-German frontier had reached him just when the czar had
appealed to the emperor, in the name of their old friendship, to
mediate at Vienna, and when the emperor was actually conforming
to that request."

Grey telegraphed to Ambassador Buchanan at St. Petersburg that a
conversation had taken place between Austria and Russia at Vienna,
and that one at St. Petersburg had been authorized by the Austrian
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Count Berchtold, in which Austria
would explain the ultimatum to Serbia and discuss any questions
directly affecting Austro-Russian relations.

"I informed the German Ambassador that, as regards military
preparations, I did not see how Russia could be urged to suspend
them unless some limit were put by Austria to the advance of her
troops into Serbia."

Grey telegraphed to Ambassador Goschen at Berlin his hope for a
satisfactory result from the Austro-Russian conversations.

"The stumblingblock hitherto has been Austrian mistrust of
Serbian assurances, and Russian mistrust of Austrian intentions
with regard to the independence and integrity of Serbia. It has
occurred to me that, in the event of this mistrust preventing a
solution being found by Vienna and St. Petersburg, Germany might
sound Vienna, and I would undertake to sound St. Petersburg,
whether it would be possible for the four disinterested powers to
offer to Austria that they would undertake to see that she
obtained full satisfaction of her demands on Serbia, provided
that they did not impair Serbian sovereignty and the integrity of
Serbian territory. As your excellency is aware, Austria has
already declared her willingness to respect them. Russia might be
informed by the four powers that they would undertake to prevent
Austrian demands going the length of impairing Serbian
sovereignty and integrity. All powers would of course suspend
further military operations or preparations.

"You may sound the Secretary of State [Von Jagow] about this
proposal.

"I said to German Ambassador [Prince Lichnowsky] this morning
that if Germany could get any reasonable proposal put forward
which made it clear that Germany and Austria were striving to
preserve European peace, and that Russia and France would be
unreasonable if they rejected it, I would support it at St.
Petersburg and Paris, an