68 BIRD-HUNTING 



making any arrangement about terms, that was far 

 beyond my powers. However, as soon as I had 

 settled down and finished my repast, I went forth 

 to try to find the house of one of the chief men in 

 the town, to whom the Austrian consul at Antivari 

 had given me an introduction. He also was dressed 

 in the national costume, and a handsome old fellow 

 he looked. Tall, as are all the Montenegrins, with 

 an imposing, aristocratic presence, his beetling brows 

 and strong, hooked nose gave him the appearance 

 of some fierce bird of prey. He accorded me a 

 most courteous reception, while I explained, as 

 well as I could, my reasons for visiting his country. 

 Unfortunately, he could speak very little French, 

 and of course no English, but promised to do what 

 he could to assist me. This promise was very soon 

 redeemed, for shortly after my return to ' mine inn ' 

 he brought to my room a law student who spoke 

 most excellent French : indeed, I soon found that 

 he knew and spoke fluently nearly every European 

 language except English and Spanish. 



It is quite a common thing in these countries 

 of Eastern Europe to find, not only among the 

 educated classes, but among the ordinary working 

 population, people who speak fluently two or three 

 languages besides their own. This is not a 

 question of education at all, for the majority have 

 never had any, but they have acquired from their 



