The Irish standard., 1895-04-20
ON THE ISL e or :.



/ ~ Visit Among Happy Pe0pts Who DwAn
II Prlmeyal slnnpiicity.
Situated ii the Egean sea, south q
Smyrna, and less than twenty-lvo
miles from the mainland Of Asia.
Minor, Patmos is ten miles long, Eve
wide, and less than thirty in circum1
ference. A narrow isthmus divides the
island into almost equal parts north
and south, with Port Scala on tho:
east and Port Merika on the west.
Here stood the ancient city, and here
st. John landed, writes Bishop New
man in the New York Christian ADJ
vocate. The coast is deeply indented.
The cliffs rise as if out OF the sea.
The valleys are deep and solemn. The,
mountain peaks attain an altitude OF
one thousand feet, from which we had
view of the islands and islets, of BAY
and sea, of vale and SUBMITS whose
magnifcence is beyond the limits OF
language. Here and there the palm
and the olive, the fig and the mulberry,
the cypress and the oak, the almond
and the pine, adorn the island and give
industry to the people. Five thousand
people dwell there in peace, industrt-
GUS and quiet. Order reigns, and one
policeman is the guardian of life and
property. Patmos is one of the for
tunate isles.'' No Turk has troddeni
its soil; no mosque shadows its land
scape The small government tax OF
twenty-five hundred dollars is annually
carried by deputy to the pasha OF
Rhodes. 1t has never had piracy nor
slavery nor the plague. The air is
clear and heavenly. The people are
Greek Christians, gentle, intelligent
and happy. AS we passed through the
streets they came to the door and
saluted us with genuine hospitality.
From the early dawn till our arrival,
the bold, massive, southwestern, cliffs
of Patnos, like some huge cyclopean
wall rising from the sea, appeared to-
view, and against this dark background
solitary sail was seen, white in the
morning light, moving slowly in the
light breeze toward some neighboring;
island. The approach was enchanting;,
hour after hour in the stiffness OF the
dawn we drew nearer and nearer; the
illusion of nearness was fascinating,
vet deceptive. The winds and the
waves had indented the rock-bound
shore and carved out many grotto
which resounded to the voice of the
deep. Now Mount Elias was distinct
" seen, Thousand feet from sea level,
crowned with white temple to the
prophet, and anon the white city APP
peared on the distant hills which cluse
ter around the Monastery of st. John
the Divine" As it was near the Greek
Easter, a month later than the Latin
an ancient custom was observed, and
the exterior of each dwelling was
whitened in memory of the great
event. Soon we entered the quiet har-
Dor of La Scala, land-locked, describ-
ing two-thirds Of circle wherein ships
were at anchor. The lower town, the
village of Scala, the principal port, is
on the east side of the isthmus, on the
shores of a quiet little bay, wherein
one-third of the people live, mostly
merchants, who deal in figs, grapes and
other fruits. The upper town is on
lofty hill, half an hours ride up a
steep road paved with huge round
stones, hard to the foot Of man and
beast. Our arrival excited the little
village. Men, women and children
looked upon us wonderingly. Crowds
followed us, gave us flowers and well
coined us to their homes. At the gate
of the monastery the monks received
us in a formal and gracious manner,
and we were guests in the Monastery
of St. John the Divine" on the elsie
g De-