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CHAPTER X.

THE WINE DISTRICT OF LIMASOL.

In the fifteenth century the Cyprian vines were selected for the now
celebrated vineyards of Madeira; nothing can better exemplify the
standard of industry and consequent prosperity than the vine, when we
regard the identical plant in the hands of the Portuguese and in its
original home in Cyprus under the Turkish administration. The first
historical notice of the vine occurs when Noah, stranded upon Mount
Ararat, took advantage, upon the first subsidence of the waters, to
plant a vineyard; and, according to the curt biblical description, it
grew, produced, and the wine intoxicated the proprietor, all within a
few days. It may not have occurred to the wine trade that this biblical
fact proves that the consumption of wine had been among the first
assumed necessities of the human race; if Noah's first impulse upon
landing suggested the cultivation of the vine, he was restoring to the
world a plant that had been considered so absolutely important that he
must have provided himself with either buds or cuttings in great
quantities when he selected his animals for the Ark BEFORE the Deluge.
If this is true, the use of wine must have been pre-historical, and its
abuse historical; the two purposes having continued to the present day.
It may therefore be acknowledged that no custom has been so universal
and continuous as the drinking of wine from the earliest period of human
existence. The vine is a mysterious plant; it is so peculiarly sensitive
that, like a musical instrument which produces harmony or discord at the
hands of different performers, the produce of the same variety is
affected by the soil upon which the plants are grown. Thus ten thousand
young vines may be planted upon one mountain, all of the same stock; but
various qualities of wine will be produced, each with a special
peculiarity of flavour, according to the peculiarities of soil. The same
estate, planted with the same vines, may produce high class wines and
others that would hardly command a market, if the soil varies according
to the degrees of certain localities. It would now be impossible to
produce Madeira wine in Cyprus, although the plants might be imported
and cultivated with the greatest attention. When the vines were shipped
from Cyprus and planted in Madeira during the rule of the Venetians, it
must not be supposed that those vines had ever produced wine of the
well-known Madeira flavour and quality; that flavour was the result of
some peculiarity in the soil of the new country to which the vines had
been transplanted, and there can be little doubt that the rich and
extremely luscious variety known in Cyprus as "Commanderia" was the
parent vine of the Madeira vineyards.

It is well known that the costly experiments of a century at the Cape of
Good Hope have verified the fact that the vine is the slave of certain
conditions of soil, which impart to this extremely delicate and
sensitive plant a special flavour that is incorporated with the wine,
and can never be eradicated. The vines of the Cape, although of infinite
variety, produce wines with a family taint which is a flavour absorbed
from the soil. Any person who knows Constantia, the luscious wine of the
Cape of Good Hope, will at once detect the soupcon of that flavour in
every quality of wine produced in the colony. It may therefore be
accepted that the flavour of wines depends upon the soil; thus it would
be impossible for a vine-grower to succeed simply by planting well-
known superior varieties of vines, unless he has had practical
experience of the locality to be converted into vineyards.

This fact is thoroughly exhibited in Cyprus, where the peculiarities of
soils are exceedingly remarkable, and cannot fail to attract attention,
each of these qualities of earth producing a special wine.

If a planter establishes a vineyard he will naturally select a certain
variety of vine, and a corresponding situation that will ensure a
marketable quantity of wine; thus in Cyprus a comparatively small area
of the island is devoted to the cultivation of the grape, which is
comprised chiefly within the district of Limasol. No wine is made in the
Carpas district, nor to the north of the Carpasian range of jurassic
limestone; there are no vineyards of importance in the western district;
or yet in the plain of Messaria, except upon the western border, in the
neighbourhood of Dali, towards the Makhaeras mountain.

Although there are many varieties of Cyprus wines, there is one
prevailing rule: the white commanderia, a luscious high-flavoured wine,
is grown upon the reddish chocolate-coloured soil of metamorphous rocks.
The dark red, or black astringent wines, are produced upon the white
marls and cretaceous limestone. The quantity produced is large, and the
dark wines can be purchased retail in the villages for one penny the
quart bottle!--and in my opinion are very dear at the money.

According to the official returns kindly supplied to me by Mr. Robson,
the chief of customs, the following list represents the declared
duty-paid production from 1877 to 1879.

Spirits-- Commanderia-- Black Wines--
Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs. Okes 2.75 lbs.
1877-1878. . 155,451 117,000 2,500,000
1878-1879. . 430,000 300,000 6,000,000

Spirit is valued at about 2.5 Piastres the Oke
Commanderia " " 2 " " "
Black Wines " " 1.25 " " "
The rate of exchange: 9 Piastres to 1 shilling = 180 per
pound sterling.


It will be observed that an immense difference is represented in the
yield of the two years. This is to be accounted for by the
superabundance of rains in 1878-1879, which caused a great quantity, but
bad quality, of juice, and the wine of this vintage is so inferior that
a large proportion is turning to vinegar, and can be used for no other
purpose.

The habit of calculating by low quantities, as "okes," as the French
reckon in "francs," is at first sight perplexing to the English mind,
and conveys an erroneous impression of the actual results. If the
population of Cyprus is about 200,000, the maximum wine-crop of
6,000,000 okes would only yield 30 okes, or 60 ordinary wine-bottles, to
each person during the year. The local consumption is exceedingly small,
which can only be accounted for by the general poverty of the
population.

The exports are directed principally to the various ports of the Levant,
Constantinople, Smyrna, Alexandria, in addition to Trieste, and parts of
Southern Italy. Some of the dark wines are shipped to Marseilles, for
the well-known establishment at Cette, where they are used for mixing
with other wines. It should at once be understood that no quality of
Cyprus wines is suitable to the English market, as they are generally
shunned even by the English residing in the island, where their extreme
cheapness might tempt people into the bad taste of consuming them. At
the same time, these wines are well appreciated by the native
population, especially the dark astringent qualities.

The difficulty of introducing a new wine is well known to English
wine-merchants, and the mysteries of the trade would somewhat astonish
the innocent would-be connoisseur. There can be no doubt that the palate
must be educated to enjoy fine dry wines, precisely as the ear must be
instructed before it can appreciate classical music. There is a harmony
in the senses of hearing, smell, and taste which is the result of
civilised life; this may be right or wrong physically, as the nerves
become more delicate and sensitive, which may affect the brain more or
less directly. There can be no doubt that it affects the stomach.
Certain civilised persons prefer game in a state approaching to
decomposition; I have seen savages who enjoy flesh when actually putrid,
and above all horrors, fish when stinking! Such food would disgust the
civilised man who prefers his game "high," and would perhaps kill other
civilised people whose palates and stomachs have been educated to avoid
impurities. In the same manner the palate must be educated for wines or
other drinks. I gave an old priest a bottle of Bass's pale India ale; he
could not drink half a glassful but rejected it as picro (bitter); the
same old man enjoyed his penny-a-bottle black Cyprus wine, reeking of
tar and half-rotten goat-skins, in which it had been brought to
market--a stuff that I could not have swallowed! It must therefore be
borne in mind when judging of Cyprian wines, that "English taste does
not govern the world." Although the British market would be closed to
the coarse and ill-made wines of Cyprus, there are other markets which
accept them gladly, and would absorb them to a high degree, were they
improved by superior cultivation and manufacture.

At the same time that the produce of Cyprus is now a unsuitable to the
English market, there is no reason why it should be excluded at a future
time, when scientific culture shall have enhanced the quality. It should
be remembered that the poorer classes of Great Britain would be
immensely benefited by a beverage that should be within their reach in
price, and at the same time be sufficiently invigorating without the
direct intoxicating properties of spirits or the sleepy, heavy, and
thirst-increasing qualities of beer. If Cyprus is at some future time to
become a British colony, the wine trade will be the principal source of
industry, and should be developed by the government with every possible
encouragement to the proprietors of vineyards. An improved quality of
wine will not necessitate an additional price, but, on the contrary, the
wine-growing resources of the island are so irrepressible that they have
withstood the oppression of the past and present, and when relieved of
this incubus, not only should the quality improve, but the price should
be reduced. In this case, should the Cyprian produce be favoured by a
nominal import duty in England, the wine will be within the reach of the
poorer classes, and may ameliorate that crying evil of our country,
"intoxication," by weaning the spirit-drinker to a more wholesome
drink.

It must never be supposed by the most sanguine that Cyprian wines will
be fashionable among the upper classes in England. I do not think they
will ever surpass Marsala or many of the Cape wines. English people, as
a rule, object to cheap wines, or at least they are reserved concerning
the price, should cheap wine be upon their table. It is a dangerous
thing to mention the cost of any wine, even to your nearest friend;
although he might have enjoyed it when he thought it must have cost you
72 shillings the dozen, he will detect some unpleasant peculiarity when
you may foolishly have confided to him that it only cost you 36
shillings, or, worse still, 24 shillings. He will possibly suggest to
you on the following morning that "something disagreed with him during
the night, but he does NOT think it was the 24 shilling wine." Here is
the fault of HALF-EDUCATED palates; they expect too much, and are guided
by fancies. The same person might be beguiled into the belief that the
24 shilling wine was very superior if he had been deceived by an
assurance that it cost 72 shillings. There are really very few amateurs
who could value unknown wines by the test of their own palates; but the
chilly climate of England is adverse to light wines, and necessitates a
full body, with considerable strength.

The sherries are always fortified by an addition of between 30 to 40 per
cent. of alcohol before they are shipped to England, without which they
would be unsaleable; as to our taste, they would be empty and vapid. We
must therefore make a considerable allowance when judging of Cyprus
wines in their present extremely rude and uncultivated position.

Nothing is added, and the following concise description will account for
their disagreeable peculiarities.

There are no roads in Cyprus in the mountainous wine-producing
districts, therefore all agricultural products must be conveyed upon the
backs of mules up and down the steepest and most dangerous rocky tracks,
apparently more fitted for goats than other animals. A mule will travel
in this rough country with a load of 250 lbs. This serious difficulty of
transport will account for the rude and ancient method of conveying wine
in goat-skins. "No man will put new wine into old bottles," referred to
this system of employing skins instead of casks, or other receptacles
that could be cleaned and rendered tasteless. The goat-skin would
quickly rot, unless it was prepared by a species of tar; thus not only
is the naturally unpleasant flavour of the skin imparted to the wine,
but the mixture of tar renders it completely abominable to any palate
that has not been educated to receive it. Let any person conceive the
result of pouring ten or twelve gallons of Chateau Lafitte into an old
and dirty goat-skin thoroughly impregnated with tar, and carrying this
burden upon one side of a mule, balanced by a similar skin on the other
side filled with the choicest Johannisberger. This load, worth at least
70 or 80 pounds at starting, would travel for two days exposed to a
broiling sun, and would lie for several days before it would be turned
into the vat of the merchant at Limasol. By that time, according to
civilised taste, it would be perfectly valueless and undrinkable; if the
best wines in the world can be thus destroyed by a savage means of
transport, what must the effect be upon such inferior qualities as the
crude produce of Cyprus? Common sense will suggest that the first step
towards improvement will be the completion of roads throughout the wine
districts, that will enable the two-wheeled native carts to convey the
wine in barrels direct from the growers to the merchants' stores at
Limasol.

We will now commence at the beginning, "the cultivation of the vine,"
and trace its progress until the wine is ready for the consumer.

As I have already described, the commanderia and the black wines are
produced by the two different qualities of soils, but there is no
difference in the altitudes. The new British road from Limasol to
Platraes, thirty miles, cuts directly through the principal vine
districts of the country. From the deep valley and roaring torrent, up
to the mountain-tops exceeding 4000 feet above the sea-level, the
country is green with vineyards in the middle or latter end of May; not
a yard of available land is lost. When the shoots are about three feet
long and have shown the embryo bunches, a number of men enter the
vineyard with switches and knock off the tender ends of the runners,
which in a gentler method of cultivation would be picked off with the
finger and thumb-nail. Sometimes goats are turned in to nibble off the
shoots in order to save labour, and at the same time to feed the
animals; they of course damage the vines, but the Cypriote thinks the
system pays. The young vines are never staked and tied as in Europe, but
are allowed to take their chance, and the heavy bunches in many
instances rest upon the dusty ground.

There is seldom rain after May, but a few showers are favourable at this
particular season when the young bunches are in blossom. In the best
vineyards attention is given to clearing away the weeds after rain, but
usually the vines are left to nature after the grapes have formed, as
the hot sun and drying wind are sufficient to keep down adverse
vegetation.

The grapes ripen towards the middle or end of August. The commanderia
grapes are collected and spread upon the flat mud-plastered roofs of the
native houses, and are exposed for several days, until they show
symptoms of shrivelling in the skin, and the stalks have partially
dried: they are then pressed. By this time many of the grapes that have
been bruised by this rough treatment have fermented, and the dust and
dirt of the house-top, together with flies and other insects, have
adhered to the impure heap. It has been imagined by some travellers that
the grapes are purposely dried before pressing; on the other hand, I
have been assured by the inhabitants that their only reason for heaping
and exposing their crop upon the house-tops is the danger of leaving it
to ripen in the vineyard. None of the plots are fenced, and before the
grapes are sufficiently ripe for pressing they are stolen in large
quantities, or destroyed by cattle, goats, mules, and every stray animal
that is attracted to the fields. The owner of the vineyard accordingly
gathers his crop by degrees, a little before the proper time, and the
grapes are exposed upon the house-tops to ripen artificially in the sun.
In this manner the quality is seriously damaged; but the natives will
not acknowledge it any more than the Devonshire farmers, who leave their
apples in heaps upon the ground for many weeks, rotting and wasp-eaten,
before they are carried to the pound for the grinding of cider. The
grapes, having been trodden by men with large boots, are pressed, and
the juice of the commanderia is placed in jars capable of holding from
seventy to one hundred gallons. The refuse of skins and stalks is laid
upon one side to ferment for the manufacture of raki, or spirit, by
distillation. The fermentation of the juice proceeds in the earthen
jars, and is guided according to the ideas of the proprietor; when he
considers that it has continued to a degree sufficient for the strength
and quality of the wine, it is checked by the addition of powdered
gypsum. Here is one of the patent errors of the manufacture of
commanderia as a wine suitable to English tastes. The grape-juice is
naturally so rich in saccharine, that it is luscious and vapid to an
excess; this superabundant amount of sugar would be converted into
alcohol in the natural process of fermentation if unchecked, and by the
chemical change the wine would gain in strength and lose in sweetness.
Should this process be adopted, the result would no longer represent the
wine now accepted as commanderia, which finds a ready market in the
Levant, owing to its peculiar sweetness and rich flavour, although
disagreeable to Europeans; there would accordingly be a risk attending
such experiments, which the grower would consider unnecessary, as he
already commands the sale.

The large jars in which the wine ferments are porous and unglazed; the
usual waterproofing is adopted, in the shape of tar, with which the
inside is thickly coated. There are many jars of a century old, which
have lost the flavour by extreme age, and have become liquid-proof by
the choking of the pores with the crust deposited by the wine; these are
highly prized, and the wine after fermentation is left upon its own lees
to ripen; or, according to our ideas, it is entirely neglected. It is
never racked into other vessels.

There is an unusual peculiarity in commanderia; instead of the colour
becoming paler by great age, it deepens to an extraordinary degree. The
new wine is the ordinary tint of sherry, but it gradually becomes
darker, until after forty or fifty years it is almost black, with the
syrup-like consistence of new honey. Wine of this age and quality is
much esteemed, and is worth a fancy price. I was presented with several
bottles of the famous old Cyprus growths of commanderia, morocanella,
and muscadine, by the kindness of Mr. Lanites, who is largely interested
in the trade at Limasol. The old commanderia was sufficiently sweet to
occasion a roughness in the throat, and each quality was far too
luscious for English taste, but might have been agreeable to sip like
Tokay, by soaking a sponge biscuit. The utterly rude method of producing
native wines, which can scarcely be dignified by the term "manufacture,"
is a sufficient explanation of their inferior quality, but at the same
time it is a proof of the great wine-producing power of Cyprus, where,
in spite of ignorance and neglect, an extensive commerce has been
established, which adds materially to the revenue of the island. If
these badly-made wines have founded an important trade, there is every
reason to expect a corresponding extension when scientific principles
shall have resulted in a superior quality.

The black wines receive even less care than the commanderia; the grapes
are trodden, and are thrown into receptacles to ferment, together with
the skins and stalks. This bruised mass, after lying a certain time
exposed to fermentation, is pressed, and the muddy juice is stowed in
the large tarred jars to ripen for a few months, which, according to
Cyprian taste, are sufficient to prepare it for consumption. The stalks
and black skins, being extremely rich in tannin, have imparted to the
wine a powerful astringency and the exceedingly dark colour which so
disagreeably distinguish this common quality. The growers imagine that
the extra amount of tannin is preservative, without which, their wine
might deteriorate during the rough treatment to which it is subjected by
transport and exposure; and to their specially-educated palates this
astringency is agreeable, combined with the strong flavour of tar, which
completely excludes it from the consumption of Englishmen. Neither the
commanderia nor any other quality of wine is subjected to the process of
"fining;" when issued from the stores of the merchant, therefore, a
really bright clear wine is never met with. The black wines could be
considerably improved by allowing them to settle in large vats, and by a
series of rackings into other vessels, as they become clearer by
depositing their impurities. I have tried this experiment upon a small
scale with success, and there can be no doubt that the simple manual
labour of drawing off the clear wine to enable it to fine itself by
precipitating the albuminous matter that has been fixed by the
superabundant tannin, would render the "mavro," or black wine,
drinkable; always excepting the presence of tar, which can at once be
avoided by the substitution of casks for the earthen jars and
goat-skins.

At the expiration of the vintage the vines remain uncared-for throughout
the autumn and winter, cattle and goats invade them ad libitum so long
as their leaves are attractive, and no operation is performed until the
month of March. At this time they are pruned close to the stocks, which
are generally about one foot above the ground, and two eyes are supposed
to be left upon each spur. But I have watched the cultivators during the
process, and observed the usual neglect; sometimes the spurs were shaved
off completely, without a bud for next year's shoot, and at others too
many buds were left, that would weaken and disfigure the parent stem.
The instrument for pruning was similar to a very small reaping-hook,
with a handle about a foot in length, and the delicate operation was
conducted with a rapidity that rendered the necessary care impossible.
After the clearing of the refuse the land is carefully ploughed and
cleaned.

I visited some large wine-stores in Larnaca, where casks of about 300
gallons each were arranged in long parallel rows, all filled with
commanderia of various ages and corresponding prices.

Having now traced the liquor from the original vineyard into the
merchant's store, it will be interesting to examine the network of
obstructions and extortions to which the unfortunate wine-grower is
exposed before he can deliver his produce into the hands of the
merchant, either at Limasol or elsewhere.

Consul Riddell reported officially in 1875 as follows:--

"The wine trade of Cyprus was last year
exceptionally large, owing to the abundant produce of
the vineyards in 1874. The outcome of grapes and
wines in 1875 did not exceed an ordinary average,
and growers still complain loudly that the imposts
upon wines, reckoning from the grape to the vat, are
so heavy--amounting to about 35 or 40 per cent.--and
their imposition and collection so very arbitrary and
unequal, that many vineyards are being abandoned.

"The government, it is said, have under consideration
the anomalous state of the wine trade in Cyprus,
with a view to relieve and redress the many grievances
of which consumers complain, and in the meanwhile
the collection of the imposts is suspended. Should
the result prove to be the elaboration of a fair,
reasonable, and consistent scale of duties, the revival
of the wine trade may be reasonably looked forward
to, and under sound regulations and intelligent
fostering the trade would undoubtedly become a large
and profitable one to this island."

In 1876, the year following the promised reform,
Consul Pierides reports:--

"The quantity of all sorts of wine produced was
much below that of 1875. The principal shipments
were made to Trieste and Venice. The collection of
the imposts, which was for a short time suspended, has
recommenced, and the manner in which it is conducted
is still arbitrary and vexatious, while remonstrances
have hitherto been of no avail. It is time for the
government to put an end to these grievances, which
indeed threaten to destroy one of the best resources
of the island."

In 1877 Consul Watkins reports:--

"The manufacture of wine here is greatly on the
decrease; for, owing to all sorts of unreasonable
regulations, and to the vexatious mode of their
application, cultivators now prefer making their grapes
into raisins."

Here we have consecutive official reports from three different British
consuls during 1875-1877. The British occupation took place in 1878--I
am writing in 1879--and although the grievances of the Cyprian
wine-growers were sufficiently aggravated to call for the vigorous
reports and protests of three different British consuls during the
Turkish administration, no amelioration of their condition has been
effected during twelve months of British rule.

Captain Savile, in his excellent digest of all that concerns this
island, writes:--

"The grievances connected with the culture of the
vines and the manufacture of wine which are alluded
to in the consular reports, existed as long ago as 1863,
and were then mentioned by Consul White, who says
that the peasants were even then beginning to find it
more profitable to sell their grapes, or to make them
into raisins, rather than, by turning them into wine, to
subject themselves to the duty lately imposed over and
above the tithe and export duties, which were collected
in a very harassing manner. The growers have had
to pay, under the tax called `dimes,' an eighth part of
the produce of grapes to the treasury; but this could
not be taken in kind, so a money value was fixed yearly
by the local medjlis, or fixed tribunal; but as the assessment
was based on the market-price at the chief town
of the district, instead of the value at the place of
growth, this tax, instead of being about 12.5 per cent.,
in reality amounted to over 20 per cent. Then again
when the wine was made, an excise duty of 10 per
cent. was levied, and on export, a tax of 8 per cent.
had to be paid. The natural consequence of these
excessive impositions has been the diminution of a
culture for which the island is particularly adapted.
Consul Lang suggests that it might be wise to free this
production from all tax, except a proper export duty."

How easy it is to be generous at the expense of others!--here are
(including Consuls White and Lang) no less than five British consuls who
have been protesting against this instance of oppression and injustice
since the year 1862, and it would naturally have been expected that one
of our first acts upon assuming the government of Cyprus would have been
to abolish an abuse that had excited the remonstrances of our own
representatives. The fact is that we were reduced to a financial ebb of
the gravest character by the absorption at Constantinople of an unfair
proportion of the revenue, and our government was not in a position to
risk a reduction of income by such an important change in the system of
taxation. The Cypriotes have nevertheless derived a collateral advantage
from the change of rulers, as the extreme grievances to which the
consular reports allude were aggravated by the farmers of taxes, who no
longer exist. These people were extortioners of the worst description,
and the bribes and extra payments extracted from the vine-growers are
represented in the gross sum mentioned as amounting to 40 per cent. upon
the general produce of the vineyard. The reforms already established by
the abolition of the nefarious system of tax-farming have relieved the
vine-growers from the most serious oppression, but sufficient abuses
remain to demand a radical change, if the industry for which Cyprus is
specially adapted by nature is to be encouraged.

As I have described in outline the rude method of cultivation and the
manufacture of wine from the first bursting of the young vines, I will
now examine the system of arbitrary interference to which the vine-
grower is exposed through the successive stages of his employment.

The first tax is perfectly fair, as it is calculated according to the
rateable value of the land, which is divided into three classes. These
qualities of soil vary in the valuation from

No. 1 = 500 piastres the donum (about half an acre) to
No. 3 = 100 piastres the donum

The malliea, or annual tax upon these valuations per donum, is 2 per
cent.

When the grapes are nearly ripe, they must be valued before the
proprietor has a right to gather his crop. He is obliged to present
himself at the government office at Limasol, many miles from his estate,
to petition for the attendance of the official valuer, called the
"mahmoor," upon a certain day. This may or may not be granted, but at
all events one or two days have been expended in the journey.

Should the mahmoor arrive, which he frequently does not, at the
appointed time, the medjlis, or council of the villages, appoints a
special arbitrator to represent their (the vine-growers) interests, and
he accompanies the government official during his examination of the
vineyards. After a certain amount of haggling and discussion, an
approximate weight of grapes is agreed upon, the mahmoor declaring the
ultimate amount far above the actual crop per donum: and the tax is
determined according to their quality, resolved into two classes:--

No. 1, the commanderia, and other superior varieties, pay 25 paras the oke.
No. 2, all other grapes pay 16 paras the oke.

But these taxes. are modified according to the abundance and quality of
the grapes in each successive season, being sometimes more or less than
the figures given. The crop is generally ripe towards the end of August,
and the tax, having been determined, may be paid during the following
January, March, or May.

The grapes having been officially valued, and the rate of taxation
established, the proprietor may gather his crop, and press it for wine.
The rows of enormous jars are at length filled: eventually the wine is
ready for sale.

Now comes the necessity for a second journey to Limasol, perhaps thirty
or forty miles distant, to petition for the government official to
measure the contents of the jars; without such an examination, no wine
can be removed from the stores.

This is another loss of time to the grower, and occasions an expense for
himself and mule for the journey.

The jars are at length measured; but before any wine can be removed a
general examination of the quality of the district produce must be
completed, and, an average value having been determined, the tax of 10
per cent. must be paid ad valorem.

After these necessary forms have been gone through, with the attendant
vexatious delays and expensive journeys, entailing loss of time for men
and mules, the vine-grower wishes to carry his wine to market.

Before a drop can be removed he must present himself at the official
quarters, either at Kilani or one other village, to obtain a teskeri, or
permit, for the quantity that he wishes to convey. After this trouble
and delay he returns to his home with the official permit to remove to a
specified place (generally Limasol) a fixed quantity of wine, which is
calculated by the load; one load equals 128 okes of 2.75 lbs.
avoirdupois, and, packed in goat-skins, is carried by two mules.

The vine-grower himself weighs his wine when the skins are filled, and
he starts upon his long journey over steep mountain rocky paths to
Limasol, where he will sell his load to the wine-merchant, who
subsequently will ship it to the various ports of the Mediteranean.

The sun is burning; and the wine, contained in tarry goat-skins, is,
after a few hours' exposure to the heat, about the temperature of the
hottest bath; thus absorbing the vile smells of the primitive but secure
package. The owner is well aware that the value of his wine will depend
upon the flavour, therefore he hurries his mules forward, in order to
deliver it as quickly as possible to the merchant, before it shall be
contaminated by the skins.

Upon arrival at Limasol it may be late, and nothing can be done. His
wine must be weighed by the government official at the public
weighing-place, specially assigned for the wine trade; and he drives his
laden and tired mules to the yard. Here he finds some hundreds of mules
and their proprietors in a similar position to himself; however, there
is no help for it, and they must be patient through the night while
their wine is imbibing the hateful flavour of the goat-skins. In the
meantime they must purchase food for their mules and seek quarters for
themselves.

When the morning appears the government official has enough to do, and
as a certain time must be occupied in weighing a given quantity, the day
wears away. Every man has to present his teskeri, or permit, for removal
from his village to Limasol of a specified quantity of wine, and his
load must weigh that prescribed weight upon delivery. His scales may not
have been exactly in harmony with those of the government official; but
should the quantity exceed the teskeri, the owner must pay DOUBLE THE
AMOUNT OF TAXATION.

In the meantime, during the wrangles concerning discrepancies in weight,
mules are arriving with their loads, their owners all desirous of
despatch, and the hours fast wearing away. The next day is probably a
Greek holiday, and all the merchants' stores are shut (there is a Greek
holiday at least once a week,--generally twice). The unfortunate
vine-grower, after waiting patiently in despair, discovers that he must
wait still longer. At length, after vexations and delays, he draws a
sample of wine into a gourd-shell from his skins, and hands it to the
merchant; who, having made a wry face and spat it out, advises him to
"throw his wine into the sea, as it is undrinkable," having remained too
long in the goat-skins exposed to the sun. A most respectable informant
related to me the total loss of a large quantity of first-class wine
from the delay thus occasioned at Limasol. . . .

The refuse, after pressing the grapes, is calculated to yield upon
distillation a proportion of 100 okes of spirit for every ten loads
(1280 okes) of wine. This pays a tax of eight paras the oke, which,
added to the 10 per cent. upon the wine, makes a total of 15 per cent.
upon wine and spirit included.

The vine-grower, irrespective of the size of his vineyard, is allowed
200 okes duty free for his own consumption; and when his jars are
measured to determine the contents for taxation an allowance is deducted
for the muddy deposit at the bottom.

It will at once be seen by this enumeration of the delays and vexations
occasioned by this arbitrary system, that it is barely possible for the
vine-grower to calculate the actual cost of his wine, as the loss of
time, expense of journeys, and uncertainty of the amount of delays are
entirely beyond his control. It is therefore extremely difficult to
discover the exact financial position of the cultivator, but from the
data in my possession it is nearly as follows:--

One donum of land, which is supposed to measure a square of fifty yards,
would be about half an English acre; and this area is calculated to
yield an average of one load and a half of wine = 192 okes = 528 lbs.

The value of the ordinary wine of the country will average about 90
piastres the load, wholesale price; therefore one donum will represent a
gross value of I.5 load at 90 .. = 135 piastres (Cr.)

Against this annual produce the natives
calculate as follows:--

Piastres.
Per donum--Expenses of cultivating the
land, i.e. ploughing, weeding, &c. . . . . . . 25
Pruning vines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Gathering crop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Feeding labourers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Carriage of wine to market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
TOTAL government dues, including malliea . . . . . . . 25
___ ___
(Dr.) 105 135 (Cr.)


This leaves a balance in favour of the producer of only 30 piastres,
about 5 shillings per donum.

But it must be remembered that in the above calculation his own personal
labour has not been considered; neither the wear and tear of implements,
jars, loss by accidents of seasons, when the wine turns sour, neither is
any margin allowed for extraneous casualties.

At first sight the position appears impossible, as a stranger would ask
the pertinent question, "Why, if vineyards do not pay, does the owner
continue the occupation? Why does he not substitute some other form of
cultivation?" The answer is simple. Wherever the conditions of the
locality permitted, they have already done so; but vineyards are
cultivated where no other crops could grow; upon the sides of inclines
so steep that it is even difficult to stand; and these positions,
although peculiarly adapted for the cultivation of the vine by reason of
the soil, would be absolutely worthless for other uses. The vine
requires little water after the young grapes have formed, and the
burning sun-light which is favourable for their development would
destroy all cereals upon those steep inclinations, where a casual
shower, instead of soaking into the earth and nourishing the crops,
rushes quickly over the surface and drains superficially into the deep
vale below. The land of the vineyards is WINE land, and adapted
specially by the quality of the soil and the peculiarity of climate for
the production of grapes. In addition to the impossibility of converting
this land to other purposes of cultivation would be the loss to the
proprietor of all his plant, buildings, jars, &c., &c., which would
become valueless.

This is, as well as I can describe the grievances, the real position of
the vine-grower. Although since the British occupation he has escaped
the extra extortion of the tax-farmer, he is still the slave of petty
vexations and delays, which strangle him in red-tape and render his
avocation a misery; without profit, leaving only a bare subsistence.
What is to be done?

The first necessary change is a system of roads, only sufficiently wide
to admit of the native two-wheeled carts, with sidings every half mile
to enable them to pass when meeting. Our usual English mistake has been
made, in the only two metalled highways that the engineers have
constructed in Cyprus, "that everything must be English;" thus we have
two costly roads of great width from Larnaca to Lefkosia, and from
Limasol to Platraes, which are entirely unsuitable to the requirements
of the country; and as there are no branch roads in communication, the
people are hardly benefited, as they cannot reach the main artery with
wheeled conveyances. The military road from Limasol might as well be a
railway without any branch traffic, as it is entirely independent of
other roads: thus, should carts be established to convey the wine of the
district to Limasol, they must be loaded by mules that will bring the
produce from the roadless vineyards in the usual manner by goat-skins,
and the wine will be tainted as before. A network of cheap useful
cart-tracks can be easily made throughout the wine districts, and they
MUST be made before any improvement in the quality of the wines can take
place. The goat-skins and the tarred jars must be thrown aside before
any change can be expected: these cannot become obsolete until the
necessary roads for the conveyance of casks shall be completed.

If we regard the present position of the vine-grower, we must advise
him thus:--"The first necessity is to improve your QUALITY, and thus
ensure a higher price. It costs no more either in labour or in plant to
produce a good wine than to continue your present rude method of
production. You may double the value of your wine by an improved system,
without adding materially to your expenses; you will then have a large
margin for profit, which will increase in the same ratio as the quality
of your wine."

The grower will reply, "We must have roads for carts if we are to
substitute barrels for goat-skins. So long as the mule-paths are our
only routes we must adhere to the skins, which we acknowledge are
destructive to the quality of the wine and reduce our profits. Give us
roads."

This is a first necessity, and it is simply ridiculous to preach reforms
of quality to the cultivators so long as the present savage country
remains roadless. It is the first duty of the government to open the
entire wine district by a carefully devised system of communication: for
which a highway rate could be established for repairs.

If this simple work shall be accomplished the goat-skins will disappear;
or should some cultivators cling to the ancient nuisance, a tax could be
levied specially upon wine skins, which would ensure their immediate
abolition. A new trade would at once be introduced to Cyprus in the
importation of staves for casks, and the necessary coopers. The huge
jars that are only suggestive of the "Forty Thieves" would be used as
water-tanks, and the wine would ripen in casks of several hundred
gallons, and be racked off by taps at successive intervals when clear.
The first deposit of tannin and fixed albumen would remain at the bottom
of No. 1 vat, the second deposit after racking in No. 2; and the wine
which is now an astringent, cloudy, and muddy mixture of impurities,
would leave the vine-grower's store bright, and fit for the merchant's
vats in Limasol, and command a more than double price. This is a matter
of certainty and not conjecture. Should the black wines be carefully
manufactured, they will be extensively used for mixing with thin French
wines, as they generally possess strength and body in large proportion
to their price.

It will be universally agreed that the making of the roads is the first
necessity; but if the island is in such financial misery that so
important a step must be deferred, the grievances of the vine-growers
should be immediately considered. The first question to the cultivator
would be, "What reforms do you yourself suggest?" He replies, "Fix an
annual rate per donum, and leave us free to send our wine wherever we
choose, without the abominable vexations and delays caused by the
present arbitrary system; let the tax per donum include every charge for
which we shall be liable: we shall then know at once the limit of our
liability." I cannot see any practical difficulty in such an
arrangement; a highway rate might be an extra when the roads should be
completed. A small export duty at the various ports would become a
material source of increase to the revenue when the wine trade became
invigorated and extended by government encouragement, and although such
a duty would indirectly affect the grower in the price which the
merchant would pay for the new wine, it would be a collateral tax that
would not be felt individually.

Unless the present oppressive system shall be abolished the wine trade
of Cyprus will languish, and an industry that may be profitably extended
to an important degree will share the fate of a commercial and
agricultural depression which has resulted from the vague conditions of
the British occupation, and from which no recovery can be expected until
confidence in the future prospects of the island shall be established.

[Oracle]

That's my baby ...

Keep it coming GR! .... I will be reading all weekend.

[repulsewarrior]

Thank you...

wow, what a goldmine!

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XI.

FROM LIMASOL TO THE MOUNTAINS.

The barley harvest was in active operation, and the fields around our
camp were crowded with men, women, and children, all hard at work, but
producing small results compared with an equal expenditure of European
labour. Their sickles were large and good, but a great proportion of the
crops were either broken off by hand or were dragged out by the roots,
and the earth that adhered was carelessly dusted off by a blow against
the reaper's boots. In this dry climate there was no necessity for
piling the sheaves, but the small bundles were at once laden upon
donkeys and also conveyed in the two-wheeled carts to the threshing-
ground, upon which it would remain until valued for taxation by the
government official. In the dry atmosphere of Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, &c.,
the straw breaks easily, and beneath the sharp flints of the ancient
threshing-harrow in present use is quickly reduced to the coarse chaff
known as "tibbin," which forms the staple article of food for horses and
all cattle. Taking advantage of the numbers of people congregated in the
fields, some itinerant gipsies with a monkey and performing bears were
camped beneath the caroub-trees, about half a mile from our position.
The bears were the Syrian variety. Throughout Cyprus the gipsies are
known as tinners of pots and makers of wooden spoons, which seems to be
the normal occupation of their tribe throughout the world; they have
also a character for a peculiar attachment to fowls and any other small
matters that belong to private individuals which may be met with during
their wanderings.

The beans of the caroub-trees were already large, and promised a good
crop in spite of the dry weather. The roots of these evergreens
penetrate to a great depth, and obtain nourishment from beneath when the
surface soil is perished by drought. I have never seen a caroub
overthrown by the wind, although the extremely large head that is at all
seasons covered with leaves must offer a great resistance. The fruit of
this tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is already an important export from
Cyprus, and if the cultivation is encouraged there can be no doubt of an
enormous extension of the trade. The tree is indigenous to the island,
but in its wild state is unproductive; it simply requires grafting to
ensure a crop. The wild young trees are generally transplanted into the
desired positions, and then grafted from the cultivated species, but
there is no reason why they should not be grafted in situ. The olives,
which are also indigenous, might be treated in a similar manner to
render the crown-lands productive, which are now mere jungles of shrubs
and trees in their natural state. I shall reserve further remarks upon
this subject for a chapter specially devoted to "Woods and Forests."

The caroub at present commands an extensive market. The fruit is usually
known commercially as the "locust-bean;" the taste is a compound of
treacle and Spanish liquorice, and would generally be appreciated by
children, monkeys, pigs, and cattle. The Cassia fistula of Ceylon
resembles it somewhat in flavour, but the Ceratonia siliqua is free from
the medicinal properties of the former tree. Since the government
monopoly was abolished in 1827 the trade has received an impetus, and
this extension due to freedom is an example to our present government in
their relations to the oppressive system connected with the wine trade.

According to the consular reports the crop of 1872 was about 10,000
tons, which sold free on board at 4 pounds 10 shillings per ton. At that
time the chief purchaser was Russia, and the locust-beans were exported
to various positions upon the Black Sea. In 1875 England became a large
consumer, and I believe the well-known "Thorley's Patent Food for
Cattle" contains a considerable amount of this nutritive substance. The
influence upon the market of a demand from England raised the exports in
1875 to 18,000 tons. A fluctuation took place in 1876, and although the
crop was deficient, the prices fell to 2 pounds 13 shillings 6 pence per
ton free on board. This reaction was probably due to the large stocks on
hand in England, purchased at a high rate, from 4 pounds 10 shillings to
5 pounds per ton, which had driven Russian competition out of the
market; therefore the 1876 gathering found but few purchasers. In 1877
the yield was 13,500 tons, and the price rose from 2 pounds 13 shillings
6 pence to 3 pounds 5 shillings and at length to 4 pounds per ton, free
on board.

The average produce of a tree, taking the mean of all sizes, would be
about 84 lbs. or three-quarters of a hundredweight; allowing the mean
crop of five years to be 13,000 tons, this would give the number of
productive trees in Cyprus as 346,666, or in round numbers 350,000,
which, at eight trees to the acre = 43,750 acres of caroub-trees. I do
not think as a rule that a larger number than eight trees are to be
found upon an acre, as it is the custom to cultivate cereals upon the
same ground, therefore the caroubs are thinly planted. This calculation
cannot be accepted as exhibiting the actual position of the trees, as a
very large proportion are not planted in order, but grow independently
and promiscuously, and are productive simply as originally wild trees
that have been grafted. Should Cyprus belong bona-fide to England,
machinery for crushing and pressing the locust-beans will be established
on the spot, which, by compressing the bulk, will reduce the freight and
materially lessen the price when delivered in England. In travelling
through Cyprus nothing strikes the observation of the traveller more
forcibly than the neglect of tree-planting. The caroub is an indigenous
production volunteering its services to man, and producing an important
revenue; there are immense tracts of land which by their rocky nature
are unfit for the general purposes of husbandry, at the same time the
rich soil in the interstices is eminently adapted for the cultivation of
the caroub. Such lands are at the present moment abandoned to a growth
of jungle, among which this irrepressible tree dominates all other
vegetation, but in its wild state remains unproductive. The
neighbourhood of Limasol is for many miles richly ornamented by these
welcome shade-producers, and presents an example of what other portions
of the island might become.

During my stay at Limasol I was several times invaded by a crowd of
people from a neighbouring village, with complaints upon an assumed
injustice connected with their water-supply. It was in vain that I
assured them of my unofficial capacity; they were determined to have
their say, and, according to their threat, to "TELEGRAPH TO VICTORIA,"
unless they could obtain redress. I referred them to Colonel Warren,
R.A., the chief commissioner of their district, who had already been
sufficiently perplexed with their case. It appeared that a stream
flowing from the mountains had nearly two centuries ago been diverted
into an artificial channel by the inhabitants of Kolossi and others for
the purpose of irrigating the various lands in succession, according to
the gradations of their levels. This water had become a right, and the
value of all lands thus irrigated had been appraised in proportion.
According to their story, some years ago a Greek who commanded capital
purchased an estate at Kolossi; and having made a journey to
Constantinople, where he remained for some years, he took the
opportunity of bribing some high officials to obtain for him an irade
from the Sultan, giving him the entire right to the water-supply, which
had for so great a length of time been the acknowledged property of the
neighbouring landholders. This irade was issued upon the plea that all
natural waters (i.e. streams) belong to the Sultan. A wide field for
litigation was thus opened, and the Greek, having more than the usual
allowance of "the wisdom of the serpent," lost no time in investing
large sums in the corruption of all those who would be summoned as local
witnesses whenever the case should be brought before the ordinary
tribunals. The result was that after great expense in the costs of
litigation, an appeal to the superior court during the British
administration had been favourable to the plaintiffs, and the Greek
proprietor was held to be legally in possession of all water-rights, to
the exclusion of the original owners. He, however offered to supply them
with water for their farms at a fixed rate; whereas they had hitherto
enjoyed that free right for upwards of a century. This loss, or
abstraction, of so important a supply, upon which the actual existence
of the farms depended in seasons of drought, not only impoverished the
cultivators during the present year of famine, but reduced the value of
their land to an enormous extent, as farms with a water-supply are worth
more than quadruple the price of those which are dependent upon the
seasons. Of course I could not help the poor people; it appeared to my
uneducated sense of equity to be the maximum of injustice. The question
hung upon the Sultan's right to the natural water-supply, which I
believe has been officially declared invalid; by what other right the
monopoly of the water had been conveyed away from the original
proprietors I could not understand. The Greek was not enjoying his
victory in absolute peace of mind, as the neighbouring farmers avenged
their legal defeat by cutting holes in the embankments of his
watercourses, and thereby nightly flooding their own fields, which, as
the channels extended for many miles, would have required the presence
of more than all the police of the district to discover the offenders.
Upon one occasion upwards of forty of these people appeared mounted upon
mules around my camp, to urge my intercession on their behalf, declaring
their perfect faith in the honour and good intentions of the English
authorities, but at the same time lamenting their ignorance of the
native language, which threw the entire power into the hands of the
dragomans (interpreters), of whose character they spoke in terms which
it is to be hoped were highly exaggerated. The people begged me to ride
over to the locality, to see with my own eyes the position of affairs;
which I arranged to do sine die, and after advising them to exercise a
temporary patience, I got rid of the deputation without suggesting "that
under the existing agrarian dispute they should let their farms to some
enterprising Irish tenants from Tipperary."

I mention this incident, which is one of many others upon the same
subject, to exhibit the complications that have always arisen from the
contention upon water-rights, that will require some special
legislation. . . .

The weather was becoming warm at Limasol, the thermometer ranging from
70 degrees at 7 A.M. to 83 degrees at 3 P.M. There was a trouble in the
water-supply, as that for drinking purposes had to be conveyed by
donkeys from a distance of three or four miles. The market in the town,
although well arranged externally, was governed by peculiarly
restrictive municipal regulations; the price of meat and several other
articles being fixed at a common standard! According to this absurd rule
inferior mutton would fetch an equal price with the best quality: the
natural consequence ensued, that only inferior meat was introduced, to
the exclusion of all other. The supply of fish was extremely irregular,
and they were generally small and dear. Upon some occasions we purchased
good red mullet, also a larger fish of the bass species; but there were
only a few fishermen, who required an opposition to induce activity and
moderate prices. Their nets were made of exceedingly fine twine, and the
smallness of the mesh denoted a scarcity of the larger species of fish.

A number of Maltese settlers were arriving, to whom lands had been
granted by the government in the neighbourhood of Limasol; this
excellent arrangement will have the effect of infusing a new spirit
among the people by the introduction of fresh blood, and the well-known
fishermen of Malta will of themselves be a boon to the large towns,
where a regular demand may be depended upon at a reasonable price.

There was nothing to induce a longer stay at Limasol, and I resolved
upon Trooditissa monastery as the position for a mountain residence
during the summer months. Upon Kiepert's map, which is the best I have
seen of Cyprus, this point was placed among the angles in the various
crests and ridges of the Troodos mountain, and was marked by measurement
as 4340 feet above the sea-level. The new government road extended from
Limasol to Platraes, from which a good mule-path led to the camp
prepared for the 20th Regiment and the Royal Engineers at an altitude of
5740 feet. It appeared to me that in north latitude 35 degrees this was
an unnecessary elevation. My old residence at Newera Ellia in Ceylon was
6210 feet above the sea in north latitude 6 degrees 30', and in that low
latitude we had sharp frosts at night. Any heights approaching 6000 feet
in north latitude 35 degrees would, I imagined, become disagreeably
chilly in the morning and evening, at seasons when in the low country
the heat would still be too oppressive for a return from the mountain
sanatorium.

The mean temperature at Limasol from 1st May to 18th had been at 7 A.M.
65 degrees, at 3 P.M. 78.6 degrees, during which interval there had been
sudden variations of temperature, ranging from a minimum of 56 degrees
to 84 degrees. On the 11th May, having engaged twenty-three mules for
our tents, baggage, and party, we started from Limasol for Trooditissa.
The dog Merry, that had been bitten by the snake, had lain for days in a
state of stupor, black and swollen; I had poured quantities of olive-oil
down his throat, as he could not eat, and at length I gave him a dose of
two grains of calomel, with three grains of emetic tartar. After this he
slowly recovered; the ear that was bitten mortified, and was cut off,
but the dog was sufficiently restored to accompany us upon the march,
together with his companion Wise. We were now about to enter the great
vine-growing district of Cyprus, which produces the large exportations
that form the chief industry of Limasol.

At a distance of a mile from our camp we entered the new government road
which connected Limasol with Platraes, thirty miles distant. The country
quickly assumed an agreeable character; undulations and watercourses
were more or less covered with trees, and the road scarped out of the
steep sides exhibited the cretaceous formation similar to that between
Larnaca and Lefkosia. Wild lavender was just blooming upon many portions
of the way, while along the rocky courses of ravines the oleanders were
in the richest blossom. The road was furnished with mile-posts, and the
mules ambled along at a little more than five miles an hour. I found
considerable fault in the low gradients (one in thirty), which had
produced a road unnecessary for the vehicles of the country, at a
proportionate outlay; it was altogether too good, and would have been
excellent trotting-ground for a light phaeton and pair. As there was no
such vehicle in the island, the beautifully traced highway exhibited a
model of engineering that was scarcely appreciated by the natives, who
invariably took the short and direct cuts to avoid the circuitous
zigzags in descending the numerous valleys and in rounding the deep
ravines. After a ride of twelve miles through a beautiful country, well
wooded, and comprising a succession of wild hills and deep gorges, which
formed torrents in the wet season, we arrived at a river flowing in a
clear but extremely shallow and narrow stream beneath cliffs of
cretaceous limestone. The banks were richly clad with rosy oleanders,
myrtles, mastic shrubs; and the shade of several fine old plane-trees in
full foliage invited us at once to halt immediately upon the edge of the
rippling stream. This spot was known as Zigu, where an ancient stone
bridge, with pointed arches, crossed the ravine about a hundred paces
above the new wooden bridge erected by the Royal Engineers. This was a
most charming spot for luncheon, and the dense shade of the planes was
far more agreeable than the shelter of a wooden military hut that stood
upon the height above and by no means improved the beauty of the view.
Our dogs seemed to enjoy the change, and raced up and down the river's
bed, delighted with the cold water from the mountains, fresh from the
highest springs of Troodos Some cold roast pigeons, young and fat, and
some hard-boiled eggs, formed our luncheon, together with bread and
cheese. These were quickly despatched and the carpets being spread
beneath the trees, an hour's nap was good for man while the mules rolled
and then dozed in luxury upon the turf-like surface of the glen. I was
awakened by the clatter of horse's hoofs, and Mr. Allen, the chief
officer of the police of Limasol, appeared, having most kindly ridden
after us with the post just arrived from England. Unfortunately not a
crumb of luncheon remained, the dogs having swallowed our leavings. We
now saddled, and continued the journey upon the firm surface of the new
road.

When about fourteen miles from Limasol we entered upon a grand scene,
which exhibited the commencement of the wine-producing district. The
road was scarped from the mountain side several hundred feet above the
river, which murmured over its rocky bed in the bottom of the gorge. We
were skirting a deep valley, and upon either side the mountains rose to
a height of about 1400 feet, completely covered with vineyards from the
base to the summit; this long vale or chasm extended to the Troodos
range, which towered to upwards of 6000 feet, at a distance of about
fourteen miles immediately in our front. The vines were all green with
their early foliage, and the surface of the hill-sides was most
cheering, contrasting with the yellow plain we had left at Limasol.

The good road rendered travelling delightful after the stony paths that
we had traversed for some months in Cyprus, and the time passed so
rapidly that we could hardly believe the distance marked upon the
nineteenth milestone, where it was necessary to halt for the arrival of
our baggage animals. After waiting till nearly dark we found they had
quitted the new road and preferred a short cut across country, which had
led them to the village of Menagria down in the glen nearly a mile below
us. We walked down the steep hill and joined the party, pitched the
tent, and made ready for the night.

On the following morning, instead of adhering to the new road, we
descended to the bottom of the gorge and crossed the river near some
water-mills, as the bridge was not yet completed in the distant angle of
the glen. We now ascended an exceedingly steep hill from the river's
bed, which severely tried our animals, until, after passing a succession
of cereal crops and vineyards, we arrived at the summit, about 1200 feet
above the valley. From this point the view was magnificent. The
pine-covered sides of Troodos appeared close before us, and a valley
stretched away to our right richly clothed with trees below the steep
vine-covered sides of the surrounding mountains. Keeping to our left and
passing through several insignificant villages, we commenced a most
dangerous descent, with an occasional deep precipice on the right of the
extremely narrow path, until we reached a contracted but verdant glen.
This was a remarkable change: we had suddenly entered one of those
picturesque vales for which Devonshire is famous. The vegetation had
changed to that of Europe, as we were now nearly 3000 feet above the
sea. Apple and pear trees of large size were present, not in orchards,
but growing independently as though wild. Dog-roses of exquisite colour
were in full bloom, and reminded us of English hedges. Beautiful
oak-trees scattered upon the green surface gave a park-like appearance
to the scene, and numerous streams of clear water rippled though the
myrtle-covered banks, over the deep brown rocks of the plutonic
formation, which had now succeeded to the cretaceous limestone.

It was a curious geological division, limited by the glen: on the left,
the hills and mountains were the usual white marls and cretaceous
limestone; while on the right everything was plutonic or granitic,
including gneiss, syenite, and metamorphous rocks of various characters.
The soil of the glen was red, and the villages, built of sun-baked
bricks of this colour, harmonised with the dark green of rich crops of
wheat that had been irrigated by the never-failing water-power. We had
now rejoined the English road, which passed along the bottom of the
glen, and which was yet incomplete; several gangs of men were working at
intervals, and in the scarps, where deep cuttings had been necessary, I
remarked a considerable amount of ironstone.

A few miles through this interesting scenery brought us to the village
of Mandria, where a strong working party was engaged in erecting a
wooden bridge upon masonry piers. We now turned off to the left, over
rough but richly-wooded hills, leaving the English road, which extended
direct to Platraes, as our course was altered towards the large village
of Phyni, situated at the foot of the Troodos mountain. There could
hardly be a worse or more dangerous path over the high and precipitous
hills; these were once more cretaceous, and in wet weather must be as
slippery as soap. In many places the path was hardly nine inches wide,
with a deep gorge beneath for at least 150 feet. At length we passed
over the crest, and looked down upon Phyni, in the vine-covered dell
below. As far as the eye could reach upon all directions for many miles,
hill-sides, valleys, and mountains exceeding 4000 feet were entirely
covered with vines; not a yard of soil was unoccupied by this important
branch of cultivation. Immediately before us, on the other side of
Phyni, in the dark hollow, was the base of Troodos, from which the
mountain rose so steeply that it appeared impossible to ascend with
mules. A narrow line was pointed out upon the thickly bush-covered sides
of the mountain, and we were informed that we should reach Trooditissa
monastery by that path. I thought there must be some mistake in the
interpretation; however we dismounted, and preferred walking down the
steep zigzags that led to Phyni, half hidden in masses of bright green
foliage of various fruit-trees, now exactly at our feet.

This was a very peculiar village, as the broad flat roofs of the houses
formed terraces; upon these you could at once walk from the steep
hill-slope, into which the houses were inserted by scarping out a level
space for a foundation. The effect was remarkable, as the house-roofs,
in lines, seemed like flights of steps upon the mountain side. We halted
at the first decent-looking dwelling and rested beneath the shade of an
apricot-tree within a small courtyard. The people at once assembled, and
the owner of the house brought us black wine and raki of his own make;
the latter he was now engaged in distilling, and some pigs were
revelling in the refuse that had been thrown in a heap below the window
of the store. This man was proud of his wine, as it was tolerably free
from the taste of tar; the jars, having been more than fifty years in
constant use, had lost the objectionable flavour. We were thirsty and
hot, therefore the wine was not disagreeable, and we lunched beneath the
apricot.

After an hour's rest the real up-hill work commenced. We crossed a broad
channel of running water beneath groves of green trees, and entered a
path on the opposite side of the village; this skirted a deep and
precipitous gorge, through which the river flowed from the high and dark
ravine that cleft the mountain from the ssummit to the bottom. A
water-mill was at work below us on the right; and always ascending along
the side of the ravine, with the rushing sound of the stream below, we
arrived after half a mile at the base of the apparently impossible
route. Right and left, right and left, went the short and sharp zigzags,
the path covered with rolling stones and loose rocks, which clattered
under the feet of the tired mules and rolled down the steep inclines.
The sound of the stream below became fainter, and the narrow angle of
the deep cleft grew darker, as we ascended. We looked down upon the
rounded tops of various trees, including the rich verdure of planes,
which skirted the banks of the hidden stream, and we entered upon pines
rising from an under-growth of beautiful evergreens, including the
fragrant tremithia, the light green foliage of the arbutus, with its
bright red bark contrasting strongly with the dark shade of the dense
and bushy ilex. The mastic was there, and as we increased our altitude
the Pinus laricio and Pinus maritima varied the woods by their tall
spars, beneath which a perfect garden of flowers almost covered the
surface of the earth; these included the white and purple cistus, dog-
roses, honeysuckle, and several varieties unknown to me. Among the
ornamental dwarfs were a quantity of the Sumach, which is an article of
export from Cyprus for the use of the tanner and dyer.

The view became very beautiful as we ascended, until at length, after a
couple of miles of the steepest zigzags, we turned a corner of the rocks
and looked down the great depth at our right, below the path, upon the
long white thread of a waterfall, which for some hundred feet of a
severe incline, broken by occasional plunges, issues from the rocky
cleft, and forms the river in the ravine below. "There is the monastery
of Trooditissa!" exclaimed our guide. About 200 feet above our level,
snugly nested among splendid walnut-trees in the dark angle of the
mountains, were the grey and brown gables, half concealed by the rich
foliage of plane-trees, walnuts, mulberry, and other varieties.

About half a mile from this point of view the mules scrambled up one of
the worst portions of the route, and we arrived at a clear and cold
spring issuing suddenly from the rocks through a stone spout, protected
by an arch of masonry: this was received in a rude wooden trough formed
from the trunk of a hollowed pine, and overflowed across the path to
water some terraced gardens immediately below. A walnut and a fig-tree
intermingled their branches above the arch, and formed an agreeable
shade to shelter weary travellers, who might sit by the welcome spring
after toiling up the rough mountain side. About eighty yards beyond, by
a level path, we reached the widest-spreading walnut-tree that I have
ever seen; the new foliage was soft and uninjured by the wind, producing
a dense shade over an area sufficient for numerous tents. This
magnificent specimen of vegetation grew upon the edge of an abrupt
descent, perpendicular to a series of gardens, all terraced out to a
depth of about 150 feet, to the bottom of a narrow gorge; thus one-half
of the branches overhung the steep, while the other half shaded a
portion of the monastery courtyard.

We halted and dismounted beneath this grand old tree, where the
picturesque but not clean old monk, with some of his ecclesiastics, were
ready to meet us with a courteous welcome.

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XII.

THE MONASTERY OF TROODITISSA.

The monastery of Trooditissa had no architectural pretensions; it looked
like a family of English barns that had been crossed with a Swiss
chalet. The roofs of six separate buildings of considerable dimensions
were arranged to form a quadrangle, which included the chapel, a long
building at right angles with the quadrangle, which had an upper balcony
beneath the roof, so as to form a covered protection to a similar
arrangement below, and an indescribable building which was used by the
monks as their store for winter provisions. The staircases were outside,
as in Switzerland, and entered upon the open-air landings or balconies;
these were obscure galleries, from which doors led to each separate
apartment, occupied by the monks and fleas. The obscurity may appear
strange, as the balconies were on the outside, but the eaves of the roof
at an angle of about 48 degrees projected some feet as a protection from
the winter's snow, and occasioned a darkness added to the gloom of
blueish grey gneiss which formed the walls and the deep brownish red of
the tiled roof.

The great walnut-tree overshadowed a portion of the mule stables that
formed a continuation of the building, and faced the exterior courtyard,
which was inclosed upon two sides of the square, in the centre of which
was an arched entrance to the inner court. This doorway was beneath a
covered gallery, and the ground floor formed a well-protected verandah,
from which a magnificent view was commanded down the great gorge towards
Phyni, overlooking the lower mountain tops to a sea horizon beyond the
peninsula of Akrotiri and the salt lake of Limasol.

The covered gallery above this verandah was supported by stone pillars
with exceedingly rude capitals, upon which long beams of the native
pines, laid horizontally, supported the joists and floors. It was a dull
and dirty abode, and at first sight I was disappointed. The angle of the
mountain in which the monastery stood was formed by a ravine which
intercepted the principal gorge at almost a right angle, thus a path
which continued at the same level from the courtyard to the other side
of the ravine, represented the letter V laid horizontally. From the
walnut-tree across the broad base of the letter would be about a hundred
yards, to a series of cultivated terraces upon an equal level.

This might have been made a lovely station, as no less than three
springs of water issued from the mountain side in various positions: the
first already mentioned; the second on the further side of the letter V,
beneath another splendid walnut-tree; and the third upon the same level
beyond, which fell into a trough beneath a large trellis, upon which
some vines were trained to produce a shade.

The terraces formed an angular amphitheatre, the outer courtyard of the
monastery being the highest level, looking down upon tree-tops of planes
and pines throughout the dark gorge to Phyni. The gardens appeared much
neglected; they were overcrowded with fruit-trees, including filberts,
mulberry, pears, apples, figs, walnuts, plums; the only grape-vine was
represented upon the trellis; the position was too high for apricots.

An Englishman's first idea is improvement, and I believe that upon
entering heaven itself he would suggest some alteration. This was not
heaven, but, as a monastery, it was the first step, and a very high one
for this world, being 4340 feet above the sea. We began by cleaning, and
I should have liked to have engaged Hercules, at the maximum of
agricultural wages, to have cleaned the long line of mule stables, a
dignified employment for which the hero-god was famous; the Augean were
a joke to them. Piles of manure and filth of every description concealed
the pavement of the capacious outer yard of the monastery. The narrow
path by which we had arrived from the spring was a mere dung-heap, from
which the noxious weeds called docks, of Brobdignagian proportions,
issued in such dense masses that an agricultural meeting of British
farmers would have been completely hidden by their great enemy. The
priests or monks had filthy habits; it would have been impossible for
civilised people to have existed in this accumulation of impurities,
therefore we at once set to work. I had a spade and pickaxe, and we
borrowed some other tools from the monks, among which were strong
grubbers (which combined the hoe and the pick). There were a number of
people belonging to the monastery, including some young embryo priests,
that we might accept as deacons; these I set to work with the pickaxe at
one shilling a day wages. The boys who were being educated for the
Church I employed in removing all the loose stones which choked the
surface of the ground, and subsequently in sweeping and scraping the
courtyard. I gave them sixpence a day if they worked from early morning,
or threepence if they came at noon after their lessons. There was a
shepherd's family, upon the hill about 250 feet above the monastery, of
seven handsome children, two boys of nineteen and seventeen, and five
girls. These were hard at work, even to a pretty little child of four
years old, who carried her stones, and swept with a little broom with
all her heart (this was little Athena). Of course they were all paid in
the evening with bright new threepenny pieces which they had never seen
before. Even the priests worked after a few days, when the spirit of
industry and new shillings moved them, and in the history of the
monastery there could never have been such a stirring picture and such a
dust as we made in cleansing and alterations. Nearly a month was
occupied in this necessary work, by which time the place was entirely
changed. I had made a good road as an approach from the spring, with a
covered drain, dignified by the name of an "aqueduct," which led the
water when required to a little garden that I had constructed close to
the tent, where a nondescript slope had become a receptacle for filth. I
had cut this down from the road, and mixed the earth with the
accumulated dirt and manure, which I levelled off in successive layers,
so that the stream led from the spring would irrigate my beds in
succession. This garden was carefully fenced against the intrusion of
goats and donkeys, to say nothing of pigs, and it was already sown with
tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, barmia, and beet-root. The priests had a
grand bed of onions upon a terrace, which was usually occupied by the
pigs, goats, and donkeys, as they had been too lazy to arrange a fence.

The docks in the monastery gardens were at least six feet high; I had
these cut and collected to thatch the sides of a peculiar shed (in which
I am writing at this moment), which was a great comfort and formed a
very original retreat, combining a seat in an amphitheatre with a modern
summer-house. This was an oblong, of fifteen feet by twelve, erected
within three feet of the tent beneath the walnut-tree upon the extreme
verge of the abrupt incline. I laid a foundation of stones, which I
covered with pounded earth and water, to produce a level with the tent.
I then placed horizontally a beam of wood, secured from slipping with
stakes driven to the heads into the bank upon the edge of the incline.
Upon this a row of large stones was cemented together with mud to form a
margin level with the floor, from which the abrupt inclination at once
leapt to the lower terraces and the deep gorge, continuing for upwards
of 4000 feet to the sea; this was visible beyond the inferior mountain
tops.

There was nothing pretty in the arrangement of this "rachkooba," as it
would be called in Africa; it was a simple square of upright poles,
connected with canes secured across, thatched inside with ferns, and
upon the outside with docks, fastened down with the peeled willow-like
shoots of mulberry-trees. The mulberry-trees for silkworms are always
pollarded annually, and they throw out shoots about seven or nine feet
in length every season; the wood is exceedingly tough, and the bark of
these wands when stripped is serviceable for tying plants or securing
fences in lieu of cord. For lack of silkworms the monastery
mulberry-trees had several seasons of growth, and the shoots were
serviceable for our work. The ceiling of our opera-box was cloth, with a
curtain of about three feet suspended along the front, which broke the
morning sun as it topped the high ridge of the mountain on the other
side of the gorge, about a thousand feet above us. The shed was carpeted
with mats and furnished roughly with a table and chairs; hat-pegs were
suspended around, made from the red-barked wood of the arbutus, simply
cut so that by inverting the branch with the stem attached to a cord,
the twigs, cut at proper lengths, would form convenient hooks.

From this cool hermitage we looked down upon the dense foliage of
rounded mulberry-tops and the fruit-trees of the gardens within the
gorge, while exactly in our front, a hundred yards across the deep
ravine, was the rocky steep of the mountain side, densely clothed with
ilex and arbutus, until the still higher altitudes banished all
underwood, and the upper ranges of Troodos exhibited a surface of barren
rocks clothed with tall pines and cypress, 2000 feet above us.

By the time we had completed our permanent camp a certain degree of
improvement had taken place in the people, as well as in the actual
cleanliness of the locality. Everybody washed his, or her, face and
hands. The customs of the monks had so far reformed that the immediate
neighbourhood was no longer offensive. When strangers with mules arrived
the road was immediately swept, and upon Saturday evenings a general
embellishment took place in honour of the approaching Sunday. The young
clergy were remarkably good and active; they worked in my little garden
at a shilling a day, went on errands to Platraes and the camp at
Troodos, and made themselves generally useful for a most moderate
consideration. I can strongly recommend all young curates who are
waiting in vain for livings to come and work upon the holy soil of
Trooditissa at one shilling per diem; and should they (as curates
frequently are) be poor in this world's goods, but nevertheless strong
in amorous propensities, and accordingly desirous of matrimony, they
will find a refuge within the walls of this monastery from all the
temptations of the outer world, far from garden-parties, balls, picnics,
church-decorations assisted by young ladies, and all those snares of the
Evil One; and the wholesome diet of the monks, including a course of
soaked broad-beans and barley bread, with repeated fastings upon
innumerable saints' days, will affect them sensibly, both morally and
physically; under this discipline they will come to the conclusion that
a wife and large family upon an income of 500 pounds a year in England
would not confer the same happiness as one shilling a day with the
pickaxe, broad-beans and independence, at Trooditissa, which is true
"muscular Christianity."

It was extraordinary to see the result of a life-long diet of beans and
barley-bread in the persons of the monks, who very seldom indulged in
flesh. The actual head of the monastery was a handsome man of seventy,
perfectly erect in figure, as though fresh from military drill, and as
strong and active as most men of fifty. The younger priests were all
good-looking, active, healthy men, who thought nothing of a morning's
walk over the fatiguing rocky paths to Troodos and back (twelve miles),
to be refreshed on their return by an afternoon's work in their gardens.
The head of the Church was an especial friend of ours, and was a dear
old fellow of about seventy, with a handsome face, a pair of greasy
brass spectacles bound with some substance to retain them that was long
since past recognition, and swelled feet that prevented him from walking
beyond the precincts of the monastery, which he had never quitted for
twelve years. The feet looked uncommonly like the gout, but I can hardly
believe in the co-existence of that complaint with dry beans and
barley-bread, although the truth must be confessed, that the monks are
fond of commanderia, or any other production of the vineyard. There was
one exceedingly disagreeable monk with whom we held a most remote
acquaintance, and whose name I willingly conceal; he has been seen upon
several occasions to sit down upon an imaginary chair, the real article
of furniture being eighteen inches distant, and the stunning effect of
arriving suddenly in a sitting posture upon the hard stone of the
courtyard disabled him from rising; and even when assisted his legs were
evidently affected by the shock. His enemies declared (as they always
do) that he was the victim to an over-indulgence in the raki and wine of
Phyni. We generally knew him by the alias of "Roger," in memory of the
Ingoldsby Legends, where

"Roger the Monk
Got excessively drunk,
So they put him to bed,
And tucked him in."

There was no friend to bestow such care upon our Roger, he therefore lay
helplessly upon the bare stone until refreshing sleep restored his
eyesight and his perpendicular.

Our particular friend the head of the Church was a very different
character, and was a most simple-minded and really good religious man. I
employed a photographer of the Royal Engineers (kindly permitted by
Major Maitland, R.E.) specially to take his picture, as he sat every
morning knitting stockings, with a little boy by his side reading the
Greek Testament aloud, in the archway of the monastery. This was his
daily occupation, varied only when he exchanged the work of knitting
either for spinning cotton, or carving wooden spoons from the arbutus:
these he manufactured in great numbers as return presents to those poor
people who brought little offerings from the low country. Never having
mixed with the world, the old man was very original and primitive in his
ideas, which were limited to the monastery duties and to the extreme
trouble occasioned by the numerous goats which trespassed upon the
unfenced gardens, and inflicted serious damage. The chapel, which was
under his control, was of the usual kind, and at the same time rough and
exceedingly gaudy, the pulpit being gilded throughout its surface, and
the reredos glittering with gold and tawdry pictures of the lowest style
of art, representing the various saints, including a very fat St. George
and the meekest possible dragon. Our old friend had never seen a British
sovereign with the St. George, and was vastly pleased when he discovered
that his saint and ours were the same person, only differing in symmetry
of figures and in ferocity of dragons.

There was one very extraordinary effigy in bas-relief upon silver-gilt
about two feet six inches high, of the Virgin Mary, to which peculiar
miraculous properties were attributed. The possession of this relic
formed the principal attraction of the monastery. About a quarter of a
mile above the present establishment there is a small cave concealed
among the ragged masses of rock that crust the mountain side; this has
been formed by one rock which, leans across another, and each end has
been walled up artificially, so as to form a stone chamber of about
twelve feet in length by seven in width, with a small entrance.
According to the account given by the old monk, this cave was the origin
of the present monastery through the following accident. Among these
wild mountains, where no dwelling of any kind exists, it has always been
the custom after the melting of the snows in early spring to pasture the
numerous flocks of goats, which are at that season driven up from the
parched herbage of the low country to the fresh herbs of the cooler
altitudes. Three or four hundred years ago a shepherd, having lost his
goat at night, was surprised at the appearance of a light among the
rocks high up on the mountain, and with superstitious awe he related his
discovery to his fellows. For some time the mysterious light was
observed nightly, and various conjectures were on foot as to its origin,
but no one dared to venture upon an examination.

At length, the authorities of the Church having been consulted, it was
resolved that a priest should accompany the party of investigation and
the matter should be thoroughly cleared up.

It was a difficult climb to the pathless crags at night, but the light
was glimmering like "the star that the wise men saw in the east," and
though occasionally lost at intervals, it guided the party on their way.
Upon arrival at the cave, there was no inhabitant. A lamp burnt before a
small effigy of the Virgin Mary suspended against the wall of rock, but
no trace of human foot or hand could be discovered.

Such is the legend; and the inexplicable mystery caused much excitement
and agitation in the minds of the Church authorities. At length it was
determined that, as the apparition of the light was miraculous, it was
incumbent upon the people to erect a monastery upon the site of the
appearance, contiguous to the now sacred cave.

This was an extreme difficulty, as the inclination formed an angle of
about 60 degrees; and the mountain was hard gneiss that could only have
been scarped by expensive blasting. However, it was hoped that a
blessing would attend the good work; therefore, in spite of all
obstacles, it was commenced, and masons were engaged from the village of
Phyni to arrange a foundation.

There was no water nearer than the torrent in the deep hollow half a
mile below, therefore extreme labour was required in mixing the mortar
for the walls; the jars in which the necessary water was conveyed upon
men's shoulders up the precipitous rocks appeared to be influenced by
some adverse, but unseen, agency, as they constantly slipped from their
hold and broke. During the night the work which the masons had
accomplished in the day fell down, and was discovered every morning as a
heap of ruin; the building could not proceed. In this perplexity the
Church was relieved by a supernatural interposition. Early one morning a
jar of pure water was discovered in the sharp angle of the hollow
between the hills, exactly below the rachkooba, where I am now writing.
It was evident to the priestly mind that an angel had placed this jar of
water to denote the spot where some hidden spring might be developed,
which would be a favourable site for the new monastery. They dug, and
shortly discovered the expected source.

It was therefore resolved that instead of erecting the monastery close
to the effigy in the cave, where bad luck had hitherto attended their
efforts, it would be more advisable to commence the building upon a
favourable spot, where a level already existed, in the angle between two
mountain slopes within a few yards of the spring; it would be easier to
convey the small effigy to the new building than to erect the monastery
close to the effigy. Accordingly the work was commenced: the walls no
longer fell during the night, and the unseen agency was evidently
propitious.

Upon completion of the monastery the original effigy was enshrined, and
Trooditissa became famous as a holy site. Years passed away, and the
reputation of the establishment was enhanced by the arrival of a lady of
high position from Beyrout, together with her husband, as pilgrims to
the now celebrated mountain cave. The lady was childless, and having
presented a handsome offering, and kissed the rock entrance of the cave,
in addition to the effigy within the monastery, she waited in the
neighbourhood for a certain number of months, at the expiration of which
she gave birth to a son. The monks claimed this boy as their lawful
prize, and he was brought up as a priest; but there is some discrepancy
in the accounts which I could not well understand, as it appears that
his parents insisted upon his restoration, and that an angelic
interposition at length prevented litigation. It may be well imagined
that the result of the lady's pilgrimage spread far and wide; the
reputation of the monastery reached its zenith, and all the unfruitful
women flocked to the shrine to kiss the cave and the picture of the
Virgin within the church; at the same time offering a certain sum for
the benefit of the establishment. The friction of constant and
oft-repeated kissing at length began to tell upon the sacred effigy, and
it became almost worn out; it was therefore determined that a beautiful
silver-gilt Virgin and Child should be supplied by a first-rate artist
which should cover the original relic within. This was remarkably well
executed by Cornaro, and a small aperture like a keyhole of a door has
been left, which is covered by a slide; this is moved upon one side when
required, and enables the pilgrim to kiss through the hole a piece of
rather brown-looking wood, which is the present exhausted surface of the
effigy.

Although decayed by time and use, the miraculous property remains
unchanged. This was exhibited a few years ago in a remarkable manner,
where a childless lady had become old in barren expectation; but a visit
to Trooditissa produced the desired result, and conferred much happiness
upon the once despairing wife, who now became a mother. In addition to a
monetary offering, this lady had presented the Virgin with a handsome
belt with massive silver-gilt buckles, which she had worn during
pregnancy. This offering is now suspended around the present effigy, and
for a small consideration any lady applicant is allowed to fasten it
round her waist. The effect is infallible, and quite equals that of the
rock and silver Virgin. This remarkable inductive power may perhaps be
some day explained by philosophers, but it is now exceedingly dangerous,
and unfortunate results have occurred, when in a sudden impulse of
devotion young maidens have kissed the rock entrance to the cave, or
imprudently pressed their lips upon the sacred effigy.

During my sojourn at Trooditissa no arrivals of despairing wives
occurred, but in the exhausted conditions of the finance throughout the
island, it would have been the height of folly to have desired an
increase of family, and thereby multiply expenses; possibly the
uncertainty respecting the permanence of the English occupation may
deter the ladies, who may postpone their pilgrimage to the monastery
until their offspring should be born with the rights of British
subjects.

I have described the origin of the ecclesiastical retreat at Trooditissa
as nearly as possible according to the viva-voce history related by the
monks. It is impossible to gauge the opinions of the world, as
individuals differ as much in nervous structure and in theological
creeds as they do in personal appearance; some may accept the monks'
belief implicitly, while others may suggest that the original occupant
of the cave was some unknown hermit secluded from the world, whose
solitary lamp burning before the Virgin had attracted the attention of
the shepherds from the mountain opposite. The old man may have fallen
down a precipice and died, leaving his lamp still alight; but it would
be unfair to interfere with the original legend, which must remain with
the usual clouds and uncertainties that obscure the tales of centuries.

About 250 feet above the monastery the ridge of a spur afforded a level
space beneath some tall pines which threw a welcome shade, and would
have been a convenient camping-ground. This spot was occupied by the
roughest of log-huts, which had been erected by a shepherd as his summer
residence when the goats should be driven from the low ground to the
mountain pasture. This man was originally a Turk, and formed one of a
peculiar sect known in Cyprus as Linobambaki (linen and cotton). These
people are said to be converts to Christianity, but in reality they have
never been troubled with any religious scruples, and accordingly never
accommodate their principles to the society of their neighbourhood. In a
Turkish village the Linobambaki would call himself by a Turkish name, as
Mahomet, or Hassan, &c., while in a Christian community he would pass as
Michael or Georgy, or by other Greek appellations. The name "linen and
cotton" applied to them is expressive of their lukewarmness and
time-serving, their religious professions fluctuating according to the
dictates not of conscience, but personal interest. It is supposed that
about 1500 of these people exist in various parts of Cyprus; they are
baptised in the Greek Church, and can thus escape conscription for
military service according to Turkish law. The goatherd upon our
mountain had been a Turkish servant (shepherd) in a Greek family, and
had succeeded in gaining the heart of his master's daughter, whom he was
permitted to marry after many difficulties. This woman must have been
very beautiful when young, as, in spite of hard work and exposure, she
was handsome at forty, with a pair of eyes that in youth might have been
more attractive than the mysterious light in the hermit's cave. It is
one of the blessings of fine eyes that they are almost certain to
descend to the children. Property may vanish, litigation may destroy the
substance of an inheritance; but the eyes, large, soft, and gentle,
which can occasionally startle you by their power and subdue you by a
tear, are the children's entail that nothing can disestablish. Even when
time has trampled upon complexion, the eyes of beauty last till death.

The children of this Linobambaki and his handsome wife were seven--two
boys of about nineteen and seventeen, and five girls from fourteen to
one and a half--all of whom had the eyes of the mother developed most
favourably. I cannot well describe every individual of a family: there
were the two handsome shepherd youths who would have made level ground
of mountain steeps, through their power and activity.

"Right up Ben Lomond could he press,
And not a sob his toil confess."

These young fellows matched the goats in clambering up the rocks and
following their wayward flocks throughout the summits of the Troodos
range; and their sisters the little shepherdesses were in their way
equally surprising, in hunting runaway goats from the deepest chasm to
the sharpest mountain-peak.

I hardly know who was our greatest favourite. There was "Katterina"
(about fourteen) too old to make a pet of, but a gentle-charactered
girl, always willing to please and never out of temper, and even in the
big, hateful, beauty-destroying, high hob-nailed boots she could run up
the mountain soil and clamber like a monkey. Then came, I believe, our
best favourite, the bright, large-eyed, sparkling child "Vathoo," who
was the real beauty of the family, about ten years old; she was full of
life and vigour, a perfect goat upon the mountains, with a most lovely
face that would have charmed Murillo as a subject, with an extreme
perfection of features, a bronzed complexion, but hardly the soft
expression required for a sacred picture; in fact Vathoo was a perfect
little gipsy beauty, with perhaps more devil than angel in her impulsive
character.

Then came the real gentle little face with gazelle-like eyes, "Baraksu,"
about eight years old: followed by a minimum shepherdess, "Athena," of
nearly five years old, who climbed the rocks, shouted, and threw stones
at her refractory flock, as though an experienced goatherd of forty. The
youngest was just able to stand; with a pair of the biggest black eyes,
and a natural instinct for gorging itself with unripe fruits and hard
nuts, which, added to its maternal sustenance that it was still
enjoying, proved the mill-like character of its infantine digestion. For
two months we thought this young Hercules was a promising boy, until by
an accident we discovered it was a "young lady" Linobambaki! When we
arrived at Trooditissa these children were in rags and filth, but under
the tutelage of my wife they quickly changed, and the never-failing
fountain, assisted by a cake of soap supplied occasionally, effected a
marked improvement in all complexions.

They were remarkably well-mannered after the first natural shyness had
worn away, and formed a contrast to children of a low class in England
in never misbehaving when intimate. All these little creatures were
employed in cleaning and improving the place; even the minute Athena
might be seen carrying a great stone upon her small shoulder, adding her
mite to the work, and rubbing the galled spot as she threw down her
load. The bright threepenny pieces were in great favour, and the
children invariably hastened to their mother with their earnings at the
close of the afternoon. When the camp and monastery surroundings were in
perfect order there was no longer any remunerative employment for the
family, except the uncertain and occasional work of collecting wild
flowers for the tent and table. The myrtles bloomed in early July, and
in the deep ravine by the waterfall the oleanders were then still in
blossom. Several plants which were strange to me were added to the
collection; the days were generally passed by the children in minding
the numerous goats until the evening, when each child brought some
simple offering of flowers. We bought sheep from the low country at
about six or seven shillings each, and Vathoo was the special
shepherdess of our small flock, for which she was responsible; they were
invariably driven out at 4 A.M. and brought home at 8 to avoid the sun,
and again taken out from 4 P.M. till 7.

In this simple manner we passed our time at Trooditissa; my amusements
were my small garden, writing an account of Cyprus, and strolling over
the mountains: the latter occupation being most unprofitable, as I
destroyed all my boots upon the horrible surface of loose stones, in
which there was little geological interest, as they were all gneiss and
syenite, cracked and starred during a process of subaquean cooling. The
deplorable aspect of the otherwise beautiful mountains was occasioned by
the wholesale and wilful destruction of pine-trees, which is the
Cypriote's baneful characteristic, and as this is one of the most
important subjects in the modern history of the island, I shall devote
the following special chapter entirely to the question of "Woods and
Forests."

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XIII.

WOODS AND FORESTS.

The climate of Cyprus is extreme in temperature during the months of
June, July, August, and until the close of September; throughout the
greater portion of the island the treeless surface absorbs the sun's
rays, and during the night radiates the heat thus obtained, which raises
the thermometer to 90 degrees before sunrise: while at noon it
occasionally marks 100 degrees beneath the shade. A treeless country
must either be extremely hot or cold, according to the latitude; and
without a certain proportion of forest there will be an absence of
equilibrium in temperature. Most persons will have observed the effect
of heat radiation from rocks, or even from the walls of a building that
have been exposed to a summer's sun during the long day. At about six
P.M., when the air is cool, the sun-heat stored by absorption escapes
from its imprisonment, and thermometers would exhibit a difference of
many degrees if placed at two feet from the ground, and at fifty; the
rocks and earth have been heated like an oven. Trees will affect the
surface of the soil in the same manner that an umbrella protects an
individual from the surf, and upon lofty mountains they exercise a
marked influence upon the rainfall. Should the summits be naked, the
rocks become heated to a high degree, and should clouds pass overhead,
the vapour would not condense, but, on the contrary, it might disperse
upon contact with the heated surface. If the summits were clothed with
forests, the rocks and soil, being shaded from the sun, would remain
cool, and the low temperature of earth and foliage would condense the
vapour and produce rain. It is well known that trees exert a direct
influence upon meteorological phenomena, therefore should forests be
totally destroyed, a change may be expected in the temperature, attended
by a corresponding decrease in the rainfall. It is obvious that should a
country be entirely covered with trees and jungle, it will be too damp
and unhealthy for the occupation of man; and should it be absolutely
barren of forest, it will possess a minimum rainfall; therefore in all
countries that are expected to develop agricultural resources, the due
proportions of woods and forests require special attention.

In ancient days there can be no question that Cyprus was rich in timber,
and that the mountainous districts were thickly clothed to their summits
with valuable wood varying in species according to altitude. At the risk
of repetition I must describe the qualities which now exist, and which
were no doubt exported from the island, and became widely known and
appreciated in the early days of Cyprian prosperity.

Oaks.--There are several varieties of oak, but large park-like timber of
this species is exceedingly scarce, and although met with occasionally
in grand spreading trees with trunks of large girth, they are only
sufficient to prove the destruction that has befallen their race. It is
most probable that the oak was largely exported for ship-building; but
as an available forest-tree it may be said to have disappeared. The ilex
is the most common of all woods upon the Troodos range and upon other
mountains, but the natives have made such constant attacks upon this
quality for the manufacture of charcoal that it is seldom met with as a
forest-tree. It is extremely hardy, and through continual hacking, it
has grown into dense bushes which are generally about eight feet high;
but in very remote localities among the mountains I have found it in the
shape of timber growing to the height of forty feet. There is a third
variety with a prickly leaf resembling holly, of an intensely dark
green.

Pines.--I have only met with three varieties--the Pinus maritima, Pinus
laricio, and the stone pine. The latter is very rare, but may be seen at
Platraes. The natives invariably pick the cones of this species when
green for the sake of the small edible nuts afforded by the seeds.

The Pinus laricio is a handsome tree with a dark foliage and branches
that droop regularly from the summit, widening towards the base. It is
difficult to determine the maximum size that would be attained by this
species, as the Cypriotes seldom allow any tree to remain uninjured. The
usual size of the Laracio on the Troodos range is about fifty feet in
height, with a girth of six feet, but I have frequently seen specimens
of nine feet in girth, and about seventy to eighty feet in height.

The Pinus maritima has a lighter foliage and the branches are more
spreading, but the size is about the same as the Laricio. Both these
species are rich in tar and turpentine.

Cypress.--There are two varieties--the dwarf, which covers the
flat-topped limestone hills of the Carpas district, and the fragrant
species which grows upon the heights of Troodos and all that range which
extends to Poli-ton-Krysokhus.

The dwarf-cypress attains a height of about twenty feet, and is
exceedingly hard and durable. The fragrant species varies from thirty to
thirty-five feet, with a stem of six, to sometimes eight feet in
circumference. The wood is highly aromatic; and I have already described
it as resembling a mixture of sandal-wood and cedar. This tree is known
by the Cypriotes as kypresses, while the dwarf variety is known as the
"wild cypress," and is called by them "aoratu."

Plane (Platanus).--This tree is generally found in the ravines among the
mountains, on the borders of streams, and would grow to a large size,
but its straight young stems are much sought after by the natives for
various purposes, and it is seldom allowed a chance of arriving
unscathed at maturity. Its light green foliage is highly ornamental,
mixed with the dark shades of the ilex in the deep bottoms of the
gorges; and wherever a never-failing stream is met with the plane may be
expected.

The elm, ash, maple, walnut, mulberry, peach, apricot, apple, pear,
filbert, fig, plum, cherry, orange, lemon, pomegranate, are common, but
as they do not come within the category of trees indigenous to the
natural forests of the island, I shall not include them.

Olive.--The wild olive forms a considerable portion of the low
scrub-woods of the Carpas district, and the young trees, when
transplanted and grafted, become the accepted olives of cultivation.
There is no reason why the wild olive should not be grafted in its
natural position the same as the caroub.

Caroub.--This tree has already been described, but although not valuable
as timber, owing to the short length of its trunk, it should receive the
special attention of the government, as its produce should be extended
to the utmost limit of the capabilities of the island. If the wild trees
were grafted wherever they are met with, whole forests would quickly be
produced with a minimum of labour, and vast tracts of rocky soil,
worthless for other cultivation, would be brought into value, at the
same time that the surface would be covered with the much desired
vegetation.

Tremithia.--The wood of this tree is of no value, but the berries are
used as a substitute for olive-oil; as it grows in large quantities as a
shrub, simply because it is not allowed the chance of arriving at
maturity, it is to be hoped that a few years of forest supervision will
add this shady and highly-ornamental tree to the list of those common to
the island. The arbutus, myrtle, and the mastic are trees of so small a
growth that they cannot be classed with "Woods and Forests."

One of the first acts of the British administration was a stringent
prohibition against the felling of any tree throughout Cyprus, or the
cutting of any wood for the burning of charcoal. This law for the
preservation of woods and forests extended to trees upon PRIVATE
PROPERTY OF INDIVIDUALS!--thus the owner of a garden could not cut down
one of his own caroub-trees if they were too thickly planted; or if he
required a piece of timber for making or repairing his water-wheel. An
act for the protection of crown forests was highly necessary, but no
laws are of value unless the machinery exists for enforcing them, and at
the present moment the stringent enactment against the destruction of
trees may be evaded like any of the Ten Commandments, because there is
absolutely no staff, nor special officers for the supervision of woods
and forests. This important subject requires a separate department, and
nothing can be more simple if administered by persons qualified by
education for the development of trees suitable to the island. The
poverty of the local government, owing to the miserable conditions of
our tenure, which send the cream to Turkey, and suckle the necessary
staff upon the thin skimmed-milk, does not permit the real improvement
of the forests. It is simply ridiculous to make laws without the active
weapons to enforce authority; we may as well rest satisfied with the
game laws in England and dismiss our keepers, as prohibit the cutting of
wood in Cyprus without supervising the forests by a staff of foresters.
If the words "Thou shalt not steal," even from a divine command, were
sufficient to prevent felony and petty larceny, it would be folly to
incur the expense of police; but we know that practically all laws must
be upheld by force, represented by the authorised guardians of the
state. At this moment in Cyprus the law proclaims, "Thou shalt not cut a
tree," while practically you may cut as many as you like in the mountain
forests, as there is no person authorised to interfere with your acts.
Some miserable offender may be pounced upon in his own garden, near one
of the principal towns, where the law SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ENFORCED,
as interfering with the individual rights of private property; but in
the situations where the prohibition is of the first importance, there
is literally not an officer or man to prevent the usual depredations.
Why? The answer must be accepted. There is no money, and we cannot
afford an independent department of "Woods and Forests." If the country
is to continue in this slip-shod form it is a disgrace to England.
There is time to save the forests from absolute destruction, and in my
own opinion, before anything is done beyond the necessary roads and
irrigation loans, every possible attention should be concentrated upon
the protection and development of forest-trees.

The position at this moment is as follows. Throughout the entire
mountain range there are not 5 per cent. of pines free from mutilation.

The whole of Troodos, and the mountain districts from near Lithrodondo
to as far west as Poli-ton-Khrysokus, are naturally adapted for the
growth of pines and cypress, which love the soil of the plutonic rocks,
and drive their roots deep into the interstices, deriving nourishment
where nothing else would thrive. Upon the highest altitudes there is not
a dwarf shrub to cover the surface of the loose coffee-coloured rocks,
where in the winter the snow accumulates to a depth of twenty feet, yet
there we find the pines and cypress in their greatest vigour; but even
to these solitary heights the Cypriote has penetrated with his unsparing
axe, and has created a desolation that must be seen to be understood.
There is no sight so exasperating as this uncalled-for destruction; it
is beyond all belief, and when the amount of labour is considered that
must have been expended in this indiscriminate attack upon forest-trees
THAT ARE LEFT TO ROT UPON THE GROUND where they have fallen, the object
of the attack is at first sight inconceivable. The sight of a mountain
pine-forest in Cyprus would convey the impression that an enemy who had
conquered the country had determined to utterly destroy it, even to the
primaeval forests; he had therefore felled, and left to rot, the greater
portion of the trees; but finding the labour beyond his means, he had
contented himself with barking, ringing, and hacking at the base of the
remainder, to ensure their ultimate destruction.

The extreme heights of Troodos, shoulders and head, are about 6300 feet
above the sea, from which altitude the pines and cypress descend to
within 1500 feet of the level. There are rough native mule-paths
throughout the mountains, and the sure-footed animals will carry a man
with ease where walking would be most fatiguing, owing to the loose
rocks and smaller stones, which cover every inch of the surface. I have
walked and ridden over the greater portion, but in all cases I have been
overcome with anger and dismay at the terrible exhibition of wanton and
unwarrantable desolation. If a hurricane had passed over the country and
torn up by the roots nine trees out of every ten that composed the
forest, the destruction would be nothing compared to that of the native
Cypriote, who mutilates those which he has not felled; the wind would
only upturn, but would spare those whose strength had resisted the
attack. Magnificent trees lie rotting upon the ground in thousands upon
thousands, untouched since the hour when they fell before the most
scientifically applied axe. I never saw a higher example of woodcraft.
The trunks of pines two feet in diameter are cut so carefully, that the
work of the axe is almost as neat as that of a cross-cut saw. These
large trees are divided about four feet from the ground, as that is a
convenient height for the woodman, and spare his back from stooping to
his blow. Each cut with the axe is nearly at a right angle with the
stem and so regularly is the cutting conducted completely round the
tree, that at length only two, or at the most three inches of wood
remain to support the trunk, which in the absence of wind remains
balanced to the last moment, until overthrown by the wedge.

Upon first arrival in the country it is difficult to comprehend the
reason for this general destruction; but as a gipsy in Turkey will burn
down a handsome tree in order to make his wooden spoons, so the Cypriote
will fell a large pine for the sake of the base of five or six feet in
length that will afford him a wooden trough either for water or to feed
his pigs. A great number of the larger trees are cut and partially
scooped for four or five feet before their destruction is determined
upon, as the carpenter wishes to prove the quality of the heart. Many
are rejected, and the operation proceeds no further; but the tree
remains mutilated for ever.

Other trees are felled for the purpose of obtaining tar. Before they are
absolutely cut down they are tapped by cutting a deep incision nearly
into the centre of the heart, like a huge notch, and they are left for a
time to prove whether the tar will run, as exhibited by the production
of the resin. If unfavourable, the tree is left thus cut to the heart
and blemished. Nearly every tree is thus marked. If the signs of tar are
propitious, the tree is felled, the branches are lopped, and the trunk
cut into sections and split. All pieces are then arranged longitudinally
in a rude kiln formed of loose stones and earth, in which they are
burned, and the tar as it exudes is led by a narrow gutter formed of
clay into the receptacle prepared.

Should a straight pole be required for any special purpose, a large pine
is felled, and the tapered, pointed top is cut off to a convenient
length, the great spar being rejected and left to decay upon the ground.
I have never seen pit-saws used, but as a rule, should a beam or stout
plank be required, a whole tree is adzed away to produce it, and great
piles of chips are continually met with in the forests, where some large
trunk has thus perished under the exhausting process. I was rather
surprised, when the military huts were conveyed at an immense expense of
transport to the mountain station, that a few pairs of English sawyers
had not been employed to cut the inexhaustible supply of seasoned wood
now lying uselessly upon the ground, that would have supplied all
necessary planks and rafters, &c.

Fires, either accidental or malicious, are not uncommon, and I have seen
hill-sides completely destroyed. At a certain season the pines change
their foliage and the ground becomes thickly covered to the depth of a
couple of inches or more with the dry and highly inflammable spines.
Should these take fire, the conflagration in a high wind becomes
serious, and spreads to the trees, which perish.

Nothing would be easier than to defend the interests of the woods and
forests by an efficient staff of foresters, who should be Highlanders
from Scotland accustomed to mountain climbing, or English game-keepers,
who would combine the protection of forests with that of game. These
men, under the command of a certain number of officers, should be
quartered in particular districts, and would quickly acquire a knowledge
of the localities. The higher mountains would be their home during the
summer months, from which points the sound of an axe could be heard from
a great distance, and from the commanding elevation a depredator could
be distinctly identified with a good telescope. The Cypriotes are easily
governed, and should a few severe examples be made public when the
destroyers had been taken in the act, an exceedingly small staff of
foresters would be sufficient to insure order and protection.

The pine and cypress are the trees most generally attacked, and, as I
have already shown, there is no difficulty whatever in their
preservation should the requisite staff of officials be appointed. It
should, however, be borne in mind that the preservation of woods and
forests is a simple matter compared with the absolute necessity of their
extension; it is therefore desirable to examine the capabilities of the
island for tree-culture.

When Cyprus was first occupied by British troops the English newspapers
were full of superficial advice suggested by numerous well-meaning
correspondents who were utterly devoid of practical experience in
tree-planting, and a unanimous verdict was given in favour of the
Eucalyptus globulus, and other varieties of the same tree, irrespective
of all knowledge of localities and soils.

The absence of money would be the only excuse for any delay in
experimental tree-culture. The seeds of the eucalyptus were sent out in
considerable quantities to the various chief commissioners of districts
for cultivation, as though these overworked and ill-paid officers were
omniscient, and added the practical knowledge of horticulture to their
military qualifications. Every commissioner that I saw had a few old
wine or beer cases filled with earth, in which he was endeavouring to
produce embryo forests of the varieties of eucalyptus, to be planted out
when germinated--how, when, or where, he could not tell. Of course all
these attempts ended in failure. There should have been an experienced
gardener specially appointed for the purpose of raising and planting out
the young trees adapted for the various soils and altitudes of the
country, and such trees should have been ready for their positions at
the commencement of the winter months in November. The commissioners
worked in this new occupation with the same praiseworthy energy that
distinguished them throughout all the trying difficulties of their
appointment as rulers in a strange country, where, without a knowledge
of the language or customs, they were suddenly called upon to confer
happiness and contentment upon an oppressed population by administering
TURKISH laws in the essence of their integrity.

The Cypriotes had expected to see England and the English as their
rulers; but like the well-known saying, "Scratch a Russian and you
discover the Tartar," they might have "scratched an Englishman and have
found the Turk," in the actual regime that we were bound to maintain
according to the conditions of the British occupation.

The native mind could not understand the reason for the stringent rule
prohibiting the cutting of trees and they came to the conclusion that
our government contemplated some selfish advantage, and that the forests
were eventually to be leased to a company. When they shall see
tree-planting commenced by the government upon an extensive scale they
will believe in the undertaking as intended for the welfare of the
island.

Whenever this important and necessary work shall be organised, it is to
be hoped that "common sense" will be employed in the selection of trees
adapted for the various localities, and that no absurd experiments will
be made upon a large scale by introducing varieties foreign to the
island until they shall have been tested satisfactorily in botanical
nurseries established at various altitudes.

There are various local difficulties that must be considered in addition
to soil and climate; the most important is the presence of vast numbers
of goats throughout the mountains, that would utterly destroy certain
varieties of young plants. There can be no doubt that the climate and
soil are specially adapted for the introduction of the common larch,
which would grow quickly into value for the much-needed poles for
rafters and beams for the flat-topped roofs; but this tree is eagerly
devoured by sheep, goats, and cattle, and would be destroyed in its
first stage unless protected by fencing. It will be a safe rule to adopt
the native trees as a guide to future extension, as the varieties of
such classes as are indigenous will assuredly succeed. The two existing
pines are shunned by goats even when in their earliest growth, and they
are so ineradicable that were the forests spared and allowed to remain
without artificial planting, in ten years there would be masses of young
trees too thick for the success of timber. The rain, when heavy, washes
the fallen cones from the highest points, and as they are carried by the
surface water down the steep inclines they hitch among the rocks and
take root in every favourable locality. Here we have two native trees
that will plant themselves and flourish without expense, invulnerable to
the attacks of goats, and only demanding rest and time. On the other
hand, they might be planted at regular intervals with so small an outlay
that their artificial arrangement would be advisable.

The cypress may be extended in a similar manner.

The presence of several varieties of oak would naturally suggest the
introduction of the cork-tree and the species which produces the
valonia, which forms an important article of trade, and is largely used
in England by the tanner. This cup of the acorn of the Quercus aegilops
is extremely rich in tannin, and ranges in price from 20 to 30 pounds
sterling per ton delivered in an English port. It is exported largely
from the Levant, and there can be little doubt that its introduction to
Cyprus would eventually supply a new source of revenue.

The climate and soil of the Troodos mountains would be highly favourable
to the cork-tree,* which would after thirty or forty years become
extremely valuable. The box might be introduced from the mountains of
Spain, also the Spanish chestnut, which for building purposes is
invaluable, as not only practically imperishable, but fire-proof. It is
not generally known that the wood of the Spanish chestnut is so
uninflammable that it requires the aid of other fuel to consume it by
fire; it might be used with great advantage in massive logs for upright
pillars, to support beams of similar wood in warehouses.

(*The cork oak is mentioned in some works on Cyprus as indigenous to the
island; this is a mistake. The ilex is plentiful, but not the cork-tree.)

Although the walnut cannot be classed with forest-trees indigenous to
Cyprus, it flourishes abundantly at a high elevation, ranging from about
2500 to 5000 feet above the sea. At Trooditissa monastery there are
trees that were planted by the hands of the old monk, my informant, only
twenty years ago, which are equal in size to a growth of fifty years in
England. The planting of walnuts should certainly be encouraged, as the
wood is extremely valuable; at the same time that the crop yields an
annual revenue.

The preservation and extension of the woods and forests throughout the
mountainous districts of Cyprus are a simple affair, which only requires
capital and common sense combined with the usual necessary experience.
There are other portions of the island which require a different
treatment.

It is the fashion to accredit every portion of Cyprus as tree-bearing in
its early history, but if the student will compare the large population
reported to have existed at that time with the superficial area of the
island, it will be plainly seen that a very large proportion must have
been under cultivation, otherwise supplies must have been imported. I
have before mentioned my opinion that the hard bare surface of the
denuded cretaceous hills could never have borne timber, neither do I
believe in the traditions concerning forests in the plain of Messaria,
for the simple reason that it must have been the cereal-producing area
of the island.

The ancient forests must have existed where the vestiges remain to the
present day, in which localities the natural inclination of the soil is
to produce trees, which are still represented, in spite of the hideous
destruction perpetrated by the inhabitants during many centuries. These
positions include the entire Carpas district, together with the long
range of compact limestone mountains forming the northern wall of the
island, the northern coast and western, comprising the country between
Poli-ton-Khrysokhus, and Baffo, and the central and coast-line from
Baffo to Limasol, with exceptions of lands here and there cultivated
with cereals. The greater portion of the mountains that are now occupied
with vineyards were originally forests, which have been cleared
specially for the cultivation of the vine. I have seen ground at an
elevation of 4800 feet where the vineyards originally existed upon
cleared forest soil, which, having been abandoned, is relapsing into its
former state, becoming more or less covered with pines as birds may have
dropped the seeds, or the cones may have been driven from higher
altitudes by wind and rain.

The question that must now be determined is this: "What portions of the
island are to be restored to forest?" Any person who has carefully
examined the country can reply without hesitation, "Plant all useless
lands with trees; those useless lands are already more or less covered
with bush or woods, and denote their own position, in the Carpas, the
Troodos, and all mountain and hill ranges."

Where ancient forests have disappeared in favour of cultivation, it
would be folly to convert an improvement into the original wilderness.
That question is easily simplified, and when the department of Woods and
Forests shall be established, a few years of energy will produce a new
picture in a country where the growth of timber proceeds quickly.

But the last necessary reform still remains unnoticed; this should
determine the amount of caroubs, mulberry, and fruit-trees that should
be CUMPULSORILY planted by all proprietors of land in proportion to
their acreage; and this is absolutely necessary.

As I have described in many portions of our journey through Cyprus, the
simple action of an insignificant stream, or of a solitary cattle-wheel,
forms an oasis in the rainless desert of the Messaria, and the eye that
has been wearied with the barren aspect of a treeless surface is
gladdened by the relief of a sudden appearance of groves of oranges,
lemons, and other shady trees, the result of a supply of water. Whenever
such welcome spots are met with upon the miserable plain, the question
invariably arises, "Why should such fruitful and delightful positions be
so rare? The soil is fertile, the climate is favourable, all that is
required is water, and energy."

If a Cypriote is asked the question, he invariably replies "that during
the Turkish administration the fruit-trees increased their troubles,
owing to the vexatious and extortionate taxation of the crops, therefore
they were glad to be quit of them altogether." Your question No. 2
follows, "Why do you not plant trees now that the English have occupied
the country?" The reply is stereotyped, "We are not sure that you will
remain here permanently, and if you abandon the island the Turks will
resume the old system with even greater oppression than before." This is
an unanswerable dilemma, which no doubt retards improvements; but there
is a third difficulty which is invariably brought prominently forward
when any suggestions are made for an extension of agricultural
enterprise: "We have no money." This is absolutely true, although I have
heard the assertion contested by certain authorities. The people as a
rule are miserably poor, and cannot afford to run the risks of
experiments, especially during the present uncertainty connected with
the British occupation.

The opinions that I personally offer are based upon the assumption that
England can never recede from the position she has assumed in Cyprus,
which she must continue, for better or for worse, as a point of honour.
Any abandonment of the protection we have afforded to the inhabitants
would tend to aggravate their position, should they return to the
authority of the Porte, and their only hope would lie in the occupation
of our empty bed by France, who certainly requires a coaling depot
towards the east of the Mediterranean. Should we wash our hands of
Cyprus, and evacuate it in a similar manner to Corfu, we should become
the laughing-stock of Europe, and no future step taken by England in the
form of a "protectorate" would ever be relied upon. Had we retained
Corfu to the present moment, no doubt would have existed as to any
change in our intentions respecting Cyprus, but the precedent
established by our retirement from that grand strategical position has
borne its fruit in the want of confidence now felt by all classes in the
permanence of our new acquisition.

It will be admitted that a general want of elasticity has succeeded to
the first bound of expectation that was raised by the sudden
announcement of a British occupation; the government cannot be held
responsible for the disappointment of rash adventurers, but their true
responsibility commenced when they assumed the charge of the inhabitants
of Cyprus. The first year of the new administration has been marked by a
minimum rainfall that has caused the destruction of all crops dependent
upon the natural water-supply of seasons, and this partial famine of the
first year of our occupation is generally regarded as a disaster.
Although disastrous, I believe the serious warning will operate with
wholesome effect, by opening the eyes of the authorities to the absolute
necessity of directing special attention to the requirements of the
people, who after centuries of oppression have become apathetic and
inert, which unfits them for the spontaneous action that should be
exerted against the dangerous exigencies of their climate. The
government of Cyprus must be to a certain extent paternal, and the
planting of trees that will eventually benefit not only individuals, but
the island generally, and ultimately the revenue, should be made
compulsory, in proportion to the area of the various holdings, due
assistance being accorded to the proprietors by way of loans.

The eucalyptus is suitable for many localities in the lowlands of
Larnaca and Famagousta, and it might be profitably introduced throughout
such swampy soils as the neighbourhood of Morphu and other similar
positions with good sanitary results; but such trees will represent the
woods and forests of the low country without a productive income to the
population; whereas by an enforced cultivation of fruit-trees upon every
holding the island would in a few years become a garden, and the
exportation of fruit to Egypt, only thirty hours' distant, would be the
commencement of an important trade, alike beneficial to the individual
proprietors and to the island generally.

At the present time, and for many years past, Alexandria has been
supplied with all fruits from Jaffa, Beyrout, and various ports on the
coast of Syria, but there is no reason why Cyprus should not eventually
monopolise the trade, if special attention shall be bestowed (by the
suggested department of Woods and Forests) upon the qualities and
cultivation whenever an arrangement for an extension of planting shall
be carried out. I have never seen any fruits of high quality in Cyprus,
but they are generally most inferior, owing to the neglect of grafting,
and the overcrowding of the trees. The cherries which grow in the
villages from 2500 to 4500 feet above the sea are taken down to Limasol
and the principal towns for sale, but they are small and tasteless,
although red and bright in colour. They grow in large quantities, and
are never attacked by birds which render the crop precarious in England,
and necessitate the expense of netting; should the best varieties be
introduced, every natural advantage exists for their cultivation.

The apricots are not much larger than chestnuts, and would be classed as
"wild fruit," from the extreme inferiority of size and flavour; but
there is no reason except neglect for the low quality of a delicious
species of fruit that seems from the luxuriant growth of the tree to be
specially adapted to the soil and climate. It is useless to enumerate
the varieties of fruits that are brought to market; all are inferior,
excepting grapes and lemons. The productions of the gardens exhibit the
miserable position of the island, which emanates from a want of
elasticity in a debased and oppressed population too apathetic and
hopeless to attempt improvements.

England can change this wretched stagnation by the application of
capital, and by encouraging the development of the first necessity,
WATER; without which, all attempts at agricultural improvements, and the
extension of tree-planting in the low country, would be futile. I shall
therefore devote the following chapter to the subject of artificial
irrigation, and its results.

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XIV.

REMARKS ON IRRIGATION.

The ancient prosperity of Cyprus must have been due to artificial
irrigation, which ensured a maximum of production, similar to the
inundated lands of Egypt. In the latter country the Nile is a "Salvator
Mundi," without which Egypt would be a simple prolongation of the Nubian
and Libyan deserts, in the absence of a seasonable rainfall. The
difference between the great cereal-producing portion of Cyprus and the
Delta of Egypt is, that, although the plain of Messaria has been formed
chiefly through the action of the Pedias river and other periodical
mountain streams, which have deposited a rich stratum of soil during
inundations, the rivers are merely torrents, or simple conduits, which
carry off the waters of heavy storms, or intervals of rain, and act as
drains in conveying the surplus waters during floods; while at other
times they are absolutely dry.

If the Nile were controlled by a series of weirs or dams, with sluices
to divert the high waters of the period into natural depressions within
the desert, to form reservoirs at high levels for the supply of Egypt in
seasons of scarcity, the command of the water-supply would be far
preferable to the chances of rain in the most favoured country. Water,
like fire, should be the slave of man, to whom it is the first
necessity; therefore his first effort in his struggle with the elements
should reduce this power to vassalage. There must be no question of
supremacy; water must serve mankind.

Many years ago I published, in the Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, my
ideas for the control of the Nile and the submersion of the cataracts by
a series of weirs, with water-gates for the facility of navigation;
which with certain modifications will some day assuredly be carried out,
and will render Egypt the most favoured country of the world, as
absolute mistress of the river which is now at the same time a tyrant
and a slave. The Pedias of Cyprus may during some terrific rainfall
assume proportions that would convey a most erroneous impression to the
mind of a stranger, who, upon regarding the boiling torrent
overspreading a valley of some miles in width in its impetuous course
towards ancient Salamis, might conclude that it was a river of the first
importance. The fact is that no RIVER exists in Cyprus: what should be
rivers are mere channels, watercourses, brooks, torrents, or any of the
multifarious names for stream-beds that may be discovered in an English
dictionary. At the same time that the natural channels are dry during
the summer months, through the want of power in the water-head to
overcome the absorption of the porous soil throughout its course, it
must not be forgotten that a certain supply exists at the fountain head,
within practicable distance, which might be stored and led from the
mountains to the lower lands for the purposes of irrigation. When we
reflect that in the proverbially wet climate of England there is a
considerable difficulty in assuring a supply of wholesome water, and
that the various water companies have made enormous profits, it is not
surprising that in a neglected island like Cyprus there should be
distress in the absence of abundant rain. The uninitiated in England
seldom appreciate the labour and expenditure that has supplied the
response to the simple turning of a tap within an ordinary house. If
they would follow the artificial stream from the small leaden pipe to
the distant reservoir, they would discover that a glen or valley has
been walled in by a stupendous dam, which imprisons a hill-rivulet
before it can have descended to the impurities of habitations, and that
the pressure of waters thus stored at an elevated level forces a supply
to a town at a distance of many miles. This same principle might be
adopted in numerous localities among the mountains of Cyprus, where the
streams are perennial, but are now exhausted by the absorption of the
sandy beds before they have time to reach the villages in the lower
lands. Iron pipes might be laid to convey a water-supply to certain
districts, upon which a rate would be levied per acre and the crops
would be ensured.

The government at the present moment obtains a revenue in kind, or in a
money valuation of the corn taken at the threshing-floor; thus in the
absence of a crop through drought, or other accident, the revenue
suffers directly together with the owner: no crop, no revenue. The main
strength of a country lies in an annual income free from serious
fluctuations, and the extreme instability of Cyprus is the result of the
peculiar uncertainty of seasons which is a special feature in its
meteorological condition. It is therefore incumbent upon the government,
as an act of self-preservation, to take such measures of precaution as
will render certain the supply of water, which is all that is required
to ensure the average produce of the soil, and thereby to sustain the
revenue.

I do not indulge in engineering details, but, from the experience I have
gained by a personal examination of the localities, I am convinced that
no difficulty whatever exists that would not be overcome with a very
moderate outlay. The mountains are admirably situated, with a watershed
upon all sides, thus offering the greatest facilities for reservoirs and
pipes that would radiate in every direction. This subject will demand a
careful inquiry by hydraulic engineers, as it is a special branch of the
profession that requires wide experience, and large sums may be
fruitlessly expended through ignorance, where a trifling amount well
administered might achieve great results.

One of the first necessary steps in an examination of the subterranean
water-supply of Cyprus will be "borings" that will test the existence
of artesian springs. There are in many portions of the island extensive
plateaux at high altitudes that would absorb a considerable rainfall, in
addition to a large superficial area of mountains and hills that would
exert the requisite pressure to force the water above the surface of a
lower level upon boring, should it now lie beneath some impervious
stratum. Boring will alone solve this question. Should artesian wells be
practicable in certain localities, an immense blessing will be conferred
upon the island.

In the meantime the native method already described, of connecting
chains of wells from different springs converging to a main channel or
subterranean tunnel, is an original form of Cyprian engineering
thoroughly understood by the population, which should be strenuously
encouraged. It is a common fault among English people to ignore the
value of native methods, and to substitute some costly machinery which
requires skilled labour and expense in working; this must in time get
out of order and necessitate delay and extra outlay in repairs;
generally at a period when the machine is most required.

It is a curious fact that the shadoof or lever and bucket worked by
hand, which is so generally used throughout Egypt, is unknown in Cyprus,
where in many localities it would be easily worked when water is within
five to eight feet of the surface. This arrangement only requires a pole
of about twenty feet in length supported upon an upright post, so as to
play like a pump-handle by the balance of a weight attached to one end
to counterbalance the pail of water suspended to a long stick and short
rope at the other extremity. In Egypt the weight at the short end is
merely a mass of clay tempered with chopped straw beaten together to
represent about 150 lbs. or whatever may be required; this adheres, and
forms a knob to the end of the lever.

A man holds the long thin stick suspended at the other extremity to
which the bucket is attached, and pulls it down hand over hand until the
utensil is immersed in the water; when full, it is so nearly
counterbalanced by the weight at the end of the lever that a very slight
exertion raises it to the desired level, where it is emptied into a
receiver. Many years ago, when at Gondokoro, I arranged a double shadoof
of parallel levers and two galvanised iron buckets of four gallons each,
worked by two men. I timed the labour of this simple machine, and proved
that the two men delivered 3600 gallons within an hour. The men exerted
themselves to a degree that could not have been continued throughout the
day, and the buckets, of English make, were far more capacious than the
simple leather stretched upon a hoop of sticks that is used in Egypt;
but there is no reason for such inferior adjuncts. It may be safely
assumed that with proper appliances the double shadoof, worked by two
men, will deliver 2000 gallons an hour for a working day of six active
hours, or a total of 12,000 gallons. In Cyprus the wages of a labourer
are one shilling a day, therefore the cost of raising 12,000 gallons
would be only two shillings, provided the water is only five feet from
the surface. There are many portions of the Messaria plain where the
water is even nearer, but the shadoof could work profitably at six, and
even at eight feet, and it possesses the advantage of such extreme
cheapness of original cost that the outlay is insignificant.

Where fuel is expensive, and cattle and human labour cheap, the ancient
Egyptian water-wheel will deliver a supply at a cheaper rate than steam.
It has the merit of being always ready; there is no delay in lighting
fires and getting up the steam; there is no expensive engineer who may
be sick or absent when required; but the wheel is turned either by night
or day by mules or oxen, driven by a child. Wind vanes might be attached
to this principle, and could be connected on favourable occasions.

The peculiarity throughout the lower levels in Cyprus (specially
exhibited in the plain of Messaria) of a water-supply within a few feet
of the surface, at the same time that the crops may be perishing from
drought, is in favour of the general adoption of the Egyptian wheel.
Although this simple construction is one of the oldest inventions for
raising water, and is generally understood, I may be excused for
describing it when upon the important topic of irrigation.

A large pit is sunk to about three feet below the level of the water,
and should the earth not be sufficiently tenacious for self-support, the
sides are walled with masonry; this pit would usually be about twenty
feet long, four feet wide, and twenty feet deep for a first-class wheel.
When the wooden wheel of about seventeen feet diameter has been fixed
upon its horizontal shaft, it is arranged with a chain of large earthen
jars; those of Egypt contain about three gallons each, but the Cyprian
pots are very inferior, scarcely exceeding the same number of quarts.

These jars are secured upon a double line of stiff ropes formed in
Cyprus of the long twisted wands of myrtle, which are exceedingly tough,
and are substitutes for willows in basket-work. When completed, the
chain resembles a rope ladder, with the numerous jars sufficiently close
together to represent spokes separated by about sixteen inches. This is
suspended over the edge of the wheel, and hangs vertically; the lower
portion of this necklace-like arrangement being about three feet below
the water, or as near the bottom as is possible with safety to the jars.

When the wheel turns the necklace of pots must of necessity obey the
movement, and as they dip successively and fill in the deep water, they
in turn rise to the surface with the revolutions of the wheel; upon
passing the centre they invert, and empty their contents into a large
trough connected with a reservoir capable of containing many hundred
hogsheads. A circular chain or ladder of twenty feet diameter will
contain about twenty jars of three gallons each--equalling a delivery
of about two and a half gallons per jar, as there is generally a loss of
water during the movement; therefore one complete revolution of the
wheel would deliver fifty gallons into the reservoir.

The wheel is turned by a simple contrivance of wooden cogs and drivers,
worked by a long revolving lever, to which, for a powerful machine such
as I have described, a pair of mules or oxen would be necessary. A child
sits upon the pole or lever and keeps the animals to their work.

There is no specified limit to the depth at which this instrument can
work, as it must depend upon the length of chain and the number of jars,
which of course increase the weight and strain upon the machinery and
animals. In Cyprus, where the water is generally near the surface, the
advantages are obvious, and I feel convinced that no modern invention is
so well adapted for the Cypriote cultivator.

The cost of erection of such a machine complete, together with the
sinking of the pit, is calculated, at an average of localities, as 12
pounds; a pair of oxen will cost 10 pounds: thus the water-wheel in
working order will amount to 22 pounds. One wheel will irrigate eighty
donums, or about forty acres of cereals, but the same instrument would
only suffice for about six acres of garden ground, which requires a more
constant supply of water. It may therefore be understood that in
calculating the power of a water-wheel, various conditions must be
considered, and I shall confine myself to the farm, upon which it will
be necessary to establish one water-wheel or sakyeeah for every forty
acres; this entails a first outlay of eleven shillings per acre; and at
once ensures the crop and renders the farmer independent of the seasons.
But including the cost of constructing the numerous water-channels of
clay to conduct the stream to the desired fields, together with the
expense of erecting the reservoirs of masonry upon a sufficient scale, I
should raise the original outlay for irrigation by cattle-wheels to 20
shillings per acre (1 pound). This would include the services of a pair
of oxen for other work when the sakyeeah should not be required.* (*The
wheel I have described is double the power of those in general use in
Cyprus, where a single animal works the sakyeeah, and it would irrigate
a larger acreage.) According to this calculation, which exceeds by a
large margin the figures given to me by several native farmers, the
owner of a hundred acres must only expend 100 pounds to ensure his
annual crops! To us this appears nothing, but to the Cypriote it is
everything. Where is he to obtain one hundred pounds? To him the sum is
enormous and overpowering.

In times of scarcity, which unfortunately are the general conditions of
the country, owing to the deficiency of rain, the farmer must borrow
money not only for the current expenses of his employment, but for the
bare sustenance of his family; he has recourse to the usurer, and
henceforth becomes his slave. The rate of interest may be anything that
can be imagined when extortion acts upon one side while poverty and
absolute famine are the petitioners. The farm, together with the stock,
are mortgaged, and the expected crops for a stipulated number of seasons
are made over to the usurer at a fixed sum per measure of corn, far
below the market price. Another bad season adds to the crushing burden,
and after a few years, when the unfortunate landowner is completely
overwhelmed with debt, perchance one of the happy years arrives when
propitious rains in the proper season bring forth the grand
cereal-producing power of Cyprus, and the wheat and barley, six feet
high, wave over the green surface throughout the island. The yield of
one such abundant crop almost releases the debtor from his misery;
another year would free him from the usurer; but rarely or never are two
favourable seasons consecutive; the abundant harvest is generally
followed by several years of drought. This pitiable position may be
quickly changed by government assistance without the slightest risk.

The first necessity is capital, and the usurer must disappear from the
scene. I do not think that an agricultural bank will be practically
worked, as the value of money in the east is above 6 per cent., which is
the maximum that the Cyprian cultivator should pay. The government must
advance loans for the special erection of water-wheels, or other methods
of irrigation, at 6 per cent., taking a mortgage of the land as their
security; this loan upon water-works to take precedence of all others.
The government can borrow at 4 per cent., and will lend at 6, which is
not a bad beginning for a national bank. The water-wheels can be
constructed in a few weeks, and their effect would be IMMEDIATE; there
would be no doubtful interval of years, but the very first season would
leave the cultivator in a position to repay the loan; at the same time,
the government would reap the direct benefit of a certain revenue from
the irrigated and assured production of the land.

This is no visionary theory; the fact is already patent in the few farms
belonging to wealthy land-owners that I have already described, as
exhibiting the simple power of a few water-wheels to produce abundance,
while upon the margin of such verdant examples the country is absolutely
desert, parched and withered by a burning sun, yielding nothing either
to the owner or to the revenue, while at the same time the water-supply
is only four or five yards beneath the feet of the miserable proprietor,
who has neither capital nor power to raise it to the surface.

There is no necessity for the government to embark in any uncertain
enterprise, neither should they interfere with the native methods of
irrigation; and above all things, no money should leave the island to
fill the pockets of English contractors in the purchase of pumps, or
other inventions. All that is required by the Cypriote is capital; lend
him the money at 6 per cent.: the government will be saved all trouble,
and the profit to all parties will be assured. The money expended in the
erection of water-wheels or other works will circulate throughout the
island in the payment of native labour, and will relieve the wants of
many who, in the absence of land, must earn their livelihood by manual
labour. "Water!" is the cry throughout this neglected island; it has
been the cry in Eastern lands from time immemorial, when in the thirsty
desert Moses smote the rock, and the stream gushed forth for multitudes;
when Elijah mocked the priests of Baal with, "Call him louder!" in their
vain appeal for rain, and the "little cloud, no bigger than a man's
hand," rose upon the horizon in answer to his prayer. In the savage
tribes of Africa, the "rain-maker" occupies the position of priest and
chief. In England, the clergy offer prayers for either rain or for fine
weather. In Cyprus the farmer places the small picture of the Virgin
upon his field, before which he lights his tapers, which the wind
extinguishes; at the same time THE WATER-SUPPLY IS CLOSE BENEATH HIS
FEET, and the expenditure of a few pounds sterling would produce a
permanent blessing and uninterrupted prosperity by practical common
sense and labour, without any miraculous interposition in his behalf.

There are few countries where such facilities exist for irrigation, and
the work should be commenced without delay. Should next year be one of
drought like the spring of 1879, the greatest misery will befall the
population; there is already sufficient disappointment in the want of
progress since the British occupation, and the feeling will be
intensified should the assistance of government be withheld in this
crying necessity of artificial irrigation.

The Cypriote well-sinker is wonderfully clever in discovering springs,
and I have already described the method of multiplying the water-power
of one source by securing and concentrating the neighbouring sources.
This work only requires money, and the inhabitants, without further
assistance than loans secured by a water-rate upon the district, will
rapidly develop the natural supply. There should be a special commission
appointed, in each of the six districts of Cyprus, to investigate and
report officially upon this subject. In forming the commission, care
should be taken that the native element should predominate, and that no
enthusiastic English engineer, blooming with new schemes, should thrust
into shadow the Cyprian intelligence upon the working of their own
systems. If I were an English engineer employed in any work, I should
probably have the natural failing of enforcing my own opinions; but from
many years' experience I have come to the conclusion that the
inhabitants of a country are generally better qualified than strangers
for giving practical opinions upon their own locations. There is plenty
of intelligence in Cyprus; the people are not savages, but their fault
is poverty, the natural inheritance of Turkish rule; and we, the
English, have the power to make them rich, and to restore the ancient
importance of the island. In England, at the time that I am writing,
money is not worth 2 per cent. owing to the general depression of trade;
the money-market has been in this plethoric or dropsical state for the
last three years, and there appears to be no hope upon the commercial
horizon of a favourable change. In Cyprus the resources are great, but
the capital is wanting, and the strange anomaly is presented that the
exchange of the British for the Turkish flag has not increased public
confidence. Something must be done to change the present stupor; if
Cypriotes were Candians (Cretans) their voices would be forcibly heard,
and the Turkish rule beneath the British uniform would be quickly
overthrown. The Cypriote, down-trodden for centuries, is like sodden
tinder that will not awaken to the spark: he is what is called "easily
governed;" which means an abject race, in which all noble aspirations
have been stamped out by years of unremitting oppression and injustice;
still, like the Cyprian ox, he ploughs the ground. It is the earth alone
that yields the world's wealth: if we have no other thoughts but
avarice, let us treat the Cypriote as we should his animal, and make him
a wealth-producer. England has acquired the reputation of the civiliser
of the world; it is in this character that we were expected to effect a
magic change in the position of Cyprus; instead of which we have
hitherto presented a miserable result of half-measures, where
irresolution has reduced the brilliant picture of our widely-trumpeted
political surprise to a dull "arrangement in whitey-brown" . . . which
is the pervading tint of the Cyprian surface in the absence of
artificial irrigation.

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XV.

LIFE AT THE MONASTERY OF TROODITISSA.

The life at our quiet camp at Trooditissa was a complete calm: there
could not be a more secluded spot, as no human habitation was near,
except the invisible village of Phyni two miles deep beneath, at the
mountain's base. The good old monk Neophitos knitted, and taught his
boys always in the same daily spot: the swallows built their nests under
the eaves of the monastery roof and beneath the arch which covered in
the spring, and sat in domestic flocks upon the over-hanging boughs
within a few feet of our breakfast-table, when their young could fly.
Nightingales sang before sunset, and birds of many varieties occupied
the great walnut-tree above our camp, and made the early morning
cheerful with a chorus of different songs. There was no change from day
to day, except in the progress of the gardens; the plums grew large: the
mulberries ripened in the last week of July, and the shepherd's pretty
children and the monastery boys were covered with red stains, as though
from a battlefield, as they descended from the attractive boughs. It was
a very peaceful existence, and I shall often look back with pleasure to
our hermitage by the walls of the old monastery, which afforded a moral
haven from all the storms and troubles that embitter life. On Sundays we
sent a messenger for the post to the military camp at Troodos, about
five and a half miles distant, and the arrival of letters and newspapers
restored us for a couple of days to the outer world: after which we
relapsed once more into the local quiescent state of complete rest. It
must not be supposed that we were idle; there were always occupations
which by degrees I hope improved the place, and to a certain degree the
people. Occasionally I asked the old monks to sit and smoke their
cigarettes in our "rachkooba," when they sipped their hot coffee, and
explained difficult theological questions to my intense edification; of
course I always listened, but never argued. My particular friend old
Neophitos treated me to long stories which he imagined must be new and
interesting, especially the history of Joseph and his brethren, which he
several times recounted from beginning to end with tears of sympathy in
his eyes at Joseph's love for the youngest brother Benjamin. The Garden
of Eden, the Deluge, including the account of Noah's Ark, and several
equally modern and entertaining stories, I always listened to with
commendable attention. Yet even in this solitude, where the chapel-bell
on Saturday night, and at daybreak upon Sunday mornings, was in harmony
with the external peaceful surroundings, and it appeared as though
discord could never enter the walls of Trooditissa, the old monks had
their cares and difficulties.

The principal cause of trouble was "servants!" I was quite surprised, as
I thought we were nearer heaven in this spot than in any earthly
locality I had ever visited; but even here the question of "servants"
was an irritation to the nerves of the patient monks. My own servants
were excellent, and never quarrelled or complained; they appeared to
have been mesmerised by the placid character of their position, and to
have become angelic; especially in not fatiguing themselves through
over-exertion. With the monks the case was different. In this quiet
retreat, where man reigned alone, as Adam in the Garden of Eden; where
the cares and anxieties of married life were unknown within the sacred
walls of celibacy, a single representative of the other sex existed in
the ubiquitous shape of a "maid of all work;" and as Eve caused the
first trouble in the world, so the monastery "maid" disturbed the
otherwise peaceful existence of Neophitos.

This maid's name was "Christina," and she received the munificent sum of
one hundred piastres per annum as wages, which in English money would be
fifteen shillings and sixpence every year. The world is full of
ingratitude, and strange to say, Christina was dissatisfied, which
naturally wounded the feelings of the good monks, as in addition to this
large sum of money she received her food and clothes; the latter
consisting of full trousers, and a confusion of light material, which,
having no shape whatever, I could not describe. Christina, though young,
was not pretty, and she was always either crying or scolding, which
would of course spoil any beauty; while at the same time she was either
washing all the clothes belonging to the whole establishment of monks (a
very disagreeable business), or hanging them out to dry near the spring;
or she was sweeping the monastery; or arranging the very dirty rooms of
the establishment; or baking all the bread that was required; or cooking
the dinner; or repairing all the old clothes which the monks wore when
they were only fit for a paper-mill. As there was no special
accommodation in the shape of a laundry, Christina had to collect
sticks, and make a huge fire beneath a copper cauldron in the open air,
into which she plunged all the different vestments of the monks and
priests, and stewed them before washing. This was a Cyprian "maid of all
work," whose gross ingratitude troubled the minds of her "pastors and
masters;" and one day a peculiar mental disturbance pervaded the whole
priestly establishment and caused a monasterial commotion, as, after a
violent fit of temper attended by crying, Christina had declared
solemnly that she "would stand it no longer," and "she wished TO BETTER
HERSELF!"

Whenever there was a difficulty the monks came to me; why, I cannot
imagine. If the shepherd's goats invaded their gardens and destroyed the
onions and the beet-root crops, they applied to me. Of course I advised
them to "fence their gardens," and they went away satisfied, but did not
carry out the suggestion so in due time their crops were devoured. They
now told me that THEY ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY WITH WOMEN! This new theory
startled me almost as much as the novelty of the old monks' stories.
They explained that YOUNG WOMEN WOULDN'T WORK, AND OLD WOMEN COULDN'T
WORK. It had not occurred to them that a middle-aged woman might have
combined all that they desired. Knowing their strict moral principles, I
had suggested an "old woman" as the successor of Christina; as I
explained to them that, to be in harmony with the establishment, a woman
of a "certain age" as general servant would not detract from the
religious character of the place. However I might argue, the old monk
hesitated; but while the monk wavered, Christina's "monkey was up," and,
taking her child in her arms, she started off without giving a "month's
notice," and fairly left the monastery, with monks, priests, deacons,
servants and the dogs all aghast and barking. There was nobody to wash
the linen, to bake the bread, to sweep the rooms, to cook the dinner, to
mend the clothes! Christina was gone, and the gentle sex was no longer
represented in the monastery of Trooditissa.

I was sorry for Christina, but I was glad the child was gone; although I
pitied the poor abandoned and neglected little creature with all my
heart. As a rule, "maids of all work" should not be mothers, but if they
are, they should endeavour to care for the unfortunate child. This
wretched little thing was about two years old--a girl; its eyes were
nearly closed with inflammation caused by dirt and neglect; it was
naked, with the exception of a filthy rag that hung in tatters scarcely
below its hips; and as its ill-tempered and over-worked mother
alternately raved, or cried, the child, which even at this age depended
mainly upon her nursing for its food, joined in a perpetual yell, which
at length terminated in a faint and wearied moan, until it laid itself
down upon the bare, hard stones, and fell asleep. It was a sad picture
of neglect and misery; the shepherd's pretty children shunned it, and in
its abandoned solitude the little creature had to amuse itself. The face
looked like that of an old careworn person who had lost all pleasure in
the world, and the child wandered about alone and uncared for; its only
plaything was my good-tempered dog Wise, who allowed himself to be
pulled about and teased in the most patient manner. I cured the child's
eyes after some days' attention, and my wife had it washed, and made it
decent clothes. This little unusual care, with a few kind words in a
strange language only interpreted by a smile, attracted the poor thing
to the tent, where it would sit for hours, until it at length found
solace in the child's great refuge, sleep. It would always follow Lady
Baker to and fro along the only level walk we had, from the tent to the
running spring, and would sit down by her side directly she arrived at
our favourite seat--a large flat rock looking down upon a precipitous
descent to the ravine some 500 feet below, and commanding a view of the
low country and the distant sea. It was an obstinate and perverse little
creature, and it insisted upon climbing upon rocks and standing upon the
extreme edge overhanging a precipice. If it had been the loved and only
offspring of fond parents, heiress to a large estate, it would of course
have tumbled over, in the absence of nurses and a throng of careful
attendants, but never having been cared for since its birth, it
possessed an instinctive knowledge of self-preservation, and declined to
relieve its mother of an extra anxiety. It was an agreeable change to
lose the sound of a child's constant wailing, and I suggested to the
monks that its presence was hardly in accordance with the severe aspect
of the establishment. There was some mystery connected with it of which
I am still ignorant, as I never ask questions; but it is at the least
ill-judged and thoughtless on the part of "maids of all work" to engage
themselves to any situation where the kissing of a rock, or a holy
effigy, may lead to complications. It was of no use to moralise;
Christina was gone, together with the child; there was absolute quiet in
the monastery; neither the scolding of the mother, nor the crying of an
infant, was heard. The monks looked more austere than ever, and remained
in unwashed linen, until they at length succeeded in engaging a charming
substitute in a middle-aged maid of all work of seventy-five!

About the 20th July the swallows disappeared, and I have no idea to what
portion of the world they would migrate at this season. In the low
country the heat is excessive, and even at the altitude of Trooditissa
the average, since the 1st of the month, had been at 7 A.M. 70.7
degrees--3 P.M. 77.3 degrees.

The birds that had sung so cheerfully upon our arrival had become
silent. There was a general absence of the feathered tribe, but
occasionally a considerable number of hoopoes and jays had appeared for
a few days, and had again departed, as though changing their migrations,
and resting for a time upon the cool mountains.

I frequently rambled among the highest summits with my dogs, but there
was a distressing and unaccountable absence of game; in addition to
which there was no scent, as the barren rocks were heated in the sun
like bricks taken from the kiln. The under-growth up to 4500 feet
afforded both food and covert for hares, but they were very scarce. A
peculiar species of dwarf prickly broom covers the ground in some
places, and the young shoots are eagerly devoured by goats; this spreads
horizontally, and grows in such dense masses about one foot from the
surface that it will support the weight of a man.

When grubbed up by the root it forms an impervious mat about three or
four feet in diameter, and supplies an excellent door to the entrance of
a garden, to prevent the incursions of goats or fowls. The Berberris
grew in large quantities, which, together with the foliage of the dwarf
ilex, is the goat's favourite food. Not far from the village of
Prodomos, upon the neighbouring heights, I found, for the first time in
Cyprus, the juniper, which appeared to be kept low by the constant
grazing of the numerous herds.

The walking over the mountains is most fatiguing, and utterly
destructive to boots, owing to the interminable masses of sharp rocks
and stones of all sizes, which quite destroy the pleasure of a
lengthened stroll. The views from the various elevated ridges are
exceedingly beautiful, and exhibit the numerous villages surrounded by
vineyards snugly clustered in obscure dells among the mountains at great
elevations above the sea. Prodomos is about 4300 feet above the level,
and can be easily distinguished by the foliage of numerous spreading
walnut-trees and the large amount of cultivation by which it is
surrounded.

There was no difficulty in gaining the highest point of the island from
our camp, as a zigzag rocky path led to the top of a ridge about 600
feet directly above the monastery, which ascended with varying
inclinations to the summit of Troodos, about 2100 feet above
Trooditissa; by the maps 6590 feet above the sea, but hardly so much by
recent measurement.

The moufflon, or wild sheep, exists in Cyprus, but in the absence of
protection they have been harassed at all seasons by the natives, who
have no idea of sparing animals during the breeding season. The present
government have protected them by a total prohibition, under a penalty
of ten pounds to be inflicted upon any person discovered in killing
them. In the absence of all keepers or guardians of the forests, it
would be difficult to prove a case, and I have no doubt that the natives
still attempt the sport, although from the extreme wariness of the
animals they are most difficult to approach. The authorities should
employ some dependable sportsman to shoot a certain number of rams which
are now in undue proportion, as the ewes with young lambs have been an
easier prey to the unsparing Cypriotes.

Absurd opinions have been expressed concerning the numbers of moufflon
now remaining upon the island, and it would be quite impossible to
venture upon a conjecture, as there is a very large area of the
mountains perfectly wild and unoccupied to the west of Kyka monastery,
extending to Poli-ton-Khrysokus, upon which the animals are said to be
tolerably numerous. There are some upon the Troodos range, but from all
accounts they do not exceed fifteen.

On 2nd July I started at 4 A.M. with a shepherd lad for the highest
point of Troodos, hoping by walking carefully to see moufflon among some
of the numerous ravines near the summit, which are seldom invaded by the
flocks of goats and their attendants. I took a small rifle with me as a
companion which is seldom absent in my walks, and although I should have
rigidly respected the government prohibition in the case of ewes, or
even of rams at a long shot that might have been uncertain and
hazardous, I should at the same time have regarded a moufflon with good
horns at a range under 150 yards, in the Abrahamic light of "a ram
caught in a thicket" that had been placed in my way for the purpose of
affording me a specimen.

On arrival at the top of the ridge above the monastery the view was
superb. We looked down a couple of thousand feet into deep and narrow
valleys rich in vineyards; the mountains rose in dark masses upon the
western side, covered with pine forests, which at this distance did not
exhibit the mutilations of the axe. At this early hour the sea was blue
and clear, as the sun had not yet heated the air and produced the usual
haze which destroys the distant views: and the tops of the lower
mountains above Omodos and Chilani appeared almost close beneath upon
the south, their vine-covered surface producing a rich contrast to the
glaring white marls that were cleared for next year's planting. The top
of Troodos was not visible, as we continued the ascent along the ridge,
with the great depths of ravines and pine-covered steeps upon either
side, but several imposing heights in front, and upon the right, seemed
to closely rival the true highest point.

As we ascended, the surface vegetation became scanty; the rocks in many
places had been thickly clothed with the common fern growing in dense
masses from the soil among the interstices; the white cistus and the
purple variety had formed a gummy bed of plants which, together with
several aromatic herbs, emitted a peculiar perfume in the cool morning
air. These now gave place to the hardy berberris which grew in thick
prickly bushes at long intervals, leaving a bare surface of rocks
between them devoid of vegetation. There was little of geological
interest; gneiss and syenite predominated, with extremely large crystals
of hornblende in the latter rock, that would have afforded handsome
slabs had not the prevailing defect throughout Cyprus rendered all
blocks imperfect through innumerable cracks and fissures. A peculiar
greenish and greasy-looking rock resembling soapstone was occasionally
met with in veins, and upon close examination I discovered it to be the
base of asbestos. The surface of this green substance was like polished
horn, which gradually became fibrous, and in some specimens developed
towards the extremity into the true white hairy condition of the
well-known mineral cotton.

We were near the summit of the mountain, and arrived at an ancient camp
that had been arranged with considerable judgment by a series of stone
walls with flanking defences for the protection of each front. This was
many centuries ago the summer retreat of the Venetian government, and it
had formed a sanatorium. This extends to the summit of the mountain,
where fragments of tiles denote the former existence of houses. In the
absence of water it would have been impossible to adopt the usual custom
of mud-covered roofs, therefore tiles had been carried from the low
country. It is supposed that the stations fell into decay at about the
period of the Turkish conquest.

A rattle of loose stones upon the opposite side of a ravine suddenly
attracted my attention; and two moving objects at about 230 yards
halted, and faced us in the usual manner of inquiry when wild animals
are disturbed to windward of their enemy. The rocks were bare, and their
cafe-au-lait colour exactly harmonised with that of the two moufflon,
which I now made out to be fine rams with large and peculiar heads.
Motioning to my shepherd lad to sit quietly upon the ground, upon which
I was already stretched, I examined them carefully with my glass. Had
they not been moving when first observed I should not have discovered
them, so precisely did their skins match the rocky surface of the steep
inclination upon which they stood. They remained still for about two
minutes, affording me an excellent opportunity of examination. The horns
were thick, and rose from the base like those of the ibex, turning
backwards, but they twisted forward from the first bend, and the points
came round towards the front in the ordinary manner of the sheep. Like
all the wild sheep of India and other countries, the coat was devoid of
wool, but appeared to be a perfectly smooth surface of dense texture. It
was too far for a certain shot, especially as the animals were facing
me, which is always an unsatisfactory position even when at a close
range.

I put up the 200 yards sight, and raised the rifle to my shoulder,
merely to try the view; but when sighted I could not clearly distinguish
the animal from the rocks, and I would not fire to wound. My shepherd
lad at this moment drew his whistle, and, without orders, began to pipe
in a wild fashion, which he subsequently informed me should have induced
the moufflon to come forward towards the sound; instead of which, they
cantered off, then stopped again, as we had the wind, and at length they
disappeared among the rocks and pines. It would be almost impossible to
obtain a shot at these wary creatures by approaching from below, as they
are generally upon high positions from which they look down for expected
enemies, and the noise of the loose rocks beneath the feet of a man
walking up the mountains would be sure to attract attention. The only
chance of success would be to pass the night on the summit of Troodos,
and at daybreak to work downwards.

I made a long circuit in the hope of again meeting the two rams, during
which I found many fresh tracks of the past night, but nothing more.

The summit of the mountain was disappointing, as the haze occasioned by
the heat in the low country obscured the distant view. It was 8.10.
A.M., and the air was still deliciously cool and fresh upon the highest
point of Cyprus, which affords a complete panorama that in the month of
October or during early spring must be very beautiful. Even now I could
distinguish Larnaca, Limasol, Morphu, all in opposite directions, in
addition to the sea surrounding the island upon every point except the
east. The lofty coast of Caramania, which had formed a prominent object
in the landscape when at Kyrenia, was now unfortunately hidden within
the haze.

From this elevated position I could faintly hear the military band
practising at the camp of the 20th Regiment, invisible, about a mile
distant among the pine-forests, at a lower level of 700 feet. There were
no trees upon the rounded knoll which forms the highest point of Cyprus:
these must have been cleared away and rooted out when the ancient camp
was formed, and the pines have not re-grown, for the simple reason that
no higher ground exists from which the rains could have washed the cones
to root upon a lower level.

I now examined every ravine with the greatest caution in the hopes of
meeting either the two rams, or other moufflon, but I only came across a
solitary ewe with a lamb about four months old; which I saw twice during
my walk round the mountain tops. Upon arriving during my descent at the
highest spring of Troodos, where the cold water dripped into a narrow
stream bed, I lay down beneath a fine shady cypress, and having eaten
two hard-boiled eggs and drunk a cupful of the pure icy water mixed with
a tinge of Geneva from my flask, I watched till after noon in the hope
that my two rams might arrive to drink. Nothing came except a few tame
goats without a goatherd; therefore I descended the abominable stones
which rattled down the mountain side, and by the time that I arrived at
our camp at Trooditissa, my best shooting boots of quagga hide, that
were as dear to me as my rifle, were almost cut to pieces.

There was a terrible picture of destruction throughout the forests of
Troodos. Near the summit, the pines and cypress were of large growth,
but excepting the cypress, there were scarcely any trees unscathed, and
the ground was covered by magnificent spars that were felled only to rot
upon the surface.

I was not sorry to arrive at the shepherd's hut upon the ridge
overhanging the monastery upon my return. The good wife was as usual
busy in making cheeses from the goat's milk, which is a very important
occupation throughout Cyprus. The curd was pressed into tiny baskets
made of myrtle wands, which produced a cheese not quite so large as a
man's fist. I think these dry and tasteless productions of the original
Cyprian dairy uneatable, unless grated when old and hard; but among the
natives they are highly esteemed, and form a considerable article of
trade and export. Cesnola mentions that 2,000,000 (two million) cheeses
per annum are made in Cyprus of this small kind, which weigh from half a
pound to three-quarters. I have frequently met droves of donkeys heavily
laden with panniers filled with these small cheeses, which, although
representing important numbers, become insignificant when computed by
weight.

During our stay at Trooditissa we occasionally obtained eels from a man
who caught them in the stream at the base of the mountains; this is the
only fresh-water fish in Cyprus that is indigenous. Some persons have
averred that the gold-fish dates its origin from this island; this is a
mistake, as it is not found elsewhere than in ornamental ponds and
cisterns in the principal towns. It is most probable that it was
introduced by the Venetians who traded with the far East, and it may
have arrived from China.

The streams below the mountains contain numerous crabs of a small
species seldom larger than two inches and a half across the shell, to a
maximum of three inches; these are in season until the middle of June,
after which they become light and empty. When alive they are a brownish
green, but when boiled they are the colour of the ordinary crab, and are
exceedingly full in flesh, and delicate. The shell is extremely hard
compared to the small size, and the claws must be broken by a sharp blow
with the back of a knife upon a block.

We frequently had them first boiled and then pounded in a mortar to a
paste, then mixed with boiling water and strained through a sieve; after
which cream should be added, together with the required seasonings for a
soup. I imagine that the common green crabs of the English coasts, which
are caught in such numbers and thrown away by the fishermen, would be
almost as good if treated in the same manner for potage.

The calm monotony of a life at Trooditissa was disturbed every now and
then at distant intervals by trifling events which only served to prove
that peculiar characters existed in the otherwise heavenly atmosphere
which showed our connection with the world below.

One night a burglar attempted an entrance; but the man (who was a
carpenter) having been previously suspected, was watched, and having
been seen in the middle of the night to place a ladder against the outer
gallery, by which he ascended, and with false keys opened a door that
led to the store-room of the monastery, he was suddenly pounced upon by
two strong young priests and fairly captured. On the following morning
the monks applied to me, and as usual I vainly pleaded my unofficial
position. I was either to do or to say something. If the man was sent to
Limasol, thirty-five miles distant, the monks would have the trouble and
expense of appearing as prosecutors; the robber would be imprisoned for
perhaps a couple of years, during which his family would starve. I could
offer no advice. I simply told them that if any robber should attempt to
enter my tent I should not send him to Limasol, but I should endeavour
to make the tent so disagreeable to him that he would never be tempted
to revisit the premises from the attraction of pleasing associations. I
explained to the monks that although a severe thrashing with stout
mulberry sticks would, if laid on by two stout fellows, have a most
beneficial effect upon the burglar, and save all the trouble of a
reference to Limasol, at the same time that the innocent wife and family
would not be thrown upon their relatives, they must not accept my views
of punishment as any suggestion under the present circumstances.

About half an hour after this conversation I heard a sound of
well-inflicted blows, accompanied by cries which certainly denoted a
disagreeable physical sensation, within the courtyard of the monastery,
and to my astonishment I found that my interpreter and willing cook
Christo had volunteered as one of the executioners, and the burglar,
having been severely thrashed, was turned out of the monastery and
thrust down the path towards the depths of Phyni. Christo was a very
good fellow, and he sometimes reminded me of a terrier ready to obey or
take a hint from his master upon any active subject, while at others, in
his calmer moments, he resembled King Henry's knights, who interpreted
their monarch's wishes respecting Thomas a-Becket.

On 6th June we had been somewhat startled by the sudden appearance in
the afternoon of a man perfectly naked, who marched down the approach
from the spring and entered the monastery-yard in a dignified and
stage-like attitude as though he had the sole right of entree. At first
sight I thought he was mad, but on reference to the monks I discovered
he was perfectly sane. It appeared that he was a Greek about forty-five
years of age, who was a native of Kyrenia, and for some offence twenty
years ago he had been ordered by the priests to do penance in this
extraordinary manner. His body, originally white, had become quite as
brown as that of an Arab of the desert; he possessed no clothing nor
property of any kind, not even a blanket during winter; but he wandered
about the mountains and visited monasteries and certain villages, where
he obtained food as charity. He would never accept money (probably from
the absence of pockets), neither would he venture near Turkish villages,
as he had several times received a thrashing from the men for thus
presenting himself before their women, and it is to be regretted that
the Cypriotes had not followed the Turkish example, which would have
quickly cured his eccentricity. He was a strong, well-built man, with
good muscular development; his head was bald with the exception of a
little hair upon either side, and he was interesting to a certain extent
as an example of what a European can endure when totally exposed to the
sun and weather. Sometimes he slept like a wild animal beneath a rock
among the mountains, or in a cave, when such a luxurious retreat might
offer a refuge; at other times he was received and sheltered by the
priests or people. This individual's name was Christodilos, and
according to my notes taken at the time, he is described as "originally
a labourer of Kyrenia; parents dead: one brother and two sisters
living."

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XVI.

SOMETHING ABOUT TAXATION.

The monastery gardens of Trooditissa at the close of July exhibited the
great fruit-producing power of the soil and climate at this high
altitude, but at the same time they were examples of the arbitrary and
vexatious system of Turkish taxation, which remains unchanged and is
still enforced by the British authorities. I shall describe this in
detail, and leave the question of possibility of development under such
wholesale tyranny to the judgment of the public. It is difficult to
conceive how any persons can expect that Europeans, especially
Englishmen, will become landowners and settle in Cyprus when subjected
to such unfair and irritating restrictions.

NO PRODUCE CAN BE REMOVED FROM ANY GARDEN UNTIL IT SHALL HAVE BEEN
VALUED FOR TAXATION BY THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL APPOINTED FOR THAT
PURPOSE, at the rate of 10 per cent. ad valorem.

At first sight this system appears incredible, but upon an examination
of the details our wonder ceases at the general absence of cultivated
vegetables and the propagation of superior qualities of fruits. If the
object of the government were purposely to repress all horticultural
enterprise, and to drive the inhabitants to the Nebuchadnezzar-like
grazing upon wild herbs, the present system would assuredly accomplish
the baneful end. The Cypriotes are called indolent, and are blamed by
travellers for their apathy in contenting themselves with wild
vegetables, when their soil is eminently adapted in the varying
altitudes and climates for the production of the finest qualities of
fruits and green-stuffs. I will imagine that an Englishman of any class
may be placed in the following position of a cultivator, which he
assuredly would be, if foolish enough to become a proprietor in Cyprus.

I am at this moment looking down from the shade of the great walnut-tree
upon the terraced gardens and orchards beneath, which are rich in
potatoes of excellent quality, onions, beet-root, &c.; together with
walnuts, pears, apples, plums, filberts, figs, and mulberries. The pears
and plums are of several varieties, some will ripen late, others are now
fit to gather, but nothing can be touched until the valuer shall arrive;
he is expected in ten days; by which time many of the plums will have
fallen to the ground, and the swarming rats will have eaten half the
pears. The shepherds' children and the various monastery boys live in
the boughs like monkeys, and devour the fruit ripe or unripe, from
morning till evening, with extraordinary impunity; women who arrive from
the low country with children to be christened place them upon the
ground, and climb the pear-trees; neither colic nor cholera is known in
this sanctified locality. The natives of the low country who arrive at
the monastery daily with their laden mules from villages upon the other
side of the mountains, en route to Limasol, immediately ascend the
attractive trees and feast upon the plums; at the same time they fill
their handkerchiefs and pockets with pears, &c., as food during their
return journey. "There will not be much trouble for the valuer when he
arrives," I remarked to the monks, "if you allow such wholesale robbery
of your orchards."

"On the contrary," they replied, "the difficulty will be increased; we
never sell the produce of the gardens, which is kept for the support of
all those who visit us, but we have much trouble with the valuation of
the fruits for taxation. It is hard that we shall have to pay for what
the public consume at our expense, but it will be thus arranged. . . .
The valuer will arrive, and he will find some trees laden with unripe
fruit, others that have been stripped by plunder; the potatoes, &c.,
will be still in the ground. We shall have a person to represent our
interests in the valuation as a check upon the official; but in the end
he will have his own way. We shall explain that certain trees are naked,
as the fruit became ripe and was stolen by the boys. 'Then you ought to
have taken more care of it,' he will reply; `how many okes of plums were
there upon those trees?' We shall have to guess the amount. `Nonsense!'
he will exclaim to whatever figure we may mention, 'there must have been
double that quantity: I shall write down 1500 (if we declared 1000),
which will split the difference.' ("Splitting the difference" is the
usual method of arranging an Oriental dispute, as instanced by Solomon's
well-known suggestion of dividing the baby.).

"We shall protest," continued the monks, "and this kind of inquisitorial
haggling will take place concerning every tree, until the valuer shall
have concluded his labour, and about one-third more than the actual
produce of the orchards will have been booked against us; upon which we
must pay a tax of 10 per cent., at the same time that the risks of
insects, rats, and the expenses of gathering remain to the debit of the
garden. In fact," said the poor old monks, "our produce is a trouble to
us, as personally we derive no benefit; the public eat the fruit, and
the government eats the taxes."

There were curious distinctions and exceptions in this arbitrary form of
taxation: if a fruit-tree grew within the monastery courtyard it was
exempt; thus the great walnut-tree beneath which we camped was free. It
was really cheering to find that we were living under some object that
was not taxed in Cyprus; but the monk continued, and somewhat dispelled
the illusion . . . "This tree produced in one year 20,000 walnuts, and
it averages from 12,000 to 15,000; but when the crops of our other trees
are estimated, the official valuer always insists upon a false maximum,
so as to include the crop of the courtyard walnut in the total amount
for taxation."

The potatoes, like all other horticultural productions, are valued while
growing, and the same system of extravagant estimate is pursued.

This system is a blight of the gravest character upon the local industry
of the inhabitants, and it is a suicidal and unstatesmanlike policy that
crushes and extinguishes all enterprise. What Englishman would submit to
such a prying and humiliating position? And still it is expected that
the resources of the island will be developed by British capital! The
great want for the supply of the principal towns is market-gardens.
Imagine an English practical market-gardener, fresh from the ten-mile
radius of Covent Garden, where despatch and promptitude mean fortune and
success: he could not cut his cauliflowers in Cyprus until his crop of
unblown plants had been valued by an official and while he might be
waiting for this well-hated spirit of evil, his cauliflower-heads would
have expanded into coral-like projections and have become utterly
valueless except for pig-feeding. I cannot conceive a more extravagant
instance of oppression than this system of taxation, which throws
enormous powers of extortion into the hands of the official valuer. This
person can oppose by delays and superlative estimates the vital
interests of the proprietors; if the property is large, the owner will
be only too glad to silence his opposition by a considerable bribe; the
poor must alike contribute, or submit to be the victim of delays which,
with perishable articles such as vegetables, represent his ruin. Is it
surprising that the villages of the desolate plain of Messaria are for
the most part devoid of fruit-trees? We are preaching to the Cypriotes
the advantage of planting around their dwellings, as though they were
such idiots as to be ignorant that "he who sows the wind will reap the
whirlwind." If they plant fruit-trees under the present laws they are
planting curses which will entail the misery of inquisitorial visits and
the most objectionable and oppressive form of an unjust taxation. As the
law at present stands, the amount of fruit is ridiculously small, and
the quality inferior, while cultivated vegetables are difficult to
obtain. Can any other result be expected under the paralysing effect of
Turkish laws? which unfortunately British officials have the
questionable honour of administering.

I have heard officials condemn in the strongest terms the laws they are
obliged to enforce. There are few persons who are obtuse to the sense of
injustice, but at the same time the suggestion has been expressed that
an extreme difficulty would be experienced should the taxes be collected
in any other form than dimes. I cannot see the slightest truth in this
disclaimer of responsibility for Turkish evils, and I believe the
present difficulty might be overcome with little trouble by a system of
rating the land ad valorem.

The soil and general value of properties in Cyprus vary as in England
and other countries according to quality and position. There is land
contiguous to market towns of much higher value than the same quality of
soil in remote districts; there are farms supplied with water either
naturally or artificially, which are far more valuable than others which
are dependent upon favourable seasons. Land which formerly produced
madder was of extreme value, and should have been adjudged accordingly;
but why should not all properties of every description throughout Cyprus
be rated and taxed in due proportion? The valuation should be arranged
by local councils. The vineyards which produced the expensive wines
should be rated higher than those of inferior quality. Gardens should be
rated according to their distance from a market; fields in proportion to
their water-supply and the quality of the soil. The Cypriotes do not
complain of the amount of 10 per cent. taxation under the name of dimes,
but they naturally object to the arbitrary and vexatious system of
inquisitorial visits, together with the delays and loss of time
occasioned by the old Turkish system. "Rate us, and let us know the
limit of our responsibility"--that is the natural desire of the
inhabitants. If the industries of the country are to be developed they
must be unfettered; but if weighed down by restrictions and vexatious
interference, they will hardly discover the benefit of a change to
British masters.

Some people in Cyprus make use of an argument in favour of the present
system of dimes or collecting in kind by tenths, which does not commend
itself by logical reasoning. They say, "if you rate the land ad valorem,
and establish a monetary payment of 10 per cent., you will simply burden
the poor land-holder with debt during a season of drought, when his
property will produce nothing. According to the present system he and
the government alike share the risk of seasons; if the land produces
nothing, there can be no dimes." It does not appear to have occurred to
these reasoners that in such seasons of scarcity the taxation could be
easily reduced as a temporary measure of relief according to the
valuation of the local medjlis or council; but I claim the necessity of
artificial irrigation that will secure the land from such meteorological
disasters, and will enable both the cultivator and the government to
calculate upon a dependable average of crops, instead of existing upon
the fluctuations of variable seasons.

The district of Larnaca will offer a fair example of the usual methods
of taxation, and as the figures have been most kindly supplied by the
authorities of the division, they can be thoroughly relied upon.

The revenues of the district (Larnaca) are derived from the following
sources:--


1. Dimes (i.e. tenths of the produce)--in some instances may
be paid in kind.
2. Property Tax--4 piastres per 1000 upon the value of
immovable property, such as buildings, land, trees;
this is classed as 1st class Verghi.
3. Charge upon Income derived from Rents--40 piastres
per 1000; classed as 2nd class Verghi.
4. Charge on Trade Profits--30 piastres per 1000; 3rd class
Verghi.
5. Exemption from Military Service--this tax levied upon
Christians only, at the rate of 5000 piastres for 180 males.
6. Duty upon Sale of Horses, Mules, Donkeys, Camels, and
Cattle--1 piastre in every 40 upon price; also tax on goods
weighed by public measurer.
7. Tax on Flocks of Sheep and Goats--2.5 piastres per head.
This is not levied until the animal shall be one year old.


In 1877 the amount received was--


Piastres. Paras.
1. Dimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822,000
2. Property Tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221,897 24
3. Rent Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,089 32
4. Tax on Trade-Profits . . . . . . . . . . . 65,340 20
5. Military Exemption. . . . . . . . . . . . . 153,333 25
6. Sales of Animals, Measures, &c. . . . . . . 450,000
7. Sheep and Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,000
_______ ___

1,932,659 101


The return of sheep and goats in the district of Larnaca during
the year 1878, and comprising 36 villages, was rendered as 47,841.


The following taxes are payable by inhabitants of
Scala and the neighbourhood:--


JANUARY, 1879.


1. The tithe of agricultural produce, including silk, payable in
some cases in kind, in others in money.
2. Tax in lieu of military service, 5000 copper piastres for 180
Christian males.
3. Verghi (a), 4 per 1000 on the purchasing value of houses,
land, or immovable property.
4. Verghi (b), 4 per cent. on the rent of immovable property, or
houses not occupied by their owners.
5. Verghi (c), 3 per cent. on profits and professions.
6. Tax on sheep, 2.5 silver piastres each.
7. Tax on goats, 2 silver piastres each.
8. Tax on pigs, 3 silver piastres each.
9. Tax on wood and charcoal. Wood for carpenters' uses pays
20 per cent. on the value at the place of production, and a
further 5 per cent. on the amount of the tax on coming into
the town.

Firewood pays 12 per cent. on the value at the place of
production, and a further 5 per cent. as above.

Charcoal pays 2 piastres per 100 okes.

10. Tax on goods weighed, one half para per oke. (In the case of
wood and charcoal, hay, chopped straw, lime, and onions,
the tax begins at a weight of 50 okes, and at a rate of 5
paras for 50 okes.)
11. Tax on grain measured, 2 paras per kilo paid by the buyer,
and 2 paras per kilo paid by the seller. If measured for the
sole convenience of the owner, 2 paras per kilo.
12. Octroi. Every load brought from the villages to the town pays
a tax of one oke per load, or in money, according to the
market rate of the goods.
13. Tax on the sale of mules, horses, donkeys, oxen, and
camels in the town, 1 para per piastre of the price.
14. Property tax (municipal) paid by owners:--
On houses let to tenants, 5 per cent. per annum.
On houses inhabited by the owners, 3 per cent. per annum.
15. Tax on camels (M.) 2 shillings each per annum.
16. Tax on carts (M.) belonging to and working in Larnaca and
Marina townships, 1*. each per annum.
17. Corvee. Forced labour on roads four days a year.
18. Shop licences (M.) in classes, 10*, 5*., 2*., 1*., 10 shillings.
19. Wine licences (C.H.) in classes, 25 per cent., 12.5 per cent.,
6.25 per cent. on rental.
20. Licences to merchants, bankers, &c., (M.) in classes, 10*.,
5*., 2*., 1*.
21. Monopolies. Salt, gunpowder.
22. Custom House duties 8 per cent. on imports, 1 per cent.
exports.

Custom House duty on wine, 10 per cent.
Custom House duty on imported tobacco, 75 per cent;
on home grown, or imported unmanufactured,
10 pence a pound.
23. Stamps, transfer and succession duties. Mubashine. Voted
to remain in force until March 1st, 1879.




[Transcriber's Note: Omitted table of villages on page 388
which was hard to read.]




There are other taxes according to the laws of
succession upon the death of an individual which I
give in the same words as furnished to me by the
authority:--

Memorandum of the Defter Hakkani about the Transfer in Succesion of
Property.

When a man dies his properties must be duly transferred to his heirs,
who must apply to the authorities within six months, in order to have
the transfer made.

The transfer is made by giving a new Kotshan (Title), to the heirs in
exchange for the Kotshan of the deceased.

The right to the inheritance is stated by the laws as follows:--

1st, To the son or daughter; in want of which,
2nd, to the grandson and granddaughter; in want of which,
3rd, to the father and mother; in want of which,
4th, to the brother from the same father and mother; in want of which,
5th, to the sister from the same father and mother; in want of which,
6th, to the brother from the same mother; and in want of which,
7th, to the sister from the same mother.

The grandson and the granddaughter from right to the inheritance of the
share belonging to their father, who may have died before the death of
their grandfather; they inherit together with their uncles and aunts as
another direct son or daughter of the grandfather.

In all above stated degrees of inheritance, except in the 1st and 2nd,
the husband or wife has right to the fourth share of the land left by
the husband or wife.

This is for property in land (Arazi).

As to the freehold property (Emlak), the male inhabitants two-thirds and
the female one-third; but it is very difficult to enumerate the various
shades of division which are always made by the cadis according to the
Cheni law; there is no Nizam law in this respect.

All system of endorsment on Kotshan is abolished.

The duty on transfer in succession of a freehold property is half the
fees on transfer by sale.

In transferring by sale the fees are 1 per cent. on the value, if this
freehold property is a real one (Emlaki Serfi); and 3 per cent. if it is
vacouf freehold property (Emlak Meocoofi). Besides this 3 piastres as
price of paper, and 1 piastre as clerks' fees (Riataki) are paid for
every new Kotshan.

The lands (Arazi) pay 5 per cent. indifferently on transfer by sale and
on transfer by succession.

The custom is to value lands at one year's rental, or value of products.

If a house is occupied by the owner no tax on rental is demanded; the
only tax demanded in that case being that on the proportionate value.

The proportionate values of real properties are not assessed for a fixed
period. Therefore the value, once assessed, can remain the same for many
years, or it can be altered in the annual inspections of the Vakouat
Riatibs according to an increase or decrease of value that may take
place on account of repairs, a general rise of value, or partial or
entire destruction by fire, rain, &c.

The poverty of the agricultural classes was so generally acknowledged
even by the Turkish administration that it was absolutely necessary to
relieve them by some external assistance; it was therefore resolved in
1869 to create an "Agricultural Bank and a Locust Fund;" the principles
of this establishment are sufficiently original to attract attention.

In 1871 the Turkish government issued a decree that all cultivators of
the ground should pay to the authorities a sum of money equal to the
price of one kilo of wheat and one of barley for every pair of oxen in
their possession, in order to create a capital for the new bank. The
number of oxen would represent the scale of every holding, as they would
exhibit the proportion of ploughs required upon the farm, and thus yield
an approximate estimate of the area.

This arbitrary call upon the resources of the impoverished farmers was
an eccentric financial operation in the ostensible cause of assistance,
but it produced a capital of 169,028 piastres. The rate of interest upon
loans to individuals, or for particular districts, for the purpose of
destroying locusts was 8 per cent. previous to the year 1875, and was
increased to 12 per cent. since that period. Receipts for all sums
borrowed for the public benefit of locust destruction were signed by the
head-men and members of councils of villages.

At first sight the establishment of an agricultural bank sounded
propitious as a step in the right direction, but, according to the
conditions of all loans, it became usurious, and saddled the unfortunate
farmers after a few bad seasons with debts that could never be paid off.
If X borrowed 1000 pounds, he received only 880 pounds, as the year's
interest was deducted in advance, but he was afterwards charged compound
interest at 12 per cent. upon the whole 1000 pounds. Compound interest
at 12 per cent. means speedy ruin.

Upon an examination of the accounts, the whole affair represents
apparently large figures in piastres, which when reduced to pounds
sterling presents a miserable total that proves the failure of the
enterprise. As I have already stated, a "bank" could not succeed in
Cyprus if it were established specially to benefit the agriculturist;
money can always command 10 per cent., while the farmer should obtain
the loans necessary for irrigation at a maximum of 6 per cent. if he is
really to be encouraged. This can only be accomplished through a
Government or National Bank, expressly organised for the purpose of
developing the agricultural interests. As the government can obtain any
amount at 4 per cent., the National Bank could well afford to lend at 6,
especially as the loan would be secured by a first mortgage, to take
precedence of all other claims upon the property.

The "Locust Fund" was an admirable institution which has achieved great
results. There can be little doubt that throughout the world's history
man has exhibited a lamentable apathy in his passive submission to the
depredations of the insect tribe, whereas by a system of organisation he
would at the least have mitigated the scourge which has in many
instances resulted in absolute famine. At one time the plague of locusts
was annually expected in Cyprus as a natural advent like the arrival of
swallows in the usual season, and when the swarms were extreme the crops
were devoured throughout the island, and swept completely from the
surface, entailing general ruin. The cultivation of cotton, which should
be one of the most important industries, has been much restricted from
the fear of locusts, as they appear in May, when the tender young plants
are a few inches above the ground and are the first objects of attack.

It is related that when under the Venetians, Cyprus annually exported
30,000 bales or 6,600,000 lbs. of cotton. In 1877 the consular reports
estimated the entire produce of the island at 2000 bales of 200 okes per
bale, or 1,100,000 lbs., equal to only one-sixth of the original
Venetian export.

The steps taken to destroy the locusts have so far diminished their
numbers that in certain districts the production of cotton might be
largely extended. M. Mattei, and Said Pacha when governor of Cyprus,
combined to make war upon the locust swarms by means of a simple but
effective method, which will render their names historical as the
greatest benefactors in an island that has seldom known aught but
oppressors.

The idea originated with Signor Richard Mattei, who is the largest
landed proprietor in Cyprus. It is much to be regretted that
professional entomologists can seldom assist us in the eradication of
insect plagues; they can explain their habits, but they are useless as
allies against their attacks. M. Mattei had observed that the young
locusts invariably marched straight ahead, and turned neither to the
right or left; he had also remarked that upon arrival at an obstacle
they would endeavour to climb over, instead of going round it. Under
these peculiarities of natural instinct a very simple arrangement
sufficed to lead them to destruction. Pits were dug about three or four
feet deep at right angles with the line of march, and screens of cotton
cloth edged at the bottom with oil-skin were arranged something after
the fashion of stop-nets for ground game in covert-shooting in England.
This wall, with a slippery groundwork, prevented the insects from
proceeding. As they never turn back, they were obliged to search
sideways for a passage, and were thus led into the pits in millions,
where they were destroyed by burying the masses beneath heaps of earth.
If a few gallons of petroleum were sprinkled over them, and fire
applied, much trouble would be saved. This is a crude method of insect
destruction which could be improved upon, but great praise is due to the
efforts of M. Richard Mattei and Said Pacha for having devoted their
energies so successfully to the eradication of a scourge which proved
its ancient importance from the Biblical registration of a curse upon
the Egyptians.

There is a reward given by government for the destruction of locust
eggs. Each female deposits two small cases or sheaths beneath the
ground, containing thirty or forty eggs in each. The position is easily
distinguished by a shining slimy substance. A certain sum per oke is
given, and the people gladly avail themselves of the opportunity of
earning money at the same time that they destroy the common enemy.

The British administration is keenly alive to the importance of this
warfare, and I have frequently met commissioners of districts galloping
in hot haste, as though in pursuit of a retreating enemy, towards some
quarter where the appearance of locust swarms may have been reported, in
order to take immediate measures for their destruction.

Unfortunately the locust is not the only enemy of cotton cultivation,
but the (to my mind) abominable system of dimes, or tenths of produce to
be valued while growing, restricts the cultivator to an inferior variety
that will remain within the pod, instead of expanding when liberated by
ripening.

The cultivation of cotton differs according to the many varieties of the
plant. Pliny described the "wool-bearing trees of Ethiopia," and I have
myself seen the indigenous cotton thriving in a wild state in those
parts from whence they were first introduced to Egypt, during the reign
of Mehemet Ali, grandfather of the Khedive. It is well known that
although comparatively a recent article of cultivation in Egypt, it has
become one of the most important exports from that country. Cotton of
the first quality requires a peculiar combination of local conditions.
Water must be at command whenever required during the various stages of
cultivation; and perfectly dry weather must be assured when the crop is
ripe and fit to gather. The collection extends over many days, as the
pods do not burst at the same period. Some of the most valuable kinds
detach easily from the expanded husk and fall quickly to the ground,
which entails constant attention, and the quality would deteriorate
unless labour is always at hand to gather the cotton before it shall
fall naturally from the plant.

It will be therefore understood that, although many soils may be highly
favourable to the growth of fine qualities of cotton, there is an
absolute necessity for a combination of a peculiar climate, where
neither rain nor dew shall moisten, and accordingly deteriorate the
crop. Egypt is specially favoured for the production of first-class
cotton, as in the upper portions of the Delta rain is seldom known; but
the extreme carelessness of the people has reduced the average quality
by mixing the seeds, instead of keeping the various classes rigidly
separate.

The dry climate, combined with the fertile soil of Cyprus, would suggest
a great extension of cotton cultivation, when artificial irrigation
shall be generally developed, but so long as the present system of
collecting the dimes is continued, the farmer cannot produce the higher
qualities which require immediate attention in collecting. During the
delay in waiting for the official valuer, the pods are bursting rapidly,
and the valuable quality is falling to the ground; the cultivator is
therefore confined to the growth of those inferior cottons that will
adhere to the pods, and wait patiently for the arrival of the government
authority.

Consul Hamilton Lang, in his interesting work upon Cyprus, suggests that
the duty should be collected upon export, to relieve the farmer from the
present difficulty, which would enable him to cultivate the American
high qualities. It is almost amusing to contrast the criticisms and
advice of the various British consuls who have for many years
represented us in Cyprus with the ideas of modern officials. There can
be no doubt concerning consular reports in black and white, and equally
there can be no question of existing ordinances under the British
administration; but what appeared highly unjust to our consuls when
Cyprus was under Turkish rule, is accepted as perfectly equitable now
that the island has passed into the hands of Great Britain.

For many years I have taken a peculiar interest in cotton cultivation,
and in 1870 I introduced the excellent Egyptian variety, known as
"galleen," into Central Africa, and planted it at Gondokoro, north
latitude 4 degrees 54', with excellent results. In the first year this
grew to the height of about seven feet, with a proportionate thickness
of stem, and the spreading branches produced an abundant crop of a fine
quality, which detached itself from the seeds, immediately reducing the
operation of the cleaning-machine or "cotton-gin" to a minimum of
labour. I have been much struck with the inferiority of Cyprian cotton;
scarcely any of the crop finds its way to England, but is exported to
Marseilles and Trieste. Should Consul Lang's suggestion be carried out,
and the duty be taken upon export to relieve the grower from the
vexatious delays of the inquisitor or government valuer, there can be no
question of immediate improvement. There is no more trouble or expense
in producing a first-class cotton than in the commonest variety, when
climate and soil are so peculiarly favourable as in Cyprus. If the
government continues the system of ad valorem taxation, common sense
will suggest that the highest quality would alike be favourable to the
revenue and to the cultivator; therefore, in the interests of the
country and of individuals, every encouragement should be afforded to
the farmers to ensure the best of all species of produce throughout the
island. The excellent compilation of Captain Savile, officially and
expressly printed for the service of the government, contains the
following passages:--

"According to all accounts the taxation of the inhabitants of Cyprus has
under Turkish administration been carried out in a most severe and
oppressive manner, and the imposts upon certain articles of agriculture
and commerce have been so heavy that their culture and export has in
some cases been almost abandoned. . . .

"The cultivation of vines for the manufacture of wine has been so
heavily and unjustly taxed, that a great part of the vineyards have of
late years been turned to other and more profitable purposes, or else
have been abandoned, and consequently a branch of agriculture for which
the island is especially suited and a remunerative article of commerce
is neglected and allowed to decline. An extensive development of
vineyards and manufacture of wine should be encouraged, and with this
object it has been suggested that it might be wise to free this
production from all except export duty.

"Allusion has already been made to the injurious effect of the
collection of the tithe (dimes) upon cotton at the time when the crop is
gathered, instead of at the time of shipment, and it has been explained
how the former method prevents the farmers from growing the best and
most remunerative varieties of the plant; this is a matter that requires
the attention of the authorities when the re-adjustment of the taxes is
considered."

Captain Savile's useful book is an echo of consular statements and
reports written in England for government information without any
personal experience of the island; but from my own investigations I can
thoroughly endorse the views expressed, and I only regret that the
miserable conditions of our occupation have rendered such necessary
reforms most difficult, as the poverty of the present government of
Cyprus cannot afford to run the risk of experimental lessons in
taxation.

When criticising and condemning existing evils, it must be distinctly
understood that I do not presume to attach blame to individual
authorities of the local government: I denounce the arbitrary and
oppressive system of TURKISH rules, which, although in some instances
mitigated by our administration, still remain in force, and are the
results of the conditions that were accepted when England resolved upon
this anomalous occupation. I have to describe Cyprus as I saw it in
1879, and in this work I endeavour to introduce the public to the true
aspect of the situation "as I saw it;" other people have an equal right
with myself to their own opinions upon various subjects, but, should we
differ upon certain questions, we shall at least be unanimous in praise
of the extreme devotion to a most difficult task in a contradictory
position, exhibited not only by the governor, and commissioners of
districts, but by all British officers entrusted with authority. If
Cyprus were free from the fetters of the Turkish Convention, and the
revenue should be available for the necessary improvements, with
commercial and agricultural reforms, the same energy now bestowed by the
governor and other officials would rapidly expand the resources of the
island. We are prone to expect too much, and must remember that at the
time I write, only twelve months have elapsed since the day of the
British military occupation. No officers understood either the language,
or laws, of the people they had to govern; they were for the most part
specially educated for the military profession, and they were suddenly
plunged into official positions where agricultural, legal, commercial,
and engineering difficulties absorbed their entire attention, all of
which had to be comprehended through the medium of an interpreter. It is
rare that the most favoured individual combines such general knowledge;
Turks and Greeks, antagonistic races, were to lie down contented like
the lion and the lamb under the blessing of a British rule: all
animosities were to be forgotten. The religion of Mussulmans would
remain inviolate, and the Greek Church would hold its former
independence: freedom and equality were to be assured when the English
flag replaced the Crescent and Star upon the red ensign beneath which
Cyprus had withered as before a flame; the resources of the country were
to awaken as from a long sleep, and the world should witness the
marvellous change between Cyprus when under Turks, and when transferred
to Englishmen. "Look upon that picture, and on this!" The officers of
our army were the magicians to effect this transformation, not only
strangers to the climate, language, laws, customs, people, but without
MONEY: as the island had been robbed of revenue by the conditions of the
Turkish Convention.

In spite of the many abuses which still exist, and which demand reform,
there could not be a more tangible proof of the general efficiency of
the officers of our army than the picture of Cyprus after the first
year's occupation. Although the government has been severely pinched for
means, and a season of cruel drought has smitten the agriculturists;
with commerce languishing through the uncertainty of our tenure, the
Cyprian population of all creeds and classes have already learned to
trust in the honour and unflinching integrity of British rulers, which
ensures them justice and has relieved them from their former oppressors.

[Get Real!]

CHAPTER XVII.

THE DISTRICT OF LIMASOL AND LANDOWNERS.

The port of Limasol will eventually become the chief commercial centre
of Cyprus, and in the depression of 1879 caused by drought and general
uncertainty it formed a favourable exception to the general rule. It may
be interesting to examine the position of the revenue during the years
inclusive from 1875 to 1878.


CUSTOMS.

Year. Revenue. Expenditure. Balance.
Piastres. Piastres. Piastres.
1875 964,839 164,663 800,176
1876 819,139 172,472 646,667
1877 1,340,643 169,506 1,171,137
1878 1,553,363 161,594 1,391,769


The exports from Limasol have been largely in excess of imports:--


Year Exports Year Imports

1875 77,022 1875 47,325
1876 59,895 1876 50,920
1877 93,805 1877 41,920
1878 101,457 1878 99,714


The principal articles of export from Limasol are wine and caroubs, and
the general production of these items has been as follows:--

Year. Okes. Year. Tons.

1875 Wine 4,811,732 1875 Caroubs 8,690
1876 " 3,710,884 1876 " 6,080
1877 " 2,208,617 1877 " 6,520
1878 " 5,795,109 1878 " 4,345


The different descriptions of wine and spirits produced in the
Limasol district during the last four years are as follows,
values in okes:--


Year. Raki or -------------------Wine.------------------
native brandy Commanderiea. Red Wine. Black Wine.
1875 467,711 173,946 85,008 4,056,067
1876 251,298 87,585 56,434 2,815,567
1877 181,269 45,522 38,563 1,943,290
1878 378,694 180,103 133,555 5,102,757


In the year 1878 the goods exported from Limasol may be approximately
represented by--


Cotton for Austria . . . . 10,000 okes valued at 500 pounds sterling.
Wool for France c. . . . . 9,500 okes valued at 560 pounds.
Rags for Italy . . . . . . 77,600 okes valued at 700 pounds.
Sumach in leaf for
Greece. . . . . 110,000 okes valued at 500 pounds.
Black wine for
Turkey. . . . 1,850,000 okes valued at 25,000 pounds.
Commanderia for
Austria . . . . 155,000 okes valued at 2,075 pounds.
Caroubs for
England, France,
Russia, and Italy . . . . 10,000 tons valued at 33,000 pounds.
Raisins for Austria,
France, and Turkey . . . . 90,000 okes valued at 850 pounds.
Skins for Greece . . . . . .9,800 okes valued at 1,025 pounds.
Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . valued at 11,000 pounds.

Total value of exports. . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,210 pounds sterling.


The tobacco produced in the districts of Limasol and Baffo and at Lefka,
inclusive, is a mere trifle compared to the capabilities of the
island:--


In 1875 the crop amounted to 1,395 okes.
1876 " 1,280 "
1877 " 857 "
1878 " 1,731 "


This is only worth enumeration as an example of the utter insignificance
of the production, which should be an important item in the agricultural
wealth of the island. The greater portion of the tobacco consumed in
Cyprus is imported in bales from Salonica, and is consigned to
manufacturers who divide and classify the leaves, which are cut, and
formed into packets bearing the Custom House stamps, supplied upon
purchase. Limasol alone imports about 20,000 okes, which are forwarded
from Larnaca, where the duty is paid. No export duties of any
description are levied upon goods from this island.

The direct benefit to the Cypriotes conferred by the British occupation
was exhibited in the sudden rise of value both in real property and in
labour. The rental of houses within the principal towns was trebled, and
it would be difficult to establish an average price of land either in
towns, or upon the outskirts, as the prices demanded have been in most
instances fictitious, representing the desires of the seller, but in no
way verifying the actual selling value. I have only heard of a few small
plots that have changed hands at quadruple their former estimate, and as
a rule there are few buyers during this period of uncertainty respecting
the permanence of our occupation; but owners hold out in the hope of an
ultimate decision in favour of British absolute possession. In the town
of Limasol there has been a decided rise in the general value of
property, which is due to the steady improvement of the trade, and does
not represent a mere speculative impulse as in Larnaca, which has
suffered by a subsequent reaction. The municipal receipts of Limasol
have increased from 207 pounds sterling in the twelve months ending 30th
September, 1878, to 1718 pounds in the ten months of 1879. This has
certainly been due to the energy of Colonel Warren, R. A., the chief
commissioner of the district, to whom I am indebted for all statistics
connected with the locality.

The position of a district chief commissioner was by no means enviable
in Cyprus. The pay was absurdly small, and he was obliged to institute
reforms both for sanitary and municipal interests which necessitated an
outlay, and increased the local taxation. The population had been led to
expect a general diminution of imposts upon the suddenly-conceived
British occupation, and the Cypriotes somewhat resembled the frogs in
the fable when the new King Log arrived with a tremendous splash which
created waves of hope upon the surface of the pool, but subsided into
disappointment; they found that improvements cost money, and that
British reforms, although they bestowed indirect benefits, were
accompanied by a direct expenditure. The calm apathy of a Cypriote is
not easily disturbed; he is generally tolerably sober, or if drunk, he
is seldom the "WORSE for liquor," but rather the better, as his usual
affectionate disposition may be slightly exaggerated, instead of
becoming pugnacious and abusive like the inebriated Briton. There are no
people more affectionate in their immediate domestic circle, or more
generally courteous and gentle, than the Cypriotes, but like a good many
English people, they have an aversion to increased taxation. Thus,
although the British commissioners of districts vied with each other in
a healthy ambition to exhibit a picture of paradise in their special
localities, the people grumbled at the cost of cleanliness and health
within their towns, and would have preferred the old time of
manure-heaps and bad smells gratis to the new regime of civilisation for
which they had to pay.

The Greek element is generally combustible, and before the first year of
our occupation had expired various causes of discontent awakened
Philhellenic aspirations; a society was organised under the name of the
"Cypriote Fraternity," as a political centre from which emissaries would
be employed for the formation of clubs in various districts with the
object of inspiring the population with the noble desire of adding
Cyprus to the future Greek kingdom. Corfu had been restored to Greece;
why should not Cyprus be added to her crown? There would be sympathisers
in the British Parliament, some of whom had already taken up the cause
of the Greek clergy in their disputes with the local authorities, and
the Greeks of the island had discovered that no matter what the merits
of their case might be, they could always depend upon some members of
the House of Commons as their advocates, against the existing government
and their own countrymen. Under these favourable conditions for
political agitation the "Cypriote Fraternity" has commenced its
existence. I do not attach much importance to this early conceived
movement, as Greeks, although patriotic, have too much shrewdness to
sacrifice an immediate profit for a prospective shadow. The island
belongs at this moment to the Sultan, and the English are simply tenants
under stipulated conditions. Before Cyprus could belong to Greece it
must be severed from the Ottoman Empire, and should England be
sufficiently wayward to again present herself to the world as the
spoiled child of fortune, and deliver over her new acquisition according
to the well-remembered precedent of Corfu, the monetary value of all
property in Cyprus would descend to zero, and the "Cypriote Fraternity,"
if householders or landowners, would raise the Greek standard over
shattered fortunes.

The total of population within the entire district of Limasol in 1879
represented 23,530, comprising 12,159 males and 11,371 females, of all
ages.

The following list is the official enumeration of animals and trees
within the same province:--


ANIMALS.

Cattle. Mules. Horses. Donkeys. Pigs. Goats. Sheep.
6,006 1,812 1,129 4,026 2,138 19,896 11,790



TREES.

Caroubs. Olives. Walnuts.
267,779 114,413 957

Natural pine and Cyprus forests, with oak, &c., not counted.


VINEYARDS.

Cultivated land. Uncultivated land.
40,642 donums. 114,650 donums. 21,180 donums.


According to this official statistical representation the cultivated
land would be in proportion to the population about five donums, or two
and a half acres, per individual.

The question of ownership of lands will eventually perplex the
government to a greater extent than many persons would imagine, and the
difficulty attending the verification of titles will increase with every
year's delay.

Before the British occupation, land was of little value, and an extreme
looseness existed in the description of boundaries and landmarks. In the
absence of fences the Cypriote can generally encroach upon any land
adjoining his limit, should it belong to the state. Every season he can
drive his plough a few paces further into his neighbour's holding,
unless prevented, until by degrees he succeeds in acquiring a
considerable accession. The state is the sufferer to an enormous extent
by many years of systematic invasion. Forest land has been felled and
cleared by burning, and the original site is now occupied by vineyards.
The bribery and corruption that pervaded all classes of officials prior
to the British occupation enabled an individual to silence the local
authority, while he in many instances more than doubled his legal
holding. The absence of defined boundaries has facilitated these
encroachments. According to an official report this difficulty is dwelt
upon most forcibly as requiring immediate investigation. The vague
definition in title-deeds, which simply mentions the number of donums,
affords no means of proving an unjust extension; such terms are used as
"the woods bounded by a hill," or "the woods bounded by uncultivated
land," and this indefinite form of expression leaves a margin of
frontier that is practically without limit, unless the invader may be
stopped by arriving within a yard of his nearest neighbour. My
informant, Colonel Warren, R. A., chief commissioner of Limasol, assured
me that some holders of land in his district, whose titles show an
amount of ninety donums, lay claim to ten times the area. There is
hardly a proprietor who does not occupy a ridiculous surplus when
compared with his title-deeds, and the encroachments are even now
proceeding.

This system of land-robbery was connived at by the officials for a
"CONSIDERATION;" old title-deeds were exchanged for new on the
application of the holder, and the seals of the venal authorities
rendered them valid, at the same time that hundreds of acres were
fraudulently transferred from the state. When the intention of a British
occupation was made public, a general rush was made for obtaining an
excess over the amount defined in the title-deeds, by the swindling
method; and the extent to which this plunder was extended may be
imagined from the fact that 40,000 such documents were awaiting the
necessary signatures when, by the arrival of the British officials, the
Turkish authority, who could not sign the deeds with sufficient
expedition, was dismissed, and the false titles were invalidated.

The monasteries and the vacouf (Turkish religious lands) lay claim to
lands of vast and undefined extent, which are mystified by titles and
gifts for charitable purposes, surrounded with clouds of obscure usages
and ancient rules that will afford a boundless field for litigation. In
fact, the existing government has arrived at the unpleasant position of
being excluded from the land, nearly all of which is claimed either by
individuals or religious institutions.

The arrangement of this most serious question will stir up a nest of
hornets. The equitable adjustment would demand a minute survey of the
various districts, and a comparison of the holdings with the title
deeds; but what then? It is already known that the holdings are in
excess, and where is the legal remedy that can be practically applied?
If the actual letter of the law shall be enforced, and each proprietor
shall be compelled to disgorge his prey, there will be endless
complications. In England, twenty-one years' uninterrupted possession,
with occupation, constitutes a valid title. In Cyprus the extended
holdings have in many instances been inherited, and have remained
unquestioned as the acknowledged property of individuals, while in other
cases they have been more recently acquired. The question will comprise
every possible difficulty, and can only be determined by a special
commission officially appointed for a local investigation throughout
each separate district.

This will be a labour of years, and the innumerable intricacies and
entanglements will test the patience and HONESTY of interpreters in a
country where bribery has always opened a golden road for an escape from
difficulty, while our own authorities are entirely ignorant of the
native language. It is this lack of natural means of communication viva
voce which increases the already awkward position of high officials: the
power of speech belongs to the dragoman alone, and a great gulf exists
between the English and the Cypriote, who represent the deaf and dumb in
the absence of an interpreter. The old song "We have no money," is the
now stereotyped response to all suggestions for district schools, but if
we are to retain Cyprus, one of the most urgent necessities is the
instruction of the people in English. It is not to be expected that any
close affinity can exist between the governing class and the governed,
in the darkness of two foreign tongues that require a third person for
their enlightenment. In many cases secrecy may be of considerable
importance, and the conversation should be confined to the principals,
but the third person must invariably be present as interpreter, and
unless he is a man of the highest integrity he will not lose an
opportunity of turning his knowledge of state secrets to account for his
own advantage. Throughout the Levant it is difficult to find men who
combine the rare qualities necessary for a confidential dragoman; such a
person would be invaluable, as he would represent all the cardinal
virtues, at the same time that he must possess a natural aptitude for
his profession, and a store of patience, with the most unruffled temper.
The natives dread the interpreter, they know full well that one word
misunderstood may alter the bearing of their case, and they believe that
a little gold judiciously applied may exert a peculiar grammatical
influence upon the parts of speech of the dragoman, which directly
affects their interests. There are, no doubt, men of honour and great
capability who occupy this important position, at the same time it is
well known that many interpreters have been found guilty; the exceptions
proving the rule, and exhibiting the extreme danger and general
disadvantage in the ignorance of the native language. It cannot be
expected that the English officials are to receive a miraculous gift of
fiery tongues, and to address their temporary subjects in Turkish and in
Greek; but it is highly important that without delay schools should be
established throughout the island for the instruction of the young, who
in two or three years will obtain a knowledge of English. Whenever the
people shall understand our language, they will assimilate with our
customs and ideas, and they will feel themselves a portion of our
empire: but until then a void will exclude them from social intercourse
with their English rulers, and they will naturally gravitate towards
Greece, through the simple medium of a mother-tongue. Limasol must
perforce of its geographical advantages become the capital of Cyprus. As
I have already described, the port may be much improved. The
neighbouring country is healthy, and well covered with trees; the
landscape is pleasing, and the new road opens a direct communication
with the mountain sanatorium. The most important exports of the island
are produced within the district, and, as might be expected, the result
of commercial enterprise is exhibited in the increased intelligence and
activity of the Limasol inhabitants. It is highly to be desired that
this favourable position should become the seat of government. Although
the troops in 1879 are camped among the barren rocks beneath the
pine-forests upon Mount Troodos, at an elevation of about 5800 feet
above the sea, there is no necessity for a station at so extreme and
inconvenient an altitude in north latitude 35 degrees. The general
unhealthiness of the troops upon the first occupation of the island
during the summer and autumn of 1878, determined the military
authorities to arrange the new camp at the greatest altitude practicable
with a regard to the supply of water, but the experience gained in 1879
proves that a permanent camp, or barracks, may be equally healthy at a
lower and more convenient level. This fact would establish an additional
advantage in the selection of Limasol for headquarters, as the troops
would be in the immediate neighbourhood at all seasons. Colonel Warren,
R.A., who had been the prime mover in all the improvements that had been
made in Limasol since the British occupation, was promoted on 1st August
to the position of chief of the staff under Sir Garnet Wolseley's able
successor, Major-General Biddulph, C.B., R.A., and the district thus
lost its leading spirit. In reforming abuses and promoting progress,
Colonel Warren had not entirely escaped the usual fate of men who are in
advance of their age. The unflinching determination to administer the
laws without fear or favour to all classes had infringed upon the
assumed immunities of the Greek Church, which had always received
deferential consideration from the Turkish government, and although
actually liable to taxation, the right had never been enforced. This is
a curious contradiction to the vulgar belief in Mussulman intolerance
and bigotry; the Greek Church not only enjoyed a perfect freedom under
the Turks, but the bishops were assisted in obtaining a forced tribute
from their flock by the presence of Turkish zaphtiehs (police), who
accompanied them during their journeys through the diocese.

An interference with Church property or established rights is certain to
create a buzzing of the ecclesiastical bees, who will swarm against the
invader with every sting prepared for action. As the case was
investigated by a special court of inquiry, and terminated, as might
have been expected, completely in favour of Colonel Warren, it is not
necessary to enter upon minute details; but, as the plaintiff was the
Bishop of Citium, and this first public attack created a peculiar
agitation that will probably be repeated, it may be interesting to
examine the actual position of the Greek Church as it existed during the
Turkish administration.

The Church in Cyprus is represented by an Archbishop and three Bishops
as the acknowledged heads. The diocese of the former comprises Lefkosia,
Famagousta, and the Carpas districts, while the three Bishoprics are
those of Larnaca or Citium, Kyrenia, and Baffo.

The revenues of the Archbishop amount to about £2000 a year, and the
necessary expenditure for staff, schools, &c., to £1500. The Bishopric
of Baffo is the richest, with a revenue of about £1000; at the same time
the outgoings are small, amounting to £300 a year for the payment of his
staff, and one-fifth of the expenses of a public school.

The Bishopric of Larnaca or Citium is valued at about £900 a year, but
the expenditure is confined to £200. That of Kyrenia is about the same
as Citium. There is no possibility of determining an exact figure, as
these revenues are dependent upon voluntary payments, which cannot be
enforced by any statute; but there is a "Berat" (decree) which invites
the local authorities to render the bishops assistance in the collection
of their revenues, without the absolute enforcement of any payments. No
amounts due to the bishops for either canonical, ecclesiastical, or alms
(Zitia), can be recovered through a court of law. On the other hand, the
all-powerful countenance afforded by the Turkish government represented
by public functionaries (zaphtiehs), who accompanied the bishops during
their diocesan visits upon a tour of collection, was a moral influence
that succeeded in extorting the unwilling fees. In case of a defaulting
village, it is said that a bishop has been known to suspend the
functions of the priest until the necessary payments should be completed
by his parishioners, who, thus temporarily cut off from all ghostly
comfort, hastened to arrive at a pecuniary compromise.

The monasteries are an important institution throughout Cyprus, and
there is a decided difference between the monks of these establishments
and the general priesthood. The monks are supposed to devote their lives
to charitable objects; they are not allowed to marry, and they have a
superior education, as all can read and write. On the other hand, the
priests are grossly ignorant, and it is computed that only a quarter of
their number could even write their own names. These are allowed to
marry one wife, but they cannot re-marry in the event of her decease;
they are generally poor to a superlative degree, and are frequently
obliged to work for hire like common labourers. Should a man desire to
become a priest, it is only necessary that he should be recommended by
the inhabitants of his village as a person of good reputation that would
be suitable for the office: he is then ordained by the bishop upon
payment of a fee of about one hundred piastres (or 150), and he is at
once at liberty to enter upon his duties. These ordination fees are a
temptation to the bishops to increase the number of priests to an
unlimited extent, and the result is seen throughout Cyprus in a large
and superfluous body of the most ignorant people, totally unfitted for
their position.

The monasteries vary in their revenues, as they have derived their
possessions at different periods from grants of land, or private gifts,
or legacies. In like manner with the bishops, although they cannot
legally compel the villagers to pay according to their demands, they
assumed a power which by long sufferance had become recognised by the
ignorant peasantry, who reluctantly acceded to their claims. I have
myself witnessed an altercation between the monks and shepherds on the
mountains upon a question of cheeses and goats, which the former claimed
as annually due to the monastery; it appeared that prior to the British
occupation they had been able by threats to extort this demand, but the
shepherds had now determined to free themselves from all payments beyond
those which the law compelled, and they resisted the priestly authority,
before which they had hitherto remained as slaves. This spirit of
independence that has been so quickly developed by the equity of British
rule will probably extend, and may seriously interfere with the revenues
of the Church, should the population determine to abide by their legal
status and refuse the ordinary fees. It cannot be expected that either
bishops, monks, or priests regard this change with satisfaction, and in
their hearts they may sigh for the good old times of a Turkish
administration, when the Greek Church of Cyprus was an imperium in
imperio that could sway both the minds and purses of the multitude,
untouched by laws or equity, and morally supported by the government.

The most important monastery in the island is that of Kykou; this is
situated upon the mountains at an elevation of 3800 feet above the sea,
and it comprises an establishment of sixty monks, with a gross revenue
from various properties in different portions of the country estimated
together with donations at about £5000 per annum. The monastery of
Mahera estimates its revenue at £2000; that of Fameromeni at Nicosia, at
£2000 without any expenditure, as the three monks, together with one
servant, are paid by the extra incomes of the Church. There are many
monasteries throughout the island, and all with the exception of Kykou
and St. Andrea, at the eastern point of Cyprus, pay a certain portion of
their revenue to the bishop of the diocese. The two monasteries I have
excepted are perfectly independent of all ecclesiastical control in
revenue and finance. Considerable caution will be necessary in arranging
the land question with these numerous establishments, which have
hitherto enjoyed a peculiar independence. Up to the present time the
income of the bishops has been derived from the annual payments from
monasteries, by the canonical tax paid by every church; from the alms
(Zitia), which is a tax levied upon all crops; from the dish exposed for
offerings in church while they officiate, and from various ordination
fees and marriage licences. From the inquiries I made in various
dependable quarters, the bishops are not generally beloved either by the
monks, priests, or public; but this absence of appreciation may be due
to the continual demands upon the funds of monasteries and the pockets
of the peasantry, more than to any personal peculiarities of character.
There are stories of neglect of duty and misappropriation of funds
intended for charitable purposes, which I should decline to believe
possible among ecclesiastics of such devout principles and high
position. The Archbishop is much beloved, and is loudly praised by all
classes of the inhabitants, to whom he owes his election as supreme head
of the Church after the following manner:-

In the event of death, the vacant see of Cyprus is represented by the
Bishop of Baffo, and the new archbishop must be elected by the people.
The bishop occupies the position of president of an ecclesiastical
council, to which representatives are sent from every district, charged
with the votes of the inhabitants in favour of the archbishop. Upon his
election, the approval and confirmation of his appointment must be
obtained by an imperial decree before the archbishop can officiate. In
the same manner every bishop is elected by the people of the district,
and their representatives are sent to Nicosia, where the archbishop
presides over his council, or court; but the new bishop must also be
confirmed in his position by an imperial decree.

Should an archbishop be guilty of any crime, either civil or
ecclesiastical, he may be deposed by the head of the Church at
Constantinople, acting in conjunction with the Turkish government, at
the request of the inhabitants of Cyprus.

Bishops may be deposed by the archbishop, who would in such a case
assemble the Synod, composed of the heads of clergy in his presidency.
Before this tribunal a bishop would be summoned to appear in case of an
accusation, and the trial would take place in open court; the power of
punishment or absolution remaining in the hands of the archbishop.

The Turkish government appears to have held a peculiar position in
relation to the Greek Church in Cyprus, as, although acting in
conjunction and in harmony with the customs of the inhabitants, it
reserved the right of supreme authority in special cases; thus at
various epochs the Turkish government deposed the Archbishops
Chrissanthon and Panareton, hanged the Archbishop Kipriano, and banished
the Archbishops Joachim and Damaskino.

From the universal complaints, there can be little doubt that the
schools that should be established from funds specially invested for
that purpose in the hands of certain monasteries, bishops, &c., are
grossly neglected, and it has already been suggested that a commission
should be instituted by the British authorities, under the presidency of
the archbishop, for a rigid investigation of the resources of all
monasteries and the ACTUAL revenue of bishoprics, together with the
disbursement of all sums that should have been expended either for
education or for charitable purposes.

The tithes exacted by the bishops from the peasantry add seriously to
the imposts of ordinary taxation, and there is every probability of a
reform being demanded by the inhabitants at the hands of the British
administration. When under Turkish rule, the Greek Church enjoyed not
only perfect freedom, but an immunity from taxation, as, although they
were legally liable, the law was never enforced upon the clergy. The
English government has determined upon the observance of all laws by all
classes, and the Church has awakened to the fact that there is no
exception.

"From the earliest times the Greek Church of Cyprus has enjoyed an
especial degree of independence; in the reign of the Emperor Zeno, A.D.
473, exceptional privileges were conceded to the Archbishop of Cyprus,
who, although he owns the supremacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople
over the orthodox Greek Church, claims to be entirely independent of him
as regards Church discipline; he wears purple, carries a gold-headed
sceptre, has the title of Beatitude, signs in red as the Greek Emperors
were wont to do, and uses a seal bearing a two-headed imperial eagle. It
is said that these dignities were conferred in consequence of the
fortunate discovery at Salamis of the body of St. Barnabas, with a copy
of the Gospel of St. Matthew, which precious relic was sent to
Constantinople, and in return the Emperor confirmed the Church of Cyprus
in its absolute independence, and gave the archbishop the above
privileges."* (*Savile's Cyprus, p. 142.)

St. Paul and St. Barnabas visited the island A.D. 45, and the conversion
of Sergius Paulus, the proconsul at Paphos, by their preaching, was the
first seed of Christianity implanted in Cyprus at the period when the
inhabitants were steeped in heathenism; but some of the superstitions at
present existing are hardly less degrading than pagan rites, and in the
kissing of the Virgin's cave at Trooditissa for the purpose already
described, we can trace an affinity with the ancient worship of Venus.