fourth June, 1878, will be at an end."

I knew nothing of Cyprus, but I felt sure that the Turks had the best of the bargain, as they would receive the usual surplus revenue from our hands, and be saved the trouble and onus of the collection; they would also be certain of a fixed annual sum, without any of those risks of droughts, famine, and locusts, to which the island is exposed, and which seriously affect the income.

Although there would only be a wildly remote chance of Russia ever relinquishing her Asiatic prey, the bare mention of the words "will be evacuated by England" was a possible contingency and risk, that would effectually exclude all British capital from investment in the island. I could not discover any possible good that could accrue to England by the terms of the Convention. If Cyprus had been presented as a "bonus" by the Porte to counterbalance the risk we should incur in a defensive alliance for the protection of Asia Minor, I could have seen an addition to our Colonial Empire of a valuable island, that would not only have been of strategical value, but such that in a few years, money and British settlers would have entirely changed its present aspect, and have created for it a new era of prosperity.

If England had purchased Cyprus, I could have understood the plain, straightforward, business-like transaction, which would have at once established confidence, both among the inhabitants, who would have become British subjects; and through the outer world, that would have acknowledged the commencement of a great future.

But, if we were actually bound in defensive alliance with Turkey in case of a war with Russia, why should we occupy Cyprus upon such one-sided and anomalous conditions, that would frustrate all hopes of commercial development, for the sake of obtaining a strategical position that would have been opened to our occupation AS AN ALLY at any moment? On the other hand, if we distrusted Turkey, and feared that she might coquet with Russia at some future period, I could see a paramount necessity for the occupation of Cyprus, and even Egypt; but we were supposed to be, and I believe were, acting in absolute and mutual good faith as the protector of Asiatic Turkey, in defensive alliance with the Sultan. In that position, should we have entered into a war with Russia, there was no necessity for the occupation and responsibility of any new position, as every port of the Ottoman dominions, even to the Golden Horn of Constantinople, would have welcomed our troops and boats with enthusiasm.

Turkey is a suspicious Power, and the British government may have had to contend with difficulties that are unknown to the criticising public; it may have been impossible to have obtained her sanction for the occupation under other conditions. The possibility of future complications that might terminate in a close alliance between the conquered and the victor, may have suggested the necessity for securing this most important strategical position without delay, upon first conditions that might subsequently receive modifications. At first sight the political situation appeared vague, but I determined to examine the physical geography of Cyprus, and to form my own opinion of its capabilities.

CYPRUS AS I SAW IT IN 1879.

CHAPTER 1.

ARRIVAL AT LARNACA.

On the morning of the 4th January we sighted Cyprus at about fifty miles distance, after a smooth voyage of twenty-six hours from Alexandria. The day was favourable for an arrival, as the atmospherical condition afforded both intense lights and shadows. The sky was a cobalt blue, but upon all points of the compass local rain-clouds hovered in dark patches near the surface, and emptied themselves in heavy showers. The air was extremely clear, and as we steamed at ten knots each hour brought out in prominent relief the mountain peaks of Cyprus; Olympus was capped with clouds. Passing through a rain-cloud which for a time obscured the view, we at length emerged into bright sunshine; the mists had cleared from the mountain range, and Troodos, 6,400 feet above the sea-level, towered above all competitors.

We were now about ten miles from the shore, and the general appearance of the island suggested a recent snowfall. As the sun shone upon a bare white surface, the sterile slopes and mountain sides were utterly devoid of vegetation, and presented a sad aspect of desolation, which reminded me of the barren range on the shores of the Red Sea.

First impressions are seldom correct, but the view of Cyprus on arrival from the south was depressing, and extinguished all hopes that had been formed concerning our newly-acquired possession. This was the treasure acquired by astute diplomacy!

For about twenty miles we skirted this miserable coast, upon which not a green speck relieved the eye; at length we sighted the minaret which marked the position of Larnaca, the port or roadstead to which the mail was bound; and in the town we distinguished three or four green trees. We cast anchor about half a mile from the shore. Nine or ten vessels, including several steamers, were in the roadstead, and a number of lighters were employed in landing cargoes.

Disappointment and disgust were quickly banished by the reflection that at this season (January) there was nothing green in England: the thermometer in that dreary land would be below freezing-point, while on the deck where we stood it was 64 degrees Fahr. We were quickly in a boat steering for the landing-place.

All towns look tolerably well from the sea, especially if situated actually upon the margin of the water. The town represented a front of about a mile, less than five feet above the level of the sea, bordered by a masonry quay perpendicular to the surface, from which several wooden jetties of inferior and very recent construction served as landing-places.

The left flank of Larnaca was bounded by a small Turkish fort, absolutely useless against modern artillery upon the walls the British flag was floating. We landed upon the quay. This formed a street, the sea upon one side, faced by a row of houses. As with all Turkish possessions, decay had stamped the town: the masonry of the quay was in many places broken down, the waves had undermined certain houses, and in the holes thus washed out by the action of water were accumulations of recent filth. Nevertheless, enormous improvements had taken place since the English occupation. An engineer was already employed in repairing the quay, and large blocks of carefully faced stone (a sedimentary limestone rock of very recent formation) were being laid upon a bed of concrete to form a permanent sea-wall. The houses which lined the quay were for the most part stores, warehouses, and liquor-shops. Among these the Custom House, the Club, Post Office, and Chief Commissioner's were prominent as superior buildings. There was a peculiar character in the interior economy of nearly all houses in Larnaca; it appeared that heavy timber must have been scarce before the town was built, as the upper floor was invariably supported by stone arches of considerable magnitude, which sprang from the ground-floor level. These arches were uniform throughout the town, and the base of the arch was the actual ground, without any pillar or columnar support; so that in the absence of a powerful beam of timber, the top of the one-span arch formed a support for the joists of the floor above. In large houses numerous arches gave an imposing appearance to the architecture of the ground floors, which were generally used as warehouses. Even the wooden joists were imported poles of fir, thus proving the scarcity of natural forests. The roofs of the houses were for the most part flat, and covered with tempered clay and chopped straw for the thickness of about ten inches. Some buildings of greater