The reconstruction of South-Eastern Europe

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF

chose a resting place far from their eyes and from their gossip. The second fact was his dislike of the Magyars, and he never spared actions or words to show how much he scorned Budapest and her governing circles.

Meanwhile the last Balkan War against Turkey broke out. The Cabinet of Vienna became restless and pledged itself to neutrality during the struggle, with secret hopes that the Balkan States would be beaten and Serbia would come out exhausted and with a loss of prestige and attraction for her kinsmen in Austria-Hungary. Faithful to her preconceived idea, Vienna decided not to allow any increase of strength or independence to Serbia. And already in September 1912 Prince Schwarzenberg declared in the Austro-Hungarian delegations “‘a territorial increase of Serbia represents an immediate danger to Austria-Hungary, and the monarchy must hinder it.”

Her hopes in Turkey proved to be money put on the wrong horse, and everybody knows how Vienna during the Ambassadorial Conference in London remained constantly in a quarrelling mood, using every means to deprive Serbia of prestige and territorial gains. She succeeded in debarring her from access to the sea, and prepared the situation for the Serbo-Bulgarian War. She not only encouraged Bulgaria to attack Serbia, but virtually pledged herself to Bulgaria that she should be rewarded, whatever might

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