Greece Behind the World.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5084, 18 October 1894, Page 2

Greece Behind the World.

How are the mighty fallen ! Greece* the very cradle of the world's civilisation, does not know how to put oat a fire! An Englishman has been staying in Athens— that wonderful city embowered in oleander?, vineyards, olive groves and &g plantations ; that city so inconceivably rich in historic associations— and there he saw the outbreak of a fire, its progress, and the attempts at its extinction. It was a fairly large fire, and it ooourred in one of the principal streets. The modern Athens is a fairly large city, its inhabitants numbering about 85,000] yet it has no fire alarms of the types known to Western civilisation, and it has only one fire brigade station. Bat an alarm was given nevertheless. In a few moments, " excited citizens were firing shots into the air by the hundred," and the street Arabs had taken possession of every bell.j#pe in the vloinity, and were [ apparently doing their level beat to dislodge the dappers. la response to $Ma urgent summons, a solitary policamak made his appearance, took a leisurely surrey, and trotted off sedately in the direction of the Fire Brigade Station. About twenty minuteß after the miscellaneous alarm had been given, a few men came up with a hand engine, and after them came the water Bupply— four barrels on wheels. The Buotion hose, the correspondent avers, wasted at least as much water by leakages as it delivered to the engine, and as the delivery hose was lamentably leaky also, it may readily be imagined that the "two miserable squirts" directed towards the flames failed to reach them. But the farce was sot over yet " After a while the water supply ran short, and all hands 'stood at ease,' awaiting tbß advent of two or three more water baireh. When these arrived the squirting was continued, and about three hours later the fire burned itself out, thus putting an end to the comedy without communicating itaeJf t> the neighbouring building*, thanks to their solid stone walls." This is faio'oal enough, in all conscience} but if a fire were to devastate Athens the world would mourn the calamity.