Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-09-26

,bc sails hung in lazy folds upon the mast ana
M, sound disturbed the oceans silence. ne
crsw were assembled on ihe quarter deck, ana
I never listened 10 the Liturgy with such inter
eat and attention,-every souhG was so,e"'"'
.ra .x,rv line awoke some recollection oil home
.nd of Ene,and. II was a new feeling, IN such
.;,u.t;on. to listen TO the same accents we
had so long heard only in The village cnurcn'
,.n.,,ed amid scenes rich in all the suhliml,ies
ofnature. and hsllowed by the brightest asso-
cations Of history and time: TO hearken to the
precepts of Christianity almost amidst the very
scene where il FIRST arose, and to trace the wan
der;nes ofits Apostles on the very waves their
barks had traversed. ;.
There is no spot, mot even the very sea OIL
Greece, that wants its peculiar attractions; eve.
nv valley has its ruin, every hililis history ana
every wave is associated with the naval entei-
prizes and martial spirit Of the mighty dead
Even those spots unmarked by earlier memo
rial. Of the fame of Greece, are rendered inter
es,inp by aGter.recolleclion Of her fall. Age
has succeeded age, but to leave the impress oi
its events on the shore where true greatness
frs, burst to light The same soil once trod by
the bard and the warrior, was again pressed oy
The feet of those who bore over the earth the
pnre precepts of the Gospel and Of Christianity.
& where even these have left no traces Of their
path. the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Of liber'y is now
raising on every hill a trophy, and inscribing on
every rock triumph.
In the e, ening, as there was still no appear
ance Of wind, few Of the officers landed at Sy-
ra, within very short distance OF which we
were foa,irg on an almost GREATNESS sea. l ne
town is by no means so well built as some Of
the other islands less equivocally Greek Its
streets are irregular, bur s,rikingly clean, and
lis little harbor is crowded with vessels OF va
rious flags from Hydra Malta, and Marseies,
as Syra is now the only neutral port Of the em>
pire equally respected by Turk and Greek, and
permitted to carry on the trihing remnant OF
commerce which remains to the Cyclades. On
the beach VIC were met by Greek merchant,
with whom had formerly made the voyage
| from Hyora TO Napoii de Romania. His house,
TO which he conducted US, after visiting The
| town, was situated al short distance from the
| suburbs, in the midst ola garden cultivated in
the eastern style It's furniture was Of the kind
generally found in the houses Of the Greek ISL
andrrs,, half Oriental and half European, COM
bining the luxurious comforts Of the one with
the ,a.re ard Durability of the other. Our pipes
and coffee in China cups placed IN little vases o.
filIgrveo silver were presented by his daughters,
| two rather handsome girls, dressed III cos
tune between Greoian and French, and possess
| ed ef an ea>e III manner much superior to those
| Of the same class whom we had left IN tie Mo
rea. The old gentleman seemed deeply to re-
greet the ruin Of his trade in the islands, occ a.
stoned bv the CONFUSION Of the war. A few
week, before our arrival, syria had been thrown
into toe u,mos, confusion. by the arrival OF a
| Turkish corvette, escaping from the general
rout the Ottoman feet had suffered at Andres
| "A tx n
Greek cruisers, with whom she captuiatrd on
| the terms of giving UP tht vessel; as soon, no"-
ever, as the Turks we're Landed, the treaty was
| broken by the captain by biowi,g up the cor
veto; an a;icm;ft was Immediately made to se>
cure lie crew. and after some rioting and the
death Of few of The unfortunate wreiches. they
| were sccv'ed, and 10 the numhcr ct hundred
! and 6t;y stni % Hydra as prisoners Of war,
| " here a few DAYS after they were mastered bv
! ihc islanders The wreck Of their vessel, and
| he unhnried corpses Of the Turks, were still
! living n he beach as we passed. Ofthe present
war, end ITS prospects Of success, our host
spoke with hat disintrrCst ed en husiasin which
charac' crises every clas, Of the islanders, whose
lot, before The revolution, was sufficiently hap>
py 10 render them conten:ed with their submits.
sion 20 he Sub'lme Porte, had not feeling of
patriotism imnc!ed them 10 ruin their own
IfaHQhltI''y III cr;itf 10 ASSIST inc nODlt
Of their less fortunate countiymen. Governed
BY ,hei. own laws, acd m the full exercise OF
their own re'igi n, tritling yearly haratsch to
the Porte purchased them permission et
.ct thrir governors and senate from among
themselves, and FIRE d them from the presence
or residence Of a'Tnrk in the islands, SYRIA was
once the happirst "pot of the Archipelago, its
pains the richcs,ot The Cycladcs, and its mer.
Chants the most euierprising in the Levant; ITS
only political grievance the necessity Of sending
an annual number OF sailors to The Ottoman
feet, and its only lax about 5000 piasires a
year. paid to The leigning lavorite in the impe-
rial Harpm, on whom the revenue Of the island
was usually conferred by the Sultan.
Af,era protracted and gratifying visit we rose
to depart, but were pressed by our hospiable
host TO partake of desert preparing in another
apartment. II was the sole produce of his own
immediate hous, hold, consisting Of swee,mea,s,
oranges, fresh figs, peaches, melons, apriccis,
and grapes, such as have never seen equalIcd,
not in Smyrna; some Of the punches weighing
from five TO Gig ht pounds OF the unrest ambtr