The Vintage: A Romance of the Greek War of IndependenceBenson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
History
The Vintage: A Romance of the Greek War of Independence
Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
Greece -- History -- War of Independence, 1821-1829 -- Fiction
An hour later, Mitsos, having found his shoe and eaten his dinner in
decency, was curled up in the shady corner of the veranda fast asleep.
He had been out fishing most of the night before, and as the harvest
was over there was no work on hand except to water the vines when the
sun was off the vineyard, which would not be before four. He slept, as
his father said, like a dog--that is to say, he curled himself up and
fell into a light sleep, from which any noise would arouse him--as soon
as he shut his eyes.
He was an enormous boy, of the Greek country type, close on the edge
of manhood, with black, curly hair coming down onto his shoulders,
straight, black eyebrows, long, black eyelashes, and black eyes. His
nose was short and square-tipped, his mouth the fine, scornful mouth
of his race, quick to reflect the most passing shades of emotion.
His hands and face were of that inimitable color for which sun,
wind, and rain are the sole cosmetic--a particularly soft, clear
brown, shading off a little round the eyes and under the hair. As he
slept, with his head thrown back, there showed on his neck the sharp
line where the tanning ended and the whiter skin began. He had that
out-door appearance which is the inheritance of those whose fathers
and grandfathers have lived wholesomely in the open air from sunrise
to sunset all their lives, and who have followed the same course of
life themselves. He had kicked off his shoes again, and his hands were
clasped behind his head, and what would at once characterize him to any
one who was acquainted with the Greek peasant race was that both hands
and feet were clean.
He slept for a couple of hours, and was awakened by the pale,
dust-ridden sunshine creeping round the corner of the veranda and
falling on his head. At first he rolled over again with his face to the
wall, but in a few moments, realizing the uselessness of temporizing,
he got up and stretched himself lazily and luxuriously, with a
cavernous yawn. Then he went round to the stone fountain which stood at
the back of the house and plunged his head into the bright cool water
to finish the process of awakening, and, seeing that the tall shade of
the poplar had stretched its length across the vineyard, took up his
spade and went off to his work.
The stream, which passed through their garden and out into the bay
below, ran for some half-mile along a little raised aqueduct, banked up
with earth to keep it to its course. It passed between small vineyard
plots on each side, so that the water could be turned into them for
irrigation, and Mitsos went out of the garden gate straight into their
vineyard, which lay just above.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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