e propylaea or vestibule is
nearly destroyed, and buried in ruins; but the columns, still extant,
are exceedingly beautiful: and the stone, which formed the architrave of
the door, is of an enormous size, but it is cracked in the centre. Hence
we proceeded to the Erechtheon, whose southern portico is still
supported by five caryatides, the sixth having been thrown down.
[Sidenote: INSOLENCE OF THE TURKS.] The neighbouring temple, which was
reserved as a harem for the women, whilst Athens was in possession of
the Turks, suddenly fell in, and crushed the whole of its unfortunate
occupants to death. In the centre of the temple of Minerva stands a
mosque, which is at present occupied as a barrack by the Bavarian
troops. Whenever the Osmanlis take possession of a Greek village, they
invariably ride into its Christian church, and endeavour to force their
horses to defile the altar. By way of retaliation, when their mosque was
delivered up last Sunday, certain Englishmen imitated their example. As
may be readily supposed, this incensed the Turks to a great degree; but,
like the conquered Christians, they were compelled to submit.

It were a needless task to expatiate on the beauty of this temple, with
its noble columns, and its magnificent metopes; for the best still
remain, where Lord Elgin could not reach them. The prospect from the
summit of the building, whither I mounted to inspect these interesting
relics, is most splendid; but then,

"Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted, holy ground;
No earth of thine is lost in vulgar mould;
But one vast realm of wonder spreads around,
And all the muse's tales seem truly told;
Till the sense aches with gazing, to behold
The scenes our earliest dreams have dwelt upon."

[Sidenote: GRAVE OF TWEDDEL.] We next visited what is called
Demosthenes's Lantern, situated close to a ruined house, formerly the
Franciscan convent. Mr. Finlay and some others have cleared away the
rubbish and masses of fallen masonry from about the Lantern: they have
also dug a ditch around it, to prevent the devastation committed by
visitors who attempt to break and carry away the ornaments: they have
not yet learnt

"To pass in peace along the magic waste;
To spare its relics:--let no busy hand
Deface the scenes, already how defaced!"

The Temple of Theseus, one of the most perfect existing specimens of
ancient architecture, is an admirable combination of lightness and
solidity. Neither