confidence in Aguinaldo, and further was instructed by Secretary
Long on the 26th of May as follows: "It is desirable, as far as
possible, and consistent for your success and safety, not to have
political alliances with the insurgents or any faction in the
islands that would incur liability to maintain their cause in the
future." Meanwhile foreign nations were rushing vessels to this
critical spot in the Pacific. On the 17th of June, Dewey sent a
cable, which had to be relayed to Hongkong by boat, reporting
that there were collected, in Manila Bay, a French and a Japanese
warship, two British, and three German. Another German man-of-war
was expected, which would make the German squadron as strong as
the American.

The presence of so large a German force, it was felt, could
hardly fail to have definite significance, and therefore caused
an anxiety at home which would, indeed, have been all the keener
had Admiral Dewey not kept many of his troubles to himself.
European sympathy was almost wholly with Spain. The French, for
instance, had invested heavily in Spanish bonds, many of which
were secured on the Cuban revenues. There was also perhaps some
sense of solidarity among the Latin races in Europe and a feeling
that the United States was a colossus willfully exerting itself
against a weak antagonist. It was not likely that this feeling
was strong enough to lead to action, but at least during that
summer of 1898 it was somewhat unpleasant for American tourists
in Paris, and an untoward episode might easily have brought
unfriendly sentiment to a dangerous head. Austria had never been
very friendly to the United States, particularly since the
execution of the Emperor Maximilian in Mexico, which his brother
Francis Joseph believed the United States could have prevented,