mania decides for war.]

The King himself, as all the world knows, is a Hohenzollern. His
personal feelings must, therefore, in a measure, be affected by the fact
that most of his relatives and friends are fighting on the German side.
There is, however, not the slightest evidence to indicate that he has
ever allowed the fact of his German blood to weigh against the true
interests of Rumania. A conversation which illustrates the attitude of
the King at this time is one which the Princess ----, one of the most
clever and best-informed women in Rumania, related to me in Bucharest.
The day before the declaration of war the most pro-German of the
Rumanian ministers, who had the name of being the leader of the
pro-German party in the capital, spent several hours putting forth every
effort to prevent the declaration of war by the King. The minister,
making no headway, finally said, "The Germans are sure to win. Your
Majesty must realize that it is impossible to beat a Hohenzollern." The
King replied, "I think it can be done, nevertheless." To this the
defender of the German cause answered, "Can you show me a single case
where a Hohenzollern has been beaten?" The King replied, "I can. I am a
Hohenzollern, and I have beaten my own blood instincts for the sake of
Rumania."

[Sidenote: Personality of the King of Rumania.]

One beautiful autumn afternoon, at the royal shooting-box outside of
Bucharest, the King talked freely about his motives and the cause of his
people. We had finished luncheon and he had dismissed his suite. He and
the Crown Prince and myself were left in the unpretentious study. Here,
over a map-strewn table, it was the custom of the King to study the
problems of the campaign. A tired, harassed-looking man of about sixty,
clad in the blue uniform of the Hussars of his Guard, he paced the
floor, and with deep emotion emphasized the case of his country and the
motives which had induced Rumania to enter the war.

This earnest presentation of his opinion I placed in writing at that
time, and the sentences quoted here were a part of the statement
published in the London "Times." So far as I know, this is the only
occasion on which the King outlined in a definite way his personal view
of the Rumania case.

His Majesty began by laying stress on the necessity for interpreting
Rumania truthfully to the world, now that her enemies were doing their
utmost to misrepresent her; the necessity for understanding the genius