CANDIA. CANDIA, the Crete of the ancients, makes its appearance frequently and sometimes prominently | in profane as well as in sacred history; its earliest traditions take us back to the mythological ages, and give to it the honour of being the birthplace of Jupiter. At the dawn of Christianity we find the first missionary, St. Paul, leaving Titus upon the island to "set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city" Crete was next overrun by the insatiate standards of Mohammed, and after having been bought by the Venetians, was finally added to the Turkish empire. During the recent Greek revolution, the Cretans (vulg. Candiotes) failed to obtain their release from the Ottoman yoke in spite of their constant efforts to join themselves to their more fortunate countrymen. About ten years ago the island was ceded to Mehemet Ali, but by a recent treaty is again nomi. nally annexed to the Porte. The Christian population has, however, revolted, and with every prospect of relieving itself from the trammels of Islam rule. The progress of this revolt must deeply interest the Christian world; for it is a struggle against intolerance, fraught with a degree of prejudice and infatuation only to be matched in the annals of other nations whose misfortune it has been to be overcome by Mohammedan arms. * Epistle of Paul to Titus, v. :-the latter is the patron Saint of Crete; the inhabitants of which claim him as a native of the island. This fable of Titus's Cretan origin is however rejected by Gibbon, (“Decline and Fall," chap. xvi.) and by Bishop Kaye (Tertullian, p. 110. 2nd Edition). The island itself rises out of the Mediterranean Sea, and marks the southern limits of the Grecian Archipelago. It consists of a continuation of the mountain districts which extend through Greece and the Peloponnesus, that give to it a rugged, hilly character, and a long figure; extending east and west for about 160 miles; in some places narrowed to a breadth of six miles; and never measuring more than fifty miles across. The peaks of the western mountains are elevated enough to be always covered with snow, but the eastern part of the island is more depressed. The centre of this range is the celebrated Mount Ida, whose base has a circumference of twenty-five leagues, and whose sides rise in hilly groups heaped one above another like a pyramid. In common with most objects hallowed by antiquity, or made famous by the glowing imagery of the ancient poets, Mount Ida has been invested with beauties it could never have possessed. It is bare, barren, and offers neither landscape to the eye, nor spring nor pleasing solitude to the traveller *. The other mountains render the south coast of Candia lofty, and in few places accessible, while the north shores more boldly indented, present some remarkable headlands and good anchorages. In this part of the island are situated most of the few plains it possesses; its rivers partake more of the nature of mountain torrents than regular streams; for even the Messara, the largest of them, is dry in portions of its bed during some parts of the year. Still *Tournefort, Relation d'un Voyage au Levant, vol. i. p. 53. Candia is upon the whole a healthy island, for its intense summer climate is tempered by north winds, which rise about eight o'clock in the morning, but fall with the sun. They are called embát, and sometimes blow with great violence. Since the Grecian revolution the Christians of the Greek church have greatly preponderated over the Mohammedan inhabitants of the island; and although Christianity is presented in its worst aspect by followers of the Greek schism, yet there is no question of the superiority of its effects upon the morals, sentiments, and civilization of its professors over those of the Mohammedan faith. The question now agitated, sword in hand, throughout Candia is, whether its people shall follow their creed unfettered, or still submit to the iron rule and vexatious exactions of the Turks. Such being the present aspect of their affairs-an interest having been by recent events awakened in Europe in favour of the population, and as Candia was the channel as it were through which the civilization and Christianity of the east first passed into the western world-we have thought a sketch of its people and their religion would be timely and interesting. The island is divided into eight bishoprics; the metropolitan residing in the city of Candia, its capital; but the Greek Church is fallen into such a degraded condition, that "no man,” says Tournefort, "who has the least zeal for religion can reflect upon it without shedding tears." Though this was said nearly a century and a half ago, but little improvement is observable at the present day. Mr. Pashley visited the Candiote archbishop on the 2nd March, 1834, and had the misfortune to find out before he left his holiness," that he is even more ignorant than is usually the case with individuals of his profession in these parts of the world. His ekonomos (a sort of cardinal), however, fully made up for the deficiencies of his superior. The higher dignitaries of the Greek Church are selected from its monks alone, (for the maintenance of whom there are thirty large monasteries and several small ones in Candia,) and are obliged to take the vow of chastity; while, in singular contrast to the Roman Catholics, the working clergy are compelled to marry previously to ordination. There are five orders of priesthood, namely, bishops, priests, deacons, sub-deacons, and readers, who are also singers. The church service is chieffy musical, and, like the Roman ritual, displays jewels, plate, and images, scarcely less valuable and splendid than those of the Roman Catholics. Most of the ceremonies, which are replete with theatrical effect, are accompanied with music. The social and religious position of the Cretan Mussulmans is curious. They chiefly consist of apostates from the Greek Church, or their descendants, without any influx of strangers to the soil. | They marry Christian wives without scruple. La Motraye, who lodged one night with a couple thus circumstanced, says, they "lived very well together the man went to the mosque and his wife to the church; as for the children, they were brought up as Mohammedans. The husband made no scruple to light the lamp for his wife on Sundays before the image of the Fanagia." On the other hand, many men among the Greeks would rather submit to death than marry a woman who had not been duly baptized. And even with respect to their daughters, there are alliances to which their aversion is insuperable: for instance, those contracted with members of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a singular fact, that the hatred borne by the Greeks to the members of the latter sect is, and nearly always has been, much greater than their aversion to Mohammedans. The degraded condition in which both classes of Candiotes exist, renders it a difficult and arduous field of missionary labour. People in a state of utter barbarism are much more easily impressed by truth than those who have already embraced an erroneous faith. In the one case, the missionary has only to teach, to enlighten ignorance; in the other, his occupation is two-fold: he must cause his hearers to unlearn that which is false, and learn that which is true. Hence, although the American brethren have established a missionary school in Candia, its effects have been as yet but unimportant. Though there are four native schools, the total number of scholars is no more than four hundred. The visible improvement of the rest of the Greek nation, since it was relieved from its Turkish slavery, gives hope that, should Candia gain what she is now struggling for, a few years of freedom aided by European intercourse-will give her an equal chance of improvement. Her people, like all mountaineers, are a hardy race, whose external manners are described as having arrived at the somewhat hollow point of civilization known as politeness. "The ceremonious politeness even of the poorest people of Crete," says Pashley, "whenever they meet and address one another is very striking." Several gestures and forms are gone through while repeating the formula in which the verbal greeting is made. The Affghans and Chinese present in this respect some similarity to the Cretans. Their moral character, as pictured by the ancients, is by no means favourable; but whatever it may have been from the time of Polybius to that of St. Paul, the present race can hardly deserve the censures passed on their ancestors. They are frugal, and though robust and courageous, inoffensive when not roused by wrongs or indignities; but all classes are filled with the most absurd superstitions. Their intellectual characteristics are intelligence and vivacity; they may be com* See Epistle to Titus, i. 12. HAYDON'S PICTURE OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION. pared to the French of western Europe, or to the Persians of the East. The language spoken in Candia is modern Greek. The constant state of oppression, and their frequent efforts to ease themselves of it, have left the Cretans little leisure to devote to the useful arts. Though Candia abounds with olives, which produce the finest oil, it is never sufficiently refined to serve any better purpose than that of making soap. Agriculture is at a very low ebb, and for raising wheat the land is merely scratched with the plough once, and barley is sown on the wheat stubble without ploughing at all. The manufactures of the island are nearly all domestic (there are, however, forty-five soap factories), consequently its trade is inconsiderable. The average annual exports have been estimated to exceed 18,500,000, and the imports 17,800,000 Turkish piastres REFINEMENTS OF INVENTION. W. To the superficial observer, Mr. afterwards Sir H. Davy has remarked, the attempt to extend the refinements of invention beyond that state in which they are fitted for all the useful purposes of life, may appear wholly unnecessary; but it should be remembered, that, in aiming at perfection in a manufacture, the workman is constantly improving himself; and in attempting to produce articles which are to sell at a high price, he makes a number much better than they would otherwise be, which are disposed of at a moderate rate. A finelypolished knife, for instance, which costs a guinea, may not have a better case than one which sells for a shilling only; but the cutler who has produced the expensive knife, from his accurate acquaintance with his art, gained from habit and laborious operation, is able to make the common knife better and at a lower rate. A thousand cases of the same kind might be adduced. The clay and models of the Etruscan vases, produced by the ingenuity of the late Mr. Wedgwood, may be said to have no immediate application to common uses; but yet, in consequence of their invention, a spirit of instruction and of emulation has operated on every branch of the porcelain manufacture, and even the forms and composition of our common pitchers and common flower-pots have, in consequence, been improved. DEGREES OF CONFIDENCE. TRUST him little who praises all, him less who censures all, and him least who is indifferent about all.-Lavater. For the information contained in this article the writer is indebted to Tournefort, before quoted; Encyc. Britannica, art. Candia; Travels in Crete, by Robert Pashley, Esq.; Mc Culloch's Dict. of Geography, vol. i. pp. 653-655, &c. &c. HAYDON'S PICTURE OF THE ANTI SLAVERY CONVENTION. 91 THAT friend of his race, Bernard Barton, gave to the world, a few years ago, two poems in which at the time we, in common with many, were deeply interested. They both relate to one whose services in the cause of philanthropy have been of incalculable value. The first is as follows, and refers to a period when Clarkson had finished his collegiate essay, which first brought before his ardent mind the enormous evils of slavery. THE STARTING-POST; OR, CLARKSON AT "Coming in sight of Wade's Mill in Hertfordshire, I sat down disconsolate on the turf by the roadside, and held my horse. Here a thought came into my mind that if the contents of the Essay were true, it was time some person should see these calamities to their end. Agitated in this manner, I reached home. This was in the summer of 1785."-Clarkson's History of the Abolition, vol. i. p. 210. A WANDERER by the road-way side, Though rich the landscape, hill and plain, One props his thoughtful head, The flush of youth is on his brow, And yet the first is pensive now, The latter nought can spy. Docs proud Ambition's fitful gleam These are forgotten, or unknown :~ Nor less from Afric's land afar, Borne by the billowy waves, The shrieks of kidnapp'd slaves The iron of that galling yoke Has enter'd in his soul ! Who, e'en on Albion's far-famed Isle, Who, the Apostle of her Creed, Shall journey to and fro, Her universal rights to plead, And Slavery overthrow? Thou art the man! the Prophet cried; As clear, as vivid, the appeal To Freedom's Champion given: And God himself hath set his seal,The message was from Heaven! The second poem is equally true and appropriate. THE GOAL; OR, CLARKSON IN OLD AGE. That way-side wanderer now A venerable sage has grown, With years traced on his brow. More bent in form, more dim of eye, And joy is his, age cannot chill, Memories it need not shun; The lone enthusiast of Wade's Mill His glorious goal hath won! Not vainly has he watch'd the ark Wherein his hopes were shrined, Nor vainly fann'd fair Freedom's spark In many a kindling mind. At times, indeed, those hopes might seem Anon the dove with weary wing Her olive-branch would bear, A sign to which his hopes might cling In hours of anxious care. The bow of promise has come forth, It stands as erst it stood When the old landmarks of the earth Emerged above the flood! And Christian states have own'd His right Well may the vet'ran of that band, His name, with those of his compeers, Have travell'd earth's wide round; And grateful hearts, and listening ears, Have hail'd the welcome sound. His toils are o'er, his part is done, The bondage that made Afric vile Till where the Scourge created fear, To Him who reigns above! These poems have been recalled to our minds by Haydon's Picture of the late Anti-Slavery Convention. The artist's description of the circumstances in which it originated is peculiarly happy, and may not only serve to induce some of our readers to inspect it, but will doubtless gratify others at a distance from the metropolis, who may not have the opportunity of doing so : "Of all the meetings for benevolent purposes which were ever held in London, none ever exceeded in interest or object that which met at the Great Room, Freemasons' Tavern, in June 1840, headed by the venerable Clarkson, and composed of delegates from various parts of the world, in order to consult on the most effectual method of abolishing the curse of Slavery from those countries which, in spite of the noble example set them by England, still maintained it in all its atrocity and horror. "The day before the meeting a deputation of gentlemen waited on me, to ask if I thought such an assemblage, with such a leader, might not be a subject fit for an historical picture? As it was necessary for me to be present before I decided, they invited me to attend the next day; and I candidly acknowledge I did so, rather unwilling to be drawn from my painting-room, and expecting nothing more than the usual routine of a public meeting-votes of thanks, and such like things. "On entering the meeting at the time appointed, I saw at once I was in the midst of no common assembly. The venerable and benevolent heads which surrounded me, soon convinced me that materials existed of character and expression in the members present, provided any one moment of pictorial interest (on a fact) should occur. I immediately prepared for a sketch, and drew slightly with a pen on the back of my ticket the general characteristics of the room and meeting. “In a few minutes an unaffected man got up, and informed the meeting that Thomas Clarkson would attend shortly; he begged no tumultuous applause HAYDON'S PICTURE OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONVENTION. might greet his entrance, as his infirmities were great, and he was too nervous to bear without risk of injury to his health any such expressions of their good feeling towards him. "The friend who addressed them was Joseph Sturge, a man whose whole life has been devoted to ameliorate the condition of the unhappy. "In a few minutes the aged Clarkson came in, grey and bent, leaning on Joseph Sturge for support, and approached with feeble and tottering steps the middle of the convention. I had never seen him before, nor had most of the foreigners present; and the anxiety to look on him, betrayed by all, was exceedingly unaffected and sincere. "Immediately behind Thomas Clarkson were his daughter-in-law, the widow of his son, and his little grandson. "Aided by Joseph Sturge and his daughter, Clarkson mounted to the chair, sat down in it as if to rest, and then, in a tender, feeble voice, appealed to the assembly for a few minutes' meditation before he opened the convention. "The venerable old man put his hand simply to his forehead, as if in prayer, and the whole assem bly followed his example; for a minute there was the most intense silence I ever felt. Having in wardly uttered a short prayer, he was again helped up; and bending forward, leaning on the table, he spoke to the great assembly as a patriarch standing near the grave, or as a kind father who felt an interest for his children. Every word he uttered was from his heart-he spoke tenderly, tremulously; and, in alluding to Wilberforce, acknowledged, just as an aged man would acknowledge, his decay of memory in forgetting many other dear friends whom he could not then recollect. "In this simple and beautiful sincerity lies the basis of Clarkson's character through life; and after solemnly urging the members to persevere to the last, till Slavery was extinct, lifting his arm and pointing to heaven (his face quivering with emotion), he ended by saying, May the Supreme Ruler of all human events, at whose disposal are not only the hearts but the intellects of men-may He, in His abundant mercy, guide your councils and give His blessing upon your labours.' There was a pause of a moment, and then, without an interchange of thought or even of look, the whole of this vast meeting, men and women, said, in a tone of subdued and deep feeling, 'AMEN! AMEN!' "To the reader not present it is scarcely possible to convey without affectation the effect on the imagination of one who, like himself, had never attended benevolent meetings, had no notion of such deep sincerity in any body of men, or of the awful and unaffected piety of the class I had been brought amongst. That deep-toned AMEN came on my mind like the knell of a departing curse; I looked about me on the simple and extraordinary people ever ready with their purse and their person 93 for the accomplishment of their great object; and if ever sound was an echo to the sense, or if ever deep and undaunted meaning was conveyed to the depths of the soul by sound alone, the death-warrant of Slavery all over the earth was boded by that AMEN! "I have seen the most afflicting tragedies, imitative and real; but never did I witness, in life or in the drama, so deep, so touching, so pathetic an effect produced on any great assembly as by the few,unaffected, unsophisticated, natural, and honest words of this aged and agitated person. "The women wept-the men shook off their tears, unable to prevent their flowing; for myself, I was so affected and so astonished, that it was many minutes before I recovered sufficiently to perceive the moment of interest I had longed for had come to pass-and this was the moment I immediately chose for the picture." SPELLS AND CHARMS. THE use of spells and charms is not quite banished from our land. The writer has one in for toothache, by one who so firmly believed in his possession, given him as an infallible remedy its efficacy, that he made its unfortunate failure A clergyman of acknowledged worth, to whom this anecdote was related, has supplied the follow ing corroboration:-"I know this fact: a gentleman between twenty and thirty years of age, of a leading family in his country, the son of a clergyman who had three parishes, sewed these verses in his sister's petticoat, believing they would ease her of toothache."-Dr. W. C. Taylor. FLOORS STREWN WITH RUSHES. THE English practice of strewing floors with rushes was general before the introduction of carpets for this purpose, and the first mansions in the kingdom could boast of nothing superior in this respect. Shakspeare has many lines in reference to the custom; Glendower, for instance, interpreting Lady Mortimer's address to her husband, says, "She bids you Upon the wanton rushes lay you down." Decker tells us of "windows spread with hearbs, the chimney drest up with greene boughs, and the florre strewed with bulrushes." |