And there was a battle called Plevna that
went on and on with varying fortunes for what seemed like a great part of
a lifetime; I remember the day of wrath and mourning when the little red
flag had to be taken away from Plevna--like other maturer judges, I was
backing the wrong horse, at any rate the losing horse. And now to-day we
are putting little pin-flags again into maps of the Balkan region, and
the passions are being turned loose once more in their playground."
"The war will be localised," said the Merchant vaguely; "at least every
one hopes so."
"It couldn't wish for a better locality," said the Wanderer; "there is a
charm about those countries that you find nowhere else in Europe, the
charm of uncertainty and landslide, and the little dramatic happenings
that make all the difference between the ordinary and the desirable."
"Life is held very cheap in those parts," said the Merchant.
"To a certain extent, yes," said the Wanderer. "I remember a man at
Sofia who used to teach me Bulgarian in a rather inefficient manner,
interspersed with a lot of quite wearisome gossip. I never knew what his
personal history was, but that was only because I didn't listen; he told
it to me many times.
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