salians, and Arcadians with the Tegeans. It was in command of the latter forces that Epaminondas was killed in the celebrated battle under the walls of Mantineia.

Had we slept at Argos, instead of returning effeminately in our barouche to Napoli, we might have visited Mantineia without any great deviation, and the scene of the fate of Epaminondas would have had more interest for us than the Lernæan Marsh. It was still indeed near us, but we found it impossible to visit either it or Megalopolis, about fifteen miles on the opposite side of Tripolitza, both of which, had we been better advised, and the weather been more favourable, we could easily have reached.

Evening was now falling fast, and before we arrived at the Turkish capital of the Morea night had come on pitch dark -our guide not too well acquainted with his path—the road a broken causeway over a kind of bog. On one side ran a dark

stream, whose depth the eye could not penetrate, while our tired beasts, by putting their feet into the deep holes made by the removal of the stones of the ruined causeway, stumbled at almost every step; added to this, we knew not how far we were from the town, nor, indeed, I believe, did our guide. In this situation, after a twelve hours' ride, it will be easily believed that we saw the first twinkling lights of the town with great satisfaction. We were unable to define anything but ruins, and were satisfied that the Turkish vizier had done his work effectually, when he determined not to leave a house standing in this once large and populous capital. When the Greeks took Tripolitza in 1822, they had put all the inhabitants to the sword in a most barbarous manner; 8000 male Turks are said to have perished in that slaughter, besides women and children. When Ibrahim Pacha repossessed himself of the evacuated city in 1829, he signalised

his vengeance for such barbarity by destroying literally every house it contained, and left it, as we found it, a heap of ruins. After threading through the remains of several dark narrow lanes, we suddenly came upon our baggage, horses, and servants-the latter holding a council of war in what had been the main street. The group was picturesque; some of the few inhabitants giving advice as to our night's habitation; while another party were seated, smoking by a large wood fire on the side of the street; the blaze from the burning wood lighting up the whole scene, and giving the figures a wild and unearthly appearance, more like denizens of Tartarus than of a place upon earth. There was little choice of lodgings, and we were soon settled for the night in a miserable den, in which our sole means of warmth was a small brazier of charcoal. There was, however, no great danger that the exclusion of air from our apartment would be so complete

as to endanger our lives from the fuines. Having satisfied our hunger, we passed the

night well wrapped in our quilts, and bid

defiance to a violent storm which we heard howling without.

280

CHAPTER XII.

TRIPOLITZA.-CLIMATE.-SNOW-STORM.-VOURLIA.

EUROTAS.-MISTRA AND SPARTA.

[13TH, 14TH, ANnd 15th of febRUARY.]

WHEN we rose next morning (Saturday, 13th of February), the scene that presented itself was dreary in the extreme, and we unanimously pronounced Tripolitza to be the most wretched prospect that any of us-even Mr. Johnstone, who had had an extensive experience of ruins and deserts-had ever yet seen. When we entered the town the preceding night, we had barely light enough to discover that it had been greatly damaged; but we had fancied nothing so miserable as the scene which the morning revealed. There had