official agent. He soon fell foul of me and began to intrigue in the grossest fashion. It was he who had dominated the “National Council of the Czechoslovak Colonies” in Paris, and had founded the “Indépendance Tchèque.” He brought trouble enough upon us and aroused French ill-will by his reactionary pan-Slavism, though he gained several adherents, some of whom were guilty of conduct so excessive that they were taken for Austrian agents provocateurs.
Towards the middle of April 1915, when our organization was sufficiently advanced, I went for a short time to Paris and London. From our colonies in both cities I had received news of political and personal bickerings, and my friends, Seton-Watson and Steed, urged me to come for political reasons. In Paris I discussed everything with Professor Denis and saw many members of our colony. Peace was made. In London it was comparatively easy to settle the dissensions, but I stayed longer there so as to work out a memorandum for Sir Edward Grey and for political circles generally, defining more exactly what I had discussed with Seton-Watson in Holland. I laid stress upon our historical right to independence and vindicated our whole undertaking. This was the more necessary because a number of English political men were inclined to conceive the future settlement of Europe on racial lines rather than to take account of historical rights. I criticized also the allotment of a considerable part of Dalmatia to Italy. Of this I had heard something in London as well as in Geneva and Paris, for the negotiations between Italy, England, France and Russia had been long drawn out.
On the situation in Germany I got trustworthy information in London. There I saw the Russian Ambassador, Count Benckendorff, to whom I gave a number of documents and explained our position and that of Austria. He seemed to be under the influence of the Treaty with Italy; at any rate he could not trust himself to make any promise, and what he said showed that Russia had no definite Slav policy. This was no news to me, but Benckendorff’s bearing confirmed it. He advised me to go as soon as possible to St. Petersburg in order to see Sazonof and, particularly, the Grand Duke Nicholas, who was apparently omnipotent.
On the way back to Geneva I made another short stay in Paris and completed what I had begun there. With Professor Denis I considered the outlook in all Slav countries and the world situation on the basis of his book, “La Guerre,” which I had sent to Prague as soon as it appeared. On the whole we
