Russia as well as England is naturally indignant with the attitude suddenly adopted by Bulgaria. {270} That only shows that Bulgaria is in the power of an Austrian Roman Catholic Prince, who is on the best of terms with everything Austrian. Just compare these two irreconcilable elements: an Orthodox people freed from the Turkish yoke of cruelty and persecution, and an Austrian Prince quite unprepared to guide his newly-annexed subjects, and penetrated with the idea of turning them as much as he can against Orthodox Russia, the Liberator of that people, and subjugating them to Jesuits and other anti-Russian elements. I remember Mr. Froude brought me one morning the British Ambassador at the Porte, Sir Drummond Wolfe. We began talking about the plan of granting constitutional government to Bulgaria. "But do you want their death?" I exclaimed. "They have no schools, no roads, no universities, no seminaries: and suddenly you want to plunge them into Parliamentary subtleties?" He smiled. "Yes. No doubt," said he. Fortunately Russian and Bulgarian have not so far come into actual collision. It seems terrible to think of killing those we fought for forty years ago, or of having them kill our soldiers. There are many grave problems facing Europe, Bulgaria is not the least important. In the meantime there are several lesser questions that demand attention, and I think one of these is unquestionably what to do with our prisoners of war. As I write news has come to hand that Germany is using 200,000 prisoners of war to strengthen the Rhine defences! In other words, to increase the death-roll amongst the Allies. [Illustration: ST. OLGA'S SCHOOL FOR GIRL TEACHERS AT NOVO-ALEXANDOFKA] {271} Roman lawyers were not kind to women. The code of Justinian says: "Women are not admitted to political activity," and adds laconically: "Propter animæ levitatem" ("They cause levity"). It is not unnatural if after such a compliment we lose the inclination to trouble ourselves about complicated and sometimes painful public questions. But--God helps the brave! And so, I take courage and step straight into the heart of a resolute and searching judgment on one such painful question: that of our prisoners of war. Men, almost without exception, maintain silence on this point, so why should I not try to investigate the matter? At the present moment our prisoners of war, including Germans, Slavs and Turks, number well over a million--that is, more than the entire army of, say, Bulgaria, Norway or Holland. Through the Press and private sources we know that Germany does not hesitate to make use of the working power of her war prisoners. They are kept hungry, and are forced to earn their bread by all kinds of labour, even purely military occupations.