Travels in Southeastern Europe

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

278 THE BURDEN OF THE BALKANS. After a weary twenty minutes the 'hanjee' took us up to a room he had made ready. An icy draught blew through its glassless windows, and our breath steamed in the chill, damp air; there was a piece of matting on the floor, and a tiny tray with a few hot ashes in it. That was all. I was dismayed. The hanjee vowed this was the best room in the house, and that he had no fire-place. We crouched miserably over the wretched little 'mangal'; it did not give enough heat to thaw our fingers, and our clothes were dripping. I looked at the smouldering bits of charcoal with desperate interest, saw they had been but freshly chipped off, and knew that they must have come from a burning log not far away. And that log was the only thing in the world I wanted. The hanjee then confessed to the fire-place, but said it was in his storeroom, which was full of goats' hides, and not fit for me. It was in truth a melancholy spot. There was a large hole in the roof, through which the water was trickling. It was half full of sacks and onions, piled into a corner to be out of the wet, and all the walls were hung with smelly, gamey, half-dried goats' hides. But there was the hearth-stone, with two smouldering logs upon it. I don't believe I was ever half so glad to see anything. We soon had a blazing fire, called in the drenched gendarmes and kirijee to dry at it, and steamed gaily till the room was foggy, took our boots off, and roasted our feet. My cloak, which hung on a nail, still dripped
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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 278
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/ans3900.0001.001/285

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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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