whether from gladness that we now met each. other safe on the Grecian soil, after encountering, in the space of a few days, so many dangers.

Lord Byron had escaped from equal perils. Parting company with us on the night of the 31st of December, his vessel came close up to the Turkish frigate, about two in the morning. The Greeks, by the appearance of it, and the sudden shout raised by the Turks, who took the Mistico for a fireship, perceiving the enemy, were enabled, under favour of the night and silence, to save themselves among the rocks of the Scrofes. They saw us taken and conducted to Patras. Not deeming it prudent to pursue their course towards Missolonghi, they steered for Petala, `finding which port open and unsafe, they retired to Dragomestri.* There the primates and officers

* A small sea-port town on the coast of Acarnania.

of the place visited Lord Byron, offering him every possible succour. He sent off two messengers; one to Missolonghi, another to Zante.* To the former place he wished to go by land, but the mountains were impassable. Mavrocordato sent him five gun-boats, and a brig of war (the Leonidas), under the command of Praidi, and a Mr. Hesketh, a young Englishman, in the Greek service. On the 4th of January, steering for Missolonghi, he was overtaken by a violent storm, which threw him among the rocks. The sailors leaped on them, and got the vessel off unhurt. A second gust of wind drove them on again with greater violence. The sailors then, losing all hope of saving the vessel, began to think of their own safety. But Lord Byron persuaded them to remain; and by his firmness, and no small share of nautical skill, got them out of danger, and thus saved the vessel and several lives,

* See the Appendix.

with 25,000 dollars, the greater part in specie. He arrived late in the port of Missolonghi, and landed in the morning, as related.*

After eight days of such fatigue, he had scarcely time to refresh himself, and converse with Mavrocordato, and his friends and countrymen, before he was assailed by the tumultuous visits of the primates and chiefs. These latter, not content with coming all together, each had a suite of twenty or thirty,

* He had not pulled off his clothes since leaving Cephalonia; had slept upon the deck, and had purposely exposed himself to privations, which he thought would harden his constitution, and enable him to bear the fatigues of a campaign. He swam for half an hour on the 1st of January. When at Dragomestri, he composed the rough sketch of a Suliote war song, which has been found amongst his papers, but is not very easy to decipher. He wrote a letter to Colonel Stanhope, which has already appeared, and is given in the Appendix.

and not unfrequently fifty soldiers. It was difficult to make them understand that he would fix certain hours to receive them, and that the rest of the day was allotted to business or domestic affairs. Their visits began at seven o'clock, and the greater part of them were without any object. This is one of the most insupportable annoyances to which a man of influence and consideration is exposed in the East. I have seen Lord Byron bear all with great patience; Colonel Stanhope with still greater; but in this respect no man is to be compared to the indefatigable Mavrocordato.

When we arrived at Missolonghi, nine Hydriot brigs, impatient or hopeless of being paid, had already set out for their own country; and five Speziots were with difficulty induced to remain; and, to silence their threats of following the example of their companions, Mavrocordato was forced

to borrow 500 dollars, under the guarantee of Colonel Stanhope, that they should be repaid from the 200,000 piastres of Lord Byron. All the chieftains of western Greece, that is, of all the mountainous districts occupied by the Greeks, from the plains of Arta on the one side to the territories of Salona on the other, were now collected at Missolonghi in a general assembly, together with a great many of the primates of the same countries. Mavrocordato had been named

governor-general of the province, and president of the assembly. More than 5000 armed men had followed that chief, and were in the town. The first object of the assembly was the organisation of the military force of the province, the division of the districts under their respective captains, and of the troops in each district; the assignment of the soldiers' pay, and the establishment of the national constitution and a regular form of government in that part of Greece.