There has been a singular revival on the Continent of
war- like rumours, due to the agitations in Servia, the attempted assassination of M. Stambouloff in Bulgaria, and a new Nihilist attempt to kill the Emperor of Russia. It is sup- posed that, in consequence of these movements, the Russian Government is collecting an army on the Austrian frontier, and long accounts are given of the shifting of troops in Russia and of counter-movements ordered from Vienna. The German official Press, however, denies all the stories, affirms that the movements of troops are normal at this season, and maintains that the prospects of peace were never brighter. Indeed, the moment has been selected for the renewal of the Triple Alliance for another quinquennial period, though the term now running out does not expire till 1892. The panic, though genuine, appears to have arisen in Vienna, and, so far as outsiders can perceive, has no solid foundation whatever, except the shrinkage of values on all Bourses, which is due to South American troubles and railway ware in the United States, not to fears of disturbance in Europe. The Czar has retired to Gatschina, but he is in no more danger than he always has been.
