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The Porte, as the Turkish Government is called, lost no time in sending a reply to the note from the Powers.

Turkey said she would be quite willing to talk over the terms of peace with the Powers, provided certain formalities about signing the armistice and the treaty of peace were followed by the Greeks.

The European situation grows more serious daily.  There is little hope of peace being arrived at, even though the armistice has been extended beyond the seventeen days first agreed upon.  It has now been arranged that the armistice shall last for a further period of two weeks, and should the peace discussions not then be concluded the Porte will grant still another two weeks.

The cause of the delay is the disposition to be made of Thessaly.

The Powers insist that Turkey shall not keep possession of this province, and Turkey seems determined to hold it.

[**Transcriber Note:  possesson changed to possession]

Troops are being sent into Thessaly daily, and it is said that Edhem Pasha has now a force of 200,000 men under his command in the disputed territory.

The Greeks are very much alarmed at this, and have sent an appeal to Russia, begging her to prevent the Turks from fortifying Thessaly.

At present Russia has not had time to take any action, and Turkish troops and arms are being hurried through the mountain passes; and fresh volunteers are being called for in the Turkish cities.  Six ships laden with soldiers have been despatched from Constantinople, thirty-two battalions of troops have been ordered to Thessaly from Syria, and others have been sent to the seat of war from the Servian and Bulgarian frontiers.

This does not look as if the Sultan intended to give up Thessaly.  It is indeed reported that he has taken a hint from the Greek occupation of Crete, and, having seen how incapable the Powers then were to dislodge the Greek army, he means to stay where he is and see whether they will be any more successful in dislodging the Turkish army.

In Constantinople the feeling is running very high about keeping possession of the coveted land.  It is said that all classes, from the Ministers to the porters on the streets, are against giving up the conquered territory.  Every possible influence is being brought to bear upon the Sultan, to persuade him to keep Thessaly.

The Sheik, about whom we spoke last week, has again been to the Sultan, and declared that the land conquered from the enemy must not be given back to them.

The Sultan, meanwhile, lets no one know what he intends to do, but carries out his own plans without letting a hint of what these plans are escape him.

The general opinion is that Turkey will hold Thessaly and if Europe wants her to give it up she will have to fight for it.  The conviction is growing daily that Turkey’s newly found power cannot be curbed without a great European war, the terrible European war which it was thought the sacrifice of Greece would prevent.