376 DEPARTURE FROM ATHENS. 
sa ^ s ^^ r *oo m o- Lusieri offered to accompany 
us as far as dSgina; having long wished for an 
opportunity of seeing that island. Although rich 
in valuable antiquities, it had been strangely 
overlooked by almost every traveller, excepting 
Chandler. As he expected ample employment 
for his pencil, he was desirous of being also 
Extraordi- attended by one of the most extraordinary 
k^ of \ characters that has been added to the list of 
ArtST* celebrated artists since the days of Phidias. 
This person was by birth a Calmuck, of the name of 
T/teodore: he had distinguished himself among 
the painters at Rome, and had been brought to 
Athens to join the band of artists employed by 
our Ambassador, over which Lusieri presided. 
With the most decided physiognomy of the 
wildest of his native tribes, although as much 
humanized in his appearance as it was possible 
to make him by the aid of European dress and 
habits, he still retained some of the original 
characteristics of his countrymen; and, among 
others, a true Scythian relish for spirituous liquor. 
By the judicious administration of brandy, 
Lusieri could elicit from him, for the use of his 
patron, specimens of his art, combining the 
most astonishing genius with the strictest accu- 
racy and the most exquisite taste. Theodore 
presented a marvellous example of the force of 
