, 1877-01-28

-. we down upon the seryian country
fonq1es heroic stand for their homes ant
pa "si sitb. In vain! At the battle O
atn "a In 1889, the Servian army was over
Aoss,;rc,y defeated, and the Empire became
5av ~ the Ottoman. LAzAR was killed II
~ tatt'e. and his son, the Lazarcyitch, made :
..~ y. With tlr Sultan, BY which he was to holt
=. a,,viucc in tief, and pay tribute. But ht
-. fhrfore long, aud the Turks, declaring that
NV ;rrrious to allow "dog Of Christian
,.nr.r nossess lands SO fair, sent troops te
" ;son 4Ga the country. The Serbs then allied
s..ea,res with the Hungarians, but finding
lue ~ m.;nta;n the alliance, they would be re-
ln:s ';sad tn acknowledge the Pope of Rome, they
lu 1a,.o II of, and sought peace from the sultan'
~. Sultan promised absolute religious tolera'
49,, md ecclesiastical sclf-sovcEnment, and,
-s,., time, tho Serbs submitted.
a1s ~, tre confidence OF this unhappy people In
.,l;. oo,oue,or was wholly misplaced. Tho
~ ,rere dlsar1ncd and handed over to the
~ - ~ q military aristocracy, colonists OF the
e-r,n called Dahis, who tvrannized over them
w.. w., numerically. The religion Of ISLAM
I,an. was tolerated, and those of the mobiles
~" rou}a not apostatize were murdered or
',hod NJ I'll their possessions; and degraded to
~, ,ank Of peasants OF rayabs. Those who
as..,tfd TO dcnv their faith were allowed to
.s s.s,, their lands and other privileges, a1d
r,-e called Turks. But the peasantry were
,,herted to every imaginable insult and indiS-
.rr. every fifth year their most promis-
-, boys were taken by conscriptlon
- -ccr,i, the Sultan's armies, their wives, and
s.,,h,c,s: and sisters were torn from them at
~. cq,rce Of the brutal Mussulman, no life
~ ~ 1,nonerty was ever safe, and system Of
-,,naer. under the name OF taxation, reduced
,hc land to condition OF actual beggary. For
...,1r three centuries Seryia was indeed lone
=. ,ae dark places of the earth, full Of the
,,,htstions Of cruelty" and, from the deep
loan nf lsarbarism that had settled upon her,
= seenrd hardly possible that she should ever
wake
1u lis, st the close Of the war that LEOPOLD
of Germany waged against the Turks, by the
t-caty of Passarori:z. Serria was cedcd to Aus
tn. aud the Serbs now enjoyed twenty years OF
peace aud quietncss. During this breathing-
spaee ti,ey repaired their roads, restored their
mined and Gesccrated churches, and did all
the7 could to repair the losses that they
hid suffered. But the. Austrians, too weak to
,old the country, were forced to yield the peo-
lie a1ain to their old furious foes, the Dahis.
despair 81, ,0O families left their native coun-
r. and cnlicrated todilY into Austria
In l19s, tue Dah:s themselves rtbcl}ed against
the Sultan, who, in attempting to bring them to
terms, armed tho Christians against them. At
nN II
sruing Of Christians to fight against true be-
le7crs. But the Christians, after they had aid
Il to put down the Dahl rebellion, objected to re-
tuning to their previous condition OF seryitude,
end demanded thGt the Dahis be removed alto
ge1hcr. This class, however, having made peace
With the Sulta:,, returned to their old places,
bs1uing with revenge against the rcyoltca peas
Gu:1y. Then Lcgan tic struggle, which lasted
r. years, and esn scarcely be said to be ended
e7en now.
In 1904, Scryian peasant, called, on account
Of his dark complexion, Kara GEORGE BLACK
GEORGE, escaped to the mountains, leaving
komc dcsolated by the TURKS, aud became
tsica1ld. Speedily taking the place Of leader
sGong his companions, he was looked upon as 4
so1 Of RoDERIcK DHU Of the Scryian High
!.ols. Enragcd by the rarages Of the brigands,
tbe D.h;s became more fierce in their oppres-
son Of the rayahs, but only succeeded in dziy-
ts more men to The mountains. Thousands of
patriots fled to join the gathering, and a general
revolt was determined upon. But Chief was
Necessary, and vast gathering was held to
choose one. Kara GEORGE was chosen by the
universal cry Of the patriots, but at first he de-
eined.
"p7others.'' he said, addressing the assembly,
swhy do you call for me-? A Ans Of Serbs
should be mild and good; aa an angry man.
unable to keep my temper. Choose some one
ese.'
ave want an angry man." they cried; awe
T.nt man OF iron.''
But, Bosouri:' (by God), exclaimed Kara
GEORGE, 'sl order man to do thing, and
he doeth it not, will slash of his head: am
1esocious when contradic:cd.'
You are the man we want" they cried In
admiration; you are our Chief; our fnes.'
Under Kara GEORGE the whole peasantry
rose, and the Dahis fed, some to the fortrcsses,
and some1o the Mobam:nedan towns. The in
Eurgcnts formulated their demands and present
ed them TO the Sultan. They were as follows:
That the Dahis should leave Servin, and the
9o@ esl!utul Ie cPaGuttcu 0y u P1SAa nominated
elrectls by the Sultan: that all the new i1nvosts
hitherto levied by the Dahis should be abolished,
quo only such taxes paid hereafter as were fixed
y tue sultan's flrman OF 1853; that courts OF
justice should be established in all cautons: that the
should choose their own Mayors.
Sho should theEenpo1 be confirmed By the Belgrade
fzlcr INIT the scr1ans should have perfect libcr
8 IL building churches and monasteries; that the
pfopIe should choose their own Chiefs. through
sEose hands should pase all Communications be-
tween the Sublime Porte and the Seryian nation.
lhcse terms were certainly not unreasonable,
but the Sultan would not hear Of any change in
the existing order Of things, and sent an army
70 reduce The rebels to submission. While this
ras still going on, war broke out be-
tween i'ussia and Turkey. and tho Sultan sud
aenlT became very anxious to make peace With
lhe servians But, at the instisation Of Iussia,
.ne Serbs declared their independence, aud re-
fused eren to pay tribute This was great
mistake on the part OF Servia, because it not
'hlF provoked the Sultan, but also promoted
a'il dlssensions. The Crown of scrvia was
'f1ze worth striving ior, aad Kara GEORGE immc-
lately found that he had rivals. The OnRExoy1cs,
1ainll5 OF some local reputc, set up claim to
'ae ehsc1tanship and soon commanded an i'm
nense following. Ml1,oscu OBRESoyTrcH was q
1ar!hg but polite man, well fitted not only to
eaa "a TIC ticld. bat to plot in the council, and
'o''nueeee In his Judgment, as we'll as in his
"utase and Patriotism, soon made him the IA
Fof1tc With the people
al 1Ae conclusion OF the Turco- Russian war,
In