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1-2 (1818) Childe Harold's pilgrimage : [cantos I-II] / George Gordon Byron
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NOTTS TO CIIILDE HAROLD.

129

been extremely happy in his choice of Signor Lusieri. Du-ring a residence of ten years in Athens , he never had thecuriosity to proceed as iar asSunium*, till he'accompanied

* Now Cape Colonna. In all Attica, if we except Athens itself and Marathon , there is no scene more interestingthan Cape Colonna. To the antiquary and artist, sixteencolumns are an inexhaustible source of observation anddesign; to the philosopher, the supposed scene of someof Plato 's conversations will not be unwelcome ; and thetraveller will be struck with the beauty of the prospectoverIsles that crown the ylegean deep:'* but for anEnglishman, Colonna has yet an additional interest, as theactual spot of Falconers Shipwreck . Pallas and Plato areforgotten, in the recollection of Falconer and Campbell:Here in the dead of night by Donna's steep,

The seamans cry was heard along the deep.

This temple of Minerva may. be seen at sea from a greatdistance. In two journeys which I made, and one voyageto Cape Colonna, the view from either side, by land, wasless striking than the approach from the isles. In our se-cond land excursion, we had a narrow escape from a par-ty of Mainnotes, concealed in the caverns beneath. Wewere told afterwards, by one of their prisoners subse-quently ransomed, that they were deterred from attackingus by the appearance of my two Albanians: conjecturingvery sagaciously, but falsely, that we had a completeguard of these Arnaouts at hand, they remained stationa-ry, and thus saved our party, which was too small tohave opposed any effectual resistance.

Colonna is no less a resort of painters than of pirates;there

The hireling artist plants his paltry desk,

And makes degraded Nature picturesque.

(See Hodgsons Lady Jane Grey , etc.)But there Nature, with the aid of Art, has done that forherself. I was fortunate enough to engage a very supe-rior German artist; and hope to renew my acquaintance

VOL. I. I