ight. It was an astute move. The Young
Turks at once sent Prenk home.

On September 30th Prenk Pasha rode up into Mirdita and was received
by his delighted people. I went with him, and witnessed the wildly
magnificent scene. Mirdita believed no Turkish promises. They had
never seen "a Constituzi"; they did not know if they would like it,
and thought it was a "flam of the devil." Nor were they pleased to
see the two Young Turk representatives, Halil and Khiassim Beys. It
took all the eloquence of the Abbot to talk them over, and only
after long deliberations did they consent to swear a "besa" (peace
oath) till Ash Wednesday, 1909, stipulating at the same time for the
retention of their old privileges and their old laws.

Premi Dochi's successful scheme for the restoration to Mirdita of
Prenk Bib Doda was a masterpiece, which might have well led to the
autonomy of Albania. Had Prenk been a born leader of men, not only
Mirdita but all the mountain tribes would have rallied to him. But
alas! there was nothing of the leader in him. Thirty years of
enforced idleness and exile had turned him from a rebel youth into a
stout and amiable elderly gentleman, with a considerable sense of
humour, but devoid of all capacity or even desire, to rule.

The Abbot's trump card was not an ace--it was not even a knave.

Meanwhile the Austrian Consulate was bubbling with rumours of a
quarrel at Ischl between King Edward VII and the Emperor Franz
Josef. It was said that King Edward had rudely walked out of the
Royal box at the theatre where he was the Emperor's guest, in the
middle of the performance, and had given as an excuse that the
performance was improper. The consular youths refused to believe any
play could be too highly flavoured for the King of England, judging
by pieces which they knew he had witnessed, and declared there had
been a political quarrel. This was later officially denied. In any:
case the result was the same--friction and misunderstanding between
the two countries--and it is evident that King Edward's journeys to
Reval cannot have pleased Franz Josef.

Nor was there any sign that the Turkish Constitution would be a
success. The Albanian Moslems were soon furious to find that instead
of giving them freedom, it meant that they would all now have to
give military service. The districts of Ipek, Prizren, Djakova,
Upper Dibra, Scutari, and others who had hitherto been exempt,
declared that they had not fought the Turk