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Vo II Vol. VII.] Fiom the Boston Courier. LETTERS FROM GREECE It i> not unknown to many of oar readers that |®r. S G. Howe, a young gentleman of this town, •ailed from here some mouths since with an inten tion ul joining himself to the Greek army. We have been obliged by a friend of his with the pe- I tusel of the first letters which have been received I from him since his arrival in Greece, arid with i permission to publish such parts as may be thought [lnteresting. These letters are dated March 28 ; I*9 news much later has reached us from the Greeks, the details of warlike occurrences at that date •annot now be subjects of importance. The fol lowing passages we have selected as ocntaining informal ion of another character that may be in jteresting to a portion of our readers : f “ Most of ihe information which yon re ceive in America, comes by the way of Eng And, where they either know nothing of jrhe true''state ot this country, or wilfully pjsiKrepreinit it; I do not mean to say that accounts are all designedly injurious— B t.trom it. The friend* of Greece mag | and extol her as unreasonably as her imiea ridicule her. For instance. I B W jut read in an English newspaper ol if/gh credit, a long and prompou* account 1 v the reception of Sir Frederick Adam, | overnonr of the lornan Islands, at Napoli Pi Romania, the seat of the Greek Govern- M eot; tk)* paper slated that he was escort fc I into V'own by BUOO Greek troops, was I -et t>v 76\*nators, clothed in white robes, I /ith wand iti their bands, and conducted le P .ie -enaie chamber. Now let us see how punch truth there is in this account ; Sir F. ; Adam neper was in theMorea; and there nev er have been halt the number of troops sta led, in the Napoli. 1 cite this example not only to show that it was a sheer fabri Oil ion, but that us fabricator knew nothing jjf (he country. For my own part, I have ■bond, by the experience of three months’ Bpsidence in Greece, that all the ideas I Sari conceived of her, from the information 1 was ahle to collect in America, were en tirely false; hut rav disappointment is a pleasant one. Contrast the situation of I Napoli wiib its slate six years ago; then | the Greek was a trembling despised slave; <fce dared not lilt his eyes from the ground as the haughiy Moslem passed by him ; .mow, behold him in the senate of his own {nation, freely and boldly deliberating on Jthe good of the country. ( have been as Itonished to find that the oppressed, despis j ed Greeks, who were not allowed to possess Farms, have freed all the Morea, excepting (.PaAra*, Mudon aod Coron ; and knowing, a? I do, that the Greeks began the war with clubs and stones, that they have slaiu two hundred thousand Turks during its pro !;ress, and, that they now dare think of car pug the war into the enemy’s Country : [cannot hut think that a latent spark of the ire ot their ancestors has been blown into i flame, which wdl spread till it has hurnh ed the power of their enemies. W “You must have heard ere this of a se 7rious disturbance, or rather an open rebel E lion, carried on by Colocotrones, Roodas, and other powerful Chiefs; this is entirely quelled, and the chiefs have surrendered thkmselves to the authorities; the affair we* a very serious one, and the scales were equally balanced for some time ; but after thig crisis the provisional government be came established mor’- firm thau before ; to ih- _ country, inasmuch as it has inspired the pMj'ple with confidence in a guvern- Bt t>t, which could not put down so formida ble an opposition. / “The Turks, it seems, were well aware Ibf thi* state of things, and have opened campaign much earlier than usual, to profit by the division, and gaio ■\V one of the parlies. It now appears | iOdysseus, commonly called Ulysses, a ■ \iowerful chief, was concerned in, arid bs ihe secret ®pring of this rebellion; lie found his plot had failed, and I hat in had fallen into the hands of the jUnal government, he became con | (hat his hope of establishing a mil “despotism must fail uules- he struck K] stroke ; he ha* therefore thrown off silJosk, replenished his cave,* or castle. BKitlf provisions, and joined himself with (Che Turk*, who, it is aid, have promised tlbim the islands of Negropont. |‘le is now with a body of his followers, an army of Turks, threatening to pour vn upon Attica and take Athens. Ulysses dangerous man,since lie has many friends ong the lower class of the people, and :e be i* decidedly superior, in poiut of itary talents, to any Greek living. How r, his last step, of joining ihe Turk®, hurt his caue; he was more to be red as deceitful friend than as an open my. If yon will cast your eye upon a p ol the Morea, you can conceive at ,e the plan of the Turk'sh campaign, ey hold Coron, Modon, and Patras, on i side ; Nvgropont on the other ; while Cave or Castle of Ulysses is at the th. Now, thpy will attempt a junc. i of the lorces of these ihiep pla , and desolate Attica If their fleet •els a landing upoo the western coast of Morea, they may attempt to establish hain of positions from Pvlra to Corinth ng ihe coast of the Lepau', & holding Co s• rinth and the Isthmus, to shut up ihe Morea. This appears to be their aim, hut ii is al most impossible, from various causes, that they succeed. The object of the Creeks is, to prevent the junction of the THE MISSIONARY. I enemy’s forces, to invest Patras by land & , sea, and to pursue and engage the Turkish , d ePl wherever it can be found. “ Fo " r wp eks since $250,000, a part of j the English loan, arrived, and in the same f vessel came $61,000 a free gift from Amer ica. 1 assure you the Greeks feel the deepest gratitude for this generous dona tion. Had the committee sent out with thi cash a steam frigate, they would have done more service to the cause ; but more of this anon. To-morrow 1 proceed to Tiippohza, where I shall join the Presi dent, aod go as surgeon in his suite to Pa tras, from whence you will hear more of me - I remain, yours sincerely, SAMUEL G. HOWE.” * This cave, or castle, is one of the greatest natural curiosities in the world ; it is a cave in the air, if [ may so call it. The only way of get ting access to the mouth of it is by ascending a precipice of2oo feet, by four ladders, one of which is drawn up before tbe other is let down. The mterioiir wdl hold a small body of troops very conveniently. Ulysses has stocked it with am munition and provisions for ten years. It is ab solutely impregnable,the entrauce beingso framed that no cannon shot or shelb can enter. In the ir.teriour is a fine spring of water, which it is im possible to cut off. We have permission to copy from the letters of Ur. Howe some further extracts, which will be found to contain some interesting particulars re specting Greece, and our countrymen who have volunteered in her cause : jYapoli de Romania, March 28, M 325. My dear W. —l have been here about •wo and a half months, have obtained a high surgical commission, and have private practice enough for my support; the last is necessary : tor, as the government is so miserably poor, ihat it cannot pay it* own soldiers, I have not the heart to demand piesent wages, since it is not necessary foe me to do so. Perhaps you may wonder at my success, in fact I do almost myself; it is more than I could have anticipated, in mv most sanguine moments; but the time ol my arrival was most opportune, and some good luck which followed still more favour ed me. Ju*t before my arrival a terrible epidpmick had been raging here, whim swept off the only surgeons of regular edu cation ; then there was a member of the legislature, who bad a dislocation of the arm, which the Greek doctors had in vain attempted lo relieve ; I took hold, and pan ly by luck, partly by skill, reduced it; this raised my tame, and I have kept it up since by my practice. I would not have you think that a Greek army is any thing like a regular one; far from it—they have no order, no discipline, neihing like lacticks; they are an assemhly of men fighting without ski It or subordination, hilt with a valor and perseverance that vyould do honour to the veterans of Europe. It may be asked, if these men are so ignor ant, so undisciplined, bow have they so no bly maintained their ground lot four year* past? I answer, first from the fully aod cowardice of their opponent*, and secondly, from the nature of their country ; the M rea is eactly fitted for carrying on, what the Greeks at present are only able to carry on, a desperate pariizan warfare Here you do not see, as in America, open and extensive plains, nr gradually swelling hills ; but you have depp narrow votes, trom the sides of which the rocky cliff* rise abruptly, and almost perpendicularly, to a stupendous heigh!; it i* delightful, at this season, to “land in the*e vales, where the warm and exhiliraling air of Spring gives life and beauty to the verdure, and to *ee the shaggy mountain rising almost di rectly over your head, and piercing through the clear blue *Uy, till its top becomes r.ov ered with the snow and ice of winter. Tbe road* (or sheeps paths a* they more properly be called) are often over or round thpse mountains ; and yon are sometimes obliged to crepp along a ledge five or six feet wide, with the rock ri.sing into a per ppndicular height of two hundred feel on the one side, and sinking into an abyss of as many on the other. It requires a'steady head & firm nerve to pass these defiles on a mule, which though, in reality, the safest way, but few can be brought to trust them selves to. Now where there is but one *uch pass as this, by which an enemy can get at a particular section of country, you may easily conceive how a handful of bold -kdful mountaineers may cut up an army. Among these mountains, and io these defiles, have perished two hundred thousand Turks since the beginning of this sanguinary coo lest ; and this year I hopp maoy more will find thpirgory tomb in the same places; for the Turks are making strong exertions. I do not feel tbe least anxiety about the result of the present campaign, nor any fear of Greece being subdued by the Turks: for ii can ooly be done by exterminating every Greek. They have tasted liberty, and com paring it with their former degraded situa tion, they will die rather than return to it. I exppeted to find many foreigners here, but have been much disappointed; they flocked over in the beginning of the coo lest, expecting to reap laurels and dollars, but finding the first thorns, end the last on ly promise-, (hey became disgusted with Greece, the Greeks with them, and the few who could go, went home veotiug their malice in slandering the country. That such men were n*t fitted to serve the cause Ofi.ll sh !.• . . V?. ye ‘" ,O ,he world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.— Jesus Christ. * P ‘° n * aod hab,t * wh,ch ,ead ,0 political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.— Washington. MOUNT ZIOV, (HANCOCK COUNTY, GEORGI A,) MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1825. ol liberty, their conduct sufficiently demon strates. However, the fate of foreigners, taken in the best light; is appalling; poor Byron is dead; Lord Jlurray is dead; Gen eral Norman, and a boat of brave Germans and Poleg, have paid with their blood, their trihule to liberty, god have left their bones bleaching in the tsjfeys of Greece. The lot of Norman is particularly affecting; he was actuated by tbe best motives, and brought over about two hundred brave Ger mans, whom he formed into a corps, aod at tempted to introduce discipline among the Greeks. He thought that he had inspired (hem with confidence enough in their arms and tactick*, to withstand an attack of thp Turks in the open plains, but at Pater he was attacked by 20.000 Turks, aod his whole army ol Greek* fled to the moun tains ; Norman ynd his 200 Europeans stood the whole attack ; again and again tbe cav alry darted in upon the desperate little band, and in vain attempted to break their hol low they were repulsed with im mense loss, tjll Norman seeing his men re duced to almost nothing, pilt himself at the bead ol the remainder, broke through the ranks of the enemy, and effected their es cape; but of his two hundred men only thirty were left alive. One of Norman’s aids, a young andchiv alrous Frenchman, determined not to be ta ken alive, placed his hack against a tree, and actually killed ten Turks with his9abre; at last they broke his thigh with a spear, and carried him off: struck with admiration of hi.* skill and courage, they attempted to carry him to Constantinople, but on the route he watched his opportunity, and as his mule was climbing along the side of a precipice, he threw himself off, and was dashed into a thousand pieces. Norman returned to Missolonghi, and in a short time having spent his money, be was reduced to absolute want, fell ill and died in misery. Many other foreigners have shared tbe fate of poor Norman; some have gone about without shoes to their feet; and officers who have held high commissions under Na poleon have suffered and died without a cent in their pockets. You may conclude from these circumstances, that the Greeks are the most ungrateful people in the world; l:at they are ungrateful, is very true, but m tact they are Dot able to pay, or in any way remunerate tbe foreigners who have come among them. They have soldiers, brave soldiers, wfio Mive rougni for four years against the Turks, without receiving a farthing; and if they cannot pay their own soldiers, how can it fie expected they shall pay foreigners? But now they have received a large loan from England, anoth r i* just opened in Paris, and things begin to wear a better aspect. Just as I was writing the last sentence, the deep long peal of tbe cannon, the rat fling drum, and the shrill bugle, announced that the President was leaving this place for Patras ; the siege of which is seriously commenced. 1 went on a hill and saw the cavalcade. It was a gallant sight to see ‘hem go forth with all the pom|i and parade of war ; and to the lover of classick associ ations. it was doubly gratifying to see the *ods of regenerated Greece, marching over the very plain of Algos, where, many cen lurie? ago, the troops of Agamemnon were assembled previous to the siege of Troy. I shall probably start from here in a week, and join the army before Patras. Among the Americans now in Greece, i* Lieut. Gen Jervis, a young man of five and twenty, who came to Greece four years ago, entered Ihe service as a volunteer, fought in fourteen different engagements, and uniformly conducted himself with firm ness, skill, aod prudence; he has become a complete Greek in language,drpss,and man ners, and at last he has gained his reward ; he has obtained the confidence of the Greeks, and arrived at the rank of Lienten ant General; which, though but a matter of small consequence at present, will be of the greatest use in future years. It is real ly roraantirk to see him dashing round among the soldiers, with all the fire and activity of the best of them- He is a slim light figure, hut well proportioned and ac tive; his skin fair, cheeks rosy, with light brown locks curling down his neck. He is a cunning, skilful soldipr, and of tried bravery; in fact be does honour to the land that gave him birth. Next to Jervis, I may mention Mr. Mil ler, who left Boston a little before me, aod whom you may have seen; be is as brave a man as ever slept upou the earth, hw Ihe most stern integrity, and an entire devoted ness to the cause of liberty. You would laugh to see tbe change that has lakes place in his appearance ; he has his head have.d, a little red cap on top of it, wears the Greek floccata and petticoat trowsers, and with hi* pistols stuck in his belt, and musket flung over his shoulder, cuts a curious figure He serves as Captain, though he has not yet taken a commission; the soldiers call him “pallicari,” which signifies brave fel low. The Greeks are fond of giving and re ceivmg titles; the least that I ever get i* “ your excellency.” I have not yet put on the Greek dress, but shall do it very soon I have quite a respectable pair of mosta chins, not having put razor to my uppe lip for the apace of three months, and in some other respects am becoming Greek ified. The form of the Greek government at present is good, and in my opinion better adapted to the present state of their affairs, than any other that could have been devi* ed. First, they have a Senate, composed of members from every pari of the country ; the number is about seventy, including the President, who is in effect commander of the armies and admiral of the fleet; the Executive are appointed by tbe Senate, and in their turn appoint the ministers, who are eight in number, viz: (he Minister of War, of Justice, of iDteriour. of Foreign Affairs, ot Police, of Religion, and of Finance. The duty of these ministers, is somewhat like that of our Secretaries of State, Treas ury, 4-c. The President is in power, inferiour to ours, and is chosen annually by the Seuale. .The Senate is the deliberative and tbe le gislative body; all business of importance must pass through their hands, and it has nearly as much power as our House of Rep resentatives and Senate conjoined ; all the high officers can he impeached before them, aod its own members, after being divested of their office, are amenable to it. Yours, Sic. S. G. HOWE. ——— POPERY AT ROME. The following picture of Popery in Italy, is from the letter of an English artist, who has re cently travelled in the Kingdom of Naples. We copy it from the London Christian Guardian for August. The editor of that work, in introducing the letter to the notice of his readers, says, very justly, that if we would know what Popery is, we uiusl see it where it is dominant. To judge of it from the conduct of Papists in a Protestant couu try “is just as wise as to form an opinion of the dispositions of a tiger, from seeing a well fed and quiet individual of the species, basking half asleep in (he middle of a sultry day, in some well fenced and secured menagerie.” Wherever Popery rules it will be found connected with the lowest vices, and (he most debasing slavery The letter is da ted Naples, April 29, 1825 —JV.Y.Obs. My companion ;*nd I have been in places where Englishmen have never trodden. Most travellers content themselves with seeing the regular lions , and that in the smallest possible time. We wander amongst tbe mountains aud share the hospitality of Ihe cottagers. “ Are you a real English man?” is a question that is often asked; aud “what can have brought you to this place, so far from home?” When we tell them tne neauiy or their country naß tempted us; that we are delighted wilh their delicious fruits, their grapes, their figs, and their or anges, their eyes sparkle wilh pleasure— (hey make u* come into their booses, and set before us tbe choicest productions of their gardens. They listen to all we say with the greatest eagerness, and, when we go, shower down blessings on our beads.— My companioo, who manages the Patois, (the common dialect,) a great deal better than I do, is very fond of talking to them about rehgiou. They sometimes tell him we shall have Ihe priests down upon us! and I really believe were we to stay long in any place, this would happen. The peo ple seem every where ripe for reform; hut they are kept in a state of most deplorable ignorance. When the Bible is described to them, they can scarcely believe such a book can exist. They koow of no authority but tbe church, and no law hut the. ipse dixit of Ihe priest. Dr. Conyers Middleton wrote a hook to prove that the observances of the Roman Caftiolic Church are purely of tbe Pagan origin, and that it is only the ancient wor ship of thp gods bunglingly engrafted on Christianity. I have not seen the work but the idea struck me most forcibly on gn mg to see a festa, which is held at a little village, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. It is the feast of the Madonna del Arco; a Ma donna celebrated throughout the kingdom of Naples, for the extraordinary miracles she bad performed In memory of these, the church i* filled (like tie little church of Notre Dame at Lyoos) with representa lions in painting, in wood, or in wax, of all ihe accidents and deformities that cao dis figure the human frame, all of which have been cured by the miraculous power of this wonderful virgin. In the intervals of the masses that are said by the priests, the peo pie go down on their knees, and placing their tongues on the floor, proceed in this attitude from the church door to the altar, licking the dust all the way. By the time they arrive before the virgin, they are completely exhausted : they however re main on tbeir knees, (their longues and • heir dosps blackened with fil'b,) till they have gone through a certain unmber of prayers, and then leave the church with me full assurance of having obtained (be favour of (he Madonna, and having gained indulgence froff/ many years of purgatory. Their throats are then cleansed in the vil lage with abundant liha'ions of wine, their heads decorated with oak leaves and bran (he* of peeled nuts, that are made like grapes to hang about their hair—they are placed opon donkies and carried home to Naples singing ill unken songs in praise of the M’donna del Arco, who heals all di eases, redre“®es all wrongs, end fulfils to the utmost the desires of all her votaries. Such a mixture of filib and piety, drunken nes* and devotion, musi havr had it- origin id the ancient Bacchanalia* orgies, t*f which it is a most lively and animated il lustration. At Rome I had seen the people crawling on their knees through the holy doors, falling down in the dirt whenever the Pope passed by, and, what is still greater exertion, ascending the holy staircase, which they tell you once wa* Pilate’s; but never did I see them iD such a state of fil thy degradation as at the festa of the Ma donna del Arco. I wi*h all our senators would come out and see the real state of Italy. 1 have seen the whole of the respectable popula tion of Rome assembled in the splendid Church of St. Peter, and I have se,n them tall down instantaneously on their knees, at the sight of wbaf are called the holy re lics, which are exposed from an elevated gallery by the priest, on particular occa sions. Once I fonud myself tbe only indi vidual who maintained an erect posture— and I stood up alone amongst the kneeling multitude. I have seen the horses, asses, and dogs brought up, on St. Anthony’s day, to be blessed by the priest, and then the drivers have driven through the city like madmen, thinking no harm could come to them. 1 have seen persona of all rank 9 and age 9 prostrate themselves before (he statue of St. Peter—and after saying a short prayer most hnmbly kiss his toe. To such an extent is this carried, that the great toe of the image (it is so wretched a thing l cau hardly call it a statup) is from time lo time worn away, and the brazier is called in to supply another, that the toe worshippers may not miss the object of their adoration. But a letter would not suffice to relate half the instance* of the most degrading superstition and image-wor snip ivbic.it 1 have witnessed. I cannot de scribe, and you could scarcely believe, the nonsense with which g>y ears have been insulted. I have heard from the pulpit the most paltry lying inventions of ghosts and goblins, gravely addressed to respecta ble audiences, and boldiy asserted to have passed under tbe priest’s own observation. REMARKABLE FACT, As related by Mr. John Fletcher. On Sunday I weut up into the pulpit, itv tending to preach a sermon, which I had prepared for that purpose —but my mind was so confused that I could not recollect either my text or Dy part of my sermon— I was afraid I should be obliged to come down without saying any thing. But hav ing recollected myself a little, I thought I would say something on the first lesson, which was the third chapter of Daniel, containing the account of the three young men cast into the fiery furnace. I found, in doing it, such an extraordinary assistance from God, and such a peculiar enlarge ment of heart, (hat I supposed there must be some special cause for it; I therefore, desired it any of the congregation found any thing particular, they would acquaint me with it in the ensuing week In consequence of this, the Wednesday after, a woman came and gave me the fol lowing account: “I have been fur some time much concerned about my soul. I have attended the church at all opportuni ties, and have spent much lime in private prayer.—At this, my husband, who i* a butcher, has been exceedingly enraged, and threatened me severely what he would do, it I did not lease off going to John Fletcher’s church—yea, if I dared to go to any religious meeting whatever. When ( told him I could not in conscience refrain from going at least to our parish church, he grew quitr outrageou*, and swore dreadful ly, that it I went any more he would cut my throat as soon a* I came borne. This made me cry mightily to God, that he would support me in the trying hour: and though I did not fr-el any great degree of comfort, yet having a sure confidence in God, 1 determined to go on in my duly, and leave the rest to Him.—Last Sunday, after many struggles with the devil and my own heart, I came down stair* ready for church—My husband asked me wheth er I was resolved to go thither? | told him I wr9. ‘ Well, then,’ said be ‘ I shall not, aa I intended, cut yoar throat, but will heat the oven, and throw you into it the moment you come home.” Notwithstanding ihia threateniog. which he enforced with many bitter oaths, I went to church, praying all the way that God would strengthen me to suffer whatever might belal rn-. While you were speaking of the three per sons whom Nebuchadnezzar cast into the burning fiery furnace, I found it all belong ed to me, and God applied every woid of it to my heart. And when the sermon was ended, I thought if I had a thousand lives, I could lay them all down for G<>d. I felt my whole soul so filled with the love of Christ, that I hastened home, fully de er* mined to give myself to whatever God plea sed ; not doubting, but that either, he would take me to heaven, if he suffered me to tie burnt to death, or that he would some how deliver me. even as he did his three servants who trusted in him. Whe u I had got almost to the door. I saw the fl'imes is suing out of dhe moMh of ttie oven; and I expected nothing else but that I should ha thrown into it immediately I felt my heart r* juice, that if i* were so, the will of [ha 1 Lord would be dost, 1 opened the door,