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The language spoken is Romaic, a corruption which is requisite in their present situation; and of the ancient Greek, and the uneducated classes this feeling is fostered by the habit that obtains are not able to understand even the New Testa- among them of calling each other by the name of ment in the original. The prayers of the church the place from whence they derive their origin.— are equally unintelligible to the great body of the They show a pardonable complacency in converspeople. The interests of literature have been ing of the former days of their country. I heard almost forgotten during the war; the colleges a female speak of "our ships at Salamis." were destroyed, and the students scattered; but the return of peace has brought with it a thirst for instruction, and the means of acquirement will soon be placed within reach.

king informed them that he had no funds he could devote to such a purpose; they then promised to be of no expense whatever to the government, but they were told their services were not requir ed, and were ordered to return without delay. It was politic not to rouse the jealousy of the Greek priests, by the introduction of so powerful a body of opponents.

It is perhaps to be regretted, for the interests of Greece, that prince Leopold did not accept the offer of the crown. There would then have been an influx of Englishmen into the country, who The whole of Greece, with few exceptions, was would have expended money and promoted trade. laid waste during the struggle for independence, The Protestant faith would also have been the and few efforts have yet been made to repair the religion of the court, and much good might have devastation: the houses are in ruin, and the fields resulted to the Greek church from the juxta-posicomparatively without cultivation. Napoli di Ro- tion of so much purer a system. The present mania, the present capital, is the only town I saw king, Otho, was born June 1st, 1815, and is the that is free from masses of ruin, and Patrass also second son of the king of Bavaria. I saw him is fast rising from its fall, as it is a place of much land at Syra, from a British frigate, amidst the commercial importance. The calamities of the loud acclamations of his people. He visited the people have known no bounds. The Turks have school in that island under the superintendency been utterly exterminated. In the victories of of the Church Mission, and after the children had the Greeks there was a general massacre: in the sung a hymn, and repeated many of their lessons, victories of the Turks there was a massacre of the he expressed himself as being much pleased with men, and the women were carried away to endure what he saw and heard. He appears to be of an in many instances cruelties more severe than amiable disposition, and report spoke favorably of death. I sailed from Rhodes with an interesting his attention to study. I had an interview with his Greek female, who had been for several years a confessor at Athens, who is friendly to the inteslave in Egypt; she was then returning to her rests of the Bible Society, and was on good terms own village, as her freedom had been purchased with all the missionaries. A number of Capufrom her Mahomedan master by a relative. chins arrived at Napoli by sea, and offered themThe Greeks have been the subject of great mis-selves to the king as the instructors of youth; the representation, both from those who have depreciated them and those who have praised. They have been galled by the iron chain of oppression, and though their fetters have been snapped by the sword, the cicatrice of the wound they left is yet apparent. The crimes that they copied from the example of their masters may be expected to pass away, whilst their own inherent virtues will shine forth with greater lustre and purity. We must wait some time before we can pronounce with certainty upon their national character, as they are at present under circumstances that are calculated to make them suspicious and discontented; and it is to be expected that many of the existing generation will regard the present government in the light of a foreign usurpation, and as affording but a poor return for the blood they have shed to rescue their country from the tyrants under whom they were born. Men who have for some time been accustomed to live on plunder seldom become contented citizens. These disadvantages will every day diminish; the people will become more accustomed to the presence of the Bavarians, and the Bavarians will be able to assimilate themselves more fully to the manners of the Greeks; the houses now in ruins will arise from their ashes and it is to be hoped that judicious enactments will promote commerce, and enable the people by honest means to gain a comfortable maintenance. There was a charm about some of the Greeks that interested me greatly in their favor, whilst there were others, in comparison few, who exhibited tokens of the grossest brutality. There is a spirit of jealousy subsisting between the inhabitants of different states and islands that partakes of the character of feud, and prevents them from working together with that heartiness

The king was accompanied to Grecce by 7,500 Bavarian soldiers, and it was in contemplation to establish a native force, but the Greeks manifested great reluctance to enter into the regular service. The principal chiefs are disaffected, as they have necessarily been deprived of much of their power, and the prospects before the king are not without dark shades, that must at times make him regret that he has accepted the dangerous distinction.The merchants are a numerous and respectable class, but the rest of the people are poor in the extreme. The Bavarian soldiers complained bitterly of the hardships to which they were exposed at the out-stations, as in some places they were unable to procure even the common necessaries of life. I heard much of banditti, but there was probably more fear on this subject than real danger, as I was never molested, though I often travelled without a single companion.

The Greek church is awfully fallen from the high position it once maintained, when it could enrol among the names of its professors some of the most eminent of the fathers. There is little public preaching in the churches, and both priests and people are ignorant of the essentials of Christianity. The churches are filled with pictures, to which the people appear to pay the most profound adoration, though they abhor images with a perfect hatred, and flowers are thrown before these

pictures in the same manner that I have seen
them thrown before the idols of the heathen.-
They pay great regard to the Virgin and to the
saints. Every house, and every vessel upon the
sea, contains the picture of some saint, before
which a light is kept burning continually. The
cities and islands have each their patron saint,
about whom they have invented a thousand ab-
surdities. I was at Corfu during the festival of
St. Spiridion, the patron saint of the island; and
there was a grand procession in his honor, attend-
ed by a great number of priests, and by some of
the British soldiers from the garrison. The body
of the saint is preserved with great care, and on
one occasion it is said to have suddenly stayed a
fatal pestilence. Upon one particular morning of
the year the shoes on its feet are found to be co-
vered over with mud, and the people most firmly
believe that during the night the saint has been
taking a walk through the world. The fasts are
religiously kept, and even the common sailors will
not violate them, though I sometimes unconscious-
ly tempted them, by asking them to partake with
me of the food I had provided for my little voyages.
The crew of a Maltese vessel were murdered by
a company of Greek pirates during the late war.
The Greeks upon entering the principal cabin,
found that refreshments had been prepared, and
they began to partake of them, but the captain, on
witnessing their conduct, called out that it was a
fast day, and they instantly threw down the food
in the utmost consternation, as if by this simple
act they had committed the unpardonable sin,
though their hands were yet reeking with the
blood of the murdered Maltese.

There have been as yet but few splendid triumphs produced by the labors of the missionaries, but a leavening influence has begun to operate among the priesthood, by the distribution of the New Testament in Romaic. The Greeks have at least one advantage over the Roman Catholics that they are allowed to read the Scriptures without note or comment. The Old Testament has never been printed in Romaic, but it is now in the course of translation. I was introduced to the principal native translator, professor Bambas, and it was never my privilege to converse with an individual of more genuine Christian simplicity. It was intended to separate the churches of Greece from the patriarchate of Constantinople, for which purpose a synod had been assembled.

The Greeks are enthusiasts in the cause of education, and mission schools might be established with effect in any place where the population The school under the is sufficiently numerous. care of the Rev. J. Hildner, at Syra, contains 450 children. I heard about a dozen girls read fluently in the New Testament, and many were absent, as it was a festival. They sang a doxology at the conclusion, and I thought at the time that I had heard nothing so affecting since I left my native land. In the same place, which is the most flourishing town in Greece, though of recent origin, and which contains a population of 30,000 people, there is another school, under the superintendence of the government, in which 300 children are educated. The schools at Athens are well attended, and have already produced much good. I was at Vostitza, upon the gulf of Lepanto, 54-3

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Aug. 7, and at the same time the Rev. W. O.
Croggon, of the Wesleyan mission, then stationed
at Zante, was passing through the same village,
but we knew not of each other, and did not meet.
I have regretted this the more, as my excellent
brother would have had presented to him a sight
of some interest; I was seated under a spreading
plantanus, which is said to be upwards of 2,000
years old, and the trunk is nearly forty feet in cir-
cumference; at a little distance were numerous
fountains, from which the females of the village
were taking water to their homes; upon the gulf
were many little barks and a few vessels of larger
dimensions; and on the opposite shore were Par-
nassus and Delphos, and the place of meeting for
the council of the Amphyctions. I took out
from my bag a parcel of tracts that had been
furnished me by my kind friends at Athens,
and presented one to a fellow traveller who was
resting under the same tree, but he regarded
the gift with suspicion, until he had opened it, and
seen something of its contents. I had soon a num-
ber of applicants, and the plane-tree was surround-
ed as it perhaps never had been before, venerable
as it is for years, by Greeks who were sitting in
deep silence, and reading with much apparent in-
terest the way of salvation by Jesus Christ. It
was gratifying to find that nearly all could read,
and that none refused to receive the tracts after
they had learnt the nature of the subject upon
which they treated.

In the Ionian islands, which are principally in-
habited by Greeks, the Greek church and the
church of England form the establishment, but
the Roman Catholic is specially protected, and
The absence of Mr.
all others are tolerated.
Croggon from Zante, on account of ill health, pre-
vented me from visiting the mission schools du-
ring my short visit to the island. There is a flou-
rishing school at Cephalonia, conducted by Mr.
and Mrs. Dixon, under the auspices of the British
and Foreign School Society. I am greatly in-
debted to the kindness of the Rev. D. Lowndes,
of the London Missionary Society, stationed at
He has established
Corfu, one of the learned translators of the Old
Testament into Romaic.
several female schools in the capital and the sur-
rounding villages, which are patronized by the
principal inhabitants, and are well attended. "The
girls are taught needle-work, in which they have
made great proficiency, and the New Testament
is used among them as the common lesson-book.
Female education has hitherto been much neglect-
ed among the Greeks, and I met with many re-
spectable females who were unable to read. Mr-
Lowndes, in addition to the regular services con-
ducted within the city, makes occasional tours in
the interior of the island, and is sometimes allow-
ed to preach in the village churches. The Jews
are numerous, and before the English took pos-
session of the islands, they were greatly perse-
cuted by the Greeks, who believe that the Pass-
over cannot be celebrated without Christian blood,
and that on this account a child is annually stolen
from their families, and afterwards murdered.

From all that I have seen, notwithstanding the character of the present times, I entertain bright hopes of the future prosperity of Greece. The time may never come in which it will maintain a

position among the great nations of Europe; but the period I trust is not far distant when its claims to relationship and brotherhood will be so powerful as to gain ready acknowledgment from the princes of Christendom. The people are athirst for knowledge; they manifest a laudable desire to emulate the attainments of their fathers; they have men among them who are able to teach, and they are willing to be taught; the rising generation has already acquired the first principles of the truth; and a work has begun that will give them possession of the true SOPHIA, or wisdom, a word that is every moment upon their lips, and bring them into that noble communion, "where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all and in all."

ITALY.

THE word Italy occurs only thrice in the New Testament. Rhegium, Puteoli, the Apii Forum, and Rome are in Italy, but there is no other place

in it of which mention is made in sacred writ.

We have no evidence in the record of inspiration that it was visited by any of the apostles besides St. Paul and St. Luke. The states of Italy are at present divided among the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia, the empire of Austria, the States of the Church, the grand duchy of Tuscany, and some other smaller powers. The population amounts to about 20 millions.

ROME.

I ENTERED Rome by the Flaminian way, Sept. 13, in the Diligence from Anconia, where I had performed a quarantine of 15 days, after landing from the Ionian steamer. The States of the Church are thinly peopled, agriculture is without encouragement, and the neighborhood of Rome has become an extensive desert, from the prevalence of malaria.

It would be in vain to attempt a particular description of the city, as there are single edifices in it that would require more ample space than the whole of this volume. It is as true now, as in the days of its ancient splendor, that it is

"Terrarum dea, gentiumque Roma,
Cui par est nihil, et nihil secundum."
MART. 1. 12. ep. 8.

The space enclosed by the walls is said to be about 13 miles in circumference, but a great part of the city is waste, or occupied by gardens and vineyards. There are many remains that proclaim the majesty of Rome under the different masters by which she has been held in subjection, whether kings, consuls, or emperors; but there are few ancient edifices that can be seen in their original form, as the more perfect have been converted into churches, and the more ruinous have been deprived of their principal ornaments, that they might be used in the decoration of palaces and other buildings of modern times.

The cloaca maxima, constructed by the Tarquins, has resisted the shocks of 2,500 years, and is still used to carry away the refuse of the city. Some of the aqueducts of the emperors are in so perfect a state as to be in use at the present time. The forum has been covered with ruins, but they are now in part cleared away, and columns are seen, some of them of great magnificence, with their pedestals many feet lower than the present elevation of the ground. There are fragments in it of baths and temples, and triumphal arches, but the mounds of earth, the shops and houses of the present Romans, and the construction of the churches that present themselves on every side, half heathen, half Christian, take much away from the interest of the place; and amidst such a scene it is difficult to imagine the presence of the magistrates, or the voice of the orator, or the assemblies of the people. The Tarpeian rock would still be a formidable precipice, if the houses beneath it were taken away. The triumphal arches of Septimus Servius and Constantine proclaim the prowess of the men in whose honor they were York, and the other was the first emperor who reared: the one fought in Britain, and died at professed the religion of Christ; but we pass in the centre of the Roman forum, of the truth of away from these to another erection, which tells, prophecy and the anger of God. The arch of the victories he had obtained in the east. The Titus was raised after his death, to commemorate bas-reliefs represent the pageantry of his triumph, which was the most splendid that had been witnessed at Rome, and in one of them are figures of the golden candlestick with seven branches, the table of show-bread, the golden trumpets, and other treasures taken from the temple at Jerusalem. The remains of the baths present proofs of the great extent of Roman extravagance, as they have for centuries afforded materials for building to the princes and ecclesiastics, and there is yet sufficient in some of them wherewith to erect extensive palaces. The house of Nero retains much of its ancient form-the colors in some of the pas sages are almost as fresh as if the work of the present year; and the number of rooms, the admirable contrivances, and the general arrangement of the whole interior economy, afford an insight into the luxury of the times in which it was built, that can scarcely be equalled by the inventions of our own age. The Pantheon has been consecrated as a church, and has a portico in front of sixteen columns. The style combines simplicity with majesty I could not obtain an entrance into the interior, though I made several attempts, as I was told that the members of the Academy were searching for the skull of Raphael, who was here interred.

The wonder of ancient Rome is the Coliseum, which it has been said can only fall with the world. It is 1,612 feet in circumference, and would seat 90,000 spectators. It was erected under Vespasian, soon after the conquest of the Holy Land, and we are told that it was built in the incredible short space of one year, by the compulsory labor of 12,000 Jews. In the silence of the evening hour, the Christian can steal away to this place from the mockery of the churches and the revelry of the palaces, and when the moon shines

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brightly through "the loops of time," there is a Foice comes from the deserted ruin that tells of the cessation of the sports of the gladiators, and peaks mare powerfully, by one single utterance, of the true triumphs of the church, than the tiara of the three worlds, or a pope kneeling upon the beck of an emperor. The area was sometimes illed with water, and mimic sea-fights were exhibited; and the whole could be covered with curtuins to keep off the sun and rain. In the interior circle are crucifixes and pictures, and service is performed before them in honor of the martyrs who here perished in the early persecutions. The late popes have been at great expense in the erection of buttresses to preserve the ruin from further dilapidation. When the emperor and his court were present, with the senators, the soldiers, and the populace, and there was heard the expiring cries of innocent men, and the roar of infuriated wild beasts, and the shouts of the multitude mingled with the sound, the amphitheatre must have presented a spectacle of brutality and blood in comparison with which even war, with all its cruelties, seems like a rational contention between man and man.

In Rome, the mind experiences a difficulty in grappling with the past, that is not felt to the same degree in any other city of the world; and this arises not so much from the indistinctness of the impression as from its extent, and the diversity of its character. We can watch the rise of the city from a single cottage; we can accompany it in the march of conquest, north, and south, and east, until all Italy bent, crouching at its feet; it rested not here, but still grew, and extended its empire as it numbered its years; the snows of Germany could not arrest its progress, nor the suns of Africa, nor the patriotism of Britain, nor the wisdom of Greece; it passed onward without ceasing, and wherever it passed it claimed the possession as its own: no limits appeared to satisfy the cravings of its ambition, and in the full vigor of its existence it was deemed co-equal with earthly space, and to name the empire was to name "the world." We have been taught to look at the individuals by whom this dominion was gained as more than men; and it is true that many were brave, and some were eloquent, and a few were virtuous; in power they were supreme, as they could frown in anger, and distant kings confessed their fears; and they could issue an edict, and crowns were distributed or countries confiscated; but we must not deceive ourselves by thinking that all this influence brought peace to its possessors, or raised them above the weakness and wickedness of our common nature. We may confine ourselves to one definite period, and it shall be that which occupies the broadest page in the empire's records, when the greatest of its sons were yet in active existence, and the lesson we shall learn will be instructive. The philosophy of the Greeks was at this time studied by the Romans, and it was by this that they professed to be guided in their thoughts and acts; it had been culled by Cicero, and the best of its precepts were made known to the world in some of the most eloquent periods ever penned by man; it had the most extended of all theatres on which to exercise its might; and all the moral power it is

possible for the loftiest intellect to put forth, was brought into activity. We have evidence of the results in the writings of contemporary poets, historians, and moralists; and they unfold to us a series of facts so offensive in their nature, that we could not have believed their existence, had we not been furnished with other testimony that none can deny. Nine years after the destruction of Jerusalem, whilst one of the apostles of our Lord was yet alive, there was an eruption of mount Vesuvius, by which the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were covered with ashes, and the inhabitants perished. The same cities were discovered in the 18th century, and the houses, the furniture, the utensils, and the ornaments of the inhabitants, were found in perfect preservation. They are now deposited in the museums of Italy, but many of them are of such a description that they cannot be exhibited to general view; there are figures of the vilest abominations, the most monstrous corruptions, that were objects of daily sight and constant usage. It might have been wished that the ashes that covered these cities had never been disturbed, did we not learn from their removal, in characters more clear than can be produced from any other earthly source, the deep depravity of our nature, and the necessity of a divine revelation. It appears like the act of a gracious Providence, that at the commencement of these times of departure from the volume of the word of God, we were furnished with a warning so powerful against trusting to the imaginations of men. We now learn to appreciate character by an unerring standard, and must thus confess that the greatest of Roman citizens was one who was unknown to the senate, or if known despised, and that the most important of all events connected with the history of the empire was an act of one of its procurators, in a small and distant province. The apostle Paul could claim the privileges of a Roman, and it was a Roman governor who condemned Jesus Christ to the death of the cross.

The city retains much of its magnificence, part of which is drawn from the present, but more from the past:

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The population is stated at about 150,000. streets are regular, and the houses are for the most part respectable in their appearance. The squares are ornamented with obelisks, many of which were brought from Egypt, but the columns of Trajan and Antonine are the most worthy of attention. The Tyber, with its yellow waters, runs through the city, and some of the bridges by which it is crossed are of ancient construction. The fountains are numerous, and some of them most beautiful, and they are as useful to the people as they are ornamental to the city. There are almost innumerable palaces, villas, hospitals, convents, and colleges. I visited with most interest the college of the Propaganda, from whence many great and good men have been sent as missionaries to heathen lands. The modern Capitol is approached by a noble flight of steps, near which are statues of Castor and Pollux, and some ancient

trophies. The buildings occupy the three sides of a square, in the centre of which is an equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelian, in bronze. In front is the hall of the Senators, with a fountain before it, and three colossal statues that represent Rome, the Tyber and the Nile. On the right is the hall of the Magistracy; and on the left is the Museum, filled with ancient inscriptions, busts, vases, altars, and statues. I was most interested with the apartment appropriated to the philosophers. The dying gladiator is the most celebrated of the statues.

exiled Stuarts, and of many other distinguished individuals. The space appropriated to divine worship is a recess in one of the transepts, and at one of my visits I saw a great number of dignitaries and other ecclesiastics, who officiated in their appropriate robes. The dome is ascended without any difficulty, by a spiral staircase. From one of the galleries that open into the interior, there is the most striking view of the vast proportions of the edifice. The people walking below scarcely appear like men, and the colossal statues of the monuments sink into far less than the natural size. It was only by actual admeasurement that I could realise the fact, that this structure so far surpasses all others in magnitude; the eye deceives the mind, and it is not until it has been comprehended in parts, and well studied, that a just idea can be formed of its claim to our special admiration. I retained the same impression I had felt at Baalbec, increased by having seen the temples at Athens, that the simple grandeur of the Grecian style of architecture is in some degree lost when applied

The churches amount to upwards of 300, nearly all of which would be regarded as objects of wonder in any other place. The Church of St. John Lateran, the facade of which is most elaborate, is the cathedral of the popes. The Scala Santa is said to contain the very steps by which our Saviour ascended to the judgment-hall of Pilate, brought hither from Jerusalem. They are nearly worn away by the devotion of their numerous visiters, who ascend them on their knees. Under the church of St. Sebastian are the famous catacombs, in which the early Christians sometimes found refuge; to large erections. The prejudices of early years they are said to extend several miles. The Church of St. Paul, in which the apostle is said to have been buried, was burnt down in 1823, but is now in the course of re-erection, and if continued on the same scale, will be one of the most imposing erections of the present age.

must account for the fact, that I can feel more in the cathedral of York than in the church of St. Peter at Rome. It is the most pleasing thought connected with the history of this pile, that it was in part the cause of the Reformation. Indulgences were granted to collect money for its erection, and the sale of these indulgences first attracted the attention of Martin Luther towards the unwarranted pretension of the Romish priesthood, which ended in a complete separation from its hierarchy, and in a revival of religion that will not cease to extend until the universe be filled with the glory of God.

The palace of the Vatican stands by the side of the church of St. Peter, and is 1300 feet long. It is not now inhabited, but is used as a receptacle for works of art. Its two chapels, the Sixtine and Pauline, contain some fine frescos, particularly the Last Judgment, by Michael Angelo. The library extends the whole length of the building, and contains 160,000 volumes and 40,000 MSS. The books are shut up in cases. I saw many old MSS. and early editions of printed works, but could not obtain a sight of the celebrated Codex Vaticanus, as I was told that an express order was required from the chancellor for the purpose. The museum contains a countless collection of antiquities, and may be called a wilderness of wonders. The Apollo Belvidere and the Laccoon are named among the finest productions of sculpture ever given to the world, and they are well worthy of all the praise they have received.

The church of St. Peter is the most magnificent shrine ever erected by man for the worship of Christ. It was commenced in 1506, gradually rose during eighteen pontificates, and was completed in 111 years. Its cost, if such a building had now to be erected in England, has been estimated at 36 millions sterling. The admeasurement, inside the walls, is 615 feet in length, and 448 feet in breadth and the dome is 464 feet high, nearly one-third higher than the dome of St. Paul's in London. The first sight almost always creates disappointment, which is gradually succeeded by admiration at subsequent visits. The colonnade in front, and the Vatican at the side, take much away from its apparent size, by their own gigantic proportions. The grand façade is without an equal, but it seems to make the church all entrance, with no structure to support the character of its immensity. The effect of the interior is not commensurate with is actual size. The walls are lined with marble; and there are rich altars at nearly every window, over which are mosaics copied from the most celebrated masters. The whole is by far too gaudy for a house of prayer. The aisles are filled with monuments, few of which are in good taste; but two lions, by Canova, must be excepted; and the monument, by the same hand, erected The pope resides in the palace of Monte Cavalo, at the expense of the British nation to the unfor- on the Quirinal hill. In the square before it are tunate Stuarts, is neat and simple. There is the two horses, one of which is said to be the work of figure of a female in the monument of Alexander Praxiteles, and the other of Phidias. I heard a VII., so beautiful that it has been partly covered favorable character of the present pope, Gregory with a robe of bronze. Under the centre of the XVI., as he is accounted a man of liberal sentidome is the reputed sepulchre of St. Peter, sur-ments; but this avails not towards any public admounted by a magnificent canopy, with pillars of vantage, as all the powers of the papacy are inbronze, 122 feet high, taken from the Pantheon. vested in the college of cardinals. I did not make Near the sepulchre is the grand altar, at which only the pope and cardinals are allowed to officiate. Beneath the floor of the present building are vaulted passages, which retain the pavement of the original church, and in these are the tombs of the

any attempt to gain a sight of his holiness, so called, as I was told that he was confined to his palace from ill health, but I afterwards found that he had celebrated divine service in public during my stay in the city.

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