Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-04-21
MESSACESENT TO
AMERICA BY KING
Former Ruler of Serbia Gives Salute
to People of United States In Talk
With Correspondent.

Aedypsos, Eubea, Greece, April l.
Correspondence of The Associated
Press. )-Colonel Todorovitch, aide-de-
camp of his majesty, King Peter OF
Serbia, clapped his heels together and
bowed from the hips.
His majesty would be glad" he said
in German. eff you would walk with
him this afternoon"
The hotel of THE Baths of Sulla'
was bathed in flood of welcome win
ter sunshine. Snow-clad Parnassus
across the Gulf of Eubea, glistened
like Christmas card. Fishermen s
boats, picked out against the cleaning
water between, rowed by banks of oars
like ancient triremes, crept back and
forth or, with sails set aswing, scud-
ded before the light breeze.
King Peter of Serbia came down the
steps Of the hotel into the sunlight, q
short, slight figure supported by a
cane, but jauntily carried withal. He
wore the gray-brown Serbian uniform
with the blue cavalry collar and cav,
airy breeches with the broad, red
stripe Of general. On his shoulders
the silver-threaded, furnished epau-
lettes were mounted by Serbian eagle
and his short-peaked cap of the Serb
ian officer bore the like in its center
An eagle face with hooked nose; a
bristling white moustache and white
imperial; short-clipped iron-gray hair
and brown, almost unseeing eyes
whose iris seems to have become all
pupil-a little man, but strong, for all
his 70 years-such the king without a
country.
The Associated Press correspondent
walks On the right Of the sovereign
for King Peters right ear is slightly
less deaf than his left one. Striking
out with eager step, the monarch leads
the way, his cane before him just bare
ly feeling his steps. The path leads
past the curious formation Of sulphor-
Gus alkaline deposit hanging oft over
the sea in an irridescent mass. Here
and there out of little holes in the
pOrus mass the steaming water bub-
bles up, too hot to hold ones hand in,
and then disappears only to reappear
again near the edge, keeping the lip OF
the strange deposit wet and shining
in the sunlight.
"Volcanic-all volcanic" says the old
king, turning over bits of gem-lke
stone with his sticks end THE day
before you came, we had an earth
quake shock-a little one" And then,
as he leads the way again up the hill
Even the earth turns against mel"
he adds ruefully. And tapping the yell
low ground with his cane: There
must be some Austrians buried under
there!" And he laughs merrily.
The way leads past some shallow
quarries where peasants, men and
women, rough-hew the porous, vol
canic stone for their buildings. AS the
little party advances, they stop their
work and put down their tools. The
men stand bareheaded, the women
bow, while fallen majesty passes them
by. Soldier fashion, King Peter sa-
lutes the simple folk who love him.
They are sorry for me-" he explains,
and they try to tell me that they are
sorry for me, in their kindly, wordless
way They have great hearts, sir
like the people Of your country; plain
people, as | am plain man"
You are wrong. sire" says Jivoin
Balougdgitch, the Serbian minister to
Greece. who for many years was King
Peters secretary. Those simple folk