Count Ignatiew was so much exasperated by this step that he counselled the Porte to resist the demands for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from that fortress. The attitude of the populace of Montenegro and Herzegowina towards Turkey threatened most serious complications in January 1875. The massacres of Christians at Podgoritza late in 1874 still remained unpunished, though the instigators had already been sentenced by Turkish Courts. Representations to the Sublime Porte resulted in the preposterous demand that the Montenegrins, who had been the cause of the disturbance, should be tried by a Turkish Court before the sentences on the Ottoman officials were carried out. Eventually the Ambassadors of the Powers succeeded in persuading the Porte to abandon this claim. Prince Milan's popularity had suffered greatly by his favouritism and caprice, whilst his Ministry seemed to aim either at forcing him to abdicate, or at least at putting such difficulties in his way that the Powers would be forced to intervene, and thus effect his fall. His long stay in Paris in 1874, together with his unbounded extravagance, gave rise to most unfavourable comment. "It is asserted that the Prince's debts now amount to the whole of his private fortune. Bills of exchange arrive every day from abroad and cannot be paid. His landed property in Wallachia will be invaded. Expedients for borrowing from all sides are seen at the Palace. Many people here, even peasants, are owed money. The civil list has been spent six months in advance." _From_ PROFESSOR MAX MÜLLER. "... I only now realise the magnitude of the work your Highness has undertaken, a work which demands the highest form of heroism, the heroism of patience! To sow without the hope of enjoying the harvest demands a degree of faith such as is not common in the present day. If I were younger, I would enthusiastically offer my services to the warden of European culture on the Danube, and would leave him no peace until the schools and universities had become the pride of his people and an example to the whole world. Guns are wanted; railways are wanted; but, above all, schools are wanted; they are the most sacred duty of all! It is often hard to love or to benefit our neighbours, but we can all love and benefit our own posterity. When the Budget of Love (education) is as high as the Budget of Hatred (war), the Eastern Marches will be under the protection of Europe even without treaties. "Public opinion in England remains unaltered--the arrival of a telegram from the Danube makes us tremble in every limb. Two reasons for this are apparent. Humanity is the slave of phrase, and the phrase, 'integrity of the Ottoman Empire,' is as much a matter of course to the English as 'Britannia rules the waves.' Such phrases have a firmer hold on English policy than on French or German. The Turkish funds form the second reason...." * * * * *