The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, December, 1908 — John Shaqi
The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, December, 1908Various
History
The Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, December, 1908
Various
Adventure stories -- Periodicals; English periodicals; History, Modern -- 20th century -- Periodicals; Voyages and travels -- Periodicals
A story is told of the conspirator’s journey which brings a touch of
comedy into the affair. When he passed through Austria he had the bag
registered as luggage, for it was so heavy that he feared it might attract
attention if placed in the rack. A mistake was made by the clerk and he
was overcharged. The honest official discovered his mistake directly the
train started, and telegraphed off to the junction to describe the man,
giving orders that the money should be refunded. At the junction the
conspirator was found, and the station-master came up to him to inquire if
he had not registered a black bag. Overcome with terror and dismay, and
thinking he was discovered, the man seized the bag and bolted, leaving the
official greatly perturbed and convinced that he had to do with a madman.
The court-house itself was long, low, and white, with a blue ceiling and a
boarded floor. A long table ran half-way down either side of the hall to
accommodate the journalists, and half-a-dozen arm-chairs were arranged in
a good position for the diplomatists. These were almost empty on the first
day, and my next-door neighbour, a polite young Turkish attaché,
considerately moved out of the way whenever he saw that I was trying to
take a photograph. And, indeed, it was not the easiest task in the world
to get pictures of the proceedings. The prisoners were a restless set of
people, who fidgeted, sprang constantly to their feet, and interrupted the
speakers in a very tantalizing way. As there was not very much light a
fairly long exposure had to be given, and there were difficulties in
propping the camera up satisfactorily and also in disguising my intentions
as much as possible. However, I had the satisfaction of knowing that mine
were the only photographs taken, for the local photographer who had been
commissioned by the authorities to take some pictures declined to try,
owing to the obstacles.
The thirty-two prisoners, guarded by soldiers on either side, occupied
benches all down the centre of the hall. Some of them were in European
dress, thus differing from the majority of Montenegrins. Amongst them were
all sorts and conditions of men, from peasants to ex-Ministers of the
Crown. It is not often one finds a former Prime Minister, four
ex-Ministers, three high State officials, and several Deputies all in one
trial for high treason. As a rule, the accused were puny, furtive-looking
striplings, a contrast to their stalwart compatriots; but their
imprisonment of several months may have had something to do with this.
Many were students who had gone to Belgrade to complete their studies and
had there imbibed Anarchistic and revolutionary principles. The judge
showed great tact and firmness in dealing with them.
[Illustration: THE CONSPIRATORS LISTENING TO THE READING OF THE
INDICTMENT.
_From a Photograph._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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