When the north wind enamour'd of thee grew, And by his cold, rude kiss thy charms decay: Now droops thy head, now fades thy blushing hue, No more the queen of flowers, no longer gay. So blooms a maid, her guardian's health and joy; Her mind array'd in innocency's vest- Death clasps the virgin to his iron breast. THE POTATOE. "We grow at last by custom to believe, That really we live." COWLEYS UPON an average, a man, his wife, and four children, in Ireland, will eat 37lbs. of potatoes a day. A whimsical anecdote is related of an Irish potatoe. An Englishman seeing a number of fine florid children in a cabin, said to the father, "How do your countrymen contrive to have so many fine children?" By Jasus, it is the potatoe, Sir !" said he. The mode of planting potatoes is as follows: The potatoe is cut into several pieces, each of which has an eye: these are spread on ridges of about four or five feet wide, which are covered with mould, dug from furrows on each side, of about half the breadth of the ridge. When they dig out the potatoes in autumn, they sow the ridge, immediately before diging, with bere, and shelter the crop in a pit, piled up so as to form a sloping roof. Potatoes are said to be very propitious to fecundity. Poor as the cabin is, do not, reader, think that hospitality and politeness are not to be found in it! The power of shewing these qualities, to be sure, is very slender; but if a stranger enters at dinner-time, the master of the family selects the finest potatoe from the bowl, and presents it, as a flattering proof of welcome courtesy*. PHYSICAL AND MORAL CHARACTER OF THE MODERN GREEKS. THE present Greeks, like all other distinct people, have a peculiar physiognomy, which, unfortunately, derives its principal feature from the state of servi Insufficiency of provision, which operates so powerfully against marriage in England, is not known or cared about in Ireland; there the want of an establishment never affects the brain of the enamoured rustic. Love lingers only until he can find out a dry bank, pick a few sticks, collect some furze and fern, knead a little mud with straw, and raise a hut about six feet high, with a door to let in the light and let out the smoke; these accomplished, the happy pair, united by their priest, enter their sylvan dwelling, and a rapid race of chubby boys and girls soon proves by what scanty means life can be sustained. tude and oppression in which they are plunged; but who will assert that the sanguinary rod of despotism has not had the same effect upon a whole people, as it would have upon an individual? Without stopping to explain causes, I shall merely describe them as they are. The Greeks of the Morea are strong, robust, and distinguished by features full of expression; but, as I have observed, altered by servitude. They are in general full of spirit, but dissimulating, crafty, and vain. Gossipers, liars, and perjurers, they do not make the slightest profession, nor traffic with the smallest article, without taking the saints to witness their probity. Being lively, good-humoured, and inclined to debauchery, they excite pleasure without inspiring confidence; and their conversation abounds in figures and comparisons: hence they exaggerate whatever they say or do. When they speak of liberty, they talk with such spirit, that one would believe them ready to undertake every thing, and to make every sacrifice to obtain it; but, in fact, the indignation which they manifest towards their oppressors, proceeds less from their love of freedom, than from their wish to see their religion predominant. One may easily conceive, what may be expected from people occupied with such ideas. The descendants of Miltiades and Cimon, now bent down by the double despotism of Mussulmans and the papas or priests, are incapable of forming any of those generous and manly enterprises, which might restore the political existence they have lost. I should add, that though they hate the Turks, they probably detest much more those Christians who acknowledge the authority of the pope. The assertions I have made relative to the motives which would induce the Greeks to undertake a revo lution, are founded in what occurred in 1770. On beholding the victorious flag of Catherine, the whole of the Morea ran to arms. The Greeks having united together in a tumultuous manner, possessing no plan, nor regarding any measures, leisurely bathed their hands in the blood of the Mussulmans, not because they considered them as terrible enemies, but simply because they were infidels. Besides the causes here given as to the duration of the enslaved state of these people, there is one that arises out of their character: I allude to the jealousy which divides the Greeks among themselves. The tyrannical influence exerted by the subaltern agents of the satraps, those vile instruments of their extortions, the codja-bachis, is the greatest obstacle to the mental progress of these people. If to this we add their insatiable love of power, their restless and quarrelsome disposition, and the spirit of intrigue so natural amongst them, we shall be convinced that a long time must elapse before this people can regain their ancient glory. Such are the modern Greeks, or, at least, in such a light did they appear to me from actual observation. The Grecian women in the Morea deserve in general the praise of beauty, and perhaps the palm of virtue. They are indebted for the first advantage to physical the causes, which it is possible to assign. During the greater part of the year an ardent sun dries up Morea; and the air, deprived of moisture, and impregnated with the perfume of flowers, is pure and vivifying; while the temperature is as mild, and the sky as clear as at Memphis: to which if we add the moderate labour and regular life of the women in eastern countries, we shall find in these united causes the source of that beauty, which has ever distinguished the women of the ancient Peloponnesus. The models which inspired Apelles and Phidias, are still to be found amongst the Greek women: they are generally of a large size and noble shape; their eye is full of fire, and their mouths replete with fine teeth, seem to excite kissing. Nevertheless, their complexions vary according to the part they inhabit, though they always retain the unchangeable basis of general beauty. The girl of Sparta is fair, her shape is slender, and her gait noble; while those of the mountains of Taygetus possess the size and form of Pallas, as that divinity is represented displaying her arms and ægis in the field of battle. The female of Messena is of a small size, embonpoint, and of regular features, with large blue eyes, and long black hair; and when she treads on the verdant carpet of nature with her naked and delicate feet, she resembles Flora in her enamelled meadows. The Arcadian woman, enveloped in coarse woolen garments, scarcely shews the regularity of her shape; her head is finely formed, and her smile is that of innocence. The females of the Archipelago, except 4 |