e the unthinkable result of costing the Kaiser
his throne.

"You can imagine, my most gracious Miss," said the caller, "that His
Majesty would never permit a calamity so colossal to overtake his
people, whose welfare he has continually and exclusively in his
all-highest thoughts. Therefore you may take it from me as completely
certain that war is now assured."

"But nobody has done anything to you," I said.

He gazed at me a moment, and then smiled. "High politics, and little
heads," he said. "High politics, and little women's heads,--" and went
on up the stairs smiling and shaking his own.

I do wish they wouldn't keep on talking as though my head were so
dreadfully small. Never in my life have people taken so utterly and
complacently for granted that I'm stupid.

Well, I feel very sick at heart. How long will it be before Bernd too
will be one of that marching column on the Charlottenburger Chaussee.
He won't go away from me that way, I know. He's on the Staff, and will
go more splendidly; but those men in the new grey uniforms tramping day
and night are symbols each one of them of departing happiness, of a
closed chapter, of the end of something that can never be the same
again.

Your tired Chris.

Before Breakfast.
Berlin, Sat., Aug. 1st, 1914.

My blessed little mother,

I've seen a thing I don't suppose I'll forget. It was yesterday, after
the news came that Germany had sent Russia an ultimatum about instantly
demobilizing, demanding an answer by eleven this morning. The
sensation when this was known was tremendous. The Grafin was shaken
out of her calm into exclamations of joy and fear,--joy that the step
had been taken, fear lest Russia should obey, and there be no war after
all.

We had to shut the windows to be able to hear ourselves talk. Some
women friends of the Grafin's who were here--we had no men with
us--instantly left to drive by back streets to the Schlossplatz to see
the sight it must be there, and the Grafin, saying that we too must
witness the greatest history of the world's greatest nation in the
making, sent for a taxi--her chauffeur has gone--and prepared to
follow. We had to wait ages for the taxi, but it was lucky we had to,
else we might have gone and come back and missed seeing the Kaiser come
out and speak to the crowd. We went a long way round, but even so all
Germany seemed to be streaming towards the Lindens and the part at the
end where the palace