Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-02-05
BULGARIAN AFFAIRS.
A Correspondents Interesting Account of
an Interesting Nation.


of the hour. His worst enemies are com
PEELED to praise his gallant defence of the
Principally. He has certainly been a
lucky man. Fortune gives to few the OPP
portunity he has had to extricate them
selves from such intricate and dangerous
snares. One cannot help thinking, as he
reviews the late struggle between Bulga-
ria and Servia, of the sturdy defence made
by the Prussian Frederick the Great in the
memorable seven years war. The paral-
lei is striking.
AS the seven years war was brought on
by the seizure of the province of Silica
by Frederick, so the late troubles in the
Balkan peninsula were occasioned by the
union of Eastern Roumelia and Bulgaria
Frederick the Great possessed n small ter
ritory and was ptted against every ma
ton on the continent. So Prince Alexan-
der did not have Il friend to fall back on
Russia was threatening him with an army
of occupation on the northeast. She had
already done him all the personal injury
she could by degrading him from her ar
my and had besides recalled all the Rus
sian officers from the Bulgarian army
| which was at the best small even to inSig-
nificance. On the souths Turkey has been
ready for a month to pour a hundred
| thousand troops into the disputed terrific
ry, and that too with strong plea of JUS
tice. Greece has all along been jealous of
Bulgaria and is ready to go to any ex-
IRENE to keep the young nationality from
realizing its ambition Servia on the
west, by the Austro-lIungarian Empire,
with veteran army of 10000 well officer
ed men, has already shown the fierceness
of her displeasure.
Unlike Frederick the Great, Prince
Alexander has had at his disposal u body
of troops that short time ago could hard
ly have been digniiied by the title of army
The car of Russia, the inveterate per-
sonal enemy of the Prince of Bulgaria.
thought he had hopelessly crippled the
army of the principality when he recalled
all the officers above the rank of captain,
and to all appearance he had attained his
object. But he had not reckoned on the
executive ability of the prince nor ON the
vitality of the newly awakened nation.
The enthusiastic call to the war, the Wig
orous drilling of the troops which | wit
messed in all the great centres of the CUun.
try, and the skill exercised iii selecting
native officers have done much toward
reaching present results.
We must also take into account that
Prince Alexander himself, Il man only 20
years Old did not enter the German army
until 1870 and the Russian army until
1877. He had been in no responsible posi-
ton before he was placed over bulgaria
by the late car. He has achieved his
great success over the Servians by sheer
personal might. He has eXtorted praise
throughout Russia, and his greatest dan
ger Just at present seems to lie in the prob
ability of a reconciliation between himself
and the car, which will again place him
in more or less dependen, position.
1t will be some time before the public
will have an accurate account of the
movements of the Srrviali and BULGARIAN
armies in the late struggle. Few can.
paigns even at this distance have been sci
before the public by more garbled reports
1t seems that the Strviau army began it,
march for Sofia Nov. l4th. Crossing the
frontier near Prot, the Servians gained
their first decided victory at Zaribrod
Pushing on through the Dragoman Pass,
they scattered everything before them
But at Sliouitza, almost in sight of the
capital Sofia, they discovered their master
They were turned back in confusion. In
fourteen days they were driven back
through the Dragoman Pass. Pressing
across the frontier Prince Alexander
routed the enemy at their base of opera
tons. The capture of Prot, after one OF
the bloodest battles of the war, left him
all the honors of the campaign. a Te
Deum was sung November 10Th in all the
churches of Sofia.
AT this point negotiations for peace put
a stop to the Bulgarian advance. Seryian
troops We're still investing Widin, an i'm
portant town on the Danube. Prince
Alexander has shown his wisdom in peace
rs we'll as in war. The early success of
the Servians reveal the weakness of the
individual Bulgarian soldiers, who, in
fact had never before fired Il gun in earn
est. The Prince was, however, a host in
himself. He is reported to have been ON
nipresent upon the field pointing the ar
tillery, making "Reminiscences, and re-
SOIUlnrV