The present storm in Europe indicates in a very curious
way the point at which newspaper information fails. The very best guide to a judgment on probabilities would be an account of the extent to which the Powers were arming. That is perceived, and accordingly the newspapers are full of rumours as to a new levy in Russia, and new works on the Baltic coast, the state of the army in France, and the orders for new artillery, the doings in Swedish arsenals, and the rapid preparation of gunboats. Most of these state- ments arc probably true, but, with the exception of the immense Russian levy, ten to the thousand, i.e., we presume one per cent. on arm-bearing males, or 120,000 men, not one of them can be said to be official, or even beyond suspicion. Journalism, which enters the bureau, stops short at the barrack.
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