lves to blame for the invitation to Ferdinand of
Coburg which was made with the express purpose of thwarting Russian
aggression.)

THE BURDEN OF THE OBRENOVI['C]

The fratricidal Serbo-Bulgarian conflict of 1885 has been well
commemorated by a monument at Vidin: a soldier of the victorious
Bulgarian army is depicted, prostrate in sorrow.... Milan, after an
effort to rule with a new liberal constitution, abdicated and
delivered his country to a Regency. These statesmen, who were aware of
the secret convention with Austria, obstructed the development of the
country and had recourse to a _coup d'etat_ in order to prevent a
Radical election. Alexander, the ill-fated son of Milan, by another
_coup d'etat_ proclaimed himself of age, summoned a Radical Cabinet
and restored to the people their political liberties. But the
enthusiasm caused by these proceedings was not often to be roused
again by Alexander. The midnight _coups d'etat_, which rapidly
succeeded one another, were a form of government congenial to this
gloomy, silent, friendless youth who blinked at the world through his
spectacles and was incapable of seeing anything except the narrowness
and the intrigues that were a part of his surroundings. More and more
he showed himself a despot; he persecuted and imprisoned hundreds of
Radicals, who were the overwhelming majority of the population.
Espionage was rampant, the finances were in a state of chaos and
Serbia's prestige was at such an ebb that, what with the disasters of
1885 and the reign of Alexander, the Macedonian Slavs were naturally
more inclined to proclaim themselves Bulgars. Alexander annulled the
constitution, imposed that of 1888, annulled this one also, superseded
all the judges of appeal as well as all the councillors of state,
married his mistress (an engineer's widow) and plotted, it was said,
to nominate as heir to the throne his brother-in-law, a worthless
young lieutenant. Meanwhile this officer and his brother were
exasperating the people of Belgrade by commanding the orchestras in
cafes to play the national anthem at their entrance, and occasionally,
while they drank, firing their revolvers into the air. It was
something more than personal exasperation which brought about
Alexander's death. Those who participated in the murder were both
partisans and opponents of the dynasty. Likewise the Austro-Hungarian
Government was aware of the plan: Count Goluchowski promised the
conspirators that Aust