The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1876-10-06
A Lady's Description of the Prince Of Mon
teneCrO

high in office, introduced himself as Aid
de-camp of the Prince. He told us that
apartments had been prepared for us
in the old palace, where we were to be
the guests of royalty. ''If you wait a
moment here" he added, ''you will
see his Highness pass" We did so.
ard were rewarded by as romantic a
sight as this pIosy nineteenth cen
ture has to show. It Was like a scene
out OF a medieval romance. The
Prince and all his "Perianikes, OF
bodyguard, were in their beautiful
National dress the Prince being dis
tln9ulShed from his retainers by a
hght-blue mantle thrown over his
shoulders. All of them-and they
numbered hundred-were splendid
looking fellows, but none of them sur
passed their chief. He was man of
ABOUT thlrty-fiye, six feet four in
height, and acknowledged as the
strongest and most muscular person in
his domoniOns, which is saying great
zeal. His face was open and frank,
ana usually wore very sweet smile,
which conferred on it look of singu-
lar gentleneSS. "E bell0, il nostrO
principe !-eh e said our guide. in
broken Italian, and we certainly agreed
with him. AS we passed the Prince
and his bOdyguard, they saluted us
With distinguished courtesy, and we
continued our route to he hOSpitable
quarters prepared for us, right glad
TO sit by warm stove and forget the
deep SHOWS and bitter cold outside.
After an hour of this luxury, however,
we summoned up courage and deter
mined to sally out and see some of the
sights Of the place.
Close to our quarters, and over
Sh2d0Wing the public fountain, stands
the Tree OF Justice" for Montenegro
is happy country, that knows neither
Parliament nor law court, and where
the people address all their appeals
and grievances to the ear of the Prince
himself, who sits underneath the tree,
and either decides between the disput-
ants OrreferS them to the MOntenegrin
code OF laws. During fine and open
weather, people come from all the
country round to consult their Prince.
his decision on any point, we are told
never being disputed. Capital punish
ment III the form of shooting is in
t1lcted for murder. 1t was instituted
by Danilo, SO put an end to the ven
dette which existed, and which was
transmitted from father to son, and
from family to family. Imprisonment
follows theft and acts of violence
but the Longest term is seven years,
during which time the condemned are
allowed to go about in the day time,
and although marked men, they are
trusted to go even as far as CattarO.
They have TO pay SO much a day for
their keep, and are sometimes en-
plOyed on public works. The women
receive no education, but are never
thelesS subject to the same penalty
and incarceration as men. Their ideas
of morality are extremely strict, and
any breach Of decOrum is visited with
the greatest severity. Next morning
we were awakened betimes by violent
storms of ram and wind, for SOU
Wester had set in, bringing with it ;
thaW. Nothing more dreary could bt
imagined than the view that greeted
us from our bedroom window. A thick
mist hung over everything, only allow
ing glimpSeS now and then of the wild
looking hills that surround the plain
To the left lay the new palace, the
residence of the Prince, with its small
piece of garden reclaimed from the
surrounding waste, but presenting ut
that moment only the aspect of mud.
just imagine what were our feelings
when, under such circumstances, we
received an invitation. which was
equal to a command to dine with the
Prince that evening How were we
possibly to get across the flooded
streets Ell grand tenue? For such a
thing as a carriage has never been seen
in Cettinje. AS we were in Montenegro,
however, we felt we must do as the
MOntenegrinS do. So, Drawing the ell
ements, we mounted the little horses
that had taken us up the Scala, and
trOtted across to our destination in
time for our seven o'clock dinner. We
were soon in the well-lighted comfort
able hall of the palace, where, with
great difficulty we disengaged ourselves
of waterproOfs and ulsterS ; thence we
vere shown up stairs between rows of
servants in the national dress. After
crossing small, but prettily furnished
ante-roOm, with Eastern carpets and
parGuet floor, we were ushered into
the Princes presence. Unfortunately,
the Princess was too i'll to appear, but
he introduced us to a dear little fellow
of seven, his son, who looked quite
Dewitching in his Montenegrin cos
tune. The Prince has this one son
and six daughters. Prince Nicholas
talks French with perfect fiuency. He
spent two years IN France, and call
those two years | sighed to be back in
Montenegro, he said adding, eve
Montenegrins suffer dreadfully from
inconsistencies when we are away.
There is no pleasure IN the world to
me like hunting the chamois or deer
on my native hills, and feeling that |
am among my own people. ''-COrnhill
Magazine.
A Lion Loose in a Circus.