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some geographers, or rather travellers, have distinguished Mount Croce by the appellation of Mount Olympus, but, I am inclined to believe the first to be Mandila Montis Olympi, which was several miles to the south-east of Olympus; and thus yon see how these two mountains bear to each other, as they appear from the road of Salines, where I went on board a ship in order to make α drawing of the bay. With regard to Nicosia, I can not inform you at what period it was built, or whether it had existence while the ancient Greeks possessed the island: some, indeed, assert it is the same as Treinithus, but I rather believe it was near Tdalinm ; for, in a very old charte, which was shewn to me by the French consul Monsieur le Maire, that town is situated near a river called Pedias, upon the banks of which was the famous Idaliau grove : this is very near the spot where the Athalas now runs, and not above three miles from Nicosia : yet this is nothing more than conjecture. The city was well fortified by the Venetians, according to the manner of those times; but all is gone to ruin through the supine negligence and blind security of the Turks. The place is round, and may be about three miles in circumference, but not well inhabited; a circumstance to which it owes its very pleasant and beautiful appearance; for this want of people affords room for a great number of gardens, pianteti with orange, lemon, cypress, mullierry, olive, and almond trees, which exhibit a most delightful variety to the eye of one who walks upon the ramparts. All the Venetian nobility on the island resided here; therefore the town lias been finely built, ns appears by the remains of some edifices patched up for Turkish houses, and from the ruins of others that are quite desolate. St Sophia, now converted to a Turkish mosque, is the only fabric which remains entire, and is of tolerable gothic work; bnt all tho images and figures are defaced by the brutal superstition of the present possessors. One inscription was all I perceived, bnt I durst not go near enough to read it : no vestige of any thing truly antique is to he seen ; for 1 searched almost every corner, and really I have nothing more to say of this city, but only that ite situation is extremely ill judged for α fortified town, there being several hills npon one side of it, from whence tho houses might IJC easily battered down. The French are a restless people, incessantly employed in working some politic point, to gain which, they use truth and falsehood indiscriminately in their insinuations; and, when their deceit is detected, they are never out of countenance. Here they are in continual agitation to promote their own interest, at the expence of their neighbours; but their unfair endeavours are always foiled by the address and known veracity of Mr Consul Wakeman, whom, notwithstanding their bad success, they still jiersist in perplexing with their intrigues. It was in order to repair the effects of α dirty mine they had sprung, that I was obliged to set out for Lemisol; a task which I undertook without hesitation. All the country, from Nicosia to that town, is more agreeable than any part of the island which I have yet seen, being diversified with hill and dale, adorned with tree*, and refreshed with water, at least, during a certain season ; for, in some months, no other than dry channels are to be seen. Lemisol, though not rich, is a very pleasant place, accommodated with an exceeding good bay for ships ; it has a wretched castle, aud some small share of trade, yet this small share is greater than that of all the other sea-ports, except Lamica, which being the residence of the Europeans, carries all before it. Abont six miles from Limesol, stood the Amathus of the antients, so celebrated for the amours of Venus and Adonis; it stretched down to tho sea, from the face of an hill, where there has been a very strong castle, some of the walls uf which are immensely thick, and probably were built by some of the Greek emperors: the port has been tolerable: and, from thence to within eight or ten miles of Lamica, the country is neither bad nor disagreeable; 286 EXCERPTA CYPRIA.

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