amongst the worst of the Albanians,' we see no reason to conclude that it was at all better, at least while the country behind it remained unsettled for some years past, indeed, the tranquil state of the neighbouring territory has necessarily kept them at home. 6 The character of a people is long preserved in their national songs. All that were sung by those Albanians of the coast, who accompanied Lord Byron and Mr. Hobhouse, were relations of some robbing exploits;' and one of them,' says Mr. Hobhouse, began thus:-" When we set out from Parga, there were sixty of us," and the burden was Robbers all at Parga.' Much stress has been laid on these people being Christians; as if all the Albanian robbers were not Christians, and had not their papas, as well as the Parganotes and the rest of the Greeks ;-these are said to be not more strict in their conduct than enlightened in their understandings. In most of the crimes committed,' says an intelligent traveller, during my stay at Athens, a papas was discovered as an accessary; and a gang of robbers, or a boat of pirates, is seldom without its chaplain.* The papas of the Parganotes are of the very lowest kind. With respect to the Christianity of either priests or people, it consists merely of a few external ceremonies more senseless than those of the Roman Catholics, and the observance of superstitions more childish and absurd. The boasted independence and magnanimity of the Parganotes may be estimated from the single circumstance of Parga being held as a Venetian colony and garrisoned with Venetian troops for several centuries. It never defended nor even attempted to defend itself, after the fall of that power; but was always ready to supplicate support from every nation in succession whom it thought the strongest, and to place its feeble fortress in their hands. To the Venetians it merely served as a link in the chain of their continental possessions, now swallowed up in the territory of the Ottoman Porte; in other respects, so conscious were they of its imbecility, and so satisfied of its total want of importance, either in a military or commercial point of view, that they endeavoured from time to time to keep down the population, by withdrawing its inhabitants from the place, and encouraging them to settle in Corfu. With regard to the superior virtues of the Parganotes, none of our officers, who, from long residence, ought to know them best, discovered any of them except Lieut. Colonel de Bosset. Insulated * Douglas's Essay on the Ancient and Modern Greeks. indeed, indeed, as they were, they could not be expected to display either virtues or vices to any remarkable extent; in whatever degree of either they might once have excelled, their scope during the existing generation has been extremely limited. The priests seemed to possess not only the same degree of influence over them that the Romish priests exercise over the peasantry of Ireland, but they were generally (as we have seen) at the bottom of every intrigue. About thirty families of the primates had acquired nearly all the property of the place, by taking advantage of the distresses of the rest, and lending them money at an exorbitant interest. The greatest proportion of the people were wretchedly poor, and obtained their subsistence by labouring in the vineyards and olive groves, in boatbuilding, and in fishing, at which they were notoriously inexpert. The most respectable part of the population of the town were petty shopkeepers; but the very best of these did not scruple to cheat a soldier out of a penny whenever an opportunity occurred. Money is the soul of a Parganote; and matters of the most trifling amount are the objects of vexatious and clamorous disputes:-their petty courts were thronged with perpetual litigants; and to obtain a dollar a Parganote pleader would harangue through half the day. For acuteness, low cunning and intrigue, they are quite as notorious as the Turks of Negropont, the Jews of Salonica, and the Greeks of Athens;'-in a word, like the Græculus esuriens of the satirist, they are A flattering, cringing, treacherous, artful race, But this and more, say the advocates of the Parganotes, is redeemed by the bravery of the men and the chastity of the women.' All robbers must be brave; but since there has been little to do on the road, and less in the way of piracy on the water, the only instances which we have been able to discover of the bravery of the Parganotes are the two exploits already noticed. We are not disposed to bear hard on the frailties of the fair sex, and are willing to admit that the women of Parga may be chaste, when they have few opportunities, though unwatched,' of being otherwise we think too that the awkward custom, mentioned by Colonel de Bosset, of their being lent out on trial before marriage, is an impeachment rather of their parents' delicacy than of their own. Had M. de Bosset, however, been disposed to tell the whole truth, he might have related, from his own knowledge, that any young Parganote girl was to be purchased for time; and he might also have informed his readers, that the daughter of one of the first families in Parga, so beautiful as to be known by the name of the Queen of Parga,' Parga', was literally transferred by her own father to an officer, who, after a certain period, returned her to his care with the sum of 500 dollars for the usufruct. The women of Parga are handsome,' and, as far as the bust goes, finely shaped; but the whole figure is short, clumsy and ill put together; the men are well made, active, but not 'industrious.' Both sexes are good-humoured and have a winning address. When our troops first entered the town, men, women, and children turned out to greet them; but the story of the inhabitants receiving them 'under arms' is untrue. We have not made these observations for the sake of detraction, but in the spirit of truth, and for the detection of imposture. The vices of the Parganotes are no more necessary to be held forth than their virtues, in vindication of the measures which have been pursued with regard to them; but they require to be mentioned in order to expose that system of deception which has been practised with such successful assiduity, not only in England, but over the whole continent of Europe, to the prejudice of the honour and character of the British nation; and which M. Duval has the audacity to quote and enforce as a proof, which must be added to so many others, of its Machiavelism, avarice, and perfidy.' Had the English officers adopted the same atrocious means of getting rid of the Parganotes, which an infamous French colonel did with regard to the unfortunate Albanians, who had fled for protection to the island of Cerigo, then under his command, by poisoning the wells,* M. Duval might have transferred a share of French perfidy' to Englishmen :-but the libel to which this Member of the Royal Institute' has lent his name is every way worthy of its patron. But the person to whom the Pargauotes were to be delivered affords to their advocates so grand a display of eloquence on crosses and crescents, Christianity and Mahommedanism, that one would think nothing short of another crusade was on the eve of being undertaken against the infidel Albanians for the restoration of 'Christian Parga.' Ali Pasha, under whose immediate government Parga is situated, whom the Parganotes have frequently insulted and irritated, and of whom, therefore, they stand naturally in awe, has been described as a monster of cruelty. We have no desire or intention to come forward as his champions; but be the means what they may, which he has employed to acquire the ascendancy that he now enjoys, he has certainly succeeded in bringing into * 'I was under the necessity,' says this wretch, whose name was Pocris, of poisoning their wells, which destroyed numbers of them; this alarming and unexpected event obliged the remainder to fly'-and for what did he resort to this horrible deed? because their abode in this island is likely to produce some discussions with our neighbours of European Turkey.'-Quart. Rev. No. VI. complete complete order a very important tract of country, which was little more than one vast den of robbers; and, as Gibbon remarks, though within sight of Italy, less known than the interior of America: a country which, before the pashalic of Ali, no traveller could pass through with the slightest probability of escaping from robbery or murder, or both; but in which there is now more facility, and a greater safety in travelling, with better accommodation, than in any other part of the Mahommedan empire. We are told by a traveller, who is not sparing in the exhibition of the Pasha's numerous crimes, that, by his vigorous measures, he has rendered those parts of the country perfectly accessible that were before overrun by robbers, and bettered the condition of his subjects; that he has built bridges over the rivers, raised causeways across the marshes, laid out frequent roads, adorned the country and the towns with new buildings, and by many wholesome regulations has acted the part of a good and great prince.'* To the same effect we have the testimony of Doctor Holland, who resided at his court for some time, and attended him in a medical capacity; from him we learn that Ioannina is the residence of the most valuable part of the population of Greece, the wealthiest of their merchants, the most respectable of their tradesmen: there (he says) are to be found the best society, the men of learning and science-in short, it appears that the capital of Ali Pasha is as much superior to modern Athens, as London is to Dublin or Edinburgh. Whether the Greeks bear any affection to their Turkish ruler we cannot take upon ourselves to determine; but they are always glad to betake themselves to his dominions, as being more certain of protection there than elsewhere; and why the Parganotes do not choose to trust to that protection is best known to themselves. But however indefensible the conduct of this chief may have been on many occasions, we are not sure that it is either advantageous to our interests, or (what is more important) to those of the people whom he rules by delegation, that we, in England, should invidiously inquire into all the circumstances of his life, and exhibit his character in the most odious colours, while most of his accusers have been supplied with all their knowledge, and gained all their information, from the extended civilization which he has effected, and from the personal civility which they have received at his hands. To this reprehensible conduct Lord Byron is no party. I have,' says his lordship, no complaint to make, but am indebted for many civilities, (I might almost say for friendship,) and much hospitality, to Ali Pasha.' Hobhouse-Journey through Albania. It was not, however, with Ali Pasha that the negociations respecting Parga were conducted, nor to Ali Pasha that it was to be surrendered. The whole arrangement was made, as we have already stated, by our ambassador at Constantinople. The compensation was to be paid by, and the place delivered up to, the Ottoman Porte; nor was Ali Pasha even consulted until regularly deputed by the Sultan to take possession of the place and to pay the stipulated indemnity. But the mode in which this arrangement was carried into execution is made another ground of complaint: we shall shew, however, that it was marked throughout by a spirit of justice and fair dealing towards both parties, and of humane consideration towards the unfortunate Parganotes, (for so they may be deemed, though the alternative so much deplored was of their own choice,) such as became the character of a powerful and generous nation. As soon as the negociations for giving up Parga were concluded at Constantinople, the Sultan appointed Hadji Khan Hamed Bey his commissioner to take possession of the place, and at the same time to deliver his accession to the treaty, relative to the Ionian Islands. To meet this commissioner, and to arrange matters respecting the valuation of the property, General Maitland nominated Mr. Cartwright, (then British consul at Patras and now consul-general at Constantinople,) as a person who, from his habits of business and his official situation, appeared to be the best qualified for the delicate and difficult task of steering between two conflicting and dissatisfied parties. Mr. Cartwright proceeded to Ioannina, whence Hamed Bey had written to announce his arrival. To give confidence to the Parganotes, on the approach of the commissioners, the Commander in Chief of the Ionian Islands thought fit to reinforce the garrison to three hundred men, and to appoint at the same time Lieutenant-Colonel de Bosset commandant of the place;-a most unfortunate appointment! as it proved the immediate source of all the clamour which has been excited against Great Britain. The weakness of this officer's intellects, which is abundantly conspicuous in every part of his silly book, is a poor excuse for the mischief it occasioned; and a still poorer one for the libel which a sense of decency should have prevented him from publishing on the British government and his brother-officers. That he should give vent to his spleen against Sir Thomas Maitland does not surprise us, as the general soon found it absolutely necessary to remove him from his command. But leaving this; we must observe that Colonel de Bosset's statement with regard to Parga, and especially the share which he assigns (whether through malice, or ignorance, we care not) to Ali Pasha, is utterly destitute |