is discontented subjects that the King of
Montenegro's great solicitude for his own personal affairs caused him
frequently to be quite dull in recognizing other people's merit. But
that day when he received the Austrian Minister he was so very much
delighted with him that he there and then gave him promotion from the
second to the first class of the Order of Danilo. He had some months
before conferred upon this gentleman the second class, with diamonds
of paste, and when the Austrian now told the King of his appreciation
of the honour being so profound that he had ventured to replace the
other diamonds with real ones--"I am enchanted," said the King, "to
see that we have such a real friend in you, and I propose to grant
you," said the King, as he produced another star composed of imitation
diamonds, "to grant you this, the most exalted class. Your Excellency
has deserved right well of our beloved Montenegro. Give me back now
that inferior decoration, and to-morrow, with due ceremony at eleven
o'clock to-morrow," said the King with his paternal smile, "we will
bestow on you what you deserve so richly, and it gives me every
satisfaction, I assure you," said His Majesty.

The Malissori of Albania were also listening to the old man's
blandishments. If they would revolt against the Turks--they were
exasperated at the time against the Young Turk rule--then their
families would be sheltered in Montenegro and their land, after it had
been liberated, would be given independence. With the potent help of
Ferdinand of Bulgaria the Turk was to be overthrown. But nothing came
of all these plans; the Malissori were abandoned to the mercy of
Constantinople.

However, in 1912 that which had been thought impossible was brought
about: Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro were allied against the
Turk. "Onamo, onamo!..."

"Yonder, yonder!--Let me see Prizren,
For it is mine--I shall come to my home...."

but Nikita, who had written these famous words and who had taught them
to his people for a generation, had no cavalry--in the Montenegrin
mountains they would have been of no avail--and thus, while his
warriors were still some hours from Prizren, they had the
mortification of hearing that the Serbs had entered it. With
passionate desire they turned to Scutari. Nikita told them of the old
Slav princes who were buried there--and to the simple-minded
Montenegrins that seemed a good enough reason why 20,000 of them, the
flower