Blandford Weekly News. — 1886-10-23 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

UNPLEASANT ADVENTURE.  The following is an extract from an article, "Through the Balkan States," in the Times A party consisting of Captain Junes, her Majesty's ConsulGeneral, M. Shopoff, a young Bulgarian professor, graduate of King's College, London, and the present writer, started for an excursion to the Greek Monastery of St. Kyriak, in the Rhodope chain. The distance from Philippoporia is about 12 miles. We drove to the foot of the mountains, and, leaving the carriage near the village of Vinova, went up to the monastery on foot—an ascent which took about an hour. A Turkish servant was preceding us with a luncheon basket ; and when we reached the monastery, a few minutes behind him, we found him, looking much scared, in the company of six as evil-10(.1:Mo rascals as could be met with. They were Greeks from Macedonia, who wore the fustanelle, and carried Winchester rifles, besides pistols and yataglians in their belts. The professor threw out the soothing suggestion that they might be frontier guards; but when Father Kalinikos, the Superior of the monastery, came out to greet us he looked quite as much alarmed as Suleiman, the servant. However, he led us to the great chamber, and presently luncheon was served in one of the wooden galleries that run round the courtyard of the monastery. The armed Greeks meanwhile strolled into the yard, and two of them ascended to the gallery on the third storey,vvhere they took their stand by the rope of the open wooden belfry. This was a hint to Father Kalinikos that he need not think of ringing the bell to summon assistance from the village in the valley-. But in truth the good man had no such thoughts. Not one of our party was armed, and the population of the convent consisted of Father Kalinikos—who is a young man—an old serving monk, a porter with a flint-lock pistol, a Greek cook,and an old woman acting as scullion. If the brigands— for brigands they were—had meant mischief, resistance would have been hopeless, and the men could have got away long before any succour arrived from the valley. In the I.lld the Father was beckoned into conference with the., men, and they proposed that he should lend them L'TPS and give them six clean shirts. He consentedaato the shirts, but reduced the loan to 100 piastres or 15s. They accepted the money and went away; but the Fattier was in great anxiety lest they should waylay us on our return, and he could not conceal his nervousness as he was telling us how these brigandshad come to pay him a visit. Itseems that a few days previously • Turk had murdered a little girl of 12 in a Pomak village after foully illusing her. The father of the girl had gone in quest of brigands, and had promised them £TIS if they would capture the murderer. Twelve of them undertook the job, found the man, tied him on to a mule which they stole for this purpose, and set off tor the Pomak village. But near St. Kyriak's it occured to them that an escort of 12 was too many for one man; accordingly siv of them made a halt at the convent, while the rs went on. It was the intention of these men to ..and over the murderer to the father of the little girl, and be would undoubtedly cut the miserable ruffian's throat. Allthis FatherKalinikoa mildly explained, as if he were describing ordinary episodes in the manners and customs of the country; but he was greatly agitated at thinking that the brigands should have levied money from his monastery. Such a thing had not occurred for 20 years, lie said, and it was most undesirable that it should happen at all, for the monastery was often resorted to in hot weather by visi• tors, who spent weeks there, confiding fully in the security of the place. When we took our have of the convent the father accompanied 118 a good way down the mountain, and after we had parted from him, he stood for a long while on a ledge of rock shading his eyes until we were out of sight, and waving his cylindrical bonnet at its.