As I hoped to reach Arta before dark I did not much fear the robbers, of whom, a few nights before, a band had carried off from Salagorda twenty thousand piastres, and two of the inhabitants for slaves. The first two miles of our road lay along an old paved and rugged road, about ten feet wide, and the next four through an open country, interspersed with heath and trees. Before us lay at a distance very lofty mountains. Six miles from Salagorda, we passed the small Christian village of 'Aviga (Anaisa), containing about twenty houses, and we then saw marks of cultivation in large fields of Indian corn, which wanted about six weeks of being ripe. About two miles further, we fell in with an excellent paved road from thirty-five to forty feet wide, which the Vizir is building from Arta to Salagorda. After riding two miles on this, we came to another village named Kovéláxious (Kuetakyuse), which was the cleanest, the prettiest, and may I not say the most English looking, that I had seen since I left my country. The houses, (about forty in number) were of a good size and neatly whitewashed, each with a small fenced garden, where grapes, tomatas, peaches, &c., grew in great abundance. The women were sitting at work, and the children playing before the door. The church was pretty, and as the bells were ringing, (a rare sound in Turkey where they are forbidden,) when I passed through, every thing seemed to conspire to give me ideas of cheerfulness; I could hardly fancy myself in a land of slavery, till-on turning a

corner, I saw thirty or forty men tied together, and fastened to a well: their story was this; The robbers had been in the village this morning, and committed great depredations. The Turks, who were searching for them in vain in every direction, thought that they must somewhere have accomplices who supplied them with provisions and information, and had confined these villagers on suspicion.

As I went on, the road became more delightful, till I began to imagine myself on a turnpike road in England. It was strait for I should think three miles; at the end was seen the high white house of the Waywode* of Arta, and on each side the most luxuriant crops of grapes, figs, peaches, &c., just ripe, and enclosed from the road and all round by a very neat open fence and a ditch. On proceeding, I passed, at about a mile from the town, a river, (which is now but narrow, but in winter is greatly swelled by the waters from the mountains for twenty leagues round) over which was a bridge very pretty, but of a very extraordinary shape, as instead of being uniform in its' ascent and descent, it began by rising very high, and about half way sunk into a hollow, from which it rose again into a very insignificant ascent. The history of this bridge, as told in Arta, is quite a romance; two hundred and fifty years ago, when the Greeks thought no more of engaging in foreign commerce than the Chinese do now, an Algerine vessel brought a cargo of oil to sell at Salagorda. The inhabitants of Petty governor of a small town or village.

VOL. I.

*

I

the neighbouring towns flocked to buy it, and a Greek from Arta who had made large purchases, found a treasure concealed in one of the casks. Considering it as a bounty from heaven, he determined to employ it for the good of his countrymen, and accordingly engaged in the construction of this bridge, which he found his fund insufficient to finish, and borrowed a thousand piastres from a Turk his neighbour, which enabled him to conclude his undertaking. When he had raised the money, he went to offer it in payment of his debt, but the Turk was ambitious to have a share in the work, and refused to take it: the Greek, who was determined to have all the merit himself, appealed to justice, which forced the Turk to accept payment. I fear more than 250 years will pass before such disinterested liberality will be again witnessed in a Greek. At half past seven, when it was nearly dark, we reached the house of Signor Haяadroño (Раpathopolo*), the English Vice-Consul, who gave me very good accommodations. We had been three hours and a half from Salagorda, which was very fair travelling, considering that our horses, having made the journey once before to-day, were very tired, and could accomplish no other pace than an abortive trot or rather a quickish walk.

Friday, August 27th.-I walked about the town in the morning. It has an inconsiderable fort overhanging the river, and a Greek church of the low empire. * Whenever the letters th are printed in Italics, they represent the Greek delta, and are to be pronounced as in then.