this ifland prefents good anchdragesi 
the Rttflians made fome (lay here, t66. 267 and foil. 

F(trtridgt» In the iflands of the Archipelago this bir<l 
with difficalty endures confinement. Bartavelldy or red 
partridge, of a fingalar fpecies, whofe bill grows lodgi 
and bends inward, i. .161; 1621 Tli^fe birds are io 
common in the Ifland of Nanfio^ that the inhabitants 
are obliged to deftroy a great part of their tggu 
279. 280. Partridges, efpecially red ones, are in great 
numbers in the Iflands of the Archipelago, ih. It 
is as difficult tO get at them as at hares. The berries of 
tke ientifk occafion their ilefh to contra^ a bitter flavoan 
The gray partridge is not known in the Eaft, ii. 270* 
271. There is a particular fpecies of partridge in the 
Eaft, which appears there only for a few days, ih. 

Patmos (Ifland of). Arid rocks and numerous capes. If 
is celebrated from the exile of St. Johri. Er^or fc- 
fpeAing a convent of monks of this ifland, ii. 296. 297. 

Patriarch (The), is appointed by the Grand Signior. 
This emineitt place is an obje£l of fpeculation, i. 35 1^ 
352. Humiliating manner in which he is appointedi 
ib' Tranflation of a iirman for the nomination of a 
Greek bifhop, 355. 356. 

Patnv. The authority of that traveller combated by the 
Author of this work, i. 9. 10. 11. 14, 

Pedicus. A river of the Ifland of Cyprus, which rolls 
down in its waters red jafper, i. 47. 

Pilagnifi, An iflet of the Archipelago, ii. 396. 

Perch, Etymology of the name of that fifh. The ancient* 
coniidered it as unwholefome food. It is afTerted that 
there are none in the Ocean, ii. 199. 200. 

Pheafants. During the winter thefe birds are fomethne^ 
feen in the mofl northern iflands of the Archipelago 1 
captains of (hips lay in a ftock of them>ii. 173. i74« 



INDEX. 43* 

Pbyfie. ^he iherms^I Heaters of Argentlera are> among 
the Greeks* reckoned to poiTefs great virtues. The 
Author thinks that partial applicatioiis of thefe waters 
on the parts affedled, would be more efficacious than 
total immerfion^ ii. 44. 45 and foil. Mod of the difor-» 
ders by which our flocks are attacked, are unknown in 
the Levant.. The fliepherds themfelves are the phy- 
iiciansof their flocks, 69. 70. In the" Greek iflands* 
all phyfic is founded only on ridiculous pradlices. 
The women are the phyficians the mod in fafhion, I4i, 
142 and foil. They have hereditary recipes in certain 
families, 145 and foil. Manner in whicK the Turks 
drefs wounds, 146 and foil. Chara6ler of one of thefe 
quack-dodors, 261. 262. 

Plague (The). Frequently ravages the Ifland of Rhodes. 
Peftiferous perfons penetrate,, with as much liberty as 
a healthy man, into the different countries of the 
Ottoman empire. Singular prefervative indicated ta 
the author by fome monks, i> 155. 156. ' Courage is 
the befl prefervative, 21 81 The fmall-pox \i the fore- 
runner of that terrible fcourge, and almoft always pre- 
cedes it, 219. For want of care, the Turks have 
fuffered the plague to find its way to Chio, ii.^ 320. 
Almoft every year the plague defolates Smyrna. Stupid 
refignation of the Turks who might oppofe the ravages 
of that deftruftive diforder, 334, 335- A perfon may 
fecure himfelf from it by holding no communication 
with thofe who are infefted by it, 336. 337. The con- . 
ilitution is of great weight in this diforder. Detail on 
the fubjedl of its commencement, its progrefs, and its 
end, 338. 339 and foil. 

Plovers {fiolden\* Are very common in the Ifland of Can- 
diftj i. 419. 

P^UcandfQ. 



4311 iKDEJt. 

foUcandro (Ifland of). The inhabitants of this idanJ 
pickle 10 vinegar turtles which they kill, ii. 183* 
This is the ancient Pholegandros : its foil is extremely 
nigged. Scanty population^ The vine groves there 
in the midfl of ftones. It is the rendezvous of birds of 
paflage, 257. 158. 

Poli<oo (Ifland of). The Venetians de(!royed by fire the . 
olive-trees with which it was covered. It is feparated 
only by a little channel from the Ifland of Afgentiera« 
It might be Cultivated, and the rearing of bees be there 
attended to> ii^ 72. 73* It might alfo farnifli commer^ ^ 
cial fpeculations, and a perfon would there lead a p2ea-< 
fant and quiet life, il, 

Prafi. Near this little haven, afe feen grottoes dug in 
the rock. The environs furni(h a great quantity of wild 
artichokes, good to be eaten> ii. 52. 53. 

PregeuUna, mother of a hofpodar of Moldavia. She aflnres 
the Author that women felt much lefs than men the ma- 
lignant influence of a refidence in Milo, ii. 225. 226. 

Prufis (Greek)* They go through their religious ceremony 
with precipitation and irreverence. Monq^ony of thei# 
finging, i. 349. 350 and foil. They debafe their cha' 
xadler by the moil greedy cupidity^ 352 and folL 

PffgoSf is the moft agreeable place in the Ifland of San^ 
torin. Defcription of this little towii> i. 314. 315* 

Q 

^JILS. Common at Alexandria, i. 33. 34 and foil* 

They never Hop ift the Ifland of Rhodes, 165. Thtf 

period of their paflage varies according to the winda 

which prevail. They follow a uniform route from 

which they feldcm deviate. They are falted in the 

Greek Iflands, i66« 172. 173. 

RJTS. 



INDEX. 433 



R 



RJTS. Tkey mokiply in the Iflatid of Rliodes. Mf^n- 
ncr in wkicb Teffeli get rid of them, i. 141. 142. 

Rtd^hre^fi. It arriycB in the Levant in the modth of Oc- 
tober. The Greeks wage war on it, ii. 189. * 

lUHm: A part of th« population of that town has paffed 
to Canea. It was formerly a place famous for its oil, 
1. 426. 

Rhedfi^ An Ifiand of Afia, Its form, i. 2 35. City of that 
Aame, caj^tal of the ifland formerly inhabited by the 
Knigkt» of St. John of Jeni&lem, 135. 136 and foil. 

. lu different harbours are becoming obftmfled from day 
today/ 1 39 and foil. Deicription of the famous co- 
loffus, 143. 144 and foil. The fan never pafles a iingle 
day withoot (hewing itfelf there, 147. Mild tempera- 
ture of the climate, ib. and foil. Origin of the name 
of Rhodes, 149. Its inhabitants are navigators. Philo- 
fophical refledions on the beautiful edifices which em- 
bellifhed that ifland, 153. 154. l^he plague ffe4itently 
defolates it. Pfefervative agaiiift that foourge, 155. 
156. Turkfi and Greeks people this country, I56. 157. 
Of what ixApoitance Abodes m^y become. Defcription 
of its different harbours, t jS. f {^9. Territorial refour- 
ces. Beauty of the foil, 160. i6t. Tafte of the Rho- 
diaffs for gardens. Filh is very pleotifal on the coaft 
of Rhodes, 166. , 

Robhtrt. GharaAer of Che Albanian robbers, ii. 380. 381. 

Rue^ This plant grows in abundance on the uncultivated 
la^ds of the large iilands. The Greeks make ufe of 
it as an amulet, ii. 147. 148. 

VOL. II. F f SAFFRON 



434 INDEX. 

S 

SJFFllON. It grows naturally on the mouatains of the 
Bland of Argentiera. It is afmall branch of commerce 
for that miferable country. An egg ferves as a weight 
for felling the valuable flower of the faffiron, ii^ 54, 55 
and foil*, 

^a/amis. A kingdom founded by Tencer in the Ifland of 
Cyprus, i. 85. 84. 

Salomca. ' This town is built on the fite of nerm^. It is 
one of the largeft cities of Turkey. Narrow and un-. 
paved ibreets, ii. 357. 358. Fires are there rather fre^ 
quent. This city is extremely ill defended by very bad 
ramparts. It is the emporium of a confideraUe trade. 
It is not a very wholefome place of r/cfidence, 513. 

Salterns, formed in the Ifle of Cyprus in a great lake. 
They do not at this day yield what they yielded formerly. 
Great trade which the Venetians formerly carried on in 
fait, i. 48. 49 

SatMs (Ifland of). The ancients had given this name to 
three different iflands. The Samians are the mildeft and 
moft witty of the Greeks. It is one of the iflands the 
moft favoured by Nature, ii. 299. 300 and foil. It is 
feparated from the continent only by. a channel half 
a league in length, 30Z and fpll. 

Samibrare. This celebrated ifland has loft all its advan- 
tages, ii. 3 Jo. 

Santwin ' (Ifland of) has experienced Angular changes 
-through the cffeft of fubterrancous fires, i. 287. 288. 
New iflands which have rifen all round it. Detailed 
hiflory of this great revolution, 288. 289 and foil. The 
Greeks confider them as works of hell. WKimflcai 

ceremonies 



INDEX. . 435 

. ceremonies Hrhkh. the Greek biihop of Santorin prac* 
tifes there, 307. 308. New etymology of the word 
Santtrint 311. Thh ifland kad no Tarks before the ar* 
rival of two Frenchmen, Oii*vier and Bruguitre, 316. 
317 and foil. 

Sargus, This is one of the moft common fifties in the Tea 
of the Archipelago. Its fleih is hard and tough. The 
divers of the lile of Symi carry on a continual war 
againft i^ ii« 201 • 202. 

Savory. This traveller embelliflies things at the expenfe 
of truth, i. 324. Captivating ftyle of this writer. His 
lively, imagination and the excellent qualities of his 
heart, 325. 326 and foil. 

ScifrQ (Caflle of). Frightful fituation of thU caflle which 
appears fufpended slbove ' horrible precipices, i* 315*' 
Scarfanto (Hand of). — See the article Sant^ Catbcrina. 

Sforus. This £fli, famous in antiquity, livea in numer- 
ous focieties. It is aflerted that thefe focieties have a 
chief. When a fcarus bites at the hook, all the other$ 
furround the captive, ii. 198. 199. 

Scofelo, This is the principal iQand pf a group fituated 
near Greece. . It produces one of the bed wines of the 
Archipelago, it. 396. 

Siraiino, a very fmall iiland of the Archipelago^ affords 
an anchorage to navigators^ ii. i^^ - 

SerfimiSf Jiave m^ltiplied in the Iiland of Cyprus, as well 
as mifchievotts infeds, i, 94. Serpents were formerly 
very common in the Iiland of Argentiera^ ii. 35 Th« 
Greeks treat bites of ferpents by great incifions on the 
wound, 148. They alfo treat them with cataplafms of 
emollient plants, 251. 252. 

Serfiittt fSiaJf a fifc,— ^^ the article il&r^riMr,, 

r f » S^ff' 



♦3« INDEX. 

Shi^ At Arg«ntk»« lAey »lw«y» lbr< lAikeopeaur^ 
U.68. 

Sifimr^ From chii'teep village of Mik>> kdiTcpvcred the 
snofi boatiftil horixoA. Oreat r«jki» 9Xt peroeivcd ia ihe 
environs of the village. There, is met with a fpring 
of vater almoft lake -warm, ii. 943. 944. 245 and foU. 
Ridiculous fuper^tition of old women of this village' in 
regard to a child bitten by a viper, a^i* 2514 

Sikino, produces a great many- vinosn The population 
there is very con&derable. h Oioal dreaded by feamen, 
ii. 258. 259. 

Sifb^o (liland of). It was formerly very flonrifhiag. 
The morals of .its inhabitants difcredited in antiquity. 
Mines of gold and filver. Beautiful marble. An agree* 
able and cheerful ifland. Mild and hofpiuble charader 
of the Greeks who inhabit this ifland, ii. 259. 260 
and foil. 

Skidm. A convent of Greek monks, built on Mount Olym- 
pus. This convent is furroundec^ by forefts, ii. 383. 

SkangiTo. A very fmall Ifland of the Archipelago, ii. 397. 

Siatari, a fifli of the Archipelago. Its exterior confor*- . 
matlon, ii. 256. 257 and foil. — Sh too Plate F. fig. 2. 

Skiaio. A fmall ifland of the Archipelago, whiqh b fepa* 
rated from Scopoli only hy a channel two leagues \t^ 
widths ii. 397. 

' Skirof an ifland celebrated from the amours bf Achilles 
and Deidamia. It is no longer at this day any thing 
but the theatre of wretchednefs, ii. 397. 398. 

Sntjfrna. This is a city of the Levant extremely intereft- 
ing. The quarter of the Europeans there refembles a 
town of Europe. The Turks there are very mild. 
Great induftry of the Creeks, ^tate of commerce of 

^ the French in tkii fca-port of the Levant, 493. 494. 

Beautiful. 



INDEX. 437 

Beautiltil olimate.' Delightfal pofidon. Violent earth- 
quakes, #A. a^d IbiL 

Sbda. Tke fxaij fnl of Cape Crontachitl in Cyprus^ is ^ 

covered with this plant, i. 67. 

SeJimm* This Sulun of the ThfIcs iounorulissed himfelf 
by his condud fiiU of greataefi of foul in regard to 
Villiers de TIle'-Adasi^ gnmd-mafter gf Rhodes* i. 13& 
X37- 

^hatbim. A mouauio of the Ifland of Candia. The 
Greeks of this noontain fpeak their language more 
purely than their other countrymen. They are good 
warriors and very dexterous in fliooting with a bow* 
Turkifli travelleis dread them exceedingly, ii. 427. 
428. 

SpidiT C Scarf imj. There ia a frightfnji, terrible one in the 
liland of Qyft^$. Curious ^i^cuffion relative to this 
inf^, i. 94^ 95. and folL Description* 98* 99 and 
Ml-^Suu^PlMlIL 

SfuillH or fea-onions which grow on the mounuins and 
between the rocks of the Ifiand of Argentiera. They 
are very fit for the cure of tetters, i. 272, 273. 

Sparrows, They aflemble in the £aft as in our conntrtes. 
None of thefe birds are feen in places where poverty 
reigns. They avoid the liland of Argentiera, becanfe 
it is wretched, ii. 185. l86. 

Sfarur. A fifli extremely voracious. Error of Aziftotle 
who thought that there exilled no male in this fpecies, 
]j. 202. 203 and foil. 

SfamfaIi'a,{lf[sLndof), Origin of that name. Thebof«' 

ders of this, fertile ifland are as if rent, i. 248. 249. Its 

fertility occaiions the misfortune of its inhabitants, 

250. 251. The fea abounds with fiih near this ifland, 

2f2 and foil. 

StaucJ^. 



43B INDEX. 

StMub0, formerly the Ifland of Cos« Origia of tVU name. 
Cos, the country of Hippocrates and Apellet. Temple 
of Efcttlapius, i. 212. 213. Delightfnl fituation of 
Stancho« a modem town, 216. The plagae defolates 
it frequently, 217. This generally happens in the 
month of January. Popubtion of this town, 218. 219 
and foil. The fouth part of the ifland is hilly, 223. 
Wine there is delicious, ii. Ancient tree, under the 
ih^de of which is built a fonnuin, 226. 227. Flag- 
ihip of the Turks carried off by a handful of chriftian 
Saves from this ifland, and taken to Malta, 231. 232 
and foil. Adventures of the bold man who executed 

. this enterprife, 235. 256 and foil. 

Stmack (Cure of the diforders of the). •— - ^ the article 
KamedroH. 

Suferfiition. The inhabitants of Amorgo confult a vafe 
as an oracle, i. 226. 227. Superftition o^ the inhabi- 
tants of Argentiera, ii. 19. 20. The modem Greeks be^ 
lieve in preftiges and enchantments, 76. jj and foil. 
Superltitious prances of the Greek girls, who have re- 
courfe to §t. John, 119. 120 and foil. 

Sug^r-canet. The Venetians had made very fine planta- 
tions of them in the Ifland of Cyprus. The tyranny of 
the Turks has occafloned this ufeful kind of culture to 
be relinqniflied, although the foil of the ifland is fa- 
vourable to it, i. 57. 58. 

Sjmiots, or inhabitants of Sjmi, are the boldeft divers in 
the world. Laborious life of thefe iflanden. They 
^ are robuil and vigorous men. Their life is fimple and 
independent, i. iS^* 186. 

Sjra, a fmall ifland of the Greok Archipelago, all whofc 
. inhabitants follow the catholic rite, ii, 399* 

TJLC. 



INl)EX. ^ ' 439 



TJLC, is, common in the Ifland of Cyprus, i. 48. 

Taramtula. This fpccics of fpider is reckoned to be very 
venomous in the Ifland of Candia. Defcription of that 
infe&ji. 416. 417. 

ST^. This ifland was famous on account of its gold 
mines. Marble is found there as much efteemed as that 
ofParos. It was very fertije. It produces fine timber 
for fliip-bnilding, ii. 351. 352. and foil. 

i'iwdQs. The lofs of this ifland might involve that of* 
Conftantinople. The Porte neverthelefs guards this im- 
portant poft with the greatefl negligence, ii. 349I 

Thera. Ruins which attefl the ancient magnificence of 
that city. Singular cuftom praftifcd formerly,!. 313. 
314/ 

Tbe/Jahtttca^^^Sei the article Salom'ca. 

nru/bes. Thefe birds are very common in th^ iflands of 
the Archipelago, and during the winter, they come into' 
the houfes in order to flielter themfelves from the cold, 
ii. 178. 179, 

Tine (Ifland of), has no good harbour. The plains are 
very rich, Thefe iflanders are the mod happy of all , 
the Greeks. Sill^ is one of the moft abundant produc- 
tions of the ifland> ii. 309. 310 and foil. 

Tortoifi (Land). In the Levant,, it is intrufted with the 
care of ridding the houfes of the enormous quantity of 
fleas with which they are infefled, U. 196. 197- 

Trade. Flourifliing flate of the French trade to the Levant 
before the year 1789* i. 16. 17. The French govern- 
ment ought to ufe its efforts in order to revive it in th^ 

^ Eafl. 



440 INDEX. 

Eaft. ImfflefiTe prdits which may thence refiilt. Plan 
of an efUbliflnnent of commercial relations in the 
iflands of the Archipelago, ii. 270. 27 1 and foil. Caofes 
of the decline of the Levant-trade before oar revolu- 
tion* 275. 276. . Miferable pariunony introdoced into 
the manufadttre of woollen cloths deiUned for the Le* 
▼ant-trade, -284. 285 and foil. There are two forts of 
merchandife for imporution, 28^9. 290. Lift of the 

I diferent articles of merchandife which enter into the 
trade of the Archipelago, 291. 292 and foO. 

TraJcrs (Fnnch)^ Their emponitm in the Archipelago is 
the liland of Naxia, ii. 275. 276. See too the article 

Trinity (Convent of the). Pifturefqoe fitoation of that 
place, i. 334. 33$. It is frequently laid onder contribu- 
tion by the Turks, 336. 337 and foil. The monks 
neither can embelliih nor repair their dwelling, 340. 

Twrks. Their empire, in the Author's opinion, cannot 
be of long duration. The authority of the Sukaa is 
called in queflion, i. 13. 14. i $. They are egrcgioifly 
defpifed in Egypt by the Mamal&k», 24. Being bad 

' failors, they work their Ihips with difficulty. Ignorance 
of their pilots> 113. 114. The French have in^ufted 
this nation in the maritime art. What has thence re- 
fulted,'li6. 117. The Turks broke out into the moft 
ferious excelTes againft the French, and thofe exceiles 
always remained unpunifhed. Various traits of cruelty 
of thefe JVfuiTuImans, 129. i3oandfblI. How frightful 
their defpotifm is, cfpccially in the iflands of the Archi- 
pelago, 236. 237. 

Turtles. Thefe birds are common in the Ifland of Rliode>. 

Soft emotions which they caufe to feeling minds, i. 162, 

163 and foil. They do not fuiTer themfelves to be ap- 

5; preached' 



IMDEX. 441^ 

^rotched without difficulty. The Greeks neverthelels 
deibroy thesi ii^ great nttmberss ii. iSz^ 185. 

UXCHJN'fSSJJi The Greeks sulfee i ptai toofiimp* 
tionofthisfifli. tt is not ctagkt in ftbwidaiiGe eitepc 
in calm westker. ytws, orekiutkiu called becatfiK 
tkey are confidered te daJBigeroosyii. sia. 113 and fol). 

, V" 

V^IVODE. Thus, in certain iflahds of the Archipelago; 
is called, the chief who commands the Greeks, ii. 26. 27. 
/Vr^df and Vtrdmri^ names of a little rim and of a 
imair town of The&ly, iL $62. 

V0lcun9. There ezifts a moft terrible ofte in the iea of the 
Archipelago. Navigators hekf the waters boil up itndc^ 
^eir ihips^ L 288. 189. Infedious odour which iffuea 
from unknown mouths of this volcano. The fea^is feea 
to throw up finoke, and water to appear as odl throwm 
<in the fire, 293. 294 and foil. This T6lc|inb is at pre-' 
ftnt quiet. A load and hollow roaring toly i^ h^ued^ 
306. 307. A confiderable quantity of pumice«*fi«metf 
#kick float on the fea of the Archipelago, 308. 309: 
Traces of a vokano are remarked in the fea of Ar-* 
^entiera. There, is (een the crater of a volcano whichi 
^as for k lo6g time exhaled infedious vapours, iL 43^ 
44. 47. 48. The mountains or hills which have more 
immediafiely experienced the aAion of volcanoes,' ai^ 
at prefeiit covered with earth, 51.5a and foil; 

Vibi a promontory knowni in antiquity by the name of 

i[Etttttivm9 ii. 395 • 
Krwmeri, a dtarmittg vilbrgenear Mount OlympMu is ^. 

yoL. i^» eg tFj/TERf^^ 



44?' • INDEX, 

• • w '^- . ■ 

WATERS (MINERAL) of Argenticra, ii. 43. 44. 
%p«jB#/. :The Creeks, as wcU as,th^ Tvirkt, hav^ a te^ 

^c6t for t^j^ctty animal, ii- 164. 165. 
VWf^, a Uk. Manner of taking it in tl^Q Ar<;14pek^o^ 

i. ^ja. Its different colours, 255, 

Whie. l^he Uland of Cyprus produces excellent wines^ 
Tlie vine-plants are crooked and creeping. Thefe wines 
need to l^e old to ap(|aire a good quality. Wine is 
Juried in 9rdef to be preferved, i. 69. 70. Th^ winea 
of Candia ought to be drunk with ' caution, 400. 
The wines of Argentiera are not as good as thofe of 
the forrounding iflands,ii. 31. In the culture of the 
vine, the Sciots ftill follow the manner prbpofed by 
Cato, 317. 318, 

Women (Greek), The women of Cyprus w^re and are ftill 
celebrated for their beauty. They are very fond of 
Howers, i. 78. 79. They wear long and ample drawers. 
They are clothed -more modeftly than women are among 
us, 285. 286. Grand ind noble features are their in- 
heritance, 410. The Greek women do not enjoy a 
' j^ood reputation in the Ifland of Argentiera. Formerly 
it is poflible that they were corrupted on account of 
the number of privateers which touched at this ifl^nd, 
and which there occafioned great difbnrfements, ii. 57. 
58 and foil. Theie imputations are calnmniotts when, 
they are applied to the prefent time; they have, on the 
contrary, a moJefty in their behaviour, 6i, They pof- 

• ^fs advantages of ihape and ^gure ; but they fpoU 
them by the whimficality of their drefs,. 62. 63. and 

• ioil.— See Platf VL Their habitual occupation is tp 

* -' ft>iA 



INDEX. 44} 

fpln cotton. They are feen alwa^ w^th the fpuidle In 
^ f heir hand, 66» They wear paint ; their manner of 
compofing it, 125. 126 and foil. Through faperftition, 
fhey encircle their wrifts with filk threads of difierent 
^oloars, ^hich they throw into the fire on £after-day^ 
1 28. 1 2Q. They are the phyficians the moft in fafluon* 
141. 142. The women of Milo in particular have z 
grotefque drefs. They have been anjulUy defcribdd un- 
fier the fame traits as the wom^ of Argentiera» 227. 
Z 28 . The women of Chic, although free in appearance* 
are very virtuous^ 314. Their fuperftitious ideas on 
the fttbje^l of iilk-worms. Their drefs is devoid of 
grace. Shape of their fhoes, 316. 317.— >&f toofii^ 
yi. and the words Dttin/ny and Qnece. 

W^nuUj^Twrhifif). They dye theif ^nails, i. 4a 4], 
Worm (Silk). DiiTertation on this valuable infed* Th^ 
ancients were not acquainted withit^i. 224. 225* 



TH5 KNH< 



G, WOODFALL, PatNTER, 

Fatsrnoster-Row, Londov* 



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