to marry Princess Xenia. Princess Zorka was
dead; Prince Nikola had quarrelled rather badly with his son-in-law,
Petar Karageorgevitch, and, it would appear, meant to lose no chance
of obtaining a matrimonial alliance with any and every possible
claimant to the Serbian throne. Alexander would not consent to the
match, and stated that his object in visiting Montenegro was to
bring about a political alliance between that country and Serbia in
order to defend Serb schools and churches in Turkish territory and
generally protect Serb interests. This Nikola refused unless the
said lands were definitely partitioned into "spheres of interest"
and Prizren were included in his own. He was already determined to
occupy the throne of Stefan Dushan. The two ministers who
accompanied Alexander supported this claim. "I tell you," says
Alexander, "these two men when with me at Cetinje acted not as
Ministers of mine, but as Ministers of the Prince of Montenegro." He
denounced such a division of the territory and the negotiations
broke off. The visit to Montenegro was a failure.

Some years afterwards in Montenegro I was told triumphantly that the
match would not have been at all suitable for Princess Xenia and
that her father had refused it on the grounds that "no King of
Serbia has yet died except by murder, or in exile." But the death of
Alexander was then already planned--though I of course did not know
it--and Alexander's version of the affair is more probably correct.

In 1897 the nets began to close round the wretched youth. Russia
made up her long quarrel with Bulgaria and enlisted a new foe to the
Obrenovitches--Prince Ferdinand. She had long refused to recognize
this astute and capable Prince who was rapidly raising Bulgaria to
an important position in the Balkans, and now decided to make use of
him. The benefits might be mutual, for without Russian support
Ferdinand could not hope to reconstruct the Big Bulgaria of the
Middle Ages. Russia cynically used either Bulgaria or Serbia as best
suited her purpose at the moment. In August of the same year Russia
further strengthened her position by her alliance with France, who
at once obediently ranged herself against the Obrenovitches.

In the following October, Alexander appointed Vladan Georgevitch
Prime Minister, and bade him form a Government. The merits or
demerits of this Government we need not trouble about. What is of
interest is that it was at once attacked by the French