Part 8 (2/2)
Verily, we could be likened to nothing but the devils in the opera of Don Giovanni.
We now turned our steps again towards the village of Antiparos, and, under the influence of those potent stimulants, hunger and thirst, got over the ground more rapidly than might have been antic.i.p.ated, considering how exhausted the whole party felt previously to starting.
The time pa.s.sed rapidly enough in the interchange of a good deal of lively and amusing raillery on the truly laughable appearance which every individual presented, with clothes rent almost to tatters, and visage bedaubed with oil and soot; besides, each of us became the ”hero of his little tale,” and could narrate a hundred perilous incidents and hairbreadth escapes which he had encountered during his descent and ascent from the ”antres vast” of this extraordinary place.
It was eleven o'clock before we got on board, where all did ample homage to the breakfast that awaited us.
[Sidenote: PORT OF MILO.] In the meantime the boat quitted the island, and after sailing between Serpho and Siphanto, and coasting along the Argentiera, all volcanic islands, she came in sight of the port of Milo.
By properly fortifying the entrance of this harbour, it might be rendered perfectly impregnable. In shape it resembles a horse-shoe much contracted at the two extremities; and consists of the crater of an extinct volcano, the cone of which remains on three sides, but more or less in a state of degradation. The town is built on the top of the cone, and the whole island appears to be volcanic. In our pa.s.sage here, we sailed by the Pelican sloop of war, bound to Malta, on her voyage home.
[Sidenote: WARLIKE MOUNTAINEERS.] _Tuesday, 9th._--Early this morning, the Madagascar came in, in fine style, with every sail set, and anch.o.r.ed close to us. After bathing in the sea with the mids.h.i.+pmen, by leaping off the vessel's chains, the King of Greece landed, to go up to the town. The Greek soldiers and sailors, most of whom were pirates formerly, hailed his disembarkation on an old Turkey carpet, with shouts and acclamations, followed by a discharge of their long guns loaded with ball; several of which plunged into the water within a few feet of the steam-boat.
When all was quiet we went ash.o.r.e also, and landed on the snow-white beach, formed of pumice stone, which sparkled in the sun's rays like myriads of diamonds, and in which several large ma.s.ses of grey lava, exceedingly fragile, lay deeply imbedded.
[Sidenote: ANECDOTE.] In the paltry collection of wine-shops, here dignified with the name of _village_, we saw a number of Greeks waiting the return of Otho: each wore a gaily coloured kerchief on the head; an embroidered jacket; a shawl encircling the waist; red greaves; a dirk; and a long gun, ornamented with gold, slung over the shoulder. Their wild fearless demeanour struck me as more characteristic of the freebooter, than the soldier of a regular government. Yet seldom have I seen more elegant graceful figures than were possessed by these mountain robbers, whose robust symmetry rendered each one of them a perfect model for the sculptor's art.
I went on board the Madagascar in the evening, and enjoyed a pleasant _confab_ with the officers. There is a striking difference in the tempers and dispositions of the two royal brothers; the one being greatly beloved, while the other is disliked by every person in the s.h.i.+p. The King is very kind and affable, giving no unnecessary trouble, and mixing freely with the mids.h.i.+pmen and sailors: many a luncheon has he partaken of in the _den_ of the former. His brother, on the contrary, is all fuss and superciliousness; and the very first morning after he embarked, the captain was compelled to read him a practical lecture on the necessity of complying with the established regulations. He had been told that, as punctuality was a most indispensable maxim on board a man-of-war, where every thing depended on the example afforded to the sailors by their officers and superiors, he would be expected at breakfast by eight o'clock every morning.
[Sidenote: PARTING OF THE ROYAL BROTHERS.] On the following day, at the hour prescribed, the King was seated at the cabin table, and, after waiting a quarter of an hour, as the Prince came not, breakfast was finished. About half past nine his Royal Highness made his _debut_, and expressed some surprise at seeing the table cleared; however, the Captain told him he was sorry he had lost his breakfast, particularly as it was a long time to dinner; and the regulations of the s.h.i.+p precluded his having any meal served before that was ready. The Prince frowned and looked marvellously discomfited; but, pocketing his lecture, he made an apology, and went sulkily on deck.
The moment of parting between the royal brothers had now arrived, and they came on board the steamer together at a late hour. The anchor was already up:--”Give way!” cried the captain: the heir of Bavaria and the hope of Greece fell into each other's arms; and, after a short embrace and a kissing of each cheek, the latter hurried down the ladder; the Prince hastened to his cabin; and in a few minutes more we were merrily ploughing our way through the rippling waves of the calm and beautiful harbour of Milo.
_Wednesday, 10th._--Cerigo was in sight this morning; and, after coasting along its almost uninhabited sh.o.r.e, and rounding Cape Matapan, we entered the Gulf of Coron,--the scene of one of the most beautiful spirit-stirring poems that ever proceeded from the heaven-inspired pen of Byron. We sailed slowly along its wild and wooded coast, anxious to reach the town[21] of the same name in the evening; for, by going on sh.o.r.e there, we might probably avoid some days' quarantine at Zante.
When off the island, a boat was sent ash.o.r.e, and on its return we started again, and, pa.s.sing between the Isle of Venetico and the main land, and rounding the point of Modon, we kept the high and barren coast of Arcadia in sight.
[Sidenote: ZANTE.] _Thursday, 11th._--This morning Zante appeared in the distance, and about mid-day we entered the harbour of this fine island.
The interior is a beautiful plain, rich in pastures, well wooded, and cultivated with the greatest a.s.siduity. The town looked clean and cheerful: but we were not permitted to land; for it turned out that our quarantine had been of no use. Seven additional days' purification being required, we decided on starting again immediately. Several barge loads of coal, therefore, were brought alongside, and, their crews having quitted them (for they fled as if the plague had been actually on board), our men got to work, and we soon had our quantum of fuel for the voyage to Malta.
_Friday, 12th._--We landed ten pa.s.sengers to-day; four of them British officers belonging to the garrison of Corfu; and the other six, disgusted with the boat, and with the prospect of twenty days' detention at Malta, had resolved to await the steamer expected in six days from the former place, and bound to Ancona, where they understood the quarantine was limited to five days.
[Sidenote: SEA SICKNESS.] The swell becoming unpleasant towards evening, one by one the pa.s.sengers went below; and the Prince, turning gradually pale, showed unequivocal symptoms of being affected by a malady which, like death, is no respecter of persons, but fastens indifferently on the sceptred monarch and the shoeless cowherd, when either ventures to go ”ploughing the billows of the faithless deep.”
We took in two English pa.s.sengers who had been making the tour of Greece and Asia Minor, and who strongly advised the seceders not to trust to the expected boat, but to stick to the Francesco. However; as they still remained obstinately bent on following their own plans, we left them, and were soon out in the Ionian Sea.
[Sidenote: VALETTA.] _Sunday, 14th._--At four o'clock this morning, the mountains of Calabria, above Branco and Cape Spartivento, were visible.
About seven, aetna reared its giant head, towering magnificently over the scene through the clouds of mist that enveloped its base. At half-past two we entered the harbour of Syracuse, after a few hours' delay, started again in a gale. We had a very rough time of it during the night, but to-morrow our troubles will end.
_Monday, 15th._--At daybreak a speck was seen in the horizon; now it is visible above the hollow wave, now curtained from our sight by the swelling billow: we approach nearer; the speck divides, and two spots appear; they are Calypso's Isles,--
”The sister tenants of the middle deep, There, for the weary, still a haven smiles, Though the fair G.o.ddess long hath ceased to weep.”
[Sidenote: LAZZARETTO.] At ten o'clock we pa.s.sed into the quarantine harbour.
What a formidable array of guns! what bustle in every direction! and what a clean comfortable-looking place is this Valetta, with its white houses encircled with verandas. What a contrast is afforded by the neat trim boats, the well-appointed sentinel, and the civil, attentive officer of health, when compared with what I have been so long accustomed to! Every thing around bespeaks the influence of English habits and feelings. The whole of the great lazzaretto and Fort Emanuel were prepared for us: the latter for the Prince, and such as chose to go there in preference to the former. We landed in a hurry; the object of every one being to secure a good room for himself, as, with a piece of chalk in hand, he wandered through the vast corridors of this immense building. All were well satisfied. Myself and two friends agreed to mess together, and we secured a couple of good apartments, one for a bed, and the other for a sitting-room; to which two great comforts were attached, namely, a thorough draught and a kitchen. Valetta supplied the necessary furniture, and every luxury we required; and we made our engagements for getting our dinners brought from thence daily. With a boat and a servant in addition to these comforts, we found ourselves established in so agreeable a manner, that our party became the envy of the surrounding messes. Every liberty was permitted that the regulations of the place could sanction; and we were allowed to row about the harbour, and amuse ourselves in any other way we liked, from daybreak until night. Some of the messes had regular cooks in their establishment; but I think our plan was preferable, and we certainly lived better than they.
[Sidenote: DAYS OF QUARANTINE.] Notwithstanding the heat of the weather, our domicile was cool, and the s.p.a.cious apartments attached to the building, and the cloisters below, afforded plenty of s.p.a.ce for exercise. In the evenings we generally visited the fort, or went to the quarantine ground on the other side of the water: sometimes we took a row out to sea; and, on our return, the English portion of the crew generally came into our reception room, where we smoked, drank, and sang far into the night. No musquitoes, no little blood-sucking tormentors, were there to tease us; and the time pa.s.sed gaily and delightfully. Thus we held the even tenor of our course for a fortnight, when our confinement had virtually expired; for though the established period of quarantine was sixteen days, yet the one on which we went into the lazzaretto, and that on which we came out, were allowed to count as two.
Though very few incidents occurred to break the uniformity of our lives, the time flew on rapidly.
The gaming-table was established, as usual, by the foreigners; and heavy were the fluctuations of fortune, if we might judge from the changeful demeanour of those who frequented it. His Royal Highness never deigned to visit us; indeed, it could hardly be expected he should do so, when he did not even condescend to pay his respects to the ladies in the fort, or the party there established, though living within the same walls as himself.
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