blessings of peace, will thank us for centuries to come.

"Brothers! Sisters! such an hour has come that the history of the world
has never witnessed before. In the struggle which now begins--a deadly
grapple frivolously conjured up by Russia's monarch--the whole earth
will groan. The German people, however, will prove that it is worthy to
retain and develop its leading place in the intellectual and cultural
progress of the world. Our enemy envies us this position because in his
land, stupidity and confusion reign supreme; his own uncivilization and
barbarism cannot be rooted out.

"We will prevent him from throwing Europe back to the conditions in
which he and his likes dwell. May God grant that the civilized peoples
of Europe may have true understanding for this historic hour, just as
their heroic ancestors understood the danger when they hurled themselves
against the invasions of the Mongols.

"First of all the German nation will march against the armies of the
East, and, hand in hand with our ally, we hope will so grip the enemy
that he will lose all desire ever to attack us again."[17]

[Footnote 17: _München-Augsburger Abendzeitung_, August 2nd.]

The last lines of this perfervid article, give an instructive clue. A
mere quibble had arisen between the Central Powers and Russia. The
former immediately adopted an arrogant, even threatening, attitude which
thoughtful Germans condemned. Russia's willingness to submit the
question to an arbitration conference consisting of four neutral
ambassadors seems only to have intensified Teutonic lust to humiliate
the opponent. In any case, it is interesting to note that between July