Albania was coveted by Austria and Italy, both members of the Triple Alliance, and to balk their desires, France and Eng land meant to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, no matter how much blood soaked the soil of Albania, or any other part of the Balkans. The political situation in the Balkans had been the milk, so to speak, on which I had been nourished, and I had had a little too much of it. Know ing already what the practical results of our investigations would be, what interested me personally was the women of Albania; and since, after leaving Albania, we should cross the entire length and breadth of the Balkans, I was to have an opportunity to study the women of Montenegro, Servia.