for distributing the patrimony of the church in supporting the clergy, the schools, and the poor. But the plan was scouted by the Parliament as a "devout imagination." In this Assembly, however, a resolution was passed, which shewed, that, in the midst of the privation and hardship which they endured themselves, the Reformers were not unmindful of the wants of others. It was ordained, "that such as had borne office in the Popish Church, if their conversation was honest, sould be supported with the almes of the kirk as other poore." This liberal resolution, passed immediately upon the conclusion of a long and violent struggle, is highly creditable to the charity of the Reformers.

The only other measure which was adopted in this Assembly was, " that an earnest supplication sould be made to the States in Parliament, and the Lords of Secreit Councell." The form was not drawn up, but the principal heads of the supplication were: "That none be put in judicial offices but such as profess the Re

formed Religion; and that all Ministers of the word of God be removed from such offices according to the civil law:

"That order be taken for the confirmation of Testaments, that pupils and orphans be not defrauded:

"That punishment be inflicted upon idolaters and the maintainers of idolatry; and more especially upon the persons named as causing mass to be said, or supporting the sayers of it."

This Assembly was continued to the 15th of January following, and it was appointed that one Commissioner at least should be sent from every kirk. It was also appointed that the seve ral Commissioners should bring with them "a row of the whole tithes, lands, annuels, profits, and emoluments of the parish kirk nixt adjacent to them, and of the names of the tacksmen, and what dutye they payed for their tack." All the Commissioners who were present, promised either to come to Edinburgh at the foresaid day, or to cause others to be sent from their kirks.

generations. It is from this ample source that mankind have drawn precedents of taste, literature, and patriotism,-it is here that the first rude sketch of freedom was drawn,— it is here that the power of the people was first tried as an instrument of Government; and though we, the moderns, have improved this dangerous machinery, and rendered it more safe and manageable by devising proper checks and correctives, it is from Greece that we have drawn our from which has flowed European first lessons. Greece is the fountain arts and science ;-it is the original source of that light which is now spread over the world; and the country, however it may have been trodden down by barbarians, has a claim on the warmest sympathies of all civilized nations. Too long has this fine people been the prey of

infidel tyrants. But they are now breaking their chains; it is now the ebbing tide of barbarism; the night of ignorance is fast passing away, and we behold the day-star of freedom arise with mild and steady lustre. And is not this a prospect to warm the heart, whether of the freeman who burns with admiration of the ancient republics, or of the scholar who sighs over the departed glory of this classical land? The Greek Revolution is the triumph of liberty over despotism, of science over ignorance, of humanity and morals over cruelty and depravity of every sort. It is not like any ordinary revolution, in which there can be two parties among the civilized inhabitants of the world. It is not like a common dispute between Kings and people about the boundaries of their respective rights. The point in dispute here is, whether a set of wretched miscreant barbarians, because they form the Government, forsooth,in other words, because they have the power, shall be permitted to despoil and murder, at their discretion, their Greek subjects? There is no analogy, we ought to be well aware, between a Turkish and a European despotism. Absolute power in Europe is modified by the enlightened spirit in which it is administered. An absolute Monarch in Europe sees and feels that he has no interest in useless oppression. He does not, accordingly, lay about him his plundering hands to rob individuals, because he knows of other and better means for draining all that he wants from his subjects. But the barbarian tyrant cannot exercise even this forethought; and accordingly he robs and murders, indiscriminately, all that comes in his way. It was under such a despotism that the Greeks have long groaned; and it was to defend their lives and properties from such tyrants that they at last took up arms. We must wish such a cause success. We see, daily, men executed as felons for acts of far less atrocity than the Turks were in the habit of committing against the Greeks, and we consent to the justice of the sentence. But what would we think, or how would we feel, if this baser part of society were, by some unheard-of revolution, to gain

the ascendancy, and if we were no longer to have the gallows as a barrier against their excesses? Such a condition, and such an unnatural overthrow of social order, would, however, only be an exact counterpart to the state of the Greeks, under the degrading bondage of the Turks.

The object of the present work is to give an account of the origin and progress of the Greek Revolution. The author, Mr Blaquiere, is well known for his zeal in that cause; and the present narrative is composed from materials collected on the spot, from eye-witnesses of the events described. Such a work is peculiarly necessary at present, as we are but imperfectly informed as to the resources of the Greeks and their prospects of success, and as the decaying zeal of the public requires to be enlivened on the subject. There could not be a more proper instrument for this purpose, than the present plain and unpretending narrative, which sets before us the conduct and patriotic exertions of the Greeks,—their unbounded hatred of their oppressors, their great bravery, perseverance, and patience, under privations, and their brilliant and successful exploits in war, by which they have hitherto destroyed all the Turkish hordes that have penetrated into their difficult country, and by which they have now before them the brilliant prize-long contested for, and at length nearly won-of glory, freedom, and independence. This narrative is calculated to cheer and encourage the friends of the Greeks. It shews of what stubborn materials they are made; that nothing can subdue their spirit, and that, calmly and soberly, they are resolved to conquer or die. To this issue the contest has now indeed come; it is really a war of extermination. The Turks and the Greeks cannot exist together; one or other must be destroyed; and, of the two, the Greeks will, in all likelihood, be the survivers, to inhabit and embellish the land of their forefathers.

Mr Blaquiere commences with a justification of the Greek insurrection, which we think needless; and he, besides, places their case on the narrow ground of a treaty, said to

have been concluded between them and the Turks previous to the taking of Constantinople, and broken by the Turks. Now we would set all these specialties aside, and justify the Greeks on the broad ground of national right. There is no tie which bound the Greeks to submit to the oppressions of the Turks, and they violated no tie, therefore, when they rose up in defence of their lives and properties. Force was the only principle in operation between the two parties; and the one party had as good a right to it, if he thought he could benefit by it, as the other. Resistance had long ceased to be a question of morality; it was merely a question of prudence. The two parties stood clearly in the relation of decided and inveterate enemies, with all the rights belonging to that character, and it required, therefore, no breach of treaty to justify the proceedings of the Greeks.

Various causes, it appears, had paved the way for the emancipation of the Greeks. Among these the progress of knowledge among them may be cited as the chief. Within the last thirty years, the intellectual improvement of this people has been rapid. All classes have evinced an eager desire to become acquainted with the ancient literature of their country, as well as with the extended science of the moderns. The rising generation have sought know ledge in the most celebrated foreign seminaries, and, returning to their native country, have spread improve ment among their brethren. Schools have also sprung up for the instruction of those at home, and one certain effect of this universal spirit of improvement has been an increased impatience of Turkish oppression, and an increased desire to cast off the hated yoke. The diffusion of knowledge among the Greeks naturally gave a keener edge to their sense of degradation; it rendered them more inflammable more liable to kindle into an explosion, from the least spark of oppression; and the Turks, with their characteristic ignorance and brutality, were perfectly unprepared for the threatening storm." They descried no symptom of dan ger from the progress of knowledge, which was daily sapping the founda

tions of their power, and converting the Greeks from a herd of passive slaves, into a high-spirited race, with all the feelings of indignant freemen burning in their hearts. With knowledge, the Greeks, many of them inhabiting the islands scattered throughout the Ægean Sea, acquired commerce and naval power, and became the chief carriers of the Turkish trade.

With a view to casting off the Turkish yoke, extensive combinations had been long formed; and the insurrections under Czerni George, and Ipsilanti, in Wallachia and Servia, were the first branches of the conspiracy. These, however, were crushed, and the Turks, goaded on by revenge, proceeded to massacre, by wholesale, their disaffected subjects. The murder of the Greek Archbishop at Constantinople is a specimen of the ferocity with which they every where proceeded against the defenceless Greeks, about 30,000 of whom they murdered in cold blood in different parts. Their plan was, to disarm them throughout their whole empire, after which, they would be completely in their power. The quelling of the insurrections in Servia and Wallachia, and the dreadful severities which followed, tended greatly to discourage the Greeks in their secret plans, and it is likely that they would not have risen, had they not been goaded on by their oppressors, who plainly shewed them, that they must either conquer or be exterminated. The Greeks were in this manner driven at length into open resistance. It is well known that their country is exceedingly favourable to defensive war, being every where intersected by lofty ranges of mountains, through which the road winds by the narrowest defiles, at which a small body of resolute men may stop a whole army. Some of these passes, it is scarcely necessary to mention, have been among the most renowned scenes of ancient glory. Deep and impetuous rivers also occur, to impede the passage of an army; there is no country better adapted for irregular warfare, or more unfavourable to the regular manoeuvring of solid masses of men. The peninsula of the Peloponnesus, or the Morea, is one stupendous assem

blage of mountains, girt round by a rich border of low land; the roads are of the worst description, difficult even to the natives, though remark able for swiftness and agility, and altogether impracticable for the operations of a regular army. Another important obstacle to an invading army, is the difficulty of procuring provisions or forage, and the facility with which the natives can remove every article of subsistence, and drive their cattle to the hills. Such was the field of action in which Greece was now to make a last strug gle for her independence; and had the country been of a different nature, and more accessible, the Greeks, however heroic their efforts, must have sunk under the weight of the Turkish attack.

The insurrection first broke out at Patras, in the Morea, on the shore of the gulf of Lepanto, in consequence of a demand from the Turkish Gover nor, that the Greeks should deliver up their arms. This they flatly refused to do, and the Governor, turn ing his cannon against the town, easily made himself master of it. But the Archbishop of Germanos descending from the mountains at the head of 4000 peasants, retook it next day, and forced the Turks into the citadel. This event was the signal of a general rising throughout the peninsula, and among the islands, where numerous vessels were fitted out to cruize against the Turkish traders, many of which, richly laden, fell into their hands. The Turks throughout the Morea fled into the fortified towns, which they held, in the hopes of receiving timely succours. Some of the Agas surren dered to the Greeks, not being able to secure a retreat to any of the fortresses. Lala, which was garrisoned by a colony of soldiers, gave the Greeks a great deal of trouble. A very severe action was fought be tween these Laliots and Count Me taxa, who was attacked by them on an eminence near the town, where he had taken post, and where he was entrenched. The Turks, who were far superior in numbers, repeatedly advanced to the charge, with their cavalry, and were as often repulsed by the fire of grape and musketry, and at last forced to retire with the

loss of 300 men. The fruit of this victory was the possession of the town of Lala. The whole Morea was now a scene of continual skirmishes, in the course of which many of its populous towns and villages were destroyed. The Greeks, newly emerged from bondage, could hardly yet look their oppressors in the face, and this want of courage, which appeared in one or two instances, lost them some important advantages. But they became gradually more inured to war; and they were reinforced and encouraged by the hardy highland population of Laconia, who, though much addicted to plundering, and to lawless habits, gave on every occasion the most shining examples of intrepidity. By the middle of May, the Peloponnesus, with the exception of a few fortified points, was wholly in possession of the Greeks, and the new Government, composed of Archons and Bishops, was established in the heart of the country. They had a strong army blockading the important town of Tripolizza, which now became the great object of contention. The Seraskier, Chourschid Pasha, who was blockading the citadel of Yanina, into which the rebel Ali Pasha had retired, alarmed by the progress of the insurrection throughout the Morea, resolved, at whatever sacrifice, to attempt the relief of the Turkish troops shut up in the different towns. He accordingly dispatched about 2000 Albanian cavalry, who marched on Tripolizza. The Greeks, full of consternation at his approach, raised the siege of the different towns as he advanced, so that the Turkish garrisons were enabled to provision them anew from the surrounding country. Advancing to Tripolizza, he laid the neighbouring country under contribution, collected supplies from all quarters, and destroyed several Christian villages. The Greeks, who had taken post on the adjacent heights, after some hesitation, resolved to hazard an action. They were accordingly attacked on the post by the Kiaya, (the Pasha's lieutenant,) in person, with his whole disposable force. But the Ottoman cavalry, formidable on the plain, were embarrassed on the narrow and rocky ground, which was the field of

battle, and being thrown into disorder by the Greek fire, their defeat was completed by a vigorous attack of the Mainotes on their flank, and they re-entered the city in total rout. This victory giving the Greeks the command of the open country, they resumed their tedious operation of watching all the fortresses. Having no artillery, nor adequate supplies of ammunition, they could resort to no more effectual method of reducing them.

While these events were passing in the Peloponnesus, the insurrection continued to gain ground in the northern parts of Greece, though with less vigour, and with fewer striking events. In Acarnania and Ætolia, there were no Turkish troops to impede the progress of the revolution, except a few at Lepanto; and at Phocis, Attica, and Boeotia, the peasants assembled in arms upon the mountains, but struck no blow worthy of being mentioned. In Macedonia, the insurrection was begun with great success; but being carried on with little concert, was in the end mastered by the Turks, who massacred the Greek inhabitants in great numbers, and forced their leaders to fly for their lives. At sea, the Greeks were decidedly victorious, blockading all the Turkish ports, and the attempt of the Ottomans to wrest from them their maritime superiority, only prepared the way for greater glories. Two vessels of the line were fitted out against the Greeks, and proceeded as far as Lesbos. This squadron was attacked by the Greek fire-vessels so dexterously, that one of them fell on board the bows of the Turkish 74, while the ignorant Mussulmen stood on deck with muskets, prepared to repel what they conceiv ed to be an attempt to board, being deceived by several effigies the Greeks had dressed up in different parts of the vessel. The ship was burnt to the water's edge, and of a crew of 800, scarcely one escaped the vigilance of the Greek boats.

While the Greek patriots were thus fairly engaged in the work of regeneration, they were joined by several distinguished adherents from other countries; among others, by Demetrius Ipsilanti, the brother of the well-known Ipsilanti, who began

the insurrection which failed in Servia: he was accompanied by a younger brother of Prince Cantacuzene, and some other Greeks belonging to families settled in the north of Europe. This latter, though born of a Greek family, was in all respects a Russian, but full of spirit and activity, with a good share of military skill. Early in August, Prince Mavrocordato, whose talents and great character soon procured him authority among all classes, arrived from Marseilles in a Greek vessel loaded with military stores, which he disembarked at Messolunghi. Kyriaconti, brother to the Bey of Maina, was a great accession, on account of his courage and enterprise; and his eldest son, who afterwards died in the field, was a young man of great promise. Among those who joined the Greek cause at this time, the chief Colocotroni also deserves particular notice. He had never submitted to the Ottoman power; but in his native and inaccessible mountains of Arcadia, he had always carried on a petty warfare against the Turks. He was, accordingly, though bold and enterprizing, a mere leader of banditti. He despised tactics and discipline, and was nothing more than a useful partizan in that irregular warfare which was his delight. The strong fortresses of Malvasia and Novarin surrendered to the patriots in August; and it was here that the Greeks violated the articles of capitulation, on which these fortresses were surrendered, and massacred the Turkish garrison, though their safe-conduct formed one of the articles of agreement. Mr Blaquiere urges the provocations they had received as an apology for these excesses; and there is no doubt that, towards them, every tie of humanity and good faith was broken by their enemies. Still these considerations do not justify the massacre of men surrendered into their hands, under the faith or solemn contract guaranteeing their safety; and it is matter of deep regret, that the Greek cause should be stained by such atrocities.

In the progress of the war, the strength of the contending armies was collected at Tripolizza, where the Turks, with the inhabitants, amounting altogether to 20,000, were