They think it must be fought now or never. On this
account Austria was induced by Prussia to challenge the Russian
Government over the Servian question.
"Either that challenge would be accepted, with the result of war, or
Russia would give way, thereby obtaining for the German peoples a
victory without bloodshed. And Austria would proceed to administrate the
Servian Slavs and to control them--driving a wedge into the whole Slav
power and rendering it innocuous for the future.
"In this struggle between Teuton and Slav France comes in as an
accessory, having made an alliance with Russia long ago for her own
ends, and having nothing to do with the quarrel between Teuton and Slav.
The German-speaking peoples regret the interference of France, but are
prepared to take on the burden of a French war rather than abandon the
moment for restricting the growing power of the Slav.
"Now, in all this," (your experienced man with a wide view of Europe
would add,) "England was not concerned. Her position was quite
subsidiary in all this quarrel. She had far less to do with it even than
France had, and it was in every Cabinet of Europe doubted whether
England would come in at all. By the Prussian Government it was taken
for granted that England would have no reason to come in. By the French
it was feared in spite of the recent relations between the two countries
that England would remain neutral.
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