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1912] IN CONSTANTINOPLE
93
made of dry old planks. A very familiar sight to me :
a motley crowd intent on rescuing its wretched garments,
the sinister double illumination of the fire on one side
and of the sun veiled and reddened on the other; swarms
of pigeons driven out of their nests by the fire, and
flying around at the same time as the burning brands in
clouds of white smoke ; the touloumbadjis (voluntary
firemen), half-naked, rushing to the fire and giving wild
shrieks from time to time. . . . The fire lasted two
days, and delayed for a few hours the departure of the
train which was to take the German Ambassador, Baron
Marschall von Biberstein, who had been appointed to
London in the same capacity. I remember meeting the
aged diplomat on his way to the station. The carriage
in which Baron Marschall, his wife and his daughter
were seated was preceded by an open carriage entirely
filled with bouquets and bunches of flowers, gifts,
evidently, of the German colony and the "grateful Turks."
"Do look," I said to my companion, "it’s exactly like
a funeral: here is the carriage with flowers and wreaths
preceding the hearse, and behind, the long file of
carriages accompanying the deceased to his last
resting-place ! Truly I should not have liked to leave my post
surrounded by that style of ceremonial! "
My words were an involuntary prophecy. Two
months later Baron Marschall died suddenly in London,
carrying with him into the grave all the hopes centred
by Germany on their new Ambassador. Marschall was
replaced in London by Prince Lichnowsky, and in
Constantinople by the fiery Wangenheim.
M. de Giers, to whom I confided my impressions on
Bulgaria and my apprehensions as to the real aim of the
Serbo-Bulgarian alliance, expressed his own fears quite
as frankly. I even received the impression that in his
heart he was blaming me for having consented to serve
as intermediary in the negotiations between Bulgaria
and Serbia and for having taken such an active part
in them. I feel sure, however, that if he had been in
my place he would have done exactly the same, for
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