Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-12
The Seryian Capital.

Belgrade is a strongly fortified city, occupying
a commanding hill overlooking the Danube; it
is rare old town; battle-scarred and rugged:
having been frontier position OF importance
in a country that has been debatable ground
between Turk and Christian for centuries it
has been a coveted prize to lie won and lost on
the diplomatic ehessbOard, or, worse still, the
football of cOntending armies and wran.ling
mOnarchs. Long before the Ottoman Turks first
appeared like small, dark cloud no bigger
than a mans hand, upon the southeastern hOri-
ION OF Europe, to extend and overw helm the
budding flower OF Christianity and civilization
in these fairest portions of the continent Bel
grade was an important Roman fortress, and
to-day its national museum and ANTIQUARIAN
stores are particularly rich in the reasure-trove
of Byzantine antiquities, unearthed from time
to time in the fortress itself and the region round
about that came under its protection. So plenti-
ful indeed. are old coins and relics of all sorts
at belgrade that, as am standing looking at
the collection in a window OF antiquary
shop, the proprietor steps out and presents me
a small handful of copper coins of ByZantium
as a sort of bait that might perchance tempt
one to enter and make Il closer examination of
his stock. BY the famous treaty of Berlin the
Servians gained their complete independence
and their country, from principally, paying
tribute to the sultan, changed to an indie
pendent kingdom with Servian on the throne,
owing allegiance to nobody. and the people
have not yet ceased to show in thousand
little ways their thorough appreciation of the
change: besides filling the picture galleries of
their museum with portraits of Servian heroes
battle,fags, and other gentle reminders OF their
past history, they have. among other practical
methods of manifesting how they feel about
the departure OF the dominating crescent
from among them, turned the leading
Turkish mosque into a gas-hOuse One of the
most Interesting relics in the Servian cap
ital is an old Roman well, dug from the brow of
the fortress hill to below the level of the Danube
for furnishing water to the city when cut off
from the river by a besiegng army 1t is an
enormous affair, a tubular brick wall about 40
feet In circumference and $50 feet deep, outside
of which a stone stairway, winding round and
round the shaft, leads from top to bottom.
Openings through the wall, six feet high and
three wide, occur at regular intervals all the
way down, and as we followed our ragged guide
down, down. dowQ into the damp and dark ness
by the feeble light OF tallow candle in q broken
lantern, cannot help thinking that these DER
handy openings leading into the dark, watery
depths have, in the tragic history of Belgrade,
doubtless been responsible for the mysterious
disappearance of more than one Objectionable
person, and IL is not without certain involuntary
misgivings that L take the lantern from the
guide-whOse general appearance is, by the way
hardly calculated to be reassuring-and, stand,
ing in one of the openings, peer down into the
darksome depths, with him hanging on to my
coat as an act of precautiOn.
The view from the ramparts OF the Belgrade
fortress is magnificent panorama, extending
over the broad valley of the Danube-whicR
here winds about ~ though trying to bestow It's
favors with impartiality upon Hungary, Servia
and Slavonia-and of the Save. The Servian
soldiers are camped In small tents in various
parts OF the fortress grounds and it's environ.
ments, or lolling under the shade of a few
scantiiy-verdured trees, for the sun is to-day
broiiing hot. With population not exceeding
one and a half millions am told that Seryia
supports a standing army of 100, 900; and.
wnen required. every man in Servia becomes a
soldier. am inclined To regard the above esti-
mate of the regular army as exaggerated, how
ever, SINCE although the cost of their mainte-
nance Is doubtless as little as men can possibly
be supported Tor. don't see how q small poor
nation like the ServianS can possibly afford to
support that number, even il they really had
any Use for them. AS one lands from the ferry
boats ana looks about him he needs no inter
prefer To inform him that he has lett the Ocei-
cent on the other side OF the Save and to the
ooSerFant stranger the streets OF Belgrade fur
nish many novel and interesting sight in the
way oi ianciIul costumes and phases OF Oriental
NE mere encountered for the first time. In the
AFTERNOON we visited the national museum OF
old coins, arms, and Roman and Seryian antio-
uities. $1,000 >''H