TO CAFFA. 
101 
there was one of Hercules, in a helmet and c J|ap. 
coat of mail, destroying the Hydra ; but they ' — v-— 
knew nothing of the name of the hero, merely 
saying that it was the picture of a warrior 
once famous in Greece, and they related many 
extravagant tales of his valour ; perhaps such 
as once formed the foundation of those poetic 
fables which antient writers have handed down, 
with higher authority, to modern times. The 
heads of the young Greeks, both male and 
female, are full of such stories. As they much 
delight in long recitals, these relations consti- 
tute the subject of their songs and discourses. 
In the islands there arc vagrant bards and 
tmprovvisatori, who, like Homer of old, enter 
villages and towns to collect alms by sing- 
ing or by reciting the traditions of the 
country . 
If we may judge of the Greeks in general, Modem 
trom a view of them in this part of the Crimea, 
they are remarkable for cleanliness, and for the 
attention paid to decency and to order in their 
dwellings. The women are perhaps the most 
industrious housewives upon earth, and entirely 
the slaves of the family. Their cookery is 
simple and wholesome. We never saw the 
Greek women idle. They have no desire to go 
h 2 
