The Ely miner., 1903-12-25
THE CITY OF SOFIA.
A Bright and Bustlfng Town That In
Many Respects Resembles
Paris.

A wide, smiling valley, and, far be-
yond, the steep incline of an endless
mountain range, the Vitosch chain, still
snow-capped when we saw it, says a
writer in Pail Mall Gazette, against
bright blue sky, while nearer the earth
was clad with cloak of the softest YER
dure, lush green seeming to round the
contours of outline here and there.
Such was the first impression OF the
panoramic setting within which we
found enshrined Sofia, the Bulgarian
capital, as bright and modern looking
little town as, say, Baden-Baden, and,
indeed, more reminiscent of some small
German ''residenz stadt" in style and
structure than anything one generally
associates mentally with the near east.
Two days are, of course, not much in
which to judge of any place. 1t is
merely the obvious then that strikes
the visitors eye and is retained upon
his mental retina, and therefore to our
mind the name of Sofia is lastingly as
sociated with sundry broad and shady
streets, boulevards beneath which we
watched with untiring interest the con-
stant flow of traffic, the coming and go
ing of soldiers, mondaines, peasantry
and curious semi-oriental figures, very
evidently dwellers beyond that towering
mountain range, whom desire to bar
ter, or-who oknows?-possibly even the
ever-present miasma of intrigue in
these Balkan principalities had brought
hither
1t was late spring and the suns
heat had something of the coming sum-
mer in it, yet these stolid, slowly moving
figures wore their fur caps and long
skin coats, of which the sleeps wool
turned inward forms the lining, with
out apparently the least, discomfort.
Most of them led their oxen, harnessed
to cumbrous carts, while again near
these the smart electric trans whizzed
by-a strange and incongruous mixture
of the east and west. The most pic
turesque element in the street traffic
was the peasant women, many of the
girls being quite beautiful, their gar
ments gay with red and blue embroid-
cries, and their persons loaded with bar
barrie looking silver ornaments, silver
coins even glinting here and there amid
their long, thick raven plaits. Another
touch of color was given to this scene
by the numerous different uniforms
which distinguished lie militaire, the
general appearance of which reminds
one of the Russian military dress, al
though the men seemed of better
physique, generally speaking. Toward
evening this picture became even more
animated, for the inhabitants of Sofia
love the open air; the cafes and restaur-
ants then assume the aspect of some
lesser Paris, pretty faces, elegant
toilets, music and laughter dominating
the scene in the smartest town quarter.
Beyond this actual center of life
stretch rows of villa residences, half
buried, at that time of year, amid leafy
trees while the ceaseless song of birds
attest scarcity of cats in Sofas sub
urban districts, and certainly stamped
1t as veritable paradise for the feath-
cred creation. The royal palace, now
as correct" residence as any prince
could desire, was, we were told, not al
ways so; in fact, at the time of Prince
AleXander's advent it was with some
difficulty that two water-tight rooms
could be found for the accommodation
of his highness, while the unmade roads
were then still dimly illumined with
lanterns, making darkness visible.
Since those days, however, the little
Bulgarian capital has certainly gone
ahead, and at all events brushed itself
up externally.