Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-08-18
Anecdotes of stnmbuioT.


Soon after my arrival al Sofa, IN lSs2'
I was driving through the marshy moor
land % the northeast OF the town. when
my attention Was attracted by IL singular
| sight. Near a clump Of stuntel trees was
"a stout spriugless carriage. such as the
Bulgarian parody Of yoals neceseitates.
The carriage was empty and round It
was grouped q posse Of mounted grnd-
a1nes. perhaps score IN all. swayinS
and jostling each other Ike the white
horses of Il choppy sea. Some 20 yards
or. across the moor. was little group
which the hOrS.men watched enAlJlSIy'
In the middle walked short, stout man.
with a gun under hts arm. Close abouI
him, as IL Were, az four corners OF
square. four Cendarnes were tlubs'hB J.
YEARLY afUot over their shoulders were
long riffs. with fixed hayonets gieam-
ing i'm tie spring sunlight; at thelr h'ps
were short. curved swords. which showed
a tendency % cntaurie in the wearers
legs But for the presence OK "a couple or
dogs. who were running about merrily, II
somewhat a.mlcssly ahead. 10 might al
most have meant q military execution.
snipe rose ana roCkettl The central
figure raised hts gun ana fred both bar
r-ls. without result. Ny companion knew
M once that It was VI. Stambul0if out
shooting
Easter morning IS the morning Of all
mornings in an orthodox country. on
the stroke Of midnight every bell In Sofia
y-aled with a Wild merrlnent akin 20
iutOXlcatlOn; caDu0ns doomed Justify; the
whole cathedral square was alive with
dancing tapers. TINS long. black fast,
which IS so stern reality 10 every
Greek ctlurchman. wGs at an end; ell was
Joy; promiscuous kissing. and unr strain
81 delight l saw only one eX-
cepti0n 10 the universal happiness. The
Prince I'm his palace Roman Catholic
though he was. joined IN the JOY u MS
subjects. AMI charmed all his guests with
his perennial craci0usu-sS. After 'ne
true patriarchial custom II the LAND he
distributed coiorel eggs 10 his political
Children in the small hours There was
"A sull. OF happiness on the cOuutenance
If every cOurtier Suddenly, Ct at the
entrance Of the evil fairy at chrs'en-
ing. a chill seemed 20 sweep through the
who'll. court Many n smile died a"ay
still-h0rn: the hilarious conversation was
abruptly stlll,l; men huddled together. as
Il fearing 20 be singled out as victims. !
looked up not understanding, and caught
the sarIonic gaze Of a little man In III
Ike a strong man az 4 rnu-ic-hall. He
stood I'm the doorway for some minutes,
surveying the assemblage and evidently
debating whether % feel fiat,erel or out
RACED by his reception ~ length he
shrugged his shoulders irritably. turHei
on his heel and went away. tn" ef-
feet was like that conveyed by r"plaeins
monograph tubes in the ears after lay
ing them down. OF "a sudden The old buzz
and merry making was heard anew, while
Tho Prince asked: M. Stambulon, est-ii
dcfl parti2'
II IS said that y0u 10 not really know a
man until YOU have joined him I'm
carousa. h1vr shared two with "
Stambuloff The first was M BJurgas
Monastery. whittier q whole crowd or Via
it0rs journalists. and commercial people
has rep4IrCi from Sofia for n three DAYS
picnic and a sight Of the peasants dancing
the choro. st about every evening the
| evening meal would begin. and II gem
orally lasted far into the small hours. NJ.
! Stambuloh always said that lie did not
| care what b. ate or drank 50 long as NJ
| had more than enough Of n. l don't
| know where tho things came from but
| there were enough victuals % surfeit ten
times our numbers. on these occasions
VI. Stambul0m seemed 10 Pass through a
| transition from his chronic sourness - n
| new variety Of sourncss. which found It's
vent IN rough, hollow hiarity. He
| would play practical jokes on his neigh
| bors. For instance. saw him cram bread
| down the neck OF " Grekof. his Foreign
| Minister Then he would break out into
! harsh unmus,cal songs. some OF them Of
| his own composition. He was az on- who
/ hal deliberately made up his mind " en-
! 10Y himself for once at any cost. but who
! either did not know how 10 set ab0u. IL or
| fornd the tff0rt much harder than he had
! expected. one night | shall never forget.
1 Tie Prince was away AT Carlsbad and VI.
! Stambuoff was regent in his absence.
! There had been dispute about that, II Is
| true, but NJ. StambulOn had carried the
| day and was regent. We were indulging
| IN n particular carOuse In honor Of the
regent. and some Tsig3nes had been char
tered 10 play 10 US Their music seemed
| 70 affect 81 StimbuloG 10 an extraordi-
| nary degree. Just as the most emotional
| part Of the music was reached, and his
eyes were sparkling with desire, he beck
| onad o. an officer. who brought IN for
| nal document for him to sign. The music
| stopped. ard h mOtioned 20 the company
| 10 crowd round and see what he was do
ing The paper proved 10 ba 4 death
warrant. which he had planned 10 sign
at the height Of the revelry. II like con-
| trasts," he remarked with a chuckle, as
we gaZed at him aghast.
|