While Bulgaria’s answer to a formal request by Turkey to surrender the railway still hung fire her people were aroused to fever heat by an untoward incident that took place in Constantinople: Their representative at the Porte failed to find his name included in the list of guests invited to be present at an international diplomatic banquet. Turkey’s apology for this slight came too late, for the then Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria had already repaired to the ancient capital, Tirnova, probably out of pure sentiment, and was solemnly crowned “Tzar of the Bulgars” on Monday, October 5th, 1908. Thus did Bulgaria bring into play a lame excuse to break faith with the Powers of Europe, which, in a clause of the Treaty of Berlin, signed by them in 1878 (but not signed by Bulgaria, and therefore it can hardly be said that Bulgaria _broke_ the treaty), compelled Bulgaria to pay a yearly tribute to Turkey for certain concessions of territory, including the province of Eastern Roumelia. Three days after Bulgaria’s proclamation, Austria, in direct violation of this same Treaty of Berlin, declared her intention (and later fulfilled the same) of usurping for her own the one-time Servian provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, over which she had been appointed guardian. This move provoked the Servians to clamour for war with Austria while Montenegro swore her allegiance to Servia. It looked for a time as if King Peter of Servia would be forced to abdicate in favour of his son George, the Crown Prince, or fulfil the demands of his super-patriotic subjects; and even king-killing is not a lost art in Belgrade. To further the dismemberment of Turkey in Europe, the Island of Crete declared itself Grecian territory, and Albania, also inoculated with the serum of liberty, commenced to howl for independence and courted the sponsorship of Italy. For several obvious reasons the convention of the original signatories of the Berlin Treaty for the promulgation of European peace was at that time impossible. Great Britain would not consent to such a convention unless all agreed that the original treaty should not be changed, but that the present issues alone should be discussed; Russia would not consent to such a convention unless the clause which barred the Dardanelles to the passage of Russian war vessels was struck in advance from the original treaty; Austria refused to be a part of such a convention unless her annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was acknowledged in advance by the other Powers.