Page:The guilt of William Hohenzollern.djvu/167

Rh Berchtold has so far quite markedly avoided speaking about the Serbian question with Sir Maurice de Bunsen."

Jagow adds to this report of Lichnowsky's: ""Your Majesty's Ambassador in London is receiving instructions to be careful in his language, and that we did not know the Austrian demands, but considered them Austria-Hungary's internal affairs, regarding which it would not be proper for us to intervene.""

On this William observes:

""Right! This ought, however, to be told very seriously and clearly to Grey so that he may see that I stand no trifling. Grey is making the mistake of placing Serbia on the same level as Austria and other great Powers. This is unheard of! Serbia is a band of robbers, which must be laid hold of for their crimes. I shall interfere in nothing which the Emperor alone is entitled to decide. I have been expecting this dispatch and it does not surprise me. Regular British way of thinking, and condescendingly commanding tone, which I will not have.""

In this fashion did William think to gain English neutrality. Of course his diplomats poured water in his fermenting wine, but the material difficulty remained: the antagonism between the Austrian and English point of view was too great for England to have been able to continue, as she intended, to intervene for Austria and place a check exclusively on Russia.