or Duke, of the
province, and will always be cordially received.

We felt quite ashamed of our appearance--leather coats, collarless
shirts, and so forth--amongst such rich costumes. The complete outfit
of a Montenegrin dandy costs over forty pounds, and takes a bit of
beating.

Carefully tucking our rough riding-boots under our chairs, to avoid
marking the contrast with our host's resplendent jack-boots of
patent-leather, and buttoning up our coat collars, we endeavoured to
make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible in this brilliant
assembly. But in spite of our tramp-like garb, we were always highly
honoured guests.

CHAPTER XII

Montenegro's oldest building--The ride to the Moraca Monastery--A
perilous bridge and ascent--The Abbot's tale--We inspect the
monastery--The health of the King is drunk--The relative merits of
Boers and Montenegrins--The Abbot makes us presents--We visit a
peasant's house and a Homeric feast--A feu-de-joie--Departure from
Kolasin--We are mistaken for doctors again--Raskrsnica.

In Montenegro there are, strangely enough, with one famous exception,
no buildings of any great antiquity. This, however, can be easily
accounted for by the repeated invasions of the Turks, who ravaged the
land with a merciless fury. Montenegro was the only Balkan state which
they were unable to bring to obedience, and the struggle, which began
after the battle of Kossovo, has, perhaps, not reached its final stage
yet, though other enemies have supplanted the Turk.

Far away in the heart of the mountains, and perched on the top of a
high cliff, at whose feet the turbulent mountain torrent Moraca races
past, there is situated a monastery, which takes its name from the
river below.

This monastery is the only building that has escaped the scourge of
the Turk, and, though often attacked, only once has it been partially
burnt. Like its famous sister at Ostrog, it is constructed in a
position where Nature has provided the best means of defence, and
this the hand of man has skilfully utilised and improved. It was
founded in the year 1252 by one of the sons of the famous Servian
king, Stephan Nemanja, and dedicated to S. Nicholas. Right well has
the saint watched over and protected his feof.

During our stay at Ostrog the Archbishop of Montenegro impressed upon
us most strongly the necessity of visiting Moraca before leaving the
country. He himself had lived there many years as the Archimandrite,
and wa