Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-04-21

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.
All! Balougdgitch, old friend, al
ways the CHEEKY, brave world" And
then to BalougdgitCh's son a sergeant
in the Serbian army, who has come
from Corfu as a messenger: Art thou,
my boy, art thou too a socialist like
thy father, who has no faith in kings?"
"In some kings, SIRE" says the
|displomatist.
The walk ends at last at bench at
the waters edge, full in the warmth of
the declining sun. AS the fishermen's
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 of Eubea.
Like Lake Geneva" the sovereign
says, waving his hand at the water
and the distant mountains Here we
are at Ouchy, and over there is the
Jura and France" He sits awhile in
silence and then takes up again, aloud,
the theme of his thoughts. How much
she has done for Insurance! How
much she has done for all the world!
Now she is taking our children to her
deep bosom, to keep them safe for us
until after the war, that the race of
Serbs may not die out
For there, in Serbia, it is EXTERN
nation, starvation, death. The women
and the children who are the living flu,
ture Of our dreams-alI we have to
hold by to rebuild our 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. l don't mean to
say they are massacred or anything
like that, though that, too, has han
pened. But I refer now only to the
fact that there is little or no provision
for non-combatants, no organization
to look after them.
When the Austrians made their
first invasion of Serbia a year and a
half ago, they had no sanitary pro-
visions even for their own men. Most
of their own wounded died, because
they could not be properly taken care
Of. How much relief could an army
like that afford to starving civil pop
ulation. like the population of Serbia
today?
NO; 1t is only your compatriots who
can help us in this hour of our need
And they are doing it, God bless them!
But there is need of so much-so
much!" The old mans head sank on
his breast. His eyes closed YEARLY. 1t
was as if his soul had left the bent
worn, pain-racked body and flown
over the far mountains to his own peo-
pie.
IF only they had come a little SOON
er, our allies!" he went on. 81 used
to tell my men: Hold on, Just a lit
tie longer. They have said thew will
come and they will comet And thew
believed me and held on.
you know, we couldn't even see the
Germans! 1t was all artillery-ma-
chlne-made war! My men used to
grind their teeth and the tears would
run down their poor, thin faces. and
they would say: If only we could inst
get at them! We would show tbem,.
And then, as | rode by their lines
could see them shaking their heads
ana hodding at me and whispering
among themselves. Poor old kine,'
they were saying; he still believes the
allies Will come in time TO save us,'"
Suddenly the king gave a little
hoarse, inarticulate cry. His hand
went up to his throat. His head fell
back. His body collapsed in a linn
heap. Doctor Simonoviteh rushed nm
with a bottle in his hand. Colonel
Todorovitch lifted the fainting monarch
Il his arms like child fallen asleep,