Oh! she is fairest in her features wild, Where nothing polish'd dares pollute her path: To me by day or night she ever smiled, Though I have mark'd her when none other hath, And sought her more and more, and loved her best in wrath. XXXVIII. Land of Albania! where Iskander rose, Theme of the young, and beacon of the wise, And he his namesake, whose oft-baffled foes Shrunk from his deeds of chivalrous emprize: Land of Albania!(1) let me bend mine eyes On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men! The cross descends, thy minarets arise, And the pale crescent sparkles in the glen, Through many a cypress grove within each city's ken. XXXIX. Childe Harold sail'd, and pass'd the barren spot That only heaven to which Earth's children may aspire. XL. 'Twas on a Grecian autumn's gentle eve Childe Harold hail'd Leucadia's cape afar; (3) A spot he long'd to see, nor cared to leave: (4) Oft did he mark the scenes of vanish'd war, Actium, Lepanto, fatal Trafalgar; (5) Mark them unmoved, for he would not delight (Born beneath some remote inglorious star) In themes of bloody fray, or gallant fight, [wight. But loathed the bravo's trade, and laugh'd at martial XLI. But when he saw the evening star above Leucadia's far-projecting rock of woe, And hail'd the last resort of fruitless love, He felt, or deem'd he felt, no common glow: And as the stately vessel glided slow Beneath the shadow of that ancient mount, He watch'd the billows' melancholy flow, And, sunk albeit in thought as he was wont, More placid seem'd his eye, and smooth his pallid front. (1) See Appendix to this Canto, Note [B.]-L. E. (2) Ithaca." Sept 24th," says Mr. Hobhouse, “we were in the channel, with Ithaca, then in the hands of the French, to the west of us. We were close to it, and saw a few shrubs on a brown heathy land, two little towns in the hills, scattered amongst trees, and a windmill or two with a tower on the heights. That Ithaca was not very strongly garrisoned you will easily believe, when I tell that, a month afterwards, when the lonian Islands were invested by a British squadron, it was surrendered into the hands of a sergeant and seven men." For a very curious account of the state of the kingdom of Ulysses in 1816, see Williams's Travels, vol. ii. p. 427.-L. E. (3) Leucadia, now Santa Maura. From the promontory (the Lover's Leap), Sappho is said to have thrown herself. (4) "On the 28th we sailed through the channel, between Ithaca and the island of Santa Maura, and again saw Cephalonia stretching farther to the north, We doubled the promontory of Santa Maura, and saw the precipice which the fate of Sappho, the poetry of Ovid, and the rocks XLII. Morn dawns; and with it stern Albania's hills, Dark Suli's rocks, and Pindus' inland peak, Robed half in mist, bedew'd with snowy rills, Array'd in many a dun and purple streak, Arise; and, as the clouds along them break, Disclose the dwelling of the mountaineer: Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak, Birds, beasts of prey, and wilder men appear, And gathering storms around convulse the closing year. XLIII. Now Harold felt himself at length alone, And bade to Christian tongues a long adieu; Now he adventured on a shore unknown, Which all admire, but many dread to view: His breast was arm'd 'gainst fate, his wants were few; Peril he sought not, but ne'er shrank to meet: The scene was savage, but the scene was new; This made the ceaseless toil of travel sweet, Beat back keen winter's blast, and welcomed summer's heat. XLIV. Here the red cross, for still the cross is here, Foul Superstition! howsoe'er disguised, Who from true worship's gold can separate thy dross? XLV. Ambracia's gulf behold, where once was lost A world for woman, lovely, harmless thing! In yonder rippling bay, their naval host Did many a Roman chief and Asian king (6) To doubtful conflict, certain slaughter, bring: Look where the second Caesar's trophies rose: (7) Now, like the hands that rear'd them, withering: Imperial anarchs, doubling human woes! GOD! was thy globe ordain'd for such to win and lose? XLVI. From the dark barriers of that rugged clime, so formidable to the ancient mariners, have made for ever memorable." Hobhouse's Travels.-P. E. (5) Actium and Trafalgar need no further mention. The battle of Lepanto, equally bloody and considerable, but less known, was fought in the Gulf of Patras. Here the author of Don Quixote lost his left hand. (6) It is said that, on the day previous to the battle of Actium, Antony had thirteen kings at his levee.-["To-day " (Nov. 12), "I saw the remains of the town of Actium, near which Antony lost the world, in a small bay, where two frigates could hardly manoeuvre: a broken wall is the sole remnant. On another part of the gulf stand the ruins of Nicopolis, huilt by Augustus, in honour of his victory. to his Mother, 1809.-L. E.] B. (7) Nicopolis, whose ruins are most extensive, is at some distance from Actium, where the wall of the Hippodrome survives in a few fragments. These ruins are large masses of brickwork, the bricks of which are joined by interstices of mortar, as large as the bricks themselves, and equally durable. Yet in famed Attica such lovely dales Are rarely seen; nor can fair Tempe boast A charm they know not; loved Parnassus fails, Though classic ground and consecrated most, [coast. To match some spots that lurk within this lowering XLVII. He pass'd bleak Pindus, Acherusia's lake, (1) To greet Albania's chief, (3) whose dread command XLVIII. Monastic Zitza! (5) from thy shady brow, Thou small but favour'd spot of holy ground! Where'er we gaze, around, above, below, What rainbow tints, what magic charms are found! Rock, river, forest, mountain, all abound, And bluest skies that harmonise the whole: Beneath, the distant torrent's rushing sound Tells where the volumed cataract doth roll [the soul. Between those hanging rocks, that shock yet please XLIX. Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill, Which, were it not for many a mountain nigh Rising in lofty ranks, and loftier still, Might well itself be deem'd of dignity, The convent's white walls glisten fair on high: Here dwells the caloyer (6), nor rude is he, Nor niggard of his cheer; the passer-by Is welcome still; nor heedless will he flee From hence, if he delight kind Nature's sheen to see. L. Here in the sultriest season let him rest, (1) According to Ponqueville, the lake of Yanina: but Ponqueville is always out. (2) The journey from Joannina to Zitza is among the happiest sketches in the Pilgrimage of Childe Harold." Gait.-P. E. (3) The celebrated Ali Pacha. Of this extraordinary man there is an incorrect account in Pouqueville's Travels.["I left Malta in the Spider brig-of-war, on the 21st of September, and arrived in eight days at Prevesa. I thence have traversed the interior of the province of Albania, on a visit to the Pacha, as far as Tepaleen, his highness's country palace, where I stayed three days. The name of the Pacha is Ali, and he is considered a man of the first abilities: he governs the whole of Albania (the ancient Illyricum), Epirus, and part of Macedonia." B. to his Mother.-L. E.] (4) Five thousand Suliotes, among the rocks and in the castle of Suli, withstood thirty thousand Albanians for eighteen years; the castle at last was taken by bribery. In this contest there were several acts performed not unworthy of the better days of Greece. (5) The convent and village of Zitza are four hours' journey from Joannina, or Yanina, the capital of the Pachalick. In the valley the river Kalamas (once the Acheron) flows, and, not far from Zitza, forms a fine cataract. The situation is perhaps the finest in Greece, though the approach to Del. vinachi and parts of Acarnania and Ætolia may contest the palm. Delphi, Parnassus, and, in Attica, even Cape Ne city's towers pollute the lovely view; Oh! where, Dodona! is thine aged grove, What trace remaineth of the Thunderer's shrine? All, all forgotten-and shall man repine That his frail bonds to fleeting life are broke? Cease, fool! the fate of gods may well be thine: Wouldst thou survive the marble or the oak? When nations, tongues, and worlds must sink beneath the stroke! LIV. Epirus' bounds recede, and mountains fail; Colonna and Port Raphti, are very inferior; as also every scene in lonia, or the Troad: I am almost inclined to add the approach to Constantinople; but, from the different features of the last, a comparison can hardly be made. ["Zitza," says the poet's companion, "is a village inhabited by Greek peasants. Perhaps there is not in the world a more romantic prospect than that which is viewed from the summit of the hill. The foreground is a gentle declivity, terminating on every side in an extensive landscape of green hills and dales, enriched with vineyards, and dotted with frequent flocks."-L. E.] (6) The Greek monks are so called.-["We went into the monastery," says Mr. Hobhouse, "after some parley with one of the monks, through a small door plated with iron, on which the marks of violence were very apparent, and which, before the country had been tranquillized under the power. ful government of Ali, had been battered in vain by the troops of robbers then, by turns, infesting every district. The prior, a humble meek-mannered man, entertained us in a warm chamber with grapes, and a pleasant white wine, not trodden out, as he told us, by the feet, but pressed from the grape by the hand; and we were so well pleased with every thing about us, that we agreed to lodge with him on our return from the Vizier."-L. E.] (7) The Chimariot mountains appear to have been volcanic. Ev'n on a plain no humble beauties lie, Where some bold river breaks the long expanse, And woods along the banks are waving high, Whose shadows in the glassy waters dance, Or with the moonbeam sleep in midnight's solemn trance. LV. The sun had sunk behind vast Tomerit, (1) Whose walls o'erlook the stream; and, drawing nigh, He heard the busy hum of warrior-men [glen. (3) Swelling the breeze that sigh'd along the lengthening LVI. He pass'd the sacred haram's silent tower, And underneath the wide o'erarching gate Survey'd the dwelling of this chief of power, Where all around proclaim'd his high estate. Amidst no common pomp the despot sate, While busy preparation shook the court, Slaves, eunuchs, soldiers, guests, and santons wait; Within, a palace, and without, a fort: Here men of every clime appear to make resort. LVII. Richly caparison'd, a ready row Of armed horse, and many a warlike store, Circled the wide-extending court below; Above, strange groups adorn'd the corridore; And oft-times through the area's echoing door Some high-capp'd Tartar spurr'd his steed away: The Turk, the Greek, the Albanian, and the Moor, Here mingled in their many-hued array, [of day. While the deep war-drum's sound announced the close LVIII. The wild Albanian kirtled to his knee, With shawl-girt head and ornamented gun, And gold-embroider'd garments, fair to see: The crimson-scarfed men of Macedon; (1) Anciently Mount Tomarus. (2) The river Laos was full at the time the author passed it; and, immediately above Tepaleen, was to the eye as wide as the Thames at Westminster; at least in the opinion of the author and his fellow-traveller. In the summer it must be much narrower. It certainly is the finest river in the Levant; neither Achelous, Alpheus, Acheron, Sca. mander, nor Cayster, approached it in breadth or beauty. (3) "Ali Pacha, hearing that an Englishman of rank was in his dominions, left orders, in Yanina, with the com. mandant, to provide a house, and supply me with every kind of necessary gratis. I rode out on the vizier's horses, and saw the palaces of himself and grandsons. I shall never forget the singular scene on entering Tepaleen, at five in the afternoon (Oct. 11), as the sun was going down. It brought to my mind (with some change of dress, however), Scott's description of Branksome Castle in his Lay, and the feudal system. The Albanians in their dresses (the most magnificent in the world, consisting of a long white kilt, gold-worked cloak, crimson velvet gold-laced jacket and waistcoat, silver-mounted pistols and daggers); the Tartars, with their high caps; the Turks in their vast pelisses and turbans; the soldiers and black slaves with the horses, the former in groups, in an immense large open gallery in front of the palace, the latter placed in a kind of cloister below it; two hundred steeds ready caparisoned to move in a moment; couriers entering or passing out with despatches; the kettle-drums beating; boys calling the hour Just at this season Ramazani's fast (5) Through the long day its penance did maintain: But when the lingering twilight hour was past, Revel and feast assumed the rule again: Now all was bustle, and the menial train Prepared and spread the plenteous board within; The vacant gallery now seem'd made in vain, But from the chambers came the mingling din, As page and slave anon were passing out and in. LXI. Here woman's voice is never heard: apart, And scarce permitted, guarded, veil'd to move, She yields to one her person and her heart, Tamed to her cage, nor feels a wish to rove: For, not unhappy in her master's love, And joyful in a mother's gentlest cares, Blest cares! all other feelings far above! Herself more sweetly rears the babe she bears, Who never quits the breast no meaner passion shares. LXII. In marble-paved pavilion, where a spring from the minaret of the mosque;-altogether, with the singular appearance of the building itself, formed a new and delightful spectacle to a stranger. I was conducted to a very handsome apartment, and my health inquired after by the vizier's secretary, à la mode Turque." B. Letters. -L. E. (4) "On our arrival at Tepaleen, we were lodged in the palace. During the night, we were disturbed by the perpetual carousal which seemed to be kept up in the gallery, and by the drum, and the voice of the Muezzin,' or chanter, calling the Turks to prayers from the minaret of the mosque attached to the palace. The chanter was a boy, and he sang out his hymn in a sort of loud melancholy recitative. He was a long time repeating the purport of these few words: God most high! I bear witness, that there is no god but God, and Mahomet is his prophet: come to prayer; come to the asylum of salvation; great God! there is no god but God!'" Hobhouse.-L. E. (5) "We were a little unfortunate in the time we chose for travelling, for it was during the Ramazan, or Turkish Lent, which fell this year in October, and was hailed at the rising of the new moon, on the evening of the 8th, by every demonstration of joy: but although, during this month, the strictest abstinence is observed in the daytime, yet with the setting of the sun the feasting commences: then is the time for paying and receiving visits, and for the amusements of Turkey, puppet-shows, jugglers, dancers, and story-tellers." Hobhouse.-L. E. ALI reclined, a man of war and woes: [grace. The deeds that lurk beneath, and stain him with dis LXIII. It is not that yon hoary lengthening beard Ill suits the passions which belong to youth;(2) Love conquers age-so Hafiz hath averr'd, So sings the Teian, and he sings in soothBut crimes that scorn the tender voice of Ruth, Beseeming all men ill, but most the man In years, have mark'd him with a tiger's tooth; Blood follows blood, and, through their mortal span, In bloodier acts conclude those who with blood began. (3) LXIV. 'Mid many things most new to ear and eye The pilgrim rested here his weary feet, And gazed around on Moslem luxury, Till quickly wearied with that spacious seat Of Wealth and Wantonness, the choice retreat Of sated Grandeur from the city's noise: And were it humbler it in sooth were sweet; But Peace abhorreth artificial joys, [destroys. And Pleasure, leagued with Pomp, the zest of both LXV. Fierce are Albania's children, yet they lack Not virtues, were those virtues more mature. Where is the foe that ever saw their back? Who can so well the toil of war endure? Their native fastnesses not more secure Than they in doubtful time of troublous need: Their wrath how deadly! but their friendship sure, When Gratitude or Valour bids them bleed, Unshaken rushing on where'er their chief may lead. LXVI. Childe Harold saw them in their chieftain's tower, Thronging to war, in splendour and success; (I) "On the 12th, I was introduced to Ali Pacha. The vizier received me in a large room paved with marble; a fountain was playing in the centre. He received me standing, a wonderful compliment from a Mussulman, and made me sit down on his right hand. His first question was, why, at so early an age, I left my country. He then said, the English minister had told him I was of a great family, and desired his respects to my mother; which I now, in the name of Ali Pacha, present to you. He said he was certain I was a man of birth, because I had small ears, curling hair, and little white hands. He told me to consider him as a father, whilst I was in Turkey, and said he looked on me as his own son. Indeed, he treated me like a child, sending me almonds and sugared sherbet, fruit, and sweetmeats, twenty times a-day. I then, after coffee and pipes, retired." B. to his Mother.-L. E. (2) Mr. Hobhouse describes the vizier as "a short man, about five feet five inches in height, and very fat; possess. ing a very pleasing face, fair and round, with blue quick eyes, and not at all settled into a Turkish gravity." Dr. Holland happily compares the spirit which lurked under Ali's usual exterior, as "the fire of a stove, burning fiercely under a smooth and polished surface." When the Doctor returned from Albania, in 1813, he brought a letter from the Pacha to Lord Byron. "It is," says the poet, "in Latin, and begins Excellentissime, necnon Carissime,' and ends about a gun he wants made for him. He tells me that, last spring, he took a town, a hostile town, where, forty-two years ago, his mother and sisters were treated as Miss Cunegonde was by the Bulgarian cavalry. He takes the And after view'd them, when, within their power, Himself awhile the victim of distress; That saddening hour when bad men hotlier press: But these did shelter him beneath their roof, When less barbarians would have cheer'd him less, And fellow-countrymen have stood aloof-(4) In aught that tries the heart how few withstand the proof! LXVII. It chanced that adverse winds once drove his bark Full on the coast of Suli's shaggy shore, When all around was desolate and dark; To land was perilous, to sojourn more; Yet for a while the mariners forbore, Dubious to trust where treachery might lurk: At length they ventured forth, though doubting sore That those who loathe alike the Frank and Turk Might once again renew their ancient butcher-work. LXVIII. Vain fear! the Suliotes stretch'd the welcome hand, Led them o'er rocks and past the dangerous swamp, Kinder than polish'd slaves, though not so bland, And piled the hearth, and wrung their garments damp, And fill'd the bowl, and trimm'd the cheerful lamp, And spread their fare; though homely, all they had: Such conduct bears Philanthropy's rare stampTo rest the weary and to soothe the sad, Doth lesson happier men, and shames at least the bad. LXIX. It came to pass, that when he did address In war well season'd, and with labours tann'd, And from his further bank Ætolia's wolds espied. town, selects all the survivors of the exploit-children, grand-children, etc., to the tune of six hundred, and has them shot before his face. So much for dearest friend.'" -L. E. (3) The fate of Ali was precisely such as the poet anticipated. For a circumstantial account of his assassination, in February, 1822, see Walsh's Journey. His head was sent to Constantinople, and exhibited at the gates of the seraglio. As the name of Ali had made a considerable noise in Eng. land, in consequence of his negotiations with Sir Thomas Maitland, and still more, perhaps, these stanzas of Lord Byron, a merchant of Constantinople thought it would be no bad speculation to purchase the head and consign it to a London showman, but this scheme was defeated by the piety of an old servant of the Pacha, who bribed the executioner with a higher price, and bestowed decent sepulture on the relic.-L. E. (4) Alluding to the wreckers of Cornwall. The He was assassinated by Mohamed, Governor of the Morea. latter visited Ali, and, appearing to sympathise with him, offered to do any thing which could contribute to his confidence and personal comforts. When Mohamed rose to depart, Ali rose also from the divan on which they were sitting, and, as the Pacha of the Morea was retiring, he made a low and ceremonial reverence The Pacha of Yanina returned it with the same profound inclination of body, but, before he could recover himself again, Mohamed drew his yataghan from his girdle, and plunged it into the back of his host with such force, that it passed through his heart and out at his left breast. Ali fell dead at his feet, and his assassin immediately left the chamber, with the bloody yataghan in his hand, and announced to those abroad that Ali bad ceased to exist.-P. E, LXX. Where lone Utraikey forms its circling cove, And weary waves retire to gleam at rest, How brown the foliage of the green hill's grove, Nodding at midnight o'er the calm bay's breast, As winds come lightly whispering from the west, Kissing, not ruffling, the blue deep's serene :Here Harold was received a welcome guest; Nor did he pass unmoved the gentle scene, For many a joy could he from Night's soft presence glean. LXXI. On the smooth shore the night-fires brightly blazed, The feast was done, the red wine circling fast, (1) And he that unawares had there ygazed With gaping wonderment had stared aghast; For ere night's midmost stillest hour was past, The native revels of the troop began; Each Palikar (2) his sabre from him cast, And bounding hand in hand, man link'd to man, Yelling their uncouth dirge, long daunced the kirtled clan. (3) LXXII. Childe Harold at a little distance stood And view'd, but not displeased, the revelrie, Nor hated harmless mirth, however rude: In sooth, it was no vulgar sight to see Their barbarous, yet their not indecent, glee; And, as the flames along their faces gleam'd, Their gestures nimble, dark eyes flashing free, The long wild locks that to their girdles stream'd, While thus in concert they this lay half sang, half scream'd:-(4) 1. TAMBOURGI! Tambourgi! (5) thy 'larum afar Gives hope to the valiant, and promise of war; All the sons of the mountains arise at the note, Chimariot, Illyrian, and dark Suliote! (6) 2. Oh! who is more brave than a dark Suliote, To the wolf and the vulture he leaves his wild flock, (1) The Albanian Mussulmans do not abstain from wine, and, indeed, very few of the others. (2) Palikar, shortened when addressed to a single person, from Пlaxapi, a general name for a soldier amongst the Greeks and Albanese who speak Romaic: it means, properly, "a lad." (3) The following is Mr. Hobhouse's animated description of this scene:-"In the evening the gates were secured, and preparations were made for feeding our Albanians. A goat was killed and roasted whole, and four fires were kindled in the yard, round which the soldiers seated themselves in parties. After eating and drinking, the greatest part of them assembled round the largest of the fires, and, whilst ourselves and the elders of the party were seated on the ground, danced round the blaze, to their own songs, with astonishing energy. All their songs were relations of some robbing exploits. One of them, which detained them more than an hour, began thus:- When we set out from Parga, there were sixty of us:' then came the burthen of the verse, Robbers all at Parga! Robbers all at Parga!' ! *Κλέφτεις πότε Πάργα Κλέφτεις πότε Πάργα ! and, as they roared out this stave, they whirled round the 3. Shall the sons of Chimari, who never forgive 4. Macedonia sends forth her invincible race; 5. Then the pirates of Parga that dwell by the waves, I ask not the pleasures that riches supply, 7. I love the fair face of the maid in her youth, 8. Remember the moment when Previsa fell, (7) 9. I talk not of mercy, I talk not of fear; He neither must know who would serve the Vizier: Since the days of our prophet the Crescent ne'er saw A chief ever-glorious like Ali Pashaw. 10. Dark Muchtar his son to the Danube is sped, Let the yellow-hair'd (8) Giaours (9) view his horsetail (10) with dread; [banks, When his Delhis (11) come dashing in blood o'er the Ilow few shall escape from the Muscovite ranks! fire, dropped, and rebounded from their knees, and again whirled round, as the chorus was again repeated. The rippling of the waves upon the pebbly margin where we were seated filled up the pauses of the song with a milder and not more monotonous music. The night was very dark; but, by the flashes of the fires, we caught a glimpse of the woods, the rocks, and the lake, which, together with the wild appearances of the dancers, presented us with a scene that would have made a fine picture in the hands of such an artist as the author of the Mysteries of Udolpho. As we were acquainted with the character of the Albanians, it did not at all diminish our pleasure to know, that every one of our guard had been robbers, and some of them a very short time before. It was eleven o'clock before we had retired to our room, at which time the Albanians, wrapping themselves up in their capotes, went to sleep round the fires.”—L. E. (4) For a specimen of the Albanian or Arnaout dialect of the Illyric, see Appendix to this Canto, Note [C].-L. E. (5) Drummer. (6) These stanzas are partly taken from different Albanese songs, as far as I was able to make them out by the exposition of the Albanese in Romaic and Italian. It was taken by storm from the French. (8) Yellow is the epithet given to the Russians. (9) Infidel. (10) The insignia of a Pacha. (II) Horsemen, answering to our forlorn hope. |