Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-05-09

Charles j. Prrtyman. the talented son o
Mr and Mrs W. II. Pretzman. VIII" is a
present abroad. is writing some exceeding
Is interesting letters home \ portion ("
one written atAthcn> is appended and it vii
be- found To be written in a thoroughly OF
, iEanal >ty lr and /" contain many ideas al
! interest:
ATHENS, GREECE. April |, 1856.
DEAR FATHEE: | have just returned
from breakfast, having eaten Nv" capac"us
bowls Of hot goats milk. Sweetcned will.
sugar, two huge buns and seven duughuute
soaked in honey. have rrckomed the cost
of that least iii II cash and find II Ia Z
Just twelve and q half cents. | call that
cheap. 1t is not likely that will ever n~
turn t" this classic land and am therefore
digrStng lis most palatabir dishes at I Q
same time with its majestic genius.
Goats milk did not agree with me IN
switzerland. am unable To tell why.
Perhaps because the stomach was daintieT
in its demands than at present; perhaps h-
cause the milk was of an inferior quality.
Anyway can take in Greek milk a. an
ocean whirlpool draws in water, and |
shall miss my morning dram in the future
1
ingN of Greece. The milk is certainly pure
here. Water and chalk do not enter into
il 80 largely as at home. The miIk-man
carries no fluid along. He simply drives
his herd of goats To the purchasers door
and there miIks a. much aS may be re-
Iuired. For primeNal simplicity this takes
the cake.
ON my way to the restaurant entered a
Greek Catholic church to witness the Cerr-
momial. II is impressive and Ia my fancy
has something of the jew taste in it. \
| venerable bishop with a mantel of gold and
| a high crown uT turhan. apparently set
with gems, swung a censor through the air
before each shrine and holy picture. He
Was preceded and followed by priests bear
| Ing lighted candles and dressed richly.
| though without the crown. The music was
exquisite. \ choir of trained voices lent
| their strange. almost weird melody Ia
scene which was alone wonderful to me. !
don't know what was burned in the silver
cen~ur>. hut the fumes were pleasant to i'll
hale and when they had filled the rich cham
Der till the objects We're dim, il did Srrm
little short of inspiring. The service of the
Greek l. yet more beautiful than that of the
Romi>h church. love to witness the>t.
scenes. might be in danger of apnSticiL-
me. 1t strikes my fancy but never moves
| the reason.
Tomorrow | intend 10 make a trip tu
| Sunlum the S0uthmOSt cape of Attica.
will start al : O'Clock and al II reach the
! nearest town or village where there i Il
| railroad. From here | must walk. You
| see this cape or projection bears the ruins
| Of an ancient temple. and standing a il
| does. out over the SEA, the effect is grand.
| Byron pronounced il To- be- the second most
| beautiful point of Greece. | will return and
| visit some mines there if possible and next
| morning come back 10 Athens. / must
| make several trips Yet, To COrimth, Salam>,
Marathon and the Isle of Argina. le>trr-
lay | stood on slight decliNIty of the
Areupagu> and looked over the market
place OF ancient Athens. This was the cen
Ter Of the greatest city of that or perhaps
any age. Numerous temples stood here /"
attest the national piety: exquisite statues
iu gods. hu>t> ut great men. and other
A"rh~ "t art made the place look like that
olympus where the Greeks had their dlNini-
lies. On one side it was Shadowed by the
AeTupUli>, on the other by the hill of the
NVmphS. | stood ON the spot
where the Apostle Paul delivered
his great speech eighteen hundred and
thirty-twO years ago this spring. What
change has come about since he looked on
the proud city, The PartheonOn on the
AcrupOliS i a mass of ruins. OF all those
wonderful temples, statues, sculptures.
single structure stands now, one temple of
the scores. Ii is yellow with age. and the
columns are Crumhling and falling. OF
the refined and patriotic countrymen of
PtriCle> nothing Is left save a m0ngrel pop
ulati0n, pack of enthusiasts who have in
herited the pride but not the brains of the
powerful AthenianS. so il goes
have had occasion tn smile over the !
>teamy enthusiasm which the modern Greek !
mistakes for patriotism. The government
Is bankrupting itself To support hundred |
thousand soldiers on the Turkish border !
The debt is enormous. Silver is worth
NTH more than their copper or paper. and |
foreign gold can be dispersed of at an enur- |
nous advance. If they would reduce the
military establishment. discharge some |
thousands OF their officers and build rail |
roads and pay their debt with the money, |
the national condition would be- lifted to
more than doubtful civilization.
Last night | took a walk in the rnval |
gardens. OF course voY find the peren-
NAL fountain. There is so little originality |
in human nature that the idea of a garden
and the idea of a fountain are InSeparable.
Still. didn't mean la emphasize the tuun-
tain. but the beautiful Orangt-grnve. The
trees which bear the fruit are something
smaller than our cherry trees, and the leaves
are smoother. The oranges are Just ripen-
ing in huge clusters and present a tempting
landscape. Butsa big juicy orange costs
less than cent and il would be- heart
less Ia steal from an INDECENT king
Yesterday morning | visited an eXcavat-
I'd grave ward where tOmh> dating from the
second and third centuries before Christ
have been laid open. like the designs of
the ancient monuments. They generally
represent man and wife. child and parent aS
parting. No paruNismS of grief. only that
iignihrd resignation which is common
where farewell is said. The old idea of
death was only a temporary separation.
Three or four things believe have for
gotten To mention. visited Pompe at
Naples, went up on the same day to the
'rater OF NrSryiu~. and got right on top of
hot lava. too hot for the sOltS of my shoes.
saw the king and queen of Italy. and
atrr AT Genoa visited the birthplace of
Columbus.
Another and a greater achievement was
that | saw the pope. am one of the very
few Americans who enjoy the distinction.
i such il can be- called. | think | wrote
Fanny about the affair. 50 | will only add :
That | got confidential with a German
speaking member of the pOpeS Swiss {
guards. a young fellow who treated me like I
4 prince. After attending me through the
arlOuS chambers of the huge Vatican. he [
OOk me Ia a spacious marble hall and We
waited till the pope came out i'll the costly
hair. As soon As he appeared We Went l
luwn un our knees. Several Others present
kissed ms jcwellrd hand. but | wouldn't,
although an attendant motiomed me impa-
ently Ia do 80. His Holiness blessed me ,