The Washington herald., 1920-08-10
RULER CREATES.
QUEER LEGENDS
Nicholas of Montenegro Be-
comes Tragic Figure
In History.
HAS MANY FOLLOWERS
Atmosphere of Romance
Surrounds Long Career
Of Aged King.
HAS MANY FOLLOWERS

London Morning Post, writing from
Cettinje, the capital of Montenegro,
makes the following interesting re-
view of King Nicholas reign:
King Nicholas has a strong fol-
lowing in England. He is an old
man. a poet, a monarch in partibus
a tragic figure round whom a
'Iegende" has already formed, ap-
pealing to that part of US that
weeps over a romantic novel, that
part which swears it would have
died Though its fathers didn'D for
Prince Charlie Further, he has
personal friends, numerous and
powerful, in English socfety-and
Englishmen do not Except the
politicians among them) desert
their friends. In times past many a
yachtsman, nosing about among the
lazy luxurious lotus islands OF
Dalmatia, would put in at Cattaro,
and. anxious for a breath of air,
would scale the heights of LovtChen.
up and up, to where Cettinje, like
the eyrie of one OF her own eagles,
hangs perched among the mountain
crags. 1t was the thing to do.
Nicholas received them. of course,
with open arms. There were din
ners, shoots, perhaps a decoration
or so. They came away charmed,
hauucinated. But a different idea
Of him is given in the Stories told
Of him by his people.
Some Significant Tales.
On a certain occasion, it is said. |
Nicholas patriarchally administering |
justice pod rijestOm"-under the |
stOried elm tree that used to stand |
outside the palace at Cettinje-was |
for forcing two of his high-spirited /
subjects to undertake the menial |
business Of fOgging a criminal. on |
their indignant refusal, he made the 1
criminal trOunCe them instead. One
Of his elders, a graybeard of 95, ven
tUred to demonstrate; if he had .
known, he said. that this was the
meaning Of liberty, he would never
have lifted rife against the Turks. |
The prince, il is reported, turned .
round sharply on him: In your to-
rina (sheepfold) you have FIVE score
sheep? You look after them. don't
yOu-shear them. kill them II need
be? Montenegro is my tOrina. and
the MOntenegrins are my sheep l
don't interfere with your manage
ment Of yours-leave me to manage
mine in my own way"
Nicholas, If he used the language
thus put in his mOuth-and if what
! have heard can be deemed Credi-
ble-desCribed the position more ac-
curately than perhaps he realized.
Montenegro, II all stories are true,
was but torina 20 him. He was its
owner and master and ran it-so
his people say-for what it was
worth to him. In the length and
breadth Of he Ia ND - b.r r1I !
a village that has not some tale
Of his so-called tyranny.
Many Crimes Alleged.
Crimes of cruelty are alleged
against him. Up the valley of the
Zeta you can see on the hillside a
collection Of ruined cottages-mere
heaps Of rubbish now, hardly dis
ringUishable from the rocks around
them-onIy by an odd wall still
standing here and there, by a GER
tain symmetry that bespeaks the
hand of man. can you tell that
houses once stood here. 1t is all
that remains. l have been assured
of tha village Of kaditChi, formerly
Inhabited by the tribe Of that name
4 EaditCh. who lived in foreign
parts. had murdered Nicholas uncle
and predecessor. Prince Danilo, and
Nicholas. il is asserted, deCreed that
his whole Clan-unCOnneCted with
the crime Though they were and
unconscious Of their impending
doam-shOuId be swept from off the
face Of the earth.
The vices attributed to him do
not stop short at savagery. He is
also credited with what Monte
negrins can tolerate less-the lust
NJ gain. The father of King
Nicholas was a simple peasant, go
ing down into the market and buy
ing and selling. like the rest: yet
Nicholas himself. they tell you. is to-
day one of the richest men in Eu-
ropt and they imply that he is rich
At the expense Of his suffering sub
jects. Many details on this sub
Ject I refrain from quoting. Such
stories as I have given, I. of course,
do not vOuCh for as true. but
think It my duty as a journalist,
having heard them, to let the Eng
lish public know what is the popu-
lar opinion in Montenegro about its
former ruler.
A story of Russian wheat.
The biggest enormity attributed
TO him concerns the affairs of the
Russian wheat. In the wars of the
seventies there was great distress
in the land; the men were all out
fighting, no work was done in the
fields, famine was at the door. Rus
sia saved the situation by sending
boatload after boatload OF wheat. 1t
is alleged that Nicholas did not dis
tribute the wheat gratis, but sold it
not for cash (his people had no
money! but against bonds, payable
in the Unspecifed future. When the
war was over. 1 am informed, forth
came an edict. From end to end
of the country, so goes the story,
men had to sell their sheep and cat
tie and horses, their sticks of fur
niture, their land itself, to meet
their obligations. Meanwhile, add
my informants, the Austrian from
tiers had been closed. No selling
was possible outside the land. and
selling within it was only permitted, |
they say. to certain specified per
sons, agents $50 it is asserted) of
the prince, and at fixed prices. The
profits were enormous, declared
King Nicholas detractors, beyond
the rawlings of a lunatic Jew. But =
the country. they add, was ruined, :
and from that time date the great
emigrations to America.