7. Prince Ferdinand
8. The church and the Panitza plot
9. The Beltcheff and Vulkovitch murders
10. The fall of Stambuloff
11. The persecution
CHAPTER VII. PRINCE FERDINAND.
Prince Ferdinand's position — Its contested legality — Formation of Stambuloff Ministry — The Elections — The Esky Zagra band — The Bourgas expedition — Nabôkoff is shot by peasants — Count Ignatieff's complicity — Turkey's protest against Prince Ferdinand — Lord Salisbury's and Count Kalnoky's views — Stambuloff marries — The Oriental Railway — The Capture of Messrs. Binder and Landler by brigands — Extermination of brigandage by Stambuloff.
I HAVE said that Prince Ferdinand had all Europe against him. His assumption of the dignity of Prince of Bulgaria was hailed by a general regret of the Powers that it had been effected without the consent of Russia, as it was evident that it would open the door to fresh intrigues, and, possibly, to a renewal of the whole question. Russia stubbornly adhered to her attitude of what she termed "passive protest." Her grounds were that General Kaulbars, not having considered the Bulgarians in a fit frame of mind, politically, to hold their elections, had declared that Russia would consider them, the Chamber elected, and any and every act of such Chamber, or Assembly, as illegal. Consequently, the choice of Prince Ferdinand was illegal. How far Russia possessed the right, by an assumed veto, to invalidate the elections might, perhaps, be contested, but she never
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permitted her right to be questioned, and it appears to have been tacitly recognised then, and since. At the same time it is as well clearly to define the principle on which she acted. In every other respect the election of Prince Ferdinand was perfectly in order ; but because Russia chose to ignore the elections to the Assembly, for no other reason than that she wished to prolong the state of uncertainty in Bulgaria until she could find a good opportunity of stepping in herself, the unfortunate Prince was from the first, and is still (June, 1895) unrecognised as Prince of Bulgaria. He is merely Prince Ferdinand of Coburg, de facto, but not de jure, ruling the Bulgarians.
Directly after his election Russia approached the Powers with a proposal simply to eject Prince Ferdinand, and to appoint General Ernroth, Regent or Governor of the two Bulgarias. The Porte also addressed a circular to the European Cabinets, couched as follows : —
" Your Excellency is aware of the circumstances under which the election of Prince Ferdinand of Coburg, as Prince of Bulgaria, took place. You are also cognisant of the declarations made by His Highness, that he would not leave Vienna until his election should have obtained the sanction of the Suzerain Court, according to the terms of the Treaty of Berlin, and the consent of the other Signatory Powers.
" At the moment when an exchange of views had commenced between the Imperial Government and the Great Powers on the subject of this election, we learned that Prince Ferdinand, contrary to his previous declarations, proposed to leave his residence of Ebenthal for Bulgaria ; and this inopportune project made it our duty to address to him, through our Ambassador, at Vienna, and other intermediaries, strong and repeated advice, engaging him
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not to depart from the course which he had planned for himself, and which, at various intervals, he had announced to us.
" Notwithstanding the above - mentioned declarations, the Prince has seen fit to abandon his original project, and suddenly to leave his residence to go and take possession of the administration of the Principality where he now is.
" I consider it superfluous to call the deep and serious attention of the Government to which you are accredited to the gravity of this act, which is as unexpected as it is contrary to the provisions of the Treaty of Berlin."
France, Germany, and Austria all joined in an opinion condemning the action of the Prince, and instructing their Consular officials to do nothing which would imply anything like a recognition of His Highness in the character of Prince of Bulgaria. The French Government broke off not only official but also officious relations, and withdrew their Agent. England again was the only Power which seemed inclined to look leniently upon the action of the Prince.
Lord Salisbury held the firmest language, both to M. de Staal and to Rustem Pasha, saying to the former that a Russian occupation was likely to lead to the gravest complications, and to the Turkish Ambassador that an intervention by the Porte would possibly set in motion all the turbulent elements, both in Bulgaria and Macedonia. He added that it appeared to him useless to discuss the removal of Prince Ferdinand, so long as the Powers had not agreed upon somebody to take his place, either as Prince or Regent.
Stambuloff, seeing the attitude of England, called upon Mr. O'Conor at Sofia, and after informing him that he
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was aware that the Porte had applied to the German Government to ask it to use its good offices with that of England, Austria, and Italy, to induce them to assent to the Russian proposal to appoint General Ernroth, Regent of Bulgaria, declared that he considered such a proposal as an insult and outrage to the entire nation, which they would resist as far as was in their power, and only submit to if compelled by an overwhelming military force, or if all the Powers united together to compel them.
This was the state of affairs when Stambuloff formed his celebrated Ministry, but we may go back for a week or so to follow the course of events which led up to his accepting the Premiership.
After taking the oath at Tirnovo, the Prince at once commenced issuing proclamations, manifestoes, and orders to the Army, acting as if his election had been recognised, which was indeed the only course for him to pursue.
His first proclamation is worth reproduction, as its independent tone gave great umbrage to Russia and Turkey, and nearly led to summary measures. It ran as follows : —
" We, Ferdinand I., by the Grace of God and the Will of the Nation, Prince of Bulgaria :
" After having taken the oath before the Greek National Assembly in the ancient Capital, do hereby proclaim to our beloved [*] people that we take into our hands the reins of government of this country, which we will govern in conformity to its fundamental law, and to whose prosperity, greatness, and glory we will devote all our efforts, while we shall be ever ready to sacrifice our life for its good. On mounting the throne of the glorious
*. In the copies posted over the towns, the word " free " was substituted for " beloved. "
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Bulgarian Kings, we consider it our sacred duty to express to the noble Bulgarian nation our sincere gratitude, both for the confidence it has shown in our election as Bulgarian Prince, and for its wise and patriotic conduct in the troubled and trying times which our country is going through. At the same time, we thank the Regents and their Government for their wise and successful conduct of affairs, whereby they were able to defend our country's independence and liberty in the most critical times. Fully convinced that the nation and its gallant army will rally round our Throne, and support us in our endeavours for the good of the country, we invoke God's blessing on all our acts and undertakings.
" Long live free and independent Bulgaria !
(Signed) " Ferdinand I."
The mention of the glorious Bulgarian Kings, and free and independent Bulgaria, were calculated to excite the susceptibilities of the Porte in no small degree, but some allowance was made for the exuberance of style in a newly-elected Prince addressing his people for the first time, and the proclamation was allowed to pass with a mere note of censure.
As soon as by taking the oath, and issuing the foregoing proclamation, Prince Ferdinand had actually taken over the government, the Regency which had so valiantly held Bulgaria, came to an end. It was with an inexpressible relief that Stambuloff put off the weighty responsibilities, which he had borne virtually alone since the departure of Prince Alexander. He himself told me that u no words can picture my delight at the arrival of the Prince. It had been a perpetual nightmare and terror to me that Bulgaria might lose her independence under my Regency, and that my name would be handed down to posterity as
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a reproach. When the Prince left for Sofia with his new Ministry, I spent three days with my friends in fêteing my deliverance. They were three of the happiest days of my life."
His joy was destined to be short-lived. Scarcely had Stoiloff reached Sofia when he resigned, declaring, which was true, that he had no party, and could not govern the country with men holding opposite views to his own. Stambuloff was telegraphed for, but refused to move for more than a week, on plea of illness, and only went upon a rumour that Turkey was preparing a protest. In the capital he found Stoiloff at his wits' end, in the endeavour to find a successor. An attempt to form a Ministry under M. Tontcheff had failed, and it was tolerably clear that Stambuloff would have to undertake the task. He objected to it for several reasons. In the first place, having been Regent with practically unlimited power, he considered it would be awkward for the Prince, who now occupied nominally the post he had himself held before as Ruler, to have him for a Premier. Secondly, as Regent he had acquired a certain reputation and popularity, and none knew better than he that in accepting the post of President he ran a great risk of losing both, and it seemed scarcely worth while for a miserable thousand francs a month, and the name of Minister, for him, the ex-Regent, to affront the cares and worries he had hoped to have done with. And, lastly, the little he had seen of the Prince had convinced him that they would not get on well together, and he did not care to begin another fight. All these reasons he frankly told Prince Ferdinand and Stoiloff, but they both declared
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that unless he would form a Cabinet, the Ministries would be left with Secretaries as Gérants, since Stoiloff absolutely refused to remain another day as Premier. [*]
Under the circumstances, with every Chancery in Europe busy in attempting to devise some method of snubbing Bulgaria, with a new, inexperienced, and apparently somewhat headstrong, young man as Prince, it would have been the height of folly to leave the administration in the hands of Gérants, and with a heavy heart Stambuloff gave way. His famous Ministry, formed on the 1st September, 1887, and which lasted till the 31st May, 1894, with various changes in the different departments, but under his Premiership the whole time, consisted at first of the following :
President of the Council, and Minister of the
Interior M. Stambuloff.
Minister of War Col. Mûtkuroff.
Public Instruction M. Givkoff.
Justice M. Stoiloff.
Finance M. Natchevitch.
Foreign Affairs and Worship M. Stransky.
The first care of the new Cabinet was to prepare for the elections. No secret was made of the intention of the Bulgarian refugees at Constantinople, headed by Zankoff, to create disturbances, if possible, and they were likely to be ably seconded by the Russophil and
*. It is remarkable throughout Bulgarian history that its public men have never, as in most countries, striven to attain the honoured position of Premier in keen rivalry. On the contrary, it has almost invariably been with reluctance that a statesman has accepted, not only the Premiership, but even a minor portfolio, the fact being that a Ministry in the Principality is looked upon as anything but a silken couch for taking of ease.
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other Opposition elements in Bulgaria, headed by the Metropolitan Clement, Karavéloff, and Radoslâvoff.
Prince Ferdinand, especially, looked forward to the elections with some trepidation, his agents abroad having sent him reports to the effect that Russia was preparing, either to bring in her candidates, or to stir up riots at any cost. Amongst other stories came a despatch from Bucharest that M. Hitrovo, who was known to be in the closest relations with Zankoff and Clement, had received one million roubles from Russia for distribution, and that part of this money was already being secretly distributed. Manifestoes, signed by the " Secret Committee " at Constantinople, attacking the Government and the Prince in abusive language, were freely circulated, and it looked as if a very bitter struggle was likely. Before the day fixed, Prince Ferdinand called up Stambuloff, and told him that he was well aware that money was needed in elections, and he would put a sum of half a million francs unreservedly at his disposal, to do what he pleased with. Stambuloff replied that he neither feared Russian roubles nor needed French francs. He laughingly said that, at a rough guess, he should put down the election expenses of the party for the whole of Bulgaria at about one thousand francs, and that His Highness need not distress himself.
On the 9th October they duly came off, and resulted in an overwhelming majority for the National Party. There were riots at several places, notably at Esky Zagra and Tsaribrod, where the Zankoff and Radoslâvoff partisans were strong, and there is not the slightest doubt that intimidation was freely resorted to. This, however, saved
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the Government from employing force, and if a few Opposition members were unjustly prevented from receiving the support of their friends at the polls, the result in general would have been the same, had the elections been perfectly unfettered. In proof of the confidence of Stambuloff in this view, it may be mentioned that as soon as the Chamber met to confirm or invalidate the results, Stambuloff rose in his place on the Ministerial Bench, and proposed that, at Aidos, where only about a dozen had been prevented from voting, the result should be allowed to stand, as, even had they recorded their votes, it would not have changed the seat. His motion was only carried by a majority of six or seven. He then proposed that, whereas at Tsaribrod the Nationalists had taken violent possession of the urns, and prevented the Opposition from voting at all, the election should be held again ; and here he was supported by the whole House. So much has always been written about the election riots, and the pressure exercised by the Government, that it is worth while to put on record the fact that an absolutely free election has probably never been held in Bulgaria, with the exception perhaps of the first two, and is never likely to be. The amount of pressure exercised depends principally upon the strength or weakness of the Government, but even when it is powerful enough not to need the employment of any coercive measures, the electors themselves, from old habit, and in the fierceness of their political passions, will often come to blows, when fighting is quite superfluous. After every election the Opposition invariably produces a long list of
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cases of maltreatment, and the Government as regularly puts in a solemn and formal declaration that no force was ever used. It is, however, a part of the programme in the elections, which everybody understands perfectly well, that some heads should be broken, and the complaints and lamentations of the defeated are never treated seriously. The main returns are not actually very much interfered with by these amenities, as it is only in particular strongholds of the Opposition, as a rule, that the Government interferes ; and in the rest of the cases the majority bully the minority because they are the majority, and therefore would elect their candidate, even without the violence, which they delight in as much as Irishmen.
Having safely weathered the elections, Stambuloff set to work to defeat the designs of Russia; both by frequent interviews with the Foreign Representatives at Sofia, to whom he repeated his firm determination not to permit any interference, or to cede to any force other than the united compulsory weight of all the Powers, and by representing to the Porte, through his trusted agent, Dr. Vulkovitch, that in her demands Russia was actuated by a desire to seize Bulgaria for herself. The same threadbare old arguments were brought up once more, and the discussion went on as tediously as it had done ever since the union with Roumelia; but the monotony was somewhat broken by the Bulgarian emigrants at Constantinople, whose impatience at the slow and ponderous steps of diplomacy took shape actively in the occurrences at Esky Zagra and Bourgas, in December, 1887.
These restless spirits organised several bands, with
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which they hoped to raise the populace at various places, and worry and harass the Government into taking measures strong enough to provoke reprisals. M. Madjâroff, the present Minister of Communications, prepared one body of brigands, who were to enter by Dervish Tepeh, and raise a revolt at Esky Zagra, but the scheme was nipped in the bud by the vigilance of the authorities, who caught and shot several of the outlaws. A more serious attempt was that directed upon Bourgas, by Zankoff and Nabôkoff, the former of whom, however, as usual, kept at a safe distance from the scene of action ; whilst Nabôkoff, who had already, it will be remembered, fathered a similar adventure, led his men in person. The troop consisted of one or two Bulgarian outlaws, a priest, and thirty or thirty-five Montenegrins, recruited from the slums of Constantinople. The Montenegrin Government had intelligence of the plot, and warned the Porte, which, nevertheless, took no precautions against it, and the expedition landed, in small boats, at a point close to the Turkish frontier, and advanced inland, requisitioning arms and ammunition as they went, from the villagers. A gendarme, however, who had seen them disembark, rode off, and gave the alarm to Sizopolis, whence the news was telegraphed to the Prefect of Bourgas. That functionary, without delay, placed himself at the head of a company of soldiers, and, telegraphing in all directions for reinforcements, marched out to meet Nabôkoff. They encountered him about twenty-five kilometres outside Bourgas, and after a small battle, which lasted more than an hour, killed seven or eight of the insurgents, and took several more prisoners ; whilst Nabôkoff and the remainder fled
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precipitately. The police gave chase, raising a hue and cry, and the result was that Captain Nabôkoff was shot by a party of peasants, who had tracked him into a wood. They turned a deaf ear to his request to be tried, retorting that they did not intend giving him up again to the Russian Vice-Consul, and shot him down. Upon his person was found the following letter, signed by Petro Petrovitch, at Constantinople, and addressed to Count Ignatieff, A.D.C. to the Czar.
" Serene Highness, — In connection with a communication received, Nicolai Nicolaievitch Nabôkoff arrived here to enlist Montenegrins for the matter in hand. Whereas, however, nothing was done, or settled, with Prince Nicolas of Montenegro, no course now remains open except for Your Highness to make every effort to send a secret message to Cettinjeh, to request Prince Nicolas to direct his Representative here, M. Boghitchevitch, to do nothing to prevent our enlisting Montenegrins for the business, both here and in Greece. We can very easily, and in a short time, get together some thousand or fifteen hundred, and do everything. The Embassy here must also be told to view everything with indifference, and place no obstacles in the way. Everything can be accomplished very easily, and without compromising anyone. Alone, the Bulgarians can do nothing, and without a blow from outside nothing serious can take place. Please speak to Nabôkoff, who is going there, and tell him to do what is possible.
(Signed) " Petro.
"Constantinople, Feb. 5th, 1887."
This letter proved conclusively the connivance of Russia, but the time which elapsed between the date of its writing and the adventure of Nabôkoff, would also seem to point to no very great enthusiasm on the part of
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the Slav Committee, of which Count Ignatieff was one of the leaders.
None of their plots having brought any tangible benefit to Russia, she determined to press the question more vigorously through diplomacy. She succeeded in securing the support of Germany and France in her demand for the Porte to send a formal declaration of the illegality of the Prince's status to Sofia, but neither England, Austria, nor Italy would have anything to do with it, and this alone deprived the note of most of its vim.
The wording of it was as follows : —
" From the Grand Vizier to M. Stambuloff.
"At the time of the arrival of Prince Ferdinand of Coburg in Bulgaria, I informed His Highness, by a telegram dated the 22nd August, 1887, that his election by the Bulgarian Assembly, not having received the assent of all the Powers, Signatories of the Treaty of Berlin, and such election not having been sanctioned by the Sublime Porte, his presence in Bulgaria was contrary to the Treaty of Berlin, and was illegal. I notify to-day to the Bulgarian Government that, in the eyes of the Imperial Government, the situation is still unchanged, that is to say, that the presence of Prince Ferdinand at the Head of the Principality is illegal, and contrary to the Treaty of Berlin.
"March 4th, 1888."
The view taken by England was tersely put by Lord Salisbury to M. de Staal, as follows : — [*]
" I said that I had no difficulty whatever in admitting, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, the illegal character of Prince Ferdinand's position. The Turkish Government were perfectly well aware of our opinions in that respect.
*. Vide Blue Book, No. 3, 1889, Affairs in the East.
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"To join with the other Powers of Europe for the purpose of repeating to the Sublime Porte this well-known fact, would be a step without meaning, unless it aimed at some practical result, not expressed in the communication it was proposed to make."
It was substantially because there was evidently much more beneath the surface of the note than appeared, that England, Austria, and Italy declined to join in recommending its despatch. Count Kalnoky was equally explicit when he said that " the immediate objective of Russia at this moment was to get rid of Prince Ferdinand — but behind Prince Ferdinand there was M. Stambuloff, who was, if possible, more objectionable still in the eyes of Russia. Was he to be got rid of, too ? And who, in that event, was to take his place, and be responsible for the maintenance of public tranquillity and order in the country ? "
Even at this early stage Europe had come to recognise that it must look to Stambuloff principally for the preservation of the peace, and that there was no other factor capable of taking his place, and controlling successfully the threatened destinies of his country.
When he received the telegram of the Grand Vizier, he naturally showed it to the Prince, who anxiously enquired what answer he meant to send. Stambuloff replied, "Telegrams of this sort are best left unanswered. Your Highness may rest assured that we shall best please Turkey herself by ignoring it." After a short while had elapsed Stambuloff called upon the Ottoman Representative, who admitted that the declaration of the Porte was made at the instigation of Russia, and that she neither
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expected nor wished for any notice to be taken of it. With the despatch of this Vizirial telegram, Russia may be said to have closed her diplomatic campaign against Prince Ferdinand. As we shall see, various plots and conspiracies occurred later on, but though doubtless encouraged by the Panslavist and so-called Russophil Party, they could scarcely be considered as enjoying official countenance. By the formal declaration, repeated after a year's rule, of the illegality of Prince Ferdinand's position, Russia claimed that at any favourable moment he might be ejected, and she trusted to events to furnish the opportunity. From this date, however, she relapsed into more really " passive " protest, and the Bulgarian Question has not given much trouble either to the Porte or the Chanceries of Europe since then.
The rest of the year 1888 was spent chiefly in internal reforms and progress. The most important step was the taking over of the Vakarel-Bellova section of the Oriental Railway, and the extension of the same to Sarambey. This line had been constructed by Baron Hirsch and the " Société des Raccordements," on a Convention which stipulated that, should they not commence the working of it up to a certain date, the right to do so would devolve upon the Government of the country through which the line passed. Notwithstanding this clause, Messrs. Hirsch and the Société were engaged in negotiations for selling the line to the Vitalis Company, which was supposed by the Bulgarians to be merely a dummy in front of the Austrian Staatsbahn. They protested, but while the first exchange of views were going on, the representatives of the Baron and
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the Société — Messrs. Binder and Landler — whilst sitting in the restaurant at the Bellova station, whither they had gone to report on the question, were audaciously kidnapped by brigands. This incident gave the Bulgarian Government the excuse they wanted, and they immediately picketed the line with troops, and took possession of the stations. The Turkish Government remonstrated indignantly, though, as a matter of fact, it did not matter much to them who had the railway, the Bulgarians being, if anything, more desirable than the Austrians. Stambuloff replied that they had not taken possession of the line except for purposes of safeguarding it pending the issue of negotiations, but being once in possession they soon began to run trains, and before long formally took over the working of their own section.
The incident which gave them an opening — the capture of Messrs. Binder and Landler — threatened at one time to assume very serious proportions, but owing to the energetic measures taken by the Government, the prisoners were finally restored after the payment of a heavy ransom, and then the work of extermination commenced. The band which had perpetrated the Bellova outrage was about forty strong, under the leadership of the famous Costa Giurgiukly, but nearly half of these were either captured or shot, whilst Costa himself escaped to Servia, where he remained until lately, returning to Sofia after Stambuloff's fall.
The reason that Stambuloff took such radical measures against brigandage, which was rife all over Bulgaria when he assumed office, was that the acts of brigandage were usually directed against influential foreigners, and
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constituted a chronic stick to lay on to the back of the Bulgarian Government. Hitherto the country had been so torn by political discords that no attention could be devoted to brigandage, but by the summer of 1889 there was not a single band left in Bulgaria. On the one hand, Stambuloff gained considerable credit for having achieved this result, but on the other he made enemies of all the Macedonian brigands and their friends, and that enmity, which has already cost him dearly, may possibly one day terminate in his assassination. For the Macedonian never remembers a kindness nor forgets a wrong, and there are dozens of desperate men who can look back on the days when Stambuloff was living amongst them, an outlaw like themselves, but who would be ready and pleased to murder him to-day for the stern repression which he exercised throughout his tenure of the Premiership. Another reason for his severity was that in striking at brigandage, he frequently discovered that he was dealing a backhanded blow at the Panslavists, and it was now war to the knife between them and him. As an instance of this may be quoted the statement made by one of the Bellova brigands, captured near Sofia. He had formerly been a non-commissioned officer in the 1st Cavalry Regiment, and passed through the N.C.O.'s School at Nikolaieff, in Russia. In the Servian War he had won the Cross for Valour. A year before he had fled the country to escape prosecution for a criminal offence, and crossing into Servia, was taken up at Nish by a Panslavist agent, who fed him, and eight others in the same kind of situation as himself,
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throughout the winter, with money supplied by the Belgrade Committee. In the spring the same agent furnished them with arms and ammunition, and directed them to proceed to certain villages across the Bulgarian frontier, where he said they would find a hearty welcome from the peasants, who were only awaiting their arrival to rise against the Government. They were joined by many others, and crossed over under the leadership of ex-Captain Kessaroff, formerly of the Struma Regiment, who had taken part in the kidnapping of Prince Alexander. They found, however, a very hostile reception, and were hunted so closely by the troops that they broke up and retreated to the mountains, and some of them took refuge in the vast forest of Bellova, where Costa Guirgiukly formed his band, and they lived on brigandage. This man had upon him more than two hundred pounds, his share of the ransom paid for Messrs. Binder and Landler.
With the opening of the Vakarel-Bellova Railway, the suppression of brigandage, and the cessation of diplomatic attack by Russia, the Stambuloff regime had every reason to be satisfied with its first fifteen months' work. There had already been some friction in the Ministry, but it had only served to show the increasing strength of Stambuloff's personal authority, and the end of 1888 saw him wielding an influence which few cared openly to dispute.
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CHAPTER VIII. THE CHURCH AND THE PANITZA PLOT.
Split in the Ministry — Resignation of Stoiloff and Natchevitch — Stambuloff and the Conservatives — Intriguing Churchmen — Three Bishops expelled from Sofia — A seditious petition to the Exarch — A reconciliation patched up — Prince Ferdinand and Princess Marie Louise of Parma — A question of Religion — Stambuloff deals with the constitutional difficulty — Disaffection of Major Panitza — Another Russian conspiracy — Discovery of the Plot, and arrest of Panitza — His trial and condemnation — The death warrant signed by the Prince — M. Stambuloff's marriage.
IN November, 1888, the Cabinet was disturbed by the resignation of MM. Stoiloff and Natchevitch. The ostensible reason was the throwing out by the Chamber of a Criminal Code which had been elaborated by Stoiloff with great pains. The severity of the penalties for treason did not please the Deputies, and Stoiloff angrily refused to discuss the point, and withdrew his whole project. Thereupon both he and his Conservative colleague, Natchevitch, handed in their resignations. This incident was, however, only a pretext, for considerable tension had existed from the very first between Stambuloff and these two. Natchevitch complained that his acts were perpetually being unfairly criticised in the newspaper Svoboda, and that it was not honourable for the President, through his organ, to find fault with the conduct of one of his Ministers. Stambuloff declared that he had nothing to do with the writing of the articles
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in question, and in a measure apologised for them, and the quarrel was patched up for a short while. On the fall of the Conservatives, however, a violent article came out which tore down the mask for ever, and proved that the breach between Stambuloff and the Conservatives was irreparable.
Before their leaving office they had been approached by the Radoslavists with the proposal to form a coalition to overturn Stambuloff, but had refused. They were now left without any appreciable number of followers, many of the old Conservatives having joined the more decided parties of Zankoff, Karavéloff, Radoslâvoff, and even of Stambuloff. The truth is that the Conservatives have no definite policy beyond a vague yearning for a reconciliation with Russia. They are not ultra-Russian like the Zankoffists, but they deprecate the defiant attitude of the Nationalists. This kind of neutral and trimming programme never suited the Bulgarian temperament, and the Conservatives, even when in power, are only able to maintain themselves by the support of other factions; their own followers in the country not being sufficiently numerous to give them a majority.
This may be the place to devote a few words to MM. Stoiloff and Natchevitch, who are undoubtedly the most influential public men of Bulgaria, after Stambuloff. M. Stoiloff was educated at Robert College, at Constantinople, which establishment he left with the reputation of being the most brilliant pupil it had ever produced. He finished his studies abroad, taking a degree as Doctor of Law.
He returned to Bulgaria as Private Secretary to Prince
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Alexander, and took part in several of the brief Ministries of that period. He is a man of great culture, urbane manners, and pleasing exterior. It is extremely difficult to ruffle him, and he does not allow trifles to disturb the calm with which he watches the progress of public affairs, which he usually sees through a rosy mist. He is not ambitious or fond of the attributes of power, and often feels annoyed at being obliged to participate in the rough methods of his colleagues. He is probably the only Bulgarian statesman of any prominence, except M. Grékoff, who has not more enemies than friends.
M. Natchevitch is the very antithesis to Stoiloff. He was a revolutionary in his youth, and his violent nature led him to participate actively, in the earlier struggles of Bulgaria, often together with Stambuloff. Under Prince Alexander he was appointed Bulgarian Representative to Vienna, where he gained some experience of the outside world. It was he who accompanied Prince Ferdinand to Bulgaria, and Stambuloff offered him a place in the Cabinet, together with Stoiloff. in order to prevent him from opposing his rule at the outset. There was, nevertheless, scarcely any pretence of cordiality between them, and as soon as he felt himself strong enough to do without them, Stambuloff got rid of the two Conservatives. There are some slight points of resemblance in the characters of these old opponents, Natchevitch possessing the same headstrong will and domineering bent as Stambuloff. He has not, however, the same width of views, nor the same talent for organisation. He is a bad miniature of his old chief, and he has the reputation of deceiving even his best friends, and of being
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almost incapable of proceeding in a straight line, if there is a possible corner to go round. The way in which Stambuloff threw away the Conservatives as soon as he had no further need of them has always been brought up as a reproach against him, and not without foundation. He feared, however, the falsity of Natchevitch, and he could not rely upon Stoiloff for any really energetic support, whilst the air was so charged with intrigues that he preferred to have men of straw round him, who, if they could not help him much, might at least be relied upon not to thwart him, or join any of his adversaries. M. Natchevitch was replaced by M. Salabasheff, and M. Stoiloff by M. Tontcheff, the President of the Chamber. It was generally believed at the time, that by the loss of the two outgoing Ministers, both of whom were men comparatively well known to the world of Europe, Stambuloff's Cabinet would be seriously weakened, if its very existence was not threatened. He himself, however, was quite confident in his ability to carry on the Government with his own party alone, and events certainly seemed to warrant his assumption.
In the beginning of 1889 the Holy Synod was convoked in Sofia. It consisted properly of the five Metropolitans of Sofia, Varna, Vratza, Tirnovo, and Rustchuk. Of these Gregory, of Rustchuk, was unable to attend through illness, and Cyril, of Sofia, whose loyalty to the Government was undoubted, was sent to take the temporary charge of the diocese of Widdin. This left only Clement, formerly Metropolitan of Sofia, once head of the Provisional Government after the Coup d'etat ; Simeon of Varna, who had been suspended
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by the Regency for a year for sedition ; and Constantine of Varna, who was notoriously a Russian agent. Directly after their arrival these prelates were invited to pay their respects to the Prince, Stambuloff, and the Minister of Public Worship. Monsignor Simeon, the President, refused to do so on the grounds that Prince Ferdinand had repeatedly infringed the Canons of the Bulgarian Church, and encouraged Catholicism to its detriment. Stambuloff, who was well aware of the danger of letting the Church defy the State, instantly retorted by challenging the legality of the Synod as constituted, since two of the Metropolitans had not served the time prescribed by law to qualify them for election. He, therefore, declined to have any official relations with them, and ordered them to return to their dioceses. The Bishops, however, refused to go, except under compulsion, and, quoting a precedent in the Synod of 1886, declared their intention of continuing in session. This open defiance was accepted boldly by Stambuloff, who informed them, on January 7th, that if they had not left in three days' time, of their own free will, he should find himself under the grievous necessity of expelling them by force. The Bishops could not believe that this was more than a threat, or that any Minister would dare to use violence against the heads of the Church. They little knew the character of the man they had to deal with.
At three o'clock in the morning of the twelfth, the recalcitrant priests were awakened from their slumbers by gendarmes, who escorted them out of Sofia, and back to their respective bishoprics. This high-handed
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procedure called forth furious protests on all sides, and was much blamed by many of Stambuloff's friends, their principal argument being that by his action he was offering a weapon for agitation to enlist the sympathies of Orthodox fanaticism in denouncing the persecution of the Bulgarian Church by an unrecognized Prince and his illegal Government. Stambuloff, however, saw further than they did, and acted entirely on his own principles. [*]
His own private information had been that the meetings of the Synod were rapidly becoming the resort of all the Russophils of Sofia, who were plotting how to turn out " the Catholic." He therefore begged them to spend their Christmas elsewhere. They refused, and Stambuloff was told by his spies that amongst their decisions was, that on New Year's Day, the 13th of January, they should all three, when performing High Mass in Sofia Cathedral, pronounce the Anathema against the Prince, and this was to serve as a signal for the rising of the Russophils. Acting upon this information Stambuloff expelled them; and there cannot be two opinions, when viewed in the light of history, but that he did well. None the less, the Opposition determined to attack him, and a petition was drawn up to the Exarch, at Constantinople, signed by
*. He often told me that whatever important step he had taken, relying upon his own judgment alone, had almost invariably turned out to be the right one ; and when he had allowed himself to be influenced by the reasoning of others, he had been led into errors. So far had this belief in his luck gone that, as he progressed in his career, he became more and more confident in himself, and impatient of advice, till towards the close, he would scarcely brook the expression of contrary opinion, even from Prince Ferdinand. It was partly this superstitious trust in his own star which led to his fall.
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twenty of the most prominent Russophils. It is worth noting that amongst the signatures was that of M. Ivan Gueshoff, at present the Prince's Finance Minister. The petition ran as follows (the "impure spring" being intended to signify the Prince) : —
"Your Beatitude, — In order to dry up this impure spring, which threatens utterly to corrupt all that is holy, pure, and elevated in Bulgaria, and which is sapping the foundation of all grace in this country, it is necessary first of all to cut short the nourishment which it receives from the original foes of our race and faith. Whether this will happen soon is known only to the omniscient God. To us it only remains to join your Beatitude, and all our Holy Church, in offering unceasing prayers to Him to hasten that time, in order that these days of moral decay, through which our country is passing, may be shortened as soon as possible : to stay the hands of the sons of darkness and ungodliness, to dry up the veins of the foul spring, to support all true followers of grace, and to crown with success the efforts of those who are devoted to the sanctity of His Name and Church.
" Your Beatitude ! to you, as high head of the Orthodox Church of the whole Bulgarian nation, we direct our hopes that you will act for the preservation of its ancestral dignity, for in its bosom has been preserved entire our much-tried Bulgarian nation, by whom it has been revived politically, and through whom our hopes that its life may be strengthened for a brighter and purer future."
Stambuloff immediately struck back by imprisoning all the signatories of this seditious petition, and letting the Exarch know, through Doctor Vulkovitch, at Constantinople, that as long as the Bishops behaved themselves and attended to their duties he would treat them well, but if they meddled in politics he was firmly resolved to
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deal with the utmost severity, both with them and their allies. This remonstrance came with the more force since the Bulgarian Exarch received his stipend from the Sofia Treasury, and Stambuloff was quite capable of cutting it off in the case of a rupture. Monsignor Joseph, however, who is an extremely clever and far-seeing ecclesiastic, contented himself with a state of masterly inaction, and in his fight with the Church, a most formidable antagonist, the redoubtable President carried off all the honours. In order not to have to return to this subject, and to make the story of his relations with the High Clergy continuous, and perhaps thereby clearer, we may trace it briefly through its subsequent phases.
The three Prelates, disappointed at receiving no support from the Exarch, were temporarily reduced to subjection, and the Synod did not meet again till 1890, when it was convoked at Rustchuk, under Gregory. Clement and his acolytes were still waiting for their revenge, and the memory of 1888 was rankling deep. Stambuloff had, however, in the meanwhile succeeded in obtaining from the Sultan, the Firman for the appointment of three more Bulgarian Bishops in Macedonia, and with this victory behind him, he went himself to Rustchuk. Here he visited several of the Bishops, and effected a quasi-reconciliation between them and himself. The bases of it were not well known, but I remember at the time it was believed that it had been brought about by the use of language more firm than gentle. The end, at any rate, was gained, and ostensibly peace was proclaimed in the newspapers between Stambuloff and the Clergy.
During 1890, 1891, and 1892, Prince Ferdinand was
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seeking for a spouse, and Stambuloff, with the daily fear before his eyes of an assassination of the Prince before he should have founded a dynasty, pressed him continually forward in his quest. For if an infant heir should be born it would probably cause the murder party to abandon their designs, since the death of Ferdinand would only lead to a Regency. In '92, negotiations were opened with the Duke of Parma for the hand of the Princess Marie Louise, but the Duke insisted as a sine quâ non, that any issue of the marriage should be brought up in the Catholic faith. This was in direct contradiction with Article 38 of the Constitution, and in order to accede to his demand it was necessary to alter the Constitution. It was a step before which the boldest Minister might be excused for hesitating. It would not only meet with the most strenuous opposition of the whole Church, which, for political reasons, was sure of the support of Russia, but even the Nationalists themselves would be most averse to any meddling with the Constitution, which they had always looked upon as their most precious treasure. After long and anxious reflection, Stambuloff, nevertheless, resolved to make the attempt. The necessity for the marriage was, in his eyes, so pressing, that it dwarfed all else, and, though he was aware that he was risking his position and making a certain sacrifice of much of his influence with his own followers, he once more threw himself into the breach.
The change had to be passed first through the Legislative Chamber, and then through the Grand Assembly. If it could obtain the assent of the former, that of the latter was a mere matter of form.
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Stambuloff summoned a meeting of all the heads of his Party, and explained to them at length the reasons which made it, in his opinion, imperative to alter the Constitution. Not one single member present could be found to agree with him, as they all declared with unanimity that such a change would offend the religious feelings of the whole nation, and would cost the Liberals their popularity. Disappointed, but not discouraged, Stambuloff called them together again the next day, and when they expected to hear that he had renounced his project, they had to listen to an impassioned speech, in which Stambuloff, with extraordinary self-devotion, took upon himself the whole odium of the measure, solemnly stating that it was not the Prince who wished the change ; on the contrary, that His Highness was opposed to it, but that he, Stambuloff, saw in it the only way out of their difficulties, and was so determined to carry it through, that, if his Party persisted in withholding their support from him, he was there to resign his leadership, and throw the whole responsibility of what might follow upon them.
It was only after a terrible struggle that the resolute Premier extracted from the Deputies the promise of their support. Stambuloff told me himself that he had come out of it "like Jacob after he had wrestled with God." As had been foreseen, the protests of the Church and Russia were launched with energy against the impious Stambuloff, who for a short while was in some danger of falling. The Exarch at Constantinople was the engine most to be feared, and Stambuloff spared nothing in his efforts to come to an understanding with him.
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Monsignor Joseph had at first been an ardent Russophil, in the belief that Bulgaria's best interests lay in Russia's keeping, but as he watched the methods she employed and the gallant resistance shown by Stambuloff, his true patriotism prevailed, and he was already more than half won over. In this crisis the Premier appealed to him, if he had any love for his country, or any respect for his own good name, not to lend himself to the agitation being framed against the Prince. The Exarch proved that he was, before everything, a patriot, and assured Stambuloff of his approval at heart of the measure, promising that he would turn a deaf ear to Clement, Gregory, and his followers.
From that time onward the Exarch has been a loyal and valuable ally to the Government, and the final reconciliation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with its Catholic Prince was sealed by a telegram of congratulation, sent by Monsignor Joseph to Prince Ferdinand, to Pianove, on the day of his marriage.
To return, after this digression, to the point at which we left the Ministry after the failure of the last Russian diplomatic move. For the remainder of 1889 things went on tolerably quietly in Bulgaria, though both her neighbours were in the throes of political crises. King Milan had abdicated in Servia, and M. Bratiano's long Ministry had been overthrown at Bucharest. Neither of these events, however, affected Bulgaria seriously, although at one moment there appeared to be a disposition on the part of Servia to shew herself aggressive. With Roumania the best relations existed from the first, and the friendly attitude of that country has always been the greatest
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encouragement to Bulgaria, when a contrary one might have placed her in a most serious predicament. Party feeling still ran high amongst the various factions, and two Ex-Ministers were condemned to a year's imprisonment for having published an insulting and defamatory telegram concerning Stambuloff and the Prince. These were MM. Radoslâvoff and Ivantchoff. A great outcry was made at the political persecution and tyranny of Stambuloff, but as they were condemned by a properly constituted Tribunal, and on appeal had their sentence reduced to one month's imprisonment, there does not appear to have been any very great wrong done, and probably Stambuloff only wished to frighten them and to show that he was ready and able to put down agitation when it transgressed legal limits. I only mention the incident, because it has often been produced in extenuation of the persecution to which Stambuloff and his partisans were subjected later, and I leave the reader to draw his own comparison.
In the autumn of 1889, a Russian merchant, named Kalubkoff, came to Rustchuk, accompanied by Jacobson, a clerk in the Legation of M. Hitrovo, at Bucharest, in order to try and sell some Berdan rifles to the Bulgarians. After the Servian War there had been a general demand for re-armament, but nothing much had been done up to now. Most of the officers and men in the army liked the old Berdan pattern, as it was a weapon with which they were familiar, and its strong sword-like bayonet pleased them.
Stambuloff, personally, was in favour of buying Mannlichers, but he did not interfere in a contract being made
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by the War Office with Kalubkoff for 30,000 Berdan rifles. The officer, who acted as principal intermediary in this, was Major Panitza. Kalubkoff, however, failed to deliver the rifles within the stipulated time, and the contract was accordingly annulled, to the great vexation of Panitza, who was pecuniarily interested to the extent of several francs a rifle.
It must be understood that Panitza, who was a man of most violent nature, was already extremely discontented and angered against the Prince for having promoted Major Petroff over his head to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy, [*] and he now entered into active relations with the Russian Agency at Bucharest, and the whole Panslavist organisation. A special cypher was invented, which, under cloak of exchanging questions and answers concerning the rifle contract, enabled correspondence to pass freely between Sofia, Rustchuk, and Bucharest.
All the Slav Committees started into full activity, and even went so far as to choose a successor for the Throne of Prince Ferdinand. Their selection was General Domontovitch. Dragan Zankoff, who was in Belgrade, I believe, at the time, sent a proclamation to Karavéloff and Radoslâvoff for them to sign, whereby they bound themselves to uphold any Government which should turn out the Prince ; and the hopes of the Russophils again ran high in secret.
*. Colonel Mutkûroff at first refused to draw out the decree promoting Petroff, contrary to the laws of seniority. Pressure was put upon him, and he actually resigned, but at Stambuloff's request resumed office, and drew up the obnoxious document with the remark, "This piece of paper will bring no good with it."
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Stambuloff seized a copy of this proclamation, and was well aware of Panitza's tendencies, since that officer, even in public cafés, was in the habit of expressing himself very freely, and in most abusive terms, concerning the Prince. Knowing his character, however, Stambuloff did not attach much importance to his threats. As a matter of fact, though, he had already three-fourths of the Sofia garrison with him, as well as the Prefect of Police, M. Basmadjieff, who was often seen in his company, and who explained this by saying that he was watching him privately.
It was not until January that the full gravity of the plot was revealed. One of the original conspirators, Colonel Kissoff, Commandant of Sofia, at the last moment either repented or felt his heart fail him, and reported to Colonel Mutkûroff that Panitza had come to him, on the 24th, with a proposal that he should hand over the command of the town, and allow him to dethrone the Prince and execute the Ministers. The mere fact of his making such an offer showed that he must have had a fair estimate of Kissoffs disaffection, and eventually it was proved that Kissoff had been an active member of the conspiracy for some time.
When Stambuloff heard Mutkûroff's tale he set his bloodhounds on the track, and in three days was in possession of the plot in most of its details. It was Panitza's servant, who was used as a confidential messenger, who betrayed his master by relating all that he knew before one of Stambuloff's men. The Premier did not wish to act hurriedly, but there was no time to lose.
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On the 31st of January [*] he summoned a Council of Ministers, or, rather, he called Mutkûroff and Givkoff, who were the only two in whom he reposed trust, and they deliberated till 3 a.m. Their position was one of the most imminent peril. They now knew that the greater part of the garrison was in the plot, and that nearly three-fourths of the officers of the whole army were cognisant of it. The Prefect of Police also being implicated did not improve the outlook.
Stambuloff declared that Panitza must be arrested that same night, at all hazards. His colleagues objected for various reasons, but, as usual, Stambuloff had his way, and summoned Captain Botcheff, Commandant of the i st Regiment, ordering him to arrest Panitza. He declined the office, and suggested that the Platz-Commandant was the man for such a duty.
Stambuloff then hit upon the decidedly original idea of sending Kissoff, and Basmadjieff the Prefect (the two accomplices), to arrest Panitza. There was a grim irony in this procedure which suited his mood at this critical moment — one of the most critical in his whole life. But as he had no great confidence in these two traitors, going to seize their chief with ten soldiers and six gendarmes, he ordered five police commissaries, upon whom he could rely, with fifty men, to go behind the first party, and see that they executed their mission, giving them orders, if
*. As no Blue Books were issued after 1889, and I am writing out of reach of any available means of controlling dates, for which I have to rely mostly upon memory, I crave the indulgence of the reader, if there should be occasional errors of a day or two. The dates given will, however, be found, I believe, in most cases correct, or else very approximate.
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necessary, to make the whole party prisoners together with Panitza. Then he waited to see the result. Half an hour passed, and nobody came. He grew somewhat nervous, and crossed over the way to his old friend Slavkoff, who lived opposite, and begged him to accompany him to Panitza's house, and learn the worst. On reaching it, though, to his intense relief, he found that the arrest had been effected. [*] In the rooms were found a mass of documents, cypher telegrams, codes, and letters, proving that the Artillery, the Cavalry, and nearly half the Infantry, were in the plot.
On the night of February 1st, a Court Ball had been announced at the Palace. The Prince wished to countermand it, but Stambuloff insisted upon its being held. Out of the two hundred officers present, sixty or seventy per cent, were Panitza's friends and accomplices. They were walking about the saloons, under the angry eye of the Prince, and the cold scathing scorn of Stambuloff, like men in a dream. They fully expected to be arrested en masse in the Ball-room, and it was a relief to everybody when the evening came to a close.
But the first day or two which had to elapse before loyal officers could arrive from the provinces to replace the disaffected ones, were a time of intense anxiety. Very few arrests were made on this occasion in comparison with the magnitude of the conspiracy — on account of its very magnitude. It was currently said and repeatedly published at this period that Stambuloff was exaggerating
*. It was said at the time that Stambuloff, with a couple of gendarmes, had arrested Panitza himself, but the foregoing is an account of what really occurred.
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the importance of the plot in order to enable him to strike harder at his enemies. The exact opposite was the case. He employed every device to conceal the disgraceful extent to which the disaffection had spread, and very many of those most closely implicated were suffered to go unpunished, beyond the fact of a knowledge of their defection being clearly "notified to them. [*]
The preliminary enquiry lasted until May, and these two or three months raised public excitement in Sofia and abroad to a high pitch. On the 15th March, I recollect having a long conversation with Stambuloff, who was somewhat discouraged at the outlook. He said that Bismarck was turning against the Bulgarians, and there was the prospect of a rupture over the question of Commercial Treaties. The Porte had again been in communication with Dr. Vulkovitch, and had declared that it would not recognise either the Prince or his Government, and Reshid Bey, the Ottoman Commissioner, " fled from him in the street, rather than talk about the Railway. Bulgaria had become a national leper," he concluded. Madame Panitza was following the precedent formerly set by Mesdames Karavéloff and Ludskânoff, and petitioning the Foreign Agents to save her husband from ill-treatment, [†] and every sort of accusation
*. Several of the conspirators were actively employed in the prosecution, and even up to the last tragic act in the drama, but I refrain from mentioning names in this connection.
†. On the twentieth of April, I visited Panitza, in prison, to ascertain if there were any truth in the reports of his maltreatment. I found him tolerably cheerful, and confident that nothing would befall him. He denied absolutely that he had undergone any hardships whatever.
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was being brought against the Government in connection with the prisoners and their trial.
The Court Martial came off in due course, opening on the 15th May. It was held in some small barracks on the outskirts of the town, and the hearings were public. The prisoners in whom public attention centered were Panitza and Kalubkoff. The former maintained a quiet, soldierlike attitude, but the latter assumed a cynical indifference, and refused to answer any interrogatory except in Russian. The proceedings lasted for about a fortnight. The prosecution relied chiefly upon the documents seized at Panitza's house, but a mass of supplementary evidence was in their possession, not one third of which was ever produced. One of their principal objects was to prove the aiding and abetting of the conspiracy by Russia, and to this end they put in the famous Jacobson letters, which were afterwards published. These were sold to the Bulgarian Government by the Consulate Clerk, Jacobson. Their authenticity was immediately denied by Russia, but they bore unmistakeable signs of being too near the truth to be disregarded. They consisted of a series of despatches addressed to and from the Bucharest Agency. In almost every case the official number and date were appended, and if they were forgeries they were extremely clever ones. I learnt later, that out of the collection there were only two or three which were textual, but that the remainder were expanded from the Consular Archives. That is to say, Jacobson had copied out the numbers and the résumés of contents, which are very fully given in Russian Chanceries, with the dates and names of senders and recipients, and with these
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materials he had constructed the despatches, which, from his knowledge of the official style, and from his aptitude in invention, doubtless very closely resembled and fairly represented the originals.
The prisoners and their friend made no secret of their belief that the Government dared not execute then, and that if it tried to do so, Russia would intervene in their favour. Stambuloff, on the other hand, , said that the verdict of the Court should be carried out, whatever it might be. This verdict was pronounced at two in the morning of the 30th of May, and whilst Kalubkoff was sentenced to imprisonment, and handed over to the Russian representative, Panitza was condemned to death. Even then, there were but few in Sofia who believed that the sentence would be carried out. Panitza refused to appeal, and was himself confident that his life was in no danger. His trust in Russia was, however, misplaced. There was some delay and formality about the confirmation of the sentence, and it was not until three or four weeks later that Prince Ferdinand signed the death-warrant on board his yacht, at Lom Palanka, before leaving for a short visit to Ebenthâl. The document was brought back to Stambuloff, who was acting as Regent, or Princely Lieutenant, by Major Agoura, and the sentence was executed immediately. The unfortunate Panitza was taken out in the morning to the camp at Bâli Efendi, and there shot. His gate served as a terror to his fellow - conspirators, and was thoroughly well merited, but much sympathy was felt for him on account of his past services and his lovable disposition, for, like many violent headstrong characters, he was frank and
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jovial, brave as a lion, and endowed with many good qualities. He was an intimate friend of Stambuloff, arid a leading man of the Macedonian Party, both of which circumstances rendered it harder for the Premier to order his execution. There was, however, no choice in a matter which was one of life and death, not only for the prisoner, as ringleader of a most formidable conspiracy, but for Bulgaria. All personal feelings had to disappear in the presence of the national danger, and Stambuloff once more proved himself equal to the occasion. For it must be thoroughly well understood that during his term of office the Government was Stambuloff, and Stambuloff alone was the Government. Every decision of any moment was taken by him without consulting, except in a perfunctory manner, either his colleagues or the Prince. The Ministers were allowed to carry on the minor routine work of their Departments, and the Prince was permitted to sign decrees, to give dinner-parties in his Palace, or to go travelling over Europe, but the entire responsibility and management of Bulgarian affairs was undertaken and fulfilled by Stambuloff, on his own initiative and authority, and guided by his own judgment exclusively.
In the spring of 1888 Stambuloff married Mdlle. Polyxena Stantcheff, of Sistoff. This accomplished lady was brought up in Dresden, and is a good linguist, speaking English, French, and German with equal fluency. Though not very fond of society, Madame Stambuloff was often to be met in the saloons of the Foreign Diplomats, where she was quickly the centre of a little group, attracted as much by the animated verve of her
---
Mdme. Stambuloff.
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conversation, as by her great personal charms. On the occasions when the pair spent an evening with their friends, it was pleasant and amusing to see how Stambuloff threw off the burdens of State, and was as quickly surrounded by the ladies as his wife by the gentlemen, in opposite corners of the drawing-room.
Four children have been born, the eldest of whom, Stepan, died young. The second, Constantine, a fine little boy, is now six years old ; the girl, Vera, is four ; and baby Asen is one and a-half.
Madame Stambuloff is a most devoted wife and mother, and is a model whom all Bulgarian ladies look up to with affection and respect.
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CHAPTER IX. THE BELTCHEFF AND VULKOVITCH MURDERS.
The system of political assassination — Stambuloff and Beltcheff — " Run, Beltcheff, run !" — The scene in the Cathedral — Horror at the crime — The assassins — A tough cypher — The warning to Dr. Vulkovitch — His murder — Stambuloff goes to Constantinople — His reception by the Sultan — Triumphant majority at the elections — The opening of the quarrel with the Prince — Stambuloff reporting to the Prince — The undated resignation — An insolent officer — How he was punished — The Prince and Petkoff — In the Red Saloon — Stambuloff's revenge.
WITH the execution of Panitza it was hoped that an end had been put, for ever, to military pronunciamentos in Bulgaria. And, in truth, the Committees lost heart at their repeated failures, and gave up, in despair, all hope of raising another revolution. They did not, however, on this account, cease from molesting; and finding it impossible to get rid of the Prince in any other fashion, they decided to assassinate him. One of their principal agents was a certain Rizoff, who had been arrested, together with Panitza, but had been released for lack of evidence. He then went to Belgrade, where he published a full account of the plot, and of his own share in it. [*]
Together with other Macedonians, he organised small bands of cut-throats, who were to be the instruments in
*. Rizoff is now in Sofia, editor of the newspaper, the Mlada Bulgaria.
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the new system, that of political assassination. Some of the most resolute ruffians were sent to Sofia, originally with instructions to kill the Prince; but after deliberation, they changed their minds, and it was thought that it might be better if they were to murder Stambuloff, as they would thus get rid of him, and at the same time frighten the Prince into abdicating, or else leave him without his main support. This, at least, was supposed to be the line of reasoning they took, though it is quite possible that mere Macedonian revenge — the vendetta spirit for the death of Panitza, prompted them.
Stambuloff was not in ignorance of these plots, being very well served by his spies ; but he doubted if anybody would be found bold enough to shoot at him, and he took no precautions whatever, beyond being generally followed by a policeman when he took his walks.
At the end of 1890 there was another change of Ministry. M. Grékoff replaced Dr. Stransky, as Minister for Foreign Affairs ; and M. Beltcheff took over the Finance. Beltcheff was no politician, belonged to no party, and was a simple-hearted honest public servant. He was so gentle and kindly in his nature, that he had not an enemy in all Bulgaria. He had formerly been Secretary-General in the same Ministry, and when he was promoted to the head of it, there was a good deal of important work going on. Amongst other questions, was that of the Bulgarian Government taking possession of the Vakarel-Bellova Railway, and the payment of two millions to be made by it. When this subject came before the Council of Ministers, Beltcheff was unable to give some figures asked for by Grékoff, or one or other of
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his colleagues. It became necessary, in order to learn the details, to call in an employe before the Council, a most unusual proceeding, which several of the Ministers objected to very strongly, and they threw the blame upon Beltcheff. The fact was, that Beltcheff had not yet chosen a Secretary-General to fill the place left vacant by his promotion, and was working twelve and fourteen hours a day in an attempt to fulfil the double duties of Minister and Secretary. The other Ministers, after this incident, charged Stambuloff, as Beltcheff's oldest friend — they had been at school together — to press upon him the advisability of naming a Secretary forthwith. Beltcheff was of a very sensitive disposition, and Stambuloff cast about for a favourable chance of putting the case before him in a manner not to offend him. After the Council, on the 27th March, 1891, most of the Ministers adjourned to the Café Panakh, and sat there for an hour or so, over coffee and cigarettes. About eight o'clock the party broke up, and Grékoff asked Stambuloff to walk home with him. He replied that he would go with Beltcheff, in order to talk with him over the subject they had agreed upon. It was eight o'clock, perhaps a little later, as the two Ministers left the Café. They were both of about the same height and build, wearing the same coloured clothes, and otherwise resembling one another, the difference in complexion between the fair Beltcheff and dark Stambuloff not being visible in the dusk.
As they left, Stambuloff had Beltcheff on his right ; but as he was in the habit of carrying a heavy stick in that hand, after a few paces he crossed, so that he was on Beltcheff's right. This move saved his life, and cost that
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of his friend. They sauntered down the path, talking seriously of Beltcheff's position, and Stambuloff was just proposing his own secretary, Lukânoff, for the place of Secretary-General, when a pistol-shot rang out. With the knowledge that his assassins were upon him, and that the threats which he had disbelieved in were being put into execution, Stambuloff fled, shouting out, "Run, Beltcheff, run after me." Before he had gone fifty yards he heard two more shots, after the first of which came an exultant cry, "Stambuloff is killed!" and then silence. Entering the fourth Uchastuk (guard-house), Stambuloff hastily summoned four or five gendarmes, and returned to the scene of the catastrophe. There he found the body of Beltcheff, lying just inside the gate of the garden. Instead of following Stambuloff down the middle of the road, he had evidently turned into the public garden, hoping, perhaps, to find shelter amongst the trees and shrubs. A struggle had apparently taken place here, and the second shot had pierced his heart. The first one had passed through his right arm, merely causing a flesh wound. A hue and cry was raised at once, but not a trace could be discovered of the murderers. The excitement and horror in Sofia was intense at this dastardly crime, and the public joined in the search that night, during which few people in the capital went to rest. A message was sent to Madame Beltcheff that her husband was detained on business, but she grew so anxious, that at midnight Stambuloff himself went to break the news to her. At his first words she guessed the truth, and broke into violent reproaches. The corpse was not carried home till early the next morning. That day the house
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was filled with sympathising friends, Stambuloff himself staying for several hours in the reception-room ; and the day after the coffin was taken to the Cathedral, the Premier walking as chief mourner. The scene after the close of the burial service, when Madame Beltcheff approached the bier to print a last kiss on the face of the murdered man, was most pathetic ; and the great beauty of the bereaved widow lent additional force to the picture, as she threw herself across the coffin, sobbing and repeating her husband's name, till the feelings of all present were strung almost past endurance. It was like a most powerfully-acted tragedy ; but here the emotion was real, and tears were streaming from every eye as her relations tore her away, and carried her senseless form out of the church. There was only one universal sentiment of horror and craving for vengeance, but it was not easy to satisfy. Knowing, however, those who were likely to be implicated in a crime of this nature, Stambuloff summarily arrested a dozen of the worst characters, and through them he learnt the facts.
The assassination had been perpetrated by five individuals.
First, Denu Teufectchieff, who had come from Macedonia for the purpose. He was the youngest of three notorious brothers, and was only eighteen years of age. During the preliminary enquiry, he died in the hospital of Alexandroff, according to the medical certificate, of consumption. It was, however, stated at the time that he was cruelly beaten and tortured to make him confess the names of his confederates ; and the Prefect of Police, Lukânoff, is now under arrest and bail on this charge.
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After hearing a great deal of evidence on both sides, I am inclined to think that, acting under the impulse of rage, the subordinate police officials probably did torture Denu, and that this torture, inflicted upon a weak constitution, led to his death. Impartiality calls for the severest censure upon this brutality, which recalls the old days of the Inquisition, and which is supposed to be a thing of the past centuries. The same impartiality, however, makes it a duty to remark that the use of violence towards prisoners is not confined to Bulgaria, nor in Bulgaria to this particular case. Stambuloff is now being virulently attacked for the death of Denu, which is only natural since his brother and accomplice is at present in Sofia, and in high favour with the Government. Whether he or his lieutenant, Lukânoff, ordered, or had knowledge of, the maltreatment of Denu is very difficult to determine, as there has been the hardest swearing on both sides. It would scarcely be becoming to offer any opinion on the case, as it is, at the time of writing, still sub judice. The second assassin was Mikhail Duressna, [*] also from Macedonia. During the struggle with Beltcheff, Nicola Teufectchieff's shot passed through Duressna's right hand. The wound was sufficiently painful and conspicuous to prevent Duressna from flying the country, and he took refuge in the house of a Macedonian Greek. He remained with him for a month, till his hand had healed, and then went to Servia. After he had left, the Greek, who would not betray his guest, told the authorities the story. The third was Nicola Teufectchieff, above mentioned. The fourth was the ex-Prefect of Trn,
*. Generally known as Hailio from Ressna.
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Kozâroff. These three are now in Sofia, presumably engaged in a similar business. The fifth was Georgi Velikoff. At the time of the trial there was not sufficient proof to convict him in the first degree, and he was condemned to eighteen years' penal servitude. On the 30th May, 1895, when Stambuloff fell, he was released from prison, and shortly afterwards this murderer was appointed Procureur-General of Lovtcha, where he is now officiating. Very severe measures were now taken by Stambuloff against all suspicious vagabonds, who, in order to save themselves from arrest, fled to Servia, Constantinople, and Odessa; and by the end of 1891, there were probably not ten left in the whole of Bulgaria. This was styled by the Opposition the Reign of Terror, but if ever a Government had reason to cleanse the country of conspirators and professional assassins, that Government was the one of which Stambuloff was the head.
The Terror being established in Bulgaria, the conspirators were bound to seek a fresh field for their operations, and not daring to show their faces at Sofia, they conceived the plan of striking at the Government through its agents abroad. The most capable man of these, who unfortunately for himself was also known as one of Stambuloff's most trusty lieutenants, was Dr. Vulkovitch, the Bulgarian agent at Constantinople. He was a man of great intelligence, a true patriot, an upright honourable servant of the State, and a blameless husband and father. Such a victim was just the one to please the murder party.
Towards the close of 1891, the Servian authorities seized in the Post-office a suspicious letter, and forwarded
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it to Stambuloff. It was found to be addressed from Odessa, by Nicola Teufectchieff, to a certain Boni Georgieff. It was written in a very complicated cypher, over which Stambuloff puzzled in vain for a week. He had considerable experience of these codes, and he wished, if possible, to keep the contents of the letter to himself. Failing, however, in his endeavours, he was obliged to call in a telegraph-clerk named Tomoff, who had the reputation of being able to find the key to any cypher. Stambuloff locked him up with the letter for three days, at the end of which time he had succeeded in writing it out en clair. It gave the details of a plot to assassinate Doctor Vulkovitch, and named those who had undertaken the crime. Stambuloff at once sent a copy of it to Constantinople, and begged Vulkovitch to inform the Turkish authorities, and to take every personal precaution. The Doctor replied that it was useless for him to try and safeguard himself from such men, and if he was to be assassinated he probably would be. It was a question of fate or providence.
Soon after, in the last days of February, 1892, as he was walking home he was attacked from behind, and fell to the ground with a knife between his shoulders, another victim to the pitiless Committees. This abominable act, the unprovoked murder of a perfectly innocent and harmless Government official, merely because he was one, revolted the whole nation, and anything to do with Russophilism or Slav Committees was held in abhorrence until the day when Stambuloff fell, and the whole crew whom he had hunted out swooped down once more upon Bulgaria — conspirators and assassins, branded and confessed.
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In the trial, which took place at Constantinople, it was shown that the plot was organised by Naoum Teufectchieff, and carried out by him with his brother Nicola, with Shishmânoff, an employé in the Russian P.O. at Constantinople, and with a politician concerned in the kidnapping of Prince Alexander, who occupies at the present moment an important position in the Sofia Cabinet.
The years 1891 and 1892 were principally marked by these two hideous murders, which only served the contrary purpose to that at which they aimed, by alienating the sympathies of Bulgaria from their instigators, and by rallying all that was best in Bulgaria round Stambuloff, whose authority was growing more and more firm and wide-reaching. The Prince, it was true, felt that he was kept rather too much in the background after three years' reign, and was beginning to chafe under the dictatorial rule of his Premier, who acted as if he alone governed the country. In the commencement, His Highness was content to let it be so; but he considered that he had by this time acquired sufficient experience to warrant his having a voice in the direction of affairs, and from time to time he kicked somewhat against the pricks. On the whole, though, they were still on fairly good terms ; and as Prince Ferdinand was now thinking more of his marriage than anything else; and as on this subject he and Stambuloff were at one, and he relied upon Stambuloff's power to effect the change in the Constitution, they continued to work in harmony.
In the summer of 1892 the Prince went to Europe
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for his wooing, and left Stambuloff, as usual, Regent. In order to repose himself, the Premier removed to Varna to pass a month or two there; and in August he received a letter from M. Dimitroff, who had replaced Dr. Vulkovitch, that he was charged to say that His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, hearing that Stambuloff was in want of a change of air, would be pleased to see him, should he go to Constantinople. This invitation chimed in with a long-standing and dearly-cherished wish ; and as soon as the Prince returned, Stambuloff chartered the Austrian-Lloyd steamer, the Aglae, and started without the knowledge of anybody in Bulgaria except His Highness.
He arrived on Wednesday, and was at once handsomely received by the Grand Vizier, Djevad Pasha.
He went to stay at the house of M. Dimitroff, at Buyukdereh, on the Bosphorus, close to the Russian Embassy. The prospect of his being received by the Sultan was eminently distasteful to Russia, who tried every means to prevent it. M. Nelidoff was absent from Constantinople, and therefore she applied to the French Embassy for support. On the appointed Friday, Stambuloff attended the Selamlik ; and whilst waiting in the ante-chamber M. Cambon arrived, and asking for an audience, remained for two hours vainly endeavouring to prevail upon His Majesty to alter his decision. What curious reflections must have passed through Stambuloff's mind during this delay! He could remember his first two visits to the Ottoman capital, fifteen years before, when he came as an outlaw and conspirator against Turkey, whom he then considered as his bitterest foe.
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He was patronised by the cavass, or doorkeeper of the Russian Embassy, and it was with a Russian passport that he left. Now he was received with honour as the head of a friendly vassal State, and the Embassies of Russia and France together were powerless to keep him from the presence of his Suzerain. It was, indeed, a change of which he might be proud. When the French Ambassador, baffled in his quest, withdrew, Stambuloff was ushered in. Though he speaks Turkish fluently, he availed himself of the interpreter, in order to give himself time to consider the Sultan's remarks and his own answers. The interview was a long and cordial one, and in its course Stambuloff assured His Majesty of the sincere and loyal wish of Bulgaria to preserve the most friendly relations with Turkey, and emphasized the necessity of such relations for their mutual self' defence. At its close the Sultan expressed his great satisfaction at having seen the Bulgarian statesman, and regretted that, under the existing political circumstances, it was impossible to bestow an order upon him. He presented him, however, with a gold tabatûre, set in diamonds, and named a Lieutenant - Colonel of the Household to act as aide-de-camp in attendance, putting also a steam launch, and carriages and horses at his disposal, and altogether treating him as a highly distinguished guest. Being in Constantinople, Stambuloff took the opportunity of calling upon the Exarch, whom he had not seen since 1881. These two enlightened patriots, who, however they might differ — and they differed much, in various details and points of view — were agreed in their striving after the weal of their country, were
---
Princess Ferdinand.
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not long in coming to a complete understanding, both on the impending change of Article 38 of the Constitution, and on the general policy advocated by Stambuloff. On the whole he had every reason to be pleased with his visit, and he carried away with him the conviction that Bulgaria had now a firm friend in the Sultan, a conviction first acquired during his audience, and afterwards confirmed by subsequent conversations with the Grand Vizier and Turkish Ministers.
He returned by rail, after keeping the Aglae waiting till the last moment, in order to put any possible conspirators off the scent, in case they might plot some fresh attempt upon him.
In March, 1893, the betrothal of Prince Ferdinand to Princess Marie Louise of Parma was announced, and Stambuloff went with the Prince to fetch back the new Bulgarian Princess. M. Givkoff was left, this time, as Regent. The fact of the Prince and his powerful Minister daring to leave Bulgaria together, created some astonishment and much comment in Europe, but they felt that the era of conspiracy was past, and that the Panslavist snake was too severely scotched to be feared. At Vienna, Stambuloff was received both by the Emperor and Count Kalnoky. Europe had heard so much of the man, that all were anxious to see and hear him. He told me afterwards that he had been much struck by the very intimate knowledge of all that had passed in Bulgaria, and the accurate estimate of the situation possessed by both the Emperor and his Minister. He talked long with Count Kalnoky, especially as regarded the future, and the possibility of a recognition of the Prince, and the Count
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seemed to approve the policy adopted since the Regency. With the Emperor Franz Joseph Stambuloff remained more than an hour, but the subject of their conversation did not transpire. [*]
From Vienna the Bulgarian Court moved on to Pianove, where the marriage was celebrated, and Stambuloff preceded the Royal pair to their new home, in order to prepare the elections for the Grand Assembly, which was to change the Constitution by permitting the baptism of the Prince's issue in the Catholic faith. He may be considered, at this time, as being at the zenith of his power and popularity. The Assembly met and passed the proposed alteration in Article 38, and the Prince and his bride landed at Sistoff. They were greeted with joyful enthusiasm by all classes, and the future looked brighter than it had ever done before in the history of Bulgaria.
Stambuloff seized this opportunity of offering his resignation to the Prince. He supported his request to be relieved of office by saying that with the celebration of the marriage, and the change in the Constitution, he had rendered his best services to His Highness and the country, and had earned a rest. Prince Ferdinand, however, cordially begged him not to spoil his honeymoon by deserting his post at such a moment, and Stambuloff gave in. It was a decided mistake. Had he remained firm, the Prince would have been compelled to choose a successor from the Opposition, and the contrast
*. Amongst other questions put by the Emperor was a query as to whether Stambuloff fancied his policy was based upon solid foundations. "Sire," was the answer, "if Zankoff himself were now to take my place, he would have to follow my line."
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would have been so marked, that Stambuloff would have returned later to office, refreshed by repose, and with all his old popularity still about him. The commands of the Prince were, nevertheless, so kindly and genially put, that he sacrificed himself once more for his master.
After the closure of the Grand Assembly came the elections for the Legislative Chamber. Wishing to see the real measure of his popularity, Stambuloff gave orders to all his party to abstain from using the slightest pressure, and to allow the elections to be absolutely free. As I have said previously, such a thing as really free elections are impossible in Bulgaria, but little or no Government coercion was used on this occasion. The result was, that out of one hundred and sixty Deputies, only fifteen or sixteen of the Opposition were elected, and it was evident that he had the whole of Bulgaria at his back.
Proud of this proof of the confidence of the nation, Stambuloff telegraphed, on Sunday, to the Prince to inform him of his victory. It was not till the following Friday that he received a very cold telegram of congratulation in reply. This delay, and the tone of the answer, made Stambuloff reflect, and prepare for combat.
On the 27th October, the Legislative Chamber was convoked, and he resolved to complete his thankless work for the Dynasty by raising the Prince's Civil List from 600,000 to one million francs per annum. This he did because he knew how marriage increased domestic expenses, having lately married, himself, on 29th May,
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1888 ; but his action was sharply criticised by many of his party, and it was still one more shred of his own coat that he gave to cover the Prince.
The Opposition were already aware of the tension which had sprung up between the Palace and the Premier, and their hopes revived. Seeing that they could do nothing separately, all the hostile elements coalesced, and founded a paper called the Svobodno Slovo, which was daily filled with virulent attacks against Stambuloff. It furthermore pretended that it had the support of the Palace, but this Stambuloff did not at first credit, though later on he was forced to admit its probability. The United Opposition was headed by four of Stambuloff's ex-Ministers — Stoiloff, Natchevitch, Stransky, and Radoslâvoff — together with Colonel Petroff, Chief of the Staff, and the Prince's favourite.
Not being able to strike the Government through the people, they contrived to reach the ear of the Prince through Colonel Petroff and Doctor Stantcheff, His Highness's Secretary, and there was no longer any secret of the ill-will which had grown up between Prince Ferdinand and Stambuloff.
It is by no means easy to disentangle the various motives of the quarrel, which was scarcely more reputable to one side than to the other. It is certain that Prince Ferdinand had, for long, been impatiently chafing under the tutelage of his headstrong Premier. He feared him, however, too much to venture on a duel before his marriage. By that act, though, he felt himself much strengthened, and by the birth of an heir, the infant Prince Boris, on the 30th January, 1894, far more so still.
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Had it not been for the illness of the Princess after her accouchement, which compelled the Prince to take her abroad, there can be little doubt but that Stambuloff would have been immediately dismissed after that happy event, and the country and the Prince would have been saved from the subsequent scandals. The Prince, himself, was frequently provoked, almost past endurance, by the rough and insulting tone of Stambuloff ; and he was surrounded by a crowd of hungry aspirants for Government posts, who adroitly played upon his amour propre, and were never tired of exhorting him to throw off the yoke of Stambuloff, and take up his own sceptre. Such counsels flattered his vanity and touched his pride, and culminated, finally, in the fall of the Premier. In tracing the quarrel through its stages, I shall abstain from comment, and leave the reader to form his own judgment on incidents which can only be sincerely regretted, for the sake of all parties.
The following characteristic anecdotes will, perhaps, serve better than any "appreciations" to illustrate the manner in which the quarrel was conducted.
Stambuloff was in the habit of going to the Palace to hand in his report to the Prince on public affairs once or twice a week, at ten o'clock in the morning. He received information, from one of the officers implicated, that Colonel Petroff had arranged, with a dozen of his comrades, that the Prince, instead of receiving Stambuloff in the morning, as usual, should, under some pretext, command him to present himself in the evening, and keep him there till nine o'clock. The Prince was then to ask him to sign his resignation, and if he refused, Colonel
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Petroff and his officers were to come in and, at the point of the sword and the muzzle of the revolver, to compel him. Word was to be sent to Madame Stambuloff that' the Prince had kept Stambuloff to dinner, and, before morning, a new Ministry was to be formed, and the resignation of Stambuloff announced. The repentant conspirator entreated him on no account to go to the Palace in the evening, but Stambuloff reassured him, and told him to continue to pretend that he was with the Petroff party, and play out the game. He, however, went to several of the Diplomatic Agents, and informed them of the plot, so that they might know what had happened, should it succeed in part.
Surely enough, the following week the Prince summoned him for the evening. He went, but only stayed two hours, declining to wait longer. A second time the same order came, and the same farce was gone through. On the third occasion Stambuloff sent word that he was ill, and could not come; and likewise on the fourth. Finally, however, he thought it was time to put an end to such summonses, and went after his dinner. Upon entering the Prince embraced him affectionately, kissing him on both cheeks, and inquired after his health. After an hour or two spent in discussing current business, Stambuloff, fixing his terrible eye upon his master, said : "Your Highness, I hear strange rumours in the town. They say that I am to be asked to report at night, as I have been asked five times, and that Your Highness, one evening, is to keep me late, sending word to my wife, to quiet any uneasiness she may and would feel. Then you are to ask me for my resignation, and if I do not sign it,
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Petroff and So-and-So and So-and-So " — mentioning several names of those in the secret — "are to come in armed, and force me."
The Prince burst into a torrent of denials that if any such villainous scheme existed he was no party to it, but Stambuloff, with a deprecating gesture, drew out a sheet of paper from his breast pocket, and went on —
" Your Highness has not learnt in seven years to know me if you think I could be forced into signing anything. You might cut off my hands and feet, but you could never compel me to do what I do now voluntarily, and of my own free will. Here is my resignation, signed and undated. Take it, and keep it by you, if you think it will help you. From this moment I am no longer your Minister, and I warn you, Sire, that if you treat your new one as you have treated me, your throne is not worth a louis."
Prince Ferdinand wished to continue his protest, but Stambuloff saluted him and walked out. No further notice was ever taken of this incident, which, however, can scarcely have improved the mutual feelings of the two adversaries, for such they now were. On another occasion the Prince drove up in his carriage to Stambuloff's house, in the evening, in a state of considerable agitation. Stambuloff was surprised at this unusual visit, and fearing something very serious had occurred, begged his Highness to enlighten him. It then appeared that the Prince had been driving out in a closed coupé along the Orkhanieh Road, when he met two officers on horseback, Majors Popoff and Paprikoff. They gave the customary salute, but after they had
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passed, the Prince lifted up the little blind in the back of his carriage, and noticed that Popoff after saluting made the insulting Russian gesture of spitting back after the coupé. Prince Ferdinand was furious at this insolence, and came to ask Stambuloff how he would advise him to punish the culprit. Undoubtedly, the wisest course would have been to take no notice of conduct which had been discovered in this wise, but the Prince insisted on giving Major Popoff a lesson.
" Very well, Your Highness," said Stambuloff. " You will go back to the Palace and summon Popoff, who is in charge of Ordnance Stores. Under pretence of requiring information upon certain details, you will keep him for two hours answering you."
"And what then?"
" Nothing more, Your Highness."
" What ! no punishment ?"
"That is all, Sire!"
The Prince did as he was advised. Major Popoff, conscious of his offence, and fancying it had been noticed, was in a white terror for two long hours under the merciless cross-questioning of the Prince, but when he was dismissed without reprimand he could not quite understand it. He went to Stambuloff, and told him the whole story over again, expressing his astonishment at the Prince's sudden thirst for information, and saying what a fright he had been kept in during the interrogatory.
Stambuloff did not enlighten him, but the next time he saw the Prince, he reported that the punishment had been equal to the offence.
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One more instance of Stambuloff's methods before resuming the story.
The President of the Chamber was M. Petkoff, formerly Mayor of Sofia. He was a man of somewhat blunt manner and rough exterior, and the Prince had for long treated him with scant courtesy. Suddenly, however, a change came over his manner, and he began to take a great deal of pains to show civilities to the President.
One day he called him to the Palace, and took him to the Red Saloon. Here he ostentatiously closed the doors, and button-holing his visitor, spoke as follows : " Here am I, Prince Ferdinand of Cobourg, and here are you, Petkoff, President of the Bulgarian Chamber. Above us is Almighty God, and round us are the four walls. What I am about to say to you now must go no further." He then began urging Petkoff to raise a party in the Chamber to get rid of Stambuloff, who was ruining the country, and who was the chief stumbling-block in the way of a reconciliation with Russia. Petkoff was much embarrassed at this most unexpected proposal, but replied that in the first place Stambuloff was his oldest and best-tried friend, to whom he owed everything, and that it would be most dishonest of him to head a faction against his Chief ; and secondly, that any such attempt was predestined to failure, for Stambuloff was too strong, and anybody who tried to resist him would only be annihilated. Prince Ferdinand was naturally vexed at this rebuff, and entreated Petkoff to say nothing about it, but, as a matter of course, the first thing he did was to repeat the whole of the interview to Stambuloff.
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Shortly after this, Stantcheff spoke to Petkoff in the same sense, and was met with the same answer. Stantcheff then fell ill with typhus fever, and was in some considerable danger on the day when Stambuloff went to the Palace to make his report. He found Prince Ferdinand much distressed, pacing up and down the room, and exclaiming that his poor Stantcheff was dying. This gave Stambuloff his opportunity.
" No, sire, he will not die ; and I pray God he may not, as I have an account to settle with him."
" An account to settle with Stantcheff ! " rejoined the Prince, in surprise. " What can you have against him ; such a good, nice fellow ! "
Then Stambuloff began —
"This, sire — he makes unwarranted and shameful use of Your Highness's name. Imagine, you, who are the essence of chivalry and the soul of honour, and who deign to trust me as your second self, that not long ago this Stantcheff, whom you also trust, called my best friend, Petkoff, to him."
Here he paused, and the Prince grew uneasy. He went on —
"Stantcheff took Petkoff up to the Red Saloon, and used these words : ' Here am I, Stantcheff, and here are you, Petkoff ; above us is Almighty God, and round us are these four walls.' He then proceeded, in Your Highness's name, to make the basest and most infamous proposal to Petkoff to forswear his allegiance to me and to play the traitor to his Chief."
The Prince protested that it was impossible, and Stambuloff having enjoyed his scene, smiled ironically
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and said that all things were possible, and changed the conversation.
It can easily be understood that skirmishes like these were not calculated to heal the breach. Stambuloff plainly saw that the Prince would stick at nothing to cause his ignominious downfall, and the Prince was provoked at the surety with which his plans were discovered, and the insolent contempt with which they were treated. The end could scarcely be far off when such a point had been reached.
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CHAPTER X. THE FALL OF STAMBULOFF.
Appointment of Savoff Minister of War — His conjugal griefs — He accuses Slavkoff — Stambuloff obtains an Iradé for Macedonian Bishops — Popular delight at this victory — Stambuloff resigns again — The Prince refuses to accept — The challenge from Savoff — The protocol of the seconds — SavofFs letter to the Prince — "The act of a churl" — Stambuloff sends his resignation by letter to the Prince — National demonstrations against his leaving office — The mob assisted by the soldiers — The Princely Rescript — Stambuloff goes to the Palace — The rabble spit upon him — Stambuloff's house in a state of siege — The interview in the Frankfurter Zeitung — Stambuloff's great mistake.
TO resume the thread of our story. We left the Opposition striving to undermine Stambuloff's position with the help of the Palace, as represented chiefly by Colonel Petroff. This officer was an ambitious and energetic Chief of the Staff, who aimed at becoming what he now is — Minister of War. He had been a favourite of Prince Alexander, and was now in great favour with Prince Ferdinand. When Colonel Mutkûroff died, the candidature of Colonel Petroff was put forward for the Ministry, and warmly supported by the Prince, but Stambuloff refused to accept it, and appointed Major Savoff, a man of brilliant organising powers, and who kept aloof from politics. Prince Alexander had always
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tried to make the Minister of War a sort of Head Clerk, or Intendant, reserving to himself the real power for promotions and appointments. A tendency in this direction was now showing itself in Prince Ferdinand, and as Stambuloff disapproved of it entirely, he and Savoff drew up a law for the re-organisation of the army on constitutional bases, and managed to carry it, in spite of the most active opposition from the Palace party. During the course of this campaign the Prince openly demanded Savoff's dismissal, and Stambuloff, no less than three times, was forced to play the trump card, which so often succeeded, of offering his own resignation if his Minister was taken from him.
Major Savoff was married to a niece of M. Gueshoff, and he was savagely jealous about her. The ménage was a most unhappy one, and the husband would generally lock up his wife when away from home. In 1893 the Petroff party, who wished to get rid of Savoff by making him the object of some glaring scandal, put it into his head that M. Slavkoff was his wife's lover. The two men had never been friends, and the hint was sufficient to set the morbid jealousy of Savoff in a flame. Blind with rage, he came to Stambuloff to complain. Stambuloff replied that, though Slavkoff was no saint, he was perfectly certain that in this instance he was entirely innocent. Savoff, however, swore that his information was sure, and gave various details, into which, in order to calm him, Stambuloff promised to enquire. The secret police soon revealed the fact that, however flighty the lady might be, there was no ground for suspicion against Slavkoff. Stambuloff told this to
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Savoff, who, nevertheless, doggedly adhered to his belief, and declared that he would no longer sit in the same Ministry with Slavkoff, and that Stambuloff must choose between them.
The Premier retorted that for such a reason he would not throw over either one or the other, and Savoff went away furious. In fact, he now cast himself into the arms of the Opposition, which thus gained its point. In April, 1894, Stantcheff left Sofia to visit the Prince at Ebenthal, and Savoff commissioned him to ask His Highness' approval of a duel between him and Slavkoff. When Stambuloff heard of this he was very angry, called him up, and told him such scandals were altogether contrary to the habits and customs of Bulgaria, that they could only reflect the greatest discredit upon the name of Minister and on the Cabinet, and that as it had already been proved that Slavkoff was quite innocent of any offence, he would have no duel fought. Stantcheff then returned and proposed to Savoff, as he could not fight Slavkoff, to call out Stambuloff, being tolerably certain that the fiery temper of the latter would not resist provocation, and that thus two birds would be killed with one stone. But whilst all this quarrelling had been going on amongst the Ministers in Sofia, Stambuloff had scored a great diplomatic triumph at Constantinople. Whilst the Prince was away, he approached the Sultan with a request for the appointment of two more Bulgarian Bishops in Macedonia, for the Bulgarian schools to be placed on the same footing as those of Greece, and for the formal recognition of some forty Bulgarian Communes. His Majesty the Sultan, probably under the
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favourable impression left by his interview with Stambuloff, issued an Iradé granting all these privileges, the news of which was received all over Bulgaria with national rejoicing.
From every town and village came telegrams and deputations to Stambuloff, begging him to transmit to the Sultan the thanks of Bulgaria for his Imperial favours, and a monster meeting was held in Sofia, culminating in a demonstration, in which nearly ten thousand took part, in front of his house. In this demonstration all parties took a share, and a leading Zankoffist, M. Makedonsky, in a speech which lasted for an hour, expressed the gratitude of the nation, and especially of the Macedonian Bulgars, to Stambuloff, for the success he had gained. Stambuloff appeared at the window, and was greeted with tumultuous cheers; and nobody who saw the reception given to him, could have guessed how the same crowd would treat him in a few short weeks. This meeting passed a resolution requesting Stambuloff to telegraph their gratitude to the Sultan, which he immediately did, and was honoured by a most gracious reply from Yildiz Kiosque. This direct interchange of telegrams was the more conspicuous, since the Sultan had never yet telegraphed to Prince Ferdinand in answer to the various messages he had from time to time despatched to Constantinople. The diplomatic success Stambuloff was also the more marked, as it had been won by himself, without the support of any foreign Ambassador; and the Sultan, by granting the privileges asked for on his own initiative, proved his confidence in the good faith of the vassal State. The mistrust
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which had always existed seemed to have disappeared, and everything augured well for the future prosperity and progress of the Bulgarians under Turkish rule. The access of popularity which Stambuloff secured by this move was, however, far from pleasing to the Palace, who saw that it would make his ejection from office more difficult, and the Prince was especially annoyed that the glory of it should all have been taken by Stambuloff in his absence. [*]
The day after his return, on the 26th April, Stambuloff called on the Prince, and tendered the resignation of the whole Cabinet. A resignation, however, just after the Macedonian triumph, would have done Stambuloff no harm, and the Prince refused to accept it. Stambuloff declared that the Savoff scandal was too disgraceful, and he wished to be relieved of any connection with it. The Prince rejoined that the best thing to do would be to turn out Savoff, the original aim and object of the whole intrigue of the Palace party from the first. Stambuloff was not inclined to do this, but when he reached home he found, to his astonishment, a challenge from Savoff for himself. This was too
*. His Highness first heard of the Iradé at Belgrade, on his way back to Sofia. When he arrived, and Stambuloff met him, the Minister expected to be congratulated on his success, but the Prince talked on indifferent subjects. At last he said, "You have not thanked me yet for the present I sent you from Vienna." Stambuloff had received no present, but thinking that perhaps the Prince had sent him a snuff-box, or some other trifle, which had miscarried, he answered that he begged to be pardoned, but that nothing had reached him. "Eh? And your Macedonian Bishops?" rejoined the Prince. Stambuloff was too amused to be angry at this joke.
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ridiculous, but his adversaries had rightly reckoned upon his mood, and he accepted immediately. He named as his seconds the Minister for Foreign Affairs, M. Grékoff and Colonel Kutintcheff, a stern soldier, who had presided over the Panitza Court-martial, and who had an unsullied reputation. Major Savoff was represented by Lieutenant-Colonel Kovâtcheff and Major Petronoff, both men of honour and unobjectionable. The seconds met to discuss the matter, and after two hours' deliberation, drew up a Protocol, in which they declared, that as the accusation brought by Savoff was without a shadow of foundation, there were no grounds for his seeking satisfaction from Stambuloff. His seconds, consequently, returned their mandate and withdrew. Hereupon Savoff appointed two fresh ones — M. Radoslâvoff and Captain Mitoff. At the same time he wrote an abject letter to Prince Ferdinand, begging His Highness to protect him and his little child from the ferocious Stambuloff. The Prince forwarded this letter to Stambuloff, with a request not to harm Savoff. Meanwhile Stambuloff's seconds declared that, though it was contrary to all precedent to name fresh seconds after the incident had been regularly declared closed by a Protocol, yet Stambuloff was ready to fight, if any honourable and impartial men decided that he owed reparation to Savoff. They refused, however, to treat with such notorious personal enemies of their principal as Radoslâvoff and Mitoff. Directly afterwards Savoff sent in his resignation, and asked for his passport to be given him for Vienna. No difficulties were placed in his way, and he left. The foregoing is the briefest
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possible account of this disgraceful comedy, which led to such grave consequences.
On Savoff's resignation, Stambuloff again insisted upon his own, and was again refused. He then wished to appoint Colonel Marinoff as Minister of War, but Petroff was backed by the Prince, and having got rid of Savoff, was quite determined to take his place. A most obstinate struggle now began. The Prince, following the traditional lead in such cases, said that rather than have Marinoff as Minister of War, he would abdicate, and Stambuloff declared that as Petroff was his sworn enemy, he preferred to resign rather than have him in the Cabinet. Neither would give way, and the crisis was acute. Finally Petroff said, that if he took the portfolio, he would promise to work honestly and loyally with Stambuloff. A Council was held at Stambuloff's house, lasting from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and he let himself be over-persuaded.
The next day Petroff came to see him, and repeated his assurance — that he wished to let bygones be bygones, and to act in harmony with the Premier. And the Prince had the great satisfaction of signing the decree appointing his favourite Minister of War. It was his first victory over Stambuloff, and the latter, by giving in to his friends instead of following his own judgment in refusing to admit Petroff, committed a great error. He probably thought that, strong in the Chamber, and with the nation behind him, he would soon be able to free himself from his new colleague, but he had omitted the Prince from his calculations. He had so long been accustomed to overrule Prince Ferdinand, that he hardly
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realised the situation, when His Highness declined to cede any longer. In dealing with his fellow-countrymen as adversaries, Stambuloff had the prestige of the Prince and the Constitution at his back. In fighting the Prince, though, the Constitution was on the other side, and when once His Highness, by the threat of abdication, had carried his point and found his strength, he was not the man to stop there. He had writhed so long under the galling restraint of his Premier, that he was impatient to cast it off and be, at last, Prince of Bulgaria, in fact as well as in name. With Petroff in the Cabinet, his wedge was planted in the heart of the oak. There was an enemy in the house, and one who was fully alive to the possibilities of the situation.
The end came even sooner than the Opposition had hoped. Their organs, emboldened by the presence of Colonel Petroff, opened fire upon Stambuloff with increased virulence, and, amongst numberless calumnies, insinuated that he had refused to fight with Savoff out of cowardice, and had spirited him away out of the country. Stambuloff was able to turn a deaf, contemptuous ear to most of their accusations, but an imputation on his personal courage, which really required less rebuttal than any other, was too much for him. He retorted by publishing, in the Svoboda, the letter Savoff had addressed to the Prince, clearly showing that if either party had been afraid it was not he. When the Svoboda, containing this letter, appeared, Stantcheff telegraphed the news to the Prince, who was then in Vienna and His Highness replied, en clair, that if Stambuloff had done this, it was a gemienier That — the
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action of a churl, and that Stantcheff might go and tell Stambuloff so. It is unnecessary to say that Stantcheff carefully avoided going near the irate Premier, who had had a copy of the telegram sent to him from the office as soon as it had arrived. After reading it, he sat down and wrote a long letter to the Prince. He began by recapitulating all the mal entendus which had taken place, the perpetual scheming to get rid of him by underhand means, whilst every open offer of his resignation was politely refused, and the encouragement given to the Opposition, who never ceased boasting that they had the Prince on their side. It was perfectly clear that all confidence between them was at an end, and that therefore he was determined irrevocably to retire from office. Thereby he notified his resignation to His Highness, and he expressed a hope that he would find a Minister, if not so devoted to the country's interest, at least not so "gemein", and more courtly and refined, to whom it would not be necessary to send insulting telegrams from abroad. He concluded, threateningly, that the Prince should not play with fire, by irritating Ministers who had almost unlimited command of power, as sooner or later it would cost him his throne.
I make no comment on this letter, or on the events which led up to it, leaving the public to apportion the blame attaching, in general opinion at the time, to both parties.
This letter containing Stambuloff's resignation was handed to the Prince at Belgrade. His Highness arrived at Sofia, with the Princess, on the 26th. On the pretext of illness, Stambuloff did not go, as on previous
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occasions, to the frontier to meet the Royal train, but remained at home, like Achilles, in his tent. The day after his reaching the capital, the Prince wrote to Stambuloff, saying that he had received his letter, and that, as he was ill, he would talk with M. Grékoff. Stambuloff replied that His Highness could do exactly as he pleased, since he was no longer Prime Minister. The Prince, nevertheless, summoned him to the Palace, and from four o'clock till eight they deliberated upon the formation of a new Cabinet. The first idea of the Prince was to entrust its formation to M. Grékoff, who was a favourite with the Stambuloff party, and popular in all circles, but that Minister declined, under the circumstances, to take the cloak that had fallen from the shoulders of his Chief. Stambuloff himself advised a coalition Cabinet, under Stoiloff and Radoslâvoff, but these two could also not agree on the composition of a working Ministry, and a deadlock was the result.
Meanwhile, the news of Stambuloff's resignation had spread all over Bulgaria, and the Prince received hundreds of telegrams, regretting that matters had reached a stage forcing him to part with his Premier, and begging him to reconsider the situation. A very large meeting was held at Sofia, on the 30th May, and after they had passed a resolution, in a similar sense, they adjourned to the Palace, where a Deputation, consisting of all the notables, and headed by M. Blagoeff, the Mayor of Sofia, was to present it to the Prince. His Highness, however, had driven out that morning to a grand military parade, at the camp of Bali Effendi, on the plain, and there he made a speech, saying that he was
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abandoned by all parties, and looked to the Army alone to support him in this crisis.
Meanwhile, a band of about forty cadets from the military school, which has acquired a sorry reputation for always being in the van when there was riot in the air, sallied forth, and commenced picking quarrels with the crowd in front of the Palace. Somebody fired three revolver shots in the air, and a free fight ensued. [*]
Panic reigned in the Palace, where it was imagined that an attempt was being made to dethrone the Prince. The telephone was set going, and before long the first regiment of cavalry appeared upon the scene with drawn sabres. Had it not been for the personal intervention of Stambuloff, there would probably have been a fight between the soldiers and the police, who were attacked by them in defending the persons and property of the populace. For Captain Morfoff took a squadron of cavalry, formed a rabble-rout of cadets, students, and ragamuffins, and paraded the town, shouting, "Down with Stambuloff ! " entering the shops and the cafés, tearing down Stambuloff's portrait, looting, and behaving in the most outrageous manner, whilst their action was covered
*. M. Blagoeff, one of the most peaceable of men, together with M. Stoyanoff, head of the Bureau of the National Assembly, was afterwards arrested, and charged with having fired upon the authorities. He was liberated on the enormous (for Bulgaria) bail of 15,000 francs; and no notice was taken of a witness who came forward, threw a revolver down before the Court, and said, "It was not Blagoeff, but I who fired, not upon the authorities, or upon anybody else, but in the air ; and here is the revolver with which I fired." The Court did not arrest this man, but continued to try Blagoeff, who, a year afterwards, was still under the charge.
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and defended against the police by the cavalry. Those who resisted were arrested, the different police guardhouses were seized by the troops, and mob-law reigned with the countenance of the army. [*]
Colonel Petroff had now come in from the camp, and going to the telegraph station, ordered the Divisional Commanders all over Bulgaria to take over charge from the Prefects, and to be responsible for public order. This measure was dictated from the fear of a general rising of the Stambuloffists, and was absolutely necessary.
Amongst other acts of riot, a few vagabonds, on the 30th, tore down the metal plaques from the street corners of Stambuloff and Petkoff Streets, and were arrested in consequence. The next day, on the 31st, a mob of about fifteen hundred assembled before the Uchastuk (guard-house) where they were confined, and demanded their release. Stambuloff, who still retained some shreds of his authority in the absence of anybody else, sent a Prefect's Adjutant, named Urdanoff, with twenty mounted police, to disperse them, which he did in less than five minutes. Half an hour later, though, the mob returned, accompanied by half a battalion of infantry.
Urdanoff asked Stambuloff what he was to do. Sick at heart, he replied that against soldiers wearing the uniform the police must do nothing, and the prisoners
*. Though Stambuloff had handed in his resignation a week before, nobody had taken his place, and he was still supposed to be Minister up to the 18th/30th May ; but after this disturbance, he declined absolutely to take the slightest share of responsibility, and it is generally from this day that the termination of his long and eventful Ministry is dated.
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were to be handed over to them. At the same time he wrote to the Prince, saying that the existing condition of the town was shameful, and entreating him to form some sort of a Ministry; and at nine o'clock, on the 31st, was installed the Stoiloff Cabinet, nominally Conservative, but really relying upon a coalition to support it. It consisted of M. Stoiloff, President and Home Minister; Natchevitch, Foreign Affairs; Gueshoff, Finance; Velitchkoff, Public Instruction ; Madjâroff, Public Works, and Posts and Telegraphs ; Petroff, War ; and Minchievitch, Petroff's brother-in-law, Justice. All of these are already familiar to the reader, except the last. Stoiloff and Natchevitch had repeatedly filled public offices before, and had considerable experience. Gueshoff, Velitchkoff, and Madjâroff are rabid Russophils, having, at various periods of their careers, been implicated in rebellious plots against Bulgaria. And Colonel Petroff we have lately seen in full activity.
On the 3rd June, a mob assembled in front of Stambuloff's house, and he telephoned to the Palace that if they attacked him he should fire upon them, and any bloodshed would be upon the heads of the authorities. A few days later, the Prince addressed a Rescript to Stambuloff, couched in the most glowing terms, thanking him for his long and faithful service, for all the unswerving loyalty and devotion he had shown to his Prince and his country, and assuring him of his sincere appreciation and gratitude. Nothing could have been more flatteringly expressed, and it was handed to him by the Aide-de-Camp, Major Stoyânoff, with a message that His Highness would prefer that no letter of thanks should be
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sent in acknowledgment, but that Stambuloff should come himself to the Palace to see him.
On the 11th June, accordingly, he repaired thither at mid-day. The interview lasted nearly two hours, during which time a crowd was assembling in front of the gates. Both of them could see this from the windows, but neither made any allusion to it, and they parted in the most friendly manner. When he went out, Stambuloff saw a rabble nearly one thousand strong, but composed mostly of youths and street urchins. Stantcheff advised him to slip away by a back door in the garden, but he replied that he would go out by the same door by which he had entered, and no other. Before the very gates was a yelling, seething mass, crying, "Down with Stambuloff! Down with the tyrant ! Down with the usurper !" Accompanied only by his faithful Guntcho, [*] Stambuloff walked coolly forth. Some of the ragged crew spit upon him, others took muddy water in their mouths and squirted it at him, but he smiled contemptuously on his ignoble assailants, and now and again acknowledged some insult by a bow and a sweep of his hat. Opposite the public library a man leaped out with a knife, but in an instant Guntcho had covered him with his revolver, and he fell back. When he finally reached his home he
*. Guntcho is a familiar figure to everybody in Bulgaria, for he follows his master like a shadow. He is a short, thick-set fellow, with a dark, full beard. He comes from the village of Medveneh, near Slivno, and was recommended to Stambuloff by his old friend, Zachary Stoyânoff. As long as he was in power, Stambuloff paid him wages, but after he fell, and his property was sequestrated, he dismissed all his servants. Guntcho, however (as, indeed, did almost all of the others), refused to go, and continues to serve for love.
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was mad with rage, and told me that he held the Prince responsible for allowing his guest to be treated so beneath his windows ; a treatment which the wildest Albanian would never permit his host to suffer, even if he were his most deadly enemy. It must be doubted, however, if His Highness had anything whatever to do with this demonstration, which seemed to be directed almost as much against him as against Stambuloff. It was certainly got up by the Opposition, and no attempt was made by the authorities or police to stop it, or to punish those who took part in it. The probable truth is that the Government were displeased with the Prince's reception of Stambuloff, and feared a reconciliation. For this reason they wished to intimidate the Prince by sending a mob in front of the Palace. If this was their object — to prevent any further communication between His Highness and his ex-Premier — they succeeded, for this was the last interview, and the farewell of Prince Ferdinand to the man who had done so much for him and his child, and for the country he governed.
From the 12th June to the 9th August, Stambuloff scarcely left the house, but at 3 a.m. on that day he ordered Guntcho to saddle a couple of horses, and started for a ride across country. The police sentinels, who were posted round the house, were so astonished at this early sally, that they did not at first know what to do, and whilst one went to give information, the others followed to try and keep the horses in sight. This they failed in, and, after a six-hours' gallop, Stambuloff returned. In the course of the morning a couple of gendarmes took up their position on his doorstep, but he took no
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notice of them, as they did not interfere with him otherwise. In the evening, Stambuloff's former Under-Secretary of Council came to dinner with his wife. When, at eleven o'clock, they tried to go, the new sentries declared that they had orders not to allow anybody to leave or enter the house between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. Stambuloff objected that no such order had been communicated to him, and he did not recognise it, and ordered them to make way for his guests. The only reply to this was the presentation of two bayonets, and the ominous click of the locks of their rifles. Nobody knew better than Stambuloff the obstinate and unreasoning obedience of the Bulgarian, and he was forced to retire and telephone to the Police Commissary, saying that he had no room in his house to put up his guests, who were perfectly well known to the Commissary, and were not suspicious personages, and finally orders were given to let them out. [*]
On the 10th August, Prince Ferdinand arrived from one of his voyages, and Stambuloff immediately wrote to him complaining bitterly of the treatment meted out to the Minister whom, so short a while ago, His Highness had honoured by the Rescript, and concluding his letter by the phrase, " If I have been guilty of any crime, arrest me and try me : but do not put my wife, my mother, my family, and my friends under a general arrest in my own house." This appeal remained without any answer.
*. A Hungarian journalist, Ad. Strauss, was in Sofia at the time, and would not believe that Stambuloff's complaint was true, but on trying to force his way in, one evening, he had convincing proof given to him that it was so.
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Consequently, Stambuloff's friends could only come to see him in the day-time. Amongst these may fairly be reckoned most of the Foreign Diplomatic Agents, who, without exception, respected the fallen Minister, and disapproved of the methods of his foes in their triumph. Stambuloff asked them to use their influence with the Prince, for both of their sakes, not to enter upon a course of petty persecution, and Mr. Dering, the British Representative, spoke to Prince Ferdinand on the subject. His Highness carelessly replied, "Ah! I dare say they are worrying him a little on account of the manner in which he attacks them in his paper ; that is all."
On this being repeated to Stambuloff, he grew very angry, declaring that without the support and encouragement of the Prince, the Conservatives neither would nor could have taken the measures against him which they had done ; and it was whilst he was in the paroxysm of his rage that M. Kanner, correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung, called upon him.
It was on the 14th August that Stambuloff committed the greatest blunder of his life, by pouring out his griefs into the willing ears of M. Kanner. Had he confined himself to a mere recital of what had been done to him, or had he simply put the responsibility for it upon the Government, very little, if any, harm would have come of it. But he attacked Prince Ferdinand violently, and personally, holding him up to contempt by relating various little incidents which he alone knew, and which, for that reason, he ought never to have divulged.
All the bitter words and acts that had passed between them in Bulgaria might one day have been forgiven, but
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this attempt to pillory him in the German Press was an unpardonable sin in the eyes of Prince Ferdinand, and having once crossed the Rubicon of decency, the war was carried on subsequently without the slightest mercy being shown to private, as well as public, acts and relations, and with a total disregard for the usual courtesies of even newspaper controversy.
Up to the time of the publication of the Frankfurter Zeitung article, the Prince and his ex-Premier had been enemies, it is true, at heart, but outwardly Stambuloff was still the Prince's trusted counsellor ; in fact, the last communication from the Prince, before this incident, had been the issue of his grateful Rescript. The wearing of the mask, and the playing of the farce, had, however, palled upon the impatient spirit of Stambuloff, who felt that he was losing ground in this style of fighting, under a flag of peace, in which the Prince was his superior, as well as occupying the stronger position. Therefore, he declared war openly by a vicious personal attack in the Zeitung. The journalist did his work conscientiously, and published, in all its venomous crudity, every word of the interview. The sting of it lay in its truth, and it created a nine days' sensation in Europe. In Bulgaria it was the declaration of hostilities, of which nobody can yet foretell the ending.
Stambuloff, by this outburst, committed what was worse than a crime — a mistake. There can be no real excuse made for it. It may be urged that he was smarting under great provocation, as he doubtless was, but how much worthier and more dignified it would have been to show himself superior to such petty revenge by silence. He
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has often admitted since, that he said what he should never have allowed to pass his lips concerning his Prince, and that it was wrong and unworthy of him, but having once entered the lists, with the dangerous plough-handle of the European Press, he could not turn back. The buttons were off now ; it was no longer a fencing match, but a duel to the death.
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Stambuloff summoned to Court — He is bailed out — The attack upon him by the police — Costa Pavloff — Wholesale dismissal of the Stambuloff partisans in Government employ — Maltreatment of electors at Slivno — " You are drunkards and vagabonds" — The Svoboda — Stoiloff and Petroff make an electoral tour — The "enlightened " Chamber — The method of legislation — The Parliamentary Commission — The sequester — Its illegality — Petkoff and his fortune — The Pension Law — The accusations against Stambuloff — Their absurdity — Stambuloff must not write in red ink — Assassins at tea with the Minister for Foreign Affairs — An execution for taxes on Stambuloff's furniture — His visit to the Club.
ON the 5th September, Stambuloff was summoned to the Court, to answer for defamation of the Prince. He took with him his counsel, M. Pomiânoff, who pleaded that there was no article in the Code by which his client could be held responsible for what a foreign journalist published in a foreign journal. The fact that Stambuloff's paper, the Svoboda, had reproduced part of the incriminated "interview" did not alter the case in the least, as, though the Svoboda was his organ, he was not legally connected with it, or responsible for its contents. It was, indeed, perfectly impossible to bring the celebrated interview within the pale of Bulgarian law ; but, nevertheless, the Court, without troubling itself to hear much argument, simply decided that an offence had been committed ; and until judgment could be given,
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the accused must find bail to the extent of 70,000 francs, which was to be paid in gold before he could leave the building, except to go to prison. M. Pomiânoff at once protested against the fixing of such a sum for an offence which did not exist, and the Court then lowered it to 35,000 francs. This sum was collected by Stambuloff from his friends in the crowd, several of whom, guessing what might happen, had brought all the money they possessed with them.
The unexpected production of the bail compelled the Court to release the man whom they already considered their prisoner, and Stambuloff left with his counsel. Outside, he found a crowd of about two hundred and fifty, amongst whom were many Police Commissaries. Conspicuous stood Urukoff, Inspector of the Fifth Uchastuk, and seeing that the mob hesitated, he shouted, "What are you waiting for? Why do you not begin?" and set the example by throwing the first stone. This was the signal for a perfect hail to fall upon the carriage. Poor M. Pomiânoff, who is a small and timid gentleman, kept ducking right and left, but Stambuloff told him to keep still, as there was no good trying to get out of the way of one brick-bat when a dozen others were behind it. As he was making the remark a missile caught the lawyer on the shoulder, and Stambuloff himself felt a sharp numbing pain in the elbow, whilst the horn head of a stick flew off into the carriage. [*] Had it not been for the presence of mind of Guntcho, who was sitting on the box, the hired ruffians would probably have torn Stambuloff from his seat, and finished with him; but
*. I saw this piece of evidence, afterwards, lying on the table.
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when Costa Pavloff and another made at his master with sticks, he drew from his pocket a penknife in a wash-leather case, and holding it as if it were a pistol, made pretence of aiming at Costa's head, whereupon he dealt a furious blow at Stambuloff, and fell back into the crowd. Luckily none of the party were armed, as, on leaving his house to go to the Court, Stambuloff had made sure that he would be arrested, and any arms he might have on his person would be taken away. Consequently he was defenceless, and only dressed very warmly, in anticipation of passing some time in the cells. It was proved afterwards that Costa Pavloff had been with Natchevitch half-an hour previously, and had come straight from him to the scene of action. It should be added that he was shortly after, on his departure for Rustchuk, the recipient of a present of two thousand francs. The only enquiry ever made into this riot was that Guntcho was brought up for having made his threatening demonstration with a penknife in its case. Nothing was, however, done to him, and Urukoff, who commenced the stone-throwing, is still at his post at the Fifth Uchastuk.
It is by no means easy to give a coherent account of all that happened during the next four or five months, up to the elections for the new Chamber. The first act of the Stoiloff Cabinet was to make a clean sweep of all the adherents of Stambuloff, throughout the country. He was the accursed thing, and it had to be cut out, root and branch. Fifteen hundred Mayors and Heads of Communes were changed in one month. During his seven years of office, Stambuloff dismissed four out of twenty-four Prefects. Stoiloff dismissed twenty-one immediately.
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Out of the eighty-four Baillis, or rural Magistrates and Inspectors, Stambuloff changed twenty during his long tenure. The new Government turned out seventy of them before it had been three weeks in office. As may be imagined, these wholesale dismissals, which went through the whole administrative machine from top to bottom, threw it entirely out of gear. The new men, in order to keep their places, resorted to all sorts of violence, and telegrams from the provinces began pouring in to the Palace from every corner of the Principality, complaining of oppression, robbery, and violence of every description, for which no redress was obtainable. Between the 30th May, 1894, and the same date in the present year, more than fifteen thousand of these have been received, and no answers were ever returned. I must except the case of the electors of Slivno. A dozen Liberals were attacked by the Opposition, or their hired sopadjis (so-called from their being armed with sopas, or clubs), and mercilessly thrashed. Amongst them were several of the leading merchants, and a Justice of the Peace, who, through a partisan of Radoslâvoff, was also a Liberal. They telegraphed to the Prince, who replied, through his Secretary, Moravenoff : " The Minister of Interior reports that it is not true that you were beaten : and that you are drunkards and vagabonds who disturbed the peace. This is sent to you as a warning." The sufferers, who were being treated in the Government Hospital, were naturally incensed at such an answer, and immediately procured certified copies from the civil authorities of their status in the merchant guilds, together with certificates signed by the Chief Medical Officer of
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the district as to their injuries, and forwarded these side by side with their original telegram and the reply of the Prince to the Svoboda.
This newspaper had commenced the publication of petitions and telegrams sent to the Palace under the heading "Anarchy," almost immediately the Stoiloff Cabinet came in. The Government, after a week or two, feeling annoyed at all the outrages perpetrated in its name being daily put on record, decided to shut the office of the paper, under the pretext that it was a Government Press — which it never was, though it had done a great deal of Government work. They opened a case against Krog, the proprietor, and meanwhile sequestrated the machine, which was the best in Sofia, and transported it to the Public Printing House, where it has since been working for the Government. Stambuloff, however, was not to be beaten by this move. He printed the next day at another office, and sent for a new press and type, which came in due course, and with which the paper is now being worked. For more than six months it had several columns daily under the " Anarchy " heading, and the publication is still continuing, but instead of "Anarchy" all complaints are under "The reign of Order and Legality." The virulence and abusiveness with which this paper, under the editorship of M. Petkoff, ex-Mayor of Sofia, has carried on the campaign must be taken as the principal embittering element in the struggle, and if anything has rendered a reconciliation between His Highness and Stambuloff so difficult as to be almost outside the range of possibility, it is the disgraceful personal attacks of the Svoboda upon the Prince. No provocation can excuse
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them, and no friend or admirer of Stambuloff can do otherwise than regret that he should countenance them in an organ which he controls. If, however, the Svoboda is strong in its language, it usually contains both point and cleverness in its articles, whereas the replies of the Mir, the Government newspaper, are simply spiteful.
I do not propose to go into details, or give instances of the wholesale political persecution, which, there is not the shadow of a shade of doubt, prevailed, in spite of the vigorous denials of the Government. Now and again a prominent instance may be quoted, but it may be taken for proved, that no pains were spared to terrorise the country preparatory to and during the September elections. Before these came off, Dr. Stoiloff and Col. Petroff made an electoral tour, and were able, in several places, to judge, de visu, of the state of popular feeling. At Chirpan, the two Ministers were forced to fly before a pitched battle, which raged round them, between the Russophil and Liberal factions. At Tirnovo, they were welcomed by their partisans with delight, and on their departure the villa of Stambuloff was set on fire, as a species of feu de joie. [*]
When the elections came off, the whole gendarmerie of the district was collected at Tirnovo, with two companies of troops. M. Todor Todoroff, the present President of the Chamber, supervised operations. The electoral urns were surrounded by gendarmes and clubmen (sopadjis), who turned back all the citizens of Tirnovo, who — to a
*. Luckily, being built of stone, the stables alone were burnt down before the soldiers, who were encamped close by, came up and put it out.
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man, would have voted for Stambuloff — and put in bulletins themselves in their stead. The voters then held a meeting in the Square, and drew up a protesting telegram for the Prince, but were charged by the gendarmes, and a score of them were more or less damaged. By this free election the Government candidate, Gaikoff, was brought in. At Bielâ Slatina much the same procedure was adopted, only that there artillery was brought up to command the place of voting.
It may be guessed that the elections resulted, as they always do, in favour of the Government, or more correctly speaking, in the exclusion of the Stambuloff Party. For the Government of Coalition had fallen to pieces, and there are not thirty Conservative members in the present Chamber, which is composed of about forty Unionist Russophils from Eastern Roumelia, the same number of Zankoffists, thirty-five Radoslâvists, and the remainder Socialists and Karavéloffists. Out of these, the Radoslâvists are heading the Opposition, such as it is, but as there is no particular Party in real power, and no policy — except to keep down Stambuloff at all costs, a policy in which they are all pretty well agreed — there is not much ground for an Opposition to stand upon. The strength of the Government lies in its weakness. If it were to take up any strong measure, except against the Liberals, it would fall at once. As it is, it governs on sufferance.
This Chamber was opened by the Prince with the usual Throne speech, in which he characterised it as the "most enlightened and intelligent Chamber" he had had the pleasure of addressing. It proceeded forthwith to try and justify these encomia by a most phenomenal
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legislative activity. According to the Constitution, no law can be voted until it has been read through article by article, and so considered.
The new Chamber, however, dispensed with these formalities, and was in the habit of holding night sittings, at which comparatively few Deputies were present. It was during these famous " séances de nuit" that most of their business was transacted, in a manner which must raise the envy of the slower Houses of Europe. In one night this "enlightened" Chamber voted and passed thirty-two laws, amongst which was a most important one, defining the attributions and privileges of the Exarchate, in no fewer than three hundred articles.
As against Stambuloff and his party, the Chamber at once instituted a Parliamentary Commission, to enquire into the acts of his Ministry. This Commission had no judicial authority vested in it, nor, indeed, could it have. [*]
Nevertheless, as a commencement of its labours, it drew up a Protocol, putting a sequester upon Stambuloff's property, and forwarded it to Stoiloff, as Home Minister, for communication to the authorities. He, however, being a lawyer, and seeing the invalidity of such a sequester, arbitrarily pronounced by a Commission of simple enquiry, sent it back to them. [†]
*. When Stambuloff tried to leave the country, and applied for his passport, the Commission objected, and M. Stoiloff argued that it had certain judicial powers, though he had distinctly admitted to me, personally, a month or so previously, not only that it had none, but that he had purposely deprived it of a judicial character.
†. By Article 75 of the Constitution, nobody shall be punished otherwise than is provided by law, after trial. Confiscation of property is forbidden under any circumstances.
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The fact was that Stoiloff did not approve of the lawless persecution of Stambuloff ; but he was, and is, not strong enough to stand in the way of it. The Commission hereupon caused a copy of their protocol, unsigned by Stoiloff, to be sent round to all the Mayors in Bulgaria, forbidding them to issue the certificate of right, without which no transfer of property can be made. Stoiloff looked on at this in silence. The Mayors receiving the Protocol, and being well aware that it was equivalent to an order almost, and at any rate that it expressed the wishes of the Government, refused to deliver the documents, and consequently a sequester was de facto put upon Stambuloff's property. An honourable exception to the rest of the Mayors was he of Bourgas, who, on reading the Protocol, remarked that it was unsigned by any competent official of the Ministry, and he should take no notice of it. Accordingly he delivered the titles on demand, and in the Bourgas district Stambuloff was able to sell.
Another Commission was appointed to enquire into the supposed thefts and peculations perpetrated by Stambuloff and his friends. This may be the place to dispel the popular delusion concerning Stambuloff's wealth. When practising as a lawyer, he found many opportunities of acquiring the land of the Turkish peasants, who were leaving en masse, and were glad to accept almost any trifle for property which they were forced to leave behind them. Beginning by buying one village, he went on until he became the lord of a manor containing 285 houses, and 150 000 acres of forest. The only use this has ever been to him has been to give
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fifty acres to such of his friends as needed this qualification, in order to sit in the Chamber. Before the elections, the police turned loose the inhabitants of twenty villages into Stambuloff's forests, where they remained for a fortnight cutting down the timber. He never complained of this barbarity. Upon my sympathising with the enormous loss it must have entailed upon him, he laughed, and said that if it amused the people to cut down their ex-Premier's trees, he had no objection, for the transport was too costly for the forests to be valuable at present, and that up to now he had never got one sou's return for the sum of 120,000 francs which this fine estate had cost him. Some day it may be valuable ; but until a railway is built it is worth nothing.
To return to the Commission. Their searching having proved fruitless, they proposed a project of a Law to the Chamber, to be entitled "A Law for the prosecution of Government employés who appear to possess more wealth than they ought to." This somewhat original Law was passed without difficulty, and the first and last individual to be examined under it was Petkoff, ex-Mayor of Sofia, and Stambuloff s alter ego. Petkoff was generally considered to be a millionaire, and it was simply and solely for his benefit that the law was framed. It is a penal one, and has retro-active force. Any employé may be called upon, in fifteen days, to give in an account of everything he is possessed of. If the Government is not satisfied, it may confiscate his goods and send him to jail. It is directly contrary to Article 75 of the Constitution, already quoted. It was justified on the plea that a similar one exists in Germany. Much to the discomfiture
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of the Government, Petkoff produced his balance-sheet, proving that his whole fortune consisted chiefly in three houses, valued officially at 175,000 francs, and being mortgaged for 115,000, thus leaving him with the gigantic balance of less than £2,500. The result of this expose justified poor Petkoffs character before the Chamber, but by destroying the fiction of his wealth, also destroyed his credit entirely, and was a severe blow to him. No other official has been called up, and it may be assumed that, with all its faults, the Stambuloff Ministry was not corrupt.
A third law was framed to annul the existing Pension Law. By the new one, the whole scale was reduced by about half, in the cases of small pensions drawn by widows and orphans, and even larger proportions in some, whilst the Ministerial pensions were abolished altogether. Heretofore every Minister, if he had only held office for twenty-four hours, received a life pension. This was proposed and carried by Stambuloff (after the pitiful death, from want, of an ex-Minister), who considered it a national disgrace that any man who had ever served his country in so high a capacity should perish for lack of bread.
The Chamber, in one of its " night sittings," abolished the old law, and passed a resolution empowering the Ministry to act upon the project of the new one until it should be finally approved by the Chamber. This was quite illegal, since a Ministry cannot act on a project, and the project itself was full of provisions contrary to the Constitution. The decision of the Chamber was, nevertheless, regarded as sufficient authority for cutting
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down and suppressing the former pensions, and was put into force. The only one of M. Stambuloff's Cabinet who really suffered by this measure was Dr. Stransky, who, with a large family, was almost entirely dependent upon his Ministerial pension, but Radoslâvoff has been reduced also to rely upon his friends. He, who was a Minister himself in this same Cabinet of Stoiloff's, was now forced to collect, from different quarters, the entrance fee to the Liberal Club, and he is naturally now one of the deadliest enemies the Government has to count with.
As soon as Stambuloff heard of the sequester, he at once entered a notarial protest against Stoiloff, holding him responsible for all damages which might accrue, but Stoiloff not having signed the Protocol, could afford to snap his fingers at this — not that he did so ; he merely maintained a cheerful silence. Soon afterwards M. Grékoff went to see Prince Ferdinand, and ventured to point out the illegality of the Government proceedings. "What!" exclaimed His Highness, "Stambuloff complaining of illegality after his seven years' rule ! " Grékoff respectfully declined to discuss that side of the question, but maintained that the present Government had always made a war-cry out of Law and Order, and the way in which it was beginning to work was producing a very bad impression. Argument was thrown away, however, and M. Grékoff withdrew. He has not been invited to enter the Palace since.
The next moves of the Cabinet were a series of outrageous accusations, brought one after another. In the first instance, nearly a score of notorious prostitutes were brought in a batch to the Court to accuse Stambuloff
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of having ruined them. In the Court itself these wretched creatures were joking with the public, and relating how they had been fetched by the police out of the brothels to perjure themselves. Needless to say, Stambuloff took no notice of the case, which was tacitly dropped. The next charge fixed upon him was more ridiculous and disgraceful, if possible, than the first. He was actually accused of having murdered Beltcheff himself. With most of the real assassins roaming at large in the streets, their guilt having been proved and confessed by Rizoff, in a pamphlet he wrote in Belgrade, it was too absurd to accuse Stambuloff. Nevertheless, the President of the Court, M. Sofronieff, made out an order to arrest him for the murder of Minister Beltcheff, and sent it to the Chief of Division for execution. This functionary declined to move, though, without an order from the Ministry. "What is the need of that," replied Sofronieff, "since I am acting on their instructions?" The man still refused, however, and the fact of the warrant having been issued became public, and aroused universal indignation. Most of the Foreign Diplomats went to see Stoiloff and Natchevitch, who declared that they had no knowledge of the circumstances, but on the strong remonstrances addressed to them, especially by Mr. Dering and M. de Burian, the Austrian Minister, they consented to quash the proceedings. It was only, therefore, by the kindly intervention of foreigners that Stambuloff was saved from spending his Christmas in prison. The consequences of this would-be blow at him recoiled upon the heads of the strikers, for more than 4,000 telegrams, from every corner of Bulgaria, expressive
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of disgust at this stupid accusation, were received by Stambuloff, and published in the Svoboda.
And so opened the year 1895. In January, a Police Inspector appeared at Stambuloff's house, on the pretence of verifying the number of his servants, as he was suspected of harbouring criminals. Stambuloff refused to allow him to enter, basing himself on Article 74 of the Code, which only gives the right of arrest and perquisition on a regularly made-out order from the Tribunal. [*] The Inspector drew up a Protocol, and served him with a summons, which Stambuloff tore up. A month later, he came again with fifteen gendarmes. Again he was met with a refusal, and an invitation to break in by force if he chose, as he should not enter otherwise. A second Protocol was made, and a second summons sent. The Justice of the Peace, however, sent the summons back to the Inspector to say that Stambuloff was within his rights, and that he could not be prosecuted for upholding them. As a specimen of the minor insults put upon him, I may mention that he applied for a shooting licence, writing his application in red ink. All Stambuloff's friends know well his partiality for red ink, and his habit of writing his letters in that medium. The Mayoralty, however, erased the stamp, and sent back word that if he sent another red application he should be fined ! Police sentries were placed permanently round his house to report on everybody who went in and out, and the professional murderers, Naoum Teufectchieff,
*. It was said at the time, I remember, that he had arrested Panitza, and made perquisitions right and left without any judicial order. No sane man can, however, compare the two cases.
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Costa Giurgiukly, and Velikoff, were lodged in the villa of the brothers Ivânoff, over against his windows. The former of these is in the habit of daily visiting Natchevitch, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Sofia is treated to the somewhat unusual spectacle of a convicted assassin, condemned already to fifteen years' penal servitude, by the Turkish Tribunals, for the murder of Dr. Vulkovitch, and under a charge of murdering Beltcheff, having been released on a bail of five thousand francs, going every evening for coffee and cigarettes with the Foreign Minister. M. Natchevitch says that he receives him as one of the leaders of the Macedonians; but Stambuloff maintains that he is being kept simply to murder him. This view is certainly supported by the fact that when he goes out, he is quickly followed by one or other of these men, and that the Svoboda has over and over again openly accused Natchevitch of being in league with this knot of professional cut-throats to kill Stambuloff, and challenged him to prosecute it, so that it may prove the conspiracy before the Tribunals. Yet no summons has ever been sent.
There is no doubt that the persecution of Stambuloff is now caused principally by the attacks of the Press, notably, the Svoboda, on the Government. Before the elections of September, 1894, this paper stood alone against the Ministry. After the break-up of the Coalition, however, more than fifty out of the sixty journals which Bulgaria boasts, took up the attack. Most of them vituperate the Prince and Stambuloff together, with impartiality, and it sometimes actually happens that the Svoboda has to defend the Prince against the Zankoffist
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assaults. If Stambuloff were to cease the publication of the Svoboda, he would probably be left in peace ; but it is the only paper which is purely anti-Russian.
The other papers fall upon the Government and the Prince, but leave Russia alone. The Svoboda is the only defender of the national interests, and the only fighter against Russian influence. The Radoslâvists are also dead against Russia, and are almost as much hated by the Government as the Stambuloff Liberals. Five-sixths of Northern Bulgaria is consequently virtually outlawed, and the violence used at the supplementary elections of the 3rd February, culminating in several deaths, and the indictment for conspiracy of the victims who were left alive, showed that small mercy or shrift would be given by the Government to its adversaries.
It would be easy to multiply cases of petty tyranny, practised upon Stambuloff and his adherents, almost ad infinitum, but it would only weary the reader. I will confine myself, therefore, to relating what occurred during my last visit to Sofia, during the month of May.
One day I found Stambuloff somewhat excited and very angry, and he informed me that the Government had abolished the Caisse d'Epargne, and refused to refund him the money he had deposited there. This Caisse was founded by Stambuloff in the Foreign Ministry, to encourage the employés to save. They paid in a percentage of their salaries, and drew ten per cent, interest. For some reason or other, the present Government had decreed its abolition. Stambuloff had 18,000 francs there, and as all his property was under sequester, he was badly in want of money. On applying for it,
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he was told he could wait. Whilst I was talking with him, the tax-collectors called for 1,500 francs taxes. Stambuloff said he had not 500 in the house; but if they would wait for a few days, he would pay them. They went away, saying that if they were not satisfied when they next appeared, they should seize the furniture. In a short while they came again, and wished to put their threat into execution. They were only prevented from doing so by Stambuloff's sending out and borrowing the money. [*]
On my arrival, Stambuloff, who had scarcely ventured outside his doors for weeks, because he dared not walk alone, and his friends were afraid to go with him, proposed to me to have a day's snipe-shooting, as we so often had done in former times. We arranged for Saturday; but when the time came he said that he scarcely felt well enough, but should we go round to the Club? We started with Guntcho in attendance, followed by the sentries, and felt that we were positively under preventive arrest.
Since then I hear that Stambuloff visited the Club again one evening, and this time the three assassins accompanied his party, and ensconced themselves in wait outside. Seeing this, he collected all the friends he could in the building, and effected a re-entry to his house in
*. I called upon Dr. Stoiloff, and remonstrated with him on these outrageous proceedings, by which Stambuloff was placed outside the pale of the law as regards his privileges, and under it as regards his liabilities. M. Stoiloff answered me as usual, that he knew nothing about the taxes ; but that as regards the money, Stambuloff would be paid in his due turn, in the order in which his application had been received.
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superior force. It has, however, taken away all desire to repeat his visit.
Before quitting Sofia, I urged upon Stambuloff the advisability of taking a change of air and scene, and giving party animosity time to cool. He replied that he should like nothing better; but he did not think he would be permitted to leave. I then suggested that he should procure a medical certificate to the effect that his life was in danger, unless he could profit by the waters (he has the first symptoms of diabetes), and upon this that he should demand his passport. M. Stoiloff, to whom I spoke on the subject, promised me that he would offer no opposition, and the support of several of the Foreign Representatives to the request could be confidently relied upon. Stambuloff complied with my programme, but was refused, on the ground that the Parliamentary Commission objected to his departure. As this Commission was instituted " to search the Archives, and draw up a report for the Chamber," it is difficult to see what right it had to interfere. It is also tolerably certain that Stoiloff himself, if left to himself, would have granted the permission, and therefore the refusal must be put down to "superior orders." It is most regrettable, as it still further envenoms Stambuloff against the Prince, and protracts hostilities, when a truce might have been declared. At the present moment, the two foes are preparing for another round ; and it would be a bold prophet who should venture a prediction on the issue.