Part 48 (1/2)
”The present kingdom of Serbia proper was inhabited by Serbs,” returned the other, ”but the Serbia we know is only a small part of what was, long ago, the Serbian Empire. Since the fall of the empire, in the fourteenth century, it has been the great ambition of the Serbs to become again a unified nation. Bosnia was a part of the old empire, but was conquered by the Turks, and later taken over by the Austrians. The story I am about to tell shows, however, what an enduring race consciousness the Bosnian Serbs have maintained.
”Our district manager for Bosnia lived in the town of which I have been speaking, and when I first went there he took me to a small but particularly clean and attractive hotel, run by an Austrian Serb. As is usual in small hotels in Europe, the proprietor's family took part in the work of running the place; and as I used to stay there frequently, sometimes for two or three weeks at a stretch, I soon came to know them all well. As the years pa.s.sed I became really attached to them, and there were many signs to show that they were fond of me. Michael, the father, exercised general supervision-though he was not above carrying a trunk upstairs; Stana, the mother, kept the accounts and superintended the cooking, which was excellent; the two daughters worked in the kitchen and sometimes helped wait on table. Even the boy, Gavrilo, the youngest member of the family, helped after school with light work, though he studied hard and was not very strong. I often sat with them at their own family table at one end of the dining-room; I called them all by their given names, and addressed them with the 'thee' and 'thou' of familiarity.
”When I first knew Gavrilo he was twelve or thirteen years old. His father, though of pure Serb blood, had acquired, with years and experience in business, a certain resignation to the existing order of things. He had seen several wars and revolutions, and as he grew older had begun to think that peace under Austrian domination was better than continual conflict, whatever the cause.
”The boy Gavrilo was, however, more like Stana, his mother. Stana could grow old, but the flame in her, the poetry, the mysticism, and above all the Serbian racial feeling, never diminished. Gavrilo learned the Serbian folk stories and songs at her knee; also he learned from her Serbian history, which, under Austria, was not taught in the schools; for the Austrians have long desired to crush out Serbian racial feeling.
”Gavrilo and I became great friends. He was hungry for knowledge and never tired of asking me about the United States and our freedom, free speech, and free opportunity-all of which, of course, seemed very wonderful to one growing up in a decadent, bureaucratic empire, made up of various races held together against their will. In return I gathered from Gavrilo a considerable knowledge of Serb history and legend-and you may be sure that in what he told me, neither the Turks nor the Austrians came off very well. Even as a lad he always referred to the Austrians as _shvaba_-a Serbian word meaning something like our term boches-and by the time he was sixteen he had promoted them to be _proclete shvaba_, which may be freely translated as 'd.a.m.ned boches.'
”For a long time I took his strong anti-Austrian utterances lightly, considering them the result of boyish ebullience of spirit, but as he grew nearer manhood, and the fierceness of his feeling seemed to increase rather than diminish, I became concerned about him; for it is no wiser for an Austrian Serb to call the Austrians _shvaba_ than it would be for an Alsatian to call the Prussians boches.
”As Gavrilo grew up, his pa.s.sionate racial feeling disturbed me more and more, though, of course, I sympathized with it. I determined to make an opportunity for a serious talk with him on the subject, and to that end suggested that he go with me to the neighboring hills for a couple of days' gunning; for Bosnia abounds in game.
”Gavrilo proved to be a very good shot. He would shoot wild pigeons, grouse, and woodc.o.c.k from the hip, and he even brought along a pistol with which he could hit a hare at a considerable distance. These exhibitions of skill were, however, accompanied by remarks which did not make it easier for me to broach the topic upon which I wished to speak to him. When he would hit a pigeon he would exclaim: 'There goes another member of the Hapsburg family!' or: 'That one was a _shvab_ tax collector!' or, mock-heroically, 'So much for you, you n.o.bleman of brilliant plumage with a _von_ before your name. No more will the peasants step out of the road and bow down before you!'
”'Look here, Gavrilo,' I said, when we sat to rest upon a fallen tree, 'you are a Serb, and that is something to be proud of, but after all, you are an Austrian subject, and your forefathers have been Austrian subjects for a long time. You have your home here, so why not make the best of a bad bargain, and be like the rest of the young fellows?'
”'You think I am not like them?' he replied. 'That is only because you do not know them as you know me. Every _momche_ who is a worthy descendant of the race that fought to the death at Kossovo-the Field of the Black Bird-is of the _comitajia_. We younger fellows are to be _comitajia_ also. We have our meetings in the same _kafana_ where the others meet to make their plans. When we are a little older they will take us in and we shall all work together.'
”'But what is this work you speak of?'
”'Whatever it is,' he returned, 'you may be sure it is in the interest of our race.'
”'But you speak of _comitajia_,' I said. 'Has not that word more than one significance? I know the military scouts with bombs are _comitajia_, but are not revolutionists called by the same term?'
”Gavrilo showed his strong white teeth in one of those extraordinary mischievous smiles which now and then illuminated his face. Instead of giving me a direct answer he said:
”'Dear friend, I am glad to perceive that your knowledge of our beloved Serbian tongue becomes daily more accurate.'
”'But, Gavrilo,' I protested, refusing to be put off with a jest, 'to be concerned in a revolution would be the worst thing that could happen to you.'
”'No, not the worst thing. Worse than being a Serb and joining in a revolution would be to be a Serb and fail to lift a hand in the struggle for freedom.'
”'Revolutions,' I said, sententiously, 'do not pay, Gavrilo.'
”'But since when has that been so?' he countered quickly. 'There was, for instance, the French Revolution. Did not that pay? And there was the American Revolution. Surely that paid! And there was the revolution of Serbia against the Turks. That is paying too.' His luminous black eyes, so like those of a wild deer, snapped as he spoke. Then his expression changed quickly to one of amus.e.m.e.nt over my discomfiture, and he added with a little laugh: 'I have an American friend-a gentleman who manages the business of a large oil company over here. He can tell you, as he has me, of the benefits of the American Revolution and of American freedom. I promise you that some day you shall meet him face to face-let us say to-morrow morning when he is shaving.'
”It seemed to me that I had taken an unfortunate line with him there, so I tried another.
”'Well, then, let us put it on selfish grounds. There is no great reason why you, personally, should be dissatisfied. You have good prospects in your father's business. The thing for you to do, in the natural course, is to marry and settle down. And certainly a man who has a sweetheart such as yours hasn't any business in a _comitajia_; for such things lead to prisons and executions, not to domesticity.'
”'What makes you think I have a sweetheart?' he demanded, flus.h.i.+ng.
”'Haven't I seen Mara?'
”'Well, what of it?'
”'If you can resist Mara,' I told him, 'you have more strength than I would give you credit for.' And it was quite true; for Mara, who lived next door to the hotel, was a beautiful young thing, and they were much together.
”'Mara is a flirt,' said he.