Travels in Greece, Turkey and the Holy Land, in 1817-18 / by Count Forbin.

  • Forbin, comte de (Louis Nicolas Philippe Auguste), 1777-1841.
Date:
[1820]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Travels in Greece, Turkey and the Holy Land, in 1817-18 / by Count Forbin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    17/104 (page 113)
    thither; and 1 cannot as yet persuade myself but that 1 shall again visit a spot, where my time passed so rapidly, where each object drew my attention, and where 1 seemed to realize the illusions and reveries of my youthful days. It was my frequent custom to walk out at night, because I fancied that the pre¬ vailing gloom, the solemn stillness, had the effect of bringing me into a closer alliance with the past. Then it is that the imagination, without effort, real's the most sumptuous edifices, while the pale and dubious light of the moon conduces to these grand resurrections. 1 peopled the porticoes and public places with illustrious shades; I agitated the multitude by the uncertainty of a defeat or a triumph : the temples opened, and I thought 1 heard the warlike shouts of the citizens, the im¬ passioned accents of the orators, and the tumult of a free people, jealous of their glory, and devoting to the infernal deities all the enemies of their independence. I purchased a part of M. Fauvel’s collection : these monu¬ ments will at least possess the merit of having been found by him. 1 regret that the remote distance, and his advanced age, afford me but little hope of seeing him again; but he will learn how truly sensible I am of the hospitality he afforded me, and how much l value the lessons lie bestowed on me. Having again embarked on board the brig le Lezard, we sailed on the 23d of September, at eight o'clock in the even¬ ing. We were detained for a considerable time, by calms and contrary winds, in front of the temple of Sunium : this spot, the residence of Plato when he demonstrated the immortality of the soul, was gilt by the rays of the rising sun. On the promontory, incessantly beaten by the waves, these noble ruins are still standing, like a religious pharos, or the eternal monument of a divine inspiration. We afterwards steered for Psyra and Tenedos, following the line of the coast of Troy: a strong breeze from the south-west afforded us a rapid passage through the strait of the Darda¬ nelles, and the sea of Marmora. The banks of the strait are covered with villages and country seats, of so cheering an as¬ pect, that one would scarcely suspect despotism to have taken up her abode in these rich valleys. This was, however, brought to my full conviction, as soon as the vessel approached sufficiently near to the coast, to enable me to distinguish the traits of the inhabitants : I then found, on looking around me, either the expression of power, or that of servitude. On the morning of the 28th of September we anchored off the point of Concapi, beneath the walls of the Seraglio. It was a fine day; and I was dazzled by the view of Constantinople. The sea was covered with caiques skimming on the surface