And yet Russia is ostentatiously making preparations ; and the
popular feeling against Germany is freely expressed in the papers, usually so severely controlled. The Gazette de la Bourse, of St. Petersburg, contained an article on Tuesday which, had it been official, would have been equivalent to a declaration of war against North Germany. Of course it is not official, but it is remark- able that the Government permits the free publication of advice to go to war at once with North Germany, which is what the article amounts to,—unless it wishes to keep up a blind that may disguise its real intention to move southward. That Russia is making great warlike preparations seems certain enough. At least it is telegraphed from Berlin on Wednes- day, in addition to the warlike preparations we announced last week, that orders have been given to prepare ammunition- waggons in Western and Southern Russia for immediate use ; that six field telegraph corps have been formed at St. Petersburg, each capable of laying down 35 leagues of line; and that, from the 27th September, 14 military trains will be daily despatched over the Moscow-Kursk line. Again; on Thursday we hear,—once more from Berlin,—that the Russian Government has given orders to distributeamong the army 276 hospital carriages, 144 apothecaries' vans, and 756 new iron pontoons,—which looks very like business, —and that "regimental societies have been formed for victualling officers in war." Why for victualling officers, and not men? Is all this activity the mere invention of morbid imagination in Berlin, or is Russia meditating something serious ? The relieving of General Steinmetz from the command of one of the armies before Metz and appointing him to the Governorship of Posen, looks a little as if the King of Prussia mistrusted his august re- lative. But we should certainly expect that if Russia is meditat- ing business at all, it would be business in the South.
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