Kaimak.--History of a Renegade.--A Bishop's house.--Progress of
Education.--Portrait of Milosh.--Bosnia and the Bosniacs.--Moslem
Fanaticism.--Death of the Collector.
The fatigues of travelling procured me a sound sleep. I rose
refreshed, and proceeded into the divan. The hostess then came
forward, and before I could perceive, or prevent her object, she
kissed my hand. "Kako se spavali; Dobro?"--"How have you slept? I hope
you are refreshed," and other kindly inquiries followed on, while she
took from the hand of an attendant a silver salver, on which was a
glass of slivovitsa, a plate of rose marmalade, and a large Bohemian
cut crystal globular goblet of water, the contents of which, along
with a chibouque, were the prelude to breakfast, which consisted of
coffee and toast, and instead of milk we had rich boiled kaimak, as
Turkish clotted cream is called.
I have always been surprised to find that this undoubted luxury, which
is to be found in every town in Turkey, should be unknown throughout
the greater part of Europe. After comfortably smoking another
chibouque, and chatting about Shabatz and the Shabatzians, the
collector informed me that the time was come for returning the visit
of the Natchalnik, and paying that of the Bishop.
The Natchalnik received us in the Konak of Gospody Iefrem, the brother
of Milosh, and our interview was in no respect different from a usual
Turkish visit. We then descended to the street; the sun an hour before
its meridian shone brightly, but the centre of the broad street was
very muddy, from the late rain; so we picked our steps with some care,
until we arrived in the vicinity of the bridge, when I perceived the
eunuch-looking coffee-keeper navigating the slough, accompanied by a
Mussulman in a red checked shawl turban.--"Here is a man that wishes
to make your acquaintance," said Eunuch-face.--"I heard you were
paying visits yesterday in the Turkish quarter," said the strange
figure, saluting me. I returned the salute, and addressed him in
Arabic; he answered in a strong Egyptian accent. However, as the depth
of the surrounding mud, and the glare of the sun, rendered a further
colloquy somewhat inconvenient, we postponed our meeting until the
evening. On our way to the Bishop, I asked the collector what that man
was doing there.
_Collector_. "His history is a singular one. You yesterday saw a Turk,
who was baptized, and then returned to Islamism. This is a Servian,
who turned Turk thirty years ago, and now wishes to be a Christian
again. He has passed most of that time in the distant parts of Turkey,
and has children grown up and settled there. He has come to me
secretly, and declares his desire to be a Christian again; but he is
afraid the Turks will kill him."
_Author_. "Has he been long here?"
_Collector_. "Two months. He went first into the Turkish town; and
having incurred their suspicions, he left them, and has now taken up
his quarters in the khan, with a couple of horses and a servant."
_Author_. "What does he do?"
_Collector_. "He pretends to be a doctor, and cures the people; but he
generally exacts a considerable sum before prescribing, and he has had
disputes with people who say that they are not healed so quickly as
they expect."
_Author_. "Do you think he is sincere in wishing to be a Christian
again?"
_Collector_. "God knows. What can one think of a man who has changed
his religion, but that no dependence can be placed on him? The Turks
are shy of him."
We had now arrived at the house of the Bishop, and were shown into a
well-carpeted room, in the old Turkish style, with the roof gilded and
painted in dark colours, and an un-artistlike panorama of
Constantinople running round the cornice. I seated myself on an
old-fashioned, wide, comfortable divan, with richly embroidered, but
somewhat faded cushions, and, throwing off my shoes, tucked my legs
comfortably under me.
"This house," said the collector, "is a relic of old Shabatz; most of
the other houses of this class were burnt down. You see no German
furniture here; tell me whether you prefer the Turkish style, or the
European."
_Author_. "In warm weather give me a room of this kind, where the sun
is excluded, and where one can loll at ease, and smoke a narghile; but
in winter I like to see a blazing fire, and to hear the music of a
tea-urn."
The Bishop now entered, and we advanced to the door to meet him. I
bowed low, and the rest of the company kissed his hand; he was a
middle sized man, of about sixty, but frail from long-continued ill
health, dressed in a furred pelisse, a dark blue body robe, and Greek
ecclesiastical cap of velvet, while from a chain hung round his neck
was suspended the gold cross, distinctive of his rank. The usual
refreshments of coffee, sweetmeats, &c. were brought in, not by
servants, but by ecclesiastical novices.
_Bishop_. "I think I have seen you before?"
_Author_. "Indeed, you have: I met your reverence at the house of
Gospody Ilia in Belgrade."
_Bishop_. "Ay, ay," (trying to recollect;) "my memory sometimes fails
me since my illness. Did you stay long at Belgrade?"
_Author_. "I remained to witness the cathedral service for the return
of Wucics and Petronievitch. I assure you I was struck with the
solemnity of the scene, and the deportment of the archbishop. As I do
not understand enough of Servian, his speech was translated to me word
for word, and it seems to me that he has the four requisites of an
orator,--a commanding presence, a pleasing voice, good thoughts, and
good language."
We then talked of education, on which the Bishop said, "The civil and
ecclesiastical authorities go hand in hand in the work. When I was a
young man, a great proportion of the youth could neither read nor
write: thanks to our system of national education, in a few years the
peasantry will all read. In the towns the sons of those inhabitants
who are in easy circumstances, are all learning German, history, and
other branches preparatory to the course of the Gymnasium of Belgrade,
which is the germ of a university."
_Author_. "I hope it will prosper; the Slaavs of the middle ages did
much for science."[4]
_Bishop_. "I assure you times are greatly changed with us; the general
desire for education surprises and delights me."
We now took our leave of the Bishop, and on our way homewards called
at a house which contained portraits of Kara Georg, Milosh, Michael,
Alexander, and other personages who have figured in Servian history. I
was much amused with that of Milosh, which was painted in oil,
altogether without _chiaro scuro_; but his decorations, button holes,
and even a large mole on his cheek, were done with the most painful
minuteness. In his left hand he held a scroll, on which was inscribed
_Ustav_, or Constitution, his right hand was partly doubled a la
finger post; it pointed significantly to the said scroll, the
forefinger being adorned with a large diamond ring.
On arriving at the collector's house, I found the Aga awaiting me.
This man inspired me with great interest. I looked upon him, residing
in his lone tower, the last of a once wealthy and powerful race now
steeped in poverty, as a sort of master of Ravenswood in a Wolf's
crag. At first he was bland and ceremonious; but on learning that I
had lived long in the interior of society in Damascus and Aleppo, and
finding that the interest with which he inspired me was real and not
assumed, he became expansive without lapsing into familiarity, and
told me his sad tale, which I would place at the service of the gentle
reader, could I forget the stronger allegiance I owe to the
unsolicited confidence of an unfortunate stranger.
When I spoke of the renegade, he pretended not to know whom I meant;
but I saw, by a slight unconscious wink of his eye, that knowing him
too well, he wished to see and hear no more of him. As he was rising
to take leave, a step was heard creaking on the stairs, and on turning
in the direction of the door, I saw the red and white checked turban
of the renegade emerging from the banister; but no sooner did he
perceive the Aga, than, turning round again, down went the red checked
turban out of sight.
When the Aga was gone, the collector gave me a significant look, and,
knocking the ashes out of his pipe into a plate on the floor, said,
"Changed times, changed times, poor fellow; his salary is only 250
piastres a month, and his relations used to be little kings in
Shabatz; but the other fellows in the Turkish quarter, although so
wretchedly poor that they have scarcely bread to eat, are as proud and
insolent as ever."
_Author_. "What is the reason of that?"
_Collector_. "Because they are so near the Bosniac frontier, where
there is a large Moslem population. The Moslems of Shabatz pay no
taxes, either to the Servian government or the sultan, for they are
accounted _Redif_, or Militia, for which they receive a ducat a year
from the sultan, as a returning fee. The Christian peasants here are
very rich; some of them have ten and twenty thousand ducats buried
under the earth; but these impoverished Bosniacs in the fortress are
as proud and insolent as ever."
_Author_. "You say Bosniacs! Are they not Turks?"
_Collector_. "No, the only Turks here are the Aga and the Cadi; all
the rest are Bosniacs, the descendants of men of our own race and
language, who on the Turkish invasion accepted Islamism, but retained
the language, and many Christian customs, such as saints' days,
Christian names, and in most cases monogamy."
_Author_. "That is very curious; then, perhaps, as they are not full
Moslems, they may be more tolerant of Christians."
_Collector_. "The very reverse. The Bosniac Christians are not half so
well off as the Bulgarians, who have to deal with the real Turks. The
arch-priest will be here to dinner, and he will be able to give you
some account of the Bosniac Christians. But Bosnia is a beautiful
country; how do you intend to proceed from here?"
_Author_. "I intend to go to Vallievo and Ushitza."
_Collector_. "He that leaves Servia without seeing Sokol, has seen
nothing."
_Author_. "What is to be seen at Sokol?"
_Collector_. "The most wonderful place in the world, a perfect eagle's
eyrie. A whole town and castle built on the capital of a column of
rock."
_Author_. "But I did not contemplate going there; so I must change my
route: I took no letters for that quarter."
_Collector_. "Leave all that to me; you will first go to Losnitza, on
the banks of the Drina, and I will despatch a messenger to-night,
apprising the authorities of your approach. When you have seen Sokol,
you will admit that it was worth the journey."
The renegade having seen the Aga clear off, now came to pay his visit,
and the normal good-nature of the collector procured him a tolerant
welcome. When we were left alone, the renegade began by abusing the
Moslems in the fortress as a set of scoundrels. "I could not live an
hour longer among such rascals," said he, "and I am now in the khan
with my servant and a couple of horses, where you must come and see
me. I will give you as good a pipe of Djebel tobacco as ever you
smoked."
_Author_. "You must excuse me, I must set out on my travels to-morrow.
You were in Egypt, I believe."
_Renegade_. "I was long there; my two sons, and a married daughter,
are in Cairo to this day."
_Author_. "What do they do?"
_Renegade_. "My daughter is married, and I taught my sons all I know
of medicine, and they practise it in the old way."
_Author_. "Where did you study?"
_Renegade_ (tossing his head and smiling). "Here, and there, and
everywhere. I am no Ilekim Bashi; but I have an ointment that heals
all bruises and sores in an incredibly short space of time."
Me gave a most unsatisfactory account of his return to Turkey in
Europe; first to Bosnia, or Herzegovina, where he was, or pretended to
be, physician to Husreff Mehmed Pasha, and then to Seraievo. When we
spoke of Hafiz Pasha, of Belgrade, he said, "I know him well, but he
does not know me; I recollect him at Carpout and Diarbecr before
the battle of Nisib, when he had thirty or forty pashas under him. He
could shoot at a mark, or ride, with the youngest man in the army."
The collector now re-entered with the Natchalnik and his captains, and
the renegade took his leave, I regretting that I had not seen more of
him; for a true recital of his adventures must have made an amusing
chapter.
"Here is the captain, who is to escort you to Ushitza," said the
Natchalnik, pointing to a muscular man at his left. "He will take you
safe and sound."
_Author_. "I see he is a stout fellow. I would rather have him for a
friend than meet him as an enemy. He has the face of an honest man,
too."
_Natchalnik_. "I warrant you as safe in his custody, as if you were in
that of Gospody Wellington."
_Author_. "You may rest assured that if I were in the custody of the
Duke of Wellington, I should not reckon myself very safe. One of his
offices is to take care of a tower, in which the Queen locks up
traitorous subjects. Did you never hear of the Tower of London?"
_Natchalnik_. "No; all we know of London is the wonderful bridge that
goes under the water, where an army can pass from one side to the
other, while the fleet lies anchored over their heads."
The Natchalnik now bid me farewell, and I gave my rendezvous to the
captain for next morning. During the discussion of dinner, the
arch-priest gave us an illustration of Bosniac fanaticism: A few
months ago a church at Belina was about to be opened, which had been a
full year in course of building, by virtue of a Firman of the Sultan;
the Moslems murmuring, but doing nothing. When finished, the Bishop
went to consecrate it; but two hours after sunset, an immense mob of
Moslems, armed with pickaxes and shovels, rased it to the ground,
having first taken the Cross and Gospels and thrown them into a
latrina. The Bishop complained to the Mutsellim, who imprisoned one or
two of them, exacted a fine, which he put in his own pocket, and let
them out next day; the ruins of the Church remain _in statu quo_.
The collector now produced some famous wine, that had been eleven
years in bottle. We were unusually merry, and fell into toasts and
speeches. I felt as if I had been his intimate friend for years, for
he had not one atom of Levantine "humbug" in his composition. Poor
fellow, little did he think, that in a few short weeks from this
period his blood would flow as freely as the wine which he poured into
my cup.
Next morning, on awaking, all the house was in a bustle: the sun shone
brightly on the green satin coverlet of my bed, and a tap at the door
announced the collector, who entered in his dressing gown with the
apparatus of brandy and sweetmeats, and joined his favourable augury
to mine for the day's journey.
"You will have a rare journey," said the collector; "the country is a
garden, the weather is clear, and neither hot nor cold. The nearer you
get to Bosnia, the more beautiful is the landscape."
We each drank a thimbleful of slivovitsa, he to my prosperous journey,
while I proposed health and long life to him; but, as the sequel
showed, "_l'homme propose, et Dieu dispose_." After breakfast, I bade
Madame Ninitch adieu, and descended to the court-yard, where two
carriages of the collector awaited us, our horses being attached
behind.
And now an eternal farewell to the worthy collector. At this time a
conspiracy was organized by the Obrenowitch faction, through the
emigrants residing in Hungary. They secretly furnished themselves
with thirty-four or thirty-five hussar uniforms at Pesth, bought
horses, and having bribed the Austrian frontier guard, passed the Save
with a trumpeter about a month after this period, and entering
Shabatz, stated that a revolution had broken out at Belgrade, that
prince Kara Georgevitch was murdered, and Michael proclaimed, with the
support of the cabinets of Europe! The affrighted inhabitants knew not
what to believe, and allowed the detachment to ride through the town.
Arrived at the government-house, the collector issued from the porch,
to ask what they wanted, and received for answer a pistol-shot, which
stretched him dead on the spot. The soi-disant Austrian hussars
subsequently attempted to raise the country, but, failing in this,
were nearly all taken and executed.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 4: The first University in Europe was that of Prague. It was
established some years before the University of Paris, if I recollect
right.]