Under Turkish rule all public worship was forbidden except that of Islam, and Christians and Jews were obliged to say their prayers in secret and pay blackmail to the local magistrates for the privilege. They were known as Rayahs-the word means ransomed— because, meriting death, they purchased permission to live by paying tribute. Western Christians do not appreciate the religious heroism which the poor peasants, not of Bosnia only, but of Bulgaria, Macedonia, and other Balkan provinces, have displayed during the long centuries they have suffered from the persecution of the Turks. They have lived in daily dread of martyrdom, yet have clung to their faith, when at any moment they might have secured safety, prosperity, and position by recanting and accepting the religion of their oppressors.

These conditions still

exist in Macedonia, and in Roumania the Jews are suffering more from the Christians than they ever suffered in Bosnia from the Turks. The Christians do not kill with the sword nor destroy with the torch, nor do they steal women for their harems, but they debar their Jewish fellow-beings from labor, drive them to distress and starvation, deprive them of education and the privilege of worship.

Through all the centuries that Bosnia was controlled by the Turks the people were without morality, education, arts, or sciences, and their industry was limited to the supply of their own wants, simply because when they possessed something they did not actually need, it attracted the rapacity of the officials. Occasionally some man like Nikola Tesla, the famous electrician, who is a native of Bosnia, broke through the restrictions and found an opportunity to develop his genius elsewhere; but under the Turks such cases were few.

Much of the cruelties endured by the people formerly were due to religious

fanaticism. A peculiar sect of dervishes, called Ghazi, are holy men who go forth to slay the enemies of the Prophet until they are themselves slain, and as long as such fanatics are allowed to invade Christian communities, there can be no peace. Religious fanatics who commit murder for the faith in Bosnia are sentenced to have their bodies cremated after execution. This has driven them from the country. It is a punishment they dread more than death. To hang or shoot a Mohammedan is simply to send him to the paradise he is seeking, where he will rise again in his natural body in the presence of the Prophet. But if his body is burned or destroyed by any means, it is impossible for him. to be translated, and his soul will remain forever in suspense.

Bosnia is broken by high peaks, deep glens, ridges, beautiful wooded hills, winding streams, and rich alluvial basins, which yield large crops of grain and are especially adapted to fruit. The landscape is a series of terraces which slope gradually southward and finally disappear in an archipelago of lovely islands, one of the most enchanting pictures in the universe, whose attractions have been the theme of poets ever since the days of Homer. It was on this coast during the Roman occupation that the Roman Emperor Diocletian erected his magnificent palace, which covered ten acres of ground, and for size, magnificence, and architectural display surpassed all human dwellings. The ruins are still sufficiently well preserved to fascinate the artist, the architect, and the archæologist, but the marble is being rapidly carried away to Italy and Austria for building material.

Sarajevo, the capital, is a city of 60,000 inhabitants, reached by a narrowgauge road winding among the mountain gorges like the Colorado railways. until it reaches the Adriatic at Metkovic, the port of Bosnia. The journey is interesting; the scenery is picturesque,

but that which most attracts the American traveler is the transformation of medieval castles into paper mills, tanneries, cigarette factories, woolen mills, and other practical purposes. Most of these enterprises have been aided by government subsidies, for the Austrians. have considered it wise to encourage the introduction of foreign capital and immigration by offering substantial inducements in the way of free land and buildings, exemption from taxation and financial assistance. In this way they have provided employment for the women and others who are incapable of manual labor, and have afforded a ready and profitable market for agricultural products. There is excellent water power everywhere.. Very little raw material is now shipped from Bosnia. The hides are tanned at home; the wool is woven into blankets, rugs, and carpets; the tobacco is manufactured into cigars and cigarettes; the wheat into flour; the fruit and vegetables are preserved, and all other proceeds of agricultural labor are increased in value and manufactured into marketable merchandise before they leave the country. Prunes are the largest item of export, and $1,500,000 worth were sold in the European markets in 1901. Beet-sugar factories have now been erected, and experts have been brought from Italy to educate the natives in the cultivation of silk.

In Sarajevo the ancient and the modern meet; the East and the West touch hands; the oriental with eternal composure listens to the chatter of the Frenchman and regards the gesticulations of the Italian with supreme contempt. The town is half Turkish and half Austrian. The old part looks like Damascus and the new part like Budapest, which, in many respects, is the handsomest city in the world. I was told that Sarajevo contained a larger variety of types of the original oriental races than even Constantinople, and

that in the bazaars may be seen daily examples of every national costume worn from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Yellow Sea of China; and they all live together in peace and harmony, each recognizing the scruples of the other, permitting him to practice in peace the creed and customs of his faith.

Sarajevo compares well in architecture and in other respects with any other city of its size in Europe or America, and will some time be a beautiful and popular place, for it is much favored by nature, and the inhabitants are rapidly accumulating wealth. There are mosques with minarets and domes, churches of every religion, fine office buildings, apartment-houses, government edifices, and public institutions. The city hall is a beautiful modern structure of the oriental type, and the Scheriatschule or law college is imposing.

The old part of the city consists of crooked and narrow streets, lined with shops and bazaars opening upon the sidewalks, as in all oriental towns. The merchants and mechanics squat on their haunches or sit cross-legged as they make and sell their wares, but it is not sage for a stranger to purchase souvenirs of the country in those shops unless he sees them made, because most of the stock comes from the factories of Germany, France, and Austria. The different trades are governed by guilds, as was formerly the rule throughout Europe. Each guild has a patron saint and a long list of officers, who fix prices and profits, regulate wages, appoint apprentices, and decide disputes; but there is no eight-hour law. The busy artisans keep at it from daybreak to bedtime, seldom knocking off except to say their prayers at the nearest mosque, or drink a cup of coffee and make a cigarette at the nearest café.

The population of Bosnia at the time of the revolution is unknown. There had never been a census. More than

tary. Every young man must serve five years in the army. At eighteen he enters the active service for two years, and then serves for three years in the reserve corps, which is mobilized for two or three weeks annually for drill and instruction; but no Bosnian soldier serves in his own country. He is sent to Austria or Hungary and stationed in some large town, where he can have an opportunity to rub up against the people and learn by imitation what he cannot be taught at home. If he marries an Austrian girl, he is allowed double pay, is exempt from certain guard duty, his wife is permitted to live in the barracks with him, and is employed as a cook or laundress or in some other capacity. Thus a great majority of the young men who leave Bosnia for military service return with Austrian wives and settle down as valuable citizens in the old towns. On the other hand, all military duty in Bosnia is performed by Austrian soldiers, who are offered similar inducements to marry Bosnian girls, and if they settle down in the province permanently, the government gives them farms or homes. Thus the country is not only being settled by an excellent class of young people, but the ties of relationship are linking it more closely to Austria every year.

One of the most interesting towns is Jajce, where St Luke is believed to have lived and died and to have been buried. Helena, the daughter of the last of the ancient kings of Bosnia, was given the remains of the apostle as a part of her dowry, and when Jajce was captured by the Turks, she escaped by a miracle and carried them with her to a convent at Padua, Italy.

BULGARIA

Bulgaria is about the size and shape of Pennsylvania, with nearly the same population, and its forests and rivers, the mountain ranges and rich valleys that lie between them remind one of

the Quaker state. The Danube River forms the northern boundary and carries most of the commerce of the country, and along its banks are some fine old Roman ruins. Three-fourths of the population are engaged in agriculture and pastoral pursuits, cultivating little farms and following flocks and herds which graze at large. Theoretically. all of the land belongs to the state, and those who occupy it pay one-fourth of all their produce for rent and taxes. The principal products are wheat, wool, and the oil of roses, which comes from the provinces bordering on the Black Sea. Philippopolis, a famous old town founded by Philip of Macedon 350 B.C., the second city in population and importance, is the center of the industry, and from that point eastward the entire kingdom is a rose garden. Roses are cultivated like grapes in France and Italy, so that all of the strength of the sap may go into the flowers, and in the summer women pluck the flowers as they reach maturity. Thousands of tons of rose leaves are gathered annually. The petals are carefully removed and the oil extracted from them by distillation. The oil sells from $50 to $100 a pound, according to its purity and specific gravity. A single drop will perfume a two-ounce bottle of alcohol.

The peasants of Bulgaria are industrious, ingenious, and intelligent. Both men and women are of fine physique, capable of great endurance, and few are idle, intemperate, or vicious. I saw but three or four beggars all the time I was in Bulgaria, and they were cripples. The women do their share of work on the farms, and never seem to be idle a moment. They spin as they walk along the highways and as they sit behind piles of fruit and vegetables in the markets. Most of the shepherds you see from the highways are women and children. The large herds in the mountains are kept by well-grown boys,