rs. Many parents told me
very earnestly how they longed for a boys' school too. The
unfortunate master of the Albanian boys' school, permitted during
the short period when the interdiction was removed, was still in
prison serving his term of fifteen years. Could not England, I was
asked, open a school? Now either a child must learn Greek or not
learn to read at all. And the Greek teachers even told children that
it was useless to pray in Albanian, for Christ was a Greek, and did
not understand any other language.

Everywhere it was the same. Deputations came to me begging for
schools. Even Orthodox priests, who were Albanian, ventured to
explain that what they wanted was an independent Church. Roumania,
Serbia, Greece, even Montenegro, each was free to elect its own
clergy and to preach and conduct the service in its own language. At
Leskoviki and Premeti folk were particularly urgent both for schools
and church.

Not only among the Christians, but among the Moslems too, there was
a marked sense of nationality. A very large proportion of the
Moslems of the south were by no means, orthodox Moslems, but were
members of one of the Dervish sects, the Bektashi, and as such
suspect by the powers, at Constantinople. Between the Bektashi and
the Christians there appeared to be no friction. Mosques were not
very plentiful. I was assured by the Kaimmakam of Leskoviki that
many of the Moslem officials were Bekiashifj and attended mosque
only as a form without which they could not hold office. He was much
puzzled about Christianity and asked me to explain why the Greeks
and | Bulgars, who were both Christian, were always killing each
other. "They say to Europe," he said, "that they object to Moslem
rule. But they would certainly massacre each other if we went away.
What good is this Christianity to them?" I told him I could no more
understand it than he did.

The Bulgarian rising had had a strong repercussion in Albania. Our
relief work was everywhere believed to be a British Government
propaganda. Other Powers scattered money for their own purpose in
Turkish territory. Why not Great Britain? It was a natural
conclusion. Moreover the Bulgars themselves believed the help
brought them was from England the Power. And the name Balkan
Committee even was misleading. In the Near East a committee is a
revolutionary committee, and consists of armed komitadjis. Times
innumerable have I assured Balkan people of all races that the
Balkan