The coronation of King Charles took place at Bucharest on May 10-22, 1881. In accordance with his wish, the royal crown of Roumania was fashioned of steel from a Turkish gun captured at Plevna, as a remembrance to all time of the achievements on the battlefields of Bulgaria, and of the fact that the new kingdom was not bound or hampered by old traditions, but looked forward to a great future springing from a vigorous beginning. The golden crown for the Queen was also fashioned in Roumania from a simple design, without jewels or ornaments. These crowns were consecrated by the Metropolitan in the presence of their Majesties, the Hereditary Prince of Hohenzollern and his two sons, Ferdinand and Charles, and the ceremony was attended by delegates from every district in the kingdom, as well as by all corporations and other bodies. After this the crowns were carried in an unending coronation procession to the royal palace, where King Charles took the crown into his hands with these words: "I assume with pride this crown, wrought from a cannon sprinkled with the blood of our heroes, and consecrated by the Church; I accept it as a symbol of the independence and power of Roumania." EPILOGUE Though the years which followed 1881 have lacked the laurels of the battlefield and the intensity of the struggle for independence which characterised the earlier portion of Roumanian history under King Charles, they are no less remarkable for continuous and patient progress in the development of the resources of the kingdom. Herein, as in sterner matters, the King has borne the heat and burden of the day; no one knew better that independence was but another milestone on the road to the ideal Roumania; that the regeneration of a nation that had passed through such vicissitudes could only follow the unwearying labour of many years; and that to this end the force of example--the art of leading men, not the knack of driving them--is of paramount importance. As sovereign of an independent State, King Charles felt that he had at last secured a firm basis from which the latent force of his country might be fully developed. That these efforts have not been fruitless is proved by the increase of the Roumanian Budget, despite the saying, _mensonge en chiffres_; for in twenty-five years, from 1866 to 1891, the revenue increased more than threefold (from 56,000,000frs. in 1866 to 180,000,000frs. in 1891). It was indeed fortunate for Roumania that King Charles was endowed with qualities which enabled him to appreciate the difficulties of peaceful development in the same way as he had met the dangers of war. It seemed to him now that his work had at last commenced in earnest; his clear eye detected every shortcoming, though at the same time the future promised much to his gifted and industrious people. A great navigable river and the neighbouring sea offered elements for a greatly increased commerce, whilst the