On July 26th, as William was preparing to set foot again on German soil, Bethmann telegraphed to him :
"Should Russia prepare for conflict with Austria, England means to attempt mediation, and hopes to do so with French support. So long as Russia attempts no hostile act, I believe that we must keep quiet and aim at localization of the conflict. General von Moltke returned from Carlsbad to-day, and shares this view."
After the word "localization" William makes an exclamation-mark, and on the expression about keeping quiet he observes sarcastically:
"Quiet is the first duty of a citizen! Keep quiet only keep quiet ! But a quiet mobilization is indeed something new!"
When it really came to mobilization, William's sarcasm vanished.
Quite in keeping with all this is a telegram which Count Szögyeny sent from Berlin to Vienna on July 25th. It runs:
"It is generally assumed here that in the event of a negative reply from Serbia, our declaration of war, combined with belligerent operations, will immediately follow. Any delay in the beginning of military operations is regarded here as very dangerous, in view of the intervention of other Powers. We are urgently advised to take action at once, and to confront the world with a fait accompli."
