arge, thick quartos.
Among the three hundred manuscripts on vellum there were many large
folios of the works of St. Chrysostom and other Greek fathers of the
church of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and about fifty copies of
the Gospels and the Evangelistarium of nearly the same age. One
Evangelistarium was in fine uncial letters of the ninth century; it was
a thick quarto, and on the first leaf was an illumination the whole size
of the page on a gold background, representing the donor of the book
accompanied by his wife. This ancient portrait was covered over with a
piece of gauze. It was a very remarkable manuscript. There were one
quarto and one duodecimo of the Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypse of the
eleventh century, and one folio of the book of Job, which had several
miniatures in it badly executed in brilliant colours; this was probably
of the twelfth century. These three manuscripts were such volumes as are
not often seen in European libraries. All the rest were anthologia and
books of prayer, nor did I meet with one single leaf of a classic author
on vellum. I went into the library several times, and looked over all
the vellum manuscripts very carefully, and I believe that I did not pass
by unnoticed anything which was particularly interesting in point of
subject, antiquity, or illumination. Several of the copies of the
Gospels had their titles ornamented with arabesques, but none struck me
as being peculiarly valuable.

The twenty-one monasteries of Mount Athos are subjected to different
regulations. In some the property is at the absolute disposal of the
agoumenos for the time being, but in the larger establishments (and St.
Laura is the second in point of consequence) everything belongs to the
monks in common. Such being the case, it was hopeless to expect, in so
large a community, that the brethren should agree to part with any of
their valuables. Indeed, as soon as I found out how affairs stood within
the walls of St. Laura, I did not attempt to purchase anything, as it
was not advisable to excite the curiosity of the monks upon the subject;
nor did I wish that the report should be circulated in the other
convents that I was come to Mount Athos for the purpose of rifling their
libraries.

I remained at St. Laura three days, and on a beautiful fresh morning,
being provided by the monks with mules and a guide, I left the good
agoumenos and sallied forth through the three iron gates on my way to
the mona