The sun., 1910-01-09

So s"ar -+t roo
a woman In Albania 4.

nouf heel 0f italy. lLn 0oaSA W1SkAln sA3hS
81 pxssing hhes of steamships and tts
political situation watched with Keen
intsrE-. by European Chancelleries, is
yet the darkest corner Of Europe. Gibbon
n the. eighteenth. century wrQte that IT
wabas 1atls knewo as earltral Africa, and
"A his'wSrcis have remained trtte TO this day.
MISS NJ. EDITH DURHAM. however, has in
hsas latest work increased very materially
eur knowEedGs oI mis- Oonntry.~ She has
dared - venture into the rough mountain
lahd oI the north. and 10 live for days,In
sonaer cases FOR weeks, m the towns and
\ settlements; speaking Serbian and Al
bmnian, having a sympathetic interest IN
the people. protected by her sex from
suspicion of intriGues, aud thus unham-
pssed by official escort. she has pre- duced
tr--ftph ALBANIA Edward Arnold, Lon
(, d6n) am interesting book of travel and
7 adventure and the most convincing
account OF life in the highlands of north
Albania that has been written. in many
~ As n hook OF adventure the reader might
y fHrs of~the frequent mention of Rhak.
blond sfsud,. but TO the student this Is
~ Without value, as tttes laws governing
do tsistorn were gathered by Miss Durham
Nom the 'chieftains and tribesmen who
had been participants I'm these affairs
\ of honor. and the incidents recorded
all ,came under her own personal obser-
!, yafion The most important fact IN
nSeth AlhAniatis blood vengeance. which
lfHtflte old idea of publication by blood
- ~ spread throughout the laDds and
aDka slse.r 10 -sa.bseryient to Il. Ter rhe
! Albanian, the unwritten law Of blood
- as the Fury of Greek tragedy. IL
x1siyee him iuexorably ~ his; DOOM the
ensIrse OF blood lis upon him when he is
Morn. and n sends him TO an early grave.
30 much Accustomed II he TO the knowledge
that ne mist shoot or be shot that IL
hnHects his spirits no more than does the
hatf that MAN is mortal" spoil the
sknner, of plump. prosperous trades
man In the rest OF the world. The man
whose honor has been soiled must cleanse
M. Until he has done 80 he is an outcast
sfrona HIS fellows. treated contempttiously
< nc al gatherings. When folks pass him
shs glass Of ralxia behind their backs he
scnn show his face among them no more,
wnd to cleanse his honor he kills.
ss.Arhioks demands blood. 30 do insult
fng swords One Of the worst insults
b the marrying &c ? gisl betrothed to one
n man to another ssk man is answerable
for his guest. and must aveuge stranger
sssst has passed but one night beneath
his roof II. on his journey the next day
Ne N attacked. The saoredness OF the
fsest u evidently far reaching. for Miss
y Durham says "A man who hrou ght
me water from his house that might
drut=by the way eaid that i now ranked
\ - his guest, and that he SHOULD be bound
~ his honor to avenge me should any
thing happen TO. me before received
hospitality from. another. The rules
offthe game are punctiliously observed.
AFrf,an may not be shot for vengeance
when he Is with a woman or child, nor
when he is in company, nor when besa.
+ cath 0f peace. has been given. Two
narties may swear such an oath for weeks
Il they choose for business purposes.
There are men who on account Of blood
have neVer fer years been out alone.
Woman rs never liable for blood vengeance.
a4xDeut IN the rare cases OF her taking IL
herself, and even then there seems TO be
\ feeling that It would be bad form to
xhoot her '"f' . N'''
s,The Albanian himself. even Il he is
opposed to this, useless. waste OF life.
appareptly breads to take stand against
~ on account OF the ridicule he would
bring upon himself; but the priests. al
Enough they may he willing to lead their
npcks against any foe in Christ's name.
an. ever Icrying. in the wilderness against
\. tks oustom. The most. though. that they
wesm 20 have accomplished is to effect
n,w and then n besa. Miss Durham tells
\ - being present when the great peace
yu>n. sworn in 1903. The news OF the
Supnstitutioa had just reached Albania.
unds the hereditary Prince Of the Mirdita,
safser,an exile Of nearly thirty years, was
v table welcomed by his people. We
+, nvaited the coming of the Abbate. His
\, rold banded cap shone over the heads
: a the crowd that parted and let him
! tRrouGh-on his fat white horse, gay with
- xobd, saddle cloth, followed by the rest
\ a the priests of Mirdita. II
struol<s me suddenly that among some
= a.KoO armed men / was the solitary petit
y coatr The Young Turks and I were the
suuniy anaehronisms--bl blots on the Old World
lr,Scture. The Abbate stepped into the
{niIddIe and spoke with great voice that
srane over the land, His words were
5,E~iahtyh. The, constitution was the will
! ~ ma Sultan. Mirdita would remain
y f6vaI 20 him. but would retain. as before,
3Bsr privilege and he self-goveIned ac-
rording 10 the Canon OF LEX DulSa Chin;
b from this day forth those laws would be
/ truly enforced. Blood vengeance WAS
( Is sSease. Peace was o-be sworn until
(. All "Wednesday. 1902 by which time all
4 bjoods we're to be paCified; and hereafter
h ,ssstts man that, kills another shall be
4,Anfshed not only from Mirdita but from
y Xjhania.' II seemed doubtful. very
aoubtfsi. II the tribes as a whole would
snpcept the terms that had taken but
few moments to explain. Finally heredi-
tsfyr loyalty to the chief triumphed over
private passions; each priest came for
ward and announced that his flock was
MSfeed. Peace was proclaimed until
4 AshE Wednesday. 1909, and by then ways
md means were to be determined"
Miss Durham has strong prejudices
md 10 quite frank in revealing them.
she u not inclined to take civilization
II its own valuation She found an old