On his return from Friedrichsruh, Signor Crispi met Count Kalnoky,
the Austrian Minister, at Eger, on the Austrian frontier, and had two hours' conference with him on his return to Italy. The Italian papers seem nearly all united in praising Signor Crispi's defiant tone towards France, and were that tone simply intended to make it clear to Francs that Italy is not intimidated by her, and is united as one man for self-defence, we should approve it as heartily as the Italian Press. It appears to us, however, that there was something even more aggressive in Signor Crispi's attitude during the recent correspondence than the French criticism of the Massowah affair had justified, and that it was more due to German prompting than to Italian dignity. That view of ours may be mistaken. But it is just because we feel so profoundly that a French attack on Italy would be at once most unjust and yet as probable a mode as any of the beginning of the European collapse with which we are threatened, that we so earnestly deprecate any action on the part of Italy which should serve to incite, or palliate the guilt of, so wanton an aggression.
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