Above all, Stambuloff worked furiously for the Prince; and when a mitred Vicar of Bray held the seals of office and enjoyed the official counsels of traitors and place-hunters, not all the prayers of the Greek Church and the gold of Russian agents could long avail to support the Government against the attacks of that strong-willed, clean-handed patriot.  Shame at the disgrace thus brought on his people doubled his powers; and, with the aid of all that was best in the public life of Bulgaria, he succeeded in sweeping Clement and his Comus rout back to their mummeries and their underground plots.  So speedy was the reverse of fortune that the new Provisional Government succeeded in thwarting the despatch of a Russian special Commissioner, General Dolgorukoff, through whom Alexander III. sought to bestow the promised blessings on that “much-tried” Principality.

The voice of Bulgaria now made itself heard.  There was but one cry—­for the return of Prince Alexander.  At once he consented to fulfil his people’s desire; and, travelling by railway through Bukharest, he reached the banks of the Danube and set foot on his yacht, not now a prisoner, but the hero of the German, Magyar, and Balkan peoples.  At Rustchuk officers and deputies bore him ashore shoulder-high to the enthusiastic people.  He received a welcome even from the Consul-General for Russia—­a fact which led him to take a false step.  Later in the day, when Stambuloff was not present, he had an interview with this agent, and then sent a telegram to the Czar, announcing his return, his thanks for his friendly reception by Russia’s chief agent, and his readiness to accept the advice of General Dolgorukoff.  The telegram ended thus:—­

I should be happy to be able to give to Your Majesty the definitive proof of the devotion with which I am animated towards Your august person.  The monarchical principle forces me to re-establish the reign of law (la legalite) in Bulgaria and Roumelia.  Russia having given me my crown, I am ready to give it back into the hands of its Sovereign.

To this the Czar sent the following telegraphic reply, and allowed it to appear at once in the official paper at St. Petersburg:—­

I have received Your Highness’s telegram.  I cannot approve your return to Bulgaria, as I foresee the sinister consequences that it may bring on Bulgaria, already so much tried.  The mission of General Dolgorukoff is now inopportune.  I shall abstain from it in the sad state of things to which Bulgaria is reduced so long as you remain there.  Your Highness will understand what you have to do.  I reserve my judgment as to what is commanded me by the venerated memory of my father, the interests of Russia, and the peace of the Orient[215].

[Footnote 215:  A. von Huhn, The Kidnapping of Prince Alexander, chap. xi. (London, 1887).  Article III. of the Treaty of Berlin ran thus:  “The Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely elected by the population and confirmed by the Sublime Porte, with the assent of the Powers.”  Russia had no right to choose the Prince, and her assent to his election was only that of one among the six Great Powers.  The mistake of Prince Alexander is therefore inexplicable.]