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diff --git a/17613.txt b/17613.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9da3383 --- /dev/null +++ b/17613.txt @@ -0,0 +1,12694 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of the Black Mountain, by +Reginald Wyon +Gerald Prance + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Land of the Black Mountain + The Adventures of Two Englishmen in Montenegro + +Author: Reginald Wyon +Gerald Prance + +Release Date: January 27, 2006 [EBook #17613] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN *** + + + + +Produced by University of Michigan Digital Library, +Nikola Smolenski, Sankar Viswanathan, +and Online Distributed Proofreading Team at Distributed +Proofreaders Europe at http://dp.rastko.net + + + + + + + + + + THE LAND OF + THE BLACK MOUNTAIN + + + + THE ADVENTURES OF TWO ENGLISHMEN + IN MONTENEGRO + + + + BY + + REGINALD WYON AND GERALD PRANCE + + + WITH FIFTY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS + + + + + + "SOME GLIMPSING AND NO PERFECT SIGHT" + + CHAUCER + + + + NEW AND CHEAPER ISSUE + + + METHUEN & CO. + 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. + LONDON + + + +_First Published March 1903 +New and Cheaper Issue 1905_ + + +[Illustration: H.R.H. PRINCE NICOLAS OF MONTENEGRO] + + + + +DEDICATED BY KIND PERMISSION + +TO + +H.R.H. PRINCE NICOLAS +OF MONTENEGRO + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + + +CHAPTER I + +Montenegro's geographical position--Character of the people--Their +honesty, patriotism, and love of arms--Likeness to the Homeric +Greeks--The women--Montenegrin manners, vices, heroism, lack of +privacy, police--Goodness of the Prince--The national +costume--Religion--Hatred of Austria--Russia's friendship + + +CHAPTER II + +History from first conquest by the Romans, 300 B.C., down to the +present Prince--Fruits of the last campaign--Education--The +military system--Legal administration--Crime--Government--The +educated classes + + +CHAPTER III + +The journey to Montenegro--Arrival in Cattaro--Beauty of the +Bocche, and the drive to the frontier--First impressions of +Montenegro--Njegusi--The national troubadours--Arrival in +Cetinje + + +CHAPTER IV + +Cetinje and its sights--Prince Nicolas--The Archbishop--The +barracks--The princes--A visit to the prison and its system--Our +departure for Podgorica + + +CHAPTER V + +The view from Bella Vista--New scenery--Promiscuous shooting--The +market in Rijeka--The shepherds--Their flocks--Wayside +hospitality--The plain of the Zeta--The Moraca--The +Vizier bridge--Old war-marks--First and last impressions of +Podgorica + + +CHAPTER VI + +Podgorica--Its central position--Our headquarters--Easter in +Montenegro--Our experience of it--We view the town--The +prison and its inmates--Christian and Mahometan friction--The +modern town--The market and the armed buyers--The +Black Earth--Easter customs--Montenegrin methods of doing +business + + +CHAPTER VII + +Medun--Voivoda Marko--His life and business--His part in Montenegrin +history--Our ride to Medun--His widow--We visit his grave--The Death +Dirge--Montenegrin customs at death--Target practice--Our critics--The +hermit of Daibabe--We visit Spuz--A typical country inn and a +meal--The Turkish renegade gives his views on warfare--Dioclea + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Achmet Uiko tells his story--Sokol Baco, ex-Albanian chief--Shooting +on the Lake of Scutari--Our journey thither--Our frustrated +nap--Arrival at the chapel--The island of Vranjina--The +priest--Fishing and fishermen--Our visitors--We return to Podgorica + + +CHAPTER IX + +Stephan our servant--Virpazar--The drive over the Sutormann +Pass--Antivari and Prstan--The beauty of the bay--We are +delayed by contrary winds--We are rowed to Dulcigno--We +make the acquaintance of Marko Ivankovic--A story concerning +him--We shoot together--An episode on a lake--Vaccination--The +Turkish inhabitants + + +CHAPTER X + +We ride to Scutari--The Albanian Customs officials--We suffer +much from Turkish saddles--Arrival at Scutari, and again pass +the Customs--"Buon arrivato"--Scutari and its religious +troubles--The town and bazaar--A slight misunderstanding, +Yes and No--We return to Rijeka by steamer--The beauties +of the trip--Wrong change--The prodigal son's return, when +the fatted calf is _not_ killed + + +CHAPTER XI + +Preparations for our tour in the Brda--We start--Where it is not good +to be giddy--A trying ride--Our inn--Nocturnal episodes--The journey +continued--Pleasant surroundings--The Montenegrin _quart +d'heure_--Arrival in Kolasin--We meet the Governor--Visiting--The Band +of Good Hope--The Crown Prince's birthday--We are ashamed + + +CHAPTER XII + +Montenegro's oldest building--The ride to the Moraca Monastery--A +perilous bridge and ascent--The Abbot's tale--We inspect the +Monastery--The health of the King is drunk--The relative merits of +Boers and Montenegrins--The Abbot makes us presents--We visit a +peasant's house and a Homeric feast--A feu-de-joie--Departure from +Kolasin--We are mistaken for doctors again--Raskrsnica + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A typical mountain hut--Costume of the north-eastern borderers--Supper +and a song--We go out hunting, and cause excitement--The Feast of +Honour--We ride to Andrijevica--Andrijevica and our inn--The +Voivoda--We go to church--Turkish visitors--Alarums + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The Voivoda's invitation--Concerning an episode on our ride to +Velika--The fugitive from a blood-feud and his story--We arrive at +Velika--The men of Velika--The menu--Border jurisdiction--A +shooting-match--The Kom--Pleasant evenings--A young +philosopher--Sunset + + +CHAPTER XV + +We leave Andrijevica--Our additional escort--The arrival at our +camping-place--In an enemy's country--The story of one Gjolic--Our +slumbers are disturbed--Sunrise on the Alps--We disappoint our +escort--"Albanian or Montenegrin?"--A reconnaissance--The Forest of +Vucipotok--The forbidden land--narrow escape--We arrive at +Rikavac--Rain damps our ardour--Nocturnal visitors + + +CHAPTER XVI + +More memorial stones--We get wet again--Unwilling hosts--A fall--The +Franciscan of Zatrijebac--The ravine of the Zem--Methods of settling +tribal differences--A change of diet and more pleasant evenings--A +fatalist--Sunday morning + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A modern hero, and our sojourn under his roof--Keco's story--The laws +of vendetta and their incongruity--We return to Podgorica--The +Montenegrin telephone--An elopement causes excitement--The Sultan's +birthday--The reverse of the picture--A legal anomaly + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +S. Vasili and Ostrog--Our drive thither--Joyful pilgrims--Varied +costumes--We meet the Vladika of Montenegro--The ordeal of hot +coffee--A real pilgrimage--The shrine of S. Vasili--The ancient +hermit--A miracle--Niksic--The gaudy cathedral and the Prince's +palace--We are disappointed at Niksic + + +CHAPTER XIX + +The Club and its members--Gugga--Irregularities of time--The absence +of the gentle muse and our surprise--The musician's story and his +subsequent fate--The Black Earth--A typical border house--The ordeal +of infancy--A realistic performance which is misunderstood--Concerning +a memorable drive--A fervent prayer + + +CHAPTER XX + +We reconsider our opinion of Cetinje--A Montenegrin wake and its +consequences--A hero's death--Montenegrin conversation--Needless +appeals to the Deity--We visit the hospital + + +CHAPTER XXI + +The Law Court in Cetinje--The Prince as patriarch--A typical +lawsuit--Pleasant hours with murderers--Our hostel--A Babel of +tongues--Our sojourn draws to a close--The farewell cup of coffee and +apostrophe + + +INDEX + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +H.R.H. PRINCE NICOLAS OF MONTENEGRO _Frontispiece_ + +THE GRAF WURMBRAND, IN THE BOCCHE DI CATTARO + +THE BOCCHE DI CATTARO + +NJEGUSI + +THE GUSLAR + +MONTENEGRIN INFANTRY + +THE VLADIKA AT THE MONASTERY OF IVAN BEG + +THE PRINCE'S PALACE + +GENERAL VIEW OF CETINJE + +THE FEMALE PRISONERS + +THE PRISONERS DANCING + +THE VIZIER BRIDGE + +GENERAL VIEW OF PODGORICA + +THE RIBNICA + +THE GRAVE SCENE AT MEDUN + +VOIVODA MARKO + +SIMEON POPOVIC AND HIS CHAPEL + +SPUZ + +ACHMET UIKO + +SOKOL BACO + +THE POP OF VRANJINA + +AN ALBANIAN GIRL + +VIRPAZAR + +ANTIVARI OR BAR + +MARKO IVANKOVIC + +THE BRIDGE AT RIJEKA + +VACCINATION + +BAZAAR LIFE, DULCIGNO + +THE CONSULAR QUARTER, SCUTARI + +KOLASIN--THE MARKET-PLACE + +THE KOLO + +A TYPICAL ROAD + +THE MORACA MONASTERY + +OUR HUT AT RASKRSNICA + +ANDRIJEVICA + +CHURCH PARADE + +VELIKA + +MORINA + +THE FUGITIVE OF VELIKA + +THE VASOJEYICKI KOM + +ALBANIANS AND MONTENEGRINS AT ANDRIJEVICA + +THE RAVINE OF TERPETLIS + +THE PATH THROUGH THE VUCIPOTOK + +AFTER MASS AT ZATRIJEBAC + +MONTENEGRIN WOMEN + +THE LOWER MONASTERY, OSTROG + +THE UPPER MONASTERY + +THE CHURCH, NIKSIC + +THE CHURCH AND THE PALACE + +A REALISTIC PERFORMANCE + +AN ALBANIAN HOME ON THE CRNA ZEMLJA + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +"What a terrible country!" said a lady tourist to me once in Cetinje, +"nothing but barren grey rocks; and what poverty! I declare I shan't +breathe freely till I am out of it again." + +This is a common opinion of travellers to Montenegro, and one that is +spread by them all over Europe. And yet how unjust! A fairly large +number of tourists take the drive from beautiful little Cattaro up +that wild mountain-side and through the barren Katunska to Cetinje. A +few hours later they return the way they came, convinced that they +have seen Montenegro. A few, very few, prolong the tour to Podgorica +and Niksic, returning with a still firmer conviction that they have +penetrated into the very fastnesses of that wonderful little land. +These chosen few have at least seen that all is not bare and rocky, +that there are rich green valleys, rushing mountain torrents, and +pleasant streams. + +If they are very observant they will likewise notice that the men of +these parts are more wildly clad and fiercer-looking than their more +polished brethren of the "residence." Rifles are carried more +universally the nearer lies Albania, and in Podgorica itself they will +have seen--particularly if chance has brought them there on a +market-day--crowds of savage-looking hill-men, clad in the white serge +costume of Albania, standing over their handful of field produce with +loaded rifles; stern men from the borders with seamed faces; sturdy +plains-men tanned to a mahogany tint by the almost tropical sun of the +valleys; shepherds in great sheepskins, be it ever so hot; and haughty +Turks, hodjas, and veiled women, all in a crowded confusion, haggling +and bartering. Quaint wooden carts drawn by patient oxen, their huge +clumsy wheels creaking horribly; gypsies with thunderous voices acting +as town criers; madmen shrieking horribly; blind troubadours droning +out songs of heroes on their guslars. If the tourist has witnessed and +understood all this, then he has seen something of Montenegro. But +beyond those lofty mountains which rise on either side of the carriage +road, live these same people in their rude villages. There are towns +far away, unconnected by any road, to reach which the traveller must +journey wearily by horse and on foot, over boulder-strewn paths, by +the side of roaring torrents, through the cool depths of primeval +forests, and over the snow-clad spurs of rugged mountains. There he +will find men accustomed to face death at any moment, who delight in +giving hospitality, and who talk of other lands as "the world +outside." These are the Montenegrins to whom we owe some of the most +pleasant reminiscences of our lives. + +Our book does not describe the whole country, as unfortunately we were +unable to visit the northern districts and the lofty Durmitor, but we +certainly saw the more interesting half, namely, the whole of the +Albanian frontier. + +Amongst those hardy borderers we made many warm friends, but it would +be invidious to mention names amongst so many. We came to the country +with a single introduction, to Dr. Stefanelli, the companion of many +of our journeys, and we left at the conclusion of six months with a +host of friends. Still to two we wish humbly to express our gratitude +for many acts of, at the time, unknown courtesy, namely, H.R.H. Prince +Nicolas, and the Metropolitan of Montenegro, Mitrofanban. As a slight +token of our thanks to, and admiration of, that true father of his +people, Prince Nicolas, we respectfully dedicate this book to the +soldier-poet and prince of the Land of the Black Mountain. + +Since we finished the story of our travels, I have had the honour of +speaking long with Prince Nicolas and of seeing him on many occasions; +for during our first travels in the land we were always strangely +unlucky in this respect. I then learnt how our progress through +Montenegro had been watched over, and contingencies provided for, +which we had taken as a matter of course. + +Some, alas! of our friends are now no more. The Governor of Podgorica +was shot down in broad daylight a short while ago whilst taking his +midday promenade in which we so often shared. Others, too, have fallen +on the borders. Friends are easily lost in Montenegro, where a charge +of powder and a bullet settle differences. + +Disagreeable episodes happened to us--they happen everywhere--but +these we have rightly or wrongly omitted. The good that we experienced +certainly outweighed the bad, and that shall be our reason for so +doing. + +And again, throughout the book we have given our _first_ impressions, +much of it was written during our actual progress through the land. It +may be that our feelings will thus be more interesting than a +cut-and-dried treatise of the land and its inhabitants. + +In conclusion, it will not be amiss to add an explanation of the Serb +names which appear throughout the book in the original spelling. The +names have often an unpronounceable appearance, and look harsh and +forbidding. This is far from the case, for the Serb language is +full-toned and musical. + +In common with the Slav languages it has a sixth vowel, viz. +"r"--hence such words as "Srb" (Serb), "trg" (place or square), and +"Trst" (Triest). It is only necessary to roll the "r" to overcome this +seeming anomaly of a collection of consonants. The language is spoken +exactly as it is written, as for instance Italian, but the consonants +s, c, and z vary according to their accents. + +"s" is our sharp s; but with inverted circumflex + +"s" it becomes "ssh," as in "show." + +"c" is pronounced "tz": thus Cetinje is spoken Tzetinje; Podgorica as +Podgoritza. + +"c" and "c" are accentuated "tsch": as Petrovic, Petrovitsch; Moraca, +Moratcha. + +"z" is soft, as "s" in "rose." + +"z" is sounded like the French "j" in "journal." + +"dz" is sounded like the "j" in "James." + +"nj" is sounded like the "gn" in French "campagne": Tzetigne +(Cetinje), and so on. + +We are fully aware of many shortcomings, and for these we crave +pardon, but if we benefit little Montenegro by the publication of our +work, then we shall not have written it in vain. + +England has once before proved the friend of Montenegro; the fighting +instincts of that brave race, their love of freedom, and the +possession of their most glorious of histories appeal to all of us. + +I fear there are troublous times ahead for that gallant little nation, +perhaps another bitter disappointment is in store for them, when they +will need a friend. + +Times have changed now, personal valour avails but little against +overwhelming armies and modern artillery. + +"We little nations must beseech the Almighty to give us peace," said +Prince Nicolas to me not so very long ago. + +May it be His will! + +R.W. + +VIENNA, _February, 1903_ + + + + +THE LAND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN + +CHAPTER I + +Montenegro's geographical position--Character of the people--Their +honesty, patriotism, and love of arms--Likeness to the Homeric +Greeks--The women--Montenegrin manners, vices, heroism, lack of +privacy, police--Goodness of the Prince--The national +costume--Religion--Hatred of Austria--Russia's friendship. + + +Roughly Montenegro is diamond-shaped, with its points towards north +and south, east and west. To the north-east it is bounded by the +Sandjak of Novipazar, held by Turkey and Austria jointly, and dividing +it from its parent country, the kingdom of Servia. To the south-east +lies Albania, while Austria again borders Montenegro in Bosnia and the +Hercegovina in the north-west and in Dalmatia to the south-west. +Dalmatia and a narrow strip of the Adria complete the circuit, so +Austria practically surrounds Montenegro on three sides. + +The land may be said to possess three distinct belts of vegetation, +each of an entirely different character. It is divided from north to +south by the River Zeta, and the low-lying plains are fertile and +rich, and this district also comprises the sea coast. To the west is +the Katunska or "Shepherds' huts," those barren and rocky mountains of +old Montenegro, from which the country derives its name; while to the +east lies the Brda, mountains vying with Switzerland in beauty, rich +grazing grounds and densely-wooded hills abounding with game, and the +streams well stocked with fish. + +The plains are the granaries of Montenegro, unfortunately too limited +in area to give an abundance, but there is a mine of wealth in the +Brda, when that part shall be opened up by connecting roads. The vast +primeval forests and mineral products will be an important source of +income in the times to come. Even at the present day the district +constitutes the chief source of revenue from the export of cattle, +sheep, and horses which flourish on the magnificent mountain +pasturages. Montenegrin wool, greatly famed, comes too from the Brda. + +It is chiefly in the Katunska, the cradle of the Montenegrin nation, +that the most interesting geological formations are to be found, and +in these formations lay its former strength. The most prominent +features of the Karst region are imperfect valleys which have no +outlet. As a consequence of this, the water cannot escape by an +overground bed, so it forces itself through the porous surface to +reappear in a lower valley, undermining the subsoil, which in time +collapses, and forms the oases of this otherwise barren land. The +rain washes down the little earth that there is on the hillside, the +chemical action of the limestone oxidises the same, and the so-called +"terra rossa" is formed in these depressions, sufficient to give +nourishment to the trees and bushes which grow there. The frugal +peasant cultivates these tiny patches of earth and derives enough +crops to subsist on, the goats and cattle living on the bushes and +smaller trees. + +In olden times the little nation found barely enough substance for +themselves, consisting as they did of but a few thousand, but an +invading army starved. It was in truth a land "where a small army is +beaten, a large one dies of hunger." + +The character of the people has been formed by their surroundings. +Hardy and frugal, capable of subsisting on the smallest amount of +nourishment, lithe and active, and open and fearless as their native +mountains. + +Their food consists of a piece of maize bread at daybreak, and they +eat nothing again till sunset, when bread and a little milk form their +evening meal. Meat is eaten but rarely, and then they feast. The +athletic feat of crossing rock-strewn surfaces, bounding from rock to +rock at a great pace, rivalling their goats in sure-footedness at dizzy +and precipitous heights, has lent their gait that perfect grace of +motion which characterises the mountaineer, and in particular the +Montenegrin. The danger in which they have perpetually lived, +accustomed to look death in the face at any moment, has stamped upon +them that open and fearless look which most forcibly strikes the +stranger. + +Their blood is of the purest and noblest in the Balkans, for they are +largely descended from the noble families of the old Servian Empire +who fled to the Katunska after the bloody field of Kossovo, which +destroyed the might of the Serbs for ever. It is probably from these +ancestors that their noble bearing and perfect manners, in even +strange and unaccustomed surroundings, are derived. Their notion of +honour is of the highest, and thieving and robbery are practically +unknown. + +Prince Nicolas, like King Alfred, trusts his subjects in this matter +of thieving implicitly. Should a man drop a case of banknotes on the +road, the law says that the finder shall pick it up and place it on +the nearest stone, so that the loser has but to retrace his steps, +glancing at the wayside stones. This law is invariably followed. + +The Montenegrins are still an armed nation, and the following proverbs +illustrate their love of weapons. One says, "A man without arms is a +man without freedom"; the other says, "Thou mayest as well take away +my brother as my rifle." + +Their patriotism and unswerving loyalty to the reigning Prince have +ever been their most brilliant virtues. + +The famous traveller Kohl has likened the Montenegrins to the ancient +Greeks of Homeric times, and the comparison holds good to this day. + +"Love of freedom and pride of weapons, simplicity of life--remember +the love of mutton and wine, as described by Homer--hospitality, the +superiority of man over woman, all these features, together with the +fact that the heroes are themselves the singers of their deeds," says +Kohl, "are to be found in the Montenegrins, as well as in the Greeks +of Homer." + +Woman takes a very inferior position in Montenegro. She is respected +in a sense, and her position has improved greatly in recent times, +chiefly owing to the example set by the Prince himself. At the +official reception held on New Year's Day, when the humblest peasant +can go to Cetinje and kiss the Prince's hand, Prince Nicolas places +his wife to his right, and every man must first kiss her hand. Thus in +the highest classes woman takes very nearly the same place as in +civilised lands, but as the social scale descends, so does the +position of woman. + +In the lowest classes she is still not much more than a beast of +burden, given to man to ease his lot. She carries heavy burdens to +market, while her lord rides; she may not walk at his side, but a few +paces to the rear; neither may she sit at table in the presence of +strange men. The kiss with which men salute each other is not allowed +to her, and she must kiss the hand only of the man. Likewise, she must +rise to her feet when men pass by, and in some districts, should she +meet a man on the way, she must stop and remain standing meekly at the +side of the path; also, she must leave the room backwards. Neither of +these last-mentioned customs is universal, but are to be found largely +in the Brda. + +The men are handsome and often of immense stature. Giants of 6 feet 8 +inches are by no means uncommon; in fact, a few such men will be seen +in every town. The average height is quite 5 feet 10 or 11 inches, +broad-shouldered and deep-chested, with pleasant faces. + +The women are often strikingly beautiful, especially when young, but +hard work ages them very quickly; in the upper classes, however, +middle-aged and elderly women of regal appearance can often be seen. +It is the manners of such women and universally of the men which comes +as the greatest surprise, when it is remembered that none or very few +have ever seen anything of the outside world. + +The faults of the nation are inordinate vanity in their appearance, +causing them to impoverish themselves for the sake of gorgeous +clothes, and gambling. They gamble to an excessive degree, heaping +debt after debt upon their heads. Both these vices have caused an +active legislation. Gold embroidery has been abolished on the uniforms +of the army officers, and Prince Danilo has already declared that on +coming to the throne he will abolish the national costume altogether, +_i.e._ amongst the officials and the upper classes. + +They love money and will do a good deal to get it, but when they have +money, they spend it in a reckless and freehanded manner. Thus they +will overcharge a stranger in an exorbitant fashion, thinking, in +their simple minds, that travellers are possessed of unlimited means. +Tourists are largely to blame for this, and pay, without audible +comment, what is asked. If a strong remonstrance is made, the charge +will be reduced in most cases. The dawn of civilisation has brought +the love of money, the frugal Montenegrins are now awakening to what +money will procure them, and they take as much as they can get without +thought, and without swindling intentions. Perhaps the lack of banks +or any institute where money can be saved up, may account for this. +Merchants buy houses or increase their stock. The peasant, as often as +not, gambles it away or buys fine clothes, a few thrifty ones +purchasing an extra cow. + +No doubt the influence of civilisation, and in particular the +long-delayed prosperity of the land which is now slowly raising its +head, will alter this. + +They very rarely quarrel, never brawl, and are hardly ever to be seen +in a state of intoxication. + +On the other hand, they are merry, convivial, boon companions, and are +never happier than when dancing, singing their war songs and love +romances, or listening to the "guslar"--the national troubadour. + +The characteristic bravery is still manifested in reckless deeds of +"derring do" on the Albanian borders. Shepherds will deliberately +drive their flocks across the frontier, thereby courting instant +death. Many instances have been given illustrating their love of +danger. + +Privacy of dwellings is non-existent. Men walk in and out, seating +themselves in the room and talking. In the evening the men will +congregate, stand and squat in a large ring, and solemnly discuss the +events of the day, or in towns will walk majestically up and down the +main street swinging the graceful "struka" or shawl from their +shoulders. Likewise, the drinking-houses are used as common +meeting-places, and there is no need to order refreshment. + +Marriages, baptisms, deaths are occasions for great feasting, when the +national sheep is killed and roasted whole, and wine and spirits +consumed in appalling quantities, without however affecting the heads +of these iron people. + +To keep order, there is a ridiculously small force of police or +gendarmes, and their object is more to preserve the peace in places +where different races meet, animated with fanatical hatred of each +other. But during the whole time of our sojourn in Montenegro, we +never witnessed a single case of men arrested for petty offences, or +for breaking the peace by common brawling or drunkenness. The only +cases that we did see were connected with the vendetta, which still +flourishes. In the course of our travels in the land we have +sufficiently illustrated this lamentable feature that no further +comments are necessary. + +Prince Nicolas is said to know the name of every one of his subjects, +and will accost him by it. This is doubtless a great exaggeration, and +probably means that he knows personally all those who fought under him +in the last war, when the nation was considerably smaller than it is +now. + +No man is too humble but that the Prince will stop and speak to him, +and ask him how the world is using him. The man rarely goes +empty-handed away. In these latter days the Prince is not so +open-handed as formerly, neither does he make so free with his +presence, but still it is no difficult thing for any of his subjects +to obtain an audience. He will stop a man at haphazard on the road +and examine his weapons, and woe betide him if his revolver is carried +empty. Every chamber but one must be loaded. + +A characteristic instance of the Prince's observancy was once given in +Cetinje. An incongruous habit is creeping into the country of carrying +a huge cotton umbrella in the great heat. The Prince met a man +carrying one open, and promptly broke it over his head, saying-- + +"Art thou a hero, to carry a woman's sunshade?" + +For even to-day the youngest man will maintain that he is a "hero" by +right of ancestry, and has no doubt of his capability to act up to the +traditions of his country in the event of war. + +The national costume is worn by all, and in the richer classes is very +gorgeous. The combination of colour is in exquisite taste. There are +many variations, but a description of the gala uniform will suffice. + +The cap, or "kapa," is the same for Prince and peasant. It is red with +a deep black border, which only leaves a small crown of the foundation +colour. On this crown in one corner are the letters "H.I." (in Latin +characters "N.I." or Nicolas 1st) and five semicircles in gold. The +explanations as to the meanings are slightly different. Both say the +black border is symbolic of mourning for the losses at Kossovo, while +the five lines are explained either as signifying the five centuries +which have elapsed since that terrible battle or as symbolic of a +rainbow--the sign of hope that one day the glories of the old Serb +empire will be restored. The red crown signifies "the field of blood," +as the Hebrews have it. Furthermore, the different insignia of rank +are worn on the rim of the cap, from the double eagle and lion of the +senator in brass, the different combinations of crossed swords of the +officer, to the simple star of lead of the corporal. + +The costume consists of a "dzamadan," a red waistcoat, embroidered +with gold or black silk--the former on gala occasions--over which the +"gunj" is worn, a long, white or very pale blue coat, cut so that the +breast is left open and free. Another sleeveless jacket is worn, +again, over the gunj, called the "jelek," and is a mass of heavy gold +and silk embroidery, quite stiff in fact, and a marvel of beautiful +tracing and patterns. + +Round the waist are three separate belts, the first a common belt, +then the leather "kolan" for the support of the weapons, and over all +a silk sash, the "pas," sometimes twenty yards long, wound round and +round many times and of brilliant colours. + +Below, knee-breeches of dark blue material and voluminous proportions, +called "gace," bordered round the pockets with gold-work, and high, +patent-leather boots. This latter is merely modern dandyism; the still +invariably worn "dokoljenice" are white gaiters, fastened at the back +with hooks and eyes, which reach to the "opanki"--shoes made of a flat +leather sole, bound over with a thick network of whipcord. + +The ordinary costume of the better classes for everyday wear (and this +is the uniform of the officers) is a short red jacket, embroidered +like the waistcoat in black silk, with sleeves carried either hussar +fashion, hanging behind, or over the sleeves of the waistcoat. + +Then there are green gunj and even dark blue. The peasant wears +usually a coarse white serge gunj for every day and an ordinary shirt. + +In the mountain districts and borderlands of the Brda the Albanian +costume of tight-fitting white serge trousers, bordered with black +braid, is largely worn. + +The women wear a somewhat modified array of colour. The girls wear the +kapa, without the letters or rainbow; the married women a lace +mantilla over their shoulders. The hair is worn, in the case of the +married women, in a heavy crown-like plait. + +A white, slightly embroidered bodice, silver girdle, and silk skirt, +over which is worn a similar open coat to the gunj. And again over +this comes the "jecerma," a jacket of red, blue, or violet velvet, +according to the age of the woman. + +The effect in both men and women is tasteful and picturesque in the +extreme. + +The struka, or shawl, is greatly worn by men, and the sweeping, +swinging effect is most pleasing. It is a shawl of sufficient length +that when folded to a narrow width and worn over the shoulders the +tassels just touch the ground. + +Some of the poorest peasants wear huge sheepskin jackets, even in hot +weather. + +At the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, which is the religion of the +land, is an Archbishop, or "Vladika." Hardly more than half a century +ago, the Vladika was Prince and Bishop in one. To-day the Vladika is +absolute spiritual head of the Church in Montenegro, and only in +matters pertaining to divorce are his rulings reversible by the +Prince. + +The hatred of the Roman Catholic religion is most marked. The term +"Catholic" is an epithet of opprobrium. Hence the hatred of Albania, +which on the borders is entirely Roman Catholic. The hated Catholics +also, in the shape of Austria, hem in Montenegro on three sides, and +this factor, added to the unfriendly part that Austria played at the +Berlin Congress, may account for the growing animosity which is now +slowly making itself manifest against her in Montenegro. Turkey is no +longer feared; in fact, friendly relations are cultivated and steadily +increasing; but against Austria very different feelings are held. +Austria holds the Bocche de Cattaro, which the Montenegrins took +possession of in the Napoleonic wars, commands Antivari, and has edged +herself in between the kingdom of Servia and Montenegro in the +Sandjak of Novipazar. The inhabitants of the Bocche and a large part +of the population of Bosnia and the Hercegovina look to the Prince of +Montenegro as their lawful ruler. + +It is the oft and open stated dream of Prince Nicolas to see the great +Serb-speaking nations re-united, and much as Russia has helped and is +fostering this wish, Austria relentlessly checkmates every move in +this direction. Austria is even striving to gain influence in Albania +through the means of the Roman Catholic priests, who are said to be +largely in her pay. + +Thus Austria, surrounding Montenegro as she does at present, and +enlisting the sympathies of the Albanians, can command every inlet to +that brave little country. A "Schwab," as every German-speaking +foreigner is termed, is consequently viewed with no friendly eyes; +while the Russian is welcomed openly as a friend. + +Russia, however, can never hope to buy the allegiance of the +Montenegrins; for while appreciating friendly assistance, the faintest +attempt to obtain undue influence of power would be sharply resented. + +Montenegro will yield her absolute independence to none. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +History from first conquest by the Romans, 300 B.C., down to +the present Prince--Fruits of the last campaign--Education--The +military system--Legal administration--Crime--Government--The educated +classes. + + +The district which corresponds most nearly to Montenegro of the +present day comes first into notice when the Romans attacked Queen +Teuta and drove her back beyond the modern Podgorica in the third +century B.C. From this time onwards Roman influence made +itself felt strongly in the Praevalitana, an outlying province of +Illyria, and the city of Dioclea--whose ruins still exist in the +neighbourhood of Podgorica, and which was to play such an important +part in the germ state of Crnagora, or the "Land of the Black +Mountain"--rose into being. Diocletian, the famous divider of the +Roman Empire, was born there, and the city became the capital of the +district to which it gave the name. The triumvirs placed the +border-line of the Eastern and Western divisions at Skodra, or +Scutari, as the Europeans call it. Under the early empire, the land +was perpetually changing from East to West, but when the Western +division fell under the weight of barbarian invasions Uin 476 A.D., +it was finally incorporated in the East. This was a momentous +decision, for the manners and habits of the people still remain tinged +with Eastern life, and in the ninth century it secured their adhesion +to the Eastern Church, which influences their policy to the present +time. The principality of Dioclea, or Zeta, as it soon became called, +was one of the confederate Serb states formed by Heraclius in 622 +A.D., to act as a buffer state against the inroads of the Avars. Each +state was ruled by a Zupan or Prince who owed allegiance to the Grand +Zupan, the head of the heptarchy. But the confederation was very +loose, the rival chieftains fighting amongst one another for the +supremacy, for the Serb race has ever been noted for its lack of unity +and corresponding love of freedom. The famous Bulgarian Czar Samuel, +_circa_ 980, who had overrun the rest of the Serb states, and made for +himself a great empire, found that he was powerless to conquer the +warlike John Vladimir of the Zeta; and again, nearly a century later, +in 1050, we find the Zeta Zupa so powerful that their Prince assumes +the title of King of Servia, and is confirmed in his right by Gregory +VII., the famous Pope Hildebrand. Dissensions then broke out again, +and for the next hundred years the land owned the sway of the Greek +Empire. The two most celebrated Serb kings--Stefan Nemanja (1143) and +Stefan Dusan (1336-1356)--both ascended to the head of the +confederation from the principality of the Zeta. The latter raised the +Serb kingdom to its zenith, and formed an ephemeral empire which bears +many a resemblance to that of Napoleon. Montenegro had all this time +been steadily growing, and on the accession of Dusan to Servia, the +district of the Zeta fell to the Balsic, who proved themselves to be a +strong and competent race of rulers. They increased their territories +to such an extent that, at the time of the battle of Kossovo, they +could boast to ruling over all the land from Ragusa to the mouth of +the Drin, including the present West Montenegro and Southern +Hercegovina, with Skodra as the capital. After the overthrow of the +great Servian Empire on the field of Kossovo, Montenegro became +entirely independent of outside suzerainty, and from the year 1389 to +the present day, is the only Balkan state which has successfully +defied the invasions of the Turk. The Balsic engaged themselves in +several fruitless wars with Venice, by which they lost Skodra, so +that, when their line died out and the succession fell to Stefan +Crnoievic (the name Crnoievic, Black Prince, is supposed by some to be +the origin of the name Crnagora or Black Mountain), a new capital must +perforce be built, at the northern end of the lake, called Zabljak. +Stefan Crnoievic allied himself with Skenderbeg, the King of Albania, +and within twelve years is said to have fought over fifty battles +with the Turks who, in their impotent rage, poured army after army +into the land, but entirely failed to break the courage of this brave +little people. His people gave him the title of Voivoda of the Zeta, +but the limits of his principality seem to have been very undefined. +The position of his son Ivan was, however, of greater danger, for in +1444 the kingdom of Hungary had fallen before the Turk, and they +captured Constantinople nine years later; after this Servia, Bosnia, +Albania (on the death of Skenderbeg), and Hercegovina were overrun in +quick succession. In 1484 Ivan found himself obliged to burn his +capital of Zabljak, and retire into the more inaccessible mountain +fastnesses of the Katunska, the district round Cetinje. Cetinje itself +was chosen by Ivan as his new centre, and though hardly pressed, he +inflicted many severe defeats upon the Turks. Arrived in his new +capital, he called his braves together, and told them that if they +would surrender to the foe, they must find a new Prince, for, as for +himself, he preferred death. So this little band of warriors, and they +could not have numbered more than eight thousand fighting men, swore +to resist this almighty foe to death--not to attack, but to resist. It +must have been an impressive scene, this compact between Prince and +people, and later history bears out fully how nobly the descendants of +these mountain warriors have kept to their oath. For they, alone, of +all the Balkan states, have successfully repulsed the Turk, who, +though often seemingly victorious, has returned home with shattered +armies and full of impotent rage. + +[Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF MONTENEGRO.] + +In their need they applied to Venice for help, quoting the great +assistance that they were rendering her in occupying the Turks; but +the Queen of Cities, who was at that moment occupied in patching up a +treaty with the Sultan, turned a deaf ear to their entreaties. +Montenegro found then, for the first time--and all through her history +she was destined to find the same--that she must fight her battles +alone. Allies have used her always for their own ends and then +shamefully deserted her. Yet all through the spirit of indomitable +courage has never deserted the children of Crnagora, for they could +never forget the oath which their forefathers had sworn for them. + +Ivan, after several great victories, was left to end his days in +peace. He spent his years well in strengthening the land, both in the +arts of war and peace. In Obod, which is close to Rijeka, he erected a +printing press, some twenty years after Caxton had set up his in +Westminster, and though it was afterwards burnt by the Turks, still +the remembrance of it remains right glorious in Montenegrin memory. + +The last Crnoievic relinquished his home for Venice. He had married a +Venetian wife, who, among the bleak mountains of the Katunska, was +pining for the sun and warmth of her native city. But before leaving +he laid down the lines for a powerful regime. A Prince-Bishop, or +Vladika, was placed at the head of affairs, but, to help him in his +difficult task, there was created a second office, that of Civil +Governor, who was to hold a subordinate position. This office was +abolished in 1832 by Peter II., on the treachery of the Civil Governor +Radonic, who was found to have intrigued with the Austrians. + +From 1616 to 1696 the Vladikas were elective, and under their +quarrelsome rule Cetinje was twice burnt and phoenix-like rose again +from its ashes. The Turkish armies, though partially victorious, +usually met with disaster and ruin before reaching their own territory +again; and we read of one notable occasion when Soliman Pasha, with an +army of 80,000 men, had sacked Cetinje. On his way home he was +surprised by the two tribes of Kuc and Klementi, and annihilated. But +as time went on it became necessary from political reasons to change +the system of government from election to heredity, and the choice +fell on the Lord of Njegusi Danilo Petrovic, whose reign (1696-1735) +is chiefly memorable for the Montenegrin vespers of the Turks and +Turkish renegades, who had rendered so much assistance to Kiuprili +Pasha in one of his terrible invasions. But a crushing defeat of the +Turks in 1706 gave the land peace for thirty years. + +In 1767 an adventurer named Stefan Mali sprang himself upon the land. +He claimed to be the murdered Peter III. of Russia, and easily imposed +himself upon the gullible Montenegrin. But he had the interests of +Montenegro sincerely at heart, and proved an excellent ruler. His +imposture was exposed by Catherine II., but owing to the weakness of +the Petrovic heir, the people determined to keep him as their ruler. +He fell a victim to the assassin's knife at the instigation of the +Pasha of Scutari. His successor, Peter Petrovic, the famous St. Peter +of Montenegrin history, was a firm and courageous ruler, who made his +influence felt throughout the courts of Europe. Austria, Russia, and +England did not scruple to avail themselves of his help and then, as +seems to be the Montenegrin fate, left him in the lurch. He defied the +armies of the great Napoleon, who came to fear him and his warlike +clan insomuch that he was even offered terms of friendship. But the +proud mountaineer would have none of it. He now turned his hand, under +the influence of Russia, which was then very real, to the +consolidation of the land, and slept in peace with his fathers. + +His successor, Peter II., carried on the struggle with the Turks, who +proposed an increase of territory and a Turkish title in return for +the acknowledgment of suzerainty. "As long as my people defend me," +was the proud answer, "I need no Turkish title to my throne; if they +desert me, such a title would avail me little." War was the effect of +this retort, but the Turks gained nothing by it, and peace was soon +made. + +The danger of the power of Austria came now to be fully recognised. +After the Napoleonic wars, Austria had retained Cattaro and Spizza, +and trouble now broke out over some land near Budua. The Montenegrins +fell upon the Austrians, and fierce conflicts ensued, but Peter, who +had gained an extraordinary hold over his subjects, forbade them to +continue. Hostilities, however, continued in a desultory fashion for +some time. + +Peter was followed by Danilo II., a weak ruler, but his reign is +famous for two events--the cession of the spiritual authority of the +Prince-Bishop to an Archbishop and the "Great Charter" of Montenegro. +Danilo's reforms, however, led the Turk again to attack his invincible +foe, only again to end in great disaster. But in the Crimean War +Montenegro, greatly to the disgust of the people, did not participate, +and in the Congress which followed Danilo was offered a Turkish title +and the hated Turkish protectorate. His willingness to accept this led +to the formation of a strong opposition party who demanded war. +Fortune was on their side, and the Turks invaded Montenegro. The +command fell to Mirko, who from his former exploits had gained the +name of the "Sword of Montenegro." A battle was fought at Grahovo, +which will ever live in memory as the Montenegrin Marathon. The Turks +were completely crushed by a small force of Montenegrins, and peace +followed. His brief reign was brought to a close at Cattaro, in 1861, +by an assassin's bullet, and Nicolas, his nephew, reigned in his +stead. + +War broke out again on the Hercegovinian insurrection of the following +year, the results of which were disastrous in a high degree to +Montenegro. Even the famous Mirko, the father of Prince Nicolas, after +sixty battles, could do no more, and the Convention of Scutari (1862) +brought the war to a close. It was settled that Mirko, as the +firebrand, must leave the country, and various other clauses appear in +the Convention, few of which seem to have been strictly adhered to. It +needed another war to settle the Turco-Montenegrin border. + +The land now enjoyed the blessings of peace for fourteen years, which +included a severe famine and an outbreak of cholera. Help was now, +however, forthcoming from all sides in the shape of corn and money. In +1869 it was with great difficulty that the Prince could restrain his +warlike subjects from aiding the revolted Krivosejans. The Emperor of +Austria fully recognised the harm which Montenegro could have done +him, and signalised his thanks by the gift of an Austrian Order. But +the Montenegrins could not be restrained at the outbreak of the +Hercegovinian revolt, and flocked to the standards of their brothers. +The Porte's remonstrances were met with a curt demand for the cession +of Hercegovina, and Prince Nicolas published at the same time an +offensive and defensive alliance with Servia. + +Immediately after this (1876) he declared war. Success followed his +arms everywhere. A short armistice was concluded, but nothing further +came of it, and the war proceeded. The Prince in person stormed the +town of Niksic. Podgorica and its fertile plain fell into the hands of +the conquerors, and then in quick succession Antivari and Dulcigno +were forced to yield. He was about to commence the siege of Scutari +when news came of the armistice between Russia and Turkey. The war had +shown that no deteriorating element had sprung up among the people; +they had fought as their ancestors had fought before them, and covered +their name with glory and renown. Montenegro had gained a European +reputation from this war, and the Porte, bowing to force of +circumstances, finally recognised her independence. For five weary +centuries had this struggle continued, and it is owing to the talent +of their present ruler that the consummation of their hopes has been +brought about. Free they always have been, but an acknowledgment of +their freedom has ever been set aside. At last they have attained +their object. The Turk no longer regards them as an insubordinate +province, and it is more than likely that their former hatred of the +Turk will pass away, for they have another enemy, who is pressing at +their doors on three sides. The terms of the Berlin Congress granted +to Montenegro Zabljak, Spuz, Podgorica, and Antivari. Dulcigno was to +be restored to the Turks, and in exchange Gusinje and Plava were to be +added to Montenegro. But the Albanian communities refused the lordship +of Montenegro, and Dulcigno was granted to the Prince after a great +naval demonstration of the Powers in 1880. + +The result of this campaign was that Prince Nicolas found his little +kingdom increased from an area of 2,580 square kilometres, containing +a population of 178,000 inhabitants, to over 9,000 square kilometres +and a population of at least 240,000. In the last twenty-five years it +has increased to quite another 100,000 inhabitants. + +War has never again seriously threatened Montenegro, and Prince +Nicolas has been enabled to devote all his energies to the improvement +of the land. + +There is now no district, however wild and cut off it may be, without +its school, attendance at which is purely voluntary. Right well have +the people availed themselves of this chance of education, and a +sliding scale of school fees permits even the poorest peasant to send +his son as well as his more wealthy brother. + +The teachers have a seminary at Cetinje, which they must first attend, +and a gymnasium on the German and Austrian system can be visited, for +those boys who wish to extend their education to an European standard. +The same boys usually visit some Russian University, occasionally +Vienna or Belgrade, and return to their native land as doctors, +engineers, or lawyers, and supply the learned professions. + +At Cetinje there is a further High School for Girls, founded by the +Empress Marie of Russia in 1869. + +As the older men have not enjoyed in their youth the advantages of an +education which is now placed within the reach of all, lecturers are +sent round the country, and on Sundays, in wild and cut-off districts, +a man can be seen lecturing to a group of rough mountaineers who are +listening intently. These Government lecturers teach the shepherds how +to safeguard their sheep and cattle from disease; the lowland peasants +are initiated into the mysteries of vine-growing (every Montenegrin +family must plant a vine and attend to it) and tobacco-planting, and +general information is given to all. + +The Army has been thoroughly reorganised, and is now, thanks to the +gift of the Czar, armed with the most modern magazine rifle and +officered by men who undergo a training in the armies of Russia, +Italy, or France. + +The army system is of the simplest. The actual standing army consists +of one battalion and a force of artillery, but during the year 4,000 +men pass through its ranks and receive a most efficient training. The +men return to their homes at the end of four months' training, but +drill weekly continues, on Sundays, till the age limit of sixty is +reached, when their arms have to be returned to the Government, who +again serve them out to the next recruit. Thus the recruit comes +equipped for his four months' training, and takes his arms home with +him at the conclusion, and is responsible for their good condition. +Each man receives a certain number of cartridges, for which he must +always be able to account, so that every able-bodied man is an +efficient and well-armed soldier capable of taking the field at any +moment. + +The smartest men become non-commissioned officers, and carry the +insignia of their rank on their caps back to private life, where they +become again the instructors of the local militia companies. There are +two classes of commissioned officers--the officer of the standing +army, trained in a Continental army, and who wears a distinctive +uniform, and at least one of these is detailed for service in all the +militia centres; and the militia officer, who receives his training +with the standing battalion or batteries. + +Thus at a preconcerted signal, by trumpet and bonfires at night, and +in some districts by a salvo of rifles, the whole Montenegrin Army can +be mobilised at any given spot within the time that the furthest +detachment can travel to the place of rendezvous. An example of the +rapidity and ease of this mobilisation was once given to the late +Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, at Cetinje, when an army, drawn from +every part of the country, equipped and ready for the field, was +assembled within thirty-six hours of the first alarm. There is no +commissariat, for each soldier supplies his own food, or rather his +wife will keep him supplied in a lengthy campaign; no cavalry, for +they are useless; and no heavy artillery. + +Law is administered by district courts for the more serious cases, +with a Supreme Court of Appeal at Cetinje. There are no lawyers or +costs; each man brings his own case and witnesses in civil matters, +and criminals are dealt with summarily--that is to say, his district +captain sends him in chains to Podgorica, where he receives his final +sentence. The smaller district captains and "kmets," or mayors, have a +limited amount of jurisdiction, and can inflict punishments, either in +fines or short terms of imprisonment. They also settle all minor cases +of dispute. + +The central, and soon to be the only, prison is at Podgorica. The +majority of prisoners are undergoing different sentences, with and +without chains, for murders in connection with the vendetta, according +to the circumstances. A man who defends his honour, who kills his +slanderer, is very lightly punished. + +Against only one class of offender does Prince Nicolas exercise his +autocratic powers, _i.e._ the political offender, with whom he is +relentless. Such men are thrown into prison, interred in dark cells +without trial, and can languish till death sets them free. In this +respect the Prince is harsh, and according to Western ideas barbaric, +though local circumstances fully excuse his seeming cruelty. The +smallness of the prison at Podgorica shows more forcibly than anything +else the remarkable lack of crime in the land. At present (1902) +dangerous lunatics are confined in the common prison, but an asylum is +rapidly nearing completion. + +The government is autocratic. A senate, composed of the different +ministers, exists in Cetinje, but all powers are jealously held by the +Prince. He appoints the ministers and all the higher officials of the +land, and only recently have the people been granted the right to +elect the kmets. + +Montenegrin engineers now build the roads in place of Austrians and +Russians, and the difficulties that they meet with and surpass at +every turn are sufficient evidence of their capabilities. Foreign +doctors and professors are yearly becoming more rare. In fact, +Montenegro is rapidly becoming self-supporting and self-educating. + +Literature, always in olden times in advance of the surrounding lands, +is fostered by the Prince, himself a scholar and a poet of no mean +order. Two weekly papers in Cetinje and Niksic have a large +circulation. + +Under Prince Nicolas' fatherly care the country improves in a +wonderful manner from year to year. Roads are planned to connect the +whole land, which only lack of funds are hindering from completion, +and a railway is projected to connect the towns of Niksic, Podgorica, +and Rijeka with Antivari and the sea. + +When Prince Nicolas shall be called to his fathers his son, Prince +Danilo, will worthily carry on the work so nobly begun by his father, +for he is a man imbued with the ideas of Western improvements and +civilisation. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +The journey to Montenegro--Arrival in Cattaro--Beauty of the Bocche, +and the drive to the frontier--First impressions of +Montenegro--Njegusi--The national troubadours--Arrival in Cetinje. + + +The simplest way of entering the Land of the Black Mountain is _via_ +Cattaro in Dalmatia. The sea-trip from Trieste, which takes a little +over twenty-four hours, is a revelation of beauty, for the Dalmatian +coast is sadly unknown to the traveller. The journey can also be made +from Fiume, whence the "Ungaro-Croata" send a good and very frequent +service of steamers. But the idler should take a slow boat and coast +lazily down the Dalmatian archipelago, visiting all the smaller towns +and islands, which the fast line is bound to avoid. It is one of the +most beautiful sea-trips in Europe, each little port possessing gems +of old Roman and Venetian architecture, unrivalled, perhaps, in the +world and set in a perfect framework of lovely country and dancing +seascape. + +It was a glorious morning in May when the _Graf Wurmbrand_, the +Austrian-Lloyd's fast steamer, left Trieste, bearing us to Cattaro. +The Gulf of Trieste is very beautiful, for the green hills, all +dotted with villas, the busy harbour life, the Julian Alps rising up +majestically far away on the starboard, and directly behind the town, +gaunt and grey, the naked Karst, of which we were to see so much in +Montenegro; all made a picture that it would be difficult to forget. + +At midday we arrived at Pola. The entrance to the harbour is well +covered by islands, and on each of these frowns a great fort, some of +which, however, are so carefully hidden that their locality is only +betrayed by a flagstaff. A narrow channel leads to the inner harbour, +Austria's naval dockyard and arsenal. Here are the warships and +building yards, and away to the left, as a strange and unfitting +contrast, the Arena, one of the best-preserved specimens of Roman +work, rises seemingly from amongst the houses. Pola is full of Roman +remains. All is so green and peaceful, in spite of the countless +fortifications which render the harbour well-nigh, if not quite, +impregnable, that Nature and War seem for once to go hand-in-hand. + +[Illustration: THE GRAF WURMBRAND IN THE BOCCHE DI CATTARO] + +At twilight Zara looms up into view, and another short stay is made. +The town turns out _en masse_ for the coming of the _Wurmbrand_ or the +_Pannonia_--the fast boats from Trieste or Fiume are the events of the +week. There is no railway here. Unluckily Dalmatia's finest scenery is +passed in the night. Trau, with its splendid loggias and churches; +Spalato, with the grandeur of Diocletian's palace, are denied to +the traveller; Lesina, proudly calling itself the Nice of Austria; +Curzola, whose mighty Venetian bastions stand out into the sea, and +many another delightful little town and island, only show a twinkling +light or two in the darkness as the steamer ploughs by. At daybreak we +are nearing Gravosa, Ragusa's modern port. As we leave again, and +round the peninsula of Lapad, glorious in a mass of semi-tropical +vegetation, Ragusa bursts upon our view. Seen on a sunny morning it is +a sight for the gods. Built well into the sea on inaccessible cliffs, +surrounded by lofty walls, with a great hill as a background, it has +well been called the prettiest bit of Dalmatia. It possesses a +magnificent winter climate and a good hotel, so that people are +forsaking the Riviera for this comparatively unknown paradise. + +Far too soon Ragusa fades away, and now the approaching mountains grow +higher and wilder. Those lofty peaks, towering above the others, black +and forbidding, are Nature's bulwarks of the land which we are +visiting. It is from a distance that the name "Black Mountain" seems +so aptly given to this fierce little state, though some historians +wish to explain the derivation otherwise. + +The Bocche (or mouths) di Cattaro, three in number, are a consummate +blending of the Norwegian fjords and the Swiss lakes, and so lofty and +steep are the surrounding mountains that the sun can only reach the +bottom for a few hours at midday. + +Away at the end of one fjord lies the village of Risano, an idyllic +spot, whence a road is in the course of construction to Niksic. All +the worthy Bocchese are absolutely Montenegrin in sympathy, and +Austria has had much trouble with these equally warlike Serbs. + +A curious conical hill rises out of the town, a high wall zigzags up +to the fort above, showing Cattaro's strength of former days. Now, a +few insignificant mounds of earth far away on the mountain-tops are +all that is to be seen of the military might of modern Cattaro. Yet +how powerful are those forts only the Austrian authorities know. +Cattaro and the Bocche are impregnable from sea or land, though this +array of strength against land attack seems almost unnecessary, as +Montenegro possesses no heavy cannon at all. However, Austria is not +reckoning in this case with Montenegro alone. But these are political +questions. + +We were fortunate in securing a carriage of the Montenegrin post, +which has good drivers, and what is still better, a fixed tariff, over +which there can be no dispute. The drivers of Cattaro ask, and often +get, twice the legal fare from ignorant strangers. + +Cattaro affords no comforts to the traveller; more is the pity, as it +is one of the most magnificent spots in the world. The town itself is +tiny and a perfect maze of little Venetian streets, in which it is +easy to lose oneself if it were only larger. To walk upon the Riva and +gaze upon those precipitous mountains which tower above the town and +its militarily guarded walls is a sight which at first is hardly to be +comprehended. It is too stupendous. Such a masterpiece of Nature can +never tire. + +Montenegrins crowd the streets, and the little market is full of +peasants who have wearily staggered down those steep paths in the +early dawn with their enormous loads of field produce. Stately men +wearing the insignia of their rank on their little caps pace up and +down majestically and contrast strangely with the dapper Austrian +officers. Their belts yawn suggestively, something is missing to +complete the attire. It is the revolver, which Austrian law compels +them to leave behind on entering her land. They are obviously ill at +ease without that familiar weapon, for ever and anon a hand strays +unconsciously to the empty belt seeking its wonted resting-place on +the butt. + +Strolling one night on the Riva, we involuntarily held our breath as +we came in sight of the huge lake, for it is easy to forget that this +is the Adria. The waters lay unruffled before us, not a ripple +disturbed those glassy depths which reflected every tree and cottage +on the opposite bank. Each star found its double twinkling in that +placid mirror, and mountain frowned back on mountain. It was almost +unreal, so marvellous was the reflection. Behind us, at the top of the +great ridge, a silvery effulgence proclaimed the coming of the moon. +Her brilliant light silhouetted the grim and rocky ridge in startling +clearness, though it was four thousand feet above us. Through a gap +rises a peak, round which a filmy cloud had lovingly wrapped itself +like a lace shawl upon the snowy shoulders of a beautiful woman. We +took a turn down the quay, and at the end we turned our back on this +witching view. Hardly had we retraced our steps a few yards when we +and all our surroundings were bathed in a glorious white light. We +turned again, and were almost forced to shield our eyes as we gazed on +the gentle orb which had now surmounted the intervening ridge. The +whole fjord was now transformed into a sea of silver almost as bright +as midday. Each nestling village was distinct, even to the tiniest +window; each tree and shrub on the wall-like mountain, and even the +grim forts, were softened in that sweet radiance. The little paths +which zigzag up the hills to the forts above look like great white +snakes turning and twisting up those rugged cliffs. + +At four o'clock on the following morning we made a start, and were +well up the mountain by the time that the sun began to make his +presence felt. + +[Illustration: THE BOCCHE DI CATTARO] + +The high road to Cetinje was built by the Austrians, and it is a +marvel of engineering skill, particularly the ascent of the almost +perpendicular wall of mountain rising abruptly from Cattaro. In series +of serpentines and gradients, which often permit the horses to trot, +the road winds up and up, every turn giving a still finer view of the +lake below. Cattaro remains in view practically the whole ascent. The +view from the top is magnificent and unsurpassed in Europe. The grand +bays look like miniature glass ponds, fringed with white toy villages, +and far away in the distance the deep blue Adria sparkles and glitters +in the sunshine. + +Montenegro is entered some little distance from the top, but, as only +a row of paving stones indicates the spot, it is not till the carriage +dashes through a rocky gorge and out into the open Karst beyond that +the traveller realises that he has crossed the border. The sudden +change is startling, from the blue sea and green valleys to grey +masses of limestone rock and barren mountains. It is the Katunska, the +original stronghold of the Montenegrins, within which they defied all +comers. + +At the first house, solidly built of stone, our carriage halted, and +the driver entered it, emerging with the revolver which he had to +relinquish on entering Austria. It is a formidable weapon specially +manufactured in Vienna for Montenegro, a foot and a half long, firing +an enormous cartridge. The revolver is always worn, by all classes +alike, and carried loaded by order. The upper classes carry a much +smaller and handier weapon, but a revolver must be carried by prince +and peasant alike. + +Njegusi is the first town or village reached, and here an hour's rest +is always made. It is interesting, since it was once the temporary +capital, and as the home of the Petrovic family, the reigning dynasty. +It lies in a great hollow of fertile ground, and on the southern side +the historical Lovcen ascends. On the top the great prince and hero, +Peter II., is buried, and his mausoleum brings large numbers of +pilgrims yearly. + +As our carriage drew up before the little hostelry, a crowd of boys +were standing in front of a house opposite, which is half telegraph +office and half school, for economy in buildings is practised in +Montenegro. They saluted us smartly in military fashion. The born +soldier is noticed at once, even in the small children; many +generations of fighting ancestors have bequeathed a smartness and +accuracy of movement which can be envied by many a Continental trained +conscript. + +The traveller meets with little attention either here or in Cetinje. +It is not till he gets well off the beaten track that he sees the +hospitable and courteous Montenegrin as he really is. + +[Illustration: NJEGUSI] + +[Illustration: THE GUSLAR] + +During our frugal breakfast of raw ham and goat's cheese, our +ears were assailed by the singing of the guslar, or Montenegrin +troubadour. The guslars, we noticed, are invariably blind, and as no +previous musical education seems necessary, it would appear to be a +monopoly of those so afflicted. Their singing is execrable according +to Western notions, a range of four or five notes in a wailing minor +key making up their register, and they accompany themselves on an +instrument (the gusla) from which they derive their name. It is +hand-made, resembling a cross between a violin and a mandolin. It +possesses one string, and is played with a short curved bow. With +careful handling, a series of discordant notes of wearying monotony +can be produced. The performance is altogether most doleful. + +Yet they are the history books, the legend tellers of the country. +They fan the fire of patriotism and loyalty by songs of the deeds and +accomplishments of their Prince, of dead heroes and past glorious +battles, and form another link with the mediaeval world of which the +traveller is so strongly reminded at every step in Montenegro. + +As we left the village we passed the birthplace of Prince Nicolas I., +though the palace appears to have been entirely rebuilt. In nearly +every town or village of importance the Prince has a house, varying +considerably in size, but of equally unpretentious exterior. + +The road still climbs and reaches the maximum height of three thousand +five hundred feet. From this altitude it steadily drops into Cetinje, +which lies about two thousand feet above the sea-level. The scenery is +unvarying, but not without beauty. It is essentially wild, but the +light colour of the rocks and the numerous shrubs which find a footing +in the crevices minimise the forbidding character of the country. The +land is magnificently adapted for guerilla warfare, where every foot +can be contested. Little patches of earth, washed down the hillsides, +lie in every hollow, and have been utilised by the careful peasant to +grow his tiny crops. + +After about seven hours' driving, Cetinje appears in sight, at the end +of a long valley, and completely surrounded by the characteristic +naked and rugged rocks. The road descends by another series of +serpentines, and a long straight drive brings us into the town. The +valley is about four miles long and three-quarters of a mile broad and +absolutely flat. + +The effect is most odd at first sight, a long main street, an open +market-place, and a few side streets constituting the capital of an +important European principality. The town, on entering it, bears a +strong resemblance to a South African township, where, as is the case +here, space is no object, and the houses are rarely more than one +story high. + +We stayed at the Grand Hotel during our first visit. It is the only +really good hotel in Montenegro, and in consequence expensive. Here +all the tourists stay for a night or so during a hasty visit to the +Crnagora, and it is to be avoided by those who wish to see the +country. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Cetinje and its sights--Prince Nicolas--The Archbishop--The +barracks--The princes--A visit to the prison and its system--Our +departure for Podgorica. + + +There is not much for the tourist to see in Cetinje; a day is quite +sufficient to do the sights, such as they are. + +Unfortunately for the country, the tourist usually contents himself +with a look round the little capital and returns the way he came to +Cattaro, only a few prolonging the tour _via_ Rijeka to Scutari. Thus +a very erroneous impression is gained of Montenegro and its people. +Firstly only a small part of the Katunska is seen, which is the most +uninteresting district of the whole country; and, secondly, no idea of +the sturdy inhabitants can be formed from the handful of more or less +well-to-do officials and merchants, all intimately connected with the +outside world, round the proximity of Cattaro. + +[Illustration: MONTENEGRIN INFANTRY] + +[Illustration: THE VLADIKA AT THE MONASTERY OF IVAN BEG] + +Cetinje, with its four thousand inhabitants, is simply the residence +of the Montenegrin Court, it is not even a trading centre, which the +absence of the Turkish element sufficiently proclaims. It is only the +question of expense which has hitherto prevented the transference +of the capital to another site, viz. Nikzic. Cetinje was chosen as the +capital some hundreds of years ago--1484, to be pedantically +correct--when a defensible position was the most important factor, +which even to-day is a point to be reckoned with. + +We will first go round "the sights." + +It possesses two historical buildings in the monastery and the +Billard, the rest being all of quite modern origin. The monastery is a +picturesque pile of grey stone, nestling under a lofty rock, on which +is perched the identical round tower, or "kula," to give it its local +name, on which the heads of Turks slain in battle were exhibited on +spikes. It was not so very long ago that the last grim trophies of war +graced its battlements. The monastery contains the burying vault of +the reigning house, and is the residence of the Vladika or Archbishop +of Montenegro. Prince Nicolas can be found any morning worshipping at +the tombs of his ancestors by the visitor who is willing to rise at +daybreak. Very often he is the only "faithful" present with the +officiating priest at an hour when the sun has hardly peeped over the +rocky ramparts of the town. + +Prince Nicolas, the lord of this warrior nation, is a man of imposing +stature, so broad-shouldered that his height seems far less than it +really is, walking with head erect and firm tread and clad in the rich +national costume. The stranger involuntarily doffs his cap and +receives in return a short military salute, but accompanied by such a +piercing glance from a pair of cold grey eyes that he wonders if he is +not an intruder in the land. This is, however, far from the case. +Under that austere exterior beats a warm heart and an affability of +manner to which the lowliest of his peasants will gladly testify. +Prince Nicolas likes to see visitors to his land, and many are the +little acts of kindness and courtesy that the traveller receives, all +unknown, from his hand, for he knows the coming and going of everyone +who makes a longer stay than usual. + +Sixty years ago Prince and Bishop were united in one person, and +though the Bishop or Vladika has to-day no temporal power, yet in +spiritual matters he is absolute. A very kindly man is the present +Vladika, Mitrofanban. By an odd coincidence his was practically the +first house we visited in Montenegro, and with him we drank our last +cup of coffee when we left many months later. + +The other building is the old palace of the Princes of Montenegro, +which won its odd name of Billard or Biljar from the fact that a +former Prince was so addicted to the game of billiards that the +principal room of the palace was devoted to the game. It is now used +for State purposes. The upper floors are occupied by the Government +offices, and at one corner is the Supreme Court of Justice and +Appeal, whose judgments are only reversible by the Prince himself. +Further, the school and printing works are to be found within its +quaint old red-brick walls and bastions. + +[Illustration: THE PRINCE'S PALACE] + +Opposite to this picturesque old building stands the modern and +uninteresting one-storied palace of Prince Nicolas. It shows the +simplicity of his nature in perhaps a more marked degree than anything +else, for little or no privacy from his people is possible. He walks +from his house down a short flight of steps into the street. The small +courtyard at the back is surrounded by a low wall, the entrances +having no gates. + +The recently erected palace of the Crown Prince Danilo, which stands +on the outskirts of the town, is a somewhat more pretentious building. +It has a large garden completely walled in, which is at any rate an +apology for privacy and seclusion. + +To obtain a comprehensive view of the town, we climbed a small hill +immediately above the monastery, on whose summit stands the gilded +cupola erected to the memory of Danilo Petrovic, the Lord of Njegusi, +founder of the present dynasty. Very pretty the simple little town +looks from here, its red roofs giving a pleasing touch of colour to +the otherwise severe landscape of grey rock, dazzling white streets, +and sparsely vegetated valley. + +One afternoon we visited the barracks, which are quite new, and the +quarters of the battalion of the standing army. The barrack rooms are +spotlessly clean, and the order and neatness unsurpassed, which, +together with the smart drilling and superb physique of the soldiers, +would delight the heart of the severest martinet. Everything connected +with the military training of the Montenegrins is up to the standard +of Continental excellence. All the officers undergo a long course of +training, either in Russia, France, or Italy, and right well have they +utilised this privilege. No wonder that the warlike Montenegrin drills +as well as his Continental brother. The standing army wear uniforms, +and at a distance remind one of our own troops, with their +tight-fitting, short red jackets and tiny caps. + +[Illustration: _Monastery Billard Prince's Palace_ GENERAL VIEW OF THE +CETINJE] + +Other conspicuous buildings are the theatre, where performances are +given in the winter in the Serb language and where Prince Nicolas' +famous drama, _The Empress of the Balkans_, was first performed; the +house of the Austro-Hungarian Minister, which is the best in +Cetinje,[1] and the hospital. It is the only hospital in Montenegro, +and is used almost solely for serious surgical operations. Here Prince +Mirko, the second son of Prince Nicolas, spends much of his time, for +his tastes run to bacteriology, and his skill with the microscope is +acknowledged. He is also a musician of no mean order, and the march +which he composed in honour of the city of Rome, and which was +performed there under the leadership of Mascagni, will be in the +memory of all. He has none of the tastes of his elder brother, who, +true to the traditions of his country, is a mighty hunter, and whose +prowess with rifle, gun, and revolver is acclaimed by the people who +understand these gifts better. + +[Footnote 1: The Russian Minister has now an equally imposing +edifice.] + +By far the most interesting episode of our sojourn in Cetinje was a +visit to the prison, which we were enabled to do with our camera, by +the kindness of the Minister of Justice. It was the first time in the +annals of Montenegro that strangers had been allowed to take +photographs in a prison. + +At the appointed hour we approached the plain building, surrounded by +no wall of any kind, which does duty as the prison. It is soon to be +done away with, and all the prisoners will be transferred to the +central prison at Podgorica. Smiling warders welcomed us and conducted +us to their living-room, barely furnished and with an array of +revolvers--the property of the prisoners--hanging on the walls. A +female prisoner prepared us coffee, and while we were sipping the +inevitable beverage a glance through the window showed us men busily +sweeping the courtyard of the prison. + +First of all a warder showed us the fetters--heavy, cumbersome irons, +which are riveted to one or both ankles, according to the sentence. +But it is only in exceptional cases of aggravated crime that this +severer sentence is meted out to the offender. Then we were conducted +by the main and only entrance into the courtyard, two sides of which +contain the cells of the prisoners. These gentlemen rose with alacrity +to their feet as we entered, evidently much pleased at the honour of +our visit. Only three men were chained, and of these one remained +moodily seated, staring indifferently on the ground before him. He +formed such a contrast to his fellow-prisoners' smiling faces that we +observed him closer, noticing that his clothes were such as the +officials and better class wear. + +"Who is he?" I asked. + +"A Government clerk convicted of embezzlement," was the answer. "Six +weeks in chains is his sentence." + +"And what have the other criminals done?" was our next query. + +"Oh, they have mostly quarrelled amongst themselves. They are not +criminals. We have very few thieves and robbers in Montenegro. This +youth," went on our informant, pointing to a young man with a pleasant +face, and who grinned with joy as he noticed the attention with which +we favoured him, "has a ten years' sentence for quarrelling." + +"But quarrelling," we repeated. "Is it punishable to _quarrel_?" + +"Yes, too many lives are lost," was the laconic reply. + +"Oh," we exclaimed, a light breaking in upon us, "you mean murder! +They are all murderers?" + +"We have no murderers," came the indignant response. "Our land is as +safe from murder as any other in the world. No one kills to rob or +steal in Montenegro. But we just quarrel amongst ourselves. We are +hot-blooded and shoot quickly, that is all." + +P. and I looked at each other, but neither of us felt inclined to +venture any further remarks; so we examined a dark cell with interest, +without furniture or light, and one of six used for the worst kind of +offender, viz. the political. They were all untenanted. We had all +crowded inside, our warders as well, and as we emerged again into the +strong light, I noticed the gate wide open and no visible guard. + +"You have left the gate open!" exclaimed P., as he saw it. + +Our warders laughed. Afterwards we understood. + +Then we inspected a common cell, where about a dozen men sleep. Each +man brings his own bedding and nicknacks, with which he decorates the +wall above his bed and makes the place as much like home as possible. +Loss of liberty is the only real punishment, and even that is not +carried to an excess. The Prince has said that the restraint that they +suffer is enough, and thus the prisoners have comparatively free +intercourse with the outside world, plenty to eat, and on festivals +wine and even spirits and a dance with their friends outside. This +latter scene we witnessed some time afterwards on another visit to +Cetinje. The only real severity is the chains, but these sturdy +mountaineers soon accustom themselves to these thirty-pound trinkets, +and when photographed take good care to arrange them tastefully and +prominently. When we lined them up for a picture, we demanded a front +place for the chained men, to their intense delight and the chagrin of +the others who cast envious glances at their more favoured brethren. +No doubt in that moment the unchained men wished they had gone just a +little further in their "quarrel." + +After a pleasant half-hour with these quarrelsome gentlemen, we went +round to the ladies who occupy a wing of the prison, with all windows +and doors facing outwards on to the open ground. Again no fence or +wall marked a limit to their prison, and they walk in and out of their +cells at leisure. However, there is a boundary marked out by posts and +trees, beyond which they may not go. As we appeared they were sitting +about, singly and in groups, knitting peacefully in the warm sunshine. +We again inspected their quarters, and learnt that the odd score of +women represented the total crime of the land. + +[Illustration: THE FEMALE PRISONERS] + +A blushing and gratified array of staid matrons and coquettish girls +faced the camera, again only one young maiden of fifteen or sixteen +showing any sense of shame, and she fled into her cell, only to be +ruthlessly ordered out by a warder. + +Soon afterwards we took our leave, and as we crossed the small +unenclosed square before the men's prison we found it crowded by the +late inmates of the courtyard, walking merrily up and down or chatting +with friends on the outskirts, over which neither party may step. Only +the dismal clanking of a chain here and there proclaimed to the casual +observer the fact that they were prisoners. Lithe, active, and +athletic men, none of whom fear death, and guarded by four warders in +the loosest possible fashion, yet they never attempt a dash for +freedom up the rocky slope which reaches down to their very promenade +ground. Flight would entail their escaping from their country +altogether, never to return, and that no Montenegrin has ever been +known to do. Even though they work for years in strange lands, they +invariably return to their rugged native mountains and end their days +in peace. And so they serve their time in patience, and go home at the +expiry of the sentence "without a stain on their character." + +Many months afterwards we chanced to arrive in Cetinje on the occasion +of a great feast. A stranger happened to be with us, a German, and we +were showing him the sights. Naturally we also wended our way to the +prison, hoping to be able to give him the unique spectacle of the +prisoners strolling freely up and down their garden. As we neared the +square sounds of singing and music assailed our ears, and in front of +the women's quarters a large ring was swaying to and fro in the +national dance termed "kolo." Men and women were performing together, +otherwise the sexes are kept severely apart, while others sat around +in groups partaking of wine and food which their friends or relations +had brought them, and they all sat chatting and laughing together as +though this were their natural state of existence. + +"The prisoners," I said, pointing to the dancers. + +"Nonsense," said the German. + +"Come nearer and listen," I answered, for even I had my doubts for the +moment; but my ear had caught the clanking of chains above the wild +music. + +They were the prisoners right enough, and many of the men moved +heavily and awkwardly to the slow rhythm of the motion. It is not easy +to dance with such ornaments as are provided free and gratis by the +paternal Prince to curb an exuberance of spirits. + +[Illustration: THE PRISONERS DANCING] + +A great trial that the photographer has to undergo, be he professional +or a strolling amateur, is the immediate demand for the picture. The +mysteries of dark rooms and developing are not to be lightly +explained, and the refusal to show the picture, for which the vain +Montenegrins have so willingly stood, is accounted churlish. They are +only appeased with a promise of a picture a few weeks later. Their +names and addresses are hurriedly scribbled and handed with many +peremptory requests for the picture to be sent as soon as possible. + +Just before we left Cetinje, on our way to Podgorica, during our first +visit, a bowing and deeply humble individual accosted us in the hotel. +When he had straightened himself up a bit, and we could see his face, +we recognised one of the prison warders. After many expressions of +sorrow for disturbing us, we gathered that on the occasion of our +visit to the prison only three of the four warders had been present. +The fourth--and it would appear the head warder--had arrived after our +departure, and learning of the photographs and his omission, had made +things a bit hot for his three favoured confreres. Therefore would we +of our goodness come and photograph him, and thus make life worth +living again? Would we restore the peace and harmony of that little +community? + +With sorrow we declined, our carriage awaited us, and the day was hot. +Some other time, we said. And with that uncertain comfort he was +forced to be content. + +"But," he said, "the money which you have so generously given us and +the prisoners has been expended on 'raki' (local spirits). We and the +prisoners will pray for your souls for many nights ere we sleep." + +As we drove up the ascent from the town towards our new destination, +we glanced back at the red-roofed little capital and noticed the low, +grey stone building of the prison. + +"We ought to sleep well to-night," remarked P., nodding towards it. + +It is something to be prayed for, even if only by criminals of the +quarrelsome type. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +The view from Bella Vista--New scenery--Promiscuous shooting--The +market in Rijeka--The shepherds--Their flocks--Wayside +hospitality--The plain of the Zeta--The Moraca--The Vizier bridge--Old +war-marks--First and last impressions of Podgorica. + + +The drive from Cetinje to Rijeka, and from thence till the final +descent to Podgorica, is quite as fine as any other part of +Montenegro. For about twenty minutes after leaving Cetinje the road +climbs and attains its greatest altitude on this tour, and at its +highest point--only half an hour's walk from the town--possesses one +of the most striking and beautiful views. It is rightly called "Bella +Vista," and a shelter hut and chairs are thoughtfully provided for the +visitor. + +A wonderful panorama meets his eye as he suddenly reaches the top. A +fantastic sea, as it were, of hills, like the waves of a storm-tossed +ocean, encircles him, and at his feet, green and wooded, lies a long +fertile valley. Stretching far away into the gates of distance in its +vast expanse, glitters the Lake of Scutari. Round a small dim spur of +land running into the lake, lies Scutari itself, which is, however, +not visible. To the left a forbidding chain of magnificent mountains, +dwarfing the intervening hills into insignificance, fascinate him by +their repellent grandeur. Snow-clad, except in the height of summer, +these mountains seem symbolical of the land they border, that savage +and unknown Albania. A glimpse of a green valley below can just be +caught, there lies Podgorica, our destination. At our feet a long, +low-lying plateau ends abruptly in a wall of rock, through which the +road vanishes, and which can be traced white and threadlike on the +overhanging hillside. Beyond is the valley and town of Rijeka. The +mountains to the right are the Rumija, behind whose naked comb is the +deep blue Adria, and which we must climb to reach the port of +Antivari. The lake is dotted at the near end with islands, +distinguishable amongst which is a conical-shaped hill crowned by a +fortress. That is Zabljak, the whilom capital of Crnagora, and home of +its ancient rulers, the Black Prince dynasty. The whole view is like a +map in bas-relief. + +Gone now are the barren rocks and sparsely vegetated hills of the +Katunska, and we are now in the fertile middle zone of Mediterranean +vegetation, which includes the valley of the Zeta right up to Niksic. + +As we careered along, we were closely followed by another carriage, +in which were crowded five Montenegrins and Albanians, who were +evidently bent on making the pace. The Montenegrins are ever reckless +drivers; they dash round sharp corners at full gallop, with a +precipice of several hundred feet below--and there is never sufficient +parapet to prevent a carriage dashing over--so that one involuntarily +leans to the inner side of the carriage with that uncomfortable +sinking feeling which can be experienced at sea. With a shout to warn +anybody coming up the hill, the driver cracks his whip and dashes +round each corner with a sublime indifference to danger. + +Whenever we slackened, our pursuing carriage came up at a rush, and +its occupants emitted wild yells and vociferated polite requests to +pass. Off we tore again, and at last reached that point where the +descent begins in serpentines to Rijeka. When we were tearing along a +lower level of the road, but a few yards below our rivals, we noticed +with momentary misgivings that they had drawn their long revolvers and +were holding them in their hands. + +Suddenly they began to fire, for no apparent reason, which habit is +apt to be startling to a nervous traveller on his first journey. But +our youthful driver let fly an answering shot; on inquiring he told us +that it was to encourage the horses. Afterwards we never rode or drove +any distance in the country without our revolvers, so that we too +might help in the encouragement. + +That afternoon Rijeka presented a brilliant picture. On entering the +town hundreds of peasants were congregated round the cattle-market on +the outskirts, but it was on the broad street by the river bank that +the most animated scene was to be witnessed. Every Montenegrin town +should be seen on a market day, for then the peasants from far and +near, in their best clothes and rifles over their shoulders, flock to +the town with cattle and sheep and field produce. Rifles are usually +carried when going on a long journey, particularly in the vicinity of +Albania. This is partly as a sign of allegiance to their Prince, but +chiefly because Montenegro stands ever before a sudden mobilisation. +Should the soldier peasant hear the alarm, he must make his way at +once for the rendezvous as speedily as possible, without detour. +Further, hundreds of armed Albanians from the borders are always in +their midst, as was the case to-day. + +Rijeka is a very busy little place, being the half-way village between +the capital and Podgorica, and is still more important as the +starting-point of the little steamer which plies twice weekly down the +lake to Scutari. The river runs between lovely green hills rising +straight from its banks, wooded and luxuriant, reminding one not a +little of the Thames at Cookham. + +The Prince has a small palace just beyond the town, and spends the +coldest winter months here, where he escapes the rigours of the +climate in Cetinje. About half-an-hour's walk is the ancient fortress +of Obod, famed in history as the site of the first printing-press +(destroyed very soon by the Turks) in the Balkans, and indeed one of +the first in the world, for Caxton was only a few years ahead. The +fact speaks for the ever forward striving spirit which has animated +Montenegro's rulers since its very foundation, and which only the +rigours of pitiless warfare have hindered. + +On leaving the pretty little township, we had considerable difficulty +in forcing our way through the flocks which continually blocked the +road. All the way we ploughed through herds of cattle and stampeding +sheep and goats, much to the disgust of their shepherds. These men, +chiefly vicious-looking Albanians, with loosely-slung rifle, and round +their waist a bandolier of cartridges, lend a wildness to the lonely +road which is likely to mislead the new-comer; and should one of them +empty his revolver light-heartedly in the air, to be answered by +another some distance away, the impression is considerably heightened. + +The road climbs to a good height immediately and commands a fine view +of the valley with the little river winding in and out. In winter the +effect is that of a great flood, for everywhere partially submerged +trees and bushes show above the water. But in reality it was only a +natural course of events, for in summer the water recedes and leaves +great fields on which crops of maize are grown, while during the +winter or rainy months the whole district of fertile land becomes +again submerged. This view of the Rijeka was decidedly one of the +prettiest in the country, combining, as it does every now and then, +glimpses of the lake and the majestic Albanian Alps. + +Always followed by our rival party, we halted at a wayside inn to +refresh both man and beast. These inns are quaint little places. There +is seldom any other floor than that already provided by Nature, which +has been beaten flat. + +We called for coffee, and partook of the country's wine, to whose +acidity we never accustomed ourselves, and entered into conversation +with our convivial companions. One, a horse dealer, spoke excellent +Italian, and we met him often afterwards in the course of our travels. + +When we had finished our libations, we naturally wished to have the +bill or rather to know how much there was to pay. + +"Nothing," was the answer. + +"But we have had ----" It is not well to particularise--it was a +thirsty day. + +"There is nothing to pay," the woman reiterated. + +The other party had guiltily slipped out of the room and climbed into +their carriage, and our driver became impatient to maintain the lead. +With mixed feelings we followed him out, and in another second were +off again at a gallop. + +It was always like that in Montenegro. We have gone into an inn or +cafe and drunk a liqueur (a polite name for the fiery but wholesome +local spirit), when a fresh glass will be silently placed before us. +We have waved it away. + +"Not ordered it," we would say. + +"That man has," answers the boy, and points at a smiling Montenegrin +on the other side of the room. Sometimes, and very often too, other +guests follow suit, and the result is trying. We gave up visits to +cafes afterwards, except when we were on pleasure bent and had an hour +to spare. Hospitable, reckless, poverty-stricken Montenegrins--one can +travel far before another such a race can be found. + +The last two hours of the drive are uninteresting, chiefly because +eight hours in a carriage is trying. Podgorica comes in sight long +before it is reached, in the form of a cluster of trees on a grassy +but dead-level plain, out of which two minarets show their graceful +spires. The background is imposing, lowering Albanian mountains rise +abruptly to their lofty heights from the level of the plain. + +For an hour we drove along the plain, and passed a solitary building +situated on a slight eminence. It was Krusevac, one of the Prince's +country palaces, or, to be more correct, Prince Mirko's palace, as +"Voivoda" or Duke of the Zeta, which ancient and historical title is +his. Then for some distance we skirted the Moraca, driving in an +opposite direction to Podgorica till we came to the "Vizier" bridge, +over which we crossed and retraced our way to the town. + +The River Moraca is a large mountain torrent, into which the Zeta +flows only a short distance away from the town. It rushes over great +boulders, forming here and there formidable rapids, between two deep +banks, which, without any warning, break off suddenly from the flat +and form precipitous sides fully two hundred feet deep. Two or three +hundred yards away, no gap or break in the plain is observable. +Sometimes the river swells almost to the top of its banks, and then +the effect must be terrible. There is a ford near Podgorica, which the +peasants use to avoid the long detour by the bridge, but woe to the +man who makes a false step. Three women, carrying loads of wood, lost +their footing during our stay, and were drowned. In its waters we swam +every evening, and even in midsummer, when the river is low, the +strength of the current required an expert and powerful swimmer to +breast it, and it was invariably very cold. + +[Illustration: THE VIZIER BRIDGE] + +The bridge, built by an old Turkish Vizier many, many years ago, is +most picturesque, and completely in keeping with the rocky banks and +the foam-flecked, emerald-green waters rushing beneath. From this +bridge a man once sprang into the depths below, to show that he was +not intoxicated. As a matter of fact he was, but he emerged dripping a +hundred yards lower down, unhurt and at least in his right mind. + +There used to be a deep indentation in a stone of the bridge +parapet--during our stay in the country it has been plastered +up--which credulous Montenegrins relate to be the cut of a Turkish +horseman pursuing a fleeing Montenegrin. The story goes that the Turk +severed the Montenegrin's head from his body, and so violent was the +stroke that he cut into the stone wall as well. + +Again, just before the town, two slabs, standing exactly thirty paces +apart, mark a similar episode, and the headless man is said to have +run that distance before falling. This legend--which, furthermore, has +many eye-witnesses still living in the town who swear to the truth--is +more capable of belief if one takes into consideration the flight of a +decapitated fowl in any of our poultry yards. + +The road entering Podgorica is very similar in appearance to that +which leads into Cetinje, only the first impressions are considerably +wilder and more uncivilised than that of the capital. Hundreds of +Turks and Albanians are smoking their evening "tchibouque" in the +streets, and scowl in no friendly manner at the stranger. Some of +them, namely, the merchant class, are, however, excellent people, +travelled and educated, as we found out afterwards. The Albanian and +Turk are the enterprising merchants of Montenegro, and improve on +acquaintance, which is sometimes necessary. + +We had a lonely, solitary feeling as we drove through the crowd of +loiterers, and were glad to descend at a presentable-looking hostelry. +How often first impressions are wrong we proved to the full in this +instance. + +Podgorica saw more of us than any other town during our stay, for we +made it afterwards our headquarters. It would be difficult to forget +that mountain-bounded valley and the town with its bustling streets of +picturesque humanity. And then those sunsets! The peaks towering +behind bathed in crimson, and the intervening hills rising one above +the other to the furthermost summits like a giant staircase, rich in a +mysterious purple. As we walked back from our evening swim, over the +short, springing grass, that scene at sunset never abated its charms +one whit. And we were always glad on entering the town that no one +wore plain, ugly European clothes but ourselves. The national +costumes, so full of colour, blended harmoniously with our feelings, +and have left behind them an indelible picture. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Podgorica--Its central position--Our headquarters--Easter in +Montenegro--Our experience of it--We view the town--The prison and its +inmates--Christian and Mahometan friction--The modern town--The market +and the armed buyers--The Black Earth--Easter customs--Montenegrin +methods of doing business. + +[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF PODGORICA] + + +If it were not for the dangerous proximity of the Albanian border, +Podgorica would have been made the capital of Montenegro. It is +favourably situated for a trade centre, and, owing to this fact, has +naturally gathered a large population (the largest in Montenegro), +approaching ten thousand. Lying on a rich and fertile plain, within +easy reach of the Lake of Scutari, and connected by good roads with +Cetinje and Niksic, it is within market distance, so to speak, of +Kolasin and Andrijevica. From these districts, and from the Albanian +borders, the people flock in crowds, and the Podgorican market is by +far the most important in the country. But--and it is a big "but"--in +this case the Albanian frontier is only an hour's walk away, and it +would never do to risk the persons of the Royal Family and the +Ministers in a sudden Albanian raid, and troubles and disturbances are +of everyday occurrence. + +We made Podgorica our headquarters during our sojourn in the land of +the Black Mountain mainly for its central position, but also for the +opportunity afforded us there for studying Montenegrin life. + +It would be difficult to forget our first visit to the town. It was +Easter Sunday evening when we arrived at the Hotel Europa, and after +seeing our luggage carried in, started out on a tour of inspection, +and also to present our letter of introduction to Dr. S., the +veterinary surgeon of Montenegro. We had not got more than fifty yards +from the hotel when we were forced to beat a hasty and ignominious +retreat. At Eastertide, which is one of the biggest feasts in the +Greek Church, beggars, halt and maim, blind and tattered, pour into +all the larger towns of the country. They come from Turkey, Albania, +Bosnia, and Dalmatia--in fact, from everywhere within reach--and make +a rich harvest, for the Montenegrin opens his heart, his hand, and his +house at Easter. In our innocence we imagined this to be the normal +state of affairs in Montenegro, and were greatly cast down. + +But our worthy host armed himself with a big stick, and we sallied +forth again under his guidance. Even then it was no joke, and the +house of Dr. S. came as a haven of refuge. Anyone who has been in the +East knows what an amount of persistency and endurance the Oriental +beggar possesses. + +[Illustration: THE RIBNICA] + +We were received as old friends and welcomed to the Easter table, +which was set, as in any other Montenegrin house at this season, for +anyone and everyone who has the remotest claims of acquaintanceship. + +Several men were present, to whom we were at once introduced; amongst +others a canny Scotchman, the only Britisher living permanently in the +country. We were a cosmopolitan gathering. There was Dr. S., a +Roumanian, an Austrian ornithologist, a Scotchman, our innkeeper was a +Macedonian, and two or three Montenegrins. From that evening date many +of the pleasant friendships which we made in Montenegro. + +The next day our newly-made friends showed us Podgorica. It is divided +into two distinct parts--the old, or Turkish town, and the new +Montenegrin town, which dates from the conquest of 1877. The two +halves are separated by the River Ribnica, which flows in a deep bed +before the crumbling walls of the Turkish quarter. At one angle of the +town the Ribnica enters the Moraca, Montenegro's biggest and most +important river. + +Most picturesque is the old Turkish quarter, still surrounded by the +same bastions and walls which not so long ago defied the Montenegrin +army. But the houses, as well as the walls, are fast falling to ruin; +for at the order of the Prince the market has been removed to the +other side, and, in comparison with the new town, there are few +inhabitants left. The fortifications still bear witness to the fierce +struggle which took place before them, and one bastion was breached +more successfully than ever Montenegrin cannon had done, by lightning, +during the bombardment. Many of the older inhabitants, as well as the +walls, show traces of the former conflict, a noseless man being no +great curiosity. + +Not for nothing has the Montenegrin won his fame as one of the +fiercest fighters in the world. He was never outdone in atrocities by +his enemies. It was the rule of war (and is now, to a great extent) to +either behead one's prisoner on the spot, or, if the day had been +exceptionally heavy, and more heads could not be carried conveniently, +noses were taken instead. Perhaps the phrase "to count noses" +originated in these lands. However, it usually ended the same, for the +noseless man would, as a rule, bleed to death; but some have lived +through it, and can be met with anywhere in Montenegro or Albania. + +Many fierce fights took place in and about Podgorica, and the ghastly +picture of victorious Montenegrins at the conclusion of an affray, +sitting in groups, each with a small or large heap of heads and noses +before him, "counting the bag," has many eye-witnesses still living. + +In the Turkish town lies the prison, soon to be the only one in +Montenegro. A new wing is rapidly nearing completion to accommodate +the female prisoners, who are at present incarcerated in Cetinje. We +visited the director that Easter Monday morning, and were received +unofficially in his quarters. We always had great fun with that man--a +pompous individual filled to overflowing with the importance of his +position, and, not unlike men similarly afflicted, most aggressively +stupid. + +As a great favour, and after our united persuasion, he allowed us at +last to look from a window overlooking the courtyard of the prison. As +in Cetinje, the prisoners walk without let or hindrance in the +spacious walled-in courts before their cell doors. Being Easter no man +was chained, a privilege they owe to the Prince, who always releases +the prisoners from their fetters during the great festivals; one +wretched individual, however, we noticed more heavily manacled than +even a murderer of the worst kind. He was, we were informed, a +dangerous madman, though, poor devil, he looked harmless enough, +slouching round and round the yard. The primitive custom of confining +dangerous lunatics (for the harmless are allowed their full liberty +outside) in the common prison is soon to be done away with. A large +lunatic asylum is rapidly nearing completion near Danilovgrad--another +memorial of Prince Nicolas' improvements. + +The prisoners were sleek and fat--those imprisoned for long terms or +for life bearing witness of the good treatment which they receive at +the hands of the authorities. One youngish man in particular +attracted our attention, a merry laughing fellow whose girth had +reached alarming proportions. He was imprisoned for life, and his +crime, which sat so lightly upon him, had been a particularly +atrocious and dastardly murder for plunder--a crime practically +unknown in Montenegro. + +Imprisonment is more real here than in Cetinje. There is none of that +delightful promenading up and down before the prison walls, hours +pleasantly whiled away with a friendly visitor from afar over a pint +of wine. The only glimpse of the outside world that these prisoners +obtain is when a few of them fetch water daily from a well outside the +walls. + +As we gazed upon the strange scene from the window above, of prisoners +and warders amicably chatting together, others squatting in groups +over a harmless game, a horrible voice disturbed the serenity of the +picture. Then at a closely barred window a face appeared, with matted +hair and long unkempt beard. It was the face of a madman; with +terrible curses he filled the air, and we looked inquiringly at our +cicerone. + +"That man is a political offender," came the answer. "For fifteen +years he has waited his trial, and now he has become hopelessly +insane. Many years ago he endeavoured to stir up a revolution against +the Prince, and fled to Vienna, where he carried on his treasonable +propaganda. But he was enticed back, and thrown into solitary +confinement such as those who are traitors to their Prince receive. +For an hour every day these prisoners are allowed to walk in the yard, +but this man from the first refused to avail himself of the privilege, +and now he has become what you see." + +"Will he never regain his freedom?" we asked. + +A shrug of the shoulders was all that our guide vouchsafed, and with +that awful voice ringing in our ears we were glad to turn away. + +Two mosques still exist, and are in use, for the Turkish population is +fairly large, though owing to recent events rapidly diminishing, but +the Prince does everything in his power to cultivate a friendly +feeling with the Mahometans. His country is the asylum for the +persecuted Turk as well as the fugitive from justice, and, if his +crime is political, he will be warmly welcomed. + +But, Woman again has upset the best of intentions, and within a year +four elopements of Turkish girls from their homes with Montenegrins +have taken place in Podgorica. These girls have been baptised and +married to their Christian lovers. A worse insult to the Mahometan +faith does not exist. But of this more anon. + +The modern town is painfully plain and uninteresting. Montenegrins +have no knowledge or love of architecture. Each house is built +solidly of stone, square and undecorated. Even the palaces of the +Royal Family are of puritanical simplicity externally. + +There are the law courts, post and telegraph offices, and +police-station all in one, a school, and a market-place, with a very +ugly memorial to the fallen Montenegrins in the last war. Otherwise, +the town is laid out with broad streets, all planted with trees, +exactly like a South African township. + +Building plots are free, the only obligation to the owner being that +he must run up the outside walls of the house at once. The roof and +internal work can be completed at leisure. A large part of the town +consists of mere shells of houses, the owners waiting for the means of +completion. + +Some little distance from the town, across the Moraca, is the Prince's +palace of Krusevac, which he occasionally visits. It stands quite +alone on a slight eminence. + +The view round Podgorica is one of the most fascinating features of +the place. It is one of those perfect views which never tire, and +always present some new beauty, and the armed rough men in their +brightly coloured and novel costumes are in complete unison with the +picture. These national costumes seem so absolutely fitting to +Montenegro that the otherwise plain and uninteresting buildings of +the town are turned merely into a background for the ever-moving +stream of colour. The Turkish bazaars with their gaudy wares hung out +into the street, the red-jacketed Montenegrin, the Turk in pure white, +the Scutarines in their distinct and original costume, and the +Albanians who flock in hundreds to the market in coarse white serge, +heavily bordered with black braiding, rifles over their shoulders and +a bandolier round their waists, make a never-ending picture. We never +wearied of wandering about the streets on market days. Then the town +is filled to overflowing with a multi-coloured crowd, and every man +from a distance brings his rifle. + +How odd it looked at first to see an Albanian with perhaps a +shilling's-worth of field produce spread out before him, and at his +side a rifle loaded and cocked; or, again, a Montenegrin boy of +perhaps fourteen, with his rifle across his knee! To keep order in +this formidably armed crowd of men, many animated with the fiercest +racial and religious hatred of each other, are some dozen Montenegrin +gendarmes, armed, as is every Montenegrin, with but a heavy revolver. + +Deadly enemies meet on the market-place, men standing in blood feud +with one another, and speak, often expressing a fervent prayer soon to +be able to put a bullet into the other at the first opportunity, +but--outside the town. Podgorica is mutually held as neutral +territory, and is very rarely violated. This is strange where men fear +not death. + +But, outside, perhaps but half an hour from the outskirts of the town, +these men will meet and shoot and kill; for murder, or sudden death, +to use their euphemistic way of looking at matters, is by no means +uncommon. + +There is a great tract of land about an hour's ride from Podgorica +characteristically called the "Crna Zemlja" or Black Earth. It is +neutral, lying between Montenegro and Albania, and the man who sets +his foot on it carries his life in his hands. Men who know, say that +every inch is soaked in blood. It is overlooked by some small hills +from Albania, and is covered with long pampas grass, affording good +cover for a man, and they shoot there for love of killing. + +But to return to Eastertide. + +It is a good time to visit Montenegro for first impressions. The +Montenegrin outdoes himself in open-handed hospitality; every house is +open, and everyone visits his neighbour. The best chamber in the +house, as often as not the only living-room among the poorer classes, +is set out with all the good things the owner possesses. On the table +stand meat, eggs, bread, wine, and spirits; and it is a grievous +insult to leave that room without tasting, and tasting liberally, of +all. This lasts three days, and it is more than enough. + +And we were particularly honoured, being Englishmen and strangers: one +might say we were painfully honoured. What quantities we were forced +to eat and drink! At one house, that of a poor man, who lived with his +wife in a tiny room, we were presented with a bottle of Munich beer, +his greatest treasure, given him once by a friend who had travelled. +He doubtless considered it a luxury of a priceless kind, and it cut us +to the heart to drink that man's beer. But we had to; he took no +denial, barely tasting it himself. + +We might have stood it fairly well were it not for those eggs, +hard-boiled Easter eggs, the shells coloured red or blue. This +institution is a positive torture to the unfortunate digestion, which +suffers untold torments at Eastertide. + +There is a game played with these hard-boiled eggs which reminds one +forcibly of schooldays. Two men each select an egg, and one, holding +his egg firmly, allows the other to endeavour to crack it, only the +pointed ends being used. + +But this harmless if childish custom once led to a vendetta. A man +once cracked such an enormous quantity of eggs, that in the evening he +was challenged to show his marvellous egg, which he persistently +refused to do. This led to words and words to revolvers, and the man +was shot. Then the egg was found to be a clever imitation in stone. + +Though Podgorica is the trading centre of Montenegro, business is not +carried on in the same brisk way as in other lands. + +We once wished to send a parcel of feathers home, and went accordingly +to the post office. It was towards evening then, and we were informed +that the postmaster was "not at home," and were asked to come next +day. The following morning we again visited the post office, when the +contents were carefully noted, and long lists filled out which took +roughly about half an hour; at the end of which time a head was thrust +out of the window, asking us to call in about an hour and pay. This +was because no post-office clerk is allowed to receive money; he is +strangely enough not always honest, and the postmaster was again out. +At the end of the hour we returned and paid. + +Another time I tendered a gulden in payment of a telegram, and had to +wait a quarter of an hour while a boy was sent into the town to obtain +change. + +In matters of business it is well to possess one's soul in patience. A +more unbusinesslike set of people is hard to be found, yet in driving +a bargain they are remarkably shrewd, to put it kindly. + +Even in such trivial matters as purchasing a hen no indecent hurry is +shown. Such a transaction may take days. For instance, you wish to buy +a hen, and signify the same to a man, and he will say-- + +"I have a hen which I can sell thee, but it will break my heart. Such +a hen, and such eggs! I feel I cannot part with her." + +"Very well," you say; "don't make yourself miserable; I'll buy one +somewhere else." + +"But give me till to-morrow. It is too sudden." + +And he goes away. If you are not in a hurry, it does not matter and +you wait. It is amusing. + +Next day he will come again and say that he has another hen nearly as +good as the first, but, as he loves you and respects you, he will part +with his beloved hen at a consideration, and names a price far beyond +its worth. You refuse, and state your price for the _good_ hen, the +ordinary market price, which he indignantly refuses and departs. In a +few hours he will come again, bringing a hen which, almost with tears, +he tells you is _the_ hen--his beloved hen. + +"Take her," he says, "as a present." + +Whereupon you press upon him the market price, which of course he +takes, and the matter is finished. + +Such little episodes are trying at first. The Montenegrin loves +money--it is his curse, or rather the curse of every country on the +brink of civilisation--but he also loves to play the gentleman, who +hates sordid money transactions. He will often make you a present and +afterwards send in an extortionate bill. + +But, usually, you make him a monetary present _at once_, which he +takes with thanks, at your own price. + +If it were not for money, what an ideal race the Montenegrins would +be! But then that is the same with a good many people. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +Medun--Voivoda Marko--His life and heroism--His part in Montenegrin +history--Our ride to Medun--His widow--We visit his grave--The death +dirge--Montenegrin customs at death--Target practice--Our critics--The +hermit of Daibabe--We visit Spuz--A typical country inn and a +meal--The Turkish renegade gives his views on warfare--Dioclea. + + +During our repeated sojourns in Podgorica we made several excursions +to places of interest in the neighbourhood, chief amongst which was a +visit to Medun, Voivoda Marko Drekalovic's grave. + +Medun lies in the heart of the mountains, about four hours' ride from +Podgorica, and is the capital (if one can apply such a high-sounding +name to a ruined fortress and two or three houses) of the Kuc. The Kuc +is a large province inhabited by one of the most warlike tribes of +Montenegro, and only recently came under its rule, though their +sympathies were never with their Turkish rulers. The fact that it +borders on Albania is significant, and accounts for its fighting +qualities. + +Voivoda Marko was largely instrumental in bringing about the last war +with Turkey, which was so successful to Montenegro, when the Kuc, +Podgorica, Niksic, the entire provinces of East Montenegro, the Brda, +and the sea-coast from Antivari to Dulcigno were won and confirmed to +Montenegro. + +The famous battle of Fundina was won by Marko and his tribe alone +against an overwhelming Turkish army before war had been officially +declared with Montenegro. + +Beginning life as a shepherd boy, Marko ended his days as Voivoda (or +Duke), and his name is famed in many a song and beloved by the +Montenegrins as one of their greatest heroes. Many were the stories of +his reckless bravery, which one of his relations told us. Before he +had reached the age of twenty he had killed many Turks in single +encounter, and was in consequence outlawed. He lived for some years in +the mountain fastnesses of his land, and together with a handful of +adventurers, who had cast in their lot with his, made descent after +descent on any bands of Turkish soldiers that happened to pass through +his domain. His fame soon reached the ears of Prince Nicolas, who sent +for him and placed him for some years in his bodyguard--that _corps +d'elite_ of the Montenegrins. + +At the age of twenty-five he returned home and harassed the Turks to +such an extent that he could not show himself openly by daylight. Like +another and more famous outlaw in the days of the kings of Israel, all +those that were bitter of soul came down unto him, and he became +captain over them. By night he descended upon the Turks wherever he +could find them, and made great slaughter among them. The Governor of +Podgorica, then Turkish, Yussuf Mucic by name, offered a large sum of +money for his head, but no one could be found willing to meet that +terrible man whom legend and story had endowed with supernatural +powers. Finally, a criminal consented to attempt the deed on the +promise of his liberty, and this led to one of the most incredible +episodes in Marko's life. The criminal lay in wait for him on a lonely +part of the road near Rijeka, and as Marko was passing along he +stepped suddenly on to the road pistol in hand. Marko in no way +attempted defence, but simply transfixed the man with a glance. The +wretched man in an ecstasy of terror shot himself, so penetrating was +the glance which the Voivoda had given him. So runs the story. Suffice +it to remark that Marko arrived safe and sound the same evening in +Cetinje, and a dead criminal was found on the next day by the +roadside. Now Yussuf, the Governor, was himself a soldier of some +repute, and when he heard of the failure of his messenger he +boastfully expressed a desire to meet the celebrated Marko in single +combat. On this challenge being reported to him Marko rode off on a +half-tamed steed at midday into the heart of Podgorica, and reined up +before the Pasha's house. In fear and trembling the Turks hastily +closed their bazaars and houses as that fearful horseman galloped +through their streets. In a loud voice Marko cried-- + +"I am here, Yussuf, to answer thy challenge. Wilt thou now come out +and fight with me?" + +But fear filled the heart of the craven Turk, and he sent a woman to +the window to say that he was away from home. Marko knew this to be a +lie, and cried so that all should hear him that henceforth the +challenge was annulled. "I do not fight with cowards," he said, and +again galloped away unmolested. + +Such was the power that superstition had weaved around his person that +he was commonly believed to be invulnerable, which belief was +afterwards belied by the fact that he carried two bullets with him to +the grave. + +After this public insult to Yussuf, it was known that he would spare +no pains to take Marko's life, and a touching episode is told of the +love which Marko's tribe bore to him. His people were ever ready to +sacrifice their lives for him, and in this instance it was deemed +necessary to remove the obnoxious Pasha. Accordingly a cousin of Marko +journeyed to the Podgorican market with a pistol concealed in a load +of wood. He lay in wait before Yussuf's house and shot him down as he +emerged. The Turkish populace literally cut him to pieces--a fate +which the devoted man well knew would befall him. + +This and other events led up to the attack made by the Turkish troops +on the tribe of Kuc, when, at Fundina, Marko and his small tribe smote +the Moslems hip and thigh. The rest is a matter of history. He had +died but a few months before our visit, and by his last wish was +buried in the little fortress of Medun, which many years ago he had +stormed at the head of a handful of men under circumstances of great +bravery. + +The ride thither gave us our first taste of the mountains. Rough, +stony paths through rocky ravines, sometimes skirting deep precipices, +and all round the intensely wild and magnificent mountains, led us to +the great gorge where Medun is situated. Perched on a seemingly +inaccessible crag, stands the famous ruined fortress, and at its foot +Marko's house. + +We were made welcome by his widow, a regal woman of middle age, and +still strikingly handsome. Her dead husband was not only a great hero, +but a poet and historian, and one of the most remarkable features of +his life was that, at the age of forty, he taught himself to write, +and made his name famous as well in the Serb literary world. He had +always treated her as his companion, and not as the average +Montenegrin treats a woman--as a being of inferior quality and a +better class of servant. Marko had a wonderful character; a great +athlete, perfect rifle-shot, and a military warrior and leader of men, +he brought home during his campaigns over one hundred Turkish heads; +but he was also a refined gentleman, a true poet, and merciful to his +enemies. He was a notable exception in the matter of prisoners--he +always let them go unharmed, sometimes escorting them himself to a +place of safety. + +Our visit gave much gratification to his widow, who was pleased that +strangers from such a distant land should wish to visit her husband's +grave, and she was hospitality itself. + +After a rest and food in her house, she conducted us herself up the +steep winding path to the grave. We came abruptly upon a small plateau +in front of a tiny chapel. The scene was striking in the extreme. +There was the grave, with a rough pile of stones at the head, on which +were placed the dead man's "handjar," revolver and sword, and many +wreaths. Two lighted candles were flickering in the wind, and in a +semicircle stood a group of rough, fully-armed mountaineers, the +retainers of the Voivoda. It was stormy, and great gusts of wind and +rain dashed round the rocky fortress, and in the distance a rugged +pile of mountain peaks towered up into the descending mist. + +The widow left us, and, kneeling at the grave, quietly kissed the cold +stones, praying for a few moments in deep silence. Not a man spoke or +moved as we stood with bared heads and waited. Slowly rising, she came +to us and led us into the chapel, a bare shell, not even furnished +with an altar, and with the original earthen floor. + +"My beloved husband wished to be buried in here," said the widow, "but +it was not allowed. The Prince wished him to be buried in Podgorica, +as he was never courtier and was so beloved and honoured by his +people--more than the Prince himself. But my husband called me to his +side, and with his last breath made me swear to bury him in this +chapel, or at least in front of it. And when the order came that he +should be buried below, I swore to shoot myself on his grave, and the +men of Kuc swore to take his body up here, even if they had to fight +every inch of the way. So it was allowed that he should be buried +here, but we shall bury him in the chapel, for that I promised him as +he died." + +And she took my hand solemnly in hers, illustrating her oath to the +dying man, and I shivered in that gloomy chamber as her impassioned +voice echoed in its arches. + +Suddenly a wailing of women broke upon the utter silence which ensued, +and nearer and nearer came that weird singing as it approached the +summit. The women were chanting Marko's death dirge. At last, as they +passed the little window, we went outside and saw four women, +dishevelled and weeping, approach the grave, kneeling on one side. The +widow left us again and knelt alone opposite. + +One woman only sang at a time, a series of extempore verses telling of +the life and deeds of the hero--his accomplishments and goodness--in +the poetical language of this wild people. + +"Oh, thou grey falcon, who was so mighty a hunter as thou?" + +"Who indeed shall now wield thy bloodstained sword?" + +"Oh, thou wolf, who is worthy to take thy place as our ruler and +father?" + +And the others beat their breasts and tore their hair, wailing in a +wild unison, until the singer was exhausted and then another began. + +Here and there a deep sob broke from a man, but otherwise the ring of +men with bowed heads remained in dead silence and immovable as the +rocks around them. + +It was one of the most impressive scenes it has been our fortune to +witness, but we were glad when the widow rose and conducted us back to +the house. Some letters and poems of the Voivoda were shown to us, and +one of the letters to a friend then present in the room was read +aloud. The great rough Montenegrin was so touched at hearing the words +of his master and lord, that he turned away his head and sobbed. All +this time the women ceased not with their wild lamentations, and even +after we took our leave and started on our rough ride home in +pouring rain, that death dirge followed us, echoing in the ravines +and mountains. + +[Illustration: THE GRAVE SCENE AT MEDUN] + +Since then we have often heard the death dirge sung in Montenegro. +Sometimes in a house in passing; again, an old woman trudging to +market will sing the death dirge of a relation, perhaps dead many +years. But we never heard those piercing, wailing notes without having +the picture of Medun recalled vividly to our memory. + +When a man dies he is laid out in the sitting-room, and all the +friends and relations are summoned. Then the men enter the room singly +and approach the corpse. Tearing open their shirts they beat +themselves with their fists on their naked breasts, often tearing the +flesh with their nails, and give vent to ear-piercing wails. Each +new-comer strives to outdo his predecessor in excesses, and horrible +scenes ensue. But the Prince discountenances this custom, and it is +slowly dying out, but only in the upper classes. + +We often took our rifles and went out into the country for a little +target practice, and always succeeded in attracting a group of +spectators from adjacent villages or huts. Towards Albania we were +requested not to go for shooting, as the noise of rifle-shots is apt +to mislead the surrounding villagers. Even when shooting in other +directions, we were carefully warned not to fire rapidly, but to shoot +slowly and deliberately, as at target practice. + +Rapid firing is "the alarm," and would mobilise a brigade of infantry +within an hour or two. + +On one occasion we were shooting at a somewhat difficult object about +one hundred and fifty yards away. We were trying to hit it, standing, +and had not succeeded. A group of some twenty men had collected, and +they soon began to make facetious remarks. One offered to bring the +target nearer. Another said he would stand target for a few shots--we +shouldn't hit him. So we gave one or two of them our rifles and told +them to hit it. Immediately they selected stones as rests, and lay +down for their shot. + +"Ah," said we, "we can do that; shoot as we do, standing, and without +a rest." + +"That," they said, "is not shooting--who shoots like that in war?" + +But we were inexorable, and needless to say they failed to hit +anywhere near. + +The Montenegrins are good shots enough, if they can take long and +deliberate aim, steadying their rifles on walls or rocks, but +otherwise they are miserable marksmen. + +Quite close to Podgorica there lives a hermit, a wonderful man who has +hewn out of the living rock a tiny chapel, a store-room, and a passage +leading to the chapel. He has only just completed it, and we inscribed +our names in his new book as his first visitors. + +[Illustration: VOIVODA MARKO] + +[Illustration: SIMEON POPOVIC AND HIS CHAPEL] + +The hermit, a priest of most refined manners and appearance, named +Simeon Popovic, was most delighted at our visit. He spoke Russian and +French fluently; his story is quite a little romance. + +Before he took Orders he had been a soldier, and was a rich man. It +was while he was absent on a campaign that his wife eloped and his +relations robbed him of all his money. He returned home to find +himself wifeless, dishonoured, and a beggar. Then he became a priest, +and a vision appeared to him, showing him Daibabe, where he now lives, +commanding him to go and build a church. He refused the offer of a +rich priorship and came to this place, possessed of no means whatever +wherewith to commence his life's work. Unable to buy building +materials, he began to hollow out a church from the rock, without help +or money of any kind, beyond that given him by the pious but direly +poor peasants of the neighbourhood. The labour must have been immense, +but there it stands a monument to man's perseverance and faith. + +Simeon is reckoned as a saint by the peasants; they come to him from +all parts of the country, bringing their sick, and many cures are said +to have been effected there. He is a vegetarian, and subsists solely +on the products of his little garden. + +Spuz lies on the River Zeta, and must be reached by a bridge. It is +always safer to dismount when crossing a Montenegrin bridge, off the +main roads. This was no exception, but the scenery was delightful. +Rising immediately at the back of the village is a steep hill crowned +by a mighty fortress. It was held formerly by the Turks, and the +peasants say that it was built by them; but the architecture is +distinctly Venetian and an exact counterpart of many fortresses in +Dalmatia. + +It is strange, however, for there are no records that the Venetians +ever came further inland than Scutari. + +The inn at Spuz, where we dined, was as other country inns (or krcma, +or han, as they are locally termed from the Turkish): earthen floor, a +bench, a few primitive stools and beds in the only reception-room. The +table is invariably rickety, so are the stools; but a tablecloth, +knives and forks are always mysteriously produced for guests even in +the most out-of-the-way places. + +While our repast was being prepared we had a revolver shooting +competition outside the door, to which the whole village flocked. One +of the men made a very fine shot from his saddle at a tree-stump in +the river, about two hundred and fifty yards away, and _hit_ within a +few feet. It proved the accuracy and carrying distance of the +Montenegrin revolver. + +[Illustration: SPUZ] + +After our meal, consisting of raw ham, eggs (oh, those everlasting +eggs!), and a peculiar and nondescript kind of meat, about which we +asked no questions, the village captain called on us and bore us off +to his house for coffee. + +This man, a Turkish renegade, was one of the most interesting men whom +we met. He was a marvellous talker--in fact, he never stopped during +our visit. How the subject came up has passed my memory, but suddenly +he rushed out of the room and brought back a handful of little medals. + +"Look," he said, "each medal represents a human life, a head. We have +these given us for every head we bring back in war. Do you think I am +proud of them, and there are more than fifty? No, I weep when I see +them. When I had seized my foe by his hair preparatory to cutting off +his head, a vision of his mother, his wife, and his sisters appeared +before me, and I could have wept as I struck off his head. Why should +I kill this man? I asked myself. I know him not, he has done me no +harm, yet because it is war, arranged by princes and kings, we must +become murderers. And why should I kill him? because others would +misconstrue my act of mercy if I did it not, and brand me a coward, +aye and worse, a traitor. Why should _I_ make that mother childless? +why must _I_ rob that loving wife of her husband? Why _I_ be the means +of making those little children fatherless and orphans?" + +I confess the picture that he conjured up of solemnly and with +streaming eyes cutting off his enemies' heads--and he had owned to +over fifty--as he thought of destitute homes and weeping women and +children, seemed decidedly tragi-comic; but the old man was earnest +enough, and was quite unconscious of the grim humour of the situation. + +"Why," he went on, excitedly pacing the room, "why do not the German +Emperor and the King of England fight out their quarrels _alone_? Why +drag thousands of men from their homes and farms to fight _their_ +quarrels?" + +Again the idea of our King fighting a solemn duel, with perhaps +Maxims, over a question of an island in the Pacific, with the German +Emperor, while admiring millions looked on and applauded, caused a +smile which we with difficulty repressed from diplomatic reasons. + +He took his scimitar now in his hand. + +"Look, too, at the generals," he said excitedly, "directing battles +from safe places, while hundreds of innocent lives are thrown away in +an assault which that general has ordered from his place of safety. +Once," he went on--"I was fighting for the Turks then, and commanded a +body of soldiers--a general came to me, saying, 'Storm that hill,' and +I answered, 'No; thou art our leader, lead us to the assault.' And he +refused, saying, 'How can I direct the battle if I lead this +attack--who shall take my place if I fall?' And I drew my sword"--and +here he suited his action to his words--"and said I would kill him if +he did not take his true position as leader of men and lead us to the +attack--then I and my men would follow wherever he went. And the +general, who was a brave man, led us to the assault and fell--but we +took the hill and the battle was won." + +It was strange talk to hear from such a man, little better than a +savage, yet unlike any of his adopted countrymen. That man in a +civilised country would have made himself known and even celebrated. + +Not far from Podgorica, at the junction of the rivers Moraca and Zeta, +lie the remains of the once famous Dioclea or Dukla, as it is locally +called. The town is of Roman origin, and was surrounded by a complete +moat, which the Romans formed by digging a channel between the rivers. +It must have been a place of immense strength in the olden days, but +successive generations of warfare, which raged so pitilessly in this +district, have levelled it to the ground, and to-day little or nothing +can be seen from the adjoining roadway. On approaching there is also +very little to be seen, here and there a wall, and small fragments of +mosaic floors. Coins and other relics are still found in large +quantities, and it seems a pity that excavation, which could do so +much, has been only carried on in a very halting and desultory manner. +Legend and history relate that the famous Roman Emperor Diocletian was +born here, and gave his name to the town. The district of Dioclea, +which was one of the seven confederate Serb states formed by Heraclius +to repel the attacks of the Avars, is in reality the germ of modern +Montenegro. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +Achmet Uiko tells his story--Sokol Baco, ex-Albanian chief--Shooting +on the Lake of Scutari--Our journey thither--Our frustrated +nap--Arrival at the chapel--The island of Vranjina--The +priest--Fishing and fishermen--Our visitors--We return to Podgorica. + + +One market day, walking through the streets of Podgorica, we overheard +a strange conversation. A Montenegrin Turk was sitting on a stone, +when two Albanians approached him. Touching his revolver, one of the +Albanians said-- + +"Sooner than own the whole of Montenegro, would I empty _this_ into +thy body." + +The Turk, a small man, with slightly grey hair, looked up, and said +indifferently-- + +"And thy desire is mine." + +So they separated. + +Almost immediately an acquaintance joined us, and we asked him the +meaning. + +"That man," said he, "is the famous Achmet Uiko. A terrible man, who +has killed many men, and at the present moment there is an enormous +sum of money on his head in Albania." + +We then went to him, and asked him to come to our hotel to-morrow, and +to tell us the story of his life. He consented readily, saying that +he would be with us at nine next morning, "if," he added +significantly, "nothing occurred to detain him." + +It happened that evening that an Englishman arrived on a short tour +through the country, believing firmly that everything was as safe and +as orderly as the average stranger thinks. A Turkish girl had been +abducted from her home shortly before, and the town was in a state of +great excitement, as it was the second case within the last few weeks. +A rising of the Turkish inhabitants was feared nightly, and the house +where the girl was confined--previous to her marriage with her +Montenegrin lover--was carefully guarded by a score of armed +Montenegrins. + +We took the Englishman to this house, and as we were showing him the +men with rifles around the doors and windows, we heard sounds of a +sharp rifle fire some distance away on the border. Not long afterwards +a Montenegrin doubled into the town with a report that heavy firing +had been taking place at the village of Dinos. Nothing further came of +it, but our countryman went to bed with other ideas of Montenegro. + +We awaited Achmet next morning, but at nine he had not arrived, and we +began to wonder, as the hours went by, if his fate had at last +overtaken him. But at noon he turned up, as quiet and self-possessed +as yesterday, and excused himself in the following way. The Albanians +who had expressed such murderous desires upon him yesterday at the +market lived in Dinos, and he had spent the night in emptying his +magazine rifle repeatedly into their village. + +"To show these dogs," he concluded, "that they cannot express such +wishes to me with impunity." + +His story, which is given shortly here, was taken down from his lips, +but it is impossible to reproduce the man's quaint phraseology. He +spoke in an indifferent way, and detailed all the circumstances in a +most matter-of-fact manner and without the faintest trace of boasting. + +He was born in Podgorica, then Turkish, and at fifteen fought in his +first battle, killing three men. At seventeen he had a fight in the +town, and was forced to flee to Scutari, where, shortly afterwards, he +entered the Turkish service as a gendarme. He took unto himself a +wife, but finding her faithless, he laid a trap to catch her and her +lover together, when he killed them both. After this Achmet returned +to Podgorica, where he was at once seized and imprisoned for his +original offence, but he soon broke out and fled to the Albanian +mountains. Here he lived as a robber until things began to get too hot +for him, and he fled to Bosnia. In Bosnia he was the guest of a Serb, +who befriended him, and when a Turk seduced his benefactor's wife, he +killed the Turk to show his gratitude, and again was forced to flee +the country. He next turned up in Antivari, where he was promptly +imprisoned, but he overpowered the warder, took his rifle, and again +escaped. + +At this time the town captain of Dulcigno had been murdered, in +revenge for a deadly insult, by a young Kuc, named Jovan, and Achmet +was sent for, on the promise of pardon if he would follow Jovan into +Albania and kill him. This he did, bringing Jovan's head with him as +evidence. For this he received a large reward, and the Prince of +Montenegro, having heard of him and his deeds, sent for him, pardoning +all his previous offences, besides giving him one hundred napoleons. + +Achmet now settled down at his present home near Podgorica, but was +caught by the Turks and imprisoned on a false charge for four months, +when he was able to prove an alibi. + +Achmet fought in many border fights with the Montenegrins against the +Albanians and distinguished himself greatly. Two Albanians once +attacked the son of a famous standard-bearer, whose life he saved, +capturing the assailants alive and bringing them into Podgorica. For +this act the Prince gave him an old fortress for his home, and where +he still lives. + +Later on Jovan's brother, whom he had killed near Dulcigno, came early +one morning to Achmet and fired at him; but Achmet caught him, and +again brought his prisoner alive into the town, where he received ten +years' imprisonment. These deeds are all the more remarkable as he +brought his captures alive and delivered them over to justice. It is, +firstly, not customary to take men alive; secondly, the feat is of +extreme difficulty, for men fight to a finish in these lands. + +Achmet is known to disappear periodically for several weeks, but of +these affairs he would say nothing. But the most striking and romantic +episode of this marvellous man's life has yet to be told. + +Recently he was caught by his now arch enemies, the Turks, and +imprisoned in the powerful fortress of Tusi, a few miles from +Podgorica. Not content with putting on the usual extremely heavy +chains, they added to their prisoner a second set of fetters. But +friends smuggled into his possession a file, concealed in a loaf of +bread. He filed through his chains, and the day previous to his escape +he noticed a lot of straw bedding lying at the foot of the fortress +walls. That night he completed the filing of the fetters, broke open +the cell-door, and rushing through the sleeping soldiers he jumped the +wall, landing without hurt on the pile of straw bedding below. Though +fired at and pursued, he escaped unhurt. + +We heard many such stories, but the story of Achmet was certainly the +best, and these men do not lie. As the man took his leave, he gave us +a pressing invitation to visit his fortress home in the mountains. + +"I will slaughter my best lamb," he added, as a special inducement. + +There was another highly interesting personality living in Podgorica, +an ex-Albanian chief and refugee from his country, named Sokol Baco. +This fine old fellow, standing well over six feet, looked fifty +instead of his sixty-five years, and had an equally interesting past. +As a youth he had fought in many battles for the Turks, and was +eventually selected with five other young men of high standing for the +personal bodyguard of the Sultan. While on leave, which he was +spending in his Albanian home, the order came for the disarming of the +whole of Albania. Sokol's tribe refused, as did most of these warlike +clans, though Sokol advised obedience. But his clan remained obdurate, +and he was placed in the awkward predicament of being either +considered a traitor by his countrymen or by his Sovereign. Sokol +threw in his lot with his clan, and led them in battle against a +Turkish force; but though he fought like a lion, the clan were +defeated, and he was forced to fly. For many years Sokol lived in the +Albanian mountains, half robber and wholly patriot; but the pursuit +became too keen, and he came to Podgorica, where he entered the +service of Prince Nicolas. His new Prince he serves loyally, and is +highly esteemed in Montenegro, where he will doubtless end his +days. + +[Illustration: ACHMET UIKO] + +[Illustration: SOKOL BACO] + +While still comparatively new to the country, we once went for a +week's shooting to the Lake of Scutari. Water-fowl abound there in +marvellous numbers, consisting chiefly of crane, heron, thousands of +duck, and a fair number of pelicans. + +We had selected the island of Vranjina for our headquarters, known in +history as the site of a famous treaty signed there between the +Montenegrins and Venetians in the first half of the fifteenth century. +It lies at the north or Montenegrin end of the lake. + +As we were given to understand that we could drive to the lake, or at +least to the River Moraca, and thence take boat to the island, we +loaded our carriage with ample luggage. With our guide's usual and +admirable mismanagement, we were landed after a two hours' drive on +the banks of the Moraca, unable to get further without the carriage +toppling down a steep bank into the rapid river. The driver +unceremoniously bundled our traps on to the ground and drove happily +off. The only person in sight was a diminutive girl, whom the guide +promptly impressed into our service, and an appalling load was heaped +upon her. Then a small boy appeared, and so we were able to make +another start. The day was exceedingly hot, but we got some shooting +to make up for it. We crossed the river in a crazy ferry, found some +men, and later on a boat, and reached the famous village of Zabljak +about one o'clock. The village is still overlooked by a formidable +fortress, but in the rude collection of huts it was hard to see the +ancient capital of Montenegro, the home of the famous Black Prince +dynasty. + +One of the most wretched inns that it was our lot to find in +Montenegro received us and our baggage. The village of course turned +out to inspect us, and watched us eat our meal with interest. It was +of the usual kind, consisting of eggs, raw ham, eggs, and dessert of +_more_ hard-boiled eggs, washed down with a remarkably sour wine. + +After this repast we retired for a short nap into the room beyond. P. +was tired and got on one bed, but I, displaying more caution, lifted +the pillow before I trusted myself to the arms of Morpheus. My +fore-sight was rewarded better than I deserved, and I had P. off his +bed in the twinkling of an eye. As an explanation which his +threatening attitude demanded at once, I silently lifted his pillow. +It likewise teemed with life, and we postponed our post-prandial +slumbers till a more fitting occasion. + +At the foot of the village the Moraca flowed past, now a formidable +and swiftly running river. We were amused to see several oxen driven +into it, and swim serenely to the opposite bank. + +Only one small canoe could be found for us, which would ordinarily +hold one man besides the two paddlers, with comfort. Into it were +crowded three men and a quantity of baggage. In addition, it leaked, +and periodically we were turned out on to a muddy and marshy bank +while the canoe was bailed out. + +This end of the lake is very curious, a series of natural canals run +in all directions through vast swamps which only afford foothold in +the height of summer. The thrifty peasants utilise the dry season to +plant fields of maize, for the scorching sun dries these swamps in a +very short space of time. In the winter or early spring, they are +nearly or quite under water. As the lake is reached, small islands of +dense willow trees grow out of the water, and in these islands are +vast colonies of waterfowl. The effect is decidedly pretty, but very +irritating to the sportsman, as the birds hide in the centre, and it +is nearly impossible to force one's way in, even by wading. + +We reached our destination, a little chapel with a house for the +priest adjoining it, locally termed a "manastir," built on a rather +high and conical hill on the south end of the island of Vranjina. The +view from the chapel, as we afterwards found, was superb. The whole +lake spreads out in its vast expanse. Scutari, or rather the hill +behind which it lies, can be seen dimly in the distance. To the right, +the Lovcen and the Rumija rear their lofty heads, and divide the lake +from the Adria beyond. Away to the left the rugged snow-clad Albanian +Alps stretch as far as the eye can see, piling themselves up in a wild +and grand confusion. Several green submerged willow islands lay at our +feet, round which crowds of snow-white cranes were circling. Such was +our view as we reached the plateau in front of the chapel that +evening, tired, hungry, and irritated, but still appreciative. + +The priest, or "pop," clad in the national costume, as indeed are all +the country clergy, and only distinguishable from his wild-looking +parishioners by his uncut hair and beard (the Greek Church do not +allow their ministers to cut their hair or beards), met us in a +friendly manner, but absolutely refused to take us in at first. He +said he had absolutely nothing in the house but a little goat's +cheese, and no beds. However, we were desperate; to go to the village +meant another hour's cramp in the canoe, and perhaps no better +accommodation than here. Here we would stay, and starve. + +By dint of much persuasion, the priest produced a mattress, and a man +was sent down to the village to procure anything that he could find, +and so we stayed in the monastery a week, and really enjoyed +ourselves. We used to go out shooting at daybreak in canoes with two +paddles apiece, and again in the evening, for the heat was +overpowering about midday. + +[Illustration: THE POP OF VRANJINA] + +[Illustration: AN ALBANIAN GIRL] + +The method of fishing here is distinctly interesting. A large number +are required to work the net, but they make enormous hauls. The +procedure is as follows: One large boat is anchored near the shore and +made fast to trees, and a huge net is taken out and spread in a +circle, the ends being kept in the stationary boat. Two men, naked, +stand a few feet from the boat in the water, keeping the sides of the +net down and preventing the escape of fish as the circle is gradually +narrowed by the men in the boat slowly pulling it in. The last bit +requires their united efforts, for it is full of fish, some of +considerable size. At the conclusion of the "haul" one of the men +chose two of the largest fish and threw them into my canoe as a +present; as thanks I lent my tobacco-tin, which they gratefully +emptied. + +Montenegrins carry tobacco in a tin and roll their own cigarettes; no +other form of smoking is known amongst them, except the tchibouque by +some of the older men, a relic of Turkish times. The tobacco is +excellent, being often equal to the best Turkish, and ridiculously +cheap. + +We owe these worthy fisherfolk thanks for having given us one of the +finest moonlight effects that it has ever been our lot to witness. We +were returning home late one evening in our canoes, and as we rounded +a corner of the island we came suddenly on their encampment. The men +in their ragged but artistic costumes were sitting round numerous +camp-fires cooking their evening meal on the bank, which sloped gently +upwards, an old ruined fortress or "kula" forming a background. + +As we gazed the moon came slowly over the brow of the intervening +hill, illuminating the scene with its soft and silvery radiance, +blending fantastically with the ruddy flames of the fires. +Cooking-pots steamed and bubbled, and one group of men broke into an +old Montenegrin fighting song, the water of the vast lake sparkled and +danced in the distance, and we felt that only we and this rough group +of fishermen were alive in the world. + +It was an idyllic life that we led during our stay at Vranjina, though +every comfort known to civilisation was lacking. We lived as did the +hardy fishermen of the island, and a hard life it proved to be. The +heat, however, was something tremendous, quite precluding any exertion +from ten in the morning till the late afternoon. We had even in the +early morning to use the greatest care to keep our necks and arms +covered from the scorching rays of the sun, for bad blisters and burns +were the sure reward of carelessness. The concussion of rapid shooting +combined with the heat often brought on headaches so violent that to +fire another cartridge was exquisite torture. One thing we did not +suffer from, and that was loneliness. + +The news of our visit spread to all the neighbouring villages, and we +had a constant stream of visitors. Our swim, which we took after our +early morning shoot in a delightfully cool spot, where a spring +bubbled into the lake, was invariably witnessed by a group of +fishermen, and very much amused they were too over our hair-brushes, +soap, and other toilet articles. + +They sometimes ascribed powers of healing to us, and were evidently +quite distressed when we endeavoured to impress upon them our entire +ignorance of medicine. Once a man insisted on baring his leg and +showing me a horrible wound which would not heal. + +Another time the school was marched out from the village of Vranjina, +probably to have an object-lesson in geography. Doubtless the boys, +after having seen real live Englishmen, would henceforth display an +intelligent interest in the position of the British Isles. They came +and spent a morning with us, and the young teacher, who spoke good +Italian, asked us many questions, such as a young child asks his +father, and equally difficult at times to answer. + +Our messing arrangements were of the simplest, raw ham and eggs +forming the staple food. We bought a lamb once, but it only lasted one +meal, as everyone developed an extraordinary appetite--the parson, +Lazo our servant, and all the men in the vicinity. + +When we left we had the blessing of our worthy priest and fervent +invitations to return again soon from some of the fishermen. One of +the men took a great fancy to us, urging us to come to his house in +Vranjina then and there, and "we would," he said, "drink gallons of +wine," going on next day. "At any rate," he said, as we gently +refused, "let us have a big drink together when ye come again." + +We arranged our return to Podgorica ourselves, and got back within +five hours, shooting a fine pelican on the way, which was the last +shot that we fired on the Lake of Scutari. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +Stephan our servant--Virpazar--The drive over the Sutormann +Pass--Antivari and Prstan--The beauty of the bay--We are delayed by +contrary winds--We are rowed to Dulcigno--We make the acquaintance of +Marko Ivankovic--A story concerning him--We shoot together--An episode +on a lake--Vaccination--The Turkish inhabitants. + + +For our journey to the sea-coast towns of Antivari (Bar) and Dulcigno +(Ulcinj) we deemed it advisable to take a servant with us, and our +choice fell on Stephan, a Hungarian by birth, but a ten years' sojourn +in the Land of the Black Mountain had completely Montenegrinised him, +if we may coin a word. As he was our constant companion for several +months, it would be well to describe him. + +Every statement that Stephan made had to be liberally discounted--this +we found out afterwards--for he was a born liar, and not a skilful one +at that. He had one marvellous story about a large sum of money lying +in his name in a bank in Hungary, which he must fetch in person, but +he could never save enough money to make the journey. This was an +obvious falsehood. But the story of his coming to Montenegro seemed +true. He was a sergeant of an Austrian infantry regiment, and had +attempted to cut down his superior officer in a fit of rage, severing +his ear with a sabre. He fled to the Montenegrin border, which was +quite close to his garrison, and has been in Montenegro ever since, +wearing the national costume and married to a girl of the country. +Stephan was certainly a most violent-tempered man, but he was often +entertaining, full of fun, a decent cook, and could sing a host of odd +songs and snatches picked up in Austrian garrison towns. Otherwise he +was a thorough Montenegrin, though he considered himself vastly their +superior. His temper at other times would be vile, but the mastery +over himself was really great, and after a sharp remonstrance he could +change his mood completely. + +Taking the omnibus of the Anglo-Montenegrin Trading Company, rudely +dubbed "the Hearse," to Plavnica, the station for Podgorica on the +Lake of Scutari, we transferred our luggage to a huge barge, or +"londra," and were slowly punted out on to the lake through one of +those extraordinary canals which intersect the marshy land at this end +of the lake. There the good ship _Danitza_, owned by the same company, +awaited us, and conveyed us to Virpazar, past our island of Vranjina +and its little chapel. + +[Illustration: VIRPAZAR] + +Virpazar is the scene of the Montenegrin Vespers in 1702, and one of +the richest villages in the district. Prettily situated up a long +estuary of the lake, it is nothing but a collection of about twenty +small houses, with arched ground floors, the people living on the +first floor. The village is frequently flooded in the winter. + +The importance of this village lies in the fact that it is the +connecting link--and a very bad one at that--between the rest of +Montenegro and the sea. But no road connects it with the mainland, and +travellers from Cetinje or Podgorica must take the steamer from either +Rijeka or Plavnica to Virpazar, and from thence a good road leads over +the Sutormann Pass to Antivari. A road which is being built between +Virpazar and Rijeka will supply a long-felt want. At present, when the +Prince or Crown Prince wish to visit their favourite residence on the +sea at Topolica, near Antivari, the horses have to be sent by a +roundabout mountain path from Rijeka, taking many hours, while the +Princes take steamer and have a tedious wait in the inn at Virpazar. + +To this inn we went--there was no choice about it; it is the only one, +and, moreover, there is but a single room for guests, serving as +dining and sleeping apartment. Though we arrived at midday, we had to +wait till the following day at noon for the postcart--twenty-four +hours in this very uninteresting hole. + +But we hobnobbed with the local grandees, for there is the district +law court here (the captain and magistrate have their residences in +the village), and managed to pass the time fairly agreeably. In the +evening we sat under the trees in front of our humble yet princely +hostel, and talked of many things to our newly made friends. The frogs +in the marshes made a terrific noise, almost drowning our +conversation. + +Next morning we entered the post-chaise, in which we had wisely booked +all the four seats, and made a start on our six hours' drive. What +would have happened had other travellers arrived is hard to imagine. A +wait of forty-eight hours till the next post went would have probably +caused annoyance, and this carriage was literally the only means of +conveyance on this side of Montenegro. It goes one day and returns the +next. Fortunately, passengers are extremely rare. The drive was of +great interest, winding up in a series of sweeping curves between +magnificent hills. The ridge on our left was the site of a great +battle in the last war, when a small Montenegrin force dislodged a +large Turkish army and captured Antivari and the long-coveted sea. The +danger and recklessness of the feat was apparent from the road, and it +was evidently not expected by the Turks, for a false step on those +rocky heights meant certain death. + +[Illustration: ANTIVARI ON BAR] + +The top of the Sutormann Pass (2,700 feet) was reached in about four +hours, and now the deep blue Adria was spread out before us, and our +tortuous descent commenced. Commanding the pass still stands a mighty +but much-battered fortress, taken by the gallant Montenegrins in +that memorable battle. But nowhere could the historical old town and +fortress of Bar, or Antivari, be seen. In fact, not till we were +within a few hundred yards of the town, was a single house in view. It +is hidden from sight in a hollow, surrounded by a forest of olive +trees. + +All of a sudden the carriage drew up at a recently built stone house, +ornamented with the trophies of war. Piles of cannon-balls, old +cannon, splinters of shells are tastefully arranged on the walls. +Immediately in front of us stood the once famous fortress of Bar, now +a shot-riddled and ruined mass of stone, a mere shell of its former +strength. + +Even then the town is hardly apparent, but in a few seconds one enters +it down a steep and slippery path of well-worn stones. On either side +are Turkish bazaars, out of which Turkish faces peer at the infidel +dogs. There is very little of the Montenegrin element apparent. We +only walked through the town once, as our destination was Prstan, the +actual seaport of Antivari. + +We were somewhat rudely disillusioned. After an hour's drive along a +flat and ugly road, we espied a collection of some half a dozen +houses. Two or three of them are large and modern in appearance but +that was all. Was this, then, Antivari, Montenegro's important seaport +and the bone of contention with Austria? + +Right well has Austria maintained its control of this little port. One +large house is that of the Austrian Vice-Consul, who lives in solitary +state, watching everyone who passes through the port. Opposite, on the +further horn of the bay, lies Spizza, an Austrian military station. +Antivari is, indeed, but Montenegrin in name. + +Right on the shore and in the centre of the large bay stands a white +house, a short distance from the Austrian frontier, which is Topolica, +the favourite residence of the Crown Prince. Square, undecorated, and +uninteresting, it is almost an exact counterpart of the other +Montenegrin royal residences. Yet its position is superb. From either +corner of the bay, where the mountains meet the sea, stretches an +unbroken chain of mountain peaks, rugged and forbidding, but extremely +picturesque. Witnessed at sunset when the soft lights mellow the sharp +outlines, and the sombreness of the mountains is tinged with red, the +fascination which this place holds for this lover of nature, Prince +Danilo, can be well understood. We spent two days revelling in its +wild solitariness. + +Our hotel was distinctly quaint, but we were very comfortable. Again +we had but one room for all, but it was clean, and the hostess, an +Austrian, an excellent cook. + +We hoped to have started on our further journeys the following day, +and found a small sailing vessel anchored in the bay; the captain +consenting to take us on to Dulcigno. It was an Albanian boat, manned +by about half a dozen cut-throats, and in spite of warnings we +arranged to leave next day. Anything would be preferable to a ride of +eight hours over mountain tracks on mules to Dulcigno; and we were all +well armed. + +But the next day brought contrary winds, and we were forced to spend +another day in Prstan. That day a large Italian steamer arrived and +anchored in the bay, to take Prince Nicolas to Italy for the +christening of his little granddaughter. Shortly before dark he +arrived, attended by two adjutants, and after speaking a few words to +the harbour captain, who respectfully kissed his hand, embarked in a +boat, and was pulled on board the steamer. We were again struck with +the immense breadth of his figure, clad in a long, grey military +overcoat, which makes him look much shorter than he really is. He is +really a typical-looking prince of a race of freeborn mountaineers. As +he receded from the shore, we drew our revolvers and joined in the +parting fusillade, shouting "Zivio" as lustily as any of the little +handful who had awaited him. + +The agent of the Austrian Lloyd Steamship Company came to our rescue +on the following morning, as the Albanian boat made no preparations +for starting, and offered to take us in his own boat to Dulcigno. +This we gladly accepted, and about midday started in his large and +roomy boat, built for sailing or for rowing, and manned by four +Montenegrin sailors. + +The wind failed us most of the way, and our four men propelled us with +long oars or sweeps which are worked standing up and facing them, a +method of rowing common in the Adriatic. It is a splendid exercise, +but like everything else it wants practice, as we speedily found out +when we took a turn. + +Coffee, without which no true Montenegrin can exist, was made _en +route_, and proved highly acceptable. + +Luckily we had taken a supply of food with us, though we had been told +that we should be in Dulcigno for supper, and this again we devoured +with ravenous appetites as the long hours wore on. The coast was +monotonous, a never-varying bank of hills descending to the water's +edge. Here and there a tiny village could be seen, but otherwise no +life, and little vegetation. + +Not till nine o'clock in the evening did we reach Dulcigno, and the +impression that the lights in the houses on the hillsides made is not +easily to be forgotten. It seemed like a colony of spacious and +luxurious villas on well-wooded slopes. In pitch dark we arrived at a +quay, and groped our way out of the boat, and were led to the inn. +Great knockings and shoutings summoned the innkeeper from his early +slumbers. While waiting in the darkness below, the Turkish muezzins +ascended the many minarets, and began the evening call to prayer. The +weird chanting from so many voices (there are seven mosques in +Dulcigno) in the otherwise utter stillness had a most uncanny effect. + +It was a strange arrival. + +Our inn was slightly less primitive than the preceding ones. We had a +tiny bedroom apiece, and there was a room downstairs for eating +purposes, though we were always able to take our meals outside under +the trees. + +Dulcigno, or Ulcinj, is certainly the prettiest town in Montenegro, +though it is to all intents and purposes Turkish in appearance. Built +partly on a hill overlooking the sea, it descends into a small bay +where the occasional passing steamers anchor. Well wooded and hilly, +it is really a delightful spot, though the Turkish element may or may +not detract from its beauty according to personal taste. The irregular +houses, the mosques with their slender towers, the bazaar, and the +gaily-dressed if dirty crowds that circulated between the rows of +shops--gave a distinctly pleasing effect. The heavily-veiled women, +wearing in addition to the veil a thick cloth cape with a capacious +hood, amused us greatly, for on meeting us, lest our bold eyes should +pierce their disguise, they would stop and turn their faces to the +wall. What these poor creatures suffer from the heat in these +ponderous cloaks can only be imagined, and Dulcigno is by no means +cold. + +Though the fantastic picture conjured up the night of our arrival by +the twinkling lights, peeping out of the dark foliage, on the hillside +was not realised, still the entirely different picture of the reality +was equally pleasing. + +We called the next morning on the harbour captain, an Austrian and +ex-sea-captain, who received us most kindly and courteously. Through +him we were at once able to make the acquaintance of one Marko +Ivankovic, a hunter of great prowess, whom we immediately engaged to +attend us for the shooting in the neighbourhood. + +Now, though we will not go so far as to say that he was the sole +object of our visit to Dulcigno, still he did certainly influence our +plans. Once, during our very first stay at Podgorica, we met an +Austrian ornithologist and sportsman who told us a wonderful +experience of his at Dulcigno with this very man, Marko Ivankovic. He +had come to Dulcigno one night by steamer, to spend a few months in +this paradise for sportsmen, and as he entered a lowly inn, a man of +almost repellent aspect sat brooding gloomily, evidently lost in a fit +of abstraction. This man gave no greeting to the new-comer, who sat +down at the further end of the table and ordered food. Shortly +afterwards the man rose and silently left the room. An hour later this +same man reappeared in the doorway, cap in hand, and humbly asked +permission of the ornithologist to seat himself at the same table. The +permission was readily given, and the man (it was Marko) came near and +attempted to kiss L.'s coat. This action signifies the greatest +humility, and is only accorded to persons of the highest rank. L. +remonstrated strongly, saying-- + +"Why dost thou kiss my coat? I am a man like thyself, and no prince. +What wouldst thou from me?" + +"Sir, I see that thou art a hunter (L. had his dogs with him), and I +would fain be thy servant." + +L. wanted a man, and from his conversation he soon gathered that this +was no inexperienced huntsman, and so they spoke of terms. But Marko +at first would not hear of anything of the sort, saying he would serve +for nothing. Naturally L. refused to accept his services gratis, and +at last an arrangement was made that Marko should first prove his +capabilities and serve a term of probation. Even then Marko refused to +take money, but a present of a gun or some article to the value of his +services at so much a day. + +With this plan L. was forced to be content, and two days afterwards +the expeditions into the neighbouring country were commenced. To tell +the story in L.'s own words:--[2] + +"After we had been together some weeks Marko became gloomy and cast +down, unlike his usual merry self. It was no easy task to persuade him +to tell me what was the matter. It appeared that he was in debt, and +should not the money be paid very shortly, his house and all that was +his would be seized. Of course I gave him the money, which happened to +be more than his due up to that day, and he took it as a loan. This +condition he insisted on, and I laughingly assented." + +It was then that we first heard of Achmed Uiko, who told us the story +of his life in Podgorica. Jovan, of the tribe Kuc, had been publicly +beaten in Dulcigno at this time, and in revenge had shot the Governor, +who had ordered this ignominious punishment. Jovan had fled to +Alessio, in Albania, with a price upon his head, and certain persons +came to Marko to beg him to follow the assassin and bring back his +head. Marko was then in L.'s service, and confided his dilemma to his +master, who told him that if he but harboured such thoughts he was not +fit to be his servant. Marko then refused, and Achmed Uiko accepted, +murdering Jovan in a boat while fishing, and the head was subsequently +displayed in Dulcigno. This is a noteworthy episode, for it led to the +abolition of corporal punishment and of the barbarous custom of +displaying heads on poles. + +[Footnote 2: This story was published in the _Wide World Magazine_, +and is reproduced with the Editor's permission.] + +To return, however, to the story:-- + +"After several weeks I made a day's tour with Marko to the Bojana. At +the mouth of the river, which you know is the outlet of the Lake of +Scutari, a large island has been formed by a stranded ship which sank +there, and all the debris, logs, and other rubbish have formed a delta +of some size upon the wreck. It abounds in game, and thither we +journeyed one morning early, reaching it some few hours later by a +small boat in which we ferried ourselves across. During the day a +great storm sprang up, precluding all chance of returning to the +mainland that evening. In a hut of boughs we spent a miserable night, +drenched to the skin by the incessant rain. Not till towards evening +of the following day could we recross, and it was bright moonlight +when we commenced our weary tramp, heavily laden and wet, to Dulcigno. +The neighbourhood is dangerous, both Albanians and Montenegrins shoot +at sight, and care must always be exercised. + +"Perhaps we had covered half the distance, when Marko suddenly and +without a word of warning threw the bags and other things he was +carrying to the ground. 'It is a dog's life, nay worse, that I lead +with thee. My health is ruined, my clothes spoilt, and not a kreutzer +do I get.' + +"I was furious at the man's infamous lie, for he was still several +guldens to the good, and even more so at the disadvantage he had taken +over me. Here we were alone in a wild and dangerous district, miles +from home, and not a human being near. + +"'Thou liest, thou ungrateful dog. Thou art an ass without a face.' + +"As I said this in my rage--it is a terrible insult to call a man a +faceless ass--Marko's face was transformed with speechless fury. His +high cheek-bones and black curly hair always made him unprepossessing, +for his was a distinctly negro type of face, and now with his lips +drawn back like a snarling wolf, disclosing his yellow teeth and +gleaming eyeballs, he looked like a fiend incarnate. I shudder now +when I recall that moonlit scene. + +"His hand dropped like lightning on the butt of his revolver, but in +the moment I had sprung back a pace and covered him with my gun, which +I was luckily carrying cocked. + +"'Thy hand from the revolver,' I cried, 'or thou art a dead man.' +Slowly his hand sank to his side. 'Pick up those things at once and +carry them before me, or as sure as there is a God in heaven I will +shoot thee like the dog thou art.' + +"As if every movement was of the greatest exertion he picked up the +traps, saying as he did so, 'Thou shalt remember these insults.' + +[Illustration: MARKO IVANKOVIC] + +[Illustration: THE BRIDGE AT RIJEKA] + +"'Be still!' I cried, covering him with my gun, 'and now precede me.' + +"And in this fashion we returned to my house. He threw the load into a +corner of the room, and at the door he returned and repeated his +warning, vanishing in the darkness. + +"From this time onwards I shot alone. Try as I would I could get no +one to come with me, and this I put down to the worthy Marko's +influence. Thrice I saw him while out shooting, but only once within +speaking distance. I then called to him 'Marko, I know thou wilt try +and kill me; but listen, I am married and have a wife and child at +home. For their sakes I ask thee to shoot at me from the front, and +thus give me a chance to defend myself.' + +"He smiled strangely again, saying, 'Thou wilt remember thy insults,' +and disappeared. + +"I always took cover when I saw him, but nothing happened, and the eve +of my departure arrived. The steamer left in the early morning, and +just as dawn was breaking and I was still in bed Marko entered the +room. He approached my bed, and laid upon the table by my head the sum +of money I had advanced him to repay his debt. Then he spoke:-- + +"'I saidst that thou wouldst remember the insults thou hast put upon +me. Here is thy money, and now listen to my story. Thou hadst scarce +set foot in Dulcigno when thy death was planned by an enemy, and I +was hired to do the deed. That was why I would take no wages, for I +was already well paid; besides, it was thought that thou wouldst then +certainly engage my services. I was to accidentally shoot thee while +hunting. What more easy than to stumble and for my gun to explode? But +when I knew thee, then I could not kill thee thus. I tried to provoke +thee that night, knowing thee to be a violent-tempered man; I provoked +thee into insulting me. I hoped thou wouldst have struck me, and then +it would have been easy. Thou wast very near death at that moment, for +in spite of thy gun I could have shot thee, but thou hadst grown too +much into my heart. Even in my rage I was powerless. And now here is +thy money. I have kept my word, and am an honourable man.' + +"I sprang from my bed and stopped him. 'Who was my enemy?' I cried. + +"'One who knew thee in Bosnia. This man had hoped that thou wouldst +visit him, and thy coffee was ready poisoned. When I left thy service +another man was hired to kill thee, but I followed thee wherever thou +went. Thus didst thou see me these three times.' + +"I knew now who my enemy was. A man exiled by the Austrians for +treasonable practices whilst I was still an official in Bosnia. Marko +accompanied me to the ship, but not until I swore on my honour to +otherwise throw the money into the sea would he accept it, and then +only that which he had actually earned, not a kreutzer more, for I +would have willingly made him a present. Thus Marko Ivankovic went out +of my life, but I shall never forget him." + +Such was the story we heard one evening in Podgorica, and which we +were here able to prove in part. When Marko heard that we were friends +of his former master, his face lighted up with joy, and he kissed our +hands. During our stay he was always with us, a devoted attendant and +servant. Another very interesting phase of his life had been spent in +the Hercegovina, where he fought as an outlaw for many years against +the Austrians. He still possesses two mementoes of his adventures in +that land, one in the form of an officer's undress jacket, technically +called a "blouse," and the other of a more permanent character, +namely, a maimed hand. He and his band were surprised one night by +gendarmes, and a fierce hand-to-hand fight ensued, during which an +Austrian aimed a cut at Marko with his sword. Marko caught the blow on +his hand and held the blade fast, but the gendarme drew back the +weapon sharply and severed all the tendons of his hand. Marko cannot +now open his hand, but his wounder was sped to the happy +hunting-grounds there and then, as he modestly relates. + +Shooting of the same kind as on the Lake of Scutari is to be found in +abundance all round Dulcigno. Unfortunately the Bojana and the +afore-mentioned island at its mouth was closed to us. The evening of +our arrival two men had been shot there, and it is doubtful, even had +we insisted on going, whether the authorities would have permitted it. +It is not good to visit localities just after shooting affrays. In +this instance the peasants on both sides were excited, and we +reluctantly gave up the trip to which we had looked forward for some +time. However, there was plenty left to shoot over, and we had much +good sport with pelican, duck, and crane. + +One rather unpleasant incident occurred during our stay, which very +nearly ended seriously. + +The lakes and swamps over which we shot lay at about an hour and a +half's walk from the town, and it was necessary to be there by +daybreak. We had ordered our paddlers to await us one morning at dawn, +and on our arrival were considerably annoyed to find no one there but +a boy. After a short wait we started, taking the boy and the larger +londra, or canoe, Marko and Stephan paddling as well. A longer delay +would have spoilt our morning, as the fowl disappear long before the +sun is well up in the heavens. About an hour later we discerned a boat +paddling furiously towards us, and, coming alongside, the inmates +proved to be our missing crew. Seizing our canoe, the spokesman +addressed our boy, abusing him roundly, saying he had stolen his +canoe, and demanded the paddles peremptorily. The boy looked at us +helplessly, and naturally refused, for we were in the middle of a +lake. The man then became livid with rage, rocked our canoe violently, +threatening to overturn us into the water. Then his hand dropped on +his revolver, and in his face appeared unmistakably the lust to kill. +All this passed so quickly that we had listened to the altercation in +open-mouthed astonishment. The rage and violence took us utterly by +surprise, for nothing of the kind had ever happened to us before from +the naturally courteous Montenegrins. However, now the man's rage +communicated itself to us, and in the twinkling of an eye both Marko +and myself had covered him with our firearms--we both had guns at our +side--and Stephan began to talk. Stephan was a violent-tempered man, +and now he let himself go. He spoke for some minutes, and it was +lurid. The muzzle of my carbine began to wobble, for his fluency and +comprehensiveness were distinctly amusing, while our attacker, who +soon let go the butt of his revolver, listened with pained but +undisguised admiration. "And now, thou accursed one," wound up +Stephan, after he had paid attention, in his burst of eloquence, to +the man's family, antecedents, personal appearance, and probable +future, "go back to the hotel, and await my master's return! Thou +knowest the law. For even laying the hand on thy revolver in anger, +and against strangers in our land, thou wilt be thrown into prison, +and thou wilt receive ten months. I will come and see thee, and listen +to the music of thy clanking chains, and we will talk of to-day's +doings!" By the time Stephan had finished, abject fear was depicted on +the man's face, and his companions showed signs of having heard +enough. Murmuring apologies, they sheered off, and with a slow and +thoughtful rhythm paddled back the way they had come. + +On our return to the inn several hours later the three men were +standing stiffly outside the door, cap in hand and thoroughly scared. +He who had attacked us spoke tremblingly, offering as an excuse that +they had fished all night and had but gone for some food before taking +us out again. They were direly poor, he said, and the fear of losing +their wages had upset them, the long night without sleep had destroyed +their powers of reasoning, and--would we forgive them for the +dastardly outrage? Needless to say we dismissed them, as do the +magistrates, with a caution. + +We met amongst other Montenegrin officials the district doctor, an +interesting man of varied experience. At his invitation we witnessed +the annual vaccination, which is compulsory in Montenegro. + +[Illustration: VACCINATION] + +[Illustration: BAZAAR LIFE, DULCIGNO] + +Outside the door of the principal mosque the doctor and his +assistants and some other officials took up their position one morning +and waited. Shortly afterwards crowds of children appeared on the +scene, mostly in charge of their Turkish fathers or elder brothers, +some of the latter scarcely able to carry their little burdens. Very +rarely a Turkish mother appeared, closely veiled, but the Christian +mothers invariably came; that is, the Albanian Christians from the +outlying villages. Very quaint are these women in a most picturesque +costume and carrying their infants in a cumbersome and unwieldy cradle +slung on their backs. It was a very varied assortment of babies which +was presented to the doctor, many of the Turkish children being so +emaciated and such a mass of repulsive sores, that many were sent away +as too weak. Most of them shrieked with fear, but a few came up +smiling, one and all comforted by their protector, either Turk, child, +or fond mother. The fathers invariably showed the most distressed +concern. It was a comical sight; outside the rails a motley crowd of +interested spectators and waiting children, and in the inclosure the +doctor pricking his patients one after the other in a most indifferent +manner. His clerk noted the names, and we, with some of the local +grandees, drank tiny cups of coffee and looked on. + +The Albanian or Turkish element is very strong in Dulcigno, and they +are the only Montenegrin subjects exempt from compulsory military +service. The Montenegrin authorities told us that they were very +peaceable and industrious, giving no trouble whatever. It is, after +Podgorica, the largest town in Montenegro, and does a lot of trade in +small sailing-boats down the coast. As many as seventy-five per cent +of the men are usually away at sea, carrying the Montenegrin flag as +far as Constantinople. It is quite cut off from the rest of +Montenegro, except by a mule track connecting it over a difficult +mountain path with Antivari and the rest of the country. By sea it is +connected by the Austrian-Lloyd weekly Albanian Line, and by one or +two smaller steamers which occasionally call there, with Cattaro and +the Albanian coast towns. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +We ride to Scutari--The Albanian Customs officials--We suffer much +from Turkish saddles--Arrival at Scutari, and again pass the +Customs--"Buon arrivato"--Scutari and its religious troubles--The town +and bazaar--A slight misunderstanding, Yes and No--We return to Rijeka +by steamer--The beauties of the trip--Wrong change--The prodigal son's +return, when the fatted calf is _not_ killed. + + +Before we left Dulcigno it was necessary to have our passports vised +by the Turkish Consul, as we intended returning to Podgorica _via_ +Scutari. We had to go through a lot of tedious formality, though the +Consul was a most pleasant man, and laughed at the precautions which +his orders forced him to take. But as he supplied us with horses and +an escort--for the path is considered somewhat dangerous--we resigned +ourselves to the inevitable with a good grace. Our guns and carbines +we were forced to send back to Podgorica with Stephan, as the law is +very strict against the introduction of firearms into Albania, where, +however, even the poorest peasant goes fully armed. But as strangers +our weapons would have been confiscated on the border. Verily the ways +of the Turk are passing strange. + +We made a start at four o'clock one morning just as the sun was +appearing above the hills, and the day promised to be extremely hot. +Our horses were fairly good, and the man who constituted our guard, an +Albanian, seemed a pleasant fellow, which much belied his appearance. +A more villainous-looking face, with half his teeth missing, could +hardly be imagined. However, the whole way he rolled us cigarettes +most industriously, rarely taking one from us. Our saddles were +Turkish, and were our first experience of them, and, it is to be +hoped, the last. + +The high road, or rather path, to Scutari, is considered good for +Montenegro. In reality it is a mere track, in places paved with +cobblestones atrociously laid. It is odd that many important districts +in this country are entirely unconnected by roads with the +neighbouring towns, and consequently such things as carriages do not +exist. As an instance, the whole of the country lying beyond Rijeka +towards the sea, containing two important towns, and in size about an +eighth of Montenegro, possesses one short road--from Virpazar to +Antivari--and one carriage. + +Our path lay for the first three hours through a richly vegetated +country, and the scenery at times was quite English, owing to the +amount of oak trees which overhang the path. But at nearly every open +space was a Turkish graveyard. The indiscriminate way in which the +Turks bury their dead is most extraordinary. + +We reached the River Bojana, and rode along the bank some time before +we came to the ferry. It is a broad and swiftly flowing river of quite +imposing size. The heat was now getting tremendous, and a friendly +Albanian picking apricots on the roadside gave us many handfuls, which +proved very acceptable. + +Two Albanians came across in a large barge in answer to our hail, and +we and our horses--the latter, by the way, stepping into the barge +most unconcernedly--were piloted across. Here we entered Albania, and +were examined by a fierce-looking Customs official. He turned our +baggage out on to a mat, and evidently meant to overhaul it +thoroughly, when a few _Daily Graphics_ caught his eye. After that he +dismissed the remainder of our things with a wave of the hand, which +our men promptly repacked, and retired into the papers. A lot of other +men came up, and we were pleased to afford so much delight with our +illustrated journals. + +As we were drinking coffee in the very primitive inn, a heavy +thunderstorm came on, and deluges of rain, keeping us here for about +an hour, when it cleared up sufficiently to proceed. Our landlord at +Dulcigno had packed us up a meal with a bottle or two of wine at our +orders, and we, now being hungry, inspected the basket. It was, to put +it mildly, distinctly disappointing, and not fit to eat or drink. +Added to this, my hunting knife was stolen, and we were very glad to +get on again. + +The rest of the ride was the reverse of monotonous. The path was now +as slippery as grease, and our horses floundered at every other step, +and at times we plashed through quagmires, and became bespattered from +head to foot. Several men passed us with rifles slung over their +shoulders, but interchanged salutations with our guard. With the +exception of one small revolver, we were unarmed and practically +helpless. A short time after our ride through this district, a +stranger was killed. It is very unfair to refuse foreigners the +permission to carry any arms through such dangerous parts, when it is +considered a disgrace to go unarmed by the inhabitants. Our saddles, +too, were beginning to cause us much discomfort. After the first few +hours on a Turkish saddle, every movement of the horse becomes agony. + +We reached the outskirts of Scutari about seven hours after our start, +and the town is entered by a great bridge. But before coming to the +bridge we rode through a great assembly of Albanians, judging from +their different costumes, from every part of the country, with their +flocks and herds for the market. The men were lying about singly or in +groups, sometimes under a rough tent, while the women attended to +their wants and to the flocks. Each man was heavily armed with rifle +and revolver, and turned lazily as we passed, with no friendly looks, +plainly intimating that we were intruders. Still they were fine, +fierce-looking men, though their expression is not nearly so +prepossessing as that of the Montenegrin. It was a strange scene of +life, but only one of many that abound in and about the capital of +Albania. + +At the bridge we had to dismount and cross on foot, and a very painful +operation it proved after so many hours in the saddle. + +The custom-house was situated immediately at the other end of the +bridge, and here we entered. In the guard-house, full of +disreputable-looking Turkish soldiers, were hung rifles and revolvers +on nails in great number and variety, which the mountaineers have to +leave on entering the town precincts. The custom-house official was +peacefully sleeping when we came in, and had to be awakened. We were +led to a divan, and cigarettes and coffee promptly brought to us while +our passports were examined. In a quarter of an hour we were allowed +to proceed, but a man came running after us saying that our baggage +had not been examined. He gently hinted that he had no wish to examine +it all if ..., and we understood. We forced a handful of backsheesh in +his seemingly unwilling hand, and slowly, with many muttered +exclamations, climbed into the saddles. We even did not scorn the +friendly aid of a low wall, so painfully stiff were we. + +A short ride round the once mighty and historical fortress of Scutari, +past a ruined building liberally painted with white crosses, said to +have been once the Cathedral, and where we had noticed that Christian +Albanians piously crossed themselves on passing, led us to the famous +bazaar. + +It was not our first visit to Scutari (we had visited the town by +steamer from Montenegro on several previous occasions), but as we +clattered through the evil-smelling alleys filled with a surging mass +of more or less unclean humanity, we were struck more forcibly than +ever with the picture. At times our passage was blocked by the crowds, +and misshapen figures and hideous faces would peer out of doors and +shop windows at us, and swaggering Albanians would jostle each other, +their belts for the most part empty, though many were armed in spite +of the stringent rules to the contrary. Slowly we forged our way +through this seething crowd, and emerged on the open road beyond, +leading to the town proper, which lies about half-an-hour's distance +away. + +At the hotel we dismissed the man (and the horses), who remarked with +a certain grimness, in Italian, "Buon arrivato," and we staggered into +a meal which our eight-hour fast and torture had rendered extremely +necessary. + +[Illustration: THE CONSULAR QUARTERS, SCUTARI] + +Though Scutari, strictly speaking, does not belong to this account of +Montenegro, it is still so interesting, being in former days part +of Montenegro, that it deserves some mention. + +The actual town is Mahometan, three-quarters of the inhabitants +belonging to that faith; but as the surrounding mountains are all +Christian, and it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of +Albania, religious feuds are common. The Christian Albanian belongs +literally to the "Church Militant," and emphasises his feelings +occasionally by throwing a dead pig into a mosque. On other occasions +playful Albanians have been known to tie white cloths round a fez, +thereby imitating the headgear of a Mahometan priest, and so parade +through the town. Very naturally the Mahometans object to it, and +trouble ensues. About a year ago Scutari was in a state of siege, and +closed to trade for a fortnight.[3] + +The consular quarter of the town is really quite fine, and here all +the rich merchants, of whom there are very many, live in large houses +often beautifully fitted up and surrounded by a formidable wall. A +street where such houses are situated is externally very gloomy, +nothing to be seen but high walls pierced by massive gates. Behind +those walls, however, are lovely gardens and imposing houses. + +[Footnote 3: This has again happened since writing the above.] + +The consulates are very much in evidence, with guards of +splendid-looking Albanian kavasses. Politically only Austria and Italy +are vitally interested in Albania, and these countries have large +consular staffs and fine buildings and post offices. + +Owing to the absence of the British Consul, we went to see the acting +Vice-Consul, who is a Scutarine, and a very courteous gentleman. Like +all the rich merchants of Scutari, he spoke Italian fluently, and +through him we got an insight into the merchant houses. An extremely +aged kavass, in the long white skirt or kirtle worn largely in +Scutari, and with the British Arms emblazoned on his fez, respectfully +kissed our hands, and we were told that he had been in English service +for over forty years. But he could not speak a word of any language +except Albanian. + +The Vice-Consul placed another kavass at our disposal to accompany us +on our explorations of the town, and gave him further permission to +attend us on our proposed ride to Podgorica. This latter idea we were +forced to give up ultimately, as the roads were considered too +dangerous. As a matter of fact, a big shooting affray took place in +the district through which we should have traversed a few days +afterwards. + +Quite one of the sights is Mr. Paget's house (of Paget's Horse fame), +situated in the heart of the town. The clock tower affords a fine +view, though the time that it keeps is startling to the new-comer. As +is known, the Turks have a time of their own, which has a difference +of four hours and a half to our time. It is misleading to get up at +an early hour, say six o'clock, and find that it is already half-past +ten. And again you feel you ought to be sleeping at one o'clock at +night, till you remember that it is really only about eight o'clock. + +In the bazaar of Scutari representatives of every clan in Albania can +be seen, and each tribe has his distinctive dress, so that the variety +of national costumes to be seen there can be imagined. The Scutarines +are of course very much in evidence, clad in a jaunty sleeveless and +magnificently-embroidered jacket, silk shirt, and enormous baggy +breeches of black, and heavily pleated. How heavily pleated they are +can be gathered when twenty to twenty-five yards of a kind of black +alpaca are used for one pair of knee-breeches. White stockings and a +red skull-cap--not the high Turkish fez--with a huge blue silk tassel +reaching to the waist, complete the attire. Their women-folk look +picturesque in a large scarlet cloak, with a hood half covering the +face. + +The student of Albanian costumes can make a complete study of the +subject in Scutari, rendering a journey into the vast country beyond +almost unnecessary. + +We always took a camera with us, but with very poor results. It is +against the Mahometan religion to be photographed, neither are +photographers looked upon with pleasure. We did once plant our camera +in the main street of the bazaar, to the great anger of a policeman +who ordered us off, luckily after we had secured a picture. + +When we were quite new to Scutari, it happened we were waiting for a +boat to take us off to the steamer, when we were struck with a +particularly fine old Scutariner in red fez and long flowing skirt. +Through the medium of an interpreter, I politely asked the permission +to take his picture. He solemnly nodded his head backwards, and I, +rejoiced at so good a subject, hurriedly erected the stand. When I +next glanced at him, his face was purple with rage, and he made a +threatening movement. For a moment I was quite at a loss to understand +the why and wherefore, until our interpreter hastily explained that it +was against the old man's religion. + +"But he said 'yes,'" I expostulated. "At least he nodded." + +"That means 'no,'" said the interpreter. + +"What does?" I demanded. "Saying 'yes,' or nodding it." + +Then the man explained to me at some length, as I repacked my camera, +that in the Orient to shake the head means "yes," and a nod--a quick +elevation of the chin accompanied by a click of the tongue--is +negative. This custom is largely adopted in Montenegro, particularly +amongst the peasants, but even then we never quite knew if a shake of +the head was meant in the Turkish or European sense. It is a +confusing and irritating habit, and takes months to get accustomed to. + +Visitors to Montenegro usually spend a day in Scutari, for the route +by steamer is the only perfectly safe way of entering the town. +Passengers by the steamer are not required to have their passports +vised, if they state their intention to the official, who promptly +boards the steamer on its arrival, to return by it next day. But names +and particulars are carefully noted and laid before the Governor. +During this particular visit, we were already well known to the +Turkish officer in charge of this department, a pleasant little +fellow, inordinately proud of his French which he had just learnt; but +still he worried us greatly, calling daily and even sending obvious +spies to find out how long we really meant to stay and our object. We +tried to impress upon him that we had no base intentions on the town, +and were really quite harmless individuals, but he remained friendlily +suspicious till he bade farewell to us on board the little steamer +_Danitza_. + +It is about four hours to Plavnica, and the trip across the lake is +very fine, surrounded as it is by magnificent mountains and dotted +with tiny wooded islands along its northern bank. We did not disembark +at Plavnica, the nearest point for Podgorica, but proceeded _via_ +Virpazar up the river to Rijeka, the final station of the steamer and +connecting link with Cetinje. The voyage up to Rijeka is delightful, +as the boat threads her way through a narrow channel between lofty +green hills. It is a picture of as true sylvan beauty, peace and +quiet, as can be found on many of the upper reaches of the Thames. + +At Rijeka we waited in an inn for the carriage, which we had ordered +by telegraph from Cetinje to take us back to Podgorica, and were +startled to hear a revolver-shot fired in the village. Everyone was +running excitedly to a certain small "dugan," or shop, and thither we +also directed our steps and found a bleeding Montenegrin standing over +a prostrate and insensible Turk. + +What had happened was as follows. The Montenegrin had bought some +tobacco from the Turk, and claimed to have been given two kreutzers +(under a halfpenny) short in change, whereupon the Turk accused the +other of having hidden it. + +"Thou art a liar!" promptly cried the Montenegrin, and received a +bullet in the thigh as an answer from the enraged Turk. Not seriously +hurt, the Montenegrin, equally quickly, drew his revolver and, using +it as a club, knocked the Turk insensible; in fact, he was thought to +be dead. However, we afterwards heard that he had recovered. + +Shortly afterwards we were spending a few days in Cetinje, and were +again witnesses of the final act of another small drama which was +enacted about this time. + +One morning we saw about twenty Montenegrins brought into the town +heavily chained, and on inquiry we were told the following story. + +A young man, whom we will call Andreas to prevent confusion, had been +for some time in Austria, and not finding work he returned to his +village, named Ljubotin, half-way between Rijeka and Cetinje, or, to +be more correct, just below the Bella Vista in the hollow. He arrived +in the night, penniless and in a desperate condition, and waited +outside his widowed mother's house till he saw that all the men, his +relations, had left and gone to work in the fields. Entering the house +he demanded money of his aged mother, who indignantly refused him--he +seems to have been a bad lot altogether--and as he threatened to take +it by force, she hurriedly called in the village kmet, or mayor, to +protect her. But the kmet was also aged and infirm, and brought a +young man with him. This young man remonstrated with Andreas, who was +breaking open the chest, and said-- + +"Give me thy revolver." + +"Thus I give it thee," answered Andreas, and drawing his revolver he +shot the man dead. + +Andreas then fled out of the house into the fields, and the murdered +man's relations speedily gathered together and pursued him. They +espied the fugitive running and fired at him, whereupon Andreas threw +up his arms and fell to the ground. His pursuers thinking him dead, +left him. Andreas was in reality shamming, and crawling through the +bushes saw his uncle at work and promptly fired at _him_. + +This time he met his deserts, for his uncle, unhurt, returned the +compliment and shot him through the head. + +These shots brought the original pursuers to the spot, and seeing +Andreas dead, and shot by his uncle and not by them, they began +abusing the old man for taking their lawful prey from them. + +He bared his chest dramatically, saying that as he knew that the +vendetta must continue, they should shoot him then and there and end +the matter. But they would not, and going further found another +relation of Andreas; this time a young man, and the pride of the +family. They shot and wounded him slightly. He fired and mortally +wounded one of his attackers, which was as far as they got. + +The gendarmes had come and arrested them all, and these were the men +of both sides, which we had seen that morning. + +As we knew several of them personally, we were doubly interested. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +Preparations for our tour in the Brda--We start--Where it is not good +to be giddy--A trying ride--Our inn--Nocturnal episodes--The journey +continued--Pleasant surroundings--The Montenegrin _quart +d'heure_--Arrival in Kolasin--We meet the Governor--Visiting--The Band +of Good Hope--The Crown Prince's birthday--We are ashamed. + + +The preparations for our tour through the mountainous districts of +North-East Montenegro, known as the Brda, took a few days. + +We had some difficulty about horses, though ultimately P. and I +secured two good animals for ourselves, but the third, destined for +the bulk of our baggage and Stephan, was a dilapidated apology for the +equine race. As a matter of fact, it stood the trying journey in a +remarkable manner. + +Then there were a few pots and pans for cooking purposes to purchase, +some necessary additions with which to supplement our humble fare, and +two days' rations of meat and bread. + +It made a formidable pile when we reviewed it one morning at daybreak, +though we had cut down our baggage as close as possible. It took +Stephan about an hour to load up, and when he had finished, he had +left no room on top for himself. + +We carried ourselves each a carbine, revolver, and bandolier of +cartridges, and a pair of saddlebags; but what with a camera, camping +utensils, guns and cartridges, sleeping-coats, etc., the pack-horse +was full up. However, there was no help for it, and Stephan had to +walk the first day. + +We left Podgorica about 6.30, accompanied by Dr. S., who came with us +partly on business and partly out of friendship. As he knew the +country perfectly, he did much to render our tour more interesting. + +The mountains ascend abruptly, and our path was for some hours along +the turbulent Moraca, which we met at the end of the plain. In five +minutes we were surrounded by mountain scenery. Some little way up the +valley a bridge is in the course of construction across the stream, +and will form part of the projected road from Podgorica to Kolasin. On +its completion, we were told, it would be the highest bridge in the +Balkans. Men were working on a loose and steeply sloping bank of +crumbling earth a few feet above a precipitous rock, which overhangs +the Moraca, at a height of two hundred and fifty feet. + +"They very rarely fall," said Dr. S. in answer to our unspoken +question. + +It made us giddy and sick to watch them. But our own position was +often not much safer. The path see-sawed up and down; one moment we +were splashed by the spray of a waterfall as it dashed into a creamy +pool, and the next we were up on a dizzy height, with one foot hanging +over a precipice, gazing on the foam-flecked mill-race below. Verily, +it is no journey for a giddy man to take. A single false step on the +part of the horse would send both it and its rider to a sudden death. +With the ordinary mountain pony, for the horses are practically only +that, it is not necessary to guide it--in fact it might be dangerous. +The Montenegrin rides with a loose rein over the most ticklish ground, +only tightening his grip on descending a very steep hill to help his +horse when it occasionally stumbles. + +Despite a slight nervousness, we were still able to appreciate to the +full the grand scenery of the valley of the Moraca. It turned out to +be quite as fine as anything we saw in the mountains. + +About four hours after our start we crossed the stream by a wooden +bridge and dismounted at an inn. Stabling our horses in the ground +floor, we ascended to the upper regions where the human beings live, +and clamoured for food. + +Raw ham and, of course, eggs were all that was to be had, and, as it +turned out, it was our only meal that day. The flies were terrible, +but Dr. S. comforted us, saying that every hour would bring us to +higher regions and consequently fewer flies. A prophecy which was only +partially fulfilled. + +We made the best of our repast, and after an hour's rest we made +another start. We left the river now, and seemed to climb a breakneck +hill for interminable hours. The region was barren and absolutely +waterless, while the heat was tremendous. I only remember one view +during that broiling ride. We had reached a great altitude, and were +crossing a narrow ridge. On one side was the Moraca, and on the other +the Mala, both streams mere threads in the hazy distance. + +It was the want of water that tried us more than anything. About +midday we halted for a while at a small village, and under the +refreshing shade of a large tree. Some young men kindly fetched us a +little water in a dirty vessel, which tasted abominably. + +Another long climb and we at last found shade, and rode for the rest +of the afternoon through beech forests. If the path had been bad +before, it was worse now, and it was a perfect marvel how the horses +kept their feet. I was somewhat unfortunate in my horse Alat, who was +blind in one eye, so that I always had to guide him over difficult +places. This kept me for ever on the alert, and became trying. At +every hut we pulled up and asked for milk, but invariably got "Nema" +(I have none) for an answer. The Montenegrins are singularly laconic +at times. + +Now began a long descent, so atrocious that we had to dismount and +climb down on foot, leaving the horses to pick their way as best they +could, and about seven p.m. we reached the house where we were to +spend the night. It consisted of two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom, +the sole furniture of the latter consisting of two wooden bedsteads. + +There was no food, except a half lamb, which Stephan had brought on +the pack-horse, and its condition was unpleasant from its many hours' +exposure to the sun and attendant flies. It took over an hour to cook, +and by that time our ravenous hunger had passed, stilled by a few +quarts of delicious milk. The inn--for such was the character of the +house--unlike similar institutions of more civilised lands, had +neither accommodation for man nor beast. There was no hay for our +hungry horses, who had to wait for two hours while a man took an +hour's climb up a mountain to the next village and brought back a load +of 45 kilos (100 lbs.) on his back. A little thought can be given to +this fact. Suffice it to say that this lean and athletic man took off +his shirt and literally wrung the sweat from it. This, too, at the end +of a long day's work. Part of the hay served for our beds, and little +enough it seemed too. + +P. and I were given the two beds, or rather we were forced to take +them, and I turned in at once, after looking at the mutton broth, and +fell asleep immediately. In the night I was awakened by a child crying +in the room, and in the dim light I was startled to see the +floor--empty when I went to bed--strewn with sleeping figures. + +A heap that I rightly guessed was the doctor, moved uneasily. + +"Doctor," I said softly, "are you awake?" + +"Yes," came the answer. "A small child has evidently mistaken me for +its father or mother. Will you have it?" + +I feigned sleep. + +Other figures were snoring peacefully and emphatically, but the tiny +inmates of my hay bed were painfully awake and sleep seemed banished. +However, I must have slept again, for when I awoke the room was empty, +except for Stephan, who was packing up. We had a wash in the stream +and made a hurried breakfast, and were off by a fairly early hour. +Stephan had found a horse, which must have come as a blessing to him. +He had walked yesterday about thirty miles. The path was much better +to-day, and we were enabled to make better pace. At a small village +named Lijeva Rijeka we made a long halt to allow the doctor to +transact some official business. We ate up what meat we had left, and +had great fun with the village big-wigs. + +Strangers are beings of rare occurrence in the mountains, and we +always came in for much "courteous curiosity." Dr. S. and Stephan +enjoyed answering inquiries as to who we were immensely. One time we +were engineers making plans for the new road; another time we were +enterprising merchants about to open up the country; and once a man +remarked, when he was told that I was the British Minister, "And wears +patched trousers?" He referred to the knee pads of my riding-breeches. + +Our arms, as was only natural to this fighting race, attracted great +interest. The carbines, of the Austrian Mannlicher system, invariably +went the round to a chorus of delighted appreciation. Likewise our +field-glasses, through which they would look for hours. + +Shortly after leaving this village we had a fortunately short but +exceedingly steep hill to climb, which brought us on to a magnificent +plateau of rich green grass, carpeted with wild flowers. From this +point onwards the scenery changed completely. We were in the Alpine +regions. It was very beautiful, the trees covered every hill with a +mass of green foliage, and every here and there a snow-capped mountain +peak would appear. Not only was the scenery different, but the +dwellings of the peasants took quite another style of architecture; +conical thatched roofs of a height out of all proportion to the size +of the house, and a massive verandah or loggia built into the house, +The inhabitants are snowed up for many months every year, and have to +lay in great stores of food. But how delightful it must be here in +winter! What an opportunity for snow-shoeing! The peasants can do the +journey to Podgorica in about half the time on their primitive +snow-shoes. + +The ride from here to Kolasin was nearly perfection. We skirted +rushing mountain torrents, through woodland glades and soft green +swards; the air was glorious and cool, for though the sun was powerful +there was an abundance of shade. One drawback, however, a drawback +sufficient to mar our happiness, was not denied us. Every mile or so +we had to plunge through a quagmire, equal to the worst South African +mudhole, which is saying a great deal. Much care had to be exercised +to prevent the horses getting fairly bogged or breaking their legs, +but all passed without an accident, though our condition at the end of +the day was awful. We were bespattered from head to foot. + +Several halts at hans were made during the day for rest, food, and +milk, and about three p.m. we struck the River Tara, and had crossed +the water-shed of the Adria and the Black Sea. We followed the Tara +till Kolasin, where we arrived about seven o'clock. + +Montenegrins have no idea of judging time and distance, which is +curious. There is another favourite way of describing a distance: by +cigar (cigarette) smoking. You will be informed that the distance is +one cigarette, which means that the traveller has time to smoke one +cigarette on the way. As an ordinary smoker consumes a cigarette in +about ten minutes, the distance would seem small, but it is not so. It +is better to reckon two hours. Quarters of hours and cigarette-smoking +measurements take a lot of learning, and cause much vexation to the +spirit before they are mastered. When the stranger has mastered them, +he ceases to ask, and patiently waits. One word of warning to +intending travellers. If you are told that the next village is _two_ +hours away, then rest awhile and eat and drink, for two hours means +"X." + +About seven p.m. we clattered up the little street of Kolasin, which +is the capital of the same-named district. + +It is a beautiful mountainous tract of country, as unlike to +Montenegro proper as is the sun to the moon, richly wooded with dense +primeval beech forests, full of rushing streams and rich pasturages. +The little town itself is rather uninteresting; it has about 1,500 +inhabitants, all Montenegrin, for the Turk has almost entirely +disappeared. Only in a ruined mosque and one or two dilapidated +Turkish houses is the traveller reminded that once the Unspeakable was +master here. The houses are all built with the afore-mentioned high +conical roof and of substantial aspect. + +Our inn was a curiosity, and as we drew rein before it we noticed a +crowd of men in the balcony of the first or top floor, for here the +ground floor was devoted to stabling. Doctor S. hastily whispered that +the Governor and General of Kolasin was one of the men upstairs. On +going up the rickety stairs, we were at once introduced to him, and +received most friendlily. He was a small wiry man, and reminded one +strongly in appearance of Lord Roberts. Also, he spoke excellent +German, having studied years ago in the Viennese Military Academy. +Very kindly he promised to assist us during our stay in every way, and +invited us to his house next morning. + +We overlooked the Market Square and had real beds, though the only +available room was tiny. Dr. S. and Stephan slept somewhere else. +After the heat of the valley, we found the air very keen up here; +Kolasin lies over 3,000 feet, and is the highest town of any size in +Montenegro. + +On the following morning we visited the Governor Martinovic formally +in his house. It is only recently that he has ceased to be the +Artillery General of Montenegro, a post which he held all through the +Turkish war, taking part in all the important engagements. + +His ambition is to see the road connecting his district with Podgorica +finished, which would bring the two towns within a six hours' drive +of each other, instead of the present two days' very hard riding. The +benefit to Kolasin is obvious. At present the vast beech forests, +literally rotting, could be utilised, for wood is dear in the barren +districts of Montenegro. Pyrite, too, is found in great quantities. In +fact, Kolasin is cut off from the rest of the country. Everything must +be painfully carried on horses or mules, and for a woman, other than a +peasant, it is a journey of great difficulty. Side saddles are things +unknown, and we heard of one lady, the wife of a foreign minister, who +bravely undertook the journey, spending six days on the way from +Podgorica. The Governor gave us a graphic description of the +difficulties that he had experienced when he brought his family up +here. + +We also visited the local doctor, a most extraordinary individual with +a crank. He had started a Montenegrin temperance society, called the +"Band of Good Hope." At present, I believe, the three hundred odd +members were all from Kolasin, and it was meeting with very little +encouragement. The cultivation of plums for the manufacture of spirits +is a staple industry, and these peasants wish to know what they shall +do with their fruit. Besides, as the Montenegrins very rarely get +drunk, it seems rather an unnecessary movement, and the Prince himself +does not favour it. + +Bismarck once said that England's greatness began to diminish when the +"three-bottle man" died out; perhaps Prince Nicolas has like thoughts +of his hardy subjects, who certainly can consume enormous quantities +of alcohol with impunity. Besides, it would destroy a large source of +the revenue, which Montenegro cannot afford to do. In the meantime the +gallant three hundred feel very unhappy. + +The few days that we spent in Kolasin were passed pleasantly in daily +excursions into the surrounding country shooting, though with +indifferent results. The Crown Prince Danilo's birthday came one day +during our stay, and Governor, staff, and officials went to church +attired in glorious raiment. They literally sparkle in gold lace +embroidery, orders, and decorations, and for a gorgeous but absolutely +tasteful effect commend me to the gala dress of the Montenegrin high +official. It is the most artistic blending of gold, crimson, blue, and +white. + +After the service spirits were served out free on the market-place +(what agonies must the three hundred have suffered!), and a dance was +formed. The national dance--in this instance the "kolo"--is usually +performed by men, though the women do sometimes join in, and it is a +slow and stately measure. + +[Illustration: THE KOLASIN MARKET PLACE] + +[Illustration: THE KOLO] + +The men place their hands on each other's shoulders and form a +ring, which, however, is never completed. New men can join in, but a +space is always left open. One step is taken sideways to the left, and +then three to the right, and the movement is accompanied by singing. +The singers are three or four men on the opposite horns of the circle, +who alternately chant verses in honour of the Prince. + +The ring of men slowly danced their way from the Market Square to the +Governor's house, where more spirits were given, and an accordion +player joined the ring. + +Loud cries of "Zivio!" followed the cessation of every movement. We +followed and went in to the Governor, to offer our congratulations and +drink His Royal Highness's health. The room was quite full, two or +three men being rough peasants, relations of the Governor. There is +very little class distinction in Montenegro. Often the humblest +peasant can claim relationship with the Voivoda, or Duke, of the +province, and will always be cordially received. + +We felt quite ashamed of our appearance--leather coats, collarless +shirts, and so forth--amongst such rich costumes. The complete outfit +of a Montenegrin dandy costs over forty pounds, and takes a bit of +beating. + +Carefully tucking our rough riding-boots under our chairs, to avoid +marking the contrast with our host's resplendent jack-boots of +patent-leather, and buttoning up our coat collars, we endeavoured to +make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible in this brilliant +assembly. But in spite of our tramp-like garb, we were always highly +honoured guests. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +Montenegro's oldest building--The ride to the Moraca Monastery--A +perilous bridge and ascent--The Abbot's tale--We inspect the +monastery--The health of the King is drunk--The relative merits of +Boers and Montenegrins--The Abbot makes us presents--We visit a +peasant's house and a Homeric feast--A feu-de-joie--Departure from +Kolasin--We are mistaken for doctors again--Raskrsnica. + + +In Montenegro there are, strangely enough, with one famous exception, +no buildings of any great antiquity. This, however, can be easily +accounted for by the repeated invasions of the Turks, who ravaged the +land with a merciless fury. Montenegro was the only Balkan state which +they were unable to bring to obedience, and the struggle, which began +after the battle of Kossovo, has, perhaps, not reached its final stage +yet, though other enemies have supplanted the Turk. + +Far away in the heart of the mountains, and perched on the top of a +high cliff, at whose feet the turbulent mountain torrent Moraca races +past, there is situated a monastery, which takes its name from the +river below. + +This monastery is the only building that has escaped the scourge of +the Turk, and, though often attacked, only once has it been partially +burnt. Like its famous sister at Ostrog, it is constructed in a +position where Nature has provided the best means of defence, and +this the hand of man has skilfully utilised and improved. It was +founded in the year 1252 by one of the sons of the famous Servian +king, Stephan Nemanja, and dedicated to S. Nicholas. Right well has +the saint watched over and protected his feof. + +During our stay at Ostrog the Archbishop of Montenegro impressed upon +us most strongly the necessity of visiting Moraca before leaving the +country. He himself had lived there many years as the Archimandrite, +and was besieged by the Turks during his sojourn within its walls. + +So, accompanied by a guide, with whom the Governor of Kolasin had +provided us, we made an early start one morning for the monastery. We +had a perfect ride through dense beech forests, skirting a noisy +little stream, of which we were able to obtain a glimpse every now and +then through a break in the trees. On either side of the ravine the +hills rose steeply to some height. We soon passed a lonely cross in a +small clearing, erected to the memory of five Montenegrins who had +been surprised and murdered there by the Turks. + +It is always so in Montenegro, when the traveller is filled with a +sense of peace at the grandeur of the wild mountainous scenery, or the +beauty of a sylvan forest glade, a rough cross, or cairn of stones, +will be pointed out where men have met a sudden and violent death. + +[Illustration: A TYPICAL ROAD] + +Once, as our path led up a steep incline, our guide told us +graphically how that, a few weeks ago, both a horse and its rider had +fallen down the one hundred feet into the river below. The path was +very narrow, and he strongly advised us in passing to take care, which +remark seemed slightly superfluous after the vivid description with +which he had just favoured us. + +Crossing the stream we dismounted, and climbed to a small grassy +plateau on which a church is being built for the shepherds of the +district. It commanded a beautiful view. The path now ascended to a +great height, and much walking had to be done, for a ridge of hills +lay between us and our destination. At the top the valley of the +Moraca could be seen with a magnificent background of rugged +mountains. A breakneck descent of two and a half hours, most of it on +foot, brought us to the river, which was crossed by a picturesque and +broken-down bridge. On a cliff opposite stood the monastery. + +While leading my horse over the bridge I chanced to rest for a moment +on the central arch to enjoy the view. The guide, who was behind me, +thrust me unceremoniously forward. It is not always safe to admire +scenery from Montenegrin bridges. Certainly, on inspecting the bridge +from below, he seemed to have shown no unnecessary caution. Two of +the arches had completely given, and may collapse at any moment. + +A very steep and dangerous path leads up to the plateau on which the +monastery is situated. It was nearly the cause of a serious accident +to me, for my saddle gave, and began to slip backwards. Had the horse +made one false step at this critical moment I should have been dashed +over a precipice of eighty feet. Just before the gates stands a small +inn, where we left our horses and proceeded on foot. + +The monastery strongly resembles a fortress, for the massive walls +surrounding it are liberally loop-holed, and it can be entered from +one side only. We entered a large courtyard with buildings on all +sides. At the back a great mountain ascends obliquely, and in front an +inaccessible precipice descends to the river. It was doubtless a tough +morsel for the Turks in the olden days, though modern artillery would +make very short work of it. + +The Archimandrite, or Abbot, soon came down and welcomed us most +cordially, conducting us to his room, where we were regaled with the +inevitable strong black coffee. He was a big, handsome man, with the +long beard and hair which all the priests of the Greek Church wear. +Quiet and benevolent as he looked, he is famed throughout the whole +country as a mighty warrior; for in times of war the priests fight +with the soldiers for their beloved freedom. Strangely enough, in +the last war with Turkey he played an important role in saving the +very monastery of which he is now the spiritual head. He was then a +colonel, and commanded a battalion. The following story of the rout of +the Turks is taken down from his own lips. + +[Illustration: THE MORACA MONASTERY] + +In those years (1876-7) all this district was in the hands of the +Sultan, and the Turks had just made an unsuccessful attack upon the +Monastery of Ostrog. Their army, under the command of the famous +Mehmet Ali Pasha, was retreating on Kolasin, pursued by the +Montenegrins. On reaching the Monastery of Moraca they halted with the +intention of first destroying it, and Mehmet Ali placed a battery in a +commanding position on the opposite heights for the bombardment. + +Unknown to the Turks, half a battalion of Montenegrins were stationed +there as garrison, and the Pasha, thinking that he had but a handful +of priests to deal with, sent down a small detachment to effect an +entrance. The gate was opened, and they were enticed inside. Hardly +had the last man set his foot within the courtyard when the +Montenegrins fell upon them and beheaded them every one. + +The Turks, deeming all safe, sent a second detachment to assist in +bringing out the booty, and they met with a similar fate. Then Mehmet +began to suspect that something was wrong, and made preparations for +a bombardment; but it was too late. A brigade of pursuing Montenegrins +had come up. They fell upon him from flank and rear, and a horrid +slaughter ensued. + +It must be confessed that the account seems incredible, and is, +doubtless innocently enough, greatly exaggerated. But the worthy Abbot +distinctly stated that out of 25,000 Turks only 2,000 or 3,000 +escaped. It was indeed "a terrible tale of a Turk that is ghastly and +grim and gory." The Montenegrins were but men 1,800 strong, just three +battalions, one of which was commanded by Michael Dozic, the Abbot, +and his battalion it was that took the Turks in the rear, throwing +them into utter confusion. + +To-day the peasants still find heaps of bones in the crevices and +hollows of the rocks. + +After this very pleasant story, we descended into the courtyard, which +is formed in a semicircle. In the centre stands the church. It is +built in the shape of a cross, and its porch and interior are +gorgeously adorned with the most quaint frescoes; indeed, every +particle of the walls and ceiling is covered with frescoes of the most +crude design and vivid colouring, and the altar-screen is +magnificently gilded. The colours are well preserved, and seem as +fresh as when the monks first laid them on, for the painting all dates +back to the time of the foundation. + +It was somewhat horrifying to find that the frescoes behind the +altar-screen were completely scribbled over. At first we put this down +to impious tourists who delight in leaving their miserable names on +the most historical buildings; but, on closer inspection, we found +that they were copious notes in the form of a diary. The Abbot told us +that Mitrofan Ban, the Archbishop, had written them during his lengthy +abbacy many years ago. + +There is another church, or rather tiny chapel, within the monastery +which is about a century older than the rest of the buildings, and the +interior is likewise covered with frescoes of the same crude and vivid +painting. They represent scenes from the life of S. Nicholas, and the +chapel is only used once a year during the pilgrimage which takes +place on the feast of their patron saint. + +Every year large numbers of Montenegrins flock to the monastery to +offer prayers and offerings. Just outside the walls stands a small +cannon, with a Turkish inscription, which four Montenegrins carried +away one night from Kolasin when that town was in Turkish hands. Not +only the bravado of such a deed, but the athletic feat of carrying +such a weighty object over that difficult country, are very +characteristic of this people. It is fired annually during the feast +of S. Nicholas. + +The worthy Abbot was greatly annoyed to find that we had ordered food +below, and still more when he heard that we were returning to Kolasin +the same afternoon. He repeatedly urged us to spend a few days with +him, but, enjoyable as the visit would have been, previous engagements +forbade our acceptance. + +A second priest waylaid us as we were leaving for our meal, and +carried us off to his room, where more coffee was served. He had +travelled much in Turkey and the Black Sea, and we had a very pleasant +conversation, but, after a short time, the pangs of hunger forced us +to excuse ourselves. Our humble meal, which we partook of in the best +chamber (and only bedroom), was hardly over when the young priest +again rejoined us, bringing with him an enormous bottle of wine. Very +solemnly he filled our glasses, and proposed the health of His Majesty +King Edward VII. Our surprise was so great that we almost forgot to +drink. And then came many questions as to the progress of the Boer +war, questions with which, by the way, we were often assailed by the +more intelligent classes during our travels. + +To quote an instance which happened to myself once in Cetinje. While +waiting outside the monastery for the appearance of the Prince, who +was attending divine service within, I entered into conversation with +a gendarme. We spoke of many things, and to my surprise, for he was +but an ignorant peasant, he inquired as to the progress of the war. +He asked the nature of the country, on which subject I was luckily +able to enlighten him. Parts of it are not at all unlike Montenegro. +At this he pricked up his ears. + +"Thou hast been to the Transvaal?" he asked with increased interest. +"Are the people brave like we are?" + +"They are brave," I said, "but not as ye are. They only shoot at long +distances, and object very strongly to hand-to-hand fighting." + +The stalwart Montenegrin looked puzzled. + +"Shooting is good," he answered; and after a pause he added, "at +_first_, but that is not fighting. It is an empty glory to shoot one's +enemy, if one cannot prove it afterwards." I knew he was alluding to +the decapitating process. "And then the wild charge, the cutting with +the handjar when rifles are thrown away--_that_ is fighting." + +I explained that our soldiers loved the bayonet as much as the +Montenegrin loved the handjar. + +"But what can you do when the other side won't wait for it?" I asked. + +"Then they are cowards," he answered judicially. "Are thy countrymen +all as big as thou art?" he continued thoughtfully, feeling my biceps +and scrutinising me closely. + +"Some of them are bigger," I said. + +"Then the Boers will have no chance," he said emphatically, and at +this moment the Prince emerged from the church. This personal allusion +to my size I took as a great compliment, for in a land where physical +strength is an all-important factor candid appreciation of this kind +is not meted out to one and all alike. + +Extremely fatigued after our early start and long ride, it was an +effort to keep from falling asleep, and noticing this the priest left. +We were both comfortably asleep in corners when the wretched landlord +appeared with armfuls of sheets and pillows at the order of the +priest. He cruelly woke us up and proceeded to make beds. After that +all thought of sleep was gone. Furthermore, in dirty and dusty +riding-clothes one has not the heart to lie down on spotlessly clean +sheets. + +Soon afterwards the horses were ready, and we cantered up to the +monastery to take our leave. But leave-taking was no such easy matter. +Our pockets were filled with dried fruits, and after we were already +in the saddle the Abbot presented us with packets of incense which he +hurriedly fetched from the church. Waving him and the other fathers a +last farewell, we started on our long ride back to Kolasin. + +During our rambles in Kolasin the doctor took us to a peasant's house +whom he knew very well. This acquaintance proved one of our most +pleasant recollections of the country. The head of the house was a +fine-looking man, lean and active, and possessed many decorations for +past acts of bravery in the field. His son was in prison at the time +for some political offence, but his daughter-in-law and two little +babies, besides two or three unmarried daughters and sons, were living +with him. The whole family outdid themselves in courtesy to us, and we +were, as usual, considerably embarrassed by the behaviour of the +women-folk. Though we went several times to the house, they would +rarely seat themselves while we were present, and invariably kissed +our hands in coming and going. + +The doctor played games of cards with our host, but the united efforts +of P. and myself failed to discover any method or system in the game. +The doctor tried to explain at first, but after five minutes we begged +him to desist. So we sat and looked on, drinking cups of black coffee +and endeavouring to make friendly overtures to the babies, who openly +showed that they considered us distinctly dangerous. + +The house itself was curious. The ceiling was low and the walls were +of great thickness. The windows were so small that it was barely +possible to squeeze one's head through the opening. The idea of the +house is to obtain the maximum amount of warmth, for the cold of these +mountainous regions is intense in winter. In summer, however, these +houses are delightfully cool. + +The evening before our departure from Kolasin we were invited to an +open-air feast at the peasant's country house. + +The "country house" was, it is true, only a rough wooden shanty, but, +as our meal was outside, it didn't matter. + +When we arrived, after an hour's walk, we found a table set out with a +white cloth and three wooden chairs on a green slope overlooking the +valley of Kolasin. It was a delightful spot. Some little distance away +the last few turns were being given to a lamb roasted whole on a spit +over an open fire. + +The feast was soon served up. The entire lamb, on a great wooden +platter, an enormous bowl of milk, eggs, sheeps' cheese, and unlimited +spirits. The women-folk waited on us and kept our platters full. Other +men with their wives joined us, not to partake of this Homeric feast, +but to see us gorge ourselves. It may not be a nice expression, but we +were literally forced to eat to an uncomfortable state of repletion. +They took no denial, and even then the lamb was not nearly finished. +These mountaineers eat meat only on great festivals, and consume +enough to last them for the next few months. They did not realise that +we were content with sufficient to last us for the next few hours. + +Our glasses, too, were kept replenished with the potent spirit of the +land, and our respective healths were drunk, on the average, once +every three minutes. When this began to pall they toasted each other, +in which we had naturally to join, and these were followed by +patriotic toasts. It was rather an uproarious evening. + +About ten we took our leave, and our hosts drew their pocket cannons +and started firing; we naturally replied, and a deafening fusillade +went on till every man had emptied his revolver. With singing ears we +returned to our hotel to find the town alarmed, excited groups were +congregated in the Market Square. Our _feu-de-joie_ was speedily +explained, and the men flocked into the inn. As a slight return for +the fright we had given them, we paid for a few quarts of spirits. The +Governor overlooked our law-breaking, for after dark firing is not +allowed, and no doubt he envied us in his heart, for, poor man, he is +in the clutches of the Band of Good Hope, much, we heard, to his +disgust. + +We left next day, and had a hearty send-off from the town, who turned +out _en masse_ to witness our departure. The local doctor was not +present. We had found no favour in his eyes. + +Shortly after leaving the town we passed the Montenegrin Militia, hard +at their weekly drill. No uniform is worn, every man coming in his +everyday clothes, bringing only his rifle. But they drill very well +and the discipline is excellent. A company was being dismissed as we +came up, and a large number accompanied us for a long way. + +The ride was magnificent that afternoon. The way wound up and up, and +our last glimpse of Kolasin showed us the little town far away below +us. + +The usual Montenegrin trick was again played successfully on us, the +"only two hours' ride" developing into a journey of six hours. But +to-day we did not murmur; it is only at the end of a long and trying +day that this style of humour is out of place. + +For two hours our path threaded its way through dense beech forests. +At one spot P. and I had ridden on so far in advance of the others +that we dismounted and waited for them to come up. In the interval I +was assailed by a man with a bandaged head. Doctors always wear +European clothes in Montenegro, and without further inquiry, this man +proceeded to sit down before me and remove his bandages, disclosing +ultimately a ghastly eye. + +"What must I do for it, Gospodin Doctor?" he asked at length, for +beyond the usual greeting he had not spoken. One glance was +sufficient, and P. got up and left us. + +"Take it away!" I said, with averted face. "I am not a doctor, and +never shall be." + +I felt him looking at me with his uninjured eye. These simple +peasants are always under the impression that our modern education +comprises that of medicine. + +"But, Gospodin, it has been like this for weeks," he went on, "and is +very painful." + +"There is a doctor at Kolasin. Go to him. _He_ will be pleased." + +Evidently much hurt at my indifference, he slowly replaced his +bandages and departed. Then our party caught us up, and we continued +our way. + +Later on we emerged from the woods, and, still climbing, we rode for +the remaining distance on magnificent grassy slopes far above the +forest belt. Several snow-patches still lay unmelted in the shady +hollows, and often far below us. From this ridge we obtained our first +good view of the lofty Kom, the second highest mountain in Montenegro, +and our ultimate destination. + +These great downs, across which we rode, had been only thrown open to +the public, so to say, a few days ago, and were full of flocks of +sheep and goats and large herds of cattle, grazing to their hearts' +content after their long winter's imprisonment in the villages below. +The Government fix the date when the shepherds may migrate into the +mountain pasturages and when they must leave again for the lowlands. + +We overtook or met several parties of Montenegrins, and even Turks, +for the border is not far distant, travelling from place to place. We +were viewed with obvious interest, and invariably greeted with +respect, though there is nothing of subservience in a Montenegrin's +salute. He feels himself in no way your inferior as a man until you +have proved your superiority in shooting or physical strength. + +In this part of the country Dr. S. always told the peasants that we +were engineers, as a road is being contemplated. + +About seven p.m. we branched off from the main path, and descended on +foot a steep path into a thickly wooded valley. In a clearing of the +trees stood a collection of wooden huts, a summer village of +shepherds, called Raskrsnica. + +It was our halting-place, and as our visit had been notified, we were +received by a schoolmaster and taken to his hut, which was placed at +our disposal. + +No schools are held during the summer months, and the teachers often +turn shepherds, as in this case, and migrate with their flocks to the +mountains. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A typical mountain hut--Costume of the north-eastern borderers--Supper +and a song--We go out hunting, and cause excitement--The Feast of +Honour--We ride to Andrijevica--Andrijevica and our inn--The +Voivoda--We go to church--Turkish visitors--Alarums. + +[Illustration: OUR HUT AT RASKRSNICA] + + +It was nearly dark by the time that we were unloaded and had got our +traps into our hut. As half our time was spent in similar +constructions during our mountain tour, it may be as well to describe +them now. + +They are usually built entirely of wood, rough, irregularly hewn +planks, and no attempt is made to make them air-tight; often great +crevices gape, through which a hand can be put. The roof is generally +fairly water-tight. A man _can_ stand up-right in the middle, but the +roof slopes steeply down to the sides. The word "can" is used +advisedly, _i.e._ if one is able to breathe the densely smoky +atmosphere at the top. Chimneys or outlets in the roof to permit the +smoke to escape are unknown, and when cooking is going on, or at night +when a roaring fire is kept burning, the appearance of the hut from +outside gives a stranger the impression that it is on fire, and that +the flames must burst out at any moment. It leaks smoke at every +crevice. + +Inside is an open space reserved for the wood fire, and a primitive +arrangement, often a chain suspended from the roof, for hanging the +cooking pot. A few blocks of wood serve as easy-chairs, beds there are +none, an armful of rushes or grass, which is usually damp, serving +their purpose. On entering, the new-comer will first cough violently, +then choke, and finally make a hurried exit to the fresh air. +Summoning courage and with a fresh supply of oxygen, he dashes into +the hut again, and throws himself on his heap of rushes. As the smoke +rises, the atmosphere on the ground is less dense, but the penetrating +smell of the burning wood is sufficiently strong to make his eyes pour +with water. These are first impressions; later on, he can even sit up, +and after a few days will be able to walk comparatively slowly in and +out of the hut. + +Usually at the back is a small partition, behind which a rough shelf +can be found, laden with the day's milking and cheese. The whole +family sleep in the hut, no division separating the men from the +women. But the Montenegrin peasant sleeps in his clothes, so privacy +is considered unnecessary. + +Dr. S. was here officially to inspect the flocks, and had an +appointment with the district captain. He was not there, and shortly +after our arrival a man turned up, delivering a message from the +captain, somewhat in the following fashion. + +"Sir, it is my privilege to be the bearer of the captain's message. +The captain would have you know that he will do himself the honour to +meet you here to-morrow in the early morning." + +The man stood smartly at the attention and saluted at the conclusion. + +It is extraordinary the grandiloquent language which even the most +humble peasant will use, and he speaks with the polished ease of a +gentleman. + +The baggy blue breeches and red jackets are not worn in these regions, +and are replaced by white woollen tight-fitting trousers and jackets, +bordered with black braid. In fact, the dress strongly resembles that +worn by the Albanians, except that the black braid is narrower and +less elaborate, and the national cap of Montenegro is carried instead +of the white head-cloth or fez. The costume is national, and has not +been altered to that of the Montenegrin proper, because it is +considered warmer. The first time that Prince Nicolas visited his new +subjects a man said to him in that characteristically familiar way in +which the Prince's subjects are wont to address him:-- + +"Gospodar" ("Lord," and the universal form of address for the reigning +Prince), "wilt thou not exchange thy blue breeches for our white +trousers. They would suit thee better." + +The answer of the Prince is not recorded. + +Stephan called us into our shanty when the evening meal was ready. Our +host wished to slaughter a lamb, but we deferred that till the morrow, +and we ate what we had brought with us. It was, barring the smoke, a +delightful experience, and its charm never diminished. That hour spent +before turning in, after supper, when the tobacco tins circulate, and +the shepherds crowd in from the neighbouring huts, made an impression +which it will not be easy to forget. + +The fire, with its dancing flames and uneven light, shows up the ring +of men squatting round it. Everything beyond is shrouded in +impenetrable gloom, throwing out the wild picturesque figures, with +their bronzed and honest faces, in bold relief. The ruddy glare rounds +off all hard corners and softens every inharmonious line, flashing +fitfully here and there on a steel revolver barrel. The musical voices +rise and fall, and outside the stars are shining. All is peace and +calm. + +That first evening a young shepherd, strikingly handsome, with +clean-cut features, went outside and sang a wild Albanian song in our +honour, his weird chanting echoing in the mountains. Then came a +crackling of pistol-shots from the near distance, a novel way of +applause. With very happy feelings we rolled ourselves in our great +coats and went to sleep. + +Next morning we rose at five, and had a delightful wash in a stream of +icy-cold water. As usual, our ablutions caused much amusement. The +mountaineer contents himself with a ladle of water poured into his +hands. Very shortly afterwards the captain arrived. He insisted on +going out shooting with us, as well as the schoolmaster. We plunged +into the forest and were soon deep in the excitement of stalking. + +P. was with the captain, and the schoolmaster and myself soon lost +them. Later on, I too lost my companion, and it being near our +advertised time for dining, I made my way back, which presented very +little difficulty. On coming in view of the clearing I was received +with shouts. Not being gifted with the Montenegrin skill at hearing +and talking at great distances I walked on, and was ultimately able to +distinguish the question as to where I had left P. I answered that I +had not seen him for hours, and passed on to our hut. + +The excitement seemed to wax, and Dr. S. speedily enlightened me as to +the cause. Both the captain and the schoolmaster had returned, _i.e._ +they had stood and talked from a hill about a mile away, saying that +P. was lost. + +"Well," I said, "P. knows at what time we eat, and I have never known +him to be late for a meal yet. And it is in an hour's time." + +"But the woods are dangerous. There are bears. The Albanian frontier +is not far away. He can lose himself for hours," were among the +remarks that I could hear. + +"Considering that he has a magazine carbine and a revolver, I don't +think that we need be afraid. It is easy enough to find one's way +back, and P. will have the sense to watch the sun. He has been out +alone before in his life," I remarked, feeling rather irritated. + +Then an old lady began abusing me for having deserted him, "and he so +young, a mere child," etc., until I fairly lost my temper. + +"You must not take it amiss," explained the doctor, who knew me. "It +is only their love for you." + +"Thanks," said I. "But that is enough. If that old lady doesn't stop +expressing her love for me shortly ----. Look here, doctor," I +continued, waxing wrath, "you stop her. You understand the more +talkative sex better than I do. I'll stop the men." + +About ten minutes before dinner P. turned up, serenely unconscious of +the trouble, telling us how he had found a delightful shepherd, who +had carried him off to his shanty and feasted him on bread and milk, +but that he was still ravenously hungry. The incident did not close +here either. When P. heard of the anxiety caused by his absence he +took it as a personal insult to himself, and began abusing everyone +in his turn. But all the same, the people remained obdurate, and we +were never left alone, though they let us ramble whither we wished. + +Our dinner that day was a kind of feast of honour to the captain. The +lamb was served, as usual, whole. Half a dozen men joined us besides +our party. The doctor, P., and I had knives and forks and a plate +apiece. + +"Help yourself to all you want at the beginning," said the doctor +kindly. "Take as much as you think you can possibly stow away." + +We were glad afterwards that we had followed the doctor's advice, for +when we had finished helping ourselves the men fell upon that lamb and +rent it limb from limb with their horny hands. Montenegrins have not +pretty table manners. Forks are superfluous, a hunting-knife will do +for the bread, and spoons are only used for fluids, when they dip in +the common bowl. + +That evening we went out shooting in another direction, and were amply +rewarded for an exceeding tiring climb, although deer were not +abundant. In fact, the moment that the shepherds take possession of +the mountains, game nearly always disappears, returning with the peace +and solitariness of the autumn. + +On the following day we left Raskrsnica at an early hour _en route_ +for Andrijevica, which lies at a considerably lower altitude than +Kolasin. Consequently we had a lot of downhill work. We had another +magnificent view of the Kom on our way, but otherwise our ride of +about six hours was uneventful. Andrijevica is first seen from a great +height, and really looks quite close. + +"Half an hour," said our guides, "will see us in the town." + +The descent was of a breakneck description, and had to be done on +foot. The heat was tremendous, and, the way proving to be an hour and +a half, our tempers suffered. It was about noon when we rode into the +little town or village, for it is nothing more, though the capital of +the Vasovic district, Montenegro's most eastern and consequently most +dangerous possession. It borders on Gusinje, the wildest and fiercest +of Albania's clans. + +The office of the Governor, or Voivoda, to give him his proper +Montenegrin title, corresponding to our word Duke, is therefore no +sinecure. His position calls for more diplomacy and acumen than any +other in the country. A false move, a thoughtless action or word could +plunge the tribes of Northern Albania and Montenegro in a fierce +warfare. But a few weeks after our departure, war very nearly did +break out at Mokra, over a dispute as to the rights of a small +grazing-ground, and was only averted at the last moment. Then +Andrijevica was full of troops, for 25,000 Albanians stood fully armed +on the border, and a pistol-shot would have started an invasion of +Montenegro. + +[Illustration: ANDRIJEVICA] + +The little township is prettily situated on a slight eminence at the +junction of the Lim and the Perusica, the former a tributary of the +Danube. It has a population of five hundred clad in the white Albanian +dress, and is celebrated, rightly or wrongly, for the beauty of its +women. Certainly our landlady was a pretty enough looking woman of +most refined manners. The men are very fine-looking fellows. The +country all round is magnificent. + +Our inn was also the town bakery, and we had a nice large bedroom well +stocked with flies, and real beds, though in daytime it was the dining +and drawing-room combined. + +Really many of the inns we visited in Montenegro could be aptly +described by the song sung in London a few years ago of a coster +describing his home. He informed the audience that if they wanted to +see his library, his kitchen, or his best spare bedroom, "You just +stops where you is." In slightly more grammatical language, it could +be well applied to these hostels. + +Towards evening we were taken and presented to Voivoda Lakic Voivodic, +who was sitting in semi-state before the house of a rival +drinking-place. + +He had a remarkably strong face, and was of powerful build. Speedily +we were introduced to his adjutant, the town captain, and other +officials, and a great circle was formed of which we were the centre +of attraction. Our arms were brought out and examined with great glee +and appreciation; also our field-glasses came in for their usual share +of admiration, and our clothes were likewise carefully overhauled. + +When we laughingly said that we hoped for some sport with the +Albanians and perhaps to shoot a few, our popularity was complete; our +backs were clapped, and a great scene of joy and enthusiasm took +place. Such remarks are liable to be taken rather literally in this +region. + +We gave the Voivoda and his adjutant a dinner one evening, the best +that we could manage, though it certainly was not the kind of feast to +which one would ordinarily invite a Duke. + +Being five of us, our table was not big enough, so we joined on a +second smaller and lower table at which the doctor and P. sat. P. put +a salt-cellar between the upper table and the lower, saying that as +they now sat "below the salt," they could behave as they liked. It was +a most uproarious meal, and later on the Voivoda retired to a bed +which was just behind him to laugh himself out. + +[Illustration: CHURCH PARADE] + +On Sunday we went to church--at least we went _to_ the church and +met the Voivoda outside. It was a very hot day and the little edifice +was crowded. We had a suspicion that the worthy Voivoda came late on +purpose. He just glanced at the crowd which had overflowed into the +open space before the door, and to the relief of his staff proposed a +quiet cup of coffee instead. Under the shade of the trees, discreetly +apart from the merrymakers who were celebrating the Mass of a departed +comrade, we sat in the customary ring and were served with coffee. It +was a pleasant hour, and as the Voivoda, who was a bit of a wit, if +somewhat irreverent, said, "This is better than inside." + +The church was about a quarter of a mile from the town and lay almost +hid in a beautiful wood. The bells, as is often the case, were hung +about a hundred yards away from the church on a wood scaffolding, and +on the green grass sat many groups of Montenegrins. + +The occasion was a feast. Mass was being said for the soul of a man +who had recently died, and it is the custom for the dead man's +relations to give a feast to all comers. Large dishes of roast lamb +were being handed round to the men who sat in circles, the women +eating apart, and much spirit was drunk. About six priests were also +present, feasting. + +We had altogether a very merry stay in Andrijevica, and the men of +Vasovic are sturdy, honest, fearless, and excellent companions. + +Once, as I was admiring an old pistol worn by a man who was visiting +us--for men were continually dropping in on us at any hour, in a most +unceremonious fashion--he promptly took it off and gave it to me. It +had been carried thirty years by a priest, he told me, before it came +into his possession, and had killed at least twenty men. Afterwards I +gave him a present of six florins. + +There are no police in Andrijevica, but the population take their turn +to patrol the town at night with rifles. This is not to keep order +amongst themselves, but as a guard against an eventual raid of +Albanians. Crime is unknown in this mountain town. + +One afternoon we were startled to see half a dozen Turkish officers +ride into the town, accompanied by an escort of Turkish soldiers, all +fully armed. They were proceeding to Gusinje, where fighting had been +taking place and many men had been killed. It is very curious to +observe the way that the Turkish and Montenegrin authorities visit +each other, for the intricate formation of the border often +necessitates the traversing of a small portion of the other's country. +Owing to the danger, everyone goes fully armed. The greatest possible +harmony reigns between the Turks and Montenegrins, as the formidable +array of Turkish decorations which adorn the breasts of all +Montenegrin border officials will testify. The Albanian is the only +cause of trouble, and it is chiefly against him that the Albanian +borders are garrisoned by Turkish troops. + +In the above-mentioned border dispute, the Turks sent down a +formidable army to assist the Montenegrins and prevent an incursion +into a friendly state. Truly things have changed very much, for it was +not so very many years ago that Albania held aloof when Turk and +Montenegrin were fighting. Their sympathies, if for either side, were +with the Montenegrins, and now the hated Turk throws himself into the +balance for Montenegro. + +No man goes any distance unarmed. A rifle is part and parcel of his +being. So it is that visiting Albanians carry theirs too, and it is no +uncommon sight to see eight or ten Gusinje men, conspicuous by their +white head-cloths, rifles slung over their shoulders, and a girdle of +cartridges, come into Andrijevica to market, or perhaps even to +consult the Voivoda on a question of blood-guilt. + +No one knows in these parts when an alarm will be given, either by +trumpet-call or rapid magazine firing, and each man must be ever +prepared to hurry to the appointed rendezvous at a moment's notice. If +he be guarding his flock, eating at home, or carrying produce to the +market, it is the same; his rifle must be ready to his hand and +everything left standing to answer the call to arms. Life is very +real on these turbulent borders, and a chance dispute may assemble a +brigade of Montenegrins and a horde of Albanians, each ready to attack +the other on the spot. The shepherd private knows where to find his +section commander, the latter, on completion of his section, meets his +company officer, companies assemble, battalions form, and the brigade +is ready within an hour or two. + +Such is the state of affairs to-day along the whole Albanian frontier, +but nowhere to such a degree as in the provinces bordering on Gusinje. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +The Voivoda's invitation--Concerning an episode on our ride to +Velika--The fugitive from a blood-feud and his story--We arrive at +Velika--The men of Velika--The menu--Border jurisdiction--A +shooting-match--The Kom--Pleasant evenings--A young +philosopher--Sunset. + + +One evening the Voivoda invited us to ride with him on an official +visit to Velika, an offer which we eagerly accepted. + +Velika is a narrow strip of Montenegrin territory lying practically in +Albania, or rather Gusinje, for the men of Gusinje owe and give no +allegiance. Velika is not cut off from Montenegro, but the mountain +connecting it with, so to speak, the mainland is steep and almost +inaccessible, besides entailing a long and weary detour of many hours. +Therefore our path to-day would lead us across an intervening strip of +Gusinje territory. + +Next morning at an early hour saw us in our saddles, the Voivoda +having first ascertained that our arms were in good order. "Not that +there is any danger," he said. "But we never know if anything may +happen, and it is well just to be prepared." + +Besides the Voivoda, we were accompanied by his adjutant, a +lieutenant in the standing army, who had studied in Italy, and an +escort of about six men, armed with modern magazine rifles. Later on, +this escort was materially increased. + +About three hours' ride up the magnificent valley of the Lim brought +us to a khan, and here we found another half-dozen men awaiting us, +and another officer. These preparations seemed rather formidable for a +journey of about an hour through a friendly country, but we knew +already the uncertainty of the Albanian temper, and did not wonder. + +As we led our horses across a rickety wooden bridge, the Voivoda +called to us and said we were now about to enter Albania, and spoke of +the temporary armed alliance between England and Montenegro, which +remark seemed to please him greatly. A great cairn of stones marked +the border, and the adjutant reined in his horse, for we were going to +ride in single file, to tell us that it would be better to unsling our +carbines. "It looked better," he said. Many Albanians could be seen +working peacefully in their fields, and huts dotted the +mountain-sides. It was a scene of agricultural peace, enhanced by +magnificent scenery. + +Suddenly, at some distance, two rifle-shots were distinctly heard, and +the calm of the picture was as rudely and suddenly disturbed as if an +earthquake had happened. The peaceful peasants stooped, throwing away +the spade, and in exchange each had a Martini rifle in his hand, which +he rapidly loaded from the bandolier of cartridges round his waist. +Men rushed out of the slumbering cottages, and a great shouting +commenced. + +"It is nothing," said the adjutant. "They become excited like this +very often." + +But I noticed our escort closing in, and every man's face wore a look +of great interest. Still we rode on, just as if nothing unusual were +happening. + +To our left the hill ascended to a great height, and about one-third +of the way up a belt of trees commenced, stretching to the top. +Towards this wood ran hundreds of Albanians, and disappeared from +view. I confess that I had a most uncomfortable feeling that I was +being covered by many unseen rifles. We should have stood a poor +chance had they begun firing at us, for there was practically no cover +near. + +But our pace, that of a smart walk, neither increased nor decreased, +and it ill became me to show my innermost feelings to these fearless +mountaineers who so evidently considered this sudden excitement a most +everyday occurrence. + +The noise of the shouting, however, continued, and was answered by men +in all directions. It was a regular pandemonium of yelling fiends, for +the Albanians are not beautiful to look upon. + +Suddenly a man appeared from some bushes close to our little party and +headed straight for us, running like a deer. + +He had barely reached us and seized my stirrup leather, on which he +hung, panting heavily, when from the woods emerged a pursuing crowd, +brandishing their rifles as they ran. Within a few minutes we were +surrounded by about a hundred and fifty Albanians, whose gestures were +not to be misunderstood. + +They wanted to kill the man at my stirrup, who looked beseechingly up +to me for protection. Why he selected me I have no idea, and I did not +relish the compliment at all. Our escort formed a meagre ring around +us, and we were forced to halt. + +"Are they going to shoot?" I asked the adjutant, who was next to me, +in excusable excitement, "because if so, I would like to dismount." + +It was not a pleasant feeling, perched up on a horse within fifty +yards of reputed good marksmen. + +"Oh no," answered the officer, "they only want the man, not you." + +"Still, you are not going to hand back the man, are you?" I asked in +Italian. + +"We must hear what the Voivoda says," said the adjutant, shrugging his +shoulders. + +I looked at the man, while an excited conversation was carried on by +our party and the Albanians, and found him a pleasant-looking young +man; his breath was coming in great gasps from his heaving breast, but +otherwise he showed no traces of excitement. + +"Save me," he said in broken Serb. "They fired at me as I was working +in my field. I am blood-guilty." + +All this time his pursuers were evidently debating if our lives must +be sacrificed as well, for to shoot the man meant killing some of us +at any rate. + +At this juncture several Albanians came to us and ranged themselves on +our side, and amidst still greater excitement we began again moving +forward. + +"It is all right," laughed the adjutant, who throughout preserved the +same air of utter indifference. "They daren't shoot, the cowards, and +we shall take him to Velika with us, and then decide what to do with +him." + +"You don't seem to mind this sort of thing much," I said, "but for a +beginner like myself it appears rather nervous work." + +"Oh no," he answered. "I live here, and have been in many border +fights. They always make a noise like that, and they very seldom shoot +at big people." + +"But if they do?" I queried. + +"Oh, well, we must all die once," he laughed. + +In another half-hour we passed the second landmark, and were informed +we were again in Montenegrin territory. Our friendly Albanians left +us, and rifles were more carelessly carried. + +"What hast thou done?" I asked the fugitive at my stirrup. "Tell me +thy story." + +"I am a doomed man; my days are numbered," he said, smiling, and +rolling a cigarette. "But life is sweet, and I wish to live a little +longer." + +Strange, this man who was at death's door barely an hour ago, was +smiling and smoking happily as he walked by my side. He had a most +fascinating smile and laughing eyes, and now that the immediate danger +was over he had forgotten it. + +"Some months ago in my village, many hours from here, a woman fell in +love with me," he said. "She was beautiful and I loved her too, but +not so much as she loved me, for I feared her. She hated her husband, +who beat her. One evening she came to me when her husband was away and +told me that she loved me and that we would fly together. 'I love thee +as I hate my husband, and see, if thou wilt not do this, I will break +my spinning-wheel before thee.' And I trembled, for now I knew that my +life was doomed. For should I not take her, she must kill me as sure +as there is a God in heaven, and if I fled with her, her husband and +his relations would surely track me down. And she was very beautiful, +and we must all die. So we fled here that same night. What could I +do?" he asked, smiling again. + +[Illustration: VELIKA] + +"But why stay here?" I asked. + +"Because," he answered, "my brothers live here and I must stay here +till I die. If I am not to be found, then my brothers must die for me. +It will not last long, for there are many bags of money on my head. My +enemy is a rich man." + +"But," he went on, "wilt thou ask the Voivoda, who is a good man, to +give me a magazine rifle and some cartridges? See my rifle, it is old, +and I have but five cartridges left. For thee he will do it, and so I +can die fighting a good fight, and perhaps can kill two or three of my +enemies first. To-day I have wounded one." + +"I will ask the Voivoda," I replied, "though I doubt if I have any +influence with him. Ask him thyself." + +I did ask the Voivoda, but he said the thing was impossible. He had no +rifles to give away. But our fugitive continued his request at +intervals for the rest of the time that he was with us. + +At Velika, a collection of half a dozen houses, very charmingly +situated in a valley, we halted and rested for many hours while the +Voivoda transacted business and received reports from a very young +officer who held this dangerous command. We commented on his youth, +and were told that his father, recently dead, had held the position, +and that he had inherited it. "Besides," continued our informant, "he +is quite up to his work." + +As we dismounted, our escort unloaded their rifles, the snapping of +locks and breeches bringing the excitement of the last hour or two +vividly back to our memory. + +The men of Velika were fierce-looking and of great stature. Rifle, +handjar, and revolver were carried by all. Our escort were equally +fine men, that fearless look so characteristic of the Montenegrin +race, being accentuated here. Yet the faces are pleasing, honest, and +good-tempered. There is to be found in the world no more splendid +specimens of fighting humanity than the Montenegrin borderer. Brave, +reckless to a fault, with absolutely no fear of death, inured to every +hardship, and able to live and thrive on the barest fare, they are +typical of the old Viking, chivalrous and courteous, with the purest +blood of the Balkans flowing in their veins. + +Our meal was sumptuous. Fish shot in the river by one of our escort on +the way, a bowl of ground maize cooked in oil, raw ham, eggs, bread, +cheese and onions, the whole washed down in draughts of fiery spirits. +Not a feast, I grant you, in an epicurean sense, but highly acceptable +in Montenegro. We were waited upon by two women, who were always most +careful to leave the room backwards. Our meal was very jolly, and at +its conclusion we took corners in the room and slept. About three p.m. +we started again for home, taking the fugitive with us. + +He had decided to return to his farm, but as we neared the Gusinje +strip of land where he lived the extreme nervous tension of the +morning returned to him. Poor devil, it would be difficult to forget +the sharp sighs which burst from him, when his control over himself +left him for a moment, but it was with a smile and a cigarette between +his lips that he left us, bounding over the ground like a deer. + +In all probability he is dead by now. + +In Gusinje we made a lengthy halt, while the Voivoda settled several +boundary disputes between the inhabitants, our escort taking up +commanding positions all round us and keeping a very sharp look-out. + +It would seem that the Voivoda has right of jurisdiction in this strip +of land, though how we were unable to elicit. At any rate Albanians +came and stated their cases, bringing witnesses, and amongst great +noise the Voivoda gave his judgments, which seemed to be final. + +On re-entering Montenegro we dismounted on the bank of the River Lim; +the Voivoda pointed out a stone on the opposite side about three +hundred yards distance, and taking a rifle he fired at it. In a few +seconds we were all shooting at it in turn, the Voivoda acting as +umpire with the aid of my field-glasses. It seemed a risky thing to do +in a country so easily alarmed, but no rapid firing was allowed. + +The shooting was moderately good. + +As the last shot had been fired, and some of us already mounted, a +corporal from Andrijevica came up at a trot, bringing a telegram for +the adjutant. It contained the notification of his promotion to a +captain. + +This led to a salvo of revolver-shots and cheers, and we proceeded on +our way. + +At the first khan (Morina) we stopped for coffee, and found two or +three hundred men assembled under the command of the district captain. +Had anything happened to us, revenge would have come very quickly. +Here our additional escort left us, and our long ride home was +commenced, which ended in the dark. + +It was a nasty ride, for both P. and Stephan's horses came down +repeatedly, and the path was constantly about two hundred feet above +the Lim. It requires care in the daytime, but in the uncertain light +of evening it was distinctly dangerous. Both horses were done up, and +Stephan lost his temper, and we saw him in his true colours, as +he kicked and beat his unlucky animal. It was not till I took very +energetic measures that he would stop, which amused the Voivoda +immensely. + +[Illustration: MORINA] + +[Illustration: THE FUGITIVE OF VELIKA] + +[Illustration: THE VASOJEVICKI KOM] + +[Illustration: ALBANIANS AND MONTENEGRINS AT ANDRIJEVICA] + +P.'s horse was ill--in fact, it was his last journey. A few days +afterwards he died from inflammation of the lungs, contracted at +Velika that day. + +We went for a few days' shooting on the Vasojevicki Kom, and were +handed over by the Voivoda to one called Vaso, a rich peasant of the +district. He swore to be answerable for our safety, with his head and +all that was his, and we lived with him for many days on the side of +the mighty mountain. + +The shooting was not good, however; it was not the season, but +otherwise our stay was very pleasant. The grassy plateau was about +five thousand feet high and bitterly cold at night; below us, on +either side, stretched great beech forests, and the Kom rose abruptly +before us. + +Our hut was large and roomy, but draughty to an extreme. At night the +icy wind whistled through its crevices, and we had to bury our heads +in blankets. The whole family shared it with us, and in one corner +stood an unwearied calf, too tender to brave the cold of the outside. + +Those evenings which we spent round the fire are impossible to +describe adequately. Tired from a long day's tramping and sliding +through the forests, often wet to the skin from heavy showers, the +peace and warmth of that camp fire were delightful. + +The shepherds came from far and near, and asked us many questions: if +we carried an apparatus for making banknotes (this is not meant as an +insult, but a common belief that Europeans can fabricate their +paper-money at will--a belief of which we had sadly to disillusionise +them); if our glasses could show us Belgrade, and so on--questions +sometimes so difficult to answer that we had to give them up. Then +they would talk of themselves; the older men would tell of past deeds, +of fighting and bloodshed, and the fitful glow of the fire would light +up their animated faces and picturesque costumes. + +Great simple children they were, unknown in the art of lying, and yet +they repeat stories of bygone battles and slaughter, which they have +heard and believed, as gospel truth. Like Esau, with the smell of the +field upon them, they love to listen, too, to stories of unknown +lands, where the houses are even larger and finer than those of +Cetinje or Podgorica, which towns many even have not seen; but too +much of the outside world one cannot tell them, for then they look +hurt at being deemed so childish. They are curious, too, as are all +children, and love to examine the clothes which we strange foreign +creatures wear. There they sit on the hard earthen floor, as happy and +contented as princes, nay, more so, for they have no cares to trouble +them. They proffer us their tobacco tins, accepting ours in return, +touching their caps as they do so; then the cigarette, deftly rolled, +is lit by a glowing ember, which they rake from the fire, and the now +burning cigarette is handed to us to light from. Again we all touch +our caps, for it is rigid etiquette, in accepting a light, to +acknowledge the courtesy by a half military salute. In the corner the +calf will moan, and we, now half asleep, will stretch out our weary +limbs, draw our coats and blankets over us, and to the murmur of the +now subdued conversation, find forgetfulness in sweet sleep. + +I remember a conversation with a boy of about fifteen, who was out +shooting with me, and acting as my guide and beater. + +It was nearing sunset, and we sat and rested on a ridge which +overlooked both sides of the valleys. + +He asked me so many questions that I asked him if he had never even +been to Podgorica. + +"No," he said, "I shall never go." + +"Why?" I asked. + +"Because I am content here. If I went to that great town, I should be +ashamed of my ragged clothes. I should want to buy the beautiful +things which they tell me are to be bought in the shops, and not +having money I should be sad. No; it is better never to have seen such +magnificence." + +"But," I argued, "if thou goest to Podgorica, thou wouldst find work. +Even I could get thee employment." + +"No," he repeated; "my home is in the mountains. In time I would have +to return here, and I should be miserable with the remembrance of +those happy days." + +This boy had been taught at the school, and he told me the capitals of +the great countries, which were nothing more than empty names to him. +He knew, also, a few words of German, about two phrases, though how he +picked them up was hard to make out. + +He liked to ask me questions about England, Montenegro's friend in +past times of trouble, and seemed surprised to hear that I had seen +snow before I came to his land. + +His father said that the boy was stupid and a dreamer, but I thought +differently of him. + +P. joined me, and together we watched the sunset. On our left towered +the Kom, and running in an unbroken chain circled a mountain range, +ending in the setting sun. Low down an angry bank of clouds hung over +the distant peaks, and into this mass of black and grey the sun, in +all its glory of yellow and gold, sank slowly. The hills between us +seemed wild and mysterious. Away to our left, in gloomy confusion, the +Albanian Alps reared their heads, lit here and there with a red gleam +of sunlight. At our feet, shrouded in impenetrable blackness, lay two +steep ravines. The sun sank, leaving a weird eerie feeling behind, and +we found ourselves strangely cold. + +We spent many days with Vaso, shooting with indifferent results, but +revelling in the glories of nature. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +We leave Andrijevica--Our additional escort--The arrival at our +camping-place--In an enemy's country--The story of one Gjolic--Our +slumbers are disturbed--Sunrise on the Alps--We disappoint our +escort--"Albanian or Montenegrin?"--A reconnaissance--The Forest of +Vucipotok--The forbidden land--A narrow escape--We arrive at +Rikavac--Rain damps our ardour--Nocturnal visitors. + + +We left Andrijevica finally one morning about eight a.m. for our many +days' ride along the Albanian frontier to Podgorica. Everyone turned +out to bid us farewell, from the Voivoda, who expressed his regret +that we had seen no one shot, downwards. The Voivoda's son and a small +party accompanied us to the outskirts of the town, where a quaint +notice-board bears the inscription that, on pain of a fine, shooting +is forbidden within the prescribed limits. + +Here, after much hand-shaking and promises to come again, we mounted, +and drawing our revolvers, replied right merrily to the farewell +volleys of our friends. It is a pleasant custom that--shooting at +parting. + +[Illustration: THE RAVINE OF TERPETLIS] + +We rode for two or three hours along the Perusica valley till we came +to a small and scattered village, Konjuhe, where we dismounted for a +rest. It was the birthplace of the Voivoda, and his brother still +lived there. He was immediately sent for. When he heard of our +proposed tour, he insisted on our taking an additional escort (besides +Dr. S., and Stephan our servant, we had engaged another man, named +Milan, in Andrijevica) of at least two men, as the country was just +now in a very dangerous condition. The necessary guard was soon found, +and after a long halt owing to a heavy shower, we were able to proceed +on our way, first carefully loading our rifles and overhauling our +revolvers. Our two men were quite celebrated for a famous raid into +Gusinje, in which they had played an active part a short time ago. +They had killed several Albanians, and captured two hundred sheep. As +the Albanians would shoot them at sight, they seemed hardly fitted to +act as an escort; but then every man from that part is engaged, more +or less, in a blood feud across the border. + +We commenced climbing almost directly, and the ascent lasted for the +rest of the day. The scenery was grand. On our right the majestic Kom, +still covered with snow; falling away precipitously to the left was +the deep ravine of Terpetlis, through which a mountain torrent dashed; +and rising high on the other side, and forming the boundary between +Montenegro and Albania, was a magnificent rocky ridge. We dismounted +at one point to breathe our horses, and made our midday meal off wild +strawberries. + +Further on we passed from the Vasovic into the Kuc. These two, the +most warlike clans of Montenegro, were formerly under Turkish rule, +and bitter foes. But when war broke out, they forgot their old enmity +and joined hand-in-hand with Montenegro to drive out the still more +hated Turk. Since then they have lived together in peace and harmony. + +On nearing our camping-ground for the night, our two guards ran on to +draw the fire from any concealed Albanians, while we followed more +leisurely. The scenery was wild in the extreme, though differing very +slightly from that which we had experienced during the last few weeks. +Great woods stretched half-way down the mountain to the torrent, and +up again on the further side. Immense boulders, with an occasional +tree growing out of a crevice, and every here and there clumps of +firs, every yard affording excellent cover for a hidden enemy. + +Our destination was Carina, a collection of stone huts on an open +green slope, which reaches up to the rocky sides of the Kom. It is the +highest point inhabited in Montenegro by the shepherds in the summer, +and lies over five thousand feet above the sea-level. During this +period of the annual migration to the hills, the district is +comparatively safe. The Albanians do not attack large parties, but +rather stragglers, as larger numbers have an unpleasant habit of +organising themselves into avenging bands to repay the visit with +interest. + +Not a soul was to be seen anywhere, not a living being of any +description. In a shower of pelting rain we took possession of the +largest hut. It is decidedly annoying to get thoroughly wet at the end +of a long day, and the prospect of a night in damp clothes was in no +way pleasing. The hut was damp and cold, and it had the chilly feeling +which only comes from a long period of emptiness, and strikes to the +marrow. But our men turned to with a will, cleaning out the hut, +strewing it with very wet rushes, and piling up a big log-fire in the +middle. We were pretty hungry, too, a couple of eggs at six a.m. and a +few strawberries at midday are not much to go on, and we had been in +the saddle for over ten hours. Stephan had brought amongst other +things some raw bacon, which he gave me, but, hungry as I was, I could +not face that. Later on, a happy thought struck me, and I went and +toasted it over the fire. I do not recollect ever relishing food so +much in my life. About a couple of hours later a lamb had been +roasted, and we were able to make a decent meal. + +It was getting rapidly dark now, and watch had to be kept outside. The +horses were picketed close at hand for fear of wolves, as well as +Albanians. By the time that we had finished eating, night was upon us. +It was pitch dark and no moon. Rather reluctantly I turned out to do +my share of sentry-go in the bitter cold. But it was decidedly +interesting, as one of our party began to tell stories of the usual +blood-curdling nature. On emerging from the hut, I thoughtlessly +remained standing for a few seconds in the low doorway which, as the +fire was blazing brightly inside, showed up my figure strongly against +the surrounding gloom. Before I knew where I was I was roughly seized +by a man and thrown forcibly into the darkness. He intimated that I +must be a fool to court death in that manner. For all we knew, he +said, a dozen Albanians might be hiding around us and waiting for such +an easy shot. And when I was not allowed to smoke, I realised that we +were in an enemy's country. + +Watch was kept all night by two men, one sitting on the roof, or on an +elevation which commanded it, and the other patrolling round with a +sharp eye on the horses. The roof must always be watched, for the +Albanians usually creep up and climb on to it--it is always +conveniently low--they then remove a board and shoot the sleeping +inmates. + +During my watch I was told the following story, which brings out many +interesting traits of the Montenegrin character. + +A certain man named Gjolic, of the tribe of Vasovic, killed two men of +his clan over a love affair, and promptly fled to Gusinje, the country +just opposite Carina, and inhabited by a tribe of Albanians, famed +for their blood-thirstiness and hatred of strangers. The only passport +to their land is crime, and no one but a fugitive from justice can +hope to enter, or leave it, alive. Gjolic swore to have revenge on his +clan, and in this respect he was a notable exception. He came +repeatedly across the border, often in broad daylight, shooting anyone +whom he met. He soon became the terror of the whole Vasovic. In the +neighbourhood of Carina he had shot many shepherds, and last autumn he +murdered a youth of sixteen. This was too much, and two men laid their +heads together. To obtain the necessary right of entrance to Gusinje, +they crossed over into Turkey and deliberately stole a cow, taking +care at the same time that they should be arrested and sentenced to +punishment. Their plan acted admirably, and they effected their +escape, fleeing to Gusinje, where they were received in a friendly +manner. But Gjolic was away, and for six months they waited for him in +patience. At last news came that he was on his way home, and could be +expected on a certain day. So the men went out to meet him, and began +shooting fish in a river where he must pass. Fish shooting is a common +and favourite sport of the people. + +"God help you," said a voice, "has your luck been good?" + +It was Gjolic who spoke. + +"Our luck is good," they answered, and following an imaginary fish +with their rifles, they turned on him. + +Crack! Crack! Gjolic was dead. + +That scene I shall never forget. The starless night, all round the +land lying enshrouded in impenetrable darkness, the low voice of the +Montenegrin which rose with his excitement, but sank again immediately +to a hoarse whisper, and on the barely discernible roof of the hut a +black figure, with rifle at the ready, sitting motionless. + +It was eleven o'clock when I turned in, and the next man took his +rifle and went outside to relieve one of the watchers. A roaring fire +was kept going, for it was very cold, and round it lay the others +sleeping, each with his rifle and revolver by his head. "And we are in +Europe!" I said to myself, as I lay down to sleep, which, in spite of +the mighty snoring of Dr. S., came almost immediately. + +It seemed but a few minutes since I had closed my eyes when a shot +rang out, bringing me to my knees in an instant. It is not advisable +to rise quickly in these huts without taking the roof into +consideration, as I had learnt by bitter and repeated experience. +Everyone awoke, except Dr. S., who snored on peacefully. However, I +roughly awoke him, and we all dashed out, rifle in hand. + +One of our sentries stood peering into the gloom, and swore that he +had seen a figure moving. We lay down and waited, but nothing came. + +Then slowly the day began to dawn, and with it our anxiety diminished. +I went to get a cup of coffee, preparatory to climbing a part of the +Kom. One of our guards, of course, accompanied me. That is the worst +of these districts, we could never move a step without being followed. +It was like being under police surveillance. Furthermore, I should +have preferred to climb with a good stick; but no. Again that iron +control ordered me to take my carbine, and loaded too. + +We reached a high ridge just in time to see the sun rise, and it lit +up the snow-clad mountain-tops with an indescribable beauty. But so +much has been written about the splendours of Alpine sunrises that it +is needless to say more about it. Yet it was as beautiful as anything +to be seen in Switzerland or the Tyrol. The ridge commanded a view in +both directions. The Albanian Alps and the mountains behind the Moraca +lay before us in one vast panorama, the latter looming up so close +that it was difficult to believe that so many days' hard riding lay +between us. + +After climbing one of the lower peaks, we descended again to our hut, +which we reached shortly after six. Everyone was busy, washing, +packing up, or even sleeping, which is an equally important business. +To snatch half an hour's sleep here and there is an enviable art, and +cannot be overrated. But, perched on a low stone wall, sat a guard all +the time. Daylight does not imply safety. + +After breakfast, luxurious with toasted bacon, I emerged from the hut +to find an excited group outside, one of whom was even lying down and +aiming. + +"He is watching us. It is far better that we should finish him now +than allow him to go on and report our movements," said the man, +fingering his trigger lovingly. + +On looking I saw an Albanian about six hundred yards away, half hidden +behind a boulder. The idea of shooting a man in this way did not seem +quite sporting, and Dr. S. agreed with me. The men were extremely +disappointed at our refusal to allow them to shoot. "He will follow us +till we reach the wood," they said, "and then we shall repent it." The +Albanian shortly afterwards disappeared, and we proceeded with our +packing. + +About eight o'clock we left Carina, and had rather an unique +experience in riding across several large snow fields which were quite +hard, though the horses decidedly disliked the experiment. About an +hour's ride brought us to a tiny church, solidly built of stone and +standing on a ridge overlooking the whole country. It is used by the +shepherds who migrate annually to the pasturages in this district. +Only a few months ago the Albanians had broken into it and utterly +dismantled it. On the iron door and on the shutters huge dents and +even bullet splashes were plainly visible. Our Albanian we found here +awaiting us, which was a plucky thing to do. Our guards hailed him +with the cry of "Albanian or Montenegrin?" But he answered, "Friend." +I think that our men showed him our rifles rather ostentatiously, and, +as we were all armed with magazines and had plenty of ammunition, he +must have thought that we should scarcely afford the desired sport. We +did not see him again, though he took the same path which we were +going to take. This incident put us very much on our guard, and we +made preparations for the further journey with mixed feelings. Before +us lay the dense wood of Vucipotok, which is the most ill-famed spot +in Montenegro. It stretches unbrokenly down to Gusinje, and the bridle +path which traverses it is the border line between the two countries. + +It was then settled that a guard and myself should climb a small hill +overlooking the wood and its approach. However, we saw nothing, and +soon rejoined our party. Before entering the wood, in the open, were +two or three stones erected to murdered men--it is customary in +Montenegro to put up either a pile of stones or a slab of rock where +the body has been found. Inscriptions on the stones are very rare, the +Vucipotok is too dangerous to waste much time in it, but wherever +these stones are seen, a dead man, as often as not headless, has been +found. Such memorial stones are to be found all over the country, but +not in such plentiful profusion as we saw them now. + +Everyone dismounted, and with rather uncanny feelings we entered the +forest. First of all went one of our escort, and then in single file, +about ten paces apart, we followed. Rifles were held at the ready, and +every boulder and tree carefully scanned. The path was atrocious, +strewn with great stones, so that walking was no easy matter. When a +particularly large boulder was reached, we would halt under its +shelter to enable the horses to come up--they were following behind +under the charge of one man. We did not exactly stroll through that +wood. + +Every few paces stood a memorial stone. There was one put up to the +memory of ten Montenegrins who were all shot down without seeing their +enemy. Everyone shoots at sight here, and had we met our Albanian +friend of the early morning, matters would have gone sadly with him. +At one point I insisted on taking a photograph--much to everyone's +disgust. The spot was where a famous Kuc general had been murdered. +His head was taken in triumph to Scutari. Oddly enough, we ate our +midday meal at his grave, for his friends took his body away from +here and buried it in an open place directly overlooking the valley of +Gusinje. I was rather hurried over the operation, as the Montenegrins +distinctly objected to standing still, but they were all very tickled +about it. + +[Illustration: THE PATH THROUGH THE VUCIPOTOK] + +The Vucipotok is used by young Montenegrins as a means of showing +their bravery. They go straight through it alone, with their rifles +over their backs, smoking cigarettes. This constitutes an act of +reckless daring in their eyes. Some even go through, at some distance +from the path, on the Albanian side. We met one young man leading his +horse and strolling along as unconcernedly as though he were in +Cetinje--so that we almost felt that we were being unduly impressed +with a sense of danger. But afterwards we met another party who were +proceeding with greater caution than we were. And then there were +those memorial stones. + +At last the wood ceased, and in a clearing we made a halt. Our +Montenegrins looked relieved. For themselves they have no fear, but +had one of us been hit, the disgrace for them would have been +unspeakable. It would have necessitated a raid into Albania of the +most extensive kind, and hundreds might have fallen; the Montenegrins +guard their visitors as they guard their honour, and in that case, +life is only a secondary matter. + +We now climbed a very steep hill. At the top we had to dismount, as a +narrow path, just wide enough for a horse, skirted along a great +precipice, looking straight down about one thousand feet. It was a +wonderful view, but not to be recommended to those suffering in any +way from giddiness. + +We overlooked the great Vucipotok wood through which we had just +passed, and the whole valley of Gusinje. When we reached a place where +we were able to turn round with comfort, we stopped for the view. A +long, narrow valley, inclosed by the Procletia or "Damnable +Mountains," through which a river could be seen flowing, lay at our +feet. This was Gusinje, the forbidden land. With the aid of +field-glasses the town of Gusinje itself could be just distinguished, +a square and apparently walled-in town.[4] Very picturesque it looked +in the bright sunshine, the great green woods in the foreground, the +solemn and majestic snow mountains and the peaceful valley. Yet it is +inhabited by the most villainous and treacherous cut-throats in +Europe, an absolutely untameable tribe, who would die to the last man +to preserve their independence. + +[Footnote 4: This, however, is not the case, as we afterwards learnt.] + +When the path broadened out slightly our two guards left us and +returned home. Both emptied their magazines into the air at parting, +which we answered, and the din was tremendous. Below us was a small +village or collection of shepherds' huts, and, in that moment, +confusion reigned supreme. The men seized their rifles, the women +rushed into the huts, dogs barked, and horses stampeded. It seemed +rather thoughtless to thus alarm the village, but, on being +remonstrated with, the men only laughed and fired another shot. Had it +been a town below us the result might have been more serious. + +A little further on, we stopped for rest and food at a narrow pass +overlooking Gusinje on the one side and Montenegro on the other. The +murdered Kuc general, whose memorial stone we had seen earlier in the +day, was buried here. Strange that his body should find its last +resting-place overlooking the home of his murderers. + +By using the Montenegrin telephone (the art of talking at great +distances), we ordered some milk from the village below, and drank it +with that enjoyment which is only known to a thoroughly hungry and +thirsty man. + +Our afternoon's ride was again particularly stiff. Climbing one hill, +Dr. S., who was leading, missed the path, a very easy thing to do, so +undefined as it sometimes is. He got on to a very steep and rocky bit +of the hill and his horse lost its footing. It began stumbling and +slipping about in a most alarming manner. We held our breath for the +next few seconds, for a long fall was in store for him, and certain +death. He tried to dismount, and succeeded in getting off his horse, +but his foot stuck in the stirrup, the horse still sliding on. +Fortunately, the animal recovered its balance, and Dr. S. extricated +himself, but it was a nasty moment. That is the worst of the +Montenegrins; they rely so implicitly on the sure-footedness of their +ponies that they ride up anywhere, only condescending to dismount for +very steep descents. And accidents often happen when horse or man, or +even both, are killed; but this presumable laziness affords no example +to others. + +About five p.m. we began anxiously inquiring the whereabouts of our +night quarters. The usual Montenegrin _quart d'heure_ was given--and +rightly enough. A sharp descent, lasting over an hour, made painfully +on foot, saw us in a great hollow basin among the mountains, with the +pretty lake of Rikavac at the further end and a small collection of +wooden huts. + +To these we proceeded and were met by the village Fathers. Dr. S. was +well known here and they had recognised him coming down. Five dear old +boys they were, who kissed Dr. S. most affectionately, one unshaven +old ruffian including me in his salute. I do not appreciate the +Montenegrin custom of kissing among men; it is not pleasant. An empty +hut was immediately put at our disposal. It was the most primitive +and tumble-down habitation that we had had as yet. Of course it +rained. It was almost the first rain on the trip, and we had to lie up +here a whole day as P. was unwell and unable to ride. Everyone turned +out to make the hut comfortable, but it was not a success. I lay down +outside and promptly fell asleep, when a sharp thunderstorm came on +and drove me inside. There was not a dry corner to be found. The rain +came through in steady rivulets everywhere. There was no getting away +from those persistent little streams, either head, body, or feet had +to suffer--and the fire refused to burn. Added to that, the whole +population crowded in to look at us. It was no fun at all Stephan +stood cursing in German that he could not get near the fire to cook, +and that he would not cook at all if the mob were not cleared out. +This Dr. S. refused to allow, as it would be considered inhospitable. + +In course of time the rain stopped and our visitors left us, but only +temporarily. Stephan cooked and we went outside to dry ourselves. The +food was then ready, and after putting away a good meal we were able +to view the world with more equanimity. + +After supper it came on to rain again and damped us thoroughly before +going to bed. I was very annoyed to find, after having discovered as I +fondly imagined a dry corner, that one of my pockets was full of +water. I should not have been so irritated had my tobacco been in +another pocket; it was a leather coat and held the water beautifully. +Then we tried to go to sleep. My pillow was a stone, like Jacob's, and +though I tried covering it with my coat it was of no avail, since the +cold forced me to put it on again. I do not mind a hard bed, but a +hard pillow is distinctly objectionable. We were just on the point of +sleeping when in stalked two men for an after-supper smoke and chat, +and one of them, to P.'s intense disgust, sat on his feet. It cost Dr. +S. all his diplomacy to hint that we had been up since three a.m. and +were disinclined to talk. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +More memorial stones--We get wet again--Unwilling hosts--A fall--The +Franciscan of Zatrijebac--The ravine of the Zem--Methods of settling +tribal differences--A change of diet and more pleasant evenings--A +fatalist--Sunday morning. + + +Punctually at eight a.m. next morning we took an affectionate farewell +of the Fathers, though I mounted hurriedly first to avoid the +repetition of the welcoming chaste salute. + +Our path lay for two hours over a rocky and barren country similar to +the naked Katunska district round Cetinje. Gone were the rich green +pasturages and wooded valleys in exchange for a waste of grey rocks. +But a large wood was ultimately reached, only a little less dangerous +than the wood of Vucipotok. Similar precautions were observed in +passing through--in fact, our carbines were carried loaded again all +day. The Albanian border was never more than a rifle-shot away. +Numerous gentle reminders of the dangers of the path existed in the +shape of memorial stones all the way along. We met several families, +all fully armed of course, driving their flocks before them to the +mountain grazing-grounds of the Kom. + +It was about one o'clock when we emerged on a large barren plateau. +On the further side, just across the border, lay the Albanian village +of Korito, which Dr. S. knew, and where we intended spending the rest +of the day and night. + +Half-way across, a sudden storm of rain and hail came down, and I have +never got wet through so quickly in my life. Within five minutes, the +water was running out of my boots. My leather coat, though waterproof, +let regular rivers down my neck. It was a rain that would not be +denied, and icy cold. + +In that waterspout we sat and waited while Dr. S. hunted up his +friends; but apparently they had all left, with their flocks. A few +Albanians appeared, and by the dint of much persuasion Dr. S. induced +them to show us an empty hut. As soon as they had done this they left +us, looking at us in an unfriendly and suspicious manner. We got our +baggage in as quickly as possible, and by this time we were shivering +with cold. No wood could be seen, and Dr. S. again sallied forth, and +by the aid of small bribes some wood was brought and we soon had a +fire burning. + +However, our natural buoyancy rose again with the fire, and we made a +very light meal off the food that we had with us. It was not more than +a few mouthfuls apiece, but nothing could be got here. Then we +solemnly stood round the fire and dried ourselves, the steam rising +like pillars of cloud, and hiding our figures from each other. The +warmth was very agreeable and comforting. + +Several Albanians now crowded in, examining our arms, and were so +unfriendly, not to say threatening, that we hastily reconsidered our +plans. Firstly and foremostly, we had no food, watch would have to be +kept all the time, over the horses and at the hut, using up two men, +so the prospect was not pleasing. + +So we saddled up and left about three for Zatrijebac, four hours' +distance, happy to be rid of our unwilling hosts. + +The difference between the treatment of strangers by Albanians and +Montenegrins was very marked.[5] + +Our path led us through the great wood of Kostice, and, owing to the +recent heavy rain, the track, never very plain, was in parts entirely +obliterated. Twice we lost ourselves, and once more a drenching shower +came on, repeating the morning douche. Still we plodded on with +stumbling horses over the slippery way till we emerged on the great +plain or plateau of Zatrijebac. Zatrijebac is an Albanian clan several +thousand strong who live under Montenegrin rule. They serve as +Montenegrin subjects in the army, give no trouble except in occasional +border fights with rival Albanian clans, and their bravery is +proverbial. Further, they are Roman Catholics. The country is most +curious, great slabs of stone lying about in a promiscuous fashion as +if it had once rained them, and the path was certainly the most vile +of the whole trip, which is putting it as strongly as possible. + +[Footnote 5: I have since learnt differently.--R.W.] + +It was climbing or rather scaling a small rock that my long-expected +fall came. Alat, my horse, floundered badly at an angle of forty-five +degrees and lost his balance completely. The doctor, who was behind, +shouted to me to pull him up, but as I was sliding off his back with a +broken girth at an ever-increasing velocity, I was unable to follow +this very excellent advice. Down I came heavily on the stones, luckily +on the high side of the path, landing on my back with my legs all +mixed up in Alat's. My saddle and saddlebags followed me in quick +succession, and something hit me violently over the head--that was my +carbine. Providentially Alat stood still, and my cartridge belt saved +my back. + +I got up when I could sort out my legs, making remarks to Dr. S. about +that girth which he said afterwards were quite artistic. Many, many +years ago the girth may have been good and strong, and it had +undoubtedly seen better days. Next I sought one named Stephan. He had +always assured me that it would last another week. Montenegrins are +careless about such things. + +The rest of the way I had to walk, which dried me, as the path was +steep and tiring. At the house of Dr. S. in Podgorica we had met a +young Franciscan monk, a Neapolitan and a great student. He at once +invited us to visit him in Zatrijebac, where he is the spiritual +shepherd, and to spend a few weeks with him. On approaching a roofless +church, in the course of rebuilding, we espied this young monk rushing +to meet us. With all the fervour of his race, he embraced and kissed +us repeatedly, welcoming us to his home. He gave me his bed, and the +other remaining one was put at P.'s disposal, and he would not hear of +our leaving next day or the next. + +There are but two other Roman Catholic churches in Montenegro, in +Antivari and Dulcigno,[6] in fact only where the Albanians are in +sufficient evidence. + +[Footnote 6: The Austrian Legation in Cetinje has also its own +chapel.] + +We had intended to visit Zatrijebac at the beginning of our mountain +tour, but the district was considered unsafe at that time. A quarrel +over the appointment of a new captain had led to the relations of the +disappointed candidate shooting the brother of the new captain. Two +boys, aged fifteen and sixteen respectively, had ambushed their +victim, and put no less than seven bullets into him at a distance of +four hundred yards, which is pretty good shooting. The boys got away +across the border, but wholesale arrests took place, and it is not +well to visit districts thus excited. The young Franciscan repeated +to us the story that evening round the kitchen fire, where we spent +very many happy hours. He spoke of it sadly. + +"The vendetta is a terrible thing," he said. "It respects neither the +laws of God nor man." + +Our host would not rest till he had shown me the famous view, and Dr. +S. accompanied us. As one stands outside the church, a magnificent +panorama is spread out, seemingly without a break. But should one wish +to ascend the mountains opposite so temptingly near, a great ravine +must be first descended. Ten minutes' walk brings one to the edge of a +precipice 2,400 feet deep, so appalling and so sudden that one's +breath is momentarily taken away. It is a spot to sit and meditate on +the grandeur of the work of the Master of all architects. The majesty +of that mighty ravine is, indeed, awe-inspiring. + +At the bottom, a mere tiny thread, flows the Zem, a river which has +often run blood, and whose source is hardly known as it rises in the +unknown Procletia, "the Accursed Mountains" of history. A wall of +mountains rises beyond. Steep and precipitous as is the descent on the +Zatrijebac side, still a path trodden daily by mountaineers winds and +zigzags down to the bottom. Then as we seated ourselves on a carefully +selected and safe ledge and gazed on this unique picture, the monk +told us of a bloody battle fought not so very many years ago by the +men of Zatrijebac and the clan of Hotti who inhabit the opposite +mountains. It was a quaint illustration how questions of boundary +lines are settled without the aid of expensive Courts of Arbitration. + +When the new frontier was laid down at the conclusion of the late war, +the River Zem was Montenegro's limit. On the hill beyond lies a +grazing-ground which has been used as a summer pasturage by the +Zatrijebac from times immemorial. Though technically now belonging to +Albania, and in particular to the clan of Hotti, the Zatrijebac still +continued to drive their flocks across the ravine. The Hotti +remonstrated, and finding this of no avail, took possession of the +plateau. Their opponents coming over found the rival clan posted in a +seemingly impregnable position on every point of vantage on that steep +ascent. Though armed with inferior rifles (in those days), they +attacked at once, and by reckless bravery came to hand-to-hand +conflict. Then a terrible encounter ensued, men seized each other and +threw themselves over the cliffs, and to complete the utter +discomfiture of the Hotti, the Kuc came to the assistance of their +neighbours and the Hotti were nearly annihilated. Since then no +questions have been asked, and annually the cattle and sheep of +Zatrijebac graze in peace in Albania. + +It was a very similar dispute which has happened so very recently at +Mokra near Andrijevica.[7] + +Supper gave us a much needed change of diet. Boiled fowl and +vegetables came as a luxury after days of tough and stringy lamb. We +sat at a table again too, on chairs, and felt quite ashamed of our +recently acquired habits. + +The evenings round the kitchen fire were just as delightful as our hut +experiences, and if possible, more novel. Here we had fierce +Albanians, with their half-shaven heads and scalping lock, and a +scholar, a student of philosophy, a man of wonderful ideals, in the +form of the young Franciscan, instead of unkempt shepherds. + +[Footnote 7: Since writing the above another tribal disturbance has +taken place between the Zatrijebac and the Hotti. This time it was the +Hotti who drove their flocks, also from time immemorial, to a certain +spot in Zatrijebac, and as the latter tribe have since cultivated the +intervening ground, they felt justly irritated. As the only real +argument is the rifle, they met and argued the point in this fashion +in February, 1902, and many fell on both sides. A notable incident +which is worth recording is, that a man of Hotti fought on the side of +the Zatrijebac against his brethren and was killed. His body was +afterwards handed back and his clan demanded to know if he had fought +as a man. "In the front rank," was the answer. Then they took the body +and gave it an honourable burial and agreed to let the dispute drop. +In this action our friend the monk had his habit riddled with bullets +whilst attending the wounded.] + +Round the fire another evening an argument as to the wrongs of +Fatalism, _i.e._ God's Will, led to a characteristic story by the monk +in defence of his views. Dr. S., like many men who lead such lives as +he does, was a rigid fatalist. + +An Albanian found his enemy in vendetta, working in a field. Hiding +himself, he prayed to God and S. Nicholas to direct the bullet. + +"Lord," he prayed, "should I hit this man in the breast, then I shall +know that I do this deed by Thy Will." + +He laid his rifle on a stone, took careful aim, and the other fell +dead shot through the breast. + +"By God's Will I killed him," he answered, when the priest endeavoured +to impress upon him his crime. + +The lighter side of nature was given us by another story. + +Shortly after the priest's arrival at Zatrijebac a half-naked man came +to him. The worthy friar took pity on him and gave him a clean white +shirt of his own. + +On the following Sunday during the Mass, as he turned to his +congregation to give the Benediction, to his horror he saw the man +with the shirt drawn over all his ragged clothes, in a front row. It +was with the greatest difficulty, he concluded, that he could restrain +a smile. + +We were afforded a novel and striking scene before we left Zatrijebac +in the form of an open-air Mass on Sunday. + +The church being in the course of rebuilding, a rough altar had been +hastily constructed, or rather knocked up--for it was of most crude +workmanship--of wood planks on a small grass plot. + +From nine a.m. onwards the people began to assemble, coming from all +parts of the large and straggling district, and sat about in groups +gravely talking. Towards eleven o'clock a large number of peasants had +arrived, and the altar was covered with not a fair white cloth as +usual, but with something suspiciously resembling a long and not +overclean towel. A tiny crucifix was placed upon it, and the young +priest robed himself there in sight of the whole congregation. + +A group of elder men knelt or squatted on the small open space +immediately in front of the High Altar, but the majority of +worshippers ranged themselves under the shade of some small trees and +on the low surrounding walls. + +These same trees bear weekly a strange and incongruous fruit, for they +are used as pegs whereon the Albanians hang their rifles during +service. All round, the walls are stacked with rifles, for, like the +Puritans of old, they come to church fully armed with rifle, handjar, +and revolver, and round their waists, the inevitable bandolier of +cartridges. + +[Illustration: AFTER MASS AT ZATRIJEBAC] + +On approaching the altar every man pushed back the cloth which is +swathed round his half-shaven head, and kneeling, piously crossed +himself. The older men displayed even more reverence, and kissed +the earth. The younger men were much the same as their cultured and +civilised brothers, lounging through the service, half seated on a +wall, and barely crossing themselves. + +But the general effect was one of great reverence and striking in the +extreme. We watched this strange congregation with great interest, and +during the most sacred part of the service, when all, even the blase +young men, prostrated themselves, the effect was unique. + +Picture a cut-throat, shave half his head, leaving a tuft of hair on +the back by which he kindly assists his victor to decapitate him, +expecting a like consideration in return, long drooping moustachios, +clad in Turkish clothes, a belt full of cartridges, with revolver and +murderous-looking yataghan artistically displayed--of such was this +congregation. Men who half-an-hour afterwards would shoot an enemy in +the course of a vendetta, or otherwise, without any thought of +remorse. Yes, and coolly cut off his head and bring it home to his +admiring wife and daughters, now so discreetly and respectfully +kneeling behind them. This is not an over-drawn picture. It happens +often. + +Of such consisted the congregation under the green trees, blue sky, +brilliant sunshine, in that perfect landscape this Sunday morning. And +of such is peopled a part of the vast country of Albania. A people +who hold human life as nothing--a reckless and brave nation of devout +Roman Catholics. + +At the conclusion of the service we came in for a lot of inspection, +and going in to dine soon afterwards we chanced to look out of the +window overlooking the scene of the morning Mass. Still a great crowd +hung about, and on the late High Altar sat men smoking cigarettes. +After dinner we bade farewell to our young host, amidst honest regrets +on both sides. The Franciscan had given us a new insight into the +mysteries of life. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +A modern hero, and our sojourn under his roof--Keco's story--The laws +of Vendetta and their incongruity--We return to Podgorica--The +Montenegrin telephone--An elopement causes excitement--The Sultan's +birthday--The reverse of the picture--A legal anomaly. + + +"At Fundina," said Dr. S., "you will meet one of the modern heroes of +Montenegro. A man named Keco, whose fame has reached to the uttermost +ends of the land." + +We had bidden farewell to our host and were riding past the last +houses and huts of the clan of Zatrijebac on our way to Fundina. The +path tended downwards, and shortly the great plain of the Zeta burst +suddenly into view as we rounded a corner of the mountains. Beyond lay +the Lake of Scutari with its background of mountains. + +It was early in the evening when we reined in our horses before a +modest stone house and dismounted. It was Fundina, a straggling +village built on the sloping sides of a mountain from which it takes +its name. + +Voivoda Marko, the hero of Medun, defeated the Turks on these slopes +in the first engagement of the last war, successfully inaugurating +the campaigning which secured to Montenegro all the territory through +which we had been riding for so many weeks, including the towns of +Podgorica and Niksic, and the great valley now stretched at our feet. + +Podgorica lies like an oasis of green trees on the rolling, but +treeless, plain. + +The Albanian border is but a rifle-shot away, and the village of Dinos +and the fortress of Tusi are plainly to be seen. + +We decided to spend the night here and hear Keco's story, though +Podgorica was only three hours' distance. It would be a fitting finish +to our mountain tour to sleep on the battlefield of Fundina, and in +the house of a modern hero. + +"I warn you," remarked the doctor, "that Keco much belies his deeds by +his appearance." + +Keco was not in his house when we arrived, and we had our ceremonial +and inevitable black coffee brought to us on a small natural platform +of rock overlooking the magnificent valley. + +Shortly afterwards a small and insignificant man approached us, with +haggard looks and grey hair. He greeted the doctor effusively. + +"This is Keco," said Dr. S. + +As he took the tobacco tin which was proffered him his hands trembled +so excessively that the rolling of a cigarette was a work of art. + +"His nerves are gone," explained the doctor. "He lives in hourly +danger of his life." + +Keco soon left us to prepare our meal and quarters for the night, and +it was not till after supper, when we were seated round the fire in +his little house and smoking, that he would consent to tell his story. +Even then he spoke at first reluctantly, but soon warmed to his +subject. His wife was always present and looked anxious. Several men +were in the room. + +"Though my hands tremble and my hair is growing white," he began, "yet +I do not fear death. We must all die, and I know that my fate must +speedily overtake me. This house I have built for my wife, and stocked +with what money I had, to provide for her. They shall not kill me +easily. Twice have they tried. The first time I was in the fields when +men fired at me from a long distance. I took my rifle and made a +detour, and, as my enemies recrossed the border, I was there waiting +for them. But I did not hit one. Another time seven men hid themselves +only thirty yards away from my house, in the evening, but they dared +not shoot then, for my wife was by my side." + +"You know," explained the doctor, "the life of a woman is sacred; +should a woman by the greatest accident shoot a man, the vendetta +falls on her husband--she may not be touched; or, should a woman be +killed in a vendetta, even by the merest accident, the shame would be +unspeakable. The murderers and their families, or even their clan, +would be blotted out, for in such revenge all would join. Keco's wife +never leaves his side after dusk, and, you see, she has saved his life +once already within his knowledge; who knows how often unawares?" + +"Tell us the origin of thy blood-guiltiness," said we. Dr. S. had told +us the story, but we wished to hear it from his lips. + +"I had a cow which was my pride," went on Keco. "She yielded more milk +than any other cow and of a far better quality. Men praised the milk +and the cheese when I took it to the market in Podgorica for sale, and +none more than Achmet, a Turk from Dinos. + +"One morning I went to milk my cow, and could find her nowhere. My +most treasured possession was gone. I searched for her all that day +and the next on the mountain sides, but in vain. On the next market +day as I wandered gloomily across the market-place of Podgorica, +Achmet, the Turk, accosted me. + +"'Where is thy milk?' he asked, 'which is so wonderful, and where are +thy marvellous cheeses?' + +"I replied that I knew not, and would have passed on. + +"'Make thy mind easy,' continued Achmet, an evil smile spreading over +his face, 'for I have thy cow.' + +"'Ah! she has strayed across the border,' I cried. 'Thank God she is +found.' + +"'She strayed across the border,' said Achmet, 'but under my guidance. +Thou hast not lied. Her milk is indeed of the good quality that thou +hast boasted. For a Christian dog like thee she is far too good.' + +"To this hour I wonder that I did not strike him dead. My rage +rendered me powerless to move or see. It was as if a black cloud +descended over my eyes. When I recovered, Achmet was gone. + +"For many weeks I went to the Law Court whenever I visited the market, +demanding the restitution of my cow by legal means, and each time was +I put off by answers and promises. And Achmet was always on the +market-place taunting me with tales of the cow and her calf. For she +had calved. But the law is strict, and I never dared shoot him whilst +in the town, and this the coward knew. + +"When I saw that I should get no help from the law, I took two men +from this village. They are here in this room," he said, pointing to +two men seated near us. "And one morning I went across to Dinos. I did +not go at night, like the thief, but when the sun was highest, and +when all could see me. I left my comrades outside Achmet's house, and +went in alone. There I found my cow and her calf, but only the women +were present. So I drove the cow and the calf out of the door towards +my comrades. Then, lest any should think that I was afraid, I fired my +rifle into the air. Very soon the men came running from the fields, +and amongst them Achmet and his son. When they saw me and my cow, they +came towards me firing, but being unsteady from running, the bullets +flew wide. Then I took careful aim and shot Achmet dead, and then his +son. We then ran quickly, and though men pursued us, they were afraid +to come too near lest I should shoot them likewise, and so we came +back to Fundina in safety. Since then the men of Dinos wait for me, +and they will kill me soon, for the insult is very great that I have +put upon them, and the fame of my deed has travelled into all lands." +As he said this his eyes lit with fire, and the spirit of heroism +shone out in the seemingly timid-looking man. + +"Must thou stay here, in Fundina?" I asked, "where thy enemies are so +near. Why not go to Cetinje or Niksic?" + +"Men know me for a hero," he answered proudly. "What would they say if +I ran away and sought safety elsewhere? I should be a double coward, +for I should leave my brothers to inherit my fate. No, I shall wait +here till they come, and they shall not find me unprepared or +sleeping. See, every night I make my bed in a different place, +sometimes in one room of the house, sometimes in the bushes outside. +They never know where I shall sleep, for these dogs love to kill their +enemy in the night." + +Silence fell upon us as Keco finished. The wood fire crackled and +flickered, lighting up fitfully the serious faces of the men sitting +round. + +Half guessing our thoughts, Keco said-- + +"To-night no attack will be made. We shall keep guard outside." + +We felt abashed. We confess thoughts of a nocturnal assassination had +not pleased us, and yet these wild mountaineers had already provided +for such a contingency. When we went outside the house before turning +in, Dr. S. pointed out the figure of a motionless sentinel leaning on +his rifle some little distance away. + +"It is odd that the women are so respected," I remarked to the doctor, +"when no other law seems recognised. Do they never take part in a +vendetta?" + +"Never as a woman," said the doctor. "If it should happen that a woman +is the last surviving member of a family, the rest having been killed +in a vendetta, she may continue the feud, but as a man. She then +assumes the clothes of the opposite sex, procures arms and cuts +herself off from the world, living as a hermit. Do you remember that +Albanian woman at Easter time in Podgorica who kissed me so +fervently?" + +We nodded, for we had been much amused at the scene. A wild-looking, +unkempt Albanian woman had kissed the doctor most effusively. + +"Though she had assumed the woman's garb for the Easter festival, she +is to all intents and purposes a man, and hence the man's kiss of +peace. She then asked me for a revolver which I had promised her some +time ago." + +We turned in soon after, but not before we heard another story. + +Two cairns on the road to Plavnica, and but half an hour from +Podgorica, had often been pointed out to us. They were erected to the +memory of an attack made on four gendarmes in connection with a +long-standing vendetta. A party of Albanians had hidden themselves in +two hollows beside the main road at night and as the gendarmes passed +they fired into them, killing one and badly wounding two others. This +happened shortly before our arrival. + +Another scene had been enacted a few days ago which they now related +to us, to prevent us perhaps thinking too much of Keco's story, and +dreaming of it. + +The men of the Zeta had sworn revenge for the death of their gendarme, +a famous man and great favourite, but at the time Prince Nicolas had +sternly forbidden reprisals. But such things are not forgotten, and a +man had crossed the Zem into Albania. Coming on a party of men working +in a field, he had fired, but his aim was unsteady, and he only +wounded his intended victim slightly. Then he fled, hotly pursued, and +received a bad wound as he crossed an open space. Still he managed to +elude his pursuers for the time being, and reached the River Zem. Here +his strength failed him and he clung, half fainting from loss of +blood, to the bushes fringing the bank, unable to go any further. In +this position a man of the clan Hotti found him, as he was coming +along the river. Having heard the shots and seeing a bleeding +Montenegrin, he put two and two together and promptly shot him. The +other Albanians, directed by the report, now came up, and literally +hacked the corpse to pieces. So the Zeta peasants are now two deaths +to the bad. In conclusion, we were told that the authorities have +reason to believe that the murdered man had been accompanied by others +on his raid into a friendly country and were seeking for these men +most diligently to punish them severely. + +For their violating the border laws? + +No, for deserting their comrade, and leaving him to meet his death +alone, and the sentence for this craven deed is ten years. + +Next morning we rode into Podgorica, and comparative civilisation, +after a period of roughing it of the hardest description. We had often +gone from five a.m. till seven or eight p.m. on a couple of eggs and +an occasional glass of milk, and had hard going all the time. It +proved to us pretty conclusively how we of civilised lands +disgustingly and habitually overeat ourselves. + +We finished considerably harder and more fit than at the start, and we +had lived the whole time as the Montenegrins of the mountains live. + +One remarkable gift of which these mountaineers are possessed, and +which deserves special remark, is that of long-distance talking. Men +can speak with each other in the higher altitudes at distances of five +miles and more, where our ears could hardly distinguish a faint sound +of the human voice. Children are accustomed to it at an early age, and +the quaint sight of a mother conversing with her child guarding some +sheep on a neighbouring hillside is often to be witnessed. This gift +must be acquired young, it seems, for Dr. S., who has lived twelve +years amongst the Montenegrins, could neither make himself heard, nor +understand, though he said that he had given himself much pains to +learn the art. + +As we rode into Podgorica that morning, we were struck by meeting +several groups of the Turkish inhabitants hanging about outside the +town. Arriving in the town, only Montenegrins were to be seen in the +streets, walking somewhat ostentatiously up and down, their natural +swagger greatly exaggerated. The news of the elopement of another +Turkish maiden soon reached us, and that day at dinner, an officer, +detailed to prove the matter, told us the story. + +A young Montenegrin had won the heart of the maiden, and accompanied +by a friend, he had gone to the wall of her house and given a +preconcerted signal. The girl had come, but a dispute now arose +between the men as to who should ultimately marry her, and she, in +great disgust, had told them to go away and settle the matter. It +seems that the girl had no particular wishes as to whom she should +marry. At last the friends arranged matters satisfactorily and the +girl was abducted, if one can call an elopement an abduction. However, +in the eyes of the Turks it was a forcible abduction, and the fact +that the girl was related to the most influential Turk in the town did +not improve matters. The Beg had demanded the restitution of the girl +at once and punishment of the offenders. The Prince had sent officials +to settle the dispute. The girl, however, very naturally refused to be +given back, as she would probably have been killed, and insisted on +her baptism and marriage taking place forthwith. + +As the officer said to us-- + +"This is a free country, and we shall not give back the maiden against +her will." + +This had incensed the Turks beyond measure. The town was being +patrolled nightly, and the Beg attempted flight to mark his anger. But +this the Prince would not allow, and the Beg was stopped by gendarmes +as he was entering a carriage one night. Only if he first gave up his +orders, decorations, and his sword of honour, and, furthermore, took +his wives and belongings with him, could he leave the country. + +Such was the state of affairs on our return. At night we went armed, +and really had hopes of seeing a street fight. One evening a shot was +fired in the town, and in the twinkling of an eye men turned out rifle +in hand. Nothing came of it, and the crowd of several hundred armed +Montenegrins slowly dispersed. Had further shots been fired, we were +told, the peasants from far and near would have taken up the alarm, +and in an hour thousands would have flocked into the town. No wonder +the Turks were chary of taking revenge into their own hands.[8] + +[Footnote 8: Again, since writing the above, this statement has been +fully proved. In February, 1902, a party of Turkish soldiers, half +starved in their frontier block-houses, attempted a raid into +Montenegro. They were accompanied by a brother of the famous Achmet +Uiko; whose story has been related elsewhere. In spite of the caution +which the raiders displayed, the news reached Podgorica as soon as +they had crossed the border and seemingly eluded the vigilance of the +Montenegrin frontier guards. A party of Montenegrins lay in wait for +them in Dr. S.'s summer garden (a spot where we had often spent many +pleasant hours) and the Turks were challenged. As an answer the +marauders fired at their unseen challengers, doing no harm, but an +answering volley killed two of them. The rest were captured, one only +making good his escape, and were brought into the town. But the +volleys had alarmed the whole district, hundreds of men pouring into +Podgorica from all the neighbouring villages and hills, till many +thousands had assembled. +--Cetinje, March, 1902.] + +But the mischief done was great. Many families emigrated, much to +Prince Nicolas' anger, for he encourages by every means in his power +the extension of the Turkish population. They bring trade and +cultivate the lands far more diligently than the Montenegrin warriors. + +So it was that we witnessed during these few days the festival of the +Sultan's birthday, which seemed strangely incongruous considering the +mixed feelings of the inhabitants. + +In the morning, all the town officials called on the Turkish Consul. +The militia were formed up and the whole, led by the Montenegrin War +Banner, proceeded in solemn procession to the principal mosque. On +their return, a royal salute was fired from a bastion of the old wall, +and in the evening the town was illuminated. + +It was an extraordinary sight, and one not easily to be forgotten. All +the houses stuck candles in every window, by order of the Prince; the +market-place and the War Memorial were covered with lamps, but the +most striking feature of all was the illumination on a small hill +immediately behind the old town. This hill overlooks the town, and was +covered by rows of lamps. In the streets Turks, Albanians, and +Montenegrins jostled each other; at peace, at any rate, for one +evening. + +A day or two later, a very different spectacle could have been +witnessed. The main street leading to the church on the outskirts of +the town was lined by waiting Montenegrins, and not a Turk was to be +seen. Soon a carriage drove rapidly from the church, with a blushing +Montenegrin girl and a gold-embroidered Montenegrin at her side. It +was the late Turkish maiden, now a radiant Montenegrin bride and +Christian. Several Turks had been caught endeavouring to approach the +church with revolvers concealed, but were promptly turned back. + +And so ended an eventful week. + +One day, quite by accident, we discovered the arrest-house, or place +where prisoners are detained pending their trial and sentence. We were +passing a door which led down by a few steps into a courtyard, when an +acquaintance of ours accosted us. + +We went inside and spoke to him for some minutes. He was a merry +individual and a clerk in a Government office. + +He requested us to bring our camera and photograph him on the next +day. Then he moved and a chain clanked. Neither of us had realised +that this was a prison till that moment, though we had passed that +door many times. + +Next day we came again, and took a picture of our genial friend, whom +we found seated and playing the gusla to a crowd of other prisoners, +some exceedingly heavily chained. + +One or two guards came up and we spent an hour in a pleasant chat. + +Our friend was only "in" for a few days for making a rude remark about +the Chief of Police. The chained men were mostly murderers, if we may +use such a harsh term for those who are compelled to kill their +enemies by the relentless laws of the vendetta, and who would be +punished by the laws of man should they prove themselves guilty of +cowardice. + +The vendetta in Montenegro is a legal anomaly. Men are punished in +either case. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +S. Vasili and Ostrog--Our drive thither--Joyful pilgrims--Varied +costumes--We meet the Vladika of Montenegro--The ordeal of hot +coffee--A real pilgrimage--The shrine of S. Vasili--The ancient +hermit--A miracle--Niksic--The gaudy cathedral and the Prince's +palace--We are disappointed in Niksic. + + +Though we visited the famous Monastery of Ostrog at the very beginning +of our visit to Montenegro, and Niksic at the conclusion, both places +lie so near together that we put them now in this order for the sake +of simplicity. + +It was our good fortune to be enabled to witness the annual pilgrimage +to the shrine of S. Vasili, which takes place during the Greek +Whitsuntide. + +Ostrog is the Lourdes of the Balkans, as many equally miraculous cures +take place as at the Roman Catholic rival in the Pyrenees. The +Serb-speaking races from far and near flock there in enormous numbers, +as well as many Mahometans and Catholics. + +S. Vasili (or Basil) was a native of the Hercegovina and a holy man of +great repute. About a century ago he had a vision telling him to +travel to Montenegro, and there to found a monastery. Accordingly he +set out, taking with him a great quantity of building material, and +chose a spot not far from Podgorica, on the right bank of the Zeta. +But in the night the material disappeared, and S. Vasili hunted high +and low. After a weary search it was found at Ostrog, and there he +built his place of retreat, living many years, working many miracles, +and dying as a saint. He is buried there, and it is said that any +believer has but to visit the shrine, and whatever his wish may be, it +will be fulfilled. Thus cripples have walked back the way which they +were carried, sick have been made whole, and the mentally afflicted +have gone away rejoicing. Certain it is that many wonderful cures are +yearly effected there. + +Furthermore, the name of Ostrog appears often in the glorious annals +of Montenegrin history. The oft-told tale of Prince Nicolas' father, +Mirko, "The Sword of Montenegro," who was besieged in that +inaccessible cleft in a precipice with a handful of men, is one of the +most famous feats of Montenegrin arms. The charred cliffs still bear +silent witness to the efforts which the Turks made to burn out the +little garrison by throwing bundles of flaming straw from above. + +Ostrog is about six hours' drive from Podgorica. The road passes along +the River Zeta, leaving the village of Spuz on the right, and past the +flourishing little town of Danilovgrad, soon to be the connecting +town between Cetinje and Niksic on completion of the projected road. + +There is nothing of interest in Danilovgrad, though the market is of +some importance. A little way beyond the town a nearly complete +building can be noticed. It is the lunatic asylum. + +From this point onwards the road ascends slowly but steadily until a +deep valley lies to the right, and the Zeta assumes quite diminutive +proportions. The mountains opposite rise to an ever-increasing height, +until a few tiny buildings can be made out by the help of +field-glasses. It is Ostrog. That morning we could make out the tents +and booths of the pilgrims, and a dark mass of surging humanity. But +it is still a very long distance away. The road climbs up to the head +of the valley to the village of Bogetic, full that morning of the +carriages of the wealthy pilgrims. During the Whitsun festival +carriages are scarcely to be procured in the whole of Montenegro, or +in Cattaro either. + +We broke our fast here, and then drove for another mile or so where a +path leaves the road, and the pilgrim has either to proceed on +horseback or on foot. We had to go on foot, and a very long and tiring +walk it proved to be. Besides Dr. S. and his factotum, Lazo, we took +another man with us, a wretched puny individual, but seemingly +possessed of more endurance than any of us. He led us by a short cut +over rocks, and up slippery breakneck walls of cliffs, over which our +guide skipped nimbly, and having reached the top seemingly hours +before us, sat down and beamed benevolently. + +Half-way, the rain came down in sheets, and we took shelter in a +wayside inn, or rather hut. It was crowded with returning pilgrims +whom the threatening weather had forced to depart earlier than is +their wont. + +As the weather momentarily cleared, we pushed on, and the remaining +distance was one of the most interesting walks it had been our fortune +to witness. A ceaseless stream of pilgrims poured down the rocky path. +It came on to rain again, but one and all wished us luck in the name +of God and S. Vasili. Nearly every costume of the Balkans was +represented. The Bosnian, in sack-shaped baggy trousers, fitting the +lower leg, either of crimson or blue cloth, a smart-coloured Turkish +jacket, a broad shawl round his waist displaying armouries of knives +and pistols, on his head a fez wound round with a huge turban cloth, +mounted, or leading a pack-horse; his wife in coarse black trousers; +the Hercegovinans, with breastplates of silver ornaments, exquisite in +workmanship and of great antiquity; sombre Servians, and white-clad +Albanians, whose trousers are embroidered with black braid in +fantastic tracing; fez, head-cloth, and neat little Montenegrin cap; +trousers of red, pink, blue and black; gigantic Albanians in high +riding-boots, sitting their horses like Life Guardsmen; Macedonians, +Greeks, and even pure-blooded Turks; Montenegrins in creamy white +frock-coats worn over gold-braided crimson jackets; and dark-blue +costumes with red worsted tassels of the poor Dalmatian peasants--all +passed us in bewildering confusion. + +The women (who were for the most part Montenegrin) showed up well in +comparison with their sisters from Sarajevo, whose attire is, to say +the least, comical. For in the larger towns of the Austrian occupation +territory they are undergoing the stage from East to West, and appear +in huge Turkish trousers and cheap, gaudy European blouses. The +contrast between the Sarajevan and the graceful Montenegrin is +positively ludicrous. But of all the costumes, male and female, the +palm must be given to the Montenegrin. They carry themselves with a +princely air, and their picturesque costume is a model of good taste; +for Montenegro is, as Mr. Gladstone has remarked, the beach on which +was thrown up the remnants of Balkan freedom. After the battle of +Kossovo, all the Serb nobility who would not submit to the Turk fled +to Crnagora, and the traces of heredity are easily to be recognised in +their superb carriage. + +[Illustration: MONTENEGRIN WOMEN] + +It was well after midday when we reached the plateau on which the +lower and modern monastery is situated. We entered through a gate into +a wide path bordered with booths in which crowds of joyful pilgrims +sat refreshing themselves. In spite of the departing crowds that we +had passed, the place was still densely packed, for over twenty +thousand people visit Ostrog. We squeezed into one of the booths and +sat watching the surging mass pass to and fro. + +The mixture of costume was even more marked than on the path below. It +was a brilliant kaleidoscope of colour. Nothing but colour--colour. +Very rarely could a man in European clothes (the richer Dalmatians) be +noticed, and he seemed strangely out of place and harmony. + +As we sat and gazed, two Bosnian minstrels, from bad memory and an +indifferent ear, began playing on a fiddle and a guitar, and though +their music was atrocious, the wild Turkish songs which they sang gave +the finishing touch to the scene. It was not till they began playing +snatches of music-hall airs, such long-forgotten tunes as "Daisy," +that we hurriedly moved on. + +The Archbishop, Mitrofanban, heard of our arrival soon after, and +immediately sent for us. When we approached, he was sitting on the +steps of a house, surrounded by a brilliant staff of Montenegrin +nobles and many priests, while below a great crowd of pilgrims stood +in a ring, watching the national dance, which was being performed +before His Grace. The dance stopped as we drew near. The Archbishop +received us very kindly--this was our first meeting with him--and +expressed his pleasure to see strangers from such a distant land in +Ostrog. He assigned a room to us in his house, and gave orders for us +to be fed during our stay. Murmuring our thanks, we attempted to +withdraw, but we did not escape before we had solemnly drunk the usual +coffee. It was rather an ordeal to consume that very hot coffee in the +face of the multitude, and we were painfully conscious of our many +shortcomings in personal appearance. Muddy and half-wet riding clothes +and flannel shirts do not seem to go with crimson and gold, high boots +of patent leather, and sparkling orders. A Horseguardsman's uniform +would be more in keeping. When we left, the dancing resumed and was +kept up till a late hour that night. We noticed another national dance +at Ostrog. A much more barbaric performance than the stately and +solemn movement of the ring dance, or kolo. + +In this case two performers dance at a time, a man and a woman. A +small ring is made by the spectators, who also supply the relay +couples. The man endeavours to spring as high as possible into the +air, emitting short, Red Indian yells, and firing his revolver. The +woman gives more decorous jumps; and, keeping opposite each other, +they leap backwards and forwards across the small open space. After +a few minutes they are unceremoniously pushed aside, after giving each +other a hasty kiss, and another couple takes their place. This goes on +_ad lib._, and we were soothed to sleep by those wild yells. + +[Illustration: THE LOWER MONASTERY, OSTROG] + +Next morning we were up bright and early, and about seven o'clock +commenced the actual pilgrimage. A steep and stony path winds up +through a dense wood for about an hour. Fanatical pilgrims make this +journey sometimes barefoot, but the ordeal is sufficiently severe +without these little additions. The whole way is lined with beggars, +sometimes hardly recognisable as human beings, who must reap a rich +harvest by the exhibition of their ghastly woes. _They_ constitute the +ordeal. + +Maimed stumps of limbs, deformed children, repulsive and festering +sores, and other diseases too foul for description were proudly +exhibited at every step. A cap was placed invitingly in front of each, +and partly filled with alms already given. In piteous agony diseased +hands and quavering voices besought us in the name of God and their +saint to alleviate their sufferings with the gift of a kreutzer. It +was not a sight that will lightly escape the memory. + +We reached the top, hot and nauseated, but were fully compensated by +the unique view. The monastery is built under an overhanging precipice +which rises to a giddy height above. The charred rocks bear telling +evidence to the miracles which have saved the little edifice from +burning. + +We went straight to the shrine, through a little door scarcely more +than four feet high (the wooden lintels of which being the handiwork +of S. Vasili were piously kissed by the Montenegrins), through two +long and narrow passages hewn from the living rock and emerged +suddenly in a small rock chamber, dimly lit by an oil lamp and about +twelve feet square. The five of us filled the space, and, as our eyes +grew accustomed to the gloom, we were able to distinguish a wooden +shrine taking up the whole length of one side--where the mortal +remains of the Hercegovinan lay. Another side was occupied by an open +coffin containing the vestments and crucifix. On a chair sat a Greek +priest who rose when we entered. At the foot of the shrine lay a +cripple. + +We stood for some minutes in utter silence, and then followed the lead +of the doctor, who approached the coffin and kissed the crucifix, +which a priest gave to us all in turn: a plate for alms lay on the +vestments: then the woodwork of the shrine was likewise kissed, and we +emerged again into the narrow gallery. + +The heat had been intense in the little chapel, and we were in that +limp and exhausted state that one experiences in a Turkish bath. + +[Illustration: THE UPPER MONASTERY] + +The gallery was open on one side where a large bell was fixed, and +this our puny guide struck four times vigorously in the sign of a +cross without a word of warning. + +After the impressive solemnity and silence of the preceding minutes, +we nearly jumped out of our skins, and when our injured hearing had +sufficiently recovered so that we could distinguish the sound of our +own voices, we demanded an explanation of this apparently childish and +wanton outrage. + +He said that he had struck the bell for the renewal of his strength. +It appeared an unnecessary request. + +Dr. S. explained that pilgrims strike the bell on emerging from the +shrine, praying for some special benefit. + +We next went up a lot of steps to a platform under the shelving cliff +where there was a beautiful spring of water. The view which it +commanded was magnificent. Below us lay the lower monastery and the +deep valley of the Zeta, the mountains rising again sharply on the +further side; to the right and left stretched wooded slopes. + +Then we descended again and paid the priest a visit. This man, over +eighty years of age, has spent forty years of his life as a hermit in +that rocky crag. With the exception of Whitsuntide and the occasional +visits of pilgrims, he lives entirely alone, subsisting on vegetables. +His appearance was most patriarchal, his snowy white beard and +saintly look impressing us greatly. When he heard that we were from +England, he embraced and kissed us repeatedly, much to our +embarrassment. His joy knew no bounds, and he kept us with him in his +rock-hewn cell for a considerable time. He even consented to be +photographed, for the first time in his life, facing the ordeal with +unflinching courage. + +The descent to the lower monastery was made in record time, and with +half-closed eyes. We found the Archbishop standing in the shade of an +enormous tree surrounded by a large ring of Montenegrins. He beckoned +to us, asking us for our impressions, and needless to say we solemnly +drank coffee. This beverage began to pall before we left Montenegro. + +After partaking of a splendid meal (for the country), washed down with +wine such as is not to be obtained elsewhere in the land, we paid a +farewell visit to His Grace and departed. + +Already the booths were fast disappearing and a mere handful of +peasants remained. Many pilgrims journey from seven to eight days on +foot or on horseback to Ostrog, over mountain passes and barren +regions; so that the pilgrimage is very real. + +Before we leave Ostrog, we will mention one of the miracles which we +had the opportunity of authenticating. + +A wretched Turk living to-day in Podgorica, a cripple crawling +painfully on hands and knees, once made the pilgrimage to Ostrog. +Friends carried him to the shrine, where he lay all night. Then he +rose up and walked back to Podgorica rejoicing, with those who had +carried him the day before. As he crossed the Vizier bridge, he +sceptically remarked that he would have been healed without undergoing +the farce of the pilgrimage. Straightway he fell to the ground, the +same helpless cripple that he was before. + +The Turk and the witnesses still live--in fact it happened but a few +years ago--to tell the tale. + +The road to Niksic, which we left to proceed to Ostrog, climbs to the +height of 750 metres in crossing the mountain ridge dividing the +valley of the Zeta from that of Niksic. The scenery is throughout fine +and wild. In a succession of serpentines, the road descends sharply on +to the great plain, the fertile valley of Niksic. + +The town can be seen immediately on leaving the mountainous gorge, the +cupola of the cathedral standing up boldly from the surrounding flat. + +A long viaduct is crossed, built by the Russians, at the foot of the +mountain, for in the winter floods are common, and Niksic was at times +nearly cut off from the rest of Montenegro. + +Niksic is probably the coming capital of Montenegro. In fact, it has +been but a question of money that has prevented the removal of the +Government from Cetinje a long time ago. + +The Prince has recently built himself a large palace, the Russians +have erected a large church, and roads are now in the course of +construction connecting it with Risano on the Bocche di Cattaro, and +Cetinje, and again with the Cattaro-Cetinje road. + +When these roads are completed, Niksic will have a most central +position, and the unquestionably rich and fertile plain can be opened +up. Without doubt it is the coming trading centre, and already it is +running Podgorica very close. + +The day after our arrival--we had arrived in the night--we saw the +town under most unfavourable conditions. A violent thunderstorm had +raged incessantly for many hours, and the streets were in parts +inundated. Water was pouring in miniature waterfalls from the ground +floors of many houses which possessed a higher background. Braving the +elements, and often making detours to avoid the lakes, we walked to +the palace and the church. Both lie together outside the town. + +A flight of steps lead up an artificial mound, over-shadowing the +somewhat barrack-like palace, where stands the new cathedral. It is +the most striking edifice in the whole country, surmounted with a +dingy light yellow cupola. It is not pretty or tasteful, but it is +distinctly imposing, and one can well realise the marvellings that +it has given the simple Montenegrins. Inside it is severely plain and +void of any furniture, except the thrones for the Royal Family. Round +the walls are lists of the men who have fallen in recent wars. + +[Illustration: THE CHURCH, NIKSIC] + +[Illustration: THE CHURCH AND PALACE] + +The platform on which the church stands commands a view of the +country. The simplicity of Prince Nicolas' palace is thus accentuated, +for it is situated on perfectly open ground, and there is no garden or +any railings round it. Naked and forlorn, it gives the spectator a sad +impression of poverty. On another side is the old Church of Niksic, +ridiculously small and half-ruined. The Russians did a good deed, for +the comparison is absolutely absurd if a comparison can be drawn +between a hovel and a S. Peter's. + +The town is a long straggling collection of small houses, very +uninteresting and plain, and beyond lies the historical ruin of the +old fortress, stormed by Prince Nicolas in person. + +In the town itself, broad streets and an enormous market-place are the +only features. + +We spent a few days in Niksic, but in this instance we were never able +to rid ourselves of the first impressions, and we left gladly, though +the town was not without its humour. It contains the only brewery in +Montenegro, a ramshackle place and producing very poor beer. The post +office is a tumble-down outhouse, also we were shown the house which +would in the course of time be the Bank of Montenegro. + +It is hard to realise that Niksic is the coming town, in spite of its +gaudy cathedral, but progress makes sometimes wonderful strides. + +Our visit to Niksic was a failure all round. We arrived to see the +Prince ride out of the town at the head of a great cavalcade for the +mountains, and again missed the opportunity of presenting ourselves. + +Our intended tour to the Durmitor, Montenegro's highest mountain, was +frustrated, owing to the Prince's retinue having taken every horse in +the place, in addition to the weather having completely broken up, and +so we missed one of the finest parts of the country. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +The Club and its members--Gugga--Irregularities of time--The absence +of the gentle muse and our surprise--The musician's story and his +subsequent fate--The Black Earth--A typical border house--The ordeal +of infancy--A realistic performance which is misunderstood--Concerning +a memorable drive--A fervent prayer. + + +Before we leave Podgorica for good our readers must be introduced to +the Club. It was not a club in the English sense of the word, but P. +and I always called that hour or two at sunset so delightfully spent +in the company of that cosmopolitan gathering, the Club. Podgorica was +our base, from which we made all our trips and excursions, so that we +were there off and on during the whole of our lengthy sojourn amongst +the sons of the Black Mountain. From the "members" we gleaned many +stories of past and present vendettas and quaint customs which we had +not had the good fortune to witness ourselves. Amongst the regular +members was of course Dr. S., who was three nationalities rolled into +one--to explain, born in Roumania, he entered into Austrian service +and became an Austrian subject, and finally twelve years in Montenegro +had quite "Montenegrinised" him. He was very angry if we told him +this. In the course of his duties as sole veterinary surgeon he had +travelled, and travelled continually from one end of the land to the +other, there was not a corner or collection of huts where he had not +been. He had been snowed up in winter in the mountains, attacked by +wolves, and shot at by Albanians, and had witnessed many a scene of +the vendetta. + +Another even more interesting character was L., an Austrian, who for +years had been employed by scientific institutions in ornithological +and geological research in Montenegro and Albania. He had carried his +life in his hands for weeks together amongst the untameable +mountaineers across the border. A man whose terribly hard life had +turned him into a man of bone and muscle, rivalling the most active +Montenegrin in strength and endurance. And what a fund of anecdote and +adventure he could reel off! Without doubt he was one of the most +interesting and fascinating men we have ever met; a perfect rifle, +gun, and revolver shot, fine horseman and entertaining companion. + +Then there was a Montenegrin professor, he was the father of the +party, though the tales _he_ told were not at all becoming to his age +and learning. He spoke about eight languages well and perhaps that had +slightly turned his brain. Once he had served a term of imprisonment +for an outspoken criticism, and when he became tired of it, he sent +an ultimatum to the effect that if he were not released at once, he +would break out himself, take a rifle and bundle of cartridges and +hold the Lovcen (a high mountain) against all comers. The originality +of his threat gained him his freedom. Since then he has kept a closer +guard over that unruly member and only unburdened himself in the +seclusion of the Club. Otherwise P., myself, and a young and intensely +patriotic Scotchman completed the list of regular members. + +We had a few occasional "country members," officers and officials whom +some of us knew well from Cetinje or Niksic, but we were mostly alone. +At first we met in the garden of one Petri, a good-tempered giant of +about six feet eight inches, but in spite of our patronage he managed +to ruin himself at cards and so we were forced to adjourn to an old +Albanian rascal named Gugga. What fun we had with that dear old boy, +whom we irreverently called Skenderbeg! One day in a moment of +ill-advised confidence he had told us that he was descended from that +great Albanian hero and patriot. But he was an educated and travelled +man, having lived for many years in Venice, spoke an excellent Italian +and correspondingly atrocious German, which latter he delighted to +inflict upon us. He was most amusing in his hatred and contempt of the +Montenegrin peasant. + +Gugga kept a big shop, and when irritated by a customer he had a +regular formula which loses much of its wit when translated, as it +rhymes in Serb. The humble Montenegrin is remarkably feminine in the +way he shops. He will spend half an hour in the store examining +everything with great curiosity. At last he will ask the price of a +certain article. Gugga, whose choler has been slowly rising during his +customer's long and tiring inspection, gives a purposely indistinct +answer, whereupon the Montenegrin will inquire "What does he say?" +Gugga, furious at being spoken to in the third person, turns savagely +upon the astonished Montenegrin saying-- + +"What dost thou say? What dost thou mean? + What stinks here? Get out, ass and son of an ass." + +Another famous saying of his was in speaking of Montenegro, its past +and present rulers. "This land," Gugga would say in all seriousness, +"was first accursed by God, its maker; then by Diocletian, then by the +Sultan, then by our Gospodar (Prince), and lastly by Gospodin +Milovan." Gospodin (Mr.) Milovan was the last Governor of Podgorica, a +man always endeavouring to introduce modern improvements into the +town, much to the disgust of its inhabitants who are nothing if not +conservative, and amongst other sufferers was our friend Gugga. He +substitutes the word "blessed" for "accursed," according to his +audience. + +We met after the arrival of the mail diligence from Cetinje about +half-past six or seven o'clock in the evening. Proceedings usually +commenced with a heated argument as to the time, the last comer being +accused of unpunctuality. It was always an unsatisfactory argument, +for no member ever had the same time as another. A sort of +go-as-you-please time was kept in the town, but as either your watch +invariably gained ten minutes in the day--according to the town clock +it did--or lost a quarter of an hour, no one had any confidence in the +official time, and each swore to the regularity of his own timepiece. +One great advantage of this discrepancy of time was that try as one +would, one was never late for an appointment. Somebody was sure to be +present to back up an indignant protest, that you were five minutes +early. + +One evening was particularly memorable, it was in Petri's garden, +then, that we had met as usual. P. was in a pensive and sentimental +mood, usually caused by the magnificent sunsets. From our table we +commanded a splendid view of those crimson-tinted peaks in the far +distance, and the mysterious purple gloom which, like a rich robe, +covered the intervening hills. By some strange coincidence the subject +of music came up, and P. bitterly lamented the absence of that gentle +muse from such grand surroundings. I don't believe there is a piano in +the country except at the girls' school at Cetinje. The Scotchman had +suggested the gusla as a substitute, and had been met with derisive +laughter, for he had made the suggestion in all good faith. He was one +of the most unmusical men I have ever met. The professor had followed +this up with a learned discourse on the gusla, and the lesson to be +learnt from it in the origin and development of modern music, when +suddenly the sounds of a violin, being tuned in the room behind us, +arrested his flow of speech. In another few moments the unseen +musician began to play, and a deep silence fell upon us, for he was +playing our music and recalling memories of bygone days. Snatches from +Italian opera, and old well-known songs followed each other as we sat +in the twilight and listened, conjuring up pictures of opera-house and +concert-hall in this far-away land. Then the music ceased, and the +tinkling of coins on a plate proclaimed the status of our serenader. +In a few minutes a ragged, fair-haired boy stood before us, wearily +holding a plate in his hand. As we dived into our pockets the doctor +asked him in Serb, who he was and whence he came. He gazed blankly in +answer, and P. said to me, "He looks quite English." A joyful smile +lit up his tired face as he answered-- + +"I am English, sir. I will fetch father; he will be so pleased." + +His father came out, a battered violin under his arm, and we were all +struck with his miserable half-starved and ragged appearance. He +played to us, he did not even play well, poor fellow, but still we +listened appreciatively, and then some of us took him home, fed him, +and we all contributed to his wardrobe. We were all of different sizes +and build, and the result was sadly comical. Before he left us he told +his story. It was not new or even interesting, but intensely pathetic; +one of a large family, fair education, and finally a clerk at L80 a +year. A pretty typewriter, marriage, and no help from his father. +First the girl wife was dismissed, and then the boy husband. The child +was born, and the mother died from lack of proper nourishment and +comfort. For a few years the father earned a few coppers by playing +before public-houses in the East End, and then took to the road. +Somehow or other he found himself on the Continent, and after many +years he had turned up here. It was all very vague and incoherent. +Often starving, homeless, and speaking no language but his own, is it +to be wondered that the man had lost count of days, years, and time? +Now he had a desire to journey to Greece, why, he knew not, but he +clung to it with all a weak man's obstinacy. We could never let him +trudge through Albania, and so the Scotchman procured him a free +passage to Corfu by steamer. He left us one morning, leading his son +by the hand, and over his shoulder a sack containing his worldly +possessions, a sorrowful, ludicrous, and pitiful picture. + +Many weeks afterwards--P. and I had been on an expedition in the +meantime--we sat again in Petri's garden at just such a sunset. We +remembered the musician, and one of us jokingly remarked that his +music would not be so appreciated in Greece as by us music-starved +exiles. Then the Austrian told us the sequel. He had heard it from a +murderous Albanian friend of his, who sometimes brought him specimens. +The wanderer had not used his ticket, and had walked from Antivari to +Dulcigno, from thence he had attempted his original plan of crossing +Albania on foot. He knew nothing of geography or nationality, and +doubtless imagined that he could earn his way as in a civilised +country. On the way to Scutari a band of Albanians stopped him, and he +played to them. The instrument pleased them, and they took it from +him. Then they took the boy--though why they did so is not clear, for +they do not kidnap children--and the father, in a fit of wild despair, +sprang at the nearest Albanian. The Albanians are always glad of an +excuse to kill; the wanderer found his death in perhaps the only +moment of heroism that he had displayed throughout his wretched life. +Such, though, was the story our informant had gleaned, and it took the +edge off our evening's amusement. + +But other evenings we were merry, and many were the wonderful stories +of adventure told over bottled beer and an extraordinary salad which +old Gugga mixed before us--to make an appetite, as he said. + +We got to love Podgorica in the end, and left its streets, full of +gaudy-coloured humanity, the old shot-riddled town across the river, +and the glorious mountain panorama, with sorrow. There was always +something to talk about, from a threatened raid of the Albanians to +the abduction of a Turkish maiden. Death is always very near in that +unknown border town. + +The day of our final departure from Podgorica, we drove to the famous +Crna Zemlja, or Black Earth. + +The object of our visit was chiefly to call on a young Albanian, who +had repeatedly invited us. Though an Albanian, he is a Montenegrin +subject and a corporal in the standing army. + +As a matter of fact, he is a fugitive from his clan, the Klementi, +where his life is forfeited in a blood feud. The Prince wisely uses +such men as a kind of extra border guard, giving them land and houses +on the actual frontier line, knowing that they will keep a doubly +sharp watch to preserve their own lives. + +The Black Earth is an absolutely flat and treeless plain, covered at +times with grass, which mischievous Albanians love to set fire to in +the hopes of some sport with peasants, who might attempt to +extinguish the conflagration. The River Zem divides it and constitutes +the boundary, but the land on both sides is neutral by mutual consent. +It is courting death to walk upon it. Block-houses dot it at frequent +intervals, containing small garrisons of Montenegrin and Turkish +soldiers. + +As we drove past the first Montenegrin block-house, we were reminded +of a ride which we once took to it, while our knowledge of the border +dangers was nil. On that occasion we had cantered, innocently, +straight towards it, and were amused to see its little garrison +promptly turn out. A man came running towards us motioning us to halt. +This unmistakable request we suddenly obeyed, for the men behind had +covered us with their rifles. + +Explanations followed, and the rest of the men came up smiling; but +they sent us back towards Podgorica at once, which was only half an +hour's ride away--saying that a bullet from the overlooking hill would +be no unusual thing. + +To-day we left this block-house on our left, and, striking the Zem, we +drove along it till we reached a solitary house. A few hundred yards +further down was a Turkish fort, with the banner of the Star and +Crescent hanging lazily at the mast. + +This house was the home of our friend, quite a young man of sixteen, +but married and a proud father. He could well have been mistaken for +twenty-five. + +He was working in his field as we drew near, and hurried to meet us. +First of all we went to the Zem, which fifty yards away would be +unnoticed, as it lies between two deep banks, which break off suddenly +and without any indication. This historical little river looked very +peaceful as it flowed through deep basins, hollowed out of the rocky +bed, and splashed over great boulders. How often has it been crossed +by bands of men intent on bloodshed and murder, who often recrossed, +flying and hunted fugitives! What quantities of blood have dyed those +clear and crystal pools! What awful doings of death have they +reflected! + +The Turkish soldiers opposite turned out, and viewed our movements +inquisitively. Our Albanian friend hinted that a too lengthy +inspection might be misunderstood, so we withdrew. + +The house was a curiosity. One-storied, and solidly built of stone; it +had no windows, but suggestive loopholes. The ground floor was empty. +We looked inside for the staircase, but in vain, and this was scarcely +odd, because there was none. The family lives above, and the only +means of entry to their dwelling is by a ladder. This is drawn up +after the last man, for the night. + +As we clambered up the ladder and crawled through the narrow doorway, +the young mother (of fifteen) kissed our hands. + +An aged lady, evidently the great-grandmother of one of the young +couple--at least, to judge by her decrepit appearance, she might well +have been that (in reality she was the boy's mother)--sat spinning in +a corner. A weeping and noisy infant lay strapped immovably in a +wooden cradle with no rockers, which a young maiden attempted to +soothe by covering it with a thick cloth and rocking it vigorously. + +That Montenegrins survive the ordeal of infancy is a proof of their +iron constitutions. An ordinary healthy English baby would be +suffocated in five minutes under that hermetic pall, or, escaping this +fate, would die of concussion of the brain from violent jarring to and +fro, which we have inadvertently termed "rocking." + +A wood fire smouldered in one corner of the room, and the embers were +blown into flames as the little can of water was placed in them to +boil. As the water boils, several spoonfuls of coffee are put in--of +the _good_ coffee, only used for distinguished visitors--and the whole +allowed to boil up three or four times. Then cups are produced, sugar +added, and the thick mixture poured out. This beverage is drunk when +it is cool enough, and when the grounds have sunk in a thick sediment +at the bottom of the cup. + +[Illustration: A REALISTIC PERFORMANCE] + +[Illustration: AN ALBANIAN HOME ON THE CRNA ZEMLJA] + +The room, our treatment, and the coffee-brewing are typical of many +such visits that we paid in Montenegro. + +Afterwards spirits were produced, tobacco tins exchanged, and +arms--rifles, revolvers, and handjars--inspected and criticised. Any +relics or curiosities are produced, and everyone becomes very +friendly. + +Before we left, an old man (some relation of our host) came up as we +were examining a fine handjar, that heavy and hiltless sword which +forms part of both the Albanian and Montenegrin fighting kit, though +they are no longer universally carried in times of peace. The handy +revolver has replaced the former beltful of pistols and yataghan. But +in border fighting the handjar is always taken, and, when time +permits, the victim is still decapitated by a single blow of that +murderous weapon. + +The old man--a villainous-looking rascal, with shaven head and +scalping lock--favoured us with a graphic mimicry of a fight, showing +the methods in his day. He took the handjar between his teeth and a +musket in his hands, yelling and scowling fearfully; then, the last +cartridge fired or the moment for hand-to-hand combat arrived, the +rifle was thrown away, and brandishing the handjar in the air, he +darted towards us. It was a most realistic performance, and made us +feel thankful that it was only play. + +Suddenly the old man stopped his wild yelling and burst out laughing. +He laughed till the tears ran down his cheeks. + +We glanced behind us at the loophole door, and there, with a horrified +look, peered our driver, revolver in hand. + +He thought that we were being murdered. He was a foreigner and new to +Podgorica, but more of him anon. + +Then we took our leave and drove on to another block-house, and +visited the commandant. After that we returned to Podgorica, and that +afternoon, affectionate leave-takings over, we departed for Cetinje, +en route for Cattaro. + +That drive, which should have taken about seven hours, was a memorable +one, and a fitting conclusion to our visit. + +We wired to the hotel in Cetinje in the morning, ordering supper to be +ready for eight o'clock. Then we had hoped to leave at one p.m. At two +we again wired from Podgorica for supper to be delayed till ten. + +A hundred yards from the town we stopped, and the driver mended some +harness with a piece of wire. A mile further on something else broke. +If nothing gave way, a horse kicked a leg over a trace, necessitating +its partial unharnessing. Each time the driver (he of the morning's +drive and a native of Hercegovina) descended, swearing softly between +clenched teeth, in caressing tones, and his face set in a forced +smile. If we had not understood what he said, he might have been +addressing endearing remarks to his horse, or holding serious converse +with a friend. + +It became very monotonous after a few hours--should we go for three +hundred yards without a stop of five or ten minutes, it was a matter +for comment. We began to feel alarmed, fearing worse things. + +Rijeka we reached at eight p.m. instead of five, and we sent another +wire, stating our arrival to be uncertain, if not improbable. + +We seriously contemplated staying the night, but an appointment next +morning forced us to give up this idea. + +After an hour's rest we proceeded. The same weary repetition was +resumed, either the near side horse lashed out violently and remained +hung over a trace, or the axle boom or something broke. + +We dozed, and I awoke from a sudden jar to find the driver sound +asleep, the horses wandering aimlessly along, a precipice of many +hundred feet below us on one side. The road takes sharp turns every +hundred yards, rendering it impossible to see far ahead, and traffic +even at night is not uncommon. Drivers shout when nearing a corner, +particularly on coming downhill, which they do at a great pace. I +shuddered at the thought of a carriage dashing suddenly round a +corner upon us as we painfully climbed, for our driver slept soundly. +I even shouted in his ear, but in vain. Then I struck him, and with +effect. Inured as we were already by the dangers of that drive, we +slept no more. + +I looked at my watch; it was one o'clock. In another hour the look-out +hut of Bella Vista loomed up indistinctly, and we thought of that +grand view of the Lake of Scutari and the mountain panorama to be seen +from there. + +We stopped all the way down into Cetinje, at intervals, and had a long +wait actually in the town itself while the driver hunted up a friend +and borrowed a spanner. + +At three a.m. we arrived, and refused the offer of our driver to take +us down to Cattaro next day. He assured us that everything would be in +order by the afternoon. But we declined, even though he made us a +cheap offer, below the ordinary price. We had no more confidence in +him or his carriage, or his wonderful kicking horse--in fact, we gave +quite a curt and rude refusal, when he pressed the matter. + +Safe inside the old-fashioned hostelry of Reinwein, we thanked +Providence for our safe arrival. We had been through a few dangerous +experiences during our sojourn in the Land of the Black Mountain, but +none worse than this. + +The carriage was small, and we suffered agonies from cramp; every +moment we expected to see it fall to pieces; one of the horses lashed +out violently, narrowly missing the face of the driver, if only +touched with the whip, every time hitching itself over a trace and +threatening to kick the decrepit structure behind it to bits; the +devilish anger of the man, his lurid and comprehensive cursing in that +soft voice, the danger of dashing over a precipice, constituted a +journey which we fervently pray may never again fall to our lot. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +We reconsider our opinion of Cetinje--A Montenegrin wake and its +consequences--A hero's death--Montenegrin conversation--Needless +appeals to the Deity--We visit the hospital. + + +We have said that there are not many stirring events happening in +Cetinje. But this was due to the fact that we had only a very +superficial knowledge of the town. To appreciate it fully, though, it +is absolutely necessary to know the country and the people first. We +had quite made up our minds to go down to Cattaro the day following +the memorable drive from Podgorica, but a mutual acquaintance, a +Montenegrin of high standing, met us as we strolled aimlessly down the +main street that morning. When he heard that we were leaving in a few +hours, he became quite excited. Had we really seen everything, in +Cetinje too? + +"Yes," said we. "We have visited the monastery, watched the soldiers +drilling, chatted with the criminals, and know every burgher of the +town, at least by sight." + +"First you must see the hospital and then you must attend a trial in +the Supreme Court of Appeal," said our seducer. "And as for +vendettas," he added with pride, "we too have our little quarrels. On +the spot you are standing a man was shot five years ago, and in the +act of dying he killed his assailant." + +"Tell us the story," we broke in eagerly. Montenegro is demoralising +in this respect. One becomes so used to bloodthirsty anecdotes that +one wonders how other countries exist without the excitement of the +vendetta. Then the intercourse with noted murderers and assassins +makes a mere ordinary man whose hands are not stained with the blood +of his fellow-beings seem dull and tame. Our eagerness pleased our +friend and we adjourned to the cafe opposite. + +About five years ago a near relation of the Prince died, and was taken +to the home of Petrovic in Njegusi. To do honour to the dead man, the +men of Cetinje and the men of Bajice--a village at the further end of +the valley--accompanied the corpse as a guard of honour. + +Now a corpse is waked in true Irish style in this country, and by the +time the escort had returned to the valley of Cetinje and halted at +Bajice for a parting glass, the condition of the mourners resembled +the close of a Bank Holiday in London. The too liberal indulgence in +raki or spirits does not always provoke that mellowness which follows +a good dinner and a glass of port. On the contrary, you become +argumentative and convinced of the truth of your side of the question, +and you do not hesitate to tell the other man that he is more or less +of a fool. So it came to pass in Bajice that those of Cetinje argued +that they were the better men, a statement which did not conduce to +good fellowship--in fact, a Voivoda who was present, a native of +Bajice, had to interfere to prevent the only true solution of the +question in point. He was an aged man, and the men of Cetinje +proceeded home without proving their statement. One man, however, +stayed behind to continue the argument, and this naturally enraged the +Voivoda. He ordered him to be beaten. Nothing loath, the worthy +villagers fell upon him, and belaboured him with such fervour that he +soon fell insensible to the ground. Before he lost consciousness, he +was heard to utter a threat to the effect that his assailants would be +sorry for it. + +Then he was carried to the hospital in Cetinje and lay six weeks +recovering. + +When he was well again, his thoughts were occupied with revenge, and +in this scheme he was greatly assisted by his relations. + +"Thou wilt be killed, of course," they said, "but thine and our honour +must be avenged. Who are the men of Bajice to beat one of us and go +unpunished?" + +He was of the same opinion, and cast about for a suitable victim. Now +the son of the aged Voivoda who had ordered the assault lived in +Cetinje. He was the captain of the Royal Body Guard, the hero of many +a fight with the Turks, and famed throughout the land. We knew his +son, who stands about six feet four inches, and he is said to have +been small compared to what his father was. + +"He shall be the victim," said the man of Cetinje, and his relations +applauded the choice. + +One morning early the captain emerged from a shop, and from a distance +of a few feet, the avenger of his honour fired at him from behind, +hitting him in the neck. The captain fell forward on his face, saying, +"Who has shot me?" and turning saw the assassin running up the street. +With his last strength he drew his revolver, and resting his elbow on +the ground, he fired once; the man reeled but continued his headlong +flight: again the wounded officer fired, and as he sank forward dying, +he had the satisfaction of seeing the fugitive throw up his hands and +fall dead, shot through the heart. The last shot was fired at a +distance of fifty yards. + +"As you can imagine," concluded our informant, "the news of this +affray nearly caused a pitched battle between Bajice and Cetinje, +which was only prevented by the energetic action of the Prince. He +called the two clans together before his palace and with marvellous +judgment picked out the ring-leaders and imprisoned them, and the rest +were sent home with such a warning of what would come if he heard any +more about it, that all interest was lost in the dispute. Men do not +like to face our Prince when he is angered, and his constant presence +in Cetinje is a great drawback to the vendetta. Now I must leave you, +and to-morrow you shall visit the hospital." + +We strolled to the market-place, which was full of peasants and their +produce. It is not nearly such a scene of life as is met with +elsewhere. The Albanian element is almost totally absent, and that +alone takes fifty per cent. of the wildness off. Neither are rifles +brought to Cetinje, so that it presents a far more peaceable aspect. +Still it is crowded, the guslars do a literally roaring trade, and +there are always a sprinkling of men from the Vasovic and other +outlying clans to liven up the scene. + +Here old friends and comrades in arms meet, called to the capital as +witnesses, or principals, in a law case, or to draw their salaries as +small officials of their districts. The conversation on these +occasions is always the same, and if heard often, becomes monotonous. +The unvarying formula of greeting is quaint and terse, but it loses +much of its impressive character by translation. One word in +explanation. The Montenegrins cannot utter the simplest remark +without invoking the Almighty in some form or another. The use of the +word "Bog," or "God," is incessant. + +Picture an aged man, whose grey stubble fringes a weather-beaten and +furrowed face with a grizzled moustache. He is smoking a grimy +tchibouque in a contemplative fashion, as he stands on the outskirts +of the chattering throng. To him approaches a second stalwart, lean +man about the same age and appearance. He is also smoking a long +tchibouque; it is a custom which the elder inhabitants have adopted +from the Turks. + +"May God protect thee," says the new-comer gravely, as though he had +never given vent to such a momentous utterance before. + +"May God give thee good fortune," answers the other, with equal +solemnity; and removing their pipes, they clasp hands and fervently +kiss each other. Then the smoking is resumed, and between the puffs +the following conversation ensues. + +"How art thou?" says the new-comer, gazing with affection at his old +comrade. + +"Well, thank God," replies the other. + +"Thank God." + +"And how art thou?" + +"Well, thank God." + +"Thank God." + +Now it is the new-comer's turn for the Montenegrin catechism. + +The questions already asked and answered are only the prelude, so to +speak, before they settle down to serious business. "Kako ste?" ("How +art thou?") is simply as meaningless as "How do you do"; in fact, a +mere matter of form. + +"Art thou well?" says the questioner, referring to the other's state +of health, who replies-- + +"I am well, by God, thank God." + +"Thank God," says the questioner, breathing more freely, and +continuing. + +"How is thy wife?" "How are thy children?" "Thy grandchildren?" "Thy +brother?" "Thy sister?" To all of which a deep-toned "Well, thank +God," is given. + +Having satisfied himself that the whole family is in reasonable +health, and quite certain that he has omitted no important relation, +the catechiser proceeds to inquire as to the other's worldly +possessions. + +"How are thy crops?" + +"God will give me a good harvest." + +"How are thy horses?" "Thy sheep?" "Thy goats?" "Thy cows?" "Thy +pigs?" "Thy bees?" + +It must be clearly understood, to appreciate the humour of the scene, +that the formula has been shortened to avoid vain repetition. Every +question is asked in full, and answered with a pious "Dobro, hfala +Bogu" ("Well, thank God"). Not a word is omitted. The concluding +question is put, after a few moments' thought that really no item has +been left out, and this covers any lapse of memory. + +"And, in short, How art thou?" + +"Dobro, hfala Bogu" ("Well, thank God"). + +"Hfala Bogu" ("Thank God"). + +Now it is the other's turn, and precisely the same questions are +asked, varied perhaps with an inquiry as to the state of health of the +district "standard bearer" or "mayor." Then a few minutes' general +conversation are indulged in as to the direct cause of the other's +visit to Cetinje, and each satisfied that he has gained every particle +of information, they clasp hands, kiss, and part with a measured +"S'Bogom," signifying that they commend each other to the Almighty's +keeping. + +The simplest and most inoffensive query is answered thus:-- + +"Hast thou any milk?" says the thirsty wayfarer, pausing at a hut. + +"I have none, by God," and the stranger proceeds wearily on his way. + +Our visit to the hospital was decidedly interesting. The senior doctor +of Montenegro was an ex-Austrian military surgeon. He was very +pressing in his invitation, so one day we wended our steps thither at +eleven o'clock. We were met by a smart-looking nurse, who told us that +the doctor was at present engaged in an operation, and would be with +us shortly. He soon appeared, and, apologising for the simplicity of +the building, started taking us round. First he led us into the +accident-room, where the injured are first treated. There were the +usual operating-tables and cases of instruments. "We treat wounds that +are suppurating here," he said pleasantly. "Our real operating-room is +in the other house, and is much better fitted up. This being the only +hospital in the country I have all the operations to perform, +generally one a day." + +Then we went into the Roentgen room. The X rays, the doctor informed +us, was very useful in locating bullets. In the men's ward a young man +was pointed out to us who had been shot twice during a kolo dance in +the arm and leg. + +"The Montenegrins," said the doctor, "are very careless when they fire +their revolvers during a dance, and I get a good many patients that +way." Afterwards we visited some other wards, and we were finally +taken to the other operating-room, or theatre. But it was only a +reproduction of the other on a large scale. "The Prince is very +generous," said the doctor, "and gives me a free hand. We have every +modern appliance, and I have trained my assistants to such an extent +that I can absolutely rely on them. The hospital costs a lot of money, +for we only charge a krone (about a franc) a day, and then they +petition that they cannot pay." + +After inscribing our names in a book we went back to our midday meal. + +The hospital, from a medical and surgical standpoint, is extremely up +to date, and at its head is a doctor who may be counted as one of the +finest operators in Europe; at his own request his name has not been +mentioned. It is another instance of Prince Nicolas' benevolence to +his people, another of the progressive movements which he is ever +introducing into the country. Every district has a doctor, all of whom +are under the head doctor at Cetinje, who directs all treatment in the +case of an epidemic. Serious cases are sent to Cetinje and treated +there, but these are largely surgical. The fame of the doctor at +Cetinje has reached the furthermost village; men who have suffered for +years now troop joyfully to the capital, and the number of operations +increases yearly. + +May the hospital and its capable chief flourish and continue to bring +the blessings of science to the worthy sons of the Black Mountain! + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +The Law Court in Cetinje--The Prince as patriarch--A typical +lawsuit--Pleasant hours with murderers--Our hostel--A Babel of +tongues--Our sojourn draws to a close--The farewell cup of coffee and +apostrophe. + + +The Law Court in Cetinje is distinctly quaint. All civil cases are +conducted in public, and the method of procedure is simplicity +itself.[9] Firstly there are no lawyers and no costs, the rival +parties conducting their case in person--that is to say, they are +present, and are examined and cross-examined by the judge and his six +assistants. All the preliminaries have been committed to writing and +are read out by the clerk of the court, the only other official +present. In a small inclosure sit the plaintiff and defendant and +their witnesses; behind a railing, stand and sit the audience of +admiring friends and relations. + +[Footnote 9: This is all altered now since the end of 1902, when a new +code and system was introduced, more up to date.] + +The room is long and low. At the further end on a raised dais sits the +judge, behind whom is a lifesize reproduction of the Prince's +photograph. At a horseshoe-shaped table sit the other judges, three on +each side, and in the middle is another table holding the Bible, +crucifix, and two candles. The candles are lit when a witness takes +the oath. + +In the intervening space is a large and comfortable easy-chair, or +perhaps it would be more correct and dignified to call it a throne. It +is occupied by Prince Nicolas whenever he comes in, as he often does, +for an hour or so, for he takes a keen interest in the law cases of +his subjects. When he is present the proceedings are in no way +altered, but the Prince himself puts now and then a pertinent question +to the witnesses. Furthermore, it is here that the Prince every +Saturday, when he is in residence in Cetinje, holds public audience +and receives petitions and complaints from his lowliest subjects. +Every petition must be committed to writing, and in the appointed +order each man or woman steps forward while the document is read aloud +by the clerk. The Prince puts a question or two to the petitioner and +then gives his answer to the request, which is duly noted, and the +next person called. + +It is all so simple and quick that it is hard to realise the +importance of this commendable institution. In the olden days the +Prince dispensed justice and favours, seated under the shade of an +enormous tree, which has now, however, been destroyed. But in the +height of summer, a shady spot in the open air is still found. + +We listened to one case, that of a woman who had amassed a large sum +of money--for Montenegro--by fetching water from a distance at so much +a gallon. Cetinje is almost waterless in summer, and water-carriers +can earn small fortunes, particularly if equipped with a donkey or +two, as was this woman. Having saved a few hundred guldens, she +proceeded to lend it to needy friends--people are foolish in this +respect, even in Montenegro. It would have been all right if she had +not neglected the simple precaution of insisting on an I.O.U. for each +loan. Her money gone, she not unnaturally asked that some of it should +be returned, for she had fallen on evil days. But all knowledge of +such loans was denied by the ungrateful borrowers. + +It was a knotty point to decide. Should the judges believe the woman's +word, or the emphatic denials of the debtors that they had ever +received a kreutzer? The seven looked hopelessly at each other, and +then wisely retired to the seclusion of a private room, awaiting +divine inspiration. + +As of yore, the little prison, or rather house of detention, had a +great attraction for us. Many afternoons we wended our way thither to +while away an hour in the genial company of the prisoners and their +warders. The handsome young director of prisons usually accompanied +us, ostensibly but to bear us company, though doubtless he was acting +on higher orders, and had instructions to see that our eccentricities +did not go too far. + +We organised sports on some occasions, chiefly consisting of putting +the weight, _i.e._ a large stone, but they _would_ swindle and +invariably overstepped the limit line, declaring that they hadn't +afterwards. + +But it was their stories that we loved to listen to. They were mostly +harmless quarrellers, for we shunned the debased thieving criminal; a +man who could steal was vigorously excluded from our circle. There was +one exception, however, and he was a Hungarian, a deserter from his +regiment. That in itself is not a punishable crime, but he had eased +the regimental cash-box of a thousand kronen at the time of his +departure, and was awaiting the result of investigations. He +maintained that the money was his, and was quite indignant when it was +hinted that he must have stolen it; but unluckily he destroyed any +belief in his honesty by invariably contradicting himself as to how he +came by it. But he was such a good-natured, pleasant-spoken man that +we let him sit by our side and prevaricate, till we bade him cease +from further blackening his soul. + +We gleaned a lot more information from the young director of the +prison, and amongst it the method of recapturing escaped prisoners. In +the central prison at Podgorica, if a prisoner escapes, the rest of +the criminals are sent out to catch him. Very often they find him, and +never has a prisoner abused this privilege, all punctually returning +by a given date. + +We stayed at Reinwein's inn, an unpretentious building, both as +regards the exterior and interior, but as Reinwein himself is a +Viennese, and has been for twelve years in the service of the Prince, +acting often as cook, it is quite safe to say that at his house the +best cooking in the whole of Montenegro is to be found. Coming into +the country this would not be so noticeable, but after months in other +Montenegrin towns the cooking is most appreciable. We spent very happy +evenings in his bare little dining-room, with a decidedly cosmopolitan +gathering. The most noticeable feature was the number of languages in +use. Even Dalmatia, Bosnia, and the Hercegovina, where a +three-languaged man is the rule, paled into insignificance. There was +a Turkish official staying at Reinwein's, transacting business for his +Government, and every evening men came to see him; that man was to be +heard--he was a Neapolitan by birth--conversing fluently in Turkish, +Albanian, Serb, Greek, Italian, and French, alternately. One evening I +was trying to follow the conversation, which began in Italian, then he +wandered off into other tongues, explaining, evidently, a letter +written in Turkish. I got interested and went over to his table, and, +afterwards, he told me which languages he had been using. Besides this +little list, Reinwein spoke Russian with another man, German largely +with us, and P. and I passed remarks to each other in English, which +was the only unknown language. One evening two Hungarian tourists +arrived, and then we fled from that Babel, fearing for our reason. + +An affable old Turk, seedy in appearance, but extremely entertaining, +owned to six languages, not counting others of which he had only a +smattering. Serb he didn't count as he said he could only talk on easy +subjects in that tongue. It is very humiliating, that sort of thing, +it is liable to lower the opinion of one's own intelligence. We kept +late hours, too, at Reinwein's, we couldn't help it. + +But all good things must come to an end, and at last the day of our +departure arrived. Cetinje itself was quite a different place to us +than when we knew it formerly. Representative of the land in a certain +sense it rightly is, but then a fairly full knowledge of the country +must be acquired first to understand in what respects it represents +the life and customs of the people beyond. To the stranger who extends +his visit for only a week, it is sure to give manifold false +impressions, for though Montenegro is quiet and peaceable enough, the +appearance of Cetinje is rather too assuring. For here there is little +trace of vendetta and quarrelling, which, however, under the powerful +hand of the present Prince Nicolas, are surely dying out through all +the land. When the fact is taken into consideration that the +Montenegro of forty years ago was a rough and dangerous country, +inhabited by a people who knew nothing of the outside world, and lived +simply for themselves in their own land, it will be seen what +miraculous progress has been made in the path of civilisation during +the present reign. Peace and order have been established to a +wonderful degree, and the State reorganised and set on a surer basis. +With a powerful hand and not too much external help the Prince has +carried through his reforms, and, like David in his final exhortation +to Solomon, leaves the way ready for still greater progress to be made +in the future. And the comparison holds good in more respects than +one. + +We drank our last little cup of coffee, oddly enough, in the +historical monastery of Ivan Beg in the company of the Vladika, to +whom we were paying our farewell respects, and half an hour later were +whirling down to Bajice under the shadow of the mighty Lovcen. + +As the grand Bocche di Cattaro again burst on our view and the first +black and yellow sign-post of Austria was passed, we turned again for +a last look at those seemingly forbidding and inhospitable mountains; +but only forbidding and inhospitable to the enemy of the brave little +race beyond. To the stranger, fresh from the comforts and improvements +of civilisation, it is a revelation of how men live, knowing nothing +of the luxuries of the outer world, and keep themselves untarnished in +honour; honest and God-fearing where a man is judged by his deeds and +not by his words. Where men do not steal or lie, and where the humble +peasant looks his Prince in the face and says-- + +"Lord, I am a man like thyself." + +They have their faults and failings, many of their customs seem +barbaric to our eyes: but may they long be preserved from the evils of +civilisation! + +Later, as the ship ploughed her way through the waves, and the +mountains of Crnagora became ever more and more faint and indistinct, +we thought of Tennyson's words:-- + + "They rose to where their sov'ran eagle sails, + They kept their faith, their freedom, on the height, + Chaste, frugal, savage, armed by day and night + Against the Turk; whose inroad nowhere scales + Their headlong passes, but his footstep fails, + And red with blood the Crescent reels from fight + Before their dauntless hundreds in prone flight + By thousands down the crags and through the vales. + + * * * * * + + O smallest among peoples! rough rock-throne + Of Freedom! warriors beating back the swarm + Of Turkish Islam for five hundred years, + Great Crnagora! never since thine own + Black ridges drew the cloud and broke the storm + Has breathed a race of mightier mountaineers." + + +THE END + + + + +INDEX + + +Alarm, 87, 187 +Albanian costume, 139 + " custom house, 133 + " mass, 231 +Andrijevica, 65, 183 +Antivari, 113, 270 +Army, 26, 27, 46 +Austria, 8, 13, 137 + +Babel, 295 +Bajice, 281 +Balsic, 17 +Band of Good Hope, 155 +Barracks, 46 +Bella Vista, 55, 143 +Billard, 43 +Bogetic, 250 +Bojana, 121, 132 +Brda, 2, 145 +Budua, 22 +Business methods, 77 + +Cardplaying, 169 +Carina, 206 +Catherine II., 21 +Cattaro, 22, 34 + " Bocche di, 33 +Caxton, 19 +Cetinje, 18, 40, 42, 280 +Church, 13 + " militant, 137 +Conversation, 285 +Crimean War, 22 +Crnagora, 15, 17, 297 +Crna Zemlja, 74, 271 +Curzola, 33 + +Daibabe, 89 +Danilo, Crown Prince, 7, 30, 114, 156 +Danilo II., 22 +Danilovgrad, 69, 249 +Death dirge, 85 +Dinos, 234, 236 +Dukla, 93 +Dulcigno (Ulcinj), 24, 117, 270 + +Easter, 66, 74 +Edward VII., 166 + +Fatalism, 228 +Fishing, 105 +Food, 3, 107, 170, 196 +Fundina, 83, 233 + +Gambling, 7, 265 +Gjolic, 208 +Grahovo, 23 +Gravosa, 33 +Gugga, 265 +Gusinje, 25, 187, 197, 205, 216 +Guslar, 39 + +Heraclius, 16 +Hildebrand, 16 +Hospital, 46, 287 +Hospitality, 60 +Hotti, 227 + +Imperfect valleys, 2 + +Karst, 2 +Katunska, 2 +Keco, 233 +Kiuprili Pasha, 20 +Klementi, 20, 271 +Kohl, 5 +Kolasin, 65, 153 +Kolo, 157 +Kom, Kucki, 211 + " Vasojevicki, 199 +Konjuhe, 205 +Korito, 222 +Kostice, 223 +Krivosejans, 23 +Krusevac, 62, 72 +Kuc, 20, 79, 206, 227 + +Lakic Voivodic, 183 +Law, 28, 290 +Lesina (Hvar), 33 +Lijeva Rijeka, 150 +Lim, 183 +Ljubotin, 143 +Lovcen, 28, 103, 265 +Lunatic Asylum, 69 + +Mala, 148 +Market, 73 +Marko Ivankovic, 118 +Martinovic, 154 +Medun, 83 +Memorial stones, 214, 221 +Michael Dozic, 164 +Militia, 171 +Mirko (father to the reigning Prince), 23, 249 +Mokra, 182, 228 +Moraca, 101, 147 + " monastery, 162 +Morina, 198 + +Nicolas, Prince, 4, 5, 9, 43, 115, 177, 261 +Niksic, 24, 250, 259 +Njegusi, 38 + +Obod, 19, 59 +Ostrog, 160, 248 + +Pannonia, 32 +Perusica, 204 +Peter, St., 21 +Peter II., 21 +Petri, 265 +Petrovic, 20 +Pilgrims, 251 +Plavnica, 110 +Podgorica, 15, 28, 56, 66, 241, 263 +Pola, 32 +Popovic, Simeon, 89 +Prison, 28, 47, 69, 292 +Procletia, 216, 226 +Prstan, 113 + +Quagmires, 152 + +Radonic, 20 +Ragusa, 33 +Raskrsnica, 175 +Reinwein, 294 +Revolvers, 37 +Rijeka, 56, 58, 142 +Rikavac, 218 +Risano, 34, 260 +Roads, 29, 36, 65, 132, 146 +Roman Catholics, 13, 223, 225 +Rumija, 56, 103 + +Samuel, Czar, 16 +Sandjak of Novipazar, 1, 14 +Scutari, 15, 135 +Shooting, 57, 88, 90,103, 198, 217 +Skenderbeg, 17, 265 +Sokol Baco, 100 +Spalato, 32 +Spizza, 22 +Spuz, 89, 249 +Stature, 6 +Stefan Crnoievic, 17 +Stefan Duzan, 16 +Stefan Mali, 21 +Stefan Nemanja, 16, 160 +Sutorman Pass, 112 + +Tara, 152 +Terpetlis, 205 +Teuta, 15 +Theatre, 46 +Tobacco, 105 +Topolica, 111 +Trieste, 31 +Tusi, 234 + +Uiko, Achmet, 96, 120, 244 + +Vaccination, 129 +Velika, 195 +Vendetta, 75, 205, 225, 239, 240, 247, 281 +Venice, 19 +Virpazar, 110 +Vizier Bridge, 62 +Vladika, 43 + " Mitrofanban, 44, 253, 296 +Voivoda Marko, 79, 233 + " of the Zeta, 18, 62 +Vranjina, 103, 110 +Vucipotok, 213 + +Wake, Montenegrin, 281 +Women, 5, 71, 243 +Wurmbrand, 31 + +Yussuf Mucic, 81 + +Zabljak, 17, 102 +Zara, 32 +Zatrijebac, 223 +Zem, 226, 241, 272 +Zeta, 1, 249 + + + + +A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS +PUBLISHED BY METHUEN +AND COMPANY: LONDON +36 ESSEX STREET +W.C. + + + + +CONTENTS + +GENERAL LITERATURE, + + ANTIQUARY'S BOOKS, + + BEGINNER'S BOOKS, + + BUSINESS BOOKS, + + BYZANTINE TEXTS, + + CHURCHMAN'S BIBLE, + + CHURCHMAN'S LIBRARY, + + CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, + + COMMERCIAL SERIES, + + CONNOISSEUR'S LIBRARY, + + LIBRARY OF DEVOTION, + + ILLUSTRATED POCKET LIBRARY OF PLAIN AND COLOURED BOOKS, + + JUNIOR EXAMINATION SERIES, + + METHUEN'S JUNIOR SCHOOL-BOOKS, + + LEADERS OF RELIGION, + + LITTLE BLUE BOOKS, + + LITTLE BOOKS ON ART, + + LITTLE GALLERIES, + + LITTLE GUIDES, + + LITTLE LIBRARY, + + METHUEN'S MINIATURE LIBRARY, + + OXFORD BIOGRAPHIES, + + SCHOOL EXAMINATION SERIES, + + SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TO-DAY, + + HANDBOOKS OF THEOLOGY, + + METHUEN'S STANDARD LIBRARY, + + WESTMINSTER COMMENTARIES, + + +FICTION, + + METHUEN'S SHILLING NOVELS, + + BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, + + NOVELS OF ALEXANDRE DUMAS, + + + + +A CATALOGUE OF MESSRS. 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By Edward +Gibbon. In 7 volumes. The Notes have been revised by J.B. Bury, Litt.D. + +THE PLAYS OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE. + Vol. I.--Tamburlane the Great; The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. + Vol. II.--The Jew of Malta: Edward the Second; The Massacre at Paris; + The Tragedy of Dido. + +THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF SELBORNE. By Gilbert White. + +THE COMPLETE ANGLER. In 2 volumes. + Vol. I.--By Izaak Walton. + Vol. II.--Part 2, by Cotton, and Part 3 by Venables. + +THE POEMS OF PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. In 4 volumes. + Vol. I.--Alastor; The Daemon of the World; The Revolt of Islam, etc. + +THE WORKS OF SIR THOMAS BROWNE. In 6 volumes. + Vol. I.--Religio Medici and Urn Burial. + +THE POEMS OF JOHN MILTON. In 2 volumes. + Vol. I.--Paradise Lost. + Vol. II.--Miscellaneous Poems and Paradise Regained. + +HUMPHREY CLINKER. By T.G. Smollett. + +SELECT WORKS OF SIR THOMAS MORE. + Vol. I.--Utopia and Poems. + +THE ANALOGY OF RELIGION, NATURAL AND REVEALED. 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This "Dream +of the World's Tragedy" is a lofty and not inadequate paraphrase of the +supreme climax of the inspired narrative.'--_Dublin Review._ + +THE SORROWS OF SATAN. _Forty-Eighth Edition._ +'A very powerful piece of work.... The conception is magnificent, and is +likely to win an abiding place within the memory of man.... The author +has immense command of language, and a limitless audacity.... This +interesting and remarkable romance will live long after much of the +ephemeral literature of the day is forgotten.... A literary phenomenon +... novel, and even sublime.'--W.T. STEAD in the _Review of Reviews._ + +THE MASTER CHRISTIAN. _[165th Thousand._ +'It cannot be denied that "The Master Christian" is a powerful book; +that it is one likely to raise uncomfortable questions in all but the +most self-satisfied readers, and that it strikes at the root of the +failure of the Churches--the decay of faith--in a manner which shows the +inevitable disaster heaping up ... The good Cardinal Bonpre is a +beautiful figure, fit to stand beside the good Bishop in "Les +Miserables." It is a book with a serious purpose expressed with absolute +unconventionality and passion ... And this is to say it is a book worth +reading.'--_Examiner._ + +TEMPORAL POWER: A STUDY IN SUPREMACY. _[150th Thousand._ +'It is impossible to read such a work as "Temporal Power" without +becoming convinced that the story is intended to convey certain +criticisms on the ways of the world and certain suggestions for the +betterment of humanity.... If the chief intention of the book was to +hold the mirror up to shams, injustice, dishonesty, cruelty, and neglect +of conscience, nothing but praise can be given to that +intention.'--_Morning Post._ + +GOD'S GOOD MAN: A SIMPLE LOVE STORY. _Sixth Edition_, + + +Anthony Hope's Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +THE GOD IN THE CAR. _Tenth Edition._ +'A very remarkable book, deserving of critical analysis impossible +within our limit; brilliant, but not superficial; well considered, but +not elaborated; constructed with the proverbial art that conceals, but +yet allows itself to be enjoyed by readers to whom fine literary method +is a keen pleasure.--_The World._ + +A CHANGE OF AIR, _Sixth Edition._ +'A graceful, vivacious comedy, true to human nature. The characters are +traced with a masterly hand.'--_Times._ + +A MAN OF MARK. _Fifth Edition._ +'Of all Mr. Hope's books, "A Man of Mark" is the one which best compares +with "The Prisoner of Zenda." '--_National Observer._ + +THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT ANTONIO. _Fifth Edition._ +'It is a perfectly enchanting story of love and chivalry, and pure +romance. The Count is the most constant, desperate, and modest and +tender of lovers, a peerless gentleman, an intrepid fighter, a faithful +friend, and a magnanimous foe.'--_Guardian._ + +PHROSO. Illustrated by H.R. MILLAR. _Sixth Edition._ +'The tale is thoroughly fresh, quick with vitality, stirring the +blood.'--_St. James's Gazette._ + +SIMON DALE. Illustrated. _Sixth Edition._ +'There is searching analysis of human nature, with a most ingeniously +constructed plot. Mr. Hope has drawn the contrasts of his women with +marvellous subtlety and delicacy.'--_Times_. + +THE KING'S MIRROR. _Fourth Edition._ +'In elegance, delicacy, and tact it ranks with the best of his novels, +while in the wide range of its portraiture and the subtlety of its +analysis it surpasses all his earlier ventures.'--_Spectator._ + +QUISANTE. _Fourth Edition._ +'The book is notable for a very high literary quality, and an impress of +power and mastery on every page.'--_Daily Chronicle._ + +THE DOLLY DIALOGUES. + + +W.W. Jacobs' Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. each._ + +MANY CARGOES. _Twenty-Seventh Edition._ + +SEA URCHINS. _Eleventh Edition._ + +A MASTER OF CRAFT. Illustrated. _Sixth Edition._ +'Can be unreservedly recommended to all who have not lost their appetite +for wholesome laughter.'--_Spectator._ +'The best humorous book published for many a day.'--_Black and White._ + +LIGHT FREIGHTS. Illustrated. _Fourth Edition._ +'His wit and humour are perfectly irresistible. Mr. Jacobs writes of +skippers, and mates, and seamen, and his crew are the jolliest lot that +ever sailed.'--_Daily News._ +'Laughter in every page.'--_Daily Mail_. + + +Lucas Malet's Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +COLONEL ENDERBY' WIFE. _Third Edition._ + +A COUNSEL OF PERFECTION. _New Edition._ + +LITTLE PETER. _Second Edition. 3s. 6d._ + +THE WAGES OF SIN. _Fourteenth Edition._ + +THE CARISSIMA. _Fourth Edition._ + +THE GATELESS BARRIER. _Fourth Edition._ +'In "The Gateless Barrier" it is at once evident that, whilst Lucas +Malet has preserved her birthright of originality, the artistry, the +actual writing, is above even the high level of the books that were born +before.'--_Westminster Gazette._ + +THE HISTORY OF SIR RICHARD CALMADY. _Seventh Edition._ A Limited +Edition in Two Volumes. _Crown 8vo. 12s._ +'A picture finely and amply conceived. In the strength and insight in +which the story has been conceived, in the wealth of fancy and +reflection bestowed upon its execution, and in the moving sincerity of +its pathos throughout, "Sir Richard Calmady" must rank as the great +novel of a great writer.'--_Literature._ +'The ripest fruit of Lucas Malet's genius. A picture of maternal love +by turns tender and terrible.'--_Spectator._ +'A remarkably fine book, with a noble motive and a sound +conclusion.'--_Pilot_. + + +Gilbert Parker's Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. _Fifth Edition._ +'Stories happily conceived and finely executed. There is strength and +genius in Mr. Parker's style.'--_Daily Telegraph._ + +MRS. FALCHION. _Fifth Edition._ +'A splendid study of character.'--_Athenaeum._ + +THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. _Second Edition._ + +THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. Illustrated. _Eighth Edition._ +'A rousing and dramatic tale. A book like this is a joy +inexpressible.'--_Daily Chronicle._ + +WHEN VALMOND CAME TO PONTIAC: The Story of a Lost Napoleon. _Fifth +Edition._ +'Here we find romance--real, breathing, living romance. The character of +Valmond is drawn unerringly.'--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + +AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH: The Last Adventures of 'Pretty Pierre.' +_Third Edition._ +'The present book is full of fine and moving stories of the great +North.'--_Glasgow Herald._ + +THE SEATS OF THE MIGHTY. Illustrated. _Thirteenth Edition._ +'Mr. Parker has produced a really fine historical novel.'--_Athenaeum._ +'A great book.'--_Black and White._ + +THE BATTLE OF THE STRONG: a Romance of Two Kingdoms. Illustrated. +_Fourth Edition._ +'Nothing more vigorous or more human has come from Mr. Gilbert Parker +than this novel.'--_Literature._ + +THE POMP OF THE LAVILETTES. _Second Edition. 3s. 6d._ +'Unforced pathos, and a deeper knowledge of human nature than he has +displayed before.'--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + + +Arthur Morrison's Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +TALES OF MEAN STREETS. _Sixth Edition._ +'A great book. The author's method is amazingly effective, and produces +a thrilling sense of reality. The writer lays upon us a master hand. The +book is simply appalling and irresistible in its interest. It is +humorous also; without humour it would not make the mark it is certain +to make.'--_World._ + +A CHILD OF THE JAGO. _Fourth Edition._ +'The book is a masterpiece.'--_Pall Mall Gazette._ + +TO LONDON TOWN. _Second Edition._ +'This is the new Mr. Arthur Morrison, gracious and tender, sympathetic +and human.'--_Daily Telegraph._ + +CUNNING MURRELL. +'Admirable ... Delightful humorous relief ... a most artistic and +satisfactory achievement.'--_Spectator._ + +THE HOLE IN THE WALL. _Third Edition._ +'A masterpiece of artistic realism. It has a finality of touch that only +a master may command.'--_Daily Chronicle._ +'An absolute masterpiece, which any novelist might be proud to +claim.'--_Graphic_. +'"The Hole in the Wall" is a masterly piece of work. His characters +are drawn with amazing skill. Extraordinary power.'--_Daily +Telegraph._ + + +Eden Phillpotts' Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +LYING PROPHETS. + +CHILDREN OF THE MIST. _Fifth Edition._ + +THE HUMAN BOY. With a Frontispiece. _Fourth Edition._ +'Mr. Phillpotts knows exactly what school-boys do, and can lay bare +their inmost thoughts; likewise he shows an all-pervading sense of +humour.'--_Academy._ + +SONS OF THE MORNING. _Second Edition._ +'A book of strange power and fascination.'--_Morning Post._ + +THE STRIKING HOURS. _Second Edition._ +'Tragedy and comedy, pathos and humour, are blended to a nicety in this +volume.'--_World._ +'The whole book is redolent of a fresher and ampler air than breathes +in the circumscribed life of great towns.'--_Spectator._ + +THE RIVER. _Third Edition._ +'"The River" places Mr. Phillpotts in the front rank of living +novelists.'--_Punch._ +'Since "Lorna Doone" we have had nothing so picturesque as this new +romance.'--_Birmingham Gazette._ +'Mr. Phillpotts's new book is a masterpiece which brings him +indisputably into the front rank of English novelists.'--_Pall Mall +Gazette._ +'This great romance of the River Dart. The finest book Mr. Eden +Phillpotts has written.'--_Morning Post._ + +THE AMERICAN PRISONER. _Third Edition._ + +THE SECRET WOMAN. _Fourth Edition._ + + +S. Baring-Gould's Novels + +_Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ + +ARMINELL. _Fifth Edition._ + +URITH. _Fifth Edition._ + +IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA. _Seventh Edition._ + +CHEAP JACK ZITA. _Fourth Edition._ + +MARGERY OF QUETHER. _Third Edition._ + +THE QUEEN OF LOVE. _Fifth Edition._ + +JACQUETTA. _Third Edition._ + +KITTY ALONE. _Fifth Edition._ + +NOEMI. Illustrated. _Fourth Edition._ + +THE BROOM-SQUIRE. Illustrated. _Fourth Edition._ + +DARTMOOR IDYLLS. + +THE PENNYCOMEQUICKS. _Third Edition._ + +GUAVAS THE TINNER. Illustrated. _Second Edition._ + +BLADYS. Illustrated. _Second Edition._ + +DOMITIA. Illustrated. _Second Edition._ + +PABO THE PRIEST. + +WINIFRED. Illustrated. _Second Edition._ + +THE FROBISHERS. + +ROYAL GEORGIE. Illustrated. + +MISS QUILLET. 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See page 35 and Shilling Novels. + +Begbie (Harold). THE ADVENTURES OF SIR JOHN SPARROW. _Crown. 8vo. 6s._ + +Belloc (Hilaire). EMMANUEL BURDEN, MERCHANT, with 36 illustrations by +G.K. CHESTERTON. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Benson (E.F.). See Shilling Novels. + +Benson (Margaret). SUBJECT TO VANITY. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ + +Besant (Sir Walter). See Shilling Novels. + +Bowles (C. Stewart). A STRETCH OFF THE LAND. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Bullock (Shan. F.). THE SQUIREEN. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ THE RED LEAGUERS. +_Crown 8vo. 6s._ See also Shilling Novels. + +Burton (J. Bloundelle). THE YEAR ONE: A Page of the French Revolution. +Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE FATE OF VALSEC. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +A BRANDED NAME. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ See also Shilling Novels. + +Capes (Bernard), Author of 'The Lake of Wine.' THE EXTRAORDINARY +CONFESSIONS OF DIANA PLEASE. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Chesney (Weatherby). 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GENEVRA. _Second Edition. +Cr. 8vo. 6s._ + +Marsh (Richard). THE TWICKENHAM PEERAGE. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. +6s._ +A METAMORPHOSIS. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +GARNERED. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +A DUEL. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Mason (A.E.W), Author of 'The Courtship of Morrice Buckler,' +'Miranda of the Balcony,' etc. CLEMENTINA. Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. +Second Edition. 6s._ + +Mathers (Helen), Author of 'Comin' thro' the Rye.' HONEY. _Fourth +Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +GRIFF OF GRIFFITHSCOURT. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Meade (L.T.). DRIFT. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ RESURGAM. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Meredith (Ellis). HEART OF MY HEART. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +'Miss Molly' (The Author of). THE GREAT RECONCILER. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Mitford (Bertram). THE SIGN OF THE SPIDER. Illustrated. _Sixth Edition +Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ +IN THE WHIRL OF THE RISING. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE RED DERELICT. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Montresor (F.F.), Author of 'Into the Highways and Hedges.' THE +ALIEN. _Third Edition. 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THE TRUTHFUL LIAR. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Roberts (C.G.D.). THE HEART OF THE ANCIENT WOOD. _Crown 8vo 3s. 6d._ + +*Robertson (Francee Forbes). THE TAMING OF THE BRUTE. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Russell (W. Clark). MY DANISH SWEETHEART. Illustrated. _Fourth Edition +Crown 8vo. 6s._ +ABANDONED. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +HIS ISLAND PRINCESS. Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Sergeant (Adeline). See page 36. + +Shannon (W.F.). THE MESS DECK. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ +JIM TWELVES. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ + +Sonnichsen (Albert). DEEP SEA VAGABONDS. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Stringer (Arthur). THE SILVER POPPY. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Sutherland (Duchess of). See Shilling Novels. + +Swan (Annie). See Shilling Novels. + +Tanqueray (Mrs. B.M.). THE ROYAL QUAKER. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Thompson (Vance). SPINNERS OF LIFE. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Waineman (Paul). BY A FINNISH LAKE. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE SONG OF THE FOREST. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ See also Shilling Novels. + +Watson (H.B.Marriott). ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +CAPTAIN FORTUNE. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Wells (H.G.) THE SEA LADY. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Weyman (Stanley), Author of 'A Gentleman of France.' UNDER THE RED +ROBE With Illustrations by R.C. WOODVILLE. _Eighteenth Edition. Crown +8vo. 6s._ + +White (Stewart E.). Author of 'The Blazed Trail.' CONJUROR'S HOUSE. +A Romance of the Free Trail. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +White (Percy). THE SYSTEM. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Williamson (Mrs. C.N.), Author of 'The Barnstormers.' PAPA. _Second +Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE ADVENTURE OF PRINCESS SYLVIA. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ +THE WOMAN WHO DARED. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE SEA COULD TELL. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE CASTLE OF THE SHADOWS. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + +Williamson (C.N. and A.M.). THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR: Being the +Romance of a Motor Car. Illustrated. _Tenth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ +THE PRINCESS PASSES. Illustrated. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ + + +Methuen's Shilling Novels + +_Cloth, 1s. net._ + +Encouraged by the great and steady sale of their Sixpenny Novels, +Messrs. Methuen have determined to issue a new series of fiction at a +low price under the title of 'METHUEN'S SHILLING NOVELS.' These books +are well printed and well bound in _cloth_, and the excellence of their +quality may be gauged from the names of those authors who contribute the +early volumes of the series. + +Messrs. Methuen would point out that the books are as good and as long +as a six shilling novel, that they are bound in cloth and not in paper, +and that their price is One Shilling _net_, They feel sure that the +public will appreciate such good and cheap literature, and the books can +be seen at all good booksellers. The first volumes are-- + +Adeline Sergeant. A GREAT LADY. + +Richard Marsh. MARVELS AND MYSTERIES. + +Tom Gallon. RICKERBY'S FOLLY. + +H.B. Marriott-Watson. THE SKIRTS OF HAPPY CHANCE. + +Bullock (Shan F.). THE BARRYS. THE CHARMERS. + +Gissing (George). THE CROWN OF LIFE. + +Francis (M.E.). MISS ERIN. + +Sutherland (Duchess of). ONE HOUR AND THE NEXT. + +Burton (J. Bloundelle). ACROSS THE SALT SEAS. + +Oliphant (Mrs.) THE PRODIGALS. + +Balfour (Andrew). VENGEANCE IS MINE. + +Barr (Robert), Author of 'The Countess Tekla. THE VICTORS. + +Penny (Mrs. F.A.). A MIXED MARRIAGE. + +Hamilton (Lord Ernest). MARY HAMILTON. + +Glanville (Ernest). THE LOST REGIMENT. + +Benson (E.F.). Author of 'Dodo.' THE CAPSINA. + +Goss (C.F.). THE REDEMPTION OF DAVID CORSON. + +Findlater (J.H.). Author of 'The Green Graves of Balgowrie.' A DAUGHTER +OF STRIFE. + +Cobban, (J.M.) THE KING OF ANDAMAN. + +Clifford (Mrs. W.K.). A WOMAN ALONE. + +Phillpotts (Eden). FANCY FREE. + + +Books for Boys and Girls + +_Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ + +THE GETTING WELL OF DOROTHY. By Mrs. W.K. Clifford. Illustrated by +Gordon-Browne. _Second Edition._ + +THE ICELANDER'S SWORD. By S. Baring-Gould. + +ONLY A GUARD-ROOM DOG. By Edith E. Cuthell. + +THE DOCTOR OF THE JULIET. By Harry Collingwood. + +LITTLE PETER. By Lucas Malet. _Second Edition._ + +MASTER ROCKAFELLAR'S VOYAGE. By W. Clark Russell. + +THE SECRET OF MADAME DE MONLUC. By the Author of "Mdlle. Mori." + +SYD BELTON: Or, the Boy who would not go to Sea. By G. Manville Fenn. + +THE RED GRANGE. By Mrs. Molesworth. + +A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE. By L.T. Meade. + +HEPSY GIPSY. By L.T. Meade. _2s. 6d._ + +THE HONOURABLE MISS. By L.T. Meade. + + +The Novels of Alexandre Dumas + +_Price 6d. Double Volume, 1s._ + +THE THREE MUSKETEERS. With a long Introduction by Andrew Lang. Double +volume. + +THE PRINCE OF THIEVES. _Second Edition._ + +ROBIN HOOD. A Sequel to the above. + +THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. + +GEORGES. + +CROP-EARED JACQUOT; JANE; Etc. + +TWENTY YEARS AFTER. Double volume. + +AMAURY. + +THE CASTLE OF EPPSTEIN. + +THE SNOWBALL, AND SULTANETTA. + +CECILE; OR, THE WEDDING GOWN. + +ACTE. + +THE BLACK TULIP. + +THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE. +Part I. Louis de la Valliere. Double Volume. +Part II. The Man in the Iron Mask. Double Volume. + +THE CONVICT'S SON. + +THE WOLF-LEADER. + +NANON; OR, THE WOMEN'S WAR. Double volume. + +PAULINE; MURAT; AND PASCAL BRUNO. + +THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN PAMPHILE. + +FERNANDE. + +GABRIEL LAMBERT. + +THE REMINISCENCES OF ANTONY. + +CATHERINE BLUM. + +THE CHEVALIER D'HARMENTAL. + +SYLVANDIRE. + +THE FENCING MASTER. + +CONSCIENCE. + +THE REGENT'S DAUGHTER. A Sequel to Chevalier d'Harmental. + + +Illustrated Edition. + +THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams, _2s. 6d._ + +THE PRINCE OF THIEVES. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams. _2s._ + +ROBIN HOOD THE OUTLAW. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams, _2s._ + +THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. Illustrated in Colour by A.M. M'Lellan. _1s. 6d._ + +FERNANDE. Illustrated in Colour by Munro Orr. + +THE BLACK TULIP. Illustrated in Colour by A. Orr. + +GEORGES. Illustrated in Colour by Munro Orr. _2s._ + +TWENTY YEARS AFTER. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams. _3s._ + +AMAURY. Illustrated in Colour by Gordon Browne. _2s._ + +THE SNOWBALL, and SULTANETTA. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams, _2s._ + +THE VICOMTE DE BRAGELONNE. Part I. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams. + +CROP-EARED JACQUOT; JANE; Etc. Illustrated in Colour by Gordon Browne. + +THE CASTLE OF EPPSTEIN. Illustrated in Colour by Stewart Orr. + +ACTE. Illustrated in Colour by Gordon Browne. + +CECILE; OR, THE WEDDING GOWN. Illustrated in Colour by D. Murray Smith. + +THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN PAMPHILE. Illustrated in Colour by Frank +Adams. + +THE WOLF-LEADER. Illustrated in Colour by Frank Adams, _1s. 6d._ + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of the Black Mountain, by +Reginald Wyon +Gerald Prance + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN *** + +***** This file should be named 17613.txt or 17613.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/6/1/17613/ + +Produced by University of Michigan Digital Library, +Nikola Smolenski, Sankar Viswanathan, +and Online Distributed Proofreading Team at Distributed +Proofreaders Europe at http://dp.rastko.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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