New-York daily tribune., 1858-07-03
baya1d Taylor In Southern Europe
NO. LvIH.
NO. LVIU.
-FOUR DAYS AMONG THE MODERN SPAR
TANS.

$Sc1 Ohio AMONG IHE MODERN SPAR
TANS.
cspsspoDSspes ef The ~ y Trbun.
KALAMATA, Southern Greece,
March 26, 1853.
have Dething 10 add TO the descriptions Of the
ruined fortre,ses Of Argolis, given by prevOu,
ssveen. OF course, we sat in the Gate of Lions,
1Bycena, and a. in duty bound, thought of bally
AgAroennon, Orestes, Electra, and al tie other re-
nswIed old creatures who either were or were not
(aee Grote's History), admired the grand Pelasgic
masonry Of Tuyns, and climbed the seventy two
rowe Of rock bewn seats in the tbeaser of Argos.
10 enc who has seen Egypt, Bsalbec aud Eephsn-
IA, these ruins apart from their historical interest
Me not very impressive. Athens, Sunium, Egins
And Pbigals, comprise all that is left of the archi
tsctu,sl spieDdors Of Greece the rest is wallr,
huDdatioDs scattered stones, and few very dilap-
dated theaters. The traveller must bring the
magic Of immortal sssOci,tions with him, or he
wiz he disappointed.
found the Thirsty Argos" a rich, wel-wa-
tered pain-at least at present. The Ina:hos rolled
fall, swift stream to the Gulf, and the lush grain
was .hoOting up so vigorously that two or three
weeks more would zee it in head. Argos is mean,
Ahhy town, with most indolent population, if the
crowds Of loaiers at all the coffee houses might be
tAlen 90 q specimen. The country people were
pitching quoits in the streets and at caic whcre
We stopped TO rest, twenty five men were playing
saads. A Greek officer, who spoke some French,
se~ssttd US. learned sfterward that he had been
baaished from Athens on account of his peculstops
leiss discovered. The richness Of the soil, he said
10 NE, makes the people idle: they raise two crops
ayen have amply sufficient for all their wants, and
work no more than they can help. "You want a
Governor despOtic enough" said TO him, " to
tahc all these able bod ed idlers and make them
slean the Augean stable in which they live" In
het, all the labors of Hercules need doing over
sgaiA in Greece. The Hydra iohsbts the Lernean
mash; the lion croucbes in the valley of Nemea,
and there is more than one wild boar in the forests
Of Eymanthus. Fever, food, drouth and fire
are at their old ravsges and they are doubly fero
sieus when they have 1eccnquered territory once
wrested from them.
We spent night in Naupha, and climbed the
smbatttd rock Of the Palamidi. The town is
snail, being squeezed into narrow space between
he lower fortress and the water. The houses are
lofty, web built and dirty, as in Italian seapOrts,
and there are two dimautive squares, one of which
has meDument in honor of Demetrius Ypsi,nti.
II las been decreed to erect another to Cspo dis
niA-the only efficient ruler Greece has had-but
some years have passed. and the fret block OF marble
b net yet cut. In place of it, we found triumphsl
apsAee Of calico concentrating the recent festival
and an Ionic pillar with an astonishing capital sup
porting pastebosrd figure of the King. Work
men were Just taking to pieces the Doric columns
Of lath and muslin which had been erected In the
principal streets. Outside the gate there Was an
ether triumphal arch, the supports Of which hsd
siven way, 80 that it leaned at an angle of forty
fve degrees, threatening to fall and block up the
read. cannot see these monstrous decorations
without intense disgust One does not expect
Greece TO build new Parthenons all at once, but
sesA pitiful gimcrackery is worthy only of Ashan-
tes Or Timbuctoo.
We were two days in riding from Naupha to
Tipolitza, dverging from the direct route in order
70 visit the field Of Mantinea, where Epamlnondas
died in breaking the po .er of Sparta. There is a
broad cMrisge.ro road the whole way, distance OF
nearly forty mles the construction of which Is due
~ local enterprise 800, 600 drachmas having been
soAscribed In Trpolitza alone. The only fault in
the work is that it is too well done for the needs Of
The country. 1t 10 carried over two branches OF
the PArthenan Mountains by zigzags of so easy
arade that the actual distance is trebied, and Lorse
men stick to the old road In preference. The work
naaship s good, although little ragged in plaoes,
and the bridges are admirable. The Government
newspaper, the Elpis, recently stated IN Its
summing up OF the benefits which Greece has de-
rived from tie reign of Ohio, the amount of the
roads which have been made. l find the total
length of the roads to be less than l20 miles, while
I'VE subtract those whioh have been constructed
Amply for the convenience Of the Court, and not
hr the good of the country, there viii remain bare
" 6fiy miles The Greeks say, and their friends
say: Don't ark too much of us; We are young
and peOr; we have not the means to accomplish
more" Yes; but you build palace for two mill
ions Of dollars; you support useless army oi NIL
itary and navel eeches you give to the Court when"
ever the Court asks, and you give nothing to the
people. You adopt the policy of Venice, the East
srn Empire Turkey eveD instead OF looking Tor
example and guidance to the countries which no"
Mad the van of civilization.
On approaching Trpolitzs, we came upon the
sreat central plain of Arcadia, which IS between
tive and three thousand feet above the level OF the
sea. Here the season was nearly q month hler
than on the plain Of Argos, and the country bad
gay, wintry look. There is 40 sufficient drainage
Sor this plain, and hence parts of it are naTSny and
niaspAtc. One to whom poetry has made tae
name Of Arcadia a golden sound, the hey 10 l.nd-
,e,,e. OF IDEAL loneliness skies of perpetual senDg