Home life in Hellas, Greece and the Greeks - eBooks4Greeks.gr

THE ISLES 101fair." So here in this remote Naxian village weheard about a phase of life in our native landquite outside our own experience—and in our ownlanguage too. Manoli Detchi was the only personon the island who knew English. He had had noopportunity to speak it for twenty-five years, andrejoiced exceedingly.Consequently much of ourtime was passed on his vine-clad verandah, or inhis pleasant parlour, under the gaze of QueenVictoria and Mr. Gladstone, whose portraitsadorned it,- the while Mrs. Detchi, with a lavishhand, plied us with cakes and fruit and wine,home-made and home-grown. The wine ofApeiranthos is the only vintage in Naxos whichmerits the eulogium of Pindar. It is light andhas the flavour of champagne, though it is notsparkling. But none of it ever finds its way downthe mountain. We were lodged by the Demarch,a jovial personage who sang us old songs sprinkledwith Turkish words and wholly Oriental as tomelody, or rather the want of it, to our ears. Akid was killed and roasted inour honour, but thatformed an insignificant part of the elaboratebanquet, which was prolonged by toasts—toomany toasts. The priest, the doctor, and theschoolmaster were our fellow-guests, and we werewaited on by our host's two pretty daughters.The floor of the bedroom was of beaten earth,the roof open to the rafters of oak saplings; butthe linen was fine and spotless and scented, and thecoverlets exquisitely embroidered.After the long