Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-11-30

| tlOu. IL ulu uOt It4ul HFS mluutCo lOi
me to perceive that it was the wife Of the
eldest son who was at the bottom of it all,
and who was egging him on. This lady
quickly let down her yashmak q have for
gotten to say that the Boda family was
Catholic, but the Albanian Catholic ladies
are quite as particular about their yash-
maks as their Mussulman countrywomen)
and with great shrillness of voice and vol
utility of tongue, set about claiming halt
of everything of value in the house
everything. There were two brass candle
sticks in my rooms, she took one; there
was large mirror, she said she must have
half; it could be divided into frame and
glass-the frame she would leave to the
father, the glass she would take. This
caused most exciting discussion, at the
end of which she relinquished her claim
on condition of receiving ample compensa-
ton in some other form. There were two
iron bedsteads in the house, one used by
old Boda and one by me; she wanted mine.
| After more wrangling old Boda went and
whispered in her ear, but she was not to
be lulled into such weakness as a whisper.
''Then give the Efendi your own" she
bawled; che is not my guest, and can't lie
on my bed"
Gradually her husband-the other son
stood quite aloof. and accepted shame
facedly what had been allotted as his por-
tion-got dragged into the quarreling, at
first intellectually, but finally to quite as
thorough extent as his wife could wish.
| The climax was reached when the discus
sion turned upon the kitchen utensils. So
far as l could make out, young Boda and
his wife claimed them all their claim was
Indignantly repulsed. Old Boda at last
began to grow really angry; he turned a
deaf ear to his daughter-in-law, and Bit
terly reproached his son with his undutiful
behavior. The latter answered scornfull,,
and tempers were running dangerously
high, when suddenly. to my intense sur
prise, Maria-the quiet Maria, who hardly
ever addressed a word to any one, and who
till that moment had seemed to stand an
Indifferent spectator of the scene-stepped
forward with one eye and face ahame, and
addressed to the younger Boda an apos-
trophe OF startling energy and violence.
She upbraided him and scolded him with
increasing fury, while all of us, including
myself, stood looking at her in silent won
der, until her rage seemed to Guido her
power of speech and she came to full
stop. Then she gathered herself together
as if for final effort, and deliberately spat
in his face. For a moment surprise
continued to hold every one still, and then
young Boda, with kind of angry growl,
advanced upon her with arm appraised, as
if to strike her to the ground. At
once, with dramatic rapidity, the
scene changed. Old Boda, seeming
for an instant to regain his strength,
was at one stride between the man and the
woman, faced his son and raised his arm as
if he, too, were about to strike. His wife
and other son rushed forward to prevent
the unnaturalIcollision, while Maria, white
as sheet, her eyes still aiame, clenched
her hands and seemed preparing to make
spring, like some wild animal, upon the
young man the moment the first blow was
struck, and the other two women covered
in corner, frightened at the result which
the rapacity of one of them had produced.
But young Boda had half crouched down
and stretched out his hand as if to depre-
cate the blow which his father seemed
ready to deal him. Thus for a moment
they all stood and never 10 my dying day
shall l forget the extraordinary and dra-
matte picture they formed.
"Strike her not said old Boda at last,
in commanding tone; whoever strikes
her strikes me-"
quite right" said his wife.
can remember no more of what passed
about the PARTITION could pay it no more
attention; | kept on going over the scene
in my own mind, and endeayoring to ex-
plain it. l am ashamed to say that | ar
rived at conclusions concerning the rela-
tions between old Boda and Maria not fat
tering to either of them, and only re-
manned puzzled as to the attitude of his
wife This at last put down to customs
of the country" and felt satisfied.
A few days later Boda approached me
with the subject upon which had always
been so curious.
"Have you," he asked, never considered
it curious that a man of my build should
be so crippled in his walk ?"
"Well," Ireplied, Eyes, 1 have"
"Ahp said Boda. "Well, my Effendi,
fter what you witnessed here the other day,
I should like to tell you thestory, if it will
not tire you"
'Not at all" l answered; II should of
all things like to hear it"
Nv story (said Boda, after a short pause
and with an evident effort to Begin is a
sad one, and fear it will not amuse you.
About thirty years ago | was ayoung man,
l feared nobody, l was rich and infuen-
tial, | wanted nothing. | was strong and
active-no one could wrestle with me. At
the time | am speaking of had been mar
ried about three years both my sons were
already born. Now it happened that at
about that time new Mutessarif had
come to Antivari, who was, even for their
way, more greedy and rapacious than
usual. | was in the Council Of Mobiles,
and had more than once endeavored to
stop some cruel injustsce being done to the
poor and powerless Thus it came to be
that the Mutessarif conceived great en-
nifty and dislike for me, and no doubt
promised himself that he would be re-
venged. Now, turning over in his mind
how he could best strike me it must have
occurred to him that he would begin by
running me and one day he sent me mes
sage, saying that he required piece of my
( land, and would pay me fair and full price
/ for it. You will understand, my Efendi,
/ that for a Mutessarif fair and full price
is not the hundredth part of the real value
of the property; moreover, even that
price which he binds himself to pay he
never pays. The piece of land which he
chose Of mine was about the third of my
property, and the richest which l had. l
accordingly sent back word to say that
required no money; that my land was not
more than 1 could work, and that re-
spectfully declined his kind offer. heard
that the Mutessarif was incensed at what
he called my insolence, and that he made
a vow that if the dog meaning mel would
not give up peaceably what was required
of him, it should be wrested from him by
force. Not day then passed that the
AIutessarif did not send me up messen-
ger to urge me to sell my land he even
increased his price, though, as he never
would have paid anything, that made but
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