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Lord Byron’s visit to Anatolico—His reception there—Return to Missolonghi—Arrival of Mr. Parry, with the stores of the London Greek committee—Interview and arrangement with the Suliote chieftains—News from the Morea—Letter from Lord Byron to Lord Sidney Osborne—Proceedings at the Seraglio—News from Patras, and communication with Lepanto—Proceedings with the Suliotes—Intrigues of the Moreote chiefs—difficulties with the Suliotes—Lord Byron attacked by a convulsive fit—Alarm at the Seraglio—Lord Byron releases twenty-four Turkish prisoners—Destruction of a Turkish brig—Captain Sasse killed by a Suliote—Disturbance with the Suliotes—The primates visit Lord Byron—Proposal from Ulysses to Lord Byron—The artillery brigade.
February 1.—At 10 o’clock in the morning, we set out for
Anatolico, in one of the flat-bottomed boats with which they navigate the shallows: we
arrived there in
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As we approached the shore, an immense crowd of armed men, who were
collected at our place of disembarkation, saluted us with salvos of musketry and discharges
of artillery. As usual, the balls whistled at no great distance above our heads, and a
cannon shot passed within three yards of our boat-head. We landed at one of the principal
houses of the town, where we found the Archbishop Porfiri and all the
primates in readiness to receive us. It was a day of ceremony, appointed for the
inauguration of the city prefect, one Suzzo, of Constantinople, a
courteous and well-informed young man. After many speeches very complimentary but very
sincere on both sides, they set before us an
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My Lord was afterwards conducted to the church of St. Michael, and had
pointed out to him what the Greeks of Anatolico consider a miracle. At the beginning of the
siege, a shell from a mortar fell on this church, killed the mother of the curate, and,
burying itself in the floor, opened a spring of water, which, as it happened, was of the
greatest service to the besieged, who before that time were obliged to repair to a well
near the shore, with no little difficulty and danger. During the whole of our walk to the
church, we were accompanied by a multitude, who anxiously testified their delight by shouts
and wild music, and the usual discharge of musketry. We particularly remarked that the
women (which, in the East, is the most decisive sign of congratulation) stood at
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February 2, 3, 4, 5.—Several boats arrived with various articles
belonging to the laboratory, from Dragomestre. At last, the Suliotes evacuated the Seraglio
prepared to receive these utensils. On the morning of the 4th of February, however, which
happened to be a holiday (of which there are more in Greece than there are working days), a
great portion of the chests was
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At noon on the 5th, Mavrocordato came back from Anatolico; and at four o’clock of the same day, Mr. Parry arrived with the remainder of the stores, and the individuals who accompanied him. There were eight mechanics, four officers (volunteers), of whom two were English, one German, and one Swede, besides several Greeks.
February 6, 7, 8.—Mr. Parry was
employed in the disposing of his stores in the Seraglio. A meeting was held, at which
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February 8.—The Suliote chieftains, Bozzari, Giavella, Draco, and the others, had a meeting at Lord Byron’s with Mavrocordato. They all consented to serve under his “most illustrious Excellency;” they still cherished the same jealousies as to one another. I was appointed, together with a commissary of the government, to look over the list, and to separate the true from the pretended Suliotes. We determined that the corps should consist of six hundred, under Bozzari and Giavella; that the real Suliotes should have the preference; but that if there were any wanting to fill up the number, those from the neighbourhood, who had been their companions in arms, should be selected for that purpose. We resolved to march in a few days.
We had good news from the Morea. The legislative body had published a
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February 9.—Colonel Stanhope now prepared himself for going into the Morea, in order to co-operate in the great work of appeasing the discords of that country. He was to give Lord Byron every information from time to time, whilst we were to be employed in the blockade of Lepanto.
Prince Mavrocordato wrote privately to Sir Thomas Maitland, to deprecate any bad consequences
from the infraction of the
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“Enclosed is a private communication from Prince Mavrocordato to Sir Thomas Maitland, which you will oblige me much by delivering. Sir Thomas can take as much or as little of it as he pleases; but I hope and believe that it is rather calculated to conciliate than to irritate on the subject of the late event near Ithaca and Sta Mauro; which there is every disposition on the part of the government here to disavow; and they are also disposed to give every satisfaction in their power. You must all be persuaded how difficult it is, under existing circumstances, for the Greeks to keep up discipline, however they may be all disposed to do so. I am doing all I can to convince them of the necessity of the strictest observance of the regulations of the islands, and, I trust, with some effect. I was received here with every possible public and private mark of respect. If you write to any of our friends, you can say that I am in good health and spirits; and that I shall stick by the cause as long as a man of honour can, without sparing purse, and (I hope, if need be) person.”
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We were much occupied at the Seraglio with disposing of the articles belonging to the laboratory in such a manner as to render them serviceable for the artillery brigade. Nothing could be more striking than the sudden change of appearance in the building itself: whilst in the hands of the Suliotes, it bore every mark of indolence and neglect; but no sooner were the English artificers introduced than life and energy were communicated, as it were, to the very walls themselves; and we could scarcely recognise the barracks when appropriated to their new inmates.
February 10.—We took this opportunity of handing over the medicines,
sent by the Quakers, to Dr. Millingen, in order to
provide for the troops, and to form a dispensary for those in want of medical assistance.
Mr. Parry, as director of the laboratory, was to
be appointed commander
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February 11.—We heard the news of the death of Sir Thomas Maitland. The Frankfort
Gazette asserted that there were public rejoicings on the occasion at
Missolonghi. That calumny has been already contradicted. Two Greeks, escaped from Patras,
brought us intelligence that the quarrels there were continual, and that much blood had
been shed in affrays between the European and Asiatic Turks. Yussuff Pacha himself had been obliged to interfere in person, and had with
great difficulty appeased the combatants. From Lepanto we heard that the Albanians had made
themselves masters of the castle; had pointed the cannon against the town, and had demanded
the arrears of their pay. It was reported, that they would surrender to Lord Byron the moment he appeared
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Lord Byron sent this day a messenger to Zante for another supply of money, which might be necessary in our intended expedition; for we now learnt that one of our spies had contrived to have a conference with one of the Albanian chieftains in Lepanto; and that this person had assured him that the troops would surrender to Lord Byron, provided they could be secure of their lives and of their arrears of pay.
In consequence of this intelligence, we took every step that our
circumstances would admit of. A corps of 1500 men, under several chieftains, were sent two
days
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February 12, 13.—I was occupied during these days in carefully
examining into the state of our Suliote corps, and in reducing their numbers to an
effective body of soldiers, after sending away those who were too young or too old, or too
infirm. In many instances I found in the lists names of persons who were nowhere to be
seen. This was a common device of theirs when serving in the wars against Ali Pacha, and the same deceit prevails in all the Turkish
armies; so that a body of troops which appears upon paper to amount to thirty or forty
thousand is often not more than a
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The greatest number of the Suliotes were followers of Constantine Bozzari, whose conduct was more satisfactory
than that of the other chiefs; but even the number of those followers was far from being
permanently arranged; for as each captain was anxious to increase his own importance by
adding to his own troops, he left no means untried to seduce the dependents of other
chieftains; so that it often happened that six or twelve soldiers, who were yesterday under
Giavella, were to-day followers of
Bozzari. We did all in our power to remedy this evil. At last, all
our difficulties seemed at
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February 14.—This morning Lord
Byron received letters from the legislative body, and from the new executive
council. They informed him that Pietro Bey and his
friends were gathered together at Tripolizza, and
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February 15.—This morning Mavrocordato sent for me: I found him with Nota
Bozzari, who did not scruple to throw all the blame of the indecent conduct
of his countrymen upon those who had arrived recently from the Morea. Shortly afterwards,
all the other chieftains entered the room: I told them at once, on the part of Lord Byron, that his Lordship was glad
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I carried this proposition to Lord
Byron, who thought it, on the whole, the best that could be now adopted; but he
was exceedingly vexed at the necessary abandonment of his present project against Lepanto,
at the time that the success of it seemed so probable. He had not been able to ride to-day,
nor for some days before, on account of the rain. He had been extremely annoyed at the
vexations caused by the Suliotes, as also with the various other interruptions from
petitions, demands, and remonstrances, which never left him a moment’s peace at any
hour of the day. At seven in the evening I went into his room on some business, and found
him lying on
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At eight o’clock, he went down stairs to visit Colonel Stanhope. The conversation turned upon our newspaper. We agreed that it was not calculated to give foreigners the necessary intelligence of what was passing in Greece; because, being written in Romaic, it was not intelligible, except to a few strangers. We resolved to publish another, in several languages, and Lord Byron promised to furnish some articles himself. When I left the room, he was laughing and joking with Mr. Parry and the colonel;—he was drinking some cider.
I had scarcely got away before I was overtaken by one of his guards, out of
breath, who told me that my Lord had been seized with a violent convulsion fit.
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This alarm had originated with two Germans, who, having taken too much
wine, and seeing a body of soldiers with their guns in their hands, proceeding towards the
Seraglio, had at once thought that a revolution was at hand, and spread their news over the
whole town. The fact was, these troops were merely changing
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February 16.—My Lord was better today, and he got up at noon; but he was very pale and weak, and he had a sensation of weight in his head. The doctors applied eight leeches to his temples, and the blood flowed very copiously: it was stopped with difficulty, and he fainted. However, he made a joke of his fit, notwithstanding it was far from a subject of pleasantry with us, who knew how much depended on the health of Lord Byron.
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We had some more news from Lepanto: the Albanians had had another interview with our messenger, and had expressed themselves ready to give up the castle to my Lord. Indeed, they added, that they would bring about the surrender of the castles of the Morea and Patras: but this was only to increase their credit with us.
The fortifications of Missolonghi being very much in want of repair, Parry undertook to put the city into a perfect state of defence for 1000 dollars, as also to repair the fortress of Basiladi, which, from its position in the shallows, might be considered as the key of Missolonghi. The magistrates accepted the offer, and agreed to give 1500 dollars towards the completion of the work.
Another opportunity now occurred, by which Lord
Byron was able to follow up
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“Coming to Greece, one of my principal objects was to alleviate as much
as possible the miseries incident to a warfare so cruel as the present. When
the dictates of humanity are in question, I know no difference between Turks
and Greeks. It is enough that those who want assistance are men, in order to
claim the pity and protection of the meanest pretender to humane feelings. I
have found here twenty-four Turks, including women and children, who have long
pined in distress, far from
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Amongst the Turks at Missolonghi there was a girl of eight or nine years of age, very lively and with handsome oriental
features, who had lived for three years in the town upon the charity of the inhabitants. In
the time of the Turks her family had been one of the most wealthy and powerful of the whole
city; but when the Revolution broke out, her father made his escape, and was now with
Yussuff Pacha. My Lord was struck with her
pitiable condition, and
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February 17.—News was brought to us this morning that a Turkish brig
of war had stranded upon a shoal of sand about seven miles from the city, and that many
Greek boats manned with soldiers had set off in the hope of making a prize of her. After
twelve o’clock, we went with Parry and some
other European officers, to reconnoitre the brig, which we conjectured would turn out a
prize of considerable value. A broad and long neck of land, separating the shal-
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February 18.—Early in the morning we prepared for our attack on the
brig. Lord Byron, notwithstanding his weakness and an
inflammation that threatened his eyes, was most anxious to be of our party; but
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February 19.—In the morning, Colonel Stanhope returned to Missolonghi, whilst Mavrocordato and the others went some way round, in order to touch at Basiladi, where the Prince was expected to give the meeting to the captain of an English frigate, who had arrived the day before at Missolonghi, to complain as usual of the capture of some Ionian boats; and not finding the governor in the town, had appointed a conference with him at Basiladi the next day. This took place at nine in the morning; and leaving Mavrocordato with the English officers, I continued my route with Constantine Bozzari toward Missolonghi.
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At eleven o’clock I arrived there. Entering the yard of our house, I remarked that Byron’s two small cannon were pointed against the gateway: this was quite new. I went into the house; there was a dead silence in the apartments. I soon learnt the cause: there had been a fray between the Suliotes and our artillery-men. Sasse, one of our German officers, was mortally wounded. The Suliotes were in arms: it was thought they would attack the Seraglio, and perhaps even our own house: the city was in a great alarm. A council was immediately held with Lord Byron and Colonel Stanhope, and it was decided, either that all the Suliotes should depart from Missolonghi, or that my Lord and every foreigner would at once leave the town.
Lord Byron spoke of going to the Ionian Islands, and
waiting the arrival of the de-
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I ran to the arsenal—Sasse was no more. The guns were pointed against the doorway; all the Franks had retired thither; and the utmost sadness as well as anger prevailed in the whole party.
Many contradictory stories were told to me as to the manner in which this sad event had occurred; but I believe the truth to have been as follows:
A Suliote, formerly a friend of Marco
Bozzari, and now a follower of his brother, much esteemed for his courage and his gentleness, came to the
Seraglio (where he had lived for six months), with a little nephew of
Bozzari, to show him our cannon and other instruments of warfare.
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Sasse survived only half an hour. He was universally
esteemed as one of the best
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The Suliotes now determined to leave the town; but this put an end to the enterprise against Lepanto. They talked of marching upon Arta, where they hoped to find considerable booty. They owned that they did not like to fight against stone walls. Lord Byron offered to give them a month’s pay if they would go; and they might go where they pleased.
February 20.—This day the funeral of poor Sasse took place. He was buried with much ceremony in a grave between
Marco Bozzari and General Normann. The Suliote chiefs attempted to lay all the blame of this
accident on Sasse himself, whose imprudence indeed was scarcely to be
justified: but at any rate, we were convinced that the best thing for us would be to get
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My Lord went out riding. He was exceedingly vexed. “I begin to
fear,” said he to me, “that I have done nothing but lose time,
money, patience, and health; but I was prepared for it: I knew that ours was not a path
of roses, and that I
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I begged him most strenuously to pay a visit to Athens, for his health, and
to relieve himself from his daily annoyances. “No,” he replied,
“no, they would not leave me more tranquil there than here; besides, I did not
come here in search of tranquillity; I am neither undeceived nor discouraged. You know
very well that this enterprise of mine was only a secondary object; my first aim was to
know something of those soldiers. I think we have gained that point at least. I must
wait here to see the turn that things take in the Morea, and to receive news from
London. In the mean time we will fortify Missolonghi and Anatolico; and we will see
what sort of regular troops we can make of the Greeks by accustom-
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February 21.—A fresh disappointment awaited Lord Byron; for this morning six of the artificers, who came out with
Parry, declared their resolution to return to
England. They said that they had bargained to be conducted into a place of safety.
Byron tried to persuade them that the fray had been accidental;
and that, after the departure of the Suliotes, nothing of the kind would happen again;
besides that, as he staid, there could not be any serious danger. His arguments were
useless: they said they had heard balls whistle over their heads whilst at work, and that
they should be murdered. It was in vain to tell them that the firing of ball was a daily
occurrence—they would go. But Mr. Parry remained, with only two
men, who were rather as-
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About eight o’clock this evening we had a violent shock of an earthquake. This occasioned a general discharge of musketry throughout the town, according to a superstition of the Greeks on such occasions.
February 22.—A new plan was resolved upon for the reorganisation of
our artillery corps. Lord Byron agreed to add to the
funds provided for that object, so as to enable us to augment the number of our men. Part
of these were to be trained to artillery exercise, the rest to the use of the musket, as a
guard for the guns. We could not have a regular body of infantry, having no muskets with
bayonets. Our
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February 23 to 28.—We were much busied in preparing letters for the
Ionian Islands, Italy, and England, which were to go by the artificers. The primates came
in a body to visit my Lord again. Their visit had the usual object. They began with thanks
and adulation, and then concluded with asking for more money. Lord
Byron
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The weather was somewhat better. Lord
Byron was able to renew his former long rides, and his health received a
visible benefit from them. We feared, however, that he had adopted too abstemious a mode of
living. He took no other food than vegetables and fish, and drank only water. He was always
inclined to follow extremes. Parry found some Greek
artificers, who enabled him to make some progress with his laboratory. Our artillery
recruits were increased in number, and their exercises were performed with admirable
promptitude and precision. There was no want of volunteers,
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At this time Mr. Finlay, an English
gentleman, came from Athens, having been eleven days on the road. He brought a message from
Ulysses, and also from Mr. Trelawny, who acted as his aid-de-camp, to Lord
Byron, and to Prince Mavrocordato.
The purport of this message was to invite them to a conference at Salona.
Ulysses was now understood to be extremely well-disposed to
compose all his former differences with the government; and, being individually of much
importance, it was expedient to give every attention to his proposal. He was at this time
besieging Negropont and Caristo; and, with the exception of these fortresses, the remainder
of the island of Eubœa was in his hands. His forces amounted to between 3000 and
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February 28.—We had news from the Morea that their discords were almost at an end. The government was acquiring credit daily, and Staico and Coliopulo, relations and zealous partisans of Colocotroni, were observed to have daily conferences with those at the head of affairs. The Acrocorinthus was in the hands of Notora, a chieftain attached to the government; so that, on the whole, the Greek affairs appeared to take as favourable an aspect as we could well desire.
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Each day we had offers of service from some foreigner or the other, either of those who were still alive of the former Phillelenic corps, or of travellers newly arrived in the country. Lord Byron admitted almost all of them, either into the artillery corps, or as a sort of chosen guard, thinking it of the utmost importance to engage as many officers as possible, in order to be prepared for disciplining the soldiery, when we should be able to augment the number of our regular forces. Thus we had them of all nations—English, Scotch, Irish, Americans, Germans, Swiss, Belgians, Russians, Swedes, Danes, Hungarians, and Italians. We were a sort of crusade in miniature. The word of command was given in Greek, but French and Italian were the languages in common use.
My Lord and Prince Mavrocordato settled that, in a fortnight, they would go to Salona.
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