The agitation in the Balkans increases. Prince Ferdinand is holding
his people in with all his strength, but they are terribly moved by the accounts which reach them from Mace- donia, and from the country districts round Adrianople. They believe that the Turkish Government intends the destruction of all Bulgarians outside the Principality ; and though that may not be true, there is evidence to show that the armed Mahommedans attribute all disorder to the Bulgarians; and plunder them without mercy, slaying them when they resist. The stories brought into the Bulgarian border by refugees drive the people frantic, and they are raising a clamour for war, in which the soldiers join. A general insurrection is quite possible, especially as the soldiers arc convinced that they can defend their province ; and as many leading Turks are persuaded that war must come, and ought to come, the situation is to the last degree strained. If the Prince were deposed or again left Sofia, war would be inevitable, and Turkish troops are massing close to the border in spite of Bulgarian remonstrances. Quiet may again be restored by German interference at Constantinople, but the situation never looked more gloomy.
