already expressed her regrets, it was decided that
upon the payment by Russia of a suitable indemnity
(£65,000) the incident might be considered closed. It
can hardly be doubted that if it had not been possible
for France, under the guidance of M. Delcassé, to use
her influence as the true friend of both nations, a
European war might have resulted, by which both
Russia and France would have been crippled, and
Great Britain terribly weakened. Who could under-
stand better than Kaiser Wilhelm II the advantages
of such a possibility to Germany! The rapprochement
of France with Italy had weakened the Triple Alliance,
the entente with Great Britain had strengthened both
France and Great Britain, Germany's two greatest
potential enemies, and within six months after its pro-
mulgation it had borne fruit in the settlement of the
Dogger Bank Affair. It is hardly surprising that the
Kaiser decided that he must strike at France, and he
could best strike through M. Delcassé. ⁷⁵ Alea jacta
est, and the results were Tangier, Algeciras, Agadir
and Serajevo.

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