Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1898-02-10
FERDINAND OF BULGARIA.
A Petty Sovereign Who Is Continual
Iy Milking Himseif RidicuIous.

~
According TO the Munchner Neuste
Nachrichten, Ferdinand of Bulgaria
might well be designated the most alb
surd figure amorg the European
pSinces we're it not for the bloody deeds
that occur about him lend him a sinis-
terly grotesque atmosphere. Neither
the greatest statesman nor the hum
blest cafe-chantant singer is safe from
the company with which he surrounds
himself. From the legal proceedings
which have recently occurred may be
learned much of what not yet made
public by the European press goes on
around this extraordinary member of
the house of CobuIg."
The Vienna Zeit. too, asks who are
actually the most intimate counselors
of the prince. zone must not go back
too far" says that newspaper. cor one
may chance upon banditti. Leaving
the ashes OF the fathers to rest in peace.
and dealing only with the men who
form the encourage of the prince. one
would until recently have found at their
head a French nobleman. a Count de
Forras. who was learned in heraldry
and as proud as a Spanish hidalgo. but
did not speak one word of Bulgarian.
His office was to look after the splendor
OF the court. He was n devout Catholic
and went TO mass regularly. But now
he is gone. and in his place there is a
jovial young French count-such n one
as may be met with by the dozen in
the salons of the Partisan haut and
demimonde. He is good fellow, speaks
French prettily. is a distinguished cav
alier. a clever actor-in- short. an ad-
mirable Crichton. Before the marriage
of the prince there acted as a sort of
housekeeper 4 certain Countess Gren-
aud, who later married n favorite Of
the prince. DIR. Stantschoff by name.
who is At present diplomatic agent in
ST. Petersburg. and whose absolute in
significance the Bulgarians had plenty
of opportunity to discover. DR.. Lever
kuhn, head of the library and of the
geological gardens. is certainly an hon
est man, but he has nothing to do with
politics. Very different elements play
part in the politics of the country;
notably those which have come to hight
during the Szimon affair, and also such
person rs Poitescheff and Novelitsch.
or the post Office assistant Siatareff,
whom the prince has raised TO the dig
nifty of his table companion, and Az
radaliiefT. who is at the head of the
pr;ncely secret police.
''Thcse are the grandees of the new
Bulgarian court. They sit in the gala
coaches which on state occasions follow
the prince. when they are dressed in
uniforms covered with gold lace. with
foOimeu in knee breeohes. lace jabotS.
wigs. with queues. etc, while the horses
are caparisoned with glittering silver
harness and nodding plumes on their
heads; and in silk and atin-upholstered
coaches the courtiers follow. dressed
in gala costumes. like the others, the
whole train such as the duodecimo ma
tion is not worthy of; in short, a carica-
ture. in the peasant country of Bull
garia, of princely rocco days.
There were at one time robes of
state, designed by the prince. which
were well fitted TO such professions.
They had n train several yards long,
which. in default of pages, was wont
TO be carried by two pupils of the acad-
emy. But the prince wore this opera
bouife mantle only once. The amuse-
ment which it everywhere awakened
induced Stambuloff to tell him the
truth. and the prince never again
wore it.
Ferdinand has introduced into dem
ocratic Bulgaria the h IS of reverence.
From the highest official 10 the lowest
peasant every Bulgarian. male or fe-
male, is obliged, when he approaches
the prince. to kiss his hand. This spec
tacle may be seen at every parade. in
theaters. balls. at court entertainments.
in short. wherever the prince shows
himself in public. The highest digni
tarieS in the land stand about in groups,
and the prince goes from one TO the 9TH
er. holding out his carefully-gloved
hand to be kissed-truly an edifying
picture of the manners of the time OF
Louis Nv. leavened with Muscovite
C0saropapiSm. Fear of the prince is
only modified by the sense of his ab-
surdity. which has penetrated the most
remote strata of the population. Chi
cago Inter Ocean.
Wanted. few day bOarderS. Jake
Walters. beside DR.. Bagby.