New Britain herald., 1916-09-23
Place Once Held by Helen of T10v V0v an American s.

despite well-nigh constant temper ature of nearly 100, the absence oi rain removing the humidity which makes American midsummer so int0e erable.
 Socially, too, the Athenian year di- vides itself with the climate. At the end of the rainy season the court, the diplomatic body, and the rich flee away, the latter going, as they Say, to Europe, and to take their places there flock to Athens and to the seaside ho9w tels at Phaleron and to villas and re- sorts at Kephisia-in-the-hi hills numbers of rich Greeks from Asia Minor and from Egypt; and the whole city re- verses the order of it's winter life, turning night into day and spending most of the hours between sunset and sunrise out of doors
 "Ath enian houses are built to re- sist heat. The exterior and interiQr- walls are all of thick stone, and, with tightly closed windows, one stays in doors until the afternoon tea, when the level rays of the setting sun per- init adventure. Then one strolls or drives, dimes wherever the dinner hour may find him, and invariably out of doors, journeys by tram tc phaler- on for the bathing and the music or seeks the cool garden of the Zappeion to see the movies,' or goes to Alyssida for dinner and the vaudeville and new CT loses caste by returning home as late as o'clock in the morning.
 Everywhere about the town, on the roofs of clubs or hotels, in the gar dens or on the terraces of restaurant, beneath the pepper trees of the parks, and even in the streets tables arc spread and I venture to say that more than 100000 people dine in the open air each night of an Athenian sum- mer. Greek cooking is more oriefr tai than indigenous. Lamb or kid, with chicken-which has always seemed to me to be the national fird of all Europe-are the principal meats, though from the shores of Eleusis come delicious wild duck, and other game birds are found near by,
 while play, Turkish dish of rice
 with chicken or lamb, and giaourtRz the Bulgarian ferment of milk are
 standards in every Hellenic bill of fare.
 With the renewal of the rains the brown fields and hill-sides quickly
 clothe themselves in green. The Roy al family returns from its cure, tlt8 diplomats come back from leave, thes great houses of the city open, the ho~ tels and summer gardens close, the Levantines take themselves home,
 and the winter season begins. Entertaining in Athens travels l somewhat narrow circle. State dinners at the palaces, reciprocal entertain ments at the legations, few receptions and still fewer dinners at Greek houses | from the backbone of the winters en- I poyment Greeks rarely invite strang- 1 CTS to their board although among themselves exists a society which tha foreign colony knows. of chiefly by
 rumor.
 There is much conversation in
 Athenian salons, and always of high i order. In no capital of Europe, I be- lieve, can be found a more cultured society and in no drawing room that I have known does conversation flow so smoothly and at such a high level. Art, politics, and the drama are all well known in Athens, and the Greeks are such accomplished lingu!sts that any foreigner may use his own speecR without hesitation French, of course, Is the prevailing foreign tongue, with
 English pressing it hard for first place."