ilities of trouble. As a matter of fact, not for years had the peace of Europe been so assured, apparently. President Poincare of France had gone to visit th

, though required to watch affairs because of the death of his heir, the Arch

n question. France was always ready, as Henri Martin had said. Since the grim and terrible lesson of 1870 she had made up her mind never

ng to sacrifice some things for that. And this was because, in the years of peace, France had won a great diplomatic victory, the fruits of which the country must preserve. In 1870 France had had to face Germany al

Germany in 1914 as in 1870. But she had prepared herself. Now Russia, no matter what the reason for war, would be with her. And, if France was attacked, England was almost sure to join her. Everything would depend on that. With the great English navy to bottle up the Ge

that Russia, the friend of the little Slav countries in the Balkans, was getting ready to take the part of Servia. There was nothing to show what the French government and every newspap

did not know it. All over France the soldiers were active; the new recruits, reporting for the beginning of their three years of military service, were pouring into the depots, the headquarters of the army corps, to be assigned to their re

s, or most of it, to be printed. Austria had made demands of Servia that no country could meet! Russia had protested! Russia and Austria were

, since the first appearance of the really ominous news, the excitability of his French schoolmates had

quarrel," said Frank. "She

et some ports and Russia wants them, too, or wants a friendly country to have them. But I will tell you why i

han at any othe

. The Germans think England will be afraid to fight, that she will have to think of her own troubles. He does not know those English, that Kais

ar, we nearly had to fight about Mexico. And the men in the South, who had just bee

panese, Russia was weak. But now she is getting strong again, and Austria is getting weaker. If Germany and Austria can ever win it is n

fight with Russi

If England had joined Japan, we should have had

by M. Donnet himself, the head master. He was at his place by his desk, and the boys had taken their seats. Suddenly, just as the master was about to speak, a servan

d very straight now; Frank had no difficulty, as he had had before, in imagining the schoolmaster as a soldier. "Fran

sto

t been issued. Only superior officers are called for as yet. Perhaps I may return. If not, I shall exhort all of you who are sons of La Patrie to do your duty. You are too yo

na, that rose, like the phoenix from its ashes, after Gravelotte and Sedan, when the foe believed that France lay crushed for evermore! Perhaps you, like all who are French,

himself

d. "I go to meet again those other ch

moved to the door,

d to the top of a desk and raised his voice in the m

outside in the open air of the school yard. And from other rooms, from all over the school, masters and boys poured out to join them and to swell the chorus. O

y still remained together, waiting. In ten minutes, M. Donnet appeared from the door of his own house. But now he was transformed. He was in the uniform of h