The two groups of belligerents.- In Europe the two groups of belligerents were not fully constituted until 1915. To the Germanic group of the Germans and Austrians were added the Touranian groupHungarians, Bulgarians, Turks. As to the the Entente, Italy united herself given up neutrality to enter the war. Her act constituted a fortunate compensation.

As to the group of closely to it, having

Italy and the Triplice. It is known that in becoming one of the Triplice, Italy became a party to a purely defensive agreement, being unwilling to allow herself to be led into any aggressive action by the Central Powers. Germany had contributed much to the economic risorgimento of Italy by assisting, through the funds of its banks, the effort to reduce malaria and the development of hydro-electric plants designed to supply the lack of coal; finally, by increasing the exchange of commodities through the St. Gothard tunnel on the basis of commercial tariffs skilfully arranged. The condition of Italian finances had improved, and Italy was the only country in Europe to share with England the

privilege of having been able to diminish its debt, thanks to an excess of revenue. In forty years (18711911), the population had increased from 26 millions to 34 and a half millions. The army, in time of peace composed of 280,000 men and in time of war of 3,000,ooo, had been the melting pot in which all the old par

ticularist elements had come to be melted. Finally, the intellectual renaissance had kept pace with the economic rise. The illustrious inventor Marconi, the great criminologist Lombroso, the musicians Mascagni, Leoncavalli and Puccini, the historian Ferrero, the novelists and poets Carducci and Fogazzaro, above all

the sublime D'Annunzio, the Victor Hugo of Italy, kept brightly burning the flame of Italian genius.

Fur

Increasing tension between Italy and Austria.— However, if Italy had received from Germany nothing but services selfish enough, to be sure from Austria she had received nothing but disappointments. The Italian population of the Trentino and Trieste clamored to return to Italian unity, but the frontier in these two regions was traced in such a manner that all the offensive positions remained in the hands of Austria. thermore, since the beginning of the century the chief of the Austrian general staff, Conrad von Haetzendorf, had not ceased to add to the fortifications of these positions. Again, the Adriatic question came to aggravate the dissension. It is true that the agreements of 1899, 1905 and 1907 stipulated that Italy and Austria would attempt no attempt no territorial acquisition in Albania, and would promise to favor the autonomy of that province, if it should be detached from Turkey. Despite these accords, points of friction became more numerous and the danger of a conflict between the two powers became incessant. When Austria, instead of founding at Trieste an Italian university, conceded only the establishment at Innsbruck of a Faculty of Law, the Italian students who came to matriculate under that Faculty were received with cudgels by the Austrian students (1906). The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria caused great excitement in Italy,