om Petersburg, whence great
things were expected, and a general holiday was proclaimed in honour
of the event. Mourning added to the general gloom, for the two
infant sons of Prince Mirko, the only direct heirs to the throne,
had died within a month or two of each other of tubercular
meningitis. Baby Stefan had been playfully called Stefan Dushan II,
with the hope that he would reign at Prizren--and he was dead. All
hope of a child to Prince Danilo had been given up; much had died
with Baby Stefan. Some even hinted at foul play, but this suspicion
was quite groundless, for tuberculosis was rapidly spreading in the
land; it is worth mentioning only as showing the mental state of the
country.

On the other side were murmurs deep and sinister against the Prince
and his line, the first growl of a storm. The prisons were full.
Folk whispered of many untried prisoners. Some Who had befriended me
in former years were not only in prison, but in heavy irons
--Gjurovitch, who had been a minister, and poor garrulous Dr.
Marusitch. His wife had snatched her husband's revolver and fired at
the gendarme who arrested him. The peasants of Drobnjak had tried to
prevent the arrest of Serb agents who were distributing
revolutionary leaflets, printed in Belgrade. Soldiers were sent to
enforce the arrests. Some had refused to act, and had had some heavy
sentences inflicted on them. It was all part of the Great Serbian
movement. The Montenegrin Government would send no more students to
Belgrade to be corrupted.

The very morning after my arrival Tomanovitch, the Prime Minister,
sent for me. He was extremely anxious and nervous, and asked what
the English papers said about the plot against Prince Nikola. I told
him the English Press had said little beyond reporting unrest in
Montenegro. He hurried to deny there was any, and said he wished me
to know the truth. Prince Nikola had behaved with the greatest
moderation, and had even permitted Dr. Marusitch to visit his sick
child. The plot against the Prince had been planned by wicked
enemies from outside. What did I intend writing to the papers on the
subject?

I had been but a few hours in Cetinje, but perceived the affair was
a bad one, and as I knew people on both sides it would be hard to
avoid being dragged into it. I replied therefore that I had written
nothing, and intended writing nothing to the papers, and wished to
take no part in Montenegro's internal affairs. He was visibly
reli