I also had a pleasant chat with Monsieur D. Petkoff, the Prime Minister. We sat next each other at dinner one night at Sir George Buchanan’s, and I learnt that he had been responsible for the destruction of old Sofia, and the laying out of the new city. For six years of the reconstruction he had been Mayor of the capital, and, as I afterwards learnt, to his efforts the great progress had been due. Sofia may well be called Petkoffopolis. At any rate, it is hoped that one of the streets will be named after him. He struck me as an earnest, thoughtful man, the born leader of a party. Rather short of stature, dark-haired, with a small imperial just turning grey, his countenance was strong, open, and very pleasant. He spoke deliberately, with an air of conviction, and his conversation with me, which was of a private nature, was that of a man who believed in the future of his country and was an advocate of peace and progress. As Austria is Servia’s sworn enemy, so is Turkey the enemy of Bulgaria. War would have been declared by Turkey against Bulgaria long ago, were it not for the personal veto of the Sultan, who is not only contrary to hostilities with his near neighbour, but views Bulgaria with increasing favour. His Majesty has, if the real truth be told, accurately gauged his neighbour’s military strength. The war party in Turkey have long been eager for an attack upon Bulgaria, but the Sultan is a far-seeing monarch, and no one knows better than he that Bulgaria is very strong in a military sense, and is a power to be reckoned with if ever the Macedonian question is solved by force of arms. At present it is the Greeks who, by their unwarrantable attacks upon the Macedonian villages, are attempting to incite and provoke Bulgaria. Here is an instance. Not long ago the Bulgarian police received secret information, and searched the house of the Greek Bishop of Philippopolis, where they found many incriminating documents showing plainly that the Greek Church was actually collecting funds for armed raids upon the Bulgarians in Macedonia. Letters were found addressed to the various Greek priests giving the orders as to how they should act. These somehow got into the papers, whereupon a serious riot occurred in Philippopolis, and the Bulgarian soldiery were sent to quell it. Bulgaria’s enemies, mostly subsidised Press correspondents, declared that the riot against the Greeks was provoked by the Government itself, and such statements were published broadcast in the Press of Europe. These allegations, however, had absolutely no foundation, for the rising was purely a local one, prompted by the knowledge that the Bishop was fostering a conspiracy against their brothers in Macedonia. If ever the Bulgarian public was provoked to reprisals, it was on that historic day, and the Government’s action was perfectly justified in interfering, otherwise the demonstration against the Greeks would have spread all over the country, with very serious result.