The unexpected news of the death of Napoleon III. was received at Bucharest on January 10, 1873. Prince Charles and the Roumanian nation were deeply moved by this sad event, for the dead Emperor had been the champion and protector of the national existence of Roumania in its darkest days. Throughout the whole land memorial services were held, though the Metropolitan at first objected on the ground that the late Emperor was not a member of the Orthodox Church. The universal expression of sympathy with the widowed Empress and the Prince Imperial created a certain friction with the Republican Government, and the Foreign Minister reminded M. Strat that the Roumanians ought not to forget that, after all, "it was to France, and not the Emperor, that gratitude was due"! M. Thiers, the President, also expressed his vexation that the Roumanian Chambers should have sent messages of condolence to the Prince Imperial as well as to the Empress, since the former had never had anything to do with Roumania. This measure was considered to indicate that Roumania held the French Republic "_nul et non avenu_." M. Thiers concluded with the remark: "If I had acted strictly in accordance with the rules of international custom, I should have recalled all my agents and broken off all communication with you!" M. Strat was able, however, to convince the President that Roumania had only paid a debt of gratitude to a benefactor, and had no intention of insulting France. The situation in Paris at the commencement of 1873 was described by M. Strat as "the same struggles, the same defiance in every camp, and the same uncertainty about the future as in the past." A sort of armistice existed between M. Thiers and the Majority of the National Assembly, who were anxious to foist a King upon France, whilst the adherents of the Republic were divided into two camps. "Those who desire a moderate and conservative republic do nothing to bring it to pass, and those who wish for a _régime_ on the lines of Gambetta & Co. do everything in their power to render it permanently impossible." Gambetta's school, which unfortunately had made proselytes throughout the whole of Europe, aimed at "governing by inane discourses, banquets, harangues, demonstrations in the streets, and all the customary trappings of a vulgar democracy." Hampered by all these conflicting elements, M. Thiers was confronted by the task of maintaining order, paying milliards, and raising the commerce of the country. He would only secure peace with the National Assembly if he gave it complete liberty "to play upon that instrument which they call universal suffrage."