Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-10-12

ner <QeS, DIS uhuu Ihlseu III an ATTITUDE
of enediction. These pictures are
stiff and conventional generally; there
is traditional attitude and tradition
al type for every figure; and the same
Saint Michael, Saint George, aud
Saint Demetrius that Photine saw in
her church. may be seen in almost
every village throughout the length
aud breadth of Greece.
just before midnight the priest,
followed by the congregation, went ont
into the open air an finished the ser
vice, standing before tue church door.
When he reached the part of the Cos
pei narrative which tel of Christ's
resurrection, he paused, end waited
till the sound of bell told him that it
was midnight; then raising his voice he
cried, "Christ hath risen!" and all the
people, raising their candles above
their hes ls, answered, "He hath ris-
en!" Photene does not attend much to
the rest of the prayers; she is gener-
ally rather tired, aud glad to return
home to taste very little of the soup
which has been prepared from portions
of the slan ghtered lamb. and to go to
sleep, while her parents finish their
supper with hard boiled eggs stained
red. milk, and koulourO. or twisted
cakes
The next day is a great holiday. The
father wears his clean white kilt, his
jacket, and red cap; the
mother dons her finest ornaments, her
silk apron, and embroidered veil.
Photene and her brothers and sis
ters have plenty of red stained eggs
given them, and with these they play
a game very similar to what English
boys call hacking" before they final
ly eat them. The lamb is roasted
whole over a wood fire, long stake
being run through its entire body, and
kept perpetually turning till the meat
is ready, and in the evening there Is a
great feast. There are other festivals
too, which bring their own pleasures
to PhOtiue-the feast Of the patron
saint of the church, when the village
matrons dance hand in hand on the
grass, their black hair hanging in long
braids to their waist, and decorated
W ith red tassels and ribbons and silver
cOins.
The New Year, when the Kings
Cake, in which the lucky coin is hid
den, is divided and eaten; the Day of
the Three Kings (our Twelfth Dav),
Ia PhOtci as it is called in Greek, which
Is the special feast of our little hero
inc; the May Feast of Flowers, when
the oung people go out to collect the
purple and scarlet anemones, the gold
en- white chrysanthemums; and the big
dog daisies, and form them into gar
lands for their own heads, and for the
decoration of the doors of their cot
tages; the feast of the Psnsgia in Au-
gust, that of the Cross in September,
besides saints days too numerous TO
mention.
Photine's ME WAS not all play, how
ever, even in her childhood. III the
village boosted of a school for girls, she
probably after ded it more or less regU-
larry The Law of Greece requires all
children to attend school between the
ages of five and twelve; but this pro-
vision is not strictly carried out, and 1t
may be that Photine received no edu-
cation at all, or that she was removed
from school when but nine or ten, and
sent to herd her fathers sheep and
goats.
Possibly, though, that eager desire of
knowledge, which is a marked charac-
teristic of most Greek children, in
duced the little girl to ende ,vor, even
though employed during the day, TO
learn something, an that she attended
an evening school, trudgiDg along the
road in the warm spring or summer
nights, while the beautiful Greek moon,
larger and brighter than the moon we
know at home, swan in the dark blue
OF the sky, aud she sang to 1t softly
Pretty moon that shines so brightly,
ON m i On
I the school and foot IL lightly
That my lessons / may know.
Learn to stitch ana learn to sew.
And the things Of God to know,
WHO walked on earth long years ago.
Pretty, pretty Moon
Photire's religion is rather a vague
thing, N Ide up of many outward OBJ
servances strictly execut d, but lacking
in inward life. She has quite fund of
When March comes, she
binds around her left wrist a piece of
red thread, to avert the danger of sun.
stroke, and to protect her complexion
from injury dur ng the approaching
summer. When a passer-by regards
her with too curious "A glance, she
stretches out her finger towards HIM to
defend herself from the evil power of
his eye. When tie dark clouds are
driven in long procession over the
she crosses herself with
awe, fer Chdron, she thinks, is leading
the sorrowt : hsnd of the dead across
the earth away to the other world.
In the house Photine, as she grows
older, helps in the household duties,
which, as may be supposed, are simple
enough.
With her mother and sisters she pre-
. h. 4 II l,oo 81 6
the family, embroider;ng the jackets
and 5eils in the traditional patterns
which are handed down in peasant
families for generations. Then she
spins and weaves the cotton and silk
stuffs, which are afterwards sold 10 the
town, and perhaps helps
in the manufacture of the carpets and
rugs so we'll known in the West, but
under the name of Turkey carpets.
Out of doors she takes her ehare in
the lighter agricultural labors, gather
ing the small black grapes which are
known in England in their dried form.
as curraIts, or the larger ones, whicn
are to be made into wine, or the olive
berries from which the clear, colorless
oil is pressed, which is the substitute
for butter IN all culinary operations in
Greece. Or, if her home is in the
Morea, she will probably be much en-
gagged in the rearing of the silkworms
and in the care of pr pairing the raw
silk.
But Photine is growing up apace:
she is nearly sixteen, and her parents
must begin to bestir themselves about
her marriage; they must let it be known
nat their daughter Is to marry, and
hat she has a dowry.
they have not long to wait for suit
able son-in-lsw. A young Pdlkar, re-
splendent in white .fuStdHella, en-
broidered jacket, an red cap, has seen
and admired Phot,ne as she danced
with her companions on the occasion of
the last Panegyris, or village festival,
and he now hastens to make his pro
posals, which are accepted. In few
weeks time, Photine, dressed in her
best array, is led by her parents to the