St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-30
PART IN.
CHAPTER /.
pEscADE AND aIATIFou.

PESCADE AND AIATIFoU.
Fifteen years after the events related III
the prologue of this history. on the oath OF
May 1882. there was a holiday at RaguSa,
one of the chief towns of the Dalmatian
provinces.
Dalmatia is a narrow tongue of land lying
between the northern Dmaric Alps, Here
govina and the Adriatic. 1t is Just large
enough to hold a population of from four
TO five thousand, with little squeezing.
4 fine race are these Dalmatians. sober in
an arid country, where arabic land is rare.
proud amid the many political vicissitudes
they have undergone, naughty towards
Austria, which gained them by the treaty OF
Campo FOrmio in 1915, and honest towards
all, so much so that the country can be
called according to a beautiful expression
reported by NJ. Yriarte 1.-THE land of the
lOckless doors"
Dalmatia is divided into four circles, and
these are Subdivided into districts: the cir
cleS are those OF lara, Spalato, Cattaro and
Ragusa. The governor general resides at
cara, the capital of the province, where the
Diet meets of which many members form
part of the upper house at Vienna.
Times are much changed since the six
teenth century. when Uscoques-fugitive
Turks at war with the Mussulmans as well
dS lllG Will tie Siltdil as well
the Venetian republic-were the terror of
the sea. But the Uscoques have disap-
peared and traces of them are no longer To
be found in Carniola. The Adriatic is now
as safe as any other part OF the poetical
Mediterranean.
RaguSa, or rather the small state of Ra-
guSa, was a republic even before Venice.
1t was only in 1908 that a decree of NapO.
leon united it, the year following, to the
kingdom of Illyria and made of il 4 duchy
for Marshal Manlont. In the ninth CEN
tury Ragusan vessels. which ploughed every
sea of the Leyant. had the monopoly OF the
trade with the lnfidels-a monopoly granted
them by the holy See-and RaguSa in con-
sequence was of great importance among
the small republics of Southern Europe.
In these days RaglSa is famous for still
nobler things; and the reputation of IFS
scientists, the renown of its writers, and
the taste of its artists have given it the
name of the Sclavonic Athens.
The modern shipping trade must nave
harbors where there is good anchorage. and
water deep enough to receive vessels of
large tonnage. Ragusa has no Snch harbor.
The basin is narrow, crowded with rocks at
the water level, and hardly large enough to
admit small coasters and fishing boats.
Fortunately, about 4 mile and half to
the north, on one of the indentations of the
Bay of Ombla Fumera q caprice of nature
has formed an excellent harbor adapted for
all the needs of modern navigation. This
is at Gravosa, and the harbOr is perhaps the
best on the Dalmatian coast Ii has water
enough even for war ships; there are sew
eral repairing slips and building yards, and
there the large mail boats can put IN with
which the immediate future is To endow the
waters of the world. Ii follows. therefore.
that the road from RaguSa TO GravOSa has
become regular boulevard, planted with
magnificent trees b0rdered with charming
villas, frequented by the population of the
town, which in 1892 amounted to from t.
600 to II, 600 inhabitants.
On this oath of May. about o'clock on
beautiful spring afternoon. the Ragusans
were crowding in great numbers toward
Gravosa. In that suburb-for Grayosa
being built at the gates of the town. may
well be called such-a local fair was in
progress with the usual games and sports,
travelling booths, music and dancing in the
open air. Quaclls, acrobatS and entertainers.
from whose shouts and songs and inStru-
mentS there arose a tremendous uprOaT
along the streets and jetties.
For a stranger il afforded aneXcellent OPP
portunity for studying the various types of
the Sclave race and the mixture OF Bohe-
mianS of all kinds. In addition to the
travelling ShOwmen who had come To the
fair to make money out of the curiosity of
the locals, the country folk and mountain
GERS had thrOnged to take part in the public
rejoicing. The women were in great num-
bers-girls from Ragusa, peasants from the
neighborh0Od, iisherwomen from the cost.
Some were in dresses approaching the latest
fashions of Western Europe; Others were
in dresses which varied with each district,
at least in detail-white bodices embroidered
on the arms and breast. cloaks of many
colors, Wristbands with thousands of silver
pins (quite a mosaic, in which eolors were
as confusing as in a Persian carpet, white
bonnet over hair tad up with many colored
ribbons, the ''okronga' suTmounted by the
veil which hung down behind like the pus-
kulof the Oriental turban, leggings and
shoes fixed to the feet with plated straw.
And with all this elaborate rig-out, a heap
of jewels in the form of bracelets and col
lars of pieces of silver arranged in a nun
dred ways as ornaments for the neck. the
arms, the breast and waist. Jewelry,
too, was conspicuous in the dress of the
men, whose clothes were edged with bright
colored embroideries.
But among all the Ragusan costumes.