Order of the Turks

The money once paid, the community allowed the murderer to return unmolested. It was deemed sufficient if he were reconciled with the family of the party murdered ; and reconciliation under such circumstances was not likely to prove very difficult, since revenge would occasion new losses to the community.

The community which a village formed was a very close one. Jt had the right of electing its own Elders, and President or Euler (Seoski Knes); oflicerswho enjoyed both confidence and authority. The Poresci was a common burden, and its distri-bution was regulated by an equitable agreement amongst the villagers themselves.

As every family had its own tutelar saint, so also had every village; and the anniversary of this saint’s day was kept with religious solemnities. The people assembled in some large open space, on a height near the village, and the clergy consecrated water and oil; then, headed by their priests, the people, bearing crosses and images, went in procession through the fields, and in some places from house to house.

In this manner the clergy supplied the place of churches, which in most villages were prohibited by the. order of the Turks. The want of churches probably was the reason why the priests were far from enjoying that consideration which the lower clergy in the Western Countries so readily obtained. They had no occupation but that of performing baptisms, celebrating marriages, reading the service at funerals, and announcing the festivals from the calendar. The fees received by the priests, for the performance of these parish duties, were not sufficient for their support. Fortunate it was for them if they also possessed some little hereditary property in their village; on which, like their neighbours, they mowed, ploughed, reaped, and cut wood; otherwise they were but badly off. “ My Father,” asked a boy one day of the Priest, “ do you also tend your oxen?” “ My son,” was the answer, “ I would they were mine I tended.”

Tempy aged all of a sudden

“She didn’t begin to age until two or three years ago, did she?” asked Mrs. Crowe. “I never saw anybody keep her looks as Tempy did. She looked young long after I begun to feel like an old woman. The doctor used to say ’twas her young heart, and I don’t know but what he was right. How she did do for other folks! There was one spell she wasn’t at home a day to a fortnight. She got most of her livin’ so, and that made her own potatoes and things last her through. None o’ the young folks could get married without her, and all the old ones was disap-pointed if she wa’n’t round when they was down with sickness-and had to go. An’ cleanin’, or tailorin’ for boys, or rug-hookin,’ there was nothin’ but what she could do as handy as most. ‘I do love to work,’ – ain’t you heard her say that twenty times a week?”

Sarah Ann Binson nodded, and began to clear away the empty plates. “We may want a taste o’ somethin’ more towards mornin’,” she said. “There’s plenty in the closet here; and in case some comes from a distance to the funeral, we’ll have a little table spread after we get back to the house.”

“Yes, I was busy all the mornin’. I’ve cooked up a sight o’ things to bring over,” said Mrs. Crowe. “I felt ’twas the last I could do for her.”
They drew their chairs near the stove again, and took up their work. Sister Binson’s rocking-chair creaked as she rocked; the brook sounded louder than ever. It was more lonely when nobody spoke, and presently Mrs. Crowe returned to her thoughts of growing old.

“Yes, Tempy aged all of a sudden. I remember I asked her if she felt as well as common, one day, and she laughed at me good. There, when Mr. Crowe begun to look old, I couldn’t help feeling as if somethin’ ailed him, and like as not ’twas somethin’ he was goin’ to git right over, and I dosed him for it stiddy, half of one summer.”

“How many things we shall be wanting to ask Tempy!” exclaimed Sarah Ann Binson, after a long pause. “I can’t make up my mind to doin’ without her. I wish folks could come back just once, and tell us how ’tis where they’ve gone. Seems then we could do without ’em better.”

Compassionately

The brook hurried on, the wind blew about the house now and then; the house itself was a silent place, and the supper, the warm fire, and an absence of any new topics for conversation made the watchers drowsy. Sister Binson closed her eyes first, to rest them for a minute; and Mrs. Crowe glanced at her compassionately, with a new sympathy for the hard-worked little woman. She made up her mind to let Sarah Ann have a good rest, while she kept watch alone; but in a few minutes her own knitting was dropped, and she, too, fell asleep. Overhead, the pale shape of Tempy Dent, the outworn body of that generous, loving- hearted, simple soul, slept on also in its white raiment. Perhaps Tempy herself stood near, and saw her own life and its surroundings with new understanding. Perhaps she herself was the only watcher.

Later, by some hours, Sarah Ann Binson woke with a start. There was a pale light of dawn outside the small windows. Inside the kitchen, the lamp burned dim. Mrs. Crowe awoke, too.

“I think Tempy’d be the first to say ’twas just as well we both had some rest,” she said, not without a guilty feeling.

Her companion went to the outer door, and opened it wide. The fresh air was none too cold, and the brook’s voice was not nearly so loud as it had been in the midnight darkness. She could see the shapes of the hills, and the great shadows that lay across the lower country. The east was fast growing bright.

“’Twill be a beautiful day for the funeral,” she said, and turned again, with a sigh, to follow Mrs. Crowe up the stairs.

Source and more information: https://bulgarian.marietaminkova.com/miss-tempys-watchers-part-9/

The Servians encountered them in their mountains

At length, in the year 10-43, Constantine Mmachus, in order to re-establish the dominion lie had lost, sent a numerous army, which attempted to penetrate from the coast into the interior. The Servians encountered them in their mountains, as the Tyrolese and Swiss peasants have so often met their enemies, and the entire Greek army was annihilated in their impassable defiles.

This defeat was decisive. Not only did it put a speedy termination to the encroachment of the Court of Constantinople in imposing a direct government, but it also firmly established the princely power of the Grand Shupanes; whose existence depended on the preservation of the national independence.

The importance of this event was felt on both sides. By the Byzantines, the appearance of a comet is connected with the reverses which they experienced in Servia.  The most ancient Servian history, that by the Presbyter Dioeleas, relates the occurrence with all the embellishments of tradition.

In the resistance which they had in after times to oppose to the Greeks, it was an advantage to the Servians that they were settled on the borders of Western Christendom : as they derived from it, if not always open aid, at least a certain degree of support.

The Grand Shupanes eagerly sought to ally them-selves in marriage with the princely houses of Western Europe; and their chroniclers always mention such alliances with peculiar satisfaction. The Servians rejoiced in being connected with Venice; the relations of which with the Eastern Empire were similar to their own; they also opposed, to the utmost of their power, the attempts of Manuel Comnenus to re-obtain possession of the Western Crown.

When Frederic Barbarossa, during his crusade in the year 1189, approached their territory, they displayed an unexpected devotion in his favour, and offered to hold Nissa as a fief from him, and to consider themselves J, lienee- forward, as vassals of the German Empire. Not wishing, however, to offend the Greek Emperor, at a moment when the re-conquest of the holy Land might be hazarded, Frederic declined the offer, hut the proposal even, on the part of the Servians, is worthy of notice.

The Servians at times addressed themselves not only to the Emperor, but also to the court of home ; which did not give up its pretensions to the Illyrian dioceses. Pope Gregory VII. was the first who saluted a Grand Shupane as king.

Public Response To The Mayor’s Allegations

Three policemen and four protesters suffered injuries after violent clashes broke out the rally in Radnevo, the Bulgarian interior ministry said on Thursday.

Around 2,000 people joined the protest on Wednesday evening, following an incident in which four men of Roma origin assaulted three Bulgarians in a street row on Monday.

The violence erupted when the crowd, shouting “Bulgaria for the Bulgarians”, “Bulgarians – heroes”, “Bulgaria above all” and various anti-Roma slogans, reached the Roma neighbourhood of Kantona, which was cordoned off by interior ministry special forces.

Some of the protesters tried to break through the barricades and enter the Roma neighbourhood, throwing stones and fireworks at the policemen, who responded by dispersing the crowd with batons.

According to Radnevo’s mayor Tenyo Tenev, the people who tried to break through the barricades were football hooligans from the nearby city of Stara Zagora.

Speaking to public broadcaster BNT on Thursday, Tenev called on the people of Radnevo, a town of around 13,000 inhabitants, to protest peacefully.

Tenev alleged that the incident that sparked the tensions was caused by one Roma family.

The people are fed up with the wrongdoings of this family, of their shameless, aggressive and arrogant behaviour,” he told media on Wednesday.

The family has so far made no public response to the mayor’s allegations.

Four people – a Roma man called Kalcho Ivanov and three of his relatives – were arrested and charged with attempted murder after they allegedly beat up three young men from Radnevo on Monday.

One of the victims was admitted to hospital with a life-threatening knife-stab wound.

The suspects’ lawyer claimed however that one of the Roma men, Stefan Ivanov, was severely beaten up by the Bulgarians.

People in Radnevo are now organising another rally, scheduled for Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, people from the Roma neighbourhood told media that they are afraid for their lives and most of its inhabitants have temporarily left, moving in with friends and relatives outside Radnevo.

Wednesday’s clashes were not unprecedented in Bulgaria, where in recent years tensions between people from Roma and ethnic Bulgarian backgrounds have erupted several times, usually over crime-related issues.

The most violent clashes took place in 2011, when anti-Roma protests were held all over the country following tragic accidents in the southern Bulgarian village of Katunitsa which led to the deaths of two young Bulgarian boys.

In 2015, protesters also occupied Roma ghettos in the southern Bulgarian village of Garmen, as well as in Sofa’s Orlandovtsi neighbourhood, but police prevented any violence from breaking out.

Howleglass and the horses just

So they stopped and called Howleglass in a great passion, inquiring what vile work he had been doing, and swore and threatened dreadfully. Just then a wagonload of straw luckily went by, and the unhappy party purchased a small quantity, with which to purify the wellbedizened chariot.

Quite enraged, the merchant cried out, “Off to the gallows,you rascal!” and soon after Howleglass saw one not far from the roadside, and driving the chariot right underneath it, he was proceeding very leisurely to unharness the horses. “What is it that you are about, villain?” said his master. “Why,” replied Howleglass, “did not you order me to drive off to the gallows? where I thought I was to set you down.”

On looking up, the priest and the merchant sure enough saw the gibbet; upon which his master, being seized with a panic, commanded him to back, and drive right away as hard as he could flog.

Hearing this, Howleglass dashed neck and nothing through the mud, so that by the horrible pulling and tearing, the vehicle came straight in two, the hinder part remaining with the merchant and the priest stuck in the mud, and the other proceeding with Howleglass and the horses just as if nothing had happened. At length with much shouting and running the merchant overtook his driver, and was beginning to inflict summary vengeance upon him, when the priest came up and prevented him; and in this fashion they contrived to accomplish their journey, and so home again.

Eat and Drink

Well! his wife inquired how the merchant had enjoyed his journey? “Oh, delightful,” cried the merchant, “now that we are safely returned.” Then he called Howie glass, saying, “Tonight eat and drink to your heart’s content, for tomorrow you quit this house. I cannot keep you, you are too great a malicious rascal for me.”

“All right, master,” said Howleglass. And in the morning when the merchant went out, he again said, “Eat and drink, take as much as you like, but do not let me find you here when 1 come home from church.” So while the family was at church, Howleglass proceeded as he had been ordered to take what he liked; and very shortly he had almost completely gutted the house.

In short, the merchant met him with a whole load of his goods in the street as he was coming from church. “Ha! my honest cook,” he cried, “what are you dressing now?” “What you commanded me to do,” replied Howleglass: “you informed me that I might take what I liked, and rid the house of me.” “Leave these things where they are,” exclaimed the merchant, “and go to the devil if you please.” Howleglass said, “I do everything that my masters order me, and yet I cannot live in peace.” So he quitted the merchant in a huff, whom he was sorry again to have met with, while the former had his goods conveyed back to the house.

S: https://bulgarian.marietaminkova.com/eulenspiegel-and-the-merchant-part-3/

How To Meet Bulgarian Women At Night

Bulgarians love their nightlife and there’s never any shortage of it in Sofia. Sofia has it all: American-style bars, expat bars, local bars, live music, jazz venues, and regular nightclubs.

Bulgarians love going out and love drinking. Just like in the rest of Balkans, the alcohol is strong and the guys can be aggressive.

remember one night I was in a club in Bulgaria. I had been there for about 30 mins when I spotted a cute woman alone at the bar. I approached and started talking to her.

ot even ten minutes had passed when I was suddenly surrounded by two guys dancing next to us. They were trying to chat up the girl and block me at the same time.

hile I knew what was going on, I was a bit lost and confused because nothing like this happened before. I don’t remember the last time I was so aggressively blocked in Europe or even Latin America.

The Balkans are different. In fact, I remember a time when the same thing happened when I was in Bucharest.

That’s one thing you must watch out for.

Other than that, the nightlife is great and you can easily meet the woman of your dreams if you pick the right venue. Just stay away from drunk and rowdy Bulgarian guys.

How to meet Bulgarian women online

Meeting Bulgarian women online is a solid option. That means you don’t have to be physically in Bulgaria and can do so from the comfort of your living room wherever in the world you are.

In a word: awesome.

When it comes to online dating sites, you have the usual suspects: Tinder and an array of online dating sites.

To be honest with you, I’m not a huge fan of Tinder because most of women on there tend of lower quality. There’s a low barrier to entry, so women don’t really need to try hard.

The best option for meeting Bulgarian women online are the online dating sites. My favorite online dating site is International Cupid, where you can meet an array of different women, including beautiful Bulgarian ones.

When I visited Bulgaria, I used International Cupid exclusively and was able to go on several dates with very nice women, one of whom ended up becoming a serious girlfriend.

So, if you’re looking to meet gorgeous Bulgarian women, click here to meet your future girlfriend (or even wife).