e　of　mon　sense　can　one　feel　surprise　that　war　is　ceaselessly　talked　of；　often　enough　declared。　In　days　gone　by；　distance　and　rarity　of　munication　assured　peace　between　many　realms。　Now　that　every　country　is　in　proximity　to　every　other；　what　need　is　there　to　elaborate　explanations　of　the　distrust；　the　fear；　the　hatred；　which　are　a　perpetual　theme　of　journalists　and　statesmen？　By　approximation；　all　countries　have　entered　the　sphere　of　natural　quarrel。　That　they　find　plenty　of　things　to　quarrel　about　is　no　cause　for　astonishment。　A　hundred　years　hence　there　will　be　some　possibility　of　perceiving　whether　international　relations　are　likely　to　obey　the　law　which　has　acted　with　such　beneficence　in　the　life　of　each　civilized　people；　whether　this　country　and　that　will　be　content　to　ease　their　tempers　with　bloodless　squabbling；　subduing　the　more　violent　promptings　for　the　mon　good。　Yet　I　suspect　that　a　century　is　a　very　short　time　to　allow　for　even　justifiable　surmise　of　such　an　oute。　If　by　any　chance　newspapers　ceased　to　exist　。　。　。

Talk　of　war；　and　one　gets　involved　in　such　utopian　musings！

VII

I　have　been　reading　one　of　those　prognostic　articles　on　international　politics　which　every　now　and　then　appear　in　the　reviews。　Why　I　should　so　waste　my　time　it　would　be　hard　to　say；　I　suppose　the　fascination　of　disgust　and　fear　gets　the　better　of　me　in　a　moment's　idleness。　This　writer；　who　is　horribly　perspicacious　and　vigorous；　demonstrates　the　certainty　of　a　great　European　war；　and　regards　it　with　the　peculiar　satisfaction　excited　by　such　things　in　a　certain　order　of　mind。　His　phrases　about　〃dire　calamity〃　and　so　on　mean　nothing；　the　whole　tenor　of　his　writing　proves　that　he　represents；　and　consciously；　one　of　the　forces　which　go　to　bring　war　about；　his　part　in