Truly, PUNCHINELLO, this is an age of progress. Wars of succession
are no more. Absolutism must forever hang its head. Fling a glance at
France; peer into Prussia, _Vox populi_ is the voice of the King, and
the voice of the king is therefore _vox Dei_. When a king speaks for his
people he must speak sooth; what he says of other peoples must be taken
with a grain of salt. Bearing this in mind, the apparent inconsistency
between the regal rigmarole and the Imperial improvisation (these
epithets are a tribute to the Republic) which I have received by our
_special wire_ from Europe were addressed by the monarchs to their
respective armies before the grand "wiring in" which is to follow.