The Washington herald., 1911-06-24

Its goal, the venerable Church of SIS.
Peter and Paul. the shrine Of st.
Wfllibrod. Up the steep old steps i,
4 climbs, and with the bands more
blatant and 1ubilant than ever, the Dill
grims leap and dance up one side of the
church. around the tomb Of the saint,
and down the opposite side, calling with
loud voice on the blessed WilIibrod To
renew their faith and to cure them of
their ills. Holy wrlibrod." the cry
goes up In German. Dutch, French, and
Flemish, pray for u.s.
] Out again into the Gods Acre" the
/, last step and the last leap are made.
A hush falls on the weary crowd, and
the Archbishop OF Luxembourg. with up
raised hand, pronounces the final bless
ing.
st. willIbrod has been duly honored
and Echternach's tribute Of leaping and
dancing to his church has been paid for
another year.
The peremptory request OF the Sublime
Porte that Montenegro should decline to
shelter Albanian refugees, that province
Deing in open revolt against Turkish do
minion. has started rumors of war be-
tween the little mountain kingdom and
the Ottoman empire. provided It is really
true that Russia and Bulgaria mean TO
back King Nicholas.
The Albanians, being orthodox Chris
tians, naturally have the sympathy of
the Greek Catholics, whose stronghold
is in Russia and the balkans. 1t is be-
lieved in Constaatinople army circles
that Russia is taking a hand in this i'm
broglio. apparently as a protest against
Of he
&c their religious belief but in reality
having secret designs similar to those
which preceded the Russo-Turkish war
OF the '70's of the last century.
In fact, war with Turkey is the essence
of Montenegrin history. When, in 1889.
the power Of Servia was shattered. It
was Montenegro (then called Czerna
Cora. or Black MountaIn) that Afforded
an asylum to all who were determined
to make another stand for freedom.
Throughout the Middle Ages the Mon
tonegrins, under the leadership of their
bishops, continued to be dangerous foe
men to the Turks
These sturdy mountaineers are poor.
Their soil can hardly keep them But
they are born fighters. Nominally the
age for military service in the little
kingdom is between sixteen and sixty
five, but the other day only, when Prince
(now King Nicholas declined to accept a
recruit aged eighty. the insulted would
be-warrior drew his pistol and shot him
self dead.
The Montenegrin's cap shows how true
1t Is to regard war with the Turk as, the
essence Of their national history. For its
black border is mourning for the battle |
Of Kossowo Pole CFieId Of the Black
birds) in 1889. the irreparable disaster to |
the Slavs OF the Balkans. The crimson
typifies the blood that has been poured |
out like water over the mountains |
(Czerna Goras).
King Nicholas cap Is distinguished |
from those of his subjects by five |
stripes of gold braid. signifying Monte |
negro's five centuries of independence, |
but II is in mourning, like the others. !
There is no case of national mourning |
anywhere to equal this The emblems |
on the statue of Strassburg, on the /
Place de la Concorde, in Paris, by COM !
parison, are but things OF yesterday.
And yet, with all its love of the
sword, Montenegro is not without fame
OF the pen. for II was from the presses
OF little CetinJe, its capital, that the 1
first books in the Slavonic language
were Issued. FLANEUR.
Copyright. lS1. By Court Gossip syndicats)