"Here first shaped the Lord eternal chief of all creatures, heaven and earth; the firmament upreared, and this spacious land established

by his strong powers,
the Lord Almighty.
The earth as yet was
not green with grass ;
ocean cover'd

swart in eternal night,
far and wide,

the dusky ways.

Then was the glory-bright
spirit of heaven's Guardian
borne over the deep,
with utmost speed:

the Creator of angels bade,
the Lord of life,
light to come forth

over the spacious deep.

Quickly was fulfilled
the high King's behest,
for him was holy light
over the waste,
as the Maker bade.
"Then sundered
the Lord of triumphs
over the ocean-flood
light from darkness,
shade from brightness,
then gave names to both,
the Lord of life.
Light was first

through the Lord's word
named day;

beauteous bright creation!
Well pleased

the Lord at the beginning,
the procreative time.
"The first day saw
the dark shade

swart prevailing

over the wide abyss." - p. 7.

Among the other exellences for which we have to return thanks to Mr. Thorpe, is a copious Verbal Index, which future lexicographers will congratulate themselves on possessing. In the absence of any thing like a respectable Saxon dictionary, this is highly valuable. We have but one quarrel with the Antiquarian Society in this matter; viz. that they have retained the mis-called Saxon character in this book. It has been so long thoroughly known that this was not Saxon; that, with the exception of and 3, it was merely a monkish variation of the Latin type; above all, that it did not even resemble the writing of the best MSS.; that it was to be hoped that in England the good example set by continental editors would be followed. The curious may consult Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, p. 1; Grimm's Deutsche Grammatik, I. 4; Zahn's Ulfilas Vorrede, p. 22; for further information; and above all observe the method practised by the editors of the quarto Edda, by Graff in his Otfried and Diutisca, by Hoffman in his Deutsche Fundgruben and Willeram, by Lachmann in his Nibelungen Lied, and by Schmeller in his Heljand; in short, by all Continental scholars whose opinions deserve attention. It is much to be hoped that the very successful start which they have made, will induce the Society to continue their useful labors; the Codex Exoniensis ought not to remain in manuscript; nor are the old religious songs and homilies of the Anglo-Saxons deserving of the neglect with which they have been treated; above all, it seems wonderful that the Works of that truly mighty prince, Alfred the Great, should never have been collected. For history, for the study of language, and for theology, they are of unmeasured value.

[Compiled.]

ART. III. Sketches in Greece and Turkey; with the Present Condition and Future Prospects of the Turkish Empire. Svo. pp. 226. Lond. 1833. Ridgway.

THE author of this work is the most recent traveller, who has given an account of Greece. In the spring of 1832, after passing through Albania, and paying the usual tributary malediction to the memory of Ali Pacha, the author crosses the Gulf of Arta, to Vonitza. He was now in the Greek territory. The town at which he arrived was at the time commanded by General Pisa, a noble Neapolitan exile, who behaved to the travellers (for our author was accompanied by a friend) with as much hospitality as his own forlorn circumstances would permit. The head-quarters of the general consisted of a single room, with a roof but no ceiling; two windows without glass; a fire-hearth with a fire, the smoke of which had no other exit from the room than through the door. The apartment was furnished with one deal table and two benches; and in a corner were two boards, on which were a deer-skin and a blanket, forming the general's bed. The unhappy exile, whose wretched destiny is here illustrated, is not unknown in England. In 1821 he joined the revolution of Naples, and was one of those who were afterwards sent into banishment. He came to England, remained here for three years, and, tired of an inactive life, he entered the Greek service, and distinguished himself in several actions, particularly at the siege of Athens. The only reward, however, which he received for his services, was the perilous post of governor of the fortress of Vonitza, where, between hunger and malaria, and the Roumeliote faction, it is only surprising that the poor general did not sink long ago. The faction just mentioned had given him repeatedly to understand, that they were determined to dispose of him as soon as they had the opportunity, and one night, by accident, as he was making his rounds, he found one of his sentinels negotiating with two of the enemy upon the terms which the former was to take for betraying the fortress. Our author afterwards found out that had the Roumeliotes succeeded, they intended to have boiled him to death in oil.

Leaving Vonitza, the travellers proceeded over Acarnania, paying a visit to the site of the renowned Missalonghi. After shedding a few tears at the tomb of the brave Marco Botzari, they went to Patras. From this place they were kindly sent on to Lepanto, by Prince Wrede, a Bavarian nobleman in the service of Greece, who also gave them letters to General Giavella, who resided not far from that town. The latter was at the time generalissimo of Western Greece, under the Capodistrian government. Our author speaks of him in the following terms:

"Giavella is one of the most interesting characters which have been elicited by the excitement of the revolution. A Suliote by birth and son to the brave hero and heroine who so long defended their mountain strongholds against the celebrated Albanese tyrant, he inherits the indomitable spirit and uncalculating bravery of his country and his parents. He is now about forty years of age, low in stature, but remarkably well made; his black hair flows down upon his shoulders after the manner of his tribe, and his dark eye and handsome features have an habitual expression of gayety and liveliness which is very pleasing, mingled with a something which bespeaks great occasional excitability. Brave to excess, noble, kind-hearted, and indefatigable, he has always been one of the most influential and important leaders in the Greek cause, and is a general favorite with his countrymen. Even those most opposed to him in politics, I have heard speak of him with tenderness and respect. He has distinguished himself on many occasions, especially at the battle near Navarino, where he and Constantine Botzari fought side by side, long after their followers had been driven from the field by the superior tactics of the Egyptians. But it is his noble defence of Missalonghi which has brought him the most enduring fame. We heard many of the particulars from his own lips. After sustaining a ten months' siege, and seeing all their hopes of relief destroyed one by one, the garrison, after suffering terribly from famine, came to the heroic resolution of cutting their way through the Turkish army. Favored by a dark night, they divided into three detachments, and left the ruined walls they had so long and so gallantly defended. The first division, with Giavella at its head, forced its way with little loss; the second also escaped, though it suffered dreadfully in the struggle; but the third, encumbered with the women and children, was forced back into the town, and the Turks entering it along with them, they were all cut to pieces; and when I visited the place, their whitened skulls were lying in a heap near the ramparts where they fell.

"In vain their bones unburied lie

All earth becomes their monument."

After half an hour's conversation with Giavella, chiefly on European politics and the expected arrival of the young king, we made known our object in visiting him, and requested leave to proceed to Lepanto, promising at the same time to return before nightfall.”. pp. 51-53.

After spending a few days at Athens, the author and his companion made the tour of Attica. This province, in its physical and moral condition, presented no exception to the general wretchedness which he had experienced in every other part of Greece that he had visited.

Having returned to Athens the author sailed across the Gulf of Salamis and landed at a village, called Pidavro, the successor of the famous Epidaurus. This place is situated on the north coast of that province of the Morea which was anciently called Argolis.

It lies" in the recess of a small creek, which stretches about half a mile inland. It is hemmed in by hills of considerable altitude; and from the softness of the landscape, and the deep quiet and retirement of the scene, is neither dissimilar nor altogether unequal to the lovely harbour of Poros, which lies a little to the south on the same coast. Like many other towns in Greece, associated with equally classical and sacred recollections, Epidaurus is but a mockery of its name. It consists of a few miserable fish

ing-huts, and one or two houses somewhat more substantially built; that is, with a few stones intermingled with the mud of which they are constructed. The population may amount to twenty or thirty families, subsisting chiefly by fishing, aided by the produce of the little land which it may be worth their while to cultivate. I was surprised to find that this was so insignificant in quantity: for I imagined that in so remote and sequestered a spot, they might have more chance of enjoying the produce of their industry than in those towns and villages which are situated nearer to the seat of government."

Here, however, whilst the party were eating their breakfast, and in expectation of obtaining horses which would convey their baggage to Nauplia, whither they intended to go, a messenger, in breathless haste, rushed into their presence, announcing that the Albanese were coming to pillage the place. The Albanese are a sort of irregular soldiers, subsisting entirely on plunder. All Greece is indeed overrun by similar bands. The body which made the irruption now spoken of is described by the author, who says, that a more squalid, ferocious, ruffian-looking set of men he never beheld.

"They were," he continues, "filthy in the extreme; their dress was torn and ragged, and their countenances denoted long-endured famine and hardships. They all carried two enormous pistols and a yataghan in their belts and a long gun over their shoulders. They saw at once that they had no resistance to encounter, so set about their errand vigorously, seizing every thing in the way of food or ammunition that they could lay their hands on. The people, subdued to the cowardice of silent indignation, stood quietly by, watching the seizure of their stores, without venturing even a remonstrance. I was equally disgusted with the dastardly endurance of the one party, and the brutal oppression of the other. The brigands, after rifling every house, except the one in which we had established ourselves, began to feast upon their spoil. They were soon intoxicated, and their brutality then became unbridled. Their conduct was that of utter barbarians. They insulted all the women who had been foolish enough to remain in the village, and the men did not dare to interfere. I could bear the scene no longer, and strolled away towards one of the remoter houses, when a loud scream arrested my attention, and a young woman, with a babe in her arms, rushed out of the door, pursued by one of the Albanese. My indignation had before wanted but little to make it overflow; so, looking this way and that way, like Moses when he slew the Egyptian, I rushed after the inebriated ruffian, and brought him to the ground by a blow with the butt end of my carbine. He fell with great violence, and lay for some minutes insensible. I took his pistols and yataghan, and threw them into a marsh close by, and then went up to the poor woman, who was terrified to death, and led her to a thicket of thorn trees, where she was not likely to be discovered. Here we remained till nightfall, when we ventured from our hiding-place, and found that the Albanese had retired, and were probably gone to repeat the same scene at some other village. The next morning we procured three horses for our baggage, and proceeded to Nauplia on foot, passing two other bands of brigands on our way, with one of whom we narrowly escaped a fatal quarrel. These blood-hounds swarm in every part of Greece, and till they are utterly extirpated, there will be neither security nor peace. It is to be hoped that this will be one of the first measures of the new government."

Maina is a promontory situated at the southern extremity of the Morea. The inhabitants of this place boast of their descent from the ancient Spartans, and have been always anxious to act up to the character of that celebrated people. They never submitted to the Turkish yoke; and by retiring to their fastnesses, their rocks and caves, defied the power of the Sultan from generation to generation. At last they obtained a sort of tacit independence, the terms of which were, that no Turk should reside amongst them, that they should pay a moderate tribute, and that the individual to govern them should be a chieftain of their own, to be appointed, however, by the Porte, or by the Capitan Pacha.

Formerly the Mainotes were plunderers by land and pirates by

sea.

A melancholy history is connected with Maina, that of the family of George Mavromichaelis.

This man was the head of a large and influential race, and was governor of Maina. He raised the popular standard as soon as the revolution broke out; and the zeal with which he and his relations supported the cause of the people, may be judged of when we state, that nine of his near kindred, sons, brothers, and cousins, perished in the struggle. The country remembered the services of the family, and, when Capodistrias was made president, and a senate was called, old Mavromichaelis and his son George were elected members. The former and Capodistrias were by no means good friends, for Mavromichaelis did not think that he was treated with the consideration which he deserved, and Capodistrias, unfortunately for himself, was led to indulge the ambition of pulling down the feudal power of the country, and for this purpose sought occasions of humiliating all those who were characterized by a spirit of independence. Such being the state of the relation between the two parties, it happened that old Mavromichaelis, being at Nauplia during the sitting of the senate, wished to visit his property in Maina; and as it was one of the regulations of the Greek constitution that no senator should absent himself from the seat of government without the president's permission, he accordingly demanded leave to go. The application was refused; the old Mainote became indignant, and took the road without leave; he was arrested, and thrown into a dungeon in the lofty fortress of Palamede, which commands the town. Here the old man was immured for several months, during which petitions and remonstrances showered in on all sides to the president, imploring him to release Mavromichaelis; but his wicked genius prevailed, and young George, the son of the old man, himself a senator, in a desperate moment assassinated Capodistrias. George was one of the finest and most promising youths that Greece could boast of: he was condemned to be shot, and underwent the execution with the noblest fortitude. The wretched father was afterwards released, and sent back in a Russian brig. Our author accompanied the old man back, and gives a most heart-rending picture of his sorrow for the loss of his son. 26 †

VOL. II. - NO. II.