by art: at certain distances were columus of deep blood red porphyry, presenting altogether a scene, which so astonished Antonio, that in silence he followed his friends till they reached a slanting wall of purple marble, adorned with transparent crystals, many of which from the reflection of the lights carried to illumine this natural and splendid phenomenon, sparkled like amethysts. Another slanting passage, the stalactites of which assumed a variety of grotesque forms, led them, at last, after descending a third precipice, by means of a ladder, to the object of their visit the grotto. They were now about one thousand five hundred feet below the surface of the island. The roof, which is in many parts one hundred and eighty feet high, is luxuriantly adorned with festoons of flowers, marble, ice, pendant icicles, and the most fanciful imagery, all of so brilliant a hue that the eyes of our travellers could scarcely gaze upon the resplendent scene. In the sides of the grotto, the petrifactions have assumed the form of trees and shrubs, which rising one above the other, meet the icicles of the roof, forming the most beautiful and delicate trellis work. The ground work of this grotto is rough and uneven, being composed of crystals of various colours, intermixed with the crystallized white marble, which principally compose this fairy palace. "How wonderfully grand," at length exclaimed Antonio, whose eager eye and parted lip were strongly expressive of the astonishment he felt at coutemplating this sublime work of nature; " I am lost in wonder and delight." "We have a grotto in England which equals it Antonio," replied his young friend. "Do you not think so, Sir," continued he, addressing Dr. Walker. "It is not much inferior to it," said the Doctor, "and I expected the comparison from you.”, SECTION VI... ATHENS-ELEUSIS-CITHERON-THEBES-NEGROPONT. HAVING once more regained the face of day they passed one night on the island, and then embarked on board their little vessel, which after a pleasant sail conveyed them up the gulf of Egina, and late in the evening they landed in the interesting vicinity of Athens. The situation of Athens is picturesque to a great degree, for it stands on the brink of a precipice overlooking the sea. Our travellers made several excursions in the neighbourhood of this once celebrated city, and none gave them more pleasure than that of the summit of Hymettus. Having visited the spot called Acathymia, formerly the site as is supposed, of the ancient academy, they continued their walk, and were amused for some time by a shepherd playing upon a pastoral flute, which consisted of a single piece of the Donat, about a foot long. The next day, following the tract of the Illissus, which was nearly dry, and fringed with the oleander and the agnus castus, they proceded to Hymettus, so famous for its honey. The lower part is planted with olive gardens, the kermes oak then appears, and several beautiful flowers adorn the upper part of it, among which a species of the colchium, and the beautiful Persian cyclamer, are very conspicuous. A variety of sweet herbs also adorn this celebrated mountain, and impart their aromatic flavour to the honey of Hymettus. The view from their exalted situation was extensive and pleasing. They could discern the Cyclades, the straits of Negropont, the eastern coast of Attica, the numerous ports stretching towards cape Colonna, the Saronic gulf, the plains of Athens with its olive grounds, and the mountains of Parnes and Pendeli in Attica. "Was not one branch of the Illissus called Eridanus?" said Edward. "Yes," replied the Doctor," though the Po in Italy be so ealled by Virgil. It was the river Eridanus into which Phaeton fell, when Jupiter melted the wax off the wings of that aspiring youth, when he presumed to guide the chariot of the sun.' " Having rested at the monastery which is about half way up the mountain, for some little time, they were anxious to taste the honey; but this article belonged to the bishop, and so closely did he exact his due, that the poor monks could not present our travellers with the smallest quantity. So little now remains of what Athens was, except the ruins of the Parthenon, in the Aeropolis or citadel, and the temple of Jupiter Olympus, that our travellers made but a very short stay within its walls, and hiring guides, and accompanied by their Greek servant whom they found very useful, they again resumed their journey, taking the direction of the route to Marathon. "Do you not feel yourself half transformed into a hero," said the Doctor, addressing Edward, as they entered the plain of Marathon ; "cannot your imagination picture the celebrated 'engagement which took place here between the Persians and Greeks, in this spot consecrated by the blood of heroes? here Miltiades with his Athenians, Plateans, and slaves, rushed to the unequal contest. Here the superb Persians fled before their valiant opponents, and embarking in haste, doubled cape Lunium, directing their vessels to Phalerum, hoping to reach Athens before the Athenians were aware of their intentions. They were, however, disappointed, for the conquerors at Marathon marched direct for the capital of Attica, as soon as the important contest was decided, and counteracted the designs of their proud and ambitious invaders. And now let us visit the village Morasana, I understand it is a pleasant little place, seated in the midst of gardens planted with vines, olives, and apricot trees." Having prosecuted their walk about a mile along the banks of the stream, they arrived at a fountain surrounded by a circular foundation of ancient masonry. Above the fountain is a small rock at the foot of which is a cave divided into various apartments, supposed to have been formerly dedicated to Pan. Having taken a survey of this interesting spot they returned to Athens, over a rough and rocky road, till they arrived at the plains of that city. It was night when they entered the city, and the following day having made all necessary arrangements for their departure, they set off along the shore of the gulf for Boeotia. In about an hour and a half after crossing a plain between Corydally and Parnes, they arrived at the convent Daphné, partly composed of the ruins of the temple of Venus, which formerly stood near this place. Here They then crossed the streams of the Rhitti, and at length arrived at Eleusis, where the plan of the temple of Ceres, which was destroyed by Alaric, A.D. 396. is still to be traced. they passed through vast fields of barley. They_made no stay at Eleusis, but continuing their journey in a northern direction, they reached Megara where they viewed some fine remains of antiquity; two hours brought them across the plain, when Mount Parnes presented itself, beyond which stretched the plain of Eleuthera where another road from Athens, by Phyle, joins that of Eleusis. After traversing the Citheron, a chain of mountains which divides Attica from Boeotia, they entered the celebrated plains of Platea. Some traces of the fortifications of the town are still to be seen, three miles to the west of the pass of Citheron. Having made some comments on the battle of Platea, in which Mardonius the Persian general was totally defeated, and which so completely suppressed every idea the Persians had formed respecting the subjugation of Greece, that no Persian troops ever passed the Hellespont after this memorable defeat; the Doctor said, "it was worthy of observation, that the heathen never undertook any great enterprize without consulting the gods, nor ever gained a great victory without returning public thanks to the same. After the battle of Platea," continued he," a dispute took place between the Lacedemonians and Athenians as to which of the two nations should be declared the bravest; the dispute ran high, but at length the question was decided by Cleocritus of Corinth, who in order to avert the scene of blood which threatened to tarnish the honours the two people had lately gained, declared he thought the prize shoul be awarded to the Plateans. The proposal was received with loud shouts, and in the division of the spoil fourscore talents, (about 18,000Z. sterling) was set apart for that people, who with this large sum erected a temple to Minerva. The tenth part of all spoil taken by the Grecians was devoted to the gods upon all occasions." A golden tripod was sent to Delphos by the united Greeks upon this great victory; they also sent to request the god (Apollo) would inform them what sacrifice was proper to offer as a token of their gratitude for this great victory. The answer they received was "that they should erect an altar to Jupiter Liberator, that no sacrifice was to be offered upon his altar, until all the neighbouring fires had been extinguished as they had been profaned by the Barbarians, but that fire from the common altar at Delphos was to be sent for upon this solemn occasion." Upon the receipt of this answer the generals dispersed themselves in every direction to extinguish the fires, and Euchidas a Platean, undertook to fetch the sacred fire from Delphos. On his arrival at the sacred fane after having purified himself and sprinkled himself with holy and consecrated water, he approached the altar with the greatest reverence, took the holy fire and immediately returned to his native city, where he arrived before sun-set. Having delivered a short speech to his countrymen, and consigned his precious charge to its hallowed receptacle, he fell down and instantly expired. He had walked a thousand stadia (120 English miles) in one day. The heroes in the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Ænead, always addressed some deity previously to rushing to the fight. The poets of antiquity make their heroes pious according to the piety of the age in which they lived. 66 Though false their faith, And less than human were the gods they sung: Though false their faith, they taught the best they knew; In a north-west direction from Platea are supposed to be some trifling remains of Leuctra, and between Platea and Leuctra, is a plain on which are a couple of tumuli, which may very probably have been erected after the engagement between Epaminandos and the Spartans. A small place called Lefka marks the situation of Leuctra, and the little village of Rohle is near the remains of Platea. In the town of Thiva or Stibes, anciently Thebes, where they next halted, they staid one day in order to take a survey of this once celebrated city. It is surrounded by a wall defended by square stone towers. The houses are high and tolerably built, and though the only manufactory carried on here is that of bowls for the Turkish pipes, yet it had a more lively appearance than they had lately been accustomed to. The inhabitants are half Greeks and half Turks, and the town contains two mosques and several Christian churches. The second day of their arrival at Thebes they hired horses to convey them to Negropont, the ancient Euboea, which is divided from the continent by the Euripus, over which there is an old fashioned heavy bridge of three arches. The approach to the capital from Thebes is over a dull uninteresting country, but the view of Negropont, the capital of the Island of that name is very fine. It is surrounded by lofty walls and towers rising from the water, behind which appear the mountains of Euboea, their summits covered with snow. Upon crossing the bridge they were much disappointed. The interior of the city presented a dull and melancholy appearance. No sound, "No busy hum of men,” greeted their ears, and they almost fancied they were entering an uninhabited town. The buildings are mostly of the Venetian cast, solid and gloomy, and the lion of St. Mark still retains his position on various parts of the walls. A large Gothic church in the style of those in England, drew from Edward an exclamation of delight. The blood rushed to his face as he contemplated with mingled feelings an edifice, which brought to his imagination many pleasing remembrances. This, and a silk manufactory, carried on in a large vaulted chamber of most solid masonry, which Dr. Walker pronounced to be the remains of Roman strength and grandeur, are all that Negropont contains worth noticing. They were content with having viewed the capital, and accordingly again crossing the strait of Euripus, the irregularity of whose tides has been the subject of much study, both among the moderns and the ancients, they turned to the right, directing their steps to Martino, a village about eighteen miles from Negropont. Their road lay at a short distance from the sea coast, and as they journied on, they passed the ruins of a large town which they supposed to be Anthedon. The day now advanced, and ere they reached the bay Potromathe the sun had long passed the meridian. Among the mountains which surrounded this bay on three sides, there was one round which their road lay. Although the horses were accustomed to this steep ascent, yet they toiled with difficulty, and their guide having mistaken his way, the evening closed in upon them, and they began to fear that they must pass the night in the open air. In the valley it had been warm; but now that the sun was set, the chilly air of the mountains was sensibly felt by our travellers, particularly by the Doctor. Edward and Antonio looked eagerly on every side, and were anxious to seek for a place of shelter for him, but he would not suffer them to leave him, lest they should stray so far |