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September 20, I landed again. The eunsnl gave me α piece of virgin Ladnnnm, pure and unadulterated, as it is gathered. It is found plentifully in Cyprus, and as I wished to know what it is aud how collected, I asked well informed persons and learned that ladaninn is secreted from the dew of heaven, exactly like manna, and is found and gathered on the leaves of a small plant, which is generally not higher than a palm and a half or two palms, with small leaves. They boil the stuff they collect, and when boiled it is flexible like wax, and is rolled out between the palms into lengths like tapers, and these they twist together into the shape of the piece which I keep by ine as a specimen. Ladanum is black, with a pleasant, strongly aromatic odour: in our countries it is mixed with other substances to make an excellent perfume, and is perhaps used in medicine. September 21. Signor Cicach gave ine a piece of Amianthus, the stone which can lie spun into thread, and from which the ancients made a cloth said to be incombustible, which was cleaned by fire like other cloth by water. Of it they made the shrouds in which they burned dead bodies, so that the human ashes should not be mixed with those of the fuel, but remain by themselves within the cloth, which was not consumed. No one knows now how to make the cloth or the thread ; still yon can clearly see a white substance like cotton detach itself from the stone, and this might be spun. The stone itself while intact is a darkish green, or nearly black, but lustrous, almost like talc: when it is broken the filaments come out white. In the laboratory of Ferrante Imperato of Naples, a man of most cm-ions learning, among the innumerable simples and strange things he had collected I remember seeing both the stone and the cloth woven from it. [September 22—20 seem to hare been spent in jollity, on carious ships in the roadstead, or at the Venetian Consul's house.'] September 26. I landed and slept in Larnaca. A new Pasha was expected to take up the government of the island. The old one had left immediately on the arrival of one of his successor's officers, a musellim, who came, as is their wont, to prepare things for his master. The new nominee had not reached Nicosia when a fresh order came from the Gran Signor depriving him of the post which he had not yet taken np, and reinstating the old Pasha, who had already left. The Defterdar and other officials were changed at the same time. These sudden nnd unforeseen changes among officials, a practice which has now for some years prevailed at Constantinople, arise from bad administration, and because all onice» ara sale-able and distributed for uncertain periods to the highest bidders. 'Hie confusi ou is growing eveiy day, and I make a point of recording this incident to show in what an evil plight the Turkish commonwealth is, marching, ns one can see, to its own deliberate ruin. [September 28. More entertainments. The vessel vails, awl at midnight on the 29th anchors off Lhnassid, hut well out, to escape payment of port dues.'] September ΰΟ. 1 landed early, and walked about the town, whieh is fairly large and populous. I saw the great mosque, which is near the sea in a fine broad street running along the sliore, quite full of carobs (gunianelle) in which Limisso does a great trade, loading whole ships for Venice and elsewhere. More among the houses stands the Fort, a small square stone building, more like a thick squat tower, or a caraiier, than a fortress. It has however on the top some small pieces of artillery. Still farther on I found the cathedral chnreli, for Limisso has a Greek bishop, whose authority extends over four so called Eparchies, those of Limisso, Salines and two other. The whole island is divided into four sees, each of which includes several eparchies. The cathedral church uf Limisso is small, dedicated to Our Lady, and built in the usual style uf the country. As the seat of a bishop it is called among them the Catholic or Universal Church. Here 1 fourni a certain schoolmaster Matthew, a Greek monk, who spoke Italian well, 214 EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

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