22 July, Krasnoe Selo: During a dinner held by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the commander of the Imperial Guard and a cousin of the Tsar, for the French visitors, his wife and sister-in-law talk openly and enthusiastically about war with Germany and Austria and the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine by France.
In his diary Poincaré contrasts their enthusiasm with Sazonov’s caution.