preparation for a toy conquest of the world frightened his neighbours
into a league against him; and that league has now caught him in just
such a trap as his strategists were laying for his neighbours. We please
ourselves by pretending that he did not try to extricate himself, and
forced the war on us; but that is not true. When he realized his peril
he tried hard enough; but when he saw that it was no use he accepted the
situation and dashed at his enemies with an infatuate courage not
unworthy of the Hohenzollern tradition. Blinded as he was by the false
ideals of his class, it was the best he could do; for there is always a
chance for a brave and resolute warrior, even when his back is not to
the wall but to the Russians.

That means that we have to conquer him and not to revile him and strike
moral attitudes. His victory over British and French Democracy would be
a victory of Militarism over civilization; it would literally shut the
gates of mercy on mankind. Leave it to our official fools and
governesses to lecture the Kaiser, and to let loose Turcos and Ghoorkas
on him: a dangerous precedent. Let Thomas Atkins, Patrick Murphy, Sandy
McAlister, and Pitou Dupont fight him under what leadership they can
get, until honour is satisfied, simply because if St. George does not
slay the dragon the world will be, as a friend of mine said of Europe
the other day, "no place for a gentleman."


*Recapitulation.*

1. The war should be pushed vigorously, not with a view to a final
crushing of the German army between the Anglo-French combination and the
Russian millions, but to the establishment of a decisive military
superiority by the Anglo-French combination alone. A victory