war was declared because the Emperor thought himself ready, and a
pretext was found in the affair of the telegram.

Considering the age, and the present demands of civilization, such
a war stands forth terrific in wrong, making the soul rise
indignant against it. One reason avowed is brutal; the other is
frivolous; both are criminal. If we look into the text of the
Manifesto and the speeches of the Cabinet, it is a war founded on
a trifle, on a straw, on an egg-shell. Obviously these were
pretexts only. Therefore it is a war of pretexts, the real object
being the humiliation and dismemberment of Germany, in the vain
hope of exalting the French Empire and perpetuating a bawble crown
on the head of a boy. By military success and a peace dictated at
Berlin, the Emperor trusted to find himself in such condition,
that, on return to Paris, he could overthrow parliamentary
government so far as it existed there, and reestablish personal
government, where all depended upon himself,--thus making triumph
over Germany the means of another triumph over the French people.

In other times there have been wars as criminal in origin, where
trifle, straw, or egg-shell played its part; but they contrasted
less with the surrounding civilization. To this list belong the
frequent Dynastic Wars, prompted by the interest, the passion, or
the whim of some one in the Family of Kings. Others have begun in
recklessness kindred to that we now witness,---as when England
entered into war with Holland, and for reason did not hesitate to
allege "abusive pictures."[Footnote: Humo, History of England, Ch.
LXV., March 17, 1672.----The terras of the Declaration on this
point were,----"Scarce a town within their territories that is not
filled with abusive pictures." (Hansard's Parliamentary History,