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
He saw me off next morning with a stirrup-cup of rakija so potent that
neither Radovan nor I could manage the Trinity in it, and we made our
way back to Podgoritza. Podgoritza was a surprise to me. I came to it
out of the wilderness, and was astonished at its size, luxury, and
magnificence. Then I understood the point of view of the man who had
asked me a quantity of questions about London, its population, whether
it were really true that there were a hundred trains a day, bazaar every
day, electric light, etc., and ended by saying, "And do the potatoes
grow well there?" "London is a large town," I said, "all houses,
houses." "I know that," he replied; "I asked, do the potatoes grow well
in London?" "Do potatoes grow in London? What extraordinary ignorance!
One can scarcely believe it possible," said an Englishman in a London
suburb when he heard this tale. He is "culchawed," and devotes time and
labour to improving the minds of "our parish." "And what were the
theatres like in these out-of-the-way places?" he asked. We were talking
of Stara Srbija.
Now I sat under the white mulberry trees at the door of the inn and
admired Podgoritza. For a few weeks I had looked at civilisation across
a gap of centuries from the "back of beyond," and things look very
different from that point of view, more different than anyone who has
lived at one end of Europe only can ever realise. And, still in the grip
of the wilderness, I parted from Radovan with regret and many promises
to return next year for a tour so wild and extensive that it is to
resemble a young campaign.
It was the end of July; Podgoritza was sizzling and sweltering in the
summer sun. It received me warmly in every sense of the word. But the
change from the chilly heights of Kom to the baking plain was too trying
to induce a long stay. Besides, as everyone said, "you are coming back
next year." I made a pilgrimage one morning to the grave of Marko
Drekalovich, the "dobar junak" to whose wild valour, military skill, and
indomitable spirit this corner of Montenegro largely owes its freedom,
and who now sleeps on the rugged heights of Medun that he tore from the
Turks, and I returned to Cetinje. A carriage and a road were a strange
enough experience, and as for Montenegro's joy, the only motor car, I
admired it almost as much as do the Montenegrins. Once at Cetinje the
spell was broken, and from Cetinje to London one whirls in a few days in
the lap of luxury, second class.
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