The first circumstance which directed the attention of literary Europe to this remote corner, was a visit of the present king of Saxony, who in 1838 made a botanical excursion into those "black mountains." [16] Since then, the celebrated Egyptian scholar, Wilkinson, has visited it; and this country is no longer closed against travelling artists. The Vladika has naturally the manners of a gentleman; he is said to speak French, and to understand German, Italian, and of course Russian. That he is considered as one of the best riflemen and horsemen in his country, we cannot esteem as of much importance in a bishop; but he studies also the classics and translates the Iliad for his own pleasure. His Servian poems seem mostly to have been written on particular occasions. He addressed an ode to the king of Saxony after his return to Dresden, which unfortunately not a person of the whole court could understand; and the author of this volume, who happened then to be at the "German Athens," was applied to for a translation.[17] In their own productions, all these educated writers imitate the modern literature of other nations further advanced in civilization, especially the Germans. Milutinovitch has even a tinge of their philosophy. There is no want of talent; but there is no nationality in them. Nothing of that wonderful amalgamation of the East and the West; of mountaineer wildness and Christian principles; of barbarism and civilization; nothing of that interesting blending of Asia and Europe, which we feel entitled to expect from the poetry of _Servians_, who stand on the border between Muhammedanism and Christendom. Nothing which these educated writers have hitherto produced, can be compared with the effusions of their old blind men, and of their peasant lads and girls, that is, their popular poetry. Vuk's grammar, printed at Vienna 1818, before his dictionary, has since been rendered accessible to other European nations by Grimm's translation. Another Servian grammar has been published in German, by Schaffarik. Vuk's judicious alphabetical arrangement and orthography, we are sorry to say, have not been generally adopted; and the Russian alphabet is still partly in use, with a number of letters superfluous for the Servian language, which has not the shades of sound they are meant to denote. The political movements in Servia, during the last twelve years, have of course been exceedingly injurious to the development of its infant literature. While it seemed, under the energetic administration of prince Milosh, in a fair way of progress, the confused cries of war and insurrection since his abdication have drowned the modest voice of the young muse. Of late, indeed, intelligence from that country has been so rare, that we are unable to give a picture of the present state of things. 2. _Literature of the Dalmatians or Illyrico-Servians of the Romish Church_. a) GLAGOLITIC LITERATURE.