OUTUN£ MAP OE SALONIKI AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES 



ceded by banners and gilded lanterns on 

 staves, escorted by a motley retinue of 

 monks and peasants, she made the circuit 

 of the monastery, without the walls, while 

 the bells jingled and the bearded guards- 

 men shot off their pistols like boys into 

 the early sunlight. At the return of the 

 procession the liturgy was celebrated. 

 Picturesque details of it, peculiar to the 

 day, were the progress through the 

 church of twelve sacred relics, each borne 

 by a priest in gorgeous vestments, and the 

 bringing in by guardsmen and blessing of 

 two huge barley cakes frosted with sugar 

 and colored candies. Then those present, 

 in hierarchic order, crossed and pros- 

 trated themselves before the parasoled 

 icon, after which the communion was ad- 

 ministered, the barley cakes were cut, and 

 the vigil of the Annunciation, 15 hours 

 long, came to an end. 



I did not wonder at the speed with 

 which the church emptied itself into the 

 refectory. This interesting cruciform 

 structure, frescoed like the church and 



furnished with tables of one rough slab 

 of marble, is now used only on such occa- 

 sions. Guests of the humbler sort over- 

 flowed into the court, where they were 

 served in long rows on the flagstones. 

 The higher dignitaries soon withdrew to 

 the apartments of the epitropi. They sat 

 down to a more elaborate banquet there 

 at nightfall. Fish of many kinds, pre- 

 pared in many ways, made up the chief 

 feature of the menu — an exception allow- 

 able on this one day of Lent. While the 

 black-gowned guests enjoyed this respite 

 from the rigors of their long fast, they 

 were entertained by the more famous 

 choristers of the peninsula. After each 

 had displayed his proficiency in the By- 

 zantine chant, the Elders poured him out 

 a glass of wine and dropped a napoleon 

 into it. 



I must not forget, however, the fair 

 that established itself at the monastery 

 gate, where the general effect of color 

 and costume was more notable than the 



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