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3
midst of the gentle undulations that compound the main
surface of the stream were distinguishable like so
many ponds. A gentle faint eddy playing round them kept
them from obeying yielding to the impulse of following the direction of the circumambient
waves.
Oct.16.Sunday. 1 o'clock
We are at this moment a little short of the Island of Cerigo
viz: to the South-west of it, near enough to see with the naked eye
the roads and houses if there were any. The island belongs to
the Venetians: whether it has at present any inhabitants we are as
yet in doubt, if there are none, the bad neighbourhood it is in,
viz that of the Maniotis, as bad thieves as their forefathers the
Lasadermonians, is enough to account for the depopulation. Our present
situation affords another example in support of the preceding
observation relative to the unexpectedly great extent of a Sea-view.
I can now see at one and the same time three of the
four promontories which divide and terminate the Maria
(viz: Capes Gallo, Matapan & Corvi) The island of Cerigo lying between
the Ship & Cape Corvi, the island of Ovo a small island
about 2 leagues a head not marked in my map of Europe, &
to the right (the South) the Island of Cerigato, and further still the
great island of Candia. An antient Crete, a tantalizing object of which
I must content myself with a distant view. To the Mora we are
near enough to distinguish all the inflections of the coast to the bottom of both but we are
so far advanced to the East, that I question whether at the present
instant Cape Gallo be any longer visible, or whether it be not by
this time completely eclipsed by the interposition of Cape Matapan.
Captain Brine who is a most dexterous harpooner has just
been catching striking a Pilot fish with an instrument called a
Grainge. In shape this fish is as much like to a trout as
to any fish I can think of: its colour greyish streaked
with blue. A zig zig in the manner of tent-stitch: it is a fine-
flavoured fish with very little bone in it. In size they seem
to run from about 1/2 a lb to a lb. The Grainge or as
it is sometimes called in the plural the Grains is an
instrument somewhat like Neptune's Trident except that
instead of three prongs it has six all barbed like the
Devil's tail, and the handle about 8 foot long. The handle
being made fast to the ship with a long line the operator
may without danger of losing the instrument quit his hold
when the depth at which he sees the fish requires him
so to do. Out of 8 strokes which the Captain has had
occasion to make at these little fish within these few
days but one missed the mark, though several times
the fish were almost the length of the instrument under
water. It was not without surprize that I found the fish
when taken out of the water of the colours above described.
When seen through the water which itself was blue, the
blue streaks of on the fish appeared brown. At another
time the Captain made a stroke at a sucking-fish
and hit him, but the fish got off. The sucking-fish
is a fish much larger than the Pilot: the latter
is so called from his escorting the ships from port to port:
for when a fish of this sort once approaches a ship he
seldom leaves her: the sucking-fish attaches himself to
some part of the ship, generally the Rudder. The Pilots
are the only fish we have caught; but we have seen at
different times a number of porpoises, several squadrons
of flying fish pursued by Dolphins, a few blubbers,
a sea-snake, and a sleeping turtle. The latter we had
formed designs upon, but lost sight of her before we could get
out the boat. The sea-snake I had a full view of as it was
playing about the rudder. We supposed it about 8 or 9 feet long.
4
Wednesday Oct. 19.
Yesterday the Captain, Mr Griffiths and I paid two visits,
both uninvited. The first was on board a Ragusan, which
was about a mile ahead. After the usual salutations when we
were come alongside of him, he invited us on board to drink
a glass of wine: it was about 1/2 after 11, we accepted his invitation,
tasted his Ragusan wine which to me seemed pleasant
like Burgundy, better than any of the variety of wines
we have on board, but was held very cheap by my companions.
I found amongst the mens provisions some black bread
as dry as biscuit of which I begged a small piece to gratify
the curiosity of the Ladies. He had a couple of iron
guns four-pounders which he took the first occasion to let
us know were English, of which he would have been
glad to have obtained a further supply, if we had had
any to spare. He had others, but they were counterfeits, of
ich therefore in contradiction to the common quack warning
there was no need to beware. He had not a single article
on board except provisions and small arms, of which latter he
had a plentiful store of his own country manufacture,
both swords and fire-arms. He said he was bound for Smyrna
and talked of looking out for a lading, but did not say
nor did he seem to have settled with himself what it should
consist of. He had not a scrap of any thing like a chart
on board; a propositi very obliging offer which our Captain
made him of lending him a chart or even giving him a copy
of one was received but coldly. All we could say to him
to persuade him to come on board and dine with us was
without effect. All circumstances laid together, the our Captain
could not help entertaining suspicions of his being one
of those roving gentry who it seems are not uncommon
among his race (the Sclavonians) and who are in
either to take in freight or to plunder as the title
serves. He was a fine tall, stout, athletic fellow, with a
fine physiognomy and a noble pair of whiskers. His vessel
was quite a new one, and if he told us true had been out
from Ragusa but a short time. if time were to be had for
wishing for, I would attempt a description of the Cabbin &
its furniture. The most remarkable article was an old man
we found sitting in it with great gravity. The skin of his
neck which was of the colour of mahogany was pleated
longitudinally in the hinder part into folds of the length of one's hand and
the thickness of one's finger. From his gravity and silence
we took him for a Turk, but upon enquiry were told he
was a Greek. The Captain says that confirmation of the skin
of the neck is common to a greater or less degree in the
Levant. I think I have observed traces of it in antient busts
Our second and last visit was on board a Venetian who
was about as far astern as the Ragusan was a head. I
might as well have observed before that it was almost a perfect
calm, or we should not have bestow'd so much time
as must otherwise have been lost in visiting. From him
we obtained some very interesting intelligence. To our first
question, where he came from, his answer was from the
Coast of Barbary. You may imagine we were in no great
hurry to lessen the distance between him and us, till an
answer to a farther question assured us that the port he
came from was 200 miles at least from Tripoli, the
focus of the plague. This port is marked Bengazzo in
Roux's Carte de la Mediterranée published at Marseilles in
1764 in 12 sheets. In the Map of Europe I left with you
which though the latest & perhaps the best English map of Europe
extant
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Identifier: | JB/540/207/002 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 540.
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Jeremy Bentham |
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