. We had
heard too much of the fate of prisoners. We were prayed to send a
counter telegram to London, but there was no nearer telegraph
station than Berat. The wire controlled by the Greeks was, of
course, useless. The crisis was acute, and the prayers of the
Koritzans pressing. We gave up our plan of travelling further South,
and started for Berat so soon as mules and guide could be prepared.

The Greek authorities prepared a strange pantomime at Moskopol, our
first halting-place. They sent up overnight a number of people who
danced out to meet us like stage peasants, crying: "Welcome to a
Greek town!" Moskopol is, in fact, inhabited by Vlachs and
Albanians. The imported gang went everywhere with us to try to
prevent our discovering this fact. It was clear they were imported,
for they seemed to be in the town for the first time. One spoke
Albanian to a woman as we passed. I asked how he had learnt it. He
replied: "From my mother."

"Then you are half Albanian," I said.

"No," he answered, much vexed. "My mother is Greek, but there were
no Greek schools when she was young, poor woman, so she never learnt
to speak [i.e. she only knew Albanian] properly!" This is a fair
sample of Greek propaganda. We reached Berat, and were received with
great enthusiasm. The telegram was sent, and, we hope, helped to
save Koritza. At Valona, where our journey ended, we met a number of
refugees from Chameria, splendid mountain men, who had been till now
under local autonomy with their own old Albanian law. They were
threatened with Greek annexation, and prayed us piteously to save
their Fatherland.

We visited the Albanian provisional government. A small assembly in
a poor house. But it represented the hopes of a little nation. Its
members were earnest and anxious. War had broken out between
Serbo-Greek against Bulgar. They feared that Bulgaria could not
stand against the combined forces, and the victory of Greek and Serb
would spell ruin for Albania.

I returned to Scutari and resumed relief work. Things were going
badly. The Powers who wished to ruin Albania had arranged that the
international control should not have jurisdiction beyond ten
kilometres from the town, and gave no signs of appointing any form
of government for the country, nor recognizing a native one.

The two gallant tribes of Hoti and Gruda begged hard not to be
included in Montenegro.

In Montenegro I learnt there was disgust at having been dragged into
the