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

MASSACRE AT MONEMVASIA 55
lives; or, in case they should prefer to leave the country,
that he would place two Spezziot brigs at their disposal,
with orders to land them on any part of the coast of
Asia Minor they might select.
It is impossible to believe
that these promises were made in bad faith;
but
Ilypsilaiiti was a vain man, he had but recently been
placed in a position of unaccustomed command, and he
probably quite misjudged the amount of authority he
was likely to have over the undisciplined brigands who
formed the bulk of his army.
This is most probably
the measure of his responsibility in the awful scenes
that followed.
The Turks, weakened by famine, and rendered
desperate, whether they trusted the promises or not,
grasped at the last straw of hope that was held out to
them. They opened the gates of their citadel, and laid
down their arms. The greater number of them now
elected to go into exile
began.
and the work of embarkation
Six hundred had already gone on board the
brigs, when, suddenly,
the Mainotes burst into the
town, murdering and outraging all those who had not
as yet succeeded in reaching the shore, or who, trusting
in the promise of Prince Demetrius that their
homes and lives would be spared, had chosen to remain
in the town.
Those on the ships were meanwhile carried
out to sea, and, after a voyage of some hours, were