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BULGARIA. 



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BULGARIA 

PAST AND PRESENT 



Distortcal, political, an& descriptive 



BY 



JAMES SAMUELSON 

Of the Middle Temple^ Barrister-at-Law 

AUTHOR OF "ROUMANIA PAST AND PRESENT," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED WITH A MAP OF UNITED BULGARIA, 

COLLOTYPE VIEWS AND PORTRAITS FROM SEVENTEEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY 

KARASTOJANOFF OF SOFIA, CAVRA OF PHILIPPOPOLIS, 

AND O MARCOLESCO OF TIRNOVA, 

Bnd mumetoud TRIloodcutd and Wmcttcs jengxnvcb from 
0tfdinal Shctcbcs \)^ tbe Butbot 



/^ost Tenebras Lux 



LONDON 
TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL 

1888 

[All rights rtttrvetll 



BALLANTYNK, HANSON AND CO. 
EDINBURGH AND LONDON 






PREFACE. 



npHIS treatise is intended as a companion and complementary 
-^ to my former work on Boumania. Whilst, however, very 
little has been written in our language on that country, the 
reader will find in one of the Appendices attached hereto a list 
which includes no less than twenty-four original and translated 
works on Bulgaria in English alone. He may be disposed to 
ask, then, on what grounds I have added another to the num- 
ber ; and whilst such an inquiry would be quite pertinent, and 
I shall no doubt feel the consequences should my treatise be 
found to contain nothing new worth recording, it must be 
admitted that the employment of so many pens affords at least 
a convincing proof of the absorbing interest of the subject. 

Many of the works which I have catalogued have, however, 
been quite fugitive; some purely controversial, and others so 
completely partisan as to be robbed of much of their value for 
purposes of information. It has been my endeavour to put the 
reader in possession of a few of the most important historical 
events in Bulgaria from the earliest period, and by means of 
illustrations as much as by verbal description to enable him to 
judge of its condition at the present time. If he wishes to 
study the past history and the present state of the country in 
greater detail, I would recommend him (without prejudice to 
any of the other valuable works on the subject) to read Jirecek's 
" Geschichte der Bulgaren," warning him, however, that in the 
history of this country, as in that of Boumania, dates, genea- 



VI PREFACE. 

logies, and precise historical names must not be accepted with 
implicit confidence. He will also find in Krek's learned treatise, 
referred to in the text, a valuable guide to the knowledge of 
Sclavonic customs and literature. Following upon these works, 
he may h^ve in those of Von Huhn (translated into English) 
interesting details of recent events in Bulgaria ; whilst Holland's 
*' European Concert on the Eastern Question" will place him in 
possession of the text of every treaty bearing upon the subject 
under consideration. And, finally, if he have the patience to 
wade through a voluminous blue-book, the dispatches of our 
representatives at foreign courts relating to Bulgaria and 
Eastern Eoumelia (in "Turkey, No. 1, 1887") will give him 
much original matter for reflection upon the events which 
occurred in the Balkan Peninsula during the year 1886, a 
year that was fraught with danger to the liberties of Bulgaria. 
As regards the geographical and social state of North Bulgaria, 
there are many useful and interesting works extant ; but if the 
reader desires to traverse every mountain-pass and to study 
every important locality in that part of the country, to learn 
how many huts each little hamlet contains, and what is or was 
the nationality of its occupants, if he would delight his eyes 
with numerous xylographic illustrations of places and recent 
events, and, above all, if he desires to preserve a somewhat 
idealistic in preference to a realistic remembrance of the inte- 
resting country, I would recommend for his perusal Kanitz's 
well-known work, " Donau-Bulgarien und der Balkan." 

So far as my own sketch of Bulgarian history is concerned, 
I have laboured under some disadvantage in having already 
written that of Eoumania; for at various periods the two 
histories overlap one another, and I have hesitated to repeat 
here what has already been said elsewhere. The reader will, 
therefore, I hope, not attribute to egotism occasional references 
to my earlier work. Whether he will be disposed to deal so 
leniently with other instances in which my own personality has 



PREFACE. Vll 

been obtruded into these pages, I greatly question ; but even for 
those trespasses on my part there is some justification. Some 
of my generous critics expressed disappointment that I should 
not have communicated more feeely my own views and experi- 
ences in Eoumania ; and in seeking to remedy what they con- 
sidered a defect, I shall probably have laid myself open to the 
charge of egotism — ^it may be of levity. It was said, too, by the 
same authorities, that I had been blind to the faults of the 
Boumanians ; that my book contained nothing but praise, and 
no blame. Well, I have endeavoured to remedy that defect 
also in the present volume, and I hope that, in seeking to avoid 
Scylla, I may not be engulphed by Charybdis ! However much 
I may have rallied the Bulgarians, good-naturedly, I trust, upon 
some of their weaknesses, I have not forgotten, nor must the 
reader forget, that their national imperfections are largely due 
to the fact that they have but recently begun to breathe the 
atmosphere of freedom ; that Mussulman rule weighed upon the 
country for ceAturies like a nightmare, and that when the 
Russians tendered them their liberty with one hand, with the 
other they dealt out humiliation and corruption. 

In my former work I spoke of the folly of prophesying on the 
Eastern Question ; and although I have not attempted here to 
predict what will be the combination revealed by the next turn 
of the political kaleidoscope, I have considered it safe and con- 
sistent with the objects of the present treatise to scan cursorily 
the present aspect of the question, and to afford such of my 
readers as are precluded by their occupations from making it a 
special study some assistance in following the future course of 
events in the East. As regards our own policy, I have nothing 
to add to what I have already said elsewhere, and repeat in the 
present chapter on the subject. If it be considered undesirable 
that the Turk should remain in Europe (and I do not by any 
means assert that to be the case), surely no person who has 
studied history, or who knows anything about the present con- 



Viii PREFACE. 



dition of Bassia, will ventare to affirm that his place should be 
filled by the Muscovite ! 

Whether the rampart of freedom in South-Eastem Europe is 
to be a Danubian Confederation^ or a Garibaldi or a Bismarck 
is to arise and unite the scattered and incoherent territories as 
they now exist there, or, finally, whether each individual State 
is to grow in strength and influence as a counterpoise to the 
overbearing military empires of our Continent, no one can prog- 
nosticate ; and yet our course is, under any circumstances, suffi- 
ciently plain. That should not be guided by selfishness nor by 
timidity (I will not use a stronger expression), nor should it be 
governed by considerations of expediency alone; but in the 
future, as in the past, our policy should be to further the cause 
of justice, of liberty, and of civilisation. 



JAMES SAMUELSON. 



Clauohton, Bibkenhbad, 
December 6 1887. 



NOTE TO PREFACE. 

Whilst the following pages have been passing through the 
Press, I have had the advantage of reading the work just 
published on " The Present Position of European Politics," by 
the author of " Greater Britain," and its important bearing 
upon the subjects here treated must serve as my excuse for 
making a very brief reference to some of the views of the 
talented statesman from whose pen it emanates, with which 
I am not in complete agreement. As to Bussia, he seems to 
me greatly to over-estimate the power of numbers. Hitherto 
she has fought on her own soil ; or with an unbroken line of 
communication in fnendly states supported by the population ; 
or against poor^-equipped Turkoman hordes. And yet in the 
Crimea, fighting in her own territory and in her own defence, 
her numbers availed her little. More recently, at Plevna, 
although she took the credit of the final victory, it was the 
Boumanians who made the breach and held the fort, whilst 
time after time her vast masses of troops served only to fill 
the trenches with tens of thousands of her slain, and to satiate 
the thirst for blood of her Skobeleflfs ! As regards Roumania, 
the author rates her, in such a short war as he believes wars 
will be in future, as the sixth military power in Europe (p. 
208), placing this country below her in the scale. Here too 
I think his estimate ranks her too highly, and I hope his 
undoubtedly authoritative opinion may not inspire the Eou- 
manians with too great confidence. At the same time I am 
rejoiced to find the reasons given in my last chapter, "Why 
Bussia does not occupy Bulgaria," receiving such valuable 
support ; and if the recent semi-official utterances of Russia are 



X NOTE TO PREFACE. 

worth anything, the cause of her present " moderation " is not 
fer to seek. My further views, which must be taken for what 
they are worth, will be found in the last chapter. As to the 
work above referred to, I should like to add that, although 
recent events on the Continent must necessarily modify some 
of the author's conclusions, I think that in throwing over the 
traditions of diplomacy and giving the world the benefit of 
his experience in foreign aflfairs, he has rendered great service 
to his country (and to others also if they would but see their 
true interests), and he has produced the most valuable con- 
tribution to contemporary history that has yet appeared. 

January % 1888. 



CONTENTS 



PART I. 

HISTORICAL. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Brief PBEUMiNAitT Subvet of Bul^ailian History . 8 

II. The Slaves or Sclavoniaits 14 

III. The Bitlgari and their Early Rule .... 22 

IV. The Two Bulgarian Empires 34 

V. John Asen II. (1218-1241) and his Times— The Fall 

OF THE Second Ebipire 47 

VI. The Turkish Rule in Bulgaria 54 

VII. The Liberation of Bulgaria 65 

VIII. Alexander^ the First Prince of Bulgaria— The Union, 

AND THE Servian War 76 

IX. The Abduction and Retirement of Prince Alexander 
— The Regency — Prince Febdinand — Conclusion 
OF Pabt 1 91 



PART IL 

BULGARIA, TO-DAY. 

X. Gbogbaphical and Physical Ill 

XI. Bulgabian Cities — Sofia, the Capital — National and 

Official Life 116 

XII. Sofia — Social and Econobhcal Mattebs — A Political 

Meeting — ^The Pbess 129 



• • 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAOE 

XIII. Travelling in Bulgaria — ^Philippopolis . . . 136 

XIV. An Excursion to the Monastery op St. Ktriak . 149 

XV. The Rose-Fields op Kezanuk — Over the Ship^a Pass 

— Gabrovo ai^d its Gymnasium 166 

XVI. From Gabrovo to Tirnova — Land-Customs and Agri- 
culture 166 

XVII. Tirnova and its Antiquities 172 

XVIII. Tirnova — ^Innkeeper's Politics — To Rustchuk — Fare- 
well, Bulgaria! 183 

XIX. Bulgarian Trade — ^Agricultural Resources — Game and 

THE Chase 188 

XX. The Budget and the National Services . 198 

XXI. The Two Princes, Ferdinand and Alexander . 202 

XXII. The Eastern Question and Bulgaria .... 210 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDIX. 

I. Estimated Budget op United Bulgaria for 1887 . . 226 

II. The Most Important Decrees op the Constitution of 

Bulgaria 226 

III. Bibliography op Bulgaria 227 

IV. Abstract prom Consular Report No. 237, just issued, prom 

Mr. O'Connor (Mr. Harding), Sofia. . . . 230 

INDEX 236 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS 



COLLOTYPE PLATES. 

Macedonian Volunteers in the Servian War . Frontispiece 
Alexander, the First Prince of Bulqaria . To face page 7 Q 
The Russian Agency, Sofia, with British Agency on the 

Right ,,103 

The New Part of Sofia, showing Palace ... „ 117 

MuTKOUROFF, Stambouloff, Natchevitch, Stoiloff . „ 126 

ELaraveloff, Zivkoff, Radoslavoff, Gavril Pasha „ 127 
View of Jambasz-Tep^, and of Boys' Lycee, Church of 
St. Alexander, River Maritza and Bridge, Philip- 

POPOLis „ 142 

Old Gate in Philippopolis „ 144 

The New Palace, Sofia „ 203 

Prince Ferdinand „ 206 



WOODCUTS IN TEXT. 



PACK 



Baldwin's Tower, Tirnova (vignette) 34 

The Black Mosque Prison in Sofia 119 

Bulgarian Billiards 131 

Ruins of Turkish Etape, or Rbsting-Place for Troops, at 

novichan 141 

The Monastery of St. Kyriak, near Philippopolis, from the 

ascending Road • 160 

Russian Memorial Obelisk on the Shipka Summit . 168 



XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Thb Fikst Glimpse op Tirnova (vignette) 172 

Past of Tienova, fkom the Promenade 173 

The Rocheb-Coup6, oe Cleft Bock, and Bridge at Tirnova . 176 

Diagram showing respeotiye Positions of Bissar and Trapezitz 178 
BoMAN Column, with Inscription of John Asen II., in the 

Church of the Forty Martyrs, Tirnova .... 179 

Copper Doors of the Metropolitan Church, Tirnova . . 180 
Discs and Crosses in the Arches of the Church of St. Demeter, 

Tirnova 182 



Map of United Bulgaria^ 



.^aa. — a- 



/ 



PART I. 



HISTORICAL. 



CHAPTER L 

A BRIEF PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 

The Greeks and Romans in the Balkan Peninsula — The Barbarians — The Sclavo- 
nians or Slaves — The Bulgari and the First Bulgarian Empire — The Northmen 
or Russians — The Byzantine conquest — The Asen rising and the Second 
or Wallacho-Bulgarian Empire — The Servian conquest of Bulgaria — The 
Turkish occupation — Bulgaria after the Crimean War — "The Bulgarian 
Atrocities " — The Russo-Turkish war of liberation — The Treaty of Berlin — 
Alexander, the first Prince of Bulgaria — Aleko Pasha, Governor of Eastern 
Roumelia — The union of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia under Prince 
Alexander— Russian intrigues in Bulgaria — The withdrawal of Russian 
officers — The Servian invasion — Temporary successes — Defeat at Slivnitza 
— Servian evacuation — Pursuit by Prince Alexander — Treat}^ of peace — 
Further Russian intrigues in Bulgaria — Abduction of Prince Alexander to 
Reni, in Russian Bessarabia — His release from captivity — Return to Sofia 
and abdication — The Regency — Continued Russian intrigues — Election «f 
Prince Ferdinand — His position — Explanatory paragraph — Conclusion. 

THE earliest ages of that part of the Balkan Peninsula 
which is now known as Bulgaria are buried in obscurity. 
Before the time of Philip of Macedon both sides of the Balkans 
(Haemus of the Romans) were peopled by a number of savage 
tribes of Thraco-Illyrian race, and the name of Thrace was 
generally applied to the whole district from the Danube to the 
frontier of Macedonia. Philip and his successor, Alexander, 
brought those tribes under subjection, and incorporated the 
country with their possessions. It is not known at what 
particular time the Bomans began their conquests in Thrace, 
but the country was definitively annexed by Vespasian, and 
about A.D. 75 it became a Eoman province. The district north 
of the Balkans was called Moma^ and long before the Romans 
crossed the Danube they had founded colonies on the southern 
bank of that river, which were periodically attacked and ravaged 
by the Dacians of the northern bank. 



4 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

The conquest of Dacia by Trajan ^ (a.d. 106) was followed by- 
its evacuation by Aurelian about 270 to 275 a.d., and the tract 
north of the Balkans and south of the Danube then received 
the name of Dada Aureliani. For some time first the Roman 
and then the Greek rule prevailed in Dacia Aureliani, the chief 
Roman colonies on the Danube being CEscus at the mouth of 
the Isker, Novae (Sistova), Nicopolis, &c. ; and down to the 
present day numerous remains (some of which will be referred 
to later on) are to be found either in situ or removed by the 
Bulgarian Czars to other parts of the country. \lConstantine 
the Great included Dacia Aureliani in the subdivision of his 
empire into provinces ; but in his time already (about A.D. 328) 
the tide of Eastern barbarism was sweeping along the plains on 
both banks of the Danube. The Goths under Hermanrich were 
actually in possession ; but Constantino overran their territory, 
which he succeeded for a time in holding. The Goths were 
driven out by the Huns, and other tribes followed, including 
one who had already for centuries before the Christian era been 
moving slowly westward from their original Asiatic habitat, 
namely, the Sclavonians or Slaves. This tribe is said to have 
gradually settled itself in the country now known as North Bul- 
garia between the third and seventh century A.D., and from thence 
it carried its nationality, its customs, and its language over a 
considerable part of South-Eastem and Eastern Europe. Their 
descendants, influenced by, and commingled with the subsequent 
dominant races of the Balkan Peninsula, constitute the present 
population of Bulgaria as well as of some of the neighbouring 
States, and from their advent and settlement begins the inter- 
esting phase of Bulgarian history. 

Amongst those dominant races, the earliest were the Bulgaria 
a horde of Asiatics, of Turkish strain,^ who about the third half 
of the seventh century overran the country, and subjected it to 
their rule ; but whilst they gave it their name in permanence, 
their identity as a race was completely absorbed in the Slavonic 



^ " Roumania," Part II. cap. ix. Philip, Son & Nephew, London and Liverpool, 
' Tii/rhischem Blute entsprossenen Bulgaren, Krek, Eiuleitung in die Slaviache 
Literaiurgesehichte, p. 305. Graz : Leuschner & Lubensky, 1887. 



BRIEF SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 5 

population. They founded the ^^ first Bulgarian Empire,'^ which 
attained its zenith under Czar Simeon (893-927 a.d.),. but waned 
and fell under Byzantine rule about a century later, the whole 
country having been conquered and annexed by the Emperor 
Basilius II., 1018 A.D. 

In the interim, however, events had occurred in Bulgaria 
which, although of little importance at the time, have since 
exercised great influence over the destinies of Eastern Europe. 
About the year 965 the Greek Emperor, Nikephoros Phokas, in 
his attempts to conquer Bulgaria, called in the aid of a tribe of 
Northmen (? Russians), under their chief Sviatoslav. At first 
this leader entered the country as an ally of the Greeks, it is 
said, with 10,000 followers, and overran the southern banks 
of the Danube, capturing Silistria and other strongholds. His 
victories and rapid advance, however, soon terrified even the 
Greek Emperor, who thereupon formed an alliance with Boris II., 
the Bulgarian Czar, and for a time succeeded in getting rid of his 
savage ally. Shortly afterwards, Nikephoros having meanwhile 
died, and being succeeded by Zimisces, it occurred to Sviatoslav 
that he might with advantage revisit Bulgaria on his own 
account, and once more taste those delights of a southern clime, 
which have even now such attractions for the men of the 
north ; and about the year 969 he entered Bulgarian territory, 
defeated and captured Boris the Czar, and pushed his victories 
across the Balkans, taking Philippopolis, and carrying his arms 
as far as the Greek frontier. Here, however, his fortunes de- 
serted him. The Greek Emperor, with the aid of Bulgarian 
and other allies, succeeded in driving him back across the 
Balkans, and compelled him to take refuge in Drster (Silistria). 
There he was besieged, and, after an obstinate resistance of three 
months, was obliged to capitulate. Although he was liberated 
and permitted with his remaining followers to return to his 
native land, he encountered a tribe of Petschenegues ^ on the 
banks of the Dnieper, by whom he was defeated, captured, and 
slain. The result of this first " Russian " invasion of Bulgaria 
is said by some writers to have led to that fusion of race 

— ^■^^^^^^^■^^»'^'^^— ^ * ■ '^' ■ l^^i^W-^^^i^^M^^^— — — I ■ ■ I ■ I ■ !■ ■ ■■-■I.I I i^W^M.^— ^^^^^^^M^— ^^^iPW^W^M^^^i^^M.^^^ 

^ ''Rouinania," p. 151. 



6 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

between the Northern and the Southern Slaves which has long 
been used by Russia as a pretext for interference and aggression 
in South-Eastern Europe.^ 

Bulgaria now constituted part of the Greek Empire, but in 
the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries the power of 
the latter declined, and at the close of the twelfth century 
(about 1186) the Bulgarians rose in revolt under the brothers 
Asen, and succeeded, with little difficulty, in shaking off the 
Byzantine, or perhaps it would be more correct to say the 
Greek rule. There is some confusion and doubt about the 
names and number of the brothers Asen, but one of them, 
known as Asen I., was chosen "Ozar," and founded the so- 
called Asenide dynasty. By many writers a portion of this 
epoch in Bulgarian history is known as the " Wallacho-BuU 
garian Empire" (for nearly the whole of Wallachia was for 
a time incorporated with Bulgaria, and Wallachians abounded 
south of the Danube), and that dynasty reached its zenith 
under Asen II. (1218-1241), and maintained itself with toler- 
able steadfastness altogether about two centuries, although 
during that period wars were waged, with varying success, 
between the Bulgarians and the Greeks, Pranks, and other 
neighbours. 

About a century after the reign of Asen II., Bulgaria fell for 
a time under Servian rule ; and although she was still permitted 
to retain her '* Czars," yet for nearly forty years, not that 
country alone, but a great part of the Balkan Peninsula was 
under Servian influence, and one Servian monarch, Dushan 
(1331-1355)^ raised his country to an eminence which it has 
never, either before or since, enjoyed. 

It was to this Dushan that reference was made in the shouts 
of the populace of Belgrade before King Milan commenced his 
expedition against Bulgaria in 1885. The French raised the 
cry of " A Berlin!'* previous to their campaign against Germany, 
but the Servians invoked the name of their great ruler of old 
before commencing their unjustifiable attack upon their neigh- 



* Krek, p. 836-341, where the whole question is fully discussed, with the aid 
of numerous authorities. 



BRIEF SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 7 

boar, and in both instances the aggressors met with the same 
well-merited failure. 

After the death of Dushan the northern part of the Balkan 
Peninsula began to feel the effects of the Turkish invasion. For 
some years, during which time Philippopolis fell to the Turkish 
arms, the Bulgarians defended their country with great bravery 
and determination ; but at length the Czar, John Shishman III., 
deserted by his allies, Greeks, Wallachs, and Serbs, was com- 
pelled to succumb, and about 1365 he paid tribute and acknow- 
ledged himself a vassal of Sultan Murad I. The country was, 
however, not brought completely under Ottoman rule until after 
the battle of Kossovo pole in 1389. 

The records of Bulgarian history during tJie Ottoman occupa- 
tion^ which virtually lasted until the close of the last Russo- 
Turkish war (for there have been many), are scanty in the 
extreme, and not alone are the memorials of that period almost 
entirely wanting, but, thanks to the fanaticism of the Phanariote 
clerics, many of those of an earlier age have also been destroyed, 
the object of the " vandals " being to blot out from the memory 
of the Bulgarians all remembrance of their former greatness. 
Of this more hereafter. 

The Crimean War of 1854-56, which resulted in the liberation 
of Roumania from Ottoman rule, brought no relief to Bulgaria. 
On the contrary, the Turks being victorious, used their advan- 
tage to oppress the Bulgarian Christians more harshly than 
ever, and it was not until 1876, when Mr. Gladstone raised his 
voice in their favour, and exposed to the civilised world the so- 
called " Bulgarian atrocities " practised by the Turks, that the 
great Northern Power was permitted to strike a blow for the 
emancipation of the Southern Slaves. Whatever may have been 
the ulterior object of Russia, there can be no doubt that the 
war of 1877-78 was undertaken and successfully carried out by 
her, with the indispensable aid of Roumania, for the relief of 
one of the most grievously oppressed peoples in Europe. The 
blood which was spilled by the allies, Russia, Roumania, and 
Bulgaria, in the siege of Plevna, the defence of the Shipka Pass, 
and elsewhere, was not shed in vain, and the subsequent Treaty 
of San Stefano between Russia and Turkey, modified by that of 



8 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Berlin between the Great Powers (including the one just named), 
gave a second birth to a nation which is destined to play an 
important part in the world's history. * By the Treaty of Berlin 
(July 13j 1878^) Bulgaria was constituted an " autonomous and 
tributary principality," under the suzerainty of the Sultan ; and 
Eastern Boumelia was also made to a large extent autonomous, 
but still under his "direct political and military authority." 
Bulgaria was to be governed by a Prince, to be '' freely elected 
by the population, and confirmed by the Porte with the assent 
of the Powers," whilst Eastern Eoumelia was to be ruled by a 
" Christian Governor-General," to be "nominated by the Sublime 
Porte, with the assent of the Powers, for a term of five years." 

After a permitted temporary occupation of the Principality 
by the Eussians, with a provisional Governor-General in the per- 
son of Prince Dondukoff-Korsakofi', that Power recommended, 
and the Bulgarian nation accepted, Alexander of Battenberg as 
their first hereditary prince. On the 9th July 1879 he took the 
oath of fidelity to the Constitution, which had been meanwhile 
framed and adopted by an Assembly of Notables, prompted by 
the Russians. The first Governor-General of Eastern Eoumelia 
nominated by the Sultan was Prince Vogorides, a Bulgarian 
Christian, known as Aleko Pasha, and he was succeeded in May 
1884 by Gavril Pasha Krestovich, during whose term of office 
the union of the two States was accomplished. 

Soon after the arrangements referred to were completed, it 
became apparent that the objects of the parties to them were 
not identical. On the one hand, Prince Alexander refused to 
be a mere agent for furthering the ambitious designs of Eussia, 
and manifested an independent spirit which was highly dis- 
pleasing to his patrons, whilst, on the other hand, the people of 
Eastern Eoumelia were not at all disposed to be left out in the 
cold under the benign influence of the Porte, whilst their com- 
patriots and co-religionists on the northern side of the Balkans 
were enjoying the sweets of liberty. So by a bloodless revolu- 



^ Holland's " The European Concert on the Eastern Question " (which con- 
tains the text of every important treaty relating to Greece, Samos and Crete, 
Egypt, the Balkan Peninsula, Russia, Great Britain, Austria, and the Porte from 
1828.) Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1885. 



BRIEF SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 9 

tion they broke the last actual bonds which allied them to 
Turkey, and united themselves as ^^ South Bulgaria'^ to the 
northern province under the rule of Prince Alexander (1885). 

As already stated, long before this act was accomplished, 
Prince Alexander had fallen into disfavour with the Russians, 
who were straining every nerve and employing every device, 
lawful or otherwise, to rid themselves of his hated presence. 
For although their Governor-General had been withdrawn from 
North Bulgaria, the army in that country had been trained and 
was oflBcered by Russians, and Russian influence predominated 
everywhere. This determination was manifested not only in 
their dealings with the Prince, but in their attitude after the 
union of the two countries. By the Treaty of San Stefano, 
Russia had endeavoured, for her own ends, to create a " Great 
Bulgaria," by the fusion of North Bulgaria and Eastern Rou- 
melia ; but thie Powers had objected. As soon, however, as the 
union had taken place without her aid, she did all in her power 
to prevent its accomplishment, and obstinately refused to allow 
the name of Prince Alexander (who had been nominated as 
Governor-General by the Porte) from being associated with the 
appointment. But this was nothing compared with a step 
which the Emperor of Russia, Alexander III. (the successor of 
Alexander the Liberator) took shortly afterwards, and one 
which has for ever alienated the affections of the Bulgarian 
people, and turned their undoubted gratitude into open and 
violent dislike. 

Whilst it was still doubtful whether the union of the two 
States would be permitted by the Powers (and their severance 
was probably only prevented by the mutual jealousies of the 
latter). Prince Alexander and his advisers had concentrated 
the national forces for defence upon the Turkish frontier. The 
Emperor Alexander IIL showed his ill-will towards Bulgaria 
by withdrawing all Russian ofl&cers from the Bulgarian army, 
hoping thereby to cast her prostrate at the feet of her enemies. 
At the same time, the Servians, it is presumed at the insti- 
gation of Austria (although that is a matter of controversy), 
taking advantage of the perplexity of their neighbour, declared 
war against Bulgaria and hastily marched an army across her 



10 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

western frontier (November 1885). Prince Alexander and his 
advisers overcame all these difficulties. The Conference of the 
Powers came to nought, largely through the generous moral sup- 
port of the representatives of Great Britain, Sir William White 
at Constantinople, and Mr. Lascelles, our agent in Bulgaria, who 
did not hesitate to accompany Prince Alexander on some of 
his journeys whilst he was, as his successor now is, boycotted 
by the Powers of Europe. The Prince reorganised his army, 
advanced his younger officers (whose skill and courage after- 
wards justified his confidence) to the higher posts which had 
been vacated by the Eussians, and hastily marched an army 
towards the western frontier, where the Servians had, in the 
absence of serious opposition, obtained some temporary suc- 
cesses. He met the enemy at Slivnitza, and after three days' 
hard fighting (November 17th to 20th) drove him from all his 
positions and followed him across the frontier, entering in 
triumph the Servian town of Pirot.^ Here he found himself 
confronted by Austrian influence, and was compelled by the 
force of circumstances to make peace with the aggressors. To 
their credit, however, be it said, that the Servians have since 
lived in amity and good-will towards their neighbours, and so 
far as can be judged from the public and private utterances of 
some of the leading statesmen, they are now anxious to enter 
into alliance with Bulgaria for purposes of general defence 
against the aggression of neighbouring Powers. 

Then followed a crisis in Bulgarian history which is not yet 
terminated. Finding all her schemes of open violence to fail, 
Bussia instigated a conspiracy (not the first) against Prince 
Alexander, which ultimately led to his abdication. By means 
of bribery and promises of promotion, her agents corrupted a 
number of Bulgarian officers, two of whom, Benderefif and 
Gruefi*, were leaders of the plot, and who in their turn influ- 
enced parts of two regiments and the cadets of the Military 
College at Sofia to turn traitors to their Prince and country. 
By those ruffians, many of whom were intoxicated, the palace 



^ Rendered infamous by the recent murders and plunder of unoffending 
travellers by the gens-d'armes. 



BRIEF SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 11 

of the Prince was invaded on the night of the 21st August of 
last year (1886), and after they had compelled him, by placing 
a revolver at his head, to append his signature to an illegible 
document purporting to be his abdication, they carried him oflF 
to Kahova, on the Danube, and placing him on board his own 
yacht, they conveyed him down the river and delivered him up 
to the Eussian authorities at Eeni in Bessarabia. Here he was 
for a short time held a prisoner, but the outburst of indigna- 
tion all over Europe against this infamous international crime 
soon compelled the Emperor of Bnssia to set him at liberty. 
Whilst he was at Lemberg, on his way to Darmstadt, Alexander 
received the intelligence that the loyal portion of his army, led 
by Lieutenant-Colonel Mutkuroff (now Minister of War), had 
marched upon Sofia and disarmed the traitorous soldiers ; that 
a self-constituted "Provisional Government" of conspirators, 
including, besides those already named, Dragan Zankoff (now 
an exile in Constantinople) and Bishop Clement (who still 
remains in office in Bulgaria), was dissolved, and that his 
return was anxiously desired by his loyal subjects, or it would 
be more correct to say, by his subjects who had remained 
faithful to him. 

With great reluctance the Prince retraced his steps, making 
a triumphal tour through Austria and Boumania, and landing 
amidst great rejoicing at Rustchuk. Here he was met nob 
only by his own Ministers, led by M. StambouloflF (the present 
Premier), but by the Consuls, including the Russian Consul, in 
uniform ; and in a weak moment he sent a conciliatory, but 
unfortunately a submissive telegram to the Emperor of Russia, 
which the latter treated with disdain. Continuing his triumphal 
progress, the Prince re-entered Sofia on the 3d September, and 
for a brief period resumed the reins of power. 

Under ordinary circumstances, Bendereff and Grueff, the 
military traitors, who had been arrested and tried by court- 
martial, would have been shot; but whilst the question of 
dealing with them was being considered, the Prince received 
peremptory communications from the Austrian, German, and 
Russian capitals that those men must not be injured. At the 
same time the Russian agent Nekludoff informed the Prince, in 



12 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

the presence of his firiends and councillors, that if he withdrew 
from Bulgaria the enmity of Russia would terminate, as the 
feeling of the Emperor was inimical to him personally, but that 
he was a well-wisher of Bulgaria. Upon this the Prince's 
determination was taken. He asked that assurances should be 
given by the Russian Government that there would be no further 
interference in the internal affairs of Bulgaria, in which case 
he would abdicate and leave the country. That assurance was 
conveyed from the Government of the Emperor to the Prince in 
the presence of his ministers, and on the 7th September the 
Prince issued a manifesto in which he announced the formal 
promise made by the Russian Government, nominated three 
Regents — MM. StambouloflF, Karaveloff, and Mutkuroff, and 
abdicated the throne. He at once lefb Sofia, and, embarking at 
Widdin, quitted the country, probably for ever ! 

How the Russians have fulfilled their promise has been shown 
by the candidature of the "Prince of Mingrelia;" the futile 
expedition and stumping tour through Bulgaria of General 
Kaulbars; the intrigues against and refusal to acknowledge 
Prince Ferdinand ; the attempted mission of General Ehmroth ; 
and every act, overt and secret, which has been committed by 
that Power since the abdication of the Prince. The events 
which followed the departure of Prince Alexander are contem- 
porary history. A great Sobranje or parliament was elected 
according to the Constitution, and formally opened by the 
Regents. After performing its routine duties, the Sobranje pro- 
ceeded to choose Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg second 
Prince of Bulgaria, and after his arrival and accession to the 
throne the Regents resigned. Through the intrigues of Russia 
the Porte has been induced to withhold her assent to the new 
Prince's election, and consequently the Powers have been 
unable to ratify the choice of the people. That the Prince is 
their choice has been clearly proved by the recent elections to 
the National Assembly. So for the present the " great " Powers 
of Europe are boycotting, and some are harassing, the " little " 
Balkan State ; but it is to be hoped that before these sentences 
are published a diminished fear of Russia and a higher sense 
of justice than at present prevails in the councils of Europe 



BRIEF SURVEY OF BULGARIAN HISTORY. 13 

will have removed the last obstacles to the complete emancipa- 
tion of Bulgaria. 

But having concluded this very dry, superficial, and perfunc 
tory history of Bulgaria, it may with justice be asked why in 
this first chapter I have adopted so unusual a method of pro- 
ceeding. The answer is, that I have done so for the convenience 
of my readers. In the first place, there are many who do not 
care for the details of the past history of a little-known country, 
and who will probably be content to learn something of the 
actual condition of Bulgaria, and her fitness for self-government. 
For those readers the foregoing brief summary will have suflSced, 
and they will find such information as I can give them on the 
present state of the country in the Second Part. Furthermore, 
many of the published details of Bulgarian history are untrust- 
worthy — more especially dates — and historical writers have not 
seldom endeavoured to fill up gaps by drafts on the imagination. 
Again, the history of Bulgaria overlaps that of Eoumania, or 
vice versdy and many portions of my work on the latter country 
deal with events and periods which need not be referred to again 
at any considerable length. The plan which I consider to be 
the most convenient, therefore, in this treatise will be to select 
fix)ni consecutive periods in Bulgarian history such incidents as 
have a special bearing upon her condition to-day, and for the 
sake of continuity I propose sometimes to conduct the reader at 
once from the consideration of past ages to the contemplation 
of phases of Bulgarian life in the present day. For example, 
there is not only a direct association between the customs of 
land-tenure now and of old, but many traces remain for those 
who care to visit and search for them which recall to memory 
the past greatness and barbaric splendour of the old Bulga- 
rian Czars; and amidst scenes which captivate the sense and 
charm the imagination will be found visible records that give 
unwonted freshness and interest to the study of past events in 
history. 



14 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE SLAVES OR SCLAVONIANS. 

Reputed origin of the Slave races — Resources and customs of the early settlers 
in Bulgaria — Patriarchal government and communistic land-tenure — ^The 
"Grad"— The "Zupa"— The Council of Elders— Hidden treasures— Hospi- 
tality — Industry of the women ; of their descendants — Method of warfare 
— Modem Sclavonic names of places — Sclavonic religious rites. 

THE hand of man has been far more destructive than it has 
been constructive in some parts of Bulgaria. In order to 
form some idea of the scene which the Balkans must have pre- 
sented in pre-historic times, the reader should see them as they 
are to-day. Formerly the mountain slopes were clothed with 
vast forests of oak, frequented by the bear, the wolf, and other 
animals of prey, whilst the aurochs roamed at large over the 
plains. To-day the oak of ages is seldom seen ; and although 
even in autumn the mountain-sides are still covered with a 
carpet of bright green, this is found on a closer inspection to 
consist of self-sown oak scrub, on which goats and cattle browse, 
the ancient woods having been ruthlessly destroyed to supply 
the needs of successive generations of barbarians — even of those 
who still remain, in the shape of wandering gipsies and ignorant 
herdsmen — to whom nothing consumable for firewood (not even 
the new kilometre posts on the wayside) comes amiss. But 
with the plains it is different ; Nature had there supplied no 
such objects of utility, and they must have presented much the 
same appearance as at present, resembling as they do great 
inland seas drained of their aqueous contents, and covered with 
grasses and wild herbage. It was on these rich alluvial plains 
that the Slave immigrants settled, and it is here that their de- 
scendants still follow their pastoral and agricultural pursuits 
with primitive implements, differing but little from those of 



THE SLAVES OR SCLAVONIANS. 15 

their early ancestors. The ancient Slaves who settled in Bul- 
garia are believed to have been a portion of what is known as 
the " Slavo-Lithuanian " branch of the Aryan race ; to have 
occupied first the plains between the Don and the Dnieper 
during the Iron Age, and then to have wandered westward 
about the fifth century before Christ. So far much- is conjec- 
ture. They were in all probability originally a pastoral people ; 
but when they gradually settled down on the plains of the 
Danube, from about the third to the seventh century of the 
Christian era, their lives were more largely devoted to agricul- 
tural pursuits. Our information regarding their customs and 
condition at that period is by no means speculative, and is 
derived from various sources, principally from Greek (or Byzan- 
tine) writers, such as Procopios (born about 500 a.d.) and others. 
Our conclusions may also be safely based upon the researches of 
modem philologists, who have carefully compared the appella- 
tions of objects, customs, and localities, chiefly in the districts 
inhabited by Slave descendants, so as to arrive at their common 
origin. Some striking examples of this will be given presently. 
From these sources of information, then, we learn that the 
Slaves were acquainted with agriculture, and probably also with 
bee-culture. They had ploughs, which can hardly have been more 
primitive than those now in use, but were probably well adapted 
for turning over the soil, which is in many places still choked 
with "cobbles." They sowed wheat, barley, oats, rye, and 
millet; ground corn in handmills and watermills. From the 
flour they made some kind of bread, on which they subsisted, 
along with meat, fruits, and vegetables. Of the latter, they had 
turnips, lentils, and beans ; of fruits, they possessed the grape, 
from which they made wine, and upon that (and mead made 
from honey) they got drunk, as their descendants do to-day 
upon a spirit made from the husks and dregs. They also had 
the apple, plum, sour cherry, and pear ; but they need certainly 
not have cultivated the last-named, for they most probably had 
the little wild pear which one now sees with its bright golden 
and crimson fruit growing in such plenty by the roadside, and 
as their palates would not be very sensitive, its acrid taste would 
be no bar to its enjoyment. Besides the ordinary plants here 



16 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

named, they probably cultivated hemp, flax, and hops, made 
cheese from milk, cooked their meat, and were acquainted with 
some primitive forms of scythe, spade, and flail to aid them in 
their agricultural employments. The trees which grew in their 
forests were the oak, which still preponderates, lime, maple, 
beech, birch, elm, willow, alder, and pine. 

Their domestic animals were the ox, cow, buflfalo (still largely 
used as draught animals), calf, goat, dog, and goose ; and at the 
same early period of their national life they already knew how 
to apply the products of those animals in a variety of ways, 
not only as food, but for purposes of clothing and ornament. 
Prom furs and rude textile fabrics they made garments, such f ' 
as mantles, and rough underclothing ; ^ and they also orna- 
mented themselves with gold, silver, and the inferior metals. 

With agricultural pursuits came the appropriation of land, 
and therewith a primitive form of society, and finally the 
" state." At first, naturally, the members of the tribe, as it wan- 
dered over the plains, settled in families, often at considerable 
distances apart, and a patriarchal government prevailed ; but it 
was a peculiar communistic system, which still obtains amongst 
many Slave peoples, and, in a somewhat modified form, in Bul- 
garia down to the present day. In fact, there is a peasant 
proprietary, to which is superadded the " Mera," ^ or commu- 
nism in the tenure of land, to be described hereafter. 

At first the respective families were governed by a patriarch, 
the oldest and most experienced member ; but when the country 
became less sparsely settled, they formed themselves into clans 
or communities (Zupa), and each elected a chief. In some cen- 
tral part of the Zupa, a fortified house or " Grad " was built, 
around which the families of the clan congregated, living either 
in semi-subterranean abodes, such as still exist plentifully on 

^ "Linen kerchiefs, over-garment (shirt)." Jire6ek, Geschichte der Bvlgaren^ 
note, pp. 99-100. Yon Tempsky, Prag, 1876. Much additional information 
concerning the customs of the early Sclavonic races will be found in Krek and 
Jire(5ek, with the names of authorities. 

^ Another form of the old Sclavonic tenure of land, as it exists, modified, to-day, 
will be found described and criticised at length by the late Julius Faucher, Berlin, 
in '' Systems of Land Tenure in Various Countries,*' cap. vi., **' Russia," published 
for the Cobden Club by Cassell, Fetter, & Galpin. 



THE SLAVES OR SCLAVONIANS. 17 

the plains on both sides of the Danube, and perhaps also in 
rude wooden huts. The " Grad " was a place of refuge, and the 
appellation has descended to our time in Belgrad, Eazgrad, 
Gradiste, Tr-nov-grad (Timovo), said to be derived from Tr 
(three), nov (new), grad (fort),^ and was also formerly applied to 
Czarigrad (Constantinople), because the Greek emperors resided 
there. The " Grad " was usually built in some place that was dif- 
ficult of access, in a marsh or on an acclivity, where it was pro- 
tected by a stream, precipices, or a natural wall of rock. Kanitz 
describes and beautifully illustrates many such localities, especi- 
ally the one at Belogradcik ; ^ but perhaps the grandest and 
most perfect development (by the Bulgarian Czars) of this 
system of fortification is to be seen at Timova, where the 
Jantra river forms a broad fosse, and the remarkable escarp- 
ments of rock running round the hills and the great wall of 
rock approaching the " Hissar " were supplemented by the addi- 
tion of strong artificial works (to be described hereafter), and 
made to constitute a range of almost impregnable hill-fortresses. 
The chiefs of the Zupa were hereditary, and the families from 
whom they were chosen subsequently constituted, such as it 
was, the Slave aristocracy. All affairs of public interest were 
debated and settled by an assembly of elders, who decided on 
matters relating to war, defensive or offensive. If an expedition 
was to be undertaken or an invasion to be resisted, the clans 
united temporarily, but as soon as the common danger was 
averted or the occasion for union past, they again separated and 
returned to their respective Zupas. Thus it was that the Slaves 
never acknowledged a head or ruler, but they were in conse- 
quence disunited, and easily fell under the domination of 
powerful and aggressive foes. Is it the consciousness that they 
have inherited this ancestral weakness and an instinctive sense 
of the attendant danger that has caused their descendants 
to-day to prefer a young German prince to a republic ? 



^ Joreiek derives the word Tirnovgrad from Tmov-Grad, Thorn-Fort. I believe 
the other derivation, which was given to me at Timova, is the correct one. 

^ Bonau Bvlgarien und der Balkan, vol. i. p. 46 ; woodcut and plate. Leipzig': 
Benger'sche Buchhandlung, 1882. 

B 



18 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

It is said that the Slaves hid their treasures underground — a 
very necessary precaution when hordes of wandering barbarians 
poured through the land and they were never safe from surprise ; 
and unfortunately the political conditions in Bulgaria have been 
such as to necessitate a continuance of the practice down to 
this day. First the barbarians, including their own rulers, 
then the neighbouring peoples, who held the country for 
a time, and finally the Turks were constantly draining the 
life-blood of the peasantry ; and yet it is said that there 
is hardly a peasant of any note even now who has not his 
store of coins of various periods hidden somewhere about his 
rude dwelling! The Slaves are described as a peace-loving 
but still courageous people; that is precisely the character 
of their descendants in our time. Their men were fine and 
powerfully built, as they are now. They were hospitable to 
a fault, and are said even to have committed theft in order 
to be enabled to fulfil the rites of hospitality. To-day they do 
not carry this excellent quality to the same extreme lengths. 
If you enter the cottage of a peasant or small tradesman in a 
Bulgarian village, you are cordially welcomed. You may take 
a look round, and the storeroom, with its heaps of fruit and 
" paprika " (red pepper), is shown to you with pride. You are 
invited into the best room, with its couch along one or two of 
the walls, its little bookcase with a few books in the Bulgarian, 
and even in the French or English language. You may watch 
the baby swinging in its hammock suspended from the ceiling, 
and Madame, in her picturesque many-hued costume, will place 
before you a little table, and set upon it a plate with a large 
bunch of luscious grapes and a goblet of clear water. Yes, the 
peasantry are hospitable ; so too are the people of Philippopolis, 
exceedingly so ; of Tirnova and the smaller towns ; but whether 
or not an increase of petty larceny is one of the results of this 
hospitality, I am unable to say. In Sofia I should certainly 
imagine that the volume of crime sufiers no accession from 
that source. 

As one of the results of the common tenure of land, every 
industrious member of a Zupa was enabled to work for the 
general welfare, and with the exception of the idle and vicious, 



THE SLAVES OR SCLAVONIANS. 19 

there were no poor, and poverty was always regarded as a dis- 
grace. There are still hardly any mendicants in Bulgaria. I 
only recollect meeting with three or four. One was what the 
Americans call a "beat" — evidently a broken-down rov^ — in 
Philippopolis, and two or three gipsies, who are the scourge 
of all those Eastern countries, at Tirnova and elsewhere. The 
women are said to have been treated with consideration, and 
in the absence of the house-father his wife ruled the house- 
hold. It is very improbable that they were exempted from 
the labour of the field, but it was the duty of the men to attend 
to the herding and care of the cattle. The women were very 
brave, as many examples prove in the history of the country, and 
they were also very industrious. This quality has indeed descended 
to their posterity, for one of the most remarkable sights in 
Bulgaria is to see the women plying their spindle and distaff. 
If you drive through a village or meet them on the roadside, 
it is spin, spin, spin. They spin standing, and walking, and 
sitting down, and making their purchases — ^at all times and 
everywhere. 

Monogamy is said to have been the rule^ but the authority is 
doubtful. The men, I have said, were brave. They fought on 
foot, often almost without any clothing, with swords, spears, 
bows and poisoned arrows, and clubs, and protected themselves 
with shields. They resembled all the barbarians in their mode 
of warfare, seldom appearing in the open field, and often feigning 
retreat to decoy the enemy into ambushes. They never allowed 
the enemy to rest, and attacked him in morasses, woods, and 
mountain passes. A strange device in warfare was attributed 
to them. It is said that when they were hotly pursued they 
plunged into the water, and sinking to the bottom, stayed there, 
and breathed through a long reed which reached just above the 
surface. In the case of fresh enemies unacquainted with this 
rase, they were perfectly safe in their subaqueous retreat ; but 
when their pursuers had learned the trick, they looked for those 
tubes, and either closed them up, and so compelled the warrior 
to rise to the surface (where he was slain), or they forced the 
tube down the throat of the unfortunate man and choked him. 
In time the Slaves learned the use of more dangerous and com- 



20 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

plicated weapons of offence and defence from the Byzantines 
with whom they came in contact, and they were even able to 
besiege the strongholds of their enemies. They are said to 
have treated their captives with lenity, and not to have put 
them to death, nor kept them long in captivity, nor even 
unnecessarily to have murdered them when prostrate on the 
field of battle. 

The names of many modem towns and localities must have 
been handed down from Sclavonic times, just as we have such 
names even in connection with our own towns and districts to 
remind us of the Anglo-Saxon and Danish periods. Some of 
those places are called after the natural products which were 
found there in plenty, as Slivovo, Sliven, Slivnitza, from the 
plum ; Jablanica, the apple ; Bucovica, the beech ; Vishnica, wild 
cherry ; Vinica, grape ; also Bebbrovo, the beaver ; Turovo, the 
aurochs, and many others. Some of the names of places were 
corruptions of the Roman appellations (just as with us), as 
Nisch, from Naissus ; Lom, from Almus ; Drster (Silistria), from 
Durostorum, &c. ; and in other cases the name of the prevailing 
industry has come down to our time incorporated with that of 
the locality. 

When they had attained a certain degree of civilisation and 
barter commenced, the circulating medium of exchange was 
cattle (Krek says the cow was probably the unit), and in cattle, 
too, fines were levied. 

Of the religion of the Slaves little appears to be known that 
is authentic. They were heathens, and probably worshipped a 
supreme deity, the author of lightning, to whom they offered 
oxen and other animals as sacrifices. They, moreover, believed 
in good spirits (bogy) favourable to mankind, and in evil and 
malevolent spirits {hesy). They honoured nymphs, nixies, 
rivers, dancing fairies, and a good many of the supernatural 
beings of mediaeval and modern times. They worshipped in 
the open air and held festivals, some of which from being 
heathen rites became Christian celebrations. They are said to 
have believed in a soul distinct from the body, in a future state, 
a heaven or paradise, and a place of torment. Their supersti- 
tions were (and in some places are still) numerous, and that of 



THE SLAVES OR SCLAVONIANS. 21 

the vampyre, which held possession of human bodies, was 
widespread, and is still to be found amongst the more ignorant 
peasantry in Slave countries. 

Such was the character and those the customs of the ancient 
people who migrated from the east and settled in Bulgaria 
from the third to the seventh century of our era ; and although 
their possession of the country has been at various times dis- 
puted by (Byzantine) Greeks, by Wallachs, Turks, and Eus- 
sians, they still constitute by far the largest proportion of the 
present inhabitants, and maintain the distinguishing charac* 
teristics of the race. 



22 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 

Divergent views of their origin — Kuvrat and Asparich — Kfum and his victories 
over the Byzantines — His death, 816 or 820 A.D. — Omortag — His persecution of 
the Christians — The warlike Bulgari — Their appearance and customs — Their 
cruelty — ^Their advance towards civilisation — The Khan and his surround- 
ings — Czar Boris — The monks Constantino and Methodios — Their missionary 
labours — Constantino assumes the name of Kyrill — The Kyrillic alphabet — 
His sacred writings — -His death about 869 A.D. — The conversion of Boris 
to Christianity by the Greeks about 864 a.d. — Legendary accounts — A 
business transaction — The first fruits of Christianity in Bulgaria — Negotia- 
tions with Pope Nicholas — The 106 questions concerning the Christian 
faith, and the replies — Oscillating between Greece and Rome — The heretic 
sects — The Bogomiles — Their origin, their faith, and doctrines — Dualism 
of their belief — God and Satanael — ^Their powers and attributes — ^Their 
acts in sacred history — Christ *'an appearance only" — Mary an angel — 
Religious professions and teachings of the Bogomiles — Their contempt for 
orthodoxy and Church ritual — ^Their initiatory ceremonies — Proselytism — 
The " Perfect! " — ^Their asceticism — Persecution of the Bogomiles — Charged 
with hypocrisy and immorality — Their political influence — Martyrdom of 
Basilius (about 1119 a.d.) — Duration of the heretical sects — Abdication of 
Boris — His death about 907 A.D. 

OF the customs and career of this race, who dominated in the 
country to which they have given their name, I have 
already published elsewhere a tolerably complete outline,^ but 
the importance of the subject in this place necessitates a repeti- 
tion of the main facts and the addition of some further details. 
Like that of the Slaves, and indeed of most of the so-called 
barbarians, the origin of the race Bulgari and their early history 
are largely matters of doubt and conjecture. By some writers 
they are said to have been of Scythian origin, others speak of 
them as a Finnish, others again as a Turkish tribe. Gibbon, along 
with some other historians, believes that, in company with the 

^ "Roumania," cap. x. sees. iv. vii. viii. 



THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. '23 

Slaves, they wandered over the plains of Russia, Lithuania, and 
Poland. Many are of opinion that they crossed the Danube, or 
at least migrated southward, along with the Slaves ; others, that 
they followed and conquered the Slave settlers. Be that as it 
may, it will be seen that they were a distinct race from the one 
which they held in subjection for centuries. To give some idea 
of the mythical character of our information concerning them 
before their advent into Bulgaria, it may be mentioned that 
they are said to have had in the course of 515 years (from 164 
to 679 A.D.) only five princes, giving an average reign of 103 
years to each. One chief, Kuvrat^ who is mentioned in Byzan- 
tine chronicles, is said to have formed an alliance with the 
Emperor Heraclius, and to have aided in defeating and breaking 
up the tribe of Avari. He then settled with his followers some- 
where north of the Danube, probably in Bessarabia, and his 
successor, Asparich^ having crossed that river and carried his 
arms as far as Varna, subsequently (about 680) occupied the 
whole of what is now North Bulgaria, bounded by the Danube, 
the Black Sea, and the Balkans. After this time the history 
of the Bulgari is better defined. About 802 A.D. or 807 another 
notorious character appears upon the scene. This was Kj^m 
or KrumuSy a savage chief, who carried on a continued warfare 
with the Greek Emperor Nicephoros, who about 811 invaded 
and ravaged Bulgaria and destroyed Krum's fortress^residence. 
The latter then closed the passes of the Balkans, attacked and 
utterly routed the Greek army, captured and killed the Emperor, 
and converted his skull into a goblet — a very common method 
of utilising the remains of one's enemies in those days. 
Michael, the Greek Emperor who succeeded, fared little better 
than his predecessor at the hands of Krum. The latter de- 
vastated Thrace and Macedonia, defeated the Emperor about the 
year 813 near Adrianople, and pressed forward to the gates 
of Constantinople. Unable to capture that city, he committed 
unheard-of atrocities in the surrounding country, slaughtering 
men and cattle before the gates. In order to make peace, the 
Emperor was compelled to agree to pay him an annual tribute, 
including a number of virgins, and to release many captive 
Bulgarians who had been detained as prisoners from former wars. 



24 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Whilst the negotiations were proceeding, however, 'Xrum nearly 
fell into an ambush with a few of his followers, whereupon he 
renewed his barbarities, and retreating across the Balkans, he 
carried fire and sword in his track, and returned home laden 
with every kind of plunder. About 814 the Greek Emperor, 
Leo, invaded Bulgaria, and nearly captured Krum, who there- 
upon recommenced his advance upon Constantinople with a 
mighty army, but died suddenly of apoplexy, according to some 
writers in 815, by other accounts in 820, in which year he was 
followed on the throne by Omortag. 

The rule of that chief was not characterised by any stirring 
events in Bulgarian history. Eenouncing the designs of his 
predecessor upon Constantinople, he concluded a thirty years' 
peace with the Emperor Leo, and devoted himself to the develop- 
ment of the peaceful resources of the country. He persecuted 
the Christians, who were already beginning to make converts 
in Bulgaria, martyred Manuel, Bishop of Adrianople, along 
with three other bishops and 374 captive Christians. Accord- 
ing to a tablet, which is said to have been found in 1858 in 
a mosque in Tirnova, he built what were then considered fine 
palaces, both on the Danube and at Tirnova; but the said 
tablet gave no clue to his nationality or religion, and bore no 
date. The date of his death is unknown, and nothing of note 
occurs in Bulgarian history until the conversion to Christianity 
of one of his successors, Boris, of which more will be said pre- 
sently ; meanwhile a brief account of the Bulgarian conquering 
race may not be uninteresting. 

From whatever quarter the Bulgari came — and the opinions 
in that respect are as numerous and divergent as the origin of 
the Eoumanians — they were a warlike tribe of nomads, in many 
respects the very opposite of the Slaves whom they conquered. 
They lived by and for war, and before they settled down in 
Bulgaria and became the ruling caste, they wandered from place 
to place with their herds of cattle and horses in search of pas- 
ture. Their chief food was milk and the flesh of certain animals 
which were reckoned clea^, and firom which (as in the case of 
the Jews) the blood flowed in killing. They are said in many 
respects to have resembled the Avari, to have shorn the hair oflF 



THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 25 

their headg^ excepting a tuft, and to have worn turbans. (The 
wearing of turbans and of long robes probably belonged to a 
later period.) They fought chiefly on horseback ; their standards 
were horses' tails. Their frontiers were guarde(J by many out- 
posts, beyond which no one was allowed to pass, and any one 
who, either by accident or design, strayed beyond these posts 
was killed by the guard, or, if the latter failed to prevent his 
passage, he was himself put to death. The time of combat was 
fixed by soothsayers, who sought propitious signs, and only per- 
mitted an attack to take place on certain days. Before a battle 
songs were' chanted, and beasts and even human beings were 
offered as sacrifices. All arms were carefully inspected before 
the departure of the warriors, and it is said that any one having 
an imperfect weapon was put to death. Treaties were made 
with an oath taken upon a naked sword, and were ratified by 
cutting a dog in two parts. In time of peace their customs 
were cruel in the extreme. Executions, including quartering 
alive, were of daily occurrence ; thefts of horses and cattle were 
capital offences; if a "noble" of rank revolted against the 
prince, not only were his life and possessions forfeited, but 
his children were put to death and his family exterminated. 
Blinding by piercing the eyes with a red-hot needle or by 
exposure to a glowing piece of metal was regarded as a com- 
mutation of the capital sentence. Noses and ears were slit for 
small crimes. Accused persons were clubbed on the head or 
stabbed in some non-vital part of the body if they refused to 
confess. At the death of a chief his wives and slaves were 
sacrificed, the latter being buried alive with the corpse. These 
were probably the chief characteristics of the Bulgari before and 
on their settlement in the Balkan Peninsula, and even subse- 
quently ; and the records of the two Bulgarian empires and their 
communications with the Papacy show that cruelty and super- 
stition pervaded all their customs in peace and war. Afterwards, 
although much time was spent in war and warlike pursuits, they 
made considerable advance in civilisation, more especially after 
their conversion to Christianity. Whilst they continued to live 
in tents made of the skins of animals in summer, they built 
wooden houses for winter, and some kind of courtesy and eti- 



26 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

qnette became apparent in their demeanour towards their chiefs 
and towards one another. Still they fed largely on horse-flesh, 
drank mead to excess, — a sure sign of advancing civilisation, 
some of my readers may think. The chief or Khan had absolute 
power over life and death. He and his nobles, six of whom 
formed a council of state, practised polygamy, and their harems 
were guarded by eunuchs. The Khan is said to have eaten his 
meals alone at a small table, whilst his wives and court squatted 
around upon the floor and satisfied their appetites in that pos- 
ture. If an ambassador visited the court, it was customary for 
him to inquire first after the health of the Khan and his family, 
next after the six great Boyards, then after the nobles within 
and without the court, and finally after the inhabitants gene- 
rally. In the course of our historical inquiry, and when we 
come to visit those places where many remains of the ancient 
and mediaBval Bulgarians are still to be found, other features of 
interest in their political and social life will be presented to our 
notice. 

About thirty years after Omortag, in the reign of Boru (pro- 
bably about 852-888), there lived two brothers, Constantine and 
Methodios, whose literary labours and ministrations led to the 
introduction of Christianity into Bulgaria. They were probably 
bom in Thessalonica, their father being military governor of 
that place, but soon left the locality, and at first adopted dif- 
ferent professions. Constantine removed to Constantinople, and 
prepared himself for a literary and religious career, whilst to 
Methodios Mjas confided the governorship of a minor Greek 
province. When the former had become acquainted with East- 
em languages, he was sent by the Emperor as a missionary to 
certain tribes on the Don or Dnieper, whom he is said to have 
converted to Christianity. On his return the two brothers met, 
and united in following the lives of recluses, and subsequently 
missionaries of Christianity in the Sclavonic States of South- 
Eastem Europe. Their lives, as they moved about from place 
to place, were very eventful, and their literary and proselytising 
labours were highly appreciated by both sections of the Catholic 
Church. Constantine adopted the name of Kyrill, and invented 



THE BULGART AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 27 

part of the alphabet which has been named after him. He 
translated the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Psalms 
from the Byzantine text into the Slave language, and published 
treatises on the "true faith," &c. His works were publicly 
read in Rome, where he was received with great honour, and 
died at the early age of forty-two, about February 869. Metho- 
dios translated into Sclavonic part of the Old Testament and 
many other sacred writings, and died about fifteen years after 
his brother, somewhere on the Danube. The works of both 
were largely circulated, and were instrumental in making con- 
verts of men of all ranks, not only in the settled Slave countries 
of Eastern Europe, but also amongst the still savage tribes of 
South-Eastem Russia. 

The accounts of the mode in which Boris and his people were 
converted to Christianity vary, some of them being miraculous. 
It was long believed that Methodios the monk had painted a 
picture of the Last Supper for him, which exercised such an 
influence over his mind as to induce him to renounce heathenism 
and embrace Christianity. The story is very pretty, but it is 
probably erroneous in nearly every particular. The Methodios 
who executed the picture is said to have been a painter of the 
same name as the missionary, and Poris probably became a 
Christian from motives of policy rather than from conviction. 
Another story is that his sister, having been taken prisoner and 
conveyed to Constantinople, was there converted, and being sub- 
sequently allowed to return to her brother, that she persuaded 
him to adopt the new faith. The real facts are probably these : 
Boris had need of allies from time to time to hel^ him to main- 
tain his independent position, but as the missionary efforts of 
the two brothers, Constantino and Methodios, had already 
caused the conversion of the rulers of some of the States border- 
ing on 'Bulgaria, Boris fbund himself at a great disadvantage as 
a heathen. Whilst he was engaged in a war with the Greek 
Emperor, Michael III., a famine broke out in his own land, and 
Boris found it necessary to make peace with the Emperor. It 
was then that he considered it politic to become . a convert, 
which he did on the field of negotiations. He was baptized, 
along with many of his followers, and took the Christian name 



28 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

of Michael, the Emperor himself acting as his godfather. This 
happened about the year 864, and one of the fruits of Boris's 
conversion was the acquisition by Bulgaria of a considerable 
tract of country up to that time in Greek possession. Boris 
is not the only man either, before or since, who has adopted a 
new or a reformed faith — for a valuable consideration. On his 
return home he manifested the zeal of a convert by endeavour- 
ing to introduce the new faith amongst his subjects. This led 
to an insurrection of the Boyards as well as of the common' 
people, who still remained heathens. The revolt was suppressed ; 
the Boyards and their wives and children were put to death, 
but the people were spared. Endeavouring to turn his conver- 
sion to the best account, Boris also sought the alliance of the 
Pope, Nicholas I. This he did chiefly because the Greeks would 
not grant ecclesiastical superiors to the newly-converted people, 
and thereupon Boris sent a mission to Eome in order to secure, 
if possible, a Patriarch.^ Of his success in this respect it is 
only necessary to say, that although the Pope bid rather higher 
for the adhesion of the Bulgarians than the Greek ecclesiastics, 
he at first promised only to send bishops, but no higher digni- 
tary of the Church. It is true his successor, Adrian, sent an 
archbishop, but by that time Boris was again coquetting with 
Constantinople, and he refused to receive him.^ What has 
imparted such interest to this mission, however, is that it gives 
us a further insight into the social life of the Bulgarians at that 
time, for by a series of 106 questions formulated for the Pope's 
replies, the envoys sought to become acquainted with the faith 
and doctrines of Christianity and to follow the Christian life, 
but at the same time to retain as many as possible of their 
pleasant heathen practices. Those questions were answered by 
Pope Nicholas through two bishops whom he sent to Bulgaria 

^ Much valuable information concerning the conversion of Boris anii his nego- 
tiations with the Eastern and Western Churches will be found in Neander's 
" Church History " (Bohn's Standard Library), vol. v. ; also in the pages of Jire(5ek 
and Krek. 

^ Later on, under the second empire, a much more interesting negotiation took 
place between one of the successors of Boris, namely the Czar Joannitz, and Pope 
Innocent III., which I have already described at some length elsewhere ("Ron- 
mania," cap. X. sec. viii.), but to which further reference will be made hereafter. 



THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 29 

with a letter in the year 865, and although some of them were 
very amusing, on the whole they showed an earnest desire on 
the part of the questioners to lead an improved life.^ Here is 
the substance of a few of them. What should be done with per- 
sons unwilling to renounce idolatry? The answer was that 
exhortation and rational persuasion should be used rather than 
force, and if those means failed, they should be " severely 
let alone." God required only a voluntary obedience ; had it 
been His pleasure to use force, none could have resisted His 
almighty power, &c., &c. The Pope also remonstrated with 
them for their cruelty towards Greek priests who had visited 
them, denounced their modes of torturing accused persons, 
and the infliction of the penalty of death for minor offences. 
On what festival days should they refrain from work? (It 
has been said by some writers that this question was put 
rather with a desire to avoid keeping those days, as they were 
then forced to refrain from eating flesh-meat.) The answer 
not only named the days, but pointed out that their object 
was to leave more leisure for attendance upon divine worship. 
What must they do if they were surprised by the attacks of 
an enemy whilst in church engaged in prayer ? The answer 
was that they might finish their prayers elsewhere. Many 
other questions concerning festivals and war were answered in 
a similar strain. Should they have recourse to sorcery and 
divinations ? No. They must prepare for war by prayer and 
fasting, by freeing prisoners and giving alms to the needy. 
How should they treat freemen attempting to flee from their 
country ? With greater leniency, as a man who cannot be 
allowed to leave his country is not a free man.^ 

But some of the questions concerning social life were amus- 
ing as well as instructive. Might they receive dowries of gold, 
silver, oxen, &c., with their wives ? Yes, of course. Must 
they alter their mode of dress, and might they in future wear 
trousers ? The answer was that no alteration was necessitated 



^ Neander, vol. xxv. pp. 426-432, who deals with the subject at considerable 
length. 
' Let me commend this injimction to the powers that be to-day in Bulgaria. 



30 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

in their outward garb, but only reform of the inner man. Was 
it proper for the king to sit alone at table and compel not only 
his courtiers, but his wife (? wives) to sit on separate stools at a 
distance ? (There must already have been an improvement in 
the social life of the court, for even stools were at one time 
denied to them.) The answer was that although the practice 
was decidedly bad form, contra bonos mores^ it was in no way at 
variance with Christian doctrine, and they might do as they 
pleased in that respect. 

Bibles and other sacred books were sent to them, books on 
civil law promised, but a " Patriarch " was politely refused. 
The oscillations of Boris between Greece and Rome, although 
they eventually secured for him from Constantinople such eccle- 
siastics as he desired, had the ill effect of throwing his country 
open to the strife and influences of many differing sects, all of 
whom called themselves Christians. The tenets of those sects, 
the Paulicians, the Catharists, the Bogomiles, &c., had much in 
common, and they have been described at considerable length 
by various historians, especially by the learned Neander ; but 
as one of them, the Bogomilians or BogomileSy for a long period 
exercised considerable influ)9nce not only in the religious life of 
Bulgaria, but over her political history, a brief notice of them 
may not be deemed inappropriate. Their origin is doubtfal. 
According to some authors, they took their name from a priest, 
Bogomil, whilst others derive their appellations from the Scla- 
vonic Bogumily " Beloved of God," or from Bog milui, " Lord, 
have mercy." ^ The peculiar character of their faith and doc- 
trine consisted in its being a compound of Christianity and 
heathenism, for they interwove with Christian story and teach- 
ings many of the old heathen legends, and so addressed them- 
selves to the intelligence or want of intelligence of the unedu- 
cated masses, amongst whom they readily made converts. It 
may be said generally, that for a long time after the intro- 
duction of the Bogomilian "heresy" the nobles were of the 
orthodox Greek faith, but the masses Bogomilians. It is 



^ See Neander, cap. viii. ; Jiretfek, cap. ix. ; Krek, p. 781. All three contain, 
along with voluminous authorities, much information concerning the Bogomiles. 



THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 31 

difficult to define their feith with precision. They believed 
in God and in Satandel, his first-born, fallen away. The former 
was a spiritual being, from whom nothing imperfect or tem- 
poral proceeded ; the wicked one created everything visible and 
corporeal, — ^the physical universe, in fact. This leading tenet, 
this dualism with modifications, appears to have pervaded the 
beliefs of most of the so-called heretical sects. The earth, 
according to the views of the Bogomiles, being the work of 
Satan, was doomed to destruction. The soul of man is an 
imprisoned fallen angel, which after death returns to God and 
heaven. Satan made Adam of earth, but being unable to 
vivify him, sought the help of God, who breathed of His own life 
into him. Cain, according to them, was the son of Satan and 
Eve, Abel of Adam and Eve, Cain representing the evil, and Abel 
the good principle in humanity. Satan was held responsible for 
all the evils which fell upon mankind — the flood, the dispersal at 
Babel, the destruction of Sodom. The presence of the Saviour 
and His death upon the cross were only appearances. Christ 
disgraced Satan, and bound him with a heavy chain. Mary 
was an angel, not the mother of Christ ; and only the moral 
and religious teachings of Christ were credited to Him. Forms, 
ceremonies, and sacraments being material, were the works of 
Satan in the eyes of the Bogomiles, and consequently they 
rejected them as Satanic symbols. When it suited them they 
professed to believe in the Trinity, but they called themselves 
simply *^ Christians." They held the orthodox bishops in con- 
tempt, and called them vipers and the monks foxes, whilst they 
proclaimed themselves to be the " heavenly life," the " salt of 
the earth," the " light of the world," the " lilies of the field," 
the " holy ones, without sin or blemish." Only grown-up per- 
sons were admitted into the community, and these were obliged 
to spend a considerable time before their initiation in fasting 
and prayer. The ceremony of initiation was performed by the 
presiding oflBcer placing his hands upon the neophyte, calling 
upon the Holy Ghost, and then laying the Gospel of St. John 
upon his head. After this he returned to his fasting and prayer, 
and the same ceremony was repeated at a later period, when he 
was formally admitted. Every "accepted" man and woman 



32 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

might preach, but the Church elders were chosen by the popular 
vote. Amongst themselves they professed to despise temples 
and religious edifices of every kind, for they said that Satan had 
first lived in the Temple of Jerusalem, then in the Church of 
St. Sophia in Constantinople. In order to make converts, 
however, they frequented places of worship and joined in the 
ceremonies there practised, and in some districts they afterwards 
built plain and undecorated church houses. There were various 
degrees of sanctity, the highest being the " Perfecti," or perfect 
ones. All the initiated adopted a grave, silent demeanour, but 
the " perfect," who were few in number, were rigid ascetics, and 
wherever they went they were received with marked reverence. 
They practised celibacy, denied themselves animal food, eschewed 
all worldly enjoyments, and spent their time in the perusal of 
sacred works. " Perfect " women followed a like existence, devot- 
ing themselves to works of charity, tending the sick and educating 
the young. The lay members of the community lived as other 
people, took part in all the ordinary pursuits of peace and war, 
and amassed property. On their deathbeds they were admitted 
into the ranks of the "perfect" by a religious ceremony. Being 
schismatics, they naturally incurred great hatred and sufiered 
much persecution. They were charged with hypocrisy and with 
self-indulgence and immorality, notwithstanding their profes- 
sions of asceticism ; and at a later period of their history there 
is said to have been truth in those accusations. They exercised 
great political influence amongst the masses, and that perhaps 
as much as their heresy caused them to be fiercely persecuted. 
Councils were held to denounce their doctrines, and one of the 
Greek Emperors more especially, Alexius Comnenos, resorted to 
the most despicable devices to discover and punish them. He 
succeeded in arresting and casting into prison a large number 
of the heretics, including one of their leaders, Basilius ; com- 
pelled some to recant, kept others imprisoned, and burned 
Basilius at the stake (a,d. 1119). The Bogomilian schism or 
" heresy " lasted through both Bulgarian empires down to the 
Turkish occupation, which it is said to have facilitated through 
the division which it caused between classes. After the Turkish 
occupation there were only two faiths, that of Mahjomet, pro- 



THE BULGARI AND THEIR EARLY RULE. 33 

fessed by the conquerors, and that of the Eastern Church of 
Christ. But the heresies of the Bogomilians and of the various 
sects were met by other means than violence, namely, by con- 
troversy and preaching, and to these reference will be made in 
treating of a later reign. At present we must return for a 
moment to that of Boris. That prince abdicated the throne 
about the year 888, and entered a monastery with the intention 
of spending his remaining years in religious exercises. About 
four years afterwards, however, he was compelled to leave his 
retreat on account of the misgovemment of his eldest son, whom 
he deposed, and having placed the crown on the head of his 
younger son, Simeon^ he once more withdrew into his monastery, 
and died there about the year 907. 

Under Simeon the first Bulgarian monarchy reached its 
zenith. 



BULQAEIA PAST AHD PRESENT. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 

■AT Simeon — Hia wars with the GreelcB — His snccegses — Hia death about 927 
A.D. — Condition of Bulgaria — John of Kjl — Simeon's palacee— Mediaeval 
account of them — Decline of the first Bulgarian Empire — Boris IL and 
ZimisceH—Tiie Sismans— Samuel— BaeiliuB the Second, the "Bulgar-Slayer" 
-His wars against Bulgaria— Hia cruelty- Death of Samuel (lOH a.d.)_ 
Complete conquest of Bulgaria—The Greet occupation — Wallaohs and Slaves 
— The controversies concerning their origin and early history— The"StrategU8" 
or Greek governor of provinces — Greek oppression — Barbarian invasions — 
Decline of the Greek power— The revolt under the brothers Asen (1185 a.d.) 
— The Hecond Bulgarian Empire — Asen I.— Hia wars with the Eastern 
Emperor Isaac — Victories of Asen — His assassination — Czar Johannitz 
or Kalojan — Hia invasion of Greek territory — Penetrates to the walls 
of Caastantinople — His nego- 
tiations for a crown with 
Pope Innocent III. —The corre- 
epondence— Occupation of Con- 
stantinople by the Cniaaders — 
Count Baldwin of Flanders, the 
first Frank Eoiperor— Baldwin 
and Kalojan — Reception ot a 
crown from the Pope (1204 a.d.) 
— "Kalojan's Alliance"— Battle 
of Adrianople between Kalojan 
and Baldwin — Defeat of the 
Greeks— Capture and fate of 
Baldwin — Assassination of Ea- 
lojan about 1207. 



ilON is one of the heroes 

Bnlgarian hiatory. If 

>u go into a Bulgarian 

1 ask tbo children to 

BiLDwra's TowKR AT TiHsoT*. iiame 801116 of tho gTcatest rulers 

of their country, he will probably be the first mentioned. 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 35 

He reigned from about 893 to 927, and was as celebrated 
in peace as in war. Of his military exploits I shall say 
but little, although their results were of considerable im- 
portance in history. During the greater part of his reign he 
was at war either with the Greek Empire or with the neigh- 
bouring States ; probably he was the first aggressor. On account 
of some commercial misunderstanding, he invaded Byzantine 
territory, defeated the Greeks, and sent his prisoners back to 
Constantinople with their noses slit. Enraged at such treat- 
ment of his subjects, the Greek Emperor Leo called to his aid 
the Magyars,^ the fiercest of all the Eastern hordes, who laid 
waste Bulgarian territory and defeated Simeon's army. On 
their return to their steppes, however, they were followed by 
the latter, who attacked them and decimated their tribe. 
After this Simeon again assumed the ofiensive, and pursued 
Leo as far as Adrianople, where a peace was concluded which 
lasted until Leo's death (about 911). 

Under his successors, Alexander and Constantino Porphyro- 
genetos, the wars with Bulgaria were renewed, and the very 
existence of the Greek Empire was threatened. Simeon twice 
captured Adrianople, besieged Constantinople several times, 
defeated the Greeks and their barbarous allies more than once, 
and nearly exterminated the latter. Through these and other 
campaigns and victories he succeeded in extending the Bul- 
garian Empire far beyond its former limits ; indeed, he reigned 
over a great portion of the Balkan Peninsula, exercised a quasi- 
sovereignty over Wallachia, and assumed the title of " Czar of 
the Bulgarians and Autocrat of the Greeks." Setting the eccle- 
siastical authorities of Constantinople at defiance, he refused to 
recognise the headship of the Greek Church, but elevated a man 
of his own selection to the rank of Patriarch of Bulgaria — an 
example which, I venture to think, will soon be followed by one 
of his modem successors ; for at present an " Exarch '* is the 
highest Bulgarian ecclesiastic, granted by favour of the Sublime 
Porte! 

It was during one of his campaigns against Constantinople 



1 (I 



Roumania,'* pp. 148-150. 



36 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

that "Czar" Simeon died, probably in 927. Although his 
military achievements have here been summed np in a few 
sentences (for their recital would afford little interest to English 
readers), an account of them would fill pages, and, as already 
stated, he ranks as one of Bulgaria's greatest heroes of antiquity. 
During his reign and that of his successor Peter, notwithstand- 
ing the creation of a Patriarch, the power of the Orthodox clergy 
declined, and the heretical sects were wide-spread and influential. 
Sclavonic literature began to extend, and generally the arts of 
civilisation flourished. 

Of the heretical sects I have already spoken. Their chief 
legitimate orthodox opponents were, like themselves, monks and 
ascetics ; indeed, it was they who kept the spirit of religion alive 
in Bulgaria. The most famous of the anchorites was John of 
Eyl, who became the patron-saint of Bulgaria. Originally a 
shepherd, he adopted the life of a recluse, and is said to have 
passed twenty years in a dark cave, and subsequently in the 
hollow of an oak tree on the Eyl Planina (Eyl Mountains). He 
then removed to an inaccessible rock, under which was subse- 
quently built the still existing Eyl Monastery.^ John of Eyl 
ended his days about 976 a.d. 

And now a word concerning Art at that period. The resi- 
dence of Simeon was at Great Preslava (Eom. Marcianopolis, 
Turk. Eshi-Stamhul), and accounts of its magnificence have 
been handed down to us which show that it must at least have 
been a marvel in the eyes of the barbarous people of that age. 
It is thus described by a writer of the period : — " When a 
stranger arrives at the forecourt of the princely residence, he is 
astonished, and entering at the gates, he makes many curious 
inquiries. When he comes into the inner courts, he sees on both 
sides buildings beautifully constructed of stone and decorated 
with parti-coloured woods ; and as he penetrates farther into the 
residence, he observes high palaces and churches with innumer- 



^ A visit to this monastery and the beautiful mountain scenery of Rilo is still 
a favourite excursion with the few tourists who visit Bulgaria. It is situated 
from one to two days' journey south of Sofia, and it was here that the Member 
for one of the divisions of Lancashire had recently his celebrated encounter with 
invisible *^ political brigands.'* 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 37 

able examples of carved masonry and woods and paintings, the 
interior being so ornamented with marble, copper, silver, and 
gold, that he knows not wherewith to compare them ; for in his 
own country he has seen only miserable straw huts. He is 
almost beside himself and faint with surprise. But if haply he 
should catch a glimpse of the Prince (Knez) himself as he sits 
there .in his robe trimmed with pearls with a chain of coins 
round his neck, with bracelets on his wrists, girdled with a 
purple belt, and a golden sword at his side, whilst on both 
sides of him are seated his Boyards wearing golden chains, 
girdles, and bracelets ; then, if some one asks him on his return 
home, ^ What did you see there ? ' his answer will be, ' I do 
not know how to narrate all that to you ; your own senses only 
could enable you to comprehend such magnificence.' " This was 
the impression made upon an ecclesiastic of the period by the 
ancient Bulgarian capital. The seat of Government was after- 
wards removed to Timova, and on the site of Preslav now 
stands a miserable village, which has been graphically described 
along with the ruins of the ancient residence by that persevering 
traveller and archaeologist Kanitz.^ I fear, however, that the 
startled imagination of the old chronicler has imparted a some- 
what idealistic character to his description of the ancient capital. 
It shows plainly that whilst Prince and nobles dwelt in barbaric 
splendour in extensive palaces, the mass of the people burrowed 
(as indeed many of them do to-day) in subterranean dwellings, 
whose "straw-thatched roofs" just peered above the ground. 
But when we come to visit the ruins of the ancient palaces of 
the Czars of the Second Empire at Tirnova, we shall find that 
the walls decorated with gold were really inlaid with mosaics of 
gilt glass (copied no doubt from Byzantine models), and that what 
in the chronicler's eyes appeared to be carved stone, was most 
likely painted plaster. That ancient Roman pillars of polished 
marble and Eoman tablets and tiles entered largely into the con- 
struction of the residences of the Czars, there can be little doubt ; 
for they are not only found amongst the ruins, but, as we shall see, 
they still serve as supports to the interiors of existing edifices. 

1 Vol. iii. pp. 73-77. 



38 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

After the death of Simeon the first Bulgarian monarchy 
rapidly declined. Of the appearance of the Northmen (Russians) 
during the reign of Peter his successor, and of their subsequent 
retreat and dispersal, mention was made in the first chapter, 
and it is unnecessary to add anything here concerning them. 
It will be remembered that during his incursion into the 
country, the chief Sviatoslav took the Czar Boris II. prisoner, 
and that he was liberated by the Greek Emperor Zimisces. 
The latter, however, had no intention to restore the Bulgarian 
ruler to his throne, but on his return in triumph to Constanti- 
nople he compelled him to abdicate, to put ofi* all the emblems 
of royalty, and to content himself with the position of a magnate 
at the Byzantine court. In order efiectually to exterminate 
the dynasty, he also caused Roman, the brother of Boris, to be 
emasculated, and these proceedings broke up the first Bulgarian 
Empire, after an existence of nearly three centuries. The an- 
nexation of Bulgaria to the Greek Empire was, however, far from 
being complete ; for in the western portion a Boyard family, 
the Sismans (pronounced Shishmans) had been rapidly growing* 
in strength and influence, and for a considerable time they 
maintained their supremacy as rulers of Macedonia, Albania, 
Servia, and part of what is now Bulgaria ; but eventually they 
too succumbed to the power of the Greek Empire. During the 
reign of Samuel, one of the dynasty, the Bulgarians came into 
collision with Basilius II., the successor of Zimisces. Basilius 
was at that time a youth of twenty-five years of age ; but from 
his advent to the throne he had made up his mind to conquer 
and annex the remaining Bulgarian territory. He was a celi- 
bate and an ascetic, tasting neither wine nor flesh-meat, was 
heartless and cruel, and for more than forty years carried on a 
series of wars against Samuel and his successors, until he had 
accomplished his design. Those wars were, however, not always 
successful, and the courage displayed by Samuel has also secured 
for him a place amongst Bulgarian heroes ; indeed, at a later 
period he was even referred to as a great monarch in the corre- 
spondence which took place between Pope Innocent III. and 
one of the Bulgarian Czars of the Second Empire. The first 
attempted inroad of Basilius into the territories of Samuel 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 89 

resulted in the humiliatiDg defeat of the former and a narrow 
escape from capture. After this Basilius was glad to conclude 
a peace, which lasted for fifteen years. A second and a third 
war followed, during which the Greek Emperor gradually gained 
ground in Samuers territories. Unheard-of cruelties were 
practised by Basilius during these conflicts. In one case he is 
said to have blinded fifteen thousand Bulgarian captives, leav- 
ing to one in every hundred the sight of a single eye to enable 
them to lead their companions back to Samuel's headquarters. 
This barbarous practice was, as already stated, quite common in 
those days, but it must in this instance have been carried to a 
terrible excess ; for it is said that when Samuel saw the long 
procession of blinded captives enter his camp, he was so horrified 
that he sank insensible to the ground, and died shortly after- 
wards (1014) of a broken heart. The West Bulgarian realm 
survived his death only a few years, and although he had two 
or three nominal successors, the Emperor Basilius was able in 
(1019) to celebrate the complete conquest of the country in 
Constantinople, dragging the daughter of Samuel and a number 
of Bulgarian Boyards in his train. His determined cruelty 
secured for him the well-earned title of the " Bulgar-Slayer." 

Little is known to us of the history and condition of Bulgaria 
during the Greek occupation, which lasted through the eleventh 
and twelfth centuries ; indeed, even the limits of the country 
were ill-defined, for whilst the power of the Greek Empire was 
rapidly declining, various races of barbarians were invading and 
temporarily holding possession of districts on both banks of the 
Danube. There can be no doubt that during the first Bulgarian 
monarchy some of the princes who ruled on the southern bank 
of that river also extended their sway far northward towards the 
Carpathians, and in like manner there was a fusion of the popu- 
lations. A controversy has been carried on, and still continues, 
concerning the'origin of the inhabitants of Roumania and Bul- 
garia; and so far as the former people are concerned, I have 
already dealt with the matter at length elsewhere.^ A few 

^ " Roumania," cap. x. sect, vi., and elsewhere. Besides the numerous authori- 
ties Inferred to in that work, the reader will find a copious list in Krek, p. 286- 
290 and notes, and in Jire^ek, pp. 220-221, and elsewhere. 



40 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

words on the subject must, however, be added in this place. 
One of the disputed questions is whether the Roumanians are 
of Daco-Roman origin, or whether they are only descendants of 
the pastoral tribe of Wallachs who migrated northwards from 
Thrace and Bulgaria ; and I have accepted the view that they 
are of Daco-Roman origin, but that there has been a large 
admixture of the Hungarian and nomad races — ^the barbarians, 
as they are called. That view is quite confirmed by a considera- 
tion of the contradictory evidence and opinions on the matter 
as it affects the origin of the inhabitants of the South Danubian 
plains. During the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, and 
later, the Wallachs dwelt in great numbers on both sides of the 
Danube, but at first chiefly on the southern bank. There (on 
the south) were districts known to the Greek writers as Great 
Wallachia, Little Wallachia, and White Wallachia, whilst on 
the north, Moldavia, or part of it, was known as Black Wal- 
lachia. Judging from the past history of the two countries and 
of the surrounding states, coupled with the results of archaeo- 
logical and philological research, the probabilities, simply and 
roughly stated, are that originally the Latin or Roman element 
entered largely into the constitution of the nationalities on both 
sides of the Danube ; that on the south the Slave element pre- 
vailed, whilst on the north the old Latin strain has secured the 
strongest foothold. One thing is certain, namely, that each 
successive wave of barbarian incursion exercised a perceptible 
influence upon the population, the more active of whom on the 
south side took refuge in the Balkans, on the north in the Car- 
pathians. When more peaceable times supervened, the hardy 
mountaineers again ventured into the plains, often in a hostile 
attitude. Added to this fusion of races, it must be remembered 
that the Hungarians crossed the Carpathians from the north, 
and the Greeks traversed the Balkans from the south, and for a 
time occupied the respective countries as conquerors ; and that 
circumstance, along with the Turkish occupation' of both banks, 
must have led to very mixed populations to-day, whose precise 
origin will probably always remain a debated question. 

Under the Greek rule Bulgaria was professedly, or it would 
be more correct to say nominally, autonomous, but was really 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 41 

misgoverned by a considerable number of delegates from Con- 
stantinople. It was divided into provinces, over each of which 
was placed a '^ Strategus " or governor, who united in his person 
the civil and military functions, whilst a governor-general exer- 
cised authority over the whole. Just as in the case of the 
Turkish pachas of later days and the Phanariote voivodes in the 
Principalities, those governors and deputy-governors seldom 
remained long in oflSce ; and whilst they possessed the power 
they ground down and bled the people to their heart's content. 
During the Greek occupation inroads of barbarians, especially 
of the Kumani, were frequent ; but they were always eventually 
repulsed ; so also were internal risings, which were more or less 
successful for the time being ; but it was not until the close of 
the twelfth century that the spirit of the people was fully aroused 
by the long course of oppression to which they had been sub- 
jected, and that they were able to shake oflf the Greek yoke and 
once more assert their independence. 

About the year 1185, during the reign of the Greek Emperor 
Isaac Angelos, there dwelt in Tirnova two wealthy brothers, 
Peter and John Asen, it is said of ancient and noble descent, 
but who lived as simple citizens. One of them, probably Peter 
(if not both), had founded the Church of St. Demetrius, whose 
ruins still remain in good preservation in Tirnova; and that 
and other works of charity and religion caused him to rank high 
in the estimation of his fellow-citizens. It is probable that about 
this time another revolt against the declining Greek rule was 
contemplated, and, according to some accounts, the two brothers 
visited Constantinople in search of a pretext for precipitating 
the revolution. Be that as it may, they are reported to have 
visited the capital, and to have preferred some request to which 
the Emperor gave an evasive reply, whilst the " Sevastokrator," 
a court official of high rank, inflicted a blow in the face upon 
John Asen, the more high-spirited of the brothers. On their 
return home, they narrated the occurrences to their fellow- 
citizens, and a public meeting of the inhabitants was called in 
the Church of St. Demetrius.^ The accounts of the meeting 

^'^— ' — - ■ ^ w ill ^— ^^i^»^^^»^^— ^B^^— ^^ I'll I I ■ I 11 m^-^m^ i-ii ■■_■_— ■■_i.iM . , 

^ It will be seen hereafter that political meetings are still held in churches in 
Bulgaria. 



42 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

vary, and some miraculous or legendary circumstances are con- 
nected with it ; but the facts seem to have been that the people 
became excited and angry when they were told what had 
occurred, and cries were raised for the independence of Bui- 
garia. It is said that some one asked a leading priest, probably 
the bishop, who had been taking part in the proceedings, " How 
can our ancient greatness be restored to us without a Czar? 
Who is there to lead us?" and that the bishop, pointing to 
Peter Asen, replied, "There stands your leader." Thereupon 
the cries for independence were renewed, Peter was chosen 
leader, was crowned, and publicly proclaimed " Czar of the 
Bulgarians and Greeks/' ^ At the same time an independent 
Patriarch was elected. At first the Bulgarians had great diffi- 
culty in securing their independence. Asen and his army were 
attacked by the Emperor and driven across the Danube, where- 
upon the latter returned in triumph to Constantinople. Aided 
by the Kumani, Asen rallied, and crossing the Balkans, invaded 
Thrace, but was again defeated by the Sevastokrator, John, who 
was, however, shortly afterwards recalled to the capital, and from 
that time forward success attended the Bulgarian arms. In 
1190 the Emperor Isaac attempted to cross the Balkans, but 
found the passes strongly fortified, and his troops were harassed 
and attacked at every available point. Showers of rocks and 
flights of arrows decimated the troops, and eventually, when the 
whole army was nearly destroyed, the Emperor beat a retreat, 
glad to escape with his life, and get back in safety to his capital. 
On this the Bulgarians assumed the offensive. Sofia was taken, 
and Asen with his army marched southward ; but in the midst 
of his triumphant career he was assassinated by Ivanko, one of 



^ Great confusion exists as to the number and names of the brothers Asen, as 
I mentioned in my former work. To give a further instance, Jirei^ek, who pro- 
fesses to be very accurate, and gives a genealogical table, says at p. 226, ** Peter 
was crowned Czar," &c. ; at page 229, " Thus fell John Asen ; " and on p. 230, 
"Peter undertook the government along with his brother Kalojan." Kalojan 
really is Kalo-Johann or John again. The first ruler was in all probability 
John Asen. Whilst I was at Timova, I found on inquiry from men conversant 
with the history of the country, that only a very general knowledge exists on 
the subject, and that details are untrustworthy. 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 43 

his Boyards, whom he had suspected of an intrigue with the 
sister of the Czarina, and had intended to kill. 

Another brother of the Asenidae now appears upon the scene, 
namely, Kalojan or Johannitz, and the two surviving brothers 
prevented Ivanko from mounting the throne, compelling him to 
take refuge amongst the Kumani. Peter (or John) was soon 
murdered, and then Johannitz reigned alone.^ This Prince had 
married a Rumanian, and, with that people as allies, he waged a 
successful war against the Eastern Emperor, Alexius III., and 
more than once appeared with his army before the walls of 
Constantinople. 

The two events of the greatest importance in the reign of 
Kalojan (about 1197 to 1207) were his alliance with Eome and 
his victories over and capture of the Eastern (Frank) Emperor, 
Baldwin. His arms had been so successful that he had once 
more extended the Bulgarian realm over a considerable part of 
the Balkan Peninsula, for it reached from Belgrade to the Black 
Sea, and from the Danube (indeed, in all probability, from the 
northern plains of that river) to the Eiver Vardar. But one 
thing was needed to give security to his throne, and that was 
the sanction of the Church, which everywhere exercised great 
influence over the State. From Constantinople he could not 
expect such a favour, for the Greeks were his bitterest enemies ; 
indeed, they regarded him and his race as usurpers of their 
territory, and he therefore appealed to Rome. More than 
once his emissaries tried to reach the Eternal City, but were 
intercepted by the Greeks and Hungarians, until at length 
Innocent III., hearing of the attempted missions, sent an envoy 
to him in the person of a Greek priest of Brindisi,^who appealed 
to him as the descendant of an old Roman line (he addressed 
Johannitz as a Roumanian) to submit himself and his people to 
the Apostolic Chair.^ After attributing the victories of Kalojan 
to the protection which God had afforded to him, the Pope goes 
on to say : — "We, when we heard that thy forefathers sprang 



* See preceding note. 

' In another place I have already given a full account of the correspondence, 
published in extenso by Lauriani, but, as it forms part of Bulgarian rather than 
Roumanian history, a further reference to it must be made here. 



44 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

from the noble city of Eome, and that thou didst not only inherit 
the nobility of their race, but also true humility towards the 
Apostolic Chair, had contemplated ere this to address thee in 
writing as well as by word of mouth through our Nuncios, but 
the cares of the Church have prevented us hitherto from carry- 
ing out our design, . . . and we have now sent to thee our 
beloved son Dominicus, Archpriest of Brundus," whom he 
required Johannitz to protect, and through him to send his 
complete submission to the Church. Whether on account of 
his nationality (he was a Greek), or from some other cause, the 
Bulgarian prince received the Nuncio with suspicion, but at 
length he sent the Pope a letter in which he styles himself 
" Calojohannes, Imperator Blacorum " (of the Wallachs) " et 
Bulgarorum," acknowledges the Pope's letter, and, after com- 
placently reciting and accepting all the flattering things which 
the latter had said about him, he goes on in a roundabout 
way to profess his desire and that of his subjects to become 
children in the bosom of the mother Church, and winds up 
with a request that a crown may be sent to him with an 
acknowledgment of his sovereignty. He also asks him to send 
a higher Nuncio, for he was not quite satisfied with the bond 
fide character of the bearer of the Pope's first letter. 

A further correspondence ensued, beginning with a letter 
from the Pope, in which he said he had searched the registers, 
and found that Michael (i.e., Boris), an ancestor of Kalojan, 
had indeed embraced Christianity, and that he had received 
from Pope Adrian a sub-deacon and some priests, but that, 
seduced by the bribes and promises of the Greeks, the Bulga- 
rians had driven them away and had taken Greek priests in 
their place. In consequence of this, he (Innocent) did not see 
his way to send a cardinal, but he sent his chaplain John with 
full power to " improve everything of a spiritual nature in the 
realm." He also sent by him a pallium for the Archbishop, and 
a Bull, which was to be promulgated by Kalojan, announcing 
the investiture ; indeed, the new Nuncio was empowered to 
ordain ecclesiastics of all ranks, and to substitute the Eoman 
for the Greek faith throughout the realm. The crown was, 
however, not sent at that time, as the Pope " had to institute 



THE TWO BULGARIAN EMPIRES. 45 

inquiries as to the exact position of the ancestors of Kalojan." 
Just as in the case of the first Christian Prince Boris or 
Michael, Kalojan found it politic, on secular grounds, to comply 
with the request of Innocent, and submit himself to the Apos- 
tolic Chair, and the Bull was accordingly published. 

The circumstances which expedited his decision were these : 
In the year 1203, the army of the Fourth Crusade, led by 
Dandolo, the Venetian Doge, appeared before the walls of Con- 
stantinople, and in the following year captured that city, and 
temporarily broke up the Greek Empire, Count Baldwin of 
Flanders having been crowned as the first Emperor of the 
Franks.! Terrified by their approach, Kalojan sought the 
alliance of the Crusaders, and offered to aid them before Con- 
stantinople with a large army, if they would acknowledge him 
as sovereign of Bulgaria. His offer was rejected, and when at a 
later period the Emperor Baldwin entered Thrace, and Kalojan 
again made friendly advances, he was told that he ought to 
approach the Emperor not as a prince, bat as a slave who had 
usurped the territory of his master. Just about that time, 
however, the Pope sent another envoy to Timova in the person 
of Cardinal Leo, this time the bearer of a crown and sceptre 
for Kalojan, who was crowned amidst great rejoicings about 
November 1204. He received along with his diadem a standard 
bearing the picture of St. Peter, and the right to coin money 
with his own likeness.^ At the same time an Archbishop or 
Primate and several bishops and minor ecclesiastics were in- 
stalled in Bulgaria. These proceedings are known as " Kalo- 
jan's Alliance/' 

It would have been better for the Frank Emperor if he had 
treated Kalojan with a little more respect and consideration, for 
in the following year the scattered Greeks solicited the aid of 



1 Hallam's "Middle Ages," vol. ii. p. 130-132, 12th edition, Murray, con- 
tains a graphic description of the city of Constantinople, and an account of the 
political events of the period. 

* Jirti6ek, p. 237, and Kaintz, vol. i.p. 160. Many of the coins of the Bulgarian 
Czars are preserved in the museums of Belgrade, Fhilippopolis, &c. They bear 
rude images of the Czar, and usually of his wife. Reference will be made to 
them hereafter. 



46 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

ibhe latter against the Franks, and he joyfully responded to their 
call. An encounter took place near Adrianople between the 
Greeks, Bulgarians, and Kumani (Kalojan had, as stated, mar- 
ried a Kumanian woman, and was in close alliance with the 
people), led by Kalojan and a brave Kumanian chief, and the 
Franks under Baldwin, the Emperor, when a portion of the 
Frank army, headed by the Count of Blois, was drawn into an 
ambuscade, and a complete rout of the Latins was the result. 
The Count of Blois and many knights were killed, and Baldwin 
himself was taken prisoner. The fate of the latter is buried in 
mystery. According to some historians he was well treated by 
Kalojan, whilst others say he caused him to be mutilated and 
buried alive. One thing is certain, he was kept a prisoner, 
probably in a castle, of which the ruins still remain, on the walls 
of Timova, and known as Baldwin's Tower ; ^ and almost equally 
certain it is that he died a violent death not long after his defeat 
before Adrianople. Shortly afterwards, when he had carried 
through one or two more successful military adventures, Kalo- 
jan was himself killed, it is said by his own general, a Kumanian, 
at the instigation of the Czarina. This man is said to have 
entered the Czar's tent at night, to have stabbed him whilst he 
was asleep, disappeared, and returned from an adjoining tent 
in answer to the cries of the wounded Czar. The wound was, 
however, fatal only on the following day, and not until the Czar 
had accused his general of his murder, which the latter strenu- 
ously denied. 

From the death of Kalojan until the year 1218 the throne of 
Bulgaria was occupied by a usurper, Boril, and nothing occurred 
during his reign to call for notice. In that year he in his turn 
was defeated and dethroned by John Asen IL, the son of one of 
the founders of the dynasty, who reigned from 1218 to 1241, 
and is regarded as the greatest of the Bulgarian Czars of the 
Second Empire. 

^ See initial letter and also the chapter on Timova in Part II. 



JOHN ASEN II. AND HIS TIMES. 47 



CHAPTER V. 

JOHN ASEN ir. (1218-1241) AND HIS TIMES THE FALL OF THE 

SECOND EMPIRE. 

The victories of John Asen II. over the Greeks — Capture of the Emperor — 
Eulogies of Asen's greatness — Zenith of the Bulgarian Empire — Return to 
the Greek Church — Election of a Patriarch — Timova, the capital — Its 
grandeur — The condition of society — The Bulgarians, Wallachs, Saxons, 
Greeks, &c. — Traders and trade with Ragusa, Venice, and Genoa — ^Rise of 
towns — Serfdom — Agriculture — ^The ruling classes — Court officials — Czarinas 
— Court extravagance — The alliances of John Asen II. — The extent of 
his realm — His death, 1241 a.d. — His immediate successors — Dissolution 
of his empire — The Tartar invasion — Ivajlo — Conquest of Bulgaria by 
Stephen Uros of Servia — King Dushan — His government of the Balkan 
Peninsula — His death (1365) — First appearance of the Turks in Bulgaria. 

THE long reign of John Asen II. is remarkable not so much 
for his victories over his enemies and the extension of 
his realm, although those were great, and he carried his arms 
successfully to the very gates of Constantinople,^ where the sur- 
rounding districts acknowledged his sway, but because during 
his reign his country took equal rank with other European 
powers of more ancient date. His own voice reaches us through 
the ages, for in a tablet or inscription, which will be found fully 
translated farther on, and which may still be seen in the Church 
of the Forty Martyrs at Timova, he himself tells us how he went 
forth in the twelfth year of his reign against the Greeks (who 



1 " The Latin Emperors of Constantinople were more contemptible and unfor- 
tunate, not so much from personal character as from political weakness, than their 
predecessors ; their vassals rebelled against sovereigns not more powerful than 
themselves; the Bulgarians, a nation who, after being long formidable, had 
been subdued by the imperial arms, and only recovered independence on the 
eve of the Latin conquest, insulted their capital." — Hallam, "Middle Ages^" vol. 
ii. p. 130-131. 



48 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

still maintained their hold on part of the Peninsula), conquering 
them and all their allies and neighbours, and how he took the 
Greek Emperor, Theodor Komnenos, prisoner, with all his 
nobles, and overran and subjected all lands held by the Greeks 
in Albania and Servia, and appeared before Constantinople, 
which was almost the sole remaining stronghold of the Franks 
in Europe, and that, although he did not capture the city, even 
the Franks acknowledged his sway. And his contemporaries of 
many nations have also sung his praises, including the chroni- 
clers of his own realm. An anonymous Bulgarian monk says 
concerning him : — " Johannes Asen, the great and pious Czar, 
son of the old Czar Asen, exalted the Bulgarian Empire with 
great devotion to the Almighty more highly than all his predeces- 
sors. He built monasteries, and adorned them with gold, pearls, 
and precious stones ; endowed all sacred and divine churches with 
many presents, and displayed towards them great generosity ; 
every rank of the hierarchy were the recipients of his benefits 
and honours, and he re-established the Patriarchate of the Bul- 
garian Empire." 

In connection with this eulogium, it should be mentioned 
that when Kalojan, his predecessor, had succeeded in obtaining 
his crown from Pope Innocent, and in conquering and capturing 
the Frank Emperor Baldwin, he gave himself little further 
trouble about the Papacy or the Church of Rome; and John 
Asen II., as it appears, reintroduced the Greek faith, which 
prevailed in Bulgaria amongst the Christian population down 
to the recent establishment of the National Church. 

But the benefits of his (John Asen*s) reign extended to all 
ranks and classes, secular as well as sacred. His capital, Tir- 
nova, was greatly beautified, and was the admiration of all by 
whom it was visited, and who pronounced it to be second only 
in grandeur to Constantinople. In the second part of this 
treatise we shall inspect some of the relics which bear witness 
to the mediaeval grandeur of the old Bulgarian capital ; but 
meanwhile we can only gather from the divergent and frag- 
mentary notices of writers of various dates that two high and 
extensive hills which constitute part of the city, and between 
which the River Jantra flows, were surrounded by fortified walls, 



JOHN ASEN II. AND HIS TIMES. 49 

composed partly of natural escarpments of limestone rock and 
partly of artificial stonework ; that upon those hills stood the 
palaces of the Czars and of the Primate or Patriarch, which are 
described much in the same strain as was the residence of 
Simeon at Preslava. Hammer, the historian of Turkey, quoting 
Hadji Chalfa (died 1658), says that in the sixteenth century 
" in the centre of the town there rises a hexagonal castle with 
six towers, built of hewn stone; the Jantra flows round the 
castle like a crescent, and two of the towers communicate with 
the river." One of these is no doubt Baldwin's Tower. Upon 
those two hills there are said to have been also beautiful gardens 
containing fruit-trees and flowers. Of the trees some traces 
remain, but generally speaking they are as bare as the summit 
of a Welsh or Derbyshire hill. The town surrounding those 
eminences is believed to have been founded by John Asen II., 
who also either beautified existing churches or built new ones in 
various parts of the city. But as a matter of fact, a ramble over 
the ruins of modem Timova, and an inspection of its existing 
buildings which have remained intact from the time of the Czars, 
will enable us to form a better idea of the vastness and grandeur 
of the ancient capital than even the most high-flown accounts 
of mediaeval chroniclers or of their modem successors, into whose 
descriptions the play of the imagination has freely entered. 
Compared with the surrounding States, and indeed with most 
European countries, Bulgaria must have attained at that time 
a much higher stage of civilisation than it enjoys in the present 
day. For its greatness and prosperity were not confined to the 
court and capital. Under John Asen and his immediate suc- 
cessors, agriculture, trade, and handicrafts flourished. The popu- 
lation consisted of Bulgarians and Wallachs, the latter in such 
numbers that, as we have seen, the monarchs styled themselves 
Czars of the Wallachians and Bulgarians ; of Greeks, who chiefly 
dwelt in the seaports; Saxons, who had crossed the Danube 
from Transylvania, where they had established colonies (and 
where they still constitute the most industrious and thrifty 
members of the community), and had entered Bulgaria proper 
through Servia; and Jews, who were spread over the whole 
country. The inland trade was carried on by and with the 



50 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Ragnsans, Venetians, and Genoese, chiefly, however, by the 
first-named, who enjoyed and granted the Bulgarians special 
trading privileges. In a treaty made with them by Michael 
Asen, 1253, it was decreed that the Bulgarian traders should 
be permitted, without paying toll or tax at gate, ford, or bridge, 
to enter the city of Ragusa and dispose of whatever they had 
for sale, and to purchase and bring away gold, silver, drapery, 
gold-embroidered stuflTs, or any other manufacture or product 
except grain, for which special permission was requisite ; and 
in like manner the merchants of Ragusa and the other towns 
named were permitted to establish guilds throughout Bulgaria, 
where they settled [in the towns, built churches, and dwelt 
unmolested with their wives, concubines, and children. They 
then already had Consuls, and the Venetian Consul lived in 
Varna. 

Towns sprang up or were enlarged, and a free burgher class 
existed ; but the mass of the population consisted of serfs, who 
were attached to the soil. Then, as now, great herds of cattle, 
sheep, and horses (the latter bred chiefly for warlike purposes) 
pastured upon the plains, and agriculture was largely followed. 

I have said that the serfs were attached to the soil, but in 
time they became chattels, the property of the princes and 
Boyards, and the free peasants, of whom many existed, became 
debtors from inability to pay taxes, and afterwards also serfs. 
These were sold and given away with estates, including even 
the lower order of priests, who were often vassals not only of 
the landed proprietors, but of monastic corporations. Slaves 
there were also, namely, barbarians captured in war. It is 
needless further to describe the system of vassalage, which, in 
its customs of forced labour, &c., closely resembled that which 
prevailed throughout Europe. In like manner, the ruling 
classes there, as elsewhere, existed in different degrees. There 
were greater and lesser Boyards, as in Wallachia (and as we had 
greater and lesser barons), who constituted the Imperial Council, 
presided over by the Czar, and who acted as a check upon his 
absolute rule. Many of these were semi-independent, and exer- 
cised unrestricted authority on their estates and in their own 
neighbourhood, where they resided part of the year; the re- 



JOHN ASEN II. AND HIS TIMES. 51 

maining portion was spent in Tirnova, the capital. Besides 
the last-named, important towns were Vidin, Sofia, Preslava, 
Sliven, Sredec, Great Nicopolis (at the junction of the Busica 
and Jantra rivers), Silistria, Varna, &c. 

Monasteries were numerous and richly endowed, that of Ryl, 
already referred to, being the chief, and the monastic orders, 
like the merchants of the three cities named, enjoyed special 
trading privileges. 

The officials of the court bore a close resemblance to those of 
Wallachia, and their titles were chiefly borrowed from Constan- 
tinople, indicating the duties which appertained to the oflSce ; 
as Protovestiar, Master of the Robes ; Protocomus, Master of the 
Horse ; Logothet, Minister of Justice, &c,^ The highest court 
official was the " Despot " (his wife, " Despotica "), the next the 
" Sevastocrator," ^ both these being usually (as in Constanti- 
nople), members of the royal house. 

The Czarinas were of all nationalities, and there appears to 
have been only one legitimate wife. Amongst them were eight 
Greeks, five Bulgarians, three Servians, two Wallachians, one 
Kumanian (the wife of Kalojan), one Hungarian, and one beau- 
tiful Jewess, for whom the Czar Alexander (1331-1365) divorced 
his wife Theodora, daughter of the Prince of Wallachia, who 
retired into a convent. The Jewish Czarina embraced Chris- 
tianity. 

The customs of the court were ostentatious and extravagant, 
and its hospitality unbounded. Especially were the marrias/e 
ceremonies gorgeous. One royal bride brought sixty horse-loads 
of gold, silver, silk, and other adornments as dowry, and each 
beast of burden was decked in red velvet, which trailed many 
feet behind. During his negotiations with the Papacy, Kalojan 
sent the Pope presents of great value. One mission (which did 
not reach him) was accompanied with gifts of gold, silver, silk, 
wax, horses, mules, and other valuables ; and we read of carousals 
on great state occasions lasting over several weeks. 

In this brief account of the condition of Bulgaria during the 

^ The Wallachian court officials have been described in " Roumania," p. 179. 
^ It will be remembered that the Sevastocrator struck one of the brothers Asen 
before the declaration of independence. 



52 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT, 

time of John Asen II., I have included some details which 
belong more properly to the reigns of his immediate successors, 
Kaliman and Michael ; the reason being, that from the time of 
his death down to the Turkish conquest, the influence and pros- 
perity of Bulgaria declined, and its territories diminished in 
extent, as rapidly as they had grown under him and his pre- 
decessors, and there is very little in the course of events during 
that period to interest English readers. 

Like many other Eastern rulers of his day in Hungary, Wal- 
lachia, Constantinople, and elsewhere, John Asen was constantly 
making and breaking alliances ; now with Bela, the great king 
of Hungary, then with Vatatz, ruler of Nice, who occupied one 
of the fast-dissolving territories of the Eastern Empire ; and 
again when it suited his views, with the Pope, in order if pos- 
sible to secure the possession of Constantinople ; but the only 
important outcome of these alliances was that they contributed 
to the fall of the Frankish rule in the last-named city, and 
facilitated the restoration of the Greek dynasty, which took 
place in 1261, when Michael Palaeologus resumed the sway at 
Constantinople.^ 

In 1241 died John Asen II. His youth, says Jirecek, was 
passed in exile, and his advent to the throne was surrounded 
with great difficulties, but after Simeon he was the greatest 
ruler Bulgaria ever had. His realm was washed by three seas, 
his alliances were made with all the surrounding great Powers, 
the State Church of his country was re-established, all sects 
were tolerated, edifices sprang up, trade flourished, and pros- 
perity reigned throughout the whole land.^ 

With the death of John Asen II. (1241 A.D.), the rule of the 
Asenide dynasty (and with it the second Bulgarian Empire) 
was practically at an end. His sons, Kaliman and Michael, 
followed in the course of sixteen years, and then their cousin, 
Kaliman II., a usurper, seized the throne, after murdering the 

1 Hallam, " Middle Ages," ii. 131. 

^ An excellent account of the condition of Bulgaria during the twelfth to the 
fifteenth centuries will be found in Jirecek, chap, xxv., where the mode of 
levying taxes, the names and value of coins, and other information is given in 
detail. 



JOHN ASEN II. AND HIS TIMES. 53 

second named ; but lie reigned only a few months, the last of 
the Asenidae, and was killed like his predecessor. During this 
brief period all the possessions of John II. had melted away, 
reverting to the Greek, Macedonian, and Servian rulers. Other 
Bulgarian chiefs followed, some of whom took the name of 
Asen ; and amidst the decline of the native power Tartar hordes 
invaded the countries north and south of the Danube. These 
were manfully resisted, not by the rulers of the country, but in 
the south by independent warlike adventurers. One of them, 
Ivajlo, is said to have been originally a shepherd, who gathered 
an army of free-lances about him and repelled the invaders. 
Growing in power, he attacked, routed, and killed the reigning 
prince, married his widow, and for a short time established his 
throne at Timova (about 1278). He was, however, soon dis- 
lodged in his turn, and took refuge with some tribal chief in 
the south of Russia, by whom he is said to have been assassi- 
nated. Ruler followed ruler, if the succession of pretenders 
can be so called, until one of these, Michael of Bydn (Vidin), 
waged an unsuccessful war against Servia. He met the king, 
Stephen Uros, at Kostendil (1330), where (the battle being 
known as that of Velbuzd), although the Bulgarians are said to 
have performed prodigies of valour, they were defeated. Michael 
was slain, and the Servian king marching to Timova, received 
the homage of the Bulgarian nobility. Although a nominal 
king was permitted to Bulgaria, the country practically fell 
under Servian rule, and the successor of Stephen Uros, King 
Dushariy extended his realm almost as widely as John Asen II., 
assuming the title of " Czar and Autocrat of the Servians, Greeks, 
Bulgarians, and Albanians." Trade recovered throughout the 
land, order prevailed, a code of laws was instituted based upon 
the edicts of the older rulers ; but during the reign of Dushan, 
and in all for, a quarter of a century, Bulgaria was a mere 
dependency of Servia. 

About the year 1353 a new Power, the Ottomans, made their 
appearance in Bulgaria, and after the death of Stephen Dushan 
(1355), that people gradually overran and took possession of 
the country. 



54 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER VL 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 

Advent of the Turks in Europe — Extension of their power into Bulgaria — Defeat 
of the Christians at Kosovo pole by Bajazet I. — Fall of Tirnova — Fate of the 
inhabitants — The Patriarch Euthemiua — His exile — Capture and death of 
disman — Complete subjection of Bulgaria — The great battle of Nicopolis — 
Destruction of the Frank army, 1396 — Fall of Constantinople, 1453 — Absence 
of records during Turkish rule in Bulgaria — Name changed to Rumelia — 
The Government — Oppressive taxes — Conscriptions for the army — Forced 
contributions and rape of girls — Tyranny of the military and of the Begs — 
Continuance of oppression down to the Russo-Turkish War — Anecdotes of 
Turkish arrogance and debauchery of the young Begs — Extortion of officials — 
The Phanariote priests and ecclesiastics — Their extortion and corruption — The 
Phanar — Sale of offices — Immorality of the priesthood — Bulgarian priests 
to-day — Charges against them — Semi-independence of the mountaineers — 
Their raids into the plains — Brigandage — Revenge upon the Turks for Chris- 
tian wrongs — Fate of a young Turkish nobleman — " Robin Hood " in the Bal- 
kans — Osman of Vidin and his history — His raids and conflicts with the Porte 
— Takes service under the Government — Death, 1807 — Condition of Bulgaria 
after the Crimean War — Increased cruelty and oppression by the Turks — 
Revival of national education and literature — ^The first Bulgarian school at 
Gabrovo — Aprilov and Neofyt — The struggle for religious freedom — Founda- 
tion of the Bulgarian National Church — The Greeks and the ** Schismatics " 
— The Mohammedans and the Bulgarians — ^Their amicable relations. 

ABOUT the middle of the fourteenth century a section of the 
Greeks, who still retained power in the Balkan Peninsula, 
invited as allies a Turkish tribe, who had settled in Bithynia, to 
cross over into Europe. Of this invitation they eagerly availed 
themselves, and, either under Amurath ^ or under Suleiman the 
son of Orchan,^ a band of Ottomans first set foot' on the Euro- 
pean mainland, and planted themselves in the neighbourhood of 
Constantinople. Thence they carried their arms throughout 
the peninsula, captured Adrianople, in which city the Sultan 

1 Hallam, ii. 132. a Jirecek, p. 308. 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 55 

Mnrad took up his residence about 1365 ; and in the course 
of about twenty-five years they reduced the greater part of 
Bulgaria, Albania, and Thrace under subjection. Eallying 
themselves for a supreme effort, the remaining Danubian peoples 
formed an alliance, and in the year 1389 the battle of Amsel 
(Kosovo pole) was fought between the Turks under Bajazet I. 
(his father having been assassinated before the fight) and a 
Christian army consisting of Servians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, 
and Wallachians from beyond the Danube. The Christians 
were completely defeated, and after the battle Bajazet returned 
in triumph to Adrianople, where he is said to have indulged in 
every kind of excess. Shortly afterwards Bajazet made an 
incursion across the Danube into Wallachia, aided, it is said, 
by a Bulgarian renegade leader, a " Shishman ; " but the brave 
Voivode Mir9ea repelled the invasion, and drove the Turks 
back into Bulgaria.^ Meanwhile the whole of that country was 
being rapidly subdued. In 1393 Timova was besieged, and 
occupied after a three months' investment. The priests were 
driven from the churches, the sacred elements cast to the dogs ; 
churches were converted into mosques, stables, and baths (just 
as mosques have recently been converted into churches, printing- 
offices, and gaols !). The forts and palaces of the '' Hissar " land 
" Trapezitz '* (the two hills already referred to) were set in 
flames and destroyed, and plunder and outrage followed the 
capture of the city. The Patriarch Euthemius for a time suc- 
ceeded in mollifying the fury of the conquerors, and he was 
treated with respect by the commander-in-chief (probably 
Bajazet's son). As soon, however, as the latter had retired, and 
the city was left in the hands of a governor, this one renewed 
the slaughter and excesses. Euthemius himself was imprisoned, 
and at first condemned to death, but afterwards (putting aside 
legendary accounts of his escape from death) he was driven out 
of the city and became a wanderer in Macedonia. Priests and 
laymen who possessed wealth or rank were exiled to the East, 
and the Mussulman faith and rule permanently established. 

^ "Roumania," p. 165. Mirgea was, however, obliged to become a Turkish 
vassal after the battle of Nicopolis, referred to in the text. 



56 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

After the fall of Timova, in the pithy sentence of an Eastern 
chronicler, " Bajazid caught Sisman, the ruler of the Bulgarians, 
and killed him in the year 6903, and at that time the Turks 
took the whole land of the Bulgarians." 

It is necessary now to say a few words concerning the battle of 
Nicopolis (1396), which decided the fate not alone of Bulgaria, 
but of all the Christian States of South-Eastern Europe. After 
the defeat of the Christians at Kosovo pole, alarm at the Turkish 
advance spread throughout Europe, and hundreds of emissaries 
were sent from all the Eastern Christian States to solicit Western 
aid. A powerful army was organised under the command of 
King Sigismund of Hungary, and after capturing some of the 
fortresses on the Danube, it was met at Nicopolis by a superior 
force under Bajazet.^ The Christian army comprised the flower 
of the nobility of Europe, embracing knights with their follow- 
ing from Burgundy, France, Nuremberg, Bavaria, Suabia, and 
Styria; also Knights of St. John and other Christian orders, 
with contingents from Servia, Transylvania, and Wallachia, the 
last under Voivode Mirqea, who is said to have deserted to the 
Turks when he found the tide of victory setting in favour of 
their arms. The first onslaught by the Christian army, which 
was divided into a centre and two wings, was completely suc- 
cessful, and about 15,000 Janissaries and Spahis are said to 
have been slain. Flushed with victory, the Christian knights 
descended from their horses to mount an eminence in pursuit of 
the fleeing Turks, but when they arrived on the summit, they 
found themselves confronted by the flower of Bajazet's army, 
which he had kept in reserve under his own command, and which 
numbered, according to some chroniclers, upwards of 40,000 
men. From that moment the fate of the Christians was decided. 
The Turks assumed the ofiensive, and although the Christian 
knights fought with their accustomed valour, their ranks were 
soon thrown into confusion, and a rout followed. Many of the 
leaders, along with the bulk of their followers, fell upon the 



^ There has long been a controversy as to the place at which this battle was 
fought. Some writers say it was at Nicopolis on the Danube, others at " Great 
Nicopolis," now a wretched village, near the junction of the Jantra and Kusica 



rivers. 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 57 

field of battle ; others, with many prisoners, were heartlessly 
murdered on the following day; the more wealthy and influ- 
ential nobles were ransomed for large sums of money, and 
Sigismund escaped with difficulty back into his own kingdom. 
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 completed the Turkish vic- 
tories, and firmly established the Ottoman rule in Europe. 

For more than three and a half centuries Bulgaria had no 
history, or at least no historical records worthy of the name, 
and the fanaticism of her rulers during that period 'destroyed 
many documents which would have thrown light upon her 
earlier history. We shall find traces of this Vandalism when . 
we come to visit the churches of Timova. The very name of 
the country was changed ; it was Rumelia, a Turkish province, 
divided into sanjaks, which were governed by Begs, and who in 
their turn were supposed to be under the authority of a Begler- 
Beg, resident in Sofia. As a matter of fact, however, the petty 
governors were in many cases semi-independent, and were often 
Bulgarian Christians who had become converts to Islamism. 
The soil of the country became to a large extent the property 
of Turkish lords, who levied a tax of one-third of the produce. 
The taxes and imposts were otherwise onerous — the haratsch, 
a poll-tax of a ducat per head per annum ; a tenth of the 
products of the soil; forced labour; and, above all, "free-will 
gifts " to Pashas and Begs. But these were not the worst 
phases of Turkish rule. Whilst the corps of Janissaries existed, 
every fifth male child was forced into the Turkish military 
service, and young girls were carried off by thousands to fill the 
harems of the conquerors, or otherwise minister to their lusts. 
The Mohammedans were the privileged governing class, and 
the haughty bearing of their troops, which marched to and fro 
in the country, their tyranny and extortions, so cowed the 
Christian population, that in the course of time they became 
timid serfs, just as in Wallachia. Many escaped death or the 
loss of property by embracing Islam, and in later years it was 
not uncommon for parents voluntarily to send their daughters 
into the harems of the Begs, so that they might themselves 
be able to appeal to them for protection against the tyranny 



58 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

of minor oflBcials. Without reference to the periods of revolt 
and insurrection, which justified still greater lust and cruelty 
in the eyes of the conquerors, it is a fact that this was the state 
of affairs even down to a very recent period. Whilst I was 
at Philippopolis, I met on several occasions a gentleman, still 
comparatively young, who described what he knew personally 
of the relations between the two races before the Russo- 
Turkish war. He was a gentleman who had risen from a com- 
paratively humble station, and during his earlier life he had 
seen instances without number of the arrogant bearing of the 
Turks towards the poorer rayahs. It was not at all an unusual 
thing, he said, for a number of young Begs, or men of station, 
to make an excursion into some neighbouring village, order 
the girls to be brought out to dance for their amusement, and 
afterwards to compel them to spend the night with them in 
debauchery. Respectable girls fled in terror when a Turk 
entered a Christian village or house ; they blackened their 
faces and resorted to various devices to make themselves 
repulsive. As the hour of liberation approached, the rela- 
tives or friends of maltreated girls retaliated, and, as in 
Ireland, seducers and tyrants were often assassinated. He 
told me of one circumstance which appeared to me so ludi- 
crous and incredible, that I doubted it until another Eastern 
friend, who is well acquainted with the Turks and their ways, 
assured me that it was a common occurrence. A Beg, or 
Turkish ofiicial of some kind, walked into the house of a relative, 
I believe the father of my acquaintance, and requested him to 
prepare a meal for him. This was done at once, and an excellent 
repast was placed before the intruder, who, however, waited for 
something farther and did not begin eating. The host, if his 
enforced entertainer could be so called, said, " Will not my lord 
partake of the good things which I have prepared for him ? " 
" Certainly not," said the Turk ; " first I must have my tooth- 
money " (I forget the technical name for it) ; " do you suppose 
I am going to wear out my teeth for nothing ? " As I said, 
this was not long before the vision of independence, and the 
host was disinclined to bleed any farther ; so he said, " I don't 
understand you, my lord ; but I will fetch the Kmet (Mayor), 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 59 

who will explain." He hastily departed, and shortly returned 
with the Kmet, having no doubt told him whilst he was absent 
what had occurred. The Turk was still waiting for his " tooth- 
money," and had not begun his meal. " What is it my lord 
desires ? " asked the Kmet ; " is not the food to your liking ? " 
" Yes," said the Turk, " I daresay it is all right ; but tell that 
fellow to pay me my tooth-money." " Your tooth-money !" said 
the Kmet, coming close up to him, and putting his fist in the 
face of the Turk ; " if you are not satisfied with what is put before 
you, you will have this for tooth-money." The Turk rose without 
tasting the food, and left the house, saying to the two men, 
" You shall sufier for this insolence." But they neither heard 
nor saw anything more of him. 

Nor was it from their Moslem conquerors alone that the 
people of Bulgaria had to sufier exactions and oppression. The 
Greek Phanariotes, who in Wallachia secured the highest dvil 
posts by bribery and corruption, succeeded by the same means 
in obtaining clerical or ecclesiastical offices in Bulgaria. 

I have given elsewhere at considerable length a history of the 
Phanariotes and their doings north of the Danube,^ but a few 
words concerning them must be added in this place. It is well 
known that they occupied a quarter of Constantinople called 
the Phanar ; that they were enterprising and learned as com- 
pared with the Mohammedan rulers and chiefs, and that many 
of thena from being menials rose to the highest offices in the 
State. What their moral character was in after years may be 
gathered from an account which is given of them by the Prussian 
Ambassador in Constantinople in 1779 ; and as it would lose by 
translation, I prefer to transcribe the original : " Le quartier 
est la demeure de ce qu'on appelle la noblesse grecque, qui 
vivent tous aux depenses des princes de Moldavie et de Valachie. 
C'est une university de toutes les scel^ratesses, et il n'existe pas 
encore de langue assez riche pour donner des noms k toutes 
celles qui s'y committent. Le fils y apprend de bonne heure a 
assassiner si adroitement son pfere pour quelque argent, qu'il ne 
saurait Itre poursuivi. Les intrigues, les cabales, Thypocrisie, 

^ " Roumania/* p. 208 et seq. 



60 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

la trahison, la perfidie, surtout Tart d'extorquer de Targent de 
toutes mains y sont enseign^s methodiquement." i It is not to 
be wondered at, if youths learned at an early age to assassinate 
their fathers for money without fear of detection, and were in- 
structed in all the arts of extortion, that they should become 
adepts in those arts when they attained manhood and found 
a field for enterprise in a conquered State. The high places in 
the Church in Bulgaria were openly sold to them by the Porte, 
and the purchase-money with interest was recovered from the 
unfortunate flocks to whose spiritual welfare they ministered. 
Cooks and barbers, and Kafedzis (coffee-makers) and Chibukdzis, 
(pipe-fillers) became bishops ; and it is said that the cost of 
the Patriarchate varied at different times from 5000 to 150,000 
ducats. Practically all the clerical posts were sold to the 
highest bidder. In about 400 years there were 140 Patriarchs, 
which means that before one had time to recover his " purchase- 
money " and line his purse, intrigues in Constantinople (just as 
in the case of the Phanariote princes in Wallachia and Moldavia) 
led to his deposition, and the office was sold to his successor. 
The clergy, even the highest of them, are charged not only with 
extortion and tyranny, but with every species of immorality, 
and some of the bishops are said to have led lives of drunken- 
ness and debauchery. They treated their priests as menial 
servants, compelled them to fetch firewood, draw water, and 
groom their horses ; and it was no uncommon occurrence for a 
bishop to strike one of his priests at the altar. 

The Bulgarian clergy are still accused of drunkenness and 
dissolute living, but I think the charge, like all such accusations 
against an entire class, is too general. In moving through the 
country I had frequent opportunities of noticing the priests, 
especially in the smaller towns, and I made a point not only of 
looking at them, but of inquiring into their habits. The faces 
of some of the older ones as they trudge along the road suffi- 
ciently justify a portion of the charge, but there are many 
energetic priests, both young and old, who perform their duties 

^ Zinkeisen, Geschichte des Osmanischen ReicJieSy vi. 252. The reader should 
peruse Marc Zallony, **Essai sur les Phanariotes/' Marseilles, Kicard, 1824, for 
a full account of the Phanariotes. 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 61 

well, arid lead as exemplary lives as the clergy of any denomi- 
nation in any land. 

Although the spirit of the nation was broken by the Turkish 
conquest and subsequent rule, it was not entirely extinguished, 
and in the mountainous districts the people managed to retain 
a kind of semi-independence. The taxes were lighter, and in 
return for accorded privileges, auxiliaries were voluntarily sent 
to support the Turkish arms in their foreign wars. But this 
semi-independence was of doubtful advantage to the inhabitants 
of the plains, into which the mountaineers descended for purposes 
of plunder. A curious state of aflTairs, however, often resulted from 
this anarchy. When the peasantry and the inoffensive populace 
generally were maltreated by the Turkish Begs or other officials, 
they appealed to the brigands, Haiduts, Kirdjalis, or by what- 
- ever name they were known, for protection or revenge. We 
read in one place of a young Turkish nobleman who had been 
guilty of the greatest cruelty and excesses — had committed 
rapes on the wives and daughters of the peasantry, captured 
and sold children — entering a village on horseback surrounded 
by his retinue all decked in silk and gold. He had not pro- 
ceeded far when a band of Haiduts, led by a well-known chief, 
sprang from places of concealment, pulled the Beg from his 
horse, broke his arms and legs, and struck off his head, which 
was fixed on a spear and carried in triumph in front of the 
band as it retired from the village. Many similar instances 
are recorded of brigand chiefs with their followers leading a 
kind of Robin Hood life in the mountains. Some of them 
became so formidable that the Porte was obliged to take them 
into its service and recognise their authority. One illustration 
must suflSce, namely, that of Osman Pasvanoglu, the indepen- 
dent Pasha of Vidin, who lived during the latter half of the last 
century. He was born about the middle of the century, and his 
first experience as a young man was the murder of his father by 
a Turkish official at Vidin ; whereupon he left the town and 
adopted a brigand life in the mountains of Albania, Tired of 
that life, he took service under the Porte at the head of a troop 
of volunteers ; but his power grew so rapidly that he exercised 
an almost independent rule, and the formidable forces which he 



62 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

had at his command roamed about the comitry fighting and 
plundering to their hearts' content, so that it was unsafe for 
travellers, even ecclesiastics, to move about from place to place. 
Many vain attempts were made by the Porte to reduce him to 
submission ; large armies were sent against him, but they were 
driven back discomfited, and it was not dntil he felt his power 
beginning to wane that he again offered his services to the 
Sultan in his war with Servia. They were accepted, and he 
was confirmed in the possession of his Pashalik at Vidin. He 
died in 1807; and about that time a small army of Turkish 
regular troops succeeded in breaking up and dispersing the 
formidable bands of brigands which infested various parts of 
Bulgaria and the neighbouring States. About brigands and 
brigandage I shall have a few words to say in the Second Part 
of this treatise. 

The political position of Bulgaria as it was affected by the 
struggles between Eussia and Turkey (which I have described 
elsewhere ^), difiered in some respects from that of the Princi- 
palities north of the Danube. In what is now Roumania the 
Turkish rule had never been so fully established as in Bulgaria ; 
in fact, the Hospodars who ruled in the former country for some 
time after the treaty of Adrianople (1829) were under Russian 
protection, and Russian influence was predominant in Roumania 
until after the Crimean War. On the other hand, in Bulgaria, 
which was farther from the Russian centre of operations, the 
tyrannical power of the Porte still prevailed, and the temporary 
relief afforded during a war in which the Russian forces pressed 
down towards Constantinople, the aid and countenance given to 
their fellow-Slaves by the Bulgarians, the hopes of liberation 
that were raised at the conclusion of a peace, and the risings 
which resulted after the desertion — or it would be more correct 
to say the retirement — of the Russians, only led to a more vin- 
dictive retaliation and the infliction of greater cruelties and 
excesses by the dominant race when they had no longer any 
cause to apprehend interference from their formidable Northern 
enemy. Thus it was that, after the conclusion of the Crimean 



1 tt 



Roumania/' p. 215 et scq. 



THE TURKISH RULE IN BULGARIA. 63 

War, which brought with it emancipation from Ottoman rule 
for the Principalities north of the Danube, the condition of 
Bulgaria was worse than before, and that for nearly twenty 
years she continued to languish in Turkish fetters, and when 
she revolted was scourged with whips of scorpions. 

But throughout this period of trial a new force was silently 
at work in the country, which did more to animate the spirit of 
patriotism than foreign aid or the hope^ which it engendered in 
the ,minds of the people — I mean the revival of national educa- 
tion. As far back as the middle of the eighteenth century a 
monk of Athos, Paisins, published a " Slaveno-Bulgarian His- 
tory of the Bulgarian Nation, Czars, and Saints," and this, 
with kindred productions, fostered a strong spirit of animosity 
against the Turkish rule. The pupils of Paisius continued to 
disseminate Sclavonic literature, and the result was a desire for 
native schools. When we visit Gabrovo, we shall have an oppor- 
tunity to judge of the importance of that movement, for it was 
there that the first Bulgarian school was opened, through the 
generosity and patriotism of a wealthy trader, Aprilov, in the 
year 1835. It was there, too, that a young monk, Neophytus, 
gathered round him, as its first director, over a hundred scholars, 
most of whom afterwards became liiissionaries to foster educa- 
tion throughout Bulgaria, and, as we shall find, it is there that 
some of the leading youth of Bulgaria are still prepared for 
active life and public service. With the revival of literature 
and a knowledge of the past history of the country came the 
determination to "be rid of the Phanariote priesthood and a 
desire to found a National Church. An account of the struggle 
for religious freedom between the Bulgarians and the Greek 
hierarchy, although very important to those whom it nearly 
affected, would have little interest for English readers, and it 
must suflSce to say that the Greek Patriarch and hierarchy 
at Constantinople for a long time opposed the appointment of 
high Bulgarian ecclesiastics, in which they were aided by the 
Porte ; but that at length, by a firman given in 1870, the Bul- 
garians were allowed to have an Exarch or Metropolitan of their 
own choosing, whose appointment has to be confirmed by the 
Saltan. The Greeks still regard the Bulgarians as schismatics, 



64 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT, 

and this religious diflFerence, as well as the idea that they (the 
Bulgarians) stand in the way of the Greek extension of territory, 
may serve to account for a regrettable feeling of animosity which 
still animates the Greek community in Bulgaria against their 
fellow-citizens. Regrettable indeed it is, for the Mohammedans 
(the Bulgarian Mohammedans, I should say, for they are not 
Turks in national sentiment), who have far greater cause for 
harbouring ill-will, are now living on terms of cordiality with 
their Christian fellow-subjects; and one or two instances of 
delicacy and consideration shown by the latter towards the 
Mussulman population which occurred whilst I was on my tour 
of observation have left a very pleasant impression upon my 
mind. But we must return to a less pacific period in the inter- 
course of the two nations. 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 



65 



CHAPTER VIL 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 



Events which preceded the Russo-Turkish War— Revolt in Bulgaria— The " Bui- 
garian Atrocities "—Mr. Gladstone's pamphlet— The Czar Alexander the 
Liberator — Action of the Tory Government — Mr. Gladstone*s views — Ter- 
giversation of the Porte- Russian declaration of war against Turkey (April 
1877) — The alliance between Russia and Roumania— Russian ingratitude to 
Roumania the salvation of Bulgaria — Devotion of the Bulgarians — Incidents 
of the campaign— A brave Bulgarian boy — Condition of the country during 
the war— The defence of the Shipka Pass— The Bulgarian contingent— The 
events of the war and its results for Bulgaria— The Treaties of San Stefano 
and Berlin— Stipulations of the last-named as regarded Bulgaria — Limits of 
the Principality — Action of the Russians subsequent to the ratification — The 
Russianising of Bulgaria — The stipulations concerning Eastern Roumelia — 
Limits of the province — Turkish indifference regarding its government — The 
political rank of the two States. 



PEN of Mr. Gladstone and the sword 
of the Emperor Alexander — not the 
present one — his father, the liberator 
of the Eussian serfs — severed the chain 
which for more than four centuries had 
fettered the liberties of Bulgaria. The 
causes which led to the Russo-Turkish 
War of the last decade, and the chief 
events which preceded it, must still be fresh in the minds of 
most of my readers. During the year 1875, when a rising 
took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by one in Bul- 
garia in 1876 and in the early part of 1877, the Powers of 
Europe were occupied with pourparlers, conferences, and proto- 
cols, the objects of which were, so far as Turkey was concerned, 
to compel her to grant religious freedom and relief from exces- 
sive taxation to her Christian subjects in the Balkan Peninsula ; 

£ 




66 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

on the part of Bussia, to give her an opportunity to regain her 
military prestige, damaged by the Crimean War ; to enable her 
to lend a helping hand to the oppressed Slave races ; but before 
all, to justify another step in the direction of Constantinople ; 
and as it regarded ourselves, or rather the Tory Government of 
the day, to maintain the integrity of the Ottoman Empire and 
keep open our road to India, without a breach of the jJeace of 
Europe, but also without due regard to the terrible sufferings 
which were being inflicted upon the subject races of Turkey ; 
whilst Mr. Gladstone availed himself of the course of events to 
demand autonomy for Bulgaria, as he had helped to secure free- 
dom for Boumania, and to overthrow his own political oppo- 
nents and occupy their place. 

The chief events which occurred during the period above 
referred to were, besides the risings in the Turkish dependencies, 
to which Servia lent her assistance ; a war between the latter 
country and Turkey, wherein a large number of Bussian volun- 
teers took part ; the fanatical murder by the Turks of the German 
and French Consuls at Salonica; the mission of the British 
fleet to Besika Bay, intended for the protection of the Christians, 
but which the Porte adroitly construed into a movement on the 
part of Great Britain (as it probably was to some extent) to 
keep Eussia in check ; and finally, the well-known " Bulgarian 
Atrocities." The last-named event, of which the representatives 
of foreign courts in Constantinople, including our own, either 
were or professed to be ignorant, consisted in the massacre by 
the irregular troops of the Porte of over 15,000 Christian men, 
women, and children, under the most revolting conditions of 
lust and cruelty, for the purpose of striking terror into the 
population and suppressing the revolt. Those massacres, which 
were revealed to a horrified world by the correspondents of the 
JJnglish press and by Mr. Schuyler, the American Consul in 
Constantinople, were fully avenged (notwithstanding all that 
has been said to the contrary) by the equally irregular forces of 
Bulgaria on the advent of the Eussians ; but our chief affair 
with them here is their bearing upon the subsequent war and 
the liberation of the country from the Ottoman rule. 

A careful study of the events of the time, of the declarations 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 67 

of Governments and individuals in high places, and of printed 
documents, not the least Mr. Gladstone's famous pamphlet on 
the " Bulgarian Horrbrs,"^ will, if I mistake not, lead to certain 
well-defined conclusions on the part of future historians. First, 
that the desire of the great Emperor Alexander II. was to ex- 
tend to the Sclavonic races of Turkey the same freedom as he 
had, at great risk to himself, conferred on the serfs of his own 
country, but that, personally, he was very loth to draw the 
sword even with that object ; and let me here add, that until 
his deplorable assassination by his own subjects, that seems to 
have been the mainspring of his subsequent actions. Secondly? 
that the Tory Government was faithfully carrying out the policy 
of this country, for which many thousand lives and a hundred 
millions of money had been sacrificed in the Crimea, and that, 
so far as it concerned the designs of the Eussian war-party, 
which, through Turkish obduracy, ultimately prevailed, they 
fairly appreciated, and are certainly not to be blamed for seeking 
to counteract them ; and lastly, that whilst Mr. Gladstone's love 
of liberty, his trust in the promises and declarations of the great 
and good Czar, and the actual position of aSairs in the East at 
that time quite justified his denunciations of Turkey, his trust- 
ing disposition and impetuosity led him to propound a policy 
which appeared to favour Russian aggression. Persons who 
then read his pamphlet, under the influence of the feelings of 
horror engendered by the accounts of f^ the wholesale murders, 
rapes, tortures, burnings, and the whole devilish enginery of 
crime," were likely to be guided by sentiment rather than rea- 
son, and would probably overlook his advice "to emulate Russia 
by sharing her good deeds, and to reserve our opposition until 
she shall visibly endeavour to turn them to evil account." ^ 

Unfortunately, the misdeeds and endeavours of the great 
aggressive Northern Power are not always "visible;" but 1 
hope that in this instance they have been suflSciently so for Mr. 
Gladstone's keen perception, and that he, too, is of the same 
opinion as the world in general, that " Russia likes Bulgaria, 
but not the Bulgarians ! " 

1 Published by John Murray, 1876. ^ Pamphlet, p. 30. 



68 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

The policy of the Porte, which finally justified the separate 
action of Russia, was to deny or minimise the injustice and 
cruelty which were charged against her impotent rule in her 
Christian dependencies, and to avail herself of the jealousies 
and difierences between the European Powers, to evade all re- 
forms and every serious proceeding for ameliorating the con- 
dition of her subject races. When the Powers appeared to be 
unanimous and in any way determined, she made promises 
which she had no intention to perform; when they showed 
signs of weakness, she openly set them at defiance. At length, 
under a feeble protest from the British Government, but with 
the tacit consent of the other Powers, the Czar declared war 
against the Porte on the 24th April 1877, and marching his 
armies into her territory, he was shortly afterwards joined by 
Boumania, acting very reluctantly for the preservation of her 
own liberties. As I have already described at considerable 
length elsewhere the part which Roumania took in the war, 
indeed the events of the war generally,^ and as it is not 
my intention to make any further reference to that Power, I 
beg the reader to excuse a short digression on this part of 
the subject. 

It has always appeared to me that it is to Roumania quite as 
much as to Russia that the Bulgarians owe their enfranchise- 
ment from* Ottoman rule. Possibly if the Roumanians had 
not acted as their allies, if they had not led them to victory at 
Plevna, and if Prince Charles of Roumania had not been the 
commander-in-chief of the allied armies, the Russians might, 
notwithstanding the numerous defeats which they sustained 
fi'om the Turkish arms, eventually have proved the victors; 
but it is more than questionable whether they would have 
been able to enforce such favourable conditions for Bulgaria 
and the other Balkan States as they afterwards did at San 
Stefano. And whether or not Roumanian aid was instru- 
mental in snatching Bulgaria from the grasp of Turkey, 
Roumanian sacrifices have certainly since helped to save her 
from the clutches of Russia. Of course, the reader is well 



1 u 



Roumanian" p. 235-255. 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 69 

aware that after the war was over the Eussians requited Rou- 
mania for her services by demanding the cession of Bessa- 
rabia north of the Danube, and tendering in exchange the 
Dobrudscha on the south. For some time the courageous little 
State resisted the Bussian demand, until a corpS'd*arm4e under 
General Ehmroth (the person who was recently designated 
as a Eussian envoy to " restore order " in Bulgaria !) was in- 
structed to commence offensive operations against Bucharest. 
Eoumania then yielded to superior force, and the exchange 
was made. Now, if the reader will kindly look at the map, he 
will find that, in committing this ^t of injustice against a 
people who had saved her honour, Eussia placed a barrier 
between herself and Bulgaria which has presented a formid- 
able obstacle to the accomplishment of her aggressive designs 
upon that State. Had the Dobrudscha remained Eussian 
territory, it would have been an excellent gathering-ground 
for " emigrants," — traitors who have accepted Eussian gold, 
but have been driven out of Bulgaria, — and her troops 
would have occupied a position favourable for an entrance 
into that country. But whilst Eussia proposes a Higher Power 
disposes; 

In a military sense, the help afforded by Bulgaria in the 
war was compamtively unimportant. Her army was not yet 
organised, and it was only in her subsequent campaign against 
Servia that she won her spurs. Indirectly, however, her aid to 
the allies was invaluable. Everywhere they were received as 
friends and liberators : Bulgarian men, women, and children 
furthered their progress, serving as guides, keeping their 
presence secret from the enemy, and misleading the latter as 
to their movements. On one occasion, says an eye-witness, 
two hundred Cossacks were working for three days on a road 
over which the Eussian troops were to pass, "the Bulgarian 
peasantry coming and going all the time freely, but the Turks 
never got a whisper of their presence." ^ In the fighting 
in the Shipka Pass, another war-correspondent tells us, the 
Bulgarian peasant boys displayed great gallantry " by going 

^ " War-Correspondence of the DaUy News" vol. i. p. 264. Macmillan. 



70 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

down into the actual fight, into the first line, with stone crocks 
full of water for the fighting men " (Russian). " This water 
was fetched fi:om far in the rear, along a bullet-swept road, for 
there is no water on the position itself. One lad had his crock 
smashed by a bullet as he passed me, and he wept, not for joy 
at his fortunate escape, but for sorrow at the loss of the article 
which enabled him to be of service." ^ 

As I have already said, the retaliatory acts of the Bulgarians, 
whieh I was told were committed chiefly by the mountaineers, 
who had escaped the Turkish massacres, were as savage as those 
of the Turks had been before the war ; but all eye-witnesses 
agree in absolving the peaceful inhabitants from any charge of 
cruelty after the war had commenced. They plundered deserted 
houses, and it may be houses that were not deserted, but there 
are few records of homicide. On the other hand, the Turks con- 
tinued to treat the Bulgarians as rebels, and numbers of them 
were executed to strike terror into the people, and prevent them 
from siding with the Russians. The whole country suflFered 
under the curse of the war. The roads were crowded with Turks 
fleeing from their homes ; Bulgarians escaping from the Turkish 
legions, or following those of the allies for protection, and the 
Russian soldiers are said to have behaved with great humanity 
and tenderness to the wretched fugitives. 

I have said that the aid rendered by the Bulgarians in this 
war was unimportant, but it must not be supposed that their 
co-operation was wanting, or that they behaved otherwise than 
bravely. It is true they appeared to disadvantage by the side 
of the trained forces of Russia and Roumania, but their services 
were considerably enhanced by their knowledge of the localities. 
During General Gourko's operations in the Balkans he was 
accompanied by a Bulgarian legion (seven battalions, num- 
bering about 5000), who rendered great service in securing and 
retaining the passes ; and in an encounter near Eski Zagra they 
lost 1200 out of a force of 1600 men. In the defence of the 
Shipka Pass they played an important part, holding their ground 
with great pertinacity, and it was there chiefly that they dis- 

1 " War- Correspondence of the Daily News,'' vol. i. p. 415. Macmillan. 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 71 

played that courage and 4lan whereby they subsequently won 
their laurels at Slivnitza. 

The general course of events during the war, so far as it 
affected Bulgarian territory, is well known. The passage of the 
Danube by the Russians (June 1877) ; their occupation of Tir- 
nova, and the passage of the Balkans (July) ; the occupation of 
Kezanlik, Yeni Zagra, and Eski Zagra, and the subsequent 
retreat of the Russians under Gourko into the Shipka Pass 
(August) ; the determined attempts and repulses of Suleiman 
Pasha to recover the fortified pass ; Osman Pasha's brave de- 
fence of Plevna ; the great slaughter and frequent discomfiture 
of the Russians before that stronghold ; the capture of the first 
redoubt — the Grivitza — by the Roumanians, and the final capi- 
tulation of Osman Pasha in December 1877, which practically 
terminated the war, have been too frequently described by far 
abler pens than mine to justify repetition, and we will now 
inquire what was the nett result of the war to Bulgaria, as it 
was determined by the subsequent treaties and negotiations. 

The Treaty of San Stefano,^ made after the close of the war 
between Russia and the Porte, is interesting to us in one parti- 
cular only, namely, that it stipulated for the union under one 
prince of Bulgaria proper and Eastern Eoumelia — a union which 
was vetoed by the Great Powers, although it was proposed on 
account of the nationality of the two provinces, and which 
Russia did her best to prevent when it subsequently took place 
without her intervention. As regards the Treaty of Berlin,^ it 
constituted Bulgaria an " autonomous and tributary principality, 
under the suzerainty of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan ; it will 
have a Christian government and a national militia." The 
limits of the new Principality followed the River Danube on 
the north, the Balkans on the south, whilst on the east it was 
bounded by the Black Sea, and on the west by Servia. The 
Prince was to be " freely elected by the population, and con- 
firmed by the Sublime Porte, with the assent of the Powers ; " 



1 HoUand, p. 339. 

' Parliamentary Paper. London : Harrison & Sons ; and Holland, p. 279 



72 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

but no member of the reigning dynasties of the Great European 
Powers was (or is) eligible. " In case of a vacancy in the princely 
dignity, the election of the new Prince is to take place under 
the same conditions and with the same forms." Nothing is 
said in the Treaty of Berlin as to whether or not the title 
should be hereditary, but the second chapter of the Constitution 
declares the " Principality to be a hereditary and constitutional 
monarchy." 

An assembly of notables to be called at Timova was to frame 
a Constitution prior to the election of a Prince ; and in draught- 
ing this, the rights and interests of the various nationalities — 
Bulgarian, Turkish, Roumanian, Greek, &c. — were to be taken 
into consideration as regards the elections as well as in the 
Constitution itself. There was to be complete religious equality 
and perfect freedom of worship, and no difference of creed should 
present a barrier to the election of citizens to any public oflSce 
or employment. The customs tariff of Bulgaria was to be (as it 
is still) identical with that of the Porte, and no transit dues to 
be charged on goods passing through the Principality. 

For the purpose of carrying out the stipulations of the treaty, 
the provisional administration which was formed " shall be 
under the direction of an Imperial Russian Commissary," aided 
by a Turkish Commissary, and " the Consuls delegated by the 
other Powers," &c. ; but the provisional r4gim4 was not to be 
prolonged beyond a period of nine months from the exchange of 
ratifications. 

The treaty further stipulated for the payment of an annual 
tribute and part of the national debt of the Ottoman Empire, 
and contained conditions affecting the control of the Rustchuk- 
Vama Railway. It declared that as soon as the organic law 
(Constitution) was completed and the Prince elected, " the" Prin- 
cipality shall enter into the full enjoyment of its autonomy." 

Finally, it bound the Sultan at once to withdraw his army 
from Bulgaria ; and by a stipulation regarding Eastern Roumelia, 
a Russian corps of occupation, which was to remain temporarily 
in both States, and was not to exceed 50,000 men, must also 
be withdrawn within nine months from the ratification of the 
treaty. 



THE LIBERATION OF BULGARIA. 73 

It is hardly necessaay to say that the Ottoman army was 
withdrawn, and so too was the Russian force, according to the 
letter of the treaty ; but during the nine months of Russian 
rule — for that is what it amounted to — ^the chief permanent mili- 
tary appointments were given to Russian officers ; the Bulgarian 
army was organised nnder Russian control ; " the entire Russian 
army rules and regulations had been simply taken over, and the 
words of command were given, as well as the service generally 
carried out in Russian. * Broadly speaking, one can say that 
the Bulgarian military forces were organised in such a manner 
that they could be looked upon as forming an integral portion 
of the Russian army, ready at any moment to act as an advanced 
guard of the Russian main body." ^ 

The liberties of Eastern Roumelia were, by the Treaty of 
Berlin,^ more restricted than those of Bulgaria. It was desig- 
nated " a province," and was to " remain under the direct 
political and military authority of his Imperial Majesty the 
Sultan. It shall have a Christian Governor-General." The 
boundaries of the province were fixed by the treaty and by 
a European Delimitation Commission ; and, broadly speaking, 
they were, on the north, the Balkans ; on the south, a frontier 
line fixed by the Commission, which passed south of Philip- 
popolis and north of Adrianople ; on the east, the Black Sea ; 
and on the west, parts of Servia and Turkey. The Sultan was 
to have the right (which he did not exercise) to erect fortifica- 
tions on the frontiers, and of sending regular troops (Bashi- 
Bazouks and Circassians being specially excluded) into the 
province in case of necessity, for its protection ; but generally 
internal order was to be maintained by a native gendarmerie 
and a local militia. An organic statute was also to be framed, 
and the powers and functions of the Governor-General defined 
by a European Commission. It is only necessary to add that 
the provisions of the treaty as they regarded Eastern Roumelia 



^ " The Struggle of the Bulgarians for Independence," p. 47, by Major A. Von 
Huhn. London : Murray. 
' The treaty as published, and Holland, p. 287. 



74 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

are now not of the slightest consequence, as both States are 
governed by the Constitution of Bulgaria. 

After the close of the Russo-Turkish war, therefore, we find 
Bulgaria an independent Principality, under the nominal 
suzerainty of the Porte, but under the actual control and 
influence of Bussia; and Eastern Boumelia still a Turkish 
province enjoying certain autonomous privileges. In the next 
chapter we shall see how the union of the two States was 
accomplished, and what degree ot liberty the united monarchy 
has attained. 



ALEXANDER, FIRST PRINCE OF BULGARIA. 75 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ALEXANDER, THE FIRST PRINCE OF BULGARIA, THE UNION, AND 

THE SERVIAN WAR. 

The career of Prince Alexander — Prince Dondukoff -Korsakoff and the Bulgarian 
Constitution — ^Accession of Alexander — Bulgarian sentiments of gratitude 
towards Russia changed through her despotism and misgovernment — Personi^l 
experience of the demeanour of Russia towards Bulgaria — ^Treatment of 
Prince Alexander by the Czar, Alexander III. — ^The Prince demands absolute 
power for seven years — It is conceded by the Sobranje — ^Withdrawn at Russian 
instigation — Generals Soboleff and Kaulbars, their unsuccessful attempt to 
kidnap the Prince — The revolt in Eastern Roumelia — The revolutionary com- 
mittee at first favoured by Russia — ^The leaders of the rising — ^The Turkish 
governors, Aleko, Gavril, and Drigalsky Pashas — ^Account of the revolution in 
Philippopolis^Major Nikolaieff and Qavril Pasha — Deposition of the latter — 
Undignified conduct of the Roumelian leaders — The general of an army run 
in by two gens-d'armes — ^The revolt successful — Prince Alexander and the 
rising — Criticism upon Von Huhn's version of his connection with it — The 
rising premature — ^Russian professions and intentions — ^Alexander accepts the 
joint-rulership — Conference of the Powers at Constantinople — Intrigues of 
Russia — Inaction of the Porte — ^Attitude of Great Britain — Recall of Russian 
officers from Bulgaria — Its effect upon the Bulgarian people and army — ^The 
Servian invasion — Bulgarian perplexities — Presence of mind of the Prince — 
Reorganisation of the forces — Promotion of junior officers — Strength of the 
army — ^Macedonian and Turkish volunteers — Routes of the invading army — 
Partial successes — Halts at Vidin, Bresnik, and Slivnitza — Consterna- 
tion in the capital — Confidence and exultation of the Servians and Russians 
— ^The enthusiasm at Philippopolis — ^To the front ! — Difficulties of transport, 
how overcome — Patriotism of all classes — ^Devotion of the peasantry — ^Fatigue 
of the marching regiments — ^Devices for expedition — ^The Prince commander- 
in-chief — Slivnitza — ^The strength of the respective armies — The first day's 
fighting — The " Djumi-Maritza " — Bulgarian successes — The second day — 
Reinforcements — Continued successes — The third day — Rumour of Bulgarian 
defeat at Bresnik — ^The Prince hastens back to Sofia — Consternation there — 
Zankoff and the Russians arrang'e for a " Provisional Government '* — A scare 
— ^Bresnik safe — The Servians beaten all along the line at Slivnitza — Re- 
joicings at Sofia — Disappearance of Zankoff — ^The Prince returns to the front 
— ^The Bulgarian victory — ^Reception of the news in Europe — Further rein- 



\ 



N 



\ 



76 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

foroements — ^The ** Brigand Brigade " — Captain Panitza crosses the Servian 
frontier — March towards Servia — Tzaribrod — A Servian flag of truce — ^King 
Milan's deference for the Powers — ^Capture and entry into the Servian town 
of Pirot — ^Retreat of the Servians — ^Appearance of Austria on the scene — 
Threats of the Austrian Minister — Conclusion of peace between Bulgaria and 
Servia — ^The union of Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia sanctioned by the 
Powers. 

A LEXANDER, the first Prince of Bulgaria, has been the 
•^^ hero of a hundred biographers and journalists (see Plate I.). 
His story has been frequently published, in part or in extenso, 
and sometimes by men who were constantly near his person, 
and who followed him through his adventurous career. To 
emulate their descriptions would, therefore, be impossible, and 
all I can promise the reader is, that if he will follow me through 
the dry details of history in this place, I will endeavour farther 
on to introduce him to the Prince in person, to give him an 
opportunity of forming an estimate of his noble qualities, and, 
however imperfectly, to describe the present results in Bulgaria 
of the rapid progress made by the nation under his rulership. 
Like one or two of the Bulgarian Czars of old (to whom his suc- 
cessor. Prince Ferdinand, made a reference in his first manifesto 
on entering Bulgaria), he united and consolidated the Bulgarian 
nationalities under one rule, resisted the domination and tyranny 
of the most aggressive Power in Europe against great odds, and 
beat back the unjustifiable invasion of a jealous neighbour; 
whilst at the same time he beautified his capital, introduced 
mildness into the laws of his country, and managed, under the 
most perplexing political conditions, to secure the afiections of 
his people. He was bom on the 5th April 1857, and is, there- 
fore, even now a young man, was a major-general in the Prussian, 
and lieutenant-general in the Russian army. He was related 
by marriage to the late Czar, being his nephew, and therefore 
cousin of the present Czar, and was a persona grata at the 
Russian court during the reign of the former, who recommended 
him for the throne of Bulgaria. Before he was elected, the 
Russian " Commissary " or Governor-General, Prince Dondukoff- 
Korsakofi^, had assisted the Bulgarians to frame a Constitution, 
perhaps the most democratic in existence — a circumstance which 
has been the subject of much adverse criticism. It has been 



«I.EX*NOER, 



ALEXANDER, FIRST PRINCE OP BULGARIA. 77 

called a " Pandora's box," containing elements which would 
make an independent rule impossible, and what not;i but any- 
one who has studied the history of Russia and her dealings with 
her subject races, knows well that she has a large stock of 
liberty, but that "she keeps it for exportation only." I am 
disposed to believe that the Constitution was given to Bulgaria 
in good faith, by the desire and through the instrumentality of 
the Czar Alexander the Liberator. 

Be that as it may, after the Constitution was framed and 
passed, Prince Alexander of Battenberg, who was living at the 
time in modest quarters in Potsdam, was elected hereditary 
Prince of Bulgaria on the 29th April 1879, and ascended the 
throne on the 9th of July in the same year. At that time the 
hearts of the Bulgarians overflowed with gratitude towards 
Russia, whom they regarded as a disinterested liberator, and 
the progresses of Prince Dondukoff-Korsakoff throughout the 
country resembled those of a beloved sovereign. The enthu- 
siasm of the Bulgarians for their rulers was, however, not perfect 
in its steadfastness (as I shall show hereafter), and the Russians 
soon gave them cause to change their sentiments of gratitude 
into others of a widely different character. 

As far as the people were concerned, the Russians lost no 
opportunity to show them that the war had only brought them 
a change of masters. They treated them as an inferior race, 
or as they treat their own lower classes ; sent wastrels to fill 
responsible oflBces, as they send them to Central Asia, and 
generally lorded it over the nation they professed to have 
liberated. In this all writers are agreed, and fortunately I 
had myself an opportunity of seeing one of the straws which 
indicated the course of the wind at that period. In 1881, 
whilst I was on a tour of observation in South-Eastem Europe, 
I happened to meet on the Danube steamer, between the Iron 
Gates and Giurgevo, a very communicative young Russian 
officer, who told me he was an Imperial messenger from St. 
Petersburg to Sofia, and whose conversation, to which I paid 
particular attention, was very instructive. I asked him where 



^ See Appendix XL, *' Most Important Decrees of the Constitution of Bulgaria." 



78 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

he was going to land and how he would travel to Sofia, which 
was then more difficult of access than it is at present. He said, 
if I remember right, at Lorn Palanka ; that a carriage and horses 
would be in waiting for him, and that wherever he stopped on 
the road, everybody and everything would have to clear out of 
the way. He spoke with great arrogance, made no attempt to 
conceal his low estimate of the Bulgarians, and evidently con- 
sidered himself the bearer of orders from St. Petersburg to the 
Powers at Sofia. That incident, and what I was subsequently 
told at Bucharest, quite confirmed the generally-received view, 
that the Bussians committed a great mistake in not treating 
the Bulgarian people with consideration. But their blunders 
in higher places were even more serious. As long as Alexander 
II. was Czar of Russia, the representatives of that country were 
obliged to treat Prince Alexander with some degree of respect, 
for, as already stated, he was well-liked by the Czar ; but after 
his death, on the accession of the present one (March 1881), 
who bears personal enmity against the Prince, such considera- 
tions ceased to have any weight, and, dismissing exaggerations, 
he was regarded as a Russian satrap, and treated accordingly. 
Unfortunately, too, he committed an act which gave the Rus- 
sians a handle for agitating against his rule. Declaring that 
it was impossible to govern the country under the Timova 
Constitution, he demanded from the Sobranje absolute power 
to initiate laws for seven years, threatening to resign if it was 
not conceded to him. At that time his leading ministers were 
MM. Karaveloff and ZankoflF, who were then, as they are at 
present, Russian tools and partisans. The National Assembly 
granted him the authority which he demanded (July 1881), but 
Russia, actuated no doubt by her well-known attachment to 
constitutional government (!), soon compelled the Prince to 
relinquish his powers. The ministers named resigned office, 
but were soon reinstated on the condition that the government 
of the country should proceed under the Constitution.^ 

Along with Messrs. KaraveloflF and Zankoff, as the civilian 

^ For details of Russian intrigues at that time see "Causes Occultes de la 
Question Bulgare." Anonymous. Paris : Ollendorff, 1887. 



ALEXANDER, FIRST PRINCE OF BULGARIA. 79 

representatives of Eussia, Prince Alexander and his people had 
to put np with Bnssian military governors in the persons of 
Generals SoboleflF and Kaulbars (brother of the Kaulbars who 
afterwards unsnccessfuUy stumped the country as a Eussian 
election-agent) ; but those generals were obliged to leave the 
country in 1883 owing to a little misunderstanding in the 
shape of an unsuccessful attempt on their part (there were 
several altogether) to kidnap and carry off the Prince.^ One 
night they attempted to enter the palace with an authorisation 
from the Minister for War, and asked for an audience with the 
Prince, but Lieutenant Marinoff, the officer of the Prince's 
guard, refused to admit them. When they tried to force a 
passage, he drew his sword and sent a messenger to the Prince 
to warn him of the danger. The two Eussians then with- 
drew, and it is said that a carriage was found waiting at the 
palace gate to convey the Prince to the Danube, and that 
proclamations had been printed announcing his deposition. 

Whilst these events were passing on the northern side of 
the Balkans, a silent movement was in progress in Eastern 
Eonmelia, having for its object the liberation of that State from 
Turkish rule and its union with Bulgaria, as was originally 
intended by the Eussians under the Treaty of San Stefano. 
With the connivance of the Eussian Government, or at least 
with its knowledge and sanction, a revolutionary committee was 
formed, which had its ramifications throughout the country; 
but European complications caused Eussia at a later period to 
suspend her plans for awhile. This was, however, not at all to 
the taste of the Eoumelian patriots, who continued the agitation, 
and, under the direction of Dr. Stranski (the present Foreign 
Minister of Bulgaria), Major Nikolaieff, Karaveloff, and others, 
it burst into a revolt on September 1885. Eastern Eoumelia 
had already enjoyed the privilege of one Turkish governor. 
Prince Vogorides, a Bulgarian Christian known as Aleko Pasha, 



1. "The Growth of Freedom in the Balkan Peninsula," p. 237-238, by J. A. 
O. Minchin. Murray, 1886 ; and *^he Kidnapping of Prince Alexander of 
Battenberg," p. 4, by A. Von Huhn. Stanford, 1887. 



80 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

who ruled from 1879 to 1884. It is said that he was cognisant 
of the intended rising, and had hoped, by ingratiating himself 
with Bussia, to help her to get rid of Alexander, and to secure 
the joint-sovereignty for himself. It is further stated that both 
he and his successor, Gavril Pasha Krestovich, followed the 
good old Phanariote practice of lining their purses during the 
five years at their disposal at the cost of the nation they were 
sent to govern. Along with Gavril Pasha, the Turkish military 
commander-in-chief was Drigalsky Pasha, with whom, of course, 
the insurgents would have to reckon. This wa3, however, an 
easy task, for the whole population, including the gendarmes 
and militia, were implicated in the revolt. It is recorded that 
on September 18, 1885, Major Nikolaieff quietly entered the 
Konak or palace^ of the Governor-General, Gavril Pasha (see 
Plate v.), whilst the latter was breakfasting, and announced to 
him his deposition and temporary arrest, and that, seeing a 
battalion of militia in the courtyard of the palace, Gavril bowed 
to the inevitable. To the great discredit of the insurgents, they 
were not content with deposing him, but they subjected him 
to the mockery of a drive through Philippopolis in a carriage, 
accompanied by an armed schoolmistress, and of course well 
guarded. Photographs of this heroine, with a drawn sword in 
her hand, are still sold in thajt city ! The story of Drigalsky 
Pasha's arrest and subsequent liberation is thus narrated by 
Major Von Huhn : " By this time the commander-in-chief of 
the Eoumelian army, Drigalsky Pasha, had heard the noise 
in the streets ; without much hesitation he buckled on his 
trusty blade and went to the market-square to see what was 
up. There he found drawn up a battalion of militia, with Major 
Nikolaieff at its head, and the following dialogue ensued : — 
Drigalsky : ' Sir, what are you doing there with that batta- 
lion ? ' Nikolaieff: ' I do not know you.' Drigalsky : ' What ! 
you do not know me ? ' Nikolaieff: ' Gens-d'armes, take that 
gentleman home.' And two policemen took Drigalsky between 
them and removed him in the most approved style. This 
is probably the most remarkable thing that ever happened 

^ To be described in Part II. 



ALEXANDER, FIRST PRINCE OF BULGARIA. 81 

to the commander-in-chief of an army. ... It was not even 
found worth while to arrest Drigalsky Pasha." Only later on a 
sentry was placed at his door, and he was told to consider him- 
self under arrest. ..." And in the same way that the revolt 
succeeded in Philippopolis without bloodshed, so in the whole 
province ; the military and the populace everywhere acknow- 
ledged the Provisional Government. In one forenoon the Turkish 
rule had been overthrown, and the whole undertaking accom- 
plished." 1 

A few words in regard to Prince Alexander's connection with 
the revolt and acceptance of the post. He was charged with 
having been privy to the rising, and with having misled Russia 
as to his intentions. In his memoirs, Von Huhn defends him 
from these accusations, and says that he was forced by circum- 
stances to accept the position. He seeks to substantiate his 
justification by a long statement, under inverted commas, in the 
first person singular, purporting to have been made to him by 
the Prince himself; but in so doing I am afraid he has proved 
too much for his own cause. What he does prove, however, is 
that the Prince is what I shall hereafter show him to be, namely, 
frojxk and honest, even where blame to himself is likely to be 
the result. If the reader will take the trouble to peruse this 
statement (assuming it to be correct^), I am sure he will agree 
with me that neither the Prince nor Russia, represented in this 
instance by M. de Giers, with whom he had a personal interview 
at Franzensbad, cared one fig about the Treaty of Berlin ; that 
both were well acquainted with the intended Roumelian rising, 
and meant to benefit by it, but that the Prince would have pre- 
ferred doing so under Russian auspices if he could have made his 
peace with the Czar ; that the rising took place sooner than was 
anticipated, and that the Prince from motives of policy tried to 
arrest it for a time, but when he found it was a fait accompli^ 
that he then, partly to save his crown, and also to prevent a 
civil war between Christians and Mohammedans, accepted the 
rulership of Eastern Roumelia without consulting Russia or 
seriously considering her interests in his line of action. These 

1 " Bulgarian Struggle for Independence, " p. 31. * Ibid., p. 36. 

F 



fi2 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

appear to have been the facts ; and inasmuch as Russia (one of 
the signatories, and a great stickler for the Treaty of Berlin, 
be it remembered) cared no more for the liberties of Eastern 
Roumelia than she did for those of Bulgaria, but merely sought 
her own aggrandisement; and seeing, moreover, that Alexander's 
successor has adopted precisely the same policy (for which he is 
not, in my opinion, to be blamed in the smallest degree), with- 
out the same powerful incentives, it is hardly worth while 
bestowing any further criticism upon the actors in this histo- 
rical drama. 

Three important events followed the union of North and 
South Bulgaria. Diplomatic action of the Powers, resulting in 
a Conference of the Ambassadors at Constantinople ; the with- 
drawal by the Czar of all the Eussian officers in the Bulgarian 
army ; and an attack upon Bulgaria by the Servians. At first 
the Russians once more resorted to every possible device for 
getting rid of Alexander, and promised the Bulgarians that, if 
they sent him about his business, the union would be acknow- 
ledged. At the Conference, supported by Germany and Austria, 
they urged the Porte to occupy Eastern Roumelia with an armed 
force; but her statesmen, besides distrusting advice from such 
a hostile quarter, knew that if she attempted to use coercive 
measures, she would have to reckon, not with the Bulgarians 
alone, but with Macedonia, where a rising was also imminent. 
So she did what she usually does under similar circumstances 
— nothing ! As subsequent events proved, her decision in this 
instance was a wise one, and employment was soon found for a 
Macedonian legion of volunteers in helping the Bulgarians to 
fight the Servians, which was better than effecting a rising 
against Turkish rule. But there was an influence more potent 
than the inaction of the Porte which greatly facilitated the 
union of the two Bulgarias, namely, the determination of 
Great Britain, expressed in unmistakable terms by her able 
representative at the Conference, Sir William White, not to 
support any hostile movement against Prince Alexander. So 
the Conference proved an abortion, and the union was consum- 
mated. 

Having failed in the prosecution of her designs to extend 



THE SERVIAN WAR. 83 

her own influence, the next move of Eussia was to inflict as 
great an injury as possible upon Bulgaria, and that the Czar 
attempted to do by recalling every Eussian oflScer out of the 
country, and leaving the army without leaders. The efiect of 
this move, however — ^the most fatal to her interests of all the 
acts of Eussia in the Balkan Peninsula — was the very opposite 
of what was anticipated. Whilst it opened the eyes of the 
people to the real feelings of Eussia towards their country, it 
placed their army under their own control, made them self- 
reliant, called forth all their latent energies, and ended in 
giving them a humble but honourable place in the ranks of 
European monarchies. 

Now came the severest trial of all for the young nation. Her 
army, only partially organised, was drawn up on the Turkish 
frontier, prepared to resist an advance from that quarter ; her 
ruler was boycotted by the "Great Powers," just as they are 
boycotting Prince Ferdinand ; dissensions were being sown by 
the largesses of a rich and powerful empire amongst her political 
parties ; and all Europe was undecided how she should be dis- 
posed of; when, lo ! a neighbouring state, Servia, which had 
passed through similar trials to her own, and had but recently 
acquired her independence, must needs take advantage of her 
perplexities and make a raid upon her, in order to obtain an 
extension of territory at her expense. I am not going to waste 
the reader's time by spinning a web of theories and surmises as 
to who instigated the unchiyalrous acts of King Milan and his 
people, or what had been their original and what their ultimate 
intentions. They picked a quarrel with Bulgaria when she was 
hard beset ; the King refused to enter into negotiations with 
Prince Alexander, refused even to receive a letter from him; 
declared war against him in November 1885, and led an army 
across the unprotected Bulgarian frontier, with what results we 
shall see presently, . 

And this is what happened in Bulgaria on the withdrawal of 
the Eussian oflScers and during the hostile approaches of the 
Servians. The Prince, nothing daunted, began to reorganise 
the army as soon as the Eussian ofiicers had taken their 
departure. He appointed Captain Nikeforoff Minister of War, 



84 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Captain PetroflF Adjutant-General, and promoted the junior 
officers and subalterns, Bulgarians who had been gradually 
working their way into the army, to the posts deserted by the 
Bassians. " Captains of companies," says Major Von Huhn,i 
" assumed the command of regiments and brigades brought up 
to their war complement, and led them from Bulgaria into 
Roumelia " (for the defence of the southern frontier) " in the 
most exemplary manner,- and without any signs of insubor- 
dination on the part of the troops towards their young leaders." 
So much for the officers, whose conduct under fire was soon to 
be put to the test. As to the strength of the army, it pro- 
bably numbered at first 90,000 men of all arms : say 35,000 
Roumeliotes and 55,000 Bulgarians, including reserves and 
volunteers, to which were shortly added 3000 Macedonian volun- 
teers, the so-called " Brigand Brigade ; " and when the war broke 
out with Servia, 6000 Mohammedan volunteers spontaneously 
joined the Bulgarians in the defence of their common country. 

The reader will have noticed that in this brief survey of 
Bulgarian history very slight references have been made to 
campaigns, battles, or sieges, for my intention has been mainly 
that it should be introductory to the observations which follow 
on the present position of the country and its future prospects ; 
but it will be necessary to say a few words on the Servian war, 
not so much on account of its interest as a national military 
exploit, but because of the moral influence which it exercised, and 
still continues to hold over the destinies of Bulgaria. For I am 
convinced that one of the causes of Russian hesitancy to under- 
take a filibustering expedition against the new-bom State is 
the knowledge that Prince Alexander s return in her defence 
would evoke such enthusiasm in the army, that if they had to 
fight Russia single-handed (which they would not)^ there would 
be few laurels to be won by the great military Power, and little 
permanent benefit would accrue to her from the enterprise. 

Before the tactics of the Constantinople Conference were 
made clearly manifest, and ere the Bulgarians were assured 
of the safety of their southern frontier, they had to face their 

1 "The Bulgarian Struggle for Independence/' p. 62. 



THE SERVIAN WAR. 85 

aggressive western neighbour with an untried army, far removed 
from the post of danger, and with very limited pecuniary re- 
sources. But once more the energy and patriotism of Prince 
and people engendered a degree of enthusiasm which compen- 
sated for every disadvantage. The Servian army had made its 
entry into Bulgaria in three divisions, along the same number 
of almost undefended roads; and after receiving slight tem- 
porary checks here and there from small but well-armed bodies 
of Bulgarian regulars and volunteers, they had halted before 
Vidin, on the Danube, Bresnik, and Slivnitza, two villages 
about equidistant from one another (about thirty kilometres) 
and from the capital. There, at Sofia, all was consternation, and 
the inhabitants expected hourly to see the city occupied by 
King Milan and his army. That seemed to be the opinion, too, 
of the Eussian partisans in the capital, who were jubilant and 
demonstrative, and, of course, the confidence of the Servians 
was unbounded. The latter had telegraphed their successes in 
inflated language to every point of the compass ; and the feeling 
which success always inspires in nations as well as in indivi- 
duals led the world to believe that poor, presumptuous Prince 
Alexander would soon be a fugitive at some friendly court (if 
he could find one), and that Bussia and Servia would be dividing 
the Bulgarian spoils between them. (I wonder what Servia 
would have got out of the transaction if events had turned out 
as was anticipated.) 

In Philippopolis the news of the Servian invasion created 
a sensation widely different from that nearer to the scene of 
action. The picked men of the army were stationed there, and 
they threw up their " busbies " and rent the air with never-ending 
shouts. In the course of a few minutes after receiving marching 
orders, they were en route (at first by railway as far as it could 
convey them) to the " front." The command of the railway was 
in the hands of the Bulgarians as far as a station called Sarambey, 
between Philippopolis and Sofia ; but there the finished portion 
ends, and all the troops who had been ordered to the Servian 
frontier were obliged to find their way, hurry-skurry, as best 
they could by road. If the inhabitants had shown devotion to 
the Russians and Roumanians during the war of liberation, it 



86 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

may be readily imagined what succour they gave to their own 
soldiers in defence of their homes and liberties; and it haa 
been a problem even to experienced military men how, with- 
out a regular transport . service, the march from Sarambey to 
Slivnitza was so well and quickly accomplished. Every horse, 
bullock, and cart was enlisted in the service; they were in 
many instances offered gratuitously by the peasantry; and as 
the enemy was still far distant, no obstacles except the natural 
ones of bad roads interfered with the conveyance of food 
and the materials of war. As to the conduct of the men them- 
selves,, here (anticipating a little) is an example of how they 
came to the front : — ..." Overnight our first reinforcements 
had arrived — four battalions of the Breslaff regiment and an 
Eastern Eoumelian battalion. When the latter had reached 
Sofia under the command of Captain Kowatscheff, the men 
were so dead-beat that it was out of the question to continue 
the march. At Sofia, however, it was well known how small 
was the number of defenders at Slivnitza, and that every 
additional company was of the very highest importance; it 
was therefore quickly decided to send the battalion on to the 
front on horseback. Taking the horses of a cavalry regiment 
in course of formation at Sofia, two Eoumeliotes were put on 
each animal, and the entire battalion just arrived in the nick 
of time to take part in the general action." ^ The Prince, who 
was at Philippopolis when the invasion began, travelled with all 
speed to Sofia, where he placed himself at the head of the army 
and directed the defensive operations. It soon became apparent 
that Slivnitza (on the main road to Servia) was to be the place 
of encounter between the contending forces; and whilst the 
Servians had concentrated from 25,000 to 30,000 men there, 
the Bulgarians could at first only muster half that number, of 
whom a considerable proportion were volunteers. The battle, 
of which a graphic and minute description has been given by 
Von Huhn,2 lasted three days. The fortunes of the first day 
(November 17th) were various. The Servians fought with great 



^ " Bulgarian Struggle for Independence," p. 137. 
^ Ibid., cap. xi. 



THE SERVIAN WAR. 87 

bravery, so also the Bulgarians, led by Captains Gutscheff and 
Bendereff,^ with Captain Panoff in charge of the artillery. The 
Prince himself was everywhere in the thickest of the fight, 
leading and encouraging the men, and often exposing himself 
to great danger. The result of the first day's encounter was 
that, notwithstanding their inferiority in numbers, the Bulga- 
rians occupied an improved position, from which they had 
eventually driven the enemy. Here is an account of part of 
the day's fighting, which must serve as an illustration of the 
capabilities of the young Bulgarian army : — 

" As soon as the two battalions of the Danube regiment had 
joined BendereflT, he ordered the positions just seized by the 
Servians to be carried by assault. The moment when the 
Danube regiment formed for attack at the foot of the heights 
held by the Servians remains a memorable one in Bulgarian 
history, for it was the announcement of that wild and relentless 
onslaught under which the Servian army was eventually to 
break down. Without firing a single shot, with colours flying 
and drums beating, they rushed up the hill — ^a hill that it would 
have been no mean performance to have climbed in the quiet 
times of peace. It was here that the Servians first heard the 
strains of the national air, ' Djumi-Maritza,' which were alone 
sufficient later on to put them to flight.^ Under the most 
violent Servian fire the hill was climbed, — a final rush, and the 
Servians were driven out of their positions at the point of the 
bayonet, and thrown down the other side. No sooner had the 
Bulgarian battalions reached the top of the hill than they dis- 
appeared behind it. There was a long pause, . . . then frpm 
a distance was heard once more the ' Djumi-Maritza,' desperate 
firing, the loud hurrahs of the storming Bulgarians, and the 
second position was taken. . . . Yet a third height had been 
stormed in the same way before Bendereff managed to come 
up and arrest the attacking columns." ^ 

^ The latter, sad to say, afterwards turned traitor, and headed the party who 
kidnapped the Prince. 

^ Major Von Huhn described this part of the battle at second-hand ; so 
perhaps he is not responsible for this, it is to be hoped, figurative remark. He, 
however, repeats the assertion elsewhere. 

" Ibid., p. 131-132. 



88 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

On the second day (November 18th) reinforcements having 
meanwhile arrived for the Bulgarians, as described above, the 
Servians assumed the oflFensive ; but they were not only repulsed, 
but towards evening the news arrived at head-quarters^ that 
Captain Bendereff had' in one place driven the Servians back a 
considerable distance. The third day was most eventful. At 
first information came that the Servians were marching from 
Bresnik on to Sofia (which was almost unprotected), and that 
they had defeated the Bulgarian troops stationed at the former 
place. Consternation prevailed everywhere, and the Prince 
hurried back to Sofia to check the supposed Servian advance 
on the Bresnik road. At Sofia there was a complete panic. 
The national treasures were removed to Plevna, and the Eussian 
Consul, with his right-hand man, Zankoff, was making all the 
necessary dispositions for a " Provisional Government;" when lo ! 
the news came that the whole thing was a scare. Bresnik was 
taken and held by Captain Panoff. The Bulgarians, having be- 
come the attacking force, had beaten the Servians all along the 
line at Slivnitza, and dislodged them from the Dragoman Pass, 
between that place and the Servian frontier. Then all was 
rejoicing at Sofia ; the Bussian party ceased to demonstrate ; 
confidence was restored; the Bulgarian victories were tele- 
graphed in every direction, and — Europe changed its views on 
the Bulgarian question ! 

The Prince had hurried to Slivnitza on the receipt of the 
welcome news, but on the following day he returned to Sofia 
in search of reinforcements and to give his army rest before com- 
mencing the march towards Servia. There he found two 
regiments and four battalions, who had " hurried up in gigantic 
marches through rain and through snow over the Balkans, 
without resting day or night, imbued with one desire — ^to come 
to the assistance of their fighting brethren." ^ Then came the 



^ A filthy little khan or wayside inn, where I had the pleasure of being 
detained three hours, between 8 and 11 p.m. My Servian driver, who had 
undertaken to bring me into Sofia at 9 p.m., arrived at Slivnitza at 8, and wanted 
to coerce me into stopping there all night. I, however, gained a victory also, 
and had the pleasure of entering Sofia at 2 A.H. 

2 Von Huhn, p. 173. 



THE SERVIAN WAR. 89 

further joyful intelligence that the Bulgarian and Moham- 
medan volunteers had repulsed the Servian attack on Vidin, 
and that Captain Panitza (whom hardly any one had heard 
of before), who was acting as a free-lance at the head of the 
" Brigand Brigade " (Macedonian Legion, see frontispiece), 
had beaten the Servians in several encounters, taken many 
prisoners, with ammunition, and crossed over the frontier into 
the enemy's country ; in proof of which he sent a bag containing 
the ofl&cial Servian seals of the frontier custom-houses he had 
occupied. It was now time for Prince Alexander to be on the 
move, and after some more desultory fighting, the army entered 
Zaribrod, the last Bulgarian town, where messengers with a flag 
of truce appeared, who bore a letter from King Milan, asking 
for an armistice, and expressing his readiness, " out of deference 
to the wish of the Powers,'* to discontinue the war and conclude 
a peace. Prince Alexander" and his victorious officers failed, 
however, to see eye to eye with the defeated monarch, and even 
with **the Powers" themselves, and the advance was continued. 
The frontier was crossed without any resistance on the 26th 
November, but on arriving at Pirot, the first Servian town, the 
Prince found the approaches defended by batteries. These were 
dislodged, the Servians were compelled to retire in the direction 
of Nisch, the Bulgarians entered Pirot in triumph, and the war 
was practically at an end. 

For as soon as the Servians were defeated and driven back 
into their owij territory, and Belgrade instead of Sofia seemed 
likely to change owners, it became apparent that the Austrians 
had been backing up the first-named in their unjustifiable in- 
vasion of Bulgaria. On the evening of the 28th November the 
Austrian minister arrived at headquarters and induced Prince 
Alexander to grant an armistice, assuring him (it is said, on his 
own responsibility, but that is doubtful) that Austria would 
not allow Servia to be crushed, and that if he advanced any 
farther, he would be opposed by her also. The Powers again 
intervened, certainly now with changed feelings towards Prince 
Alexander and his people, but the result could hardly be deemed 
satisfactory. A peace was concluded between Bulgaria and 
Servia, by which, greatly to the disgust and indignation of the 



90 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

young Bulgarian officers, the former gained absolutely nothing, 
not even a war indemnity. The union of Bulgaria and Eastern 
Roumelia could, however, no longer be resisted, and that was 
consummated by a treaty between Bulgaria and the Porte, with 
the assent of the Powers, Prince Alexander being nominated 
Governor-General for five years, and subsequently appointed by 
a firman of the Sultan.^ 

The Bussians threw every possible obstacle in the way of a 
settlement, and when they failed to find any further justifica- 
tion for resistance, they showed their animus by refusing to 
allow the name of Prince Alexander to appear in the treaty, and 
insisted upon the insertion, instead, of the words " the Prince 
of Bulgaria." And now we arrive at a series of events, follow- 
ing one another very rapidly, with which the past history of 
Bulgaria must be concluded. 

^ For further correspondence respecting the affairs of Bulgaria and Eastern 
Roumelia, see Blue Book, '* Turkey, No. 1, 1887." Harrison & Sons, 1887. 



ABDUCTION OF PKINCE ALEXANDEK. 91 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE ABDUCTION AND RETIREMENT OF PRINCE ALEXANDER — THE 
REGENCY PRINCE FERDINAND CONCLUSION OF PART L 

The Coup cPitat in Bulgaria — Events preceding it — Loss of Russian prestige — 
Resort to " diplomacy " — Open enmity of the Czar against Prince Alex- 
ander — His name struck off the Russian army list — Russian intrigues with 
Bulgarian leaders — Corruption of officers — Plan to carry off the Prince at 
Bourgas — Proofs of Russian complicity in plots against the Prince — Bulgarian 
disloyalty — Foreign views concerning it — Disaffection in the army — ^The 
traitors, Grueff, Bendereff, and Stoyanoff — Absence from Sofia of loyal officers 
— Warnings to the Prince unheeded — The mutinous Struma regiment — Occu- 
pation of Sofia — Attack upon the palace — Scene between Prince Alexander 
and the mutineers — Enforced signature of abdication — ** God protect Bul- 
garia ! " — Abduction of the Prince — Ignominious treatment of him by drunken 
conspirators — Comparison of the deposition of Prince Couza in Roumania and 
the abduction of Prince Alexander — Tlie latter delivered to the Russians at 
Reni — Reaction in favour of the Prince — Mutkouroff and Stambouloff — 
Counter-revolution and fall of the " Provisional Government " — Arrival at 
Sofia of Mutkouroff and Popoff — ^Arrest of the conspirators and release of 
Karaveloff — Withdrawal of the mutineers from Sofia — ^Flight and capture of 
Grueff and Bendereff — Submissicm of the mutinous regiment — Release of 
Alexander — Stopped at Lemberg and recalled by the Bulgarian loyalists — 
Action of British representatives in connection with the Prince's abduction — 
England and Russia — ^Triumphant return of Prince Alexander to Bulgaria — 
An unfortunate telegram and the reply from the Czar — Why Prince Alex- 
ander abdicated — Russian assurances of non-intervention in Bulgaria — 
— Appointment of the Regency — Abdication and departure of the Prince — 
His services to Bulgaria — ^The Regency — Mission of the Russian General 
Kaulbars — His demands and threats — ^Election riots promoted by Russia — 
Electioneering tour of Kaulbars in the Russian interest — ^A deplorable failure 
— Plot and insurrection against the Regency headed by Russian officers at 
Bourgas suppressed — ^Recall of Kaulbars and rupture of diplomatic relations 
with Russia — Unsupported charges of Kaulbars against the Bulgarians — 
Moderation and tact of the Ministers — Mission to European courts — Election 
and accession of Prince Ferdinand — Refusal of the Porte to confirm his elec- 
tion — His present position — Great Britain and Bulgaria — ^The proposed 
Danubian Confederation — Conclusion. 

'* XT AVE you received any intelligence as to a coup d*4tat in 
-^ Bulgaria ? What is thought at Constantinople as to the 
course events will probably take ? " 



92 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

These were the words of a dispatch which was sent on the 
22d August last year by the late lamented Earl of Iddesleigh 
(better known as Sir Stafford Northcote) to our representative 
in Constantinople, Sir Edward Thornton, and it announced to 
an astonished world one of the most audacious and dastardly 
outrages that has ever been recorded in the history of the civi- 
lised world — the abduction of a reigning Prince in the dead of 
night by a band of traitors and drunken ruffians, at the instiga- 
tion (to speak with reserve) of the agents of what should have 
been a friendly neighbouring Power of great weight and influ- 
ence. Messages flew in every direction, not only from our 
Foreign Office to our representatives at various Courts, but from 
capital to capital in every European State, and great anxiety 
was everywhere expressed as to the issues of the disgraceful 
transaction. 

This is what occurred. The Russians had found that, through 
their blundering policy in quarrelling with Prince Alexander, 
in withdrawing their officers from the country at a critical 
moment, and in opposing the union of the two States, they had 
frittered away the advantages they had gained in Bulgaria 
through the war of liberation, and they therefore resolved once 
more to adopt what they call " diplomatic " measures in order 
to recover their lost prestige. Knowing the ill-feeling of the 
Czar towards the Prince, which he never hesitated to exhibit 
openly when the occasion offered, as in striking his name off the 
Russian army list, &c., and feeling that the Prince's courage and 
successes against the Servians had greatly increased his hold 
upon the people's affections, they redoubled their efforts, at any 
cost and in any manner, to effect his removal. Overtures were 
made to poor and willing popular leaders in Sofia to assist in a 
political revolution ; the army was tampered with, and certain 
officers who were disappointed of promotion were bribed with 
money and promises of advancement to turn traitors to the Prince 
and commander to whom they had sworn allegiance ; and their 
agents were charged with complicity in a plan, which was 
betrayed and counteracted, to seize and carry off the Prince at 
Bourgas. It may be said that these were only charges ; but if 
the reader will take the trouble to look over the official dispatches 



ABDUCTION OF PRINCE ALEXANDER. 93 

of disinterested Powers relative to the subsequent snccessful plot 
against the Prince's person, he will find ample evidence to cor- 
roborate them and to prove their accuracy .^ 

These are some of the proofs : The Prince was taken in his 
yacht (commanded, according to some reports, by Russian oflScers^) 
a jprisoner^ and when he was landed at Reni, in Russian terri- 
tory, he was handed over like a bale of goods to the Russian 
authorities, who refused to give him any information, and kept 
him as much a prisoner as he had been in the hands of his 
traitorous subjects. Even after the order came for his liberation, 
he was conducted to the frontier by gens-d'armes. The politicians 
who seized the reins of government after his departure were 
Zankoff and other notorious Russian advocates and instruments. 
The first place to which the conspirators in Sofia betook them- 
selves when the daring deed was accomplished, and after they 
had made a pretence of holding a public meeting, was the Rus- 
sian Agency, where they sought and were promised sympathy 
and protection. Immediately after the consummation of the 
conspiracy " a Russian colonel arrived at Rustchuk to act as 
Russian Commissioner in Bulgaria ; " ^ and although in its com- 
munications with the Bulgarians the Russian Government sought 
to allay their fears by blandly protesting that there was not the 
least intention to occupy their country, yet in treating with the 
Porte the Czar would only pledge himself " not to occupy Bul- 
garia unless civil war should arise, or some other good reason 
present itself!' * 

I have not hesitated to anticipate some of the main facts of 
this infamous plot, owing to their recent occurrence, and because 
it is a matter of greater importance to us to know who were its 
responsible authors, and what were the motives that actuated 
them, than the recital of the deeds of their unworthy and mis- 
guided instruments. At the same time, if the Russians are to 
be censured for instigating and participating in the crime, what 
must be said of the Bulgarians themselves, in whose midst it 



* These will be found in extenso in *' Turkey, No. 1, 1887," already quoted. 
« Dispatch No. 214, p. 105. » Dispatch No. 142, p. 82. 

* Ibid., Dispatch No. 240, p. 112. 



94 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

was accomplished. Friendly writers (and I hope I may not be 
denied that title) have sought to hide the blot which stains 
the national escutcheon ; but notwithstanding the noble eflTorts 
of such men as Mutkuroff, Stambouloff, Natchevitch, Stoiloff, 
Zivkoff, and others to remove that blot, notwithstanding even 
the friendly and self-sacrificing reserve of the Prince himself, 
strangers, however much they may sympathise with the Bul- 
garians, still regard the abduction of the Prince as a national 
disgrace. Almost the first question that is put to one by per- 
sons who are anxious about the future of the country is, 
" Will they treat their present Prince better than they did 
the last?" And indeed the disaffection and disloyalty must 
have been widespread which allowed such men as Graeff and 
Bendereff, who have escaped the punishment they merited, but 
have attained an unenviable notoriety for all time, to com- 
pass their treacherous designs. That they, with the help of 
Stoyanoff, the commander of the mutinous Struma regiment, 
and others, whose complicity it has been deemed politic to 
ignore, should have been able to secure, and even for a time 
hold possession of the capital, and with their lay accomplices 
to mislead the entire nation as to the actual state of affairs, 
seems inexplicable, otherwise than on the presumption that 
whole masses of men were indifferent to the national honour.^ 
It is true that circumstances favoured the plot. The most 
trustworthy officers, Nikolaieff, Panoff, and others, were away 
on leave of absence, and the two leading conspirators had suc- 
ceeded, at the risk of another national war, in obtaining the 
removal of a number of loyal troops to the Servian frontier to 
protect it against a pretended invasion ; but, notwithstanding 
these advantages, they never could have compassed their ends if 
a considerable number of officers who were unwilling to parti- 
cipate actively in the crime had not lent it their silent support. 
Twice the Prince was warned of his danger, but it is not 
surprising that he should hesitate to believe in the treachery 
of his most trusted officers. After disarming certain loyal troops 
in the neighbourhood of Sofia, the mutinous Struma regiment 

1 Dispatch No. 154, p. 85-86, Sir A. Paget to the Earl of Iddesleigh. 



ABDUCTION OF PRINCE ALEXANDER. 95 

entered that city on the night of the 20th— 21st August, where, 
by order of their oflBcers, they placed sentinels at the doors of 
the leading statesmen and others who were known to be loyal 
to their Prince and country. There they were joined or assisted 
by a regiment of artillery stationed at Sofia, and by the cadets 
of the Military College, who had been won oyer by Grueff, under 
whose charge they were placed. They then proceeded to the 
palace ; and although the pen hesitates to record the disgraceful 
scene that was there enacted, it is necessary to do so, as it 
constitutes an important crisis in the history of the country. 
According to the account of Von Huhn, which seems in the 
main to be correct,^ the Prince, who was asleep at the time 
(about 3 A.M.), was aroused by his servant, Dimitri, who placed 
a revolver in his hand, and cried, " Highness, flee ; they are 
going to murder you." The Prince sprang from his bed, and, 
half-dressed, ran into a corridor whence a glass door led into a 
garden. This he found guarded by soldiers, who threatened 
him with their bayonets, and he retreated, and mounting to a 
higher storey, he saw that the palace was surrounded by armed 
men. Thereupon he descended, put on his uniform, and re- 
turned to face his mutinous subjects. These "pressed round 
him on all sides with wild cries, the ofi&cers threatening him 
with their revolvers, the cadets brandishing their bayonets in 
his face. Especially distinguished for bluster and noise was 
Captain DimitriefiF, who apparently had nerved himself to his 
crime by drink. In the middle of this wild tumult the Prince 
caught sight of his brother, Prince Francis Joseph, who, awaking 
with the first alarm, was on the point of hurrying to the Prince 
when he was stopped by the conspirators. These unanimously 
called on the Prince to abdicate, and demanded he should with 
his own hand write the deed. On the Prince refusing. Captain 
Dimitrieflf seated himself at a small table on which generally lay 
the visitors' book, tore a sheet out, and attempted to draw up 
the document. What between excitement and drink, he was 
incapable of accomplishing anything beyond a few illegible 

1 " The Kidnapping of Prince Alexander," p. 30. Dispatch No. 157, p. 89 ; 
Dispatch No. 229, p. 109 ; Dispatch No. 261, p. 123 , and elsewhere in "Turkey, 
No. 1, 1887." 



96 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

hieroglyphics. He accordingly yielded his seat to a cadet, who 
at his dictation wrote out a formal deed of abdication. During 
this interval Grueff kept his revolver pointed in the Prince's 
face, but did not venture either to address him or look at him, 
not even when the Prince said, " So, you are also with them ? " 
He had some feelings of shame left. The Prince paid but a 
scanty meed of attention to the document, which was read to 
him, and which he subscribed with the words, " Gott schutze 
Bulgarien. — ^Alexander." (God protect Bulgaria. — Alexander.^) 
It is needless to carry the description farther. Sufl&ce it to say, 
that before his departure, which took place under a strong escort at 
5 A.M., and subsequently, the Prince was subjected to the foulest 
abuse and the most ignominious treatment, which showed that 
his captors neither respected him nor themselves. 

There is a curious circumstance in connection with this part 
of the plot which deserves a passing notice. The conspirators, 
or those who advised them, seem to have studied the account of 
the deposition of Prince Oouza of Eoumania, which happened 
twenty years previously, and to have taken it as their model.^ 
(The result for the chief actors was, however, widely different.) 
At that time a number of leading statesmen conspired to depose 
Prince Couza on account of his long-continued misgovernment 
and gross immorality, and they adopted a course precisely 
similar (so far as it was requisite) to that pursued in the 
case of Prince Alexander. They pleaded as the justification for 
their violent proceedings that if they had moved more openly and 
deliberately, the Eussians would have interfered nominally on 
behalf of the Prince, but really to accomplish their aims against 
the Principality. In the case of Couza, he was not even arrested, 
but after having signed his abdication was allowed to go his 
way, and no one gave him a second thought. A proclamation 
was issued with the sanction of the leading statesmen of all 
parties in Eoumania, and a Provisional Government appointed, 
which was joyfully obeyed. In the case of Prince Alexander, 

1 "The Kidnapping of Prince Alexander," p. 31-32; also "Turkey, No. 1, 
1887," Dispatch No. 229, p. 108. 
^ " Roumania," p. 230 et seq. 



ABDUCTION OF PRINCE ALEXANDER. 97 

however, after the corrupt conspirators had assured themselves 
of Eussian " protection," they too issued a proclamation, pro- 
fessing to emanate from men some of whom neither sanctioned 
nor approved the deed,^ and shortly afterwards, when it was 
thought safe to do so, a second proclamation of a different tenor 
was circulated, bearing conspicuously the name (amongst others) 
of " The Commander-in-Chief of the Bulgarian Army, Major 
Grueff." As to the Prince himself, of course the conspirators 
had no fear of Eussian intervention in his favour. What they 
apprehended was the interference of the loyal part of the popu- 
lation ; so they spirited him away to Eahova on the Danube by 
a circuitous route, and thence to Eeni, where they delivered 
him over to the Eussians. 

Events now moved quickly. After the nation had recovered 
from its surprise, and when the loyal portion of the army became 
aware of the true state of affairs, a great revulsion of feeling 
took place, and a counter-revolution followed almost imme- 
diately.^ It had its origin with Lieutenant- Colonel Mutkuroff, 
who was in command of a brigade at Philippopolis, and M. 
Stambouloff, President of the National Assembly, who was at 
Timova. As soon as these two found that a sufficient number 
of troops remained faithful, they sent a telegram to Darmstadt 
to be forwarded to Prince Alexander (for his whereabouts was 
stiU unknown), praying him to return, and assuring him of the 
fidelity of the people and army ; and at the same time they 
issued a proclamation denouncing as traitors and outlaws " the 
members of the Provisional Government, at the head of which 
is Clement." This was the Archimandrite at Sofia, whose 
name was appended to one of the proclamations circulated by 
the conspirators. Almost without an effort on the part of the 
loyal population, this " Provisional Government " fell to pieces 
like a house of cards. The members of it sent in their resigna- 
tions to each other ! Major Popoff marched into Sofia at the 



^ Forgery was largely resorted to by the conspirators. "Turkey, No. 1," 
Dispatch No. 229. 
2 Ibid., Dispatch No. 289, p. 139. 

G 



98 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

head of the loyal Alexander regiment ; the mutinous regiments 
left the capital and encamped in the vicinity. On the 30th 
August Colonel Mutknroff also arrived with foui* regiments of 
infantry, one of cavalry, and several batteries. The leading con- 
spirators were put under arrest ; amongst them Karaveloff, who 
played a doubtful part throughout the whole transaction, but he 
was soon liberated. Grueff and BenderefF tried to escape, but 
were arrested at Eahova (irony of fate !), where the Prince had 
embarked. The only serious obstacle to the complete re-estab- 
lishment of order was now the presence of the mutinous regi- 
ments ; but by a little judicious dallying on the part of Mutkurofif, 
that also was overcome without bloodshed. Many of the officers 
fled over the frontier ; some of the men deserted ; and in a few 
days the remainder laid down their arms and surrendered at 
discretion. The course was now clear for the return of the 
Prince, whom the Russians had been forced to release in conse- 
quence of the universal expressions of indignation throughout 
the civilised world. After his liberation he proceeded on his 
homeward journey as far as Lemberg, where he was met by his 
brother Louis from Darmstadt. Here, too, he received the intel- 
ligence of the reaction in his favour, and the message of Stam- 
boulofif praying him to return, and the two brothers held a long 
consultation on the subject. It has been said by certain German 
writers that Great Britain failed to show proper sympathy with 
the Bulgarians in their hour of trial. Here is a telegram which 
was sent by Lord Iddesleigh to Sir Edward Thornton at Constan- 
tinople on the 25th August, immediately after he heard of the 
Prince's liberation: — " I requested your Excellency by telegraph 
to try to impress upon the Porte with great earnestness, that it 
would be politic on their part, now that Prince Alexander has re- 
covered his freedom, to summon his Highness to return to the 
Principality and restore order there." ^ And if that be not suffi- 
cient to refute such a calumny, here is an extract from another,^ 
from Mr. Oondie Stephen, our representative at Sofia, to Earl 
Iddesleigh, recounting a conversation between himself and Gruefif, 
the self-elected commander-in-chief, on the 26th August : — " I 



Dispatch No. 181, p. 96. « Ibid. No. 289, p. 139. 






ABDUCTION OF PRINCE ALEXANDER. 99 

began by informing him that I must decline to discuss any 
political questions with him, for I could in no way recognise 
the authority which he and his companions claimed, but I had 
come to warn him that, as military chief of the revolt, he would 
be held personally responsible for anything that might happen to 
Prince Alexander." But as it may be said tbat these were remon- 
strances addressed to weak Powers, I may be permitted, in order 
to show how firmly our Government supported the cause of free- 
dom in the East, to make one more extract, namely, from a long 
telegram sent by Mr. Morier, St. Petersburg, to the Earl of 
Iddesleigh, narrating an interview with M. de Giers. After 
listening to the most bitter denunciations of Prince Alexander, 
to the impossibility of a reconciliation between the Russians and 
him, and charges of " untold ingratitude of the Bulgarians for 
their deliverer," " I said, if that were so, the prospect was a 
black one indeed. The point of view from which the British 
nation viewed the question was necessarily a very diflferent one. 
They regarded his Highness as a Prince who had striven to the 
best of his abilities to create a free and orderly community in the 
territories committed to his charge, and they had throughout 
wished him success in his arduous undertaking. If, with the tre- 
mendous odds and the hostility of Russia against him, he now 
succeeded in once more grasping the reins of power with a steady 
hand, and again stood forth as the constitutional head of a law- 
abiding State, I believed the people of England would be deeply 
moved, and would scarcely look on with indifierence should an 
attempt be made from without to disturb this state of things. 
His Excellency repeated, as he had on several occasions pre- 
viously done, that there was not the slightest intention on the 
part of Russia to interfere" (sic!)} On the 18th September, 
however, an oflScial announcement appeared in the Journal de 
St. Petersburg of the mission of " M. le G^n^ral-Major Baron 
Kaulbars" to study Bulgarian afiFairs in detail, and assist the 
Bulgarians with his counsels, in order to extricate them from the 
crisis through which they are passing." " Ja, er kam mit einer 



1 Dispatch No. 295, p. 146. 



100 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Knute" (" Yes, he came with a knout "), said one of the leading 
statesmen to me at Sofia. 

As my readers well know, Prince Alexander returned in 
triumph to his people. At Eustchuk he was met, not only by 
a large number of his loyal subjects, but by the representatives 
of foreign courts, including that of St. Petersburg ; and in an 
evil hour, in the belief that he would thereby conciliate his 
irreconcilable cousin, he was induced to send him a telegram 
which the world has pronounced humiliating. After thanking 
the Emperor for having allowed his representative to meet him 
at Eustchuk, he said it was his " firm intention to spare no sacri- 
fice in order to aid your Imperial Majesty s magnanimous inten- 
tion to terminate the present grave crisis through which Bulgaria 
is passing." He expresses his anxiety that Prince Dolgorouki, 
who was coming as an emissary from St. Petersburg, should 
come to an understanding with himself, and, after professions of 
devotion, he wound up with the unfortunate sentence : *' Russia 
gave me my crown ; I am ready to return it into the hands of 
her sovereign." 

The Emperor's reply, bearing his own signature, was as 
follows : — 

" His Highness the Prince of Bulgaria^ Philipjpopoli, 

Have received your Highness's telegram. Cannot approve your 
return to Bulgaria, foreseeing the disastrous consequences to 
the country, already so severely tried. The mission of Prince 
Dolgorouki is no longer desirable. I shall refrain from all 
interference with the sad state to which Bulgaria has been 
brought as long as you remain there. Tour Highness will 
judge what is your proper course. I reserve my decision as to 
my future action, which will be in conformity with the obliga- 
tions imposed on me by the venerated memory of my father, the 
interests of Russia, and the peace of the East." 

Prince Alexander appears to have committed a very weak act, 
though it is difficult to judge without knowing what assurances 
were given to him by the Russian representative, or what feelings 
actuated him ; and he laid himself open to a retort which would 
have reflected little credit upon any gentleman, much less upon one 



ABDUCTION OF PRINCE ALEXANDER. 101 

enjoying the exalted position of the " Czar of all the Eussias," 
who has never done one single act nor said a single sentence 
likely to recall the "venerated memory of his father," the Libera- 
tor. But if this action of the Prince was not justified and was. 
unworthy of him, his subsequent conduct far more than made 
amends. Nothing is more common in England, and even 
abroad, than to hear the question put, " Why did Prince Alexan- 
der abdicate ? " After his release, his reception in Austria and 
Roumania was most flattering and sympathetic ; so too was the 
expression of feeling throughout Europe, excepting, of course, 
in Russia. His return to Sofia by way of Timova and Philip- 
popolis was one continued triumphal march ; even the King of 
Servia sent him a message of sympathy and congratulation. 
Then why did he abdicate ? I fear the answer will not raise 
the Bulgarians in the estimation of my readers ; but the truth 
must be told. First, he found that the military conspiracy had 
extended much more widely than was generally supposed. 
" Out of six commanders of brigades," he told our representg-tive 
at Sofia, in a deep fit of depression,^ " three were implicated in 
the plot, and twelve out of eighteen commanders of regiments. 
The army was in a complete state of disorganisation, and his 
Highness could place no reliance on any of the civilians. M. 
Karavelofi* was certainly acquainted with the plot. . . . The 
people were with him, no doubt; but it was impossible to 
govern with the people, and the leaders were not to be trusted." 
Then, again, to a large extent the punishment of the military 
insurgents was thrown upon his hands, for he was commander- 
in-chief of the army ; and there would have to be numerous 
executions, which would not only be distasteful to the Prince, 
but would render him liable to assassination. But even as 
regarded the most prominent traitors, Russia was clamouring 
and bullying for their release, and two of the leading European 
Powers were supporting her demand. Under such circumstances, 
discipline in the army was impossible. And finally, the Russian 
agents, taking advantage of the Prince's grave indiscretion in 
sending the telegram to the Czar, were constantly representing 

1 Dispatch No. 278, p. 134. 



102 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

to him that his presence alone stood in the way of a reconcilia- 
tion between Bnssia and Bulgaria, and militated against the 
freedom and prosperity of the latter. 

These are the reasons why Alexander abdicated ; but before 
doing so he formally applied to the Russian Government for a 
promise that, if he departed from the country, it would leave the 
Bulgarians at liberty to manage their own affairs ; and having 
received that promise in the presence of his councillors, he next 
considered how he could best provide for the re- establishment 
and maintenance of order. At first he tried to induce the 
Powera to appoint a European Commission to take over the 
administration of the country after his departure ; ^ but as that 
was not found to be practicable, he himself nominated Messrs. 
Karaveloff, Stambouloff, and Nikeforoff Regents, and they selected 
a number of leading men of all parties to form a Ministry. Then, 
and not until then, the Prince expressed his firm and final 
resolution to abdicate ; and after issuing a suitable proclamation 
to that effect, signed once more " God preserve Bulgaria," he 
prepared to take his departure. This occurred on the 7th 
September, when, accompanied by his leading advisers and 
oflBcers who had remained loyal, and followed by the regrets of 
the people of his adopted country, he drove in state from Sofia 
to Lom Palanka on the Danube, embarked once more on board 
the yacht Alexander^ landed at Turn Severin in Roumania, and 
there taking the railway, returned into private life after a 
glorious but troublous reign of eight years. During that period 
he had consolidated the Bulgarian nation, successfully defended 
the country against external foes, and secured its prestige as a 
military power, and, as far as the unremitting plots and perse- 
cution of a great autocratic " liberator " would permit, he had 
established order and greatly developed the internal resources 
of the land. 

Prince Bismarck was right when he said that the Prince's 
sovereignty of Bulgaria would be a pleasant reminiscence ! 

After the departure of Prince Alexander, the Regents set to 

- — ■ - ■ ■ — . — —^ — ~ — ^-- — - ^ | - I - - _, 

1 Diapatch No. 284, p. 137. 



THE KEGENCY. lOS 

work in their arduous task of governing the country until a 
new Prince should be elected. The Russians, too, manifested a 
most laudable desire to see order re-established, and with that 
view they sent General Kaulbars to advise the Bulgarians. 
This he did first by demanding the immediate release of all 
persons, including officers, who had been engaged in the revolt. 
For a long time the Government resisted this demand, but even- 
tually, after his threats had been backed up by the arrival of 
two Russian vessels of war at Varna, with which he threatened 
to bombard the town, they were obliged to yield. Another 
demand of his was that the elections for the great National 
Assembly should be postponed. This the Regents successfully 
resisted, and the elections took place ; but in order to throw as 
much doubt as possible upon their validity, the Russian agents 
and Consuls incited the opponents of the Government and 
others to riot wherever it was practicable. This was notably 
the case at Sofia, where a large number of peasants were bribed 
to attack the polling-booth. Repulsed by the guardians of 
the peace, they took refuge in the Russian Agency, which is 
situated immediately opposite ours. A disturbance ensued, 
and several shots were fired upon the crowd from the Russian 
Agency (see Plate II.), where a number of armed Montenegrins 
were kept as " lambs." Some of the bullets lodged in or " left 
marks on the walls of the British and German Agencies ; " ^ 
and this had the efiect of somewhat cooling the electioneering 
ardour of the Russian agent, M. Nekludow. But what was 
wanting in Sofia General Kaulbars himself endeavoured to 
supplement elsewhere. He stumped the whole country on 
behalf of his master the Czar, and brought .ridicule and con- 
tempt upon his Government and himself by his arrogance and 
undiplomatic conduct. His tour was a complete failure, and 
the elections, resulting in a large Government majority, were 
held notwithstanding his unjustifiable interference. After this, 
Russian agents instigated a plot against the Government at 
Bourgas, where a number of insurgents led by two Russian 

^ Dispatch No. 410, p. 200. All details connected with the acts of Russia 
during the progress of the elections will be found in Dispatches in *' Turkey, No. 
1, 1887." . 



104 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

officers, Captain Nabokoff (who afterwards escaped) and an- 
other, had possession of the place for a brief period ; but the 
rising was suppressed on the arrival of a body of regular Bul- 
garian troops. These and similar measures were taken by the 
Eussian officials and agents " to restore law and order " in 
Bulgaria, but they ended in the recall of General Kaulbars, the 
withdrawal of the war-vessels from Varna, and finally of the 
Eussian Agency and all Eussian officials from the *' ungrateful 
country." 

It would have been surprising if the irritating and arbitrary 
proceedings of General Kaulbars and his associates, one of 
which was to distribute, or attempt to distribute, throughout the 
country a seditious handbill against the Government, had not 
led to some expressions of ill-will, or even retaliatory measures 
against the Eussians, and their envoy complained to the 
Ministry that violence had been used towards Eussian subjects 
in Bulgaria. When, however, he was asked to give some 
definite cases for inquiry and prosecution, his reply was that he 
declined to enter into a discussion with regard to the particular 
cases in which Eussian subjects had been ill-treated, so many 
instances having came to his personal knowledge during the 
time he had been in Bulgaria, " acts of which the Bulgarian 
Eegents were themselves well aware ; " 2 and, if the statements 
of the Eussian officials in London and St. Petersburg are to be 
credited, his reports made to them varied from his accusations 
at Sofia. But throughout the negotiations, and during all this 
trying period, the attitude of the Bulgarian statesmen presented 
a marked contrast to that of the Eussian representatives. The 
threats and intimidation of the latter were met with firmness, 
moderation, and good sense, and where, for the sake of peace, 
they found it possible and politic to acquiesce in the demands 
of Eussia, the Government did so, as the reader may convince 
himself by a perusal of the voluminous dispatches. Indeed, the 
tact and demeanour of the Bulgarian leaders at that time, and 
down to the election of Prince Ferdinand, have secured for 

1 Dispatches Nos. 654-657, pp. 280, 281. 

' Dispatch No. 518, p. 264 ; and Enclosures, 11 and 12 in Dispatch No. 660, 
pp. 277, 278. 



THE REGENCY. 105 

them the respect and sympathy of the whole of the civilised 
world. 

After a futile attempt on the part of Bussia to press upon 
the people the candidature of the " Prince of Mingrelia," ^ and 
after the election of Prince Waldemar of Denmark, and his 
refusal to accept the post, and the mission of a deputation 
of Bulgarian leaders to the various courts of Europe to place 
before them the actual condition of afiairs, a third, and this 
time a successful attempt was made to secure a successor to 
Prince Alexander. This was done in the person of Prince 
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was elected on 
the 9th of last July, accepted the sovereignty and ascended 
the throne 2 on Sunday, 14th August, at Timova, the ancient 
capital of Bulgaria. Up to the time of writing, however, the 
Porte has declined to confirm and the Powers to approve his 
election, which they (or some of them) say is not in conformity 
with the Treaty of Berlin. As a matter of fact, however, it is 
they who are completely violating the spirit of that treaty, 
which says that " the Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely elected 
by the population." He was so chosen, his election has been 
confirmed by a subsequent Parliament, and not one of the 
Powers (not even Russia) has ventured to find fault with the 
choice of the Bulgarian people. 

Before closing this survey of the past history of Bulgaria and 
attempting to deal with her present condition, I feel bound, 
partly in consequence of the flippant criticisms to which I have 
referred, and at the risk of being charged with needless repe- 
tition, to say a few words concerning the part played by our 
country during the recent troubles ; for although I would by no 
means afiSrm that it is incumbent upon us to go to war again 
for the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, which is rapidly falling 
to decay, yet it is clearly our duty, by every legitimate means, 
to assist the young and rising States of Eastern Europe to retain 



1 Dispatch No. 563, p. 280 (from Sir W. White, who succeeded Sir E. Thornton 
at Constantinople, to the Earl of Iddesleigh). 

' The Prince of Bulgaria is not crowned. He takes the oath to uphold the 
Constitution, and is blessed by a bishop. 



106 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

their independence, and to protect them from the wolf-and-lamb 
policy of Bussia. 

That Mr. Gladstone's action in connection with the Bulgarian 
atrocities was directed to the liberation of Bulgaria and not to 
the aggrandisement of Russia, no dispassionate thinker will deny ; 
and any person who reads the dispatches to which such frequent 
reference has been made in these pages, and who has followed 
the course of events with care, is bound with equal readiness to 
admit that the Earl of Iddesleigh courageously and honourably 
sought to maintain our reputation as the champion of liberty in 
the East. But what must be gratifying to Englishmen is to 
feel that in their policy and eflPorts both political parties were 
admirably seconded and supported by our represent-atives at 
foreign courts. When, by the desire of the people, the union 
of the two Bulgarias was accomplished, Sir William White at 
Constantinople and Mr. Lascelles at Sofia threw their influence 
into the scale for the Bulgarians against Eussian diplomacy. 
When the treacherous and corrupt, or rather corrupted section 
of his subjects plotted, for a time successfully, against the liberty 
of their Prince and country, Mr. Lascelles refused to acknow- 
ledge the military leadership of GrueflF in Sofia, and although, 
from what I know of him personally, I am sure that our brave 
Consul-General at Philippopolis, Captain Jones, V.O., would in 
no way outstep his diplomatic functions, yet it is an open secret 
that when he was privately consulted by General MutkuroflF, one 
of the saviours of Bulgarian liberty, his advice was given on the 
side of loyalty and freedom ; and he kept our Government com- 
pletely informed as to the plots and the unwarrantable inter- 
ference of Eussia in the internal affairs of the country. And 
finally, whilst even the great German Chancellor stood in awe 
of the power of Eussia, and professed at least to be playing into 
her hands. Sir Robert Morier at St. Petersburg did not hesitate 
to announce to the Eussian Government that this nation would 
not look with indifference upon any attempt that might be made 
to rob the young nation of her liberties. 

I trust that the British nation will tolerate no Government 
that will act otherwise than in this spirit, and if these remarks 
should meet the eye of my Bulgarian friends, I will ask them 



THE REGENCY. 107 

to ponder well over a question that was put on the 29th Sep- 
tember 1886 by M. de Staal to the Earl of Iddesleigh, and the 
EarFs reply : " He also asked me whether her Majesty's Govern- 
ment were taking any steps to bring about an understanding 
between Roumania, Servia, and Bulgaria. I replied in the nega- 
tive, though, I added, we desired to see those States in cordial 
amity with one another, and I had so expressed myself to the 
Governments of those States." ^ 

I am not aware whether and to what extent our Government 
is acting on the lines of this conversation, and I am well ac- 
quainted with the obstacles to the establishment of a Danubian 
Confederation. The good feeling which now exists between 
Servia and Bulgaria has already led to a move in the right 
direction, and the nations themselves will have to undertake the 
task. One thing, however, is certain, namely, that the Earl of 
Iddesleigh was expressing the opinion of nine out of ten sensible 
Englishmen, that this would be the best and safest solution, so 
far as it can at present be solved, of what is known as the 
Eastern Question, to which I propose hereafter more fully to 
direct the reader's attention. 

Here our review of the past history of Bulgaria must ter- 
minate, but some personal remarks upon her two Princes, her 
living statesmen and their antecedents, will be found in the 
Second Part of this treatise. 

^ Dispatch No. 37 J, p. 185. 



< 



I 



PART 11. 



BULGARIA, TO-DAY. 



PART II. 



BULGARIA, TO-DAY. 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL. Ill 



CHAPTER X. 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL. 

Area of Bulgaria — Its mountain chains — Their shape and constitution — Configura- 
tion of the country generally — ^Ancient sea or lake beds — The plains — Tumuli 
and their contents — The surface soil — The rivers — Beauties of the Jantra — 
Towns — Roads — Railways. 

IT is not my intention to treat my readers as schoolboys, nor to 
give them a lesson in the geography of Bulgaria, but before 
speaking of the institutions of the country, it may be interesting 
to refer to a few of its general characteristics. The boundaries 
of the united Principality, as they were defined by the Treaty of 
Berlin under the two heads of " Bulgaria " and " Eastern Rou- 
melia," have already been given, and it may now be added that 
its area, about 38,500 square miles, is about equal to that of 
Ireland and Wales. The two provinces. North and South, are 
divided by the Balkan chain, which has been subdivided by 
some geographers into smaller groups or ranges. These take 
their popular names mostly from the towns and villages at their 
bases, as the Bercovica, Etropol, Zlatica, Trojan, Kalofer, and 
Kamabad Balkans. In addition to the Balkans there is the 
Rhodope chain in the south, which serves as part of the 
boundary between Bulgaria and Turkey ; the Sredna Gora, or 
Middle Mountains, between the two; the Rilo and Vitosch 
Mountains, both (the last immediately) south of Sofia, the 
capital. The general height of these mountains is about the 
same as the Carpathians; none rising more than about 9000 
feet above the sea-level. Their summits are, with few exceptions, 
rounded, and their composition chiefly limestone ; but many dif- 
ferent strata crop up at the surface in and near the mountains. 



112 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Some of these, as the vertical walls of sandstone at Belogradchik, 
are very bizarre; whilst at Philippopolis huge granite hills 
spring directly from the plain. A mineral which enters largely 
into the composition of the Balkans is argillaceous mica-schist, 
which gives them in places a very brilliant appearance as it 
glitters brightly in the southern sunshine, often reminding one 
of the Pass of the Tourmalets, between St Sauveur and Bag- 
neres de Bigorre in the Pyrenees. Another very striking 
characteristic of the Balkans, which the eye never tires of 
beholding, is the frequent recurrence of limestone escarp- 
ments, rising at different elevations and sometimes extending 
for milea These resemble somewhat the Eagle Cliffs at Llan- 
gollen ; and if the reader should ever approach Timova on the 
road from Biela, where these cliffs rise precipitously from the 
roadside, he will find them to be composed largely of fossili- 
ferous limestone. 

A striking feature of the country is the sudden transition 
from plain to mountain, the nearest approach to which is seen 
on the Worcestershire side of the Malvern Hills. You may 
drive for hours along a level road with a perfectly flat plain on 
either side of you, reaching miles and miles into the far 
distance, — a vast plain, absolutely no valley, — and then sud- 
denly a high mountain range rises on one or both sides at the 
boundary of the plain. In some parts you have beautifully 
undulating country, as on the southern slopes of the Balkans, 
and then perhaps a long expanse of elevated plain; but the 
vast plateau, with its mountain ranges at the extremities, leaves 
the most durable impression upon the mind of the traveller. 

Coupling together these level tracts of country with the escarp- 
ments of limestone or raised sea-beaches, the traveller, even 
one without pretensions to geological knowledge, is inevitably 
led to the conclusion that a great part of the country must at 
one time have been covered by the sea. Indeed, at one place, 
between Timova and Eustchuk, in the vicinity of Biela, tiya 
appearance of the landscape admits of no other inference. As 
you drive along the road, you see on your left a magnificent 
lake minus the water, for which is substituted a perfectly level 
grass-covered plain, and running round a great portion of its 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL. 113 






circumference for miles there is a range of hills, alternating 
with almost perpendicular limestone cliffs. 

And these plains themselves possess another striking pecu- 
liarity, which is apt to puzzle the uninitiated traveller. Small 
hills, varying in height from twenty to fifty feet, generally over- 
grown with grass or a few stunted trees, rise from the plains 
almost throughout the whole country. These are tumuli or 
burial-mounds, and they may be counted by thousands. During 
a drive over the plain from Philippopolis to the Monastery of 
St. Kyriak (to be described hereafter), I counted in some places 
between thirty and forty such mounds visible at one time. 
They are of various periods, and will one day afford a consider- 
able fund of information to the historians of the earlier ages of 
man. At present, most of the known facts connected with them 
serve as the foundation for guesswork, which is usually enve- 
loped in a cloud of ambiguous verbiage. Some of them have 
been explored, and there have been discovered sarcophagi, 
skeletons, armour (such as helmets, &c.), arrowheads, &c. ; but 
little or nothing definite is known with regard to the owners 
of these interesting objects. Two things are certain: first, 
that some of them have served as burial-places for chiefs, pro- 
bably of most of the nations who formerly occupied the country ; 
and secondly, that they have often been utilised as small forti- 
fied stations and look-outs. 

The natural products of these plains and mountains we shall 
have an opportunity of considering as we drive through the 
country. The soil is, generally speaking, extremely fertile, and 
at present needs no manure. It varies, of course, in different loca- 
lities, but is chiefly of the same argillaceous nature as elsewhere 
in the Danubian plains. There are, however, whole tracts where 
cultivation would seem to be almost impossible, owing to the pre- 
sence of innumerable round stones, of which the superficial drift 
is almost entirely composed, and which choke the surface soil. 
The presence of these stones, of which I have never seen the like 
elsewhere, renders the introduction and use of our light Western 
ploughs very difficult ; the old — I was about to say aboriginal 
— plough in use being better adapted for this almost impene- 
trable surface. The same beds of channelled clay which offend 

H 



114 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

the eye on the hill-slopes of Eonmania are seen here, and they 
often mar the beauty of the otherwise magnificent landscape. 

The plains of Bulgaria are irrigated and drained by several 
important streams. Of the Danube, which forms one of its 
boundaries, I have spoken at length elsewhere.^ Of its affluents 
in Bulgaria, the chief are the Isker, the Lorn, the Vid, the 
Osma, and the Jantra, all of which, excepting the first, rise in 
the Balkans. The Isker has its sources in the south-west of 
South Bulgaria, and flowing northward, it breaks through the 
Balkans, which it' divides into two ranges, not far from Sofia. 
Perhaps the most interesting of these rivers is the Jantra, 
whose course winds circuitously between high limestone rocks 
through and round Timova; and as one travels over the un- 
dulating country between the old capital and the Danube, every 
now and then he obtains beautiful glimpses of the river as it 
meanders along, often hemmed in by perpendicular walls of 
limestone. Another fine river is the Maritza, whose sources 
are near those of the Isker ; it flows past Philippopolis (see 
Plate VI.), where it is already a broad river, crossing South 
Bulgaria from west to east, receiving many branches, and 
finally disappearing in the ^gean Sea. These rivers are crossed 
by fine stone bridges, as those over the Jantra at Gabrovo, Biela, 
&c., and over the Maritza at Philippopolis. 

The most important towns in Bulgaria are Sofia, the capital, 
situated in an elevated plain at the foot of Mount Vitosch, in 
the south-west ; Philippopolis, in the south, both cities being on 
the main road from Belgrade to Adrianople ; Timova, north of 
the Balkans ; Sliven or Slivno, a town celebrated for its manu- 
facturing industries — "house-industries," as the Germans call 
them — namely, woollen rugs, clothing, &c.; Kezanlik, the seat 
of the otto-of-rose manufacture; Schumla, a strongly fortified 
place, and many other inland towns ; also the ports of Varna, on 
the Black Sea, Lorn, Vidin, Sistowa, Bustchuk, Silistria, and 
others, on the Danube. Many of these towns are united by 
good roads, as the trunk-road already named, from which there 
is an important branch at Philippopolis, crossing the Shipka 



1 II 



Roumania," chap. iii. 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND PHYSICAL. 115 

Pass in the Balkans to Timova, and thence to Rustchuk, with 
branch roads to Sistowa, Plevna, &c.; others there are from 
Lom Palanka to Sofia, from that capital to Kostendil, &c. 
There are two railways — the one, well known, from Eustchuk 
to Varna, which at present conveys passengers from most parts 
of Europe to Constantinople; and the unfinished line, which 
will eventually connect Vienna and Constantinople without the 
need of crossing the Black Sea. At present passengers cannot 
enter Bulgaria from Servia by that railway, although at the 
time of writing a locomotive engine has entered Sofia over the 
line. At Sarambey, in South Bulgaria, it recommences, and is 
thence available by Philippopolis to Adrianople and Constanti- 
nople.^ Although the rails are not laid, and in some places the 
bridges wanting, the course of the line may be followed through- 
out, as given on the map appended hereto, and it will not be 
long before it is available for through traffic. 

These few general remarks upon the country are necessary to 
enable the reader to comprehend the following detailed infor- 
mation. 



^ At Timova-Semanli there is a short branch on this line open to Jeni- 
Zagra and Jamboli 



116 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XL 

BULGARIAN CITIES SOFIA, THE CAPITAL NATIONAL AND 

OFFICIAL LIFE. 

Sofia — ^The new quarter — The old town — Its Oriental character — Absence of 
amusements in Sofia — Politics — A visit to the prison — The prisoners — Want 
of employment — A " Jack Shepherd " — ^The prison system — ^Administration 
of justice in Bulgaria — Courts of justice — Defects of administration — Biassed 
judges — Lenient treatment of criminals — Visit to the Technical School of 
Kniajevo — Its operations — Wood and iron work — Its beautiful manufactures 
— ^Teaching arrangements — Professor Athanasoff and his stnfif — Laboratories 
and collections — Cost of maintenance — Influence of the school on Bulgarian 
industries — Printing-offices — The citizens — ^Treatment of the Jews — Dr. 
Matincheff and the Jewish sick and poor — Bulgarian statesmen, their 
modest habits of life — M. Stambouloff, his career— Messrs. StoilofE, Natche- 
witch, Zivkoff, Colonel Mutkouroff, Dr. Stransky, M. Radoslavoff, M. Kara- 
veloff — Rapid rise of Bulgarian statesmen — ^Their consummate tact and 
ability. 

IT would be difl&cult to conceive of three cities presenting 
greater contrasts than Sofia, the modem capital, Timova, 
the ancient capital of Bulgaria, and Philippopolis, the chief 
town in South Bulgaria, formerly Eastern Roumelia. Each has 
its marked peculiarities, and in describing them I propose also 
to refer to those national and social movements of which they 
are the centres. 

Sofia is situated on an elevated plain in the south-west of 
Bulgaria, and more than one range of mountains is visible from 
its higher parts, conspicuously the Balkans to the north and 
Mount Vitosch immediately on the south. During my stay 
in the city there was unfortunately a change from very dry 
to wet weather. This had the efiect of making the surrounding 
plain change from a parched brown to a bright green colour, 
but it prevented me from ascending Vitosch, from which there 



BULGARIAN CITIES. 117 

is a splendid view, as the summit was nearly always in the 
clouds. The atmospheric effects as these rolled over the moun- 
tain and around its slopes were, however, very grand and 
imposing. There is a gradually rising plain a few miles in ex- 
tent &om Sofia to the foot of the mountain, and it may then be 
easily ascended in any direction. The city itself, which covers 
a very considerable area, resembling in that respect Bucharest, 
contains about twenty thousand inhabitants. It may be said 
to have three distinct quarters. The new city, which was 
virtually planned and founded by Prince Alexander, is situated 
round about the palace, of which a fair idea may be obtained 
from the photograph ; the old " Turkish " quarter, which re- 
sembles the narrow streets of certain Oriental cities ; and a 
straggling series of streets and roads, with houses of moderate 
dimensions and some imposing buildings, as the barracks, the 
new printing-offices, and the boys' " Gymnasium » or upper 
middle-class school, &c. 

The new part of the city comprises the palace, which is a very 
fine structure 'of modem French Benaissance (as may be seen 
from the photograph), resembling portions of .the ^Louvre and 
Tuileries (see Plates III. and VIII.) ; the "Hotel Bulgaria " oppo- 
site, really the only fine hotel in the city ; some good shops ; the 
houses in which the Ministries are situated, very unpretending 
buildings, and near at hand the " Agencies " of foreign courts. 
These are situated at a higher elevation than the palace, and 
the finest is the Eussian Agency, of which also a photograph is 
appended (Plate II.), showing the Eussian and part of the 
British agency. 

The old town is by far the most interesting to strangers. 
It consists of a series of streets containing shops with open 
fronts, enabling the visitor to see the artisans at work, and the 
trades are, as far as possible, grouped together — shoemakers, 
tinsmiths, cutlers making knives and dirks, brass-workers, 
butchers,, bakers, clothiers, &c., and not the least conspicuous 
the furriers at work making the kalpack or cylindrical Bul- 
garian head-dress worn by the men. The better kinds are made 
of real fur, the commoner descriptions of sheep's- wool died black. 
In some places I saw very beautiful white kalpacks. In addi- 



118 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

tion to these features the striking peculiarities of this and other 
towns are: first, the mosques, which have been converted to 
secular uses, as prisons, printing-offices, markets, &c. (in Sofia 
the baths, fed by natural hot springs) ; the execrable pave- 
ment, which makes progress in a carriage very difficult ; the 
wooden skeletons of triumphal arches, which are permanently 
retained throughout the country, so that the people may not 
be put to any unnecessary trouble in preparing a joyous recep- 
tion iii*turn for Russian general, German prince, or nationalist 
hero! 

In Sofia there is no theatre, no concerts, and, as far as I 
could learn, no lectures nor systematic entertainments of any 
kind, except a military band, which plays very well, and one or 
two caf^S'Chantants. During my stay there the people were very 
much exercised, not only by the intrigues of Russia, but by the 
refusal of the Powers to recognise their Prince and the threat of 
the Germans to send men-of-war to blockade or bombard Varna 
on account of some petty insult in the shape of a newspaper 
article which had recently appeared reflecting on one of their 
Consuls, and that may have accounted for the serious aspect of 
the place. But to me it appeared that politics alone occupied 
all men's thoughts, and the whole place seemed to be in the 
throes of one vast mysterious conspiracy. That the political 
atmosphere was highly charged the reader will find when I come 
to describe a " meeting " which took place during my sojourn 
there. I was told that the Sofians are always either up in the 
skies or down in the mad, and I am afraid that it was my ill- 
luck to find them in the lower regions. 

The places of interest to be visited there, besides those just 
named, are the Technical School of Kniajevo, which is situated a 
few miles out of the city, at the foot of Vitosch, a^ is unique ; 
the printing-offices ; the boys' Gymnase, which was ^ifortunately 
closed when I was there ; and, for those who care to study the 
aspects of crime, the prison. Let us visit the last-named first. 
It is a (very slightly, I should say) converted mosque — the Black 
Mosque. Tou enter it from a kind of court or garden, and find 
yourself in a quadrangle, badly paved and slovenly, and contain- 
ing a few stunted trees, with a series of buildings all round, 



SOFIA. 119 

consisting of large chambers or cells. In these there are raised 
shelves where the prisoners sleep, and where they stand in a 
row for inspection. The prison costnme is white dack, and the 
prisoners are numbered. When I was there, there were about 
170 men and (in another part of the.building) seven women. One 
of the men was a priest, who was permitted to wear his long 
gown and silk hat. I understood that he had been implicated 
in the election riots.' The crimes of the others bad been murder, 
manslaughter, highway robbery (or, as they call it, brigandage, 
of which I shall speak hereafter), and other heavy offences, and 
all but two or three were imprisoned for long terms, up to four- 
teen years or even longer. Two or three were sentenced to 



death, and I was shocked to see one man in chains standing 
amongst the rest, when I subsequently saw them in a body in 
the quadrangle, who was to be executed in a few days. He 
had previot ^y sent me from his cell, where he was standing 
along with others, a belt made by himself of small beads, for 
which, of course, I gave him a trifle. Other prisoners volun- 
tarily make similar objects of small, parti-coloured beads, as 
purses, necklaces, &c., which they sell to visitors, and that 
is the extent of the prison labour! The prisoners do abao- 

' Or JD a coiupiiacy in the inteiestB of Buaaia, I forget nliicb. 



120 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

lately nothing, as, with some trifling exceptions, they did in 
Bucharest, when I was there in 1881. The result of this 
enforced idleness an.d of the free association of the prisoners is 
that they are constantly conspiring to escape. Abont a fort- 
night before I was there two prisoners had escaped, and, I 
believe, up to that time they were at large. The very day pre- 
viously another prisoner, it was believed in collusion with about 
ten more, was within an ace of making his escape. I was shown 
a key which he had cleverly constructed out of a piece of thin 
plate-iron, wherewith he was going to open his cell door, and 
another of wood for the outer gate. In case they had succeeded 
in reaching that, the prisoners would have overpowered, and 
probably murdered, the guard. The prisoner was afterwards 
shown to me in a strong cell, heavily loaded with chains round 
his breast, waist, and legs. The system of associating prisoners 
of various degrees is, however, not so bad as formerly. Some 
years since, if a soldier failed to salute his superior oflScer, or 
committed some slight military offence, and received a sentence 
of a short' term of imprisonment, he was bundled into this and 
other gaols, and compelled to herd with murderers and highway 
robj^ers. The prisoners are well fed. As one of the Ministers 
said to me, " they live more comfortably than ordinary work- 
men." They have meat four times a week, bread in the morn- 
ing, excellent nourishing soup (which I tasted) at noon, and 
another meal of some kind later on. They are nearly all well- 
educated, and three who could neither read nor write when they 
entered the gaol had been instructed by their colleagues. A few 
books were lent to them by a Missionary Society, but that was all 
that was done for their intellectual advancement. There is some 
kind of weekly inspection. I asked them whether they would 
not prefer to work, and was answered aflSrmatively ; they even 
said they would petition for work ; but I fear that is a reform of 
the future. Generally speaking, the treatment of prisoners is 
mild ; the Government is averse to inflict capital punishment, 
and the prison oflScials are forbearing, intelligent, and attentive, 
and fully alive to the danger and inconvenience of the present 
system. And now a few words about the administration of 
justice generally in Bulgaria. 



NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LIFE. 121 

* 
The police system in Sofia comprises four districts (including 

the central), called Ootchastoks, which take cognisance of crimes 
therein committed. In the central oflSce, which was the one 
visited by me, a commissioner sits and disposes of petty cases 
involving not more than twenty-four hours' detention. Im- 
prisonment for any longer period must be inflicted by higher 
courts. A second petty court is that of the Juge de Paix, who 
adjudicates upon cases not involving disputes or damages beyond 
300 francs. 

There are three superior courts. The Court of First Instance, 
the Court of Appeal, and the *' Cour de Cassation." From the 
first, prisoners nearly always appeal to the second, and facilities 
are fireely granted to enable them to do so. The Court of Cas- 
sation may revise the sentences of the Court of Appeal, order a 
new trial, or mitigate the sentence. So far the machinery of 
the law, which seems excellent ; now as to how it is adminis- 
tered. I made searching inquiries, and received the following 
information from a great variety of sources. " Are the judges 
corrupt ? " The answer is " No ; not so far as bribery is con- 
cerned ;" and this redounds greatly to their credit, for the salary 
of the President of the *' Cour de Cassation/' the highest court, is 
only £300 per annum ! (Let me here add that a prefect receives 
at most £200 a year, a Minister of State £480. A Deputy gets 
fifteen francs per day during the session of Parliament, and his 
travelling expenses.) 

On the other hand, it rests with the Procureur (public pro- 
secutor) to give the prisoner a chance before the "Cour de 
Cassation," for his report is submitted to their consideration, 
and I was told on good authority that he is often biassed in 
his acts. Some even of the judges are influenced by political 
sympathies, especially in cases of riot or other matters connected 
with elections. If the prisoner belongs to their side, he is all 
right ; if to the opposition, he may bid good-bye to his chances of 
justice. I shall be told that I need not go so far as Bulgaria 
for instances of that description ; but as regards the judges of 
our superior courts, we need happily fear no such perversion of 
justice in England. Prisoners are often detained in prison for 
a long time before being brought to trial, and I heard of one 



122 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

case where a man was detained for a year before being acquitted. 
On the whole, however, the administration of justice is mild, 
capital sentences are often commuted, and no such severities 
are to be met with as killing prisoners by insanitary or ex- 
hausting employments. 

From the prison and crime we will pass on to a more agree- 
able subject, namely, technical instruction in Bulgaria. After 
having visited many such institutions in Europe and the United 
States, I have no hesitation in saying that, plain and unpre- 
tending as it is, the " Ecole Technique" at Kniajevo is the most 
interesting and practical that I have met with anywhere. It is 
situated at the foot of Vitosch, about five or six miles from 
Sofia, and consists of three buildings — one on the roadside, 
another in the grounds in the rear, and the director's residence 
— and gives instruction to about seventy pupils, forty of whom 
work in iron and thirty in wood. The department of ironwork 
comprises a large fitting-shop, provided with excellent tools, and 
a forge and foundry ; also a small blast-furnace, with crucibles 
for casting steel and other metals. The kind of iron and bronze 
work done is lamps, candelabra, bells for churches, gates, either 
of iron only, or beautiful wooden doors with iron grating and 
ornamentation, and with polished steel handles and locks. The 
lock-making is the strong feature, and some of the locks are 
very beautiful. In addition, there are balconies, kitchen ranges, 
and certain implements employed in agriculture, as ploughs, 
sieves for cleansing and separating wheat and flour, and many 
small articles of use and ornament. In the department of wood- 
work, cabinetmaking is the chief occupation, and the articles 
fabricated are second to none that I have seen elsewhere. 

The woods employed are indigenous walnut, oak, beech, and 
pine, and from these are made chairs, tables, bedsteads, secre- 
taires, bookcases, and almost every other article of household 
use. There was one beautiful secretaire of solid walnut, for 
which £2 was asked, but which in this country would have cost 
four or' five times as much. There had been an exhibition a few 
days before I was there, of which I saw photographic represen- 
tations, and the objects exhibited, I was told, were even more 
beautiful than those I had the pleasure of inspecting. But 



NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LIFE. 123 

the sphere of usefulness extends beyond cabinetmaking, and 
embraces house-carpentry ; for there were doors and many other 
parts of the interior of a dwelling. But whilst the students 
are taught to make all these varied and beautiful objects, it 
must not be supposed that theoretical instruction is neglected. 
The whole institution, which is supported by the State, is under 
the superintendence of Professor AthanasoflF, educated at the 
University of Prag, who also teaches technology and chemistry. 
He is assisted by three practical instructors and three young 
assistants, who teach respectively casting and working in iron, 
locksmith's work, and cabinetmaking. There are two small 
but well-furnished laboratories, chemical and physical, for the 
use of the teachers, and as a preparation for lectures ; small 
collections of minerals, metals, natural products of the vegetable 
and animal kingdoms ; special cuttings of woods, most beauti- 
fully arranged; a general collection for instruction, and also 
collections for elementary schools. The library, although small, 
comprises the best technological works (about two hundred in 
number), in English, French, and German. In addition to 
these objects, there is an excellent set of models in plaster for 
instruction in drawing from still life, with models of implements 
of agriculture, &c., &c. The students live on the premises, and 
everything needful is provided for their comfort, excepting the 
sanitary arrangements, which are wretched throughout Bulgaria. 
The cost of this institution is about £3280 per annum, or 
about £47 per head for each student ; and the following is a 
very brief extract from the last annual account, showing in 
general terms how the money is expended : — 

Teachers' and assistants' salaries . . . about ^1200 
Food and clothing of students and servants . „ 1000 
Expenses of heating, lighting, and general mainte- 
nance „ 205 

Books, models, instruments, &c., for instruction „ 350 

Raw materials for work executed, fuel for engine 1 -g^ 

(a new one is in course of construction) • J " 

£3280 

I know of no other institution where such an amount of good 
is done with the same outlay ; and from what I saw during my 



124 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

visit, I feel convinced that, if the country is only allowed to 
develop her resources and to multiply such iustitutions as this 
one, her progress will be rapid and her prosperity will be ensured. 
But I shall have much more to say that cannot fail to surprise 
my readers on the subject of education in Bulgaria. 

The printing-offices in Sofia are at present located in an old 
mosque, but they will soon be transferred to a fine new building 
just completed. They are at present employed for printing 
State papers and postage-stamps, and contain the necessary 
apparatus for engraving, binding, &c. ; but a good deal of work 
is done out of the country which could just as well be done in 
it; and a few weeks or months will probably see important 
changes, when the offices are removed to the more commodious 
building. 

And now a few words regarding the people of Sofia. The 
population is mixed, consisting chiefly of Bulgarians, Turks, 
Greeks, and Jews. Of the latter, of whom there are about five 
thousand, nearly all Spanish, I heard a good deal whilst I was 
there; and my first question was naturally, "Are they per- 
secuted ? " They are not openly persecuted, but they are un- 
fairly treated. The reader probably knows that in many 
Eastern countries certain organs of the press try to stir up 
bad blood against them;^ and that is the case here. There 
are no direct attacks upon them or their dwellings, but ofiences 
are charged against them to create a prejudice. Last year a 
Christian child was missing ; its absence was attributed to the 
Jews, and there was nearly an outbreak, which would have 
ended in bloodshed if it had not been suppressed by the 
Government. The trade of the city is largely in their hands, 
and they are extortionate ; they are in consequence shunned by 
the Christian population, and any one who befriends them is 
regarded with dislike. This has, however, not prevented one 
good Christian, Dr. Matinchefi*, from devoting much time and 
labour to succour their sick and aged, and he is now earnestly 
endeavouring to found an hospital for indigent Jews. If a few 
of their coreligionists in England, who take such an interest 

1 "Roumania,"p. 67-58. 



MATCHEVITCH. 



NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LIFE. 125 

in the welfare of the Jews in the East, would help Dr. Matin- 
oheflF in his laudable undertaking, they would do more practi- 
cal good than by sending deputations to English statesmen to 
demand their intervention in behalf of the Jews in other 
countries. 

I have already given the reader some idea of the modest 
remuneration which is received by Ministers of State, and he 
will therefore not be surprised to hear that their mode of living 
is most unassuming. Some reside in the smaller hotels, others 
in neat unostentatious houses. They are not above frequenting 
caf(^s. My first introduction to M. Stamboulofi' (a man of Euro- 
pean reputation, and until recently one of the Regents) and M.. 
Zivkoff, the Minister of Public Instruction, was in a restau- 
rant which supplies the Hotel de Bulgarie; and I was told 
that they sometimes go there just to see and hear what is 
going on. 

A few words regarding the personality of the leading states- 
men may not be out of place here. Two persons recently gave 
me their opinions on this subject. One, a foreign Consul in 
England, who must have been keeping Rip Van Winkle com- 
pany, said, " I know Bulgaria well ; there are no leading men 
there ; " the other, an eminent traveller and litterateur in 
Budapest, told me, " Public opinion in Bulgaria is not yet 
formed ; it is represented by about twenty clever fellows, and 
we ought to support them." The last statement is partially 
correct. Public opinion is represented by " twenty clever fel- 
lows " in whom the Bulgarian people have confidence. M. Stam- 
bouloff (see Plate IV.), who has rather a sad but determined 
expression, is about thirty-four years old, although he looks 
much older (indeed, as a rule, from the Prince and iex-Prince 
downwards, all the leading men are young). He was educated 
in, and expelled from Russia, and was a teacher, in which 
capacity he wrote several text-books. He has been a Deputy 
since 1878, and, if I have not been misinformed as to his age, 
he must have been elected, like a good many more, before he 
was of legal age, that being thirty years. Nevertheless he 
has preserved the liberties of Bulgaria more than once. Almost 
since his election to the Sobranje he has been its President. He 



126 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

is intensely patriotic, thoroughly wiifaU in Eastern and Western 
politics, and well fitted for his high office. 

M; Stoiloff (Plate IV.) is a man of great culture. He, too, 
is about thirty-five years old ; is the son of a merchant ; was 
educated at Heidelberg (of which he is LL.D.), at Robert College, 
Constantinople, in Paris, Leipzig, &c. He arrived in Philip- 
popolis, and entered public life in February 1878. Prince 
Alexander soon .engaged him as his chief private secretary, 
and from that time until to-day he has taken an active patriotic 
part in the affairs of his country. He was the most prominent 
member of the deputation to European courts referred to in my 
historic record, and is now Minister of Justice. M. Stoiloff has 
a pleasant voice, an engaging manner, speaks English perfectly 
well, and his efforts for the improvement and better government 
of his country are only restricted by foreign interference. 

M. Natchevitch, Minister of Finance (Plate IV.), is the son 
of a tradesman in Vienna. He is about forty-five years of age, 
and began political life about 1867. He was the Bulgarian 
Political Agent at Bucharest until about two or three years since, 
and has filled various posts. It is to him that I am indebted 
for a great deal of the statistical and other information which I 
received during my stay at Sofia. He has a dark complexion, 
rather an ItalL cast of countenance, is very obliging ani 
unassuming, knows a great deal more concerning the duties 
that devolve upon him, and regarding the social, political, and 
economical affairs of Bulgaria, than many leading English 
statesmen do concerning their country ; and I found him gene- 
rally one of the best-informed of the public men whom it was 
my pleasure to meet there. 

M. Zivkoff, Minister of Education (Plate V.), was originally 
a schoolmaster, then a Government oflBcial, a Deputy, and one 
of the Regents. He, too, is very obliging, and has a most 
agreeable and " taking " manner. 

Colonel Mutkuroff (Plate IV.), Minister of War, I had not 
the pleasure of meeting. He was educated at the Military 
Academy, St. Petersburg ; commanded a division in the Servian 
war ; gained his fame by the bold stand which he made against 
the traitors of 1885, in conjunction with M. Stambouloff, and 



V 



RADOSLAVOFF. 



NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL LIFE. 127 

promises to be a man of mark in the future history of his 
country. 

Dr. Stransky is Minister for Foreign Affairs. He, too, is 
comparatively a young man. Took an active part in the Eastern 
Roumelian rising and the union of North and South Bulgaria. 
Whilst I was in Sofia, the relations of the Foreign Office with 
other countries were, and still are, somewhat perplexing to the 
Minister at its head, and our conversation, during a very short 
visit which I paid him, was naturally reserved. He was very 
courteous, and told me what steps to take to obtain an inter- 
view with the Prince, but his manner was not stich as to favour 
friendly intercourse. 

M. Radoslavoff (Plate V.) is in opposition. He, too, is an 
LL.D. of Heidelberg. I only spent a short time in his com- 
pany, but found him very enlightened and polished. He is 
nearly always " agin the Government," in a legitimate sense, 
however ; and, as far as I could judge, he is not treated with the 
respect to which he is entitled. 

M. Karaveloff (Plate V.), who has boxed the political compass, 
and held several public offices, enjoys the proud distinction of 
representing Russian opinion, if not Russia herself, in Bulgaria. 
As my object was to obtain all the information about the country 
that was possible, and as such information could of course be 
best given by the leading officials, I did not indulge my curiosity 
to see and speak to a man who is generally looked upon as a dan- 
gerous enemy to his nation; for had I done so, the leading 
patriots would have been justified in regarding me with sus- 
picion, and in withholding their assistance.^ The reader must 
therefore be content to study his portrait, and as to his political 
views, he will hear those presently, as circulated by himself in 
his own organ. 

M. Zankoff is an exile in Constantinople. He, too, has been 
everything by turns and nothing long ; but, as the reader knows, 
he was one of the ringleaders in the abduction of Prince Alexan- 
der, lam sure I shall be pardoned for leaving him in his obscurity. 



^ Since my return, there was some 'talk of a Government prosecution of M. 
Karaveloff, which has, however, been wisely relinquished. 



128 BULGAMA PAST AND PRESENT. 

The most remarkable circnmstance about all the gentlemen 
here referred to is the rapidity with which they have developed 
into statesmen and leaders of public opinion. Nearly all of 
them are of humble origin, all young men. We have scores, 
aye, thousands of intelligent politicians in England and Scot- 
land, who have plodded all their lives, and have at best attained 
parochial eminence ; but these men know how to hold their own 
against trained diplomats and scheming statesmen who have 
grown grey in political strife. My readers should just take up 
"Turkey, No. 1, 1887," and read the replies of the Bulgarian 
Ministers to the threats of Russian oflScials (mere mouthpieces 
of the Russian Ministers),^ or the short but telling circulars 
which they issued to foreign Governments from time to time to 
acquaint them with the true state of affairs in Bulgaria. They 
have no doubt made mistakes occasionally; but what wonder 
that they should! His Majesty the present Czar was right 
when he telegraphed to Prince Alexander that Bulgaria is a 
country " D6ja si Sprouv^" (already severely tried) ; but I am sure 
the verdict of history will be that in all her trials her young and 
rising statesmen were more than a match for her persecutors. 

^ The author of " Les Causes Occultes/' &c., &;c., endeavours to shift the respon- 
sibility of Russian misdeeds and mistakes in Bulgaria from the Czar and his 
counsellors to an interested Russian *' coterie." This may suit the French views 
of the moment, but it will not be the verdict of posterity. 



SOFIA. 1 29 



CHAPTER XIL 

SOFIA — SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL MATTERS— A POLITICAL 

MEETING — THE PRESS. 

Medical affairs — The ^^tage femme" — ^The Medical Council and its system — 
Defective sanitary arrangements throughout the country — The working- 
classes of Sofia — Wages and cost of living — Number of working days and 
holidays — Amusements — " Bulgarian billiards " — Ardent politicians — A 
riotous political ** demonstration " — Attack upon Karaveloff's house and 
printing-offices — Demeanour of Prince Ferdinand — The Bulgarian press — 
The leading organs of public opinion. 

A FEW words concerning the medical and sanitary arrange- 
ments of Bulgaria. Until quite recently the only medical 
men (if I may be permitted a bull) who troubled themselves 
about the health of the community were old women. In many 
villages, and amongst the lower classes generally, this is still 
the case, and the witch of old is the " sage femme " of to-day. 
One of the Ministers told me that only a few days before my 
visit one of his servants who was ill refused to see a doctor, and 
preferred consulting the " sage femmer The foundation of a 
new system is, however, laid, which will in the course of time 
produce excellent results. Besides the hospitals in large towns 
(there are three in Sofia and one with 200 beds in Philippopolis), 
there is a regular medical staff throughout Bulgaria. Under 
this system, which was initiated in 1878, there are 140 State- 
paid qualified practitioners, spread over sixty-five districts, and 
about the same number of assistants (Peldschers or dressers). 
There is a Medical Council in Sofia, which has the superinten- 
dence of this staff, and they pay each medical" officer 4000 francs 
(about £160), and each assistant 1200 francs (about £48) per 

annum. Unfortunately, the care of the army engrosses much 

I 



130 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

of the attention of these doctors, but they are useful in promoting 
rational sanitary arrangements. Those are, as I have said, very 
bad. It is true there is a good fire-brigade and good water, 
collected and impounded from the slopes of Vitosch, at Sofia, 
but drainage is bad ; and I was told by a leading medical man 
at Philippopolis that there the water from the Maritza is very 
poor, and that, coupled with bad drainage, it leads to frequent 
outbreaks of fever. There is no medical school attached to the 
hospitals, and the young men are educated and take their 
degrees in Germany, Constantinople, Moscow, and France. As 
for the traveller, he often turns sick with the filth, which is 
indescribable, in the sanitary arrangements at some of the 
smaller hotels; and the employment there of water, towels, 
ewers, basins, &c., is still in its elementary stage. 

The working classes in Sofia are comparatively well off. 
What a Bulgarian must consider an evil, however, exists there, 
namely, that the work of skilled artisans in connection with the 
building and some other trades is performed almost entirely by 
foreigners. Such institutions as that of Kniajevo will doubtless 
soon supply the remedy. The Italian masons, &c., who perform 
this higher class of work, receive from 5 firancs to 10 francs 
(3s. 9d. to 7fi. 6d.) per day, of which they expend two-thirds on 
food and clothing. They eat meat, and generally live well. 
Bulgarian labourers receive 2 francs to 4 francs (Is. 6d. to 3s.) 
daily, and live on bread, fruit, and vegetables, which are cheap. 
The peasantry live chiefly on the products of their farms, and 
dress entirely in garments made by themselves. 

House-rent in Sofia is comparatively high, ranging from £50 
to £60 per annum for a moderately good house. Such houses 
as the Agencies average £400 per annum. Land is about £1 to 
£1, 10s. per square yard in the best neighbourhoods. Butcher's 
meat is about 4d. per lb. ; veal, 8d. to 9d. Bread is very cheap, 
the commonest kind about Id. per lb. Of the cheapness of fruit 
I will give an instance farther on. Vegetables, too, are exceed- 
ingly cheap. A favourite article of diet, which one sees every- 
where, is " paprika," large red pepper, which is cooked in various 
ways at different stages of its growth. A workman pays about 
£2 for a suit of good clothes of home-made cloth, and 20 francs 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL. 131 

(16s.) for a pair of shoes. Taxes are moderate, as the reader 
will find when the Budget is tinder consideration, and schooling 
free. Fodder for horses and cattle ranges from 6 centimes to 8 
centimes per oka (about 2 lbs.) for hay, 18 centimes for oats, 
and 5 centimes for straw. 

As in Boumania and other Catholic countries, the labouring 
man works about 240 days in the year, the remainder being Sun- 
days and festivals. Those English employers who are constantly 
railing at their workmen and talking of cheap labour abroad 
will kindly note this fact. The amusements of the working - 
classes in Bulgaria are not very diversified. As I have already 
said, there is little or no intellectual recreation for them. They 
like music, still more dancing, and I fear it must be added that 
they indulge very freely in the British habit of drinking. They 
have a curious game which is called " Bulgarian billiards," but is 
in reality a miniature game of nine-pins. It consists of a table, 
on which stands a kind of bagatelle-board divided into three 
parts. The first section is empty, 
in the second stand nine pins, 

and in the third five. At the flat [ooo^oooJ a ' dVi 
end there is a hole, into which 
a top-shaped object is inserted, 
and round the stem which passes Bulgarian biluabds. 

.■I V .1 r 1 «4.^ ^ •« a. aperture in first division; 6. &. 6. aper- 

tnrOUgn tne nOle a Stnng is turos in second and third divisions ; c. nine- 
■1 • . • , -I • pins ; d, top-like object which is spun. 

wound, just as with us m a *^ * ^ ■" 
humming-top. In the first division there are three arched aper- 
tures ; in the second, one. The top is spun, and when free from 
the string it enters the first division and spins upright ; pre- 
sently it passes through one of the apertures into the second 
division, and knocks down one or more of the pins ; passing 
into the third, it goes through the same performance. A clever 
player sometimes upsets the whole fourteen pins. I am told this 
game is generally played for drinks, excessive gambling being 
confined to the middle classes. The game may not be very com- 
mon in Sofia ; I saw it at Gabrovo. 

The working-classes of Bulgaria, in the towns at least, and 
especially in Sofia, are ardent politicians. I had the privilege 
of witnessing one portion of a political demonstration during 




132 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

my visit. As I was sitting in my room writing, an acquaint- 
ance came and called me to see *' a disturbance/' as he termed 
it, before the palace, near which is situated the Hotel de Bul- 
garie, where I was staying. My first impression, on looking at 
the scene from a suitable window, was that I had come in for a 
revolution ; that the inhabitants did not like the new Prince, and 
had decided to make him abdicate in favour of the Prince of 
Mingrelia or of somebody else. But I was mistaken ; it was a 
demonstration against Karavelofi", and a crowd of people, num- 
bering probably 1000 or 1500, were assembled opposite the 
entrance-door of the palace within the grounds. Many of them 
had sticks, which they flourished vehemently, whilst every 
now and then loud cries were raised ; and I was told they were 
calling for the Prince. They lefb a space clear before the door, 
and a court official was addressing them. Presently the crowd 
broke up and left the palace, apparently satisfied. I thought 
the '' demonstration " was over from the quiet way in which the 
people moved ofi* in different directions ; but there again I was 
mistaken ; and this is all I saw of the actual performance. In 
the afternoon I heard there had been a riot, and the following 
is what took place.^ Let me preface the account by reminding 
my readers that in olden times political meetings were held in 
churches, as, for example, when Peter Asen was proclaimed Czar 
of Bulgaria, and that custom has descended to the present day. 
It appears that after the state of siege was raised, and the 
suppressed newspapers reappeared, M. Karaveloff availed him- 
self on the 11th September of the liberty to publish an article 
in his newspaper. The Tirnova (or Tirnovska) Constitution^ in 
which he practically characterised the new Prince as a usurper. 
*^ Prince Ferdinand," he said, " is not the Prince of the nation, 
but of Messrs. Stambouloff, Stoyanoff, and Mutkuroff. Usur- 
pation of rights and wishes of the people has taken place." 
The whole article was an invitation to Bussia to intervene. 
Such an article appearing in the organ of any foreign country, 
in England, or in any well-established State, would be of 



^ For these facts I am indebted to M. Chadoame, the obliging young corre- 
spondent of the Times at Sofia, who was present throughout the whole affair. 



A POLITICAL MEETING. 133 

little consequence, but it was feared by the patriotic party 
that if it were passed over in silence it might be construed 
into weakness by the Russians and their sympathisers. On 
the following day, therefore (Monday, 12th September), at 
about five in the afibemoon, the bells of the cathedral church 
rang out a tocsin, summoning the inhabitants to an indigna- 
tion-meeting, which was to be held in the church under the 
auspices of Zachary Stoyanoff, a supporter of the Govern- 
ment, Ilia Veltchefi*, a " Radoslavist," and others, to protest 
against the views of Karaveloff as expressed in his journal. ^ 
Speeches were made by the organisers and others, and resolu- 
tions carried denouncing Karaveloff and his Russian patrons 
in language more forcible than polite, and the crowd then 
left the church and adjourned to the palace. Here again 
speeches were delivered, and the cries which I had heard were 
"Down with the Roubladjis!" (rouble-bought men, referring 
to the tools of Russia, paid with roubles), " Down with the black 
souls ! " Calls, too, were made for the Prince, when one of the 
palace oflScials came out and told them he was out for a drive. 
The crowd then left the palace garden, dividing into sections, 
but these soon re-united, and hurried off to Karaveloff's house. 
Meanwhile intimation had been sent to the police, who at once 
took measures to protect the obnoxious politician. About 
twenty gens-d'armes, led by the Prefect, arrived just in the 
nick of time* The crowd had by this time swelled to three 
thousand, including some of the most unruly spirits in Sofia, 
and these gathered in front of the house. Not content with 
uttering loud and menacing cries, they commenced an attack 
upon it, and about a hundred of the most violent sent 
such a volley of stones against the windows that in a few 
seconds there was not a whole pane left. These men then 
attempted to storm and enter the house, and there is no 
doubt that, if they had succeeded, they would have lynched 
the offender. The gens-d'armes, however,, who were mounted, 



^ It was said that the Ministers had initiated the meeting, which they denied. 
As far as I could gather from independent sources, they knew of and sanctioned 
it, but did not expect it would result in disorder. 



134 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

charged the crowd several times, and wounded many of the 
rioters. A large portion of the crowd then made its way to 
the dwellings of Messrs. Tzanow and Slaveikoff, two other Rus- 
sian sympathisers, where the same scene was, or at least would 
have been enacted, had not the police taken the most energetic 
repressive measures. Notwithstanding these, however, the mob 
succeeded in making an attack upon the printing-office of 
Karaveloff's paper, and in completely smashing all the win- 
dows. After these exploits were performed, the crowd once 
more moved to the palace, arriving there just as the Prince was 
returning from his drive, and now they gave him a complete 
ovation. This was about seven o'clock. He soon appeared on 
the balcony, when one of the speakers harangued his Highness, 
telling him of the resolution which had been passed at the first 
meeting, and calling for the condemnation of the miscreants of 
the 9th August,^ in conformity with the laws of the country, 
and for their banishment. The Prince replied in a firm voice 
in Bulgarian, *^ Be devoted to me ; be patriots ; thanks for your 
sentiments. Long live Bulgaria ! " The crowd now burst into 
repeated hurrahs, and moved away singing the national march, 
the " Djumi-Maritza." From the palace they proceeded to 
the residence of M. Stambouloff, where the same orator de- 
livered a similar harangue. Stambouloff stood upon the balcony 
with Mutkuroff, Zivkoff, and others, and appealed to the people 
to have confidence in the Prince and in the Ministers. The 
crowd then dispersed, and the demonstration was at an end. 
Besides those who were wounded (eight in all, I believe), several 
arrests were made, and the rioters punished. The next momiog 
I went to view the field of battle, and found the window-/rame5 
in Karaveloff's house and offices, but glass there was none. 

Before leaving the capital, it may be interesting to refer to 
the newspaper press. Considering that the countiy has only 
been free for a few years from the domination of two masters 
who carefully suppressed the utterances of public opinion in 
every form, and that there is little scope for advertisements, the 



^ Old style, still used in Bulgaria. The new style would be 2l8t August, the 
day on which Prince Alexander was kidnapped. 



THE PRESS. 135 

press is by no means insignificant. The most important journal, 
a very peculiar one, is the Svdboda^ or La Liberty, the semi- 
oflScial paper of the present Government, which we so often see 
quoted. It is a journal of eight pages, about 14 inches by 21 
inches (as are most of the leading papers), and is published on 
Wednesdays and Saturdays. Although it is printed in the 
Bulgarian language, all information as to subscription, &c., is 
given in French. The price of the paper is 20 centimes (about 
2d.), and the subscription 20 francs per annum, with pro- 
portionate rates for shorter periods. Its leading articles are 
signed, and it contains news, official announcements, &c. It is 
published at Sofia ; but the Government have two other official 
papers, the Plovdiv (Philippopolis), published in that town, 
and the Derjavnii VestniJcy a provincial organ. The " Liberal 
party " have a weekly paper called the Narodne Sosnanje (the 
"National Instructor"), published at Shumla; and the Rus- 
sians have Karaveloff's journal, already referred to, and, I 
believe, another published at Philippopolis.^ At Timova, the 
old capital, they do not boast of a paper of any kind. Be- 
sides the serious journals, there is a wretched little comic 
print called the Eagle^ published at Sofia. It is a curiosity in 
its way, and I should think the men at Sofia who have seen 
Kladderadatschy Punchy and the French comic papers must be 
heartily ashamed of it. On the last page of the number which 
appeared whilst I was there, there was what purported to be a 
picture of the attack on Karaveloff's house. If a British school- 
boy of ten years did not draw better caricatures on his slate 
than this one, his companions would drum him out of the 
school! However, the press, as I have said, is by no meanfe 
discreditable for a young nation just enjoying its liberty ; and 
judging from the character and tastes of the people, I should 
say it will extend rapidly, and become an excellent public in- 
structor. 

1 La Science Bvlgare^ of which the motto was " Liberty, Justice, Fraternity " 
{no Equality), is, I hear, discontinued. 



136 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

TRAVELLING IN BULGARIA — PHILIPPOPOLIS. 

Absence of regular conveyances — A "phaeton" — Passports — ^Brigandage and 
highway robbery — The author's experiences — Cost and speed of travelling — 
Inns and travelling accommodation (want of) — Picturesque khans — Refresh- 
ment by the way — Two hotel -bills — Scenery of the country — Turkish 
fountains and graves — Turkish stapes or military stations — ^Novichan — 
Shrub-covered hills — Philippopolis, its picturesque situation and aspect — 
Magnificent views from the gp-anite hills of the city — Its quaint streets 
and houses — The hospitality of Philippopolis — Food industries — Picturesque 
Turkish costumes — Turkish women and their hidden charms — The Pre- 
fecture, formerly the Konak of the Pashas — Its garden and produce — The 
Alexander Gymnasium for boys — The curriculum, laboratories, drawing- 
models, library, &c. — Fine public library, with numismatic collection — Coins 
of the Bulgarian Czars — The girls' Lyc^e — Its curriculum — Clever girls. 

IN order to see as much as possible of the country, and because 
there is little to be gained by taking the trains which . run 
onciB or twice a day over the short distances on the unfinished 
railway, I travelled through Bulgaria in what is called there 
a " phaeton," a little open carriage with three or four horses. 
This mode of travelling is speedy, comfortable, but very dear. 
I heard of " diligences " or " posts," and once I had the advan- 
tage of a change of horses through an engagement made with 
a " post " contractor ; but, as a matter of fact, the public con- 
veyances are at present greatly in abeyance, and I was told 
that a few years ago the communication was better than it is 
to-day, on account of the recent interference with settled 
government. If I was rightly informed, another advantage 
accrued to me from travelling in my own carriage, for two 
days after I journeyed from Sofia to Philippopolis, the post 
was attacked on that road by highwaymen (brigands they call 
them), and the passengers as well as the mails were robbed. 



TRAVELLING IN BULaARIA. 137 

For forty years I have travelled in various parts of the world, 
and, excepting in 1850 in Bnssia, my passport has been a form 
rather than a necessity. The one which I took with me this 
time (an old one of Lord Granville, by the.bye) is a curiosity. 
It haS^ eight visas, covering every inch of the back, necessi- 
tating twelve printed and stamped endorsements and six 
adhesive stamps. In Bulgaria the greatest watchfulness is 
no doubt necessary in consequence of the unsettled state of 
affairs coupled with Russian intrigues and intriguers, but I 
only experienced slight delays through the passport system ; 
others told me they had not been so fortunate. As regards 
brigandage, the same cause which necessitates the inspection 
of passports, namely, the unsettled government of the country, 
militates against social order. The adventure of the M.P. for 
one of the Lancashire divisions in the Rilo Mountains cannot 
be seriously considered. According to his own account, he 
never saw the brigands, and it is as likely as not that the 
whole thing was a " plant " to secure a good reward for saving 
his life and property. Then, again, I heard of commercial 
travellers journeying in carriages being " cUvalis6^^^ robbed of 
their portmanteaus, and allowed to proceed. It is as likely as 
not that in some such cases the travellers were drinking in a 
khan (a roadside inn), and had left their carriage and luggage 
exposed to the depredations of wandering gipsies, whom one 
meets on the roads, or other dishonest characters. My own 
experience is certainly opposed to the existence of systematic 
brigandage, 

I arrived in Sofia two hours after midnight, and left it as 
many hours before daybreak. At Philippopolis I arrived late 
at night; so also at Kalofer, from which place I started at 
4 A.M. ; and I left Timova at 3 a.m. In no case had I the least 
annoyance from beggars, tramps, or " brigands." In addition 
to this, I frequently left my carriage and its contents in charge 
of the driver, and went alone, or with a travelling companion 
who was acquainted with the country,^ for an hour together, 
walking sometimes over the plain, at others in the mountains, 

1 M. Ismian, a young Armenian lawyer of Philippopolis. 



138 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

« 
and this with a complete sense of security, and without carry- 
ing anything more formidable than a well-loaded stick. That 
highway robbery occurs from time to time there can be no 
doubt, and that it is more frequent when the Government is 
unsettled is quite natural. During the last Carlist war, when 
the guards were withdrawn from the northern fix)ntier of Spain, 
bands of ruffians calling themselves Carlists roved about the 
country committing depredations ; and a day or two before I 
visited Bosost such a band had entered and robbed the " Casino," 
and cleaned out the " bank " of the gaming-table. Not even 
honour amongst thieves there ! In Turkey, where the Govern- 
ment is feeble, it is not safe to travel an hour's distance from 
Constantinople. In Ireland political disorder encourages moon- 
lighting. Many similar instances occur to one. 

To return to Bulgaria. In 1880 brigandage or highway 
robberies occurred in the vicinity of Osman Bazar, and repres- 
sive military measures had to be taken to arrest them ; but that 
was the only case which occurred for many years, and it was 
attributed to Turkish intrigues, just as I heard at Sofia and 
Philippopolis the recent robberies attributed to Russian intrigue. 
In both cases the charge, so far as the principals were concerned, 
was probably groundless, the crimes being the indirect results 
of unsettled government and political disturbance. 

To travel in such a carriage as I used costs on the average 
five napoleons, or, roughly speaking, £4 a day for short dis- 
tances, for which, of course, two persons can travel very com- 
fortably; and the distance travelled in twelve hours is about 
sixty or seventy miles. As a rule, it is advisable to start very 
early — at four or five in the morning — to let the horses rest two 
or three hours during the day. The same horses (three or four) 
make the entire journey. The traveller must take his own 
provisions, for at the roadside inns it is seldom possible to get 
anything excepting coffee, and perhaps eggs. The landlords 
are very obliging and attentive, but they are not accustomed to 
serving travellers. The khans are nearly «ill built on the same 
model— a quadrangular space, something like an English farm- 
yard ; round three sides, sometimes four, a two-storied wooden 
building, the lower floor devoted to the care of " horse," the 



TRAVELLING IN BULGARIA. 139 

upper of " man." Round the upper floor, which is approached 
by a more or less rickety wooden stair, runs a gallery and a 
series of doors leading to the sleeping apartments, which often 
contain — nothing. In some of the khans there are beds; in 
the larger towns, comfortable sitting- and bed-rooms with bed- 
steads. Meals are usually taken on the balcony, which occa- 
sionally projects into the court, forming a little square platform 
resting on wooden supports, and a roof to shelter the guest 
from the rays of the sun. The inns look slovenly and dirty, but 
during the whole of my stay in Bulgaria I never saw any kind 
of vermin. The bedsteads are of iron, the beds clean, the walls 
whitewashed, the ceiling of stained or varnished wood ; and if 
there are carpets, they consist of one or two small ones of Bul- 
garian manufacture. Nor must it be supposed that there is no 
charm about these rude Turkish khans. Kanitz has drawn some 
wonderful pictures of the attractions of some of them, descrip- 
tions which have been justly called a little "idealistic" by 
German visitors. But the balconies of some of them are really 
picturesque. Vines cluster over the roof and round the wooden 
pillars, flowers in boxes and pots brighten up the plain sur- 
roundings, and it is interesting to watch the operations of 
drivers and stable-boys about the carriages and horses which 
stand in the court, and divide its occupancy with fowls, geese, 
dogs, pigs, and babies. To anticipate a little. 

In glowing terms Kanitz describes the khan at Biela, between 
Timova and Rustchuk, where he seems to have slept. We 
dined there, and found it to resemble a rude country farm. 
Captain Jones, of Philippopolis, had given me some soup tab- 
lets, and one of these was put into a pan of water, and placed 
on the open stove to boil. My companion and I then looked 
round the kitchen and discovered eggs, onions, cabbages, and 
tomatoes, which, with salt and pepper, were sliced and precipi- 
tated into the soup, and helped to produce a potage such as we 
thoroughly appreciated, having left Timova at 3 A.M., and 
arrived at Biela at noon. I remember that dinner well. We had, 
besides the soup, baked potatoes with butter and salt, apple-tart, 
bought at Tirnova, grapes, of which my companion had bought 
four large bunches from a peasant woman on the road, who was 



140 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

carrying them to the wine-press — luscious little grapes, for 
which he paid what he called the excessive price of one penny ! — 
bread and butter, Bulgarian light wine, and coffee and cigarettes 
for a finish. We did not always fare so well, and the traveller 
should take with him some German sausages or preserved meat, 
which does not necessitate cooking. They know how to charge 
in Bulgaria. The following bills give the two extremes of dear- 
ness and cheapness : — 

Bill for Two Persons at Gabrovo at the " Grand Hdtely^ a fair specimen 

of the better class of Khans, 

Francs. , 

One caviar (rubbish), 1 60 

Our ovm soup, 

Two portions of roast-fowl (skin and bone), . 1 70 

One do. of fish (rubbish, badly cooked), . 1 

Butter, 40 

Bread, 30 

Candles, 60 

Coffee and milk, 1 50 

Driver, 50 

Two beds, 8 

15 50 = 12/3. 

Cost of Dinner for Two Persons at the Restaurant of the " Hdtel de Sofia ^^ at 

Tirnova (everything excellent). 

Francs. 

Soup, 20 

Beefsteaks, with eggs and dressing, . . . 1 20 

Two small bottles of light Bulgarian wine, . 60 

Bread, 20 

Two caf6s-noir, ...... 30 

2 50 about 1/11. 

With these superficial observations on the cost and nature of 
travelling in Bulgaria my readers must fain content themselves. 
Something more will be added concerning the prospects and sur- 
roundings of the traveller en route. 

Between the Servian frontier and Sofia the scenery is in 
some: places very fine, more especially about the Dragoman 
Pass, which rises to a considerable height and descends preci- 
pitously to Slivnitza. On the summit of the pass I experienced 
a sandstorm. Already on this part of the route the traveller 



TRAVELLING IN BULGARIA. HI 

is struck with two or three cliaract«ristic peculiarities. One is 
the presence of Turkish fouDtains of stone or marble, bearing 
inscriptions in that language, which are met with from time to 
time ; another, the collections of Turkish graves. The latter 
are distinguished by numerous stones, more or less perpendicular, 
some of them surmounted by a turban. Between Sofia and 
Philippopolia a still more interesting feature comes prominently 
into notice, namely, the succession of ruined 4tapes or military 



stations, which were built by the Turks throughout the 
country, it is said, at intervals of thirty kilometres, to afford 
rest and shelter to troops on the march. The most interesting 
of those structures that I saw, and the one in the beat repair, 
was at Novichan (or Jenihan), the first halting-place between 



' All the woodcutB, except the Urger one of Ttmova, are from eketchm n 
n the apot by the author. 



142 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Sofia and Philippopolia The ruin consists of a building which^ 
may be compared to an enormous chapel, with large circular 
apertures, resembling stable windows, for lighting and ventila- 
tion, in the walls at either end. Attached to this main building 
is a very large quadrangular space with three walls enclosing* 
it, the fourth side being the khan, or whatever may have been 
the name given to the main building. The length of the wall, 
and therefore of the building, is about 120 yards, which is the 
measurement of the four sides of the quadrangle. The building 
is constructed of rough stones and plaster, and is said to be 
200 to 300 years old. 

Another characteristic, this time of the country itself, which 
reminds one sadly of the destructive work of semi-civilised 
mankind, is the covering of oak scrub with which the hills are 
clothed. I have already referred to these in speaking of the 
ancient Slave customs, and it need only be added that in this 
part of the country, where the mountains are not high and the 
woods were easily cleared, the destruction has been complete. 
The hills are covered with what appear to be green plantations, 
but, on closer inspection, it is found to consist of low oak 
shrubs, and not a vestige of primeval forest nor of timber of 
any kind has survived. 

Philippopolis, the chief town in South Bulgaria, possesses 
many features of interest which are not to be found elsewhere. 
It contains a very mixed population, numbering in all about 
33,500 inhabitants. Many of them are Turks, who live very 
comfortably with their Bulgarian fellow-subjects ; indeed, this 
remark applies throughout Bulgaria. The situation of the town 
is very remarkable. From an almost level plain there spring 
seven hills of granite, and upon and around three of those 
Philippopolis is built.^ One of them very closely resembles the 
rock at Salzburg, as the reader will see from the photograph 
(Plate VL). Narrow streets with picturesque houses run up 
^notjbier of the hills, and from the summit of this hill there is 
one of the finest prospects in Bulgaria, or, for that matter, 

^ Hence it was called by the Romans Trimontium, 



VIEW OF JAMBASZ-TEPE. PHILIPPOPOL/S, 



eOVS LYC^E, CHURCH OF ST. > 



•»> 






PHILIPPOPOLIS. 143 

anywhere else. To the south, on the borders of the plain, are 
the Rhodope Mountains ; on the north is the broad river 
Maritza, which flows eastwards and westwards. The other six 
hills, the town below, and the wide surrounding plain complete 
the panorama. Not far from the Maritza two conspicuous 
buildings strike the eye, the Boys' Lyc^e and the Church of 
St. Alexander (Plate VI.). In the heart of the town is a 
large building, formerly an immense khan, now a market, 
in which are sold the cotton and woollen cloths of Lancashire, 
Yorkshire, Germany, and Austria. Thence, too (from the hill 
I mean), may be seen, at the summit of a lower hill, a quaint 
tower with a pointed roof or spire, which contains an alarm- 
bell to give notice of conflagrations. Another fine building to 
the leflj, as you face this tower, is the Girls' Lyc^e ; and again 
outside the town large barracks lie to the right. Besides these 
secular structures, there are places of worship of every religious 
denomination, mosques with their attendant minarets, Byzan- 
tine churches of the orthodox faith, churches of the Greek, 
Armenian, and Catholic denominations, and synagogues. The 
streets upon this hill, which are narrow and precipitous, are 
remarkably picturesque, and some of the houses would delight 
the painter and the photographer. Every now and then you 
catch a glimpse of a house with overhanging cornice supported 
by curved wooden timbers, upon which the upper projecting 
front of the house rests ; this is usually painted white, or con- 
structed of white plaster covered with ornamental mouldings 
or painted with partl-coloured patterns. Many of the windows 
are barred, as in Venice and other Italian cities ; and in one 
place an old gateway or arch forms a most picturesque break 
in the descent (Plate VII.). The rock known as the Jambaz 
T^p^, which I said resembles Salzburg, is smaller than the one 
we have just been visiting, but the combination of rock and 
houses gives it a very bold and striking appearance. The best 
hotel in the place, the HStel de Bulgarie, is very poor ; so, too, 
are the cafi^s, but the hospitality of our Consul-General, Captain 
Jones (which is, I think, contagious in Philippopolis), leaves 
the traveller no opportunity for grumbling. The Consulates 
generally are situated at the outskirts of the town, from which 



144 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

fine roads ran into the country. The Ottoman Bank has a 
branch here, where they are not over-liberal in the matter of 
money-changingy and there is also a branch of the National 
Bank of Bulgaria. Besides the usual open-fronted shops which 
are found in every Bulgarian town, and where at Philippopolia 
you may buy old arms (and new ones, for that matter), such as 
damascened yataghans, knives, &c., at a very reasonable price, 
a peep into one or two stores of a better description gives one a 
very fair idea of the food industries of Bulgaria. There you 
may see cheese of native manufacture packed in large sheep- 

and all more or less highly scent-ed, for toilet or household use, 
indigenous grains, "paprika," &c. In the streets you meet 
men called ^' Bozadji," who sell a drink made from millet. They 
carry a tray at their waists, on which stand mugs and tin 
vessels containing the drink referred to, Bouza.^ The streets, 
too, are interesting on account of the costumes of the various 
nationalities one encounters. The Bulgarians dress rather 
quietly, and their distinguishing mark is the " kalpak," the 
head-dress already referred to ; but the Turkish men are a 
marvel of bright colours. Here is one of them : — He wears a 
red fez surrounded by a small bluish turban, a print jacket 
without sleeves, coloured pale pink with a flowered pattern of 
the same colour, but darker ; through the arm-holes his arms 
clothed in white shirt-sleeves protrude; round his waist is a 
very broad scarlet waistband or thin shawl, in whicii his knife 
is half concealed ; dark blue trousers, white stockings, and 
sandals. So far as the sexes are concerned, the order of Nature 
is reversed. Look at that Turkish woman as she moves 
stealthily along, apparently afraid of being seen ; from the top 
of the head to the shoulders, and a little way down the bosom, 
she is wrapped in a thick white muslin veil or shawl, with 



^ Perhaps the reader will excuse me for referring to the account which I gave 
of a drink of the same name in my work on the ** History of Drink " (Triibner), 
p. 4 : '* The Nubians make a liquor called Bouza from dhourra or barley, also a 
kind of wine from the palm-tree, and from time immemorial intoxicating drinks 
have been extracted from these two sources, and from other cereals in various 
parts of Asia and Africa." 



PHILIPPOPOLIS. 145 

only her eyes and nose visible ; the rest of her body is a black 
sack, partaking of the character of a barrister's gown. If you 
meet a Turkish woman on the highroad coming from her 
field-work, she draws her shawl or anything else she can lay 
hands on over her face until you are past, and so deprives you 
of the opportunity of admiring a face which, I am told (for of 
course I have never been permitted to see one), in nine cases 
out of ten is more attractive concealed than exposed ! You see 
little Turkish boys, too, acting as shoeblacks in the streets of 
Philippopolis, but no beggars. Yes, I saw one, a broken-down 
fellow in broadcloth, — a " beat," as the Americans call them. 

Besides these objects and places of interest, the traveller should 
visit the Prefecture, the Library, the Alexander Gymnasium 
for boys, the Girls' Lyc^e, and, if he has the chance ofiered to 
him, as I had, by my kind friend Captain Jones, the Monas- 
tery of St. Kyriak, the last-named being, however, situated at 
some distance from the city; This excursion deserves and will 
command a separate chapter. 

The Prefecture was formerly the Konak or palace of the 
Pashas, where they dwelt with their harems, and next of the 
Governors-General, the last of whom was deposed there, as 
already described. It consists of a large hall, with smaller 
apartments at the side, where the ladies dwelt, but where now 
numerous clerks are at work, and at the farther end the Pasha's 
rooms, at present the official rooms of the Prefect. The most 
interesting adjunct is, however, the garden, which the Prefect 
was kind enough to show me with just pride. It is filled with 
flower-beds, and part of it is a fruit and vegetable garden. The 
fruits are remarkably fine, and represent fairly all the sub- 
tropical and temperate zones. The flower-garden is not, how- 
ever, trimly kept, as with us ; but it is possible that the time of 
the year (September) may have had something to do with its 
slovenly appearance. 

The most interesting institution in Philippopolis is the Alex- 
ander Gymnasium for boys, a magnificent building, which cost 
nearly £26,000, and is maintained at an annual expense of 
more than £5000. It has been open two years, and afibrds 

instruction to about 500 pupils, varying in age from ten to 

K 



146 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

twenty-two years. The instruction is given free of charge, 
excepting one of twenty francs per annum in the higher, 
and ten francs in the lower classes, which is devoted to 
the purchase of books and clothes for the poorest children. I 
may here mention that this rule seems to hold good in all the 
large schools in Bulgaria, and I was assured that it excited no 
prejudice in the minds of one class of students against any 
other. The school was only beginning to assemble, and I had 
not as good an opportunity of examining the boys in the different 
classes as afterwards in the public school at Gabrovo (to be 
referred to hereafter) ; but I saw and heard quite enough to 
satisfy me that, under the management of the Director, M. 
Demeter Agoura (formerly Bulgarian Minister of the Interior), 
a very high grade of instruction is reached. There are seven 
classes, and taking only the lowest and the highest, in the first- 
named the curriculum is as follows : — Orthodox religion, the 
Bulgarian language, elementary physics, chemistry, physiology, 
calligraphy, drawing, arithmetic, geometry, singing, gymnastics, 
and, strangely enough, geography, for which a charge is made ! 
Objects of various kinds are employed for instruction. In the 
highest class the course is — ^Bulgarian, including the reading of 
translations from foreign authors ; French ; Latin and Greek in 
the classical section; history, logic, psychology, mathematics, 
algebra, geometry and geometrical drawing, physics, chemistry, 
laboratory practice, mineralogy, and drawing. All these branches 
of education seem to be well taught. The chemical teachers 
have a laboratory for preparing their lectures, a specially fitted- 
up lecture-room, and a second laboratory with twenty-four 
benches for the students. The teachers of physics have also a 
laboratory containing excellent apparatus and a separate lecture- 
hall. For natural history there are good cabinets of various 
objects; for drawing, a very fine class-room, with prints and 
beautiful plaster models of still life and statuettes. There is 
an excellent reference library of two thousand volumes ; and 
the council and examination hall would be worthy of any 
university. As I only spoke to one or two of the boys here, it 
would not be fair to express an opinion of their eflSciency ; as 
already remarked, the reader will presently have a good oppor- 



PHILIPPOPOLIS. 147 

tunifcy to judge of the intelligence of the Bulgarian youth at 
the school at Gabrovo. In speaking of Sofia, I omitted to 
mention that there is a good public library, which was about 
to be arranged by M. Yovcheff, who was until recently libra- 
rian at Philippopolis, where that institution is well deserving of 
a visit. It contains about fifteen thousand volumes, of which 
about four thousand are English ; all the best books in every 
department of literature, down to, or, as some may say^ up to 
" Progress and Poverty." Besides these, there, is a marvellous 
collection of foreign works in French, German, Bohemian, 
Sclavonic, Polish, Turkish, Armenian, Greek, and Latin. They 
are beautifully arranged around a fine reading-room, which is 
well furnished with journals, magazines, and the best European 
illustrated papers. Under the same roof is the museum, which 
is noteworthy only for its numismatic collection. The coins 
are in excellent preservation and beautifully arranged and 
classified. Some of them are remarkably interesting ; there 
are Thracian, Asian, African, and Eoman specimens (the latter 
of all periods), examples of Byzantine, and Barbarian imitations 
of them ; coins of the Bulgarian Czars and of the Sveto-Slave 
kings. The coins of the Bulgarian Czars are of Simeon, the 
AsenidaB, and the Sismanidse. The Czars' coins usually represent 
the Czarina as well as the Czar ; they are very rude, and although 
attempts have been made to describe the dresses of the old rulers 
of Bulgaria from these objects, I hope it may not be presump-" 
tuous if I say that the imagination has had a large share in the 
process. The chief features of interest, which may be traced 
with tolerable accuracy, are the crowns and head-dresses of the 
princes, of which it would seem that pearls or other precious 
stones were a conspicuous ornament. 

If I am unable to give the reader an account of the standard 
of excellence attained by Bulgarian boys at the public school at 
Philippopolis, I can at least tell him something about the girls, 
who had commenced work at their Lyc^e. It has been estab- 
lished six years, and is under the direction of Professor Joachim 
Grouew. There were about one hundred and fifty girls there, 
varying from eleven to seventeen or eighteen years of age, 
who are instructed by thirteen teachers having Austrian, Swiss, 



148 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

English, and Eassian diplomas. There are six classes, and in 
one or other of them the following subjects are taught : — Ortho- 
dox religion, the Bulgarian language, natural history, physics, 
chemistry, mathematics, arithmetic, general history, algebra, 
geometry, geography, drawing, singing, writing, sewing, gym- 
nastics, French (grammar and translation), domestic economy, 
hygiene, and the art of teaching. I have taken the subjects at 
random, but as I cross-questioned the girls in every one of the 
classes, I know to what subjects the most attention is paid, or 
at least in which they attain the highest proficiency. Those are 
general history, in which some of the answers regarding foreign 
countries were surprisingly accurate; arithmetic (vulgar and 
decimal fractions); drawing. I brought back with me some 
, illuminated initial letters and some designs which would be 
admired at South Kensington, executed by the girls of the 
third and fourth classes ; unfortunately the cost of transference 
to these pages would be too great. To proceed: singing, in 
which the girls were very proficient; in geography also I re- 
ceived satisfactory replies to questions about some very out-of- 
the-way places; and natural history. In order to test their 
readiness in drawing and knowledge of plants, I got the 

teachers to direct them to draw certain flowers and cereals on 

• 

the blackboard, which some of them did admirably ; and, in- 
deed, I have described them in my notebook as " remarkably 
bright and intelligent, fully equal to girls of any other country, 
drawn from every class of society." There is some little differ- 
ence between the charge made to girls and that paid in, the 
boys' gymnase. Here they pay in the four lower classes fourteen 
firancs, and in the two higher twenty francs per annum, the 
money being devoted, as in the former case, to supplying in- 
digent children (who are excused payment on presenting a 
certificate of inability to pay) with books and materials. 

But I fear I am wearying my readers with dry educational 
details, so, by way of a change, will ask them to accompany our 
hospitable Consul Captain Jones, M. Shopoff, one of the pro- 
fessors at the Girls' Lyc^e, and myself on a picnic excursion to 
the Monastery of St. Kyriak. 



THE MONASTERY OF ST. KYRIAK. 149 



CHAPTER XIV. 

AN EXCURSION TO THE MONASTERY OF ST. KYRIAK. 

Surroundings of the monastery — Vodina — Suspicious Greek women — The monas- 
tery — ^A sanatorium — ^Terms of residence — Occupations of visitors — Incident 
in a Bulgarian picnic — Arrival of a pilgrimage — ^The interior of the church 
— Miraculous cures and strange offerings — Religions ceremonies — The retunv 
home — Stanimaka — Arcadian simplicity, and reflections on the way. 

IF the reader supposes that he is going to visit one of those 
sacred halls of which the great Staudigl sang so impres- 
sively, or to witness a long procession of cowled monks march 
round the dimly-lighted chapel, and if he has a taste for such 
things, he had better close these pages. He will see something 
of a pilgrimage and a little of divine service as it is conducted 
in Bulgaria ; but the main object of our visit is to picnic in 
what is still a monastery, but is converted into a sanatorium for 
the people of Philippopolis and of a Greek town called Stani- 
maka, not far from the convent. The Monastery of St. Kyriak 
is visible from the windows of the British Consulate as a little 
white line far away in the woods that clothe the distant hills 
almost due south of Philippopolis. It was reached in a carriage, 
after driving about an hour and a half over a most uninteresting 
plain, and at the base of the hill we left our carriage, and pro- 
ceeded up the steep slope on foot. The plain is about 550 feet 
over the sea-level, and the monastery stands at an elevation of 
about 800 feet over the plain. The plants which grow around 
as you wander through the woods and mount the hill are not 
without interest. The trees are chiefly elms, walnuts, and mul- 
berries (cultivated for the silkworm). No more stunted scrub, 
but fine, well-grown trees clothe the mountain-sides. Vines, 



150 BULGAKIA PAST AND PRESENT, 

too, are met witb from time to time, and the ordinaiy shrabs 
and herbs of the temperate zone. After leaving the plain and 
mounting a few hnndred feet, we came to the Greek village 
of Vodina, a dirty place, built on the hill slope ; and at the 
entrance to the village we saw a spring which is said to have 
the miracalOQS power of curing blindness and sore eyes. Here, 
also, we witnessed the primitive mode of extracting spirit from 
the skins and dregs of tbe grape after its passage through 
the wine-press. These are placed in a copper alembic, an 
old-&8hioned still, and a coarse spirit is the prodnct. A little 
tartiher on we eaw a group of Greek women goasipping at the 



door of a cotti^^e, and passing them, we looked into what 
appeared an empty store. Immediately one of the women 
moved towards ns with an angry exclamation, and when I 
inquired what she said, one of my companions told me, " She 
wants to know what business we have there. The Greeks are 
very unfriendly aud suspicious. Such a thing would never hap- 
pen anywhere but amongst the Greeks in Bulgaria." 

A little below Vodina a very picturesque view of the monas- 
tery, of which a sketch is here given, is obtained. It looks like 



THE MONASTBEY OF ST. KYRIAK. 151 

a long building with a tower at the right extremity. This 
building is, however, only one side, and the tower is the termi- 
nation of a higher side of the quadrangle which forms the 
monastery. The building stands out in a bright white colour 
against the dark woods in the background (it is white and 
grey), and above those ^re the grey bluffs, so often referred to, 
which here resemble the cliffs of Derbyshire. So close is the 
similarity, that during our descent I drew the attention of 
Captain Jones to some cliffs and hills resembling those in 
Dovedale. His answer was, "Yes; Thorpe Cloud without the 
Trout." Along the upper portion of the monastery you see a 
row of ordinary windows giving light to the chambers, of 
which further mention will be made; below the apertures 
are mere loopholes, evidently, in days gone by, for defensive 
purposes. 

When you enter the monastery, you find it to be a large 
quadrangular building, enclosing a garden and a small Byzan* 
tine church. As already remarked, one side of the quadrangle 
along with a small portion of a second is higher than the 
remainder, and this part comprises a ground-floor with two fine 
wooden galleries, one above the other, supported by wooden 
pillars and connected by broad stairs of the same material ; the 
rest of the quadrangle has only one gallery above the ground- 
floor, and that one of smaller dimensions. In the garden are 
a few trees (poplar, &c.), shrubs, and smaller plants. From the 
galleries you enter suites of chambers, which were formerly the 
residences of the monks ; now only one resides there perma- 
nently ; two brethren assist him when it is requisite, and there 
are besides men-servants and one old woman. The apartments 
are now let during the summer months to people from Philip- 
popolis and elsewhere, in suites of two rooms (for males and 
females respectively) and a kitchen, and the amount paid for 
the hire of each set of rooms is from four to five liras or Turkish 
pounds per month (a Turkish pound = about 18s. sterling). 
In summer the monastery is often completely filled with visitors, 
as many as fifty families being sometimes accommodated ; the 
average appears to be thirty. These take their meals in the 



152 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

galleries, where also they have music, and, as I was told, 
'^ dancing sometimes all day long." 

In the gallery, too, we had our mid-day meal, but as I was 
the private guest of a hospitable host on that occasion, it would 
hardly be consistent with propriety to enter into details. Before 
the repast our hands were washed Oriental fashion, and during 
the meal we had to taste the excellent wine made in the convent. 
If I cannot speak of the dinner, at least I may be permitted to 
tell an anecdote which will give the reader an insight into 
Bulgarian life. 

About a year previously my two companions were sitting on 
the same spot lunching, when suddenly a band of the so-called 
border guards entered the building, and rushed up and tied the 
convent-bell to prevent an alarm being given. These wild- 
looking fellows of the brigand type were armed with Martini- 
Henry rifles, and, according to all accounts, they seemed to be 
men bent upon plunder. 

" What did you do ? " I asked one of my companions. 

"Do? Why, we went on lunching! They said. they were 
in search of an Albanian who had outraged a girl, and not 
finding him in the convent, they went on to Philippopolis, where 
they found him and carried him off." 

This is one of the agrSments of a Bulgarian picnic. I wonder 
they did not bring him back and hang him, without benefit of 
clergy, in the garden of the monastery. Although not so ex- 
citing, we too had an interesting experience during our visit, 
for a pilgrimage of peasants arrived whilst we were there, and 
we followed them into the church. This is what we saw there. 
The interior of the church is completely covered with rude 
paintings of saints and legends in the gaudiest of colours ; not 
a square inch is undecorated. It is hung with tawdry finery, 
such as would please the taste of the peasantry, and all around 
are the " ikons," or images of saints, loaded with offerings ; 
amongst the latter the most conspicuous are little plates of 
gold, silver, or inferior metals, of an oval shape, about an 
inch in length, and punctured all over. They are intended as 
symbols that the worshippers have recovered their eyesight or 



THE MONASTERY OF ST. KYRIAK. 158 

been cured of ophthalmia by the miraculous water. First the 
peasants knelt in a group round the monk, who was robed, and 
placing a scarf which he wore over the heads of the kneeling 
worshippers, he asked them their names one by one in an under- 
tone, and then said a short prayer over them. I was told that 
he was praying for immunity from disease for them, and that 
they have complete confidence in the eflBicacy of such prayers. 
The women went about the church kissing the "ikons," and 
then holding up their children and causing them to do the 
same. When the religious ceremony was over, the peasantry 
bought wax tapers, which were placed upon a table at the door- 
way, where they were sold by a monk. The worshippers took 
a taper, put their offering on the table, made a deep obeisance 
to the priest, crossed themselves, and one by one departed. I 
followed their example to the extent of taking and honestly 
paying for a taper ; but not being a member of the Orthodox 
Bulgarian Church, I had to content myself with shaking hands 
with the amiable and kindly monk, from whom we had received 
much attention during our visit. 

After this we returned to our carriage, making the descent 
by another route ; and on the way down we got a fine view of 
the little Greek town of Stanimaka, which is most picturesquely 
situated. I am afraid it will not greatly enlighten my readers 
if I tell them that it resembles, though on a much smaller scale, 
the town of Kronstadt, at the foot of the Carpathians, on the 
Transylvanian side. Just as there, the streets and houses run 
up into the lateral valleys in the most capricious way ; and the 
whole town somewhat resembles a star-fish which has been left 
by the tide and lost its symmetrical shape. 

One more little incident before we return to Philippopolis 
and travel onwards from there. During our descent we heard 
the notes of a wind instrument, and turning round a bend in 
the path, we suddenly came upon a shepherd-boy discoursing 
melody upon a pipe to the sheep of his pasture. Such an 
idyllic scene, such Arcadian simplicity and pristine content- 
ment, I have never witnessed elsewhere. It carried one back 
to the days when the city was founded, of which the distant 



154 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

spires were faintly visible on the horizon/ and made one for 
the moment forget monks and brigands, and '^ ikons " and con- 
vent wine, and tinned sardines, and all other modem inno- 
vations. 

' Philippopolis was founded by Philip of Macedon about 350 B.C. 



THE ROSE-FIELDS OF KEZANLIK. 155 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ROSE-FIELDS OF KEZANLIK OVER THE SHIPKA PASS 

GABROVO AND ITS GYMNASIUM. 

Kalofer — Village politicians — The rose-fields of Kezanlik — The otto-of-rose in- 
dustry — Ascent of the Shipka Pass — Signs of warfare — Memorials of the 
slain — Beautiful obelisks on the summit — A straggling cemetery — Reflections 
upon the Russian occupation — View from the Shipka — The king 6f the air — 
A novel drag — The descent — Gabrovo — Description of the town — Spinning 
women — Two visits to the Gymnasium — Ignorant candidates for admission — 
Elementary education in Bulgaria — The students of the Gymnasium — Their 
sharpness and great proficiency in every branch of knowledge — Foundation 
and history of the school — Report on its present condition by Professor Petroff 
— Remarks upon education in Bulgaria — Agricultural schools — Departure 
from Gabrovo. 

'^PHE journey from Philippopolis to Tirnova, the ancient capi- 
-L tal of Bulgaria, occupies three days. The first day takes 
you to Kalofer, a small town near the foot of the Balkans ; on 
the second you cross the Shipka Pass and reach Gabrovo, on the 
northern side ; and the third brings you into Tirnova. Of Kalo- 
fer I saw but little, as we arrived after dusk and left before 
daybreak, and what I did see was not edifying. I had a letter 
to the Prefect, whom we lound in a cabaret, or what we should 
call a country " pub," along with a few of the villagers, and he 
kindly returned with us to the poorest khan that I found in 
Bulgaria, to see that we were comfortable. The villagers had 
evidently been discussing politics, for the first question put to 
me by the schoolmaster of the village,^ who joined our party, 
was whether I had heard anything of the mission of the Bussian 

^ He told me afterwards that in the school at Kalofer there are 313 children of 
both sexes, and that he had seven male and three female teachers under him, who 
had been educated at the Gymnasium at Philippopolis. 



156 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

General Ehmroth. I told him that was ancient history, and 
that the proposal of the Russians to send a mission had 
fallen to the ground. In joyous tones he announced to the vil- 
lagers that " Ehmroth is not coming," a piece of intelligence 
which was received with undisguised satisfaction, for they seem 
to have stood in great fear of Ehmroth and the Russians. 

As I have said, we started before daybreak on the following 
morning, at 4.30, in fact, with the stars shining brightly over- 
head, and we had a magnificent sunrise over the Balkans. At 
nine we arrived at the village of Shipka, which is situated at the 
foot of the pass, having driven past many fields of rose-bushes 
on the way. These, as the reader doubtless knows, constitute 
the wealth of this part of the country, the district of Kezanlik, 
for it is here that in May and June the harvest of roses is 
gathered from which the essence or otto of roses is distilled. 
Of the weight of rose-leaves collected I can give the reader no 
idea, but it must be something enormous, and the following 
figures will enable him to judge as to the importance and profits 
of the industry. In 1883 there were exported from Eastern 
Roumelia 6500 lbs. of rose-water and essence, the value of 
which was estimated at £65,000, or £10 per lb. ; in 1884 it 
was 7300 lbs., valued at £80,000, or nearly £11 per lb.;\and I 
am told that one wholesale perfumer alone in this country pays 
a firm in Kezanlik about £3000 a year for the essence. At the 
village of Shipka I bought a diminutive flagon of the essence for 
six francs; and judging from the infinitesimal quantity which is 
necessary to saturate a two-ounce bottle of pure alcohol, I should 
say that the profit on those little gilt glass flagons which are 
sold as otto of roses, but which really contain spirit perfumed 
with the essence, must be enormous. 

The Shipka Pass, which is in reality not a pass at all, but a 
winding road over one of the Lower Balkans, rises immediately 
behind the village of the same name; and the ascent is so 
steep that the driver is obliged to unharness his horses, and 



^ Diplomatic and Consular Reports on Trade and Finance, No. 7<>. Report of 
Consul-General H. Jones on the Trade of Eastern Roumelia. 1886. Harrison 
& Sons, &c. 



THE SHIPKA PASS. 157 

having made a noisy bargain with one of the peasants (who are 
always on the look-out for travellers), he substitutes a pair of 
oxen, hands over the carriage to the care of the peasants, and 
himself follows at leisure with his horses. The traveller may 
either keep his seat on the little vehicle or he may walk. My 
companion and I preferred the latter method of locomotion, and 
we reached the summit, which is about 2200 feet above the 
village of Shipka, with great ease in an hour and three-quarters, 
part of which time was employed in admiring the scenery and 
looking for evidences of the great battles that were fought there. 
Immediately on leaving the village you pass a fort, which is 
either in course of construction, or more probably being strength- 
ened, and which is intended to command the pass on the south 
side ; and shortly afterwards you see at a great height above 
a white obelisk, very conspicuously placed. This is one of 
several " memorials " of the great fight. It may be that I have 
no eye for what Lord Beaconsfield would perhaps have called 
" extinct batteries ; " but with the exception of a few points of 
vantage in the ascent, which appear to have been levelled, I 
could see nothing to indicate that so recently as 1877 two great 
contending armies had converted the pass and the surrounding 
heights into one vast camp and fortress. As, however, you 
approach the summit, signs of "battle, murder, and sudden 
death " soon become apparent. First you see a crucifix or two 
placed up in conspicuous positions against the rocky eminences ; 
then little enclosed spaces, containing the graves of fallen 
heroes; and at length you arrive at the obelisk, which is so 
conspicuously visible from the valley below. This turns out to 
be a plain monument, shaped very like another higher up, to 
be presently referred to, but smaller, and surmounted with a 
ball only. It was erected in memory of the slain of a certain 
Kussian regiment (I forget which) by their surviving comrades. 
Mounting still, we soon arrive at the highest part of the road, 
and there we find an imposing obelisk, of which a representation 
is here given, which is surmounted by a ball and cross. It bears 
an inscription that it was erected during the reign of the Czar 
Alexander II., to commemorate the capture of the Shipka Pass 
by General Gourko, 7th July 1877. Now we seem to be in 



158 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

a straggling cdtnetery, for at short intervals, in every direction, 
there are crosses, crucifixes, and more or less imposing monu- 
ments and obelisks. 

I can imagine some patriotic Kussian, if he reads this descrip- 
tion of the Shipka, exclaiming, " Are we then not jnstified, after 
shedding the blood of onr brave soldiers, in demanding a foot- 
hold and our just influence in Bulgaria?" No more than we 



should be justified in demanding possession of Sebastopol or 
the heights of the Alma ! If the campaign was one of many 
that were undertaken with a view to secure Constantinople, it 
was a hypocritical proceeding, which only verifies the adage 
that " Man proposes and God disposes." If, on the other hand, 
it was a disinterested sacrifice to liberate a people of the same 
race and religion, they should have been lefb to govern them- 
selves and to carve out their own destiny, and their countiy 



THE SHIPKA PASS. 159 

should not have been made a hotbed of conspiracy and intrigue 
by their " liberators " for their own selfish and ambitious ends. 

The view on the south side of the pass, all the way up* from 
the village of Shipka, is very fine. Below, you see a vast fertile 
plain, with the Rhodope Mountains in the distance, but it is not 
to be compared with the scene that greets you at the summit. 
This is simply indescribable, and must be seen to be appreciated. 
In every direction, as far as the eye can reach, there are wood- 
clad hills, with here and there a few grey peaks, covered with 
a thin veil of snow. The summit itself is very peculiar. Prom 
where you stand at the large obelisk (on which, by the bye, 
the Russian eagle is conspicuously carved), the road descends 
for half a mile to a guard-house and khan, and thence rises 
again for the same distance to an elevation similar to the one 
on which you are standing. There the real descent commences. 
As we walked down to the khan where we were to lunch, we 
saw a fi:ontier guard run out with a gun pointing upwards, and 
looking in his direction, we perceived a splendid eagle sailing 
over the pass. Whether the man was afraid of creating an 
alarm, or for whatever reason, he refrained from firing at the 
bird (which he would probably have missed), and the king of 
the air, after circling majestically for a few moments over the 
summit, swooped down into the valley below. In the khan we 
stayed half an hour to rest and refresh ourselves, and then fol- 
lowed our carriage. When we reached it, we found that a novel 
kind of drag had been improvised in the shape of an enormous 
bundle of branches with their leaves, which effectually prevented 
the carriage from slipping down the hill. We afterwards over- 
took our driver with the horses, which he was coolly taking on 
to Gabrovo, pretending that he thought we had walked on to 
that place. He knew well what he was about, and wanted to 
save his horses, for the road is so steep and rough that we soon 
left the carriage and walked to the foot, as we had climbed to 
the summit. 

We arrived at Gabrovo at four in the afternoon, and taking up 
our quarter^ at what they are pleased to call the " Grand 
H6tel," a somewhat better khan than the generality of such 
places, we at once sallied forth, first to have a look round, and 



160 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

then to pay a visit to the most noteworthy institution in Bulgaria, 
the Boys' Gymnasinm, most noteworthy because it represents 
the renaissance of Bulgarian intellectual life and literature. 

Gabrovo is a superior Bulgarian country town, with about 
10,000 inhabitants. The River Jantra, spanned by three 
fine bridges, flows through it, and on one of these you see a 
tablet bearing the following inscription: — **This bridge was 
constructed by the private benevolence of the Sultan .Abdul 
Medjid, for whose long life we pray. Date 1855." They were 
not such bad fellows after all, those old Sultans ! The town 
itself has nothing particular to distinguish it. Streets narrow, 
pavement execrable, we had to creep through them on entering 
and leaving it in our carriage. There is a Byzantine church of 
rather imposing appearance, with its zinc dome glistening in the 
bright sunshine. The shops are open, resembling the smaller 
kind in the capital. Many of the houses are gaily painted, and 
the way in which the vines are trained over and about them is 
something marvellous. A beautiful example of this is to be 
seen in the " Grand Hotel," where the little projecting balcony 
for meals was one mass of festoons and drooping vine branches. 
The bazaar or market was very gay and animated, women 
bargaining for fowls and vegetables, and all the while spinning 
away most vigorously. Indeed, I never saw such an amount of 
spinning done anywhere. I should think, if the women had 
been ranged in rows, they would have constituted a very re- 
spectable Oldham cotton factory ! 

But the Gymnasium was the jpUce de resistance here, although 
at first it disappointed me greatly. Of the building it can 
only be said that it is large, very plain, and indeed rude in 
appearance, both externally and within. When we entered it, 
accompanied by the landlord of the " Grand Hfltel," who had 
sent to announce our intended visit, we were very courteously 
received by the Director (whose name I am sorry I forgot to 
note), the handsome priest who gives instruction in religion, 
and some of the masters, including Professor Petroff, the teacher 
of English and some other subjects. I was told that my visit 
was a little inopportune, as only a few boys were there, who had 
not yet entered the school, but were being examined prior to 



GABROVO AND ITS GYMNASIUM. 161 

admission ; that they had been educated so far in elementary 
schools in different parts of Bulgaria, and the object in examin- 
ing them was to ascertain the degree of proficiency they had 
attained and to select their class. But that was precisely what 
I wished to know, as it would give me an insight into the 
character of the education in elementary schools, and I there- 
fore begged permission to hear one or two of the boys examined. 
Accompanied by the Director, M. Petroff, and one or two other 
masters, we adjourned to a class-room, where we found a few 
grown-up lads, one of whom was working out a wonderful 
problem in algebra with sines and cosines and what not, some- 
thing far above my comprehension, which completely filled a 
large black-board. The master who was examining him told 
me the result so far was not satisfactory, and he was ordered to 
stop for awhile. I said, " Tell him to add one-eighth of a franc 
to nine-tenths of a franc in decimals and show the result." He 
was absolutely unable to do it, and all the other boys were 
equally unsuccessful. Indeed, when I gave them a simple sum 
in decimals only, taking care to add the word francs (as I 
wanted to ascertain how their education would serve them in 
after life), they could not work it. . I then asked the first boy 
where Canada is, and he said " America." " North or South ? " 
" South." Another said Spain, thinking I meant Granada. 
The lads were, no doubt, nervous; my questions had to be 
translated (though I have no doubt they were correctly trans- 
lated), and these boys may have been " pushed on " to enable 
them to enter the higher school. However, the masters appeared 
ashamed of the results, and M. Petroff asked me to return on 
the following morning, when the regular classes would be 
assembled, and I should hear a different story. This I should 
have done in any case, for it would be obviously unfair to judge 
of the education given in a high school from the examination of 
boys who had never been taught there. On the following morning 
we visited the Gymnasium again, and all I can say is that I wish 
we had a few such educational establishments in England. 

In the lowest class of students (there are seven in all) I found 
the same evidences of defective elementary education amongst 

boys who had been there a year as I had met with the even- 

L 



1C2 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

ing before in those who were candidates for admission, and 
I am therefore convinced that the lower schools of the country 
are too ambitious in their course of instruction, and devote 
too little attention to its practical details. The higher classes 
sh(^wed signs of rapidly-advancing knowledge, and when I got 
into the highest of all, it was / who felt ashamed of my ignor- 
ance! This prevented me from examining the boys in the 
higher branches of mathematics ; but when I asked them how 
they would, under various conditions, ascertain the height of a 
building or a mountain, their answers were prompt and clear. 
As to the addition of fractions of a franc (they had no doubt 
heard of the fiasco of the night previously), it caused consider- 
able amusement, and I was told by the master, " That is 
elementary." In universal history their information was very 
fair, and they answered questions relating to every age. So, 
too, in geography and in physical science. Chemistry, and 
that of the most practical kind, was a strong point, and when 
they were asked to flraw plants on the black-board, they did so 
neatly and correctly. In all the various branches of a higher 
education they excelled the pupils in nine out of ten schools of 
a similar grade in England. 

As I have already said, the Gymnasium at Gabrovo represents 
the revival of Bulgarian intellectual life and learning. It was 
the first school in which that language was systematically 
taught, and its foundation was due to a generous merchant, 
M. Apriloff, and to the self-denying labours of a young priest, 
Neofyt Rylski (educated at the Ryl Monastery), who in 1835, 
when the first school was founded, published the first Bulgarian 
grammar. It would appear that the present building was 
erected at a later period, but in this and other matters con- 
nected with the management of the school, the reader shall 
have more authentic information than any I can give, for the 
Professor of English favoured me with the following report, 
which I publish verbatim, without even correcting one or two 
minor inaccuracies, in order that the reader may have an oppor- 
tunity to judge of the proficiency of master as well as of 
student (it must not be forgotten that it is a Bulgarian who is 
writing English) : — 



GABROVO AND ITS GYMNASIUM. 163 



" Some Information about the Gymnase of Gabrovo. 

" The bases of the Gymnase were put in 1850 ; the construc- 
tion of it was finished in 1867. The founder of the Gymnase 
is M. Apriloff, bom in Gabrovo.^ In the time of Turkish rule 
there were seven classes with ten professors. The Gymnai^ 
gave graduates " (degrees) " for the first time in 1875. Most of 
the present higher military and civil officers are graduates of 
the Gymnase of Gabrovo. 

" At the beginning of the present college year are inscribed 
as regular students 420. There are seven classes with fourteen 
parallel divisions. The number of the teachers is twenty, with 
one director. Most of the teachers are graduates of different 
European universities. The following are the studies in the 
Gymnase: — Mathematics, natural sciences, chemistry, descrip- 
tive geometry, history, geography, logic, Bulgarian literature, 
general literature, the ancient and modem Bulgarian language, 
French, German, and Russian languages '\. (he has forgotten 
English), " drawing, and religious instruction. 

" The library of the Gymnase counts about 4000 volumes. 
There is a museum containing a large quantity of old coins, 
most of them found in the neighbourhood of Gabrovo. There 
are physical, chemical, and zoological cabinets connected with 
the Gymnase. (Signed) Petroff. 



" Gabrovo, 23 September, 1887." 

A few words more concerning education in Bulgaria. I have 
spoken to the reader about the higher-grade boys and girls' 
schools and colleges, and about the technical school of Kniajevo. 
Let me add that there are two agricultural colleges, one at 



^ M. Petroff is quite correct in saying the. founder was M. Apriloff, who was 
born at Gabrovo, but he was not, as this report would imply, the founder of the 
present building if it was commenced in 1850. M. Apriloff was at school in 
Moscow in 1800, in business in Odessa in 1810, founded the first school in 1835, 
and died in 1848, consequently, according to M. Petroff's report, two years before 
the foundations of the present school were laid. I believe it has been enlarged 
once at least. 



164 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Sadowa near Philippopolis, where they have forty-eight pupils 
and eight teachers, and another at Rustchuk with fifty scholars 
and five teachers. The pupils are mostly educated at the cost 
of the State, but there are some who pay 300 francs per annum. 
The curriculum is very imposing, but I was told by those who 
know that a good deal of it remains on paper. Besides the 
usual scientific (and even to some extent elementary) education, 
they profess to teach such subjects as agriculture, the anatomy, 
physiology, and habits of domestic animals, gardening, stock- 
raising, veterinary surgery, vine-culture, and wine manufac- 
ture, bee-culture, silk-culture, forestry, drawing, and mechanics. 
There is, besides, a theological seminary and an " Ecole Mili- 
taira" ^ Education is compulsory, but in the large majority of 
cases " compulsion " is quite unnecessary ; the children are eager 
to learn, and their parents that they should be taught. There are 
inspectors, who, as with us, do their best, but cannot bring all 
the children into school. This information rather surprised me, 
for, with the exception of the gipsies, there is no class such as 
our Arab element to contend with. 

However, these minor defects will soon be outgrown, and 
whilst I leave the reader to ponder later on over these details, 
and judge for himself whether or not the Bulgarians are fit for 
self-government, I must now ask him to take a final drive with 
me through this interesting town. In quitting it, he will once 
more anathematise its execrable pavement, which, however, gives 
ample opportunity to admire the painted houses with their vine- 
clad trellised balconies, its busy artisans working away visibly 
at kalpak, metal- work, and all other household wares, and its 
women picturesquely dressed, and spin, spinning away as though 
it were for dear life itself. 



^ The one in which the cadets rebelled and helped to carry off Prince Alexander 
was, I believe, dissolved. 



FROM GABROVO TO TIRNOVA. 165 



CHAPTER XVL 

FROM GABROVO TO TIRNOVA LAND-CUSTOMS AND AGRICULTURE. 

Drenovo — Its wretched khan — Oleomargarine — The northern slopes of the Bal- 
kans — Beautiful scenery — ^Fine roads — Wealth of the land — Trees and fruits, 
wild pears, cereals, tobacco, &c. — Paprika — Domestic animals — ^Herds of 
cattle, sheep, &c, — Caravans — The Bulgarian araba — The peasantry, men 
and women — The draught - oxen — Charms against witchcraft — Perennial 
triumphal arches — Well-to-do peasantry — Land-tenure in Bulgaria — Mera 
or common land — Establishment of a peasant proprietary — Customs of the 
M^ra — Migrations, of peasantry — Bulgarian gardeners — Hidden property of 
the peasantry — Rotation of crops — Agriculture — Wealth of the country. 

rriHE drive from Gabrovo through Drenovo to Timova is 
-*- remarkably interesting, and in order that the description 
may, at least, not be interrupted by anything very disagreeable, 
I would like first to say a few words about Drenovo, where you 
stop to lunch. It is a long, straggling village, through which 
you could easily drive in a few minutes, were it not for the 
pavement, if you can dignify with such a name the heaps of 
stones over which you have to jolt and rumble for nearly half 
an hour. The khan is wretched ; no beds ; mats on the floor as 
substitutes, and no comfort whatever for travellers. Strangest 
of all is the fact that when, after a good deal of solicitation, I 
succeeded in getting some butter, it turned out to be veritable 
" butterine" — " oleomargarine " with a strong flavour of tallow. 
When I hinted this, the landlord honestly confessed that it 
was an imported mixture, and he regretted exceedingly that 
he could not supply me with genuine butter. 

The road from Gabrovo to Timova is in the Balkans, that is 
to say, it runs over a series of hills, a magnificent, undulating 
country, nearly the whole way. The road itself is excellent, and 
it passes over very good stone bridges, which span the streams 



166 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

that have to be crossed en route. The surrounding landscape is 
highly picturesque, consisting of fine hills clothed with woods, 
and backed up by the higher Balkans. The soil is a rich dark- 
coloured loam, sometimes almost black, but here and there you 
find fields which are one mass of stones, caused by the nature 
of the drift turned up by the plough. And what a wealth of 
vegetation of every kind ! Amongst trees I noticed oaks, i)op- 
lars, cypresses, acacias, willows, and mulberries, all fine well- 
grown trees; the oak being the most conspicuous. Besides 
mulberries, grown for silk-culture, the fruit-bearing trees are 
walnuts, in great numbers, filberts, plums, pears, cherries, 
apples, and enormous quinces ; but one fruit I saw here which 
I do not remember having noticed elsewhere, namely, wild 
pears. In some places they quite ornament the roadside with 
their fruit, which is either gold colour or bright pink. They 
resemble small apples, are larger and more astringent than our 
Siberian crab, and not so pulpy. Our ordinary English shrubs 
are there in abundance, and, judging from the wealth of bright 
red berries, I should say that in summer the thorns and roses 
must, in some places, constitute an unbroken mass of blossom. 
Besides the tree-fruits, there is a succession of vineyards, 
which, at the time of my visit, were just being harvested, and 
the little, luscious grapes grow in good-sized compact bunches. 
The gourds, interspersed in the fields amongst the maize and 
other cereals, are sometimes gigantic in their proportions, whilst 
melons and egg-plants are just as fine and plentiful. Besides 
maize and the other cereals, which had already been reaped, 
there are fields of tobacco with beautiful pink flowers resem- 
bling the convolvulus, and occasional broad expanses of pasture. 
The only fern that I noticed was the common bracken. All 
ordinary vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, cauliflowers, and 
cabbages, are plentifully cultivated, and most conspicuous is 
the characteristic " paprika," or red pepper, whose large pods, 
strung like onions, hang in rows before every cottage. They 
are served up at table boiled, red and green, and pickled and 
farcie, and probably in many other ways. 

On the pasture-land every species of domestic animal is 
nourished. Oxen and buffaloes, which are used for draught ; 



LAND-CUSTOMS AND AGRICULTURE. 167 

horses, large black and white flocks of sheep, herds of black 
and white cattle, goats, pigs, and geese. As you drive along, 
you meet " caravans " of merchandise, timber, and farm produce. 
These usually consist of clumsy " arabas," or native carts, but 
sometimes they are composed of horses carrying ballots of 
manufactured goods and light materials. An araba is a 
primitive cart, and this is how it is framed :— Each side is 
formed of two long trunks of trees slightly dressed, and con- 
nected together some distance apart by sixteen or eighteen thin 
wooden poles ; the bottom is constructed according to the pur- 
pose for which it is required ; it has no springs, and the wheels 
are what a fast young gentleman would call a "caution." 
They have no tyres, and the rudest kind of felloes are attached 
to a rough nave by equally rough spokea I had frequent 
arguments about those felloes. When you see them offered 
for sale, they are a little apart, and I maintained that they are 
intentionally left so, in order that as they revolve they may 
close up and form a complete circle, if the hexagonal wheel can 
be so called. As they rumble along the roads, these wheels roll 
to and fro like drunken men, and if you shut your eyes as they 
approach, you would think that you are listening to the groans 
of a lot of patients moaning with pain from cramp in the 
stomach. The arabas are nearly always drawn by a couple of 
patient and docile bufialoes, and are often full of firewood, hay, 
or other produce, which is heaped up so high as to make the 
cart on its rickety wheels top-heavy. Thus loaded they struggle 
along, I should think often not over a mile an hour, deepening 
the deep ruts on the road, and groaning away loud enough to 
awaken the seven sleepers. On the plain between Timova and 
Bustchuk one of these arabas loaded with fresh hay had got a 
lurch, and the joint efforts of the driver, his boy, three of us, and 
sundry peasants could not raise it to the perpendicular ; so we 
had to leave the perplexed owner to remedy his grievance alone. 
The carts of produce are accompanied by Bulgarian or Turkish 
drivers, who walk alongside their charge, always carrying a long 
pole. If a Bulgarian, he wears the kalpak (no Bulgarian would 
wear a turban), is dressed in homespun cloth, or in summer in 
the long white blouse and girdle, common, with slight modifica- 



168 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

tions, to the peasantry in all the Dannbian States. The men 
are, as a rule, very fine fellows, well built, of average height, 
with bronzed faces, shaven except the moustache. You meet 
the women in great numbers going to market with their pro- 
duce, and often very picturesquely dressed. A circumstance 
which cannot fail to strike you is, that when the carts are drawn 
by oxen, their front hair between the horns is nearly always 
dyed a bright yellow. This is done to keep off the evil-eye, or 
prevent them from being bewitched. I never could ascertain 
exactly what virtue it is supposed to possess, and in strict con- 
fidence, reader, I think the oxen are just as well informed on the 
subject as their owners. As you enter villages, you often see the 
perennial wooden triumphal arch, which, as I said before, bears 
fresh foliage of love and loyalty whenever a new ruler appears 
upon the scene. I do think a few of these should be removed, 
just to let Prince Ferdinand see that the assurances of eternal 
fidelity which he is receiving from his subjects are genuine. 

Speaking in general terms, the peasants of Bulgaria are all 
well-to-do. Each of them has at least one pair of oxen and 
forty or fifty sheep ; very many have two pairs of oxen and 
200 to 300 sheep, besides goats, pigs, geese, and fowls, all of 
which are allowed to pasture on the " M^ra " or common land. 
This leads us to the customs and tenure of land in Bulgaria, 
concerning which a few words may be of interest. According 
to my information, which was obtained from the most trust- 
worthy official sources, there are now really only two kinds 
of property in land — private property, and Mera or common 
land, which is held in the proportions of one-tenth private 
and nine-tenths M^ra or rural property. Nearly every pea- 
sant has his farm, rarely of less than five to six hectares (12 J 
to 15 acres), and a number of these farms, with their cot- 
tages and huts grouped together, form a village, to which 
is attached a large extent of country as ^' M^ra." In the 
plains this " M^ra " is pasture, in the mountains woodland ; 
but wherever it is situated, the community to which it belongs 
has the usufruct, including the right to cut wood. The Govern- 
ment is endeavouring to limit the latter right, for the reason 
frequently given, namely, that forests have already been de- 



LAND-CUSTOMS AND AGRICULTURE. 169 

nuded or are fast disappearing. There is no limit to a man's 
right of pasture ; he may send ten or 10,000 sheep (his own 
property, of course) on the " M^ra." In towns the owners of 
houses have their gardens, sometimes of considerable extent. 
If a man wishes to sell his land, he is bound to give his imme- 
diate neighbour the first offer of it. No peasant belonging to 
one community is allowed to send his cattle on to a neighbouring 
" M^ra," but he may buy a hut in the community to which it 
belongs, and with it he acquires the right of pasture. Titles 
must be registered, and ten years' occupancy gives an inde- 
feasible title. About thirty or forty years since a change in 
the tenure of land occurred in Bulgaria, in effect the same as 
that in Eoumania in 1864 ; ^ but in the former country it was 
brought about by a firman of the Sultan. Prom what I can 
gather, the Begs, who were the chief owners of the land, not 
only oppressed the peasantry, but failed to pay their taxes to 
the Porte. By the firman the peasants were to pay an annual 
tax, and to receive the titles to the land. What the nature of 
the arrangement was between the Begs and the Turkish Govern- 
ment, I am unable to say — that is of no consequence; it suflSces 
to know that the result has been the establishment of a prosperous 
peasant proprietary. There are some minor matters still un- 
settled between the Bulgarians and the Turks,^ such as the 
terms on which the Vakoufs, or lands belonging to religious 
foundations, are to be paid for, but these are questions of little 
moment so far as our inquiry is concerned. Similar attempts 
were made by usurers (Armenians and Greeks) in Bulgaria to 
get hold of the Turkish land to those in Roumania, and here 
too the diflBculty has been met by a temporary law which pre- 
vents them from acquiring such lands. A somewhat remark- 
able and important change has taken place of late years in the 
occupations of the male peasantry. Before the- introduction 
of machinery into the northern plains of the Danube, about 
100,000 peasants migrated there every year for the purpose of 
harvesting, just as the Irish come over to this country ; after 
the harvest they returned to their homes. During their absence 

^ " Roumania," p. 82-86, and Appendix iv. 
2 See Treaty of Berlin. . ** Holland," p. 286. 



170 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

their harvesting and other work was done by young Bulgarian 
boys and girls, who descended from the mountains for that 
purpose. Since the necessity for employment of so many harvests 
hands has ceased, the men have still gone in large numbers to 
Constantinople, Hungary, Servia, and Boumania as gardeners ; 
and at Bucharest they will tell you that they are far superior to 
the natives in that vocation. Another incident in peasant life 
is that, whilst under the oppressive Turkish rule thousands of 
able-bodied peasants took refuge in and congested the moun- 
tains, they are now descending and settling in the plains, 
where the inhabitants of villages allow them to use the " M^ra," 
but not to cultivate the soil. The statesmen of the country are, 
however, endeavouring to secure the right of tillage for them ; 
indeed, their aims seem to be to prevent forest waste and en- 
courage the planting of trees, to increase the acreage of arable 
land, and to reduce the extent of " M^ra." 

That the peasantry are well-to-do is proved not only by their 
visible wealth in kind, but, as I have already said, by the money 
which they are known to secrete. That this is an acknowledged 
fact is proved by a very naive reply which was given by a Bul- 
garian peasant to an English traveller when he was .asked 
whether it is true that the Bulgarian peasants hide their money 
in the ground. " Where," he replied, " do the English peasants 
hide theirs ? " 

A large proportion of the revenue of Bulgaria is naturally 
derived from taxes on products of the soil and on sheep, goats, 
and pigs ; but there is no tax on horses and cattle, the breeding 
of which the Government is desirous of encouraging; and in 
this, as in other branches of industry, there is no doubt that 
the Bulgarians, with whom agriculture is still very primitive, 
will soon make rapid progress, for they possess all the elements 
of prosperity. They have no need to use manure, owing to the 
richness of the soil ; but they practise rotation of crops — ^wheat 
(or maize), barley, rye, and two years fallow. Their rose-culture 
is the most lucrative in the world. Tobacco grows well.^ The 



^ The tobacco of Eastern Roumelia is of the ordinary Turkish quality, and is 
largely exported to Egypt and Austria. 



LAND-CUSTOMS AND AGRICULTURE, 171 

silk industry is capable of great development. Cotton is now 
being successfully cultivated. Their vines are of the best kind, 
but they spoil the wine through careless manufacture ; and their 
climate is such that they are able in many instances to secure 
two harvests against one in higher latitudes. 



BUIXJARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

TlllNOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 

The first glimpee of Timnva — Tta vonderful aspect and situation — Natural furtifi- 
cations— niuBiona dlspulled— The Preftct, M. Bondareff, aod Professor 
Cninchoff— Their attentions — Tbe " Bella Boaa" and the Khans of Timovn 
—The hall of the Great Sobranje — Its desecration— Irregular plan of Timuva 
' - -The " Hinsar " and the " Trapezitz "—The causeway of the " Rucher-covpi " 
— Fortilitd approaches to the " Missar "— Baldwin's T.iwer- The hill slopes— 
Vestiges of the palaces of the Bulgarian CiarB — The mosque on the " Hiasar " — 
Ri^gardfor Mmsuluian piety — The "Church of the Forty Martyrs " — Romau 
remains— Columnar inscription of John Asen II.— The metropolitan ehnrch— 
Its memorials and antiquities — Fanatical Moslems — Roman relics — Dismal 
prisons— Phanariote vandalism — Copper doors and Byzantine ornamentation 
-Tbe Chorch of St. Deuieter and ita reminiscences. 



'EW people have 
le remotest idea 
f the remarkable 
ity which lies 
in the northern 



may from the 

great wawjrway of Sonth- 

THE nas ouupsi oi- tihbo *, Eastem EuTOpe, the river 

Danube. I have had many sarpriaes in my day. Walking up 
the valley of the Visp for the first time, I have been struck with 



TIRNOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 173 

amazement by tke great rock of the Matterliom, towering, like 
the equally magnificent Langkofel at St. Ulrich in the Dolo- 
mites, high up into the blue sky. Stepping ont upon the 
balcony of the Clifton House Hotel at early morning, my sense 
of wonder has been delighted with the great cascade of Ni^ara ; 
driving along the road from Piraeus to Athens, the appearance 
of the Acropolis, with its marble temples, has filled me with awe 
and reverence ; and often has my memory dwelt upon the quaint 
and imposing aspect of Berchtesgaden, perched upon its rocky 
eminence. And yet, accustomed to look npon snch marvels of 



nature and art as these, my surprise and delight were not one 
whit diminished when I obtained the first glimpse of Timova, 
iramed in limestone cliflTs, as it appears on the road from Gabrovo, 
The road runs through a gorge of fossiliferous limestone rocks 
about a mile from the city, and when you enter this, as yon 
should always do on foot, the city, rising high up the hill slopes, 
is graduatly exposed to view. To depict or describe the scene 
that breaks upon you as you emerge from the narrow pass is 
simply impossible. High hills rise on every side, covered almost 
up to their summits, at an altitude of at least 700 or 800 feet, 



174 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

with streets of houses gaily painted in varions colours, domes, 
minarets, clock-towers, steeples, large buildings, and a long 
causeway of rock, intermixed with trees and gardens. Below 
flows the Jantra in its winding course, spanned by bridges, and 
rising from its banks are precipitous rocks covered with green 
shrubs, upon which houses are romantically built. In the 
distance you see hills, which appear (as they really were in 
former days) to be fortified with strong lines of ramparts. 
Perched upon one of these hills, the Hissar, or fort, a mosque 
stands conspicuous, and far away in the distance behind that 
rises another range of hills, walled round like those already 
named. Let me mention at once that these lines of fortification 
are really limestone escarpments, which were applied to defen- 
sive uses by the old Bulgarian Czars, and into the crevices 
of which strong stonework was ingeniously inserted here and 
there, to give solidity and symmetry to the natural ramparts. 
Entering the city as usual over an execrable pavement, you soon 
arrive at narrow, precipitous streets. You find the houses, so 
picturesque from afar, to be in many cases poor and dilapidated, 
the public buildings few and far between, the churches striking 
in appearance, but not equal in proportions to some that you 
have seen in smaller towns, the same open booths, the same 
handicrafts, the same spinning women. 

I had a letter of introduction from the Prefect of Philippo- 
polis to the Prefect of Timova, and the latter received me most 
courteously, sent for his secretary, M. Jean Bondareff, and 
requested him to introduce me to Professor Guinchofif, a well- 
known archaeologist in Timova, and to show me all the anti- 
quities deserving of inspection. I cannot express in too warm 
terms my obligations to these two gentlemen, both of whom are 
good French scholars, for the attention they paid me, and the 
interest they showed in the object of my visit. The Prefect 
recommended us to put up at the " Bella Bona," which he said 
was the best hotel in Timova ; and remembering that Kanitz 
described its accommodation in glowing terms, I expected to 
find at least a comfortable hostelry.^ But again the talented and 

^ Donau Bulgarien und der Balkan," vol. i. p. 171. 



TIRNOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 175 

circumstantial German writer has been a little " idealistisch" and 
I could hardly believe that the miserable shop through which 
we entered, and the wretched chambers upstairs, were the place 
to which he referred. It was so, however, and we were obliged 
to take our meals in the restaurant of another khan, the " Hotel 
de Sofia." This one had greater pretensions than the " Bella 
Bona " (although you may easily lose yourself in the stables in 
trying to find your way up to the dwelling-rooms), and we were 
well cared for in the matter of commissariat. Let us not be 
ungrateful to the " Bella Bona," however, for we shall there 
have, before leaving, an interesting experience in Bulgarian 
politics. Having arranged to spend the following day in 
visiting the antiquities of the city, and as it was now becoming 
dask, we contented ourselves with a ramble through the streets, 
and amongst other places I was shown the Public Hall, in which 
the great Sobranje meets, and the house where Prince Ferdinand 
was lodged when he visited Tirnova to mount the throne. The 
second is a kind of place in which an English country-doctor 
would decline to dwell (although, no doubt, they offered their 
new Prince the best accommodation at their disposal) ; the 
first resembles the public hall of some small English provin- 
cial town. Within I was shown the stage on which the cere- 
mony was performed, but its appearance was somewhat marred 
by the apparatus of a prestidigitateur, who was going to perform 
there in the evening, and the boxes in which on that particular 
occasion the representatives of foreign courts were noty but ought 
to have been seated, but from whence the noblest and most patrio- 
tic of the nation viewed the scene below. My Bulgarian friends 
must not imagine that I am sneering at their State accommoda- 
tion and ceremonies. I am bound to describe things as I saw 
them ; but as for the significance of such empty parades, they 
matter but little, especially for a young nation just escaped from 
the toils of two oppressive masters, and struggling to secure its 
complete emancipation. 

It is very difiicalt to give the reader a correct idea of the 
plan upon which Tirnova is built. Its streets run up the slopes 
of hills, and in places its houses are perched upon rocks forming 



176 BULGARIA PAST AND TEESENT. 

the batiks of the Biver Jantra, which winds in the shape of an 
S through and round the town. Looking from the balcony 
attached to and behind the "Hotel de Sofia," which is situated 
close to what may be called the main street, two hills are visible, 
separated by a curve in the Jantra. The lower of these is called 
the Trapeaitz (spelt Trapezic, or sometimes Trepevic), and it lies 
immediately opposite on the other bank of the Jantra ; the other, 
farther off to the right, is the " Hiesar." Both are surrounded 
by the semi-natural, semi-artificial walls already referred to, and 
upon both stood, in the days of Bulgarian greatness, the palaces 



THU ROUHEB-OOUPt, C 



and churches of the reigning Princes or Czars. In order to visit 
the '* Hissar," you go along the main street from the westward 
towards the east, leaving the Prefecture, a fine plain bailding, 
to your right, and immediately beyond you enter upon a long, 
high, natural limestone wall or causeway, known as the £ocher- 
coupe, from the fact of its being cut aboat half-way along its 
length down to the ground beneath by a deep chasm. Some 
believe this chasm or incision to have been artificially cot, and 
that a drawbridge was thrown across, which, being raised, closed 
the access to the fortified hill and its buildings. It seems to be 



TIRNOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 177 

natural, and to-day a solid bridge affords a free passage. Having 
crossed this bridge, and walked along for some distance, you 
pass a ruined gateway, and find yourself within the fortified 
burgh. The causeway upon which you stand is from 180 to 200 
feet above the Jantra, which flows below to the right and left 
as you approach the hill. The walls which you are passing are 
from six to eight feet thick, and in some places nearly fifty feet 
high, and are composed of stones and Strong cement, with here 
and there remains of a strong tower of defence. Presently you 
come upon a ruined castle, Baldwin's Tower, as it is called,^ 
where, as the reader no doubt remembers, Kalojan is said to 
have confined Baldwin, one of the Frank Emperors of Con- 
stantinople. At present this castle is interesting only from its 
situation, which is at an immense height from the plain below, 
and accessible in that direction only by a narrow winding pathr 
way thi'ough what is to-day an old ruined arch. The tower 
stands at one of the comers of a small walled space, overgrown 
with grass and weeds, and containing a couple of stunted trees. 
Passing the tower, you ascend and wind round the hill, and 
there you may find numerous vestiges of the grandeur of its 
former edifices and their occupants. Attached to the palaces of 
the Czars there are said to have been gardens and fruit-trees, of 
which few traces remain ; but if you search amongst the fine 
limestone dSbris on the ground, you will be sure to discover 
unmistakable signs of the former existence of palaces. I have 
before me whilst penning these lines a number of little objects 
of a somewhat cubical form, made of glass and quartz enamelled 
with gold, and with the various colours of the spectrum ; these 
are mosaics ; also a fragment of stone moulding, which has been 
cut by hand and decorated with silver ; and a piece of plaster, 
forming part of what has evidently been a fresco either in a 
dwelling or in a place of worship. These were found either by 
myself or by my companions, M. Bondareff, Professor Guinchoff, 
and my travelling companion, M. Ismian, during our ramble 
over the hill; and the second-named gentleman has quite a 
noteworthy collection of such objects. 



^ See vignette letter to chapter iv.] 

M 



178 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Near the Bummit of the hill stands a mosqne, which is still 
used, and, as we were about to descend, I walked along a path 
in the direction of the mosqae ; but M. Bondareif signalled, and 
asked me to go by another path, " for," he said, " service is 
being performed there." I mention this to show that all 
phases of religious belief, even that of their former oppressors, 
are not only tolerated, but respected by the Bulgarians. From 
the Hissar we looked down upon the Trapezitz, the hill on the 
opposite side of the Jantra, which flows round a great part 
of both eminences. The reader will understand this better if 
he imagines an S with a hill within each curve, as I have 

endeavoured very roughly to show in this 
little woodcut. There is nothing of par- 
ticular interest on the Trapezitz beyond 
the fact that palaces and churches were 
certainly built upon it also ; and on a 
hill in the far distance, much higher than 
either of these, and also fortified, the Czars 
are said to have kept their harems. 

DIAORAM SHOWING RB8PEC- '^ 

TivE posiTioMfl OF BiMKB, ^6 wiU uow dosceud the side of the 

AND TRAPEZITZ. 

A. TrapeziU B. Hisaar. hill Opposito tO the OUO WO mOUUted, tO 
D. Mosque on Hissar. C. . ., /• j.t_ j'n , m • .• 

City. The line shows the visit somo 01 the edinces stili cxisting, 

course of the Jantra. ., . . -• . , • , i . i 

but erected contemporaneously with those 
which were destroyed by the Turks, and have disappeared from 
the two hills just described. The first of these is the " Church 
of the Forty Martyrs," now a military church, on the external 
wall of which you may see a tablet bearing the following 
inscription by my learned guide and companion, Professor 
Guinchoff : — " Built in the name of the Forty Martyrs, 1230, 
by the Bulgarian King, John Asen II., to commemorate his 
victory over the Greeks ; converted into a mosqne during the 
Turkish occupation, and retransformed into a Christian church 
in 1877." This is, in brief, the history of the edifice. The 
interior of the church, although it is very plain, is remarkable 
for its interesting antiquitiea The pillars are of polished 
marble, with old Roman pedestals, of which the dado is orna- 
mented with bulls' heads and wreaths, and it is almost certain 




TIRKOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 179 

thftt they were bronght from the old Boman town of Nicopolia. 
On one of these pillars we iind the inscription to which re- 
ference has already been made as having been placed there by 
John Asen II.' It is engraved ronnd the column in Cyrillic 
characters, in the manner shown in the woodcnt, and the 
following is the translation, as it was deciphered for me by 
Professor Gainchoff : — 

''A.M, 6738" (= A.D. 1230), "I, John 
Asen, eon of the Qreat Asen, under God 
Czar and Autocrat of the BulgariaD!>, did 
b«giii and iiniBh this holj church, and I 
have adorned this church in memory of 
the Forty Holy Martyrs in the twelftii 
year of my reign ; in the same year havinj; 
painted the church, I went out on the Snd 
of May (gainst the Greek anny, and their 
king himself, Kyr Theodor Komnena, I 
took prisoner with all his notables, and I 
conquered all the Greek country from Ad- 
rianople to Durazzo, the Greek peoples of 
Albania and Servia, all those countrieB with 
their towns, the environB of Czorigrad,' 
which toxrn alone continued to be held by 
the Franks, who also submitted to my rule, 
and ended their days, under me, as they had 
no other king except me. For it was thus 

ordained by God. For without Him neither ■""'" '*'■""'' "'"" ""c»i™o'' 
word nor deed can be accomplished. To iHsjuttiYMABTiBs AttiEaiov*. 
whom be honour and glory in the agea." 

From the Church of the Forty Martyrs, with its interesting 
record, we proceeded to the metropolitan (also Byzantine) church, 
situated in a monastery, which is inhabited, as the name of the 
church indicates, by the Metropolitan Bishop. Historically this 
is perhaps one of the most noteworthy edifices in Bulgaria, for 
it stands much the same as when it was originally fonnded, 
and, both externally and within, it bears evidences of the 
barbarism as well as of the devotion of nearly every epoch in 
Bulgarian history. The church itself is a small one, and from 
the court in which it stands, surrounded by the monastic 

' Part I. p. 47. ' Conatsntinople. 



180 BULGARIA PAST AND PEESBNT. 

buildings, yon can see on the white metal dome the bnllet- 
holes made by the enemies of the faith. When yon enter the 
edifice by its copper portal, to be referred to presently, you are 
made farther acqcainted with the religions fanaticism of the 
Moslem conqnerora through the namerons gashes and punctures 
of their spears and yataghans or scimitars, still distinctly 
visible upon the frescoes representing Christian saints and 
legends. Examine the structure of the interior, and you are 
carried back still farther into the historic past, for there too 



you may see polished pillars from Nicopolis or some other 
Roman colony ; and when you are conducted beneath the 
church, you find yourself in the vaults and dismal prisons 
where the wicked or unfortunate of every age have languished. 
The prisons are damp cells of narrow dimensions, lighted by 
a slit in the wall capable only of admitting an infinitesimal 
supply of light and air. But there is another period of which 
mementoes are to be fonnd here. At the back of the church 
is a small crypt or chamber, in which stands a large empty 
chest, and you are told that it formerly contained many 



TIRNOVA AND ITS ANTIQUITIES. 181 

valuable records on parchment of the time of the Bulgarian 
Czars ; but that the Phanariote priests, eager to propagate their 
faith and to establish their authority, and determined to ex- 
punge from the page of history every memorial of ancient Bul- 
garian power and conquest, had emptied the chest of its literary 
treasures and made a holocaust of them in the courtyard of the 
monastery. Yes, and still one more trace of past Oriental gran- 
deur ! The heavy portal of the church is made of panelled oak 
coated with thick sheet-copper and embossed with crosses ; and 
upon the arch, which is constructed of thin red bricks alternating 
with layers of cement, you may see a row of little discs ; these 
too are of baked clay enamelled with green glaze, and they 
were probably borrowed from the Byzantine ornamentation of 
some edifice in Constantinople, just as the Czars clumsily copied 
the Byzantine coins of the Greek Empire. I shall have to refer 
to these little discs again. Meanwhile was it not correct to say 
that the church has a noteworthy history ? The columns tell 
of the highest flourish of ancient Rome, when her legions held 
the banks of the Danube, and her emperors planted their 
indestructible monuments of her power and greatness ; they 
tell, too, of her ^* decline and fall," which left her temples in 
ruins, to afford shelter for barbarous Asiatic hordes. The church 
itself, with its curious ornaments, its dismal prison vaults, its 
shining metal dome, and its monastic sarroundings, speaks 
plainly of the rise and domination of the second Greek Empire, 
and of the influence which it exercised over all the nations of 
Eastern Europe, including the semi-civilised Bulgarians ; and 
then the spear-thrusts and the bnllet-marks proclaim the con- 
quest and servitude of the Sclavonic people under the fanatic 
Moslem rule ; whilst the old empty chest is typical of the 
Turkish treasury, which sold the most sacred offices in its vassal 
realms to the profane, venal, and debauched denizens of the 
Phanar ! 

One other church, this time a ruin, and we must close the 
archaeological page. The Church of St. Demeter (all these 
churches, by the way, are within easy walking distance of one 
another), of which only the walls are standing, is the one, the 
reader will recollect, that Asen founded where the meeting was 



182 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

held which chose him for Prince and inangnrated the second 
Bulgarian Empire, after the return of the brothers from Con- 
Btantinople. The only noteworthy feature about the min is 
that, in addition to the little row of discs apon the arches, there 
is also a row of crosses. The discs are of green-glazed pottery, 
as in the Metropolitan Church, the crosses of red tiles, which 



appear to have been moulded as short tubes, and then pressed 
into the form of crosses by indentation at four opposite points 
in the circumference. 

Many sacred stories and legends are associated with this 
church, such as that the , holy St. Demeter appeared in the 
midst of the multitude during the Asenite meeting and ex- 
tended his protection over the revolt. But these interesting 
traditions must be left to some other abler pen than mine, for I 
wish the reader to return with me to the " Bella Bona " khan, 
and there to read another short chapter in modem Bulgarian 
history. 



TIRNOVA. i83 



CHAPTER XVIII. ^ 

TIRNOVA — INNFEEPER*S POLITICS TO RUSTCHUK 

FAREWELL, BULGARIA ! 

The "Bella Bona" — A political lesson on the bed-chamber walls — An innkeeper's 
all-embracing loyalty — Sunday at Tirnova — A Bulgarian wedding-day — 
Journey to Rustchuk — Brave guardians of the peace — An expensive luxury 
— A gipsy horde closely watched — ^An unexpected escort — " Slivovitza," a 
great stimulant for gens-d'armes' courage^ — Splendid equitation of our escort 
— We lose the benefit of their guardianship — The beautiful Danube-^ 
Rustchuk — Bucharest. 

ON the morning after our arrival at Tirnova, my curiosity- 
was piqued by the sight upon the walls of my bedroom 
of a number of framed prints, and I thereupon made a tour of 
inspection. The first was a full-length portrait of the Czar 
Alexander 11., the Liberator, printed in Moscow in 1877. 
^' Ah ! " I thought, " the Kassians know how to improve the 
occasion." The second was Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria, 
printed at Vienna. The third was a small picture, resplendent 
in gold and colours, of the Czar Alexander III. and the Czarina, 
in their coronation robes. The fourth was an allegorical picture 
intended to commemorate the liberation of Bulgaria, which was 
represented as a bellicose female figure standing upon a rock, 
with a drawn sword in one hand and a standard in the other, 
on which the lion of Bulgaria was depicted. Hovering above 
her head, in the attitude of a protector, soared the double- 
headed Eussian eagle, with the words, " San Stefano, Feb. 10," 
upon a band or ribbon which it held in its claws. Standing by 
was another Bulgarian lion, whilst pieces of yataghans, broken 
fetters, and other objects symbolical of the ruptured ties of 
Ottoman rule lay in profusion at her feet. Conspicuous amongst 



184 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

these was the date of the Treaty of Paris subsequent to the 
Crimean war ; wherefore, I was at a loss to imagine, unless the 
Bussians wished the Bulgarians to believe that that war also 
was undertaken for their liberation ! Close to Bulgaria liberata 
was a portrait of the Bulgarian Exarch, and next to him that 
of the patriot Rakoffsky, who had headed an unsuccessful 
rising against Turkey. So it would appear that all the Powers 
that had been from time to time were represented. No ! where 
was the memento of Ottoman rule ? I went out to call my 
travelling-companion, who slept in an adjoining room, when, 
lo ! the tale was complete. On the wall of the passage hung 
one more engraving commemorative of the great White Czar 
who had freed the country; it was the funeral procession of 
Alexander IL, and by its side was a portrait of the Sultan 
Abdul Aziz, surrounded by miniature likenesses of all his lead- 
ing generals ! Of a truth, the landlord of the " Bella Bona " 
was prepared for every political contingency, and I was once 
more reminded of the perennial Bulgarian arcs de triomphe ! 
There was one hiatus, however : Prince Ferdinand was not 
yet favoured with a niche in the political pantheon ; probably 
that omission has since been repaired. 

In Timova on Sunday nearly all the shops are closed during 
the whole day, and the amusement of the people is to walk in 
the neighbourhood of the city, admire the magnificent scenery, 
and smoke and drink coffee at a large caf^ in the outskirts. On 
the Sunday we were there, a wedding took place between a Bulga- 
rian officer and the daughter of a wealthy trader of Timova, I 
believe. The girls of Bulgaria, I was told, *' dote on the military," 
and no one except an officer has a chance of getting married. This 
wedding, although it was commonplace, was largely attended, 
the church in which the ceremony took place being crowded to 
the roof by persons of every class. Bat, so far as picturesque 
costumes or interesting ceremony was concerned, the function 
might just as well have taken place in a Greek church in 
London. Every one was dressed after Western fashion, bride 
and bridegroom (who wore his uniform) included. The brides- 
maids were young girls wearing artificial flowers in their hair ; 
and it was very amusing after the ceremony was over to see 



TO EUSTCHUK. 185 

them come mmiing out of the house to which the happy pair 
had adjourned for a reception to fetch chairs from the neigh- 
bours, which they carried back without any feeling of impaired 
dignity. 

Prom Tirnova to Eustchuk is a long day's journey, but by 
dint of early rising (for we departed at about 3 a.m., with the 
stars as usual shining overhead), we managed to arrive at Eust- 
chuk at about 5.30, before the departure of the boat which 
crosses to Giurgevo. Our feast at Biela, half-way between the 
two places, I have already described whilst speaking about tra- 
velling in Bulgaria, but one more incident of the journey remains 
to be mentioned. I had been told at Sofia that the road from 
Tirnova to Eustchuk was not safe from brigandage, that is, high- 
way robbery ; but from what I had gathered generally, it was of 
little use to take a gens-d'arme, as they generally bolt and leave 
those whom they are sent to protect. The secretary of the Pre- 
fecture at Tirnova did not deny that the mail had been robbed 
near Vacarel, between Sofia and Philippopolis ; and when we 
came to discuss the matter, my travelling-companion admitted 
that at Drenovo he had seen two travelliers who said they had 
been cUvcdisd^ that is, robbed of their luggage, and permitted to 
proceed, and that they were making a reclamation from the 
authorities. Of that I thought nothing, for reasons already 
assigned ; and when I inquired about a mounted gens-d'arme, 
I was told that one could readily be supplied to me at a charge of 
twenty francs^ " but they are not much good if you are attacked !" 
I declined the escort, and although we gave the " brigands " 
between two and three hours of night-travelling before sunrise, 
they failed to put in an appearance. Still we were to be 
honoured with a bodyguard, and it fell out this wise. At some 
distance beyond Biela, it may have been at about three o'clock 
in the afbernoon, as we were driving quietly along, we suddenly 
heard a great tumult in front of us, and our carriage was sur- 
rounded by a wild horde of gipsies begging alms. We threw them 
some coppers and they passed on, but they were immediately 
followed by a couple of mounted gens-d'armes, who carried, 
besides their rifles unslung, naked revolvers very handy in their 
belts, and ready for use. We had not travelled far when two 



186 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

other mounted gens-d'armes appeared, this time riding in our 
direction ; and when we overtook them they let us pass, but in 
the course of a few minutes we saw them galloping full speed 
over the plain at a little distance from the road, shouting and 
whirling their rifles about like Arabs of the desert. It was a 
very interesting but by no means an imposing sight. 

Presently we came to a Turkish fountain, near which was a 
cabaret. One of the gens-d'armes, whom we found to be a 
Serjeant, entered, no doubt to have a drink of water — ^it may have 
been slivovitza ; but in whatever liquor he indulged, when he 
made his appearance again, it was clear that both he and his 
companion were considerably the worse for drink. We sat still 
for a time in our carriage whilst our driver watered the horses 
and our heroes commenced grooming their steeds. The serjeant 
tortured his by twisting its tongue and feeling in its throat for 
something that was evidently not there. The driver said he 
must stop for half an hour, so we descended and walked on. 
In about three-quarters of an hour he overtook us, and the first 
thing he told us was that the gens-d*armes were the worse for 
drink : that was no news. Next he said they had asked him 
all about ourselves, and I imagine he had in no way understated 
my rank in the information he gave them. Then they inquired 
what we had been talking about on the road ; and he said he 
was sorry he could not enlighten them, as we spoke in a language 
he did not understand (we spoke French). Whether they took 
us for brigands or Russian spies I do not know, but, from what- 
ever cause, they hastened after us, and very soon they were 
again galloping along a bye-path on the plain, howling and 
yelling like Buffalo Bill's Indians, and keeping us in a constant 
state of apprehension lest their rifles should go off unawares, 
and they should injure each other or their horses. They con- 
tinued to follow or precede us, making short cuts across the 
plain whenever we passed them ; and every now and then 
they favoured us with an exhibition of horsemanship. At 
length, as we neared Rustchuk, they dropped behind and 
disappeared, depriving us of the advantage of their escort and 
protection. I was sorry for this, as I had an introduction to 
the Prefect of Rustchuk, and would gladly have stopped 



FAREWELL, BULGARIA 1 187 

there to recommend them for promotion on account of their 
remarkable equitation and sobriety ! Two such knights- 
errant at twenty francs a piece would have been rather a dear 
bargain, reader ! 

It is a beautiful sight, as you descend from the high plateau 
which lies between the Balkans and the Danubian plain, to see 
winding far away in the distance the silvery course of the great 
stream. I have been on or near the Danube several times, 
have travelled along it on shore, crossed it at Donauworth, 
steamed through the Kazan Pass of the Carpathians, and 
through the Iron Gates, and traversed it twice at Giurgevo, and 
it has never been my good fortune to see the " Schone blaue 
Donau," the beautiful bltce Danube ; but I never wish to see a 
more welcome sight than that which greeted me after the long 
weary day's journey from Timova to Eustchuk, in the glitter- 
ing watercourse, as it wound through the plain east and west 
as far as the eye could reach. And, strange though it may 
appear, when 1 stepped on board the steamer that was to 
convey me from the Bulgarian to the Roumanian shore, al- 
though I was perhaps at a greater distance from Old England 
than at any previous part of my journey, I felt myself " at 
home." I was just in time to catch the boat which runs in 
connection with the last train from Giurgevo to Bucharest, and 
am therefore unable to give my readers any further account 
of Bustchuk (the terminus of the Varna railway) than that 
its streets are tolerably wide, its pavement is not intolerably 
bad, and that it contains some fine buildings and a busy quay. 
Possibly, if I had remained there for any length of time, I could 
have told him no more ; but I did not, and it was with feelings 
of considerable satisfaction that four hours later, after a journey 
of nineteen hours by road, river, and rail, I drove through the 
well-lighted boulevard of Bucharest (which has vastly improved 
in appearance since my visit in 1881), entered the comfortable 
" Hotel Broflft," and told the waiter to be good enough to let me 
sleep the next morning until I awakened of my own accord. 



188 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BULGARIAN TRADE AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES — GAME AND 

THE CHASE. 

Imports and exports — Order of importance of various European States — Brief 
statiBtics — Trade with Austro- Hungary and Great Britain — Articles of im- 
port and export — Order of importance uf seaports — ^Consular reports on trade 
— ^Considerations connected therewith — The author's recommendations to 
English traders and manufacturers — ^Resources of Bulgaria — Consul-General 
Jones's report — Cotton recently introduced — The chase in Bulgaria — Wealth 
of game — Bears, deer, chamois, smaller game, wolves — Game birds : 
pheasants, partridges, wild-fowl, water- fowl — Localities where they are 
found, and centres for shooting excursions — Fishing: sturgeon, trout — 
Absence of regulations for the preservation of game — Its probable extinction. 

rthe preceding chapters I have endeavoured to give my 
readers an outline, imperfect though it be, of a country 
which at the present time possesses considerable European 
interest, and in this one I propose to say a few words concern- 
ing its commercial and economical importance to other States. 
To speak in general terms, Bulgaria has as yet no manufacturing 
industries of note, although these are capable of indefinite de- 
velopment; and whatever mineral wealth she may possess is 
almost entirely below the surface. She is strictly agricultural, 
and such objects of household and personal use as are not made 
by her industrious peasantry are to a large extent imported 
from other countries. The order of importance in which these 
stand in their commercial relations with her are : — (1.) Austria- 
Hungary; (2.) Great Britain; (3.) Turkey and Greece; (4.) 
Boumania; (5.) France. The trade with Eussia, Italy, and 
Switzerland is small, but on the increase. Owing to the recent 
union of the two States (Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia), and 
to the frequent changes of Government, no oflScial statement of 



BULGARIAN TRADE. 



189 



the imports and exports of United Bulgaria has as yet been 
printed ; whilst the data which have been given to our Consuls, 
and by them returned to the Foreign Office, contain some serious 
discrepancies, and are, as they themselves admit, untrustworthy 
as regards values. I have therefore been cautious in the use of 
figures, and the amount of information which I am able to pre- 
sent to my readers is necessarily limited. 

The only trustworthy official statistics concerning Bulgaria 
(now North Bulgaria) date back as far as 1882-83, although they 
have been issued during the present year,^ and from these I 
have compiled the following short table : — 



Imports. 


Exports. 




Average value for the two yean 


Average value for the tioo 


years 


1882-83. 


1882-88. 




From Austria-Hungary and ) 


To Austria and Germany 


£94,970 


Germany (chiefly [ £622,500 


„ Great Britain 


298,600 


Austria- Hungary) ) 


„ Turkey and Greece 


365,720 


„ Great Britain . . 439,660 


„ Roumania • 


346,814 


„ Turkey and Greece ) qq,^ c„^ 
(nearly all Turkey) J -^^^^^' 


„ All other countries 


497,720 






„ Roumania . . 124,975 






„ All other countries . 387,600 


Aver. tot. exports, 1882-83, £ 




Aver. tot. imports, 1882-83, £1,802,272 ^ 


1,603,824 



A glance at this table will give the reader a very fair idea of 
the volume of trade done with foreign countries by the province 
of North Bulgaria. South Bulgaria was until recently a pro- 
vince of Turkey, and the figures for the above years have not 
been at my disposal. From the Consular reports referred to,^ 
however, I have taken the following data, which are no doubt 
quite correct so far as the tonnage of vessels is concerned, but 



^ ** Statist ique du Commerce de la Principaut^ de Bulgarie avec les Pays 
strangers pendant TAnn^e 1883." Sophia, 1887. (This publication really con- 
tains statistics of both 1882 and 1883.) 

^ In converting francs to pounds sterling I have taken the exchange at 25*10. 

^ No. 1, Bulgaria, Report on the Trade of Varna for the year 1885, by Vice- 
Consul Brophy (Varna) ; No. 70, Turkey, Report on the Trade of Eastern 
Roumelia for the year 1885", by Consul-General Jones (Philippopolis) ; No. 186, 
Turkey, Report on the Trade of Eastern Roumelia for the year 1886, by Consul- 
General Jones (Philippopolis) and by Vice-Consul Richards (Bourgas). Another 
Report (No. 237), of vjrhich an abstract is given in Appendix IV., reaches me 
whilst these pages are going to press. 



190 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

the value of imports and exports must be taken with consider- 
able reservation : — 

Tonnage of Vessels which entered the Bulgarian Black 

Sea Ports, 1885. 

Into Varna (nearly all steam ; about one-half Austrian, Tons. 

one-fourth Russian, and one-seventh British) . . 359,645 
Into ^our^M (about seven-tenths Russian steamers) . 104,066 

Total . . 463,711 

In addition to this, there was a small tonnage, not returned, 
into Kavama and Baltschik, on the Black Sea. 
The clearances are about the same as the entries. 

Imports and Exports into and from the Black Sea 

Ports, 1885. 

Imfobts. Exfobts. 

i^,-«« i-K^Q nKft J (nearly one-half from «>.jj„ „ .^ J (about one-half to 

lama. . . ^579.060 | ^^^^^ g^.^.^) ^^^2,345 | ^ ^^^^ ^^.^.^^ 

213,850 (chiefly to France). 



D laa AiaS {^ ^^ir share from 

B(mrgas . . 166,416 ^ Great Britain). 



Kavama and ) ..-o ^^^ ( (almost entirely 

Baltschik .i 17d,0U0| g^.^^ 

Total imports , £745,466 Total exports, £1,069, 195 

These figures, I must repeat, can only be taken as approxi- 
mate, for the reports do not agree with one another ; and as 
it would be illusory to add the statistics of 1882-83 for North 
Bulgaria with those of 1885 for South Bulgaria, especially as 
I find great variations in the amount of trade in different years, 
the reader must content himself with a rough general estimate 
that the imports of United Bulgaria circulate about £2,500,000, 
and the exports about £2,650,000; beyond this I shall spare 
him any further trouble with statistics of trade.^ 

^ These estimates are, if anything, in excess of the actual trade, for both sets 
of figures on which they are based include the interchange of commodities 
between North and South Bulgaria (Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia), which 
amounts to about 10 per cent, of the whole in both imports and exports. 
According to statistics which have kindly been furnished to me by Dr. Giffen 
of the Board of Trade, the value of the imports from Bulgaria (not Eastern Rou- 
melia) into Great Britain in 1885 was £302,411; of the exports for that year, 
£103,743. 



BULGARIAN TRADE. 191 

Although we have been obliged to proceed with great caution 
in dealing with exact values, our information in regard to com- 
modities is more precise; and a glance at the pages of the 
voluminous report already referred to^ gives one a very fair 
idea of the relative importance of the articles imported and 
exported, and of the seaports through which they are passed. 
In connection with the first, I propose only to deal with Austria- 
Hungary and Great Britain, the two countries with which 
Bulgaria does by far the largest trade. 

From Austria-Hungary she imports (in the order of approxi- 
mate values) salt, spices, sugar (chiefly beetroot from Trieste), 
potables, stone, clay, and glass wares, machinery, metal wares, 
textile fabrics, paper, and ready-made clothing ; and she exports 
cereals, skins, leather and fleeces, otto of roses, &c. 

From Great Britain she imports textile fabrics (cotton cloth, 
&c.), twist, stuffs and clothing, metals and metal-wares (chiefly 
iron, in rods and sheets), coals, coke, articles of food, colonial 
produce (coffee, cocoa, sugar, &c.), glass, earthenware, chemicasl 
manufactures, &c. ; and she exports cereals, malt, vegetables, 
otto of roses, and a little wood-ware. Our trade in cereals with 
Bulgaria is very important; we received from there in 1883 
cereals and vegetables to the value of about £438,000. 

The duties on commodities imported into Bulgaria is 8 per 
cent. ; on those exported, 1 per cent, ad valorem. As far as the 
ports of transit are concerned, Varna on the Black Sea is by far 
the most important. It does about a third of the whole import 
and a quarter of the export trade of South Bulgaria. Bourgas, 
on the same coast, is also an important seaport ; whilst on the 
Danube, Eustchuk, Sistova, Lom, &c., rank in the order here 
given, and a considerable trade passes through the custom- 
houses on the Servian and Turkish frontiers.^ 

The carrying trade by sea with Bulgaria is to a large extent 
in the hands of the Austrian Lloyds and the Russian Steam 
Navigation Company, but that by British vessels is on the 
increase, especially in the conveyance of grain, the greater 



^ " Statistique du Commerce,'* &c. 
^ ''Statistique," kc, A. Tableau vL to xi., pp. 15 to 23. 



192 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

part of which comes to this country ; and in 1885 the Vice- 
Gonsul at Vama reported that abont fifteen steamers discharged 
annually part cargoes from London direct. 

Austria-Hungary is our chief competitor in the supply of 
manufactured goods^ the reasons being, (1.) closer proximity ; (2.) 
the supply of a cheaper description of goods ; (3.) the willingness 
to run more risk and give longer credit. Taking the last item 
first, our Vice-Consul at Vama recommended in 1885 that our 
manufacturers should be " willing to take a leaf out of the book 
of their Austrian and German competitors, that is to say, risk 
more." On the other hand, Consul-General Jones tells us in 
his report of the following year (1886) that " there has been a 
general restriction of credit by the wholesale houses of Austria 
and Constantinople, causing a widespread bankruptcy among 
the petty traders here, whose always precarious business col- 
lapsed on the first strain on their slender resources/' Captain 
Jones adds that the foreign trade of the country has been 
languishing, and the consumption of foreign goods has very 
considerably declined since the departure in large numbers 
of the Turkish population. This means, incidentally, that the 
Turks, who wear cottons, are now nearer to the Mediterranean 
and -^gean Seas, farther from Austria, and nearer to Great 
Britain, in the long-run, therefore, it should be an advantage 
to us ; whilst the Bulgarians, who take their place, are wearers of 
home-made clothes and materials, by which their country will 
eventually be the gainer. So far, however, as increased credit 
is concerned, it is clearly not advisable that our wholesale houses 
should extend their operations. 

As to the quality of manufactures, the Consuls also express 
somewhat divergent opinions. Vice-Consul Brophy (Vama) 
says that there are many slop-shops where ready-made clothing, 
boots, shoes, hats, &c., &c., " are sold ; but this trade is exclu- 
sively in the hands of Austrian Jews, who can sell cheaper than 
French or English houses of the same description, because their 
goods are also of inferior quality." 

Consul-General Jones, writing of the same year, says: — 
" Austrian (always including German) trade is rapidly extend- 
ing in the province. The goods supplied do not, however, seem 



BULGARIAN TRADE. 193 

snch as will compete with British imports, and are chiefly 
broadcloth and ready-made clothing, glass and pottery, cutlery, 
matches, fancy articles in brass and iron, stationery, and beer. 
The quality of all except the last is the very lowest ; but here, as 
throughout the East, cheapness is the great desideratum." The 
last sentence seems to contradict the first part of the paragraph ; 
but what I take the writer to mean is, that persons who want 
good commodities will not be induced by low prices to buy infe- 
rior articles. This is what I have found to be the case wherever 
our manufacturers come into competition with those of other 
countries, both on the continent of Europe and in the United 
States.^ It is a pity that when the Royal Commission on the 
depression of trade held its sittings, it did not decide to take the 
step of sending experts to various parts of the world, and espe- 
cially to countries like Eoumania, Bulgaria, &c., where trade is 
just beginning to develope, to ascertain the prices, qualities, and 
demand for English goods as compared with those of foreign 
fabrication, and thus afford some practical aid to our hard- 
pressed manufacturers. 

And lastly, the proximity of markets is sure to be a perma- 
nent advantage to Austria ; but one of the Consuls also tells us 
" that the Austrian houses have the advantage of position and 
transport, besides being represented by a ubiquitous and poly- 
glot tribe of Jewish commercial travellers." 

The general conclusions which may be deduced from these 
reports, coupled with what I myself observed whilst in the 
country, are these: — ^As regards the export trade from here, 
large English houses desirous of extending their trade should 
engage trustworthy persons, conversant with French and German, 
to travel through Bulgaria (and the other Danubian States), to 
inquire into the tastes and necessities of the people, and seek 
to form respectable local connections. Manufacturers of agri- 



^ Vice-Consul Richards at Bourgas confirms Captain Jones's views. He says : 
" English imported goods are mostly articles of the first necessity, which are not 
likely to be undersold by foreign importers." I have not burdened these pages 
with notes referring to the reports, for they are very short, and can be purchased 
at Id. each from the printers, Harrison & Sons, or Eyre & Spottiswoode, and 
of Black, Edinburgh, and Hodges, Dublin. 

N 



194 BULGABIA PAST AND PBESENT. 

cultural implements should watch the progress of agriculture 
there, for the new machinery is adapted to a very large extent 
of country already under cultivation, or about to become so. 
Cattle-dealers should keep a sharp eye upon the Bulgarian 
" M^ra." With meat selling at a very low price at Sofia, a 
railway opening through the country, over which cattle can be 
conveyed to London in a few days, with only one change en 
rotUe, and with a demand at home which brings live cattle or 
dead meat from every part of the world, it will not be long 
before large meat-supplies are drawn from Bulgaria. The tax 
upon the resources of the country during the Eusso-Turkish 
war acted very prejudicially against cattle-breeding, as the best 
beasts were slaughtered wholesale ; but notwithstanding that, 
meat is very low in price. 

To the corn-factor I can teach nothing. As one of them told 
me lately, when I mentioned that the whereabouts of Bulgaria 
is to many still a mystery, " We are obliged to know geo- 
graphy ; " but the extension of railways, which is sure to revo- 
lutionise the whole trade of the country, will also have a material 
effect upon the charges and facilities for the transport of grain. 

And now a few words on this question fix)m the Bulgarian 
point of view. There cannot be the least doubt that for some 
time to come it will answer the purpose of the inhabitants to 
cultivate agricultural rather than manufacturing industries. I 
know well the patriotic feeling which prompts nations to make 
efforts to become manufacturers, and the desire on the part of 
statesmen and politicians to train artisans rather than peasants. 
But, besides being a free-trader on principle, I cannot help 
seeing that in the case of Bulgaria, for the present at least, her 
prosperity is intimately associated with her agricultural and 
pastoral development. It will pay her far better to produce 
and export good cattle, sheep, hides, wool, and silk, good wheat, 
maize, tobacco, fruits, and even vegetables ; to extend her otto- 
of-rose industry, and to increase her land under cultivation, 
leaving it to Austria, Great Britain, France, and other countries 
to compete for her custom in such articles of daily use as she 
cannot herself at present manufacture, than to invest large sums 
of money in costly machinery to enable her, even with the aid 



AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES. 195 

of high protective duties, to compete with nations of unlimited 
resources, which have long been the centres of manufacturing 
activity. Even in England we are going back to cottage or 
village industries ; and it would indeed have been a blessing to 
this country, where the peasantry crowd into towns for employ- 
ment, if they had been accustomed, as they are in Bulgaria, to 
spin and weave their own wool and make their own garments. 

Consul-General Jones says in one of his reports : — " The 
Bulgarian peasant shows no tendency to make use of foreign 
wares, or to depart from the habits of extreme thrift so charac- 
teristic of the race. Even in the matter of cotton-twist — almost 
the only article of foreign origin which he regarded as a neces- 
sity hitherto — he sees an opportunity for further economy by 
spinning the same with his domestic help from country pro- 
duce, and with this view patches of cotton are now being planted 
beside every Bulgarian cabin." Does not this sentence com- 
pletely confirm the opinion above expressed, that it is better for 
the people to allow foreign manufacturers to compete for the 
supply of their modest needs, and to develope the resources 
(limited only by the extent of their vast plains and mountain 
slopes) of their soil and climate, the latter of which enables 
them to gather their rose-harvest in May, and to enjoy the 
blessings of summer until the middle of November ? ^ 

This leads me to say a few words on another of the natural 
productions of Bulgaria, which will be interesting to a large 
section of my countrymen — I mean the game of the country, 
which is at present found in great abundance. There is sport 
for lovers of the chase of every calibre, and the Bulgarians them- 
selves are ardent sportsmen. Not only did I frequently see 
small parties of three or four with one or two dogs walking 
across the plains during my drive through the country, but on 
more than one occasion I was asked to allow a gentleman carry- 
ing his gun to ride alongside of my driver for a short distance 



^ The reader is specially referred to Appendix lY. The caution, as well as 
thrift, of the Bulgarian peasant is shown by his attention to fire-insurance. The 
agents of insurance-offices are frequently to be met with, and I noticed on a 
great many cottages and houses in villages the plates of Continental, American, 
and even English insurance-offices. 



196 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

from town, until he should arrive at a spot where he was to 
commence the day's sport. 

Bears are found in the more secluded districts of the Bal- 
kans and of the Rhodope Mountains, especially where these 
two chains unite, to the north-east of Macedonia. Red and 
roe deer are also fairly numerous in the same quarter, and 
Peruschtitza and Jchtiman are good centres for sporting ex- 
cursions. The chamois is found amongst the snows remaining 
on the Rilo and the neighbouring peaks throughout the summer; 
wild swine abound in the marshes of the Danube and on the 
shores of the Euxine, and more or less in all the larger oak 
forests of the plains. Wolves are numerous and common ; 
they conmiit considerable ravages among the flocks during 
severe seasons, and even enter the towns to prey upon the 
street-dogs. The inhabitants of the villages take various pre- 
cautions to keep them at a distance. Of the presence of 
eagles I have ah-eady spoken in describing the Shipka Pass. 
Bustards of both varieties are found in considerable numbers 
on the plains in the months of November, December, and 
January ; pheasants are found in many places, but their chief 
habitat seems to be the dense scrubs in the district of Jamboli, 
to which place there is a branch from the Philippopolis-Adria- 
nople (trunk) line. This almost impenetrable jungle secures 
them, in a great degree, from the approach of man ; but the 
native hunters lie in wait for them near the springs where they 
resort to drink, and often succeed in killing several brace in a 
single day. Wild-fowl of all descriptions and snipe are found 
abundantly in all the marshes throughout the country. Par- 
tridges and hares are also very numerous and general. Wood- 
cock and quail, especially the latter, appear in great numbers 
in their proper season ; for the former, the month of November, 
and for the latter, August and September. The capercailzie is 
said to exist in the mountain forests, and also the hazel-grouse, 
but they must be rare. 

Of the sturgeon I have spoken elsewhere, in connection with 
the River Danube,^ where it is found in considerable numbers, 

1 " Roumania," p. 25. 



GAME AND THE CHASE. 197 

and trout are found towards the sources of nearly all the streams 
issuing from the mountain chains. Unfortunately, there are no 
regulations either as to game or fishing. Trout are caught in 
nets at all seasons, and there is no closed time for game. When 
the Bulgarians are visited in greater numbers than at present 
by strangers for the purposes of the chase, they will learn to 
estimate the wealth of game which they possess, and the attrac- 
tion which it will afford to tourists ; and then, no doubt, they 
will take measures for its preservation. Should they not do 
so, every bird and fish worth taking will be extirpated.^ 



^ I have to thank my friend, Consul -General Jones (Philippopolis), for the 
particulars concerning sport in Bulgaria, and the reader will find more detailed 
information in the two works by Barkley and Baker, named in the Bibliography 
appended to this treatise. 



198 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE BUDGET AND THE NATIONAL SERVICES. 

A few figures from the last Budget of Bulgaria — Direct and indirect taxation — 
Mode of levying taxes — Expenditure on war, education, and the Civil List, 
compared with that of Great Britain — ^The national debt. 

IT is hardly fair to dissect and criticise the national balance- 
sheet of a young State just on the threshold of its existence ; 
but there are some points of interest in connection with the 
Budget of the Bulgarian Minister of Finance which throw light 
upon the condition of the country, and speak well for those who 
have the care of the public purse. In order that the reader may 
possess a thoroughly authentic statement of the finances of the 
country, I will attach to the end of this volume (see Appendix II.) 
an abstract of the financial statement for the year 1887, which 
M. Natchevitch, the Finance Minister, was so courteous as to 
make for me ; and if the reader wishes to have the precise amount 
of any one item, he can easily convert the f5pancs into pounds 
sterling at any exchange he thinks fit. At the rate of 25'10 
francs, the two sides of the balance-sheet run up to close upon 
£1,890,000.^ I take no notice of the small balance which stands 
to the debit, about £8500, because M. Natchevitch assured me 
that there will be in reality a surplus of nearly 800,000 francs. 
From this balance-sheet the reader will see that about 63 per 
cent, of the revenue is derived from direct, and 37 per cent, 
from indirect taxes, the latter consisting largely of excise and 
import duties on luxuries. The tendency of late years has been 

^ In Whitaker's Almanack the revenue for Eastern Roumelia alone in 1886 
is stated to be £1,873,016 (at least, so it will be understood by any ordinary 
reader). This should, no doubt, be the amount for United Bulgaria. At any 
rate, it is incorrect as it stands. 



•THE BUDGET AND THE NATIONAL SERVICES. 199 

to commute every kind of impost which has militated against 
industry into cash payments. Such of my readers as know any- 
thing, for example, of the system of levying what we should 
call " tithes in kind," as it was formerly practised in Bulgaria, 
and is still elsewhere in the East, will understand what I mean 
by saying that it often led to the destruction of whole crops 
of farm produce. This impost now takes its place upon the 
balance-sheet as " dimes " or tenths ; and if (as the reader will 
see on calculating the amount) that tax yields about £645,000, 
a rough estimate may be made of the annual rateable value of 
the products of the soil in the whole country, which should be 
about £6,450,000. I say rateable value, because, no doubt, a 
considerable proportion of the actual products of the soil, such 
as the fruit, vegetables, &c., which are consumed by the pea- 
santry, escape taxation altogether.^ 

It will be observed, too, as already stated, that there is a tax 
upon goats, sheep, and pigs, but not on horses and cattle, the 
object being to encourage breeding. Again, the item of road- 
tax, about £74,000, represents a very large amount of labour 
liberated for more useful purposes. Formerly the peasantry 
were compelled to give up a certain portion of their time for 
this work, but by an Act of the Sobranje in 1883 the labour 
was commuted for a cash payment. The roads in Bulgaria are 
in some places well maintained, but on the plains the driver 
often makes a detour to avoid them! They are there only 
excelled by the pavement in the towns. 

There are some interesting items also on the other side of 
the account. Taking first the war expenditure, a comparison 
with our own outlay is not without interest. For the purpose 
of calculation, we will estimate the population of Great Britain 
roughly at 37,000,000, and that of Bulgaria at 3,000,000, and 
the expenditure for what ought to be defensive purposes in 
Great Britain at £39,000,000, and in Bulgaria at £720,000. 
This gives for Great Britain more than £1 per head of the 
population ; for Bulgaria, 2s. lOd. per head. Of course there 
are many things to be considered. We have troops in various 

^ The crops are valued as they stand by special assessors. 



200 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

parts of the world, and a powerful navy to maintain ; on the 
other hand, the little State has to watch a very extended fron- 
tier, and to counteract the hostile action of the agents of a 
great military Power, which is constantly at work in her midst. 
With the above expenditure she supports a standing army and 
a reserve amounting together to 70,000 to 80,000 men of all 
arms ; besides which, there would be a Landsturm of 20,000 to 
30,000 in case of an invasion, making in all about 100,000 men. 

Concerning education I have already said something. Look- 
ing at her recent emancipation and the influence still exercised 
by a conservative priesthood, I consider that the foundation 
of an excellent system of public instruction has already been 
laid. As the reader knows, attention is given, not only to the 
usual branches of education in which every citizen should be 
proficient, but special institutions are rising up for the indus- 
trial training of the artisans of her towns and the peasantry of 
her fields. She has as yet no university, but the instruction 
given in her " Gymnasia " is of the highest order. As our 
universities are to a large extent maintained without State aid, 
these need not be considered in comparing the cost of education 
in the two countries. Taking the same estimate of population, 
then, we expend on all agencies for instruction in education, 
science, and art, ^^5,200,000, or 28. lOd. per head of the popula- 
tion ; in Bulgaria the cost is £92,000, or 7d. per head. I am 
not giving these figures for any other purpose than to enable 
the reader to judge of the financial operations of the young 
State. In this country our war expenditure, roughly speaking, 
is between seven and eight times as much as that for educational 
purposes ; in Bulgaria the proportions are as one to five. 

In Bulgaria the members of the Sobranje are paid. There 
are 364 or 365 members of that body, who receive 15 francs per 
day during the session, and their expenses. The " Civil list," 
i.e., cost of maintaining the head of the State, is covered by 
600,000 francs, or about £24,000; the total expense of the 
Crown and national representatives is about £60,000. In this 
country the annuities paid to the Eoyal Family amount to 
£543,000, and the national representatives work for nothing 
and pay their own expenses ! 



THE BUDGET AND THE NATIONAL SERVICES. 201 

A word more and we have done with this dry subject. On 
the balance-sheet the reader will find the item of 2,239,898 
francs (or about £89,200) interest on public debt ; but ac- 
cording to treaty stipulations, Eastern Roumelia (now South 
Bulgaria) ought to pay to the Porte an annual tribute, or, to 
speak more correctly, a proportion of the interest on the debt 
of the Empire, which amounts in English sterling to about 
£168,000. If this were paid, the interest on her public debt 
would be about £267,000. The interest and charges on our 
national debt at the time of the Revolution of 1688 were 
£39,835, and last year they amounted to £23,449,678. 

Coupled with the stipulated payment to the Porte of the 
annual sum named above was the condition of the autonomy of 
Eastern Roumelia. Since then the inhabitants of that province 
have joined Bulgaria, with the consent of the Porte, and the 
Government of United Bulgaria has, I believe, recently offered 
to pay this tribute or annual subscription, contingent upon the 
recognition of her Prince, who has been " freely elected by the 
population,*' according to the same treaty as the one which 
stipulated for the payment of an annual tribute by Eastern 
Roumelia (the Treaty of Berlin). On this question more will 
be said when we come to consider the political problem ; but so 
far as the finances of Bulgaria are concerned, I believe all 
matters have been touched upon which will interest the general 
reader. 



202 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XXL 

THE TWO PRINCES, FERDINAND AND ALEXANDER. 

The author's reasons for seeking interviews with the Princes — The interview with 
Prince Ferdinand — Interior of the Palace at Sofia — Objects of interest in the 
reception-saloons — A faithful follower — Prince Ferdinand — ^The author's re- 
ception — Conversation with the Prince — Fallacies concerning him — His 
policy in Bulgaria — Meeting with Prince Alexander in London — His pi*e8ence 
and manner — Conversation with him — Cause of his abdication — His present 
views and intentions — Will not sanction " Battenberg party ** in Bulgaria — 
His loyalty — Great abnegation and unselfish expression of feeling — Still 
devoted to Bulgaria. 

SOME of my readers may wonder why I have associated under 
the same heading the Prince and ex-Prince of Bulgaria. 
As a matter of fact, their stations are not so far apart as at first 
sight appears. According to those who claim the right to 
decide — I mean the European Powers, parties to the Treaty 
of Berlin — Prince Ferdinand is uot yet the rightful ruler of 
Bulgaria; and one of them, namely, Russia, declares that he 
never shall occupy that position. On that matter I hope to be 
permitted to say a few words hereafter. As regards Prince 
Alexander, as I have already said, I believe he is exercising 
a more powerful influence over the destinies of the young State 
than he is himself aware of, for I think the knowledge that he 
is still available is a very important factor in the calculations of 
cool-headed Russians as to what would be the result of a descent 
upon Bulgaria. Nay, I will go farther, and say that I believe it 
is largely owing to this contingency — the possibility of the 
"hero of Slivnitza" being in the saddle again — that Prince 
Ferdinand and his people have been so far left unmolested. 
Holding these views, and remembering the conspicuous part 
which both Princes have played in Bulgaria, it was natural 



PERDINAND AND ALEXANDER. 203 

that I should wish, if possible, to see and speak with them, so 
that I might be able to give my readers some personal impres- 
sions concerning them. As regards Prince Ferdinand, in .asking 
for a meeting, I told two or three of the Ministers frankly what 
object I had in view, and there is therefore not the slightest 
breach of decorum in describing our interview. There was, I 
think, at first some little hesitation in the matter, for one of the 
Ministers told me he had expressed the opinion to his colleagues 
that " there could not possibly be any harm in his seeing me," 
and remembering that his Highness then occupied, as he still 
enjoys, the distinguished honour of being boycotted by every 
European Power, and that even our own diplomatic representative 
in Sofia could not approach him in his official capacity, it is not 
to be wondered at that he should have felt some little delicacy in 
receiving even a private individual whose object was to describe 
his person and attributes. The influential introductions to the 
Bulgarian Ministers of which I was the bearer, however, secured 
me the desired interview, and I received a letter through the 
customary channel (the Marechal de la Cour), informing me 
that I should be received at 10 a.m. on the following day (the 
day previous to my departure from Sofia). 

Of the external aspect of the palace, which was built by 
Prince Alexander, I have already spoken. It is a very hand- 
some edifice, standing in a large garden, with flower-beds and 
fountains ; is approached through a beautiful light portico (Plate 
VIII.), and presents a very imposing appearance as you enter 
the fine large hall, from which there rises a magnificent stair- 
case. On my arrival, I was received with the utmost courtesy, 
and was conducted into an antechamber, which was beautifully 
furnished, and contained many objects of interest. Conspicuous 
amongst these was the handsome ceiling, carved in wood by a 
Bulgarian sculptor, in imitation of one in an old convent; 
hence the chamber is known as "the Bulgarian chamber." 
Upon the walls, besides other objects, there was a trophy of 
standards which had been carried by the militia (Landwehr) 
during the Russo-Turkish and Servian wars. Here I was re- 
quested to be seated for a while upon a lounge placed against the 
wall, Bulgarian fashion, nearly immediately underneath a por- 



204 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

trait in oils of the Czar Alexander 11., and I had a pleasant pre- 
liminary chat with an elderly good-natnred aide-de-camp of the 
Prince, who had accompanied him from Vienna. He told me 
his Highness was having a lesson in Bulgarian, which I took to 
signify " he intends to stop ; " but from what I could gather, 
he (the aide-de-camp) very much preferred life at. Vienna to 
that at Sofia. No wonder ! Presently I was ushered into the 
" audience-chamber," and finding no one there, I had an oppor- 
tunity to take a rapid survey. The visitor is here at once 
attracted by two fine oil-paintings, representing scenes from 
the Russo-Turkish war — the fights at Geneva and at Shipka, in 
which the Bulgarians took a prominent part. Whilst I was 
examining these, the door of an adjoining apartment opened, 
and the Prince entered, but at the first moment, although I 
had several times seen his photograph (Plate IX.), I did not 
recognise him. His face is not so broad as in his photograph ; 
he has a Soman nose, and what I should call shrewd eyes. He 
is tall in stature, and, as far as I can remember, has a slight 
stoop. His dress, a military uniform, was decorated with two 
or three orders. The impression he gave to me was that he is 
much older in mind than body. He stood on his dignity, and 
made me stand on mine— -I mean, he did not ofier me a seat.^ 
His manner was intensely German; he might have been a 
German student ; and the natural bent of his mind, I should 
say, is quite in the direction of study. 

After saying inquiringly, " So you are come to study our 
country ? " and receiving my thanks for giving me an oppor- 
tunity of seeing him, he asked me how I found things in Sofia. 
He seemed pleased to hear me praise the Technical School at 
Kniajevo ; and when I told him of the state of things in the 
prison, that the prisoners would gladly wock, he said, " Aber 
sie haben uns ja anatomisirt ! " (" Why, you have dissected us ! "), 
adding, " For the moment, as you may imagine, I have more 
earnest things to think about, but later on I will look into it, 
and see what can be done." 



^ I was told by an Italian gentleman of good family, who had an interview 
with him on the same day, that he was similarly received. 



FERDINAND AND ALEXANDER. 205 

He then spoke of his travelling experiences, and made in- 
quiries about the road from Nisch to Sofia, and that led us to 
the question of Bulgarian railways. I told him that I believed 
when the railway was open from Belgrade to Constantinople 
it would be a grand thing for the country, as 1 thought no 
one would travel by Varna and the Black Sea if they could get 
into the Orient Express at Paris and leave it at Constantinople. 
He quite agreed with me ; spoke of the bad landing at Varna, 
and said the temporary difficulty was money .^ The subject of 
loans followed, as a matter of course, and I ventured to say 
that it would be a mistake for the Bulgarians, with their great 
internal resources, to depend upon foreigii countries for loans of 
money, instancing the Porte, its position in Egypt, and its finan^ 
cial difiSculties at home, as the results of such a policy. 

Let me here say that during the whole of our interview not 
a word was mentioned of a political character ; for, so far as I 
was concerned, it would have been most indelicate, looking at 
his position, to refer to politics ; and he must have known, from 
the conversations I had with his Ministers, that he could learn 
nothing new from me. When, however, we spoke of the con- 
dition of Turkey, he smiled, and made a most peculiar gesture, 
which certainly appeared to me to have a political significance ; 
but as his Highness is an obedient vassal of the Sultan, I may 
have misunderstood his meaning. 

Returning to personal matters, he told me of his experience 
in the Balkan districts, with its disingenuous and warm-hearted 
peasantry; and added, that people said his ignorance of the 
language would prejudice him with the Bulgarians, but that 
he always found that a few sincere words went farther with 
them than long speeches. Sometimes he became very earnest 
and animated, and then he would suddenly burst into French 
(we had been speaking German; his mother is a Bourbon), 
which language he seemed to prefer. After we had chatted for 
a short time about his travels, and about scientific matters, he 
suddenly turned round, shook hands with me, saying, " Auf 's 



^ I see he received the firtit engine in state which arrived at Sofia from 
Belgrade. 



206 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Wiedersehen" (Au r^voir), and retiring through the door by 
which he had entered, he left me to find my way back to the 
place from whence I came. 

Let me correct what I believe to be one or two misconcep- 
tions concerning the Prince, and express my views in regard 
to him with frtoikness. I know nothing of his military attain- 
ments ; and, as far as I can learn, he possesses none. That he 
has great moral courage is clear from his presence in Sofia; 
and that he has physical courage also, and tact, is proved by 
the circumstance that he takes his walks abroad without any 
guard, and attended only by an aide-de-camp. Silly stories 
have been told about his childish fancies and his stilted manner. 
His childish tastes I believe to be love of study. He is not 
haughty nor stilted in his demeanour, but he is a great stickler 
for court ceremony, just as all the German princes are, espe- 
cially those of the smaller States ; and I am not sure that it 
won't stand him in better need with the Bulgarians than undue 
familiarity. He is believed by some to be very rich, by others 
this is said to be a mistake ; but one thing is certain, he knows 
how to take advantage of the love of ostentation and State 
ceremonies which is entertained by the democratic Bulgarians ^ 
and his displays of wealth on great occasions are to them 
exceedingly impressive. I for one should not blame him in 
the least if he covered and hid every rouble he finds in Bulgaria 
under two thalers! His ability as a statesman can only be 
measured by his success in overcoming his external political 
difficulties ; and, so far at least, that has not been conspicuous, 
but for the sake of his country, if for no other reason, every one 
must wish him a prosperous future. One thing is certain, if 
the Bulgarians are not united in their loyalty to him, they will 
not long retain — nor do they deserve to retain — their freedom. 

Whilst I was at Sofia a great friend and admirer of Prince 
Alexander told me that I should have no diflSculty in obtaining 
a friendly interview with him, and that I should find the con- 
trast between him and Prince Ferdinand very interesting ; and 
certainly it would be impossible to find two more distinct per- 
sonalities than the two young princes, for the oldest, Alexander, 
is only just over thirty years of age. 



FERDINAND AND ALEXANDER. 207 

I wrote to him from Budapest, but only received his reply on 
my return home, as he had been absent from Darmstadt when 
my letter arrived, and in answer to my expressed wish to see 
him, he invited me to meet him at the Buckingham Palace Hotel 
on the 14th of September last, where, divested of all the insignia 
of rank, and dressed in a plain tweed suit, he received me on the 
appointed day. As the reader has doubtless often seen his por- 
trait, and has again the opportunity of doing so here (Plate I.), 
there is no necessity to speak of his personal attractions ; suffice 
it to say that he is handsome, frank, and genial. I spent over 
an hour and a half in his company, and there was hardly a 
subject connected with " Bulgaria, past and present," that was 
not, in its turn, the subject of conversation and discussion. He 
confirmed a great deal of the information which I had obtained 
during my visit to the country, and explained many things that 
were not clear to me. Our conversation was to a large extent 
private ; ^ but since we had our interview I find that many obser- 
vations which he made to me are identical with what he had 
already said to others in Sofia, and are contained in the dis- 
patches to which reference has already been made. So candid 
and unreserved was he, that I did not hesitate to put questions 
to him, concerning matters of historical interest, which I should 
hardly have ventured to ask an intimate, personal friend. 

He assured me that before he abdicated he had received a 
formal promise from the Russian Government that they would 
not attempt to interfere in the internal affisiirs of Bulgaria. 
Nekludoff, the Russian agent at Sofia, furthermore told him that 
if he left the country the cause of Russian enmity towards Bul- 
garia would be removed. These promises were not made by an 
agent only, whom his principals might repudiate, but by tele- 
graph from St. Petersburg, and the message was read to him in 
the presence of his Ministers and advisers. He mentioned also 
that he was embarrassed by the interference of other European 
Powers. When he arrived at Sofia, the two chief traitors, 
Gruefi* and Bendereff, had been condemned to death, but he 
received messages from Vienna and Berlin saying that they 
must not be shot. As commander-in-chief of the army, he saw 

^ I have committed no breach of confidence in publishing it. 



208 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

that if the officers were allowed to rebel with impunity, there 
would be an end of all discipline. 

We had some conversation about the new Prince, with whom, 
however, he was better acquainted than I was, and the little 
that passed between us in regard to his position and prospects 
was of a private nature. I then ventured to ask him whether 
he thought he should ever go back to Bulgaria; and he said 
that, although it would be an indiscreet thing for him or any 
other public man to say what he might or might not do under 
unknown conditions, he had not at present the slightest inten- 
tion to do so, nor to do anything that would unsettle affairs 
in Bulgaria, and that he had told his friends so. I then had no 
hesitation in telling him that whilst I was over there a warm 
friend of his, and an acquaintance of my own, had said that he 
ought to take that course ; and I added, ^^ I should like to be 
able to say that you are quite opposed to any movement on 
your behalf which would interfere with the tranquillity of Bul- 
garia." " Yes, certainly," he replied ; " and I hope you will say 

that I have written to and , who were anxious 

to lead a Battenberg party, that I wish them to give their 
whole allegiance to their Prince ; that I have been Prince of all 
Bulgaria, and don't wish to be the candidate of a party ; that 
their country, not I, must be their first consideration ; and I 
have received letters from them promising to follow my wishes." 

I asked him whether it was true that he was at first a 
Russian partisan,^ and he admitted that he was, giving me at 
the same time cogent reasons, with which the reader is well 
acquainted, why his sentiments towards the Russian Govern- 
ment had changed. " What could I do ? " he asked me. " I 
had to choose between Bulgaria and Russia." When I inquired 
why he had wished to alter the Constitution, he said that the 
Ministers and he were constantly at cross-purposes at that time, 
and he had asked for exceptional powers for seven years to 
enable him to make headway in the government of the country. 
(As a matter of fact, Karaveloff and Zankoff, although pro- 
fessedly constitutional, were mere tools of Russia.) 

^ As I bad stated in the preface to my ''Ruuinania." 



FERDINAND AND ALEXANDER. 209 

We conversed on many subjects that were of interest to me 
in connection with this work ; but what I should like to convey 
to the reader is the feeling of admiration that I experienced for 
his modesty and utter abnegation of self. He had nothing but 
the kindest expressions for the country, its people, and the 
friends he had left behind, although he made no attempt to 
gloss over abuses. Not a syllable of reproach for those who 
had maltreated him escaped from his lips throughout the whole 
conversation; indeed, in one or two instances, he mentioned 
things he had done to prevent the world from knowing his true 
feelings concerning them. He never spoke of the good he had 
done in the country, excepting in answer to my questions, and 
the subject that seemed always uppermost in his mind was 
the welfare of Bulgaria. Where he preferred silence it would 
not become me to speak. I told him that whatever the world 
might say to-day concerning the events of his reign, posterity 
would recognise the good he had done to his adopted country, 
and his answer was, " Well, that is the chief thing to be con- 
sidered." 

He spoke excellent English, although from time to time he 
used an occasional expression in German to give point to some 
observation ; and my only regret is that, instead of reading this 
tame and imperfect account of our interview, my readers cannot 
enjoy, as I did, the advantage of a friendly chat with the Prince 
himself on the aflfairs of his adopted country. 



BCLGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THK EASTER<I QDESnON AKD BULGARIA. 

Tbe dcdiiM of the Ottonuui Empre^HaUwn'a reBectioai — Ita condition to-day — 
The " Enrcfieui concert " k diicoid— Ito effect on tbe Uberties of the Balkan 
StUes — Boni* likened tu ta octopoi — The Cnr : his peace polio; ; his 
critical pueition — Tbe »>r put; and its aims — Wby Riusia does not occupy 
Biilgari>— What Eiutiui "diidoma^" meaiu — Tnrtey : her dependent 
condition and peqdexitir* — Ruanan tbreats and temptations — Danger from 
Maoedonia and Greece — Should ally henetf with, and stiet^tben tbe Balkan 
State* — Greece : her aipirationa ; enmity towarda Bul^ria ; iilnaiona — 
Serfia : Rtuaian intrigues in ; her dispoaition towards Balgaria after the war ; 
friendly relations to-day — A Danobian confederacy — Ronmania ; her position 
tovards the Eastern qaestion ; too confident ; a Daonbiau confederation 
neadfnlfor her safety — Anstria-EnnguyfaTonrable to Bulgarian independence 
— Hungarian sympathy for Bulgaria ; esteem [<v her statesmen — Qernuuiy : 
" is not primarilj interested ; " desires peace — Prince Bismarck's policy— 
The recent threat to attack Bnlgaria — Germany, France, and Russia — France 
engrossed in her own affairs — Great Britain : before the cession of Cyprus, 
&«., and now ; htr sympathies for Eastern liberty plstonio — What the Con- 
tinental nations think sjid say concerning us — Why not eipress readiness to 
acknowledge Prinoe Ferdinand ? — Eoropeao diplomatists waiters upon Provi- 
'deuce — A few words to Bulguian statesmen : how to meet Russian enmity 
and intrigue — A " king " for Bnlgaria in place of a Prinoe — Codolusion — 
" May God protect Bulgaria." 

rVINE prescience, and not hnman forecast, is 
needed to predict the ultimate issue of the con- 
flict between the Crescent and the Cross, or per- 
haps it wonid be more correct to say, the precise 
conditions nnder which, in Europe, the Cross will 
nianincQ the Crescent, To judge from past and 
; would seem natural enough to anticipate, as 
ind historians have done, the disappearance of 
from this side of the Bospborus, and indeed 
hecies of some high authorities are the best 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 211 

guides of all to the probable future. Hallam, for example, was 
by no means sure of the complete downfall of the Ottoman 
power in Europe. Writing as recently as 184-8,1 he said : " The 
two monarchies which have successively held their seat in the 
city of Oonstantine may be contrasted in the circumstances of 
their decline. In the present day we anticipate, with an assur- 
ance that none can deem extravagant, the approaching subver- 
sion of the Ottoman power, but the signs of internal weakness 
have not yet been confirmed by the dismemberment of provinces ; 
and the arch of dominion, that long since has seemed nodding to 
its fall, and totters at every blast of the North, still rests upon 
the landmarks of ancient conquest, and spans the ample regions 
from Bagdad to Belgrade. Far different were the events which 
preceded the dissolution of the Greek Empire. Every province 
was in turn subdued ; every city opened her gates to the con- 
queror ; the limbs were lopped off one by one ; but the pulse 
still beat at the heart, and the majesty of the Roman name was 
ultimately confined to the walls of Constantinople." 

What a strange and instructive picture the great historian 
has presented to us ! What wonderful changes a few years have 
wrought, and what a lopping of limbs ! ^ It is true that in the 
modem phase of the struggle between the Cross and the Crescent 
the " conqueror " has gained little by his victories, but it has 
certainly not been for want of the will to profit by them, and all 
the same the arch that " spanned the ample regions from Bagdad 
to Belgrade" is fractured and "tottering" to its fall, and soon 
nothing will be left, as of old, excepting the keystone on the 
Bosphorus. Of the Turkish possessions in Europe, Servia and 
Eoumania are independent kingdoms ; Bosnia and Herzegovina 
have passed into Austrian hands ; Bulgaria, whose Czars carried 

^ It would perhaps be more correct to say, ** confirming in 1848 what he had 
written in 1818," before Servia had secured her autonomy. See his " Middle 
Ages,** twelfth edition,*' p. 135, and dates of prefaces to the first and twelfth 
editions of his works, twelfth edition, pp. vi. and xi. 

' During the present century Turkey has lost Greece (1829); Wallachia 
and Moldavia (1856); Servia (182d-78) ; Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herze- 
govina, Cyprus, the Dobrudscha, and territory in Asia Minor (1878); a great 
part of Thessaly and Epirus (1881); Eastern Roumelia (1878-85); and practi- 
cally Egypt and its dependencies (1840-1885). 



212 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

« 

their victorious arms to the walls of Constantinople long before 
the period of which Hallam writes, is practically freed from 
Turkish rule, and has carried off with her another rich province 
of the empire. Eastern Roumelia ; whilst the cement that still 
holds Macedonia is fast cracking in pieces. In the East, the 
armies of the Muscovite are inundating Asia Minor, and are 
steadily making their approaches to the ancient city, the 
" keystone " on the Bosphorus ; and in Africa, Great Britain has 
the whole of Egypt and her dependencies in pawn for debts 
owing to her usurers ! 

But there is another and even a more remarkable contrast 
between the downfall of the Greek and Ottoman Empires ; it is 
this: When the followers of Mahomet were extending their 
arms over the east of Europe, the Christian nations of the west, 
and of Europe generally, presented a united front against their 
advance. Now, the disunion and rivalries of the Christian 
Powers are not only the salvation of the remnants of Turkish 
rule in Europe, but they are actually necessary to protect the 
threatened liberties of those young Christian States which have 
been saved from the general wreck. It is to what Dr. Holland, 
with unconscious humour and irony, has called " the European 
concert on the Eastern Question" that Bulgaria, and probably 
the whole of the Balkan Peninsula, owes the retention of its 
recently acquired liberties. Was there ever a "concert" so 
void of harmony as this international performance ? Let us 
for a few moments regard the " motives " and the instruments 
of the leading players, beginning with one more metaphor, 
and then bidding adieu to allegory. 

The animal which Russia has adopted as her national device 
is said, not inaptly, to typify her national policy. The hug of 
the Russian bear is fatal to those whom she embraces, but that 
policy is, I think, better represented by the octopus. By turns 
she extends her arms in every direction in search of prey : now 
it is eastward, a little nearer to the Himalayas^ and when she 
has laid fast hold of some new tract of country, she appears to 
be content and preaches peace ; but soon another tentacle glides 
round into Asia Minor and fixes its suckers there ; and should 
she put out one of her feelers too boldly or hastily into any of 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 218 

her neighbour's territories, and meet with an uncomfortable 
reception, she quickly withdraws it, says it was a mistake, and 
bides her time for another attempt : that is what she is doing 
all round at the present moment. 

It is generally supposed that the will of the Czar is supreme 
in Eussia, and that, for the present at least, he favours the policy 
of peace. That he should not be eager to go to war is only 
natural. What has he or his dynasty to gain by war, or by an 
extension of his already vast and unmanageable Empire ? His 
grandfather went to war, was beaten, and — died suddenly ; his 
father went to war, and on his return home was assassinated. 
As for himself, what are the conditions of his existence in time 
of peace ? What would they be in time of war — of aggressive 
war, I mean — for so far no one has threatened " the integrity of 
the Eussian Empire ? " As the head of the State, his appearance 
in public should be more cordially welcomed than that of any of 
his subjects ; but supposing only one half be true that reaches us 
through the sealed and guarded portals of his realm, he never 
goes from home without a whole army to protect him from the 
hostility of his own subjects ; this in time of peace. But every 
class of society is more or less in revolt against the system which 
he represents, including even the army and the surroundings of 
the court ; for who has not some near relative or friend pining 
away his life in Siberia? And if it be unsafe for him to 
move about in time of peace, still more dangerous would it 
be if his armies were engaged in aggressive warfare in some 
far distant land; that would indeed be the opportunity of 
Nihilism ! 

But admitting for the present his pacific tendencies, is he 
really the all-powerful autocrat the world believes him to be ? 
There is a strong war party in Eussia, the members of which, 
whilst they profess to desire the liberation of the Slave races, 
really aim at reducing them to slavery, and there are military 
adventurers anxious and ready to fight anyone and anywhere. 
It is immaterial to them whether their enemy be English, 
German, Bulgarian, or Turk (for the moment they are full 
of affection for the nation whose armies visited them at Moscow 
in 1813, at Sebastopol in 1855) ; for those men occupation 



214 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

must be found, and the ^' Autocrat of all the Bussias " must 
find it. Well would it be for him if he could carry out the 
obligations imposed upon him by the venerated memory of his 
father, as he telegraphed to Prince Alexander — "the interests 
of Russia and the peace of the East.*' At present he sits with 
the sword of Damocles above, and a case of dynamite beneath 
his throne. Truly has it been said of him that " he represents 
the Nemesis of despotism I '' 

People sometimes ask, Why does not Bussia " occupy " Bul- 
garia ? The answer is not diflScult to find. Some reasons have 
already been given. Her society is riddled with Nihilism, and 
at any time we may hear of a " 1789." Again, she may be 
feared by some of the Powers, but not all stand in dread of her, 
and what might appear to be a simple operation at starting, 
would soon become too complex and formidable even for her 
army (vast and powerful as it undoubtedly is), when the extent 
of her frontier is borne in mind. And, moreover, although they 
occasionally make gross mistakes, her counsellors are shrewd 
and reflecting men. She did pr^tically occupy Eoumania, a 
province immediately bordering on her vast empire ; but where 
is her influence in that country now ? If she were permitted 
to overrun Bulgaria, which is highly improbable, what would 
be her position there? Servia in the west, backed up by 
Austria and Hungary ; Boumania in the north, supported by 
Germany ; Turkey in the south — all knovring full well that her 
occupation of Bulgaria would mean a standing threat to their 
existence as independent nations — all would be anxious to drive 
her out ; and the Bulgarians themselves, who once welcomed her 
as a deliverer, would be burning for an opportunity to expel 
her as a conquering oppressor. These are a few of the reasons 
why Bussia is not at present attempting to gain her ambitions 
ends by brute force. She now prefers " diplomacy." That is 
to say, trading upon the fears or on the corruption or ambi- 
tion of other States. In order the better to understand how 
that is managed, we must turn for a moment to the condition 
and attitude of those nations as they regard the Eastern 
question. 

Her greatest enemy, Turkey, through her unfortunate financial 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 215 

pofidtion and her habitual want of energy, is a fit object for 
Bussian pressure and intrigue. She owes Russia a large sum 
of money which she cannot pay : Russia can at any moment 
threaten her with foreclosure. Turkey has not the same hold 
upon Bulgaria, which owes her a large annual sum as interest 
upon her proportion of the national debt ; for the Bulgarians 
say, " Comply with the spirit of the Treaty of Berlin ; leave us 
the free choice of our ruler, and we are prepared to pay you." 
Here again Russia steps in and says, " If you recognise the 
Prince, who is not acceptable to me " (no Prince excepting a 
"Prince of Mingrelia" would be acceptable to her), "I shall 
consider that you have violated the Treaty of Berlin, and my 
army in Asia Minor shall move westward " (not logical ; but 
the wolf was not logical in its famous argument with the 
lamb). 

On the other hand, Russia says, " If you like to take back 
Eastern Roumelia, of which those ungrateful Bulgarians have 
robbed you, I will back you up and will otherwise befriend you. In 
return, you must help to restore my 'just influence ' in Bulgaria.". 
Not being in the secrets of diplomatists, I don't know what 
cogent reasoning our able representative, Sir William White, 
has used to prevent the Sultan and his Ministers from accepting 
such tempting proposals ; perhaps he has found a brief reference 
to the past relations between Russia and Turkey a sufficient 
warning. But there is another little-known circumstance, to 
which reference has already been made, that has an all-powerful 
influence on the councils of the Porte. The Macedonians are 
ripe for revolt, and, excepting in those districts which abut 
upon Greek and Austrian territory, they are eager to become 
part of Bulgaria. My frontispiece is significant of the relations 
between them. An attack upon South Bulgaria would mean a 
rising in Macedonia in the north-west, and, most probably, an 
aggressive movement on the part of Greece in the south. These 
complications would suit Russia admirably, for they would 
weaken Turkey, and, in some degree, justify her own interfer- 
ence in the aflairs of the Balkan Peninsula. The policy of self- 
preservation on the part of Turkey is undoubtedly to strengthen, 
not to weaken, the Balkan States, for they present the last 



216 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

European barrier against the inimical operations of her dead- 
liest foe. As I have shown, Mussulmans and Christians live 
together in amity in Bulgaria; why not conclude a friendly 
alliance with that State, instead of helping Russia to keep open 
a permanent sore for the accomplishment of her designs on 
Constantinople ? 

The Greeks are at present the quasi-fidends of Russia. They 
delude themselves with the notion that, somehow or other, they 
will be permitted to creep along the eastern shore of the Balkan 
Peninsula to found another Greek empire in Constantinople; 
or, failing that, that they would at least be considerable gainers 
by the partition of Turkey, So they are inimical to the Bul- 
garians, whom they regard as rivals for the possession of Con- 
stantinople, and, moreover, dislike as schismatics, and they 
would not object to see Russia in possession. If, however, 
Turkey should fall a prey to the great Northern Power, and 
Constantinople become her southern capital, there is little 
doubt that the Acropolis, with its sad records of ancient 
Hellenic grandeur, would soon be guarded by Cossack sen- 
tinels. 

■ In Servia, where Russian intrigues have been active in high 
places, Muscovite influence will probably not be of long dura- 
tion ; and, so far as the feelings of the Servians themselves are 
concerned, these are likely to improve in friendliness towards 
the Bulgarians. After the abduction of Prince Alexander, and 
whilst they were still smarting under the defeat at Slivnitza, 
the disposition of the Servians towards their neighbours was 
at least doubtful ; and it was well defined by a telegram which 
was sent to our Foreign Office by Mr. Barrington, our Minister 
at Belgrade : — 

" Servian Government have been taken by surprise by Bul- 
garian revolution, and, frontier being strictly closed, little is 
known of its actual course. Journey of King, who was to have 
left Servia to-morrow, is abandoned. His Majesty's intentions 
appear, at any rate for the present, to be quiescent. More- 
over, want of money makes any immediate action difficult " ^ 

1 Blue Book (Turkey), No. 1, 1887, Dispatch No. 152, p. 86. 



I 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 217 

The last two sentences are very significant. However, from 
my own observations during a short stay at Belgrade, I feel 
convinced that the more thoughtful of the Servian leaders are 
anxious to let bygones be bygones, to promote a close alliance 
with Bulgaria, and to found a confederation of the Danubian 
States. 

Eoumania, for the present, at least, considers herself safe 
from aggression, and prefers to mind her own businesa In the 
recent speech from the throne,^ the King announced that she 
had kept outside of all conflicts, and was friendly with all the 
Powers, notwithstanding the troubles arising from events which 
had occurred near the frontier during the last few years. But 
Koumania knows Russia well, and she must be aware that the 
occupation of Bulgaria would mean the possession of the whole 
Balkan Peninsula; in which case no consideration, not even 
consideration for her friend and ally of Grivitza, would admit 
of a small independent State in the heart of her empire. The 
"events of the last few years near her frontier" have been 
more momentous for Eoumania than the words would imply, 
for her independence is intimately linked with that of Bulgaria ; 
and no country would derive greater security than she would 
from a Danubian Confederation. If Bulgaria tides over her 
present difficulties, her position will, in my humble opinion, be 
far safer than that of Eoumania, which the Eussians would 
never for an instant hesitate to absorb (just as they snatched 
Bessarabia from her, in order to secure a better hold upon the 
Black Sea), and to make the Danube their southern boundary. 
In the present condition of European politics, an alliance, offen- 
sive and defensive, between Eoumania and Bulgaria (even if no 
other State joined in it) would give to both complete immunity 
from external danger. Some unexpected event may possibly 
hasten such an alliance. 

Austria-Hungary is very favourable to the maintenance of 
the independence of Bulgaria ; and the sympathies of the latter 
State are so warmly enlisted in her favour, that if an open 
attack were made upon her either by Eussia or Turkey, the 

1 November 27, 1887. 



218 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Imperial Grovernment would probably be compelled to strike a 
blow in her defence. I was told at Sofia that Austria has of late 
relaxed her efforts to obtain possession of Salonika ; that may 
be owing to the task she has on hand in Servia, or in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, or it may be due to some other cause ; but 
be that as it may, recent events have shown pretty plainly that 
neither Austria-Hungary nor Italy would look on complacently 
whilst Bussia advanced another step in the direction of the 
w^gean Sea. From what I learned in Budapest, I am con- 
vinced that the sympathy of Hungary for Bulgaria is thoroughly 
real and disinterested ; there they are watching events at Sofia 
very closely, admiring greatly the statesmanship of the young 
Bulgarian leaders ; and I am persuaded that in any action on 
the Eastern question the cue would be given by the " King of 
Hungary " rather than by the " Emperor of Austria." 

'^ Germany is not primarily interested in the events passing 
in Bulgaria, and its efforts will be reserved for the preservation 
of the peace." ^ Those were the words" of the German Chan- 
cellor, and until recently they appear to have formed the basis 
of his action, even when, as it seems to me, he injudiciously 
interfered in the affair of the Bulgarian traitors and helped 
to drive Prince Alexander out of the country. Lately, how- 
ever, in consequence of the unnatural Franco-Russian alliance, 
formed for purposes of revenge on the one side and of aggres- 
sion on the other, the German Chancellor deemed it necessary 
to kot(yA to Bussia ; for the threat to send ironclads to Varna in 
consequence of some petty slight which had been offered to one 
of her Consuls and the publication of an offensive paragraph in 
a Bulgarian paper, can have had no other signification.^ The 
confusion which has arisen in French home politics has, how- 
ever, changed the whole aspect of affairs, and although it is 
impossible to predict what will be the relations of France and 
Germany or of Germany and Bussia six months hence, the 



1 Turkey, No. 1, 1887, Dispatch No. 232, p. 110. 

^ The whole thing was highly amusing, and that it should for a moment have 
been taken au Urieux by the smart statesmen at Sofia (as it certainly was) sur- 
passes all belief. Germany asking permission of the Porte to allow her to send 
ironclads through the Dardanelles to chastise one of her vassals ! 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 219 

probabilities are that common sense and prudence will prevail ; 
that there will be no serious collision between any of the great 
Continental Powers ; and that, in case of threatened complica- 
tions in the south-east of Europe, Prince Bismarck will still b^ 
able to assume the role of pacificator or arbitrator. 

Prance is too completely absorbed in her own aflfairs to ex- 
tend to Bulgaria the same generous aid and sympathy which 
she formerly gave to Boumania in her struggle for indepen- 
dence. 

And as for Great Britain, she too, like Germany, "is not 
primarily interested in the events passing in Bulgaria." If 
those events had occurred before Cyprus was ceded to her, or 
before she had planted her foot in Egypt, we should have been 
busy seeking anti-Russian alliances ; our press would have 
been bubbling over with denunciations of the " Colossus of the 
North;" India would have been in danger; the liberties of 
Europe threatened by a Tartar invasion ; and the spirit of the 
whole nation would have been aroused. Having satisfied what 
appear to be our national requirements, we are consoling our- 
selves with the idea that we have learned wisdom from past 
experience, and that it is better that we should mind our own 
business, and let our love for liberty in future be platonic. I 
have sought to do justice to our statesmen of both parties and 
to our representatives abroad; but observation has shown me 
that even our moral influence has of late greatly fallen in 
European estimation, although we are still credited, as a nation, 
with a desire to foster liberty and aflFord relief to the oppressed. 
But people on the Continent with whom I discussed political 
questions fail to see upon what principle we have taken Cyprus 
and Burmah and occupied Egypt. Why, they asked, are we 
continually adding this or that colony to our vast empire, and 
are yet ready to fire up as soon as any neighbouring State seeks 
to extend the blessings of its civilisation to some distant bar- 
barous tribe ? And they expressed still greater astonishment 
to see our wealthy and powerful country standing in such dread 
of Ireland ; to read of statesmen of the highest rank, even 
those professing to belong to the same side in politics, branding 
each other as traitors and abusing one another like pickpockets 



220 BULGARIA PAST AKD PEESEKT. 

because they cannot agree as to the policy of granting autonomy 
to a sister kingdom which we ourselves admit has been suffering 
under centuries of wrong ; ^ and all this after denouncing the 
spoliation of Poland, fighting for the " integrity of the Ottoman 
Empire," for the liberties of Greece and Eoumania, after ap- 
plauding the revolution in Italy and in Hungary, holding up to 
execration the Turkish atrocities in Bulgaria — in fact, after 
standing forth during this whole century as the champions of 
freedom in every part of the habitable globe. If any of my 
readers imagines that I am guilty of exaggeration in thus ex- 
pounding European opinion concerning us, I would advise him 
to take a trip abroad and hear for himself. To despots and 
reactionary Governments this state of things is, of course, 
highly gratifying; but to those who are interested in consti- 
tational government and popular liberty, the recent changes 
in our policy are looked upon with apprehension and regret. 
There is no need for war, nor even threats of war ; but if, as 
I firmly believe, our Government and people desire to see the 
liberties of the Balkan States firmly established, om* course is 
plain and straightforward. Has Prince Ferdinand been " freely 
elected by the population," according to the terms of the Treaty 
of Berlin ? None but the Eussians deny that he has been so 
chosen. Then why not at least express our readiness openly in 
the face of Europe to acknowledge his authority ? Why treat 
with the Ministers who represent the people, and refuse to 
approach the Prince, who equally represents them ? Is it out 
of deference for the helpless Sultan, whose unfortunate position 
prevents him from doing what is right and proper ? or is it to 
conciliate Bussia, who regards us as her bitterest foe, thwarting 
her designs, and meeting her face to face in every quarter of 
the globe ? 

This appears to me to be the " European concert on the 
Eastern question ; " and whatever mistakes I may, through igno- 
rance, have made in the endeavour to explain the policy and 
attitude of the " Powers," the reader may rest assured that, with 



^ When I was abroad, we had not yet begun to incarcerate our Lord Mayors 
and Members of Parliament. 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND BULGARIA. 221 

their superior information, they are no better able than he or I 
to solve the problem. They are simply waiters upon Providence, 
each looking anxiously for the next move of his neighbour, and 
most of them guided largely by considerations of self, and, I 
regret to say, not largely by the dictates of international justice 
and human liberty. May this policy and attitude towards the 
young Principality soon give place to one more worthy of civi- 
lised Europe ! 

In conclusion, I should like to add a few remarks for the 
consideration of those who hold the reins in Bulgaria. They 
know better than I can tell them that disunion amongst them- 
selves would be fatal to their liberties, and that their only hope 
is in loyalty and cohesion. I think, too, that they are finding 
out that wherever it is possible to leave traitors and intriguers 
to the judgment of public opinion, such a course is preferable 
to State prosecution. There is no disguising the fact that 
Eussia is their great and only enemy, and the antidote to her 
enmity is that they should ally themselves as closely as possible 
with all or any of the neighbouring States, and conquer the 
goodwill of Europe by moderation ; to cultivate the peaceful arts ; 
to facilitate access to their country, especially from the Western 
States of Europe, and to show their fitness for self-government, 
as they have hitherto done vdth such marked success. Of course 
vigilance and forethought are equally necessary where secret 
agencies are constantly at work to undermine the liberties of the 
country. There is just one other consideration. Europe has so 
far declined to acknowledge their Prince ; when it is prepared 
to do so, would it not be equally ready to acknowledge him as 
King ? Would Alexander have been abducted if he had worn 
a crown ? A wiser man than I has said — 

" There's such divinity doth hedge a king, 
That treason can but peep to what it would." ^ 

Many persons think that Bulgaria would have acted more wisely 
if she had declared herself a Eepublic after the abdication of 

^ " Hamlet," Act iv., scene 5. 



222 BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT. 

Prince Alexander. That is too wide a subject to be discussed in 
these pagea But having elected so far to abide by the Treaty 
of Berlin, it seems to me that it might now be politic to give 
the highest possible status to her elected Prince. 

" May God protect Bulgaria ! " 



APPENDICES. 



APPENDIX I. 

Estimated Budget of United Bulgaria for 1887. 



Revenue. 

Direct Taxes, 

1. Dimes (tithes on agri- 

cultural products, 
commuted) 

2. Land and house tax . 

3. Licenses 

4. Taxes on sheep and 

goats . • 

5. Taxes on pigs 

6. Taxes on rents of 

houses and build- 
ings 

7. Road-tax • 



Francs. 
16,200,000 
4,500,000 
2,000,000 

4,800,000 
260,000 



200,000 
1,867,508 





Total directj , 


29,807,508 




Indirect Toazi, 




1. 


Tobacco, excise and 






import . 


3,298,000 


2. 


Spirits 


900,000 


3. 


Customs duties on im- 






ports 


4,900,000 


4. 


Customs duties on ex- 






ports 


530,000 


5. 


Customs, sundries 


1,078,000 


6. 


Revenue from woods 






and forests 


680,000 


7, 


Government buildings 






(stores, &c.) . 


113,000 


8. 


Lignite mines 


46,000 


9. 


Fisheries, &c 


300,000 


10. 


Gk>vemment printing- 






offices , ■ . 


396,000 


11. 


Revenue from law 






tribunals 


977,980 


12. 


Post and telegraphs • 


1,087,400 


13. 


Salt monopoly . 


1,500,000 


14. 


Sundries 


360,018 


16. 


Occasional revenue 


1,245,360 




Total revenue. 


47,218,266 




Deficit balance, 

• 


219,168 




47,437,434 




or, roughly estimated, 


£1,890,000 



Expenditure. 

Ministries of — 

1. War . , • . 

2. Public Instruction 

3. Foreign Affairs (indud- 

ing Public Worship, 
Post and Telegraphs) 

4. Justice .... 

5. Interior 

6. Finance and Pullic 

Works 

7. Interest on public debt . 

8. Crown and National 

Representatives 



Francs. 
18,207,349 
2,314,335 



3,768,862 
3,486,742 
6,742,480 

9,148,676 
2,239,898 

1,629,092 



Total expenditure, 47.437,434 

P 



226 APPENDIX II. 

APPENDIX II. 

The Most Important Dbcrebs op the Constitution of Bulgaria. 

Concerning the Principality: that its boundaries shall only be changed 
by the Great Sobranje (National Assembly) ; that it shall be divided into 
Prefectures, Sub- Prefectures, and Communes, of which the last named shall 
be autonomous (cap. i.). 

Concerning the Prince: he shall be hereditary in the male line; his 
person is sacred and inviolate ; in him vests the legislative power, conjointly 
with the National Assembly, the command of the national forces, the 
sanction and, jointly with the Ministers, the promulgation of the laws, the 
executive power, the ri^ht to pardon and commute the sentences of criminals 
(except Ministers violatmg the Constitution), the representation of the nation 
with Foreign Powers (cap. ii.). It fixes his salary (Civil List) at 600,000 
francs (cap. viii. ) ; recites the oath to be taken by him to preserve the Con- 
stitution (cap. viL) ; decrees thjit every Prince after the first must belong to 
the State Church, which is the Oriental Church subject to the Synod (cap. ix.) ; 
and it provides for a Regency in case the Prince is a minor (cap. vi).^ 

Concerning freedovn of worship : every religious denomination may be 
professed without disabilities (cap. ix. ). 

Concerning the Laws : decrees tliat all laws must be voted by the Assembly, 
or, should emergency necessitate the promulgation of a law by the Council of 
Ministers, then its confirmation by tne Assembly. 

Concerning Cdizenshipf Naturalisation, Ac. : defines the conditions of 
both ; abolishes class distinctions, titled of nobility, &c. ; forbids slavery in 
any form, torture, domiciliary visits ; makes military service compulsory ; 
declares letters to be inviolate, primary education gratuitous, tne press 
free, press offences subject to the courts, the right of as3embly and associa- 
tion unrestricted, if in conformity with law and order ; gives the right of 
petition (cap. xii.). 

Concerning the National Bepresentation : decrees two National Assemblies 
(Sobranjes), the Ordinary, and the Great or Extraordinary Parliament. The 
Ordinary Assembly consists of deputies of thirty yeara and over, able to read 
and write, one to be chosen from every 10,000 inhabitants of both sexes, for 
a term of three years, by citizens of twenty-one years and over, possessing 
civil rights. It is presided over by a President and Vice-Presidents, who, 
along with Ministers, may participate in its deliberations. Contains instruc- 
tions as to convocation, procedure, powers and privileges of members, the 
Budget, State loans, &c. (cap. xiii.-xix.). The Great or Extraordinary 
Assembly^ must be convoked to consider questions of territorial changes, 
revision of the Constitution, election of Regents, or of a new Prince, in case 
the reigning one dies without issue. It is composed of deputies, two for 
every 10,000 inhabitants, and may not consider the ordinary affairs of State 
(cap. XX.). 

The Council of Ministers : its powers, duties, and responsibilities are de- 
fined by cap. XXL, and the Revision of the Constitution by cap. xxii. 

The " Constitution " contains decrees on many other subjects of lesser 
importance, such as the residence of the Prince ; the arms and colours 
of the Principality ; State property ; taxes ; regulations for the intro- 
duction of laws, &c. ; and the whole occupies 169 clauses. It was 
passed at Tirnova on the 16th-28th April 1879, the Assembly of 
Notables comprising 213 persons, by whose signatures it is attested. 

^ There does not appear to be a provision in any part of the Constitution for :i 
Regency, or for any kind of Government in case of the abdication of the Prince. 
^ The Ordinary Assembly meets at Sofia, the Qreat one at Tirnova. 



APPENDIX III. 227 



APPENDIX IIL 

Bibliography of Bulgaria. 

Allard, C. "Souvenirs d'Orient : La Bulgarie Orientale." Paris, 
1863. 

Anonymous, " La Question. Bulgare." Paris, 1861. 

„ " La Verity sur la Question Bulgare." Paris, 1861. 

„ " Les Causes Occultes de la Question Bulgare." Paris, 1887. 

Avril, Adolphe. " De la Bulgarie Chretienne. Paris, 1863. 

„ " Actes Relatifs a I'Eglise Bulgare.'' Paris, 1864. 

^ai«r, Valentine. " War in Bulgaria." London, 1879. 

Barkley, H. C. " Between the Danube and the Black Sea ; Five Years 
in Bulgaria." London, 1876. 

„ „ " Bulgaria before the War." London, 1877. 

Bothy Marquis of. " Observations on Bulgarian Affairs." London, 
1880. 

Blanqui, J. A. " Voyage en Bulgarie pendant I'Annde 1841." Paris, 
1843. 

Bradaska, "Die Slaven in der Turkei." (Petermann's MittheiL, 
1869, xii.). 

BrayhrooJce, W. L. " Diary whilst in Bulgaria." London, 1855. 

Browne^'Ed, "Travels in Hungaria, Servia, Bulgaria," &c. London, ' 
1885. 

GhozkOy Alex. " ifetudes Bulgares." Paris, 1875. 

" Constitution de la Prindpaute de Bulgarie J^ Sofia, 1886. 

Consular Reports : No. 1, 1886 (Bulgaria) ; No. 3, 1886 ; No. 70, 1886 
(Turkey) ; No. 186, 1887 (Turkey). Eyre & Spottiswoode, &c. No. 237, 

1887 (Bulgaria). 
Czirbuss,Q. " Die siidungarischen Bulgaren." Wien, 1884. 

Dozon, Auguste. " Les Chants Populaires Bulgares : Rapports sur une 
Mission Litt^raire en Mac^doine." Paris, 1874. 

„ „ " Chansons Populaires Bulgares Inedites," publi^es et 

traduites par A. D, Paris, 1875. 

Drandar, A. G. " Cinq Ans de Regne de Prince Alexandre de Battenberg 
en Bulgarie." Paris, 1884. 

Dumont, Alb. " Le Balkan et TAdriatique : Les Bulgares et les Alba- 
nais." Paris, 1873. 

Farley, J. L. "New Bulgaria." London, 1880. 



228 APPENDIX UI. 

Fischf M. M. '* Co-operation de TArin^e Roumaine en Bulgarie." 
Bruxelles, 1879. 

Fortyth, Wm. "The Slavonic Provinces South of the Danube." Lon- 
don, 1876. 

FresrUy Charles du. "Historia Regnorum Dalmatise, Croatiae, Serviae, 
Bulgarise, &c." Pasonii, 1746. 

Gladstone, W. E. "Bulgarian Horrors." London, 1876. 

GopceviCy S, "Die Ursachen der serbisch - bulgarischen Erhebung." 

Wien, 1878. 

„ „ ** Bulgarien und Ostrumelien, mit besonderer Beriick- 

sichtigung des Zeitraumes von 1878-1886, nebst militarischer Wiirdegung 
des Serbo-Bulgarischen Krieges." Leipzig, 1886. 

Hammer- PurgstalL "Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches." Hartle- 
ben : Pesth, 1834-36. 

Hinze, H. ** Qurko und Suleiman Pascha : Die Operationen in Bul- 
garien." Berlin, 1880. 

Holland. " The European Concert on the Eastern Question." Oxford : 
Clarendon Press, 1885. 

Huhn, A. von. " The Struggle of the Bulgarians for National Indepen- 
dence under Prince Alexander." Translated from the German. London, 
1886. 

„ „ " The Kidnapping of Prince Alexander of Battenberg." 

1887. 

Hungerbuehler, H. "Die schweizerische Militarmission nach dem Ser- 
bisch-bulgarischen Kriegsschauplatze : Aus dem Berichte an den schweiz- 
erischen Bundesrat." Frauenfeld, 1886. 

JacksoHy J. " Journey from India towards England in the Year 1797, by 
a Route Overland through Bulgaria, Wallachia, &c." London, 1799. 

JireSek, C. J. " Geschichte der Bulgaren." Prag, 1876. Von Tempsky. 

" Journey into the Balkan in 1847." (Journal of the Royal Geographical 
Society, 1854.) 

KanitZy F. " Donau-Bulgarien und der Balkan." Leipzig, 1875. 

JTiM, K. " Hunyadi Jdnos Utols6 Hadjdrata Bolgdr ds Szerborszdgban 
1454." Pest, 1857. 

Koch, Adolf. "Fiirst Alexander von Bulgarien. Mittheilungen aus 
seinem Leben und seiner Regierung nach personlichen Erinnerungen." 

Darmstadt, 1887. 

Kohn-Ahrest, F. " Zig-zags en Bulgarie." Paris, 1879. 

Krek. " Einleitung in die Slavische Literaturgeschichte," Graz, 18S7. 
Leuschner & Lubensky. 

" Krieg, der serbisch-bulgarische v. 1855 : Eine militarische Studie von 
einem deutschen Offizier." Darmstadt, 1887. 

LaveUye, Emile de. " La Peninsule des Balkans." Tom. ii. Bruxelles, 
1886. 



APPENDIX IIL 229 

Leach, H. " A Bit of Bulgaria." London, 1877. 

Leger, Louis. " La Bulgaria k la Fin du xviii® Si^cle." Paris, 1883. 

Leger, Louis. " La Save, le Danube, et le Balkan.'' Paris, 1884. 

„ „ " La Bulgarie." Paris, 1885. 

L^ean, " Ethnographic de la Turquie d'Europe." 1861. 

LescauTy R. P. " Du Re tour des Bulgares au Catholicisme." Paris, 1860. 

Lonlay, D. de. " En Bulgarie, 1877-1878." Paris, 1883. 

Mantegazza, Vico. "Due mesi in Bulgaria, Ottobre e Novembre 1886." 
Milano, 1887. 

Minchitiy J. G. C. " Bulgaria since the War in 1879." London, 1880. 

„ „ " The Growth of Freedom in the Balkan Peninsula." 

London, 1886. 

Molike^ Baron von. " The Russians in Bulgaria in 1828-29." London, 
1854. 

More^ R. J. ** Under the Balkans." London, 1877. 

FaUm, A. A, " Bulgarian, Turk, and German." London, 1855. 

Pot/et, C. F. " La Bulgarie dans le Present et I'Avenir." Paris, 1860. 

Safarih " Gesammelte Werke." (Bohmen.) 

St Clair and Brophy, " A Residence in Bulgaria." London, 1869. 

„ „ " Twelve Years' Study of the Eastern Question 

in Bulgaria." London, 1877. 

Saxy E. " Skizze von Bulgarien." Wien, 1869. 

Spencer, E. "Travels through Bulgaria." London, 1851. 

" Statistigue de la Principaut^ de Bulgarie," Sofia, 1884 and 1887. 

TbttZa, F. " Geology of the Balkans." (German.) Neues Jahrb., Heft i., 
pp. 44, 45. 

Turgenev, Ivan. " Un Bulgare." 10th edit. Paris, 1886. 

Turkey, No. 1, 1887 (Blue Book.) 

Verkovitch, Et. J. ** Le Vedu Slave : Chants Populaires des Bulgares." 
Paris, 1875. 

Vretos, A. P. " La Bulgarie Ancienne et Modeme." Paris, 1856. 

Zinkeisen, " Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches." 



230 APPENDIX IV. 



APPENDIX IV. 

Whilst the preceding pages are passing through the press, the author 
has received from Sir Thomas Sanderson (Foreign Office, to whom 
he is indebted for several printed reports, Ac), 

Consular Kbport No. 237, Bulgaria (1887), 

by Mr. O'Connor (Mr. Hardinge, Second Secretary), Sofia, October 
15, 1887, the following extracts from which will be interesting to 
British readers : — 

" The accompanying tables, which have been supplied by the Bulgarian 
Government, showing the imports and exports of the Principality for the 
years 1885 and 1886, contain information of considerable interest, although, 
from the manner in which these statistics have of necessity been compiled, 
owing to the course of late political events, it would be difficult to base 
upon them with any precision considerations relating to the commercial 
prosperity of Bulgaria, and her commerce with other countries." 

Extract from Tables. 

1885. 1886. 

^ . . . . \ frs. 11,129,008 frs. 15, 829,805 

British imports . . j or £445,160 or £663,192 

_ , . J frs. 88,843,517 frs. 61.687,169 

Total imports . . . j ^^ £1,553,740 or £2,467,486 

Percentage of total . . 28*6 25*6 

(The figures for 1886 include both Bulgarias (North and South), 
and for 1885, North Bulgaria, and South only to November.) 

Imports and Exports from and to,?Au stria- Hungary and 

Great Britain. 



1885. 1886. 



Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. 

Austria . . £411,362 £36,614 £659,263 £97,380 

Great Britain . 445,160 491,106 663,192 183,427 

The most important on the list in 1886 is Turkey, from which country 
the imports in 1886 amounted to about £516,000 ; the exports to about 
£670,000 ; the exports to Great Britain in that year being exceptionally 
low. After Turkey, the figures rarely exceed £100,000 for any other 
country. 

" The opening up of the country by the promised railways is one more 
reason for urging the establishment of depots in the different commercial 



APPENDIX IV. 231 

centres. British manufactures, of superior quality to the Austrian wares 
now scattered broadcast throughout the country by Austrian commercial 
travellers, could then be retailed to purchasers who, by being able to see 
and handle the goods in the depot, would in a very short time learn to dis- 
tinguish a good from an inferior article, and to recognise tbe advantage of 
buying goods of superior quality, even at slightly higher prices. Such 
a scheme, if properly carried out, would possess possibilities of immense 
extension, and might be the means of largely increasing British commerce in 
the Balkan Peninsula. To secure these results enterprise on a solid basis is 
necessary, coupled with good management and intelligent watching of the 
development of the needs of a population which, however backward, is 
now gradually awakening to Western ideas, and to the need of Western 
civilisation." 

" The principal British imports are metals in the rough, rough copper 
and tin, iron bars and girders, tin-plates, &c. In proportion as the country 
becomes opened up by increased facilities of communication, there will no 
doubt be a gradually increasing demand for '' articles pertaining to this 
industry, and especially for all implements and machinery connected with 
agriculture ; this is a subject to which attention should be paid by the iron 
industry in Great Britain." 

The above extracts, as the reader will notice, completely confirm 
the statements in the text, that little reliance can be placed at present 
on values and statistics, and the author's advice that wholesale houses 
in Great Britain should send out pioneers, and that agricultural im- 
plement makers and persons in the iron trades should be watchful of 
the course of events in Bulgaria. 



INDEX. 



INDEX. 



A. 

Abduction of Prince Alexander, 91-101 ; a national disgrace, 94. 

Adrian, Pope, sends an archbishop to the Bulgarians, 28. 

Agriculturid colleges, 16y, 164. 

Agriculture, state of, among the Slaves, 15 ; present state of, in Bulgaria, 170, 
171 ; resources for, 195. 

Aleko Pasha, first Governor-General of Eastern Roumelia, 8 ; ambition of, 80. 

Alexander of Battenberg elected Prince of Bulgaria, 8 ; manifests an independent 
spirit, 8 ; in disfavour with and thwarted by Kussia, 9 ; is nominated 
Governor- General of South Bulgaria by the Porte, 9 ; concentrates his army 
on the Turkish frontier, 9 ; reorganises his army and marches against the 
Servians, 10; defeats the Servians, 10; makes peace under Austrian in* 
fluence, 10 ; is compelled to abdicate by certaiu traitors in the army, 11 ; 
summoned to return, 11 ; is welcomed back, 11 ; sends a submissive tele* 
gram to the Czar, 11 ; is apprised that he had better withdraw from Bul- 
garia, as he was personally obnoxious to the Czar, 12 ; he finally abdicates 
on assurance from Kussia that she would not interfere with affairs of Bul- 
garia, 12 ; the hero of a hundred biographies, 76 ; summary of his achieve- 
ments as a ruler, 76 ; his antecedents and relationships, 76 ; election and 
accession of, to the throne of Bulgaria, 77 ; demands and obtains new powers 
from the Sobranje, 78 ; is compelled by Kussia to relinquish them and adhere 
to the constitution, 78 ; attempt to kidnap, 79 ; and the revolt in Eastern 
Koumelia, 81 ; boycotted by the Great Powers, 83 ; reorganises the army, 83 ; 
in command of army against Servia, 86 ; bravery of, 87 ; successes of, against 
Servia, 87-89 ; compelled by Austria to stay his arms against Servia, 89 ; 
ignored by Kussia, 92 ; abduction of, 92, 93 ; confiding character of, 94 ; 
manner of his enforcement, 95, 96 ; is forced to sign his abdication, 96 ; is 
delivered over to the Kussians and set free. 97 ; is recalled by the nation, 
97 ; confers with his brother Louis, 98 ; arrives at Kustchuk on his return, 
100 ; sends a humiliating telegram to the Czar, 100 ; his return a triumph, 
and its course, 101 ; finds the disaffection of military too formidable and the 
traitors protected by Kussia, 101 ; is admonished by Kussian agents that 
his presence in Bulgaria is undesirable, 102 ; he abdicates on condition that 
liberty be granted to the Bulgarians to manage their own affairs, 102 ; 
nominates a Ministry, 102 ; issues a proclamation and departs, 102 ; returns 
to private life, 102 ; what he did for Bulgaria, 102 ; influence of, at present, 
in Bulgaria, 202 ; author's meeting with, 207 ; his personal attractions, 207 ; 
his frankness, 207 ; confirms the author's account of events, 207 ; his discre- 
tion, 208 ; political relations, 207 ; his modesty, self-denial, and generosity, 
209 ; author's appreciation of the interview, 209. 

Alexander II. of Kussia, liberator of Bulgaria, 9, 65 ; desire to free the Sclavonic 
races of Turkey, 67 ; his respectful treatment of Bulgaria, 78. 



236 INDEX. 

Alexander III. of Russia, disaffection towards, in Bul^ria, 9 ; withdraws the 
Russian officers from the Bulgarian army, 9 ; hostiUty to Prince Alexander, 
78, 92 ; his pledge to the Porte, 93 ; his reply to the telegram of Prince 
Alexander, 100 ; his peace policy, 213 ; his critical position, 213, 214. 

Alexius III., 43. 

Alexius GomnenoB persecutes the Bogomiles, 32. 

"Alliance, Kalojan's," 45. 

Almanack, Whitoker's, referred to, 198. 

Alphabet, the Kyrillic, 27. 

Amsel. See Kosovo pole. 

Amusements, 131. 

Animals, domestic, 166, 167. 

Aprilov, patriotism of, 63 ; the founder of the gymnasium at Gabrovo, 162, 163. 

Arabas described, 167. 

Arcadian experience, 153. 

Arches, triumphal, 168. 

Art, architectural, under Simeon, 36 ; at Timova, 179-182. 

Asen, the brothers, uncertainty regarding their number and names, 6, 42 ; the two 
most famous, 41 ; visit Constantinople and are insulted, 41. 

Asen L, founder of Asenide dynasty, 6 ; chosen leader against the Greeks and 
proclaimed " Czar of the Bulgarians and Greeks," 42 ; various fortunes in 
his struggles with the Greeks, 42 ; defeats the Greek army, but is assassi- 
nated, 42. 

Asen IL, 6 ; his fame, 46 ; dethrones Boril and succeeds as Czar, 46 ; his reign, 47 ; 
testimony to, of a Bulgarian monk, 48 ; reintroduces the Greek faith, 48 ; 
his capital, 48 ; constantly making and breaking alliances, 52 ; contributes to 
fall of Frankish rule in Constantinople, 52 ; his death, 52 ; effects of his 
reign, 52 ; possessions of, melt away, 53. 

Asparich, a chief of the Bulgari, 23. 

Athanasoff, Professor, 123. 

Atrocities, Bulgarian, the, exposure of, 7 ; extent and object of, 66 ; the English 
press and, 66 ; avenged, 66. 

Austria instigates Servia to attack Bulgaria, and compels Bulgaria to a peace, 
10, 89 ; trade of, with Bulgaria, 193. 

Austria-Hungary, trade of, with Bulgaria, 192 ; and Bulgaria, 217 ; favourable 
to Bulgarian independence, 217. 



B. 

Bajazbt I., his victory at Kosovo pole, 55 ; celebrates it at Adrianople, 55 ; is 

repulsed from Wallachia, 55. 
Baldwin of Flanders, Emperor of the Franks, 45 ; defeated and captured at 

Adrianople, 46 ; uncertain fate of, 46. 
Baldwin's Tower, 34, 46, 49, 177. 

Balkan Peninsula, early dominant races in, 4 ; invaded by the Turks, 7. 
Balkans, the, as formerly and now, and the plains adjoining, 14, 111 ; aspect of, 

112 ; slopes of, scenery and roads, trees and fruits, 165, 166. 
Barrington, Mr., telegram from, to Foreign Office, 216. 
Basilius II., the Greek Emperor, conquers and annexes Bulgaria, 5 ; his character 

and habits, 38 ; persistency and final success, 39 ; his cruelty, 39 ; celebrates 

the conquest of Bulgaria^ 39. 
Basilius, the Bogomile martyr, 32. 

Begs, the Turkish, in Bulgaria, tyranny and cruelty of, 58. 
Belogradi^ik, Grad at, 17. 
Bendereff, Captain, 87. 
Bendereff and Grueff, leaders of a plot against Prince Alexander, 10 ; their crime 

condoned at the instance of Germany, Austria, and Russia, 11, 101, 207 ; 

arrest of, 98. 



INDEX. 237 

Berlin, Treaty of, 7 ; stipulations of, as regards Bulgaria, 71, 72. 

Besika Bay, our fleet at, 66. 

Bessarabia, given up by Roumania to Russia, 69. 

Bibliography of Bulgaria, 227-229. 

Bismarck, Prince, his remark on the reign of Prince Alexander, 102 ; his policy, 
218, 219. 

Bogomiles, the, a heretical sect, origin and name matter of uncertainty, 30 ; 
character of their doctrines, 30 ; influence with the masses, 30 ; articles of 
faith, 31 : their leading tenet dualistic, 31 ; their religious practices, 31 ; 
degrees of sanctity among, 32 ; persecution of, by the orthodox, 32. 

Boris I., 24, 26 ; his conversion to Christianity, 27 ; examination of his motives, 
27 ; assumes the name of Michael on his baptism, after that of the Greek 
Emperor, Michael III., his godfather, 27, 28 ; his reward and consequent 
zeal, 28 ; the Boyards rebel against, and are crushed, 28 ; seeks alliance 
with the Pope, 28 ; evil effects of his oscillations between Greece and Rome, 
30 ; abdicates and becomes a monk, 33 ; leaves his monastery to crown 
Simeon, and returns to his retreat, 33. 

Boris II., defeated and captured by Sviatoslav, 5 ; compelled to abdicate and 
become a magnate at Byzantine Court, 38 ; references to him by Pope 
Innocent III., 44 ; Kalojan imitates his policy, 45. 

Boril, the usurper, 46. 

Bourgas, rising at, 103, 104 ; trade at, 191. 

Bouza, a drink, 144. 

Boyards, the, 50. 

Bresnik takeu by Captain Panoff, 88. 

" Brigand Brigade," 89. 

Brigandage, 137, 138, 185. 

Bucharest, 187. 

Budget, the last, 198 ; of United Bulgaria, 225. 

Bulgari, the, origin and first appearance of, in the Balkan Peninsula, 4 ; poli- 
tical ascendancy, 5 ; origin uncertain, but distinct from that of tlie Slaves, 

23 ; mythical tradition regarding ancestry of, 23 ; a warlike tribe of nomads, 

24 ; their food, 24 ; shave their heads, 25 ; their standards, 25 ; mili- 
tary rules and practices, 25 ; ratification of treaties, 25 ; cruel customs, 
25 ; treatment of criminals, 25 ; polygamists, 26 ; absolute power of the 
chief, 26. 

Bulgaria (geographically), its area, 111 ; its divisions. 111 ; mountain ranges and 
their aspects, 111, 112; sudden transition from plain to mountain, 112; 
great part at one time under sea, 112; peculiarity of the plains, 113 ; soil, 
113 ; rivers, 114 ; bridges, 114 ; towns, 114, 115 ; roads, 114; railways, 115. 

Bulgaria (historically), present population, 4 ; early attempts to conquer, 5 ; first 
Russian invasion, 5 ; part of the Greek empire, 6 ; revolt under the brothers 
Asen, 6 ; under Servian domination, 6 ; tributary to Turkey, 7 ; completely 
subject to Turkey after battle of Kosovo pole, 7 ; after Crimean war, 7 ; 
delivered by Russia, 7 ; under Treaty of Berlin, 8 ; accepts Alexander of 
Battenberg as its first hereditary prince, 8 ; receives a constitution, 8 ; 
a crisis in her history, 10 ; hardly any mendicants in, 19 ; gets Bibles and 
other sacred bo6ks, 30 ; two faiths in, the Mohammedan and the Christian, 
32, 33 ; annexed to the Greek empire by Zimisces and Basilius II., 38 ; the 
inhabitants of, 40 ; under Greek rule, 40, 41 ; inroads of barbarians, 41 ; 
under Asen II., 49, 50 ; in the succeeding reigns, 52 ; falls under Servian 
rule, 53 ; under Mussulman rule, 55-58 ; for three centuries and a half 
afterwards has no history, 57 ; records of, destroyed and name changed, 
57 ; a Turkish province, 57 ; under Turkish rulers, 57 ; condition i^ter 
Crimean war, 63 ; allowed to have an Exarch of her own choosing, 63 ; 
regarded as schismatic by the Greeks, 63 ; aids the Russians against the 
Turks, 69, 70 ; during Russo-Turkish war, 70 ; under treaties of San 
Stefano and Berlin, 71, 72 ; limits, and rights as regards Prince defined, 71, 
72 ; is to have a constitution and religious equiJity among citizens, 72 : 
humiUating treatment of, by Russia after Russo-Turkish war, 77 ; different 



238 INDEX. 

treatment of, by the late and the present Czars of Russia, 78 ; concludes a 
peace with Servia, 97 ; auti-Russian feeling in, 104 ; good feeling of, towards 
Servia, 107 ; the present Czar's opinion of, 128 ; agricaltural, 188, 194. 

Bulgarian army, organisation of, under Russian control, 73 ; reorganisation and 
strength under Prince Alexander, 84 ; present strength and cost of, 200. 

Bulgarian billiards, 131. 

Bulgarian history, its records under Greek and Turkish rule, 7. 

Bulgarian Legion at Eski Zagra and the Shipka Pass, 70. 

Bulgarian peasantry during Russo-Turkish war, 69. 

Bulgarians throw off the Greek yoke, 6 ; bravely defend themselves against 
the Turks, 7 ; succumb to the Turks, 7 ; mostly Slaves, 21 ; question the 
Pope, 28 ; the masses under Simeon, 37 ; elect Peter Asen Czar, 42 ; 
achieve their independence with difficulty, 42 ; defeat and rout the Greek 
army under Isaac, 42 ; indebtedness to the Roumanians for their freedom, 
68 ; retaliatory act of, on Turks, 70 ; treated as rebels by the Turks during 
Russo-Turkish war, 70 ; enthusiasm of, against Servia, 85, 86. 

Bulgarias, the two, union of, 81, 82 ; union facilitated by Great Britain, 82 ; 
union consummated, 90. 

"Bulgar-slayer,"the, 39. 



C. 

Captives in war, ancient cruel treatment of, 39. 

Caravans, 167. 

Chadoume, M., obligations to, 132. 

Charles, Prince, of Roumania, 68. 

Christianity in Bulgaria persecuted by Omortag, 24. 

Christians, defeat by the Turks at Kosovo pole, 65 ; at Nicopolis, 56 ; friendly 
relations of, with Mohammedans in Bulgaria, 64, 178, 216. 

Church, desire for a national, 63. 

Clement, Bishop, 11. 

Clergy, the Bulgarian, 60, 61. 

Concert, European, a discord, 212. 

Confederation, a Danubian, desirableness of, 217. 

Conference at Constantinople, 82 ; advice of, to the Porte to occupy Eastern Rou- 
melia, 82. 

Conspirators, the conduct of, in the case of Prince Alexander, 95, 96 ; denounced 
as traitors, 97; are arrested, 98. 

Constantino and his brother Methodios, 26 ; becomes missionary first to the 
tribes on the Don and Dnieper, and then to the Slaves, 26 ; his labours 
appreciated, 26 ; adopts the name Kyril, 26 ; translates the Gospels, &c., 
into the Slave language, 27 ; dies at forty-two, 27 ; Methodios and his 
Works, 27. 

Constitution, Bulgarian, its democratic character, 76 ; framed by Russia, 76, 77 ; 
decrees of, 226. 

Conttitutiorif the Timova^ office of, attacked, 134. 

Consuls in Bulgaria, 50 ; murder of German and French, at Salonica, 66. 

Cotton-planting, 195. 

Court, the, in the time of John Asen, 51. 

Crimean war, effects of, on Roumania and Bulgaria, 7, 63. 

Criminals, their treatment, 119, 120. 

Crops, rotation of, 170. 

Crusade, Fourth, Crusaders of, Kalojan seeks alliance with, 45. 

Couza, Prince of Roumania, his deposition a model to Prince Alexander's con- 
spirators, 96. 

Czar, the. See Alexander ITT. 

Czarinas of Bulgaria, 51. 



INDEX. 239 

D. 

Daoia, Kotnan and Greek rule in, 4 ; overrun by Goths and Huns, 4. 

Daily News war-correspondence referred to, 69, 70. 

Dandolo takes Constantinople, 45. 

Danube regiment, daring and successful assault by, on the Servians, 87. 

Danube, the beautiful, 187. 

Debt, national, 201. 

Demetrius, St., Church of, at Tirnova, 41 ; political meeting in, 41, 42 ; described, 

181. 
" Demonstration," a political, 131-134. 
Derjavnii Vestnik, the, 135. 
Despot, the, 51. 
Dimitrieff, Captain, 95. 
Diplomatists, European, 220, 221. 
Dispatches referred to, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 

216 218 
" Djumi'-Maritza," the, 87. 
Dobrudscha, the, given up to Koumania, 69 ; a' barrier between Russia and, 

Bulgaria, 69. 
Docetism, 31. 

Dolgorouki, Prince, projected mission to Bulgaria, 100. 
Dondukoff -Korsakoff, Prince, gives Bulgaria a constitution, 77 ; his popularity 

in Bulgaria, 77. 
Drenovo, description of, 165 ; its khan, 165 ; its butter, 165. 
Drigalsky Pasha, arrest and subsequent liberation of, 80. 
Dualism in religious belief among the Bulgarians, 31. 
Dushan, the Servian, 6 ; his name invoked by the Servians, 6 ; extends his realm, 

53 ; assumes title of " Czar and Autocrat," 53 ; prosperity of Servia under, 53. 



E. 

Eaole, the newspaper, 135. 

Eagles in Bulgaria, 159, 196. . 

" Ecole Technique " at Kniajevo, 122 ; its superintendent and teaching staff, 123 ; 

its appurtenances, 123 ; cost of the institution, 123. 
Education, revival of national, in Bulgaria, 63 ; a first effect, 63 ; technical, 122 ; 

as witnessed at Gabrovo, 162 ; agricultural, theological, and other, 163, 164 ; 

compulsory, 164 ; a good foundation laid, 200 ; expenditure on, 200. 
Ehmroth, General, mission of, 12 ; forces Roumania to yield, 69. 
English traders and manufacturers, advice to, 193. 
Eski Zagra, 70, 71. 
Etapes, Turkish, 141, 142. 

Euthemius, the Patriarch, stays the fury of the Turks, 55 ; driven from Tirnova, 55. 
Exarch, the highest ecclesiastic, 35 ; choice of an, by the Bulgarians themselves, 63 
Expenditure compared with Great Britain, 199, 200, 225. 
Exports, 189, 190, 230. 

F. 

Eaucher's, Julius, " Systems of Land-Tenure," referred to, 1 6. 

Ferdinand, Prince, and Russia, 12 ; is elected to succeed and succeeds Alex- 
ander, 12, 105 ; election not yet assented to by the Porte and ratified by the 
Powers, 12, 105 ; addresses a mob, 134 ; how regarded, 202 ; favours the 
author with an interview, 203 ; his palace at Sofia and the audience-chamber, 
203 ; his appearance and manner, 204 ; a vassal of the Sultan, 205 ; his 
opinion of the people, 205 ; his preference for the French language, 205 ; 
author's estimate of, 206. 



240 INDEX. 

Fish and fishing, 196, 197. 

France engrossed at present in her own affairs, 219. 

G. 

Gabboyo, its population, 160 ; its bridges, 160 ; streets and houses, 160 ; spinning 
women, 160 ; visit to its gymnasium, 160 ; ignorance of candidates for ad- 
mission to it, 161 ; second visit to it, 161, 162 ; education at it representative, 
162 ; report regarding gymnasium, 163 ; departure from the town, 164. 

Game and love of the chase in Bulgaria, 195-197. 

Gavril Pasha, 8 ; ignominious deposition of, 80. 

Gens-d'armes, mounted, 185, 186. 

Germany seeks to preserve peace, 218. 

Giers, M. de, representative of Russia, 81. 

Gipsies in the East, 19, 185. 

Girls, treatment of, by Turkish officials, 58. 

Gladstone, Mr., exposes the Bulgarian atrocities, 7 ; effects of his pamphlet, 65— 
67 ; demands autonomy for Bulgaria, 66 ; his advice, 67 ; his motive as 
regards Bulgaria, 106. 

Gourko, General, assisted by a Bulgarian legion, 70 ; retreat of, 71. 

" Government, Provisional," dissolved, 11 ; arranged by Zankoff, 88 ; collapse of, 
formed by the conspirators against Prince Alexander, 97. 

Grad, the, or fortified home, 16 ; an appellation of places, 17 ; usual site of, 17 ; 
examples of, 17. 

Graves, Turkish, 141. 

Great Britain, facilitates the union of the two Bulgarias, 82 ; and the cause of 
freedom in Bulgaria, 98, 99 ; sympathy with Bulgaria, 99 ; part played by, 
in recent Bulgarian troubles, 105-107 ; holds Egypt in pawn, 212 ; her love 
for liberty platonic, 219 ; Continental opinion of, 219 ; her duty, 106, 
220. 

Greek Empire, decline of power of, 89 ; its restoration, 52. 

Greeks in Bulgaria, 49 ; the present quasi-friends of Russia and their motives, 216. 

Grueff holds a revolver at Prince Alexander's face, 96 ; his conduct afterwards, 
97. See Bendereff. 

Gutscheff, Captain, 87. 

H. 

Haiduts, band of, as executioners of justice, 61. 

Hallam referred to, 46, 47, 52, 54, 211. 

**Hissar," hill of the, in Timova, 55, 176, 178. 

Holland's " European Concert " referred to, 8, 71, 169. 

Hospitals, 129, 130. 

Hotel bills, two, 140.* 

Huhn, Von, his account of Drigalsky Pasha's arrest, 80 ; defence of Prince Alex- 
ander, 81 ; on reorganisation of Bulgarian army, 84 ; on battle of Slivnitza 
86-88. 

Hungary, sympathy of, with Bulgaria, 218. 

I. 

Iddesleigh's, Earl of, dispatch, 92 ; telegram from, urging the Porte to recall 

Prince Alexander, 98 ; his motive in his action towards Bulgaria, 106; his 

reply to M. de Staal, 107. 
Imports, 189 ; from Austria-Hungary, 191 ; from Great Britain, 191. 
Innocent III., Pope, requires the submission of Kalojan, 43 ; reminds him of his 

obligations, 44 ; sends a Nuncio with powers, 44 ; admonishes the Bulgarians 

of their past infidelity to the Church, 44. 



INDEX. 241 

Inns, roadside, 188, 139. 

Insolence, case of Turkish, 58, 59. 

Insurance in Bulgaria, 195. 

Isaac, the Greek Emperor, attempts to attack Bulgaria, but is defeated, and is 

glad to escape with his life, 42. 
Isker, the, 114. 

Italians referred to, 50, 130, 211. 
Ivajlo, career of, 53. 
Ivanko, the murderer of Peter Asen, 42, 43 ; takes refuge among the Kumani, 43. 



J. 

Jantka, the river, 114. 

Jews in Bulgaria, 47 ; Spanish, in Sofia, and their unfair treatment, 124 ; engaged 

in trade, and extortionate, 124 ; Austrian, as traders, 192. 
Jire^ek referred to, 16, 30, 39, 42, 45, 54. 
Johannitz. See Kalojan. 
John of Ryl, patron saint of Bulgaria, 36. 
Jones, Captain, his advice on the side of loyalty and freedom, 106 ; his trade 

reports, 192. 
Judges, the, 121. 

K. 

Kaliman II., the last of the Asenidse, 53. 

Kaliman, Asen II. 's son, 52. 

Kalofer, visit to, 155, 156. 

Kalojan wages a successful war against Alexius III., 43 ; the two most important 
events of his reign, 43 ; extends the boundaries of the Bulgarian realm, 43 ; 
seeks the sanction of the Pope, 43 ; is thwarted, 43 ; receives a Papal envoy, 
who claims his subjection to the Papal Chair, 43 ; expresses his loyalty to the 
Church and requests the Pope to send him a crown, 44 ; receives spiritual 
benefit, but no crown, 44 ; seeks in vain alliance of Fourth Crusaders, 45 ; 
submits to the Apostolic Chair, 45 ; his motives in doing so, 45 ; now receives 
a crown, 45 ; troubles himself little further with the Pope, 48 ; aHies him- 
self with the Greeks against Baldwin, 46 ; routs the Franks under the Count 
of Blois, 46 ; assassination, 46. 

Kanitz, the archaeologist, referred to, 87, 45. 

Karaveloff, one of the Regents, 12, 102 ; a leading Minister of Prince Alexander, 
78, 79, 101 ; represents Russia in Bulgaria, 127 ; demonstration against, 
132 ; characterises Prince Ferdinand as a usurper, 132 ; indignation meeting 
against, 133 ; his house and printing-offices wrecked, 134. 

Kaulbars, General, his tour through Bulgaria, 12 ; his mission announced in the 
Journal de St, Petersburg, 99 ; sent to advise the Bulgarians, 103 ; his 
demands and their enforcement, 103 ; cannot prevent the elections, 103 ; 
encourages rioting, 103 ; stumps the country, 103 ; his tour a failure, 103 ; 
is recalled, 104 ; makes charges against the Bulgarians which he declines to 
substantiate, 104. 

Kezanlik occupied by the Russians, 71 ; manufactures at, 114 ; roses and otto of 
roses, 156. 

Khans, the, 138, 139; one at Biela, 139. 

Kosovo pole, the battle of, 7, 55. 

Krek referred to, 5, 6, 39. 

Kfum, chief of the Bulgari, captures and kills Nicephoros, the Greek Emperor, 
23 ; defeats Michael, his successor, and makes him pay tribute, 23 ; career 
cut short by apoplexy, 24. 

Kumani, the, 41, 42. 

Kuvrat, ancient conquering chief of the Bulgari, 23. 

Kyrill. See Constantine. 

Q 



242 INDEX. 

Kyriak, St., the mon&sterj of, situation and surroundings, 149 ; aspect of, 150, 
151 ; the building itself and conveniences, 151 ; a sanatorium, 151, 152; an 
incident at, 152 : arrival of a pilgrimage at, 152, 153. 



L. 

LAND-tenure among the Slaves, 16 ; in Bulgaria, 168, 169. 

Lascelles, Mr., supports Prince Alexander, 10 ; bis interest in Bulgaria, 106 ; 

refuses to acknowledge the military leadership of Grueff, 106. 
Latin Emperors of Constantinople, 47 (note). 
Leo, Cardinal, bears a crown to Kalojan, 45. 
Leo, the Greek Emperor, invades Bulgaria, 24 ; makes peace with Omortag, 24 ; 

calls in the Magyars against Simeon, 35. 
List, civil, 200. 

M. 

s 

Macedonia threatens to rise in revolt, 215. 

Magyars, the, lay waste Bulgaria, 35 ; are pursued and decimated by Simeon, 35. 

Manuel, Bishop of Adrianople, martyred by Omortag, 24. 

Manufactures, state of, 188 ; imports of British, in Bulgaria, 193. 

Marinoff, Lieutenant, draws his sword in defence of Prince Alexander, 79. 

Maritza, the, 114. 

Marriages, court, under Asen IL, 51. 

Martyrs, Church of the Forty, 47 ; memorial of Asen II. in, 47, 179 ; history of, 178. 

Matincheff, Dr., his devotion to the Jews in Sofia, 124. 

Medical, men in Bulgaria, 129 ; staff, 129; council in Sofia, 129. 

Mendicancy, absence of, in Bulgaria, 19. 

"Mera," the, among the Slaves, 16 ; among the Bulgarians, 168, 169. 

Methodios translates Old Testament into the Slave language, 21 ; his influence 
and that of his brother, 27. See Constantiue. 

Michael, Asen II. 's son, 52. 

Michael of Bydn, career of, 58. 

Michael Palseologos, 52. 

Milan, King, refuses to negotiate with Bulgaria, 83 ; invades Bulgaria, 85 ; pro- 
poses an armistice with a view to peace, 89. 

Minchin, J. A. C, "Growth of Freedom in Balkan Peninsula" referred to, 79. 

Mineral wealth, state of, 188. 

Mingrelia, Prince of, proposed candidature of, its failure, 12, 105. 

Mir9ea, Voivode, repels Bajazet L, 55, 56. 

Moesia, 3. 

Monasteries under Asen IL, 51. 

Monks, the, keep alive the religions spirit in Bulgaria, 36. 

Montenegrins, armed, 103. 

Morier, Sir Robert, telegram from, to Earl of Iddesleigh, 99 ; represents to 
Russia the feelings of Great Britain in regard to Bulgaria, 106. 

Mountaineers, the, their independence and brigandage, 61 ; Robin Hood life, 61. 

Mountains in Bulgaria, 111. 

Murad I., Sultan, subjugates Bulgaria, 7, 55. 

Mussulman faith and rule established in Bulgaria, 55. 

Mutkuroff, Lieutenant-Colonel, disarms the traitorous soldiers, 11 ; nominated 
one of three Regents after Alexander's abdication, 12, 94 ; heads a movement 
for Prince Alexander's recall, 97 ; marches into Sofia and arrests the con- 
spirators, 98 ; notice of, 126. 



N. 

Names of places in Bulgaria, both Roman and Sclavonic, 20. 
Narodne Sosnavje, the, 135. 



INDEX. 243 

Natchevitcb, 94 ; sketch of, 126. 

Nationalities on the Danube, 40. 

Neander's "Church History" referred to, 28, 29, 30. 

Nekludow, M., electioneering ardour of, 103. 

Neofyt Rylski, educational zeal of, 162 ; his directorate of school at Gabrovo, 63. 

Newspapers, 135. 

Nicholas I., Pope, promises to send bishops to the Bulgarians, 28 ; is questioned 

by the Bulgarians, 28 ; sends answers, 28, 29. 
Nicopolis, battle of, 56. 
Nikeforoff, Captain, Prince Alexander's Minister of War, 83 ; appointed to 

Regency, 102. 
Nikephoros Phokas, the Greek Emperor, attempts to conquer Bulgaria, 5 ; is 

slain by Kfum of the Bulgari, and his skull made into a goblet, 23. 
Nikolaieff, Major, agitates for union with Bulgaria, 79 ; deposes and arrests 

Gavril Pasha, 80 ; 94. 
Nobleman, young, his brutality and its punishment, 61. 
Novicban, 141, 142. 

O. 

Officer, young Russian, his insolent treatment of the Bulgarians, 78. 

Officials, court, and their titles, under Asen II., 51. 

Omortag, chief of the Bulgari, makes peace with the Emperor Leo, developes the 
resources of the country, persecutes the Christians, and builds palaces, 24. 

Osman Pasha, defence of Plevna, 71 ; capitulation, 71. 

Osman Pasvanoglu, career of, 61, 62. 

Ottoman power, the occupation by, of Bulgaria, how achieved and its duration, 7 ; 
its appearance in Bulgaria, 53 ; decline of, 211 ; Hallam's reflections on, 
211 ; present condition of, 211 ; its dismemberment, 211, 212. 

Oxen, draught, 168. 

P. 

Pa'isius, effect of his history in fostering a national spirit, 63. 

Palaces, ruins of, under first and second empires, 36, 37, 177, 178. 

" Pandora's Box," a, 77. 

Panitza, Captain, exploits of, 89. 

Panoff, Captain, 87 ; takes Bresnik, 88 ; 94. 

Paprika, 166. 

Passports, 137. 

Patriarch, a, desired by the Bulgarians, but refused, 28, 30 ; still refused, 35 ; inde- 
pendent election of, 42. 

Feasant proprietary, establishment of, 169. 

Peasantry, Bulgarian, 167, 170 ; migrations of, 169. 

Ferfecti, or perfect ones, among the Bogorailes, 32. 

Feter, Czar, 36, 38. 

Phaeton, a, 136. 

Fhanar, 59. 

Phanariote clerics, their fanaticism, 7 ; their standing, and moral and general 
character, 59, 60 ; unscrupulousness, immorality, and tyranny, 60 ; fate of, 
sealed, 63. 

Philippopolis taken by Sviatoslav, 5 ; falls to the Turkish arms, 7 ; hospitality 
at, 18 ; scene of a successful revolt without bloodshed, 81 ; excitement in, on 
advance of the Servians, 85 ; its situation, 114 ; its situation and population. 
142 ; streets and houses, 142, 143 ; market, 143 ; hotels. 143 ; food industries, 
144 ; various costumes, 144 ; Turkish women in, 144, 145 ; absence of beggars, 
145 ; places of interest in, 145 ; the Prefecture, its garden and produce, 145 ; 
gymnasium for boys, 145 ; the instruction, apparatus, library, museum, coins, 
145, 146 ; the girls' Lyc^e, 147, 148. 



244 INDEX. 

Pirot, 10 ; taken by the Bulgarians, 89. 

Plevna, siege of, 7, 68, 71. 

Plovdiv, ike, 135. 

Popoff, Major, marches into Sofia, 97. 

Porte, the, the policy and action of, which provoked war with Russia, 68 ; inaction 

in regard to Eastern Roumelia, 82. 
Powers, the, and the union of North and South Bulgaria, 9-10 ; and the election 

of Prince Ferdinand, 12 ; and the risings of 1875-77, 65 ; boycott Alexander 

and Ferdinand, 85 ; their present attitude, 212-221. 
Preslava, Great, palace at, 36. 
Brints, wall, and their political lesson, 183. 



Q. 

Questions, one hundred and six, sent by the Bulgarians to the Pope, and the 
Pope's answers, 28, 29. 

R. 

Races f union of, on both sides of Danube, 40. 

Radoslavoff, M., account of, 127. 

Ragusa, trade with, 50 ; merchants of, 50. 

Railways in Bulgaria, 115. 

Regency, the, 102-107 ; its firmness, moderation, and good sense, 104. 

Religious rites among the Slaves, 20. 

Reports, consular, 189, 231. 

Revenue, 225. 

Richards, Vice-Consul, on English imports, 193. 

Risings in 1875-77, and the Powers of Europe, 65. 

Rivers of Bulgaria, 114. 

Roman, brother of Boris II., emasculated, 38. 

Roumania, more under Russian than under Turkish rule, 62 ; joins Russia against 
the Porte, 68 ; her present position, 217. 

"Roumania," references to, 5, 22, 28, 36, 39, 51, 65, 59, 62, 68, 96, 169, 196, 
208. 

Roumanians, the origin of, 40. 

Roumelia, Eastern, under Treaty of Berlin, 8, 73 ; unites to Bulgaria under the 
name of South Bulgaria, 9 ; its boundaries defined, 73 ; movement in, for 
union with Bulgaria, 79 ; the agitation for union breaks into a revolt, 79 ; 
liberated from Turkish rule by success of the revolt, 81. 

Roumelia, its governors, 57. 

Russia comes to the relief of Bulgaria, 7 ; seeks to create a " Great Bulgaria," 9 ; 
tampers with the North Bulgarian army, 9 ; opposes the union of North and 
South Bulgaria, and the nomination of Prince Alexander as Governor- 
General of latter, 9 ; instigates a conspiracy against Prince Alexander, 10 ; 
purpose of, in 1875, 66 ; policy of, not always visible, 67 ; general opinion of 
her affection for Bulgaria and the Bulgarians, 67 ; declares war against the 
Porte, 1877, 68 ; blunders of, in its treatment of the Bulgarian people after 
their liberation, 78; recalls her officers in the Bulgarian army, and the im- 
policy of this, 83 ; refuses to allow Prince Alexander's name to appear in the 
union treaty, 90 ; plots to get rid of Prince Alexander, 92 ; approaches of, 212 ; 
policy of, likened to an octopus, 212 ; war party in, 213 ; present policy of, 
214. 

Russian invasion, first, its supposed results, 6. 

Russo-Turkish war, events of, 71 ; result to Bulgaria, 71. 

Rustchuk, journey to, passing notice of, 187. 

Ryl, the monastery of, 36. 



INDEX. 245 



S. 

" Sage pemme," the, 129. 

Samner Shishman, his collision with Basilius IL, 88 ; heroism and temporary 
success of, 38 ; dies of a broken heart, 39. 

Sanitation, 130. 

San Stefano, Treaty of, 7, 9, 68 ; important stipulation of, 71. 

Saxons in Bulgaria, 49. 

Schuyler, Mr., and Bulgarian atrocities, 66. 

Schumla, 114. 

School, first Bulgarian, opened, 63. 

Sclavonians. See Slaves. 

Sects, introduction of , into Bulgaria, 30; their chief opponents, 86. 

Serfs in Bulgaria, 50. 

Servia under Dushan, sovereign in the Peninsula, 6 ; declares war against and 
attacks Bulgaria, 9 ; is defeated and courts alliance, 1 : unsuccessful attack 
on, by Michael of Bydn, 53 ; war of, with Turkey, 66 ; declares war against 
Bulgaria, 83 ; army of, enters Bulgaria, 85 ; concludes a peace with Bulgaria, 
89 ; good feeling of, towards Bulgaria, 107. 

Servians, the, bravery of, at Slivnitza, 87 ; first defeat of, 87, 88 ; defeat at Vidin, 
89 ; defeat by Captain Panitza, 8d ; driven 4:>ack into their territory, 89 ; 
present feelings of, 216-217. 

Sevastocrator, the, 51. 

Shipka Pass, defence of, 7 ; Bulgarian peasant boys at, 69, 70 ; walk over, 156, 
157 ; memorials of the fight, 157 ; imposing obelisk, 157, 158 ; view from, 
159 ; summit and descent, 159. 

Shishman, Czar John, surrenders to Turkey, 7. 

Sigismund of Hungary, defeat of, by the Turks, 56 ; his escape, 57. 

Simeon, Czar, 5, 33 ; one of the heroes of the Bulgarians, 34 ; military exploits 
of, 35 ; cruel treatment of his Greek captives, 35 ; pursues and decimates the 
Magyars, 35 ; makes peace with Leo, 35 ; extends the limits of Bulgaria, 
assuming the title of "Czar of the Bulgarians and Autocrat of Greece," 85 ; 
appoints a " Patriarch " of his own, 35 ; prosperity of the country under him, 
36 ; his residence, its magnificence, 86. 

Sismans, the, 38. 

Slaves or Sclavonians, their settlement in North Bulgaria and its historical impor* 
tance, 4 ; their ethnological relations, 15 ; first settlements, 15 ; first appear- 
ance in the West, 15 ; originally pastoral, afterwards agricultural, 15 ; their 
objects of culture and manner of cultivation, 15, 16 ; their domestic animals, 
clothing, fabrics, and ornaments, 16 ; communism among, as regards land- 
tenure, 16 ; social polity, 16 ; aristocracy of, 17 ; National Council of, 17 ; 
underground treasures, 18 ; physical and moral character, 18 ; hospitality, 18 ; 
reckon poverty a disgrace, 19 ; women among, 19 ; conduct of, in war, 19 ; 
subaqueous retreats, 19 ; humanity in war, 20 ; medium of exchange among, 
20 ; religion of, 20 ; constitute the majority of the inhabitants of Bulgaria, 21. 

Slaves in Bulgaria, 50. 

Sliven or Slivno, manufactures of, 114. 

Slivnitza, 71 ; march of Bulgarian army to, 86 ; battle of, 86, 89. 

Slivovitza, courage-inspiring, 186. 

Sobranje, the, elects Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg to succeed Alexander, 12 ; con- 
sent to Prince Alexander's demand for new power, 78 ; hall of, at Tirnova, 
175 ; its members paid, 200. 

Sofia, panics in, on the Servian invasion, 85-88 ; its situation, 114-116 ; popula- 
tion of and divisions, 117 ; new city, 117 ; old town and its features, 117, 
118 ; chief interest of the inhabitants, 118 ; places of interest, 118 ; the 
prison and the criminals, 118-120 ; police in, 121 ; the courts, 121 ; the 
judges, 121 ; printing-offices, 124 ; the people of, 124 ; working-classes in, 
130; house-rent and living in, 130; working hours, 131 ; amusements in, 
131. 



246 ^ INDEX. 

Stambouloff, Premier of Bulgaria, 11 ; one of the RegentA, 12, 94, 102 ; heads a 

movement for Alexander's recall, 97 ; sketch of, 125, 126 ; harangues a mob, 

134. 
Stanimaka, a Greek town, 153. 
Statesmen, living Bulgarian, account of the, 125-128 ; peculiarity of, 128 ; a few 

words to, 221. 
Stephen Uros, the Servian, 53. 
StoUoff, 94 ; sketch of, 126. 
Stoyanoff, 94. 
Stranski, Dr., agitator for union of Eastern Roumelia with Bulgaria, 79 ; account 

of, 127. 
"Strategus," the, under the Greek rule, 41. 
Struma regiment, the, 94 ; conduct of, 95. 
Suleiman Pasha at the Shipka Pass, 71. 

Sviatoslav, the Northman, overruns Bulgaria^ 5 ; his victories and fate, 5. 
Svoboda, or Zm LiberU, official journal of the Government, 135. 



T. 

Tabtabs appear on the Danube and are resisted, 53. 

Taxes in Bulgaria under Turkish rule, 57 ; at present, and the levying of, 199. 

Thrace, its extent, 3 ; early inhabitants and conquest, 3. 

Tirnuva, grad at, 17 ; hospitality at, 18 ; seat of government, 37 ; under reign of 
Asen II., 48 ; its ruins, 49 ; siege and sack of, by the Turks, 55 ; banishment 
of its chief citizens, 55 ; occupied by the Russians, 71 ; its situation, 114 ; 
first glimpse of, 172 ; situation and aspect, 173 ; the town itself disappoint- 
ing, 174 ; courtesy of the Prefect, M. Bondareff, and Professor Guinchoff, 174 ; 
the "Bella Bona" and other hotels, 174, 175, 184 ; the hall of the Sobranje, 
175 ; its irregular plan, 175, 176 ; the Trapezitz and Hissar, 176, 178 ; the 
Rocher Coup^, 176, 177 ; Baldwin's Tower, 177 ; traces of palaces, 177 ; 
Church of the Forty Martyrs, 178, 179 ; Roman column with inscription by 
Asen II., 179 ; metropolitan church and its antiquities, 179, 181 ; Church of 
St. Demeter, 181, 182 ; Sunday in, 184. 

Tory Government and risings in 1875,. 66 ; policy, 67. 

Towns, rise of, 50. 

Trade, inland, under Asen II., 49, 50 ; present state of, 188-197 ; carrying, 191, 
192. 

Trapezitz, the hill of, in Timova, 155, 176, 178. 

Travelling, 136-141 ; cost of, 138. 

Treaty with Michael Asen, 50. 

Tumuli or burial-mounds, 113. 

Turkish rule in Bulgaria, 54-64 ; after Crimean war, 63. 

Turkey, her present dependent state and perplexities, 215 ; threatened and 
tempted by Russia, 215 ; threatened revolt against, of Macedonia, 215. 

Turks, the, subjugate Bulgaria, 7 ; their cruelties to the Bulgarian Christians, 7 ; 
invited into Europe by the Greeks, 54 ; settle near Constantinople, 54 ; take 
Adrianople, 54 ; overrun and subdue most of Bulgaria, Albania, and Thrace, 
55 ; defeat the Christians at Kosovo pole and Nicopolis, 55, 56 ; rule firmly 
established, 57. 



V. 

Vandalism of the Phanariotes, 7, 180-181. 

Varna, Russian war- vessels at, 103 ; their recall, 104 ; trade of, 191. 
Venetians, the, 50. 
Vitosch, Mount, 116. 

Vodina,.the Greek village of, its miraculous spring and distillation, 150; suspi- 
cious character of the population, 150. 



INDEX. 247 



W. 

Wages, 130. 

Waldemar, Prince, declines the crown of Bulgaria, 105. 

Wallachia, once incorporated with Bulgaria, 6 ; its divisions as known to Greek 

writers, 40. 
Wallacho-Bulgarian Empire, 6. 
Wallachs, the, 40 ; in Bulgaria, 49. 
Wedding, a Bulgarian, 1 84. 
White, Sir William, supports Prince Alexander, 10, 82 ; interest in Bulgaria, 106, 

215. 
Women among the Slaves in Bulgaria, 19 ; Turkish, 144, 145. 
Working-classes, 130-132. 

Z. 

Zallont, Marc, referred to, 198. 

Zankoff, Dragan, 11 ; a leading Minister of Prince Alexander, 78 ; overhasty 

dispositions, 88 ; an exile in Constantinople, 127. 
Zimisces, the Greek usurper, 5 ; annexes Bulgaria to the Greek Empire, 38. 
Zinkeisen, referred to, 60. 
Zivkoff, 94 ; account of, 126. 
Zupa, the, among the Slaves, 16 ; chiefs of, 17. 



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