"The French Ambassador [Dumaine] hears from Berlin that the German Ambassador at Vienna [Tschirsky] is instructed to speak seriously to the Austro-Hungarian Government against acting in a manner calculated to provoke a European war.
"Unfortunately the German Ambassador is himself so identified with extreme anti-Russian and anti-Serbian feeling prevalent in Vienna that he is unlikely to plead the cause of peace with entire sincerity.
"Although I am not able to verify it, I have private information that the German Ambassador knew the text of the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia before it was dispatched, and telegraphed it to the German Emperor. I know from the German Ambassador himself that he indorses every line of it."
Ambassador Buchanan telegraphed from St. Petersburg to Grey of an interview with the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
"M. Sazonof said that German Ambassador [Count Pourtalès] had told him yesterday afternoon that German Government were willing to guarantee that Serbian integrity would be respected by Austria. To this he had replied that this might be so, but nevertheless Serbia would become an Austrian vassal, just as, in similar circumstances Bokhara had become a Russian vassal. There would be a revolution in Russia if she were to tolerate such a state of affairs.
"M. Sazonof told us that absolute proof was in possession of Russian Government that Germany was making military and naval preparations against Russia—more particularly in the direction of the Gulf of Finland.
"German Ambassador had a second interview with Minister for Foreign Affairs at 2 a. m., when former completely broke down on seeing that war was inevitable. He appealed to M. Sazonof to make some suggestion which he could telegraph to German Government as a last hope. M. Sazonof accordingly drew up and handed to German Ambassador a formula.
"'If Austria, recognizing that her conflict with Serbia has assumed character of question of European interest, declares herself ready to eliminate from her ultimatum points which violate principle of sovereignty of Serbia, Russia engages to stop all military preparations.'
"Preparations for general mobilization will be proceeded with if this proposal is rejected by Austria, and inevitable result will be a European war. Excitement here has reached such a pitch that, if Austria refuses to make a concession, Russia cannot hold back, and now that she knows that Germany is arming, she can hardly postpone, for strategical reasons, converting partial into general mobilization."
Ambassador Goschen telegraphed from Berlin to Grey: