A few days before my departure from Anapli, I had occasion to meet, at the hospitable house of the Callergis (Greeks, whose family is settled in Russia), General Roche, on his arrival from France; whence he had been sent to Greece, as agent of the lately established Paris Greek Committee. Papaflessa, minister for the home department, happened, at the same time, to call on the general; and as there was no interpreter present, I officiated in that capacity. The promises of support, made by the general, his account of the enthusiasm, felt by all classes in France, and their liberal subscriptions in favour of the Greek cause, were heard with indifference. The French could never have acquired popularity in Greece; owing to the well-known friendship, which subsisted between the French government and Mehmet Ali; the conduct of Drovetti, who acted as tutorial counsellor to the pasha; the constant services, which the French navy rendered to Ibrahim, and the construction of so many Egyptian vessels in French dockyards.
From these motives, if the Austrians were looked upon as the warmest, the
French were ranked among the most active friends of the enemies of Greece. Roche was by many considered, on what foundations, I
cannot say, as no other than an emissary from the Duke of
Orleans. Things in this country were car-
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Papaflessa related to him the active manner, in which, during several years, he and other emissaries of the Hœteria travelled about the country, spreading among the people, the seeds of revolutionary principles; or, to speak more correctly, announcing to them the coming of the Russians as that of a forthcoming of a Messiah. I may here observe, that so strongly cemented by superstition is the penchant of the Greeks for the Russians, that neither their perfidious conduct under Catherine, nor the habitual tenor of their political conduct since; nor even their late base desertion, after occasioning the insurrection of Moldavia and Wallachia, could weaken the friendship of the Greeks for their irreligionaries.
The Russians, besides, are regarded as the natural enemies of Turkey; as
those, who are destined to plant anew the standard of Constantine on the walls of Byzantium, and re-establish the throne of the
Greek emperors. Let the English remember, that whatever benefits, they may confer on the
Greeks, they never
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Among the foreigners, whose acquaintance I made at Anapli, the most engaging and entertaining was Count Pecchio. His manners, which made him regarded as the most gentlemanly person in the circles of Milan, caused him to appear doubly agreeable in this barbarous town; where politeness and society were equally unknown. I dined at his lodgings with Count Palma, and other Piedmontese of distinction; who by their talents, superiority of education, and acquaintance with civil administration, might have been of essential service to the Greek government, had the members of it not been actuated by a narrow-minded vanity, and a dislike to strangers. These gentlemen have published two pamphlets on Greece. The work of the first is a very imperfect account; and that of the second, as the title proves, a very prejudiced one. Neither the one nor the other, indeed, had opportunities requisite to take correct views of things; pent up, as they were, within the walls of Anapli, and totally unacquainted with the language.
If I think myself warranted in complaining of Count Palma, for his observations and calumnious accusations against me, it
is because he does not bring a single proof in corroboration of what he advances. Thefts,
apostacy, and treason, are crimes, which slander may lay to the account of the most
innocent man living; but no man of honour should circulate such reports without
investigating the facts, on which they are grounded. Count Palma
especially, who was judge in Piedmont, should know, that accusation and guilt are not
synonymous; and
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The festivals of Easter were celebrated, a few days before my departure from Anapli; and during three days nothing was heard or seen, but incessant firing of pistols and muskets, shouting, singing, drinking, dancing, and in one word every demonstration of the most bacchanalian joy. Preceded by the military band, and accompanied by the regiment, the senate, the executive, the ministers, the governor of the Palamidi Photamara, the principal military chiefs, all arrayed in their most splendid costumes, went in a body to the church of Saint Nicholas to assist at the solemn ceremony, performed on the occasion. Before the service terminated, they gave to one another the kiss of mutual reconciliation; which, had it been sincere, might indeed have justified the people’s rejoicing, and deserved to be announced by the salvos of artillery, which rent the air.
The senate, as before observed, consisted of sixty-one members; who,
although calling themselves representatives of the nation, were but little entitled to that
appellation; since they had not been elected by a majority of the people, to whom even the
right of assembling was not allowed; but by the capitano, cogiabashi, or primate, of their
respective town or district; who considered them as the fittest individuals to assert and
defend their despotic principles, and act as their agents near government. They had rather
represented, hitherto, the aristocracy of the chiefs, than the will of a free people. It
cannot be denied, however, that some of the actual senators were, at heart, very
good-meaning men; but their
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As soon as I received orders to join the headquarters at Tripolitza, I
immediately put myself in march; and, taking the road along the shore, arrived at the Myli;
a place so named from the mills constructed there, owing to the convenience afforded by the
neighbouring Alcyonian lake, the waters of which are employed to turn them. The next
morning we proceeded to Aclado Campo, a village curiously built round a conical hill, and
while there the peasants
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After ascending the steep, circuitous, road over Mount Partheni, and the strong Derveni, where, a few months before, Pano Colocotrone, the Dehli Janei, and other rebels, attempted in vain to arrest the troops of government, who succeeded in turning the position, and falling unexpectedly on their backs, we descended into the dreary-looking plain of Tripolitza; and, after eight hours and a half’s march, entered the town.
The climate of this part of the country is very different from that of the plains, near the sea; the range of its temperature being near the same as that of the more southerly counties of England. Indeed, few countries have been more favoured by nature than the Peloponnesus; for while a portion of it gives birth to the olive, the vine, the palm, the cotton, rice, and other of the richer productions of more southern climates, other parts afford all the advantages of northern latitudes.
Tripolitza was still the largest town of Peloponnesus, though a large portion of its Turkish houses had been destroyed by the Greeks, on storming this place; where thirty thousand of their oppressors had taken refuge. For not satisfied with spilling their blood, they sought, in the fury of their revenge, to destroy even their habitations. Its walls had not suffered much from the miserable artillery of the Greeks; although they are little higher and thicker than those of a garden; and consequently not susceptible of offering the slightest resistance to a well-directed attack. From fifteen to twenty small cannons were mounted on its ill-constructed batteries.
I was here presented by Mavrocordato to Con-
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In the evening we slept at Leondari, a large village six leagues and a
half distant. On the road are two very strong positions, where the approach of an enemy to
Tripolitza might be prevented by a handful of resolute men. The first is the Derveni of
Mount Calviero, at about two hours distance from the town; and the second at the pass of
the Panagia, at two leagues and a half from Leondari. The inhabitants of this village, in
order to escape the vexations of the soldiers, had, a fortnight before, deserted their
houses; so that our accommodations were none of the best. Before arriving, we were not a
little surprised to meet on the road Cavaliere
Collegno, who was returning alone to Tripolitza. This gentleman, who had
served as colonel of artillery in the Piedmontese army, had,
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On meeting his friend Count Santa Rosa, he explained to him the causes of his resolution: but the urgent remonstrances and entreaties of the latter prevailed upon him to alter his mind, and he gave him a promise to follow him wherever he went.
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