Nothing could be more fortunate than the aspect under which we saw a scene, thus magnificent in itself, and interesting in the associations it afforded. The evening was remarkably clear and serene; a gentle wind from the south carried us slowly along the channel, bringing with it, from the plains of Zante, a fragrant odour, which was distinctly perceptible even three miles from the land. While entering the bay on which stands the city of Zante, the moon, now near its full, rose from behind the mountains of the Morea, and drew a softened outline of these beautiful shores. The name of Akroteria, given to a line of wooded cliffs which form the northern boundary of the bay, brought to mind many impressions of ancient time and language. The heights of Monte Skopo, which, on the opposite side, rise about 1,200 feet above the sea, afforded an object extremely imposing to the eye. The city was seen, in the interval, at the upper part of the bay, stretching in a semicircular line along its shore, or ascending the side of a steep and broken hill; on the summit of which stands the castle of Zante, commanding in its situation every part of thé town.
We landed on a pier, sheltering the inner part of the bay, and were conducted to a large triangular area, which forms the central and most remarkable point in the city. It was crowded with an assemblage of people, singular in their intermixture and appearance. In one spot was seen a groupe of Zantiotes, uniting the Venetian with the Greek in their external costume and manner; in another place, a body of soldiers of the Greek regiment, their dress at this time little altered from its natiοnal character, and their aspect as little fashioned into the military mould of European troops; in other parts of the area, the red-faced English soldier, curiously contrasted with the natives of the country, in the feature and expression of his countenance, as well as in his military dress; and, in addition to these, Corsican and Calabrian soldiers, sailors from various parts of the Mediterranean, and a few Greek merchants, habited in the fashion of continental Greece, which will hereafter be described. This singular national mixture is found in many of the Mediterranean ports, as will be familiar to the memory of all who have traversed the streets of Gibraltar or Malta.
