SERBIA IN ARMS.

Delivered before the English Soldiers.

I propose to-night, gentlemen, to describe to you Serbia, my native
country, my dream of the past, my dream of the future, and one of your
Allies, loyal and faithful in life and death. I will try, of course, to
give you only some glances at and slight insight into what Serbia has
represented with her soul, her efforts, ideals and hopes. The time is
short, yea, our time to-day is more empty than the events which surprise
us every day, every night, and overwhelm us like an avalanche of snow
and ice from the Alps. How poor and insufficient is our human language
to-day, even the language of the most eloquent mortals from this island
like Burke, Macaulay and Carlyle, to describe the events which our eyes
are seeing and our ears listening to at the present moment! Do not
expect from me an equivalent description of Serbia, which has been one
of the greatest factors in this world-war during many months, and which
has disturbed your hearts for so long and attracted thousands of your
sons and friends over the seas, to take the sword from Serbia's mangled
hands and continue the struggle for the same cause for which she fought
until death. All that I can tell you consists in some poor instances and
remembrances which will be sufficient to show you that Serbia has been
worthy to live and to be your ally, and consequently that she is worthy
of your great sympathy with her and of your helping her resurrection.

Serbia has been at war since 1912.

IN AUTUMN 1912

King Peter of Serbia consecrated his church of white marble, built in
Topola, the birthplace of his grandfather, Karageorge, the protagonist
of Balkan liberation. On the same hill, on which Karageorge took the
resolution to begin one of the greatest things that ever happened on the
troublesome Balkan soil, on the hill of Oplenaz, Karageorge's grandson,
King Peter, erected a beautiful church and then declared war on Turkey.
It was one of many wars that we had with Turkey, one of many--known and
unknown to you--during five hundred years. We have had our old accounts
with the Turks. We despised them as the slaves will despise their lords,
and they despised us as the lords will despise their slaves. Yet we
respected their virtues, and they recognised some of ours. With the
sword they conquered our country, and we knew that only with the sword
we could reconquer it from them. Our Christian drama with the Turks in