Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-10-16

marry b pretty #onan. Be Il again said
that John Bun is rare animal.lz An along
he had been delighting in hunting up
scandal shout bis Queen, and delighted
more in finding fault with her family than
we do about the President. But here, in
Greece, Mr.. Bull was very enthusiastic
over the brother of the Queens daughter
in-laws-LQuite number Of Greeks were
out In their, small boats, cheering the
King and shooting rockets for his aTnuse-
ment More sense would have been shown
in saving the money TO pay foreign debts.
Nothing of interest occurred on the way
70 Athens. Before the harbor of Pir@us
was reached, we passed near, the Bay of
Salanis, where Xerxes came so sorely to
grief. Pir@us was reached we were
landed and stood on bona fide Grecian
land How many thoughts of whatIthat
land once was ! How the images of men
whose names are sign-posts of history
seemed to fit through the air l. Not
pleased and cheerful as if fresh from their
own elysiau fields, but sad and mournful
over the changes in their native land.
The reader may fancy that he would
have delighted to stand with the writer on
ground 80 famous, but it is mistake
This was not The home of Plato and De-
mosthenes. All was changed. The Oc-
cident had invaded the Orient. The
whistle of engines was heard, modern adj
vance was seen, the stately ship of the
true Greek was wanting. The shipping
and men-of-war in the harbor were not
such as Greece sent forth to SOW seeds of
learning and to bring home treasures.
There were signs of activity and life in
the Piraeus, but how different from the
same two thousand years ago. The rail-
road to Athens, distant eight miles, was
over level ground, well cultivated, but
poor. In some places were seen our old
acquaintance of Syria, the olive tree. In
few minutes, reader, think of where
you are and how you came there, the
train had halted, and the conductor cried
out Athenst 1 was prepared and cool
in the pulse, for, before, you must
remember, l was living ages in minutes.
had caught glimpses of the Acropolis
and almost by instinct knew it. The
depot-how that word would puzzle Per-
icles-stands near the beautiful temple of
Theseus, which l soon found the best
preserved in Athens. Excellent quarters
and accommodation were obtained In the
Hotel Angleterre near the palace of the
King, and facing the public gardens "A
week was before me in which to examine
and think, and possibly dream, over
ruins of buildings once 30 famous, and
whose remains are still the shrines of lovers
of learning and art 1t is rule, as old
as eating itself, to learn the best last, but
not SO in sightseeing. The first place to
be visited, read about and studied was the
Acropelis, with its mass of ruins, IN
GLIDING three temples, two theaters and
host of broken statusry. The traveller
who visits such places and fails to study
them carefully, loses half the benefits and
receives none of the spirit which they are
calculated to instilL Yet many persons
were seen who spent few hours in mere
ly walking around, and then took their
leave not any wiser than the 1eas
that used to learn wisdom of Socrates,
not far from the same point There is a
solemn grandeur about the Parthenon, as
it rises high over any other neighboring
objects, that is wonderfully impressive.
Nature favored Pericles no little in his
selection Of spot for building which,
but for modern vandalism, would have
sto I'd thousands of years to strike with
awe the beholder, and shame modern at
Temps at architecture. Enough still re-
mains to indicate what it once was, and
show the superiority of the ancients as
hOuse-builders. Three of the walls and
If tho pnlY1FT1Tac in fnlaro hler
good state of preservation. The decUra-
tons of the walls are mostly destroyed
or carried TO London, but few are to be
seen as samples of the Greek idea of
sport. In all their sculpturing their gods
play no small part and are frequently
seen in quite ungodlike positions. The
Grecian deities were like some modern
Christians-able to adapt themselves to
circumstances. The Parthenon is decep-
tive, as it looks large enough at distance
TO appear much larger than is the case
when it is approached. -1
This portion of the Acropolis is not
placed directly in front of the Propy-
leum, the grandest gate or entrance way
ever built-but stands off to one side so
that it breaks in upon the visitor in a
moment in all its beauty and grandeur
There is peculiar appearance about the
capital, not seen as yet in any other build
ing, at least not so strikingly. 1t is diff
cult to tell at first whence this peculiarly
arises, but by close observation one finds
that there is not straight line about the
building. In every wall and column,
there is a slight variation from right
line which the architect knew better than
his modern brethren, would relieve the
building of anything like monotony.
Near the entrance is a modern tower used
in war, and which disfguIes the general
appearance of the ruins. The visitor
must not take it for an ancient structure.
These old heroes knew more about good
taste than to build such pile. A small
stands near the Parthenon. A talented
German sculptor has recently attempted,
under the patronage of the government,
to restore some of the capitals of the
broken columns of one of the porches of
this temple. He failed, although model
was before him, to initiate the sculptoring
on the sound columns. There is a story
about Neptune, Juno, and Minerva in
connection with this building, but those
of your readers who do not know it must
hunt it up. The temple of the wingless
Victory stands just outside of the Propy-
l9um. The Greeks built this after
a victory over Xerxes, but in
spite of the honor done her, Vic
tory did not choose to think her
self wingless. She proved, too we'll to
her worshippers that she could and would
fly. The front of the Acropolis has been
buried beneath rubbish, but is being
cleared away.
Just below the Acropolis, facing to-
wards the sea, is Mars Hill, an immense
rock, with steps hewn out of the stone
reaching to the top, where are still the seats
of the mighty Areopagus, which once
held its sessions beneath the clear Gre
clan sky. Here is place which furnish
es meT tai food for thinking men of every
stripe. To the disbeliever there is much
to interest in the contemplation of the
august men who once sat here and passed
judgment upon matters of individual and
national weight. To the believer how
different are the thoughts that fill his
bosom. Many of the laws of the Greeks
have been forgotten, many of their for
ensic displays have passed away, but
Psuls sermon on the unknown God"
still remains, and who can say when it
will be lost. | heard a sermon on Mars
Hill. Did / do wrong in listening to an
uninspired man on a spot where the great
Apostle taught 1900 years ago / fear it
was impious.
A little farther on is the place where
the immense mass meetings of the Athe-
mans used TO be held. This is a large,
semi-circular spot. There seems to have
been no seats, so the importunste speaker
had good chance for playing trick
quite common nowadays among stump
ers. This spot now bears the nsmef Of
The Bema of Demosthenes. 1t is little
altered from what it was when Demos