I was constantly on deck, lest I should lose any portion of the view, and scarcely dared to breathe when at length the long-wished-for plain came in sight.

Here it is, then, that this famous city is supposed to have stood.  Yonder mounds, perchance, cover the resting-places of Achilles, Patroclus, Ajax, Hector, and many other heroes who may have served their country as faithfully as these, though their names do not live in the page of history.  How gladly would I have trodden the plain, there to muse on the legends which in my youth had already awakened in me such deep and awe-struck interest, and had first aroused the wish to visit these lands—­a desire now partially fulfilled!  But we flew by with relentless rapidity.  The whole region is deserted and bare.  It seems as if nature and mankind were mourning together for the days gone by.  The inhabitants may indeed weep, for they will never again be what they once were.

In the course of the day we passed several islands.  In the foreground towered the peak of the Hydrae, shortly afterwards Samothrace rose from the waves, and we sailed close by the island of Tenedos.  At first this island does not present a striking appearance, but after rounding a small promontory we obtained a view of the fine fortress skirting the sea; it seems to have been built for the protection of the town beyond.

After passing Tenedos we lost sight of the Greek islands for a short time (the mainland of Asia can always be distinguished on our left), but soon afterwards we reached the most beautiful of them all—­ Mytelene, which has justly been sung by many poets as the Island of the Fairies.  For seven hours we glided by its coast.  It resembles a garden of olives, orange-trees, pomegranates, etc.  The view is bounded at the back by a double row of peaked mountains, and the town lies nearly in the midst.  It is built in a circular form, round a hill, strengthened with fortifications.  In front the town is girded by a strong wall, and in the rear extends a deep bay.  A few masts peered forth and shewed us where the bay ended.  From this point we saw numerous villages prettily situated among the luxuriant shade of large trees.  It must be a delightful thing to spend the spring-time on this island.

I remained on deck till late in the night, so charming, so rich in varied pictures of verdant isles is this voyage on the AEgaean Sea.  Had I been a magician, I would have fixed the sun in the heavens until we had arrived at Smyrna.  Unfortunately many a beauteous island which we next morning contemplated ruefully on the map was hidden from us by the shades of night.

May 19th.

Long before the sun was up, I had resumed my post on deck, to welcome Smyrna from afar.

A double chain of mountains, rising higher and higher, warned us of our approach to the rich commercial city.  At first we can only distinguish the ancient dilapidated castle on a rock, then the city itself, built at the foot of the rock, on the sea-shore; at the back the view is closed by the “Brother Mountains.”