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THE ISLAND OF SYRA.

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mainder of the voyage. It seems to be a point of collection and distribution, where passengers may embark for any part of the Mediterranean, and stands in about the same relation to the steam navigation of that sea, that Mechlin does to railway travelling in Belgium. Although the most important of all the Greek towns, it is so slightly fortified that it might be taken by a single ship of war. But should the bishop's residence be turned into a fortress, and properly mounted with guns, it might easily be made a much more strongly fortified place than St. Jean d'Acre ever was; and it would be no more than the present unsettled state of the East demands for the protection of a commercial town of so much importance. Indeed, it is not improbable that the amount which has already been expended upon the bishop's residence, would have been nearly or quite sufficient to defray the expense of throwing up a very respectable fortress, and putting the town in a proper state of defence; while his yearly revenue would be quite ample for the support of an efficient garrison.

With all its commercial advantages, however, the attractions of its active and picturesquely-dressed population, and its beauty, when viewed at a distance-an hour's threading of its narrow, dirty lanes (streets it has none) made us glad to return to our good steamer, quite satisfied that we could make ourselves much more comfortable and happy on shipboard than in the largest and most important town in all the kingdom of Greece.

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NAXOS AND PAROS.

After riding three days in the bay of Syra, anxiously waiting the arrival of the mail from Marseilles, the sailors pulled up the anchor, and we bore off on our voyage to Alexandria without it. The inhabitants, in their many-coloured and gay costumes, gathered on the shore in great numbers to witness our departure. We waved a long adieu to its snowcoloured houses, which are, in truth, more like the whited sepulchres of the dead, than the cheerful dwellings of the living; yet, as we dashed off before a prosperous breeze, leaving the town in the distance, it assumed a more strikingly beautiful appearance than ever; and, notwithstanding previous impressions, we could not avoid realizing that " distance lends enchantment to the view."

At sundown, we were running along between the rugged and rocky islands of Naxos and Paros, and the next day we had a view of the shores of Candia.

The weather was deliciously warm, and the blue waters of the sea were as smooth as an unbroken mirror. Not a wave rose to agitate or interrupt the calm and delightful movement of our incomparable boat.

There were no passengers on board except myself, wife, and an American friend. We were all in perfect health, so we lived well, and passed the time in the most delightful manner. Nothing could be more to our taste than every circumstance attending that agreeable voyage. Indeed, none could ever be more happily achieved. How soft and delicious was the balmy, summer-like climate! and the deep blue sky that hung over us was as pure as ether; while

MOUNTAINS OF JUDEA.

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the breeze that played around us was as mild as were the gentle breathings of the airs of Paradise. How harmonious and lovely the elements seemed to combine and hush all their ferocity, under the gentle influence of peace and quietness! And how cheerful and apparently happy was every living creature on board! The little bird, caged against the mast, sang as musically and sweetly perhaps as when it flitted at will from bud to bough in its native grove; and the noisy parrot, that coarsely mocked its notes, was as merry and playful as boys released from school. The sailors were no less joyous, and joined their jocund notes with the music of the birds, in some of their favourite sea-songs, while they scoured the guns, and put every thing in order on board the ship. The officers, too, were in high spirits. In short, we were all happy; and, in the last evening of the voyage, as we were enjoying the first glimpse of the lofty mountains of Judea, the high hills of Crete faded from our view, and the sun sank gloriously into the depths of the ocean.

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ENTRANCE TO ALEXANDRIA.

CHAPTER II.

First glimpse of Alexandria.- View by Moonlight.— Our Arrival. Turkish and Egyptian Fleets.-Imaginary Plagues of Egypt.- Process of landing, and the Manner of taking care of the Baggage.-The Inhabitants; their Mode of Conveyance.— Plan of keeping off Intruders, as practised in the East. - Ladies in Masks, and Peasants in Rags.-Novel Mode of sweeping the Streets. The use of Camels and Donkeys. — Water-carriers and City-criers. -First Impressions.

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THE next morning, we were threading our winding way through the dangerous entrance to the harbour of Alexandria. I came on deck, and found all hands "in the suds," scraping and cleaning every part of it, scouring the guns, and rubbing the rigging, that all things might appear to the best advantage when in port. They commenced this operation of the ship's ablution and deck-scraping, over our heads, about four o'clock in the morning; and so thorough and determined was the process of washing and scouring that part of the boat, that all efforts at repose were ineffectual, and sleep was quite out of the question, of course.

The moon was still bright, deep in the yault of

VIEW BY MOONLIGHT.

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heaven; and the morning-star, twinkling brilliantly in the east, led on by one of lesser light, though not less beautiful, gave a peculiar charm and sweetness to the mellow-tinted sky, as the first gush of Aurora poured along the eastern horizon. A long, low, circling coast of sand, rising occasionally into gentle hillocks, dotted with motionless wind-mills, stretched away in the distance on the right; while an outline glimpse of some of the principal edifices of Alexandria was obtained through the towering masts of the Turkish and Egyptian fleets, blending with the distant view of Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle, leaning against the richly-burnished sky, and producing, altogether, one of those incomparably beautiful and lovely landscape views which are rarely witnessed in nature, and reminding one most forcibly of those poetic and inestimable touches of Salvator Rosa, seen nowhere else in such glorious perfection as in Italy.

This gorgeous scene, lovely in itself beyond all manner of description, was greatly heightened in beauty and grandeur when the broad sun rolled up from the deep sands of the desert, overwhelming, in his effulgence, the light of the moon and stars, and entered upon his bright career.

We moved slowly into the harbour, feeling cautiously our way among the tall ships of Mehemet Ali, bustling with men, and bristling with implements of destruction, ready to scatter to the winds all presumptuous opposition to their master's will. These numerous and immense ships of the line, with their VOL. I.-2

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