The Cruise of the Branwen

THE OLYMPIC GAMES on the next we attended an enormous lunch given by the Crown Prince in the Aktreon ~otel at Phalerum, where the health of the Greek royal family was drunk in every accent known to civilisation and with the heartiest applause. In the afternoon Mrs. Bosanquet had a delightful garden-party in the house of the Director of the British School, where the chief topic of conversa– tion was the defeat of Connor in the long jump which had been considered a certainty for him. Later on a performance of the (Edipus Rex was given in the stadium, after the precedent set the year before with the Antigone. I have already mentioned my own impression of this occurrence, and I can do no better than add to it the opinion of the able and experienced writerin the Times of May 16, 1906, who expressed himself as follows: 80 "The unsuitability of the Stadion for a dramatic representation was once more ap– parent. The scientific study of the usages of the ancient stage seems to have made little pro– gress at Athens during the past twelve months. The arrangements of the orchestra, scena, and proscenium were even inferior to those of last year: it was explained that a storm had damaged the scenery, and presumably the thymele or central altar, which was visible on the former occasion, was blown away by the wind. The criticisms formerly made on the mise en scene can only be repeated. There were the same opera comique tights, the same inartistic drapery, the same squad of Roman legionaries, the same