Thus it was that
the Serbs were able to preserve their old traditions, their language
and the best blood of their race. And it may be said that to a
slightly lesser extent Ragusa served the same purpose.
The Montenegrins are born fighters and die fighters. From one end
to the other Montenegro is one wilderness of mountain crags and
towering precipices, traversed only by foot trails. Here and there
a shelf of level soil may be found, just enough to enable people
to grow their own necessities. The capital of this rocky domain,
high up among the crags and overlooking the Adriatic, is Cettinje,
which was to be stormed and conquered by the Teutons. The main
street, about 150 yards long, comprising two-thirds of the town,
is so broad that three or four carriages may be driven abreast
down the length of it. It is composed entirely of one and two story
cottages. A few short streets branch off at right angles, and in
these is all of Cettinje that is not comprised in the main street.
The king inhabited a modest-looking, brown edifice with a small
garden attached. Overlooking the capital is Mt. Lovcen, on top
of which the Montenegrins planted guns to defend any attack that
might be made against them.
South of Montenegro and north of Greece lies another country of
instinctive fighters. It is similar in physical aspect, but very
different in its population. This is the land of the Albanians,
whom the Turks conquered by force of arms, like all the rest of
the Balkan peninsula.
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