On The 10th Of October We Caught Sight Of The Grecian Mainland. Sailing Near The Coast, We Saw On The Lofty Prominence Of A Rock Twelve Large Columns, The Remains Of The Temple Of Minerva.

Shortly afterwards we came near the hill on which the beautiful Acropolis stands.

I gazed for a long time on all that was to be seen; the statues of the Grecian heroes, the history of the country came back to my mind; and I glowed with desire to set my foot on the land which, from my earliest childhood, had appeared to me, after Rome and Jerusalem, as the most interesting in the earth. How anxiously I sought for the new town of Athens - it stands upon the same spot as the old and famous one. Unfortunately, I did not see it, as it was hidden from us by a hill. We turned into the Piraeus, on which a new town has also been built, but only stopped to deliver up our passports, and then sailed to AEgina.

It was already night when we arrived; a boat was quickly put out, and we were conveyed to the quay near the quarantine station. Neither the porters nor servants of this establishment were there to help us, and we were obliged to carry our own baggage to the building, where we were shown into empty rooms. We could not even get a light. I had fortunately a wax taper with me, which I cut into several pieces and gave to my fellow-passengers.

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