(_For the Mirror_.)
The delightful country of Greece, once the finest in the world, is
inhabited by a bold and intelligent race of men, whose noble struggles
to rescue themselves from an odious servitude has rendered them objects
of our esteem and admiration. For more than five years has this
unfortunate land been the scene of continual warfare and desolation; and
though the attempts of the Turks have been many and great, they have
notwithstanding entirely failed in their design,--that of exterminating
the Greeks.
The Greeks are of the same religion as the Russians, and, like that
nation, have monks and nuns. Great decorum is visible in their churches,
the females being excluded from the sight of the males by means of
lattices. Their bishops lead a life of great simplicity, as will be seen
from the following account of a dinner given by the bishop of Salona to
Mr. Dodwell:--"There was nothing to eat except rice and bad cheese; the
wine was execrable, and so impregnated with resin, that it almost took
the skin from our lips. Before sitting down to dinner, as well as
afterwards, we had to perform the ceremony of the _cheironiptron_, or
washing of the hands. We dined at a round table of copper tinned,
supported upon one leg, and sat on cushions placed on the floor.
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