CHAPTER VIII.

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS OF THE DUAL MONARCHY 138

I. A Homogeneous People—A Militant Past—The Bogumili—National Bondage—Napoleon—Illyrism—Agreement with Hungary—Count Khuen-Hedervary.

II. The Greatest Representative of the Southern Slavs—Strossmayer’s Generosity and courage—Fall of Count Khuen-Hedervary—Death of Strossmayer.

III. False Dawn—Conference of Fiume—Ban Paul Rauch—Monster Trial in Zagreb—The Friedjung Case—Cuvaj—Frano Supilo.

IV. Dalmatia, Istria, Carniola—The Italian Element—Bosnia—Hercegovina—Conclusion.

EPILOGUE.

“BURIED TREASURES” _by Dimitrii Mitrinović_ 178

PREFACE.

The task of writing a book on the subject of the Slav nations has afforded me very great pleasure, and I hope my work will succeed in its object and arouse the sympathies of the British public for my race. In preference to giving long disquisitions, I have purposely adopted a simple narrative tone in sketching some of the most interesting points in the national life of the Slav peoples. I have only touched upon historical events in so far as this was necessary for the context, and owing to lack of space I have been unable to do more than allude to Slav art and literature. On the other hand, a good deal of valuable information on this subject will be found in the epilogue “Buried Treasures,” which the eminent Serbo-Croat essayist, Mr. Dimitrij Mitrinović has kindly placed at my disposal.

As I am at present completely cut off from my sorely-stricken country, I have been unable to apply for permission to quote from certain books that I have consulted, but I feel sure that my literary colleagues, Dr. Dragutin Prohaska, Niko Županić and Dr. Gjuro Šurmin, will not object to my having had recourse to their works in the interests of our race.

I am also indebted to Mr. Frano Supilo, the leader to the Croatian people, as well as to my above-mentioned friend, Mr. Dimitrij Mitrinovič; of the Serbian Legation in London, for several valuable hints.

My special thanks are due to my translator, Mme. Fanny S. Copeland, and Miss Ella C. Seyfang, who have given me invaluable assistance in my work.

LONDON, THE AUTHOR. _November_, 1914.

_PART I._

THE NORTHERN SLAVS.

THE SLAV NATIONS.