February 3, 1916. 
LAND AND WATER 
because as he says " There will always be something to 
cat in the palace." And that was undoubtedly the 
attitude at Cettigne. But the lack of food was an ex- 
excellent talking point whereby to ask for money aid, 
or explain how resistance must become impossible. The 
gradual starving of the people was an excellent method 
of making them desire a cessation of hostilities, a recon- 
cihug them to an arrangement with Austria, always a 
very present actualite in Cettigne. In his interviews 
with the diplomats King Nicolas had been preparing the 
way for some time past — ever since the Serbian army 
had arrived in his country. While they were there 
nothing detinite could be done, it was too dangerous, but 
as soon as the bulk of the forces had readied Skutari, 
matters became acute. 
Warning of the Attack. 
There was a delightful naivete about the whole 
proceedings. A high foreign office official drove round 
to the allied diplomats one evening and announced that 
the Government had information that the Austrians would 
make a general' attack on the evening of the orthodox 
Chiistmas. This was home four days previous. The 
Montenegrins would do all they could to defend them- 
selves but —of course the men were starving and short of 
everything. Incidentally I may say that when I was on 
the Lovchen positions the men were receiving bread — it 
was the third day. for two days they had only had 
potatoes — the stories of twelve days' starvation had no 
foundation. On the night of the Austrian attack. King 
Nicolas himself visited the alhed ministers and informed 
them that all was lost, and that they should flee. He 
also sent a telegram to the Servian General Staff at 
Skutari in which he announced that all was lost, and 
that he had refused both armistice and peace, but that 
his men had no food nor ammunition. This was all so 
nmch setting of the stage for the capitulation. It is 
practically certain that the Austrian advance was no 
surprise to King Nicolas nor to the Government, which 
lie had changed shortly before to one composed ofrnen 
ready to do his bidding blindly. The Austrian contention 
that" an armistice and possibly a capitulation was .'^igned, 
is most probably true, and also that they were signed 
either by King Nicola?, Prince Peter or the Government. 
So far the arrangement had been carried out, but then 
the army put down its foot. The capture of the Lovchen 
]jositions was one thing, but the occupation of Montenegro 
and the disarming of the entire population was another. 
The bulk of the army therefore refused to be bound by 
the signatures of their governors and decided to tight on. 
Escape to Skutari. 
Many were in no position to do so. They were in 
outlying parts of the coimtry without any means of 
supply or retreat. Such forces as could escape made 
their way to Skutari— with them went Prince Mirko, 
General Martinovitch, an honest man who was recently 
in this country. General Vukotitch, the brother of the 
Queen and the'Serbian officers. King Nicolas and Prince 
Peter, who was thoroughly Austrian fled the country, 
dreading both the anger of the Montenegrin army and 
the rage of the Austrians who found that the arrange- 
ment made had gone astray and that they were not 
going to have an easy walk over. Exactly who was the 
biter and who the bitten it is hard to tell, but there is 
no denying that the last days of Montenegro were rather 
tarnished than glorious, the capture of Lovchen was 
not accompanied by any heavy fighting although there was 
heavy hring. Afterwards the role of such of tlie army 
as declined to surrender was simply that of retiring on 
the Serbian rearguard at Skutari, preserving the national 
honour and remaining an embryo of hope for the future. 
The occupation of Montenegro, while it enables 
Austria to complete the subjugation of the Serbian peoples 
and secure her occupation of Cattaro, must mean leaving 
a large garrison in the country. It also means feeding the 
whole population since otherwise there will undoubtedly 
be guerilla warfare. The chance of using the inanhood 
vl Montenegro as soldiers (as has been done in Serbia) 
does not present manv attractions, since the Montenegrin 
lighter is of small value in a modern army. One result 
is that now the ultimate inclusion of Montenegro into a 
greater Serbia is hasrened — in any event it was only a 
question oi a short time. 
The military assistance given to the Allied cause \\ as 
never great, the anxieties and worries in connection witli 
keeping the governing regime supplied with money, and 
at the same time endeavouring to benefit the deserving 
population, w^ere very great. It is probably no exaggera- 
tion to say that to-day the conclusion of the Montenegrin 
chapter comes as a relief to the Allies rather than as a 
surprise. For long it has been known that it only needed 
an opportunity or an Austrian desire to accomplish the 
occupation, partial or total, of Montenegro. And it must 
not be forgotten that the future of Montenegro is not 
settled to-day nor will be until the final settlement after 
the war — and in that settlement the evidence of the past 
four years will be weighed and known. Whatever may 
be the judgment of the arbiters of the new map of 
Europe, it is certain that the sins of commission and omis- 
sion of those recently responsible for the Government of 
Montenegro will not be laid at the door of a brave and 
patriotic mountain people, whose history entitles them to 
respect, whose recent sufferings to pity. There have been 
instances of Governments being betrayed by individuals, 
in Montenegro we have an instance of a people being 
betrayed not once but several times by a Government. 
The future of Montenegro is inextricably bound up 
with that of Serbia, if that be safeguarded then we do not 
need to be anxious as to the results of the Austrian occu- 
pation of King Nicolas' kingdom. As the wave of 
Austro-German occupation of the lands of the Serbians 
is rolled back, a free Montenegro people, untrammelled 
by corrupt government will play a part and in so doing 
achieve a real national existence. 
"BLACK JACKS." 
To the Editor of Land and Wafer. 
SiK, — Apropos of the paragraph in a recent issue of your 
journal respecting the old Black Jacks at the Merryweathcr 
Museum at (ireenwich, there are, of course, other places in 
the London area where these interesting relics can be seen by 
the general public. Six remarkably fine specimens are kept 
in the Great Hall at Chelsea Hospital. These are all of the 
same size and shape and appear to be in an excellent state of 
preservation. They are large Jacks, each about 22 inclies 
high and date from the lytli century. In the Tudor Room 
of the London Museum tliere are three lOth century Black 
Jacks, one of which was found in a well on the site of the 
Aquarium, Westminster. 
Although the use of this once popular drinking' vessel — 
a relic of the days when the lord and master partook of his 
meals in the company of his retainers — has completely dietl out 
the glamour of its old associations still Ungers. 
SiLENUS. 
Mr. John Lane has just published A Book of Belgium's 
Gratitude, which has been designed as an expression of the 
gratitude felt by Belgians for the help and hospitality of (ireat 
Britain and the Colonies. The contributors include all tiie 
most distinguished Belgians in politics, society, literature, 
and art, among tliem being the King and Queen of the Belgians, 
H. E. Paul Hymans, M. Uavignon, M. Lambotte, Maurice 
Maeterlinck, Emile Verhaeren, Emile Cammaerts, etc. Tiie 
translators also include distinguished people, among them 
being Lord Curzon, Lord Cromer, Sir Claude Phillips, Lord 
Latymer, and Mr. John Buchan. 
Field Gunnery, by Donald A. MacAlister. (John Murray. 
IS. 6d. net), is a manual prepared with special reference to the 
work of the lieavy batteries. The work will be found \ery 
useful by junior ofiicers in heavy artillery works as well as by 
those belonging to field batteries. The author explains the 
elements of ranging and teaches men to get out their own 
forniulffi. 
Lieut. -Commander Taprell DorUng, R.N., has compiled 
a very useful little handbook in Ribbons and Medals (G. 
Philip and Sons. 2S. net.), which illustrates and describes 
II hundred and twenty-five naval, military, and civil medal 
ribbons in colour, and gives numerous reproductions of the 
various orders and medals which these ribbons represent. 
The book is not intended as a cyclopa'dia of the subject, but 
is designed to jierniit of recognition of the most-worn decora- 
tions by the curious observer, aud to furnish particulars of 
the service by which the decorations in t[uestion were earned. 
'Ihis purjjose it fulfils admirably, and as a reliable text-book 
on the subject at ;i popular price it is to be recommended. 
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