I know not, but it was rebuilt in the year
1502 by Stephanus, Waywode of Moldavia. It is a large fortified building
of very imposing appearance, situated on a steep hill surrounded with
trees and gardens overlooking a deep valley which opens on the gulf of
Monte Santo. The MSS. here are Bulgarian, and not of early date; they
had no Greek MSS. whatever.

From Zographou, following the valley, we arrived at a lower plain on the
sea coast, and there we discovered that we had lost our way; we
therefore retraced our steps, and turning up among the hills to our left
we came in three hours to

CASTAMONETA,

which, had we taken the right road, we might have reached in one. This
is a very poor monastery, but it is of great age and its architecture is
picturesque: it was originally founded by Constantine the Great. It has
no library nor anything particularly well worth mentioning, excepting
the original deed of the Emperor Manuel Paleologus, with the sign manual
of that potentate written in very large letters in red ink at the
bottom of the deed, by which he granted to the monastery the lands which
it still retains. The poor monks were much edified by the sight of the
patriarchal letter, and when I went away rang the bells of the church
tower to do me honour.

At the distance of one hour from hence stands the monastery of

DOCHEIROU.

It is the first to the west of those upon the south-west shore of the
peninsula. It is a monastery of great size, with ample room for a
hundred monks, although inhabited by only twenty. It was built in the
reign of Nicephorus Botoniates, and was last repaired in the year 1578
by Alexander, Waywode of Moldavia. I was very well lodged in this
convent, and the fleas were singularly few. The library contained two
thousand five hundred volumes, of which one hundred and fifty were
vellum MSS. I omitted to note the number of MSS. on paper, but amongst
them I found a part of Sophocles and a fine folio of Suidas's Lexicon.
Among the vellum MSS. there was a folio in the Bulgarian language, and
various works of the fathers. I found also three loose leaves of an
Evangelistarium in uncial letters of the ninth century, which had been
cut out of some ancient volume, for which I hunted in the dust in vain.
The monks gave me these three leaves on my asking for them, for even a
few pages of such a manuscript as this are not to be despised.

From Docheirou it is only a distance of half an hour to

XENOPHOU,