THROUGH WILD EUROPE 77 



religion here is that of the Greek Church, and fast- 

 ing is rigorously carried out. The consequence is 

 that towards the end of Lent the men are quite 

 unfit for a good day's work. 



On Easter Day they make calls on all their 

 friends and acquaintances, stopping a few minutes 

 to drink a glass of wine, and to take away one or 

 two Easter eggs, dyed red, in the pocket. With 

 these eggs they play a game resembling that 

 engaged in by English boys with chestnuts, tapping 

 one egg against the other until the weaker one is 

 cracked ; and the same custom is found in Albania, 

 as it is among the boys in Cumberland to-day. I 

 was invited by Djouraschkovitch to his home on 

 purpose to see the proceedings. There was a con- 

 stant succession of arrivals, each of whom was 

 served with a glass of wine and a plate of hard- 

 boiled eggs stained in colours, mostly red. The 

 wine, as a rule, was only sipped, and the greater 

 part left. A snuffy little priest, however, had 

 evidently done more than sip, or else he had had 

 a larger round of acquaintances to visit, for he was 

 decidedly jovial, as he saluted everybody present 

 with three kisses on the cheek. I tried to get off 

 with one, but there was no escape. I met him again 

 later in the day at another house, but, luckily, he re- 

 membered having saluted me before, and contented 

 himself with a handshake, much to my relief. 



