ery
charming adventure, and that Sir Samuel's story of the marble, even if
it should prove to be a myth, would at least be a plausible excuse for
embarking on so long a journey. Moreover, it provided Sir Samuel with an
excuse for writing to Sir Henry Bulwer, then governor of the island, and
asking him to do what he could in the way of securing accommodation for
me during my projected stay. Sir Henry's reply was to the effect that if
I would so time my movements as to reach Cyprus in January, the Chief
Secretary, Colonel Warren, would receive me as a guest for a month or
so, and that during the rest of my stay he would himself entertain me at
Government House. Posts to and from Cyprus were at that time extremely
slow, and it was not till nearly Christmas that these arrangements were
complete. Meanwhile, by Sir Samuel's advice, the specimens of the marble
were submitted to a London expert. As I was now bent on going, his
verdict, though not very favorable, did nothing whatever to discourage
me. What mainly occupied my mind were thoughts of an island which was
unknown to ordinary tourists, the history of which united the sway of
Byzantine emperors with that of crusading kings, of Venetian doges and
subsequently of Moslem dynasties, where the mountains were crowned with
castles almost lost in clouds; where the walls of the marine fortress in
which Othello lodged cast the white reflection of the Lion of St. Mark's
on the waters, and where half the inhabitants prayed with their faces
turned to Mecca and half with their eyes cast down before jeweled and
gilded icons--an island, moreover, where I could watch and explore these
hybrid scenes and pageants without any appreciable sacrifice of the
comforts and the ease of London.

In this agreeable frame of mind, I left one evening the lamps of Charing
Cross Station behind me bound via Brindisi for Alexandria, from which
port an Austrian Lloyd steamer would ultimately bring me to Cyprus,
after a voyage, incredibly slow, of very nearly a week. On my way out I
encountered several acquaintances--Sir Augustus and Lady Paget, who were
going back to Vienna, and were just visible in the gloom of the Dover
boat; Arthur Paget, bound for Africa; and also several others, among
whom were Edward Milner and John St. Aubyn, subsequently Lord St. Levan.
The goal of these last was Damascus. We three slept at Alexandria on the
boat which had brought us from Brindisi, and were next day rowed across
th