Senor Castillo, the Spanish minister of the interior, said that Spain had taken steps to augment her defences and protect her colonies, in view of the possible European war.
February 12 a despatch to the London News from St. Petersburg said: “Ominous fears of a European war prevail here. It is announced that German colonists in the Caucasus have been notified to hold themselves in readiness to return to Germany and join the reserves.”
At the same date the North German Gazette said that since General Boulanger had assumed charge of the French war office not a day had passed without measures being taken to augment the offensive strength of the army, and there were constant movements of troops upon the frontiers.
February 19 the news was still more alarming at Berlin. Work was going on night and day on the fortifications at Verdun and Belfort. “All commerce has been suspended at Metz, excepting in food. The inhabitants are storing their houses from cellar to garret.” A Russian paper of that date said, “Existing circumstances admit of no delay.”
At Vienna, February 18, it was announced that “a semi-official letter from St. Petersburg represents that Russia is waiting for a Franco-German conflict, which she considers inevitable, to realize her own Balkan projects. Russia would consider it to be to her own interest not to allow Germany to be victorious.”
February 19 Senator Beck at Washington referred to an extract from a late speech of Count von Moltke before the German Reichstag, to show that war is inevitable.
February 27 the London despatch to the Boston Herald said: “Within the last forty-eight hours confidence in the maintenance of peace has visibly lessened.”
About the same time in Russian government circles the conviction was said to be gaining ground that a Franco-German war was inevitable, and that it would be for the interest of Russia to save France from disaster.
March 6 the North German Gazette said that the Alsace elections had strengthened the war party in France. War seems to have been the general anticipation of military men. General Wolseley (February 26) is reported to have said: “I feel sure that a vast, appalling war is certainly in the near future; but this, indeed, everybody may be said to know.”
But “everybody” is as liable to be mistaken on questions of futurity as on questions of philosophy and religion, on which the multitude called “everybody” has been largely mistaken ever since the earliest periods known to history. “Everybody” is generally pessimistic, apt to be superstitious, and never philosophic. A single good psychometric perception is worth much more than Mr. Everybody’s opinion, whether upon national policy, personal character, historical truth, or medical science.