3-052-649 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Sketches in Albania: a bear-fancier in the Bazaar, Scutari, 1880. 'Yonder are three very lady-like gentlemen - at least about the skirts - seated in [an] armourer's shop...they are fully engaged in exchanging pleasantries with the mountaineer in front of their shop. He is a Miridite...he carries his long eltin slung from his shoulder; for the Miridite's white fez and undyed woollen coat and linen pants are sacred vestments to him, and copied from the traditional garb of the immortal Skanderbeg...But the Miridite has a companion by his side who is, to judge from his exterior, not so sensitive about his looks as the mountaineer. Indeed, he appears to be more occupied for the moment in allaying an irritation of his nose to which he is subject than concerning himself about the laughter which is being raised at his expense. Presently, when he is disengaged and sits up to look about him, we discover that the Miridite's companion is a small brown bear, such as are frequently trapped in the highlands of the country. The appearance of Bruin in the Bazaar is always hailed with childlike glee by the merchants, who will neglect all other occupations to watch him go through the tricks which the mountaineer bear-fanciers teach him so deftly'. Athol Mayhew. From "Illustrated London News", 1880.