Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, according to the Vienna correspondent of
the Times, who is seldom inaccurate unless Austrian statesmen deceive him, has prospered greatly in his recent journey. He has secured the loan of a million for his Principality on endurable terms. He has been accepted, or at least it is so believed, by a. Bourbon Princess, a niece of the Austrian Emperor. He has reconciled the Bourbons, to whom he belongs through his mother, to his " vagary" in accepting the Bulgarian throne. And, finally, he has ascer- tained exactly what the Austrian Court intends to do for him, which is, in brief, to recognise cordially anything he can do for himself. In other words, if he can persuade the Sultan to acknowledge him as legal Prince in Bulgaria, all the Powers, except Russia and France, will acknowledge him also. Nobody seems quite to understand this young man, certainly no one describes him so as to make him intelligible; but he has that quality of succeeding which is the specialty of the Coburgs. He must, too, have much tact, for he manages rather boorish Bulgarians so as to acquire their liking without diminishing their respect. If no Russian fanatic shoots him, he may have a considerable future.
Previous page
