GREECE 



The Royal T^alace^ ^Athens 



DAY OF MY ARRIVAL at Athens- 

 as we drove along the track of the Long 

 Walls from the Piraeus, and entered the modern 

 city which spreads out like a fan from the 

 Acropolis I thought I should never be able to 

 look at anything or even to open my eyes, on 

 account of the glare. The sun shining through 

 an absolutely pure atmosphere on rocks bare of 

 vegetation, on roads smothered in white dust, 

 had a power and a brilliance unknown in tawny 

 Rome or in flower-veiled Sicily. But after a 

 day or two I found I could see beautifully ; in 

 accordance no doubt with the approved principles 

 of mental therapeutics, great enthusiasm had 

 strengthened my bodily organs. I realized that 

 the roads were white with dust of marble ; the 

 translucence of the air was such that one seemed 



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