LaurenVs Tour through Greece, Turkey and Italy. 



Kftges with violence in the Pelopon- 

 uesits ; relyins; upon the strength of his 

 constitution, he had refused to follow 

 the advice given him by the consuls to 

 tjefer his journey till the autumn : he 

 departed, neglecting even to provide 

 himself with medicine: we saw his 

 ,liame scratched upon one of the columns 

 «f a temple in Arcadia, near which the 

 peasants told us he was seized with a 

 fever, which threw him into delirium : 

 we recorded his premature death under 

 his name. By the uneducated, both 

 (jrreeks and Jlohammedans, it is inia- 

 ^iped that after interment the body of 

 3, Frank is conveyed by some invisible 

 jjower to his native land. 

 ^T TheTheseum is comparatively small, 

 l>ut its effect is striking : in shape it is 

 similar to the Parthenon : the beautiful 

 frieze with which it is decorated, re- 

 presents part of the hislories of Hercu- 

 les aaid Theseus : it is most entire of all 

 the Athenian monuments, and long 

 may the protecting genius of Greece 

 defend it from the defiling touch of 

 (he Turkish mason, and me no less 

 destructive dilapidations of European 



,.> , WEDDIjVG at ATHENS. 



,/, Every traveller who has visited 



itAtheus for a few days, returns with a 

 inscription of the weddings, burials, 



.and christenings at which he assisted: 

 tt'hether during our stay Hymen had 

 ceased to inspire the Athenian youths, 

 and death to strike, ceqtto pede, I cannot 

 determine; but I assure you, although 

 we remained at Athens more than a 

 month, we witnessed no funeral, and 

 were present at one wedding only ; — 

 tlie happy couple was not of the highest 

 rank : that you should not, however, 

 ficcuse my journal of being deficient in 

 the article of matrimony, I shall add to 

 this chapter of musty antiquity an 

 account of one of the most extraordi- 

 nary and ridiculous scenes I ever wit- 

 nessed. 



It was on a Sunday afternoon ; the 

 heat was excessive, and we were occu- 

 pied in ari'anging our journal ; my ear 

 was struck witli the monotonous sound 

 of a Greek tambour, and the noise of 

 people hurrying through the street ; 

 1 followed them, and after turning 

 through two or three lanes, came to the 

 spot whence the sound proceeded. 

 Some dirty musicians, with a tambour, 

 a fiddle, and a guitar, were dancing, 

 playing, and singing ; after them came 

 u Greek tlamscl, supported by two 

 grave mations, and followed by u long 



&93 



string of dames lioary with age ; she 

 was the bride, and notwithstanding 

 the thermometer stood at 96", was co- 

 vered with mantles and furs ; her fin- 

 gers' ends and joints were stained red ; 

 the lower part of her eyes were tinged 

 with a blue colour, and her cheeks 

 were ornamented with stars of black 

 dye and leaf gold : a dirty urchin, 

 walking backwards, held a mirror in 

 such a manner that the young womajj 

 had her image constantly before her. 



They moved literally at a snail's 

 pace ; tlie people threw from their win- 

 dows and doors bottles of orange water, 

 which perfumed the air, and the crowd, 

 loud in their expressions of joy and 

 congratulation, augmented as we ad- 

 vanced, hurrying round tlie bride, whose 

 brow was never bent with a frown, and 

 whose lips were never crossed with a 

 smile during the ceremony. 



The procession stopped at the house 

 of the bridegroom ; the bride was 

 seated in an arm chair, and placed on 

 the right of the house door: on the 

 o))posite side was seated her husband ; 

 his hairless head uncovered ; by him 

 stood a Turkish barber, holding in his 

 hand a circular looking-glass (similar 

 to that with which Venus is represented) 

 and other shaving instruments : the 

 music continued playing, and the crowd 

 shook the air with their shouts. Each 

 placing a few parats on the barber's 

 looking-glass, sprinkled with orange 

 water the face of the bridegroom, and 

 kissed him on the forehead and the 

 ,eyes : the money thus collected was to 

 procure a comfortable establishment 

 for the young people ; I subscribed my 

 share, but preferred dispensing with 

 the kisses. A Greek, an old man, 

 whose age was a suflicient excuse for 

 the joke, pushed me towaids the bride, 

 whom I was consequently obliged to 

 salute amidst the loud cheers of the 

 assembly : — how the ceremony ended I 

 cannot tell you, as the day fell, and I 

 returned home ere all had emhraced 

 the bridegroom. 



DILAPIDATIONS AT ATHENS. 



Before I quitted Athens, I, however, 

 saw enough to convince me that it is 

 proper that the magnificent works of 

 the Greek sculptors should be placed 

 under the safe guard of a nation fond! 

 of art, rather than be left exposed to the 

 senseless fury of the Turks, the depre- 

 dations of private collectors, and the 

 insults of ignorant travellers. Hardly 

 do any persons quit the Acropolis, 

 xvithout clipping from its monuments 



sonic 



