The Sun.
London, England, 1826-07-07 00:00:00

SKETCH OF ATHENS.

. -
The women of Athens, although they may have been
goddesses in ancient times, are by no means- handsome at
resent, and are slovenly in their:dress, and walk with a
stooping gait. The only period when a Greek female is
beautiful is from fourteen to twenty years of age; their forms
are then' often very graceful and sylph-like, and, their long
black: hair, falling in loose and braided tresses behind, ,
be-
comes them admirably. But from this time' their charms
begin to fall away fast, and a Greek woman of a certain
age is a being of marvellously few attractions—ignorant,
and often of violent temper and passions, and in person
disposed to enbonpnint. The beautiful lanthe, the being
that the fancy loves to picture, full of genius and faseina,
tion, and gliding with eager step amidst the glorious ruins
of her land, will :be looked for and sighed for in vain.
There are thre..eltidies at Athens, howevei, whose, real at-
,
tractions.' have been celebrated, as much as the Vampyte
girl's imaginary ones—the three daughters of the Consul,
Signor Logotheti—they aronow, 'even the one to. whom
,the tender verses of Lord B. were addressed, strange to
say, in a state of single blessedness. ...Mien the girl of
Athens- is now in the sear and yellow la, iihti-ivaui 'the
subject of the beautiful lines—
" By those wildiiiyea, like the roe, '
Can I cease to love thee ? No." •
She is the second daughter of the Consul, and still' the'
hest-looking of the three; his Lord Ship was very fond of
her conversation, and her attractions were probably derived
more from the animation of her manners and sallies of wit
than from any eminent personal charms, if one may judge
from her present appearance;' though time makes sad havoc,
and decay falls on beauty more swiftly in Greece than in
England. The manners of these ladies are' pleasing, and
their conversation, more intellectual than that of 'the rest
of their countrywomen; they are often to be met with in
the soirees at Athens—the few, at least, that are enjoyed
amidst the general wreck and confusion of the times.'
The Athenian women still Preserve< their excellence in
the dance, 'ant in quickness of understanding, and facility
of learning languages, they excel. remarkably; and in
fickleness and inconstancy Of character also the same may
be 'said of thein. The:house of Monsieur G-----s,
tho banker at. Athens, was, before the Revolution broke
out, the most agreeable resort in Athens for travellers.
His wife i'eas Fit young and handsome Greek, and of a good
'figure, though rather short, spoke several languages, and
conversed with great vivacity and shrewdness. A rich
English merchant, WhO often visited at' the'house, where
he met with the greatest hospitality, fell in love with her;
the ,passion happened to' be • mutual, and 'Madame
C{ s; 'begetting her husband and family, Athens
Juld all its attractions and associations fled with the tra-
y her to ConstantinoPle. Abandoned by -her husband,
she experienced from her lover an unbounded generosity.
A relative of the family followed him to the Turkish
capital, and sent him a challenge to meet him in the
" field of the dead," that immense burying-ground covered
with cypress, that covers the hill above Pera. The tra-
veller was there at sun-rise, according to the appointment,
but the challenger's courage failed him, and he never ap-
peered; the Englishman died, howeVee, not many months
afterwards, of alever, and the lady new lives in COnstan
tipople in very good style, in the enjoyment of an excellent
income, and a sufficient circle of Greek acquaintance; for
the very Greek relatives who abused and upbraided her at
first, finding she possessed plenty of 'money, true to their
supple and fieklo Character, soon flocked about her again,
but without any censures or frowns.

SMAEL GIBRALTAR, THE TURKISH

ADMIRAL.

This excellent Turk, lately slain by 'the. Greeks in a
skirmish,' will be much missed by the English• travellers.
'He had a command in the Paeha of Egypt's fleet, and was
remarkable for, his attachment to our' natien,. his splendid
dtess, and his constant good. nature 'and open-hearted
manners. . A few years ago he was sent on some mission
to England, and sailed in a Turkish frigate which he com-
manded from Constantinople; And after; a voyage of two
or three months, for.it.was the longest and most perilous
he had ever undertaken, he Arrived safely in the river.—
On 'Reding, he.sought out a place Of tefreshment and rest,
but with little hope of finding one suited to his Oriental
taste;. and, after parading through several narrow and
dirty streets, he, at last entered the Hog in Armour, in
Wapping, and going into a parlour that was well car-
petted, and in whose chimney an excellent fire was blazing,
he was quite delighted, and instantly squatted down on the
floor, in his rich dress' of light blue velvet, cashmere shawl,
and 'Damascus sabre at his side, declaring he had no idea
theGiaours were so well off. H,is long pipe, that was
brought by one of his attendants was instantly in use, and
the volumes of smoke, the coffee, and the various para-
phernalia, soon convinced the landlady that the stranger
intended to Monopolize the whole of her apartment. The
next day he got into a hackney-coach, and proceeded to
present his letters of introduction at the west end of the
town. The first was to the Duke of Kent, who, having
heard much of Timael's character, received him with the
greatest kindness, and, on his departure,
asked at what
hotel he lodged, that he might have the pleasure of calling
on him, and showing him all those attentions he would
stand in need of in London. Ismael replied. with the
greatest simplicity that he was lodged at the Hog in
Amour, where he should feel great pleasure in seeing his'
Royal Highness. The' Duke smiled at the simplicity of
thereply,and went early the followinKmorning his
carriage
the quarters of the noble Turk, whom he
and saw him installed in a more stylish,
to
moreofr bodily,
comfer t abodeable • Rep esentative.
ibfr onuogth t

--
THE TRAVELLER BURCKHARDTO--The tomb of
this traveller is no way distinguished from the tombs of the Turks,
amongst which it is placed; it was his dying request that no
mark might he placed on it. A single palm-tree stands close
beside where the ill-fated Sheick-Abraham, 44 he was caned,
after his many hardships• and sufferings, sleeps in peace. His
only occasional companion survives him, and resides at Cairo, in
the house of a renegide Scotchrnan ; she is an Abyssinian girl,
whom he purchased in one of his excursions into Nubia, in order
that he might learn the Abyssinian language by residing with
her. She is not handsome, as the females of her country are
generally said to be, but her manners are lively and animated ;
her temper, however, is extremely irritable. All the property
left by the traveller she at present possess", and this amounts to
ahout.2oo/. a handsome fortune fur a girl in Egypt. The hope
of obtaining this sum has. induced many designing fellows of diff~
ferent faith* tu -propose marriage to the relict of the ill-fated
Burckhardt, but she has hitherto turned a deaf ear to all. The
transition from slavery to independence, and such a fortune as
two hundred pounds, has rendered her ar haughty and capricious
as one, of the favourite sultanas of Mahmoud. She sometimes
breaks out into fits of violent passion, that requires all the skill of
the wary Scotelirnatt to soothe and propitiate ; she was born and
brought up, as most of the nativwf her country, in the Catholic
religion, or t barbarous imitation of it. But her landlord, Who
says he was obliged, to save his life, to change his religion, and
is now thriving
being a C4tholic, and says he wishes exceedingly
fast in it, feels strong compunction about her
to have her
converted to the Protestant faith,, as be look. forward probably to
m y
have her for his third wife, he hid already
two, and not suffer
her chattels to depart from under his roof. Burekhardt consigned
her to. his care, with strong entreaties,for the kindest treatment,
for he could, not endure the thought of leaving her destitute •
strange land. • eavmg a