CHAP. PAGE INTRODUCTORY 9 I A POT-HOUSE PRINCE 17 II THE TRAINING OF A TRAITOR 27 III LEARNING THE ROPES 37 IV THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING 47 V THE COMPLEAT BACHELOR 55 VI THE BROKEN-HEARTED PRINCESS 65 VII AN APOSTATE BY PROXY 73 VIII THE BUTCHERED “BISMARCK” 81 IX THE DEAD HAND 93 X WHO ARE THE BULGARIANS? 105 XI FERDINAND AND HIS CREATURES 115 XII FERDINAND THE FEMININE 125 XIII FERDINAND AND THE BULGARIANS 135 XIV FERDINAND THE AMBITIOUS 147 XV FERDINAND THE FUTILE 157 XVI FERDINAND THE FRENCHMAN 167 XVII FERDINAND THE FAITHLESS 177 XVIII FERDINAND THE HUN 187 XIX FERDINAND THE CZAR 197 XX FERDINAND AND THE BALKAN LEAGUE 207 XXI FERDINAND THE MARTYR 217 XXII FERDINAND IN RETIREMENT 227 XXIII FERDINAND THE FALSE 237 XXIV KULTUR IN BULGARIA 247 XXV FERDINAND AND THE FARMER 255 XXVI FERDINAND AS WAR LORD 263 XXVII FERDINAND IN EXTREMIS 273 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTORY ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTORY “Who is that evil-looking Dago?” asked an Australian friend; “he looks as though he had never been outside a horse in his life.” We were gazing at the procession of royalties who followed the body of King Edward VII through his mourning capital. The Dago in question was Ferdinand, Czar of the Bulgarians; and one could not but recognize the truth of the Colonial’s brutal description. He wore, it may be remembered, an Astrakan cap and coat; and the day was a warm one. His fat figure swayed from side to side in the saddle, and he looked thoroughly frightened of the magnificent horse he bestrode with so ill a grace. The perspiration dropped down his flabby cheeks. He was not in the sort of company where he was calculated to shine. All around him were princes who would not be seen speaking to him. The London crowd hardly knew who he was, and betrayed less interest in him than it would have shown in the latest coloured monarch from the wilds of Africa. His bright, shifty eyes turned here and there, vainly seeking something friendly and familiar. No doubt but Ferdinand made a poor showing on his last visit to London; the very last, possibly, that he will ever be allowed to pay to the capital of the British Empire.