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t9Ti] FERDINAND’S JANIZARIES it
judgment ever before political men who had compromised
themselves by bribery and corruption, and in holding
them by the dread of punishment or by the necessity of
relying on his protection or forgiveness. In 1913 there
was at one time in Bulgaria a Cabinet composed
almost entirely of men who had either been sentenced
and forgiven, or who were on trial for malpractices and
abuse of power.
The military element, always dangerous in these
countries of pronnnciamentos, became the object of
the Prince’s special attention. Ferdinand took great
trouble over, and spent his own money on building, an
enormous school for officers in Sofia, and supplied all
the necessary accessories. The young men are
completely isolated from the world, and are under the
supervision of instructors possessing Ferdinand’s
complete confidence; their national feeling is intensified,
but at the same time they are taught to look on the
goodwill of the sovereign and supreme chief of the
army as the sole source of all welfare and promotion.
When the young men leave the school the vigilant eye
of the master is still on them. In order to isolate the
soldiers in their garrisons in civil surroundings,
comfortable officers’ messes were inaugurated everywhere
at the Prince’s own expense. Good food and good wines
were provided at extremely low prices; officers passed
all their spare time there, and they learnt above all
things to be very guarded and discreet. They realised
that there were eavesdroppers about who repeated
to their superior officers and even to the Sovereign
things they had discussed amongst themselves, and they
discovered that capable and deserving officers had often
been arrested in the midst of a brilliant career, whilst
promotion had been given to others whose only claim
to it had been their talent in gaining access to the
master’s ear. Ferdinand, who is well versed in history,
knew that the Sultans, when raising janizaries, used to
take Bulgarian boys, convert them to Islamism, and
have them educated in special schools. He wished to
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