Napoleon the Little, it was argued, had started the war of 1870 with that idea.

Russia had welcomed the present war as an answer to the Revolution that was threatening Czardom.

Others contended it was the great munition industries, aided by the military party, the officers impatient for opportunities of advancement, the strategists eager to put their theories to the test.

A few of the more philosophical shrugged their shoulders.

It was the thing itself that sooner or later was bound to go off of its own accord.