We had always backed horses which, it was evident, would lose, such as
Kruger, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Hamid, Wilhelm of Wied, and finally--and this
was the most miserable mistake of all--Count Berchtold.
Shortly after my arrival in London, in 1912, Sir Edward Grey proposed an
informal exchange of views in order to prevent a European war developing
out of the Balkan war, since, at the outbreak of that war, we had
unfortunately declined the proposal of the French Government to join in
a declaration of disinterestedness and impartiality on the part of the
powers. The British statesman maintained from the beginning that England
had no interest in Albania, and would, therefore, not go to war on the
subject. In his rôle of "honest broker" he would confine his efforts to
mediation and an attempt to smooth away difficulties between the two
groups. He, therefore, by no means placed himself on the side of the
Entente Powers, and during the negotiations, which lasted about eight
months, he lent his good-will and powerful influence toward the
establishment of an understanding. Instead of adopting the English point
of view, we accepted that dictated to us by Vienna. Count Mensdorff led
the Triple Alliance in London and I was his second.