The Washington herald., 1912-11-05

-
ct ths Petit Lnxembourg
The PresSdent cannot but feel quees
for some time after his retirement q
lrecelvtng no calls from royal wsndererz
and grahd dukes. Ambassadors. and
Their imperial or royal masters. We
adapt ourselves rapidly to wealth and
high fortune We descend or fall from
Iit With pain. however philosophic the
makeup Of our minds may be.
'-smalIest among nations Roush-roch
throne Of freedom. Warriors beating
hack the swarm Of Turkish Islam fol
i've centuries. A great Czernagovaw
This, In short, 10 Montenegro ('Blach
Mountain" or "Czerna Gova'D. who's
traditions, according to Gladstons. ex.
coed in glory those Of Marathon and
ThsrmopyIe and all war traditions Of
the Old World.
No nation has q more engroasing his
tory. 1t has always been the first to
fght the Turkish oppressor of its neigh
bors. II was born in battle. It arose
out Of the tragedy Of the fatal field oi
Kossova in 1889. when the invading Turks
overthrew the great Serb kingdom.
Rather than bow to Ottoman rule, q
large number Of Serb families fed to
the mountain Businesses. not far from
the Adiatic shore. and there for 500 years
their banner Of freedom has flown un-
interruptedly. despite many attacks
While the dreadful Ottoman Janitchars
are anxious to meet Bulgar, Serb, or
Greek IN battle. they would rather be
spared an encounter with the heretofore
untamed men of Kara Dagh" CTurkish
for Black Mountain). For centuries Of
war have nodded the Czerna Eovans into
a nation OF but one caste-warriors.
The Montenegrins have had rulers after
thAtp The Avv,o NJ ~
has been on the throne some 800 years.
For almost similar period before 1857
the little mountain country was ruled by
an elected "Vladika." or prince bishop.
but then the mountain warriors deter
mined to have a hereditary monarch.
They chose Danilo Petrowitch, a de-
scendant OF q band Of Herzegovinians
who. 900 years before. had sought refuge
in Montenegro from Turkish misrule.
This prince lived In the village Of
Njegus. half way between Cettinje and
Cattara, on a magnificent road which IL
one Of the finest engineering feats Of
all Europe.
Fon four hours the vehicle winds up
this strange road through a rugged.
treeless, desolate region. Beyond the
guardhoufe at Kerstak a plateau is
and amid the rocks develops a
clean little habitation. This is Njegus.
the cradle Of the present Montenegrin
dynasty.
Between the first hereditary ruler and
the present King there were four princes.
the last Danilo II. who gave to his
country the Danilo code OF civil and re-
ligious liberty. was assassinated in 1850.
and was succeeded by Nicholas I. The
present ruler. who was born in 1871 at
NjeGus, though only nineteen at the time
his uncle died. had acquired French in
Paris and had studied italian and Ger
man at Trieste. But Western Europe
gave him nothing but education to carry
back to that little land he was to rule
for SO long.
Nicholas l is a true Montenegrin. He
Is warrior and a poet In his younger
days he was one of the best shots in a
nation OF expert rifiemen. fearless
rider. the least freauented mountain path
Of his country is known to him. He has
on more than one occasion proved him.
self a splendid general. Turkey has sent
her finest soldiers in vain against him
and his highlanders. He extended the
frontiers Of the country in 1s1s. cutting
his way to the sea by the sword. and
not even those who at Berlin and San
stefano played with frontiers as though
the map Of the near East were a jig-saw
Jared to suggest that the Montenegrins
should be robbed of the fruits OF war.
He is adored by his people: he is their
father" His palace" at Cettinje is a
most unpretentious place. and before the
of constitution in 1906 he was
,ften to be seen sitting in a chair on
he steps leading to the royal dwelling
while. one by one, came those Of his sub
ects VINO had complaints or petitions to
ay before him. The Montenegrin now
'adly misses this opportunity OF having
he ear of his ruler. In his heart the
Black Mountain warrior cares but little
or constitution and 'Skupshtina,"
ince under them he is heard by min |
sters and not by his father"
King Nicholas carries his seventy-one |
ears lightly. His hair is white and he |
toops u little. but he has still a fine |
physique and still is capable Of leading !
lis highlanders-no well-dressed troops |
lnder Russian training-to war against |
he archenemy. He is of simple habits.
'ut likes his Turkish cigarette. He is
low Of speech. but his eye has lost |
Iothing Of its former Iuster.
Roughly estimated. the population Of
his diminutive country is $4,000 Be
ween his eighteenth to his sixty-second
ear every Montenegrin is liable to mill
ary service. Two years ne Is a recruit.
hirty-two years in the active army. and
en- years in the reserve. The war
trength OF the army is about 5000 men.
ut 5000 Montenegrins. the entire adult
male population, is not a force to be
by numbers.
1t is one Of the strangest sights in
Europe to see the Montenegrin in his lit
le capital. Cettinje. That town. high
y. lies In a hollow of a mountain. A
and rather uninteresting
own II would be were II not for the
Every one must. by law,
year the national dress. That garb.
lCse dark blue trousers. white CATERS
Z woolen material, shoes, a jacket OF
carlet with heavy gold braiding. A
apa. or cap. of crimson is worn. Its
lack border is mourning for the defeat
I Kossovo. and the crimson Is the sea
blood which have washed the Black
since that battle was lost.
i've gold bands. typifying the five CEN
Iries Of the nations history. inclose the
.ing's initials in Servian letters las I
ave narrated on a former occasion.
hen Prince Nicholas placed a kings ;
own upon his head. urged by his
aughter, the Queen OF Italy. and his ,
nsman. the Car of Russia, to assume
lie greater dignity.
Every Montenegrin goes about armed.
armers most Of them, work is an un-
gnified affair for. these men, whose joy ]
in leAning how to night and in fight {
One must admire this splendid race of
ghters, living in one Of the few un-
'oiled corners of Europe. To-day they .
e reused as, perhaps, they have never
cen before. Seldom has Montenegro
zen 50 thoroughly ready and so eager
,r war. Never has the ''S'bogom!" t