A noble bronze head,
tying on the German stove, in the corner of the room, a handsome Roman
lamp and some antique coins, were all that could be shown of the
ancient Moesia; but there is a fair collection of Byzantine and Servian
coins, the latter struck in the Venetian manner, and resembling old
sequins.
A parchment document, which extended to twice the length of a man,
was now unrolled, and proved to be a patent of Stephan Urosh, the
father of Stephan Dushan, endowing the great convent of Dechani, in
Albania. Another curiosity in the collection is the first banner of
Kara Georg, which the Servians consider as a national relic. It is in
red silk, and bears the emblem of the cross, with the inscription
"Jesus Christ conquers."
We then went to the professor's room, which was furnished with the
newest Russ, Bohemian, and other Slaavic publications, and after a
short conversation visited the classes then sitting. The end of
education in Servia being practical, prominence is given to geometry,
natural philosophy, Slaavic history and literature, &c. Latin and
Greek are admitted to have been the keys to polite literature, some
two centuries and a half ago; but so many lofty and noble chambers
having been opened since then, and routine having no existence in
Servia, her youth are not destined to spend a quarter of a lifetime in
the mere nurseries of humanity.
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