n.

* * * * *

The defeat of the Russians is undoubtedly crushing. Is England
waking up too late? There will be a big offensive soon against
the West lines.

* * * * *

I have heard nothing up to to-day from the State Department re
the _Arabic_, except one cable asking me to request a report.

A correspondent has just been in and says that the General Staff
people threaten to expel him because he went to Copenhagen and
sent out news about the petition to the Chancellor not to annex
Belgium. The Foreign Office had no objection; this shows how the
line is forming between the Chancellor and the Military. All
correspondents to-day say the Germans are trying to dragoon them
into sending only news which the General Staff wants sent, and
the Military have added their censorship to that of the Foreign
Office.

An official told me that Bernstorff, while not exactly exceeding
his instructions in his "_Arabic_ Note" (of Sept. 1, 1915), had
put the matter in a manner they did not approve.

* * * * *

Orders have now, apparently, been given to all German officials
to say that the war will last a long time--at least a year and a
half.

It is expected that Persia will come in under German leadership
and attack India.

* * * * *

Our Military Attache, Colonel Kuhn, was finally presented to the
Kaiser and had a pleasant chat with him. Colonel Kuhn says all
fighting on the West is with artillery and hand grenades. Rifles
are thrown aside.

Germans have spies "piking off" our Embassies in Paris, London
and Petrograd.

Great airship attacks on London may be expected. In one of the
recent attacks nine thousand eight hundred bombs (fire and
explosive) were dropped. I get this from good authority.

Foreign Office quite elated over their Balkan triumph.
Personally, I think it was one of the most effective bits of
German "diplomacy" in the history of the Empire.

CHAPTER VI

THE INSIDE OF GERMAN DIPLOMACY

_The Diary Continued_

_October, 1915._ There is a tendency here to say Bernstorff went
too far. But this is all for the public, von Jagow told a
correspondent so to-day; but, of course, he did not know about
the note of Austria to Servia either! The Marine people are
positively raging. The paper which Reventlow writes for, the
_Tages Zeitung_, was suppressed yesterday; I hear on accou