CHAPTER XIVKING FERDINAND OF BULGARIA, THE VAINEST MAN IN EUROPE
King Ferdinandwas an interesting study as he crept away from Vienna, all his hopes bankrupt, his people’s future compromised. The people there considered him almost one of themselves, for the Coburgs had always lived in Vienna. Prince Philip had a palace that commanded a fine view right across the Ringstrasse. His brother Ferdinand lived there when he came to Vienna, and was thus able to come to and fro,incognito, whenever he pleased. The rest of Europe had no idea of the frequency of his visits to the capital. Perhaps it was only the theatre-managers who really were aware how often he was present in a capital where everyone was at liberty to come and go, unmolested by the crowd, unless he came as a monarch in state, when the Viennese were the first to acclaim one of their children “who had gone so far in the world,” as they expressed it. The general feeling in the city wasthat Ferdinand was a great artist in diplomacy, perhaps the greatest in Europe. In the capital of Austria he met many statesmen who came there—to the “very edge of civilisation,” as they put it—to confer upon the problems that then troubled Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm frequently rushed through to Vienna in his automobile, without warning, and took part in a short discussion of the situation, at which Ferdinand assisted on many occasions. Kaiser Wilhelm, with his usual astuteness, understood how to manage Ferdinand. He did not need money; that was a great relief to the Kaiser, who was invariably short of it himself. The Coburg family fortune was sufficient to provide for all his private wants on a liberal scale. There is not the slightest doubt that Ferdinand would have lost his throne long before had he been forced to ask his subjects for money to supply his personal needs. His independence in this respect placed him on a footing with the proudest monarchs in Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm, prodigal of things that cost him nothing, was able to lavish his gifts of wondering admiration upon the King of Bulgaria. He tactfully praised qualities that his friends imagined they possessed, and his delicate flattery of his best “democratic” manner, that seemed to saythere was no difference in rank at all between the king of a Balkan State and the Emperor of Germany, made Ferdinand a puppet in his hands. Wilhelm flattered him into seeing things with his eyes, and mesmerised the dazzled monarch, who had been a poor lieutenant, into thinking that he was really being taken into the confidence of German statesmen and allowed to read the secret thoughts of the great War Lord himself. The other Balkan sovereigns, who had a clearer idea of the reality of things, could not have been gulled so easily. They would have realised that there was a reason for this preference, shown only of recent years, for a man who commanded the route to Constantinople. Ferdinand, student of political history, a consummate diplomatist, was, nevertheless, blinded by the Kaiser, who appeared so simple—indeed, almost childlike—in his aims, and so far removed from the world of diplomatists to which Ferdinand belonged. This apparent simplicity of character, which has puzzled so many, is due to a warped mind. Kaiser Wilhelm has long considered that nothing mattered compared with the glorification of Germany. The Almighty he considered had entrusted him with the task of elevating the German nation. It was thesupreme people of the earth. It ought to be raised to a position which would make all other people subservient to it, and the humble instrument for this work was himself. He thus considered himself at liberty to break any law that stood in his way, and, being a firm believer in the creed that the end justifies the means, he was able to impress even people of great and unusual acumen with a sense of his probity. King Ferdinand would not trust the King of Montenegro, although Nikita was an open-handed, open-hearted old mountaineer. He was, however, quite willing to accept Kaiser Wilhelm’s estimate of himself as a man with a single aim that must be accomplished at any cost. The King of Bulgaria prided himself upon being the “Little Czar” of the Balkans, and aped the great Russian Czar in many ways. He was naturally encouraged in this by Germany. His insatiate vanity prevented him from seeing that the delicate flattery poured into his ears by German diplomatists was merely dictated by self-interest. They wished to detach him from Austria and secure the allegiance of Bulgaria for Germany, to the detriment of Emperor Francis Joseph and his prestige among the Balkan peoples. Ferdinand would swallow any bait, walk into any trap, if anappeal to his vanity were made. Order after order was bestowed upon him; he received so many decorations that his uniform shone like a coat of mail with the small medals that are worn instead of the large originals. When he made his triumphal progress to Vienna for the first time in his new capacity as king, his tunic was one mass of sparkling Orders. The Viennese, who are accustomed to decorations on a wholesale scale, as they are conferred for very slight services in Austria-Hungary, and worn with great ostentation by all and sundry at the Court, said he glittered and sparkled like a dancing girl at a fair. They were quick to mark the point where the grandiose becomes ridiculous. They saw that a king so overloaded with Orders was absurd, not regal. “But, after all, for the Balkans—perhaps it impresses those savages down there at Sofia,” and with a shrug of their shoulders they turned to look at his handsome sons, Slavonic in type, and without decorations; for Ferdinand never allowed his sons to play a leadingrôlein any way. They were simple soldiers, who might mingle with the people and play the democrat while he acted the sovereign lord.
King Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
King Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
King Nikita of Montenegro.
King Nikita of Montenegro.
The sons made a much better impression upon the populace than the father. Theyseemed to fit the frame into which they were born much better than the king who had been transported from living among the gayest and most cynical people in Europe to deal with the crude realities of the Balkans. Ferdinand had left his country repeatedly when the fear of assassination was too much for him. He has always been a coward. Even his soldierly training did not give him a grasp of what is expected of a man and a monarch. Like Kaiser Wilhelm, he always wore a mailed shirt or some other form of armour. Like Kaiser Wilhelm, he felt peculiarly safe in Vienna, as the police system is so perfect that any attempt upon the life of a monarch is almost impossible. They manage to keep a record of the business of every person who comes to the city. No suspects dare venture into the zone controlled by the Vienna police. The Austrian Emperor, as long as his health allowed, strolled about the city quite unconcerned for any danger. Kaiser Wilhelm found, too, that he could promenade unguarded, simply because the police had eliminated all chance of trouble. After the perils of Sofia Ferdinand enjoyed this feeling of complete security among the light-hearted Viennese. He would never have definitely broken with the Emperor of Austria, becausehis favourite retreat would have been closed to him for ever. He had the feeling deep in his heart that he might be forced to abdicate at any moment. Then Austria would afford him shelter. There he could keep up his state, receive the respect and homage due to one who had been king and retain hisamour propre.
It is probable that Ferdinand had but a low estimate of the intellectual attainments and the mental grasp of the Emperor of Austria himself. Like all the members of a younger generation who listened to the wisdom of Kaiser Wilhelm, he regarded him as “played out” and a “back number.” This made him an easier tool in the hands of Kaiser Wilhelm, and also led to his getting a reputation for treachery which perhaps he did not wholly deserve. There was a very general feeling in Austria-Hungary which was sedulously fostered by Kaiser Wilhelm and his agents that promises made to the aged Emperor were not binding. They were only given to humour the old man, who was already in his dotage. Ferdinand of Bulgaria on several occasions failed to keep his engagements to the Emperor, although they had been solemnly made. Kaiser Wilhelm contrived to make Ferdinand and others besides see that the aged Emperor was not a factor tobe reckoned with seriously, and that the Empire was crumbling visibly. He and Germany were all that mattered in Europe. These influences go far to explain Ferdinand’s policy during the Balkan war and afterwards. A man who can be led by his vanity is unfit for any position of importance, and still less to rule with an absolute sway such as he exercised in Bulgaria. His Parliament, which should have exercised a restraining influence, was rendered useless, as the leading members could be “bought” at any time. Ready money is rare in the Balkans, and the Austrian diplomatist knew full well the price of every politician at Sofia. It was amazingly small. Sometimes they stood out for an Order as well as money as the price of their dishonour, but as a rule money was sufficient to buy them to betray their country. It is surprising that men who had risen straight from the soil should have shown themselves so venial, but they had the example of their king before them, and this explains much. The atmosphere at Sofia was one of intrigue and crime. No one could stand against it. The common people, sturdy peasants, dimly comprehended that their king was not doing the best for them. They wished to join in any plot for his undoing that might be suggested to them. They looked towardsthe Czar of All the Russias to deliver them from a distasteful alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. This made Ferdinand anxious to conciliate Russia if he wished to retain the sympathies of his people. The Austrians failed to understand these “extra tours,” as they called Ferdinand’s suddenvolte-facein favour of Russia and the Slavs. The Viennese, although they liked him, mistrusted him profoundly. Just as some strange instinct led them to suspect the bluff friendliness of Kaiser Wilhelm, they regarded Ferdinand as an unknown book—a book of possibilities that might be to their advantage or might betray them to Russia, for both Germany and Austria-Hungary regarded the growing Russian menace with fear—a fear perhaps shared by Ferdinand, who had seen that Servia and Montenegro, who trusted implicitly to Russia, had accomplished much of their aims. They had fulfilled many of their aspirations, and were in a fair way to realise the rest. Ferdinand, instead of obtaining advantages for his country, was now bribed to quiescence and silence by a new honour. The Golden Fleece was conferred upon him. This gratification of his vanity bound him closer to Austria-Hungary, for he owed the decoration to the good offices of Emperor Francis Joseph.