Delaware City press. (Delaware City, Del.) 1913-19??, 1913-07-11

middle path of caution
He happened to be born with royal blood in his
veins; but that is of small account Every inch OF
territory every subject he owns, he has fought for,
and 1t is to his credit that the domains handed to
him by his predecessor ifty-two years ago. have
been rather more than doubled in extent and popu.
lation through the might of his sword and the agility
of his brain.
Nicholas Petrovich Niegoch czar of Montenegro
prince of the Zeta vovode of Brda, and gospodar
OF Tchernagora, Europe's last feudal ruler was born
at Niegoch, the ancestral home of his house, on
september rs, 1S41. He of the wonderful
line which has given rulers to Montenegro for more
than two hundred years and which was one of the
foremost families of the ancient principality for
centuries before that The Petrovch dynasty has
relgned In Montenegro since 1896, when the rule of
the hereditary vladikas, prince-bishops was In.
augurated But for hundreds of years before that
date, even before the time of the first Black Prince
stephen Chrnoievich, the Petrovich were an hon.
ored family, who boosted the rank of voivode or
lord
All of the men of this line have been men of great
personal prowess, exceptional military ability
craftsmanship and political cunning, and possessed
OF marked personal magnetism. Living for the
most part, lives of strictest celibacy quaint mix.
lures of the warrior and the monk they presided
over the destnies of their tiny nation with sense
OF responsibility that you will not find equaled by
the standard of any ruling dynasty In Europe
AT the beginning of Its existence Montenegto was
ruled by successive dynasties of princes of which
u last was the Chrnoievich. In 1916, however
the system OF government was changed, and what
were known as elective vladikas installed
One ruler OF the Petrovich was succeeded by his
nrothers son. Strangely enough there was
never any jealousy among the nephews who were
passed over.
Eap iRstepce TIE father % Omar s;clszEAs y
MiTko known the Sword OF Montenegro'-
the most famous warrior the little land can boast
and stalwart bulwark against the nvasions OF
the Turks which threatened Montenegro until
1873, when Russia put stop once and for all to
Moslem aggression in Europeans twice passed
over for the throne, the second time in favor of
his own Yet he fought cherefully both for
his brother and his and never showed trace
of illfeeling, although as has been said, he has
always been regarded the best leader the
Black Mountain men had
To tell the story Of Gear Nicholas, the first OF
the Montenegro rulers to wear a kingly crown,
means the telling of the story of his country
throughout his reign
1t is not story which can be lightly told,
either, for it involves description of several of
the most stirring combats which have taken place
sipce the days of the Crusades.
In the first place 1t is necessary to give
brief sketch Of the land of Montenegro, or Tcher.
nagora-"the Black Mountain to call it by the
. name its inhabitants love best Montenegro was
colonzed in the last decade of the fourteenth
fury by noble families from Macedonia, Serva
and Bulgaria, the pick of the old Slay arstocracy,
who fed from their upland castles in the Rho
dope hills after the battle of Kossovo in 1885,
when the Turks completely crushed the Christian
power In the Balkan peninsula. and the great
BulgarSerb empire, which had been numbered
among the mightiest in Europe went down to
everlasting defeat.
From that time on, the story of Montenegro is
the story of endless battles, wars, sieges, raids
forays and encounters with the Turks varied
occasionally by combats with the Venetians who
made several abortive attempts to scale the i'm
pregnable road known the "Montenegrin Lad
DER which from the Bocca di Cattora up
to Cettinje, and, later, combats with the French
and Austrians.
Time and again the Turkish Sultans and their
viceroys, the Pashas of Albania, Bosnia and the
Herzegovina endeayored to conquer the tiny
land. For four hundred and fifty years. army
after army, led by the Janissares and best gen
erals Turkey could produce. attempted to conquer
Montenegro and failed. During the first half of
the last century the warfare between the little
principality and its great enemy almost
ceasing. In the reign of Danilo H.. uncle of
Nicholas, number Of tremendous battles were
fought
Five years before the time came for Nicholas
TO ascend the throne his destiny had been de-
termined upon, and as his uncle a of
considerable foresight and small intellectual
attainments, 1t determined that the heir
apparent should be given frst-class western
education in preparation for his assuming the
responsibilities of leader of his people.
Accordingly. after a preparatory course in the
home of his aunt in Trieste-where he imbibed
principally hatred of the Austrans who were
becoming almost dangerous enemies of Monte
negro the Turks-.he shipped off to Paris,
where he studied at the Academy of Lous-le-
Grand and obtained some proficiency in French,
Italian and German, besides Serb history and
other more usual branches of knowledge.
Even II Nicholas had not been king he would
have deserved commentator and distinctive
place in the history of his country through his
literary endeavors. Besides volume of poetry,