in Europe and that of these not more than
165,000 were north of the Balkans when the Russians advanced towards the
Danube[130]. Von Lignitz credits the Turks with only 215,000 regular
troops and 100,000 irregulars (Bashi Bazouks and Circassians) in the
whole Empire; of these he assigns two-thirds to European Turkey[131].

[Footnote 130: _The Campaign in Bulgaria_, by F.V. Greene, pt. ii. ch.
i.; W.V. Herbert, _The Defence of Plevna_, chaps, i.-ii.]

[Footnote 131: _Aus drei Kriegen_, by Gen. von Lignitz, p. 99.]

It seemed, then, that Russia had no very formidable task before her.
Early in May seven army corps began to move towards that great river.
They included 180 battalions of infantry, 200 squadrons of cavalry, and
800 guns--in all about 200,000 men. Their cannon were inferior to those
of the Turks, but this seemed a small matter in view of the superior
numbers which Russia seemed about to place in the field. The
mobilisation of her huge army, however, went on slowly, and produced by
no means the numbers that were officially reported. Our military attache
at the Russian headquarters, Colonel Wellesley, reported this fact to
the British Government; and, on this being found out, incurred
disagreeable slights from the Russian authorities[132].

[Footnote 132: _With the Russians in War and Peace_, by Colonel F.A.
Wellesley (1905), ch. xvii.]

Meanwhile Russia had secured the co-operation of Roumania by a
convention signed on April 16, whereby the latter State granted a free
passage through that Principality, and promised friendly treatment to
the Muscovite troops. The Czar in return pledged himself to "maintain
and defend the actual integrity of Roumania[133]." The sequel will show
how this promise was fulfilled. For the present it seemed that the
interests of the Principality were fully secured. Accordingly Prince
Charles (elder brother of the Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern, whose
candidature for the Crown of Spain made so much stir in 1870) took the
further step of abrogating the suzerainty of the Sultan over
Roumania (June 3).

[Footnote 133: Hertslet, vol. iv. p. 2577.]

Even before the declaration of independence Roumania had ventured on a
few acts of war against Turkey; but the co-operation of her army,
comprising 50,000 regulars and 70,000 National Guards, with that of
Russia proved to be a knotty question. The Emperor Alexander II., on
reaching the Russian headquarters at Plojeschti, to the north of
Bu