NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10429, 29 April 1897, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A COERESPONDKNT, Writing to a Londoi newspaper concerning the Greok race, jay* i —Those who advocate the Greek chum frequently display an unaccountable con« fusion of ideas on history and geography. Ib is strange to hear men of general information confounding the ancient Greeks— the Greeks of Athene and Sparta-with the mixed race* which make up the lower Greek Kingdom. Ib is surprising to hear gentlemen rising In the House of Commons »nd elsewhere, and urging the restoratigij Of the Hellenic Empire, with" eloquent de-' scriptionsof the academies and battlefields of classic Greece. I will nob enter into the ethnological questions connected with the present Greek race, bub ib catidob b> Unknown to your readers that, id the opinion of tome of the most trmtworthj authorities, nob a drop of real Greek blood ie to be found in the More* or Peloponesui. In the islands of the Egasu, which were not so completely overrun by the Illyrlan, Sclavonic, aiid Italian races, descendant! of the primitive Greeks may still be found. Ib is nob impossible thab the Greek coinmunUiej on the coasts of Asia Minor (nay afford the besb specimens of true Greek descent. Do intelligent traveller can have failed to notice the striking difference in personal appearance between the population of the Kingdom of Greece proper and that of the islands and ancient lonia. In the one case we find a stunted, ill-featured, Hl-faVbdred race, with many of the physical characteristics of the lowest Slav tribes—beauty, whether of form or feature, being alffldst) Unknown dVeh amongst the women. Nowhere is this fact uiori strikingly brought to one's notice than at Athens. The constant intermixture with Illyrians and Slavs, and with those European peoples Which hare ab various periods held the Morea. has produced this result. Such, however, is hob the case in some of the islands of the Archipelago. Tinos, Naxos, Samoa, and other favoured spots fa the Egraan still furnish types of that glorious race which gave models to Phidias and Praxiteles. In the men there ma, etili be seen beauty of form and the foosb ample development of the muscles and limbs-perfect symmetry united with manly strength. In the women, th« straight brow and nose, the delicately formed mouth and chin, the smooth and rounded neck, losing itself in the flowing curve of the shoulders, and bearing, like a pedestal of Parian marble, the exquisitely shaped head, the graceful carriage, and the well'brOportideed limbs, As the idler in the Christian quwtef of Smyrna passes on * summer day, the upacioai doorMji opening on the shady courtyard*, he th»} spy, seated beneath the trees, female forme eiiCh «■ these; 6r, if he should seek tin fountain of a Greek village on the iborei ot Asia Minor When, as the sun E <d*t dftwn, the Women hasten to fill fcboir pitolleri M the crystal spring, he will in maidem of whom ancient Hellas might hare been proud, But the Greek, u con7«ntiot»llf known and believed in by a large teeViort of the British public, /alls immwiar*»l> below these ideals.

The Quarterly Reviewer pnhltohw M erudite essay devoted to the birtory el Sunday. Hβ (hug convenitotly gnmaM:M( Ms cahdlueions at the close of bin |rip#r| The Opportunities for worihip toil re* Which the Church first won from the Sta* in the opening yean of the fourth <*»Mrt, are « priceleis privilege which AhwM b# ; maintained all any met, bub the ««i*nn«tl of the Fourth Commandment has no tpatt cation to (ho Lord's Day, mi, apart hoa dark days of bigotry, whether Konaf or Puritan, has never been held to hi**. The term Christian Sabbath is onkno»» , ? for the firnt twelve centime* of Cbristiai '}, history. The term Sabbath as applied M j the Lord's Day is unknown to the Arr!ci«% 4j the CahoiiS, arid the Prayer Boole o{ ifcC.fi Church of England- The Christian idea d> S the day is of a day of Worship, refretiikMak, | rest, peace, joy, liberty. Thedutyulbn* f fore incumbent! upon every Christian » 3 claim these privileftee for himself 3!>dlM alt persona committed to his care, and. a< }M jar is in him lies, to obtain and to ytvuni I it for the whole brotherhood of man. M«aj •miaeatChriakUi teachers have njoiod

past year to welcome ai a if&f jjjj, direction (he opening *&L»y» 0, the chief publie * S "\ t i galleries in London. The *"*"m. eip»» es g reab re & rel) tl,al) Q" jL ,|, oO ld have led many eminent J*"** jjfjfoeeto address audiences on I**" 1, it laments: That the Lords' Ueeha»e been unable to BUeeet an y """""'to "I"' 01 entertainments like a """"e by S' r Robert Ba " CoU ' d be ,f W f oi and a low type of music-hall prohibited. It believes that r^ c ,|ty could be solved by forbidding - held for purposes of profit, *^ |o .g W ti that as an alternative that EuutioritiM should be allowed to de- . 'bit kind of entertainment should be Jjjjei on Sunday.

. • rt longer-lived than our fathers ? •i- oueetion is answered in the affirmative jJJilweeMndfli gives credit for the £, to the medical profession. It enysitlnißMn duration of life among males u, iucreaseJ under the influence of pieJJjtire medicine by four years during the jetty years. The increase of longevity IJLr females has been . . . five In |n (bt »me period. Some arc inclined JjLecit'e the value of this increase of jb Bean duration of life in England in ftcfatyM because it is mainly due to . faction of mortality in childhood. nil indeed true thai after middle life the Potion of life has nob increased, and (jTjntlMdi llightly declined. The effect f this ii, however, far more than countertfaJi by the largely-increased proportion of persone who survive childhood and ~lC h middle life. Thus, as has beon pointed Out, there has been a very conliderable increase in the proportional numto of yean lived by succeeding generaHorn between the mosb useful age period c | from 20 to 60 years. This may clearly k claimed ae one of the results of the liboun of preventive medicine. It remains to be seen whether further sanitary progress will make it possible to entirely counteract the effect of the increasing intensity of competition and the struggle for iiiitence and survival which undoubtedly in now depressing the expectation of life ifter middle life. If, therefore, longevity lignißes mean duration of life, there can be no doubt about its increase in England in recent years. If, however, by longevity is meant the chance of middle-aged persons reaching extreme old age, English lifetables do not supply so satisfactory an aniwer to our question."

The King of Greece has appealed to the thole of the male inhabitants to join the trmy. Hie throne is now at stake. Thero it great discontent in Athens with the military operations. The staff of the Duke of Sparta, the King's eldest eon, is accused of incompetence and cowardice. The Premier has been compelled to appoint an officer nominated by the leader of the

Opposition, The deputies have proceeded to the front. No further fighting has occurred since Friday. The Powers, which have maintained an attitude of neutrality lince the outbreak of the war, are prepared to mediate when the opportunity arises. The English newspapers that favour the

Greeks are urging them to do so now. It seems hopeless for Greece to recover the ground she has lost, The engagements (hat have been fought show that she is no match for the Turk;. A number of pas lengers have been seriously injured" by an explosion (supposed to have been caused by a bomb) on the underground railway in London. The Emperor of Austria has met the Emperor of Russia at St. Petersburg, Theinterviowwasofavery cordial character. It would, no doubt, throw an immense flood a! light upon the peteiit complicated state of affaire in South Eastern Europe if one could say what transpired at the interview. Bub it ie reasonable to assume that an understanding was arrived at respecting the notion of each Power in riew of probable contingencies. Lord Rnnfurly is expected to arrive in Wellington early in August. It will be learnt with sincere regret that Sir George Grey is seriously ill.