though it is pretended that no nefts of the latter have ever yet been feen in the inland: but this is no more true in Cyprus than in a thousand other places, where the fame thing has been afferted with as little foundation. Among the venomous animals here, there is a kind of ferpent, the Greek name of which fignifies the deaf fnake: its bite is mortal; its body is about two feet in length, and an inch in diameter; its colour is black and yellow, and it has two fmall horns on its head. The Greeks have named it very improperly, for it is by no means deaf. It generally frequents corn-fields and the reapers, befides wearing buikins, fix fmall bells to their scythes, in order to frighten it away. This precaution would indeed be altogether ufelefs had nature deprived it of the organs of hearing. At the village of Tremitiu there is, it is faid, a Greek family, in whom the virtue of curing the bite of this ferpent is hereditary. I faw two people wounded apply to a relation of this family, who cured them merely by touching them. those who defpifed this remedy became victims to their incredulity, and died fome time after. It is very true that all the virtue confifts in a fecrét known only to thefe people; for, in touching the wound, they dexteroufly apply a certain powder, which caufes a moft acute pain, but it vanishes in a moment. The tarantula of Cyprus is a kind of fpider, of a brown colour inclining to black, and covered with long hair: its bite is not mortal'; but it is, neverthelefs, dangerous; and often occafions excruciating pain, accompanied with a fever. All That of the galley is, however, incurable. This is a thin flat animal, about a foot and a half long; of a yellow colour; and furnifhed with a multi tude tude of legs, which it moves uniformly, like the oars of a galley: hence it has acquired its name. There is here also a black ferpent, about a yard, or a yard and a half long; but it is not venemous: people take it in their hands without danger and, having ftripped off its fkin, broil the flesh, which is faid to be extremely well tasted. The horses of Cyprus are not proper for the course; but at Paphos there are fome highly efteemed for their pace called ciapcun, a kind of accelerated trot, which they will continue the space of fix whole hours, over hills and plains, without fatiguing the traveller. The affes have the fame pace, as well as the mules, which are reckoned the best in the whole Levant. The oxen here are lean, and of a small fize. The Greeks never eat beef; for they hold it as a maxim, that the animal which tills the ground, which is the fervant of man, and the companion of his noble labours, ought not to be used for food. The mutton is juicy and tender: the tails of fome of the fheep, which are remarkably fine, weigh upwards of fifty pounds; and there are many of these animals that have three, and even five horns. To fatten them, recourfe is never had to caftration; this operation is generally performed on kids, which fupply provifions for the fummer. Nothing can be more beautiful than the flocks of goats feen here. The great cleanliness of this animal, the variety of its colours, and its fpotted fkin, afford a fpectacle truly interefting. When fufpended from a rock, or traverfing the plains, its agility and wanton gambols form an agreeable contraft with the dignity of other animals. The greyhounds are excellent for the chafe, and the lightning is fcarcely more rapid than their flight: flight: no fooner have they darted forwards than they are feen on their prey; and, on this account, thofe who wish to enjoy long sport, take care to choose the heavieft. Greyhounds of a good breed have the ears and the tail white, and exceedingly foft; long, nervous, and robuft thighs; and the reft of their body red. What difference, comparatively speaking, there is between the knowledge of modern and ancient Greece! We no longer find that land favoured by nature; and fertilized, as one may fay, by the dews of genius. We no more behold that enchanting climate, which, under a pure and ferene ky, gave birth to children whofe cradles were furrounded by the fine arts-where thofe eloquent voices were heard, whofe powerful charms infpired every heart with the fire of patriotism, and the enthusiasm of liberty; and where the people, even, endowed with that exquifite feeling, and that delicacy of tafte and fentiment, which can relish real beauties, were at once the judges and the protectors of genius.-Ignorance, at prefent, is completely triumphant. Being a ftupid adorer of gold, the Mahometan difdains thofe noble and honeft means of procuring it which the cultivation of the arts offers him, and is acquainted with no other than tyranny and oppreffion. Of the truth of this obfervation the kingdom of Cyprus, all Syria, the greater part of Afia, and Turkey in Europe, are melancholy proofs. No arts are cultivated there but fuch as are abfolutely neceffary; or fuch as are incompatible with calm reflection, and delicacy of fentiment. The wants of the inhabitants fupport, also, a few manufactories; the produce of which is, however, fcarcely fufficient for their confumption. Every thing here has been fubjected to the yoke of defpotifm; every beauty has disappeared; and a profound darknefs broods broods over this region once so fruitful in wonders. But an ancient temple is majestic, even in its ruins: the friend of the arts ftill treads with refpect the foil which is intermixed with the afhes of fo many great men; he exercises his recollection to honour their memory; and, in a fhort moment of illufion, thinks he still hears them in their fcattered tombs. If this is no longer the country of fcience, it is that of remembrance. On the fight of an aged and venerable tree, how often have I said to myself, "Here perhaps, in the courfe of his peregrinations, the divine Homer studied nature, and composed his fublime hymns; or here the homely Socrates, difcourfing on virtue and the nature of the Deity, became, in the eyes of thofe who heard him, the most beautiful of mortals." The wildeft fpot, confecrated by this idea, was converted into a temple; and the humbleft individual fhared, for a moment, the genius of that. god whom his imagination placed in it. One can eafily perceive in the modern Greeks the defcendants of thefe great men. A certain élevation of ideas fhews what they have been; but that threwdness by which they were diftinguifhed, is, at present, only a talent for mischief. They are acquainted with every trick that the deepeft cunning, and the moft ingenious deception, can fuggeft; and the net which they throw around you is wove with fo much art, that it efcapes the notice of the most vigilant eye. Few of them cultivate literature, which is known only among a fmall number of the monks; and the utmoft effort of their genius often is, to read the Greek without understanding it. Such is the general view of the kingdom of Cyprus: I fhall now proceed to give a more particular account of it. СНАР, CHA P. II, OF THE PORT AND TOWN OF SALINES, THE port of Salines, in the fouthern part of the island, is one of the moft Blourishing in the. kingdom; this is owing no doubt to its happy fituation; and the proximity of Larnic, the centre of the commerce of Cyprus. This place formerly was reforted to by people from all countries; and the Cypriots ftill regret those days of fplendour, when amidst so many nations, cuftoms, and different languages, each of them could, like the ancient philofopher, call himself a citizen of the world. Since that period things are greatly changed. When I beheld this harbour, at prefent deserted, and called to remembrance its ancient celebrity, I imagined that I faw the dry bed of a large river; and that multitude of foreign names infcribed and confounded on the neighbouring ftones, were like thofe numerical figns, which, long after the annihilation of its waters, are ftill an evidence of its former abundance. The town of Salines, which ftands on the borders of the fea, extends much farther in length than in breadth. The citadel, built by the Turks in 1625, is furnished with a great many pieces of artillery, which have on them the arms of the republic of Venice. This fortrefs, full of fiffures, and embrowned with age towards the fea, is fall |