simply stared at him as if he had been talking Chinese. And yet in a
recent book of national verses, published by his brother Adam, we are
told that:
"At the table also sat the sage Pribičević,
Who can converse with Emperors...."
There are some who, curiously, have compared Radić's party with the
Sinn Feiners; Radić may have announced that he would approach the
Serbs as the representative of an independent country, but he never
proposed, even when his views were most extreme, to realize them with
physical force. At a great open-air meeting of his adherents the
speeches were so mild that only twice did the Chief of Police, who was
next to me, raise a warning finger, and on each occasion to keep the
orator from very innocent digressions. Nevertheless, there is no
concealing the fact that even in these unsatisfactory times--"It seems
to me," said a philosophic peasant recently at Valjevo, in the heart of
Serbia, "it seems to me that if we had a plebiscite then Valjevo might
not wish to remain with Serbia!"--even in a world that is so awry the
Croats are more reserved towards the union than is good for the State.
Perhaps they would cherish fewer grievances if they had gained their
freedom with greater difficulty; and surely they need have no more
uneasiness than have the Scots that their name and nationality will be
swamped, for what the Magyars were unable to do, that the Serbs do not
wish to do. There are among the Serbs a few extremists, such as a
pernicious editor or two, but their anti-Croat tirades find extremely
little favour anywhere. Last autumn when the Prince-Regent (now King
Alexander) visited the Croat capital his reception was most
enthusiastic. "Let us keep him here!" cried the people, "and let King
Peter stay in Belgrade!" The Prince by his tact brought the Croat out of
his tent; he must not be allowed to go back again--let the Southern
Slavs observe what each of their provinces can bring towards the common
good. The Croats acknowledge that the military system of Serbia is more
endurable--only one son is taken out of each family--and that whereas in
Slovenia a lawsuit can be settled in fourteen days it has been wont in
Croatia to take as many years. Unfortunately human nature, in Serbia,
Croatia and everywhere else, finds that the bad points of other people
are more worthy of comment than the good. When two brothers have been
brought up in very different circumstances there will be so many points
on which they differ; and when a Serb taking part in a technical
discussion of scientists wishes to say that he differs from the previous
speaker he will commonly observe that that person has made a fool of
himself. When an editor alludes to a political opponent he may call him
an assassin and be much astonished if this is resented. "Je suis un
ours," said a Serbian savant of European repute; occasionally he behaves
like one and is rather proud of it. The Serbs of Croatia have been
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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