Through the Land of the SerbDurham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
History
Through the Land of the Serb
Durham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
Montenegro -- Description and travel; Serbia -- Description and travel
I went down into the yard and began drawing. Out came the Turkish
officer, a young lieutenant. I was scared, for Turks are said to
disapprove of all drawing, and I feared to lose all my notes. As luck
would have it, he had never seen anybody sketch before, and was
childishly delighted. He looked at everything I had done, and then
wanted to see a drawing made. Yakoub, the enterprising, at once
suggested sitting for his portrait, and did so. The lieutenant was now
enthusiastic, made no objection to my little camera, which I had
hitherto carefully concealed from all but Christian eyes, and would, I
believe, have let me photograph him had I dared ask. He left to drill
his men, but his curiosity soon brought him back again. This time we
had a formal interview in my room. The monastery people attended humbly,
the officer came in style with several zaptiehs; there was much saluting
and salaaming. Radovan stood in the background and listened. I alone
knew that he was a Montenegrin. The lieutenant was quite a young
fellow--small, slim, and dark, with clean-cut, good features. He was
smart and dapper as to his uniform, and wore tight, shiny boots of a
most unpractical nature. He spoke nothing but Turkish, of which I know
no word. He had never before, I believe, talked with a foreign lady,
seemed to find my unveiledness most embarrassing, and spoke with his
eyes discreetly cast down. He preferred speaking sideways over my
shoulder. In striving to understand him I once looked him squarely in
the eyes, and he turned his head abruptly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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