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200 BULGARIA ATTACKS HER ALLIES [cii. xii.
shocking us all without any distinction of political
camps: on each face surprise and displeasure were
depicted. Having finished his speech the King went
straight up to the French Minister and talked to him in
a low voice, then he came up to me and in a voice so
low as not to be overheard by my neighbours asked :
"What do you think of the situation, M. Nekludoff?
Will Russia really allow the Turks to plunder Eastern
Rumelia and to enter Philippopolis ? Will she really
not come to our assistance? If it is I who ought to be
punished, why punish the whole Bulgarian people?
What have you to say to that ? "
These last words exhausted my patience and instead
of answering the King in a low voice as etiquette
demanded, I replied quite loud, so that each of my
words could be heard by my colleagues : " Sir, with
respect to the advance of the Turks, Your Majesty
may rest assured that we shall be able to stop the
Ottoman troops and shall not allow them to trample
that soil which was Bulgaria before the war; concerning
everything else, Your Majesty already knows my
opinion: that Bulgaria’s sole salvation lies in the
conclusion of an immediate peace with her former allies
and with Rumania; we are ready to co-operate in
this good work with all the means in our power; we
cannot do more." The King looked at me with an evil
expression on his face, was silent for a few minutes and
then asked :
"And you feel sure that you will stop the Turks?"
" Yes, I am quite sure of it, sir," I took on myself to
answer.
The King bowed to me and then turned to my
neighbour, the Minister of Great Britain, and asked him
what he thought of the situation.
" I share the opinion of my Russian colleague, sir,"
was the answer.
Ferdinand exchanged a few words with the other
Ministers, but he treated the Austro-Hungarian and
German Ministers with studied coldness. He probably
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