PHOCIS. 



country. My shepherd boy returned to his fold not less satisfied 

 with some Paras that I had given him than I was in rinding in such 

 a rustic a repository of ancient science. 



June 29. — We set out from Livadea about ten o'clock. In the 

 hedges on the side of the road we observed the Cotinus, the Mastic, 

 the Terebinth, the Coronilla, the Colutea, the Spanish broom, the 

 myrtle. On our leaving the plain, we gradually mounted into a wild 

 rocky country. On our arrival at Arachova, some Greeks, who kept 

 the guard, refused to admit us within their houses ; but on producing 

 a letter from the Vaivode, they received us with much respect. 

 Wandering parties of Albanians keep these villages in continual 

 alarms. We slept in the guard-house, in the walls of which were 

 loop-holes to repel sudden attacks. As we were here only four hours 

 distant from the summit of Parnassus, we resolved to attempt the 

 ascent. 



June 30. — At day-break we set out with four of our guides ; others 

 soon joined us ; the ascent was at first easy, leading by a path which 

 conducted us up the mountain without difficulty. Our guides stop- 

 ped at a fountain in the outskirts of the town, crossed themselves 

 with much devotion, and proceeded on with cheerfulness. After 

 mounting somewhat more than an hour, we left the road, and 

 scrambling over steep and rough precipices arrived at a patch of snow 

 which had collected itself in the fissures of the rock. The summit of 

 the mountain, naked and bare, was at a considerable distance. We 

 reached with some difficulty a Mandra or goat-stall ; here we refreshed 

 ourselves with milk, and our strength being recruited, we continued 

 our ascent, and gained the summit. Below us extended a sheet of 

 snow, on which I shot the Emberiza nivalis. I collected many 

 curious plants on the sides of the precipices, though I found few 

 which could be strictly called Alpine ; those of the highest region 

 would only be regarded as Sub- Alpine. From the top of the moun- 

 tain we commanded a most extensive view of the sea of Corinth, the 

 mountains of the Morea on the one hand, and the fertile plains of 

 Bceotia on the other; of Attica and the island of Eubcea. An eagle 



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