No. 3, Pilaf. A national Turkish dish much eaten in Greece: it is made with rice, butter, and tomatoes. It is a popular saying that “pilaf” is the only good thing we ever got from the Turks.
No. 4, Keftedes. Flat, round, meat cakes made of mince-meat, eggs, etc., and fried in butter.
No. 5, Acropolis. See notes for “Mattina” No. 18.
No. 6, Hermes. Otherwise Mercury; the son of Jupiter, messenger of the gods, and god himself of Eloquence and Commerce. Nathaniel Hawthorne in his delightful Tanglewood Tales, talks of him often, calling him “Quicksilver.”
No. 7, Yaourti. A sort of curd, or thick, sour milk: much eaten in Greece, and of late years introduced into France, and I believe into England, under the name of “Lait Bulgare” and much recommended by doctors.
No. 8, Louki Laras. An interesting book on the life of a young boy, in the Greek War of Independence, written by Demetrius Vikelas. It has been translated into French and I believe other languages.
No. 9, Halva. A sweet, made of flour, butter, milk, and honey.
No. 10, The King’s Summer House. A little summer residence or lodge belonging to the King, situated just inside the Piræus harbour.
No. 11, Themistocles. The great Athenian general, born about 525 B. C. At the time of the invasion of Greece by the Persians, he commanded the Athenian fleet. It was he who persuaded the Greeks to give battle at Salamis. The Spartan Eurybiades, general of the confederate forces of Greece, being of the contrary opinion to Themistocles, raised his rod of commander as though to strike him, and it was then that Themistocles calmly answered the furious Spartan by the famous words: “Strike but listen!”
No. 12, Salamis. An island ten miles to the west of Athens, celebrated for the naval victory which the united fleet of Greece gained over the Persians in 486 B. C.