But the cobbler must stick to his last, though a word or two
may, perhaps, be allowed on the subject, if only by way of variety.
My companions on this interesting tour were my good friends F. K. and H.
H. We went by sea from Southampton to Genoa, where we stayed two days to
enjoy the sunshine and colour; its steep, picturesque and narrow streets,
and its beautiful old palaces. Then we visited Milan and Venice. At
Venice we spent several days, charmed with its beauty. From Trieste we
took an Austrian Lloyd steamer, the _Espero_, to Constantinople. At
Patras we left the steamer to rejoin it at Piraeus, wending our way by
rail along the Gulf of Corinth to Athens, in which classical city we
stayed the night. Messrs. Gaze and Sons had ordered their guide (or
dragoman as he was called) to meet us and devote himself to our service.
The next morning at 7 o'clock, he called for us at our hotel, and from
that hour till noon, under his guidance, we visited the temples and
monuments of ancient Athens, and inspected the modern city also. In the
afternoon we drove or rather ploughed our way from Athens to Piraeus
(five miles) along the worst road I ever traversed, not excepting the
streets of Constantinople.
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