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Macedonia’s
Long Transition
From Independence to the
Prespa Agreement and Beyond
Edited by
Robert Hudson · Ivan Dodovski
Macedonia’s Long Transition
 Robert Hudson · Ivan Dodovski
Editors

Macedonia’s Long
Transition
From Independence to the Prespa
Agreement and Beyond
Editors
Robert Hudson Ivan Dodovski
University of Derby University American College Skopje
Derby, UK Skopje, North Macedonia
University American College Skopje
Skopje, North Macedonia

ISBN 978-3-031-20772-3 ISBN 978-3-031-20773-0 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20773-0

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc.
in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such
names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for
general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and informa-
tion in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither
the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been
made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
and institutional affiliations.

Cover credit: © Ivan Dodovski

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 To RJ and Emilie-Anne from your father
—Robert Hudson

To Aleksandra and our sons Jakov and Elisej

—Ivan Dodovski
 Acknowledgements

The editors would like to thank Toni Vasikj for designing the excellent
map of North Macedonia. We also would like to thank Demjan Anatoli
Golubov for his hard work in helping produce the index. Our thanks
go to ENTAN—the European Non-Territorial Autonomy Network—
supported by COST (www.cost.eu), for funding a short-term scientific
mission in Skopje in the latter days of our project and also to our editors
Ambra Finotello and Rebecca Roberts at Palgrave Macmillan for their
support and guidance, and to Redhu Ruthroyani and Nandakini Lahri in
the final stages of producing this book.

vii
 A Chronology of Key Events During
Macedonia’s Long Transition

1990

11 November First ballot of the multi-party elections for the

Macedonian Assembly took place.
25 November Second ballot held with VMRO-DPMNE
winning the majority of seats – 38, the League
of Communists of Macedonia – 31.

1991

25 January The Macedonian Parliament (Sobranie)

adopted the declaration of Macedonian
independence.
27 January The Sobranie elected Kiro Gligorov as the Pres-
ident of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.
8 September Macedonia organised an independence refer-
endum. The turnout was 75.74 per cent of the
Macedonian population, of whom 95.26 per
cent voted in favour of independence.
17 September The Sobranie proclaimed a new constitution by
which Macedonia was defined as a sovereign
and independent democratic state.

ix
x A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

1992

15 January The Badinteur Commission (Arbitrary

Commission of the EC) report confirmed
that all requirements for the international
recognition of Macedonia (and Slovenia) had
been met. However, the European Commis-
sion ignored this opinion because of the Greek
veto.
26 March The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) formally
left the territory of Macedonia.
26 April The Yugoslav dinar was replaced by the Mace-
donian denar as the official currency of the
country, initially as a means of avoiding the
effects of hyperinflation on the Yugoslav dinar.
The Macedonian denar would be devalued
several times until May 1993.
27 June The Lisbon Declaration of the EC recognised
the country only under a name that would not
contain the word Macedonia.
11 December UN approval for the deployment of the United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to
Macedonia made up of 700 soldiers. UN Secu-
rity Council resolution 795.

1993

7 April Macedonia admitted to the UN, under the

provisional name of Former Republic of Mace-
donia (FYROM). UN SC resolution 817.
14 June The Sobranie votes in a new Law on the Trans-
formation of Enterprises with Social Capital,
ushering in the second stage of privatisation.
18 June UN Security Council (resolution 842) approves
of the deployment of an additional contin-
gent of 300 soldiers as a protection force in
Macedonia (UNPROFOR) to prevent any spill
over from the conflicts to the north of the
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xi

country. In 1995, this would rise to 1,100

troops mainly from the Scandinavian countries
and the United States under the rebranded
mission’s name of UNPREDEP.
3 December US Liaison Office established in Skopje.
7 December Blazhe Koneski died. He was a key figure of
Macedonian literature and culture after the
Second World War, and the main contributor
to the codification of the standard Macedonian
language.
23 December The Sobranie voted to apply for the NATO PfP
(Partnership for Peace) programme.

1994

9 February The United States recognised Macedonia.

16 February Greece unilaterally blockaded its border with
Macedonia.
14 November The announcement of the results of the first
census after independence.

1995

17 February Clashes between ethnic Albanians and police

near Tetovo over the governmental decision to
prevent the opening of an Albanian university
in Tetovo. One person was shot dead.
13 September Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers
signed an Interim Accord on the normalisation
of relations between Greece and Macedonia at
the United Nations in New York. This would
result in Greece lifting its economic blockade
on Macedonia and Macedonia removing the 16
sun rays of the Star of Vergina from its state
symbols, with negotiations over the name of
Macedonia to take place in due course. Mean-
while, full diplomatic relations were established
between the United States and Macedonia.
xii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

27 September Macedonia admitted to the Council of Europe

under the provisional name of FYROM.
October The Macedonian economy was stabilised and
repegged to the German mark.
3 October Unsuccessful assassination attempt against
President Gligorov in Skopje.
12 October Macedonia admitted to the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
as FYROM.
15 October Greek blockade lifted.
11 November NATO unanimously agreed to the accession of
FYROM to the ‘Partnership for Peace’ (PfP)
programme.
15 November Branko Crvenkovski the Macedonian Prime
Minister signed the PfP programme with
NATO.

1996

8 April Yugoslavia recognises Macedonia’s indepen-

dence, its constitutional name (Republic of
Macedonia) and the Macedonian language.

1997

6 March The scandal involving the approximately 120

million Deutsche mark pyramid scheme of the
TAT savings bank in Bitola began to unfold
affecting around 13,000 depositors, of whom
over 100 committed suicide for over a decade.
This was the greatest pyramid fraud in the
history of the country, affecting the stability of
the banking system and for the longer term,
trust in the state institutions.

1998

8–14 March Macedonian Albanians demonstrate in support

of the independence of Kosovo from the FRY.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xiii

September–October NATO accelerates the build-up of troops in

Macedonia.
30 November After election victory, VMRO-DPMNE forms
a coalition government led by Ljubcho
Georgievski.

1999

27 January Macedonia recognises Taiwan.

14 February China breaks diplomatic relations with Mace-
donia over Skopje’s recognition of Taiwan and
subsequently puts veto in the UN Security
Council over the extension of the UN peace-
keeping mission.
24 March–11 June NATO bombings of Kosovo and FRY.
5 April Massive influx of some 360,000 Kosovar Alba-
nians from Kosovo into Macedonia at the Blace
border crossing. This was the equivalent of 17
per cent of Macedonia’s population. They were
held in Macedonian refugee camps.
20–25 April Washington Summit and the signing of the
Membership Action Plan with NATO.
9 June Following the signing of the Kumanovo Agree-
ment between KFOR and governments of the
FRY and of the Republic of Serbia, Macedonia
agrees to the transiting of KFOR troops across
Macedonian territory, although KFOR troops
had been present for some time.
14 November Boris Trajkovski wins the second round of
elections and the following day succeeds Kiro
Gligorov as President of the Republic of Mace-
donia.
xiv A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2000

24 January The European Commission Directives

proposed to the EU Council were adopted,
concerning the elevation of the cooperation
level between Macedonia and the EU as well
as commencing the official negotiations for
prospective EU membership.
30 January In a communique, the NLA assumes the
responsibility for the killing of three police offi-
cers in the village of Arachinovo near Skopje,
on 11 January, and for the attack on the police
station Oslomej in Kichevo, on 19 January,
which marks the beginning of the armed offen-
sive of the NLA.
5 April Pursuant to the Lisbon Decision of the Euro-
pean Commission, the first round of negotia-
tions between the Republic of Macedonia and
the EU officially commenced relating to the
SAA (Stabilisation and Accession Agreement).
Negotiations on the SAA were realised between
April and November 2000.
24 November The SAA is initialled on the margins of the
Zagreb Summit. It is later signed in Luxem-
bourg on 9 April 2001.

2001

16 February Following the kidnapping and release of the A1

TV crew at Tanushevci (the Tanushevci Inci-
dent), the first clashes were witnessed between
Macedonian government forces and ethnic
Albanian rebels in the NLA.
15 March NLA rebels within 12 km of Skopje.
23 March Macedonian authorities decide to launch an
offensive against the NLA near Tetovo which
lasts until 30 March. By many accounts, this
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xv

offensive was successful, at least in military

terms.
9 April Macedonia admitted as an ‘associate member’
of the EU, after signing up to the Stabilisation
and Association Process (SAP) in Luxembourg.
4 May Some 4,000 guerrilla fighters from Kosovo
invade and take over villages near Kumanovo.
9 June The rebels take control of Arachinovo, 8 km
from Skopje and near Skopje Airport. This is
known as the Arachinovo offensive.
24 June A ceasefire enables the NLA rebels to leave
Arachinovo.
22–24 July Fierce fighting around Tetovo.
28 July Peace talks in Ohrid.
13 August Peace deal signed between the two sides,
known as the Ohrid Framework Agreement
(OFA), which introduces features of consoci-
ational power sharing. In the meantime, some
scattered clashes continue.
15 November The Sobranie approves the Ohrid reforms, such
as building a new multi-ethnic police force and
using Albanian as the second official language
in areas dominated by an ethnic Albanian popu-
lation.

2002

1 November Following the heavy defeat of the VMRO-

DPMNE government in the general elections
held on 15 September, the SDSM forms a
new government under the leadership of Prime
Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

2003

2 May The Adriatic Charter is signed by Macedonia,

Albania and Croatia under the aegis of the US,
xvi A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

intended to promote the prospective NATO

membership of the three countries.

2004

26 February President Boris Trajkovski is killed in an aero-

plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
28 April Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM) was elected as
President of Macedonia; he assumed his office
on 12 May.
31 May The Sobranie appointed Hari Kostov as Prime
Minister of Macedonia; he resigned on 15
November following rows within his coali-
tion government and was succeeded by Vlado
Buchkovski, who was elected on 17 December.
7 November Referendum to overrule the new law on territo-
rial organisation which introduced new munic-
ipal borders to give greater control to ethnic
Albanians in local districts. The referendum
failed due to low turnout following the call to
boycott by the Macedonian Prime Minister, as
well as by the US and EU.

2005

17 December At the Brussels Summit, the European Council

granted candidate status to Macedonia.

2006

5 June VMRO-DPMNE wins the parliamentary elec-

tions.
28 August A new government is formed under the leader-
ship of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
27 December Petrovec Airport renamed after Alexander the
Great, the first in a series of ‘antiquisation’
measures introduced by Gruevski’s govern-
ment.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xvii

2008

2–4 April US presses for Macedonia’s entry into NATO

but Greece blocks Macedonia’s integration into
the alliance at the Bucharest Summit due to the
name dispute. By contrast, Croatia and Albania
are invited to join.

2009

5 April Gjorge Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE) elected as

President of Macedonia. He assumed office on
12 May.
19 December Visa liberalisation whereby Macedonian citizens
of the Republic of Macedonia are allowed visa
free travel within the EU’s Schengen zone.

2010

4 February ‘Skopje 2014’ project plans presented in pubic.

2011

5 June VMRO-DPMNE wins again in the general

elections, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stays
in power.
6 June Protest in several cities against police brutality
after a 22-year-old is killed by a member of the
special forces Tigers.
5 December The International Court of Justice in the
Hague found Greece guilty of violating the
Interim Accord with Macedonia by blocking
the country’s NATO membership in 2008.
xviii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2012

24 December ‘ Black Monday’ incident in which opposition

MPs refusing to vote the budget were forcibly
ejected from the parliament, along with jour-
nalists.
12 April Smilkovci Lake massacre in which five civilians
were killed at a man-made lake outside Skopje.

2014

27 April Early national elections coincide with the

second round of the presidential elections:
Gjorge Ivanov wins a second presidential term,
and VMRO-DPMNE’s leader Nikola Gruevski
remains as prime minister. SDSM will not
recognise the results and subsequently boycott
the parliament claiming election fraud.

2015

Throughout 2015 There is a huge influx of migrants on what

becomes known as the Balkan Route. Mostly
Syrian refugees, increasing migration by 16
times compared with the 2014 figures. By
November, over 11,000 refugees and migrants
have been registered at the transit centre in
Gevgelija.
8 February The leader of the opposition Zoran Zaev
starts a series of public releases of informa-
tion ‘bombs’, that is, illegal audio recordings
of conversations of Prime Minister Gruevski
and other high officials, accusing him and the
secret police of wiretapping 20,000 citizens
including politicians, journalists and religious
leaders. Various protests will ensue in response
to the scandal calling for interim government
and early elections.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xix

9 May Shoot out in the Divo Naselje neighbour-

hood in Kumanovo between members of the
NLA and Macedonian police, demonstrating
that signs of lingering tensions still exist in the
country. 8 policemen were killed whilst 37 offi-
cers were wounded in the incident. Also, 10
of the militants were killed, whilst 28 were
arrested and charged for terrorism.
2 June–15 July Mediation of the Przhino Agreement with the
EU, in a bid to end the political and institu-
tional crisis that had arisen in the first half of
2015, with the establishment of a special prose-
cutor (Katica Janeva) to lead investigations into
the wiretapping scandal.

2016

14 January VMRO-DPMNE Prime Minister Nikola

Gruevski resigns. It is announced that elections
will take place on 5 June, but these are delayed
until December.
12 April President Ivanov grants a blanket amnesty
to officials suspected of involvement in the
wiretapping affair. This sparks demonstrations
which in eight days turn into ‘The Colourful
Revolution’ with colours being thrown at
government buildings and monuments of
the Skopje 2014 project as a symbolic sign
of protest. As anti-government rallies grow
stronger and spread in several cities, Ivanov
decides to withdraw the abolition by signing
two annulment acts on 27 May and 6 June,
respectively.
8–9 July NATO ignores Macedonian entry at the
Warsaw Summit, inviting only Montenegro
from the Western Balkans to join the alliance.
xx A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

September The so-called Balkan Route for migrants and

refugees is sealed off with participation from 11
countries.
11 December Elections held, but it would take four months
before President Ivanov would call on Zoran
Zaev, leader of the SDSM, to form a new
coalition government.

2017

29 January VMRO-DPMNE fails to form a coalition

government with its former Albanian partner
DUI.
23 February Zoran Zaev, leader of the SDSM, forms a new
coalition with DUI.
27 April The storming of the Macedonian Sobranie, also
known as ‘Bloody Thursday’ (Krvavčetvrtok),
when about 200 Macedonian nationalists
stormed the parliament in reaction to the elec-
tion of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as
speaker of the parliament. Several politicians
injured in the scuffles and over twenty arrests.
31 May Zaev’s government comes to power, declaring
Euro-Atlantic integration as its strategic goal.
1 August Macedonian Prime Minister Zaev and
Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov sign a
friendship treaty between the two countries.
10 December Nikola Gruevski resigns as leader of VMRO-
DPMNE.

2018

17 June Prespa Agreement signed between the Mace-

donian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and
the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotsias.
30 September Consultative referendum on membership of the
EU and NATO, and acceptance of the name
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xxi

agreement between the Republic of Greece and

the Republic of North Macedonia, as set out
in the Prespa Agreement. With 94 per cent
in favour, but only 37 per cent voter turnout,
when a 50 per cent threshold was required, the
referendum failed, and so the agreement had
to be ratified by two-thirds (80 MPs) of the
Sobranie.
19 October 80 out of 120 MPs voted to start the process
of renaming of the country.

2019

11 January Constitutional changes for renaming of the

country to the Republic of North Macedonia
are passed by a two-thirds majority (81 MPs)
in the Sobranie thus completing the legal adop-
tion of the Prespa Agreement.
25 January Ratification of the Prespa Agreement in the
Greek Parliament.
6 February North Macedonia’s accession protocol with
NATO, signed by all 29 NATO member states.
12 May Stevo Pendarovski is elected as President of the
Republic of North Macedonia.
15 September The Sobranie ends the mandate of the institu-
tion of the Special Procurator after she resigns,
thereby ending the Przhino Process. She had
been detained on 21 August on charges of
abuse of authority and involvement in an extor-
tion scandal.
18 October The EU Council takes the decision not to give
a date for the start of accession negotiations
for the Republic of North Macedonia to enter
the EU, thereby causing yet further delays in
the EU integration process. This was due to a
French veto on the grounds that a new acces-
sion negotiations methodology should be put
in place first.
xxii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2020

24 March After so many delays, ministers for European

affairs give their political agreement to the
opening of EU accession talks with North
Macedonia.
27 March North Macedonia becomes a member state of
NATO.
15 July Initially set for 12 April but postponed due
to the coronavirus pandemic, early parliamen-
tary elections are held on 15 July resulting in
a divided parliament: an SDSM-led coalition
wins 46 seats, followed by 44-seat coalition of
parties led by VMRO-DPMNE. Having won
15 seats, DUI declares its participation in any
government coalition dependant on the nomi-
nation of an ethnic Albanian as prime minister.
18 August Striking a deal with DUI, Zoran Zaev concedes
to be nominated for prime minister and
hand this position over to an ethnic Albanian
nominee no later than 100 days prior to the
next parliamentary elections.
30 August The Sobranie approves a coalition of an SDSM-
led alliance of parties with two Albanian
parties—DUI and DPA (Democratic Party of
Albanians)—comprising a slim majority of 62
MPs in a 120-seat parliament.
17 November Bulgaria puts a veto on the Negotiation Frame-
work for North Macedonia’s accession talks
with the EU.

2021

5–30 September National census is held, the first in two decades;

preliminary results suggest a significant decline
in population; final results are expected in the
spring of 2022.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The triumph
over Midian
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: The triumph over Midian

Author: A. L. O. E.

Release date: May 26, 2022 [eBook #68179]

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: T. Nelson and Sons, 1874

Credits: Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE

TRIUMPH OVER MIDIAN ***
GIDEON’S NIGHT ATTACK ON THE MIDIANITES

Page 236.
 THE

Triumph over Midian.

By
A. L. O. E.
Author of “The Shepherd of Bethlehem,” “Exiles in Babylon,”
“Rescued from Egypt,” &c.

LONDON:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW;
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1874.
 PREFACE

In attempting to illustrate the history of the victory of Gideon, I am

conscious that I am entering on well-trodden ground. Others have
gathered the lessons and examined the types with which that portion
of the Scripture-field is so richly studded. I lay claim to little originality
of thought on the subject which I have chosen. A humble task has
been mine; that of endeavouring to show that the same faith by
which heroes of old out of weakness were made strong, waxed
valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, is still, as the
gift of God’s grace, bestowed on the lowliest Christian. Writing, as I
have done, under the depressing influence of domestic sorrow, and
the languor of weak health, I feel how very imperfectly I have
executed my task; but I humbly commend my little work to Him who
despiseth not the feeble, and whose blessing on the humblest
instrument can make it effectual in His service.
A. L. O. E.
 CONTENTS

I. THE RETURN, 9
II. BROKEN BUBBLES, 19
III. LECTURE I.—MIDIANITES IN POSSESSION, 39
IV. THE LITTLE MAID, 49
V. THE DEATH-BED MESSAGE, 62
VI. LECTURE II.—FAITH IN THE PROMISE, 76
VII. A SERMON BY THE FIRESIDE, 85
VIII. THE SISTER’S VISIT, 96
IX. LECTURE III.—FAITH IN OBEDIENCE, 112
X. OPENING THE CASKET, 122
XI. TIDINGS, 133
XII. LECTURE IV.—FAITH IN TRIAL, 145
XIII. A PROMISE, 154
XIV. SUSPICIONS, 169
XV. EVIL TONGUES, 183
XVI. LECTURE V.—FAITH CONFIRMED, 196
XVII. DISCLOSURE, 203
XVIII. MERCY AND SELF-DENIAL, 214
 XIX. REFRESHMENT, 227
XX. LECTURE VI.—FAITH VICTORIOUS, 235
XXI. BONDAGE, 243
XXII. THE NIGHT, 252
XXIII. A SISTER’S VOICE, 259
XXIV. A TRIUMPH, 277
XXV. LECTURE VII.—FAITH CROWNED, 288
XXVI. CONCLUSION, 298
 THE
TRIUMPH OVER MIDIAN.
 CHAPTER I.
THE RETURN.

“Home, once more at home!” how joyful sounded the exclamation

from the lips of Edith Lestrange, and how brightly sparkled her eyes
as she uttered it, as, with a step light as a fawn’s, she revisited each
spot which five years’ absence had only made more dear. With
joyous impatience she ascended the broad oaken staircase of Castle
Lestrange, to flit like a fairy from room to room, lingering longest in
the old nursery, where she had known childhood’s pleasures, with
not a few of its sorrows—and the playroom, in which her toys were
still stored. There was the doll that had been to her as a companion,
to which the lonely little heiress had whispered many a trouble; the
pretty picture-books, the miniature tea-things of delicate china, that
had been such sources of amusement. It was a pleasure to Edith,
from recollections of “auld lang syne,” to touch and handle these
childish treasures, though at the age of eleven she deemed herself
no longer a child.
Then to the newly-returned traveller how great were the delights of
the garden and the park,—the one bright with the flowers of spring,
the other donning its light green robe, while in the sheltered mossy
dells fragrance of violets filled the air. Edith almost wondered that the
light-footed deer should bound away on her approach: her heart felt
so full of joy and kindness, that it seemed strange that any living
creature should fear her. The heiress of Lestrange took pleasure in
visiting the cottage of her father’s steward, where the familiar faces
of Holdich and his wife were as the faces of old friends, bright with
hearty welcome. Her canary, cared for by Mrs. Holdich during her
absence, was tamer than ever, and its quivering notes of delight
seemed to its youthful mistress an echo of the music of happiness
which sounded within her own soul.
 For Edith did not return to the castle of her ancestors as she had
left it five years before—a feeble, fragile invalid. She no longer
painfully dragged her weary limbs along, with languor oppressing her
spirits; springing and elastic was the step which now bounded over
the mossy turf. The cheeks that had been almost as colourless as
the snowdrop, had now a faint dawn of colour upon them, like that on
the opening buds of the apple-blossom. Edith was still a delicate
plant, like an exotic reared in a hot-house, but an exotic skilfully
tended, expanding its petals in healthful life.
“Oh, how true it is that there is no place like home!” exclaimed
Edith, as she sauntered up the broad avenue, with sunshine on her
path, and the blue cloud-flecked sky smiling above her.
The observation was addressed to her cousin, Isa Gritton, who
was spending a day at the Castle, a short time after the return of Sir
Digby Lestrange and his daughter. Isa was a young lady whose age
might be about two or three and twenty, and who might therefore
have scarcely been deemed a suitable companion for one so
youthful as Edith, had not the little heiress possessed a mind so
early matured by the discipline of trial that she was scarcely
regarded as a child by those who intimately knew her. Isa Gritton
was a tall and graceful girl, with auburn hair, and eyes like those of
the gazelle—large, soft, and expressive: mirroring each passing
emotion, whether it were that of mirth and gladness, or, as was now
the case, a shadow of painful thought.
“Do you not feel with me,” said Edith, “that there is a charm in the
very name of home?”
 THE COUSINS.

“I did so once,” replied Isa, with a sigh; “but for the last two years,
since the loss of my dear father, I cannot be said to have had a real
home.”
“But you have one now, dear Isa,” said Edith; “and oh, how glad I
am that your brother chose to build one at Wildwaste, so near us.
Why, even I—who never perform great feats in the walking line—will
be able to manage the distance on foot; it is barely a mile, I hear. I
dare say that Mr. Gritton kindly chose the site of his house there on
purpose that you might be near your uncle and cousin. To meet you
often, very often, will be such a pleasure to me; I shall feel as if I had
at last what I have so often longed for, a sister to share all my
sorrows and joys. I will soon return your visit, and you shall show me
your brother’s new house. Has he not built a charming retreat, with a
pretty garden and shrubbery round it?”
Isa Gritton laughed: but there was a little bitterness in the laugh.
“Tastes differ,” she replied; “and Gaspar having been his own
architect, he doubtless admires his work. But my ideal of beauty is
hardly realized by a house that looks as if a geni had transplanted it
bodily from one of the smaller streets of London, in all the newness
of yellowish brick as yet undarkened by soot, and had dropped it on
the edge of a morass—not a tree within half a mile of it—where it
stands staring out of its blindless windows as if wondering how it
came there, with nothing to remind it of London but the great soap
manufactory, which is the most conspicuous object in the view, the
smoke of which might do duty for that of a whole street in the city.”
“How could Mr. Gritton build such a house, and in such a place!”
exclaimed Edith in surprise; “I could not fancy you in a home that
was not pretty and picturesque. I have no clear remembrance of
Wildwaste save as a wide flat common sprinkled with gorse, for I
seldom or never visited the hamlet when I was a little child.”
“You will scarcely care to visit it often now, except out of
compassion for me,” said Isa, smiling. “Mr. Eardley tells me,
however, that Wildwaste, bad as it is, is greatly improved from what it
was some years ago, when it had nothing in the shape of a school.”
“Mr. Eardley—then you know him?” cried Edith, brightening at the
mention of the pastor whom she reverenced and loved.
“Yes,” replied Isa; “though, Wildwaste not being in the parish of
Axe, we do not belong to his flock. Mr. Eardley had heard, through
your steward’s wife, I believe, that we wanted a girl to help in the
house. He called to recommend to us a young protegée of his own, a
black-eyed gipsy-looking little creature, who blushes scarlet when
she is spoken to, and seems to be afraid of the sound of her own
voice. I think, however, that with a little training Lottie Stone will suit
us very well.”
“Do you not like Mr. Eardley?” said Edith, looking as if assured that
the answer must be in the affirmative.
“Very much; I wish that he were our clergyman instead of Mr. Bull,
who must be nearly eighty years old, and who—but I don’t think it
well to criticize preachers.”
“We attend the service at Axe—we drive there, for it is much too
far off for a walk,” said Edith Lestrange. “You shall come with us
every Sunday—that is to say,” she added, with a little hesitation, “if
you don’t mind leaving your brother. Papa does not like more than
three in the carriage.”
“Perhaps I ought not to leave Gaspar,” said Isa, gravely; and she
added, but not aloud, “if I were not with him, I fear that he would not
go to a place of worship at all.—No, Edith,” she said to her cousin, “I
am afraid that I cannot accompany you to Axe on Sundays, but I
have promised Mr. Eardley to bring Lottie twice a week to the little
cottage-lectures which he gives in the dwelling of Holdich the
steward.”
“Then we shall always meet there,” observed Edith. “I have such a
sweet remembrance of those cottage-meetings, though I was such a
little girl when I went to them that of course I could not understand all
that I heard. I felt as if there were such peace, and holiness, and
Christian kindness in that quiet home-church, where young and old,
and rich and poor, gathered to hear God’s truth, and pray and praise
together. And Holdich himself is such a good man,” continued Edith
warmly: “it is not merely that he does not mind openly confessing his
religion—whatever people may think of it—but that he lives up to
what he professes. Papa went on the Continent, you know, rather in
haste, and there had been a little confusion in his affairs, and no time
to set them right. Papa was always so generous, and those about
him had abused his confidence so sadly.”
“Yes, I heard something of that,” observed Isa, who, like the rest of
the world, was aware that Sir Digby’s ostentatious extravagance had
plunged him into pecuniary difficulties, and that change of air for his
invalid child, though the ostensible, had not been the only cause of
his retreat.
“But Holdich has brought everything into such beautiful order,”
continued Edith,—“he has quite surprised papa by the way in which
he has managed the estate. He has cared for his master’s interests
as much, I think more than if they had been his own. Papa used to
suspect people who had the name of being very pious, but he said
this morning at breakfast, ‘A man like my steward, who brings his
Christianity into his daily dealings, does more to convince infidels of
the real power of faith than all the learned books that ever were
written.’ I treasured up the words to repeat them to Holdich’s wife. I
think that she and her husband are the happiest people that I know,
and especially now that their son is doing so well as a schoolmaster
under Mr. Eardley.”
“The subject of the new series of cottage-lectures is to be
Gideon’s Triumph over Midian,” observed Isa.
“And the first is to begin at seven this evening,” said Edith. “Papa
has given me leave to be always present—at least when the weather
is fine; and some of our servants will go too. They are not all able to
get to church on Sundays, for Axe is five miles from the Castle.”
The cousins, slowly sauntering up the avenue, had now reached a
grassy mound at the end of it, on which a tall weather-cock stood,
and which might be ascended by a flight of marble steps. Having
mounted these steps, a very extensive and beautiful prospect lay
before Isa and Edith, while a rural seat invited them to rest and enjoy
it.
“I have looked upon many lovely views in Italy,” observed Edith, as
her eye wandered with delight over the scene; “but, to my mind,
there is none to compare with this. I always missed that dear little
spire seen in the distance yonder, where I knew that Sunday after
Sunday the real truth was preached in my own native tongue by a
servant of God. It always seems to me with Mr. Eardley as if he were
like the disciples, who went to their Master and had their directions in
the morning straight from His lips; and that in the evening, when his
labour was over, he would go and ‘tell Jesus’ all that he had done,
and all that he had tried to do—receive the Lord’s smile and His
blessing, and then lie down to rest at His feet.”
“It seems so with some clergymen,” said Isa. “When they feed the
people with the bread of the Word, we feel that they have just taken
it from the hands of the Lord—that He has given thanks, and
blessed, and broken it; so that we look from the servant to the
Master, and realize that the ministry of the gospel is hallowed service
indeed.”
 CHAPTER II.
BROKEN BUBBLES.

“So you especially enjoyed your stay at Florence,” said Isa, after the
conversation had taken a less serious turn.
“I was very happy there; it was so beautiful, and we knew such
very nice people. I should have liked to have stayed there much
longer.”
“And why did you not remain there?” asked Isa. “Did not Sir Digby
enjoy Florence too?”
“Very much indeed, until—until a lady came to stay there who
spoilt all his pleasure in the place.”
“How was that?” said Isa.
“Why, the lady was witty; at least people said so; but if her kind of
talking was wit, I wish that there were no such thing in the world. All
her delight seemed to be to gossip and make her friends merry; and
so long as they laughed, she did not much mind what they laughed
at. You see,” continued Edith in a confidential tone, “her mother had
lived in the Castle, and she talked a great deal about that. Now, of
course, it was quite right and noble in papa to let strangers come
here while we were away—and there had been difficulties, as you
know—but he did not like its being talked about to every one.”
Isa could easily comprehend that her proud uncle had been very
sensitive on the subject of the letting of his ancestral mansion.
“And then,” pursued Edith, “she mixed up what was true with what
was not true; and how could strangers tell whether she spoke in jest
or in earnest? She said that papa had been harsh and violent to his
servants; and that was shamefully false!” exclaimed the girl, with a
flush of indignation on the face usually so gentle and calm—“he had