situation of the palace-an irregular | Greek Revolution. If his power had pile at the extremity of it-is strik- remained unimpaired, he would proing. Some of the houses have been bably have crushed the insurrection; rebuilt, though by no means in their and it was his rebellion against the former splendour. The fortress of Sultan which was seized by the Greeks Joannina offers an irregular outline as the most favourable opportunity of dismantled battlements, crowned by for them also to rise in arms. the shapeless remains of the ruined Serai; behind it appear some of the loftier points of the Coulia and Litharitza. The Coulia was a fortress 5 stories high, with a palace of 2 stories above it. The thick masses of masonry, and pilasters and arches which support the structure, have suffered but little. The palace above has disappeared. The Coulia communicated with the lake by a small canal. Ali Pasha used to enter with his boat, then get into a small carriage drawn by mules, which, rolling up an inclined plane round a large staircase, landed him 100 feet above at the door of his Serai. The Litharitza, the first fortress he constructed, is only a few yards distant. When on the approach of the Sultan's troops, the Albanians within, wishing to make their own peace with the Porte, closed the gates against their master, Ali retired to the small island on the lake, and here, while waiting for terms from the Sultan, he was treacherously murdered by the Turks. Thus terminated his extraordinary career on the 5th of February, 1822, in his 82nd year. The marks of the bullets in the planks of the room where he fell are still shown. It is in a small convent on the island. The head of the rebel Pasha was sent to Constantinople, and suspended, as usual, for some days over the gate of the Seraglio. It was afterwards buried under the high turban-stone, which, surrounded by the monuments of Ali's sons, put to death soon after their father, is not the least remarkable among the sights of Constantinople. It stands at the Selivri gate near the Castle of the Seven Towers. The headless trunk of Ali was buried under a massive stone monument in his own citadel. The career of Ali Pasha exercised a great influence on the [Greece.] The plain of Joánnina is 20 m. long from N. to S., and about 7 broad in its widest part. The lake is rather more than 6 m. in length, and averages about 2 m. across. Its principal supplies are derived from copious springs, and its waters are carried off by Katabothra, or subterranean channels, at its southern extremity. To the E., and directly in front of the citadel where it runs out into the lake, the huge barren mass of Mount Metzikeli, or Tomarus, rises abruptly from the water; but rich pasture-land extends on both sides of the city of Joannina to the distance of 10 miles, and probably is the Hellopia which Hesiod had in view when describing the district of Dodona. Subject as Epirus generally is to those atmospheric changes which procured for it Jupiter Tonans as Patron God in antiquity, there is no place in the whole province to be compared to Joánnina itself, owing to the vicinity of Metzikéli, for rapid transitions of temperature and frequency of thunderstorms. These in the winter-severe in this upland plain, raised near 1000 feet above the level of the sea-may often be witnessed accompanying a heavy fall of snow; while in summer their frequent recurrence tempers the fervour of the heat. Joánnina would be excellent headquarters during the summer for the student of Albanian scenery and remains. Excursions might be made thence among the neighbouring mountains, and to the many places of interest in the vicinity. Mr. Lear expatiates on the picturesque beauty of the immediate environs, adding, "inside this city of manifold charms the interest was so varied and as fascinating: it united the curious dresses of the Greek peasant-the splendour of those of the Albanian: the endless attractions of the bazaars, where em T broidery of all kinds, fire-arms, horse- | hommedan village of Gráva, with the gear, wooden ware, and numberless house of a hospitable Agá, or Squire. manufactures peculiar to Albania [It is 5 hrs. from Gomenitza to were exhibited the chattering storks, whose nests are built on half the chimneys of the town, and in the great plane-trees, whose drooping foliage hangs over the open spaces or squares-these and other amusing or striking novelties which the pen would tire of enumerating, occupied every moment, and caused me great regret that I could not stay longer in the capital of Epirus. And when to all these artistic beauties are added the associations of Joánnina with the later years of Greek history, the power and tyranny of its extraordinary ruler (Ali Pasha), its claim to representing the ancient Dodona, and its present and utterly melancholy condition, no marvel that Joannina will always hold its place in memory as one of the first in interest of the many scenes I have known in many lands.' Philátes (Rte. 40) by Suliasi. Near that village, on a round hill, are the fragments of walls and other Hellenic remains, now named Palia Venetia, which Leake identifies with the site of Cestria, once the chief place of the fertile plain, at the mouth of the Thyamis (or Kalamás), now called Parakalamo, and famous of old for the Cestrinic oxen. There is excellent woodcock, snipe, and wild-fowl shooting in this neighbourhood. A conical hill, covered with evergreen trees and shrubs, rises from the plain near the port of La Kituzza (or Liritazza, as it is called, at Corfu), and is surmounted by an Albanian tower, built on the foundations of an Hellenic fort. This hill and all the country near the mouth of the Thyamis, as well as the channel and island of Corfu, form interesting objects from the hill of Palia Venetia.] Soon after leaving the beach at Gomenitza, the road to Paramythia enters a narrow valley, both sides of which are covered with olive-trees, the relics of the post which the Venetians long occupied here. Among the trees is the scattered village of Grikokhori, containing about 300 houses, half Christian and half Mussulman. At 12 hrs. from Gomenitza, we reach the summit of a ridge, whence there is a magnificent view westward of the channel of Corfu, with the citadel on its double-peaked rock, and the fair island, with its woods and hills, behind. From this point the road to Paramythia lies chiefly over a succession of hills, bare, or covered with scanty underwood, and intersected by deep and precipitous ravines. At 3 hrs. from Gomenitza, we leave on the rt. Mazaráki, and 1 hr. further we pass under Kantezi, both Mahommedan villages. Still further, Nikolitzi is on the 1. Paramythia itself is not visible until about half an hour before reaching it, when the road, after descending a deep and rugged ravine, emerges on the valley immediately in front of the town. The view from this point is very interesting, and the sight of the cultivated valley, watered by the Cocytus, is very refreshing after the barren and parched hills over which the road from Gomenitza has passed. (called simply rò xáλaoua), which seems to have been a Roman temple, afterwards turned into a church. Within the limit of the castle walls, which are built on craggy precipices, except towards the S.W., are the foun dations of numerous houses; for a large portion of the town, as is usual in the East, formerly stood here; but the site is now completely deserted. This castle was the acropolis of an ancient city, as appears by some fine pieces of Hellenic masonry amidst the more modern work, which consists of uncertain which are the ancient towns that occupied this site. Leake suggests that the city of the Chauni, an Epirote tribe, may have stood at Paramythia. The castle is called by the Turks Aidonat, a corruption of the vulgar pronunciation of Saint Donatus ("Ayios Aováros) the patron of this part of Epirus. Paramythia, 6 hrs. from Gomenitza, occupies the W. slope of a craggy hill, which rises to half the height of Mount Kurila (as the ridge bounding the valley on the E. is called), and is separated only by a narrow space from its pine-clad cliffs. When visited by Col. Leake in 1809, Paramythia contained nearly 450 houses, but the dis-repairs of various ages. It is quite asters which it underwent during its long resistance to Ali Pasha, and in subsequent civil wars, have greatly reduced that number; and a large part of the town is in ruins. The inhabitants no not exceed 2000, of which number the majority are Moslems. "The houses are built of the roughly-hewn calcareous stone of the mountains, and when they stand The name of Paramythia (Παραμυθία, close together, the usual Albaniani. e., consolation,) does not occur in filth prevails; but nothing can be ancient history, and was probably more beautiful than the general ap-suggested by the beauty and salubrity pearance of the town. On the summit, of the position. It is the seat of a which is surrounded with cliffs, stands Greek bishop. The family of the a ruined castle; down, on the decli- Pronio Agá, long the rivals and enevity of the hill, the picturesque houses mies of Ali Pasha, is still rich and are dispersed among gardens, watered powerful, and its members occupy by plentiful streams descending in several houses below the Castle, in every direction, and the spaces be- which they entertain foreign traveltween the clusters of houses are grown lers, properly introduced, with courwith superb plane-trees, or occupied teous hospitality. by mosques and fountains, shaded by cypresses and planes. These beautiful features are admirably contrasted with the cliffs and fir-clad summits of the great mountain which rises above the castle." It is a steep ascent to the ruined castle; but the beauty of the prospect from it amply repays the toil. The valley of Paramythia merges to the S., at Glyky, in the Acherusian plain, where the Cocytus mixes its waters with the Acheron (Rte. 45). The mountains of Suli are a continuation of Mount Kurila. At Veliani, 1 hr. S., are some ancient Hellenic remains, perhaps of the city of the Elini; and 40 min. below the town, in the middle of the valley, is a ruined building [It is an interesting ride of 7 hrs. from Paramythia to Philátes. At Neachori, 2 hrs., the valley of Paramythia ends, and the road descends through the picturesque hamlet of Menina, to the Kalamás or Thyamis, winding over a sandy bed between beautifully broken and diversified banks. An ancient bridge having fallen in, the river must be crossed in a ferry-boat, or by the ford. 2 hrs. further, the Thyamis flows through a deep and rather remarkable pass, behind that precipitous cliff which is so conspicuous from Corfu. This defile is nearly 3 m. long. On emerging from it, we cross a low ridge, on which is the hamlet of Galbaki, and then ascend to Philátes. (Rte. 40)]. The road from Paramythia to Joán- | site of the modern town, which is on nina passes through the defile between the northern shore of the strait-there Mounts Labinitza and Kurila, called only from 700 to 1000 yards across— the pass of Eleutherokhori, which was which connects the Ambracian Gulf the scene of many struggles during with the Ionian sea. It contains a the wars of Ali Pasha, and which was population of about 6000, of which again occupied by the Greek insurgents number not above 1000 (exclusive of the in 1854. From the pass we descend into garrison) are Moslems, the remainder a ravine, along which flows a branch being Greeks and Christian Albaof the Kalamás, and follow the bed of nians. the torrent among stunted planes, passing between the villages of Petrás and Saloniki. Further on, the country consists of narrow valleys and rugged limestone ridges, branching from the great summits around. The theatre at Dramisius (Rte. 45) can be visited in this route, but the direct route leaves it on the rt., and crossing a low ridge, descends into the plain of Joánnina (Rte. 41). ROUTE 43. On the fall of Venice in 1797, the French seized the Ionian Islands along with the ex-Venetian possessions on the neighbouring mainland; when Vonitsa, Prevesa, Parga, and Butrinto were garrisoned by small detachments of French troops. The invasion of Egypt by Buonaparte in 1798 produced war between the Porte and France; and Ali Pasha, in the name of the Sultan, conquered all these places except Parga. The treaty of March 21, 1800, assured to their inhabitants the maintenance of the municipal privileges which they had enjoyed under the Venetians; but this provision was utterly disregarded by Ali. He took Prevesa by storm in November, 1798. Instead of defending the decayed Venetian fortifications of the town, the French garrison of only a few hundred men marched out Hrs. to meet their assailants on the plain 5 of Nicopolis, where, among the ruins 7 of Roman greatness, they were over8whelmed by the impetuous onset of 5000 Albanians. The savage warriors entered the town pêle-mêle with its routed defenders, and their war-songs still record the tale of blood and rapine which ensued. Lord Byron has preserved the sentiment of some of these songs in his spirited verses (Childe Harold,' Canto II.): PREVESA TO JOANNINA BY NICOPOLIS AND SULI. Prevesa to Luro Paramythia 12 Steamers run from Corfu to Prevesa in 7 hrs. Also the most usual as well as the most interesting excursion from Leucadia (Santa Maura) is to the ruins of Nicopolis, that "City of Victory which was the trophy of the naval engagement fought off Actium, in B.C. 31, the result of which placed all the civilized world under one monarch and riveted its chains for ages, at the same time that it diffused peace, opulence, and security over extensive countries from which they had long been banished. Prevesa, where there is a resident English Vice-Consul, is but 9 or 10 m. by sea from Fort Santa Maura. No ancient city seems to have stood on the straw, after the Turkish fashion) were | appears from Thucydides (i. 29). The sent to Constantinople, the moustaches sanctuary was of great antiquity, and having been shaved off, so that they Apollo derived from it the surnames of might pass for the heads of French Actius and Actiacus. There was also soldiers. Though hundreds of the an ancient festival named Actia, celeGreek townspeople were forcibly car- brated here in honour of the god. ried off to cultivate Ali's estates in Whatever remains of the edifices used other parts of his dominions-though for the Actian games may have been the lands and houses of others were preserved to modern times, were progranted to his Albanians-and though bably embedded in the Venetian (now mosques and seraglios have been Turkish) fortress on Punta, or Acerected-still Prevesa has not yet tium, just opposite Prevesa. become entirely a Turkish town; and Dion Cassius, a Greek author, whose the traveller may recognise some long employment in the highest offices traces of that mixed Greek and Vene- of the Roman state gave him the tian character familiar in the lonian means of obtaining the best informaIslands. The gardens and trees scat-tion on the subject, has left us a partered among the houses and the mag-ticular account of the battle of Acnificent wood of olives by which the tium, which it is very interesting to town is surrounded give it a pleasing read on the very waters where the appearance from the water. Its forti- fight was fought. fications, though repaired by Ali Pasha, who used Nicopolis as his quarry, are now as ruinous as Turkish fortresses usually are. The streets are narrow, irregular, and unpaved, and the houses are chiefly built of wood. A regiment of regular infantry is always in garrison here, and a few guns are mounted on the bastions towards the sea-f -to enfilade-along with those of the small fort at the end of the Actian promontory opposite, the entrance to the gulf-here about half a mile across. A bar of sand reduces the depth to 10 feet, which of course prevents large vessels from entering the harbour or sailing up the gulf. For some weeks before the engagement, the two hostile armies lay encamped opposite to each other, Mark Antony at Actium, and Cæsar on the ground where he afterwards erected Nicopolis. The fleet of Antony was stationed within the strait of Actium, in the present Bay of Prevesa; that of Cæsar in the Port of Gomaros, now Mytika, to the N. of Nicopolis, in the Ionian sea. During this period of inaction, proclamations were fulminated at their antagonists by each party respectively, Augustus making the same use as Virgil and Horace afterwards did, of his enemy's Asiatic and Egyptian allies and sympathiesPunta the Italian translation of representing him as coming with unActium (AKTIOv-i. e. the point of the couth and barbarous rites and deities long, low promontory which stretches agains the old manners and the old northward from under the Acarnanian gods of Rome. As often happens in mountains)—as well as the little Fort similar cases, the Antonians were built on its extremity, were retained morally defeated before their real by the Turks-as absolutely necessary overthrow, disheartened with the for the safety of Prevesa. The Greek | profligacy and effeminacy of their frontier line is drawn across this pen-chief. At length Agrippa, a partisan insula, 2 m. S. of its northern extre- of Cæsar, having taken Leucas, and mity. Anactorium, the ancient capital so threatening them from the rear, of this district, was situated in the Antony and Cleopatra determined to bay now called St. Peter's) from a retire to Egypt. Cæsar attacked their ruinous church dedicated to that fleet as it was coming out of the strait, Saint), near Vonitza; and Actium was at the outer entrance of which the nothing more than a Temple and engagement took place which was to Sanctuary of Apollo on the shore of decide the fate of the known world. the Anactorian territory. This fact | Cæsar had 300 ships, triremes, and |