New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-01-15
CORFU AND CEPHALONIA.
AN AMERICANS EXPERIENCE IN TIE TWO
FAMOUS GREEK ISLANDS.

ance with Greece at the island of Corfu As the
steamer usually stops but two or three hours, he
has little opportunity TO SEQ it, Your correspond
ant felt well repaid for the three days he spent on
the island ard the five he spent on the neighbour
ing isle Of Vido.
At Cocfn one may revcl in the natural beauty OF
tho island and in those charming myths which
| iluminc the pages of the Odyssey The signs over
the shops the names of the streets. the costumes
! OF the peasants all remind him that he Is on
Greek soil If he has any Of his old college Greek
| in his brain, now S the time to get 1T out and
burnsh it up Still more fortunate is he if he
has taken time by the forelocli and prepared Tor
this trip by acquiring some knowledge of modern
Greek, which is best described BY Gedart as old
Greek made easy 1t is nonsense 10 treat Greek
as if it were dead language. II is living in the
speech, journalism and literature of tho Greeks OF
| to-day. just as Chauccr is living in the speech,
| journalism and literature Of the English people.
| The letters, the accents. the same. The ola
| Greek has changed its form somewhat in modern
| usage 1t is simpler, less accurate less rich IN
its infections; but it is essentially the same Ian
| ruacc One nav open his Homer and pick out
on every page words that in common usage
to-day after three thousand years Of currency. The
resemblance TO the New Testament Greek is re-
markablc The Greek Church has done much TO
preserve the vitality Of the language, for the New
Testament is used in all the services in the old
Greek, and children say the Lords Prayer by heart
! Just as il stands in Matthew.
| 1t was my good fortune to be in Corfu on very
| important occasion, in the estimation at least OF
the Greek Church. The patron saint of the Island
il st. Spridion. lie was born in Cyprus ABOUT
A. ID. 3ls. From humble shepherd he became
an archbishop and many stories are told of the
H. nn1h n
body was taken to Constan,inopc in 700. where
it remained until 1853, at which time it was re-
moved TO Corfu. His body, instead of being burnt
or buried is sacrcdy preserved in a coffin deco
rated with gold and Jewels. -Four times year
| the body is taken out Of the church ana carried
about the city in its costly box. | had a good
opnortunity 10 witness the ceremony. both IN the
church and on the street Not only the priests,
| from the archbishop down, but the soldiers turn
ont and form part Of the procession Inc liturgy
was intoncd in the church, after which the Dohy,
| carried upright in It's sacred paanquin. and the
head. trunk and hands exposed TO view, was borne
by four men, preceded by number Of others bear
! ing candles some OF which are ten feet long ana
eight inches in diameter. In the van Of the pro-
e,sion were a number Of small children dressed
| in sailor costume The archbishop and other
| ecclesiastical dlgntaries walked near 10 tie body
| OF their ancient ana ulStlnGHlri'i loi'I"hl'i'
Several Thousand peasants in their picturesque cos
tunes filled the town. and soldiers in fun dress
were conspicuous When the procession reached
the square. the palanquin placed on the ground
and prayers were offered thanking tho saint for
! delivering tho island from ancient plague. The
b.ncdiciion was pronounced III forclhle way by a
! battery Of artillery The body of the ola saint
| looked like an Egyptian MUMMY and In. face
| showed little interest in the proceedings blt the
| peasants almost worship him ~ n god. and con-
slider that they are safe from al plagues so long
as he j. in the place. This confidence did no:
prevent the Greek authorities from maintaining
| five days and even a ten days quarantine.
| Several writer's OF Greece have said that the
| Grccan women are not beautiful In general
there il good ground for the statement that the
men AZ least are better looking than the women
but on this island there two little towns thai
arc renowned for the beauty Of the women
made pilgrimage TO Gastouri. and was fully con-
WINGED that the rcnown was worthy OF more than
| local emphasis This little village is pctur"squ"
| and quaint in it, setting on the hillside. and you
! wind ND through narrow streets and alleys. as
| though the roadways were perfectly Indifferent "a
! IL where they started and where they ended.
! Suddenly. at a bend in the street | was brought
J face 10 face with woman bearing a water
| jar her lead. Such an eAh'hPic VI
| ,;vsicuI health strength and beauty it is rare 20
see. She wore 70 h,h-hcelcd shoes. or even san
dal,: She was content to 90 in such weftting.
! snn-tann"d, God-made shoes a. Eve wore in Eden,
and She did not show the slightest embarrassment
| in 90 doing | followed her u the we'll and ~
ccptcd glass of cool water. After she hal filled
| her lar | lifted il 70 gauge its weight. The jar
| and thr water weighed together IA much a. two
! or,norv wooden pals Of wafer But this Grcclan
! pirl who was perhaps twenty years Of age. lifted
il onto her head and walked Of with perfect
ease and grace. carrying in addition, IN h'r rieht
| band g, Tin nail full of water. which a New-N0rk
| h.r. woud think was Il sufficient task in itself.
I found foo that this Diana-lc woman with the
| ,-,co ~ Nousicaa was not the only one in the
| yilI,,. Under the shade Of a magnificent piantain
| trrc whose branches spread far and wide. was thc
deem clear well, aud not far away IN" waSh-poois'
where in square stone tubs s"t deep in the ground
49, II thcv miqht have been cat ont Of the solid
rock, the women stamped and beat their clothes
| in a way 10 make me glad that none OF my me
| linen was exposed TO thrir mercy.
Not far from this village, on orc Of the lofty hills
overlooking the island and thc sca, the Empress
| ~, \ustri, has built summer palace. which stands
ont in dazzling whitcress in the sun. Ny ambition
,vos not satcd until had climbed the top Of the
|
royal view. A little lame boy was my guide, bat
with his crutch he jumped from stone TO stone as
| if he had been a mountain goat. On IN" descent
we passed through beautiful groves of Olives. where
the women picked the fruit which Yields It's
revenue Of oil. which for these hard-working
ncasrnts is coined into gold. How gnarled ana
pctnrcsu.ic these olives are. Some of them are rs
old n. those | saw at the Villa OF liadrlan III
Tiyoi and have been rooted in this soil not years,
but centuries II it be- true that Athena planted
the olive the people of Greece may well hold her
name in reverence not only in the city that bears
her name, but wherever tie div" yields ITS fruit