The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-04-05
LIFE OF KING WITHOUT A =.
COUNTRY is A LONELY ONE
(By Associated Press. J

Tie spot where King Peter of Ser
/ again at the head or his men" as
/ he puts it, mig hit be one OF the Greek
church monasteries on Mt Athos,
Ter all the touch it has with the rest
of the world. Never easy of access,
: Aedypsos in winter is completely cut
off save by the intermittent services
OF a Greek government tug which
runs from Stylis, on the main land
opposite, to Aedypsos on the Island
of Eubea.
Occasionally smaller coasting
steamers visiting the tiny ports OF
the Gulf of kubea and bound from
pireus or Chalcis to Volo, stop at
the wharf in front of King Peters
hotel. Now and then a French or
British destroyer noses the shore
long enough to disembark a messen-
ger, or a British mine-seeker anchors
for an hour or two while its COM
mander gets whiskey and soda in
the deserted summer hotel.
Nothing could be lonelier than the
life of the King without a country.
His suite consists of three of his
countrymen; big, genial Colonel To-
dorovitch, his aid de camp; black
bearded, silent Captain Jukanovitch,
his secretary, and jolly old Dr.. Sim
onvitch, the royal physician. In ad-
dition, there are, on behalf of the
Greek government, Lieutenant Kolo-
kotronis and Sergeant koressi and
twenty reek policemen And that is
all The little collection of summer
villas and summer hotels grouped
around the hot springs of Aedypjsos
are empty. Their windows are board
ed up. They have that forlorn air of
houses never really lived in-like
Coney Island in midwinter.
The routine of each of the Kings
days is in deadly monotony. Regu-
larly, as punctual as any clock, he
rises at half past three every morn
ing, takes his alkaline bath, and re-
turns to bed until half past four.
At five his day begins-"the habits
of campaigner, he says APOLOGIZE
cally. II suppose | am too old to
change." He goes over the newspa-
pers and reports that are sent to him,
answers letters when there are any
to answer, and reads such com
muniques of the progress of the war
as reach him by telegraph.
81 wish people wouldn't write so
legibly," he complains. Their let
ters are SO quickly read"
When the morning post is over
| (and as the post arrives only at rare,
uncertain intervals it is often over
before it is begun, out comes the
various maps of the theaters of the
world war, and the King without a
country, who is also a general with
ont an army. and Colonel Todoro-
witch and Captain Jukanovtch pore
over the hills and rivers and plains
! of France and Belgium and Poland
and Armenia and the Trentino, fol-
lowing the armies step by step.
But the maps Of Serbia are in a
/ heap at one side. No one unfolds
them. There are no military move
/ mcnts to follow in Serbia Serbia s
battles are all fought. Finally every
advance and retreat and engagement.
great and small, recounted in the
communities has been marked out
! and discussed A silence falls on the
| three men who sit about the chart
covered table, as if it were the staff
table at army headquarters, the
night before battle. The old King
clears his throat and slowly rises.
Leaning on his cane, he hobbies to
the trunk on which the maps of his
country lie piled. His trembling,
eager fingers unfold them, and spread
them out one by one. above the 9TH
ers. covering over, blotting out the
maps of all the rest of the world
Serbia,
"I-ah- Twas just thinking last
night about that little skirmish at
Cuprija remember, Berislav?"
he says to Colonel Todorovitch
There was hill over here. and the
road went up this way" But he does
not look at the map And his blind
old eyes could not make it out if he
did. He needs no map-it is all
there in his head. every battle. every
regiment, evry shape of ground or
turn of waterway-the very names
of the men who fought and the vii
laaes they came from. Adroitly he
leads the others into a discussion
that regenerates the long row of days
of triumph and despair that have
made his life.
Slowly he leads the talk around
from the past to the future. "Now,
You Sec" he says. I'VE could send
twenty thousand men up there and
two divisions over here, from this
direction The French could send