Departure from Constantinople--Prince’s Islands--Scio--Drunken
Turk--Rhodes--Storm--The ship springs a leak--Servants
dismayed--Land seen--The ship founders--Escape of the passengers
to a rock--The sailors proceed to the Island of Rhodes--They
return--The crew mutiny--The passengers gain the Island; and
reach a hamlet--Our distressed situation--The Author departs
for the town of Rhodes--Hassan Bey refuses assistance--The
houses--Lady Hester ill of a fever--Lindo--Its port--The
Archon Petraki--Reports that the party were lost--Lady Hester
arrives at Rhodes--Town--Why Lady Hester chose the Turkish
dress--Posting in Turkey--Mustafa.
We sailed from Constantinople on the 23rd of October, 1811. The party
consisted of Lady Hester Stanhope, Mr. B., Mr. Henry Pearce, myself,
an English maid servant, Mrs. Fry, a _maître d’hôtel_, four men
servants, a cook, and a scullion, all Greeks. The master of the ship
and his crew were likewise of that nation. Live sheep, poultry, wine,
everything that could make the voyage comfortable, had been provided;
and the hold of the ship had been partitioned into small cabins, so as
to lodge every individual separately.
On quitting the Bosphorus, we encountered a contrary wind, which
compelled us to take refuge among the Prince’s Islands, where we
remained weatherbound five or six days. At last a north wind set in,
and carried us, in a short time, through the Dardanelles, to the Island
of Scio, where strong gales again detained us, but not unpleasantly,
for ten days; since the vivacity of the inhabitants and the novelty
and beauty of the country offered us much diversion. Our pleasure,
however, was likely to have been damped by an accident not uncommon
in Turkey. A Turkish soldier, who was passenger in a ship moored next
to ours, having drunk too freely of wine, took umbrage at something
that was said by one of our sailors, who was on the quarter-deck, and
drew his pistol from his girdle and fired at him; but, not taking a
just aim, the ball entered the ship’s quarter, and passed through
the musquito-net suspended over Lady Hester’s bed. Fortunately, it
so happened that Lady Hester had gone on shore to take a ride in the
country; otherwise some mischief might have been done. On her return,
the man was apprehended, and the governor of the town politely sent
word that he should be punished in any way she might desire; but she
said she required no other chastisement for him than such as he merited
by the laws of his own country.
The wind now becoming fair, we unmoored, and were carried, without any
accident, as far as Rhodes, where we stopped but a few hours to take
in water and fresh bread; we then sailed, little imagining we should
so soon return thither. It was on Saturday night, the 23rd November,
that we quitted the island. We ran for two days under a press of sail,
and must have made half our way to Alexandria, when the sky became
lowering, and a southerly wind obliged us to beat to windward the whole
of the 25th of November. In the evening, the gale having increased,
we wore ship. On the 27th, the ship sprang a leak, and the cry of all
hands to the pump immediately showed that some danger impended.
It is seldom that the Levantine ships have pumps, or, when they have,
they are so little used as generally to be found unserviceable when
wanted: and such was the case with ours. The water increased rapidly,
and every exertion was necessary to check its progress. Mr. B., Mr.
Pearce, myself, and all the servants, were unremittingly employed in
raising and lowering the buckets, which were plied at the hatchways,
as well as at the wells; whilst the pilot directed the ship’s course
towards Rhodes.
In the mean time, Lady Hester, who had been informed of the leak,
became aware, from the confusion which prevailed, that great danger
was apprehended. She dressed herself, and quietly directed her maid to
furnish a small box with a few articles of the first necessity, to be
prepared against the worst. There was a cask of wine in the cabin,
which had been brought to drink on the voyage. This her ladyship, with
her own hands, drew and distributed among the sailors, to cheer them
under the labour, which became very severe.
The wind had now risen to a complete gale, and, about twelve o’clock,
the ship heeled gunwale down, and was so waterlogged that she never
recovered an upright position afterwards. As our situation became more
alarming, two or three of the Greek servants began to lose courage,
and, throwing themselves flat on the deck, vented the most womanish
lamentations, nor could they be induced by either threats or promises
to work any more. One shook as if he had an ague fit; and another
invoked the Virgin Mary, with continued exclamations of, “_Panagia
mou! panagia mou!_”
Things wore this unpromising appearance when, about three o’clock, the
south-west point of the island of Rhodes was discovered on our weather
bow. The pilot immediately put the ship’s head as direct to it as the
wind would permit. Every person took fresh courage, and our exertions
became greater than ever. But the ship was no longer obedient to the
helm, and we lost, in lee-way, what we gained in progress. We were
perhaps not more than two miles from the island, and it was resolved to
let go an anchor. The anchor, however, proved of no use, and the ship
still drove.
The leak had now gained so much upon us that there was every
probability the ship could not long keep afloat, and it was resolved
that the long-boat should be hoisted out as our only resource. This was
made known to Lady Hester, and, the order having been given that no
one should burden the boat with luggage, it was with much difficulty
lowered into the sea. Whilst this was doing, I went down into the
cabin, and took from my trunk a bag of dollars, which, with my sabre
and a pistol, was all that I saved.
I hastened upon deck, and, jumping into the boat, where already
twenty-four persons had got before me, we let go the rope, and placed
all our hopes on reaching a rock, which was about half a mile to
leeward of us. No sooner were we free from the lee of the ship than
the danger to which we were exposed became still more formidable than
before. Almost every wave beat over us. Providence, however, watched
over our safety; and we at last got to the leeward side of the rock,
where a little creek, just large enough to shelter the boat, received
us, and we landed. But, when we came to reflect on our position, it
seemed still very deplorable. There was only one place, a sort of
cavity in the rock, which afforded shelter from the spray. There was
no fresh water, and, in the hurry of quitting the ship, that, as well
as provisions, had been forgotten. Fatigue, however, was at present
the most urgent sensation; and we all composed ourselves, in our wet
clothes, to sleep; the cave in the rock being assigned to Lady Hester
and her maid.
About midnight the wind abated a little, and the master proposed
attempting to reach the land; averring it was as well to perish at
once as to be starved to death. He suggested that, if the crew only
was taken with him, there would be a much better chance of effecting
his purpose; and that, once arrived, he could provide boats for our
deliverance: whereas, if all went, the boat would in all probability
sink. These arguments were deemed valid, and, accompanied by our
prayers, they launched off. It was agreed that, when they reached the
shore, they should make a fire as a signal of their safety; and, in the
course of two hours, we saw the wished-for blaze.
Daylight came, and we remained without food or drink, anxiously looking
out for the return of the crew. Our reflections were by no means
comfortable: for, knowing the character of the Greeks, we could not
be sure that, once safe themselves, they would not abandon us to our
fate. We watched all day, and it was not until about a quarter of an
hour before sunset, that a black speck was seen on the sea, which we at
length distinguished to be a boat. It contained the crew, but without
the captain, who had declined the danger of coming off again. They
brought us bread, cheese, water, and arrack; and thus, after thirty
hours’ fasting, we satisfied our hunger and thirst.
But another danger now stared us in the face. The sailors had found
liquor on shore, and had made themselves drunk. They grew riotous and
insolent, and, in the course of the night, declared their resolution of
rowing back again. In vain we requested they would wait till daylight,
till the wind abated, and till the rain was over. They were determined;
and, as those who remained behind could have no chance but to perish,
we were compelled to go with them. The sea was high; and, as they were
pulling almost in the face of it, the labour of the sailors was very
severe. But, for the same reason, the nearer we approached the shore
the smoother the water became. At last the stern touched, and a wave,
that filled her from head to stern, at once overwhelmed us. Lady Hester
was hoisted out of the boat, and each made his way on shore as he
could. The boat, soon after, was swamped and staved.
Close to where we landed there was a small windmill, where we
accommodated Lady Hester and her maid in the best manner we could,
whilst a blazing fire was made on the outside, round which we all
collected. But we were soon joined by Mrs. Fry, who was so terrified
by the rats, which ran up and down the ropes in the mill, that nothing
could induce her to remain with her mistress. The rain all this time
fell in torrents. The miller was despatched to his village, which was
near at hand, to bring down conveyances to carry us to a place of
shelter. At daylight he returned, and with him several peasants with
mules and asses, which we mounted, and reached in a short time a
hamlet, the most miserable that can be conceived as the habitation of
human beings. Among all the cottages, there was not one into which the
rain did not penetrate, whilst the filth within and about them was to
the last degree disgusting: add to which they all swarmed with fleas.
Yet, in other parts of the island of Rhodes, we had reason to admire
the neatness and comfort of the peasants’ habitations.
The weather now became beautifully fine, as if to mock our misfortunes.
Nothing had been saved from our ship: no one had linen to change: and
some speedy means were to be contrived, to remedy these inconveniences.
Accordingly, it was settled that I should set off for the town of
Rhodes, and, by means of the English agent, whom we had already seen,
provide a few necessaries for Lady Hester, and, at the same time,
try to procure money; since what I had saved was only enough for our
immediate wants.
On the following morning, mounted on a mule and with a peasant for my
guide, I set off for the town, which I reached on the second day in
the evening. Not having ink or paper with me, I was unable to write
down what I saw; but I have a perfect recollection of the beauty
of the country, of the groves of myrtle and oleander, of the clean
houses of the peasants, of their dresses of white cotton, and of their
hospitality. For, having slept the first night at a cottage where I
was entertained with a plentiful supper and accommodated with a clean
bed, on asking my guide what recompense I should make, he told me that
twenty paras was quite enough, which were about equal to an English
sixpence.
The news of our shipwreck had already reached the town by the captain,
who had made the best of his way thither the moment he had landed. A
large bundle of linen was immediately packed up, and sent back by the
mule which brought me. The next day I paid a visit to the governor,
Hassan Bey, to whom I represented the situation of Lady Hester and
her party, and asked him to advance some money, until measures could
be taken for obtaining some from Smyrna: but, ignorant who we were,
he refused to lend assistance in any way. I found him seated on the
landing-place of the staircase of his palace, and of so mean an
appearance, that I had fairly passed him unnoticed, until Mr. Illarick
called me back, and whispered, “There’s the bey.” On approaching him,
one of his people roughly drove me back, and desired me to pull my
shoes off. The reason for this probably was that my dress, spoiled by
sea-water, was not such as to inspire much respect, and no one but a
privileged person is allowed to dispense with this ceremony, according
to Turkish usages.
As nothing was to be done with the bey, and as there was no time to be
lost, Mr. Illarick’s assistance was put in requisition to the utmost.
A house was prepared for Lady Hester, and another for the rest of her
party.
The houses in the town of Rhodes are incapable of lodging more than
one or two persons, if fixed bedsteads are used; for they consist,
generally at least in the Frank quarter, of no more than two rooms,
or three or four at the utmost. In those that I saw, the room on the
ground floor was paved with pebbles of different colours, of the size
of a hen’s egg, artificially and prettily arranged in stars, lozenges,
and other devices. At one end there was a gallery, raised five or six
feet, with a railing of unpainted fir. This served as a sitting-room by
day and a sleeping-room by night, for the principal part of the family.
On the first floor was a single room, floored, and ornamented with a
few open cupboards, painted red or some glaring colour, with birds or
trees upon them. Sometimes it had a recess in the wall for containing
beds and coverlets, which are placed there the moment they are done
with. The display of a store of these articles is a strong evidence of
good circumstances, not only at Rhodes, but, as I have since observed,
in other parts of Turkey.
In the midst of my preparations for Lady Hester’s reception, I was
alarmed by the arrival of a peasant in the night with a letter, by
which my immediate attendance was required at Lindo, on the east side
of the island, where Lady Hester, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, had
fallen ill of a fever. It appeared that, after my departure from the
hamlet, the party had set off, and the route by the above-named town
had been suggested to them as least fatiguing. In it there lived a
Greek of rank, who had retired from Constantinople to this, his native
place. He had afforded them hospitality, and had offered to provide for
their wants, until they should receive succour from the city: and it
was at his house that Lady Hester was taken ill. A long day’s journey
through a country still more beautiful than that which I had passed on
the western side brought me to Lindo. Her Ladyship grew better after a
few days’ repose, and I then found leisure to perambulate the environs
of the town. I will leave Lady Hester herself to describe her situation.
_Lady Hester Stanhope to ----._
Rhodes, Dec. 1811.
My dear ----,
I write one line by a ship which came in here for a few hours,
just to tell you we are all safe and well. Starving thirty hours
on a bare rock, even without fresh water, being half-naked and
drenched with wet, having traversed an almost trackless country,
over dreadful rocks and mountains, partly on foot and partly on
a mule for eight hours, laid me up at a village for a few days:
but I have since crossed the island on an ass, going for six
hours a day, which proves I am pretty well now at least.
The Consul here is a dear old fellow of seventy-five, who thinks
he cannot do too much for us; but the bey pretends to be so
poor, that he cannot give us more than thirty pounds, which
will neither clothe nor feed eleven naked people for long;
so we must send an express to Smyrna to get what we want. My
locket, and the valuable snuff-box Lord Sligo gave me, and two
pelisses, are all I have saved;--all the travelling equipage for
Syria, &c., all gone;--the servants naked and unarmed: but the
great loss of all is the medicine-chest, which saved the lives
of so many travellers in Greece. How to repair it, I know not.
I expected more medicine out by Mr. Liston; but whether he has
forwarded it, or kept it, I know not: if you could assist me in
this once more, I should thank you much. I may be able to get
a little at Smyrna, but I am told all the medicine-shops were
burnt by the late fire. The moment I can get a few necessaries
from Smyrna, I shall depart to Tripoli, in Syria; therefore if
you can assist me about medicine, pray forward it to Mr. Werry,
and he will send it by the first opportunity.
B----, Mr. Pearce, and the doctor, are quite well. They have
saved nothing; but do not fancy us dull, for we (myself
included) danced the Pyrrhic dance with the peasants in the
villages in our way hither.
We have lost a poor dog, which was quite a treasure; it was
so frighted and so sick, we could not get it into the boat.
I lament this every day, and little else, except the most
beautiful collection of conserves for you and two other people,
violets, roses, orange-flowers, and almost every sort of fruit.
Wynne is here, and is very kind to me. You will receive a longer
letter through Mr. Werry. I enclose a line to Coutts and to my
brother, whom I heard from at Scio. By accident, the young man
you intrusted with my letters came there for a day. Remember
me most kindly to Mr. Taylor: tell him I make conquests of
Turks everywhere. Here they are ten times more strict than in
Constantinople; yet a Turk has lent me a house and bath in the
middle of an orange-grove, where I go to-morrow. The houses on
the outsides of the walls where Franks live are only fit for
poultry.
Adieu, my dear General,
Believe me, ever yours, most sincerely,
H. L. STANHOPE.
There is something curious in the situation of Lindo. It stands on
a tongue of land cut off from the island by a rocky mountain, which
can be crossed only at a foot pace, by a mule path, and which in some
places is so steep as to have made it necessary to hew out rough steps.
Looking down from the summit of this mountain, you behold a neat town
of about 200 houses, commanded by a castle, built on an elevation
at the extremity of the tongue of land. There is an indentation in
the line of coast to the left of the town which forms a small bay;
whilst, on the right, a roomy basin, scooped by the hand of Nature
out of the solid rock, with an entrance half as narrow as its breadth
within, seems to want nothing but a little squadron to give a maritime
importance to the place. There was no vessel in either port.
The only spot of ground which the inhabitants seemed to have for
cultivation, was on the strand to the north. This strand went
traditionally by the name of the Arena, and seemed well adapted for
such games as the ancients gave in places of that denomination. To
the south-west of the town, but overhanging it, were to be seen the
remains of an ancient temple excavated in the rock, of which so much
still was left, as to show that it had Ionic pilasters. In the front
was an altar also hewn out of the rock.
The house in which Lady Hester was belonged to a person named
Philippaki. He was nearly allied to a prince, and consequently was an
archon himself. Mrs. Fry, however, Lady Hester’s maid, who had a great
aversion to learning languages, and a strong predilection to her native
one, as well as a habit of anglicising foreign words, used to call
the archon Philip Parker; just as Mustapha, who was at one time our
janissary, was metamorphosed into Muster Farr.
As soon as Lady Hester was well enough to resume her journey, we left
Lindo for the town of Rhodes. We slept one night at a village called
Archangelo, and arrived at Rhodes on the second evening.
Hassan Bey was not so polite to the party as most Turks would have been
in his situation. The master of the ship, besides being suspected of
having checked the bey’s civilities by not speaking of his passengers
in proper terms, was supposed to have had some interest in destroying
the vessel. It was accordingly determined not to make him any
recompense for the losses he pretended to have suffered. The sailors,
on the contrary, were rewarded liberally--more, perhaps, than their
exertions merited. Lady Hester wrote from this place the following
letter to a friend:--
_Lady Hester Stanhope to ----_
Rhodes, Dec. 19, 1811.
My dear ----,
I wrote to you by a vessel going to Malta, but must write again
through Mr. Werry. We are all safe and well at this place.
My health has suffered less than I expected; but I was sadly
fatigued one day’s journey from where we landed at the extremity
of this island. The wet, the starvation for thirty hours on a
bare rock in the middle of the sea, eight hours’ scrambling over
rocks and mountains, laid me up for a day or two at the house of
a most hospitable Greek.
We can get nothing here, and have sent to Smyrna for clothes and
money. We all mean to dress in future as Turks. I can assure you
that if I ever looked well in anything, it is in the Asiatic
dress, quite different from the European Turks.
When I went on shore at Scio, I slept two nights at a Turkish
house, and they would not admit even a dragoman; but I contrived
to make myself understood, got an excellent breakfast, and set
it all out in my own way, which amused them of all things; and
one of their friends lent me a horse and a black slave to attend
me. I do not know how it is, but I always feel at home with
these people, and can get out of them just what I like; but
it is a very different thing with the Greeks, who shuffle and
shuffle, and you never can depend upon them for one moment.
The late Grand-Vizier was exiled here, and is forbid to see
people; but I mean to introduce myself into his society. I paid
a visit to one at Scio, who was deposed when Turkey made peace
with us, and a very gentlemanlike deep sort of a person he
seemed to be.
Adieu; remember me kindly to Mr. Taylor, if he is with you, and
pray write to me soon.
Yours most sincerely,
H. L. STANHOPE.
As many things that were necessary for us in our destitute situation
could not be procured at Rhodes, arrangements were made for my
immediate departure for Smyrna, in order to purchase a refit for the
whole party. It will be thought by many persons, that Lady Hester
Stanhope violated too far the regard due to her sex in the resolution
she now adopted of equipping herself as a man, and as a Turk. But let
it be recollected that she had lost everything in the shipwreck, and
that even the cities of the Levant, had she been in one, had neither
milliners nor mantua-makers, who understand how to make European female
dresses, nor materials for them, could she have made them herself. The
impossibility of getting what she wanted was therefore so evident,
that she unavoidably made choice of the Turkish costume, in which the
long robes, the turban, the yellow slippers, and pelisses, have really
nothing incompatible with female attire. Thus she was enabled to travel
unveiled, which, in woman’s clothes, would have been contrary to the
usages of the country: and, as Lady Hester decided on abandoning the
English costume, the rest of the party did the same.
My journey to Smyrna was to be made post, which, in Turkey, signifies
riding postillion fashion one’s self, and, instead of changing chaises,
changing horses only, and galloping from stage to stage, as fast as
mountains and forests will permit.
As I had never made an essay in this sort of travelling, it was
necessary that I should be provided, if not with a Tartar, (Tartars
being the proper couriers), at least with a person furnished with his
powers. Application was therefore made to Hassan Bey, to select such
a man from his people, and to regulate the price that should be paid
him for going and returning. He fixed on a robust fellow, of a dark
stern countenance and of rough manners, with a yatagan full three feet
in length, and a large brace of pistols in his girdle. He settled this
man’s recompense at 100 piasters, and his maintenance: and furnished me
with an order to have post-horses on the road.