The subordinate Admiral, from Kor[vc]ula, had come across on a destroyer
and was kind enough to tell us at considerable length what were his
views on local and international affairs. He frankly appealed to us--and
his humorous blue eyes were radiating frankness--to survey the whole
matter in a broad, statesmanlike fashion. But we were less ambitious; we
desired merely to be the mouthpiece of both parties. Those who first
came on board were the Italianists, and I hope I shall not be considered
unfair if I employ this word rather than "Italians" for a body of men,
most of whom are admittedly devoid of any Italian blood and whose
Italian sympathies are of very recent growth. This class numbers 9 per
cent. of the population of the town. Their chief point seemed to be that
the Church was opposed to them, because there was no room for
clericalism in Italy (!); and the only other point worth mentioning was
that Austria was to blame for the phylloxera which had played havoc with
their vines. Among the Yugoslavs who succeeded these gentlemen there was
an elderly priest, a canon, who related that some carabinieri--no doubt
in order to display to all men that Italy had shaken herself free from
clerical obscurantism--entered the church while the bishop was
officiating, and hoisted on the roof an Italian flag. This canon, Dom
Ivo Bojani['c], could scarcely be blamed if the Italian innovations did
not appeal to him. He chanced to be looking out of his window on a
moonlit night and noticed that an agile policeman was climbing up to his
balcony for the purpose of decorating it with an Italian flag. The old
gentleman protested, and was thereupon taken to the barracks, where he
remained for one day. The Yugoslavs told us that the state of things was
worse than in Africa--but that was a figure of speech; the facts were
that the different societies and clubs had been closed, that all persons
going down to the harbour had been forbidden to speak their own language
to their friends on board ship, that three Croat teachers had fled to
escape being interned, while an Italian soldier who did not know a word
of Croatian had been appointed in their place.