Los Angeles herald., 1891-10-23
CABMEN OF OLDATHENS.
THEY DIFFER FROM THEIR TRIBE IN
OUR YOUNG AMERICA.


ence of Tourists-Horse Cars in Athens.
We were landing at the Pir9us. Just
as our gig was rowed up to the steps of
The landing place we saw sturdy look
ing little fellow running with all his
might to get at the top of the steps by
the time we should arrive there He
was cabrnan. He Of all the cabmen
had been the first to catch sight of us,
and as there were dozen other cabmen
on the spot, this was quite a triumph on
his part. We surrendered ourselves into
his hands therefore with satisfaction,
for though he was not handsome, being
altogether most disreputable looking
little ragamuffin, he had shown the pos
session of qualities and we had need of a
cab.
But when, following him through
malodorous crowd, we arrived at his
vehicle, we were discouraged, for the
vehicle itself was dilapidated, ram
shackle, unclean thing, and the two
nags, scarcely larger than goats, were
so bony, NANCY and miserable looking
that it seemed cruelty to animals to con-
sent to an arrangement that involved
their dragging about three full grown
persons in addition to the little driver
We therefore decided, peremptorily, that
as there was no contract made, we should
not get into that vehicle, but would
choose another to suit ourselves. We de-
cided this inside our own heads, but in
so doing we counted without the hosts
of cabmen.
A DISCOVERIES RIGHTS.
Having selected good cab, with
decent pair of horses, and proposed
bargain to the driver, without regard to
the shrill and continuous clamor of our
little ragamudfin, we found that his elo-
quence had more cogency than our offer,
for the driver of the vehicle chosen
would not accept us as his passengers
because we belonged" to the other man.
He had captured us; had acquired a
right of property in us which all other
cabmen were bound to respect, and every
cabman to whom we successfully ad-
dressed ourselves refused us in the same
way. We were boycotted. The cab
men of the Pir@us were one and indi-
visible in their determination that we
should make our entry into Greece be-
hind the worst pair of horses ever seen,
or otherwise go afoot If the Greeks
had stood together half as well in their
dealings with the Turks and other foes
as they did on this occasion against
three peaceful wayfarers, the famous
"dream that Greece might still be free"
might have become dazzling and mag
6ifcent reality.
But we had read long before this in a
book by one Plato, called the Republic"
that Socrates and several other fellows
had one day walked down from Athens
to the Pireus, and in fact that they had
there talked among themselves the whole
contents Of that interesting book, and
we are reasonably sure that as to the
walks and talks of Socrates we are
equal to the walks, at least, and sowe
would walk, either with Socrates or with
the melodious Irishman who, when he
did not walk, "rode in chaises." We
walked, therefore, with the Irishman's
alternative objurgation on our tongues.
And as we walked along the awfully
dirty street, with the ships on one side
and the wretched little shops and vile
smelling restaurants on the other
wretched shops and vile smelling res
taurants having over their doors gran
diloquent signs in Greek, which, though
bad. was good enough to keep in ones
mind the ancient glories-as we did all
this, actually passing on the way monu-
ment with the head of Themistocles on
Doric column, one little ragamufin of a
driver followed us like a pestilent horse
fy, tearing ahead at full speed and halt
ing in front of us and declaiming con-
stantly that we were his and that we
were cheating him by refusing to ride.
With what immense energy he would
dash ahead, halt in front of us, get down
and open the door of his cab and appeal
to us to enter. But he appealed to hearts
hardened with silent rage. We were
within few miles of the spot where
Desmosthenes said savage things at the
roaring sea with pebble stones in his
mouth, and if this fellow could have said
all these things, even if he had practiced
with paving stones in his mouth, he could
not have convinced us.
THE FRIENDLY HORSE CAR.
SuQu6Qly Uu6I0 CdLuo oil ul11OOhcu lOI
solution to this mean little drama. There
appeared upon the scene, here at the
very end of the long walls, that awfully
modern contrivance, horse car. Now,
as. a horse car is presumably the prop
erty of corporation, and as the great
distinction of corporation is thatit has
no soul, one perceived that here we
might be free from the immediate con-
sequences of the boycott, and we enter
ed the horse car, which, by the way, was
certainly the cleanest vehicle in all that
part of Greece.
AS soon as we entered the horse car
we were out of all our trouble, but we
were forced to reflect that we were not
following the great example of Socrates
and to consider that if Socrates had been
able to return to Athens in horse car
this fact would have cut short all that
noble conversation under the trees, and
the world might have been without its
first great idea of an Utopian state.
But it is evident that modern institu-
tions are having fair play in Greece.
The boycott and the horse car are doing
what they may for civilization there,
ard other fine things will follow. Mean
while one sees enough to convince him
as he wanders on the Acropolis that the
very rubbish of the Parthenon IS worth
n ~ - 0xr6 70