ATHENS. 
99 
and the dragoman informed us that we had arrived at another 
important point. 
“Dere, shentlemans, you see de water; much sheep come 
dere in old time ; two tousan sheep ?” 
“Wat?” cried the Portuguese, “ dat de bay of Salamis ? 
Dat de place were Xerxes come wid two million sheep.” 
“ Yes sare ; dat de same place, sare ; de sheep all fight de 
Greek mans dere; de Greek mans kill all the sheep and sink 
’em in de water. Greek very brave mans; kill two hundred 
sheep dere. Yes sare.” 
“ Wat dey do wid all de dead mans?” 
“ Oh, dey bury all the dead mans down dere were you see 
de tombs. Yes sare. De Greek mans dere, and de oder mans 
wot come in the sheep be dere in that oder place wot you 
see. Yes sare. Oh, me know all de ting—me no tell lie ; 
me good dragoman.” 
“Poh! ’Tis imposs to eomprehen. ’Twill be necess to 
to have de book,” said the Doctor in great disgust; “de sheep 
be buried in de tombs, and de Greek mans be buried in de 
sheep—imposs! imposs! Andate, diabolo !” 
So the carriage rolled on again, not exactly in the direction 
indicated by the Doctor, but certainly to a place that appeared 
to have no great local advantages over the residence of the 
dark gentleman referred to. It was the far-famed city of 
Eleusis—a most abominable collection of pigsties, inhabited by 
filthy Greeks. From the time of our departure from Athens, 
I had seen no inhabitants on the roadside at all superior in 
point of civilization, either in their way of living or general 
appearance, to the Indians of California—certainly none that 
were not in an absolute state of barbarism. 
We ascended the hill of Eleusis, and stood upon the Acropolis. 
The utter desolation of the scene all around presented a 
striking and melancholy picture of the fall of Greece. No¬ 
thing could exceed the weird and impressive grandeur of the 
scenery. All was ruin, barrenness and decay, wherever we 
looked ; not a spot of verdure within the vast amphitheatre 
of mountains; the whole face of the country arid and blasted; 
all still, dreary, and deathlike—all wrapt in hopeless desolation. 
