drawn
between a hovel and a S. Peter's.

The town is a long straggling collection of small houses, very
uninteresting and plain, and beyond lies the historical ruin of the
old fortress, stormed by Prince Nicolas in person.

In the town itself, broad streets and an enormous market-place are the
only features.

We spent a few days in Niksic, but in this instance we were never able
to rid ourselves of the first impressions, and we left gladly, though
the town was not without its humour. It contains the only brewery in
Montenegro, a ramshackle place and producing very poor beer. The post
office is a tumble-down outhouse, also we were shown the house which
would in the course of time be the Bank of Montenegro.

It is hard to realise that Niksic is the coming town, in spite of its
gaudy cathedral, but progress makes sometimes wonderful strides.

Our visit to Niksic was a failure all round. We arrived to see the
Prince ride out of the town at the head of a great cavalcade for the
mountains, and again missed the opportunity of presenting ourselves.

Our intended tour to the Durmitor, Montenegro's highest mountain, was
frustrated, owing to the Prince's retinue having taken every horse in
the place, in addition to the weather having completely broken up, and
so we missed one of the finest parts of the country.

CHAPTER XIX

The Club and its members--Gugga--Irregularities of time--The absence
of the gentle muse and our surprise--The musician's story and his
subsequent fate--The Black Earth--A typical border house--The ordeal
of infancy--A realistic performance which is misunderstood--Concerning
a memorable drive--A fervent prayer.

Before we leave Podgorica for good our readers must be introduced to
the Club. It was not a club in the English sense of the word, but P.
and I always called that hour or two at sunset so delightfully spent
in the company of that cosmopolitan gathering, the Club. Podgorica was
our base, from which we made all our trips and excursions, so that we
were there off and on during the whole of our lengthy sojourn amongst
the sons of the Black Mountain. From the "members" we gleaned many
stories of past and present vendettas and quaint customs which we had
not had the good fortune to witness ourselves. Amongst the regular
members was of course Dr. S., who was three nationalities rolled into
one--to explain, born in Roumania, he entered into Austrian service
and became an Austrian subject, an