Princess Elisabeth reached Genoa on her way home to Bucharest on April 30. She had left Naples only a few days before a terrible eruption of Vesuvius, accompanied with earthquakes, which caused the death of some two hundred persons. At Vienna the Princess was visited by the Emperor of Austria, Count Andrassy, and a number of her relations. Prince Charles met the Princess near Orschowa and was delighted to find her completely restored to health. Their entry into Bucharest was greeted in every way as heartily as on their return from Germany in 1869. The streets of the capital were so densely packed by a most enthusiastic multitude that the carriage could only proceed at a walk.
The following letter from the German Emperor was brought by M. Mavrogheni:
"My Dearest Cousin,—
"I have to thank you for two letters, one for March 22 handed me by your father, and the other by the bearer of this letter. Let me first thank you heartily for your loyal wishes on my birthday; since recent events took place that day has certainly gained more prominence than formerly, but it also reminds us to return thanks to Him who set us so unexpected a task, and who gave us strength to execute it. The feelings expressed to me on March 22 are in this respect of value and joy to me, since it is assuredly of God's mercy that one is selected to execute His will on earth on behalf of a nation and its army.
"Your last letter gave me an occasion only yesterday to speak with your Minister, as I am suffering from an injured knee and cannot dress myself well. We discussed the Strousberg affair, which appears to be favourably settled on the whole, but which has had a very susceptible and aggravating effect at times. The Jewish question was then discussed. It is a hard task to have to side with a race of men whose character I know only too well from the Russian Poles. Although in the most examples the guilt of the Jews, according to your own Government's showing, was not at all as heinous as it appeared at first, still the punishment was severe, and some show of mercy would certainly be advisable; on the other hand, it must be regretted that the repression of riots and Jew-baiting was not employed quickly or effectually enough. This, of course, again creates the impression abroad that the internal politics of Roumania are not yet stable, and you will never eradicate this impression until you have created a well-organised and disciplined army, able to enforce obedience to the orders of the Government, not by strength of numbers, but by quality. I expressed this opinion years ago to you through Colonel Krenski, and I regret that you still do not grasp this point—i.e., that you still place more value on the quantity of your forces than in their quality.
"I realise the difficulty of your task, but it is absolutely necessary if Europe is to gain confidence in your Government through the prevalence of order and security in Roumania.
"I am indeed sorry that your wife's health made a separation necessary, but it was certainly high time to overcome the fever: nothing undermines the health more than lingering ill-health; I therefore hope the best from the Princess's change of air!
"Farewell, and preserve a friendly memory of your very sincere Cousin,
"WILLIAM."
The Roumanian Court moved to Sinaja on May 29, 1872, where the fresh mountain air completely restored the Prince and his family to robust health. The Prince wrote the following description of a great bear-hunt to his father:
"I went bear-hunting a week ago. Three hundred beaters with drums and trumpets, the sound of which re-echoed tenfold in the rocky valleys, and close on thirty hunters, who completed a circle of several miles, and secured our quarry. Two drives were arranged, each of which lasted from two and a half to three hours.
"After leaving Sinaja about five o'clock I climbed the first summit, Furnica, which I reached at seven. It was just here that a large she-bear had killed several sheep three days before, and devoured them at a short distance from the shepherds, who looked on trembling. I posted myself at this point behind a rock overlooking two deep ravines. The drive then began, accompanied by the penetrating cries of the beaters, who descended the slopes on all sides in an unbroken chain. Suddenly the sky clouded over and a terrible storm broke, so that you could not see ten paces before you. As nothing was to be seen after a wait of two hours we sought refuge in a hut; in a short space of time the weather cleared up, and the pretty Prachova valley lay at our feet bathed in the brightest sunshine.
"This change in the weather encouraged Elisabeth and her ladies to leave Pojani Zapului, whither she had driven that morning, and proceed to meet me with the luncheon. After I had sat three hours in the hut waiting for the bear, or rather the luncheon, the latter arrived about noon, and we sat down to it together on a greensward; the hunters and beaters, the Dorobanzi and their horses camped round about us. All the groups were indescribably picturesque; in the background the bare rock summits of the Kairaman, Omul, &c., appeared like veritable ghosts. At two o'clock we again descended to Pojana Zapului, a little village at the entrance of the valea babei, the rendezvous of the bears. I separated from Elisabeth here, and climbed down into this haunted valley, where we came across a primeval wood. Again I found a position which overlooked two ravines. The greatest bear-hunter of the neighbourhood was close to me, and assured me that I should catch sight of some bears. I waited patiently for close on three hours behind a decayed tree; the cries of the beaters had long since died away, single shots were heard in the distance, a portion of the beaters had finished their task, and still nothing was to be seen. I laid my rifle aside discontentedly, but the huntsman whispered to me to have patience for another half-hour. I took up my rifle, and ten minutes had barely sped when I heard a loud rustling, stones rolled down the sides of the ravine, and two young bears crossed our field of sight, and one after the other descended the slope, breaking the rotten boughs with their broad paws. The distance was not great, and I could easily have put a bullet into one of them if boughs and tree-trunks had not impeded my aim. I therefore quitted my position, and climbed down a little way to get a free field of fire, but the huntsman had in the meantime reached the edge of the ravine and killed one of the bears with his first shot; the other would certainly not have escaped him if he had had a double-barrelled rifle. The great excitement now commenced, as the she-bear, which had already been fired on by the beaters higher up, was expected to arrive, but no one could say whether she had been wounded, or whether her cubs had preceded her. The circle of beaters and hunters now drew closer in, the matador of the hunters placed himself close by my side, and drew my attention to the danger of an attack by so savage an animal. We waited half an hour for the decisive moment; unfortunately the she-bear did not turn up, and the hunters declared it probable that she had been wounded and had hidden herself in some rocky crevice, as otherwise we should certainly have had a shot at her.
"On the way home we witnessed another interesting scene. At least thirty large golden eagles had assembled round a carcase on the far side of a ravine, but the distance was far beyond our range. I fired at one which was hovering over my head, but only hit one of his feathers, which fluttered to the ground. The shot frightened the interesting inhabitants of the mountains from their meal, and they flew in all directions between the rocky spurs, where we were able to follow them with the naked eye for a long time."
The same letter also contained a most interesting picture of the situation of Roumania, both at home and abroad.
"Since my last letter to you on April 30 many things have improved here, and every day shows more and more the advantages of a firm Government, which alone can secure progress and increase the prosperity of the country. The loyal and frank attitude of Catargiu's Ministry has practically crippled the intrigues of the parties, the more so since they have no burning question to exploit. The Opposition Press, it is true, is not ashamed to publish the grossest calumnies about the Government, or to prophesy that the fate of King Otto or the Emperor Maximilian will befall me unless I dismiss the Ministry soon! Fortunately their sallies are so violent that no one places any belief in their screed. As affairs stand at present only some external crisis can affect the resignation of the Cabinet; luckily it is in such favour with the Great Powers that even this anxiety disappears.... It is the immediate duty of my Government to maintain order at all costs, and to aim during the coming session at putting an end to the abuse of liberty, which only damages and discredits us in the eyes of foreign countries. As Roumania is the spoilt child of Europe and has been permitted to do so much, it knows nothing of reflection or fear. It is like an unbroken foal, which is imbued with liberty, and ignores every danger. Guizot says: 'There are times when nations are swayed by their desires beyond all else, and others where they act solely in accordance with their fears. According as the one or the other of these dispositions prevails, nations are intent on liberty or security for preference. It is the first degree in the art of government to distinguish between those sentiments.' To Roumania liberty is more than security: she only knows her own desires, and is fearless. I have not, therefore, been deceived hitherto about her sentiments, which in the eyes of the French statesman is the height of statescraft. For my part I consider that I have committed an error and that I should have achieved more if I had sometimes gone against the desires of the nation!
"As a matter of fact, I have from the commencement devoted my whole energy to the development of the material welfare of these richly endowed countries. My groundwork was the execution of the net of roads and railways. This is the national-Roumanian policy which I have so far pursued, and which I shall continue in the future. Perhaps this is the very reason of the great wrath of those to whom the existence of Roumania is a thorn in the flesh. The enmity to which it is exposed by a paid Press is therefore well founded, for even a small country which makes material progress daily may in time become a factor with which perhaps the world may be forced to reckon. I have observed two currents in the policy of Austria-Hungary regarding us: the official circles appear at present to favour the stability and peaceful development of Roumania, whilst others—I know not how to define them: clerical, financial, Jewish—show their animosity by an incessant paper-warfare against the country. The Austrian and Hungarian papers compete with each other in this rivalry. What lasts too long ends by becoming tedious, and one may hope that the world will some day have had enough of this tangled web of printed lies. It may also be that much of this arrogance is based on Stock Exchange speculations. The Jewish haute finance has declared that it will not embark upon any business with "Jew-devouring" Roumania, and will oppose with all its might any of the country's aims. In the meantime we have concluded a tobacco monopoly with a great Hungarian Jewish house, and obtained an unexpected bid of 8,000,000 francs a year, a brilliant piece of business for both parties."
To Prince Charles Anthony, August 31st, 1872.
"Our stay at Sinaja, which, if the weather holds good, we shall prolong for another four weeks, suits us excellently. The life here is pleasant and unconstrained; every day brings fresh interests. A bevy of young girls adds much liveliness to our circle; in addition to the lately appointed maid of honour, Mlle. Valeanu, we recently had seven young ladies to dinner, with a dance and round games in the evening. Even nonsense refreshes the mind, and it was a real benefit to us all to let ourselves go. We made Costa-Foru dance and D. Ghika played with us. This is a very different matter from sitting head over ears in work. Until to-day it would have been impossible to accuse me of playing with my present and former Ministers, and hence it is a real satisfaction to me to have done so in Sinaja. Moreover, our stay here is of great benefit to us in many ways: it brings us into closer contact with people than would be possible in the city, where everything is red tape; we have also had the pleasant experience that, in spite of the difficulty of communication, everybody seems delighted to come here. We have had numerous visitors even from Moldavia....