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CHAPTER II
king ferdinand of bulgaria
Ferdinand of Coburg was then in the twenty-fourth year
of his reign.
This scion of two races, the Coburgs and the
Orleans, who had played a distinguished part in the
great events of the eighteenth and of the first half of
the nineteenth century, had begun life under
circumstances which did not enable one to form any idea of his
ultimate destiny. Son of a father who was almost a
nonentity and of a mother who was as intelligent as she
was ambitious (that famous ambition of the Orleans !),
the young Prince Ferdinand of Coburg, youngest son
and Benjamin of the family, very much spoilt by his
mother but also carefully educated under her
supervision, cut rather a strange figure at the Austrian Court
and in high Viennese society. Remarks were made
about his Bourbon nose, and every one laughed at his
effeminate manner, his exaggerated elegance, and his
love for jewels and knick-knacks; he was supposed to
possess inclinations which harmonised with his
appearance and manner. In a set which only cared for hunting,
riding, the society of light and frivolous women, and was
only interested in the life in cavalry regiments,—the
refinement and intellectual affectation of young Ferdinand,
his pretty speeches, his hatred of riding and all sport,
his learning even, served as a butt for the laughter and
sarcasms of the young archdukes and grand-dukes.
Moreover, he did not possess the gift of making himself
liked. His sly and suspicious expression prejudiced
people against him. The more he became aware of his
unpopularity, the more did he secretly indulge in
venomous and bitter thoughts, and yet nurse in his heart
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