THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

92 THE WAR OF GEEEK INDEPENDENCE
the other misfortunes of the Greeks into the shade,
and for the time made the factions lay aside their quarrels
under the influence of a common horror and thirst
for vengeance.
Of all the island communities of the
^Egean none was more prosperous or more inoffensive
than that of Chios. Among their more turbulent
neighbours, the well-to-do and peace-loving Chiots
'
had a reputation for stolid simplicity. Easier to
find a green horse,' ran the saying, ' than a clever
Chiot.'
One attempt to rouse the island had failed;
but its wealth and general importance made it desirable
to secure its adhesion to the national cause;
and Hypsilanti allowed himself to
be persuaded to
authorise a Chiot adventurer named Ralli, and a certain
Lycourgos Logothetes of Smyrna, to make a descent
upon it.
In March, Lycourgos, with some 2,500 men,
landed at Koutari, and, calling on the unwilling
Chiots for aid, proceeded to lay siege to the Turkish
garrison.
From the first he proved himself totally
incompetent.
!N"ot only did he mismanage the operations
on shore in every possible way, but he neglected
utterly the all-important precaution of keeping the
command of the sea.
The news of the attack on Chios roused Sultan
Mahmoud once more to fury; the ladies of his harem,