11*6 clarke’s travels. 
which number twenty thousand reside in the town of Scio.* It 
contains forty-two villages.! Its minerals merit a more par¬ 
ticular regard than they have hitherto obtained.^ Jasper and 
marble are said to be found there in considerable quantity and 
beauty, and a kind of green earth, resembling verdigris,? of 
which I was'not able to procure a sight, called “ earth of Scio” 
by the Turks. The pavement of the church of Neamony , a 
convent two hours distant from the town, consists of marble and 
jasper, with inlaid work of other curious stones, dug from quar¬ 
ries in the island. Several Greek manuscripts were preserved 
in the library of this convent, when Egmont and Heymau visit* 
ed the place.|| The ancient medals of Chios, even the silver* 
are obtained without difficulty in various parts of the Levant; 
and perhaps with more facility than upon the island itself.** Its 
# 4 ‘ To the south of the town of Scio, which stands on the eastern side of the island 
nearly in the centre, is a beautiful plain, of five miles in extent, by the sea side it is 
filled with lemon, orange, fig, pomegranate, almond, and olive trees. A species of 
lentiscus, from which the mastic gum is procured, grows in great abundance there. 
3$f o other mastic but that of Scio is mention by travellers in the Levant: but in Galen 
we find a reference to Egyptian mastic, [lacnixs Atyvjmi'a, lib. ii. c. 6. ad Glauconem. 
“ The fine climate of the island, the mild government of the Turks in it, the natu¬ 
ral disposition of the inhabitants, all contribute to form that liveliness and gayety of 
temper which characterize the Sciots, and have given rise to the proverb, that it is, 
easier to find a green horse [aKo^o Trpacnvo,) ‘than a sober minded Sciot’ (Xiurrct 
ypovijiov.) The features of the women are beautiful; but are covered with a paint } 
m which mercury is an ingredient, and by this their teeth and breath are affected. 
“ Beside cargoes of oranges anil lemons, sent to Constantinople and the Black Sea, 
the island exports many bales of silk, damask, and velvet, to Barbary, and to Egypt. 
The population of the capital is 30,000 ; of the whole island.. 80,000. Corn and provi¬ 
sions in general come over from the continent of Asia, as the island is mountainous, and 
cannot produce sufficient for the inhabitants. To the north, and to the west of the 
town, are seen lofty rocks of granite Many of the mountains of Chios contain various 
sorts of marble, with which the church of the convent of Neamone in particular is or¬ 
namented The head of this convent (•b'yov/jLsvos, as he is called) showed me the libra¬ 
ry. which consisted of some volumes of the Greek Fathers. The street in which I 
lived in the town was inhabited by Catholic families, only separated from the other 
Greek s_ by religious schism. In a house in that street, I (copied a very interesting 
'Greek inscription, in verse • I shall here give part of it. in a more correct manner this 
it has been lately published in a periodical work. 
Soi AoL/Li7rf» fi£v So%a y na\ors <5’ icrfocLv x&piv spfotf 
*QTracrfv 3. aheiva Trpicrfdimpcov fuvo5os, 
Einov? avacmWao-a <j£0fv, jioptjids rutrov Igffveu, 
Kal cr’ iv 'Oiiupiiw ffu/w&cncp Qinwa. 
“It is in honour of Megacles, the son of Theogiton.” Walpole's MS. Jotmml 
+. Egmont and Heyman’s Travels, vol. i. p. 236 
t If there be any truth in the adage prevalent in Scio, concerning the original for¬ 
mation of the island, the geologist would have ample scope for his researches. Its in¬ 
habitants reiate, that, “ at the creation of the world, God threw ail the rocks of the 
continent into the sea, atfd of these the island of Scio was formed.” Ibid p. 261. 
$ Ibid. p. 237 
{] Ibid, p.^243. 
m They all have reference to the Chian wine, which still maintains-its pristine .cc- 
