CHAPTER XIV.

LORD COCHRANE's DISMISSAL FROM BRAZILIAN SERVICE, AND HIS ACCEPTANCE OF EMPLOYMENT AS CHIEF ADMIRAL OF THE GREEKS.—THE GREEK COMMITTEE AND THE GREEK DEPUTIES IN LONDON—THE TERMS OF LORD COCHRANE's AGREEMENT, AND THE CONSEQUENT PREPARATIONS.—HIS VISIT TO SCOTLAND—SIR WALTER SCOTT'S VERSES ON LADY COCHRANE.—LORD COCHRANE'S FORCED RETIREMENT TO BOULOGNE, AND THENCE TO BRUSSELS.—THE DELAYS IN FITTING OUT THE GREEK ARMAMENT.—CAPTAIN HASTINGS, MR. HOBHOUSE, AND SIR FRANCES BURDETT.—CAPTAIN HASTINGS'S MEMOIR ON THE GREEK LEADERS AND THEIR CHARACTERS.—THE FIRST CONSEQUENCE OF LORD COCHRANE's NEW ENTERPRISE.—THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON'S INDIRECT MESSAGE TO LORD COCHRANE.—THE GREEK DEPUTIES' PROPOSAL TO LORD COCHRANE AND HIS ANSWER.—THE FINAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR HIS DEPARTURE.—THE MESSIAH OF THE GREEKS.

The letter from Mavrocordatos quoted in the last chapter was only part of a series of negotiations that had been long pending. Lord Cochrane, as we have seen, had arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th of June, 1825, in command of a Brazilian war-ship and still holding office as First Admiral of the Empire of Brazil. His intention in visiting England had been only to effect the necessary repairs in his ship before going back to Rio de Janeiro. He had no sooner arrived, however, than it was clear to him, from the vague and insolent language of the Brazilian envoy in London, that it was designed by that official, if not by the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, to oust him from his command. During four months he remained in uncertainty, determined not willingly to retire from his Brazilian service, but gradually convinced by the increasing insolence of the envoy's treatment of him that it would be inexpedient for him hastily to return to Brazil, where, before his departure, he had experienced the grossest ingratitude for his brilliant achievements and neglect and abuse of all sorts. At length, in November, upon learning that his captain and crew had been formally instructed to "cast off all subordination" to him, he deemed that he had no alternative but to consider himself dismissed from Brazilian employment and free to enter upon a new engagement.

That engagement had been urged upon him even while he was in South America by his friends in England, who were also devoted friends to the cause of Greek independence, and the proposal had been renewed very soon after his arrival at Portsmouth. It was so freely talked of among all classes of the English public and so openly discussed in the newspapers before the middle of August that by it Lord Cochrane's last relations with the Brazilian envoy were seriously complicated. "Lord Cochrane is looking very well, after eight years of harassing and ungrateful service," wrote Sir Francis Burdett on the 20th of August, "and, I trust, will be the liberator of Greece. What a glorious title!"

It is needless to say that Sir Francis Burdett, always the noble and disinterested champion of the oppressed, and the far-seeing and fearless advocate of liberty both at home and abroad, was a leading member of the Greek Committee in London. This committee was a counterpart—though composed of more illustrious members than any of the others—of Philhellenic associations that had been organized in nearly every capital of Europe and in the chief towns of the United States. Everywhere a keen sympathy was aroused on behalf of the down-trodden Greeks; and the sympathy only showed itself more zealously when it appeared that the Greeks were still burdened with the moral degradation of their long centuries of slavery, and needed the guidance and support of men more fortunately trained than they had been in ways of freedom. Such a man, and foremost among such men, always generous, wise, and earnest, was Sir Francis Burdett, Lord Cochrane's oldest and best political friend, his readiest adviser and stoutest defender all through the weary time of his subjection to unmerited disgrace and heartless contumely. Another leading member of the Greek Committee was Mr. John Cam Hobhouse, afterwards Lord Broughton, Lord Byron's friend and fellow-traveller, now Sir Francis Burdett's colleague in the representation of Westminster as successor to Lord Cochrane. Another of high note was Mr. Edward Ellice, eminent alike as a merchant and as a statesman. Another, no less eminent, was Joseph Hume. Another was Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Bowring, secretary to the Greek Committee. By them and many others the progress of the Greek Revolution was carefully watched and its best interests were strenuously advocated, and by all the return of Lord Cochrane to England and the prospect of his enlistment in the Philhellenic enterprise afforded hearty satisfaction. To them the real liberty of Greece was a cherished object; and one and all united in welcoming the great promoter of Chilian and Brazilian independence as the liberator of Greece.

Other honest friends of Greece were less sanguine, and more disposed to urge caution upon Lord Cochrane. "My very dear friend," wrote one of them, Dr. William Porter, from Bristol on the 25th of August, "I will not suffer you to be longer in England without welcoming you; for your health, happiness, and fame are all dear to me. I have followed you in your Transatlantic career with deep feelings of anxiety for your life, but none for your glory: I know you too well to entertain a fear for that. I had hoped that you would repose on your laurels and enjoy the evening of life in peace, but am told that you are about to launch a thunderbolt against the Grand Seignior on behalf of Greece. I wish to see Greece free; but could also wish you to rest from your labours. For a sexagenarian to command a fleet in ordinary war is an easy task, and even threescore and ten might do it; but fifty years are too many to conduct a naval war for a people whose pretensions to nautical skill you will find on a thousand occasions to give rise to jealousies against you. You will also find that on some important day they will withhold their co-operation, in order to rob you of your glory. The cause of Greece is, nevertheless, a glorious cause. Our remembrance of what their ancestors did at Salamis, at Marathon, at Thermopylae, gives an additional interest to all that concerns them. But, to say the truth of them, they are a race of tigers, and their ancestors were the same. I shall be glad to see them fall upon their aigretted keeper and his pashas; but, confound them! I would not answer for their destroying the man that would break their fetters and set them loose in all the power of recognised freedom."

There was much truth in those opinions, and Lord Cochrane was not blind to it. That he, though now in his fiftieth year, was too old for any difficult seamanship or daring warfare that came in his way he certainly was not inclined to admit; but he was not quite as enthusiastic as Sir Francis Burdett and many of his other friends regarding the immediate purposes and the ultimate issue of the Greek Revolution. He was now as hearty a lover of liberty, and as willing to employ all his great experience and his excellent ability in its service, as he had been eight years before when he went to aid the cause of South American independence. But both in Chili and in Brazil he had suffered much himself, and, what was yet more galling to one of his generous disposition, had seen how grievously his disinterested efforts for the benefit of others had been stultified, by the selfishness and imprudence, the meanness and treachery of those whom he had done his utmost to direct in a sure and rapid way of freedom. He feared, and had good reason for fearing, like disappointments in any relations into which he might enter with Greece. Therefore, though he readily consented to work for the Hellenic revolutionists, as he had worked for the Chilians and Brazilians, he did so with something of a forlorn hope, with a fear—which in the end was fully justified—that thereby his own troubles might only be augmented, and that his philanthropic plans might in great measure be frustrated. Coming newly to England, where the real state of affairs in Greece, the selfishness of the leaders, the want of discipline among the masses, and the consequent weakness and embarrassment to the revolutionary cause, were not thoroughly understood, and where this understanding was especially difficult for him without previous acquaintance even with all the details that were known and apprehended by his friends, he yet saw enough to lead him to the belief that the work they wished him to do in Greece would be harder and more thankless than they supposed.

This must be remembered as an answer to the first of the misstatements—misstatements that will have to be controverted at every stage of the ensuing narrative—which were carefully disseminated, and have been persistently recorded by political opponents and jealous rivals of Lord Cochrane. It has been alleged that he was induced by mercenary motives, and by them alone, to enter the service of the Greeks. His sole inducements were a desire to do his best on all occasions towards the punishment of oppressors and the relief of the oppressed, and a desire, hardly less strong, to seek relief in the naval enterprise that was always very dear to him from the oppression under which he himself suffered so heavily. The ingratitude that he had lately experienced in Chili and Brazil, however, bringing upon him much present embarrassment in lawsuits and other troubles, led him to use what was only common prudence in his negotiations with the Greek Committee and with the Greek deputies, John Orlando and Andreas Luriottis, who were in London at the time, and on whom devolved the formal arrangements for employing him and providing him with suitable equipments for his work.

These were done with help of a second Greek loan, contracted in London in 1825, for 2,000,000£ Out of this sum it was agreed that Lord Cochrane was to receive 37,000£ at starting, and a further sum of 20,000£ on the completion of his services; and that he was to be provided with a suitable squadron, for which purpose 150,000£ were to be expended in the construction of six steamships in England, and a like sum on the building and fitting out of two sixty-gun frigates in the United States. With the disappointments that he had experienced in Chili and Brazil fresh in his mind, he refused to enter on this new engagement without a formidable little fleet, manned by English and American seamen, and under his exclusive direction; and he further stipulated that the entire Greek fleet should be at his sole command, and that he should have full power to carry out his views independently of the Greek Government.

These arrangements were completed on the 16th of August, except that Lord Cochrane, not having yet been actually dismissed by the Brazilian envoy, refused formally to pledge himself to his new employers. In conjunction with Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, Mr. Ellice, and the Ricardos, as contractors, however, he made all the preliminary arrangements, and before the end of August he went for a two months' visit to his native county and other parts of Scotland, from which he had been absent more than twenty years.

One incident in that visit was noteworthy. On the 3rd of October, Lord and Lady Cochrane, being in Edinburgh, went to the theatre, where an eager crowd assembled to do them honour. Into the after-piece an allusion to South America was specially introduced. Upon that the whole audience rose and, turning to the seats occupied by the visitors, showed their admiration by plaudits so long and so vehement that Lady Cochrane, overpowered by her feelings, burst into tears. Thereupon Sir Walter Scott, who was in the theatre, wrote the following verses:—

"I knew thee, lady, by that glorious eye, By that pure brow and those dark locks of thine, I knew thee for a soldier's bride, and high My full heart bounded: for the golden mine Of heavenly thought kindled at sight of thee, Radiant with all the stars of memory.

"I knew thee, and, albeit, myself unknown, I called on Heaven to bless thee for thy love, The strength, the constancy thou long hast shown, Each selfish aim, each womanish fear above: And, lady, Heaven is with thee; thou art blest, Blest in whatever thy immortal soul loves best.

"Thy name, ask Brazil, for she knows it well; It is a name a hero gave to thee; In every letter lurks there not a spell,— The mighty spell of immortality? Ye sail together down time's glittering stream; Around your heads two glittering haloes gleam.

"Even now, as through the air the plaudits rung, I marked the smiles that in her features came; She caught the word that fell from every tongue, And her eye brightened at her Cochrane's name; And brighter yet became her bright eyes' blaze; It was his country, and she felt the praise,—

"Ay, even as a woman, and his bride, should feel, With all the warmth of an o'erflowing soul: Unshaken she had seen the ensanguined steel, Unshaken she had heard war's thunders roll, But now her noble heart could find relief In tears alone, though not the tears of grief.

"May the gods guard thee, lady, whereso'er Thou wanderest in thy love and loveliness! For thee may every scene and sky be fair, Each hour instinct with more than happiness! May all thou valuest be good and great, And be thy wishes thy own future fate!"

Those aspirations were very far from realised. Even during his brief holiday in Scotland, Lord Cochrane was troubled by the news that Mr. Galloway, the engineer to whom had been entrusted the chief work in constructing steam-boilers for the Greek vessels, was proceeding very slowly with his task. "My conviction is," wrote Mr. Ellice, "that Galloway, in undertaking so much, has promised what he can never perform, and that it will be Christmas, if not later, before the whole work is completed. No engines are to be got either in Glasgow or Liverpool. You know I am not sanguine, and the sooner you are here to judge for yourself the better. There has been no hesitation about the means from the beginning, but money will not produce steam-engines and vessels in these times."

In consequence of that letter, Lord Cochrane hurried up to London at once, intending personally to superintend and hasten on the work. He arrived on the 3rd of November; but only to find that fresh troubles were in store for him. He had already been exposed to vexatious litigation, arising out of groundless and malicious prosecutions with reference to his Brazilian enterprise. He was now informed that a more serious prosecution was being initiated. The Foreign Enlistment Act, passed shortly after his acceptance of service under the Chilian Republic, and at the special instigation of the Spanish Government, had made his work in South America an indictable offence; but it was supposed that no action would be taken against him now that he had returned to England. As soon as it was publicly known, however, that he was about to embark in a new enterprise, on behalf of Greece, steps were taken to restrain him by means of an indictment on the score of his former employment. "There is a most unchristian league against us," he wrote to his secretary, "and fearful odds too. To be prosecuted at home, and not permitted to go abroad, is the devil. How can I be prosecuted for fighting in Brazil for the heir-apparent to the throne, who, whilst his father was held in restraint by the rebellious Cortes, contended for the legitimate rights of the royal House of Braganza, then the ally of England, who had, during the contest, by the presence of her consuls and other official agents, sanctioned the acts of the Prince Regent of Brazil?"

It soon became clear, however, that the Government had found some justification of its conduct, and that active measures were being adopted for Lord Cochrane's punishment. He was warned by Mr. Brougham that, if he stayed many days longer in England, he would be arrested and so prevented not only from facilitating the construction of the Greek vessels, but even from going to Greece at all. Therefore, at the earnest advice of his friends, he left London for Calais on the 9th of November, soon to proceed to Boulogne, where he was joined by his family, and where he waited for six weeks, vainly hoping that in his absence the contractors and their overseers would see that the ship-building was promptly and properly executed.

While at Boulogne, foreseeing the troubles that would ensue from these new difficulties, he was half inclined to abandon his Greek engagement, and in that temper he wrote to Sir Francis Burdett for advice. "I have taken four-and-twenty hours," wrote his good friend in answer, on the 18th of November, "to consider your last letter, and have not one moment varied in my first opinion as to the propriety of your persevering in your glorious career. According to Brougham's opinion, you cannot be put in a worse situation,—that is, more in peril of Government here,—by continuing foreign service in the Greek cause than you already stand in by having served the Emperor of the Brazils. In my opinion you will be in a great deal less; for, the greater your renown, the less power will your enemies have, whatever may be their inclination, to meddle with you. Perhaps they only at present desist to look out for a better opportunity, 'reculer pour mieux sauter,' like the tiger. I don't mean to accuse them of this baseness; but, should it be the case, the less you do the more power they will have to injure you, if so inclined. Were they to prosecute you for having served the Brazilian Emperor, it would call forth no public sympathy, or but slight, in your favour. The case would be thought very hard, to be sure; but that would be all. Not so, should you triumph in the Greek cause. Transcendent glory would not only crown but protect you. No minister would dare to wag a finger—no, nor even Crown lawyer a tongue—against you; and, if they did, the feeling of the whole English public would surround you with an impenetrable shield. Fines would be paid; imprisonment protested and petitioned against; in short, I am convinced the nation would be in a flame, and you in far less danger of any attempt to your injury than at present. This, my dear Lord Cochrane, is my firm conviction."

Encouraged by that letter and other like expressions of opinion from his English friends, Lord Cochrane determined to persevere in his Greek enterprise, and to reside at Boulogne until the fleet that was being prepared for him was ready for service. He had to wait, however, very much longer than had been anticipated, and he was unable to wait all the time in Boulogne. There also prosecution threatened him. About the middle of December he heard that proceedings were about to be instituted against him for his detention, while in the Pacific, of a French brig named La Gazelle, the real inducement thereto being in the fact, as it was reported, that the French Government had espoused the cause of the Pasha of Egypt, and so was averse to such a plan for destroying the Egyptian fleet under Ibrahim as Lord Cochrane was concocting. Therefore, he deemed it expedient to quit French territory, and accordingly he left Boulogne on the 23rd of December, and took up his residence at Brussels, with his family, on the 28th of the same month.

Through four weary months and more he was waiting at Brussels, harassed by the prosecutions arising out of the lawsuits that have been already alluded to, in reference to which he said in one letter, "I think I must make up my mind, though it is a hard task, to quit England for ever;" harassed even more by the knowledge that the building and fitting out of the vessels for his Greek expedition were being delayed on frivolous pretexts and for selfish ends, which his presence in London, if that had been possible, might, to a great extent, have averted. "The welfare of Greece at this moment rests much on your lordship," wrote Orlando, the chief deputy in London, "and I dare hope that you will hasten her triumph:" yet Orlando and his fellows were idling in London, profiting by delays that increased their opportunities of peculation, and doing nothing to quicken the construction of the fleet. Galloway, the engineer, wrote again and again to promise that his work should be done in three weeks,—it was always "three weeks hence;" yet he was well informed that Galloway was wilfully negligent, though he did not know till afterwards that Galloway, having private connections with the Pasha of Egypt, never intended to do the work which he was employed to do. Lord Cochrane had good friends at home in Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Hobhouse, and others; but they were not competent to take personal supervision of the details. He had an experienced deputy in Captain Abney Hastings, who had come from Greece some time before, and who was now to return as Lord Cochrane's second in command; but Captain Hastings, single-handed, could not exert much influence upon the rogues with whom he had to deal. "The Perseverance," he wrote of the largest of the ships, which was to be ready first, on the 10th of December, "may perhaps be ready to sail in six weeks—Mr. Galloway has said three weeks for the last month; but to his professions I do not, and have not for a length of time, paid the slightest attention. I believe he does all he can do; all I object against him is that he promises more than he can perform, and promises with the determination of not performing it. The Perseverance is a fine vessel. Her power of two forty-horses will, however, be feeble. I suspect you are not quite aware of the delay which will take place." Lord Cochrane soon became quite aware of the delay, but was unable to prevent it, and the next few months were passed by him in tedious anxiety and ceaseless chagrin.

There was one desperate mode of lessening the delay—for Lord Cochrane to go out in the Perseverance as soon as it was ready to start, leaving the other vessels to follow as soon as they were ready. Captain Abney Hastings went to Brussels on purpose to urge him to that course, and Mr. Hobhouse also recommended it. "There are two points," he wrote on the 23rd of December, "to which your attention will probably be chiefly directed by Captain Hastings. These are, the expediency of your going with the Perseverance, instead of waiting for the other boats, and the propriety of immediately disposing of the two frigates in America"—about which frequent reports had arrived, showing that their preparation was in even worse hands than was that of the London vessels—"to the highest bidder. As to the first, I am confident that, although it would have been desirable to have got together the whole force in the first instance, yet, as the salvation of Greece is a question of time only, and as it will be probably so late either as May or June next before the two larger boats can leave the river, it would be in every way inexpedient for you to wait until you could have the whole armament under your orders. Be assured, your presence in Greece would do more than the activity of any man living, and, as far as anything can be done in pushing forward the business at home, neither time nor pains shall be spared. I wish indeed you could have the whole of the boats at once; but Galloway has determined otherwise, and we must do the next best thing. Captain Hastings will tell you how much may be done even by one steam-vessel, commanded by you, and directing the operations of the fire-vessels. On such a topic I should not have the presumption to enlarge to you. As to the American frigates, it is Mr. Ellice's decided opinion, as well as my own, that you should have the money instead of the frigates. First and last, the frigates never will be finished. The rogues at New York demand 60,000£ above the 157,000£ which they have already received, and protest they will not complete their work without the additional sum. Now 70,000£ in your hands will be better than the hopes —and they will be nothing but hopes —of having the frigates. If you agree in this view, perhaps you will be so good as to state it in writing, which may remove Mr. Ricardo's objections."

Lord Cochrane was tempted to follow Captain Hastings's and Mr. Hobhouse's advice; but he first, as was his wont, sought Sir Francis Burdett's opinion; and Sir Francis dissuaded him, for the time, at any rate. "I would by no means have you proceed with the first vessel, nor at all without adequate means," he wrote on the 15th of January, 1826; "for besides thinking of the Greeks, for whom I am, I own, greatly interested, I must think, and certainly not with less interest, of you, and, I may add, in some degree of myself too; for I am placed under much responsibility, and I don't mean to be a party to making shipwreck of you and your great naval reputation; nor will I ever consent to your going upon a forlorn and desperate attempt—that is, without the means necessary for the fair chance of success—in other words, adequate means. Although you have worked miracles, we can never be justified in expecting them, and still less in requiring them."

Following that sound advice, Lord Cochrane resolved to wait until, at any rate, a good part of his fleet was ready. He wrote to that effect, and in as good spirits as he could muster, to Mr. Hobhouse, who in the answer which he despatched on the 5th of February acknowledged the wisdom of the decision. "I am very glad to perceive," he said in that answer, "that you have good heart and hope for the great cause. I assure you we have been doing all we can to induce the parties concerned to second your wishes in every respect; and I now learn from Mr. Hastings, who is our sheet anchor, that matters go on pretty well. I hope you write every now and then to Galloway, in whose hands is the fate of Greece—the worse our luck, for he is the great cause of our sad delay."

"You see our House is opened," said Mr. Hobhouse in the same letter. "Not a word of Greece in the Speech, and I spoke to Hume and Wilson, and begged them not to touch upon the subject. It is much better to keep all quiet, in order to prevent angry words from the ministers, who, if nothing is said, will, I think, shut their eyes at what we are doing. There is a very prevalent notion here that the (Holy) Alliance have resolved to recommend something to Turkey in favour of the Greeks. Whether this is true or not signifies nothing. The Turks will promise anything, and do just what suits them. They have always lost in war, for more than a hundred years, and have uniformly gained by diplomacy. They will never abandon the hope of reconquering Greece until driven out of Europe themselves, which they ought to be. By the way, the Greeks really appear to have been doing a little better lately; but I still fear these disciplined Arabians. I have written a very strong letter to Prince Mavrocordatos, telling them to hold out:—no surrender on any terms. I have not mentioned your name; but I have stated vaguely that they may expect the promised assistance early in the spring. It would indeed be a fine thing if you could commence operations during the Rhamadan; but I fear that is impossible. Any time, however, will do against the stupid, besotted Turks. Were they not led by Frenchmen, even the Greeks would beat them."

Of the leisure forced upon him, Lord Cochrane made good use in studying for himself the character of "the stupid, besotted Turks," and the nature of the war that was being waged against them by the Greeks; and he asked Mr. Hobhouse to procure for him all the books published on the subject or in any way related to it, of which he was not already master. "With respect to books," wrote Mr. Hobhouse, in reply to this request, "there are very few that are not what you have found those you have read to be, namely, romances; but I will take care to send out with you such as are the best, together with the most useful map that can be got." More than fifty volumes were thus collected for Lord Cochrane's use.

From Captain Abney Hastings, moreover, he obtained precise information about Greek waters, forts, and armaments, as well as "a list of the names of the principal persons in Greece, with their characters." This list, as showing the opinions of an intelligent Englishman, based on personal knowledge, as to the parties and persons with whom Lord Cochrane was soon to deal, is worth quoting entire, especially as it was the chief basis of Lord Cochrane's own judgment during this time of study and preparation.

I. Archontes, or men influential by their riches.

Lazaros Konduriottes.—A Hydriot merchant, the elder of the two brothers, who are the most wealthy men in that island, and even in all Greece. This one, by intrigue, by distributing his money adroitly in Hydra, and keeping in pay the most dissolute and unruly of the sailors, and protecting them in the commission of their crimes, has acquired almost unlimited power at Hydra. He asserts democracy, appealing on all occasions to the people, who are his creatures. The other primates hate him, of course. Lazaros has the reputation of being clever. He never quits Hydra for an instant, for fear of finding himself supplanted on his return.

George Konduriottes.—Brother of the former, and, like him a Hydriot merchant; an ignorant weak man; said to be vindictive; espouses the party of his brother at Hydra, by which means he has obtained the Presidency [of Greece]. He made the land captains his enemies, and had not good men enough to form an army of his own, viz., regular troops. His penetration went no further than bribing one captain to destroy another; which had for effect merely the changing the names of chieftains without diminishing the power. I understand he has lately retired to Hydra, and takes no active part in affairs.

EMANUEL TOMBAZES.—A Hydriot merchant and captain. There are two brothers, at the head of the party opposed to Konduriottes. This man was the first who ventured on the voyage from the Black Sea to Marseilles in a latteen-rigged vessel. This traffic afterwards gave birth to the colossal fortunes in Hydra. These men are the most enlightened in Hydra. This one is dignified, energetic, and a good sailor. However, he lost in Candia much of the reputation he had previously acquired; but with all the errors he committed there, the loss of that island is not attributable to him. 'Twould have been lost, under similar circumstances, had Cæsar commanded there. Konduriottes and his adherents hate him, of course, and did all they could to paralyze his operations in Crete. All considered, this man is more capable of introducing order and regularity into the ships than any other Greek.

JAKOMAKI TOMBAZES.—A Hydriot merchant and captain, brother of the former. He commanded the fleet the first year of the Revolution, and to him is due the introduction of fire-vessels, by which he destroyed the first Turkish line-of-battle ship at Mytelene. He is perhaps the best-informed Hydriot; but he wants decision, and demands the advice of everybody at the moment he should be acting. This man takes little part in politics and follows his mercantile pursuits. His hobby-horse is ship-building, in which art he is such a proficient as to be quite the Seppings of Hydra. As to the rest, he is a very worthy, warm-hearted man, but excessively phlegmatic.

MIAOULIS.—A Hydriot merchant and captain, who obtained command of the Hydriot fleet after Jakomaki resigned. He is a very dignified, worthy old man, possesses personal courage and decision, and is less intriguing than any Greek that I know.

SAKTOURES.—A Hydriot captain. He has risen from a sailor, and is considered by the Archontes rather in the light of a parvenu. He is courageous and enterprising, but a bit of a pirate.

BONDOMES, SAMADHOFF, GHIKA, ORLANDO.—Hydriot merchants without anything but their money to recommend them.

PEPINOS.—A Hydriot sailor of the clan of Tombazes, who has distinguished himself frequently in fireships.

KANARIS.—A Psarian sailor; the most distinguished of the commanders of fire-vessels.

BOTAZES.—A Spetziot merchant; the most influential person in his island. But the Hydriot merchants possess so much property in Spetziot vessels that, in some measure, they rule that island.

PETRO-BEY [or PETROS MAVROMICHALES].—The principal Archonte of Maina; was governor of that province under the Turks. A fat, stupid, worthy man; is sincere in the cause, in which he has lost two if not three sons.

DELIYANNES.—A Moreot Archonte, and one of the most intriguing and ambitious; was formerly sworn enemy to Kolokotrones and the captains, but, having betrothed his daughter to Kolokotrones's son, they have become allies. This man, if not the richest Archonte in the Morea, is the one who affected the most pomp in the time of the Turks, and he cannot now easily brook his diminished influence. He is reported clever and unprincipled.

NOTABAS.—A Moreot Archonte, considered the most ancient of the noble families in the Morea; is a well-meaning old blockhead; has a son, a good-looking youth, who commanded the Government forces against the captains in 1824; is said to be an egregious coward.

LONDOS.—A Moreot Archonte; was much flattered by the Government, but afterwards leagued against them. He is a drunkard, and a man of no consideration but for his wealth.

ZAIMES.—A Moreot Archonte; said to possess considerable talent, and he exercises a very considerable influence. His brother was formerly a deputy in England.

SISSINES.—A Moreot Archonte; was formerly a doctor at Patras; has risen into wealth and consequence since the Revolution; has great talent, and is a great rogue.

SOTIRES XARALAMBI.—A Moreot Archonte of influence. I do not know his character.

SPELIOTOPOLOS.—A Moreot Archonte, whose name would never have been heard by a foreigner, if he had not been made a member of the executive body; a stupid old man, possessing little influence of any kind.

KOLETTES.—A Romeliot; was formerly doctor to Ali Pasha; possesses some talent; has held various situations in the ministry; is detested, yet I know not why. I never could ascertain any act of his that merited the dislike he has inspired a large party with. I fancy 'tis alone attributable to jealousy—the peculiar feature of the Greek character. It must nevertheless be acknowledged that he has sometimes made himself ridiculous by assuming the sword, for which profession he is totally incapacitated by want of courage. He is, however, poor, although in employment since the commencement of the Revolution.

THIKOUPES.—An Archonte of Missolonghi; of some importance from the English education he has received from Lord Guildford; a worthy man, possessed of instruction, but, I think, not genius. He has married Mavrocordatos's sister.

II. Phanaeiots.

MAVROCORDATOS.—Of a Phanariot family; came forward under the auspices of Hypsilantes, and then tried to supplant him; and to do this he made himself the tool of the Hydriots, who, as soon as they had obtained all power in their hands, endeavoured to kick down the stepping-stool by which they had mounted. Perceiving this, he entered into negotiations with the captains, and frightened the Hydriots into an acknowledgment of some power for himself. He possesses quickness and intrigue; but I doubt if he has solid talent, and it is reported that he is particularly careful not to court danger.

III. Captains or Land-Chieftains.

KOLOKOTRONES.—A captain of the Morea, and the most powerful one in all Greece. He owes this partly to the numerous ramifications of his family, partly to his reputation as a hereditary robber, and also to the wealth he has amassed in his vocation. He is a fine, decided-looking man, and knows perfectly all the localities of the country for carrying on mountain warfare, and he knows also, better than any other, how to manage the Greek mountaineers. He is, however, entirely ignorant of any other species of warfare, and is not sufficiently civilized to look forward for any other advantage to himself or his country than that of possessing the mountains and keeping the Turks at bay. He proposed destroying all the fortresses except Nauplia. 'Twas an error of Mavrocordatos to have made this man an open enemy to himself and to organization. Had he been allowed to have profited by order, he would have espoused it. At present he may be considered irreconcilably opposed to order and the Hydriot party.

NIKETAS.—There are two of this name; but the only one that merits notice is the Moreot captain, a relation of Kolokrotones. He is as ignorant and dirty as the rest of his brethren, but bears the reputation of being disinterested and courageous. He is always poor. All the chieftains are good bottle-men; but this one excels them so much that 'tis confidently asserted he drinks three bottles of rum per day.

STAIKOS.—A Moreot captain who took part early with the Hydriot party from jealousy of Kolokotrones. When that party gained the ascendency, not finding himself sufficiently rewarded, he joined the captains.

MOMGINOS.—A Mainot chieftain, a rival of Petro-Bey; is undistinguished, except by his colossal stature and ferocious countenance.

GOURA.—A Romeliot captain; was a soldier of Odysseus, and employed by him in various assassinations, and thus he rose to preferment and supplanted his protector, and at length assassinated him. This man possesses courage and extreme ferocity, but is remarkably ignorant. In the hands of a similar master, he would have been a perfect Tristan l'Hermite. To supplant Odysseus, he was obliged to range himself with the Hydriot party.

CONSTANTINE BOTZARES.—A Suliot captain; nephew to the celebrated Makrys, who, from all accounts, was a phenomenon among the captains. This man bears a good character.

KARAÏSKAKES, RANGO, KALTZAS, ZAVELLA, &c. &c.—Romeliot captains; all more or less opposed to order, according as they see it suits their immediate interest.

That estimate of the Greek heroes—in the main wonderfully accurate—was certainly not encouraging to Lord Cochrane. He determined, however, to go on with the work he had entered upon, and in doing his duty to the Greeks, to try to bring into healthy play the real patriotism that was being perverted by such unworthy leaders.

Great benefit was conferred upon the Greeks by his entering into their service from its very beginning, in spite of the obstacles which were thrown in his way at starting, and which materially damaged all his subsequent work on their behalf. No sooner was it known that he was coming to aid them with his unsurpassed bravery and his unrivalled genius than they took heart and held out against the Turkish and Egyptian foes to whom they had just before been inclined to yield. And his enlistment in their cause had another effect, of which they themselves were ignorant. The mere announcement that he intended to fight and win for them, as he had fought and won for Chili, for Peru, and for Brazil, while it caused both England and France to do their utmost in hindering him from achieving an end which was more thorough than they desired, forced both England and France to shake off the listlessness with which they had regarded the contest during nearly five years, and initiate the temporizing action by which Greece was prevented from becoming as great and independent a state as it might have been, yet by which a smaller independence was secured for it. Hardly had Lord Cochrane consented to serve as admiral of the Greeks than the Duke of Wellington was despatched, in the beginning of 1826, on a mission to Russia, which issued in the protocol of April, 1826, and the treaty of July, 1827—both having for their avowed object the pacification of Greece—and in the battle of Navarino, by which that pacification was secured.

The Duke of Wellington passed through Brussels, on his way to St. Petersburg, in March, 1826. Halting there, he informed the hotel-keeper that he could see no one except Lord Cochrane, which was as distinct an intimation that he desired an interview as, in accordance with the rules of etiquette, he could make. The hotel-keeper, however, was too dull to take the hint. He did not acquaint Lord Cochrane of the indirect message intended for him until the Duke of Wellington had proceeded on his journey. Thus was prevented a meeting between one of England's greatest soldiers and one of her greatest sailors, which could not but have been very memorable in itself, and which might have been far more memorable in its political consequences.

The meeting was hindered, and, without listening either to the personal courtesies or to the diplomatic arguments of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Cochrane continued his preparations for active service in Greek waters. The details of these preparations and their practical execution, as has been shown, he was forced to leave in other and less competent hands, and their actual supervision was still impossible to him. Gradually the irritating and wasteful obstacles for which Mr. Galloway was chiefly responsible induced him to resolve upon following the advice tendered in December by Mr. Hobhouse and Captain Hastings—that is, to go to Greece with a small portion only of the naval armament for which he had stipulated, and which his most cautious friends deemed necessary to his enterprise. To this he was driven, not only by a desire to do something worthy of his great name, and something really helpful to the cause which he had espoused, but also by the knowledge that the tedious delays that arose were squandering all the money with which he had counted upon rendering his work efficient when he could get to Greece.

Of this he received frequent and clear intimation from all his friends in London, though from none so emphatically as from the Greek deputies, Orlando and Luriottis, who, being themselves grievously to blame for their peculations and their bad management, threw all the blame upon Mr. Galloway and the other defaulters. Finding that the proceeds of the second Greek loan were being rapidly exhausted by their own and others' wrong-doing, they were even audacious enough to propose to Lord Cochrane that, not abandoning his Greek engagement, but rather continuing it under conditions involving much greater risk and anxiety than had been anticipated, he should return the 37,000£ which had been handed over to Sir Francis Burdett on his account, and take as sole security for his ultimate recompense the two frigates half built in America, acknowledged to be of so little value that no purchaser could be found for them. "Our only desire." they said, "is to rescue the millions of souls that are praying with a thousand supplications that they may not fall victims to the despair which is only averted by the hope of your lordship's arrival."

To that preposterous request Lord Cochrane made a very temperate answer. "I have perused your letter of the 18th," he wrote on the 28th of February, "with the utmost attention, and have since considered its contents with the most anxious desire to promote the objects you have in view in all ways in my power. But I have not been able to convince myself that, under existing circumstances, there is any means by which Greece can be so readily saved as by steady perseverance in equipping the steam-vessels, which are so admirably calculated to cut off the enemies' communication with Alexandria and Constantinople, and for towing fire-vessels and explosion-vessels by night into ports and places where the hostile squadrons anchor on the shores of Greece. With steam-vessels constructed for such purposes, and a few gunboats carrying heavy cannon, I have no doubt but that the Morea might in a few weeks be cleared of the enemy's naval force. I wish I could give you, without writing a volume, a clear view of the numerous reasons, derived from thirty-five years' experience, which induce me to prefer a force that can move in all directions in the obscurity of night through narrow channels, in shoal water, and with silence and celerity, over a naval armament of the usual kind, though of far superior force. You would then perceive with what efficacy the counsel of Demosthenes to your countrymen might be carried into effect by desultory attacks on the enemy; and, in fact, you would perceive that steam-vessels, whenever they shall be brought into war for hostile purposes, will prove the most formidable means that ever has been employed in naval warfare. Indeed, it is my opinion that twenty-four vessels moved by steam (such as the largest constructed for your service) could commence at St. Petersburg, and finish at Constantinople, the destruction of every ship of war in the European ports. I therefore hold that you ought to strain every nerve to get the steam-vessels equipped. For on these, next to the valour of the Greeks themselves, depends the fate of Greece, and not on large unwieldy ships, immovable in calms, and ill-calculated for nocturnal operations on the shores of the Morea and adjacent islands. Having thus repeated to you my opinions, I have only to add that, if you judge you can follow a better course, I release you from the engagement you entered into with me, and I am ready to return you the 37,000£ on your receiving as part thereof 72,500 Greek scrip, at the price I gave for it on the day following my engagement (under the faith of the stipulations then entered into), as a further stimulus to my exertion, by casting my property, as well as my life, into the scale with Greece. This release I am ready to make at once; but I cannot consent to accept as security, for the fruits of seven years' toil, vessels manned by Americans, whose pay and provisions I see no adequate or regular means of providing. But should the 150,000£ placed at the disposal of the Committee not prove sufficient for the objects I have required, I will advance the 37,000£ for the pay and provisions necessary for the steamboats on the security of the boats themselves. Thus you have the option of releasing me from the service, or of continuing my engagement, although I shall lose severely by my temporary acceptance of your offer."

In that letter Lord Cochrane conceded more than ought to have been expected of him. In a supplementary letter written on the same day he added: "I again assure you that I am ready to do whatever is reasonable for the interest of Greece; but it cannot be expected that for such interest I ought to sacrifice totally those of my family and myself, as would be the case were I to give up both the means I possess to obtain justice in South America and my indemnification, on so slender a security as that offered to me. Believe me, I should have tendered the 37,000£, without reference to the Greek scrip I had purchased, had it not been evident to me that, under such circumstances, the security of your public funds would be dependent on chances which I cannot foresee, and over which I should have no control."

Thus temperately rebuked, the Greek deputies did not urge their proposal any further. They only wrote to promise all possible expedition in completing the steam-vessels. Lord Cochrane, however, voluntarily acceded to one of their wishes. Hearing that the largest of the steamers, the Perseverance, was nearly ready for sea, and that Mr. Galloway had again solemnly pledged himself to complete the others in a short time, he determined not to wait for the whole force, but to start at once for the Mediterranean. It had been all along decided that the Perseverance should be placed under Captain Hastings's command; and it was now arranged that he should take her to Greece as soon as she was ready, and that Lord Cochrane should follow in a schooner, the Unicorn, of 158 tons. It was not intended, of course, that with that boat alone he should go all the way to Greece; but it was considered—perhaps not very wisely—that if he were actually on his way to Greece, the completion of the other five steamships would be proceeded with more rapidly; and he agreed that, as soon as he was joined in the Mediterranean by the first two of these, the Enterprise and the Irresistible, he would hasten on to the Archipelago, and there make the best of the small force at his disposal. Not only was it supposed that Mr. Galloway and the other agents would thus be induced to more vigorous action: it was also deemed that the effect of this step upon the Hellenic nation would be very beneficial. "As soon as the Greek Government know that your lordship is on your way to Greece," wrote the London deputies on the 13th of April, "their courage will be animated, and their confidence renewed. We may with truth assert that your lordship is regarded by all classes of our countrymen as a Messiah, who is to come to their deliverance; and, from the enthusiasm which will prevail amongst the people, we may venture to predict that your lordship's valour and success at sea will give energy and victory to their arms on land."

With the new arrangements necessitated by this change of plans the last two or three weeks of April and the first of May were occupied. Lord Cochrane put to sea on the 8th of May. "As a Greek citizen," one of the deputies in London, Andreas Luriottis, had written on the 17th of April, "I cannot refrain from expressing my sincere gratitude towards your lordship for the resolution which you have taken to depart almost immediately for Greece. This generous determination, at a moment when my country is really in want of every assistance, cannot be regarded with indifference by my countrymen, who already look upon your lordship as a Messiah. Your talents and intrepidity cannot allow us for a moment to doubt of success. My countrymen will afford you every assistance, and confer on you all the powers necessary for your undertaking; although your lordship must be aware that Greece, after five years' struggle, cannot be expected to present a very favourable aspect to a stranger. Your lordship will, however, find men full of devotion and courage—men who have founded, their best hopes on you, and from whom, under such a leader, everything may be expected. Your lordship's previous exploits encourage me to hope that Greece will not be less successful than the Brazils, since the materials she offers for cultivation are superior. With patience and perseverance in the outset, all difficulties will soon vanish, and the course will be direct and unimpeded. The resources of Greece are not to be despised, and, if successful, she will find ample means to reward those who will have devoted themselves to her service and to the cause of liberty."