Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-08

me Greek features of the past. line girls
about Corinth have faces which remind you
OF some of the noted statues, and have
seen near Athens girls who would pose for
Minervas, or for the goddess of love. have
seen several Apollos in petticoats and fez
caps, and 1 saw face the other day which
made me think of that of Achilles. The
costume OF the Greek farmer and that of one
OF the regiments of the Greek army here in
Athens is the same. 1t may be called the
Greek national costume, and it is
THE oUEEREsT OUTFIT
you will find outside of Korea. If you will
take the tallest and leanest man of your ac-
quaintance and put him in a short, round
about vest and white, ballet girl skirt; If
you will put soft, red, rimless cap on the
side of his head and let the long, black
tassle of this fall down over his ear and
then clothe his feet in long, red slippers,
which turn up at the toes, you will have
some idea of how these gaudy country
Greeks look. You must, however, make the
vest gorgeous with brass, silver or gold en-
broidery and it must have long sleeveswhich
hang down from the wrist. On the toe of
each red slipper there must be red tassle as
big as a chestnut burr and of the same shape.
and bright leggins must be wrapped tight
around the shins. The white skirts must
come to the thighs and they must stand out
as though Starched. They must be so many
that the breadth OF the bottom will be at
least a foot thick and the wearer must firt
them as he moves with gay and giddy air.
II you would have him like Greek soldier
you must give him great belt and fill this
with old pistols and knives. You must put
a sword at his side and gun in his hand.
You must shave off all but his mustache
and give him strut like that OF drum
major when the band is reviewed by the
Mayor.
BEwITcHING FEMININITY.
The women are different. Their costumeis
beautiful one, and they look bewitching.
Tall, straight and we'll formed, they have
large, bright eyes, regular features, and
wealth of brown or black hair, which hangs
in braids down their backs. They wear in
the fields single gown of linen which falls
from their necks to their feet, and over this
they have long sleeveless sack of white
wool, bordered with stripes of black. 1 have
seen some of them upon fete days, and 1 at
tended great national dance near Athens.
The girls had on their fine dresses, and they
came out in costumes of silk embroidered
with gold. Their heads were covered with
fine silk wells, the ends of which were woven
with stripes of gold and were wound
around their faces so as to frame them
In silk. They had on the long skirts of
the week day, but many of these were en-
broidered half the way to the knee, and on
their breasts they wore great squares of gold
coins, which, string above string, extended
from one side of the body to the other. These
gold coins were their fortunes, and each girl
had thus on her person the dowry which she
was to bring her husband in marriage. There
are no marriages in Greece without dow
ries, and every girl is expected to bring her
share into the fund for the beginning of
housekeeping. The dresses, which are en-
broidered, are made with a view to being
used after marriage, and as soon as girl is
old enough to sew she begins to work on her
wedding outfit. The customs and costumes
vary in different parts of Greece, but all of
the country girls delight in great silver
buckles at the waist, and maids of Corinth
wear belt buckles of silver made of two great
silver disks, each of which is as big as a
saucer.
THE FARMING METHODS
of Greece are very primitive. I see girls |
and men harvesting, using the same tools |
which you will find on the old Greek sculpt- |
ures, and the cutting of the wheat is done |
entirely with the sickle and it is bound with |
Greece are engaged in agriculture and this, |
1 believe, is small proportion in compari- |
son with other nations. The average Greek |
is too fond of excitement and money making
to stick to the soil. He is either LAWYER a
doctor, a merchant or a sailor, and the ship
ping interests of Greece are very large,
Though the country is so small it has big
ger navy than we have and its coasting
vessels alone amount to over 5000. 1t does
much of the business of the Mediterranean
Sea, and you Will find Greek merchants
you go in the East I found
them controlling the business in Cairo and
and the finest houses and the
best turnouts there were those of the Greeks.
In Jerusalem there are great number of
Greeks and in Asia Minor there are as
many Greeks as in Greece itself. In Euro
oean Turkey there are $500, 900 Greeks,
and altogether there are 5000, 900.
N the world. When it is con-
Jidered how many there are and how
lble they show themselves to be in all busi-
less undertakings, it is impossible to look
lpon the Greeks of to-day as an ordinary
people. They are steadily growing in
wealth and though at present the country of
Greece has a great national debt and its
axes are heavy, its credit as a nation is good
md its Government grows better from year
% year. 1t will of course never take its old
,lace as one of the great nations of the
world, but there is no reason why it should
lot have good rank among the nations
Ind indeed it ought to have this to-day.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Tur UnTPI rIERErS JAMFyn