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THE BURIAL GROUND.

of the troubadour, that in other days resounded through those walls, with the love-tales of Europe and the feats of chivalry— for still

"There is a power

And magic in the ruined battlement,

For which the palace of the present hour

Must yield its pomp, and wait till ages are its dower."

Proceeding through the council-hall, we pass to the palace of the grand master, a building of vast size, and originally of great strength; but the greater part of it is now in keeping with the neighbouring ruins, and what little of it is still tenantable is used as an hospital. Beyond this, a massive drawbridge, guarded by a portcullis, leads over a deep fosse, to the burial-ground: a plain of great extent, surrounding the upper part of the town, and at once eliciting the inquiry-whence came such an enormous necropolis for so small a city? But answered by the fact which history records, that sixty thousand men perished before its walls during the memorable siege of Solyman.*

The ancient town is completely fortified, and the works are of enormous strength, combining the defences in use both before and after the general introduction of gunpowder. Among them, and scattered over the town in different places, are numbers of marble shot, the largest I ever saw; several that I examined were above twenty inches in diameter. These were generally thrown from machines. Indeed, I do not know the place that can afford the traveller a better specimen of the defensive architecture of the fifteenth century than Rhodes.

The bazaars are small; and, notwithstanding that its admirable position with regard to Asia Minor, the security of its harbour, the number of vessels in port, and the apparent commerce of the

*In the year 1308, the Emperor Emanuel, upon the expulsion of the knights from St. Jean D'Acre, made them a grant of this island, which they continued to possess until the year 1522, when, after a glorious resistance, the grand master, Villiers, was compelled to surrender it to Solyman. The knights then retired, first to Candia, and afterwards to Sicily, where they continued till the year 1530, when Charles V. gave them the island of Malta.-Egmont and Heyman.

Marino, would lead us to expect a thriving trade, yet there is little or no business transacted in the town, where the people have a lazy, listless air, that is obvious to the visitor the moment he sets his foot within its walls. Its inhabitants are Turks, with about one hundred Jewish families, (for the long-cherished prejudice is still in existence, and no Christian is yet allowed to sleep within the gates); and the Greeks who have shops, or carry on their trades inside during the day, all retire to their own settlement at night.

Besides the palaces in the Strada Cavaliére, there are several scattered through the town, and the cross of St. John meets your eye at every corner.

Some noble plane trees (platanus orientalis) occupy an open space, where are the remains of a splendid mansion, on the wall of which there is a large panel, with the arms of old England emblazoned in good relief. This, in all probability, was the hotel, or place of public resort of our nation, as we know that, independent of their private houses, each of the nations (or tongues as they were then termed) who retired here after the crusades, had such an hotel.

The Greek quarter is very extensive, but daily becoming more deserted, owing to the wretched government of the Porte, the tyranny and exactions of the Básha, and the many opportunities now afforded to its inhabitants, both in Egypt and their own country, for displaying the spirit of enterprise that has never forsaken this ancient people even under the most trying circum

stances.

I know of no place that offers a fairer example of the mistaken policy of the Deewan of Constantinople, than the island of Rhodes, and no place that exhibits a clearer and more lamentable instance of its effects; for although possessing within itself every capability of becoming what a bountiful Providence intended it should be one of the finest and richest islands in the Mediterranean-with a climate suitable to every production that the wants or luxuries of man could possibly require-with a soil fertile and easy of cultivation-an inland scenery beautified by the monarchs of the forest, and varied by the mountain and the glade-a position which for commercial advantages is almost unequalled, and a harbour such as few islands, except Malta, can boast-it is yearly becoming deserted by its inhabitants, daily

failing in its trade, and hourly losing even the advantages of the passing visit of a vessel. Although capable of supporting in comfort from five to six hundred thousand inhabitants, the whole population of the island does not amount to above thirty thousand souls! And from neglect and want of proper cultivation, corn has to be imported yearly; and though the soil is well adapted for the growth of cotton, no more is planted than is barely sufficient for home consumption. In fact, the only exports are sponges, a little fruit and honey, and some timber from the interior, principally for spars and masts, and which costs but little trouble in conveying to the coast.

Whence arises all this? Like most other colonies of the Sublime Porte, Rhodes ever remains open to the highest bidder in the diplomatic auction at Stamboul. The governing Básha is appointed yearly, and pays for it and the tributary territory on the opposite coast, nominally a sum amounting to about £7,000; but which, with bribes to the different ministers and officials, amounts to nearly £10,000 a year. When the year is out, he again puts in his proposal; but even before the expiration of that period, should he not be despatched by poison or the bowstring, he is liable to be, and often is removed, to afford some more wealthy and intriguing diplomatist the opportunity of fattening on the fortunes, ravening on the hard-earned pittance, and crushing the spirit and exertions of the wretched inhabitants. He knows that he can only hold it so long as he is not outbid in the market, and (shall we say wisely?) makes the most of his time. This, it may be said, is all very natural in the man; but none will deny that it is most unnatural in the state that can thus "let and farm out" the industry of its subjects. And what is the consequence? The languid, luxurious Turk pays his taxes, exorbitant and usurious though they be-puffs the tobacco from his mouth, smoothes his beard, and says, "Allah kerim," God's will be done ; but the energetic Greek emigrates the moment he has an opportunity, and quits without regret the country and the government that would neither leave him the means of comfort nor of sustenance. It is said that this disgraceful mode of governing had been put a stop to by the late Sooltan, and it is enumerated among the number of his reforms. No doubt he wished and willed so desirable an end, and may have enacted decrees to that effect; but have they been carried into effect? I believe very partially

THE CLIMATE OF RHODES.

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indeed; and I have reason to know, that last year (1837) the bashalick of Smyrna, a place of greater consequence, and which, from its being under the more immediate eye of Europeans, the Porte would naturally desire to have its government reformed, was held by the same tenure, and through the same intrigues.

The environs of the town are very beautiful; and the face of the country, despite the chilling, withering influence of its government, lovely. Sunny banks, clothed with cyclamens, which were putting forth the gayest liveries of spring, and sheltered vales, where "feathery palm-trees rise," and the perfume of the lime and the orange blossom scents the air, can never lose one atom of their charms, though saddened by the reflection engendered by the knowledge of the canker that for years has sapped the indigenous verdure of this beauteous isle.

Could accommodation be obtained, Rhodes has many recommendations to the notice of the invalid. The temperature, though not so warm as other parts of the Mediterranean, is well adapted to those requiring a clear, thin, bracing air. Indeed, clearness has ever been its characteristic, and was that property which, no doubt, earned for it the appellation of Etherca among the ancients. The sky is generally blue and cloudless, and damp fogs are unknown; so that on the opposite coast of Caria, every curve and undulation in its mountain shores is plainly visible. The lowest point to which the mercury fell during our stay was once to 60°. I could not learn that any epidemics peculiar to the island existed; indeed, I think experience daily teaches us that islands such as this are invariably more exempt from such disorders than large tracts of continental country. The consul informed me that the summer heat does not rise above 80°, and the sirocco is almost unknown. In fact, what is most to be dreaded is the occasional cold blast blowing off the mountains of Karamania during the winter.

Here I first witnessed the true eastern leprosy, for several unfortunate creatures afflicted with this terrific malady are congregated on the island, and are to be met sitting by the wayside begging. A Greek chief, many years ago, with a feeling and humanity that does honour to the name of Greece, even in her most degenerate state, purchased a small tract of land in the interior of the island, for the purpose of affording lepers a secluded and comfortable asylum, and thither they come from all the

neighbouring places of the Levant, and now form a considerable village distant about five miles in the interior. As an endemic, leprosy was almost unknown in the island, and so favoured a spot being now used as a place to send the natural outcasts of society to, is another proof of the neglect and wild misrule that has so long contributed to reduce it to its present state of decay. Although I much desired it, time did not permit me to visit this asylum. The sight would be instructive, though humiliating, as a more miserable condition can scarcely be conceived than that of a human being driven an outcast and a leper into such a place. Owing to the want of cleanliness, and the due precaution of quarantine, together with its constant intercourse with the Porte, plague was formerly a constant visitor here; and in the last attack it is said to have taken off nearly a third of the Turkish population, while the Greeks suffered comparatively little.

I was informed that in the interior there is a village where the great majority of the inhabitants are affected with elephantiasis. It is situated high up among the hills, and the people themselves ascribe the frequency of the disease to the water which they drink coming from a great elevation among the high mountains that rise in the centre of the island. Can this affection, occurring in such a situation and under such circumstances, have any analogy to the goitre of Switzerland and Savoy?

The white heron of Egypt is frequently found here, and in winter vast numbers of woodcocks migrate thither from the opposite coast of Karamania, where they remain during the summer in the deep-wooded gorges that occur in these elevated wilds. Flocks of ringdoves fly about the town, and nestle undisturbed in the most frequented places. I was astonished at their extreme familiarity, and on inquiry heard that they are held sacred by the Turks, a strange superstition being abroad that they are the spirits of young virgins that have assumed this shape; and that to become thus transferred, it is only necessary for any love-sick damsel to make a dark circle round her neck, and repeat certain prayers and incantations, when she instantly turns into a ringdove! Foxes and a few herds of wild deer are to be met with in the interior. Jays are very numerous, and the coast abounds with mullet. There are few snakes or noxious reptiles on the island; but in my walks about the town I found numbers of the curiously-mailed lizard of the agama species, the agama spinosa,