Having crossed the little bridge, a pandour, who
was sitting under the willows, rose, came forward, and, touching his
hat, presented the Natchalnik's compliments, and said that he was
instructed to conduct me to his house. Losnitza is situated on the
last undulation of the Gutchevo range, as the mountains we had all day
kept in view were called. So leaving the town on our left, we struck
into a secluded path, which wound up the hill, and in ten minutes we
dismounted at a house having the air of a Turkish villa, which
overlooked the surrounding country, and was entered by an enclosed
court-yard with high walls.
The Natchalnik of Losnitza was a grey-headed tall gaunt figure, who
spoke very little; but as the Bosniac frontier is subject to troubles
he had been selected for his great personal courage, for he had served
under Kara Georg from 1804.[5]
_Natchalnik_. "It is not an easy matter to keep things straight; the
population on this side is all organized, so as to concentrate eight
thousand men in a few hours. The Bosniacs are all armed; and as the
two populations detest each other cordially, and are separated only by
the Drina, the public tranquillity often incurs great danger: but
whenever a crisis is at hand I mount my horse and go to Mahmoud Pasha
at Zwornik; and the affair is generally quietly settled with a cup of
coffee.
Pages:
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121