Charlevoix county herald., 1913-05-03

the privileges of the monks, who submitted after
the capture of Salonica and agreed to pay
tribute. The republic has, up to this time. been
directed by council elected by the monasteries.
The common seal Of this council which is divided
into quarters for that purpose. is in the
tody OF the four senior members Mount Athos,
the second most holy place in eastern Christen-
dom, is at the extremity of the peninsula of
Athos, the easternmost peninsula of Chalcidce
in Macedonia, which projects into the Aegean
sea and is connected with the mainland by
row isthmus, which pierced by canal dur.
ing the invasion of Xerxes. The monasteries
scattered over the entire peninsula.
A most interesting account Of visit to Mount
Athos is contained in book written in 1887 by
an Englishman, Robert Curzon, who went book
hunting to the mountain. Speaking of a visit to
one monksh library, he wrote:
"The library l found to be in a dark closet
near the entrance Of the church. 1t had been
locked up for many years, but the agoumenos
(head of the monastery made no difficulty in
breaking the oldfashioned paddock by which the
door was fastened found upon the ground and
upon some of the broken-down shelves about 400
to 500 volumes, chiefly printed books, but among
them now and then l stumbled upon a
script. OF these there about thirty vel
lum and fifty sixty on paper l picked up a
single loose leaf of very ancient uncial Greek
characters, part of the Gospel of st. Matthew.
/ made bold to ask for this single leaf thing
of small value.
Certainly said the agoumanos what do
you want ii for?
my servant suggested that perhaps it might
be useful to cover some jam pots or vases of
preserves which l had at home
ON said the agoumenos, take some more
and without more ado he seized upon an unfortu-
nate thick quarto manuscript of the Acts and
Epistles and drawing out knife, cut an inch
thickness of leaves at the end before could stop
him. 1t proved to be the Apocalypse which con-
cluded the volume but which is rarely found in
early Greek manuscripts of the Acts 1t was OF
the eleventh century l asked him if he would
sell me any of the other books and he said GER
tainly; they were Of no use to him"
One monk whom Curzon talked with in the
course of his journey round the mountain could
never remember having seen a woman. He
asked the Engshman whether they all looked
like the pictures of the Virgin Mary. Curzon
had amusing experience with the agoumenos
of another monastery He tells it thus:
"The agoumenos declared his willingness to
show me everything the monastery contained
But first, said he, 4 wish to present you
with something excellent for your breakfast
$50 I expressed my thanks for the kind hos
ptalty of my Lord Abbot, and he sitting down
opposite me on the divan, proceeded to prepare
his dish
This said he, producing shallow basin
half full of a white paste is the principal and
most savory part of this famous dish it is CON-
posed Of cloves of garlic, pounded down with a
certain quantity OF sugar With II / will now mix
the oil in just proportions some shreds OF fine
cheese and sundry other nice little condiments
and now il is completed
"Now' said the agoumenos crumbling some
bread into IL with his large and somewhat dirty
hands, this is dish for emperor Eat my
friend, my much respected guest do not be shy.