The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-04-01
EXILEDKINGB
PATHETICFFIGURE
Continued from Page one.)

1.-THE si~iTerthreaded. tarnished epaul-
cites were mounted by a Serbian eagle,
and his short-peaked cap OF the Ser
Ebfan officer bore the like in Its center
An eagle face with hooked nose; .
bristliu5 white moustache and white
Imperial: short-clipped iron-gray haid
and brown, almost unseetng 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 Associated Press correspondent
walks Oil the right of the sovereign, for
King Peters right a Is slightly less
deaf than his left one. Striking out
with eager step, the monarch leads the
way, mis- cane before him just barely
feeling his steps. The path leads past
the curious formation Of sulphorous
alkaline deposit hanging out over the
sea in ali irridescent mass Here ana
There out OF little holes In the porous
mass the steamfng water bubbles up,
100 hot to hold ones hand in, ard 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
like stone with his sticks end. THE
day before you came, we had an earth.
quake sl!ock-a little one" And then,
az he leads tho way again up the hill,
"Even the earth turns against me-" he
adds ruofully. And tapping the vel
low ground with his cane: There
must be some Austrians buried under
AL.a.aIu Il Ava ha IaSI0ba merP11v -
The way leads past some shallow
auarrics where peasants. men and wo-
men, rough.hew the porous, volcanic
stone for their building. AS the little
party advances, they stop their work
and put down their tools. The men
| stand hareheaded, the women bow,
while fallen majesty passes them by.
Soldier fashion, King Peter salutes the
folk who love him.
"They are sorry for me-" he ex'
plains. '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 q plain nan
"You are wrong. Sire" says Jivoin
| Bal%ougdgitch, the Serbian Minister to
| Greece, who for many years was King
Peters Secretary. "rhose simple 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.
"Ah! Balougdgitch, 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, art thou too a socialist
like Thy father, who has no faith in
Kings?
lomatist.
The walk ends at last at a bench at
the waters edge, full in the warmth
OF the declining u As the fisher
mems boats pass on their way to the
wharf, the men doff their caps and the
King salutes them in return. The
King and the correspondent, seated on
the bench, look out over the Gulf or
Eubea.
Like Lake Geneva" the sovereign
says, waving his hand at the water ana
the distant mountains. Here we are
at Ouchy, and over there is the Jura
and France" He sits a while in ST.
lence and then takes up GgaIn. aloud.
the theme OF his thoughts. "How
much she has done for us-France!
How much she has done for all the
world! Now she is taking u chill
dren to her deep bosom. to keep them
safe TO: lis until after the war. that
the race of Serbs may not die out.
For there, in Serbia. 1t Is extermt'
nation, starvation, death. The women,
and the children who are the living
future OF our dreams-all we have to
hold by to rebuild u nation after the
war-soon they will all be gone. Make
no mistake-war is a brutal business
here in The Balkans. We all of us
learned our war-making under the
Turk, and the women and children
have little chance. don't mean to say
they arc massacred or anything like
that, though that too has happened.
a. ~