On another occasion I was more fortunate, and witnessed the conclusion of the ceremony. After the part before described, they threw off their upper robes and began to dance, moving in a circle with advancing and retreating steps, as in the common dance of the country, but without hopping; an old man came forward into the centre of the circle, and performed the same sort of motion, but with more violence, and after him several others successively presented themselves; stamping and flinging about their arms and heads in the most extravagant manner. Their head-dresses during this exertion came off, and the long hair which had been confined under them floated over their shoulders, and added to their picturesque appearance. Many had the first part of the head shaved, but all had long hair, generally almost black. At one time two came into the circle together, and holding each other’s hands, whirled round with great rapidity. It was a problem after we came out, whether this were fanaticism or imposture. The younger ones seemed to join in it rather as good fun, than from either the one or the other, and as they begin very young, they probably repeat it as they get older from habit, without any thought of religion in the performance, but merely with a view to get money; but in the leaders, it would be difficult to find a softer name than imposture. They are supported without being at all esteemed, and are said to be more licentious than the generality of the Turks.
The pleasures of the Greek carnival last but four days; the Saturdays and Sundays of two consecutive weeks. The Greeks were very full of it, for they told us, that they might for those four days wear masks, and what they valued much more, dress as Turks, or as Franks, which seems the summit of Greek ambition; and we expected yesterday to see the streets full of such exhibitions. We however rambled about the town, and through the bazar, without meeting anything of the sort, and almost without seeing any body. The most remarkable occurrence was that two young dervises were exercising their lungs in the temple of Theseus. They had very good voices; it is a pity the style of singing was not better. At dinner our young attendant, the son of our landlord, who is named Themistocles, told us that some Greeks had been bastinadoed for wearing masks, their Turkish masters telling them, that if they were inclined to wear masks, or dress as Franks, they might do it at home. This seemed to reduce the liberty of the carnival within very narrow limits, and to those who have no other liberty than that of making fools of themselves once a year, even this is a matter of importance. In the evening we went to a ball given by the English consul; the invitation was for two (that is, two hours after sunset): we got there about half past; several people were already assembled, but others continued to arrive for I suppose two hours more, the men were squatting on the divân on one side of the room, and the ladies on the other. The dresses were not cast just in a mould for either sex, yet the differences were not great, and I shall endeavour to give you a general idea of it. Of the under garment of the men, nothing appeared but a little bit at the wrist. In some, this part had the form of an open sleeve of white, figured silk; in others, a close sleeve of striped silk: in one or two a thin edge of white appeared at the neck, but whether it was part of the same vesture, I cannot tell. Over this is a long robe, generally of striped silk, reaching to the feet, only frequently one may just see beneath it, the bottom of their large loose pantaloons; these appear in some to be tied round the ancle, but are so large that the folds hang over the foot; in others they are shorter, and not tied; under these is a pair of stockings of yellow leather, and the slippers are usually of the same colour. The sleeves of this robe are very large and open; it is tied round the waist by a sash, or sometimes by a shawl, and the folds above this ligature serve for pockets. It is considered a mark of dignity to have these very full, but the appearance produced is far from graceful. Over this robe is a short cloak, trimmed with fur, with sleeves coming down a little below the elbows; and over this another cloak, also trimmed or lined with fur, with sleeves a little longer, and which reaches nearly to the ankles. This load of cloathing seems to be considered necessary to an appearance of respectability. On the head they wear a kaloupi, or kaloupáki, or as it is more commonly called, a kalpáki, which is a high, obconical cap, of a dark brown colour, very large and very ugly; but I am told they are nothing in size to the kalpáki worn at Constantinople, which are a yard high. The priests wear a smaller head-dress called kamilaski, and this, and wearing the beard, seem the only marks of distinction. All wear under these a little red skull-cap, called fesí, the reason they assign for which is, that being obliged to shave all the fore part of the head, they would otherwise be very cold in the churches when the outer covering is taken off. This shaving the head is a badge of servitude required of them by the Turks. The difference of dress between Turks and Greeks is rather marked by several little particulars, and the degree of richness, in proportion to the circumstances of the owner, than by any one article. In the streets the common people wear on their heads the fesí and a shervétta, that is, a coloured turban, going twice round the head. The Turks wear it white, when it is called a kuflí, or with a greater number of revolutions, and then it is an achmendié, but at Athens many Greeks may wear the white turban, and to some three turns are permitted, but if you see these on a poor man, he is a Turk. The richer Turks wear the kabouki, which is a good deal like the kalpáki, but generally fluted, and with a white turban round the bottom of it. This combination is never seen among the Greeks. The common Greeks wear loose breeches, a close jacket bound round the waist with a sash, and having loose sleeves; a pair of close drawers, reaching to the ankles, sometimes appears from under the loose breeches. Among the Turks, this is embroidered, as are the jackets and cloak. Those among the latter who can afford it, have the embroidery of gold, and a richly worked sash, with a pair of great pistols; the stocks thickly studded with gold or silver, and a large knife also ornamented with the precious metals. Some of the Greeks have the privilege of wearing gold embroidery in small quantity, but in general this is prohibited, and they endeavour to shew their dignity by the quantity of clothing. The Turks do not load themselves so much, and are therefore much better dressed. The use of red slippers is entirely confined to the Turks.
The dress of the ladies is composed nearly of the same parts as that of the men. The hair is usually disposed in a number of little plaits, each surrounded by a band of pearls, and diamonds hang down among them; sometimes the plaits are fewer, and sometimes it is left in a natural state; in all it appears to be dyed nearly of one colour, a dark brown, inclining when seen by daylight to purple. On the top of the head there is a sort of small cap, made of pearls, and frequently with an ornament of diamonds in front; this is generally bordered by one, two, or three rows of gold coins. A white handkerchief conceals the neck, and the opening which this leaves below the throat, is occupied by a pearl necklace, forming a sort of web, and this also is sometimes bordered by gold coins. The under garment appears only at the wrist, sometimes of white, embroidered silk, hanging loose; sometimes confined by a succession of pearl bracelets. The gown has loose sleeves; over this is a cloak, of which the upper part is usually of fur, the lower has pieces of satin, or rather, I believe of a web of gold and silk of various patterns let into it, which is no improvement. The ladies present at the ball were not in general handsome, but there were pretty women amongst them, or rather some who had been pretty, for no unmarried woman appears on these occasions. As for the dress of the Turkish women, I can tell you of nothing but quite the outside. When we meet them in the streets, they are enveloped in a long cloak, over which a white shawl is worn, covering the upper part of the body, and the head; and passing close under the nose. Under this white shawl appears a black veil, which covers the front part of the head, and the upper part of the face; the projection of the nose at its junction with the white shawl, just gives them a hole to peep and breathe through, but nothing is seen. In spite however, of all these precautions, they generally turn to the wall when they meet me. Nothing can be more ugly than this head-dress. The Greek women are prohibited from wearing it, but I have no doubt that if permitted they would put it on, for the ambition of the Greeks is to dress like the Turks. My Greek master, whom I thought the quietest, dullest, and meekest animal that ever existed, put on the dress of a Turk, and with it seemed to have put on his confidence and presumption. Somebody told him he looked well in that dress; and his answer was, that they ought not to admire his assumed character, which was little deserving of esteem, but that which he really possessed, and was natural to him, and which merited all their admiration. In the morning he borrowed my coat to act the Frank, and I heard he had chosen to represent himself as a consul, “because he was a lover of glory, and a paltry character did not please him.” I find since that he is a poet, and he has given me some verses in praise of the vizir, or pashaw of Negropont, which he assures me are perfect, and that I shall acknowledge their excellence when I am better acquainted with Romaic.
To return to the consul’s ball. Company continued to arrive, till we were three deep round the upper part of the room; the first row squatting at the back of the divân; then a row at the edge, among whom were the few Europeans present, and before these, another row on the ground, the lower part of the room was occupied by the musicians, by the servants, and by a mixed crowd, consisting I believe of any body who might choose to come. To clear the room a little, the consul caused a drum to beat time to a dance in the court, and then the dance began within. The space however left for the dancers was only about 10 feet wide, and 16 or 18 feet long. At first they were few in number, and the figure was regular and graceful, but as the number increased, all became confusion. I excused myself in the first dance, but all I could do I was dragged into a second. I did not fret much about it. They knew me of course entirely ignorant of the movement, and when twenty people are dancing together, where they have hardly room to stand, it is impossible to observe well, time, tune, or figure. Afterwards they invited me to waltz, that I escaped, but I did not succeed so well in the English country dances; however half the guests were as ignorant of this as myself; another night it was ten times worse, for nothing would do but I must lead the dance with the consul’s lady. You may suppose, that one who had never before in his life attempted to dance, did not cut a very capital figure, but I got through it as well as I could. The music was merely a twang too without the least variety, produced by a fiddle, and a tambourine. I doubt if the instruments would compass an octave. The refreshments were first coffee, and then a little spoonful of sweetmeat, afterwards lemonade, and at last punch.
The company had begun to separate the first night when I came away, about two o’clock. (English time.) The next night, and the following week, they kept it up much later, but I did not stay.
The leader of the revels on these occasions was a priest, the consul’s brother, whose mad high spirits put everybody in motion; nor did this seem to be considered as at all indecorous to the priestly character, only the ladies observed it was a pity he could not marry. The patriarch at Constantinople appoints some one who will pay him well, archbishop of Athens. The archbishop makes anybody a priest for money. All their duty consists in the performance of certain ceremonies in the church, and on various occasions in the houses of individuals. They read a service which few of them understand; no pastoral attention to their flock is expected, and the people have no religious instruction, either public or private. You may think that Christianity is not very pure amongst an illiterate people under such circumstances. Let me add, that among the schools at Athens, there is no instruction in arithmetic, and that the eldest son of our host, a boy near thirteen, is just beginning to unite the alphabet. A celebrated performer on the violin, who is also a poet, attended on one evening of the carnival at the consul’s ball; he was pointed out to me as a modern Pindar, and certainly fiddled much better than the others; but the music, both of Turks and Greeks, is exceedingly heavy and monotonous: he sung too, and his voice was not bad, but he sung through the nose. One evening a lady of the party also sung, but in the same manner. The most popular Greek songs are those which lament the lost glory of the nation, and call upon their countrymen to remember and imitate the deeds of their ancestors. It was Swift, was it not, who said that if they would let him write the ballads of a nation, who would might write its laws? He would have done it in vain in Greece.[[34]]
Sir F. A. spoke to me about establishing Lancasterian schools at Corfu, and in the other Ionian islands. It would be very desirable, because these islands would form a point, from which education might be extended over the adjacent continent, and it would probably much forward it in Italy, where superstition and bad governments will oppose it. I should not despair of making the Turks adopt it in time, if it were introduced without any attempts at proselytism, and the lessons consequently adapted to their religion. I have so much confidence in Christianity, that I think, that where the mind is informed, and the passions regulated, it follows almost of course; and this indirect mode, in which there is nothing paltry or dishonest, because it proceeds by opening the mind to the perception of truth, and only supposes that men will become Christians in proportion as Christianity is true, appears to me much preferable to the more direct one which calls forth old habits and prejudices in opposition. I do not however mean to condemn the individual who exposes himself to danger and death, in teaching his religion. A warm and generous enthusiasm will sometimes succeed by neglecting general rules. Such enthusiasm may be just in itself, and may be accompanied by a certain prudence suited to such feelings; but a society must regulate itself more by the maxims of human wisdom, and this would require that, whatever is done for the diffusion of instruction among the Turks, the Greeks and the Romans, should be entirely detached from all views of proselytism, either present or future. There must be no jesuitical pretence of impartiality, and an after creeping in of religious maxims. To communicate the means of judging impartially is the object, the only prudent, perhaps the only allowable object; for the exciting religious dissensions is an evil not heedlessly to be encountered.
LETTER L.
EXCURSION ROUND ATTICA.
Athens, May, 1817.
Capt. Murray, of the Satellite, was at Athens for a short time in February, and returned on the 15th of April, when he invited Mr. B., Mr. Sharp, and myself to accompany him round Attica. We accepted the invitation with great pleasure, and went on board the vessel on the 20th. Capt. M. relinquished his own cabin to his guests; we were close stowed, but we did very well, and fared capitally. On the 21st we landed at Egina, and walked up to the temple, supposed to be that of Jupiter Panhellenius, over a rough soil of volcanic substances, imbedded, in most places, in a limestone cement, containing shells. The hills are covered with bushes of different kinds of cistus, and other flowering shrubs, and the usual pine-tree abounded in some parts. The temple is at the top of a hill, but with higher eminences about it, about two miles from the sea-shore. It is a peripteral temple, like that of Theseus, but the architrave of the pronaos was not carried across the peristyle, as in that temple. There are six columns in front, and twelve on the flanks: the intercolumniation is more than one and a half diameter, and the columns appear in consequence rather straggling. The capitals seemed to me too large. The plan published in the Ionian antiquities gives twenty-three external columns, and five smaller ones of the internal peristyle, (it was an hypæthral temple;) but only sixteen of these columns are now standing. We may trace the whole disposition, and there are vestiges of the inclined plane which ascended to the platform; for the steps, or rather plinths on which a Greek temple was placed, were frequently so high as to render the ascent difficult. The pieces of the frieze, and some of those of the architrave, exhibit at their ends horse-shoe grooves, to admit the ropes by which the stones were hoisted into their places, and also to leave it disengaged when the stones were fixed.