nditions, if the waverings of the Government were to be
explained, the task would be a hard one. In our opinion, they may be
ascribed to different causes, the more important factor being the
opinion of the King himself; but this alone would not suffice.

The King (Carol) is first of all bound to Emperor Francis Joseph by an
old friendship. King Carol has never admitted that the diminution of
his kingdom after Plevna was a right thing, and the toasts in
Constanza (during the Czar's visit to Rumania early in the Summer of
1914) have demonstrated, for those who could read between the lines,
in both the politeness of the Czar and the reserved tone of King
Carol, that this sentiment had not yet disappeared.

In the face of this disposition, so firmly expressed, the Ministers
and the party leaders of Rumania felt rather uncomfortable. It must be
borne in mind that a parliamentary regime, properly speaking, does not
exist; the Ministries do not fall by vote of the chambers of
Parliament. When the King estimates that a Ministry has been too long
in power, when he hears distinctly the murmur of the Opposition, then
he calls a new President of the Council, who has Parliament prorogued
and a new one formed--this is the exact procedure--according to his
liking. By reason of this process, and also by reason of a special
attraction which the Court exercises over a small, refined, and
elegant society, the counsels of the King are inspired by the advices
of his counselors.

But there are also other reasons that plead for this uncertain
attitude, and by which it is attempted to justify a policy of
indifference.

The successes of last year--of which the Rumanians have not understood
the causes, because they never tried to understand them--have troubled
them in a certain way.

Their statesmen persist perhaps a little too much in playing
Machiavelli, and in exalting abstention to a system. Their fondest
desire at the present moment is not, we are persuaded, to march on
Austria, but, on the contrary, not to march at all, and not to
intervene in the war up to the day of the final liquidation.

What is this policy worth? The chances are that it may not always be
good, particularly in the present state of things. Rumania is still a
small country by reason of its area. In addition to this, her
neighbors, on which she was wont to exercise a moderating influence,
are bound to change in density of population. And it is very likely
that Rum