half miles of pier, one hundred miles of road
largely blasted out of solid rock, spacious streets, a girls' school,
and many other improvements; and he put into the natives a spirit of
endeavour which outlived his term of office. One sign of the latter was
that, after his departure, some peasants yearly transmitted to him the
profits of a small piece of land which he had left uncared for, without
disclosing the names of those whose labours had earned it.

[Note 12: Ceded to Great Britain in 1815 and given by her in 1864 to
Greece.]

During this period, in visits to Corinth and the Morea, he worked out
strategic plans for keeping the Turks out of Greece. He also made
friends with Lord Byron, who came out in 1823 to help the Greek patriots
and to meet his death in the swamps of Missolonghi. Byron conceived the
greatest admiration for Napier's talents and believed him to be capable
of liberating Greece, if he were given a free hand. But this was not to
be. Reasons of State and petty rivalries barred the way to the
appointment of a British general, though it might have set the name of
Napier in history beside those of Bolivar and Garibaldi; for he would
have identified himself heart and soul with such a cause, and, in the
opinion of many good judges, would have triumphed over the difficulties
of the situation.

From 1830 to 1839 there is little to narrate. The gifts which might have
been devoted to commanding a regiment, to training young officers, or to
ruling a distant province, were too lightly rated by the Government, and
he spent his time quietly in England and France educating his two
daughters,[13] interesting himself in politics, and continuing to learn.
It was the political crisis in England which called him back to active
life. The readjustment of the labour market to meet the use of
machinery, and the occurrence of a series of bad harvests had caused
widespread discontent, and the Chartist movement was at its height in
1839. Labourers and factory owners were alarmed; the Government was
besieged with petitions for military protection at a hundred points, and
all the elements of a dangerous explosion were gathered together. At
this critical time Charles Napier was offered the command of the troops
in the northern district, and amply did he vindicate the choice. By the
most careful preparation beforehand, by the most consummate coolness in
the moment of danger, he rode the storm. He saw the danger of billeting
sm