the worst in the Mediterranean; but the various consuls we saw all assured us that, with the commonest precautions, fever may be avoided. Much of the miasma doubtless arises from the large tracts of unenltivated land; but this, under an energetic government might quickly be remedied. With that dislike of change for which the Ottoman empire has always been so remarkable, not only do the Turkish officials here offer no encouragement to industry, but they actually discourage as much as possible foreign enterprise. An English company was desirous of establishing a farm on a large scale, and a silk manufactory, in the neighbourhood of Larnica, and for that purpose wished to take for a term of years about three thousand acres; but the pacha refused his consent to the lease, or to the manufactory being established, unless the principals would embrace the Mahometan religion.

I It being the Greek eve of St. John, a great display of fireworks took place in the town; bouquets and rockets were thrown up, and a beautiful Bengal light tinged the whole shore and sea a brilliant crimson. We did our best to aid the rejoicings by burning bluelights and sending up hand-rockets. The sailors called our attention to a comet, which was faintly but distinctly visible; it was about S.W. of Ursa Major, and the tail, which, though luminous, was very transparent, extended an immense distance across the heavens.

Monday, June 25th.-Arrived off Baffa, the ancient Paphos. Near the place where we anchored, it is said that Venus rose from the sea, in a shell drawn by doves and encircled by Houris and Graces. Cyprus is sadly changed from the days when the dainty goddess first trod the earth. No myrtle groves, no bowers of roses, surround the marble temples erected in her honour. A number of modern ruins strew the sea shore, half concealed by clumps of prickly pears, thorny acacias, and fields of tobacco; and the lovely nymphs who, with flowing hair and white feet, wandered along these golden sands, are now replaced by stout, sunburnt Greek women, whose awkward gait and ungainly movements have long ago renounced all connection with the Graces.

It was impossible to gain any information respecting the ruins. All the Greek and Arabic that could be mustered among us only enabled us to learn that a town had formerly stood here, and had been destroyed by a bombardment; but the name of the town, the date of its destruction, and who were its destroyers, we could not discover. The ruins were of considerable extent, the remains of se veral churches could be traced, many of the arches and doorways being still entire. It was grievous to see the number of beautiful marble columns, half buried in the ground, or serving as pillars for gateways and sheds. We wandered among them for some time, and then, mounting the donkeys that had been sent for, we rode up to Baffa.

This is a wretched little place, containing all the dirt and disagreeables of Turkish and Greek towns; but it is worth seeing, on account of the pretty glen that runs up under its walls. From among

the crevices of the rocks, wild figs, vines, and mulberries grow in charming confusion, their branches interlacing and forming a perfect network of foliage; little springs trickle from among the stones, collecting at last in the middle in a large pool or fountain, overshadowed by a few old chesnut trees. Here the women and children of the place were assembled to draw water, and, to judge by the talking and laughter that was going on, to enjoy also the pleasure of a little gossip. Among the assembled groups we looked in vain for any beauty; but the gay colours of the costumes, and the bright eyes of their wearers gave a brilliant finish to the picture, lighted up as it was by the last rays of the sun, which flashed in lines of gold through the branches of the trees.

For those who are not accustomed to ride on pack saddles, it is by no means an easy matter to preserve the exact position by which a balance is obtained; a little too much inclination to the right, and you are on your back; bend forward in the slightest degree to the left, and in an instant you are on your nose. When, in addition to these disadvantages, is added that of the saddles being made of tough splinters of wood, of such an uncompromising shape that no number of shawls can conceal their hardness or soften their knobs, it must be confessed that the bare back of a donkey would be in comparison a seat of luxury; but it seems that this would be impossible. A packsaddle to a Cyprian donkey is a part of his being; he eats, sleeps, and lives in it, aud without it would become a lost animal. Such being the custom of the country, we had also to endure the packsaddles. While on the plain, all bore their sufferings with silent fortitude; but when the donkeys had to climb the rocks, endurance became no longer possible, and we all jumped to the ground, preferring any amount of walking to a ride which, like the Irishman's sedan-chair, was only for the glory of the thing.

Thursday, June 28th.-Ran over to the coast of Anatolia, intending to land if possible at Patara, near which are the famous ruins of Xanthus. We went in a boat to the mouth of the river, but the surf was beating so heavily over the bar that it was impossible to cross it. We rowed for some distance along the beach, hoping still to effect a landing; but a long line of breakers, extending as far as the eye could reach, obliged us to give up the project.

This coast has a stern, wild magnificence, which is very imposing; and its lonely grandeur was heightened by the heavy lead-coloured clouds which were rolling in masses down the sides of the mountain, sometimes completely enveloping their summits, sometimes separating in long zigzag lines of light, disclosing the snowy peaks and the black chasms and hollows rent in their rocky sides.

A low moaning was now heard along the shore, as if the caverns of the deep were opened, and the spirits of the storm were assembling in solemn conclave. The sea began to heave with a long sullen roll, that showed its anger was aroused. As the heavens grew darker and darker, a flock of between two and three hundred pelicans flew rapidly across the bay, their white wings looking like a streak of light against

the black clouds. A sudden flash, and then the thunder came crashing among the mountains, with a roar that seemed to shake their giant strength, and was echoed back and back again, till the very air vibrated with the mighty sound. It was inexpressibly grand and awful; but rapidly as the storm had come on, so rapidly did it pass away; and a little more than half an hour after the heavens had been first overcast, the blue sky re-appeared, and the sun was shining brightly, while the thunder was still growling among the more distant peaks.

Although the coast is so precipitous that deep water may generally be calculated upon, it is nevertheless in places very treacherous, besides the dangers of sudden currents and gusts, which come rushing down the ravines, there are shoals and concealed rocks, which make navigation difficult, especially as many of them are not laid down in the charts; very few trading ships therefore ever pass this way.

As we were sailing merrily along quite unsuspicious of danger, a sudden change in the colour of the sea attracted Mr. Harvey's attention; and though the charts gave deep water, the lead was immedietely cast, and four and a half fathoms was the startling cry. Down went the helm, round went the sails, and the good little Claymore, as if quite as much horrified at such an inhospitable neighbourhood as we could be, shot away from the shoal, which we could see distinctly as we hung over the side.

The concluding part of this extract startled us in our imagined hydrographic security, till we remembered the principle of the late Hydrographer to the Admiralty, Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, which we have often quoted, and do so again, since it cannot be too widely known, that "there are no charts of any part of the world so accurate, nor any directions so perfect as not to require frequent revision and amendment." There it stands in the opening page of our earliest volume in 1832, and a very good lesson does it instil into any one.

But the length of time we have been busily surveying the Mediterranean, and not only ourselves but the French also, and the Italians, had almost impressed us with the belief that the Mediterranean charts were all but perfect. So, on a little cool reflection and looking into the whereabouts Mrs. Harvey alludes to the rock which had nearly sent the Claymore and her freight to the bottom, we found that the very coast on which it was situated had been surveyed by Sir Francis Beaufort himself! Yes, the mouth of the same Xanthus which the Claymore was about to visit, of so much interest in ancient history, had fallen under the examination of that officer while commanding H.M.S. Frederickstein, as an ordinary vessel of war on the Mediterranean station. The circumstances are peculiar, but they are on record, and we will briefly state that the charts of the coast in question being so defective, he was directed to survey it, and did so at his own expense! The case is without parallel in the annals of any navy, and the Admiralty charts of Karamania are the fruits of that survey. And the charts are so good as to require no re-survey, but the off

shore soundings to them are wanted, and even these, from the coast being so seldom visited, are very seldom required; but here is a little vacht that goes prying into out of the way places, finding out those dangers which most assuredly the charts ought to show.

If the fair authoress of the Claymore's cruize were a sailor, we should make some attempt at getting the whereabouts of this danger for the benefit of the chart and the safety of navigators. But on this score we do hope that these remarks will meet her eye, and induce her to call on her husband in the Queen's name to contribute all he can to complete the Admiralty charts with the position of this danger, even approximately, either through our own pages or any other channel which he might prefer. He will find us ready and desirous to attend to his information: a note to our publisher's will be suffi cient, and this, for the safety of navigators-even of yachts which may be hereafter on the same errand as the Claymore,—we do hope he will make time to send us. We shall then have additional reason for taking another leaf from the Claymore's interesting cruize.

ON THE MANNING AND OFFICERING OF THE BRITISH NAVY.

A strong conviction has arisen and is gradually increasing among Englishmen of all classes, that the state of the "personel" of the Navy of England, that right arm of our island strength, is in a high degree unsatisfactory. Whatever may be the variety of opinion as to the experiments daily making in the "materiel" of our war ships, none, it may safely be assumed, can be found to doubt that heart of oak or mail of iron will be alike useless if we lack on occasion the true hearts of oak, who, in old days, if their own ships failed them took those of the enemy, aye, in open boats against stout war ships, and thus turned his scientific advantages against himself.

Many have been the remedies tried and many more have been suggested, but hitherto the unpalatable fact remains that in the event of a war there exists no supply of seamen (without resorting to the hated impressment system) by which to man and send to sea a fleet of such strength and with such promptitude as would secure to this country that "first broadside" which her sons have always believed to be "half the battle."

We are not now to consider whether the said impressment is in anything more unjust than the ballot which in war time calls the rest of the male population into the ranks of the army. But we are to devise a means by which we may be enabled to man a fleet without enfeebling by impressment that very commerce which it is the fleet's first mission to protect.

What then are the remote causes of this acknowledged deficiency, and where may we seek a remedy? Let us start with the axiom that

nothing good is to be had without paying for it its full value, and then examine how we may get the utmost value for our money.

Some writers have advocated a higher rate of pay for the Navy; but this in practice would, it is to be feared, be found to be a fallacy, for, given an open market, then if the supply be not increased such a course only raises the general price of the article in demand. Evidently it is the supply which must be increased, and how to do this would appear to be the only question.

First then, and as an immediate although only supplementary measure, restore the apprentice system, which if at first it seems to press hardly on the shipowner, has yet a compensative power of increasing the supply, and therefore cheapening the article of which he stands in need, and has always been popular with the mercantile officer.

But this, while certain to increase the number of merchant seamen, is by no means so certain to increase the number of those immediately available for war purposes. The difference between the work required of a merchant seaman and a man-of-war's man is daily becoming more marked. Repairs to a merchant ship's rigging and the work necessary on fitting out, are now for the most part executed by the men belonging to some contractor for such work, and who never leave the shore. They are riggers and not seamen. The crew of the merchant vessel, when they are anything but lubbers, is composed of seamen, but not riggers. Of course there are exceptions everywhere, and I do not mean to say that we have not some seamen as good as ever trod a deck in the merchant service; but the temptation to fill up with those who are not so, has been over strong for the owners of late years. Accurate artillery, too, demands trained gunners, and these are not to be had in the merchant service. For all these reasons and many more which might be mentioned, it is necessary that the increase in the numbers of seamen available for manning our fleets should be principally obtained by schools afloat, and entries of larger numbers of 1st and 2nd class boys.

But this is only a part of the question. It yet remains that we should consider how we may-having created a good supply of the article-ensure that it shall come to our market. If it were wheat, we might let this alone; but men are, as a celebrated political economist remarks, the most difficult possible article of transportation in such a case.

The continuous service system has certainly not accomplished what we want; nay, some contend that it is an ingeniously contrived sieve which catches all the dross and lets the gold run through, for while Jack Tur, at least during his active days, can always get a ship and likes his liberty, Jack Spit is not so certain, knows when he is well off, and sticks to the Navy like a leech.

I beg to suggest, therefore, to the consideration of those whose province it is to regulate such matters, whether we may not accom plish the end we have in view by some such plan as the following.

Let lists be opened at all the ports of volunteers for the Navy under a new system-to be continued till the total number so enrolled