Morning journal and courier., 1892-05-16

Perfander at Athens-Some Changes
 -The Greeks-The Popular Way of
 Reaching Greece-The Spoken and
 the Written LaDguage-PoIitIcs' in
 Greece.
 ATHENS, April %.
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 During the last fifteen years Athens has changed in some particulars, while in oth- CTS it seems destined to remain without change. The city has grown. Some of the new streets are broad and along their sides are houses of modern plan and con- struction; but the principal parts of the city have not changed particle. The "Odos Ermou" is as badly paved from end to end as ever; the shops are as small and dingy and the people are as dirty, and as far away from cleanliness and civilization. At least two large hotels have been added to the quota and Athens has been admit ted to the tourists round. Sight-seers come and go every day, and Athens sub mits to being "done" as Rome and Naples are "done" daily by countless numb-skulls and idiots. The acropolis is crossed of by the same priggish pencil which has al ready drawn a mark through the Colosse- um, Pompeii, the Moulin Rouge and the "Zoo." Americans, under the shadow of the Parthenon, compare notes and pride themselves on the number of things they have got through with during the last twenty-four hours. Then off they go to Constantinople, where they wag their pen cils anew and renew competitive sight seeing. If you ask the fair ones of par ty which place in journey impressed them the most they will say that Shep- perd's was charming until Duke So and so went away, or that they will never forget Monaco, for there for the first time they saw the prince and saw him lose ten sover- eigns. Dear things, what is your knowl- edge in all it's glory in comparison with the founces and blushes, the smiles and laces, the bright eyes and dainty lips, the pointed toes and fairy finger tips of any one of theml
 The Greek is precisely the same Greek you met before. Time has not made him one bit wiser He still think. there can be no peace in Europe till Greece is called in as chief arbitrator. He affirms that it would be money we'll invested if the na- tions of Europe-the Christian nations, that is-would unite to pay off the debt of Greece and to set her up with frst-class | army and navy with which to exterminste | the Turks when the proper moment came. | Incidentally he will state that there is but one man in Greece competent to manage the affair abinitio, and that that party is the man who is honoring you with his talk. If you encourage him he will pro- ceed to demonstrate that if it had not been for most unexpected, unforeseen and una- | voidable circumstances he this very in stant would be prime minister, gloriously welding the affairs of the world with 6 branch from Athens olive tree.
 There are many ways of reaching Greece. Perhaps the most popular now-s days is from New York by the N. D. Lloyd to Ge neva; from there to Brindisi by rail, and from Brindisi across the Adriatic in twen ty-four hours to Purgos on the Corinthiar | Gulf, whence to Athens by rail again fol | seven hours. Be careful about the boat YOU time yourself to take at Brindisi, fol you may suffer such torture during those
 twenty-four hours that Greece will evel after appear on memory's mirror through
 veil of misery. When small boat ship,
 twice it's complement of passengers and C
 southwest storm springs up to investigate
 the irregularity there is more longing fol
 extermination, clean and instantaneous, or
 the bosom of the Adriatic than on the bo
 som of all the other seas of the earth pu
 together. People who have the utmost as
 surance in their sturdiness go down lik'
 tender wheat before cyclonic hail storms
 There is 8 peculiar twist to an Adriati,
 wave that sets all the channel from end tt
 end mad with jealousy. Try to start iron Brindisi at night so as to sail in the day
 light by beautiful Corfu and by the hom
 of Olysseus. Another way is to ship iron Marseilles directly to the Pir@us, the har
 bor of Athens. This is by far the mos
 comfortable way for those who are no pressed for time and who are on confiden } tial terms with the sea. The boats, too are the best of the boats which confin
 their sailing to the Mediterranean. An 1 other and @ very good plan is to take Pc ninsula and Oriental boat from Liverpoo ] to Brindisi, or an Orient boat from South
 ampton to Naples and then across to Brin
 disi. But always exercise the same car about the boat from Brindisi. The Aus E trian boats are as @ rule better than tn
 Italian boats. If you find yourself booke
 by e emall Italian boat and there are pro. poets of its being crowded, sooner retur } home than put your foot on board. Flo ? you may be put into corner with @ doz en others tied fast about you. Not onl will your lungs be 50 filled with bad al l that the bellows of Swiss mountains mus 8 | blow for a week to clean you out, but 70 ! 1 will be devoured from your cuticle ir
 wards; your whole anatomy will be pierced
 punctured and explored while you ar 2 fighting for breath, struggling for exis P ence. No cessation till you are as full C ! holes ss sponge, and ss dry and ss lift less as the sponge of commerce.
 r The grand round of travel seems 1 n blow from Egypt and then on to Constar ' tinople. A branch starts at Paris in th
 autumn, goes south with the recedin !. warm weather to Pau, and then throus l, Spain to Seville. There 1t stops awhil h talks wisely of Murillo and hirts Spanir fans. Then on to the Gates of Hercul, and on wing across to Gran. From Ora }. to Tunis is easy and pleasnt going, sr
 beauty may comfortably dream of Kal,
 lahs and ravishing Berbers. Then sail n the wastes between Tunis and Alexandri ,r and there you are at the Delta, with 6 a the winter to sail up and down the Nj ., and then talk 1t all over at Shspperd ?. Hotel at Cairo. Then comes spring, ar lo here ws meet at Athens with Rnoth er branch which kept on from Alexsndr ,y and gave tho winter to Palestine, cam !. ing out at Constantinople, and from the " hers. Thess arc apt to be sober trsy 10 aEs, pEing thsls Rislss q guias books s