360 
Epidaurus, as it is more commonly called, esta- 
blished that the system of government should be 
elective, consisting of representatives chosen by 
the people, and an executive of five members se- 
lected from the legislative body. There are, besides, 
ministers of finance, war, interior, public instruc- 
tion, and police, named by the executive for carry- 
ing its decrees into effect; also a secretary general, 
charged with the management of foreign relations: 
this last office is now held by Prince Mavrocordato, 
the late president. The duties and powers allotted 
to each department of the state were prescribed by 
the law of Epidaurus. The amount of revenue 
collected for this year is necessarily very limited, 
and chiefly derived from farming out the crops on 
the national domains—of which only a smali portion 
were sown, Thecrops on the plain of Gastouni, in 
the Morea, one of ‘the finest in the world, and which 
was even this year worth five millions of francs, 
only yielded a sum of 890,000, owing to its vicinity 
to Patras. That of Argos, equally rich, though of 
much less extent, has been in fallow ever since the 
invasion of last vear: there is, however, little doubt 
of its béing all turned to account in the coming 
season. The produce of Candia, in on alone, 
amounts on an average to 400,000 barrels peran- 
mum; and each of them brings an average price 
of eight Spanish dollars in the markets of France and 
ftaly. 
‘Alihough nearly the whole mate population of the 
Morea capable ‘of carrying arms 1s provided with 
pistols and attagans, the number which can take the 
field is compatstiveiy limited, depending; almost 
entirely on the means possessed by the leaders, 
each of whom has hitherto been unable to employ 
more followers than hie could provide for out of his 
personal resources and the scanty and precarious 
aid of government. These troops are also supplied 
with muskets, and are led by several chiefs or 
capitani. The wants and privations of the Greek 
army are of a nature the most discouraging.’ There 
#8 not more than a third of we number, thus em- 
ployed in saving a whole people from extermina- 
tion, supplied with sufficient clothing to shetter 
chem from the inclenmencies of a mountain warfare 5 
that they often march forty miles a day, almost in- 
variably sleep in the open air, and frequently pass 
two orthree days without any ‘other food than the 
lierbs of the field. Though the number of horses 
taken from the Turks, and nuw in the Morea, is 
suflicient to mount from five, to eight thousand ca- 
vairy, it will be impossible for the government to 
avail itself of- this species of force until provided 
with funds. The Greek army receives no pay what- 
ever. The general mode adopted by the chiets, is 
to advance a small sum to each soldier previous to 
entering the field: with this he provides himself 
with bread, tobacco, and whatever other necessa- 
yies le may require, as far aS the supply will go; 
for it very seldom’ exceeds two Spanish dollars. 
The naval efforts of the confederation, like those 
of the army, have been principally, if notaltogether, 
supported by the patriotism and public spirit of a 
few individuals at Hydra, Spezzia, Ipsara, and 
Samus. There have not been less than a hundred 
ships and vessels of varicus sizes emptoyed at the 
expense of about thirty ship-owners, ever since the 
commencenient of the struggle; and the number 
has, on more than one occasion, extended to one 
hundred and eighty. Tne Greek Seamen, who 
amount to about 20,000 of the musi expert im Europe, 
receive no regular pay: all they require for their 
services, is the means of subsistence for their fa- 
milies. It is with such means as! have thus shortly 
pointed out, that above a hundred thousand of the 
infidels, whose path was marked with carnage and 
devastation during the first two years of the con- 
test, have been destroyed; and the whole of the 
Morea, Livadia, Negropont, a great portion of 
Romelia in Epirus, together with the islands of 
Candia, Milo, Naxia, Tino, Myconos, Skyro, Samos, 
Andro, Zea, Patmos, Serpho, Hydra, Spezzia, and 
Ipsara, have been conquered ;—there being onty a 
few isolated points in the enemy’s possession, Viz. 
‘Acro, Corinth, Patras, Modon, Coron, and Carysto, 
on the continent;—and Canea and Reétymo, in 
Candia; and all of these places are either in a state 
of siege, or closely blockaded. The number of 
Turks shut up within the walls, and who cannot 
Jeave the gates without falling into the hands of the 
Greeks, does not exceed ten thousand men, two- 
thirds of whom form the garrison of Patras. Une 
provided with battering and field trains, the chief 
means possessed by the Greek forees for reducing 
the above points, are confined 10 a Ng crows system 
of blockade, and occasional assaults.” 
Literary and Critical Proémium. 
[Nov. f, 
Populur Tales and Romances of the 
Northern Nations have appeared in three 
very elegant volumes, with some fine spe< 
cimens of vignettes, in wood, ‘They are 
curious, and often interesting, but rather 
too gloomy and too superstitious to be re- 
commended to general reading. ‘The ig- 
norant population of every district im 
Europe might supply their local tales of 
this kind, ‘he fire-sides of farm-honses, 
cottages, and pnblic-honses, in _ Wales, 
Scotland, or Ireland, would soon fill three 
such volumes as the present, if they were 
worthy of being preserved. In his pre- 
face, the editor introduces the following 
observations.—‘* The legends of these vo- 
limes have been gathered from yarions 
suurces, and, of course, will be found to 
have characters as various; the elegant 
and playful Musaus bas nothing at all iu 
common with the dark, wild fancy, of La 
Motte Fouqué; just as little similarity is 
there between Veit Weber and the anthor. 
of the Freischutz; and, though saperna- 
tural agency forms the basis ofall, the 
superstrnctures- vary with the varying 
characters of the authors.”—** It mhst, 
however, be allowed that, with the Ger+ 
mans, fancy has had too much sway, for 
it has seldom’ been under the guidance of 
sound taste, and the consequence is, that 
the multitude of their origimal fictions is 
disgraced by the most barbarous absuar- 
dities. The same may, in some measure, 
be said of their modern romance; but at 
the same time the reader cannot fail to 
be delighted with the variety and richness 
of its inventions, diablerie with the Ger- 
mans being as inexhaustible as the fairyism 
of the Eastern world. Sometimes it is 
presented to us under its most terrific 
forms ; at others it appears, as in Musaas, 
under a light veil of irony, ina tone half 
jest, half earnest, and that is, indeed, its 
most beautiful form. Few tales are more 
pleasing than the “ Spectre Barber,” one 
of the happiest illustrations of this class 
of writing, where a playful fancy sports 
with a fiction, that was at no distant time 
the delight and terror of the peasant’s 
fireside. La Motte Fouqué, on the cou- 
trary, is altogether a magician of dark- 
ness, whe loves to treat the wild and im- 
possible as serious matters, but who al- 
ways endeavours to draw. from them some 
moral concinsions. Veit Weber, another 
great name of romance, builds his tales 
on the dark times of chivalry, when the 
knights plundered the people with the 
sword, and the monks plundered’ the 
knights with the Bible. Ottmar and 
Biisching are the antiquarians of romance, 
who have collected the scattered traditions 
of the peasantry, and retailed them to the 
world with little deviation from thei? ori- 
vinals. Madame Naubert is more akin in 
her genius to Musius, though a spirit of 
an inferior order; her materials are ge- 
verally of the light and playful kind; re 
