"Ah, you say so, and you are a young man! That is good! But still you need not fear. England, in spite of the Entente Cordiale, holds to her policy of splendid isolation. She will not be dragged into the turmoil?"
"No, I think that is impossible. You see we are not a military nation, in spite of a section of the community. Our Army is small, and will, I hope, remain small."
"Stick to that, my friend—stick to that. Big armies only breed war, and war is a crime. But about my desire to buy Tre-Trelyon—ah, your English names are hard to pronounce—do you, who know the owner, this bluff John Bull, Admiral—what do you call him?"
"Admiral Tresize."
"Admiral Tresize, yes. Do you think it would be possible for me to see him?"
"I'm quite sure it would be," replied Bob, who remembered what the Admiral had said. "I'm dining at his house to-morrow night. I'll tell him what you have said."
"Ah, that is kind, friendly of you; but I must not detain you longer.
Good evening."
"What a friendly old fellow," reflected Bob, as he walked away. "Yes, I can quite imagine how one who is a Frenchman at heart would be treated in Alsace," and then he forgot all about him.
As day followed day, disquieting news came from the Near East. It seemed as though the cloud which at first was no bigger than a man's hand was covering the whole Eastern sky. Disturbing news flashed across the Channel, even while it was generally felt that the tragedy of Sarajevo could never lead to open hostilities. About the middle of July, as all the world knows, it was believed that Austria had accepted Servia's assurance that her attitude towards the greater Power was altogether pacific, and that full justice should be meted out to all who had participated in the ghastly murders.
On July 24, even in the quiet neighbourhood of St. Ia, much apprehension was felt by many who took an interest in foreign affairs at the announcement of the presentation of the Austro-Hungarian Note to the Servian Government, especially when we read the terms of the Note. They were so brutal, so arrogant, that we could not see how any self-respecting people could accept them. Still, we reflected that Servia who had only lately been much weakened and impoverished by her war with Turkey, might be humble.