REMINISCENCES OF THE BALKAN WARS

WHEN M. Venizelos arrived in Athens from Crete, during the autumn
of I9IO, and took power immediately afterwards, he was not a
favourite with the then King of Greece, George I. He had been
in such bitter opposition to his son, Prince George, as High Commissioner
in Crete, that a summary opinion on the great Cretan
is attributed to the King:-" This man ought to be hanged from
the main mast of a man of war."
King George, however, was a man of such a supple character,
so intelligent and so respectful of public opinion, that he rapidly
changed his views on the statesman, on account of the latter's
moderate internal policy, repudiating the popular clamour for a
radical change of regime, and his phenomenal popularity. This
change of judgment afterwards brought about the most happy years
of the King's long reign and transformed Greece into a Power of
first importance, finally fulfilling the most daring dreams of Hellenism The statesman was able to entirely conquer theKing and to co-operate
with him in the most confident way for the benefit of the country,
which, thanks to the union of a great and popular minister and a
most intelligent King, progressed enormously from every point of
view, economic, financial, administrative and military. It was
even able, in less than two years, not only to recover from political
upheavals and defeats in war, but also to redeem a population of
one and a half million Greeks from foreign yoke, and establish in
south-eastern Europe an ordered State, highly respected and praised
by western Governments as well as by world opinion.
A great European statesman, George Clemenceau, had already
foreseen this brilliant period of moder Greek history. The story has been reported to me by a witness. One afternoon in the autumn
of 1899, the French statesman called upon the Comtesse de Noailles,
the great poetess, at her hotel in Paris. He was just back from
Athens and an extensive tour throughout Hellenic countries.
"Ah ! and what are your impressions of Greece ? " asked the poetess,
classical in origin, (her mother being a Greek lady), as well as in inspiration.
" Well, dear madame, I will not talk of the grandeur of
the Acropolis, or the fascination of Delphi, nor do I intend to bore
you with an archaeological lecture. I have been to see lovely and
picturesque lands, among them Crete. You will never guess,
though, my interesting discovery in that island, as interesting,