ting torrent as far as Berlin. If the so-called steam roller accomplished none of the miracles expected of it, it is undeniable that the hopes founded on it contributed in a fashion which can scarcely be exaggerated to the preservation of the moral of the sorely tried French population.
But what sustained in a manner infinitely less conjectural the courage of France was the collaboration of Britain—of the whole British empire. Future historians will not find in official archives any documents to tell them with what eager suspense France, at the beginning of August, awaited the decision of Britain. Still, the fact should be known. The numerous friends whom the British possessed amongst the French followed attentively all that was said and done across the Channel. The declarations of ministers indicated clearly for one who knows how to interpret reticences and reservations an inevitable decision. But certain opinions publicly expressed, and certain articles in newspapers, which the French press commented upon very naturally, gave rise to some apprehension. "Is England going to help us?" Such was the question, universally debated and answered in the affirmative by those who had studied British politics closely during the last 15 years.
In the public mind a conviction had acquired strength that if Britain made the mistake of abstaining, Germany’s chances of crushing France were enormously increased. But if the British squadrons barred the North Sea, and kept the French coasts intact, then the French armies might hope to get the better of their formidable adversary. Accordingly, when on the morning of Wednesday, August 5, the newspapers announced that Britain had grasped the sword of justice to defend the honour of treaties impudently violated by Germany, there was all over France an outburst of joy. Men greeted one another with the words "England is with us!" And these four words were charged with a significance scarcely to be expressed by those who uttered them. They implied a certainty that French ports would not be bombarded and burned before the French squadrons could return from the Mediterranean; that the German army corps would not be flung on the coasts to take the defences in the rear.
It is currently admitted in France that the word of an Englishman is his bond, and when such a conviction has been implanted in the popular mind nothing can eradicate it. It was this reputation and this flattering esteem which formed the basis of that