The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-27
DID FRESHMEN
RULE IN SERVIA?
Tradition Says the Dynasty
Recently Exterminated Came
From Erin.

w DIS Tic roy oil LOUSG- VI SoGTNldy WIlACA
recently ended in the bloody slaughter
of Belgrade, an Irish family? Such is
the tradition, and certainly it does not
| take much imagination to change Milos
Obren into Miles O'Brien. Obren was
the name of the family, Obrenovitch
meaning simply descendant or son of
Obren-one belonging to the Obren
family The Obrens were a great fam
| lily in Servia and Montenegro long be-
fore the swineherd Techo married the
widow and cousin of the last Lord
Obren, and, perpetuating the name,
made the O'Briens, who had been
kings in Ireland, monarchs again in
Servia. There is nothing improbable in
this. legend Of Irish origin Of the
Obrens. The Irish race has wandered
far afield, and nearly every country
has at one time or another been gov
erned by an IriShman In Don Juan
lO'DonoJu, the last Viceroy of Mexico, it
| is easy to recognize John O'Donoghue
and Marshal ODonnell, the celebrated
Duke of Tetuan, was repeatedly the
premier of Spain and for many years
controlled the deStinies of that country
A MacMahon was marshal and preSi-
dent of France, and Taafe long pre-
mler of Hungary. Numerous other
cases will be recalled where transplant
| ed Irish families have become promi-
nent in the country for their adoption,
and there is reason to believe that the
| Obren family furnishes one of these in
stances.
In Strongbow's time the O'Briens
suffered exceedingly, and such as were
| not killed ''lay low" for a while or fed
the country where they had no longer
wealth or safety remaining to them. At
! that time the fourth crusade had re-
suited in the establishment of a Latin
empire at Constantinople, and Latin
princes and their followers took pos
session of the provinces which acl1nowI-
edged that city as the capital. Among
those who flocked from Western Eu-
rope into the newly founded empire
were fugitives from Ireland, seeking in
strange land to regain what they had
lost in their own. Among the Irish
were representatives Of the O'Brien
family who found plenty of fighting to
suit them and ample reward for their
service in that part of the empire
the Adriatic. Not long after the arri-
val of the O'Briens in this region we
begin to hear Of the Obrens, of their
dash and bravery, and, as they had not
been mentioned before, there is every
reason to suppose that the O'Briens
and ObrenS were one and the same
The folk songs and legends of Servia
and Montenegro are full of the doings
OF the Obrens and in legend and song
they are endowed with characteristics
which are genuinely and Enthusiastically
Irish. The O'Briens became voievodes
or hereditary governors of Dulcigno, a
port of Montenegro, and young Djuro
OBr1en or Obren, who ruled therein at
the end of the fifteenth century, was
remarkable for his beauty. This got
him into trouble. Old Two, who ruled
as prince over Montenegro had sought
the daughter of the Doge of Venice as
a bride for his son and had gone in
great state with much gold to arrange
the match. He took with him three
loads" of gold, and it was one con
tinuous chowder party in Venice until
the money was all gone. Then Two
started for home to sober up and let
the mountain breeZeS play over his
fevered brow. An old song of the
country says that Two, "who was wise.
uttered foolish words" when he went
away, which, considering the time he
had had, is not at all surprising. He
said, Il will come back for the girl.
Doge, and [ will bring with me my
son and six hundred boon companionS
Ii among these six hundred YOU can
find one handsomer than my son
Stantsha l will claim neither maiden
nor DOVER"
Soon after Two had returned to his
nome his son came down with the
smallpox and when he recovered he
was so badly pitted that his beauty
had vanished. So Two was afraid to
send the young man to Venice and
spoke no more to him of marriage.
Some years elapsed and then came a
message from the Doge saving that if
!vo wanted his son to marry the girl
he had better send him along. as She
was getting tired of waiting and had
several other good offers Then Iyo de-
term1ned to put up job on the Doge.
He assembled the six hundred Young
men, the boon companions of his son,
an explained to them that he was, as
1T were, "in hole" because of his
boast to the Doge Of his sons good
looks. He proposed that the young
man who was voted the best looking
among the six hundred should inner
senate the afflicted Stanisha and go
to Venice to fetch the bride with his
companions For this playing of bride
SAOOAAA AlS w " nave QaII the 0OWrV
the bride brought with her.
BY unanimous vote of the assembled
boon companions the O'Brien Of Dull
c1ngO was declared the handSomest man
IN the crowd, and selected to personate
the bridegroom. The Montenegrin bal
lads call this young man Djuro Obren,
but the Servian ballads give his name
as Filosh Obren. which is Miles
O'Brien.
This Miles O'Brien was a broth Of
boy, and played his part well until
upon his return, there was a row over
the division of the girls dowly The
Doge's daughter, of course, fell in love
with the bold Irish lad, and she was
Wroth when he tried to turn her over
to the plain looking Stanisha. Rllt
Miles laughed at her love, and then.
like Petiphar'S wife, she planned re-
Venge. She urged on Stanisha to kill
OBrien, and one day, the gossoon be-
ing taken off his guard, up rides Mr..
Stanlsha and throws a spear into him.
Two cousins of Miles, Obren Vouk and
ODren veg, came up to avenge the muir
der, and free fight ensued, which
lasted all day. When darkness and A
dense fog had descended upon the field
the old ballad declares that 1.-THE few
survivors walked up to their knees in
blood" But the two Obren cousins
survived and StaniSha also escaped
from the battle.
To this day there Is a fued between
the Montenegrins and the people Of the
region where Stanisha and his followers
settled after the battle, and they oc-
casionally take each others heads in
memory of the handsome Miles
O'Brien.
The descendants of'Obren Beg, cousin
and avengers of that handsome Miles
O'Brien. who played bridegroom to the
daughter OF the Doge Of Venice. are
numerous in the country about Ipek,
Turkey, near the Servian border. and