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of bowers of citron, lime, olive, and pomegranate trees. This chosen spot was for many years the residence of an Englishman of the name of Baimbridge, who had searched all Europe for a healthy place wherein to end his days; and, although his arm was fractured at the advanced age of seventyfour, lived in Scio until he was ninety-three. The captain of our vessel well remembered him, when he was himself only the mate of a merchantman, and his master's ship was laid up in the island during a twelvemonth. He pointed out the house where he lived, and the tree beneath which he was buried; and spoke of his residence in Scio as the happiest remembrance of his life. Indeed, the praises of this favoured island are universal in the country; and its delights constitute the burthen of many a tale, and many a song, among the modern Greeks. Its produce is chiefly silk and mastic. From the abundance of the latter article, the Turks call Chios

by

(2) Egmont and Heyman published the best account I have seen of this island, not even excepting that of Tournefort; and to their Travels I would refer the Reader for further statistical information. To repeat what has already been so fully communicated, would hardly be deemed justifiable. I am indebted to their work for the following eulogy of Chios, as taken from the writings of the celebrated Neapolitan poet,

Parthenius.

66 Et me grata Chios, cùm Nereus obstrepit undis

Accipiat; noto facundos littore amicos

Invisam; O, qui me ventus felicibus oris
Sistat, et ingenti Telluris protegat arcu :
Ingenium me mite soli, me collis aprici
Prospectus, dulcesque cavis in vallibus umbræ,
Ac tepidæ invitant auræ, solesque benigni :
Necnon et placidi mores, et amica virûm vis,
Docta animos capere officiis; O, si mihi vitæ,
Ducere, quod superest, alta hic sub pace liceret!"

Nauticorum, lib. iv. p. 108.

CHAP. VII.

Chios.

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CHAP. VII.

Chios.

by the name of Sackees, which signifies mastic'. The sale of a single ounce of this substance, before the Grand Signior's tributary portion of it has been collected, is punished with death. This the Cady annually receives in great pomp, attended by music and other demonstrations of joy.

The inhabitants of Chios amount to about sixty thousand, of which number twenty thousand reside in the town of Scioo. It

(1) For every information concerning the mastic-tree, and the use made of its gum, see Tournefort, tom. ii. p. 66. In Turkey, the ladies of the country amuse themselves by chewing mastic; ascribing to it, at the same time, many virtues. The Turks, however, according to Egmont and Heyman, only get the refuse of the mastic; the best being sold to foreigners.

(2) "To the south of the town of Scio, which stands on the eastern side of the island, nearly in the centre, is a beautiful plain, of five miles in extent, by the sea side; it is filled with lemon, orange, fig, pomegranate, almond, and olive trees. A species of Lentiscus, from which the mastic gum is procured, grows in great abundance there. No other mastic but that of Scio is mentioned by travellers in the Levant; but in Galen we find a reference to Egyptian mastic, μaotixn Alyvntía, lib. ii. c. 6. ad Glauconem.

"The fine climate of the island, the mild government of the Turks in it, the natural disposition of the inhabitants, all contribute to form that liveliness and gaiety of temper, which characterize the Sciots; and have given rise to the proverb, that it is easier to find a green horse' (äλoyo πрáσwо), than a sober-minded Sciot' (Xiāτa Opóviμov). The features of the women are beautiful; but are covered with a paint, in which mercury is an ingredient, and by this their teeth and breath are affected.

"Besides cargoes of oranges and lemons, sent to Constantinople and the Black Sea, the island exports many bales of silk, damask, and velvet, to Barbary, and to Egypt. The population of the capital is 30,000; of the whole island, 80,000. Corn and provisions in general come over from the continent of Asia, as the island is mountainous, and cannot produce sufficient for the inhabitants. To the north, and to the west of the town, are seen lofty rocks of granite. Many of the mountains of Chios contain various sorts of marble, with which the church of the Convent of Neamone in particular is ornamented. The head of this convent (youμsvos, as he is called) shewed me the library,

It contains forty-two villages. Its minerals merit a more particular regard than they have hitherto obtained 4. Jasper and marble are said to be found there in considerable quantity and beauty, and a kind of green earth, resembling verdigris, of which I was not able to procure a sight, called "Earth of Scio" by the Turks. The pavement of the church of Neamony, a convent, two hours distant from the town, consists of marble and jasper, with inlaid work of other curious stones, dug from quarries in the island. Several Greek manuscripts were preserved in the library of this convent, when Egmont and Heyman visited the place. The antient medals of Chios, even the silver, are obtained without difficulty in various parts of the Levant; and perhaps with more facility

than

library, which consisted of some volumes of the Greek Fathers. The street in which
I lived in the town was inhabited by Catholic families only, separated from the other
Greeks by religious schism. In a house in that street, I copied a very interesting
Greek Inscription, in verse: I shall here give part of it, in a more correct manner
than it has been lately published in a periodical work.

Σοὶ λάμπει μὲν δόξα, καλοῖς δ ̓ ἐσθλὰν χάριν ἔργοις
Ωπασεν & κλείνα πρεσβυτέρων ξυνοδος,

Εἰκόν' ἀναστήσασα σέθεν, μορφᾶς τύπον ἔμπνου,
Καὶ σ' ἐν Ὁμήρειῳ γυμνάσιῳ θέμενα.

CHAP. VII.

Chios.

"It is in honour of Megacles, the son of Theogiton."

Walpole's MS. Journal.

Its

(3) Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. i. p. 236. (4) If there be any truth in the adage prevalent in Scio, concerning the original formation of the island, the geologist would have ample scope for his researches. inhabitants relate, that," at the creation of the world, God threw all the rocks of the continent into the sea, and of these the Island of Scio was formed." Ibid. p. 261.

(5) Ibid. p. 237.

(6) Ibid. p. 249.

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CHAP. VII.

Straits of
Samos.

than upon the island itself'. Its inhabitants antiently pos-,
séssed a reputation for virtue, still maintained among them.
According to Plutarch, there was no instance of adultery in
Chios, during the space of seven hundred years.

Having cleared the Chian, or Erythræan Straits, we sailed,
along the Ionian coast, for the channel which separates the
stupendous heights of Samos from the lower land of Icaria.
This marine pass is at present generally known in these seas
by the appellation of the Samian Boccaze. It presents a bold
and fearful strait, in the mouth of which is the small island
of Fourmi, or Isle of Ants. A very heavy sea rolls continually
through this channel, so that, with contrary wind, even a
frigate can scarcely effect the passage. Whether it were
owing to my having travelled so long in the level plains of
Russia, or to the reality of the scene, I know not, but Samos
appeared to me, on its northern side, the most tremendous
and precipitous mountain I had ever beheld. Its summit
was concealed by a thick covering of clouds, although all
the rest of the Archipelago appeared clear and serene.
We were told that the heights of Samos are rarely unveiled;
a circumstance which might give rise to those superstitious
notions entertained in earlier ages, when its aërial solitudes
were believed to be the abode of Deities; whence the
Father of Gods and Men, enveloped by mysterious darkness,
hurled

(1) They all have reference to the Chian wine, which still maintains its pristine celebrity; and represent, in front, a sphinx, with a bunch of grapes; for the reverse, an amphora, with other symbols of the island's fertility.

(2) Plut. de Virt. Mulierum.

[graphic]

The STRAITS of SAMOS,

LYON

from the South East looking towards the North West.

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