portion of the supplies (as the blockade runners went mostly to
the coasts of those districts) but doing the least of the work.
Comoundouros dared not risk offending the many political partisans
by imposing on the volunteers whom he sent over a competent and
concentrated command. But as a collateral means of pressure the new
ministry set to work organizing a movement on the Continent, and it
had the courage to face all the probabilities of a war with Turkey.

At this juncture came the famous blockade runner, the Arkadi, a most
successful contrabandist of the American war, and at every trip she
made she carried away a number of women and children. Meanwhile we
waited for the arrival of the American man-of-war which was to put
the machinery of relief to the non-combatants in operation. She never
came, and in reply to a telegram to Commodore Goldsborough, who was at
Nice, I received the information that he knew nothing of any orders
for Crete. Intrigues had supervened at Constantinople, chief mover in
which was the dragoman of our legation, a Philo-Turkish Levantine, and
the persistent assailant in various American journals of Mr. Morris
and myself. As the result of these intrigues the order to the admiral
was recalled. In March a corvette, the Canandaigua, came for a short
stay, but the manner of the officers towards me, and the observations
of most of the officers on what they considered a sort of "slave
trade," i.e. the carrying of women and children, made me very glad to
see her sail again. I made a little use of her, however, by persuading
the captain to run down to Retimo with me to inspect the condition of
the refugees in that town, and to distribute the money, etc., with
which I had been furnished by the committee at Athens for that
purpose. I also induced the captain to run over to Peiraeus to
reorganize the consulate there, the consul having run away, leaving
the office in the hands of his creditors, from whom I rescued the