Itfiview of iiffiVifs, l/ll,'j'j. 



Character Sketches. 



469 



soldier's training, and his erect military bearing 

 givi-s him a dignity beyond his stature. Taking his 

 duties seriously, King Peter has but little leisure, 

 and such as he has he devotes to reading. Ab- 

 stemious and temperate in all things, the atmosphere 

 of ills Court is a welcome change from that of the 

 latr King Alexander. P'eaness of personal danger, 

 King Peter drives and rides about Belgrade prac- 

 tically unattended, a fact which does much to endear 

 him to his people. A soldier who has seen much 

 active service, he is very keenly interested in the 

 Servian army. Indeed, the Servian army is perforce 

 an object of interest to the monarch and to all 



was assassinated in 181 7, after having earned for 

 himself the title of the ■' Liberator of Servia." The 

 \oung Prince Peter left Servia in 1858, some months 

 before the abdication of his father, and went to 

 Geneva to continue his studies, remaining there till 

 1861. He then went to Paris, and entered the St. 

 Parbe Ivccc in order to prepare for the military col- 

 lege of St. Cyr. He was received in 1862, and 

 finished as an officer in 1864. In this connection 

 it is of interest to remember that since his accession 

 King Peter entertained the officers of his class at 

 Belgrade in r904. The young officer then attended 

 the school of the General Staff, and linished his 



The Crown Prince George. 



patriots, since it is only by means of its military 

 forces that a Balkan state can hope to survive. 

 Born in 1844, he spent the earlier years of his life 

 as Crown Prince in Belgrade, and passed through 

 college in that city. Thus many of the present 

 Servian statesmen were his college friends, a fact 

 which removed many difficulties when the King re- 

 turned to Servia after forty-five years' absence. His 

 father, Alexander I., ascended the throne in 1842, 

 and abdicated in 1859, the seventeen years of his 

 reign being marked by wise and prudent actions 

 which brought much prc:)six>rity to Servia. His 

 grandfather, the founder of the Karageorge dynasty. 



The Princess Helena. 



military studies in 1867. At the same time he de- 

 voted much time to the study of political science 

 and history. It was in 1867, at the age of twenty- 

 three, that King Peter translated John Stuart Mill's 

 ■' Liberty " into Servian. On the outbreak of the 

 Franco-German War the young Prince took an ac- 

 tive part and served with great distinction, being at- 

 tached to the Foreign Legion till the reoccupation of 

 Orleans, and then to the General Staff of the i8th 

 Army Corps till the end of January, 1871. He 

 served under General Billot and Bourbaki, and took 

 part in many engagements. He received the Cross 

 of the Legion d'Honneur after the battle of Le 



