as we have
seen, Izvolsky had arranged the affair two years before and no Power
protested, save that Austria forbade Italy to land in Albania.
Krajewsky became violently pro-Turk. Scutari rightly judged the war
as the first step towards the break-up of Turkey. The Turks behaved
with admirable tolerance. None of the Italians of the town were
Interfered with, and though war broke out on September 30th the
Italian Minister did not leave till October 23rd. Mr. Nevinson
returned to London, and I was left to carry on relief work.

All I could do to prevent the tribesmen being again cheated by
Montenegro I did. Petar Plamenatz, now consul, tried hard to buy
their help in the coming war by promising arms and liberty.
Montenegro intended no annexation, he said. "Nikita himself had
promised," said the tribesmen. But I now would not believe King
Nikola, even if he swore on the body of St. Peter Cetinski. His
actions were suspicious.

For the first time for many years he visited his Austrian rentiers,
and was warned by the Entente Ministers. "England," said Plamenatz,
"was firm; France mild, and Russia very disagreeable."

Montenegro was evidently in touch with Bulgaria. Plamenatz told me
that the bomb thrown into a mosque at Istib to excite reprisals or
force the Turks to declare War, had been expressly prepared in
Sofia, and anxiously awaited results.

Serbia and Montenegro were now on the worst terms. On December 24th,
the season of peace and goodwill, Plamenatz, in a rage, showed me a
telegram just received by the Orthodox priest of Scutari. The
Patriarchia had been persuaded to appoint one Dochitch, a
Montenegrin of Moracha, to the Bishopric of Prizren, in place of
Nicephor, dismissed for drunkenness and other inappropriate conduct.
Montenegro triumphed, and looked on Prizren as hers. The Serbs were
furious; the priests of Kosovo refused to recognize him, and had
telegraphed to the two priests of Scutari and Vraka to do so, too.
They, being Montenegrin, were all for Dochitch, and their tiny
flocks supported them.

Any Serbo-Montenegrin agreement seemed, then, quite impossible, and
Petar fulminated against Serb infamy.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

1912. THE FIRST DROPS OF THE THUNDERSTORM

1912 dawned ominously. Montenegro worked ceaselessly to rouse the
Maltsors, promising them that they should receive sufficient arms
and, this time, gain freedom. Meanwhile the Turks carried out their
agreement to feed the late insurg