xviii INTRODUCTION 



arriving from any quarter can be sent in any 

 direction without changing carriages. The day 

 after war has been declared, we can hurl 800,000 men 

 to the frontier ; in three days another 400,000 can 

 be sent. Germany's hope is to strike a sudden blow, 

 as she did against Austria and France, and for this 

 purpose our military organization is kept up as if 

 we were at war." 



" Germany must be ready for any emergency. 

 Her relations with England are cold enough. With 

 Austria and Italy she is friendly, but they are not 

 strong allies, and the Hungarian half of Austria hates 

 us bitterly. With France, Germany's relations are of 

 the most volcanic character, and Denmark hates us. 

 But Russia is our nearest enemy ; she fears us, and 

 not without reason, for we want the Baltic coast up to 

 St. Petersburg. Russia is a serious enemy, and she is 

 your enemy too. She wants to take India, and India 

 she will have. Your country should never have 

 treated her so tamely over Afghanistan ; your Lord 

 Beaconsfield was a great man and understood this, 

 but Mr. Gladstone is a fool, since he doesn't want to 

 crush Russia." 



" But perhaps India is not so valuable after all, 

 and the stories of her boundless wealth are invented 

 by the newspapers. Africa is the land of the future. 

 You have colonies in the south and in the north-east, 

 and the French are strong in the west, so that there 

 is not much left for us. But Germany must become a 

 mother of nations ; we must have lusty sons. When 

 England, France, and Germany come to blows over 

 Africa, as nations of old fought for India and America, 

 the well-trained German will prove a strong enemy. 



