wilt thou love, and she be fair!

On both days while in Athens we lunched at one of the hotels facing
Constitution Square and ate of the delicious honey from Mt. Hymettus,
returning to the Moltke in the harbor in time to have a late dinner and
to spend the night. In the public park in front of the hotel the trees
were laden with oranges. Beyond the park through the green foliage could
be seen the white palace of the king.

While rambling through the streets we saw a funeral procession. First
came many banners and symbols of the Greek Church, carried by church
officials; then followed the casket borne by men, the casket open and
the pale face of the dead exposed to the gaze of the onlookers; a man
came next carrying the lid of the coffin filled with flowers; then
priests in black robes, men and women in black, and girls in white
holding wreaths and flowers. The people along the way removed their hats
and crossed themselves, muttering prayers as the procession passed by.

The modern religion of Greece is that of the Greek church, a religion of
many ceremonies. The priests, long-haired, heavy-bearded men, wear long
flowing black robes and black hats resembling our silk dress hats turned
upside down with the brim at the top. They, the guide informed us, are
men of influence; their hands are kissed by their people; their advice
is sought, and their opinions received with deference by the members of
their church.

The stores for the sale of candles to be burned on ceremonial occasions
made an interesting display. There were candles of all sizes, ranging
from six feet in height, beautifully decorated, which only the wealthy
could afford, down to the small unadorned dip that the smallest coin
might purchase.

"These candles," said the guide while we were pricing some of the
decorated ones, "are used for the rejoicings at baptisms, at the
festivities on wedding occasions, and for lightening the gloom around
the caskets of the dead. They are given as penance to the church, or as
votive offerings to brighten the altars of the Virgin or patron saints."

Eikons, the sacred memorials which the Greek Christians hang in their
homes, representing the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ in her
arms, were also for sale in great numbers. Some of these were merely
painted boards or silvered or gilded metal; others were of expensive
material, incrusted with jewels. In all the Eikons, either cheap or
dear, the painted faces and heads