at he had spent an hour
with Secretary of State von Jagow, urging him to accept Grey's
proposal to make another effort to prevent the terrible catastrophe
of a European war.

"He appreciated your continued efforts to maintain peace, but
said it was impossible for the Imperial Government to consider
any proposal until they had received an answer from Russia to
their communication of to-day [the ultimatum].

"I asked his excellency why they had made their demand even more
difficult for Russia to accept by asking them to demobilize in
south as well. He replied that it was in order to prevent Russia
from saying all her mobilization was directed only against
Austria.

"His excellency said that if the answer from Russia was
satisfactory he thought personally that your proposal merited
favorable consideration, and in any case he would lay it before
the emperor and chancellor.

"He again assured me that both the Emperor William, at the
request of the Emperor of Russia, and the German Foreign Office
had even up till last night been urging Austria to show
willingness to continue discussions--and telegraphic and the
telephonic communications from Vienna had been of a promising
nature--but Russia's mobilization had spoilt everything."

Ambassador Bertie telegraphed from Paris that he had presented to M.
Viviani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Grey's inquiry concerning
France respecting Belgian neutrality.

"He is urgently anxious as to what the attitude of England will
be in the circumstances [which may arise from Germany's ultimatum
to Russia.]"

The German Embassy is packing up.

In a supplementary telegram Bertie informed Grey:

"French Government are resolved to respect the neutrality of
Belgium, and it would be only in the event of some other power
violating that neutrality that France might find herself under
the necessity, in order to assure defense of her own security, to
act otherwise. This assurance has been given several times.
President of the Republic spoke of it to the King of the
Belgians, and the French Minister at Brussels has spontaneously
renewed the assurance to the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs
to-day."

_France._ Raymond Poincare, President of France, informed George V
that Germany was pushing forward military preparations, especially
on