The Vintage: A Romance of the Greek War of IndependenceBenson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
History
The Vintage: A Romance of the Greek War of Independence
Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
Greece -- History -- War of Independence, 1821-1829 -- Fiction
On the second cruise three ships from Spetzas crossed straight over to
the Peloponnesus to assist in the blockade of Monemvasia, which was
besieged on the land side by a freshly enrolled body of men from the
southern peninsula, chiefly from Sparta and the outlying portions of
Argos. The town was known to be very wealthy, and the commander of the
Greeks, finding that until communication by sea was intercepted it was
impossible to starve the town out, while his own force was inadequate
to storm it, had invited the co-operation of the fleet, stipulating
that a third of the spoil taken should go to the soldiers, one-third
to the fleet, and one-third to the national treasury. But scarcely had
the ships arrived when quarrels began to break out between the fleet
and the army; a spirit of mutual mistrust and suspicion was abroad;
and the soldiers, on one hand, accused the fleet of making a private
contract with the besieged, to the effect that their lives would be
spared and themselves conveyed to Asia Minor in ships on the surrender
of their property; while the sailors brought a counter-accusation that
there was a plot on foot among the infantry to attempt to storm the
town and carry off the booty before they could claim their share. Every
one looked after his own interest, and the only matter that was quite
disregarded was the interest of the nation. But to the soldiers more
intolerable than all was the conduct of three primates from Spetzas,
who took upon themselves the airs and dignities which the Greeks had
been accustomed to see worn by Turkish officials; and though to a great
extent this war was a religious war, yet the peasants had no mind to
see the places their masters had occupied tenanted anew by any one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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