e," he wrote to
the King of Prussia, "in the most serious circumstances in which we are
placed, it will appear to you unusual to receive a letter from me. But as
I hold the office of Vicar of the God of peace in this world, I cannot do
less than offer you my mediation. It is my desire that all preparations
for war should disappear, and that the evils which inevitably follow
should be prevented. My mediation is that of a sovereign who, in his
capacity of king, cannot, on account of the smallness of his territory,
excite any jealousy, but who, nevertheless, will inspire confidence by the
moral and religious influence which he personifies. May God hear my
prayers! and may He also accept those which I offer for your Majesty, with
whom I desire to be united in the common bond of charity.

Pius PP. IX."

"I have written also to the Emperor of the French."

The King of Prussia replied from Berlin on the 30th July. The kindly
monarch expressed himself beautifully and with the finest feeling: "Most
blessed Pontiff--I was not surprised but deeply moved when I read the
feeling words which you wrote, in order to cause the voice of the God of
peace to be heard. How could I be deaf to such a powerful appeal? God is
my witness that neither I nor my people have desired this war. In
fulfilment of the sacred duties which God lays on sovereigns and on
nations, we have drawn the sword in order to defend the independence and
honor of our country, and we are prepared to lay it down as soon as these
blessings shall no longer be in danger of being torn from us. If your
Holiness could offer me, on the part of him who has so unexpectedly
declared war, the assurance of sincerely pacific dispositions and of
guarantees against a renewal of such violation of the peace and
tranquillity of Europe, I certainly would be far from refusing to accept
them at the venerable hands of your Holiness, united as I am with you by
the bonds of Christian charity and true friendship. WILLIAM."

The letter of Pius IX. to the French Emperor has not been published, and
it is not known whether Napoleon deigned to reply. One thing is certain.
He did not either accept the mediation or heed the remonstrances of the
Holy Father. He was equally deaf to the warnings of his old allies of
Crimean fame. The British government despatched to Paris a member of the
cabinet, who, in a prolonged interview with the demented Emperor, argued
earnestly on the part of Queen Victoria and