foreign affairs, Delcasse, to attend a conference at Algeciras. That conference discussed placing Morocco under international control, but because France was the only power capable of dealing with the anarchy in the country, she was left in charge, subject to certain Spanish rights, and allowed to continue her work. The Germans again declared that they had no political interests in Morocco.

In 1909, Germany openly recognized the political interests of France in Morocco. In 1911 France was compelled by disorders in the country to penetrate farther into the interior. Germany under the pretext that her merchants were not getting fair treatment in Morocco, reopened the entire question and sent her gunboat Panther, to Agadir on the west coast of Africa, as if to establish a port there, although she had no interests in that part of the country. France protested vigorously and Britain supported her.

Matters came very close to war. But Germany was not yet ready to force the issue. Her action had been simply a pretext to find out the extent to which England and France were ready to make common cause. She recalled her gunboat and as a concession to obtain peace, was permitted to acquire some territory in the French Congo country. But German newspapers and German political utterances showed much bitterness. Growling and snarling grew apace in Germany, and to those who made a close study of the situation it became evident that Germany sooner or later intended to launch a war.

One of the characteristic German utterances of the time, came from Albrect Wirth, a German political writer of standing, in close touch with the thought and aims of his nation. The utterance about to be quoted may, in the light of later events, appear indiscreet, as Germany wished to avoid an appearance of responsibility for the world war; but the minds of the German people had to be prepared and this could not be accomplished without some of the writers and public men letting the cat out of the bag. Wirth said:

"Morocco is easily worth a big war, or several. At best—and even prudent Germany is getting to be convinced of this—war is only postponed and not abandoned. Is such a postponement to our advantage? They say we must wait for a better moment. Wait for the deepening of the Kiel canal, for our navy laws to take full effect. It is not exactly diplomatic to announce publicly to one's adversaries, 'To go to war now does not tempt us, but three years hence we shall let loose a world war'—No; if a war is really planned, not a word of it must be spoken; one's designs must be enveloped in profound mystery; then brusquely, all of a sudden, jump on the enemy like a robber in the darkness." The heavy footed German had difficulty in moving with the stealth of a robber, but the policy here recommended was followed.

In 1914, the three years indicated by Wirth had expired. There began to occur dark comings and goings; mysterious meetings and conferences on the continent of Europe. The German emperor, accompanied by the princes and leaders of the German states, began to cruise the border and northern seas of the Fatherland, where they would be safe from listening ears, prying eyes, newspapers, telephones and telegraphs. It became known that the Kaiser was cultivating the weak-minded Russian czar in an attempt to win his country from its alliance with England and France. There were no open rumblings of war, but the air was charged with electricity like that preceeding a storm.

An unaccountable business depression affected pretty much the entire world. Money, that most sensitive of all things, began to show nervousness and a tendency to go into hiding. The bulk of the world was still asleep to the real meaning of events, but it had begun to stir in its dreams, as if some prescience, some premonition had begun to reach it even in its slumbers.

Finally the first big event occurred—the tragedy that was not intended to accomplish as much, but which hastened the dawn of the day in which began the Spiritual Emancipation of the governments of earth. The Archduke Francis Ferdinand, nephew of the emperor of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary and commander in chief of its army, and his wife the duchess of Hohenburg, were assassinated June 28, 1914, by a Serbian student, Gavrio Prinzip. The assassination occurred at Sarajevo in Bosnia, a dependency, or rather, a Slavic state that had been seized by Austria. It was the lightning flash that preceeded the thunder's mighty crash.

Much has been written of the causes which led to the tragedy. Prinzip may have been a fanatic, but he was undoubtedly aided in his act by a number of others. The natural inference immediately formed was that the murder was the outcome of years of ill feeling between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, due to the belief of the people in the smaller state, that their aspirations as a nation were hampered and blocked by the German element in the Austrian empire. The countries had been on the verge of war several years before over the seizure of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria, and later over the disposition of Scutari and certain Albanian territory conquered in the Balkan-Turkish struggle.

Events are coming to light which may place a new construction on the causes leading to the assassination at Sarajevo. It was undoubtedly the pretext sought by Germany for starting the great war. Whether it may not have been carefully planned to serve that object and the Serbian Prinzip, employed as a tool to bring it about, is not so certain.

Several years prior to the war, the celebrated Russian, Tolstoy, gave utterance to a remarkable prophecy. Tolstoy was a mystic, and it was not unusual for him to go into a semi-trance state in which he professed to peer far into the future and obtain visions of things beyond the ken of average men. The Russian czar was superstitious and it is said that the German emperor had a strong leaning towards the mystic and psychic. In fact, it has been stated that the Kaiser's claim to a partnership with The Almighty was the result of delusions formed in his consultations with mediums—the modern descendants of the soothsayers of olden times.

Tolstoy stated that both the Czar and the Kaiser desired to consult with him and test his powers of divination. The three had a memorable sitting. Some time afterwards the results were given to the world. Tolstoy predicted the great war, and he stated his belief that the torch which would start the conflagration would be lighted in the Balkans about 1913.

Tolstoy was not a friend of either Russian or German autocracy, hence his seance may have been but a clever ruse to discover what was in the minds of the two rulers. Germany probably was not ready to start the war in 1913, but there is abundant warrant for the belief that she was trimming the torch at that time, and, who knows, the deluded Prinzip may have been the torch.

The old dotard Francis Joseph who occupied the throne of Austria-Hungary, was completely under the domination of the Germans. He could be relied upon to further any designs which the Kaiser and the German war lords might have.

The younger man, Francis Ferdinand, was not so easy to handle as his aged uncle. Accounts agree that he was arrogant, ambitious and had a will of his own. He was unpopular in his country and probably unpopular with the Germans. Being of the disposition he was, it is very likely that the Kaiser found it difficult to bend him completely to his will. Being a stumbling block in the way of German aims, is it not reasonably probable that Germany desired to get rid of him, thus leaving Austria-Hungary completely in the power of its tool and puppet, Francis Joseph, and in the event of his death, in the power of the young and suppliant Karl; another instrument easily bent to the German will?

The wife of the archduke, assassinated with him, was a Bohemian, her maiden name being Sophie Chotek. She was not of noble blood as Bohemia had no nobles. They had been driven out