the relations between the two countries. An account of Sir Ernest
Cassel's visit, and of what passed when he delivered his message from
London, is given in Herr von Bethmann Hollweg's recent book.]

[Footnote 3: An anecdote illustrating the change that was coming over
political opinion in Germany in 1912, may be worth relating. I was
present at a supper party, given by one of the professors in a
well-known German University town, in May of that year. I asked him
whether the old Conservative member who had for long represented the
town had been again returned. "Returned! no," he replied. "It was
impossible to return a man of moderate opinions. We only escaped a
Social Democrat by a few votes. We managed to get enough of the popular
vote to return a fairly sensible railway servant for this University
town." I inquired what party he belonged to. "No old party," was his
answer, and it will interest you to know that his program was an English
one: "_Lloyd Georgianismus_." I then inquired what was his text book.
"_Die Reden von Lloyd George_," was the answer. Did it contain anything
about a place called Limehouse? "_Limhaus, ach ja; das war eine
vortreffliche Rede!_"]




CHAPTER III

THE GERMAN ATTITUDE BEFORE THE WAR


We now have before us the considered opinions of Herr von Bethmann
Hollweg, the late Imperial Chancellor, and of Admiral von Tirpitz, the