Servia, Youngest Member of the European Family: or, A Residence in Belgrade and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844.Paton, A. A. (Andrew Archibald)
History
Servia, Youngest Member of the European Family: or, A Residence in Belgrade and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844.
Paton, A. A. (Andrew Archibald)
Serbia -- Description and travel
The castle was on the elevated centre of the town; and the town
sloping on all aides down to the gardens, was as nearly as possible in
the centre of the plain. When we had sufficiently examined the carved
stone kaouks and turbans on the tomb stones, we re-descended towards
the town. A savage-looking Bosniac now started up from behind a low
outhouse, and trembling with rage and fanaticism began to abuse us:
"Giaours, kafirs, spies! I know what you have come for. Do you expect
to see your cross planted some day on the castle?"
The old story, thought I to myself; the fellow takes me for a military
engineer, exhausting the resources of my art in a plan for the
reduction of the redoubtable fortress and city of Novibazar.
"Take care how you insult an honourable gentleman," said the
over-rider; "we will complain to the Bey."
"What do we care for the Bey?" said the fellow, laughing in the
exuberance of his impudence. I now stopped, looked him full in the
face, and asked him coolly what he wanted.
"I will show you that when you get into the bazaar," and then he
suddenly bolted down a lane out of sight.
A Christian, who had been hanging on at a short distance, came up and
said--
"I advise you to take yourself out of the dust as quickly as possible.
The whole town is in a state of alarm; and unless you are prepared for
resistance, something serious may happen: for the fellows here are
all wild Arnaouts, and do not understand travelling Franks."
"Your advice is a good one; I am obliged to you for the hint, and I
will attend to it."
Had there been a Pasha or consul in the place, I would have got the
fellow punished for his insolence: but knowing that our small party
was no match for armed fanatics, and that there was nothing more to be
seen in the place, we avoided the bazaar, and went round by a side
street, paid our khan bill,[14] and, mounting our horses, trotted
rapidly out of the town, for fear of a stray shot; but the over-rider
on getting clear of the suburbs instead of relaxing got into a gallop.
"Halt," cried I, "we are clear of the rascals, and fairly out of
town;" and coming up to the eminence crowned with the Giurgeve
Stupovi, on which was a church, said to have been built by Stephen
Dushan the Powerful, I resolved to ascend, and got the over-rider to
go so far; but some Bosniacs in a field warned us off with menacing
gestures. The over-rider said, "For God's sake let us go straight
home. If I go back to Novibazar my life may be taken."
Not wishing to bring the poor fellow into trouble, I gave up the
project, and returned to the quarantine.
Novibazar, which is about ten hours distant from the territory of
Montenegro, and thrice that distance from Scutari, is, politically
speaking, in the Pashalic of Bosnia. The Servian or Bosniac language
here ceases to be the preponderating language, and the Albanian begins
and stretches southward to Epirus. But through all the Pashalic of
Scutari, Servian is much spoken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account