contained. The annual speech known by that appellation embraces a review of the income and expenditure of the last year, as compared with those of preceding years; remarks upon the financial prospects of the country; an exposition of the intended repeal, modification, or imposition of the taxes during the session; a detail of the public expenditure during the current period, with its grounds of justification; an account of all operations relating to the national debt; and, finally, the excess of income over expenditure, or vice versa, accompanied by such observations as the occasion may seem to require. The sources of the public income are as follow: customs, excise stamps, (including various licenses and taxes,) post office, poundage on pensions and salaries, crown lands, with certain surplus fees of public offices, unclaimed dividends on the public debt, &c. The following branches of the public expenditure also enter into the composition of the Budget: interest and management of the public debt; the expenses of the army, navy, ordnance, civil list, pensions, diplomatic and judicial expenses, miscellaneous charges, &c.

ATHENS.

WHEN, on the 6th of September, 1833, I trod for the first time the sacred path of Eleusis, and from the summit of Parnassus my gaze swept over the plains of Attica, Athens presented a lamentable spectacle. Shattered and disordered by the reckless hand of war, she clung in scattered fragments around the Exατоμлedov of Minerva. It was dawn; the mass of ruins which the passage of time had heaped upon the soil, were slowly peering through the veil of darkness which obscured them; the soft tones of the dawning light melted down the harshness of their jagged forms, and brought out in beautiful relief the fine outlines of the Ionian architecture.

At the time I speak of, the temple of Theseus resounded with the neighing of horses stabled in its sanctuary, and the tents of the Albanians shouldered the walls of Stoa. From the column of the Agora were seen floating in the wind the white tunics of their young girls, suspended there to dry, and a family of gipsies had taken up their abode in the Temple of the Winds. The propylæa were converted into powder stores; the mosaic pavement of the Olympian Jupiter's temple vibrated beneath the peasant's flail; a mosque reared its head in the midst of the temple of Minerva; while the owls, scared by the first beams of day, hastened to take shelter beneath the roof of their ancient patroness. And yet, although the fury of mankind had lent its aid to the destroying influence of time, although it is true Lysander dealt the first fatal blow to Sparta's rival, whose destruction was by his commands commenced amid the flourish of trumpets, although the Goths, the Macedonians, the Romans, and the Ottomans had in turn directed

their attacks on the glorious city, - although Lord Elgin had with sacrilegious hand ransacked her ruins, the old town of Theseus, declined and pillaged as it may have been, nevertheless displayed imposing vestiges of its former grandeur, whereas of the Roman town, the town built by the Cæsars, all that remains unlevelled with the soil is a gate, bearing this inscription: "This is the town of Adrian, and not that of Theseus."

It was on the 12th of April, 1833, that the Turkish commander, Osman Effendi, delivered Athens into the hands of the Bavarian troops, and that the standard of the Greeks was hoisted on the summit of the Erechtheion. There were then not more than twenty habitable houses in it, and the interval between the remains of antiquity and the modern ruins was occupied by the tents of the Albanians. Here and there were visible a few dirty coffee-shops and miserable stalls, exposing for sale the spoiled stocks of the Marseilles and Trieste warehouses. In the evening the air was filled with the barking of countless dogs, or the braying of donkeys browsing in the wilderness of thistles which covered the charred soil; and the narrow and tortuous streets, winding through heaped-up ruins, resounded with the nasal chanting of some strolling musician, as he scraped his two-stringed lyre with a piece of quill.

The only locanda (inn) then to be found in Athens was kept by an Italian named Cossali, who had married a Viennese. They were an original couple, and both one-eyed, but nevertheless looked well to the main chance, and charged pretty dearly for their goat's flesh, which they served up at the table d'hote under all possible shapes. They sold a small wine of Trieste, disguised under the pompous appellation of Burgundy, and for the four walls of a room, with the use of an iron bed, one chair, and a table, they exacted five francs per diem. Throughout the whole town there was but one plantain and one palm-tree; indeed, this was the only verdure that it was possible to descry for half a league round.

This mournful picture was still before my mind's eye in all the vividness of its wretched colors, when, after an absence of eight years, I lately made my entry on board the gabare Phenix into the Gulf of Egina, steering towards the Piræus. The wind was contrary, and we were obliged to luff the whole night. The moon threw a pale gleam over the summits of Hymetta, and the whole coast lay before us in a broad light, relieved with massive shadows. I could distinguish a long row of houses ranged in a semicircle, and on inquiring the name of the place, I was informed, to my great surprise, that where I had formerly beheld only a few mean buildings, the Piræus now stood, a new town, already consisting of 1,500 houses.

I passed the night on deck, whence I at length beheld the sky light up with rosy tints. In a short time the sun appeared above the mountains, the wind freshened, and our three-masted vessel sailed majestially into port. What was my amazement at the appearance of the Piræus! What activity! What a crowd of coaches and boats coming

and going! Mules and cabriolets are stationed on the quays, and wait for passengers to take them into the town, the entry to which is by an excellent road. The hackney-carriages go at a round pace, and are exceedingly cheap. We made a halt midway in an olive wood, where refreshments may be obtained in wooden booths. For two glasses of Rosinato wine and a cigar I paid ten leptas, or about two sous. After about ten minutes' stay, we started off again, and soon reached the height of the Acropolis, ascended the sides of the Pnyx, and beheld Athens before us. We stood at the commencement of the new street Hermes, and in the distance appeared the royal castle in process of construction.

The existing town extends to the northwest of the Acropolis, five hundred metres beyond the ancient wall of enceinte. It will form a hemicycle round the Pnyx and the Acropolis, which is to terminate at the temple of Jupiter Olympus, and the temple of Theseus will stand in the middle. The street of Hermes cuts the town in a right line from east to west, and is twelve hundred metres in length and sixteen broad. Two principal streets run from north to south, namely, the street of Eolus, which strikes off from the Temple of the Winds, and the street of Minerva, which begins at the portico of Adrian. The space included between the Temple of Theseus and that of the Winds contains none but irregular streets, with houses of mean appearance. The finest quarter of the town is that which stretches between the Temple of the Winds and the tomb of Lysicates. Of the private houses, none are very remarkable; among them, indeed, are some vast buildings, but they are constructed without style, and with but little solidity.

The king's palace will not be completed before a lapse of four or five years. It is a fine monument of a simple and elegant style of architecture, and not without an imposing aspect. It is calculated that in a year King Otho will be enabled to take up his residence there, together with his entire household. His actual residence consists of two buildings, united by a gallery, the rent of which is twenty thousand drachmas per year. Among the public buildings we will mention an exceedingly pretty little theatre where Italian operas are performed, the civil hospital, the lithographic printing-office, the two barracks, the military hospital, the bazaar, the mint, the school-house, the church of St. Irene, and the university. Two aqueducts have been restored, and are sufficient for the supply of the inhabitants. In the interior of the town, as well as in the environs, are enclosed numerous gardens, and a number of canals are in course of construction, for the purpose of carrying off the impurities of the town.

In the evening I visited the Acropolis. The declining sun was darting his rich golden rays upon the Parthenon. I was seized with a feeling of reverential awe as I reflected that the very height on which I now stood had witnessed the meditations of so many great men, who to the present day have formed the admiration and instruction of mankind! Socrates, perhaps, had leaned upon this pillar! And now frag

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mentary remnants of the great epoch of the Greeks have become spectators of the advent of a new and flourishing era.

The Acropolis is now being cleared from the rubbish with which it was encumbered, and during the progress of the work several antiquities have been discovered. The Parthenon has been freed from the modern buildings by which it was surrounded and disfigured; its columns have been raised and restored, and its steps cleansed. The Erechtheion has been restored, and the statue carried off by Lord Elgin will be replaced by another, sculptured on the model of those which have been preserved. The temple of Minerva Pales is also rising from its ruins; it had been destroyed during the last war by the fall of a bomb, and the whole family of the traitor Curas was buried beneath its ruins. The Acropolis is guarded by invalids. A Suliot, with a copious gray beard, officiated as my guide, and when I was about to return he led me to a projection of the Pelasgian wall, whence he began to explain the magnificent panorama which lay stretched beneath us. "There lies our royal town," said he; "Heaven be thanked that I have lived long enough to see it rise again from its ashes. It has not been in vain that my blood has flowed in fighting against the Turks."

In the bazaar they were beginning to light the lamps, and the town was growing more and more animated. The din of evening was succeeding to the silence of day, and the inhabitants, whom the heat of the day had confined within doors, were beginning to perambulate the streets. The mode of life adopted here is Oriental, with a certain admixture of German manners. Thus the business of the day is so divided, that the principal meal is taken at mid-day, as though it were in the very centre of Germany. In other respects, in spite of the Greek hatred for all foreigners, the presence of Germans has a marked influence over the manner of the indigenous population. Thus the Greek ladies have learned to pay attention to the care of their households, and they even frequent the bazaar to purchase provisions.

Marriages between Germans and Greek girls are frequent. The ceremony takes place in private, because the holy synod have charged the clergy not to pronounce a benediction on the union of a native woman with "a miscreant." The Greeks rarely marry European women, for no other reason than that they are scarce. Ladies in want of husbands would make a good speculation by coming to Athens; the article is in great request. There is also a want of servants, who are paid from thirty to thirty-five francs per month, which is a great deal in this country. Workmen here are very well off; the price of labor is twice that of the material. German workmen are particularly sought after. Locandas are in great abundance, but there are few which can be safely recommended. One of the best is that of Pullmann, who keeps a German hostelry. Those who prefer the Oriental cuisine take up their quarters in the Greek inns, the proprietors of which are Maltese; there may be had the colocynthia, a kind of pumpkin, roasted arin, (lamb,) pamies, and other national viands. The

wine merchants frequently let a portion of their premises to artisans of every calling. In some you may see a tailor, a bootmaker, a clockmaker, and a weaver, all quietly pursuing their avocations under the same roof, and within a short distance of each other. Cafés are in great vogue; the most brilliant of these are in the street of olus; among others there is one kept by a Swiss named Robert, a native of Berne. A Greek and a Maltese have recently set up establishments in opposition to him. The business is one of great profit; the cafés are crowded from morning to an advanced hour of the night with persons who play at dominos and billiards, read the daily papers, and talk politics. This is the great hobby of the Athenians of the present day; the jabberers of the Agora have reappeared with the return of liberty. There is not a soul, down to the poorest cobbler's apprentice, who does not believe himself called upon to give his opinion on the affairs of the state, and this fever of political discussion, which agitates every human head, is kept up by a numerous supply of newspapers.

In proportion as the state organizes itself and gains in strength and order, property returns into existence, and commercial relations become more numerous and extended. The place is infested with tourists; every day sees fresh arrivals of English, who, loaded with guide-books and travelling maps, promenade under the colonnades and inspect the monuments of antiquity. At the same time a taste for the arts is inculcated; the Italian Opera is much frequented, and in families whose circumstances are easy, music is cultivated. Every Sunday the musicians of the garrison assemble at a short distance from the town to execute overtures, cavatinas, &c. These concerts attract crowds. — Le Moniteur Parisien.

NEWLY-INVENTED fusee.

AT Woolwich, on the 17th of September, a detachment of the Roya Artillery was ordered to attend at the Mortar Battery, to make some experiments with a newly-invented fusee for exploding shells in a given number of seconds after they are projected from the mortars. The first six shells fired were thirteen inches in diameter, fitted on a principle invented by Mr. Marsh, the celebrated chemist in the Royal Arsenal, whose discoveries for detecting the minutest portion of arsenic in bodies. has rendered his name familiar in this country and in France on the late trial of Madam Laffarge. The fusee invented by Mr. Marsh for exploding shells is constructed exactly in the form of a common screw, the composition being placed in the hollows, and when ignited in the action of discharge, burns at the rate of one inch in length in two seconds. The first three shells were adjusted to explode in forty seconds from the time they were discharged from the mortar, and the result was as follows: The first exploded in thirty-two seconds, the second