war with joy; it is to them an amusing spectacle in the beginning. Our soldiers are more serious; they start for the frontier with a firm resolution to make an end of the situation. They know that the struggle will be dire; they esteem the courage and the talent of the enemy but they have confidence in their energy, and besides, they believe themselves more habituated to war and better armed. I suppose the shock will be terrible, and that on both sides they will fight with desperation like that between your North and South. There is with us an old rancor against the Prussians. In 1814 and 1815 they distinguished themselves by their insolence and rapacity. Our peasants have not forgotten them any more than our soldiers have forgotten Jena and Waterloo. The general opinion is that there will be more than one battle and that the war will only end at the gates of Berlin or of Paris.

They say that the emperor is animated with more conciliatory views and would be satisfied if he could set Prussia back from the Rhine, placing, as in old times, some small kingdoms between the two peoples, but if we are conquerors public opinion will be more exacting, and the emperor will be overruled. We have not yet seen blood run, but once the intoxication of blood has begun it will take more than one day to return to reason.

Such, in my opinion, is a faithful exposition of this sad situation. No one in France has any ill feeling against Germany. We only know Prussia and her insatiable ambition. If she succeeds, if she humiliates France, the universal monarchy is reconstituted and Austria will soon become the vassal of the Hohenzollerns and Vienna a Prussian city. If Prussia is conquered, France, I think, will be very moderate toward Germany, very exacting toward Prussia. We desire an assured peace not conquest, which does not mean that the possession of the shores of the Rhine would not be regarded by many as one of the conditions of peace.

Will the war be confined to these two nations? I doubt it. It seems to me impossible that Denmark should not seize the occasion to secure justice, or that she can remain neutral if our fleets appear at the mouth of the Elbe or in the Baltic. As to Russia, Austria and England, I will say nothing, having only my own conjectures to submit to you, but if the war is not speedily ended, I fear that all Europe will be involved in it. May you then realize the advantage of your isolation, and develop as a

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nation peacefully, while old Europe sinks deeper and deeper in barbarism. Westward the course of empire takes its way. The future, and a near future will demonstrate it.

Adieu, dear Sir. Believe me under all circumstances devotedly yours,

(Signed)

ED. LABOULAYE

P. S.-I am a free trader, and a member of an American free trade club, but not a member of the Cobden Club. Besides, my feeble health retains me at home; I shall not, therefore, have the pleasure of meeting you at the London dinner on the 23d.

If by chance you publish all or any part of this letter in England or in the United States, oblige me by not putting my name to it. At this time every Frenchman as well as every Prussian is bound to the greatest reserve, and I do not wish to take an active part in this terrible trial of arms. On the contrary, I would wish to preach peace to all the world whenever my voice shall have a chance of being heard. Unhappily, that time has not yet come, and there remains to me but to pray for the triumph of my country.

JOHN HAY TO BIGELOW

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

MADRID.

Dear Mr. Bigelow:

July 21, 1870.

The situation has greatly changed even since your letter of the 15th, which I have just received. You see that this government has swallowed without a whimper the insult of France, and positively seems rather tickled that Prussia has to fight the matter out alone. Please never use the word "decency" in speaking of the contemporary breed of Spanish politicians. They retain the speech of Don Quixote, but the heart and stomach are Sancho's. The Emperor, with a shameless cynicism, has given Olozaga1 the grand cordon. The old dotard is the tool of his pretty countrywoman the Empress. She has a wonderful power over senile en'Spanish ambassador to France.

voys. She kept Dix and keeps Washburne in a chronic priapism. It is as settled as anything can be here for twenty-four hours that Prussia is to fight Spain's battle with no help from Spain.

The Cuban question is not so simple as it seems. The Spanish government has no authority whatever in the Island. The old story of the loss of the Americas is repeating itself there. Caballero1 preserves a semblance of power by doing everything the volunteers2 demand. Yet they despise him for his rare relapses into civilization and adore Valmaseda3 who is a brute pure and simple. If Spain sold to us or liberated the Island, she could not deliver. She fears the volunteers more than the rebels. I believe the thing won't wash. This is my individual opinion not the General's. He preserves an attitude of vigilant observation.

What looks most discouraging to me is the attitude of the Senate. They threw overboard the vast advantages of the St. Domingo treaty, to prevent the White House boys from getting their little commish, which is what I call small. Is it likely they would accept a Cuban treaty, that no power human or divine could keep from dripping all over with the grease of the lobby?

I have a letter from Nicolay telling me he is in treaty for a Chicago paper. If he gets it, I will go home and help him. I would like to stay here a while, but I can't afford it, from the moment I see a living possible at home.

Yours faithfully

HUNTINGTON TO BIGELOW

Dear Mr. Bigelow:

42 RUE DE LA BRUYÈRE, 25 July [1870] (night)

It is only this evening returning from a week's visit to a friend in the country, that I find your letter of the 19th. Contents

'Caballero de Rodas, governor-general of Cuba..

"Provisional troops raised in Cuba.

Count Valmaseda (1824-1882), succeeded Caballero de Rodas as governor-general of Cuba in 1870.

'D. E. Sickles, U. S. Minister to Spain.