permitted to remain in the island. He denied that he could be expelled, and warned the Lord High Commissioner that his conduct must be answered in England.

"I have only to say," was the reply, "that you will be removed by the police, if you are not gone within twenty-four hours!"

Dr. Hynes threw down his defiance, but seems to have been better counselled; for he took his departure from Corfu within the time. So ended the papal aggression in the Ionian Islands, and it might never have been attempted in England if it had met the same front in our other dependencies.

The dismissal of the Roman Bishop gratified the clergy, but nothing could appease the anti-English party; and they continued their agitation, giving the Lord High Commissioner no respite. They even established an agency in England, and the Colonial Office was beset with his assailants, who went to prefer their complaints in person, while a memorial was forwarded from Mr. Dandolo, accusing him of infringing the constitution, and praying for his recall. But Lord Glenelg declared that such a memorial could not be received while the constitution existed, as this provided that all communications to the Government must be transmitted through the Lord High Commissioner. The weight of this support and his own energy carried his measures through the Assembly: he won the adhesion of the senate, and terminated the session in triumph. Nor was he unappreciated by the people, and an attack made upon him in a Greek journal was repelled by an Ionian, whose sentiments are reflected in the following paragraph, quoted in the

E

'Morning Chronicle' at the time from 'Galignani's Messenger:'

"The 'Soter,' of Athens, having published not long since an article complaining of the manner in which the administration of the Ionian Islands was conducted, and asserting that the tribunals were overawed by the Government, and that the police exercised a most oppressive control over the inhabitants, prying into the secrecy of their domestic relations, and destroying all social confidence, a reply to this article has been sent to that journal from a resident of Corfu. The writer, after observing that it is by no means the duty of an honest and impartial editor of a public journal to provoke turbulent individuals to write against the Government, declares that the accusation of the 'Soter' is based on a totally false view of the actual condition of the Ionian Islands. He observes that the administration of Sir Howard Douglas is justly popular throughout all the islands; that their material prosperity is rapidly on the increase, as is proved by the circulation of capital, the alterations going on in the towns, and the ameliorations introduced into the agricultural districts; while, as far as the moral and political condition of the islands is concerned, they enjoy much greater liberty than many other European states; that perfect freedom of discussion is allowed; that the functions of the police are in reality confined only to the furtherance of justice and the preservation of liberty; that the tribunals are totally uninfluenced by the government; and the perfect freedom of the press will in all probability be speedily established. This reply the 'Soter' inserts in one of its recent numbers."

CHAPTER XXXIII.

AT THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE OF ZANTE.

Ir is pleasant to find proofs of Sir Howard's goodness of heart in the midst of so much vexation.

To what

extent it was practised cannot be told; for some of his kindnesses come as a surprise on his own family, and his papers show that it never slept. One instance may be recorded here. An officer in England found that he must be prepared to pay a large sum by a certain day, or he would be ruined, and he wrote in despair to Sir Howard, revealing his situation and the circumstances. Sir Howard mentioned the importance of procuring the money to three or four of the officer's friends in Corfu, and proposed that they should club together and make it up. This was done, and the amount transmitted to England, eliciting the following acknowledgment:-"I cannot express to you, my dear Sir Howard, how grateful I feel for what you have so kindly and so readily done for me; nor do I feel less so for the kind co-operation of my good friends who surround you. I will confess I was most dreadfully alarmed when I saw the perfectly unforeseen order come out, and felt the most intense agony of mind, passing miserable days and sleepless nights. May the time not be distant when I may have it in my power to return, with most heartfelt thanks, what

you, my dear Sir Howard, and those others to whom I owe my present peace of mind, have so kindly advanced to me."

Distress or suffering never pleaded to him in vain, nor was any appeal needed if they came under his notice; for he carried his succour unasked. Thus we have seen him relieving the poor soldiers in the Spanish hospitals, riding miles to visit a wounded Frenchman, and sharing his own little comforts among the sick at Walcheren. He now exerted his influence to curb the despotism established in Greece, and put a stop to its atrocities, the nature of which may be conjectured from the following extract from a letter addressed to him by Sir Edmund Lyons:-"The women whose persons had been lacerated by the cats which were placed in their drawers presented themselves to the King; but His Majesty says the end justifies the means. Now what was the end proposed? To torture these women into accusing the Minister's political opponents!" Immediately on receipt of this letter, Sir Howard inserted an article in the 'Corfu Gazette,' describing the outrage and holding up the Greek Government to the execration of Europe. He made the strongest representations to the King himself, and his attitude and proceedings caused such alarm, that his Majesty deemed it prudent to recede, at least in appearance. "I cannot sufficiently express my sense of the importance I attach to your valuable support," writes Sir Edmund Lyons, after this success. But the King had become his enemy, and henceforward favoured every movement against his authority, and

1 Dated January 12, 1839.

maligned him to every Englishman of influence who visited Athens.

Yet a time came when his rule extorted homage even from the Court of Greece. Most of his adversaries made him the same reparation, and for the same reason that his motives were disinterested and sprang from a sense of duty. He had no warmer friends, in later years, than some of his Corfu opponents, who had gone to lengths in their hostility which it is better not to review; and others were his admirers in secret, without being admitted to his friendship. One instance may be mentioned: his administration had secured to the islands new channels of trade, involving extensive transactions, which led to an occasional pressure for money; and great inconvenience arose for want of the proper facilities. Advances could only be obtained from usurers, at rates varying from twenty to forty per cent.; and the extortions of these money-lenders became a hindrance to trade, as well as a scandal. It attracted the notice of Sir Howard, and he suggested to some of the chief merchants the propriety of establishing a bank on the joint-stock principle, which would be open to all. He could not aid the undertaking with money, as he considered persons in authority debarred from engaging in speculations; but the necessary funds were provided, and he then brought the project before the Legislature. Here it met an unexpected opponent in the Treasurer-General, Mr. Woodhouse, who looked upon it as calculated to lessen his importance, and threw every obstacle in its way. His conduct was the more culpable, as Sir Howard had just recom