at
sacrifice would be easier for Germany to bear than to part with
Alsace-Lorraine, which would close one of the most brilliant episodes
in her history.'

"_Sedan._

"On the way to the Crown Prince's quarters. There stands the little
house where the historic meeting between Napoleon III. and Bismarck
took place. The woman who lived there at the time died only a few
weeks ago. For the second time she saw the Germans arrive, bringing a
Moltke but no Bismarck with them, a detail, however, that cannot
deeply have interested the old lady.

"_With the Crown Prince._

"A pretty little house outside the town. I found a message from the
Crown Prince asking me to proceed there immediately, where I had
almost an hour's private conversation with him before supper.

"I do not know if the Crown Prince ever was of a warlike disposition,
as people say, but he is so no longer. He longs for peace, but does
not know how to secure it. He spoke very quietly and sensibly. He was
also in favour of territorial sacrifices, but seemed to think that
Germany would not allow it. The great difficulty lay in the contrast
between the actual military situation, the confident expectations of
the generals, and the fears entertained by the military laymen.
Besides, it is not only Alsace-Lorraine. The suppression of German
militarism spoken of in London means the one-sided disarmament of
Germany. Can an army far advanced on enemy soil whose generals are
confident of final victory, can a people still undefeated tolerate
that?

"I advised the Crown Prince to speak to his father on the question of
abdication, in which he fully agreed. I then invited him to come to
Vienna on behalf of the Emperor, which he promised to do as soon as he
could get leave."

On my return the Emperor wrote him a letter, drawn up by me, which
contained the following passage:

My Minister for Foreign Affairs has informed me of the interesting
conversation he had the honour to have with you, and it has been a
great pleasure to me to hear all your statements, which so exactly
reflect my own views of the situation. Notwithstanding the
superhuman exertions of our troops, the situation throughout the
country demands that a stop be put to the war before winter, in
Germany as well as here. Turkey will not be with us much longer,
and with her we shall also lose Bulgaria; we two will then be
alone, and next spring will bring America and a still stronger
Ent