The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-05-07
Ghiugs Abruad,
A Funeral Procession in Athens.

a uQ6Id1 PROCESSION III ALu6uS.
The first funeral procession which We
met in Athens showed the peculiarities Of
the Greek customs at their best. On an
open bier, resting on the shoulders of six
young men, lay the body of beautiful
girl of sixteen, dressed in light blue and
white, her face and arms exposed, her
head garlanded with flowers, and flowers
filling her hands, and lying in knots and
clusters on her breast So she was borne
through the clear, sweet morning sunshine
that flooded the streets of her native city,
to her grave beyond its limits, under the
shadow of Mount Hymcttus.
Delegeorges, ex-Prime Minister, in the
quickly succeeding changes of Greek party
government several times at the head of
the cabinet, and as often the leader of the
opposition, died during our stay at Athens.
He was man whose staunch integrity
and democratic love of simplicity had en-
deared him to the people. He was buried
on the day after his death-the rule at
Athens.
Dense crowds Of boys and men througed
the streets near his house, from which the
procession was to start There were no
services at his home, but acquaintanees
passed in to view the remains, and to offer
sympathy to the family, who, as a rule, do
not accompany the procession to the church
or the grave. Every man who entered
the house put on white lace scarf over
the right shoulder and under the left arm
the badge of mourning. Many bearded
priests of the Greek Church mingled with
the crowd. Their luxuriant hair is never
cut, but is twisted into roll, and knotted
on the back of the head like woman s.
They wear a tall, cylindrical hat, brim-
less below, but with a round fat crown
which projects laterally an inch or two.
The dignitaries of the Church were re-
spIendent in gold embroidered robes of
white, purple aud scarlet.
The coffin was of blue satin. The body
dressed in plain black as in life the low
shoe tied with white ribbon-was brought
out and placed on the open bier. As is
the custom in Athens, the upper half Of
the coffin, for its entire length, had been
removed with the lid, and was carried in
advance Of the bier. 0n it was worked
in white cross and a crown. A glass
cover was placed over the body. Flowers
10 profusion lay about the form of the
dead statesman.
Two red banners-oGe with a formal
sacred pointing, in the Byzantine style of
the Aununciation, and Of Mary and the
child; the other representing, in archaic
figures, the Cruci6xion and the Resurrec-
tion--were borne before the coffin. Then
followed the clergy aud prominent citi-
Eens, while the brass band played slow
moving dirge. Leaving the crowded
streets, went by a shorter way to the
cathedral, where the mention of my na
tionality passed me through the closed
doors, and secured me an excellent place
seats there were none, save for bishops
and king.
First euter the sacred banners, aud the
men With the lid Of the coffin; then priests
with lanterns, censers, tapers and banners;
then the coffin is carried in, aud placed on
a black ca,aialque in the choir. The king,
with few attendants, has taken his place
Just TO the left Of the Patriarehs throne,
which is on the south Of the choir. King
George is rather tall, erect, wellformed,
fair-haired, with blonde mustache, and
pleasantly regular features. He wears the
dark blue uniform Of major, and light
blue short cloak with crimson lining, while
4 wide light blue scarf crosses his breast
from the right shoulder.
Young men press forward to the coffin
with garlands of flowers. They were del
egates from the university and the schools
The Patriarch takes bis seat, two bishops
on either hand, venerable, white-bearded
men. The loud, shriil chant ofthe priests,
men $ voices singing in unison, begins the
service Two singers who are not priests
intone most of the service, the priests aud
bishops over against them answering anti
phonally. The music has that weird shak
ing Of the voice within a range of four or
five notes which recalls Arabian music.
Indeed, the Greeks Of to-day, in their
church chauts and in their street ballads,
have no music which does not seem to have
been borrowed from Asia. Nothing you
see or hear at Athens is more unlike Eu-
rope and America than the singing.
The service finished, the king goes out
first, after him the priests and the coffin.
The procession resumes its slow march
through the principal streets. Two hours
later, as / stood on the Acropolis, | could
see the crowd still staading about the open
grave among the expresses beyond the
Ilissus, listening to panegyries delivered
in succession by four ex-prime ministers,
the rivals and friends of the dead states
man. For several days the newspapers of
Athens were filed with eulogies of Dele
georges. Many of them were very elo-
quent. | had the curiosity to count in
one Of these articles the words which |
could not readily trace to root used in
classic Greek. There were but eleven such
words in an article oftw columns, so truly
is the Greek of to-day Greek, and not
Sayonic nic.-Harper's Magazine for Nay.