inted on Kiamil's recall on the mandate
of Russia for his share in the revolution,) announced their
determination to maintain their prince and his counsellors; to which
Hafiz assented, no doubt, with secret gratification. While the
proceedings were thus stayed by the unexpected resolution shown by the
Servians, Russian emissaries were traversing the country in all
directions, striving in vain to stir up a revolt in favour of the
Obrenovich family, whose former partisans, it was found, were now their
strongest opponents; and inciting the Christians in Bosnia and Bulgaria
to rise against the Moslems, by the hope of obtaining independent
governments under hospodars of their own, like the other principalities.
On the other hand, the Servian population was ready to rise _en masse_
in defence of its liberties, and was further cheered by the report that
thirty thousand of the Slavic races under Austrian dominion were ready
to join them in the struggle for national freedom; while the Porte,
roused to unexpected energy by the accumulation of wrong heaped upon it,
reinforced the garrison of Belgrade with three thousand fresh troops,
and formed encampments to the amount of near one hundred thousand men at
Constantinople and Adrianople, for the ostensible purpose of overawing
the spirit of revolt among the Bulgarians. The National Assembly, which
had in the mean time met at Belgrade, declared the election of Prince
Alexander legal and valid, and refused to abrogate it; and as the agents
of Russia found that their original object could only be effected by an
invasion, an act which (even had the season left time to march an army
to the Danube) might have exceeded even the long-suffering of the other
powers who were parties to the treaty of 1840, it was resolved, for the
sake of appearances, to repair the false step as far as possible by a
show of moderation. It was accordingly announced that the principal
objections of Russia to the late election arose from the informality
with which the proceedings had been conducted; that Prince Alexander
would be admitted as a candidate, (a concession very distasteful to
Austria, who apprehended that the talent and popularity of the prince
might attract her own Slavic subjects under his rule;) and that the late
prince, Michael, should be excluded from competition. This could only
lead to one result; and Alexander, having _pro forma_ resigned his
authority, a _hatti-shereef_ was sent from the Porte,