SYUA. 
105 
we could carry on in a mixture of French, English, and 
Italian. The Madam was quite enthusiastic on the Acropolis 
of Athens ; but the Doctor could not rid his mind of the vast 
difference that existed between the Orient of Athens and the 
Commerce of Hermopolis—especially in the matter of coffee, 
which he declared was one of the necessaries of life. He hoped, 
however, to get some clear coffee on the French steamer to 
Constantinople, by means of which he anticipated being ena¬ 
bled to wash the grounds of The Hermopolis coffee down his 
throat by the time he arrived at the Hotel de Misseri. 
The Island of Syra, described by Homer as one of the 
most beautiful and fertile in the Grecian Archipelago, must 
have suffered a considerable change in its aspect since the 
days of the great poet. Certainly there is no beauty about 
it now, save that of a pleasant climate and richly-colored 
atmosphere; and its fertility seemed to me to consist chiefly 
in rocks, which grow all over it with wonderful luxuriance. 
The green spots, if there be any, are few and far between. 
I saw nothing that looked at all green there except the 
green spectacles of Doctor Mendoza, and an English tourist, 
with a red guide-book. The fact is, I have always been of 
opinion that Homer drew largely upon his imagination. His 
battles are rather tough, to say the least o them; his heroes 
somewhat given to marvelous deeds of courage; and his 
poetry and facts a little on the blood-and-thunder order. Be¬ 
sides what could he tell about the beauty or fertility of Syra, 
except from hearsay ? He was perfectly blind, according to all 
historical accounts, and if he saw the island at all when he 
wrote about it, he probably saw it in imagination, which 
every body knows is a very delusive way of seeing. Now 
plain facts, upon being distilled through the brain of a poet, 
often become highly charged with the colors of fancy. Homer 
distilled largely ; his brain was an extensive establishment; 
he worked up facts and fictions with equal facility ; a thirsty 
public swallowed with avidity; and thirsty publics have swal¬ 
lowed ever since as a matter of fashion. The fashion is kept 
up chiefly by other distillers of facts. Byron did a large 
business in that way ; he did it well ; his brain was on a 
E' 
