362 ATHENS. 
CHAR the door of the building, the voices were heard 
VI. 
rather in a shriller tone than usual ; but no 
suspicion entering into his mind, as to the sort 
of bathers which he would find assembled, he 
put aside the carpet, and, stepping beneath the 
main dome of the bagnio, suddenly found him- 
self in the midst of the principal women of 
Athens, many of whom were unveiled in every 
sense of the term, and all of them in utter 
amazement at the madness of the intrusion. 
The first impulse of astonishment entirely super- 
seded all thought of the danger of his situation: 
he remained fixed and mute as a statue. A 
general shriek soon brought him to his recol- 
lection. Several black female slaves ran towards 
him, interposing before his face napkins, and 
driving him backwards towards the entrance. 
He endeavoured, by signs and broken sen- 
tences, to convince them that he came there to 
bathe in the ordinary way; but this awkward 
attempt at an apology converted their fears into 
laughter, accompanied by sounds of Hist! Hist! 
and the most eager entreaties to him to abscond 
quickly, and without observation. As he drew 
back, he distinctly heard some one say, in 
Italian, that if he were seen he would be shot. 
By this time the negro women were around 
him, covering his eyes with their hands and 
