oor,
surrounding it with our baggage, except our carpet-bags, which served us
for pillows; and after commending ourselves and the household to the
protecting care of the great Shepherd of Israel, we obtained some
refreshing repose. (See _Eastern Customs_, pp. 17-19.)

12_th_.--We started with tired bones. After a pleasant ride of four
hours the Acropolis of Athens burst upon our view. The city is beautifully
situated in a plain bounded by mountains, and near to a rich grove of
olive-trees, which has been spared amid the ravages of war. I felt, says
John Yeardley, low and contemplative; many and various thoughts crowded
into my heart. Every foot we set in Greece, we Bee desolation. I can
scarcely believe that I am in the place where the great Apostle of the
Gentiles desired to know nothing but Christ crucified; and in sight of
Mars Hill, from which the same apostle preached to the Athenians the true
God.

We reached the only inn in the town, much worn by fatigue and bad
accommodation, yet very grateful for having been preserved from any
serious accident during our perilous journey, and under a precious sense
that it was in right ordering we persevered in coming to this place.

We introduced ourselves to the American missionaries, Hill and King, and
met with a hearty reception. The schools under their care are the most
gratifying sight we have seen. J. Hill and his wife have nearly 500
children on their list. We were much pleased with the arrangements of the
schools: the classification is the best I have ever seen, and the children
exhibit intelligence and thirst for instruction. The effect of Scriptural
instruction on the minds of the Greek children is very gratifying. A young
girl whom the directors had taken into the school as an assistant teacher,
entered the family with a mind fortified in the superstitions taught in
her own church, observing scrupulously the feast and fast-days, the making
the sign of the cross before eating, and the kissing of pictures. The
mistress wisely avoided interfering with what the girl considered to be
her religious duties; but after she had attended the Scriptural reading
and the family worship for a short time, the light of divine truth broke
in upon her heart; and as she embraced the substance of the religion of
Jesus Christ, her attachment to the superstitious forms became gradually
weakened, until at length she left them altogether. The mistress one day
said to her, I observe you do