Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1813-04-19
TRAVELS IN. GREECE, &c.

Travels in Greece, Palestine, &c. IN
1905 and 1907" we extract the ioi'
lowing interesting passages, descrlP-
tive of various scenes.
The Arehtelago.
The sea having become calm, and the
sky serene, Ibreakfasted upon the deck /
as it was not yet time to weigh anoho'.
behold, at different distances, all tue
Cyclades; Scyros, where Achilles spent
his infancy Delos, celebrated Tor tns
birth of Diana and Apollo, for its palm
trees and festivals; Naxos, which re-
minded me of Ariadne, Theseus, Bac-
chus, and some exquisite pages IN inc
Studies ofNaturs. But all these Islands,
once so enchanting, or perhaps SO high
" embellished by the imagination OF the !,
poets, now wear no other appearance
than that Of descla,ion and steri!ity.-
Dreary villages rise in the form OF a
sugar loaf upon the rocks; they are
commanded by castles still more dreary,
and sometimes surrounded with dou'
BILE or triple WALL within which the IN
| habitants live in perpetual tear OF the
Turks and the pirates. AS these lorti'
fed villages are nevertheless fallen TO
| ruin, they convey to the mind OF the
| traveller an idea of every species OF
| wretcae lness at once. Rousseau some
where says, that he wished himself ex.
| lied to one OF the islands OF the Archi-
pelago.. The eloquent sophist would
soon have repented his choice. Sepa-
F! rated from his admirers, banished among
clownish and perhdious Greeks, he
would have found neither flowers, nor
brooks, nor shade in the yallies scorch-
| ed BY the sun; he would have behe!d a.
round him no other objects than clumps
! of olive trees, and reddish rocks cover
| ed with wild sage & balm: & shrewd-
" suspect that he ouid not have wish
| ed TO continue his walks for any length
oftime, to the whistling of the wind and
the roaring of the sea along an unlnha'
bited coast.
| II Caravan.
1t was midnight when we arrived at
| the kan OF McRemen. perceived at
| distance great number of scattered
lights: it was caravan making halt.
| On a nearer approach I distinguished
camels, some lying, others standing,
some with their lead, others relieved
from the burden. Horses and asses with
out brides were eating barley out ct
leather buckets some OF the men were
still on horseback, and the women, veil
ed, had not alighted from their drome-
daries. Turkish merchants were seat
ed cross-legged on carpets in groups
round the 6res,at which the slaves were
busily employed in dressing pllau. O.
Their travellers were smoking their pipes
at the door Of the kan, chewing opium,
and listening to stories. Here were
people burning coffee in iron pots the
hucksters vent about from fire to ire
offering cakes, fruit and poultry for
sale. Singers were amusing the crowd;
imans were performing their additions,
prostra,ing themselves, rising again and
invoking the prophet and the camel
drivers lay snoring Oh the ground. The
place was strewed with packages, bags
of cotton, and coufs Of rice. All these
objects, now distinct and rejecting
vivid light, now confused ano enseloped
in half shade, cXb'bi,ed genuine
scene Of the Arabian Nights. 1t want.
ed nothing but the caliph Haroun al
Rasehid, the vizir Giafiar and Mesrour,
- -
City Of COnstantinohle.
At eight o'clock, galley boat came
alongside of US. AS we were almost
becalmcd I Quilted the felucca, s. went
with my people into the boat. We kept
close under Point Europa, on which
stands the castle of the Seven Towers,
an old Gothic fortress now falling to ra-
in. Cens,antinople, and the coast OF A
STA in particular, were enveloPed In
thick fog: the expresses * the minarets
which perceived through the vapor,
exhibited the appearance of a lcailess
forest. .Aswe now approached the point
of the Scraglio, breeze sprung up from
tie north, and, as If by the waving OF
an,enchanter's wand, the mist was swept
in a few moments from the picture, and
! found myself all at once in the midst
of the palaces Of the Commander of the
Faithful. Before nae, the channel ct the
Black Sea meandered like majestic III
yer between charming hills : on. my
right had the coast of Asia and the ei-
,,f Srntari shot of EuroDe lay on nv
left. forming, as it 'ecedcd, capacious
bay full of large SHIPS at anchor, and IN
Vulnerable small vessels reversing it in
every direction. This bay, bounded by
two hills, presented a view of Constan-
tinople and Galata; disposed in the form
ofan amphitheare. The immense ex-
tent orthese three cities of Galata, Con-
stantinopIe and Scutari, with their build.
more risino in stapes one above another: