to bear upon the Sultan, to persuade him to keep Thessaly.
The Sheik, about whom we spoke last week, has again been to the Sultan, and declared that the land conquered from the enemy must not be given back to them.
The Sultan, meanwhile, lets no one know what he intends to do, but carries out his own plans without letting a hint of what these plans are escape him.
The general opinion is that Turkey will hold Thessaly and if Europe wants her to give it up she will have to fight for it. The conviction is growing daily that Turkey's newly found power cannot be curbed without a great European war, the terrible European war which it was thought the sacrifice of Greece would prevent.
Germany is very unpopular in Europe at this moment.
When the Powers were made aware of the fact that the Porte declined to discuss the subject of giving up Thessaly, and only agreed to submit certain parts of the treaty of peace to their consideration, they were greatly astonished. When it was further learned that his Ministers had urged the Sultan to regard the Powers as enemies of Turkey, Europe began to open her eyes.
That Turkey should suddenly show such disrespect to the Great Powers seemed impossible to believe, until it was learned that Germany was supporting Turkey, and had assured the Sultan that if he refused to give up Thessaly the Powers could not put him out of the conquered country.
All the rest of the Powers at once began to abuse
Germany; but, if the blame for this disgraceful situation is to be properly bestowed, it will only be right for each of the Powers to take an equal share of it.
Had the Powers not upheld Turkey in the Cretan trouble, the chances are that there would have been no war, and Thessaly would now be peacefully and prosperously gathering in her harvest, instead of being robbed and plundered by a cruel foe.