We now descended the Grashevatzka river to Bruss, with low hills on
each side, covered with grass, and partly wooded. Bruss is prettily
situated on a rising ground, at the confluence of two tributaries of
the Morava. It has a little bazaar opening on a lawn, where the
captain of Zhupa had come to meet me. After coffee, we again mounted,
and proceeded to Zhupa. Here the aspect of the country changed; the
verdant hills became chalky, and covered with vineyards, which,
before the fall of the empire, were celebrated. To this day tradition
points out a cedar and some vines, planted by Militza, the consort of
Lasar.
The vine-dressers all stood in a row to receive us. A carpet had been
placed under an oak, by the side of the river, and a round low table
in the middle of it was soon covered with soup, sheeps' kidneys, and a
fat capon, roasted to a minute, preceded by onions and cheese, as a
rinfresco, and followed by choice grapes and clotted cream, as a
dessert.
"I think," said I to the entertainer, as I shook the crumbs out of my
napkin, and took the first whiff of my chibouque, "that if Stephan
Dushan's chief cook were to rise from the grave, he could not give us
better fare.
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