184 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



the priests, was too much for us, and we had to come 

 away. We had here our first and only sight of the 

 women of Andritzena, some of whom were congre- 

 gated in a closed cage, something like the ladies' 

 gallery in our House of Commons. 



IV. 



MEGALOPOLIS, TBIPOLITZA, AND TEGEA. 



About eight o'clock we started for Megalopolis. 

 The morning was lovely, and the mountains around 

 looked very grand, half veiled in masses of white 

 cloud. After riding for some miles along a steep 

 ridge, we descended through a wood gay with ane- 

 mones and cyclamen, and came at mid - day to a 

 stream at the mouth of a deeply - wooded glen. 

 Here, under some mighty plane-trees, we bathed 

 and lunched, and then climbed the heights once 

 more. We soon came in sight, on the left hand, of 

 Karytena, remarkable for its position on a lofty crag 

 which, standing out from the opposite hills, com- 

 mands the great plain of Megalopolis. The highest 

 peak is crowned by the ruins of a Turkish fortress, 

 with a picturesque square tower. Though I believe 

 no mention is made of this spot by classical writers, 

 it is hardly possible that so important a position was 

 not at some time fortified by the old Greeks, who 

 knew so well how to make the most of such natural 



