102 Notes of a Journey in Greece. 



the Gulf of Salamis, of the ruins of the Acropolis, of the Tri- 

 umphal Arch of Adrian, of the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter 

 Olympus, &c, and we may easily conceive the beauty that might 

 be given to an Athenian garden. 



I shall not forget to communicate to you, at the same time, some 

 particulars as to the customs of the Greeks themselves, with re- 

 spect to the subject that interests us. 



Their culinary vegetables consist generally of young pump- 

 kins, not fully grown, Cucurbita Lagenaria?, with other species 

 and varieties; the fruit and seeds of //ibiscus esculentus are used 

 exactly as peas and kidneybeans are here. Their taste is rather 

 sour and very refreshing; tomatoes (/Sblanum Lycopersicum) are 

 used all over the country in almost every dish. Cicer arietinum 

 is eaten by the common people, who generally carry some of 

 these plants in their hands, eating the seeds without any prepa- 

 ration. Cucurbita Citridlus, the water melon, is brought in im- 

 mense quantities from the islands of the Archipelago. The 

 people eat them greedily; they are very good and refreshing, but 

 somewhat dangerous. Several other kinds of melons are also 

 brought from the islands, some of them of an exquisite flavour. 

 The flail is not used for threshing out the corn in Greece. In 

 every village there are round paved places, where the inhabitants 

 spread out their corn, and have it trodden out by horses. On the 

 arrival of the Bavarians in this country, an officer ordered seve- 

 ral flails to be made, with the intention of teaching the Greeks 

 their use ; and some soldiers were set to work with them for this 

 purpose. The Greeks, of course, approved of the new way for 

 them ; " but why should we tire ourselves," said thev, " when our 

 horses can do it as well with their feet?" 



That awkwardness, or idleness, which is perceptible on many 

 occasions, struck me particularly on seeing them digging or 

 trenching the ground. It is extraordinary how men in this 

 warm climate can remain bent, and sitting on the calves of their 

 legs, or, rather, doubled on their legs, for hours together, and not 

 upright, as every where else, working with implements which 

 never have longer handles than from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. 



The climate of Greece being so favourable for the vine, ac- 

 counts for the country also abounding in wine. We must not, 

 however, expect to see the vine cultivated regularly ; the stocks 

 are planted, they are allowed to grow, and they are thought of 

 no more till the time of the vintage. Those wines which come 

 from the islands are very good and light; those, on the contrary, 

 which are made on the continent, for want of cellars and reser- 

 voirs for keeping them in, are always mixed with resin or gyp- 

 sum. The taste produced by this mixture is at first extremely 

 disagreeable, particularly when gypsum or plaster of Paris is 

 used. I soon got accustomed to the mixture of resin, which 



