ISLAND OF NAXOS. Il 
some relic of this kind near to it ; and similar CHAP. 
remains in the interior are very common. The 
inhabitants told us, that there are two places 
where ruins and inscriptions are found ; the one 
called Apollonian, and the other a village which 
bears the name of Philotes. They spoke of ruins 
at two hours distance from Naxos, towards the 
east, and offered to conduct us thither : but the 
journey would have detained us another day ; 
and we were afraid of loitering, at this season 
of the year, with such a vessel as ours, upon a 
doubtful speculation ; and therefore refused to 
go. Nothing happened to us more extraordi- 
nary than our almost unaccountable neglect in 
not visiting the emery mines : this arose partly, 
as has been stated, from the alarm into which 
we had been thrown upon our first coming to the 
island, which made us forget to inquire after 
them ; and also, in some degree, from not 
rightly comprehending the meaning of the 
term smeriglio, when the exports were stated to 
us: we would willingly have bartered the time 
which we spent in copying, and in procuring 
permission to copy, an imperfect and unin- 
telligible inscription, for the opportunity -of 
making a few observations upon the Naxian 
corundum, of which they hare two varieties, 
