, 1888-08-02
TIE BALKAN PENINSULA


Thomas Stevens Writes About the Greek
Peasant Weakness.
The Greek women impressed me as
being the brightest and most intelligent
Of any in the Balkan peninsula. The
peasant women are less employed in the
drudgery of field work than either their
Servlan or Bulgarian sisters. The result
of this is a more refined and feminine
appearance, which, per Sc, renders them
far more attractive. Besides this, they
are intellectually superior, and almost
all are possessed of an elementary educa-
ton.
The Greek damseI understands the art
Of making herself attractive far better
than the Bulgarian maiden does. She is,
in fact, a more desirable commodity of
the matrimonial market than the latter,
from various standpoints; for, in addition
TO her other charms, her father, instead
of requiring purchase money at her lovers
hands, gives a dowry. She is the object
of a good deal of chivalrous attention
from her male relatives, which surrounds
her with an additional halo of romance,
and suggests to some extent the devotion
and chivalry of ancient Greece. II her
father be a man of limited fortune, her
brothers consider it a point of honor to
contribute their own little savings toward
making her marriage portion up to a re-
spectacle sum.
Although the Greek peasant woman
works less in the fields, this does not
mean that she is wanting in Industrious
ness. If her hands are less employed
with the hoe or reaping hook, they are
def enough in weaving and spinning the
rude native textures for clothing the
family. She also acquires ready expert
ness in trimming and training the grape
vines, making wine, butter, cheese, and
all the lighter work about the farm.
The holiday costume of the Greek
peasant woman is picturesque enough,
but in II feature at least it'seemed to
me rather wanting in gr~acefulness. On
her head is worn either n gaudily colored
silk kerchief or n small cap, deliberately
embroidered or strung with coins. A
short, rakish looking jacket of green
or blue cloth is profusely trimmed
with gold braid. Down the back, and
often falling within a foot of the ground,
are long, luxuriant black ~tresses, usually
in two braids. From the waist down
her costume is highly suggestive of an
inverted balloon Whether to call the
garment skirt or pantaloons was always
a question with me. From the waist
downward it gets fuller and fuller until
it terminates in the ''bulge of the bal
LOOM" with a hole in either side at the
bottom, through which the feet appear.
When walking, the ''bagginess'' of this
garment waggles about like the tail of a
duck, which few, l believe, nave ever
thought to be the poetry of motion.
The Greek female, charming though
she is on general principles, and, more
over, a devoted wife and mother, has her
little weaknesses. The women that
chatted and laughed and showed their
rows of pearly teeth to me were nearly
all addicted to the use of the cigarette.
The way they glanced over one another's
apparel also led me to believe them vain
and envious of their neighbours superior,
or fanciedly superior clothes. This l
subsequently learned to be a pronounced
trait Of their character. Their love of
finery, of outshining their neighbors and
acquaintance in georgeousness of ap-
parel, is n OF their strongest ambitions.
Few Greek women are SO poor but that
they manage to keep one costume, made
gorgeous with gold thread and elaborate
embroidery, to appear in on gala days or
when visiting the city. The enterpris-
ing Greek maiden, away off in some OBJ
scure agricultural community, manages
somehow to keep herself informed of
city fashions, and, after n manner to
follow them. - Thomas Stevens In
Woman.