DURING THE GREEK REVOLUTION. 191 



two soldiers. They suddenly left me, but my friend 

 Dr Dumont (now a distinguished medical officer in 

 the service of King Otho) was that very evening 

 assaulted by assassins, and received four wounds, 

 but was spared when the villains saw his face. It 

 was conjectured that I was the person sought after, 

 and that a change in my dress had deceived the 

 assassins. Demetri was furious ; he declared that 

 Alecco must have bribed the assassins ; and he left 

 me, in spite of all my entreaties, to punish the 

 attempt which had been made to murder his mas- 

 ter. From Smyrna I sent the portrait to England. 

 Years after, I became acquainted with its romantic 

 history. 



In the spring of 1823 I returned to Greece. De- 

 metri soon joined me. He owned that it had been 

 his intention, when he left me, to slay Alecco the 

 moment he saw him. On his passage to Athens, he 

 found himself in the boat with Dumont's assassins. 

 Everybody was delighted with Demetri ; even these 

 banditti were charmed by his careless wit. They 

 became his tools, confessed that they had been em- 

 ployed by Alecco to murder an Englishman, and 

 owned that they were not ignorant of Alecco's com- 

 munications with the Turks. Demetri then con- 

 ceived the idea of a rich revenge ; the delight of 

 having Alecco executed seemed greater than that of 

 executing him. Demetri Avatched him, surprised his 



