The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-07

Of tho main road running south TO Agrinion
and Missolonghi-the road Of which Polybius 10
said TO give n good account. A section OF sap
pers was at work on the graves early In the
afternoon under the encouragement OF tho chief
priest, who took a service In the chapel as each
body came up and in the intervals hurried on
the digging, smoking cigarettes the while. The
trenches wero only 2 feet 9 inches deep-not
nearly 30 deep as the rubbish pit In u British
camp. but the sappers work sulkily and slow.
For burial the private soldiers were carried
out covered by their blankets upon stretchers
still wet and horrible with their blood. They
wero laid in the trench dressed in their uni
forms without the coat, their shirts ragged
and flthy with the campaign, their bare feet
sticking out through their shoes, or sometimes
showing a remnant of socks which perhaps
wero nearly whole when thoy left home.
Their hands and feet were tied with cords or
handkerchiefs. as is customary. No one had
taken the trouble to close their eyes. They
were set in n row, and tho earth quickly
shovelled over them. ] do not know how
many thero wcre-two dozen, perhaps, NIL un-
mournod here, to be mourned somewhere else,
in Ellis. or Ithaca, or Sparta, when tho news at
last gets round. Some, perhaps, remembered
sweet Argos as they died. The ten officers
were carried out In ramshackle little collins of
black the lids, adorned with great white crosses,
being borne In front Of them like flags.
tufts Of cotton wool. They were nearly all shot
enough by sight from meeting them In tho
streets or, at the front. They were dressed
ragged and dirty now as their nous. III
tho chapel the two priests chuute.i psalms
and prayers oyer them with the peculiar nasal
thought 10 please God best, 1t is different from
the Anglican information, but. after all, the oh
i bsoth Is rsG fs sH%sii on him Of the the o Sfhs9Es w haa two hn
mourned. except that Yianopoulos. tho popular
Major-or, Colonel, as we should say-of q bat
TALON of tho Sixth Regiment, had some privatcs
weeping over him as ] could well wish some SOL
dior OF c0mrade TO weep over me. He was killed,
as l telcgraphed, cheering his men on in tho
When the PRAYERS were finished and the in
also present. When at last, after a great deGi
been cut big enough to lei tho collins down, and
while Gen, Manos said = few quite in:
were for, more s]loquen!, but made me
thank heaven, has not been good at words and
never gesticulatcs. During the whole scene 1t
was impossible, not to remember that other
burial at the beginning of n war, involving
principals certainly not more important than
this. when Pericles praised those who had
deed; and 1t struck me that the lasting lmpor-
lance of that old, well-worn distinction is hardly
sufficiently realized among ourselves, who are
so naturally silent on the things Of emotion or
virtue.
There was no firing, tho troops being on
duty. and before the speeches were well finished
l came away, stopping only to speak 10 two
women, who with their fingers were raking tho
mould into order over a new grave, while a pru.
dent little girl stole the rough white stones from
around another grave and arranged them at the
head Of this. l asked II it was n husband and
father killed in the war. No, II was the grand
father, a very old nan, but yet he had been
killed by the war. for the army had taken away
his favoritc mule to carry ammunition. and the
blow had broken the old mans heart, SO that he
seemed TO withcr away, and now was buried. l
suppose he ought TO be counted among the
Greek losses in the war" II. X. c.