It is not difficult now to understand that Francis
Joseph had a profound reliance on Napoleon III., that he believed the
Frenchman would prevent his being driven to the wall, and that Prussia
would be the greatest sufferer by the war, as she would be forced to
part with the Rhine provinces. His mistake with respect to France was
not a great one, as the French saw the triumph of Prussia with much
bitterness of feeling, and gladly would have joined the Austrians; but
the mistake he made in regard to Germany was very great, and shows that
he and his advisers knew nothing of Germanic feeling. If they could thus
err on a point that was plain to every intelligent foreigner, how can we
expect them to exhibit more intelligence and more sense with respect to
the new state of things proceeding from the event of the war? If they
could not comprehend matters of fact at the beginning of last June, why
should we conclude that they will be Solomons hereafter? Brought face to
face with a new state of things, they so proceeded as to convince all
impartial observers that they were wellnigh as ignorant of what had been
going on among men, as the Seven Sleepers were when roused from their
long slumber. But for this, unless we assume that they were fools, not
only would they not have admitted war to be possible, but they never
would have allowed the coming about of such a state of things as led to
the dispute with Prussia.
Pages:
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311