Through Savage Europe. By Harry de Windt. (T. Fisher Enwin.
10s. 6d. net.)—There is savagery everywhere in Europe, but "savage Europe," par excellence, is to be found in the South- East. So thinks Mr. de Windt, and he has had not a little personal experience by which to form his opinion. He began his tour in Montenegro, which has, however, the advantage of a most excellent ruler. Prince Nicholas is by no means "savage," and he does his best for a people which has the good sense to appreciate his merits, though its civilisation, as far as the agre.. ments of life are concerned, leaves something to be desired. From Montenegro he traversed the Herzegovina—where, one is glad to learn, Englishmen are gratae personae—to Bosnia, which seems to prosper under Austrian rule ; from Bosnia, again, he passed to Servia, which rules itself with less success. Our traveller tells us a good deal about Servian politics, about the regicides—he was entertained unawares by one of them—and about the present ruler, King Peter I. His estimate of this Prince does not incline one to think that he was worth getting at the price. On the other hand, we find that he has a high opinion of King Alexander. "His short reign exercised, while it lasted, such a beneficial influence over Servia that the name of Alexander I. will surely be handed down to posterity as that of a sovereign who, had he lived, might have accomplished great things for his countrymen." Servia occupies not less than half of the volume, and after Servis, comes Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Army impressed our observer most favourably ; but for a quiet life Bulgaria is scarcely the best place. "The Land of Unrest" is Mr. de. Windt's sobriquet for it, and ho gives good reasons for the name. He does not think very highly of its ruler, who is absent, he says, for two-thirds of the year, and lives in strict seclusion, for the most cogent reasons, during the remainder. Among other acute questions in this country, that of servants is prominent. One young person left a house in which our traveller was entertained because she was not formally introduced to some visitors. The only way to keep these doubtful blessings is not to pay their wages. After Bulgaria, Roumania, and then Russia, which does not yield in "savagery" to its smaller neighbours. This is a most entertaining volume.
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