ATHENS. 285 
As we passed through the town, there was 
hardly a house that had not some little marble 
fragment of antient sculpture stuck in its front, 
over the door ; and since most of the houses 
have court-yards, where the objects within are 
concealed from the observation of passengers in 
the streets, many valuable antiquities will be 
brought to light as Athens becomes more visited. 
The few articles which we collected, during our 
residence here, may be considered as pro- 
mising indications of future acquisitions of the 
same nature. In the yard belonging to the house 
where we resided, there were two Bas-reliefs; 
and although the workmanship in each of them 
is not characterized by the masterly style and 
execution which distinguishes the sculpture in 
the Acropolis, yet it is easy to perceive that 
they have been touched by the hand of an 
Athenian artist. They were both given to us 
by our hostess, the first day after our arrival ; 
and they are now in the University Library at 
Cambridge. One of them represents the initia- 
tion of Hercules by a priestess of Ceres 3 ; and it 
(3) This ceremony is said to have taken place, not at Eleusis, but 
at the Temple of Ceres in Agra, where the lesser mysteries were cele- 
brated. Fid. Stephan. in lib. Afeursii de Populis Attics'.) up. Gronov. 
The*. Crtec. Antiq. vol. IV. /. 683. Ltig. JBat, 1699. 
