oslem men were given the choice
of baptism or death, and shot down. The women were unveiled, and
they and the children driven to church and baptized. "In one
generation we shall thus Serbize the lot!" they said. And later
evidence proved that these reports were true. No Turk ever treated
Armenian worse than did the two Serb peoples treat the Albanians in
the name of the Holy Orthodox Church. Stanko Markovitch, Governor of
Podgoritza, forbade the giving of any food to the starving people of
the burnt villages, and told me flatly that they were doomed to
die. Podgoritza exclaimed he was a fool to tell me this: "Now she
will denounce us in England and America, too!" But they did not deny
it. News came from Djakovo that Father Palitch, a plucky Franciscan,
whom I had met there in 1908, had been bayoneted to death for
refusing to make the sign of the cross in Orthodox fashion. The
account of his death, given by Moslems and Catholics alike, was
denied by the Montenegrin Government. Austria rightly insisted on an
examination, for, as a Catholic, he was under her protection. This
was made by a commission under Mgr. Miedia, Bishop of Prizren.
Father Palitch's body was exhumed. It was proved that he was killed
by bayonets, and the tale of the Montenegrins that he had been shot
when trying to escape was devoid of foundation, there being no
gunshot wounds in the body. The case was gone into fully. Austria a
second time accepted apology and certain compensations, and failed
to respond to provocation. No Russian intervention could now be
expected. But the Slavs continued to cry: "Death to Albania," and it
was the clear duty of Austria, and should have been also of Italy,
to save it. The organ of the Serb Black Hand, Piemont, advocated the
slaughter of all the inhabitants of Scutari, to punish them for
having dared to resist. War, as is always the case, had aroused the
worst passions of this--at best--semi-civilized race. But the
Powers realized that Russia's unbridled greed on behalf of her Serb
proteges must be checked.

Scutari was a town of 35,000 Albanian inhabitants. Montenegro was
ordered by the Powers to withdraw from Scutari, and Serbia from
Scutari and Durazzo. The Powers sent a naval demonstration, and
prepared a collective Note. The Tsar ordered King Nikola to yield.
But while he spoke publicly, the representatives of France and
Russia did all they could to impede the delivery of the Note till
too late, in order to give