tire of the Sioux does not disconcert us; when abroad we admire
impartially the Egyptian gown and the Cossack uniform, and we adorn
ourselves liberally with the fez. But the Greek costume makes us pause;
it seems a bravado in whimsicality. One can describe it in detail: one
can say that it consists of a cap with a long tassel, a full white
shirt, an embroidered jacket with open sleeves, a tight girdle, the
white kilt or fustanella, long leggings with bright-colored garters,
and, usually, shoes with turned-up toes. The enumeration, however, does
not do away with the one general impression of men striding about in
short white ballet petticoats.

[Illustration: QUEEN OLGA OF GREECE]

In spite of their skirts, the Greeks have as martial an air as possible;
an old Greek who is vain, and they are all vain, is even a
fierce-looking figure. All the men have small waists, and are proud of
them; their belts are drawn as tightly as those of young girls in other
countries. From this girdle, or from the embroidered pouch below it,
comes a gleam which means probably a pistol, though sometimes it is only
the long, narrow inkhorn of brass or silver. Besides the Albanian, there
are other costumes. One, which is frequently seen, is partly Turkish,
with baggy trousers. The Greek men are vain, and with cause; if the
women are vain, it must be without it; we did not see a single handsome
face among them. It was not merely that we failed to find the beautiful
low forehead, full temple, straight nose, and small head of classic
days; we could not discover any marked type, good or bad; the
features were those that pass unnoticed everywhere. I speak, of
course, generally, and from a superficial observation, for I saw only
the people one meets in the streets, in the churches, in the fields,
olive groves, and vineyards, on the steamers, and at the house doors.
But after noting this population for two weeks and more, the result
remained the same--the men who came under our notice were handsome, and
the women were not. The dress of the women varies greatly. The Albanian
costume, which ranks with the fustanellas or petticoats of the men, is
as flat, narrow, and elongated as the latter are short and protruding.
It consists of a sheath-like skirt of a woollen material, and over this
a long, narrow white coat, which sometimes has black sleeves; the head
is wrapped in loose folds of white. This was the attire worn by the
girls who were at work in the fi