A few voices were raised which regarded the secession as right, but quarrelled with the manner of the secession. It was said that we should have said openly that we refused to continue to fight, but we should not have made a separate peace. We should have avoided the evil appearance that we wanted to derive an advantage at the expense of our ally. Personally, I was not afraid of this appearance. The separate peace which Frederick II of Prussia concluded in order to acquire Silesia was disgraceful, but this secession was only painful and not disgraceful because its purpose was to save the existence of one's own people.
Moreover, even by aid of this solution the appearance of secession could not have been avoided because it would have necessitated an immediate and separate armistice. I was not prepared, for the sake of this semblance, to lose the possibility of being able to save the Monarchy. As soon as I was determined upon secession, my loyalty obliged me to inform the Germans with the greatest candour.
The first condition of successful operations on my part was that I was to be allowed a certain amount of time, and that I should constitute a Government in Hungary where the danger of an upheaval was greatest, which should either seize or break the sword of the revolution. I finally abandoned the attempt to make an agreement with tho Social Democrats and with Karolyi. The chief point of opposition between us was, firstly, that they wanted to secure immediate peace by surrender of arms, and secondly, that I was
