After a coup clidat, the first thought of its authors
is usually to strike terror among those who may possibly resist the revolu- tion. This, however, was not the course pursued at Sofia. Instead, the conspirators tried to deceive. They represented
the Prince as willingly abdicating, and attached to their lying proclamations the name of the Prince's staunchest friend, M. Karaveloff. For twenty-four hours the ruse was successful. When, however, the truth was realised by the people, a counter- revolution was at once begun. At Widdin and at Philip- popolis the troops and populace declared for Alexander, while at Tirnova a new Provisional Government in favour of the Prince was at once constituted, under the guidance of M. Stambouloff,—the President of the Bulgarian National Assembly, and M. Karaveloff's chief supporter. The latest telegrams show that the counter-revolution has been success- ful; that the first Provisional Government was overthrown as early as Monday ; and that the capital is now held by the Prince's friends. With the possible results of the revolution we have dealt elsewhere ; bat such appear to be the bare facts that can be collected from a countless and daily varying series of rumours. If the Prince is now really at liberty, as is re- ported, matters cannot long remain in doubt. He will surely again put himself at the head of his Army, and the task of crushing him by open invasion will be the only course left open to Russia. From such an attempt Russia may well recoil, for European sympathy will everywhere be with the Bulgarian Prince. One highly sensational rumour which would forbid such a turn of events has been put in circulation. It is to the
effect that Prince Alexander, in ignorance of the real feeling of his subjects, and deceived by the fraud practised on him, believed that the people and Army had betrayed him, and thus at Reni- Bassi gave his parole to the Russian authorities that he would return to Darmstadt, and would not again enter Bulgaria. This is not likely to be true, and if it were, a promise obtained by fraud and duress would not be binding.
