Page:Travels & discoveries in the Levant (1865) Vol. 1.djvu/348

298 dirt, and general neglect. Those who are strong enough to pass the ordeal of so rough a nurture are left to shift for themselves at a very early age, and very soon take to the water like young spaniels. On my first visit to Calymnos in the summer time, I saw four young ladies of about seven years old lying in a row on the sand, drying their bodies in the fierce midday sun, after having taken a plunge in the sea.

The women of Calymnos, from always remaining in the island, are very much less civilized than the men. Their dialect is very barbarous and difficult to understand; but since the establishment of schools is gradually disappearing. Their dress resembles that of the Rhodian peasantry; but the direct trade with Smyrna and Syra has introduced the printed cottons instead of the more picturesque homespun garments, and the sound of the loom is seldom heard in Calymnos.

Much of their time is spent in pounding barley in a mortar with an iron sharp-pointed pestle, which gradually removes the external husk. This process is called 🇬🇷; and thus may be explained the expression, 🇬🇷, in the Battle of the Frogs and Mice. "With the flour of this barley an excellent biscuit is made, which retains its crispness for many months, and is therefore very good provision for the Calymniote diver in his voyages.

Their industry is great: I find them excellent as an auxiliary force in my diggings. The monotonous toil in which they pass their days is occasionally relieved