Consuls. The Turks, finding that the Albanians were about to march
on Monastir, called a truce, and agreed to recognize the four
vilayets of Janina, Scutari, Kosovo, and part of Monastir, as an
autonomous Albanian province. The immediate result of the Albanian
victory was the overthrow of the chauvinistic Young Turk party and
the appointment of a more moderate Cabinet. The effect of this coup
on the Balkans was electric. Each Balkan State had pegged out for
itself a slice of Albania. Delenda est Albania was the one point on
which they agreed. Heedless of Russia, they hastened to make war
before Albania should have time to consolidate.

War preparations hurried on. Montenegro worked upon the discontent
caused by Hadji Avdil. King Nikola had returned from Russia, but had
not fixed the date of war as we had expected. I thought perhaps
Italy was shoving, in order to assist her war in Tripoli, which
still dragged on. But in a few weeks' visit to Rome I had a long
talk with San Giuliano, and perceived clearly that Italy was not
urging Montenegro.

There seemed but one possible explanation, and that was that an
understanding had been come to between Greece and Bulgaria, and that
Montenegro therefore felt certain of the co-operation of the whole
of the Bulgar army. In Rome, Popovitch, the Montenegrin Minister,
had told me, when announcing that General Martinovitch had been made
War Minister: "This means war."

Returned to Scutari, I went straight to the Greek consul and in the
middle of a chat on nothing particular, asked: "A propos, Monsieur,
is it true your Government has signed a treaty of alliance with
Bulgaria against Turkey!" The poor little man almost leapt from his
chair. "Mademoiselle!" he stammered, "you are surely aware there are
things political of which one may not speak." I begged him to say no
more. More was unnecessary. War I knew was now certain. The secret
alliance had, in fact, been signed on May 16th.

Next day a frontier fight took place, provoked by Montenegro. It
lasted seven hours. Every one cried: "It is war!" The Montenegrin
Consul was greatly agitated. He knew what his country was doing, and
cried: "Mon Dieu, Mademoiselle, I hope you will not write a book for
five years! You know too much."

To avoid being besieged in Scutari I left for Podgoritza at once,
and found Podgoritza so certain of war that I was begged to stay and
see the first shot fired. Why war was then postponed I never made
out.