them. And now it looks to me as if Germany thought she saw a
chance to beat France and Russia. Perhaps she thinks that we
won't fight, on account of the trouble in Ireland. And what we
English fear is that, if she wins, she will take Belgium and
Holland. Then she would be so close to our coasts that we would
never be safe. We would have to be prepared always for invasion.
So, you see, it seems to me that we are facing the same sort of
danger we have faced before. Only this time it is Germany,
instead of France, that we shall have to fight -- if we do fight."

"If the Germans go through Belgium, will that mean that we shall
fight?" asked Leslie Franklin.

"Almost certainly, yes," said Grenfel. "And it is through Belgium
that Germany has her best chance to strike at France. So you see
how serious things are. I don't want to go into all the history
that is back of all this. I just want you to understand what
England's interest is. If we make war, it will be a war of self-
defence. Suppose you owned a house. And suppose the house next
door caught fire. You would try to put out that fire, wouldn't
you, to save your own house from being burned up? Well, that's
England's position. If the Germans held Belgium or Holland -- and
they would hold both, if they beat France and Russia -- England
would then be in just as much danger as your house would be. So
if we fight, it will be to put out the German fire in the house
next door.

"Now I want you to understand one thing. I'm talking as an
Englishman. A German would tell you all this in a very different
way. I don't like the people who are always slandering their