Twenty Years of Balkan TangleDurham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
History
Twenty Years of Balkan Tangle
Durham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel; Balkan Peninsula -- History; Eastern question (Balkan)
children are grown up. He meant them to go his way, not theirs. A
fatal error. He was very anxious to know how much money I had been
paid for my book, and was as inquisitive about my pecuniary
situation as the most upcountry of his subjects, and hoped the book
would bring hosts of wealthy tourists to the land. I stirred him up
by telling him that the Albanians intended some day to make a state
larger than Montenegro and take back Antivari and Podgoritza.
"Let them come!" said the old man stoutly. His eyes twinkled and he
laughed while he clasped his revolver, confessing he would not be
averse to a little war--but there was Europe to be considered.
Meanwhile I was to be sure and go to see Grahova and Vuchidol. After
a good three-quarters of an hour's talk he saw me to the door and
shouted good-bye from the doorstep.
At Nyegushi I engaged as guide one Krsto, recommended me in 1903 at
Andrijevitza by a botany professor from Prague, and while our start
was preparing went with Kapetan Gjuro Vrbitza and another officer by
a track to the mountain's edge whence we could look directly down
upon Cattaro. A gun emplacement was made there later. The two
Montenegrins amused themselves by hurling stones into Austrian
territory--feeling ran then strongly against Austria. For the first
time I heard the song:
Franz Josef da Bog ti ubio. Ti si strashno zlo uchinio!
(Franz Josef, may God strike thee dead. Thou hast wrought terrible
evil.)
Russia was still madly struggling with Japan. It was the Tsar's own
fault, said popular opinion. Prince Nikola had offered to send a
large Montenegrin army and he had declined it. Consequently only
nineteen volunteers, including two of Krsto's own relatives, had
gone to Russia's aid. Otherwise "Portartur" would never have
fallen. Krsto's cousin was engineer on one of Rozhdjestvcnski's
ships. Every one believed England had tried to Sink them by
concealing Japanese torpedo boats among the fishing fleet. They,
however, kindly absolved me from complicity in the affair, mainly
because I had been to Ipek.
France, as Russia's ally, had sprung into high favour and was
contemplating the erection of a "nouveau art" Legation. And the
new French Minister's little boy put his hands behind his back when
introduced to me, and said: "I cannot shake hands with you,
Mademoiselle, till you assure me you are not the friend of the
Yellow Monkeys." Thus are peace and goodwill taught to children in
the "civilized" lands of West Europe.
I started for Vuchidol, which the Prince had expressly desired me to
visit, by way of Grahovo. Each village knew of my ride to Ipek, and
received me with enthusiasm. Each told the same tale. The rising
planned to take place throughout the Balkans in 1904 had been
stopped by the misfortunes of the Russo-Japanese War. Montenegro was
aghast at the duration of the war, and her faith in Russia as a God
Almighty was badly shaken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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