The declaration of the agents of the guaranteeing Powers that they would not protect Servia from invasion unless the aggressive policy of the Ristitch Ministry was abandoned led to the fall of the Ministry towards the end of September. This event was regretted by none except the adherents of the Red Party, who, however, retained the reins of power. A saying current at the time made the following striking comparison: "Servia is peopled with Ministers, like Roumania!"
To the German Crown Prince, October 22nd, 1875.
"Your kind letter was a source of real joy to me. God's best gift to humanity is loyalty; and I think He must have given you a double measure. That we, who are separated from all our loved ones for life, are doubly rejoiced to find ourselves remembered, I need not tell you, nor that your sympathy with our eternal regret has comforted us. At this moment we are suffering an unexpected and uncommon trial; Elisabeth felt an ever increasing difficulty in walking this summer, which we attributed to malaria, dampness, and a tendency to rheumatism. For the last few days she has remained in bed, lame in both feet. I need not tell you how great is our terror after the experiences of both our families! The affair, however, has now taken a turn for the better....
"I was greatly interested by what you wrote about your children: so intelligent and simple an education must certainly make them thorough in every way. I find it hard to think of you surrounded by such big sons....
"Great excitement prevails just now in Servia; I think the young Prince is either steering towards a war or a revolution! It is true at present he is enjoying his honeymoon with his pretty wife, who is closely related to all the great families of Moldavia. The Servians would certainly have preferred to see their ambition satisfied by the choice of a 'real Princess' as a consort for the Prince...."
To Prince Charles Anthony, November 27th, 1875.
"... So long as the suzerainty was merely an empty form, restricted to the payment of tribute or to impediments in affairs of treaties, mints, and orders, Europe was justified in declining to hear our complaints; but from the moment that our dependence on the Porte hinders our economical development, hampers our financial reforms, and damages our credit, we can reasonably demand that a sharp political line of demarcation be drawn between an Empire which is incapable of any reform and a flourishing young State which has given Europe material guarantees during the last few years! I recently had a conversation on the subject with the Austrian representative, who admitted that this was the correct view of the situation, but that a precipitate step might compromise the excellent position which Roumania occupies to-day. I replied that, before all else, I desired the preservation of peace, in order to gain time for the execution of all necessary reforms, the re-acquisition of the railways, and the construction of connecting lines, and that it was the business of the Great Powers to secure us a position which corresponded to the interest and dignity of the country.
"Unfortunately the result of this Eastern tangle cannot be foreseen. Do the three great Northern Powers really desire peace? And will they ever succeed in restoring peace? There are too many factors to be taken into consideration; Turkey seems to have been given up at last (in the public opinion of Europe); even the English are being forced to accustom themselves slowly to this idea, which will certainly cost them much. When once considerations for the Porte are abandoned, the solution of the Eastern Question, which frightens the diplomats of Europe, will be materially simplified. Roumania is destined to become the Belgium of the Lower Danube; why do the Cabinet hesitate to declare this? We can wait; but, as far as Europe is concerned, it would be a guarantee of peace in the East.
"I opened the Chambers to-day with a short and powerful speech from the throne, which I am sure will make no unfavourable impression in Europe. The disturbances in Herzegowina could not be passed over in silence, but were mentioned with such caution that public opinion cannot be disquieted. Our relations with the Turks are strained: they will not grant us even the smallest concession; they actually refuse to concede us the name Roumania; all this is to their own disadvantage.... Greece has begun to stir; deputations from Thessaly, Epirus, and Crete have appeared in Athens, and their proposals have been very favourably received. The aggrandisement of Greece is the only salvation for that unfortunate country."