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Title: A Tour Up the Straits, from Gibraltar to Constantinople - With the Leading Events in the Present War Between the - Austrians, Russians, and the Turks, to the Commencement - of the Year 1789
Author: Sutherland, David
Language: English
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A
TOUR UP THE STRAITS,
FROM
GIBRALTAR
TO
CONSTANTINOPLE.
WITH THE
LEADING EVENTS IN THE PRESENT WAR
BETWEEN THE
AUSTRIANS, RUSSIANS, AND THE TURKS,
TO THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR 1789.
_By_ CAPTAIN SUTHERLAND,
OF THE 25^{TH} REGIMENT.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR;
AND SOLD BY J. JOHNSON, N^O 72, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD.
M.DCC.XC.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO
THE RIGHT HONORABLE
LADY LOUISA LENNOX,
THIS VOLUME
IS
MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY HER LADYSHIP's
MOST OBLIGED,
MOST FAITHFUL, AND
MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT,
D. SUTHERLAND.
INTRODUCTION.
The Commander in Chief of the garrison of Gibraltar having indulged the
Author of the following pages with leave of absence, he accepted an
invitation from an amiable Friend, to accompany him on a Voyage to the
Levant.
It was with the most heart-felt satisfaction, that he found himself
enabled to profit by so favorable an opportunity of visiting a country,
not only interesting from the precious remains of antiquity with which
it is still adorned, but from the critical state into which it was
thrown by the war already began, which threatened, sooner or later, to
involve in it many of the Powers of Europe, and to call forth the just
arm of Great Britain, to check the haughty usurpations of the ambitious
Court of Russia.
The Author's friends saw his happiness in embarking on such a Tour; and,
that they might, in some degree, partake of it, one of them insisted
that he should keep, and transmit him, a regular Journal.
This promise the Author readily gave, and faithfully observed.
The compliments paid to this little work, first gave him the idea of
appearing in print. Aware, however, that the ground he had travelled
over, had often been treated upon by much more able pens, he for some
time suppressed his hopes of becoming a candidate for fame in the
literary world: but, after the general encouragement he met, he would
have been guilty of injustice to himself, and of want of confidence in
his friends, had he any longer hesitated to appear before the Public.
CONTENTS.
LETTER I.
Page
_CEUTA--Goths and Saracens--Almeria--Rocks
of Abibo_
1
LETTER II.
_Carthagena--War of the Succession_
12
LETTER III.
_Reception at Cagliari--Lucilla_
24
LETTER IV.
_Churches--Ball at the Palace--Trade,
&c. of Sardinia_
37
LETTER V.
_Island of Capria--Tiberius--Malonia_
46
LETTER VI.
_Excursion to Baia_
49
LETTER VII.
_Mount Vesuvius--The Hermit--Bay of
Naples_
64
LETTER VIII.
_Capo de Monte--Portici--Herculaneum--Pompeia_
75
LETTER IX.
_Casertta--St. Januarius--Opera--Government_
86
LETTER X.
_Visit to the King of Naples at Castello
Mare--The Queen--Coast of Salerno--Pestum_
97
LETTER XI.
_Lipari Islands--Volcano of Strombolo_
106
LETTER XII.
_Messina--Earthquake--Scylla and Charybdis--Sir
George Byng--Commodore
Walton_
112
LETTER XIII.
_A fireball--Zante--Ithaca--Promontory
of Leucate--Turks and Greeks_
124
LETTER XIV.
_Pirates--Milo--Paros--Attica--Sunium_
139
LETTER XV.
_Smyrna--Great Advantages to be derived
from the Turkey Trade--Necessity of
a regular Lazaretto in England_
158
LETTER XVI.
_Cause of the War--The Russian Minister
is sent to the Seven Towers--Turkish
Manifesto--Attempt on Kimbourn--A
Russian Ship of sixty-four guns gives
herself up to the Turks--Ambitious
Views of the two Imperial Courts--The
Interest of England greatly endangered
by them--Necessity of our opposing
the Empress_
169
LETTER XVII.
_Journey to Ephesus--The poor Girl--Caravansera--Temple
of Diana--Character
of the Turkish Ministers--The
Vice-Admiral of the Porte beheaded_
189
LETTER XVIII.
_Scyros--Idra--History of Athens_
209
LETTER XIX.
_Present State of Athens--Battle of Marathon_
225
LETTER XX.
_Greek and Mahometan Religion_
241
LETTER XXI.
_Voyage from Athens to Leghorn_
258
LETTER XXII.
_Journey from Leghorn to Florence--Government
of Peter Leopold--Public
Ornaments--Palaces, Ricardi and Gerrini_
263
LETTER XXIII.
_Gallery of Florence_
275
LETTER XXIV.
_Island of Elba--Mount Vesuvius_
292
LETTER XXV.
_Voyage to Palermo--Grotesque Statues--Funeral
of Prince Patagonia_
297
LETTER XXVI.
_Attempt upon Belgrade--The Emperor declares
War--Operations in Croatia--Prince
Lichtenstein defeated by the
Turks--The Emperor takes the Field in
Person--The Prince of Moldavia deserts
from the Turks_
307
LETTER XXVII.
_The Prince of Saxe Cobourg invests Choczim--Siege
of Oczakow--Marshal
Laudohn--Political Observations--Meadia
taken by the Turks--The Grand
Vizir defeats the Emperor_
325
LETTER XXVIII.
_Passage through the Dardanelles--Constantinople_
346
LETTER XXIX.
_Conclusion of the Campaign 1788_
360
_Advertisement_
369
A
TOUR
FROM
GIBRALTAR
TO
CONSTANTINOPLE.
* * * * *
LETTER I.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Carthagena, August 14th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
In compliance with your request, I
I have kept a regular Journal of my
Voyage, which I now inclose you:
Tuesday, August 7th, Noon.
At eight o'clock, yesterday morning, we left Gibraltar, with a contrary
wind; and, on the first tack, we passed Ceuta, a place of no great
intrinsic value, but an indifferent port. It is situated on a peninsula
of Africa, which, with Gibraltar, Spartel and Trafalgar, forms the
Straits, and is so strongly fortified by Nature, that, although the
Moors have often besieged it, it has withstood all their efforts.
Count Julian was Governor of this place, at the time Roderigo ravished
his daughter, the beautiful _Cava_. The Count, inflamed with rage at the
dishonor perpetrated on his family, and distracted at the ruin of his
own child, forgot his duty to his country, which no private injuries can
excuse, and engaged to put the Moors in possession of Spain, if they
would revenge him on his abandoned Monarch.
It is not easy to determine who were the first inhabitants of Spain. We
know that it was subdued by the Carthaginians before the Christian æra,
and that they were conquered by the Romans; who, in their turn, yielded
to the Goths, from whom Roderigo was descended.
At this time, the Saracens (the name the followers of Mahomet assumed)
emigrating from Arabia, had overrun the neighbouring parts of Africa,
which they have kept possession of ever since. To these people, Count
Julian, with great truth, represented Roderic as a Prince universally
detested, and whose tyranny promised a general insurrection among the
Goths. The Saracen Chief at first doubted the Count's sincerity, but at
last sent over a large army, which gained a [Sidenote: A. D. 712]
complete victory over Roderigo, who was killed in the action; and the
whole country submitted to the Moors.
Divisions arising among the conquerors, the natives, in less than six
years, again appeared in arms, and the Saracens gradually declined for
near two centuries. Almanzor then arose, and, by his repeated victories,
revived the affairs of his countrymen: But, on the death of this great
General, the Christians again made head, and reduced the Moors to such
straits, that, although Mahomet Ben Joseph, Sovereign of Barbary, came
over to their assistance with all his forces, he was entirely defeated.
A. D. 1212.
The same dissensions, however, which had ruined the Saracens, now broke
out among the Christians, and enabled the former to shelter themselves
in Grenada, the only province now remaining to them in Spain. Here they
continued till the different monarchies which had been erected on their
ruin, were all, except Navarre, united under [Sidenote: A. D. 1492.]
Ferdinand and Isabella. Grenadawas then taken; but the Moors were
allowed to remain in the country, as subjects, till the reign of Philip
the Third, who, in apprehension of an insurrection, banished them
entirely [Sidenote: A. D. 1602.] from out of his kingdom. The
depopulation which this measure occasioned, is sensibly felt to the
present day. Count Julian was himself put to death by the Moors, on a
suspicion that he intended to desert their cause. His fate afforded us
an ample field for reflection.
We continued our course along the Barbary shore till midnight. We were
then obliged to tack, and are now opposite Malaga, twenty leagues from
Gibraltar. This, considering that the wind has been constantly easterly,
is no bad specimen of our sailing.
On the spot we are passing, Sir George Rooke, soon after he had taken
Gibraltar, engaged the Grand Fleet of France, consisting of fifty-two
sail of the line. The English and Dutch had as many ships; but the
French, being later from port, were much better manned, and in superior
[Sidenote: August 13, 1704.] condition. The battle lasted all the day.
Both sides suffered a very severe loss in men; but not one vessel was
taken or destroyed. Each claimed the victory; but the French Admirals
took care not to face us again during the whole of the war.
August 8th and 9th.
Calms and light easterly winds. The sea, for several miles round us, is
entirely covered with the spawn of fish. Philosophers have not been able
to determine how these animals are engendered: I will therefore pass
them over. The Grenada mountains rise to a stupendous height on our
left, and, even at this late season, their heads are covered with snow.
August 10th, Noon.
We have been, all this morning, in sight of Almeria. The more, for two
or three leagues on each side, is almost flat, with a very fine beach;
but the town itself displays all the variety of hill, dale and water. It
stands on a river, whose banks seem in high cultivation, and are
over-hung by prodigious mountains; whilst the low ground, particularly
to the east, rises in a gradual slope, covered with groves and avenues
of olive, and cork-trees, interspersed with vines and green canes. This
beautiful spot forms a kind of amphitheatre, enclosed by the Grenadines,
whose rugged summits appear almost inaccessible.
On a steep ascent, at the West end of the town, stands a large Moorish
castle, in very good repair. At present it is only respectable for its
antiquity; but, in 1147, it made a most vigorous defence against Conrad
the Third, assisted by the French, Genoese, and Pisans; and, after a
glorious resistance, it was taken by assault, and all the Moors most
inhumanly put to death. Vast riches were found in the place,
particularly the famous Agate ship, which is still shewn by the Genoese,
as one of the most valuable curiosities in Genoa. The castle of Almeria
is an exact copy of that at Gibraltar, and, like it, is commanded by an
height immediately above it.
Dusk. Early in the afternoon, a breeze sprang up, and we are now off
Cape de Gatt, about six leagues from Almeria, and fifty-two from
Gibraltar. On the point, the Spaniards have a small barbette battery.
The land, for some miles on each side, is almost perpendicular; but,
although we are near a league from the shore, we have soundings in
sixteen fathoms. The easterly wind continuing, we have just tacked, and
are standing to the South.
August 11th.
In the morning, we made Abido, an island of rocks, on the Barbary shore,
Lat. 35° 44′, Long. 51′ W. and, in the afternoon, passed between the
island and the main, which no British ship, I believe, ever did before.
The passage is barely three leagues wide; but the shallowest water,
three quarters of a mile from the rocks, was thirty-seven fathoms. The
wind being contrary, we were several hours in working through.
August 12th.
During last night, we crossed from the African to the Spanish shore,
where the wind has left us in a calm.
August 13th, Mid-day.
We are now in sight of Almazaron, a scattered village, at the bottom of
a small bay, well flanked by some little works on the cliffs on each
side. At 4 P. M. tacked in fifteen fathoms water, one mile off Cape
Tignose. On the west side of this point, there is good anchorage, well
sheltered from the east wind. The Spaniards have a white tower on the
point, on which they have mounted two or three small guns; and, indeed,
we have scarce seen a spot on the coast of Spain, that a boat could land
on, but what is defended by a tower or a little battery. Slight as these
works appear, they not only check the smugglers, but have frequently
been of service in protecting the coasters from the depredations of the
Barbary corsairs; while they also communicate intelligence, by signals,
from one extremity of the kingdom to the other, in very few hours.
Tuesday, August 14th.
The wind blowing hard from the East, with a heavy swell, we have
anchored off the mouth of Carthagena harbour.
Notwithstanding the adverse winds, nothing could be more pleasant than
our voyage. We have crossed the Mediterranean several times, but have
never been more than twelve hours out of sight of land; and the weather,
till last night, was so moderate, that not a soul has been sea sick.
The Spaniards have been remarkably civil. They have made a thousand
apologies for putting us under quarantine, and have promised to send us
every thing we may want. Carthagena is in Lat. 37° 42′, Long. 58′ W. two
hundred and fifty miles from Gibraltar. It was built by Asdrubal, from
whose country it took its name. I will be more particular in my next
letter.
LETTER II.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Carthagena, August 15th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The entrance of this harbour is not more than six hundred yards wide,
and is flanked by about thirty guns on the east side, and two-and-twenty
on the west: But, as troops coming from the town, must take a
considerable circuit round the water, I imagine that, on a sudden
attack, these batteries would not be manned in less than two hours. I
can discern no embrazures on the line wall towards the sea; but, on the
pier without the gates, there is a low battery of fifty heavy guns, to
defend the entrance of the bason at the west end of the town. This
passage has no defence on the opposite side, but is scarce fifty yards
wide. The King's ships are laid up immediately within it. At present,
they amount to twenty-one sail of the line, besides frigates; but they
are so closely lashed together, that, if one took fire, the whole, in
all probability, would be consumed. None of them are coppered, nor have
they any masts standing; and, although Carthagena is the second naval
arsenal in Spain, nothing like a man of war in any readiness for
service; is here to be seen, except a small copper-bottomed brig, and a
few galleys: of these the brig only is in commission.[1]
The dock-yard is contiguous to the bason, and both are commanded by
several heights. Two of these are secured by redoubts; the rest are
intrusted to crosses. The works round the city are, I believe, but weak;
and there are several fine landing places within a day's march of the
town.
Footnote 1:
This was only four weeks before the French Ambassador delivered the
hostile declaration, which, to the honor of our country, his Court was
compelled to retract, and proves, that nothing had been pre-concerted
with Spain, relative to the succours to be given to the French faction
in Holland.
---
We felt much obliged to the Governor, Don Joseph De Rocas, for his very
great attention. Besides repeated offers of his best services, he sent
his Aid de Camp to compliment us on our arrival, and to express the
utmost regret, that the orders from his Court were so strict, that he
could not have the honor of seeing us on shore, until we had performed a
tedious quarantine; but, in the mean while, if we were disposed to amuse
ourselves in the harbour, he would send a boat to shew us every thing we
wished, and would do all in his power, to make our stay as pleasant as
possible. We thanked him for his kindness and civility, and, in return,
determined to give him no trouble.
As the English were once in possession of Carthagena, and I may have
frequent occasion to mention the operations of the British arms in the
Mediterranean, to prevent repetition, I will recite, in as few words as
possible, the rise, progress, and conclusion of the War of the
Succession.
Ferdinand and Isabella were succeeded, in 1515, by their grandson, the
famous Charles, afterwards Emperor of Germany. Charles, in 1556,
resigned his crown to his son, Philip II. whose grandson, Philip IV. had
issue, Charles, Maria Theresa, and Margaret. Maria Theresa married Louis
XIV. of France, who was compelled to resign every pretension he might
afterwards have to Spain, in consequence of this marriage; and Margaret
was given to the Emperor Leopold.
Philip IV. was succeeded by his son Charles II. who seemed likely to
leave no issue. Louis XIV. therefore apprehending that, at the death of
this King, a great contest would arise for the crown of Spain, entered
into a secret treaty with William III. and the Dutch, for the partition
of its dominions: by which it was agreed, that all the Spanish
territories in Italy, the province of Guipuscoa in Spain, and the
duchies of Lorrain and Bar, should devolve to the Dauphin; whilst the
kingdom of Spain, and Spanish America, should be given to the Archduke
Charles, the Emperor's second son, the eldest being already provided
for. It is to be observed, that these sons were by the Emperor's second
marriage, Margaret and all her issue being dead. The Dauphin would
therefore have been the undoubted heir apparent, had not his father, on
his marriage, renounced his right.
The Spaniards, who were so nearly concerned, knew nothing of this
Partition Treaty. Soon after its conclusion, Charles II. of Spain died,
and, by his will, left all his dominions to Philip, Duke of Anjou, the
Dauphin's second son. Louis immediately sent his grandson to ascend the
throne. This was a breach of the Partition Treaty, which William
determined to oppose; but dying at this crisis, war was declared by
Queen Anne, who, in conjunction with the Emperor Leopold and the Dutch,
set up the Archduke Charles, in opposition to the Duke of Anjou. In this
war several other Powers took part.
Sir George Rooke and the Duke of Ormond were sent to Cadiz, in hopes
that the Andalusians would declare for Charles: but they refused to
acknowledge him; and the English, thinking the town too strong to be
carried by force, re-embarked. On their return, Sir George and the Duke,
hearing that a squadron of French men of war, with a very valuable
convoy, had put into Vigo, determined [Sidenote: Oct. 1702.] to attack
them; which they executed with the most brilliant success. Ten
line-of-battle ships and eleven galleons were taken, and six galleons
and five sail of the line, burnt, besides many smaller vessels.
In 1704, the Archduke embarked on board the Confederate Fleet, and,
after an unsuccessful attempt on Barcelona, set off for Lisbon, the
Portuguese having espoused his cause against Philip. In the mean while,
Sir George took Gibraltar, and engaged Count Thoulouse off Malaga.
Gibraltar was immediately besieged by the French and Spaniards, but was
relieved by Admiral Leake, in 1705, who took a line-of-battle ship, and
burnt four more.
Charles again embarked on board our fleet, at Altea Bay, with Lord
Peterborough, and the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt. The Prince was repulsed
and killed at the assault of Fort Montjuic, at Barcelona; but Lord
Peterborough instantly [Sidenote: Sept. 3, 1705.] renewed the attack,
and carried the fort. The town surrendered soon after. Lord Peterborough
marched directly into Valentia, and, in a few months, with scarce six
thousand English troops, overrun the greatest part of Spain, and entered
Madrid in triumph. His stay there, however, was but short; for he was
obliged to return to the assistance of King Charles, who was now
besieged in Barcelona, by General Tessé: but, on the Earl's approach,
the French General raised the siege with the utmost precipitation,
leaving all his baggage, camp equipage, [Sidenote: April, 1706.]
artillery and wounded men behind him. Victory, throughout this campaign,
was the constant attendant on the British arms. The town of Alicant was
taken by assault; [Sidenote: June 28.] and the citadel surrendered next
day. Carthagena having offered to acknowledge Charles, a detachment was
sent to secure it. Majorca and Ivica surrendered soon after.
But the eminent services of the Earl of Peterborough not gaining him a
proper influence in the Administration, he resigned his command, and was
succeeded by Lord Galway, a brave man. But, by the mismanagement of King
Charles, his affairs fell into great confusion; and Lord Galway, being
obliged to engage the enemy under many disadvantages at Almanza,
[Sidenote: April 14, 1707.] was entirely defeated. The consequences of
this victory gave Philip a decided superiority in Spain.
In the mean while, the Duke of Marlborough having carried all before him
in Flanders, and the Duke of Savoy having driven the enemy out of his
dominions, it was resolved, that the army under his Highness's command
in Italy, assisted by the fleet in the Mediterranean, should besiege
Toulon: but the Emperor Joseph, who had succeeded his father Leopold,
withdrawing his forces to besiege Naples, [Sidenote: August 4.] and the
French making a successful sally, in which they burnt all the batteries,
the Allies were obliged to raise the siege.
Nothing remarkable was done in Spain in 1708. Our army was reinforced,
and the enemy's distressed by the capture of a large convoy of
provisions. Cagliari, the capital, and the whole island of Sardinia,
submitted to King Charles; Minorca was taken by General Stanhope, and
Naples surrendered to the Emperor.
Next year, Alicant was taken by the enemy. The rock on which the citadel
stood, was defended for several months, by Major General Richards, with
the [Sidenote: April, 1709.] most romantic valour, but was at last
undermined and blown up. The General, and most of the principal
Officers, having purposely exposed themselves, to animate the garrison
to stand the threatened shock, were lost in the explosion; but the
survivors, under Colonel D'Allon, defended themselves till the British
fleet arrived and carried them off.
During the remainder of the war, Charles's affairs continued to decline;
and his success at Sarragossa and Almanara was balanced by a defeat at
Villa Viciosa, and the capture of General Stanhope's army at Brihuega.
At this juncture, his brother died, and Charles, succeeding to the
empire of Germany (1711), left Spain; but his partizans, assisted by the
English under the Duke of Argyle, kept possession of Barcelona, and the
greatest part of Catalonia, till the peace of Utrecht in 1713.
By this treaty, Charles resigned his pretentions to Spain; but, in
addition to the empire, he retained Sardinia, Naples, Milan, and the
Spanish Netherlands. Sicily was given to the Duke of Savoy, with the
title of King; together with Fenestrelles, and some other places taken
from the French. The Dutch got their Barrier; the English, only Minorca
and Gibraltar, with some settlements in North America. Prussia got Upper
Gueldres.
Philip, Duke of Anjou, was declared King of Spain: but, to prevent that
kingdom and France from ever being united under one head, Philip was
obliged to renounce every future claim to France; whilst the Dukes of
Berry and Orleans were obliged to do the same by Spain.
I wish much to enlarge on the gallant exploits of the Earl of
Peterborough, the heroic defence of General Richards, and the noble
spirit of the Catalonians after they were abandoned by the Emperor and
Queen Ann to the chastisement of Philip; but the bounds prescribed to a
journal will not permit me.
LETTER III.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Cagliari, September 1st.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
ON the 16th of last month, we weighed anchor off the harbour of
Carthagena, and sailed out of the bay, between the rock and the
continent, to the great astonishment of the Spaniards: but, although one
might almost make hands with them on each side, there is no danger in a
steady breeze; for the shore is so bold, that, whilst we had soundings
in fourteen fathoms on one side of the ship, we found no bottom with a
line of twenty on the other.
The wind favoured us for some hours; but, before night, it got back to
its old quarter, the east, and continued there, with little variation,
till the 23d. By this time, after having had a distant view of the high
land of Majorca, we were in sight of Sardinia, in Lat. 40° 10′, and,
with the assistance of the land breeze, got down to Cape Tolero on the
24th. In the night, we passed two rocks, called the Bull and Cow, Lat.
38° 35′, and, on the 25th, anchored in the bay of Cagliari, the capital,
Lat. 39° 14′, Long. 9° 20′ East, distant from Gibraltar about two
hundred and fifty leagues.
Early the next morning, we got prattick, with an invitation to dine with
the Viceroy, Count St. André. Three carriages were sent to carry us to
the palace. The dinner was in the French stile, and the head dish in the
second course was half a young wild boar, roasted entire: it was
superior to any pork I ever tasted. We had no wine but at dinner, and
one glass of _liqueur_ after the desert. The principal people of the
island were invited to meet us, and among them, the Marchionesses of
Villarias and Pasqua, and the Baroness Tauolard, the three handsomest of
their ladies.
Villarias has captured all our hearts. I have often endeavoured to form
an idea of Eve in her state of innocence, but never succeeded until I
saw this charming _Marchesa_. With the first rank and fashion, she is a
child of Nature, and Nature in perfection. Her limbs are most elegantly
turned, and her beautiful shape is neither distorted by stays, nor
encumbered by a load of false _croupion_. It is impossible to describe
how such a woman moves. She is of the middle size, and in the prime of
youth. Her face is equal to her person, brunette, with lovely black
eyes, whose expression gives full force to the vivacity of her
conversation.
Pasqua possesses every attraction but that of drawing one from
Villarias. Tauolard is handsome and amiable, but has not so much of
_L'Allegro_ as the other two. Their dress is like the English; but the
unnatural passion for monstrous protuberances, which I am sorry to hear
still reigns among our fair countrywomen, hath not yet reached Cagliari.
In their manners, the Sardinian ladies are more like the French. They
say every thing that comes uppermost, and have no idea of reserve. You
kiss their hands as a mere compliment; and, in dancing, whenever you
turn a lady, she expects you to put your arm round her waist, whilst
her's rests on your shoulder.
This frankness is vastly pleasant, and is here of no evil tendency; for,
in a confined society, secluded from the general world, where the
characters and their connections are thoroughly known, and where the
number of the profligate is too small to find either countenance or
protection, confidence and sincerity on the part of the women, naturally
produce honor and esteem in the breasts of the men.
THE
STORY of LUCILLA.
MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO
The Hon. Mrs. CHETWYND STAPYLTON
After coffee, the ladies carried us to see a nunnery, of which there are
no less than fourteen in Sardinia. I have ever thought these
institutions a defect in policy, and have reprobated the idea of the
Almighty being pleased at our depriving ourselves of the power of doing
any one good and moral action: but, in justice to the Superintendants in
this island, it must be observed, that no girl is permitted to become a
Novice until she is fifteen, and must then serve a year longer before
she can be allowed to take the veil; but this ceremony once performed,
she must bid an eternal farewell to the world.
We saw none of the Nuns but the Superiors and Novices. They stood within
the inner door, which, as a particular distinction, they opened while
they conversed with us across the threshold. My attention was soon
arrested by the youngest of the Superiors.
She appears scarcely thirty. Confinement has only softened the colour of
her cheek, and composed the lustre of her eye. Her features are
perfectly regular, and her countenance is animated by the cheerful glow
of benevolence and virtue. With the gentleness of a saint, she possesses
all the accomplishments of a woman of the world, and speaks a variety of
languages, with a voice harmoniously sweet.
Her name is Lucilla. She is aunt to the beautiful Villarias, and, like
her, in her youth, was the pride of Sardinia. Early in life, she engaged
herself to Fernando, a young nobleman, in every respect her equal. Their
hearts were already united, and the day was fixed for their nuptials;
but, before this happy hour could be celebrated, the sudden death of the
best of parents obliged Fernando to pass over to the Continent, to
perform the last offices to his deceased, and affectionate father.
Before his departure, he repeated those endearing vows of eternal
constancy; which both he and Lucilla had often given and received; and
each promised to write by every opportunity.
Lucilla kept her word; and when the time she expected an answer had
expired, her mind was filled with anxious fears for her lover's safety.
At length she heard of his arrival at Turin from his friends, most of
whom had received letters from him; but Lucilla, who expected to have
had the first, got none. She was too generous to be suspicious, and,
instead of complaining, continued writing to Fernando in the most
affectionate terms, making every excuse for not hearing from him, but
entreating him, as he valued her affection, to write to her by every
channel.
The amiable Lucilla had still the mortification of seeing post after
post arrive, without a line from her lover. At length she heard,
accidentally, that he was soon to set out for Spain, from whence he was
to embark for South America. A thousand painful emotions now seized her
breast, and her grief for her lover's unworthiness was not the least.
Her fate was drawing to a crisis; and, as her last resource, she wrote
him the following letter:
"Until I heard of your preparations
for crossing the Atlantic, I attributed
your silence to your confidence in my
esteem, and in my unalterable attachment;
and when I reflected how long
your indispensable concerns would engage
you, I had almost persuaded
myself to wish that you would not
prolong your absence, even by the
time in which you would be writing
to me: but, what I have hitherto considered
as an occasional slight, is now
become an injury so cruel and inhuman,
that, with all my prejudice in
your favor, I have great difficulty to
make myself believe that I am not
entirely bereft of your affection. If
you are capable of such inconstancy,
I absolve you of your vows; and may
Heaven forgive you. Mine, I shall
ever keep sacred. If you deprive me
of the power of fulfilling them--the
convent of St. Lucia is not far from
me: there will I for ever seclude myself
from the world, and confirm how
sincerely I am your
LUCILLA."
This letter having only increased her disappointment, Lucilla took the
irrevokable vow, and exerted all her resolution to subdue her passion.
Two years after she had taken the veil, her guardian died; and, in his
last moments, the wretch confessed, that he had never forwarded any of
the letters intrusted to him, and that he had kept Fernando's. He
pointed to a box, where they were deposited; but death prevented his
discovering his motive for such enormous treachery.
Fernando's letters were exactly in the same strain with Lucilla's. He
frequently mentions, that his friends in Spain had solicited him to
accept one of the chief appointments in South America; but that he
should think the whole world itself no recompense for being absent from
his Lucilla. In his last, he reminds her of her vows, with the utmost
delicacy and affection. He assures her that, without her, all situations
will be equally miserable to him, and conjures her, in the most
passionate terms, no longer to trifle with his happiness; for, that he
should be obliged to yield to the importunity of his Spanish relations,
unless me would again make Sardinia a Paradise, by alluring him of her
constancy.
Lucilla was soon informed how cruelly she had been deceived; but, far
from complaining, she was almost overcome with joy at the proof of her
lover's affection. From that time, she reassumed her former
cheerfulness; and, with injuries sufficient to distract any thing less
than an angel, I really believe she is the happiest person in the
convent. Such are the comforts of religion, and so true is the
adage--"Virtue is happiness," that Lucilla's thoughts now rise superior
to the world; and, without offending the Deity by heat or impatience,
she looks, with tranquil joy, for that moment which will be the
commencement of endless bliss, when she and Fernando will be united in
Heaven.
I leave you to conceive, my dear Madam, how much her history increased
the veneration I before felt for her. Villarias is my author. Her words,
enforced by her expressive countenance, are engraven on my heart; but it
is impossible to translate them. The youthful Marchioness is no
enthusiast in favor of nunneries; but she has made me allow, that, to
dispositions and misfortunes like Lucilla's, they afford a comfortable
asylum.
LETTER IV.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Cagliari, September 1st.
MY DEAR SIR,
THE churches here are plainer than one expects in a Roman Catholic
country; but many of them are beautifully neat. The altar-pieces are
composed of coloured marble, with no other ornaments than plated
candlesticks and artificial flowers. We have seen but few paintings, and
very little sculpture. The piece which struck us most, was for its
singularity as a religious ornament, in one of the chapels of the
cathedral. It is a group, with two figures a little detached on each
side; neither of whom convey any idea of decency, much less of religion.
The only procession I have seen, I at first mistook for a recruiting
party. It was led by a red standard, with drums and fifes playing
Malbrook, followed by several detachments of menial ecclesiastics, in
party-coloured dresses, with a small crucifix between each division. The
rear was brought up by an image of the Virgin Mary, and a chorus. These
gentlemen were rather sparing of their music; but what they did perform,
was remarkably fine.
On the second night after our arrival, Count André gave us a ball at the
palace. The dances were all English, except two: the first was La
Courance; the other, a Sardinian. It consists of an unlimited number of
ladies and gentlemen, who stand in a ring, and dance several times round
the centre, in short steps, to a measure, something like the slow time
of a _Fandango_. Every now and then, the whole close; and the men, with
an imitation of neighing, first kick their legs forward, then throw them
back, fall on their knees, and spring to their places. The ring now
opens, and the two ends turning outwards, lead round till they join.
After footing it a little thus back to back, the former manœuvre is
repeated, to bring the ring to its original position, and the dance is
ended. The ball concluded with _Country Bumpkin_, to the great delight
of the Sardinians, who had never seen it properly danced. I had the
pleasure of dancing that, as well as La Courance, and another with the
charming Villarias. Different ices were served between the dances, and
we broke up about an hour after midnight. We were introduced to near
twenty ladies, but none of them are worth a particular description but
the three I have named.
The Viceroy is a man of good understanding, and of accomplished manners.
He was formerly Governor of Nice, and always remarkable for his
partiality to the English. One afternoon when we were almost _en
famille_, he said, "_Allons en Angleterre_," and led us into another
room, where we found a complete tea-table. He was highly pleased at the
agreeable surprise he saw in our countenances, and we were equally
charmed with his flattering attention. He has had some of us to dine
with him every day, and always sends his carriages for us. Let this, my
dear friend, be a lesson to us to treat strangers with attention. We are
always sure of receiving it abroad, and it is shameful not to return it
at home. His son, the Chevalier de Revel, possesses all the politeness
of the French, with the sincerity of the English. He has been in every
part of England, and speaks our language very fluently.
Sardinia is now subject to the Duke of Savoy, who by the Quadruple
Alliance, [Sidenote: A. D. 1720.] was obliged to accept it in lieu of
Sicily, which was given to the Emperor. It is 140 miles long, and 70
broad, and contains 420,000 souls. The revenue arises chiefly from a
duty upon salt, and is barely sufficient to defray its expences; but it
certainly might be considerably augmented, as the soil produces wine,
corn, and oil in abundance. Most of the salt that is exported, is taken
by the Danes and Swedes; the English formerly took great quantities for
Newfoundland, but having found the procuring it from Spain and Portugal
more convenient, they now take little or none. A profitable tunny
fishery is carried on at the south west part of the island, but it is
monopolized by the Duke de St. Pierre, and a few more people, who happen
to be proprietors of the adjoining land. Wild boars abound in the hilly
parts of the island, and here are
some few deer, not so large as ours, but in colour and make exactly the
same. I tasted part of one at the Viceroy's, and found it by no means
inferior to our doe venison.
The Feudal System still subsists in a limited degree, and titles go with
their estates, so that by purchasing the latter, you inherit the former.
The regular troops seldom exceed two thousand men, but the militia
amount to near twenty-six thousand, of whom eleven thousand are cavalry.
Their horses are small, but uncommonly active. In a charge we should
beat them, but on a march they would be superior to us. The country
people are generally armed; but notwithstanding their having been so
long under the Spanish and Italian government, assassinations are by no
means frequent; and yet by the laws of the country, if a man stabs
another without premeditated malice, within four hours after quarrelling
with him, he is not liable to be hanged. On the other hand, the church
affords no protection to the guilty.
The Sardinians are not at all bigoted, and, next to the Spaniards, the
English are their favorites. In 1708, the Viceroy was disposed to
support the Duke of Anjou, but on the approach of the British fleet, the
inhabitants obliged him to acknowledge Charles.
The town stands on the side of an hill, rising from the sea, with a
rampart round it. The situation is strong by nature; but the works are
much out of repair. The worst of this port is, that, on account of the
shoalness of the water, men of war are obliged to lay a long distance
from the shore; and, although the bay is of a very considerable extent,
yet the channel for large ships is so narrow, that, in working out with
a contrary wind, it is difficult to avoid getting aground; but, as the
bottom is, in general, soft, touching is attended with no bad
consequence but the trouble of getting off.
For several leagues round the hill on which Cagliari stands, the country
is almost flat; but, although it appears remarkably fine, it is reckoned
prodigiously unhealthy; and it is a known fact, that the night air, in
many parts of this island, is a kind of poison to strangers. The harvest
is got in. The grapes are ripe; but the vintage has scarce begun. The
vines are exactly in the order recommended by Virgil. We rode through
several of the vineyards, and found the peasants excessively civil. They
loaded us with their best grapes; and it was with the utmost difficulty,
that we prevailed upon them to accept any money in return. They dress
like the Spaniards, to whom they are still much attached; and I found my
understanding Spanish a great recommendation, even with the Noblesse,
and the divine Lucilla.
LETTER V.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, September 9th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
We left Sardinia on the 3d instant; on the 7th, at day-light, were in
sight of Mount Vesuvius; and, in the evening, we were close to Capria, a
small island on the right of the entrance to the bay of Naples, famous
for the abode of Tiberius. In size and shape, it is not unlike
Gibraltar. The town is in the center of the west side, surrounded and
interspersed with vines and evergreens, which give the houses the
appearance of so many villas peeping through the trees. This spot is
extremely beautiful; but every other part of the island is a bare rock.
When Tiberius, from the consciousness of his crimes, was in perpetual
dread of being assassinated, he made choice of Capria, as a place of
security. It is totally inaccessible on every part, except at a little
bay, which he surrounded with guards, and allowed nobody to enter but by
his own invitation. Here he carried on the most abominable debauchery;
and the accounts we read of his brutality are confirmed by the number of
obscene medals and paintings found in the town.
That which exhibits the beautiful Malonia can never be beheld but with
the utmost horror and companion. In those vitiated times, this
unfortunate lady lived on terms of the purest affection with her
husband, and carefully avoided the Emperor's court. But when, from his
age and infirmities, Tiberius was looked upon as totally debilitated, he
accidentally met her, and was instantly struck by her beauty. The
modesty of her carriage only increased his desire. She was immediately
seized by his guards, and conveyed to the palace, where the horrible
monster, finding that neither power nor promises, threats nor severity,
could tempt Malonia to swerve from her duty, had a machine contrived to
force her to his purpose.--On this she is represented, with a
countenance full of anguish and distress. The rest is too shocking to
describe.
Passing by Capria, with Vesuvius in front, blazing from time to time
during the night, we anchored off Naples the next day, and this morning
got prattick.
LETTER VI.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, September 12th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
WE lost no time in seeing the wonders of this extraordinary country. Our
first object was to follow Æneas to the Cuman Shore, and on our way
thither, it was but just to pay our oblations at Virgil's Tomb. This
celebrated monument is close to the top of the Grotto of Pausilippe, on
the left of the east entrance. The inside is a square of twelve feet,
with three niches for urns on the east and west sides, two niches and a
door, through which you enter, on the south, and the same on the north.
The roof is arched, and about nine feet high. The outside was originally
octagonal, but the angles being worn away, it is now circular, and at a
distance looks like the remains of a small tower. The materials are of
the common kind, and I did not observe any marble near it, except two
modern inscriptions.
Formerly the tomb was surrounded with laurels, but as every idle visitor
took a leaf, there is not a sprig left. We could not help exclaiming
against such sacrilege; but our guide endeavoured to comfort us, by
saying that the Marquis Salcitro had ordered a new set to be planted.
The Grotto of Pausilippe is at the west end of the suburbs of Naples. It
is a public road cut through the mountain, near half a mile in length,
and wide enough for two carriages to drive abreast. Its height is very
irregular, in some parts eighty feet, and at others only
five-and-twenty. In the day time you may see from one end to the other,
by the help of two large apertures, cut diagonally from the center of
the grotto to the surface of the mount; but at night we were obliged to
use torches, which, when any number of vehicles are driving together,
have a most beautiful effect. The bottom, like all Naples, is paved with
square pieces of lava. Its exact date has not been ascertained. The
common people insist that it was done by inchantment, as a proof of
which they allege that no stones were found near the entrance. It would
be to no purpose to tell them, that those who perforated the mount, very
naturally made use of the stone in building the town.
But after all, the difficulty in accomplishing this passage was by no
means so great as one would at first imagine, for the stone is so soft,
that until it has been for some time exposed to the air, you may crumble
it to dust. Neither, in my opinion, is this celebrated excavation equal
to the batteries, magazines, and communications, formed in the solid
rock of Gibraltar by Mr. Inch, under the direction of General Eliott,
and continued with astonishing success by Major-General O'Hara.
After passing the Grotto we drove to Puzzoli. The road is remarkably
pleasant, great part of it runs between groves of poplars, planted in
regular order, to sustain the vines, in the style of our hop gardens.
The vines are loaded with grapes, and, encircling the trees, form a
variety of beautiful festoons from one tree to another in every
direction. The ground beneath is either covered with grass, or laid out
for corn.
Turning a little out of the way to the right, we came to Lago D'Agnano,
formerly a volcano, now a romantick, beautiful lake. Close to it is a
little cave called Grotto del Cane, from a vapour that rises in it so
obnoxious to dogs, that it kills them in a few minutes, and doubtless it
would have the same effect on man, or any other animal, whose head was
held near the ground.
Between Lago D'Agnano and Puzzoli, on the side of another extinguished
volcano, called the Solfaterra, we saw the Piscatelli, or Boiling
Springs, of whose wonderful effect, in turning lava and pumice stone
into clay and into soil, I had the same evening the satisfaction of
hearing a philosophical account from Sir William Hamilton, with which he
has already favoured the public.
We hired a boat at Puzzoli, and after rowing about two miles across part
of the celebrated Bay of Baia, with Virgil in my pocket, landed close to
the Lucrine Lake, at the foot of Monte Nuovo. This mountain, which is
several hundred yards in height, and above a mile in circumference, was
thrown up by the Lucrine Lake in a violent earthquake in the year 1538.
However strange this may appear, such phenomena are by no means uncommon
in Italy. The lake was of course much reduced by this eruption, and now
only covers three or four acres. It is about ten yards from the sea, and
has a sluice to communicate with it.
After a short walk in a pleasant vineyard, we entered the Sibyl's Cave,
a road cut through a mountain in the style of the Grotto of Pausilippe,
but on a smaller scale. The passage from the cave to her palace is only
wide enough for one person. After descending ten or twelve yards, we
came to her baths, four small chambers with water still in them. We were
carried through on men's backs, with candles in our hands, and ascending
a little on the opposite side, came to the door of her palace; but it is
so choaked up with rubbish, that we were obliged to return without
finding an entrance; and passing through her cave and a wild shrubbery
on the west of it, we arrived at Lake Avernus, and on the opposite banks
saw the grove where Æneas was to find the golden bough.
The lake seems to have lost the noxious qualities Virgil ascribed to it;
but this, I imagine, is owing to most of the high trees with which it
was closely surrounded being cut down, and little but brushwood left.
The temple is at a small distance on the right of the lake; we wanted to
go to it, but our Cicerone persuaded us that it would be better to delay
seeing that and the entrance into Hell, until we had been at Cuma.
We therefore repassed the Sibyl's Cave, and returning to the Lucrine
Lake, again embarked, and proceeded along the shore to the foot of
Nero's Palace, where the sand under the sea water is so hot, that we
could scarcely touch it. The effect of subterraneous fire.
The baths are above. These are several large chambers, divided into
different apartments for the men and women, with two subterranean
passages leading to the water, which unite at the distance of two
hundred yards from the spring. Here the heat is so excessive and
insupportable, that it is supposed no longer necessary to continue the
separate passages, since even should persons of different sexes advance
thus far, there is no danger of their being noticed by each other, for
to get here cost us great pain; and all our clothes, in a few seconds,
were wet through with perspiration.
This is what they call bathing, for nobody can bear the water. One of
our guides, for a pecuniary reward, brought a little in a bucket, and
boiled some eggs in it, which were afterwards served at our table in a
shady spot on the adjoining classic ground; and we crowned this grateful
repast with the health of a favorite fair, in a smiling bumper of real
Falernian, from the very vineyards which have been celebrated by Horace.
The wine was remarkably good, and the heavenly toast gave it a still
higher flavour. I am convinced that it would have found its way to
England, had not the Italians lost the art of preserving it. One must
therefore either drink it new or sour.
About two miles from Nero's Baths, we were shewn the Temple of Diana, a
large dome, one half of which was destroyed by an earthquake, the other
remains. The Temple of Mercury is on the opposite side of a modern
bridge. The dome is still entire, and is seventy feet in diameter. It
has a similar effect to the whispering gallery at St. Paul's. Part of
the roof is lined with common mosaic. The walls of the different
out-offices are still standing, and the court has been lately planted
with lemon and orange trees, which, in time, will add greatly to the
beauty of its appearance. This spot seems to have been particularly
sacred, for not an hundred yards further is a large octagon tower, the
remains of a Temple of Venus Genetrix, but no other vestige of it is
left.
Here we again embarked, and after rowing some little way along the
shore, landed and walked to the top of a hill, from which we had a view
of the Elysian Fields, and of Lake Acheron below us. The lake is
changed, like Avernus, but the Elysian Fields are still a beautiful
wilderness. On our way we passed several ancient burying-places, and a
variety of other ruins--ruins in the truest sense of the word, for the
whole is an heap of rubbish.
A little beyond this is the famous reservoir constructed for the use of
the Roman Navy. The roof is supported by forty-eight square pillars,
with a proportional number of arches, something in the style of the
Nun's Cistern at Gibraltar, but on a scale so much more grand, that it
would contain above an hundred times the quantity of water.
From thence we proceeded through a vineyard to an amazing subterraneous
building, supposed to have been Nero's prisons. The gallery is about
twelve feet high, and nine wide. We were told that it proceeds in a
right line from the entrance to the sea, and is divided into near an
hundred apartments; but as it is full of stones, and as the air is said
to be prodigiously hurtful, we could not prevail on our guide to descend
to any distance in this direction, but, turning to the left, we entered
a range of apartments in the form of a cross, which we supposed were for
the officers, as the partition walls are only carried to within two feet
of the arch. In the inmost fourteen bronze lamps were found. The niches
they stood in still remain. On striking the ground, it returned a hollow
sound, as if there was a range of prisons beneath.
As soon as we returned to day-light, we descended to the sea-side, to
the tomb of Agrippina. It is an arched vault, fifteen feet long, and
nine wide, almost filled up with rubbish. The walls are covered with
elegant basso-relievo miniature figures, in small squares, remarkably
neat and beautiful; one represents a female deity, with extended wings,
soaring in the air; two others are women reclining on a couch, but so
choaked up with smoke and soot from the torches, that it is impossible
to determine who they are: the workmanship, however, one easily
perceives, exhibits the hand of a capital master, who has displayed so
much taste, beauty and harmony, that we are almost tempted to forget
Agrippina's crimes; and, in pitying her fate, we redouble our horror at
the inhuman parricide who sent her to her tomb.
It is not known by whom this monument was erected; and I think it not
improbable, that it might have been ordered by Nero himself, since he is
reported to have said, that, had he known how beautiful his mother was,
he never would have destroyed her.
Having now seen every thing on the coast of Baia, we returned to
Puzzoli, and, to our inexpressible concern, found that it was too late
to continue our excursion to Cuma.
Puzzoli abounds with antiquities; but the temple of Jupiter Serapis is
the only one we had time to see. This was one of the most noble
structures yet brought to light; and we can never sufficiently lament,
that it has not been preserved in the state in which it was found.
The court is a square of one hundred and twenty feet, and was surrounded
by a magnificent colonnade, which, together with the roof and pavement,
were of beautiful marble. It contained many elegant statues, and every
other religious ornament; but the King was seized with such an avidity
for these treasures, that he had them all removed to his different
palaces, with the exception of four columns only, which are left, as a
sample, before the entrance of the inner temple, each eighteen feet in
circumference, and forty in height. The temple itself was again stopped
up with rubbish, after all its ornaments were taken away.
In the center of the court, an altar was raised for sacrifice; but, as
it was composed of the finest materials, it was crushed by the
earthquake that buried the temple. The base still remains, with the ring
to which the victim was tied, and the vessels for holding its blood.
LETTER VII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, September 20th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
WE returned to Naples, highly gratified with our expedition to Baia,
and, after a day's rest, set out for Mount Vesuvius. The foot of the
mountain is about six miles off. We went at night, in order to view the
crater to the greatest advantage, and were about two hours in walking
from the base to the hermitage. The road, although steep, is tolerably
good; and a light carriage may ascend the greatest part of it.
Father Pietro, the Hermit, received us with great hospitality; and,
although turned of eighty, he is by no means insensible to those charms
of society which are consistent with the gravity of his order. He seemed
a person of a liberal education, spoke with great judgment of the
ancients, and was well informed of the state of Europe at the time of
his retirement. In the course of conversation, he mentioned his having
been in England, which led us to enquire in what capacity. Conceive our
surprize, when this venerable sage told us that he had been a French
hair-dresser! But the frankness and the grace with which he made this
declaration, increased our esteem; and his conversation proved, that
however low his origin, his abilities and application had raised him
superior to most of us.
His habitation is a comfortable cottage, with a chapel, and a shrubbery
adjoining, at the extremity of one of the small mountains, of which
there are several round Vesuvius; and although half way up to the
crater, this spot is secured from the lava by a ridge which separates it
from the great cone; and should the burning matter run in this
direction, it would be thrown on each side. But it is not impossible
that he may some day be surrounded by it; and he is always exposed to
the stones and ashes thrown up by the mountain.
At three o'clock the next morning we prepared for the grand ascent, but
it rained so hard that our guide assured us it was impossible to
proceed; and, to our infinite disappointment, the weather did not clear
up till after daylight. We then took leave of our friendly hermit, and
after scrambling over large fields of rough lava, in less than two hours
reached the crater--an unfathomable fiery gulph, sunk from the summit of
a monstrous cone, which rises above every other branch of the mountain.
It emits an amazing column of smoke, so strongly impregnated with
sulphur, that it was not without danger of being suffocated, that we
were able to look down it, even on the side from which the wind blew.
The smoke and daylight prevented our seeing to any depth, but at night I
imagine that we should occasionally have discerned fire at the bottom.
We repeatedly heard a rumbling noise, not so much like that of thunder,
as of a brazen carriage rolling over a bridge. These were succeeded by
small explosions, which threw up large quantities of stones, accompanied
by a flame, which the light prevented our seeing to advantage.
Whilst the mountain is in this dangerous state, it is impossible to
measure the circumference of the crater exactly, but I am led to think
that it has been exaggerated, and that it does not exceed three hundred
yards. Its sides however sometimes fall in, and then the circumference
may be much greater.
Figure to yourself what a volume of smoke may be emitted from such a
source, and what an overwhelming torrent of liquid fire such a gulph may
produce! Our shoes were burnt in getting to its edge, for it is
surrounded either with new lava, or a hot, drossy substance powdered
with sulphur.
Sometimes the mountain is perfectly quiet for weeks together, but it has
been smoking ever since we arrived, with occasional explosions, which
threaten an approaching eruption. There was a slight one a few days
before we entered the bay, but the lava only descended about a mile from
the crater. It is still red hot, and at night may be seen at many
leagues distance.
The phenomena of lava and burning mountains have been variously
explained by different philosophers. Some, and these men of reputation
too, have followed the idea of the ancients, and suppose the center of
the earth to be fire, to which they are so extravagant as to imagine
volcanos are the chimneys. Others suppose them to be occasioned by the
fermentation of firestone, sulphur, and iron, the explosions of nitre,
of aqueous steam violently heated, or of air pent up and greatly
rarefied. All these doubtless assist, or contribute to the formation of
volcanos, but the only inexhaustible source of fire that I am informed
of, is the electric fluid, whose powers were not discovered before the
middle of this century. This is nothing more than the light of the sun
absorbed by the earth, which of course must be again emitted, just as we
receive in rain, the water and the damps he exhales from us. Whenever,
therefore, the electric fluid is absorbed in larger quantities than the
general outlets can return, it acts with uncommon violence, and breaks
forth either by an earthquake, or an eruption. When this happens, and
the eruption is not very violent, the burning matter rises gradually
from the bottom to the top of the crater, and when it has filled it, it
runs over like the boiling of an immense caldron. But sometimes it
scorns all bounds, and the crater, monstrous as it is, being
insufficient to give vent to its violence, the side of the mountain is
burst open, and thrown with inconceivable force to an immeasurable
height in the air. The lava then rushes forth in an impetuous torrent of
liquid fire, overwhelming every thing in its course. That of 1767 was
six miles long and two wide, and in some places, where it past over
cavities, it was sixty or seventy feet deep.
Eruptions are generally preceded and closed by an immense discharge of
stones and ashes, which often create more destruction than the lava
itself.
For some time after the eruption, the lava has the appearance of melted
glass, after which the upper part breaks into large pieces of a kind of
dross, which, in the course of time crumble into mould, and form the
richest soil imaginable, whilst the lower becomes hard stone. But this
is the process of many years, and consequently great part of Vesuvius is
horridly barren, whilst the rest is most beautifully cultivated.
A fog deprived us of the view from the top of the mountain; but, by what
I saw at the Hermitage, I think it would have been impossible to
describe it. The bay of Naples is upwards of fifty miles in
circumference, and the variety of curious and beautiful objects, which
strike the eye in every direction, render it one of the most pleasing
and interesting sights which it is possible to behold. The capital of
the kingdom is in the center, with a superb Carthusian monastery, and
the Castle of St. Ilmo above it. On the west the public walk of the
Chiaja, adorned with several elegant fountains, and a double row of
trees. Beyond it Mount Pausilippe, with the Tomb of Virgil; the road and
town of Puzzoli; the Solfaterra, and Monte Nuovo; the remains of the
Lucrine Lake, and the ruins of Baia, bounded by the celebrated Cape of
Misenus, and the Isle of Ischia. On the east the gardens, palace, and
museum of Portici, built over the ruins of Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius
throwing forth an amazing volume of smoke in a variety of shapes,
according to the wind, with its base covered with vineyards, convents,
and villas, rising out of the ashes of Pompeia and Stabia. Beyond these
Castello Mare, closed by the Promontory of Gampenela, and the Island of
Capria. The whole country is in the highest state of cultivation, richly
clothed with beautiful trees, most of which are evergreens.
The entrance of the bay is on the south-west side, and is near fifteen
miles wide. Off the town there are two moles, one for the King's
galleys, the other for the larger men of war and merchantmen, with three
castles to defend them. But notwithstanding these works, and the Citadel
of St. Ilmo, which, from its height, is unassailable, and that its
garrison is sheltered by excellent casemates, I think ten sail of the
line might lay this capital in ashes, as a first rate man of war may lie
close to the shore.
By Sir William Hamilton's desire, we, this morning, took a boat from the
Pearl, and after rowing along the west side of the town, and passing the
ruins of Queen Joan's Palace, landed at a small village, he was so good
as to point out to us, in the neighbourhood of which we saw the remains
of Pollio's Villa, with the subterranean fish-ponds, in which he used to
feed lampreys on human flesh. There are some busts of his family in the
garden, and several inscriptions to remind us of his abominable luxury.
LETTER VIII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, September 24th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
On a hill, a little without this city, the King has a palace, called
Capo de Monté, in which there is a museum, and a numerous collection of
paintings, the best of which is Titian's celebrated Danaæ. Nothing can
be more beautiful, or expressive of enjoyment, than her face, or more
elegantly shaped than her person: but, dared I suppose it possible to
improve the design of so perfect a master, I would say, that, for
Jupiter's sake, I wish that her knees were less drawn up.
Scidon's Charity is a divine figure, and, if possible, exalts that
heavenly virtue.
The Dead Christ, by A. Carraccio; Mary Magdalen, by Giucino; Peter
denying Christ, by Morillo; the Virgin Mary, with St. Ann, Jesus, and
John the Baptist, by Raphael, are among the best pieces.
The museum contains a complete set of medals in gold, silver and copper,
of all the Roman Emperors; a variety of beautiful cameos, antique vases,
and a copy of the Farnese Bull.
Our next grand object was to visit the recovered towns of Herculaneum
and Pompeia, which, after being buried near seventeen hundred years,
were again brought to light by the present King of Spain[2], whilst he
was on the throne of Naples.
Footnote 2:
Died on the 13th of December, 1788.
---
These towns were lost in the reign of Titus, by the memorable eruption
of Vesuvius, in the year of our Lord 79, when the mountain threw forth
such a torrent of stones and lava, that Herculaneum and Stabia were
buried near eighty feet deep in ashes, consolidated by liquid fire.
In the revolution of so many ages, the spot they stood upon was entirely
forgotten: but, towards the end of the last century, some inscriptions
were found, which led to a discovery of their situation; but it was not
till the year 1738, that any public excavations were made.
The King met with so much success in his first attempt, that,
notwithstanding the expence of digging through sixty or eighty feet of
hard stone, he laid open a considerable part of Herculaneum; but the
difficulty of removing the rubbish induced his Majesty to fill it up
again as he went on, after collecting all the moveables of any
consequence. The theatre alone is left open. It is larger than any in
England; and the ends of the beams, burnt to coal, are still seen
sticking in the walls; but all the ornaments that withstood the eruption
are removed to Portici.
No lava having ever gone over the ashes which buried Pompeia, it was
much easier cleared. Three divisions are quite open. The first is a
small square, which, our Cicerone told us, was the soldiers quarters.
There are several small apartments round it; in one of which we saw the
skeletons of seventeen poor wretches, who were confined by the ancles in
an iron machine. Many other bodies were found, some of them in
circumstances which plainly shew that they were endeavouring to escape
when the eruption overtook them. Near the barracks, there is a theatre,
and a temple of Isis; but, as all their ornaments have been removed,
they have now little but their antiquity to make them worth seeing.
But a little farther, two streets, with all their houses, are entirely
cleared, and look like a small town, lately abandoned. The streets are
just wide enough for two carriages to pass each other; and the ruts worn
by the wheels, are still to be seen, as well as names, and several
military figures, cut in a rough manner by the soldiers on the walls of
their quarters. A path is raised on each side of the street, for foot
passengers.
Most of the houses have a terrace at top, in the Italian style; and some
of them have baths and stoves to heat the walls. The floors, in general,
are paved with mosaic of the common kind; and the sides of the rooms
were all ornamented with paintings on the bare plaster, which we call
_in distemper_. Some of them are exceedingly beautiful; but most of the
best have been taken away. Among those that remain, the most striking
are, Narcissus pining for his own figure; Orpheus and Eurydice; Diana
and Endymion; variety of dogs and game; several dishes of fish, fowl and
vegetables; a capital helmet; some beautiful landscapes, and light
festoons of the most elegant patterns: all as perfect as the day they
were painted.
A little without the gates, we saw the burying-place of the Terentian
family. It is a small pile, with a tower in the center, with niches for
the urns, and several distorted, weeping faces on the walls. In one of
the wells in the town, we found several skulls, which were thrown there
when the houses were cleared out.
About a quarter of a mile farther, we came to a noble villa, which, from
its size, and the furniture found in it, must have belonged to some
person of consequence. The lower part is inhabited by some peasants, who
cultivate the garden within the court, and who presented us with some of
the grapes which it produces. The cellars form three sides of a square,
under the terrace in front of the house, each side one hundred and sixty
feet long. We were shewn several jars, whose contents were solid, and
which, at the time of the eruption, were full of wine.
From hence we drove to Portici, to see the museum, where every thing
taken out of Pompeia and Herculaneum is collected. It consists of
sixteen rooms, in which the different articles are arranged with very
great taste. The floors are paved with mosaic, taken up from the
recovered towns, and the walls of the court are lined with inscriptions.
Exclusive of busts and statues, medals, and intaglios, lamps and
tripods, innumerable; there is not an article used by the ancients, of
which a specimen may not be seen in this museum. We were shewn some
Household Gods, and every implement used in worship, or sacrifice,
agriculture, and cookery. A kitchen completely furnished, in a style
that would do justice to a London Alderman. Several scales, weights, and
measures, and different instruments of music and surgery. Some loaves of
bread, with the maker's name. Different kinds of shell fruit. Tickets of
admission for the theatre, and, what rather lessened our veneration for
the ancients, some loaded dice, and a box of rouge. They had mirrors
too, which were of brass highly polished, for they had not the art of
making glass reflect by quicksilver.
One of the apartments is filled with obscene devices, particularly
rings, which were worn by the chastest matrons, as charms against
sterility; for the Romans accustomed their women to this kind of
objects, just as they did their youth to danger, that they might learn
to behold them unmoved. This accounts for the very great number that
have been found. Some of them are highly laughable. But the moderns have
learned more delicacy; and this apartment is never exposed to the
ladies.
The _Satyr and She Goat_ was thought so dangerous a representation, that
it was very properly removed to a separate house; and nothing but its
exquisite workmanship prevented its being destroyed.
It is much to be lamented that the article which might be of most
service to mankind, is the most difficult to be recovered, I mean the
ancient books. These were written on scrolls rolled up, and by the heat
of the ashes, were burnt into the appearance of charcoal. No pains have
been spared to unfold them, but the operation is attended with such
immense difficulty, that as yet but four have been brought to light, and
these in so mutilated a state, that though the letters which are left
are perfect, I fear they can never be of any real use. But this by no
means lessens the merit of Padre Piaggi and his pupils. It is miraculous
that they have succeeded so well; and their ingenuity and perseverance
cannot be too much applauded.
Several of the rooms in the Palace of Portici, which is adjoining to the
museum, are lined with the paintings cut out of Pompeia; but though they
are reckoned the best, they do not appear to me to equal those that
remain on their native walls.
The equestrian statues of Marcus Nonius Balbus, and his son, at the foot
of the great staircase, are both remarkably light and elegant. One has
the greater pleasure in admiring them, from their being a tribute to
virtue, erected after their death by the citizens of Herculaneum, of
which they were Pro-consuls.
Portici is about six miles from Naples, at the foot of Vesuvius; the
theatre of Herculaneum is a little beyond the Palace, and Pompeia about
seven miles farther, all on the great road to Castello Mare. No
excavations having been made at Stabia, we did not go there.
LETTER IX.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, September 27th.
MY DEAR SIR,
Engagements in Naples, which we could not decline, and the shortness of
our stay, allowed us to make but one more excursion to the country. This
was to the new palace at Casertta. The outside has nothing to boast of
but the grandeur of its size; but for convenience, the plan is, perhaps,
the best which has ever been laid out. It is a square of six hundred
feet each side; and that no room may be lost, the interior court is
divided into four, by a range of buildings in the shape of a cross, the
head of which forms a most magnificent church, lined with the marble
from the Temple of Serapis at Puzzoli. It hath not many paintings, but
that of the Presentation is reckoned inestimable. I do not mean to
criticise this admirable work, but it is natural to imagine that the
painter intended the Virgin Mary to be his principal character, and yet,
in spite of myself, my attention was constantly drawn from her to the
surrounding figures.
The great staircase forms one of the finest _coup d'oeils_ of the kind I
ever beheld. It is in the center of the whole edifice, opposite the
church gates. The dome is painted with Apollo and the Muses, in a
circle, and the four seasons in the corners. The steps and balustrade
are all of marble of different colours, on a very grand scale, crowned
with two capital lions. If any fault can be found with this elegant
piece of architecture, it is that the area below is too small in
proportion to the grandeur of this part of the building.
It is intended that this Palace shall contain apartments for all the
Officers of State, &c. who by the skill of the architect, will be most
conveniently lodged; as yet, however, none but those of the King are
completed. These are finished in the richest style, and with a neatness
and elegance that prevents our being dazzled by their magnificence. The
walls are washed with light colours (for the Italians use no paper),
with elegant mouldings of gold and silver, and the ceilings are adorned
with a variety of most beautiful paintings. That of the Three Graces in
the Queen's bath, is a most masterly piece; they have just been bathing,
the beauty of their faces and symmetry of their persons, are beyond
description.
Several of the lower rooms are filled with statues, not yet put up. The
best is Agrippina sitting on a chair, with her feet out, so very
natural, that I was on the point of bowing to her. The Theatre is
nothing extraordinary. The aqueduct we had not time to see.
St. Januarius is the tutelar saint of the Neapolitans. His feast is now
celebrating. The people out of doors affect to laugh at the idea of his
blood liquifying, but when the pretended miracle was performed, all of
them kissed the phial with great fervour. The _Nobile_ have given an
oratorio in honor of him; Sir William Hamilton sent us tickets for it.
During this festival the operas are suspended; which has prevented our
seeing more than two. The Theatre of St. Carlos, performers, dresses,
&c. are, in every respect, superior to ours; and yet, instead of
half-a-guinea, the price of admittance is only about eighteen pence.
In England, the singers are never obliged to exert themselves for any
time together: here I have heard _La Banti_ in a cantata that hath
required a constant exertion for near half an hour; _Tomeone_, though
less powerful, is more pleasing: in _Pace caro mio Sposo_, she is
absolutely incomparable. The Coltalines make too many faces; and this is
often the case with the men; but, however hideous in private parties, it
is not much observed on the stage. Their dances are longer than ours,
and, when they form part of the piece, are accompanied by voices.
It would be presumption to attempt to describe the manners of the
Italians on so short an acquaintance. Suffice it to say, that we have
been treated with the utmost attention; that the people are remarkably
partial to our nation; and that being an English Officer is a sufficient
introduction to the first company.
If the lower sort have sometimes taken advantage of our inexperience, it
is no more than we have suffered at home; for, who are more imposing,
particularly to foreigners, than the publicans, waiters, and all that
class of people, in England?
In short, I should be apt to give a very high character of the
Neapolitans, had I not been told that they do not merit the favorable
opinion I have formed of them, and that the civility of the men often
ends in winning your money, whilst that of the women proceeds from an
amorous disposition, tinctured with avarice: but all this it would be
ungenerous to believe, since we have not experienced an instance of
either. The frailty of women I can pity, as well as condemn: but how a
lady can sell her virtue, is, though perhaps it may be accounted for
here, what Englishmen I hope will never comprehend.
The Princess Belmonté is particularly entitled to our regard. Her
fortune renders her superior to any sordid views; and yet she has always
been remarkable for the kindest attention to our countrymen. Her
Highness invited us to a party at her casino, and shewed us a room
entirely furnished in the English style, with the best productions of
Bunbury, Hamilton and Strange.
We have been at several _conversazioni_, which, in the principal houses,
include every other amusement. A suit of rooms is thrown open; the
largest for a promenade in summer, and dancing in winter; the next for
music; a third for billiards; a fourth for fruit, ices, &c. and the rest
for cards and dice. But, if only four or five people meet together, the
Italians call it a _conversazione_.
The Court has been at Castello Mare ever since we arrived. We mean to
call there on our way out of the bay; and Lord Hervey, from whom we have
received the greatest civilities, has promised to accompany us. His
Lordship is one of the King's most intimate friends; and Lady Hervey,
whose gentleness and good sense insure her the hearts of all those who
have the honour to approach her, is particularly esteemed and respected
by the Queen, and all the Italian nobility.
I mentioned before, that the Spaniards ceded Naples to the Emperor, by
the Treaty of Utrecht; but Philip V. of Spain's second wife, Elizabeth
Farnese, heiress to the Duke of Parma, giving him a pretence for
invading Italy, in her right, he made a conquest of Sicily and Naples:
but the other European Powers obliged him to form them into a separate
kingdom, and to give it to Charles, his eldest son by the Princess of
Parma.--A. D. 1735.
All Philip's children by his first marriage dying without issue, Charles
succeeded to the crown of Spain, and resigned [Sidenote: A. D. 1759.]
Sicily and Naples to his third son, Ferdinand IV. the present King, the
eldest being an ideot, and the second becoming Prince of the Asturias,
and heir to Spain.
The government, being founded on conquest, is of course despotic. The
King generally keeps up near thirty thousand men, who seem to be
tolerable troops. The officers are obliged to have a public military
education, and are astonished that this is not the case with us. The
navy consists of three two-deckers, about a dozen frigates, and twenty
galleys. They are at war with the Algerines, but seldom take a prize.
The revenue of the King of Naples is near a million sterling. When
supplies are wanted, his Majesty has only to issue an edict, mentioning
the cause, and the manner in which they are to be raised. He generally
says, that it is by the desire of his Council, which only consists of
his principal Ministers, and the Queen, who is allowed a considerable
share in the administration of the kingdom, from its independence being
in a manner obtained through the female line, as I conjecture; for the
short time I have been in this country has not permitted me to make
myself master of its laws, which, as well as several other matters, I
must pass over till my return. As to churches and convents, I will not
detain you with any account of them; for they are nearly alike in most
Roman Catholic states.
Naples is in Lat. 40° 53′, Long. 14° 12′ East, and, by the shortest
course, about a thousand miles from Gibraltar.
LETTER X.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Off Salerno, October 2d.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Lord Hervey and Captain Barnard, who have had the goodness to accompany
us thus far, being about to leave us, I embrace this opportunity of
sending you a continuation of my Journal; a form of writing, which, in
conformity to your wishes, I shall always prefer whenever we are at sea.
Friday, September 28th.
At four o'clock, yesterday afternoon, we got under way, in order to pay
the King of Naples a visit at Castello Mare. We were becalmed all night;
and his Majesty, being apprized of our approach, came out to meet us at
day-break, this morning. He was in a man of war brig of fourteen guns,
attended by another of the same force. As soon as he was within about
two miles, he got into his barge, and, there being but little wind,
rowed on board us. We received him with a royal salute.
His Majesty went all over the ship, praised every part of her, seemed
much pleased, and, with a most engaging condescension, thanked us for
the honor we did him, and invited the principal persons on board to dine
at his casino. On leaving the ship, he was again saluted with twenty-one
guns.
Immediately afterwards his Majesty sent the officers a present of some
very fine fish of his own catching, and in the afternoon rowed out again
to take another view of the ship.
Castello Mare is the King's dockyard. Every thing is in high order; but
it is entirely defenceless, and does not give an Englishman a very
formidable idea of the Neapolitan Navy.
There is a village adjoining, above which the King has built a small
palace, or casino, in a most charming situation, with a full view of the
bay. Here his Majesty generally spends great part of the summer, and
enjoys his favorite amusements of fishing and shooting, water parties,
and ship-building.
The King of Naples is thirty-six years old, well made, and rather tall;
lean enough to enjoy all his diversions, of a fair complexion, light
hair, and an affable, open countenance.
Notwithstanding the heavy taxes requisite to the support of his navy and
army, he is adored by his subjects, from the confidence he reposes in
them, and because, in affairs of state, he is always their champion. But
if he has sometimes suffered his partiality for the Queen to get the
better of his judgment, his people are sensible that love always
predominates in the most generous breasts.
Her Majesty is a year younger than her husband. She is sister to the
Emperor of Germany, and to the Queen of France, and is accused of being
extremely ambitious, which the King's easy temper, by giving her the
ascendency in politics, rather increases. In her youth she must have
been amazingly handsome; for notwithstanding her having eight children
living, there is still something very striking about her; and her
charms, it is said, are as powerful as ever on the King. There is no
believing half the stories one hears; and when they tend to scandal or
immorality, it is unjust to repeat any on mere report.
In the evening we got under way, and with a light breeze sailed out of
the Bay of Naples, between Capria and Cape Gampenela.
September 29th.
Becalmed on the coast of Salerno. Nothing can be more beautifully
picturesque. From the water's edge to the tops of the mountains, not a
vacant spot is to be seen. The whole face of the country is covered with
vines, trees, and houses, mixed together in the prettiest confusion
imaginable.
In the afternoon we landed; but the people being suspicious of us, we
could not gain admittance to any of their houses for a considerable
time. At length a priest, after having carefully examined us from his
miranda, opened his doors, treated us with great hospitality, and
laughed at the ignorance of his people.
September 30th.
The Island of Capria is still in sight. Passed the Bay of Salerno, and
the wind being light and contrary, brought to off Pestum. Went on shore
to examine the ruins.
This ancient city, which flourished before the foundation of Rome, was
destroyed by the Goths on the decline of the Roman Empire, and in their
zeal for the christian religion, these fierce barbarians overturned
every place of Pagan worship exposed to their ravages.
The arch of the east gate of the town is still standing. But of a
multitude of beautiful temples, not a column of any one is left, except
of three, which being composed of common stone, the barbarians were
satisfied with destroying the roofs. Two of these are close to each
other. The one has nine columns in front, and eighteen on each side; the
other has six by fourteen. Each of the columns is six feet in diameter,
and the space between them is eight feet. Both of these temples are of
the Doric order. The third is of the Corinthian. They are all three
noble edifices, and the columns, with a great part of the entablature,
are still perfect. Signor Pitelli, a painter whom we brought from
Naples, is busily employed in taking plans of them.
The walls of the city are above two miles in circumference, and eighteen
feet thick, and are easily traced, as well as the mole, which the sea by
an earthquake has left dry.
In the middle of the town there was a famous amphitheatre, one hundred
and twenty-eight feet in length. Enough of the ground work is left to
give a just idea of its construction; and the entrance, with arched
passages on each side for the wild beasts, is still tolerably perfect.
October 1st.
Signor Pitelli not having finished the plans, and the wind continuing
contrary, we carried him on shore again to-day. Here, in a farm-house,
amidst these ruins of antiquity, we saw the modern method of drying
figs, and making raisins. The operation is very simple. Expose the fruit
to the sun for eight or ten days, then bake it, and when packing up,
sprinkle a little flour between the layers.
Pestum was founded by one of those Grecian colonies, who, in the early
ages, established themselves in Italy, whence this country derived the
appellation of Magna Grecia.
LETTER XI.
October 2d.
Lord Hervey took leave of us this morning off Salerno, and had scarce
made the shore in a boat that attended his Lordship, before we were
attacked by an adverse gale of wind, which obliged us to stand towards
the west, pretty close to Capria, and, I assure you, it is with no small
satisfaction, that we find ourselves sufficiently to windward to fetch
the Bay of Naples, should the storm increase.
October 3d.
The gale having moderated, we tacked at one A. M. and at noon the wind
became fair, but has left a heavy sea against us.
October 4th.
At eight A. M. were in sight of Strombolo, the most northern of the
Lipari Islands, which are supposed to be of volcanic origin, that is,
thrown up by eruptions occasioned by fire under the sea, whence Virgil
makes them the residence of Vulcan.
They are also supposed to have given rise to the fable of Eolus, from
one of their Kings of this name, who, by attending to the smoke of the
neighbouring islands, had learned to foretell how the wind would blow.
Homer carries Ulysses to Lipari, the capital of that monarch, who,
compassionating his sufferings, made him a present of the different
winds confined in separate bags, that he might use them at his pleasure;
but when they got in sight of Ithaca, his companions, ignorant of the
contents, untying the adverse ones, he was driven back in a violent
storm, and thus renewed his former woes.
The case is different with us: calms and light variable breezes have
kept us in sight of Strombolo the whole day. The volcano is on its
south-west side, in so fortunate a situation for the inhabitants, that
they have little to fear from eruptions; for the crater is about one
fifth of the height of the island below its summit, and is surrounded on
every side but that nearest the sea, by large cliffs, which seem to
overhang it on purpose to check the eruption when it takes any other
direction; for the stones and ashes which it casts forth, rebounding
from the rocks above, are either again swallowed up, or thrown down the
south-west side into the ocean.
In the afternoon, there was an explosion like the springing of a small
mine. The smoke occasioned by this, being quickly dispelled, it resumed
its former state, which, at the distance of five leagues, appeared
exactly like that which issues from a large double chimney. At this time
it bore S. S. E.
At dusk, it looked like a lime-kiln, and every three or four minutes
emitted a flame, which blazed for a few seconds like a furnace on fire.
During the night, it appeared in all its glory, with every symptom of an
approaching grand eruption. The crater seemed full of burning matter,
boiling on its surface, and every now and then throwing up a large
column of red-hot stones, which bounded down the side of the mountain
into the sea, and, in a manner setting fire to the air as they flew
through it, formed one of the grandest sights it is possible to
conceive. The beautiful effect of these flying red-hot rocks was not
lost until they had been some seconds under water.
Formerly there were only seven of these islands, now there are eleven;
and, from the active state of Strombolo, which is considerably detached
from the rest, I should not be surprised to hear that another island was
thrown up near it: but such an event, although often reported, I can
assure you, has not lately happened here. The last phenomenon of this
kind that has been thoroughly authenticated, is in the Archipelago,
which, in a few weeks, I hope to visit.
All the Lipari islands have had volcanoes in their time; but most of
them have been extinct for many centuries. The whole are subject to the
King of Naples, and add a considerable sum to his revenue, from the
trade they carry on in wine, alum, sulphur, and dried fruit. The wine is
famous; I tasted some of it at Naples, but did not think it equal to its
reputation.
Friday, October 5th.
At day-break, Strombolo was two leagues astern. It looks like a huge
rock rising boldly out of the sea, seems to be about twelve miles in
circumference, and has a small town on the south-east side. The coast of
Calabria, and of Sicily, also in sight. Latitude, at mid-day, 38° 37′.
At sun-set, we entered the celebrated straits of Scylla and Charybdis,
and, in less than an hour and a half, anchored at Messina.
LETTER XII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Messina, October 8th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Messina, which was formerly in so flourishing a state, and which was
accounted one of the prettiest cities in the world, is now exactly in
the condition of Gibraltar during the siege; and the inhabitants live in
just such miserable places as the huts of Black-town and Windmill-hill.
The front of the town extended along the water side, for above two
thousand yards, in the form of a crescent, adorned with pilasters and
pediments, and a grand esplanade open to the sea, which at once formed a
noble pier, and a delightful public walk, flanked by a fort at each end.
The houses were built with great taste, all four stories high, and
nearly alike.
Of this beautiful and magnificent range, only the outside shell remains;
the rest, with all the town, except one or two of the strongest
churches, was entirely destroyed by the dreadful earthquake in 1783.
The center of that tremendous convulsion was at Oppido, in Calabria.
Every thing within twenty miles was entirely overwhelmed, and several
towns, with all their inhabitants, completely swallowed up, not the
smallest vestige of them being left. Scarce a place within seventy-two
miles of Oppido but felt the shock. By the return made to the Secretary
of State, the number of people lost, amounted to thirty-two thousand,
three hundred and sixty-seven souls; and we were told by Sir William
Hamilton, that there were several thousand strangers, travellers, &c.
who were not included in that return.
It is by no means uncommon to hear of the Italians scourging their
saints when they are overtaken by any misfortune; but, since this
dreadful calamity, St. Agatha, the Protectress of Sicily, is more
venerated than ever; for, notwithstanding the loss of their property,
she has the credit of having defended her votaries from the catastrophe
with which their neighbours on the opposite coast were overwhelmed; and
every Sunday night the opera ends with a little piece in her honor.
There is something so amiable in this universal gratitude and
thanksgiving in the midst of absolute ruin, that it is impossible not to
admire the minds that are capable of such virtue, even though actuated
by superstition. But, indeed, if we compare Messina with several other
places, we may reckon her peculiarly fortunate, since, though the town
is destroyed, only nine hundred people perished.
At the time of the earthquake, the Messinians had scarce recovered from
the ravages of the plague of 1743. This second blow has completely
broken their spirit, and obliged them to relinquish the hope of ever
seeing their city rebuilt; the King of Naples having ordered that none
of the houses in the Crescent shall be roofed, until they are raised to
their former height. The inhabitants have remonstrated, by saying, that
they cannot bear the expence; but his Majesty is unwilling that they
should lose so beautiful an ornament.
Even Scylla and Charybdis have been almost subdued by the repeated
convulsions of this part of the earth, and by the violence of the
current, which is continually increasing the breadth of the Straits. If
proper allowance be made for these circumstances, we shall acquit the
ancients of any exaggeration, notwithstanding the very dreadful colours
in which they have painted this passage. It is formed by a low
peninsula, called Cape Pelorus, stretching to the eastward on the
Sicilian side, immediately within which lies the famous whirlpool of
Charybdis, and by the Rocks of Scylla, which a few miles below on the
Calabrian shore, project towards the west. The current runs with
surprising force from one to the other alternately in the direction of
the tide, and the tides themselves are very irregular. Thus, vessels by
shunning the one were in the utmost danger of being swallowed up by the
other.
At present, in moderate weather, when the tide is either at ebb or
flood, boats pass all over the whirlpool, but, in general, it is like
the meeting of two contending currents, with a number of eddies all
around. And, even now, there is scarcely a winter in which there are not
some wrecks.
At the time we passed the strait, the weather was as favourable as we
could wish, and yet, in spite of a strong breeze and the current, which
hurried us on with surprising velocity, the ship's head was suddenly
whirled round near three points; but the wind blowing fresh, in a few
seconds she dashed through the eddy that had caught her--for, to avoid
Scylla, and secure Messina, we had kept pretty close to Charybdis.
The entrance of these straits is, I am convinced, not less than three
miles wide, but I have never heard it allowed to be so much. After
passing Charybdis, the sea immediately widens, but Cape Pelorus and
Scylla in a manner crossing each other, the passage cannot be perceived
until you are on the point of entering it, which gave rise to a
tradition, that Hannibal, fancying himself betrayed and land-locked, put
his Pilot Pelorus to death; but that, as an atonement, he afterwards
erected a statue to his memory, from which the Cape took its name. This
action, however, is so contradictory to the history, experience, and
disposition of Hannibal, that nobody could ever have raised such a
story, but one who had never read the life of this magnanimous hero.
Few countries have experienced more revolutions than Sicily; the
richness of the soil and the temperature of the climate, added to its
commanding situation, having always made it an object of attraction.
After the dark ages it was successively possessed by the Greeks, and the
Carthaginians, the Romans, the Goths, and the Saracens.
In later times, it has generally shared the fate of Naples; but by the
Treaty of Utrecht, it was given to the Duke of Savoy, who, however, was
soon obliged, by the Quadruple Alliance, to return it to the Emperor, in
exchange for Sardinia. The Spaniards seized this opportunity of renewing
their claims, and sent a large armament, which had subdued the whole
island, except Messina, which they were besieging, when Sir George Byng
appeared with the British fleet.
[Sidenote: April 11th, 1718.]
The Spanish squadron, apprized of his approach, passed through the
straits, and stood to the southward; Sir George pursued and brought it
to action. Our fleet consisted of twenty-one sail of the line, carrying
1400 guns, the enemy's of eighteen, carrying 992 guns. Both sides fought
bravely, but our superior numbers soon prevailed. Don Antonio de
Casteneta, the Spanish Admiral, was taken prisoner, and only seven of
his two-deckers escaped, of which the greater part were afterwards burnt
at Messina, and one was lost in the Gulf of Tarento. Many of the
frigates were also taken.
Six line of battle ships, and as many smaller men of war, which
separated from the main body of the Spanish fleet, at the commencement
of the action, were pursued by Commodore Walton, and every one taken or
burnt; on which occasion he wrote this famous letter. "We have taken or
destroyed all the enemy's ships and vessels on the coast, as per
margin."
After this victory, Sir George Byng convoyed an army from the continent,
and besieged the citadel of Messina, which the enemy's troops had now
taken; and when the place was nearly reduced, a dispute arising among
the allies on shore, about the Spanish men of war in the mole, Sir
George, knowing that it is more our interest to reduce the navy of the
rest of Europe, than to increase our own, caused batteries to be erected
for shells and red-hot shot, and ended the contention, by destroying the
cause.
The loss of their fleet, and many other disasters, obliged the Spaniards
to accede to the Quadruple Alliance in 1720, and to relinquish their
claim to Sicily and Sardinia. But the Emperor having forfeited the
protection of England, the Spaniards, about fifteen years after this
treaty, made themselves masters of Sicily and Naples, as I have already
related.
Messina was surrounded on the land side by a strong rampart, which,
since the earthquake, has been entirely neglected. The Citadel is a
regular square fort, with ravelins, counterguards, and a good covered
way. It stands on that part of the neck of land which forms the mole,
where this neck joins the island, and is kept in excellent condition;
yet notwithstanding its artificial strength, it is of little use but as
a place of arms, since an enemy having possession of the town, may
destroy every vessel under its guns; but two other strong castles secure
the shipping from any insult from the sea.
The neighbourhood is excessively fertile and populous, and we find the
people very civil; but in the interior country, I am told they are
rather savage.
LETTER XIII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Modon, October 19.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
We are, at last, arrived on the confines of Greece, a venerable name,
now almost lost in that of Turkey in Europe, and its former splendour so
entirely reversed, that I am particularly fortunate in finding a
conveyance for a letter. Here are no posts in this neglected country,
and the people once so accomplished, are in utter ignorance of what
passes in the world, except from the vague reports they get from
vessels, which now and then put in here. And this, alas! is the unhappy
fate of all the south and eastern coast of Greece.
But before I say any thing more of this place, I must carry you back to
Messina, and give you some account of our voyage.
Thursday, October 9th.
We left Messina at eleven o'clock this morning, and at twelve passed
Reggio on the coast of Calabria. The country appears extremely barren,
but is full of inhabitants and small towns.
Just before midnight, when all below were locked in sleep, and even
those upon deck had scarce strength to resist the drowsy langour brought
on by four hours duty; in this silent moment, when superstition, ever
powerful in the mind of the sailor, gains new force from the surrounding
gloom, the watch were rouzed with terror and astonishment, by a sudden
illumination of the whole atmosphere. Their eyes, instantly turned to
Heaven, were scarce reverted, when every part of the ship appeared in a
blaze, and continued so for many seconds.
Struck by so awful a sight, in the dead of the night, a general silence
prevailed, and many, unable to divine the cause of so sudden, and so
tremendous an apparition, thought the last day was approaching. Their
fears were still increased by observing through the sails, an immense
ball of fire floating in the air a-head of the ship; but they were, at
length, relieved by its falling into the sea.
The account our friends gave us the next morning, led us into a
dissertation on fireballs, which philosophers say are produced by an
exceeding great power of electricity, gradually accumulated, until the
resistance of the atmosphere being no longer able to sustain it, it
drops down slowly, and in no particular direction, not being drawn by
any substance which would attract this electric matter, in the shape of
common lightning.
October 10th.
Sunset. A westerly breeze has carried us past Cape Spartevento, and we
are now just an hundred miles from the coast of Sicily. Mount Ætna is
still in sight, and the sun setting directly behind it, forms one of
those heavenly scenes, which at once affects us with the beautiful and
sublime. Notwithstanding our very great distance, the mountain is so
many degrees above the horizon, that would day-light continue, we should
see it twenty miles farther. How great does nature appear in these
wonderful works!
October 11th.
Lat. 37° 36′. In the last twenty-four hours we have run an hundred and
forty-three miles, and are so far across the Adriatic, or Gulph of
Venice, as to have land in sight a-head. This breeze is almost the only
fair one we have had since we left Gibraltar, and it is now growing
calm.
October 12th.
Sunset. We are now between Zante and Cephalonia, with the Morea in
front. The part of the islands near us are very rocky and barren, with
no verdure except from some scattered olive trees, and brushwood; but
the more distant part of Cephalonia appears well cultivated.
Sunday, October 14th.
We lay to all the night before last, and yesterday morning anchored in
the harbour of Zante. Lat. 37°. 50′. Long. 21°. 15′. east.
The nearest part of this island is nine miles from Cephalonia, and the
same distance from the Morea, and an hundred leagues from Messina. It is
above seventy miles in circumference; contains forty thousand souls, and
carries on a very considerable trade in dried fruits, particularly
currants, so called from a corruption of Corinth, from whence the vines
were originally imported.
On the hill above the town there is a fort, very advantageously
situated, but much out of repair. It is subject to the Venetians, who
have now a ship of the line and three frigates in the harbour. The
senior Captain very civilly informed us, that, from his great respect
for the English, he would be happy to salute us, if we would return gun
for gun; to which we readily consented.
By orders from Venice, the Governor at this juncture, imposes a
quarantine of seven days on all vessels, even from his own nearest
ports; and therefore, not being allowed to land here, we are going to a
less frequented part of the island, where the quarantine is not
enforced.
October 15th.
We got under way yesterday evening, and the wind not permitting us to
continue our voyage, we stood to the north-east towards Patras, at the
mouth of the Gulf of Lepanto; but the wind changing, we put about at
twelve this morning, just as we got in sight of its entrance, near the
spot on which Don John of Austria obtained the celebrated victory over
the Turkish fleet in the year 1571.
In this cruize we have had a view of Ithaca, in which we were told at
Zante, the foundation of Ulysses' Palace is still to be traced. His
island is now called Little Cephalonia, is about twenty miles long,
appears very barren, but is said to be well peopled, though with a very
vile race. Zante and the greater Cephalonia also belonged to Ulysses,
and are both described by the ancients, as being remarkably fertile. The
latter is by much the largest, the former the most productive.
A little to the north of Ithaca, in the Island of St. Mauro, is the
famous Promontory of Leucate, the Lover's Leap, celebrated by the
Spectator, in his beautiful panegyric on the tender Sappho. Even Venus
herself is said to have been led there by Apollo, to be cured of her
passion for Adonis.
October 16th.
Wind again contrary. Tacking off Zante, to get into a small bay, where
there is a curious spring, from which a great quantity of tar oozes; but
not being able to gain the anchorage before sunset, and the wind
becoming fair for our course, we stood to the south, and in the night
passed the Strophades, a set of small low islands, where Æneas was
attacked by the Harpies.
It was not without regret that I passed by Zante, without landing there.
It was the only place in the Venetian territories we had any chance of
visiting, and I wished much to see the effect of a Government, in which
Despotism, in the form of a Republic, makes her votaries believe that
Tyranny is Liberty. But by what I could learn from the traders, and a
few other people, to whom I had an opportunity of speaking, the police
is really shocking.
The Governors are generally needy men, but, by accepting fines as a
remission for murder, they are soon enriched, perhaps by the ruin of the
widow and the orphan.--Is your husband assassinated--your father
murdered? Dry up your tears--your Governor is three guineas richer. Do
you remonstrate? For three guineas more you may let loose all the demons
of revenge.
Thus one murder produces another; whole families are involved in
destruction, or at best live in perpetual alarms; justice never
interferes, and society is of course destroyed.
Whilst reflections of this kind distress the Philanthrope who visits
Zante, the naturalist finds the tar spring an object well worthy his
curiosity. The trade of the island is also a subject on which I should
like to be better informed. On an average, the annual produce in
currants is ten million pounds weight. Almost the whole of which,
besides nearly the same quantity brought from Cephalonia, and the
adjacent parts of the Morea, are taken by the English, who load thirty
vessels every year.
This trade, however, seems to be a very losing one to us, since our
productions have no sale at Zante, and the tin, lead, alum, and a few
other articles which we carry to Venice, bear no proportion in value to
the fruit we bring home.
It is true, our revenue is considerably increased by a duty of
twenty-three pounds sterling on every ton of currants, which is one half
as much again as the prime cost, the common price at Zante being fifteen
guineas. But this tax is railed upon ourselves, and does not check the
importation of this foreign commodity, since we consume three-fourths of
what the island yields. It might, therefore, as well be levied on some
of our own productions, as on our hereditary plumb-pudding.
October 17th.
Having passed two little forts, called the Navarins, at noon we anchored
off Modon, Lat. 37°, Long. 15° 45′, distant from Gibraltar near fourteen
hundred miles. And now, having brought the ship to an anchor, I shall
proceed with the observations I introduced at the commencement of this
letter.
Modon is a small Turkish town, on the south-west corner of the Morea,
which you recollect is the Peloponnesus of the Ancients, and almost an
island, being separated from the rest of Greece by the gulph of Lepanto,
and only joined to it by the narrow isthmus of Corinth. After the Greek
and Roman ages, it was conquered by the Turks, and afterwards by the
Venetians, to whom the former ceded it by the Treaty of Carlowitz, but
retook it in 1715, and have maintained it ever since, notwithstanding
that, during their last war, Modon was taken by the Russians, who were
immediately joined by the Greeks; but the Turks sending a large army
thither, Count Orlow and his troops were obliged to abandon their
associates to the fury of their enemies, who massacred fifteen thousand
of them.
This is the Turkish method of terminating a rebellion, which they say is
only to be done by destroying the seeds: but, to palliate their
inhumanity, they allege, that, whenever the Greeks have gained any
advantage, they have been still more barbarous; that they have spared
neither age nor sex; but that, after being guilty of every other
brutality to the women, so sacred among Mahometans, not satisfied with
slaying them, they have even carried their revenge so far as to expose
their naked corpses to be devoured by dogs and birds of prey.
Heaven forbid that such cruel barbarity should exist. But I cannot
pretend to give you a just account of the manners and dispositions of
these two people on so slight an acquaintance, especially as the light
in which they represent each other, is very different from that in which
they appear to us.
Nestor's kingdom was in this district. I have found no antiquities
worthy notice; and time does not permit me to take a journey in search
of Pylos.
A small castle projects into the sea off Modon; and the town has walls
round it; but they are much out of repair. The Governor lives in a
wretched hovel, which refuses admittance neither to the wind nor to the
rain. He is civil enough, and all his people seem glad to see us.
The harbour is formed by a set of little islands, which lie off the
town, at some miles distance; the most western is the famous Spactaria,
the taking of which is one of the most noted events in the Peloponnesian
war. It is now called the Isle of Wisdom; but for what reason I cannot
guess, as it is totally uninhabited, and produces nothing but brushwood.
The passages between the different islands make this a charming port for
cruizers, since they can be confined neither by wind nor by an enemy.
Captain Moore, of the Fame privateer, often put in here during the war,
and has impressed the people with very favorable ideas of the English.
LETTER XIV.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, November 14th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Convinced that you will be happy to hear of our arrival in Asia, I take
advantage of the first courier to send you a letter.
Independent of the satisfaction of being in a region so noted in
history, and of traversing scenes which one has so often contemplated in
the page of antiquity, we have the happiness of finding a society we did
not expect in this lost country--a soil where the iron hand of Despotism
checks every generous sentiment in the vanquished Greek, and where the
conqueror Turk, proud in his ignorance, scorns the refinements of more
enlightened people, and looks down with insolence or contempt on every
nation but his own. He has, however, many good qualities; and his true
character, I perceive, is not easily delineated. I shall consider him
attentively, and from time to time send you those traits I discover. In
the mean while, I will conclude this letter with my Journal from our
leaving Modon to our arrival at this city.
Saturday, October 20th.
At eight o'clock this morning, we left Modon, and, at three in the
afternoon, were opposite Cape Matapan. The country appears barren; but
there are several villages in sight.
In the night, we entered the Archipelago, or Ægean Sea, by passing
between Cytherea (the Island of Venus, now called Serigo) and Cape
Angelo, the south-east point of the Morea.
This neighbourhood is inhabited by a nest of pirates, who call
themselves the real descendants of the Lacedemonians, and, though
subject to the Turks, acknowledge no law.
In calm weather, they come off in large boats, and plunder every vessel
that passes, but seldom seize on any ship, or even molest the people,
provided they allow them to take all they want.
It is very remarkable, that, although the French have always a force in
these seas, their vessels are more frequently plundered than those of
any other nation; and there are very few instances of ours being
insulted, notwithstanding the Greeks so seldom see a British man of war.
But, for fear of accidents, we shortened sail, to convoy the
_Adventure_, of Plymouth, which we had just overtaken.
The three Sclavonians who seized the _Duchess of Tuscany_, bound from
Gibraltar, meant to have brought her here, but being obliged to put into
Zante, they were discovered and executed.
Sunday, October 21st.
Becalmed in the scene of Falconer's Shipwreck, Crete just discernible on
our right, Falcanero on our left, and Milo a-head. Lat. 36° 38′.
At dusk the wind sprang up, with violent squalls, accompanied by thunder
and lightning, and soon burst forth in a furious storm.
We were now in a most unpleasant situation, Milo was become a dangerous
lee shore. It was no comfort to know that there was an excellent harbour
a few miles to leeward. Darkness prevented our seeing the entrance to
it.
We were, therefore, obliged to haul close to the wind, and by skill,
attention, and perseverance, happily weathered the most windward point
of the island.
The wind then abated, and the sea became less violent; but the next
morning the storm was suddenly renewed, and we were assailed more
furiously than ever; but as day-light came to our assistance, we made
the best of our way towards the harbour, and a pilot getting on board,
we were safe at an anchor before twelve o'clock.
Some centuries before Christ, Milo was a flourishing Republic, but
having refused its assistance to Greece, when it was invaded by the
Persians, the Athenians, having defeated the Barbarians, attacked the
Miliotes, and after several repulses, at last entirely overthrew them,
and as a punishment, all the men who escaped the sword, were carried
into Attica. But at the close of the [Sidenote: A. A. C. 404.]
Peloponnesian war, the Athenians being subdued by the Lacedemonians,
Milo was restored to its liberty. It was afterwards taken by the Romans,
and has ever since shared the fate of the Eastern Empire. And for some
centuries the Greeks have been slaves in a country, from which they
often carried their arms into that of their present Lords.
Whatever the Turk conquers, he immediately considers as his own, whether
it be land, cattle, men, women, or children, and instantly appropriates
it to his use, either by sale, exchange, or possession.
But as an act of grace, the Sultan grants the Greeks a temporary
emancipation from year to year, for which they pay an annual capitation
tax of seven shillings each person.
At the commencement of this century the island contained seventeen
churches, and eleven chapels; and the whole space from the town to the
harbour, which is near two miles, was laid out in beautiful gardens. But
alas! how wretchedly is it altered, three-fourths of the towns are in
ruins, and the inhabitants are daily decreasing. Of the gardens scarce a
vestige is left; and the baths on the water side are now only a set of
small, dirty caves. Eight or ten yards from the shore the hot spring,
which supplied them, is seen boiling through the salt water, and the
sand is, I think, still hotter than that of Baia. But perhaps I speak
from the pain my curiosity cost me being more recent in my memory.
The women, so celebrated for their beauty, are now sallow, unhealthy,
and disgustingly ugly; and render themselves still more hideous by their
dress, which is a kind of loose jacket, with a white cotton petticoat,
that scarcely covers two thirds of their thighs, barely meeting the
stocking above the knee. Their hind hair hangs down the back in a number
of plaits; that on the fore part of the head is combed down each side of
the face, and terminated by a small, stiff curl, which is even with the
lower part of the cheek.
All the inhabitants are Greeks; for the Turks are not fond of trusting
themselves in the small islands; but every summer the Captain Bashaw
goes round with a squadron to keep them in subjection, and to collect
the revenue.
When the Russians made themselves masters of the Archipelago, during the
late war, many of the islands declared in their favour; but being
abandoned at the peace, they were so severely mulcted by the Grand
Signior, that our pilot tells me, they are determined to remain
perfectly quiet. But as the Turks do not think them worth a garrison,
and will not trust them with arms and ammunition, all those which the
Russians may choose to invade, will be obliged to submit.
The two points which form the entrance of the harbour, crossing each
other, render it imperceptible until you are close to it. Thus, while
you are perfectly secure within it, you find great difficulty in getting
out, particularly in a northerly wind. And as no trade is carried on,
except a little in corn and salt, Milo would scarce ever be visited,
were it not that being the first island one makes in the Archipelago,
the pilots have chosen it for their residence. They live in a little
town on the top of a high rock, which, from its situation and
appearance, is called _The Castle_.
Partridges abound in this island, and are so cheap, that you may buy one
for a charge of powder only. The peasants get them by standing behind a
portable screen, with a small aperture in the center, in which they
place the muzzle of their piece, and then draw the partridge by a call.
When a sufficient number are collected, they fire among them, and
generally kill from four to seven at a shot. But even this method of
getting them is so expensive, from the scarcity of ammunition, that the
people can never afford to shoot them, but when there are gentlemen in
the island, from whom they can beg a little powder and shot.
Several of us have killed four or five in an afternoon walk, putting
them up ourselves, without even the assistance of a dog.
Thursday, October 25th.
At day-break we got under way, with a light breeze, and at midnight
anchored at Paros, another of the Greek islands, and which is in a much
better state than Milo. The men look more healthy, and the women not so
ugly.
The water here is excellent; and as that we got at Messina has been
complained of, as being too hard to make proper pease-soup for the
people, all the casks are ordered to be emptied and refilled.
Whilst its marble quarries continued to be worked, Paros was one of the
most flourishing of the Cyclades; but on the decline of the Eastern
Empire, they were entirely neglected, and are now converted into caves,
in which the shepherds shelter their flocks. We have been in several of
these subterraneous folds, which put me much in mind of Homer's
description of Polyphemus. The common walls are almost entirely composed
of marble; and in examining a very small part of one, we found several
pieces of cornice, and _basso relievo_.
Several fine blocks of marble--fragments of columns, are lying close to
the water's edge, and seem to have been brought there by travellers, who
for want of a proper purchase to get them on board, have not been able
to carry them farther.
After the battle of Marathon, Miltiades was sent to lay Paros under
contribution, on account of its joining the Persians; but the
inhabitants made so resolute a defence, that all the efforts of that
excellent General were unable to reduce them; and, at length, having
lost a number of his men, and being himself wounded, Miltiades, hearing
that the Persians were making preparations for a second invasion,
returned to Athens, where his ungrateful countrymen, forgetful of his
eminent services, sentenced him to pay the expences of the expedition;
and being unable to raise this fine, the Great Deliverer of Greece was
thrown into prison; and, to the eternal infamy of the Athenians, he died
of the wounds he had received in their service!
The Russians made this their grand arsenal; their powder magazines, and
several other buildings, are still standing, and the island is
considerably indebted to them for improving the convenience for water,
and for the trade which the cash they expended, introduced among the
inhabitants.
Delos is about five leagues off, Naxos two, and Antiparos about the same
distance. In the last there is a cavern, which is reckoned one of the
greatest wonders of the Archipelago; but as a natural curiosity, it is
by no means equal to Saint Michael's Cave at Gibraltar. A multitude of
names are cut near the entrance. Lady Craven's is among the latest.
Tuesday, October 30th.
Sailed from Paros, with an intention of visiting Delos in our way to
Smyrna, but the wind changing, we stood to the north-west, profiting by
this opportunity, to supply the ship with wood.
Wednesday, October 31st.
Anchored between the Island of Longa and the Coast of Immortal Attica.
But my heart bleeds whilst I survey the sad change it has undergone. In
vain do I search for the descendants of those rustic patriots, whose
valour enabled Miltiades and Themistocles to overthrow the Persian host
by sea and land, or for those well cultivated fields, where art
concealed the frugality of nature. Alas! far as the best glass can
reach, no sign of a dwelling can be seen; and the country, for want of
inhabitants, lies entirely neglected.
After almost despairing of meeting a human being, I one day fell in with
two men grazing a considerable number of horses, which I imagined was a
nursery for the Turkish Cavalry; but on mentioning this to the Greeks
who attended them, they answered no; that the only use they were of was
to tread out the corn in summer; in return for which they grazed them
from place to place in winter. I also found a small chapel, not bigger
than an hermitage, to which the people from the interior country, on
particular occasions, resort. Part of the neighbourhood is covered with
wood, which any one may take who chooses to cut it. Longa, the once
celebrated Island of Helen, is entirely depopulated, and produces
nothing. Our pilot calls this Port Maundré. It has the same advantage I
remarked at Modon, a passage at each end of the island.
If you can believe that I am within a day's journey of Athens, how will
you envy my being so near the mother of the arts and sciences, and what
will you say when I tell you that I did not go there. But be assured it
was not through want of exertion; but from the impracticability of
getting there by land in these hostile times. But whilst the people were
wooding, I went in a boat to the Promontory of Sunium, to see the
remains of the Temple of Minerva, which I take to be one of the most
ancient remaining in Greece. If we may credit Homer, it was contemporary
with Troy; for in the third book of the Odyssey, Nestor, after relating
the seduction of Clytemnestra, passing to the return of the Greeks,
says,
"But when to Sunium's sacred point we came,
Crown'd with the Temple of the Athenian Dame,
Atrides Pilot, Phrontes, there expired, &c."
In some ground lately opened I found a human scull, and some other burnt
bones. What antiquarian will object to their being those of this
ill-fated pilot?
A considerable part of the architrave of the Temple is still standing,
supported by fifteen columns, nine of which are in a row, each nineteen
feet high, and near eleven in circumference. The whole edifice was of
Parian marble. Vast quantities of fragments and broken columns are lying
all around, and the Temple is still a beautiful, and a venerable object,
on whatever side you approach the Promontory.
November 5th.
Got under way at day-light, and having passed the south point of
Negropont (the ancient Eubœa) and Andros, were opposite the center of
the Island of Teno at twelve o'clock the next day. It seems populous and
well cultivated. Lat. 37° 33′. Paros, Delos, and several other islands
in sight.
November 7th.
We were within a few leagues of Scio at day-break, and being driven to
the southward, had a distant view of Samos, the birth place of Juno. We
were employed all this and the next day in working to windward, between
the continent of Asia Minor and the Island of Scio, famous for producing
the nectar of the ancients, and for the beauty of its women. The ladies,
I am told, are as charming as ever, but the wine has lost its luscious
qualities. The town is large and straggling; it seems to have some
works, but they are in a very sorry condition. The road is quite open.
Before we reached the town, we passed the bay of Chisemé, on the Asiatic
shore, where the Turkish fleet was destroyed by the Russians.
Friday, Nov. 9th, 1787.
A light breeze sprang up fair late last night, with which we entered the
Gulf of Smyrna, and early this afternoon anchored off the town.
LETTER XV.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, November 29th.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Smyrna is the only ancient town of Asia Minor, that continues to thrive.
It flourished many centuries before Christ, but was almost destroyed by
an earthquake in the reign of Mark Anthony, and has never since
recovered its former splendour. For although its advantageous situation
for trade soon drew new inhabitants, yet, to lessen the effect of a
similar catastrophe, the houses are all very low. The streets are in
general dirty, narrow, and ill-paved, for the natives never study
regularity in the scite of their buildings, and the Europeans, crowding
to the water side, found no room to spare for ornament.
The French have the most numerous factory. The English are next in
number of houses, but the Dutch exceed us in shipping. The Venetian and
Ragusee vessels are very numerous, but they are seldom more than
carriers.
The great advantage England derives from the trade to this country is,
that the commodities we bring here are home-wrought, whilst the silk,
cotton, and mohair, with which we are repaid, are raw articles, that are
afterwards manufactured by ourselves, find work for our people, and are
then exported to different parts of the world, and some of them even
brought back here.
Besides silk and cotton, we take fruit and drugs, some of which are also
re-exported; but I am sorry to find, that though our Levant trade is
more flourishing than it has been for many years past, yet its rise is
considerably checked by our own laws, and by the want of a regular
Lazaretto in England.
If there is the least suspicion of the plague being at Smyrna, no
vessel, even of our own nation, is permitted to discharge her cargo in
Britain, previous to her having performed a quarantine in some other
part of Europe; for our Lazarettos do not admit vessels from infected
ports. But since our manufactories must be supplied with silk and
cotton, our merchants are obliged to employ the Dutch, who land their
goods in a Lazaretto in Holland, and after a short quarantine performed
there, send them over to us. Thus do we suffer foreigners to deprive our
seamen of employment, and our country of its just profits.
The cause that produces this prejudice to our Levant Company, is our
dread of the plague. But are we more likely to be infected by this
distemper than the Dutch? Or is England less able than Holland to set
apart a small place for a regular Lazaretto? There are innumerable spots
in our island which might be inclosed for this purpose, where goods from
infected places might be properly aired, and afterwards introduced with
more safety by our own subjects, than we at present receive them from
the Dutch.
A person who has not been in the Levant, cannot conceive the
inconvenience and distress arising to our nation, from this want of a
Lazaretto. The enterprising spirit of the English leads them every where
in search of employment. A vessel arrives at Smyrna--she gets a cargo,
and the last day of her loading perhaps the plague appears on shore.
What is she to do? She cannot sail for England--she must either submit
to a ruinous loss, unload immediately, and fly to another port in quest
of a freight, or go to one of the Lazarettos of Italy, France, or Malta,
there perform a quarantine, land and reship her cargo; and after having,
to the prejudice of the nation, laid out a considerable sum in a foreign
port, she arrives at Stangate Creek; where, though the ship perhaps is
not long detained, the cargo is put into one of the hulks, and aired
with greater care and length of time, than the cotton has been which we
receive without any apprehension from Holland.[3]
Footnote 3:
The Author since his return to England, has been at Stangate Creek,
where he found that cotton, and other enumerated goods brought over
from Holland, now undergo a similar process to those, which, after
having performed a quarantine in a foreign Lazaretto, are brought home
by the English. But still the inconvenience to our own people is not
lessened, nor ever will, till we have a complete Lazaretto of our own.
---
That precautions are necessary nobody will deny; but why should we
shackle our own people more than the Dutch? Or why should we be more
afraid of allowing goods from an infected place to be landed in one of
the many waste spots of Kent, Essex, Devonshire, or Cornwall, than
foreigners are of receiving them at the very gates of their capital
cities. I shall write you a long letter on this subject, when I have
gained more experience in the nature of the plague, which I can already
assure you is by no means so dangerous a distemper as Europeans imagine
it.
The factory have great hopes that the generous Philanthrope, who lately
visited Asia, will interest himself in their favour. This amiable
patriot knows that
the navy is the bulwark of Britain, and that whatever tends to decrease
the number of our seamen, tends to diminish the strength of our country;
a truth so interesting to an Englishman, that I hope to God the accounts
I hear of a most alarming decrease in our Greenlandmen are much
exaggerated. A proper Lazaretto in England, by increasing our shipping
in the Levant, would afford a sustenance to many of those invaluable
subjects, whom a perhaps too rigid public œconomy has bereft of bread.
There are many inconveniencies attending a correspondence between this
country and Europe. The post sets out and arrives but twice a month. It
goes through Constantinople and Vienna, and unless letters to and from
England are taken up, and paid for at each of those places, they will
never reach their destination. The want of a more regular communication
must be sensibly felt in a place of so much trade.
We found near one hundred sail of merchantmen in the bay, every one of
whom saluted us; for, to raise the European Powers in the eyes of the
Turks, it is the custom at Smyrna to salute every man of war that enters
the port. The same ceremony was performed on our going on shore the next
day; and, as soon as we landed at Mr. Hayes', we were waited upon by the
Consuls and Factories of the different nations, who have given us the
most flattering reception. Scarce an evening passes without a ball or a
concert, or some other party, for our amusement: but I am much surprised
at the excessive dread in which the Christians live of their fellow
subjects, the Mahometans. They dwell in separate districts, and are as
fearful of going promiscuously among them, as into a den of wild beasts.
The Turks have, indeed, a lordly, imperious air, which I suppose they
acquire from the abject manner of the Greeks, who, being a conquered
people, are always suspected of rebellious intentions, and almost
extirpated on the least appearance of an insurrection; which obliges
them to crouch so much to the conquerors, that they imagine all other
Christians equally dastardly, and hold us in the same light as we do the
Jews--a mean, money-making, unbelieving sect: but I am convinced, that
if we went more among them, we should hear of fewer insults. I was so
confident of this, that, without mentioning my intentions, I set out,
and, after walking round the Turkish town, struck down through its very
center, without meeting any interruption, except from one man, who,
pointing at me, called out _Bah!_ and two or three boys, who threw
stones, but who were immediately called in by their father. I doubt
whether a foreigner, in a strange dress, would pass through London with
so little molestation.
Nevertheless, like the Jews in England, there have been instances here
of the Christians being most inhumanly massacred; but this has never
happened but after some signal disaster to the Turks, to which they
supposed they had contributed; such as the destruction of their fleet in
the Chisemé, which they knew the Russians could not have effected
without the assistance of other powers; and the rabble make very little
distinction of nations, confounding all Europeans together, under the
appellation of Franks.
The poor Greeks complain much of their cruelty and oppression; but, in
points of honour, our merchants tell me no people are stricter than the
Turks. In other respects, the reports they give of their laws and
customs, vary so much, that it is impossible for a stranger, as I am,
and ignorant of the language of the country, to send you a more perfect
account.
LETTER. XVI.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, December 31st.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The Empress of Russia's late journey to the Crimea, and the confederacy
formed there by her Majesty and the Emperor of Germany, have given the
late stroke to those reiterated provocations which would, long ere this,
have excited to arms a people less irascible than the Turks: but,
however inclined the nation at large might be to resent the insults of
the Russians, and the frequent infringements of the Treaty of
Cainardgie, yet their fiery spirit was kept in awe by the pacific
disposition of the reigning Sultan.
Abdoul Hamet is a Prince of a humane and virtuous character; and,
although the peace of 1774 was forced upon his country, he determined
most religiously to adhere to the conditions it imposed.
At the time this treaty was concluded, the Porte was in a most
deplorable state, to which it was in a great measure reduced by the
unprecedented support the English afforded to the ambitious views of the
Court of Petersburg, against a nation with whom we were at peace.
The Spaniards were well inclined to prevent the Russian fleet entering
the Mediterranean; but their objections were quashed at once by the
interference of so brilliant a Power as England: a Power whose
all-conquering force the Court of Spain had so recently felt, in the
repeated victories of the immortal Chatham, which had obliged her to
supplicate peace at the feet of our glorious Sovereign.
A George, and a Chatham, are names which the patriotic Englishman could
for ever dwell upon; but both the politics of the one, and the virtues
of the other, are too exalted to be extended by a panegyric from my
humble pen. To return, then, to the Turks, and to a time when, I am
sorry to say, our prejudice in favor of Russia, made us adopt a line of
conduct in a high degree contrary to but own interest: The terror of the
English having compelled the Spaniards to suffer the Russians to enter
the Mediterranean, our port at Mahon immediately received them with open
arms. Here they were not only supplied with every refreshment, but our
hospitals, nay, even our arsenals, were opened to them, and every
encouragement was given to our officers and seamen, to enter into their
service.
Thus supplied and equipped, the Russian fleet sailed for the
Archipelago, and gave battle to the Turks. Victory (as may naturally be
supposed, from the superior abilities and nautical experience of
Commodore Elphinstone and the British officers) declared for the
Russians.
The Ottoman fleet retired to the Bay of Chisemé; and the Moscovites,
unaccustomed to naval exertions, were not disposed to pursue their
advantage. It was with the utmost difficulty that Commodore Elphinstone
could persuade them to follow the enemy, and attack him in port: but at
length, by threats and entreaties, having stimulated them to this
enterprize, he led them to the Chisemé the ensuing night. The Turks,
astonished at the unexpected attack, were instantly panic-struck, and,
without any shew of defence, abandoned and set fire to their ships.
Thus did an Englishman give a fatal blow to the Turkish empire--a blow
from which I much doubt whether the Porte will ever recover.
Commodore Elphinstone instantly pushed for the Dardanelles, and, by
guarding the entrance of those straits, cut off all communication by sea
between Constantinople and the southern provinces. The capital was
streightened for provisions; Egypt revolted, and most of the Greek
islands joined the Russians.
These were the first consequences of the disaster at Chisemé; and every
day brought on others still more distressing to the Porte.
The Russian fleet, now unopposed, was enabled to attack every part of
the Turkish coast in the Adriatic, the Archipelago, and the
Mediterranean; and, although the troops they had on board were but few,
yet, from the facility with which they were transported from place to
place, the Turks were obliged to detach a very large part of their grand
army to oppose their different attacks.
But this was not all. Many of the soldiers employed to the north, were
volunteers from the southern provinces, who, hearing that their own
homes were attacked, deserted in large corps. These desertions, and the
detachments sent to the south, weakened and discouraged the northern
army so much, that the Russians gained repeated victories, and at last
compelled the Porte to sue for peace.
The Treaty of Cainardgie was highly humiliating in itself, and was
rendered still more so by the haughty manner of the Russians, which
seemed entirely calculated to provoke the Turks to hostilities, in which
they have at last succeeded.
Monsieur Bulgakow, the Russian Envoy, who had been sent for by the
Empress, to assist at the conferences between her Majesty and the
Emperor of Germany, and probably to give the Confederate Powers
information of the disposition, and the measures most likely to be
pursued by the Porte, had no sooner returned to Constantinople, than the
Turkish Ministry, convinced of the oppressive and aspiring views of the
Court of Petersburgh, made the Envoy a formal representation of the many
causes of complaint his Court had given to the Porte.
This representation was followed by a second; but the Envoy, in
conformity, I suppose, to the plan agreed upon at Cherson, gave no
manner of satisfaction, and the hostile views of his Court becoming
every day more notorious, the Porte summoned him to a conference on the
16th of August, and there demanded a categorical explanation of the
intentions of the Empress towards the Turks.
M. Bulgakow's answers appearing vague and unsatisfactory, the Divan
determined to have recourse to arms, and in conformity to the Turkish
custom on such occasions, the Envoy, with part of his suite and
attendants, were sent to the Seven Towers, where, though state
prisoners, they have every indulgence but liberty. And such is the
pacific disposition of the Sultan, that he declares his only motive in
going to war, is to inforce the conditions imposed by the Treaty of
Cainardgie--a treaty, which, though the most disadvantageous the Turks
ever signed, he declares himself still ready to renew.
The manifesto published by the Porte states, that ever since the year
1774, the Court of Russia has been constantly infringing the Treaty of
Cainardgie, and disturbing the harmony which that treaty was intended to
secure. That she has even seized on the Crimea, and raised up Prince
Heraclius, who was an acknowledged vassal of the Porte. That not content
with endeavouring to drive the Oczakowians from their own salt-pans, and
many other attacks, she proceeded so far as to order her Envoy to make a
demand of several dangerous and humiliating concessions from the Porte,
and to threaten, that in case of a refusal, Prince Potemkin, with 70,000
men, had orders to advance to the frontiers. That since the Porte could
not with any safety agree to these conditions, she was obliged to
declare war. And submits her motives to the equity of her friends.
So vigorous a step was not immediately expected by the Empress; and had
the Turks been in any degree prepared for the hostile measures they were
compelled to adopt, the surprise in which they took the Russians, would
probably have given them a decisive advantage.
The fact is, the Court of Petersburgh did not expect hostilities to
commence before the ensuing spring, and the Turks never thought of them
till M. Bulgakow's return from the Crimea. Thus both parties were
equally surprised.
The season was too far advanced for the Grand Vizir to take the field.
Those troops, however, that could be collected on the frontiers,
immediately began to act, and in different recounters with the Russians,
have been generally victorious.
No enterprize, however, of any moment has as yet been undertaken by the
Turks, except an attack upon Kimbourn.
This fortress is situated on the Russian side of the Liman, or mouth of
the Dnieper, exactly opposite to Oczakow, and from its situation is of
the first importance. The Porte therefore ordered an immediate attempt
to carry it by a coup-de-main. A detachment from Oczakow was accordingly
landed in the night of the 11th of October, and carried all before them
till they arrived at the very scarp of the fort; but by this time the
Russians had recovered their surprise, and the Turks, from the nature of
the enterprise, being unprepared to attempt a regular escalade against a
garrison whose numbers they found were very little inferior to their
own, were obliged to retreat.
The loss on each side was nearly equal, and on the part of the Russians,
M. Souwarow and M. Reck, two generals of note, were both severely
wounded.
The Court of Petersburgh, however, has great reason to rejoice at this
escape, since had Kimbourn been carried, none of her vessels could have
entered the Liman till it was retaken, which probably would not have
happened this year, and consequently, should the Porte even choose to
act on the defensive in the spring, the Russians would still be obliged
to begin the ensuing campaign with a siege in their own country.
Count Romanzow, with an army, has entered Polish Russia, but the season
was too far advanced for him to attempt any active operations, I have
not heard any thing else of importance on the land side; but in the
naval line, fortune has struck a capital blow in favor of the Turks.
The little fleet the Empress had, with great difficulty, collected on
the Black Sea has been entirely dispersed and dismasted, and a line of
battle ship, of sixty-four guns, commanded by Captain Teesdale, to avoid
being wrecked, was obliged to push for Constantinople, and give herself
up to the Turks.
As she is very little damaged, she will sail in the spring, under the
banners of the Porte. The Russians were before very inferior to the
Turks on the Black Sea; and the loss of one ship to them making a
difference of two in favor of their enemies, renders their inequality
still more desperate.
The Turks having no idea of prisoners on parole, the Russian Captain is
sent to associate with the Envoy in the Castle of the Seven Towers. The
rest of the ship's company are disposed of in the Bagnio.
Notwithstanding our impolitic ill usage, so fatal to the Turks during
the last Russian war, I think we are the favorite nation of such of them
as are at all acquainted with the different powers of Europe: I say,
impolitic ill usage, because, depend upon it, the very extensive Empire
of Turkey will never be in hands so beneficial to England, as whilst it
remains in those of its present possessors.
The Turks, happily for us, are not a commercial people, notwithstanding
their Empire has every advantage to induce them to become so. We cannot
do without those valuable articles which their soil produces almost
spontaneously; and the Turk, like the easy possessor of a very rich
mine, allows us to enrich ourselves at our pleasure. Three per cent.
duty equally on all exports and imports, is, with little exception,
their only restriction to Europeans engaged in their trade.
Would the Empress be equally moderate, if in possession of this fertile
region? Believe me she would not. As several of our manufactures could
not be carried on without her productions, she would only give them on
her own terms. Perhaps only in her own bottoms. All her politics would
be directed to increase her trade and shipping, and consequently her
naval force; and, thus inclined, with such a country, she would soon
rise to a maritime power much beyond what the world has ever
experienced. We have only to look to Tyre, to Rhodes, and many other
places scarce bigger than specks on the map of Turkey, to conceive what
a force might arise from this immense, this all producing Empire.
In its present state, Turkey, as I have already hinted, may be compared
to a rich mine, to which the industrious from every nation have free
access. In the hands of the Empress it would be like the barred treasure
of an ambitious Lord, never to be opened but to be increased.
In this I do not mean to reflect on her Imperial Majesty, since, I
fancy, every European power, in a similar situation, would act the same
part. I only desire to evince that England will never derive such
advantages from Turkey, as whilst it remains in the hands of the
Ottomans, and consequently that it is our interest, as well as that of
every other nation that does not expect a share in the partition of the
Turkish Empire, to break the confederacy between the Empress of Russia
and the Emperor of Germany, and check the progress of the two Imperial
Courts. I mention the Emperor, because, though he has not yet declared
war, it is very well known that he is bound, both by treaty and
inclination, to assist the Russians.
The French Court very wisely, in the last war, supported the Porte; but
from the indifference with which she now beholds the threatened ruin of
a power with whom she trades to so much advantage, a rumour gains ground
that she has been brought over to the ambitious views of the Imperial
Courts, by the promise, that should their designs succeed, Egypt and the
Island of Candia shall be given to France.
Should this ever happen, England may bid adieu to the trade of the
Levant, and, in a short time, by the easy communication the French will
establish with the East-Indies, by the way of the Isthmus of Suez, they
will give a fatal blow to our India trade also.
To prevent these schemes from succeeding, our first object is to
countenance the Spaniards in opposing the entrance of the Russian fleet
into the Mediterranean; since, if the Turks can bring their whole force
to act towards the north, I do not think, now that their fleet has such
a decided superiority on the Black Sea, that they have much to fear in
the present state of Europe. The King of Sweden, were he countenanced,
is well disposed to take an open part in their favour; and this
countenance the King of Prussia will undoubtedly afford him.
As to Europe's having any thing to dread from the Turks extending their
conquest, the idea is absurd. Their Empire is already larger than they
well can keep in order; and, from the nature of their government, the
more they extend it, the more will it be weakened. Their army may make
irruptions, but must soon return to its proper bounds.
They do not, like the Romans, incorporate the vanquished with the
conquerors, so as, in time, to become one people, and to increase in
numbers as they increase in territory. On the contrary, the farther the
Turk advances in Europe, the more he augments the number of his
rebellious subjects, and by dispersing, he weakens his own.
Constantinople excluded, the Grand Signior's subjects in Europe are
computed at eight Greeks to one Turk. Totally different in language,
manners, and religion, a natural antipathy is bred between them. The
Turk spurns the Greek as an impious dastard. The Greek, urged by
revenge, is ever ripe for a revolt, and ready to join the first
invaders.
If we consider this striking circumstance, and the success of the
Russians in the last war, it may be imagined, that on the Emperor's
taking the field, the Turks will very soon be driven out of Europe; and
of this our factory here are in the highest apprehension. But we must at
the same time recollect, that it was England who gave force to Russia,
in the manner I before related, and that this force, if it does not now
oppose her, will, at least, not operate in her favor.
Monsieur St. Felix arrived here lately with a squadron of frigates and
sloops, eight in number. The Governor immediately sent to the French
Consul to know the meaning of so many men of war coming to this port. M.
Amoreux answered, that they only came in for refreshments. Whether or
not it was in consequence of this message, I cannot take upon me to
affirm, but the majority of the French squadron put to sea in the course
of the two following days. This, I think, confirms that a jealousy of
France exists in the minds of the Turks.
LETTER XVII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, January 15th, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
To gain some little knowledge of the interior country, and, at the same
time, to pay a compliment to St. Paul, we took a journey by land to
Ephesus, the inhabitants of which, you may remember, were honoured with
an Epistle from him, and with having his son Timothy for a Bishop. It is
barely forty miles from hence; but the Turks never going beyond a foot
pace in travelling, we made it a journey of two days. We had six horses
for ourselves, and as many for our guides, janizary, and servants. We
were obliged to carry all our provisions with us, even bread. Water we
found in abundance; and such is the attention of the Turks to this
valuable article of life, that we came to several excellent fountains
when there was nothing like an habitation to be seen. The greater part
of the road is execrably bad; and the country, though in general
fertile, is too thinly peopled to be much cultivated.
The few inhabitants we saw in the second day's journey were wretchedly
poor. You recollect that this is the freezing month of January, and that
the winter here, though short, is, for a few weeks, much more severe
than one would expect in so southern a latitude.
Our road led us by a fountain, where, in this cold weather, some women
were washing. None of them were completely clothed; and one poor girl
had, for her only covering, a piece of an old blanket, with two holes
torn in the upper end of it, through which, instead of sleeves, she put
her arms. It was too small to cover her chest, too short to reach below
her waist; and it was with difficulty that, by holding the lower corners
in her two hands, she made them meet.
A young female, in an attire so little adapted to the tenderness of her
sex, and to the inclemency of the season, moved one's very soul. I do
not know that I touched the reins, and yet my horse stopt with his head
towards her. My eye involuntarily fixed itself upon her; and, to the
latest moment of my life, I shall never forget her figure. She is above
the middle size, and her limbs did not seem formed for so exposed a
situation. The sun had tanned her face; but her skin was smooth, and
naturally delicate, and her features of that mould, that, had she been
born to a more happy lot, she might have been reckoned a perfect beauty.
It was impossible to behold such an object without emotion. My horse now
advanced to her feet, and my friend approached her at the same moment.
Each searched his pockets, and presented the little silver they
contained. No hand could be spared to receive it. In our anxiety to
relieve her distress, we had forgot the trial to which we had exposed
her modesty. The blushing maid stood motionless; but, encouraged by the
sympathy and charity marked in our approach, she ventured to raise her
head.--Her eyes were turned towards us.--The tear of gratitude was
swelling in them.--She gave but one glance.--Her face was instantly
reverted to the ground.--She could not speak.
Such unexpected modesty, in so exposed a situation, filled me with
astonishment and veneration. How much did I wish to take her in my arms,
and, by a kiss of affection, to express the sympathy I bore in her
distress. How did I execrate the parsimony that had prevented my having
about me all the money I possessed.--How earnestly did I wish to remove
her to a more sheltered fate, where her beauty and her modesty might be
better known and admired.
Led away by these inclinations, I was preparing to alight. The timid
virgin drew back. By signs of respect, she again raised her eyes.
Charity was so forcibly petitioning in them, that the money which her
figure at first sight drew from my pocket, now dropt at her feet. The
reins fell from my hand. My horse inclined to the road. I would with joy
have turned him back; but I recollected my inability to relieve her.--I
am only a Soldier of Fortune, and subsist but by the bounty of my
Sovereign: a bounty which, though much superior to what my humble
services entitle me to expect, is, alas! too insufficient to support the
appearance required from an Officer, and often compels the military
Philanthrope to suppress every charitable emotion.
The road being but little frequented, the caravansera, or public inn, we
stopped at the first night of our journey, was nothing but a large
hovel, one end of which was appropriated to travellers, and the other,
without any partition, to their cattle: but we were fortunate enough to
be accommodated with a Greek hut, where, with the assistance of a good
fire, we passed a tolerable night.
At Ephesus we were not so lucky. We were obliged to sleep promiscuously
among the Turks, one or other of whom was smoking all night long. I
observed that they eat very little, but that, after every nap, they took
a pipe, and a sip of coffee: I say, a sip; for the Turkish cups are
scarce bigger than a walnut shell; but of these they drink an amazing
number, and their coffee is always exceedingly strong.
We were heartily rejoiced when we returned to our old Greek hut on the
road, but, to our great disappointment, found it possessed by a Turk.
Luckily, he expressed a great desire to taste our beer; and we seized
this opportunity to get rid of him, by desiring our janizary to invite
him to partake of a bottle of it at the caravansera. A janizary's
invitation is only a civil command; but we did not choose to make use of
his authority until we could give the Turk a satisfactory compensation.
Mahomet forbade the use of wine; but his followers do not conceive
themselves to be prohibited the use of other fermented liquors. In
general, they are very fond of porter and beer of all kinds, drinking as
much of it as they can get; and some of them, indeed, are not very
scrupulous about wine.
After the Turk was gone, not dreaming of the danger that was hanging
over us, we slept very comfortably for some hours; but, before
day-light, we were roused by flakes of fire falling upon our bodies from
the roof. No water being at hand, the whole hut was soon in a blaze,
and, in a few minutes, burnt to the ground.
This unlucky accident was occasioned by our own fire, which heated the
mud flue that served as a chimney, to such a degree, that it
communicated to the thatched roof, which was half burnt through before
we awoke. Very fortunately, none of us had taken off our clothes; for we
carried no bedding, and nothing of the kind was to be got.
The Turks in the Caravansera remained quiet spectators of this
catastrophe. At the moment when we found that all our efforts to
extinguish the flames were ineffectual, my eye turning towards the
Mussulmen, found them smoking, and seemingly quite unconcerned.
Determined not to be outdone by them in coolness, I seated myself in the
middle of them, and, being provided with the materials, instantly began
shaving myself, to their no small astonishment, and the equal delight of
the boys of our party, who have turned this anecdote into a pleasant
story, which is my only reason for mentioning it.
You of course recollect that the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, which was
one of the wonders of the world, was destroyed on the very day that
Alexander was born, [Sidenote: A. A. C. 356] by a sacrilegious wretch,
to render himself remembered by posterity. We found many ruins, and
among the rest, a superb pile quite overturned, which we concluded was
the remains of this celebrated temple. The columns were all broken. The
most entire piece was forty-two feet in length, and eighteen in
circumference. This and the rest of the columns, were every one hewn out
of single blocks of marble; but notwithstanding the immense size and
value of these materials several antiquarians will not allow them to
have belonged to the real Temple of Diana.
It is not my purpose to dispute with these learned gentlemen, I shall
only observe, that none of them have made the columns of this Temple
more than sixty feet high.
According to Palladio's measurement of the pillars to the portico of the
celebrated Rotunda at Rome, which has universally been accepted as a
proper standard, the height of the Corinthian column is twenty modules.
A circumference of eighteen feet gives a module of three feet, and in
common arithmetic, twenty of these give sixty. On these proportions
then, the fragment I mention formed a column of the exact height handed
down to us of those of the Temple of Diana.
But people who wish to diminish the consequence of the pile I am
mentioning, may say that Palladio's proportions are liable to
exceptions, which I will readily admit, that I may ask, whether it is
possible, by any proportions, to make a column less than sixty feet high
of a base and capital, in addition to a shaft, a fragment of which is
forty-two feet in length?
If either of the positions I take up be admitted, those antiquarians who
will not allow this magnificent pile of ruins to have belonged to the
Temple of Diana, must at least confess, that these superb fragments must
have formed an edifice equal to it, both in size and grandeur.
We also saw the remains of St. John's Church, now converted into a
Turkish Mosque. Part of the aqueduct, and many other vestiges of the
once noble city of Ephesus, are still to be seen. But in lieu of the
Blessed Virgin, St. Paul, St. John, Kings, Princes, and Heroes, who
rendered it so famous, both in sacred and profane history, its
inhabitants are now reduced to a few miserable peasants.
We met no manner of interruption on the road, notwithstanding this is a
time when the Government, naturally weak, is obliged to suffer a kind of
licentiousness, in order to keep the rabble in good humour, and to
complete the new levies.
Never was there a more popular war than the present. The Turks, from
every part of this immense Empire, are preparing to join the grand army.
The suspicions against the Emperor of Germany increase every day; but
from the zeal and spirit with which every Mussulman enters into the
cause, one is almost led to imagine, that the Ottomans will make a
tolerable stand against the powerful enemies by which they will be
attacked.
It is fortunate for the Porte, that at this crisis her Ministers are
avowedly the best that ever governed Turkey. The Grand Vizir is young
and vigorous, and a pupil of the celebrated Hassan, now Captain Bashaw,
or Lord High Admiral, who is just returned from Egypt crowned with
victory. He had been sent there with the fleet, and an army also under
his command, to subdue the rebel Beys, in which, notwithstanding the
intrigues of the Russians, he happily succeeded, and, by additional
proofs of courage and address, has added fresh laurels to his former
fame.
The Vice-Admiral, who commanded at Constantinople in his absence, was
sent to destroy six Russian men of war, which being dismasted in the
storm that had obliged Captain Teesdale to give himself up to the Turks,
had anchored on the coast of the Black Sea, and seemed to promise an
easy conquest. But, to the great disappointment of the Porte, they had
time to refit and get off; and as their escaping was said to be owing to
want of exertion in the Turkish Vice-Admiral, he was banished
immediately after his return to Constantinople, and afterwards brought
back and beheaded.
The Captain Bashaw is equipping the fleet with all possible dispatch,
and will sail early in the spring, with a force that will compel the
Russian squadron on the Black Sea to act on the defensive, unless their
fleet from the Baltic is permitted to enter the Mediterranean, and make
a diversion to the southward. But as this would be entirely depriving
the Porte of every prospect of opposing, with any success, the
machinations of her enemies, England certainly can never permit so
decisive a step to be taken in favor of the ambitious, and to us,
destructive views of the two Imperial Courts.
The Reis Effendi, or Principal Secretary of State, is said to possess
sufficient abilities to fill that office in any country in Europe. The
following anecdote of him, will give you an idea of his opinion of
France and England. The spirited conduct of our Court during the late
disturbances in Holland, reflects the greatest honor on the King and his
Ministers; and it is said, that Sir Robert Ainslie, our Ambassador at
the Porte, with his usual patriotic attention to the honor and interest
of his country, drew up a short narrative of that important business,
and delivered it to the Porte.
At an audience afterwards given to Sir Robert, the Turkish Ministry
congratulated his Excellency on the distinguished success of his Court,
and the Reis Effendi, I am told, made these observations, "You have
acted with all your usual courage--but with more than your usual wisdom.
You have carried your point without bloodshed, and have left the French
to fight among themselves."
The last sentence occasioned some surprise; but by what I learn from the
French officers who are just arrived, a violent convulsion in France is
not far distant, and the Reis Effendi bids fair to prove by it, his
profound knowledge of the interior state of that kingdom, a knowledge
which Turkish Ministers are not generally expected to possess, at least
of nations that are not their immediate neighbours.
An army of observation is forming on the Banks of the Danube, to watch
the motions of the Germans, whose hostile declaration is hourly
expected. The Baron de Herbert has given himself great airs in the
Divan, and threatened vengeance on the Porte, for daring to attack the
ally of the Emperor, his master. The Turks treated these threats with
the contempt such impertinence deserved; but at the same time, with
great gravity and wisdom, they informed the Baron, that they were aware
of the power of the Emperor, and would be sorry to see it exerted
against them; but still that, trusting to the equity of Europe, they
were determined to risk this unequal conflict, rather than submit to
those incessant encroachments, which, by daily weakening the Porte, and
increasing the power of the two Imperial Courts, must end, if unopposed,
in the total subversion of the Ottoman Empire.
The Emperor seems convinced that threats will not avail, and even at
this late season, daily accounts arrive of the march of his troops
towards the frontiers.
Constant skirmishes are happening between the Turks and the Russians on
the borders of the Crimea; and since my last letter, the Porte have
received information of the capture of twelve hundred Russians, and of
the Island of Taman being taken by the Tartars of Kuban. The possession
of this island is of great consequence to the Turks, since it forms the
east side of the straits of Wosphor Zabach, which connect the Black Sea
with the sea of Azof.
To balance this success, the French, and other enemies of the Porte,
give out that a General Sekell, with a corps of Russians, has routed a
detachment of these same Tartars, in the vicinity of Mount Caucasus. The
season, however, is too far advanced for any thing decisive to be done.
In April the Grand Vizir will take the field in earnest; but in the mean
while the Moscovite troops are gathering towards Turkey, on the banks of
the Dnieper, the Bog, and the Dniester; and if the Emperor engages the
attention of the Ottoman grand army, the Russian Generals will begin the
ensuing campaign with the siege of Oczakow, and the invasion of
Moldavia. Prince Potemkin will direct the former, Count Romanzow the
latter; and unless some other power interferes, it is not difficult to
foresee, that the Imperial Courts will soon accomplish all their
ambitious schemes against this brave, but unenlightened people.
LETTER XVIII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Athens, Jan. 29th, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
We took leave of our Smyrna friends on the 19th of January, and having
passed Scio, Lesbos, and Ipsera, were off Scyros on the 21st. We wished
to visit this island, because it contains the tomb of Theseus, who
killed the monster of Crete, and carried off the beauteous Ariadne; but
the wind not permitting us to fetch it, we continued our course by
Negropont, Longa, and the Promontory of Sunium. But the next morning the
wind blew so strong against us, that finding it in vain to oppose it, we
crossed the Sinus Sironicus, and anchored among the little islands of
Idra. The weather continued bad for three days; it drove all the wild
fowl to the shore, and afforded us excellent shooting, which compensated
our delay.
On the 25th we again got under way, and the day after entered the
Pyræus, the port of this celebrated city. What emotion must one feel on
entering the ruins of a capital, which, from a small [Sidenote: A. A. C.
1556.] village, first formed into a regular government by Cecrops,
became so flourishing, and so populous a state, that its citizens alone,
in the famous battle of Marathon, delivered all Greece from the yoke of
the Persians.
Xerxes was so little discouraged by the misfortunes of his father, that
the moment he ascended his throne, he determined to make a second
attempt. His army is said to have exceeded a million of men; and the
number of his fleet was in proportion to the multitude of his troops. On
his entering Upper Greece, most of the states, intimidated by the
immensity of his armament, submitted to the enemy. The Peloponnesians
having the advantage of inhabiting a country almost an island, and only
assailable at the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, etermined to defend
themselves. Themistocles infused the same spirit into the Athenians, and
promoted the recall of his rival, Aristides. Their allies thinking it in
vain to oppose the Persians beyond the Peloponnesus, wished all their
forces to retire within the Isthmus. But the Athenians, encouraged by
their former victory, bravely resolved once more to become the champions
of Greece, and oppose the enemy before he entered Attica. Having brought
the allies into this resolution, a detachment under Leonidas, King of
Sparta, took possession of the pass of Thermopylæ, and for some time
supported themselves against all the efforts of Xerxes, and his
innumerable host. But a secret path being treacherously discovered to
the enemy, Leonidas was surprised in the morning by seeing the Persians
in possession of the heights above him.
Xerxes had now gained a decisive advantage; but the laws of Sparta not
permitting its citizens to retreat, Leonidas sent back all his
detachment, except three hundred, who were natives of that city. With
these he devoted himself [Sidenote: A. A. C. 480.] to the service of his
country, and falling upon the invaders, made a prodigious slaughter
among them; but fresh numbers continually supplying the place of the
slain, this great and gallant Prince was at last overpowered, and died
with his heroic associates, in the midst of thousands of their enemies.
In this juncture, the Athenians consulted the Oracle, and were desired
to trust to their wooden walls. Themistocles persuaded all those who
were capable of bearing arms to embark in the fleet; the women and
children were removed; and the town, abandoned to the enemy, fell a prey
to the barbarians.
The fleet was assembled in the straits, within the Island of Salamis.
Xerxes, who already talked of nothing but of extirpating the Greeks, by
seizing their ships, flattered himself that he had now an opportunity of
destroying them all at one blow. He therefore rashly attacked them in
this narrow pass; but he soon found the superiority of the Grecian
Admirals, who, by the excellence of their disposition, brought a much
greater number of ships into action than the Persians could oppose at
one time. Their van was of course defeated, which threw a general panick
into the barbarians, and ended in a complete victory on the side of the
Greeks.
The Persian King, who beheld the battle of Salamis from a neighbouring
height, finding himself unable to support his immense army, after the
loss of his fleet, retreated with the utmost precipitation. But before
he quitted Greece, he gave Mardonius the command of a large detachment,
to secure part of his conquests; but these being some months afterwards
entirely defeated by Pausanias and Aristides at Platæa, and most of the
troops the King carried with him having perished in the retreat, the
Grecians pursued him into Asia.
Athens now rose, by rapid strides, to its highest lustre. Themistocles
augmented the navy, rebuilt the city, fortified the Pyræus, and joined
it to the town, which is four miles distant, by a strong fortified wall.
His grand object was to throw the whole power of Greece into the hands
of the Athenians; but the steps by which he proposed to attain this end,
were so much disapproved, that he was banished. Accused afterwards of
being concerned in the conspiracy of Pausanias, the Lacedemonian
Admiral, for delivering Greece into the hands of the Persians, he was
obliged to fly his country; and being pursued from place to place,
although innocent of the charge preferred against him, he was at last
compelled to take refuge at the Court of Persia.
There he was most hospitably entertained for several years; but in the
succeeding wars, the King requiring him to lead an army against the
Grecians, he suffered the greatest distress in the contest between
gratitude and patriotism; and neither of these virtues being able to
overcome the other, he ended the conflict by putting a period to his
existence. On his being banished, Aristides succeeded him in the charge
of the revenues, [Sidenote: A. A. C. 470.] and Cimon in the command of
the forces. The glorious exploits of this young hero almost eclipsed
even those of Miltiades, his father. He gained several great victories
over the Persians, by sea and land, and beautified the city with the
spoils of the enemy.
Aristides dying, Pericles succeeded him, and became the rival of Cimon,
who was banished on a suspicion of favoring the Lacedemonians,
[Sidenote: A. A. C. 455.] but recalled five years afterwards. He
settled, for a time, the differences between the rival cities, and led
them once more against the common enemy. And having ended a war of
fifty-one years, by an honorable peace with the Persians, he died on the
eve of returning to Athens. He was succeeded by Thucydides, his
brother-in-law, but who was soon banished by Pericles, who now exercised
alone the sovereign authority.
This illustrious patriot was equally attentive to the prosperity, and to
the beauty of the city. With one hand he enriched her with the wealth of
every nation, with the other he adorned her with the works of the most
celebrated masters. Phidias, the famous sculptor, flourished in his
administration, and it is to him we are indebted for the magnificent
Temple of Minerva.
But neither his refined genius, nor his political abilities, could
exempt his country from the envy which prosperity generally attracts.
The splendour she had attained, and the haughtiness it occasioned, drew
upon her the complaints of many of the Powers of Greece, and
particularly of all those within the Peloponnesus. Animated by Pericles,
Athens, although averse to hostile measures, was resolved not to submit
to the attacks of the Lacedemonians, but, conscious of her resources,
determined [Sidenote: A. A. C. 431.]to support her dignity; and thus,
undaunted by superior force, she sustained herself for twenty-seven
years, against the united efforts of all her enemies, in the famous
Peloponnesian war.
Pericles died at the close of the fourth campaign; but the war was
continued until the end of the tenth, when a truce was concluded, on
terms very advantageous to Athens. But the ambition of Alcibiades, who
now began to be distinguished at Athens, soon brought on a renewal of
hostilities. He opposed Nicias on every occasion, and, contrary to the
advice of that excellent General, persuaded the Athenians to send a
considerable part of their forces into Sicily, himself embarking on that
expedition: but, being soon recalled, he fled to Sparta, where he joined
the enemy, and became the scourge of Attica. In the mean while, Syracuse
was reduced to great [Sidenote: A. A. C. 413.] straights; but, a
reinforcement arriving from Peloponnesus, the Athenians were entirely
defeated, and Nicias, their General, most inhumanly put to death.
This blow dispirited the Athenians so much, that Alcibiades,
compassionating their distress, returned to his duty. At first he was
surprisingly successful; but the fleet suffering a defeat whilst he was
absent on an expedition, he was deprived of the command, for having left
it in unworthy hands.
The Athenians had soon reason to repent this act; for, notwithstanding
their fleet gained a considerable advantage under Conon, it was
afterwards attacked by surprise in the Hellespont, and entirely
[Sidenote: A. A. C. 404.] destroyed. Lysander, who gained this
celebrated victory, after subduing all the maritime places in his route,
arrived at Athens, and obliged her to surrender.
The city now suffered all the horrors of the most cruel tyranny and
oppression: but the Lacedemonians, exulting in their prosperity, as the
Athenians had done before, raised up a confederacy against them, by
which, after ten years slavery, Athens thoroughly recovered her liberty,
and regained her former consequence; and, although Thebes, under
Epaminondas, seemed for a time to rival her, she maintained her
superiority over the [Sidenote: A. A. C. 337.] rest of Greece, until
Philip of Macedon, having defeated the Grecians in the battle of
Chæronea, obliged them to nominate him Commander in Chief of their
forces.
Demosthenes had long observed the steps by which this Monarch aimed at
the subjection of Greece, and endeavoured, in his celebrated orations,
to rouse the spirit of his countrymen; but he did not succeed until it
was too late.
Philip left his authority to his son Alexander, the Conqueror, during
whose absence in Persia, the Athenians attempted to regain their
liberties, but were soon suppressed by his General Antipater. On the
death of Alexander, Athens again revolted, and at first obtained some
considerable advantages; but Antipater, being reinforced, put [Sidenote:
A. A. C. 322.] an end to her triumphs, and caused her principal citizens
to be put to death. Demosthenes fled; but, being detected in his
retreat, he poisoned himself.
From this time, Athens was almost constantly kept in subjection by one
or other of the successors of Alexander, until about two hundred years
before Christ, when, being attacked by Philip III. of Macedon, the
Athenians complained to the Romans, who had lately concluded a peace
with the King, but now again declared war against him; and being joined
by several of the Greek States, Philip was soon overcome. The only use
the [Sidenote: A. A. C. 196.] Romans made of their conquest, was to shew
their magnanimity, by restoring liberty to all the cities of Greece.
In the war between Rome and Antiochus, Greece was at first a principal
scene of action. In this, the Romans were again successful, and
confirmed their former generosity: but, at last, finding the different
States constantly at variance, and one or other of them [Sidenote: A. A.
C. 146.] ever imploring the assistance of Rome, they put an end to their
disputes, by forming them into a Roman province. They had previously
defeated and taken Perseus, the last King of Macedonia; after which, it
only remained to dispel the Achæan League, which had been so famous
under Philopœmen.
In the war between Mithridates and the Romans, the former got possession
of Athens; but, after a noble defence, it was retaken the year following
by Sylla, who carried its library to [Sidenote: A. A. C. 86.] Rome, with
many of its most valuable pieces of sculpture and painting. Attica
continued to share the fate of the Romans, until their great Empire was
divided into the Eastern and Western branches. Greece then appertained
to the former, and fell with it into the hands of the Turks, on the
taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II.--A. D. 1453.
CHAPTER. XIX.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Athens, February 3d, 1789.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Athens still contains near ten thousand inhabitants, and has lately been
enclosed by a wall, to defend it from the irruptions of the Albanians,
who are ever ripe for a revolt, and have several times plundered the
town. The neighbourhood abounds with olive trees, and the French have
established a small factory for the culture of them. The ancient citadel
is always kept in a state of defence; and, being situated on the flat
surface of an unassailable rock, it is only to be subdued by famine, or
a bombardment. But what most renders it an object of curiosity, is, its
containing the superb Temple of Minerva, the most celebrated work of the
illustrious Pericles. But, alas! of this magnificent pile, only enough
is left to give us a faint idea of its former grandeur, and to make us
lament the unhappy fate of so sublime an edifice. The columns which
supported the south side, and part of the front, are still standing,
with some elegant metopes, which represent the exploits of the different
heroes of Athens, and the battle of the Amazons: but these are every
year falling down, from a violent shock the remains of the temple
received, about a century ago, from the Venetians, who, in bombarding
the citadel, blew up a powder magazine within it.
From these ruins of fallen greatness, it is a pleasant relief to turn
our eyes to the Temple of Theseus, which, being converted into a Greek
church, is still perfect. Here the sympathetic soul enjoys the generous
glow of admiration, in contemplating a monument of gratitude to a
departed hero, and the satisfaction of seeing, that the ravages of more
than two thousand years have not been able to affect the work of a
grateful people in honor of a patriotic Prince: so may we hope, that, to
the last day, it will remain a living proof of the generosity of the
one, and of the merit of the other.
Theseus was the great grandson of Cecrops, and, like him, corrected the
wandering manner in which his people lived, and formed them into civil
societies; whence he is justly called the second founder of Athens.
In the preceding narration, I took no notice of the exploits of this
Prince, because they are stories we have been accustomed to hear from
our cradles, and, although founded on truth, are generally classed among
those of the fabulous kind. For the same reason, I passed over the death
of his successor, Mnestheus, at the siege of Troy, as well the
expedition for the Golden Fleece, and the other events in which Athens
was concerned previous to the invasion of the Persians.
The temple is an elegant edifice, supported by a beautiful colonnade, on
a similar plan to the largest at Pestum. It was erected in the
administration of Cimon, who, having discovered the bones of Theseus in
the island of Shyros, where he was killed by a fall from a precipice,
restored them to his native city. The metopes on the front, and part of
the sides, are ornamented with basso relievo, representing the battle of
the Centaurs. These, you may recollect, were nothing more than the
cavalry of Thessaly, where the men were so perfect in the management of
their horses, that, when mounted, they were supposed to be part of the
same animal.
The east gateway, which was also erected to Theseus, remains tolerably
perfect. It was repaired by Adrian, who added an inscription, importing
that Athens was now become his city; and, indeed, by his liberality, he
in some measure made amends for the depredations the Romans committed
upon her ornaments, and earned the title of one of her founders. It was
this Emperor who raised that superb pile the Pantheon, dedicated to all
the Gods; which, by its grandeur, elegance and beauty, justly merited
that exalted title. Out of an hundred and twenty columns, each eighteen
feet in circumference, only nine are standing. They are of the finest
marble, with very rich Corinthian capitals. Those of Theseus and Minerva
are Doric.
The monument vulgarly called the Lanthorn of Demosthenes, being
inhabited by a French Monk, and the octagonal Temple of the Winds, by a
Turkish Dervise, are still entire. The former is light and elegant; the
latter has nothing but its antiquity to recommend it; for the figures
which represent the different winds, are so indifferently executed,
that, were not their names inscribed below them, it would be impossible
to know their qualities.
Some triumphal columns, and other monuments, are still left in tolerable
preservation, besides a considerable part of the Theatre of Bacchus, and
many other fragments and ruins, which I am less particular in
describing, because we have taken exact plans of all of them.
The channel of the Ilyssus, whose banks were formerly so famous, is dry,
even at this rainy season; and I have several times walked in its bed,
as well as in the olive groves where Plato delivered his lectures. I
have also been as far as the plains of Marathon, to pay my oblations at
the shrine of Miltiades--an interesting scene to a Soldier, and of which
my military friends may expect an exact description.
THE BATTLE OF MARATHON,
MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
TO
THE RIGHT HONORABLE
GENERAL ELIOTT,
LORD HEATHFIELD.
This celebrated field is about twelve miles in circumference, and a
day's march from Athens. It is washed by the sea on the east, and
surrounded by mountains on every other side, except the south-east
corner, where the flat is continued a short space along the shore, and
afterwards terminated by hills. The part where this slip joins the grand
plain, has a large morass in its center, which extends pretty close to
the hills on one side, and near the water's edge on the other.
There are two roads from the plains to Athens; the one by the morass,
the other through the town of Marathon, which lies at the foot of the
hills, nearly opposite the center of the plains.
Miltiades' army, in point of numbers, was not equal to one tenth of the
Persians; but he knew that by waiting for them under the walls of
Athens, he should abandon the country to their ravages, and submit to
see them receive their convoys, and gather provisions unmolested; and
possibly even subject himself to a famine. He therefore determined, at
all events, to keep from between the enemy and the capital, and wait for
an opportunity of attacking them to advantage. And this Fortune soon
gave him. The Persians having reached the plains of Marathon,
accompanied by their fleet, pursued the road nearest the sea. Their van
had already ascended the heights, their main body filled the flat
beneath, and their rear was passing the narrow space on the sides of the
morass. Historians tell us, that Miltiades drew his whole strength into
his wings, and particularly his right, leaving his center almost open.
But as they have not been sufficiently minute in describing the scene of
this memorable action, I could not thoroughly perceive the excellence of
his disposition, until I beheld the field of battle.
The morass supplied the place of troops in his center. The space on the
left was but narrow, consequently his greatest exertions were required
on his right. This the General thoroughly understood, and at the moment
the Persians were in the situation I have just described, he rushed from
the town of Marathon, and by his admirable disposition, brought his
whole force to act on the enemy's rear.
The Persians, encumbered and confined, and scarce able to use their
arms, were instantly thrown into confusion, and hewn down in immense
numbers. The main body faced about, and advanced to the assistance of
the rear. The van, confident of victory from their numbers, descended
from the heights to pursue their success. The whole crowded together in
the narrow passes, making a general, confused attempt to break into the
plain: but the Athenians constantly out-fronting them, and the immense
numbers of the enemy only serving to incommode themselves, and to create
confusion, they were slain as fast as they advanced. At length those in
front, unable to withstand the terrible carnage that raged around them,
attempted to fly; but being prevented from retreating by those behind
them, who not having seen the slaughter, still pushed forward, they
precipitately threw themselves into the morass.
Victory now declared for the Athenians, who, pursuing their advantage,
fell with such violence on the disordered ranks of the enemy, that to
escape their fury, their nearest opponents were compelled to turn, and
in despair, forced their way through their own friends. A general rout
immediately ensued, and the exertions of the Athenians encreasing with
their success, they drove the enemy headlong before them. Near thirty
thousand Persians fell by the sword. Numbers perished in the morass, and
the rest, in confusion and dismay, escaped to their ships.
These, my Lord, are my ideas of the principles on which Miltiades acted,
and what I have conceived to have been the plan of the battle, from
seeing the plains on which it was fought. I am, however, aware that one
of the causes to which I attribute the success of the Greeks--their
out-fronting the enemy--was a less advantage in those days, than it has
become since the invention of musketry and artillery. But although the
Grecians made their grand exertions by close action, yet it is to be
presumed, from the hilly, irregular country in which this army was
generally to act, that it was not without a considerable corps of
slingers and bowmen, who, in the disposition I have given, might act to
the greatest advantage upon the enemy's flank.
It is needless to say that the Persians, by forming _en potence_ along
the sides of the morass, might have brought as many men into action as
the Greeks; they were too much confused by the sudden attack, bordering
on a surprise, to execute this manœuvre, and most likely their troops
with missive weapons were not in this part of their army.
The most plausible objection to my plan is, that had the Persians,
instead of engaging and crowding themselves in the situation Miltiades
attacked them, made a retreating fight, till they passed the narrow
flat, and secured the heights, it was then in their power, had Miltiades
persisted in the attack, completely to surround him, by making part of
the troop on the heights, in front, deploy along the eminence, and then
descend in his rear, whilst the rest of the army, now advantageously
posted on the heights, would probably have prevented his forcing their
front.
This is, doubtless, what a good General would have done. But when the
Generals are equal, how can men be expected to beat ten times their
number? Miltiades was in one of those situations, where inaction is as
fatal as a defeat; and it was his duty to seize every opportunity, in
which it was in Fortune's power to favor his designs. He acted on these
principles, and was crowned with the success his courage deserved.
At first the Athenians thought no praises they could bestow, equal to
the merit of Miltiades; but in my letter from Paros, I mentioned the
cruel persecution he afterwards suffered. But the death of this great
man having disarmed the malice of his enemies, they soon became sensible
of their shameful ingratitude; and as some atonement to the manes of
their departed hero, they erected a monument to his memory on the plains
where he gained his glory.
Of this sacred tomb, only the base remains. I picked up a chip of marble
that had fallen from it, and was instantly impressed with the idea of
having this honored relick set, with a suitable device, in some of the
metal from the Battering Ships, destroyed before Gibraltar, and thus to
commemorate and unite the greatest victory of Greece, with the most
glorious achievement of Britain.
LETTER. XX.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Athens, February 5th, 1789.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
On our way to Marathon, we turned a little out of the road to see a
mutilated statue of a Lion, which still bears the signs of most
excellent workmanship.
We have already repeatedly viewed every thing worthy notice in Athens;
but as the painter has not yet finished his drawings, we shall remain
here some days longer, during which we mean to make an excursion to the
Islands of Salamis, Ægina, &c. But as they contain nothing worthy
description, I will close this sketch of the history and antiquities of
this interesting city, with a short account of the religion of its
present inhabitants. About one-fifth of them are Turks, and the rest
Greeks.
GREEK RELIGION.
St. Paul, you recollect, visited Athens, and the other states of Greece,
to preach Christianity; and notwithstanding all the anathemas the Pope
has denounced against the Greeks, there is, in fact, but little
difference between their religion, and that of the Roman Catholics. They
equally make use of the sign of the cross; worship images; pray to the
saints; have confessors; and believe in transubstantiation, although
they do not kneel at the elevation of the Host. If they deny the
doctrine of purgatory, they admit something very like it, in praying for
the souls of the dead. Their Bishops and superior clergy are never
permitted to marry; but a simple priest is allowed that indulgence once
in his life, though he can never take a second wife. They acknowledge
the Pope to be the chief of the Patriarchs, but deny his having the
power of granting indulgences; and this was his Holiness's first reason
for accusing them of schism.
It is true, there is another grand point in which they dissent both from
the Roman Catholics and the Protestants; I mean the article of the Holy
Ghost, which they say can proceed from the Father only. There are some
less essential differences, such as their using leavened bread in the
consecration of the Sacrament, and mixing the bread and wine together.
And they also differ in the ceremonies of baptism, marriage, and burial.
In the first they give three complete immersions. The second is
performed by the priest's changing the ring from the bride's to the
bridegroom's finger, saying a few words, and then from the bridegroom's
to the bride's. He repeats this ceremony about thirty times, without any
alteration, and when he desists, it is again as often performed by each
of the godfathers and godmothers. Their funerals are like those of the
savages--howling and making hideous cries till the corpse is interred,
and then feasting over the grave.
The Patriarch of Constantinople is the head of the Greek Church, and has
under him the Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Damascus, and Alexandria. St.
Polycarp is their favorite Saint. He was one of St. John's disciples,
and suffered martyrdom at Smyrna, of which he was the first Archbishop.
MAHOMETAN RELIGION.
From the religion of the Greeks, I naturally turn to that of the Turks.
To have a just idea of this, it is necessary that we should divest
ourselves of every prejudice; and in arraigning the character of a man
whom death has prevented from appearing in his own defence, Justice ever
requires, that if we do not put the most favorable construction on his
actions, we should, at least, treat them with impartiality.
To speak candidly then, Mahomet might be a religious and a moral man.
His father left him in rather penurious circumstances, but profiting to
the utmost by the education his friends could afford him, and always
preserving a most unexceptionable character, he rose to be factor of a
rich widow, whom he afterwards married; and becoming, by this
connection, a person of some consequence in his country, he felt it his
duty to devote himself to its welfare.
He saw, with the utmost concern, that the Jews and the Christians were
constantly at variance, and that Idolatry was daily gaining ground. To
check the progress of a practice so unworthy the human mind, and so
degrading to our Divine Maker, appeared to him an object worthy his
whole attention. Filled with this idea, it became the constant subject
of his thoughts, and after long revolving it in his mind, he, at length,
conceived it impossible to attain his end by any other method, but by
that of uniting the Jews and the Christians in one religion. And this he
knew could only be effected by admitting part of the tenets of both.
For this purpose, he acknowledged Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, whom
the Jews regarded as their chief Prophets, to whom he added our Blessed
Saviour; in commemoration of whose mildness and beneficence, he called
him the Breath of God--the most flattering appellation he could offer,
confident with the delicacy it was necessary to observe towards the
Jews. Nevertheless, a Christian cannot sufficiently lament, that he was
obliged to make concessions to a people execrated by God. But as his
only object was to restore the divine worship to its original purity, he
conceived that the Almighty would not be displeased at the means he was
about to adopt to attain so laudable an end.
The first person to whom he communicated his design, was her in whom, as
a good man, he was most interested, I mean his wife. She readily
embraced his sentiments, and, in a short time, many of their relations
adopted their opinions. Nevertheless, the Arabs in general continued
obstinate in their superstition and idolatry; and as Mahomet as yet only
made use of the gentle methods of persuasion, his proselytes increased
so slowly, that he had reason to despair of success, unless he could
make it be believed that he received supernatural assistance.
Thus far his conduct is irreproachable, since we may forgive his
endeavouring to compound the Jewish and Christian religions, which in
him, was at worst but an error in judgment. But from this moment, he
began to lose sight of the delicacy and patriotic disinterestedness by
which he was hitherto actuated, and we must resign him to the lash of
the Christian and Jewish divines, both of whom have agreed in
stigmatizing him by the epithet of "Impostor." Nevertheless a
philanthropic mind will always be inclined to pity him, and to lament
that a man naturally religious, with so noble an object in view, should
be drawn into measures unworthy the piety of his primitive intentions.
He pretended, or perhaps his enthusiasm made him believe, that the Angel
Gabriel had appeared to him; and, in the name of God, charged him with
his mission. But still his progress was not equal to his wishes; he
therefore made use of another imposture, and declared that he had been
carried up to Heaven, and conversed with God. This, and some miracles he
was said to have performed, gave him an unbounded sway over the minds of
the people. But the persecution of the Government increasing with his
success, he was several times obliged to fly from Mecca. Hitherto he had
preached nothing but peace; but his fame having now spread, and gained
him many proselytes in the neighbouring states, he found himself in a
condition to accomplish by force, what he had in vain attempted by
persuasion. Provoked at the opposition he met with, he gave out that
God, irritated at the obstinacy of his enemies, had ordered him to take
up arms against them. He therefore raised an army, with which he beat
the Koreish, or head tribe of Mecca, in the famous battle of Bedr, and
gained many other victories, each of which increasing his fame and his
followers, he usurped the civil and military authority, as well as the
religious, and before he died, had the satisfaction of seeing himself
acknowledged by many of the Eastern nations.
The Mahometans date their Hegira from the period of their Prophet's
[Sidenote: A. D. 622.] flight from Mecca to Medina, during which such
miracles, they say, were performed in his favor, that it was no longer
possible to doubt his being the Messenger of God.
In addition to his being an Impostor, and making use of violent
measures, it is farther objected against Mahomet, that he makes his
paradise consist in sensual pleasures; but in this he conformed to the
dispositions of the people he held it out to. He tells them that it is
inhabited by female angels, whose charms surpass conception, and who,
although adorned by the most delicate modesty, will yield to the
embraces of the Faithful. That they live in large pavilions of hollow
pearls, in the midst of refreshing fountains and shady groves, abounding
with the most delicious fruits. Besides which, the fleetest horses,
elegantly caparisoned, and every thing else they may desire, will
immediately spring up for them.
His faith consists in belief in God, and predestination; in his Angels,
his Scriptures, and his Prophets; in the Resurrection and final
Judgment. On that awful day the principal questions asked the Mahometans
will be, How they spent their time? How they acquired and used their
wealth? What use they made of their knowledge? and how they exercised
their bodies?
Infidels and hypocrites will be damned without redemption; but the good
and bad actions of the Mahometans will be balanced against each other,
and the punishments of the guilty will be in proportion to their sins;
the slightest of which will be nine hundred years confinement in a hell,
so very hot as to make the brain boil through the skull; and the
heaviest nine thousand in a place where the heat is seven times more
horrible.
Oppressors, and such as have been guilty of malice or injustice, will be
obliged to suffer in the next world for the sins of those whom they
injured in this. An idea that cannot be too much admired.
Another striking instance of the humanity of Mahomet's disposition, is
the great encomiums he conferred upon Charity. He tells his followers
that nothing will be more acceptable to God than alms; and to shew our
gratitude to him for those we are constantly receiving at his hands, he
orders that they shall pray at least five times a day; and that there
may be no excuse for neglecting this duty, the muezzins are obliged to
ascend the steeples at stated times, and there apprise the people that
"it is time to pray."
In this we see both gratitude and wisdom; and to do ample justice to
Mahomet, it only remains to examine how far his religion tended to
promote the happiness and prosperity of his brethren. To do this, we
must keep their country in view. It will then readily occur to us, that
the Arabians living in a state of warfare, population must necessarily
decrease, and the number of women considerably exceed that of the men.
What remedy could he apply to this evil, but a plurality of wives? Or
how put a stop to drunkenness, but by prohibiting wine? The climate of
Arabia is hot; heat produces wantonness, wantonness leads to
prostitution, and prostitution creates sin, disease, and depopulation.
These are crying evils, and the only method to prevent them was, by
forbidding every intercourse between the two sexes, man and wife only
excepted. For she must be an abandoned woman indeed, who will make the
first advances to impure love, and these to a man to whom she had never
before spoken.
But as a farther encouragement to population, and that the female
captives taken in war might be of service to the state, he tolerates
masters lying with their slaves, who, on their part, are to preserve all
the modesty and discretion of a wife, and in return, are always to be
treated with tenderness.
That Mahomet allowed these indulgences, more through policy than
inclination, is evident, since even his bitterest enemies have never
accused him of bigamy, or of impure love, before the death of his first
wife. If he afterwards became abandoned, it is no wonder, for he had
then cast off his pious principles; and every wise person knows,
whatever pretenders to philosophy may say, that a man, when he abandons
religion, generally abandons morality also.
Upon the whole, I believe, this is by much the most favorable account
ever written of Mahomet by a Christian; yet, if we analyze the writings
of our own theologists, and set aside their abusive epithets, we shall
find that I have said nothing more than they themselves have admitted;
because, not understanding the Turkish language, I have trusted to them
for matters of fact, although, in justice to a dead man, I could not
ascribe to ambition and selfishness, what might originally proceed from
virtue, however different a turn it might afterwards take.
To close this essay with the candour with which I have conducted it, we
must allow, that as a patriot and a politician, Mahomet merits a great
share of our commendation. But how unworthy a divine mission will his
latter conduct appear, when compared with that of our Saviour. Neither
persecution nor torture, could provoke the Blessed Jesus to a deviation
from his Heavenly Mildness; but constantly adhering to the will of our
Father, he lived, and he died for the good of mankind.
LETTER XXI.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Leghorn, March 10th, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
On the 9th of February we sailed from the Pyræus, but the next morning a
violent gale rising up against us, we were obliged to take shelter in
our old port at Idra. During the night the wind changed, and at
day-break on the 11th we again got under way, and sailing along the
coast of Mycene and Argos, the kingdoms of Agamemnon and Menelaus,
reached Cape Angelo at sunset; and standing to the westward, we passed
between Servi and the island of Venus; and thus, for the present, took
leave of the Archipelago. We saw no remains of antiquity on that part of
Peloponnesus which we have coasted.
At day-break on the 14th, we were in sight of Mount Ætna, but the wind
not permitting us to fetch Messina, we stood towards Syracuse, and in
the evening tacked near the little island of Ortygia, which furnished
the poets, with the fable of Alpheus and Arethusa.
The next day was almost a calm, but at sunset a light breeze springing
up in our favor, we entered the straits of Scylla and Charybdis, and
anchored at Messina on the 16th. Here we intended to have performed our
quarantine, but as it has been the custom at this place ever since the
dreadful plague in 1743, not to receive vessels from any port actually
infected; and a lying report being raised, that the plague was then
raging in the environs of Smyrna, the Health Office refused to admit us,
notwithstanding or bringing a clean bill of health. We therefore put to
sea the following evening, and had scarce passed Charybdis, and got out
of the straits, before we were attacked by a violent storm. We were now
on a lee-shore, and the darkness of the night made our situation still
more unpleasant. But at the moment we were most apprehensive, the wind
favored us several points. The next morning the gale abated, and in the
evening the wind became quite fair; there was, however, so little of it,
that we were all this and the next day in sight of the burning island of
Strombolo. In the night of the 19th, the breeze freshened, and carrying
us 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 knots an hour, we saw Corsica soon after
day-light on the 21st, and at five the same afternoon anchored in
Leghorn roads. Lord Hervey, who has succeeded Sir Horace Mann, as
Ambassador at Florence, happening to be at Leghorn, interested himself
in our favor; in consequence of which our quarantine was only fifteen
days, and we got prattick the day before yesterday.
The town is well fortified both by sea and land, and, on account of its
advantageous situation for trade, and its being a free port, it is
filled with merchants of every class and persuasion.
Corsica being in sight of Leghorn, it forms one of the passes that
intercept the trade of the Mediterranean, and is consequently an
excellent station for a squadron in time of war. The road, indeed, is
open, and in winter dangerous; but this evil is, in some measure,
remedied by two capacious moles, deep enough for trading vessels and
small frigates. And by means of a canal which communicates with the
Arno, it has water carriage even beyond Florence. I shall set out for
that celebrated capital, as soon as I am a little collected after the
voyage.
LETTER XXII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Florence, March 23d, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
We left Leghorn on the 18th, and, two hours after, arrived at Pisa. We
remained there the rest of the day, and had just time to take a cursory
view of the wonderful Leaning Tower, the celebrated Brazen Gates of the
Cathedral, the Dome, the College, and the Chapel of the Knights of St.
Stephen, &c. &c. Early next morning, we resumed our journey, and, at
four in the afternoon, arrived at this elegant city.
From Leghorn to Florence is sixty-three miles, or, in the Italian style,
eight posts, for each of which, with a pair of horses, you pay four
shillings, and the driver is entitled to a fifth, which custom has
increased to eighteen pence. The Italian miles being near a fourth
shorter than the English, you generally go a post in an hour and a few
minutes; but this depends very much upon what you give the postilions,
who always take care to enquire from those they relieve. The road is
good and level, and remarkably pleasant, the whole of it being in the
populous and fertile vale of Arno, and almost constantly close to the
river.
In the barbarous ages, after the subversion of the Roman empire, Tuscany
underwent many revolutions, and remained in a state of subjection till
the time of the Guelphs and Gibbelines, when the feuds of those
factions, and the contests between the Pope and the Emperor, enabled the
Tuscans to shake off the yoke. They were again subdued by Charles V.
who, having married his natural daughter to Alexander of Medicis, he
gave him the Dukedom of Tuscany: but Alexander, being a tyrant, was soon
assassinated, and Cosmo, son of John of Medicis set up in his place, and
formally crowned Grand Duke of Tuscany by Pope Pius V.--A. D. 1570.
It is to this immortal Prince that we are indebted for the revival of
the fine arts, and for the foundation of the Gallery of Florence, which
each of his descendants increased and improved. The dukedom remained in
their line for the space of near two centuries, when the Medicis being
extinct by Duke Gaston dying without issue, it revolved to the Emperor,
and is now governed by his brother.
The arts and sciences suffered no loss from this change. Peter Leopold
is their most distinguished patron; and the Gallery is as much indebted
to him as to the most elegant of his predecessors.
Formerly, people of humble fortunes were secluded from the view of these
treasures, by the extortion of the attendants; but their salaries have
been lately increased, and they are prohibited from accepting presents,
on pain of losing their places. The poorest peasant has now a right to
amuse himself at his leisure in every part of the Gallery, and
admittance is refused to nobody but servants. It affords matter of
surprise to an Englishman, that valets de chambres, and footmen, who
have so much influence every where else, are here excluded from places
that are open to the lowest of every other tribe.
I have not troubled myself about the private character of Peter Leopold;
but the face of his country, the industry and morality of his subjects,
and the pleasing signs of an happy and increasing population, prove him
a great and a good Prince. The morals of his people are one of his
principal objects, in which he has so happily succeeded, that, in the
general free mart of Leghorn, where formerly the trade of a harlot was
as much permitted and in as high repute as any other, the houses of ill
fame are reduced to a very small number; and, in a short time,
prostitution will be as completely rooted out there as it already is out
of every other part of Tuscany.
By a law, as uncommon as it is just, a breach of modesty is as severely
punished in the male as in the female sex; and a seducer, be his rank
what it will, is obliged to marry the object he has polluted. None of
either sex are permitted to shut themselves up in convents; and marriage
is highly encouraged. Such, indeed, is this Prince's success in
promoting morality, and preventing vice among his people, that,
different from most capitals, the women are innocent and healthy, as
well as beautiful; and assassinations and robberies are here no longer
heard of.
What a satisfaction will the philanthrope enjoy, when he finds that this
public happiness and virtue has been produced by the most laudable
means. Peter Leopold thinks the lives of his subjects too valuable to
sacrifice even one to the gallows or the scaffold; but if a citizen is
guilty of any transgression, he atones for his crime by labouring on the
public works, for the general good, with a label on his back, expressing
his crime and his punishment.
This being the Holy Week, the Gallery will not be open for some days,
which is no great disappointment, since the fine taste of the Medicis
was not confined to their palaces only. The town is ornamented with many
celebrated pieces of sculpture; the principal of which are, the group of
Hercules rescuing Dejanira from the Centaur, by Michael Angelo; and the
Rape of the Sabines, by John Bologna; a superb fountain, with Neptune in
the center, drawn by four horses, surrounded by as many persons, each
attended by two fawns or satyrs; a noble equestrian of Cosmo, and many
other excellent statues and columns, and a triumphal arch, erected in
honour of the reigning family. I should be guilty of great injustice to
Peter Tacca, if I passed over his famous boar in the market-place. He
forms a kind of fountain on the ground, slabbering out water in so
natural a manner, that, at first, I actually took him for a hog, too
lazy to remove from the wet.
The inside of the churches are neat and elegant, white and gold, with
scarlet and orange curtains. St. Croix contains the tombs of M. Angelo,
of Machiavel, and many other great men. Among a variety of paintings,
two in the dome of St. John are rather singular, _Lex Scripta_ and _Lex
Naturæ_. The former has a forbidding look, and is muffled up like a
priestess. The other is in all the gaiety of youth, with an inviting
person almost entirely displayed.
The soft gliding Arno divides the town; but the communication is
preferred by three stone bridges. The terraces along its banks are broad
and well paved; and were it possible to tire where a variety of such
objects as those I have mentioned are ever to be found, one has only to
retire to the Botanical Gardens, or to those of the Bobile. In the
former we find every plant of the medical world. In the latter we may
fancy ourselves in England. They are laid out much in the manner of our
pleasure grounds, with open gravel walks, and others shaded by the
twining branches of the shrubs on each side; with an aviary, a
green-house, seats, and summer houses. But partaking also of the
Italian, it is interspersed with statues, terraces, and fountains full
of gold and silver fish.
How can we sufficiently express our gratitude to those Princes who have
furnished us with so many objects of innocent and laudable delight.
The elegant taste of the Tuscan Sovereigns, has been adopted by most of
their Nobility, whose palaces may be considered as so many branches of
the royal gallery. I have as yet only had time to visit those of Gerrini
and Ricardi.
Biliberti's famous Clorinda would alone be sufficient to immortalize the
former. She is asleep, relieved from the weight of her armour, with
nothing to conceal any part of her exquisite beauty, but one of the
ribbons of her corselet, which the air has most happily directed to
shelter her modesty; but which one is almost afraid will wave from her
waist. In this unguarded moment, Tancred at once discovers her sex and
her beauty; but notwithstanding her defenceless situation,
notwithstanding her irresistible charms, and her being a chief of the
enemy, there is something so invincibly sweet, so chaste, and so
inchanting in her countenance, that the hero stands transfixed with love
and veneration, and dares not approach her. It is impossible not to
enter into all the delicacy and sensibility of his feelings, and after
the first glance, I confess to you, that, like him, I dared not suffer
my eyes to wander below her neck, lest hers should open and avenge my
profanation. An adverse look from such an angel, would be more
insupportable than the most tormenting death.
After so heavenly an object, one is particularly struck with Salvator
Rosa's Prometheus, in the same collection. He is stretched upon his
back, with his hands and feet chained down, and the vulture preying on
his liver. His excruciating torments are so forcibly expressed, that
they fill one with horror. I therefore turned away, and hurried by Dido
and Æneas, by Battoni; and the Martyrdom of St. Andrew, by Carlo Dolce,
and several other admirable paintings, to gaze once more on the divine
Clorinda.
The best pieces in the Palace Ricardi, are, the four Evangelists, by
Carlo Dolce; St. John is incomparable; a Roman Charity, and six figures,
representing basso relievo.
The house in which Michael Angelo lived, is still preserved, and his
history and principal works represented in a collection of paintings,
with which the walls were hung by his scholars. It also contains some
few pieces of his own, most of them unfinished.
LETTER XXIII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Florence, March 26th, 1789.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
When I inform you, that the Catalogue alone of the Gallery of Florence,
fills a large volume, what an unconscionable request will my dear friend
appear to have made, in demanding a regular description of this superb
and invaluable collection.
From so young an Amateur as I am, such an attempt, methinks, would be
the height of presumption--I had almost said, of profanation. But, to
convince you how much I would undertake to oblige you, suffice it to
say, that the part properly called the Gallery, consists of two sides of
a parallelogram of considerable length, joined together by a third, much
shorter.
Round the cornice, the portraits of every great character, of whatever
nation he belonged to, from Artaxerxes Memnon, King of Persia, to Dr.
Anthony Cocchi, who died at Florence in 1758, are ranged according to
their country. Among the English, I observed Wolsey, Cranmer, Cromwell,
and Monk.
The wall between the cornice and the moulding, is lined with about an
hundred and thirty paintings, by the most celebrated masters: all are
admirable; but that which particularly strikes me, is the Mary Magdalen
from the Tuscan school. Her hands are joined together with an expression
which evinces the anguish of her soul, and the sincerity of her
repentance. A skull is on the table before her. Remorse and Despair, in
their most aggravated forms, are preying upon her; and yet her beauty is
in all its captivating charms. Her face surpasses every conception; and
the vest, which has fallen from her shoulders, displays a neck which
even an Anchorite would for ever hang upon. She herself, with all the
earnestness of her supplication, seems scarce to dare hope to be
forgiven.--But, were there a doubt of it, sweet Penitent! I should die
distracted.
John de St. John's Bridal Night, is another excellent painting. He has
given the Bride all the fondness and beauty of a Venus, but has made her
more than the Goddess, by shewing that the height of conjugal love,
could not remove her natural modesty.
Her handmaids are leading her into her bed-chamber; but, when she
discovers her husband ready to receive her, modesty overcomes her, and
prevents her advancing. The longing Bridegroom invites her with the most
ardent affection, and, with a smile of tenderness, seems amused with her
coyness. She returns his smile, but with a kind of denial; and yet seems
wishing to comply, but cannot persuade herself to approach him. Her
Friends are encouraging her, and the old Nurse is growing angry at the
delay. But I am presuming to be particular. I therefore pass over the
rest of the paintings, and come to the statues and busts, which are
ranged on bases, at regular distances, along the walls.
At the east end, there is a Horse, whose head and body excel any thing
of the kind I ever beheld; but the legs are modern, and do not seem to
belong to him.
Were only the head and neck of Leda exposed, all mankind would allow her
to be the finest piece of sculpture ever produced: but, whilst we give
the Sculptor every credit for his execution, we are provoked at finding
him guilty of many inconsistencies.
I should not have said so much of this statue, but that you, like
myself, might have been deceived by the good nature of those
well-meaning, but shallow writers, who, struck with its first
appearance, did not examine farther.
Ganymede is, indeed, an admirable statue; and his Eagle is much superior
to Leda's Swan.
Pomona seems really walking, and with a lightness equal to the ease of
her person.
As there is no superlative difficulty in forming a figure where no
passion is particularly expressed, I will not dwell on Minerva, Bacchus,
Apollo, Narcissus, &c. &c. &c. notwithstanding the pleasure I enjoy in
admiring them.
The busts contain the heads of all the Roman Emperors, and of some of
their wives. The whole is closed by a famous wild boar, and the group of
Laocoon.
Parallel to each of the two long sides of the Gallery, there is a set of
apartments, included in what is commonly called the Gallery of Florence.
The first on the east side, contains a most admirable Ganymede, a
country God, and a few more beautiful statues and basso relievos. The
principal subjects of the latter, are, the Rape of Europa, and Mark
Anthony's Oration on opening Cæsar's Will.
The next, called the Cabinet of Coins and Medals, contains, as well as
those articles and some few busts, two basso-relievo figures of Mars and
Venus, in paste exactly like porphyry; and also seven pictures, three of
which are Mosaic: those of St. Peter and St. Paul are reckoned
remarkably fine.
The third is called the Cabinet of Love, from a little Cupid sleeping on
a table, universally allowed to be a masterpiece of sculpture. It also
contains a few busts, and the walls are ornamented with twenty-seven
paintings; among which is a Venus, by Titian, universally admired: but
it has been observed, that she labours under a disadvantage, in being so
near the incomparable one in the Tribuna.
The fourth is filled with small statues, busts and pictures.
But the room called La Tribuna is the boast of the whole Gallery. It
contains the Venus of Medicis, the Wrestlers, the Listener, and the
Fawn, which surpass what I thought it possible for marble to express.
Nobody that has heard of Florence, but must have read a particular
description of these admirable statues: but, in obedience to your
desire, I have set down the following measurements of the Venus of
Medicis, taken by myself:
Feet. In. 10ths.
From the top of her forehead, in a
right line, to the ground 4 9 7
But, as she leans considerably forward,
her real height, as well as I
could measure, is 5 2 0
Circumference of the largest part of
her below her hips 2 11 5
Round her shoulders and her arms 3 1 3
Circumference of the smallest part
of her leg 0 8 0
Of the largest 1 1 2
Of her ankle 0 8 6
Length of her foot 0 9 0
Her arms are modern, and by no
means equal to the rest of the
statue. Their length is 2 5 5
The paintings in the Tribuna are equal to the statues. The most famous
is Titian's celebrated Venus, which justly merits the high encomiums
universally conferred upon her. She is lying on a bed, with all her
beauties displayed. The painter, with great judgment, has given her a
passive countenance, and introduced a softness in her air, full of
languishing desire, but free from lascivious wantonness. One might
compare her to a most beautiful married woman, deprived for the first
time of the presence of a beloved husband. In a word, nothing can be
more perfect, or more delightful.
St. Catherine also by Titian, is another excellent painting, and the
Virgin Mary, with the infant Jesus on her knees, like all Carlo Dolce's
pictures, is divine and beautiful.
Had I found the visitation of St. Elizabeth and St. John, fondling the
little Jesus on the Virgin's lap, and several others, in any place but
where there is so much to admire, I should have thought each of them
worthy a particular description.
The next four chambers contain the Venus Anadyomene, and a few more
statues in marble; together with a variety of beautiful vases, plates,
cups, and tables, richly inlaid with lapis lazuli and other rich stone;
near four hundred paintings in the Flemish manner; a collection of
original designs, or rough sketches, of the best masters, and another of
prints; but these are very inferior to those of the moderns, and are
only meant to show the progress of the art.
The cabinet of jewels and precious stones, cameos, intaglios, &c. closes
the Eastern range.
It is with great pain that I find myself inadequate to an entertaining
description of these invaluable treasures. The picture of St. Lawrence
conducted to the tyrant; Hercules after he had killed the Giants, by
Alexander Allori; Helena Forman, by Paul Rubens; the pearl fishery, in
lapis lazuli, by Anthony Tempesta; the Rape of Dejanira, by Giordano;
the copy of Correggio's Mary Magdalen, and many others I could gaze upon
for ever. But the objects of admiration I here meet with, are too
numerous to permit me to send you even a list of them.--I have already
transgressed the bounds I had proposed to myself; but having gone thus
far, I will proceed in the same style through the apartments on the west
side.
The first then is called the Cabinet of Medals, and contains a well
arranged collection, amounting to the astonishing number of upwards of
fourteen thousand. Many false antiques have been admitted, that amateurs
may have an opportunity of studying the difference between them and real
ones. Over the seven bureaux, in which the medals are preserved, the
Labours of Hercules are represented in as many silver groupes, copied
from John Bologna.
But these are not the only masterpieces contained in this chamber. Over
the chimney there is a hand in relief, by Michael Angelo, equal to his
most celebrated work; and the walls are ornamented by thirty-six
pictures, painted at Florence.
The second and third rooms contain the portraits of several hundred
painters, most of them drawn by themselves. What a satisfaction to
contemplate the characters of those celebrated masters, whose works have
afforded us the highest gratification. But as admittance has never been
refused to the most humble candidate for fame, who may choose to send
his portrait, many have gained a place here, who will soon be forgotten
every where else. In point of execution, my friend the Princess
Belmonté, I am afraid, is among this number; but as a patroness of the
arts and sciences, she is justly entitled to a place in the gallery of
Florence; and, as long as St. Cecilia is held in veneration, the
tuneful, the generous Belmonté will ever be remembered.
The fourth is filled with the heads of illustrious persons, and a
variety of inscriptions. On one of which, Seraspandes and Rhodaspes, the
sons of Phraates, are mentioned; and it is particularly valued because
Justin, the only Roman historian who takes notice of these Princes being
at Rome, omitted their names.
The fifth contains a beautiful statue of an hermaphrodite, which gives
name to the chamber; an Adonis, by Michael Angelo; Venus Victrix; Venus
Celeste, and a Bacchus. All excellent statues; and near fifty valuable
paintings.
The present Grand Duke fitted up the sixth hall for the reception of
Niobe, and her fourteen children, with a taste and magnificence worthy
these admirable statues.
The collection of old paintings in the next room is also the work of the
reigning Prince. They are accompanied by several busts and statues.
The eighth contains copies in bronze, not only of the Venus of Medicis,
and the most admired pieces in the preceding apartments, but of every
other celebrated statue, of which the Dukes of Florence have not been
able to procure the original. Among these are the _Quirinal_ group of
horses; the _Capitol_ Gladiator; the _Vatican_ Apollo, and Meleagre; the
little _Spanish_ fawn; the _Farnese_ Hercules, Bull, and Flora, and many
others, which the severest critics have allowed to be equal to the
originals.
But it is not copies only which here ravish the sight. John Bologna's
incomparable Mercury soon arrests the eye. He is absolutely flying, and
in so easy, and so natural an attitude, that it is some moments before
one perceives that he is supported by the breath of Zephyr, on which he
is rising into the air.
From this we pass into the cabinet of bronze antiques, where a variety
of miniature Gods and Goddesses, animals, and monsters; altars, tripods,
and lamps; helmets, rings, and bracelets, &c. &c. are preserved in
fourteen cases.
We now close the Gallery with the Tuscan Museum, whose chief contents
are the instruments used by the ancients in their funeral ceremonies,
with a variety of urns, in which the burnt bones of the dead were
deposited.
There let them rest in peace, and if sleep has not already overpowered
you, indulge it now--I shall not be offended with you. I am aware, that
however refined and extatic the satisfaction, the objects I have
mentioned afford to the senses, this pleasure is not to be communicated
in a description by so humble a Dilettante as your poor friend. I have,
therefore, nearly confined myself to an abridgment of the catalogue,
which, as I before apprised you, fills a large volume. And since a long
list, even of painters, and sculptors, statues, and paintings, must ever
be dry and tautological, what can we expect from its epitome? But to me,
I confess, it has afforded the greatest satisfaction; that of proving
that to please you, I willingly risk exposing myself.
LETTER XXIV.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Naples, April 23, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
We left Florence on the 27th of March, and, on the 6th instant, sailed
from Leghorn.
The little island of Elba lying in our course towards Naples, we meant
to stop there, for a few hours, to examine the harbour, which, it is
said, is a very convenient one for vessels watching an enemy in Leghorn
Roads; but, having no wind till three o'clock in the afternoon, we did
not reach it till dusk. We were now going nine knots an hour. Nothing
could be seen till the morning; and, as we did not think it right to
lose a night's run with so favourable a wind, we were deprived of the
satisfaction of informing ourselves with regard to the harbour, and of
gratifying our curiosity, by seeing the natural state of the curious
stones found in this island.
The wind continuing fair, we passed Mount Cercelle, and the coast of
Rome, on the 7th; at day-light on the 8th, were in sight of Ischia and
Capria; but, our fair wind dying away, we did not get to an anchor in
the bay of Naples till the afternoon of the next day.
Mount Vesuvius is in a very different state from that in which we left
it. There have been several eruptions. The sides of the crater or cone
have fallen in, and the lava has given itself vent, by forcing the side
of the mountain. It is now running; and, as this is a phenomenon I had
not an opportunity of seeing when I was here last autumn, I made it my
first object on my return.
But the violence of the eruption is over; and it has now more of the
curious and beautiful, than of the awful and sublime. The side of the
mountain has closed, and the lava issues from it, without its source
being seen, in a stream of liquid fire, at present not more than four
feet wide. It moves at a slow rate, and, although so much a fluid as to
be capable of this motion, yet it has such a degree of solidity, that
stones of some pounds weight, thrown with force, did not penetrate its
surface. No flame was emitted by the lava, except when we threw slicks,
paper, or other combustible matter upon it, which immediately took fire,
and blazed. Water had no effect, but that of blackening, for a moment,
the part it fell upon.
After having sufficiently admired this beautiful phenomenon, we
scrambled up the cone, and went into the inside of the old crater, which
I find is already assuming its former state; the working of the fire in
the bowels of the earth, having overcome the weight above it, and formed
a chasm in its former direction, to the very summit of the mountain.
This aperture is continually widening, and will soon again become a
monstrous fiery gulph. I heard several explosions below, which were
accompanied by flashes of fire, which, darting from side to side, in the
direction of the chasm, came up like so many immense flashes of forked
lightning.
We began the ascent before sun-set; and our attention was so well
engaged, that it was near day-light before we returned to Naples.
The Princess Belmonté has renewed her civilities; and the Nobile have
sent us tickets for their musical Conversazione.
LETTER XXV.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Palermo, May 2d, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
After a pleasant passage of scarce forty hours, at day-break on the 26th
ult. we found ourselves in sight of Palermo. Nothing can be more
picturesque than this bay. It forms a large amphitheatre, with the
Capital of Sicily in the center, surrounded, for some miles, by a most
beautiful country, interspersed with villas, and inclosed by romantic
rocks and mountains. A calm, which lasted several hours, gave us an
opportunity of admiring this beautiful scene at our leisure; and in the
afternoon we anchored in the mole.
The town was formerly surrounded by a strong wall, but the
fortifications are now entirely neglected, except towards the sea, where
there are still a few weak works.
Prince Caramanico, the Viceroy, was lately Ambassador at London. We paid
our respects to him the morning after our arrival, and he gave us a
state dinner the next day. But we have seen nothing of him since.
Our stay here is rendered remarkable by the sudden death of Prince
Palagonia.
Whilst other men endeavoured to reach the Temple of Fame, by making art
equal nature in her most captivating forms, this Prince struck out a new
road, by producing such monsters as nature, however perverted, could
never have brought forth. With him, whoever designed the most ridiculous
and unnatural object, became the greatest artist. He had a number of
sculptors and stone-cutters constantly employed for upwards of thirty
years, and their productions amount to near a thousand pieces. But
notwithstanding the great encouragement he gave, and the ample field he
held out, very few of his statues display either genius, execution, or
invention. Some of them, indeed, are as extravagant as he could wish,
but even these are extravagant without humour, from the total want of
connection in the members. We sometimes laugh at a body a little
deformed, because the parts that compose it may be set in a ridiculous
point of view; but where they are totally heterogeneous, and
unconnected, we may be surprised, but cannot be pleased. The principal
pieces are birds and beasts with human heads, and men with the heads of
beasts.
Whilst we were beholding this grotesque collection with a smile, half of
pity, and half of contempt, I was struck by an antique bust of
Cleopatra, by much the most beautiful I ever saw; but its owner set so
little value upon it, that it is stuck against the outside of his house,
with another of M. Anthony, nearly as good.
The dead at Palermo are never buried; but their bodies are carried to
the Capuchin Convent, where, after the funeral service is performed,
they are dried in a stove, heated by a composition of lime, which makes
the skin adhere to the bones. They are then placed erect in niches, and
fastened to the wall by the back or neck. A piece of coarse drab is
thrown over the shoulders, and round the waist; and their hands are tied
together, holding a piece of paper with their epitaph, which is simply
their names, age, and when they died.
We of course visited this famous repository, and it is natural to
suppose, that so many corpses would impress one with reverence and awe.
It was near dusk when we arrived at the Convent. We passed the chapel
where one of the order had just finished saying vespers, by the gloomy
glimmering of a dying lamp. We were then conducted through a garden,
where the yew, the cypress, and the barren orange obscured the remaining
light, and where melancholy silence is only disturbed by the hollow
murmuring of a feeble waterfall. All these circumstances tuned our minds
for the dismal scene we were going to behold, but we had still to
descend a flight of steps impervious to the sun. And these, at last,
conveyed us to the dreary mansion of the dead.
But (will you believe me?) notwithstanding the chilling scene we had
gone through; notwithstanding our being in the midst of more than a
thousand lifeless bodies, neither our respect for the dead, or for the
holy fathers who conducted us, could prevent our smiling. For the
physiognomies of the deceased are so ludicrously mutilated, and their
muscles so contracted and distorted in the drying, that no French mimick
could equal their grimaces. Most of the corpses have lost the lower part
of the nose--their necks are generally a little twisted--their mouths
drawn awry in one direction--their noses in another--their eyes sunk and
pointed different ways--one ear perhaps turned up--the other drawn down.
The friars soon observed the mirth these unexpected visages occasioned,
and one of them as a kind of _memento_, pointed out to me a Captain of
Cavalry, who had just been cut off in the pride of his youth. But three
months ago he was the minion of a King--the favorite of a
Princess--Alas! how changed! Even on earth there is no distinction
between him and the meanest beggar. This in a moment returned me to
myself, and I felt, with full force, the folly of human vanity. I turned
to the holy father, who gave me this lesson. His eyes were fixed on what
was once a Captain of horse--I saw in them
"Read this, titled pomp, and shrink
to thy original nothingness."
"Hie thee to my lady's chamber,
tell her, though she paint an inch
thick, to this must she come at last--make
her laugh at that."
The relations of the deceased are bound to send two wax tapers every
year, for the use of the Convent; in default of which the corpse is
taken down and thrown into the charnel house. Were it not for the number
of vacancies occasioned by the non-payment of this stipend, the
Capuchins would be unable to find niches for the number of men who must
die every year in so populous a city as this.
Women are dried as well as the men, but are not exposed. Nobles are shut
up in chests.
I am just returned from seeing Prince Palagonia become a member of this
society. The beginning of his funeral, although similar to that of every
Lord in this island, struck me as being as preposterous as his palace.
He was carried to the Convent in a sedan, attended by all his household.
As soon as he entered the Chapel, the sedan was opened, and two pages
supported him to an armed chair. Here he was seated in state, dressed in
his richest clothes--his hair full powdered--a sword by his side--his
hat under his arm. The Nobility of the island were assembled to meet
him. They all bowed to the corpse, and after a short pause the ceremony
began.
The masses were interwoven in an Oratorio composed for the occasion,
which, notwithstanding only two days were given to prepare it, did great
credit to the composer; and the performers, both vocal and instrumental,
gave him every support. The exordium beginning with "Ecco il Principe
preso da Dio." "Behold the Prince whom God hath taken," was in the
highest degree pathetic and affecting. The immortal Handel could not
have exceeded the energy of the musick, and the corpse of the departed
Prince carried the words with full force to the heart.
I regret that I cannot procure this excellent piece, since, as we are
preparing to sail on our second voyage to the Archipelago, I was obliged
to come on board the moment the ceremony was over.
But before I leave this place, I will raise your philanthropy, by
mentioning a charitable institution which is here carried to a
particular height. I mean a foundation, by which a number of female
children are not only brought up in morality and religion, and taught
some useful art, that will enable them to earn their bread; but when
they arrive at a certain age, and are qualified to undertake the cares
of a family, portions are assigned to those who choose to marry. When
virgins have these advantages, their Guardians will never be long in
search of unexceptionable husbands.
LETTER XXVI.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, May 27th, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
After an absence of four months, we returned here on the 24th instant,
and found the Turks in the highest spirits. The Emperor has declared
against them: but this was a proceeding they had been prepared for; and,
far from his arms having as yet been attended with any decisive success,
he tarnished them in the onset, by beginning the war in a pusillanimous
style, not at all expected from so powerful an enemy.
We had scarce left this country, before advice was received of a
treacherous attempt to take Belgrade; but the slovenly manner in which
this enterprise was conducted, gave the Emperor an opportunity of
denying his being privy to it. It proved unsuccessful; and, as the Baron
De Herbert, the Imperial Minister, had changed his threats into
negociations for settling a peace between Turkey and Russia, the Porte,
unwilling to provoke the Emperor to hostilities, and in hopes that this
failure would discourage him from pursuing his designs against a people
who were so much better prepared than he expected, very politically
seemed to admit the Internuncio's excuses for this breach of faith.
It seems, that an officer who had passed through Belgrade, reported at
Vienna, that the fortifications were in a most ruinous state, and that
none of the cannon were fit for service. On this fallacious information,
orders were hastily sent to Generals Mitrowski and Alvinzy, to pass the
Save, with a detachment of troops, who were to be supported by Generals
De Gomingen and Klebeck, and to make an immediate attempt on this
important fortress; but the latter Generals not arriving at the
appointed time, and the fortifications appearing in a very different
state from that in which they had been represented, Mitrowski and
Alvinzy were obliged to retreat, and to repass the Save.
Notwithstanding the Internuncio's disavowal of the Emperor's knowledge
of this attempt, accounts were soon received, that Generals Mitrowski
and De Gomingen were ordered to Vienna, to answer for their failure;
and, on the 8th of February, Baron De Herbert delivered a formal
declaration of war.
After the journey to Cherson, the unremitting armaments which
immediately followed, and, to crown the whole, the treacherous attempt
upon Belgrade, the Imperial Manifesto, to the surprise of every body,
begins in the following manner.--
"All Europe have been witness
to the good faith with which the
Court of his Imperial Majesty has,
for many years, cultivated peace with
the Ottoman Empire; the sincere dispositions
it has manifested, on every
occasion, to preserve their good neighbourhood;
its disinterested and indefatigable
endeavours to avoid any
interruption of their mutual harmony,
and its readiness to lend every office of
mediation, to prevent any rupture between
the Porte and the neighbouring
Courts.
These pacific intentions, &c. &c."
Notwithstanding the serious events which this declaration must produce,
it was impossible for the Porte to refrain from laughing at the
bare-faced manner in which the Emperor attempted to impose on the
understandings of the rest of the world.
The declaration of war was read to the Imperial troops in Croatia on the
9th of February, and the same day Dresnick was attacked by them. The
garrison consisted of only seventy men; but this little corps made a
most gallant defence, and, small as their numbers were, they obliged the
enemy to set fire to the place before they could compel them to
surrender.
At the same moment a second detachment made an attempt on Sturlich,
another inconsiderable post. The Turkish Commandant reserved his fire
till the Austrians were near enough for every shot to take place, he
then gave them a volley, which destroyed a considerable number of the
enemy. The place, however, was afterwards taken; and, it is said, that
in revenge for the loss the Imperialists had sustained, they put all the
prisoners to the sword. I cannot believe this report, notwithstanding
the following account published by authority.
Vienna, Feb. 27th, 1788.
"During the attack of Dresnick, a
detachment was sent to summon the
Turks posted at Sturlich to surrender.
They invited the Commanding Officer
to advance within fifty paces on parole,
when they made so brisk a fire
on the detachment, as to kill fifty
men, which so enraged the Imperialists,
that they put the whole Turkish garrison
to death."
I do not think this account at all extenuates the severity, which it
admits to have been exercised; for I never knew that it was the custom
to accompany a flag of truce by an armed force; neither was it very
military in the German Officer to advance with his whole detachment,
even had he imagined the place was going to surrender, before he sent a
party to receive the post from the enemy.
The Imperial army now took post with their left flank on the river
Korana, near Dresnick, and their right towards the mountains of
Plessivicza, so as to have the road to Bihacz open before them.
In the mean while, a considerable corps under Colonel Kesnowick passed
the Unna, and attacked Turkish Dubitza, but were repulsed with a heavy
loss. The Austrians themselves acknowledge to have had 431 men killed
and wounded.
This _coup-de-main_ having failed, Prince Charles Lichtenstein was sent
to commence a regular siege. He took the command of the army early in
March, and on the 25th of April, a practicable breach being made, the
Imperialists advanced to the assault. They met a very unexpected
reception, being themselves most furiously charged by the Turks, which
threw them into such confusion and dismay, that they were soon repulsed,
and the garrison sallying out, without giving them time to form, drove
them headlong through their own trenches, burnt their works, and obliged
Prince Lichtenstein to cross the Unna that very night, and secure
himself on the opposite heights.
A besieged garrison routing a besieging army in so complete a style, is
such an extraordinary circumstance, that I was anxious to hear what turn
the Imperialists would give it. Their account is so curious a one, that
I shall subjoin it for you.
Vienna, May 3d, 1788.
"An attempt was made by the Austrians
on the 25th April to storm
Dubitza, but they were repulsed as
they were entering the breach they
had made. In return, the Turks,
having received a reinforcement, which
augmented the garrison to the number
of twelve thousand men, sallied out,
and attacked the Austrians in their
trenches. A general action then
commenced, which lasted three hours,
and though the Austrians were victorious,
Prince Lichtenstein thought
proper, all his works being destroyed,
to raise the siege, and on the night of
the 25th[4] he crossed the Unna, and
encamped on the heights between
Dubitza and Bacin, to cover the Austrian
territories from the incursions of
the enemy."
Footnote 4:
The day he attempted to storm the garrison.
---
Thus we see, that _though the Austrians were victorious_, their works
were destroyed, the siege was raised, and their army obliged to
retreat--to pass a river in the night--and to intrench themselves on the
opposite heights, to defend the country of the conquerors, from the
incursions of the vanquished. An odd kind of victory this.
In a subsequent account the Austrians mention Generals Klun and Schlaun
being wounded, the latter mortally; and they acknowledge to have had
five Lieutenant-Colonels, three Captains, four Lieutenants, and 508 rank
and file killed and wounded, besides horses. Some few privates they say
were missing, and two field pieces, which were advanced to the attack,
were taken by the enemy.
These are the latest accounts from the banks of the Unna.
I shall now proceed eastward, and you have only to follow me in this
direction along the frontiers, to have a full view of the Imperial
armies in the order you will find them on the map.
While Prince Lichtenstein was laying an unsuccessful siege to Dubitza,
which ended in a complete overthrow; in consequence of which we have
left him on the Austrian side of the Unna, threatened in his new
intrenchments, the Grand Imperial Army advanced opposite to Sabacz, on
the banks of the Save, about two days march west of Belgrade, where they
remained till the Emperor arrived, in order that his taking the field
might be marked by a successful enterprise. But, even according to the
Vienna account, Sabacz contained but 17 pieces of cannon, and the
garrison amounted to only 800 men.
It should seem, however, as if the Austrian Generals, in compliment to
their Sovereign, wished to conceal the weakness of the object of their
enterprise by the pomp of the attack. A regular siege was commenced,
trenches were opened, and the batteries being completed by the 23d of
April, began a heavy cannonade, which soon overpowered the fire of the
Turks. Nevertheless they kept possession of a few rotten walls, which
served by way of outwork, till a column, composed of the riflemen of the
regiment of Peterwaradin, of the free corps of Servia, and the regiment
Esterhazy, advanced to storm them. On this attack the Turks retreated
into the interior part of their works, and finding it in vain, in such a
place, to contend any longer against the grand army of the Emperor, and
a numerous train of artillery, they surrendered their post.
The Emperor gave the Turks great credit for their defence, and much to
his honour, treated the prisoners with attention, sending their wives
and children to their own country.
During the few hours the Austrian fire was kept up, their batteries were
well served, and the troops ordered to the assault, advanced with great
spirit. In short, this enterprise would have done honor to the Emperor's
arms, had it been worth the time, labour, and expence he bestowed to
achieve it.
His people boast, that among the trophies are twenty pair of colours,
but they do not inform us how the number of standards came to be near
three times that of the cannon, or why eight hundred men should have
forty colours. And the Turks say, that till the Grand Vizir can find him
better employment, they have no objection to his Imperial Majesty taking
every village on the Save on the same terms he paid for Sabacz.
The number of men the Austrians lost is not exactly known; the accounts
from Vienna only mention that Prince Poniatowski, and the Baron de
Refroy, a General of Artillery, are among the wounded.
It was supposed that as soon as the Emperor took the command of his
Grand Army, that he would have besieged Belgrade, but by the latest
accounts he was very quiet in the neighbourhood of Semlin.
The troops employed on the banks of the Danube, between Belgrade and
Orsowa, under Generals Wartensleben and Papilla, have had several
rencounters with the Turks, with various success; but the only event of
any consequence, in this part of the seat of war, was an attempt upon
Semendria, in which the Imperialists were repulsed with considerable
loss.
General Fabricius, who commands the Austrians in Transylvania, has done
nothing decisive, and several of his posts have been carried off by the
enemy.
The Prince De Saxe Cobourg, a General I much admire, entered Moldavia
early in March, with the most eastern of the Emperor's armies. This
province is governed by a Greek Prince, who is appointed by the Porte,
but who wishing to give himself up to the Germans, sent them a scheme to
get possession of his person, which was executed with such secrecy, that
in the night a detachment of the enemy carried him off from the middle
of his capital.
It should seem as if the Austrians thought the possession of his person
of the greatest consequence, since the moment they got him, they fled
with the utmost precipitation, without attempting to destroy the
magazines, or to do any other damage.
It does not, however, appear that the defection of this Chief was of any
great detriment to the Turkish cause, since the Austrian General only
passed through the north-west corner of the province, directing his
march by Suczawa and Siret, towards Choczim, the most northern fortress
in the possession of the Turks, and their chief frontier towards Poland,
distant from Constantinople about five hundred miles.
The grand exertions of the Russians are against Oczakow. The Captain
Bashaw sailed for the relief of that fortress on the 20th of May, but it
is feared that the enemy are already in possession of both sides of the
Liman, by which means their ships, covered by the batteries on shore,
may prevent the Turkish fleet from being of any use to the garrison.
The rendezvous of the Ottoman army was first at Adrianople, about 120
miles from the capital, and afterwards at Sophia, near two hundred miles
farther on the road to Belgrade. As fast as the troops were assembled,
large detachments were sent to all the garrisons on the frontiers, and
there are now 80,000 men still left at Sophia; with these, and some
other corps, the Grand Vizir will march against the Emperor; and should
his Imperial Majesty choose to enter the Ottoman territories, or attempt
to besiege Belgrade, a decisive battle must ensue.
It will be some weeks before you hear from me again from this port,
since I shall set out to-morrow on a tour to Macedonia; and before I
return, I propose visiting Lesbos, Tenedos, Lemnos, and several other of
the Greek islands.
LETTER XXVII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Smyrna, October 20th, 1788.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
In my last letter, we left the Austrian General, Prince of Saxe Cobourg,
directing his march towards Choczim. He sat down before that fortress
about the middle of March, and immediately began to invest it; but the
moment the Turks were informed that the enemy had entered Moldavia, they
detached a corps of 40,000 men, to drive them out of the province.
On the approach of these troops, the Prince of Saxe Cobourg was obliged
to raise the siege; and, on the 16th and 17th of May, he crossed the
Dniester, and retired, with his whole army, out of the Turkish
territories: but, being afterwards reinforced by a large corps of
Russians, he again, on the 2d of July, advanced towards Choczim, and, by
the 23d, the greatest part of the town was reduced to ashes. The Turks,
however, continued to defend themselves with great valour, till the end
of September, when they were obliged to surrender their post. The
garrison, consisting of about 3,000 men, marched out with the honours of
war.
The grand army of the Russians, under Prince Potemkin; and the fleet
under the Prince of Nassau, are laying close siege to Oczakow. I have
already mentioned the Captain Bashaw's departure for the protection of
this fortress. The Russian fleet met him at the northern part of the
Black Sea; but, finding the Turkish force much greater than they
expected, they retreated without giving battle.
The Captain Bashaw immediately threw out the signal for a general chace;
but, owing to the superior sailing of the Russian fleet, only four of
his line of battle ships got within gunshot of the enemy, and even these
could keep up with them but a very short time.
The Russians made the best of their way towards Kimbourn; and the
Captain Bashaw, the moment this partial action was over, executed two of
his Captains for not having made those exertions he expected, and sailed
in pursuit of the enemy, with these delinquents hanging at his yard-arm.
The Turkish ships appear to me just what we conceive of the Spanish
Armada; and we have seen how difficult it is for such a fleet to act to
advantage against an evading enemy, who, though much inferior in
numbers, is considerably farther advanced in nautical skill, and in the
science of artillery.
The Russians, with the utmost diligence, secured themselves within the
Liman, covered by the guns of Kimbourn and the opposite batteries. The
Captain Bashaw, finding their position too strong to admit of a direct
attack, embarked his troops in his gun-boats and small-craft, in hopes
that, by a _coup de main_, he should possess himself of the enemy's
batteries, and open a passage for his ships; but in this attempt he was
unsuccessful; and several of his boats, getting aground, were burnt by
the enemy.
I have not heard that he has since been able to throw any succours into
Oczakow; but the garrison, which is numerous and well supplied, defend
themselves with great resolution; and, in a grand attack which Prince
Potemkin made on the out-works, he was repulsed with very considerable
loss.
The Russian fleet, though it co-operates with the army, may be said to
be itself blocked up by the Captain Bashaw; and, as there is every
reason to suppose that the garrison of Oczakow will be able to sustain
itself till the severe weather sets in (which, in that climate,
surpasses what people in England can conceive), Prince Potemkin will be
obliged either to keep the field during the whole winter, to the extreme
distress, and probable mortality of his army, or to risk the destruction
of his fleet, which will be frozen up, and exposed to the attacks of the
Oczakowians.
The following is the Imperial account of the _coup de main_ attempted by
the Captain Bashaw:
"Vienna, July 9th.
"The Captain Bashaw, being at anchor
with his fleet near Oczakow, sent
all his light vessels, gun-boats, and
small craft, to the number of fifty-seven
sail, to attack the Russian vessels,
consisting of twenty-seven sail of the
same sort and size. The Prince of
Nassau placed his force in a position
that prevented an attack in line, and
exerted himself in such a manner, as
not only to repulse the Turks, but to
gain a victory over them. Two of
their vessels were blown up, one sunk,
and the rest were thrown into confusion,
and driven back, with great
loss, _till they got under the protection of
the Turkish ships of the line_[5]."
Footnote 5:
This sentence is printed in _Italics_, to mark, that, though published
by the Confederate and Ally of the Empress of Russia, it contradicts
the account given in the Petersburgh Gazette, in which the small craft
were magnified into ships of the line.
---
The accounts from the east of the Crimea are, that the Tartars and
Russians have had frequent actions, but with no very decisive success on
either side.
Let us now leave the Moscovites, and turn to the Imperialists on the
western side of the theatre of war.
Soon after the defeat of Prince Lichtenstein by the garrison of Dubitza,
the Turks crossed the Unna, in pursuit of him, and, for some time,
pressed him in his intrenchments; but, the moment the news of his
disaster reached the Emperor, four squadrons of dragoons, and seven
battalions of infantry, were ordered to his assistance.
To lead these troops, and to reanimate his army, the Emperor called
forth the great Laudohn--a gallant veteran, to whom every Soldier must
look up with veneration and respect. He was now in an advanced age, and
had retired from the field of arms, to end his days under the shade of
his laurels. The Genius of Austria seemed to call upon him for relief.
Roused by her cries, and by the voice of the Emperor and the People, the
veteran hero regained the powers of youth, and armed once more to lead
the Imperial banners to victory.
When so great a character appears upon the stage, we can scarcely
refrain from wishing him success, whatever may be the merits of his
cause. An ambitious tyrant may plunge his nation into an unjust war, and
his people may be prejudiced enough to support him in it; but the
Soldier is neither accountable for the crimes of the one, nor for the
follies of the other. His duty as a loyal subject, and his virtue as a
patriotic citizen, oblige him to exert himself to the utmost, whenever
his services are called upon; and, without entering into the politics by
which his country is actuated, he feels himself engaged to promote, to
the full extent of his power, the success of her arms, in whatever wars
she is unhappily embarked.--Such a character is Marshal Laudohn: but of
his Court I by no means entertain such favorable sentiments.
As an Englishman, policy obliges me to wish success to the Turks; for I
have already proved to you, that our lucrative trade to the Levant can
never be carried on so much to our advantage as whilst Turkey remains in
the hands of its present possessors; and, as a Philanthrope, I feel the
utmost detestation of the ambitious combination entered into by the
Emperor and the Empress, to extirpate the Turks, merely because Nature
has been bountiful to their soil, and because their country promised an
easy conquest.
These Powers could scarcely imagine that Europe would look on with
indifference; but they trusted that they had a sufficient party to
prevent any open declaration in favor of the injured Turks. These
expectations, however, the disturbances in Brabant, and the total
suspension of the power of France, must have frustrated. Blush, then, O
Prussia! if you neglect this favorable opportunity of shewing your
justice and magnanimity.--But, still more feelingly shall I say, blush,
O England! if you do not, at least, insist on an honourable peace for
the Turks. Let every thing the Imperial Courts may take from them, be
restored; but, above all things, prevent the Russians obtaining any
solid establishment on the Black Sea, or infringing the Grand Signior's
right to prevent ships of force, or warlike stores, passing the
Bosphorus and Dardanelles. Let the Porte, at least, sit down on the same
conditions she was forced to accept by the Treaty of Cainardgie--a
treaty which created her present distress--a treaty which we ourselves,
in an hour of mistaken policy, compelled her to submit to, and which
now, that we know our true interests, we are bound to redress.
What has become of that spirit of virtue and generosity, which, not
fifty years ago, led us to enter into an expensive war, in favor of
Maria Theresa, merely because she was then an unfortunate Princess,
oppressed by an ambitious neighbour, whose usurpations, like those of
Russia, threatened in time to affect ourselves.
It is, no doubt, a considerable abatement of the honest joy an
Englishman feels in contemplating this act of magnanimity in his
ancestors, to find, that ingratitude has been the only return which has
been made to us. In cherishing Austria and Russia, we may really be said
to have nurtured the viper in our bosom, which, in the moment of our
distress, attempted a mortal wound, by forming the _Armed Neutrality_,
or, in plain language, a _combination to supply our enemies with
implements for our destruction._
If justice to the Turks, whom we have reduced to so critical a
situation; if a sense of our national dignity; if our dearest interest,
and commercial concerns, will not induce us to speak boldly in a moment
like this, self-preservation, at least, should affect us. Let us
recollect, that Russia is an evil-disposed, aspiring child; that we now
have it in our power to curb her proud spirit; but that, if we neglect
this opportunity, and allow her to increase in pride and in strength, in
a few years, perhaps, she may trample on our breast.
_Pax queritur in Bello_ is a favorite motto, but _Wars guarded against
in peace_, is, in my opinion, a much better one; and this is the motto
England ought to choose. There is nothing, in the present state of
Europe, that Great Britain can in justice require, but what she must
immediately gain. Let her, then, dictate terms to Russia, and check her
ambitious views. If she refuses to submit, let threats and preparations
to enforce them, be added; and shew me the Power who, at this moment,
will dare to oppose the serious threats of England? Vengeance would soon
overwhelm her.
The adverse views of France respecting the Turks, have become every day
more notorious[6]. Monsieur _Le Roy_, a naval Engineer, who was employed
in the Arsenal at Constantinople, has been recalled, and was lately here
on his return to France. So far, indeed, have that nation carried their
unfriendly measures, that even two French Officers of Artillery, and a
few Gunners, who were in the service of the Porte at Oczakow, have been
withdrawn by the Ambassador.
Footnote 6:
The intrigues of the French Court have been frustrated by the
Revolution in their own country.
---
I think I have said enough to convince you, that, both through interest
and through principle, I sincerely hope that the oppressive views of the
two Imperial Courts may be frustrated; and yet there is something so
fascinating in the appearance of a Hero, that, I confess to you, when
the accounts of his success arrived, I did not feel sorry that the walls
of Dubitza had not been able to tarnish the laurels of old Laudohn.
This gallant veteran superseded Prince Lichtenstein, and took the
command of the army in Croatia, in the month of August. He immediately
advanced to Dubitza, which he took on the 26th of the same month: but he
had neither to contend with the garrison that repulsed Colonel
Kesnowick, nor with the army that defeated Prince Lichtenstein; for the
Grand Vizier, having resolved to invade Hungary, and to carry the war
into the enemy's country, had drawn together all the troops he could
collect, in order pass the Danube in as great force as possible; and,
not thinking that the Austrians would so soon return to a place which
had already, in this campaign, twice proved fatal to their arms, he
reduced the garrison of Dubitza to so small a number, that, according to
the Imperial account, at the time it surrendered, it did not amount to
400 men.
Whether it was, that the Emperor did not find himself sufficiently
provided to carry the war with vigour into the Turkish territories, or
that the sickness which prevailed among his troops frustrated his
intended operations, I cannot pretend to say; but, to the surprise of
every body, the grand Imperial army, commanded by the Sovereign in
person, remained inactive in the neighbourhood of Semlin, the whole of
the months of May, June and July, and a considerable part of August;
during the greater part of which time, the Grand Vizir was not within an
hundred miles of the frontiers.
This Chief was extraordinarily late in taking the held. It was not till
the end of July, that he pitched his camp at Nissa; but from this place,
he pursued with vigour his grand object, to carry the war into the
enemy's country.
For this purpose, he turned out of the direct road to Belgrade, opposite
to which, in the vicinity of Semlin, the Imperialists were encamped,
and, directing his march immediately towards Hungary, crossed the
Danube, and, with his whole force, invaded that kingdom.
The Austrian General, Wartensleben, who had been ordered to watch the
motions of the enemy about Orsowa, occupied a strong post in the
vicinity of Meadia, from which an advanced corps of the Grand Vizir's
army, drove him on the 28th of August.
According to the Turkish plan I saw of this action, the defile lies
between two high mountains; and in the bottom, a little within the pass,
lies the town. The Austrians were encamped on the hill on the right,
which was looked upon as unassailable on the side towards the Turks. But
these enthusiastic people stormed these stupendous heights with the most
romantic bravery, and carried them, sword in hand.
It was not valour only, which distinguished the Turks on this occasion;
for the Seraskier who commanded, sent a considerable detachment previous
to the attack, to make a circuit, and get to the interior side of the
hill on the left, that, if his efforts were crowned with success, this
corps might enable him to reap the fruit of his labours, by appearing on
the flank of the enemy, and cutting off their retreat from the town. In
this they completely succeeded. Meadia fell into their hands; and
General Wartensleben was obliged to retreat towards Slatina, leaving all
his magazines in the hands of the enemy.
As soon as the Emperor was informed of the invasion of Hungary, he put
his grand army in motion; and, on the 30th of August, he had reached
Caransebes, within two days march of General Wartensleben's corps; but
the news of this General's defeat, checked his Majesty's progress. On
the 3d of September, however, he again resumed his march, and, advancing
towards Slatina, fixed his camp at Illova.
In the mean while, the Seraskier and his detachment, after securing the
magazines, remained in the neighbourhood of Meadia some days, waiting
the arrival of the Grand Vizir, who immediately advanced, to offer
battle to the grand Imperial army, and, on the 10th of September,
encamped in sight of the enemy. The Emperor, however, declined the
attack. The Grand Vizir, therefore, began a war of posts, by which, in a
few days, he reduced the enemy to the alternative of either quitting
their position, or of seeing their retreat cut off, should their
intrenchments be stormed.
Among other movements, a considerable corps were ordered, on the 14th,
to turn the right wing of the Austrians. The Turks made this attack with
such impetuosity, that they completely routed all this part of the
enemy's line, and the Spahis cut to pieces the whole regiment of Wurmser
Hussars.
The Grand Vizir was now enabled to cannonade the Emperor's camp; and, on
the 21st, having brought all his schemes to bear, and taken every means
to frustrate the enemy's retreat, should victory crown the Ottoman arms,
he advanced to attack the grand Imperial army. The Emperor, however, did
not think fit to risk the event, but broke up his camp, and retreated
with the greatest precipitation.
The Turks had now all the honour and advantages of a victory, without
the trouble of fighting for one. The Emperor fled before them; and his
rear, with a great part of his baggage and artillery, fell a prey to the
enemy. Some thousands of his troops were killed, or taken, and his whole
army thrown into such confusion, that, in the night, two of his columns,
meeting unexpectedly, fired on each other.
It is said that the Emperor once attempted to rally his troops, but
that, on this occasion, he himself was very near being taken prisoner.
This glorious success was announced by the guns of the Seraglio, on the
3d of October. A general Thanksgiving was immediately performed, and
orders issued for proclaiming the Grand Signior _gazi_, or victorious.
LETTER XXVIII.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Constantinople, Jan. 1st, 1789.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
An unexpected opportunity having offered to carry us to Constantinople,
we set sail for the Dardanelles on the 25th Oct. having previously sent
to desire an express might meet us there, with the Grand Signior's
permission to pass the forts, and go up to his capital. A favor, which,
through the interest of Sir Robert Ainslie, our Ambassador, the Porte
very readily granted.
This permission, however, is a compliment seldom or ever paid to a man
of war of any nation, except when she has an Ambassador on board; and it
was the more flattering to us, because L'Iris, a French frigate,
commanded by the Viscount D'Orleans, which was lying close to us,
applied for it in vain at the moment we gained it. To add to the
compliment, the Governor of the forts which command the pass, promised
to salute us.
Nothing could be more delightful than our voyage through these straits.
The country on each side is beautifully picturesque, and the situation
in itself highly interesting. The Dardanelles, you recollect, are the
ancient Hellespont, and the spots on which the forts stand, are famous
for the loves of Hero and Leander. Behind us were the Tomb of Achilles,
the Semois and Scamander, the celebrated rivers of Troy, and every point
brought an interesting character to our view.
The day was most heavenly; and our ship, elegantly painted, and all her
appointments in the highest order, formed in herself a most beautiful
object. Every sail was set, and the breeze had just strength enough to
enable her to overcome the force of the current. This occasional
slowness of her motion, added to the majesty of her appearance, and one
might almost have fancied that she herself was conscious of the
compliments she was receiving from the mouths of the cannon of Europe
and Asia.
The Turks at the Dardanelles always salute with ball, and the nearer
they go to the vessel, the greater the compliment. Each fort fired
seventeen guns; their cannon are monstrous, and the shot flying _en
ricochet_ along the smooth surface of the water across our bows, from
Europe and Asia alternately, and throwing up the sand on the opposite
shores, while shouts of applause from the admiring multitude, hailed us
on our returning their salute, crowned this charming morning.
It was near dusk when we got to Galipoli, where the straits open into
the sea of Marmora, and on the 15th of November we arrived here.
The approach to Constantinople by sea is thought superior to that of
Naples, or Messina, and of course the finest in the world; we missed
seeing it, by entering at night--a loss we hope to compensate on our
departure.
Travellers in general express great disappointment when they get into
the town; and in comparison of European capitals, the streets are
certainly miserable, and the buildings in general but paltry; but as
they are much superior to any I have seen in the Turkish dominions, I
confess that they have exceeded my expectations.
Some of the Mosques are tolerable edifices, however different from our
taste in the ornamental part of architecture. To these Christians are
prohibited access; but the Turks, like other people, are not always
proof against bribery. I have been shewn several, and among the rest,
the celebrated one of St. Sophia, supposed to have been built by
Constantine the Great. But in which I was very much disappointed. The
dome only is tolerable. It is supported by two tier of columns of verde
antique. From this style of architecture, and the value of the marble,
one would expect a rich and elegant appearance, but the magnificent
effect of the double tier of columns, is lost by the entablature being
supported by arches, which reduces the columns to mere piers; and thus,
in comparison of other works of the ancients, the design becomes poor
and inelegant. The capitals are by no means chaste, and the architecture
throughout is very indifferently executed.
The Navy Hospital, though small, would do credit to any nation; and some
of the Grand Signior's summer palaces, constructed in the Chinese style,
display an elegant neatness which could not be surpassed, even by that
ingenious people. But the Seraglio, as far as I was admitted, has
nothing to boast of. I have been through most parts of the first court
on the inside, which contain the Mint, and some other public offices,
and have once or twice been just within the gate of the Seraglio
gardens; but to the inner court no common bribe will gain a Christian
admittance, except when an Ambassador has an audience of the Sultan, and
this happens but once during his residence; for Foreign Ministers
transact no business with the Grand Signior in person, and never visit
him but on their arrival, to deliver their credentials.
We are lucky enough to be here at such a moment, for the new Venetian
Ambassador is to have his audience of introduction in a few days, and
has promised to take me in his suite. On this occasion, I shall have the
honor of dining with the Reis Effendi, and the other Grand Officers of
State, in the interior part of the Seraglio.
I have already seen the Grand Signior several times, for he goes
publicly to Mosque every Friday; and I attended the Prussian Envoy when
he had his audience of the Caimacan, or acting Grand Vizir, from whom I
had the honor of receiving a muslin handkerchief. It is not very fine,
being only intended as a mark of amity, for the Turks strictly adhere to
the Oriental custom of giving presents, and their government seems to
retain much of its primitive institution. Civil and religious law, as in
the days of the Patriarchs, form but one code. The Coran is the book,
and the Mufti the head of both. Like the practice of earlier ages, also,
he who rules the state in time of peace, leads her armies in time of
war. Thus the Grand Vizir is at once Prime Minister, as well as
Captain-General, and Commander in Chief of the forces. The police of the
town resembles the discipline of a camp; the people retire at dusk,
patroles are established, and in case of fire, or any other alarm, the
Grand Signior himself, and all the Great Officers are immediately
abroad. Were the Sovereign to neglect appearing on occasions of this
kind, it would be thought as great a reflection on him, as if, as a
General, he remained in his tent when his camp was attacked.
Immense as the Ottoman Empire is, the whole number of those troops that,
from being constantly embodied, can be called regulars, amount to but
about twenty-six thousand foot, and a few thousand horse. Among the
former are a corps of Gardeners, (Bostangi) and another of Porters
(Capigi) and these are part of the Sultan's body guards. The head
gardener (Bostangi Bashaw) is, by virtue of his employment, Governor of
all the forts on the Bosphorus, commonly called the Canal of the Black
Sea, and the first of the Black Eunuchs, is also by his Office, Governor
and Commander in Chief of the Seraglio, or Grand Palace and Citadel of
Constantinople.
The canal, including its windings, is about twenty miles in length, and
in most parts not more than a mile wide, which defends the capital
against an attack by shipping from the Black Sea, whilst the
Dardanelles, although an hundred miles distant, protect it against men
of war from the Mediterranean. The last of these straits, at the points
on which the old castles stand, are only about 1300 yards wide; and
although they expand immediately, yet for the course of forty miles a
ship can seldom be out of gunshot from one or other side.
A strong north wind blows all summer, which renders it impossible for
vessels to force their way up at that season, and the current at all
times sets so strong, that even with a fair wind, they must be exposed
for several hours to a very hot fire. The castles are close to the
water's edge; they have each two tier of guns, many of the lower carry
balls of eighteen inches diameter, and when an enemy is in force in the
Mediterranean, the whole extent of the Dardanelles is lined with
batteries.
The town properly called Constantinople, is a kind of Peninsula, in the
form of a triangle, one side of which is washed by the sea of Marmora,
at the north end of which it stands; the second by the harbour, on which
the canal opens; this side fronts the north, and, except the Seraglio,
which forms the east salient angle, is entirely open. There is nothing
towards the sea of Marmora, except a dead wall, the Turks trusting to
the defences I have already mentioned, against an attack by sea. Neither
do they seem more apprehensive on the third, or land side, for the
ancient triple wall, which, by running across from the bottom of the
harbour to the sea of Marmora, cuts the town from the country, is
falling to decay. I found it to be near five miles in length, and the
only part of it kept in repair, is the Castle of the Seven Towers, now
converted into a state prison. English artillery would lay both it and
the Seraglio in ashes in half an hour.
Besides the triangle I have just described, the populous towns of Pera,
Galata, and Tophana, which run into each other on the opposite side of
the harbour, are also included in what is commonly called
Constantinople. Galata contains the dockyard and naval arsenal; Tophana
the ordnance and foundry, and Pera is the residence of the Foreign
Ministers. No part of these three towns have even a mud wall to defend
them.
The Janizaries form the chief part of the standing army. They are still
highly respected both by the court and the people, but have lost so much
of their former consequence, that at the commencement of the present
war, the Grand Vizir broke a whole chamber, or regiment of them, for
showing a spirit of discontent. A severity, which though just, none of
his predecessors, nor even the Sultans themselves dared ever attempt.
Abdoul Hamet, the Grand Signior, is upwards of sixty years old; but he
possesses an engaging, benevolent countenance; and I like him the more
from his attention to his wives; for although he may have as many of the
most beautiful women as he pleases, yet he has attached himself to one.
His happy favorite is now pregnant for the fourth time, and such is the
attention paid her, that the vessels in the harbour are obliged to
suspend the regular method of carrying on duty, and are not permitted to
fire a musket, nor to strike the bell, nor even to give the word of
command in a loud voice. By which you will perceive, that the invisible
chains of the fair are as powerful in Turkey as in our blessed island;
and that the rude Turk, and the generous Englishman, though different in
manners, are alike sensible of the respect due to gentleness and beauty.
LETTER XXIX.
TO CAPTAIN SMITH.
Constantinople, Jan. 24th, 1789.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The Porte having given a decisive answer, relative to the frigates which
were brought to Constantinople to be sold, we shall sail for Gibraltar
immediately. We have been detained here much longer than we expected,
but the hospitality and munificence of Sir Robert Ainslie, have amply
compensated this delay; and it is with the greatest regret, that I see
myself on the eve of leaving his society, and of quitting a place where
the hearts of every one seem to wish to detain us.
Nothing could exceed the animation of the Turks at the moment of our
arrival at this capital. The King of Sweden had relieved the Porte from
a great part of the force of the Russians, and the accounts of the
glorious victories of Meadia and Caransebes, obtained over the Emperor,
were confirmed and increased by the hundreds of prisoners who were daily
brought in.
So complete a panic pervaded the Imperial troops, that on an alarm of
the enemy's approach, the heavy baggage, which had been sent on towards
Temeswar, was immediately abandoned, and a great part of it pillaged,
and carried off by a corps of Partisans.
But at this moment, when victory, with extended wings, was following the
Ottoman arms, and when each day brought them fresh advantages, the Grand
Vizir suddenly halted, and then turned to the left. It was still hoped,
however, that his operations would continue offensive; but probably
reflecting on the danger of not finding subsistance for so immense an
army, during the approaching winter, should he pursue the Emperor into
the heart of his country, and that the Imperial armies from Transylvania
and Moldavia might come down and cut him off from the Danube, he had
determined not to lose sight of the banks of that river; and that,
instead of pursuing the Emperor at random, wherever he chose to lead
him, he had resolved to secure the conquests he had made, which would
enable him to winter with safety in the enemy's country.
This opinion was, for some time, strengthened by his subsequent
movements; he left a strong garrison in Meadia, and his march was
directed through the Bannat of Temeswar, and pointed immediately at
Semlin, which, had he taken, would have secured the left flank of the
chain of posts, by which it was supposed he would have inclosed the
Bannat. All his motions most strongly indicated an attempt upon that
fortress, and, as there was no doubt of his succeeding, the inhabitants
fled with all their effects. A corps of 3000 men, who were encamped
under its walls, to watch the motions of the garrison of Belgrade,
retired on his approach. He had been unopposed for six weeks, and his
conduct at Illova had given the Emperor so formidable an impression of
his vigour and abilities, that his Majesty had gone in person as far as
Arad, to put that place in a state of defence.
But now that the Grand Vizir was in sight of Semlin, instead of taking
this town, and afterwards wintering in the Bannat, or in the district
the Imperialists occupied in the spring, he blasted the hopes of his
friends, by withdrawing his whole force out of the Austrian
territories[7].
I am exceedingly sorry that I am not sufficiently informed to produce
those satisfactory reasons which so sublime a genius, and so brave a
man, must doubtless possess for this retrograde motion in the hour of
victory. Neither can I take upon me to advance, that the success of
Marshal Laudohn formed any part of them.
This great General having taken Dubitza on the 26th of August, marched
for Novi on the 29th. The Bashaw of Travenick retarded for some time his
operations against that fortress, but having too courageously attempted
to storm the Austrian trenches, he was repulsed with a heavy loss. The
Marshal now pursued the siege with vigour, and on the 21st of September,
a practicable breach being made, he advanced to the assault, but was now
in his turn repulsed, and the Vienna Gazette acknowledges, that on this
occasion he lost 284 men. On the 3d of October he renewed the attack,
and the garrison being by this time reduced to 600 men, were made
prisoners.
Footnote 7:
For which he was afterwards beheaded; but as both his resolution and
abilities were unquestionably great, his fate was deservedly lamented
by all intelligent people.
---
From Novi Marshal Laudohn advanced to Gradiska; but the overflowing of
the Save obliged him to suspend his operations, and to retire into
winter quarters.
The campaign is now closed, except in the environs of Oczakow, where the
Russian fleet being froze in, the army is obliged to remain for their
defence, notwithstanding that immense numbers of their men are every day
carried off by the severity of the weather, and the scarcity and badness
of provisions.
In the mean while the Captain Bashaw has brought his fleet here to
refit, and will resume the blockade of the Russians as soon as the ice
breaks. The success of this Admiral has not been so great as his force,
abilities, and resolution gave the Porte reason to expect; but they are
satisfied, that by engaging almost the whole attention of the Russians,
he paved the way for the success of the Grand Vizir, whose victories
have more than compensated in the eyes of the Turks, for the
disappointment of the Captain Bashaw.
The squadron from the southward have brought in three Russian
Privateers, and since there is reason to hope that Oczakow[8] will hold
out, this campaign has, upon the whole, exceeded the most sanguine
expectations of the Turks. I am astonished that they have made it out so
well, for their army is really little better than an animated mob under
the command of a popular leader. I have searched in vain for field-days
or reviews, even among the standing forces. The only thing like military
exercise, that I could ever discover, was now and then two or three men
firing at a mark, or practising themselves in throwing the lance on
horseback.
At present the grand army is elated with victory, and formidable by the
spirit infused by success; but as one or two defeats will destroy that
religious confidence and enthusiastic fury, which, for a time, supply
the want of discipline and skill, the third campaign, I am afraid, will
shake this very capital, unless England and Prussia forbid such a
catastrophe, and by resolute measures, confirm the expectations of the
Porte, and of all those who wish well to the honor and interest of the
Triple Alliance.
Footnote 8:
A magazine having blown up, and made a practicable breach, the
Russians immediately advanced to the assault, and, after sacrificing
four thousand men, carried the town.
---
ADVERTISEMENT.
It was the Author's original intention to publish his work in two
volumes, one of which was to contain the whole of his first voyage to
the Levant, with his return to Italy, describing all the places he
visited previous to his departure from Palermo, whence he set out on his
second voyage to Turkey.
This voyage would have formed the second volume, but finding the time
allowed him on leave of absence insufficient to complete his design, he
has been obliged, for the present, to withhold the latter part of it;
and therefore, to make the first in some degree a complete work in
itself, he has curtailed his journal, and added a brief account of
Constantinople, and of the leading events in the present war between the
Porte and the two Imperial Courts. Convinced that these would never be
so interesting as at the present moment, he could not think of
withholding them from the public till he should have leisure to publish
his second volume. And indeed, even in the time since his letters on
these important transactions were written, the scene, as he foresaw, is
entirely changed, and the Russian and Austrian armies are now advancing
towards Constantinople with such success, that the safety of that
capital seems no longer to depend upon the Turks, but on those Powers,
without whose countenance, it is to be supposed, the Porte would never
have engaged against such superior enemies.
The Author during his first voyage, treated but slightly on the manners
and government of the Turks. The customs of those people being totally
different from any other nation he had visited, his respect for the
public would not permit him to offer a particular description on so
slight an acquaintance, especially as he was to return to Turkey
immediately, and to pass near a twelvemonth in that country.
He therefore desires to have himself considered as being now on the
point of leaving Palermo, on his return to the Archipelago; and if the
indulgence of the Public should give him sufficient encouragement to
appear before them once more, he will endeavour to gratify their
curiosity, by publishing the second part of his Tour as soon as his
military duty will permit him.
If the Author has not been so copious as he might on Italy and Sicily,
it is out of deference to Mr. Moore and Mr. Brydone, whose elegant works
have been so universally read and admired, that but little can now be
said on the same subject.
The very liberal and distinguished patronage with which the Author has
been honored, merits his warmest acknowledgment; and he has only to add,
that it now rests with the public, either to encourage him to appear
before them again, or by their silence, to command his.
FINIS.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
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I.
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K.
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Right Hon. Lord George Lennox, 3 _L._
Right Hon. Lady Louisa Lennox, 3 _L._
Right Hon. Lady Charlotte Lenox, _L._
Colonel Lenox, _L._
Hon. General Leslie, _L._
Hon. David Leslie
Hon. Robert Lindsey
Hon. Mrs. Lindsey
Commodore Lutwidge
Mr. Richard Lee, Smyrna, 10 Copies
Mr. Edward Lee, ditto, 10 Copies
Capt. Lane, 32d Reg.
Capt. Lawson, Royal Artillery
Lieut. Lane, King's Dragoon Guards
Lieut. Lister, ditto
Lieut. Lynn, Marines
Lieut. Lumsden, 55th Reg.
Lieut. Lyne, 19th Reg.
Mr. Lavie, Royal Navy
Ensign Lewin, 50th Reg.
Ensign Lowe, ditto
Ensign Lucas, 68th Reg.
Cornet Lyons, 11th Dragoons
Cornet Lambe, King's Light Dragoons
Cornet Le Marchant, Inniskilling Dragoons
Ensign Lloyd, 11th Reg.
Dr. Lend, 19th Reg.
Mr. Lee, 17th Reg.
Mr. H. Lynne, Royal Navy
Mr. Lamborn, ditto, 4 Copies
Mr. Lawrence, ditto, 2 Copies
Mr. Lee, Lymston, _L._
Rev. Mr. Lee
Mrs. Lindegrene, Portsmouth
Mr. Lovelace, Malaga, 2 Copies
Mr. Lovejoy, ditto
Mr. Lagassicke, Devon
Mr. Lewis
Mr. Lewis, A. B. Colchester
Mr. Lys, Gosport
M.
Duke of Marlborough, _L._
Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, _L._
Viscount Mountstuart, _L._
Sir William Maxwell, Bart.
Sir John Macpherson, Bart.
Sir John Maxwell, Bart.
Hon. George H. Monson, _L._
Hon. Miss Mackay
Hon. Miss Georgina Mackay
Mrs. Meynell, _L._
Mrs. Milbanke, _L._
General Martin
Colonel Maister, M. P. _L._
Mr. Morier, Smyrna, 10 Copies
Mr. Maltass, Smyrna, 5 Copies
Colonel Maxwell, 30th Reg.
Colonel Morris, Invalids
Colonel Mercer, Royal Engineers, _L._
Capt. Mann, Royal Navy
Capt. G. Murray, ditto
Major Mawby, 18th Reg.
Capt. Manley, Royal Artillery
Capt. Montagu, Queen's Reg.
Capt. Moncrief, 11th Reg.
Capt. Montresor, 18th Reg.
Capt. Macartney, 32d Reg.
Capt. M^cLeod, 59th Reg.
Capt. M^cLean, 68th Reg.
Capt. Mitchell, 11th Dragoons
Capt. Maitland, 1st Reg. of Guards
Capt. Mackewan, 38th Reg.
Capt. Martin, 12th Reg.
Capt. Macleod, Royal Artillery, _L._
Capt. Marriott, Essex Militia
Capt. Martin, 60th Reg.
Capt. Marshall, 30th Reg.
Capt. M^cCullock, ditto
Captain M^cMurdo, 3d Reg.
Capt. Money, Royal N. Lincoln Militia
Lieut. Molineux, 25th Reg. _L._
Lieut. Mackenzie, Royal Reg.
Lieut. Maitland, Queen's Reg.
Lieut. Maddison, 32d Reg.
Lieut. Maclean, 50th Reg.
Lieut. Moneypenny, 68th Reg.
Lieut. Mytton, 25th Reg.
Lieut. Marriott, Essex Militia
Lieut. Maxwell, 48th Reg.
Lieut. Montgomery, 3d Reg.
Ensign Macdonald, Royal Reg.
Ensign M^cKellar, ditto
Ensign Maxwell, 18th Reg.
Cornet Mackenzie, 11th Dragoons
Cornet Mathew, Royal Dragoons
Ensign Marton, 22d Reg.
Ensign Montgomery, 30th Reg.
Ensign Macdonald, 19th Reg.
Ensign M^cDonell, 3d Reg.
Mr. M^cDonald, 11th Reg.
Mrs. Maitland, Edinburgh
Mrs. Martin, Portsmouth
Mrs. Munn, Greenwich, _L._
Mrs. Mitchell, Jersey
Miss M^cAdam, of Graigingillan
Mr. Maule, Royal Navy
Mr. Mitchell, ditto
Dr. M^cDonald, M. D. Antigua
Rev. Mr. Macklin, Essex
Mr. Moir, Writer to the Signet
Mr. Morrison, Gibraltar, 2 Copies
Mr. Meyrick, Queen's Reg.
Mr. Macdonald, Edinburgh
Mr. Moneypenny, ditto
Mr. Manning
Mr. G. H. Morisner
Mr. Murphy, Malaga
Mr. J. S. Macnamara, ditto
Mr. T. Macnamara, ditto
Mr. Mackintosh, Bathford, _L._
Mr. Mackintosh, John-street, _L._
Mr. Marchetti, Naples
Mr. M^cKinnon, ditto
Mr. Mackay, _L._
Mr. M^cAdam, of Dunaskire
Mr. Martin, Antigua
Mr. Massie, St. John's College
N.
Duke of Northumberland, _L._
Capt. Newland, Chichester
Capt. Nichols
Lieut. Need, King's Dragoon Guards
Mrs. Newte, Exmouth, _L._
Rev. Mr. Nott, L.
Mr. Newman, Malaga
Mr. R. Newland, Chichester
Mr. J. Newland, ditto
Mr. Neven, Gibraltar
Mr. Noble, Naples
O.
Earl of Orford, 2 _L._
General O'Hara, 4 Copies
Sir William Oglander, Bart. _L._
Rev. Dr. Oglander, _L._
Rev. Mr. Oglander, _L._
Mr. Oglander, _L._
Capt. O'Hara, Royal Navy
Capt. O'Meara, 68th Reg.
Capt. Oakes, 33d Reg.
Capt. Otway, 48th Reg.
Lieut. Ogilvie, 50th Reg.
Ensign Overend, ditto
Mr. Osborne, Royal Navy
Mr. Ormston, Kelso
P.
Right Hon. Lord Paget, _L._
Right Hon. Lady Caroline Peachey, _L._
Right Hon. William Pitt, _L._
Right Hon. Thomas Pelham, _L._
Hon. William Paget, 2 Copies
General Phillipson, _L._
General Picton, _L._
Admiral Peyton
Commissioner Proby, _L._
Colonel Phipps, Royal Engineers, 6 Copies
Mr. Phipps, Somerset-street, _L._
Colonel Pringle, Royal Engineers
Capt. Peyton, Royal Navy, 2 Copies
Major Polson, _L._
Mr. Polson, _L._
Major Pitcairn, 17th Reg.
Capt. Prevost, 25th Reg. 4 Copies
Capt. Peter, 23d Reg.
Lieut. Probyn, 38th Reg. _L._
Lieut. Phipps, Royal Engineers, _L._
Lieut. Picton, 12th Reg.
Lieut. Pell, 11th Reg. _L._
Lieut. Powell, 18th Reg.
Lieut. Prevost, 60th Reg.
Lieut. Petrie, 3d Reg.
Lieut. Prevost, ditto
Ensign Philpot, Queen's Reg.
Ensign Peep
Rev. Dr. Pennington, D.D.
Mrs. Pennington
Rev. Mr. Phillips, Devonshire
Mr. Peachey, Binderton
Mrs. Peachey
Miss Pulteney
Miss Polluck, Lincoln
Mrs. E. Pownoll, Drayton, _L._
Mrs. Peckham, Chichester
Mr. Partridge, Royal Navy
Mr. Phipps, ditto
Mr. Peters, ditto
Mr. Palmer, ditto
Mr. Pulk, _L._
Mr. Perring, _L._
Mr. Proby, Inner Temple
Mr. Piele, Harcourt Buildings
Mr. Plowes, Malaga, 2 Copies
Mr. M. Power, ditto
Mr. J. Power, ditto
Mr. Plunket, ditto
Q.
Lieut. Quin, 35th Reg.
Mr. T. Quilty, Malaga
Mr. J. Quilty, ditto
R.
Duke of Richmond, 2 _L._
Duchess of Richmond, _L._ 5 Copies
Right Hon. Lady Reay
Sir Thomas Rumbold, Bart. 2 _L._
Lady Rumbold, _L._
Lady Rivers
Hon. Philip Roper, _L._
Mrs. Rigby, Roefield, 2 _L._
Colonel F. Hale Rigby, Essex Militia
Capt. Riddell, 32d Reg. 4 Copies
Capt. Raitt, Queen's Reg.
Capt. Richardson, 18th Reg.
Capt. Rose, 50th Reg.
Capt. James Robb, _L._
Lieut. Rudsdell, 11th Reg.
Lieut. Ramsay, Queen's Reg.
Lieut. Rainy, 18th Reg.
Lieut. Ross, 25th Reg.
Lieut. Rowley, 68th Reg.
Lieut. Reeves, Royal Reg. _L._
Lieut. Rowley, Royal Engineers
Ensign Robertson, Royal Reg.
Ensign Raleigh, Queen's Reg.
Ensign Raleigh, 11th Reg.
Ensign Robertson, 32d Reg.
Ensign Richardson, 35th Reg.
Ensign Rogers, 3d Reg.
Mr. Russell, 30th Reg.
Mr. Robinson, Adjutant of Gibraltar
Mr. Rhodes, King's Dragoon Guards
Rev. Mr. Rouse, _L._
Mr. Raleigh, Gibraltar
Mr. Ross, _L._
Mr. Ramus, _L._
Mr. Ross, Gibraltar
Mr. A. Ross, Ordnance, Gibraltar
Mr. A. Ross, Gibraltar
Mrs. Rebow, Colchester
Mrs. Ruth, ditto
Mr. Round, ditto
Mr. Reynolds, Essex
Mr. Round, ditto
Mr. Rush, Colchester
Mr. Rosden
Mr. W. Raper, Chichester
S.
Countess of Sutherland, _L._
Right Hon. Lady Saltoun, 2 Copies
Right Hon. Lord Southampton, _L._
Right Hon. Lady Madelina Sinclair, _L._
Sir Robert Sinclair, Bart. _L._
Lady Sinclair
Miss Sinclair, _L._
Dr. Sinclair, M. D.
Mr. Sinclair
Hon. Capt. Stopford, Royal Navy
Hon. G. A. Chetwynd Stapylton, _L._
Hon. Mrs. Chetwynd Stapylton, _L._
Mrs. Stapylton, _L._
Hon. Cornet Southwell, _L._
Mr. Steele, M. P. 2 _L._
Mr. Steele, Recorder of Chichester, _L._
Mrs. Steele, Chichester, _L._
Mr. Scottney, _L._
Mr. Sargent, Lavington, _L._
Mrs. Sargent, _L._
Capt. Sutherland, Royal Navy, 2 Copies
Capt. Smith, ditto
Major Schaw, 68th Reg.
Major Strutt, 60th Reg.
Major Sladden, 67th Reg.
Capt. Snowe, 64th Reg.
Capt. John Smith, Royal Artillery
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Capt. St. Clair, 25th Reg. 2 Copies
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Capt. Shipley, Royal Engineers
Capt. Sherret, 19th Reg.
Capt. Syer, King's Dragoon Guards
Lieut. J. Skinner, Royal Navy
Lieut. Stratton, ditto
Lieut, Sheldrake, Royal Artillery
Lieut. Skyring, ditto
Lieut. Shrapnell, ditto
Lieut. Sebright, 18th Reg.
Lieut. Scott, 32d Reg.
Lieut. Stewart, 25th Reg. 2 Copies
Lieut. Sturgeon, Marines
Lieut. Smart, Royal Engineers
Lieut. Serjeantson, King's Dragoon Guards
Lieut. Saumarez, 8th Reg.
Lieut. Stratton, 67th Reg.
Lieut. Smith, 30th Reg.
Lieut. Sparrow, Essex Militia
Ensign St. George, 11th Reg.
Cornet Shelly, 11th Dragoons
Ensign Shirley, 67th Reg.
Ensign Sinclair, 3d Reg.
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Rev. Mr. Shillilo, Colchester
Rev. Mr. Sandys, Essex
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Mr. Snipe, Royal Navy
Mr. Scott, ditto
Mr. Simpson, ditto
Mr. Smith, ditto
Mr. J. W. Skinner, ditto
Mr. Sneyd, ditto
Mr. Starck, ditto, 4 Copies
Mr. Scrivener, _L._
Mr. Stables, _L._
Mr. Storey, _L._
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Mr. A. Simpson, Gibraltar, _L._
Mr. Smith, ditto
Mr. Stones, ditto
Mr. Sweatland, ditto
Mr. W. Simpson, ditto
Mr. Smith, Bury St. Edmunds
T.
Sir George Thomas, Bart. _L._
Mr. Tierney, M. P. _L._
Miss E. S. Tayler, _L._
Colonel Teasdale, _L._
Major Trench, 38th Reg.
Capt. Timms, 44th Reg. _L._
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Capt. J. Thompson
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Lieut. Teesdale, 25th Reg. 2 Copies
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Ensign Tomlinson, 30th Reg.
Cornet Thomas, 11th Dragoons
Mr. Taylor, 32d Reg.
Mr. Taylor, 67th Reg.
Mr. Thompson, 30th Reg.
Rev. Mr. Tireman, Chichester, 2 Copies
Rev. Cook Tylden
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Mr. J. G. Thompson, ditto
Mr. Trownsell, ditto
Mr. R. Thompson, ditto
Mr. Tait, Edinburgh
Mr. Travers, _L._
Mr. Tylburn, Colchester
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Mr. Tyssen, Essex
Mr. Tylden
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Mr. Tobin, Malaga, 4 Copies
U.
Earl of Uxbridge, 2 _L._
Countess of Uxbridge, _L._
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Mr. C. Upham, Exeter
V.
Colonel Vyse, King's Dragoon Guards
Lieut. Vesey, 11th Reg.
Lieut. Vassell, 59th Reg.
Lieut. Vaughan, ditto, _L._
Lieut. Vansittart, 38th Reg,
Lieut. Vincent, 19th Reg.
Dr. Veitch, Clithero, _L._
Mr. Vaughan
Mr. Vaughan, Gibraltar
W.
Earl of Winchelsea, 2 _L._
Viscountess Wicklow, _L._
Sir John Wrottesly, Bart.
Sir James Wemyss, Bart.
Hon. Mr. Walpole, _L._
Mr. Watson, of New Saughton, _L._
Mr. Wallace, of Carlton Hall, _L._
Colonel Walker, Royal Artillery
Major Wilson, Colchester, 2 Copies
Major Wauchope, 50th Reg.
Capt. Warre, Royal Navy
Capt. Williamson, 25th Reg. 4 Copies
Capt. Wright, ditto, 4 Copies
Capt. Wilson, 59th Reg.
Capt. Wilkinson, 67th Reg.
Lieut. Wade, 25th Reg. 2 Copies
Lieut. White, 32d Reg.
Lieut. Wilson, 50th Reg.
Lieut. Waugh, 68th Reg.
Lieut. Westroppe, Marines
Lieut. Wilson, 48th Reg.
Lieut. Willimot, 3d Reg.
Lieut. Wigley, Royal N. B. Dragoons
Cornet Webb, Queen's Dragoon Guards
Ensign Wolseley, 18th Reg.
Ensign Wogan, 12th Reg.
Dr. Walker, Edinburgh
Dr. Watson, Kelso
Mrs. Webber, Chichester, _L._
Mrs. Willis
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Mr. C. Williams, ditto, 2 Copies
Mr. Wright, Royal Navy
Mr. Wilson, ditto
Mr. Walker, ditto
Mr. Watts, ditto
Mr. Williams, _L._
Mr. Welch, _L._
Mr. White, 3 Copies
Mr. Williamson, _L._
Mr. J. Williams, Exeter, _L._
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Mr. Williams, ditto
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Mr. Walsond, Dominica
Mr. Worseley, Malaga
Mr. Wilson, Pontefract
Y.
Right Hon. Lady Elizabeth Yorke
Hon. Philip Yorke
Colonel Yorke, 33d Reg.
Capt. Yorke, Royal Artillery
Lieut. Young, Royal Navy, 4 Copies
Mr. Young, ditto
Mr. Yorston, Gibraltar
N.B. The Subscribers marked _L._ subscribed to the Guinea Edition, which
the Author had not determined to publish till after he had collected the
subscriptions at Gibraltar.
Transcriber's Notes The cover image was produced by the Transcriber and
is in the public domain. The list of subscribers was originally before
the start of the book and has been moved to back as a convenience to
modern readers for whom it may not have importance.
Superscripted letters, particularly in some of the Scottish names
(e.g., McLeod), have been depicted by regular letters.
Errata corrections:
l. 1838:'be is adored' changed to 'he is adored'
ll. 4050/4051'be began to lose' changed to 'he began to lose'
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