NEWS OF THE WEEK.
DURING the past week the trend of war has been decidedly in the direction which we not only hoped but believed it would take—against the Turks and in favour of the Allies. On Saturday came the news that the Bulgarian forces had begun to advance through the passes north of Adrianople, and not only in front of the town but away to the east at Kirk Kilisse, where the Turks possess, or rather possessed, a fortress cover- ing the flank of the Adrianople forts. On Wednesday and Thursday came the news that a great battle, begun on Tuesday, was taking place along the whole line from Mustapha Pasha to Kirk Kilisse, and on Friday morning it was reported that the first great Bulgarian success had been achieved and Kirk Kilisse had fallen, a very large number of guns and prisoners being taken. The fortress, we are told, surrendered precisely at eleven o'clock on Thursday morning. The number of prisoners was reported to be 50,000, but that is almost certainly a great exaggeration. What really appears to have happened is that the Turkish army, which had been ordered to hold Kirk Kilisse as long as possible in order to gain time, was defeated and had to retreat, and in that retreat a great many prisoners were taken, as must always happen when a force engaged in such work holds out to the very last moment.
