It was Sunday, and the weather was very fine, {335} to which I was indebted for seeing all the fashionable world of Athens, and even the Court, in the open promenade.  This place is a plain avenue, at the end of which a wooden pavilion is erected.  It is not decorated by either lawns or flower-beds.  The military bands play every Sunday from five to six.  The King rides or drives with his Queen to this place to show himself to the people.  This time he came in an open carriage with four horses, and stopped to hear several pieces of music.  He was in Greek costume; the Queen wore an ordinary French dress.

The Greek or rather Albanian costume is one of the handsomest there is.  The men wear full frocks, made of white perkal, which reach from the hips to the knees, buskins from the knee to the feet, and shoes generally of red leather.  A close-fitting vest of coloured silk without arms, over a silk shirt, and over this another close-fitting spencer of fine red, blue, or brown cloth, which is fastened only at the waist by a few buttons or a narrow band, and lays open at the top.  The sleeves of the spencer are slit up, and are either left loose or slightly held together by some cords round the wrists; the collar of the shirt is a little turned over.  The vest and spencer are tastily ornamented with cords, tassels, spangles and buttons of gold, silver or silk, according to the means of the wearer.  The material, colour and ornament of the Zaruchi correspond with those of the spencer and vest.  A dagger is generally worn in the girdle, together with a pair of pistols.  The head-dress is a red fez, with a blue tassel.

The Greek dress is, as far as I saw, less worn by the women, and even then much of its originality is lost.  The principal part of the dress consists of a French garment, which is open at the breast, over this a close spencer is drawn on, which is also open, and the sleeves wide and rather shorter than those of the gown.  The front edges of the gown and spencer are trimmed with gold lace.  The women and girls wear on their head a very small fez, which is bound round with rose or other coloured crape.

24th October.  I left Athens by the small steamer Baron Kubeck, seventy-horse power, and went as far as Calamachi (twenty-eight miles).  Here I had to leave the ship and cross the Isthmus, three English miles broad.  At Lutrachi we went on board another vessel.

During the passage to Calamachi, which lasts only a few hours, the little town of Megara is seen upon a barren hill.

Nothing is more unpleasant in travelling than changing the conveyance, especially when it is a good one, and you can only lose by doing so.  We were in this situation.  Herr Leitenberg was one of the best and most attentive of all captains that I had ever met with in my travels, and we were all sorry to have to leave him and his ship.  Even in Calamachi, where we remained this day and the following, as the ship which was to carry us on from Lutrachi did not arrive, on account of contrary winds, until the 25th, he attended to us with the greatest politeness.