nd
came however. The servants withdrew and Count Bollati turned to me
and said suddenly:

"Now, Mademoiselle, you know these countries What do you think of
the situation?"

"Petar Karageorgevitch will be made King."

"People here all say it will be Mirko," said Mr. Shipley.

Count Bollati maintained it would be a republic. I told them the
facts I had learned in Serbia, and said that Petar was practically a
certainty. They were both much interested.

"In any case," said Mr. Shipley, "I should advise you to say nothing
about it here. They are all for Mirko and you may get yourself into
trouble."

"I have never seen them so excited," put in the Count.

"You are too late," said I; "I've told them already, Mirko has not a
chance. He had better know the truth. You will see in a few days."

Both gentlemen expressed horror at the crudity of my methods. As a
matter of fact a good deal of international misunderstanding could
be avoided if the truth were always blurted out at once. The Italian
thought I was stark mad. The Englishman, having a sense of humour,
laughed and said, as I well recollect: "Your mission in life seems
to be to tell home truths to the Balkans. It is very good for them.
But I wonder that they put up with it." Both gentlemen commented on
the grim matter-of-factness of the telegrams. "Business carried on
usual during the alterations," said Bollati. His blood was badly
curdled by the fact that when he was in Belgrade he was well
acquainted with Colonel Mashin, the ill-fated Draga's brother-in-law,
who--according to the telegrams--had finished her off with a hatchet.

"And I have shaken hands with him!" said Bollati, disgustedly. Mr.
Shipley suggested that as I had first hand information I had better
write an article or two for the English papers; which I did at once.
"It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good." I had written my
first Balkan book and hawked it unsuccessfully round the publishers,
who told me that as nobody in England took the faintest interest in
the Balkans, they could not take it, though they kindly added that
as travels went it was not so bad. But the assassination of a King
appealed at once to the great heart of the British people and I sold
that book as an immediate result. This, by the way.

I came down early next morning to post the articles written
overnight, and found a whole crowd of officers and intelligentsia
(for in no land are these necessarily the same) around the h