Notes from Cyprus.
I make the following extracts from a letter lately received from Mr. F. O. Harvey, of Larnaca, Cyprus. They may possibly be of some interest :
St. George. — "We have some funny legends here. The Greek church and monastery, situated about a mile outside Tarnaca, is patronised by St. George. This saint, the night before his feast-day, is supposed to ride his horse to St. George's Bay, Beyrout (110 miles over sea), and back during the night. This being a very heavy task, the saint arrives here in a huge sweat. His shrine has a large brass showing him upon his horse upon his return from his 220-miles' ride, and the perspiration dripping from him in drops the size of carrots."
Baal Fires. — "On St. John's day, in summer, the boys in all towns and villages make big bonfires in the streets, and every boy is supposed to jump through the flames. I think this has some pagan origin."
Rain Charm. — "At Kiko monastery, between Nicosia and Kyrema, they have a picture of the Virgin, painted by St. Luke(?). When a season of drought occurs, this painting is escorted to Nicosia by a large procession of the freres, priests, and the abbot, with the villagers and a band of music. It is met outside of Nicosia by a host of the town headed by the priests, and the picture is taken to the Church of St. Nicholas. Prayers, candles, incense, holy water, and howling are indulged in, and tradition says that rain always follows. The experiment has only been tried once or twice since I have been here, and, whether as a result of this hanky-panky or a mere coincidence, rain has certainly followed within a few hours of the grand ceremony. As the Turks at the same time pray for rain, it is difficult to award the palm, both claiming the merit of the result. The 'unspeakable ' Turk does not take all this ju-ju ; he writes out a prayer to Allah on a board and hangs this out from the top of the minaret, with a ' them's my sentiments ' sort of air, and sits down to his coffee and nhargileh to await results."
