Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - IV. Russian and Bulgarian relations
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
34 RUSSIAN-BULGARIAN RELATIONS [chap. iv.
exchanged for small change, which rattled about in the
money-bags but only possessed one merit: that it was
easy to circulate and exchange.
The summer of 1911 ended for me by the visit of the
Russian Squadron to Varna. The principal ships of our
Black Sea Fleet, under the new Vice-Admiral Bostroem,
came this year with great pomp to visit the harbours
of Bulgaria and Turkey, and the Rumanian harbour
Constanza. At Varna, whither I went with my suite to
meet our Squadron, the reception was exceedingly warm.
King Ferdinand was not there, of course: as soon as he
was free from the worries of the Great Sobranje, he had
left for foreign parts. But Queen Eleanor, who was
spending the summer at Euxinograd near Varna, all alone
in the seclusion of a small ancient convent, hidden away
in one of the corners of the park, was delighted to preside
at the reception and to receive from our Navy the royal
honours which were so grudgingly bestowed on her at
the Court of the King her husband.
As is customary on such occasions, I received the
official visit of the Admirals, and then went the same day
with great ceremony on board the flagship and others
of the Squadron. Each time it was the usual naval
reception: the cutter stopping at the ship’s side ; the thunder
of the salute, then on board, the reception by the
Admiral and the ship’s officers, with military honours,
and the introduction of the other officers on board ;
finally the salute of the crew drawn up on deck, the
presenting arms, answered by the usual cheers. I had
witnessed these receptions several times at
Constantinople when I was in attendance on my eminent and
never-forgotten chief, M. de Nelidoff, and they had always
produced in me a pleasant feeling of emotion: they
evoked images of our country, represented by the
splendid ships, by the glorious flag of St. Andrew, by the
formidable guns, by the charming hospitality of the
officers, and last but not least by those tall, fair youths,
with open, almost child-like, expressions, who were
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
