Part 10

The Italian Government put forward the question of the islands for the first time in April 11, 1915. There had been no previous discussion, passionate or otherwise, as in the case of the Trentino and Triest. But now they demanded various Dalmatian islands, the chief of which were Hvar, Korula and Vis, with a total population (in 1910) of 57,954. The Austro-Hungarian Ambassador reported (cf. Red Book, concerning April 14, p. 133) that a conversation between Baron Sonnino and Prince Bülow with respect to these islands had been extremely animated, and that Sonnino had pointed out that the Navy and the whole country expected of him that he would alter Italy's unfavourable position on the Adriatic, where from Venice to Taranto she had not one serviceable harbour, that is to say serviceable war-harbour. And Sonnino added that he thought this was an opportune moment in which to rectify that state of things. On April 28 the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, besides drawing the Italians' attention to the nationality of the islanders--1·62 per cent. calling themselves Italian--pointed out that not only would there no longer be any question of a strategic equilibrium in the Adriatic if Austria were to lose these islands, but that the adjacent coast would always be threatened. On May 4, the Ambassador asked whether an arrangement with Italy would be impossible if the Austrians agreed to every one of Italy's other conditions, showing thereby what the value of these islands was in Austrian eyes. When Sonnino did not reply to this question, the Ambassador understood that Italy's participation in the War had been determined. But on May 10, the Austrian Government made up its mind to give up Pelagosa "on account of its proximity to the Italian coast." As a matter of fact it lies 42 miles from Vis and 33 miles from the nearest point in Apulia. As a strategic base this group of rocks would have no value, since the water is too deep for the construction of a harbour, and the sirocco rages with such ferocity that it flings the foam over the top of the lighthouse, which is 360 feet in height. This inhospitable place, with its population of 13 human beings, some sheep and goats, was inhabited in prehistoric days; when the excavations were being made for the lighthouse a variety of implements from the Stone Age were discovered, including a stone arrow that was found between the ribs of a skeleton.... But the Austrian Ambassador let it be known at the same time that he would be prepared to make a further friendly examination of the Italian demands with reference to the other islands. His Government also on May 15 (Red Book, No. 185, p. 181) announced that they were quite disposed to reopen the discussion. However, on the 23rd of the month, Italy came into the War. The Italians had been explaining that if only Austria would give up these islands--which was as if you were to invite a person whose designs you suspected to come and camp in the hall of your house--then, said the Italians, there would be an excellent prospect of permanently amicable relations between the two States.

OUR WELCOME TO JELA

As soon as the War was over, Italy disembarked on the islands which she had obtained by the Treaty of London. Something has been said on previous pages of the way in which she introduced herself and made herself at home. As we were sailing towards the pretty town of Jela (Gelsa) on the island of Hvar, we left Vrboka on our right. The Bishop of Split had told me of a grievance which the Italian troops at that place had lodged with his brother, the mayor. Some of them had visited, for the fêtes of carnival, both the Yugoslav Club, where they found many persons who could speak Italian, and the Italian Club, where they were annoyed to find that it was spoken by very few. As we came into the little port of Jela, with the green shutters of its white houses harmonizing with the foliage of the cypresses and oleanders, we could see a crowd of people running round--and carabinieri running with them--to that part of the harbour where we were unexpectedly going to stop. There was some confusion, the carabinieri pushing the people back, evidently to prevent them shaking hands with us; and one small boy who did not hear or did not understand what they were shouting received a terrific blow in the back from the fist of a furious Italian. Some cries were raised in honour of Yugoslavia, Wilson, France and England, which may have been imprudent; but when a place in which there is not one single Italian has been held down for months, has been forbidden to show the slightest joy on account of the birth of Yugoslavia, has been savagely punished for having a copy of a Yugoslav newspaper, has repeatedly been cursed and cuffed and ordered, at the bayonet's point, to execute some wish of the carabinieri--one cannot be astonished if in the presence of some non-Italian foreigners they could no longer repress their feelings. Some of the people had brought flowers with them, and as Pommerol and I plunged into the whirlpool and made our way towards the Italian commander's office, we had many flowers either thrust into our hands while the carabinieri were looking the other way or else we had them thrown at us, in which case some of them would usually descend upon the shoulders or the three-cornered hats of the carabinieri. Whenever anybody uttered one of the forbidden exclamations one or more of the carabinieri would fling themselves into the crowd and attempt, with the help of vigorous kicking, to reach the culprit. Thus, in the midst of a series of scrimmages, we got to the captain's quarters. We found him a very pleasant young man, keenly conscious of the difficulties of his position; as we afterwards heard, he was such an improvement on his predecessor that the carabinieri were convinced he was a Yugoslav and had been heard to mutter threats against his life. He had apologized to the inhabitants, and had dismissed one of his men who had hauled down a Yugoslav flag and blown his nose on it. For these men an extenuating circumstance was that they had been very drunk on the night before our arrival, as they had heard--it was in the first half of June 1919--that the islands had been definitely given to Italy, and this they had been celebrating. We knew that after an American and an Englishman had visited Jela, in the time of the other commandant, some of the people were interned; the young captain assured us that he would do no such thing. And one could see that he would never imitate the brutality of his predecessor, who had caused a frail old man of sixty-six, Professor Zari['c], to be pulled out of his bed in the middle of a winter's night and taken across the hills on a donkey to Starigrad, afterwards on a destroyer to Split, from where--but for the intervention of the American Admiral--he would have been deported to Italy; and all on account of his having written, in English and French, a scientific ethnographical treatise on the islands.

PROCEEDINGS AT STARIGRAD

At Starigrad on our arrival the harbour and its precincts looked like the scene of an opera, with an opening chorus of carabinieri. They were posted at various tactical points and no one else was visible. One of them advanced, however, and conducted us at our request to the office of the Commandant, a major who must have played a very modest part in the War, as I believe he only had three rows of ribbons. He gave us some vermouth and informed us that the population was very quiet, very happy. When I said that I would like to see the mayor he sent an orderly, and in less than one minute his worship stood before us. He immediately confirmed what the major had said with regard to the population. In fact the picture which he drew brought back to memory the comment of the Queen of Roumania who, when an American lady at a reception in Belgrade told her that she lived at a place called Knoxville or Coxville in the States, replied "How nice!" The good Italians, quoth the mayor, were distributing supplies among the natives, and with the exception of the Croat intelligentsia they all wished for union with Italy. I asked him if he did not think that, looking at it from the economic point of view, there would be some difficulties when the island's exports--wine and oil and fish--would have to compete with the products of Italy. But he said that one must think of the other benefits--no longer would the island have to bear the hated Austrian. It was all the fault of Austria, he continued, that after 1885 the Starigrad municipality had been Croat; since then the Italians had lost their school and their orchestra. But now it would all be changed. He was clearly a product of the new dispensation; and he told me that as the ex-mayor was an Austrian of course he had to be discharged. Nothing else did this gentleman tell me, which was a pity, as in a message, presumably sent by him, to an Italian newspaper, La Dalmazia, of Zadar, it was stated that in this conversation I had displayed a supreme ignorance of local questions.... Then we all stood up and the major said that he would accompany us down to the boat. I told him that I would join him there after I had seen some Yugoslavs, and Pommerol was good enough to walk away with him while I went round the ancient little town--it even has some Cyclopæan walls--with certain Yugoslavs, two lawyers and a doctor. One of the lawyers turned out to be the ex-mayor, whose Austrianism had apparently taken a less active form than that of his successor, for he had only been an Austrian subject, while the actual mayor--Dr. Tamakovi['c]--had served, until the end of the War, in the 22nd Austrian Regiment. With regard to the events of 1885, they told me that this was the time when the Croatian national consciousness awoke, so that an insufficient number of people had remained either to support an Italian school or yet an orchestra. And now the number of Italian adherents was about 200 (out of 3600), and might increase if ice-creams were handed round in all the schools. One of my companions happened to live in the house of Hektorovi['c], the sixteenth-century poet, and we spent a few minutes in the perfectly delightful garden with its palms and shady paths and bathing tank, like that one in the Alcazar at Seville. Then we went on to the harbour where a number of the people were collected. Pommerol was in the middle of a group of military and naval officers and civilians, these latter being partly visitors from Istria and Zadar. Suddenly a woman, standing near me, threw her head back and cried: "Viva Italia!" when other people joined her she redoubled her efforts. I should say that about thirty people were gathered round the major, shouting for Italy, and he was obviously gratified. But then a much larger number of persons who had different sentiments began to shout for Wilson, Yugoslavia and so forth. The carabinieri rushed among them, howling vengeance. A Mrs. Politeo, who was holding a bouquet, was flung down by them and trampled on. The lawyers and the doctor with whom I had been walking were all three struck over the head or on the shoulders with the butt end of muskets. (La Dalmazia wrote that I had been filling their heads with idle tales.) Children were screaming. I saw another woman, hatless, being dragged off by a couple of carabinieri--and a naval officer, who was disgusted, sternly ordered them to let her go--and they obeyed reluctantly. Four Dominican monks were next attacked--they had not taken part in the demonstration; it was enough for the carabinieri that they belonged to the Yugoslav party. One of them, Father Rabadan--an elderly gentleman with gold spectacles--was thrown down, struck until his face was covered with blood, and then dragged off to prison. The carabinieri were being helped by soldiers--one of these I saw in the act of loading his rifle--and the noise was tremendous. Here one would see a Yugoslav trying to tell one of the warriors that he had done nothing; then another ardito would go swooping on to his prey: one or two of the officers looked awkward--one or two actually looked exultant. As we steamed out of the harbour four or five carabinieri and arditi were running along the road parallel with us, others were climbing over the stone walls--apparently it was a man-hunt. "There are places in Dalmatia," Signor Luzzatti, an Italian ex-Premier, had been saying in the Temps, "where Yugoslavs and Italians are mingled; but it is clear that in those circumstances the oldest and serenest civilization should prevail. Italy in her relations with other races has continued the traditions of ancient Rome.... It is their palpitating desire [i.e. that of Fiume, Sebenico, Zara, Traù, Spalato, etc.] to live under the direct protection of Italy." And on the next day a telegram was sent to Split from the unoccupied island of Bra['c], giving the names of twenty-one persons who were arrested, and the name [Semeri] of an officer who had helped to beat Father Rabadan and continued: "The carabinieri are still looking for Yugoslavs. On the occasion of the arrestment of the clerk Nikola Pavii['c], the musket of an ardito went off and an eye was blown out to Mr. Pavii['c]. Great terror prevails among the Yugoslav population." A later message, to the newspaper Jadran at Split, said that twenty-eight persons had been arrested and imprisoned in two narrow cells, which were overlooked from the neighbouring houses. There they were being maltreated, and for the first day being given nothing to eat. Everyone felt surprise that among the arrested was a certain Mr. Vladimir Vrankovi['c], as he was one of those who had betrayed their nationality. But after ten minutes this clumsiness on the part of a carabiniere was rectified and, by command of Major Penatta, he was released. All those who could get away from Starigrad were taking refuge in the villages. The message ended by asking for the intervention of the Entente, as the people's life was being made intolerable, and for the reason that they would not trample under foot everything which they regard as holy. But, according to La Dalmazia, the indignant Italian population sent to the Paris Conference a vibrating telegram, which begged for immediate annexation to Italy, and protested against those who in an unworthy and ugly manner had disturbed the place's beautiful tranquillity.... The prisoners were court-martialled at Zadar and condemned to terms that varied from four to eight months--seven of the accused, including Father Rabadan and two other Dominicans, receiving the severest sentence.... I hope the indignant Italian population dispatched, later on, a telegram of thanks to the Paris Conference for having ordered Yugoslavia to guarantee the position of the handful of Italians to be left in Yugoslav territory, and even their special commercial interests in Dalmatia; while the half million Slovenes and Croats whom Italy proposed to annex were not to be protected by an equivalent guarantee. It would be ridiculous to bind with such conditions a Great, Liberal Power.

After this it was no great surprise to hear, on reaching Hvar, the capital of the island, that our further progress was impeded. The pale Commandant of sinister aspect, this time a naval officer, Lieut. Vincenzo Villa, showed us a telegram from the Vice-Admiral at Korula, which said that we were not to be allowed to speak to any of the inhabitants. "To explore the islands there is some little difficulty," said Burton in a lecture on the ruined cities, which he visited when he was Consul at Triest. Early in the morning our cook, who went ashore to see what he could buy, was immediately arrested by the carabinieri, who were keeping order very much like those "bravissimi citadini" who in the autumn of 1870, when many of the citizens of Rome were at loggerheads with the Vatican, arrested and disarmed all those adherents of the Papacy who showed their noses outside the Vatican's portals. Our cook was afterwards released by the Commandant, who allowed him to visit the market, escorted by carabinieri. After that we returned to Split, and from there to Zadar, in order to see Admiral Millo.

One would like to know what the Admiral would have said if this interview had taken place a few months later when, in alliance with Gabriele d'Annunzio, he was in open, armed revolt against the Government of Italy. The dark-bearded, stately Admiral, Senator of the Kingdom, had not begun as yet to make that series of buccaneering speeches, and he courteously told us, more than once, that he could permit of nothing which would outrage public order. He was much afraid that if we went back to the islands we would be the cause of lamentable scenes; in fact he could not let us go without an order from his Government. "These islands," he said, "are not yet ours; we are occupying them, as you know, in the name of the Entente and the United States. You have the right," he said, "to go there; but, unfortunately, if you do, the population will give way, as they have done already, to excesses." Since the last thing that we wished was for the islanders to bring us flowers and cheer the name of Wilson--in view of what these crimes entailed--we suggested that a small number, four or five of each party--those who desired to be with Yugoslavia and those who preferred Italy--should in succession come to us on board. Naturally we should be unable to do so if we had to visit any inland place; and after a prolonged argument the Admiral agreed to this plan. We returned to Hvar.

THE AFFAIRS OF HVAR

The subordinate Admiral, from Korula, had come across on a destroyer and was kind enough to tell us at considerable length what were his views on local and international affairs. He frankly appealed to us--and his humorous blue eyes were radiating frankness--to survey the whole matter in a broad, statesmanlike fashion. But we were less ambitious; we desired merely to be the mouthpiece of both parties. Those who first came on board were the Italianists, and I hope I shall not be considered unfair if I employ this word rather than "Italians" for a body of men, most of whom are admittedly devoid of any Italian blood and whose Italian sympathies are of very recent growth. This class numbers 9 per cent. of the population of the town. Their chief point seemed to be that the Church was opposed to them, because there was no room for clericalism in Italy (!); and the only other point worth mentioning was that Austria was to blame for the phylloxera which had played havoc with their vines. Among the Yugoslavs who succeeded these gentlemen there was an elderly priest, a canon, who related that some carabinieri--no doubt in order to display to all men that Italy had shaken herself free from clerical obscurantism--entered the church while the bishop was officiating, and hoisted on the roof an Italian flag. This canon, Dom Ivo Bojani['c], could scarcely be blamed if the Italian innovations did not appeal to him. He chanced to be looking out of his window on a moonlit night and noticed that an agile policeman was climbing up to his balcony for the purpose of decorating it with an Italian flag. The old gentleman protested, and was thereupon taken to the barracks, where he remained for one day. The Yugoslavs told us that the state of things was worse than in Africa--but that was a figure of speech; the facts were that the different societies and clubs had been closed, that all persons going down to the harbour had been forbidden to speak their own language to their friends on board ship, that three Croat teachers had fled to escape being interned, while an Italian soldier who did not know a word of Croatian had been appointed in their place.

FOUR MEN OF KOMIA

When we departed from Hvar the Admiral sent his destroyer to accompany us on our tour. She had on board a Roman journalist, Signor Roberto Buonfiglio, who was travelling in Dalmatia and the islands on behalf of the clerical Corriere d'Italia. The situation at Vis, the historic palm-shaded capital of the island of the same name, has already been described. The Italian Commandant, Sportiello, was a tactful and popular person; moreover the Yugoslavs were on the best of terms with Dr. Doimi, the head of one of the very rare Italian families. At Komia, the other little town on that island, the relations between Yugoslavs and Italianists were not so cordial. But the deputation which represented the latter party comprised one man whom the Austrians had put in gaol for several years for forgery; a father and son, of whom the one had sold himself for the sake of rice, while the other had also been imprisoned by the Austrians for uttering false documents; the fourth and most innocent member--his name happened to be Innocent Buliani--had nothing to conceal except his fickleness, for in a short period he had called himself an Austrian, a Yugoslav and an Italian. None of these four was a native of the place, whereas the Yugoslavs who came to see us were natives who had risen to be the chief doctor, lawyer, priest and merchant. One of the Italianists, Antonio Spadoni, told us that the people were afraid of expressing their real wishes for union with Italy. This hypothesis might seem to demand some elucidation, but Signor Spadoni insisted on passing on to the "Workers' Society," which the young Commandant had founded for the purpose, according to Spadoni, of helping the people to find work and of looking after their interests. We were subsequently told by the Yugoslavs that the Commandant himself called the members his "Rice Italians," for many of them did not speak the language and did not even sympathize with Italy. But on joining they had committed themselves to something that was printed at the top of the paper, which part had been turned over. It really doesn't sound very worthy of a Great Power. When some of the members, discovering to what they were committed, sent in their resignation, it was refused. At Komia all the municipal officers had been discharged by the Italians, the reading-rooms and places of amusement had been closed, and the Food Administrator at Split was forbidden to send any food, lest he should interfere with the Italians' object in distributing rice, etc. Once he was permitted to forward some American flour, and the people had to pay forty crowns of duty on each hundredweight.

THE WOMEN OF BIEVO

From Komia, the next morning, we steamed over on the destroyer to the wonderful blue grotto of Bievo (or Busi), which surpasses Capri. An Austrian Archduke, we were told, had once waited a week at Komia, but had been compelled to leave without seeing the cave. We were more fortunate--the wind, the water and the sun were kind to us; we entered in a rowing-boat the little pearl-grey Gothic chapel which Nature has constructed underneath a hill, and as we gazed into the blue-green waters, through which from the rocks below a fountain of most brilliant blue was rising, every time an oar was dipped the waters painted it a silvery white. The population of Bievo consists of about 150 people, who mostly live around the little church of Saint Sylvester, two hundred feet above the sea. They occupy themselves with sheep and fruit and bees and fish, and with the vines that are even more famous than those of Vis. A good part of the population had assembled on a grassy platform high above the entrance to the cave, and as we climbed out of the rowing-boat on to the destroyer a much larger rowing-boat came round a promontory. Sixteen women formed the crew. They sang their national Croatian songs, and when they approached us some of them stood up and, while the wind played with their straw-coloured and golden hair, they laughingly threw flowers at us. As we left Bievo the men and women high above us and the women in the boat were waving their hands; some of them were singing, others were shouting a farewell. Here and there on the sunlit waters, rising and falling, were the flowers which had woven on the sea a gorgeous carpet. "Well," said the lieutenant-commander, "I admit that this is a Yugoslav island."

I forget whether Signor Buonfiglio made any remark, but a few hours later at Velaluka he was most incensed. As our boat--we had returned to the old Porer at Komia--sailed into the harbour a huge Yugoslav flag was flying from the summit of a hill, with French, British and American flags around it. The destroyer had arrived before us and the burly journalist was striding up and down the quay. "I protest," he exclaimed, as he saw us, "and not as a journalist but as an Italian citizen! I protest!" Between us and the front row of houses, which included the town-major's office, there was a large empty space--the inhabitants could be descried up the side-streets and behind the windows. De Michaelis, the town-major, was evidently a superior young man; as he poured out the champagne he told us with perfect frankness that the educated people at Velaluka were Yugoslavs. Suddenly there was a terrific noise just underneath us. We hurried downstairs and found that the soldiers in their excitement had fired off a machine gun into the wall. Half an hour later the firing could be heard from the top of the hill, but we never ascertained whether anyone was wounded. In this place the Italianist party sent to us an ex-publican who had now joined the police, a small trader and a municipal clerk who had recently been imported from Zadar. The Yugoslavs were a large landowner, a doctor and a priest, who told us that the people for the most part were refusing to accept gratuitous food from the Italians.

ON THE WAY TO BLATO

We were anxious to visit Blato, an inland village of 8000 inhabitants. De Michaelis regretted very much that he had no carriage, but a Yugoslav had a quaint little car on which he was learning how to drive and he was kind enough to take us--for which he was afterwards deported to Italy. The good man made so much noise in changing his gears that our progress was advertised in the uttermost fields, and very few of those who bore down upon us came unprovided with flowers. Several of the bouquets hit Pommerol or myself in the eye, and the Dutch say that the best cause has need of a good pleader. But the people were so gay, waving their hats and running after us (they did not always have to run) and shouting for the various Allies and for President Wilson. I remember two small round-eyed boys who were not old enough to run; they were standing hand in hand by the side of the road, panting the magic word "Wilson! Wilson! Wilson!" There was a sudden contrast when we jerked into the village. People were not rushing towards us, but away from us--with furious carabinieri behind them. We got into the garden in front of the gendarmerie; one of the men was so enraged that he kept on muttering "Bestia! Bestia! Bestia!" In the Commandant's office we met Major Federico Verdinois, the town-major, who said that if he had only known of our coming this wretched scuffle would not have happened. Even as he spoke it started again; we leaned out of the window and saw two or three persons who were being prevented by soldiers from going down the street or from going anywhere. An officer was slashing with a riding-whip at a soldier who was particularly rough. "One can do nothing with the marines; they are brutal," said Major Verdinois. At last there was peace, and the major said that an Italian deputation would come to see us. It consisted of six individuals. The Austro-Hungarian census of 1910 said that the Blato district contained 13,147 Serbo-Croats, 3 Germans and 6 Italians; but these six were not all in the deputation, for two of its members had come from Hvar, one from Zadar, two were ex-Austrian spies and one was a Yugoslav, who hoped in this way to help his people. One gentleman deplored that he had not been told about our journey; had he known he would have told his peasants to appear. Another gentleman assured us that the peasants were afraid of declaring their real wishes. Of course a country whose friends call it the most liberal in the world could not allow such a state of things to continue, and a short time after this the following Order was issued by the staff of the 66th Division of Infantry:

No. 46. Confidential--Personal. VERY URGENT.

June 23, 1919.

TO THE COMMANDERS AT BENKOVAC, OBROVAC, NOVIGRAD, ERVENIK, KISTANJE, SKRADIN, BIOGRAD, NIN, GJEVERSKE, SUKOAN AND KARIN.

TO THE COMMAND OF THE ROYAL DIVISIONS.

It is necessary to bring about, with no delay and very discreetly, the dispatch of messages to the Prime Minister Nitti and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tittoni from the mayor, from societies, etc., of this garrison, expressing the people's keen desire to be annexed to Italy.

A copy of said telegram should be transmitted to me.

THE MAJOR: THE MAJOR-GENERAL: FORESI. SQUILLACE.

To return to the events at Blato--while we were waiting for the Yugoslavs a woman made her way as far as the corridor, flung herself down on her knees and entreated us to protect her. Major Verdinois gave us his word of honour that no Yugoslav with whom we spoke would, for that reason, be arrested. Perhaps he was overruled by his superior officers--at all events he arrested and deported to Italy, in the night of June 19, no less than ten persons, that is, all the Yugoslavs who spoke to us at Blato, with two exceptions. [We cabled this to the Paris Conference, and after some delay the unfortunate men were repatriated.]

WHAT THE MAJOR SAID

For what happened before our arrival I am indebted to the chemist Radimiri, from whose report the following is an extract: "At ten in the morning Major Verdinois had summoned to his office the communal doctor, Moretti, and the secretary, Draguni['c], both of them Yugoslavs. He told them that two Englishmen who were cruising about in the Porer would very likely be coming up that afternoon to Blato and he would permit no sort of demonstration. The doctor, he said, would be held responsible for any disorder; and as Moretti was about to make this known to the people, who were just coming out of church, the Italian adjutant approached him with a paper and ordered him to read it to the Yugoslavs. This document--it has been preserved--is in the Serbo-Croat language and was given to the doctor because the adjutant, who did not know the language, mistook it for another one. It was an exhortation to the people, urging them to have nothing more to do with the Yugoslav intelligentsia, which had made a great deal of money during the War. 'And you have given your blood for four and a half years and what has been your benefit?' Dr. Moretti made a personal appeal for the maintenance of order, and the people, having called out 'Long live Wilson!' went their divers ways in peace. Nevertheless three platoons appeared, each with one officer and one N.C.O. The adjutant's platoon distinguished itself, for while the arditi attacked anyone they saw, including women and children, with the butt end of their muskets, Lieut. Giovanoni laid about him with a dog-whip. Several of the soldiers made for a group of four young fellows; three of them escaped and the fourth, Peter Kraljevi['c], was struck with a rifle so severely across the face that he was bathed in blood. As he tried to defend himself he was shot at from a distance of three paces: one bullet went through his nose, another wounded him in the forehead. He fell to the ground, and a teacher, Mrs. Maria Grubisi['c], who had witnessed the whole incident, sank down unconscious at his side and was covered with his blood. Various other people were injured--three little girls received rifle shots in their bodies. All the main streets were shut off and eight machine guns were placed in readiness. But the people were not to be intimidated, and when the Englishmen arrived their national consciousness was displayed. As a result Peter arap was knocked unconscious with a mighty blow of a musket, the fourteen-year-old Joseph Sulei['c] had a similar experience, and among many others who were assaulted we will only mention an ex-official, Anthony Pituli['c], a man of sixty, who was struck twice with a rifle on his stomach and then prevented from going home but chased out into the fields.... It seemed as if it would be impossible for our people to have a conversation with the Englishmen, but at last twenty men and twelve girls managed to reach that house...."

THE PROTEST OF AN ITALIAN JOURNALIST

I would also give Signor Buonfiglio's dispatch from this island--it appeared in the Corriere d'Italia of June 16--but more than three-quarters of it is devoted to an account of some Dalmatian delegates who were received, during the War, by Francis Joseph and expressed their loyalty. The deputation was introduced by Dr. Ivevi['c], a Croat; and if Signor Buonfiglio wants us to deduce from this how ardently the Croats loved the Habsburgs he will have to give some other explanation for the very loyal speeches of his countryman, Dr. Ziliotto of Zadar. But I presume that his editor did not send Signor Buonfiglio on this journey to the end that he should write of what official speakers saw fit to say during the War. As for the incidents we witnessed and the islanders' aspirations, he merely says that their welcome to us was an artificial affair which the Yugoslav committees, with extreme effort, had organized--and I don't think that that is a very illuminating observation.