Travels in Southern Europe and the Levant, 1810-1817: The Journal of C. R. Cockerell, R.A.Cockerell, C. R. (Charles Robert)
History
Travels in Southern Europe and the Levant, 1810-1817: The Journal of C. R. Cockerell, R.A.
Cockerell, C. R. (Charles Robert)
Cockerell, C. R. (Charles Robert), 1788-1863; Europe -- Description and travel; Middle East -- Description and travel
"I told you we were going to make a tour in the Morea, but before doing
so we determined to see the remains of the temple at Ægina, opposite
Athens, a three hours' sail. Our party was to be Haller, Linckh, Foster,
and myself. At the moment of our starting an absurd incident occurred.
There had been for some time a smouldering war between our servants and
our janissary. When the latter heard that he was not to go with us, it
broke out into a blaze. He said it was because the servants had been
undermining his character, which they equally angrily denied. But he was
in a fury, went home, got drunk, and then came out into the street and
fired off his pistols, bawling out that no one but he was the legitimate
protector of the English. For fear he should hurt some one with his
shooting, I went out to him and expostulated. He was very drunk, and
professed to love us greatly and that he would defend us against six or
seven or even eight Turks; but as for the servants, 'Why, my soul,' he
said, 'have they thus treated me?' I contrived, however, to prevent his
loading his pistols again, and as he worked the wine off, calm was at
length restored; but the whole affair delayed us so long that we did not
walk down to the Piræus till night. As we were sailing out of the port
in our open boat we overtook the ship with Lord Byron on board. Passing
under her stern we sang a favourite song of his, on which he looked out
of the windows and invited us in. There we drank a glass of port with
him, Colonel Travers, and two of the English officers, and talked of the
three English frigates that had attacked five Turkish ones and a sloop
of war off Corfu, and had taken and burnt three of them. We did not stay
long, but bade them 'bon voyage' and slipped over the side. We slept
very well in the boat, and next morning reached Ægina. The port is very
picturesque. We went on at once from the town to the Temple of Jupiter,
which stands at some distance above it; and having got together workmen
to help us in turning stones, &c., we pitched our tents for ourselves,
and took possession of a cave at the north-east angle of the platform on
which the temple stands--which had once been, perhaps, the cave of a
sacred oracle--as a lodging for the servants and the janissary. The seas
hereabouts are still infested with pirates, as they always have been.
One of the workmen pointed me out the pirate boats off Sunium, which is
one of their favourite haunts, and which one can see from the temple
platform. But they never molested us during the twenty days and nights
we camped out there, for our party, with servants and janissary, was too
strong to be meddled with. We got our provisions and labourers from the
town, our fuel was the wild thyme, there were abundance of partridges to
eat, and we bought kids of the shepherds; and when work was over for the
day, there was a grand roasting of them over a blazing fire with an
accompaniment of native music, singing and dancing. On the platform was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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