, the Quadruple Entente (Russia,
Italy, France, and England) hoped that the entry of Bulgaria into the
war, on the side of Germany and Turkey, would bring Greece and
Roumania in on the other side.

The Greek people were ready to rush to Serbia's aid and so was the
Greek prime minister. The queen of Greece, however, is a sister of the
German emperor, and through her influence with her husband she was
able to defeat the plans of Venizelos (ven i zel'os), the prime
minister, who was notified by the king that Greece would not enter
the war. Venizelos accordingly resigned, but not until he had given
permission to the French and English to land troops at Salonika, for
the purpose of rushing to the help of Serbia. (Greece also was afraid
that German and Austrian armies might lay waste her territory, as they
had Serbia's, before England and France could come to the rescue.)

Meanwhile poor Serbia was in a desperate state. The two Balkan wars
had drained her of some of her best soldiers. Twice the Austrians had
invaded her kingdom in this war, and twice they had been driven out.
Then came a dreadful epidemic of typhus fever which was the result of
unhealthful conditions caused by the war. Now the little kingdom,
attacked by the Germans and Austrians on two sides and by the
Bulgarians on a third, was literally fighting with her back to the
wall. She had counted on Greece to stand by her promise to help in
case of an attack from Bulgaria, but we have seen how the German queen
of Greece had been able to prevent this. Serbia hoped that Roumania,
too, would come to her help. However, as you have been told, the king
of Roumania is a German of the Hohenzollern family, a cousin of the
emperor, and in spite of the sympathy of his people for Italy, France,
and Serbia, he was able to keep them from joining in the defense of
the Serbs.

Now Roumania ought to include a great part of Bessarabia (bes a
ra'bi a), which is the nearest county of Russia, and also the
greater part of Transylvania and Bukowina (boo ko vi'na), which are
the provinces of Austria-Hungary that lie nearest; for a great part of
the inhabitants of these three counties are Roumanians by blood and
language. They would like to be parts of the kingdom of Roumania, and
Roumania would like to possess them. The Quadruple Entente would
promise Roumania parts of Transylvania and Bukowina in case she joined
the war on their side, while the Triple Alliance was ready to promise
he