The chief object of Lord Byron’s thoughts for the moment was to gain possession of Epacto; a fortress which, once in the hands of the Greeks, would materially facilitate the siege of Patras, and they must be masters of the castles, before they could reasonably hope to see their national independence incontestably acknowledged by European powers. Kindermann was ordered to reconnoitre the former place, and to take a plan of its fortifications. They are constructed on the declivity of a hill, forming a triangle, the base of which is close to the sea. The walls, which resemble those of every fortress in Greece and the islands, are of Venetian construction, but without ditches. A portion of them, is commanded by a neighbouring hill; so that, with a regular force, its siege would not be a very arduous undertaking; but against undisciplined troops like the Greeks it is impregnable, except by famine. Preparations were actively begun, and it was signified to the different capitani to keep themselves in readiness for taking the field in the first days of April.
The governor-general then gave me the title of surgeon-in-chief to the army
of Western Greece; a situation which I filled, till I was ordered to pass over to
Peloponnesus in 1825. It was more honourable than lucrative; for my monthly pay did not
exceed two pounds. Even this moderate sum was not
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While Lord Byron was waiting the approach of spring with impatience, Mavrocordato observed to him, that the secret, which Philip of Macedon had discovered for taking the strongest fortresses, was found to possess also a very miraculous influence on Albanian garrisons; and that in the present instance it would be advisable to try its effect; since that of Epacto was entirely composed of soldiers of that nation, commanded by Hassan Pasha, himself an Albanian. They had remained two years without pay; and as their provisions were neither of the best quality nor very abundant, their dissatisfaction had risen to the highest degree. Losing all consideration for their chief, they daily insulted or ill treated him; and more than once, when he shut himself up in his harem, they heaped up all sorts of rubbish under his room, and set fire to it, in order to smoke him like a fox in his hole.
A more favourable opportunity could not be imagined for proposing pecuniary
negotiations for the surrender of the fortress. Phoca, (nephew of the
famous Capitan Giorgiachi, who had distinguished himself so much,
during the insurrection of Moldavia), was then eparch of the prefecture of Venetico, and he
undertook to manage the business. The Albanians lent a favourable ear to his proposals.
They demanded 40,000 dollars, and a free passage to their country. But wishing to save
appearances, and not be suspected of treason, they required, that the Greeks should present
themselves before the place, with the artillery, and every thing else which might be
required for a siege: after a few days’ sham fight,
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The population of Mesolonghi soon began to avail themselves of the advantages, the dispensary offered. These are so self-evident, that it becomes superfluous to enter into details; though they might, perhaps, prove satisfactory to the Society of Friends, who were the principal contributors to that charitable work. But having myself been, during thirteen months, director of that institution, my observations might be looked upon as incense, offered to my own exertions. My occupations, before the end of a fortnight, had become so numerous, as hardly to leave me a moment’s repose. I was soon called into the houses of the principal citizens and primates; and had thus repeated opportunities of learning the Greek manners and customs; a description of some of which will, no doubt, interest the generality of readers more than medical remarks; as they are the real tests of the character and degree of civilization and morality of a nation.
What most raised my surprise, during my first visits, was to see, as soon
as I entered a patient’s room, all the unmarried girls instantly rise from their
seats, and, with more agility than Diana’s nymphs
could display, on the appearance of Actaeon,
precipitate themselves into the neighbouring apartments. Where the patient had only one
room, a curtain was purposely hung in one of its corners, to afford a hiding-place to the
young women, on the arrival of a stranger. Nature is ever endeavouring to get the better of
custom; and the ladies are no less fond of admiration in barbarous than in civilised
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When a person falls ill, he is laid on a mattress, placed on the floor in
the middle of the room. All his friends are bound to pay him a visit of condolence, and sit
cross-legged on the divan, till they are replaced by others. If it be a primate, his room
is so crowded, as rather to resemble a rout than a sick man’s chamber. It was in vain
that I remonstrated against the absurdity of this custom, and represented, that so numerous
a concourse of people disturbed the patient’s repose, corrupted the atmosphere of his
room, and was the readiest mode of transmitting infectious diseases. Whenever on this or
any other occasion, a new visitor of some consideration entered, sweetmeats and coffee were
presented him by the mistress of the house, who remained before him, with her hands
crossed, till he had sipped the contents of his cup. Women are, in this country, treated as
servant maids; and indeed, considering the dirty and slovenly manner, in which their houses
are kept, they would not, in England, be considered fit even for that situation. No less
was the disappointment I experienced daily, on witnessing, more and more, the little
consideration, in which females were held; having been led to form very different
expectations on perusing Mr. Bla-
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It stands to reason, that the extreme difference in the mode of education must produce proportionate dissimilarity in the moral character. In what does the education of a Greek girl consist? During her infancy, she is taught the art of the loom, rearing silk-worms, needle-work, and the coarser household occupations. Reading and writing are looked upon as dangerous arts, and are not mentioned in her presence. The only religious notions, instilled into her heart, are, that crossing herself before her saint’s image, and the observance of fasts, are sure guides to salvation. As soon as she approaches puberty, she is subjected to the closest confinement. The windows of her room are, like those of a dungeon, blocked up with grates and lattices. Nor is she allowed even to go to church. After much solicitation, should she prevail on her parents to permit her to breathe the open air, a moonlight night is chosen; and when every one else has retired to rest, the procession silently leaves the house. The male relations, armed from head to foot, compose the van-guard; the veiled virgin and her friends are in the centre; the mothers and vigilant old women bring up the rear.
The unceasing occupation of the parents is to procure, without delay, a
husband for their daughter.
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Though the absurdity of the system of female education, prevalent in
Greece, may, in part, be attributed to the influence of Turkish manners, it is still more
the effect of that habitual and innate jealousy, which is acknowledged to be one of the
most marked features in the Greek character. At Hydra, in most of the islands of the
Ægaean, in Maïna, and other places where a Musulman family never was established,
women have ever been, and will, perhaps, for some generations, be kept under more
tyrannical confinement than even in Turkish countries. Nothing can exceed the jealousy of a
Hydriot; and it is much to be doubted, whether civilization and the contact of Europeans,
will have more influence on them in this respect, than on the inhabitants of
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The remark, that low, damp situations are favourable to female beauty,
while dry alpine regions give birth to the handsomest men, might, every day, be illustrated
in this town. No men could present a more masculine, and finer appearance than the
soldiers, that had come down with their capitani from the mountains of Agrapha, Carpenisi,
and the skirts of Parnassus, &c. &c. while, it was a matter of surprise, for every
stranger, how this unwholesome nest of impurities could be the birthplace of creatures, so
strikingly beautiful as the females of Mesolonghi and
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Beauty which, like a flower, every where fades so soon, is, in the Levant, of ephemeral duration. Scarcely is it blown, but it withers. The custom of marrying at an age before the body has acquired that maturity of strength, which enables it to bear the vicissitudes incident to a state of marriage; the sedentary manner in which they pass the earlier periods of life; and the enervating warmth of their climate, are, no doubt, the causes of this decay. The loss of freshness, and the change of the features are so rapid, that at five-and-twenty, and very frequently even before that period, few women are recognizable; and nowhere can more “grim-visaged hags” be seen than in Greece.
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