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Rh no injury done us by the Spaniards. The war sprang out of increasing demands made by President McKinley. The record shows that these were met by the Castilians in a really remarkably yielding spirit, considering their traditionally sensitive "National Honour" and unbounded pride. And as far as the war was the result of a failure of negotiation, or in the power of the Spaniard to avoid by any possible action, it turned upon a punctilio, a really absurd quibble which had little to do with the merits of the affair, and upon a few days' procrastination upon the part of the Spaniards. And even this, which we deemed a delay, amounted to violent precipitation of action to the mind of Madrid.

Before recording the details of the American Minister's hectic weeks in Madrid, it must be clearly said that there is no longer any question but that the war was a blessing to all parties concerned; and that it was in all probability the only possible solution of an international scandal. It should be classed as a great