Captain Novakovics was a scion of one of the best Servian families, and had been married but four months before his assassination. His body was not only forbidden to be placed in the family vault, but his relatives were not even allowed to attend his funeral.
CHAPTER VII
PREDICTIONS OF SERVIAN TRAGEDIES
Prediction of the Assassination of Prince Michael—Natalie’s Visit to the Parisian Fortune-teller—The Prediction in London of the Murder of Draga and Alexander.
Strange and mysterious as it may seem, the occult, the supernatural, has played no small part in the destiny of Servian affairs. Personally, I am not of clairvoyant proclivities, I know nothing whatever of the goings-on at spiritualistic seances, neither am I even slightly versed in anything that pertains to psychical research, but in this chapter I am compelled to give credence to the cabalistic power displayed by three persons, two women and one man, in their wonderful predictions of three separate and distinct turning points in the life of the Servian nation.
The first of these was the prognostication of the fate of Prince Michael, the second was that of the social ascendency of Draga, and the third, that of the horrible death of Queen Draga and her husband—this latter foretold in a foreign city, almost three months before the tragedy really occurred, by one who had neither seen nor had had any connection whatever with the King and Queen of Servia.
On the morning of the very day of the assassination of Prince Michael Obrenovitch in Topchidere Park, a poor peasant of Cremna, of local distinction because of his occult powers of divination but unknown outside of his immediate community, tore through the mountains like a madman, beating his breasts with his fists and crying, “Our Prince is dead! They have murdered our Prince!”
The cry was taken up by all with whom he came in contact, repeated broadcast and, in an incredibly short space of time, it was upon the lips of every one in Belgrade.