Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-10-08

The old king. although Ill and having
coded the regency to his son. went from
the hospital to the
King Peter front, where. flag in
hand. he said: SOL
EQUILIBRIUM. diers of Serbia. 1t Is
your old king who comes to die with
you: IL there is among you any one
who may have fear let him go away"
No one went away. 1t was the Aus
TRANS who were afraid and the Serbs
gave battle without mercy Tho enemy
was defeated and in his flight aban-
doned wounded. munitions. cannons.
flags. The army of Gen. Putnik secured
a magnificent booty.
The 18th of December. after the Serbs
had driven the Austrians across the
Save, the king entered Belgrade. his
white city. now red with blood. and pro-
ceeding to the cathedral gave thanks to
God for the victory. The Serb army
had captured $4,000 prisoners. the most
of whom were sent to Italy, the others
died of wounds.
Chabats. the little Serb Paris.'' as 1t
was called. was in ruins: Loznitsa.
beautiful with its graceful church,
existed no longer; Kovilatche. the YER
dant watering place on the Drtna. was
a beautiful spot, had been sacked. also
the village of Chitar. Novo Selo, etc.
The crimes committed were worse
than those of savages. Prof. Reiss OF
Gated account; they are too horrible for
relation. Because of these atrocities
stories are now told of like crimes com
mitted by the Rumanians as stand
Off for the day Of reekon Ing ,n-.,s
up anew, but the dread typhus came,
with other Observation-Disclosures. diphtheria
and the rest. These maladies were
more dreadful than the Austrians
Then the Germans arrived on their
way to Constantinople. on the Save.
the Danube. the Drina. The Serbs
hoped for succor from the overwhelm-
ing numbers. Their friends. the French,
would they come? Finally the French
arrived at Saloniki, but the initial force
was feeble. and the Serbs were far
away
Serbia had signed at Bucharest
treaty which provided that in case OF
an attack by Bulgaria.
Old Allies Greece would go to the
rescue. Greece, it should
raIter. be recalled. would never
have acquired Saloniki without the aid
of Serbia Greece simply betrayed
Serbia Rumania, too. continued to
practice the policy of indecision.
The siege of Serbia commenced. and
Serbia was left to struggle alone.
Serbia. weakened by epidemics, lack
of numbers, and without the lines OF
communication, was overwhelmed. the
world was astonished at the resistance
which was hopeless. The Serbs, would
they not be exterminated? Ffnaily,
what was left of the indomitable
rs,,sr hn nd
field, abandoned their families, wives;
children. old men. soil; they would
not surrender. they must live to hight
again.
along three routes. all difficult - i'm
passable to all except the Serbians-
across the mountains to Albania The
route followed by the prince passed by
king, by Dibra. Elbassa, Durazzo: the
third taken by the ministers, passed by
Diakova. Ipek, Podgoritza.
The prince regent arrived the first
on the Adriatic coast. The first to or
ganize the refugees he was the last to
embark for Corfu. AS for the old king.
he conquered death itself. The army
| suffered from hunger while cutting its
| way through snow or climbing the
steep heights. What gave the army the
| strength to support such hardshfps?
| The voices of the dead at Kossovo. at
! Koumanovo. Tser. Roudnik. Belgrade.
and they sang along those dreadful
marches the words of the poet:
That which could not do. thou canst do;
Where have not gone, thou canst go;
That which have begun. thou canst finish.
Happily for Serbia and the Serbian
| army France was on guard and it was
France who heard the cry. Those who
are interested in the history of this
would do well to read NJ. Seaton-Wat-
son in the English magazine. who does
not hesitate to charge the entire re-
sponsibility to Sir Edward Grey. But.
who transported the Serbian refugee
| army to Bizute. to Corfu, where it was
| reassembled, and reconstructed the
| broken regiments and succored the
women, children and old men.
These refugees were heroes. as were
their forefathers. A boat having or
board a number of Serb
Resolute children was stopped AID
the children, although
Oniluieu. belonging to the Red
Cross. were taken to Cattaro. There
they were offered nourishment and
presents by the Austrian authorities.
The oldest, a boy of fourteen years.
constituted himself a council board
which would decide whether the food
and presents should be accepted or re-
fused. The youngsters voted unani-
mousiy their refusal, nothing should
be accepted from the enemy" These
little ones who will one day establish
great Serbia have sucked courage
with the milk of their mothers.
These Serbian children, besides, have
learned of the noble examples given
by the women of France during the
course of the war which is being
fought for Serbia for her re-establish-
ment The women of France-what an
inspiring lesson for young Serbia! She
has not ceased to knit for the soldiers
in the trenches; she sits as an in
frmiere by the bedside of the wounded:
the peasant woman, replacing her
husband in the fields. digs the burrows
necessary for the next harvests.
A beautiful custom prevails, has Al
ways existed in the Serb countries.
When two friends have become init
mat and devoted, they swear solemnly
before the priest and on the holy evan
gels fraternal friendship, and ex-
change a drop of blood: they become
brothers by election: in the future they
partake the heritages. and one cannot
marry the sister of the other. Since
two years it is France and Serbia whs