Social life is far from dull. Sport and games of every kind are most popular. There is an excellent tennis club, hockey is played three or four times a week, and large riding parties, personally conducted by Baron Rubin de Cervin, the Italian military attaché, go out for long jaunts into the neighbouring mountains several times each week. Then at night there are constant dinners and receptions at the Legations, and everyone seems to lead a very pleasant life, without a moment’s dulness.
His Excellency D. Petkoff,
Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
Lady Buchanan, wife of Sir George Buchanan, the British Minister, is the principal hostess, and with her daughter is foremost in Sofia society. Until ill-health prevented her recently, she was an ardent player of hockey and tennis, and constantly in the saddle. Her entertainments are always brilliant, and in her pretty salon one meets everyone who is anyone in Sofia.
Again, the Military Club is another centre of social life. The building is a handsome one, with an extremely fine ballroom, where dances, given every week through the season, are attended by the elite of Sofia. I went to one, and found it a particularly gay and brilliant function.
Government institutions in Sofia amazed me. They would do credit to any European capital. The Agricultural Bank, the inner working of which I was permitted by Monsieur N. Ghenadieff, Minister of Commerce, to inspect, is a fine new building of huge dimensions, with a beautifully ornamented board-room, and its operations no doubt tend much towards securing the public prosperity of Bulgaria. M. Seraphimoff, the Governor, who conducted me round, told me that the bank had its origin in the time of the Turkish rule. As far back as 1863, the Governor of the vilayet of the Danube created small banks in order to aid the peasants, the villagers repaying their loans in crops and the banks selling the produce.
During the Russo-Turkish War, however, many of these banks lost their capital, for the Turkish functionaries escaped with all the funds they could place their hands upon. The Provisional Russian Government re-established the banks, and they have continued to progress until the present institution was founded. It now has eighty-five branch offices in the principal towns and agents in most of the villages. Its direction is under a governor and four directors nominated by Prince Ferdinand. The operations of the institution are as follows: to accept deposits; to grant loans on mortgages or securities; to grant loans upon cattle and agricultural produce; to advance money to the peasants for the purchase of cattle, seeds, or agricultural implements; to make personal loans; to open current accounts with peasants; to buy agricultural implements, seeds, and machinery for the peasants; to accept loans for departments or communes; and for the transfer of securities. The interest charged or given is 5 per cent. for deposits for five years, 4 per cent. for three years, and 3 per cent. for one year. In 1901 the amount of the bank’s operations was 535,575,182 francs, while in 1905 it amounted to 1,180,778,378 francs, thus showing how greatly it is appreciated by the peasant, and of what enormous benefit it is to the country.
While there, I saw many uncouth peasants in their sheepskins from far-distant villages come and obtain loans, repay their interest, or make petition for their inability to pay. It is very apparent that all of them greatly appreciate the fact that the Government is their creditor and not the Jews.
Another institution which I inspected was the State printing press, a fine building containing the latest machinery; and afterwards I was shown the building of the magnificent new church of St. Alexander Newsky, which, being constructed in blocks of white stone just behind the old church of St. Sophia, is costing over three million francs, and is to be in memory of the Russian liberator of Bulgaria.
Truly, everywhere one turns in Sofia one sees some new buildings, for signs of rapid progress and up-to-dateness are on every hand.