great State; and no one more fully justifies the analogy than M. de
Blowitz, for it is profitable to recall that when in 1875 the military
party of Germany secretly planned to strike down France, when the
stricken gladiator was slowly but courageously struggling to its
feet, it was de Blowitz, who in an article in the London _Times_ let
the light of day into the brutal and iniquitous scheme, and by mere
publicity defeated for the time being this conspiracy against the
honor of France and the peace of the world. Unfortunately the _coup_
of the Prussian military clique was only postponed. Our generation was
destined to sustain the unprecedented horrors of a base attempt to
destroy France, that very glorious asset of all civilization.

De Blowitz took great interest in his brilliant nephew and at his
suggestion Lauzanne became the London correspondent of the _Matin_ in
1898, when he was only twenty-four years of age. This brought him into
direct communication with the London _Times_ which then as now
exchanged cable news with the _Matin_, and it was the duty of the
young journalist to take the cable news of the "Thunderer" and
transmit such portions as would particularly interest France to the
_Matin_, with such special comment as suggested itself. How well he
did this work, requiring as it did the most accurate judgment and the
nicest discrimination, was shown when he was made Editor-in-Chief of
the _Matin_ in 1901.

His tenure of office was destined to be short for, when the world war
broke out, M. Lauzanne, as a First Lieutenant of the French Army,
joined the colors in the first days of mobilization and surrendered
the pen for the sword. His career as editor had been long enough,
however, for him to impress upon the minds of the French public the
imminency of the Prussian Peril. As to this he had no illusions and