The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1893-11-24
AN AMBITIOUS PRINCE.
What the Ruler of Montenegro
Would Like to Do.
A Progressive Monarch Who Fondly
Dreams of q Reconstructed En-
pire Over Which He
May Reign.


An American who recently visited
Montenegro said to New York Trib-
une reporter in speaking of the ruler
of that country:
Probably no ruler in the world
cherishes higher dreams of ambition
than does Prince Nicholas, of Monte
negro. Beyond the dark mountains of
his small and impoverished principaIi-
ty his thoughts are forever reaching to
kingdoms and principalities by the
Danube, and in dreams of the restora-
tion of the ancient Servian empire,
with himself on the throne. In the
changes going on and constantly
threatening in Servia, Bulgaria and
Rumania he believes in the possible
uniting of these countries with Mon
tenegro into one nation over which he
may be called upon to reign. He
thinks the powers of western Europe
would look with favor upon the forma-
tion of such a nation, as it would be a
barrier to the southwark march of
Russia towad the Bosphorus. He has
sedulously cultivated the friendship of
Russia, and his ambition is not un-
known to the czar. But Russia, he
thinks, would rather see a strong and
independent nation between it and the
Golden horn, than several kingdoms
and principalities dominated by the
influence of Russia's hereditary foes,
or ruled by princes sent from western
Europe. There is little doubt but that
he has been encouraged to believe this
from st. Petersburg. Of such nation
as that of which Prince Nicholas
dreams Bosnia and Dalmatia would
naturally form ultimately part, for
in these provinces the Austrian ruler
is detested, and Prince Nicholas is
most popular. In Dalmatia Prince
Nicholas is especially popular, and
that province would to-day, were it
not held in check by the Austrian
soldiery, join itself to Montenegro
The people are of the same race as
the people of Montenegro, the Serps
or Servians, and they look upon Mich
olas as their natural ruler. All this is
and has been for years dream of
Prince Nicholas, but suns have risen
and set over the Black mountains,
bringing the prince nearer to the
grave, but apparently no nearer to the
fruition of his hopes. The Serps still
remain disunited people, and pow
erty has made the ambitious prince
pensioner of Russia. Prince Nicholas
is a man of force, learning and prog
ress, and is well calculated to carry
out such scheme as that of which he
dreams, were such thing possible.
When the congress of Berlin gave him
q little strip of seacoast and the city of
Cattaro on the Adriatic, the prince
was delighted, and dreams of COM
merce and of navy at once filed his
mind. The emperor of Russia gave
him little steam yacht, and the
prince takes the keenest delight in
cruising in it up and down his sea-
coast. The prince keeps we'll informed
of all that is going on outside his do
mains, and subscribes to the newspa-
pers Of every nation, among them to
two American dailies. The great
western commonwealth and its mate
rial progress is a constant source of
interest and wonderment to him.
had an audience with the prince and
was catechised by him for an hour
and half, the prince pouring in a
steady fire of questions, and display
ing knowledge of American politics
that was rather embarrassing to me,
as do not keep as well posted in pol
itics as l should. The prince had es-
tablished long-distance telephone
line between Oetigne, the capitol, and
Cattaro, and was as pleased with it as
boy with his first pair of boots. In
the fascinating occupation of saying:
Hello! Cattarop he had forgotten for
awhile the pleasure of his yacht. He
displayed the greatest interest in Mr..
Edison, and asked me twenty questions
about him.
Prince Nicholas is poet of some
ability and has published two vol
umes of his works. Many of his
songs are about the ancient glory OF
the Serps, and call upon them to grasp
glorious future. The prince has
tried to fill his son and heir, Alexan-
der, with his own ambitions and high
ideas of the future, but Alexander is
fin de steele young man, and would
be happier in Paris than among the
hardy mountaineers of his fathers
principalty."