Norwich bulletin., 1913-02-19
THE RALkINs
AND THEia PEOPLE.
Final Lecture Tn Y. M. c. A. Course Given by pr. Edward steinar.

Final Lecture In Y. M. c. A. Course
 Given by pr. Edward steinar. The final number in the Y M. c. A. entertainment course. a lecture on The Balkans and Their People, by Dr. Edward A. Steiner was given in the Central Baptist church Tuesday evening before large and most en- dress showed clear first hand know ledge of the people and the situation in the Balkans and h1s lecture was made most. entertaining by his rela. tionship Of humorous incidents and anecdotes. Rev. F. c. Wright intro dueed the speaker and said that the original idea of the Y M. c. A had been largely realized each year in giving the community the high order of musical entertainments and 1ec- lures at so moderate sum The patronage this year, he said has shown appreciation of such course as has been afforded. In presenting pr Steiner he mentioned the fact that the speaker was here tlaree years ago when he made q most favorable inn pression. Dr. steiner said in part
 Unlike us, the Hebrews conceived great truths in flashes; the prophets saw events before they occurred, pre- dieting truths which have stood every test up to the present time. No na- ton is privileged nation that does not work in harmony with God. Ma
 
 morning. noon and night. There ts the bright morning, filled with. brilliant prospects, a period of grace. Then comes the period of blindness when gardless of the harvest; then comes darkness and doom.
 Which Way is Amsries Going?
 asked noted historian if Ameri- ca is going the way of the other na- a hat iS question which every American asks him and that the question itself shows that we are afraid of something in spike of our pride and boasts. t.No nation lives" he said, which does not move in harmony with the fundament- al ideals of it's nature. the principles which it has conceived. When it lets go It's grip on the principles upon which it is founded then it begins to die.'.
 Nations Perishsd by the Sword.
 The libraries of Assyria are being the histories show that the kings built Babylon as if 1t would endure for ages. When the arm grows weak and srnites only for gore and lust of bat tie, It encounters stronger arm. Egypt took the place of Assyria, building magnificently and 1astingly, believing herself the mistress of the world Then came the wolf-succored Romans to grasp the torch when Egypt failed to hold it aIoft and the Romans in turn were succeeded by the hordes of Huns who sought to destroy what had been built through ages by patience and skill. The Huns of Asia were held hack by the cross in the hands of Leo l and Rome had an other period of grace. Then in great CT numbers, like vast storm cloud came the Huns again, but for nine hundfed years have been held back by the Slays and it is an age long struggle which is now coming to an end. That old truth which the He- brew saw is coming true: That na- tlon which takes up the sword will perish by the sword.
 The Patisnt slav.
 For 800 years the patient slavs the their stronger foes. When the chase and their poor attempts at agriculture would no longer support them, they became the great peasant race of Europe These Slavic folk, not feel ing the sense of cohesion necessary t.) a great nation, lived in continuous tribal warfare until the onslaught of the Tartar and the Turk When the Roman invasion failed, being unable to agree they sent to Norway for leader and he became the first czar They were partly conquered by the Turks but never wholly subjugated and were pushed back from the plain into what is knovsn as the Rall1an peninsula. The Fins at the north, the Hungarians in the heart of Europe and on the East the Bnlgarians are Turks who have merged into the peoples whom they had conquered. In this country there is one people and 1t is not difficult to maintain this con- ditien as there is no opportunity for the tso1at ton of any class of people physically or in dialect. In the Bal kans they were differentiated by the high mountains which forbade com munications It was to the benefit of the surrounding people that this was so for could the Slavic people have united the Turks would never have been feared power. Austria has pro- and dialect into this country so that people of the same town by their re- ligion and beliefs are enemies
 Verdureless Mountains And People
 When first I saw the country I was immediately struck by the very nudeness of the mountains-no yer dure except at the very edge of the sea; great forbidding storm clouds of stone. l was struck by the awful poverty of the people and wondered what they lived on There is no har- vest without a perpetual fear of inya- s1on, there, no one kneels in prayer without a sword above his head and even today one is regarded as not dressed unless he has a oelt filled with weapons about him. l The ancient Roman ruins furnish l stables for the cows and mules of the | peasants In one place there is a | eity of 3o.000 people within one palace | In some cities the beautiful works of | he Romans are broken up. to make | 'oads for the mules to tread upon.
 Montenegro Men and Women.
 Up in the mountains like an eagles nest hangs the little kingdom of the | Montenegrins, Servians by race, and here they have clung for 300 years m a spot where there is nothing but stone. The houses are all little huts ,f stone, all alike. with matched roofs 1 There is never but one fire at time there for when one roof catches fire hey all burn. There is no furniture only a rug and a stone slab which is used for bed, table or a chair I sat on a rug in one such hut on one side my wife. on the other one of the native women When we went away my wife said, Isn't she herrid" She was. She was probably only about 70, but her face was wrinkled. She