We were not quite out of our difficulty. Several hundred people had assembled, and all spoke at once, raising their voices in the hope that we should understand their Greek better than if spoken in a moderate tone: (why people will speak loud if you do not know their language I cannot understand:) but as we were utterly ignorant of their meaning we were not confused by their differences of opinion respecting our direction. It ended in our crossing the stony bed of the river, through which a reduced stream only a few inches deep flowed in the centre, and having with difficulty gained the opposite bank a hundred yards distant, we soon arrived in a sort of natural eel-trap formed by a narrow avenue of gigantic olive-trees, the branches of which effectually barred our progress and prevented the vans from turning. A temporary loss of temper was a natural consequence, and having ridden in advance for about half a mile, I returned and ordered a retreat. We took the bullocks out, and by hand backed the wheels, until by shovels and picks we could clear a space for turning. We then re-crossed the river, and disregarding all native advice, struck into the country, and halted near a small grove of olives close to the new English road to the military station "Mattiati." It was the 4th of February, and the temperature in the morning and evening was too cold (43 degrees) for pleasant camping. In spite of a chilly wind, crowds of women and children surrounded our vans and sat for hours indulging their curiosity, and shivering in light clothes of home-made cotton-stuffs. The children were generally pretty, and some of the younger women were good-looking; but there was a total neglect of personal appearance which is a striking characteristic of the Cypriote females. In most countries, whether savage or civilised, the women yield to a natural instinct, and to a certain extent adorn their persons and endeavour to render themselves attractive; but in Cyprus there is a distressing absence of the wholesome vanity that should induce attention to dress and cleanliness. The inelegance of costume gives an unpleasant peculiarity to their figures--the whole crowd of girls and women looked as though they were about to become mothers. The coarse and roughly-tanned, uncared-for high boots with huge hobnails were overlapped by great baggy trousers. Above these were a considerable number of petticoats loosely hanging and tied carelessly at the waist, which was totally unsupported by any such assistance as stays. A sort of short jacket that was of no particular cut, and possessed the advantage of fitting any variety of size or figure, completed the attire. The buttons that should have confined the dress in front were generally absent, and the ladies were not bashful at their loss, but exposed their bosoms without any consciousness of indelicacy. There was no peculiarity in the arrangement of the hair, but each head was tied up in a cloth,