the insurrection broke out in 1875 Prince Nicolas went to war with the hope of freeing his brother Serbs from Ottoman domination, and of adding to the future Czardom a most important part of the old Serbian Empire. But though by the Treaty of Berlin Montenegro received a rectification of frontier, including a portion of the Herzegovina, that province itself and Bosnia were handed over to Austria for administration, Spizza had to be surrendered to the same Power, and though Antivari and ultimately Dulcigno were ceded to the Prince, he had to agree to own no ships of war. At San Stefano Montenegro was given a large accession of territory, more than double that which she received at Berlin, and it included much of the Herzegovina and a large portion of the Sandjak of Novibazar. But Austria had no intention of allowing the Prince to achieve his ambition, and her vehement opposition had the effect of inducing the Powers, who were most of them completely indifferent, to give way. The retention of the Sandjak of Novibazar under Austria's tutelage completely blocked the way, and shut off Montenegro from any possible future junction with Servia, while the administration and subsequent incorporation of Bosnia and the Herzegovina as certainly prevents any hope of welding all the Serb provinces into one kingdom as long as Austria retains her present Constitution.

King Nicolas' ambition is not to reign at Constantinople, which the ancient Czars never held, but to make a Serbian Empire with most probably Scodra, the old Czarigrad, miscalled Scutari, as its capital. Roughly speaking, the lands of the Serbs include Montenegro, the modern kingdom of Servia, Bosnia, Old Serbia, and a part of Macedonia, though in that quarter of the Balkans the Serbs are mixed with a strong minority of Albanians and Bulgars. Albania proper would certainly not coalesce with a Serbian kingdom, though the North Albanian Christian tribes. near Scodra would probably settle down very comfortably under Montenegrin rule, for since the annexation of Dulcigno the King has done all in his power to conciliate his Albanian subjects, and has shown himself most friendly to the Roman Catholic tribes across the border. The East of the Balkan peninsula does not come into the King's ambitions. That belongs to the Bulgars, who now have a Czar of their own, but the north-western part is Serbian, and is the seat of the dream of Czardom. In the south of the peninsula is Greece, and between Greece and Montenegro are the Albanians, more or less secure in their mountains, a people who form a sufficiently knotty problem in themselves. Constantinople is another problem, but that does not concern the Serbs, who can have no possible claim to it. That Montenegro and Servia should be separate kingdoms can only be a temporary arrangement, and no more permanent than the division of

Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia, which served its purpose for a time, and then gave way before the inevitable march of events. Bosnia and the Herzegovina seem more hopelessly lost, but Austria is a composite Empire of many nationalities; and Hungary, at any rate, is not too anxious to see the Slav provinces over-powerful in the confederation.

The Serbian Czardom is laughed at as a dream, and pronounced impossible by many excellent authorities, but it is always unsafe to prophesy in the negative. The amalgamation of the States and provinces will no doubt be a lengthy process, but many stranger alterations in the map of Europe have taken place, and the only thing that is certain is that the present arrangements are not permanent, however much the Great Powers may be opposed to change. A few years ago the Young Turks were the butt of Europe, and the idea of their coming into power at Constantinople was ridiculed as the hallucination of a madman, and yet when the change did come it was done so simply and easily that everyone at once agreed that it was inevitable. The Young Turks may be only the Old Turks with a French polish on them, but nevertheless they managed to dethrone the Sultan Abdul Hamid without the threatened cataclysm; and though the result of all their plots and intrigues may not be intrinsically brilliant, yet the fact remains that the Young Turks did get rid of the Padishah and subdue Constantinople in spite of the refusal of the prophets to believe in them. King Nicolas may not live to see his dream of a restored Serbian Czardom realised, but the principle of nationalities is strong, and it is the unexpected which happens-even in the Balkans.

WADHAM PEACOCK (Formerly Private Secretary to H.B.M. Chargé d'Affaires in Montenegro.)

A SUBALTERN IN THE BALKANS IN THE WINTER CAMPAIGN OF 1877

THE story below, read in the light of modern military experience, has little to offer for instruction to the military student. It repeats a tale, told before comrades at the Royal Artillery Institute, of the experiences of three subalterns of artillery' who, giving the slip to authority in Pall Mall, embarked on an enterprise which for its audacity deserved the success it enjoyed. Not that ten subalterns out of ten in the present day would not do the same if the opportunity presented itself, for the spirit of enterprise, thank goodness, will for ever, I trust, be one of the golden virtues of our young officers. The prospect of seeing real war is not an everyday occurrence.

Thirty-five years ago Russia and Turkey were at each other's throats. Quarter was neither asked nor given, and seldom will be when Christian and Moslem cross bayonets. Prisoners may be taken, but are they ever heard of again? The same bitter religious blood-feud permeates the civil population, and finds its vent when unrestrained by a civil Power. The mutual slaughter of old men, women, and children, the innocent victims of a disordered government, has no record of statistics in the archives of the ungoverned nation. To these victims, who at any rate enjoy for a brief period a fight for their lives in defence of hearth and home, must be added the countless thousands who perish from hunger, misery, and want. But to crown all, we in well-ordered States can hardly realise what can happen in an ill-governed country when once the dogs of war are loose. We cannot picture the numerous bands of marauders, deserters, and other human vultures, whose livelihood is to prey upon friend and foe alike. Women are their special spoil, for, carrying upon their persons the sum total of their wealth, when bereft of that they have to confront a struggle for what is more precious than life itself.

History has a way of repeating itself, and Christian EuropeChristian only in name-must prepare itself to read of a harvest

Now Major-General F. Eustace, C.B., Brigadier-General Lord Playfair, C.V.O., and the writer.

Thirty-five years

of death which has seldom been paralleled. ago the policeman of the Levant stepped in and said Hold; enough!' Britain has now no voice in such policy for the good reason that as its citizens shirk the first duty of citizenship there can be no force or power behind its voice. Such impotence in a Moslem Empire may some day meet with its reward in a still more Eastern sphere.

In October 1877 the leave season offered a unique opportunity for adventure. The eyes of Europe were focussed on Plevna. We three subalterns decided one night in our club to go and see the vrai chose, and started two nights afterwards for Constantinople.

Our preparations were not very gaudy, I need hardly say, being done in a few hours. A trusty revolver, field-glasses, hunting saddle, and warm clothing do not take long to get. The latter packed in a soldier's waterproof bag, rolled in a waterproof sheet with a blanket, was all our baggage. Our objective point, when in London, was, of course, Plevna. We left on the 25th of October viâ Paris to Marseilles, thence by sea to Naples, Athens, and Constantinople.

We had to put up two days at Old Miseri's Hotel, so well known to Crimeans, as a heavy rain had washed away part of the line to Adrianople. However, we spent the time procuring letters of introduction to various governors, pashas, and generals at the scene of operations, and further supplemented our kit with a sheepskin bag each to sleep in. We also engaged an all-round dragoman, Antoine by name, who spoke seven languages indifferently well.

It may be as well briefly to chronicle the record of the struggle up to this date. War was declared on the 24th of April 1877, and the Grand Duke Nicholas, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, crossed the frontier at Keshineff the same day. He had 200,000 men, 800 guns, and 200 squadrons. The Turkish force consisted of 165,000 men and 450 guns. After traversing Roumania the passage of the Danube was effected at Sistova on the 4th of July.

The Russian Army then was organised in three columns. Gourko with the centre was to penetrate the Balkans. The Czarewitch on the left (W.) to operate on the Lom. Krudener on the right (E.) to attack Nikopolis and operate against Osman Pasha about Widin. Gourko did his share, but was checked on the south side and retreated by the Shipka Pass to Tirnova. The left column was met by Mehemet Ali and also checked. Krudener captured Nikopolis on the 16th of July, but was repulsed at Plevna on the 20th by Osman.

The second battle of Plevna was fought ten days later, and the third on the 11th of September. The Russians lost 25,000 men, and the order was issued for the Guard to mobilise. They reached Plevna on the 20th of October, when the investment was completed by Todleben. The idea was then conceived to utilise the spare Corps of Guards to turn the Western Balkans. The task was entrusted to Gourko, with 36,000 men, 10,000 cavalry, and about 100 guns. It was part of this interesting operation we were fortunate to witness.

On the 7th of November we started fair at early dawn by train for Adrianople, where we were delayed by the train service. Through the kindness of the Consul, however, we were introduced to the Governor-General of the Province, Ahmed Vevyk Pasha, and employed the day visiting the hospitals, fortifications, and other sights. We saw over 2000 wounded men, of whom 750 were being tended by British hands, thanks to the generous aid of the Stafford House Committee. In the afternoon we visited the Pasha, who bid us to dinner that evening, and a very pleasant chatty entertainment it was. He was a welltravelled man and thoroughly up in European politics. He could not quite understand how we English, who spent millions to go to Abyssinia and rescue a few missionaries, hesitated to show our cards when such a vital item in our Eastern prestige was at stake as the downfall of the head of the Mussulman faith and the key to our road to India. He laid great stress on the prestige we had gained in the East by this same expedition. He afterwards became Grand Vizier.

We left Adrianople early next morning for Philippopolis. En route we passed Karadshaki, which was the limit of Gourko's summer raid over the Balkans, the station of which he had burnt. The workmen about the station were mostly clad in Russian great-coats taken from the dead. We got to Philippopolis about 4 P.M. It is a quaint old town built on a number of tumuli. Our hotel accommodation was not very grand, we put up at a dragoman's house and shared the worst of fare with some newspaper correspondents.

Next day we visited the British Consul, Mr. Calvert, who took us to the Pasha, where we conversed in French over the eternal chibouk and coffee about the affairs of state. The Pasha was a wicked-looking old gentleman who had travelled a bit, but whose tastes ran more with the gay life of foreign capitals than the political. We here quitted the railway, so we purchased six ponies to continue our journey, as we had to take to road-travelling. We gave 22 lire for the lot, and had an amusing deal over it. One for each of ourselves, two for kit and cooking things, and one for Antoine, the dragoman.