Austria, seeing herself threatened, might have mobilised her troops behind her own chain of fortresses on the opposite side of the frontier. A troop of Russian cavalry, moving from one point to another, might perhaps have accidentally overstepped the precise frontier line, which, it must be remembered, is not as straight as the chalk mark on a billiard table. An Austrian frontier guard, thinking it the advanced portion of a Russian force, might have fired, and there might have been a serious skirmish. Which side would have suffered from unprovoked aggression? Each would deny being the aggressor, and would claim to be the victim. Both would appeal to Germany on the strength of their treaties, and Germany would have to decide the theoretic question. Does anybody imagine for a moment that, human nature being what it is, she would have decided it otherwise than in accordance with her own practical interests, and the terms for assistance she could secure beforehand from each side? The crowning moment of Bismarck's life would have been that in which he held the Russian appeal in one hand and the Austrian in the other. His organ, the Hamburger Nachrichten, calls the Russian assurance"; other people might call it an ambush.

Treaty a "re

It is not surprising that Germany's allies felt a sudden qualm of sickness when they learned that for several years they had been standing over this pitfall. The speeches of Prince Hohenlohe, the Imperial Chancellor, and Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, the Foreign Minister, can have but little effect in subduing this nausea, for their oaths forbade them to say anything in explanation of the Russian treaty, as that would have been to declare its existence; while they did not dare. to deny it, even by the diplomatic falsehood, for fear further and worse disclosures should come from Friedrichsruh. Of course, they both declared that the Triple Alliance was firmer than ever, and that Germany set more store on her relations. with her allies than on anything else in the world. And Austria vehemently, and Italy more faintly, have replied expressing their satisfaction that all is so well. These utterances are for public consumption, and everybody in Europe is asking his neighbour what other secret treaties are in existence, and where any country would stand in case of war.

What would Germany say, for instance, if it were found that Austria had concluded a treaty of "benevolent neutrality" with France; or if Italy had concluded one with France; or if Austria had concluded one with Russia? In fact, Prince Bismarck's revelations go to show that, in the first place, no nation knows exactly what its own position is, and who its allies would be in the moment of danger; and, in the second, that such treaties as exist are worth little more than the parchment they are written on, and that in case of hostilities everybody would be tempted to throw them to the winds, and make the best bargain he could on the spot. It is believed that Prince Bismarck's revelations were intended as an attack upon William II. and his Ministers for their supposed neglect of the dying counsels of William I. to keep on good terms with Russia. When this explanation became dangerously obvious, it is suggested that Bismarck endeavoured to neutralise its significance by hinting that his words were aimed at the suppression of English influence in Germany; and such an explanation, unfortunately, is always certain of a burst of applause in the Fatherland. If the latter explanation be truc --which, personally, I do not believe-we must find what comfort we can in reflecting that the actual result has been to prove to the whole world how wise is England after all to stand aloof from misleading and possibly dangerous engagements, and save her power to throw in the balance when war shall come. The picture of Europe thus afforded, however, is both a sad and an alarming one, and emphasises more than ever British isolation. It seems to me to point the moral that every ship, and particularly every man, added to the Navy, and every battalion by which the Army may be strengthened, should be a cause of personal rejoicing to every man in Great Britain.

Italy has made peace with Abyssinia on Abyssinia's terms, and the strange kingdom ruled over so effectively by the descendant of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is about to enter the comity of nations and exchange diplomatic representatives with the Powers. The terms of peace are such a

humiliation for Italy as no civilised nation has suffered in modern times, but they were inevitable, and Italy has been wise to "cut her loss." This is the more so-though the fact is not generally known-because even if Adowa had been a complete triumph instead of an appalling defeat, Italy would not have been allowed to profit by the result of her arms. Russia had previously assured Abyssinia that she would not permit Italy to convert it, formally and finally, into a protectorate. In fact, Abyssinia is virtually already under the protection of Russia. The so-called Red Cross Mission to the Abyssinian wounded was the occasion for getting a number of sharp-eyed Russian officers into the country; and at this moment one of the high officials of King Menelik is living with the famous M. Leontieff as the guest of the Tsar in one of the best hotels in St. Petersburg. What the Russian object is in this is not very clear, but Abyssinia, it must be remembered, lies conveniently near to Khartum and midway between Egypt and British Central African possessions. By the treaty of peace Italy is pledged not to hand over to any other Power any of the once-Abyssinian territory she still retains, but to restore it to Abyssinia if she decides to evacuate it. Does this include Kassala, which is not strictly in the Abyssinian sphere? Even with the payment of an indemnity, whether in cash or by the military cargo of the ship Doelwyk, I fear that the Italian people are not quite at the end of their sorrow over their illfated African adventure, for I hear that a number of the Abyssinian prisoners fell into the hands of one of the Mohammedan or Judaic Abyssinian tribes, and that they have undergone particularly great suffering. Now that her hands are happily free once more, however, we may look in the near future to see Italy's relations with the rest of Europe undergo some modifications to her own advantage and greater honour.

I wish some well-informed person would give me two items of information. First, what is the great scheme with regard to South Africa that Mr. Chamberlain is cherishing, and for which he is, vainly up to the present time, endeavouring to

secure the assent of his colleagues in the Ministry? And second, at what, and at whom, did Mr. Rhodes point when he declared a short time ago that unless the present attacks upon him-" bally-ragging" was the exact word he usedcome to an end, he is determined when he reaches England to give away the whole truth about the inception of the Jameson raid?

Editor: F. ORTMANS.

HENRY NORMAN.

VOYAGEUSES.—IV.

ANTIGONE.

I

Ox ne choisit pas ses souvenirs. Je n'éprouve jamais plus vivement la vérité de cette maxime qu'en regardant, avec nostalgie, comme cela m'arrive si souvent, la carte du lac divin, de cette Méditerranée que j'ai déjà tant courue, que j'espère courir tant encore. Sur la mappe, vaguement teintée, de cette carte, mes yeux suivent la ligne découpée de ces rivages dont j'ai doublé presque chaque cap, et je m'arrête sur la longue tache noire qui représente l'ile adorable de Corfou... Corfou! Quel voyageur a pu prononcer ce nom sans un soupir, s'il s'est une fois promené sous la verdure d'argent de ses oliviers énormes, aux troncs jamais ébranchés, en face de la côte sauvage de l'Epire, qui dresse ses montagnes blanches de neige par delà le canal, si intensément bleu le jour, si pâlement lilas le soir ?... Corfou! Quel poète n'a rêvé, devant ces magiques syllabes, de voluptés lentes et paresseuses? Quel amoureux n'a imaginé un paradis de parfums et de solitude autour d'une passion heureuse et comblée ?... Le hasard. d'une rencontre de voyage veut que la fabuleuse Corcyre évoque pour moi d'autres figures: celle d'abord d'un ami que j'ai eu là-bas, plus âgé que moi de quarante ans et qui s'en est allé rejoindre, aux pays mystérieux d'où l'on ne revient pas, les Sages antiques auxquels il ressemblait tant,-celle ensuite d'un de mes anciens camarades de collège, aujourd'hui un des politiciens les plus tarés du Palais-Bourbon, et il y a le choix,celle enfin, celle surtout, de la sœur de ce déloyal personnage, une fille de trente-cinq ans, que je n'ai vue que quelques