22nd October. The distance of the harbour of the Piraeus from
Athens is thirteen stadia, or six English miles. The road leads
through olive-plantations and between barren hills. The Acropolis
remains continually in sight; the town of Athens does not appear
till afterwards. I had intended to remain eight days in Athens, in
order to see all the monuments and remarkable places of the town and
environs leisurely; but I had scarcely got out of the carriage when
I heard the news of the breaking out of the Vienna revolution of
October.
I had heard of the Paris revolution of the 24th February while in
Bombay; that of March in Germany, at Baghdad; and the other
political disturbances while at Tebris, Tiflis, and other places.
No news had astonished me so much in my whole life as that from
Vienna. My comfortable, peace-loving Austrians, and an overthrow of
the government! I thought the statement so doubtful, that I could
not give full credit to the verbal information of the Resident at
Baghdad; he was obliged to show it to me in black and white in the
newspaper to convince me. The affair of March so delighted and
inspirited me that I felt proud of being an Austrian. The later
occurrences of May, however, cooled my enthusiasm; and that of the
6th of October completely filled me with sadness and dejection. No
overthrow of a state ever began so promisingly. It would have stood
alone in history if the people had gone on in the spirit of the
March movement; and then to end in such a way! I was so grieved and
upset by the result of the 6th of October, that I lost all enjoyment
of everything. Moreover, I knew my friends were in Vienna, and I
had heard nothing from them. I should have hastened there
immediately if there had been an opportunity of doing so; but I was
obliged to wait till the next day, as the steamer did not start till
then. I made arrangements to go by it, and then took a cicerone to
show me all the objects of interest in the town, more for diversion
than pleasure.
My fate had been very unfortunate; twelve days I had patiently
endured being shut up in the lazaretto at AEgina, in order to be
able to see the classic country, and now I was so anxious to leave
it that I had neither rest nor peace.
Athens, the capital of the former State of Attica, is said to have
been founded in the year 1300, fourteen hundred years before Christ,
by Cecrops, from whom it then took the name of Cecropia, which in
after-times was retained only by the castle:
