Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-12-12

Wen tltl the tnfee reached mIdStfealn. hut
there the other donkey wandered off the
ferd into the water, about three feet
deep, where it stood coi.tentedly. for the
day was hot. The boy did not wish to
follow it there. but in an iii considered
moment he thought be could stin smite it
from the shallow water of the ford But
he misjudged his distance, the blow fell
innocuOus, and the cricket bat flew out
Of his hand and foated down stream.
! and he had 10 drive the donkey with
strange 0aths alone. When it had cooled
itself they proved effectual.
Yesterday spent at Mistra. a deserted
| Turkish town lying on the lower ridges
Of Iaygetus ana commanding the plain.
Inc little street runs Steeply up between
empty houses till it reaches the church
where few nuns live in the precincts
One was spinning, another feeding her
goat with branch of acacia. a third
drew me water from the well in a bucket
of olive wood. The church itself has a
terrace looking out over the plain, and
there, framed between Byzantine coli
umns. | sat and looked ar the fairest
view l had ever seen.
A light north wind was blowing and
the olive trees were now green and now
gray, and through them. here and there,
marched grave lines of Expresses
Sparta. clustering on a little hill Some
| four miles away, cleaned white against
the pam beyond, and far off ON the other
side Of the valley rose my Bible picture
hills. To the right aud little behind,
Taygetus climbed and met the sky in
snow GomegranateS grew III the court
yard below and somewhere up ON the
hills shepherd was singing, perhaps not
| very sweetly. bur very pleasantly. Then,
when the sun sank and the shadows
marched across the plain, nun came up
to the church door and beat with a stone
upon an iron hoop. That was the church
bell and one nun left her spinning ard
another iied up the goat and they went
IN and said their yespers together
After dinner last night we had a great
excitement. An itinerant company Of
players had appeared while / was at
Mlstra aud, with the consent of the
mayor. had erected rough wooden
stage outside the cafe and were 10 give
performance. The place was in a fer
ment and the excitement rose TO fever
neat when the curtain drew up and dis
closed a feroeidus brigand sitting in bis
cave with several prisoners by him. To
THESE he made a long speech. and the
prisoners begged FOR mercy in moving
terms. But the brigand was firm, aud
having taken all their valuables away.
he proceeded to bare a brawliy right arm
and draw his sword in order to execute
them. At this painful crisis in their lives
young lady in pink tights and wearing
helmet and sword. whom | confidently
believe to have represented colonel in
the Greek army, rushed on the stage
and after terrific conflict with ti,e
briganG, i'll which she overturned no less
than one real liable AID two real chairs
slew him. planted her foot on his chest
and unfurled the Greek flag The enthu-
siasm has scarcely subsidized even this
morning, and we are going TO have the
play again tonight.
In these things alone there seems Ia
one as quietly minded as myself sufficient
reason for lingering ON, though | miss
so many nights of the golden Sarah. and
so many days of gray Piccadlly. But
leave tomorrow for Athens since the
real reason for my stopping here has
ceased To exist. And the real reason has
been q devonring curiosity about Anass
tasTS love affairs. .aa $500
Ansstasi Gnu are old friends: twice
ne and his mule, mouse colored conf
dental quadruped, have taken me round
the Peloponnesus, and my interest in his
affairs is of long standing. For has lie
not Stood by me as | ate my luncheon Oh
the Langarda Pass, and wept salt tears
over the obdurate refusals of the young
lady's father? ! shared his SORROWS ana
| am sharing his JOY.
The case was this. AEastasi's father
is wretched, drunken old man who lives
from hand to mouth, and when AnastaBi
fell in love with the mayors daughter
and was audacious enough to propose To
her, contrary to all the laws of Greek
etiquette. Sparta generally sided with the
mayor when he turned Anastasi out az
the house and forbade him to speak Ia
his daughter again. If he had 5000
francs" said the Infatuated dignitary Il
should not let her marry him"
This was, of course, pure rhetoric, and
everybody quite rightly interpreted it to
mean that is Ans stasi had 5000 francs
that mayor would be delighted.
In the beginning it was the mayors
fault. AnastaSi's father rented some
land from him, and When Anastasi came
to pay the rent, the mayor would ask
him TO have glass of wine and roll him
cigarette, for Anastasi's deft fingers
rolled cigarettes in a. way that was re-
garded as little short of miraculous in
| Sparta, and they were considered equal
/ To the best made up cigarettes straight
from Athens. Anastasi's cigarettes
| were full and dry, whereas the cigarettes
/ which the mayor makes himself-I know
It to my cost, for he made me one only
this morning-are wet and empty.
SO Anastasl sat with the mayor and
I Theodore, and after the second glass IF
! wine the mayor usually went to sleep,
and Anastasi made love to Theodore
/ He is handsome, straight featured boy,
/ and Theodore and he enjoyed themselves
/ very much. But the deluge came when
! he proposed, and the mayor went back to
his wet and empty cigarettes.
1 had written 10 Anastasi before !
came mere TINS year, telling him | should
/ want his mule again for few tIips in
/ the neighborhOod. and expressing ii hope
| that his suit was prospering. He met
me at the bridge over the Eurotas when
| arrived, and asked me if he might come
and see me that evening. His face was
/ solemn and mysterious, and / waited for
| developments. | was sitting at the cafe
after dinner that night when / heard j
whistle from somewhere in the darkness,
which was twice repeated before looked
around. Anastasi, from under the
shadow of pepper tree, was beekoning
to me come. and | ohediently paid for mn
coffee and went. He walked on ahead
of ME until we were out of the main
street. and then stopped.
will you come TO my house?" he said
''The old devil'-he alluded to his father
lis out, and | want to show you some-
thing"
He would give no further explanations,
and we walked on in silence to the min.
/ He lighted a candle, and asked me to sit
down while he went TO the further cor.
ner of the room, and after some effort
, took up one of the big dat stones with