gulph of Salonica to the height of 6,000 feet, forms the northern extremity of an inferior chain, consisting of Ossa and Pelion, Eta and Othrys, and continuing through the island of Negropont, of which Mount Delphis is the most remarkable. To the westward are the rugged and mountainous countries of Epirus, Ætolia, and Acharnaria, forming that part of Greece now generally known by the name of Albania. The highest mountains of the Morea are the Cyllenian range near the western coast, and the Taygetus near the southern extremity.

Extensive plains of considerable elevation above the level of the sea are encircled by the mountain ranges. Of these, Thessaly, Boeotia, and Arcadia, still preserve their ancient character. The rivers by which these plains are watered are little more than mountain streams, with the exception of the Peneus or Salympria, whose numerous branches after intersecting the plain of Thessaly, unite and discharge themselves through the celebrated defile of Tempe into the gulf of Salonica; and the Alpheus,* which waters the verdant plains of Arcadia and Elis and Achaia. The Spercheius, or Hellada, the Cephisus, the Asopus, the Ilyssus, and many other streams celebrated in ancient story, would scarcely be deemed worthy of notice in any country but Greece-where every rivulet and rill, as well as every stone, have their verse-for, as Spon has justly observed, these smaller rivers make more noise 'dans les livres, que dans leurs lits.'

The climate of Greece might be supposed, from its situation with regard to latitude and its surrounding sea, to be similar to that of the south of Italy. It is, however, much more severe in winter, and in many parts warmer in summer. The plain of Ioannina, at an elevation of 1200 feet above the level of the sea, and at an equal distance nearly from the central chain of mountains and the western coast, though in the latitude of 394°, is stated by Dr. Holland to experience a degree of cold in winter not less on the average than that of the western parts of England. On the elevated plains of the Morea, in a latitude yet more southerly, the intensity of the cold is still greater, and snow sometimes covers the plain of Tripolitza to the depth of eighteen inches. I had little expected,' says Dr. Holland, that Arcadia, which fancy and poetry picture as the abode of spring, of softness, and of beauty, would have presented a scenery of this description; nor did I, in the instant of surprise, recollect that Pausanias speaks of its cold dense air, and of the effect it has in giving austerity to the

It is a remarkable circumstance, noticed by several travellers, that not a year passes in which acveral ancient helmets are not floated down the Alpheus; from whence, remains yet to be discovered.

manners

manners of the inhabitants.' At no great distance from Tripolitza (the capital) he found the temperature, at six in the morning, down to 16° of Fahrenheit. In short,' he adds, the degree and continuance of the cold were such as I scarcely recollect to have experienced in England, and this in the very centre of Arcadia ;'but this was in 1813, a winter remarkable for its severity over every part of Europe. In summer, however, the blooming vales of Arcady' assume a very different aspect, and 'present a continual succession of scenery equal to any thing which has been described or imagined in poetic song. Luxuriance and beauty may be pronounced to be the general characteristics; flowering vallies, winding streams, and hills shrouded nearly to their summits with wood, are the objects which commonly awaken our admiration."*

In the lower region of Attica the atmosphere is more moderate and equable than in most other parts of Greece; the air being generally clear, dry, and temperate; the cold less severe, the heat less oppressive, and the fall of rain less copious. To this difference in the state of the atmosphere was ascribed, as we all know, the difference of character between the Boeotion and the Athenian. The temperature of Athens seldom exceeds 88° or 90°, and as seldom descends to the freezing point. Athens is generally healthy; many parts of Greece are just the reverse during the heat of summer, especially the marshy grounds and rice-fields. The whole coast of Achaia,' says Mr. Haygarth, is very unwholesome, abounding in marshes; and the sickly appearance of the natives whom I met is very striking. It is the most depopu

lated part of Greece.'

The peaked summits of the central chain of mountains are covered with snow for nine months of the year, and in the caverns and recesses of some of them patches of snow may always be discovered. The ascent of Parnassus was supposed to be impracticable on account of its perennial snow; but Dr. Sibthorp crossed the summit in the month of July, when he found it perfectly free.t

• Haygarth Notes, P 252

The

Dr Clarke, who asserts that he reached the summit of this mountain at the wintersolstice, most assuredly labours under some mistake. We find it as difficult to follow him here as in his discovery of the Corcyrian cave which he did and did not see. This celebrated cave, however, was explored by Col. Leake and Mr. Hamilton, and is thus describ ed by Mr. Raikes. The narrow and low entrance spreads at once into a chamber of 330 feet long by nearly 200 wide; the stalactites from the top hung in the most graceful forms the whole length of the roof, and fell, like drapery, down the sides. The depth of the folds was so vast, and the masses thus suspended in the air were so great, that the relief and fulness of these natural hangings were as complete as the fancy could have wished. They were not like concretions or incrustations, mere coverings of the rock; they were

the

The general produce of the plains of Greece is wheat, barley, rice, maize, millet, and tobacco. Of wheat, eight different kinds are cultivated. Mr. Hawkins found that the mavrogano or black-bearded wheat, in the plains of Argos, gave ten for one; in the best parts of Megara and Eleusis, twelve; and near Corinth, fifteen. Another sort of wheat, called greneas, in the rich plain of Phenëus in Arcadia, yields twelve for one, and the devedeshi, in the plains of Thessaly, in extraordinary seasons, fifteen for one. 6 Upon the whole,' says Mr. Hawkins, I am disposed to estimate the produce of good soils in Greece, in. favourable seasons, at from ten to twelve for one, and in the very best soils and remarkably favourable years, at from fifteen to eighteen for one. It must be observed that the wheat in Greece is generally sown in unmanured ground.'

In Boeotia the soil is very rich, and produces wheat, Indian corn, barley, kidney beans, rice, and sesamum, all of excellent quality, with a considerable quantity of cotton. The lakes of Boeotia still supply, as formerly, Athens and various parts of Greece with eels, water-fowl, rush-baskets, mats, and lampwicks.

On the plains of Thessaly are cultivated extensive groves of mulberry-trees for the silk-worm, which is there an object of considerable attention; the trees are cut down to pollards, carefully watered and hoed. But the Morea (supposed to derive its modern name from the Mulberry), is celebrated for the excellence of its silks; and all the accounts given by the ancient Greeks of the fertility of Messenia are realized at this day in every species of produce, more especially in corn, wine, and figs; wheat being said to yield here thirty fold, and two crops a year. The plantations are frequently fenced in with the Indian fig (cactus), whose thorny coats form an impenetrable barrier. Yet with all

the gradual growth of ages, disposed in the most simple and majestic forms, and so rich and large as to accord with the size and loftiness of the cavern The stalagmites below, and on the sides of the chamber, were still more fantastic in their forms than the pendants above, and struck the eye with the fancied resemblance of vast human figures. There was a narrow passage leading into a deep vault at the end of this chamber, at the entrance of which the stalagmitic formations were as wild as imagination can conceive, and of the most brilliant whiteness; a fancy less lively than that of the Greeks might assign this beautiful grotto as a residencefor the nymphs. The stillness,' adds Mr Raikes, which reigns through it, only broken by the gentle sound of the water, which drops from the point of the stalactites, the usar asaovra of the grotto of the nymphs in the Odyssey, the dim lights admitted by its narrow entrance, and reflected by the white ribs of the roof, with all the miraculous decorations of the interior, would impress the most insensible with feelings of awe, and lead him to attribute the influence of the scene to the presence of some supernatural being.'-Walpole's Memoirs on Turkey.

the

the fertility of the Morea, Dr. Sibthorp says, a face furrowed with care, a body lean with hard labour and scanty diet, represent the portrait of a modern Arcadian. The residence of a number of hungry Turks, the vermin of the Pasha's court, continually oppress this hapless people; and they seem to exist only to furnish food for their lazy masters.' This melancholy picture, we presume, applies only to the agriculturists in the neighbourhood of towns; for, from another author, we have a very different account of the shepherd peasantry in this part of the country.

Every thing presented the appearance of pastoral tranquillity. The peasants, habited in their picturesque dress, a coloured turban, a linen jacket and petticoat of snowy whiteness, and carrying in their hands a wooden crook, were quietly employed in following their large flocks of goats and sheep; or watched them as they fed, reclining under the shade of an ancient tree, and playing on their pipe of reed the rude airs of their country. The scenes forcibly recalled to my mind the passages of the poets who have celebrated the beauties of Arcadia, and I acknowledged at every step the justness of the taste which fixed upon it as the residence of rural happiness, and the abode of the sylvan gods."*

The cotton plant is in general cultivation. The plains of Trikala in Thessaly alone are said to produce 600,000 pounds of cotton wool. The sides of the hills, and especially those in the vicinity of towns or large villages, are planted with vineyards and olive-groves; and the fig-tree and the orange are every where common and abundant. Considerable attention is paid to the culture of the fig-tree. The flowers of the wild fig-tree (Epivos) are still used for the caprification of the cultivated tig in various parts of Greece. At Athens,' says Mr. Hawkins, they take the wild figs in June, when the insect shews itself in them, string a few, and suspend them on the branches of the domestic figtree, without which it is believed all the fruit would drop.'

6

The lands in Greece are generally open; inclosed, however, in some parts with hedges of the cactus opuntia, and sometimes separated by trenches. The plough is a rude and simple machine. A wheel-carriage of any kind is unknown in the southern parts of Greece; but in Thessaly they have a sort of cart which Mr. Haygarth says is truly Homeric. It has two wheels, each of which is composed of one piece of wood; it is open behind, and supported in front by a pole yoked to the necks of two oxen.' large proportion of the surface of Greece is appropriated for the pasture of sheep, goats, and horses. Cows are not much esteemed except for the breeding of oxen; their milk is not used,

*Haygarth. Notes, p. 254.

A

and

and that of goats and sheep serves only for making a poor saltish cheese or a little bad butter.

Greece may be considered as the country of the vine. Thirtynine different sorts of grapes, besides the currant-vine, are enumerated by Dr. Sibthorp; but none of the wines produced from them can be called good, with the exception of that which is made on a few islands of the Archipelago. The modern Greeks, in imitation of their ancestors, mix turpentine (drawn from that particular species of fir called by botanists pinus_maritima,) with all their wines; a practice which Lord Aberdeen thinks may, in some degree, account for the connection of the fir-cone (surmounting the Thyrsus) with the worship of Bacchus.* This is one of the most useful trees of Greece. It not only serves to preserve their wine from becoming acid, but with the ПTUS (pinus pinea) furnishes the tar and pitch for all maritime and domestic purposes. The resinous parts being cut into small pieces serve for candles, and the cones are put into the wine-casks; the wood is employed by carpenters, and the bark by tanners.

The richest produce of Attica, however, is that of the olive. Of this fruit Greece can boast of not fewer than eight or ten different sorts. Those intended for food are preserved either in salt and water, in oil and vinegar, or in the juice of the grape boiled to a syrup. From the rest the oil extracted is computed at 20,000 measures, or about 30,000 gallons. The plain of Athens, if we except the olive-tree, is extremely destitute of wood; but this is by no means the general character of Greece.

Hymettus has for time immemorial been celebrated for the excellence of its honey. It is still in such esteem that presents of it are annually sent to Constantinople. The saturera capitata and the satureia thymbra are the favourite plants of the bees, and it is to them that the honey of Hymettus owes its celebrity.f Fourmont, who however is not implicitly to be trusted, asserts that the honey of Hymettus produces on those who eat it the same effect as wine; and Dr. Chandler pretends that its odour of thyme prevents flies from settling upon it. The Athenians are particularly fond of honey; they use it in most of their dishes, and, like their ancestors, conceive that it renders them healthy and long lived.

The mountains of Greece, being chiefly of limestone formation, have nothing remarkably grand or picturesque in their

* Walpole's Memoirs on Turkey.

By a strange perversion the modern name is Tesouro, or the mad mountain.'' From Hymettus came the Venetian appellation of Monte Imetto, and the further corruption of Monte Matto, which retranslated into Romaic gives the pre

sent name.

shapes,