quence," on the right side of the question, i. e., in favour of constitutional principles and institutions. This, of course, is a fortunate circumstance, and would have been more welcome had his opposition been less vehement; especially as it is feared that his "assaults and batteries" upon the government will have the tendency to alienate the king from the liberal party. This, however, is of little consequence to the English minister. He is for constitution, and if he cannot lead "the powers that be," why, he must whip them into it.* Since the establishment of the present state of things there has arisen a fourth party. This is the government, or rather the court party, and consists partly of Bavarians, and partly of Greeks, who have been bought over by court favours and royal smiles. His Majesty, who is the head of this party, is not over-fond of French politics; he hates the English, and fears the Russians. In the meantime his interests require the co-operation of one or the other of these three parties, and he has thus been obliged to call to his aid men with whom he can have but little sympathy. In so doing, however, he has in no degree sacrificed his policy, and * There are few who have contributed as largely to the late changes in the affairs of Greece as Sir Edmond Lyons, and few who have a better title to her gratitude. But how long will Sir Edmond Lyons continue to be friendly to Greece? just so long as the court of Greece will be willing to submit to the policy of the English minister. he has succeeded to flatter or foil in turn, Mons. Lagrene, Katekazi, and Sir Edmond Lyons. His Majesty will probably find no insurmountable obstacle to his administration so long as he can take advantage of the disunion of others, but should the heads of the other parties unite, then "God save the King." In the presence of so many and such parties, our fears may well be aroused for Greece and the Greeks. We almost feel as if the best of them have abandoned the cause of their country in hoisting foreign colours. In the estimation of the Greeks, however, their attachment to either of these parties does not seem to militate with their duties to their country, and it must be admitted that, with the good of their nation at heart, they have made the best of what is a dire necessity; they have succeeded in keeping up the mutual jealousies of the Great Powers, and have not failed to elicit from each of them something good. It is in this respect that the political characters of the country have shown their superiority, and the important changes in the policy of the European cabinets, which resulted in the emancipation of Greece, are principally due to the sagacity and the genius of such men as Mavrocordato, Colleti, Metaxa, and others of the same stamp and ability,* who, though di * The late revolution has put an end to the court party, but at the same time it has given fresh vigour to the other three. Rus vided in politics, and wanting in that austere patriotism which shuns the aid of foreign influence as the highest of political crimes, are nevertheless honest in their intentions, and in times of great emergencies have had the good sense and the courage to lay aside private views and party feelings, and unite their efforts for the good of the land. In admitting the honest intentions of these distinguished individuals, we do not wish to be understood as approving of the means they have used, and we cannot but hope that Greece and the Greeks are yet to be blessed with patriots, who, considering the honour of their country as the highest good, would inculcate the truth, and advocate the necessity of emancipating the land from the thraldom of foreign interference and diplomatic arrogance. sia has gained by the embodiment of the religious sentiment of the Greeks in the pages of their constitution, and, for the present, she is so satisfied as to remain aloof. The English party, though at first successful, met with a terrible disaster in the defeat of the Mavrocordate ministry; and France, whose influence is at this moment supreme, will soon find herself under the ruins of the Colleti ministry. Greece has gained a great object by the adoption of her constitution, but so long as Russia can find a Metaxa, England a Mavrocordate, and France a Colleti, so long must her ultimate fate remain problematic. CHAPTER VI. THE MODERN ATHENIANS. A MORE strange spectacle than the society of modern Athens is hardly to be met with even in the far East, where every thing is strange. In addition to the Europeans, the French, the English, the Italians, and the Bavarians, who come to the capital of Greece with the hope of making a living or a fortune, and who differ but little from each other in their external appearance, there are to be seen Greeks from every part of Europe and Asia, speaking indeed the same language, but differing in their costumes and habits of life. The desire of settling for life in the Jerusalem of their nation, brought to the city of modern Athens a great number of the better Greeks, who, during the subjection of their country to the yoke of the Turks, had gone to the different cities of Europe in pursuit of wealth or of science; and in their return the merchant brought his wealth, while the scholar and the professional man brought his knowledge of the sciences and the languages of the civilized nations. Athens, therefore, is a Baby lon; for though the modern Greek is the principal medium of communication, the languages of Europe and of Asia are not only understood but spoken and written with ease and elegance by the better educated of the modern Athenians. The elements of society in Athens, however, are divided and subdivided into as many fractions as there are districts in Greece, and now, as in former times, they continue to be influenced by local interests and sectional prejudices; even those who have returned from Europe, and who ought to be more enlightened, have their partialities in favour of the institutions and the countries in which they have been educated. In the meantime there are certain points of contact in all this apparently incoherent mass: there is the similarity of language and religion, and, with all, there is the deep-rooted feeling of nationality, which, notwithstanding the many difficulties in its way, is the strongest of all agents in facilitating union of sentiment, and uniformity of character among the Greeks of the day. In addition to this new interest, new ties are springing up and forming every day; and Athens is beginning to do for the modern what in former times she failed to do for the ancient Greeks-viz. to unite them into one people. The powerful influence of modern improvements may be seen by the great changes they have already introduced in the habits and the dress of the better Greeks; for, with the exception of those who are |