́informed us that at break of day we should perceive Cape St. Iphane in the island of Cyprus; and nothing was now thought of but how to enjoy life. The whole company had supper brought upon deck; they divided into groups, and each sent to his neigh bour whatever that neighbour happened to stand in need of. I had adopted the family that lodged opposite to me, at the door of the captain's cabin; it consisted of a young woman, her two children, and her aged father. This old man was performing his third voyage to Jerusalem; he had never yet seen a Latin pilgrim, and the good creature wept for joy when he looked at me : I therefore supped with his family. Never did I behold a scene more pleasing and more picturesque. The wind was cool, the sea beautiful, and the sky serene. The moon seemed to hover between the masts and among the rigging; sometimes she appeared without the sails, and all the ship was illuminated; at others she was hidden behind the sails, and the group of pilgrims were again thrown into the shade. Who would not have blessed religion, on reflecting that these two hundred persons, so happy at this moment, were, nevertheless, slaves bowed down by the yoke of tyranny? They were preceeding to the tomb of Christ, to bury in oblivion the past glory of their country, and to seek consolation for their present afflictions. On the morning of the 27th, to the great surprise of the pilot, we found ourselves in open sea, and out of sight of any land. A calm overtook us: the consternation was general. Where were we? Were we within or without the island of Cyprus? The whole day passed in this extraordinary dispute. To have talked of taking the reckoning, or the altitude, would have been Hebrew to our sailors. When the breeze sprung up towards evening they were thrown into a new embarrassment. On what tack were we to steer? The pilot, who imagined that we were between the north coast of Cyprus and the gulf of Satalia, proposed to keep the ship's head to the south, to get sight of the former; but the consequence would have been, that, had we passed the island, we should have gone, by following that point of the compass, right to Egypt. The captain was of opinion that we ought to steer to the north, in order to find the coast of Caramania; this would have been putting back, and besides, the wind was contrary to that course. My opinion was asked; for in all cases of any diffi aulty, the Greeks and Turks invariably have recource to the Franks. My advice was, that we should steer to the eastward, for an obvious reason: we were either within or without the island of Cyprus; now, in either case, by standing to the east, we should be making progress. Besides, if we were within the island, we could not fail to see land to the larboard or starboard in a very short time, either at Cape Anemur, in Caramania, or at Cape Conachitti, in Cyprus. We should then have nothing to do but to double the eastern point of that island, and afterwards drop down the coast of Syria. This method of proceeding seemed the most eligible, and we turned the ship's head to the east. At five in the morning of the 28th, to our great joy, we descried Cape de Gatte, in the island of Cyprus, bearing to the north, about eight or ten leagues distant. Thus we found ourselves without the island, and in the proper direction for Jaffa. The currents had carried us out to sea to the south west. The wind fell at noon: we were becalmed the rest of the day and part of the 29th. We were joined by three fresh passengers; two water-wagtails and a swallow: I know not what could have induced the former to quit their companions; as to the latter it was going perhaps to Syria, and it came perhaps from France. I was tempted to inquire of it about the paternal roof which I had so long quitted. I recollect that when I was a child, I passed whole hours in watching, with a certain melancholy pleasure, the swallows flying about in autumn; as if some secret instinct had whispered that I should be a traveller like those birds. They assembled about the end of September among the rushes of a large pond there twittering and making a thousand evolutions over the surface of the water, they seemed to be trying their wings and preparing for a long pilgrimage. Among all the recollections of existence, why do we prefer those of our infancy? The pleasures of self-love, the illusions of youth, appear not to the memory lothed in charms; we think them, on the contrary, insipid or bitter but the most trifling circumstances awaken in the heart the emotions of childhood, and always with new attractions. Or the banks of the lakes of America, in an unknown desert, which relates nothing to the traveller, in a region which has nothing to boast but the grandeur of Solitude, a swallow was suficient to revive the scenes of the early days of my life, as it recalled them to my memory on the sea of Syria, in sight of an antique land re-echoing the voice of ages and the traditions of history. On The currents now carried us towards the island of Cyprus. We descried its low, sandy, and apparently sterile coasts these shores Mythology placed her most pleasing fables. Ipsa Paphum sublimis abit, sedesque revisit "As soon as I went on shore," said the son of Ulysses, "I perceived a certain softness in the air, which, though it rendered. the body indolent and inactive, yet brought on a disposition to gayety and wantonness; and, indeed, the inhabitants were so averse to labour, that the country, though extremely fertile and pleasant, was almost wholly uncultivated. I met, in every street crowds of women loosely dressed, singing the praises of Venus, and going to dedicate themselves to the service of her temple. Beauty and pleasure sparkled in their countenances, but their beauty was tainted by affectation; and the modest simplicity, from which female charms principally derive their power, was wanting; the dissolute air, the studied look, the flaunting dress, and the lascivious gait, the expressive glances that seemed to wander in search after those of the men, the visible emulation who should kindle the most ardent passion, and whatever else I discovered in these women, moved only my contempt and aversion, and I was disgusted by all that they did with a desire to please. "I was conducted to a temple of the goddess, of which there are several in the island, for she is worshipped at Cythera, Idalia, and Paphos. That which I visited was at Cythera: the structure, which is all of marble, is a complete peristyle: and the columns are so large and lofty that its appearance is extremely majestic: on each front over the architrave and frieze, are large pediments, on which the most entertaining adventures of the goddess are represented in bas-relief. There is a perpetual crowd of people with offerings at the gate, but within the limits of the consecrated ground no victim is ever slain; the fat of bulls and heifers is nevr burnt, as at other temples; nor are the rites of pleasure profaned with their blood: the beasts that are here offered are only presented before the altar; nor are any accepted but those that are young, white, and without blemish; they are dressed with purple fillets embroidered with gold, and their horns are decorated with gilding and flowers; after they have been presented, they are led to a proper place at a considerable distance, and killed for the banquet of the priests. "Perfumed liquors are also offered, and wines of the richest flavour. The habit of the priests is a long white robe, fringed with gold at the bottom, and bound round them with golden girdles; the richest aromatics of the east burn night and day upon the altars, and the smoke rises in a cloud of fragrance to the skies. All the columns of the temple are adorned with festoons; all the sacrificial vessels are of gold; and the whole building is surrounded by a consecrated grove of odoriferous myrtle: none are permitted to present the victims to the priest, or to kindle the hallowed fire, but boys and girls of consummate beauty. But this temple, however magnificent, was rendered infamous by the dissolute manners of the votaries."* In regard to Cyprus, we had better adhere to poetry than history, unless we can derive pleasure from the recollection of one of the most flagrant acts of injustice ever committed by the Romans, and a scandalous expedition of Cato's. But it is a singular thing to represent to ourselves, that in the middle ages, the temples of Amathus and Idalia were transformed into dungeons. A French gentleman was king of Paphos, and barons covered with coats of mail were quartered in the sanctuaries of Cupid and the Graces. In Dapper's Archipelago may be seen the complete history af Cyprus; and the abbé Mariti has treated of the modern revolutions and the present state of this island, which, from its position, is still a place of importance. The weather was so fine, and the air so mild, that all the passengers continued the whole night upon deck. I had a contest about a little corner of the quarter-deck, with two lusty caloyers, who gave it up to me, but not without grumbling. Here I was sleeping at six in the morning of the 30th of September, when I was roused by a confused sound of voices: I opened my eyes and Telemachus, Book IV. perceived all the pilgrims looking towards the prow of the vessel. I asked what was the matter, and they called out to me: Signior, il Carmelo! Mount Carmel! A breeze had sprung up at eight the preceding evening, and in the night we had come in sight of the coast of Syria. As I had lain down in my clothes, I was soon on my legs, inquiring which was the sacred mountain. Each was eager to point it out to me, but I could see nothing of it because the sun began to rise in our faces. This moment had something religious and august; all the pilgrims, with their chaplets in their hands, had remained in silence in the same attitude, awaiting the appearance of the Holy Land. The chief of the papas was praying aloud; nothing was to be heard but this prayer and the noise made in her course by the ship, wafted by a most favourable wind upon a brilliant sea. From time to time a cry was raised on the prow, when Carmel again appeared in sight. At length I perceived that mountain myself, like a round spot beneath the rays of the sun; I fell upon my knees after the manner of the Latin pilgrims. I felt not that agitation which seized me on beholding, for the first time, the shores of Greece; but the sight of the cradle of the Israelites and the birth-place of christianity filled me with awe and veneration. I was just arriving at that land of wonders, at the sources of the most astonishing poesy, at the spot, where, even humanly speaking, happened the greatest event that ever changed the face of the world; I mean the coming of the Messiah: I was just reaching those shores which were visited in like manner by Godfrey de Bouillon, Raimond de St. Gilles, Tancred the Brave, Robert the Strong, Richard Cœur de Lion, and that St. Louis, whose virtues were the admiration of infidels. But how durst an obscure pilgrim like me tread a soil consecrated by so many illustrious pilgrims? As we approached nearer and the sun got higher, the land became more distinctly visible. The last point that we perceived in the distance on our left, towards the north, was the cape of Tyre; next came Cape Blanco, St. John d'Aere, Mount Carmel with Caifa at its foot, Tartoura, formerly Dora, the Pilgrims' Castle, and Cæsarea, the ruins of which are to be seen. We knew that Jaffa must be right ahead of us, but it was not yet discernible. The coast then gradually sunk to the last cape towards the south, where it was entirely lost here commence the shores |