WAR MEMOIRS OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE 1917

222 WAR MEMOIRS OF DAVID LLOYD GEORGE
and France would only too gladly make peace and shake
hands with the Hapsburgs.
In January, 1917, a story reached Sir M. Findlay, the
British Minister at Christiania (now Oslo), to the effect that
Austria was anxious to feel her way to peace negotiation.
Baron Franz, who had been Austrian Charge d'Affaires at
Copenhagen, and was still attached to the Legation, was said
to have discussed the matter with the King of Norway, and
there were certain persons in Copenhagen who declared
themselves to be instructed to make arrangements for a diplomatic
talk, strictly secret, about the possibility of peace with
Austria. Sir M. Findlay informed our Foreign Office in a
series of telegrams about these reports, and it sounded serious
enough for us to decide to send Sir Francis Hopwood (now
Lord Southborough) to Scandinavia on February 1st, 1917,
to investigate the story. Sir Francis visited Christiania,
Copenhagen and Stockholm, and had several meetings with
the alleged agents of Austria, but they failed to arrange a
meeting between him and any authorised Austrian diplomats.
Count Mensdorff was the last Ambassador of the Austrian
Empire in London. His attractive personality and his
obvious friendliness towards Britain made him a popular
figure in political and social circles in London. The break
with Britain filled him with genuine sadness; but he did not
possess sufficient influence in Vienna to modify the wild
counsels of the Austrian Foreign Office. Count Mensdorff
visited Scandinavia at this time. It is not clear why he went
there at this juncture. At any rate he and Sir Francis Hopwood
did not meet. The "agents" suggested that the Austrian
peace move must have been quashed by the Kaiser, who
had just been paying a visit to Vienna, and that the Mensdorff
Mission was countermanded. Probably, however, the
Austrian Emperor had decided against attempting to open
negotiations via Scandinavia, preferring to make use of his