The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-01

Aedypsos, Eubea, Greece, April l.
Colonel Todorovitch, aide de camp OF
His Majesty King Peter of Serbia,
cIapped his heels together and bowed
from the hips.
His Majesty would be glad" he
said in German, "if you would walk
with him this afternoon"
The Hotel of '"Thh Baths of Sulla"
was bathed in a flood of welcome win
ter sunshine. Snow-c1ad Parnassus,
across the Gulf of Eubea, glistened
like a Christmas card. Ffshermen's
boats, picked out against the gleam-
ing water between, rowed by banks
of oars like ancient triremes. crept
back and forth or, with sails set
aswfng, Studded before the light
breeze.
King Peter of Serbia cdme down the
steps of the hotel into the sunlight,
a short, slight figure supported by q
cane, but jauntily, carried W1thal He
wore the gray-brown Serbian UNIFORM
with the blue cavalry collar and cav
airy breeches with the broad, red
stripe of a general. On his Shout
ders, the silver-threaded, furnished
ejaulettes were mounted by a Serbian
eagle, and his short-peaked cap of the
Serbian officer bore the like In its
center. An eagle face with hooked
nose; a bristIing white n1oustache and
white Imperial; ~short-cltpped, iron
gray hair and brown, almost unsee1ng
eyes, whose iris seems to have become
all pupil-a little man, but strong, for
all his seVenty-two years-such the
] King without a. country.
The correspondent walks on the
right of the sovereign, for King Pc
ter's right ear is slightly less deaf than
his left one. Striking out with ca
ger step, the monarch leads the way.
his cane before him just barely feel
| ing his steps, The path leads past
/
alkaline deposit hanging out over the
sea in an irridescent mass. Here and
there out of little holes in the porous
mass the steaming water bubbles 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
.iVolcanic-an volcanic says, the
old King, turning over bits of gem
like stone with his sticks end. 1.-THE
| day before you came, we had an
earthquake shock-a little one.'' And
then, as he leads the way again up
against me!'' he adds ruefu1ly- And
tapping the yellow ground with his
cane: There must be some Austrians
buried under thereX and he laughs
| merri1y.
The way leads past some shallow
quarries where peasants, men and wo-
men, rough-hew the porous, volcanic
stone for their building. AS the lit
tie 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-
Iutes the simple folk who love him.
''They are sorry for me- he ex-
plains 'tand they try to tell me that
they are sorry for me- in their kind
1y, wordless waY. They have great
hearts. Sir-like The people of yo5r
country; plain people. as am plain
man."
"You are wrong, Sire,'' says Jivoin
Ba1ougdgitct, the Serbian Minister to
Greece, who for many yeaSs was King
folk stand uncovered, not out Of pity,
but out of admiration. They aren't
sorry for you-they respect you.''
The monarch puts his arm around
the companion of his years Of exile in
/ Switzerland.
''AhG BaIougdgitch, old friend, al
ways the CHEEKY, brave word!" And
then to Balougdgitch's son, a sergeant
in the Serbian army, who has come
from Corfu as a messenger: "And
thou. my boy, are thou too a socialist
like thy father, who has no faith in
kings?'
I'm some kings, Sire says the dip
| lomatist.
The walk ends at last at a bench
at the waters edge, full in the warmth