Year: 1876

There has scarcely ever been seen even in
tho complications of the Eastern question
such a tumble of quaint contradictions as is
involved in the position of Servia Here is
one of those uncommon cases in which
while 1t is greatly advantageous to be VIC
torious it is no detriment to be beaten, and.
in fact she is the only Power interested in
the struggle that has comparatively little
reason to be troubled over its possible po-
litical results. Only few days since the
reigning prince declared with additions of
rhodomontade that he would have no peace,
and the war that he seemed to defy cast
upon him within few days an avalanche of
defeats Then he invited mediation and
peace, and while the bowl of soup cooled
over which the peacemalzers were to deliber-
ate hordes Of Russian volunteers thronged
under the Servian colors and with the valor
and enthusiasm of their race turned
the tide of battle. Thus, while Milan
might fairly have been in the dumps when
he heroically defed the war he may now as
fairly grieve lest an injudicious peace
should cut him out of splendid opportu-
mites This is like the drama of history that
unfolds itself in front of the footlights, where
the heart is rent at the dreadful fate of the
he is seen gracefully taking his oysters in a
neighboring saloon. There is an air Of un-
reality about the facts that is, perhaps,
Characteristic of Oriental politics. But
while the Servian prince amuses himself as
it were with his fate and rolls it hither
and thither, like baby playing with a
bombshell, England, Turkey and Russia are
respectively far from able to treat the case
with nonchalant ease. Turkey has changed
her Sultan, precisely why the outside world
is not yet permitted to know, because, as
to capacity, the change can scarcely be an
improvement There is, in fact, in this
event no other indication than that the
Turkish governing mind, wherever it re-
sides, is uneasy, not satisfied with the state
of affairs, and deluded with tho notion that
they may be bettered by putting another
name to official documents. They reckon
without their host if they believe that the
deposition Of an imbecile sovereign will
shift the responsibility for the Bulgarian
butcheries. This is case that comes more
clearly home to England, however, since
the world recognizes that it is only what
might have been expected for Constanti-
nople to consent to such acts, and in Eng
land they are disturbed by the conscious
ness that the assistance to Turkey which
enabled the Turks to exhibit themselves to
Europe in their characteristic way in the
nineteenth century has done great deal to
produce the downfall of the Moslem Power.
Indeed, they already express in London
their commercial regret that they have
helped the wrong side, and dimly perceive
that the Christian subjects Of the Sultan are
the ones with whom they must endeavor to
make their peace for the sake of the future
Thus England weakens in her support of
Islamism, the Sublime Porte is disorganized
with doubts and uncertainties, and the
strength of Russia seems to be mastering in
the Servian lines while the one thing clear
is that Prince Milan is ready to reject
almost any proposition the peacemake.s can
frame. There never was thoroughly
beaten sovereign who assu med SO triumphant
an attitude.