The Emperor seems convinced that threats will not avail, and even at this late season, daily accounts arrive of the march of his troops towards the frontiers. Constant skirmishes are happening between the Turks and the Russians on the borders of the Crimea; and since my last letter, the Porte have received information of the capture of twelve hundred Russians, and of the Island of Taman being taken by the Tartars of Kuban. The possession of this island is of great consequence to the Turks, since it forms the east side of the straits of Wosphor Zabach, which connect the Black Sea with the sea of Azof. To balance this success, the French, and other enemies of the Porte, give out that a General Sekell, with a corps of Russians, has routed a detachment of these same Tartars, in the vicinity of Mount Caucasus. The season, however, is too far advanced for any thing decisive to be done. In April the Grand Vizir will take the field in earnest; but in the mean while the Moscovite troops are gathering towards Turkey, on the banks of the Dnieper, the Bog, and the Dniester; and if the Emperor engages the attention of the Ottoman grand army, the Russian Generals will begin the ensuing campaign with the siege of Oczakow, and the invasion of Moldavia. Prince Potemkin will direct the former, Count Romanzow the latter; and unless some other power interferes, it is not difficult to foresee, that the Imperial Courts will soon accomplish all their ambitious schemes against this brave, but unenlightened people. LETTER XVIII. TO CAPTAIN SMITH. Athens, Jan. 29th, 1788. MY DEAR FRIEND, We took leave of our Smyrna friends on the 19th of January, and having passed Scio, Lesbos, and Ipsera, were off Scyros on the 21st. We wished to visit this island, because it contains the tomb of Theseus, who killed the monster of Crete, and carried off the beauteous Ariadne; but the wind not permitting us to fetch it, we continued our course by Negropont, Longa, and the Promontory of Sunium. But the next morning the wind blew so strong against us, that finding it in vain to oppose it, we crossed the Sinus Sironicus, and anchored among the little islands of Idra. The weather continued bad for three days; it drove all the wild fowl to the shore, and afforded us excellent shooting, which compensated our delay. On the 25th we again got under way, and the day after entered the Pyræus, the port of this celebrated city. What emotion must one feel on entering the ruins of a capital, which, from a small [Sidenote: A. A. C. 1556.] village, first formed into a regular government by Cecrops, became so flourishing, and so populous a state, that its citizens alone, in the famous battle of Marathon, delivered all Greece from the yoke of the Persians.