Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-09-06

PIohies, goou teetn, ana 'arge Ciack oycs.-
We went one day 10 cottage 10 inquire fos
CONS; and making tho woman Of tho houss Q
| compliment for her good looks, sho seemed
| highly pleased, and saM she had been hand
! some when young. and that il Was now hee
sunset; that, however, she had five daughters.
all as handsome as she had been. and whom
she would shew us, if we would dance at her
cottage the next day. During our convcrsa-
ton two Of her daughters caine in, with large
pitchers on their heads, with water from tho
kastalian spring, and convinced US that sl,e
had spoken the truth.
IL gave us pleasure 10 find that most of tho.
poor inha btants Of kastri could read and write.
and could also speak both the Greek and tho
Albanian, or Atlantic languages. Although
Greece in general is in a state Of ignorance,
several parts of Great Britain, as we'll rs other
civilized and enlightened countries, arc in the
same siruaton; but the mind is more forcibIy
struck IN the former ease, by the contrast be-
tween ITS ancient and its present state. When
Greece monopolized The learning Of the world.
our island was in a state OF Larbarism; at pres.
ent the case is the reverse. Apo! o, and tho
Muses., have fled from Greece to Hyperborean
clnmes, and England is The favored seat Of
useful knowledge and elegant crudition. Yet
Kasiri has its school, although the famous
island Of Iona, the boast Of Scotland, in her
better days, and :he seat Of learning and 70.
lgIon, has not even school, nor one single
person who can read or write,
have made this DEPRESSION for the purpose
OF undcceving those who imagine that tho
modern Greeks in general are immersed in tho
deepest ignorance, and that the poorest inhab-
fants of the remote pats of Great- Britain aro
superior TO them both in understanding ard
education. The Greeks, however, are az far
our superiors in native genius, quickbess nf
perception, and natural intellect, as se ara
superior TO the lcelanders ana I.lpIandcis!-
But education extricated us fom orr natural
darkness, as the want of il has piunged ibs
Greeks into an 0bscurity i'll sui i,g their natural
genius. But happily learning IS rcvviny. and
beginning again to take root IN lis native soil;
where if properly cutivatct, it will again -four
ish. bat will probably nes,r rear its head 20
high as in the days of lis power AID iudepend.
ence.
The village Of Kastri consist. of ninety cot.
tages; the inhabitants are Arnauts, and have
the saine costumes us the GalaS.d,o,es; tho
poorer people live IN cottages which consist of
only one long room. The mcallhnr, md
among them the papns. have houses with two
rooms raised on second q ,or, tie lower part
being divided into stable. cow house, anil
cellar The cold was extremely PIERCING, md
the house which we occupied had heather
chimney, nor glass to the windows; The smoke
was so painful 10 our eyes, that in spite OF tho
mcIemency OF the weather, We were Obliged
to Keep the shutters opeu; but The people sf
the house were so INJURED 10 his nr:sance, that
they bcheld our fss,iGiousness with u conicmp,.
nous smile.
The papas has wife, three sons. and
daughter, the eldest son, short time before
our arrival, married fine GIL uf The village:
she paid us a visit, and on entering The ROOM,
made some very low bows and kissed our
hands; she then kissed her own hand, with
which she touched our hands at the ssilie ire
saying sas proskuno. A saluiGiion OF ,n,s knd
denotes the greatest respect; it is pr.ciis. m
the mountainous parts of Italy and is an ancient
custom. She repeated her salr'a, ous so rre-
quently, that Was induced to ash If ll,c,e was
any particular reason for il, and was Informed
by the papas, that IT as the common cercmo-
NAL which newly married women practised
towards strangers who came To their house,
and which it would be deemed ire iiu ous end
inhospi'abIc 10 neglect. The Young husband
also welcomed us with great good ns sture amd
native poleness.
The most curious part Of the Uen0ss, but
not the most agree able TO rs, was The oanncr
in which wo passed the night The 81, vntl room
being full of olives and sacks nf corn, We all
siepl III tte same tbulUUcT, Int lbdihtS uiu ntS
family occupied one end OF The room, aid We
took the other part; they slept upon mats,
spread upon the floor, and To make up for the
deficiency Of blankets, KEEP, Their clothes on:
the papas and his wife, the papadia, occupied
one mat, the new married couple anolh-r; and
the rest Of the family lay scattered in different
parts Of the room. Their curiosity was very
great to see us 90 10 bed; indeed 4 was recip-
rocal; and is we were surprised al seeing them
sleep with their clothes on, they were still more
so at seeing us undress.
A circumstance occurred which. though
trifing in itself, is mentioned in this place Us
strongly chara cteristc OF the s'mpi. and pas
toral habits Of these poor people: the COW Of
tho ?apas having recently caled, and tho
weather being extremely cold, the calf was
brought up every night, and SLEPT w the fro
side, with the rest Of the family. "Ef peem.
ct Dominos, communis e'duseref umb,O;''
or, as one of our poets expresses n. " Shelter
at once for man and beast supplied"
We here noticed a custom which s prevalent
throughout the greater part Of IIaly, and is
probably of ancient date: tie person Who, ai'cr
sunset, brought the ligh. into The room. " isbed
the company good evening; aud the same
salu,aiion was returned bv them all. frcqueni.
ly repeating the words, " X lie hvspera."
The Kastalian spring is clear, anG forms an
excellent BEVERAGE; but confess that Its waters
produced none Of those effects upon me, which
were felt by travellers Of more lively imag'na-
tons, or more tender stomaehs than myself
DR.. Spon, il seems, was converted into a
poet by its draught! while in DIR Ch'ndlcr u
far more credible fact, y il manifested its Effects
in a s,omac ch ache and shiverine III. Blu, if
similar results were tho uniform produc, Of ihs
Kastalian springs, We might expec, TO frd all
the inhabitants OF Kastr particularly liable To
frieid sbiverings, or poetic cr-,acies.
The water which oozes from the rock vac.
in ancient times, introdutc ed into hollow
square, where it was retained for the use of