Herzegovina; Or, Omer Pacha and the Christian RebelsArbuthnot, George
History
Herzegovina; Or, Omer Pacha and the Christian Rebels
Arbuthnot, George
Hercegovina (Bosnia and Hercegovina) -- History; Serbia
It has a thrifty and cleanly appearance, and possesses two very fair
inns. The saloon of one of these appeared to be the rendezvous of the
opulent townspeople. Music, chess, billiards, and tobacco-smoke,
appeared to be the amusements most in vogue; the indulgence in the
latter being of course universal. Here I took leave of my companions of
the steamer, whose loss I much regretted, especially M. Burgstaller, a
gentleman of much intelligence, who requested me to examine his silk,
manufactured at Carlstadt, for the International Exhibition. On the
ensuing morning, I crossed the Cūlpa, and inspected the works connected
with the new railway to Trieste. It is intended to be in a state of
completion by the end of the coming autumn. Several Englishmen are
employed on the line, but I did not happen to come across any of them;
every information was, however, given me by a Croatian gentleman, who
has the superintendence of one-half of the line. Moravian iron is used
in preference to English, although its value on delivery is said to be
the greater of the two.
Sissek was in ancient days a place of no small importance. There, Attila
put in to winter his fleet during one of his onslaughts on the decaying
Roman empire. Traces of the ancient city are often dug up, and many
curiosities have been found, which would delight the heart of the modern
antiquarian. The return voyage to Brod was not remarkable for any
strange incident, the passengers being almost entirely Austrian
officers. The number of troops massed by that power on her Slavonian and
Croatian frontier would infer that she entertains no friendly feelings
to her Turkish neighbours. These amount to no less than 40,000 men,
dispersed among the villages in the vicinity of Brod, and within a
circumference of fourteen miles. At Brod itself no fewer than 4,000
baggage-horses were held in readiness to take the field at any moment.
It requires no preternatural foresight to guess the destination of these
troops. They are not intended, as some suppose, to hold in check the
free-thinking Slavonic subjects of Austria. Nor is that province used as
a penal settlement for the disaffected, as others would infer. The whole
history of Austria points to the real object with which they have been
accumulated, viz. to be in readiness to obtain a footing in Bosnia, in
the event of any insurrection in that province of sufficient importance
to justify such a measure. The utility of such a step would be
questionable, as climate and exposure have more than once compelled the
Austrians to relinquish the idea, even after they had obtained a
substantial footing in the province. The motives which would induce them
to make another attempt are palpable enough; for, besides the advantages
derivable from the possession of so beautiful and rich a country,
Austria sees with alarm the increase of revolutionary principles in a
province in such close proximity to her own. And yet she has small
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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