M. Stambouloff has fallen like Prince Bismarck, and for the
same reason. He had become so dictatorial and inde- pendent that Prince Ferdinand could not tolerate him any longer. He was, it is said, impertinent to the Princess of Bulgaria, he made appointments without the Prince's sanction, and he even made an arrangement about the Bulgarian Bishops with the Sultan without informing his master. He had therefore to go, and M. Stoiloff, a courtly diplomatist, .rules in his stead. There have been disturbances in Sofia, but the Army is with the Prince, and the disturbances will come to nothing. It is more doubtful whether Prince Ferdinand can rule without his strong man ; but he is a Coburg, he has had sight years' experience, and the experience of Europe is that the Princes survive their great Viziers. We use the Asiatic word advisedly, for M. Stambouloff was precisely a Vizier. He knew how to govern, but he was a despot by nature, and .could not bear to consult even with his Sovereign. It is sup- posed that the Prince, left to reign alone, will not be so hated by the Czar, but we do not believe mach in the friendship of caste. The Emperor William I. was a great Legitimist, but he dethroned dynasties like the Guelfs in Hanover, perhaps the most legitimate in Europe, without a scruple. If the road to Constantinople runs over the Prince of Bulgaria, the Czar qvill be quite sorry, and push it on all the same.
