Scattered about through that vast crowd were groups of musicians, chosen from amongst themselves.
The space covered by this titanic picnic was so vast that there were few spots from which you could hear music proceeding from different quarters.
After dinner we all sat and smoked; the music became rather vocal than instrumental--indeed, presently we did not hear the sound of any instrument at all.

Only knowing a few words of Balkan, I could not follow the meanings of the songs, but I gathered that they were all legendary or historical.

To those who could understand, as I was informed by my tutelary young friend, who stayed beside me the whole of this memorable day, we were listening to the history of the Land of the Blue Mountains in ballad form.

Somewhere or other throughout that vast concourse each notable record of ten centuries was being told to eager ears.
It was now late in the day.

Slowly the sun had been dropping down over the Calabrian Mountains, and the glamorous twilight was stealing over the immediate scene.