athletic feat of crossing rock-strewn surfaces, bounding from rock to
rock at a great pace, rivalling their goats in sure-footedness at dizzy
and precipitous heights, has lent their gait that perfect grace of
motion which characterises the mountaineer, and in particular the
Montenegrin. The danger in which they have perpetually lived,
accustomed to look death in the face at any moment, has stamped upon
them that open and fearless look which most forcibly strikes the
stranger.

Their blood is of the purest and noblest in the Balkans, for they are
largely descended from the noble families of the old Servian Empire
who fled to the Katunska after the bloody field of Kossovo, which
destroyed the might of the Serbs for ever. It is probably from these
ancestors that their noble bearing and perfect manners, in even
strange and unaccustomed surroundings, are derived. Their notion of
honour is of the highest, and thieving and robbery are practically
unknown.

Prince Nicolas, like King Alfred, trusts his subjects in this matter
of thieving implicitly. Should a man drop a case of banknotes on the
road, the law says that the finder shall pick it up and place it on
the nearest stone, so that the loser has but to retrace his steps,
glancing at the wayside stones. This law is invariably followed.

The Montenegrins are still an armed nation, and the following proverbs
illustrate their love of weapons. One says, "A man without arms is a
man without freedom"; the other says, "Thou mayest as well take away
my brother as my rifle."

Their patriotism and unswerving loyalty to the reigning Prince have