On Sunday (the 15th, I believe) I had a strong and sudden convulsive attack, which left me speechless, though not motionless-for some strong men could not hold me; but whether it was epilepsy, catalepsy, cachexy, or apoplexy, or what other exy or epsy the doctors have not decided; or whether it was spasmodic or nervous, etc.; but it was very unpleasant, and nearly carried me off, and all that.  On Monday, they put leeches to my temples, no difficult matter, but the blood could not be stopped till eleven at night (they had gone too near the temporal artery for my temporal safety), and neither styptic nor caustic would cauterise the orifice till after a hundred attempts.

On Tuesday a Turkish brig of war ran on shore.  On Wednesday, great preparations being made to attack her, though protected by her consorts, the Turks burned her and retired to Patras.  On Thursday a quarrel ensued between the Suliotes and the Frank guard at the arsenal:  a Swedish officer was killed, and a Suliote severely wounded, and a general fight expected, and with some difficulty prevented.  On Friday, the officer was buried; and Captain Parry’s English artificers mutinied, under pretence that their lives were in danger, and are for quitting the country:—­they may.

On Saturday we had the smartest shock of an earthquake which I remember (and I have felt thirty, slight or smart, at different periods; they are common in the Mediterranean), and the whole army discharged their arms, upon the same principle that savages beat drums, or howl, during an eclipse of the moon:—­it was a rare scene altogether—­if you had but seen the English Johnnies, who had never been out of a cockney workshop before!—­or will again, if they can help it—­and on Sunday, we heard that the Vizier is come down to Larissa, with one hundred and odd thousand men.

In coming here, I had two escapes; one from the Turks (one of my vessels was taken but afterwards released), and the other from shipwreck.  We drove twice on the rocks near the Scrofes (islands near the coast).

I have obtained from the Greeks the release of eight-and-twenty Turkish prisoners, men, women, and children, and sent them to Patras and Prevesa at my own charges.  One little girl of nine years old, who prefers remaining with me, I shall (if I live) send, with her mother, probably, to Italy, or to England, and adopt her.  Her name is Hato, or Hatagee.  She is a very pretty lively child.  All her brothers were killed by the Greeks, and she herself and her mother merely spared by special favour and owing to her extreme youth, she being then but five or six years old.

My health is now better, and I ride about again.  My office here is no sinecure, so many parties and difficulties of every kind; but I will do what I can.  Prince Mavrocordato is an excellent person, and does all in his power; but his situation is perplexing in the extreme.  Still we have great hopes of the success of the contest.  You will hear, however, more of public news from plenty of quarters:  for I have little time to write.