he Russians, although, at first,
not as an active one; and as the success of that terrible war relieved
Roumania from the last vestiges of her dependence upon Turkey, we will
endeavour to collect within as narrow limits as possible a few of the
leading events wherein she participated, and which affected her claim to
European attention.

That the Roumanians rendered valuable services to the Russians before
they co-operated actively in arms is well known, and also that the
latter had pressing need for such assistance. In May 1877 every facility
was given for the passage of troops over the Roumanian railways,
hospital equipments taking the precedence, and the Roumanian civil and
military hospitals opened their doors to receive the Russian sick; in
fact, disastrous as were the Russian reverses throughout the war, they
would have entailed far greater misery upon their wounded soldiers if it
had not been for the systematic aid which they received from the
Roumanians. Then, in preparing for the defence of their own bank of the
Danube, the latter were diverting the attention of the Turks, whose
gunboats amused themselves in making harmless excursions up and down the
river, pretty much as our fleet did between Besika Bay and the
Dardanelles, and they were making a line of defence for the Russians in
case they should have been obliged to recross tho Danube. Here it is
that we first make the acquaintance of Prince Charles, who travelled
from post to post on the river inspecting the defences. 'Born a
Hohenzollern, and reared an officer in the Prussian army,' says a writer
who accompanied him on this tour, 'it is little wonder that Prince
Charles of Roumania is above all things a soldier. Since his election to
the headship of the Principalities he has sedulously devoted a large
share of his energies to the improvement, or rather, in the first
instance, to the creation of a Roumanian army, and that his labour has
not been lost is apparent to any man having any conversance with
military matters, who has spent the last few weeks in the territory over
which Prince Charles holds sway.'[176] The prince had at his disposal
two army corps, each numbering 28,000 men, fully equipped, whilst the
militia, whose strength was about 100,000, was ready for mobilisation at
the shortest notice. As to the fighting qualities of these troops
writers differ, and we shall refer presently to the changes that took
place in the estimation in which they were