Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1891-01-02
Modern Arts in Athens.
FOR THE GRAPHIC.

dent of the rest of the world. Her
soil produced all the nccessaries
and many or the luxuries of life,
while here skilled workmen pro-
duced every appliance needed in
daily life, and to-day modern
Greece retains her ancient reputa-
tion in all except her ancient
schools of philosophy, her paint
ers, sculptors and orators. Yet if
We look at the means rather than
the results, Greece has made but
little progress during the last
thousand years. The women spin
cotton, wool and fax by means of
the distaff and weave most of their
own cloth on the hand loom. In
the wheat lands the men tramp
out the wheat and winnow it by
hand and in many places plow the
ground with a forked stick, and on
an October trip through the coun-
try we saw the men treading the
wine press with bare feet as the
gods are supposed to have done
in the halcyon days of Bacchus.
During the journey of a day
among the wine presses every
place we saw the same process in
use.
Then in the cities there are
large factories where the workmen
are making by hand all the articles
of daily use. For example, when
young couple desire to begin
house keeping, they send their
order to the village blacksmith
for SO many knives and forks,
pots, kettles, and e coffee mill. He
also makes bed-steads, axes, pock-
ct knives, hammers, horse shoe
nails, locks and keys, fish hooks,
and hair-pins, harpoons and anch-
ors, ink bottles and door hinges,
steel-yards and yard sticks,
swords, and scissors, gimlets and
gouges, smoothing irons, frying
pans, flint lock pistols, reap
hooks, hoes, harrows, watch
chains, chisels, planes, candle
sticks and stand tables and even
the cradle, and the cross over the
grave.
Next comes the shoe maker who
| makes leather bottles, green-skin
bags for cheese, butter and water;
leather buckets, buttons and
breeches; coarse brogans, goat
harness, dog collars, pack saddles,
and sheep skin caps are all in his
line to make and mend.
The tailor will make dresses for
the men, sheep skin coats with
the wool on for men and women,
knee breeches, caps, collars and
quiltd over coats. This coat used
in all parts of the East, has all the
appearance of bed-quilt that was
overhauled and converted into an
overcoat With US it would hard
ly provoke envy as with the broth
ers Of Joseph, yet here 1t is count
ed just the thing. The carpenters
make all kinds of household and
kitchen furniture besides wooden
spoons, combs, rolling pins, goat
carts, ox-yokes, wooden shoes,
toys, wine-presses, wind mills and
water-wheels. The jeweler out of
the raw material will make finger
rings, breast pins, monograms EN-
bossed images in silver, brass and
copper, besides he engraves, on all
kinds of metal, and makes all
of souvenirs in metal, ivory-inlay-
ing and pearl earrings. He will
also make clock, set up a sun
dial or repair a sewing machine.
Then there are lot of jack-of--all-
trades men who will make quill
pens, repair old ones mend shoes,
cut hair, carve ivory and cut your
name on your pocket knife, stamp
your cuffs, collars and handker-
chief, take grease spots out of
your clothes, make you a "jews-
harp" cut a monogram in your
cuff buttons, or make you a mouse
trap and all is done in the same
room by the same men, and done
while you wait. Then there are
ltinerant cobblers, BARRIERS, inkers,
clock cleaners and chair members.
All these tramp through the
streets, every day winter and sum-
mer, each crying out his calling.
The cry of the milk man, the bleat
of his goats, and the poultry yen-
der driving his flock of geese,
turkeys and ducks through the
streets, all gobbling and quacking,
then few h altered or yoked pigs
bringing up the rear and ever
complaining of their their treat
ment, makes a combination of
sounds and scenes which for va
riety can hardly be surpassed in all
the rest of the world.
There are soldiers, priests, sail
ors, fishermen, farmers, public
carriers who earn their living by
carrying burdens or their backs,
and an army of peddlers, fruit
venders, news boys, and boot
blacks, but rarely beggar. All
are seen at one view and the ener-
gy and willingness to work all
manifest except the soldiers,
shows in a most impressive way,
what the real battle of life is in