and where he wanted neither fortune nor influence; but with the opening of the revolution he hastened to Greece, and though he had neither the diplomatic genius of Mavrocordato, nor the consummate abilities of Coletti, his education and patriotism secured for him a distinguished place among the Greeks of the day. He was long the associate of the distinguished Gazis in the Court of the Areopagus, and at the close of the revolution was deputed by the government to take possession of the citadel and the city of Lamia, which up to that time, 1832, had remained in the hands of the Turks. He was subsequently Minister of the Interior and Counsellor of State; but Mansolas, like many other Greeks, incurred the displeasure of the Regency, and is now leading the life of a private individual. His harem affords him ample space for lounging as well as contemplation, and his estate at the head of the Maliac gulf, though small, is enough to satisfy a philosopher. His agricultural pursuits fill a small portion of his time, while his gun and books afford him abundant materials for amusement. Greece, however, is more proud of her Mansolas in exile than she is of many others who are in the enjoyment of high stations and ample emoluments.*

*The difficulties which preceded the recent revolution, recalled Mansolas to his post, and the 3d of Sept., 1843, placed him among the members of the first responsible ministry in Greece.

Mr. Mansolas was so obliging as to accompany us to the governor of the province, and also to some of the more élite of the city, who, like him, are established here from different parts of the country. While at Dr. K.'s, formerly a resident of Salonica, I had the pleasure of meeting with Captain Valentza. a distinguished chief of Thessaly, and a man whose repeated efforts to revolutionize his native province have rendered him obnoxious to the respective governments of Greece and Turkey, and subjected him more than once to the notoriety and the inconveniences of an out-law-and a kleft. Valentza, though adventurous, and somewhat imprudent, is represented as a lion in courage, and, for the last twenty years, he has been leading a life calculated to make him as savage, and yet nothing is so remarkable or so surprising as the gentlemanly and mild demeanour of this distinguished hero of the Greek revolution. At the time we met, he was in disguise, and when he addressed me, I could hardly persuade myself that the man in the humble guise of a peasant, was the proud chief I had once met in Athens. I was delighted to find him among the living-and he assured me that he was waiting, not the clemency of the Greek government, but the spring, to enjoy the pleasures and the privileges of "the birds in the bushes."

After supper, which, according to the olden habits of the Greeks, took place about seven o'clock, we had the pleasure of spending the evening in the

company of those upon whom we had called in the course of the day, and having more leisure, we launched more deeply into the discussion of matters and things in general, with the exception of Mr. Mansolas, who enveloped himself and everybody else in the smoke of his chibouk, and who acted as moderator-the rest were like embodied storms. We devised more than one plan for the improvement of the frontier city-and in addition to the existing schools, we proposed the establishment of a gymnasium, with a view of propagating in Turkey the principles of civilization. On this, as on similar occasions, one great project suggested another still greater, and at length our imaginations became so excited, that without any regard to the presence of His Majesty's governor, we scattered the scintillations of another revolution, took Thessaly and Macedon, and marched to Constantinople!

CHAPTER XXII.

THERMOPYLE AND CAPTAIN DIACOS.

FROM Lamia to the bridge of Alamana, the lower bridge of Sperchius, is only a short distance of one hour and a half; and the public road leads through the plain which lies to the south of the city, and which, at this season of the yeaf, 16th October, had the appearance of a vast and rich prairie. In winter, however, and spring, the greatest and the richest portion of these lands lie under water, and so deep that the communication is interrupted for weeks together. Even at this time we found the road sufficiently muddy, and the causeway in such a miserable condition as to add to, rather than diminish, the difficulties. This is not very flattering to the enterprise of those who have governed the country for the last ten years; but it is to be hoped that the great national road, which is to connect the capital with the frontier town of the kingdom, will ere`long put an end to this trouble. In the meantime, the traveller must content himself with some of the difficulties which beset the Persians in the straits of Thermopylæ.

The

On the other side of the bridge, whose arches form an interesting feature in the prospect, and two hundred yards to the south of it, are the rocky projections of Mount Eta; and the space between them and the river, is rendered still more difficult of access by the abundant waters of a hot spring, which, issuing from the base of the mountain, discharges itself into Sperchius a little below the bridge. public road, after crossing the Phoenix, i. e. the red sulphur spring, takes an easterly direction, and continues between the mountains and the swamps on the margin of the river, till it comes to a still greater projection than the one in the vicinity of the bridge, and to another and more bold spring, which, like the former, is issuing from the base of the mountain, and discharging its hot and steaming waters into the morasses to the left of the road.

The intermediate space between these two springs forms a small, but beautiful valley, where the wild olive, the myrtle and oliander, are to be seen in their native luxuriance. The public path is here hemmed in by the rocks and the marshes; and the traveller who is even partially acquainted with the history and topography of ancient Greece, recognises here the celebrated Pass of Thermopyla.

The Western, or False Thermopyla, has probably undergone little or no change; but in the Eastern or Proper Thermopylæ, the sea having receded, the natural strength of the pass has been greatly weakened. Still the marshes, which are