SISTOVA, a town of Bulgaria, at the head of a district of its own name (40,893 inhabitants in 1881), is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about 40 miles above Rustchuk, and has rather a picturesque appearance on the slopes of the Kadbair and the Chuka. On the latter hill there stood till the fire of 1810 a mediaeval fortress, and previous to the 15th century it contained a Latin church of traditional celebrity. The lower town along the river consists of modern houses, mostly erected since 1870, and is the scene of busy commercial life, especially during the grain-export season. The principal church, completed in 1867, is a large and costly building with an imposing dome. Sistova was one of the first of the Bulgarian towns to introduce the national language into its schools (1833), some of which are now well-endowed and flourishing. More than half the inhabitants, who numbered 11,560 in 1881, are Bulgarians, the rest being Turks, Walachians, and Gipsies....