for he realized that they were the factors who were responsible for the outbreak of the war. Gauvain is also one of those few journalists of world-wide reputation who have had the courage to republish unchanged in book form their daily articles on the foreign situation during the war, the events of which he was able to comment upon with a rare insight. From the first moment he became our friend. On the occasion of my first visit he promised me that he would write a leading article on our movement, and even at that early date he succeeded in forming a correct estimate of the Czech problem. It was he, I believe, who alone of all French and, in fact, Allied journalists, supplied a serious and detailed report of our first official action. From that time onwards I was in constant touch with the editorial staff of the Journal des Débats, which became the most important journalistic pivot for our war-time policy in France. Such were the relationships with which I began my work in Paris, and I made every effort to extend them systematically. The friends I gained in this manner helped devotedly to extend the scope of our influence. And when Štefánik joined us he brought with him a number of politicians and, later, representatives of military circles.
Knowing the situation in Prague and in our political circles generally, and remembering my experiences with the “Maffia,” I proposed, after having discussed the matter with Masaryk, to supply my friends in Prague as regularly as possible with reports on the military and political situation in the Allied countries. I had seen when I was still in Prague what valuable services were rendered to us by even the smallest piece of news, and how great an encouragement it was to all of us when we obtained authentic information as to what was or was not true in the Austrian and German versions of current events.
At the same time, however, I was fully aware how fantastic and exaggerated certain of the reports were which emanated from our uncritical enthusiasts at home, who imagined that the military side of the war was already won, and that on the political side everything had long since been decided in our favour.
Accordingly, almost immediately after my arrival in Switzerland and Paris, as soon as I had taken stock of the situation, I sent a report on it to Prague. I spoke with M. Bibikov, the Russian Ambassador at Berne (he was married to a Czech lady), with Svatkovsky and with all my new friends in Paris; I read
