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396 throughout Turkey, because the Turks are utterly lawless and no central authority can ever ensure liberty and justice in the provinces. For a hundred and sixty years thick darkness covered the land; but at the end of the seventeenth century Leopold of Germany attacked the Turks, and the Servians rose to help him, and in 1713 they were ceded, by the treaty of Passarovitz, to Austria, under whom they had peace for twenty years. They lost no moment of this breathing-space, but made roads, restored churches, and did all they could to repair the losses of former times. But the end came, and Austria, too weak to hold the country against the Turks, had to abandon them once more to their old exasperated foes the spahis. In despair thirty-seven thousand families, headed by George Brankovitch, fled to Austrian territory, on a bargain that they were to have a large amount of freedom in self-government both civil and eccesiastical, and were in return to guard the Austrian boundaries. The Servs of Austria complain that this bargain was never kept; but with their grievances we have nothing at present to do. They certainly were never in such dismal case as those who remained on the national soil.

As the century grew older, however, the utter subjection of Servia to the Turks brought some good results. The rights of the spahis were more clearly defined, feudal service was no longer forced from the peasantry, and many fought with willingness, if not with enthusiasm, in the Moslem armies. But the spirit of patriotism was not dead. When a reforming sultan ascended the throne and resolved to introduce European tactics and discipline among his troops, the Janissaries rebelled, and among the most insubordinate were those who had long exercised authority in Servia. They set the civil representative of the Porte — the pacha of Belgrade — at defiance, and the order-loving Servians answered to the appeal of the sultan and drove the rebels from the country. At once all Turkey was in an uproar; the sultan had employed "dogs of Christians" to defeat true believers. The Janissaries were at once reinstated, and rode roughshod over Servian and spahi alike. They cried to the sultan in vain, and the result of this falling out among thieves was that the honest Servians began to come by their rights. Belgrade fell into their hands, they claimed the right to garrison their own fortresses, and other rights, and would have received them in return for a yearly tribute had not the rise of Napoleon's fortunes emboldened his ally the sultan. The leader of this period was Kara or Black George, a peasant of strong character, ruthless determination, and considerable military experience, able in civil matters too, up to the requirements of the people at that stage. He called together the national assembly, or Skouptchina, appointed a senate, and revived the laws of Dushan.

It is needless to follow the varying fortunes of the struggle, which lasted till Kara George and his senate were forced to fly across the border into Austria, and the sultan's troops set themselves to pacify the country by impaling the native leaders, throwing infants into boiling water and into cesspools in derision of baptism, and other similar modes. The sultan then found in Milosch Obrenovitch, a well-known Servian, a mediator between him and the furious people. Terms were arranged, and in 1815 the treaty of Bucharest gave to Servia freedom of worship, of commerce, of self-administration, of self-taxation for the imperial treasury, of garrisoning her towns, and of administering the estates of such spahis as refused to sell the lands on which in future they were forbidden to live. But Milosch was not proof against the temptations of power. He abused his princely dignity, was driven from the country, and Kara George having been invited to return but having been murdered on the way, Milosch's son Michael was raised to the throne. He was young and untrained, and three years served to show that he could not govern the people. He abdicated, and went to Germany and France to study. The Servians chose as his successor Alexander, son of Kara George; but he also failed to satisfy either the sultan or the people, and was compelled to abdicate in 1858. Milosch was then invited to return, and ruled about a year and a half with some vigour, organizing a national militia almost equivalent to an arming of the entire nation.

On his death his son Michael, now older and wiser, succeeded to a difficulty caused by the remonstrances of the sultan, Austria, and England, against the new militia. Then he was involved by an immigration of fugitives from Turkish oppression in Bulgaria and Bosnia; but he stood his ground, and succeeded in winning for his government the love of the kindred populations beyond his borders, and a steadily growing respect from the great powers. In June 1862 a storm burst over his head which brought him in the end perfect 