Travels in Southeastern Europe

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

200 THE BURDEN OF THE BALKANS. with it, and wished to return to work, and did not know what to do. If he gave it up to the Kaimmakam the Committee would kill him; if the Turks found it in his possession they might kill him. He thought it would be safe with me. I was to hand it back again if wanted. I was sorry for him, but could not turn our premises into a storehouse for the Committee. Politics here cover a multitude of sins. One night a man turned up mysteriously. In his village there were three traitors. Before anything further could be done they must be destroyed. They could not be shot, for this would probably bring down the authorities, and it was impossible to buy poison because the law on the sale of it was very strictly enforced. (This is interesting, as it shows that it is possible to enforce a law in Turkey when expedient.) But 'madama' (myself) was a friend of the doctor. No doubt if she asked him he would write her something that could be put in coffee. Then the three gentlemen could be asked to supper, and their political differences quietly arranged. Nor had he any doubt that I should fulfil this humble request. An episode such as this is vividly interesting. It is possible to ride hastily through the Balkan Peninsula and credit the people with Western twentieth-century feelings. A short residence among them reveals the Middle Ages, their sentiments, morals, and point of view, all preserved alive by the overlaying stratum of Oriental rule,
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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 200
Publication
London :: Nelson,
[1905]
Subject terms
Eastern question (Balkan)
Balkan Peninsula -- Description and travel.

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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 May 1, 2025.
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