BEAUTIFUL JUGO-SLAVIA

Evening Star, Issue 19616, 23 July 1927, Page 19

BEAUTIFUL JUGO-SLAVIA

Tho little town of Bled is a delightful spot for a summer holiday 7, with its splendid air and its lake as of green jade, framed with wooded mountains and distant snow peaks. Sir Humphrey Davy lived in this part of tho world for many years, and described it as the most beautiful country he had ever seen in Europe. Here are lush meadows full of familiar English wild flowers,' with scabious and the blue succory predominating (in August), and in addition the exquisite wild cyclamen. The fields are bounded by 7 hills and forests, and beyond are the snow-crested Julian Alps, of which the highest mountain is the Triglav, the pride of Slovenia and the theme of legend and verso. The peasants are a line, upstanding people of a northern type. The character of the people may be gauged by an ancient Slovenian custom. When the reign of a new prince or duke was inaugurated a peasant mounted a rock to await his coming. The prince always arrived dressed humbly as a peasant. Tho peasant then demanded: “Who is it who approaches?” The crowd answered: “It is tho prince of this land.” Tho peasant went on: “Is he a good judge? Is ho a friend of the truth?” On receiving ,a reply in the affirmative, the peasant yielded his place to the prince, who mounted the rock, and, brandishing his sword, vowed to bo the defender of the country. Evidences of the love of design and carving are to be "seen in the cottages of tho peasantry. The Slav is beyond nil doubt naturally artistic.—Edith Buckmaster, in the 1 Contemporary Review.’