HERZEGOVINA;

OR

OMER PACHA AND THE CHRISTIAN REBELS.

WITH A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF SERVIA, ITS SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND FINANCIAL CONDITION.

BY LIEUT. G. ARBUTHNOT, R.H.A., F.R.G.S.

LONDON:
LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GREEN.
1862.

PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NEW-STREET SQUARE

PREFACE.

The wanderings of an unknown in an unknown land may not be a subject of universal interest, and as such require a few words of apology, or possibly of defence.

To convey an accurate idea of a country the inhabitants of which differ from ourselves in creed, origin, and in all their habits of life, it would be necessary to have passed a lifetime amongst them. It may therefore be deemed presumptuous in me to attempt so comprehensive a task, upon the meagre experience of a few short months. And such it would be, did I entertain such aspirations. The impossibility, however, of identifying myself with a people, with whose very language I have but a slight acquaintance, would banish such a thought. My object is rather to describe briefly and simply everything that presented itself to my own notice; upon the evidence of which, coupled with the observations of the few who have devoted any attention to the condition of these countries, I have founded my views and opinions. Far be it from me to assume that they have more claim to be regarded as correct, than the opinions of others who may differ from me. Above all, if any of my remarks on the subject of the Greek and Latin religions should appear somewhat severe, I would have it clearly understood, that nowhere is allusion intentionally made to these churches, save in the relation which they bear to the Illyric Provinces of European Turkey.

CONTENTS.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

HERZEGOVINA.

CHAPTER I.

Object of Travels—Start—Mad Woman—Italian Patriot—Zara—Sebenico—Falls of Kerka—Dalmatian Boatmen—French Policy and Austrian Prospects—Spalatro—Palace of Diocletian—Lissa—Naval Action—Gravosa—Ragusa—Dalmatian Hotel—Change of Plans.

'Omer Pacha will proceed with the army of Roumelia to quell the disturbance in Herzegovina.' Such, I believe, was the announcement which confirmed me in the idea of visiting the Slavonic provinces of European Turkey. Had any doubts existed in my mind of the importance attached by the Ottoman government to the pacification of these remote districts, the recall to favour of Omer Pacha, and the despatch of so large a force under his command, would have sufficed to remove them. As it was, the mere desire to keep myself au courant of the events of the day, together with the interest which all must feel in the condition of a country for whom England has sacrificed so much blood and treasure, had made me aware that some extraordinary manifestation of feeling must have occurred to arouse that apathetic power to so energetic a measure. Of the nature of this manifestation, little or no reliable information could be obtained; and so vague a knowledge prevails touching the condition of these provinces, that I at once perceived that personal observation alone could put me in possession of it. The opinions of such as did profess to have devoted any attention to the subject, were most conflicting. Whilst some pronounced the point at issue to be merely one between the Turkish government and a few rebellious brigands, others took a far more gloomy view of the matter, believing that the first shot fired would prove the signal for a general rising of the Christian subjects of the Porte, which, in its turn, was to lead to the destruction of Turkish suzerainty in Europe, and to the consummation of the great Panslavish scheme. To satisfy myself on these points, then, was the main object of my travels,—to impart to others the information which I thus obtained, is the intention of this volume.

On August 31, 1861, I left Trieste in the Austrian Lloyd's steamer, bound for Corfu, and touching en route at the ports on the Dalmatian coast. Having failed in all my endeavours to ascertain the exact whereabouts of the Turkish head-quarters, I had secured my passage to Ragusa, reckoning on obtaining the necessary information from the Ottoman Consul at that town; and in this I was not disappointed.

It is not my intention to enlarge upon this portion of my travels, which would indeed be of little interest; still less to tread in the steps of Sir Gardner Wilkinson, whose valuable work on Dalmatia has rendered such a course unnecessary; but rather to enter, with log-like simplicity, the dates of arrival and departure at the various ports, and such-like interesting details of sea life. If, however, my landsman-like propensities should evince themselves by a lurking inclination to 'hug the shore,' I apologise beforehand.

My fellow-passengers were in no way remarkable, but harmless enough, even including an unfortunate mad woman, whose mania it was to recount unceasingly the ill-treatment to which she had been exposed. At times, her indignation against her imaginary tormentors knew no bounds; at others, she would grow touchingly plaintive on the subject of her wrongs. That she was a nuisance, I am fain to confess; but the treatment she experienced at the hands of her Dalmatian countrymen was inconsiderate in the extreme. One who professed himself an advocate for sudden shocks, put his theory into practice by stealing quietly behind his patient, and cutting short her lugubrious perorations with a deluge of salt water. This was repeated several times, but no arguments would induce her to allow her wet clothes to be removed, so it would not be surprising if this gentleman had succeeded in 'stopping her tongue' beyond his expectations. The only other lady was young and rather pretty, but dismally sentimental. She doated on roses, was enamoured of camelias, and loved the moon and the stars, and in fact everything in this world or out of it. In vain I tried to persuade her that her cough betrayed pulmonary symptoms, and that night air in the Adriatic was injurious to the complexion.

The man-kind on board included an Austrian officer of engineers, a French Consul, and a Dalmatian professor. Besides the above, there was an Italian patriot, whose devotion to the 'Kingmaker' displayed itself in a somewhat eccentric fashion. With much mystery, he showed me a portrait of Garibaldi, secreted in a watchkey seal, while his waistcoat buttons and shirt studs contained heads of those generals who served in the campaign of the Two Sicilies. It was rather a novel kind of hero-worship, though, I fear, likely to be little appreciated by him who inspired the thought.

September 1.—Landed at Zara at 6.30 a.m., and passed a few hours in wandering over the town and ramparts. These last are by no means formidable, and convey very little idea of the importance which was attached to the city in the time of the Venetian Republic. The garrison is small, and, as is the case throughout Dalmatia, the soldiers are of Italian origin. The Duomo is worthy of a visit; while the antiquarian may find many objects of interest indicative of the several phases of Zarantine history. Here, in a partially obliterated inscription, he may trace mementos of Imperial Rome; there, the Campanile of Santa Maria tells of the dominion of Croatian kings; while the winged lion ever reminds him of the glory of the Great Republic, its triumphs, its losses, and its fall. On leaving we were loudly cheered by the inhabitants, who had collected in large numbers on the shore. A few hours' run brought us abreast of Fort St. Nicholas, and ten minutes later we dropped anchor in the harbour of Sebenico. Here the delight of the people at our arrival was somewhat overwhelming. It vented itself in an inordinate amount of hugging and kissing, to say nothing of the most promiscuous hand-shaking, for a share of which I myself came in. My first step was to negotiate with four natives to row me to the Falls of Kerka, about three hours distant. This I had succeeded in doing, when, having unfortunately let them know that I was English, they demanded seven florins in place of four, as had been originally agreed. Resolving not to give way to so gross an imposition, I was returning in quest of another boat, when I met a troop of some six or seven girls, young, more than averagely good-looking, and charmingly dressed in their national costume. I presume that my T.G. appearance must have amused them; for they fairly laughed,—not a simpering titter, but a good honest laugh. To them I stated my case, and received a proper amount of sympathy. One offered to row me herself, while another said something about 'twenty florins and a life,'—which, whatever it may have meant, brought a blush to the cheek of the pretty little volunteer. At this juncture the boatmen arrived, and on my assurance that I was perfectly satisfied with the company to which they had driven me, which my looks, I suppose, did not belie, they came to terms. Leaving the bay at its NW. extremity, where the Kerka flows into it, we proceeded about four miles up that river. At this point it opens out into the Lake of Scardona, which is of considerable size, and affords a good anchorage. There is an outlet for the river to the N., close to which is situated the little town of Scardona. The banks of the river here begin to lose their rocky and precipitous appearance, assuming a more marshy character, which renders it unhealthy in the summer. The Falls are approached by a long straight reach, at the end of which they form a kind of semicircle, the entire breadth being about 250 feet. In winter, or after heavy rains, the effect must be very grand; but at the time of my visit they were, in consequence of the great drought, unusually small. Below the falls is a mill worked by a Levantine, who appears to drive a flourishing trade, grinding corn for Sebenico, Zara, and many other places on the coast.

The Dalmatian boatmen are a very primitive set in everything save money matters. One asked, Are the English Christians? while another asserted most positively, that he had taken an Englishman to see the Falls in the year 1870. Their style of rowing resembles that in vogue among the Maltese and Italians, excepting that they make their passenger sit in the hows of the boat. This, at any rate, has the advantage of keeping him to windward of themselves, which is often very desirable. Another point of difference is, that they wear shoes or slippers,—the latter being, in some instances, really tasteful and pretty.

The moon was high ere we reached the ship, where I found all the passengers assembled upon deck. One after another they disappeared below, until I was left alone. I know no spot so conducive to reflection as the deserted deck of a ship at anchor on a lovely night, and in a genial latitude. In this instance, however, my thoughts assumed more of a speculative than retrospective character, large as was the field for the indulgence of the latter. The shades of emperors and doges faded away, giving place to the more terrestrial forms of living sovereigns; and the wild shouts of the Moslem conquerors resolved themselves into the 'Vive l'Empereur' of an army doing battle for an idea. Let Austria look to herself, that, when the hour of struggle shall arrive, as arrive it will, she be not found sleeping. Should Napoleon once more espouse the Italian cause, should he hurl his armies upon the Quadrilateral, who can doubt but that a diversion of a more or less important character will be attempted in the rear of the empire? But even though he should let slip the notable occasion presented to him by a rising among the Italian subjects of Austria, the evil day will only be postponed. I believe that, not content with the humiliation of that power at Villafranca, he will take advantage of any opportunity which disorder in the neighbouring Turkish provinces may offer him to aim a blow at her on her Dalmatian frontier, as a means to the gigantic end of crippling her, and with her ultimately the entire German Confederation. It is a great scheme, and doubtless one of many in that fertile brain. If Austria should resolve to defend her Venetian territory, as it may be presumed she will, she should spare no labour to strengthen her fortresses in the Adriatic. On the Dalmatian coast, Zara, Lissa, Pola, and Cattaro are all capable of making a very respectable defence in the event of their being attacked; while, to quote the words of Rear-Admiral Count Bernhard von Wüllersdorf and Urban, 'An Austrian squadron at Cattaro would be very dangerous to any hostile squadron on the Italian coast, as its cruisers would cut off all transports of coal, provisions, &c. &c.,—in a word, render the communication of the hostile squadron with the Mediterranean very difficult.... Lissa is the keystone of the Adriatic. This island, the importance of which in former times was never denied, commands the straits which lead from the southern to the northern half of the Adriatic.... The naval force at Lissa ought to be a local one, consisting of light fast gun-boats to cruise in the narrow waters, to which might be added some plated ships to keep open communications, on the one hand, between Lissa and the mainland, and on the other hand acting with the gun-boats to bar the passage to hostile vessels.' The publication of the article from which the above is extracted in the 'Oesterreichische Militar Zeitschrift,' proves sufficiently that the Austrian government is aware of the necessity which exists for taking precautionary measures; and the lesson which they learnt in 1859 ought to have induced them to adopt a more energetic policy in their military and naval affairs.

The defences of Sebenico consist of three small forts: St. Nicholas, containing seventeen mounted guns, is at the entrance of the bay, while San Giovanni and Santa Anna, situated on rising ground, command the town, harbour, and land approaches. The precise number of guns which they contain, I was unable to learn. The very meagre character of the information which I am in a position to impart on these subjects requires, I am aware, some apology. The difficulty of obtaining it during the short stay of a steamer must be my excuse. May it be accepted!

September 2.—Steamed into the port of Spalatro at 10.30 a.m. There is both an outer and inner harbour, the latter affording a good anchorage to vessels of any burden; yet, notwithstanding this, we were compelled, for the first time since leaving Trieste, to lie off at some distance from the quay. The origin of Spalatro dates from the building of the palace of Diocletian in 303, a.d. This glorious pile, however much it may offend against the rules of architecture, is well entitled to rank among the noblest monuments of imperial Rome. Its mammoth proportions, the novelty of conception evinced in many parts, together with its extraordinary state of preservation, render it alike unique, while the circumstances connected with its building impart to it an unusual interest. Wearied with the affairs of state, Diocletian retired to Salona, where he passed the remaining nine years of his life in profound seclusion. Of the use to which he applied his wealth during that period, a record still exists in the golden gate and the Corinthian columns which decorate that regal abode; while we learn what were his pursuits from his own memorable reply to Maximian, when urged by him to reassume the purple. 'Utinam Salonis olera nostris manibus insita invisere posses, de resumando imperio non judicares;' or, as it has been somewhat freely translated by Gibbon—'If I could show you the cabbages I have planted with my own hands at Salona, you would no longer urge me to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness for the pursuit of power.'[A]

Nor has nature been less bountiful than man to this most favoured spot. The description given by Adams conveys a very accurate impression of the character of the surrounding country. 'The soil is dry and fertile, the air pure and wholesome, and, though extremely hot during the summer months, the country seldom feels those sultry and noxious winds to which the coasts of Istria and some parts of Italy are exposed. The views from the palace are no less beautiful than the soil and climate are inviting. Towards the W. lies the fertile shore that stretches along the Adriatic, in which a number of small islands are scattered in such a manner as to give this part of the sea the appearance of a great lake. On the N. side lies the bay, which led to the ancient city of Salona, and the country beyond it appearing in sight forms a proper contrast to that more extensive prospect of water, which the Adriatic presents both to the S. and the E. Towards the N. the view is terminated by high and irregular mountains situated at a proper distance, and in many places covered with villages, woods, and vineyards.'[B] Like most other relics of antiquity, the time-honoured walls of Spalatro have been witnesses of those varied emotions to which the human heart is subject. Thither Glycerius the prelate retired, when driven by Julius Nepos from the imperial throne. There, too, in a spirit of true Christian charity, he heaped coals of fire on the head of his enemy, by affording him a sanctuary when dethroned in his turn by Orestes, the father of Augustulus. Again, a little while, and within the same walls, where he had deemed himself secure, Julius Nepos fell a victim to the assassin's knife, and subsequently we find the houseless Salonites sheltering themselves within its subterraneous passages, when driven from their homes by the fury of the invading Avars. The memory of all these is passed away, but the stones still remain an undying testimony of a happy king.

Having passed some hours in the town and palace, I adjourned to one of the few small cafés in the principal street. While sipping my chocolate, I was accosted by an elderly priest, who most civilly enquired whether he could help me in any way during my stay at Spalatro. He proved to be a person of much intelligence, and, notwithstanding that his knowledge of English extended only to a few conversational words, he had read Sir Gardner Wilkinson's work on Dalmatia, and, as his remarks showed, not without profiting thereby. At 4.30 the same afternoon we arrived at Lissa, the military port of Austria in this part of the Adriatic. It is interesting to English travellers, its waters having been the scene of a naval action in which an English squadron, commanded by Captain Hoste, defeated a French squadron carrying nearly double as many guns. During the great war the island belonged to England, and indeed a portion of it is called to this day the Cittá Inglese. It at one time acquired a certain importance in a mercantile point of view, sardines being the staple article of commerce.

The same night we touched at Curzola, and at 4 a.m. on September 3 anchored at Gravosa, the port of debarcation for Ragusa. Taking leave of my friends on board, I landed at about 5 a.m., and, having committed my luggage, a small bullock trunk, saddle-bags, and a saddle, to the shoulders of a sturdy facchino, and myself to a very rickety and diminutive cart, I proceeded on my way to Ragusa. The drive, about a mile and a half in distance, abounds with pretty views, while the town of Ragusa itself is as picturesque in its interior detail as it is interesting from its early history. The grass-grown streets, the half-ruined palaces, and the far niente manners of the people, give little indication of the high position which the Republic once achieved. Yet, despite all these emblems of decay, there are no signs of abject poverty, but rather a spirit of frugal contentment is everywhere apparent.

Arriving at an hour when, in the more fastidious capitals of Europe, housemaids and milkmen hold undisputed sway, I found groups of the wealthier citizens collected under the trees which surround the café, making their morning meal, and discussing the local news the while. Later in the day ices and beer were in great demand, and in the evening the beauty and fashion of Ragusa congregated to hear the beautiful band of the regiment 'Marmola.' The hotel, if it deserve the name, is scarce fifty yards distant; it possesses a cuisine which contrasts favourably with the accommodation which the house affords.

The table d'hôte dinner is served in a kind of vaulted kitchen, the walls of which are hung round with scenes illustrative of the Italian campaign. The series, which comprises desperate cavalry charges, death wounds of general officers, and infantry advancing amidst perfect bouquets of shot and shell, closes appropriately with the pacific meeting of the two Emperors at Villafranca.

Here, then, I proposed to take up my quarters, making it the starting-point for expeditions to the Val d'Ombla, the beautiful Bocche di Cattaro, and Cettigne, the capital of Montenegro; but it was destined otherwise, and night found me on board a country fishing-boat, the bearer of despatches to Omer Pacha at Mostar, or wherever he might happen to be.

CHAPTER II.

Military Road to Metcovich—Country Boat—Stagno—Port of Klek—Disputed Frontier—Narentine Pirates—Valley of the Narenta—Trading Vessels—Turkish Frontier—Facilities for Trade granted by Austria—Narenta—Fort Opus—Hungarian Corporal—Metcovich—Irish Adventurer—Gabella—Pogitel—Dalmatian Engineer—Telegraphic Communication—Arrival at Mostar—Omer Pacha—Object of Campaign.

The change in my plans, and my precipitate departure from Ragusa, were the results of information which I there received. From M. Persich, the Ottoman Consul, whom I take this opportunity of thanking for his courtesy and kindness, I learned that the Turkish Generalissimo might be expected to leave Mostar for the frontier at any moment, and that the disturbed state of the country would render it perilous, if not impossible, to follow him thither. This determined me to push on at once, postponing my visit to Montenegro to a more fitting season. To make some necessary purchases, and to engage a servant, was the work of a few hours, and, being supplied by the Captano of the Circolo with the necessary visés and letters of recommendation to the subordinate officials through whose districts I should have to pass, it only remained to decide upon the mode of travelling which I should adopt, and to secure the requisite conveyance. My first point was Metcovich, a small town on the right bank of the Narenta, and close to the frontier lines of Dalmatia and Herzegovina. Three modes of performing the journey were reported practicable,—viz. on horseback, by water, or by carriage. The first of these I at once discarded, as both slow and tedious; the choice consequently lay between the remaining two methods: with regard to economy of time I decided upon the latter. But here a difficulty arose. The man who possessed a monopoly of carriages, for some reason best known to himself, demurred at my proceeding, declaring the road to be impassable. He farther brought a Turkish courier to back his statement, who at any rate deserved credit, on the tell-a-good-one-and-stick-to-it principle, for his hard swearing. I subsequently ascertained that it was untrue; and had I known a little more of the country, I should not have been so easily deterred, seeing that the road in question is by far the best which exists in that part of Europe. It was constructed by the French during their occupation of Dalmatia in the time of Napoleon, and has been since kept in good order by the Austrian government. Being thus thwarted in my plans, I made a virtue of necessity, engaged a country boat, and got under weigh on the evening of the day on which I had landed at Gravosa. The night was clear and starry; and as my boat glided along before a light breeze under the romantic cliffs of the Dalmatian coast, I ceased to regret the jolting which I should have experienced had I carried out my first intention. Running along the shore for some ten hours in a north-westerly direction, we reached Stagno, a town of small importance, situated at the neck of a tongue of land in the district of Slano, and which connects the promontory of Sabioncello with the mainland; ten minutes' walk across the isthmus brought us again to the sea. The luggage deposited in a boat of somewhat smaller dimensions, and better adapted for river navigation, we once more proceeded on our journey.

A little to the north of Stagno is the entrance to the port of Klek, a striking instance of right constituted by might. The port, which, from its entrance, belongs indisputably to Turkey, together with the land on the southern side, is closed by Austria, in violation of every principle of national law and justice.

Previous to 1852, many small vessels used to enter it for trading purposes, and it was not until Omer Pacha in that year attempted to establish it as an open port that Austria interfered, and stationed a war-steamer at its mouth.

In 1860 the restriction was so far removed that Turkish vessels have since been allowed to enter with provisions for the troops.

To the isolated condition of these provinces, coupled with the ignorance which prevails at Constantinople relative to the affairs of the interior, must be attributed the indifference which the Porte has as yet manifested regarding the preservation of its just rights. The importance to be attached to the possession by Turkey of an open port upon the coast cannot be overrated, since through it she would receive her imports direct from the producing countries, while her own products could be exported without being subjected to the rules and caprices of a foreign state. Nor are the Turkish officials in these quarters at all blind to the injury that accrues to Turkey, from the line of policy which Austria is now pursuing; but while they see and deplore the mildness with which their government permits its rights to be thus violated, they neglect to take any steps which might induce it to appeal to the arbitration of Europe. Were this done, there could be little doubt of the result; for, since the land on one side of the harbour, without question, belongs to Turkey, it would appear only just that she should have control over the half of the channel. But even were this to be accorded (which is most improbable, since it would prove dangerous to the trade of Trieste), the point at issue would still be far from settled. Any concessions will be unavailing so long as the present line of demarcation between the two countries shall exist; for while Turkey draws the line of limit from a point near the entrance of the harbour to the village of Dobrogna, Austria maintains the boundary to run from that village to a point farther within the port, by which arrangement she includes a small bluff or headland, which commands the entire harbour. She asserts her right to this frontier, upon the grounds of its having been the line drawn by the French during their occupation of Dalmatia. The Turks deny the truth of this, and state that the lines occupied by the French can still be traced from the remains of huts built for the protection of their sentries. Moreover, since the Austrians have also stated that the French, when in Dalmatia, did not respect the rights of the Sultan, but occupied Suttorina and Klek, the argument that they assume the frontier left them by the French is hardly entitled to much consideration. That Austria is very unlikely to open Klek of her own free will, I have already said; nor can she be blamed for the determination, since she must be well aware that, in the event of her doing so, English goods at a moderate price would find a far readier market than her own high-priced and indifferent manufactures. In a word, she would lose the monopoly of trade which she at present possesses in these provinces. But, on the other hand, were Turkey animated by a spirit of reprisal, she might throw such obstacles in the path of her more powerful neighbour as would almost compel her to abandon the system of ultra-protection.

The military road from Cattaro to Ragusa and Spalatro encroaches upon Turkish territory, and the telegraphic wire which connects Cattaro with Trieste passes over both Suttorina and Klek. The Austrian government would find it very inconvenient were the Porte to dispute the right of passage at these points. Should Turkey ever be in a position to force the adoption of the frontier, as defined by herself, the value of Klek in a military point of view will be immeasurably increased; for, while the port itself would be protected by her guns, the approach to it is perfectly secure, although flanked on either side by Austrian territory. The waters of the harbour open out into the bay of Sabioncello from seven to eight miles in width, so that a vessel in mid-channel might run the gauntlet with impunity.

Towards evening we entered the Narenta, the principal river of Dalmatia and Herzegovina, by one of the numerous mouths which combine to form its delta. Its ancient name was the 'Naro,' and it is also called by Constantine Porphyrogenitus 'Orontium.' Later it acquired an unenviable notoriety, as being the haunt of the 'Narentine Pirates,' who issued thence to make forays upon the coast, and plundered or levied tribute on the trading vessels of the Adriatic. At one time they became so powerful as to be able to carry on a regular system of warfare, and even gain victories over the Venetian Republic, and it was not till 997 a.d. that they were reduced to submission by the Doge Pietro Orseolo II., and compelled to desist from piracy.

The valley of the Narenta is but thinly populated, a circumstance easily accounted for by the noxious vapours which exhale from the alluvial and reed-covered banks of the stream.

The lowlands, moreover, which lie around the river's bed are subject to frequent and rapid inundations. Excepting one party of villagers, who appeared to be making merry around a large fire close to the bank, I saw no signs of human habitation.

The croaking of many frogs, and the whirr of the wild fowl, as they rose from their marshy bed at our approach, were the only signs of life to be perceived, though higher up we met a few rowing boats, and one of the small coasting vessels used for the transport of merchandise. These boats are generally from twenty to thirty tons burden, and are employed for the conveyance of ordinary goods from Trieste, whence the imports of Dalmatia, Bosnia, and the Herzegovina are for the most part derived. Their rates of freight are light, averaging from 10d. to 1s. per cwt., chargeable on the bulk. The more valuable or fragile articles are brought to Macarsca, a port on the Dalmatian coast, near the mouth of the Narenta, in steamers belonging to the Austrian Lloyd's Company, whence they are despatched by boat to Metcovich. The expense attendant on this route prevents its being universally adopted. Insurance can be effected as far as Metcovich at 1s. 4d. to 3s. 4d. per cwt. on the value declared, according to the season of the year.

Metcovich may be regarded as the Ultima Thulé of civilisation in this direction. Once across the frontier, and one may take leave of all one's preconceived ideas regarding prosperity or comfort. Everything appears at a standstill, whether it be river navigation or traffic on the land. The apathy of the Turkish government presents a striking contrast to the policy of Austria, who clearly sees the value to be attached to the trade of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who, while throwing every obstacle in the way of competition, evinces unwonted energy to secure the monopoly which she now possesses. During the past few years she has granted many facilities for the growth of commercial relations between Herzegovina and her own provinces. Thus, for instance, the transit dues on the majority of imports and exports have been removed, a few articles only paying a nominal duty on passing into Turkey. Wool, skins, hides, wax, honey, fruits, and vegetables, are allowed into Dalmatia free of duty. A grant of 1,200,000 florins has, moreover, been recently made for the regulation of the channel of the Narenta, with the view of rendering it navigable by small steamers, which will doubtless prove a most profitable outlay. It is to be hoped that the Turkish government will take steps to continue the line to Mostar, which is quite practicable, and could be effected at a small expense.

The Narenta takes its rise at the foot of the small hill called Bolai, a spur of the Velesh range of mountains. Its route is very circuitous, the entire distance from the source to its mouth being about one hundred and thirty miles, while its average width is computed at about one hundred and forty yards. It is subject to rapid rises between the months of September and May, caused by rains in the mountains and the melting snow, and a rise of twelve feet in three or four hours is by no means uncommon. As a source of communication it might be invaluable to the province, but in its present state it is perfectly useless, since the hardness of its waters renders it unfit for irrigation. It has many tributary streams, amongst the most important of which are the Boona, Bregava, Rama, Radopolie, Trebitza, and Cruppa.

On its right bank, and some miles above the mouth, is a small town, which rejoices in the imposing name of Fort Opus, albeit it possesses neither walls, fortifications, nor other means of defence. As the night was already far advanced when we arrived, I resolved to stay there a few hours before continuing the row to Metcovich, which I should otherwise have reached before daylight, and have been compelled to lie off the town during the damp hours of morning. Neither sentry nor health officer appeared to interdict our landing; and having found a miserable outhouse, which served as a cabaret, I was preparing to snatch a few hours' sleep as best I might, when an Hungarian corporal, employed in the finance department, came to the rescue, and undertook to find me a bed. Of its quality I will abstain from speaking; but such as it was, it was freely given, and it took much persuasion to induce the honest fellow to accept any remuneration. His post can hardly be a pleasant one, for malaria and fever cause such mortality, that the station is regarded much in the same light as is the gold coast of Africa by our own government servants. As a set-off against these disadvantages, my friend was in receipt of 2d. per day additional pay. May he pass unscathed through the ordeal!

By 2 a.m. I had again started, and reached Metcovich at 5 a.m. on September 5. Here M. Grabrich, the principal merchant of the place, put me in the way of procuring horses to take me to Mostar, about nine hours distant. My destination becoming known, I was beset with applications for my good offices with Omer Pacha. Some of these were petitions for contracts for supplying the army, though the greater number were demands for arrears of payment due for the supply of meal, and the transport of horned cattle and other provisions to the frontier. One of the complainants, a Greek, had a grievance of a different and much more hopeless nature. He had cashed a bill for a small amount offered him by an Irish adventurer. This, as well as several others, proved to be forgeries, and the money was irretrievably lost. Although travelling under an assumed name, and with a false passport, I subsequently discovered the identity of the delinquent with an individual, whom doubtless many who were with Garibaldi during the campaign of the Two Sicilies will call to mind. He was then only remarkable for his Calabrian costume and excessive amount of swagger. When at Niksich I learned that he had escaped through that town into Montenegro, and he has not, I believe, since been traced.

No punishment can be too severe for a scoundrel who thus brings English credit into disrepute, and disgraces a name which, although little known in these regions, is deservedly respected.

From Metcovich the traveller may proceed to Mostar by either bank of the river. I was recommended to take the road on the northern side, which I did, and ten minutes' ride brought us to the frontier, where a custom-house official insisted upon unloading the baggage so recently arranged. In vain I remonstrated, and brandished my despatches with their enormous red seals in his face. His curiosity was not to be so easily overcome. When he had at length satisfied himself, he permitted us to depart with a blessing, which I acknowledge was far from reciprocated. The first place of any importance which we passed is Gabella. It stands on an eminence overhanging a bend of the river, by whose waters three of its sides are washed. In former days it was defended by two forts, whose guns swept the river in either direction, and commanded the approach upon the opposite bank. In a.d. 1694 it was taken by Cornaro, and remained in the hands of the Venetians until a.d. 1716, when they evacuated it, blowing up the greater part of its defences.

Immediately above the town, the Narenta traverses the plain of Gabella, which is one of the largest and most productive in the country.

The plains of Herzegovina are in reality nothing more than valleys or basins, some of which are so hemmed in by hills, that the streams flowing through them can only escape by percolation, or through subterranean channels. This last phenomenon frequently occurs, and no better example can be given of it than the Trebinitza, which loses itself in the ground two or three times. After the last of these disappearances nothing is known for certain of its course, although a large river which springs from the rocks in the Val d'Ombla, and empties itself into the Adriatic near Ragusa, is conjectured to be the same.

Gabella, as well as Popovo, Blato, and other plains, is inundated in the winter, and remains in that state during three or four months.

They are traversed by means of punts, and excellent wild-duck shooting may be had by those who do not fear the exposure inseparable from that sport.

From this point the river entirely changes its aspect, losing the sluggish character which distinguishes it during its passage through the Austrian territory. Indeed, throughout its whole course, from its rise until it opens out into the plain of Gabella, its bed is rocky, and the current rapid and even dangerous, from the number of boulders which rise above the surface, or lie hid a little below the water line. It here receives the waters of the Trebisat or Trebitza, and the Bregava, the former flowing from the NW., the latter from the district of Stolatz in the SE. A few miles higher up is a narrow valley formed by two ranges of hills, whose rocky declivities slope down to, or in some places overhang, the river's bed. From one spot where the hills project, there is a pretty view of the town of Pogitel on the left bank. A large mosque, with a dome and minaret and a clock-tower, are the principal objects which catch the eye; but, being pressed for time, I was unable to cross the river, and cannot therefore from my own observation enter into any accurate details. The position is, however, exactly described by Sir Gardner Wilkinson as follows: 'It stands in a semicircular recess, like an immense shell, in the side of the hill, and at the two projecting extremities the walls run down from the summit to the river, the upper part being enclosed by a semicircular wall, terminated at each end by a tower.'

Half way between Metcovich and Mostar is a little village, which boasts an humble species of Khan.

Here I found the engineer in charge of the telegraph, a Dalmatian by birth. His head-quarters are at Bosna Serai, but he was then making a tour for the purposes of inspection and repair.

The telegraphic communication throughout the Ottoman Empire is now more general than its internal condition would warrant us in supposing. Indeed, in travelling through the country, one cannot fail to be struck by the strange reversal of the general order of things. Thus, for instance, both telegraph and railways have preceded the construction of ordinary roads.

And therein lies one of the principal causes of the hopelessness of Turkish civilisation; that it has been prematurely forced upon her, and that, in order to keep a position among the European nations, she is driven to adopt the highest triumphs of European intelligence without passing through the intermediate stages by which they have been acquired. The rapidly remunerative nature of a telegraphic service is obviously sufficient reason for its being thus early established; but its duties devolve entirely, not upon Turks, but upon the foreign employés of the government. It is, moreover, little used by the Mussulman population, and consequently tends but little to the enlightenment of the masses. On the subject of roads, I shall have occasion to speak hereafter, and must therefore beg the indulgent reader to accompany me along the bridle-path which takes us to the capital of Herzegovina.

Descending from the hills our progress became more rapid; yet, despite this, it was some hours after sunset before we entered the suburbs. As usual in a Turkish town, dogs and gravestones were to be found in abundance, the latter with their turbanned heads looking spectral and grim in the cold moonlight. Saving an occasional group of Mussulmans sitting silent and pompous in the dusty road, the city appeared perfectly deserted; and, as my now jaded ponies scrambled over the ill-paved streets, I began to speculate on the probability of passing the night al fresco. As may be conceived, then, it was with considerable satisfaction that I found myself, chibouque in hand, awaiting the arrival of the Pacha, who, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, had expressed his intention of seeing me immediately. No one can have a greater horror than myself of that mania which possesses some travellers for detailing conversations with Eastern dignitaries, which, for the most part, consist of ordinary civilities, imperfectly translated by an half-educated dragoman.

In the present instance, however, I deem no apology necessary for dwelling upon this first or subsequent conversations; since anything from the lips of such a man at so critical a moment must, to say the least, be of interest, even though it should be without any actual political importance. Having discussed the relative attitudes of the European powers with regard to Turkey, and spoken most unreservedly on the subject of French and Russian intrigues, he expressed great interest in the opinions formed by the public of the different countries on the Herzegovinian and Montenegrin question. The principal topic of conversation, however, was the campaign then about to be opened against the Herzegovinian rebels, and the preparations which he had made for carrying it out.

While fully alive to the difficulties attending his task, resulting from political complications, and the physical features of the country, he ever spoke with confidence of the ultimate success of the Turkish armies and the general pacification of the country. If any man be competent to bring about this desirable consummation it is himself; for he possesses, to an eminent degree, that caution which is indispensable to the successful conduct of an offensive war in a mountainous country, and which is so much at variance with the haphazard arrangements usually found among Turkish generals.

In using the words offensive war, I mean to imply operations carried on from a regular base, and in accordance with the generally accepted rules of warfare, in contra-distinction to the guerilla fighting as practised by the insurgent mountaineers. In its more literal sense, Omer Pacha's mission can hardly be deemed offensive; his object is, not to overrun territory, nor even to seek a combat with the enemy, but rather to place the country in such a state of defence as will render it secure from the incursions of those brigands who, having thrown off the Turkish rule, have sought a refuge in the fastnesses of Montenegro, whence, in conjunction with the lawless bands of that province, they make forays across the frontier, carrying fire and sword in their wake, respecting neither age nor sex,—rebels to their sovereign, and a disgrace to Christianity.

CHAPTER III.

Herzegovina—Boundaries—Extent—Physical Features—Mountains—Mineral Products—Story of Hadji Ali Pacha—Forests—Austrian Timber Company—Saw-Mill—Rivers—Towns—Villages—Population—Greek Catholics—Church Dignitaries—Roman Catholics—Monks—Franciscan College—Moral Depravity—Fine Field for Missionary Labour.

Herzegovina[C] or Bosnia Inferior, formerly the duchy of Santo Saba, is bounded on the N. by Bosnia, on the E. by Servia, on the W. by Dalmatia, and on the S. by Montenegro and the Adriatic.

Its greatest length, from Duvno in the NW., to Priepolie in the S., is about a hundred and twenty miles, and its greatest breadth from Konitza, on the Bosnian frontier, to the port of Klek, is about seventy-two miles.[D] It contains an approximate area of 8,400 square miles, with a population, of about thirty-five souls to the square mile.[D] A glance at any map, imperfect in detail as those yet published have been, will convey a tolerable idea of the nature of the country.

The ranges of mountains which intersect the greater part of the province are a portion of the Dinaric Alps. Along the Dalmatian and Montenegrin frontiers these are barren and intensely wild, and in many places, from the deep fissures and honeycomb formation of the rocks, impassable to aught save the chamois, the goat, or the indigenous mountaineer.

Proceeding inland, the country assumes a more habitable aspect: plains and pasture-lands capable of high cultivation are found at intervals, while even the mountains assume a more fertile appearance, and have a better depth of soil, which is well adapted for the cultivation of the olive and the vine. Dense forests, too, of average growth cover the mountain sides as we approach the Bosnian frontier, which, although inferior to those of Bosnia itself, would prove most remunerative to the government were they properly worked. But, unfortunately, the principle of isolation which the Porte has adopted with regard to these remote provinces, together with the want of enterprise among its inhabitants, the result of four hundred years of indolence on the one hand and oppression on the other, renders it problematical whether their ample resources will ever be developed. Should Turkey, however, arise from her lethargy, should genuine civilisation spread its branches over the land, we may then confidently anticipate a glorious future for her south-Slavonic provinces, doubting not that they will some day become 'the noblest jewel in their monarch's diadem.'

To convey an accurate idea of a province so little known as the Herzegovina, it will be best to enumerate the various physical features by which it is distinguished. Thus the highest and most important mountains are Dormitor in the district of Drobniak, on the Montenegrin frontier, and Velesh, which forms a rugged background to the plain of Mostar, the highest point being 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. Besides these, there are many others of nearly equal altitude, viz. Flam, Hergud, Prievolie, Vrau, Hako, Fartar, Belen, Stermoshnik, Bielevoda, Chabolie, Vrabcha, and Zavola. The perfect sea of rock which the southern part of the province presents to the eye is of grey limestone, varied however by a slatey stratum. Of the mineral products of the mountains little accurate knowledge prevails; gold, silver, and lead are said to exist, but I could not hear of their having ever been found to any extent. A firman was granted some years ago to one Hadji Ali Pacha, ceding to him for fifteen years the privilege of exploring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and working any mines which he might there discover. His application for this firman does not, however, in any way prove the existence of these minerals throughout the country generally, since it has proved to have been a mere cloak for diverting suspicion from many previous dishonest actions of which he had been guilty. His story is worthy of narration, as being no bad instance of the career of a Turkish parvenu, whose only qualifications were a little education and a large amount of effrontery.

Hadji Ali Pacha commenced his career as a clerk in the pay of the great Mehemet Ali Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt, but, having deserted to the Turks, he was employed by them in the capacity of Uzbashee or Captain. Fearful of falling into the hands of the Egyptians, he fled from his post, and, having made his way to Constantinople, contrived, by scheming and bribery, not only to efface the memory of the past, but to secure the appointment of Kaimakan or Lieut.-Colonel, with which grade he was sent to Travnik in command of a regiment. Tahir Pacha, the Governor of Bosnia, had about this time been informed of the existence of some gold mines near Travnik, and ordered Hadji Ali to obtain samples for transmission to the Porte. This he did, taking care to retain all the valuable specimens, and forwarding those of inferior quality, which, on their arrival at Constantinople, were declared worthless. No sooner was this decision arrived at, than Hadji Ali imported the necessary machinery and an Austrian mechanic, to separate the gold from the ores, and in this way amassed immense wealth. Rumours having got abroad of what was going on, and the suspicions of Tahir being aroused, the unfortunate Austrian was put secretly out of the way, and, as a blind, the unprincipled ruffian procured the firman to which allusion has been made. It need hardly be said that he never availed himself of the privileges which it conferred upon him. Some time after these transactions, he applied for leave to visit Austria, on the plea of ill-health, but doubtless with the view of changing the gold. This was refused, and he was obliged to employ a Jew, who carried it to Vienna, and disposed of it there. In 1850, when Omer Pacha came to restore order in Bosnia, which had then revolted, Hadji Ali was sent with two battalions to the relief of another detachment; upon this occasion he communicated with the enemy, who cut off his rear-guard, and otherwise roughly handled the Turkish troops. Upon this, Omer Pacha put him in chains, and would have shot him, as he richly deserved, had he not known that his enemies at Constantinople would not fail to distort the true features of the case. He therefore sent him to Constantinople, where he was shortly afterwards released, and employed his gold to such good purpose, that he was actually sent down as Civil Governor to Travnik, which he had so recently left a prisoner convicted of robbery and treason. He was, however, soon dismissed for misconduct, and entered once more into private speculations. In 1857 he purchased the tithes of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and employed such ruffians to collect them as to make perfect martyrs of the people, some of whom were even killed by his agents. Exasperated beyond endurance, the people of Possavina rose en masse, and although the movement was put down without difficulty, it doubtless paved the way for the discord and rebellion which has been attended with such calamitous results. This is precisely one of those cases which has brought such odium on the Turkish government, and which may so easily be avoided for the future, always providing that the Porte be sincere in its oft-repeated protestations of a desire for genuine reform. Ali Pacha was at Mostar in the beginning of 1858, when the movement began, but was afraid to venture into the revolted districts to collect his tithes. The Governor, therefore, made him Commandant of the Herzegovinian irregulars, in which post he vindicated the character which he had obtained for cruelty and despotism. Subsequently he was appointed Kaimakan of Trebigné, but the European Consuls interfered, and he has now decamped, owing a large sum to government, the remnant of his contract for the tithes.

The sides of some of the mountains are covered, as I have before said, with dense forests of great value. There the oak, ash, elm, beech, walnut, red and white pine, and the red and yellow maple, grow in rich profusion, awaiting only the hand of man to shape them into 'the tall mast' and the 'stately ship.' But man, in these benighted lands, is blind to the sources of wealth with which his country teems, and to nature it is left in the lapse of years to 'consume the offspring she has herself produced.' The difficulty of transporting the timber to a market has been always alleged by the natives as their reason for neglecting to turn the forests to account; but this is a paltry excuse, for with abundance of rivers to float it to the coast, and a neighbour so anxious to monopolise the trade of the country as Austria has shown herself, little doubt can be entertained of the possibility of its advantageous disposal. As far back as 1849 an Austrian Company, foreseeing the benefits which would accrue from the employment of capital in these parts, obtained a concession of the pine forests for twenty years. Saw-mills were built near Mostar, and roads and shoots were constructed. About 5,000 logs had been cut and exported, when the works were stopped by Omer Pacha on his arrival to suppress rebellion in the country in 1850. This arbitrary measure on his part has been much reprehended, and does without doubt require explanation.

It should, however, be remembered that the contract, which was likely to prove most remunerative to the Company, and of but little advantage to the Turkish government, had been granted by Ali Pacha of Stolatz, the last Civil Governor, to whom a tithe of the products was being paid. He had in the meanwhile thrown off his allegiance, and consequently the only blame which can attach to Omer Pacha is a want of judgement, caused by over-zeal for the interests of his government. The case was afterwards litigated, and the Porte was mulcted 200,000 florins as an indemnity for their breach of the contract. This was liquidated from Ali Pacha's property, and the firman has been renewed for fourteen years since 1859. The Austrian government has, however, forbidden the Company to avail themselves of it, as its members are engaged in legal proceedings. The only saw-mill which I met with in the country was one at Boona, worked by an Hungarian, who is apparently doing a lucrative business.

The rivers in the country are of no great size or importance, but might in most cases be turned to account for the transport of timber or for irrigation. The waters of some of the large rivers, it is true, are injurious to vegetation from their hardness, but this does not apply to all. After the Narenta, the following are the most important:—the Trebenitza, Pria, Taro and Moratcha, Yanitza, Boona, Boonitza, Bregava, Kruppa, Trebisat or Trebitza, Drechnitza, Grabovitza, Biela, Kaladjin-Polok, and the Drina. It might be expected from its vicinity to Bulgaria, where such fine lakes are found, that the same would be the case in Herzegovina; but it is not so: Blato, which is marked as a lake in all maps, is only such in winter, as with early spring the waters disappear.

The only towns in the province worthy of mention, besides Mostar, are Fochia and Taschlijeh. They each contain about 10,000 inhabitants. The other towns are nothing more than large villages, with a bazaar. They are the seats of the district governments, such as Stolatz, Trebigné, Konitza, Niksich, Duvno, Chainitza, and others. The houses in these are not conspicuous for cleanliness, while those in the smaller villages are still less desirable as residences. They generally consist of some scores of huts, built of rough stones, without windows or chimneys, and roofed with boards, which are again covered with straw. They seldom contain more than one room, which the family occupies, in conjunction with the poultry and domestic animals. The furniture of these luxurious abodes consists of a hand-loom, two or three iron pots, a few earthen vessels, and some wooden spoons. The bedding is a coarse woollen blanket, which serves as a cloak in rainy or wet weather, and as a mattress and coverlet for the whole family, without distinction of sex.

The population of the Herzegovina amounts to about 182,000, divided as follows:—

Originally these were all of the same stock; and their present divisions, while constituting an element of safety for Turkey, are most prejudicial to the well-being of the country. The Greek faith predominates in the southern and eastern parts of the province. Its adherents are distinguished for their activity and cunning,—qualities which have rendered them far wealthier than their brethren of the Catholic communion. The possession of comparative wealth, and the consciousness of the moral support granted them by Russia, has made them presumptuous and over-bearing, hating alike all sects and creeds which differ from their own. Their ignorance is only equalled by the fanaticism which often results therefrom; and so bitter is their detestation of the Roman Catholics, that more than one instance has been known of its leading to foul acts of murder. Unoffending peasants have been taken in the revolted districts, and ordered to kneel and make the sign of the cross, to prove the truth of their assertions that they were not Mussulmans. The wretched creatures confidently did so in accordance with the Roman Catholic form, and their lives were unceremoniously forfeited to the bigotry and ferocity of their unrelenting judges. Nor are either tolerance or humanity in any way advocated by the priests, who are generally as illiterate and narrow-minded as their flocks, and whose influence, which is very great, is generally employed for evil. The priesthood are divided into Archimandrite, Igumens (chiefs of monasteries), Monks, and Priests, all of whom are natives of the province, where their whole lives have been passed. Of late years, however, many have been sent to receive their education in Russia. Some of these have now returned, but have not given signs of any desire to ameliorate the spiritual condition of the people. The Church has always been governed by a Vladika or Metropolitan, named from Constantinople. Like most other appointments from that capital, this was generally paid for, and its possessor consequently did not hesitate to employ every means in his power to reimburse himself. This, and the fact that he was never a native of the country, rendered him most unpopular; so that while the priests (little as they may deserve it) are regarded with reverence by the people, the Vladika was respected by neither the one nor the other. At present the office is vacant, none having been appointed since the demise of the last who occupied the episcopal chair. That event occurred in the commencement of 1861, and his attempts at extortion were so frequent and undisguised, that his death must have been felt as a great relief by the people. Petitions were sent at that time to Constantinople, praying for the appointment of a Slavish Metropolitan; but, independently of the difficulty of finding anyone of sufficient education among the Bosnian clergy, political considerations have induced the Porte to prevent the Patriarch complying with the demand; for, however bad in other respects they may have been, the Metropolitans have always remembered that their allegiance was due to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and not to the schismatic branch of the Greek Church, over which the Czar exercises both temporal and spiritual sway. Were a Slavish Metropolitan appointed, Russian influence would be dangerously augmented, and the task of transferring the allegiance of the people from their proper ecclesiastical head to the Russian Emperor, as has been attempted in Bulgaria, would here become easy of accomplishment.

In the N. and W. the Romish faith finds the greatest number of supporters, who look to Austria as their guiding star in all matters connected with religion. In their ranks are comprised the agriculturalists and artisans of the province, few being engaged in commerce. As regards education or enlightenment they are no farther advanced than their Greek compatriots: few can read or write their own language, and the knowledge of any other tongue is most exceptional. Learning, in its broader sense, is indeed confined exclusively to the convents, and, until very recently, no attempt of any kind was made by the priests to promote a desire for education or advancement among the people, their whole thoughts being bent on self-aggrandisement, and the acquisition of personal wealth. Careful enquiry has established the fact that no less than 60,000l. is annually paid in fees, penances, and gifts to the Church by the Roman Catholic section of the population; and we may fairly infer that the Greek priests extort an equally large sum. Of late schools have been established in different parts of the province, but the subjects of education are too confined to work any salutary change in the rising generation. Nor is it probably intended that such should be the case.

The Roman Catholics cordially return the hatred of the Greeks, marriages with whom are forbidden by the Catholic clergy. They are also inimical to the Mussulman population, by whom they are regarded as serfs. But this hostility is nurtured in secret, rarely displaying itself in overt acts of aggression. Four hundred years of oppression have completely broken their spirit, and they only ask to be allowed to enjoy in peace a fair portion of the fruits of their labour.

The Church is governed by two bishops. One, resident at Mostar, bears the title of Bishop of Azotto, and Vicar-Apostolic of the Herzegovina. The other, called the Bishop of Trebigné, lives at Ragusa, which is also included in his see. He has, however, a Vicar resident in the district of Stolatz. As in Bosnia, the monks are all of the Franciscan order. Considerable attention is paid to their education, and they are in every way immeasurably superior to the parochial clergy. In connection with that brotherhood a college has been for some years established, about twelve miles distant from Mostar. The subjects of education there are Latin, Italian, Slavish, Church History, and Theology. From this college the students proceed to Rome, where they are admitted into the Franciscan order.

In the above remarks, I have endeavoured to show that the Christianity which exists in these provinces is merely nominal, since it is devoid of all those gentle and humanising principles which should distinguish it from Islamism, whose tenets have been ever propagated by conquest and the sword. The vices which more especially accompany and mar the beauty of true Christian civilisation here hold unrestrained dominion, and both Greeks and Catholics present a painful combination of western cunning and intrigue and oriental apathy, while they are devoid of that spirit of devotion and dignified resignation to the will of Providence which preeminently characterise the religion of Mahomet. Living on the confines of the two hemispheres, they have inherited the sins of each, without the virtues of either the one or the other. Nearly all adults are addicted to drunkenness, while the use of foul and indelicate language is almost universal,—men, women, and children employing it in common conversation. So long as such a state of things shall prevail, it is clearly impossible that any material improvement can be brought about; and until the people show some inclination to improve their own condition, the sympathy or consideration of others is uncalled-for and misplaced. The perpetual Russian whine about eight millions of Christians being held in galling subjection by four millions of Turks is a miserable deception, which, although it may serve as a pretext for their own repeated acts of interference, cannot mislead those who have seen anything of these countries, or who have been brought into contact with their Christian inhabitants. The most effective course, probably, which either the bitterest enemy or the warmest friend of the Ottoman government could pursue, would be to disseminate the seeds of true Christianity throughout the length and breadth of the land. And I say this advisedly; for on the future conduct of the Porte would depend whether such a course might lead to the establishment of Turkish supremacy, or to its irretrievable overthrow. That an enlightened nation, 'at unity in itself,' could cast off the yoke of an oppressive and tottering despotism can easily be imagined, while, on the other hand, a throne based upon principles of justice and progression would acquire fresh stability with each step made by its subjects in the path of civilisation. It is, indeed, strange that so fine a field for British missionary labour has been so long uncared-for and untried. Nowhere is there more ample scope for exertion of this nature than in the European provinces of Turkey; for while the Christian population could not but contrast the simple purity of the missionary life with the vicious habits and grasping avarice of their own clergy, the Mussulmans would see Christianity in a very different light from that in which they have been accustomed to regard it. Nor would any obstacles be thrown in the way by the Turkish government; nay, instances have even occurred of Protestant missionaries receiving encouragement and support: for, whatever may be said to the contrary, no nation is more tolerant of the exercise of other religions than these same much-abused Moslems. Whatever is to be done, however, should be done at once, for never was it more urgently needed. The American struggle seems to have paralysed the missionary labours of that nation, which had heretofore displayed much energy in proclaiming the glad tidings of great joy in these benighted lands. For England, then, it would appear, is reserved the noble task of rescuing these unfortunates from a state of moral darkness, as profound as that which envelopes the savage tribes of central Africa, or the remotest islands of the Pacific. That we have remained so long indifferent to the urgent appeals of the talented and earnest, though somewhat prejudiced, advocate of Slavonic institutions, Count Valerian Krasinski, is a matter of surprise and deep regret; for surely no country can be more replete with interest to Protestant England than that which may be regarded as the cradle of Protestantism, and whose fastnesses afforded a refuge during four centuries of persecution to the 'early reformers of the Church, the men who supplied that link in the chain which connected the simplicity of primitive doctrines with the present time.'

The affinity which exists between the Church of England in the early days of the Reformation and the Pragmatic section which glory in Huss and Jerome, is too close to be easily overlooked. Nor need Bosnia (taken collectively) succumb in interest to any Slavonic province, whether it be regarded as the stronghold of freedom of religious opinion, or as the scene of one of the greatest and most important triumphs of Islamism.

CHAPTER IV.

Introduction of Christianity—Origin of Slavonic Element—First Appearance of the Patarenes in Bosnia—Their Origin—Tenets—Elect a Primate—Disappearance—Dookhoboitzi, or Combatants in Spirit—Turkish Conquest—Bosnian Apostasy—Religious Fanaticism—Euchlemeh—Commission under Kiamil Pacha—Servian Emissaries—National Customs—Adopted Brotherhood—Mahommedan Women—Elopements—Early Marriages.

Authorities differ as to the time when Christianity was first introduced into Bosnia. Some say that it was preached by the apostle St. James, while others affirm that it was unknown until the year 853 a.d., when St. Cyril and Methodius translated the Scriptures into the Slavonic tongue; others again say that it dates back as far as the seventh century, when the Emperor Heraclius called the Slavonic nations of the Chorvats or Croats, and the Serbs or Servians, from their settlement on the N. of the Carpathian Mountains, to the fertile regions S. of the Danube. The warlike summons was gladly obeyed by those valiant men, who had unflinchingly maintained their independence, whilst their Slavish brethren, inhabiting the country between the Volga and the Don, had submitted to the iron yoke of the all-conquering Avars. These last were in their time expelled by the Croats and Serbs, and thus was Slavism established from the Danube to the Mediterranean. But these important results were not achieved without great sacrifice; and, wearied of war and bloodshed, the successful Slavonians devoted themselves to agriculture and industry, neglecting those pursuits which had procured for them a permanent footing in the Greek empire. Taking advantage of this defenceless state, resulting from their pacific disposition, Constans II. made war upon the country of Slavonia, in order to open a communication between the capital on the one side, and Philippi and Thessalonica on the other. Justinian II. (685-95 and 708-10) also made a successful expedition against the Slavonians, and transplanted a great number of prisoners, whom he took into Asia Minor. The Greek empire having become reinvigorated for some time under the Slavonian dynasty, Constantine Copronymus (741-75) advanced in his conquest of Slavonia as far as Berea, to the S. of Thessalonica, which is evident from an inspection of the frontiers of the empire, made by order of the Empress Irene in 783. The Emperor Michael III. (842-67) sent an army against the Slavonians of the Peloponnesus, which conquered them all with the exception of the Melugi and Eseritœ, who inhabited Lacedæmonia and Elis, and they were all finally subjugated by the Emperor Basilicus I., or the Macedonian (867-86), after which the Christian religion and Greek civilisation completely Hellenised them, as their brethren on the Baltic were Germanised.[E] That the Latin faith subsequently obtained a permanent footing in these provinces, is due to the influence of the Kings of Hungary, who took the Bosnian Bans under their special protection; and thus it happened that the Bosnian nobles almost universally adopted the religion of their benefactors,—not so much from conviction, it is surmised, as from an appreciation of the many feudal privileges which it conferred, since they afterwards renounced Christianity entirely, rather than relinquish the rights which they had begun to regard as hereditary. The remote position of these countries, however, and the antagonism of the Eastern and Western Churches, combined to retard the development of the Papal doctrines, while a still more important counterpoise presented itself, in the appearance of the sect of Patarenes, towards the close of the twelfth century. The sect was founded by an Armenian doctor, named Basil, who was burnt for his opinions by the Emperor Alexius Comnenus, and whose followers, being banished, retired into Bulgaria, where they made many converts, and took the name of Bogomili—'chosen of God,' or 'implorers of God's mercy.' They thence spread their tenets into France by means of pilgrims and traders, who were on their return to that country, and by degrees laid the seeds of doctrines subsequently taken up by Peter Bruysius, and afterwards by Henry and by Peter Valdo, the founder of the Waldenses, and by others in other places. Availing themselves of the various Caliphs' tolerance of all Christian sects, they carried their opinions with their commerce into Africa, Spain, and finally into Languedoc, a neighbouring province, to Moorish Iberia, where Raymond, Count of Toulouse, gave them shelter and protection.[F]

The same opinions were held by the Paulicians of Spain, who, having received much encouragement from the Kings of Arragon and Castile, also disseminated their doctrines throughout France, in the southern provinces of which they met with great success. There they received the name of Albigenses, from the town of Albiga or Alby. They afterwards spread into Italy, where they received the name of 'Patarenes,' as some suppose from the 'sufferings' which they endured, though other fanciful reasons are assigned for the bestowal of the name. The tenets of these early reformers 'have been transmitted through various sects under the different denominations of Vallenses, Paulicians, Patarenes, Cathari (Puritans), Bogomili, Albigenses, Waldenses, Lollards, Bohemian Brethren or Hussites, Lutherans, Calvinists, and other Protestants to the present day.' No very lucid account of their articles of faith has been handed down to our times, and some suppose that they entertained the Manichæan doctrines of the existence of the two principles, and of the creation of the spiritual world by the good, and of matter by the evil One. Krasinski appears to favour this supposition; but it is far more probable that, with the name indiscriminately bestowed as a term of opprobrium upon all who differed from the canons of the Romish Church, they have received the credit of supporting the doctrines of the Manichæans. This much, however, is certain,—that they denied the sovereignty of the Pope, the power of the priests, the efficacy of prayers for the dead, and the existence of purgatory;[G] while they rejected all images, relics, and the worship of the saints. Whether the advent of the sect into Bosnia was from the Bulgarian or Italian side is unknown; but, be this as it may, it is beyond a doubt that they were most favourably received (in 1197) by Kulin, who was at that time Ban of the province. His wisdom was so great, and his reign so prosperous, that long after his death it was a proverbial saying in Bosnia, upon the occurrence of a fruitful year, 'the times of Kulin are come back.' Both he himself, his wife, and Daniel, Bishop of Bosnia, embraced the new doctrines, which consequently gained ground rapidly in the country.

In obedience to a summons from Pope Innocent III., Kulin repaired to Rome to give an account of his conduct and faith. Having succeeded in diverting suspicions about his orthodoxy, he returned to Bosnia, where he gave out that the Pope was well satisfied with his profession of faith,—a slight equivocation, which will hardly bear an enquiry,—and thus induced many more to join the Patarenes. Hearing of this, the Pope requested the King of Hungary to compel Kulin to eject them from the country, at the same time ordering Bernard, Archbishop of Spalatro, publicly to excommunicate Daniel, the refractory Bishop.

'Never was heard such a terrible curse.
But what gave rise
To no little surprise
Was, that nobody seemed one penny the worse;'

though possibly the believer in the validity of Papal bulls, bans, and so forth, may plead in excuse that the curse was never actually pronounced. The King also contented himself with a friendly caution to the Ban, who thenceforward demeaned himself with more circumspection. On the death of Kulin, Andrew, King of Hungary, gave the Banate of Bosnia to Zibislau, under whom the doctrines of the Patarenes continued to flourish. The fears of Pope Honorius II. being aroused, he sent Acconcio, his Legate, into Bosnia to suppress them. So far from effecting this, he saw their numbers daily and hourly increase, until in 1222 they elected a Primate of their own, who resided on the confines of Bulgaria, Croatia, and Dalmatia, and governed by his Vicars the filial congregation of Italy and France.[H] They destroyed the cathedral of Crescevo, and Bosnia became entirely subject to their influence. From that time, until the latter part of the fourteenth century, they contrived to keep a footing in the country, although subjected to much persecution by successive Popes and the Kings of Hungary, and oftentimes reduced to the greatest straits. Occasional glimpses of sunshine buoyed up their hopes, and the following anecdote, quoted by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, is illustrative of the sanguine view which they were accustomed to take of the ways of Providence. 'Many of the Patarenes had taken refuge, during the various persecutions, in the mountains of Bosnia; and on the eve of St. Catherine (November 24) in 1367, a fire was seen raging over the whole of the country they occupied, destroying everything there, and leaving the mountains entirely denuded of wood. The Roman Catholics considered this event to be a manifest judgement of heaven against the wicked heretics; but the Patarenes looked on it as a proof of divine favour, the land being thereby cleared for them and adapted for cultivation.' In 1392 the sect flourished under Tuartko (then King of Bosnia), and, further, made great progress during the first half of the following century. Their cause was openly espoused by Cosaccia, Duke of Santo Saba, or Herzegovina, and by John Paulovich Voivode of Montenegro. So far all went well; but Stephen, King of Bosnia, having in 1459 ordered all Patarenes to leave his kingdom or abjure their doctrines, their cause received a severe shock, and 40,000 were obliged to take refuge in the Herzegovina, where they were welcomed by Stephen Cosaccia. From that time no farther direct trace remains of this important and widely-spreading sect; though Krasinski speaks of the existence of a sect in Russia called 'Dookhoboitzi,' or combatants in spirit, whose doctrines have great affinity to those professed by the Patarenes, and whom he believes to have been transplanted from Bosnia to Russia, their present country.

But this triumph of Papal oppression was not destined to be of long duration. Already was the tide of Mussulman conquest threatening to overrun Germany; and Bosnia, after suffering severely from the wars between Hungary and the Turks, was conquered, and annexed by the latter in 1465. The religious constancy of the Bosnian nobles was now sorely tried, for they found themselves compelled to choose between their religion and poverty, or recantation and wealth. Their decision was soon made, and the greater portion renounced Christianity and embraced Islamism, rather than relinquish those feudal privileges, for the attainment of which they had originally deserted their national creed. Their example was ere long followed by many of the inhabitants of the towns, and thus an impassable gulf was placed between them and the great body of the people, who remained faithful to Christianity, and regarded the renegades with mistrust and abhorrence. These for the moment were benefited greatly by their apostasy, receiving permission to retain not only their own estates, but also to hold in fief those belonging to such as had refused to deny Christ. With the bitterness characteristic of renegades, they now became the most inveterate enemies of those whose faith they had abjured, oppressing them by every means within their power. The savage tyranny which they exercised would doubtless have driven very many to emigration, had a place of refuge presented itself; but in the existing condition of the surrounding countries such a course would have in no way profited them, but would rather have aggravated their misery. A few, indeed, succeeded in escaping into Hungary, but the mass submitted to their fate, and were reduced to poverty and insignificance.

The rancorous ill-treatment which they experienced at the hands of their fanatical oppressors, was without doubt increased by the fact that these found themselves a small and isolated band, all-powerful upon the immediate spot they occupied, but surrounded by states which were implacable enemies to their religion; while the remote position of these provinces, and the difficulty of communication, have combined to render the people, even now, less tolerant than the more legitimate devotees of Mahometanism. That idea of superiority over other peoples and religions, which the Mussulman faith inculcates, was eagerly embraced by them at the time of their first perversion, and conspired to make them zealots in their newly-adopted creed. The feeling was inherited, and even augmented, with each succeeding generation, until it has become the prominent feature of the race. To such an extent has this been indulged, that the Bosniac Mussulmans of the present day not only despise all other religions, but look upon the Mahommedans of other parts of the empire as very little superior to the Christians. The apathy and indifference to progress which has inevitably ensued upon the adoption of Islamism, has made its effects strikingly apparent in these provinces; and although entirely deprived of all those Seignorial rights which their ancestors possessed, the Mussulman population appear perfectly satisfied with the lazy independence procured for them by the produce and rents of the land, of which they are the sole proprietors. The Christians, on the other hand, are invariably the tenants, as it is beneath the dignity of a Mussulman to turn his hand to any kind of manual labour, i.e. so long as he can find a Christian to do it.

The Euchlemeh, or arrangement for the tenure of land, has long existed in this part of the empire, and has worked well whenever it has not been abused. The original terms of the contract provided that the proprietor should give the land and the seed for sowing it, receiving in return one-third of the produce in kind. The commission of which Kiamil Pacha was President in 1853, endeavoured, whilst regulating the taxation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to ameliorate the condition of the tenant as regards the rental of land. They decreed that he should be supplied with animals, implements, seeds, and also a house in which to live, while yielding to the proprietor in return from 25 to 50 per cent. of the products, according to the more or less prolific nature of land in the different parts of the provinces. These terms were cheerfully accepted by the agriculturalists, by whom they were considered just. The internal state of the Ottoman empire, unfortunately, renders it impossible that these conditions should in all cases be adhered to, and without doubt the tenants are often compelled to pay from 10 to 20 per cent. more than the legal rent. These instances, however, are less frequent than they were a few years ago, and very much less frequent than the depreciators of Turkey would have us to believe. The most scrupulous observance of the terms of the Euchlemeh will be enforced by the Ottoman government if it be alive to its own interests, and the more so that the infraction of it has been, and will always be, turned to account by those who would fain see rebellion and discord prevailing in the Turkish provinces, rather than unity and peace.

In 1860 no fewer than nine Servian emissaries were caught in the Herzegovina, who were endeavouring to fan the discontent and ill-feeling already existing amongst the agricultural classes. That province has indeed been for a long time employed by the advocates of Panslavism, or by the enemies of Turkey in general, as a focus of agitation, where plans are hatched and schemes devised, the object of which is to disorganise and impede the consolidation of the empire. The conduct of Servia, as well as of greater and more important nations, has been most reprehensible, and with it the forbearance of Turkey, notwithstanding the corruptness of her government and the fanaticism of the Mussulman population, has contrasted most favourably. Little wonder, then, that ill-blood should have existed between these rival factions, and that the party possessing power should have been prompted to use it for the oppression of those whom they have had too much reason to regard as their implacable foes. Yet, in spite of these opposing elements, many points of striking resemblance still remain inspired by, and indicative of, their former consanguinity of origin and identity of creed. The most important of these, perhaps, is their retention of the Slavonic tongue, which is employed to the exclusion of Turkish, almost as universally by the Mussulmans as by the Christians. Some of their customs, too, prove that a little spark of nationality yet exists, which their adoption of Islamism has failed to eradicate. Thus, for example, the principle of adopted brotherhood is eminently Slavonic in its origin. The tie is contracted in the following manner:—Two persons prick their fingers, the blood from each wound being sucked by the other. This engagement is considered very binding, and, curiously enough, it is sometimes entered into by Christians and Mussulmans mutually. Again, a man cuts the hair of a child, and thus constitutes himself the 'Coom,' or, to a certain degree, assumes the position of a godfather. It not unfrequently happens that a Mussulman adopts a Christian child, and vice versâ.

In their domestic arrangements they vie in discomfort and want of cleanliness, notwithstanding the post-prandial ablutions common to all Easterns.

The Mussulman females, up to the time of their marriage, show themselves unreservedly, and generally appear in public unveiled; while in one respect, at any rate, they have the advantage of many more civilised Christians than those of Turkey,—that they are permitted, in the matter of a husband, to choose for themselves, and are wooed in all due form. Parents there, as elsewhere, are apt to consider themselves the best judges of the position and income requisite to insure the happiness of their daughters, and where such decision is at variance with the young lady's views, elopement is resorted to. Of the amount of resistance encountered by the bridegrooms on these occasions, I regret that I am not in a position to hazard an opinion. Polygamy is almost unknown, a second wife being seldom taken during the lifetime of the first. Since it is to the expense attendant upon this luxury that such abstinence is probably to be attributed, it really reflects great credit upon the Bosnian Benedicts that the meal-sack has been so seldom brought into play,—that ancient and most expeditious Court of Probate and Divorce in matrimonial cases. After marriage, the women conceal themselves more strictly than in most other parts of Turkey. Perhaps in this the husbands act upon the homœopathic principle, that prevention is better than cure; for divorces are unheard of, and are considered most disgraceful. Marriages are contracted at a much earlier age by the Christian than by the Mahommedan women, and it is no uncommon thing to find wives of from twelve to fourteen years of age. This abominable custom is encouraged by the Roman Catholic clergy, whose revenues are thereby increased.

CHAPTER V.

Agricultural Products—Cereals—Misapplication of Soil—Tobacco—Current Prices—Vine Disease—Natural Capabilities of Land—Price of Labour—Dalmatian Scutors—Other Products—Manufactures—Commerce—Relations with Bosnia—Able Administration of Omer Pacha—Austria takes Alarm—Trade Statistics—Imports—Exports—Frontier Duties—Mal-administration—Intended Reforms.

The agricultural products of the Herzegovina are wheat, barley, rice, linseed, millet, tobacco, and grapes. Of the cereals, Indian corn is most cultivated, and forms the staple article of consumption, as is also the case in Servia and the Danubian principalities. The little wheat that is grown is found in the northern and eastern parts of the province, where the soil is better adapted for it; but nowhere is it either abundant or of good quality. The best which is sold in the towns is imported from Bosnia. Barley is more extensively grown, and horses are fed upon it here and throughout Turkey generally. Linseed is only grown in small quantities in the northern parts, while the district of Gliubinski is almost entirely devoted to the culture of rice. As the quantities produced barely suffice for home consumption, no exportation of cereals can be expected to take place. This circumstance, together with its rugged appearance, naturally procures for the province the character of being sterile and unproductive, and such it doubtless is when compared with Bulgaria, Roumelia, or the fruitful plains of Wallachia; but it has certain resources peculiar to itself, which, if properly developed, would materially change the aspect of the country, and obtain for it a more desirable reputation. It is eminently adapted for the cultivation of those articles of Eastern necessity and Western luxury, tobacco and the vine. Numerous patches of land, now either fallow or sown with grain, for which they are neither suited by their size or the nature of their soil, might be turned to good account for the growth of tobacco; and such would doubtless be the case were there an outlet for its exportation, which at present, unfortunately, does not exist. Only a sufficiency, therefore, is grown to meet the local demands, and to supply the contiguous Turkish provinces. Three qualities are produced, the prices of which have been for some time fluctuating. Previous to the Christian outbreak the best of these, grown in the district of Trebigné, sold for about 11d. per pound, while the cheapest was to be procured at 3d. per pound.

In alluding to the capabilities of the province for the production of the vine, I might also have mentioned the olive and the mulberry, both of which would thrive. Of these the vine alone, however, has as yet occupied the attention of the agriculturalists; and though it is largely cultivated in the southern and western parts, not one-tenth part of the land adapted to it is thus employed.

The same obstacle which impedes the more extensive cultivation of tobacco, is also in a measure applicable to the manufacture of wine, at least as far as regards its quality. At present quantity is far more considered, and the result is that, in place of manufacturing really valuable wines, they poison both themselves and all who have the misfortune to partake of it. It is only fair to add that one description, which I tasted at Mostar, appeared to be sound, and gave promise of becoming drinkable after some months' keeping. The vine disease, which showed itself some years back, has now disappeared; and the crops, which during six or seven seasons deteriorated to an astonishing degree, have now reassumed their former healthy appearance.

The numerous hills which intersect the province might also be covered with olive groves, and it would be of great advantage to the country could the people be induced to follow the example of their Dalmatian neighbours, who have covered almost inaccessible points of their country with that useful tree.

The climate is well adapted to the nurture of the silkworm, and the mulberry-tree flourishes luxuriantly throughout the province: were these turned to account there can be little doubt that in a few years large quantities of silk might be exported. A few of the natives have reared worms successfully for several years, and the silk thus obtained has been employed for domestic purposes. The disease, which for so many years inflicted such serious loss on the silk producers of Europe, is unknown in the Herzegovina. Whether this immunity is to be attributed to the climate, or the nature of the leaf upon which the silkworm feeds, it is impossible to say, but it is none the less a veritable fact. Cotton might also be grown to a small extent, but the same drawbacks would apply here as elsewhere in Turkey, viz. the difficulty of obtaining, and the high price of labour.

This has been rapidly increasing during the last twelve years. In 1850, a mason or carpenter received five piastres or 10d. a day, while a common labourer obtained 6d. Now the former finds no difficulty in earning 2s. per diem, while the latter receives 1s. 4d. for short days, and 1s. 6d. for long days. The shorthandedness consequent upon the Christian rising, has of course contributed to this rise in wages; but the province was at no time self-supporting in this respect. A large number of scutors or labourers from Dalmatia cross the frontier in the spring, and hire themselves out during the summer months. The decrease in the number of these was, I am told, very perceptible during the Italian war, in consequence of the demand for recruits.

The other products of the country are wool, hides, skins, honey, and wax, which are exported to Austria. Large numbers of sheep and horned cattle are, moreover, annually exported to the Dalmatian markets.

The only manufactures of which I could find specimens were coarse woollen blankets, twist, and carpets. The blankets and carpets are mostly exported to Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Servia. Besides these, a kind of cotton cloth is made in the houses by the women, from imported cotton, and is applied solely to domestic uses, and is not regarded as an article of commerce.

In considering the question of the trade of the Herzegovina, the attention should be directed, not so much to what it actually is, as to what it might be under the fostering care of an enlightened government. And yet, it is not to the producing and consuming capabilities of the province itself that its possible importance in a commercial point of view is attributable, but rather to its position on the confines of the East and West, and to the fact of its containing within its limits the natural outlets for the trade of that portion of the Ottoman empire.

It is, in fact, in its relation to Bosnia, that it is entitled to most attention; and if we deplore that such natural resources as it possesses have not been more fully developed, we have still greater reason to lament that the world is thus debarred communication with the most romantic and beautiful province of European Turkey. It is also the natural route for the commerce of a portion of Servia, whose exports and imports would thus quickly pass to and from the sea. Its value, however, appears never to have been properly appreciated by the Turkish government, and Omer Pacha, in 1852, was the first employé of that power who ever appreciated its importance in a commercial point of view. He appears to have indicated the measures necessary for developing its resources, and for attracting the trade of the neighbouring provinces from their expensive and indirect channel into their legitimate route. The prospects of the province were rapidly brightening under his sagacious administration, when Austria took alarm, and effectually impeded all farther progress by closing the only port adapted for the transmission of its mercantile resources. She thus secures for herself a monopoly of trade, forcing the inhabitants of all the Turkish provinces, in that quarter, to purchase their imports at high prices from her, and to sell their produce to Austrian merchants, who, fearing no competition, themselves determine its price. The object of Austria in thus retarding the development of Bosnia is sufficiently obvious, since that which would be a gain to Turkey would be a loss to herself. And were events so to dispose themselves as to render this probable, she would doubtless find a pretext to justify a military occupation of the country. This she has done on several occasions, and the large force now massed upon the northern bank of the Save only awaits some national demonstration to effect an armed intervention. This is, however, trenching upon another subject, to which I may have hereafter to allude.

Approximate calculations of the trade of the Herzegovina show that the imports amount annually to about 150,000l., while the exports do not produce more than 70,000l. This comparison proves that a very large amount of specie must be extracted every year from the country, for which no material counterpoise exists, since the merchandise imported is to supply the wants of the people, and does not consequently tend to enrich the province. It follows therefore, naturally, that it is becoming daily more poverty-stricken, and in place of advancing with advancing civilisation, it is stagnating or even declining in prosperity.

These imports are computed to amount to about 70,000 horse-loads in quantity, while the transit trade to Bosnia is estimated at 50,000 more. Of these about 10,000 horse-loads are of salt from Dalmatia.

The main source whence these provinces are supplied is Trieste, where large depots exist, established expressly for this purpose. Thither the traders proceed once a year, to lay in a supply of goods for the ensuing twelve months. They purchase at credits varying from six to twelve months, paying high prices for a very indifferent class of goods. These consist for the most part of cotton and woollen manufactures, cotton twist, silks, iron in bars sheets and plates, tin, lead, brass, hardware, glass, sugar, coffee, and other colonial products. Gold lace, velvet, and silks are also imported from Bosna Serai, and silks and some kinds of cotton prints from Constantinople by way of Salonica and Serajevo. Like most semi-civilised nations, the people of Herzegovina are much addicted to showy colours in their dress. Those most in favour are scarlet, green, and blue; but the dyes soon fade, and the cloth is anything but durable. It is invariably of French or German manufacture; is of coarse quality, and is worn next the skin by the country people. In the towns, grey long cloths, dyed dark blue, constitute the principal article of clothing among the Christians, the general character of dress being the same throughout the province. The exports consist of sheep's wool, hides, sheep and goats' skins, furs, and wax, to Trieste; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, tallow, and eels, to Dalmatia; woollen blankets, red and yellow leather prepared from sheep skins, carpets, tobacco, wine, and fruits, to the neighbouring Turkish provinces. Pipe-sticks are also sent from Bosna Serai, to Egypt, through the Herzegovina, while knives, manufactured at Foulcha from country-made steel, are also sent in considerable quantities to Egypt. All imports and exports pay a duty of three per cent. on their value, and until recently produce exported to the neighbouring Turkish provinces paid the unreasonable duty of ten per cent. This grievous impediment to commerce has, thanks to the efforts of the European Consuls, been abolished, and they now pay the same duty as exports to other countries.

It may be noted, as a symptom of the centralising policy which the Porte is adopting, that the government now farms the customs of these provinces, in place of selling the right of doing so to the highest bidder, as was formerly the case.

Having thus contrasted the actual with the possible condition of the province, we cannot but enquire the causes which lead thereto; and it is impossible to disguise from ourselves, that to mal-administration is primarily attributable this deplorable state of things. Add to this the total absence of all means of internal communication, and we have quite sufficient to cripple the energies of a more industrious and energetic people than those with whom we are dealing. The first object of the government, then, should be to inspire the people with confidence in its good faith, and to induce them to believe that the results of their labour will not be seized by rapacious Pachas or exorbitant landowners; and, above all things, it is necessary that Turkish subjects, even if they are not accorded greater favours in their own country than those of other powers, should at least be placed upon a footing of equality, which is far from being the case at present.

It would appear that the government is really sincere in its intention of making roads through the country generally, and when this is done a new era may be anticipated. In the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina, only one road has until very recently existed. It was made by Omer Pacha in 1851, and connects Bosna Serai with Brod, a town situated upon the southern bank of the Save. From Metcovich to Bosna Serai, which is the high road for the trade of the country, the line of route is but a path formed by the constant traffic, and, while always difficult to traverse, is in winter frequently closed altogether. It is indispensable that a central high road should be made, and no point could be more advantageously adopted as a base than the port of Klek, near which asphalte is found in large quantities.

Were a good trunk-road established, connecting that point with Bosna Serai, branch roads might soon be made throughout the province. The nature of the country is not such as would render the difficulty of doing this insuperable, and the rivers over which it would pass are already spanned by good and serviceable bridges, the relics of better days. That the expense attending it would soon be defrayed by the increased traffic is acknowledged by all, and we may therefore hope ere long to see the deficiency remedied.

CHAPTER VI.

Government—Mudirliks—Mulisarif—Cadi of Mostar—Medjlis—Its Constitution and Functions—Criminal and Commercial Tribunals—Revenue and Taxes—Virgu—Monayene-askereh—Customs—Tithes—Excise—Total Revenue—Police.

The Herzegovina is divided into fourteen districts or mudirliks, named as follows, viz.:—

These districts, with the exception of Mostar (which is the seat of the Central Provincial Government), are under the supervision of a Mudir, who is assisted by a Council, a Cadi or Judge, and a Tax-collector. The province is governed by a Mutisarif named from Constantinople, who is subject in certain things to the Pacha of Bosnia. The Mudirs are appointed by the Mutisarif, subject to the approval of the government at Constantinople.

The Cadi of Mostar is a very important personage, and has all the district Cadis under his orders. He is an unsalaried officer, his remuneration consisting of the fees of office, and whatever else he can lay hands on.

The Medjlis, or Council for the province, was selected by Kiamil Effendi, the Turkish Commissioner in 1853, and vacancies have since been filled up by the votes of the majority of their number, subject to confirmation at Constantinople.

The Medjlis consists of about ten native Mussulmans, one Roman Catholic, and one Greek, so that the Christian interests are but indifferently represented.

Appeal can be made against its decision to the Medjlis Kebir at Bosna Serai.

All legal matters are arbitrated by the Medjlis since the abolition of the various tribunals, which were founded in 1857. One of these was for the trial of criminal causes. It consisted of a President, and six members, and another was a commercial tribunal for the settlement of petty commercial disputes. These have both fallen into abeyance; and, seeing that Christian evidence is not accepted in the civil causes, it is difficult to understand how the Christian population could ever have benefited, at any rate by the latter.

Revenues and taxes.—The revenue of the province is derived from the following sources, viz.—

Virgu (income tax).

Monayene-askereh, or the tax paid by the Christians in lieu of military service. It is, however, one of the grievances alleged by the Christians, who declare their willingness to serve; but as many Mussulmans would willingly pay the tax to be exempted from the chance of enlistment, the hardship applies to all parties.

Customs, tithes, excise.

The Virgu is a species of income tax, inasmuch as it is a rate levied ostensibly on the wealth of individuals; but, instead of being a per centage on the income, it has resolved itself into a mere capitation tax, and is ill-adapted, as such a tax must always be, to the relative wealth of individuals. A certain sum was arbitrarily fixed upon to be paid by the province. The government appears to have omitted to enquire whether the wealth of the country would enable it to pay so large a sum as that demanded. In 1853, the tax was divided into three portions, according to the numbers of each persuasion, and has been thus collected ever since.

In the same sweeping manner these sums have been equally apportioned to each household, poor and rich paying alike. Thus the Mussulmans, who possess nearly all the land in the province, and who are generally in affluent circumstances, but who form the smallest portion of the population, pay least. The Virgu has been unscrupulously levied, and has given rise to much discontent, more especially among the Latins, who are the poorest classes.

These complain bitterly, and harrowing stories are told of women, about to become mothers, being compelled to pay the tax on the chance of the infant being a male. Such things may have occurred some years ago, but the spirit of cruelty appears to have died out, or is at all events kept in the background by the Moslems of the present day.

The Monayene-askereh was first imposed when the people were relieved from the Haradj. It is levied on males from fourteen to seventy, and was found so grievous, that the Porte has seen fit to direct that only about one-half of the original amount shall be raised. This alleviation has existed during the last three years.

Customs.—These consist of a duty of three per cent. ad valorem on all imports and exports to and from foreign countries, as well as the same amount demanded under the form of transit dues for goods passing from one Turkish province to another. This has lately been reduced from 12 per cent. to its present rate.

The next source of revenue is the amount realised by the tithes. Since 1858 these have been farmed by the government, but previous to that year they were sold by auction, as in other provinces, to the highest bidder. The arrangement was complicated enough, for they underwent no less than four sales: 1st. In each district for the amount of the district. 2nd. At Mostar, where each district was again put up, and given to the person offering 10 per cent. above the price realised at the first sale. 3rd. At Bosna Serai for the entire province. And lastly at Constantinople,—the highest bidder in this fourfold sale becoming the farmer. This system exposed the tithe payers to much oppression, for it not uncommonly happened that the farmer found he had paid more for his purchase than he could legally claim from the people, so that, instead of 10 per cent., 15 or 20 per cent. could alone remunerate him; and this he found no difficulty in getting, as the government unfortunately bound itself to help him. None but the farmers of the tithes really knew what the produce was, so that any demand of theirs was considered by the government to be a bonâ fide claim, and was upheld.

The government was frequently cheated, and, further, defrauded of large sums of money, as in the case of Hadji Ali Pacha; but it is a question whether so much will be realised by the present system, since greater facilities exist for roguery on the part of the agriculturalists, to say nothing of the corruptness of its own officials.

The excise consists of a per centage on the sale of wine, spirits, shot, lead, earthenware, snuff, tobacco, and salt; of tolls on produce brought into the towns for sale; of fees for permission to distil, to roast and grind coffee, and to be a public weigher; also of a tax on taking animals to the grazing grounds,[J] and of licenses to fish for eels and leeches: these are caught plentifully in the plain of Gabella when flooded, and are of good quality.

Revenue.—The taxes of the province produce annually about 9,135,000 piastres, taking the piastre at 2d. English.

This sum may be divided as follows: viz.—

The above shows that the province yields to the imperial treasury a yearly sum of about 79,000l. sterling, from a taxation of about 8s. per head on the population. The amount may appear small; but when it is considered that the taxes are not equitably levied, that the heaviest share falls upon the poorest inhabitants, and that a great part of the amount is in direct taxation, it cannot be considered light. The burden, too, weighs with undue severity upon the faithful subjects of the Porte, since they are compelled to pay the share which would fall upon those who have rebelled against the Turkish authority.

There is one branch of the public administration which eminently requires readjustment. This is the police force. Ill-paid and badly organised, it follows as a matter of course that it is inefficient to perform the duties required of it. It is divided into horse and foot, and is paid as follows per month:—

The Zaptiehs have frequently duties to perform which should only be intrusted to men of honesty and sagacity, and it is consequently of great importance to render the service attractive to trustworthy men. To effect this the pay, more especially in the lower grades, should be increased, and circumspection used in the selection of recruits. At present this is far from being the case, many men of notoriously bad character being employed, and these are driven to peculation and theft for the means of supporting life. The mounted portion find their own horses and forage, is very dear in many parts of the province.

CHAPTER VII.

Omer Pacha—Survey of Montenegro—Mostar—Bazaars—Mosques—Schools—Old Tower—Escape of Prisoners—Roman Bridge—Capture by Venetians—Turkish Officers—Pacha's Palace—European Consulates—Clock-Tower—Emperor's Day—Warlike Preparations—Christian Volunteers—Orders to March.

During the week which intervened between my arrival and the removal of head-quarters to the seat of war, I had several interviews with Omer Pacha. On these occasions he showed much kindness of disposition, and took great trouble to explain to me the arrangements which he made for the prosecution of the war against Montenegro in 1852, and to describe the nature of campaigning in that province.

He expressed himself much pleased with a map of Montenegro which I had presented to him, drawn by Major Cox, R.E., British Commissioner for determining the new boundary line, but detected the absence of one or two traversable paths, the existence of which I found to be correct when I subsequently accompanied the army to those districts. The map, however, I may observe, is very superior, both in accuracy and minuteness of detail, to any other survey which has as yet appeared.

While awaiting the departure of the Generalissimo for the seat of war, to which he had kindly invited me to accompany him, I employed myself in wandering about those crooked byways, and studying the many phases of Turco-European humanity. That my impressions of the town were very favourable, I am not prepared to state; but I believe that in point of cleanliness it is superior to many. It is situated on both banks of the Narenta, in a gorge which opens out into two small plains, at its N. and S. extremities. The eastern and larger part is built on an acclivity, and contains the bazaar, government offices, and the houses of the traders and the richer inhabitants. The western part is occupied by the poorer classes, who are for the most part Catholics, and are employed in agricultural pursuits. The gardens, which supply the town with vegetables, are upon this side, and the soil is more fruitful, though marshy and feverish. On the eastern side it is healthy, sandy, and dry. The dwelling-houses are generally small and comfortless, indifferently built, and roofed with stone. As in India, they are always surrounded with a compound—for it cannot be called garden—which gives the town a rambling and extended appearance.

The shops are small and ill-supplied, and the streets narrow and tortuous, except the two main ones, which are tolerably broad, and run parallel to each other in a nearly straight course N. and S. They have raised footpaths, roughly constructed, and swarming with animal life, as is to be expected in the luxurious East. There are no fewer than thirty mosques in the town, whose minarets give it a beautiful and picturesque appearance, albeit that the buildings themselves are imperfect, and ungainly in architectural detail. The Mussulmans have a school in the town, where Turkish and Slavish are taught. Girls are, however, debarred this advantage, and indeed no institution of any kind exists throughout the province for their training or instruction. The result is that the female population is, if possible, in a lower state of degradation than the male. The religious and secular education of the Christians is as little considered as that of the Mussulmans. Thus the only place of worship which the Greeks possess is a small chapel on the outskirts, to which is attached a school for boys, which is attended by about two hundred children. Since Omer Pacha's arrival during the past year, a peal of bells has been placed in this chapel. The superstition which prevails amongst Turks, 'that bells drive away good spirits from the abodes of men,' renders this concession the more grateful, and it is only another proof that the Mussulmans of the present day are not so intolerant as they are represented. No restrictions, indeed, are placed upon religious ceremonies or public processions of any kind. With regard to church bells, I may add that their use has always been considered tantamount to a recognition of Christianity as the established religion of the place. In some towns, where Christians predominated, the concession had been made long before their introduction at Mostar.

The Roman Catholics have no church in Mostar. Service is performed at the Austrian Consulate, and also at a convent, about two miles distant, where the Bishop of Mostar resides. This circumstance has led to the concentration of the Catholic community in that neighbourhood. The Catholic school for boys adjoins the convent; it is, however, thinly attended, and but indifferently conducted.

The British Consulate being closed in consequence of the absence of the Vice-Consul, M. Zohrab, who was acting as temporary Consul at Bosna Serai, I took up my abode at a khan overlooking the river. The situation was pretty, and the house newly restored; but this did not deprive it of some relics of animal life, which somewhat disturb the equanimity of the new comer, but which he soon learns to regard with indifference. Descending the stairs, and passing through the stable, which is, as is usually the case, immediately beneath the lodging rooms, we must turn sharply to the right; and, after clambering up some rough and broken steps, we arrive at the main street, which runs for about a mile through the centre of the town, varied only by arched gateways placed at intervals along its course. Against the first of these a Turkish sentry indolently leans, if he be not seated on the kerbstone at the corner. Passing through this we come to a second gate, where the peaceful traveller, unconscious of offence, is angrily accosted. The meaning of all this is that he is requested to throw away and stamp upon his cigarette, the old tower on the left being used as a magazine. Round it a weak attempt at a place d'armes is apparent, Omer Pacha having ordered some of the neighbouring houses to be pulled down. Nor was this done before it was necessary, a fire having broken out a short time before in its vicinity. On that occasion the inhabitants destroyed a few houses, and imagined the fire to be extinguished. The wind rose, and it broke out again, taking the direction of the magazine. Upon this, the whole population took to the country, and the prisoners, who were located close by, escaped in the general confusion. Had it not been providentially extinguished, the place of Mostar would have known it no more. The prison is a plain white house, which does not look at all as if it had ever been the sort of place to have long defied the ingenuity of a Jack Sheppard, or even an accomplished London house-breaker of our own day.

The tower to which allusion has been made is built on the eastern side, and immediately above the beautiful bridge which spans the Narenta, and for which Mostar[K] has ever been famous. The Turks attribute its erection to Suleyman the Magnificent, but it was probably built by the Emperor Trajan or Adrian, since the very name of the town would imply the existence of a bridge in very early days. The Turkish inscriptions, which may be traced upon the abutments at the E. end of the bridge, probably refer to some subsequent repairs. At any rate too much reliance must not be placed in them, as the Turks have been frequently convicted of removing Roman inscriptions and substituting Turkish ones in their place. The beauty of the bridge itself is heightened by the glimpse to be obtained of the mosques and minarets of Mostar, washed by the turbid waters of the Narenta, and backed by the rugged hills which hem it in. 'It is of a single arch, 95 ft. 3 in. in span, and when the Narenta is low, about 70 feet from the water, or, to the top of the parapet, 76 feet.'[L]

There is a second tower at the extremity of the bridge on the left bank, which is said to be of more modern construction.

Mostar is not a fortified city, nor is it important in a strategical point of view. The only traces of defensive works which exist are portions of a crenellated wall of insignificant construction. This accounts for the ease with which the Venetians were enabled to take possession of and burn its suburbs by a sudden raid in 1717. 'The town was built,' says Luccari, 'in 1440, by Radigost, Major-Domo of Stefano Cosaccia;' but in asserting this, he overlooks the existence of the Roman road to Trebigné, which is very superior to anything built by either Slaves or Turks, and places its Roman origin beyond a doubt. Some suppose it to be the ancient Sarsenterum. That it was selected by the Turks as the capital of the province immediately after the conquest, and considerably enlarged, appears very probable, and the towers which flank the bridge were probably built at that period or a little earlier, though the eastern one is said to be raised upon a Roman basement.

Continuing our ramble we pass through another gate, and come to an uncomfortable looking hill. We have not to mount far, however, before we approach an archway, with two sentries, rather more alert than the others whom we have seen. Officers are passing backwards and forwards, looking fussy and important, as Turks always do when they get rid of their habitual apathy. In their small waisted coats à la Française, surmounted by the inevitable fez, they present a strange combination of the Eastern and Western soldier.

The house in the interior of the court-yard is the palace, usually occupied by the Mulisarif, but devoted, during his stay in these parts, to Omer Pacha, the Serdar Ekrem and Rumili Valessi, or Governor-General of European Turkey. In the vicinity of the palace may be seen the flagstaffs of the Prussian and Austrian Consulates, while that of Great Britain appears at no great distance, and in the rear of the clock-tower, which distinguishes Mostar from most other Turkish towns. Let us now return to the main street, which continues in unbroken monotony for something less than half a mile. If gifted with sufficient patience to continue our stroll out of the town, we come upon the principal burial-ground. On the E. high hills hem us in, while the tiny stream of the Narenta comes winding from the N.

During my stay at Mostar the town was enlivened by the occurrence of the Emperor Alexander's birthday, or the 'Emperor's day,' as it is called. In celebration of this auspicious event, the Russian Consul kept open house, everyone who could muster decent apparel being admitted. After the ceremony of blessing the Muscovite flag had been performed by the Greek Bishop, a select few sat down to a kind of breakfast, which did credit to the hospitality of his Imperial Majesty's representative. Thither I accompanied Omer Pacha, who was attended by a small suite. This was the only occasion on which I ever observed anything like display in the Turkish General. His gold-embroidered dress resembled that of a Marshal of France; his breast was literally covered with decorations, in the centre of which was the Grand Cross of the Bath, and he carried a magnificently-jewelled sword, the gift of the late Sultan, Abdul Medjid. He did not, however, remain long, and on emerging I could not help contrasting the festivities within with the signs of warlike preparation which jostled one at every turn, the first fruits, in great measure, of Russian imperial policy. Strings of ponies laden with forage, and provisions for the army on the frontier, passed continuously, and the streets presented a more than usually gay and variegated appearance. Omer Pacha was throughout indefatigable. Detachments of irregulars arrived daily, some of which were immediately pushed up to the scene of operations; others were retained at Mostar; but whether they went, or stayed behind, he inspected them alike, and was always received with marked enthusiasm. I must not omit to mention that amongst these reinforcements was a body of 1,000 Christians, who, however, were never sent to the frontier. Fine fellows they were, all armed with rifles of native construction. These arms of precision are mostly made in Bosnia, where there are two or three establishments for that purpose.

Thus the days wore on; and, having provided myself with horses, and such few things as are deemed indispensable for campaigning, I was delighted to receive a message from the Generalissimo, on the night of the 13th, intimating his intention of leaving Mostar at 8 (à la Franca) on the following morning.

But before I enter upon my personal experiences in the camp of the Osmanlis, I would fain give some account of the previous history of this agitated province; passing in brief review those causes which combined to foster a revolutionary spirit in the country, and dwelling more especially on the events of the last four years, during which that spirit has so culminated as to convince even the Porte of the necessity which exists for the immediate employment of coercive measures.

CHAPTER VIII.

Bosnia—Turkish Invasion—Tuartko II. and Ostoya Christich—Cruel Death of Stephen Thomasovich—His Tomb—Queen Cattarina—Duchy of Santo Saba becomes a Roman Province—Despotism of Bosnian Kapetans—Janissaries—Fall of Sultan Selim and Bairaktar—Mahmoud—Jelaludin Pacha—Expedition against Montenegro—Death of Jelaludin—Ali Pacha—Revolted Provinces reconquered—Successes of Ibrahim Pacha—Destruction of Janissaries—Regular Troops organised—Hadji Mustapha—Abdurahim—Proclamation—Fall of Serayevo—Fresh rising—Serayevo taken by Rebels—Scodra Pacha—Peace of Adrianople—Hussein Kapetan—Outbreak of Rebellion—Cruelty of Grand Vizier—Ali Aga of Stolatz—Kara Mahmoud—Serayevo taken—War with Montenegro—Amnesty granted.

The history of Bosnia under the Roman empire is possessed of too little interest to call for any particular observation; but, considered as one of the most fertile and beautiful of the European provinces, overrun by the Moslem armies, it is well entitled to the mature consideration of all who take an interest in the important question now at issue, to wit, the fusion of the Eastern and Western worlds.

The immediate cause of the invasion of Bosnia by the Turks, was the dispute between Tuartko II. and Ostoya Christich for the throne of that country. The former called the Turks to his assistance; Ostoya, the Hungarians. A war between these two nations was the consequence, and the Turks gained considerable footing in Bosnia about 1415. Ostoya and Tuartko being both dead, Stephen Thomas Christich was elected King, and was obliged to promise an annual tribute of 25,000 ducats to Sultan Amurath II., thirteen years after which he was murdered by his illegitimate son, Stephen Thomasovich, who was crowned by a Papal legate in 1461, and submitted to the Turks. But having refused to pay the tribute due to the Porte, he was seized and flayed alive, by order of Sultan Mahomet, and at his death the kingdom of Bosnia was completely over-thrown.[M]

Previous to this, the Turks had frequently menaced the Bosnian kingdom, but it was not until June 14, 1463, that they actually invaded the country, to reduce Stephen to obedience. In vain did Mathias, King of Hungary, endeavour to stem the advancing torrent. The Turks carried all before them, until they besieged and took Yanitza, the then capital of the province, and with it the King and the entire garrison. Nor was this effected in fair fight, but through the treachery of Stephen's first minister, who opened the gates of the fortress by night, and so admitted the Turkish soldiers.

With more generosity than was usually shown by these Eastern barbarians, Mahomet agreed to leave the King in possession of his throne on condition of his paying an annual tax to the Porte. The payment of this, as I have said, was evaded by his successor, although the old national manuscripts do not even allow this apology for the barbarous treatment which he experienced at the hands of the Turks. These affirm that the King and all his troops, as well as the townspeople, were invited by Mahomet to hear the official ratification of the agreement. But, at a given signal, the Turkish soldiers, who had been in concealment, fell upon the helpless assemblage, and massacred them in cold blood, shutting up the King Stephen in a cage, where he subsequently died of despair; and thus ended the Bosnian kingdom. That his position was sufficiently hopeless to bring about this calamitous result, can scarcely be doubted; but unfortunately the tomb of Stephen still exists, which proves tolerably conclusively that his death was of a more speedy, if not of a more cruel, nature. An inscription is upon it to the effect, 'Here lies Stephen, King of Bosnia, without his kingdom, throne, and sceptre, and without his skin.' Of all the family of the unfortunate monarch, the only one who escaped was his Queen, Cattarina, who fled to Rome, where she lies buried in the Chapel of Santa Helena.

After the death of Stephen Thomasovich the Turks destroyed Michiaz. The nobles, driven from their estates, fled to Ragusa; and Stephen, 'Herzog' or Duke of Santo Saba, seeing that Turkish garrisons had occupied Popovo, Rogatiza, Triburio, Tzeruitza, and Kerka, became so alarmed, that he offered to pay increased tribute; when, his ministers refusing to consent to this arrangement, he was obliged to send to Ragusa for his eldest son Stephen, and give him up as a hostage to the Porte: he having afterwards abjured Christianity, received the name of Ahmet, married a daughter of Bajazet II., and was made a Vizier. The Kingdom of Bosnia and the Duchy of Santo Saba from that time became provinces of Turkey, the latter under the name of Herzegovina, which it still retains, and which it had received from the title of 'Herzog' or Duke, given by Tuartko to its first Governor.

The apostasy of the Bosnian nobles which occurred shortly after the Turkish conquest, may be regarded as the only event of importance which has since marked the history of these provinces. The deteriorating effects which have ever followed the adoption of Islamism are here conspicuously apparent; for in proportion as the country has sunk into insignificance, so the moral state of the people has fallen to a lower standard. Nor is this so much to be attributed to any particular vices inculcated by the Mahomedan creed, as to the necessary division of religious and political interests, and the undue monopoly of power by a small proportion of the inhabitants. That this power has been used without mercy or consideration must be acknowledged; but be it remembered that

'Their tyrants then
Were still at least their countrymen,'

and that the iniquities perpetrated by the renegade Beys cannot be with justice laid to the charge of their Osmanli conquerors. It would, indeed, be strange had four hundred years of tyranny passed over this miserable land, without leaving a blight upon its children which no time will ever suffice to efface.

As years wore on, other and more important conquests absorbed the attention of the Mussulman rulers, and the rich pasture-lands of Bosnia, and the sterile rocks of Herzegovina, were alike left the undisputed property of the apostate natives of the soil. Thence arose a system of feudal bondage, to a certain extent akin to that recently existing in Russia, but unequalled in the annals of the world for the spirit of intolerance with which it was carried out. Countless are the tales of cruelty and savage wrong with which the old manuscripts of the country abound, and these are the more revolting, as perpetrated upon those of kindred origin, religion, and descent. The spirit of independence engendered by this system of feudality and unresisted oppression could only lead to one result—viz. the increase of local at the expense of the central authority. The increasing debility of the paternal government tended to strengthen the power of the provincial Magnates; and the Beys, the Spahis, and the Timariots, stars of lesser magnitude in their way, could not but be expected to adhere to the cause of the all-powerful Kapetans rather than to the transient power of a Vizier appointed by the Porte.

This last-named official, whose appointment was then, as now, acquired by successful intrigue or undisguised bribery, was never certain of long tenure of office, and invariably endeavoured by all the means in his power to remunerate himself while the opportunity should last.

The disregard entertained for life in those times, and the indifference manifested by the Ottoman government for this portion of the empire, often rendered it the safer policy for the Vizier to make common cause with the recusant Kapetans, who were too powerful to be subdued by force, and too wily to be entrapped by treachery or fraud.

But another and more self-subsistent power had taken deep root throughout the Ottoman dominions, and nowhere more than in those provinces which lie between the Save and the Adriatic. 'In Egypt,' says Ranke, 'there was the power of the Mameluke Beys revived immediately after the departure of the French; there was the protectorate of the Dere Beys in Asia Minor; the hereditary authority of the Albanian chieftains, the dignity of the Ayans in the principal towns, besides many other immunities—all of which seemed to find a bond of union and a centre in the powerful order of the Janissaries.' Of all the provinces of the empire Bosnia was perhaps the most deeply imbued with the spirit of this faction, the last memento of that ancient chivalry which had carried fire and sword over a great part of civilised Europe.

But to that same spirit of turbulent independence, the very germ of existence of the Janissaries, and so predominant among the natives of Bosnia, may in a great measure be attributed the successes of the Turkish arms in Europe in the campaign of 1828, an era fraught with danger to the whole Ottoman empire, dangers which the newly-organised battalions of the imperial army would have been unable to overcome but for the aid of the wild horsemen of the West. That the same spirit exists as did in bygone times I do not say; but whatever does yet remain of chivalrous endurance or reckless daring is to be found among the Mussulman, and not amongst the Christian, population.

Towards the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century, affairs assumed so critical an aspect that it became incumbent upon the central government to adopt some coercive measure. Sultan Selim was the first who endeavoured to suppress these turbulent spirits. He was unequal to the task, and fell a victim to their revengeful displeasure. 'Bairaktar, the hero of those times,' was equally unsuccessful, and the imperial authority bid fair to perish from the land; but in those days there arose one who, like our own Cromwell, moulded circumstances to his will, resolute of purpose, fearing and sparing none. But if Mahmoud was stern and inexorable to rebels, he is entitled to more praise than is usually accorded him, for the steadfastness of purpose with which he applied himself to the restoration of system and order, in the place of the chaos which he had himself brought about. And let us not omit to mention the dignified courage with which he prepared to meet the calamities which now crowded thick upon him. With the mere nucleus of a semi-organised army he held out for two years, both in Europe and Asia, without one ally, against the herculean efforts of Russia to overthrow his kingdom.

There are not wanting those who, besides stigmatising him as deceitful and cruel, cast in his teeth that he failed to carry out the schemes of reform, which they consider to have been visionary and unmeaning. But these, while commenting on what he left undone, forget how much he did, and how little aid he received from without. Well would it be for Turkey this day had either of his sons inherited the vigour, the perseverance, or even the honesty of old Mahmoud.

Since the accession of Mahmoud to the throne, Bosnia and Herzegovina have been the seat of perpetual, though intermittent, warfare. Short time did he allow to elapse before he gave unmistakable signs of his determination to effect a radical change in the state of these provinces. With this view he sent as Vizier Jelaludin Pacha thither, with orders to punish with extreme severity all who should show any signs of discontent. This man, who is said to have belonged to the sect of Bektashi, an order of Mahomedan monks, did not live like other Pachas. He neither kept a harem nor a court, and devoted himself exclusively to fulfilling the duties of his mission. To do this more effectually, he used to go about in disguise, visiting even the Christian places of worship, and thus obtaining a real knowledge of the feelings and wishes of the people. Now as he practised incorruptible, inexorable justice, his rule was as popular among the Rayahs as it was odious to the Bosnian nobles, against whose independence all his laws and measures were directed.

Having taken Mostar and Trebinitza by storm, he at length succeeded in subduing the whole country. Although nominally recalled, in deference to a petition preferred by the nobles of Bosnia, Jelaludin was in reality advanced to a more exalted position of confidence. To him was intrusted the conduct of an expedition against Montenegro, which failed; and little more is heard about him until 1821, when he died, as some think, by poison administered by his own hand.

In conformity with a preconceived plan of operations, an expedition was sent in 1820 against Ali Pacha, the most powerful of those who had ventured to throw off the Ottoman rule.

The operations were successful both by sea and land, and at first all appeared to be progressing satisfactorily. But the extraordinary fertility of resource which characterised the old man, saved him once more; and while the Suliots in his pay overran Epirus in 1821, he succeeded in rousing the whole Greek population to revolt. Although he himself fell during the outbreak, the disastrous results which he had succeeded in effecting lived long after him, not only in Greece, but in Bulgaria, Bosnia, and other parts of the Turkish empire.

The death of Jelaludin, and the revolutionary movement which had spread throughout the empire, led to the restoration of the old state of things in Bosnia. The powerful nobles once more resumed their sway, and the few supporters of the Sultan were compelled to fly the country.

The reconquest by the Porte of the revolted countries, and the mighty change which the iron hand of Mahmoud effected in the internal condition and administration of all parts of his empire, cannot be more forcibly described than in the words of Ranke. He says: 'We must recollect that the Sultan succeeded in extinguishing all these rebellions, one after another, as soon as he had put down the most formidable. We will not enquire by what means this was effected: enough to say, that he at last re-established his authority on the Danube, as in Epirus. Even the Morea seemed doomed to a renewal of the Moslem sway. Ibrahim Pacha landed there with the troops from Egypt in 1825. He annihilated rather than subjugated its population, and changed the country, as he himself said, into a desert waste; but at least he took possession of it, step by step, and everywhere set up the standard of the Sultan.'

Having been so far successful, the Sultan adopted a more comprehensive plan.

Mahomed Ali's successful enterprises served as his model from the first. Mahomed Ali led the way in Egypt by the annihilation of ancient privileges, and it was not until he had succeeded that Mahmoud resolved to pursue a similar course.

'A fearful rivalry in despotism and destruction then began between the two. They might be compared to the reapers in Homer, cutting down the corn in all directions. But the vassal had been long engaged in a process of innovation. In spite of the opposition of his Janissaries, he had accomplished his purpose of establishing regular regiments, clothed and disciplined after the European system.' The fact that it was these troops which, after so many fruitless attempts, at last conquered Greece, made a profound impression on the Sultan. He reverted to the ideas of Selim and Bairaktar, and the establishment of regular troops seemed to him the only salvation of his empire. Therefore, on May 28, 1826, in a solemn sitting of his Council of State, at which the Commissioner who had lately been in Ibrahim's camp was present, was pronounced the 'fetwah,' that, 'In order to defend God's word and counteract the superiority of the unbelievers, the Moslems, too, would submit to subordination, and learn military manœuvres.' The subversion of ancient privileges, then, was the fundamental basis upon which his reforms rested, and to this the destruction of the Janissaries put the finishing touch.

If Mahmoud found difficulty in carrying out his plans at Stamboul, how much more hard must they have been to accomplish in the provinces; and of these, as I have before said, Bosnia was the most strongly imbued with a spirit of independent feudalism.

In Bosnia, therefore, as was anticipated, the greatest resistance to the innovation was experienced.

Upon the death of Jelaludin, Hadji Mustapha had been appointed Vizier, a man of small capacity, and little suited to those stormy times.

He, and the six commissioners who had been sent with him from Constantinople, were driven out, and compelled to take refuge in Servia, whence they returned to Constantinople.

Again the dominion of the Sultan in these provinces appeared to hang upon a slender thread; and indeed it was only saved by the sagacity of a single man.

Upon the ejection of Hadji Mustapha, Abdurahim, the Pacha of Belgrade, was appointed Vizier of Bosnia. Gifted with great penetration and ability for intrigue, he contrived to win over many of the native chieftains, while he worked upon the jealousy entertained by the Prince of Servia for the Bosnian nobles, and thus succeeded in raising a small army, with which he took the initiative in hostilities. Ranke tells us: 'He was fortunate enough to secure the assistance of the Kapetan Vidaitch of Svornik. Svornik is regarded as the key of Bosnia. It seems that the Agas of Serayevo had already conceived some suspicion of Vidaitch, for they were themselves about to take possession of the place. But Abdurahim anticipated them, and Vidaitch admitted him into the fortress.'

A paramount advantage was gained by this. Abdurahim now felt strong enough to speak in a decisive tone in the Bujurdi, in which he announced his arrival.

'I send you from afar,' he therein said, 'O Mahomedans of Bosnia, the greeting of the faith, and of brotherly union. I will not call to mind your folly: I come to open your eyes to the light. I bring you the most sacred commands of our most mighty Sultan, and expect you will obey them. In that case I have power to forgive you all your errors; choose now for yourselves. It rests with you to save or to lose your lives. Reflect maturely, that you may have no cause to repent.'

This proclamation, which may be regarded as a model of terseness and expressive earnestness, had a wonderful effect. Still Serayevo was not gained without a struggle, confined however principally to the citizens within its walls.

Upon gaining possession of the town, the new Vizier carried out to the letter the judgements which he had pronounced against the contumacious. All who were taken in arms were put to death without mercy, and it was not until he had taken a bloody vengeance on his enemies that he consented to make a triumphal entry into Serayevo.

During the feudal times, when the Sultan's authority was more nominal, the Vizier was only permitted to remain a few hours in the capital, whence he returned to his palace at Travnik; but Abdurahim deemed it necessary to establish the seat of government in that very town, which had ever been the focus of feudality and rebellion.

'Thus there was once more a master in Bosnia. No one ventured now to mention the Janissaries. The uniforms arrived; the Kapetans were obedient, and put them on. The whole land submitted to the new regulations.'

Notwithstanding the high pressure system adopted by the Sultan, the spirit of rebellion was still rife, and it manifested itself on the first opportunity that occurred.

The Machiavellian policy of endeavouring to hold both the Servians and Bosnians in check, by pitting the one against the other, was of doubtful expediency; and, as the event proved, tended materially to weaken the imperial cause by depriving it of the aid of the Bosnian irregulars, who had acquired a name for reckless daring second to none. The outbreak of the Russian war was the signal for another attempt to obtain the independence of which Abdurahim had robbed them. At this juncture, too, they displayed the mixture of violence and cunning, so essentially the character of barbarous nations.

From every castle and town, the troops marched to the Eagle's Field, Orlovopolie, close by Bielina, their appointed rendezvous. The Vizier intended soon to repair thither with forces from Serayevo. Whilst preparing to do so, it happened that the people of Visoko, an unimportant place about six German miles from Serayevo, arrived before that capital, instead of marching direct to Orlovopolie, as they should have done. The Vizier sent out his Kiaia, and some of the principal inhabitants of the city, to call them to account for the unauthorised change in their line of march. A Kapidji Bashi, who had just arrived from Constantinople, accompanied the mission, and gave it still more importance; but it was unquestionably a concerted scheme amongst the leading men of Visoko and Serayevo. Thousands of inhabitants had already gone, many no doubt from mere curiosity—for it was Friday, a day on which the Turks do not work—but others with a distinct purpose. When the mission angrily demanded that the force should march off forthwith to the appointed place, some poor inhabitants of Visoko stepped out of the ranks and declared that, without money, they were not in a position to proceed a step farther; that even only to equip themselves, and march as far as they had already arrived, some of them had been obliged to sell their children. The Kapidji Bashi and the Kiaia thought that such language was not to be borne. Without hesitation, therefore, in accordance with the principles of Turkish justice, they ordered their followers to seize the speakers, to take them away, and behead them. The order, however, was not so easy of execution. 'Help, true believers in the Prophet!' exclaimed the men; 'help, and rescue us.' All seized their weapons, the comrades of the prisoners as well as the inhabitants of Serayevo, who were privy to the scheme, and those who were hurried along by their example. The Kapidji Bashi and the Kiaia had not time to mount their horses, but were obliged to run to the city on foot, with bullets whistling after them. The furious armed multitude arrived there with them. The Vizier's force, about two thousand strong, attempted for a while to stem the torrent. They tried to stand their ground wherever they found a position, such as a bridge, a mosque, or a house, but were far too weak to maintain it. Only a small number had time to retire into the fortress, where the Vizier was, and thence they fired with the few cannon they had on the lower town. But the Bosnians, with their small arms, did far more execution, singling out their enemies, and bringing them down with sure aim. The fighting continued for three days. At last Abdurahim found himself compelled to think of his own safety. The Bosnians, who found themselves victorious, would gladly have refused him leave to retire; but the older and more experienced among them, satisfied with the success they had obtained, persuaded the young people to let him go. On the fourth day, a Thursday in July 1828, Abdurahim marched away. He took the road to Orlovopolie, being allowed to take with him the cannons he had brought. There, however, he found that the spirit of disaffection had gained such head, that nearly all the soldiers, whom he had expected to find, had dispersed and gone to their homes. He thereupon repaired to Travnik, and was shortly afterwards replaced by another Vizier of milder temper.

The state of the empire now appeared more settled, both in its domestic and foreign relations, the peace of Adrianople having at any rate saved the capital from fear of an attack. What success the Sultan might have had in his endeavours to consolidate his rule in Bosnia, we are unable to judge; since he found an antagonist to every species of reform in Mustapha Pacha of Scutari, commonly known as Scodra Pacha, the most mischievous, as well as the most powerful, of all the provincial magnates since the fall of Ali Pacha. Young, warlike, and of good descent, he constituted himself the champion of hereditary privileges, and as such virtually threw down the gauntlet to his imperial master. Open rebellion, however, was not the plan which he proposed to himself by which to attain the object dearest to his heart—the re-embodiment of the Janissaries, and the establishment of the old order of things. To this end he consented, in 1823, to make a demonstration against the Greek rebels, but took very good care not to render too much service to the cause which he espoused. Thus, too, when he marched in the autumn of 1828 to the vicinity of the Danube, at the head of an army of 25,000 irregulars, it was not with the intention of attacking the Russians, but rather under the expectation that the necessities of the Sultan would afford him an opportunity of procuring the re-establishment of those 'Prætorian guards of Turkey.' The arrogant pretensions of Scodra Pacha were very strongly exemplified in the attitude which he assumed at the close of the campaign of 1829. Having in the first instance shown much dilatoriness in entering the field, he remained inactive near Widdin during the latter part of 1828 and the commencement of 1829, when, by operating in the rear of the Russians, he might have been most useful to the Turkish Seraskier. The treaty of peace, however, had been signed, and forwarded for ratification to Russia, when Scodra Pacha suddenly electrified both parties by objecting to its terms, and announcing his intention of continuing the war. He even marched to Philippopolis, whence he sent a message that he would arrive at Adrianople within eight days. This naturally caused Marshal Diebitsch some anxiety, since he was unaware of the Pacha's real policy, and believed him to be sincere in his protestations of vengeance against the invaders. A hasty summons was therefore sent to General Geismar, who consequently crossed the Danube at Rachova; and having turned, and subsequently forced, the Pass of Anatcha in the Balkans, easily defeated the Pacha, who made but small resistance. This and the approach of General Kisselef from Schumla put a finishing stroke to hostilities, and Scodra returned home to brood over the ill-success of his undertaking, and plan farther means of working mischief to the hated Mahmoud.

The opportunity soon presented itself. Having succeeded in ridding himself of some of the Albanian leaders, the Sultan applied himself with vigour to the subjection of those in Bosnia who were adverse to his rule. In 1830 he sent uniforms to Travnik, which the Vizier immediately donned. This kindled the spark, and in the beginning of 1831 several thousand insurgents, under the command of Hussein Kapetan, the 'Sonai od Bosna,' or Dragon of Bosnia, attacked him in his fortress, and made him prisoner. So great was the abhorrence professed for the adoption of Christian clothing, that the unfortunate Vizier was compelled to perform solemn ablutions and to recite Moslem prayers, in order to purify himself from contamination. The standard of rebellion was now fairly unfurled, and within a few weeks a force of 25,000 men had collected. At the same time Mustapha Pacha, with 40,000 Albanians and others, made his appearance on the scene of action. Without delay an advance was made en potence, and it was confidently anticipated that Stamboul would fall before the insurgent arms. But the Sultan possessed both a cunning and able lieutenant in the Grand Vizier Redschid. This functionary contrived to dispense bribes so judiciously among the inferior Albanian chieftains, that they deserted en masse to the Turks, and thus rendered it imperative on Mustapha to take refuge in his fortress at Scutari. This he did in the anticipation of speedy relief by Hussein Kapetan and the Bosnians, who, despite the dissuasion of the Servian Prince Milosch, had already marched to the rescue. Hussein's answer to Milosch, as given by Ranke, is very characteristic of the man: 'Take heed to thyself,' he said; 'thou hast but little food before thee: I have overturned thy bowl. I will have nothing to do with a Sultan with whom thou canst intercede for me; I am ready to meet thee, always and anywhere; my sword had smitten before thine was forged.' More modest and unpresuming was the burden of the song which they are reported to have chanted on the march:—

We march, brethren, to the plains of Kossovo,
Where our forefathers lost their renown and their faith.
There it may chance that we also may lose our renown and our faith;
Or that we shall maintain them, and return as victors to Bosnia.

Animated by principles which would have done credit to a Christian host, these undisciplined Mussulmans easily overcame the Grand Vizier's army, partly, it must be acknowledged, by the defection of the Albanians, who had previously deserted the cause of Scodra Pacha. Had they now pushed on, their independence would have been established; but, unfortunately, what the Grand Vizier could not effect by force of arms he brought about by guile. With great tact and cunning he sent emissaries to Hussein, demanding to know the terms which they required. These were the permission to remain in statu quo, with the appointment of Hussein as Vizier. These conditions he was fain to grant, and so far worked upon the Bosnians by private and official stratagem, that they commenced their homeward march, leaving Scodra Pacha to his fate. Shortly afterwards he was compelled to surrender. Individually his life was spared, but his partisans did not meet with the same clemency. For the truth of what I am about to relate I am unable to vouch, but can only give it as it is recorded by the chroniclers of the events of those times. Projectile machines are said to have been erected, and the prisoners, being placed upon them, were flung against a wooden framework studded with great iron hooks, and wherever the body of the unfortunate victim was caught by them, there it hung until he perished by the terrible, torturing, and protracted death.

The destruction of Scodra's power was a great feather in the cap of the Grand Vizier, who now lost no time in undermining the authority of Hussein. In this he was assisted by the imprudence of the latter, who committed the error of admitting Ali Aga of Stolatz into his confidence, a man who had always adhered to the Sultan, and was distrusted accordingly by his compatriots. Universal as was the partisan warfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there was no chieftain who had supported the brunt of so many onslaughts as Ali Aga. His castle at Stolatz, although incapable of resisting the weapons employed in scientific warfare, was impregnable in those times, and against such an enemy.

In addition to the distrust engendered by Hussein's intimacy with All, the absence of any ratification by the Porte of the recent treaty of peace tended to produce discord in the province. Taking advantage of this, the Grand Vizier nominated a new Pacha, Kara Mahmoud, a creature devoted to government interest. He invaded the country with 30,000 men, and finally succeeded, in spite of a gallant resistance, in taking Serayevo, the capital. The perseverance which he employed in a sinking cause did credit to Hussein, who was nobly supported by the faithful and brave Al Pacha Vidaitch, who had no less than eight horses killed under him in the battle which took place before the walls of Serayevo.

Kara Mahmoud established himself there, and deposed in succession all the Kapetans except Ali Aga of Stolatz, who had made his appearance at a critical moment of the battle before Serayevo, and thus turned the tables against his former friend, Hussein Pacha.

Having thus far succeeded in his undertaking, Redschid Pacha turned his attention to Montenegro, which had been the source of chronic heartburnings since 1804. The nature of the country, and the want of organisation in the Turkish forces, however, once more enabled the mountaineers successfully to repel the invaders. A more important expedition against them was in contemplation, when the Egyptian war broke out, and the services of the Grand Vizier and his army were required to combat their former ally, Ibrahim Pacha. Previous to quitting the country, the Grand Vizier promulgated an amnesty to all those refugees who had fled into Austria, except Hussein Kapetan, Ali Vidaitch, and Kruppa Kapetan. A firman was subsequently given, permitting even these to return to Turkey, although interdicting their residence in Bosnia. On arriving at Constantinople they received their pardon, and Ali Vidaitch returned to Bosnia; Hussein's fate is more uncertain. From that time until 1849 order prevailed in Bosnia, although, as subsequent events proved, a rebellious spirit still existed amongst the more important chieftains, with whom personal aggrandisement took precedence of the interests of the Sultan, their sovereign.

CHAPTER IX.

Hussein Pacha—Tahir Pacha—Polish and Hungarian Rebellions—Extends to Southern Slaves—Congress convened—Montenegrins overrun Herzegovina—Arrival of Omer Pacha—Elements of Discord—Rising in Bulgaria put down by Spahis—Refugees—Ali Rizvan Begovitch—Fall of Mostar, and Capture of Ali—His suspicious Death—Cavass Bashee—Anecdote of Lame Christian—Omer Pacha invades Montenegro—Successes—Austria interferes—Mission of General Leiningen—Battle of Grahovo—Change of Frontier—Faults of new Boundary.

And so time wore on, and Bosnia enjoyed a kind of fitful repose. There and in Herzegovina the feudal system had lost much of its primeval vigour, although a barbarous independence still prevailed, more especially in the latter province, where Ali Aga of Stolatz showed symptoms of forsaking the treacherous fidelity which had secured for him his high position. Whatever feeling of disaffection might have been cherished, either in Bulgaria or Bosnia, was effectually checked: in the former by the judicious tyranny of Hussein, Vizier of Widdin, in the latter by the iron yoke of Tahir Pacha, who fully entered into the Sultan's projects for reform.

The social condition of these two provinces rendered necessary a certain variety in the policy of their rulers. Thus, while Hussein may be regarded as the apostle of political Islamism in Europe, Tahir endeavoured to introduce the European element. He consequently identified himself, to a dangerous extent, with the Christian population, abolishing forced labour, equalising the taxes, and effecting other reforms calculated to upset the old, and establish the Nisame Jedid, or new order of things.

At this juncture the flames of revolutionary war broke forth in Poland and Hungary. The proximity of these countries, and the affinity of their Slavonic origin, could not fail to disseminate the same spirit on the southern bank of the Save. A wild enthusiasm took possession of both Serbs[N] and Bulgares, before which the aged and decrepid Viziers felt themselves powerless.

If it be difficult to realise the position of the Sultan, who thus found himself at variance with his Christian subjects in Bulgaria, and his Bosnian Spahis, the attitude assumed by these factions is equally incomprehensible. Blinded by one insane desire to throw off their allegiance to the Sultan, they espoused the Russo-Austrian cause, demanding their annexation to some Slave country. Thus, by a clever stroke of policy, Austria contrived to secure to herself the cooperation of both the Hungarian and Serb Slaves. And here we may note a curious coincidence, which still farther complicated matters. Whatever may have been their prejudices against the Slavonic Christians, the Bosnian Spahis found it expedient to demand the assistance, not only of the Servians, but of the Montenegrins, the most implacable of foes to the Turkish rule. These at first appeared likely to respond to the summons.

So numerically strong, and so complete, were the preparations for war made by the Bosnians, that, when they took the field under Ali Kieditch, Tahir found it impossible to stem the torrent of rebellion. Never did the prospects of the Porte wear so gloomy an aspect, for there were ranged against it all classes of Slaves and Bulgares, irrespective of religion or denomination. As a last resource government convened a Congress, comprising representatives of all classes of subject Slaves. As might have been supposed, little unanimity prevailed in their counsels, and no tangible advantages were thereby attained. And now a combination of unforeseen circumstances conspired to rescue the Porte from the pressing danger which threatened it. The neutrality preserved by Servia, or rather its Prince, Alexander Guirgievitch, infected not only the Bulgarian Christians, but even the Montenegrins themselves, who actually overran Herzegovina and a portion of the Bosnian frontier during the absence of the Mussulman Spahis of those districts. Undaunted however, by these mishaps, the members of the Congress returned to their homes; and, although powerless to act in concert, succeeded so well in stirring up a feeling of animosity against the government, that the spring of 1850 found the malcontents in a better position than ever for the renewal of the war. But rebellion had now reached its culminating point, and the sudden appearance of Omer Pacha, who threw himself with impetuous daring into the heart of Bosnia, gave a very different colouring to events. To form a just estimate of the difficulties which he had to overcome, ere order could be re-established in this confused chaos, it is necessary briefly to recapitulate the various conflicting elements, revolutionary and otherwise, which had been brought into play, the aim and inevitable result of which must have been the utter destruction of this unhappy empire.

There are those who profess to believe that Russia has no malevolent designs upon Turkey, and who bring forward many plausible reasons in support of their opinion; but this number has very materially diminished since the disclosures which preceded the late Russian war. The character of the Turkish people, their religion, and their social and political institutions, may all have tended to produce the calamitous state of affairs. Yet when we probe the matter to the bottom, there we find the root of all evil—Russian policy and imperial ambition. It is not to say that this monarch or that was desirous of annexing by conquest, and holding by force of arms, a gigantic empire. Such a thought were madness. Far more subtle is the scheme which was, and is, inherent in every Russian ruler. It has been, and still is, their own aggrandisement, direct or indirect, based upon the ruins of Turkey. Ably and laboriously have they worked to effect that which still seems as distant as ever. No sooner were the bloody days of 1828-9 past, than they applied themselves afresh to the work of disorganisation, and in this appeared to succeed too well. They had launched the Slave against the Turk, and then the Christian Slave against the Mussulman Slave, whilst at the same time the Asiatic Turk—the Turk pur sang—was struggling throughout Anatolia against the reformed and European Turk. It now remained to find a pretext to justify her in effecting an armed intervention, that cloak for so much that is arbitrary and aggressive. This was soon found in an insignificant rising of the Bulgarians, brought on by her roubles lavishly dispensed by old Milosch Obrenovitch, the ejected Servian Prince, and the sympathy felt for Kossuth and Dembinski, who had taken refuge at Widdin. This rising, however, which was at first directed only against the Turkish Spahis or landowners, soon acquired more important dimensions, and on January 8, 1850, the three Nahias of Widdin, Belgradchitch, and Verkovats, were under arms. Having failed in an attack upon the fortress of Belgradchitch, they retired and entrenched themselves at different spots in the adjacent country. Better armed and provisioned, and of greater physical courage, the Spahis soon succeeded in overcoming these disorganised masses, and bloody was the vengeance which they took.

'Victors in every encounter,' says Cyprien Robert, 'the Mussulman Spahis began to visit on horseback the villages, more than two hundred in number, which had taken part in the insurrection. The devastation that ensued was worthy of the most barbarous time. Neither age nor sex was spared. All the young were carried off to the vulture-nests of the Spahis of the Balkan. In vain did Redschid Pacha enjoin milder measures; neither he nor the Sultan could check these bloodthirsty tigers. There needed to that end the unexpected arrival of Omer Pacha at Nish. He fell among them like a thunderbolt, and all was silence. The Bulgarians ceased to flee, the Spahis to pursue, and, what was more, the Russian army of Wallachia halted at the moment it was about to cross the Danube. That terrible Omer, the queller of so many revolts, had at Bucharest an opportunity of making his qualities felt by the Russian Generals, and they were completely disconcerted by his sudden arrival at Nish, when they thought he was hemmed in by the insurgent Serba in the gorges of Bosnia, without the means of making his way through them. The Russian troops paused, awaiting fresh orders from St. Petersburg: orders came, and the whole scheme was quashed. Cleverly as the Russian plot had been laid, it was completely baffled by the rapidity of Omer Pacha's movement.' Once again order was re-established. Serayevo was again made the seat of the provincial government, and numerous reforms were brought into force, all of which tended to ameliorate the condition of the Christian population.

Such of the chieftains as refused to make their submission were pursued without mercy, until the province became too hot to hold them. A few, too proud or too obstinate to yield, took refuge in the Herzegovina, where Ali Rizvan Begovitch, then an old man, opened his fortresses to them. But all resistance was vain before the iron will and temperate judgement of Omer. Mostar fell, and old Ali was made a prisoner and sent in chains to Serayevo. That place he never reached, for he was shot, accidentally it is alleged, by a Turkish soldier while on his way thither. The circumstances of his death will hardly bear an enquiry, and do not reflect much credit on the successful Omer, to whom the blame, as well as the glory he acquired in all else, must attach. It is true that the old tyrant fully deserved his fate, since even to this day the enormities which he committed are well remembered. The old tower on the Narenta at Mostar used to look grim with the distorted heads of the prisoners whom he had captured on the Montenegrin frontier. The habit of decapitating the dead was revolting enough, but this aged sinner was not satisfied with that: he used to drive sharp wooden poles through their living bodies, and then leave them to die a lingering and agonising death. Some are said to have survived their impalement as much as forty-eight hours. The example set by the Pacha was readily followed by those about him. Numerous are the tales of murder done by his followers, one of whom vied with his master in deeds of murder and ferocity. This man, the Cavass Bashee, lived entirely by plunder and rapine. A spot was pointed out to me in the valley of the Drechnitza where a Christian was killed by him while stooping down to drink. I also heard an amusing anecdote regarding him, when he was completely outwitted by a poor lame Christian. The latter was riding through a river, where the stream was somewhat rapid. On the river's bank he was overtaken by the Cavass Bashee, who allowed him to reach the middle of the stream, when he ordered him to dismount, threatening to shoot him if he did not comply. In vain he pleaded his lameness; the ruffian was obdurate. Nothing remained but to obey. This he did, and with difficulty reached the opposite bank. The Mussulman followed, but scarcely had he reached the deep water when the Christian, who carried a pistol concealed, drew it, and, aiming at his persecutor, ordered him to dismount under pain of death. So aghast was he at this audacious effrontery, that he not only obeyed, but departed without farther comment, leaving the Christian master of the field. Whether he took warning from Ali Pacha's fate is unknown, but he certainly died in the odour of sanctity, after performing a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Having thus established the power of the Sultan in both provinces, as well as in Bulgaria, Omer Pacha turned his attention to the Montenegrins, whose incursions into the Herzegovina were becoming frequent and audacious. Penetrating the country from two converging points, he defeated the mountaineers on every occasion, who found that they had a very different foe to contend with from those to whom they had been accustomed. Already had he advanced close upon Cettigne, the capital, when the Austrian government interfered. Operations were suspended, and General Leiningen proceeded to Constantinople, where he demanded the total withdrawal of the Turkish forces. This was acceded to, and Turkey thus lost the hold which it had acquired upon the lawless Montenegrins. The idea of Ottoman decay acquired daily fresh strength, and a maudlin sentimentality was excited in behalf of these Christian savages. Taking advantage of this, they made constant forays across the border, stirring up by their example such of the borderers as were disposed to rise, and using force to compel those who would have preferred a quiet existence under the Turkish rule.

Such was the position of affairs when the battle of Grahovo took place on May 13, 1858. Although the affair has been grossly exaggerated, and the blame wrongfully imputed to Hussein Pacha, the military Commander of the Ottoman forces, it cannot be gain-said that the Turkish power was much weakened by the event, and the arrogance of the Christians proportionately increased, while the change of frontier to which it conduced tended rather to aggravate than diminish the evil. The new boundary line was defined by an European mixed commission, which decided on increasing Montenegro by the annexation of territory on the western frontier, including Grahovo, which they had held since Hussein Pacha's disaster. Whether the new frontier is calculated to promote a pacific settlement of the question admits of debate, as the province is penetrated almost to the centre by Turkish territory on either side: this, if it give the latter the advantage in a military point of view, exposes the occupants of the country, flanked by the Montenegrin mountains, to constant visits from their unwelcome neighbours, who dash down, kill, burn, and carry off all that they can lay hands on, and retreat to their fastnesses before the arrival of succour.

CHAPTER X.

Insurrection of Villagers—Attack Krustach—Three Villages burnt—Christian Version—Account given by Dervisch Pacha—Deputation headed by Pop Boydan—Repeated Outrages by Rebels—Ali Pacha of Scutari—His want of Ability—Greek Chapels sacked—Growth of Rebellion—Omer Pacha restored to Favour—Despatched to the Herzegovina—Proclamation—Difficulties to be encountered—Proposed Interview between Omer Pacha and Prince of Montenegro—Evaded by the Prince—Omer Pacha returns to Mostar—Preparations for Campaign.

We now arrive at that period when rebellion actually broke out among the Christians of the Herzegovina, and when things, in short, assumed the aspect which they now wear.

Before entering upon any account of the various risings which have occurred, I would remark that much blame attaches itself to the Porte, not only because of long years of misgovernment, but also on account of the supineness shown by its officials, who, in the presence of the most positive proofs to the contrary, treated the idea of a rising with supercilious disregard. Frequently whole villages came in to declare that they should be compelled to rise, unless they received protection and support. This was of course promised liberally, but the promises were never redeemed, and so they were driven to rebellion against their will, as a means of safety from the fanatical fury of their lawless co-religionists.

After two years of indecisive skirmishing, in which the Turks, always exposed in small parties, generally fared the worst, the Ottoman government appeared to awake to the necessity for pursuing more energetic measures. This resolution was hastened by the revolt of the villagers of Yassenik, Lipneh, Garevo, Kazantzi, Doulatchi, Vralkovitch, Golia, Krustach, Beronschitzi, Yenevitza, Danitzi, and others in the neighbourhood of Gasko, who joined bands of Uskoks, with whom and the Montenegrins they attacked the blockhouse of Krustach. As a punishment, three of these were burnt by the Turkish troops. The version of the affair given by the opposing parties varies considerably, as may be supposed. The Christians affirm that, after repeated acts of aggression on the part of the Bashi Bazouks, they took refuge in the mountains, but returned thence on being promised protection. That they were one day astonished by perceiving the heights covered with soldiers, who entered and sacked the village of Beronschitzi. No blood was shed, but the six sons of one Simon Gregorovitch were taken before Ali Pacha, who ordered them to instant execution. The seventh son is reported to have been taken to Metokhia, where, after being tortured, he was executed. The people escaped from Yassenik and Yenevitza, but in the former two women are said to have been killed and thrown into the flames of the burning houses.

The whole of these villagers affirm that their only crime consisted in having united with other villagers in posting videttes, to give warning of the approach of Bashi Bazouks and Uskoks.

This somewhat improbable story is denied by Dervisch Pacha, who gives the following account of the matter:—The occupants of twenty-one different villages revolted in the spring of 1859, and interrupted the communications between Gasko and Niksich and Grasko and Mostar. They then attacked those villages occupied by Mussulmans in the plain of Gasko, and made raids into the district of Stolatz, from which they carried off 6,000 head of cattle, the property of the Roman Catholics of that district. They further compelled many Christians to join in the revolt, who would otherwise have remained quiet. Dervisch Pacha therefore sent Ali Riza Pacha, a General of Brigade, to restore order. He, after taking and garrisoning Krustach, advised the rebels to send deputies, to show the nature of the grievances of which they complained. These were sent accordingly, headed by one Pop Boydan, a priest, and a leading mover of the insurrection; but in place of lodging any complaints, the delegates appeared rather in the light of suppliants demanding pardon and favour. Meanwhile the villagers returned, but not to live peaceably—merely with the view of getting in their crops.

While the deputation, however, was at Nevresign, the villages of Lipneh, Samabor, Yassenik, Yenevitza, and Beronschitzi revolted again, and cut off the communications between Gasko, Krustach, and Niksich. They also posted guards along a line of frontier, which they said that no Turk should pass. When called to account by Dervisch Pacha for this breach of faith, the deputies replied that the Christians acted through fear, which feeling was taken advantage of by a few evil-disposed persons for their own ends. They, however, undertook to pacify them, and wrote a letter professedly with that object, but without effect. The disorder increased, and numerous outrages were committed. Seven soldiers were murdered whilst cutting wood about four miles from Metokhia; Ali Pacha's aide-de-camp and five soldiers were cut to pieces between

Niksich and Krustach, and seven other Mussulmans were killed. Still the Turks hesitated to act with severity. They appealed again to the deputies, who wrote another letter, which, as the bearers of it affirmed, only enraged the rebels, who tore it, and trod it under foot. But this affords little proof of the intensity of their feelings, as it has since transpired that an arrangement had been made by the deputies that all letters written voluntarily and in sincerity should bear a private mark; and the letter in question was not so distinguished. Upon the discovery of their treachery the deputies were imprisoned, and energetic measures at once resolved upon. To give these effect, Ali Pacha advanced at the head of a small force, and summoned the rebels to surrender. They replied by firing on the advanced guard. The three villages were then taken, and five men and two women killed, while a few prisoners were made. These last were released, but one died in prison. Such is the story told of the affair by Dervisch Pacha.

It does not appear that Ali Pacha acquired any great credit by his method of conducting the operations. Quitting a strong position in the afternoon, he arrived at the villages to be attacked after nightfall. Having fired them, he was compelled to make a precipitate retreat, which might have been most disastrous, had he been opposed to an enterprising enemy.

With reference to the discrepancy manifested in the two accounts, we may feel assured that both are highly coloured. But the deception resorted to by the rebels, and the simple explanation given by the Turkish officials, would tend to impart to their story the greater appearance of truth. Had the Turks, moreover, wished to avenge the deaths of their soldiers, or to vent their hatred of the Christians, they would have maltreated the people of the first villages at which they arrived, in place of marching seven miles through a difficult country to the borders of a district which had for two years defied their efforts at reduction.

The implication of the villagers in the numerous murders which had occurred was proved by the discovery of some of the Turkish bayonets at Beronschitzi, while they actually made an offer to restore the property of the murdered aide-de-camp, provided a reward was paid for them. They even sent a list of the effects to Ali Pacha, with the sum which they demanded for the restoration of each article.

I venture to give these details even at the risk of incurring the charge of too great prolixity, as hitherto a one-sided account only has been given to the world. Every channel of information, whether it be the telegraph from Ragusa or the Slavonic press, does its best to mislead the general public, by exciting sympathy for the Christians, as unjust as it is undeserved. Even in the affair in question much stir was made by the Slavish newspapers about the death of seven Christians, while, as Dervisch Pacha very fairly complained, no notice was taken of the murder of thirty-seven Mussulmans during the same period.

Another event, which afforded a handle for the ill-wishers of Turkey, was the pillage of the four Greek chapels of Samabor, Dobrolie, Kazantzi, and Grachantzi. This occurred in July 1859, and the case was investigated by the Russian Consul at Mostar, who imputed the act to Turkish soldiers, producing in evidence the fact of a sergeant having in his possession a kind of church vestment. The sergeant, however, did not attempt to conceal the vestment, and accounted for his possession of it in a manner which was deemed satisfactory by the British and other Consuls.

It was more probably done by Uskoks, who gutted a chapel near Nevresign a few years before, or by the rebels themselves, at the instigation of others, for the purpose of bringing odium upon the Turks in the eyes of Europe.

By these and other no less unworthy means was the agitation fostered throughout the province, until the whole frontier became denuded of Mussulman inhabitants, who were compelled to take shelter in Klobuk, Niksich, and other places capable of some sort of defence.

By the spring of 1861 affairs had assumed so serious an aspect, that even the Porte could not but awake to the danger which threatened that portion of the empire, and to the necessity for immediate and strenuous measures. This danger lay not so much in the aggressive power of the rebels themselves, as in the ulterior results which it was calculated to produce.

It required little foresight to understand that the movement was destined to be the germ of a general insurrection of the Slavonic Christians of Turkey, which would lead to the partial or entire dismemberment of her European provinces.

In this dilemma the Sultan's government bethought them of appealing to the only man in the empire who was capable of grappling with the difficulty. Omer Pacha was taken once more into favour, and was despatched to the scene of discord. A Slave by birth, but tied to the interests of his imperial master by the devotion of a lifetime, no more fitting choice could have been made. With alacrity he proceeded on his mission—a mission which required both courage and address, energy and endurance.

He commenced his task by issuing the following proclamation, in which he called upon all to return to their allegiance, in full assurance that it was the intention of the Sultan to carry out the reforms which had been guaranteed by the Hatti Humayoun of 1855.

'What this proclamation is I let you all know.

'His Majesty the Sultan has appointed me the chief of his armies in the Roumelian provinces, and has sent me here to carry out in this mission all the just privileges, which have not hitherto been fulfilled. In obedience to the commands of the Sultan, I have come here to show to you how kind and good are the intentions of our sovereign to his subjects, and to announce without distinction to Mussulmans, Greeks, and Catholics together, the following decrees:—

'1st. Every village has the power to name one or two chiefs as representatives, whom I will acknowledge.

'2nd. Every district has the power to name one or two representatives whomsoever the people of the district may choose.

'3rd. The Christians shall have full religious liberties, and shall be permitted to build churches and place bells therein, like all the rest of the subjects in the empire.

'4th. The Zaptiehs (police) shall not be permitted to locate themselves in your houses, but an appointed place shall be set apart for them in every village.

'5th. The arrangement which has been made at Constantinople touching landowners and the agriculturists, and to which both parties have assented, shall immediately be put into execution.

'6th. The taxes shall be collected by your own chiefs, and consigned by them to the officers sent by our Sultan to receive them.

'7th. I will further recommend to the Greek Patriarch at Constantinople that a Bishop of your own nation should be nominated, who knows your language and customs.

'8th. I will take such measures as shall secure you the right of purchasing landed property.

'When this proclamation shall have been promulgated to you, and you should still have some farther favour to ask at my hands, you may do so in writing, or by word of mouth. All that is possible for your welfare I will endeavour to fulfill.