of oppression, equally with the true interest of their rulers, powerfully demands.

The road from Larissa to Volo, which we quitted in turning eastward from Agia, runs south-easterwardly, from Sarinichi before-inentioned, for four miles. At that distance the low-hills and slopes exhibit, at intervals, some naked rocks, of which the form may have given rise to the denomination Cynoscephalæ (dog's heads.) For the space of two leagues these ranges of projecting stones may be traced, together with several knolls, verdant or overrun with brush-wood. This tract of broken uneven ground continues as far as Hadji-Bachi, distant sixmiles from Agia. Two leagues farther on you have a view of Kiolelan. The extreme point of the hollow of Thessaly, in that direction, is at Petra, a Turkish village, distant nine leagues from Larissa.

Such is the western boundary of Magnesia, the theatre of one of those memorable actions by which the ambition of the Romans, aided by the selfishness of the Greeks, gave a mortal blow to the power of Philip of Macedonia, the last support of a country torn in pieces by violent and factious animosities. In beholding this country we can conceive the various operations of T. Q. Flamininus, who, after he, by a stratagem, had dislodged Philip from the Strait of the Aous, and had himself met with a check on the Atrax, (the river of MicroTzigoto,) returned to the field to bring the contest to an end. On the other hand Philip, without waiting till the rains of autumn were gone past, possessed himself of the sloping hills' of Magnesia. Flamininus, on the news of Philip's appearance in the country, quitted his quarters in Phocis, drew together his Greek auxiliaries, and moved northward into Thessaly. Both commanders prepared their troops for a decisive engagement, by animating harangues, by able movements in the field, and by judicious choice of ground for encamping and posting their armies. At one time Flamininus seemed ready for of fensive operations, at another he affected to retreat. At last, after many stratagems on both sides, the memorable battle of Cynoscephalæ ended in the defeat and route of the Macedonians. Philip vanquished, withdrew to Tempe, where, collecting the wreck of his army, he stipulated for a treaty of peace, capable of still supporting the mighty throne of Alexander: but the Greeks were blinded by personal animosities and partial jealousies, against a just view of their true interests. Such was the result of the battle of Cynoscephala, fought in the 3d year of the 145th Olympiad, or the 557th year of Rome, nearly 200 years before the christian era; and so instructively described for the military man by Polybius, in his 18th book.

Lake Bæbeis.-Velestina.-Mount Pelion.-Volo, &c. 119 To the eastward of this classic ground we find the lake Bobeis, and the valley still called Lamia, where the rich inhabitants of Macrinitza have their villas and farms. Velestiua, near that lake, will remind the stranger of Pheræ, the darling abode of Apollo; when exiled from Olympus he tended the sheep of Admetus. Still might the love to wander on the banks and promontories of the lake of Carlas, clothed with rose-laurel, myrtle, and shady groves. In the distance rises up Mount Pelionf, amous for its noble forests, inclosing with its elevated ridges the lake of Carlas, and the bay of Volo. There Thetis proffers every encouragement to the descendants of the Argonauts, to render themselves a blessing instead of a pestilence to the seas.

Volo, considered to be the successor of the antique Pagasæ, is the principal place of that country, comprehending twentyfour villages and towns, wholly inhabited by Greeks. Its trade, once very considerable, is now reduced to the exportation of a few bales of raw silk and some cargoes of corn, usually carried to Spain by the mariners of Hydra.

The territory of Volo comprehends but two-thirds of the internal bay, or Pagasitic gulf, embraced by branches of Pelion. On the south-west lies Armyros, distant four hours, five hours south-east from Velestina, and seven hours northeast from Zeitoun. The town is situated on a river, which falls into that part of the bay of Volo which is named from Armyros. It contains three hundred families, Greek and Turkish. From Armyros the distance is four hours' journey to Thaumako, five hours to Valestina, and three and a quarter to Goûra, which now gives its name to the ancient Mount Othrys. The district of Armyros contains twenty villages, situated in the valley of the Amphryssus, where once flourished Thebes the fabulous, and the towns named Alos, in the vicinity of the plain of Crocius, still retaining the similar names of Crocos and Cocos, of which Platanos is the principal place. Platanos is situated an hour and-a-half south-east from Armyros, an hour up from the sea, and six hours from Volo.

Of Thaumako, on the summit of Othrys, from which the plain of Thessaly appears like an expanse of the sea, I say nothing and here I terminate my topographical remarks on that quarter of Greece. Deeply, indeed, should I regret the loss of many other observations, did I not know that Mr. Dodwell, whose work is now publishing in London, would complete the description of those parts of the continent of Greece which are not comprehended within the compass of my tours. Thus, without any correspondence, without any understanding with

one another; for I first met with that traveller in Paris; two sons of France and England will have the satisfaction of accomplishing an enterprize, new in science, by exhibiting the topography of the classic land of Greece, as it now appears in its modern state.

Having thus traversed the most interesting portion of Thessaly, it is impossible to retire from such a country without drawing together some general observations on the character of its inhabitants, as they are represented in the writings of antiquity, and as they now present themselves to the European stranger.

The primitive inhabitants of Thessaly are by mythologists represented as a people breathing only war, plunder, and devastation. The Lapitha and the Centaurs had brought under command the generous coursers of their plains, to accompany and aid them in warlike expeditions. Monicles, whose powerful arm bruised the rocks; Pholo, who boasted of having been the host of the great Alcides; Nessus, whom that hero pierced with his arrows; such are the personages to whom are ascribed the Cyclopian structures, still to be found among the mountains, formed at a period anterior to the memorable event which disclosed to human habitation the bason of Thessaly. When the new plains were unfolded before the eyes of men, till then confined to the encompassing mountains, new ideas were suggested; new modes of life were adopted. Jason and Achilles may have retained some share of the qualities of the primitive heroes; but the Thessalians of the plain must have acquired others of a very different nature. Contented with the treasures poured forth by the bountiful hand of nature, they relinquished the labours of the chase; they disdained the pursuits of the soldier and the robber. By attending to the changes thus superinduced in the character of the people, may be understood and reconciled the conflicting testimonies of antiquity relative to the Thessalians. Thamyris, Orpheus, Linus, were the bards of heroic times: but after the revolution in the natural state of the country, Thessaly had no votary of the muses to record her story. We hear, indeed, of Thessalian horsemen and bowmen ; but they were the men of the mountains, still valiant and warlike; not of the plains. How otherwise are we to comprehend the description given by Posidonius of the people of Larissa and the banks of the Peneus? Like the chivalrous heroes of Tassoni, in his rape of the Bucket :

Character of the Thessalians and Magnesians, &c. 121

"Armed they are with swords, the prey of rust,
The spreading cap the head shields from the sun;
Nor dares the wind the puny face assail.

Loaded with food and wine, behind them goes
A train of peaceful beasts; the gentle reed
Soothes, while it occupies their idler hours."

Another writer exhibits the Thessalians as employing their whole time in sport and play; and as more occupied in devising how to live in abundance and joy, than how to live in usefulness and reputation. The people of Pharsalus, above all, are taxed with indolence and licentiousness. The extravagance of the table was carried so far that a Thessalian dish came to denote one of no common magnitude and delicacy. The high reputation of the sorceresses of Thessaly, and the general object of their enchantments, sufficiently indicate the state of public morals and spirit. Hence may we conceive why the people of that country betrayed the sacred cause of Greece; why they proffered their aid to Xerxes, whose oriental splendour and luxury was more congenial to their own pursuits than were the enduring charms of liberty and patriotism.

Many a century has now passed away since these facts were. recorded in history: still the lapse of ages has introduced no sensible change in the character of the Thessalians. Brave and timid, enterprising and effeminate, active and indolent, they exhibit, as in days of yore, two races of people, different in different situations of the country.

The Thessalian of the gulf of Pagasa or Volo, still braves the waves and the winds, to seize his unlawful prey in the midst of danger. But if his courage be displayed in that nefarious occupation alone, it is because opportunities of exercising his natural talents and taste, in more commendable pursuits, are denied to him.

The Magnesian, less enterprising but brave, forgetting his antique liberty, devotes his attention to useful labour. If the Magnesian at times enlist under the banner of the marauders of Pindus or Othrys, it is more the consequence of thoughtlessness than of natural inclination. The people of Ambelakia and Agia display before their neighbours examples of industry and order, the only sources of true prosperity. Yet those men were not born for adventurers. Their progenitors, strangers to the occupations of their posterity, loved pleasure and show and elegance, and unfortunately they loved litigation. Hence is confirmed the saying of Plutarch, that, for the Thessalian, no repose exists but in the tomb.

The mild and gentle temper and manners of the inhabitant VOYAGES and TRAVELS, No. 4. Vol. IV.

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of the banks of the Peneus, in the plain, may doubtless be, in a great measure, ascribed to the climate in which he vegetates. For the rude barbarian Turks of Asia Minor, transplanted to the environs of Trikala, have deposited their original ferocity, and assumed, with the occupations, the temper and manners of the industrious husbandman. Ignorant of the use of arms, strangers to all controversial disputes, they live and associate with the Christians in harmonious fraternity. From some of these simple Mahometans have I heard these expressions. Why are we not like our oxen and our sheep, to live without care and without sin! And you Christian, what can you want in our fields; old walls and lettered stones? Of what importance is it to you to know which way our rivers bend their course?" With a smile of pity they heard me talk of the Greeks and Romans of former times; but they regarded me with some respect, when I read to them out of Theophrastus, that in his time, as in the present day, the crops of Thessaly were often destroyed by the worm. But the happiness of the Thessalian is not that of uniformity of occupation. Each season brings round its labours, and each change of labour produces a change of enjoyment. In the time of seed-sowing, mounted on their antique cars, they repair to the prepared field. The spring is introduced by festivals and panegyrés or fairs, which attract for business or for pleasure the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. The heats of summer pass away under the cool shade of their hills and woods. The vintage, the cotton-barvest, are seasons of joy and expectation. The winter, in such a climate, invites the Thessalian to the chace. Thus passes round the year for the Thessalian husbandman; and the general regularity of the climate highly favours the unfolding of the faculties of both body and mind, among a race of men who want only a proper system of government to be happy..