Roon assured him that all was prepared; Moltke, that, though no one could ever foretell with certainty the result of a great war, he looked to it with confidence; they all knew that with the publication of this statement the last prospect of peace would be gone.

It was published late that night in a special edition of the _North German Gazette_, and at the same time a copy was sent from the Foreign Office to all German embassies and legations.
It is not altogether correct to call this (as has often been done) a falsification of the telegram.

Under no circumstances could Bismarck have published in its original form the confidential message to him from his sovereign; all he had to do was to communicate to the newspapers the facts of which he had been informed, or so much of the facts as it seemed to him desirable that the public should know.

He, of course, made the selection in such a form as to produce upon public opinion the particular effect which for the purposes of his policy he wished.

What to some extent justifies the charge is that the altered version was published under the heading, "Ems." The official statement was supplemented by another notice in the _North German Gazette_, which was printed in large type, and stated that Benedetti had so far forgotten all diplomatic etiquette that he had allowed himself to disturb the King in his holidays, to intercept him on the promenade, and to attempt to force demands upon him.