With the Serbs in Macedonia

THE SIMPLE LIFE 211
houses and beautiful gardens. The shopping
quarter, however, in spite of a big establishment
here and there, was squalid. It is only fair to
mention that we never had a chance to see the
place under anything approaching normal conditions.
With shells either screaming over the
town or actually falling in it, marketing throngs
do not assemble, timid shopmen keep their
shutters up, and all those who can afford to, go
elsewhere.
Those who had to stay suffered terribly.
Besides the large numbers who had remained in
Monastir during the Bulgar occupation, about
which, by the way, we heard very few complaints,
for days after it was taken the roads were
crowded with refugees staggering back with their
little all. But, alas, it was a case of out of the
frying-pan The
into the fire !
enemy
had not
retreated as far as was expected. He had indeed
left a scornful message behind that he would
soon be returning. Monastir, of course, is one
of the places he claims as *'
his ''
and has a
great many Bulgar inhabitants. For that reason
many people thought he would never shell it,
and for some time he did not. Then he began
to shell the approaches.
Business flagged. The Allies' hold was ob-
viously so uncertain that the great shopping
revival every one expected did not take place.