Читать книгу The Drama of Three Hundred and Sixty Five Days - Hall Caine - Страница 10

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​"GOOD GOD, MAN, DO YOU MEAN TO SAY … " "We have tried in vain to localize the just vengeance of our Austrian neighbour for an abominable Royal murder," said the Germans, ​knowing well that the Royal murder was nothing but a shameless pretext for an opportunity to test their strength against the French, and give law to the rest of Europe.

"Let us pass over your territory in order to attack our enemy in the West, and we promise to respect your independence and to recompense you for any loss you may possibly sustain," said Germany to Belgium, without a thought of the monstrous crime of treachery which she was asking Belgium to commit against France.

"Stand aside in a benevolent neutrality, and we undertake not to take any of the possessions of France in Europe," said Germany to Great Britain, without allowing herself to be troubled by so much as a qualm about the iniquity of asking us to trade with her in the French colonies. And when we rejected Germany's infamous proposals, and called on her to say if she meant to respect the independence of Belgium, whose integrity we had mutually pledged ourselves to protect, her Chancellor stamped and fumed at our representative, and said, "Good God, man, do you mean to say that your country will go to war for a scrap of paper?"