A MERRY SCENE-AND A GOOD START. 165 'However greatly my risibility might have been excited by the unsuccessful attempt of my friend to impress the grave Osmanli with an idea of Parisian elegance of manners, the most amusing part of the scene was the unbounded and even uproarious hilarity of those usually serious and reserved believers in the True Prophet. Countenances, whose chilling solemnity appeared incapable of being thawed, even into a smile, were now convulsed with laughter. Turkish gravity seemed to have been completely demolished with the pipe-bowls, and while the shaking sides of the fat Moullah, and the tear-streaming eyes of his Highness the Pacha, proclaimed how thoroughly they enjoyed the drollery of the scene at one end of the apartment, the well-trained and statue-like ji's at the other, caught the contagion, and joined in the merry chorus as loudly as their superiors and truly, the unwonted tempest of merriment which shook the walls of the reception-room, appeared as if it would have never subsided. 'Before we had reached the outer court of the palace, Mehmet Effendi, accompanied by a Turkish officer, joined us with an invitation from the Pacha Selim, to sup with him the same evening in his private apartment. It is scarcely necessary to say that our excellent Pacha, who had been already accustomed to European society, and visited France and England, exhibited towards us all the courtesy of a wellbred man of the world; and, grasping my hand with the cordiality of an old friend, apologized for the cold haughtiness of his manners in public, and which the stupid, slavish etiquette of Osmanli usages, obliges a true believer, especially a dignitary of the Turkish empire, to assume in his intercourse with a Frank. To the friendly offices of Selim Bey I was also indebted for a letter of introduction which gave me access to all the Pachas and Governors, civil and military, during my extensive wanderings in these provinces of European Turkey. This, with an imperial firman, enabled me, from the very commencement of my tour, to accomplish the object I had in view, which, even if aided by the sovereign talisman of wealth and high rank, I could not otherwise have done. 'Having now seen all that was worth notice in Belgrade, we began to make the necessary preparations for an Oriental tour; my young friend, Monsieur Delacroix, who seemed to enjoy with great gusto, the exciting novelties of Oriental life, also determined to accompany me, at least, during my tour in Servia; but since he was no linguist, he engaged, as his servant, a German of Belgrade, who spoke Slavonian and a little French. There are two ways of travelling in Servia, either by post-àcheval, or with a kiraidji. The first is the most expeditious, but my object being to see the country, and stop where I pleased, I chose the latter; besides, I had the advantage of having at my disposal a man who thoroughly knew the country, and could also perform the offices of attendant. For this purpose, a Servian kiraidji was recommended to us name:1 Tjordji (Georgy), who was the owner of several horses, and had been accustomed to traverse every part of European Turkey, transporting merchandize. We easily came to an arrangement, as he, no doubt, found travellers a more profitable burden for his horses than bales of goods: we engaged to pay him twenty Turkish piastres a-day for each horse, including every expense.'-vol. i. pp. 24-28. The following passage shows that the Servian peasant must not be judged of from the primitive appearance of the tenement which at present contents him as a home :— 'As we advanced into the interior, the country became more wild and desolate; immense forests of oak everywhere met the eye; amongst these were several patches of cleared ground, just brought into cultivation, but instead of cutting down the trees to the root, four or five feet of each were left standing partially burnt, looking like a regiment of black soldiers quartered in a corn-field. Husbandry the most slovenly, and neglect of everything that adds to the comfort of civilized life, is still the distinguishing feature in the character of a Servian peasant. The villages and hamlets, few and far between, were merely an assemblage of huts constructed of poles stuck in the ground, secured to each other with wicker-work, and plastered inside and out with clay, and then covered with reeds, or some description of sedge, to keep out the rain, with the everlasting hole in the roof to serve as a chimney. Attached to these villages and hamlets were vast sheds for the accommodation of their flocks and herds during the severity of winter, the whole encircled with a strong palisade as a defence against the attack of the prowling wolf, and other beasts of prey. "In some situations, for instance, on the undulating sides of a hill, we found some of these huts, simply excavated out of the earth, the soil above supported by poles and beams of wood as a roof, while the hole in the centre, doing the duty of a chimney, served at the same time as a dangerous pitfall at our horses' feet, and as a medium for observing the movements of the family beneath. Still, however primitive might be these huts, I have frequently seen the lord and master issue forth with head erect, splendidly attired, and armed to the teeth, like some feudal lord of the middle ages, while the gentle Baba herself would be decorated with as many gold ornaments and gold coins as might suffice to furnish her daughter with a handsome marriage dowry. 'In point of fact, the Servian is both by principle and inclination a man of war; and now that he is free, he loves to decorate himself in all the warlike finery of the haughty Arnout, that so long trod him under foot. If you ask him, knowing that he has the means, why he does not build himself a more commodious habitation, he will answer by saying, that the war between the Turk and his own race has only commenced, and will never end till his brethren of Bosnia, Herzegowina, and Upper Moesia, are free, and concludes by telling you, that until then, it would be the height of folly to waste his money on an object so liable to destruction, in his next and not far distant struggle with his old enemy, the Turk.'-vol. i. pp. 32-34. HASSAN-PACHA-PALANKA-TALK AFTER SUPPER. 167 Our travellers reach Hassan-Pacha-Palanka, a sort of town, consisting of some five hundred inhabitants. The chief man of the place shows them hospitality; and we cite a passage as suggesting the nature of after-supper talk in a circle of Franks' and Servians, in the year 1850, in that almost Timbuctoo townHassan-Pacha-Palanka : 'We remained together till a late hour discussing the politics of the great powers of the West, particularly that of the mighty Russia, and the relative position of Turkey, with her millions of Christian rayahs. 'It was highly amusing to observe the self-love of these haughty Servians, and the importance they attached to their little state of a million of inhabitants, as a member of the great European family, and how often have I been referred to the history of Servia under their great Tzar, Douschan, at a time when the Schouab (Austrian), and the Rouss (Russian), were barbarians. 'Servia was then,' exclaimed the gigantic kapitan, 'one of the greatest empires in the world, and its sovereign bore the title of Imperator Rascia, Bulgaria, Bosniæ, atque Albania.' Then their peculiar idiom of the Slavon was ever the theme of much national pride, as the noblest, the richest, and most comprehensive of all. Having acquired my first knowledge of the Slavonian dialect in Russia, my accent betrayed to my auditors where I had made acquaintance with their language, and I was soon told that the idiom of the Rouss was a bastard of the noble Servian tongue; and the people, when compared with themselves, nothing better than a mongrel race of Rouss and Tartars. Does not this show that the desire for a union of all the Slavonian races, under the much-vaunted Panslavism, is not quite so universal as its friends would have us believe? In fact, the difference between the Russian idiom and the Servian is quite as marked and decided as the Italian and Spanish, and as little prospect of an amalgamation of the respective people. 'During our conversation I heard accounts almost fabulous of the bravery of their hero Tzerni George and his Haiduc chiefs, and stories related as marvellous as those told of the Scottish hero Wallace, or the Swiss William Tell.'-vol. i. pp. 39, 40. In 1814 Tzerni George had been the successful chief in an insurrection of the Servians against the Turks. Russia, to conciliate Turkey, when menaced herself by Napoleon, engaged to suppress this revolt. But the means to be employed for this purpose were eminently characteristic. It was to be accomplished by an agency which, in the affairs of Europe, may be described as having said to evil-Be thou my good-we mean Russian diplomacy. An envoy named Nedoba was sent to Servia by the Tzar, and this man urged that a settlement should be attempted, the Turks being allowed to take possession of the fortresses, and the Servians being content with paying a small annual tribute to the Porte. Tzerni George penetrated this treachery, especially when he saw a powerful army assembled in the name of the Sultan, and ready to cross the frontier. But the prudent, peace-loving people in the senate of Servia listened to the treacherous talk of the Russian envoy; Tzerni George could not rally his countrymen against the enemy; and Servia was given up by Russia as a prey to the teeth of that enemy. The promises of Russia through its envoy failed in every particular. In place of being content with an annual tribute, the soldiers of the Sultan filled the Christian country with deeds of rapine and bloodshed, perpetrating almost incredible cruelties. When too late, the Servians saw that it would have been well had they hearkened to Tzerni George, and not to the traitor tongue of the Russian. Subsequently, a man of low condition, Milosh by name, became, in the first instance the popular chief, and afterwards the hated tyrant, of the Servians. Tzerni George was in exile; he meditated delivering his country from this new order of oppression. But again the intrigues of Russia were in action. By the agent of that power, Milosh was conducted to the place of his victim, and the patriot was assassinated by his apostate rival. Mr. Spencer gives us the following version of the national song of the Servians in honour of Tzerni George: 'When the tyrant Turk was lord O'er Servia's sons enslaved, Who first unsheathed fair freedom's sword, Tzerni George! Tzerni George! 'Whose arm, victorious, led us on 'Should the oppressor dare again The patriot, Tzerni George! 'Where'er the Servian people dwell, By gallant Tzerni George. 'The verdant fields shall bloom no more, The last bright sun be set, The deep blue sea forsake the shore, Ere Servian hearts forget Their glorious Tzerni George.'-pp. 51, 52. TZERNI GEORGE-CHARACTER OF THE SERVIANS. 169 Alexander, the reigning prince of Servia, is the son of Tzerni George, the worthy son of a worthy sire, living in the affection of his subjects, and deserving that affection. Both Austria and Russia opposed his elevation to that dignity, and threatened invasion; but the people were not to be diverted from their course even by such threats from such powers. 'Without having any especial bias in favour of the Servian,' says Mr. Spencer, beyond that of the inhabitant of any other of the various nationalities of European Turkey, we must come to the conclusion that they possess all the elements of a people, destined at no distant period to form, with their more civilized brethren of Austria and Hungary, a mighty nation; this may be predicted with the more certainty of success, now that ill-advised Austria has crushed the only element the Magyar-that could, with any possibility of success, oppose a barrier to the Slavon-Illyrian Panslavism of these countries; and we may be assured that its energetic propagandists will never cease their efforts till they have effected a complete union of all its members. The Ban Jellachich, or any other Austrian Slavonian General, may, or may not, prove faithful to the colours of his imperial master; but we may rest assured that the entire Slavonian people, of whatever nationality, or religious persuasion, equally detest, and are equally impatient of, the rule of the Austrian or the Turk. The Servian is also prudent in a high degree, and persevering in any enterprise he may undertake, and though fierce in war, he is mild and conciliating in social life. His language, of all the Slavon idioms, is the richest, the most lofty and expressive. While attending the parliamentary debates of the Scoupchtina, I was much struck with the selfpossessed, dignified air of the almost unlettered orators, who were earnest without violence, impassioned without intemperance, depending rather on the force of their arguments than the strength of their lungs and theatrical gesticulations to win the attention of their auditors. When I turned from one to the other of the honest, manly countenances of the speakers, I fancied they might have pictured an assembly of Britons, in the infant ages of our commonwealth. In fact, they resemble us in more than one particular; they have the same dogged resolution, the same love of fair play, the same detestation of the use of the knife, together with no inconsiderable portion of that mixture of the aristocratic and democratic in their character, which so especially distinguishes the Anglo-Saxon race.'-vol. i. pp. 99-101. Mr. Spencer states further, that in conversation with several learned Servian professors at Belgrade and Agram, he found that they attributed to the English nation a Servian origin; and that they were not slow to reproach us for our indifference to the welfare of our brethren in the east: "In support of this theory, they refer to the history and tradition of their own race, who, it appears, were settled on the shores of the Baltic and the German Ocean long before the inroads of the Saxons, |