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5.

And bear these altars o'er the long-reluctant brine.
Stanza xi. line last.

The ship was wrecked in the Archipelago.

6.

To rive what Goth, and Turk, and Time hath spared.

Stanza xii. line 2.

At this moment (January 3, 1809), besides what has been already deposited in London, an Hydriot vessel is in the Piræus to receive every portable relic. Thus, as I heard a young Greek observe in common with many of his countrymen-for, lost as they are, they yet feel on this occasion thus may Lord Elgin boast of having ruined Athens. An Italian painter of the first eminence, named Lusieri, is the agent of devastation; and like the Greek finder of Verres in Sicily, who followed the same profession, he has proved the able instrumeut of plunder. Between this artist and the French Consul Fauvel, who wishes to rescue the remains for his own governthere is now a violent dispute concerning a car employed in their conveyance, the wheel of which-I wish they were both broken upon it has been locked up by ihe Consul, and Lusieri has laid his complaint before the Waywode. Lord Elgin has been extremely happy in his choice of Signor Lusieri. During a residence of ten years in Athens, he never had the curiosity to proceed as far as Suníum *, till he accompanied us in our second excursion. However,

ment,

* Now Cape Colonna. In all Attica, if we except Athens itself and Marathon, there is no scene more interesting than Cape Colonna. To the antiquary and artist, sixteen columns are an inexhaustible source of observation and design to the philosopher, the supposed scene of some of Plato's conversations will not be uuwelcome; and the traveller will be struck with the beauty of the prospect over « Isles that crown the Ægean deep but for an Englishman, Colonna has yet an additional interest, as the actual spot of Falconer's Shipwreck. Pallas and Plato are forgotten, in the recollection of Falconer and Campbell:

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his works, as far as they go, are most beautiful; but they are almost all unfinished. While he and his patrons confine themselves to tasting medals, appreciating cameos, sketching columns, and cheapening gems, their little absurdities are as harmless as insect or, fox-hunting, maiden-speechifying, barouche-driving, or any such pastime but when they carry away three or four shiploads of the most valuable and massy relics that time and barbarism have left to the most injured and most celebrated of cities; when they destroy, in a vain attempt to tear down, those works which have been the admiration of ages, I know no motive which can excuse no name which can designate, the perpetrators of this dastardly devastation. It was not the least of the crimes laid to the charge of Verres, that he had plundered Sicily, in the manner since imitated

« Here in the dead of night by Lonna's steep.

<< The seaman's cry was heard along the deep. »

This temple of Minerva may be seen at sea from a great distance. In two journeys, which I made, and one voyage to Cape Colonna, the view from either side, by land, was less striking than the approach from the isles. In our second land excursion, we had a narrow escape from a party of Mainnotes, concealed in the caverns beneath. We were told afterwards, by one of their prisoners subsequently ransomed, that they were deterred from attacking us by the appearance of my two Albanians: conjecturing very sagaciously, but falsely, that we had a complete guard of these Arnaouts at hand, they remained stationary, and thus saved our party, which was too small to have opposed any effectual resistance.

Colonna is no less a resort of painters than of pirates; there

«< The hireling artist plants his paltry desk,
«And makes degraded Nature picturesque. »

(See Hodgson's Lady Jane Grey, etc.)

But there Nature, with the aid of Art, has done that for herself. I was fortunate enough to engage a very superior German artist ; and hope to renew my acquaintance with this and many other Levantine scenes, by the arrival of his performances.

at Athens. The most unblushing impudence could hardly go farther than to affix the name of its plunderer to the walls of the Acro polis; while the wanton and useless defacement of the whole range of the basso-relievos, in one compartment of the temple, will never permit that name to be pronounced by an observer without execration,

On this occasion I speak impartially I am not a collector or admirer of collections, consequently no rival; but I have some early prepossession in favour of Greece, and do not think the honour of England advanced by plunder, whether of India or Attica.

Another noble Lord has done better, because he has done less; but some others, more or less noble, yet « all honourable men, » have done best, because, after a deal of excavation, Bribery to the Waywode, mining and countermining, they have done nothing at all. We had such ink-shed, and wine-shed, which almost ended in bloodshed! Lord E's « prig, »>-see Jonathan Wylde for the definition of « priggism, » quarrelled with another, Gropius * by name (a very good name too for his business) and muttered something about satisfaction, in a verbal answer to a note of the poor Prussian this was stated at table to Gropius, who langhed, but could eat no dinner afterwards, The rivals were not reconciled when I

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This Sr. Gropius was employed by a noble Lord for the sole purpose of sketching, in which he excels; but I am sorry to say, that he has, through the abused sanction of that most respectable name, been treading at humble distance in the steps of Sr. Lusieri, A shipful of his trophies was detained, and I believe confiscated at Constantinople in 1810. I am most happy to be now enabled to state, that « this was not in his bond; » that he was employed solely as a painter, and that his noble patron disavows all connexion with him, exept as an artist. If the error in the first and second edition of this Poem has given the noble Lord a moment's pain, I am very sorry for it; Sr. Gropius has assumed for years the name of his agent; and though I cannot much condemn myself for sharing in the mistake of so many, I am happy in being one of the first to be undeceived. Indeed, I have as much pleasure in contradicting this as I felt regret in stating it,

left Greece. I have reason to remember their squabble, for they wanted to make me their arbitrator,

7.

Her sons too weak the sacred shrine to guard,

Yet felt some portion of their mother's pains,

Stanza xii. lines 7 and 8,

I cannot resist availing myself of the permission of my friend Dr. Clarke, whose name requires no comment with the public, but whose sanction will add tenfold weight to my testimony, to insert the following extract from a very obliging letter of his to me as a note to the above lines;

« When the last of the Metopes was taken from the Parthenon, and, in moving of it, great part of the superstructure with one of the triglyphs was thrown down by the workmen whom Lord Elgin employed, the Disdar, who beheld the mischief done to the building, took his pipe from his mouth, dropped a tear, and, in a supplicating tone of voice, said to Ļusieri; Téλos-I was present. »

The Disdar alluded to was the father of the present Disdar.

8.

Where was thine Ægis, Pallas! that appalled

Stern Alaric and Havoc an their way?

Stanza xiv. lines 1 and 2.

According to Zozimus, Minerva and Achilles frightened Alaric from the Acropolis; but others relate that the Gothic king was nearly as mischievous as the Scottish peer.-See CHANDLER.

9.

-the netted canopy.

Stanza xviti, line 2.

The netting to prevent blocks or splinters from falling on deck du

ring action.

10.

But not in silence pass Calypso's isles,

Stanza xxix. line 1.

Goza is said to have been the island of Calypso.

II.

Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men!

Stanza xxxviii. lines 5 and 6.

Albania comprises part of Macedonia, Illyria, Chaonia, and Epirus, Iskander is the Turkish word for Alexander; and the celebrated Scanderbeg (Lord Alexander) is alluded to in the third and fourth lines of the thirty-eighth stanza. I do not know whether I am correct in making Scanderbeg the countryman of Alexander, who was born at Pella in Macedon, but Mr. Gibbon terms him so, and adds Pyrrhus to the list, in speaking of his exploits.

Of Albania Gibbon remarks, that a country « within sight of Italy is less known than the interior of America, » Circumstances, of little consequence to mention, led Mr. Hobhouse and myself into that country before we visited any other part of the Ottoman dominions; and with the exception of Major Leake, then officially resident at Joannina, no other Englishmen have ever advanced beyond the capital into the interior, as that gentleman very lately assured me. Ali Pachia was at that time (October, 1809) carrying on war against Ibrahim Pacha, whom he had driven to Berat, a strong fortress which he was then besieging on our arrival at Joannina we were invited to Tepaleni, his Highness's birth-place, and favourite Serai, only one day's dis tance from Berat; at this juncture the Vizier had made it his head quarters.

After some stay in the capital, we accordingly followed; but though furnished with every accommodation and escorted by one of the Vizier's secretaries, we were nine days (on account of the rains) in accomplishing a journey which, on our return, barely occupied four,

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