I referred in guarded words to the possibilities of war with Bulgaria, whereupon he said—
“We view the matter with perfect tranquillity. The Government of His Imperial Majesty regrets most deeply those unfortunate incidents in Macedonia that so constantly occur, but is unable to remedy it. It is the Greek bands that are to blame—not the Turks.”
“And your diplomatic relations with Bulgaria?” I asked.
“They are perfectly normal,” was his reply. “Dr. Stancioff is an able Minister, and he fully understands us.”
“Then you do not anticipate hostilities at an early date?” I asked, pressing home my question.
His Excellency said nothing. He merely shrugged his shoulders. But that gesture was, to me, sufficiently significant.
“You are going to Macedonia,” he said. “It is not altogether safe, you know, especially around Presba and Ochrida, or about Seres. But if you are determined to go, I wish you every good luck on your journey.”
I thanked him, and after another half-hour’s pleasant chat with the Grand Vizier and Noury Pasha I rose, and Tewfik Pasha grasped my hand heartily in warm farewell, his parting words being—
“Go, see for yourself, and I believe you will find that we Turks are not quite so black as we are painted.”
And I left the presence of a man whose broad-minded policy, if it were adopted in every particular, would, I feel sure, advance the Turkish cause, and place the Ottoman Empire in a very different position from what it is to-day.