The Kaiser could, by simply lifting his hand, stem the blood-lust of those armed hordes, and bring peace and security to the Macedonian population. But his secret policy is to create disorder in that terror-stricken country, so that Bulgaria and Turkey must be compelled, ere long, to fly at each other’s throats.

Therefore he closes his Imperial eyes to those scenes of wanton slaughter that daily are a disgrace to our civilisation in this twentieth century, and matters are rapidly going from bad to worse.

Sofia, April 1907.

CONTENTS

MONTENEGRO
CHAPTER I
THE CITY IN THE SKY
PAGE
Why I went to the Balkans—The road to Montenegro—Cettinje and its petroleum tins—About the blood-feud—England and Montenegro—Warned not to attempt to go to Albania—My guide a marked man—The story of Tef—A woman’s fickleness, and its sequel[19]
CHAPTER II
AN AUDIENCE OF PRINCE NICHOLAS
The Palace at Cettinje—A cigarette with the Prince—The policy of Montenegro—A confidential chat—His Royal Highness’s admiration for England—His views upon Macedonia—He urges me not to attempt to go to Albania, but I persuade him to help me—His Highness’s kindness—Souvenirs[29]
NORTHERN ALBANIA
CHAPTER I
INTO A SAVAGE REGION
Wildest Albania—Warnings not to attempt to travel there—I decide to go, and take Palok—Prince Nicholas of Montenegro bids us farewell—On the Lake of Scutari—Arrival at Skodra—Passports, rabble, and backsheesh—Photographing the fortress in secret—Treading dangerous ground—Albania the Unknown[41]
CHAPTER II
WHERE LIFE IS CHEAP
Fired at in the street of Skodra—My comfortless inn—Panorama of life—Armed bands of wild mountaineers in the streets—The Sign of the Cross—-Scutarine people—The fascination of Skodra—In the den of my friend Salko—Making purchases—Short shrift with swindlers—Some genuine antiques—Ragged and shoeless soldiers of the Sultan—Men shot in the blood-feud—“It is nothing!”[48]
CHAPTER III
THE LAWLESS LAND
My friend Pietro—Visit to his house—His wife and sister-in-law unveil and are photographed—Scutarine hospitality—Forbidden newspapers—I get one in secret—The Turkish post office—I want to visit the Accursed Mountains—Difficulties and fears—The Feast of the Madonna—Christians and Mohammedans—My first meeting with the dreaded Skreli—Shots in the night[58]
CHAPTER IV
IN THE ACCURSED MOUNTAINS
Vatt Marashi, chief of the Skreli tribe, invites me to become his guest—Our start for the Accursed Mountains—Rok, our guide—Independence of the Skreli—Brigandage and the bessa—A night under a rock—My meeting with Vatt Marashi and his band—The Skreli welcome—How they treat the Turks—Vatt’s admissions—I become the guest of brigands—A chat in the moonlight[68]
CHAPTER V
LIFE WITH A BRIGAND BAND
The Skreli a lawless tribe—No man’s life safe unless the chief gives his word—Vatt prophesies a rising against the Turks—Our walks and talks—Our meeting with our neighbours the Kastrati, and with Dêd Presci their chief—A girl who avenged her husband’s death—The significant story of Kol—Manners and customs of the wild tribes—Farewell to my good friend Dêd—An incident a fortnight later[81]
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
CHAPTER I
SOME REVELATIONS
Through Dalmatia to Herzegovina—Over the Balkan watershed—Bosnia and Sarayevo—A half-Turkish, half-Servian town—Austrian persecution of the Christians—Some astounding facts—A land of spies and scandals—The police as murderers—A disgrace to European civilisation[95]
CHAPTER II
DUST IN THE EYES OF EUROPE
How spies work in Bosnia—Secret agents dog the stranger’s footsteps—My own experience—Fighting the spy with his own weapons—To “nobble” the foreigner—How an unfavourable book was purchased by the Austrian Government—Bribery of Press correspondents—A country worse than Russia—Some suggested reforms—The secret policy of Austria in the Balkans[108]
SERVIA
CHAPTER I
THE TRUTH ABOUT SERVIA
The diplomatic circle in Belgrade—Studying both sides of the Servian question—Austrian intrigue—113 known foreign spies in Belgrade!—An illustration of the work of secret agents—Quaint Servian customs—Pauperism unknown—Servia to-day and to-morrow[119]
CHAPTER II
AN AUDIENCE OF KING PETER
At the New Konak—I sign His Majesty’s birthday-book—The audience-chamber—King Peter greets me, and we chat over cigarettes—My private audience—His Majesty and English capitalists—Great openings for British enterprise—The King gives me some instances of paying concerns, and tells me many interesting facts—His Majesty invites me to return[130]
CHAPTER III
SERVIA’S AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS
Audiences of M. Pachitch, the Premier and “strong man” of Servia, and of M. Stoyanovitch, Minister of Commerce—My friend, Dr. Milenko Vesnitch, Minister of Justice—The Servian case as I found it—Austria Servia’s arch-enemy—Dr. Vesnitch a smart up-to-date politician—Undeniable prosperity of the country under King Peter’s rule[136]
CHAPTER IV
THE FUTURE OF SERVIA
Servia and the Macedonian question—A sound Cabinet—England and Servia—Appointment of Mr. Beethom Whitehead as British Minister very gratifying to the Servians—King Peter ever solicitous for the welfare of the people—What the Prime Minister told me concerning the future—The new railway to the Adriatic[146]
CHAPTER V
TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW IN SERVIA
A retrospect—A sitting of the Skupshtina—Peasants as deputies—Servia as an open field for British enterprise—Enormous mineral wealth—Mr. Finney, a mining engineer who has prospected in Servia for seventeen years, tells me some interesting facts regarding rich mines awaiting development—No adventurers need apply[157]
BULGARIA
CHAPTER I
SOFIA OF TO-DAY
At the Bulgarian frontier—A chat with M. Etienne, French ex-Minister of War—Evening in Sofia—A city of rapid progress—Engaging peasants for Earl’s Court Exhibition—Amusing episodes—Social life in Sofia—The diplomats’ club—The Bulgarian Government grant me special facilities for investigation[181]
CHAPTER II
BULGARIA AS A FIELD FOR BRITISH ENTERPRISE
Audiences of members of the Bulgarian Cabinet—Dr. Dimitri Stancioff, Minister for Foreign Affairs, the coming man of Bulgaria—His policy—Facts about the mineral wealth and mining laws—Advice to traders and capitalists by the British Vice-Consul in Sofia—Our methods as compared with those of other nations[191]
CHAPTER III
WILL BULGARIA DECLARE WAR?
A sitting of the Sobranje—Declarations by the late Prime Minister Petkoff and Dr. Stancioff—The new Minister of Foreign Affairs—A sound progressive government—Strong army and firm policy—Will the deplorable state of Macedonia still be tolerated?—Ominous words[197]
CHAPTER IV
THE BULGARIAN EXARCHATE AND THE PORTE
A difficult and little-understood problem—Bulgaria the “dark horse” of the Peninsula—An explanation of the question between Bulgaria and Turkey—The Bulgarian Church and the Imperial Firman—The present position of the Exarchate—Europe should listen to the Bulgarian demand—Chats with Macedonian orphans—Their terrible stories[206]
CHAPTER V
AT A ROSE DISTILLERY
Tobacco growing in Bulgaria—The otto-of-rose industry—About adulteration—Difficulties of obtaining the pure extract—Corrupting the peasant—What Monsieur Shipkoff told me—Some tests to discover adulteration—Interesting facts about roses[217]
CHAPTER VI
THE FUTURE OF BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s future greatness—Her firm policy in Macedonia—An audience of Dr. Stancioff, Minister of Foreign Affairs—A chat with the Prime Minister—Turkey the enemy of Bulgaria—Balkan “news” in the London papers—How it is manufactured—Turkish dominion doomed[226]
ROUMANIA
CHAPTER I
BUCHAREST OF TO-DAY
My friend the spy—How I was watched through the Balkans—An exciting half-hour—The Paris of the Near East—Gaiety, extravagance, and pretty women—Forty years of progress—The paradise of the idler—Husbands wanted![235]
CHAPTER II
ROUMANIA’S AIMS AND INTENTIONS
Monsieur Take Jonesco, Minister of Finance—The smartest man in Roumania—An interview with General Lahovary, Minister of Foreign Affairs—Secret aims of Roumania—A better frontier wanted—Germany’s insincerity—Some plain truths—The question of a Balkan Federation—Oil wells waiting to be exploited by British capital[244]
CHAPTER III
A CHAT WITH THE QUEEN OF ROUMANIA
The royal drawing-room—Her Majesty’s greeting—Her kind words of welcome—Roumania not in the Balkan States—We talk politics—The name of “Carmen Sylva”—The Queen’s deep interest in the blind—She shows me some photographs—Public interest in the new institution—I visit it next day[253]
TURKEY
CHAPTER I
THE LAND OF THE WANING MOON
The Orient Express again—On the Black Sea to Constantinople—A disenchantment—My dragoman—How to bribe the Customs officers—Mud and dogs—A city of spies—Feebleness of British policy at the Porte—Turkish adoration of Germany—The basis of my confidential inquiries[265]
CHAPTER II
IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH
His Excellency Noury Pasha—A quiet chat at his home—Turkish view of European criticism—The Turk misunderstood—The massacres in Macedonia—My visit to the Sublime Porte—His Excellency Tewfik Pasha tells me the truth—A great diplomatist—The fashion to denounce Turkey—The attitude of the Porte towards Bulgaria—Significant words[274]
MACEDONIA
CHAPTER I
PLAIN TRUTHS ABOUT MACEDONIA
War imminent between Bulgaria and Turkey—My secret inquiries—Atrocities by the Greek bands—Chats with the leaders of the insurrection—The truth about the intrigues in Macedonia—I visit the scene of the massacres—Stories told to me—Horrifying facts—Germany behind the assassins—A disgraceful truth[285]
CHAPTER II
THE TRUTH EXPOSED
Summary of my confidential information—War this year—The attitude of Greece, Bulgaria, Roumania, and Turkey—Procrastination, promises, and perfect politeness—A matter more serious than Macedonia—Warning to British statesmen and the public—The real truth exposed—Germany and India[299]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
His Majesty King Peter of Servia[Frontispiece]
Map of the Author’s Route through the Near East[16]
Pero, my Montenegrin Driver[20]
Albanians in Cettinje[20]
The Royal Palace, Cettinje[24]
Principal Street in Cettinje[24]
His Royal Highness Prince Nicholas of Montenegro[28]
The Petroleum Tins of Cettinje[32]
The Monastery, Cettinje[32]
Mr. Chas. Des Graz, Chargé d’Affaires at Cettinje[34]
The Piazza, Ragusa[34]
Ryeka, Montenegro[42]
Zabliak, Montenegro[42]
Palok, my Companion through the Skreli Country[44]
In Skodra (two views)[48]
My Friend Salko outside his House in Skodra[54]
Pietro’s Sister-in-Law unveiled before the Camera[54]
Rok, Tribesman of the Skreli[58]
Pietro Lekha[58]
The Madonna of Skodra[64]
The Procession with an Armed Guard[64]
The Mirediti: an Alarm![66]
The Mirediti at Prayer[66]
My Road in Northern Albania[70]
The Way to the Skreli[70]
Vatt Marashi, Chief of the Skreli Tribe[74]
The Skreli at Home[76]
An Albanian Village[76]
Among the Skreli: Lûk and his Friends[80]
Mrika, the Woman who carried on the Blood-Feud[84]
My Bodyguard in Northern Albania[90]
Bunaquelle, Bosnia[96]
Jajace, Bosnia[96]
Sarayevo, Bosnia[112]
In Herzegovina[112]
His Excellency Nicholas Pachitch, Prime Minister of Servia[120]
His Excellency Dr. Milenko Vesnitch, Servian Minister of Justice[124]
His Excellency Costa Stoyanovitch, Servian Minister of Commerce[126]
The Royal Palace, Belgrade: the Ballroom[130]
Royal Palace, Belgrade (exterior)[132]
Principal Boulevard of Belgrade[132]
His Royal Highness Prince George of Servia[134]
Mr. Beethom Whitehead, British Minister at Belgrade[138]
Mr. Alex. Tucker, Servian Consul-General in London[138]
The Road to the East: The Last View of Europe[144]
Villagers and Gipsies in Miriavo (Servia)[144]
The British Legation, Belgrade[148]
The Knes Mihajelowa, Belgrade[148]
In the “Kalemegdan,” Belgrade[160]
The Market-Place, Belgrade[160]
His Royal Highness Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria[180]
Peasants in Sofia Market-Place[182]
The Old Mosque, Sofia[182]
His Excellency Dr. Dimitri Stancioff, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs[184]
The Late Monsieur D. Petkoff, Prime Minister of Bulgaria[188]
The Royal Palace, Sofia[190]
The Main Boulevard, Sofia[190]
His Excellency N. Ghenadieff, Bulgarian Minister of Commerce[192]
Early Morning in Sofia[194]
On the Road to the Shipka[194]
The Bulgarian Sobranje[196]
Gen. Michael Savoff, Bulgarian Minister of War[198]
His Excellency L. Payacoff, Bulgarian Minister of Finance[200]
Sir George Buchanan, British Minister at Sofia[200]
Military Manœuvres in Bulgaria (two views)[204]
Peasants at Vladaja, Bulgaria[208]
Bulgarian Military Types[208]
Peasants near Tirnovo, Bulgaria[210]
Tziganes on the Isker Road[214]
Where I spent a Comfortless Night in Bulgaria[216]
Bulgarian Laundresses[216]
The Rose-Fields near Kazanlik[220]
Gathering Roses at Kazanlik[224]
Testing Otto-of-Rose at Kazanlik[224]
Bulgarian Peasants dancing the “Horo”[226]
Summit of the Shipka Pass[228]
Defile of the Isker[228]
His Majesty King Charles of Roumania[234]
Snap-Shots in Bucharest (two views)[236]
The Royal Palace, Bucharest[240]
Boulevard Elisabeta, Bucharest[240]
His Excellency George Cantacuzen, Roumanian Prime Minister[244]
His Excellency Take Jonesco, Roumanian Minister of Finance[244]
His Excellency Geo. G. Manu, Roumanian Minister of War[246]
Sir Conyngham Greene, British Minister at Bucharest[246]
Gen. Jacques Lahovary, Roumanian Minister of Foreign Affairs[248]
Her Majesty the Queen of Roumania[252]
The Queen of Roumania’s Blind Institute at Bucharest[256]
Blind Inmates at Work[260]
His Excellency Tewfik Pasha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Imperial Ottoman Empire[264]
His Excellency Noury Pasha[274]
The Entrance to the Bosphorus[280]
In Constantinople[280]
Lake of Ochrida, Macedonia[285]
Lake of Presba, Macedonia[285]
Macedonian Woman abducted by Turks from Klene, near Debr, and rescued by a Bulgarian Band[288]
General Tzontcheff, the Bulgarian Leader in Macedonia[288]
A Bulgarian Band in Macedonia[292]
General Tzontcheff in Macedonia[304]
The Turkish Burial-Ground at Scutari, Asia Minor[304]

THE NEAR EAST
Stanford’s Geogl. Estabt., London.
London: Eveleigh Nash.