The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-31


night. We sat up, smoked and read
IT'LL our hostess and her fair daughter
came in with lighted tapers and or
ganized a flea hunt. The marvellous
dexterity with which the ladies dipped
their fingers in the tallow, and then as
quick as flash caught up the fendtsh
little insects and cremated them In the
flame, was a sight worth watching.
After about an hours sport OF this
kind the ladies retired. Soon the chill
| of the dawn cooled the biting ardOur
of the remaining little tOrmentors, and
left unmolested we fell asleep. The
sun had been up several hours before
our hostess came in with our coffee,
and the pretty Martha brought the
ewers of water onto the balcony for
our ablutions. She had already been
in the yard where our horses were
tethered to give them a feed of corn.
Her mother, while we were washing,
our breakfasts in, and later, as we
consumed that meal, all the musical
boxes in the establishment recon-
menced their maddening melodies.
Forbes and made Maritza's house our
headquarters for several. #. weeks, but
neither Forbes nor myself had the
heart to request our hostess to stop
the noise Of those musical boxes, for
they seemed to give her and her fam
lily so much pleasure. '>st r.
One day the sound of music of a
different sort came with dull thun-
der from away over from towards the
Balkans. Our nags were full Of met
tie after a long period of inactivity,
and, rampant with good feeding, ca
pered around as we waved adieu to
Martha and her mother, who watched
us careering down the zigzag paths to
the valley below, followed by the full
blast of those wretched musical boxes.
The fight for the supremacy of the
blue Danube" and God Save the
Queen still fingered with us till Ma
ritza's waving handkerchief, bright
eyes, and the tinkling music were sud
denly cut off as we flanked the rocky
base Of the Tirnova crag. .~ =;
The. distant rumble of cannon de-
noted to us that the big event we had
been anxiously waiting for was about
to come off. Forbes, when at Gorney
Sudden, the Russian headquarters, had
worrned out Of the authorities that
General Radeski in command of the
Eighth Russian corps had received in
formation that the Turks, SO, 900 strong
under Sulieman, the famous Turkish
general, fresh from his successful
campaign in Montenegro, were now
threatening the southern passes Of the
Balkans, and had hurried off with his
MEN to the Elena Pass to stem the
Turkish advance; but this noise Of
cannon came from another direction
over by the Shipka, where Darozinski,
with only 5000 men, was standing
guard at the mouth of the Pass, a
small enough force to attempt to stop
Sulieman's advance if he concentrated
his large army against it. The con-
tinuous rumble of cannon presaged
stiff fighting, and we presently came
across signs of the conflict that was
going on. in the distant mountains.
Our road now became q tumble Of
sprinkling Of laggards~ hurrying to
catch up with their companies Soon
the whole stretch of country to the
foot Of the Balkans became one vast,
nlI 4ancholy encampment Of sad-Vis-
| aged refugees, representing the exc
dus Of the inhabitants Of a whole ter
ritory, fleeing from the dread of Turk
ish reDrisals after Gourkhos retire
ment. What a motley, picturesque
crowd they were, camping or YEARLY
tramping. along thru this most ravish-
ingly beautiful country, full of sum-
mer sweetness, and yet with the shad-
ow of death. hanging over all. The
extremely poor and the well-to-do
were all on the same level here. All
had left their blazing homes and the
majority had saved little but what they
SCOOu up III. IL Was nedTLDredk1nS TO
see the women of the better class
plodding painfully, with their children
in their arms, trying to protect their
young ones from the blistering sun
with Darasols-women not with the
ordinary Turkish trousers and bodices
Of gaudy hues, but dressed in the
fashion of Englishwomen of gentle
birth. Luckily the nights were warm,
for their beds were the burrows Of the
aa1I ~ s1o&f =
murder was now passed, but the faces
Of all were piteous to look upon, for
the light Of their burning homesteads
was still in their eyes. They looked
as If they had suddenly awakened
from some horrible dream. 49,
The picturesque town of Drenova,
where we made our midday halt, was