EDITORIAL PREFACE

"Athos and Its Monasteries," as now published, was practically complete by 1912, but, wishing to add a chapter on the changes brought to the Mountain by the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, my husband delayed publication in order to revisit the monasteries. The outbreak of the European War made this impossible. For a time, war work in Athens absorbed all his energy; then his health sent him to Switzerland, and there, censorship regulations prevented his having access to his manuscripts until his strength had failed.

For these reasons, the final revision of the book for press remained for me to undertake. I have brought it up to date, and in addition, it has appeared advisable to make a few minor changes in arrangement. Otherwise, the text is as my husband left it. Such slight additions as have been made to the footnotes follow his directions and come from his Swiss notebooks and letters.

The spelling is his, systematized but not strictly orthodox. Unless otherwise indicated, Greek