Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-04-28
ATHENS.

The senior Brooks of the New York
Express is in Greece, and from Athens
writes a very entertaining descriptive
letter, from which we quote:
Fancy yourself ii. some new town OF
Wisconsin, or Minnesota, with some 3d.
900 people in that town, and that new
town is Athens, the Athens of this era,
and you are eiS ten Athenen then. Old
Athens is obliterated, save the ruins |
have spoken of, and In a new place, a
new town has sprung ap since the Greek
Revolution, which from nothing then,
now has some 10000 inhabitants. The
houses are all, or almost all, fresh and
new. The stucco of most of them looks
as if it was stuck on yesterday. The
streets are new. Every thing is new
Frank and Greek costumes are contend.
ing for the supremacy, and the Frank is
prevailing. Ii you can fancy the Alba
mans in their fancy costumes, their gored
and flowing shirts of pure white cotton,
their adorned b%uSkins, their richly EN-
broidcred jackets, their red caps with
~tassels, Wyandots, or Sioux chiefs, the
deception will DO complete, and you are
in some new and hourishing town of a
Northwestern State or Territory. The
Palace, about the size of the White House
in Washington, (not marble, but stuc-
coed) is all new The garden is new
The cathedral going up is new. A State
and a people are in the process Of regen-
GRAFTON, and God give them help, must be
the prayer of every man. Liberty exists
here, rational liberty, constitutional lib
erty, and the King is obliged to respect
the will and wishes of the people.
attended the debates of the Chamber
of Deputies, which comes from the isles
Of Greece, as we'll as from the main land.
What was said, of course, was " all
Greek" to me-but | could certainly see
that debates were as free, as warm, as
energetic, as in England or the United
States. Some members spoke from a
Tribune, others spoke from their seats
Some were in Albanian, som in Greek,
some in Frank costume, the red caps OF
Greek preponde9ing we the Frank cos
tune, the red caps of Greek %preponder-
ing over the Frank silk hat. Newspa-
pers, in Greek, were in the hands Of
members, reading as in our Legislature.
Some were smoking, ONE were chatter
ing. some were listening-and altogether,
the spectacle, save in costumes, reminded
me much of legislative life at home
Great attention was paid to US, some ten
or twelve, English and American visitors.
and evidently some of the speeches were
made for 'Buncombe" in the gallery /;
but " Buncombe' was stupid, and could
not understand Greek. We went into
the University. The students we're near
ly all in Frank dress. All seemed to be
smokers here, as in other Universities
elsewhere. They did not look as if they
would die of hard study, as long as any
of the weed was left. Some, of them
were very civil to us, and we exchanged
thoughts in French or Italian.
We went into the library, and found it
to be a very large long room, full OF
books, all of which had been presented
since the Greek revolution.
The whole visit highly impressed me
with the advancing and improving con
di ion of Greece, and led me to hope that
civilization is on its march backwards as
we'll as forwards back to its home, az
well as on to the woods, and the wilder.
ness. Aud is it not SO? Is not the tide
now, instead of flowing only West, West
ward the Star of the Empire takes its
way,) flowing East also? Is not the re-
fluent wave rolling back, as well as roll
ing on? Or are we to wait till the globe
is encircled, and the antipodes are turned
up to our civilization?