Bohemia has a state theatre, and the building is one of the finest in modern Prague. I have had the pleasure of meeting the cultured director of the National Theatre, Herr M[)u]sek, from whom I learned how the Bohemian people subscribed, in a few hours, a sufficient sum for the rebuilding of the theatre after its destruction by fire. In Prague the drama is esteemed as a real educational force as well as a means of diversion. The actors are artists who regard their calling seriously, and the plays represented are by foreign and Bohemian authors. Bernard Shaw, Pinero, and John Galsworthy are among the contemporary English playwriters whose works have been performed in Prague. Ibsen's plays are frequently presented by the national company. There are occasional performances of grand opera, and the theatre has a large and excellent orchestra. The sum granted by government for the support of the theatre is about ten thousand pounds yearly. ATHENS The decay of a great civilisation causes in the reflective the reconsideration of many problems of human life. We who live in Great Britain, in security and prosperity, and boast of the power of our empire, should feel somewhat humbled by the contemplation of the ruins of Athens. The story of the rise and fall of ancient Greece abounds with lessons and warnings for those who ponder seriously upon the destiny of great nations. That little country jutting into the sea, and broken up by gulfs and inlets, at the southern extremity of Europe--with an area not so large as that of Portugal--once dominated wide territories in Persia and Egypt, tracts of Turkey and Asia Minor, parts of Italy, and the shores of the Black Sea. [Illustration: ATHENS, 1824. A SUPPOSED APPEARANCE IF RESTORED.] Attica and its capital covered a district that could be crossed to-day in its widest part, by a railway train in less than one hour. The capital of this small but powerful region was a city with a population less than that of Sheffield. Yet Athens stood for the whole of the civilised world as a token of might, wealth, and culture, united in a city of limited dimensions, situated in the midst of natural surroundings not wholly kindly for the development of tillage. The Athenians, descendants of tribes of the North, and of the old race of Pelasgians, were a vigorous, adventurous, and highly intelligent race when western Europe was inhabited by rude primitive tribes. Long before the introduction of Christianity in the East, Athens was a beacon-light of religious and ethical culture. Three hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Greeks had made Alexandria the chief seat of learning and refinement in the world, and "the birthplace of modern science." And while other states of Europe were ruled by autocrats and tyrants, the Athenians adopted an advanced republican form of government.