countries were on the verge of war, and it was not till the Entente of 1904
that their relations were adjusted on a basis of give-and-take. But by that
time Germany had come into the colonial field, and the Entente with England
meant new friction with Germany, turning upon French designs in Morocco. In
this matter Great Britain supported her ally, and the incident of Agadir
in 1911 showed the solidity of the Entente. This demonstration no doubt
strengthened the hands of the aggressive elements in France, and later
on the influence of M. Delcassé and M. Poincaré was believed in certain
quarters to have given new energy to this direction of French policy. This
tendency to chauvinism was recognized as a menace to peace, and we find
reflections of that feeling in the Belgian dispatches. Thus, for instance,
Baron Guillaume, Belgian minister at Paris, writes on February, 21, 1913,
of M. Poincaré:--

It is under his Ministry that the military and slightly chauvinistic
instincts of the French people have awakened. His hand can be seen in
this modification; it is to be hoped that his political intelligence,
practical and cool, will save him from all exaggeration in this course.
The notable increase of German armaments which supervenes at the moment
of M. Poincaré's entrance at the Elysée will increase the danger of a
too nationalistic orientation of the policy of France.

Again, on March 3, 1913:--

The German Ambassador said to me on Saturday: "The political situation
is much improved in the last forty-eight hours; the tension is generally
relaxed; one may hope for a return to peace in the near future. But what
does not improve is the state of public opinion in France and Germany
with regard to the relations between the two countries. We are persuaded
in Germany that a spirit of chauvinism having revived, we have to fear an