The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-04
The lIontcncgrin Women.

We copy the following from Edward
King'snew book, Europe in Storm and
Calm"
The Montenegro woman is, in many
respects, an object of pity to the travel
crs who pass through the strange little
principality; but there is no woman in
the country who would not be grievously
offended at any show of sympathy. To
work necessarily and to suffer is the
destiny of the women of this race. They
are not ever welcomed into the world; a
Montenegrin fathe;, when asked by his
neighbor what the sex of his newborn
child is, answers, "God pardon me! it is
a girl" sometimes he says, ':It is a SER
pent," which is a poetlcal manner of
expressing his regret at the birth of o
daughter. The girl grows up neglected
aud often cursed; she carries faggots of
wood on her head, in order that she may
earn a few coins with which to buy arms
for her brothers.
She has no youth; at twenty-five she
seems already old. She is married young,
and bears and cares for her children
while supporting labor in the field which
would be hard even for men. She trem-
bles before her father, her brother, her
husband; she only awakens to freedom
and independence of action when
excited by the noise Of the combat,
to which she frequently follows the war.
riors. She urges them on, and loads
their guns, and dresses their wounds.
The Montenegro woman is rarely beauti-
full of feature, and the coarse work
which she performs soon ruins Der form.
Her virtue is beyond ~reprcach; intrig -
are unknown in T:ntenegro, AM gai-
lantry would fud a sharp reproof at the
point of a yataghan. The women
wander unattended wherever they please
throughout the country for whilea Mon
teaegrin warriorNoul' never think Of r.
lieving a women from the heavy burden
of faggots or provisions which she may
be fainting under, and while he may,
perhaps, rail at her for her weakness, he
would not by word or deed offer her the
slightest insult.
The woman is almost servile with re-
gard to her husband; if she sees him
coming along the road, she turns off, or
passes him rapidly, that he may not be
compelled to recognize her. Should
the warrior be seen wasting his time in
lettering by bis wifo's side, H. w~Ala DC
subjected to reproach from the elders in
the village. A few years since n could
not have found in the whole of Monte
negro one woman knowing how to read
or write; latterly some few schools, to
which women have access, have been
established.
The duties of hospitality all fall upon
the woman. 1t is she who unlaces the
boots of the stranger when
he arrives, and who washes his feet, who
serves at the table, and holds the
flaming pine knot by which the others
see to eat. The husband does not even
notice his wife, unless it be to request
some mental service of her. 1t is a
wonder Montenegro babies ever live
through the severe curse of swaddling
which they undergo from their earliest
day until they are weaned. They are
strapped to boards and slung over the
backs of their mothers, and thus, winter
and summer, they make long journeys in
the mountains and among the rocks.
When the husband falls i'll it is not
the wife who cares for him, but his par
cnts. Etiquette demands that the wife
should appear Indifferent to his condi-
ton and should attend to her duties in