GREECE BEFORE THE WAR OF 1 897. 203 half-clad people suffering under the pressure of famine in a country everywhere laid waste, in which far and wide no tree, no cottage could be seen. Indeed the war had reduced the surviving population to a state of the most complete desti- tution. All agricultural stock was extirpated; houses, barns, and stables were destroyed ; fruit- trees and vineyards rooted up. The destruction of agricultural cattle was so complete that Pro- fessor Thiersch proposed to import ten thousand pair of cattle the first and tpn thousand the second year. The professor was laughed at, but he was right ; Greece had more need of beef than of Bavarians. The sword, the famine, and disease had re- duced the inhabitants of the mainland and of Morea to about one-third of their original num- ber. There has been no war in modern times in which an equal loss of property and life has been sustained by any people, who despite this suffering have remained unsubdued. From 1 82 1 to 1832 Greece had been deprived of every internal revenue. Her commerce was com- pletely annihilated. The commercial navy which had formerly added to the national wealth suddenly became a drain on former savings.
