Travels in Southeastern Europe

The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.

ROUND ABOUT RESNA. II9 local tongue sounded to me like Servian all gone wrong, I engaged an interpreter, a refugee from one of the burnt villages, who could speak sufficient French. The poor wretch jumped at the idea of earning a little money, and, though picked up by chance, served me very well. His only drawback was his wish to give relief on a far larger scale than funds allowed. He could neither read nor write, and had never tried to learn. His politics consisted of terror and hatred of the Turkish Government, and a belief that all 'Macedonia' should belong to Bulgaria. He told me his story thus: 'My father died when I was young. I have a younger brother and sister. We had a house, and some goats and cows. When I was old enough I went to Constantinople to find work. I was servant at first to some Roman Catholic Sisters. I do not mind what religion people are if they will pay me. I earned money for my sister's dower, and we married her very well as soon as she was old enough. One day, when my brother was eighteen, he was gathering firewood on the' mountain with two other lads, and there came a Mohammedan Bey from Dibra with a large huntingparty. They carried off the three boys to Dibra and shut them in a cellar, and threatened to kill them all unless their friends paid,T.Ioo for each of them within six months. My mother was in despair. I came home. We sold all our-beasts, but with that and all my savings we had only f60. When the time was nearly gone I managed to
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About this Item

Title
The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham.
Author
Durham, Mary Edith, 1863-1944.
Canvas
Page 119
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001
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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bosnia/ans3900.0001.001/126

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"The burden of the Balkans / by M. Edith Durham." In the digital collection Travels in Southeastern Europe. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ans3900.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2025.
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