on circumstances; but immediately checked himself; he repeated
that the difficulty must be localized. He asked me if I really
thought the situation serious. 'Certainly,' I answered, 'because
if what is happening is the result of due reflection, I do not
understand why all means of retreat have been cut off.'

"All the evidence shows that Germany is ready to support
Austria's attitude with unusual energy. The weakness which her
Austro-Hungarian ally has shown for some years past has weakened
the confidence that was placed in her here. She was found heavy
to drag along. Mischievous legal proceedings, such as the Agram
and the Friedjung affairs, brought odium on her police and
covered them with ridicule. All that was asked of the police was
that they should be strong; the conviction is that they were
violent.

"An article which appeared in the 'Lokal Anzeiger' this evening
shows also that at the German Chancellery there exists a state of
mind to which we in Paris are naturally not inclined to pay
sufficient attention, I mean the feeling that monarchies must
stand together. I am convinced that great weight must be attached
to this point of view in order to appreciate the attitude of the
Emperor William, whose impressionable nature must have been
affected by the assassination of a prince whose guest he had been
a few days previously.

"It is not less striking to notice the pains with which Herr von
Jagow, and all the officials placed under his orders, pretend to
everyone that they were ignorant of the scope of the note sent by
Austria to Serbia."

M. Paleologue, French Ambassador at St. Petersburg, reported to M.
Bienvenu-Martin as follows:

"The intentions of the Emperor of Russia and his ministers could
not be more pacific, a fact of which the President of the
[French] Republic and the president of the council have been
able to satisfy themselves directly; but the ultimatum which the
Austro-Hungarian Government has just delivered to the Cabinet at
Belgrade introduces a new and disquieting element into the
situation.

"Public opinion in Russia would not allow Austria to offer
violence to Serbia. The shortness of the time limit fixed by the
ultimatum renders still more difficult the moderating influence
that the powers of the Tri